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The Friends of the Friends
I find, as you prophesied, much that’s interesting, but little that helps the delicate question — the possibility of publication. Her diaries are less systematic than I hoped; she only had a blessed habit of noting and narrating. She summarised; she saved; she seldom appears indeed to have let a good story pass without catching it on the wing. I allude of course not so much to things she heard as to things she saw and felt. She writes sometimes of herself, sometimes of others, sometimes of the combination. It’s under the last rubric that she’s usually most vivid. But it’s not, you’ll understand, when she’s most vivid that she’s always most publishable. To tell the truth she’s fearfully indiscreet, or has at least all the material for making me so. Take as an instance the fragment I send you after dividing it for your convenience into several small chapters. It’s the contents of a thin blank-book which I’ve copied out and which has the merit of being nearly enough a rounded thing, an intelligible whole. These pages evidently date from years ago. I’ve read with liveliest wonder the statement they so circumstantially make and done my best to swallow the prodigy they leave to be inferred. These things would be striking, wouldn’t they? to any reader; but can you imagine for a moment my placing such a document before the world, even though, as if she herself desired the world should have the benefit of it, she has given her friends neither names nor initials? Have you any sort of clue to their identity? I leave her the floor.
I know perfectly of course that I brought it on myself; but that doesn’t make it any better. I was the first to speak of her to him — he had never even heard her mentioned. Even if I had happened not to speak some one else would have made up for it: I tried afterwards to find comfort in that reflexion. But the comfort of reflexions is thin: the only comfort that counts in life is not to have been a fool. That’s a beatitude I shall doubtless never enjoy. “Why you ought to meet her and talk it over” is what I immediately said. “Birds of a feather flock together.” I told him who she was and that they were birds of a feather because if he had had in his youth a strange adventure she had had about the same time just such another. It was well known to her friends — an incident she was constantly called on to describe. She was charming clever pretty unhappy; but it was none the less the thing to which she had originally owed her reputation.
Being at the age of eighteen somewhere abroad with an aunt she had had a vision of one of her parents at the moment of death. The parent was in England hundreds of miles away and so far as she knew neither dying nor dead. It was by day, in the museum of some great foreign town. She had passed alone, in advance of her companions, into a small room containing some famous work of art and occupied at that moment by two other persons. One of these was the old custodian; the second, before observing him, she took for a stranger, a tourist. She was merely conscious that he was bareheaded and seated on a bench. The instant her eyes rested on him however she beheld to her amazement her father, who, as if he had long waited for her, looked at her in singular distress and an impatience akin to reproach. She rushed to him with a bewildered cry, “Papa, what is it?” but this was followed by an exhibition of still livelier feeling when on her movement he simply vanished, leaving the custodian and her relations, who were by that time at her heels, to gather round her in distress. These persons, the official, the aunt, the cousins, were therefore in a manner witnesses of the fact — the fact at least of the impression made on her; and there was the further testimony of a doctor who was attending one of the party and to whom it was immediately afterwards communicated. He gave her a remedy for hysterics, but said to the aunt privately: “Wait and see if something doesn’t happen at home.” Something had happened — the poor father, suddenly and violently seized, had died that morning. The aunt, the mother’s sister, received before the day was out a telegram announcing the event and requesting her to prepare her niece for it. Her niece was already prepared, and the girl’s sense of this visitation remained of course indelible. We had all, as her friends, had it conveyed to us and had conveyed it creepily to each other. Twelve years had elapsed, and as a woman who had made an unhappy marriage and lived apart from her husband she had become interesting from other sources; but since the name she now bore was a name frequently borne, and since moreover her judicial separation, as things were going, could hardly count as a distinction, it was usual to qualify her as “the one, you know, who saw her father’s ghost.”
As for him, dear man, he had seen his mother’s — so there you are! I had never heard of that till this occasion on which our closer, our pleasanter acquaintance led him, through some turn in the subject of our talk, to mention it and to inspire me in so doing with the impulse to let him know that he had a rival in the field — a person with whom he could compare notes. Later on his story became for him, perhaps because of my unduly repeating it, likewise a convenient worldly label; but it hadn’t a year before been the ground on which he was introduced to me. He had other merits, just as she, poor thing, had others. I can honestly say that I was quite aware of them from the first — I discovered them sooner than he discovered mine. I remember how it struck me even at the time that his sense of mine was quickened by my having been able to match, though indeed not straight from my own experience, his curious anecdote. It dated, this anecdote, as hers did, from some dozen years before — a year in which, at Oxford, he had for some reason of his own been staying long into the “Long.” He had been in the August afternoon on the river. Coming back into his room while it was still distinct daylight he found his mother standing there as if her eyes had been fixed on the door. He had had a letter from her that morning out of Wales, where she was staying with her father. At the sight of him she smiled with extraordinary radiance and extended her arms to him, and then as he sprang forward and joyfully opened his own she vanished from the place. He wrote to her that night, telling her what had happened; the letter had been carefully preserved. The next morning he heard of her death. He was through this chance of our talk extremely struck with the little prodigy I was able to produce for him. He had never encountered another case. Certainly they ought to meet, my friend and he; certainly they would have something in common. I would arrange this, wouldn’t I? — if she didn’t mind; for himself he didn’t mind in the least. I had promised to speak to her of the matter as soon as possible, and within the week I was able to do so. She “minded” as little as he; she was perfectly willing to see him. And yet no meeting would occur — as meetings are commonly understood.
That’s just half my tale — the extraordinary way it was hindered. This was the fault of a series of accidents; but the accidents, persisting for years, became, to me and to others, a subject of mirth with either party. They were droll enough at first, then they grew rather a bore. The odd thing was that both parties were amenable: it wasn’t a case of their being indifferent, much less of their being indisposed. It was one of the caprices of chance, aided I suppose by some rather settled opposition of their interests and habits. His were centered in his office, his eternal inspectorship, which left him small leisure, constantly calling him away and making him break engagements. He liked society, but found it everywhere and took it at a run. She was on her side practically suburban: she lived at Richmond and never went “out.” She was a woman of distinction, but not of fashion, and felt, as people said, her situation. Decidedly proud and rather whimsical, she lived her life as she had planned it. There were things one could do for her, but one couldn’t make her come to one’s parties. One went indeed a little more than seemed quite convenient to hers, which consisted of her cousin, a cup of tea and the view. The tea was good; but the view was familiar, though perhaps not, like the cousin — a disagreeable old maid who had been of the group at the museum and with whom she now lived — offensively so. This connexion with an inferior relative, which had partly an economic motive — she proclaimed her companion a marvelous manager — was one of those little perversities we had to forgive her. Another was her estimate of the proprieties created by her rupture with her husband. That was extreme — many persons called it even morbid. She made no advances; she cultivated scruples; she suspected, or I should perhaps rather say she remembered, slights: she was one of the few women I’ve known whom the particular predicament had rendered modest rather than bold. Dear thing, she had some delicacy! Especially marked were the limits she set to possible attentions from men: it was always her thought that her husband only waited to pounce on her. She discouraged if she didn’t forbid the visits of male persons not senile: she said she could never be too careful.
When I first mentioned to her that I had a friend whom fate had distinguished in the same weird way as herself I put her quite at liberty to say “Oh bring him to see me!” I should have probably been able to bring him, and a situation perfectly innocent or at any rate comparatively simple would have been created. But she uttered no such word; she only said: “I must meet him certainly; yes, I shall look out for him!” That caused the first delay, and meanwhile various things happened. One of them was that as time went on she made, charming as she was, more and more friends, and that it regularly befell that these friends were sufficiently also friends of his to bring him up in conversation. It was odd that without belonging, as it were, to the same world or, according to the horrid term, the same set, my baffled pair should have happened in so many cases to fall in with the same people and make them join in the droll chorus. She had friends who didn’t know each other but who inevitably and punctually recommended him. She had also a sort of originality, the intrinsic interest, that led her to be kept by each of us as a private resource, cultivated jealously, more or less in secret, as a person one didn’t meet in society, whom it was not for every one — whom it was not for the vulgar — to approach, and with whom therefore acquaintance was particularly difficult and particularly precious. We saw her separately, with appointments and conditions, and found it made on the whole for harmony not to tell each other. Somebody had always a note from her still later than somebody else. There was some silly woman who for a long time, among the underprivileged, owed to three simple visits to Richmond a reputation for being intimate with “lots of awfully clever out-of-the-way people.”
Every one has had friends it has seemed a happy thought to bring together, and every one remembers that his happiest thoughts have not been his greatest successes; but I doubt if there ever was a case in which the failure was in such direct proportion to the quantity of influence set in motion. It’s really perhaps here the quantity of influence that was most remarkable. My lady and my gentleman pronounced it to me and others a subject for a roaring farce. The reason first given had with time dropped out of sight and fifty better ones flourished on top of it. They were so awfully alike: they had the same ideas and tricks and tastes, the same prejudices and superstitions and heresies; they said the same things and sometimes did them; the liked and disliked the same persons and places, the same books, authors and styles; there were touches of resemblance even in their looks and features. It established much of a propriety that they were in common parlance “nice” and almost equally handsome. But the great sameness, for wonder and chatter, was their rare perversity in regard to being photographed. They were the only persons ever heard of who had never been “taken” and who had a passionate objection to it. They just wouldn’t be — no, not for anything any one could say. I loudly complained of this; him in particular I had so vainly desired to be able to show on my drawing-room chimney-piece in a Bond Street frame. It was at any rate the very liveliest of all the reasons why they ought to know each other — all the lively reasons reduced to naught by the strange law that made them bang so many doors in each other’s face, made them the buckets in the well, the two ends of the see-saw, the two parties in the State, so that when one was up the other was down, when one was out the other was in; neither by any possibility entering a house till the other had left it or leaving it all unawares till the other was at hand. They only arrived when they had been given up, which was also precisely when they departed. They were in a word alternate and incompatible; they missed each other with an inveteracy that could be explained only by its being preconcerted. It was however so far from preconcerted that it had ended — literally after several years — by disappointing and annoying them. I don’t think their curiosity was lively till it had been proved utterly vain. A great deal was of course done to help them, but it merely laid wires for them to trip. To give examples I should have to have taken notes; but I happen to remember that neither had ever been able to dine on the right occasion. The right occasion for each was the occasion that would be wrong for the other. On the wrong one they were most punctual, and there were never any but the wrong ones. The very elements conspired and the constitution of man reenforced them. A cold, a headache, a bereavement, a storm, a fog, an earthquake, a cataclysm, infallibly intervened. The whole business was beyond a joke.
Yet as a joke it had still to be taken, though one couldn’t help feeling that the joke had made the situation serious, had produced on the part of each a consciousness, an awkwardness, a positive dread of the last accident of all, the only one with any freshness left, the accident that would bring them together. The final effect of its predecessors had been to kindle this instinct. They were quite ashamed — perhaps even a little of each other. So much preparation, so much frustration: what indeed could be good enough for it all to lead up to? A mere meeting would be mere flatness. Did I see them at the end of years, they often asked, just stupidly confronted? If they were bored by the joke they might easily be bored by something else. They made exactly the same reflexions, and each in some manner was sure to hear of the other’s. I really think it was this peculiar diffidence that finally controlled the situation. I mean that if they had failed for the first year or two because they couldn’t help it, they kept up the habit because they had — what shall I call it? — grown nervous. It really took some lurking volition to account for anything both so regular and so ridiculous.
When to crown our long acquaintance I accepted his renewed offer of marriage it was humorously said, I know, that I had made the gift of his photograph a condition. This was so far true that I refused to give him mine without it. At any rate I had him at last, in his high distinction, on the chimney-piece, where the day she called to congratulate me she came nearer than she had ever done to seeing him. He had in being taken set her an example that I invited her to follow; he had sacrificed his perversity — wouldn’t she sacrifice hers? She too must give me something on my engagement — wouldn’t she give me the companion-piece? She laughed and shook her head; she had headshakes whose impulse seemed to come from as far away as the breeze that stirs a flower. The companion-piece to the portrait of my future husband was the portrait of his future wife. She had taken her stand — she could depart from it as little as she could explain it. It was a prejudice, an entetement, a vow — she would live and die unphotographed. Now too she was alone in that state: this was what she liked; it made her so much more original. She rejoiced in the fall of her late associate and looked for a long time at his picture, about which she made no memorable remark, though she even turned it over to see the back. About our engagement she was charming — full of cordiality and sympathy. “You’ve known him even longer than I’ve not,” she said, “and that seems a very long time.” She understood how we had jogged over hill and dale and how inevitable it was that we should now rest together. I’m definite about all this because what followed is so strange that it’s kind of a relief to me to mark the point up to which our relations were as natural as ever. It was I myself who in a sudden madness altered and destroyed them. I see now that she gave me no pretext and that I only found one in the way she looked at the fine face in the Bond Street frame. How then would I have had her look at it? What I had wanted from the first was to make her care for him. Well, that was what I still wanted — up to the moment of her having promised me she would on this occasion really aid me to break the silly spell that had kept them asunder. I had arranged with him to do his part if she would triumphantly do hers. I was on a different footing now — I was on a footing to answer for him. I would positively engage that at five on the following Saturday he should be on that spot. He was out of town on pressing business, but, pledged to keep his promise to the letter, would return on purpose and in abundant time. “Are you perfectly sure?” I remember she asked, looking grave and considering: I thought she had turned a little pale. She was tired, she was indisposed: it was a pity he was to see her after all at so poor a moment. If he only could have seen her five years before! However, I replied that this time I was sure and that success therefore depended simply on herself. At five o’clock on the Saturday she would find him in a particular chair I pointed out, the one in which he usually sat and in which — though this I didn’t mention — he had been sitting when, the week before, he put the question of our future to me in the way that had brought me round. She looked at it in silence, just as she had looked at his photograph, while I repeated for the twentieth time that it was too preposterous one shouldn’t somehow succeed in introducing one’s dearest friend to one’s second self. “Am I your dearest friend?” she asked with a smile that for a moment brought back her beauty. I replied by pressing her to my bosom; after which she said, “Well, I’ll come. I’m extraordinarily afraid, but you may count on me.”
When she left me I began to wonder what she was afraid of, for she had spoken as if she fully meant it. The next day, late in the afternoon, I had three lines from her: she found on getting home the announcement of her husband’s death. She hadn’t seen him for seven years, but she wished me to know it in this way before I should hear of it in another. It made however in her life, strange and sad to say, so little difference that she would scrupulously keep her appointment. I rejoiced for her — I supposed it would make at least the difference of her having more money; but even in this diversion, far from forgetting she had said that she was afraid, I seemed to catch sight of a reason for her being so. Her fear, as the evening went on, became contagious, and the contagion took in my breast the form of a sudden panic. It wasn’t jealousy — it was just the dread of jealousy. I called myself a fool for not having been quiet till we were man and wife. After that I should somehow feel secure. It was only a question of waiting another month — a trifle surely for people who had waited so long. It had been plain enough that she was nervous, and now she was free her nervousness wouldn’t be less. What was it therefore but a sharp foreboding? She had been hitherto the victim of interference, but it was quite possible she would henceforth be the source of it. The victim in that case would be my simple self. What had the interference been but the finger of Providence pointing out a danger? The danger was of course for poor me. It had been kept at bay by a series of accidents unexampled in their frequency; but the reign of accidents was now visibly at an end. I had an intimate conviction that both parties would keep the tryst. It was more and more impressed on me that they were approaching, converging. They were like the seekers for the hidden object in the game of blindfold; they had one and the other begun to “burn.” We had talked about breaking the spell; well, it would be effectually broken — unless indeed it should merely take another form and overdo their encounters as it had overdone their escapes. This was something I couldn’t sit still for thinking of; it kept me awake — at midnight I was full of unrest. At last I felt there was only one way of laying the ghost. If the reign of accident was over I must just take up the succession. I sat down and wrote a hurried note which would meet him on his return and which as the servants had gone to bed I sallied forth bareheaded into the empty gusty street to drop into the nearest pillar-box. It was to tell him that I shouldn’t be able to be at home in the afternoon as I had hoped and that he must postpone his visit until dinner-time. This was an implication that he would find me alone.
When accordingly at five she presented herself I naturally felt false and base. My act had been a momentary madness, but I had at least, as they say, to live up to it. She remained an hour; he of course never came; and I could only persist in my perfidy. I had thought it best to let her come; singular as this now seems to me I held it diminished my guilt. Yet as she sat there so visibly white and weary, stricken with a sense of everything her husband’s death had opened up, I felt a really piercing pang of pity and remorse. If I didn’t tell her on the spot what I had done it was because I was too ashamed. I feigned astonishment — I feigned it to the end; I protested that if ever I had had confidence I had had it that day. I blush as I tell my story — I take it as my penance. There was nothing indignant I didn’t say about him; I invented suppositions, attenuations; I admitted in stupefaction, as the hands of the clock travelled, that their luck hadn’t turned. She smiled at this vision of their “luck,” but she looked anxious — she looked unusual: the only thing that kept me up was the fact that, oddly enough, she wore mourning — no great depths of crape, but simple and scrupulous black. She had in her bonnet three small black feathers. She carried a little muff of astrachan. This put me, by the aid of some acute reflexion, in the right. She had written to me that the sudden event made no difference for her, but apparently it made as much difference as that. If she was inclined to the usual forms why didn’t she observe that of not going out the next day or two to tea? There was someone she wanted so much to see that she couldn’t wait until her husband was buried. Such a betrayal of eagerness made me hard and cruel enough to practise my odious deceit, though at the same time, as the hour waxed and waned, I suspected in her something deeper still than disappointment and something less successfully concealed. I mean a strange underlying relief, the soft low emission of the breath that comes when a danger is past. What happened as she spent her barren hour with me was that at last she gave him up. She let him go for ever. She made the most graceful joke of it that I’ve ever seen made of anything; but it was for all that a great date in her life. She spoke with mild gaiety of all the other vain times, the long game of hide-and-seek, the unprecedented queerness of such a relation. For it was, or had been, a relation, wasn’t it, hadn’t it? That was just the absurd part of it. When she got up to go I said to her that it was more of a relation than ever, but I hadn’t the face after what had occurred to propose to her for the present another opportunity. It was plain that the only valid opportunity would be my accomplished marriage. Of course she would be at my wedding? It was even to be hoped that he would.
“If I am, he won’t be!” — I remember the high quaver and the little break of her laugh. I admitted there might be something in that. The thing therefore was to get us safely married first. “That won’t help us. Nothing will help us!” she said as she kissed me farewell. “I shall never, never see him!” It was with those words she left me.
I could bear her disappointment as I’ve called it; but when a couple hours later I received him at dinner I discovered I couldn’t bear his. The way my manoeuver might have affected him hadn’t been particularly present to me; but the result of it was the first word of reproach that had ever dropped from him. I say “reproach” because that expression is scarcely too strong for the terms in which he conveyed to me his surprise that under the extraordinary circumstances I shouldn’t have found some means not to deprive him of such an occasion. I might really have managed either not to be obliged to go out or to let their meeting take place all the same. They would probably have got on, in my drawing-room, well enough without me. At this I quite broke down — I confessed my iniquity and the miserable reason of it. I hadn’t put her off and I hadn’t gone out; she had been there and, after waiting for him an hour, had departed in the belief that he had been absent by his own fault.
“She must think me a precious brute!” he exclaimed. “Did she say of me” — and I remember the just perceptible catch of breath in his pause — “what she had a right to say?”
“I assure you she said nothing that showed the least feeling. She looked at your photograph, she even turned round the back of it, on which your address happens to be inscribed. Yet it provoked her to no demonstration. She doesn’t care as much as all that.”
“Then why were you afraid of her?”
“It wasn’t of her I was afraid. It was of you.”
“Did you think that I’d be so sure to fall in love with her? You never alluded to such a possibility before,” he went on as I remained silent. “Admirable person as you pronounced her, that wasn’t the light in which you showed her to me.”
“Do you mean that if it had been you’d have managed by now to catch a glimpse of her? I didn’t fear things then,” I added. “I hadn’t the same reason.”
He kissed me at this, and when I remembered that she had done so an hour or two before I felt for an instant as if he were taking from my lips the very pressure of hers. In spite of kisses the incident had shed a certain chill, and I suffered horribly from the sense that he had seen me guilty of a fraud. He had seen it only through my frank avowal, but I was as unhappy as if I had a stain to efface. I couldn’t get over the manner of his looking at me when I spoke of her apparent indifference to his not having come. For the first time since I had known him he seemed to have expressed a doubt of my word. Before we parted I told him that I’d undeceive her — start the first thing in the morning for Richmond and there let her know that he had been blameless. At this he kissed me again. I’d expiate my sin, I said; I’d humble myself in the dust; I’d confess and ask to be forgiven. At this he kissed me once more.
In the train the next day this struck me as a good deal for him to have consented to; but my purpose was firm enough to carry me on. I mounted the long hill to where the view begins, and then I knocked at her door. I was a trifle mystified by the fact that her blinds were still drawn, reflecting that if in the stress of my compunction I had come early I had certainly yet allowed people time to get up.
“At home, mum? She has left home for ever.”
I was extraordinarily startled by this announcement of the elderly parlour-maid. “She has gone away?”
“She’s dead, mum, please.” Then as I gasped at the horrible word: “She died last night.”
The loud cry that escaped me sounded even in my own ears like some harsh violation of the hour. I felt for the moment as if I had killed her; I turned faint and saw through a vagueness that woman hold out her arms to me. Of what next happened I’ve no recollection, nor of anything but my friend’s poor stupid cousin, in a darkened room, after an interval that I suppose very brief, sobbing at me in a smothered accusatory way. I can’t say how long it took for me to understand, to believe and then to press back with an immense effort that pang of responsibility which, superstitiously, insanely, had been at first almost all I was conscious of. The doctor, after the fact, had been superlatively wise and clear: he was satisfied of a long-latent weakness of the heart, determined probably years before by the agitations and terrors to which her marriage had introduced her. She had had in those days cruel scenes with her husband, she had been in fear of her life. All emotion, everything in the nature of anxiety and suspense had been after that to be strongly deprecated, as in her marked cultivation of a quiet life she was evidently well aware; but who could say that any one, especially a “real lady,” might be successfully protected from every little rub? She had had one a day or two before in the news of her husband’s death — since there were shocks of all kinds, not only those of grief and surprise. For that matter she had never dreamed of so near a release: it had looked uncommonly as if he would live as long as herself. Then in the evening, in town, she had manifestly had some misadventure: something must have happened there that it would be imperative to clear up. She had come back very late — it was past eleven o’clock, and on being met in the hall by her cousin, who was extremely anxious, had allowed she was tired and must rest a moment before mounting the stairs. They had passed together into the dining-room, her companion proposing a glass of wine and bustling to pour it out. This took but a moment, and when my informant turned round our poor friend had not had time to seat herself. Suddenly, with a small moan that was barely audible, she dropped upon the sofa. She was dead. What unknown “little rub” had dealt her the blow? What concussion, in the name of wonder, had awaited her in town? I mentioned immediately the one thinkable ground of disturbance — her having failed to meet at my house, to which by invitation she had come at five o’clock, the gentleman I was to be married to, who had been accidentally kept away and with whom she had no acquaintance whatever. This obviously counted for little; but something else might easily have occurred: nothing in the London streets was more possible than an accident, especially an accident in those desperate cabs. What had she done, where had she gone on leaving my house? I had taken for granted that she had gone straight home. We both presently remembered that in her excursions to town she sometimes, for convenience, for refreshment, spent an hour or two at the “Gentlewoman,” the quiet little ladies’ club, and I promised that it should be my first care to make at that establishment an earnest appeal. Then we entered the dim and dreadful chamber where she lay locked up in death and where, asking after a little to be left alone with her, I remained for half an hour. Death had made her, had kept her beautiful; but I felt above all, as I kneeled at her bed, that it had made her, had kept her silent. It had turned the key on something I was concerned to know.
On my return from Richmond and after another duty had been performed I drove to his chambers. It was the first time, but I had often wanted to see them. On the staircase, which, as the house contained twenty sets of rooms, was unrestrictedly public, I met his servant, who went back with me and ushered me in. At the sound of my entrance he appeared in the doorway of a further room, and the instant we were alone I produced my news: “She’s dead!”
“Dead?” He was tremendously struck, and I noticed he had no need to ask whom, in this abruptness, I meant.
“She died last evening — just after leaving me.”
He stared with the strangest expression, his own eyes searching mine as for a trap. “Last evening — after leaving you?” He repeated my words in stupefaction. Then he brought out, so that it was in stupefaction I heard, “Impossible! I saw her.”
“You ‘saw’ her?”
“On that spot — where you stand.”
This called back to me after an instant, as if to help me take it in, the great warning of his youth. “In the hour of death — I understand: as you so beautifully saw your mother.”
“Ah not as I saw my mother — not that way, not that way!” He was deeply moved by my news — far more moved, it was plain, than he would have been the day before: it gave me a vivid sense that, as I had then said to myself, there was indeed a relation between them and that he had actually been face to face with her. Such an idea, by its reassertion of his extraordinary privilege, would have suddenly presented him as painfully abnormal hadn’t he vehemently insisted on the difference. “I saw her living. I saw her to speak to her. I saw her as I see you now.”
It’s remarkable that for a moment, though only for a moment, I found relief in the more personal, as it were, but also the more natural, of the two odd facts. The next, as I embraced this image of her having come to him on leaving me and of just what it accounted for in the disposal of her time, I demanded with a shade of harshness of which I was aware: “What on earth did she come for?”
He had now had a moment to think — to recover himself and judge of effects, so that if it was still with excited eyes he spoke he showed a conscious redness and made an inconsequent attempt to smile away the gravity of my words. “She came just to see me. She came — after what had passed at your home — so that we should, nevertheless at last meet. The impulse seemed to me exquisite, and that was the way I took it.”
I looked round the room where she had been — where she had been and I never had till now. “And was the way you took it the way she expressed it?”
“She only expressed it by being here and by letting me look at her. That was enough!” he cried with an extraordinary laugh.
I wondered more and more. “You mean she didn’t speak to you?”
“She said nothing. She only looked at me as I looked at her.”
“And you didn’t speak either?”
He gave me again his painful smile. “I thought of you. The situation was very delicate. I used the finest tact. But she saw she had pleased me.” He even repeated his dissonant laugh.
“She evidently ‘pleased’ you!” Then I thought a moment. “How long did she stay?”
“How can I say? It seemed twenty minutes, but it was probably a good deal less.”
“Twenty minutes of silence!” I began to have my definite view and now in fact quite to clutch at it. “Do you know you’re telling me a thing positively monstrous?”
He had been standing with his back to the fire; at this, with a pleading look, he came to me. “I beseech you, dearest, to take it kindly.”
I could take it kindly, and I signified as much; but I couldn’t somehow, as he rather awkwardly opened his arms, let him draw me to him. So there fell between us for an appreciable time the discomfort of a great silence.
He broke it by presently saying: “There’s absolutely no doubt of her death?”
“Unfortunately no. I’ve just risen from my knees by the bed where they’ve laid her out.”
He fixed his eyes hard on the floor; then he raised them to mine. “How does she look?”
“She looks — at peace.”
He turned away again while I watched him; but after a moment he began: “At what hour then — ?”
“It must have been near midnight. She dropped as she reached her house — from an affection of the heart which she knew herself and her physician knew her to have, but of which, patiently, bravely, she had never spoken to me.”
He listened intently and for a minute was unable to speak. At last he broke out with an accent of which the almost boyish confidence, the really sublime simplicity, rings in my ears as I write: “Wasn’t she wonderful!” Even at the time I was able to do it justice enough to answer that I had always told him so; but the next minute, as if after speaking he had caught a glimpse of what he might have made me feel, he went on quickly: “You can easily understand that if she didn’t get home before midnight -”
I instantly took him up. “There was plenty of time for you to have seen her? How so,” I asked, “when you didn’t leave my house until late? I don’t remember the very moment — I was preoccupied. But you know that though you said you had lots to do you sat for some time after dinner. She, on her side, was all the evening at the ‘Gentlewoman,’ I’ve just come from there — I’ve ascertained. She had tea there; she remained a long long time.”
“What was she doing there all that long long time?”
I saw him eager to challenge at every step my account of the matter; and the more he showed this the more I was moved to emphasise that version, to prefer with apparent perversity an explanation which only deepened the marvel and the mystery, but which, of the two prodigies it had to choose from, my reviving jealousy found easiest to accept. He stood there pleading with a candour that now seems to me beautiful for the privilege of having in spite of supreme defeat known the living woman; while I, with a passion I wonder at today, though it still smoulders in a manner in its ashes, could only reply that, through a strange gift shared by her with his mother and on her own side equally hereditary, the miracle of his youth had been renewed for him, the miracle of hers for her. She had been to him — yes, and by an impulse as charming as he liked; but oh she hadn’t been in the body! It was a simple question of evidence. I had had, I maintained, a definite statement of what she had done — most of the time — at the little club. The place was almost empty, but the servants had noticed her. She had sat motionless in a deep chair by the drawing-room fire; she had leaned back her head, she had closed her eyes, she had seemed softly to sleep.
“I see. But till what o’clock?”
“There,” I was obliged to answer, “the servants fail me a little. The portress in particular is unfortunately a fool, even though she too is supposed to be a Gentlewoman. She was evidently at that period of time, without a substitute and against regulations, absent for some little time from the cage in which it’s her business to watch the comings and goings. She’s muddled, she palpably prevaricates; so I can’t positively, from her observation, give you an hour. But it was remarked toward half-past ten that our poor friend was no longer in the club.”
It suited him down to the ground. “She came straight here, and from here she went straight to the train.”
“She couldn’t have run it so close,” I declared. “That was a thing she particularly never did.”
“There was no need of running it close, my dear — she had plenty of time. Your memory’s at fault about my having left you late: I left you, as it happens, unusually early. I’m sorry my stay with you seemed long, for I was back here by ten.”
“To put yourself into your slippers,” I retorted, “and fall asleep in your chair. You slept till morning — you saw her in a dream!” He looked at me in silence and with sombre eyes — eyes that showed me he had some irritation to repress. Presently I went on: “You had a visit, at an extraordinary hour, from a lady — soit; nothing in the world’s more probable. But there are ladies and ladies. How in the name of goodness, if she was unannounced and dumb and you had into the bargain never seen the least portrait of her — how could you identify the person we’re speaking of?”
“Haven’t I to absolute satiety heard her described? I’ll describe her for you in every particular.”
“Don’t !” I cried with a promptness that made him laugh once more. I coloured at this, but I continued: “Did your servant introduce her?”
“He wasn’t there — he’s always away when he’s wanted. One of the features of this big house is that from the street-door the different floors are accessible practically without challenge. My servant makes love to a young person employed in the rooms above these, and he had a long bout of it last evening. When he’s out on that job he leaves my outer door, on the staircase, so much ajar as to enable him to slip back without a sound. The door only requires a little push. She pushed it — that simply took a little courage.”
“A little? It took tons! And it took all sorts of impossible calculations.”
“Well, she had them — she made them. Mind you, I don’t deny for a moment,” he added, “that it was very very wonderful.”
Something in his tone kept me a time from trusting myself to speak. At last I said: “How did she come to know where you live?”
“By remembering the address on the little label the shop-people happily left sticking to the frame I had had made for my photograph.”
“And how was she dressed?”
“In mourning, my own dear. No great depths of crape, but simple and scrupulous black. She had in her bonnet three small black feathers. She carried a little muff of astrachan. She has near the left eye,” he continued, “a tiny vertical scar — ”
I stopped him short. “The mark of a caress from her husband.” Then I added: “How close you must have been to her!” He made no answer to this, and I thought he blushed, observing which I broke off. “Well, good-bye.”
“You won’t stay a little?” He came to me again tenderly, and this time I suffered him. “Her visit had its beauty,” he murmured as he held me, “but yours has a greater one.”
I let him kiss me, but I remembered, as I had remembered the day before, that the last kiss she had given, as I supposed, in this world had been for the lips he touched. “I’m life, you see,” I answered. “What you saw last night was death.”
“It was life — it was life!”
He spoke with a soft stubborness — I disengaged myself. We stood looking at each other hard. “You describe the scene — so far as you describe it at all — in terms that are incomprehensible. She was in the room before you knew it?”
“I looked up from my letter-writing — at that table under the lamp I had been wholly absorbed in it — and she stood before me.”
“Then what did you do?”
“I sprang up with an ejaculation, and she, with a smile, laid her finger, ever so warningly, yet with a delicate dignity, to her lips. I knew it meant silence, but the strange thing was that it seemed immediately to explain and justify her. We at any rate stood for a time that, as I told you, I can’t calculate, face to face. It was just as you and I stand now.”
“Simply staring?”
He shook an impatient head. “Ah! we’re not staring!”
“Yes, but we’re talking.”
Well, we were — after a fashion.” He lost himself in the memory of it. “It was as friendly as this.” I had on my tongue’s end to ask if that was saying much for it, but I made the point instead that what they had evidently done was gaze in mutual admiration. Then I asked if recognition of her had been immediate. “Not quite,” he replied, “for of course I didn’t expect her; but it came to me long before she went who she was — who she could only be.”
I thought a little. “And how did she at last go?”
“Just as she arrived. The door was open behind her and she passed out.”
“Was she rapid — slow?”
“Rather quick. But looking behind her,” he smiled to add, “I let her go, for I perfectly knew I was to take it as she wished.”
I was conscious of exhaling a long vague sigh. “Well, you must take it now as I wish — you must let me go.”
At this he drew near me again, detaining and persuading me, declaring with all due gallantry that I was a very different matter. I’d have given anything to have been able to ask him if he had touched her, but the words refused to form themselves: I knew to the last tenth of a tone how horrid and vulgar they’d sound. I said something else — I forget exactly what; it was feebly tortuous and intended, meanly enough, to make him tell me without my putting the question. But he didn’t tell me; he only repeated, as from a glimpse of the propriety of soothing and consoling me, the sense of his declaration of some minutes before — the assurance that she was indeed exquisite, as I had always insisted, but that I was his “real” friend and his very own for ever. This led me to reassert, in the spirit of my previous rejoinder, that I had at least the merit of being alive; which in turn drew from him again the flash of contradiction I dreaded. “Oh she was alive! She was, she was!”
“She was dead, she was dead!” I asservated with an energy, a determination it should be so, which comes back to me now as almost grotesque. But the sound of the word as it rang out filled me suddenly with horror, and all the natural emotion the meaning of it might have evoked in other conditions gathered and broke in a flood. It rolled over me that here was a great affection quenched and how much I had loved and trusted her. I had a vision at the same time of the lonely beauty of her end. “She’s gone — she’s lost to us for ever!” I burst into sobs.
“That’s exactly how I feel,” he exclaimed, speaking with extreme kindness and pressing me to him for comfort. “She’s gone; she’s lost to us for ever; so what does it matter now?” He bent over me, and when his face had touched mine I scarcely knew if it were wet with my tears or his own.
It was my theory, my conviction, it became, as I may say, my attitude, that they had still never “met”; and it was just on this ground I felt it generous to ask him to stand with me at her grave. He did so very modestly and tenderly, and I assumed, though he himself clearly cared nothing for the danger, that the solemnity of the occasion, largely made up of persons who had known them both and had a sense of the long joke, would sufficiently deprive his presence of all light association. On the question of what had happened the evening of her death little more passed between us. He on his side lacked producible corroboration — everything, that is, but a statement of the house-porter, on his own admission a most casual and intermittent personage, that between the hours of ten o’clock and midnight no less than three ladies in deep black had flitted in and out of the place. This proved far too much; we had neither of us any use for three. He knew I considered I had accounted for every fragment of her time, and we dropped the matter as settled; we abstained from further discussion. What I knew however was that he abstained to please me rather than because he yielded to my reasons. He didn’t yield — he was only indulgent; he clung to his interpretation because he liked it better. He liked it better, I held, because it had more to say to his vanity. That, in a similar position, wouldn’t have been its effect on me, though I had doubtless quite as much; but these are things of individual humour and as to which no person can judge for another. I should have supposed it more gratifying to be the subject of one of those inexplicable occurrences that are chronicled in thrilling books and disputed about at learned meetings; I could conceive, on the part of a being just engulfed in the infinite and still vibrating with human emotion, of nothing more fine and pure, more high and august, than such an impulse of reparation, of admonition, or even of curiosity. That was beautiful, if one would, and I should in his place have thought more of myself for being so distinguished and so selected. It was public that he had already, that he had long figured in that light, and what was such a fact itself but almost a proof? Each of the strange visitations contributed to establishing the other. He had a different feeling; but he had also, I hasten to add, an unmistakable desire not to make a stand or, as they say, a fuss about it. I might believe what I liked — the more so that the whole thing was in a manner a mystery of my producing. It was an event of my history, a puzzle of my consciousness, not of his; therefore he would take about it any tone that struck me as convenient. We had both at all events other business on hand; we were pressed with preparations for our marriage.
Mine were assuredly urgent, but I found as the days went on that to believe what I “liked” was to believe what I was more and more intimately convinced of. I found also that I didn’t like it so much as that came to, or that the pleasure at all events was far from being the cause of my conviction. My obsession, as I may really call it and as I began to perceive, refused to be elbowed away, as I had hoped, by my sense of paramount duties. If I had a great deal to do I had still more to think of, and the moment came when my occupations were gravely menaced by my thoughts. I see it all now, I feel it, I live it over. It’s terribly void of joy, it’s full indeed to overflowing of bitterness; and yet I must do myself justice — I couldn’t have been other than I was. The same strange impressions, had I to meet them again, would produce the same deep anguish, the same sharp doubts, the same still sharper certainties. Oh it’s all easier to remember than to write, but even could I retrace the business hour by hour, could I find terms for the inexpressible, the ugliness and pain would quickly stay my hand. Let me then note very simply and briefly that a week before our wedding-day, three weeks after her death, I knew in all my fibres that I had something very serious to look in the face and that if I was to make the effort I must make it on the spot and before another hour should elapse. My unextinguished jealousy — that was the Medusamask. It hadn’t died with her death, it had lividly survived, and it was fed by suspicions unspeakable. They would be unspeakable today, that is, if I hadn’t felt the sharp need of uttering them at the time. This need took possession of me — to save me, as it seemed from my fate. When once it had done so I saw — in the urgency of the case, the diminishing hours and shrinking interval — only one issue, that of absolute promptness and frankness. I could at least not do him the wrong of delaying another day; I could at least treat my difficulty as too fine for any subterfuge. Therefore very quietly, but none the less abruptly and hideously, I put it before him on a certain evening that we must reconsider our situation and recognize that it had completely altered.
He stared bravely. “How in the world altered?”
“Another person has come between us.”
He took but an instant to think. “I won’t pretend not to know whom you mean.” He smiled in pity for my aberration, but he meant to be kind. “A woman dead and buried!”
“She’s buried, but she’s not dead. She’s dead for the world — she’s dead for me. But she’s not dead for you.”
“You hark back to the different construction we put on her appearance that evening?”
“No,” I answered, “I hark back to nothing. I’ve no need of it. I’ve more than enough with what’s before me.”
“And pray, darling, what may that be?”
“You’re completely changed.”
“By that absurdity?” he laughed.
“Not so much by that one as by other absurdities that have followed it.”
“And what may they have been?”
We had faced each other fairly, with eyes that didn’t flinch; but his had a dim strange light, and my certitude triumphed in his perceptible paleness. “Do you really pretend,” I asked, “not to know what they are?”
“My dear child,” he replied, “you describe them too sketchily!”
I considered a moment. “One may well be embarrassed to finish the picture! But from that point of view — and from the beginning — what was ever more embarrassing than your idiosyncrasy?”
He invoked his vagueness — a thing he always did beautifully. “My idiosyncrasy?”
“Your notorious, your peculiar power.”
He gave a great shrug of impatience, a groan of overdone disdain. “Oh my peculiar power!”
“Your accessibility to forms of life,” I coldly went on, “your command of impressions, appearances, contacts, closed — for our gain or our loss — to the rest of us. That was originally a part of the deep interest with which you inspired me — one of the reasons I was amused, I was indeed positively proud, to know you. It was a magnificent distinction; it’s a magnificent distinction still. But of course I had no prevision then of the way it would operate now; and even had that been the case I should have had none of the extraordinary way of which its action would affect me.”
“To what in the name of goodness,” he pleadingly enquired, “are you fantastically alluding?” Then as I remained silent, gathering a tone for my charge, “How in the world does it operate?” he went on; “and how in the world are you affected?”
“She missed you for five years,” I said, “but she never misses you now. You’re making it up!”
“Making it up?” He had begun to turn from white to red.
“You see her — you see her: you see her every night!” He gave a loud sound of derision, but I felt it ring false. “She comes to you as she came that evening,” I declared; “having tried it she found she liked it!” I was able, with God’s help, to speak without blind passion or vulgar violence; but those were my words — and far from “sketchy” they then appeared to me — that I uttered. He had turned away in laughter, clapping his hands at my folly, but in an instant he faced me again with a change of expression that struck me. “Do you dare to deny,” I then asked, “that you habitually see her?”
He had taken the line of indulgence, of meeting me halfway and kindly humouring me. At all events he to my astonishment suddenly said: “Well, my dear, what if I do?”
“It’s your natural right: it belongs to your constitution and to your wonderful if not perhaps quite enviable fortune. But you’ll easily understand that it separates us. I unconditionally release you.”
“Release me?”
“You must choose between me and her.”
He looked at me hard. “I see.” Then he walked away a little, as if grasping what I had said and thinking how he had best treat it. At last he turned on me afresh. “How on earth do you know such an awfully private thing?”
“You mean because you’ve tried so hard to hide it? It is awfully private, and you may believe that I shall never betray you. You’ve done your best, you’ve acted your part, you’ve behaved, poor dear! loyally and admirably. Therefore I’ve watched you in silence, playing my part too; I’ve noted every drop in your voice, every absence in your eyes, every effort in your indifferent hand: I’ve waited till I was utterly sure and miserably unhappy. How can you hide it when you’re abjectly in love with her, when you’re sick almost to death with the joy of what she gives you?” I checked his quick protest with a quicker gesture. “You love her as you’ve never loved, and, passion for passion, she gives it straight back. She rules you, she holds you, she has you all! A woman, in such a case as mine, divines and feels and sees; she’s not a dunce who has to be ‘credibly informed.’ You come to me mechanically, compunctiously, with the dregs of your tenderness and the remnant of your life. I can renounce you, but I can’t share you: the best of you is hers, I know what it is and freely give you up to her for ever!”
He made a gallant fight, but it couldn’t be patched up; he repeated his denial, he retracted his admission, he ridiculed my charge, of which I freely granted him moreover the indefensible extravagance. I didn’t pretend for a moment that we were talking of common things; I didn’t pretend for a moment that he and she were common people. Pray, if they had been, how should I ever have cared for them? They had enjoyed a rare extension of being and they had caught me up in their flight; only I couldn’t breathe in such air and I promptly asked to be set down. Everything in the facts was monstrous, and most of all my lucid perception of them; the only thing allied to nature and truth was my having to act on that perception. I felt after I had spoken in this sense that my assurance was complete; nothing had been wanting to it but the sight of my effect on him. He disguised indeed the effect in a cloud of chaff, a diversion that gained him time and covered his retreat. He challenged my sincerity, my sanity, almost my humanity, and that of course widened our breach and confirmed our rupture. He did everything in short but convince me either that I was wrong or that he was unhappy: we separated and I left him to his inconceivable communion.
He never married, any more than I’ve done. When six years later, in solitude and silence, I heard of his death I hailed it as a direct contribution to my theory. It was sudden, it was never properly accounted for, it was surrounded by circumstances in which — for oh I took them to pieces! — I distinctly read an intention, the mark of his own hidden hand. It was the result of a long necessity, of an unquenchable desire. To say exactly what I mean, it was a response to an irresistible call.
Read Jeffrey Ford’s commentary for The Virtual Anthology.
“The Friends of the Friends,” originally published in 1896 as “The Way It Came,” represents “a perfect example of the Jamesian ghostly tale,” as Leon Edel asserted in his edition of James’ stories of the supernatural.
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SpacePuddings
October 28, 2018 11:49:19 AM from Galactic Civilizations III Forums
I think the game lacks replayablity but it could be corrected. I don't play the story mode, only custom games.
First of all, every single game has the same pacing. You struggle at the beginning, then do some game moves to beat the ai at the middle, then just steamroll it at the end game. During end game only thing that holds you back is the lack of durantium for legions (i don't know how the ai gets durantium for its defending legions).
So what would be interesting is some encouragement to keep playing your own custom race. So I suggest that every time you conquer a galaxy, you would get some score to level up your race. So after winning a custom game, you could add to some attributes like construction, science, warfare or whatever for your race. And then these attributes would apply for the next game. Pretty simple, but encouraging.
Nilfiry
Reply #1 October 28, 2018 1:24:08 PM
You struggle at the beginning, then do some game moves to beat the ai at the middle, then just steamroll it at the end game.
This, and every other game.
admiralWillyWilber
Maybe unlocking a new species with new abilities. With storyline that fits the game, Everytime you win with different pre game options is what I came up the other idea. The game wouldn't just be replayable, but it would require you to win differently each time. Your idea is also good. Street fighter type, mutant football league used to unlock players why not 4x games to. Your idea is not a bad idea to,but I would like to see the ai adjust for this to keep being challenging.
EazyWin
I would like the ability to dynamically up the difficulty. Sure some people would start on Easy or Normal just to avoid the starting rush of 18+ move colony ships from the Godlike AI bonuses, but that's how some people would want to play.
Alternatively, giving the AI more freedom to combine in alliances or joining together earlier to defeat the player once their power curve turns vertical would make the game more challenging, I think.
As far as leveling up your custom race, I think it would lead to a situation where some would feel they had to use the race they leveled when moving up to a higher difficulty. It would also temper the challenge of moving up in difficulty unless you could also activate something akin to the legendary skulls from the Halo series, where the enemies would get buffed to make for a greater challenge. Something along the lines of Godlike+.
Reply #4 October 29, 2018 4:48:05 AM
Quoting EazyWin,
As far as leveling up your custom race, I think it would lead to a situation where some would feel they had to use the race they leveled when moving up to a higher difficulty.
Well instead of difficulty, we could have levels. So if you want, you can choose to play against level 50 drengin once you're level 40.
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The pleasure of food: underlying brain mechanisms of eating and other pleasures
Morten L Kringelbach1, 2Email author
Flavour20154:20
© Kringelbach; licensee BioMed Central. 2015
Published: 2 March 2015
As all chefs know, great food can have a transformational impact. A great deal of recent research has gone into using the new techniques from molecular gastronomy and gastrophysics to create innovative meals with delicious original textures and flavours. These novel creations have elicited much excitement from food critiques and diners alike. Much stands to be gained if these developments were to be matched by a better understanding of how the pleasure of food comes about in the brain. This review summarises the current state-of-the-art of the science of pleasure and specifically the brain’s fundamental computational principles for eating and the pleasures evoked. It is shown how the study of food has advanced our understanding of the unitary pleasure system that is used for all pleasures. As such, these novel insights may come to serve as a guide for chefs of how to combine science and art in order to maximise pleasure—and perhaps even increase happiness.
Pleasure cycle
Satiety
Satiation
Multimodal integration
Operculum
Orbitofrontal cortex
Cingulate cortex
Wanting
The novella “Babette’s Feast” by the Danish writer Karen Blixen (writing under her nom du plume of Isak Dinesen) is set in the 1870s, describing an austere religious sect, whose members “…renounced the pleasures of this world, for the earth and all that it held to them was but a kind of illusion, and the true reality was the New Jerusalem toward which they were longing” [1]. Martine and Phillipa are the unmarried daughters of the founder of the religious sect who have a French maid-of-all-work, Babette, appearing from war-torn Paris under mysterious circumstances. Upon her arrival, the pious daughters are anxious to avoid any “… French luxury and extravagance” and therefore at the time explained that they “… were poor and that to them luxurious fare was sinful. Their own food must be as plain as possible”. As it happens, their worries are allayed; and for next 12 years, Babette serves them such that the whole community come to acknowledge her excellence and depend on her quiet gifts. When Babette unexpectedly wins a princely sum of money in the French lottery, they become afraid she may leave them. Accordingly, against their better judgement, the sisters agree that Babette may cook them a special dinner celebrating the 100th anniversary of the sect’s founding father. Unbeknownst to the sisters, Babette used to be a cordon bleu cook who prepares a sumptuous once-in-a-lifetime meal, leaving the guests questioning their lifelong denial of mortal pleasures.
In the novella, this cathartic meal is not described in much detail, following the vow of the devout and taciturn guests “… not to utter a word about the subject”. In contrast, Danish director Gabriel Axel’s Oscar-winning film adaptation tries hard to use visuals to convey the splendour of the dinner but still falls short of conveying the multisensory experience of a fine meal. Blixen is astute in using linguistic sparseness as a plot device, given that language, even that employed by great writers [2], very often fails to convey the exquisite sensory experiences of food upon which the story hinges. Blixen even feels moved to suggest that it is “… when man has not only altogether forgotten but has firmly renounced all ideas of food and drink that he eats and drinks in the right spirit”. Language for all its powers is powerless when it comes to evoking the food’s sensory routes to pleasure, yet the unity of pleasure is beautifully evoked: “Of what happened later in the evening nothing definite can here be stated. None of the guests later on had any clear remembrance of it. They only knew that the rooms had been filled with a heavenly light as if a number of small halos had blended into one glorious radiance. Taciturn old people received the gift of tongues; ears that for years had been almost deaf were opened to it. Time itself had merged into eternity. Long after midnight the windows of the house shone like gold, and golden song flowed out into the winter air”.
Thus, Babette’s feast becomes a route to intense well-being, and the pleasure is not just about the food but instead about providing unity and transcendence for the virtuous dinner guests who all leave the meal changed, suddenly awake to the potential of earthly pleasures.
For many years, such pleasures have remained mysterious and firmly within the domain of much great art. Yet, the advent of modern neuroscience has started to uncover some of the underlying mechanisms of associated brain changes.
This review describes what is known of the processing of food in scientific terms; from sensory identification of the uni- and multisensory properties of food to the associated prediction, memory and evaluation involved which may give rise to the experience of pleasure. Like all rewards, food depends on processing in interconnected and widespread brain regions to identify and characterise the different sensory properties and their multimodal integration. This processing is detailed in a multilevel model of the constituent processes involved in food intake over time. The focus here, however, is on the fundamental underlying brain mechanisms governing the initiation and termination of a meal leading to pleasure. Overall, the accumulated evidence shows that the pleasure evoked by food is remarkably similar to that of other rewards, suggesting a unitary pleasure system, whether engaging with food, sex, social or higher-order rewards. Food is thus not only highly pleasurable but also an excellent tool for discovering fundamental principles of brain function.
Brain principles of eating
While food clearly is essential to survival, it is the pleasure involved that makes eating worthwhile. While the members of the religious sect in Blixen’s novella may try hard to deny the pursuit of pleasure in its many forms, their well-being is ultimately strongly enhanced as they submit to Babette’s cooking, i.e. to the strong primal drive for pleasure. The evolutionary imperatives of survival and procreation are not possible without the principle of pleasure for the fundamental rewards of food, sex and conspecifics—and as such may well be evolution’s boldest trick [3]. The scientific study of pleasure, hedonia research, is dedicated to searching for the functional neuroanatomy of hedonic processing, taking its name from the ancient Greek for pleasure (ἡδονή; transl. hédoné) derived from the word for “sweet” (ἡδύς, transl. hēdús) [4].
In the novella, the sect’s initial food asceticism may stem from their religious beliefs but is guided by the basic homeostatic regulation of human eating behaviour [5], of which animal models have elucidated in great details the many subcortical circuits and molecules shared amongst mammals including humans [6-8]. Yet, as illustrated by the effects of Babette’s Feast, homeostatic processes are not solely responsible for human eating. This hedonic eating is difficult to suppress and is even more poignantly illustrated by the current worldwide obesity pandemic [9]. There is often very little well-being linked to such over-eating, with anhedonia—the lack of pleasure—being a prominent feature of affective disorders. From this public health perspective, it is imperative that we better understand the fundamental pleasure systems such that we find new and more effective ways of re-balancing the system and potentially reducing obesity which is threatening to undermine public health [10].
Eating can seem simple but at its most basic, human food intake is still rather complex. The procurement of food can be surprisingly difficult in the wide variety of often hostile climates inhabited by humans. Once food is available, the preparation and eating of food are also complex processes, involving a multitude of peripheral and central processes for carefully orchestrated acts requiring significant brain processing. The necessary, sophisticated motivational, emotional and cognitive processing are likely to have been main drivers for the evolution of large primate brains [11]. The brain principles underlying eating have been investigated for a long time in many mammalian species [6,12]. Here, the focus is on the pleasure component of human eating, which over the last decade has started to transform our understanding [13,14].
To understand pleasure in the brain, it is important to consider the main challenge for the brain which is to successfully balance resource allocation for survival and procreation [15]. In order to achieve this balance, different rewards compete for resources over time. In understanding the multi-faceted nature of pleasure, it can therefore be useful to consider the typical cyclical time course shared between all rewards with distinct appetitive, consummation and satiety phases [16,17] (Figure 1). The research has demonstrated that pleasure consists of multiple brain networks and processes and involves a composite of several components: “liking” (the core reactions to hedonic impact), “wanting” (motivational processing of incentive salience) and learning (typically Pavlovian or instrumental associations and cognitive representations) [18-21]. These component processes have discriminable neural mechanisms, which wax and wane during the cycle. The neural mechanisms of wanting, liking and learning can occur at any time during the pleasure cycle, though wanting processes tend to dominate the appetitive phase (and are primarily associated with the neurotransmitter dopamine), while liking processes dominate the consummatory phase (and are associated with opioids) [13]. In contrast, learning can happen throughout the cycle (and is thought to be associated with synaptic plasticity). A neuroscience of pleasure seeks to map the necessary and sufficient pleasure networks allowing potentially sparse brain resources to be allocated for survival.
The pleasure cycle. The cyclical processing of rewards has classically been proposed to be associated with appetitive, consummatory and satiety phases [16,17]. Research has demonstrated that this processing is supported by multiple brain networks and processes, which crucially involves liking (the core reactions to hedonic impact), wanting (motivational processing of incentive salience) and learning (typically Pavlovian or instrumental associations and cognitive representations) [18-21]. These components wax and wane during the pleasure cycle and can co-occur at any time. Importantly, however, wanting processing tends to dominate the appetitive phase, while liking processing dominates the consummatory phase. In contrast, learning can happen throughout the cycle.
This basic cyclical model of pleasure can be expanded into an elaborate multilevel model of food intake taken in account the episodic and tonic changes over time (Figure 2) [12]. The model links the pleasure cycle with the cyclical changes in hunger levels related to the initiation and termination of meals and the way food intake comes about through the interaction given signals from the body, e.g. from the brain, gut-brain, oral cavity, stomach and intestines, liver and metabolites and body mass.
Multilevel model of food intake over time. The control of eating over time involves many different levels of processing as illustrated by the food. The changes at each level before, during and after meals are shown in each column which summarises the episodic and tonic changes over time (moving from top to bottom): A) pleasure cycle, B) the levels of hunger, C) satiation/satiety cascade (sensory, cognitive, post-ingestion and post-absorptive signals), D) origin of signals (gut-brain, oral cavity, stomach and intestines, liver and metabolites and body mass) and signal carriers, E) brain processing, F) behavioural changes including digestive system and G) general modulatory factors (see text for further information) [12].
The dual processes of satiation and satiety are central to the model and to the energy obtained by the associated meals [22]. Terminating eating is complex process, which is encapsulated by satiation [23], while satiety is the feeling of fullness that persists after eating to suppress further eating. These processes are controlled by a cascade of sensory, cognitive, post-ingestion and post-absorptive signals, beginning with the consumption of a food in a meal and continuing as the food is digested and absorbed.
The multilevel model of food intake describes the changes over time in A) pleasure, B) the levels of hunger, C) satiation/satiety cascade signals, D) origin of signals and signal carriers, E) brain processes, F) behavioural changes including those in the digestive system and G) general modulatory factors (Figure 2). Many of these changes have been described elsewhere, e.g. the mechanisms of the changes after the termination of a meal such as the gut-brain interactions, include signals from receptors in the digestive tract which are sensitive to calorie-rich nutrients (even in the absence of taste receptors) [24,25].
Here, however, the focus is on the processing principles involved primarily in the initiation and termination of a meal (Figure 3). The multisensory experience of food intake involves all the senses with different routes into the brain; from the distant processing of sight, sound and tactile of food to more proximal smell, taste and tactile (mouth-feel) processing. Smell is the most important determinant of the flavour of food and comes to the brain via orthonasal and retronasal pathways, experienced as we breathe in and out, respectively [26]. As demonstrated by the case with coffee, the subjective olfactory experience can feel very different from smelling the coffee in the cup to tasting the coffee in the mouth, which also relies on pure tastants (such as bitter) and mouth feel factors (such as the smoothness of the crema) (Figure 3A).
The pleasure of eating: from receptors to the brain . A) The multisensory experience of food intake involves all the senses with different routes into the brain from receptors in the body, typically the eyes, ears, nose and oral cavity: From the distant processing of sight, sound and tactile of food to more proximal smell, taste and tactile (mouth-feel) processing. Smell is the most important determinant of the flavour of food and comes to the brain via orthonasal and retronasal pathways, experienced as we breathe in and out, respectively. B) Remarkably similar topology is found between people with vision (red) always processed in the back of the brain, audition (dark blue) processed in regions of the temporal cortex, touch (light blue) in somatosensory regions, and olfaction (orange) and taste (yellow) in frontal regions. Importantly, unlike the other senses, olfactory processing is not processed via the thalamus, which may explain the hedonic potency of odours. C) The pleasure system includes the orbitofrontal cortex (grey), the cingulate cortex (light blue), the ventral tegmental area in the brainstem (light red), the hypothalamus (yellow), the periventricular grey/periacqueductal grey (PVG/PAG, green), nucleus accumbens (light green), the ventral pallidum (light purple), the amygdala (light red) and the insular cortices (not shown).
This sensory information about food is coming from receptors in the body, typically the eyes, ears, nose and oral cavity and gets processed in the primary sensory cortices of the brain. The topology of these regions are remarkably similar between people with vision (red) always processed in the back of the brain, audition (dark blue) processed in regions of the temporal cortex, touch (light blue) in somatosensory regions and olfaction (orange) and taste (yellow) in frontal regions (Figure 3B). Importantly, unlike the other senses, olfactory processing is not processed via the thalamus which may explain the hedonic potency of odours [27]. Note that it is important that we are able to identify a food stimulus independently of whether we are hungry or sated, and accordingly, sensory information in primary sensory cortices is remarkably stable and not modulated by motivational state.
The sensory information is further integrated in multisensory areas before it is evaluated for reward value in the pleasure system. Here, the processing depends on prior memories, expectations and state and may give rise to brain activity which gives rise involuntary pleasure-evoked behaviour (such as licking of lips or soft moaning) and, at least in humans, subjective pleasure (Figure 3C).
Neuroscience has started to map the pleasure system in many species. This has been shown to include a number of important regions such as pleasure hotspot regions in subcortical areas of the brain such as the nucleus accumbens and ventral pallidum [28,29]. Manipulations of these regions with opioids have been shown to causally change pleasure-elicited reactions [13]. Other regions involved in pleasure have been found using human neuroimaging in the orbitofrontal, cingulate, medial prefrontal and insular cortices [30-37]. The pleasure system does not act in splendid isolation but is of course embedded within much larger brain networks. We are beginning to understand the metastable nature as well as the topological and functional features of these networks using advances in network science and graph theory together with advanced whole-brain computational models [38,39].
Computational processing principles for eating
Overall, eating has been demonstrated to rely on at least five fundamental processing principles: 1) hunger and attentional processing; 2) motivation-independent discriminative processing of identity and intensity; 3) learning-dependent multisensory representations; 4) reward representations of valence and 5) representations of hedonic experience [12,40]. In the following, these are briefly described.
Hunger and other attentional processing
Typically, changes in ongoing brain activity are driven by changes in the internal or external environment, signalling that the brain needs to start to reallocate resources and change behaviour. This motivational drive for change is strong for food intake, where hunger is a major attentional signal that along with other homeostatic signalling can influence the brain to initiate food-seeking behaviours, typically following the satiety phase from the previous meal. The hunger information comes primarily from gut-brain interactions signalling if the nutrients eaten in the previous meal have yielded the expected amount of energy but a large part is also played by habit (such as regular meal times) and learning, including social interactions which may lead to overeating due to diminished attention towards the food [41,42]. Signals from receptors in the gut and in the circulatory system are vital in initiating eating through conveying messages for the need of nutrients or energy uptake [6,43].
The healthy system is balanced through careful monitoring and learning throughout life. In the presence of sufficient nutrients, healthy adults are able to maintain a stable body weight by careful management of nutrient uptake, energy needs and the balance with energy expenditure [44]. In animal models, this homeostatic component has been shown to relate to activity in hypothalamic circuits including the arcuate nucleus [6,43]. Hedonic influences beyond homeostasis can lead to malfunction to this control of energy balance, e.g. leading to obesity, potentially through a mismatch between the expected pleasure compared to the actual energy uptake from food intake [11,45].
Motivation-independent processing of identity and intensity
It is vital that reliable sensory food information is provided for the brain to guide ingestion decision-making. Eating has to be controlled very carefully since erroneous evaluation of the sensory properties of foods can potentially be fatal if ingesting toxins, microorganisms or non-food objects. Mammals have been shown to have brainstem reflexes (stereotypical for each basic taste) that are based on rudimentary analyses of the chemical composition, and which are not altered, even by the loss of all neural tissue above the level of the midbrain [46]. Eating-related behaviours in humans and other animals can usefully be described as a strategy to maintain a balance between conservative risk-minimising and life-preserving strategies (exploitation) with occasional novelty seeking (exploration) in the hope of discovering new, valuable sources of nutrients [47].
The sensory information about the identity and intensity of a food—sometimes called a flavour object—reaching the primary sensory cortices appears to be motivation-independent [48]. This principle has been demonstrated by neurophysiological and neuroimaging experiments using five basic pure tastes of salt, bitter, sour, sweet and umami to locate the primary taste area in humans in the bilateral anterior insula/frontal operculum [49-53] (Figure 4). Please note that one study has reported changes in activity in the primary taste cortex by expectancy [54]; but unfortunately, the authors did not publish the exact coordinates of their putative primary taste cortex. It is thus difficult to trust this finding which is further undermined by visual inspection of the published figure, which clearly shows that the authors’ purported primary taste cortex is located significantly posterior in the medial insular cortex, in contrast to the anterior insular primary taste region reported above and in all other careful neuroimaging taste studies.
Motivation-independent representations of food in primary sensory cortices. Pure taste is the archetypical reinforcer associated with food. A) Consistent with findings in non-human primates, neuroimaging has located the primary human taste cortex in bilateral anterior insular/frontal opercular cortices (yellow circles) with peak MNI coordinates of [x, y, z: 38,20,–4] and [x, y, z: −32,22,0] [53]. B) This data is based on 40 datasets from four experiments using eight unimodal and six multimodal taste stimuli ranging from pleasant to unpleasant. Each small aliquot of 0.75 mL taste stimulus was delivered via polythene tubes to the mouth of the participant who was asked to move it around before being cued to swallow after typically 10 s. To properly control and rinse out the effects of each stimulus, the taste stimulus was followed by a tasteless solution with the main ionic components of saliva. The time course of blood oxygen-level detection (BOLD) activity in right primary taste cortex is shown for all 40 subjects (top) and averaged across all (bottom) (for taste minus tasteless solution). C) Multisensory sensory integration was found in a region of the anterior insular cortex which responded to pure taste, orthonasal smell and flavour (retronasal smell and taste) [63].
Learning-dependent multisensory representations
Food-related decision-making depends on the integration of multisensory information about the food which includes information about temperature, viscosity, texture, fat contents, pungency and irritation mediated by a large variety of neural systems [25]. Neuroimaging this learning-dependent multisensory integration has found that the human orbitofrontal cortex integrates information from auditory [55], gustatory [51], olfactory [56], somatosensory [57] and visual [58] inputs, as well as information from the visceral sensory system [59]. The role of expectation and motivational control of appetite has also been investigated using restaurant menus which also found engagement of the orbitofrontal cortex [60] [61].
These human findings are consistent with neurophysiological recordings showing that the non-human primate orbitofrontal cortex receives input from all of the five senses [62]. These sensory inputs enter the orbitofrontal cortex primarily through its posterior parts and are integrated in more anterior areas [34]. The interaction between taste and smell revealed by neuroimaging is found in the orbitofrontal cortex and nearby agranular insula (Figure 4C) [33,50,63].
Reward representations of sensory stimuli
Subsequent to establishing motivation-independent representations and multisensory representations of information about a food, affective valence is assigned, helping to guide prediction and decision-making. Again, pure taste serves as a good example with a neuroimaging study finding a dissociation between the brain regions responding to the intensity of the taste and its affective valence [64]. Another study found that subjective ratings of taste pleasantness correlated with activity in the medial orbitofrontal cortex (medial OFC) and in the anterior cingulate cortex [65] but, importantly, not with activity in the primary taste region, which was motivation-independent. Further evidence comes from experiments using orthonasal olfaction to show dissociable encoding of the intensity and pleasantness of olfactory stimuli, with the intensity encoded in the amygdala and nearby regions, and the pleasantness correlated with activity in the medial OFC (Figure 5A) and anterior cingulate cortex [66-68].
Reward in the human orbitofrontal cortex (OFC). Neuroimaging studies have revealed that the OFC is a heterogeneous brain region, where the different parts are engaged in different aspects of reward. Here, the focus is on the difference between activity in the medial OFC, which appears to monitor and evaluate the reward value (A–D), while the mid-anterior OFC (mid-OFC) contains activity encoding the subjective experience of pleasure (E–H). A) The activity in medial OFC is correlated with subjective ratings of pleasant and unpleasant smell [66]. B) Similarly, the activity in medial OFC is correlated with monetary wins and losses with no behavioural consequences [69]. C) Activity in the medial OFC is also tracking reward value over time, as shown in a neuroimaging study of the changing over minutes of pleasure of methamphetamine in drug-naïve participants [70]. D) The medial OFC also tracks the reward value of cute baby faces on faster timescales over milliseconds within 130 ms [71]. E) In contrast, activity in mid-OFC correlates with the subjective pleasure of food in a study of selective satiety [33]. F) Similarly, a study of supra-additive effects of pure taste combining the umami tastants monosodium glutamate and inosine monophosphate found subjective synergy effects in mid-OFC [72]. G) The synergy of supra-additive effects combining retronasal odour (strawberry) with pure sucrose taste solution was found in the mid-OFC [65]. H) Further, mid-OFC also became active when using deep brain stimulation in the PAG for the relief of severe chronic pain [73].
These reward-related findings in the medial OFC cohere with neuroimaging studies using other rewards. One study found a correlation between activity in the medial OFC with the amount of monetary wins and losses [69] (Figure 5B). Similarly, the subjective experience of methamphetamine over minutes was found to correlate with activity in the medial OFC [70] (Figure 5C). Even studies on the much shorter timescales of milliseconds have found activity in the medial OFC related to the reward of images of cute babies [71] (Figure 5D). These results point to the unity of reward-related activity in the pleasure system across many different rewards, which in turn suggest a system with a common currency of reward. Such a system would make it easier to decide and choose between different rewards.
Representations of hedonic experience
Finally, the evidence suggests that the subjective hedonic experience of food is encoded in activity in the pleasure system. In humans, the mid-anterior orbitofrontal cortex (mid-OFC) appears to be a key region as demonstrated by a selective-satiety neuroimaging study where activity in this region shows not only a selective decrease in the reward value to the food eaten to satiety (and not to the food not eaten) but also a correlation with pleasantness ratings (Figure 5E) [33]. This result indicates that the reward value of the taste, olfactory and somatosensory components of a food are represented in the orbitofrontal cortex and, therefore, that the subjective pleasantness of food might be represented in this region. Other studies have supported this finding, including an experiment investigating true taste synergism, where the intensity of a taste is dramatically enhanced by adding minute doses of another taste. The strong subjective enhancement of the pleasantness of umami taste that occurs when 0.005 M inosine 5′-monophosphate is added to 0.5 M monosodium glutamate (compared to both delivered separately) correlated with increased activity in mid-OFC (Figure 5 F) [72]. Similarly, investigations of the synergistic enhancement of a matched taste and retronasal smell found significant activity in the same mid-OFC region (Figure 5G) [63]. These food-related hedonic findings fit well with evidence coming from the study of other pleasures, including the finding of significant activity in mid-OFC in a study using magnetoencephalography (MEG) with deep brain stimulation to investigate the pleasurable relief from severe chronic pain (Figure 5H) [73].
As demonstrated poignantly by Babette’s Feast, food is not only an important part of a balanced diet; it is also one of our main routes to pleasure. The novella opens many interesting question with regard to well-being and the good life and in particular shows that to allow oneself to be open to the possibility of pleasure of food is also allowing for the deep experiences of the multitude of pleasures. This is in sharp contrast to the denial of the pleasure of food leading to anhedonia, the lack of pleasure, which is a key constituent component of affective disorders.
The science of pleasure has made great strides in recent years [4], due not in small parts to using food as a pleasure-eliciting stimulus. As demonstrated in this review, the research has uncovered many of the fundamental brain mechanisms governing eating and pleasure in general. It has helped understand the brain’s complex resource allocation problems with food competing with other rewards for time and resources. In particular, the brain must make important decisions of how best to balance exploration and exploitation to ensure survival. These decisions involve deciding when to pursue a reward, and whether to initiate, sustain and terminate the wanting, liking and learning processes involved in the different phases of the pleasure cycle (Figure 1). Eating is a complex process that involves many different factors over time as described in a multilevel model (Figure 2). The model demonstrates the cyclical changes in hunger levels related to the initiation and termination of meals, as they relate to signals from the brain, gut-brain, oral cavity, stomach and intestines, liver and metabolites and body mass.
Here, the focus has been on the computational principles for the multisensory processing of food information that initiates and terminates a meal, as well as the pleasure involved (Figure 3). Five main processing principles were discussed: 1) hunger and attentional processing; 2) motivation-independent processing of identity and intensity (Figure 4); 3) learning-dependent multisensory representations; 4) reward representations and 5) representations of hedonic experience. These principles are implemented within the orbitofrontal cortex that is a key, heterogeneous region in the pleasure system (Figures 5 and 6).
Model of information flow in the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC). The spatial heterogeneity of the human OFC has been revealed with neuroimaging. (A-C) The OFC is involved in most of the phases of the pleasure cycle, including evaluation, expectation, experience as well as decision-making and selection. Sensory information comes to the OFC where it is available for pattern association between primary (e.g. taste) and secondary (e.g. visual) reinforcers. Sensory information is combined in multisensory representations in the posterior OFC with processing increasing in complexity towards more anterior areas. The reward value of reinforcers is assigned in more anterior regions. This information is stored for valence monitoring/learning/memory (in medial OFC, green) and made available for subjective hedonic experience (in mid-OFC, orange) and used to influence subsequent behaviour (in lateral OFC with links to regions of anterior cingulate cortex, blue). The OFC participates in multiple modulatory brain-loops with other important structures in the pleasure system such as the nucleus accumbens, ventral pallidum, amygdala and hypothalamus, as well as modulation with autonomic input from the gut. [34]. B) Examples of monitoring reward value in medial OFC (green) was found in a study of orthonasal smell where the activity correlated with subjective ratings of pleasant and unpleasant smell [66]. Activity in mid-OFC (orange) correlates with the subjective pleasure of food in a study of selective-satiety [33]. In contrast, the activity in lateral OFC (shown in red) was found when changing behaviour in a rapid context-dependent reversal task of simple social interactions [84]. C) A large meta-analysis of neuroimaging studies confirmed the differential functional roles of these regions [34]. Future avenues of research include describing temporal unfolding of activity, similar to early involvement of the medial OFC (<130 ms) in processing rewards such as cute babies and guide attentional resources [71].
Furthermore, pleasure research has shown that food, sex and social interactions are fundamental to our survival and these basic stimuli take priority in resource allocation. It has also shown the unity of pleasure processing of different rewards, with food, sex, social and higher-order stimuli (such as music and money) in a unified pleasure system [12,13,74-76,84].
Much remains to be done, but finally science has gained a toehold in understanding how pleasure can come to transform lives. Understanding the pleasure of food has played a major part in hedonia research and may even offer some insights into well-being. We have previously taken a lead from Aristotle’s distinction between hedonia and eudaimonia (a life well-lived) to show how the study of pleasure may offer some insights into well-being [77].
Gastronomy offers the potential to expand on these findings and create exciting experiences and great pleasure. The rise of molecular gastronomy and gastrophysics have afforded chefs with unprecedented control over the production of novel flavours and textures of food [78,79]. These experiences are by their very nature multisensory and like all experiences highly dependent on expectation and prior experiences [80]. Using scientific tools and insights allows playful chefs to create unique and highly pleasurable dining experiences, e.g. using touch and sound as interesting extras in their gastronomical palette [81]. Yet, all foods are ultimately dependent on the state of the diner’s brain and body [82], and the emergence of the neuroscience of the pleasure of gastronomy could help guide further progress [11,83]. Both the science and art of cooking stand to benefit much from future collaborations between scientists and chefs, especially in so far this research can help increase the pleasure of eating and well-being.
Babette’s Feast shows how a sumptuous dinner can bring about much pleasure and transform lives. Babette uses all her money and skills on creating the once-in-a-lifetime dinner, yet at the end she tells the sisters: “A great artist, Mesdames, is never poor. We have something, Mesdames, of which other people know nothing”. While it is true that creating great art takes skills and years of practice, it is also important to remember that every moment and every bite of food carries within it the possibility of pleasure. The brain is built for pleasure and it is through learning to appreciate the extraordinary in ordinary experiences, through pursuing the variety of pleasures rather than the relentless single-minded pursuit (hedonism) or denial of pleasure (asceticism) that a life well-lived can be constructed.
This research is supported by the TrygFonden Charitable Foundation.
The author declares that he has no competing interests.
Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Warneford Hospital, Oxford, OX3 7JX, England
Center of Functionally Integrative Neuroscience, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
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This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.
In these collections
The Science of Taste
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Terratur Possessions upcoming releases
Grand Belial's Key demos compilation
The 4th of April, 2017, will see an official re-issue of Grand Belial's Key's demo recordings on CD. This piece of US Black Metal History comes as a Hardcover Digibook 2CD, with a 34 pages’ booklet that features an exclusive interview, lyrics, old pictures of the Band etc.
CD 1 features a remastered version of “Goat of a Thousand Young” and “Triumph of the Hordes”, an alternative intro and the first demo recording of the track “Goat of a Thousand Young“(instrumental). CD2 holds a raw live recording of GBK, live at the Bayou / Washington DC, 25/06/1995.
A vinyl version is in the works as well and can be expected within the near future. More details in due time…
www.w-t-c.org
Howls of Ebb 'Vigils of the 3rd Eye' Double LP release
"It is not very often that an active local band is able to capture the attention of Nuclear War Now! in such a way that the label feels compelled to offer to release one or more of its recordings. Hailing from just around the bay in San Mateo, CA, Howls of Ebb (HoB) is one notable exception.
The band’s history and innovative tendencies, however, may help explain the label’s attraction, given that HoB’s multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Zee-Luuuvft-Huund grew up in the same close-knit Kansas City metal scene that spawned Order From Chaos, one of NWN!’s most unabashed all-time favorites. Although Howls of Ebb and Order From Chaos may not share the most perceptible qualities of music that typically would lead one to draw a direct comparison between them, the two bands derive a connection from the fact that both have strived to and have succeeded in expanding the boundaries within which extreme metal defines itself.
Nuclear War Now! first worked with Howls of Ebb in 2016 on the vinyl release of the band’s second album, “Cursus Impasse: The Pendlomic Vows.” Now it is the label’s great pleasure to retroactively release the first vinyl LP edition of the band’s debut full-length, “Vigils of the 3rd Eye,” originally released on CD by I, Voidhanger Records in 2014. Much like its second album, “Vigils…” realizes its potency through a combination of countlessly-varied riffs, tempo changes, and layered musical textures.
Each song is marked by notably unorthodox and unpredictable progressions that can have a very disquieting effect on the listener. The guitars often move in a schizophrenic fashion from rapid-fire, galloping riffs to darkly serene but disturbing passages and back, without the slightest hint of a disconnect in the song’s composition. The riffs are often executed with a staccato-like picking technique which combines perfectly with the drums, thus accentuating the percussive element of the higher-tempo portions of the music.
Moreover, in comparison to most death metal bands, Howls of Ebb relies somewhat less on effects like distortion and reverb, which serves to create a starker contrast between the notes/chords and the open spaces between them, which further augments the disorienting effect of the song structures and progressions.
The synthesis of these traits makes “Vigils of the 3rd Eye,” like its successor, a product of a band who defies the conventions of its subgenre and thus earns its recognition as a modern-day innovator of death metal. "
- C. Conrad
Vigils of the 3rd Eye by Howls of Ebb
www.nwnprod.com
Azarath premiere song from 'In Extremis'
Polish death/black metal tyrants AZARATH have unveiled a new song from their forthcoming album 'In Extremis', which is set to be released on April 7th via Agonia Records.
Touted as a "demonic mutation of Krisiun and Behemoth with shades of Immolation", AZARATH stand up to their wicked name. The band's death metal is crisp, black, and while it possesses the charm of their American counterparts, it remains open-minded and organic. This should not come as a surprise, considering the AZARATH's impressive line-up and cemented position as one the the best Polish acts of the genre. The band was formed in 1998 by drummer Inferno (of Behemoth fame). He's accompanied by Bart (Armagedon, Damnation) on guitars, Necrosodom (Anima Damnata, Deus Mortem, ex-Infernal War) on vocals and guitars, as well as Peter (ex-Lost Soul) on bass.
Meaning "at the point of death" or "under extreme circumstances" in Latin, 'In Extremis' is yet another apex reached by AZARATH. Offering a vehement ride through the netherworlds, the effort places the band back at the fore of the genre, with strong ties to the group's early cult albums. The eerie painting that adorns the album's cover was made by Marta Promińska (Hypnagogic Painting).
Recorded in various locations between March and November 2016, 'In Extremis' was mixed and mastered by Haldor Grunberg at Satanic Audio. Graphic design and layout were done by Mentalporn (Behemoth, Origin, Decapitated) with calligraphy provided by Ihasan Art and additional work by Holy Poison Design.
1. The Triumph of Ascending Majesty
2. Let My Blood Become His Flesh
3. Annihilation (Smite All the Illusions)
4. The Slain God
5. At the Gates of Understanding
6. Parasu Blade
7. Sign of Apophis
8. Into the Nameless Night
9. Venomous Tears (Mourn of the Unholy Mother)
www.facebook.com/AzarathBand
agoniarecords.com
Acherontas eighth album
The 8th Opus of the hermetic coven of Acherontas is hereby revealed, under the title and haruspex of 'Amarta'.
A web of visionary vibrations, consisting of the revolting force of overcoming the bounds and the powerful spark of creation, continuing the Formulas of Reptilian Unification as a second part. We are proud to have Among Us the Great Individuals Naas Alcameth & Indra Breathing a Fiery Essence in our New Work.The fire burns higher now, as the omens are set to become reality.
The philosophy of Empiricism that has been forged throughout the Coven of Acherontas history is now more radiant than ever. Withstanding a duration of 45 minutes and a unique meditative yet dynamic atmosphere, the new revelation is set to uphold the standards of the past and open wide the artistic horizons to the future. A strong return to the roots of Acherontas and the legendary sound waves of the 90's era, blend with an innovative orchestration that signifies the magical Work of 'Amarta'.
After several magical journeys during the last decade, having led the innovation to the genre by using many meditative ritualistic parts, this time the Devil's Art is summoned by the Coven within the creation of a straight Black Metal album, rejecting the trend of an oversaturated scene that blindly joined the line of ritual ambient Genre to attract the sheep with hollow visions. This is a revolt against the Modern Genre of extreme music, an artistic Extremity to shutter every disbelief, a new Oracle.
Tracklist of 'Amarta' अमर्त (Formulas of Reptilian Unification II)
1. Tablets of Mercury
2. Schism of Worlds
3. I-AM Ness-The tradition of EYE
4. Sopdet Denudata
5. Yesod Inversum
6. Rosa andromeda
7. Savikalpa Samadhi
8. Amarta
Release Date shall be announced shortly.
Paintings in Artwork/Layout by Karl NE/Nachzehrer(Ex-Nastrond/Shibalba).
Keep the Fires of burning Skulls High!
Lepaca Lucifer!
w-t-c.org
Dødsengel new album 'Interequinox'
The mighty DØDSENGEL, or simply one of the best Black Metal band in the world, are finally about to release the highly anticipated successor of the monstrous 'Imperator' (2012). This brand new album, entitled 'Interequinox', will be released by the French label Debemur Morti Productions on May 19th on Digipack CD, Gatefold 2x12" LP and Digital formats.
The magnificent front cover drawing was executed by brilliant artist Anders Røkkum.
This cathartic new offering contains 11 glorious pieces of truly Esoteric Black Metal :
1 Pangenetor
2 Prince Of Ashes
3 Værens Korsvei
4 Emerald Earth
5 Opaque
6 Illusions
7 Palindrome
8 Ved Alltings Ende
9 Rubedo
10 Gloria In Excelsis Deo
11 Panphage
Be prepared because it's coming !
'Interequinox' is an immersive Occult Opera and an unmissable sonic experience this year...
www.debemur-morti.com
Night Shroud Records new releases
Prosternatur debut through Terratur Possessions
From the beyond comes Prosternatur, a sonic journey through old ritualistic landscapes, trancelike atmospheres varying from obscure chanting and ambient interludes to riff based Black Metal. Topped off with inhuman, bone chilling vocals, all elements are dynamically tied together making 'Abyssus Abyssum Invocat' truly a stellar debut. LP released by Terratur Possessions exclusively.
Abyssus abyssum invocat by prosternatur
www.facebook.com/Prosternatur
terraturpossessions.com
Cult of Fire new 12"EP and related
www.facebook.com/Beyond-Eyes-Shop-685441734831296
Perverted Ceremony 'Sabbat Of Behezaël' streaming
Sabbat of Behezaël by Perverted Ceremony
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Rights & Obligations
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GCX provides a summary of local graded prices and international prices; analysis and market developments...
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• Ghana Commodity Exchange Pilots Trading Operations
• GCX New Team
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• To build the capacity of our members to enable them use our infrastructure.
News | Ghana Commodity Exchange
GHANA COMMODITY EXCHANGE INTEGRATES 20 GHANAIAN FARMER GROUPS
Date : 27th Jun, 2019
The Ghana Commodity Exchange (GCX) this week integrated 20 farmer-based organizations, representing over 60,000 small scale farmers in maize, soya bean and other crop farmers to trade on its electronic platform. The farmers will receive a range of services which include grain testing, grading, weighing, storage, re-bagging, fumigation and short-term loans (using their grains as sole collateral), and other financial services. The farmer groups are mainly in 100 districts in the Northern, North East, Upper East, Upper West, Savannah, Bono, Brong Ahafo, Ahafo, Ashanti and Greater Accra Regions.
The Ghana Commodity Exchange with an agenda to link Ghanaian small-scale farmers to commodity and financial markets in Ghana, started trading late last year in White and Yellow maize contracts. The Exchange has recently added soya bean contracts to its list of traded commodities and will soon add sesame seeds and sorghum.
The farmer groups or their representatives will be registered members of the Exchange and will be eligible to trade commodities.
The Exchange is regulated by the Ghana Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), hence it is necessary for the farmer groups to become members to enjoy the protection under the Law as well as other privileges that come with GCX membership, which include free post-harvest management training, free access to GCX price and market information, free linkage to markets in Ghana and West Africa, access to safely deposit their grains in GCX certified warehouses across the country and be issued GCX warehouse receipts which could be used as collateral for loans from Ghanaian banks. GCX warehouse receipts provide proof of ownership of grains of a certain quality and quantity. Currently GCX has over 120 members, comprising 40 farmer groups representing over 120,000 farmers, mostly small-holder farmers.
The Exchange has so far signed and integrated 25 commodity brokers to represent farmers and other market actors who are constrained from trading on the GCX platform by themselves.
The vision of GCX is to create a marketplace for Ghanaian farmers that is efficient and transparent, that eliminates speculation from middlemen and reduces waiting time for payments and delivery. The farmers are also able to discover true prices and volumes presented to the Exchange for trade. The Government of Ghana has supported the GCX financially in the acquisition of a world class trading platform, warehouses with laboratory facilities to test, grade and store commodities, and facilities to settle and deliver commodities within 24 hours of trade.
GHANA COMMODITY EXCHANGE PARTNERS WITH CASHEW INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION OF GHANA
GHANA COMMODITY EXCHANGE HOLDS SORGHUM MARKET COUNCIL MEETING
STANCHART AND GHANA COMMODITY EXCHANGE SIGN DEAL TO SUPPORT FARMERS
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GHANA COMMODITY EXCHANGE PILOTS TRADING OPERATIONS
Kumasi (April 24, 2018) The Ghana Commodity Exchange (GCX), a trading platform for physical commodities and futures contracts, under the auspices of the Ministry of Finance, piloted trading operations on the 24th of April 2018.
The Government of Ghana’s drive to support smallholder farmers, increase value along the agricultural value chain and provide export opportunities for Ghanaian commodities, has led to its investment in GCX, in its bid to structure the commodities market towards the eventual commencement of regular formal trading. This is being done by piloting the trading of maize in certain parts of the country, with maize stored in warehouses in Bonyo/Ejura in the Ashanti region and Sandema in the Upper West region.
On 24th April 2018, GCX brought together sellers and buyers of maize from all parts of the country to participate in its first auction trade which took place in Kumasi. 126 farmers were involved and several amongst them sold 136,000 GHS of trade during two (2) trading sessions, using a Reserve Auction trading mechanism. Buyers of maize had the opportunity to purchase high quality maize (GCX grade 1) whilst sellers (mostly small holder farmers) received premium prices and are benefiting from access to a wider market for their goods. Both parties benefiting from low transaction costs, the model presents a sustainable alternative to low prices and margins.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Dr Kadri Alfah explains, “GCX initiated this pilot trading operation largely to demonstrate our structured trading concept which includes; commodity quality testing, grading, weighing, packaging and standardization, and to prepare our farmers and other market actors for our planned electronic trading and electronic warehouse receipts (e-WR) later this year. We are learning from other commodity exchanges that failed in Africa because they did not plan ahead to get the market behind them prior to the establishment of the trading platform”.
With many more of these trading sessions planned, GCX intends to use this initiative to educate and train market actors including farmers, farmer cooperatives, traders, brokers, financial institutions, regulators and warehouse operators to get everyone involved from the beginning.
During the first trade, farmers of White Maize were provided the opportunity to deposit their commodities, and have them graded, where they conformed to meet national and international market standards, prior to sale in a GCX Reserve Auction trading floor. Title was transferred from sellers to buyers using highly controlled contracts. GCX has established a system of performance guarantees including guaranteeing the quality and quantity of the commodity traded, freeing the farmers from the risk of commodity losses.
According to the farmers who participated in the trade, the auction was a simple, transparent and beneficial process. They were happy to receive the support to weigh and grade their grains. Some of them said they didn’t know they had high quality grains and could receive a premium for it. They were also happy to be presented with buyers which saved them time and cost. The biggest surprise for them was that they received contracts for their trade, with the guarantee from GCX that they would receive their cash settlement within five (5) days of the trade. This is fully in line with GCX’s objectives to help farmers sell their products at fair and competitive prices by providing them with real time price and market information while facilitating their access to financial institutions for loans and financing opportunities.
GCX has come at the right time to support the Government’s “Growth and Transformation Plan” to double production of key stable crops, improve storage and improve the general wellbeing of Ghanaian farmers and the people of Ghana. GCX is expected to play a crucial role in supporting government initiatives such as the Ministry of Food and Agriculture’s “Planting for Food and Jobs” and the “One District One Warehouse” initiative. GCX will support these initiatives by collaborating to provide warehousing management and quality control systems.
About Reserve Auctions
The GCX trading mechanism used for the pilot was a Reserve Auction. Interested buyers had the opportunity to interact with the farmers to discover prices in a fair and transparent manner. A Reserve Auction is a payment against delivery system whereby the farmers ( sellers ) announce a minimum price for their product incorporating their production cost in the sale price. The buyers then put in a bid to match the farmers’ asking price, factoring in transportation and other costs. By so doing, both the buyers and sellers hedge against their cost in a win-win situation for all.
The Ghana Commodity Exchange (GCX) Continues Dialogue with Industry Players
30th May 2018: The Ghana Commodity Exchange (GCX) has brought together over forty (40) market actors from across several commodity value chains to provide inputs into the ongoing implementation phase. Members included representatives from farmer groups, aggregators, logistics companies, traders/brokers, agro-processors, manufacturers, financial institutions, insurance companies, and developmental organisations.
Representatives from the commodity value chain market actors form the GCX Market Council, who are playing key roles in the activities of the Ghana Commodity Exchange (GCX). The Council was established to solicit inputs and feedback on the various elements needed to ensure a successful implementation of the commodity exchange for Ghana.
During the session, the GCX team gave a status update on GCX activities, shared details on the GCX Membership Process and outlined the structure, rules and processes of the current trading activity that GCX was undertaking.
The GCX team explained that in its efforts at structuring the commodity market for the eventual spot trade activities later this year, the market council has a crucial role to play.
Whilst several challenges were highlighted by market council members, there were extremely positive sentiments regarding the role of the Exchange and a commitment by council members to champion the cause, providing insights and actions towards contributing to a successful establishment of the Exchange.
The GCX, in April of this year, commenced maize trading in spots through auctions (reserve). The owner of Akandem Farms, Mr. Maxwell Akandem shared his experience from one of these recent trade activities through the GCX, expressing his delight at the efficiency of the trading and the speed with which he received his cash settlement for his commodity sold.
On sustainability of the GCX, the council members opined the need for the GCX to ensure that operations would be continuously strengthened to help the nation deliver on its mandate towards greater financial inclusion, particularly regarding famers, and that the value chain as a whole would provide the ripple benefits expected.
Council members advocated a well thought out plan regarding transportation and other logistics, since that is a source of loss of goods, be it through theft, damage, or time lost. The GCX was urged to develop criteria or standards in the transportation chain in order to reduce potential frictions between truck owners and goods owners.
On the subject of the state of warehouse infrastructure across the country, council members requested the GCX to take practical steps to increase current stock by renovating and equipping warehouses with the right tools to enable farmers and producers of agricultural produce to have access to and use of the facilities. This will help reduce post-harvest losses in the country.
In his closing remarks, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of GCX, Dr. Kadri Alfah, expressed his appreciation to the market council members for showing commitment towards the establishment of the Commodity Exchange, which is expected to be the leading Exchange in West Africa. He stated that this will be the first of many gatherings by market council members to deliberate on issues and challenges surrounding the commodity value chain.
SEC Sensitization Forum on Commodity Exchange/ Warehouse Receipt System (WRS)
Supported by the World Bank Group (WBG), particularly the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and support from the Swiss Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO). The Securities and Exchange Commission brought together eighty-one (81) key stakeholders from the Central Bank (BOG); Ghana Commodity Exchange (GCX); Financial Institutions; Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA), Brokerage Firms, Insurance companies, Farmer Groups, Academia, and more, for a review of Commodity Exchange and Warehouse Receipt System at the Alisa Hotel, Accra.
The Director General of SEC, Rev. Ogbamey Tetteh in his welcome address highlighted the relevance of warehousing and the need to grow the commodities market shepherded by a commodities exchange. He introduced the role of the regulator, opining that they would play a key part in building trust in the system.
Dr. Langyintuo (IFC Senior Technical Specialist for the Ghana WRS Project) in his presentation on the Project, reported that trade in Africa is a big challenge because of high risks, border related difficulties, standards, policy uncertainties and export finance. He explained the role warehouse receipts play in filling the gap for trade and collateral financing.
He recommended the following areas to be especially considered:
Ecosystem Considerations
Dr. Langyintuo hinted that solutions could arise from friendlier tax regimes, non-discriminatory access to markets, non-interference with the functioning of the markets, honoring of internationally accepted standards, abiding by contractual undertakings, and ensuring the sector is free from corruption.
Dr. Kadri Alfah (Chief Executive Officer, GCX) gave an overview of the Warehouse Receipt System and Commodity Exchange. He indicated that the Ghana Commodity Exchange operates as a market and the WRS is a key component.
Dr. Alfah iterated that the Exchange’s rules are designed in the context of the Securities Industry Act and that it is a membership-based market with brokers who trade for themselves and on behalf of others. Dr. Alfah shared that the GCX has adapted its own standards for maize, rice and soy beans using the GSA standards as a benchmark.
He highlighted GCX’S current situation as follows:
- Identified 6 warehouses in Tamale, Wenchi, Ejura (3 warehouses) and Kumasi
- 65 members, including 2 Banks and off-takers with capacity to buy
- New office and trading platform almost ready
- Auction traded over 6,000 mini bags (this was designed to test the system which has been successful so far)
- Maize contracts designed
- Capacity building of market actors has commenced (40 trained)
The way forward according to Dr. Alfah is to get rules for the Exchange and WRS approved by SEC; passage of the WRS Legal Instrument (LI) and the Borrowers & Lenders Bill and build capacity of bank staff and other key stakeholders.
He stated that the bell for the commencement of official trading activities on the GCX platform is expected in November 2018. Finally, Dr. Alfah mentioned readiness of the warehouses; commodity price vitalities; getting interest rates below 20% for financing WHR; readiness of banks; banks accepting GCX performance bond for warehouse operations and passage of the WR and Commodity Exchanges’ regulations.
On the part of SEC, Evelyn Essien (Head of Exchanges) said SEC’s regulations are aimed at controlling behaviors of Exchange actors in the commodity market. She stated that the regulatory powers would be derived from Securities Industry Law, 2016 (ACT 929) and along the line, guidelines and circulars could be issued by SEC. SEC, according to Mrs. Essien, will keep a close eye on possible market abuse and crimes under the Act such as false trading and would apply penalties and other disciplinary measures such as revocation and suspension when necessary. Mr. Caliis Baidoo (Head of Legal, SEC) shared the regulatory components of the WRS, clarifying the role the WRS played within the context of a Commodity Exchange, so that they are clearly distinguished.
The session ended with a round table discussion chaired by Mr. Paul Ababio (Deputy Director General, SEC), with Mr. Robert Owoo (Project Director, GCX), Dr. A. Langyintuo and Caliis Baidoo, opening the floor for all participants to seek clarifications or share their own comments on the areas of operationalizing the WRS/ GCX; the role of technology, and other general business opportunities that would emerge as part of the Exchange ecosystem.
About Ghana Commodity Exchange (GCX)
GCX is a market / platform which brings buyers and sellers together to trade commodities including agricultural commodities, and as a body, guarantees the quantity and quality as well as prompt settlement (cash and delivery) of all products traded on the platform. This shields both buyers and sellers from physical and financial losses. GCX is regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission and is managed by an experienced team of professionals with varied work experiences across the commodity value chain both in Ghana and abroad.
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Tag Archives: Professor Yi Cui
Today’s Gamechanger – Professor Yi Cui (Stanford) – How Far Can Batteries Go? Building a Better Battery with Nanotechnology Architecture
How to build a better Battery through Nanotechnology
PALO ALTO, CALIFORNIA (Note to Readers: This original article was published in 2016 May. Recent updates, News Releases and a YouTube Video have been provided)
On a drizzly, gray morning in April, Yi Cui weaves his scarlet red Tesla in and out of Silicon Valley traffic. Cui, a materials scientist at Stanford University here, is headed to visit Amprius, a battery company he founded 8 years ago. Amprius Latest News Release (December 2018)
It’s no coincidence that he is driving a battery-powered car, and that he has leased rather than bought it. In a few years, he says, he plans to upgrade to a new model, with a crucial improvement: “Hopefully our batteries will be in it.”
Cui and Amprius are trying to take lithium–ion batteries—today’s best commercial technology—to the next level. They have plenty of company. Massive corporations such as Panasonic, Samsung, LG Chem, Apple, and Tesla are vying to make batteries smaller, lighter, and more powerful. But among these power players, Cui remains a pioneering force.
Unlike others who focus on tweaking the chemical composition of a battery’s electrodes or its charge-conducting electrolyte, Cui is marrying battery chemistry with nanotechnology. He is building intricately structured battery electrodes that can soak up and release charge-carrying ions in greater quantities, and faster, than standard electrodes can, without producing troublesome side reactions. “He’s taking the innovation of nanotechnology and using it to control chemistry,” says Wei Luo, a materials scientist and battery expert at the University of Maryland, College Park.
“I wanted to change the world, and also get rich, but mainly change the world.”
Yi Cui, Stanford University
In a series of lab demonstrations, Cui has shown how his architectural approach to electrodes can domesticate a host of battery chemistries that have long tantalized researchers but remained problematic. Among them: lithium-ion batteries with electrodes of silicon instead of the standard graphite, batteries with an electrode made of bare lithium metal, and batteries relying on lithium-sulfur chemistry, which are potentially more powerful than any lithium-ion battery. The nanoscale architectures he is exploring include silicon nanowires that expand and contract as they absorb and shed lithium ions, and tiny egg like structures with carbon shells protecting lithium-rich silicon yolks.
(Article continues below Video)
Watch a YouTube Video on the latest Update from Professor Cui (November 2018). A very concise and informative Summary of the State of NextGen Batteries.
** Amprius already supplies phone batteries with silicon electrodes that store 10% more energy than the best conventional lithium-ion batteries on the market.
Another prototype beats standard batteries by 40%, and even better ones are in the works. So far, the company does not make batteries for electric vehicles (EVs), but if the technologies Cui is exploring live up to their promise, the company could one day supply car batteries able to store up to 10 times more energy than today’s top performers. That could give modest-priced EVs the same range as gas-powered models—a revolutionary advance that could help nations power their vehicle fleets with electricity provided by solar and wind power, dramatically reducing carbon emissions.
Cui says that when he started in research, “I wanted to change the world, and also get rich, but mainly change the world.” His quest goes beyond batteries. His lab is exploring nanotech innovations that are spawning startup companies aiming to provide cheaper, more effective air and water purification systems. But so far Cui has made his clearest mark on batteries. Luo calls his approach “untraditional and surprising.” Jun Liu, a materials scientist at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, Washington, put it more directly: Cui’s nanotech contributions to battery technology are “tremendous.”
Making leaps in battery technology is surprisingly hard to do. Even as Silicon Valley’s primary innovation, the computer chip, has made exponential performance gains for decades, batteries have lagged. Today’s best lithium-ion cells hold about 700 watt-hours per liter. That’s about five times the energy density of nickel-cadmium batteries from the mid-1980s—not bad, but not breathtaking. In the past decade, the energy density of the best commercial batteries has doubled.
Battery users want more. The market for lithium-ion batteries alone is expected to top $30 billion a year by 2020, according to a pair of recent reports by market research firms Transparency Market Research and Taiyou Research. The rise in production of EVs by car companies that include Tesla, General Motors, and Nissan accounts for some of that surge.
But today’s EVs leave much to be desired. For a Tesla Model S, depending on the exact model, the 70- to 90-kilowatt-hour batteries alone weigh 600 kilograms and account for about $30,000 of the car’s price, which can exceed $100,000. Yet they can take the car only about 400 kilometers on a single charge, substantially less than the range of many conventional cars. Nissan’s Leaf is far cheaper, with a sticker price of about $29,000. But with a smaller battery pack, its range is only about one-third that of the Tesla.
Improving batteries could make a major impact. Doubling a battery’s energy density would enable car companies to keep the driving range the same while halving the size and cost of the battery—or keep the battery size constant and double the car’s range. “The age of electric vehicles is coming,” Cui says. But in order for EVs to take over, “we have to do better.”
He recognized the need early in his career. After finishing his undergraduate degree in his native China in 1998, Cui moved first to Harvard University and then to the University of California (UC), Berkeley, to complete a Ph.D. and postdoc in labs that were pioneering the synthesis of nanosized materials. Those were the early days of nanotechnology, when researchers were struggling to get a firm handle on how to create just the materials they wanted, and the world of applications was only beginning to take shape.
While at UC Berkeley, Cui spent time with colleagues next door at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL). At the time, LBNL’s director was Steven Chu, who pushed the lab to invent renewable energy technologies that had the potential to combat climate change, among them better batteries for storing clean energy. (Chu later went on to serve as President Barack Obama’s secretary of energy from 2009 to 2013.)
“At the beginning, I wasn’t thinking about energy. I had never worked on batteries,” Cui says. But Chu and others impressed on him that nanotechnology could give batteries an edge.
As Chu says now, it offers “a new knob to turn, and an important one,” enabling researchers to control not only the chemical composition of materials on the smallest scales, but also the arrangement of atoms within them—and thus how chemical reactions involving them proceed.
After moving to Stanford, Cui quickly gravitated to the nexus between nanotechnology and the electrochemistry that makes batteries work—and accounts for their limitations. Take lithium-ion rechargeable batteries. In principle, these batteries are simple: They consist of two electrodes divided by a membrane “separator” and a liquid electrolyte that allows ions to glide back and forth between the electrodes.
When a battery is charging, lithium ions are released from the positive electrode, or cathode, which consists of a lithium alloy, commonly lithium cobalt oxide or lithium iron phosphate. They are drawn toward the negatively charged electrode, called the anode, which is usually made of graphite. There they snuggle in between the graphite’s sheets of carbon atoms. Voltage from an external power source drives the whole ionic mass migration, storing power.
When a device—say, a power tool or a car—is turned on and demands energy, the battery discharges: Lithium atoms in the graphite give up electrons, which travel through the external circuit to the cathode. Meanwhile, the lithium ions slip out of the graphite and zip through the electrolyte and the separator to the cathode, where they meet up with electrons that have made the journey through the circuit (see diagram below).
GRAPHIC/INTERACTIVE: V. ALTOUNIAN/SCIENCE
Nano to the rescue
Cui and colleagues have applied several nanotechnology-inspired solutions to keep silicon anodes from breaking down and to prevent battery-killing side reactions.
Follow Link for Animation
Follow Link fro Animation
Graphite is today’s go-to anode material because it is highly conductive and thus readily passes collected electrons to the metal wires in a circuit. But graphite is only so-so at gathering lithium ions during charging. It takes six carbon atoms in graphite to hold on to a single lithium ion. That weak grip limits how much lithium the electrode can hold and thus how much power the battery can store.
Silicon has the potential to do far better. Each silicon atom can bind to four lithium ions. In principle, that means a silicon-based anode can store 10 times as much energy as one made from graphite. Electrochemists have struggled in vain for decades to tap that enormous capacity.
It’s easy enough to make anodes from chunks of silicon; the problem is that the anodes don’t last. As the battery is charged and lithium ions rush in to bind to silicon atoms, the anode material swells as much as 300%. Then, when the lithium ions rush out during the battery’s discharge cycle, the anode rapidly shrinks again. After only a few cycles of such torture, silicon electrodes fracture and eventually split into tiny, isolated grains. The anode—and the battery—crumbles and dies.
Cui thought he could solve the problem. His experience at Harvard and UC Berkeley had taught him that nanomaterials often behave differently from materials in bulk. For starters, they have a much higher percentage of their atoms at their surface relative to the number in their interior. And because surface atoms have fewer atomic neighbors locking them in place, they can move more easily in response to stresses and strains. Other types of atomic movement explain why thin sheets of aluminum foil or paper can bend without breaking more easily than chunks of aluminum metal or wood can.
In 2008, Cui thought that fashioning a silicon anode from nanosized silicon wires might alleviate the stress and strain that pulverize bulk silicon anodes. The strategy worked. In a paper in Nature Nanotechnology, Cui and colleagues showed that when lithium ions moved into and out of the silicon nanowires, the nanowires suffered little damage. Even after 10 repeated cycles of charging and discharging, the anode retained 75% of its theoretical energy storage capacity.
Unfortunately, silicon nanowires are much more difficult and expensive to fashion than bulk silicon. Cui and colleagues started devising ways to make cheaper silicon anodes. First, they found a way to craft lithium-ion battery anodes from spherical silicon nanoparticles. Though potentially cheaper, these faced a second problem: The shrinking and swelling of the nanoparticles as the lithium atoms moved in and out opened cracks in the glue that bound the nanoparticles together. The liquid electrolyte seeped between the particles, driving a chemical reaction that coated them in a non-conductive layer, known as a solid-electrolyte interphase (SEI), which eventually grew thick enough to disrupt the anode’s charge-collecting abilities. “It’s like scar tissue,” says Yuzhang Li, a graduate student in Cui’s lab.
A few years later, Cui and his colleagues hit on another nanotech solution. They created egg like nanoparticles, surrounding each of their tiny silicon nanoparticles—the yolk—with a highly conductive carbon shell through which lithium ions could readily pass. The shell gave silicon atoms in the yolk ample room to swell and shrink, while protecting them from the electrolyte—and the reactions that form an SEI layer. In a 2012 paper in Nano Letters, Cui’s team reported that after 1000 cycles of charging and discharging, their yolk-shell anode retained 74% of its capacity.
They did even better 2 years later. They assembled bunches of their yolk-shell nanoparticles into micrometer-scale collections resembling miniature pomegranates. Bunching the silicon spheres boosted the anode’s lithium storage capacity and reduced unwanted side reactions with the electrolyte. In a February 2014 issue of Nature Nanotechnology, the group reported that batteries based on the new material retained 97% of their original capacity after 1000 charge and discharge cycles.
With his battery company up and running, Cui plans to launch startups that apply nanotech to air and water purification. Credit: NOAH BERGER
Earlier this year, Cui and colleagues reported a solution that outdoes even their complex pomegranate assemblies. They simply hammered large silicon particles down to the micrometer scale and then wrapped them in thin carbon sheets made from graphene. The hammered particles wound up larger than the silicon spheres in the pomegranates—so big that they fractured after a few charging cycles. But the graphene wrapping prevented the electrolyte compounds from reaching the silicon. It was also flexible enough to maintain contact with the fractured particles and thus carry their charges to the metal wires. What’s more, the team reported in Nature Energy, the larger silicon particles packed more mass—and thus more power—into a given volume, and they were far cheaper and easier to make than the pomegranates. “He has really taken this work in the right direction,” Jun Liu says.
Powered by such ideas, Amprius has raised more than $100 million to commercialize lithium-ion batteries with silicon anodes. The company is already manufacturing cellphone batteries in China and has sold more than 1 million of them, says Song Han, the company’s chief technology officer. The batteries, based on simple silicon nanoparticles that are cheap to make, are only 10% better than today’s lithium-ion cells. But at Amprius’s headquarters, Han showed off nanowire-silicon prototypes that are 40% better. And those, he says, still represent only the beginning of how good silicon anodes will eventually become.
Now, Cui is looking beyond silicon. One focus is to make anodes out of pure lithium metal, which has long been viewed as the ultimate anode material, as it has the potential to store even more energy than silicon and is much lighter.
But there have been major problems here, too. For starters, an SEI layer normally forms around the lithium metal electrode. That’s actually good news in this case: Lithium ions can penetrate the layer, so the SEI acts as a protective film around the lithium anode. But as the battery cycles, the metal swells and shrinks just as silicon particles do, and the pulsing can break the SEI layer. Lithium ions can then pile up in the crack, causing a metal spike, known as a dendrite, to sprout from the electrode. “Those dendrites can pierce the battery separator and short-circuit the battery and cause it to catch fire,” says Yayuan Liu, another graduate student in Cui’s group.
Conventional approaches haven’t solved the problem. But nanotechnology might. In one approach to preventing dendrite formation, Cui’s team stabilizes the SEI layer by coating the anode with a layer of interconnected nanocarbon spheres. In another, they’ve created a new type of yolk-shell particle, made of gold nanoparticles inside much larger carbon shells. When the nanocapsules are fashioned into an anode, the gold attracts lithium ions; the shells give the lithium room to shrink and swell without cracking the SEI layer, so dendrites don’t form.
Improving anodes is only half the battle in making better batteries. Cui’s team has taken a similar nano inspired approach to improving cathode materials as well, in particular sulfur. Like silicon on the anode side, sulfur has long been seen as a tantalizing option for the cathode. Each sulfur atom can hold a pair of lithiums, making it possible in principle to boost energy storage several fold over conventional cathodes. Perhaps equally important, sulfur is dirt cheap. But it, too, has problems. Sulfur is a relatively modest electrical conductor, and it reacts with common electrolytes to form chemicals that can kill the batteries after a few cycles of charging and discharging. Sulfur cathodes also tend to hoard charges instead of giving them up during discharge.
Seeking a nanosolution, Cui’s team encased sulfur particles inside highly conductive titanium dioxide shells, boosting battery capacity fivefold over conventional designs and preventing sulfur byproducts from poisoning the cell. The researchers have also made sulfur-based versions of their pomegranates, and they have trapped sulfur inside long, thin nanofibers. These and other innovations have not only boosted battery capacity, but also raised a measure known as the coulombic efficiency—how well the battery releases its charges—from 86% to 99%. “Now, we have high capacity on both sides of the electrode,” Cui says.
Down the road, Cui says, he intends to put both of his key innovations together. By coupling silicon anodes with sulfur cathodes, he hopes to make cheap, high-capacity batteries that could change the way the world powers its devices. “We think if we can make it work, it will make a big impact,” Cui says.
It just might help him change the world, and get rich on the side.
Bio – Professor Yi Cui
Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, of Photon Science, Senior Fellow at the Precourt Institute for Energy and Prof, by courtesy, of Chemistry PhD, Harvard University (2002)
Cui studies nanoscale phenomena and their applications broadly defined. Research Interests: Nanocrystal and nanowire synthesis and self-assembly, electron transfer and transport in nanomaterials and at the nano interface, nanoscale electronic and photonic devices, batteries, solar cells, microbial fuel cells, water filters and chemical and biological sensors.
Professor, Materials Science and Engineering
Professor, Photon Science Directorate
Senior Fellow, Precourt Institute for Energy
Professor (By courtesy), Chemistry
Affiliate, Precourt Institute for Energy
Member, Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute
David Filo and Jerry Yang Faculty Scholar, Stanford University (2010-2014)
Sloan Research Fellowship, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation (2010)
Investigator Award, KAUST (2008)
Young Investigator Award, ONR (2008)
Innovators Award, MDV (2008)
Leave a comment Posted in Nanotechnology Tagged Energy Storage Systems, Genesis Nanotechnology, Lithium Ion Batteries, Nano Batteries, Nanomaterials, Nanotechnology, Professor Yi Cui, Stanford University
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About Mtskheta - Mtianeti
Best time to visit: All Season
Mtskheta-Mtianeti comprises territories of historical and geographical provinces- Mtiuleti, Khevi, Gudamakari and others, as well as the administrative municipalities : Dusheti, Mtskheta and Kazbegi. The bulk of the region is mountainous and includes snowy mountains of the main range of Kavkasioni with great peaks and passes, beautiful gorges, picturesque lakes and alpine valleys and meadows. Mtskheta-Mtianeti is interesting not only with natural beauty, but also, from ethnological, intellectual and nutritious point of view. During the year a lot of religious feasts and popular festivals are held here: Lomisoba, Kopaloba, Lasharoba, Gergetoba and so on. In the fall, the whole Georgia celebrates a popular festival in the village of Chargali, dedicated to the great Georgian world wide known and admired poet, Vazha-Pshavela. This festival is called Vazhaoba. Guests of these festivities have an opportunity to taste Dambalkhacho (softened curds), Choban-Kaurma (stew made by Highlander shepherds), Khavitsi (cooked from curds, salt and oil), Ketseulebi (cheese pies), and Pshavi Khinkali (most delicious Georgian meat dumplings). There are 5 resorts and 64 curing water springs registered on the territory of the region. From recreational zones, the most famous and popular is Gudauri ski resort.
Mtskheta is a town-museum in Georgia, which was the old capital center of the Kingdom of Kartli. Later, when the capital moved to Tbilisi, Mtskheta retained the function of the seat of Kartli Church and from XI century- the spiritual center of the whole Georgia. Until 1811 there was situated the seat of the Head of the Georgian Church- the residence of the Georgian Patriarch. Mtskheta is rich with both- archeological and Antique era historical memorials, as well as Christian era.
Among them is famous Armazi- the residence and burial site of the Royals of Kartli from Parnavaziani Dynasty, cathedrals of Jvari, Svetitskhoveli, Samtavro, monasteries of Shiomghvime and Zedazeni fortress of Bebri. In a nutshell, Mtskheta is the home of up to 270 cultural heritage monuments of various periods. In 2009 this ancient town was included in the UNESCO List of Cultural Heritage Sites, and here is worth mentioning Jvari Monastery, which stands in front of Mtskheta, on the mountain.
Jvari Cathedral is prominent, as it launched a new stage of the Georgian religious architecture- dome church. Later, the whole group of similar churches was founded, which were similar to Mtskheta Jvari in layout and general structure. They are OLd Shuamta, Martvili and Ateni Sioni. In XI century, in the heart of Kartli, in downtown Mtskheta, was built Svetitskhoveli (literally the Cathedral of the Living Pillar). Among nowadays existing middle-age Georgian Christian cultural monuments Svetitskhoveli is the greatest. A legend floated, that when construction of the cathedral was finished, the architect’s right hand was severed, since he prevailed and overtook his teacher in architectural mastership. Svetitskhoveli is considered to be the starting point of the whole direction in the Georgian Middle Age central-dome architecture. Svetitskhoveli is surrounded by two-tier fence, with combat path, gun emplacements and loopholes for pelting stones.
In the downtown of Mtskheta one can also see Samtavro (Principality)- a complex of XI century, which consists of a big Episcopacy cathedral, belfry, fence, tower and living and service quarters built later, and of course- St. Nino Church (as she lived here, after arriving to Georgia to preach Christianity). This is a small-scale dome construction standing to the east of the big cathedral. It was built by king Mirian on this blackberry bush area, where St. Nino settled first. The interior of the church is painted with compositions on the life of St. Nino and other themes, all of the paintings are primitive and late.
The Shiomghvime Monastery Complex was one of the outstanding religious and cultural centers in the feudal time Georgia, it is located about 40 km from Tbilisi, in Mtskheta region, on the left bank of the river Mtkvari. It was founded in the second half of VI century by one of the Assyrian preachers named Shio. Shio spent the last years of his life in a dark and deep cave. This is where the name comes from- Shio Mghvime means the Cave of Shio in Georgian.
His grave is here and is regarded as the sacred place. The Shiomghvime Monastery Complex includes: dome church of John the Baptist, the Upper church, refectory and a chapel near the monastery. Shiomghvime was the hotbed of culture and education in medieval Georgia, as there was one of the biggest Library of the rarest collection of manuscripts.
Pshav-Khevsureti
As for Pshav-Khevsureti, this is the historical region. Situated on the border of Kartli-Kakheti, Pshavi is settled on the elevation of 1,000-3,218 m above the sea level. Therefore, there are practically no peaks with perpetual snowy summits, while the high mountains for Khevsureti are first and foremost typical. Historically-minded, Khevsureti has always been a guard for Georgia, a borderline region. For centuries Khevsurs were reliable border guards of the nation from invading enemy. Non-stop military alertness was the cause of the special architectural appearance of villages in Khevsureti: each settlement is virtually a stand-alone fortification establishment. The largest village and settlement of the region is Shatili. So-called the Hamlet of the Shatili is located in the Upper Khevsureti, 15 km from the town of Dusheti, 1,000 m above the sea level. This is the striking specimen of unique architecture, which is typical for Khevsureti.
Fortress-houses with sunshades are lined up to the rocky slopes in terrace-style with walls constructed from shale stones. These stones are attached to each other so closely, that they prevent even a sunbeam to go through. So, this fortified house creates a unified defence wall.The houses are connected with each other by narrow stone stairs. If you are a strange traveler and enter a village, may cross it from one end to the other without touching a ground. Every year, in the beginning of August, popular festival “Shatiloba” is held here. Hamlet of Mutso is the oldest fortified village of the Upper Khevsureti. The village is located 12-15 km away from Shatili, on three terraces and is built of slate. In the middle of the terrace is an icon of St. George and lookout tower. Mutso itself is a unique fortification establishment, where up to 40 houses and ruins of domestic and defense purposes have survived up to the present.
Near here is also not yet known to everyone, but one of the most amazing natural wonders one can ever see- Abudelauri (Roshka) boulders, within the Abudelauri Lake. At its foot there are color lakes (2812 m) of Abudelauri Glacier (moraine) origin. This is one of the largest lakes, has the maximum depth 3,8 m, volume 45,000 m3. The lake gets its feed from snow, glacier and rainwater, also has outflows. For a long time (more than 6 months) the lake remains frozen. Of course, there is no fish in this condition in the lake. As for Abudelauri Gorge, it is 1850-1900 m above sea level. Boulders of 19x5x7 and 22x13x10 size created from magma rocks- belong to the largest erratic (crawling) boulders in the whole world.
There are even bigger boulders of 25 m length further from the village. In the highland parts of Abudelauri gorge there are comparatively smaller erratic boulders. These boulders were carried over from Chaukvi massif by largest glacier, which is Pleistocene aged.
The biggest part of the Georgian segment of the Georgian Military Road crosses the territory of Kazbegi municipality. Its administrative center, settlement of Stepantsminda is the ancient town and the most important centre of Georgia’s historical and geographic region-Khevi.
There are many, many, wonderful places worth seeing in Mtskheta- Mtianeti, one of them is Bazaleti Lake. There are many reasons, why you should visit Bazaleti Lake.
That’s all, I’m sure you have already picked your backpack and are ready for the journey!
Must see Destinations in Mtskheta - Mtianeti
Mount Kazbek
Mkinvarstveri is the peak, which attracts attention among every kind of persons. You don’t need to b...
Gveleti Waterfall
Gveleti waterfall, which can be translated as the Snake’s Waterfall, is one of the most splendid wat...
Juta - village in Mtskheta-Mtianeti region, in Kazbegi municipality, in Sno community. Located on th...
Gudauri Ski Resort
Where is Gudauri Ski Resort?Gudauri Ski Resort is located in the Stepantsminda region, at an elevati...
Interesting routes in Mtskheta - Mtianeti
Mount Kazbek - classic route
Lake Kelitsadi
Juta -Arkhoti - Lake Tanie - Datijvari Pass
Horseback Ride Tours · Hiking/Backpacking
Along the ridge: trail from Khevsureti to Tusheti
Akhalgori
Dusheti
Stepantsminda (Kazbegi)
Taineti
Popular Nearby
The classical tour to the peak of Mountain Kazbeg takes 5 days, however often traveller add one extra day as the reserve for the bad weather. The trac...
Mkinvarstveri is the peak, which attracts attention among every kind of persons. You don’t need to be a mountaineer, or climber, to stand your foot on...
Gveleti waterfall, which can be translated as the Snake’s Waterfall, is one of the most splendid waterfalls in Georgia. It is located in Kazbegi, in t...
The route starts from the Datvijvari pass, followed the ridge which separates Ukanapshavi from Migmakhevi. The trail then crosses the barbalo pass and...
Juta - village in Mtskheta-Mtianeti region, in Kazbegi municipality, in Sno community. Located on the southern slope of the Khevi Kavkasioni main ridg...
The villages: Juta, Chimgha, Akhieli, Amgha, Tanie. Gorges: Kalotana, Asa, Taniestskali . Lake Tanie. The route starts from Juta. The path ...
If you love wild, untouched nature and not afraid of difficulties, then this route is for you.If you love wild, untouched nature and not afraid of dif...
Where is Gudauri Ski Resort?Gudauri Ski Resort is located in the Stepantsminda region, at an elevation of 2200 meters above the sea level. Gudauri Ski...
Jvari monastery
Jvari Monastery- VI century church and monastery, located in the east of Mtskheta, at the mouth of the river Mtkvari and Aragvi, on the rocky mountain...
Along the border: Train from Kevsureti to Tusheti
The path starts from Khevsureti, specifically village Mutso and ends in Tusheti - Omalo. The route includes the Atsunta Pass, villages in Dartlo...
Lower Sharakhevi - Khmala Mountain - Bodakhevi
The trail starts next to the river Aragvi, in the lower Sharakhevi gorge 850 MSL. From the river Aragvi the trail follows the ground road up to villag...
Mokhisi - Didgori - Tbilisi
Mokhisi, Didgori monument, Lake Chili, Panoramic view on Tbilisi and surrounding, Mukhatgverdi Cemetery.The cycling route starts from Nichbis-Didgori ...
Village Juta - Khde Valley- Dariali
Trek starts in Juta, goes through pass located at 3500 meters MSL and goes down to Khde gorge until the Dariali Monastery. Trek is close to Russian bo...
Abudelauri Colorful Lakes
Colorfule lakes of Abudelauri are located at the top of the gorge of the river Abudelauri. Lakes are especially beautiful at the beginning of the summ...
On the ridge: Datijvari Pass to Tbatana
The trail starts at the Datvijvari pass and ends with the Pankisi Gorge. The route covers the ridge separating Ukana Pshavi and Migma Khevi, Borbalo p...
Stepantsminda is one of the most beautiful destination in Georgia. It's a little town surrounded by huge mountains. It's exceptional landscapes will r...
Village Atabe - Lake Tanie
Tanie Lake is one of the most beautiful places in the Arkhoti Gorge community located in the Taineskali Gorge. You can go to the lake by riding and pe...
Juta - Abudeluari Colorful Lakes - Roshka
White Lake of Abudelauri
The White Lake of Abudelauri is located in Khevsureti at the top of the gorge of the river Abudelauri at the height of 2840 meters above sea lev...
Green Lake of Abudelauri
The Abudelauri Green Lake is located in Khevsureti at the top of the gorge of the river Abudelauri at the height of 2600 meters above sea level....
Tanie Lake
Tanie lake is located in Khevsureti, exactly- in Arkhota, in the gorge of Tanie Water. As for me, this lake is the second most beautiful lake, after T...
Bazaleti Lake
40 km away from Tbilisi one can discover volcanic origin Bazaleti lake, located on the Bazaleti plateau. This place is known not for only the beauty o...
Dusheti is the city and the administrative centre of Dusheti municipality within Mtskheta-Mtianeti region. It is situated in Dusheti valley at both ba...
არმაზციხე (ბაგინეთი)
ისტორიაარმაზციხე (ბაგინეთი) ძველი მცხეთის შიდაციხე გახლავთ. არმაზციხის აშენებას ისტორიული წყაროები ქართლოსს - ქართველთა ნათესავთმთავარს მიაწერენ, იმავ...
Mtskheta is located in Mtskheta - Mtianeti region, only 10 kilometers away from Tbilisi.HistoryMtskheta was the old capital and political ce...
Arsha Waterfall
Arshi Waterfall is located in Kazbegi, in the village of Arsha. The village Arsha is 5 m away from Kazbegi. The way from the village to the waterfall ...
Blue Lake of Abudelauri
The Abudelauri Blue Lake is located in Khevsureti at the top of the gorge of the river Abudelauri at the height of 2580 meters above sea level....
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TCDisrupt 2015: FinTech Showcase
Disrupt 2015, one of the world’s biggest tech events is underway right now in San Francisco. With the tagline Startups Start Here, TechCrunch Disrupt 2015 brings together industry influencers, top CEOs and thought leaders in the tech space at one place and enables a valuable discussion on upcoming trends in the technology industry. The most important part of TechCrunch Disrupt 2015 is the Startup Battlefield, which attracts early stage startups who compete to win the much desired Disrupt Cup and a $50,000 prize. TechCrunch Disrupt 2015 has Startup Alleys where tech startups demonstrate their products and/or services to the attendees. The Disrupt Hackathon is a competition for developers to create a product within 24 hours. All the elements of Disrupt 2015 Day 1 were enjoyable and informative, especially for a first-timer like me.
Overall, the first day experience was a good one. The interiors of the venue weren’t overly sophisticated and fancy like a big conference or the Salesforce event, Dreamforce. However, the ambience was just right for a tech event and the venue seemed to be chosen to specifically give it a tech feel. The atmosphere was toned down yet vibrant. There were 7-8 alleys featuring all the tech startups and early stage companies on one side of the venue whereas the interviews and startup battlefield were taking place on the other side.
Let’s Talk Payments covered Day 1 of the event based on the agenda and invitations from companies looking to share their innovations. We focused on the FinTech, payments and financial startups at Disrupt 2015. One of the engaging discussions at Disrupt 2015 was the one around bitcoin featuring Wences Casares (Xapo), Nathaniel Popper (NYT), and Bobby Lee (BTCChina). It was apparent that Bobby Lee and Wences Casares strongly believe in the future of bitcoin - this was also apparent in the interesting Twitter conversation that ensued with many apt analogies to add to the one that Wences shared on stage. However Nathaniel Popper, an NYT reporter and author of Digital Gold: Bitcoin and The Inside Story of the Misfits and Millionaires Trying to Reinvent Money wanted to make people aware about the risky nature and acceptability of bitcoin. He said, One should invest in bitcoin but nothing more than 1% of his savings.
@khurjekar @jameswester @wences @LetsTalkPaymnts @xapo Think the analogy might be the wrong way round: bitcoin=browser, blockchain=internet?
— Jonathan Williams (@jmlw1) September 21, 2015
In the startup alley, there were 2 pavilions that really grabbed our attention. One was theFintech/Payments/Investment pavilion and the other was the Clover pavilion. We spotted Card1, a Coin device competitor who claimed to be better than Coin. Randy Smith, President & CEO of Card1 said, Card1 replaces the hardware of the Coin card with software. Who likes to carry a hardware card inside the pocket? Card1 is similar to your credit card. You can choose the card you want to swipe from options within our mobile app. Also, Card1 is much thinner than the competitor. There have been issues with competitors like Coin at POS because of the thickness of the card. Then, there were 2 startups, Loanly.com and Loanatik who are trying to simplify the home mortgage process for consumers. We also met Faris Gammoh, General Manager at Newton, a company which is trying to become Siri for insurance problems. Another startup was Quikwallet, which is an India based POS company. Quikwallet replaces the expensive NFC terminal with a $1 plastic box which can be used as an NFC terminal. Mohit Lalvani, CEO and Co-founder of Quikwallet said, The plastic box is based on the NFC technology and blockchain technology. We have more than 1200 merchant customers in India. We are now in US to expand the business and we are looking for partnerships with payment networks like MasterCard and Visa. Billme, an invoicing startup for freelancers claimed to have innovative invoicing features like letting the merchant know how many times the invoice was opened as well as social media and Whatsapp integration in their web app. The Clover pavilion consisted of Clover themselves and 6 other apps in their marketplace. Mark Schulze, Head of App Marketing, Clover said, 75% of the apps in our marketplace are developed by third party developers and 25% are developed in-house. We adopted rapidly to the EMV migration in US. Clover is the only POS that enables signature for Chip-and-signature cards on the POS screen.
The only #pos that lets you #sign on the #posScreen #chipandsignature #emv @CloverPOS #greatdesign #TCDisrupt pic.twitter.com/t1kHvQ0Ulz — Let's Talk Payments (@LetsTalkPaymnts) September 21, 2015
There were a lot of interesting startups in the FinTech space at Disrupt 2015. While we walked through the alleys, there were some pure tech startups trying to disrupt the finance industry and there were some finance guys who really wanted a robust technology to succeed in their idea. One example of this was when we saw Ownerlistens, a Clover marketplace app that Eenables scalable, secure texting between businesses and customers wanting to enable payments via SMS. However they are still looking for a secure financial technology to make that happen. VoicePIN, a voice biometrics technology for data protection was also present at Disrupt 2015. VoicePIN has been successfully implemented in various use cases in Poland and Europe. It now looks forward to expanding in the US with its existing use cases and in the banking and payments industry.
TechCrunch Disrupt 2015 was great experience for Let’s Talk Payments. Of all the showcased startups, around 20% were in the payments and FinTech space, which is not a bad sign for the resurgent segment. Of course, we were expecting more startups in the FinTech space at Disrupt 2015, especially with emerging technologies and trends like blockchain, bitcoin, biometrics, NFC and EMV migration in US. Probably our expectations will be fulfilled at TechCrunch Disrupt 2016, when these emerging technologies and trends will gain momentum.
Aboli Gangreddiwar
Aboli is a marketing specialist and a FinTech analyst based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Her FinTech articles bring together her research skills and industry knowledge. Having been an observer of the technology space and the start-up ecosystem in the Silicon Valley for more than a year, she likes to analyze and write about exciting and innovative companies in the payments and commerce industry.
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Apollo Munich’s InspireNext: Inaugural Cohort for Embracing Tech Disruption
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Awaiting the Numbers
POSTED BY Galen Institute on August 20, 2004 .
The U.S. Census Bureau is expected to announce this coming Thursday its estimates of the number of people who didn?t have health insurance in 2003. The number almost certainly will be higher than the 43.8 million estimate for 2002, and it will equally be certain to add more fuel on the political debate over how to reduce the numbers.
Dan Crippen, former director of the Congressional Budget Office, reminds us that the “uninsured” are not a homogeneous group. Many are chronically uninsured, but the majority are between coverage, with the average duration of uninsurance lasting seven months. ?Portability (of which HSA’s can play a part), and new insurance products to cover these ?gaps? would do more for the ?uninsured? than any federal program spending $100’s of billions,? Crippen writes. ?The flexible nature of our labor market and the inflexibility of many public and private insurance plans result in gaps in coverage that suggest a much different public policy than currently being contemplated,? he says. Current CBO director Doug Holtz-Eakin also stressed the need for a multi-faceted approach to helping the uninsured in testimony he gave earlier this year.
We?ll give you an analysis in this space next week when we have the actual numbers. But it?s already clear what?s happening.
The number of people with job-based coverage is declining because our economy is changing from an Industrial base to the Information Age. Tying health insurance to the workplace just isn?t stable when there is so much job-mobility. The vast majority of new jobs created are by new, small businesses. Yet our system gives the biggest incentives for health insurance to big companies with stable workforces.
The big question for voters this fall is whether or not they choose a new way, with health insurance that people can own and take with them from job to job. Stay tuned for more next week?.
Criticism continues of the new Medicare law. Unfortunately, many members of Congress are spending the August recess in Town Hall meetings with their constituents telling them there?s little or nothing good in it for seniors. And the events get a lot of coverage by local papers.
We can?t answer every one of the articles, but I did take my own congressman, Rep. Jim Moran (D-VA), to task in a letter to the editor of his local paper with facts and figures showing that the new Medicare drug discount card program could provide serious help. The Business Roundtable (BRT) did a state-by-state analysis and found that 2,168 seniors in Rep. Moran’s 8th congressional district are eligible for a $600 cash subsidy this year and next, and another 63,921 could benefit from drug discount card savings. The BRT estimates that the total benefit to seniors in Mr. Moran’s district in 2004 and 2005 could be $8.3 million.
Finally, the drug importation debate appears to be heating up again. Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich announced on Tuesday a sweeping new effort that would allow any Illinois resident to import drugs from Canada, the U.K., or Ireland. This would be, of course, a violation of U.S. law. But Blagojevich forgot one thing: Checking with Irish authorities ? who were not pleased.
Crack reporters at the Chicago Tribune called a representative of the Irish Pharmaceutical Healthcare Association who called the Illinois program ?totally unworkable and impractical? and raised concerns about the effect of the proposal on the Irish prescription drug supply. ?It might have been better if [Blagojevich] had spoken to us first,” the official said.
And a Tribune editorial also gets it right: Illinois “should not be in the business of helping people break the law, even if its elected officials disagree with that law.” Unfortunately, it goes on to say that the editors are sure that Congress will soon pass a law making importation legal.
Here is a link to a summary of the coverage: www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=25336
RECENT NEWS, ARTICLES, AND STUDIES FROM THE HEALTH POLICY WORLD:
? Bringing rational payment structures to cancer treatment under Medicare
? How consumer-driven health care evolves in a dynamic market
? Senator Dorgan?s breathtaking drug bill
? Update on individual health insurance
? Health insurance mandates in the states 2004
? A tax-code cure for ailing health care
BRINGING RATIONAL PAYMENT STRUCTURES TO CANCER TREATMENT UNDER MEDICARE
Author: Grace-Marie Turner
Source: Galen Institute, 8/19/04
?The new Medicare legislation enacted in December, 2003, continues to draw fire for its cost and structure, but the blanket criticism misses many of the important and necessary improvements it contains,? Turner writes. ?One such change involves the way Medicare Part B pays doctors for administering prescription drug therapy in their offices, including chemotherapy.? Doctors have often been vastly overpaid for oncology drugs while being significantly underpaid for their costs in administering the therapies. In one example, doctors were paid $382 for a drug that cost them $5 to buy. The new Medicare law provides a more rational formula based upon the Average Sales Price of the drugs and new mechanisms to more fairly compensate doctors for practice expenses.
Full text: http://www.galen.org/medicare.asp?docID=674
HOW CONSUMER-DRIVEN HEALTH CARE EVOLVES IN A DYNAMIC MARKET
Author: Greg Scandlen
Source: Health Services Research, 08/04
Greg Scandlen of the Galen Institute offers his commentary on a collection of research papers documenting early experiences with consumer-driven health care. Scandlen emphasizes that ?consumerism in health care is in its infancy? and the market is ?in a period of experimentation and trial and error.? He notes that it?s just as important to study mistakes and missteps as successes ?as a welcome opportunity to improve the product offerings.? He says that early adopters in a new market differ in predictable ways from later adopters in a mature market, with the former willing ?to accept risking the unknown?If the product is successful at this stage, word gets out and the new idea attracts a wider market segment.? One of the greatest values of the consumer movement, Scandlen notes, is that ?[v]endors and employers are free to refine their products in accordance with changing conditions and growing knowledge.?
Full text: http://www.hcfo.net/cyberseminar/0904/hsr.pdf
SENATOR DORGAN?S BREATHTAKING DRUG BILL
Author: Stephen J. Entin
Source: Institute for Research on the Economics of Taxation, 08/05/04
Economist Steve Entin analyzes legislation being proposed by Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND) to allow Americans to import prescription drugs. Entin criticizes the bill?s provisions that he says defy constitutional protections of private property rights. The Dorgan bill ?would effectively give foreign exporters and domestic importers the right to demand that manufacturers produce and sell proprietary products to them at prices determined by foreign laws and regulations.? The Dorgan bill also would prohibit pharmaceutical companies from limiting sales to foreign countries. ?This is forced production and forced sale,? Entin writes. His assessment: ?The Dorgan bill is a breathtaking assault on patient protection and property rights,? and is an ?audacious effort to wish away a basic law of economics and markets.?
Full text: ftp://ftp.iret.org/pub/ADVS-177.PDF
UPDATE ON INDIVIDUAL HEALTH INSURANCE
Source: Kaiser Family Foundation/eHealthInsurance, 08/04
Using data from eHealthInsurance, this Kaiser Family Foundation report provides a valuable portrait of the individual insurance market, including who is buying these policies and how much they are paying in premiums by age group and geographic region. According to the report, ?Single purchasers tend to be young ? only 36% are age 35 or older, although 12% are age 55-64. Family coverage purchasers are older ? 64% are age 35 or older.? Premiums vary throughout the country, but older purchasers generally pay higher premiums than younger purchasers, ?reflecting the relatively higher health care costs that people incur as they get older.? Older policyholders keep their policies longer than younger policyholders, and nearly half of individual policies are retained for two years or longer. The report also finds that recent proposals to create tax credits or deductions for individual health insurance could ?markedly increase? the number of people receiving coverage through the individual market.
Full text: http://www.kff.org/insurance/chcm080204pkg.cfm
HEALTH INSURANCE MANDATES IN THE STATES 2004
Author: Victoria Craig Bunce and JP Wieske
Source: Council for Affordable Health Insurance, July 2004
The Council for Affordable Health Insurance has tabulated the total number of health insurance mandates enacted by all 50 states and finds that in 2004, there are 1,823 mandates. The report includes a chart with information broken down by state into three categories: types of mandated benefits, providers, and covered populations. ?While mandates make health insurance more comprehensive, they also make it more expensive,? write the authors. ?In some markets, mandated benefits increase the cost of health insurance by as much as 45%.?
Full text: http://www.cahi.org/cahi_contents/resources/pdf/Mandatepub2004Electronic.pdf
A TAX-CODE CURE FOR AILING HEALTH CARE
Author: Susan Lee
Anyone who gives thought to our current health care system can identify the root cause of its problems as ?the widespread existence of a third-party payer system? and ?the benighted tax system that favors it,? writes Susan Lee of The Wall Street Journal?s editorial board. Lee cites the idea of economists John Cogan, Glenn Hubbard and Daniel Kessler to expand tax deductibility to out-of-pocket expenses and individually purchased insurance. Lee writes that the expansion of tax deductibility would have two main effects: first to increase consumption and costs by an estimated $6 billion dollars as lower overall health care prices would increase consumer demand; second to decrease health care spending by an estimated $69 billion as consumers shift to higher deductible, higher coinsurance policies.
Full text: http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB109200556254686007,00.html
Health Policy Matters is a weekly newsletter containing commentary on health policy developments, summaries of timely and informative studies and articles on free-market health reform, and notices of upcoming events. It features research and writings by participants in the Health Policy Consensus Group. Health Policy Matters is published by the Galen Institute, a not-for-profit public policy organization specializing in information and education on health policy. For more information about this newsletter and our organization, please visit our website at http://www.galen.org/.
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Halfway Intelligence
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Nostalgic candy and more at Roger’s Bulk Candy Shop
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Squirrels candy
For many of us, Valentine’s Day is a time to indulge our sweet side. We go out of our way to be kind to our friends, families, neighbors, coworkers and significant others, and this usually includes plying them with sugary candy. If you’re looking for some really unique sweets this Valentine’s Day, shop at Roger’s Bulk Candy Shop on 9 Mile Road in Eastpointe.
With a modest exterior, Roger’s takes on a Wonka-like atmosphere when you walk through the door. The walls are lined with glass jars, bins and barrels overflowing with bright pieces of candy. They carry every kind of confectionary you can think of, but what is especially impressive is their selection of nostalgic candy.
Some of the memorable brands Roger’s carries date back more than 100 years, like Taffy Town. Other candies like Squirrels, Bit-O-Honey and Black Jacks were developed in the 1920s. And there are plenty more candies that have stood the test of time such as Mary Janes, Candy Buttons, Turkish Taffy, Slo Pokes, Astro Pops and ZotZ.
Roger’s also carries all of today’s kids’ favorite treats like gummy bears, lollipops, Swedish Fish, Runts, Jolly Ranchers, Skittles and Jelly Belly Jelly Beans. With malt balls, chocolate-covered almonds, pecan turtles and classic name-brand candy bars, there is plenty of chocolate to choose from as well.
I spoke with owner Roger Berro who said he opened the business eight years ago because there was a need in the area for a specialty candy shop. Generations of his family have been in the retail business, and he said business is their passion. As he showed me around the shop, Berro was like a candy librarian, pointing out different popular candies and giving me a little history about each of them.
The shop originally only sold candy and later expanded to ice cream. Now they also carry Mediterranean food like grape leaves, tabouli and spinach and meat pies. Additionally, they offer habanero pistachios, Jordan almonds, jumbo salted cashews and other specialty nuts. Their freshly made smoothies and 52 flavors of Ashby’s Sterling Ice Cream are extremely popular in the summer.
While I was there, a woman was buying candy for her daughter’s shower. Berro said they are a popular destination for people putting together candy tables for graduation parties, showers and weddings. Customers can purchase anything from one piece of candy up to 20 pounds!
“People come in happy, and we make sure they leave happy,” said Berro.
15020 E. 9 Mile Rd., Eastpointe, MI 48021 ~ (586) 772-1076
Date February 9, 2017
Tags Astro Pops, Bit-O-Honey candy, Black Jacks candy, Bulk candy Eastpointe, Caitlin Gerds-Habermas, Candy Buttons, Ice cream Eastpointe, Imad Berro, Mary Janes candy, Mediterranean food Eastpointe, nostalgic candy, old fashioned candy, Roger Berro, Roger's Bulk Candy Shop, Roger's Candy Eastpointe, Slo Pokes, Smoothies Eastpointe, Squirrels candy, Taffy Town, Turkish Taffy, Zotz
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Cologne New Philharmonic Orchestra, Volker Hartung – Chaplin: Modern Times (2018) [Official Digital Download 24bit/48kHz]
Cologne New Philharmonic Orchestra, Volker Hartung – Chaplin: Modern Times (2018)
FLAC (tracks) 24-bit/48 kHz | Time – 01:10:39 minutes | 744 MB | Genre: Classical
Studio Master, Official Digital Download | Digital Booklet, Front cover | © JPK Musik
Volker Hartung is regarded as one of the most colorful personalities in the music scene today. His unmistakable conducting style, great musical sensitivity and skill in handling orchestras as well as soloists make his Concerts unforgettable events, which he enhances with his witty and famously entertaining announcements to the works performed. His several decades of experience as an independent manager of ensembles have taught him how to form orchestras and to make them financially and artistically viable in the face of various obstacles.
Volker Hartung is an accomplished symphonic conductor specializing in musical and artistic development of global symphonic orchestras with over thirty years of experience impacting major musical institutions through orchestration of European classical Romantic style and sound. He is able to nurture musicians into positions that leverage their talents to maximum effect.
Hartung is an organizational leader, highly capable of coordinating musicians from diverse backgrounds.
His lectures on music history and performance technique are internationally renowned. Volker Hartung assumed the position of principal conductor of the Cologne New Philharmonic Orchestra in 1986 and is today still active as its Artistic Director.
1. Modern Times : Introduction (From “Modern Times”) 02:21
2. Modern Times : In the City (From “Modern Times”) 02:35
3. Modern Times : Waltz (From “Modern Times”) 01:20
4. Modern Times : Ten Days (From “Modern Times”) 02:25
5. Modern Times : The Sleeping Girl – The Ballroom (From “Modern Times”) 02:59
6. Modern Times : Morning – Smile – Love Theme – Finale (From “Modern Times”) 01:51
7. Rhapsody in Blue 16:15
8. 3 Preludes 01:26
9. An American in Paris 17:21
10. Symphonic Dances from West Side Story : I. Prologue 04:12
11. Symphonic Dances from West Side Story : II. Somewhere 04:17
12. Symphonic Dances from West Side Story : III. Scherzo 01:27
13. Symphonic Dances from West Side Story : IV. Mambo 02:17
14. Symphonic Dances from West Side Story : V. Cha-cha 01:03
15. Symphonic Dances from West Side Story : VI. Meeting Scene 00:49
16. Symphonic Dances from West Side Story : VII. Cool 03:10
17. Symphonic Dances from West Side Story : VIII. Rumble 01:27
18. Symphonic Dances from West Side Story : IX. Finale 03:24
Cologne New Philharmonic Orchestra
Volker Hartung, conductor
Filippo Faes, piano
https://subyshare.com/jtcltbcfm724/C0l0gneNewPhilharm0nic0rchestraV0lkerHartungChaplinM0dernTimes20182448.rar.html
Volker Hartung
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Cologne New Philharmonic Orchestra & Volker Hartung - Strauss: Waltz in Vienna (2019) [Official Digital Download 24bit/48kHz]
Cologne New Philharmonic Orchestra, Volker Hartung - Chaplin: Modern Times (2018) [Official Digital Download 24bit/48kHz]
More posts: Volker Hartung
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Holistic Wordsmith
Create Sparkling, Magnetic Content that Attracts the Right Clients + Opportunities
Moving Beyond Occupation into Presence: Decolonizing our Minds, Hearts, and Spirits
March 22, 2012 in Uncategorized
(Published in Tikkun Magazine)
The heartbeat of a large painted drum and the sound of voices chanting in languages indigenous to the land beneath the concrete met me as I joined the crowd gathered at the edge of Oscar Grant Plaza that day. This had once been the stronghold of Occupy Oakland, until a series of brutal, fastidiously planned attacks by police had brought the days of the encampment to a close.
Many of us were returning to the General Assembly for the first time in weeks. We had closed down the Oakland Port with a march of over 10,000 people, built a mini-city of shared food and cooperative work, and found ways to offer medical care and housing people affected by impact of the recession on our local community. But then it had all been taken away, and our unity was torn apart by internal conflict, confusion, and the heavy scars that follow police brutality.
The chill of winter pierced the famously-warm Bay Area autumn air as the sun dipped down behind the tall arches of City Hal. At least two or three hundred people had gathered – people of many different colors, ages, and backgrounds – apparently pulled back to the General Assembly by the call of the First Nation’s people drumming and chanting in the center of the plaza.
Even though the decision before us — a proposal brought forth by Ohlone, Pomo, and other Native American activists and allies to change the name of our encampment from “Occupy Oakland” to “Decolonize Oakland” — was highly controversial, I was struck by the beautiful energy of the scene before me. Even in the midst of in-fighting and ideological debates that seemed irresolvable, or perhaps beneath it, was a yearning to be together again and to find the next step we might take together.
In some ways, the thing that lit the heartfires of those of us involved in Occupy Oakland and brought the fractionalized city together was the communal experience of belonging to a certain piece of land and sharing village life. It struck me, watching these Ohlone and Pomo men and women beating drums and singing in haunting voices from within the larger crowd, that these were people who had never lost that – at least, not to the same degree that many of us have.
In that moment, I looked up and the reality that I usually live in – one of iron-boned skyscrapers, fiberglass coated cars, tangerine-colored streetlights, and cheap consumer goods —shimmered in front of my eyes, as if it were coarse wool rippling atop bare skin, hinting at unseen beauty lying beneath. It lasted only a breath, but in that moment I had a glimpse of something deeply authentic that is hidden by the hologram of consumerism, capitalism, and colonialism that constantly, nearly omnipotently, dominates the psyche of those of us born and raised in heavily industrialized societies.
In that moment, I had my first real sense of what this movement can achieve if it reaches its fullest potential, why its so threatening to the powers-that-be that relentlessly and violently try to repress it, and why it sometimes seems at its most powerful when it is undefined, unnamed, and without demands.
Occupy’s magical ability to make the invisible visible is one of the reasons it grew from a hot and heavy end-of-the summer activist fling into a global movement. Sharing stories of the real-life impact of economic policies that favor the extremely wealthy at the expense of just about everyone else, we have broken the silence that once surrounded and veiled a system of compounding class, racial, and gender oppression. In doing so, the American people not only came to understand that these personal stories of hardship and desperation were not, as many had believed, shameful instances of personal failure – they also began to connect the dots between jobless college graduates wrestling with crippling student loan debt, families evicted from their homes due to bank foreclosures and predatory lending policies, elderly folks and children needlessly suffering because they lack access to affordable medical care and, perhaps above all, the corporate greed and government complicity that fuels these inequities and that for so long have gone unchallengened.
In dis-spelling the rhetoric of “the American Dream” and the widespread hopelessness (misdiagnosed as apathy — especially in young adults) the Occupy movement has dis-illusioned many people around the world in profound, catalyzing ways. In occupying parks, city squares, and vacant houses, and transforming them into the commons where we share food, housing, allopathic and alternative healthcare, and the responsibility of shared decision-making, we are creating the “Beloved Community” that Martin Luther King said was key to realizing his dream on earth. We are helping to bring forth the prophesy of the Shambhala Warriors oft quoted by engaged Buddhist Joanna Macy by honing the two essential gifts that she says those of us committed to healing our world must have: compassion and understanding the radical interdependence of all things.
Pancho Ramos Stierle is probably further up the road of Shambhala warriorhood than anyone else I know. Last autumn, he was arrested while sitting in silent meditation during a police raid at Oscar Grant Plaza. Pictures of him in the pre-dawn light, his eyes closed and a sweet smile on his lips, surrounded by riot cops, immediately went viral – and when the Alameda Sherrif’s Department turned him over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the entire community mobilized in his defense. Pancho was treated as a maximum risk prisoner at the ICE Detention Center, kept continuously shacked and locked in solitary confinement for long periods of time.
“We were in shackles and we were in handcuffs,” he told reporters in a conference call after his release, “but the officers, they were in handcuffs and shackles in their soul. So we were just providing keys to them. So we said, ‘You know, you don’t need to be doing this.’”
Pancho was arrested in front of the Interfaith Tent at Occupy Oakland, which is organized by a group of local religious leaders that have been repeatedly threatened with police action and undermined by City Council politics. They were cited last December, even though they had exchanged their tent for a large beach umbrella in an attempt to comply with a law that prohibits erecting permanent structures in public spaces.
In many versions of reality, the most dire threat that a group of rabbis, pastors, and yogis gathering under a beach umbrella could possibly pose is as the first line of a bad joke. But for the powers-that-be, they, like Pancho, represent something very frightening to those that are materially invested in maintaining the hologram that many of us walk around in every day, suspecting something is wrong but not knowing how to name it, and sometimes falling for the lie that we just need to buy the newest technological toy, shed a couple of pounds, or rid ourselves of some undesirable element of society in order to feel better.
There is a a growing understanding that the power structures that we are fighting against are not only dissolving our right livelihoods, repressing our voices, making us sick, and polluting the planet — they are also intentionally obstructing our ability to be fully alive and realize our deepest potential as humans. If our collective delusion of individualism and disconnection from the earth were shattered on a global level — and the moment that I experienced that day, listening to the drums and the warbly ancestral voices of the land, reflected the shared reality we all lived in — power structures rooted in inequity and domination would have no place here on earth. That thought is absolutely terrifying to those that have poured their lives, their ambitions, and their sense of security into them – especially those within the most elite echelons.
Although Oakland did not adopt the proposal that day, in the past several months other groups have moved away from the word Occupy because of its connotations of militarism and its legacy of bloodshed, and are beginning to use words like “Liberate,” “Activate,” “Unsettle,” and “Decolonize.” For those of us within the Occupy movement being called to whatever is beyond the veil of internalized industrialization and assembly-line living, we are no longer simply talking about a revolution that frees us from the corporate powers that have taken our homes and jobs but also conscious, collective evolution away from consumerism’s false promises and the tyranny of colonialism that affects us all. As that shift occurs, we dance with new names and seek ways to describe something ineffable that we know is our birthright and suspect is our future.
We aren’t merely calling for a paradigm shift, but an unsettling of the constant haze of distraction, dissatisfaction and depression in our hearts and minds that denigrates our relationships with one another, the earth, and our most authentic selves.
We understand that there is a difference between occupying and being present, and that being present means that we must be liberated, activated, and connected.
And in the beautiful spring days opening before us, as the earth burgeons with rebirth and new possibility, we feel a stirring inside of us as our ancestral memories, deepest desires, and highest aspirations come into alignment with our work in the world– no matter what words we use to describe this, and what languages we use to sing of the sacred.
Tags:activism occupy oakland spirituality tikkun
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← The Doctor Strange Trailer Debuts Tonight!
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6 Mutants I Want to See in a Future Ninja Turtles Movie
The latest trailer for the upcoming Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles sequel got me thinking about one of my favorite things in the world: mutants! The Ninja Turtles were my cartoon of choice growing up in the 1980s, and you better believed I owned every crazy Ninja Turtles action figure I could get my hands on! The very premise of martial arts animal people was so limitless that we got everything from a moose Mountie to a basketball-playing giraffe!
Nostalgia’s gonna get ya, suckas
The latest trailer for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows focuses heavily on Bebop and Rocksteady, and the idea that the Shredder now has the ability to make more mutants. If the Ninja Turtles movies are anything like the X-Men movies (another popular mutant franchise), then all the upcoming sequels are going to try and cram as many new mutants onto the screen as they can!
Seeing as how I am an expert in ancillary Ninja Turtles, I’ve decided to offer up a few suggestions for the franchise.
6. Punk Frogs
Maybe ‘punk’ isn’t the right word
How do you up the ante in a threequel when you’ve already had the Turtles face off against the duo of Bebop and Rocksteady? Put them against the quartet of the Punk Frogs! Basically, they’re duplicate versions of the Ninja Turtles. There are four of them, each one has a unique weapon, and they’re all named after history’s greatest dictators, like Genghis Khan or Attila the Hun. They appeared a few times in the original cartoon, though the less said about the current Nickelodeon version, the better. A lot can be done with frogs, plus it would be 4-on-4. That’s called upping the stakes.
5. Slash
Sometimes he’s from Dimension X, sometimes he ain’t
What’s better than four frogs? How about one badass snapping turtle monster? Slash is the evil fifth turtle, a snapping turtle mutant that wears a black mask as an enemy (and sometimes ally) of the Ninja Turtles. He’s big, he’s mean and he’s a fan favorite. Bebop and Rocksteady are good for comedy relief. Slash is good for some old-fashioned monster fights! Plus he’s an easy concept to understand for audiences. The Ninja Turtles fighting a bigger, meaner, eviler turtle? Sounds about right.
4. Old Hob
He’d be good in The Walking Dead
Old Hob is a new character that has so far only appeared in the IDW comic book series, which is amazing, and a highly recommended read. He’s an old, grizzled junk yard cart turned mutant terrorist, and that would be pretty awesome on screen. The Turtles need a wide variety of adversaries, and Old Hob is kind of a gangster and a scrapper, while also being a cat. And cats are adorable. Especially when they wear eye-patches like Old Hob.
3. Mondo Gecko
Kids are still into skateboarding, right?
Bad guys are great and all, but the Turtles need friends too! Not every mutant is a big, angry jerk who wants to dine on turtle soup! So bring on Mondo Gecko, the skateboard-loving crazy kid who wants to party and eat pizza more than Michelangelo! He doesn’t need to have much depth, because this is a Ninja Turtles sequel we’re talking about here. He just needs to be fun, crack wise and look cool next to the new, gargantuan Ninja Turtles. Plus just think of the cross-promotion they can do with Geico!
2. Wingnut & Screwloose
Batman is already really popular these days
This pick is based purely on personal interest, because Wingnut & Screwloose are my favorite characters! I loved bats as a kid (still do), and Wingnut was the bat character. It was a no-brainer! He’s a screwball alien bat with wimpy wings, so he had to build badass mechanical wings to help fly. And he’s got his own sidekick, which is always a plus. Usually these two are villains, which I suppose could work for the new movie. But I’d also be OK with a couple of weird, nerdy characters who hang from the ceiling and drink blood!
1. Mona Lisa
We need more female space heroes
We need a female mutant in the franchise, and we need her yesterday. In all honesty, there just aren’t very many female mutants at all in the entire Ninja Turtles franchise. There’s Venus de Milo, the female turtle that showed up in that crappy live action TV show in the 90s, and who TMNT co-creator Peter Laird hates with a fiery passion. So let’s forget about her and focus on Mona Lisa, the mutant salamander who most often gets paired up as Raphael’s girlfriend. I’m totally down with that. Raph’s the kind of guy who could use a woman’s touch.
Mona Lisa made a short appearance in the 1980s cartoon, and most prominently, she’s a main character in the fourth season of Nickelodeon’s new Ninja Turtles cartoon. She’s a badass alien salamander warrior, which is a description that could only work in Ninja Turtles. She’s cool, she’s as much a mutant as the Turtles, and she gets to be the romantic lead. Sounds like a solid threequel to me!
Posted on April 13, 2016, in Lists of Six!, Movies and tagged Ninja Turtles, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows. Bookmark the permalink. Leave a comment.
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Category: Hercules Projects
Prepare for the Pride Games
With the famous Antwerp Pride in mind, Hercules Projects is organizing these games for all fans of a whole afternoon filled with action, fun and teamwork. Strengthen the bond in your group of friends by participating in a team of 5!
First Herculean Decathlon Trophy
After having organized their teambuilding events themselves for many years, Decathlon decided, because of time management, to put their trust in Hercules Projects this year. This led to an unforgettable experience!
Owens Corning Family Games – literally for all ages
“If we could organize a cozy family day for roughly 60 people that speak either Dutch, French or English -and consist of even more nationalities?” And would we be able to come up with something that pleases both the youngest of children, as senior citizens and everything in between?” Those were the questions we received…
“I didn’t know you also did small team events?” The BNP Paribas Fortis case
“Organize a unique team day for one of our departments, that should focus on connecting people and fun. We’re talking about more or less 60 people (bilingual), of which some are Hercules Trophy fans. We expect the best.” That is what BNP Paribas Fortis recently asked us. BNP Paribas Fortis is a loyal Herculean fan….
Pink Ladies Games UAE 2018: Thank you!
It’s a wrap! The Pink Ladies Games Dubai 2018 have been absolutely fantastic. First off, we’d like to thank everyone who helped make this third UAE edition a success: our sponsors –Allied Medical Center in particular-, HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum as organiser of the Dubai Fitness Challenge, our volunteers, co-workers…
Launching well-being programme and new values for Voka
Employee retention is probably one of the biggest challenges HR managers face nowadays. But sometimes pragmatic solutions can pop up just by doing. The Chamber of Commerce in Flemish Brabant (Voka), Belgium, is one of those organisations that understands the value of people. Keeping talented employees by motivating them, cherishing their well-being and stimulate their…
Thank You day for Coderdojo Volunteers
Through the CoderDojo movement, volunteers all over the world help minors in building a positive future through coding and community. This unique not-for-profit believes that having an understanding of programming languages is increasingly important and actively promotes that by implementing local and entirely free programming clubs for everyone between 7 and 17 years old. With…
Deloitte Games, powered by Herculean
“We want to bring all the employees of one department together as they all work at customer premises and don’t really know each other. They are all high performers. If everyone gets to know 10 other people during the day, it’s a massive success for us.” A very clear briefing from Sven, one of the…
Pomax Games: celebrating 25 years in style
One of the most prominent Belgian interior brands, Pomax, celebrates its 25 years of existence this year. The brand originally started as an importer and transformed into an interior brand with a flagship store in Antwerp and impressive international distribution with numerous shop-in-shops. As is very often the case, the employees played a crucial role in this…
Connecting Employees @ AMS Sensors Trophy
“Customers will never love a company until the employees love it first.” Simon Sinek, author, Start with Why June 15th: such a beautiful, sunny day! AMS Sensors, market leader in the production of sensors, couldn’t have picked a better date for their yearly teamday. Hercules Projects took care of the organisation. The goal? To connect employees with each…
SVS becomes MOEV and holds a brand new Apotheosis
Rebranding the yearly sports reunion for thousands of sport teachers? Link a brand new name to it? Herculean knows how to do it! Together with MOEV (the new name of SVS – Flemish School sports Foundation) we organised the Apotheosis in Ghent. The goal? Educate, inspire and motivate teachers concerning moving and physical education. The MOEV project…
Beach Games for the city of Zemst
The summer just started and the civil servants working for the Belgian city Zemst kicked it off fantastically! Every 2 years, the city organises a teambuilding event for the entire organisation. To bring their workforce closer together, Hercules Projects organised the Beach Games Zemst. The result was a gorgeous and unforgettable team day at the beach. The employees…
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Octavia Spencer On ‘Hidden Figures’ Co-Star Taraji P. Henson: ‘Glad To Be Your Wing Woman’
Home › News & Gossip
The Oscar winner has plenty of love for the "Empire" actress and took to Instagram to express her admiration.
Kellee Terrell
Source: SAUL LOEB / Getty
Octavia Spencer has plenty of love for her Hidden Figures‘ co-star Taraji P. Henson and took to Instagram to express her admiration for the Golden Globe winner.
“Shout out and tip of the hat to my sis @tarajiphenson,” Spencer. “She tops the box office two weeks in a row.”
“Now before people weigh in… yes, @janellemonae and I put work in on this film, and we gladly take our bows,” she added, mentioning her other co-star Janelle Monae.
“But, if this movie had tanked Taraji would have taken the flack. So, in the spirit of living the dream and advocating for my sisters, so proud of you sis. Glad to be your wing woman. Dun dun dun… don’t you know that we’re able. That alone makes us major.”
Shout out and tip of the hat to my sis @tarajiphenson. She tops the box office two weeks in a row. Now before people weigh in… yes, @janellemonae and I put in work on this film, and we gladly take our bows. But, if this movie had tanked Taraji would have taken the flack because she is the lead. So, in the spirit of living the dream and advocating for my sisters, so proud of you, sis. Glad to be your wing woman. Dun dun dun… don't you know that we're able. Dun dun dun…That alone makes us major… #hiddenfigures🚀
A post shared by Octavia Spencer (@octaviaspencer) on Jan 15, 2017 at 2:33pm PST
Source: Noam Galai / Getty
The film is centered on the lives of real-life Black women Katherine G. Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson who worked with NASA and were the brains behind the operation that sent the first astronaut John Glenn into space. And it’s been a huge success in the US, raking in $54 million after four weeks in theaters and topping the box office for two weeks in a row after it was released nationwide.
Hidden Figures has also been a serious contender this awards season.
According to IMBd, the film has clocked in a whopping 59 nominations thus far including a Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild nom for Best Supporting Actress for Spencer, a SAG nod for Outstanding motion picture cast, Best Adapted Screenplay at the BAFTAs and a Best Supporting Actress for Monae by the Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards.
Now let’s see about those Oscar noms that come out on Jan 24!
‘Hidden Figures’ Author On How The #BlackGirlMagic In The Film Even Inspired The Obamas
Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer and Janelle Monáe Slay In ‘Essence’
Taraji P. Henson Hopes ‘Hidden Figures’ Will Teach Young Girls That Science Isn’t Only For Boys
Octavia Spencer On ‘Hidden Figures’ Co-Star Taraji P. Henson: ‘Glad To Be Your Wing Woman’ was originally published on hellobeautiful.com
hidden figures , Janelle Monae , Octavia Spencer , Taraji P Henson
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Thinking Ahead, Thinking Globally
by Jenifer G. Andrasko
Here at the Alumni Association, we’re not yet marking our own bicentennial—that one’s 20 years away—but we’ve still got a lot to celebrate.
Jenifer G. Andrasko (Darden ’10)
Since its first meeting in the Rotunda on July 4, 1838, the Alumni Association has been a bedrock of support and innovation for the University. We have sought to enhance the University and with it, the value of the Virginia degree. While much has changed in the 180 years since, our commitment to supporting creative and innovative ideas that lift the UVA community is stronger than ever. In upcoming letters, I will share how we are bringing new ideas to Grounds, and how you as alumni, parents and friends can get involved.
In his inaugural address, University President James E. Ryan (Law ’92) announced that he wants every student to have at least one international experience. We know that to meet that ambition, the University will need to have a variety of programming options for our students. We see two distinct roles the Alumni Association can play to support that effort.
First, we want to support global experiential learning—a theme I wrote about in our Summer issue. I’m thrilled to announce that we are now working to scale the pilot program alumnus Dave Burke (Com ’88) led last year. Through the global experiential mentorship program, alumni will host 10- to 14-day expeditions to expose students to international business, law, medicine and policy, while helping them develop networking and cross-cultural communication skills. The goal is for alumni to design and lead the expeditions, opening their global networks to UVA’s next generation. This program will provide an international experience to students who might otherwise not be able to participate in one.
Second, we are designing a new program to support global initiatives through the Jefferson Trust. By dedicating funds for proposals with an international focus, we will provide students the catalyst to pursue projects with a global impact. The concept achieves two important goals: It supports initiatives that strengthen UVA’s global pre-eminence, and it allows students to design projects that tap into their own academic passions and global interests. Along the way, it creates new opportunities for our trustees to mentor students.
These are just a start. I look forward to sharing more about the Association’s innovative work to support you and your University in the coming months. In the meantime, here’s to UVA at 200 and the world of possibilities ahead.
Wahoowa!
University of Virginia Alumni Association
Winter 2018 / Letters
Alumni, Alumni Hall News & Services, Letters, Comments & Opinion
Around Alumni Hall: Bringing alumni together
The Poets Among Us
New & Noteworthy: Summer 2019
Only 59 Years Apart: Two recent grads have much in common, just not their age
Larger than Architecture: Alumna deploys success in video game to design buildings that help heal
Larger than Architecture
Alumna deploys success in video game to design buildings that help heal.
UVA sports have won their share of hardware. Here’s a list of the national titles belonging to the Cavaliers.
Only 59 Years Apart
Two recent grads have much in common, just not their age.
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Jensen effect on racial IQ differences and GPA controlling for SES in the NLSY79 and NLSY97
September 21, 2013 / 猛虎 / 1 Comment
In The g Factor, Jensen (1998, pp. 384-385) states that because races differ in SES levels, the Spearman-Jensen effect (i.e., g-loading correlates) found in racial IQ differences (hispanics, denoted H; blacks, denoted B; whites, denoted W) could simply reflect this fact. One reason seems to be that SES correlates with g-loadings although he affirms that it was irrelevant to Spearman’s hypothesis (furthermore, this does not necessarily imply that IQ gain due to SES improvement is itself g-loaded; see Jensen 1997, or Metzen 2012). When testing this hypothesis anyway, it was shown that the WISC subtests’ correlation with SES is correlated with WISC g-loading in both the white and black samples. Also, when matching for SES, the BW difference still correlates strongly with g-loadings. Presently, I will try to replicate this result.
To begin, the never-ending NLSY79 syntax can be found here, and the never-ending NLSY97 syntax here. My (EXCEL) file contains all the never-ending list of calculations and results described and explained in the following paragraphs. I do not produce any screenshot here since there were too much numbers everywhere. First of all, it seems that the use of weights (sampling weight) may have an impact on the magnitude of the racial gaps and to a lesser extent the magnitude of correlations. So, I calculated all the gaps with and without weights, but I haven’t applied the weights for the subtest intercorrelations and factor analyses, since the NLSinfo does not (apparently) recommend this when doing correlational analyses but recommend it for tabulating the characteristics of a given population (e.g., means, totals, proportions). In any case, I am taking into account the effect of age, sex, and parental SES (i.e., parental income and years of education) on the ASVAB subtests. Therefore, I produced age-regressed (out) ASVAB subtests, age/gender-regressed (out) ASVAB subtests, age/SES-regressed (out) ASVAB subtests, and age/gender/SES-regressed (out) ASVAB subtests.
I will start with some anomalies. Concerning the Jensen effect in BW black-white differences, the correlation with g is about 0.30 in NLSY97 and 0.40 in NLSY79. For the latter, however, if we regress out simultaneously age and gender variables, the correlations were about or around 0.00 and 0.10. Undoubtedly, MGCFA and IRT techniques are needed to investigate the question of bias with regard to gender and/or race at the subtest/item level. Yet I have no explanation why there is such sex bias in the BW comparison only and especially why there is nothing like this in the NLSY97.
As a way of demonstration, I produce here the column numbers. Despite the almost perfect correlation of BW gap (0.9582), Black g (0.9969), White g (0.9931), and BW g (0.9947) vector with one another (i.e., “reliability”), we see that the g correlation with (d) gap is about 0.30 when not regressing out sex variable but while doing so would lead to a r(g*d) of only 0.05. More annoying is when we look at the individual numbers at each column. They were nearly all the same, with the only exception being Auto/Shop Information subtest for which the BW gap deviates by 0.2. This is exactly the same kind of problem we see earlier in the meta-analysis of Jensen effect in heritability and environmentality of cognitive (sub)tests. I will repeat here again. 10 subtests is way too low for a very interpretable MCV test. This is even more problematic in the face of the high reliability of g loadings and group (d) difference vectors, being respectively 0.86 and 0.78 (Jensen, 1998, p. 383). In this way, correcting for vector (un)reliability and deviation from perfect construct validity is a pure waste of time. Such correction has more effect when the observed correlation moves away from zero. Here’s the difference :
(0.30/SQRT(0.86*0.78))/0.90=0.407
Also, the above picture shows a very narrow distribution of g-loadings (0.090). If we assume a SDg of 0.128 as the population value (te Nijenhuis, 2007, p. 288), we get 0.090/0.128=0.703, this finally yields 0.407/0.703=0.579. The correlation simply doubled when compared with the initial correlation of just 0.300. Obviously, the impact of these artifacts is very important and must always be taken into account when possible.
Anyway, the heritability vector’s reliability in contrast is certainly much lower, so that there is possibility to improve it (e.g., by using samples much larger than a few hundred). In the above picture, however, this is difficult because the vector correlations are very close to unity. The only thing to improve MCV is by using IQ batteries having much more than 10 subtests, which is extremely rare. In any case, we should be skeptical about any sex effect on the r(g*d). It was probably an anomaly.
When looking at the above numbers closely, however, we see that Auto/Shop Information subtest had one of the smallest g-loadings but also one of the most highest black-white difference. After removing it, the correlation jumps drastically, from about +0.100 to +0.500. This was true in the NLSY97 as well. This subtest (divided in two variables in NLSY97) alone was a strong moderator in the magnitude of r(d*g).
MGCFA test is needed to see whether or not this subtest is biased and therefore should be removed or not. As Dragt (2010) meta-analysis clearly shows, biased items/subtests can affect the magnitude of the correlations. Regardless, the ASVAB website does mention the following :
Myth: Some individual items on the ASVAB are biased against minorities.
The Truth: The ASVAB testing program routinely conducts statistical analyses of new test items to ensure that individual items are not biased against minorities. Items displaying evidence of bias are excluded from use on the ASVAB. In addition, sensitivity analyses are conducted on new ASVAB items to guard against including items that might be unintentionally viewed as biased against or insensitive toward a particular group. Experts who are trained to recognize item insensitivity review all new items and identify items with questionable content. Such items are either revised or excluded for use on the ASVAB.
Given this, we wouldn’t expect the ASVAB to be racially biased. Still, I provided the necessary data (EXCEL) for doing such MGCFA test (in Amos for instance) at the subtest level. Any evidence of intercept difference, or intercept bias, would mean that the actual racial gap cannot be entirely attributed to g, the other factor contributing to the difference being the differing levels of difficulty across groups (see Wicherts & Dolan, 2010, for illustration). In MGCFA models, this would result in substantial decrement in model fit for intercept (scalar) invariance model relative to factor loading (metric) invariance model. Both must hold for measurement equivalence to be established.
Now when looking at the non-g loadings (PAF2) correlation with group differences, we see it hard to interpret. In the NLSY97, the black, hispanic and white PAF2 shows very strong correlation with racial gaps. In the NLSY79 however, the white PAF2, as well as hispanic and black PAF2 (when generated), always shows very large negative correlation with race differences.
Anyway, the correlation between g and group differences was unaffected by SES in both NLSY79 and NLSY97 for BW gap. Interestingly, regarding the significant HW gap correlation with g-loadings, it vanishes and becoming even negative in NLSY97 while remaining positive and significant in the NLSY79 after SES removed. One curious finding is definitely the BH gap. In the NLSY79, without controlling for SES, black-hispanic IQ difference shows no relation with g. In fact, such correlations were negative. After removing the influence of SES on all the ASVAB variables, the g*d correlation becomes slightly positive or near zero. At least, when not using weights because when applying sampling weight, the initial substantial negative correlation between g-loadings and BH gap decreases significantly after removing SES although it remains negative. In the NLSY97, BH gap and g-loading correlation without controlling for SES was about 0.11 or 0.14, but increases to 0.21 or 0.24 with SES regressed out from ASVAB variables.
I also provide data of racial gaps for both ASVAB-1981 and ASVAB-1999 for G-scores and nonG-scores, with and without controlling for parental SES. One particular feature is the BH gap, or black-hispanic gap. In both datasets, the gap increases after SES partialled out. We note the same thing happening at the subtest level, where the BH gap widens for all subtests when SES effect is removed. With regard to the widening black-hispanic gap when controlling for parental SES, the likely reason for this outcome is that hispanic parental education averages 1 or 2 years less than blacks, and their family income was about the same. At the same time, while controlling for SES reduces very little the black-white difference, it reduces the hispanic-white difference drastically. This could be compared with Jensen’s (1973, pp. 306-311) earlier analysis in which he compares blacks, whites and mexicans on PPVT (a caricature of culture loaded or biased test) and Raven (measuring essentially relation eduction, the purest form of Spearman’s g) scores. When equating for Raven, the mexicans scored below the blacks and blacks below the whites on PPVT. At the same time, when equating for PPVT score, blacks scored below whites, and hispanics scored very lightly above whites on Raven. Jensen interpreted this finding as to say that the mexican-white IQ difference was entirely due to socio-economic and/or cultural factors while the black-white IQ difference was due to a mix of genetic and environmental differences. The fact that hispanics were more ‘culturally’ deprived than blacks while scoring higher in cognitive tests is exactly what I was able to find in both NLSY79 and NLSY97. This is all the more interesting since g*d correlations between blacks and whites were not affected by SES but when it comes to hispanics (against either blacks or whites), SES may make a difference.
Now we also see that the BW (d) difference in g-score was about 1.60 SD in NLSY79 and 1.20 SD in NLSY97, suggesting a substantial decline. But this decline, when studied using the method of correlated vectors, has nothing to do with subtest g-loadings. Indeed, all comparison across racial groups (BW gap, HW gap, BH gap) showed substantial negative correlations with g, especially for BW gap. Generally, BW and HW (subtest) changes had positive signs, meaning that the gap is closing while not being g-loaded. These negative correlations were even stronger when using Jensen’s estimates (1985, Table 5) of either white g-loadings or black g-loadings of ASVAB.
When meta-analyzing Jensen’s collection (1985, Table 5) of data (total N=40850, total Harmonic N=14643), the meta-analytic correlation using White-g was 0.829 (11 studies) and using Black-g it was 0.786 (10 studies) when applied the correction for sampling error, g-loading range restriction, g vector unreliability, BW difference vector unreliability, and deviation from perfect construct validity.
Finally, in the NLSY97, I found a GPA variable (overall, english, foreign languages, math, social science, life sciences). The NLS investigator gives us this short introduction :
Credit weighted overall GPA. This variable indicates grade point averages across all courses on a 4 point grading scale. For each course, the quality grade (TRANS_CRS_GRADE.xxx) is weighted by Carnegie credits (TRANS_CRS_CARNEGIE_CREDIT.xxx). Quality grades were recoded as follows: 1 = 4.3, 2=4.0, 3=3.7, 4=3.3, 5=3.0, 6=2.7, 7=2.3, 8=2.0, 9=1.7, 10=1.3, 11=1.0, 12=0.7, 13=0.0, all other values recoded to missing. Please see Appendix 11 of the Codebook Supplement for more information on the collection and coding of transcript data.
I correlated all of these variables with each ASVAB subtests, yielding a column vector ‘ASVAB subtest correlates with GPA’ to which I correlate with ASVAB subtest vector g-loadings for each racial group separately. These correlations were very high (especially for blacks) at about 0.70 and 0.80, with two exceptions. When I regress out SES from my ASVAB variables, the correlation between subtest g-loadings and subtest correlations with GPA decreases somewhat but remain generally at about 0.50 and 0.70, with one exception. Blacks consistently have the highest g-loading*GPA correlations especially when using Spearman rho. When calculating the racial d gap in GPA scores, I noticed that the group differences as expected were much lower than in the ASVAB1999 scores. The BW difference in family income and parent’s education was also about 0.5 SD, half the difference in ASVAB.
To summarize, SES does not act as a moderate in the correlations between the g factor and black-white differences, there is no certainty that the gap reduction in ASVAB across cohorts was g-loaded for any group comparison, and there is a strong correlation between g-loadings and GPA scores studied in each racial groups separately.
Black-White IQ Gap
A few New Analyses
An Analysis of the NLSY79 and NLSY97 Full Sibling Correlations by Race
bussorah
Since the army test deliberately removes b/w differences at the design stage, is there any point in looking at b/w differences using that data?
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All posts tagged "Manga series"
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Machikado Mazoku, otherwise called ‘The Demon Girl Next Door,’ is fresh out of the box new anime show which spins around Yuuko Yoshida who is a...
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Home / Travel / World’s first Pusheen cafe opening in Singapore
World’s first Pusheen cafe opening in Singapore
Travel Leave a comment 141 Views
Pusheen, the chubby gray tabby who can often be found in stuffed animal or emoji form, is about to take a more three-dimensional shape.
A Pusheen pop-up cafe is due to open in Singapore in January 2019.
Claire Belton, the American artist and illustrator who first created the Pusheen character for an online comic strip in 2010, is working on the project. The Pusheen character is based on her own cat, who has the same name.
Drinks include lattes and hot cocoas with Pusheen’s face on them.
Courtesy of Kumoya
Belton is handling the interiors for the cafe, and food Instagrammer Little Miss Bento is collaborating on the Pusheen-themed menu, which includes main dishes (a gray rice Pusheen sleeping on a bed of vegetables), sweets (Pusheen-branded macarons, cupcakes, cookies and cakes) and drinks (lattes and hot cocoas with Pusheen’s face on them, plenty of pink drinks with foamy clouds on top).
What else to expect? Plenty of pastels, balloons, hashtags galore and some treats that seem positively designed for Instagram fame. For example, a Pusheen-shaped ball that opens to reveal sweets inside when you “melt” it with a drizzle of steamed milk — much cooler than finding a prize at the bottom of a box of cereal.
This Pusheen dessert has extra treats inside.
In addition to sweets and surprises, the pop-up will also have a store with Pusheen-branded merchandise you can’t get anywhere else. There’s no specific end date for the pop-up, but the management team estimates it will close down “sometime in March.”
One thing there will not be, though? Cats.
However, if you can’t travel to Singapore, don’t lose heart.
Belton’s Pusheen empire has expanded to include a book, “I Am Pusheen The Cat,” that gives inside info about the feline (her birthday is February 18, which makes her an Aquarius), plus coloring books, clothes, household goods, stickers, blankets and more.
And if you are in Singapore this spring, there’s plenty more going on in the city-state. Singapore’s Changi Airport, consistently rated as one of the world’s best, is currently paying host to an interactive Harry Potter-themed exhibit timed to the opening of the latest Potterverse film, “The Crimes of Grindelwald,” which stars Eddie Redmayne and Johnny Depp.
The exhibit includes full-size replicas of set pieces from the series, like Diagon Alley, the Whomping Willow and Honeyduke’s Sweet Shop.
On top of that, Singapore is celebrating its 200th anniversary as a modern state in 2019, and there will be celebrations all over the country.
The iconic Raffles Hotel, where the Singapore Sling cocktail was invented, will reopen after renovations, and attractions like National Gallery of Singapore and Gardens by the Bay will host exhibitions highlighting national history.
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SpaceX Launches 64 Satellites into Orbit at Once
The aerospace company sent a reusable rocket up for a third time, a first for Elon Musk and the organization.
By Shelby Rogers
SpaceX /YouTube
SpaceX made company history today by using its most-used rockets to send 64 satellites into orbit.
The launch finally occurred after several delays triggered by inclement weather and several inspections to the rocket. It also marked the 19th successful launch of 2018, already surpassing the 18 launches made in 2017.
CEO Elon Musk opted to use a rocket booster previously used twice, marking the first time the company sent the same booster up for a third time.
The SSO-A mission launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California between 1:32 p.m. and 2 p.m. EST. Its success put it in the record books as the largest ride-share mission in US history.
That success came in part due to SpaceX’s customer for this mission: Spaceflight. For several years, the company worked on building relationships between small satellite companies and launch providers. Spaceflight has been called the “Uber service” for space, wanting to connect small sat companies with ‘drivers’ of larger payloads able to get them there.
"We started off just selling the excess capacity on whatever launches were out there," Spaceflight president Curt Blake told CNN Business in a recent interview. "Then, we said, 'Wow demand is so big, we should just buy a whole rocket ourselves.' That's how this mission came to be."
The satellites launched today came from 34 companies across 17 countries. Small cubesat units made up 49 of the small satellites. While the satellites were small, they represented a variety of interests and groups.
"Among the spacecraft onboard, 23 are from universities, 19 are imaging satellites, 23 are technology demonstrations, two are art exhibits, and one is from a high school," Spaceflight officials said.
The satellites launched do everything from tracking airplanes and ships to experimental astrobiology satellites built by middle school students.
SpaceX President Reveals the Company's Secret to Success
“Spaceflight also constructed a unique payload stack, which is one of the most complex and intricate endeavors that Spaceflight has undertaken,” SpaceX said in a press statement. “The smallsats will be integrated with a variety of dispensers and avionics to an upper free flyer and lower free flyer.”
Tweets from Elon Musk indicated the Falcon's fairing halves missed the safety net, landing them in the water.
"Plan is to dry them out & launch again," Musk wrote. "Nothing wrong with a little swim."
Via: SpaceX
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Viral Video Shows SpaceX Starlink Satellites in Night Sky over Netherlands
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Making Media Work for Advocates
Internews’ Voice Up! in Côte d'Ivoire Publishes a Social Media Guide to Amplify the Voices of Human Rights Defenders
(French version)
Pierre Kassi Aboigny wakes up early. His commute on public transit, to work as an educator at the Lycée Moderne du Plateau in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, shouldn’t take very long. But Pierre uses a wheelchair, and most buses are not equipped with lifts or ramps. The ones that are often don’t stop for him or allow him to board during rush hour. Taxis rarely stop for him either.
The organization Espoir Handicap (“Hope Handicap”), led by Laurent Tiéhi, wants Abidjan to do a better job serving disabled citizens. To raise awareness, Espoir Handicap tried to publicize the difficulties that Pierre and others have accessing public transportation.
Pierre Kassi Aboigny often has to wait hours for a bus that will agree to let him board. Credit Internews
But their first experiences with the media were very frustrating. An opportunity to promote the cause on local TV finally came after months of mobilization and negotiations. But then, the TV footage was misleading to say the least.
The footage showed wheelchair ramps recently installed on some buses and showed Mr. Tiéhi welcoming this progress. The report did not show Laurent noting that the ramps were almost never deployed by the drivers. Viewers came away from the report thinking a problem had been solved, when the reality was the opposite.
Learning media skills to promote a cause
But Laurent Tiéhi did not want to give up. He knew that to improve the lives of people living with disabilities in Côte d'Ivoire, it would be necessary to change attitudes, and the most effective way to do that was through mass media.
So Espoir Handicap enlisted the help of Internews’ Voice Up! project in Côte d'Ivoire. Voice Up! helps community organizations learn how to use social media to advocate for the human rights of community members.
At the MediaLab in Abidjan, Internews worked with members of Espoir Handicap to help them produce human interest stories, including one about Pierre’s difficulties, to post on Facebook and Twitter and raise public awareness.
Pierre’s story reached a total of 238,640 people on Facebook. In all, the publications produced by Espoir Handicap reached more than 2 million people on Facebook, and 32% of those people clicked to view videos associated with stories.
Internews then helped Espoir Handicap organize press conferences to present the stories they had collected to the traditional media. It is still quite rare for Ivorian media to illustrate a news report using a human interest story, but they were eager to use the stories and quotes from Espori Handicap.
Pierre Kassi Aboigny (center, holding the handbook) and Laurent Tiéhi (right). Credit Internews
As a result of the publicity, Tiéhi was contacted by the Minister for the Promotion of Youth and Youth Employment, Sidi Touré, who congratulated the association for its work raising awareness among the general public. The Minister gave Espoir Handicap an award and computer equipment to encourage them to continue. The NGO is now invited to the Ministry's meetings on disability and is entrusted with the task of organizing a panel to address the problems disabled people have using Côte d'Ivoire’s public transport.
"Internews' Voice Up! project gave us the tools to communicate,” said Laurent Tiéhi. “We're not about to stop!"
In order to help other CSOs and NGOs improve their media outreach, Voice Up! produced a handbook (in French) on advocacy in media and social networks, which has been distributed to all its partners in Côte d’Ivoire.
The handbook contains practical and inexpensive techniques that organizations can use including producing videos with simple smartphones, cheap laptops and free online tools; and using simple editorial techniques.
Internews’ Voice Up! project in Côte d'Ivoire is supported by USAID.
Etienne Rougerie
Project Director for Voice Up! in Côte d'Ivoire
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Training journalists how to conduct in-depth interviews, and produce impactful photography and video helps make important issues personal and improves lives.
Spread our message
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Internews is registered as a 501(c)3 organization in California, EIN 94-3027961, in England and Wales as a Charity no. 1148404 and Company no. 7891107 and in France as Non-Profit Association SIRET no. 425 132 347 000 13.
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KalmiopsisWild.orgProtecting the beautiful rivers, wild lands and legendary botanical diversity of Oregon's Kalmiopsis Country
Explore Kalmiopsis Wildlands
Kalmiopsis Country
Kalmiopsis Wilderness
The South Kalmiopsis
North Kalmiopsis
Kalmiopsis Soundscapes
Wild and Scenic Illinois River
Wild and Scenic Chetco River
Wild and Scenic North Fork Smith River
Illinois River Basin
Indigo Creek
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Shasta Costa Creek
Botanical Treasures
Eight Dollar Mountain Botanical Area
Rough and Ready Creek
Oregon Mountain
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Illinois River Valley
The Threats
Thunderstorms bring half inch of rain to heart of Chetco Bar fire, other parts see cooler temperatures
A series of thunderstorms moved through southwest Oregon and northwest California on September 6th and 7th bringing cooler temperatures, relief from smoke, intermittent rain, and unfortunately lightning. What effect the storms had on the Chetco Bar fire we can’t assess but here’s some good news from the September 8th 9:00 a.m. Chetco Bar fire update:
Where it occurred, rainfall and high humidity levels greatly reduced fire activity and growth yesterday and overnight.
Snapshot from NASA Worldview for September 6th. Initially there was fog along the coast and more smoke than clouds over the Chetco Bar and other fires. The red dots represent fire or heat anomalies. The High Cascades Complex fire (NE corner) appeared the most active in the region on this day.
On the east side of the Chetco Bar fire, the rain was more abundant with the 9:00 a.m. update reporting wet weather and often numerous and intense showers, with some areas receiving 1/4 to 1/2 inch of precipitation and in some places even a full inch.
Because the Kalmiopsis – Wild Rivers Coast region is where we live (and before these general reports were available from Inciweb) we checked the 24 hour precipitation totals yesterday evening. using NOAA’s Hazards and Weather Viewer. Here’s what we found as of September 7th at 6:00 p.m.:
Starting in the north, the tiny community of Agness—inland from Gold Beach on the Wild and Scenic Rogue River, received a nice .41 inches. Agness is roughly 12 miles from the north end of the Chetco Bar fire—burning on South Bend Mountain—on the north side of the Wild and Scenic Illinois River.
Snapshot from NASA Worldview on September 7th, with some of the smoke that covered the Chetco Bar fire area replaced by clouds. Crater Lake National Park is in the northeast corner of the image and Mount Shasta in the southeast. Red dots represent fire.
Snow Camp Mountain, on the northwest corner of the fire perimeter, and about 13 miles from the coast, got only .07 inches. Gold Beach and Brooking, on the immediate coast, received .01 and .18 inches, respectively.. The weather station at Red Mound (north and east of Brookings) registered .19 inches.
Quail Prairie Mountain on the western edge of the Kalmiopsis Wilderenss received .12 inches of rain but the exceptionally steep rugged area north of Chetco Bar on the Wild and Scenic Chetco River and in the heart of the Kalmiopsis Wilderness—where fire was first detected on July 12th—got a nice .54 inched of rain.
It’s not unusual for intrepid boaters who run this wildest of rivers to go to bed with a clear starry sky overhead, only to wake to rain part way through the night after reaching this part of the Kalmiopsis Wilderness.
Chetco Bar on the Wild and Scenic Chetco River, shown here in 2010,. The river’s watershed in the Kalmiopsis Wilderness provides exceptionally clear, clean water to Brookings and Harbor and is some of the steepest, most rugged ground on the West Coast. US Forest Service photo.
While the stark, rocky serpentine terrain that makes up a good bit of the Kalmiopsis may look look more like it belongs in a desert, annual precipitation for the Kalmiopsis Wilderness and it’s large adjacent Roadless Areas (the North and South Kalmiopsis) can receive 80 to 150 inches of precipitation annually.
The Chetco Bar fire perimeter from infra red imagery acquired on September 6, 2017, overlaid on Google Earth. The desert-appearing area, surrounded by mixed evergreen forest is the botanically rich serpentine terrain of the Josephine ophiolite. Click image or here for larger image.
The Illinois Valley Airport, near the confluence of Rough and Ready Creek with the West Fork Illinois River—south and east of the active fire—recorded a whooping .83 inches of rain in the 24 hour period. The Rough and Ready Creek watershed and this part of the South Kalmiopsis Roadless Area and Kalmiopsis Wilderness are the most dramatic expression of the stark, open serpentine lands of the Josephine ophiolite.
There were also reports of hard rain in Cave Junction but Selma, a little further north, and an area on the Kalmiopsis Rim near Babyfoot lake only got .14 each.
Finally, Packsaddle Mountain, about 9 miles southeast of Mount Emily and a little more than 2 miles north of the Oregon/California border in Wild and Scenic North Fork Smith River watershed, received a welcome .43 inches, with Gasquet at the confluence of the North Fork Smith with the Middle Fork Smith River in California topping it with .52 inches.
NOAA is predicting a warming and drying trend until the middle of next week when there’s a slight chance of showers. Think rain.
More information on southwest Oregon and northwest California fires at Inciweb
High Cascades Complex
Miller Complex
Eclipse Complex
Orleans Complex
Horse Prairie fire
Chetco Bar Fire
← Fall color and wild salmon on the Wild and Scenic Illinois River | Little Falls
The Biscuit Fire: Time to bury the myth →
South Kalmiopsis
Wild Rivers
Copyright © 2011- 2018 KalmiopsisWild and Friends of the Kalmiopsis — All photographs except where noted © Barbara Ullian
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Hot Mess from Texas: Governor Goodhair Gets in the Race
August 14, 2011 August 14, 2011 / Jeff Winbush / 1 Comment
"Praise the Lord and pass the hair spray."
When the economy is in the crapper, jobs are scarce and people are frightened about the future, any incumbent should be scared of joining the millions in the unemployment line.
Seems like it was light years ago the GOP was wondering if anyone worth voting for would get in the ring with President Obama. Now they’re practically tripping over each other to take a whack at the guy.
Every month there’s a new “Republican whom Obama fears” squeezing out of the clown car. It was Mike Huckabee for a while and Mitch Daniels for a minute. Next up it was Newt Gingrich, he with all the experience and a personality so repulsive his own staff quit on him. Fox News mastermind Roger Ailes kept bringing pizzas and pie to his BFF, Chris Christie, but it wasn’t enough for him to wipe the crumbs off his chins and waddle into the race.
Then it was Michelle Bachmann who is far-right in her politics and hard-working on the campaign trail seen as the Woman Most Likely To. Herman Cain got some love until his anti-Muslim rants started turning off his media admirers. Even Jon Huntsman was hailed by TIME as the guy most likely to beat Obama in a general election.
Mittens thinks as long as he keeps projecting inevitability, that’s all it’s going to take for him to clinch the nomination. Now Texas governor Rick Perry has announced and he might have something to say about that.
Then there’s Sarah Palin hanging over the entire race like a vulture waiting for a sign of weakness from the front-runners that might open the door for her non-campaigning campaign. Superstars don’t dirty their hands by shaking the greasy hands of folks at the Iowa State Fair.
The sun shines on the asses of a lot of dogs.
"The next time I tell you someone from Texas should not be president of the United States, please, pay attention."
The late, great Texas progressive, Molly Ivins could see from a mile off the sleaziness and incompetence of the politician she dubbed, “Governor Goodhair.”
The governor of Texas is despicable. Of all the crass pandering, of all the gross political kowtowing to ignorance, we haven’t seen anything this rank from Gov. Goodhair since … gee, last fall.
Then he was trying to draw attention away from his spectacular failure on public schools by convincing Texans that gay marriage was a horrible threat to us all. Now he’s trying to disguise the fact that the schools are in free-fall by proposing that we teach creationism in biology classes.
The funding of the whole school system is so unfair that it has been declared unconstitutional by the Texas Supreme Court. All last year, Rick Perry haplessly called special session after special session, trying to fix the problem, and couldn’t get anywhere – not an iota, not a scintilla, of leadership.
Instead of facing the grave crisis that might yet result in the schools’ being closed, Perry has blithely gone off on creationism – teach the little perishers the Earth is 6,000 or so years old, that people lived at the same time as dinosaurs, and who cares if the school building is falling apart?
First, we Texans would like to salute the only governor we’ve got, Rick “Goodhair” Perry, the Ken Doll, for vetoing the bill to outlaw executing the mentally retarded.
We are Texas Proud.
Such a brilliant decision – not only is Texas now globally recognized for barbaric cruelty, but a strong majority of Texans themselves (73 percent) would prefer not to off the retarded.
Gov. Goodhair’s decision – in the face of popular opinion, the Supreme Court and George W. Bush’s recent conversion on this subject – is a testament to his strength of character.
Or something.
His Perryness announced, anent the veto, that Texas does not execute the retarded. I beg your pardon, Governor. Johnny Paul Penry, now on Death Row for a heart-breaking murder and the subject of two Supreme Court decisions, has an IQ between 51 and 60, believes in Santa Claus and likes coloring books.
And that’s not counting the other six we know about for sure since 1990.
Perry may immediately rival Mitt Romney in the impeccably styled hair contest and the GOP presidential nomination, and that’s all fine and well. There Will Be Blood in the Republican race and I’m content to sit back and watch the splatterfest.
The media loves to anoint the Next Big Thing in politics and this week its Perry. Meanwhile, the Palin Hillibillies from Wasilla bus tour is rolling around in Iowa and the potential threat of her entering the race would suck all the air out of several rising right-wing balloons, including Slick Rick’s.
Perry, with his deep pocketed oilmen buddies and their ability to raise shitloads of money for him makes him a player in the race and will squash some of the feebler contenders (bye-bye Pawlenty, Gingrich, and Santorum), but he’s hardly invincible.
Setting aside his dubious record of achievements in his three terms, Perry has a bigger problem. No matter what his personal relationship with George Bush is, he was Dubya’s lieutenant governor. A lot of voters may have soured on Obama, but they don’t find the taste Bush left any sweeter now than when he left office.
"Go ahead and pull the trigger, Rick. You're only shooting blanks."
Far from being the man who keeps Obama up all night, Perry might be the adversary Obama has prayed for. Perry gives Obama a second chance at taking down a Republican he’s already defeated once: George W. Bush.
Governor Goodhair is further to the Right than Bush ever was and that will appeal to the G.O.Tea Party base, but with moderates and independents? Not so much. Perry’s ultra conservative bona fides will play well in the primaries, but in a general election they’re toxic.
Democrats should respect Perry as a candidate, but fear him? Not at all. He’s got a good story to tell about job growth in Texas, but it doesn’t come off as impressive when the miserable education and health system of the Lone Star state becomes better known.
Perry has had the luxury of defining himself. That ended when he threw his cowboy hat in the ring. He will have to spend less time boasting about himself and more time battling to defend himself from his right-wing rivals.
And even if he gets past them, that doesn’t mean Obama is going to curl up into a fetal position because Governor Goodhair is in the race. All that means is that phone book sized folder of opposition research on Perry moves from inside the drawer to the top of the stack.
America only got rid of one Republican Texas governor. I doubt they will opt for a second one soaked in Texas Tea Party as the solution to their problems.
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How to write a short story about your life
How to write a letter of reference for a coworker is a college
Essay cell phone addiction
Writing analytically chapter 1 pdf
For a summary of a shorter work, chose transitional words and phrases that accurately reflect the meaning of the original. Votive Inscriptions After presenting the importance of the name in Sumer, I interpret the personal names inscribed on the lavish gold vessels and lapis-lazuli seals of the Royal Cemetery of Ur as part of the cult of the dead.
In all the photos, Dunne wears a feathery, feminine collar, giving her a birdlike appearance: Skills Play Video James Heckman on Non-Cognitive Skills Because noncognitive qualities like grit, curiosity, self-control, optimism, and conscientiousness are often described, with some accuracy, as skills, educators eager to develop these qualities in their students quite naturally tend to treat them like the skills that we already know how to teach: Imagine yourself telling your roommate what the chapter was about.
Do this quickly—try to write a complete draft in one sitting, concentrating on getting the story on paper or screen and on putting in as much detail as you can.
Knowing that not http: Instead of touting marriage, Lux teaches that "a girl who wants to break hearts simply must have a tea-rose complexion. The dynamics of the scenes are communicated by the position, direction, orientation and order of the figures, which I view as emulating the strategies of the impressed tablets to convey information.
Reading and Writing Analytically. All toothpaste ads claim to make teeth "the whitest. There is evidence of women's increasing sophistication, illustrated in the later ads' use of science and "objective" proof of the products' effectiveness. Publication date The same source may have been published on more than one date, such as an online version of an original source.
Especially in early childhood, this complex network is highly sensitive to environmental cues; it is constantly looking for signals from the environment to tell it what to expect in the days and years ahead. If that great scene at the lakeside changed the course of events or unexpectedly revealed that one of the characters was a deceiving cad, then you should probably include it.
A study conducted by Nadine Burke Harris, a pediatrician and trauma researcher in San Francisco, found that just 3 percent of children with an ACE score of zero displayed learning or behavioral problems in school. The relief had the power to evoke the divine origin of justice.
With talk of "the bacterial fermentation of proteins," research, and clinical tests, the mouthwash props up its romantic and sexual claims by proclaiming scientific facts.
Or if your topic is learning to write, you could include something you wrote. Although a well-written non-fiction work reads like a seamless whole, it is really a cascade of main points, major and minor support for those points, and examples and illustrations.
If not, how else might you begin? Compared with people who had no history of ACEs, people with ACE scores of four or higher were twice as likely to smoke, seven times more likely to be alcoholics, and seven times more likely to have had sex before age In turn, art proved a fertile ground for the emancipation of writing from accounting.
Refer back to the beginning. Integrated "Voices From Across the Curriculum" sections.
The Making of Modern South Africa: Nichols, for example, begins as she takes the ninth-grade proficiency test for the first time. And the focus on individual stories, while satisfying in a narrative sense, can also distract us from what is arguably a more significant question: Newly revised Unit II sequences two chapters on the Thesis Statement so that a user can study what makes a good thesis Chapter 10 and then study a chapter about how to fix thesis statements Chapter 11 that could be made more effective.
Stay Sweet As You Are! Willing, Marcel Decker Series. It means that the challenge of teaching low-income children can no longer be considered a side issue in American education. A good narrative grabs readers' attention right from the start.
Chapter 17 explains how to construct and analyze arguments--including new coverage of classical, Toulmin, Rogerian, and invitational argument--and Chapter 18 covers strategies for supporting an argument.
It is intended to provide practitioners and policy makers with a practical guide to the research that makes up this nascent field.About This Edition. From the Publisher. New Features New introductory chapter. Chapter 1, "Introduction to This Book, to College Writing, and to Thinking About Thinking," shows users how they can take best advantage of the text and its features/5.
Book Summary: New student writing analytically is a reference tool for students that good. The things to a music professors point of the chapter chapter.
Box and Cox () developed the transformation. Estimation of any Box-Cox parameters is by maximum likelihood. Box and Cox () offered an example in which the data had the form of survival times but the underlying biological structure was of hazard rates, and the transformation identified this.
The faculty with whom we work encour- age analytical writing because it offers alternatives both to oversimplified thinking of 3 4 Chapter 1 Analysis: What It Is and What It Does the like/dislike, agree/disagree variety and to the cut-and-paste compilation of sheer information.
I credit writing for the change from repetitious designs to narrative and from the preliterate all over patterns apprehended globally, to those of the literate period “read” analytically. Chapter 2. Recent Posts. 10 Days to Mains: Don’t Be Intimidated.
Be Inspired. – by Anudeep Durishetty, Rank – 1 CSE September 17, [Insights Secure – ] Daily UPSC Mains Answer Writing Practice: 17 SEPTEMBER September 17, ; 7) Himalayas are not only the physical barrier, they are also a climatic, drainage and .
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KFOR / Media Center / Archive / News / 2016 / DEFENSE MINISTER OF CROATIA VISITS KFOR HQ
DEFENSE MINISTER OF CROATIA VISITS KFOR HQ
PRISTINA, Kosovo. Today KFOR Commander, Major General Guglielmo Luigi Miglietta welcomed the Defense Minister of the Republic of Croatia, Josip Buljević, at NATO KFOR Headquarters.
The overall security situation in Kosovo and the migration flow in the Balkans were the main topics discussed. General Miglietta and Mr. Buljević agreed that migration is currently one of the greatest challenges in the region and KFOR plays an important role for monitoring the current situation.
Mr. Buljević commented on the importance of KFOR’s presence as the main stakeholder maintaining a safe and secure environment in Kosovo. He also highlighted the ability of KFOR to work in a constructive way and in close coordination with both local and International Organizations.
The meeting provided an opportunity for General Miglietta to highlight the effectiveness of the Croatian contribution to KFOR in ensuring a safe and secure environment and freedom of movement in Kosovo in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 1244.
Croatian Armed Forces service-members serving with KFOR are mainly deployed in Camp Bondsteel with Helicopter assets. Croatian soldiers are also deployed as part of KFOR HQ Staff in Camp "Film City”.
Additionally, Minister Buljević confirmed that Croatia will continue to support the NATO mission, emphasizing the important role KFOR plays in maintaining stability in the Balkan region.
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← New Yorker ~ Annals of Science ~ A Valuable Reputation.
San Diego Superior Court Judge Lisa Schall Offers to Answer Your Questions →
What’s the difference between a Governor Brown appointed San Diego Judge and a Koch brother? UPDATED
Posted on March 2, 2014 by Sharon Kramer
Answer: NOTHING if it means violating voters rights while back-door politicking for special interest groups.
Written by Sharon Kramer
It has become common knowledge in the United States that big business and special interests have gained a tremendous amount of undue influence over legislators, public policies, courts, and citizens’ abilities to vote for candidates of their choice in public elections. Center for Media and Democracy/PRWatch has been tracking these rights violations and the Koch Brothers’ backing of it, for years.
In an ideal Democracy there would be conscientious judges from both the left and the right who would work to curtail special interests’ influence for the greater public good. In February 2014, any hope of that belief was shattered in San Diego, California, by multiple acts of a Democrat judge lobbying hard to fix a judicial election for her Republican jurist peer.
Judge Paula Rosenstein is a Democrat. She was appointed as a San Diego County judge by Governor Jerry Brown in late 2012. An openly gay jurist, she has an over twenty year history of reportedly championing civil and legal rights; particularly those of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities. (LGBT).
Apparently Judge Rosenstein does not believe that the voters — who have helped her to advance the legal rights of herself and of the LGBT communities – deserve to have their rights protected to be able to vote for a candidate of their choosing. Like the Koch Brothers using questionable tactics to limit the public’s voting rights, Judge Rosenstein has been actively lobbying for San Diego voters to have no choice but to re-elect incumbent Judge Lisa Schall to judicial seat 20, on June 3, 2014.
Judge Lisa Schall is currently a judge in the San Diego County Superior family courts. She has been a judge in San Diego County since she was first appointed by Republican Governor Deukmejian in 1985. Schall has no less than two public admonishments issued from the California Commission on Judicial Performance; but no real repercussion for the ethics violations. Numerous complaints to the Commission against Schall by families have gone unpunished.
Among the many accusations for which Schall has never been punished, in 1986 the Los Angeles Times ran an article bringing one to public light, “Judge’s Credibility Lacking“. Prior to her divorce, Judge Schall’s name was Lisa Guy-Schall. The LA Times article was about a complaint to the Commission for Schall’s questionable election campaigning for the Governor who appointed her, Deukmejian. According to the article, Schall claimed she did not know she had violated judicial ethics. But also according to the article, “It’s hard to imagine a judge being quite so naive. We suspect–and hope–that were this a case in Municipal Court, Judge Guy-Schall would find witness Guy-Schall lacking credibility.”
Along with several of her endorsers for re-election, Schall is currently a named co-defendant in a federal lawsuit brought by the non-profit organization, California Coalition of Families and Children. The suit is for alleged racketeering with county court ancillary agencies, court experts, and county officials, to profitably drag divorces out for years at the expense of the families – and then abusing judicial power to retaliate when the families balk at being conclusively fleeced.
According to the documentary, Divorce Corp. Inc., this is a pervasive problem in family courts throughout the United States. Consistent with the unethical trend, Schall is reported by numerous San Diego parents to have destroyed their lives by the unethical and collusive misconduct. She has a dubious web presence that few judicial officers ever achieve.
Angie’s Media asks the question “Why is San Diego Judge Lisa Schall still on the bench?” Additional questions now needing to be asked are “How is San Diego Judge Lisa Schall still on the bench? Why would civil rights champion Judge Rosenstein — who should be appreciative to voters and families for helping to advance her legal rights and the rights of the LGBT community — work to assure that voters’ and families’ have no means to vote Schall out of office, were they so inclined? Has Judge Rosenstein put her rights and those of her newest special interest group — The Sitting Judges Club — above the rights of the people she was appointed to serve by Governor Brown just fifteen shorts months ago? It would strongly appear so.
On February 28, 2014, San Diego Free Press published an article by Doug Porter titled, “Thou Shalt Not Challenge a Sitting Judge.” The gist of the article is of Judge Rosenstein lobbying the support bases of the challenger for Judge Schall’s seat 20, Carla Keehn, to not endorse Keehn. Keehn is a law professor, Princeton graduate, and U.S. Assistant Attorney for the Federal Ninth District Court, Southern California. She is certainly someone who the voters should have the right and opportunity to choose to elect as a county judge, as opposed to only being able to re-elect sitting Judge Schall.
If Keehn were to drop from her run for public office by the intimidation tactics of Judge Rosenstein and her jurists peers; this would leave Schall unopposed with the voters and families having no choice but to vote for the only name on the ballot for seat 20 — Judge Lisa Schall. If many of Keehn’s supporters continue to be intimidated by Judge Rosenstein’s actions from endorsing and funding Keehn’s campaign — voters and families will have no way of knowing of Keehn’s exemplary qualifications or of Schall’s dubious track record.
Ironically, like Rosenstein and unlike Schall, Keehn is a Democrat and a lawyer member of the LGBT community – whose rights of choice, Rosenstein use to champion before becoming part of her new peer group, The Sitting Judges Club.
Judge Rosenstein took an oath of office when she became a judge in 2012 which requires ethical conduct. Intimidation tactics and lobbying for the purpose of tampering with an election to stop voter choice violates the Canons of Judicial Ethics that she took the oath to uphold. She has to know that judges are not permitted to abuse their judicial positions to intimidate and lobby against a candidate for judicial office to the benefit of a fellow sitting judge. And if she does not know then any of her fellow members of The Sitting Judges Club should be able to tell her that ignorance of the law is no excuse. This includes incumbent Schall, who once again, cannot be this naive to the acts of unethical campaigning, now in support of her own re-election.
According to the February 28th San Diego Free Press article “Thou Shalt Not Challenge a Sitting Judge”,
“San Diego Superior Court Judge Lisa Schall (the incumbent) appeared to be have matters well in hand for 2014. Her campaign for re-election this year has been endorsed by District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis, City Attorney Jan Goldsmith, the Alliance of California Judges and all 127 sitting judges in the San Diego Superior Court….Keehn sought the endorsement of the County Democratic Central Committee. The Committee endorsed two incumbent judges (Michael Popkins and Cynthia Bashant), but when it came time to vote on Carla Keehn, it was suddenly ‘too political’ and the consensus was the committee should ‘refrain from being involved in the judiciary.’ Judge Paula Rosenstein was at the meeting and spoke about the party staying out of it….San Diego Dems for Equality were also going to vote on endorsing Keehn. But Judge Rosenstein reportedly spoke to Doug Case, club president.…[The San Diego Dems for Equality meeting is reportedly upcoming] The ‘off the record’ warnings have been even worse. Threats have ranged from being told running against an incumbent judge was ‘suicide’ to promises that ‘life in this county would be miserable’ for Keehn and her family unless she dropped out.”
Updated at 3:30 PM on March 3, 2014
There was some confusion as to who actually spoke to whom regarding Keehn seeking endorsement from the San Diego Democrats for Equality, and Judge Rosenstein using her judicial position to try to head-off the endorsement. The organization’s president, Mr. Case was kind enough to post the following on the San Diego Free Press comment section for the article, “Thou Shalt Not Challenge a Sitting Judge”. Below is Mr. Case’s comment.
“Judge Rosenstein is a past president of San Diego Democrats for Equality (then the San Diego Democratic Club). (As a judge, however, she is not permitted to maintain an affiliation with a partisan organization.) I have not personally discussed this matter with her although she has communicated with at least one other Board member.
We are a grassroots organization. Unlike many other political groups, our membership, not the Board, makes endorsement decisions. I suspect that advocates of both sides of this matter will make their voices heard at our April meeting. As a democratic organization, that’s as it should be.
Doug Case, President
San Diego Democrats for Equality”
Regardless of the miscommunications, all agree that San Diego Dems for Equality will vote on Ms. Keehn’s and other candidate endorsements in April. Thank you, Mr. Case, for clearing this up.
The Free Press article also provides direct quotes from an email by Attorney Richard L. Duquette. He is a member of the County Democrat Central Committee. Mr. Duquette apparently also recognizes the alarming similarities of The Sitting Judges Club and the Koch Brothers when trying to control voters’ rights. According to the article, Mr. Duquette emailed the following to the Committee:
“The failure to endorse Ms. Keehn, merely because she is a challenger, does not show patience or prudence. Rather, it reveals weakness. Surely, the Committee is well aware that Ms. Keehn’s candidacy would be severely hamstrung if it lacked her own Party’s endorsement, especially after the Committee has forsaken its judicial independence by endorsing the sitting judges. Need I point out that the Republicans are promoting their own candidates, many of whom are groomed by large corporations, or large law firms that service them?…In this coming election, an immediate opportunity is available and Ms. Keehn has a legal right to run. There is no justifiable reason to withhold endorsement of a viable Democratic candidate. This is particularly true when the sitting Judge has suffered an arrest, criminal conviction, judicial reprimands, and numerous appellate reversals. We, as a unified group, are duty-bound to investigate not only these issues, but also any financial investments that may create an appearance of impropriety…The fact that a sitting judge has not yet been removed should not provide relief from continuous scrutiny, nor should our Committee shrink from backing the campaign of one of its own. We should also investigate Democratic Judges up for re-election in order to determine if they are truly Democrats, in order to uphold the integrity of a Democratic endorsement”.
On February 21, 2014, the San Diego Union Tribune Watchdog first broke the story of Judge Rosenstein’s tampering with the election to undermine Keehn’s campaign on behalf of sitting Judge Schall. The UT published an article titled, “Judge candidate feels gaveled down”.
The gist of the article is of how Rosenstein and another openly gay San Diego Superior Court judge, Judge David Rubin, coerced and intimidated Tom Homann LGBT Law Association (THLA) to withdrawal their endorsement of Keehn in early February. The threat was that The Sitting Judges Club would ostracize and retaliate against THLA members if one of THLA’s directors, Keehn, ran against sitting Judge Schall. See the direct evidence of how THLA sneakily responded to Rosenstein’s and Rubin’s coercion by misstatement of Keehn’s prior multi-seat THLA endorsement that they had given her in October of 2013, coupled with an after-the-fact policy change in February 2014 here.
Hand picked by California Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye, who is a Republican, Judge Rubin is a member of the California Judicial Council. This is the state’s judicial branch policy-writing body. Because of inept stewardship of the courts complete with documented fraud, waste, and abuse; California Assembly member Reginald Jones-Sawyer, who chairs the Assembly Budget Subcommittee on Public Safety, recently recommended to the California Joint Legislative Audit Committee that a forensic audit of Judicial Council and the Administrative Officers of the Courts be conducted by the State Auditor, Elaine Howle, on behalf of the citizens of California.
The driving force behind this audit of the judicial branch’s leadership is the Alliance of California Judges. In addition to “all 127 San Diego Superior Court judges“, Judge Schall claims to have the endorsement of each and every purported five hundred jurists members of the Alliance from throughout the state in her bid for re-election to seat 20. To date, the Alliance has neither confirmed nor denied their members’ endorsement of Schall; or offered any acknowledgement of their entanglement with the Schall, Rosenstein, Rubin campaign tactics having the capability to jepordize the forensic audit from coming to fruition.
It should also be noted that San Diego District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis is also a THLA member who is endorsing Schall. See Union Tribune February 26, 2014 “Conflict seen in judges’ race“. THLA is endorsing and fund raising for Dumanis’ bid for re-election as San Diego County District Attorney. This begs the question: Why is it that DA Dumanis always seems to be dancing a little too close the flame these days when the subject of campaign violations comes up in San Diego County?
Surely Judicial Council member Judge Rubin, who is also a member of THLA, recognized the discrepancies in the after-the-fact THLA policy change as being inconsistent with the reason given for THLA to withdrawal their endorsement of Keehn — while claiming she needed a new endorsement specifically for seat 20. They refused to give the new endorsement on February 6, 2014 after being threatened by Judges Rosenstein and Rubin of retaliation from The Sitting Judges Club if they did. Again, see direct evidence here.
According to the February 21, 2014 UT article “Judge candidate feels gaveled down”
“A candidate challenging a longtime Superior Court judge in the June primary election says she is being pressured to drop out by a legal organization she belongs to [THLA] and by some judges [Rosenstein and Rubin]. The candidate, federal prosecutor Carla Keehn, said she won’t drop her bid to replace San Diego Superior Court Judge Lisa Schall. “It’s my constitutional right to do so,” she said. “I’m a qualified candidate. And I think I would make a good judge.” The Feb. 10 email obtained by U-T Watchdog reveals in frank terms the potential repercussions of challenging a judge…..Fox [THLA’s President] wrote [to Keehn] that two Superior Court judges, David Rubin and Paula Rosenstein, had ‘expressed a concern coming from their colleagues on the Superior Court regarding your running against a sitting judge’….’I was not in any way advocating on behalf of my colleagues,’ Rubin said. Rubin is the former president of the California Judges Association and said he is supporting Schall in the race….Fox went on to write how Keehn’s candidacy puts the group in a potentially awkward situation. ‘Openly challenging a sitting judge can be seen by some as undermining the support and relationship we have worked so hard to build,’ he wrote to Keehn.”
The purpose of the Fox email to Keehn, read here, was to pressure Keehn to resign from the Board of Directors of THLA if she planned to continue to run against Rosenstein’s and Rubin’s candidate of choice, incumbent Judge Schall, their fellow member of The Sitting Judges Club.
Why should this matter to every voter of the United States?
It is no secret that many civil and legal rights have been weakened for America’s middle class in the past fifteen years by the ever-increasing influences of special interests in politics and policy. That judges, who portray themselves as champions of the law and Constitutional rights would act no better than big industry to curtail voters’ right of choice on behalf of the judges’ personal special interest group — The Sitting Judges Club — is indicative of a two class system of which courts of law have become intricately involved to the personal benefit of elected and appointed government officials — sitting judges. Two classes:
The Koch Brothers & Special Interest Politicos vs. The Rights of the People
The citizens of San Diego County and all the United States have the right to vote for jurists without elections being fixed to give them no choice but to vote for members of The Sitting Judges Club. Jurists conclusively abusing their judicial powers to intimidate parties and organizations in a campaign for public office is unethical and illegal election tampering.
Perhaps Judge Rosenstein was not well enough vetted when Governor Jerry Brown appointed her to the judicial bench just fifteen short months ago. Perhaps Judge Rubin does not have enough knowledge to write ethical and effective policy for the entire judicial branch or the ability to recognize he aided to coerce a non-profit legal advocacy group, THLA, into misstating fact while violating the civil rights of one of their members, Keehn. Perhaps Judge Schall cannot successfully feign being naive to campaign ethics violations in 2014 as she was able to do in 1986.
And perhaps it is time that Judge Rosenstein, Judge Rubin, and Judge Schall all be made by the Commission on Judicial Performance to stop their unethical campaigning; and to mitigate the damage to Keehn, her intimidated supporters, and the voters of San Diego County, by being made to step off of their benches and out of the race for San Diego County Superior Court seat 20. The people of San Diego deserve to have their voting rights protected from unethical conduct within the San Diego Chapter of The Sitting Judges Club.
This entry was posted in Civil Justice, Environmental Health Threats, Mold and Politics and tagged Carla Keehn, Governor Jerry Brown, Judge David Rubin, Judge Lisa Schall, Judge Paula Rosenstein, San Diego Judges Club. Bookmark the permalink.
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Archive for the ‘piano’ category
Very sad to hear of the passing of Christopher Hogwood (1941–2104).
Back in the summer of 1968, I had just left school and the family moved from Hitchin to Cambridge (where most of my father’s work was based). In those days the received wisdom was that ‘you couldn’t go to Oxbridge straight from school’, so I needed to find a ‘gap year’ course to prepare me for the big leap. We lighted on ‘Cambridge Tech’ (the Cambridgeshire College of Arts and Technology, as it then was – now Anglia Ruskin University), which offered a one-year ‘Post-A-Level Music’ course for people in my position or otherwise with a year to spare. The college was in walking distance of our new house (which a secretary at the Tech had actually helped us find!) so every day I would trot over to the collection of ‘temporary’ Terrapin huts – creaking under the weight of grand pianos – which constituted the Music Department along with a car park full of garden sheds (each with chair, piano, music stand and electric heater), Male and female mobile loos, and the neighbouring (dark and freezing) Zion Baptist Chapel for extra performing space.
Course director and our tutor in Music History was a bright young chap named Christopher Hogwood, fresh from Cambridge and postgraduate studies in Prague (he was then 27). From the start, he was an inspiration to the rather random selection of musicians who were the eight of us on the course: ‘Wherever you’re going after this’, he said, ‘you’ll be learning about Beethoven and Mozart and Bach and all the usual people – so I’ll teach you about all the others.’ Thus it was that we learned about Louis Couperin, Froberger, John Cage, Janacek, Martinu, Penderecki – and ‘all the sons of Bach you haven’t heard of’ including WF and JCF.
He brought in David Munrow’s Early Music Consort (of which he was a founder member) to give us a dazzling lecture/demonstration; he brought in his clavichord, which he demonstrated and let us play; he gave me piano lessons (Brahms and Mendelssohn – not the repertoire we would instantly associate with him); he organised mini-concert tours using whatever talents and personnel were available – I particularly remember playing at the various Village Colleges around Cambridge; and outside official hours he took us on jolly trips and picnics…
Happy days – lots more memories I could recall. We kept in touch over the years; as his meteoric rise took him ever further afield, he maintained his base in his lovely house in Cambridge (although my memories go back to the one before!). To the last, we would exchange Christmas cards – his always especially printed, elaborate and witty.
I’ve dug out this 35mm slide of Chris (standing at the back, in shades) and some of our PAM group on a picnic in 1969… It’s how I’ll remember him – the twinkle, the grin, the giggle – although he hardly changed over the years.
Farewell, Chris, and thank you for everything.
Categories: history, Life: living of, music, piano
Tags: Cambridge, Cambridge Tech, Cambridgeshire College of Arts and Technology, clavichord, David Munrow, Martinu
‘The foreign gentleman executes an air upon the Grand Piano’
This is a scan of a rather faded print that hangs above my piano – found on a stall at Cambridge Market for 10p (‘Nice picture; two bob?’) among a pile of Victorian generals, circa 1971. Having just written an essay on Liszt (for Philip Radcliffe), I knew at once who it was.
The mount is labelled ‘London, Richard Bentley, 1843’. The print was included in ‘Bentley’s Miscellany’ of 1848, but I suspect it was a Punch cartoon first.
The scrawly signature is not, as I first thought, ‘F Liszt’, but ‘J Leech’ – John Leech, prolific and well-known Punch cartoonist.
So… was Liszt in London in 1843? Any thoughts on whose salon this might be (if not entirely fictional)?
Categories: art, books, Fun stuff, history, music, piano
Tags: John Leech, Liszt, Richard Bentley
Kenneth Hamilton — Brahms Unwrapped
Great experience last night at Kings Place – part of the Brahms Unwrapped season – our good friend Kenneth Hamilton playing (and talking about) Brahms’s piano music. His introductions were illuminating, informative, irreverent and witty as always, his playing quite phenomenally accurate, virtuosic and powerful: showing us Brahms in a whole new light.
Ken started with the first movement of Brahms’s astoundingly accomplished Sonata No. 3 in F minor, written when he was only 20; Ken convincingly argued that the movement must have started as some kind of composition exercise based on J S Bach’s ‘Weinen, Klagen’ (with Purcellian descending chromatic bass line) in the same key. He told us that the ‘grand ending’ of the movement implied that the audience would be expected to clap; we duly did, and he said he would have been somewhat put out if we hadn’t.
Then he introduced the rest of this huge sonata – unusually in five movements in all – explaining that the remaining four movements hung together and told a story; the second movement is prefaced by lines from a poem about ‘two hearts in love united’ – Ken demonstrated the ‘heartbeat’ – and Brahms’s melody fits the words so as to be almost a ‘Lied’ setting; then there’s a stormy Scherzo, then a little movement called ‘Rückblick’ (‘backward glance’), a minor-key version of the ‘two hearts’ number as a funeral march – ‘either the beloved is dead or their love is dead’, he said; Ken pointed out the triplet drumbeat motive so beloved of Verdi and Mahler, which he traces back to a Mendelssohn Song Without Words. Then a stormy finale using the ‘F A E’ theme which occurs elsewhere in his and his friends’ works – standing for ‘Frei aber einsam’, free but alone. So the 20-year-old Brahms is writing programme music – ‘but we all know Brahms doesn’t write programme music!’ We don’t know who the story is about, he said, but we can follow the ‘trajectory’ of the story – two hearts that beat as one, dissension, breakup, Brahms ultimately reconciled to being alone. Story of his life! (And in the 3rd Symphony the theme becomes ‘F A F’ – ‘Frei aber froh’ – free but happy: the confirmed bachelor.)
After the interval, we heard the last things Brahms wrote – three touching organ chorales, transcribed by Busoni. Then a little gavotte by Gluck, arranged by Brahms as an encore piece for Clara Schumann. Ken (authentically) proceeded to improvise a modulatory passage into the key of the next and final piece, the Handel Variations. Absolutely riveting performance, clearly characterising the 20 or so miniature ‘mood pieces’ of the variations – including a couple of ‘Hungarian dances’ and a musical box imitation (instructed to be played with the sustaining pedal held down so that the music jangled; and its clockwork runs down at the end!). Finally a massive and magisterial fugue, with a certain degree of pianistic sleight-of-hand but some genuinely complicated counterpoint as well. One began to view Brahms with a new respect (well, I did, at least). Ken’s performance rose to such heights of power and energy that he literally almost knocked himself out on the piano lid at the end (‘You’d think I’d know where it was by now’, he said).
And a pretty encore to send us home smiling.
Amazing evening. Congratulations to Ken – I haven’t done anything like justice to his constantly revelatory comments, nor to his ability to speak, illustrate and play with not a note (of words or music) in front of him. Thank you to Diana for getting us the tickets – wouldn’t have missed it for anything – and to Carol for joining us and being so appreciative. And for the dear friends we met in the audience (you know who you are!).
Categories: concert halls, London, music, piano
Tags: Brahms, Busoni, Clara Schumann, F A E, F A F, Gluck, kenneth hamilton, Kings Place
English Chamber Orchestra at the Wigmore Hall, 3 November 2011
Lovely ECO chamber concert at the Wigmore Hall on Friday. First, out trot a pair of girls with curly hair and lacy black frocks, looking for all the world like long-lost sisters… They are Stephanie Gonley (violin, highly accomplished leader of the ECO) and Katya Apekisheva (young Russian pianist, prize-winner at the Leeds Piano Competition, evidently a rising star). We are treated to Schubert’s A minor Violin Sonatina (D385), a work of extraordinary depth and subtlety by a 19-year-old composer. Exceptionally, they played both repeats in the first movement (which Schubert obviously intends you to do). Plenty of fire, passion and introspection – the slow movement was heavenly. Stirring performance of a terrific piece.
Then came Mozart’s Horn Quintet, K407, in which the solo horn is accompanied unusually by a string quartet consisting of one violin, two violas and a cello. Soloist John Thurgood was his usual poker-faced but impeccable self, playing with great wit and aplomb and enjoying the musical company of his colleagues as much as they were enjoying his. (We wondered if cellist Caroline Dale had forgotten her black dress? The only player not in black – but the bluey one she wore was very pretty.)
After the interval, Schubert’s ‘Trout’ Quintet, in an exceptionally spirited (i.e. fast) and lively performance – all great fun. Caroline Dale and viola player Jonathan Barritt would catch each other’s eye and grin hugely at crucial duetting moments. Stephanie Gonley led gamely from the front. My only quibble concerned the platform layout – pianist Katya Apekisheva seemed to be stuck at the back in a world of her own (though she managed some eye contact with Stephanie, and the ensemble was well-nigh faultless). Is there not some way of positioning the string players around the piano so that everyone can see everyone else, and we can see still see them? (Remember that Gerard Hoffnung cartoon…??)
Underpinning the whole performance was the velvety sonorous double bass of Stephen Williams – another poker-faced player, but one who evidently takes great pleasure in his role. He plays a huge, impossibly gorgeous and subtly decorated instrument by Gaspar de Salo, dating from the 1580s – which I thought was before double basses had been invented. A bit of a puzzle. (Oh, all right – cue for lecture about the double bass being a member of the Renaissance viol family and thus having older parentage than the upstart modern violin/viola/cello…)
Smashing evening – thanks for the tickets, Pauline! And thanks to Caro for joining us and for your luxurious hospitality over the Berlioz Weekend (which is another story…)
Categories: chamber music, concert halls, concerts, music, piano
Tags: Caroline Dale, cello, double bass, English Chamber Orchestra, Gerard Hoffnung, horn, John Thurgood, Jonathan Barritt, Katya Apekisheva, Mozart, Schubert, Stephanie Gonley, Stephen Williams, viola, violin, Wigmore Hall
We have arrived in Sussex!
Better late than never (having finally got my internet connection back), this is to let you all know that after considerable tribulations, alarms and excursions, Diana and I moved into our lovely ‘new’ house in St Leonard’s-on-Sea on 17 February.
After a couple of weeks we are at last beginning to feel at home, having unpacked at least some of the 300 boxes that arrived from our two previous houses and begun to sort out what goes where. It’s a lovely big solid 1930s house – with a huge reception hall with room for both our grand pianos (major selling point) and some endearingly quirky features of design and layout, but in great condition and beautifully maintained.
We’ve had a fascinating session with a couple of local architects, and it looks as if we’ll be able to do a certain amount of building to give us more room, better facilities and possibly even more sea views!
And on 24 February, a week after moving in, I took ‘early retirement’ from my job at the Royal Opera House. So I’m looking forward to continuing with freelance work but also having time to look at the sea, smell the flowers, listen to (and play, or even write) some different music, and generally catch up on all the good things in life that we’ve been too busy to appreciate for the past few years.
Watch this space for more news and pictures as things happen…
Categories: buildings, Life: living of, music, opera, our house, piano, Sussex
Tags: 1930s houses, Royal Opera House, St Leonards
Gerald Barry / Thomas Ades / LSO
Extraordinary concert at the Barbican on Sunday night (6 June) – Thomas Adès conducting the LSO. First, his orchestral work …and all shall be well, inspired by the familiar mantric words of Julian of Norwich. Superficially simple and tonal, with instruments doodling up and down scales – but strange smeary things were happening en route in a particularly Adès-ian way. And a glittering final chord with a high major third floating on top – Aha! Stravinsky Symphony of Psalms, I thought to myself. And I knew that if you had said this to Adès he would have replied ‘Any fool can hear that’.
I have not always been convinced by his music, but he certainly has immense gifts and a distinctive voice.
Then a major (over-long) pause for platform rearrangement – and the fun of watching a second Steinway come up in the magic Barbican lift. Zoltán Kocsis played Bartók’s Piano Concerto No. 1 from 1926 – very bristly and percussive. The featured timps and percussion were brought to the front of the stage (Kocsis’s idea or Adès’s?), thus enabling us to see every detail of Bartók’s demands for different sticks, different ways of hitting a suspended cymbal, and so on. Just a pity that the lady playing tam-tam was hidden behind the piano and largely inaudible.
The performance was not quite successful: because of the layout, woodwind and strings seemed somewhat muffled, and ensemble was very rocky at times (better in the morning rehearsal, I have to say).
After the interval, a little Adès showpiece – These premises are alarmed; more lovely sounds, though as by now I was sitting in my ‘box’ it was hard to hear.
Then the UK premiere of Irish composer Gerald Barry’s one-act ‘opera’, La plus forte (The Stronger), a setting of a Strindberg play translated from Swedish into French (because it was originally commissioned by Radio France) and performed with English surtitles – which is where I came in. Because of various complications I won’t go into here, I was sight-reading the score on no rehearsal, so things were a bit hairy for me. But in fact Gerald Barry’s score is so clear and clean, and soprano Barbara Hannigan’s amazing singing is so direct and precise, that I had no difficulty following. Phew! She was extraordinary – every note, however stratospheric, exactly in place (even after unaccompanied silent bars!), immaculate French (she is Canadian), and apparently (I couldn’t see much from where I was) brilliantly subtle ‘acting’ in the role of the increasingly neurotic wife who gradually realises that her silent café companion has had an affair with her husband. (And we loved her appropriately over-exuberant frock and hat.)
Gerald Barry’s music has flummoxed me in the past – I’ve tended to think ‘It will be all right when he’s put the expression marks in’; very aggressive, few slurs, sometimes very loud, lots of unisons and sforzandos, much machine-like repetition. But once I had got my ear in, the music was just right for this piece, conveying all levels of expression from calm to watchfulness to nervous tension, playfulness, hysteria, rage, and even belly-laugh humour at times.
And finally, three dances from Adès’s early opera Powder Her Face, full of the student exuberance of youth – plenty of pastiche and fun and games – but showing a composer already completely in control of his fertile imagination. And, not incidentally, showing himself these days a conductor completely in control of his players (who were having a whale of a time).
What a great Prom programme the whole concert would make! BBC please take note (if you haven’t already).
Diana’s comment was that the liberating, ear-opening thrill of the whole concert, and particularly the Barry, must have been equivalent to the effect on its first audience of , say, Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique; marvelling at sounds, colours, effects and all sorts of things that music could do that one would never have imagined to be possible.
As I said – an extraordinary concert.
photo of Barbara Hanningan (c) Marco Borggreve
Categories: concert halls, concerts, London, music, opera, orchestras, piano, Proms, surtitles
Tags: barbara hannigan, barbican, Bartok, Berlioz, cymbal, gerald barry, Julian of Norwich, lso, percussion, Stravinsky, Strindberg, tam-tam, thomas ades, Zoltan Kocsis
Sorry, chaps
So many wonderful things since I last wrote – pressure of work and other activities has prevented me blogging them, much as I wanted to. So here is a list of what I should have written about, for your edification and delight…
Covent Garden Chamber Orchestra concert, Saturday 4 October – especially the Schumann Konzertstück for four horns, magisterially played by Richard Lewis, Jo Towler, Duncan Gwyther and Liz Kadir. Wow.
Haydn’s Creation at the Korean Full Gospel Church in Raynes Park, Sunday 12 October – lots of fun, the Koreans charming and lovely, my contra bottom B flat much appreciated!
The English Chamber Orchestra at Cadogan Hall, Wednesday 15 October – Tippett, Britten (Les Illuminations with stunning young soprano Mary Bevan), plus some works by Arab composers including the brilliant and hilarious Saxophone Concerto by Waleed Howrani – a perfect Last Night of the Proms piece?
Celebrity Recital at Cadogan Hall, Sunday 19 October – Emma Johnson, Julian Lloyd Webber, John Lill, surprisingly not a full house: a treat of Beethoven and Brahms clarinet trios, the Weber Grand Duo Concertant, Julian playing two of his father’s pieces (with Andrew in the audience), and John Lill scorching our eyebrows off with the Chopin C minor Nocturne and the amazing Prokofiev Toccata
Rossini’s Matilde di Shabran at the Opera House, with Juan Diego Florez
Our very own Phoenix Orchestra concert (see previous post) on Thursday 23 October, especially the wonderful and inexhaustible Tom Poster in the Rachmaninov 3rd Piano Concerto
The Esbjerg Ensemble at Cadogan Hall, Sunday 26 October: Nonet by Louise Farrenc, Poulenc’s Sextet for piano and wind (fantastic), the Schumann Piano Quintet (wonderful as ever). Slightly dour Danish group, lifted to a higher plane by the tiny, sparky, beaming and incredibly accomplished pianist Marianna Shirinyan (who she??)
And the Brodsky Quartet at Cadogan Hall on Wednesday 29 October – Beethoven Razumovsky No. 1 (what a wonderful piece), Tchaikovsky Quartet No. 1, and two little Stravinsky numbers (Concertino and Three Pieces) which were spellbinding.
Now I’m off to rehearse contra in Boléro (don’t ask)…
Normal service one of these days!
thanks for the picture, Diana…
Categories: chamber music, concert halls, concerts, contrabassoon, Life: living of, London, music, opera, orchestras, piano, Proms, wind music
Tags: Andrew Lloyd Webber, Beethoven, Bolero, Brahms, Britten, Brodsky Quartet, Cadogan Hall, Chopin, clarinet, Covent Garden Chamber Orchestra, Creation, Duncan Gwyther, Emma Johnson, English Chamber Orchestra, Esbjerg Ensemble, Haydn, horn, Jo Towler, John LIll, Juan Diego Florez, Julian Lloyd Webber, Korean Full Gospel Church, Les Illuminations, Liz Kadir, London Phoenix Orchestra, Louise Farrenc, Marianna Shirinyan, Mary Bevan, Matilde di Shabran, Poulenc, Prokofiev, Rachmaninov, Raynes Park, Razumovsky, Richard Lewis, Rossini, Royal Opera House, Schumann, Stravinsky, Tchaikovsky, Tippett, Tom Poster, Waleed Howrani, Weber, William Lloyd Webber
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← Kings Cross gyratory radical solution – to be relocated East of Dunwich says Mayor
Cally Festival Sunday 1200 onwards @thecallyfest #callyfest →
North-South Cycle super highway Elephant to Kings Cross – the death of ‘smoothing traffic flow’?
Posted on September 3, 2014 by William Perrin
You could be forgiven for missing that there is also a North-South cycle route being planned to complement the ‘Crossrail for cycles’ that the media was excited about yesterday. It’s less developed than the E-W proposal and, disappointingly the Kings Cross section isn’t ready for consultation yet. TfL are in talks with Camden:
‘North of Farringdon station the route is planned to connect to a new ‘Quietway’ back-street cycle route connecting to King’s Cross. The details for this section are still being investigated with the London Borough of Camden and will be consulted on separately.’
Says the consultation page on the TfL website.
Of course the big question is ‘What will happen to cyclists when they get to Kings Cross?’ Presumably even TfL wouldn’t just dump them into the gyratory. If i had to guess I would think they would route people to Argyle Street.
One really interesting aspect of this proposal is the apparent abandonment of the insidious ‘smoothing traffic flow’ dogma the Mayor has been so keen on since 2008 and which we criticised here during the long campaign on cycle safety and the need for corporate manslaughter charges against TfL. We said that:
‘Smoothing traffic flow’ has featured prominently in the Mayor’s policy document since ‘Way To Go’ in 2008 and is enshrined in his full transport strategy. Feedback from cycling organisations and elected representatives suggest that this policy is frequently cited as a reason not to make improvements to road junctions that increase cycle safety. The implementation of this policy, which is intended to benefit cyclists too has failed and the policy has been mis-applied diminishing cycle safety.
‘…a cycle lane would make the road much safer for cyclists but would reduce the throughput of cars at the junction – the throughput of cars wins over cycle safety. This trade-off rears its head again and again. Yet we have no insight into how it has this been evaluated – how does a minor inconvenience to traffic outweigh a fatally poor design. What cost benefit evaluation has been used? Given TfL’s strong engineering tradition there must be a simple mathematical formula used to make this calculation consistently across the network. The UK is a world leader in these forms of appraisal but TfL never reveals its workings.’
The North South consultation document says, with respect to an improvement at Farringdon:
‘Impact of these proposals on traffic capacity and pedestrian crossing times
Our latest analysis shows the proposals would mean longer journey times for motorists and bus, coach and taxi passengers along most of the route, both during construction and once complete. There would also be longer journey times for users of many of the roads approaching the proposed route and longer waits for pedestrians at some signalised crossings. ‘
Which you wouldn’t have seen TfL fessing up to five years ago. They will be doing a more detailed analysis TfL says, so let’s see what emerges. Could be a big shift in the right direction.
About William Perrin
Active in Kings Cross London and South Oxfordshire, founder of Talk About Local, helping people find a voice online and a trustee of The Indigo Trust , Good Things Foundation and ThreeSixtyGiving as well as Connect8.
View all posts by William Perrin →
This entry was posted in Bad Gyrations KX Campaign, Transport and tagged cyclesafety, elephant, northsouth. Bookmark the permalink.
8 Responses to North-South Cycle super highway Elephant to Kings Cross – the death of ‘smoothing traffic flow’?
Albert Beale says:
Albert Beale, 5 Cally Road
I’m reserving judgement about whether this really is a big change of priorities for TfL – we’ll see – perhaps.
But I don’t see that all motor vehicles need to be slowed by improving bike (and pedestrian) facilities – the answer, surely, is to take most of the cars off the roads of inner London, then you could have better space for human-powered movement without impeding buses and taxis (and essential commercial traffic).
Paul Convery (@Paul_Convery) says:
Funnelling cycle traffic into the main Kings Cross intersection from a North-South cycle superhighway would be crazy. Islington and Camden Councils have been united in our opposition to a route that just goes up Grays Inn Rd and feeds cyclists into the Euston Rd/Pentonville Rd/York Way chaos. That junction has too much of everything already: vehicles, pedestrians, cyclists. What’s more, the volume of pedestrians will keep on growing. Instead, what’s needed is a “quiet” route that bypasses KX for cyclists going further north or south of KX. Both Councils are working with TfL (we’ll see if this is going to yield results quite soon) to remove the gyratory and fundamentally reduce traffic volumes. We’ve made a start: the Caledonian Rd section of the north gyratory is being engineered back to 2-way-traffic right now.
William Perrin says:
That’s good to hear Paul let us know when it bears fruit. I am using the Ossulton Street route, West of the British Library at the moment to bypass KX when coming from the South. It’s ok (though very bumpy) and hard to find from the South unless you know where you are heading. But to connect back to the Islington side I have to shoot up Goods Way which with the construction works isn’t a great route at present.
From Albert Beale again
(020-7278 4474) (worldpeace@gn.apc.org)
Firstly, though some long-distance north-south cyclists might usefully be routed past Kings Cross intersection rather than through it, for many of us Kings Cross (or very nearby) is where we’re gong from or to. And also there are the very many east-west cycle journeys which go through Kings Cross. In other words, routing some north-south traffic away from the intersection/gyratory doesn’t get rid of the need for the intersection itself to be people-friendly (including cyclist-friendly)! In fact, I worry that re-routing (in a high-profile way) just a minority of the cyclists who currently go to or from or via Kings Cross away from the intersection will give planners an excuse not to humanise the immediate area itself for all of us. If _that_ were done, then a diversionary route would be less relevant.
(And we know that TfL’s latest interim scheme for the junction avoids dealing with the most serious problems for cyclists – it’s in no way in the spirit of what they say they’re doing on the main routes just announced. If they were serious about what they say their aims are, they’d scrap the latest interim plan in favour of a proper job using the principles they say they’re applying on the new routes. _Wherever_ any new major route goes, through or past Kings Cross, a junction like ours anyway needs to have the sort of safety standards for cyclists and pedestrians that are claimed to be behind the new super-routes announcement.)
And in response to Paul’s “That junction has too much of everything already: vehicles, pedestrians, cyclists”, I disagree. It doesn’t have “too many cyclists and pedestrians”, they’re/we’re mostly people with good reason to be there. It _does_ have too many vehicles, which don’t need to be there. Take most of the private cars away, and ensure that commercial/delivery vehicles are a more appropriate scale for central London, and there’s plenty of room for us people!
And the idea that the two councils can work with TfL to “fundamentally reduce traffic volumes” – great – but, by definition, only possible if some of the traffic in Kings Cross is got rid of. So is TfL finally going to switch its policy and throw out some of the (motorised) traffic? Wonderful if true – but if not, then this hope is cloud cuckoo land [in the generally misapplied sense of the term, not in Aristophanes’s original sense]. And I suspect not, of course – as per my point in my earlier message (yesterday) above.
And also, Paul, what is the new 2-way section of Cally Road going to do for cyclists? Nothing, as far as I can tell. I see no suggestion of segregated cycle lanes each way. I see less bus lane infrastructure (which at least provides some help for cyclists). (Just extra traffic fumes from queuing traffic outside the new cafe frontages on Cally Road.) What was so obviously needed was to leave it one-way for everything except buses, bikes and taxis (or maybe even for everything except bikes), with segregated space for what was allowed both ways, and wider pavements.
The fetish for always switching to two-way working on main roads (when there are other ways to slow traffic down, with the political will to do so) is misplaced. Minor roads generally need to be two-way as a better way of deterring traffic, but the argument isn’t always logical on heavily used roads. Which brings us back to the need to get rid of some of the traffic completely. But without that being done, the 2-way section of Cally is, it seems to me, a massive waste off funds which could be put to far better use by Islington – and goodness knows Islington are short of money.
PS from Albert
Sorry about a couple of typos just now, in my haste [I’m crashing my own deadlines here…]. But I don’t know how to correct them after I’ve submitted my piece/rant.
Tony Rees says:
Albert repeats the worries of those of us living in Caledonian Road that the two way working will increase the frequency of standing traffic outside our homes and businesses as two southbound lanes are squashed into one, not good for our physical or mental well-being.
As I understand it, when the whole gyratory is done away with, north bound traffic in Grays Inn Road will be able to access Caledonian Road via Battle Bridge Road. What joys this will bring we cannot tell at the moment, but it might raise the opportunity for a dedicated cycle route at least in the northerly direction?
Pingback: Kings Cross Four unidirectional lanes for cars, but sorry we are not able to afford space for a cycle lane, it would slow the cars down! | Kings Cross Environment
Pingback: Does this picture confirm that TfL plans to dump North South cycle superhighway traffic into Euston Road and Kings Cross gyratory at Judd Street? | Kings Cross Environment
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1 dead, 2 in custody after stabbing at Philadelphia airport
No passengers were involved in the isolated incident.
Mike Dougherty-KYW Newsradio
PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) -- After an argument at Philadelphia International Airport that went too far, one man is dead, and two others are in police custody.
Philadelphia Police say there was an altercation at Gate E6 in the secure area. Employees from World Wide Services, a company Frontier Airlines contracts with to provide ground services, had just finished cleaning some planes. They headed over to the break room.
Then, said Lt. John Walker, "One of the males in the break room apparently turns a light out, another employee starts arguing with him. They shove, they push, they argue verbally."
Walker said then a third man, a 35-year-old, came to defend his friend. "And he begins to fight with the individual, pulls out a knife and stabs him across the stomach."
An argument over turning off a light in the break room ends with employee being stabbed to death at the airport. Suspect taken for processing in this van pic.twitter.com/THk4o9lbxl
— Mike Dougherty (@MicDougherty) May 3, 2018
The victim, a 28-year-old man, was taken to the hospital in critical condition and pronounced dead just before noon. Walker said the suspect and his friend both ran away, but they didn't make it far before being picked up by police.
This was an isolated incident. Nobody else was hurt, and no passengers were involved.
Philadelphia Police Department
Worldwide Flight Services
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Health care providers can overrule a living will
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Andrew Kramer | KYW Newsradio
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Tag Archives: Airport Injury lawyer Doug Landau
Airport Lightning Strike – Does Airline have Duty to Protect?
Posted by: Law Shop
In the summer of 2015, a healthy, vibrant 52 year old woman died of her injuries after being struck by lightning on an airport tarmac in Columbia, South Carolina. The woman was getting off an American Airlines plane that had been diverted to Columbia because of bad weather. Her family filed a lawsuit, alleging the
Lots of Luggage Injuries are Losers
If you work as an airport luggage loader or terminal porter, a back injury could make you eligible for workers compensation. For example, under the Virginia workers compensation law, a sudden accidental injury can form the basis of a comp claim. A workers comp claim can cover work-related medical treatment, partial wage loss, and permanency
Even the Dirty Work has to be Done Promptly at an Airport
While being an airline pilot or flight attendant still has glamorous aspects in that you get to travel the world, there are other jobs at the airport that are much less desirable. This includes maintenance and basic safety protocol. However, these jobs are just as important as the captain of an aircraft. If lavatory spills
Pilots’ Injuries on the Ground are more Frequent than Those on Board
While an airline pilot’s job requires significant safety protocols for the safety of the souls on board, for 30 years Doug Landau has been helping airline employees with their own injury and disability cases. The majority of injuries to pilots have occurred after these highly trained professionals disembark their craft. Even after the flight has
Cargo Crew Members May Bring Personal Injury Cases As Well As Workers Comp Claims for Airport Injuries
While passenger jet flight crews can maintain workers’ compensation claims when injured on the job AND also bring a “third party case” against the unsafe wrongdoer, cargo crews may not know they also could have this double-barreled legal protection. A workers’ compensation claim can cover a cargo airline employee’s medical bills and some wage loss.
Landau at National Championship
Airport injury lawyer Doug Landau is used to traveling. After all, since he is licensed to practice law up and down the East Coast, he often travels to meet with clients or try cases for injured airline employees who live, work, or have been injured in a state other than Landau’s home state of Virginia.
Causes for Falls at the Airport
Unfamiliar terrain, distractions, ever-changing signs, and uneven jetways present dangers to even the most careful airport travelers. However tripping or slipping in the terminal, in the jetway, or on the airport operations area (AOA”) does not necessarily mean the airport authority or airline is responsible for the injuries sustained. For an injured airline traveler to
Can One Airport Employee Sue Another Who May be Responsible for Causing Injury?
The short answer according to airport injury lawyer Doug Landau is NO — if they work for the same airline or company. Under Virginia law, if, for example, an Eastern Airlines mechanic drops a tool on the head of an Eastern Airlines flight attendant at Reagan National Airport, while the flight attendant could make a
Mediating Airport Injury Cases: Virginia Workers’ Compensation Commission Gets Four New Mediators
The Virginia Workers’ Compensation Commission (VWCC) recently announced that the Virginia Supreme Court has certified four new mediators for WCC in 2014. The newly minted mediators will offer an expeditious and efficient alternative to litigation for the resolution of workers’ compensation disputes. The VWCC provides Mediators FREE OF CHARGE. Furthermore, even if the on the
Can an Injured Vicitim Look at the Medical Records of an Unsafe Airport Driver?
When a motor vehicle crash case lawsuit is filed in court, the insurance defense lawyers for the defendant will ask the injured victim many questions, request all sorts of medical records, and then interrogate the victim. This questioning is known as a “deposition” and is done in order to find out all about the injured
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Latest daily news
Latest news0
Carrie Austin grand jury also looking into family who’ve made millions on City Hall deals
By LatestdailynewsPosted on 12th July 2019
South Side alderman pushed to rename a stretch of a street for the Nitchoffs, whose companies have soundproofed homes near O’Hare, Midway, among other city work.
A federal grand jury looking into Ald. Carrie Austin’s purchase of a new home has also subpoenaed records regarding businesses connected to a family of suburban entrepreneurs whose companies have been paid more than $100 million on City Hall deals in the past 17 years.
All but one of the companies are owned by Lemont businessman Boris Nitchoff, his sons Alex Nitchoff and Constantino Nitchoff and his granddaughter Lauren Nitchoff. The other company is owned by Antonia Tienda, who city records show formerly worked as a project manager for one of the Nitchoff companies.
What their relationship is to Austin isn’t clear. Campaign records don’t show any contributions from them.
But, in September 2016, the longtime South Side alderman got her city council colleagues to approve a resolution to rename a two-block stretch of South Glenroy Avenue between West 105thand West 107thas South Nitchoff Avenue — though the street signs were never changed to reflect that.
Two months later, Austin sponsored a city council tribute to Constantino Nitchoff’s son, a 17-year-old Lemont High School student who’d died.
Austin’s ward office was raided by the FBI on June 19 as part of a grand jury investigation.
The grand jury issued a subpoena seeking items related to “the construction, purchase, financing, rental, or ownership of, and/or work on” the $236,000 home Austin bought in the 12200 block of South Laflin Street last October with a $231,000 loan guaranteed by the federal government.
The subpoena also named five Nitchoff businesses: Mako Properties, Koal Enterprises, Oakk Construction, 995 LLC and Drop Box Inc. It also named Tienda’s Maxwell Services, which frequently works with the Nitchoffs on city contracts.
No one has been charged with any crime in the ongoing federal investigation.
Fran Spielman / Sun-Times
Ald. Carrie Austin.
The U.S. attorney’s office wouldn’t comment. The Nitchoffs, Austin and her lawyers didn’t respond to messages or wouldn’t comment.
Since 2002, City Hall has paid the Nitchoff and Tienda companies $100,219,363 for projects that have included soundproofing homes near O’Hare Airport and Midway Airport and rehabbing or replacing porches and roofs for low-income homeowners across the city.
Boris Nitchoff runs Mako Properties in Summit, which buys delinquent property taxes, collecting interest if the homeowner pays up.
Boris Nitchoff.
Constantino Nitchoff is president of Koal Enterprises, which shares an address with Mako.
Alex Nitchoff is president of Oakk Construction next door. His daughter Lauren Nitchoff owns Drop Box Inc., which she told City Hall she bought from her father. She also said she previously worked for her father’s and grandfather’s companies.
Both sons subcontract work to Tienda’s Maxwell Services, which City Hall has certified as being owned and operated by a Hispanic woman, allowing the Nitchoffs to meet city contracting requirements. She also has gotten city contracts and hired the Nitchoffs as …read more
Source:: Chicago Sun Times
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The Guardian: How Margaret Thatcher Freed Nelson Mandela
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/apr/10/margaret-thatcher-apartheid-mandela
I was briefed off-the-record by her foreign affairs adviser on several occasions, but when he told me that she had called on the then president, PW Botha, to release Nelson Mandela, I found it difficult to believe. I did not report it as I could not source it. But it was true. In a letter to Botha in October 1985 she wrote: "I continue to believe, as I have said to you before, that the release of Nelson Mandela would have more impact than almost any single action you could undertake."
When Botha stepped down after a stroke in 1989, he was replaced by FW de Klerk, who met Thatcher at Downing Street in June. I was among a group of journalists waiting outside No 10 with the promise that he would give a press conference straight after. We watched him leave then ran up Whitehall to the South African embassy where he had promised to speak. He did not turn up. We were told later that he had been too shocked by Thatcher's vehemence.
Mandela was released on 11 February 1990 (I was at the gates of the jail but to my eternal chagrin I failed to spot him). That evening he made a speech from the balcony of the town hall in Cape Town which was televised, live, world wide. The speech was written by the hard-liners and communists in the ANC and was full of Marxist jargon. "Our resort to the armed struggle in 1960… was a purely defensive action against the violence of apartheid. The factors which necessitated the armed struggle still exist today. We have no option but to continue." Thatcher was appalled. She picked up the telephone to Robin Renwick, the British ambassador in South Africa, and demanded to know why she had ever bothered to battle for Mandela's release if this was the result.
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Show Related Q&As What is Aeronautical Engineering? What is Hydraulics Engineering? What is Internet Engineering? How to Become an Aeronautical Engineer in 5 Steps
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Engineering and...
Which Schools Offer Distance Learning Engineering Bachelor's Degrees?
Although many U.S. schools offer online classes or distance learning opportunities in engineering, few provide a completely online bachelor's degree program in this field. Read on to learn about two schools that offer distance learning programs in engineering. Schools offering Computer Engineering degrees can also be found in these popular choices.
Accredited Colleges Offering Online Engineering Bachelor's Degree Programs
A distance learning bachelor's degree in engineering is similar to a conventional bachelor's degree program, but it can be done completely online or through correspondence courses. This benefits working professionals trying to balance their studies with full-time work and family obligations. Accredited distance learning bachelor's degree programs in engineering are not widely available throughout the U.S.; however, students can pursue such a bachelor's degree in this field at some regionally accredited public colleges.
Important Facts About This Field of Study
Concentrations Civil, Chemical, Mechanical, Petroleum, Electrical, and many others
Common courses Mathematics, science and field-specific engineering courses
Possible Careers Mechanical, Civil or Electrical Engineers and many others
Continuing Education Master's degree in engineering field
Median Salary (2018) $87,370 (Mechanical Engineers)
$86,640 (Civil Engineers)
Job Outlook (2016-2026) 9% (Mechanical Engineers)
11% (Civil Engineers)
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)
The University of North Dakota offers several distance learning Bachelor of Science degrees in engineering fields. Students can pursue a degree in five engineering concentrations. Each program takes at least six years to complete and consists of a combination of recorded lectures posted online and required on-campus labs. While students may have the opportunity to view lectures at their leisure, assignments and exams must be completed by set deadlines.
The University of North Carolina offers a Bachelor of Science degree in two engineering fields, electrical engineering and fire safety engineering technology. Both are degree completion programs in engineering technology designed for students who already hold an associate degree. Both degree programs include courses offered fully online, while the electrical engineering requires summer on-campus labs that are held once a week for five consecutive weeks.
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Bachelor - Information Systems: Software Engineering Management
Full Sail University responds quickly to information requests through this website.
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Demurrer legal definition of demurrer
https://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/demurrer
demurrer
Related to demurrer: speaking demurrer
An assertion by the defendant that although the facts alleged by the plaintiff in the complaint may be true, they do not entitle the plaintiff to prevail in the lawsuit.
The pleadings of the parties to a lawsuit describe the dispute to be resolved. The plaintiff sets out the facts that support the claim made in the complaint, and the defendant then has an opportunity to respond in an answer.
A demurrer is a type of answer used in systems of Code Pleading, established by statute to replace the earlier common-law Forms of Action. While a demurrer admits the truth of the plaintiff's set of facts, it contends that those facts are insufficient to grant the complaint in favor of the plaintiff. A demurrer may further contend that the complaint does not set forth enough facts to justify legal relief or it may introduce additional facts that defeat the legal effectiveness of the plaintiff's complaint. A demurrer asserts that, even if the plaintiff's facts are correct, the defendant should not have to answer them or proceed with the case.
Under the modern rules of Pleading established by the rules of federal Civil Procedure and followed in a number of states, the demurrer has been abolished as a formal type of answer. The same argument against the plaintiff's Cause of Action can be, however, made by motion to dismiss the plaintiff's action on the ground that he or she has failed to state a claim on which relief can be granted. Even where the formal demurrer is no longer used, lawyers and judges often use the old term for an argument of the same type.
n. (dee-muhr-ur) a written response to a complaint filed in a lawsuit which, in effect, pleads for dismissal on the point that even if the facts alleged in the complaint were true, there is no legal basis for a lawsuit. A hearing before a judge (on the law and motion calendar) will then be held to determine the validity of the demurrer. Some causes of action may be defeated by a demurrer while others may survive. Some demurrers contend that the complaint is unclear or omits an essential element of fact. If the judge finds these errors, he/she will usually sustain the demurrer (state it is valid), but "with leave to amend" in order to allow changes to make the original complaint good. An amendment to the complaint cannot always overcome a demurrer, as in a case filed after the time allowed by law to bring a suit. If after amendment the complaint is still not legally good, a demurrer will be granted. In rare occasions, a demurrer can be used to attack an answer to a complaint. Some states have substituted a motion to dismiss for failure to state a cause of action for the demurrer.
noun be at variance, challenge, challenge to the sufficiency of the pleading, confutation, denial of the allegations, denial of the pleading, denial of the statements, exception, exception to a pleading, general denial, negaaion of allegations, objection, objection to a pleading, opposition to allegations, refusal to answer, refutation, repuuiation of the allegations, take exception to the allegations, take issue with, traversal
Associated concepts: argumentative demurrer, demurrer to a pleading, demurrer to evidence, demurrer to interrogatooies, frivolous demurrer, general demurrer, special demurrer
See also: disapproval, exception, objection
a pleading that while it may be accepted that facts or evidence maybe true, it is denied that the case is relevant or valid. Now often a motion to dismiss.
DEMURRER. (From the Latin demorari, or old French demorrer, to wait or stay.) In pleading, imports, according to its etymology, that the objecting party will not proceed with the pleading, because no sufficient statement has been made on the other side; but will wait the judgment of the court whether he is bound to answer. 5 Mod. 232; Co. Litt. 71, b; Steph. Pl. 61.
2. A demurrer may be for insufficiency either in substance or in form that is, it may be either on the ground that the case shown by the opposite party is essentially insufficient, or on the ground that it is stated in an artificial manner; for the law requires in every pleading, two thing's; the one, that it be in matter sufficient; the other, that it be deduced and expressed according to the forms of law; and if either the one or the other of these be wanting, it is cause of demurrer. Hob. 164. A demurrer, as in its nature, so also in its form, is of two kinds; it is either general or special.
3. With respect to the effect of a demurrer, it is, first, a rule, that a demurrer admits all such matters of fact as are sufficiently pleaded. Bac. Abr. Pleas, N 3; Com. Dig. Pleader, Q 5. Again, it is it rule that, on a demurrer, the court will consider the whole record, and give judgment for the party who, on the whole, appears to be entitled to it. Com. Dig. Pleader, M. 1, M 2; Bad. Abr. Pleas. N 3; 5 Rep. 29 a: Hob. 56; 2 Wils. 150; 4 East, 502 1 Saund. 285 n. 5. For example, on a demurrer to the replication, if the court think the replication bad, but perceive a substantial fault in the plea, they will give judgment, not for the defendant, but for the plaintiff; 2 Wils. R. 1&0; provided the declaration be good; but if the declaration also be bad in substance, then upon the same principle, judgment would be given for the defendant. 5 Rep. 29 a. For when judgment is to be given, whether the issue be in law or fact, and whether the cause have proceeded to issue or not, the court is always to examine the whole record, and adjudge for the plaintiff or defendant, according to the legal right, as it may on the whole appear.
4. It is, however, subject to, the following exceptions; first, if the plaintiff demur to a plea in abatement, and the court decide against the plea, they will give judgment of respondeat ouster, without regard to any defect in the declaration. Lutw. 1592, 1667; 1 Salk. 212; Carth. 172 Secondly, the court will not look back into the record, to adjudge in favor of an apparent right in the plaintiff, unless the plaintiff have himself put his action upon that ground. 5 Barn. & Ald 507. Lastly, the court, in examining the whole record, to adjudge according to the apparent right, will consider the right in matter of substance, and not in respect of mere form, such as should have been the subject of a special demurrer. 2 Vent. 198-222.
5. There can be no demurrer to a demurrer: for a demurrer upon a demurrer, or pleading over when an issue in fact is offered, is a discontinuance. Salk. 219; Bac. Abr. Pleas, N 2.
6. Demurrers are general and special, and demurrers to evidence, and to interrogatories.
7.-1. A general demurrer is one which excepts to the sufficiency of a previous pleading in general terms, without showing specifically the nature of the objection; and such demurrer is sufficient, when the objection is on matter of substance. Steph. Pl. 159; 1 Chit. Pl. 639; Lawes, Civ. Pl. 167; Bac. Abr. Pleas, N 5; Co. Lit. 72 a.
8.-2. A special demurrer is one which excepts to the sufficiency of the pleadings on the,opposite side, and shows specifically the nature of the objection and the particular ground of exception. Co. Litt. 72, a.; Bac. Abr. Pleas, N 5.
9. A special demurrer is necessary, where it turns on matter of form only; that is, where, notwithstanding such objections, enough appears to entitle the opposite party to judgment, as far as relates to the merits of the cause. For, by two statutes, 27 Eliz. ch. 5, and 4 Ann. ch. 16, passed with a view to the discouragement of merely formal objections, it is provided in nearly the same terms, that the judges "shall give judgment according to the very right of the cause and matter in law as it shall appear unto them, without regarding any imperfection, omission, defect or want of form, except those only 'Which the party demurring shall, specifically. and particularly set down and express, together with his demurrer, as the causes of the same." Since these statutes, therefore, no mere matter of form can be objected to on a general demurrer; but the demurrer must be in the special form, and the objection specifically stated. But, on the other hand, it is to be observed, that, under a special demurrer, the party may, on the argument, not only take advantage of the particular faults which his demurrer specifies, but also of all objections in substance, or regarding the very right of the cause, (as the statute expresses it.) as under those statutes, need not be particularly set down. It follows, therefore, that unless the objection be clearly of the substantial kind, it is the safer course, in all cases, to demur specially. Yet, where a general demurrer is plainly efficient, it is more usually adopted in practice; because the effect of the special form being to apprise the opposite party more distinctly of the nature of the objection, it is attended with the inconvenience, of enabling him to prepare to maintain his pleading by argument, or of leading him to apply the earlier to amend. With respect to the degree of particularity, with which, under these statutes, the special demurrer must assign the ground of objection, it may be observed, that it is not sufficient to object, in general terms, that the pleading is "uncertain, defective, and informal," or the like, but if is necessarily to show in what, it respect, uncertain, defective, and informal. 1 Saund. 161, n. 1, 337 b, n. 3; Steph. Pl. 159, 161; 1 Chit. Pl. 642.
10.- 3. A demurrer to evidence is analogous to a demurrer in pleading; the party from whom it comes declaring that he will not proceed, because the evidence offered on the other side, is not sufficient to maintain the issue. Upon joinder in demurrer, by the opposite party, the jury are, in general, discharged from giving any verdict; 1 Arch. Pr. 186; and the demurrer being entered on record, is afterwards argued and decided by the court in banc; and the judgment there given upon it, may ultimately be brought before a court of error. See 2 H. Bl. 187 4 Chit. Pr. 15 Gould on Pl. c. 9, part 2, Sec. 47 United States Dig. Pleading, Viii.
11.-4. Demurrer to interrogatories. By this phrase is understood the reasons which a witness tenders for not answering a particular question in interrogatories. 2 Swanst. R. 194. Strictly speaking, this is not a demurrer, which admits the facts stated, for the purpose of taking the. opinion of the court but by an abuse of the term, the witness objection to answer is called a demurrer, in the popular sense. Gresl. Eq. Ev. 61.
12. The court are judicially to determine their validity. The witness must state his objection very carefully, for these demurrers are held to strict rules, and are readily overruled if they cover too much. 2 Atk. 524; 1 Y. & J. 32. See, in general, as to demurrers,, Bac. Abr. Pleas, N; Com. Dig. Pleader, Q; Saund. Rep. Index, tit. Demurrers; Lawes Civ. Pl. ch. 8; 1 Chit. Pl. 639-649 Bouv. Inst. Index, h.t.
Abiding by plea
amended complaint
amended pleading
Averment of
be at variance
Brief for Respondent
Brief for the Petitioners
challenge to the sufficiency of the pleading
Common-Law Pleading
Compurgator
confutation
The demurrer is usually filed after the prosecution rested its case.
Bong Revilla appeals court's order to present evidence
Absent a specific repudiation of Guggenheimer by the Court of Appeals, the issue of whether CPLR 3211(a)(7) is simply a demurrer or a merits-testing device will remain an open one.
CPLR 3211(a)(7): demurrer or merits-testing device?
Pending: On April 20, Judge Trembath overruled the demurrer.
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COURT'S OPINION: The California Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court's judgment granting the hospital's demurrer without leave to amend, thus, dismissing Do's case against the hospital.
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The court noted that the plaintiff effectively conceded that at least two of the four justifications given by the trial court for its ruling were valid because the two claims were absolutely precluded by the court's previous rulings sustaining the defendant's demurrer.
Nurse's pleadings in wrongful termination case deficient
In granting the demurrer and dismissing the plaintiff's complaint as to all of the defendants, the trial court stated that the complaint was very vague and broad.
Supreme Court Permits Pleading of Claims Involving Esoteric Medical Issues
7 denial of their motions for leave to file a demurrer against the prosecution's evidence.
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COURT'S OPINION: The Court of Appeal of California granted the plaintiff's petition and ordered the trial court to vacate its order sustaining the nursing home's demurrer to the plaintiff's complaint for elder abuse.
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The defendants filed a demurrer to the suit on the grounds that the plaintiff did not have 'standing to sue,' that is that the case was governed by the law as it existed when the decedent died, not as it existed when the suit was filed.
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In Wednesday's action, Farrell granted a demurrer filed by the school district that objected to the lawsuit and said the plaintiff failed to state a legal or factual basis.
FAMILY CAN'T SUE FOR BIAS REST OF SUIT IN TEEN'S DEATH CAN BE AMENDED
demonstrate against
demonstrate protest
demonstrated
demonstratio
demonstrative
Demonstrative Evidence
demonstrative legacy
demoralize
demoralized
demoralizing
demorari
demortuus
demoted assured shorthold tenancy
demure
demureness
demurrage
demurral
Demurrer book) eng
demurring
demurringly
Demy sanke or sangue
Denarii
Denarius dei
denaturalize
denature
deniability
denial of entry
denial of justice
denial of the allegations
denial of the pleading
denial of the statements
denial of visa for disorderly conduct
Denial of visa, UK
Denier a dieu
denigrating
denigration
dénigrement
Denization
demurest
demuring
Demurino
Demurity
demurrable
Demurrage/Despatch Money
Demurrage/Half Dispatch
demurrals
demurred
demurred at
Demurrer to evidence
demurrers
demurring at
demurs
demurs at
DEMUS
Demut-Malinovskii, Vasiliiivanovich
Demuth
Demuth Charles
Demuth, Charles
Demutskii, Daniil
Demutskii, Daniil Porfirevich
Demutualisation
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Did Natsume Misspell Its Own Name in Harvest Moon 64?
Posted on May 3, 2014 by Clyde Mandelin ‧ 56 Comments
After I posted a recent article about Harvest Moon, I was reminded that Natsume has made many mistakes, typos, and wacky translations in other games… including misspelling its own name on the title screen of Harvest Moon 64.
I was really interested in see if this was real, so I booted the game up and saw that it was indeed called “Natume” on the title screen:
And this is right after the company’s name is spelled as “Natsume” on a boot-up logo screen:
”How the heck could they make a typo with their own name?!” is a sentiment I’ve seen online… But on closer inspection, “Natume” isn’t exactly a typo.
Whenever I finish my professional translation projects I often have to translate reams and reams of Japanese credits into English, and this same issue pops up all the time, every time. What’s going on is similar to the Yoshi vs. Yossy thing: there are several different ways to write Japanese words using the English alphabet.
In super-simple terms, one style is preferred by native Japanese speakers, and one is preferred by foreigners. Because of this, there are often multiple, legitimate ways to spell the same word, although they’re meant to be pronounced the same way. And because of these different systems, what foreigners might write out as “tsu” is often written as “tu” by Japanese speakers.
Thus, “Natsume” and “Natume” are technically both correct spellings. In fact, the “Natume” spelling isn’t that uncommon – plenty of other Japanese companies spell it that way too:
Still, I guess someone on the translation team hadn’t gotten the memo that the company preferred “Natsume” as its official spelling. Which isn’t too surprising, given the quality of the translation – seriously, even the title screen says “Push the START”.
Anyway, even if “Natume” isn’t necessarily a typo, it IS a consistency mistake. It shouldn’t have happened, but it’s probably to be expected from such a big company – I mean, even their web guy seems to have spelled it “Natume”:
I guess the important thing to take away from this is that there are usually multiple ways of spelling the same Japanese word, and every so often these alternate spellings will sneak into stuff. So if you’re ever playing a Japanese game or watching Japanese anime or whatever and think to yourself, “Why is this suddenly spelled slightly differently?” now you have a good guess why.
If you liked this post and know someone else who's a Harvest Moon fan, I hope you'll tell them about it. Thanks for your help!
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Benjy May 3, 2014 at 10:06 am
What is “YOSSY COME HERE!” from?
Clyde Mandelin May 3, 2014 at 10:24 am
Oh man, I can’t remember anymore, but it was from some official manga I believe.
BusterTheFox May 3, 2014 at 7:27 pm
I think it might have been from the one where it teaches you how to speak Yoshi language at the end. Pretty sure I saw it in an article here at some point… Maybe the actual Yossy/Yoshi article?
AConcernedGamer May 3, 2014 at 12:47 pm
I think I understand why Nihon-siki is favored so strongly by natives, but for all the conveniences it offers, it has, in my opinion, a major disadvantage that vindicates Hepburn:
Nihon-siki cannot distinguish between 「し／シ」 and 「せぃ／セィ」 (“shi” and “si” in Hepburn), 「ち／チ」 and 「てぃ／ティ」 (“chi” and “ti” in Hepburn), 「つ／ツ」 and 「とぅ／トゥ」 (“tsu” and “tu” in Hepburn), and 「ふ／フ」 and 「ほぅ／ホゥ」 (“fu” and “hu” in Hepburn).
I already posted a comment in a previous article that, for long vowels like 「えい」 and 「おう」, I prefer staying true to the hiragana spelling, which would result in, for example, “Nintendou” with a U at the end. The reason for that is to minimize errors in converting a romanized spelling back to kana. This is why I prefer Hepburn over Nihon-siki, not necessarily because it clarifies pronunciation of irregular kana.
By the way, a box for a Famicom Disk System game, Family Computer Golf: Japan Course, says 「ジャパン」 (the English exonym “Japan”) instead of 「日本」 (the Japanese endonym, “Nippon”) at the upper-right corner (see here: http://www.mariowiki.com/File:Fds_famicomgolfjapancourse_2_jp.jpg). I always thought it unlikely that any native speaker would use a foreign endonym to refer to one’s own country, and more and more I feared that every time an English speaker refers to that country as “Japan”, a native cringes. Has there ever been, at any point in the history of the country, an international event encouraging other countries to refer to their country as “Nippon” instead of “Japan”?
I don’t think it answers your question, but I don’t think the foreign name is something that Japanese shy away from, just something that they don’t themselves use. There’s a video game and manga named Zipang (earlier form of “Japan”). The equivalent of Japan in the Rance series is also referred to as “JAPAN” in Romaji.
DevilWing May 3, 2014 at 9:37 pm
I’ve never gotten the impression that “Japan” is disliked in Japan. Since it comes from a Chinese reading of the characters, it’s not really different than 日本 being called Riben in Mandarin or Jatbun in Cantonese or Ilbon in Korean. I get the impression that it’s known as the English name, but not a “butchered” version or anything. Since English is cool in Japan, sometimes “Japan” is used to be cool.
In G Gundam, the “neo” countries use English names instead of Japanese, so Neo Japan is ネオ・ジャパン instead of Neo Nippon. Neo China is even ネオ・チャイナ instead of ネオ中国.
In the Super Sentai series Battle Fever J, the main, Japanese, member is named バトルジャパン (Battle Japan) instead of バトル日本 or バトルニッポン.
DaVince July 6, 2014 at 12:34 pm
Also Yakitate! Japan. But that’s probably because the pan (bread) joke wouldn’t work if they didn’t spell it “Japan” rather than “Nihon”, I guess. (“Nippan” could’ve gotten close though. :P)
Clyde Mandelin May 4, 2014 at 9:26 am
I see ジャパン often enough that I guess it’s not a huge deal. The first time I saw it I was a little confused too, though. Even more so because it had a typo!
Even the Japanese text has a typo!
I think the owner saw me snap that photo, actually. And later that week they fixed the sign, heh.
“Shapan” lol
The Wanderer May 6, 2014 at 5:18 am
Actually, if I’m reading this right, the kana read “SHAPON” – and the Roman letters read “Japapn”.
So at least three mistakes about the name, in one sign…
DevilWing May 7, 2014 at 12:23 am
Shapon would be シャポン. Anon was correct. It does in fact read “Shapan.”
Nitro Indigo July 26, 2017 at 12:37 pm
Never forget Togechikku -> Togechick/Togetic.
Audie May 3, 2014 at 12:58 pm
One place I’ve seen the tu thing is Summon Night on the PS1, where the auto-complete cycles between putting the character’s name in katakana, kanji, hiragana then all caps romaji (even though the game does support lower case), one of the characters will be rendered “NATUMI” but given how the official material and her (to my knowledge) lone appearance in an English released game use “Natsumi”, I think it’s just character limits at play.
http://i.imgur.com/8uETj9I.png
GH May 3, 2014 at 11:52 pm
They use all caps to avoid having to program that the first letter in the “English” name should be an upper-case.
Character limits? I doubt so, since they must have predicted the English conversion will take from two to three letters per kana (otherwise translating some compounds with the “sh” would be impossible). My guess it’s a preference for 『つ=tu』 rather than 『つ=tsu』 rather than technological constraints.
Or probably laziness.
Nice to see someone remembers the “Summon Night” series 😛
EDIT: You’re right.
The naming screen allows for only so much letters. An odd choice to say the least if they intended on having English names.
I gues it doesn’t do the conversion on the fly, but rather have the alternate names in a predetermined list. Guess not as much games were as advanced as the Tengai Makyou IV naming screen.
Darien May 4, 2014 at 1:08 am
Six characters is positively loads, man. Tons of older games limit you to fewer than that; if I remember correctly, the Lufia games only allow four-character names, and I seem to recall the Final Fantasy Legend and Adventure games doing the same. As, of course, did the original Final Fantasy.
The NES (and PSX) Dragon Warrior games, on the other hand, would allow you to use nice long character names, but truncated them to four letters in usage pretty often.
Lufia allows five characters, actually. Aguro, Jerin, Maxim, Selan, and of course Lufia are all five-character names. You’re right about the other games, though.
Stephen May 3, 2014 at 1:58 pm
Heh. I just read the Harvest Moon article today, so it’s interesting to see the comments there and then see this piece on the Natsume/Natume confusion in the same day. 🙂 An entertaining read.
Looking forward to reading more, especially the “Other Views” and AVGN articles. I enjoy seeing Japanese gamers’ opinions on things.
John May 3, 2014 at 4:35 pm
Although it’s not the same thing, this article reminded me of how Konami spelt Nintendo’s name wrong on the intro screen for the NES port of Life Force. You can see it at the beginning of this longplay…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgfTC3UVCVs
“Licensed by Nintend of America Inc.”
*Just one letter short
And then they made a PC collection of those NES games with that line with the Nintendo name removed outright 😛
John May 4, 2014 at 12:10 pm
Interesting, didn’t know there was a PC collection. When was it released?
KingMike May 6, 2014 at 12:44 pm
It was released around 2002. It contained the three Castlevanias and both Contras. Someone found Jackal in the data but I don’t know if it was available or not.
It actually makes sense that they removed Nintendo’s name because the PC release was not affiliated with Nintendo.
They also removed the Konami logo, perhaps by then Konami had changed from the iconic squiggle logo to the current red bar. That was still a more bizarre change.
Supposedly they changed the passwords for Castlevania II.
Though I haven’t verified it myself. I know even on the NES, the CV2 passwords were changed between the NTSC and PAL versions (well, not so much changed as the font reordered because the PAL version had Nintendo’s no-vowels password censorship).
Virtual Lab was a rushed, clearly unfinished puzzle game for Virtual Boy that was rushed to market because obviously they had to get it out while it could still be “LICENSED BY NINTENNDO”
Has anyone yet told Microsoft they should consider a Start9 button for their next OS. 😛
homgenized May 3, 2014 at 7:33 pm
I think the thing Yoshi’s back was originally a saddle, but nowadays it’s depicted as more of a shell to move him away from the idea of a pack animal and more of an “equal” buddy for Mario.
I don’t know how much romanticized is the status of Kabuki-cho / Yoshiwara areas as “cities of night” compared to real-life, but here’s your answer about the equivalent for 555-XXXXX 😛
Man, “Push the START” still cracks me up. Microsoft should have gone with that for its Windows 95 campaign.
Notwithstanding that: if “Nat(s)ume” is so common… wossit mean?
ZettaiRyouiki May 4, 2014 at 7:28 am
Jujube/Japanese Date.
Err, CHINESE Date. I want an edit button.
AwesomeBrand May 4, 2014 at 4:16 pm
This whole thing involving alternate spellings just reminds me of Thouzer from Fist of the North Star. His name is pronounced something like “Sao-zr” but the official spelling given by the Japanese is Thouzer or the rare Thouther while translations, fanmade or official dub, usually changes it to Souther or pronounce it how its supposed to be… Then you have the game “Ken’s Rage” which keeps the original romanized spelling but keeps the original spelling.
Speaking of which, Ken’s Rage would be a slightly interesting comparison. The translation partially quotes lines from Army of Darkness and Highlander.
Adamant May 4, 2014 at 7:44 pm
Logically, shouldn’t it be Souther, though? I assume is name is derived from a straight-ish translation of Nanto-rokusei into English.
as May 7, 2014 at 7:31 pm
I always thought he was named after Sauza tequila.
His name is サウザー (Sauzaa). The “Thouzer” anglicization is a technically valid one. It could even be anglicized as something weird like Thauzar or Sauzer or Thouser. Made-up fantasy names almost always result in this kind of trouble.
For example, Gundam character セイラ・マス (Seira Masu) is almost always called “Sayla Mass” in English. However, on at least one occassion her name was anglicized as “Sarah Math”.
Gummy July 6, 2014 at 2:18 am
Yeah, I thought of that, too. The weird confusion between Thouzer / Souther, Lin / Rin, stuff like that always bothered me.
Another thing this made me think of is how in JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, the spelling of Jotaro’s last name, Kujo. It’s preferred to be Kujo here it seems, but the creator romanizes it as Cujoh sometimes.
“Then you have the game “Ken’s Rage” which keeps the original romanized spelling but keeps the original spelling.”
It keeps the spelling but it keeps the spelling? I think you probably wanted to say something else?
Justin May 4, 2014 at 5:43 pm
“How the heck could they make a typo with their own name?!”
Cacpcom did it.
Midna May 6, 2014 at 10:15 pm
*Capcpom
REVELAITIONS
Erikku8 May 4, 2014 at 10:33 pm
About the Yoshi saddle, I think it’s funny you brought it up because when I was in high school, I once heard some of my classmates arguing about the same thing! As for me, I think it’s a saddle, though it’s possible that it could be a shell fashioned into one. But that’s just me.
Lucky, the only game my high school classmates ever talked about was Call of Duty…
Jistuce May 18, 2014 at 12:58 am
Makin’ me feel old now. i was a few years out of high school before the FIRST Call of Duty game came out.
Bohepans May 5, 2014 at 4:58 am
Nat(s)ume – Serious Engrish[tm]
But seriously, Harvest Moon on the SNES is still a great game, heh.
MGN001 May 6, 2014 at 12:37 am
Natsume has a legal claim on serious fun. That’s why we get so many samey shooters these days; all that’s left is serious boredom.
Natsume has a legal claim on serious fun. The only thing that’s left is whimsical fun.
They’re considerate enough not to put it in the in-game text…
Taito had to append [TM] to almost every name and even the “Yabba-daba-doo” in all of their Flinstone games. In the in-game dialogue. And the pause menu. And the charge meter.
I say it still counts as a spelling mistake since even in Japan they’ve been spelling it in English even in Japan. Their first slogan (in Japan) was “It’s technostacy. Since 1987.” (even though, according to GameFAQs, they started dealing alleged video-crack in 1988 😀 )
I know the PCE version of Puzzle Boy (aka Kwirk) said on the title screen it was by Telenet and “Atlas”.
Let May 6, 2014 at 7:21 pm
This reminds me of a weird spelling I saw for velociraptor in Japanese. It was in katakana, but the way it was spelled didn’t sound like the way it should be pronounced: be-ro-ki-ra-pu-ta.
The actual spelling in Japanese is Verokiraputoru (ヴェロキラプトル).
If you’re weirded out by the “ki” sound, it seems to be common practice. In Japanese, Triceratops is Torikeratopusu (トリケラトプス).
Adamant May 7, 2014 at 5:37 am
More accurately, it’s “common practice” in English to just pull a pronunciation out of one’s ass based on how the word is spelled.
The Japanese pronunciations are correct Classic Latin and Greek pronunciation of the word stems in question.
Joe4theRecord August 4, 2014 at 5:22 pm
I had been mispronouncing the name on the beer “Lowenbrau” forever. It’s pronounced something like Lehbenbroi in Japanese. I figure that must be closer so I just pronounce it like that all the time now.
@DevilWing: That might explain it.
KingMike May 8, 2014 at 10:31 am
Someone say ナツメ? That was the Japanese name of Sabrina in Pokemon, I believe.
420 Sabrina blaze it! Sabrina! Sabrina! Exclamation Shaun John Madden Kirlia Potatoes
(OMG Twitch Speaks Pokemon is not going to leave my brain anytime soon)
Lilfut May 8, 2014 at 1:26 pm
Reminds me of Rin/Lin/Lynn and Bart/Bat from Hokuto no Ken.
Charlotte May 9, 2014 at 5:35 am
“Still, I guess someone on the translation team hadn’t gotten the memo that the company preferred “Natsume””
Actually it’s not the translators who write this kind of text – it would have been Natsume themselves who wrote it.
Saffith May 10, 2014 at 4:26 pm
My favorite example of that Martin Sigmar from in the anime s-CRY-ed. Sigmar is a German name, so the S is pronounced like a Z. Translations are all over the place, even though the correct spelling is clearly shown onscreen at least once. The official translation went with “Jigmar,” but “Zigmarl” also shows up a lot.
Great blog and I love your articles. This one caught my eye particularly, as you bring up a point a lot of people forget, there is several methods to romanize Japanese. I work in translation too, translating Chinese to English, and I run into the same problem as well, for example certain names translated using Mainland guidelines differ from HK romanizations or Taiwan romanizations, and on top of that people/companies/etc. may prefer a unique romanization, which also has to be taken into account. While its sloppy to see inconsistancies in translation, such as Natume, a lot of Westerners overlook the fact, as you point out, the only correct way to write the company’s name is なつめ！
Eric September 4, 2014 at 12:57 pm
This kind of reminded me of the Japanese Ancient Mew card that misspelled “Nintendo” as “Nintedo”. Although, I’m pretty sure that was just a typo.
fergzilla September 12, 2014 at 7:29 am
Atlus got its name misspelled as “ATLAS” in the PC-Engine port of Puzzle Boy (known in America as “Kwirk” for the Game Boy)
http://www.pcengine.co.uk/HTML_Games/Puzzle_Boy.htm
Dominator_101 March 28, 2017 at 5:39 am
I know this is an old story, but apparently they made a Facebook post about this yesterday:
https://www.facebook.com/notes/natsume-inc/state-of-the-farm-march-2017/10155084129993397/
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You know how the news media (and general audiences) get games, science, and technology stuff wrong all the time? I feel the same way when it comes to entertainment and video game translation, so I decided to use my professional experience to shed light on this mysterious topic.
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Articles » What's That Say?
All 3 Weird Endings in the Notorious “Transformers” Famicom Game
Posted on January 23, 2014 by Clyde Mandelin ‧ 47 Comments
Morgil asked this question recently about Transformers: Convoy no Nazo for the Famicom:
So i was re-watching some older episodes of The Angry Video Game Nerd, when i got to one where he plays a Transformers Famicon game that was never released outside Japan. After slogging through the game’s brutal difficulty, he then questions whether it was even worth it since he can’t even read the ending screen.
Now here’s were my question comes in. The ending screen is a bunch of English characters spelling out Japanese words. First of all, can you tell us what it says, and second, is this a common thing with older Japanese games, to spell out Japanese words with english characters like this?
I remember first seeing the Game Center CX playthrough of this and oh man did it look like a rough game. I saw the AVGN episode shortly after. And then to my surprise, it turned out that I apparently already owned a copy of the game but never realized it! I never got very far in it, though.
Anyway, there are actually three endings to this game!
Transformers: Convoy no Nazo Ending #1
This is the ending you get when you beat the game once:
Translated, this says:
Japanese text Basic translation
KINKYU SHIREI EMERGENCY ORDER
DESTORON GA ARATANA CHIKARA DE YORI KYOURYOKUNI YOMIGAETTA. Using a new power, Destoron has revived and become even more powerful.
‘RODIMUS’ NO ENERUGON-KYUBU WO TORI FUTATABI DESTORON WO GEKIHA SEYO. Retrieve Rodimus’ Energon Cube and destroy Destoron once more.
SCRAMBLE! ULTRAMAGNUS! Scramble! Ultramagnus!
The game then resets to the first stage, and you have to go through the game again.
Finish the game a second time, and you’ll get a new ending screen:
Translated, it says:
MAGNUS WA SAIGO NO TATAKAI NI KATTA. Magnus won the final battle.
SHIKASHI ARATANA TATAKAI GA MENOMAENI SEMATTE IRU ! However, a new battle approaches!
YUKE RODIMUS ! Go, Rodimus!
ATTACK! RODIMUSCOMVOY! Attack! Rodimus Convoy!
Apparently the game has another ending screen, which I’m not 100% sure on the details about, but:
…And then the game spits you back out to the first stage and expects you to play again. Forget that!
While typing out the Japanese ending text above, I couldn’t help but notice how inconsistent some of the punctuation is. And the romanization of the text is also a bit inconsistent in places. It all reminds me a lot of the ending to Ghostbusters for the NES, which was another classic AVGN moment 😛
To answer the second question, it was indeed common for Japanese games to use English as seen in these Transformers examples. I don’t have a list of games handy, but I’ve run across a bunch over the years. If anyone has any examples, lemme know in the comments!
Anyway, I was actually a fan of Transformers in the 80s, but I don’t remember a thing about them anymore. I do know that a bunch of the names were localized and changed, so the names above like “Destoron” and “Ultramagnus” and “Rodimus” probably have localized equivalents. I feel like “Rodimus” might’ve been changed into “Optimus”, for example, but Transformers stuff is as crazy and info-filled as Gundam stuff so I don’t know 😛
If you’re more familiar with Transformers and know what some of these particular names were called outside of Japan, let me know in the comments!
If you liked this write-up and know any other fans of Transformers, I hope you'll tell them about it. Sharing articles is super-helpful and keeps Legends of Localization running!
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Medaka444 January 23, 2014 at 3:54 pm
Convoy = Optimus Prime
Rodimus = Hot Rod
Rodimus Convoy = Rodimus Prime
Destron = Decepticon
Ultramagnus = Ultra Magnus
Clyde Mandelin January 23, 2014 at 5:21 pm
Thanks! I wonder why it wound up as Rodimus Prime and not something else.
EDIT: Ah, I see, it’s Hot RODimus Prime. Duh!
FortMax January 23, 2014 at 7:57 pm
As with most Transformers names, the US names here are the original, and the changes were done by the Japanese toy company Takara.
(for the ’80s line, Bob Budiansky of Marvel Comics came up with most of the names wrote the character bios)
Zarggg January 23, 2014 at 8:22 pm
I thought it was the other way around: Hasbro licensed certain sub-lines of the Diaclone toy line and changed the names to what we know as the Transformers.
That’s what happened with the toys, yes. But Diaclone was piloted robots, and Microchange were all tiny robots and almost all the toys were “good guys”. Takara then canceled those lines in favor of Transformers in 1985, a year after the US line began.
But everything else? All Hasbro and Marvel.
Jistuce January 24, 2014 at 3:39 am
It’s a bit more complex than that. Hasbro licensed a LOT of transforming robot toys, and not all of them were from Diaclone and Microchange.
Heck, some of them weren’t even from Takara, most famously Jetfire/Macross’s Valkyrie fighter(hilariously, when Harmony Gold licensed the Macross anime for US adaptation as part of Robotech, they couldn’t get the mold for their star mech’s star toy from Bandai because Hasbro already had an exclusive license).
This is part of why you see a certain uneven-ness in cast coverage in the cartoon.
Hasbro did not have animation rights to a few of the robots. Roadbuster, Whirl, and the aforementioned Jetfire were all anime toys with consequently more complex rights issues. (No, Jetfire is not in the cartoon. Skyfire appears in his place, and though he definitely draws upon the toy for inspiration, he’s a drastically different robot.)
And once the Transformers “returned home” to Japan, Takara had understandable issues with the cartoon advertising toys sold by their competitors, and later episodes of the show downplayed those characters(like my poor, poor Shockwave!) as the franchise became a joint production between Takara and Hasbro.
Clyde Mandelin January 24, 2014 at 7:12 am
Oh god I knew there was a reason Transformers info always felt way too confusing, this must be why 😯
Jistuce January 25, 2014 at 10:04 am
What, because it IS too confusing?
Medaka444 January 24, 2014 at 11:35 am
Oddly, Jetfire used his original appearance for the first few issues of the 80s comic book featuring him, before switching to the cartoon look. Also, Roadbuster and Whirl (among others) were able to appear in the UK comic. Maybe there was some mixup or a technicality in international copyright law, I don’t know.
Well, my understanding is they weren’t allowed to ANIMATE them, but no one gave a crap about comic books.
Not that that stopped them drawing a toy-accurate Jetfire for his TV commercial. Whoops.
Marvel UK was actually exploiting that these characters weren’t showing up in the US comic books. It gave them a way to tell additional stories without immediately and directly contradicting the US-produced stories that ALSO ran in the UK.
The same thing happened with the season 3 characters, which largely never made it to the US comics. Marvel UK saw an entire cast (and setting!) sitting unused, and suddenly Galvatron and Rodimus are doing the time warp every few months to play havoc with the good old folks of ninteeen-eighty-something, because why the heck not?
Yeah. But I was trying to keep from scaring him away.
It’s never too early to expose someone to the horrors of Transformers production history and continuity. 😛
Darien January 23, 2014 at 9:19 pm
And here I figured it was just to facilitate me making A-Rod jokes. 😛
Also, the Decepticons/Destrons are the main bad guys. That’s why “Destron has revived” sounds very weird to a devout fan like me.
Incidentally, the Autobots are called the “Cybertrons” in Japan. Meanwhile, the planet Cybertron is still called that, but Western fans often render it (incorrectly) as “Seibertron”, to distinguish it from the Autobots. This can all get quite confusing.
Jeff Jacobson January 1, 2017 at 11:52 pm
In Japan, the Autobots are サイバトロン (Saibatoron) whereas the planet Cybertron is セイバトロン (Seibatoron).
Erwin January 23, 2014 at 4:47 pm
Huh, the Game Center CX episode for this game said the KINKYU SHIREI ending came first, then you would get the ATTACK! RODIMUSCOMVOY! ending when you beat the game having collected the letters that spell RODIMUS. Then you can play the game again as Rodimus. It’s still pretty lame, just backwards.
It’s very possible I mixed it up – I double-checked some Japanese sites and saw them go with the order I’ve given though, so I’m not really sure. And I don’t wanna beat the game myself :X
I’ll check again later when I have some more free time, but if anyone can help solve this mystery, please do!
Adamant January 23, 2014 at 9:50 pm
There are three endings to the game.
The first ending, the one you list as “Ending #2” is the one you get by beating the game normally. The game then starts over.
The second ending, the one you list as “Ending #1” is the one you get by beating the game with all the hidden Rodimus Energy Cubes (the first ending challenges you to get these, though you don’t have to actually see it to be able to collect the cubes. They’re hidden around on the levels). You will then transform into Rodimus and start the game over as him. He plays the same as Ultramagnus.
The third ending, the “CONGRATULATION!” screen you posted at the end, is gotten by beating the game as Rodimus.
Thanks! I’ve updated the post, hopefully I got it right now.
Above, you have both of the endings labeled as “ending #1.” Is there a third ending if you beat the game again as Ultramagnus? Or does nobody know because it’s that terrible?
Oops! Copy-paste, you’ve foiled me again!
I dunno if there’s a third ending, I’ve never heard of one, at least.
Sky Render January 23, 2014 at 6:44 pm
Another good example of gratuitous alphabet for Japanese text is the ending of Doki Doki Yuuenchi (Panic Amusement Park, more or less; the US version is a sprite redraw franchise cash-in called Trolls in Crazyland).
OMEDETOU!
PONPON TO
LIRU NO
AI TO
YUUKI NO
BOUKEN WA
KOREDE
OSHIMAI
BYE-BYE!
MEDETASHI
Which more or less translates out to “Congratulations! Ponpon and Liru’s tale of love, and their brave journey, ends here. Bye-bye! Hooray! Hooray!”. I thought the rhyming couplets was a clever touch, though impossible to convey in a straight translation (let alone within the text limits).
Hsha, Trolls in Crazyland? That sounds so bad I oughta check it out sometime!
Justin January 23, 2014 at 7:30 pm
Two paragraphs in and there’s already a reference to the AVGN and GameCenter CX. This post rules.
Arino vs. AVGN would be an interesting episode!
Al January 23, 2014 at 7:50 pm
So, this game also pulls a Ghosts n Goblins on people, huh?
Yep, as soon as I learned about that I was like welp I’m never playing this game. But I did eventually anyway.
If I recall, the tendency in older games to use romanized japanese was down to technical limits.
The roman alphabet is legible at lower resolutions, and requires a lot fewer characters in ROM.
It continued on longer than it probably should have because “that’s just how it’s done”
Yep, it’s also because the English alphabet needs less VRAM space, although I can’t imagine that these nearly-empty Transformers screen need very complex VRAM to begin with, heh.
KingMike January 24, 2014 at 9:48 pm
VROM, to be correct. The NES PPU can access the same amount of memory regardless, but when it’s ROM it needs more space because it has to store a whole ROM bank.
Have you heard the Ghostbusters ending reportedly doesn’t even work right in the Famicom version? It just shows a blank screen and eventually “riri” in kana.
It’s supposed to show English text (with I think a couple more mistakes than the English version) but someone obviously loaded the wrong ROM bank.
OmniM January 24, 2014 at 12:44 pm
Mr.Mato, sir. I have a couple of questions regarding an old JRPG for the Gamecube. It’s called Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean. It’s alright you can’t answer it, but anyway there are five gods called He(Head), Che(Chest), Le(Legs), Bo(Body, and Ar(Arms). I wonder what they are called in the Japanese version. Also, there is a masked character who refers herself in third-person. Does she have the same speaking pattern in the Japanese version? Like I said before, it’s okay if you can’t answer my questions. This game is not well known.
Zindkeeper January 24, 2014 at 3:02 pm
I have to be honest, I really don’t like the name changes Japan gave to the Transformers.
ButWhereIsStarscream January 24, 2014 at 8:33 pm
It’s probably been mentioned a bunch already, but Destoron probably refers to the Decepticons, which are often written as “Destron” or “Deathtron” on Japanese packaging. I’m not sure which name is supposed to be more ‘correct’, but recently Japanese Transformers media started using the English terminology, so I think the older terms must be nostalgic for them… Speaking of odd romanization choices, the front of the box writes “Mystery of Comvoy” (as opposed to Convoy).
Basically, from what I can gather, the game was released at a really odd spot – the third season was already airing in Japan, but for some reason the 1986 film (guest starring Orson Welles in his final role), which took place between the second and third seasons, was not out in Japan yet. So I think the ‘mystery’ the game refers to is the entire Japanese audience wondering whatever happened to Optimus Prime since that was revealed in the unseen movie, so he apparently disappeared or was captured by Megatron. Ultra Magnus (who was introduced in the movie) was made the player character and Rodimus (the main character in the movie and the one who replaced Optimus for a while) was made a secret character to sort of tie it all together.
Darien January 25, 2014 at 2:25 am
That movie gave me nightmares when I was a kid. I saw it in the theatre when it first came out and it made me cry. 😮
Spaghetty June 15, 2018 at 6:24 am
That was our generation’s Kennedy assassination.
Everyone remembers where they were and what they were doing when they heard that Prime died.
Let January 24, 2014 at 11:53 pm
Oh, speaking of Transformers, the Japanese voice of Megatron, Seizo Katou, passed away recently.
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2014-01-17/transformers-voice-actor-seizo-katou-passes-away
GH January 25, 2014 at 6:10 am
MAGNUS WA SAIGO NO TATAKAI NI KATTA.
SHIKASHI ARATANA TATAKAI GA MENOMAENI SEMATTE IRU !
I hear this line a lot in anime (HxH 2011 comes to mind immediately 😛 )
Matt Broussard January 25, 2014 at 10:50 am
There isn’t a comment page on the AVGN section of the site, but I wanted to let you know that it’s an awesome idea. I just finished reading Castlevania II and I especially loved seeing the Japanese gamer reactions to the episode. I was sort of surprised when you mentioned how you and your wife had sent him a game to review–all these years I’ve been reading Earthbound Central and this site, I had no idea you were married! If you had ever introduced your wife in any of Starmen.net’s livestream events I never notcied. Anyway, keep up the awesome work!
Mudkip3DS January 25, 2014 at 5:48 pm
Well good news/youareinluck/etc., because Mato has done just that today: http://legendsoflocalization.com/avgn/
Seeing how the episode count is above 100, this pretty much ensures that we’ll be getting at least a 100 entries from this 😀
Clyde Mandelin January 26, 2014 at 11:12 am
Yo! I’m still not sure whether I should allow comments on the detailed pages or not – I feel they might distract from the article, especially since given enough time petty arguments and such will break out. I do like the idea of having comments, I just dunno how to go about it – I might just put a “Feedback” section in there like the Mario and Zelda sections.
As for being married, yep! You probably already know her as PoeTrader!
I’d say you should add a comment section. Going through the trouble of writing you an email seems a bit much just to make a quick comment on an article.
On that subject, though, you should probably take a closer look at Jekyll and Hyde. The Japanese version is actually quite different from the American one.
ReyVGM February 1, 2014 at 4:16 pm
Here are all the endings with the English text inserted in the images:
http://www.vgmuseum.com/end/nes/a/transform.htm
As mentioned above, the 3rd ending is achieved by playing with Rodimus.
FallenPrimal May 27, 2014 at 1:03 pm
Just a thought, but could “Comvoy” have been intentional? Given how the Famicom is technically written as “Famicon” in Japanese, so they slyly changed Convoy to Comvoy to reference the fact that it’s a Family Computer game? And we, who weren’t in on the joke, all thought it was Engrish?
Clyde Mandelin May 28, 2014 at 11:02 am
It’s possible, but for the most part whenever there’s a “n” before a “b” or “v” or “p” sound in Japanese it’s pronounced and sometimes spelled in English with a “m” sound, so it seems like a natural, expected spelling in this case.
Karol Piotrowski July 18, 2014 at 5:30 am
As I have some rudimentary Japanese skills I must say it – capitalized ロ-マ字 is awful to read:)
And funnily enough, they did the same thing with exclamation marks as was in Ghostbusters: no idea whether there should be space before an ! or not, so they did both on one screen.
Pardon my terrible English;)
elilla February 24, 2018 at 12:31 am
I find it interesting that the particle “ni” is sometimes written without spaces, but all the others are spaced.
Tigirl April 22, 2018 at 8:24 am
Just thought you might be interested to know that this game was ‘referenced’ in the comics. And by ‘referenced’ I mean it’s existence and plot were explained in the ‘Alternity’ continuity (which is where all of them are now multidimensional entities because I guess ‘giant transforming robots from space have a war’ isn’t a cool enough concept on its own). I’ll let TFWiki explain:
The Alternity story, “To Die Game!”, retcons this game as being part of a cross-dimensional game between the hyper-dimensional guardian Optimus Prime and the equally powerful Megatron, wherein Optimus had to choose one avatar (Ultra Magnus) to fight endless hordes of Decepticons empowered by Megatron.
The game has also had 2 manga adaptations and a sequel on mobile. The sequel also got a cartoon discussing the original game.
As a diehard Transformers fan, I can assure you that the entire franchise is weird and incoherent, and browsing the wiki for hours is extremely amusing because it’s all written from a Cybertronian perspective and with only the content that can be found in-universe.
I believe the page on Jimmy Buffet is 2 sentences long.
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Just think - translation has been around since the dawn of civilization, while video games were only invented half a lifetime ago. So what happens when the two meet? Exploring that question is what Legends of Localization is all about.
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Special Issues » InSider
Outdoors - Central
Here's proof that you're never too far from trails or teeter-totters
by Claire Jencks
Kin Scott Patty Jewett Golf Course
Click here for a Central Colorado Springs map!
Kicking things off is the impressive Pikes Peak Greenway. This 16-mile arterial trail parallels Interstate 25, Monument and Fountain creeks, and has plenty of access points so you can mellow out on small sections, or charge it in large chunks. It's the center link between Fountain Creek Regional and New Santa Fe Regional trails, so if you're ambitious you can bike or walk the 35 miles between Fountain and Palmer Lake. (Like most attractions mentioned in this story, you can find out more about it at springsgov.com.)
The Greenway is great unto itself, but the best thing it offers is access to other opportunities. Case in point: the skateboard and BMX park at the humongous Rich "Goose" Gossage Youth Sports Complex (3225 Mark Dabling Blvd.), north of Fillmore Street. Also included here are baseball fields, soccer fields, a playground, plenty of parking and the ever-important restroom option.
Turn off here for Sinton Trail, and Templeton Gap Trail, a four-mile connection to Palmer Park (click here) that passes through the kid-friendly Portal Park (3535 N. Hancock Ave.) on its way.
Next, work your quads south on the Greenway until you reach Colorado College (coloradocollege.edu) and Monument Valley Park. The college is situated between the park's northern and southern sections, and has a full-size track available for public use (when college sports teams aren't practicing on it). Come run sprints, or head to either end of the park. Along the way, you'll find baseball/softball diamonds and tennis, volleyball and basketball courts, as well as a little rugged beauty, if Monument Creek is running. You can get your green thumb on here as well, if you want to volunteer in the Horticultural Art Society's gardens or the city greenhouse.
Though the Greenway keeps going south to Fountain, for our "central" purposes, America the Beautiful Park (126 Cimino Drive) is a great stopping point. This is the home of the giant, O-shaped Julie Penrose Fountain, which has inspired local crazies to dub the park the perfect UFO landing spot. While you wait to get beamed up, feel free to enjoy the summer water features, elaborate playground equipment and picnic areas.
Head due east and you'll hit one of the heavyweights of Colorado Springs — Memorial Park (1605 E. Pikes Peak Ave.). With everything from a 40,000-square-foot BMX and skateboard park to Prospect Lake and the Olympic Velodrome, this park is a fully outfitted behemoth. Check out the indoor ice rink and pool, outdoor playgrounds, picnic pavilions, open space, jogging trails, and sporting fields. If there is one place in the Springs that has it all, this is it.
Well, come to think of it, Memorial Park doesn't have golf. But if you head a bit north, you can get your fix at the city-owned Patty Jewett Golf Course (900 E. Española St.) the third-oldest public course west of the Mississippi. Burn some calories lugging your bag through the 18 holes (there are 27 on-site), or take a lesson from a golf pro. Either way, this city-owned, 72-par course, built in 1898, won't disappoint.
After a round or two, head over to Evergreen Cemetery (1005 S. Hancock Ave., tinyurl.com/49nfa96) for an even older slice of Colorado Springs history. Gates are open to runners and bikers, God-fearing or otherwise, from dawn until dusk, year-round.
And actually, if running is your thing, check out Pikes Peak Road Runners (pprrun.org) for a comprehensive list of groups in the area — from negative momentum to race pace, there's probably one for you. The most popular would have to be Jack Quinn's Running Club (jackquinnsrunners.com), which has been known to attract up to 1,000 runners on fair-weather Tuesdays. At 6 p.m., the downtown pub known as Quinn's hosts a laid-back 5K. Participate once and enjoy post-run specials at the bar; participate 10 times and enjoy the same, plus a well-deserved JQRC T-shirt.
In many clubs, chances are you'll do a session on Shooks Run Trail. This is another great paved, north-south artery that leads from Constitution Avenue to a bit past Fountain Boulevard. If you're running it solo, swing by Dogtooth Coffee Company (505 E. Columbia St., dogtoothcoffee.com) to fill up on some well-earned baked goods — your four-legged running companion is more than welcome, too. Or just take a break at Shooks Run Park. If you insist on running farther, you'll have to stop eventually at Fountain Park, which lies just off the end of the trail.
Last but not least, head downtown to the Springs' very first public park. Acacia Park (115 E. Platte Ave.) is probably best-known today for being the site of the Uncle Wilber Fountain, where 200 "unpredictable" jets of water keep kids from overheating in the summer. But not to be overlooked: Summer also brings your chance to join older folks for a rousing shuffleboard game on one of eight courts.
InSider Colorado Springs parks Pikes Peak Greenway Memorial Park Jack Quinn's Running Club Acacia Park Pikes Peak Road Runners America the Beautiful Park Richard 'Goose' Gossage Sports Complex Monument Valley Park Patty Jewett Golf Course Evergreen Cemetery Dogtooth Coffee Company
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America the Beautiful Park
126 Cimino Drive (Downtown)
1005 S. Hancock Ave. (Southgate)
1605 E. Pikes Peak Ave. (Central)
Monument Valley Park
220 Mesa Road (Downtown)
Patty Jewett Golf Course
900 E. Española St. (Old North End)
Richard 'Goose' Gossage Sports Complex
3225 Mark Dabling Blvd. (West side)
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TWT Open International Qualifier
LPL, in conjunction with Standing Fierce, will host a one-day offline TEKKEN 7 World Tour offline qualifier in Auckland on Saturday, September 9 at the SKYCITY Auckland Welcome Room.
The TEKKEN WORLD TOUR is an international tournament series for the iconic fighting franchise TEKKEN. The 2017 tour sees BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment, Inc. teaming up with Twitch to bring competitors from around the world together to fight for over $200,000 in prize money.
With Region-Locked Leaderboards spanning the Americas, Europe and Asia-Pacific, the TEKKEN WORLD TOUR will qualify the best TEKKEN 7 players from each region into the TEKKEN WORLD TOUR Finals.
As a challenger event, the offline qualifier will offer 160 TEKKEN World Tour circuit points in the Asia-Pacific leaderboards. Challenger events are open bracket tournaments. You must be from that event’s region to earn points on the regional leaderboard.
Players will accrue points based on the World Tour rules.
The top 4 players from the TWT International Qualifier will then proceed to compete in the TEKKEN 7 NX Championship Ultimate Grand Final on September 11 to compete against NZ’s top 4 TEKKEN 7 players.
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Who Can Enter The Awards?
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JAMA Dermatology
Subscribe to the JAMA Dermatology journal
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Themes From Focus Groups Regarding Personal Decision Aid for Psoriasis
Stacey D, Légaré F, Col NF, et al. Decision aids for people facing health treatment or screening decisions. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2014;1:CD001431.PubMedGoogle Scholar
Tan J, Wolfe B. A patient decision aid for psoriasis based on current clinical practice guidelines. Arch Dermatol. 2012;148(6):718-723.PubMedGoogle ScholarCrossref
Schmieder A, Schaarschmidt ML, Umar N, et al. Comorbidities significantly impact patients’ preferences for psoriasis treatments. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2012;67(3):363-372.PubMedGoogle ScholarCrossref
Torbica A, Fattore G, Ayala F. Eliciting preferences to inform patient-centred policies: the case of psoriasis. Pharmacoeconomics. 2014;32(2):209-223.PubMedGoogle ScholarCrossref
Schaarschmidt ML, Schmieder A, Umar N, et al. Patient preferences for psoriasis treatments: process characteristics can outweigh outcome attributes. Arch Dermatol. 2011;147(11):1285-1294.PubMedGoogle ScholarCrossref
Seston EM, Ashcroft DM, Griffiths CE. Balancing the benefits and risks of drug treatment: a stated-preference, discrete choice experiment with patients with psoriasis. Arch Dermatol. 2007;143(9):1175-1179.PubMedGoogle ScholarCrossref
See More About
Clinical Decision Support Dermatology Health Care Safety Psoriasis
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Kim J, Kim DJ, Ortenzio FS, et al. Patients With Psoriasis and Personalized Trade-offs in Treatment Decisions—Lessons Learned From Focus Groups. JAMA Dermatol. 2016;152(6):720–722. doi:10.1001/jamadermatol.2016.0501
Research Letter
Patients With Psoriasis and Personalized Trade-offs in Treatment Decisions—Lessons Learned From Focus Groups
Jaehwan Kim, MD, PhD1; Dong Joo Kim, MD1; Francesca S. Ortenzio, MD1; et al Lynn Dare, MEd2; Christine Frank, PhD2; Rhonda G. Kost, MD3; Michelle A. Lowes, MD, PhD1
Author Affiliations Article Information
1Laboratory for Investigative Dermatology, The Rockefeller University, New York, New York
2Christine Frank and Associates: Research and Evaluation, Barrie, Ontario, Canada
3Center for Clinical and Translational Science, The Rockefeller University, New York, New York
JAMA Dermatol. 2016;152(6):720-722. doi:10.1001/jamadermatol.2016.0501
Psoriasis is a common debilitating disease for which there are many treatment options, creating complex choices for patients and clinicians. Patient decision aids (PDAs), decision-supporting tools that facilitate shared decision-making, may engender a collaborative process between physician and patient. The design of PDAs typically focuses on conveying information about evidence-based treatment options and the value-sensitive nature of the decisions.1,2 To help patients better align treatment choices with their personal values, the specifics of patient treatment preferences must be more elaborately embedded into the design of PDAs.3,4 We undertook detailed assessment of treatment decision-making experiences of patients with psoriasis to discover key patient preferences that can be incorporated into a subsequent PDA design for these patients.
Focus groups followed a typical 60-minute, semistructured, moderator-facilitated interview format. Stage 1 focus groups assessed patient interest in the use of a PDA and preferences for platform and content. Stage 2 focus groups assessed in greater detail key themes identified in stage 1. Moderator guides were tested among investigators and patients for face and content validity; at the end of each focus group, themes were summarized by the moderator for validation or refinement by participants. An experienced moderator conducted the initial groups at each stage and trained and observed the second moderator for consistency. We collaborated with certified qualitative analysts in using qualitative analysis software (NVivo) to code redacted audiotape for themes.
The study was approved by The Rockefeller University institutional review board; all participants provided written informed consent and were compensated for their participation.
Eight focus groups were conducted between November 2013 and January 2015, enrolling patients with psoriasis recruited from the general public and from a volunteer registry, and excluding volunteers with significant prior research experience: 41 participants (24 men, 17 women) enrolled in and completed the study. Their mean age was 51.2 years; the mean duration of psoriasis was 16.2 years. Their mean Dermatology Life Quality Index score was 8.2, indicating that psoriasis had moderate effect on focus group participants’ life on average.
Participants were interested in using a PDA, in online format and in-person with a clinician. Content themes included detailed treatment information, access to clinicians with psoriasis expertise, and information about disease and treatment interactions. Treatment “effectiveness” and “safety” were dominant themes with variable personal meanings, including opposing meanings (eg, partial clearing of lesions could be considered effective or ineffective) (Table). Trade-offs in treatment decision-making emerged as a strong theme across all focus groups. For example, patients weighed the benefits of having clear skin against the risks of organ damage from prolonged systemic treatment, or of rebounding symptom severity with treatment cessation: “It’s a balance of the quality of life and what you’re risking.” In general, patients placed safety and effectiveness over convenience, and some patients favored effectiveness over possible safety issues. One participant valued drug safety so highly he was willing to endure psoriasis that severely limited his life rather than risk a systemic therapy. Several participants noted that the process of explicitly examining values underlying decision-making provided insights that impacted their decisions.
When treatment options are varied and imperfect, as they are for psoriasis, “trade-offs” between effectiveness, safety, and convenience are required in treatment decisions. Schaarschmidt et al5 reported that patients are willing to trade decreased safety (adverse effects) for increased effectiveness (better therapeutic outcome) or increased convenience (compatibility with personal and professional life). In contrast, Seston et al6 reported that patients are willing to trade decreased effectiveness (time to achieve moderate skin improvement) to increase safety (minimize the risk). Our focus group study confirmed that the trade-offs in treatment decisions are highly personalized based on the interpretation and relative value placed on effectiveness, safety, and convenience.
To facilitate patient decision-making that incorporates personalized values related to treatment trade-offs, a PDA for patients with psoriasis must elicit individual perceptions of the trade targets. If the PDA offers ranked lists of treatments according to effectiveness, safety, or convenience, the PDA should first investigate patients’ own conceptions of these 3 factors. This approach may help clinicians effectively and cooperatively address patients’ risk-benefit concerns and to incorporate patient preferences within the consultation.
Corresponding Author: Jaehwan Kim, MD, PhD, The Rockefeller University, Laboratory for Investigative Dermatology, Box 178, 1230 York Ave, New York, NY 10065 (jkim05@rockefeller.edu).
Accepted for Publication: February 12, 2016.
Published Online: March 30, 2016. doi:10.1001/jamadermatol.2016.0501.
Author Contributions: Drs J. Kim and Lowes had full access to all of the data in the study and take responsibility for the integrity of the data and the accuracy of the data analysis.
Study concept and design: J. Kim, D. J. Kim, Kost, Lowes.
Acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data: All authors.
Drafting of the manuscript: J. Kim, D. J. Kim, Dare, Kost.
Critical revision of the manuscript for important intellectual content: J. Kim, Ortenzio, Dare, Frank, Kost, Lowes.
Obtained funding: J. Kim, D. J. Kim, Ortenzio, Lowes.
Administrative, technical, or material support: Ortenzio, Kost, Lowes.
Study supervision: D. J. Kim, Kost, Lowes.
Conflict of Interest Disclosures: None reported.
Funding/Support: This study was supported in part by grant No. UL1 TR000043 from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, National Institutes of Health Clinical and Translational Science Award program.
Role of the Funder/Sponsor: The funding sources had no role in the design and conduct of the study; collection, management, analysis, and interpretation of the data; preparation, review, or approval of the manuscript; and decision to submit the manuscript for publication.
Additional Contributions: We thank Jonathan Tobin, PhD, Center for Clinical and Translational Science, and James G. Krueger, MD, PhD, Laboratory for Investigative Dermatology, both at The Rockefeller University, for their insightful advice for the study. We are indebted to Donna Brassil, MA, CCRC, and Richard Hutt, BA, CCRC, Facilitation Office, The Rockefeller University for their help in coordinating and facilitating the focus group studies. They were not compensated for their contributions.
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where books always save the day
Reviewed Books
Spotlight on Graphic Novel Features
Spotlight on Graphic Novels: The Fuse
You can get a copy of The Fuse here.
Deitrich is a German police officer who requests a transfer to the Fuse, a space station with its own vastly different culture and circumstances. There, he’s assigned to homicide and “the Russia shift.” He’s not on the Fuse for a full day when cabelers (an isolated homeless population who lives in the maintenance areas in the walls of the Fuse) show up shot to death. Because guns are highly restricted on the station, the murders peak Deitrich’s interest. He and his abrasive partner, Klem, are about to uncover a horrible secret.
The artwork in the graphic novel is interesting. It reminded me of the artwork in the Jackie Chan Adventures. It’s lots of angles and rough-hewn shapes. It’s interesting. Klem’s gender is a bit ambiguous, but that plays into the way that Klem is as a character.
The story is interesting. It’s fast-paced and interesting. The plot itself is a little rough at times. There’s a lot of convenient plot points that are a bit too easy to come by.
The dialogue is a bit stinted at times. Dietrich never uses contractions which was off-putting. I think this is supposed to make him feel like a non-native English speaker, but it was more awkward than beneficial to his character. His actions make him feel far more real than his dialogue does.
The overall story has a lot of interesting subtext. The Cabelers are a great point with a lot of potential for development. We’ve been told that there’s a lot of complex ideas and reasons that the Cabelers exist and their interactions with the mainstream citizens is going to be great when more fully explored. I’m quite excited for it.
Klem is going to be a very interesting person to see develop. She’s cold and a bit sterile, but we know there’s more to her. The relationship we see with her and her son, as well as the way she approaches Dietrich hint at some very complex relationships.
I received this comic as an e-ARC from Netgalley for free in exchange for an honest review.
This entry was posted in Graphic Novels and tagged Diamond Comics, Graphic Novel Reviews, Graphic Novels, Homeless, Image Comics, Reviews, Science Fiction, space station.
Review: Battle Royale by Koushun Takami
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Lady Gaga Stirs Up Controversy During Concert Kiss With Married Man
Kevin Winter, Getty Images
Lady Gaga raised a few eyebrows after she kissed a married man at her Las Vegas residency show.
In a viral video posted to Twitter, the "Shallow" hitmaker is seen performing alongside her longtime friend and trumpet player Brian Newman. The footage shows her serenading him as she holds his hand on stage before singing the lyrics, “Darling, kiss me." She then leaned in for a kiss and the two locked lips as the crowd cheered them on.
Check out the video, below:
Though the stage kiss seemed super harmless, people on Twitter aren't exactly pleased with Gaga.
They also couldn't help but compare her recent show to her intimate performance with Bradley Cooper at the 2019 Oscars. The pair's obvious on-screen chemistry sparked affair rumors which led many to speculate whether she's the reason the actor and his longtime partner Irina Shayk broke up earlier this month.
However, sources told Us Weekly, Gaga's kiss with Newman really wasn't a big deal because the two have been friends for years. She's even the godmother to his child with wife Angie Pontani.
“There is nothing to see here. Gaga is a performer, and it was a playful, harmless part of her act. She and Brian have had an incredible friendship for years and see each other as family," the insider explained.
Celebrities with the Best Chemistry
Source: Lady Gaga Stirs Up Controversy During Concert Kiss With Married Man
Filed Under: Lady GaGa
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Mailboxes and Old Barns
obtaining mercy and finding grace mailboxesandoldbarns@gmail.com
As I Remember It: The Front Room
How Big is God – Big John Hall
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WW I Vets were subject to the first peacetime draft in 1940 →
Immanuel Larsen was born in Nebraska in 1897
Posted on July 23, 2017 by Sharon
In May of 2010, Grant and I were preparing for a nine-state road trip which would take us south from Minnesota on I-29 to Omaha; west across Nebraska on I-80, with a planned historical/family heritage stop in Aurora, NB, for a full day; and then on to Denver where we would attend our grandson’s high school graduation.
Then we would head north into Wyoming and west to Oregon to visit our other son and his family, finally returning to Minnesota via Idaho, Montana, and North Dakota. A long trip!
We had reservations at a B & B in Aurora, Nebraska, and planned to spend a day and a half there exploring some Larsen family roots.
A couple of days before we were to leave a big tree fell, destroying our garage and woodshed in addition to other things in its trajectory. Our departure was delayed and as a result we only had three hours in Aurora for the intended heritage search. But it was still such a rich find!
We left Aurora satisfied and excited – with terrific documentation, information and photos, and a large book of newspaper article replications from 1874-1902.
Aurora is the Hamilton County seat and was the site of Soren and Frederikke’s Larsen’s first home in America after their arrival from Denmark in 1894.
Aurora is about sixty miles west of Lincoln and about four miles off the interstate.
Hampton, our Dad’s birthplace in 1897, is about six miles northeast of Aurora. Marquette, birthplace of Uncle Willie in 1895 (according to brother Calvin’s interview with Willie) is about six miles straight north of Aurora. Uncle Eddie was born in that area in 1902. I don’t have birthplace information for one of their two sisters, Lillie. Soren and Frederikke became American citizens on September 21, 1906, at the Hamilton County Court House in Aurora. They left for Montana in 1908.
The Plainsman Museum in Aurora is a wonderful resource for pioneer history. I had had email contact with Gary Gustafson, the museum’s Assistant Director, prior to our arrival and had done research online to have a sense of where to look for family records and sites.
Mr. Gustafson was on duty when we arrived at midmorning on a Saturday. He was the quintessential museum person and appears to have dust drifting off his clothing as he squints through his glasses, slowly straightening up from a table that is spread deep with old manuscripts. He was almost as a big a find as the museum itself.
He pulled out the original Minister’s Book from the Immanuel Danish Evangelical Lutheran Church, Hamilton County, NB, for the dates of 1874-1917, and gave me copies of the pages listing our Dad’s family statistics, and included a copy of the title page of the book.
I had noticed in some of our narrative records that Dad’s birthplace is sometimes referenced as Hampton, and occasionally as Hamilton. After I realized that Hamilton was the name of the county, I assumed that there was just some confusion because of the similarity of the names and then learned that was not necessarily the case.
Mr. Gustafson said that, in addition to the County of Hamilton, there actually was a fledgling village named Hamilton. That village was right on the edge of the already larger town of Aurora and did not survive, but the name and the location appear in different documents, sometimes in an overlapping fashion.
Hampton today is a very small town: the 2010 Census figures report 423 residents.
Mr. Gustafson did some initial and quick visual searches on landowner records while we visited. He said that any of our family would be most welcome to contact him with further questions via email. Renters (which would include Grandpa Soren) would sometimes be shown on tax and ownership records – as renters – so that it is sometimes possible to document exactly where individuals lived even if they didn’t own land.
The museum has fairly complete original records of all the newspapers of those days, none of which have been transferred to microfiche or scanned to computers. So reading and enjoying those would be a labor intensive project for another day.
We wanted to locate the country church Grandpa and Grandma attended during the early years, which is also the location of the grave site of Immanuel’s baby sister (our aunt) who died on January 11, 1903.
Prior to our arrival Mr. Gustafson had located a brief newspaper article regarding her death, published on January 16, 1903 in the Aurora Republican. The burial was in what is now called The United Cemetery, about three miles north of Hampton. Those Nebraska roads had familiar and very long views clear to the horizon, like those around our Montana farm.
Because of location grids I had downloaded on the internet earlier, along with the information received from Mr. Gustafson, we were able to walk right to the grave site of Ethel Mathilda Larsen who was born on December 25, 1902 and died on January 11, 1903.
After a little work with a pencil eraser end, scrubbing off the lichen on the granite, the letters of the inscription were plainly visible although appropriately worn after 107 years.
The little headstone probably weighed less than fifteen pounds and was only about twelve inches high, sitting loosely on a base with a slightly larger footprint. It was very strange to realize that I could have actually picked it up in my hands and walked away with it. Very strange. Makes me think about those generations of Nebraska teenagers who left that little stone right where it was.
The church building is still intact, but was moved into Grand Island to the grounds of Stuhr Museum of the Prairie Pioneer in 1965.
My brother’s transcribed interview(s) with Grandpa Soren (done in the 1950s), indicated that when Grandpa and Grandma and the family relocated to Roosevelt County, Montana (Culbertson) in 1908, they had traveled by railroad in the emigrant car.
I was very curious – what railroad? All of our growing up years in the 1940s-1950s in eastern Montana, we were only familiar with the east-rail lines. The Great Northern (out of Minneapolis-St. Paul) was the major one. Settling the west was the focus in the early years.
Mr. Gustafson directed me to old railroad company charts from the late 1800’s which show many small company lines linking their way hither and yon through western and northern Nebraska, making connections to/through Rapid City, and north from there.
I didn’t have time to pursue details beyond his good help, but perhaps they eventually had the emigrant car transferred to the Great Northern line at Williston and came in from east at that point.
In any event, going by rail from Nebraska to Montana did not require coming from Minneapolis or Fargo. There were apparently lines all over the place, which would would have been mostly defunct by the mid-20th century or earlier.
Sharon Larsen Torgerson in United Cemetery, Nebraska, 2010
The book we purchased was The Way Was Long by Denny Enderle & Diann Jensen.
https://www.amazon.com/Way-Was-Long-Collection-Historical/dp/B0006FDEGQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1500844885&sr=1-
I can’t recommend the museum highly enough:
https://www.plainsmanmuseum.org/
The following link provides background for Grandpa Soren’s years in Nebraska and adds context to the years in the Hampton area:
https://mailboxesandoldbarns.com/2011/05/08/grandpa-soren-died-this-afternoon-june-13-1956/
This entry was posted in Denmark, Larsen Family, Travel. Bookmark the permalink.
2 Responses to Immanuel Larsen was born in Nebraska in 1897
….and sort of just like the book….it’s primarily for you and yours, Jon. And Eric and his family. So many other people, as well, enjoy reading the core of our family heritage and its details. Many of them have told me it reminds them of their own stories. Good things to talk about.
Your regard for these things means a great deal to me!
Jon Torgerson says:
Thank you mom, so much for doing this blog. I love the pictures you paint with your words and feel as tho I am seeing these places our family has been and the things they endured.
Loving you.
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Archive for embryo
Happy Alien Day, Dinosaurs vs. Criminals, Rock Mom
Posted in Aliens, Classic Horror, Evil, Giant Monsters, Nature Gone Wild, Science Fiction, Scream Queens, TV Vixens, UFOs with tags Academy Award, Alien, Alien Day, Aliens, Area 51, beast, Château St. Germain, Chile, Classic Horror, condom, creature, CW, Day the World Ended, Death Row, dinosaurs, E.T. the Extraterrestrial, embryo, Evil, Facebook, Giant Monsters, GPS, Gruyères, Hollow Body, HR Giger, Humanoids From The Deep, Hunger Games, Inseminoid, lifeforms, Livewire, LoJack, Marvel, Monsters, Mothman, Museum HR Giger Bar, Nature Gone Wild, possessed, Romulan Ales, Rorschach, Science Fiction, Scream Queens, Shocker, Species, spirit, Supergirl, Switzerland, The Alligator People, The Beast Within, The Fly, The Jurassic Games, The Mole People, The Terror Within, Tom Hardy, TV Vixens, UFOs, Uranus, venom, YMCA on April 26, 2018 by Drinkin' & Drive-in
Today (Thursday, April 26, 2018) is Alien Day. And yes, it’s a globally recognized religious holiday. Traditional gifts include blurry photographs, night trips to Uranus, watches that stop for hours at a time and unearthly implants.
I’m sure you have a lot of themed activities planned, like going to the YMCA and getting probed in the locker room, inviting fellow abductees over to watch E.T. the Extraterrestrial (1982) and LOLing at that turd-shaped toilet plunger alien, or even stopping by the Museum HR Giger Bar in Château St. Germain, Gruyères, Switzerland (fashioned in part to honor of the late Giger’s Alien concept art) to slug down a few Romulan Ales while trying to score with “female” lifeforms.
I’m headed for Area 51 and taking a few UFOs out for a test spin. It’s important to test drive a few before laying down the big bucks. FYI: Keep the extras like GPS but lose the LoJack™ — the government’s gonna steal it anyway, so why bleed the weasel?
Don’t forget to “phone home” if you party a little too much with your space brothers. Here are few upcoming horror/sci-fi movies to help you forget tomorrow exactly what happened on your Uranus. (Don’t worry; it’ll all come back to vividly haunt you on Facebook™)…
THE JURASSIC GAMES (June 12, 2018/VOD | July 3, 2018/DVD)
“The film imagines a world set in the near future wherein ten Death Row convicts are chosen to compete in The Jurassic Games, the ultimate virtual reality game show that pits its players against dinosaurs and each other. However, there is a catch; if you die in the virtual game, you also die in reality. As the devious Host continues adding improbable challenges, the characters will find the odds stacked against them as only one victor can emerge as winner and reclaim their freedom.”
The TRUE Hunger Games — heh. So criminals versus dinosaurs. My money’s on the dinosaurs.
VENOM (October 5 (2018)
“One of Marvel’s most enigmatic, complex and badass characters comes to the big screen, starring Academy Award nominated actor Tom Hardy as the lethal protector, Venom.”
Glad they re-serviced the key art. The first one looked like Mothman horked up a Rorschach test.
“Kevin and his girlfriend Evelyn, while camping out in the woods in the Chile countryside, are abducted and Evelyn is impregnated by otherworldly beings. As the entity inside her begins to grow at a rapid rate, Evelyn discovers that the cravings she’s experiencing can only be satiated by the taste of human flesh and blood. When she attacks a doctor, Kevin decides not to hand her over to the authorities, but to go on the run and try to get to big city where they can find help to remove the thing that’s slowly taking over Evelyn’s body.”
Creature feature unsafe sex knocker-uppers aren’t new. A few off the top of the ‘ol untouched condom display rack: The Mole People (1956), Day the World Ended (1956), The Alligator People (1959), Alien (1979), Humanoids From The Deep (1980), The Beast Within (1982), Inseminoid (1981), The Fly (1986), The Terror Within (1989)… I could go on for another nine months. Then there’s the reverse impregnation sci-fi romance tale that is Species (1995). Unfortunately, for you, there is no such thing as a “movie after” pill.
HOLLOW BODY (2018)
“A struggling rock band led by Jimmy Kleen makes a deal with Rick Roland, a shady record executive. Things take a dark turn when the band’s lead singer Rachel Swann and her controlling stage mother, are struck by lightning and killed. Rachel comes back to life, now possessed by the spirit of her dead mother and with strange electrical powers she can’t control. Both personalities struggle for dominance of her body while the band begins to take off. Rachel’s bandmate discovers the dark secret behind the band’s success: Rachel is using her electrical powers to kill men and drain them of their electricity, transmuting it into electrifying performances. He and Jimmy must decide if they will stop her or if the high cost of success is a price they are willing to pay.”
Sounds like Shocker (1989) with guitars. For another struck-by-lighting-and-becomes-electricity “accidents”, look no further than Supergirl’s not-BFF, Livewire on the hit CW hit TV series. Say what you will about her being bonkers and able to throw electricity around like parade candy, she could re-charge your cell phone in, like, one second. That’s pretty neat.
Udder Horror
Posted in Foreign Horror, Misc. Horror, Nature Gone Wild, Science Fiction with tags ’Ol MacDonald, barn, Bovine Genetics Technology, calf, cow, creature, embryo, farmer, Foreign Horror, hamburgers, Isolation, Misc. Horror, monster, Nature Gone Wild, parasite, Science Fiction, Texas, The Thing, vegetarian on December 7, 2017 by Drinkin' & Drive-in
Dan Reilly is a farmer. But unlike ’Ol MacDonald, who also had a farm, In Isolation (2005), Dan is severely broke, so he has to rent his cows out for genetic research. That, or lose his late father’s farm, full of knee deep mud and cow poop. (Hey Dan — have you though about growing popcorn trees?)
Bovine Genetics Technology has been paying him cash to inject his one of his pregnant cows with a serum that will make them grow faster and produce juicer hamburgers. The opening scene has a research scientist sticking her arm (all the way up to her shoulder) into a cow’s outgoing hay chute. Why, oh why didn’t I turn off the DVD player right then and there?
Something bit her hand. I’m’ thinking it was a baby alligator ’Ol MacDonald flushed down the sewer and one of Dan’s cows ate it and…sorry. Later, the cow goes into labor and the calf gets stuck between cowhole and freedom. The scene where Dan and a young couple on the run found squatting near his property assist the delivery process is one of the ickiest horror scenes ever scene. It’s almost enough to make you swear off juicy cow burgers and baby alligators.
The newborn abomination, horribly disfigured by science, makes with the biting, which results in a nail gun defense strategy. Dan is the opposite of happy. He expresses this to the doctor who is wrecking his burger factories. But science cannot be denied, nor can the parasitic embryos still alive in the dead cows.
As in The Thing (1982), it’s determined that no one can leave the farm, as the science cow is loaded with infectious what-nots and has the distinct probability of destroying humanity, vegetarians included. While you never get to see science cow in all its inside-out glory, this thing seems to be all teeth, causing udder, uh, utter chaos as it goes on the attack.
It should be stated that crawling under the floorboards of a barn where cows turn hay into Texas pancakes is disgusting beyond belief, yet necessary for one’s survival. Only one makes it out alive. Who was it — the cow, the doctor, Dan, the squatter guy who knocked up his girlfriend after the cow bit him? The knocked up girlfriend? I’d crawl under a wet, infected barn before I ever told you.
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Marlena Reigh
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Music Monday: Election
By Nora Grenfell 2012-11-05 23:44:24 UTC
Tomorrow, Americans will head to the polls to select their next president. Some have already voted, while others have found their usual plans altered in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. And even if you don't live in the United States, it's likely that the headlines wherever you are will mention the final showdown between President Barack Obama and Republican candidate Mitt Romney.
Regardless of who wins this election, two things are guaranteed: the winner's victory speech will be accompanied by thunderous applause from supporters and a signature song will play over the speakers as he walks onstage. In 2008, Barack Obama's victory was scored to "Signed, Sealed, Delivered" by Stevie Wonder, a track which had been ubiquitous throughout his campaign. This election cycle, Mitt Romney has appealed for votes to the stylings of Kid Rock.
SEE ALSO: How to Market the Next President
It's not just candidates who use music to get through elections. For those of us watching the debates, hearing the speeches and casting our ballots, a song can help us process our choices or sum up our feelings in ways a speech cannot. We've created a Spotify playlist of the songs that encapsulate what this election means to us. What songs remind you of the election? Share them with us and we'll add some of your picks to our playlist.
Here's how you can share your election songs with us:
Tell us in the comments. Make sure to include the artist and the song so we can be certain to find it.
Tweet us your song choice @mashableHQ and use the hashtag #MusicMonday. If you send us a Spotify link, we'll give it a listen and add some of our favorites
To grab a Spotify link, control-click on any song in Spotify and "Copy HTTP link."
If you're not a Spotify user, you can still send us a link to wherever the track is hosted, and we'll do our best to listen.
Image courtesy of Flickr, life serial
Topics: 2012 Presidential Election, Politics, Entertainment, Mitt Romney, Music, Music Monday
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5 reasons why SXSW still matters
Moments like this.
Image: lance ulanoff/mashable
By Lance Ulanoff 2017-03-08 16:52:01 UTC
Hugh Forrest sounded like he just did a spit-take on the phone. I was telling him how I wanted to explore South by Southwest Conference (SXSW), the music, film and interactive event that kicks off March 10 in Austin, Texas, in a fresh way. Imagine, I explained, a guy walking up to you on the streets of Austin and saying, “Why does SXSW still matter, man?”
SEE ALSO: There’s more than meets the eye at the 2017 SXSW Mashable House
Forrest, who has long served as SXSW’s chief programming officer, collected himself and quickly rattled off five big-picture reasons why the long-running conference that sometimes seems over-stuffed with brand activations cans still pack a punch.
Full disclosure, Mashable is a SXSW partner. In fact, you can find us daily (March 10-12) hosting a Twitter Live show from the heart of Austin.
SXSW informs
Former United States President Barack Obama (r) and CEO and Editor-in-chief of the Texas Tribune Evan Smith (l) at SXSW 2016.
Image: W. Smith/Epa/REX/Shutterstock
SXSW, which has 11 keynotes and over 2,800 sessions, is, predictably, about information. “I think our role now is similar in many ways to what it has been throughout: To inform people,” said Forrest. He added that SXSW can give context to developments in our rapidly-changing world, especially as they relate to music, film, startups and technology.
There will, for instance, be two days of panels devoted to Technology Under President Donald Trump, even though no almost one from the Trump Administration will be attending the event in any official capacity.
“Whether you like or don’t like Trump administration,” he said, “they’re still in a state of flux, trying to figure out what they’re doing, pulling things together, pulling their cabinet together. Given that kind of flux, I think SXSW is the last thing on their mind, at least I hope it is.”
SXSW inspires
Meeting of the minds.
SXSW’s most popular speakers are the ones who inspire people with creativity innovation, new ideas, and new ways they’re connecting ideas, said Forrest. It’s especially inspiring when they present innovative ways of pulling all those threads together to create something new.
“That need for inspiration is more vital in 2017 than ever,” said Forrest.
SXSW is networking heaven
We all just met (at SXSW 2016).
Image: lance ualnoff/mashable
“SXSW offers unparalleled networking,” Forrest told me. Meeting new people who may or may not be directly connected to your area of interest, but can still offer insight and inspiration, makes the networking aspect one of the most valuable pieces of the SXSW experience.
“It’s a great venue to meet creative people from all over the world,” said Forrest.
SXSW helps you discover
I found this storm trooper and tie-fighter last year and took them home. Tell no one.
SXSW’s 24 content tracks have not changed much in the last few years, but they all offer an opportunity to find new ideas and people in your area of interest.
However, Forrest offered some seemingly counter-intuitive advice for SXSW attendees. “If you’re an expert in health, don’t go to health panels, go to startups, food…Go to where you will get new ideas, outside your expertise.”
SXSW is still about serendipity
Yes, you can do some very random stuff at SXSW.
Owing to the scale of SXSW, Forrest always encourages attendees to look at the schedule, download the app and arrive with a plan.
“That said, most likely the most meaning you will get at the event, is something that will happen serendipitously,” he added.
You might meet someone in person whom you’ve long-followed on social media. Or you can’t get into one panel (a common occurrence), so you wander into another and learn something completely new.
It’s hard to plan for those moments at SXSW, you must let them happen.
Most others I spoke to echoed Forrest's sentiments.
When I asked internet entrepreneur and Vayner Media CEO Gary Vaynerchuk, whom I spoke to via Twitter DM, if he thought SXSW has been overrun by brands, he said, "Everything gets overrun by brands."
However Vaynerchuk, who this year marks a decade of SXSW attendance, still sees value in SXSW:
[SXSW] matters cause of the scale of people that attend.
At the end of the day Conference's and events are hugely ROI positive if you are capable of networking and being efficient with maximizing your meetings in a weekend that would have taken 6 months to accomplish.
It may not be as indie, but it's made up in scale of serendipity of networking and new connections.
Chief evangelist of Canva and former chief evangelist of Apple, Guy Kawasaki has been attending for 6 years and told me via email SXSW is his favorite conference "because there are no billionaires and few venture capitalists. Most of the attendees are doers, not pretenders. It’s the people who really do the work, not their bosses nor their investors. Brands aren’t ruining SXSW. They’re providing the food and drinks that power it."
Hilary Corna, five-year SXSW vet and author of One White Face was no less positive about SXSW in 2017 and told me via email:
The multi-faceted nature of SXSW means the more you go into the festival knowing what you want to get out of it, the better.
The festival is relevant if you wish to have access to people and meet people in person that you otherwise would have a hard time meeting. It’s relevant if you wish to be exposed to the most extra-ordinary projects, thought-processes, and cross disciplinary technologies and conversations being had in some of the most upper echelon organizations (and also the coolest startups you’ve never heard of). It’s relevant if you have specific goals in current companies or solo adventures you are pursuing such as knowledge transfer, networking, or understanding competitors.
Knowledge, opportunity, serendipity remain linchpins of SXSW. And even amidst all the brand activations, crowded streets, and surfeit vats of queso, there will be some show-making moments.
For his part, though, Forrest is most excited about Professor Jennifer Doudna’s keynote. The chemistry and molecular and cell biology scientist will be talking about her groundbreaking work in CRISPR-mediated genome-editing.
When I asked him why Doudna's talk so intrigued him, Forrest offered a surprisingly personal reason:
“I’ve been doing SXSW for way too long and have some built up some proficiency over the years in slotting panels, but my dad [Dr. Hugh Forrest], who is now retiring, was a geneticist for 50 years. So having someone like Jennifer Doudna at the event is like the closest to me having a similar trajectory to my dad. It’s something he and I can talk about.”
Which may be the main reason why SXSW still matters: It invariably starts a conversation.
WATCH: This hair dye changes color based on your environment
Topics: Apps and Software, SXSW, sxsw-2017, Tech
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For proponents of the Internet of Things, the last 12-18 months have been often frustrating. The Internet of Things (IoT) was supposed to be huge by now. Instead, the industry news has been dominated by a string of startup failures, as well as alarming security issues. Cisco estimated in a (controversial) study that almost 75% of IoT projects fail. And the Internet of Things certainly lost a part of its luster as a buzzword, easily supplanted in 2017 by AI and bitcoin.
Interestingly, however, the Internet of Things continues its inexorable march towards massive scale. 2017 was most likely the year when the total number of IoT devices (wearables, connected cars, machines, etc.) surpassed mobile phones. Global spending in the space continues to accelerate – IDC was forecasting it to hit $800 billion in 2017, a 16.7% increase over the previous year’s number.
The reality is that the various parts of the IoT ecosystem are not evolving at the same speed. Ultimately the Internet of Things covers several industries rather than one.
The Internet of Things is unified by a common principle (extracting and analyzing digital data from the physical world), as well as common characteristics (combination of hardware and software), opportunities (personalization and intelligence, real-time services) and challenges (connectivity, security, etc.). Beyond those, however, areas as diverse as home automation, commercial drones, industrial machinery or autonomous cars are subject to very different industry dynamics.
It’s been almost two years since our last attempt at charting this vast universe of exciting technologies and companies. (“Are we There Yet? The 2016 IoT Landscape”), and, often behind the scenes, a lot has been happening.
Our overall take: the Internet of Things is going through a phase of early adolescence – a lot is being built in different places, not all of it looks pretty or behaves as desired, but a lot of foundational growth is happening.
Hot trends and topics
AI everywhere
The promise of the IoT was always to create “smart” objects – it is certainly nice to get data from the physical world and gain more insights, but ultimately the whole point is to act on that data, ideally in an automated, real-time and intelligent way. This is exactly what AI enables.
In 2017, AI exploded in mainstream collective consciousness, a trend that we’ve covered extensively in our 2017 Big Data and AI landscape and other posts.
Just as in many other industries, AI has now become a huge part of the IoT conversation.
On the consumer front, AI is at the core of some of the most exciting areas. Voice platforms, indisputably one of the brightest spots in consumer IoT, have become a battleground between Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant (with Apple, Samsung, Tencent, Alibaba and many others joining the fray). It is very clear that the fight is not about selling hardware – while it has a number of its own products (Echo, Dot, etc.), Amazon is on a mission to deploy Alexa on third party hardware, including Sears, Kenmore and a variety of wearables or home automation product (including security camera Canary, based on a CES announcement today). The ultimate goal is to amass massive amounts of data and build data network effects to constantly improve the AI. If voice truly becomes “the UI of the future”, then whoever has the best AI will win the war.
Similarly, the general area of autonomous vehicles, which received enormous amounts of attention and investment in 2017 (expect that trend to continue in 2018) is fundamentally an AI play. While we’re probably much further away from Level 5 fully autonomous driving than the current hype would lead us to believe, the underlying AI has made extraordinary progress in the last couple of years, including in how it is trained or, as it were, trains itself. What started as a physical world effort, with cars driving around to collect data, has increasingly become a virtual training effort. One of the best articles of 2017 is this Atlantic piece about how Waymo has driven its self-driving cars for a few million miles in the real world, but a few billion miles in a custom-built simulated, virtual word.
In the enterprise and industrial IoT (IIoT) world, too, machine learning and AI have become a key topic. Unlike their consumer IoT cousins that require a big commercial “hit” with their product to be able to gather enough data for truly meaningful AI, IIoT companies can leverage their industrial customers’ data. Many machines, assembly lines and oil rigs already have thousands of sensors on them. Of course, obstacles abound, both technical (the data is often “trapped” and hard to extract) and cultural (transitioning from decades of statistical analysis on small samples to a new software driven approach, in a context where failure can be catastrophic). However, AI can be a complete game changer in those industries. (For more, see a couple of very interesting talks from our monthly Hardwired NYC event by Alluvium and Fero Labs).
Beyond those examples, AI is the process of becoming ubiquitous across the stack, from non-obvious applications like vertical farming to infrastructure like edge computing (see below).
Outside of AI, worth noting that the IoT also benefits from, and blends with, progress in related areas such as material sciences, genomics and nanotechnology, which are also experiencing their own rapid evolution. More on this in 2018 and beyond.
Security: increasingly unnerving
If there was any remaining doubt that security is a major issue for the Internet of Things, the past 18 months have eliminated it entirely.
Starting in particular with the Mirai “Botnet of Things” back in September 2016, which earned the dubious distinction of being one of the “Breakthrough Technologies of 2017” according to the MIT Technology Review, the list of hacks and other security embarrassments has kept growing: in February, connected toymaker CloudPets was hacked and held for ransom; in March, an automatic firmware update broke Lockstate connected smart locks for 500 customers; in August, 8,000 Telnet credentials of IoT devices were exposed on the Internet, etc. As of the time of writing (early January 2018), someone released publicly the working code to hack Huawei routers used by the Satori botnet, opening the door to more attacks and more powerful botnets.
It seems inevitable that more severe attacks will occur in the near future. (see for example, Krebs on Security for recently published concerns about a far more powerful strain of IoT attack malware, named “Reaper” or “IoTroop”).
In our conversations with IoT startups, it has become apparent that, to this day, security too often continues to be an afterthought.
This is not out of malice or irresponsibility – in fact, at least in surveys, many IoT developers now consider security to be a top concern. However, the reality is that the topic tends to drop down the priority list given the many immediately pressing challenges involved in just shipping an IoT product. It doesn’t help that IoT security is a complicated topic that’s very much outside the area of expertise of the average IoT developer, requiring a disproportionate amount of time and effort for an outcome that doesn’t immediately help sell the product.
Certainly, a cottage industry of startups has emerged around IoT security (see relevant box in our IoT landscape), and many of the larger traditional security vendors have come up with an IoT solution (or, at least, an IoT-centric marketing message). However, those companies typically target critical security needs in Fortune 1000 companies, leaving the needs of the average startup developer (or under-budgeted developer in a larger company) unmet.
The emergence of an IoT cloud infrastructure (see below) will certainly help. Sadly, however, we will see more damaging, large-scale and widely-reported attacks before security becomes an absolute baseline requirement.
Worth noting, last summer a new bill was introduced – The IoT Cybersecurity Improvement Act of 2017 – that set baseline IoT security standards for IoT devices sold to the government, including routers and security cameras (Krebs on Security). This was essentially an attempt to leverage the full weight of the Federal Government’s IT budget to send a clear signal to the IoT industry. The bill has not yet passed.
The IoT, now with blockchain
It was hard to escape the bitcoin and overall crypto-mania in 2017, and the IoT industry was no exception. Typically, the intersection of two buzzy, emerging concepts such as the IoT and the blockchain would sound like a hazardous place. It might very well be. However, it is hard not to be intrigued by the possibilities, in several domains.
First and foremost, security: because of its decentralized nature and its strong protections against data tampering, the blockchain lends itself well to the type of complex security problem involved in massive network of connected objects.
In addition, the blockchain could open up powerful opportunities for IoT data exchange. This could be done between enterprises, leveraging private blockchain infrastructure to enable business partners to access and supply IoT data without the need for central control and management. Each partner would be able to verify each transaction, ensuring accountability and avoiding disputes (see, for example, IBM and its HyperLedger-powered efforts). This could be also done at a global level, as a decentralized data marketplace, which is in essence what the (controversial) IOTA organization is purportedly trying to do.
Another promising area for leveraging the blockchain is general connectivity. Interesting work is being done by startups like Filament (long-range wireless networks to connect machinery and industrial infrastructure to the network) and Helium (a FirstMark portfolio company), which will soon announce ambitious plans in the area (for more context and a great talk on the state of IoT in general, see a great quick talk by CEO Amir Haleem at Hardwired NYC).
Financings and exits: a quiet year
Since our last landscape in 2016, the IoT financing market has gone from explosive growth to a much more cautious pace, although dollars invested remain high in the aggregate.
In fact, according to CB Insights data, the total amount of VC dollars invested in IoT in 2017 (Seed to Series E+) went down compared to 2016: $3.77 billion in total, vs $3.83B in 2016, a 1.6% decrease. (Those numbers correspond to what CB Insights categorizes as Internet of Things, and don’t necessarily include all the companies on the landscape).
As in other parts of the venture world, but perhaps more so in IoT, the key story here has been an evolution towards larger, more concentrated investments in a smaller number of companies, typically at the growth stage. This is evidenced by a sharp decrease in the total number of deals: 295 financings in 2017, down 37.9% from 475 financings in 2016.
Not so long ago, most IoT startups were Seed or Series A companies. Some companies that have been able to scale are now tapping into growth stage money.
Meanwhile, the well has dried up a bit for Seed and Series A ventures. In 2016, about 73% of VC deals were at the Seed and Series A level; in 2017, this number dropped to 53%.
As in previous years, one of the peculiarities of the IoT VC market is that the most active investors in the space are disproportionately corporate venture arms: Intel Capital and GE Ventures top the list, with Qualcomm Ventures not too far behind. As many traditional VCs shy away from hardware, those funds have played an enormous role in buoying the space.
The gigantic Softbank Vision Fund made a resounding entrance into the space. The Internet of Things is a core pillar of the $100 billion’s fund investment thesis (and of Softbank in general, as evidenced by the $32 billion acquisition of ARM back in September 2016, which was positioned as a bet on the Internet of Things). The Softbank Vision Fund made a number of large bets, including vertical farming company Plenty ($200M Series B), mapping company Mapbox ($164M Series C), autonomous vehicle system Nauto ($159M Series B), autonomous robot company Brain Corp ($114M Series C). For good measure, Softbank also acquired stakes in NVIDIA, iRobot and IIoT company OSISoft and bought robotics firms Boston Dynamics and Schaft from Alphabet.
Other noteworthy financings in 2017 included connected indoor cycling company Peloton ($325M Series E); smart window company View ($200M Series G); IIoT analytics company Uptake ($117mm – Series D); 3D printing company Desktop Metal ($115mm Series D); smart doorbell company Ring ($109mm in Series D and debt); cloud robot operator CloudMinds ($100M Series A); Chinese robotics company Ninebot ($100M Series C); Japanese AI/IoT platform Preferred Networks ($95.4M Strategic Round); security company Forgerock ($88M Series D); French LPWA connectivity company Actility ($75M Series D); security company SentinelOne ($70mm Series C) and IoT middleware platform Ayla Networks ($60M Series D — see Ayla’s talk at our Hardwired NYC event).
On the M&A front, the big exits of 2017 involved companies that were already public (as opposed to startups). The two big acquisitions of the year were major bets on connected cars and autonomous vehicles: Intel purchased AI/computer vision company Mobileye for $15 billion and Samsung acquired connected car solutions specialist Harman for $8 billion. The next largest acquisition was in IoT security, with the just-announced purchase of Gemalto by Thales for approximately $5.6 billion. Also worth noting: Itron acquired mesh connectivity specialist Silver Spring Networks for $830 million; Sierra Wireless acquired full stack managed platform Numerex for $107M; and OpenText bought IoT middleware platform Covisint for $103M.
In terms of IoT startup exits, 2017 was a poor year. On the relatively short list of noteworthy acquisitions, all noteworthy acquisitions, none cleared the $500 million mark. Continental purchased automotive cyber security startup Argus for a rumored $450 million; Delphi acquired autonomous vehicle startup nuTomy for $400 million upfront (plus a $50 million earn-out); John Deere bought agriculture machine learning company Blue River for $305 million, Assa Abloy acquired smart lock maker August for an undisclosed amount; and Prodea acquired IoT platform Arrayent for an undisclosed amount as well.
Finally, it was a pretty meager year in terms of IPOs as well. Companies that went public include Switch Inc., a data center infrastructure company with a focus on the “Internet of Everything” and cybersecurity company ForeScout Technologies, which enables enterprises to track IoT devices accessing their network.
The 2018 IoT Landscape
To see the landscape at full size, click here. To view a full list of companies, click here. The chart’s format will preserve high resolution when zooming in to individual logos, both on desktop and mobile. Zoom away!
This is our fourth Internet of Things landscape (see 2013, 2014, 2016). This version was prepared with invaluable help from FirstMark associate Demi Obayomi. Our methodology for inclusion is summarized at the end of this post.
This year, we created a few new sub-categories, reflecting emerging trends: voice platforms, marine vehicles, vertical farming and edge computing.
There are 971 logos on the chart, vs 721 in 2016, a 34.7% increase. 96 companies were removed from last year’s chart; 346 new companies were added. A small number of typically very large companies have their name in several categories.
For the rest of this post, we’ll highlight some key areas of the chart, starting from the top (“Applications / Verticals”) and navigating to the bottom (“Building blocks”).
APPLICATIONS / VERTICALS
Consumer IoT: The End of the Grand Experiment
In case anyone missed it, consumer IoT startups just had a pretty bad year.
At the time of writing, smart lock maker Otto (which had raised $37M in venture capital) is the latest casualty in a long list of companies that ceased operations over the last 18 months. The list also includes: sleep tracker Sense ($2.4M Kickstarter campaign; $40M in VC investment); Life-logging camera Narrative ($12M in VC investment); consumer drone company Lily ($34M in pre-sales; $15M in VC investment); AR motorcycle helmet maker Skully ($15M in VC investment); connected tea-infuser Teforia ($17M in VC investment); smart earbuds company Doppler Labs ($50M in VC investment); and, most famously, connected juice machine Juicero ($118M in VC investment).
The list would be longer if one added a number of underwhelming acquisitions of both consumer companies (Pebble, Electric Objects, etc.) or B2B2C platforms (Zonoff acqui-hired by Ring; Wink acquired by… Will.i.am).
Much later stage startups and even public companies were also in turmoil, with Jawbone going out of business ($1 billion in total funding), and Fitbit, GoPro or Parrot considerably down from their 2015 or 2016 stock prices. As of time of writing, GoPro just announced it was exiting its drone business, laying off 20% of its staff and exploring a possible sale.
We’re witnessing the end of a first phase, which in retrospect feels like a “grand experiment“. Rewind to 2012 or 2013, when the whole excitement about consumer IoT re-ignited (after another false start a decade before that), and there were two fundamental hopes.
The first hope was that adding connectivity to an object would change everything. Once connected, dumb devices would morph into objects of desire, driving strong consumer demand and commanding high prices.
The second hope was that hardware was becoming “less hard”. Many IoT entrepreneurs were new to the space, but with open source, commoditized components, new development platforms, 3D printing and crowdfunding, they would be able to iterate almost the way software entrepreneurs could.
Early successes like Nest and Oculus VR seemed to usher in a new era. A Cambrian explosion of new companies and products followed.
Fast forward to today, and consumer IoT startups have experienced a brutal re-entry into reality.
Connectivity did not change everything. As the founder of Big Ass Fans summarized in one of our favorite articles of the year,: “just because you can make something with IoT technology doesn’t mean people will want it“. Early adopters will be willing to pay higher prices in return for novelty. But expanding to the mainstream consumer will require undeniable value beyond the coolness factor.
In addition, hardware entrepreneurship has not become that much easier. Design mistakes continue to be costly, supply chain problems abound, retail is difficult. A lot has improved, but the fundamental reality of creating, assembling and moving atoms, generally across various points of the planet, remains fundamentally unforgiving.
Finally, competition from large companies has been intense for startups, both from Asian (mostly Chinese) low-cost manufacturers and tech giants (both US and Asian). This was always a concern (we wrote about it in 2013 here), but in many ways things are worse now, as large players went from experimentation to pushing their full weight into the opportunity.
Of course, this does not mean that consumer IoT startups are doomed.
For all our comments above, startups fail all the time, it is the nature of the beast. Part of what is happening is a natural phenomenon of attrition in a field that grew explosively for 3 or 4 years, probably to unsustainable levels. Those failures are perhaps more public, because those companies got a fair amount of attention in the press and on crowdfunding websites when they first launched.
Some consumer IoT companies are scaling well, and raising large amounts of money at the growth stage. We mentioned a couple of examples above: Peloton, the connected cycling/fitness company, raised a $325M Series E round of funding in 2017, the largest round of any IoT startup last year, as far as we know (see Peloton’s talk at Hardwired NYC). Ring, the connected doorbell company, raised $119M in Series D and debt in 2017, and continues to scale (but is now faced with increased competition from both Alphabet/Nest and Amazon).
A whole new generation of hardware entrepreneurs has been created. Over time, we expect that all the experience accumulated over the last few years will result in great new consumer companies, with more battle-hardened veterans from both successful and failed IoT startups.
Industrial IoT: from horizontal platforms to vertical, AI-powered solutions
Compared to consumer IoT, the B2B side has fared substantially better. The Industrial IoT (IIoT), in particular, has continued to gain attention from startups, VCs and large conglomerates, as part of a broad “Industry 4.0” theme that also includes robotics and enterprise 3D printing. Just like the industries it serves (manufacturing, energy, logistics, transportation, etc.), the Industrial IoT opportunity is very large.
While the IIoT falls in the general category of enterprise technology, with correspondingly long sales cycles, one advantage that IIoT startups have over many of their consumer IoT cousins is that they generally don’t require a complete reinvention of behaviors within industries. They mostly offer ways of better extracting and analyzing data from machines, whether in factories or oil fields, something large industrial conglomerates have done, to some degree, for many years. Therefore, they can blend themselves more easily into existing workflows, including in connection with existing Operational Technology (OT) frameworks, and have a greater ability to demonstrate a clear ROI.
That said, the IIoT space remains early. Various core technical problems, starting with connectivity in remote or hot environments, are still not well solved. Before being able to run AI (as per the above), one needs to extract data, and this often remains a difficult problem, particularly considering the wide range of legacy machinery out there – something a whole range of startups (Augury, Arch Systems, Petasense, etc.) are actively working on.
On the whole, large industrials are still at the experimentation stage, running pilots with both startups and larger vendors. As another sign of overall industry immaturity, many internal IT teams at large industrials are considering building the required technology themselves – we have heard many tales of homegrown tinkering, with internal IT teams reportedly building systems on decidedly not enterprise-grade building blocks such as Arduinos and Raspberry Pis.
Regardless, one big lesson has crystallized over the last year or so: when it comes to IIoT platforms, there’s no “one size fits all’, meaning generic sensors or horizontal software that works across verticals with minimal customization. Confronted with the harsh reality of selling and deploying their systems to customers with different needs, many vendors, big and small, have had to change course and specialize in specific industries. For example, Samsara started with ambitions to build a horizontal platform, and has now refocused on fleet monitoring. Industrial giant General Electric, which started with an all-out horizontal effort for its Predix platform, has had to refocus on vertical applications.
HORIZONTALS
IoT Connectivity: Key infrastructure progress
Several years into the current wave of IoT innovation, how best to connect objects to the Internet (in a way that is reliable, scalable, battery efficient and cheap) remains a rapidly evolving, very competitive topic.
The vast majority of devices will most likely continue to connect through short-range connectivity technologies such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Zigbee and Z-wave. Worth noting: while Wi-Fi has many advantages for in-building use cases (e.g., home automation), it also has significant drawbacks around power consumption and costs for a broader IoT usage. Emerging IEEE standards, 802.11ah and 802.11ax, may help but are still early.
For wide area connectivity (connections over a long distance), the situation is very much evolving.
One initial response has been Sigfox (a dedicated cellular network built by a French startup, well funded with about $310M in investment) and LoRA (also originally a French technology, acquired by Semtech in 2012, and promoted through the LoRA alliance). Those are Low-Power WAN (LPWAN) wireless technologies, designed specifically to interconnect low-bandwidth, battery-powered devices with low bit rates over long ranges.
In 2017 in particular, the big carriers jumped into the action forcefully, with two types of offering:
Narrow-Band IoT (NB-IoT) is a licensed standard (as opposed to unlicensed SIgfox and LoRa), backed by major telecom operators. NB-IoT had a big year in 2017, with Deutsche Telekom launching their first official service in Germany the Netherlands. As of the time of writing (January 2018), T-Mobile just announced that it was launching the first NB-IoT plan in the US. Dish Networks also made announcements towards an NB-IoT network, rumored to possibly be in partnership with Amazon.
Meanwhile, both Verizon and AT&T launched in 2017 their own IoT networks in the U.S. based on a competing wireless technology, LTE Cat M1.
Both NB-IoT and CatM1 technologies have their pros and cons but for use by massive fleets of IoT devices, cost will be a major factor. The new T-Mobile NB-IoT offering will cost $6 a year per connected device and was presented as “one-tenth of the cost of Verizon’s Cat-M plans”.
Finally, there are big hopes for 5G, with its dramatically faster data transmission capabilities, which could lend themselves very well to the more intense IoT use cases, such as autonomous vehicles. But it may take until well into the next decade to get widespread deployment of 5G, at least in the US.
The cloud giants are all in on IoT
The cloud was always part of the IoT discussion, but the last few years reflected a lot of uncertainty. One the one hand, the cloud giants seemed to largely operate under the assumption that their core cloud offering could address IoT needs without much additional work required. On the other hand, various IoT companies big and small were experimenting with building their own cloud offerings.
In 2017, the situation evolved dramatically. Microsoft added a number of important features (IoT Central, a fully managed SaaS offering for IoT customers who don’t want their own cloud; Azure IoT Edge for edge computing, see below; Time Series Insights, a new time series database, etc. ), as did Amazon (AWS IoT One-Click for simple devices to trigger Lambda; AWS IoT Device Defender to secure fleets of IoT devices; IoT Device Manager to remotely manage IoT devices at scale, etc.) And, perhaps most symbolically, Google jumped into the fray and launched IoT Cloud Core, which provides the ability to connect and manage remote IoT devices at scale, regardless of their location, as well as integration with other Google Cloud products like BigQuery, Dataflow, and Pub/Sub.
Meanwhile, General Electric pivoted away from building its own “Predix Cloud”, and instead focused on building applications on top of AWS, with upcoming support for Azure. Similarly, several startups we spoke with shelved their plans to build cloud technology and instead focused on solutions to send device data to the big public cloud providers.
The emergence of a powerful cloud infrastructure is a major development for the Internet of Things, as it offers the promise of considerably reducing the overall complexity involved in designing and securely deploying IoT devices, one of the biggest hurdles to the success of the space.
Certainly, the cloud may not work for all IoT customers, particularly in the industrial world that is highly protective of their data. Thankfully, the emergence of edge computing will increasingly enable those customers to process their data locally.
The Rise of Edge Computing
Edge computing has been a hot topic for a bit now, but it saw a real acceleration on 2017. The general concept is to have the intelligence pushed from the cloud to the edge, meaning the gateway, device or even sensor, generally “dumb” objects so far. In some cases, the edge will filter out the noise and only send the most relevant data to the cloud, to reduce processing and costs; in other cases, some decisions will be made locally, leading to actions. All of this generally involves machine learning and AI being performed locally.
In addition to startups doing interesting work on edge computing and analytics (Foghorn, Mythic, etc.), edge computing was embraced by tech giants in a major way over the last year or so. Since our 2016 landscape, AWS launched Greengrass; Microsoft launched Azure IoT Edge; Dell announced a $1B investment in the space; Edge X Founder, a major new open source project, backed by over 50 contributors including Dell, was also launched in the Spring of 2017.
The last year or so may have seen a lot of well-publicized failures of consumer IoT startups, but those should not distract from the broader story: with the acceleration of AI technology, key progress on the connectivity front and the emergence of specialized IoT offerings from all major cloud providers, the fundamental pieces of infrastructure needed for the Internet of Things to succeed are gradually falling in place. Much work remains to be done in key areas such as security.
A key characteristic of major new technology waves is to appear “gradually, then suddenly“. The various segments that make the Internet of Things will continue to evolve somewhat separately with their own dynamics, but as the core foundation continues to be put in place, we may soon find ourselves in a phase of exponential acceleration towards a globally connected physical world.
Every month, we host many of the best CEOs, CTOs and founders in this space at our Hardwired NYC event. If you’re in town, please come join us! Otherwise, you can see all videos of previous events on our YouTube Channel here.
METHODOLOGY & NOTES:
1) This year more than ever, we couldn’t possibly fit all companies we wanted on the chart. While the general philosophy of the chart is to be as inclusive as possible, we ended up having to be somewhat selective. Our methodology is certainly imperfect, but in a nutshell, here are the main criteria:
Everything being equal, we gave priority to startups that have reached some level of market significance. This is a reasonably easy exercise for large tech companies. For growing startups, considering the limited amounts of data available, we often used venture capital financings as a proxy for underlying market traction (again, probably imperfect). So everything else being equal, we tend to feature startups that have raised larger amounts, typically Series A and beyond.
Occasionally, we made editorial decisions to include earlier stage startups when we thought they were particularly interesting.
This year as in previous years, we removed a number of companies (95). One key reason for removal is that the company was acquired, and not run by the acquirer as an independent company.. In some select cases, we left the acquired company as is in the chart when we felt that the brand would be preserved as a reasonably separate offering from that of the acquiring company.
2) As always, it is inevitable that we inadvertently missed some great companies in the process of putting this chart together. Did we miss yours? Feel free to add thoughts and suggestions in the comments.
3) The chart is in png format, which should preserve overall quality when zooming, etc.
4) Feel free to use the chart in books, conferences, presentations, etc – two obvious asks: (i) do not alter/edit the chart and (ii) please provide clear attribution (Matt Turck, Demi Obayomi and FirstMark Capital).
5) Disclaimer: FirstMark is an investor several companies mentioned on this IoT landscape, including: Helium, Kinsa, Optimus Ride, Starry, ROLI, Sketchfab and a couple of other unannounced.
6) Thank you: Nate Williams for reviewing an early draft of the landscape and my FirstMark colleagues Dan Kozikowski and Liz Mead for reviewing the post.
Posted on January 9, 2018 February 16, 2018 Categories AI, Internet of Things, Startups, Venture capital
18 thoughts on “Growing Pains: The 2018 Internet of Things Landscape”
Jack Krupansky says:
Thanks for the great update and illuminating commentary!
Quick question: How many companies of your IoT landscape are VC Unicorns? Or, how many of the VC Unicorns have a significant IoT focus/component?
I don’t have any tools to compare the two lists, but since you mentioned the size of Peloton’s funding I checked and they are indeed a VC Unicorn.
I did a search of the VC Unicorn list for “IoT” but only found one, C3 IoT, which is on your landscape list. Peloton is not marked as IoT on the VC Unicorn list.
Both companies are new to the VC Unicorn list in 2017.
Any other IoT Unicorns besides those two?
Any forecast or expectations for how many IoT’s will become Unicorns in 2018?
Any idea how many IoT’s are VC Centaurs? Or forecast as Centaurs in 2018?
mattturck says:
It’s a really good question, we should run the analysis. There are certainly others, like Uptake and some companies in the autonomous vehicle category. Also many of the Softbank Vision Fund financings were presumably done at unicorn or near-unicorn valuation levels, considering the round sizes. Having said that, in general any company with a strong hardware component tends to face a much slower road to high VC valuations (which are generally a reflection of investors willing to bet that the company will scale massively, and it’s harder and takes longer for a hardware company to scale massively). Of course, as we all know, the “unicorn” status is largely fictional (all on paper, until an actual exit occurs), and no guarantee of eventual success.
Michael Gilbert says:
Great job on the IoT landscape presentation.
FYI, our company, Semios, is one of the largest IoT solutions in Ag with over 150,000 sensors reporting every 10 min on our proprietary wireless network. Our focus is on helping growers of tree fruits, nuts and grapes manage risk from pests, disease, drought and frost.
Thanks for the kind words and putting Semios on our radar, Michael.
I don’t think the Landscape graphic is accurate. The sensors provider does not list major ones such as Analog Devices Inc. , Libelium, Honeywell, Bosch etc.
Thanks for the feedback. We’ll add those to the next version.
Carl Sanford says:
Really, almost 75% of IoT projects fail.
for that need to do proper market study and analysis…
That Cisco study was certainly disputed across the industry, pretty controversial. But it is directionally interesting.
Pankaj Shah says:
Nice article. Good information about the IoT landscape.
We, Gambit Communications, have a IoT Simulator tool for doing POC and testing of IoT applications and platforms. It creates a large network of thousands of IoT sensors and devices from different vendors. Each of them with different types, traffic patterns and IP address.
Thanks for putting the company on our radar, Pankaj.
Linden Tibbets says:
Awesome post Matt! Though consumer IoT and IoT in general was 2017 was muted from a press and exit perspective, a lot of exciting things are happening away from the limelight. We’ve seen really exciting growth in both adoption and diversity of use cases on IFTTT and we expect that to accelerate in 2018. As an industry we have to keep making EVERYTHING easier, from UX to the language we use. It may actually be a great thing if we all stopped talking about IoT in 2018 and began to acknowledge that the internet and internet services are becoming a part of every single thing we do, use and own. Great post!
Thanks Linden! Yes, fully agree. There are still a number of challenges and opportunities that are specific enough to the Internet of Things, but soon enough the IoT will disappear as a category because the normal state of affairs will be for everything to be connected. The fate of major technology evolutions is often to disappear in the background as they become ubiquitous.
While I’m glad to see one of the Open Source Home automation platforms on there (i.e. OpenHAB) the other two Open Source Home automation options seem to be missing: HAss (Home-Assistant.io) and Domoticz.
Mace Moneta says:
Also missing, Espressif Systems (http://espressif.com/) maker of the esp8266, esp32 and variants in a surprising percentage of WiFi connected devices. As their homepage says, they’ve shipped over 100,000,000 devices.
Luca says:
Yes, i am surprised by the lack of Espressif Systems on the list. they have a very competitive chip solutions and have been a clear favorite among hobbyists and professionals as well.
Joe Nagy says:
Hi Matt – Great post. Please add Software AG to your radar under the full stack horizontal software platform category. We’ve recently acquired Cumulocity, which gives us fully agnostic device connectivity and management, coupled with Software AG’s leading Apama streaming analytics, webMethods hybrid integration, Terracotta in-memory DB and ARIS business process management. We have many customers across the verticals and have connected to millions of devices. http://softwareag.com/iot
This is a great job by your Matt, Demi and First Mark. “Aeris” on your list is listed as Platform under Section “Connectivity”. Aeris Communications offers both platform for connectivity mgmt, device mgmt and application enablement and as well we provide solutions in domain of automotive, fleet mgmt, healthcare, employee tracking, insurance and others. Can you please kindly update it in your database ?
Another observation: You mentioned that IoT was mostly mentioned under context of AI/ML in 2017, that’s fair inference and I also think “BlockChain” is another context under which IoT was referenced a lot.
Thanks Vinay. We try as much as possible to keep it to one category per company, except for the tech giants (like Amazon/AWS). Otherwise this chart would simply be impossible to put on one single page, as many companies have solutions in several industries. Thanks for the comment on blockchain — there’s a whole section in the post on the topic (“The IoT, now with blockchain”).
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Tag / pilot whale
June 16, 2016 January 1, 2018 by mondaymorgue
Artiodactyla, Cetacea, cetaceans, Cetartiodactyla, Delphinidae, dolphins, East Java, Globicephala macrorhynchus, Indonesia, Java, mammals, marine, marine mammals, Odontoceti, pilot whale, short-finned pilot whale, stranding, toothed whales, Whale Strandings Indonesia, whales and dolphins, wildlife rescue
https://www.facebook.com/WhaleStrandingsIndonesia/photos/p.952466091531348/952466091531348/
Confirmed: Short-finned Pilot Whales
JAAN, AnimalsIndonesia, Centre for Orangutan Protection, and Airlangga vets investigating
Morphometric and external examination before necropsy
Necropsy ongoing
Two volunteers measuring Whale total length.
Burial process.
Photos: Benvika, Rifqi Ajier, Lubis KKHL (MMAF)
STRANDING ALERT!!!
A total of at least 29 Whales (possibly Pilots, possibly more than 30) are currently stranded at Desa Randupitu, Kecamatan Gending, Kabupaten Probolinggo: 23 mature individuals of 4 meters long and 6 calves or juveniles of 2 m long. Please spread news. BPSPL Denpasar are coordinating the rescue effort. News by Rifqi Ajier, Jakarta Animal Aid Network
Three Pilots were refloated back to sea up to last night. Two individuals positive dead. More photos soon. Team are discussing next steps with incoming tides
Last update this morning… four additional Pilots found in mangrove area; three of them positive dead. The team are trying to release the one individual. That brings it to total 3 released, 5 dead, 1 still on rescue effort.
Rescue wrap up: 29 Pilots stranded, 7 dead, 4 refloated back to sea by rescuers, 18 returned to the sea on their own. Field team is now preparing necropsy. News from Rifqi Ajier JAAN.
They found more Pilot Whale carcasses at the adjacent Bentar and Gending beaches. Total 32 stranded, 10-11 died (for the whole event). Exact dead count TBA.
Necropsy in still ongoing. Just to reiterate that BPSPL Denpasar is the coordinator of this rescue effort. A team from the central MMAF (Ministry of Marine and Fisheries Affairs) in Jakarta has arrived on site. A scientist from LIPI (Indonesia’s scientific institute) is arriving in an hour. Necropsy is led by Arie DVM from Udayana Uni, aided by vets from Airlangga Uni and Gajah Mada Uni.
Two Pilot Whales were seen near shore by two local fishers just now. Amank and Rifqi Ajier from JAAN are checking the scene again. It has been advised to just conduct observation without herding, for the two Whales might just be saying goodbye to the deceased, as has been observed during a Pilot Whale mass stranding in Banyuwangi East Java on 22 May 2004 (database ID 68).
From Rifqi Ajier at 10:35 am local time: “Local fishers reported two more stranded Pilot Whales found last night. This morning, the team combed the area but found no carcasses. Possibly they have moved due to high tide. A necropsy is done this morning, led by the R&D team of the MMAF and LIPI. Next is burying the carcasses and monitoring/combing the adjacent waters. At the moment, we have 10 dead Whales ready for burial.”
News from Sekar Mira (LIPI) and Rifqi Ajier (JAAN) has it that the death count is now 15 Pilot Whales. With total 32 Pilot Whales stranding (assuming the new deaths were part of the original group), it makes quite a high mortality rate with more than 50% animals dead. Still kudos to all BPSPL Denpasar-led team who have worked so hard during the Holy Month of Ramadhan to make the rescue and post mortem investigation happen.
Source: Whale Strandings Indonesia Facebook
Artiodactyla, Cetacea, cetaceans, Cetartiodactyla, Delphinidae, dolphins, East Java, Globicephala macrorhynchus, Indonesia, JAAN, Jakarta Animal Aid Network, Java, mammals, marine, marine mammals, Odontoceti, pilot whale, short-finned pilot whale, stranding, toothed whales, whales and dolphins, wildlife rescue
https://www.facebook.com/176585509072713/photos/ms.c.eJw9ytsJACAMA8CNJI1NH~;svJgr19zgjCgmRalTUsgE1nbCByDe0P~;QdVn4AyLsNew~-~-.bps.a.846827155381875.1073741838.176585509072713/1208070522590868/
30 Pilot Whales have become stranded in Probolinggo area.
Since 4 am the JAAN was on site striving to rescue the survivors. 20 of the Pilot Whales were succesfully returned to sea but sadly, 10 didnt make it.
This rescue operation was done in collaboration with BPSPL Denpasar, Satker Surabaya, Bidang 3 Jember BKSDA JATIM, DKP Probolinggo, Koramil Gending, PosAl Paiton, Veterinary Facility FKH Unair, COP & AnimalsIndonesia.
Pilot whales are often found in mass strandings, when one is in trouble, others try to help & also get themselves stranded. They have strong family bonds & will risk their lives striving to save their loved ones.
Source: Jakarta Animal Aid Network (JAAN) Facebook
Artiodactyla, Cetacea, cetaceans, Cetartiodactyla, Delphinidae, dolphins, East Java, Globicephala macrorhynchus, Indonesia, Jakarta Post, Java, mammals, marine, marine mammals, Odontoceti, pilot whale, short-finned pilot whale, stranding, toothed whales, whales and dolphins, wildlife rescue
At least 15 Pilot Whales have died after a mass stranding on the coast of Probolinggo, East Java, on June 15, 2016.
Photo: Reef Check Indonesia/Indra
Indonesia: Dozens of Whales stranded on East Java coast, 15 likely dead
16th June 2016;
Dozens of Pilot Whales have beached on the coast of East Java, discovered on Wednesday by residents in Probolinggo, East Java. The giant marine mammals are thought to have become stranded due to changes in the sea temperature.
The Short-finned Pilot Whales (Globicephala macrorhynchus) were seen around the shore on Wednesday afternoon. Most managed to return to the sea but returned to shore as one had become stuck, leaving them all trapped by the sudden low tide.
Wahid, the Maritime Resources Management Office head, said at least 32 Pilot Whales had been found stranded. Seven of them were less than two meters in length and the local fishermen had tied them to prevent them getting washed further ashore.
“Approximately 25 Whales came ashore around the estuary, 15 of these Whales are not moving and are likely dead […] the colony may have been searching for cooler waters but got stranded,” he said as quoted by kompas.com in Jakarta on Wednesday night.
The local residents have taken the deceased Whales to land, through the creek, for burial. According to local tradition, the residents must hold a burial for dead Whales as they believe that Whales purposely come ashore to end their journey.
“What do you expect us to do? If they are still alive, we will surely help them return to deep sea. The dead ones, we must bury them,” said the Pesisir village chief Sanemo.
Source: Jakarta Post
Artiodactyla, Cetacea, cetaceans, Cetartiodactyla, Delphinidae, dolphins, East Java, Globicephala macrorhynchus, Indonesia, Jakarta Globe, Java, mammals, marine, marine mammals, Odontoceti, pilot whale, short-finned pilot whale, stranding, toothed whales, whales and dolphins, wildlife rescue
Photo: Antara Photo/Zabur Karuru
Indonesia: 32 Pilot Whales stranded, 10 die after beaching themselves on East Java coast
At least ten out of the 32 Short-finned Pilot Whales (Globicephala macrorhynchus) which were washed up on beaches near Probolinggo in East Java had died, authorities confirmed on Thursday (16/06).
Probolinggo Maritime and Fisheries Agency head Deddy Isfandi told Antara news agency 32 Whales had beached themselves on a beach near the village of Randu Pitu in the Gending subdistrict on Wednesday afternoon.
The Whales — found by local residents—were three to five meters in length.
“Ten of the beached Whales had died. They were found on beaches near Randu Pitu, Gending, Dringu and Bentar,” Deddy said.
The agency with the help of local residents tried to rescue the Whales by pushing them back into the ocean on Wednesday night, but some of the stranded Whales were too weak to swim out to sea and had drifted back to shallow waters by Thursday morning.
Marine biologists from Surabaya’s Airlangga University are in the area to work out why the Pilot Whales had ended up washed up on the beaches.
There is speculation that the Whales had beached themselves after they got disoriented by recent extreme weather changes.
“Once the scientists are done with their research, the dead Whales will be buried near the beach where they were stranded,” Deddy said, adding that Whales had rarely been seen in the oceans off Probolinggo.
Source: Jakarta Globe
Artiodactyla, Cetacea, cetaceans, Cetartiodactyla, Delphinidae, dolphins, East Java, Globicephala macrorhynchus, Indonesia, Java, mammals, marine, marine mammals, Odontoceti, pilot whale, Reuters, short-finned pilot whale, stranding, toothed whales, whales and dolphins, wildlife rescue
A man touches a dead Whale after it got stranded on the coast of Pesisir beach in Probolinggo, Indonesia, June 16, 2016.
A child hugs a fin of a dead Whale stranded on the coast of Pesisir beach in Probolinggo, Indonesia, June 16, 2016.
Indonesian environmental activists redirect a disoriented Short-finned Pilot Whale to sea during a rescue operation in Probolinggo on June 16, 2016. Eight Pilot Whales have died after a mass stranding on the coast of Indonesia’s main island of Java that sparked a major rescue operation, an official said on June 16. Thirty-two of the Short-finned Pilot Whales came ashore during high tide early on June 15 in Probolinggo, East Java province.
A man tries to rescue a Short-finned Pilot Whale which washed up on Randu Pitu village beach on June 16, 2016 in Probolinggo, East Java Province, Indonesia. According to the Probolinggo Head of Department of Fisheries and Marine Resources Deddy Isfandi, of the 32 Short-finned Pilot Whales which had become stranded, 8 died and 24 were successfully pushed out to sea.
Animal rescuers try to rescue a Short-finned Pilot Whale which washed up on Randu Pitu village beach on June 16, 2016 in Probolinggo, East Java Province, Indonesia. According to the Probolinggo Head of Department of Fisheries and Marine Resources Deddy Isfandi, of the 32 Short-finned Pilot Whales which had become stranded, 8 died and 24 were successfully pushed out to sea.
Photos: Antara Foto/Zabur Karuru/via REUTERS, Juni Kriswanto/AFP/Getty Images, Shalasah Talista/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
Indonesia: Most of beached Whales free themselves in Indonesia
By Angie Teo, Kanupriya Kapoor & Nick Macfie, 16th June 2016;
Most of the 29 Short-finned Pilot Whales (Globicephala macrorhynchus) trapped in an Indonesian mangrove swamp on Thursday managed to free themselves or were gently helped out to sea as the tide rose, fisheries officials said.
Villagers on the east of Java island helped fisheries staff free the Pilot Whales that became trapped at low tide.
“Today, of the 29 beached Whales, seven died, four were helped back out to sea and 18 were able to swim back themselves,” the World Wildlife Fund said in a statement.
Officials said they did not know why the Whales ventured into the mangrove swamp. Residents said Whales were rarely seen in the area.
Whale beachings, while unusual, have been seen in other parts of Indonesia.
This year, a four-tonne, 16-metre (52 foot) Sperm Whale (Physeter macrocephalus) was found dead on a beach on the resort island of Bali.
AP, Artiodactyla, Associated Press, Cetacea, cetaceans, Cetartiodactyla, Delphinidae, dolphins, East Java, Globicephala macrorhynchus, Indonesia, Java, mammals, marine, marine mammals, Odontoceti, pilot whale, short-finned pilot whale, stranding, toothed whales, whales and dolphins, wildlife rescue
Rescuers pull dead Whales ashore in Probolinggo, East Java, Indonesia, Thursday, June 16, 2016 during a mass rescue operation of stranded Whales. People managed to pull most of more than 30 stranded Whales into the deep sea, an official said.
A boy clings on the fin of a dead Whale in Probolinggo, East Java, Indonesia, Thursday, June 16, 2016 during a mass rescue operation of stranded Whales.
Photo: AP Photo/Trisnadi
Indonesia: Dozens of Whales stranded in Indonesia’s Java island, 10 die
More than 30 Whales were stranded on the coast on Indonesia’s main island of Java and 10 of them have died, an official said Thursday.
A mass rescue operation managed to pull most of the stranded Whales into the deep sea, said Wahid Noor Azis, head of the local Fishery and Maritime management.
Wahid said the Whales began stranding themselves during high tide Wednesday on the coast of Pesisir village in Probolinggo district in the province of East Java.
The Whales, numbering about 32 to 35, are likely Short-finned Pilot Whales (Globicephala macrorhynchus), which live in tropical and subtropical waters, Wahid said.
Dozens of locals using two boats were trying to drive the last two stranded Whales still alive into the deep sea.
The provincial Conservation and Natural Resources Agency will be conducting autopsies on the 10 dead Whales to find out why they became stranded, Wahid said. The locals would bury the carcasses of the dead Whales after the autopsies.
Pilot Whales are among the largest of the oceanic Dolphins, exceeded in size only by the Killer Whale (Orcinus orca). They are also among the most common cetaceans stranded.
Indonesian soldiers, policemen and residents work to remove a dead Whale stranded on the coast of Pesisir beach in Probolinggo, Indonesia, June 16, 2016.
Residents take pictures of a dead Whale stranded on the coast of Pesisir beach in Probolinggo, Indonesia, June 16, 2016.
Children stand on a dead Whale stranded on the coast of Pesisir beach in Probolinggo, Indonesia, June 16, 2016.
An Indonesian soldier and a resident inspect dead Whales stranded on the coast of Pesisir beach in Probolinggo, Indonesia, June 16, 2016.
Photos: Antara Foto/Zabur Karuru/via REUTERS
Indonesia: Rescuers struggle to save beached Whales in Indonesia
By Angie Teo, Kanupriya Kapoor & Robert Birsel, 16th June 2016;
Indonesian rescuers worked on Thursday to save a pod of beached Short-finned Pilot Whales (Globicephala macrorhynchus) that got trapped in a mangrove swamp at low tide, fisheries officials said.
Villagers in the area in the east of Java island were helping fisheries staff trying to lead the 30 or so whales, most of which were believed to be young Pilot Whales, back to sea.
Several of the Whales had died after being hurt in the shallows and many of the others were weak, officials said.
“The residents are trying to push the active Whales back toward deeper water … but some are still stuck,” Deddy Isfandi, a fisheries official in the coastal town of Probolinggo, told media.
Another fisheries official, Wahid Noor Azis, told Reuters seven of the Whales were calves while the biggest of the adults was up to four metres (13 feet) long.
The officials said they did not know why the animals ventured into the mangrove swamp. Residents said Whales were rarely seen in the area.
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Cold beer battle heats up in Indiana
by Patrick M. Sheridan @CNNMoney July 17, 2014: 11:23 AM ET
Jay Ricker wants to be able to sell cold beer in his convenience stores, but Indiana law says it has to be warm. He's taking it to court.
There's a battle brewing over cold beer in Indiana.
The law allows only liquor stores to sell cold beer "to go" in the Hoosier state.
But grocers and other stores, such as Kroger (KR), Wal-Mart (WMT), Costco (COST), CVS (CVS) and Walgreen (WAG), have to sell their beer warm.
Now a group of Indiana stores is suing the state, and have also filed an appeal in federal court, hoping to change the law, which they say "lacks common sense."
On the books since the early 1960's, the Indiana rule says that the temperature of beer sold in stores has to be warm, unless sold in liquor stores. Regular store owners say it hurts them.
"Basically liquor stores have a monopoly," said Jay Ricker, owner of the Ricker's convenience store chain, and a plaintiff in the suit. "People want to grab a six pack and go home, and they expect products that are immediately consumable. That puts us at a disadvantage."
Related: Craft beer craze finally hits the South
A change in the law would also be good for consumers, store owners say, because competition would bring prices down.
The average surcharge for cold beer is $1 at about 300 liquor stores surveyed by Scot Imus, who heads the Indiana Petroleum Marketers & Convenience Store Association, and represents more than 250 convenience store operators across the state, 90% of whom also sell gasoline.
"The first thing that happens when you buy a case of beer at a liquor store is that the clerk touches it first to see if it's cold. If it's cold, they'll charge you more for it," Imus said.
Related: Is craft beer really a good business bet?
However, liquor store owners claim that the fight isn't about cold or warm beer, or about bringing the price of beer down. It's about national supermarket chains not wanting to be tied down by local alcohol rules.
Liquor stores in Indiana require customers, and clerks, to be at least 21 years of age. Clerks also need to have their own permits, and be certified to sell beer -- rules that other retailers don't have to follow.
It's safer, said Patrick Tamm of the Indiana Association of Beverage Retailers, a group that represents 1000 liquor stores.
The reason why this fight is headed to court is also because cold beer is a business driver. Store owner Ricker said that when people pick up cold, rather than warm, beer they typically buy add-on items like chips, jerky, and other munchables.
He points out that the law also doesn't apply to wine. Ricker is allowed to sell ice-cold wine, which typically has higher alcohol levels than beer.
"Indiana needs to get out of the dark ages. Consumers should be able to get products when they need them," Ricker said.
CNNMoney (New York) First published July 17, 2014: 11:23 AM ET
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Alfa RomeoChryslerDodgeFCAFiatJeepMaseratiRam
FCA Launches U.S. Dealer Market Investment Program:
FCA With Chrysler Capital & Ally Financial – Provides Startup Funding...
Robert S. Miller August 20, 2018
FCA US LLC introduced a new program last month aimed at identifying, developing and placing dealer candidates as it works to strengthen and enhance its U.S. dealership network.
The Dealer Market Investment Program will cultivate and provide financial support to proven, high-potential individuals who want to operate a Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram or Alfa Romeo-Maserati dealership but have limited funds. The program seeks to match potential dealers with specific markets where they can succeed.
“This program places the support of FCA behind high-potential dealer candidates and tells them we have their backs as they enter the retail vehicle sales business,” said Reid Bigland, Head of U.S. sales.
Candidates apply through a process that requires demonstrated leadership skills, financial acumen and customer satisfaction, as well as a proven track record of exceptional sales performance. Candidates must also participate in FCA’s dealer assessment and development program and invest substantial amounts of their own start-up capital.
FCA – through its relationships with Chrysler Capital and Ally Financial – will provide 85 percent of the funds needed to cover a dealership’s working capital through low-interest loans while the potential dealer covers the remaining 15 percent.
For the real estate investment, Chrysler Capital and Ally Financial will provide 80 percent of the funding, FCA will provide 15 percent and the potential dealer will cover the remaining 5 percent.
“High-potential candidates, whose mere constraint may be a lack of capital, are given support for their startup costs while using their funding to jump-start operations at the dealership,” said Al Gardner, Head of Network Development. “We expect a variety of individuals to use this approach to quicken their impact in the market where they are establishing their dealership.”
Kelly Sales and Service in Springfield, VT. (Kelly Sales and Service).
FCA recently piloted the program at Northland Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge-Ram in Metro Detroit.
“This is an area of the market that has tremendous growth potential,” said Bashar Cholagh, Senior Manager of Market Representation, Dealer Network Diversity and Technologies. “We worked closely with Eddie Hall III and his partner Ken Thomas to provide them this opportunity through the program. In less than one month, they had the keys to the dealership doors and are now selling our vehicles.”
Hall said the Dealer Market Investment Program gave him and Thomas the wherewithal to start making improvements immediately.
“We have already picked out new furniture and have a painter set to come out within the next 30 days,” Hall said. “We also now have some reserve capital so we can do a full-scale remodel.”
With the deal complete, Northland is now the only African-American owned Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge-Ram dealership in metro Detroit.
“My dad, Eddie Jr., was born and raised in Detroit, I was raised in metro Detroit and Ken was born and raised in Detroit so owning this store, at this time when Detroit is making a comeback, is very important to us,” Hall said. “This is really a full-circle moment for us.”
Thomas, who first began his automotive industry career working as a technician at Northland more than 33 years ago, said he hopes others will also take advantage of this opportunity.
“This program is exactly what I had been looking for,” Thomas said. “I believe that this program will set the standard for what a dealer development program should look like in the future.”
Source: FCA US Media
Dealer FCA Investment Launches Market Program U.S.
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Ornithologymkosuperadmin2019-03-12T16:34:38+00:00
The MKO Ornithology Team is the largest, full-time, professional ornithology team on the island of Ireland. We have a staff capability above and beyond any other equivalent organisation, allowing us to undertake and deliver large-scale and complex bird survey projects that require large numbers of personnel or survey effort. Lead by senior ornithologists with international experience, we have staff deployed around the country, keeping them close to the sites they regularly work on. Our Ornithology Team work on large-scale industrial and infrastructure projects, but also regularly undertake scientific and research bird surveying projects, whenever the opportunity arises.
Breeding Bird Surveys
Our breeding season surveys use a number of methods to survey bird distribution and abundance, depending on the species or species group of interest. We tailor the survey requirements for the site and type of project, with the most common survey methods employed being O’Brien & Smith (1992) surveys for lowland waders, Adapted Brown & Shepherd (1993) surveys for upland waders, Common Birds Census (Marchant,1983) for all commonly recorded species, Breeding raptor surveys (Hardey et al., 2009), Red Grouse surveys (NPWS, 2010) and Breeding Woodcock surveys (Gilbert et al, 1998). Our pre-survey site reconnaissance is invaluable for refining survey scope and requirements, to maximise survey coverage in the most effective way possible.
Winter Bird Surveys
We tailor our winter season surveys to the species likely to be observed around or in flight through a location during the October-March time period. The most appropriate methods are selected to survey bird distribution and abundance, informed by the project type and best practice requirements. Typical winter bird surveys include
Winter Walkover Surveys across and 500-metres outwith a site ensure that any assemblages of waders, wildfowl, gulls and other species are identified that may not be visible from vantage point surveys due to topography or other visual barriers.
Hen Harrier Winter Roost Surveys following the methodology described in Gilbert et al (1998) and SNH guidance for bird surveys for onshore wind farms (SNH, 2014)
Vantage Point Surveys from specified fixed vantage point (VP) locations
Vantage Point Surveys
We use vantage point surveys to record flight activity from specified fixed locations or Vantage Points (VPs) overlooking any particular site. This survey method is often undertaken at proposed wind farm sites to provide data for Collision Risk Models (CRM), which estimate the likely number of bird fatalities resulting from collisions with turbines. We follow the method described by Scottish Natural Heritage in its guidance document Recommended bird survey methods to inform impact assessment of onshore wind farms and are very familiar with the complex requirements of this method and its application in the field. All field survey data and associated digitised flightlines are reviewed by our experienced ornithology team staff before being compiled into a comprehensive dataset reports.
Waterfowl & Migratory Surveys
We strictly adhere to SNH guidelines when conducting foraging distribution surveys for migratory/wintering waterfowl, particularly swan and geese species. We conduct surveys fortnightly at a minimum, from August until May to ensure that both spring and autumn migration periods are captured. We conduct feeding distribution surveys using a combination of driven transects and walkovers, depending on the survey landscape. On proposed wind farm sites, we conduct surveys to a distance of 500m from the site boundary, with surveys targeting the distribution of roosts extending to a 1km radius from sites. We often survey over wider areas where the qualifying interest of a local SPA or other significant flocks are concerned.
Bird Survey Design & Scoping
We have the technical expertise, industry experience and scientific knowledge to provide expert, reliable advice on the most appropriate design and scope for bird surveys. Our clients benefit from our experience in successfully designing and delivering surveys, particular in the wind energy sector, that successfully satisfy the full rigors of the planning process, in addition to scientific surveys undertaken for conservation planning purposes for public sector clients such as the NPWS, and Local/Regional Authorities. We ensure our advice to clients on survey design reflects the latest and most progressive approaches based on available ornithological research, and meets all relevant industry guidance, while ensuring that the surveys are targeted to the relevant issues likely to arise.
Large-scale Bird Surveys
We have a strong track record in undertaking complex and large-scale bird survey programmes in a variety of habitats, using multiple surveyors over single or multi-season durations. We have the largest private-sector ornithology survey team in Ireland, capable of being deployed on large-scale surveys along with dedicated support staff based at the Galway office, who manage, resource and coordinate the company’s bird survey programme and the management of the GIS and survey data. Our work on large-scale surveys has included nature conservation planning, such as waterbird surveys of the entire surface area and shoreline of Lough Derg and a similar multi-year survey of waterbirds on the Shannon and Fergus Estuaries. Our large-scale survey efforts for private sector projects have been concentrated in the energy and infrastructure sector.
Collision Risk Modelling
We use a Collision Risk Modelling (CRM) in wind farm projects to predict bird mortality that may occur through the collision with wind turbines. We use the observed flight data collected during Vantage Point (VP) surveys from a subject site, and predict bird collisions and fatalities at the proposed wind farm development. We have been successfully using and refining the modelling approach for over a decade, and it forms a key component of any bird impact assessment we undertake for a wind farm. Our modelling method follows Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) guidance, referred to as the Band Model (Band et al. (2007) and our staff have undergone extensive training in this method from expert practitioners in Scotland.
Foraging Habitat Enhancement Plans
We prepare Foraging Habitat Enhancement Plans for certain wind farm projects, where potential for the displacement of certain bird species from areas of suitable foraging habitat has been identified during the assessment process. We have refined the process of designing and preparing enhancement plans for replacement or additional bird foraging habitat, on over a half dozen wind farm projects, typically for Hen Harrier. We quantify the area of habitat that birds may be potentially displaced from, and identify a suitable area or replacement or additional habitat that can be made available for Hen Harrier through effective management, to ensure there is no net reduction in the area of suitable foraging habitat available to birds. Our plans take account for forestry rotation, habitat suitability and availability and are developed to account for every year of a proposed long-term wind farm’s operational phase.
Specialist Surveys
Our Ornithology Team regularly undertake more specialist surveys, either due to the confirmed current or historic presence of a particular species of conservation interest at a site or habitat suitability. We have experience in designing and undertaking surveys for a wide variety of avian species and can provide more detailed, specialist surveys for species such as:
Red-throated Diver
Merlin,
Greenland White-fronted Goose
Breeding Curlew
Owls including Barn Owls and Long-eared Owls
Chough
Coastal Bird Surveys
We use viewshed analysis to quantify the precise number of vantage points required to ensure full survey coverage of a site and to assist in the selection of optimal locations for VPs, thus ensuring the most efficient approach to achieving the level of coverage required by industry best practice guidance. We analyse viewsheds using ZTV (Zone of Theoretical Visibility) and GIS software, taking account of on-site forestry and other landcover features that might impede visibility. We aim to maximise visibility of the ‘collision risk volume’ where resulting bird flight data is to be used to estimate the risk of collision by birds with wind turbines. The resulting mapped outputs provide clear evidence of the suitability of the VP locations and objective confirmation of site coverage from these locations to support the rationale underpinning the survey approach.
We undertake surveys of any coastal areas from wintering birds of estuarine habitats to populations of breeding seabirds and waders. During the winter and migratory seasons, we use methodologies that ensure data can be captured on bird usage and distributions across large areas. In relation to renewable energy developments, populations and movements of waterbirds such as swans, geese, ducks and waders can be studied to identify constraints relating to birds and ensure that any development proposal is designed to avoid significant impacts on these species.
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By Luissa Smith
Race track challenges at 470 Worlds
470 sailing
2016 470 World Championship
San Isidro, Argentina
Another light start to the day, with 2 knots the only breeze sniffing around the race track at the scheduled start time of 1400 hours. Postponements ashore saw teams relaxing around the venue and generally chilling in this very beautiful location at Club Nautico San Isidro.
Patience from the Race Committee and teams, as everyone waited for an opening in the weather, which eventually delivered around 1745 hours. Racing got underway in the late afternoon in an 8-9 knot easterly breeze, increasing to 10-11 knots, with pumping allowed.
Again the weather and race track made sure there was no margin for errors, with the tables turned in the 470 Men as the winners of both races yesterday, Paul Snow-Hansen/Daniel Wilcox (NZL), took a scoring penalty for being over the starting line. Defending World Champions and world #1 pair, Mat Belcher/Will Ryan (AUS), found themselves in the same position yesterday, but no mishap today as they picked up their game to claim the lead in the day's only race.
Control at the front of the 470 Women race changed mark by mark, until the Dutch pair of Afrodite Kyranakou/Anneloes van Veen found a speed advantage, and made a clear call to claim and hold the lead from the downwind gate to the finish. They now lead a three-way tiebreak.
470 MEN
Despite a UFD penalty score, Paul Snow-Hansen/Daniel Wilcox hold firm and will be wearing the yellow leader's bibs on race day 3, as they discard their race 3 result.
"We ended up starting at the committee end of the line, and unfortunately were over," said Wilcox. "We felt like we sailed a good race, which was a positive, so hopefully we can just take forward the positives into tomorrow. Round the race course we were sailing really well, so are happy with what we did on the water."
After a long day, Mat Belcher/Will Ryan have redeemed yesterday's performance by making it a clean win today, and leaping up the leaderboard from 33rd to 11th.
"We managed to get off the line well and sail our own race," sail Belcher. "We were really happy with our performance and are now slowly trying to crawl our way back up to the top. It is really tight racing so it will be a long week for all,"
An upgrade from fifth going into the day to second at the end for Anton Dahlberg/Fredrik Bergstrom (SWE) after a second place result. Dahlberg is about to compete at his third Olympics, although it will be a first time appearance for crew Bergstrom, the 2011 470 Junior World Champion.
"It was a long day with a lot of waiting, so you knew in the end there was going to be a race, so you had to be on it, and ready to go. We feel confident with our speed and feel confident with our sailing, and we enjoy it here," said Dahlberg. "It's challenging, but it's a bit like sailing on a big lake with current."
Crossing race 3 in third pushes Germany's Ferdinand Gerz/Oliver Szymanski up to 12th overall.
Early days, but South Africa's Asenathi Jim/Roger Hudson mark their best ever opener to a 470 Championship, having steamed up to the top three from a solid 3,16, 6 scoreline. However, with just three races down, the recently crowned 470 African Champions are understandably cautious.
"It feels nice to be up there with the top guys and playing their game," smiled Jim. "The three races have been fantastic and we just need to keep the momentum going and keep building on what we have. We seem to have great speed and are making good calls," he added referring to their tactics around the track.
"Its early days, so we don't want to get ahead of ourselves," chipped in Hudson. "This is the first time in six years we have ever had a brand new boat and we spent ten days preparing it before the Worlds. We definitely have an extra shade of speed that we haven't had before, which is extremely helpful at a venue like this."
Climbs for some, drops for others, including Croatia's world #2 team of Sime Fantela/Igor Marenic, who fall four places after a 20th place today. Fantela/Marenic were the last to win a 470 Worlds before Mat Belcher started his dominance in 2010, which has seen the Australian win every 470 Worlds since. The Croatians almost overhauled the Aussies at the 2015 470 Worlds, but couldn't catch them in the medal race. Here though, the challenges of the race course are likely to leave the doors to the podium wide open to many teams right to the end.
"We had quite a good start, but we couldn't get to the right side where we wanted, so we ended up on the left. We managed to catch quite a few boats, and it was quite a horse race on the reach, so it was hard but we gained a few points and are happy with that," Marenic said about their day.
"It would be good to have a change at the top," reflected Marenic in respect of Belcher/Ryan's dominance, "but it is not just up to us. This regatta will be high scoring and we have only had three races. It is going to be really, really open, and despite their [the Australians'] bad day yesterday, they have every chance to do well."
470 Men - Top 10 after 3 races
1. Paul Snow-Hansen/Daniel Willcox (NZL 2) - 2 pts
2. Anton Dahlberg/Fredrik Bergström (SWE 349) - 6 pts
3. Asenathi Jim/Roger Hudson (RSA 1) - 9 pts
4. Onán Barreiros Rodríguez/Juan Curbelo Cabrera (ESP 9) - 9 pts
5. Gabrio Zandona/Andrea Trani (ITA 2) - 10 pts
6. Sime Fantela/Igor Marenic (CRO 83) - 11 pts
7. Sofian Bouvet/Jérémie Mion (FRA 27) - 12 pts
8. Panagiotis Mantis/Pavlos Kagialis (GRE 1) - 15 pts
9. Geison Mendes/Gustavo Canal Thiesen (BRA 1) - 17 pts
10. Pierre Leboucher/Vincent Garos (FRA 44) - 21 pts
CLICK HERE for full results
470 WOMEN
Three teams on an equal 5 point scorecard sit at the top of the 470 Women leaderboard, with Afrodite Kyranakou/Anneloes van Veen aheda of Sydney Bolger/Carly Shevitz (USA) and Annie Haegar/Briana Provancha (USA).
When the time came, the Dutch pair of Kyranakou/van Veen put their foot on the pedal with some impressive downwind speed, to take the lead at the first downwind gate to the finish.
"It was a difficult day for everyone and a lot of current," commented Kyranakou on the conditions. "It was not something extreme today, just for the first time we took a good start and then we just did what the coach taught us to do. You know it was just normal, it was not something spectacular. It was a big step for us to have a good start, as yesterday we were battling a lot to keep up in the race. There's a long way to go and we will just keep going."
"It was challenging," commented Shevitz on their 4th place result. "We were happy, we had pretty good speed around the course and the Oscar flag saved us as we were able to be extra kinetic when we weren't happy with our position and really getting up and away from a lot of boats. Getting to the corner was key for us at the top of the course."
Defending World Champions Lara Vadlau/Jola Ogar have clambered up to 6th overall, from their second place.
"It was a really nice to sail this race today," commented the ever determined Vadlau. "It was kind of normal wind, really light, but not really, really light. The crews could stay a little on the trapeze and for us it is much better. When it is really, really light we have some problems, but now we are happy.
"It is tough here and hot and we have to stay focused all the time," she continued referring to the light wind conditions that tests the minds of all teams. "I didn't think we would race today, so we were pretty happy when the wind came through. The Race Committee did a really good job and congratulations to them - it was good."
Defending her World title is not going to be easy, as Vadlau acknowledged, "It is really, really easy to muck it up here. You know me, I always want to win. There are lots of good teams and it is really hard to stay consistent. For us it is normally our strength to stay consistent, but even for us it is hard. We will see."
Catapulting up the leaderboard go Spain's Sofia Toro/Nora Brugman, who finished 3rd and climb from 30th to 11th.
470 Women - Top 10 after 3 races
1. Afrodite Zegers-Kyranakou/Anneloes Van Veen (NED 216) - 5 pts
2. Sydney Bolger/Carly Shevitz (USA 88) - 5 pts
3. Anne Haeger/Briana Provancha (USA 1712) - 5 pts
4. Camille Lecointre/Helene Defrance (FRA 9) - 6 pts
5. Xiaoli Wang/Lizhu Huang (CHN 1221) - 6 pts
6. Lara Vadlau/Jolanta Ogar (AUT 431) - 9 pts
7. Bàrbara Cornudella Ravetllat/Sara López Ravetllat (ESP 14) - 11 pts
8. Linda Fahrni/Maja Siegenthaler (SUI 5) - 12 pts
9. Fernanda Oliveira/Ana Luiza Barbachan (BRA 177) - 14 pts
10. Annika Bochmann/Marlene Steinherr (GER 72) - 17 pts
Three races are scheduled for both fleets tomorrow, with the first race of the day scheduled at 1200 hours for the 470 Men, followed by the 470 Women.
470 Worlds Website - 2016worlds.470.org/en/default/races/race
470 World Championships
The 470 Olympic Sailing World Championships are coming. Sailors from around the world will be fighting it out for the 470 World Championship title in San Isidro, Argentina from 20-27 February. Here's a little taster fresh from the World Sailing editing suite.
Posted by World Sailing on Thursday, February 18, 2016
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Chelsea defender Andreas Christen ready to hand in transfer request ahead of January window
Metro Sport ReporterFriday 19 Oct 2018 11:49 am
Andreas Christensen has not featured in the Premier League this season (Picture: Getty)
Andreas Christensen will look to leave Chelsea in January unless he is given more first team opportunities, according to his agent.
The 22-year-old’s emergence represented one of the more uplifting aspects of Antonio Conte’s final season in charge, establishing himself as a regular at the heart of the Italian’s three-man central defence.
Chelsea’s decision to replace Conte with Maurizio Sarri prompted a change in formation which has directly impacted on Christensen’s first team opportunities, with David Luiz and Antonio Rudiger firmly locked in as the former Napoli coach’s first choice centre halves.
David Luiz has re-established himself as a Chelsea regular (Picture: Getty)
Gary Cahill is also likely to leave Chelsea in January (Picture: Getty)
In an interview with Danish television, Christensen’s father and agent, Sten, claims he will request a permanent transfer unless the situation changes.
Sten said: ‘If his situation doesn’t change around Christmas, we’ll obviously schedule a chat with Chelsea and say, ‘okay, what can we do for Andreas? Can we move him?’’
‘For me it’s not a loan again. Either it’s Chelsea or else he needs to leave. I don’t think a loan is the optimal situation for Andreas. It’s sort of either or.
‘I think, unfortunately, Chelsea have too many players who just go out on loan if [the club] isn’t going to use them and I don’t think Andreas should get caught in that.
‘I’m of the conviction that we’ll attempt to move Andreas in the winter time [if he’s not playing]. Around Christmas, something else needs to happen.’
More: Chelsea FC
Mason Mount signs new Chelsea deal until 2024
Andreas ChristensenChelsea FCChelsea transfer news
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Patriot / Mayor
Book Mickey
Media Coverage for 50 Capitols in 50 Days Trip...and More
Hinsdale Magazine February 2019
"As seen in Hinsdale Magazine February 2019"
"Moving On - Former Burr Ridge Mayor Mickey Straub explains his decision to resign last November."
"As seen in NEWSMAX March 2019"
"Mickey Straub prepares to set off on his historic trip with his trusts 1997 Lincoln Town Car,
which he bought to symbolize America's 16th president."
Washington Chamber of Commerce
24th Annual Mayor's Prayer Breakfast
This year’s featured speaker will be Mayor Mickey Straub, mayor of Burr Ridge, Illinois. Mickey has been called a renaissance man. “Big goals…short deadlines” was his rallying cry when he launched the campaign to build an elementary school playground in just 49 days in 2002. Little did he know that he would use the same strategies to build his company, overcome his struggle to tour 50 Capitols in 50 Days, and beat the odds to be elected mayor of a Chicago suburb.
"As seen in Hinsdale Magazine's February 2014 issue."
Last fall, Mickey Straub was elected mayor of Burr Ridge. But what he did the previous fall was an even more impressive accomplishment, travel to 50 States in 50 days.
The youngest of six, Mickey Staub grew up in Pennsylvania, the state which President Lincoln recited the Gettysburg Address.
Hinsdale Magazine's March 2015
"As seen in Hinsdale Magazine's March 2015 issue"
Over the past decade, the village of Burr Ridge has undertaken two major projects with the hope of putting the town on the map. In the final part of our Burr Ridge series, we take an in-depth look at both projects.
The challenges the village has encountered along the way and the role they will play in shaping the future of Burr Ridge.
Mickey Straub is making headlines for embracing a different challenge, as he vies for the Republican nomination against Illinois House Minority Leader Jim Durkin, R-Western Springs, in the 82nd District of the Illinois House oh Representatives.
"We have to many people in Springfield that feel like they're entitled, and they've figured out a way to make politics a money machine for them."
Chicago Tribune 2017
"As seen in Chicago Tribune 2018"
Burr Ridge mayor lauded for time and effort to recognize Lincoln
"Burr Ridge Mayor Mickey's Straub's 50 Capitols trip is now a piece of American history. U.S. Rep. Peter Roskam, a Wheaton Republican, recently entered information about Straub's 2012 patriotic pilgrimage to honor President Abraham Lincoln into the Congressional Record."
"Mickey Straub prepares to set off on his historic trip with his trusts 1997 Lincoln Town Car, which he bought to symbolize America's 16th president."
Last fall, Mickey Straub was elected maor of Burr Ridge. But what he did the previous fall was an even more impressive accomplishment, travel to 50 States in 50 days.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize a dedicated public servant from the sixth Congressional District of Illinois, Mayor Michal "Mickey" Straub of Burr Ridge. Almost five years ago, Mayor Straub became the only person in history to take a patriotic pilgrimage in honor of Lincoln and our veterans when he visited 50 capitols in 50 days.
In 2012. between September 4 and October 17th, mayor Straub drove nearly 15,000 miles to 48 states capitols and flew to two others-Hawaii and Alaska. His momentous journey began in Pennsylvania, and after a small ceremony in Gettysburg outside the home where Lincoln finished writing the Address, he traveled to the state capitol in Harrisburg. 443 days later, he concluded his journey in Springfield, Illinois in front of the Lincoln Tomb.
Wed 10/31/12 - Suburban Life
Jerry Moore: Lincoln’s words continue to strike the right chord
Thu 10/25/12 Chicago Tribune
Burr Ridge man visits all the country’s state capitols
Sun 10/21/12 - The Southern Illinoisan
While Barack Obama and Mitt Romney were crisscrossing the few select states…
Thur 10/18/12 - Daily Herald
Lincoln fan's quest brings Abe's message to 50 states
Tue 10/16/12 Madison Wisconsin
Mickey Straub 6
In Honor of Lincoln: Gettysburg Address at 50 Capitols
What started out as a patriotic pilgrimage out of “love for country” turned out to be an inspirational, life-changing trip that has no end. I ended up also reciting the GETTYSBURG ADDRESS at each capitol because of the message of unity and patriotism that is contained within. I love this country and look forward to sharing whatever details you would like. If you have any questions or areas of focus you would recommend, please let me know.
The Gettysburg Address as it was recited across all 50 Capitol in 50 Days - in Honor of LINCOLN and our Veterans (Made viewable by the "Public" in 2017). To learn more about this historic trip in 2012, visit www.50Capitolsin50Days.com. Mickey's hope is that more people will read the Gettysburg Address and that Lincoln's core values (God, Unity, Liberty and Patriotism), as expressed in it, will unite us again.
WGN Sunday Morning
Photos: 50 capitols in 50 days
Wed 10/10/12 - Juneau Empire
50 states in 50 days
Mon 10/8/12 - Juneau Empire
'50 Capitols in 50 Days' coming to Juneau
Mon 10/1/12 - Illinois Review
Illinoisan past halfway mark in touring 50 Capitols in 50 Days
Mickey Straub
The #1 speaker on BIG GOALS with Short Deadlines.
15W256 N. Frontage Road
Burr Ridge, Illinois 60527
Email: Helen@SAMusa.com
© 2018 Mickey Straub. All Rights Reserved. Site by True Productions
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Violette – Movie Review
By No More Workhorse on October 1, 2014 • ( Leave a comment )
Violette – Movie Review by Frank L.
Directed by Martin Provost
Writers: Martin Provost (screenplay), Marc Abdelnour (screenplay),
Stars: Emmanuelle Devos, Sandrine Kiberlain, Olivier Gourmet
Violette Leduc was born illegitimate in 1907 in North Western France. By the time of her death from cancer in 1962 she was an acclaimed novelist. This film tracks her story from the middle of the second world war, when she is living in rural France eking out an existence with the novelist Maurice Sachs, who had no interest in the female sex. It was a fraught relationship. Violette is a needy person who demands a great deal of the people with whom she comes into contact. Simone de Beauvoir recognised her talent and encouraged her to keep writing. Also de Beauvoir, who was beginning to become a financial success, supported surreptitiously Violette with a monthly cheque so as to keep the unstable Violette on some sort of an even keel.
The film is divided, like a novel, into chapters each with a title, the first is “Maurice Sachs”. This gives a literary structure to the film which works well as does the reading of various passages from the novels which encapsulate and highlight the various emotional turmoils which Violette is enduring. There are many of these as she lives her self obsessed life. However she does invoke a certain respect and her vulnerability is palpable. Violette is played by Emmanuelle Devos and it is a compelling performance. She is ably assisted by Sandrine Kiberlain’s Simone de Beauvoir who together have many revelatory conversations as de Beauvoir forces Violette to recognise that the only way out of her various problems is through her writing. The world in which they live is peppered with the Parisian intelligentsia of Sartre, Camus, Genet and the like but for all these high powered figures Provost notes how simple and spartan were the domestic arrangements of life in Paris for these emerging titans of French Culture. The film terminates when Violette is beginning to receive the critical and consequent financial acclaim of the French public which she craved.
Violette’s life was a life bravely led and this film may encourage a new generation to read her works and the works of Simone de Beauvoir also. They were important influences in the latter half of the last century. An impressive piece of work about a fairly emotionally angular woman.
Categories: Header, Movie Review, Movies
Tagged as: de Beauvoir, Emmanuelle Devos, Martin Provost, Olivier Gourmet Violette Leduc, Sandrine Kiberlain, Simone de Beauvoir
Vardo – Dublin Theatre Festival – Review
Competition – Max Jury – Workman’s Club – 5-10-14
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Neo-Nazi's attorney calls ruling dangerous for free speech
MATT VOLZ and MICHAEL KUNZELMAN
Associated Press November 15, 2018
HELENA, Mont. (AP) — A federal judge's decision to allow a lawsuit to proceed against the publisher of a neo-Nazi website is "dangerous for free speech," the publisher's attorney said Thursday.
Attorney Marc Randazza said he believes U.S. District Judge Dana Christensen made a legally flawed decision Wednesday in ruling the First Amendment does not shield Daily Stormer publisher Andrew Anglin from being sued for his followers' anti-Semitic harassment of a Jewish woman and her family in Montana.
Randazza said he can "see the allure of not wanting to rule in favor of the Nazi," but expressed concern that the decision could be used to curtail free speech in many other forums.
"The rule needs to be the same no matter what your view is," he said.
Christensen's decision allows Tanya Gersh to proceed with her claims that Anglin invaded her privacy, inflicted emotional distress on her and her family and violated Montana's anti-intimidation law by calling on his followers to unleash a "troll storm" on her, her husband and her 12-year-old son.
The judge wrote in his decision that Anglin's "morally and factually indefensible worldview" does not disqualify him from free-speech protections — but his anti-Semitism also doesn't give him special rights, either.
"It hardly makes sense to conclude — as Anglin contends — that Anglin' s posts and sponsored troll storm are entitled to additional protection because of their anti-Semitic content," Christensen wrote.
David Dinielli, the deputy legal director for the Southern Poverty Law Center, which is representing Gersh, said Christensen's decision upholds a recommendation by a magistrate judge.
"Today's ruling underscores what both we and our client have said from the beginning of this case —that online campaigns of hate, threats, and intimidation have no place in a civil society, and enjoy no protection under our Constitution," Dinielli said in a statement Wednesday.
Gersh says hundreds of people harassed and threatened her family online and by phone and mail after Anglin accused her of trying to force the mother of white nationalist Richard Spencer out of the Montana town of Whitefish in 2016.
Anglin argued the First Amendment protects his speech and that he can't be held liable for his followers' actions.
Gersh's attorneys responded that the First Amendment was never meant to protect a campaign that aimed to destroy people's lives.
Christensen said Anglin's speech against Gersh appeared to be a matter of private concern, not public concern, and that opens him to more regulation.
Anglin's alleged attacks against Gersh didn't inform the public about a matter of public concern, the judge said in his ruling. Rather, based on the allegations, Anglin appears to have roused his readers' political sympathies by drawing on their hatred and fear of Jews to advance his personal campaign against Gersh, who is not a public figure, Christensen wrote.
"Anglin did not use his speech about Gersh to raise awareness for issues consonant with the alt-right agenda," the judge wrote in his decision. "Rather, construing the allegations in the complaint as true, Anglin exploited the prejudices widely held among his readers to specifically target one individual."
Kunzelman reported from Silver Spring, Md.
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Nissan slams output cut report as 'completely incorrect'
Reuters April 19, 2019
FILE PHOTO: A Nissan logo is pictured during the media day for the Shanghai auto show, China, April 16, 2019. REUTERS/Aly Song/File Photo
(Reuters) - Nissan Motor Co Ltd said on Friday a report by the Nikkei that it would slash production this year was "completely incorrect" and that it had lodged a complaint with the business daily, in an unusually strong denial of a media report in Japan.
The comment came after the Nikkei, revered in Japan for its business news and known for its market-moving scoops and previews, said Nissan would cut its global production by about 15 percent for the current fiscal year ending March 2020.
The move would mark a shift away from the aggressive expansion campaign promoted by ousted former Chairman Carlos Ghosn, the Nikkei said.
"The details reported in this story are completely incorrect, and Nissan has voiced its strong objection to the Nikkei," the Japanese automaker said in a statement posted on its website.
"Nissan's production plan for the current fiscal year will be disclosed on May 14, when the company announces its financial results for the previous fiscal year," said the maker of the Rogue sport-utility vehicle and Altima sedan.
The Nikkei, which also owns Britain's Financial Times newspaper, confirmed it had received the complaint from Nissan. It said it would continue to cover the issue and promptly report all the facts once they become clear.
The newspaper had earlier reported that Nissan aimed to produce about 4.6 million units in fiscal 2019, citing plans being communicated to the automaker's suppliers. The move was likely to impact earnings and could cast a pall over Nissan's alliance with French automaker Renault SA, the Nikkei said without elaborating.
That would be the steepest production cut in more than a decade by the Japanese automaker, as it battles weak sales in overseas markets including the United States where it plans to scale back sales operations, according to the Nikkei.
Earlier this year, Nissan, which has been battling falling sales, lowered its operating profit forecast for the current fiscal year to 450 billion yen ($4 billion), 22 percent lower than a year earlier. It would be Nissan's lowest profit since 2013.
Japanese companies typically respond to media reports by saying they were not the source of the information and, depending on the content of the report, that they may be considering various options and that nothing had been decided.
It is rare for a Japanese firm to say it has issued a strong rebuke to a media outlet.
Shares in Nissan, mired in a financial misconduct scandal involving Ghosn and the company itself, closed down 2.2 percent on Friday, versus a 0.5 percent rise in the broader market.
(Reporting by Rama Venkat in BENGALURU, and Maki Shiraki, Chris Gallagher and Ritsuko Ando in TOKYO; Writing by Miyoung Kim and Chris Gallagher; Editing by Shri Navaratnam, Christopher Cushing and Mark Potter)
Nissan teases a potentially sleeker second-generation Juke
Frijns admits poor streak played on his mind before NYC win
One of the world's largest airlines appears to be rebranding its Boeing 737 Max jets as customers say they don't want to fly on the plane after 2 fatal crashes
World shares mixed as China reports economic slowdown
Pregnant woman, 9-year-old son killed by floodwaters in Pennsylvania
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Sansa Finally Asked Dany the Only Question That Matters on 'Game of Thrones'
Sarah Rense
Esquire April 22, 2019
Photo credit: Courtesy
From Esquire
In the second episode of Game of Thrones Season Eight, Daenerys sat Sansa down for a one-on-one chat-a chat that should have happened immediately when Dany arrived at Winterfell-to figure out how to get on the Lady of the North's good side. And Sansa, in return, played nice, letting Dany build connections about being strong female leaders from messed up families before asking the most important question of this entire damn season: "And what happens afterwards? We defeat the dead, we destroy Cersei. What happens then... What about the North?"
Dany did not like that question at all, snatching her hand away from atop Sansa's. Because to her, it isn't a question that should be asked at all. She made the answer clear from the moment she met Jon Snow at Dragonstone. She believes she is the rightful heir to the Iron Throne. She will win it, one way or another. And fighting the White Walkers, while necessary, is just a detour on her way to killing Cersei and taking complete power over Westeros-the North included.
Sansa's not going to take that lying down. One of the most compelling Game of Thrones finale theories predicts a showdown between Sansa and Dany, with Sansa fiercely protecting the North's independence and Dany refusing to let one Kingdom of the Seven slip from her grasp. Sansa is already chipping away at Dany's authority, making her thoughts about Dany's presence in Winterfell abundantly clear, and overriding Dany in the case of granting clemency to Jaime Lannister after Brienne vouched for him. Sansa has made no moves to take more power for herself. She doesn't seem to want it-yet. But she is fiercely loyal to her family, and Jon might one day make his own half-Stark, half-Targaryen claim to the Iron Throne.
The biggest showdown of the final season of Game of Thrones might not be the living versus the dead, or the coalition of Starks and Targaryens against Cersei. It might be Dany versus the family that's hosting her right now: Sansa, Arya, Bran, and Jon, and the Northern folk whose loyalty they command. Of course, the answer to Sansa's question all depends on who makes it out alive after next week's battle at Winterfell against the White Walker army.
Tension aside, let's all stop and enjoy Sansa trashing men like her brother Jon for being...men. "Men do stupid things for women. They're easily manipulated," she tells Dany in what is most definitely foreshadowing. What a line.
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Mark Zuckerberg loses $3.3bn from his personal fortune after facebook newsfeed change
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Laurence Fishburne's Daughter To Star In Adult Film
Montana Fishburne, the 19-year-old daughter of famed stage and screen actor Laurence Fishburne, has decided to take a more naked approach toward what she hopes will be a successful acting career — starring in her own sex tape. She is slated to release said sex tape through Vivid Entertainment Aug. 18. According to the New York Daily News, Montana does not want to try the traditional method of Hollywood success, of trying to make a name for herself via the acting roles she takes on, instead opting for making a name for herself via the Kim Kardashian route to fame.
In a press release, Montana Fishburne stated: “I’ve watched how successful Kim Kardashian became and I think a lot of it was due to the release of her sex tape by Vivid. I’m hoping the same magic will work for me. I’m impatient about getting well-known and having more opportunities and this seemed like a great way to get started on it.”
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Billy Windle
Wrexham v Chester
Wrexham: Egglestone, Parker, Fisher, Jones, Capper, Tapscott, Heggie, Hewitt, Bannan, Tilston, Richards
Goalscorers: Jones, Tilston (2), Bannan (2), Richards, Hewitt
Chester: Wright, Dickens, Gill, Hughes, Coffin, Astbury, Deakin, Moremont, Travis, Sutcliffe, Whitlock
In 1952/53, Peter Jackson almost led Wrexham to the uncharted heights of the Second Division. The Robins finished a successful season in third position, just three points behind champions Oldham Athletic. One of the main reasons behind this success was our forward line of Tommy Bannan, Glyn Hughes, Ron Hewitt, Tommy Tilston and Billy Tunnicliffe, who reaped 70 goals between them.
The undoubted highlight of the season was a staggering 7-0 victory over our cross-border rivals in the penultimate game. This was Wrexham’s biggest-ever derby win and completed a League double over Chester following a 1-2 victory at Sealand Road just ten days previously. For balance, I suppose I should also note that this double helped avenge a 4-3 defeat by the Englishmen in a Welsh Cup fifth round tie that same season.
Just three days after our heaviest defeat of the season – a promotion-denying 4-0 trouncing at relegation-threatened Workington – hopes were high that we could bounce back from such disappointment against an injury–depleted Chester side.
The Cestrians were always going to find it tough without regular outside-left Billy Windle and right-back John Molyneux. These reliable and effective regulars were replaced by Phil Whitlock and Leo Dickens. The crowning misfortune for the visitors saw centre-half Eric Hall deemed unfit meaning that centre-forward Geoff Coffin had to cover as a makeshift defender.
Conversely, Wrexham were only forced to play without Glyn Hughes (flu). This allowed Bill Heggie to get an outing at outside-right as Wrexham showed their attacking intentions from the off. George Jones wasted a free-kick that sailed yards wide before Ron Hewitt shot inches off-target. We were getting closer…
On five minutes, Chester goalkeeper Dick Wright collided with the substantial frame of Scottish-born Heggie. It took extensive use of the magic sponge to get the dazed Wright back on his feet, but it wasn’t to be his day as just minutes later the bemused ‘keeper, “flitting around his goalmouth like a fly trapped into a bottle”, collided with an unnamed Wrexham forward and had to be stretchered from the field of play. Chester were reduced to ten-men and forced to put Ralph Moremont into goal. Writing in the North Wales Guardian, Ron Chaloner noted that the defence in front of the versatile wing-half “looked about as safe as a prefab would be to an atom bomb”.
As the half-hour mark approached – depending which newspaper you believe – Bannan sent over a corner for Hewitt to head home the first of three goals in a nine-minute spell. Tilston was then officially credited with a brace before the break, despite the fact that watching journalists agreed that his first goal appeared to have been helped in by Chester’s Tommy Astbury.
Five minutes into the second period, Jones made it four when he headed past Moremont after Dickens had cleared off the goal-line. Bannan, who was the spearhead of a fast-moving attack, headed home the fifth from Heggie’s cross and completed his brace nine minutes from time when he sent in a high cross-shot that floated over Moremont’s hands and under the bar.
Chester’s disastrous afternoon was complete three minutes from time when Dickens handled the ball in the penalty area and conceded a clear spot-kick that was powered home by Gordon Richards.
The Wrexham Advertiser and Star moaned that the match lost all interest as a spectacle when Chester lost Wright and called for a new rule allowing substitute goalkeepers. Somehow, if something similarly unfortunate was to happen to our visitors this afternoon, I can’t see many Wrexham fans complaining…
Chester finished the season in a lowly 20th position – five points clear of relegation.
Posted in Uncategorized and tagged Bill Heggie, Billy Tunnicliffe, Billy Windle, Cestrians, Chester, Dick Wright, Englishmen, Eric Hall, Geoff Coffin, George Jones, Glyn Hughes, Gordon Richards, John Molyneux, League Division Three (Northern Section), Leo Dickens, Memory Match, North Wales Guardian, Oldham Athletic, Peter Jackson, Phil Whitlock, Racecourse Ground, Ralph Moremont, Ron Chaloner, Ron Hewitt, Sealand Road, The Robins, Tommy Astbury, Tommy Bannan, Tommy Tilston, Welsh Cup, Workington, Wrexham Advertiser and Star, Wrexham AFC on March 20, 2016 by nld01. Leave a comment
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Top Albums of 2018 (100-51)
2018 was weird as hell, so let’s just get that out of the way. As such it makes sense that some of this year’s best albums would be, well, weird as hell. So strap in for 100 fantastic albums that we all think are worth your time this year, while they are placed in a general order of where we believe they landed in the hierarchy of music this year, we’ve decided that a different approach was warranted. You’ll notice that there are groupings of albums, we believe that the albums within each group are of comparable quality with other albums in its group. So just because one album is higher in a group than another doesn’t mean we think one is better than the other. In any case, we’re sure you can figure it out and we hope you find it helpful. Well, you’d better get a move on, there’s 100 albums for you to listen to, and we’d suggest you get to it.
This list was compiled with the help and opinion of Natural Music contributors. We are always looking for more writers and people with big ideas. If you are interested, contact us here.
Group D (albums loved by few writers, and late year discoveries)
Yo La Tengo – There’s a Riot Going on
Suggested Tracks: You Are Here, Ashes, Dream Dream Away
Listen here: Spotify
Ice Age – Beyondless
Who said that post-punk ever died? Certainly not this group of Danish boys. ‘Beyondless’ sees the group exploring new ways to write hard-hitting jams. They’ve continued the trend of ditching the short-and-to-the-point structures of past albums and have switched that out for songs more churning, heavier songs that have an emphasis on making you willingly struggle under the suspense of their tension-filled melodies. With the re-addition of horns and strings, it sees them venturing into new territories while still keeping to the punk ethos. This record serves to quite possibly be their sonically richest and deepest yet. [Andrew Tran – @trandrew20]
Melody’s Echo Chamber – Bon Voyage
Everyone’s favorite kinda sorta but not really jangle pop group is back with another thoroughly unclassifiable record. Bon Voyage wildly flits between everything from noise rock to dream pop and never settles down long enough to let itself be any of them. The end result is a delightful piece of music that is always capable of surprises no matter how long you end up spending with the record.
Listen here: Spotify / Bandcamp
Dizzy Fae – Free Form Mixtape
I’m just going to state a fact: it is a crime that this album wasn’t included on more year end list and got so little publicity this year. I only discovered it a few weeks ago on the Quietus list but immediately fell in love. Dizzy Fae is just 20 years old but Free Form displays an artist brimming with confidence, not afraid to experiment. Free Form is exactly what it sounds like it would be, a freewheeling, hypnotic exploration that seamlessly weaves in and out of genres — jazz, hip hop, funk, and even a little house. Over 11 songs, she showcases her sultry vocal range through everything from soft melodies to straight-up rap. 2018 was a good year for Dizzy touring with heavy hitting artists like Toro Y Moi and Jorja Smith but this only the start for this young artist and we are excited to see what her future holds.
Listen here: Spotify / Youtube / Soundcloud
Ariana Grande – Sweetener
Suggested Tracks: raindrops, God is a women
Listen here: Spotify / Youtube
Ambrose Akinmusire – Origami Harvest
Jazz + Spoken Word + hip-hop influences, what more could you want.
Various Artists – 15 Years of the Bunker
A hard hitting compilation from the New York based techno institution.
Listen here: Spotify / Bandcamp / Soundcloud
Bjørn Torske – Byen
Byen marks his Bjorn Torske’s first solo album in eight years and his first record in ages to wholeheartedly embrace the space-disco sound he helped pioneer.
Elza – Deus e mulher
Suggested Tracks: Banho, Exu Nas Escolas
Amen Dunes – Freedom
Suggested Tracks: Miki Dora, Believe
Listen here: Spotify/ Youtube / Bandcamp
Natalia Lafourcade – Musas Vol. 2
Suggested Tracks: La llorona, Alma Mia
Listen here: Spotify / Soundcloud
Of Two Minds – Of Two Minds
Right from the outset it’s clear as to the type of math rock Of Two Minds specializes in. Nearly every song on the record owes heavy influence to groups like TTNG, Plini, and Chon, as opposed to the more jazz-influenced Japanese bands toe, and LITE, though moments of that peek through as well in the stunning drum work. The market for math rock may be dwindling, but so long as acts like Of Two Minds continue to release innovative records like this it will never truly disappear. Of Two Minds is one of the most purely enjoyable pieces of music that I’ve heard this year and it breathes a refreshing breath of life into the genre, in a way that feels divorced from the standard influences of the genre, while still paying them due respect. Anyone who loves technical instrumentation and just a hint of post hardcore will find a lot to love in this record and should check them out on their Bandcamp as soon as possible. [Drew Pitt]
George Clanton – Slide
This album showcases an artist fully realizing his own sound and potential. Although George Clanton has several albums under his belt, Slide is his first that was purposely created to release under his own name. George clearly has a strong affiliation with many of the sounds of the 90’s including the danceable beats of trip-hop and the textured guitars of shoegaze, but he finds a way to combine these influences and create something distinctive and contemporary. Glistening synths and pulverizing drums prevail throughout the album, but they come together best on the album’s single “Make It Forever”. The track oozes with kinetic energy and contains one of the most infectious choruses from 2018 as George pleads, “Holding back the tears from falling/Yeah that’s what I’ll do/Holding back the tears so long/When you come back again/We can convene/Make it forever”. Keep an eye out for what George Clanton does in 2019, because if Slide is any indication of where he is going, you won’t want to miss it.
Listen here: Spotifyh / Bandcamp
Haley Heynderickx – I Need to Start a Garden
Suggested Tracks: The Bug Collector, No Face
Daniel Avery – Song for Alpha
Suggested Tracks: Slow Fade, Stereo L
Devon Welsh – Dream Songs
In 2016 Majical Cloudz, comprised of Devon Welsh and Matthew Otto, decided to break up to pursue solo efforts. Dream Songs is the product of this dissolution. Devon Welsh trades in the electronic pop for guitar, piano, and strings for a beautiful candid debut album that sets his singular voice free to wander and soar.
Nathan Fake – Sunder EP
Suggested Tracks: Sunder, Cloudswept
Listen here: Spotify / Youtube / Bandcamp
Tess Roby – Beacons
I was immediately enamored by Tess Roby when she released her ballad 5 single last May. The way the track just flew over you, dripping emotion with delicate and sparse production that provided the ideal backdrop for Tess’ reverb-soaked vocals. Dream Pop is a genre in which it is easy to fall into derivative territory: there are only so many combinations of hazy guitar tones and spacey drum hits; but Beacons remains fresh and doesn’t overstay its welcome, clocking in at just 32 minutes. Her careful synth layering and elegant guitar work, often teetering towards ambient pop and minimalism enable her voice to float effortlessly over these 8 tracks in a truly angelic manner. The pose she assumes in her album cover, lying peacefully on a bed of grass is a depiction of the ideal listening environment for this wonderful project. [Nick Delguadio]
Jean Grae, Quelle Chris – Everything’s Fine
Last year Quelle Chris released Being You Is Great I Wish I Could Be You More Often to minimal fanfare, silently sliding under the radar of most critics. This year, in a savvy team up album with Jean Grae, he has done much the same. Everything’s Fine is a cheeky, cynical look at the world, and each moment bursts with poignancy or hilarity over tightly crafted beats. In a world that is getting harder to laugh at every day, Jean Grae and Quelle Chris find plenty to poke fun at, while still managing to expose important truths. [Drew Pitt]
Jeff Rosenstock – POST
In 2016, Rosenstock’s highly acclaimed album ‘WORRY.’ became the anthemic record for a modern generation of indie punk rockers. In a little over a year, he comes back with a project that’s even more ambitious than before. There’s a wide variety of styles ranging from piano ballads to aggressive pop songs to progressive rock epics. It all comes delivered on a platter of infectiously catchy riffs and vocal melodies shrouded by a theme of rebellion and a can-do attitude. It may not be the type of punk some people may be looking for, but don’t misjudge it’s poppy hooks, ‘POST-’ can pack quite a punch. [Andrew Tran – @trandrew20]
Jonny Greenwood – Phantom Thread OST
Deafheaven – Ordinary Corrupt Human Love
Deafheaven is quite honestly not here to please anyone. If you’re a fan of metal, they’re consistently pushing their sound further from the purity of harsh metal, and if you find yourself on the side of indie rock, they refuse to compromise their vocals. Yet, if you can look past the strange blending of elements you’ll quickly find one of the most interesting bands in either genre. Ordinary Corrupt Human Love is certainly the softest of their records to date, however that doesn’t mean it’s ready for the radio by any means, for each moment of soft, loving post-rock inspired meandering, there is another instance of violent screams and shredding guitars. While time will tell if this record can stand alongside the excellent New Bermuda and the groundbreaking Sunbather it certainly seems well equipped to do so. [Drew Pitt]
isten here: Spotify / Bandcamp
Kraus – Path
In 2013 Deafheaven’s Sunbather took the world by storm with its calculated combination of ear splitting black metal and soothing shoe gaze over post rock song structures. Earlier this year Kraus attempted the same between shoegaze and noise rock to great success. Path constantly toes the line between soothing and overwhelming, and does so with unexpected grace. Any given song could blow into a million screaming pieces at the drop of a hat and the combination of sheer force and soothingly whispered vocals is profoundly affecting. [Drew Pitt]
isten here: Spotify
Gazelle Twin – Pastoral
Pastoral is a towering work that truly distills all of its maker’s talents into a unified whole. Written in response to the current Brexit chaos in England Gazelle Twin shows us that any romantic idea of England is disillusioned at best. Pastoral is a disquieting listen weaving political criticisms with terrifying experimental production that we can only imagine captures some of the feelings of internal struggle England is currently experiencing. [Alek Prus]
Kacey Musgraves – Golden Hour
Maybe the coolest thing about Kacey Musgraves’ new album is how blatanly uncool it sounds. More than a few snarky commentors have called it “Ranch Access Memories,” but that’s a perfect fit for the album. Like late career Daft Punk before her, Musgraves is a joy to listen to because she’s an unpretentious, top-notch songwriter that makes immaculately produced music. As with the giants of country music before, sometimes that’s all it takes. [Marcus Michelan]
Nine Inch Nails – Bad Witch
Lil Wayne – Tha Carter V
Faced with a half decade-long legal struggle, various health issues, and a career that’s been on a steady decline for the past several years, Lil Wayne made the impossible happen. Not only did the long coveted fifth installment to Wayne’s historic Carter series reinstate Weezy’s status as a chart topping hit-maker, but it was also a damn good album. Hardly burdened by it’s extensive length, the album spans at least five years of recording sessions, allowing Wayne to hand pick the most impressive creations that he’s had to hide from the world for so long. From the stunning Mona Lisa, which showcases an animated sounding Kendrick Lamar, which has shown to have been in the vaults since 2014, to one of the more tasteful uses of posthumous XXXTentacion vocals we’ve heard since his passing. The one thing about this album, however, that keeps everyone coming back for more is Wayne himself. His bars sound vibrant and even youthful, his rhyme schemes are densely layered, his punchlines are hilarious, and he’s sounding as if he’s got something to prove. The album isn’t carried by it’s guest features, in fact, they all just sound honored to be there. Tha Carter V, miraculously, was the album that Lil Wayne and his fans deserved. [Joey Hughes]
Tim Hecker – Konoyo
It’s been said that Tim Hecker makes music so detailed and beautiful that there isn’t a set of headphones or an audio system powerful enough to do his music justice. Konoyo only serves to back up this assertion. Each track teems with life, and the fully fleshed ideas on each track seem custom built to push electronic music forward. The album itself is colder and more crowded than his pinnacle Ravedeath, 1972, with Konoyo having much more in common with the menacing Virgins. If this album is on heavy rotation, like it deserves to be, my only request is that you bring a coat, you’ll need it. [Drew Pitt]
Laurel Halo – Raw Silk Uncut Wood
This is a record that really rewards establishing a relationship with it. Diving into its twists and turns, and absorbing the vast sonic ground Laurel Halo covers among the 6 tracks here. Yes, this is an ambient record, but this is not a passive listening experience. She warms you with a long, sprawling, soothing piece with subtle melodies and peaceful instrumentation…only to come right back with shorter, more chaotic tracks that often agitate in the best way possible. She tests the sonic landscape of singular tones and wrestles with syncopated drum beats over a 4 track mid-section that lasts roughly a third of the record but is incredibly diverse in its evocative nature. She finds a beautiful capstone in a second long swaying track who’s aquatic nature provides a panacea for all endured throughout the first two thirds of the album. It is most definitely a journey fit for a single sitting. [Nick DelGaudio]
André 3000 – Look Ma No Hands EP
For what it’s worth, André 3000 was living the life of an essentially retired musician who’d occasionally contribute a guest verse here and there; we accepted his choices as a musician. But when Mother’s Day rolled around, we were greeted with a melodic 20 minutes of 3 Stack’s multi-genre talent. It’s not the first time André’s shown his versatility as a musician but the Atlanta rap legend goes full jazz in this EP, recruiting James Blake and Kevin Kendrick to accompany his bass clarinet. The end result is an extremely personal, jazz-tinted journey by one of modern music’s most introspective artists. [Francisco Martinez]
Listen here: Soundcloud / Youtube
Amnesia Scanner – Another Life
In an interesting turn of events Amnesia Scanner has taken their machine torture room and given it a voice. Inklings of this voice had been heard on their previous effort, AS Truth but Another Life sees the boundary pushing group explore a poppier side, while making sure to keep their experimental roots close at hand. “AS Another Life,” “AS A.W.O.L.,” “AS Too Wrong,” and “AS Chaos” all feel as though they might be played at a festival stage, and help keep the energy of the album at a consistent high, while the remaining track feature the same warped vocals and screaming synths that they have been using to tear the rubber from subwoofers for years. This is undoubtedly their best work, and a stunning testament to the versatility of such a strange band. [Drew Pitt]
Tomb Mold – The Manor of Infinite Forms
Death Grips – Year of the Snitch
Somehow we all continue to take Death Grips for granted. What this group has done over the past few years is nothing short of a miracle. Year of the Snitch somehow sees them get even weirder by adding a strange cast of features and an extremely lo-fi aesthetic. The album comes across as disjointed upon first listen but the longer you give it the more and more it reveals its layers, much like an ogre
Ski Mask Tha Slump God – STOKELEY
Florida has been on one this year, between Denzel Curry’s TA13OO and STOKELEY we’ve seen a huge increase in playtime for Florida rappers. Even still, many of these artists remain contentious in the larger hip-hop arena. Luckily for skeptics, Ski Mask showcases himself as one of the most clever and versatile voices in rap today. Flitting effortlessly between hazy, melody driven mumble rap and skillfully delivered verses, STOKELEY proves itself to be a mandatory listen. If you don’t agree with me I suggest hitting the road and cranking “Foot Fungus” and “Nuketown” reallllllll loud and get back to me on your opinions on this album, you’re welcome in advance. [Joey Hughes]
Anenon – Tongue
Tounge is producer and multi-instrumentalist Brian Allen Simon’s fifth album, and follow up to 2016’s Petrol. While Petrol largely reflected the upbeat, urban surroundings of Los Angeles, Anenon moved to Tuscany, Italy to record Tongue, and this change of scenery is reflected in the overall palette presented on the album. Simon’s airy saxophone playing features heavily, but here is surrounded by field recordings and given a more natural canvas on which it thrives. Throughout Tongue, Anenon draws inspiration from ambient, electronic, free jazz, and the avant-garde, pulling bits from each to create minimal, stripped down tracks that flow effortlessly. Simon’s unique style of playing the saxophone, which he taught himself to play after picking it up at 22, is breathy and relaxed; on the first track, “Open,” when he starts to play over a recording of birds, it sounds like another one has joined in—his playing is perfectly unobtrusive and fitted to the context of the song. Later, on “Mansana” Simon opens it up, with a solo that takes up the first three and a half minutes of the song, showing his ability on the instrument. It is almost frantic, yet, in contradiction with itself, still minimal and soothing. This is perhaps Anenon’s greatest feat on Tongue—it is a minimal ambient work, and yet each moment is wholly captivating. “Verso” is essentially a looped piano riff set on top of some string synths, yet for its simplicity is one of the most driving and suspenseful moments on Tongue; there are more moments like this throughout the album. Anenon doesn’t try to do too much anywhere on Tongue, and the result is something beautifully minimal, compelling, and outstanding. [Aaron Kelley]
Caroline Rose – LONER
LONER proves that patience is a great virtue to possess as Caroline Rose took three years creating, re-working, and fine tuning this album into its final product. The reward is increased critical acclaim for Ms. Rose, and one of the most addicting albums in 2018 for her fans. LONER departs from Rose’s folk roots from her previous work, and offers bolder, brighter, and more dynamic pop production. Although Rose strives for a more accessible and commercial sound, she maintains her authenticity through fantastic songwriting that paints an all-encompassing picture of her personality. From the satirical protest of sexism in the song “Bikini”, to the vibrant synth-pop balladry of “Jeanie Becomes A Mom”, LONER is a versatile and meaningful record that becomes more fun with each listen. [Jacob Heyerly]
Avantdale Bowling Club – ST
The genre label ‘jazz-rap’ has existed since the early 90s when groups like A Tribe Called Quest, Del La Soul and Digable Planets sampled jazz records to create smooth and mellow boom bap beats that perfectly complimented their more laid back ‘conscious’ rap styles. Essentially though, ‘jazz-rap’ was predominantly hip-hop music that simply sourced its samples from jazz.
Avantdale Bowling Club however, feels like a genuine fusion of rap music and jazz music in a way I haven’t really experienced before. A live jazz band performs most of the tracks and Tom Scott (who I have never heard of until now) flows effortlessly over some pretty complex percussive patterns. It is literally a marriage between jazz music and rap music. Smooth hip-hop beats co-exist with loose modal jazz drumming, repeated horn lines with sax solos, precision rapping with loose ad-libs, smooth jazz piano with long bass and synth noodling, catchy hooks within extended verses and 6/7 minute plus tracks. At times ‘Avantdale Bowling Club’ has the feel of a more roomy, mellow, introspective take on ‘To Pimp A Butterfly’ or Koi Child though this is just a jumping off point for Tom Scott’s own, very personal brand of story telling and live instrumentation rap. – [foxtrot_stowaway]
Sleep – The Sciences
Sleep didn’t have to do this for us. The legends of doom and stoner metal could have simply wandered off into the vapor clouds of Dopesmoker. Yet here we are, with another stone(d) cold classic of metal on our hands. Riffs that carry the weight of generations are ever present on the record, and the surprisingly crisp drumming reminds you that doom metal doesn’t always have to be lo-fi and washed out. We should all thank the metal gods for this one. [Drew Pitt]
J.I.D. – DiCaprio 2
On the Dreamville up and comer’s first album since 2017’s acclaimed ‘The Never Story’, JID continues to show his potential to be mentioned among the greats of modern hip-hop. Given the DJ Drama treatment, JID is able to put aside any conceptual notions, simply delivering track after track of clever, lightening speed bars, while dabbling occasionally in R&B, all to great success. Sounding as hungry as a mid 2000’s Lil Wayne, it’s obvious that we’re only seeing the beginning of a blossoming career, and it’s only a matter of time before the whole world is talking about JID. [Joey Hughes]
The Caretaker – Everywhere at the End of Time – Stage 4 / 5
The Caretaker’s Everywhere at the End of Time is a multi-part sound collage and noise project exploring the theme of dementia and it’s progression represented through sound. This project is split into stages, each representing a further descension into dementia. This year, Stage 4 and Stage 5 of this compilation were released, both of which being releases corresponding to the later stages of dementia. The Caretaker represents this state of being by creating noisy soundscapes composed of confused and manic British dance music samples from the 20s and 30s. Listening to these stages puts the listener in a place of horror and confusion while having functioning thought and memory clouded by glitchy and nonsensical samples. This representation of the deterioration of the mind and memory loss was seen as highly creative to us at Natural Music. The music itself works wonderfully as dark ambient and these stages certainly represent a highlight to the ambient and noise genres for 2018. [Zane Truesdell]
Listen here: Bandcamp
Nils Frahm – All Melody
German pianist Nils Frahm’s beautiful compositions have crossed over from the classical world to appeal to the avant-garde electronica community. As his audience has grown, so has his music. While his early works were recorded at home and last album ‘Spaces’ was compiled from performances in concert halls, ‘All Melody’ has been produced in Frahm’s vast new customized studio in Berlin, and he has used the space to create his most expansive music yet. But while there are many more layers here, they don’t suffocate the intimacy that has been Frahm’s hallmark ever since he was sitting alone at his piano in his bedroom.74 minutes long, and also bursting with heavenly choir arrangements, All Melody is the perfect summation of what Frahm can do as a musician, as a composer and as a producer.
Jenny Hval – The Long Sleep
Jenny Hval is a genius. One of the most wholly original pop artists of the last few decades. She crafts this idyllic genre that is this perfect concoction of pop, ambient, and experimental that allows for captivating listen after captivating listen. In just a 23 minute EP, she conjures up a hazy yet cathartic journey. Beginning with a soothing pop piece that contains one of her catchiest choruses to date, then flowing into an angelic piano ballad, preparing you for the eponymous Long Sleep to come. She then proceeds to lay on you a 10 minute drone epic, with light vocals and the pitter-patter of sounds to make a true dreamscape. No project this year fits its title more aptly than this. [Nick Delguadio]
Milo – budding ornithologists are weary of tired analogies
Last year we gave Milo the #1 album spot with his incredible album Who Told You to Think!?!? and we even got to hang out with him after a show in January (check out that story here). This year was busy for Rory Ferreira, on January 1st he released an album under the Scallops Hotel moniker, then in August he released a debut album under a new moniker, Nostram Grocers a collaborative effort with Elucid , he closed out the year with this album which he also said will be the final album under the milo moniker. If budding ornithologists really is the last milo album it will serve as a great bookend for the artistic pursuit that the project has been. budding ornithologists is slower to pull you in than last year’s enthralling Who Told You to Think!?!? but grows vastly upon repeat listening. Once again, Rory raps deep, discursive and playful words over fractured, contemplative beats.
Of the new album, Milo writes:
this album doesn’t have an arc or a point or a moral to preach. it’s a contemporary rhythm and poetry album made by someone who loves the form and enjoys creating what they want to hear in the world. all of my songs become spells. i go out into the world, corralling small groups together and we yell and cry and howl and laugh around these words, some being gorgeous lies that come true. with 7 years of urban shamanism under my belt i no longer seek the story of the adventurer, i seek the experience. i cannot tell you all about it as that would commodify, as that would turn what is decidedly non fractal into SEO keyword. i refuse. so what you hear in this album is simply a pamphlet. little aphorisms and landmines to burst your mind out of the mundane a moment, broken myth and hopes and torments, riddled out of myself as they came, very little editing.
If budding ornithologists really is the last milo album it will serve as a great bookend for the artistic pursuit that the project has been.
Ross From Friends – Family Portrait
Family Portraits’ is a powerful debut album varied in style but unified throughout, a deeply emotional look at an unremembered past. Family Portraits is “almost two years of intense studio time, working 20-hour days and often spending months perfecting just one aspect of a track,” according to the label. The album draws on the influence of his parents — whose relationship began during a 1990 bus trip across Europe, throwing parties anywhere they wanted using a homemade soundsystem— and growing up around music. One of the singles “Pale Blue Dots” features a video made using footage his mom took on that 1990 European bus trek. [Alek Prus]
Grouper – Grid of Points
Grouper exists in a strange place in music. Never quite ambient enough to drift away, but too soft to demand a detailed first listen. Grid of Points takes a step back from the shimmering beauty of Paradise Valley and again buries it beneath whispers and static. Each song calls you in to listen closer, then drifts away in a sea of massaging fuzz, amounting to one of the most luxuriously relaxing albums of the year. Still, in that relaxation, there is sadness, poignance and pained poetry, listen closely through the static, just be careful you don’t fall into the sea. [Drew Pitt]
Spiritualized – And Nothing Hurt
There’s a real comfort in hearing an absolute master make an album that isn’t trying to change the world. For the most part, the songs on “And Nothing Hurt” and controlled and small: more strummed ukuleles than psychedelic freakouts. For an artist known for maximalism, it’s some sort of magic trick that this is the most comfortable Jason Pierce has sounded in his own skin. [Marcus M]
Porches – The House
A departure from the dreamy atmospheres of Porches’ 2016 album Pool. The House, Aaron Maine’s third album as Porches, is an somber portrayal of love and regret, decay and change. With a sound that flows between darkwave and dance pop at times embracing tenets of experimental sound Maine shows more interest in reimagining stylistic boundaries than expanding or eliminating them. [Alek Prus]
Smino – NOIR
Smino should already be on your radar, last years excellent blkswn showcased Smino as a Drake like dream combo of singing and rapping (though he’s actually better than Drake at both) but if last year was just a test case for both skillsets, NOIR is an excellent display of him as an R&B artist. There’s still rapping on this project, and where it does peek out it is predictably excellent, but the woozy, stoned beats of Monte Booker turn this project into a dark room with joint smoke drifting lazily upwards. Highlights of the project are nearly impossible to choose, as each track exudes a level of craftsmanship that is hard to come by in modern hip-hop, but make sure that “KLINK,” “SUMMER SALT,” and “PIZANO” all get rotation on your next playlist worthy smoke sesh. [Drew Pitt]
Freddie Gibbs/Curren$y/The Alchemist – Fetti
FETTI finds two rappers who’ve cultivated large and loyal followings over years of consistent and prolific work partnering with a veteran producer to create a lavish mini-album that rivals each artist’s best work to date. With uncompromising originality, Gibbs and Spitta have a ridiculous amount of chemistry, with their respective tough guy/laid back personas complimenting eachother perfectly over Alchemist’s forward thinking, sample based instrumentals. With little to prove and few expectations, FETTI was the gift that we didn’t know we needed in 2018. [Joey Hughes]
Continue on to see our Top 50 Albums of 2018!
Posted in Best of, FeaturesTagged Top Albums of 2018
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EventBoard wants to solve your conference room scheduling problems
By Joey Ferguson
SALT LAKE CITY — App development company Ender Labs’ say its flagship product, EventBoard, is disrupting the conference room management market without a spending a single advertising dollar.
Since its launch in 2010, companies like Dolby, Mozilla and Yelp have all signed up for EventBoard. The EventBoard app allows for scheduling, coordinating and displaying meeting statuses. If a conference room is available, then the tablet strapped to the door will display “Open” along with a schedule.
The system is significantly cheaper than its competitors and provides full customization of the app interface, Zach Holmquist, one of the four-developer team at Ender Labs, said in a phone interview.
“Turns out we became disrupters without understanding that this was a real market,” Holmquist said.
Companies are able to design their own interface. About half of Ender Labs’ customers chose to customize the product.
The monthly system cost is $10 per device. Users also spend about $700 on a tablet (iPads for now) and a mountable enclosure.
To set up three conference rooms would cost a company $2,100 in hardware, while competitors, like Crestron and RoomWizard, can cost as much as $30,000, Holmquist said.
The company has more than 600 devices being used by customers, Holmquist said.
The company is also developing an Android version.
EventBoard’s fame came after its first major client, Hulu, signed up.
Word-of-mouth publicity in Silicon Valley has led to the app’s success without having to spend marketing dollars.
The popularity hasn’t driven the company to seek for funding, though it is an option in the future, Holmquist said.
“We want to best foot forward for when we do make that step,” Scott Jensen, another of the four developers at Ender Labs, said in an interview. “We want to make sure that we have something that we are really proud of and is refined.”
Ender Labs started as a side project at Neutron Interactive, a Salt Lake City-based online marketing company.
Eventually, Ender was split off into a separate company but is still led by Neutron chief executive Dan Caffee. The company is still located in the Neutron office space.
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Hack Night SLC — a photo tour of a developers’ party
By Joey Ferguson SALT LAKE CITY — Daniel Sellers and Joe Grigg, the founders of Hack Night SLC, want to get developers out of their caves and into the world by providing a place
Check out this photo tour of eBay’s new facility in Draper
By Joey Ferguson The new 241,000-square-foot eBay facility in Draper comes complete with a gym, massages, a game room and a full cafeteria for its 1,800 employees. eBay’s facility in
Silicon Slopes © 2019
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Home Public Affairs Stolen Senate mace abandoned, recovered near Abuja city gate
Stolen Senate mace abandoned, recovered near Abuja city gate
The Nigeria police on Thursday announced the recovery of the mace of the Nigerian Senate which was taken away from the upper legislative chambers on Wednesday morning by hoodlums.
Deputy Force Public Relations Officer Force Headquarters, Aremu Adeniran, who made this known in a statement, revealed that the missing symbol of authority of the Senate was discovered by a passer-by close to the Abuja City Gate.
He disclosed that immediately after the hoodlums took away the mace from the Senate floor, police teams engaged in massive raids of identified criminal spots and flashpoints, stop and search operations, visibility and intelligence gathering.
Adenirun stated that the quick interventions “forced the suspected miscreants to abandon the mace at a point under the flyover before the City Gate, where a patriotic passer-by saw it and alerted the Police.”
Newsworth recalls that the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, after the mace was snatched on Wednesday gave the Inspector-General of Police and the Director-General of the Department of State Services 24 hours to recover the stolen item.
The statement from the deputy force public relations officer reads…
“IGP orders Commissioner of Police FCT Command to beef-up security at the National Assembly.
“Sequel to the invasion of the Senate Chambers of the National Assembly, Federal Republic of Nigeria on the 18th April, 2018 by some suspected thugs who disrupted the Senate Plenary Session and carted away the Mace of the Red Chambers, the Inspector General of Police, IGP Ibrahim K. Idris NPM, mni, immediately instituted a high-powered Police Investigation and Intelligence Team coordinated by the IGP Monitoring Unit of the Force and further directed a total lock-down of the Federal Capital Territory with intense surveillance patrol and thorough Stop and Search Operations at various Police check-points with a view to arresting perpetrators and possible recovery of the stolen Mace.
“The Police teams engaged in massive raids of identified criminal spots/flashpoints, stop and search operations, visibility and confidence building patrols, intelligence gathering which forced the suspected miscreants to abandon the Mace at a point under the flyover before the City Gate, where a patriotic passer-by saw it and alerted the Police.
“While a discreet investigation into the incident is still ongoing to arrest and bring the perpetrators to justice, the Nigeria Police Force appreciates the spirited members of the public, most especially motorists within Abuja Metropolis for their support, cooperation and timely information during the rigorous stop and search operations for the recovery of the Mace.
“The renewed commitment of the Nigeria Police Force to guarantee protection of Lives and Property, Peace and Stability and sustain democracy in the country remains unequivocal and unwavering.”
Abuja city gate
Senate mace
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Vote-buying: INEC drafts EFCC, ICPC to 2019 elections
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Police: Man Caught On Camera Damaging Church Statue
Filed Under:Brooklyn, Local TV, Natalie Duddridge, New York, Park Slope, Saint Thomas Aquinas Church
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — Police are searching for a man they say stole a statue from a Brooklyn church and threw it in the trash, twice.
Investigators are calling it a hate crime, CBS2’s Natalie Duddridge reported Monday.
Police said a man in a hooded sweatshirt entered St. Thomas Aquinas Roman Catholic Church in Park Slope, just an hour before a noon service last week and took the religious figure.
Someone then spotted it in a garbage can nearby, marking the second time the same statue has been stolen and trashed.
“The Diocese of Brooklyn strongly condemns this incident of religious hatred and is fully cooperating with the New York City Police Department’s investigation. This act of vandalism at St. Thomas Aquinas Roman Catholic Church in Park Slope has not deterred, but only strengthened, the resolve and faith of the parishioners,” Father Willy Kingsley Ndi said in a statement.
MORE: Police: Man Seen On Video Stealing Candlestick Holders From Upper East Side Church
Parish Staff at St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Brooklyn say this Statue of Our Lady of Cisne was stolen and found in a trash can – and it’s not the first time it happened @CBSNewYork pic.twitter.com/LDVXLQiLAn
— Natalie Duddridge (@CityNatalie) February 25, 2019
Surveillance video shows a man with a statue robed in red over his shoulder walking out of the church, located at 9th Street and 4th Avenue, last Wednesday morning
Another angle shows him walk down the street carrying the religious object.
Police said church staff later found it in the trash can on the corner.
“Definitely, I consider it a hate crime. He throw it in the garbage,” one parishioner said.
The church pastor said the statue is of Our Lady of Cisne, most devoutly worshiped by the Ecuadorian community. She was recovered and fixed and moved to a more secure location.
“Our pepole don’t understand why someone would take this statue,” said pastor Willy Kingsley. “The statue is part of the faith of the people.”
A church staff member who didn’t want his face on camera said it marked the second time in a month the statue was stolen from a shrine next to other religious figurines.
“It could be a number of things. It could be somebody being very spiteful towards an image, or maybe a group of people or just the church itself,” the person said.
A few weeks ago, the same religious statue (dressed in different robes) was stolen from St. Thomas Aquinas Church and left outside the same garbage can. Police are looking for whoever is responsible, calling it a hate crime @CBSNewYork pic.twitter.com/RAGKF6f3KU
The first time it was stolen three weeks ago staff didn’t report it to police. They found Our Lady of Cisne robed in pink outside the same trash can.
Both times it was several hours before staff realized the statue was missing.
“They probably thought it was one of the workers, walking in and out with something. That’s why in the footage it shows that nobody really reacted to it,” a church custodian said.
“It’s crazy. How can somebody do that?” said parishioner Eduardo Ruiz. “They hate something, the religion or something?”
“It’s horrible this is happening. I never thought in this neighborhood something like this could happen. I hope this person gets caught,” one parishioner added.
The church’s message stays the same.
“I won’t get into hatred. All I can say is we are praying for this person,” Kingsley said.
Police said the man in the video is now wanted for questioning in connection with a hate crime. He is described as wearing a black jacket, jeans and white sneakers.
The NYPD has increased patrols around the church and is hoping someone recognizes the vandal and reports him. Police are offering up to a $2,500 reward for tips leading them to the suspect.
Anyone with information is asked to call NYPD’s Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or 1-888-57-PISTA (74782) for Spanish. You can also submit a tip via the Crime Stoppers website, by Tweeting @NYPDTips or by texting a tip to 274637 (CRIMES) and then entering TIP577.
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Check out our interview with The Faded (aka Paula) below and find out everything you need to know about this rising star!
announcement, Ep, interview, introducing, music, NEWS, SINGLE
Hi The Faded / Paula – tell us a short bio about yourself and your music!
I’m The Faded, I’m 23 years old and I am an R&B Singer-Songwriter from Lisbon, Portugal. I’ve been making professional music since 2014. Music has been my passion since I was a kid! 2019 has been an amazing year so far. I have been growing as an artist and as a person through music. In total I have released 19 singles, 2 EPs and 1 Album. I have much more music is coming soon which I cannot wait to share!
What made you go into music?
My mom told me that when I was five I used to freestyle and sing for her. A few years later when I was 8, my father put me in piano lessons. I started to practice singing more regularly, and went to a choral group. I then had a vocal coach, and naturally started writing songs, stories and adding my feelings into my own music. Later on I decided to record my songs, and from there I realized that I had found my passion: music.
Are you signed of independent?
Independent.
Your brand new EP ‘Shadow’ is out now – tell us about the EP.
When I was making ‘Shadow’ – it was a dark period in my life. This project talks about bad experiences and how I dealt with mine. In my song “Numb Encore” I sing “My heart… it’s like the dark side of the moon”. I’m very happy to be able to share this EP with the world and I hope people enjoy it.
What were the recording and writing processes like?
First of all I came up with the idea of making an EP that was dark, mysterious and hypnotic. I had a long discussion with my producer about my vision for this project, and he started making the beats. I started writing the lyrics and kept practicing the songs to get them to where I wanted them to be musically. Once I started recording, it took me 2 days to get the project recorded, then over the following week my producer was mixing and mastering, then we had the finished project!
Describe the EP in two words.
Distorted emotions.
Will we see more music coming soon?
Yes – my album “Blood Moon” is ready to go!
When can fans next see you perform live?
My team and I are preparing for some upcoming shows. Dates and details will be announced very soon!
What else can we expect from The Faded in 2019?
Touring, the album “Blood Moon” and a brand new music video is coming out very soon.
Do you play any instruments?
Yes, I play the piano, guitar and the flute.
Who are your influences?
he Weeknd, Rihanna, 6Lack, H.E.R, Sabrina Claudio and DVSN.
Life! I have moments when I am in a specific mind state that lets me create, it’s like a therapy, and it’s my way to express myself artistically.
What would you like to be doing this time next year?
I’d love to have released another new project, also I would love to go out on a bigger tour and also perhaps start my own label.
When you’re not writing new music or performing, what do you do in your spare time?
I like to read about psychology! I also love poetry, photography, travelling, surfing, skating and classes of boxing.
What’s the best piece of advice you have ever been given?
I’ll let the wise words from Carl Jung speak: “Your vision will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes.”
What advice would you give to aspiring musicians?
The best advice that I can give it’s to have a vision, believe in that vision and in yourself. Be persistent, patient, and have a positive attitude and you can achieve anything!
What are your social media channels?
https://mn2s.com/our-services/pr/
Tags:PORTUGAL, RNB, singer, songwriter, The Faded, Tour news
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Sebon becomes associate member of IOSCO
Published On: August 3, 2016 02:30 AM NPT By: Republica
KATHMANDU, Aug 3: Securities Board of Nepal (Sebon) has become an associate member of International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO).
Issuing a statement on Tuesday, Sebon said that it become an associate member of the IOSCO with an effect from July.
IOSCO is considered to be the global standard setter for securities markets regulation.
Sebon said, in its statement, that it had received the membership that it had been trying long following the recent reforms including the fully automated trading system in the market.
"The membership will provide additional support for the development and regulation of securities market by getting international skills, knowledge and experience on securities market regulation after receiving the membership of IOSCO which is the global standard setter for securities markets regulation," the statement added.
securities board of nepal
international organization of securities commissions
RJP Presidium member quits, becomes CPN (Maoist Center) mayoral candidate
GAUSHALA, September 6: Rastriya Janata Party (RJP) Mahottari District Presidium member has resigned from party's general membership citing he was...
Sebon introducing ASBA from mid-January
KATHMANDU, Nov 9: Securities Board of Nepal (Sebon) is implementing Applications Supported by Blocked Amount (ASBA) system on a voluntary basis...
Mother and daughter get life sentence for murder of former CA member Haque
RAJBIRAJ, July 6: The District Court has sentenced a woman and her daughter to life in prison, with a term...
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First Look: A Walkable, Bikeable Gateway to the Brooklyn Bridge
The proposed boulevard-style entryway to the Brooklyn Bridge. Image: NYCDOT.
Last week DOT unveiled this conceptual plan for a better gateway to the Brooklyn Bridge [PDF]. For the thousands of pedestrians and cyclists who access the bridge on the Brooklyn side every day, it’s a winner.
Presented at a public meeting in downtown Brooklyn, the new design features a more generous, boulevard-style bike-ped access ramp to the bridge, plus wider medians and sidewalks, curb extensions, and separated bike lanes on each of the three approaches to the ramp. If implemented, the proposal would greatly improve safety at one of the most complex, heavily-trafficked intersections in the city.
The project is still in its early stages. This plan, based on input from an earlier public workshop in January, will be refined again, with DOT aiming to bring a more finished proposal before Community Board 2 this fall. The multi-million dollar reconstruction of Tillary Street and Adams Street, which cross paths at the foot of the ramp, is slated to begin in 2012.
A reader who went to last week’s workshop tells us the reception was generally positive. About 40 people attended, and after DOT’s presentation, everyone marked up large copies of the plan with notes about what they liked and didn’t like.
Some highlights from the concept plan:
The entry ramp, currently a concrete barrier-lined chute where pedestrians and cyclists vie for space on a 10-foot wide path, would expand to a 14-foot wide path with plantings on each side. To make room, existing medians would be consolidated and service lanes on Adams Street would be eliminated or reduced in width.
Two-way protected bike paths would extend at least one block in each direction from the foot of the ramp. On Adams Street, cyclists would have a straight shot to and from the ramp thanks to a center median two-way bike path.
More pedestrian space — including wider sidewalks, medians and curb extensions — all along Tillary from Clinton Street to Flatbush Avenue. Similar treatment on Adams directly south of the access ramp.
The city is, in some ways, making up for lost time on this one. An earlier DOT regime passed up the chance to improve safety at the Tillary/Adams intersection when the Adams Street median was redesigned in 1998.
More graphics from DOT’s concept plan after the jump.
The intersection of Adams and Tillary in DOT’s concept plan. The foot of the Brooklyn Bridge access ramp is at the top of the picture. Proposed additions and enhancements to ped/bike areas are shaded lighter than existing sidewalk. For a look at the existing conditions and the full plan, see this PDF.
Proposed geometry for the bridge access ramp. Image: NYCDOT.
Filed Under: Bicycle Infrastructure, Bicycle Safety, Bicycling, Brooklyn Bridge, DOT, Downtown Brooklyn, Pedestrian Infrastructure, Pedestrian safety, Protected Bike Lanes, Street Safety
It’s all really pretty, and it’s definitely needed.
With that, it doesn’t address what’s becoming an incresingly untenable situation with the volume of pedestrians and bicycles on the pathway over the Brooklyn Bridge – with the summer tourist season upon us, the bike path has become completely overrun, creating a dangerous situation for bicyclists and pedestrians alike.
Is there anything going on at DOT to address this problem?
Pete, the Manhattan Bridge bike and pedestrian ways could easily take a 20-30% increase in use and still seem underused. As a cyclist, I never use the Brooklyn Bridge at anything approaching a peak time if I’m heading uptown in Manhattan, or if I’m heading downtown back to Brooklyn.
Unless you’re heading deep into the financial district, there’s only a 5 minute difference to get to most of the same places.
My cutoff for using the Brooklyn is 8a on a weekend, 6:30a on a weekday. It’s an iconic ride, but frankly, the views are just as good from the ugly duckling right up the river. And with the subway next to you instead of traffic below you, you’re not sucking up fumes.
Unfortunately, the Manhattan Bridge does not provide easy access to the West Side Greenway, which the Brooklyn Bridge does. That’s key for getting to most locations West of 7th avenue.
I was at this meeting and the plan is phenomenal. My understanding is that the DOT will need more funding than is currently allotted to make this a reality. Funding for this plan — and what gets cut if funding doesn’t come through — will be a big question moving forward.
I live at Tillary & Jay, and the protected bike bath on Tillary will transform this incredibly dangerous street. The suite of pedestrian improvements will help connect the neighborhood which is currently divided by traffic-clogged wide streets. There’s very little not to like.
I would prefer the 2004 flyover plan. Having cars and bikes all accessing the bridge approach at the same intersection (Adams & Tillary) causes problems.
Let’s go whole hog and build an elevated path for peds and bikes above Tillary St along Adams St all the way to Willoughby St, where it can turn east and descend onto the pedestrianized block between Adams and Pearl Sts.
Manny B
The Manhattan Bridge is much better for commuting by bike, but still, there’s always at least one pedestrian lollygagging on the bicycle side of the bridge. Maybe better signage at both ends of the Manhattan Bridge would keep pedestrians on the south side of the bridge?
David_K
I love it, but I’m with the commenter above. I never use the Brooklyn Bridge (only on very cold winter days). It’s just too uncomfortable with tourists wandering around — not that I blame them, as the bridge is lovely and the demarcation between the bike and pedestrian space is horrible.
Has anyone noticed that the approach to the Manhattan Bridge from the Navy Yard is starting to look like a bike path separated from traffic by concrete medians? I know that this was promised years ago, but I had given up on it. Is it really going to happen?
I think it’s great that they’re doing this – it’s long overdue. More room for cyclists and pedestrians is desperately needed on the bridge approach and the bridge itself. What I didn’t notice is whether they have any plan to widen the existing paths on the actual bridge. No cyclist with half a brain would ride over the Brooklyn Bridge near peak hours and expect pedestrians to respect the bike path – I’m an avid cyclist and I rarely ever ride over the Brooklyn Bridge. I think that pedestrians reserve the right to be generally oblivious to their surroundings. No one should have to feel like they need to follow traffic laws lest they get flattened by a cyclist with no brakes while going for a stroll over a national landmark.
Another possibility would be to eliminate the Tillary Street access point altogether and build a full-width gradual ramp down to Cadman Plaza East/Washington Street (where the stairs are now), with a two-way barrier-separated bikeway extending from there up past the courts.
Except that court personnel would park on it, of course.
As a pedestrian, I would never use the Tillary Street approach. The entire length to the stairs there is little to see, and you are stuck next to the noise and fumes of traffic. I always tell tourists to take the A to High Street, and the Red Cross Building stair to the stairway entrance to the Brooklyn Bridge.
Bottom line is bikes don’t belong on the Brooklyn Bridge path. One of the car lanes going opposite peak should be dedicated to cyclists. They could switch it for the morning and evening rush.
They should try it out for summer streets!
Streetsman
Yes that is supposed to be a center median separated bike path on Sands Street connecting to the lanes on Navy Street
May be a bit off topic, but someone mentioned it above, isn’t there a way to better encourage peds to south side of manhattan bridge? It’s silly that with all of this talk of lack of space (which is true) this side is really virtually unused.
Peds would maybe use the south side of the Manhattan Bridge if they could access it.
It’s currently accessible only from the southwest side of the bridge, southeast corner of Bowery and Canal; most of the Chinatown foot traffic seems to cross on the north side of Canal, down the hill toward the LES, walkin’ in the separated bike lanes toward Forsyth.
I’m comfortable waiting until the next round of Manhattan Bridge approach improvements, and hoping that add’l cyclist load helps to keep the way clear until then.
“Isn’t there a way to better encourage peds to south side of Manhattan Bridge? It’s silly that with all of this talk of lack of space (which is true) this side is really virtually unused.”
In NYC if you are alone in an isolated location, you are in danger. The presence of cyclists attracts the peds to the north side of the bridge. The abscence of other peds makes them fear the South Side.
The Manhattan Bridge is not popular with tourists. The way to change that is to post a large map at the Manhattan entrance to the Brooklyn Bridge encouraging them to make a loop, ending with lunch or dinner in Chinatown, and also promote that loop in tourist literature.
On the Brooklyn side a large, multi-lingual sign would have to direct them to the stairs, and several more would have to direct them on the streets to the Manhattan Bridge entrance — or to Brooklyn Bridge park, if they wanted to make a stop.
Just the other day a tourist stopped me on the Brooklyn Bridge in and asked how to get to the Manhattan Bridge on the Brooklyn side. I explained as best I could, but the Manhattan side of the Brooklyn Bridge is really the only entrance that is easy to find.
If the tourists were only heading to Brooklyn, rather than going over and back, there would be less crowding on its pedestrian side. And if there were more tourists on the sought side of the Manhattan, locals would be less fearful of using it.
BicyclesOnly
Great idea, promoting a loop to tourists that ends you up in Chinatown!
Re: West side Greenway access from Manhattan Bridge — very true, no direct street to the West Side like Chambers. But jeez, Chambers — with its lunar pavement, gutter-tightrope riding — that’s a shaky definition of direct. I get most places faster on the West Side using Reade –> Hudson.
The Manhattan Bridge has direct access to the Chrystie St. bike pass, fastest way to Houston St.
This plan significantly improves access to the Manhattan Bridge as well from my neighborhood, with that protected lane in the median on Adams. Currently I ride two blocks out of the way every morning to use the Clinton Street bicycle lane. Being able to safely ride down Adams, a street I happen live on, would be excellent.
And… like most regular cyclists I avoid the Brooklyn Bridge, but it’s great that they’re working on this particular spot. The giant crash barricade and uneven pavement make conflicts between pedestrians and cyclists almost inevitable; no one knows where to go, there’s no room to maneuver, cars are often stopped in the crosswalk, and everyone is tense from being within inches of 50 mph hour traffic. Weekend cyclists brush by walkers, and suddenly it’s modal armageddon at the bottom of the auto-centric transportation hierarchy.
Implement this plan, please!
This is going to be a great improvement. I hope they make the area at the base of the bike/ped ramp large enough to accommodate the volume of people that crowd it at peak times. Can’t another lane be appropriated for that island?
Also,why can’t protected bike lanes run all the way from Tillary to Atlantic so that there’s a safer connection to the Bergen and Dean Street bike lanes? I can’t grasp why anyone thinks that after one block of protected riding, cyclists should be exposed to dangerous traffic. Adams street isn’t magically safer one block from the bridge.
I also have to agree with the other streetsbloggers who questioned how increased cycling volume on The Brooklyn Bridge will be handled. This has been a sore spot for pedestrians and cyclists for a while now and adding more recreational cyclists at peak times is not going to fix it. If DOT wants people to use The Brooklyn Bridge for commuting and sightseeing they need to implement a better solution for bikes on the bridge. I ride the bridge all the time and I don’t blame pedestrians for getting in my way,(I wouldn’t let a little white paint stop me from getting that perfect shot on my vacation) but it’s still a disaster.
Well said Dan
Angus Grieve-Smith
Here is another opportunity for me to invite Pete, Brian, Larry, Rlb, David, Nathan and everyone else to join me and Dan in the Brooklyn Bridge Cycle Track Advocates Livable Streets Network group.
Also, I think the approach is long overdue for improvements. When people walk across the bridge, they should be welcomed with infrastructure that invites them to visit Brooklyn, not a forbidding concrete chute that makes them go right back to Manhattan.
Finally, I love Larry’s idea for a loop walk. Maybe the Chinatown and DUMBO business owners can help out. Geoff Lee, are you there?
I think this is a fantastic idea. The Brooklyn approach for the Brooklyn Bridge is almost perversely unfriendly to pedestrians.
I live in the area and I often run the Brooklyn to Manhattan Bridge loop, and I can confirm that the south side of the Manhattan Bridge sees virtually no foot traffic. I think part of that is how hidden away it is. If you walk up Canal to get to there, looking across that huge intersection, you would hardly know there was a pedestrian walkway there. Also, I can sympathize with anyone who has safety concerns. I have never personally felt uncomfortable there, but it is pretty well isolated from the very beginning.
I’m not sure that the Manhattan Bridge will ever see much more casual foot traffic than it already gets, though. It is a lot less pleasant to be on than the Brooklyn Bridge. Although the train is nice because it doesn’t emit exhaust, it is incredibly noisy. I imagine that better maintenance could reduce the sound, but heavy rail like that is always going to be loud. The chain link fence makes the pathway feel a little claustrophobic and institutional. It seems to take them a while to remove graffiti there, too. The view is nice if you can ignore the fence but it’s otherwise a kind of depressing space.
Also, both approaches are pretty bad. The Manhattan side, in addition to being easy to miss, forces you to cross a big intersection. If there were heavy foot traffic on the south side the way there is on the Brooklyn Bridge it would be even more crowded on the corner of Canal and Bowery, and Canal itself would practically have to become a pedestrian mall. Even without any pedestrian through-traffic, that street is packed most of the day.
The Brooklyn side might be worse. A tourist could get lost pretty easily on that side, and it’s ugly as anything to boot. Lastly, there’s really not great subway access on either side. I wouldn’t expect tourists–who seem to make up the great bulk of foot traffic on the Brooklyn Bridge–to walk more than a block or two to find a station. I might be underestimating the average tourist, I guess, but that’s my estimate. One of the reasons there is such heavy foot traffic on the Brooklyn Bridge, even though none of it seems to make it across to the Brooklyn side, is that the City Hall stop is right at the Manhattan entrance.
As far as solutions to the pedestrian problem on the Brooklyn Bridge go, I think the Manhattan Bridge is the wrong place to look, unless it’s to improve bike infrastructure there.
One easy step that might help on the Brooklkyn Bridge would be to repaint the lines more frequently. Some tourists walk in the bike lane because they’re rude, but a lot of them seem genuinely surprised when they realize that there is a bike lane there. I can’t blame them, sometimes. Those lines get badly faded before they’re repainted.
Anyway, I hope this project gets done in a timely fashion. I look forward to seeing that awful concrete stop removed.
Wouldn’t it be better to put the cars approaching the bridge in short tunnels instead of creating a flyover? That would make for a prettier plaza and more friendly biking/walking experience. Imagine a short cut and cover tunnel for the right turn from west-bound Tillary onto the bridge approach, and a similar longer tunnel for east-bound Tillary.
Some intriguing possibilities here. If they make the intersection friendlier, and if they find a way to accommodate flow over the bridge, they also need to find a way to improve the timing of the traffic light at Tillary and Adams accordingly.
Regarding the choice of which bridge to use, the Brooklyn Bridge path is more crowded and a less preferable surface, yes, but it also is accessible from the top of the hill rather than only down on Sands Street, in addition to the points discussed above about a quicker trip to the West Side (and yes, as Brooklyn @ #16 pointed out, it makes much more sense to use Reade than Chambers).
Ugh. This project makes me glad we no longer live in Concord Village. While it looks nice, it doesn’t really do much for the people living on Adams St, aside from placing their front doors directly on the highway. The service road, while busy, is a relative oasis, making it easier for parking, walking, hailing cabs (loved walking out my door, stepping on the median between the service road and highway and waiting for a cab) and pulling into and out of driveways.
Under this plan, aside from losing already limited parking (which was only of a concern when we had guests as we didn’t have a car until near the end of our living there), people will be forced to park along a busy road, not to mention that heavy traffic will now be 12 to 24 feet closer to the apartment buildings. I’d hate to live in 175, 215 & 235 Adams if this goes through.
I’m not saying what is there now (or at least 3 months ago which is the last time I was in our old neighborhood) is wonderful, far from it, but this seems to be another example of the city doing something nice for everybody but those who would have to live with the consequences.
DOT Proposes Striping Adjustments for Manhattan Bridge Bike Approach
To make biking between Brooklyn and Manhattan safer and more appealing, one thing that needs to be addressed is access to the Manhattan Bridge from downtown Brooklyn. With the high volume of traffic between the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, the Brooklyn Bridge, the Manhattan Bridge, and local streets, the area can be both dangerous and confusing, especially […]
Safer, Saner Brooklyn Bridge Entrance on Track for Next Year
By Stephen Miller | Feb 12, 2014
After years of planning and advocacy, an effort to improve the dangerous, ugly asphalt expanse on the Brooklyn side of the Brooklyn Bridge is set to take a big step forward tonight. Community Board 2 is meeting to vote on a resolution in support of a plan to expand space for walking and biking, realign car […]
Next Year, Peds and Cyclists Won’t Have to Fight for Scraps on Pulaski Bridge
By Stephen Miller | Dec 19, 2013
By this time next year, people walking and biking across the Pulaski Bridge between Brooklyn and Queens won’t have to share a single narrow path. With a new, two-way protected bike lane spanning the bridge, cyclists will have a safe route and pedestrians will have the existing 8.5-foot wide pathway exclusively for walking. No more […]
DOT Plan: No More Fighting Over Scraps at South End of Brooklyn Bridge Park
By Noah Kazis | Jul 6, 2011
Last week we covered DOT’s proposed safety improvements for the north side of Brooklyn Bridge Park, where sidewalk extensions, bike lanes, and planted medians will all be used to help pedestrians and cyclists safely reach the waterfront. DOT is also turning its attention to improving access to the southern entrance to the park, presenting a […]
This Week: 125th St. SBS, Brooklyn Bikeways and Traffic Calming
This week’s calendar leads off with 125th Street Select Bus Service and rolls on with a series of hearings and events in Brooklyn and the Bronx. Here are the details: Monday: DOT and the MTA will discuss how plans for Select Bus Service on 125th Street are progressing at the third meeting of the Community Advisory Committee […]
This Week: Bus Lane Bonanza
By Streetsblog | Apr 13, 2015
The Streetsblog calendar has a full slate of Select Bus Service and bus lane plans this week. There are also some important bike projects up for consideration by Brooklyn community boards. And now that it’s spring, it’s the season for silly City Council bills that open the door for more cyclist harassment by police. Here are the highlights […]
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Tappan Zee Docs Rescued From Memory Hole Say New Bridge Needs Transit
By Noah Kazis
Three state agencies told a group of stakeholders last year that transit is essential on the new Tappan Zee Bridge. Image: ##http://www.tzbsite.com/public-involvement/trans-hwy-br-options/trans-hwy-br_pres201010/rockland-summit-201015.html##Tappan Zee Bridge project site##
After a public outcry, New York State has restored the extensive library of documents generated by nine years of study and public outreach surrounding the construction of the new Tappan Zee Bridge.
Hundreds of pages had disappeared from the project website following the decision by the state and federal governments to scrap transit from the bridge in order to save money and speed up construction. (The official call to build without transit appears to have been made no later than September 26, weeks earlier than previously thought.)
The restored archives show the state’s repeated promise to build both rail lines and bus lanes across the bridge. In fact, transit advocates don’t have to craft arguments for restoring transit across the bridge. The state’s own materials make the case quite persuasively.
Flash back to one year ago: October 19, 2010. The tight budget constraints caused by the ongoing recession were already clear, but the state DOT, the New York State Thruway Authority, and the MTA continued to argue forcefully for including transit over the bridge. It wouldn’t be possible to build enough road capacity to ease traffic across the Tappan Zee, the agencies said in a presentation to the Tappan Zee Bridge stakeholder committee: “New Transit is only way to relieve congestion and improve mobility in the corridor.” The words “only way” were helpfully set off in red for extra emphasis:
The same presentation noted that just building a new bridge will not help residents of Westchester and Rockland Counties have an easier commute. As Tappan Zee Project Director Michael Anderson told the Rockland County Legislature in October 2010, “We can’t build our way out of congestion.” The only way to improve commuters’ trips, whether to White Plains or Grand Central, is to build transit.
In retrospect, the biggest irony from that October 2010 meeting came when the state promised the Tappan Zee reconstruction would “remain on track,” unlike a certain mega-project in neighboring New Jersey. The ARC tunnel, which would have built new rail connections between New Jersey and Manhattan, had just been cancelled by NJ Governor Chris Christie, earning Christie national opprobrium as an opponent of transit and obstacle to regional growth. New York promised not to repeat Christie’s policies:
Now that New York has also canceled a major cross-Hudson transit project, the words “we will learn from this!” take on a very different meaning.
Part of the extensive Tappan Zee planning process focused officials on both sides of the river on the need to pair new transit options with new development patterns. On July 21, 2010, state officials presented the stakeholders’ land use working group with a long analysis of why the state needed transit-oriented development along the I-287 corridor. The bottom line: The “current pattern of development” was crippling the state.
The presentation noted that New Yorkers spend a full week of every year stuck in traffic, that 39 percent of the state’s greenhouse gas emissions come from the transportation sector, and that most children no longer walk or bike to school.
Now, the state is proposing to build a bridge that exactly replicates the “current pattern of development,” just with wider highway lanes.
State officials held multi-day workshops in White Plans, Nyack, and Tarrytown, walking through these communities to find the best opportunities for new transit-oriented development. They touted their planning work in this set of photographs, included in the 2010 summer newsletter for the project:
With neither bus rapid transit nor a new Metro-North line included any longer on the Tappan Zee Bridge, there are no new opportunities for transit-oriented development.
The recovered Tappan Zee materials also make clear that eliminating transit from the bridge is a radical break from past planning. This image, from a June 24, 2010 presentation to the stakeholder committee, shows the five alternatives under consideration:
One option would have done nothing (a no-build scenario must be included by law). Each of the other four included both a new Metro-North line and significant bus infrastructure. The only variations between options were the details of the bus lanes.
It is this consensus — transit as the only way around congestion, transit as the key to new suburban development patterns, transit as the centerpiece of every bridge design — that Andrew Cuomo and the federal government discarded.
Filed Under: Tappan Zee Bridge
I love a 1984 reference. Thanks for that!
As upstate NY continues to drag economically and gas prices suck more money out of state, this would cement into place the current dynamic and doom the Hudson Valley to costly auto-dependence.
When a developer of utilitarian “big box” malls promises to build a grand community facility designed by a world-class star architect, assume it’s just bait to distract the “aesthetic” sector of the community. A “practical” architect will take over once the opposition is neutralized.
When a road/car oriented public authority proposes a grand project with a transit element – regardless of how hard they plead – the transit component is just catnip to neutralize the opposition by transit/environmental activists. The transit option was always meant to disappear…because the Thruway authority doesn’t do
Remember this next time something like this comes up.
Isaac B
…because the Thruway authority doesn’t do _transit_.
transit advocate
Interestingly, the thruway authority would like to add the transit component. It is the State DOT that decided to cut the mass transit from the bridge. this is a little known component to the story.
Was the public outreach required by law? Wouldn’t they have to start all over now that the project has substantially changed?
To be more accurate, the Thruway Authority induced people to believe that it wanted a transit component.
We need an OCCUPY Tappanzee Day…Occupyiers just stop their cars at 9AM. No traffic either way. Maybe January 23rd is a good day.! Do IT
Will Cuomo Scrap Transit on the Tappan Zee and Just Widen the Highway?
By Noah Kazis | Oct 11, 2011
For nine years, the state of New York has been studying how to replace the aging Tappan Zee Bridge. The bridge, which is more than 50 years old, requires ever more expensive repairs to stay structurally sound and was never intended to carry the volume of traffic that pours over it every day. Since 2002, […]
Electeds and Advocates: Tappan Zee Needs Transit From the Start
By Noah Kazis | Dec 15, 2011
Support for transit on the new Tappan Zee bridge — built up over a decade of consensus building and 280 public meetings — runs deep and broad in the Hudson Valley. Though Governor Andrew Cuomo is already rushing forward with plans to build the bridge without any transit option, 11 local elected officials from both parties […]
Hudson Valley Elected Officials Blast Decision to Take Transit Off Tappan Zee
After nine years of study and 280 meetings, New York State had reached the conclusion that the replacement for the Tappan Zee Bridge needed to include transit: both a Metro-North extension and a new cross-county bus rapid transit system. Up until quite recently, state agencies forcefully argued that only transit could improve mobility between Westchester […]
Build a Better Bridge: The Hudson Valley Wants Transit on the Tappan Zee
By Robin Urban Smith | Feb 13, 2012
New York State is on the verge of undertaking one of the largest transportation projects in the nation: the replacement of the Tappan Zee Bridge. Over the course of 10 years and 280 public meetings, Hudson Valley residents, business owners, elected officials and environmental advocates built a consensus that transit was a vital component of the Tappan […]
Thruway Authority’s Tappan Zee “Fact-Check” Sets Cuomo’s Pants on Fire
By Noah Kazis | Mar 1, 2012
Looks like the Cuomo administration is starting to feel the heat for taking transit out of plans for the new Tappan Zee Bridge. A press release yesterday from the Thruway Authority shows the agency looking a bit defensive about its transit-free bridge, which has been criticized by an ever-growing number of Hudson Valley residents, municipalities […]
Feds Reject Loan Application for Cuomo’s Transit-less Tappan Zee Bridge
In a major rebuke to the Cuomo administration’s plans for a transit-less Tappan Zee Bridge, the federal government rejected New York State’s application for a low-interest federal loan yesterday. The loan, which would have been made under the popular TIFIA program, was an important component of Cuomo’s plans to finance the new Tappan Zee. Demand […]
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Grand Concourse Will Be the Next Arterial With 25 MPH Limit
By Stephen Miller
NYPD Chief of Transportation Thomas Chan, Council Member Vanessa Gibson, Transportation Commissioner Polly Trottenberg and Assembly Member Mark Gjonaj unveil the city’s second “arterial slow zone” this morning. Photo: Stephen Miller
Local elected officials and advocates joined NYC DOT and NYPD this morning to unveil the city’s second “arterial slow zone” on the Grand Concourse in the Bronx, where speed limits will be dropped to 25 mph and traffic signals will be retimed to discourage speeding.
The lower speed limit will apply to 5.2 miles of the Grand Concourse from East 140th Street in Mott Haven to Moshulu Parkway in Bedford Park. Along this stretch of the Grand Concourse, there were 12 fatalities between 2008 and 2012, including seven pedestrians, according to DOT. Speeding is the leading cause of traffic fatalities in New York City.
“This is not the Daytona 500,” said Assembly Member José Rivera at this morning’s event. “We should consider placing speed cameras all along the Grand Concourse.”
That’s unlikely to happen immediately. State law limits speed cameras to streets with school entrances within a quarter-mile, prevents them from operating overnight and on weekends, and caps the number at 20 cameras. (DOT has five cameras running and hopes to bring the remainder online this spring.)
Bills from Speaker Sheldon Silver and Senate Co-Leader Jeff Klein would keep the location and time-of-day restrictions, but raise the ceiling to 140 cameras. Governor Cuomo’s office has pledged to sign speed camera legislation by the end of the month.
Today, Transportation Commissioner Polly Trottenberg said that while the de Blasio administration is ultimately seeking home rule over automated enforcement, it’s not pushing for a better bill in Albany this month. “We’re happy about the Klein-Silver bill. We’re supporting that and we’d be thrilled if it passed,” she said. “But in the long run, we’re going to keep incrementally working on the issue.”
NYPD’s Chief of Transportation Thomas Chan said precincts would step up enforcement against dangerous driving, particularly speeding and failure to yield to pedestrians. Precinct community affairs officers have handed out over 20,000 safety education flyers to drivers and pedestrians on the Grand Concourse since March 31. Last week, NYPD handed out tickets for more than 500 moving violations and over 1,400 parking-related violations along the Grand Concourse, Chan said.
There are four precincts along this section of the Grand Concourse. In the first three months of this year, each precinct issued between 1.5 and two speeding tickets daily, which was actually more than the same time frame last year, when each precinct typically issued fewer than one speeding ticket each day. (For comparison, each of the city’s five speed cameras has issued approximately 50 tickets daily during school hours.) The 52nd Precinct, which includes the Grand Concourse north of Fordham Road, has shown the most progress. Officers in that precinct issued only three speeding tickets in January, February and March 2013; that’s increased to 187 speeding tickets over the same period this year, according to NYPD data.
At the announcement of the city’s first arterial slow zone on Atlantic Avenue earlier this month, Chan said the department’s highway unit, which issues the majority of the speeding tickets, would only rarely supplement precinct-level enforcement on arterial roads. He said today that the motor carrier safety unit, which polices large trucks, will be used in addition to precinct enforcement on truck routes. Chan said the unit will soon launch an enforcement crackdown on Roosevelt Avenue between 60th and 78th Streets in Jackson Heights in cooperation with the 110th and 115th Precincts.
Council Member Vanessa Gibson, who represents a district that includes part of the Grand Concourse and chairs the City Council’s Public Safety Committee, said she would like to devote more NYPD resources to traffic enforcement. “In the NYPD’s budget right now, there is no additional funds for implementing Vision Zero, and that’s a concern for me,” she said.
Gibson mentioned that the Collision Investigation Squad has increased in size and scope recently, and that she would rather dedicate more resources to enforcement. “I don’t necessarily want to invest more resources in that collision unit, because I think we have to focus more on traffic on the streets,” she said. “The collision investigation unit is important,” Gibson said, acknowledging that advocates continue to push for more information from NYPD about its crash investigations. Gibson added that she has had a difficult time getting details about taxi and livery crashes from the department. “It’s hard to get the information because of the way the data is taken in. So it’s something that we’re looking at with the NYPD,” she said.
Gibson said that she and Transportation Committee Chair Ydanis Rodriguez will hold a joint oversight hearing next month on how the mayor’s budget affects Vision Zero. “There are ongoing conversations with the mayor’s office and with OMB,” she said. “We want to make sure that we equip our agencies with the resources that are key in making all of these streetscape enhancements that we know are truly necessary, as well as the enforcement.”
Gibson expressed enthusiasm for pedestrian plazas, protected bike lanes, and pedestrian countdown clocks along the Grand Concourse, which is one of the city’s widest streets. Jill Guidera of Transportation Alternatives urged DOT to consider a comprehensive redesign of the street’s geometry to slow down speeding drivers, but Trottenberg wouldn’t offer many specifics. “We’ve made a lot of improvements,” she said. “To achieve Vision Zero, we’re going to have to keep going back and refining and building upon the work that we do.”
The next major event on the calendar is a Transportation Committee meeting on April 30. Rodriguez told Streetsblog that the agenda for that meeting is still being finalized but will focus on “a historical package of legislation addressing Vision Zero,” including home rule requests for local control over automated enforcement.
Trottenberg said today that the Grand Concourse will receive new speed limit signs and retimed traffic signals in May. The remaining 23 arterial slow zones are scheduled to be implemented by the end of the year.
Filed Under: DOT, Polly Trottenberg, Street Safety, The Bronx, Traffic Calming, Traffic Enforcement, Vanessa Gibson, Vision Zero, Ydanis Rodriguez
Ben Kintisch
As part of the arterial slow zone program, DOT should include protected bike lanes for each corridor. Grand Concourse and Atlantic Avenue would be two great places to start!
Bluewndrpwrmlk96
Is this for all of the lanes? Even the ones in the center?
AnoNYC
If only they would swap the parking and bicycle lanes on the GC. Would make for a much safer corridor for everyone. Speed humps would also be great along the outer lanes.
Camera enforcement is critical here too, considering that drivers love to quickly accelerate and brake between traffic lights.
millerstephen
I would love to see Westchester Ave, Southern Blvd, or Bruckner Blvd transformed into “arterial slow zones” as well. Major Manhattan bound bike routes for a large chunk of the borough. Tons of pedestrians along the former two. Speeding is a MAJOR problem along Bruckner Blvd.
While your at it, swap the parking and bike lanes on Willis Avenue.
East 161st/163rd modifications would be great for crosstowners.
It doesn’t seem very reasonable or realistic to expect people to drive only 25 mph on a six lane road just because some new signs are posted. Speed limits should be self enforcing. If you really want people to slow down, you need engineering changes (e.g., road diet).
This is the same Gibson who was caught parking in the bike lane on the Concourse:
http://www.streetsblog.org/2010/04/08/bronx-rep-promises-to-make-every-effort-to-avoid-blocking-the-bike-lane/
I’m for most traffic calming measures but this seems like overkill to me. I think better enforcement of the 30 MPH speed limit is a better idea. 25 MPH is too slow, especially for a street like Grand Concourse. 25mph might work for the service roads but for the main road that’s too slow. 30 MPH is fine for most of the city, just enforce it and expand speed cameras. Nearby north south streets would be better candidates for a 25 mph limit.
If you must put a 25 mph limit on a major street, I’d do it on a street with an elevated train line, like Westchester Av, or portions of White Plains Rd.
I also think a city wide 20 mph speed limit is insane. One of the most absurd ideas I’ve ever heard. I’m equal parts pedestrian, cyclist and drive. Everyone needs to share the road, but I don’t subscribe to this us vs them sentiment that some ppl seem to have.
The city is trying to move away from the mindset that the Grand Concourse is a speedway. Pedestrian density is very high along that corridor. I believe it is in the best interest of the community to bring it in line with other neighborhood streets. If someone needs to get somewhere in a hurry, I doubt 5 MPH will make a difference. They also have the Major Deegan Expressway running parallel to the West. In return drivers have improved reaction time when it comes down for unexpected interactions with pedestrians or other automobiles and less likelihood of serious or fatal injury.
I can see your point. The city doesn’t want people to view Grand Concourse as a Bx version of the West Side Hwy, moving traffic at near highway speeds on a hybrid local/hwy throughfare. The problem to me is that’s exactly how its built. In the end I think its all pointless unless there is consistent enforcement, not just a 1 day ticket blitz every couple months. Ny’ers are not ones prone to obeying traffic laws just because a sign says so.
Atlantic Ave First of 25 “Arterial Slow Zones” to Get 25 MPH Limit This Year
By Stephen Miller | Apr 9, 2014
As drivers zoomed by on Atlantic Avenue this morning, local elected officials and advocates joined NYC DOT and NYPD to unveil the first of the city’s “arterial slow zones,” major streets where the speed limit will be dropped to 25 mph from the current citywide limit of 30 mph. Traffic signals will also be retimed to […]
NYC Will Roll Out Nine Additional Arterial Slow Zones by September
By Stephen Miller | May 1, 2014
Over the past three weeks, DOT has been rolling out its 25 mph arterial slow zone program to high-crash streets one by one: Atlantic Avenue, the Grand Concourse, McGuinness Boulevard, and this morning, Broadway in Manhattan. Now, the initiative will expand to nine more streets across the city by the end of August, with 12 […]
McGuinness Boulevard Is NYC’s Third 25 MPH Arterial Slow Zone
Ask a Greenpoint resident to name the neighborhood’s most dangerous street, and they’ll likely point to McGuinness Boulevard, an infamous speedway that splits the neighborhood in half. Today, it became the city’s third “arterial slow zone” to receive a 25 mph speed limit, retimed traffic signals to discourage speeding, and focused enforcement. The arterial slow […]
Broadway Speed Limit to Drop to 25 MPH From Columbus Circle to Inwood
By Brad Aaron | May 1, 2014
The speed limit will be lowered to 25 miles per hour on eight miles of upper Broadway this summer, DOT announced today. Motorists have killed 22 pedestrians on Broadway from Columbus Circle to W. 220 Street in Inwood since 2008, according to Transportation Commissioner Polly Trottenberg, who was flanked by NYPD officials, city and state […]
Queens Blvd Gets “Slow Zone” Label, But Speed Limit Remains the Same
Yesterday, DOT announced that Queens Boulevard, one of the city’s deadliest streets, would be part of its arterial slow zone initiative that reduces speed limits from 30 to 25 mph. But unlike other streets in the program, Queens Boulevard would have its limit dropped from 35 to 30 mph. Trouble is, the speed limit on […]
Lentol Wants 20 MPH Speed Limits on Big, Dangerous Brooklyn Streets
By Stephen Miller | Jan 28, 2014
This afternoon, Assembly Member Joseph Lentol announced that he’s sent a letter to Transportation Commissioner Polly Trottenberg asking for 20 mph speed limits on the busiest, deadliest roads in his district. “There are three main streets within my district that are notorious for speeders – McGuinness Boulevard, Kent Avenue, and Park Avenue,” Lentol wrote in […]
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robbie ray
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SWMRS reveal headlining 2019 North American tour with stops in Brooklyn and Syracuse
Metal/Hard Rock/PunkNews DeskTour Announcements
Syracuse and Brooklyn on the itinerary
By Emily VanderWiel On Jan 8, 2019
SWMRS, California based punk-rock band has announced a nationwide headlining tour with support from The Regrettes and Beach Goons, including two stops in New York State. SWMRS draw on influences ranging from The Ramones to The Beach Boys and have created their own brand of punk/surf-rock. The North American leg of the The “Berkley’s On Fire Tour” commences March 28 in San Diego, and will comprise of stops in Dallas, Las Vegas, Washington, Boston, Chicago, and many more. The two New York stops include April 11 at Brooklyn Steel in Brooklyn and April 13 at The Westcott Theater in Syracuse. Previous to the North American tour, SWMRS will be touring in Europe and the United Kingdom.
Tickets go on sale this Friday, Jan. 11. SWMRS’ new album, Berkley’s On Fire is available for pre-order now. Fans that purchase a pre-order will get access to a ticketing pre-sale starting Tuesday, Jan. 8. Full album and tour info can be found here.
Brooklyn SteelSWMRSThe Westcott Theater
Emily VanderWiel 67 posts 0 comments
Music is a way of life for Emily, the love for live music took over after Phish's Clifford Ball, her first concert experience. The rest is history; hundreds of shows, and many more to come. With a background in Marketing and Sales, her role with NYS Music includes Marketing Coordinator, writer of news, features, concert reviews and more. She operates her own business, WielHouse Management, providing band management, booking, social media and other relevant services to regional and local artists. Emily also volunteers with The Waterwheel Foundation, REVERB, and GrooveSafe. Guaranteed to run into her on the rail somewhere between Chuck and Rob.
Greensky Bluegrass Starting their Winter Tour in Albany
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Adam Ezra Group to Play Free Levitt AMP Concert Series in Utica Monday Night
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Maybird to Celebrate New Release at Baby’s All Right
Turkuaz Throws Down at Brooklyn Steel
Photo Gallery: Umphrey’s McGee at Brooklyn Steel
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Why the World Needs Dino-Riders
Aurelius Robles
We live in a world of turmoil. Skyrocketing gas prices, terrible regional conflicts, rising temperatures, rampant corruption, violent crime, the looming threat of a fifth Transformers film. People are beginning to lose faith, to believe nothing will save them.
But there remains one hope, lost amidst the refuse of time, but still remembered by a select few. A parable that speaks to the hero in all of us, strengthens our resolve, and keeps us always facing the light:
Dino-Riders.
This wondrous feat of imagination and insanity came during the Great Golden Age of Holyshittery, the 1980s. It told the timeless tale of humans from the future, the noble Valorians (good=valor, get it? Ah, the subtleties of the 80s...) battling the nefarious Rulons, aliens with the heads of animals from Earth. By itself, this tale would be forgotten by all, consigned to the heap of all the lame Star Wars wannabes.
But then the Valorians and Rulons crash-landed on prehistoric Earth. And greatness was founded that day, for they discovered the utility of dinosaurs, mainly to serve as battle mounts for their epic war. The cruel Rulons enslaved the dinosaurs with brain boxes, headgear that forced the dinosaurs to bend to the Rulons evil will. The peaceful Valorians, however, had telepathic necklaces conveniently set to "dinosaur" that allowed them to exist in harmony with their new Mesozoic friends.
The two sides armed their dinosaurs with futuristic battle gear. Sauropods became walking weapons platforms. Pterosaurs became archaic fighter jets. Raptors and Deinonychus became Calvary mounts, while Tyrannosaurs became akin to walking tanks.
It was fucking awesome. Stupid, but awesome.
Dino-Riders lasted only fourteen short episodes, taken from us all too soon. But its legacy remains. I still have my Tyrannosaurus and Pteranodon. I still remember the wonder I felt, the explosion of imagination that washed over me when I first saw the show. We need that kind of imagination back in the world.
A Dino-Riders film with today's special effects would be one of the greatest spectacles to ever grace the screen. It could be a glorious masterpiece on par with The Lord of the Rings, remembered for hundreds of years as a triumph of creativity and insanity. It would ignite the flames of creativity within a new generation of artists, and remind the older generations that there is still some wonder left in this world.
The tale could be updated to reflect the times. The Valorians could be the last survivors of the war with the Rulons, themselves the last remnant of an collection of animal species artificially "evolved" by future humanity. The Rulons could want revenge against the Valorians for the sins of humanity's ancestors, as well as the destruction of the war. The Valorians could just want to escape somewhere peaceful, to start over fresh.
Instead of crashing on prehistoric Earth and causing difficult time traveley questions, the combatants could crash on a nature preserve planet populated with dinosaurs "resurrected" by Valorian scientists. This way it makes as much sense as something like this can, but still give us our dinosaurs outfitted with future weaponry.
And who knows, maybe the dinosaurs can ultimately bring the two sides back together, using the telepathic connection the brain boxes and medallions offer to communicate with the Valorians and Rulons. And Dino-Riders can be a parable about putting aside our differences, for we are all alike in our love for these wonderful reptiles. It could even restore peace to this wartorn world. I personally can not wait for this film to hit the screen, and hope it happens sooner rather than later. Hell, I'd make it myself if I had the option.
Just, for the love of all that's holy, keep it away from Bay.
Recent from Aurelius Robles
Secret Wars #6 Review - Hamburgers and Lies
The Real Enemy
Delays, Delays, Delays!
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Archive | July, 2013
House Passes AIPAC “Strangle Iran” Sanctions 400-20
AIPAC, Israel, Lobby
AIPAC, israel, lobby, US, USA
Palestine News | July 31, 2013
آخر الأخبار والتحديثات July 31, 2015 | 24253 Days Since Al-Nakba – Gaza is under siege for 2241 days For news of previous news days | Daily News Overviews Follow on Twitter for more live updates Ramadan Kareem! | !رمضان كريم Ramadan Kareem | رمضان كريم Ramadan in Palestine – In Photos Second Ramadan in […]
A Daily News Archive
#GazaUnderAttack, 2013, 31 07 2013, BDS, BREAKING NEWS, december, exile, Filistin, gaza, headlines, intifada, July 31, live updates, news, news from palestine, Occupied Palestine, Occupied Palestinian Territories, palaestina, palästina, palestine, palestine news, Phalaistín, ramadan, ramadan kareem, ramazan, Suasana ramadhan di Palestina, today, Today in Gaza, today in palestine, tweets, فلسطين, في, محمد عساف, والتحديثات, חדשות, ישראל, آخر, أحداث, إسرائيل صهيونية, الأخبار, خبر, رمضان, رمضان كريم, رام الله
#StopPrawerPlan | Human chain against Prawer Plan in Haifa
[ PIC 31/07/2013 – 03:08 PM ] HAIFA, (PIC)– Hundreds have organized a human chain Tuesday evening in the northern city of Haifa in Palestinian territories occupied in 1948 in protest against Prawer plan. The protest was organized by Haifa popular committee against Prawer. The protesters closed Ben-Gurion Street for half an hour before heading […]
bedouin, Demolitions, Deportation, Ethnic Cleansing, Israel, Negev, Palestine, Video, Zionism
1948 palestine, arabic, bedouin, begin, download, english, english translation, Ethnic Cleansing, full text, haifa, hebrew, israel, israeli, Jordan Valley, Nakba, naqab, Negev, palestine, palestinians, PDF, plan, praver, prawer, prawer plan, translated, unrecognized villages, فلسطين, video, videos, zionism, חדשות, ישראל, أحداث, إسرائيل صهيونية, الضفة الغربية, خبر
Palestinian NGOs reject negotiations with Israeli occupation
“Settling” constitutes a warcime according to international law and ICC statute. Even under US’ own military legislations’ Law resources below this article Middle East Monitor | July 31, 2013 The Palestinian NGO Network has declared that the Ramallah Palestinian Authority’s decision to resume negotiations with Israel based on the recommendations of US Secretary of State […]
Annexation, Ethnic Cleansing, Israel, israeli, Occupation, Palestine, Peace Talks, Permanent Occupation, Settlement Construction, Settlements, Warcrimes, west bank, Zionism
annexation, Art 27, art 49, Article 8(2)(b)(viii), breach, Ethnic Cleansing, Fourth Geneva Convention, ICC Statute, israel, israeli, law, negotiations, NGOs, Occupied Palestine, palestine, palestinian NGO network, permanent-occupation, reject, settlement construction, settlements, violation, west bank, zionism
Al-Aqsa Brigades exhibit their strength and reject negotiations
Middle East Monitor | July 31, 2013 Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, affiliated with Fatah, insists that an armed struggle against Israel is the only way to liberate PalestineThe armed wing of Fatah, Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, has exhibited its arsenal of guns, rockets and missiles in the Gaza Strip. This, reported Israel’s Channel 2, illustrates the […]
absolute right, aggression, al-aqsa, al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, assault, attack, attacks, Brigades, gaza, Gaza strip, gaza under attack, gaza under fire, genocide, israel, israeli, massacre, military, occupier, onslaught, palestine, resistance, right, under fire, violence, warfare, zionism
Palestine: Dividing Land, Erasing Identity in Qalandiya
Visitors walk past a giant photograph showing the “Apartheid Wall” at the West Bank at the “Wall on Wall” exhibition by German photographer Kai Wiedenhoefer, displayed on a remaining section of the Berlin wall 26 July 2013. (Photo: AFP – John Macdougall) Al Akhbar English | Malik Samara | Wednesday, July 31, 2013 Qalandiya, a […]
Apartheid, Apartheid Wall, Israel, Occupation, Palestine, palestinians, Photography
apartheid, apartheid wall, barrier, berlin, compare, Erasing, Ethnic Cleansing, Foto's, identity, illegal, image, images, israel, israeli, law, Palestina, palestine, photography, photos, pictures, qalandia, Qalandiya, racist, restrictions of movement, separation, فلسطين, wall, חדשות, ישראל, أحداث, إسرائيل صهيونية, الضفة الغربية, خبر
Israel: Huge Liability on US FP Balance Sheet – Indyk-AIPAC Secret Theft From US Industry Reaches $100 Billion
Grant F. Smith | Global research | July 31, 2013 There are many reasons why naming Martin Indyk the special envoy to mediate between Israel and Palestine is a bad idea. Marinated in Israeli-American media mogul Haim Saban’s largess at Brookings Institute, many observers have noted Indyk’sprevious failures as a diplomat for the U.S. It is assumed that Indyk will again function as “Israel’s lawyer” and Palestinians will get […]
AIPAC, Israel, israeli, Lobby, Occupation, Palestine, Peace Talks, US, Video, west bank, Zionism
AIPAC, american, americans, Barack Obama, Brookings institute, Dan Halpern, deficit, featured, Haim Saban, israel, israeli, lobby, Martin Indyk, occupation, Occupied Palestine, palestine, president, tax, theft, United States, US, US Industry, USA, فلسطين, video, videos, visit, west bank, zionism, الولايات المتحدة, اوباما, باراك أوباما, رئيس
Netanyahu uses settlement pledge to get coalition support for prisoner release
“Settling” constitutes a warcime according to international law and ICC statute. Even under US’ own military legislations’ Law resources below this article MEMO | July 31, 2013 Israeli newspaper Maariv reported on Wednesday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged to continue settlement building in return for support from coalition partners for the prisoner release deal. […]
annexation, Art 27, art 49, Article 8(2)(b)(viii), blackmail, breach, bribe, Ethnic Cleansing, Fourth Geneva Convention, ICC Statute, israel, israeli, law, netanyahu, Occupied Palestine, Palestina, palestine, peace talks, permanent-occupation, political, prisoners, release, settlement construction, settlements, Settlers, talks, trade, فلسطين, violation, west bank, zionism, חדשות, ישראל, أحداث, إسرائيل صهيونية, الضفة الغربية, خبر
Hamas criticises Abbas’ demand for reintroduction of 2005 border agreement
Middle East Monitor | July 31, 2013 Mahmoud Abbas demands Egypt to reactivate the 2005 Crossings Agreement at the Rafah borderThe Islamic Resistance Movement has criticised the demand made by the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas for Egypt to reactivate the 2005 Crossings Agreement at the Rafah border. Hamas spokesman Sami Abu-Suhri pointed out that Abbas’s […]
attack, Israel, israeli, Occupation, Palestine, palestinians, Peace Talks, Violence, west bank
2005, 2005 Crossings Agreement, aggression, AIPAC, apartheid, assault, attack, attacks, border agreement, condemns, gaza, hamas, israel, israeli, negotiations, occupation, Occupied Palestine, palestine, palestinians, peace talks, Rafah, talks, US, violent, west bank, zionism
Reviving the Israel-Palestine Negotiations: The Indyk Appointment ~ by Richard Falks (@rfalk13)
Prof. Em. Richard Falk | Global Research | July 31, 2013 Appointing Martin Indyk as Special Envoy to the upcoming peace talks was to be expected. It was signaled in advance. And yet it is revealing and distressing. The only other candidates considered for the job were equally known as Israeli partisans: Daniel Kurtzer, former ambassador to Israel […]
AIPAC, attack, Israel, israeli, Occupation, Palestine, palestinians, Peace Talks, Violence, west bank
aggression, AIPAC, apartheid, assault, attack, attacks, Daniel Kurtzer, Envoy, featured, israel, israeli, lobby, Martin Indyk, occupation, Occupied Palestine, palestine, palestinians, reviving talks, Richard Falk, The Indyk Appointment, violent, west bank, zionism, Zionist
Awad, 19, wounded by Israeli fire while gathering firewood ~ Report and photos by @Rosa_Schiano
31st July 2013 | International Solidarity Movement, Rosa Schiano | Gaza, Occupied Palestine On Thursday afternoon, July 25, 2013, a 19 year old, Rafat Awad Abdel Aty was injured while working in an area called “Jamarik” near Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip. Awad Abdel Aty (Photo by Rosa Schiano) Awad, who was admitted […]
#GazaUnderAttack, attack, gaza, israel, israeli, man, Palestina, shot, snipers, فلسطين, violence, Wounded, zionism, חדשות, ישראל, أحداث, إسرائيل صهيونية, خبر
VIDEO | Palestinians feel betrayed as PA dragged into talks with Israel ~ by @PressTV
Still live in fairy-tale-land about Israel? Time to wake up: The Map of the “Greater Israel” even is hammered on the currency: All facts at Storify continuously updated. Read what Israeli ‘leaders’ have said and done even before (peace) talks and how their actions contradict the reality and ugly facts which they try to […]
attack, Israel, israeli, Occupation, Palestine, palestinians, Video, Violence, west bank
aggression, apartheid, assault, attack, attacks, betrayal, israel, israeli, occupation, Occupied Palestine, PA, palestine, palestinians, video, videos, violent, west bank
Israeli occupation refuses to release sick administrative detainee
[ PIC 31/07/2013 – 05:27 PM ] GAZA, (PIC)– The Israeli occupation authorities (IOA) refused to release the oldest serving detainee Sheikh Nazih Abu Oun despite his ill health. The Palestine center for prisoners’ studies said in a statement on Wednesday that Abu Oun, 51, was arrested on 5/7/2011 and was held since then in […]
ill, israel, Occupied Palestine, Palestina, prisoner, refuses, release, sick, فلسطين, חדשות, ישראל, أحداث, إسرائيل صهيونية, الضفة الغربية, خبر
Ending the division more important than resumption of talks, says MP Abu Baker
[ PIC 31/07/2013 – 05:10 PM ] AL-KHALIL, (PIC)– MP Najat Abu Baker, affiliated with the Fatah movement, stated that ending the division and achieving the national construction is more important than negotiation option. MP Baker told Quds Press that the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations had never been stopped, pointing out that the PA came as a […]
aggression, apartheid, assault, attack, attacks, ending division, israel, israeli, more important, MP Abu baker, occupation, Occupied Palestine, palestine, palestinians, peace talks, violent, west bank
Israeli plan to build new Jewish neighborhood near Aqsa Mosque
[ PIC 31/07/2013 – 05:36 PM ] OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC)– The Aqsa foundation for endowment and heritage said that the Israeli government intends to build a settlement outpost and a synagogue to the northeast of the Aqsa Mosque. The Aqsa foundation stated on Tuesday that the Israeli plan includes the building of a Jewish neighborhood […]
al quds, aqsa, divided city, division, Ethnic Cleansing, holy site, islam, Islamic, israel, israeli, jerusalem, judaization, muslims, occupied jerusalem, Occupied Palestine, Palestina, Quds, فلسطين, zionism, חדשות, ישראל, أحداث, إسرائيل صهيونية, الضفة الغربية, خبر
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Tag: Apple
WWE App Review
Are you a huge WWE fan and can’t stand to spend a minute away from all the action? Look no further than the WWE App. Available for both iOS and Android platforms, this app puts you the fan in charge. With breaking news, highlights from Raw, Smackdown, WWE PPV’s and the soon to come WWE Network you’ll never miss a beat of the action.
One of the coolest things in my opinion about the WWE App itself is that when any of the WWE televised events go to commercial break, you can continue to watch the match going on live when you switch over to the app. No longer do you have to worry about missing when your TV screen fades to black. Best of all, the WWE App let’s you in on exclusive backstage content that you won’t be able to see anywhere else.
Another great thing about the WWE app is the superstar profiles. Each of your favorite WWE Superstars from present and past are located on the app and on each of their bio pages their entrance music as well as tons of photo and video content from some of their greatest matches. It’s truly unbelievable how expansive the WWE library is. You can even relive classic matches like Andre the Giant vs. Hulk Hogan, all at your fingertips.
Arguably one of the best things about the app is the fact that the WWE has now given power back to its fans the WWE Universe. Often times during shows such as Raw and Smackdown, fans will be given the change to vote on the matches they want to see, making the show very interactive. For me as a lifelong fan, there’s truly nothing better than getting to influence a match because you know it’s what you and millions of other wrestling fans out there want to see.
All in all, the WWE app is a must have for any wrestling fan whether you’re a lifelong fan or just getting into wrestling for the first time. Be sure to download the WWE App in the App Store of your iOS device or the apps section of Google Play on your Android device. Also be sure to check out the brand new WWE Network, WWE’s new 24/7 HD programming network available for purchase through the WWE App on 2/24/14 for $9.99 a month.
Author MikePosted on February 21, 2014 February 20, 2014 Categories Apps, Reviews, WWETags Android, App, Apple, WWE, WWE NetworkLeave a comment on WWE App Review
Disney Story App Review
Recently, Disney released a new free app called Story for Apple iOS devices running 5.1 or later. According to the developer notes in the App Store, the Disney Story app is optimized for iPhone 5. Although I have an iPhone 4S, I had no evident issues although the app was not designed for my particular model of phone.
The basic premise behind the app is that the pictures and videos you take tell the stories of your life. You are able to view shared stories on a unique website that is created for each Disney Story created in the app. If you choose to share just keep in mind that those who can see your Facebook or are invited to the email will be able to see the story, so please don’t publish private information like addresses or phone numbers. The information provided by Disney from the App Store indicates that the unique Disney Story websites will not be able to be searched for or found without the unique web address. Any pictures or videos uploaded, but not shared are deleted from the app’s server after seven days.
I found the app to be very user friendly and intuitive for anyone familiar with an Apple device. The Disney Story app accesses your camera roll to organize pictures and videos by date and location. This makes it very easy to see stories of your life appear before you to share with others.
Disney Story in App Store
Tech Spec Requirements
Story Started
Renamed Title
Mickey Theme
Straightforward Menus
Uploading to Email
Ways to Share and Follow Disney Story
Selecting Moments to Start a Story
Once you have downloaded and installed the app, make sure you login to or create a Disney account. This is necessary in order to share your stories. When you have selected what kind of story you want to tell by date and location by choosing pictures to start from in My Moments, you can start creating your Story. The Story is limited to 20 pictures, but allows you some creative latitude in layout and editing the pictures to zoom in and out. It is very easy to add pictures from your camera roll, delete unwanted pictures, rearrange the order of pictures and even take new pictures and video straight from the app. After just a few minutes of playing with Disney Story, I created a story of my own. You can see it here.
Here is a video from the Apple App Store showing the sizzle reel for Disney Story: httpv://youtu.be/FemQuheA4mw
I think this is a fantastic app that will allow people to very easily create and share stories with friends and families while on the go. You don’t have to wait to get back from vacation to share that story about the first time the kids met their favorite characters in the Magic Kingdom. You caught it all on video and in pictures and can email it off to grandma and grandpa while you are right there still in the park. It will be a great way of sharing the magical moments your family and friends experience on a small scale with those who aren’t there or even with all of your Facebook friends. I love the Disney Story app and look forward to using it more to share stories with friends and family that aren’t able to join me on my adventures. Creating these little vignettes is a quick and easy way to share your stories one moment at a time instead of in a large album of your entire vacation. I hope you all will take the time to download this new app and I look forward to seeing your stories!
Do you have the Disney Story app? What do you think? Have you used it yet to share your stories? Tell us about it!
Author BetsyPosted on May 14, 2013 May 13, 2013 Categories Apps, Reviews, Smartphone AppsTags Apple, Disney Story, iphone appsLeave a comment on Disney Story App Review
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"I will never tire of repeating that we have to be contemplative souls in the midst of the world, who try to convert their work into prayer.” (Saint Josemaría)
Opus Dei in Singapore
Christian lifeOther Resources
Working on Trust
Working on Trust (1): "More than Video Games"
Working on Trust (2): "Talking with children about human sexuality"
Working on Trust (3): "Mom, can I have a cell phone?"
Working on Trust (4): “Can I go out tonight?”
Working on Trust (5): "Can I have a party?"
Working on Trust (7): An Unexpected Future
Working on Trust (9): Dealing with peer pressure
Working on Trust (6): Each Child Is Different
Working on Trust (8): God chose my son
Access the whole series
“The Adventure of Marriage”: Video-Series
In this series of six videos, Sole and Juampi, an Argentinian couple, share the story of their joys and sorrows, struggles and victories in their married life together. These six videos could serve as a resource for pre-marriage courses and for young couples.
"Dangers Along the Way" — second video in series
"Searching for Light" — third video in series
"The Importance of Not Being Alone" - fourth video in series
"An Adventure for Everyone" - fifth video in series
"Just Start" - Works of Mercy in Daily Life
The eleven videos in this series on the corporal and spiritual works of mercy, offered each month during the Jubilee Year of Mercy, can now be accessed on a single page.
Just Start (1): Work for Free
Just Start (2): Feeding Body and Soul
Just Start (3): Enlarge your Family
Just Start (4): Learn to Forgive
Just Start (5): Open Doors "Assisting Refugees"
Just Start (6): Share What You Know
What Faith Means When You're 20
In this series, young people from various countries talk about how their faith influences their daily lives.
"Setting the tone"
"Bringing God into my daily life"
“Faith leads to service”
"What faith means when you're 20"
A series of videos and articles on "the least of the Apostles," to celebrate the Year of St. Paul
Short Videos
Year of Saint Paul
Saint Paul and Marriage
Year of Saint Paul on the Opus Dei Website
Paths to God
Extracts from a book by the late Prelate of Opus Dei, Bishop Javier Echevarría: "Itinerarios de vida cristiana." English translation: "Paths to God," Scepter Publishers.
God, Father of Infinite Mercy
Knowing Jesus Christ and Making Him Known
The Holy Spirit, Love Guiding Us to Love
Holy Mary, Mother of God and our Mother
1. Learning to Care for One Another in the Family
2. Letter from the Prelate (12 July 2019)
3. "Christ is the source of our joy"
4. Anniversary Mass of St Josemaria in Singapore
5. By Dint of Little Steps: Walking the Way of St. James
6. Something Great That Is Love (IX): We are apostles!
7. Anniversary Mass of St Josemaria in Kuala Lumpur
8. “Nunc coepi! Now I begin!”
9. Examples of Faith (III): David, A Man After God's Own Heart
10. Opus Dei's First Tabernacle
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Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari says raising interest rates too soon could lead to a recession
By Kai Ryssdal, Janet Nguyen, and Maria Hollenhorst
<iframe src="https://origin-www.marketplace.org/2018/12/21/business/neel-kashkari-interest-rates-hike/popout" frameborder="0" width="100%" height="240px"></iframe>
Neel Kashkari, then the acting interim assistant secretary for financial stabilization at the Treasury Department, arrives for a hearing on Capitol Hill back in 2009. - Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
The Federal Reserve needs to slow down its interest rate hikes, which could put the economy at risk of a recession, according to Neel Kashkari, the president of the Minneapolis Fed and the man who ran the bailout program during the last financial crisis.
“My view is we should be patient. We should pause the rate increases, let the economy continue to strengthen,” Kashkari said. “And if inflation picks up, we can always raise rates then.”
New surveys show that CEOs and CFOs are worried a recession could happen as soon as next year.
The Fed has raised interest rates for the fourth time this year, pushing the short-term interest rate by a quarter point from 2.25 percent to 2.5 percent. Fueled by a strong economy, Fed Chair Jerome Powell has plans to hike interest rates two more times in 2019.
But Powell said, "We know that the economy may not be as kind to our forecasts next year as it was this year."
Kashkari joined Marketplace’s Kai Ryssdal to discuss why he thinks the Fed is raising rates and the risks associated with those rate hikes. Here are some highlights from our interview with him:
Kai Ryssdal: Yes, the labor market is strong, but housing is slowing a little bit. You can go back and forth on this until the cows come home. But the fact is that it does appear to be slowing a bit, and yet the Fed keeps raising. People want to know why.
Neel Kashkari: Well, I think that's right. There are some signs of slowing — housing and autos which are very sensitive to interest rates. When interest rates go up, mortgage payments go up and so that slows the economy down, so we are paying attention to that. But I think overall, the balance is, well, the economy still seems like it has a lot of momentum. And my colleagues and I want to get back to a neutral monetary policy stance. So, look, there's no crystal ball. We're not exactly sure. But we're trying to move cautiously as we've taken the data.
Ryssdal: Does it make you crazy that your words get parsed like this?
Kashkari: Well, I have a lot of sympathy for Chairman Powell because it’s not easy to deliver a message exactly as you want and have the markets interpret it exactly as you've intended. So I think he's doing a very good job. But it's a tough job that he's in.
Ryssdal: What happens if the Fed screws it up? Because inflation, as you know, can come on super fast.
Kashkari: Well, if inflation comes on super fast and we have to raise rates really quickly to keep it in check, that could really slam the brakes on the economy and that could put the economy in a recession. So that's one risk. Another risk is if we raise rates too soon, and the economy doesn't need the higher interest rates, we could put the economy into recession ourselves unnecessarily. And so I wish it was an exact science, it's not entirely clear. But I'm in the camp of, “Let's be patient, let's let the economy continue to strengthen — and then let's raise rates when we know we need to.” I don't want to end the expansion prematurely if there’s no inflation actually building.
Follow Kai Ryssdal at @kairyssdal.
Kai Ryssdal
Kai Ryssdal is the host and senior editor of Marketplace, the most widely heard program on business and the economy — radio or television, commercial or public broadcasting — in the country. In addition, he joins forces with Marketplace Tech’s Molly Wood to connect the dots on the economy,...
Twitter: kairyssdal
Maria Hollenhorst
Maria Hollenhorst is an assistant producer at Marketplace.
Here's why consumer sentiment is positive even while markets are tanking
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Tokyo Ghoul Merchandise
Category : Home & Kitchen
Written and illustrated by Sui Ishida, Tokyo Ghoul is the hit manga series serialized in Weekly Young Jump. A sequel to Tokyo Ghoul, Tokyo Ghoul:re began in 2014 as well as a prequel series Tokyo Ghoul: JACK on Jump Live. The TV anime adaptation produced by Studio Pierrot aired in 2014 and was followed by a sequel Tokyo Ghoul √A in 2015.
Tokyo Ghoul is set in an alternate Tokyo where flesh-eating ghouls live in secret among the normal population. Protagonist Ken Kaneki finds himself drawn into this strange world when he accidentally goes on a date with a ghoul, Rize Kamishiro, and gets into an accident whereupon he receives a transplant from her at the hands of unknowing doctors. Now a half-ghoul himself, Ken needs to eat human flesh and is taken in by the ghouls who run the Anteiku coffee shop including waitress Touka Kirishima, and manager Yoshimura, who teach him how to survive in his new form.
Ken Kaneki
Tokyo Ghoul:re American Comics Style Flat Pouch
$12.99$12.34(5% OFF)
Figures & Dolls (7)
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US Chargé d’Affaires in Bolivia Doubles Down on Venezuela Criticism Following Controversy
Karina Martín Aug 15, 2017 10
EspañolRelations between the United States and Bolivia continue to waver as miscommunications and varying opinions surrounding the crisis in Venezuela caused confusion this week. The problems escalated when Chargé d’Affaires of the…
Bolivia President Accuses US of “Recolonizing” Latin America through Venezuela
Karina Martín Aug 8, 2017 5
EspañolBolivian President Evo Morales has once again criticized the United States of wanting to "recolonize" Latin America and the Caribbean, with Venezuela being their "strategic playing piece." "Today the empire silently practices…
US Officials Visit Bolivia in Attempt to Restore Full Diplomatic Ties
Karina Martín Mar 22, 2017 7
EspañolUnited States officials traveled to Bolivia this week for the first time since 2008 in an attempt to strengthen bilateral relations between the two nations. United States Deputy Assistant Secretary for Western Hemisphere…
Bolivian General Who Captured Che Guevara Denounces Trial Fueled by “Vengeance”
Karina Martín Sep 6, 2016 59
EspañolRetired General Gary Prado Salmón captured the legendary leftist guerrilla rebel Ernesto "Che" Guevara 49 years ago. He stands trial for terrorism after a confusing episode in 2009 when the police defused a plot to allegedly…
Bolivia Inaugurates Regional “Anti-Imperialist” Army School
Karina Martín Aug 16, 2016 7
EspañolBolivia will be inaugurating an "anti-imperialist" military school this week, with many senior officials expected to be in attendance. Bolivia's Minister of Defense Reymi Ferreira as well as Venezuela and Nicaragua's Defense…
Chile Takes Water Dispute with Bolivia to International Court
Raquel García Jun 7, 2016 82
La Chilean President Michelle Bachelet announced the lawsuit the week of June 6 (Los Tiempos) EspañolChilean President Michelle Bachelet announced Monday, June 6 that Chile will be filing a lawsuit against Bolivia in the International…
Bolivian President to Pursue Second Reelection Referendum
Sabrina Martín Jun 6, 2016 2
EspañolEvo Morales lost the constitutional referendum in February asking Bolivians if they approved of constitutional changes that would allow him to run for reelection. Now, the President is insisting on a new referendum pursuing the…
Bolivian Army Forced to Sing Anthem Praising President Morales
Sabrina Martín Jun 1, 2016 52
Español"Your patriotism is our ideal and greatest virtue, you have united Bolivia in our heats, it is a great example to imitate." Thus begins a song for Bolivia President Evo Morales, which military officials were reportedly…
Bolivia: Evo Morales’s Brand of Socialism Is in Clear Decline
Thabata Molina Feb 23, 2016 20
EspañolOn Sunday, February 21, Bolivians voted in a referendum to decide whether or not they agreed with a constitutional reform to allow President Evo Morales to run for the presidency for the fourth time in 2019. The final results are…
Not Even Carnival in Bolivia Is Free of State Intervention
Ricardo Cardona López Dec 2, 2015 5
EspañolIn Santa Cruz, Bolivia, Carnival is celebrated in February. However, in October, just months before the big Cruceño party, the carnival-planning team dismissed the “Queen of Carnival,” Valeria Saucedo, alleging that she didn’t…
Ban Ki Moon’s Naive “Homeland or Death” Salute to Bolivia
Ricardo Cardona López Nov 4, 2015 13
EspañolOn October 10, UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon arrived in Bolivia for the second World Peoples Conference on Climate Change and the Protection of Life (CMPCC). Standing alongside Bolivian President Evo Morales, the secretary…
Time for Bolivians to Forget about the Sea
Ricardo Cardona López Oct 12, 2015 10
EspañolIn 1879, a war broke out over a tax controversy between Chile and Bolivia, along with Bolivia's ally, Peru. Bolivia demanded that a Chilean company pay taxes, and went on to seize and auction its assets. It was a time when Chile,…
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Kierkegaard and Kanye: A love story
If you live in the Western world and have at any point crossed paths with a television set, you’ve probably seen, heard or rioted against this classic Kanye West moment:
(N.b. In order to prop up Viacom’s flagging market share this grainy, shitty video will probably be removed in fairly short order. This means you’ll have to do their own research. I trust you.)
Now it would be easy to simply dismiss Kanye as a gay fish, but I won’t. I’m a sensitive man who understands the soul of the frustrated, lonely multi-platinum recording artist. Indeed, I dare say Kanye’s story is not as superficial as it seems. He’s not just some nutty overpaid radio star. Oh no, my friends. Kanye’s doing something here. Something big. Something, dare I say it, historic?
I must tell you first about a favorite philosopher of mine. His name is Soren Kierkegaard. His first name is spelt with that fucked-up Danish ‘o’ and I don’t have the patience to look up the alt-code. But you get the idea. Little Soren was a strange child – needless to say. There was a sense of brilliance to him, tinged distinctly with creepiness, perhaps inspired by his selfish siblings who insisted on dying of unpleasant 19th century diseases while Soren was young. Except his brother. He became a bishop. It’s enough to fuck anybody up.
But eventually little Soren’s parents died and he now had both a solidly middle class upbringing and enough disposable income to avoid real work – as any true philosophical genius must. And so he set off to make his great works, which challenged the assumptions of his society – and eventually all the world.
Starting to sound familiar?
Try this on for size:
“He writes because for him it is a luxury that becomes all the more enjoyable and conspicuous the fewer who buy and read what he writes.” – Kierkegaard, Either/Or
“I wanna make popular music, but I want less fans.” – Kanye West, Vibe Magazine
Kanye helpfully said that quote while I was in the middle of a second reading of Kierkegaard. It was thoughtful of him. I think it might have been fate.
Because you see, it got me thinking. The work from which that quote was taken, Kierkegaard’s Either/Or, was a really obscure attack on the philosophical mores of the time. He charged that it allowed only two ways of living life: engaged “aesthetically” in drinking, carousing, whoring and other assorted douchebaggeries; or “ethically,” which consists of getting married, being bourgeois and dying old with children. But Kierkegaard said no! There is a third option. In his case it consisted of Jesus, but this was the sort of Jesus in whom belief and love are accepted as absurd and cherished for it. Kind of a bad ass Jesus.
Both you and Coach Carr need to step away from the underage girls.
In order to communicate this point Kierkegaard wrote stories, not works of philosophy, and made his point through characters of his own creation – all of whom were thinly-veiled puppets himself, buried deep within still more obscure twists and turns. The person referenced by the quote above was one of these, Johannes the Seducer, who busies himself by trotting around Copenhagen stalking, meeting and then seducing underage girls before he unceremoniously dumps them at the end of a six-month period. (Consumer protections have always been strong in Denmark, even if statuatory rape laws have not.) The book is about Johannes’ relationship with Cordelia, a 16 year-old girl. You might be forgiven for mistaking this character for Kierkegaard, who had his heart broken by… a 16 year-old girl.
Johannes the Seducer, Kierkegaard’s doppelganger, acts a lot like Kanye does. Kierkegaard did, too, at least in his youth. Both were devil-may-care; both stirred unending controversy in the media for their public comments; both, despite protesting about wanting fewer readers, could barely contain their word vomit. (Kanye shouts in that blog of his; Kierkegaard published constantly, including a postscript five times longer than the book it followed.) Both have issues with their treatment of young girls. And both, of course, are deeply concerned about finding their place in a world in which they don’t quite fit, a world with nothing to believe in. Kierkegaard was never really accepted by anybody, or read outside of Denmark before 1900; as for Kanye, as late as 2005 some of his plastics still said Kayne.
This is how I cracked the code, you see. Kanye is not just an out-of-control narcissistic superstar. He is not just the out-of-control narcissistic superstar. But he’s not doing it simply because he has everything a person could ever want and still finds himself empty, unsatisfied and alone. I mean, he’s not Michael Jackson. (Too soon?)
No. Kanye is in fact out to teach us all a grand lesson. Kanye is in the process of creating from his very own self a living embodiment of the philosophy of Kierkegaard, one that will make Kierkegaard’s own seem petty and silly and in the process shake our very world to its core.
First he attains his greatest success and greatest controversy. He’s young, insecure, desperate to set his place in the world. (Why else his madcap declarations about already being in the history books?) He does everything wrong and nobody likes him even as they recognize his brilliance. But it can’t go on forever, can it?
West 52, Monkey 48
He’ll have a change of heart, settles down. Pumps out some kids, maybe gets himself elected to Congress? (Don’t you even tut like it’s at all improbable. People in England elected a monkey.) He’s calmed down, got respectable. But he’ll still be missing something, as will we all, deprived of random outbursts of his lyrical genius and social insanity.
That’s when he reaches the third stage – the religious stage. But this isn’t the 1900s, is it? Maybe this isn’t anything like what Kierkegaard wrote. Maybe it won’t involve Jesus at all. I don’t know. Who can know what a genius like Kanye, who has by now transformed his entire life into a very living a work of philosophy and art, the greatest of all time, will develop when the glorious climax of his life explodes into our consciousness? Will he bring upon us an entirely new philosophy? A new religion? Will he, indeed, reveal himself as the Promised Return of Christ himself?
None of us can know where this onrushing epiphany will lead, or indeed when it will happen. None of us can dare to predict. But we can have faith – dear friends, we can know that it will someday come! Because the sheer tonnage of excellence that Kanye revealed last night, the depth and breadth of his long and tortured road into our very souls, cannot be foreseen any more than it can be denied. He is doing something great – just as he has always said. And we’ve never listened!
Kanye will teach us. He will teach us because he loves us… and he loves us because he loves himself.
Filed in Culture, Hey Norm!, Music, OMFG, Philosophy, Too much time on my hands
Tags: Beyonce, blog, Concluding Unscientific Postscript, Diamonds (from Sierra Leone), Diary of a Seducer, Either/Or, existentialism, gay fish, Kanye West, Kierkegaard, Taylor Swift, Viacom, VMA
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Philosophy Meta
Philosophy Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for those interested in the study of the fundamental nature of knowledge, reality, and existence. Join them; it only takes a minute:
Common fallacy of everything being its worst form [closed]
What is the fallacy of equating everything with its worst example?
Slippery slope argument I guess, but I"m looking for something more specific.
fallacies
closed as unclear what you're asking by Keelan♦, James Kingsbery, stoicfury Feb 10 '15 at 10:47
could be en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_true_Scotsman but i'm thinking of something that is more emotive ? – user6917 Jan 9 '15 at 2:54
This is the worst question ever. – DA. Feb 8 '15 at 21:50
@DA I've seen way worse. This isn't a bad question. OP is asking for the name of this particular logical fallacy. "Love it or leave it." That means, "If you're going to criticize the government, then why not just leave the country?" There must be a name for that fallacy. This is a perfectly sensible question. – user4894 Feb 9 '15 at 2:23
@user4894 I was making an attempt at being funny. I may have failed. – DA. Feb 9 '15 at 2:27
What's your question? – curiousdannii Feb 9 '15 at 7:32
Here is a reference claiming that "Love it or leave it" is the fallacy of False Dilemma.
Definition: A limited number of options (usually two) is given, while in reality there are more options. A false dilemma is an illegitimate use of the "or" operator.
(i) Either you're for me or against me.
(ii) America: love it or leave it.
http://people.uncw.edu/kozloffm/logicalfallacies.html
Here is a second source labelling "Love it or leave it" as a False Dilemma.
https://eee.uci.edu/faculty/losh/resources/in-class/noblelf.html
i think false dilemma is sufficient. thank s ! – user6917 Feb 12 '15 at 6:10
Seems to me like they all have false premises. If I'm not mistaken your first example is :
All communists are in North Korea. You are a communist. you should move to North Korea.
I'd say that most people believing the worst possible truths have valid logic but false premises.
Not all communists live in North Korea.
Alexandre BabeanuAlexandre Babeanu
it's meant quite rhetorically. 1. all communists are like those in n korea 2. u are a communist 3. so you are like the communists of n korea... something like that anyway, they are just saying that every communist wants to create a n korean dystopia – user6917 Jan 9 '15 at 3:07
I don't know if this is the right answer here, given that this is philosophy. This might be better as an english.se answer.
But I'd suggest 'hyperbolic' is perhaps what you are looking for. That's not really a philosophy, though.
DA.DA.
What's so fallacious about the Slippery Slope Fallacy?
Argument Analysis: Is this argument a slippery slope?
How to avoid the slippery slope fallacy in arguments and discussions?
When a fallacy actually occurs
Name of fallacy of confusing technical term with its everyday meaning?
Robert E. Lee vs George Washington - What kind of fallacy?
Slippery slope fallacy, clarification on its correct use
Common name of “overgeneralization” logical fallacy
What fallacy is this?
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US6791620B1 - Multi-format video processing - Google Patents
Multi-format video processing Download PDF
video signal
channel means
William E. Elswick
David L. Schnuelle
Andrew H. Maltz
William F. McGill
Avica Tech Corp
2000-04-19 Application filed by Avica Tech Corp filed Critical Avica Tech Corp
2000-06-26 Assigned to AVICA TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION reassignment AVICA TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST (SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS). Assignors: ELSWICK, WILLIAM E., MALTZ, ANDREW H., MCGILL, WILLIAM F., SCHNUELLE, DAVID L.
H04N7/00—Television systems
H04N7/10—Adaptations for transmission by electrical cable
H04N7/106—Adaptations for transmission by electrical cable for domestic distribution
H04N7/01—Conversion of standards, e.g. involving analogue television standards or digital television standards processed at pixel level
H04N7/0125—Conversion of standards, e.g. involving analogue television standards or digital television standards processed at pixel level one of the standards being a high definition standard
Video signals in different video formats are managed by inputting and outputting video signals via multiple channels and inputting a user selection of a video format for each channel. Then, a video signal input via a first channel is automatically converted into the video format selected for a second channel, and the video signal, in the video format selected for the second channel, is output via the second channel. Also, video signals in different video formats are managed by inputting and outputting video signals through multiple channels, with each such channel having an associated video format. A user designation is input that an output of a user-designated first channel should provide an output video signal corresponding to an input video signal input via a user-designated second channel. The input video signal is then automatically converted to the video format associated with the user-designated first channel, so as to obtain the output video signal, and the output video signal is output via the user-designated first channel.
The present invention relates to processing video signals in different video formats, and particularly relates to an apparatus that can facilitate working with such differently formatted video signals.
Processing and displaying video signals has many applications in fields as varied as closed-circuit television and medical imaging, as well as in commercial broadcast, cable and satellite television. A video signal typically consists of a serial stream of data that represents moving image data. More specifically, such data typically represent consecutive still images (frames) that when viewed in sequence convey a sense of motion. In fact, if such frames are captured and then displayed to the viewer quickly enough (i.e., at an adequate frame rate), the display of such discrete frames is perceived by humans as true continuous motion video. For this to occur, the frame rate typically must be at least approximately 20 frames per second, although frame rates as low as 8 to 12 per second may be used in some cases if a sufficiently high flash rate is used. At slower flash rates, flicker may be visible and/or the motion may appear to the viewer to be discontinuous.
The serial data (in analog or video format) comprising a video signal typically is originally generated by repetitively scanning a moving image, which has been focused by a lens system, in a sequence of horizontal scanning lines from the top to the bottom of such image. In one variation (called “non-interlaced” or “sequential”), all horizontal lines are scanned in each pass from top to bottom. In another variation (called “interlaced”), for each frame only the odd lines are scanned in a first pass and then only the even lines are scanned in a second pass. In such interlaced formats, the collection of all odd lines for the frame is termed a “field” and the collection of all even lines for the frame is another field, meaning that each frame consists of two separate fields.
Thus, as used herein, the term “video signal” is intended to mean a stream of data or an analog signal representing a succession of image frames. As indicated above, a video signal may represent a moving image. Such a moving image video signal is referred to herein as a “live video signal”, regardless of whether such video signal is being currently generated or retrieved from a storage medium. It is also possible for the succession of frames represented by a video signal to consist of identical frames. Typically, in such a case the same frame is being scanned repetitively. The situation in which the video signal represents such a succession of identical video frames is referred to herein as a still frame or single frame video signal. In the case of a still frame interlaced video signal, the two fields may or may not be identical.
For some time now, a number of different video signal formats have existed. For example, the standard video format in the United States (the National Television Systems Committee, or NTSC, standard) includes 525 horizontal lines per frame. Only 483 of these lines are “active”, i.e., include actual image information, with the remainder including synchronization and other information. In contrast, the standard format in Europe includes 625 horizontal lines per frame, of which only 576 lines are active. Both of these standards are examples of interlaced standard definition (SD) video formats.
In recent years, the number of video formats in use has increased substantially, particularly as the result of work in the area of digital television that includes high definition (HD) format television. For example, there are currently 18 different SD arid HD formats that have been authorized by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for use in the digital television broadcast frequencies. Many of the HD formats are non-interlaced formats, although currently the dominant HD format is interlaced. The most common HD formats have spatial resolutions of 1920 by 1080 pixels and 1280 by 720 pixels, respectively, as compared with the NTSC format which has a spatial resolution of 720 by 483 pixels.
Over time, it is expected that many commercial broadcast markets will transition to HD standards. However, in the meantime, for a number of reasons, not the least of which is the substantial investment in equipment and consumer devices that are only capable of handling SD formats, various HD video formats are likely to co-exist with the now commonly used SD video formats for many years to come.
Moreover, beyond the context of commercial broadcasting, a number of additional video formats have been employed in various contexts. For instance, in the field of medical imaging, it is common for different specialized video formats to be used for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and for computer-aided tomography (CAT) imaging.
In addition to characteristics such as spatial resolution and whether the signal is interlaced or non-interlaced, the various video formats may be differentiated by any or all of: pixel aspect ratio, image aspect ratio, the color space in which the image is defined, whether subsampling has been used, and (for digital images) the number of quantization levels in which each element of a picture's color is represented. Thus, conversion from any particular format to any other particular format often is not a simple matter and typically has been accomplished using special-purpose hardware.
Nevertheless, in many situations it is desirable to work with and/or to combine video signals having different formats. For example, as HD becomes more commonplace, it is increasingly important to be able to quickly combine, or to be able to quickly transition between, a particular SD format video source and a particular HD format video source for television broadcast/transmission purposes. Similarly, for example, it may be desirable to quickly incorporate a relatively short MRI video segment into a standard NTSC transmission.
Unfortunately, the present inventors have discovered that it is often quite difficult to accomplish such tasks with conventional techniques. In particular, such conventional techniques typically require the user to disconnect an existing hardware configuration, locate the appropriate special-purpose hardware conversion unit, and then reconfigure the system, whenever a new video format is introduced or required as an output.
The present invention addresses the foregoing problem by providing apparatuses and related techniques for managing video signals in different video formats. For example, the present invention can be implemented using multiple channels in which input and output devices having different formats can be connected on different channels, with each channel having access (in its own format) to the video image data input on any other channel or to any video image data retrieved from storage, with all format conversion occurring automatically, and with the format for each channel being user-selected: As an alternative example, the present invention can be implemented using a single channel, having access (in its own format) to any video image data retrieved from storage, with all format conversion occurring automatically, and with the format for the channel being user-selected. Various other combinations of such features (as well as the other features described herein) can be provided in other implementations of the present invention.
Thus, in one aspect, the invention is directed to managing video signals in different video formats by inputting and outputting video signals through multiple channels, with each such channel having an associated video format. A user designation is input that an output of a user-designated first channel should provide an output video signal corresponding to an input video signal input via a user-designated second channel. The input video signal is then automatically converted to the video format associated with the user-designated first channel, so as to obtain the output video signal, and the output video signal is output via the user-designated first channel.
By virtue of the foregoing arrangement, the output of a channel operating in one video format can be made to track a video signal that is input into another channel operating in a different format. Moreover, the foregoing arrangement can permit a user to designate which channel tracks which. This feature of the present invention often can provide the user with a significant amount of flexibility when configuring a video system.
In a further aspect, the invention is directed to managing video signals in different video formats by inputting and outputting video signals through multiple channels. A user inputs a selection of a video format for each of the channels and also inputs a user designation that an output of a user-designated first channel should provide an output video signal corresponding to an input video signal input via a user-designated second channel. The input video signal is then automatically converted to the video format selected for the user-designated first channel, so as to obtain the output video signal, and the output video signal is output via the user-designated first channel.
Thus, the foregoing arrangement not only can permit a user to designate which channel tracks which, but also can allow the user to select a video format for each channel. This additional feature provides even more flexibility, in certain embodiments allowing the user to more or less arbitrarily select video formats and designate which channel(s) track which.
In a more particularized aspect, the invention is directed to managing video signals in different video formats by inputting and outputting video signals through multiple channels, capturing a single frame of an input video signal, and inputting a user selection of a video format for each channel and a user designation that an output of a user-designated first channel should output frames captured from a video signal input into a user-designated second channel. Frames captured from the video signal input into the user-designated second channel are then automatically converted into the video format selected for the user-designated first channel, and the captured frames are output, in the video format selected for the user-designated first channel, via the user-designated first channel.
The foregoing arrangement can provide many of the benefits of the above-described aspects of the invention with respect to frames captured from a live input video signal.
In a still further aspect, the invention is directed to managing video signals in different video formats by inputting a selection of an output video format and a selection of an item of video data to retrieve from a storage. The selected item of video data is then retrieved from storage and the video format in which the selected item of video data was stored is detected. Thereafter, the retrieved item of video data is automatically converted into an output video signal in the selected output video format, and the output video signal is transmitted to an output.
By virtue of the foregoing arrangement, items of video data stored in different formats typically can be retrieved and output to a single port in a single user-specified video format. As a result, much of the system reconfiguration to deal with differently formatted video signals required with conventional arrangements often can be avoided.
In a still further aspect, the invention is directed to managing video signals in different video formats by inputting and outputting video signals via multiple channels and inputting a user selection of a video format for each channel. Then, a video signal input via a first channel is automatically converted into the video format selected for a second channel, and the video signal, in the video format selected for the second channel, is output via the second channel.
The foregoing summary is intended merely to provide a brief description of the general nature of the invention. A more complete understanding of the invention can be obtained by referring to the claims and the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments in connection with the accompanying figures.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating the external interconnections of a video signal management system according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a simplified block diagram of a video signal management system hardware configuration according to a representative embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram illustrating the processing of input and output video signals according to a representative embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a simplified block diagram illustrating dedicated hardware for input and output processing of video signals according to a representative embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating steps for video format conversion according to a representative embodiment of the invention.
FIGS. 6A through 6C illustrate examples of fitting an input image to an output display.
FIG. 7 illustrates a user interface for a video signal management system according to a representative embodiment of the present invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT(S) Overview
Generally speaking, the present invention concerns systems and techniques for handling video signals in different formats and for converting between those different formats in a simple and highly adaptable manner. The preferred embodiment of the present invention concerns a video still-store apparatus (i.e., one whose primary function is to capture, store and/or process single frames from a live video signal). However, as will become apparent below, the systems and techniques described below can also be applied in other video processing environments.
FIG. 1 illustrates a video signal management system 10 according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention. As noted above, system 10 preferably is implemented as a still-store device. Video signals are input into and output from system 10 via plural channels, such as channels 11 to 13. Each such channel preferably is configured-to accommodate either standard definition or high definition video signals. As a result, the circuitry associated with the channels only required to accommodate SD signals can be simplified as compared with that required for the HD channels. The specific SD or HD format for each channel preferably is selected within system 10, either in response to a user designation or by system 10 detecting the type of hardware connected to such channel and identifying the signal format utilized by such device (e.g., using a look-up table). Each channel may include one or more inputs and/or one or more outputs. In the arrangement illustrated in FIG. 1, channel 11 includes at least one input and at least one output, channel 12 includes at least one input, and channel 13 includes at least one output. In addition, all input/output (I/O) signals for system 10 preferably are digital, meaning that any analog device connecting to system 10 must connect through an appropriate analog-to-digital (A/D) or digital-to-analog (D/A) converter.
Video signal management system 10 communicates with computer keyboard 26, mouse or other pointing device 27, computer display monitor 28, and remote control (RC) 18, which in turn provide user interfaces through which a user may view and control the functionality of system 10. For instance, a user might designate a specific video signal format for a particular channel using such interfaces.
Preferably, system 10 runs an interface program that includes a graphical user interface (GUI) for displaying and accessing the functionality of system 10. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, keyboard 26 is an ordinary computer keyboard for entering text and for navigating a display (e.g., using arrow keys), pointing device 27 is a computer mouse (although it may instead be a trackball, joystick or similar device), and computer monitor 28 is a video graphics array (VGA) cathode ray tube (CRT) monitor (although it may instead be a liquid crystal display (LCD) or any other type of monitor). Remote control 18 preferably is a relatively small self-contained unit that includes buttons or other physical interface controls for accessing the functionality, or at least the most commonly utilized functionality, of system 10. Optionally, system 10 may also communicate with stand-alone computers, such as any of a notebook or desktop computer, or any other general or special purpose computer. The user interfaces are described in more detail below.
In operation, a live video signal typically is input into system 10, such as via I/O device 21 or input device 22. Such input devices might include a digital video tape player, a digital video disk player, a digital video camera, or any other device that provides moving video image data. In a common operational mode, such input video signal is simply routed to an output on the same channel as the input. In this situation, I/O device 21 might include a digital video tape player and a video monitor which operate on the same video format. As a result, system 10 designates that format for channel 11. Ordinarily, the video signal provided by the tape player portion of device 21 would be input into the channel 11 input and then made available by system 10 at the output of channel 11. This output signal is then connected to the video monitor portion of device 21. While viewing this live video, the user may instruct system 10 (via the provided user interface) to “grab” a frame, in which case system 10 captures the current frame. Depending upon control parameters set in system 10 (e.g., via the provided user interface), system 10 will either continue to route the input video signal for channel 10 to channel 10's output or else will begin outputting such captured still frame at channel 10's output (i.e., continuously displaying that frame). In the latter case, channel 10's output ordinarily again will begin reflecting the live video input only upon user designation to return channel 10's output to such live video.
Once a frame has been captured in the foregoing manner, the user may designate that the frame be stored, either to a storage device internal to system 10 or to an external storage device, such as device 30 (which typically will be a commercially available file server). Having such a storage device available also gives the user additional input options. For instance, in addition to specifying the input video or a captured frame at channel 11's output, the user may also select from among any of the frames previously stored and the corresponding video signal then will be continuously provided to channel 11's output. Alternatively, the user may switch between such video sources, e.g., first providing live video, then a sequence of individual frames, and then back to live video. The transitions between such video sources also can be softened by system 10 providing (e.g., under control of the user) various transitional effects, such as wipe or dissolve. The foregoing features all can be provided using a system 10 that includes only a single channel (the format of which may or may not be user-selectable).
In addition, by providing more than one channel system 10 also allows the user to input other video signals or output to other devices via the other available channels. For example, a user may designate that a frame be grabbed and/or stored from the live video signal input at channel 12. In the preferred embodiment, any frames captured or stored from such live video signal also will then be available for the user to designate at the output of channel 11. Moreover, according to the present invention, system 10 automatically performs any necessary format conversions. Thus, if the user requests system 10 to capture a frame from the video signal at the input of channel 12 and then to display that frame at the output of channel 11, and if the video format for channel 12 is different than the video format of channel 11, system 10 automatically converts the format of the captured frame for display on channel 11. Similarly, if the user requests that a frame be retrieved from storage device 30 and displayed at the output of channel 11, and the frame was stored in a different video format than that of channel 11, system 10 automatically converts the format of the retrieved frame for display on channel 11.
Still further, using an additional output channel, an input video signal can be displayed in a variety of different video format. For instance, a user might designate that the outputs of channels 11 and 13 track frames captured on channel 12. In this case, a frame captured from the video signal at the input of channel 12 automatically would be converted into the format of channel 11 and the converted signal delivered to the output of channel 11. Similarly, the frame captured from the video signal at the input of channel 12 automatically would be converted into the format of channel 13 and the converted signal delivered to the output of channel 13. For example, a user might capture frames from a HD video signal input on channel 12 and immediately have such frames displayed on a SD (e.g., NTSC) monitor attached as device 21 to channel 11 and on a HD monitor attached as device 23 to channel 13. If such frames are also displayed at the output of channel 12, the user can compare the three representations side by side.
Because each channel of system 10 can be configured (either by the user or automatically) in a very short period of time, system 10 permits input and output devices utilizing various video formats to be connected into and then disconnected from the system with significantly less difficulty than in conventional techniques.
FIG. 2 is a simplified block diagram of the construction of video signal management system 10 according to a representative embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2, system 10 includes a central processing unit (CPU) 52, read-only memory (ROM) 54, random access memory (RAM) 56, network interface card 58, input/output (I/O) circuitry 55, computer monitor port 35, remote control port 36, mouse port 37 keyboard port 38, mass storage unit 53, input/output channel cards 49, and a real-time clock 47.
CPU 52 is coupled to ROM 54, RAM 56, I/O channel cards 49, mass storage device 53, network interface card 58, and I/O circuitry 55 by a data bus 42, control bus 44, and address bus 46. ROM 54 contains certain computer-executable instructions, such as startup and operational commands for video signal management system 10. In addition, system 10 downloads various other computer-executable instructions (such as an operating system and control programs) from storage device 53 into RAM 56 for execution out of RAM 56. I/O channel cards 49 permit communication with external video signal input and video signal output devices and are discussed in more detail below. In a representative embodiment of the present invention, I/O channel cards 49 can be reprogrammed using instructions from CPU 52. Mass storage device 53 is used for non-volatile data storage and may include a commercially available hard disk drive, nonvolatile memory such as flash memory, battery backed RAM, PC-data cards, or the like, a magnetic tape drive, or any other device for storing data on a magnetic, optical, opto-magnetic, semiconductor or other medium. Network interface card 58 permits system 10 to communicate with other devices (such as external storage device 30) via a local area network (LAN). Remote control port 36 preferably is a RS422 serial port, although port 36 may instead comprise an infrared or other transceiver for cordless communications with remote control 18. I/O circuitry 55 is connected to monitor port 35, remote control port 36, mouse port 37 and keyboard port 38.
In alternative embodiments, system 10 may include multiple processors, as well as additional input/output devices, such as a display screen, pointing device (e.g., mouse or trackball) a keyboard, microphone and/or speakers.
It should be understood that the present invention also relates to machine-readable media on which are stored program instructions for performing the methods of this invention. Such media include, by way of example, magnetic disks, magnetic tape, optically readable media such as CD ROMs, semiconductor memory such as PCMCIA cards, etc. In each case, the medium may take the form of a portable item such as a small disk, diskette, cassette, etc., or it may take the form of a relatively larger or immobile item such as a hard disk drive or RAM provided in a computer.
FIG. 3 illustrates a functional block diagram of video signal management system 10 according to a representative embodiment of the invention. Each of main blocks 60, 80 and 90 in FIG. 3 represents a different channel 1, 2 and 3, respectively. The various components of each channel are described with reference to channel 1, although ordinarily the blocks for each channel will be identical.
In channel 1, video signals are input and output via an I/O module 62. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, module 62 is disposed on a printed circuit board (PCB), with a single such PCB including one or more modules 62 corresponding to one or more channels. Module 62 is described in more detail below, in connection with the discussion pertaining to FIG. 4. However, from a functional point of view, module 62: (i) inputs a digital video signal from an external source at line 61; (ii) stores image data corresponding to such input signal in an internal buffer when so instructed by control signals 65; (iii) when appropriate, inputs image data into its internal buffer provided by the remainder of system 10 via line 63; and (iv) outputs a video signal via line 64 which at any given time, based on control signals 65, may be identical to the signal input via line 61, a signal generated based on the data input via line 63 or any combination of these two. The foregoing internal buffer is shown as buffer 120 in FIG. 4. As noted above, module 62 preferably is implemented mainly in hardware, but in fact may be implemented as any combination of dedicated hardware and software. Also, module 62 may be configured to accommodate HD video signals or else may be configured to accommodate only SD video signals. Although it is possible to construct a module 62 that accommodates both, due to the different data speeds involved, such a configuration is not believed to be cost effective at the present time.
We begin by analyzing the case where a user has requested that system 10 grab the current frame of the video signal input on line 61. In this situation, the control signals 65 instruct, and module 62 then performs the task of, capturing the next whole frame input at line 61 and storing that frame in the internal buffer of module 62 (i.e., buffer 120 shown in FIG. 4).
The data stored in this internal buffer includes all the lines of image data (active and inactive) for the frame. Depending upon the input video format and how module 62 is configured, the data may be stored in the internal buffer of module 62 either as progressive lines or as one full field followed by the next full field. With respect to interlaced input video signals, system 10 may be configured (either in hardware or software) to retain both fields, to remove one field and synthesize data for it based on the remaining field (e.g., by copying the remaining field and performing vertical filtering), or to alternate between these two modes based on factors such as the amount of motion in the video signal. In addition to the particular video format, it is common for the data format to vary somewhat among individual hardware models. Thus, the formatting of the data stored in module 62's internal buffer typically includes elements of both a standard video format and a hardware-specific format.
In block 66, the hardware-specific formatting is removed, resulting in a single format for a given video format. Thus, block 66 functions as a hardware abstraction layer. Preferably, this step is performed by CPU 52 executing instructions stored in RAM 56 and/or ROM 54 and involves selecting and executing a processing module corresponding to the specific hardware element connected to the input line 61. Such processing is straightforward and can be easily performed for any hardware unit for which a processing module has been created (i.e., any supported hardware unit). Moreover, additional processing modules can be easily added to support other types of hardware. The library of modules preferably is made available for use in each channel of system 10.
Preferably, included in this processing is the removal of the inactive pixel data and the reordering of the lines of image data so that a progressive image results (although either of such steps may instead be performed in block 70). Upon completion of this processing, the image data are stored in virtual frame buffer 68, which typically will reside in RAM 56.
In block 70, the data are read from virtual frame buffer 68 and reformatted into a standardized representation. For example, it is common for the provided data to be “packed” which typically means that standard size words represent more than one value (e.g., three 10-bit values stored in one 32-bit or two 16-bit words). Thus, in the preferred embodiment the data are unpacked in this step so that each data value (typically, one luminance value and two color difference values) for each pixel is stored in a separate 16-bit register. In addition, in the event that the data have been subsampled, the color difference data are repeated as appropriate so that three data values (representing complete luminescence and color information) are stored for each pixel. The resulting bitmap image is stored in master image buffer 72 (which typically will reside in RAM 56). Preferably, the processing in step 70 is performed by CPU 52 executing computer-executable process steps stored in RAM 56 and/or ROM 54. However, portions of such processing may also be performed by dedicated hardware.
It is noted that although certain reformatting has occurred to provide a standardized bitmap representation, the data stored in buffer 72 are in the same video format as the input video signal at line 61. That is, the image aspect ratio, the pixel aspect ratio, the color space and the number of quantization levels all remain the same.
Once an image has been stored in master image buffer 72, that image data can be processed in reverse order to reverse the formatting changes discussed above for output onto line 64. Thus, in block 70 the data are re-subsampled and re-packed, as appropriate. In block 66, any hardware-specific formatting is applied, which may or may not be an exact reversal of the processing that occurred during the forward pass, depending upon whether the output device connected to the current channel uses the same hardware-specific formatting as the input device. Thereafter, the data are delivered to the internal buffer of module 62 for direct outputting or for first combining with the video signal input on line 61 and then outputting.
Several other processes also can occur with respect to a frame of image data written into master image buffer 72. For instance, upon user designation, such frame can be processed by format conversion block 96 and then copied into the master image buffer for a different channel, such as master image buffer 82 or 92. In one example, the user may designate that all frames captured on channel 11 (i.e., from the video signal input on line 61) shall be displayed on channel 12. In this case, each time a frame is captured on channel 11 and written into master image buffer 72, format conversion module 96 is instantiated.
Preferably, the processing in format conversion module 96 is performed by CPU 52 executing computer-executable process steps stored in RAM 56 and/or ROM 54. Initially, format conversion module 96 determines whether the video formats for channel 1 and channel 2 are the same. If so, then the frame stored in master image buffer 72 is simply copied into master image buffer 82 and the processing in module 96 is completed. On the other hand, if the two formats are different, format conversion module 96 first converts the format of the frame stored in buffer 72 to the format designated for channel 2 and then writes the format-converted image into buffer 82. Such format conversion is described in more detail below in connection with FIG. 5. In either event, once the frame has been written into buffer 82 in the correct format for channel 2, that frame can be output via channel 2's output in the same manner described above. In the foregoing manner, a frame captured from a video signal input on any given channel generally can be displayed at the output of any other channel of system 10.
In addition, a frame in master image buffer 72 can be stored by instantiating storage/retrieval module 98. Preferably, storage retrieval module 98 first re-packs the data and eliminates any repeated data inserted in block 70 as appropriate, returning the data to its original subsampled form. In addition any other lossless or lossy compression may be performed, although preferably any such additional compression is lossless. It is also preferred that storage/retrieval module 98 creates and stores in association with the image data a thumbnail representation of the image. Preferably, this is accomplished by a simple decimation operation (e.g., retaining only every Nth pixel in each dimension, where N is an integer such as 4 to 16, and discarding all others), although more complicated filtering operations may instead be used, such as those described below in connection with the format conversion operation. Upon completion of the foregoing processing, storage/retrieval module 98 causes the frame, together with applicable formatting information and the thumbnail image, to be stored on a storage medium such as a hard disk, removable disk, or any other magnetic, optical, opto-magnetic or semiconductor storage medium, either internal or external to system 10.
Similarly, images may be retrieved by storage/retrieval module 98 from such storage medium and made available on any desired channel. Initially, the frame image data for a desired frame preferably are unpacked and data values repeated (as necessary). Then, format conversion module 96 is instantiated, which performs any necessary video format conversion, and the resulting frame subsequently is stored in the master image buffer for the requested channel.
In addition, module 98 preferably also includes functionality for retrieving thumbnail images from plural stored frames, instantiating format conversion module 96 to convert all such thumbnail images to the required video format, combining the converted thumbnails into a composite image, and writing the composite image into the master image buffer for the requested channel. As a result, the user can simultaneously view from any output display device thumbnail images of plural stored frames for purposes of selecting a single frame to view.
System 10 thus provides multiple channels, any or all of which may be operating in different video formats, but each of which may be able to display, and otherwise have access to, in its own video format, video data input by the others or previously stored by the others. In addition, by virtue of the foregoing arrangement, the video format for each channel can be selected arbitrarily (possibly subject to hardware speed constraints that allow certain channels to be used for high definition and others to be used only for standard definition), thereby allowing different types of hardware to be connected and disconnected from the system with relative ease.
The video format (and/or any hardware-specific format) for each channel may be designated by the user or may be automatically detected by system 10. In the latter case, for each port of each channel, in the preferred embodiment of the invention: system 10 initially checks to determine whether the same device previously connected to such port still is connected to it, by checking whether communications from the connected device match those expected from the previous device; if they do not match, system 10 attempts to communicate with the currently connected device by sequentially launching drivers associated with a particular device and attempting to communicate with the currently connected device using that driver and testing the return communications against expected communications until a match is found (or testing all available drivers and finding all potential matches, then either returning the entire list to the user or performing further testing to narrow down the list). In certain cases, identifying the hardware model in this manner will also uniquely identify the video format for the channel because the identified hardware model only operates in one video format. In other cases, the hardware database in system 10 will indicate that the device is capable of operating in different video formats and, accordingly, system 10 will prompt the user to select the video format in which the device will in fact be operating.
In the case of an I/O device that supports multiple signal formats, the hardware provided in I/O module 62 may provide assistance in determining which of the possible valid input signals are presented at the input. For example, such hardware may be configured to detect the repetition rate of frame start signals, and/or to measure the number of samples between special codes representing start and end of active video and start and end of field or frame.
FIG. 4 illustrates a simplified block diagram of I/O module 62 according to a representative embodiment of the invention. As shown in FIG. 4, module 62 includes an input terminal 102 for inputting a serial digital image signal and an output terminal 114 for outputting a serial digital image signal.
Connected to input terminal 102 is a clock signal extractor circuit 104 for separating the clock signal from the image data in an input digital video signal. Preferably, clock signal extractor circuit 104 is implemented using dedicated logic on a single integrated circuit (IC) chip. Under control of the extracted clock signal, the serial input image data are converted into parallel data in serial-to-parallel converter 106.
Module 108 provides routing, combination and processing functions for the currently input video signal and the frame of image data provided by the remainder of system 10, such as a captured frame, a frame retrieved from storage or a frame captured on another channel that was converted (if necessary) and then written into the master image buffer 72 for the current channel, as described above. All of such operations are specified by the control signals 65.
For example, in the event that the control signals 65 specify outputting the live video input at terminal 102 to output terminal 114, module 108 simply latches the data received from serial-to-parallel converter 106 to parallel-to-serial converter 110.
In the event that the control signals 65 specify a grab (or frame capture) operation, module 108 identifies the beginning of the next full frame of video data output from serial-to-parallel converter 106 using the embedded synchronization signals and then writes such output image data into I/O buffer 120 until the frame is completed. It is noted that this operation can occur at the same time that module 108 is routing live video input at terminal 102 to output terminal 114, as described above. However, in certain cases, as soon as the frame has been captured the control signals 65 will switch to indicate that the captured frame should be provided to output 114, in which case the operation described in the following paragraph will occur.
In the event that the control signals 65 specify that a frame in master image buffer 72 (which in turn may have been captured from the input of the current channel, retrieved from storage or transferred from another master image buffer, all as described in detail above), then such frame will have already been format-processed and stored in I/O buffer 120, as described above. Accordingly, module 108 repetitively reads the frame from 120 and routes the data to parallel-to-serial converter 110 for output to terminal 114 via clock signal insertion module 112.
In the preceding operations, the video signal output at terminal 114 originated at input 102 or was retrieved from buffer 120. However, module 108 can also be provided with functionality for producing output video signals that represent a composite of such video signal sources. For instance, control signals 65 might instruct a dissolve (e.g., where two images are overlaid and the two transparency values are reciprocally varied to transition from one to the other or where pseudo-randomly selected pixels change from one image source to the other until all pixels have changed during a time period, such as a couple of seconds) or a wipe (e.g., where pixels change in a wipe fashion, such as top-to-bottom, left-to-right or any combination of shapes and/or curves, from one source to the other) from the live video provided by serial-to-parallel converter 106 to the still frame stored in buffer 120 or vice versa. In either case, upon completion of any such transitional operation, only the video data from the second source will be provided to output 114 until control signals 65 indicate otherwise. Alternatively, control signals 65 might specify that the captured still frame be superimposed over the live video with a specified transparency value. In other embodiments, through appropriate resizing (as described below), I/O buffer 120 may have been loaded with a still frame that is smaller than the full output image size and control signals 65 may instruct superimposing the smaller still frame at a specified location over the live video (i.e., as a still frame inset, with or without a transparency value) and outputting the combined video signal. Such operations are well known in the art and accordingly are not discussed in detail here. Similarly, module 108 may implement other any operations for combining two video signals that are known in the art.
In order to accommodate the processing speeds required for such operations, module 108 preferably is implemented primarily or entirely in dedicated logic (e.g., using programmable gate arrays, application-specific integrated circuits or custom integrated circuits). However, it is also possible to instead use a very high speed general-purpose processor or plural general-purpose processors operating in parallel, particularly if a large number of different image combination operations are to be made available or if it is desired that the user will have wide latitude in defining new image combination or transitional operations.
FIG. 5 illustrates a flow diagram for explaining video image format conversion performed by format conversion module 96. Initially, in step 140 the following parameters are detected: input and output formats, the desired type of filtering and the desired image fit. The input image format typically will be stored in association with the source image (e.g., in buffer 72 or storage device 130), while the output image format will be the format selected for the destination channel. The types of filtering (or no filtering) available are discussed in more detail below, and the specific type of filtering to be used (or no filtering) preferably is chosen by the user of the system via one of the system user interfaces. The desired image fit comes into play when the aspect ratios of the input and output video image formats are different; the available options for this parameter are described in more detail below, with the specific option to be used preferably also chosen by the user of the system via one of the system user interfaces. In addition, in certain embodiments of the invention the user may be permitted to override the default size for the output video format and custom-select a size (e.g., x pixels by y pixels or a specified fraction of the default image size), such as where the output image is intended to be superimposed as a small inset picture on a live input video.
In step 142, a pattern is generated for scanning the input bitmap image. Referring to FIGS. 6A to 6C, consider a situation where the input image 180 has an aspect ratio of L1:H1 and the output image 182 is required to have an aspect ratio of L2:H2 (where L2 and H2 may be the standard aspect ratio for the destination video format or may custom-selected by the user, as described above). The image aspect ratio, as used in this example, is intended to mean the image aspect ratio in pixels (e.g., 1920 by 1080 or 720 by 483) adjusted for the pixel aspect ratio (e.g., 1:1 or 10:9).
In this case, image 180 can be fit to a display for image 182 in several different ways. For instance, as shown in FIG. 6B, scaling image 180 by H2/H1 results in the entire height of image 180 being displayed in the output, although the left and right edges 184 of image 180 are truncated. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 6C, by scaling image 180 by L2/L1, all of image 180 fits in the output display, although portions 186 of the output display are then unused (typically displayed as black bands). Generally, whenever the image aspect ratios for the input and output images are different, using the same constant scaling faster for both dimensions (constant scaling) will require a selection between truncation and unused output display bands. To avoid this selection, a fit may be made by linearly scaling the input image using a different scaling factor in each dimension (i.e., a squeeze fit); however, such a fit often results in image distortion. In an attempt to lessen the obviousness of such distortion, various non-linear scaling techniques may be employed, such as utilizing constant scaling in both dimensions toward the center of the image and differential scaling near the edges of the image. Preferably, the user has been presented with various fit options and has selected one to be utilized.
Once the fit has been established in this manner, the center of each pixel in the output image display can be mapped to the appropriate location on the input image in a straightforward manner. Because pixel aspect ratio is taken into account, the shapes of objects in the image are preserved. Such mapping then defines the scan pattern to be used in the conversion.
Returning to FIG. 5, in step 144 the process is initialized to the first line of the output image. Similarly, in step 146, the process is initialized to the first pixel in the current line of the output image.
In step 148, a value is calculated for the current output pixel under consideration, preferably by utilizing the output pixel center location as mapped onto the source image together with the center locations and pixel values for one or more closest source image pixels. This value can be determined in a number of different ways. For example, the pixel value can be set to the value of the pixel in the input image nearest to the center of the pixel in the output image (“no filtering”). Alternatively, this nearest pixel may be used as the center of a kernel (e.g., a 3×3 pixel block) in the input image, and the pixel value can be set to either the average pixel value in the kernel (“average filtering”) or the median pixel value in the kernel (“median filtering”). Such median and average filtering preferably are performed for each element of the pixel's value separately (e.g., luminance and two color difference values), although for median filtering it may be more appropriate to perform such filtering for the pixel value as a whole, in order to avoid introducing new colors. It is noted that even more sophisticated techniques also may be used to determine a pixel value. For instance, a kernel can be defined in the foregoing manner and a value for the pixel determined based on a two-dimensional interpolation over values in the kernel. Still further, such a two-dimensional interpolation can be weighted in each dimension based on the relative pixel aspect ratios of the input and the output video formats.
Preferably, the specific technique utilized in each case will depend on both the type of conversion being performed and a preference selected by the user. In the preferred embodiment, the user is given the option of selecting no filtering, average filtering or median filtering, and the user's selection is utilized, except in the case of an up-conversion (SD to HD), in which case no filtering is applied although values for the output pixels may be determined by interpolating over the source pixels.
Also in the preferred embodiment, black pixels are produced as need to fill areas that would not get active pixels in the destination image (e.g., to create the black bands described above). Similarly, black pixels preferably also are “assumed” at the edges of the source image where the filter kernel must move over the edge of the image.
In step 150, the number of quantization levels is adjusted between the input and output video formats. In this regard, most video formats represent values in either 8 bits or 10 bits, with the input image having each value stored in a 16-bit register. Thus, in the event of an 8-bit to 10-bit conversion, the input values for each pixel can be simply shifted left two bits and the resulting two new least significant bits filled either with zeroes or a pseudo-random 2-bit number. In the event of a 10-bit to 8-bit conversion, each input value can be rounded to nearest multiple of 100 binary and then right-shifted two bit positions. Such adjustment preferably is performed for each element of the pixel's luminance and color values.
In step 152, a determination is made as to whether the current pixel is the last pixel in the current row. If not, the next pixel in the row is selected in step 154 and processing returns to step 148 to process that pixel. If so, processing proceeds to step 156.
In step 156, color space conversion is performed, if necessary, between the input and output video formats. Preferably, this step is performed by multiplying the a vector containing the input luminance and color difference values by a color conversion matrix, as is well known in the art. Specifically, this step is repeated for each pixel in the current row of pixels. It is noted that this step may instead be performed for a single pixel prior to step 152.
In step 158, any post-conversion filtering is applied. Ordinarily, such filtering will only be applied in the event of an up-conversion (SD to HD) in order to blur any resulting blockiness. Any two-dimensional low-pass spatial filtering may be employed for these purposes, such as averaging over a square window (e.g., 3×3 pixels) centered on the current pixel. Because such filtering operations generally are performed using a group of pixels centered on the subject pixel, this step typically will lag approximately one to three pixel lines behind the other processing described above. Thus, no processing will occur in this step during the first few line iterations.
In step 160, a determination is made as to whether the current line is the last line in the output image. If not, the next line is selected in step 162 and processing returns to step 146 to process that line. If so, processing proceeds to step 164.
In step 164, any post-conversion filter processing is completed. As noted above, the processing in step 158 lags behind the other pixel line processing. Accordingly, if post-conversion filter processing is being used the last few pixel lines will be processed in this step.
FIG. 7 illustrates an exemplary user interface 200 that may be provided via computer monitor 28. It is noted that some or all of the elements of such user interface may be provided for display on any of the other output devices of system 10, after performing the appropriate format conversions as described above. As shown in FIG. 7, user interface 200 includes multiple Windows for viewing and defining the settings of video signal management system 10. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 7, system 10 only includes two channels. In this case, using Conversions window 210, a user may designate one of the channels as the “master” and the other as “slave”. As shown in FIG. 7, channel 1 is currently designated as the master and channel 2 is designated as the slave. However, either of these designations can be changed by clicking on the corresponding buttons 218 and 219. Because channel 2 is currently designated as the slave, channel 2's output will track what is output on channel 1 in the various selected track options 212 to 214. In particular, if “grab” option 212 is selected, then channel 2's output will display any frames grabbed (or captured) from the live video signal provided to channel 1's input. If “record” option 213 is selected, then channel 2's output will display any frames that have been recorded (or stored) after having been captured from the live video signal at channel 1's input. If “playback” option 214 is selected, then channel 2's output will display any frames that the user has requested to be retrieved from storage and displayed at channel 1's output. As all three options have been selected in FIG. 7, channel 2's output will track channel 1 in all three cases.
As such tracking typically will involve a format conversion, the user is permitted to select one of the image fit options 222 to 224 to be used in connection with such video format conversion. Specifically, “letter box” option 222 causes the horizontal dimension of the input image to fit the horizontal display for the output image (e.g., see FIG. 6C); alternatively, “edge crop” option 223 results in a constant scaling so that the images fit vertically (e.g., see FIG. 6B); and “squeeze” option 224 causes the input image to be scaled using different scaling factors in each dimension to fit the output image display (which may result in image distortion). Preferably, buttons 222 to 224 are configured as radio buttons, meaning that only one can be selected at any given time.
In addition, the user is provided with the option of using no filtering 226, median filtering 227 or average filtering 228. Each of these filtering techniques is described above. Buttons 226 to 228 preferably also are configured as radio buttons, meaning that only one can be selected at any given time.
In addition to the foregoing functionality, clicking button 234 instructs system 10 to capture the next frame of the live video input into the master channel (i.e., channel 1 in this example). Once that frame has been captured (and is stored in the master image buffer for the channel) the user may click button 236 causing that frame to be “recorded”, i.e., stored in mass storage device 53. Preferably, if the user clicks button 236 after the image in master image buffer 72 has already been recorded, then system 10 grabs the next frame of the live input video signal and immediately records that frame, allowing the user to grab and record a frame in a single action.
Upon clicking on button 244 a file browser window 240 is displayed, allowing the user to browse through the stored files containing image frames. Upon selecting a frame (such as double-clicking), that frame is immediately retrieved, format converted if necessary, and written into the master image buffer for the master channel. Thereafter, the frame is processed as discussed above. In particular, in the present example, the frame typically will be output on both the master and slave channel outputs.
Upon clicking on button 242, user interface 200 displays a frame browser 250. Specifically, frame browser 250 displays an array of thumbnail images corresponding to stored frames. Selecting one of those frames (e.g., pointing to and clicking on the corresponding thumbnail image) and then clicking button 238 causes the frame to be retrieved, format converted if necessary, and written into the designated master image buffer. Specifically, the retrieved frame is written into the master image buffer for the channel indicated by radio button 251 or 252.
Additional user interface controls are also available via tool bar 246 for selecting video formats, importing and exporting image files, changing folders, setting various user options, further specifying the output video signals, and providing the other user-specified and user-designated information described herein.
It is noted that in order to display the array of thumbnail images as discussed above, format conversion module 96 may be instantiated by storage/retrieval module 98 in order to convert the retrieved thumbnail images, as necessary, to a RGB bitmap format that is appropriate for display on a computer monitor. After assembling such bitmap images into a single composite image, microprocessor 52 causes such composite image to be transmitted to computer monitor 28 via I/O circuitry 55. It is noted that the format conversion in this case generally will be similar to format conversion from one video standard to another, once the pixel size for each output thumbnail image has been determined. In particular, the color space conversion generally also will be performed using matrix multiplication, although a different matrix will be used in this case, as will be understood by those skilled in the art. Thus, in the preferred embodiment of the invention, the array of thumbnail images, and the image browser generally, can be provided to any or all of VGA monitor 28 and any video output device connected to system 10, with each such thumbnail image being format-converted as necessary.
Remote control 18 preferably is a small self-contained unit that includes as many as possible of the buttons and other controls described above. At a minimum, remote control 18 preferably includes buttons for turning the image browser on and off, toggling between live video and captured frames to be output on a given channel, grabbing a frame, recording a frame, and retrieving a frame. In addition, remote control 18 preferably includes a track ball or other pointing device for manipulating a cursor on a video output device, such as to select a thumbnail image from an array of thumbnail images. Remote control 18 preferably also includes a button for retrieving a frame corresponding to a selected thumbnail image and a small liquid crystal display (LCD) or other display for allowing the user to view the messages generated by system 10.
The present invention therefore allows a user to specify a different video format for each channel of a video signal management system in a very simple manner. Accordingly, different input and output devices utilizing different video formats can be easily connected and disconnected from the system. Moreover, a system of the present invention generally can permit the user to work with such differently formatted video signals largely without regard to how those signals are in fact formatted.
Although the preferred embodiment of the present invention captures, stores, retrieves and converts single frames of a video signal for use on other channels in other formats, it should be understood that the invention is not necessarily limited to such processing performed on single frames. Rather, it is possible to apply the techniques of the present invention in processing full motion video signals. Specifically, such an extension would involve capturing, storing, retrieving and/or converting sequences of consecutive frames. A single current processor is probably not fast enough to capture and convert each frame of a typical input video signal in real-time. However, it would be possible: to capture and convert frames at a slower frame rate than the input video signal in real-time using a single current processor, to capture and convert all frames in a given time interval using a single current processor but not in real-time, or to capture and convert all frames from an input video signal in real-time using multiple parallel processors functioning in parallel. In this latter case, the frames from the input video signal can be written to a bank of frame buffers, each buffer being operated on by a different processor, with the buffers being written to and read from in a cyclical manner so as to provide a real-time full motion live video signal. In addition, as processors become faster, it may be possible to perform real-time capture and conversion for all frames from an input video signal using a single processor. Storage and retrieval of video signal segments of course are well known in the art, and in the foregoing live video signal processing embodiments such techniques would be used in place of the still frame storage and retrieval described above. In such further embodiments, all of the advantages described above for still frame processing could also be obtained for live video processing.
Thus, although the present invention has been described in detail with regard to the exemplary embodiments and drawings thereof, it should be apparent to those skilled in the art that various adaptations and modifications of the present invention may be accomplished without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention. Accordingly, the invention is not limited to the precise embodiments shown in the drawings and described in detail above. Rather, it is intended that all such variations not departing from the spirit of the invention be considered as within the scope thereof as limited solely by the claims appended hereto.
Also, several different embodiments of the present invention are described above, with each such embodiment described as including certain features. However, it is intended that the features described in connection with the discussion of any single embodiment are not limited to that embodiment, but may be included and/or arranged in various combinations in any of the other embodiments as well, as will be understood by those skilled in the art.
1. An apparatus for managing video signals in different video formats, said apparatus comprising:
plural channel means for inputting and outputting video signals, each said channel means having an associated video format;
user interface means for inputting a user designation that an output of a user-designated first channel means should provide an output video signal corresponding to an input video signal input via a user-designated second channel means;
conversion means for automatically converting the input video signal to the video format associated with the user-designated first channel means so as to obtain the output video signal; and
output means for outputting the output video signal via the output of the user-designated first channel means.
2. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein each channel means includes an input and an output.
3. An apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising storing means for storing the input video signal into a storage means that is capable of storing a plurality of similar types of video signals.
4. An apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the output for a selected channel means can be set, via said user interface means, to output either: a video signal input into said selected channel means, a video signal input into a different channel means, or a video signal previously stored by said storing means, and wherein in each case said conversion means performs any necessary format conversion to insure that the video signal output via said selected channel means is in the video format associated with said selected channel means.
5. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein each of said plural channel means includes formatting means for processing the input video signal to obtain an unpacked non-subsampled bitmap image.
6. An apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said conversion means processes the unpacked non-subsampled bitmap image corresponding to the input video signal to create a second unpacked non-subsampled bitmap image in the video format associated with the user-designated first channel means.
plural channel means for inputting and outputting video signals;
user interface means for inputting a user selection of a video format for each of said channel means and for inputting a user designation that an output of a user-designated first channel means should provide an output video signal corresponding to an input video signal input via a user-designated second channel means;
conversion means for automatically converting the input video signal to the video format selected for the user-designated first channel means so as to obtain the output video signal; and
8. An apparatus according to claim 7, wherein a user is permitted to select from a set of pre-defined high definition video formats for each channel means designed to accommodate high definition video signals and is permitted to select from a set of pre-defined standard definition video formats for each channel means designed to accommodate standard definition video signals.
10. An apparatus according to claim 9, further comprising storing means for storing the input video signal into a storage means that is capable of storing a plurality of similar types of video signals.
11. An apparatus according to claim 10, further comprising capture means for capturing a single frame of a video signal input via one of said channel means, wherein the output for a selected channel means can be set, via said user interface means, to output either: a live video signal input into said selected channel means, a single frame captured from the live video signal input into said selected channel means, a single frame captured from a live video signal input into a different channel means, or a single frame previously stored by said storing means, and wherein in each case said conversion means performs any necessary format conversion to insure that the video signal output to said selected channel means is in the video format previously selected for said selected channel means.
12. An apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the output for the selected channel means can be set, via said user interface means, to output a composite video signal comprising a combination of at least two of: the live video signal input into said selected channel means, a single frame captured from the live video signal input into said selected channel means, a single frame captured from the live video signal input into a different channel means, or a single frame previously stored by said storing means, and wherein in each case said conversion means performs any necessary format conversion to insure that the composite video signal is in the video format previously selected for said selected channel means.
13. An apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the output for a selected channel means can be set, via said user interface means, to output either: a video signal input into said selected channel means, a video signal input into a different channel means, or a user-selected video signal previously stored by said storing means, and wherein in each case said conversion means performs any necessary format conversion to insure that the video signal output to said selected channel means is in the video format previously selected for said selected channel means.
14. An apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the output for the selected channel means can be set, via said user interface means, to output a composite video signal comprising a combination of at least two of: the video signal input into said selected channel means, the video signal input into a different channel means, or a user-selected video signal previously stored by said storing means, and wherein in each case said conversion means performs any necessary format conversion to insure that the composite video signal is in the video format previously selected for said selected channel means.
15. An apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising capture means for capturing a single frame of a video signal input into one of said channel means.
16. An apparatus according to claim 7, wherein each of said plural channel means includes hardware abstraction means for performing hardware-specific format processing on video signals.
17. An apparatus according to claim 7, wherein each of said plural channel means includes formatting means for processing the input video signal to obtain an unpacked non-subsampled bitmap image.
18. An apparatus according to claim 17, wherein said conversion means processes the unpacked non-subsampled bitmap image corresponding to the input video signal to create a second unpacked non-subsampled bitmap image in the video format selected for the user-designated first channel means.
19. An apparatus for managing video signals in different video formats, said apparatus comprising:
capture means for capturing a single frame of an input video signal;
user interface means for inputting a user selection of a video format for each of said channel means and for inputting a user designation that an output of a user-designated first channel means should output frames captured from a video signal input into a user-designated second channel means;
conversion means for automatically converting frames captured from the video signal input into the user-designated second channel means into the video format selected for the user-designated first channel means; and
output means for outputting said captured frames, in the video format selected for the user-designated first channel means, via the output for the user-designated first channel means.
20. An apparatus according to claim 19, further comprising storing means for storing captured frames into a storage means.
21. An apparatus according to claim 20, wherein an output for a selected channel means can be set, via said user interface means, to output either: a live video signal input into said selected channel means, a single frame captured from the live video signal input into said selected channel means, a single frame captured from a live video signal input into a different channel means, or a single frame previously stored by said storing means, and wherein in each case said conversion means performs any necessary format conversion to insure that the video signal output to the selected channel means is in the video format previously selected for said selected channel means.
22. An apparatus according to claim 19, wherein each of said plural channel means includes hardware abstraction means for performing hardware-specific format processing on video signals.
23. An apparatus according to claim 19, wherein each of said plural channel means includes formatting means for processing a captured frame to obtain an unpacked non-subsampled bitmap image.
24. An apparatus according to claim 23, wherein said conversion means processes the unpacked non-subsampled bitmap image corresponding to one of the captured frames to create a second unpacked non-subsampled bitmap image in the video format selected for the user-designated first channel means.
user interface means for inputting a user selection of a video format for each of said channel means;
conversion means for automatically converting video data input via a first channel means into the video format selected for a second channel means; and
output means for outputting the video data, in the video format selected for the second channel means, via the output for the second channel means.
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Owner name: AVICA TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION, CALIFORNIA
Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNORS:ELSWICK, WILLIAM E.;SCHNUELLE, DAVID L.;MALTZ, ANDREW H.;AND OTHERS;REEL/FRAME:010953/0979
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Analysis Phillies Twins trade
The Phillies Go Backward; The Twins Go Forward
All Star Game, Award Winners, Ballparks, CBA, Cy Young Award, Draft, Fantasy/Roto, Free Agents, Games, History, Hot Stove, Management, Media, MiLB, MLB Trade Deadline, MLB Waiver Trades, MVP, NFL, PEDs, Players, Playoffs, Prospects, Spring Training, Stats, Trade Rumors, World Series
The Phillies were linked to free agent center fielder Michael Bourn and chose to acquire Bourn—the 24-year-old version of him—by trading righty pitchers Vance Worley and Trevor May to the Twins for Ben Revere.
Looking at Revere and you see essentially the identical player Bourn was when the Phillies traded him to the Astros after the 2007 season to acquire Brad Lidge. Bourn had speed, great defensive potential, limited selectivity at the plate, and no power. Revere has those same attributes but comes at a minuscule fraction of the cost a reunion with Bourn would’ve exacted on their payroll. Other than the hope that they’re getting Bourn without paying for Bourn and that the Phillies are going to use the money they didn’t spend to improve the offense at another spot (right field and third base), this doesn’t make a whole lot of sense.
The Phillies and GM Ruben Amaro Jr. are again straddling the same line they did in December of 2009 when they chose to trade Cliff Lee away to get Roy Halladay in the interests of maintaining and bolstering their farm system while achieving certainty that they’d have Halladay past the 2010 season when Lee was set to be a free agent. As it turned out the Phillies dipped into the market and brought Lee back a year later, but that was after a disappointing first half of the season and teetering on falling from contention due to a shortness of pitching led them to acquiring Roy Oswalt to fix the problem Amaro created by trading Lee away in the first place. It had appeared that Amaro learned a hard lesson that a team with the age and expectations of the Phillies couldn’t simultaneously build for the future while winning in the present, but pending other acquisitions, he apparently hasn’t.
This is another Amaro move where it’s clear what he’s doing, but reasonable to ask why he’s doing it because unless the Phillies make a drastic addition to the offense (and Michael Young or Kevin Youkilis are not “drastic”), they’ll find themselves in the same position they were in during the summer of 2010, but instead of getting an Oswalt to fix the pitching, they’ll need to make other deals to fix a sputtering offense and save the season and don’t have the prospects they did then to facilitate such a maneuver. The landscape is also different with a new and highly competitive National League East. What worked in 2010 is unlikely to be as successful in 2013.
For the Twins, they’re trying to improve a profound lack of depth in the organization and desperately need pitching. At first glance, they seemed to have short-changed themselves when they sent Denard Span to the Nationals for Alex Meyer, but I like Meyer a lot. He’s big (6’9”), has a free and easy motion, a power fastball, and outstanding mound presence. The potential is there for a top of the rotation starter.
With Worley, there were murmurs about attitude problems and thinking he’s a part of the Lee/Halladay/Cole Hamels group without having accomplished anything to be a part of such a high-end rotation. He was dominant in 2011, but the sense of “here’s my fastball, hit it,” brought back images of Jason Isringhausen when he burst onto the scene with the Mets in 1995, blew away the National League, came back in 1996 and struggled with an inability to adapt to the hitters’ adjustments and injuries. If Worley is willing to listen and lose the macho “me fire fastball” strategy, then he can be successful. If not, the American League is going to educate him quickly. In fairness, he was pitching hurt in 2012 and required elbow surgery. He’s not a guarantee and was expendable for the Phillies while being a clear asset to the Twins. That’s if he learns to act properly, something the Twins insist on.
The Twins did well in acquiring these pitchers for the two center fielders they had on their roster, but as is the case with most clubs who trade from a moderate strength to address a weakness, they’ve created another hole. Considering the rebuild they’re undertaking though, they didn’t have much of a choice.
December 7, 2012 Paul Lebowitz Tagged Alex Meyer, Analysis Phillies Twins trade, Ben Revere, Brad Lidge, Cliff Lee, Cole Hamels, Denard Span, Did the Twins do well in their trades?, Jason Isringhausen, Kevin Youkilis, Michael Bourn, Michael Young, Michael Young Phillies, Philadelphia Phillies, Phillies, Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt, Ruben Amaro Jr., Trevor May, Vance Worley, Why did the Phillies trade Vance Worley? Leave a comment
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“Autonomy must be inclusive” – Peace Secretary Dureza
TABUK, Kalinga, February 13, 2017 – “We should listen to everyone”, this was the message of autonomy champion and Peace Adviser Sec. Jesus Dureza before the Cordillera Regional Development Council in Tabuk, Kalinga during its meeting on February 13, 2017. Said meeting was hosted by the province which coincided with its 22nd Foundation Day and 1st Bodong Festival.
He said that while there are oppositions, the voice of the majority is important in the process. It must be inclusive in order to get a common aspiration to push autonomy forward, he added.
Secretary Dureza advised the RDC to ensure that the Cordillera Autonomy bill should be passed by Congress soonest because it is the best tactical move to undertake at present. The review on the constitutionality of the bill could be undertaken later.
Again, he espoused his support by saying that he will equally push for Cordillera autonomy when he talks to the President to certify the Bangsamoro Law. Autonomy is a constitutional mandate that needs to be realized, he said.
He shared that President Duterte is supportive to the downloading of more autonomy to the local government units as manifested by his administration’s advocacy on federalism. Sec. Dureza encouraged the RDC to go with the President’s roadmap on federalism but not to wait for federalism to be realized.
The push for both the Bangsamoro and Cordillera autonomy should continue because it will become the pilot or the test case for moving towards a federal state, he added. The show of unity of the Cordillera leaders in pushing for autonomy and the presence of the factions of the Cordillera People’s Liberation Army (CPLA) was observed by the Secretary. He said that such unity is needed.
In the same meeting, the third draft of the Cordillera Autonomy bill was presented by the Technical Working Group through Atty. Amador Batay-an. The Council approved the filing of the bill with conditions to enhance the provisions on the devolved powers to the regional government, and the period for the conduct of information campaign prior to plebiscite, which were appealed by Baguio City Mayor Domogan.
In response, Kalinga Cong. Jesse Mangaong and Ifugao Cong. Teddy Baguilat consistently reiterated their strong commitment to file the bill once the RDC endorses the same. Congressman Baguilat disclosed that there are reservations among them Cordillera leaders but then again, they agreed that they will file the bill and that issues shall be refined during committee deliberations.
Hearing this, Secretary Dureza lauded the leaders for their support. He asked them to market the bill in Congress to invite co-authors and generate national support. He also stressed the importance of a Communications Plan to guide the RDC on the strategies to be undertaken in marketing and advocating Cordillera autonomy. #
Press Release: National Economic and Development Authority – Cordillera Autonomous Region (NEDA-CAR)
By Office of Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process| 2017-02-17T05:20:23+00:00 February 17th, 2017|CBA-CPLA, News|0 Comments
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Home News Film Piracy Will Lead To 3 Years Jail And/Or Rs 10 Lakh...
Film Piracy Will Lead To 3 Years Jail And/Or Rs 10 Lakh Fine
Indian Govt. has introduced a new law to stop film piracy in India: If any one is caught stealing movies and uploading them on the Interner, then there shall be heavy penalty and imprisonment as well.
Is this enouhg to stop Rs 18,000 crore worth piracy market of Indian movies?
Govt.’s Big Move To Stop Film Privacy
While announcing the Interim budget for 2019, interim Finance Minister Piyush Goel had announced strict move against movie piracy.
Now, the exact details have been announced.
The Union Cabinet has approved the amendments to the Cinematograph Act, which means that those who are stealing films are in big trouble.
Jail term of 3 years and/or fine of Rs 10 lakh be imposed now, for pirating and stealing movies.
Ministry of Information and Broadcasting had proposed these strong measures in the amendments to Cinematograph Act, which has been approved by the Union Cabinet.
Who Is A Pirate Here?
As per the Cinematograph Act, anyone records a movie inside a theater without any written consent from the producers of that movie is stealing it, hence a pirate.
Besides, if the person, or any other person transmits that illegal recording to someone else for financial benefits and/or helps a person to do that, then that person is also a pirate of movies.
These people can be now jailed for three years, and imprisoned as well.
These amendments are part of the National Intellectual Property policy, which India wants to enforce strongly.
Movie Industry Welcomes This Move
Movie producers, actors, directors and entire fraternity has welcomes this move by the Govt. to stop movie piracy.
Directors Siddharth Roy Kapur, Omung Kumar B and Indra Kumar and others have stated that this major amendment to the existing laws will help curb movie piracy and protect the cinema industry.
Siddharth Roy Kapur, President of the Producers Guild of India, said: “This is a significant move to protect intellectual property in our country. This communicates to all stakeholders that as a country we respect and reward innovation and creativity, and will ensure that the rights of owners and creators of this intellectual property are safeguarded.”
The Menace Of Movie Piracy in India
Taking into account Hindi and regional cinemas, the market size is pegged at Rs 14,000 crore, which is expected to cross Rs 25,000 crore by 2025.
However, the industry of illegal streaming of movies and downloading via torrent sites, which is much bigger. As a 2016-17 report, the total market size of pirated movies in India is approximately Rs 18,000 crore, and growing at a faster rate than entire cinema industry.
Illegal CDs are quickly distributed as soon as a movie is released, and often, the movie is available to download via torrent sites, within hours of its release.
The new amendments to the law will stop movie piracy, generate more jobs and help the industry as a whole to prosper and grow.
We will keep you updated, as more details come in.
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Disney Jumps into the OTT Market
Disney is jumping into the OTT fray joining Netflix, Amazon Prime and others that offer a unique library of content for online viewing. The online product will be marketed as Disney+ and will launch on November 12 in the US, later worldwide. Disney seems to be taking the same low-price philosophy as other online start-ups with initial pricing at $6.99 per month, or an annual subscription for $69.99 for the first year.
Disney is counting on a unique customer base of what it calls ‘true fans’ that adore everything Disney. I can attest they exist and have a wife and daughter in that category. Disney thinks these fans will gain them a lot more subscribers than other competing services.
The company is already sitting on one of the largest libraries of valuable content. Disney has been making huge revenues over the years rolling out old Disney classics periodically and then withdrawing them from the market. I’ve seen speculation that Disney plan to offer their full catalog of Disney classics as part of the offering, but we won’t know for sure until the service is available. Disney has a lot of other popular content as well such as the Star Wars and Marvel comics franchises.
Analysts say the $6.99 price is too low and Disney seems to acknowledge it. I read where an analyst at BTIG Research said that Disney didn’t expect for the service to be profitable until 2024 until the service has over 60 million customers. It’s hard to fathom needing that many customers to break even. But Disney is not quite the same as other programmers. Perhaps they are willing to take a loss on the video library in order to drive revenues in other ways. There has to be a big upside to have over 60 million fans watching your content and advertising and buying Disney merchandise.
The Disney launch enters an already crowded market and in doing so makes it that much harder to justify cord cutting. The OTT services that mimic cable TV like DirecTV Now, Hulu, Sling TV, Playstation Vue, FuboTV, and others have increased prices to rival a subscription to an expanded basic line-up from a cable company. There are then dozens of add-on options of other programming like Netflix, CBS All-Access, HBO Now, and the upcoming Apple TV that lure viewers with unique content. It’s starting to be clear that cord cutting is not cheaper unless a viewer has the discipline to restrict content to only one or two services.
Something else is starting to become clear in the industry, which is that customers who buy traditional cable TV are also subscribing to OTT services like Netflix. At the end of last year PwC reported that the number of Netflix subscribers in the US had surpassed the number of traditional cable subscribers.
The PwC study intended to understand the viewers of OTT content. They wanted to see how viewers handle the huge array of programming options. One of their most interesting findings is that age is becoming less of a factor in understanding OTT usage. When PwC started watching the market four years ago it was easy to identify differently buying and viewing habits between younger and older viewers, but those differences seem to be converging.
For example, PwC found that 28% of older consumers had cut the cord, while in earlier years it was a much smaller percentage. They found that 61% of older viewers now watch content on the Internet, up from less than 50% just a year earlier. They found that there was a higher percentage of customers who claimed they are loyal to traditional cable TV from younger viewers ages 25-34 (22%) than with those older than 50 (16%).
One of the most interesting finding in the PwC study was the extent to which people don’t like for video services to suggest viewing. Only 21% of viewers feel that the suggested viewing on sites like Netflix is better than what they can do themselves. The biggest complaint about all OTT services is the ease of finding content and on 12% say they can find the content they want to watch easily.
Posted by CCGConsulting in Uncategorized
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CAT 1995 _Questions
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Direction for question 1 to 10: Answer the questions based on the following information. In the following questions, a set of four words is given. Three of the words are related in some way, the remaining word is not related to the rest. You have to pick the word which does not fit in the relation and mark that as your answer. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. a. Couple a. Quell a. Cease a. Brink a. Eulogy a. Detest a. Adroit a. Taciturn a. Sporadic a. Fanatic b. Sever b. Ruffle b. Launch b. Hub b. Panegyric b. Abhor b. Adept b. Reserved b. Frequent b. Zealot c. Rend c. Allay c. Initiate c. Verge c. Ignominy c. Ardour c. Dexterous c. Clamorous c. Intermittent c. Maniac d. Lacerate d. Control d. Commence d. Brim d. Glorification d. Loathe d. Awkward d. Silent d. Scarce d. Rational
Direction for questions 11 to 15: Answer the questions based on the following information. In these questions, each sentence has been divided into four parts, marked a, b, c and d. Identify that part of the sentence which needs to be changed for the sentence to be grammatically correct. 11. a. Almost all school teachers insist that c. is responsible for the student's conduct a. In the forthcoming elections c. must vote for the candidate a. If one has to decide c. you should choose that option a. It is essential that diseases like tuberculosis c. as early as possible in order to b. a student's mother d. as well as his dress. b. every man and woman d. of their choice. b. about the choice of a career d. which is really beneficial. b. are detected and treated d. assure a successful cure.
a. The Mumbai police have found c. who they believe to be
b. the body of a man d. the prime suspect in a murder case.
Direction for questions 16 to 20: Answer the questions based on the following information. In each of the following questions, a related pair of words or phrases is followed by five lettered pairs of words or phrases. Select the lettered pair that best expresses a relationship similar to the one expressed in the original pair. 16. Limpid : Murky a. Dazed : Clouded c. Bright : Gloomy Ease : Alleviate a. Hint : Allocative c. Collapse : Rise Secret : Clandestine a. Overt : Furtive c. Open : Closed Drama : Audience a. Brawl : Vagabonds c. Art : Critics Building : Storey a. Book : Chapter c. Tree : Stem
b. Obscure : Vague d. Nebulous : Dim
b. Revolt : Repudiate d. Question : Interrogate
b. Covert : Stealthy d. News : Rumour
b. Game : Spectators d. Movie : Actors
b. Sentence : Adjective d. Elephant : Tusk
Direction for questions 21 to 25: Answer the questions based on the following information. In each of these questions, a related pair of words or phrases is followed by a pair of words or phrases. Select the lettered pair that best expresses a relationship that is least similar to the one expressed in the original pair. 21. Germane : Pertinent a. Apt : Appropriate c. Dull : Sluggish Sail : Ship a. Propeller : Aeroplane c. Hydrogen : Balloon Cosmic : Universe a. Terrestrial : Earth c. Connubial : Youth
b. Quick : Urgent d. Excited : Serene.
b. Radar : Satellite d. Accelerator : Car
b. Lunar : Moon d. Annular : Ring
Canine : Dog a. Feline : Cat c. Serpentine : Cobra Xenophobia : Foreigners a. Claustrophobia : Height c. Bibliophobia : Book
b. Aquiline : Parrot d. Vulpine : Fox
b. Anglophobia : Englishmen d. Hemophobia : Blood
Direction for questions 26 to 30: Answer the questions based on the following information. Each of the questions consists of four sentences marked A, B, C and D. You are required to arrange the sentences in a proper sequence so as to make a coherent paragraph. 26. A. Where there is division there must be conflict, not only division between man and woman, but also division on the basis of race, religion and language. B. We said the present condition of racial divisions, linguistic divisions has brought out so many wars. C. Also we went into the question as to why does this conflict between man and man exist. D. May we continue with what we were discussing last evening? a. ABCD b. DBCA c. BCAD d. BDAC A. No other documents give us so intimate a sense of the tone and temper of the first generation poets. B. Part of the interest of the journal is course historical. C. And the clues to Wordsworth's creative processes which the journal affords are of decisive significance. D. Not even in their own letters do Wordsworth and Coleridge stand so present before us than they do through the references in the journal. a. BACD b. BDAC c. CBAD d. DABC A. These high plans died, slowly but definitively, and were replaced by the dream of a huge work on philosophy. B. In doing whatever little he could of the new plan, the poet managed to write speculations on theology, and political theory. C. The poet's huge ambitions included writing a philosophic epic on the origin of evil. D. However, not much was done in this regard either, with only fragments being written. a. ABCD b. CBAD c. CDAB d. CADB A. We can never leave off wondering how that which has ever been should cease to be. B. As we advance in life, we acquire a keener sense of the value of time. C. Nothing else, indeed, seems to be of any consequence; and we become misers in this sense. D. We try to arrest its few last tottering steps, and to make it linger on the brink of the grave. a. ACDB b. BCDA c. BDCA d. ABCD A. There is no complete knowledge about anything. B. Our thinking is the outcome of knowledge, and knowledge is always limited. C. Knowledge always goes hand in hand with ignorance. D. Therefore, our thinking which is born out of knowledge, is always limited under all circumstances. a. BCAD b. BCDA c. DABC d. CBDA
Direction for questions 31 to 40: Arrange sentences A, B, C and D between sentences 1 and 6, so as to form a logical sequence of six sentences. 31. 1. Currency movements can have a dramatic impact on equity returns for foreign investors. A. This is not surprising as many developing economies try to peg their exchange rates to the US dollar or to a basket of currencies. B. Many developing economies manage to keep exchange rate volatility lower than that in the industrial economies. C. India has also gone in for the full float on the current account and abolished the managed exchange rate. D. Dramatic exceptions are Argentina, Brazil and Nigeria. 6. Another emerging market specific risk is liquidity risk. a. ADBC b. CDAB c. BDAC d. CABD 1. All human beings are aware of the existence of a power greater than that of the mortals the name given to such a power by individuals is an outcome of birth, education and choice. A. This power provides an anchor in times of adversity, difficulty and trouble. B. Industrial organisations also contribute to the veneration of this power by participating in activities such as religious ceremonies and festivities organised by the employees. C. Their other philanthropic contributions include the construction and maintenance of religious places such as temples or gurdwaras. D. Logically, therefore, such a power should be remembered in good times also. 6. The top management/managers should participate in all such events, irrespective of their personal choice. a. ADBC b. BCAD c. CADB d. DACB 1. Total forgiveness for a mistake generates a sense of complacency towards target achievement among the employees. A. In such a situation the work ethos gets distorted and individuals get a feeling that they can get away with any lapse. B. The feeling that they develop is: whether I produce results or not, the management will not punish me or does not have the guts to punish me. C. Also, excess laxity damages management credibility, because for a long time, the management has maintained that dysfunctional behaviour will result in punishment, and when something goes wrong, it fails to take specific punitive action. D. The severity of the punishment may be reduced, by modifying it, but some action must be taken against the guilty so as to serve as a reminder for all others in the organization. 6. Moreover, it helps establish the management's image of being firm, fair and yet human. a. DCBA b. BACD c. DBCA d. CABD 1. But the vessel kept going away. A. He looked anxiously around. B. There was nothing to see but the water and empty sky. C. He could now barely see her funnel and masts when heaved up on a high wave. D. He did not know for what. 6. A breaking wave slapped him in the face, choking him. a. ADBC b. ACDB c. CADB d. ABCD
1. Managers must lead by example; they should not be averse to giving a hand in manual work; if required. A. They should also update their competence to guide their subordinates; this would be possible only if they keep in regular touch with new processes, machines, instruments, gauges, systems and gadgets. B. Work must be allocated to different groups and team members in clear, specific terms. C. Too much of wall-building is detrimental to the exercise of the 'personal charisma' of the leader whose presence should not be felt only through notices, circulars or memos, but by being seen physically. D. Simple, clean living among one's people should be insisted upon. 6. This would mean the maintaining of an updated organization chart; laying down job descriptions; identifying key result areas; setting personal targets; and above all, monitoring of performance, to meet organizational goals. a. BDAC b. BCDA c. ADCB d. ACDB 1. The top management should perceive the true worth of people and only then make friends. A. Such 'true friends' are very few and very rare. B. Factors such as affluence, riches, outward sophistication and conceptual abilities are not prerequisites for genuine friendship. C. Such people must be respected and kept close to the heart. D. Business realities call for developing a large circle of acquaintances and contacts; however, all of them will be motivated by their own self-interest and it would be wrong to treat them as genuine friends. 6. There is always a need for real friends to whom one can turn for balanced, unselfish advice, more so when one is caught in a dilemma. a. ABCD b. ADBC c. ACDB d. ACBD 1. Managers, especially the successful ones, should guard against ascribing to themselves qualities and attributes which they may not have, or may have in a measure much less than what they think they have! A. External appearances can be deceptive. B. To initiate action, without being in possession of full facts, can lead to disastrous results. C. Also, one should develop confidants who can be used as sounding boards, in order to check one's own thinking against that of the others. D. It is also useful to be receptive to feedback about oneself so that a real understanding of the 'self' exists. 6. A false perception can be like wearing coloured glasses all facts get tainted by colour of the glass and the mind interprets them wrongly to fit into the perception. a. DCAB b. BADC c. DABC d. BCAD
1. Conflicting demands for resources are always voiced by different functions/departments in an organization. A. Every manager examines the task entrusted to him and evaluates the resources required. B. Availability of resources in full measure makes task achievement easy, because it reduces the effort needed to somewhat make-do. C. A safety cushion is built into demand for resources, to offset the adverse impact of any cut imposed by the seniors. D. This aspect needs to be understood as a reality. 6. Dynamic, energetic, growth-oriented and wise managements are always confronted with the inadequacy of resources with respect to one of the four Ms (men, machines, money and materials) and the two Ts (time and technology). a. DABC b. ACBD c. ABCD d. BCDA 1. Despite the passage of time, a large number of conflicts continue to remain alive, because the wronged parties, in reality or in imagination, wish to take revenge upon each other, thus creating a vicious circle. A. At times, managers are called upon to take ruthless decisions in the long-term interests of the organization. B. People hurt others, at times knowingly, to teach them a lesson and, at other times, because they lack correct understanding of the other person's stand. C. The delegation of any power, to any person, is never absolute. D. Every ruthless decision will be accepted easily if the situation at the moment of committing the act is objectively analysed, shared openly and discussed rationally. 6. Power is misused; its effects can last only for a while, since employees are bound to confront it some day, more so, the talented ones. a. BCAD b. ADBC c. DABC d. BADC 1. Managers need to differentiate among those who commit an error once, those who are repetitively errant but can be corrected, and those who are basically wicked. A. The persons in this category will resort to sweet-talk and make all sorts of promises on being caught, but, at the first opportunity will revert to their bad ways. B. Managers must take ruthless action against the basically wicked and ensure their separation from the organization at the earliest. C. The first category needs to be corrected softly and duly counselled; the second category should be dealt with firmly and duly counselled till they realize the danger of persisting with their errant behaviour. D. It is the last category of whom the managers must be most wary. 6. The punishment must be fair and based on the philosophy of giving all the possible opportunities and help prior to taking ruthless action. a. ADCB b. CDAB c. CADB d. BDAC
Direction for questions 41 to 45: Each of the questions contains six statements followed by four sets of combinations of three. You have to choose that set in which the statements are logically related. 41. 1. Some bubbies are not dubbles 3. Noone who is rubbles is dubbles 5. Some dubbles are bubbles a. 136 b. 456 1. Some men are bad 3. All bad things are men 5. Some sad things are men a. 165 b. 236 1. All Toms are bright 3. Some Toms are Dicks 5. No Tom is a Dick a. 123 b. 256 1. All witches are nasty 3. All witches are devils 5. Some nasty are devils a. 234 b. 341 1. No tingo is a bingo 3. No jingo is a tingo 5. Some tingoes are jingoes a. 123 b. 132 2. Some dubbles are not bubbles 4. All dubbles are rubbles 6. Some who are rubbles are not bubbles c. 123 d. 246 2. All men are sad 4. All bad things are sad 6. Some sad things are bad c. 241 d. 235 2. No bright Toms are Dicks 4. Some Dicks are bright 6. No Dick is a Tom c. 126 d. 341 2. Some devils are nasty 4. All devils are nasty 6. No witch is nasty c. 453 d. 653 2. All jingoes are bingoes 4. Some jingoes are not tingoes 6. Some bingoes are not tingoes c. 461 d. 241
Direction for questions 46 to 50: This section contains statements followed by questions based on the statements. Read the statements and select the best option as the answer. 46. Unless you decide your whole life to it, you will never learn to speak the language of another country to perfection; you will never know its people and its literature with complete intimacy. Which of the following is likely to undermine the above argument? a. I can speak 10 foreign languages already. b. I do not travel to foreign countries. c. I am happy with the languages I know and do not need to learn any other language. d. I should spend time to understand my own people and literature first, only then can I appreciate other languages and cultures.
The writer can only be fertile if he renews himself and he can only renew himself, if his soul is constantly enriched by fresh experience. Which of the following is most likely to support the above thought? a. Only out of fresh experience can the writer get germs for new writing. b. The writer can meet new people. c. The writer must see new places. d. None of these
But because the idea of private property has been permitted to override with its selfishness, the common good of humanity it does not follow that there are not limits within which that idea can function for the general convenience and advantage. Which of the following is most likely to weaken the argument? a. All the people of the society should progress at an equitable rate and there should be no disparities and private property does bring about a tremendous disparity. b. One should not strive for the common good of humanity at all, instead one should be concerned with maximising one's own wealth. c. One should learn from the experiences of former communist nations and should not repeat his mistakes at all. d. Even prosperous capitalist countries like the USA have their share of social problems.
Now the audience is a very curious animal. It is shrewd rather than intelligent. Its mental capacity is less than that of its most intellectual members. If these were graded from A to Z, decreasing with succeeding letters to the zero of the hysterical shop-girl, I should say its mental capacity would come around about the letter O. According to the above statement, a. some members in the audience are more intelligent than any of its other members. b. the net intelligence of the audience is a little less than average. c. Only (a) d. Both (a) and (b)
I have been studying it, consciously and subconsciously, for 40 years and I still find men unaccountable; people I know intimately can surprise me by some action of theirs which I never thought them capable of or by the discovery of some trait which exhibit a side of themselves that I never even suspected. The idea in this sentence can be best summarised as a. men are inconsistent and therefore one should not be confident even about one's closest friends. b. men are unpredictable, one can never tell what they will do next; hence, one should be very careful in one's dealings. c. no matter how closely you know somebody there still exists an unknown facet of his personality. d. None of these
Section 1I
Direction for questions 51 to 53: Answer these questions independently. 51. ABCD is a square of area 4, which is divided into four non-over lapping triangles as shown in figure. Then the sum of the perimeters of the triangles is
a. 8(2 + 2) 52.
b. 8(1+ 2) c. 4(1 + 2) d. 4(2 + 2)
56 1 is divisible by a. 13
d. None of these
Ram purchased a flat at Rs. 1 lakh and Prem purchased a plot of land worth Rs. 1.1 lakh. The respective annual rates at which the prices of the flat and the plot increased were 10% and 5%. After two years they exchanged their belongings and one paid the other the difference. Then a. Ram paid Rs. 275 to Prem b. Ram paid Rs. 475 to Prem c. Ram paid Rs. 375 to Prem d. Prem paid Rs. 475 to Ram
Direction for questions 54 to 57: Answer the questions based on the following information. Four sisters Suvarna, Tara, Uma and Vibha are playing a game such that the loser doubles the money of each of the other players from her share. They played four games and each sister lost one game in alphabetical order. At the end of fourth game, each sister had Rs. 32. 54. How many rupees did Suvarna start with? a. Rs. 60 b. Rs. 34 Who started with the lowest amount? a. Suvarna b. Tara Who started with the highest amount? a. Suvarna b. Tara
c. Rs. 66
d. Rs. 28
c. Uma
d. Vibha
What was the amount with Uma at the end of the second round? a. 36 b. 72 c. 16
Direction for questions 58 to 87: Answer the questions independently. 58. 72 hens cost Rs. __ 96.7__. Then what does each hen cost, where two digits in place of __ are not visible or are written in illegible hand? a. Rs. 3.23 b. Rs. 5.11 c. Rs. 5.51 d. Rs. 7.22 A person who has a certain amount with him goes to market. He can buy 50 oranges or 40 mangoes. He retains 10% of the amount for taxi fares and buys 20 mangoes and of the balance he purchases oranges. Number of oranges he can purchase is a. 36 b. 40 c. 15 d. 20 The value of a. 100 61.
55 3 + 45 3 55 2 55 45 + 45 2
is c. 125 d. 75
b. 105
Which one of the following cannot be the ratio of angles in a right-angled triangle? a. 1 : 2 : 3 b. 1 : 1 : 2 c. 1 : 3 : 6 d. None of these For the product n(n + 1)(2n + 1), n N, which one of the following is not necessarily true? a. It is even b. Divisible by 3 c. Divisible by the sum of the square of first n natural numbers d. Never divisible by 237 The remainder obtained when a prime number greater than 6 is divided by 6 is a. 1 or 3 b. 1 or 5 c. 3 or 5 d. 4 or 5 Boxes numbered 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 are kept in a row, and they which are to be filled with either a red or a blue ball, such that no two adjacent boxes can be filled with blue balls. Then how many different arrangements are possible, given that all balls of a given colour are exactly identical in all respects? a. 8 b. 10 c. 15 d. 22 AB BC, BD AC and CE bisects C, A = 30. Then what is CED?
A 30 E B
a. 30 66.
b. 60 c. 45 d. 65
A man invests Rs. 3,000 at the rate of 5% per annum. How much more should he invest at the rate of 8%, so that he can earn a total of 6% per annum? a. Rs. 1,200 b. Rs. 1,300 c. Rs. 1,500 d. Rs. 2,000
2 of the voters promise to vote for P and the rest promised to vote for Q. Of these, on the last day 15% 5
of the voters went back of their promise to vote for P and 25% of voters went back of their promise to vote for Q, and P lost by 2 votes. Then the total number of voters is a. 100 b. 110 c. 90 d. 95 68. PQRS is a square. SR is a tangent (at point S) to the circle with centre O and TR = OS. Then the ratio of area of the circle to the area of the square is
In a race of 200 m run, A beats S by 20 m and N by 40 m. If S and N are running a race of 100 m with exactly same speed as before, then by how many metres will S beat N? a. 11.11 m b. 10 m c. 12 m d. 25 m Three consecutive positive even numbers are such that thrice the first number exceeds double the third by 2, then the third number is a. 10 b. 14 c. 16 d. 12 A group of men decided to do a job in 8 days. But since 10 men dropped out every day, the job got completed at the end of the 12th day. How many men were there at the beginning? a. 165 b. 175 c. 80 d. 90 If a 4 digit number is formed with digits 1, 2, 3 and 5. What is the probability that the number is divisible by 25, if repetition of digits is not allowed? a.
Two typists undertake to do a job. The second typist begins working one hour after the first. Three hours after the first typist has begun working, there is still
9 of the work to be done. When the 20
assignment is completed, it turns out that each typist has done half the work. How many hours would it take each one to do the whole job individually ? a. 12 hr and 8 hr b. 8 hr and 5.6 hr c. 10 hr and 8 hr d. 5 hr and 4 hr
I live X floors above the ground floor of a high-rise building. It takes me 30 s per floor to walk down the steps and 2 s per floor to ride the lift. What is X, if the time taken to walk down the steps to the ground floor is the same as to wait for the lift for 7 min and then ride down? a. 4 b. 7 c. 14 d. 15 The sides of a triangle are 5, 12 and 13 units. A rectangle is constructed, which is equal in area to the triangle, and has a width of 10 units. Then the perimeter of the rectangle is a. 30 units b. 36 units c. 13 units d. None of these In the adjoining figure, AC+ AB = 5AD and AC AD = 8. Then the area of the rectangle ABCD is
b. 50 c. 60 d. Cannot be answered
One root of x2 + kx 8 = 0 is square of the other. Then the value of k is a. 2 b. 8 c. 8
In the given figure, AB is diameter of the circle and points C and D are on the circumference such that CAD = 30 and CBA = 70. What is the measure of ACD?
The length of a ladder is exactly equal to the height of the wall it is learning against. If lower end of the ladder is kept on a stool of height 3 m and the stool is kept 9 m away from the wall, the upper end of the ladder coincides with the top of the wall. Then the height of the wall is a. 12 m b. 15 m c. 18 m d. 11 m A stockist wants to make some profit by selling sugar. He contemplates about various methods . Which of the following would maximise his profit? I. Sell sugar at 10% profit. II. Use 900 g of weight instead of 1 kg. III. Mix 10% impurities in sugar and selling sugar at cost price. IV. Increase the price by 5% and reduce weights by 5%. a. I or III b. II c. II, III and IV d. Profits are same
A man can walk up a moving up escalator in 30 s. The same man can walk down this moving up escalator in 90 s. Assume that his walking speed is same upwards and downwards. How much time will he take to walk up the escalator, when it is not moving? a. 30 s b. 45 s c. 60 s d. 90 s Two positive integers differ by 4 and sum of their reciprocals is a. 3 b. 1 c. 5
10 . Then one of the numbers is 21 d. 21
Three bells chime at an interval of 18 min, 24 min and 32 min. At a certain time they begin to chime together. What length of time will elapse before they chime together again? a. 2 hr and 24 min b. 4 hr and 48 min c. 1 hr and 36 min d. 5 hr What is the value of m which satisfies 3m2 21m + 30 < 0? a. m < 2 or m > 5 b. m > 2 c. 2 < m < 5
d. Both a and c
The rate of inflation was 1000%. Then what will be the cost of an article, which costs 6 units of currency now, 2 years from now? a. 666 b. 660 c. 720 d. 726 Largest value of min(2 + x2, 6 3x), when x > 0, is a. 1 b. 2 c. 3
A, B, C and D are four towns any three of which are non-collinear. Then the number of ways to construct three roads each joining a pair of towns so that the roads do not form a triangle is a. 7 b. 8 c. 9 d. 24
Direction for questions 88 to 91: Answer the questions based on the following information. le(x, y) = Least of (x, y) mo(x) = |x| me(x, y) = Maximum of (x, y) 88. Find the value of me(a + mo(le(a, b)); mo(a + me(mo(a), mo(b))), at a = 2 and b = 3. a. 1 b. 0 c. 5 d. 3 Which of the following must always be correct for a, b > 0? a. mo(le(a, b)) (me(mo(a), mo(b)) b. mo(le(a, b)) > (me(mo(a), mo(b)) c. mo(le(a, b)) < (le(mo(a), mo(b)) d. mo(le(a,b)) = le(mo(a), mo(b)) For what values of a is me(a2 3a, a 3) < 0? a. a > 3 b. 0 < a < 3 For what values of a is le(a2 3a, a 3) < 0? a. a > 3 b. 0 < a < 3
c. a < 0
d. a = 3
d. Both b and c
Direction for questions 92 to 100: Each of these questions is followed by two statements, I and II. Mark the answer as. a. if the question can be answered with the help of statement I alone. b. if the question can be answered with the help of statement II, alone. c. if both statement I and statement II are needed to answer the question. d. if the question cannot be answered even with the help of both the statements. 92. If x, y and z are real numbers, is z x even or odd? I. xyz is odd. II. xy + yz + zx is even. What is the value of x, if x and y are consecutive positive even integers? I. (x y)2 = 4 II. (x + y)2 < 100 What is the profit percentage? I. The cost price is 80% of the selling price. II. The profit is Rs. 50. What is the area of the triangle? I. Two sides are 41 cm each. II. The altitude to the third side is 9 cm long. What is the price of bananas? I. With Rs. 84, I can buy 14 bananas and 35 oranges. II. If price of bananas is reduced by 50%, then we can buy 48 bananas in Rs. 12. What is the first term of an arithmetic progression of positive integers? I. Sum of the squares of the first and the second term is 116. II. The fifth term is divisible by 7. What is the length of rectangle ABCD? I. Area of the rectangle is 48 square units. II. Length of the diagonal is 10 units. What is the number x? I. The LCM of x and 18 is 36. II. The HCF of x and 18 is 2. Is x + y z + t even? I. x + y + t is even. II. t and z are odd.
Section 1II
Direction for questions 101 to 150: This section contains passages followed by questions based upon the content of the passages. Read the passages and select the best option for the answers.
Passage 1
The Republican Party has lost its mind. To win elections, a party obviously needs votes and constituencies. However first, it needs an idea. In 1994-95, the Republican Party had after a long struggle advanced a coherent, compelling set of political ideas expressed in a specific legislative agenda. The political story of 1996 is that this same party, within the space of six weeks, became totally, shockingly intellectually deranged. Think back. The singular achievement of the House Speaker Newt Gingrich's 1994 revolution was that it swept into power united behind one comprehensive ideological goal: dismantling the welfare state. Just about anything in the contract with America and the legislative agenda of the 104th Congress is a mere subheading: welfare reform, tax cuts, entitlement reform, returning power to the states, the balanced budget (a supremely powerful means for keeping the growth of government in check). The central Republican idea was that the individual, the family, the church, the schools civil society were being systematically usurped and strangled by the federal behemoth Republicans who were riding into Washington to slay it. With this idea they met Clinton head-on in late 1995. And although they were tactically defeated the government shutdown proved a disaster for Republicans they won philosophically. Clinton conceded all their principles. He finally embraced their seven year balanced budget. Then, in a State of the Union speech that might have been delivered by a moderate Republican, he declared, "The era of Big Government is over," the dominant theme of the Gingrich Revolution. It seems so long ago. Because then, astonishingly, on the very morrow of their philosophical victory, just as the Republicans prepared to carry these ideas into battle in November, came cannon fire from the rear. The first Republican renegade to cry Wrong! and charge was Steve Forbes. With his free-lunch, tax-cutting flat tax, he declared the balanced budget, the centrepiece of the Republican revolution, unnecessary. Then, no sooner had the Forbes mutiny been put down then Pat Buchanan declared a general insurrection. He too declared war on the party's central ideology in the name not supply side theory but of class welfare, the Democratic weapon of choice against Republicanism. The enemy, according to Buchanan, is not the welfare state. It is that conservative icon, capitalism, with its ruthless captains of industry, greedy financiers and political elite (Republicans included, of course). All three groups collaborate to let foreigners immigrants, traders, parasitic foreign-aid loafers destroy the good life of the ordinary American worker. Buchananism holds that what is killing the little guy in America is the Big Guy, not Big Government. It blames not an overreaching government that tries to insulate citizens from life's buffeting to the point where it creates deeply destructive dependency, but an uncaring government that does not protect its victim-people enough
from that buffeting. Buchanan would protect and wield a mighty government apparatus to do so, government that builds trade walls and immigrant repelling fences, that imposes punitive taxes on imports, that policies the hiring and firing practices of business with the arrogance of the most zealous affirmative action enforcer. This is Reaganism standing on its head. Republicans have focused too much on the mere technical dangers posed by this assault. Yes, it gives ammunition to the Democrats. Yes, it puts the eventual nominee through a bruising campaign and delivers him tarnished and drained into the ring against Bill Clinton. But the real danger is philosophical, not tactical. It is axioms, not just policies, that are under fire. The Republican idea of smaller government is being proud to dust by Republicans. In the middle of an election year, when they should be honing their themes against Democratic liberalism, Buchanan's rise is forcing a pointless rearguard battle against a philosophical corpse, the obsolete Palaeo conservatism a mix of nativism, protectionism and isolationism of the 1930s. As the candidates' debate in Arizona last week showed, the entire primary campaign will be fought on Buchanan's grounds, fending off his Smoot-Hawley-Franco populism. And then what? After the convention, what does the nominee do? Try to resurrect the anti-welfare state themes of the historically successful 1994 congressional campaign? Well, yes, but with a terrible loss of energy and focus and support. Buchanan's constituency, by then convinced by their leader that the working man's issues have been pushed aside, may simply walk on election day or, even worse, defect to the Democrats. After all, Democrats fight class war very well. Political parties can survive bruising primary battles. They cannot survive ideological meltdown. Dole and Buchanan say they are fighting for the heart and soul of the Republican Party, heart and soul, however, will get you nowhere when you've lost your way and your mind. 101. Which broad ideology helped Newt Gingrich lead the Republican revolution of 1994? a. Tax cuts b. Entitlement reform c. Welfare reform d. Welfare state dismantling Assuming the passage to be truthful, what does a party not need to win elections? a. Votes b. Money c. Constituencies d. Ideas Which of the following is not a Republican? a. Newt Gingrich b. Pat Buchanan
c. Bob Dole
The Republicans were tactically defeated by the Democrats because a. of the shutdown of the government. b. the balanced budget plan failed. c. Steve Forbes led a revolution. d. Bill Clinton pre-empted them. Which of the following would be a suitable title for the passage? a. The Democrats: Victory in Sight b. Follies and Foibles of the Republican Party c. Republicans Are You Crazy? d. Mutinies on the Republican Party. The word 'obsolete' in the context of the passage means a. antiquated. b. absolute. c. boring.
d. miasmic.
What, according to the author, is the real danger for Republicans? a. The fact that small government is being ground to dust. b. The fact that Bill Clinton is gaining popularity. c. The fact that it is axioms, and not just policies that are under fire. d. The fact that the eventual nominee would be too tired to fight an election against Clinton. Which of the following, according to Buchanan, is not an enemy? a. Big government b. Immigrants c. Captains of industry d. Foreign-aid requesters
Icicles two metres long and, at their tips, as bright and sharp as needles hang from the caves: wild ice stalactites, dragon's teeth. I peer through them to see the world transformed to abstract. Little snow tornadoes twirl across the blank. The car is out there somewhere, represented by a subtle bump in the snow-field. The old geep truck, a larger beast, is up to its door handles, like a sinking remnant: dinosaur yielding to ice age. The town's behemoth snow-plow passes on the road, dome light twirling, and casts aside a frozen doe that now lies, neck broken, upon the roadside snow-bank, soon to vanish under the snowfall still to come. There is double-jointed consciousness at work in the dramatics of big weather. Down in the snowstorm, we are as mortal as the deer. I sink to my waist in a drift; I panic, my arms claw for an instant, like a drowning swimmer's, in the powder. Men up and down the storm collapse with coronaries, snow shovels in their hands, cheeks turned into a deathly colour, like frost-bitten plums. Yet when we go upstairs to consult the Weather Channel, we settle down, as cosy gods do, to hover high above the earth and watch the play with a divine perspective. Moist air labelled L for low rides up the continent from the Gulf of Mexico and collides with the high that has slid down from the North Pole. And thus is whipped up the egg-white fluff on the studio map that, down in the frozen, messy world, buries mortals. An odd new metaphysics of weather: It is not that weather has necessarily grown more apocalyptic. The famous Winter of the Blue Snow of 1886-87 turned rivers of the American West into glaciers that when they thawed, carried along inundation of dead cattle. President Theodore Roosevelt was virtually ruined as a rancher by the weather that destroyed 65 per cent of his herd. In 1811 Mississippi river flowed briefly because of the New Madrid earthquake. What's new in America is the theatre of it. Television does not create weather; any more than it creates contemporary politics. However, the ritual ceremonies of televised weather have endowed a subject often previously banal with an amazing life as mass entertainment, nationwide interactive preoccupation and a kind of immense performance art. What we have is weather as electronic American Shintoism, a casual but almost mystic daily religion, wherein nature is not inert but restless, stirring alive with kinetic fronts and meanings and turbulent expectations (forecasts, variables, prophecies). We have installed an elaborate priesthood and technology of interpretation: acolytes and satellites preside over snow and circuses. At least major snowstorms have about them an innocence and moral neutrality that is more refreshing than the last national television spectacle, the O. J. Simpson trial.
One attraction is the fact that these large gestures of nature are political. The weather in the mirabilis mode can, of course, be dragged onto the opened page to start a macro-argument about global warning or a microspat over a mayor's fecklessness in deploying snowplows. Otherwise, traumas of weather do not admit of political interpretation. The snow Shinto reintroduces an element of what is almost charmingly uncontrollable in life. And, as shown last week, surprising, even as the priests predict it. This is welcome a kind of ideological relief- in a rather stupidly politicised society living under the delusion that everything in life (and death) is arguable, political and therefore manipulable from diet to DNA. None of the old earthbound Marxist WhoWhom here in meteorology, but rather sky gods that bang around at higher altitudes and leave the earth in its misery, to submit to the sloppy collateral damage. The moral difference of weather, even when destructive, is somehow stimulating. Why? The sheer levelling force is pleasing. It overrides routine and organises people into a shared moment that will become a punctuating memory in their lives (Lord, remember the blizzard in 1996?). Or perhaps one's reaction is no more complicated than a child's delight in dramatic disruption. Anyone loves to stand on the beach with a hurricane coming a darkly lashing Byronism in surf and wind gets the blood up. The God's, or child's, part of the mind welcomes big weather floods and blizzards. The coping, grown-up human part curses it, and sinks. The paradox of big weather, it makes people feel important even while it, dramatises their insignificance. In some ways, extreme weather is a brief moral equivalent of war as stimulating as war can sometimes be, through without most of the carnage. The sun rises upon diamond-scattered snow-fields and glistens upon the lucent dragon's teeth. In the distance, three deer, roused from their shelter under pines, venture forth. They struggle and plunge undulously through the opulent white. Upstairs, I switch on the Shinto Weather Channel and the priests at the map show me the next wave white swirls and eddies over Indiana, heading ominously east. 109. How many vehicles does the author mention in the passage? a. One b. Two c. Three
d. Four
The author compares the weather bulletin channel reportage to a. a war b. the O. J. Simpson trial c. a ritual ceremony d. a theatre Which of the following was not the result of the Winter of Blue Snow? a. It almost ruined Theodore Roosevelt b. It made the Mississippi flow northward c. It turned rivers into glaciers d. It killed a lot of cattle The moral indifference of the weather is stimulating in spite of being destructive because a. it shows no mercy. b. it organises people into a shared moment. c. Both (a) and (b) d. Neither (a) nor (b)
The author's reaction to the snowstorm may be said to be a. fascinated b. scared c. cynical
d. deadpan
According to the author, one of the greatest attractions of the weather is that a. it is politicized b. it is apolitical c. it is reckless d. it is beautiful What is most probably the physical position of the author of the passage? a. In his house b. In a snowstorm c. In his office d. In a bunk Which of the following is not true of the weather? a. It is a moral equivalent of war b. It is pleasantly manipulable c. It is a levelling force d. It dramatises man's insignificance The word 'undulously' in the context of the passage means a. unduly b. indomitably c. powerful
d. curved
Among those who call themselves socialists, two kinds of persons may be distinguished. There are, in the first place, those whose plans for a new order of society, in which private property and individual competition are to be superseded and other motives to action substituted, are on the scale of a village community or township, and would be applied to an entire country by the multiplication of such self-acting units; of this character are the systems of Owen, of Fourier, and the more thoughtful and philosophic socialists generally. The other class, which is more a product of the continent than of Great Britain and may be called the revolutionary socialists, has people who propose to themselves a much bolder stroke. Their scheme is the management of the whole productive resources of the country by one central authority, the general government. And with this view some of them avow as their purpose that the working classes, or somebody on their behalf, should take possession of all the property of the country, and administer it for the general benefit. Whatever may be the difficulties of the first of these two forms of socialism, the second must evidently involve the same difficulties and many more. The former, too, has the great advantage that it can be brought into operation progressively, and can prove its capabilities by trial. It can be tried first on a select population and extended to others as their education and cultivation permit. It need not, and in the natural order of things would not, become an engine of subversion until it had shown itself capable of being also a means of reconstruction. It is not so with the other; the aim of that is to substitute the new rule for the old at a single stroke, and to exchange the amount of good realised under the present system, and its large possibilities of improvement, for a plunge without any preparation into the most extreme form of the problem of carrying on the whole round of the operations of social life without the motive power which has always hitherto worked the social machinery. It must be acknowledged that those who would play this game on the strength of their own private opinion, unconfirmed as yet by any experimental verification who would forcibly deprive all who have now a comfortable physical existence of their only present means of preserving it, and would brave the frightful bloodshed and misery that would ensue if the attempt was resisted must have a serene confidence in their own wisdom on the one hand and the recklessness of other people's sufferings on the other, which Robespierre and St. Just, hitherto the typical instances of those united attributes, scarcely came up to. Nevertheless this scheme has great elements of popularity which the more cautious and reasonable form of socialism has not; because what
it professes to do, it promises to do quickly, and holds out hope to the enthusiastic of seeing the whole of their aspirations realised in their own time and at a blow. 118. Who among of the following is not a socialist? a. Robespierre b. Fourier
c. Owen
d. All are socialists
Which of the following, according to the author, is true? a. The second form of socialism has more difficulties than the first. b. The second form of socialism has the same difficulties as the first. c. The second form of socialism has less difficulties than the first. d. The author has not compared the difficulties of the two. According to the author, the difference between the two kinds of socialists is that a. one consists of thinkers and the others are active people. b. the first have a definite philosophy and the second don't have any definite philosophy. c. the first believe in gradual change while the others believe in revolutionary change. d. the first are the products of Britain, while the others are products of Russia. Which of the following were characteristics of St. Just and Robespierre? a. Unconcern for other's suffering b. Full confidence in their own wisdom c. Both (a) and (b) d. Neither (a) nor (b) Which of the following according to the author, may not be the result of not verifying the desirability of socialism experimentally first? a. Bloodshed b. Deprivation of current comfortable existence c. Corruption in high places d. Misery caused by resisting the change According to the philosophy of revolutionary socialism, a. the government takes over the villages first, and then gradually the whole country. b. the government takes over all productive resources of the country at one stroke. c. the government declares a police state and rules by decree. d. there is no government as such: the people rule themselves by the socialist doctrine. The word 'avow' in the context of the passage means a. proclaim b. vow c. affirm
d. deny
It may be inferred from the passage that the author's sympathies are for a. neither side. b. the side of the socialist doctrine. c. the second type of socialism. d. the first type of socialism.
Whatever philosophy may be, it is in the world and must relate to it. It breaks through the shell of the world in order to move into the infinite. But it turns back in order to find in the finite its always unique historical foundation. It pushes into the furthest horizons beyond being-in-the-world in order to experience the present in the eternal. But even the profoundest meditation acquires its meaning by relating back to man's existence here and now. Philosophy glimpses the highest criteria, the starry heaven of the possible, and seeks in the light of the seemingly impossible the way to man's dignity in the phenomenon of his empirical existence. Philosophy addresses itself to individuals. It creates a free community of those who rely on each other in their will for truth. Into this community the philosophic man would like to enter. It is there in the world all the time, but cannot become a worldly institution without losing freedom of its truth. He cannot know whether he belongs to it. No authority decides on his acceptance. He wants to live in his thinking in such a way as to make his acceptance possible. But how does the world relate to philosophy? There are chairs of philosophy at the universities. Nowadays they are an embarrassment. Philosophy is politely respected because of tradition, but despised in secret. The general opinion is: it has nothing of importance to say. Neither has it any practical value. It is named in public but does it really exist? Its existence is proved at least by the defence measures it provokes. We can see this in the form of comments like: Philosophy is too complicated. I don't understand it. It's beyond me. It's something for professionals. I have no gift for it. Therefore it doesn't concern me. But that is like saying : I don't need to bother work or scholarship without thinking or questioning its meaning, and, for the rest, have opinions and be content with that. The defence becomes fanatical. A benighted vital instinct hates philosophy. It is dangerous. If I understood it I would have to change my life. I would find myself in another frame of mind, see everything in a different light, have to judge anew. Better now think philosophically! Then come the accusers, who want to replace the obsolete philosophy by something new and totally different. It is mistrusted as the utterly mendacious end product of a bankrupt theology. The meaninglessness of philosophical propositions is made fun of. Philosophy is denounced as the willing handmaiden of political and other powers. For many politicians, their wretched trade would be easier if philosophy did not exist at all. Masses and functionaries are easier to manipulate when they do not think but only have a regimented intelligence. People must be prevented from becoming serious. Therefore, it is better for philosophy to be boring. Let the chairs of philosophy rot. The more piffle is taught, the sooner people will be blinkered against the light of philosophy. Thus philosophy is surrounded by enemies, most of whom are not conscious of being such. Bourgeois complacency, conventionality, the satisfactions of economic prosperity, the appreciation of science only for its technical achievements, the absolute will to power, the bonhomie of politicians, the fanaticism of ideologies, the literary self-assertiveness of talented writers in all these things people parade their anti-philosophy. They do not notice it because they do not realise what they are doing. They are unaware that their anti-philosophy is in itself a philosophy, but a perverted one, and that this anti-philosophy, if elucidated, would annihilate itself. 126. A suitable title for the passage would be a. Man and Philosophy c. A Defence of Philosophy
b. Philosophical Angst d. The Enemies of Philosophy
Which of the following is true, keeping the passage in mind? a. Philosophy is evidently respected b. Philosophy is secretly despised c. Both (a) and (b) d. Neither (a) nor (b)
Which of the following is not a charge against philosophy? a. That it is obsolete b. That it is mendacious c. That it is the handmaiden of political powers d. That it is immoral Which of the following is not mentioned as a function of philosophy in the passage? a. It shows the way to man's dignity in the face of his empirical existence. b. It breaks through the shell of the world in order to move into the infinite. c. It pushes into the furthest horizons beyond being in the world. d. It makes the world a better place to live in. Why according to the passage, would the politicians be happy if philosophy did not exist? a. Masses would be easier to manipulate as they would not think for themselves. b. They would not have to make false allegiances to ideologies. c. They would not have to face allegations of ignoring philosophy. d. They would not have to be philosophical about losing an election. The word 'chairs', in the context of the passage, means a. wooden-faced people. b. departments. c. separate chairs for philosophers. d. reserved seats for students of philosophy. According to the author, the existence of philosophy is proved by a. the fact that there are still chairs of philosophy in universities. b. the defence measures it provokes. c. the polite respect it gets. d. the fact that it answers the fundamental questions of life.
Even if we're a bit snooty about them, we should go down on our knees and thank heaven for movies like Jurassic Park and directors like Steven Spielberg who make them. They fill the cinemas, if only because the hype is virtually irresistible. And because they do so, hundreds of maniacs all over the world continue to finance films. But is this is an example of a worldwide jackpot movie? Yes and no. Yes, because it delivers dinosaurs by the dozen, in as weird a fashion as have been seen on the screen before. And no, because the accompanying story, courtesy Michael Crichton, has little of the real imagination that made Spielberg's ET and Close Encounters into the jackpot movies of their time. Technically, it works like a dream but, as a cinematic dream, it's unmemorable. This may be because of its cardboard human characters, dwarfed by the assemblage of their prehistoric ancestors and serviced by a screenplay that makes the abortive mating calls of this weirdly asexual zoo seem eloquent in comparison. What kind of park is this?, enquiries Sam Neil. Oh, it's right up your alley, says Richard Attenborough. More likely, though it has something to do with the development of the story which at no point engages us properly on the human level, except perhaps to hope that the kids and Neil's grumpy scientist who learns to love them will finally escape from the grasp of the velociraptors chasing them. We're looking at
nothing but stunts, and they get tiresome laid end to end. Crichton's book was scarcely much better but at least it had a convincing villain in John Hammond, Jurassic Park's billionaire developer, whereas Attenborough's approximation seems merely enthusiastically misguided. And Crichton's warning of what might happen if we muck about with nature becomes weaker in the film. What we actually have in Jurassic Park is a non-animated Disney epic with affiliations to Jaws which seems to amuse and frighten but succeeds in doing neither well enough to count. Its real interest lies in how Spielberg's obsession with childhood now manifests itself in his middle age. It looks like being on automatic pilot gestural rather than totally convinced but determined to remain the subject of analytical study. The whole thing, of course, is perfectly adequate fun once the ludicrously simplistic explanation of DNA has been traversed in Hammond's costly futuristic, computerised den. Even I could understand it. Thereafter, the theme park's creaky inability to deal with an ordinary old typhoon as its VIPs travel around hoping the investment will work, leads to predictable disasters, proficiently worked out but never truly frightening. But then this is a film for children of all ages, except perhaps those under 12, and one shouldn't expect sophistication on other than the technological level. Jurassic Park is more of a roller-coaster ride than a piece of real cinema. It delivers, but only on a certain plane. Even the breaking of the barriers between our civilization and a monstrous past doesnt have the kick it could have had. Possibly one is asking for a different film which in the end would not have appealed across the box-office spectrum as well as this obviously does. But still one leaves it vaguely disappointed. All that work and just a mouse that roars. It's wonderful story, but told with more efficiency than inspiration possibly a sign of the times, along with the merchandising spree which follows it so readily. 133. Which of the following has not been mentioned as a Steven Spielberg movie in the passage? a. Jaws b. ET c. Close Encounters d. Jurassic Park In which way does the author find the film inferior to the original book? a. The book is more interesting. b. The book had a more convincing villain. c. The book is easier to understand. d. The story had a good author but a bad director. The passage is most probably a. a book review. c. a film review. The book Jurassic Park is written by a. Crichton b. Attenborough
b. a film critic's comments. d. a magazine article.
c. Hammond
d. Neil
Which of the following does the author say of the film? a. The film is technically inferior and does not have a good storyline. b. The film is technically inferior but has a good storyline. c. The film is technically slick but does not have a good storyline. d. The film is technically slick and has a good storyline. The writer's opinion of the film Jurassic Park may be said to be a. very favourable. b. very depressing. c. excellent.
d. not very favourable.
Why according to the author, should we thank heaven for movies like Jurassic Park, even though they may not be very good aesthetically? a. Because they fill the halls, and thus people will finance more films. b. Because it is one of the major hits of the year. c. Because the film has brilliant technical wizardry. d. Because of the hundreds of films being produced, this is one of the few excellent ones. According to the author, Jurassic Park a. is very amusing. c. Both (a) and (b)
b. is very frightening. d. Neither (a) nor (b)
The phrase 'muck about', in the context of the passage, means a. make dirty b. interfere with c. be frivolous about d. to mask
The opinion polls had been wrong. Although they were signalling a weakening in Labour's lead in the days before the general election which pointed to a hung parliament many working-class voters had been embarrassed to tell middle-class pollsters that they were intending to vote Labour. The final result on April 9, 1992, which gave Neil Kinnock a working majority of 30, was a turnaround of the century. As John Major cleared his desk in Downing Street, pundit after pundit lined up to criticise his lacklustre campaign. The trouble was, they all agreed, that the Conservative Party no longer had a message or political purpose. Its representation in the north of England was decimated; its future as a national party doubtful. For Kinnock the victory was a sweet reward for nine years of Herculean labour in making his party electable. Not only had he a working majority, but the divisions in Conservative ranks between anti-Europeans, free marketers and moderates threatened to split the party. Having set himself the objective of heading a two or three term government, Kinnock made his cabinet appointments with the long haul in mind. There were few surprises. John Smith, with whom he coexisted uneasily, was made chancellor; Roy Hattersley became home secretary; Gerald Kaufmann went to the foreign office; inveterate Euro-sceptic Bryan Gould took over environment; and Gordon Brown went to trade. It was, as many commentators conceded, a much more heavyweight cabinet than any of the Conservatives could have mustered. But the new cabinet was to have its first trial of strength very soon. The problem was the foreign exchange markets. Although both Kinnock and Smith had, throughout, the election campaign, reaffirmed their commitment to hold the pound's parity at 2.95DM inside the ERM, the foreign exchange markets simply did not believe them. Every previous Labour government had devalued; what reason was there to suppose this one would be different? The pressure built up immediately. On Friday, April 10, the Bank of England managed to hold the line only by spending 4 billion around a sixth of its total reserves to support the exchange rate. But late that night, as the New York markets closed, the Governor of the Bank of England led the deputation to a meeting at 11, Downing Street with Smith and the permanent secretary to the Treasury, Sir Terence Burns. If, said the governor,
the pound was to survive the coming week inside the ERM, then Smith would have to demonstrate his resolve by raising interest rates by at least 2 per cent. It would also help, added the officials, if the government were to commit Britain to full monetary union and to meet the Maastricht criteria for a single currency. This would mean that both the taxation from Smith's first budget would have to be used to reduce government borrowing and the manifesto promises to raise child benefit and pensions be postponed. Smith listened to Eddie George number two at the Bank of England and the arbiter of British exchange rate policy explain that, at the current rate of reserve loss, Britain's reserves would have run out by the following weekend. The markets needed decisive action. And they needed to know, by the night of Sunday, April 12, at the very latest, what the government would do when the far-eastern markets opened after the weekend. Sir Terence advised that once the markets recognised the government was resolved to hold the exchange rate, pressure would quickly subside and the interest rate increases could be reversed. The name of the game was earning credibility. Although Smith had been warned to expect a Treasury/Bank of England move to assert the cannons of economic orthodoxy, he had hoped to have been more than a few hours into his chancellorship before the pressures started to mount. As it stood, he felt like the victim of a coup and wondered to what extent the foreign exchange market selling had been prompted by the Bank of England's ham fisted intervention almost designed to manufacture a run on the pound. In any case, he could do nothing without conferring with the prime minister. In fact Kinnock had asked Smith to have the preliminary Bank of England meeting without him. Although he was not at one with his chancellor over economic policy and distrusted his judgement, he wanted to complete his cabinet appointments and confer with his own advisers about how to react to what he knew the bank and treasury recommendations would be. He was determined to avoid being bounced into decisions before he had decided his line. The alternative was to apply to the EC for a realignment conference, in which many more currencies would be devalued. But that could hardly be done then; it would have to wait until the following weekend. And it was not clear if the pound would be devalued sufficiently, or if other countries would follow the British lead. Not only might Britain have to devalue alone, it might not secure a devaluation large enough to make a difference; and be accompanied by higher interest rates. 142. The word 'pundit', in the context of the passage, means a. a religious leader b. a psychologist c. an expert
d. a paleontologist
What was the main problem facing the new cabinet? a. The dissension in the ranks of the party. b. The devaluation of the currency. c. The foreign exchange market problem. d. The monetary union problem. Who, according to the passage, is the leader of the Labour Party? a. Neil Kinnock b. John Smith c. Gerald Kaufmann
d. Roy Hattersley
What, according to the treasury secretary, was the only way out of the exchange problem? a. Devaluation of the currency b. Rise in interest rates c. Government spending d. Raising taxes
It may be inferred from the passage that a. the Bank of England would go along with whatever the government decided. b. the prime minister was a puppet in the hands of the Bank of England. c. the Bank of England was completely independent of the government. d. the Bank of England could put enormous pressure on the government to formulate policy. Why did Kinnock ask Smith to attend the Bank of England meeting without him? a. Because he did not get along with Smith. b. Because he wanted to use that time to confer with others. c. Because he already met them and did not want to meet them again. d. Because he was afraid of being censured by them. Why, according to the author, was the realignment conference not a viable option for the government? a. Because other countries may not follow the British lead in devaluation. b. Because the higher interest rates to be given by Britain may deplete resources further. c. Both (a) and (b) d. Neither (a) nor (b) Which of the following do not belong to the Labour cabinet? a. Mr John Smith b. Mr Bryan Goul c. Mr Maastricht d. Mr G. Brown What, according to the passage, was not a reason for the defeat of the Conservative Party? a. A lacklustre campaign b. Wrong policies c. No special message d. No political purpose
Section 1V
Direction for questions 151 to 155: Answer the questions based on the following information. Ghosh Babu surveyed his companies and obtained the following data. Income tax is paid from profit before tax and the remaining amount is apportioned to dividend and retained earnings. The retained earnings were accumulated into reserves. The reserves at the beginning of 1991 were Rs. 80 lakh.
Figure (Rs. in lakh) Share capital Sales Profit before tax Dividends Retained earnings 1994 0310 6435 0790 0110 0400 1993 0205 4725 0525 0060 0245 1992 0098 2620 0170 0030 0070 1991 0098 3270 0315 0030 0140
In which year was the tax per rupee of profit before tax lowest? a. 1991 b. 1992 c. 1993 In which year was the sales per rupee of share capital highest? a. 1991 b. 1992 c. 1993 In which year the profit before tax per rupee of sales was the highest? a. 1991 b. 1992 c. 1993
In which year was the percentage addition to reserves over previous years reserves the highest? a. 1991 b. 1992 c. 1993 d. 1994 Amount of the reserves at the end of 1994 is a. Rs. 935 lakh b. Rs. 915 lakh
c. Rs. 230 lakh
Direction for questions 156 to 160: Answer the questions based on the following table.
Market share in four metropolitan cities Period/ Product HD CO BN MT Mumbai 1993-94 20-15 20-25 45-40 15-20 Kolkata 1993-94 35-30 30-15 25-35 10-20 Delhi 1993-94 20-15 15-10 35-35 10-10 C h en n ai 1993-94 20-30 20-15 10-10 50-45
The maximum percentage decrease in market share is a. 60% b. 50% c. 53.3%
d. 20%
The city in which minimum number of products increased their market shares in 1993-94 is a. Mumbai b. Delhi c. Kolkata d. Chennai The market shares of which products did not decreased between 1993-94 in any city? a. HD b. CO c. BN d. None of these The number of products which had 100% market share in four metropolitan cities is a. 0 b. 1 c. 2 d. 3 The number of products which doubled their market shares in one or more cities is a. 0 b. 1 c. 2 d. 3
Direction for questions 161 to 165: Answer the questions based on the following piecharts.
Operating profit Rs. 160 lakh Depreciation 20% Dividend 8% Interest 40%
Operating profit Rs. 130 lakh Interest 30% Interest Tax Retained profit Dividend 8% Tax 9% Retained profit 25%
Depreciation 28%
Dividend Depreciation
Retained profit 20%
Tax 12%
The operating profit in 1991-92 increased over that in 1990-91 by a. 23% b. 22% c. 25% The interest burden in 1991-92 was higher than that in 1990-91 by a. 50% b. Rs. 25 lakh c. 90%
d. Rs. 41 lakh
If on an average, 20% rate of interest was charged on borrowed funds, then the total borrowed funds used by this company in the given two years amounted to a. Rs. 221 lakh b. Rs.195 lakh c. Rs. 368 lakh d. Rs. 515 lakh The retained profit in 1991-92, as compared to that in 1990-91 was a. higher by 2.5% b. higher by 1.5% c. lower by 2.5%
d. lower by 1.5%
The equity base of these companies remained unchanged. Then the total dividend earning by the share holders in 1991-92 is a. Rs. 104 lakh b. Rs. 9 lakh c. Rs. 12.8 lakh d. Rs. 15.6 lakh
Direction for questions 166 to 170: Answer the questions based on the following graph. Foreign trade (in billion dollars)
1994-95 1993-94 1992-93 1991-92 1990-91 1989-90 1988-89 1987-88 0 5 10 15 20 25 30
In which year was the trade deficit highest? a. 1987-88 b. 1988-89
c. 1989-90
d. 1990-91
In how many years was the trade deficit less than the trade deficit in the succeeding year? a. 1 b. 2 c. 3 d. 4 Export earning in 1990-91 is how many per cent of imports in 1991-92? a. 82% b. 85% c. 90%
In the last three years the total export earnings have accounted for how many per cent of the value of the imports? a. 80% b. 83% c. 95% d. 88% Which of the following statements can be inferred from the graph? I. In all the years shown in the graph, the trade deficit is less than the export earning. II. Export earnings increased in every year between 1989-90 and 1991-92. III. In all the years shown in the graph, the earning by exports is less than the expenditure on imports in the preceding year. a. I only b. II only c. III only d. I and III only
Direction for questions 171 to 175: Answer the questions based on the following graph. Revenue obtained by a publishing house while selling books, magazines and journals (Rs. in lakh).
90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 1989 1990 1991 1992 Books Magazines Journals
Which year shows the highest change in revenue obtained from journals? a. 1989 b. 1990 c. 1991 d. 1992 In 1992, what per cent of the total revenue came from books? a. 45% b. 55% c. 35%
The number of years in which there was an increase in revenue from at least two categories is a. 1 b. 2 c. 3 d. 4 If 1993 were to show the same growth as 1992 over 1991, the revenue in 1993 must be a. Rs. 194 lakh b. Rs. 187 lakh c. Rs. 172 lakh d. Rs. 177 lakh The growth in total revenue from 1989 to 1992 is a. 21% b. 28% c. 15%
Direction for questions 176 to 180: Answer the questions based on the following table. Machine M1 as well as machine M2 can independently produce either product P or product Q. The time taken by machines M1 and M2 (in minutes) to produce one unit of product P and product Q are given in the table below: (Each machine works 8 hour per day).
Product P Q
M2 8 6
What is the maximum number of units that can be manufactured in one day? a. 140 b. 160 c. 120 d. 180 If M1 works at half its normal efficiency, what is the maximum number of units produced, if at least one unit of each must be produced? a. 96 b. 89 c. 100 d. 119
What is the least number of machine hours required to produce 30 pieces of P and 25 pieces of Q respectively? a. 6 hr 30 min b. 7 hr 24 min c. 6 hr 48 min d. 4 hr 6 min If the number of units of P is to be three times that of Q, what is the maximum idle time to maximize total units manufactured? a. 0 min b. 24 min c. 1 hr d. 2 hr If equal quantities of both are to be produced, then out of the four choices given below, the least efficient way would be a. 48 of each with 3 min idle b. 64 of each with 12 min idle c. 53 of each with 10 min idle d. 71 of each with 9 min idle
Direction for questions 181 to 185: Answer the questions based on the following information. A company produces five types of shirts A, B, C, D and E using cloth of three qualities high, medium and low -, using dyes of three qualities high, medium and low. One shirt requires 1.5 m of cloth. The following table gives respectively: 1. The number of shirts (of each category) produced, in thousands 2. The percentage distribution of cloth quality in each type of shirt, and 3. The percentage distribution of dye quality in each type of shirt.
Distribution of cloth (% ) Shirt type A B C D E Number in thousands 20 30 30 10 10 Shirt type A B C D E High 80 30 Medium 20 40 70 60 10 Low 30 30 40 90
Distribution of dye (% ) Shirt type A B C D E High 70 20 Medium 15 50 60 40 20 Low 15 30 40 60 80
What is the total requirement of cloth? a. 1,50,000 m b. 2,00,000 m
c. 2,25,000 m
d. 2,50,000 m
How many metres of low-quality cloth is consumed? a. 22,500 m b. 46,500 m c. 60,000 m How many metres of high quality cloth is consumed by A-type shirts? a. 8,000 m b. 112,000 m c. 24,000 m What is the ratio of the three qualities of dyes in high-quality cloth? a. 2 : 3 : 5 b. 1 : 2 : 5 c. 7 : 9 : 10
d. 40,000 m
d. Cannot be determined
What is the ratio of low-quality dye used for C-type shirts to that used for D- type shirts? a. 3 : 2 b. 2 : 1 c. 1 : 2 d. 2 : 3
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Home News Tucson Kmart Closing, Chuze Fitness Centers Opening
Tucson Kmart Closing, Chuze Fitness Centers Opening
Karen Schutte
TUCSON, ARIZONA — Sears continues store closings as the company announced Friday that it will close 80 more Sears and Kmart locations in March. That includes the Tucson Kmart, a 145,152-square-foot building on 11.5 acres at 7055 E. Broadway Blvd in Tucson.
The announcement came on the same day that Sears faced a deadline to find a seller for the company as part of its bankruptcy. The 80 locations that will close in March is in addition to the 40 locations scheduled to be shuttered in February.
Of the 80 locations to close, 43 are Sears stores and 37 are Kmart.
To see a full list of stores closing in March, click here .
Heslin Holdings, Inc. a privately owned commercial real estate investment and development firm, purchased a second big box for redevelopment recently in Tucson. In October, we reported Helsin acquired the 35,000-square-feet former Safeway building at 5548 E Grant Road in Tucson.
The following month, Heslin purchased a second big box store, the former Babies“R” Us at 4619 N Oracle in Tucson for $3.4 million ($92.48 PSF). The 36,763-square-foot property on 2.59 acres was sold by Wells Fargo Commercial Mortgage Service that bought it out of bankruptcy for $2,631,644.
The retail space at 4619 N Oracle is located across from the Tucson Mall and a 211,152-square-foot, single-tenant office building occupied by Comcast in a high density retail area.
Heslin purchased both properties for conversion into Chuze Fitness Centers. The acquisitions were part of a larger plan by Heslin to invest $75 million in retail properties over the next 12 months.
Heslin continues to pursue additional value-add commercial property opportunities throughout the country, with an emphasis on the Western U.S. growth regions where market fundamentals such as positive employment, housing and retail indicators support the firm’s value-add investment strategy.
Chuze Fitness Centers Opening
Kmart Closing Tucson
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Buchanan Street Partners Closes $34.5 M Acquisition Loan on Office buildings...
Las Vistas at Papago Park Apartments Sell for $13.5+ Million
Tucson Lease Report September 14-18, 2015
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BAI to celebrate all things radio in Dublin
Published: August 21, 2013 - 11:08 am
The BAI Building at Warrington Place in Dublin is opening up for a Culture Night, to celebrate all things audio and radio.
There’ll be a Pop Up Museum full of classic broadcasting memorabilia from the Hurdy Gurdy Museum in Howth, including radio sets dating back to the turn of the 20th century.
Its curator Pat Herbert has been collecting radio sets since the 1950’s and will share some of his radio sets inspired by the French resistance of WW2 to the first FM Radio set in Ireland.
The evening will also play host to Sounds Alive, a one-hour ticketed event from 7pm, hosted by documentary maker Julien Clancy.
Audiences will be invited into a darkened room for an evening of curated sound stories from the radio, the internet and beyond, taking a trip back in time to explore the sound archives of the National Folklore Collection.
Sound Archivist Anna Bale and other special guests will be there, helping to celebrate some of Ireland’s earliest sound stories.
Tickets from the BAI via info@bai.ie or by telephone: 01-6441200.
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Selected Poems by Mark Vincent
All Poems on One Page
Mark Vincent was born and raised in Salt Lake City, Utah in a family with five siblings, and is now the father of six children. He refers to his wife, Laurie, as “a wonderful woman who has my been companion and guiding light for the past 31+ years.” The family lives in Northeastern Missouri, where Mark works as a manager of accounting and human resources in the manufacturing arena. Mark enjoys a diversity of hobbies, including cooking and collecting cribbage boards. As an avid reader whose library consists of over 1700 volumes (Are 135 cookbooks are too many?) he has compiled about 500 pages of favorite recipes. A pet rooster was the impetus for a writing avocation that would span a lifetime. Mark’s 6th grade poem about Herbie was published in the newspaper, and he continued to write throughout high school and college. Life and work, including missionary service in Austria, nudged poetry to the back burner for about 25 years. The need to express feelings over the birth, and shortly thereafter, death of Mark and Laurie’s youngest son brought forth a resurgence of writing that he has pursued in earnest since 1998.
Ever Changing
I Love to Walk in Softly Falling Snow (Villanelle)
Of Things that Disappear in Gentle Breeze
Before the Sands Decay
A Triangle of Pie (Sestina)
The Patchwork Quilt
Fishing with Dad
To an Adopted Son
The Prayer at Valley Forge
A Distant Bugler
Tears (Triolet)
A Father’s Plea
What More Could Heaven Hold!
<< Previous — Poets in Profile — Next >>
Poets Collective is a noncommercial effort to encourage and promote poetry writing that can stand the test of time and reading that can assure its will to live. The site is family-friendly (up to PG-rated) and geared for enjoyment by all ages.
This author’s work also appears on
© R. Mark Vincent
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Philippine-Japan friendship highway
The MV Manila City
Posted on December 6, 2016 December 6, 2016 by psssadmin
Gorio Belen research in the National Library
William Lines, from their very start and even when their fleet was not yet big always stressed the Southern Mindanao routes, a stress that was even over that of their stress in Northern Mindanao. They have their reasons and it might be economic. Maybe the political came later. It is known that Mr. William Chiongbian, the owner and founder was for a long time a Congressman of Misamis Occidental and was even Governor. Panguil Bay and Iligan Bay was the only consistent stress of William Lines in Northern Mindanao. In Southern Mindanao his brother James Chiongbian was a Congressman for long time of the southern portion of the old Cotabato province.
In Southern Mindanao, for decades William Lines maintained the Manila-Cebu-Tagbilaran-Dumaguete-Zamboanga-Dadiangas-Davao route and even early the company devoted six ships of their fleet in that route to maintain a thrice a week departure from Manila. Even when the former passenger-cargo ships from Europe arrived, William Lines simply plugged it in those routes in place of the former ex-”FS” ships. Later, that basic route had variations like dropping Tagbilaran in one or two of the schedules or inserting Iligan in that schedule or going first to Davao than Dadiangas.
When the era of fast cruiser liners arrived with only one intermediate port in the route, William Lines acquired and fielded the fast cruiser MV Manila City in the Manila-Zamboanga-Davao route in 1976. This was actually the second MV Manila City in the Wiliam Lines fleet after the first MV Manila City which was an ex-”FS” ship. Later the second MV Manila City dropped anchor in General Santos City on the way back to Manila. Gensan was the base of Mr. James Chiongbian and the passenger and cargo of Gensan are too big to ignore when it was just on the way.
The MV Manila City was first in competition with the fast cruiser liner MV Dona Ana (later MV Dona Marilyn) of Sulpicio Lines which was augmented later by the fast cruisers MV Don Enrique (later MV Davao Princess and MV Iloilo Princess) and MV Don Eusebio (later MV Dipolog Princess) in 1978. These Sulpicio ships were doing the Manila-Cebu-Davao route. The MV Manila City was faster but she was doing the longer route. All of them were capable of completing the whole route in just a week. Later, in 1979, the Dona Ana was pulled out from the Davao route and she was placed in the twice a week Manila-Cebu route when the flagship of Sulpicio Lines, the MV Don Sulpicio was hit by fire near Batangas while on a voyage.
For 15 long years from 1976 until her death in 1991, the MV Manila City was the only fast cruiser of William Lines in the Southern Mindanao route and she had to contend with the MV Don Enrique and MV Don Eusebio of Sulpicio Lines. For most of this period the MV Manila City was augmented by the other cruisers of William Lines including the former passenger-cargo ships from Europe. Two of them, however, the MV Davao City and MV Zamboanga tried a direct route to Davao. The MV Dumaguete and MV General Santos City also did a Manila-Zamboanga-Davao route. The late 1970’s was no longer an era of too many intermediate ports. Even Sulpicio Lines was also in this new trend in this era.
From 1979, however, William Lines also joined the new paradigm and bandwagon which was containerization. The new container ships made direct sailings with no intermediate ports like a direct route to Davao or General Santos City. With that there was less need to send passenger-cargo ships to Southern Mindanao. However, the MV Manila City continued on its old route and sailed faithfully.
The MV Manila City was a ship built in 1970 by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in its main yard in Shimonoseki, Japan. Her original name was MV Nihon Maru. She was young when she was sold to William Lines in 1976 at only 6 years of age and use. Her former owner in Japan was Mitsubishi Shintaku Ginko and her ID was IMO 7005798.
The ship’s external measurements were 106.3 meters by 14.0 meters by 6.2 meters and her original gross register tonnage was 2,998 tons. She had a maximum speed of 20.5 knots when new from her twin Mitsubishi engines that totaled 8,800 horsepower (this was high at its time and actually the highest for the local liners from 1976 to 1980). So she was actually bigger and as fast the flagship MV Cebu City of William Lines. She was dubbed as the “Sultan of the Sea” by William Lines.
In the Philippines, the MV Manila City had a gross tonnage of 2,961 with a net tonnage of 1,648. The ship had the highest gross tonnage in the William Lines fleet before the arrival of the MV Dona Virginia. She had a passenger capacity of 1,388 which is again higher than the flagship MV Cebu City. The ship was billed as fully air-conditioned. It seems in the 1970’s this was already the standard for a luxury liner (of course they also touted the passenger service and the food plus the entertainment).
As advertised:”The ship is equipped with the latest navigational and life-saving equipment including self-lighting lamps, an automatic signal transmitter and the latest in compasses and radars. It is fully automated, with the engine room controlled from the bridges.” (From Times Journal, September 24, 1976).
The ship had a raked stem and a cruiser stern. She had two masts, two side funnels and three passenger decks. She had an observation deck atop her bridge which is accessible by passengers. Her loading capacity in Deadweight Tons was 3,766 tons which was higher than the DWT of MV Cebu City.
The MV Manila’s first schedule was:
LV Manila, Wednesday 10AM
AR Zamboanga Thursday 2 PM (18.3 knots average speed)
LV Zamboanga Thursday 12 MN
AR Davao Friday 5 PM (18.3 knots average speed)
LV Davao Saturday 9 PM
AR Zamboanga Sunday 2 PM
LV Zamboanga Sunday 12 MN
AR Manila Tuesday 4 AM
In later years, the departure of MV Manila City from North Harbor changed. At one time she also dropped anchor in Odiongan before proceeding to Zamboanga. This was in the late 1980’s when William Lines was maximizing its routes by dropping by on additional ports in Panay and Romblon.
On February 16, 1991, the MV Manila City was on drydock in Cebu Shipyard Engineering Works (CSEW) in Mactan island. While in a graving dock and hot works were being done on the ship by a sub-contractor, the ship caught fire. The next day the ship sank and was declared beyond economic salvage and repair. The vessel was insured was P45,000.000 (in 1991 currency). She was broken on January 1992.
The MV Manila City was replaced initially by the MV Zamboanga City, a RORO liner, in her route. In 1992, her replacement vessel, the MV Maynilad which was a much bigger vessel came. However, this ship, though beautiful and well-appointed was a disappointment in speed since she can only do 15 knots when new which was significantly below the speed of the vessel she replaced. She can also do the route in also one weak, though.
The MV Manila City was a good ship. It is just too bad she did not last long like her contemporaries in the Southern Mindanao route.
Posted in History, Information, luxury liner, Ship FeatureTagged “Sultan of the Sea”, Cebu Shipyard Engineering Works (CSEW), containerization, ex-"FS" ships, former passenger-cargo ships from Europe, General Santos City, Gensan, IMO 7005798, Manila-Cebu-Davao route, Manila-Cebu-Tagbilaran-Dumaguete-Zamboanga-Dadiangas-Davao route, Manila-Zamboanga-Davao route, Mitsubishi engines, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Mitsubishi Shintaku Ginko, MV Cebu City, MV Davao City, MV Davao Princess, MV Dipolog Princess, MV Don Enrique, MV Don Eusebio, MV Don Sulpicio, MV Dona ana, MV Dona Marilyn, MV Dona Virginia, MV Dumaguete, MV General Santos City, MV Iloilo Princess, MV Manila City, MV Maynilad, MV Nihon Maru, MV Zamboanga, MV Zamboanga City, Odiongan, old Cotabato province, Philippine-Japan friendship highway, second MV Manila City, Shimonoseki, southern Mindanao routes, Sulpicio Lines, William Chiongbian, william linesLeave a comment
The Pioneering But Hard-Luck Cardinal Shipping
This article could be considered a tribute to Cardinal Shipping Corporation because among all shipping companies I consider them the true pioneers of island connections using short-distance ferry-ROROs (to distinguish it to the earlier LCTs). This is also an attempt to set the record straight because some government functionaries who have no knowledge in shipping repeat and repeat that the government-owned Maharlika ships first connected Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao through short-distance ferry-ROROs when that is simply not true and factually incorrect. Personally, I hate historical revisionism in any form and that is actually what these dumb government functionaries are actually doing and then some clueless young members of media take after what they say. If this is not checked, we will see a kind of Goebbels syndrome in shipping.
As they say, research and documentation are the most important things in making claims or in debunking claims and the Philippine Ship Spotters Society (PSSS) was fortunate a co-founder, Gorio Belen, took time to research in the National Library and found the proofs needed to back up what we oldtimers knew that there were ferries that antedated the government-owned Maharlika ships and sometimes one good proof are newspaper advertisements and photos of their ship docked in Allen port. Well, maybe another good proof would come from some retired bus drivers that loaded their ships aboard Cardinal Ferry 1 and those were mainly Pantranco South bus drivers. I myself is a secondhand source because some of these drivers bought merchandise from us to be sold in Calbayog and Catarman. Of course, another good source will be the Allen and Matnog LGUs (local government units). They will know, definitely, especially some of their retired local politicians and local government employees. Add to that also some retired or still active porters.
Cardinal Shipping Corporation actually started in cargo shipping with the Cardinal V. This is a small cargo ship built in 1968 that was formerly the Ryusho Maru in Japan and that ship engaged in tramper shipping. In 1979, Cardinal Shipping branched out into RORO shipping when they brought out the Cardinal Ferry 1 to do a Matnog-Allen RORO route to the consternation of the wooden motor boats doing the route like the MB Samar and MB Sorsogon of Eugenia Tabinas (later of Bicolandia Shipping Lines). The ports they were using were not yet the modern Matnog Ferry Terminal but the old municipal port of Matnog and in Allen, they used the old BALWHARTECO wharf. Both are no longer existing. The two ports were just near the Matnog Ferry Terminal and the present port of BALWHARTECO.
Cardinal Ferry 1 was one of the many Tamataka Marus that came to the Philippines and one of the earliest. She was Tamataka Maru No. 21 and she was acquired from Shikoku Ferry of Japan. The other Tamataka Marus in the Philippines are the Reina Emperatriz (Tamataka Maru No. 71), Reina Genoveva (Tamataka Maru No. 75), Reina Hosanna (Tamataka Maru No.78), all of Montenegro Shipping Lines Inc. and Marina Ferries, Queen Helen of Arrel Traders (Tamataka Maru No. 31), Golden Arrow of Arrow Shipping (Tamataka Maru No. 51), Viva Penafrancia of Viva Shipping Lines (Tamataka Maru No. 52) and the Dona Isabel of SKT Shipping (Tamataka Maru No. 32).
Cardinal Ferry 1 was a RORO ship built by Sanuki Shipbuilding & Iron Works in Sanuki yard, Japan in 1964. She was just a basic, short-distance ferry-RORO at 39.2 meters by 9.1 meters with a gross register tonnage (GRT) of 355 tons. Cardinal Ferry 1 had a passenger capacity of 400 persons in sitting accommodations and she was powered by a single Niigata diesel engine that gave her a top speed of 10 knots when new. She possessed the ID IMO 7743118.
In 1980, Cardinal Shipping fielded the Cardinal Ferry 2 to sail the Surigao-Liloan-Maasin route. There was no Lipata Ferry Terminal then yet and they used what is known now as the Verano port now in Surigao City. In Liloan, they used the Liloan municipal port as there was no Liloan Ferry Terminal yet. Liloan, Surigao and Maasin were better ports than Allen and Matnog infra-wise as both hosted overnight ships to Cebu. With the fielding of Cardinal Ferry 2, for the first time ever Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao were connected and a vehicle can roll from any part of Luzon to Mindanao and vice-versa. This was the fulfillment of the dreams of many including the late President Diosdado Macapagal in whose administration the JICA-backed Pan-Philippine Highway project (later renamed as Philippine-Japan Friendship Highway because Japan will partly fund the mega-project and war reparations to be paid by Japan will be used in it) first took shape. During Martial Law, this morphed into the Maharlika Highway. However, the government’s version of connection happened only in 1984 with the coming of Maharlika II and that was 4 years after Cardinal Shipping did it.
Cardinal Ferry 2 was the former Shikishima Maru No. 1 in Japan and she was built by Imabari Shipbuilding Company Ltd. in Imabari shipyard, Japan in 1960 (therefore she was older than Cardinal Ferry I) and she possessed the ID IMO 5322867. She was bigger than Cardinal Ferry 1 at 50.1 meters length by 7.8 meters breadth by 3.9 meters depth. The ship has 491 tons in Gross Register Tonnage (GRT), 302 tons in Net Register Tonnage (NRT) and 800 tons in Deadweight Tonnage (DWT). This ferry was powered by a single Makita engine of 640 horsepower and the top speed was 9.5 knots.
The next year, in 1981, Cardinal Shipping laid out the Cardinal Ferry III which was the former Sanyomarugame Maru No.1 of Sanyo Kisen in Japan. She was fielded in the pioneering RORO route of San Jose de Buenavista, Antique to Puerto Princesa, Palawan! [I really wonder until now what sense this made. Maybe a Cebu-Bohol or a Cebu-Leyte connection would have more sense.] This ferry was built by Kanda Shipbuilding Company in Kure yard, Japan in 1965. Her dimensions are 44.5 meters length by 10.0 meters breadth by 2.9 meters depth. Her original Gross Register Tonnage (GRT) was 495 tons with a Deadweight Tonnage (DWT) of 190 tons. The passenger capacity was 350 and she had twin Niigata engines of a total 1,700 horsepower. The ship’s top speed was 13.5 knots which is fast for a small RORO then. The ship’s ID is IMO 6607848.
In the same year of 1981, Cardinal Shipping acquired the former Taysan of Seaways Shipping Corporation which was an old cargo ship built way back in 1956 by Sanoyas Shipbuilding Corporation in Osaka yard, Japan. This became the Cardinal VI in the Cardinal Shipping fleet and like the Cardinal V she engaged in tramper shipping.
The last ferry and ship acquisition of Cardinal Shipping was the Cardinal Ferry Seven in 1982. She was the former Azuki Maru in Japan of Kansai Kyuko. This RORO ship was built in 1964 by Hashihama Zosen in Hashihama yard, Japan. She measured 41.7 meters length by 12.6 meters breadth by 3.6 meters depth. The original Gross Register Tonnage was 473 tons with a Deadweight Tonnage (DWT) of 165 tons . Her passenger capacity was 650 persons (that is a little big!). The ship was powered by two Daihatsu engines of 1,100 horsepower and the top speed was 12.5 knots. The ship’s ID was IMO 6502191.
Although pioneering, Cardinal Shipping was not successful for long. Even before the Maharlika I arrived in Matnog-San Isidro route in 1982 and the Maharlika II in Lipata-Liloan route in 1984, she was already under pressure. There were already other competitors that came in the two routes especially in Matnog-Allen route like the Northern Star and Laoang Bay of Newport Shipping (before this Newport Shipping has already been sailing a route from Manila to Samar). Eugenia Tabinas also got into ROROs when she was able to acquire the Eugenia from Esteban Lul of the Visayas. Later, she was able to acquire the Northern Star from Newport Shipping which became the Northern Samar after conversion in Cebu.
It was really hard to compete against the new Maharlika ships which did not need to show a profit as it was government-owned (that is how government always worked and the usual hackneyed reasoning is it is “public service”. However, there was no denying that the Maharlika ships were better as it was much newer. Cardinal Shipping also had ships that were not only old but built in the 1960’s when engines were still not that long-lasting as microfinishing was not yet in great use and metallurgical research was not yet that advanced. Their route to Palawan also did not make sense in that period. In San Bernardino Strait, they soon had a dogfight in their hands with many entrants. Not long after, the ships of Cardinal Shipping began losing to competition.
Cardinal Shipping did not completely go away however and it had a rebirth in the form of Cardinal Philippine Carrier which was based in Iloilo City. They were able to retain the former Cardinal Ferry 3 which was now known as Palawan Traders. Before this she was known as the Kanlaon Ferry, a name maybe given so she will stick in her revised route. They then added a pioneering ferry, a catamaran High Speed Craft, the Bacolod Express in 1989 to do the Bacolod-Iloilo route. This was very notable because before her only Manila had High Speed Crafts in the early 1970s. Some of those were even hydrofoils and they were used in a route to Corregidor which was being heavily promoted then as a tourist destination.
The Bacolod Express was the former Quicksilver I and she was built by NQEA Australia in Cairns, Australia in 1986. She arrived in the country in 1989 and she was formerly known as the Princess of Boracay and in 1990, she became the Bacolod Express. This aluminum-hulled catamaran measured 29.0 meters length by 11.0 meters breadth by 3.2 meters depth and with a gross tonnage of 318 and a net tonnage of 105. She had a passenger capacity of 356 and she was powered by two MWM engines of 2,700 horsepower which gave the High Speed Craft a top speed of 27 knots. This ferry was one beautiful catamaran.
Bacolod Express was successful in her route for a few years. The first sign of trouble came when BREDCO, the incomplete reclamation area then but her port in Bacolod suddenly began refusing her docking. She cannot dock in Banago port because that was controlled then by Negros Navigation Company, a competitor of theirs which operated conventional ferries between Iloilo and Bacolod, the Don Vicente and the Princess of Panay. Definitely, Bacolod Express was taking traffic away from NENACO which had no equivalent at the start to Bacolod Express (they later fielded the St. Michael). Everybody knows NENACO’s board were powers magnificent then in Western Visayas and could make things happen (or not happen).
Not long after, Bacolod Express also began experiencing engine troubles (in less than 10 years of operational life?) thus unreliability plagued her. That was deadly when new competitors came into her route. With Bacolod Express no longer able to carry the flag, Cardinal Philippine Carrier soon quit the business. They sold the Palawan Traders to E.B. Aznar Shipping where she became the Melrivic Seven. Today this ship still sails the Tanon Strait crossing between Escalante and Tabuelan where she once sailed before. She is the only remnant left and living reminder that once there was Cardinal Shipping but many people do not know that. Maybe not even her crew.
That was the sad tale of Cardinal Shipping which was pioneering in very many ways but which lost in the end. I doubt if many still remember them.
Photo Credits: Gorio Belen, Times Journal and Philippine Daily Express
Posted in Company Feature, History, InformationTagged Bacolod-Iloilo route, BALWHARTECO, Banago port, basic, short-distance ferry-RORO, Bicolandia Shipping Lines, BREDCO, Cardinal Philippine Carrier, Cardinal Shipping Corporation, catamaran, E.B. Aznar Shipping, Esteban Lul, Eugenia Tabinas, Gorio Belen, Hashihama Zosen, High Speed Craft, Imabari Shipbuilding Company, IMO 5322867, IMO 6502191, IMO 6607848, IMO 7743118, JICA, Kanda Shipbuilding Company, Kansai Kyuko, Kure yard, Liloan Ferry Terminal, Liloan municipal port, Lipata-Liloan route, Maharlika Highway, Maharlika ships, Matnog Ferry Terminal, Matnog-Allen route, Matnog-San Isidro route, MB Samar, MB Sorsogon, municipal port of Matnog, MV Azuki Maru, MV Bacolod Express, MV Cardinal Ferry 1, MV Cardinal Ferry 2, MV Cardinal Ferry III, MV Cardinal Ferry Seven, MV Cardinal V, MV Cardinal VI, MV Don Vicente, MV Eugenia, MV Kanlaon Ferry, MV Laoang Bay, MV Maharlika II, MV Melrivic Seven, MV Northern Samar, MV Northern Star, MV Palawan Traders, MV Princess of Boracay, MV Princess of Panay, MV Quicksilver I, MV Ryusho Maru, MV Sanyomarugame Maru No.1, MV St. Michael, MV Tamataka Maru No. 21, MV Taysan, MWM engines, Negros Navigation Company, nenaco, Newport Shipping, Niigata diesel engine, Niigata engines, NQEA Australia, Pan-Philippine Highway project, Philippine Ship Spotters Society, Philippine-Japan friendship highway, President Diosdado Macapagal, PSSS, RORO, RORO shipping, San Jose de Buenavista, Antique to Puerto Princesa, Palawan, Sanyo Kisen, Seaways Shipping Corporation, Shikishima Maru No. 1, short-distance ferry-ROROs, Surigao-Liloan-Maasin route, Tamataka Maru, Verano portLeave a comment
The Original RORO Ferry Terminals
Posted on June 26, 2016 June 26, 2016 by psssadmin
It has long been the dream of our country, the Philippines, to connect the main islands of Luzon, the Visayas group and Mindanao to unite the country physically. The only way to do this is through an intermodal system that will use both land and sea transport. This is because the sea crossings are simply too long for the bridges based on the technology of decades before. And, even if the technology is already available, the needed budget for such bridges might simply be too great for a poor country like the Philippines (only fools believe we are the “13th-largest” economy in the world).
The foundation for such Luzon-Visayas-Mindanao connection was actually the study and plan made in the early 1960’s during the administration of President Diosdado Macapagal for a “Philippine-Japan Friendship Highway”. Such grand project will depend on Japan reparations money, soft loans and technical assistance and that was why that project was retitled to such from “Pan-Philippine Highway”.
Aside from a concrete highway stretching from Aparri, Cagayan to Zamboanga City, it also had provisions for a Sorsogon-Samar connection through a ferry, a Samar-Leyte connection through a bridge (which later became the San Juanico bridge), a Leyte-Panaon island connection by a short bridge and a Panaon-Surigao connection through a ferry. That route was the one chosen because it will involve the least number and shortest ferry crossings plus it will mean the most regions that will benefit from a concrete highway. Included in the project was the purchase of two RORO ships for the sea connections and four RORO ferry terminals.
This project was actually not finished during the term of President Diosdado Macapagal. It was actually not even started during his term. The project was really grand, the highways to be paved were really long and a very large number of bridges have to be built. The project was started in 1967 and it was finished about 18 years later. Along the way, the new administration of President Ferdinand Marcos renamed the project into the “Maharlika Highway”. The ROROs in the two sea crossings were also named as Maharlika I and Maharlika II.
The four so-called RORO ferry terminals (they were not called as ports even though they really are) were located in Matnog (Sorsogon), San Isidro (Northern Samar), Liloan (Southern Leyte) and Lipata (Surigao City). For Luzon, the logical choice is really Matnog as it is the closest to the island of Samar. In Samar, it should have been logically located in Allen, Northern Samar. However, it was located instead in San Isidro of the same province because at that time the Calbayog-Allen road was not yet finished. The vehicles then still pass through the mountain town of Lope de Vega to Catarman.
In Panaon island, the logical location of the ferry terminal should have been in the southernmost town of San Ricardo. The problem again was the uncompleted road. The first plan was to put it in San Francisco town. However, the final decision was to locate it in Liloan. One reason forwarded was it was more sheltered which is true. That reason also factored in the choice of San Isidro as it has an islet off it. In Surigao, the ferry terminal was located in the barrio of Lipata. It is nearer to Panaon island than Surigao City poblacion.
Looking at the lines of the ferry terminals it is obvious that all were constructed from just one architectural plan. The only one that is a little different is the Liloan Ferry Terminal. All are modern-looking and even now, more than thirty year after they were constructed, they still do not look dated. It is obvious from the design that effort was made to control the heat from the sun. They were also all well-built and all sat low and maybe that was done to minimize damage from strong winds. Typhoons and earthquakes have come over the decades but all are still spic and span. They all seem to blend with the terrain, too.
The ferry terminals themselves are surrounded by access roads. The design was that the vehicles to be loaded have a separate access from the vehicles being unloaded. There is also back-up area for the vehicles to be loaded. Inside the terminals aside from the usual waiting areas, there are shops and a restaurant. That is aside from the office of the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) and booths for the shipping companies and the useless arrastre firm.
One difference of the ferry terminals from the ports of the past is the presence from the start of RORO ramps in the wharf. It signified that the ferry terminals were really meant for RORO operations right from the very start. Originally, there were only two RORO ramps per ferry terminal. This provision grew short when the number of RORO ships using the ferry terminal multiplied. So, alterations and expansions were done along the way in the quays of the ferry terminals.
When the sea ferry terminals were opened in 1982 in Matnog and in San Isidro with the arrival of the RORO Maharlika I, San Bernardino Strait, the sea separating the two was already connected by privately-owned ROROs for three years. However, they were using the shorter Matnog to Allen connection. Allen, in Northern Samar, had a port even in the past but a private operator developed their own port. Actually, San Isidro port is not well-placed for the vehicles headed just for Northern Samar as they need to backtrack.
Also, when the ferry terminals were opened in 1984 in Liloan and Lipata, Surigao Strait, the sea separating the two was already connected by privately-owned ROROs for five years already. The original connection here was between Surigao port and Liloan municipal port (plus Maasin port). Incidentally, in both connections it was Cardinal Shipping which was the pioneer using the ROROs Cardinal I and Cardinal II. This is to correct the wrong impression by many who thinks it was the government and the Maharlika ships which were the pioneers in this routes. This erroneous impression is the product of government propaganda. May I add also that even before the ROROs came these two straits were already connected by wooden motor boats (called the lancha locally) and big motor bancas.
Trucks, private cars and government vehicles made the first Luzon-Visayas-Mindanao connection and it was not many at the start. The signal connection that everybody was waiting for was the bus connection since that will mean that all and everybody can make the LuzViMinda run. It finally came in 1986 when the Philtranco bus made its first Mindanao run. The run took longer than expected because of mechanical problems but finally it came about. Now, private vehicles and trucks and everybody is taking it now through many buses and even by commuter van at times.
And the Philippines is physically connected now.
Posted in History, Information, portsTagged Japan reparations, Liloan (Southern Leyte), Lipata (Surigao City), Maharlika Highway, Maharlika I, Maharlika II, Matnog (Sorsogon), Panaon island, Philippine-Japan friendship highway, San Isidro (Northern Samar), San Juanico bridgeLeave a comment
The Maharlika Sisters
Posted on April 28, 2015 by psssadmin
MAHARLIKA 1. ©Grek Peromingan
“Maharlika I” and “Maharlika II” were two sister ships commissioned by the Philippine government in the 1980’s to connect the Maharlika Highway from Aparri to Zamboanga via RORO (Roll On, Roll Off vessel). “Maharlika I” was fielded in the Matnog-San Isidro, Samar route to connect Luzon and the Visayas while “Maharlika II” was fielded in the Liloan, Leyte-Lipata, Surigao City route to connect Visayas to Mindanao.
While the two vessels were built from the same ship plan of Japanese design, it was intended that one will be built in Japan with Filipino engineers observing the process so that the second one could be built in a Philippine yard with the experience gained. The idea was to get the moribund government-owned shipyard in Bataan to get going again. Japanese soft loans were used to build the ships which part of the “Philippine-Japan Friendship Highway” package that also included funds to build the likes of the San Juanico Bridge and the RORO ports along the route.
Maharlika 2 Launch ©Gorio Belen
“Maharlika I” was built by Niigata Engineering in their Niigata yard and was completed on January of 1983. Meanwhile, “Maharlika Dos” was built in the Mariveles yard of Philippine Dockyard and was completed on July of 1984. Philippine Dockyard was the former NASSCO (National Shipyard and Steel Corporation) which built the ferries “General Roxas” and the “Governor B. Lopez” in 1960 and 1961 (incidentally those two were the last ferries built by that shipyard before the Maharlika Dos).
As RORO vessels, the sisters were equipped with ramps at the bow and at the stern as she was designed without the need for the ships to still turn around. Their bow ramps were of the more complicated “visor” type where the bow of the ship has to swing up first before the ramp can be deployed. The stern ramps were of the conventional two-piece design. In later years the bow ramps were no longer in use (“visors” are additional maintenance items).
Maharlika Dos with open visor door. ©Edison Sy
The two sisters were not of identical dimensions as the “Maharlika I” was longer at 66.3 meters versus the 60.0 meters of the Maharlika Dos. They shared the same beam of 12.5 meters but the Gross Tonnage (GT) of “Maharlika I” was higher at 1,971 tons versus the 1,865 tons of “Maharlika II”. The two had the same twin Niigata diesel engines that produced a total of 3,200 horsepower and giving them a service speed of 14.5 knots using two screws.
Between the two, “Maharlika I” has the bigger passenger capacity at 524 with “Maharlika II” having a capacity of 417. There were no attached passenger ramps to the two. When the ships dock a movable ramp was attached to the ship which is not fastened safely most of the time. Cargo capacity, meanwhile, was 14 trucks or buses and more if combined with smaller vehicles.
Maharlika I stern. ©Edison Sy
Initially, it was the Philippine government that operated the sisters starting in 1984. In the late 1990s the two, however passed on to the control of the twin company PhilHarbor Ferries and Archipelago Ferries. The two were no longer in pristine condition then as they aged fast, a process “normal” for government-owned equipment. The decline was, however not reversed and soon the two were no longer reliable. They were operated even with only one engine running that lengthened considerably the sailing times. Interviewing a crew member, he told they just clean and repaint the parts and put it back rather than replacing it as called for in preventive maintenance. I have seen the two not sailing because two engines are busted.
In passenger service, there was really none to speak of and the Maharlika sisters were not even clean and tidy. There was a foul smell especially in the toilets and it smells of the sweat in the air-conditioned section. Overloading, too, was rampant especially in the peak seasons when ferries in the route were still few. Sometimes I feel lucky having an air vent for a seat. It beats the muddy stairs anytime and it is airy, at least.
Maharlika II at Lipata Port ©Mike Baylon
For a country like the Philippines which has a hundred ferries that are 40 years old and above that are still sailing right now, the sisters did not live long lives. “Maharlika I” was deemed “BER” (Beyond Economic Repair” before the first decade of the new millennium was over and they tried to sell it for scrap. Initially, that went for naught as somebody questioned the move and “Maharlika I” was just moored in San Isidro, Samar. Eventually, she was broken up in Navotas in 2010 after sailing less than 25 years.
It seems parts from “Maharlika I” were transferred to “Maharlika II” as initially “Maharlika II” ran well after “Maharlika I” was sold. But soon it seems her old disease caught up with her once again and her sailing time for her 38-nautical mile route went up to 4.5 hours again which signified she was again running on one engine. She will depart one hour ahead of “Super Shuttle Ferry 18” and yet that ship will catch up with her midway into the Surigao Strait.
Maharlika 2 ©Mike Baylon
Posted in UncategorizedTagged archipelago, bulacan, dos, ferry, japan, lipata, Maharlika, maharlika dos, maharlika uno, mariveles, Millenium Uno, NASSCO, national shipyard and steel corporation, niigata, philharbor, philippine dockyard, Philippine-Japan friendship highway, philippines, RORO, san juanico, surigaoLeave a comment
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Tag: rocket raccoon
The Important Role Food Played In Avengers Endgame
Endgame was without a doubt the most “human” Avengers movie to date.
Everything from the different, non-superhero music “Dear Mr. Fantasy” in the opening credits scene to the fact that Natasha Romanoff spent most of her non-Voromir scenes wearing comfy lounge-wear set a different tone for this story.
After everything that has happened over the past decade, the Russo brothers wanted a heavy emphasis on FAMILY in this story.
We’ve always been told to see our characters as a family. They have acted as a family with the teasing/inside jokes, and shared living spaces (yes, Vision, we’ve talked about this, you still need to knock on Wanda’s door before entering).
We’ve also seen them hurt each other and break one another’s hearts. We’ve seen the damage that can result from a family being broken apart. Civil War felt like a personal punch to the gut.
The Russo brothers confirmed that had the Avengers all been united in Infinity War that they would have actually beaten Thanos. It was possible, they had the power. But they were fractured, fighting on separate fronts, therefore they lost.
It’s a sobering reminder to us how important unity is and just how powerful families walking in unity can be.
We lost everything in Infinity War, but we also gained something that was Thanos’ ultimate undoing…
We got our family back, and this time they were stronger for the breaking.
One of the chief ways the Russo’s communicated this idea of togetherness and family was through a very visual feature.
I have never seen a Marvel movie that has this much eating in it. Sure, we’ve gotten cute moments of eating before. The famous “Shawarma” scene from the first Avengers is probably the most memorable one.
Food is necessary for our continued existence, but even more than that, food is a part of who we are.
When someone dies, we bring their family food. When a new life enters the world, we bring food.
Weddings are celebrated with food. Birthdays, sporting events, parties, and holidays as well.
People enjoy food together on dates, during long work hours, late night snacks, last minute taco runs, etc.
Food can also be used as an escape. Food can mark times and seasons as well as locations.
Food is comfort. Food is tradition. Food is artwork. Food is memories. Food is home. Food is a new adventure. Food is family. Food is gathering. Food is escape. Food is healing. Food is normal. Food is special. Food is celebration. Food is personal. Food is uniting. Food is provision. Food is safety.
Food is the common thread that ties a whole life together, the good, the bad, and the glorious.
Avengers: Endgame was meant to tie all of the previous threads of the MCU together just as it was also meant to tie our characters together more strongly than ever before.
Every film is a conglomeration of many parts. If the set guy doesn’t do his job as well as the lighting lady does hers, the whole movie suffers. The musicians have to create music that illuminates the story. The actors have to bring the lines the scriptwriters wrote to life. The director has to see a million details and arrange how they come together in order to create a masterpiece.
No detail is too small. It is no mistake that there was so much food shown in this story, it was an excellent use of setting+props+actions to communicate the keyword, the solution, the most important theme for this entire story.
We open the movie to Clint Barton having an archery lesson with his lovely and strong daughter. In the background, his sweet wife is fixing hotdogs for lunch while the boys play catch. It’s calm, peaceful, and homey.
Clint pays no attention to the ankle bracelet he is wearing, it’s a forgotten object of his other life. This place, these people around the picnic table, this is his life, his heart, his home. Hotdogs at the picnic table, it doesn’t get much more normal and relatable than that.
One moment his wife is calling out for condiment orders, the next moment Clint’s entire family is dust. A very normal, familiar scene is turned into a horror show as he runs around screaming their names. The normalcy is polluted by the tragedy and shock.
Natasha Romanoff sits at an empty Avengers headquarters and talks to all of her super friends across the galaxy, trying to keep the whole universe safe at once.
And she’s making a peanut butter sandwich. A girl still has to eat, it is a strange juxtaposition. A woman in lounge pants making a peanut butter sandwich while managing intergalactic tensions and listening to the horrendous crimes her best friend Clint is committing in his grief.
She can barely choke the sandwich down, the peanut butter and the lump in her throat and her chest are in conflict with each other. #youcantcryandeatpeanutbutteritsscience
Steve Rogers drops by, and after threatening him with the sandwich Nat affectionately slides it across the table towards him. It’s a comfortable, casual kind of hospitality that shows their intimate friend/sibling relationship and trust.
Scott Lang arrives in a flurry, he’s excited and he’s hungry. “Is that anybody’s sandwich? I’m starving!” #ilovethismansomuch
He downs the discarded sandwich in between sharing his brilliant idea to use the Quantum Realm to bring everyone back.
One sandwich tied together multiple characters. It was a strangely normal object in the midst of abnormal circumstances. It connected heavy grief, deep friendship, and new hope.
The hope of a new possibility. The sandwich connects the old mindset, the ruins of the previous era to the birthing of the new one that will drive the entire rest of the story for this movie and all that follow.
Tony Stark comes out of a very normal-looking cabin (normal for a Stark) to go bring his messy-haired little princess in for lunch. It’s such a darling domestic scene that highlights everything we ever wanted for our beloved Ironman.
A car pulls up, Steve, Nat, and Scott get out and interrupt the moment. Tony pours them some sort of healthy “smoothie”? A homemade smoothie likely made from the same vegetables we saw growing in the garden between the cabin and Morgan’s playhouse. They talk “quantum physics” and saving the world, and Tony invites them to stay for lunch. They have to decline and leave to go talk to Dr. Banner.
Later on, Tony is doing his dinner dishes in yet another scene of beautiful domesticity. The great Tony Stark does dinner dishes, AND in a moment of distraction, his own water sprayer attacks him. I loved that moment. He may be a genius/billionaire/superhero but even he gets attacked by his own water sprayer! #beentheredonethatandsohaveyou
He pulls up the specs to play with the idea of time travel while drinking another health drink (a neat callback to his famous green chlorophyll drinks) and munching on nuts.
Tony falls into his chair in shock at the discovery that this plan could work…only to be interrupted by Princess Morgan who wants juice pops. He tucks her in later and finishes off the juice pop.
Almost Tony’s entire story is summed up and highlighted by the use of food in these scenes. A callback to his earlier green drinks that were once upon a time his attempt to give himself a few more days to live in Ironman 2.
His new life is such an opposite to the previous days of flashy towers, unhealthy sleep and eating habits, superficial relationships and constant noise.
This new life is deep, rich, simple, and pure. It’s wholesome and nourishing, just like the kinds of food we see around the Stark household. The juice pop is playful and childish, but it represents Morgan, therefore it’s utterly precious in it’s meaning.
Tony tells his wife that he may actually be able to save the world, all the while he is still playing with the stick from his baby girl’s juice pop.
This moment is huge for the Starks. Rather than jumping the gun, Tony actually has a calm and honest conversation with his wife that shows the vast growth and maturity of him as a character and of their relationship as a couple.
Pepper also shows huge growth as she actually listens to him, lets him know that she knows who he truly is, and gives him permission to pursue this new direction, knowing full well that she may lose him as a result. Tony is at peace when he makes this step, and he’s in unity with his wife. That peace enables him to unify with the rest of his family.
I believe that is why Tony is so incredibly successful this time around. Home and family were rooting for him now, he wasn’t reacting anymore, he was making conscious choices.
That sweet cabin with its vegetable garden and playhouse and two lovely ladies and a freezer of juice pops, that is why Tony Stark was able to defeat Thanos.
After thinking that Tony was out of the picture, Steve, Scott, and Nat go seek out Dr. Banner/aka Professor Hulk…and they meet at a diner.
The Dr. Banner of old would have been horribly uncomfortable in this casual, well-peopled setting, he would have felt exposed and nervous and been unable to relax. This time around Banner is fully in his element. He’s downing giant bowls of eggs and sausage and taking time for cool selfies with the neighborhood kids.
It’s stinkin’ adorable. This big, green “Hulk” sitting at a little diner table eating eggs and sausage talking Quantum Physics, Time Travel, and selfies with his pals. Oh yes, and we noticed the “looks” he and Nat were trading. #youthoughtwewouldntnoticebutwedid
The small American diner is a common experience many of us have had throughout our entire lives. It is in this setting over eggs and sausage that part of our team comes together and begin a bizarre plan to save the world.
In previous movies, these kinds of plans were usually made dramatic surroundings, be it the Avenger’s Tower or the ruins of New York streets. The only thing that comes close is Nat and Steve enjoying breakfast at Sam’s house while they make a plan to take Hydra down. But that moment was still a reactionary thing.
Good, high quality food requires excellent planning, preparation, and proper execution. Just like good food, this Time Heist the Avengers have to pull out cannot be a haphazard plan, this is their Sistine Chapel. This is their Great Wall of China. It’s their masterpiece.
Our heroes have had to react after the fact so many times over. In their line of work, that’s often the only way to do it and maintain some balance of freedom. Like Cap says, “I thought the punishment came after the crime.” It’s hard to anticipate every threat without aiming a whole gun at the world.
But this time around they have had five years to sit and think about Thanos’ crime. This time they have a chance to take a breath, assemble the pieces of their plan carefully, do their research, and launch from a place of preparation.
This isn’t a quick breakfast before or shawarma after, this is a fine, full meal that our Avengers have planned. Most of our characters have grown immensely over the past 5 years, they have nourished different parts of themselves that were always on hold before.
Scott Lang is sitting outside about to enjoy a lovely taco when suddenly all of his toppings are blasted out of his shell by the arrival of the Milano bringing Rocket and Nebula. He stares open-mouthed (oh how I love this man) only to be called an idiot by Nebula (WHY? Cause he’s excited to see a spaceship? I call that charming, sister, get over yourself!) And then he’s scared half to death by the arrival of Rhodey, who thoroughly enjoys calling him “Regular-sized man.”
I was so panicked that Scott would be left a laughingstock with no taco, but then Hulk walks by, beams at him, and gives him not just one taco, but two. Scott beams back. It’s one of the most adorable moments of the whole movie.
Hulk/Banner is so chipper, so benevolent, for how heavy some of the other parts of the movie are, Banner’s turnaround was really refreshing to me. This moment showed just how far he’s come, how at peace he is with himself. It also cemented the fact that Scott is an accepted member of the family now, he gets to share their tacos.
Tacos are playful and celebratory. Both Professor Hulk and Scott Lang provide some of the lightest moments in this movie, they were bouyant characters who lifted it up even as the subject matter and parts of the storyline were really heavy.
We see food used in a negative context with Thor. From the bulging beer belly to the pizza that looked non-to-fresh (where did he even get pizza in New Asgard?), we see that Thor has not been nourishing himself well in the past five years.
I do not judge him, that man had taken more hits of grief one after another than almost anyone else leading up to Thanos. His personal crash dive was inevitable and made him more “human”. But food has had a negative effect on him, it has become an escape as well as a prison to him.
Even this very shocking change in our handsome god of Thunder made this movie seem more normal. We have experienced grief, and many of us have medicated with food, and some have medicated with alcohol.
But just like we try to bring those broken brothers and sisters back into the fold, so our Avengers family bring their broken brother back home. He may feel unworthy, but they have not forgotten who he is. They still need him, they still want him. It’s a beautiful thing.
Gathering together in unity around a feast of ideas, personalities, abilities, and experiences; this is how the Avengers save the world. Together.
The most prominent scene involving our Avengers and food is around the dining room table during the Time Heist planning montage. It’s an utterly charming montage of people sprawled all over furniture, storytelling, note-taking, and yes, eating noodles.
I loved, loved, LOVED this quick scene. No, I didn’t appreciate Rocket giving Scott such a hard time for his excitement over space. GUYS! Would you all give this man a break? Part of what I love about Scott is his open-eyed wonder and enjoyment of all the super stuff around him. He’s exactly how I would be if I suddenly became a superhero but I was still me. He’s adorable.
But we see most of the team taking in some delicious looking Chinese takeout. Thor is at his drinks again. Rocket is walking on the table as he shares about the Power Stone, and no one blinks an eye. Hulk is eating a giant carton of ice cream that given the color and ingredients we can only assume it is Ben and Jerry’s Hulk Hunka Burning Fudge flavor mentioned in Infinity War.
They are all so…weird.
Rocket is on the table. He’s a raccoon with a deadly shot, brilliant mind, and sassy mouth, and specific cleanliness standards just like any other raccoon. Thor, King of Asgard, the god of Thunder is wearing a dirty hoodie and drinking cheap beer. This dude can literally fly and channel lightning through his body.
Billionaire, genius, playboy, philanthropist-now-husband-father Tony Stark. Serum-super WWII hero Steve Rogers.
Nebula, an alien/cyborg who really needs to see a counselor. James Rhodes, former military-rule-stickler turned Avenger who gets around with his robotic legs.
Scott Lang, a brilliant thief who can become smaller than comprehendible or the size of a giant. Natasha, formerly a ruthless killing machine turned into the biggest, sweetest heart we’ve ever seen.
Clint Barton, husband, father, expert bowman, samurai assassin? And Professor Hulk. He’s huge, green, playful, and sophisticated.
They are so weird, but they are teammates. They are partners. They are a family. They have gathered together as individuals carrying their own griefs, their own burdens, their own regrets.
They also came to carry each other’s burdens as well, to stand side by side and fight not just for their own sakes, but for the sake of their loved ones and millions of strangers.
A family dinner with the Avengers means that the earth is about to shake. Good is about to happen. Darkness is about to fall from its throne. This family is gearing up to take down evil and bring life together.
The final mention of food is the one that brings us full circle in this decade of films. It’s the part of the movie that got me the hardest.
Cheeseburgers.
Dangit, Happy! I cried harder when Happy got choked up than at any other part of this movie.
Cheeseburgers. Cheeseburgers.
Cheeseburgers marked the turning point of Tony Stark. The moment he came back from captivity in the Middle East the first thing he asked for was cheeseburgers, and a press conference.
Tony had come back from the Middle East a changed man. He saw a bigger picture now, he was not just living for himself anymore, he had decided to use his incredible gifts to make the world a better place. “Don’t waste it.”
Tony didn’t. He made a heck of a mess along the way, he made a lot of mistakes, hurt some people, but oh man, he did NOT waste it.
The sweet moment where Happy is cuddling Morgan on the front porch and being a kind, fatherly figure to her was such a precious, gut-wrenching moment.
Like father, like daughter. Morgan just did something really hard, and she’s setting out on a new journey that is going to be hard, she wants cheeseburgers. #somebodyhelpmemyhurtiswounded
This movie is a masterpiece. It brought together so many precious stories, so many beloved characters, so many hard and triumphant moments. It used imperfect characters to bring heartache and healing.
It gave us redemption, second chances, and a new future. It encouraged us to walk out of those theater doors as changed people, changed for the better.
The use of food in this movie was like a thread in a rich tapestry, a bit of theme music on low volume, present but subtle.
It added to the richness and the purpose of this story and appealed to our personal experiences. It reminded us of old and precious memories and gave us new ones. It marked times and seasons, it tied our characters together and drew them even closer to us, the audience.
Endgame is unlike any movie I have ever seen in my life. I don’t know if you could replicate that level of amazing. Like a fine meal, there are so many layers to be addressed.
I left the theater feeling very full in my heart. Some parts of the feast that was Endgame were sweet, others were bitter, some were salty. But regardless, I walked away feeling full.
Future filmmakers should take notes from the excellent use of food in this movie. It was not a 100% necessary element, but it was used effectively to flesh out a story in an unforgettable way.
Thank you, Anthony and Joe Russo, you gave us a feast.
Endgame: Sam Wilson the New Captain America
Dear Chris Evans
Author graciemobilePosted on June 19, 2019 June 19, 2019 Categories #disney, America, Character, marvel, SciFi, Setting, SuperheroTags antman, avengers, avengers4, avengersendgame, blackwidow, bradley cooper, brielarson, captain america, captainmarvel, chris hemsworth, details, don cheadle, food, guardiansofthegalaxy, hawkeye, ironman, jeremy renner, karen gillan, makingamovie, markruffalo, nebula, paulrudd, professorhulk, rocket raccoon, ronin, russobrothers, scarlett johansson, scottlang, set design, steverogers, thanos, thehulk, thor, tony stark, war machineLeave a comment on The Important Role Food Played In Avengers Endgame
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How to Live in a World of Religious Pluralism
Research output: Chapter in Book / Report / Conference proceeding › Chapter › Professional
Title of host publication
Towards a Pedagogy of Religious Diversity. The European Project for Interreligious Learning 2002-2013
R Traitler, T. Pirri-Simonian
Antelias (Libanon)
Printing House of the Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia
Kalsky, M. (2015). How to Live in a World of Religious Pluralism. In R. Traitler, & T. Pirri-Simonian (Eds.), Towards a Pedagogy of Religious Diversity. The European Project for Interreligious Learning 2002-2013 (pp. 224-238). Antelias (Libanon): Printing House of the Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia.
Kalsky, M. / How to Live in a World of Religious Pluralism. Towards a Pedagogy of Religious Diversity. The European Project for Interreligious Learning 2002-2013. editor / R Traitler ; T. Pirri-Simonian. Antelias (Libanon) : Printing House of the Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia, 2015. pp. 224-238
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booktitle = "Towards a Pedagogy of Religious Diversity. The European Project for Interreligious Learning 2002-2013",
publisher = "Printing House of the Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia",
Kalsky, M 2015, How to Live in a World of Religious Pluralism. in R Traitler & T Pirri-Simonian (eds), Towards a Pedagogy of Religious Diversity. The European Project for Interreligious Learning 2002-2013. Printing House of the Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia, Antelias (Libanon), pp. 224-238.
How to Live in a World of Religious Pluralism. / Kalsky, M.
Towards a Pedagogy of Religious Diversity. The European Project for Interreligious Learning 2002-2013. ed. / R Traitler; T. Pirri-Simonian. Antelias (Libanon) : Printing House of the Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia, 2015. p. 224-238.
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Kalsky M. How to Live in a World of Religious Pluralism. In Traitler R, Pirri-Simonian T, editors, Towards a Pedagogy of Religious Diversity. The European Project for Interreligious Learning 2002-2013. Antelias (Libanon): Printing House of the Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia. 2015. p. 224-238
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'Booed Throughout His Career' - Aston Villa's New Signing Christian Benteke
A Belgian football expert gives us the lowdown on Aston Villas new £7m man..
Gary Niblock
Things began to get ugly once Aston Villa entered the race for Benteke, undoubtedly as a response to two insipid displays at the start of the Premier League season, which have seen their relegation odds slashed. The 1982 European Cup winners first lodged a bid of around £5.5m for the Belgian international, which was rejected by Genk. Champions three times in the last thirteen years, Racing had no financial need to sell as they pocketed sizeable fees from Chelsea from the sales of Kevin De Bruyne and Thibaut Courtois, not to mention Marvin Ogunjimi’s move to Mallorca.
Eventually the news emerged late last night that Racing Genk and Aston Villa agreed a fee of roughly £7m, which represents a superb deal for Genk in financial terms, outstripping the money they received from either De Bruyne or Courtois. It is a transfer record for Genk and in the top 5 all-time outgoing transfers from Belgium after Romelu Lukaku, Marouane Fellaini, Jan Koller and level with Daniel van Buyten.
Throughout his career at Standard, Kortrijk, Mechelen and Genk, he has been booed by sections of supporters who felt he was not up to the mark
After Genk turned down Villa's original bid, rumours began to spread that Benteke had decided to go on strike. The official explanation was that he had picked up a viral infection (at a very convenient time it must be said!) and so had missed two consecutive days of training. Racing Genk confirmed earlier today that Benteke had not been included in the squad for Thursday’s must-win Europa League play-off second leg v Luzern (who won the first leg 2-1 against a terrible Genk). Genk coach Mario Been had the following to say at the pre-match press conference:
“I regret the situation. I was also a player myself and I had many dreams. I wanted to play in Italy and I also did it. First of all though what counts is one thing – the team. If a player wants to go about things in such a manner, then that is entirely up to Christian.
“I find it a real shame because Benteke can be unbelievably important for this team but I cannot change the situation and I work with the players who have trained. Christian is a very important player for us. Everyone knows that it is his dream to play in England. Whenever two clubs do not reach an agreement, then that player remains under contract with Genk. He doesn’t feel good (enough) in order to play and therefore was not at training for the last two days. I find it important to give confidence to those players who want to play. With players who do not, I’ve not much time for.”
The lack of a killer instinct has plagued him throughout his career.
Clearly, Benteke is a striker of some ability. He earned his spot in the Belgium starting line-up for the recent friendly against the Netherlands and justified his selection with a well-taken goal. Unfortunately for him, he was to be overshadowed by Romelu Lukaku, who has begun the season like a man possessed. Nevertheless, Benteke should already have started against England and before this whole transfer saga had begun to kick off, he was enjoying a good start to the campaign. His first three touches included a superb ball with the outside of his right foot to the left flank and a ball over the top to put Jelle Vossen clean through.
He already has three league goals to his name this term in five matches though in truth it should be more. And here we hit upon a weakness in his game, which could blight his career in the Premier League. Take the game against Zulte Waregem last weekend. Genk huffed and puffed but played no better than against Luzern. They eventually broke through but even with the cushion of a lead, Benteke squandered chance after chance after chance. To the casual observer, it may seem that it was just not his day but the lack of a killer instinct has plagued him throughout his career.
He joined Genk last year for €1.2m from Standard Liège and his departure was popular at the time much to my bemusement. When speaking to many fans they were all glad to see the back of him and felt that he just did not have the tools in his armoury to cut it even at the top level in Belgium. As a neutral, I pointed out that he has the attributes to score goals but it was a lone voice in the wilderness. Throughout his career at Standard, Kortrijk, Mechelen and Genk, he has been booed by sections of supporters who felt he was not up to the mark and who (perhaps with some justification given this latest incident) felt he had a somewhat childish and petulant attitude.
Villa already have their fill of young, inexperienced and ultimately unproven players. They need leaders in the dressing room and on the field.
Even during his second spell with Genk he was jeered and the player himself has come to accept that as a fact of life. It may not be the main reason pushing him towards a move but it may be a contributory factor at least. Mario Been stuck by Benteke despite the negative reactions echoing from the stands and despite Benteke being charged for carjacking, stubbornly refusing to cave in, so steadfast was his belief that Benteke would become a prolific goalscorer and thereby an integral part of his side in the post-Vercauteren/Courtois era.
Benteke has been blessed with a good build and he puts his strength and power to good use, being a powerful player in the air. Although he played as a main striker ahead of Jelle Vossen, he has also shown himself to be adept at creating for his strike partner and as I previously reiterated, is able to find the back of the net without being clinical. Of course, it should be borne in mind that he is still just 21. He may be further along in his development than Romelu Lukaku (though he has less potential down the line) but he still has a lot to learn. And I say that as someone who has consistently backed him when many did not.
I believe that it would have been best for Benteke to stay another season in Belgium in order to develop and begin to smooth out his rough edges. Aston Villa are a side who have been in decline since the departure of Martin O’Neill and while Paul Lambert worked minor miracles with Norwich, the atmosphere around Villa Park resembles anything but optimism. Villa already have their fill of young, inexperienced and ultimately unproven players. They need leaders in the dressing room and on the field. Benteke will not be going in to an environment conducive to blooding someone of his talent and potential. Fulham were also believed to be lining up a bid (though they have also been linked to Bafetimbi Gomis), however my view remains the same. Mario Been has done a lot for his career and he would be wise not to burn his bridges with the likeable ex-Feyenoord boss. It may already be too late for that but many an act in haste was soon to be regretted.
This article originally appeared on Belgian football blog http://blauwzwartmauverouche.wordpress.com
Follow them on twitter: @goalGary
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How to Pick the Right Salsa Style
Home / Blog / How to Pick the Right Salsa Style
February 28, 2018 - 0 comments - Salsa Classes
Want to take salsa lessons in Bogota, Cali, Medellin, or elsewhere in Colombia – South America’s vibrant salsa capital? The first thing to decide is what type of salsa you want to learn.
“Salsa” is, in fact, a very broad term. In 1960s New York, musicians playing a wide range of high-energy latin rhythms would cry out “salsaaa!” to the crowd to signal: bring the spice; crank up the heat on the dance floor. The name stuck, but remains quite general, encompassing 4 major global styles: On-1, Cuban, Colombian and On-2.
The 4 main global salsa styles: How to pick salsa lessons in Bogota, Cali, Medellin, and beyond
You can find all 4 major styles of salsa in Bogota, Cali or Medellin. So, how to decide where to start? You may want to consider where in the world you plan to dance, what type of music makes you want to get up and move, and how you like to dance — rapid turns, or fun footwork; fast and frenzied, or smooth and sensual.
We’ll go over the basics of each style to help you decide which best fits your groove.
On-1 Salsa
Popular in: The U.S., Europe, Asia
Do you love the look of fast, complex turns, and an energetic, elegant style of dancing? Does this look cool to you? If so, check out salsa On-1 (commonly called Salsa en Linea in Colombia, or LA style in the U.S.). One of the most popular styles of salsa in the U.S. and Europe, On-1 is a great place to start because of its accessible timing (with the leader stepping forward and the follower stepping back on the count of 1, hence “On-1”). As you get better, you’ll learn intricate, showy spins, graceful arm styling, and jazzy steps called “shines” (like those you’ll see by our instructors, Sergio and Jessica in their winning dance at the Cali world championship!). Even if this Style is more popular in the U.S., Europe, and Asia you can still learn it if you take Salsa lessons in Bogota or Medellín, Cali, etc. Colombia is a very good place for all types of salsa.
Popular in: Cuba, the U.S., Latin America
If you’re all about shaking your hips and shoulders, and you love the funky sound of Cuban Timba — Cuban salsa is for you. Saleros worldwide love Cuban salsa, also known as Casino, for its playful, provocative vibe, vigorous hip movement, and Afro-cuban styling. Compared to On-1, Cuban style follows a more circular pattern of motion, as dancers weave intricate, pretzel-like figures around each other. Cuban-style social dancing also differs from the other styles in that it isn’t just a couples dance. From the streets of Havana to clubs in Berlin, Cuban salsa is commonly danced in a synchronized ring of couples, called a Rueda.
Many dancers start out with this style because its timing (on the count of 1) is easy to grasp — and few things are more fun than a sweaty, boisterous Rueda.
Colombian salsa
Popular in: Colombia, Latin America
If your primary goal is getting down in Colombian clubs, and this rapid, flashy footwork looks wildly fun to you, then Colombian salsa is your groove. Colombian salsa (often called Salsa Caleña or Cali-style salsa), stands out for its explosive energy and speed, with more emphasis on kicks and footwork, and fewer complex turns. When salsa first arrived in Cali in the late 60s, DJs would often play records at up to double their intended speed — and the exhilarating pace of Cali-style salsa hasn’t let up since.
Also danced on the count of 1, Colombian salsa is more approachable for beginners than you might think — you won’t need to know the intricate, speedy footwork in order to get out and shake it on the dance floor! Watch our very own Carlos and Francy dance it up at our yearly Mundial de Cali Festival.
Popular in: The U.S. (New York in particular), Europe
Are you drawn to a smoother, more sensuous style of dancing? Do you like the intricate, old-school rhythms of Mambo music? If so, check out On-2 Salsa. Also called New-York style, On-2 shares much in common with On-1, but has different — and more complex — timing. Followers step forward on the count of 2, and leaders on the count of 6, giving the dance a slower cadence — with time for some extra sabor / flavor. Experienced dancers love On-2 for its rhythmic complexity. However, the On-1 count is more dominant and easier to hear as a beginner, so most dancers who take salsa lessons in Bogota, start with one of the first 3 types of salsa before learning On-2. Here’s our very own Waldy show what smooth on-2 dancing is all about.
Now…ready to dance? Our community of instructors offers salsa lessons in Bogota, Cali and Medellin in all 4 of the above salsa styles. Nothing makes us happier than getting new dancers out on the floor! Read more about our teachers and the styles they offer.
And remember, there is no wrong place to start. No matter what style you begin with, you’ll build a foundation of salsa vocabulary that transfers to the others — enabling you to find common ground with salseros on any dancefloor, anywhere in the world.
Salsa Classes Bogota (and Cali and Medellin!)
PS Theres also a specific type of Salsa in Puerto Rico and Miami — more on that in a followup post!
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Tag Archives: “topical”
Biography, Dramas
The Passion of Mary – American historical play about the Quakers
May 2, 2018 Demmer Dewan Leave a comment
THE PASSION OF MARY – AMERICAN HISTORICAL PLAY WITH TOPICAL ISSUES
Forty years before the Salem witch trials, Massachusetts’ Puritans were hanging other Christians for slight differences of opinion. The play THE PASSION OF MARY details the importance of the Separation of Church and State in early America through the battles and life story of a young woman that builds self-awareness and confidence while keeping her sense of humor intact in this American historical play.
“It wasn’t just witches they were hanging, but their own.” This is the story of Quaker Mary Dyer, who was hanged by Puritans in the Boston Commonwealth in the 1600s.
Featuring a cast of historical characters including early leaders Roger Williams and Anne Hutchinson, plus England’s Lord Oliver Cromwell, the play starts as Mary buries her child that was stillborn and disfigured. Within weeks Mary’s world crumbles, first seeing her best friend kicked out of Boston where they had settled for over 16 years. Then the colony’s leaders discover the dead baby, and publicize to the entire community that Mary gave birth to a monster. She, too, is excommunicated, and scorned by her neighbors.
Mary ends up in Providence, Rhode Island, with others that were kicked out of Boston. The open-minded Roger Williams invites Mary to visit England with him. It is their hope to create a positive relationship with the Native Americans that live in the new colony.
In England, Mary becomes versed in the loving deeds of Quaker beliefs, and helps soothe the country’s leader Lord Oliver Cromwell through his many fears. Though respected in England, she wants to return home to the new world where her family lives.
Upon her return, Mary’s ship lands in Boston where the Puritans have declared the Quaker religion as illegal. She is arrested. Because her husband still has political ties with the Commonwealth, she is set free and ordered to never return. Mary returns, and is arrested yet again. One of her party is put to death. Mary’s husband, who has been fighting to keep his wife at home, realizes the Puritans’ cruelty, and finally offers his blessing for Mary to return again. His support allows her to sacrifice her life for religious freedom.
Upon Mary’s death, she is welcomed to the afterlife by her child, the one that the leaders of Boston referred to as a “monster.”
Read about playwright Anne Leighton.
Author: Anne Leighton
Type: American historical play, topical
Genre: Three act drama
Cast: 8M, 8F
Ages of the actors: Adult, one child
Suitable for: Teens up to perform and to watch
Length: 1.5- 2 hours
Set: Various – sets should be simple and easy to change
Level of difficulty: 8/10 – portraying a real historical character with the correct body language, tone and costumes
Cost is $5.50 for this digital biography
Don’t have Paypal? Pay with a credit or debit card
Contact Off the Wall Plays with any queries about The Passion of Mary
Copyright © May 2018 Anne Leighton and Off the Wall Play Publishers
Like this play? Other biographical and religious dramas:
Deliverance – play about Joan of Arc
The Serpent Under It – play about a medium Helen Duncan tried as a witch in World War 2
John Paul Excluded from Paradise – drama about faith
"topical"American playsbig castbiographical playsContemporary religious playsimprisoned childmansplainingplay about the quakersplay about the Quakers and Rhode Islandplays about God and religionplays by author playwright Anne Leightonrebellionreligious playsstanding up to authoritystrong female charactersthree act plays
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