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Mom Sentenced to 40 Years for Partying While Kids Died in Hot Car
Best Lawyer Firms News December 19, 2018 0 Comments
A 19-year-old Texas mom of two girls made the tragic choice to leave them in a hot car overnight while she partied in a nearby shed, even engaging in sexual activity in the morning, prior to checking on them the next day. When she found them unresponsive, she began to weave a web of lies, trying to exculpate herself from any liability.
In the end, her one and two year old daughters died of heat exhaustion, the mom pleaded guilty to two felony counts of abandoning or endangering a child causing imminent danger or death, bodily injury or physical or mental impairment, and two counts of injury to a child. She is now serving a 40-year sentence in a Texas prison.
They Cried Themselves to Death
According to police reports, Amanda Hawkins intentionally left her two daughters, Brynn Hawkins, 1, and Addyson Overgard-Eddy, 2, in a car overnight on June 7, 2017, while she partied with friends in a nearby shed. Temperatures in the area reached near 90 degrees.
Someone came to the shed that evening and said they heard the girls crying in the car. When asked if she wanted to bring the girls inside, she said, “No, it’s fine. They’ll cry themselves to sleep.” They passed out from heat exhaustion, and according to their doctor, went through excruciating pain before dying at the hospital that tried for 40 hours to save them.
People Take Better Care of Their Pets
The day after partying in the shed, prosecutors claim Hawkins awoke at noon, had sex, and then went out to check on the girls. When she found them unresponsive, she tried to revive them by using cool water on their bodies, but it was too late for that. She drove them to a nearby hospital and lied to the medical staff, telling them that the girls had passed out after smelling some flower at a nearby lake.
While doctors worked tirelessly to save the girls, Hawkins sat in the hallway, texting, and kept repeating her flower sniffing lie. “Those precious little girls would still be here today if this had not happened,” Judge Keith Williams told Hawkins during the trial. “People in our community take better care of their pets than you took care of your kids.”
It’s Rarely Legal to Leave a Young Child Alone in the Car
In the U.S. approximately 36 children die every year from being left in a hot car. That’s about one every 10 days. Almost all of these cases are unintentional. There is no safe amount of time to leave any child in a car alone. California law allows for children under the age of six to be left in a car with no adult, so long as they are supervised by someone twelve years of age or older, BUT never when there are conditions that present a significant risk to their health. And the law can find a way to prove these conditions are almost always in existence.
Keep in mind that the temperature in a car rises rapidly. No amount of cracking windows or leaving the car running will make it safe enough. Children’s bodies cannot regular themselves as well as adults, and their bodies warm up much faster than an adults. Heat stroke can occur at a body temperature of 104 degrees, and death at 107. For these reasons, and countless others, never leave a young child alone in a car.
If you or someone you love has been charged with leaving a child in a car, contact a local criminal defense attorney at once. This is a serious charge, and one that can carry a stiff sentence without the aid of a lawyer.
Find a Criminal Defense Lawyer Near You (FindLaw’s Lawyer Directory)
Mom Guilty of Murder After Son Dies in Hot Car (FindLaw Blotter)
Leaving Kids in a Cold Car Can Get You Arrested (FindLaw Blotter)
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An American author, L Frank Baum published The Wizard of Oz in 1890. This story became a huge hit when it was made into a musical in 1901 and a movie in 1939.
Dorothy arrives in the City of Oz flown in by a cyclone, then she begins an adventure together with a Scarecrow, a Tin Woodman, and a cowardly Lion. They think something is lacking in themselves. But soon they realize that the weaknesses they think they have are actually advantages.
Dorothy, who does not lose hope even in a very difficult situation, is not an ordinary girl anymore. The Tin Woodman also receives a warm heart. The Scarecrow now possesses wisdom, and the Lion has now courage to fight fiercely for his friends.
How do you think about yourself? If you feel you are not whole, then let yourself pay attention to your actions like Dorothy, the Tin Woodman, the Scarecrow, and the Lion.
In Filipino, with English Translation
Size: 8 inches x 10.5 inches
©2016 Lampara Publishing House, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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Adult Adoption
The Law Office of Beth A. Klein, P.C.
Committed to Achieving the Best Legal Outcome
CPS is formally known as, in Texas, the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services. CPS is different and unique in the process than any other type of case in Family Law. There are different levels of CPS cases that can occur before a case goes to the Court for a request for termination of parental rights. CPS has attorneys, either the county attorney or district attorneys, that file a suit for termination of parental rights against the parents.
Once the termination suit has been filed, there are strict timelines that must be followed. Since terminating a parent’s rights is viewed quasi criminal, if a parent cannot afford an attorney, that parent may qualify for a court-appointed attorney.
If the court finds after the full adversary hearing that CPS should have temporary custody, then the Court will generally approve a service plan whereby the parents are required to complete services, such as parenting classes, drug and alcohol assessments, psychological evaluations, in an attempt to have the child placed back with the parent. In rare situations, CPS can request a fast termination trial and not offer the parent a service plan.
After the full adversary hearing, there is generally a hearing every three months with the Court to review the case, in addition to meetings with CPS at their office. If at the end of the case, there is still no agreement for the child to be returned to the parent, there are options to avoid the parent’s rights being terminated.
These types are complex and require not only knowledge of the law, but also of CPS policies and procedures. We have represented both parents and child in an abundance of CPS proceedings.
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Bombardier has pushed back certification of the Learjet 70/75 to the fourth quarter of this year, from what had been planned to be an early-2013 entry into service. “Our supplier, Garmin, encountered some difficulties in delivering its avionics hardware and software,” a Bombardier spokeswoman told AIN. The Learjet 70/75 were slated to be the first jets certified with Garmin’s G5000 flight deck, although Cessna’s Sovereign might now enter service before the new Learjet.
In a proxy statement filed on March 14, Garmin explained that it is providing a short-term, interest-free loan of $173.7 million in cash in seven installments “to assist Bombardier in connection with delayed cash flows from the program partially related to the certification of avionics for the program exceeding the planned delivery date.” The proxy statement added: “Conditional upon Garmin International returning to Learjet a flight-test vehicle and delivering specified Garmin software and hardware to Learjet no later than July 11, 2013, Bombardier will repay the loan in five installments beginning on Nov. 1, 2013 and ending on March 7, 2014, provided that the repayment dates will be extended on a day-for-day basis if the July 11, 2013 milestone date is extended.”
According to a Garmin spokesman, “These integrated systems are extremely complex with many interdependencies. While we are unable to comment on the exact nature of any delay, we are working diligently to ensure that this delay is brief.”
Etiquetas: aircraft, alquiler, aviación, aviation, avion, bombardier, jet privado, learjet, lease, private jet, USA
Aircrafts & Helicopters For Sale
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News»Welcome Break Changing Places
Welcome Break Changing Places
Our official campaign sponsors Aveso have installed Changing Places toilets at four Welcome Break motorway service stations with more on the way. We would like to thank all at Welcome Break for making sure that Changing Places are available for those who need additional support when travelling around the UK. Welcome Break press release below:
WELCOME BREAK INSTALLS CHANGING PLACES TOILETS TO ENHANCE FACILITIES FOR DISABLED PEOPLE
State-of-the-art assisted accessible toilets have been installed at a number of Welcome Break service stations. Welcome Break, the UK’s leading independent motorway services operator, has installed Changing Places toilets to ensure that anyone who would need the help of a carer to go to the toilet now has suitable facilities.
The Changing Places toilets have currently been installed by Changing Places at Membury, South Mimms, Hopwood and Gordano and will be installed at Welcome Break’s Corley site in the near future as well as Fleet, Sarn and Gretna ensuring that these key facilities are available on as much of the motorway network as possible.
Changing Places toilets are a special facility for people with profound and multiple learning disabilities and others who need additional support. They include a height-adjustable changing bench and ceiling tracking hoist, as well as additional space and a peninsular toilet with space for carers on either side. Standard accessible toilets (or "disabled toilets") do not provide changing benches or hoists and most are too small to accommodate more than one person.
Rod McKie, CEO of Welcome Break, commented: “As a company we feel that our facilities should be accessible for everyone. We want to be able to make life easier for carers and people who have severe disabilities.
“These toilets make such a huge difference to people, and will help our customers go to the toilet comfortably and with dignity, which are small privileges that everyone deserves.”
Rossanna Trudgian, co-chair of the Changing Places Consortium, said; “It is fantastic to see Welcome Break installing Changing Places toilets. This shows growing recognition of the additional needs of visitors and everyone’s right to travel. However, there are still many large public places across the UK that lack Changing Places toilets and therefore deny people’s rights. With the help of our fantastic campaigners, Aveso and companies such as Welcome Break we will continue to fight to make sure every single one of the ¼ million people in the UK who require a Changing Places toilet, can access one.”
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Olga BubichRU / EN
Another Africa
Somewhere and here again
Alter Locus
2013 © Olga Bubich
made by Arty Volen
INNER CITY: documenting psychology of an individual in the city and of a city in the individual.
Physical borders of the world undergo a daily change with the morning sound of your alarm-clock, and we have nothing but master new ways of surviving alongside with it. Survive and draw pleasure from every single moment of change, trying to remain ourselves, be tolerant to the variety of opinions, finding our own place not only in the comfortable environment of virtual spaces but also on the macro scale of the city, where we have to function.
The relations between people and the city they live in are just like the relations of a couple. We can live together if we manifest kindness and delicacy, caution and sympathy allowing the city to be reflected in ourselves like in a mirror and at the same time dissolve in its urban environment.
The series "Inner City" deals with the issue of people and the city, about Minsk dwellers and Minsk itself, about the search for harmony in the relations between them, the search for than thin personal border which visually was shown by me in the diptychs. The series includes the combination of the portraits of young Minsk citizens and city sites which every of them considers to be favourite for him/herself.
The series "Inner City" was exhibited as a solo show in 2011 at the gallery "University of Culture" in Minsk (Belarus) and in 2013 at the art-space "Vyhod" in Odessa (Ukraine). Single photographs from the series were shown in the International Festival of Youth Photography in Cheboksary (Russia) in 2011-2012 and in the festival "ART EXPO CIS-2013" in Gyumri, Armenia in 2013.
The series "Inner City" presented as a solo-exhibition at the gallery "University of Culture" in Minsk, Belarus, in November, 2011.
The photographer is Polina Khomjakova.
go to the gallery →
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@VT Research
Bringing discovery to life
Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute
Goodbye, Antarctica: Collaborative team finishing a medical and environmental research expedition
2 July, 2015 By Ashley WennersHerron in international development, Research, Science, Virginia Tech No Comments Tags: Antarctica, Michael Friedlander, U.S. Palmer Station, Virginia Tech Carilion, Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute, Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine, Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine and Research Institute
Written by Michael Friedlander, executive director of the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute.
A research scientist and a medical student from the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute and the School of Medicine are back from a scientific journey of a lifetime at Palmer Station, a United States research station in Antarctica. What they learned might shed light not only on the biological systems of the icefish, but also on the global impact of climate change.
Iskander Ismailov and Jordan Scharping are a part of a multi-university team of heart and brain researchers investigating the mechanisms that threaten the survival of a species that represents 90 percent of the biomass in the great Southern Ocean – icefishes.
Icefishes are unique as the only vertebrate species on Earth that lack hemoglobin in their blood. Instead, icefishes developed a type of antifreeze in their blood that allows oxygen to dissolve directly rather than having to be transported to their organs by hemoglobin. However, all is not well for the icefishes.
The Southern Ocean is warming rapidly above the freezing point of water. While we still find the water extremely cold, it’s too warm for the icefishes’ physiological systems to operate efficiently, which leads to deleterious changes in their biology and behavior and causes their ultimate demise. We believe the primary problem may be that the icefish heart malfunctions because of excessive stress, or a failure of the signaling mechanism of the nerve cells in the brain to generate normal patterns of electrical signals, or a combination of the two.
The expedition, funded by the National Science Foundation, is populated with experts aiming to elucidate the primary precipitating mechanism. That’s how the expedition, at least for Iskander and Jordan, started in my laboratory at the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute.
When I was a graduate student at the University of Illinois, working in the laboratory of C. Ladd Prosser, we conducted pioneering studies on the effects of temperature variations on the molecular biology, physiology, and behavior of goldfishes. Although my current research tends to focus on mammalian brain plasticity in development, learning, and injury, the Antarctica team approached me to participate in their expedition. Unfortunately, for me, I couldn’t personally make the commitment of several months in Antarctica, with my responsibilities at the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute, at the Virginia Tech Carilion the School of Medicine, and on the main Virginia Tech campus in Blacksburg. Instead, Iskander and Jordan volunteered.
Iskander, originally from Russia and accustomed to the cold, volunteered instantly. He’s an excellent neurophysiologist in my laboratory, as well as adventurous, so I wasn’t surprised at his enthusiasm.
I was more uncertain when it came to offering the opportunity to medical students, who typically pursue research more immediately and directly related to human health. Yet, to my delight, several volunteered. Jordan, a native Californian, was selected and began an intensive training period of 15 months to learn how to perform the delicate procedures necessary in brain research. He did this while also taking medical school classes, attending patient case presentations, and studying for the national board exams.
Jordan and Iskander did outstanding work in preparation for the expedition. All of our delicate instrumentation, microscopes, and surgical setups had to be sufficiently miniaturized and made durable for the flight to Punta Arenas, Chile, where it was transferred to a ship and taken south to Palmer Station. As such, the last year has been as much a systems engineering and design project as an experimental biology project.
Iskander and Jordan solved numerous problems, overcame obstacles, and engineered solutions throughout the process. Now, they’ve finally carried out the experiment. Iskander was in Antarctica for three months, while Jordan was there for six weeks. They’re due back in the United States this week.
It’s winter in Antarctica, so the conditions are cold, windy, and dark, with heavy seas on the crossing. The multiple research teams, including Jordan and Iskander, worked around the clock in a laboratory hut equipped with the necessary instrumentation for their research. The living conditions are Spartan, but wholesome meals were provided and the station was staffed with a surgeon in case of medical emergencies.
The teams even got to go on fishing trips – to catch their laboratory specimens.
The teams are returning with treasure troves of data to analyze over the coming years. We will likely not only learn about the stresses that icefishes experience, but we should also gain valuable new insights into how extreme low temperatures affect brain and heart function in general. We could learn new things from these amazing critters that may apply to human health, including strategies for treating conditions such as stroke, drowning, traumatic brain injury, myocardial infarction, and heart failure.
I am extremely proud of Iskander and Jordan for their dedication to this project, innovative work, and willingness to carry out fundamental research that will likely lay the foundations for future medical breakthroughs as well as enhance our understanding of our planet. If we can help inform rational decisions about managing our precious planet and the species that we share it with as well as learn new principles that may benefit human health, it will be a good day at the office.
Photos of the journey can be found on the Virginia Tech Carilion website.
The dress is black and blue. Here’s why you’re wrong, white and golders.
27 February, 2015 By Ashley WennersHerron in Research, Science, Virginia Tech 4 Comments Tags: blue and black, dress, thedress, Virginia Tech Carilion, Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute, VTC, VTCRI, white and gold
Warring factions broke out online Thursday night, angrily waving flags of white and gold or black and blue. A bad photo of a striped dress popped up on Tumblr yesterday, and it exploded social media sites through the night, even splitting families into conflicting camps. Others swore the colors shifted back and forth in an optical illusion worthy of David Copperfield.
The black and blue supporters were vindicated when another photo of the same dress, in slightly better lighting, definitively showed its true colors. Still, knowing the colors doesn’t necessarily change how a person perceives the dress.
“Your brain perceives different colors in an image based on their context within that image and based upon our previous experiences with daylight and shadows,” said Michael Fox, a neuroscientist at the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute. Fox is an expert on the neural circuits underlying visual system function. “If your brain assumes the dress was photographed in a shadow, it compensates and you perceive a white and gold dress. If your brain interprets the photo as being overexposed or in extremely bright daylight, your brain compensates in the other direction and you see the black and blue colors.”
Our eyes aren’t playing tricks, then. We’re all taking in the same visual information – we all see the same colors. It’s how our brains rank the surrounding information that decides the colors we perceive.
Then why do the colors seem to shift for some people? There’s a lot of surrounding information that we’re taking in. It’s not just the apparent shadow cast on the dress, or the light flare to the right of the dress. There’s also the light from the rooms we’re sitting in, the light from the devices on which we’re viewing the dress, the tilt of the screens, the tilt of our heads, whether we’re wearing glasses. All of these little things heavily influence how our brains choose to interpret the image. The image above, from Wired, shows how the dress can appear to change colors.
Basically, we’re all right. Just some of us are more right.
For more fun and confusion, check out these color illusions from the Lottolab Studio, a perception research group.
Disclaimer: I’ve seen the other photos. I understand the optical illusion of colors and shadows. I know, empirically, the dress is blue and black. And, yet, I still see white and gold.
Ice-cold money buckets
22 September, 2014 By Ashley WennersHerron in Feature 3 Comments Tags: ALS, Ice Bucket Challenge, Virginia Tech Carilion, Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute, VTC, VTCRI
What’s he doing with all those buckets? It took Audra Van Wart a second to realize why her husband, Gregorio Valdez, was gathering up all of their pails – it was for research.
Valdez, an assistant professor at the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute, studies the molecular mechanisms of neurological diseases, such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS. The degenerative disease affects nearly 30,000 Americans, causing paralysis of most muscles, including the ones needed for breathing. It’s particularly devastating as the person’s brain is left intact and aware of the damage wrecked on the rest of his or her body. There is no known cure.
This summer, the orphan disease, typically labeled as such because the research for it receives paltry funding and attention, became a household name. Hundreds of thousands of people, from teenagers to former presidents, have dumped buckets of ice water over their heads. Known as the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, participants can either take the ice and donate $10, or skip the ice and donate $100.
More like guidelines, these rules aren’t rigid, as the challenge takers are donating whatever they can and many are showering in ice regardless of their donation amount. This time last year, the ALS Foundation received $2.6 million in donations. This year, they’ve received $88.5 million in donations.
“Some people may not understand the challenge, but it’s bringing attention and donations to ALS and our research,” Valdez said. “That’s a good thing.”
Van Wart, a co-director of Virginia Tech’s new doctoral program in Translational Biology, Medicine, and Health, was on hand to offer support as Valdez, his team of researchers, and several other faculty and staff members turned over their buckets of ice water – and shrieked.
“This disease profoundly affects the lives of the patients and their families,” Van Wart said. “I hope the Ice Bucket Challenge phenomenon continues to educate people about the disease and raise awareness and funds for much-needed research.”
The Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine students also took the Ice Bucket Challenge, followed by their deans and professors.
Learn more about the Virginia Tech Carilion Ice Bucket Challenges on the Virginia Tech Carilion website.
Ebola expert to speak at the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute on Friday
11 September, 2014 By Ashley WennersHerron in Research, Science, Virginia Tech 6 Comments Tags: discovery, Ebola virus, Immunology, research, science, Scripps, Virginia Tech Carilion, Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute
Ebola virus is headlining across the world, including at the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute. Erica Ollmann Saphire will present “The Molecular Toolkit of Viral Hemorrhagic Fevers” as a part of the institute’s 2014–15 Frontiers in Biomedical Research Seminar Series. The lecture will take place on September 12, from 11 a.m. to noon, in R3012 at the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute in Roanoke.
A professor in the Department of Immunology and Microbial Science at the Scripps Institute in San Diego, California, Ollmann Saphire studies viruses with compact genomes. Those viruses, including Ebola, offer the most functional “bang” for the polypeptide “buck,” according to Ollmann Saphire. These viruses are coded with only a few proteins, each of which is critically important to the function of the virus.
Ebola, specifically, has seven genes in its genome. Ollmann Saphire and her research team discovered the virus changes function by rearranging those seven genes throughout its lifetime. Ebola looks structurally different as an independent structure than it does as it invades a host. Learning how the physical, molecular changes of Ebola affect the virus’s function has provided invaluable insights for vaccine development.
The Frontiers in Biomedical Research Seminar Series is one of three programs at the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute, all of which aim to bring the top scientists to Roanoke. Information on all three programs may be found on the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute website.
Ranking research roots – how do you choose?
19 August, 2014 By Ashley WennersHerron in Feature, Featured, Research, Virginia Tech 3 Comments Tags: genes, genetics, Virginia Tech Carilion, Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute, VTC, VTCRI
Science starts with a question. The research is not flashy, even with all of those glinting test tubes and fancy microscopes. It’s slow and specific. Answering that question takes years – sometimes even decades – and that’s just to gather information about one gene or one specific part of a mechanism that might be the solution. There’s no guarantee that the question will ever be answered.
The question is usually big: What causes cancer? Why does this gene mutate? When do neurons age? The path to a solution is usually narrow; it has to be, so how does any one ever choose what to focus on?
When rising fourth-year Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine student James Dittmar had to decide on a research project, he was overwhelmed with having to pick just one thing.
“How do you focus?” Dittmar asked. “How do you prioritize research?”
Dittmar explored a number of options with his mentor, Gregorio Valdez, an assistant professor at the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute, but none seemed quite right. It was in that exploration that Valdez was inspired to guide Dittmar into finding his ultimate project – helping others decide how to focus their own research. Thus, EvoCor was born.
EvoCor is a free search engine for genes. Type in a gene and EvoCor searches through thousands of mapped genes, different genomes, and larger datasets maintained by the National Institutes of Health. It pulls together a list of genes that evolved similarly. The genes are ranked by likelihood that they’re related functionally to the initial gene submitted.
Take a gene that is already well studied for a certain disease, like MUSK’s role in motor impairment in aging individuals. A scientist can type MUSK into EvoCor and EvoCor will return a list of possibly related genes that might work with MUSK to impair motor function as people grow older.
It’s not a slam-dunk, but it’s a far cry better than picking a random gene that may or may not be related at all. It’s a starting point.
Read the full story here.
agriculture art bats biological sciences biosonar cell images College of Agriculture and Life Sciences College of Engineering College of Science Computer Science Deborah Good Department of Plant Pathology Physiology Weed Science Dinosaurs discovery drone drones Ebola Ecuador Engineering food choice Fralin Life Science Institute genes genetics George Davis Global Change Center Global Change Center at Virginia Tech high-fat diet ICTAS Institute for Critical Technology and Applied Science microscopy Mid-Atlantic Aviation Partnership obesity Panama research science science communication UAV Virginia Bioinformatics Insitute Virginia Tech Virginia Tech Carilion Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute virus VTC VTCRI VT Ecuador
National study evaluates collision avoidance technology for transit buses, seeks to improve pedestrian, rider, bus operator safety
Motorcycle Safety Foundation and Virginia Tech Transportation Institute to Share Naturalistic Study with Autonomous Vehicle Developers
Student researcher wins scholarship to attend national traffic safety conference
Automotive leaders can leverage top Virginia Tech student talent and facilities for advanced-vehicle R&D
VTTI, under contact with NHTSA, to host FMVSS Stakeholder Meeting: Considerations for Automated Driving Systems
Driving safety experts convene at Virginia Tech for international naturalistic driving research symposium
Transurban and VTTI Partner to Make Roadways Safer for Motorcycle Riders
© @VT Research 2019
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American Horror Story: Hotel - "Ten Commandments Killer"
By CC on December 03rd, 2015
American Horror Story: Hotel - "Flicker"
By CC on November 23rd, 2015
American Horror Story: Hotel - "Room 33"
By CC on November 17th, 2015
American Horror Story: Hotel - "Room Service"
Scream Queens - "Haunted House"
By Evan Slead on October 07th, 2015
Snapshot: "American Horror Story" and "Glee" Actresses Featured in Horror Photo Shoot
By Carly on May 09th, 2012
Horror Headlines: Tuesday, March 13th, 2011
Some more details on what we can expect from season 2 of "American Horror Story" are flooding the tubes. It looks like Ryan Murphy, the shows creator, is on the hunt for a Angelina Jolie in "Girl Interrupted" to battle with Jessica Lange in the upcoming season. I've never seen that movie but I do own a copy of "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" and if it's anything like that I think we've got a winner.
Oh boy oh boy! Showtime has officially dropped the premier date for season 7 of "Dexter" and what a date it is! September 30th. Isn't that a good date. Just turning to Fall time. The leaves are beginning to turn. People are starting to think about Halloween. I hope to be down two pant sizes by then. It's really going to be magical.
I don't know why but I always assumed David Cronenberg didn't even own a TV. Maybe he doesn't actually but he's working on a new show called "Knifeman". The series is a medical drama that follows the happening of a radical self-educated surgeon. Cronenberg will direct the pilot and play the producer role for the series. No word on what station this one will be on but I can't imagine Fox Family is going to pick it up.
I have no idea how to pronounce Karel Roden's name but he's been cast as a mad scientist in the upcoming film "Frankenstein's Army". The movie takes place towards the end of the second World War and finds the Russian army uncovering a creepy breed of living dead monsters that fight for the Nazi's. Sounds adorable.
Frankenstein's Army
Horror Headlines: Tuesday, January 24th, 2012
"American Horror Story" mastermind Ryan Murphy will be teaming up with "Apollo 18" co-writer Brian Miller for a super hot super new Sci-Fi flick for Sony. The project is currently untitled, there's no director selected and details of the film have yet to be released. Sooooo... How's your day going so far? Did you watch "The Bad Girls Club" last night? Man what a crazy start, huh?
Get excited folks, Universal has picked up the rights to a new found footage flick titled "Thirteen" which focuses on the topic of possession. I for one applaud the good people at Universal for their not-rocking-the-boatness. If they made some crazy movie based off of a new idea no one had ever seen, well I might not be able to control myself in the theater. This way I know what I'm getting and I'll be able to relax. Thank you again, Universal.
Relativity Media and The Weinstein Company have apparently settled their differences of "The Crow" remake out of court and appear to be moving forward with the project. It's amazing to me that of all the movies that get tied up in legal problems the one film they pick to set aside their differences for is "The Crow". Thank you?
I have no idea what dubstep is but I know I hate it, a lot. I also have no idea who Jake Hoffman and Nikki Reed are either but apparently they're going to star in a new dubstep horror flick titled "Snap". I honestly don't even know what I just wrote there. Reed will play a social worker who finds herself drawn into the exciting world of dubstep. I don't know, it turns out she's a nut bag or something. I'm so lost right now.
Brian Miller
Horror Headlines: Tuesday October 19th, 2010
Here's a new one! The gang promoting "Paranormal Activity 2" have set up a phone number that you can call and listen to some spooky fun. Which is awesome because normally I have to pay $2.99 a minute to have a women fake being frightened for her life. Don't judge.
If you love "Glee", and who doesn't, then there's a solid chance you love "The Rocky Horror Picture Show". Well I have good news for you, kid who is overweight but still wears shirts two sizes to small! Ryan Murphy, the creator of "Glee" has just wrapped an entire episode devoted to the camp classic and is in talks to possibly do a remake. Good, I haven't been assaulted by a tranny coming out of a late night movie in years.
Adrien Brody has taken legal action to try an stop the release of the Dario Argento film "Giallo". Apparently Brody had never watched any of Argento's other films and when he picked up the script said out loud, "No way could this be a pile of crap, people love this guy. Sign me up!". You made your bed big nose, now lie in it with the weird Italian model who can barley speak English but for some reason plays the staring role.
adrienne brody
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Goodbye 2009 Hello 2010
Firstly, a very Happy New Year to everybody. I hope that everything happens in 2010 that you would wish to happen.
Let`s remember that, in spite of all the worries that most of us have, whether personal, local or global, it is still a beautiful world. Let`s all try to keep it that way, and even perhaps make it better.
For the last couple of years I have recorded here some of the people who have passed away in the year just gone by, and here is my list for 2009. You might want to include others.
Hylton Ackerman, cricketer (62); Terence Alexander, actor (86); Henry Allingham, ex serviceman (113); Corazon Aquino, politician (76); J. G. Ballard, novelist (78); Ray Barrett, actor (82); Bryan Barron, actor (69); Gene Barry, actor (90); Lennie Bennett, comedian (69); Ali Bongo, magician (79); Eric Boswell, songwriter (88); Jack Cardiff, cinematographer (94); David Carradine, actor (72); Cahal Daly, Cardinal (92); Dave Dee, singer (67); Simon Dee, broadcaster (74); Duke D`Mond, singer (Barron Knights) (66); Farrah Fawcett, actress (62); Keith Floyd, chef and TV personality (65); Clinton Ford, singer (77); Clement Freud, politician, writer and TV personality (84); Bill Frindall, cricket statistician (69); Steven Gateley, singer (33); Jade Goody, TV personality (27); Tommy Greenhough, England cricketer (77); Ellie Greenwich, songwriter (68); Reg Gutteridge, boxing commentator (84); Tony Hart, artist and TV presenter (83); Edmund Hockridge, singer (89); Michael Jackson, singer and dancer (50); Maurice Jarre, composer (84); Ingemar Johansson, world champion boxer (76); Jennifer Jones, actress (90); Edward Judd, actor (76); Edward Kennedy, politician (77); Ludovic Kennedy, politician, writer and broadcaster (89); Walter Kronkite, political commentator (92); Danny La Rue, female impersonator (81); Terry Lawless, boxing promoter (75); Dilys Laye, actress (74); Patrick McGoohan, actor (80); Al Martino, singer (82); Angela Morley (formerly Wally Stott), orchestra leader (84); John Mortimer, dramatist (85); Norman Painting, actor (85); Les Paul, musician and inventor (94); Steve Race, musician and broadcaster (88); Wendy Richard, actress (65); Natasha Richardson, actress (45); Bobby Robson, England footballer and manager (76); Albert Scanlon, footballer (74); Aaron Schroeder, songwriter (83); David Shepherd, cricketer and umpire (68); Marianne Stone, actress (87); Mollie Sugden, actress (86); Patrick Swayze, actor and dancer (57); David Taylor, M.P.(63); Richard Todd, actor (90); Mary Travers, singer (Peter Paul and Mary) (72); John Updike, novelist (76); David Vine, TV presenter (73); Ian Wallace, singer and broadcaster (90); Gordon Waller, singer (Peter and Gordon) (64); Keith Waterhouse, humourist (80); Joseph Wiseman, actor (Dr. No) (91); Edward Woodward, actor (79).
To all these, thanks for the pleasure you have given us.
Posted by colin on Friday 1st January, 2010 at 10:59am
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— Main Menu —HOME FASHION FOOD BEAUTY HEALTH CELEBRITY FLIRTY ENTERTAINMENT CITY SCENE
Mark Heckathorn
12 Years a Salve, 20th Century Fox, A Star Is Born, Bohemian Rhapsody, Boy Erased, Bradley Cooper, christmas, Coco, Creed, Creed II, Dr. Seuss' The Grinch, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Fantastic Beasts: Teh Crimes of Grindelwald, films, Focus Features, Freddie Mercury, Frozen, Green Book, Head Full of Honey, Hunger Games: Catching Fire, Instant Family, lady gaga, Lionsgate Films, Mahershala Ali, Mark Wahlberg, MGM, Moana, movies, Paramount Pictures, Ralph Breaks the Internet, Ridley Scott, Robin Hood, Rose Byrne, Russell Crowe, Screen Gems, Sony, Steve McQueen, Summit Entertainment, Sylvester Stallone, thanksgiving, The Front Runner, The Greatest Showman, The Posession of Hannah Grace, theters, Toy Story 2, Twentieth Century Fox, Universal Pictures, Viggo Mortensen, Viola Davis, Walt Disney Studios, Warner Bros. Pictures, weekend box office, Widows, Wreck-It-Ralph
Ralph Has 2nd Largest Thanksgiving Debut
In a competitive Thanksgiving weekend (Nov.23-25) featuring three new wide releases and several heavyweight holdovers, Walt Disney Studios’ Ralph Breaks the Internet easily topped the box office with a $56.24 million three-day take and $84.75 million over the five-day period. Elsewhere, MGM’s Creed II more than lived up to the hype generated by its powerhouse predecessor while Lionsgate Films’ latest version of Robin Hood faltered out of the gate.
Ralph Breaks the Internet debuted in first place over Thanksgiving with $56.24 million. (Photo: Walt Disney Studios)
Boasting the widest Thanksgiving weekend release ever, Disney minted another holiday hit with Ralph Breaks the Internet, the sequel to 2012’s beloved animated comedy Wreck-It Ralph. Debuting in 4,017 theaters, the sequel beat Toy Story 2‘s $57.38 million three-day gross over Thanksgiving weekend 1999 and also topped the five-day Thanksgiving record of $82.08 million held by 2016’s Moana, making it the second-highest Thanksgiving weekend debut ever behind Disney’s Frozen, which grossed $67.3 million over the three-day and $93.5 million over the five-day. Both films were also released by Disney, which now boasts nine out of 10 titles on the list of highest three-day Thanksgiving weekend debuts and eight out of the top 10 films in the five-day category. Hunger Games: Catching Fire still holds the overall record with its second-weekend gross of $74.1 million over the three-day and $109.9 million over the five-day.
Despite six years passing since the release of Wreck-It Ralph, fans were clearly clamoring for more from the reformed arcade villain. The first film opened to $49 million in early November and boasted a good run in the ensuing weeks thanks to strong word-of-mouth, ultimately finishing its run with $189.4 million in North America. Both films benefitted from fantastic reviews. Audiences also rated both installments highly. Clearly goodwill from the first film kept audiences excited for a sequel, and the relative quality of the follow-up made good on that promise, leading to fantastic word-of-mouth through the weekend and a total that came in substantially higher than many had predicted despite heavy competition from the still-strong likes of The Grinch and Fantastic Beasts. Ralph Breaks the Internet played to audiences that was 44 percent 25 years of age or older, similar to the original, but the sequel played to a crowd that was 51 percent female compared to the first film, which skewed 55 percent male.
Creed II scored a knock out with $35.57 million over the Thanksgiving weekend. (Photo: MGM)
Finishing in second place was MGM’s Creed II scored a knock out with a $35.57 million three-day debut and a $56.01 million five-day opening beating the original Creed, which brought in $29.6 million over the three-day and $42.1 million over the five-day in 2015.
Like Ralph Breaks the Internet, this seems to be another case of goodwill generated from the first film carrying over to its follow-up, combined with a strong critical and audience response.
It is expected to play well through the holiday season just like its predecessor, which finished its run with an impressive $109.7 million in North America and nabbed a supporting Oscar nod for star Sylvester Stallone, who returned for the sequel. The film played to a more balanced audience than the original, playing to a crowd that was 57 percent male compared to 66 percent for the first film while 64 percent of the audience was aged 25 or older, with the single largest quad being 25-34 year olds at 30 percent.
The performance is not only the seventh largest Thanksgiving five-day opening of all-time, but the largest opening for a live-action film over the Thanksgiving weekend ever.
Universal Pictures’ Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch finished in third place with $30.39 million over the three-day, a drop of just 21.3 percent. That brings it total domestic earnings after 17 days to $180.49 million. Thanks to its Christmas theme, expect it to continue strong through the rest of the year, particularly with kids out of school over the holiday break.
Warner Bros. Pictures’ Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald finished in fourth for the three-day weekend. The Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them sequel earned $29.38 million, down 52.7 percent, for a domestic total that stands at $116.55 million after 10 days. It is worth noting that that is a significantly steeper second-week drop than that of the first Fantastic Beasts, which also debuted the weekend before Thanksgiving and dropped 39 percent in its second weekend. The Crimes of Grindelwald is running roughly 25 percent behind the pace of its predecessor, which notably also went up against a major Disney animated release in its second weekend, that time in the form of Moana.
Twentieth Century Fox’s Bohemian Rhapsody rounded out the top five with $14.00 million over the three-day weekend, a slip of 12.7 percent, for a domestic total of $152 million. Like last year’s surprise hit The Greatest Showman, the crowd-pleasing Freddie Mercury biopic has captured audiences despite a lukewarm critical reception and seems destined to perform well through the end of the year.
The Rose Byrne-Mark Wahlberg dramedy Instant Family took sixth place in its second weekend, taking in $12.31 million over the three-day, a drop of dip of 15.1 percent, an incredibly strong hold that suggests the film has been garnering strong word-of-mouth from audiences. With $35.56 million after 10 days, the warm-and-fuzzy Paramount Pictures release looks to continue its strong run through the holidays.
Robin Hood opened in a disappointing seventh place with $9.20 million over Thanksgiving weekend. (Photo; Lionsgate Films)
It isn’t until seventh place that we find Lionsgate’s release of Summit Entertainment’s Robin Hood, a film that carries reported budget around $100 million, which means its meager, $9.20 million three-day and $14.30 five-day opening makes it one of the biggest busts of 2018.
Critics panned the film, and while the mediocre audience score isn’t disastrous, the opening result shows there just wasn’t much of an audience for this one in the first place. The Lionsgate release is the second Robin Hood adaptation to hit screens over the past decade, with the somewhat better-received Russell Crowe-Ridley Scott version debuting to a far more lively $36 million in May 2010.
In eighth place, 20th Century Fox’s Widows took in $8.23 million over the three-day, a drop of 33.4 percent in its second weekend, bringing its domestic total to $25.86 million in its first 10 days. The Viola Davis heist thriller has benefitted from strong critical reviews and awards-season buzz thanks to a heavyweight cast and the work of Oscar-winning 12 Years a Slave director Steve McQueen.
Following its limited release on just 25 screens last weekend, Universal’s Green Book expanded to 1,063 theaters and brought in $5.50 million over the three-day to finish in ninth place, a decent total that brings the total to $7.86 million. The Mahershala Ali-Viggo Mortensen drama has been reasonably — if not ecstatically — well-reviewed, and audiences seem to be enjoying it even better. Whether that will translate into a robust performance for the feel-good film as we move further into the holiday season remains to be seen. As things stand right now, this could go either way.
Rounding out the top 10 was Warner Brother’s A Star is Born, which took in $3.02 million over the three-day, a fall of 29.6 percent. That brings the Lady Gaga-Bradley Cooper blockbuster’s total North American earnings to $191.00 million, making the film the eighth largest domestic release that never hit number 1 at the domestic weekend box office.
Outside the top 10, Focus Features expanded its release of Boy Erased into 672 theaters, up 263, where it brought in $1.16 million over the three-day frame for a $4.54 million domestic total after 24 days. And Sony’s expansion of The Front Runner into 807 locations, an increase of 785, following its Election Day limited bow, struggled to drum up any business, delivering just $632,139.
Next weekend sees one new wide release hitting theaters in the Screen Gems horror The Possession of Hannah Grace, debuting in about 1,900 locations. Warner Bros. will also release the drama Head Full of Honey into four theaters.
The top 10 films last weekend grossed $203.84 million. That is 26.4 percent above the previous weekend’s $161.22 million total. It is also 14.2 percent above the $178.49 million earned on the same weekend last year, when Coco led with $50.80 million. Total box office year-to-date stands at $10.68 billion. That is 10.6 percent ahead of last year.
Nov. 23-25, 2018
This Week Last Week Movie Weekend Gross Cumulative Gross Weeks
1 New Ralph Breaks the Internet $56.24M $84.75M 1
2 New Creed II $35.57M $56.01M 1
3 2 Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch $30.39M $180.49M 3
4 1 Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald $29.38M $116.55M 2
5 3 Bohemian Rhapsody $14.00M $152.16M 4
6 4 Instant Family $12.31M $35.56M 2
7 New Robin Hood $9.92M $14.30M 1
8 5 Widows $8.23M $25.86M 2
9 22 Green Book $5.50M $7.86M 2
10 7 A Star Is Born $3.02M $191.00M 8
Editor-in-Chief Mark Heckathorn is a journalist, movie buff and foodie. He oversees DC on Heels editorial operations as well as strategic planning and staff development. Reach him with story ideas or suggestions at dcoheditor (at) gmail (dot) com.
All in Moderation
Copyright DC on Heels
All Rights Reserved | DC on Heels
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"Draft Dodger Rag" - Phil Ochs (1965)
Wikipedia - "'Draft Dodger Rag' is a satirical anti-war song by Phil Ochs, a U.S. protest singer from the 1960s known for being a harsh critic of the American military industrial complex. Originally released on his 1965 album, I Ain't Marching Anymore, 'Draft Dodger Rag' quickly became an anthem of the anti-Vietnam War movement. ... (One historian of the draft resistance movement wrote that Ochs 'described nearly every available escape from conscription'.) As the song ends, the young man tells the sergeant that he'll be the first to volunteer for 'a war without blood or gore'. 'Draft Dodger Rag' was the first prominent satirical song about the draft during the Vietnam War."
YouTube: "Draft Dodger Rag"
2010 July: Draft dodger, Conscientious objector, War resister
2008 September: Phil Ochs, 2011 December: All the News That's Fit to Sing, 2012 February: There but for Fortune, 2013 February: Pleasures of the Harbor.
Posted by Bill at 11:45 AM No comments:
Joyce Kozloff: Co-Ordinates
Maui: Sugar Plantation, 2007
"Joyce Kozloff: Co-Ordinates considers the New York-based artist's paintings and works on paper--which employ the formal structure and conventions of cartography to examine issues of power, gender and global politics--from the late 1990s to the present. This is the first book to consider Kozloff's work since the late 1990s within the broader context of her career and the history of map-related art. Charting her influential contribution to the Pattern and Decoration movement--which was an integral part of the downtown New York art scene of the 1970s--the volume also explores Kozloff's later, large-scale public artworks."
W - Joyce Kozloff
DC Moore Gallery
Richard Myers
"37-73"
Wikipedis - "Richard Myers (or Richard L. Myers) is an American experimental filmmaker based in northeast Ohio. Myers taught at Kent State University in Kent, Ohio and is particularly known for his 1970 film Confrontation at Kent State, which he filmed in Kent during the week following the Kent State shootings of May 4, 1970; it is an important document of the period. Myers began to produce independent films in the early 1960s. Many of his films are highly personal, with non-narrative or loose narrative structures derived from his dreams. Although some films (as, for example, his 1993 film Tarp) feature no actors at all, instead focusing entirely on inanimate objects, most films feature nonprofessional actors and are produced on very small budgets."
The Films of Richard Myers
UbuWeb: The Path (1960), First Time Here (1964), The Coronation (1965)
YouTube: Akran (1969)
John Zorn - "Extraits de Book Of Angels" @ Jazz in Marciac 2008
"Uri Cane & Masada String Trio performs the Static Compositions of the Book Of Angels! / live in Marciac, 2008 // a film by Samuel Thiebaut // Uri Cane - Piano // Mark Feldman - vioin / Erik Friedlander - cello / Greg Cohen - bass // John Zorn - composer // album 'Book Of Angels' available at Tzadik Records."
vimeo: "Extraits de Book Of Angels" @ Jazz in Marciac 2008 55:04
2009 March: John Zorn, 2010 August: Spillane, 2011 October: Filmworks Anthology : 20 Years of Soundtrack Music, 2012 September: Marc Ribot, 2013 January: Bar Kokhba and Masada, 2013 September: Masada String Trio Sala, 2014 January: Full Concert Jazz in Marciac (2010).
Posted by Bill at 1:13 PM No comments:
Tom Waits - Telephone call from Istanbul (1987)
All night long on the broken glass
Livin' in a medicine chest
Mediteromanian hotel back
Sprawled across a roll top desk
The monkey rode the blade on an overhead fan
They paint the donkey blue if you pay
I got a telephone call from Istanbul
My baby's comin' home today
YouTube: Telephone call from Istanbul (Live), Telephone call from Istanbul
2012 July: Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards, 2013 March: Burma Shave, 2013 May: "Ol' '55", 2013 July: The Heart of Saturday Night (1974), 2014 January: Blood Money.
Great Shakespeare Plays Retold with Stick Figures in Three Simple Drawings
"Other than Romeo and Juliet and possibly Hamlet, Shakespeare doesn’t exactly lend himself to the elevator pitch. The same creaky plot devices and unfathomable jokes that confound modern audiences make for long winded summaries. Not to say it can’t be done. Mya Gosling, a Southeast Asia Copy Cataloger at the University of Michigan, has been amusing herself, and more recently others, with 'Good Tickle Brain,' a web comic that reduces each of the complete works to a mere three panels. (Titus Andronicus‘ bloodbath required but one.) Those of us who are semi-versed in the Bard should delight in the way major characters and complex side plots are glibly stricken from the record."
Good Tickle Brain
Jacob Hashimoto's Gas Giant
"Jacob Hashimoto (b. 1973, Greeley, Colorado), is an artist whose work studies visual experience in space, artifice, and craft through the use of materials such as handmade kites, fiberglass, marble and the skillful use of light. Combining traditional kite-making techniques and painting into sculptural environments, Hashimoto creates massive space-altering installations with thousands of thin paper sheets. For MOCA Pacific Design Center, Hashimoto is producing the third and final edition of Gas Giant. The work was previously presented in Venice, Italy in 2013 Fondazione Querini Stampalia by Studio la Citta and in Chicago in 2012 at Rhona Hoffman Gallery."
MoCA: 1 of 4
Jacob Hashimoto's Gas Giant at MOCA Pacific Design Center (PHOTOS)
NYT (Video)
Listen: Nicolas Jaar's Hour-Long John Lennon Memorial Mix
"Yesterday, December 8, marked 33 years since John Lennon was murdered. To honor his memory, Nicolas Jaar shared an hour-long mix through his Other People imprint. It's titled 'OUR WORLD' and you can stream it above. The mix pieces together clips of drone, film music, and experimental piano works with beat-oriented clips. It opens with a Lennon interview segment and a broadcast regarding his death, and ends with Jaar's mix of 'Oh My Love' from 1971's Imagine. About 21 minutes in, Jaar splices in a clip documenting a Black Friday fight at a Wal-Mart."
Pitchfork (Video)
YouTube: Nicolas Jaar Performs A 5 Hour Improvised Set At MoMA PS1 +1
Spools Out 3: A Cassette Reviews Column For March
Friesen / Waters Duo - FW
"It's a constant reassurance. Digging deeper and deeper into the pile of tapes, one gets an invaluable insight to the sheer weight of ambition and creativity still out there; confirmation that affordable MIDI controllers and desktop condenser mics have levelled the playing field in a truly big way. The overgrown long tail of new music could be considered to have diluted creativity on a global scale, yet the opposite appears to be true. Creative thought begets creative thought, and inspiration flows via groups, and effectively the cultural conversation ends up a global game of musical Chinese whispers, throwing up twisted and morphed replicas of replicas until turning points emerge. Releasing music on cassette post-internet is perhaps two steps back in response to one giant leap forward, but the physical embodiment of it seemingly offers some small legitimacy to artists that would have to fight beyond their means to get heard in other ways."
The Quietus (Video)
2013 December: Spool's Out: 2013's Best Tapes Reviewed, 2014 January: Spool's Out: A Cassette Reviews Column For January.
Next Stop, Greenwich Village - Paul Mazursky (1976)
Wes Anderson's 10 favorite New York movies
Wikipedia - "Next Stop, Greenwich Village is a 1976 romantic comedy drama film, set in the early 1950s, written and directed by Paul Mazursky, featuring, amongst others, Lenny Baker, Shelley Winters, Ellen Greene, Lois Smith, and Christopher Walken. The film was generally well received by critics. ... Filmmaker Mazursky had made his acting debut in Stanley Kubrick's 1953 film Fear and Desire (shot in New York) and Next Stop, Greenwich Village is a semiautobiographical account of Mazursky's early life as an actor in that city. The film was entered into the 1976 Cannes Film Festival. The film takes place in 1953. Larry Lipinsky is a young Jewish boy from Brooklyn, New York, who has dreams of stardom."
NYT: Next Stop, Greenwich Village
New York Film Locations
YouTube: Stop a Greenwich Village - Trailer, Christopher Walken in "Next Stop Greenwich Village", 1976
Happy Birthday, Frank O’Hara: The Beloved Poet Reads His “Metaphysical Poem”
"'Love is metaphysical gravity', Buckminster Fuller wrote in his scientific revision of 'The Lord’s Prayer.' From beloved poet Frank O’Hara (March 27, 1926–July 25, 1966) comes a very different and very wonderful cross-pollination of love, metaphysics, and the art of verse. In this short, damaged, yet infinitely delightful reading recorded at the Lockwood Memorial Library at SUNY-Buffalo on September 25, 1964, two years before his death, O’Hara reads his 'Metaphysical Poem,' found in the altogether spectacular volume Selected Poems (public library)."
brainpickings (Video)
2008 January: Frank O'Hara, 2010 February: USA: Poetry, 2010 October: Stones: Larry Rivers and Frank O’Hara, 2011 October: City Poet: The Life and Times of Frank O'Hara - Brad Gooch, 2012 December: USA: Poetry, Frank O'Hara (1966), 2013 June: A Visual Footnote to O’Hara’s “The Day Lady Died”: New World Writing and The Poets of Ghana.
August Sander: People of the Twentieth Century
The Brick Layer 1928
"People of the Twentieth Century, the collective portrait of German society made by German photographer August Sander, has fascinated viewers from its earliest presentation in a 1927 exhibition and the controversial publication of a selection of 60 images in the book Face of the Time published two years later. Despite Sander's dedication over five decades to the idea and compilation of this portrait atlas of the German people, the project remained unfinished. Nonetheless, his photographs remain compelling, in part because he chose to categorize his subjects by profession or social class. The images are thus representations of types, as he intended them to be, rather than portraits of individuals."
Detty
W - August Sander
Luminous-Lint
vimeo: August Sander - People of the 20th century by Reiner Holzemer
"English Civil War" - The Clash (1979)
Wikipedia - "'English Civil War' is a song by British punk rock band The Clash, featured on their second album Give 'Em Enough Rope, and released as a single on 23 February 1979. It reached number 25 in the UK Singles Chart and number 28 in the Irish Singles Chart. The song is derived from an American Civil War song, 'When Johnny Comes Marching Home', written by Irish-born Massachusetts Unionist Patrick Sarsfield Gilmore, which is in turn derived from the Irish anti-war song 'Johnny I Hardly Knew Ye'. It was popular among both sides of the conflict. Having learnt the song at school, Joe Strummer suggested that the band should update it. Those on the left wing saw the rise during the mid-1970s of far right groups such as the British National Front as alarming and dangerous omens for Britain's future. The song is about this state of politics in the country and warns against all things uniformed and sinister."
YouTube: English Civil War
Luca Pignatelli
Testa di Afrodite, 2007
"Luca Pignatelli was born in 1962 in Milan, where he lives and works. After studying architecture Pignatelli chooses art and debuts in 1984 in Milan with an exhibition at the Centro San Fedele. He transforms his first training as an architect in refined aesthetic as seen in the artwork in 1998, the year in which Pignatelli decided to use sheets of rail instead of the traditional canvas on which he paints the face of Aphrodite and war planes. The choice to use dark and bleak colours on the landscapes as well as other subjects is a leitmotif that emphasizes and loads the subject of symbolic elements. In Pignatelli’s artwork, the Greek and Roman icons come to life and are mixed into history recently catapulted into anachronistic and imaginative scenarios, that evoke the charm of archeology and the exploration of a myth."
Capri Palace
Stuyvesant Square
Wikipedia - "Stuyvesant Square is a park in the New York City borough of Manhattan, located between 15th Street and 17th Street and Rutherford Place and Nathan D. Perlman Place, formerly Livingston Place. Second Avenue divides the park into two halves, east and west, and each half is surrounded by the original cast-iron fence. The name is also used for the neighborhood around the park, roughly bounded by 14th and 18th Streets and First and Third Avenues. Directly around the square are the Friends Meeting House and Seminary and St. George's Episcopal Church – once attended by J.P. Morgan – both on Rutherford Place. On the eastern side is Beth Israel Medical Center – part of which, the Robert Mapplethorpe Residential Treatment Facility for AIDS patients, was built on the site of Bohemian composer Antonín Dvořák's 1893 home at 327 East 17th Street."
NYT: History and a Dog Run, in One Cozy Package
Burrito Deluxe - The Flying Burrito Brothers (1970)
"Gram Parsons had a habit of taking over whatever band he happened to be working with, and on the first three albums on which he appeared -- the International Submarine Band's Safe at Home, the Byrds' Sweetheart of the Rodeo, and the Flying Burrito Brothers' The Gilded Palace of Sin -- he became the focal point, regardless of the talent of his compatriots. Burrito Deluxe, the Burritos' second album, is unique in Parsons' repertoire in that it's the only album where he seems to have deliberately stepped back to make more room for others; whether this was due to Gram's disinterest in a band he was soon to leave, or if he was simply in an unusually democratic frame of mind is a matter of debate. ..."
W - Burrito Deluxe
W - "Wild Horses"
YouTube: Cody, Cody, Wild Horses, High Fashion Queen, Lazy Days, Farther Along
2008 March: Gram Parsons, 2011 March: Gram Parsons & Emmylou Harris. Liberty Hall, Texas, 1973, 2012 May: Sweetheart of the Rodeo, 2013 January: Gram Parsons: Fallen Angel, 2013 September: Flying Burrito Brothers - Live At The Avalon Ballroom 1969, 2014 February: The Gilded Palace of Sin - The Flying Burrito Brothers (1969).
Bernard Rands - "As All Get Out"
Wikipedia - "Graphic notation is the representation of music through the use of visual symbols outside the realm of traditional music notation. Graphic notation evolved in the 1950s, and it is often used in combination with traditional music notation. Composers often rely on graphic notation in experimental music, where standard musical notation can be ineffective. A common aspect of graphic notation is the use of symbols to convey information to the performer about the way the piece is to be performed. These symbols first began to appear in the works of avant-garde composers such as Roman Haubenstock-Ramati, Mauricio Kagel, György Ligeti, Krzysztof Penderecki, Karlheinz Stockhausen, and Iannis Xenakis, as well as the works of experimental composers such as Earle Brown, John Cage, Morton Feldman, and Christian Wolff during the 1950s and 60s."
SoundSpace: Graphic Notation (Video)
WFMU: Gallery of Graphic Musical Notation
Guardian - Playing pictures: the wonder of graphic scores, Composer Tom Phillips
NYT: Scoring Outside the Lines
Graphic notation Art that you can play (Video)
Smithsonian: 5 1/2 Examples of Experimental Music Notation (Video)
vimeo: SYN-Phon (Graphic notation)
Southern Belles
"From Gone with the Wind to Debutante Balls, a Cross-Generational Look at Beauty in the Deep South. A little under 75 years ago, David O. Selznick’s adaptation of Margaret Mitchell’s Gone with the Wind delivered Scarlett O’Hara in all her Technicolor glory, imprinting forever the notion of the Southern belle: the feisty beauty with a honey-laden accent, done-up in yards of antebellum dress, on the hunt for a husband. By exploring Scarlett’s proverbial stomping grounds in and around Atlanta, Georgia, Tim Richmond and James Nutt’s documentary short Southern Belles discovers that, while the plantation no longer remains, the front porches, hospitality, grace, and etiquette persevere."
NOWNESS (Video)
Victor Arnautoff
Coit Tower Murals - City Life by Victor Arnautoff
"... The 210-foot pillar Coit Tower now graces the summit of Telegraph Hill in Pioneer Park, providing tourists with unforgettable views of the city and bay. Completed in 1933, the idea of such a tower was derided at first as an eyesore, but more 'beautification' was still to come. The finishing touches were murals on the interior of the tower, from its base to its summit, depicting California’s life and history. Part of the New Deal’s Public Works Art Program, twenty-six artists worked under the technical direction of muralist Victor Arnautoff, who had trained with Diego Rivera. The effort to provide artists with meaningful work, not just labor, was a deliberate aspect of the program."
Humanities: New Deal Murals
W - Victor Arnautoff
Detail from the mural City Life by Victor Arnautoff (1896-1979)
SF Mural Arts: City Life (1934)
Depression-Era Murals
Art and Architecture – San Francisco
Philip Glass performs "Mad Rush"
"Philip Glass (piano) performs, 'Mad Rush,' a piece originally written and performed by Glass in honor of the Dalai Lama's visit to North America in 1979. Glass begins by remarking that the legacy of Gandhi can be seen in the work of leaders, including Martin Luther King Jr. and the Dalai Lama, who advocate for nonviolent, social change and by inviting listeners to consider 'Mad Rush' as a play between wrathful and peaceful deities. Performance at Satyagraha: Gandhi's 'Truth Force' in the Age of Climate Change presented by the Garrison Institute on April 13, 2008 at the Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine in New York City."
YouTube: "Mad Rush"
Posted by Bill at 12:59 PM No comments:
Blackboard Jungle Dub - Lee Perry and the Upsetters (1973)
"On Blackboard Jungle Dub, Lee Perry and the Upsetters produce another fine example of their subversive brand of dub with a unique blend of murky rhythm tracks, warbling guitar effects and distant-sounding horns. Although it does not quite match the quality of the classic Upsetters album Super Ape, Blackboard nevertheless impresses with both the brevity of 'strictly' drum and bass cuts such as 'Dreamland Dub' and 'Kasha Macka Dub,' and expansive touches like the animated DJ toasting on 'Cloak A Dagger (Ver. 3).' ... Just standard technique for Perry really, and part of the sound which made his productions instantly recognizable amongst many '70s and '80s dub releases. Blackboard Jungle contains classic dub taken to the outer limits and is one of the highlights of the Lee Perry catalog."
YouTube: Blackboard Jungle Dub - The Upsetters Lee"Scratch" Perry (complete album)
Building (2004)
"Leandro Erlich was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1973. An architect of the uncertain, Erlich creates spaces with fluid and unstable boundaries. Before one tries to make sense of his sculptures and installations, one senses the uncanny. A single change (up is down, inside is out) can be enough to upset the seemingly normal situation, collapsing and exposing our reality as counterfeit. Through this transgression of limits, the artist undermines certain absolutes and the institutions that reinforce them."
Telegraph: Artist Leandro Erlich offers 'crazy perspective' at his illusion house in east London (Video)
YouTube: Leandro Erlich: Swimming Pool at P.S.1, Leandro Erlich en Ruth Benzacar - Noviembre 2012
Sun Ra & His Intergalactic Arkestra - Sleeping Beauty (1979)
"This is the great late-night Sun Ra chillout album you never knew about. The band had been working in a more groove-oriented setting off and on for over a year, as evidenced by the albums Lanquidity and On Jupiter, with both featuring prominent electric bass and electric guitar. Sleeping Beauty picks up right where On Jupiter left off, with the gentle, swaying 'Springtime Again' echoing the same mellow vibe of 'Seductive Fantasy' from On Jupiter. A skittering intro coalesces as different instruments pick up bits of the melody, which is then fully expressed by the horn section and ensemble vocals. It's a simple two-chord vamp, with beautiful solos that seem to embody the reawakening and rebirth of springtime. 'The Door of the Cosmos' starts with a gospel-like chant and handclaps, with comments from Ra's electric piano and electric guitar. ..."
Dusted (Video)
YouTube: Sun Ra - Sleeping Beauty [full album]
The Dial-A-Poem Poets (1972)
"... On this LP of Dial-A-Poem Poets are 27 poets. The records are a selection of highlights of poetry that spontaneously grew over 20 years from 1953 to 1972, mostly in America, representing many aspects and different approaches to dealing with words and sound. The poets are from the New York School, Bolinas and West Coast Schools, Concrete Poetry, Beat Poetry, Black Poetry and Movement Poetry. - John Giorno, August 1972"
UbuWeb (Video)
W - Giorno Poetry Systems
2012 June: The Dial-A-Poem Poets: The Nova Convention
Cool and the Counterculture: 1960–79
"In the 1960s and 1970s, to be cool was to be antiauthoritarian and open to new ideas from young cultural leaders in rock and roll, journalism, film, and African American culture. Cool was a badge of opposition to 'the System,' by turns a reference to the police, the government, the military-industrial complex, or traditional morality. Using drugs such as marijuana or even LSD was an indicator of risk taking and expanding one’s consciousness; not experimenting with drugs suggested a fear of opening one’s mind or perspective, of being 'uptight' or 'square.' The same was true of sexual exploration, social protest, and ethnic politics. The aesthetic of stylized understatement still held power, yet cool itself morphed under the era’s social upheavals."
Defining cool, from Walt Whitman and James Dean to Steve Jobs and Tony Hawk
Danzig Baldaev
"Danzig Baldaev grew up in a Russian children's home, his father having been denounced as an enemy of the people. He was later ordered to take a job as a warden in Kresty, an infamous Leningrad prison, where he worked from 1948 to 1981. It was a job that allowed Baldaev to continue his father's work as an ethnographer – by documenting the tattoos of criminals. Heavy with symbolism and hidden meanings, the tattoos depicted a complex world of hierarchies, disgraces and achievements. Mostly anti-Soviet and frequently obscene, they are a portal into a violent world that ran alongside the worst excesses of the Communist era."
FUEL Design
FUEL Design (Video)
amazon: Soviets: Drawings by Danzig Baldaev. Photographs by Sergei Vasiliev.
W - FUEL Design
Russian Criminal Tattoo Encyclopaedia and Books by Danzig Baldaev
Emilie Brzezinski
"The Kreeger Museum presents an exhibition of monumental wood sculptures by Emilie Brzezinski September 2 through December 27, 2014. The Lure of the Forest expresses Brzezinski’s fascination with trees and her love and respect for the environment. The Museum pays homage to this masterful sculptor, who for over thirty years has chain sawed and hand-chiseled tree trunks into majestic forms. Each work exhibits beauty, grace, sensuousness, and strength. Her imposing installations are awe-inspiring and express the passion and respect Brzezinski has for her trees. This exhibition will be curated by Milena Kalinovska."
Kreeger Museum
Re-Forestation: Emilie Brzezinski at Grounds for Sculpture (PHOTOS)
YouTube: Emilie Brzezinski on CBS Sunday Morning, "Family Trees" Sculpture by Emilie Brzezinski on display in Gdańsk, Poland
Lisa Anne Auerbach
"The artist Lisa Anne Auerbach likes to make statements, which are most often knitted. She is best known for her sweater-and-skirt works that feature clever, assertive slogans offering commentary and critique on issues that are important to her, whether political or personal. After receiving an M.F.A. in photography from the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, Calif., she no longer had access to the school’s darkroom and taught herself to knit instead."
NYT: Seeing Things | Studio Visit: Lisa Anne Auerbach
vimeo: Lisa Anne Auerbach, artist
Lisa Anne Auerbach's Politically Charged Knitted Sweaters Rock Our World (PHOTOS)
YouTube: 2014 Biennial: Lisa Anne Auerbach
The Roots of Drone (2012)
"Gathering together an incredible cross section of recordings both obscure and not, the Roots of Drone compilation aims to highlight the early history of experiments with repetition and single-note musicality that have gone on to influence generations of sound from techno to metal. The collection omits obvious examples of drone in the rock arena (Velvet Underground, Can, Spacemen 3, etc.) and leans more toward an extremely wide variety of sounds from raw blues primitivism to field recorded bagpipe soliloquies. Minimalist composers like John Cage show up, as does Miles Davis' Kind of Blue classic 'So What,' taking on a different view when couched in the context of drone fundamentalism. Apart from being an engaging and colorful playlist, Roots of Drone's strongest attribute is its curation and arrangement of these 37 tracks. Finding a commonality at all between the fiery gospel of Sam Cooke & the Soul Stirrers and Ravi Shankar's sun-drenched ragas is no small feat, but being able to coherently gather such eclectic recordings together under the shared umbrella of early drone prototypes really takes considered research and dedication."
W - Drone music
W - Drone_metal
Theatres of Eternal Music
Drone in American Minimalist Music
boingboing - Music Appreciation: Drone (Video)
amazon: The Roots of Drone (2012) (Video)
Avant-Avant 3.0 to be uncovered early 2014 (Video)
YouTube: The Velvet Underground - Heroin, Dream House by La Monte Young and Marian Zazeela, The Chora(s)san Time-Court Mirage: "Blues Dhkir Al-Salam (Blues Al Maqam)", Ali Akbar Khan - Goojjari Todi, Earth - Like Gold and Faceted, Phill Niblock - The Movement of People Working
The Sheltering Sky - Paul Bowles (1949)
Wikipedia - "The Sheltering Sky is a 1949 novel of post-colonial alienation and existential despair by American writer and composer Paul Bowles. The story centers on Port Moresby and his wife Kit, a married couple originally from New York who travel to the North African desert accompanied by their friend Tunner. The journey, initially an attempt by Port and Kit to resolve their marital difficulties, is quickly fraught by the travelers' ignorance of the dangers that surround them."
NYT: December 4, 1949 - An Allegory of Man and His Sahara By TENNESSEE WILLIAMS
The Sheltering Sky Quotes
amazon: The Sheltering Sky
W - The Sheltering Sky (film)
YouTube: The Sheltering Sky Trailer, Final scene of The Sheltering Sky, featuring Paul Bowles' monologue
2007 November: The Authorized Paul Bowles Web Site, 2010 February: Paul Bowles (1910-1999), 2011: January: Halfmoon (1996), 2013 July: Tellus #23 - The Voices of Paul Bowles, 2014 January: Let It Come Down: the Life of Paul Bowles (1998).
Semiotext(e)
Wikipedia - "Semiotext(e) is an independent publisher of critical theory, fiction, philosophy, art criticism, activist texts and non-fiction. Founded in 1974, Semiotext(e) began as a journal that emerged from a semiotics reading group led by Sylvère Lotringer at Columbia University. Initially, the magazine was devoted to readings of seminal thinkers like Nietzsche and Saussure. In 1978, Lotringer and his collaborators published a special issue, Schizo-Culture, in the wake of a conference of the same name he’d organized two years before at Columbia University. The magazine brought together artists and thinkers as diverse as Gilles Deleuze, Kathy Acker, John Cage, Michel Foucault, Jack Smith, Martine Barrat and Lee Breuer. Schizo-Culture brilliantly brought out connections between high theory and underground culture that had not yet been made, and forged the 'high/low' aesthetic that remains central to the Semiotext(e) project."
Semiotext(e) | The MIT Press
Semiotext(e) - Whitney Publications
Semiotext(e) - Sylvère Lotringer
YouTube: CHRIS KRAUS #7: Semiotext(e)
2012 April: The German Issue (1982)
Bohemia in Midtown
Apt. 845. Josef Astor, photographer.
"The high-ceilinged, light-filled studios on top of Carnegie Hall have housed artists, musicians, and writers for more than a century; now, the remaining tenants are fighting to stay. 'I peeled away the plasterboard until I got down to the original walls,' says the portrait photographer Josef Astor as he walks up the smooth wooden stairs of the triplex he rents in the Carnegie Hall Studio Towers. Astor, who’s been in his skylighted space since 1985, was once surrounded by hundreds of creative neighbors—painters and dancers, photographers and composers—who lived and worked in 170 studios built directly above the grand midtown concert hall."
NYMag
Josef Birdman Astor
Joseph Astor's Lost Bohemia (Video)
Lost Bohemia: Trailer (Video)
Kronos Quartet Plays Terry Riley: Salome Dances for Peace (1989)
"There is no string quartet that has ever been written that can compare length and diversity with Terry Riley's Salome Dances for Peace. Morton Feldman has written a longer one, but it is confined to his brilliant field of notational relationships and open tonal spaces. Riley's magnum opus, which dwarfs Beethoven's longest quartet by three, is a collection of so many different kinds of music, many of which had never been in string quartet form before and even more of which would -- or should -- never be rubbing up against one another in the same construct. Riley is a musical polymath, interested in music from all periods and cultures: there are trace elements of jazz and blues up against Indian classical music, North African Berber folk melodies, Native American ceremonial music, South American shamanistic power melodies -- and many more. ..."
W - Kronos Quartet Plays Terry Riley: Salome Dances for Peace
LA Times: Kronos Makes Riley's 'Salome' Dance, Dance
YouTube: Salome Dances for Peace (1989)
December 2007: Terry Riley, March 2010: In C, December 2010: Terry Riley & Gyan Riley, April 2011: Terry Riley - Shri Camel: Morning Corona, Terry Riley rare footage, live in the 70s.
ATOMIC BOMB! The Music of William Onyeabor
Wikipedia - "William Onyeabor is a funk musician from Nigeria. His songs are often heavily rhythmic and synthesized, occasionally epic in scope, with lyrics decrying war sung by both Onyeabor himself and female backing vocalists. In recent years a number of his songs have appeared on various compilations, most often his biggest hit 'Better Change Your Mind' which appeared on Africa 100, World Psychedelic Classics 3: Love's a Real Thing - The Funky Fuzzy Sounds of West Africa, and Nigeria 70: The Definitive Story of 1970's Funky Lagos, through labels such as Luaka Bop. Some biographies claim that he studied cinematography in Russia, returning to Nigeria in the 1970s to start his own Wilfilms music label and to set up a recording and production studio."
Who is William Onyeabor?
BAM: ATOMIC BOMB! The Music of William Onyeabor
YouTube: Atomic Bomb, Body and Soul, Good Name, Something You'll Never Forget, Why Go To War, Heaven and Hell
tappeto natura 1966
Wikipedia - "Jannis Kounellis (... born March 23, 1936, Piraeus, Greece) is a contemporary artist based in Rome. He studied in art college in Athens until 1956 and at the Accademia di Belle Arti in Rome. ... From the years of 1960-1966, Kounellis went through a period of only exhibiting paintings. In some of his first exhibitions, Kounellis began stenciling numbers, letters, and words onto his canvases often reflecting advertisements and signs seen on the street. In 1960 he began to introduce found sculptural objects such as actual street signs into his work, exhibiting at Galleria La Tartaruga. This same year he donned one of his stencil paintings as a garment and created a performance in his studio to demonstrate himself literally becoming one with his painting. This newfound convergence of painting, sculpture, and performance was Kounellis' way out of traditional art. By 1961 he began to paint on newspaper to reflect his feelings towards modern society and politics."
Cheim & Read
YouTube: Jannis Kounellis | Film & Interview | Blain Southern Berlin, CHEIM & READ, Jannis Kounellis
Tess (1979)
Wikipedia - "Tess is a 1979 romance film directed by Roman Polanski, an adaptation of Thomas Hardy's 1891 novel Tess of the d'Urbervilles. It tells the story of a strong-willed, young peasant girl (played by Nastassja Kinski) who finds out she has title connections by way of her old aristocratic surname and who is raped by her wealthy cousin (Leigh Lawson), whose right to the family title may not be as strong as he claims. ... The story takes place in Thomas Hardy's Wessex during the Victorian period."
W - Tess of the d'Urbervilles
Polanski's Tess 30 Years Later
ARTFORUM: Roman à Clef
YouTube: Tess/Roman Polanski/1979, Tess - Roman Polanski (Trailer)
Too Many Zooz
"Friday was a BIG day for New York 'Brass House' trio Too Many Zooz. Also known as Matt Doe, Leo P and Dave 'King of Sludge' Parks. At one end, their January video of a rip-roaring Union Square subway station performance hit the front page of Reddit. At the other, they were thanking Jimmy Fallon‘s band leader Questlove for having followed them on Twitter. The Questlove follow has fueled a campaign by some fans to get the trio noticed and booked by Fallon. Along with today’s warmer weather, nothing will get you into the jiggy spirit of early spring quite like the above nine-minute number that is one part Stomp, two parts New Orleans parade band and seven parts fan-ZOOZ-tastic."
FishbowlNY (Video)
YouTube: Live at Union Square 19Jan2014, Union Square February 2014
Bill Cunningham | No Coupons at Chanel
"At Chanel, the real fun began after more than 2,000 guests got up from their carton seats and thought they had the right to shop."
NY Times - No Coupons at Chanel
Bill Cunningham New York - DVD
The Atlantic: Bill Cunningham's Playful Photographs of 1970s New York
hulu: Bill Cunningham New York (2011)
2011 November: Bill Cunningham
Maison Martin Margiela with H&M - Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker's dance performances (2012)
"Maison Martin Margiela invited Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker and Rosas to perform at the launch of its collection for H&M, on October 23, 2012, in New York City. Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker and 10 dancers of Rosas revealed Maison Martin Margiela’s collection through a number of site specific performances. Over the 9 floors of Beekman palace, an impressive New York landmark, abandoned since almost 40 years, 31 squares of white sand were spread. The collection was presented through solos and duets danced on the squares of sand, each performance leaving behind a pattern in the sand, traces of the movements, subtle prints of the body and the clothes’ texture."
Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker’s Dance Performances for Maison Martin Margiela’s Collaboration with H&M (Video)
Maison Martin Margiela for H&M Avant-Garde Party in New York
YouTube: Maison Martin Margiela with H&M - Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker's dance performances, Behind the scenes footage from the collaboration lookbook shoot
2009 July: Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker, 2012 December: Rosas Danst Rosas (1983), 2013 September: Re : Rosas!.
Push the Sky Away - Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds (2013)
"It's been nearly five years since Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds issued the manic, intense rock cabaret that was Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! Since then, the formation and breakup of Grinderman yielded two studio offerings, and Cave and Warren Ellis have composed a few film scores. Push the Sky Away, produced by Nick Launay, is painted with a deliberately limited sonic palette by Ellis. The album's sequencing makes it feel like a long, moody suite. While most of these songs contain simple melodies and arrangements that offer the appearance of vulnerability and tenderness, it is inside this framework that they eventually reveal their sharp fangs and malcontent. ..."
W - Push the Sky Away
YouTube: Higgs Boson Blues, Push The Sky Away, Mermaids, Water's Edge, We No Who U R, We Real Cool
2008 August: Nick Cave, 2010 November: Henry Lee - Nick Cave & PJ Harvey, 2011 March: The Boatman's Call, 2011 December: B-Sides & Rarities, 2012 January: Nick Cave & Warren Ellis - White Lunar, 2013 January: "We No Who U R", 2013 April: No More Shall We Part, 2013 June: The Secret Life Of The Love Song/The Flesh Made Word (1999), 2013 October: The Abattoir Blues Tour (2007).
Richard Thompson - Videowest 81
Guitar Player Session, December 9th, 1981
YouTube: Jenny Lind Polka, Time To Ring Some Changes, Honky Tonk Blues, Banish Misfortune, Bright Lights Tonight, The Choice Wife, Just The Motion, Going To Need Somebody, Interview part 1/2, Interview part 2/2
2011 July: Shoot Out the Lights - Richard and Linda Thompson, 2012 February: I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight.
RIP Bill Knott, 1940-2014
The Naomi Poems by Saint Geraud (aka bill knott)
"Several of Bill Knott’s former colleagues at Emerson College have confirmed that Bill passed away yesterday from complications with surgery. The inventive, subversive, and immensely influential poet was 74. Knott was the author of more than an a dozen poetry books and had more recently taken to publishing all of his work, for free, online. His first book, The Naomi Poems: Corpse and Beans, was published in 1968 under the pseudonym 'Saint Geraud' and came on the heels of the poet’s own fake suicide, detailed by Paul Carroll in his introduction to Knott’s slim–and by nearly every critical estimation, classic–volume..."
W - Bill Knott
Three Poems by Bill Knott
Bookslut | An Interview with Bill Knott
"Knotty, Knotty Boy:" Richard Hell on poet Bill Knott
a few hundred of the thousands of rejection slips i've got over the years—
YouTube: Bill Knott READING "Corpse and Beans or What is Poetry", Bill Knott reading his poem "ANT DODGER", "A LESSON FROM THE ORPHANAGE"
Bloc Party: 65 Artists From Former Eastern Bloc Countries Form Compact Show at New Museum
Jindřich Polák, Ikarie XB-1 [Voyage to the End of the Universe], 1963
"Both time capsule and time machine, this compact exhibition gathers work by 65 artists from former Eastern Bloc countries. As you step off the elevator into a faux spaceship based on designs from Eastern European sci-fi films of the Cold War era, you might be reminded of how such plaster facsimiles can appear thrillingly dynamic onscreen. Perhaps this will put you in the proper head space for what a newspaper handout accompanying the exhibit describes as 'an asychronic narrative,' one in which 'the present is understood as an overlap of multiple temporal and spatial frames.' A slide show of Soviet modernist buildings from 1955-91 documents zigzagging stone buttresses, labial concrete roofs, and other edifices as loopy as any background seen in futuristic drive-in flicks."
Futures of Eastern Europe Conference – Part 1, Part 2
The New Museum’s Fifth Floor Will Be Turned Into a Spaceship
Transatlantic Sessions - Programme Three (2007)
"Music co-directors, Shetland fiddle virtuoso Aly Bain, dobro ace Jerry Douglas and their all-star house band, host a gathering of the cream of Nashville, Irish and Scottish talent in a spectacular new location overlooking the bonnie, bonnie banks of Loch Lomond. In this episode look out for the deftly delicate guitar of Russ Barenberg, one of the Sessions' 'founding fathers', and John McCusker's rollicking fiddle."
W - Transatlantic Sessions 3
YouTube: Swan, Julie Fowlis with Jenna Reid & Donal Lunny - Biodh An Deoch Seo 'N Làimh Mo Rùin, The Drummers of England - Russ Barenberg, Frank McConnell's 3 Step, Elanor of Usen, Whole lot of Heaven (Iris DeMent), Bruce Molsky with Julie Fowlis - The Blackest Crow, Sir Aly B with Gerry Douglas, The Open Door - Darrell Scott, Eddi Reader with Tim O'Brien - Back To Earth, Hector The Hero - Jenna Reid with Aly Bain, Cara Dillon with Sam Lakeman - Garden Valley, Joan Osborne with Iris DeMent & Bruce Molsky - Holy Waters, Crucán Na bPáiste - Karen Matheson, The Crossing - Tim O'Brien, Julie Fowlis with Donal Lunny and Bruce Molsky, He Reached Down - Iris DeMent, Fred Morrison, Michael McGoldrick and Donal Lunny, The Streets of Derry - Cara Dillon with Paul Brady
2013 December: Programme One, Programme Two (1995)
Wikipedia - "John Ruskin (8 February 1819 – 20 January 1900) was the leading English art critic of the Victorian era, also an art patron, draughtsman, watercolourist, a prominent social thinker and philanthropist. He wrote on subjects ranging from geology to architecture, myth to ornithology, literature to education, and botany to political economy. His writing styles and literary forms were equally varied. Ruskin penned essays and treatises, poetry and lectures, travel guides and manuals, letters and even a fairy tale. The elaborate style that characterised his earliest writing on art was later superseded by a preference for plainer language designed to communicate his ideas more effectively. In all of his writing, he emphasised the connections between nature, art and society. He also made detailed sketches and paintings of rocks, plants, birds, landscapes, and architectural structures and ornamentation."
VictorianWeb
Guardian: What was John Ruskin thinking on his unhappy wedding night?
YouTube: John Ruskin, John Ruskin: Photographer and Draughtsman
In Which Berthe Morisot Is Spared Nothing
Berthe Morisot, Young Girl in a Greenhouse
"It's all vantage points. From the perspective of the sky, men dominated the Impressionist movement. On the ground things weren't as clear. The singular female impressionist Berthe Morisot was alternately challenged and defused by the indelible artistic talent that surrounded her. Ironically, her personal correspondence to a variety of men and women shows all who knew her in a more stark, realistic light. Modernity came on the shoulders of these individuals, for whom gender was the least of their concerns. After her marriage to Manet's brother Eugene, she gave birth to a daughter Julie, and seemed to be rid of the anxieties of her years as a struggling young painter. The writing in the correspondence that follows is sharp, incisive, and almost entirely devoid of a familiar cynicism."
This Recording
W - Berthe Morisot
At the Royal Academy - Julian Bell
Christian Marclay's "Chalkboard" (2010)
Chalkboard, 2010
"Christian Marclay is a darling of museum curators. Wherever there is a show about sound or music he is sure to be in it. However, the question remains: Is Christian Marclay a good musician? And does it matter? For two months this summer, the Whitney Museum got all trigger-happy and gave its keys to our multidisciplinary artist so he could throw a party. Oh, what a setting! Marclay invaded the entire fourth floor, made it dark and grungy, and invited a bunch of his friends, as well as a group of respected avant-garde musicians, to play, or at least pretend they can play, his extravagant musical scores."
Christian Marclay: Festival at The Whitney (Video)
LiveStream: Chalkboard: Peter Evans (2010)
YouTube: Christian Marclay's Chalkboard, 2010 with Anthony Coleman performing Shuffle, 2007
Central Park in the Dark - Charles Ives (1906)
Wikipedia - "Central Park in the Dark is a music composition by Charles Ives for chamber orchestra. ... Central Park in the Dark displays several characteristics that are typical of Ives’s work. Ives layers of orchestral textures on top of each other to create a polytonal atmosphere. Within this polytonal atmosphere, Ives juxtaposes the different sections of the orchestras in contrasting and clashing pairings (i.e. the ambient, static strings against the syncopated ragtime pianos against a brass street band). These juxtapositions are a prevalent theme in the works of Ives, and can be seen most notably in The Unanswered Question, Three Places in New England, and the Symphony No. 4."
Central Park in The Dark - Notes
The Atlantic: The Many Faces of Ives
YouTube: Central Park in the Dark
2008 September: Charles Ives, 2010 December: Holidays Symphony, 2011 November: Three Places in New England, 2012 August: Symphony No. 2, 2012 December: Decoration Day.
Johnny Shines - Takin' The Blues Back South (1973)
Wikipedia - "John Ned 'Johnny' Shines (April 26, 1915 – April 20, 1992) was an American blues singer and guitarist. Shines was born in Frayser, Memphis, United States. He spent most of his childhood in Memphis, Tennessee playing slide guitar at an early age in local 'jukes' and on the street. He was taught to play the guitar by his mother. Shines moved to Hughes, Arkansas in 1932 and worked on farms for three years putting his musical career on hold. It was a chance meeting with Robert Johnson, his greatest influence, that gave him the inspiration to return to music. In 1935, Shines began traveling with Johnson, touring in the United States and Canada. The two went their separate ways in 1937, one year before Johnson's death. Shines played throughout the southern United States until 1941 when he settled in Chicago. There Shines found work in the construction industry but continued to play in local bars."
YouTube: Takin' The Blues Back South (Full Album)
Jiří Hanke Kladno – the 80's
Kolmistr Street, Kladno, 1982
"... His present exposition at the Leica Gallery Prague includes both several photos from the collections mentioned and many so far unpublished snapshots. In spite of all the motif and style differences, they are linked by the place unity of an industrial town in the vicinity of Prague, time of origin during one decade that was beginning with a profound totalitarianism and ended with the return of freedom, and even by a subjective author´s view that discovers, with a subtle irony and dry humour, in seemingly trivial situations and environment expressive visual symbols. Hanke belongs, next to Gustav Aulehla, Viktor Kolář, Bohdan Holomíček, Jaroslav Kučera and Dana Kyndrová, to an expressive group of authors without formal education, who enriched the Czech documentary photography of the 1980s in a decisive way."
VIEWS FROM THE WINDOW OF MY FLAT (Czechoslovakia/Czech Republic, 1981-2003)
W - Jiří Hanke
YouTube: Kladno (with music by YoYo Band) / slideshow for Fotojatka 2013
John Zorn - "Extraits de Book Of Angels" @ Jazz in...
Great Shakespeare Plays Retold with Stick Figures ...
Listen: Nicolas Jaar's Hour-Long John Lennon Memor...
Next Stop, Greenwich Village - Paul Mazursky (1976...
Happy Birthday, Frank O’Hara: The Beloved Poet Rea...
Burrito Deluxe - The Flying Burrito Brothers (1970...
Blackboard Jungle Dub - Lee Perry and the Upsetter...
Sun Ra & His Intergalactic Arkestra - Sleeping Bea...
Kronos Quartet Plays Terry Riley: Salome Dances fo...
Maison Martin Margiela with H&M - Anne Teresa de K...
Push the Sky Away - Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds (201...
Bloc Party: 65 Artists From Former Eastern Bloc Co...
Johnny Shines - Takin' The Blues Back South (1973)...
Alain Resnais - Toute la mémoire du monde (1956)
First day of issue
Garment District
James Brown - Live at the Apollo (1963)
Robert Wyatt - Cuckooland (2003)
Blue Jasmine (2013)
Larry Clark - Home Alone 2
Robert Ashley, 1930-2014
Gilf Covers Gentrification in NYC
Heartworn Highways - James Szalapski (1975)
A History of the World in 100 Objects - Neil MacGr...
The Agronomist
Fela Kuti - Underground System (1992)
Der Fensterputzer (The Window Washer) - Pina Bausc...
Chris Burden - Metropolis II
Yto Barrada
Quartets - Fred Frith (1994)
Harlem River Drive - Harlem River Drive (1971)
Wes Anderson Collection
Keziah Jones & Native Maqari: Captain Rugged
Dead Man - Neil Young (1995)
Jerome Liebling: Matter of Life and Death
Havana Boxing Dreams
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From Longford to Liberty ... Born in Ulster County...
Martin, Martyrs and Marburg – The Cradle of the Br...
Scotch-Irish Society's 4th Congress, Atlanta, 1892...
Sir Thomas Smith's failed English colony in North ...
"Poor white folk who, we were told, were rabid rac...
Cutting Culture
The President who ordered West Virginia to be bomb...
Blaming the old, the poor and the 'poorly educated...
Bradley Kincaid - marketing mountain ballads and '...
"Scotch-Irish tradition, Baptist hymns and old App...
The Stanley Brothers covering Horatius Bonar - "A ...
Emo Phllips on Protestant denominational heresy
Willie Nelson - Blue Eyes Crying In the Rain / Jus...
The Original Muckraker? - Samuel Sidney McClure of...
St Patrick's Day, New York, 1766 - A toast to the ...
Masonic Theatre, Louisville, Kentucky - the 3rd Sc...
William Kennedy (1799–1871) - from Antrim to the A...
Mechanical Hall, Pittsburgh - venue for the 2nd Sc...
Columbia Athenaeum, Tennessee - Birthplace of the ...
When the Psalms are your life
Goodbye Fermanagh, 1912
"Power In The Blood" / "Dust On The Bible"
Westminster Seminary, California
From Longford to Liberty ... Born in Ulster County: Dr Thomas Young of the 'Sons of Liberty' (1729–1777) & Vice-President George Clinton (1739–1812)
(This is an update on a few previous posts. It turns out there were two different John Youngs who emigrated in this era, one from Donegal and the one below from Belfast via Longford. With thanks to Mr Seawright for the inspiration to dig further.)
Dr Thomas Young was born on 19 February 1731, in Ulster County, New York State. His parents were John Young and Mary Crawford, cousins who had emigrated with another cousin, Charles Clinton (1690 - 1773), from Dublin onboard a ship called The George and Ann. They set sail on 20 May 1729 and arrived in America on 8 October.
According to this recent biography by John P Kaminski, Charles Clinton’s grandfather Sir William Clinton had an estate in Ireland called ‘Glengary’; his son James Clinton was rewarded for his loyalty to William of Orange with an estate in County Longford. This is where James’ son, Charles, grew up.
• From ‘near Belfast' to County Longford
The passengers who boarded The George and Ann were mainly from near Edgeworthstown in Longford, but they were part of a very large extended family community which had relocated there from somewhere ‘near Belfast’ sometime 'around 1700'. The local Presbyterian church building - Corboy (pictured above) - is still there today. According to the church noticeboard the congregation is believed to have been established as early as 1675, with the meeting house having been built pretty much at the same time the community emigrated in 1729. We often forget that Scots settled in parts of Ireland beyond Ulster. This website gives the following description –
This distinctive building is the oldest surviving Presbyterian meeting house in continual use outside of Ulster, and is in use by the oldest Presbyterian congregation in the midlands. It is a highly unusual structure to encounter in the Irish midlands, being of a type that is more commonly found in the north of the island (this meeting house at Corboy is similar in appearance to a meeting house at Dunmurry in Antrim for example). It survives in good condition, retaining its early form and character.
The congregation’s minister was a Rev. Joseph Bond, who wrote this ‘Christian passport’ for Charles Clinton and his wife Elizabeth, who had married in 1721, to take with them to America:
"Whereas the bearer, Mr. Charles Clinton, and his wife Elizabeth, lived within the bounds of this Protestant dissenting congregation from their infancy, and now design for America; this is to certify, that all along they behaved themselves soberly and inoffensively, and are fit to be received into any Christian congregation where Providence may cast their lot. Also, that said Charles Clinton was a member of our session, and discharged the office of ruling elder very acceptably; this, with advice of session, given at Corbay, in the county of Longford, Ireland.
"JOSEPH BOND, Minister."
The other surnames in the emigrant group were Armstrong, Denniston and Parks - approximately "some one hundred and sixty of his Presbyterian relations and neighbours from the Longford area” (source here). It is said that Clinton leased his land to the Earl of Granard for 99 years, which raised enough finance for Clinton to fund the emigration.
‘They lived in this vicinity until sometime in the year 1727 or 1728, when the whole connexion growing more and more dissatisfied with the government, resolved to emigrate to the then colony of New York; and as if bound together by the indissoluble ties of consanguinity and friendship, the greatest number of those who had emigrated from the north...'
• From Dublin to Cape Cod to Ulster County
According to Clinton’s account of the voyage, they sailed from Dublin, stopped at Glenarm (where the McClaughry family disembarked), stopped again at Greencastle, and then accompanied another ship, The John of Dublin, for Newcastle in Delaware. Many died on board, some from starvation, one murdered by the captain. Two Clinton children – James (2) and Katherine (4) – died in a measles epidemic which is said to have killed more than 90 of the passengers.
They first landed at Cape Cod, stayed there for the winter, and then moved to New Windsor in Ulster County (which later, due to county lines changing, was ‘moved’ into Orange County). They bought neighbouring farms and called their community - wait for it - ‘Little Britain’. John Young and Mary Crawford married here, and Thomas came along the year after.
“All through the large district to which the name Little Britain was applied, the great majority of the settlers were Scotch-Irish or English-Irish and nearly all were Presbyterians. Agreeing very generally in their religious views, they were also remarkable for their uniformity of their political convictions…"
Other surnames found in New Windsor most historic buildings still today are Knox, Edmonston, McDowell and Brewster. The records of Bethlehem Presbyterian Church, founded 1729, indicate that Clinton had become an elder there in 1739. In the Indian and French wars of the 1750s, Charles Clinton became a Colonel.
• Vice President George Clinton (1735–1812)
Colonel Charles Clinton’s son George became 4th Vice-President of the USA, serving two terms, under Presidents Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. Unsurprisingly for the son of a one-time Kirk Session member, George Clinton studied under a ‘Scottish clergyman’, according to the Senate.gov website. Other sources identify him as Daniel Thain, a graduate of the University of Aberdeen 'who afterwards became a highly respected minister of the gospel’. A grandson - De Witt Clinton – published a brief narrative genealogy of the family.
• Tea Party Mastermind
Thomas Young was taught to read by his grandmother Jane, and taught maths by his father. But he lost his Presbyterianism early in life and became a noted Deist, a belief common to many of America’s founding fathers. He came up with the idea of the Boston Tea Party (see here). He is also said to have been the man who shouted “Overboard with the Tea!” - the only man present not disguised as a Native American Indian. He is also said to have been the ‘brains’ of the Sons of Liberty movement.
• Some of these details are from A Genealogical and Biographical Sketch which was written by Thomas Young’s younger brother Joseph Young, in 1807. It was written to General Henry Knox who was mentioned in a post here recently.
• Further details can be found in History of the Town of New Windsor, Orange County, by Edward M Ruttenber (1911) - see here
• The Outline History of Orange County (1846) also contains some excellent information. It was written by Samuel Watkins Eager, the descendant of a Monaghan man whose family were ‘originally Scotch’ but migrated in 1728 - online here
• Article Reason and Revolution: The Radicalism of Dr. Thomas Young on Jstor here
• Article on BostonTeaPartyShip.com tourism website here
(Artwork below is from the Thomas Young Gallery in Boston).
Posted by Mark Thompson at Thursday, March 30, 2017
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Robert Jackson's Responses to DFNYC's 2014 Candidate Questionnaire
Category: Candidates-2014
Robert Jackson, former City Councilmember
Candidate for State Senate - Dist. 31 - Uptown & west side of Manhattan
2014 DFNYC State Candidate Questionnaire
1. Money in NY Politics / Fair Elections (McCutcheon v. FEC)
This year, Albany gave us a budget that failed to reform the role of big money in New York politics. The sky-high campaign contribution limits weren't lowered, disclosure of outside special interest spending wasn't strengthened, and public campaign financing was limited to the 2014 comptroller race. Responsibility for administering the public financing "pilot" falls to the state Board of Elections, which is regarded as dysfunctional, ineffective and underfunded.
a. Would you support a change to full public financing of campaigns, similar to the Clean Money Clean Elections programs in Arizona, Connecticut and Maine?
b. What is your opinion of the Supreme Court’s decision of McCutcheon v. FEC and its potential impact on NY campaigns?
It doesn’t really effect the need to set real limits on contributions and closing corporate subsidiary and LLC loopholes.
c. What is your opinion of Governor Cuomo’s actions toward the Moreland Commission?
Responses: It should not have been disbanded.
Only by taking the money out of politics can the people get their government back. My five point plan includes: Establishing a public financing program modeled on the successful NYC program; Setting real limits on contributions and closing corporate subsidiary and LLC loopholes; Restricting fundraising during the legislative session, instituting fixed limits on those doing business with the government; Increasing reporting, transparency and enforcement; Prohibiting the use of campaign funds.
2. Tenant Protection & Cost of Housing / Home Rule (Rent Issue) / Real Estate Development
Do you support rent stabilization and rent control laws? What will you do to crack down on landlords that break the law? Do you support a repeal vacancy decontrol and, more generally, a repeal of the Urstadt Law, so that New York City – and not Albany – can enact its own housing laws?
Response: We must preserve the affordable housing we have, particularly through strengthening rent laws, repealing vacancy decontrol and the Urstadt law, and providing resources and representation to threatened tenants.. We must fix-up existing housing, particularly through better management of NYCHA. And we must build new housing, through inclusionary zoning and innovative approaches like the effort I lead to build the Sugar Hill project.
3. Universal Pre-K & After-School
Generally, we at DFNYC are pleased that Governor Cuomo and Mayor de Blasio were able to come together and compromise on a bill for universal pre-kindergarten. While it calls for $300 million in funding for universal pre-K programs the final budget, many of us feel that the funding stream is not sustainable and the budget was unfair to many towns outside of New York City. Would you support state legislation allowing Mayor de Blasio to change the funding stream by raising marginal income tax on the wealthiest residents of the City in order to ensure the long-term viability of the programs?
Response: I support universal pre-K, worked on the Council to successfully create new Pre-K openings and believe that the City should be able to have a dedicated tax.
4. Teacher Evaluation
New York elected officials--through laws, regulations, and negotiation of union contracts-- have sought to enact meaningful evaluation of public school teachers. What is your opinion of using the following factors in evaluation of public school teachers?
a) Improvement in student test scores b) Professional observations by other teachersc) Student surveysd) Whether the teacher has an advanced degreee) Classroom observations of the teacher by principals or other education professionalsf) Principals’ unannounced observations of teachers.
Response: I support the recent legislative agreement saying teachers rated ineffective based on state Common Core tests this year or next will not face negative consequences. Teacher evaluation should be geared to improving teaching and student outcomes, not based on student test scores alone. We must move away from all these high stakes testing. The best evaluators are fellow teachers who participate in a collaborative process of reviewing student work, improving lessons and fine-tuning instruction. The measures of teacher success are well-educated students. We must have a more broad-based measure of teacher effectiveness.
5. Mayoral Control of NYC Schools
Albany granted former Mayor Bloomberg's request for mayoral control of the schools in 2002. In 2009, Governor David Paterson and the state legislature voted to renew mayoral control until June 30th of 2015 (less than a year from now). The 2009 changes included requiring the DOE to keep parents better informed of what is happening in the schools, as well as more transparency in approval of large contracts. Mayor Bill de Blasio is the first NYC mayor to have mayoral control after Bloomberg and has indicated he will have a Department of Education that is different in many ways than Mayor Bloomberg.
a. When mayoral control of the schools is up for renewal next June, it seems likely that it will be renewed, but with significant changes. Do you favor:
• Letting mayoral control expire and going back to a pre-2002 system,
• Renewing mayoral control as is,
• Changing to a hybrid system, where power would be shared by the mayor and a school board, or
• Renewing it, but with significant changes to the current system.
b. Additionally, one of the current parts of mayoral control that has caused the most controversy is the public hearing process. When the DOE proposes a change to a school or school building (co-location of a charter school, approval of a new school, phase out or "closing" of a school deemed to be failing), there is a joint public hearing (a "JFH") at the school building, where parents, teachers, students and other community members can voice their concerns. But the ultimate vote is later, with the city-wide Panel for Education Policy (the "PEP"), a Board of appointees from the Mayor's Office and the Borough Presidents' Office. Critics say far from being a democratic process, the structure of the PEP and its hearings make it essentially a rubber stamp for whatever the DOE has already decided. Even some supporters of mayoral control have conceded this point and found PEP hearings to be mostly a waste of time for all parties involved. On the one hand, government officials need to plan and make decisions about schools and buildings in a timely, efficient matter. On the other hand, important decisions about schools should have a public hearing process and be made with community input. What are your ideas for balancing these interests, specifically in terms of changing the mayoral control legislation?
Response: I oppose Mayoral control. Under Bloomberg Mayoral Control, parents, teachers and students were shut out of the decision making process and it was more a “do as we say [not as we do]” attitude and system. We need a governance system that respects the people directly impacted and involves them as stakeholders in shaping important educational decisions.
6. Implementation of Common Core Standards.
The NYS Board of Regents recently gave New York public schools five more years to fully implement tougher academic standards known as the Common Core. Supporters have argued that the new high standards – which are internationally benchmarked – will ensure that students in the South Bronx will have the same expectations as students on the Upper East Side, and that all students in New York and across the country are college and career ready at age 18. Critics, however – which include a growing movement of principals, teachers and parents that are on the front lines of education every day - point to problems such as a huge amount of disorganization in the implementation in NY (lack of materials and training), concerns about teaching to the test, and the arbitrariness of using Common Core-based test scores to measure student, school and teacher performance.
a. Do you favor continued support of Common Core standards in New York?
b. Do you support the Common Core curriculum that has been developed in New York?
c. What will you do – or have you done – to assist parents, teachers, and others in the education community that have raised concerns about Common Core?
Responses: While I'm generally in support of common core standards, New York's implementation has been terrible. Before the test go into effect, we must first get teachers the curriculum and materials they need to help their students succeed.
7. Taxes: City Wage Tax, FTT and general principles.
New York City’s budget depends in large part on the city wage tax, which is only paid by residents, not everyone who works in NYC.
a. Would you vote to allow NYC to collect the tax from people from the suburbs who work in NYC and benefit from our services (police, fire, etc.)?
Yes, and was mistake of my opponent to vote to repeal the commuter tax. His vote has cost NYC $9.7 billion paid by commuters that could help fund our schools, the arts and essential services.
b. Would you support efforts to collect the tax from people who actually live in New York City but use a second home (a loophole not available to middle class New Yorkers with just one home) to avoid the city wage tax?
c. Do you support progressive taxation?
d. Would you support a federal financial transaction tax to either raise revenue, reduce the practice of high frequency trading, or both?
8. Minimum Wage / Living Wage
New York State's recent minimum wage increased to $8 an hour, 75 cents above the federal minimum and the old state rate. It's the first of three incremental boosts that were approved by the Legislature and Gov. Cuomo. The minimum for most workers will increase at the end of 2014 to $8.75 an hour and to $9 an hour a year after that. The minimums for workers in the restaurant industry who get tips may remain $5 an hour, with employers able to raise the maximum tip credits to $3 an hour the first year, $3.75 the second and $4 after that. Earlier this year, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, a Democrat, and legislative leaders quickly shot down a proposal by Mayor Bill de Blasio to let New York City set its own minimum wage. Advocates for New York’s working poor were disappointed, saying the minimum wage should be $15 an hour and include workers who get tips. We at DFNYC feel no one should ever endure the kind of economic humiliation that comes with working a full-time job and making a less-than-living wage. Do you support State Senator Daniel L. Squadron’s bill to raise the minimum wage for many low-paid workers, calling for a $15-an-hour “fair wage” for employees of McDonald’s and Walmart and other businesses with yearly sales of $50 million or more?
Response: Yes, I support the statewide increase in minimum wage, and giving local municipalities the power to further increase their wages. I support the Squadron bill.
9. Real Estate Development / Reform of Scaffold Law.
a. We live in a city where livability is a major issue for the vast majority of its residents. There has been a major upswing in development of late, particularly in areas such as Brooklyn and now the Bronx. Residents are constantly getting displaced despite pledges to protect them from such treatment. For example, Bruce Ratner did not live up to his promise to provide affordable housing and aid to residents and small businesses displaced by the Barclay’s Center. What would you propose to ensure that big businesses and developers are able to achieve success at the hands of the rest of New Yorkers?
b. Much has been made of Mayor de Blasio’s pledge to build or restore 200,000 additional units of affordable housing in New York City. However, another issue that has not received nearly enough attention has been the lack of sustainability in New York City. What would you propose to ensure more green buildings are built and greater energy efficiency is met in existing structures? Another issue in New York City is a lack of sunlight caused by the amount of tall buildings. Would you support changes to zoning laws for thinner, smaller, greener structures being built?
Response: Manhattan will continue to grow, but it is important that it grows in the right way that protects neighborhoods, promotes diversity and sustainability, ensures more green buildings are built and greater energy efficiency is achieved and protects existing residents. Instead of giving large tax breaks to luxury developments, we should be using that money to create affordable and sustainable housing. Instead of sitting back and letting Albany control our housing decisions, we must fight for Home Rule, repeal of the Urstadt Law and ending vacancy destabilization. Instead of selling off public land wherever he can find it for luxury development, we should be more concerned with the existing residents. And instead of letting developers off the hook when they fail to meet their commitments, we should be going after them to claw back the benefits they received.
c. What is your opinion of NY Labor Law 240, otherwise known as the Scaffold Law? Contractors, property owners and insurers argue that the law is antiquated and prejudicial against contractors and property owners, and essentially absolves employees of responsibility for their own accidents, leading to huge settlements. The payouts, they contend, have in turn led to skyrocketing insurance premiums that are hampering construction and the state’s economic growth. But a counter-lobby of unions, workers’ advocates and trial lawyers argue that the law is essential to ensuring the safety of workers in some of the world’s most dangerous jobs, particularly those employed by shoddy contracting firms that cut corners to save money. The law, they say, holds developers and contractors accountable for keeping job sites safe.
Response: We need the Scaffold Law to help level the playing field and protect workers.
10. Albany Corruption
Albany has been the center of corruption scandals in recent years, during which more than a dozen New York assemblymen and senators have been charged with corruption or convicted. What measures, in your opinion, are necessary to ensure that Albany’s culture of corruption does not continue?
Elected officials must be role models and held to higher standards. We need more transparency and there should be no tolerance for misconduct. Public officials must set a positive example. I'm proud of who I am and what I have done. That's why I always wore a button, so people can come up to me and tell me what is on their mind. And I'm proud that I've built a record of integrity
11. Legalization of Marijuana.
Do you support passing legislation allowing the use of marijuana in New York State for medicinal purposes? Recreational? Both?
12. Police Militarization
Eric Garner, a 40-year old African American man from Staten Island died suspiciously while in N.Y.P.D. custody. Michael Brown, an unarmed 18-year-old black man, was shot dead by police in Ferguson, Missouri. Entire mosques in New York and New Jersey were labelled as "terrorist" organizations by an N.Y.P.D. special surveillance unit, as reported by the AP in the fall of 2013. (Mayor de Blasio shut down that unit in April.) a. What strategies have you taken, or would you take, to deal with the problems of racism and increased militarization of local police? b. Would you be in favor of using the budget process to ensure that police are peace keepers, as opposed to a quasi-military force (i.e. by limiting local, state and federal budget appropriations for additional weapons)?
Response: As Chair of the Council Black, Latino and Asian Caucus, I took the lead advocating an end to “Stop and Frisk” as it was performed and that the Department’s own numbers showed that hundreds of thousands of law abiding New Yorkers every year were being stopped, and the vast majority are black and Latino.
13. Vision Zero
Are you in agreement with the Mayor that the state legislature should allow the city more control in the administration of traffic safety measures such as speed reduction? Are you in agreement with the three elements at the center of the Mayor de Blasio’s plan - reducing the citywide speed limit and increasing the number of cameras to catch drivers who speed or ignore red lights? The City’s Taxi and Limousine Commission has been exploring initiatives to help further the Mayor’s goal of zero pedestrian deaths, such as installing black box recording devices to record driver behavior in TLC-licensed vehicles, forming an enforcement squad with speed guns to enforce speed limits, installing new technology in cabs that could limit vehicle speeds, warn of an impending crash, sound an alarm if the driver speeds and even reduce the fare or shut the meter if the driver is traveling too fast. However, as studies have shown, the crash rate as a result of taxis and livery cabs is actually lower than those of other vehicles. What do you think is most necessary to ensure vehicle safety on the roads and highways?
Response: Through neighborhood based traffic initiatives, we must make the streets safe for all. It means more enforcement, more education and more cooperation and understanding by pedestrians, cyclists, and drivers.
14. Lightening Round:
Please provide a yes or no answer to the following questions. If you can’t provide a simple yes or no, please provide a brief explanation. (25 words total – all 4 questions.)
Abortion - Do you support a women’s right to choose? Yes
Marriage Equality: Do you support same-sex marriage? Do you believe all 50 states should allow marriage equality? Yes. And Yes.
Hobby Lobby: Do you support the "Boss Bill," which would update New York's labor laws to ban an employer from citing religious freedom as a reason to deny women reproductive health care — including access to birth control and infertility treatments? Yes.
Do you believe corporations should have the legal status of personhood? No.
Do you support Net Neutrality, and are you willing to publicly state this position? (For example, in a petition or comment letter to the FCC.) Yes.
These are the responses of former Councilmember Robert Jackson, candidate for state senate in District 31. To read the responses of his opponent, Adriano Espaillat, click here.
Adriano Espaillat's Responses to DFNYC's 2014 Questionnaire
Adriano Espaillat's Responses to our Issue Questionnaire
State Senate - Dist. 31 - Uptown & west side of Manhattan
Yes. I have been an outspoken advocate for campaign finance reform that includes a matching funds system and eliminates the “multiple LLC” loophole that has empowered the real estate industry at tenants’ and the general public’s expense.
The McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission verdict is a major setback for reducing the influence of money in politics; I strongly support measures to undo this perversion of the democratic system.
The 31st Senate District has more rent-stabilized units than any other district in New York City – I am proud to have the endorsement of Tenants PAC and committed safeguarding and expanding the emergency tenant protection act that has ensured affordable more than 2 million New Yorkers. I proudly support the repeal of both vacancy decontrol and the Urstadt Law; after it was revealed that 421-a tax breaks had been awarded to luxury developments targeted towards billionaires, I was the first elected official to call for their repeal.
Select news clips from my record on housing issues:
Espaillat Led the Charge for Repealing Tax Breaks Given to Luxury Housing for Billionaires. “A group of state lawmakers wants to undo legislation passed this year that singled out five luxury housing developments in Manhattan for property tax breaks. “Espaillat and Brad Hoylman, along with 10 other pols, sent Gov. Cuomo a letter Wednesday asking him to help repeal the controversial provision. Writing, “It is critical that we correct this outrageous symbol of waste and special interest privilege.” One of the five projects is One57, a 90-story luxury tower on W. 57th St. that reportedly sold two penthouses for $90 million each. [Daily News, 07/24/2013]
Espaillat Named “Democratic Pointman” to Renew Rent Laws in 2011. “Uptown state Sen. Adriano Espaillat is technically a freshman, but he has become the Democratic pointman in Albany's tug-of-war over rent regulations. The regs, which shelter more than 1 million apartments in the city from full market-rate rents, expire June 14…On the strength of his prior 14 years in the Assembly, Espaillat was tapped as the ranking minority Democrat on the Senate Housing Committee. And he's chief sponsor of the same tenant-friendly omnibus rent regulations bill passed three days ago by the Democratic Assembly.” [Daily News, 04/14/2011]
Espaillat Intervened on Behalf of Tenants Facing Unfair Rent Hikes. “State investigators are probing an uptown real estate mogul for hiking tenants’ rent — by double digits rates — sparking a fierce housing battle in Washington Heights. Residents reported their woes to state Sen. Adriano Espaillat (D-Washington Heights), who then contacted the state agency. ‘I’m excited that the state housing agency will be taking action in the near future,’ said Espaillat, who noted that 19 families were affected by the rent hike.” [NY Daily News, 1/15/14]
Espaillat Stood Up for Foreign-Born Tenants Facing Harassment and Intimidation. “A battle cry to mobilize uptown tenants against a disgusting rat problem has ignited a potential court fight to protect foreign-born residents from what they say are bullying tactics on the part of the landlord. Espaillat and Councilman Mark Levine fired off letters Monday to the state Tenant Protection Unit and federal Department of Housing and Urban Development asking the agencies to probe the allegations. “We cannot allow this discrimination to be tolerated,” the officials said. [Daily News,04/29/2014]
Yes, I strongly supported legislation creating a permanent UPK revenue stream by taxing the wealthiest New Yorkers, and will continue to do so. The $300 million we were able to secure this year was an incredible victory, but we must ensure this funding continues, and also allocate the companion afterschool funding the Mayor called.
a) Improvement in student test scores
b) Professional observations by other teachers
c) Student surveys
d) Whether the teacher has an advanced degree
e) Classroom observations of the teacher by principals or other education professionals
f) Principals’ unannounced observations of teachers.
I have strong reservations over the use of test scores for assessment purposes that do not take into account student composition, including English Language Learners, and student requiring Individual Learning Plans. Doing so encourages schools to game the system, and focus on securing preferred students instead of ensuring all students’ needs are addressed.
In particular, I have continually cited the disproportionally small enrollment ELLs in New York City charter schools as a problem that must be addressed; have stated that until this enrollment gap is closed, their effectiveness cannot be fairly measured.
I support a variety of assessment methods – but I strongly value peer assessment, and the evaluations performed by professional educators. I am proud to have the support of the United Federation of Teachers in this campaign, and I will continue to work with them to fight for appropriate assessment standards that do not penalize teachers for taking on the challenge of providing an urban education in difficult circumstances.
When mayoral control of the schools is up for renewal next June, it seems likely that it will be renewed, but with significant changes.
a. Do you favor:
I am committed to using the Mayoral Control reauthorization process to increase parental and community stakeholder power. This includes expanding the role of district CEC and individual School Leadership Teams, particularly on portfolio planning and zoning issues where parents have struggled to obtain accurate growth projections from DOE.
Common Core’s implementation has been disastrous on many fronts: from poor-quality Spanish language materials, to inadequate community outreach and explanation, to the insufficient training that was provided to teachers and educators. I have supported a moratorium on the use of Common Core assessments unlike our community is satisfied it has been given proper resources for this transition. I have specifically raised the quality of non-English language materials issue with SED.
More broadly, I was a staunch supporter of the successful push to reign in the rising and excessive amount of standardized testing that New York kids are subjected to, which interrupts classroom learning, by banning testing in grades kindergarten through second grade.
Would you vote to allow NYC to collect the tax from people from the suburbs who work in NYC and benefit from our services (police, fire, etc.)? Yes.
Would you support efforts to collect the tax from people who actually live in New York City but use a second home (a loophole not available to middle class New Yorkers with just one home) to avoid the city wage tax? Yes.
Do you support progressive taxation? Yes.
Would you support a federal financial transaction tax to either raise revenue, reduce the practice of high frequency trading, or both? Yes. I am on record as supporting the “Robin Hood Tax” bill proposed by Congressman Keith Ellison. In the 2014 13th Congressional District primary, I was the first candidate to support this proposal, and was heartened that other candidates changed their position in response to my statement of support.
New York State's recent minimum wage increased to $8 an hour, 75 cents above the federal minimum and the old state rate. It's the first of three incremental boosts that were approved by the Legislature and Gov. Cuomo . The minimum for most workers will increase at the end of 2014 to $8.75 an hour and to $9 an hour a year after that. The minimums for workers in the restaurant industry who get tips may remain $5 an hour, with employers able to raise the maximum tip credits to $3 an hour the first year, $3.75 the second and $4 after that. Earlier this year, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, a Democrat, and legislative leaders quickly shot down a proposal by Mayor Bill de Blasio to let New York City set its own minimum wage. Advocates for New York’s working poor were disappointed, saying the minimum wage should be $15 an hour and include workers who get tips. We at DFNYC feel no one should ever endure the kind of economic humiliation that comes with working a full-time job and making a less-than-living wage. Do you support State Senator Daniel L. Squadron’s bill to raise the minimum wage for many low-paid workers, calling for a $15-an-hour “fair wage” for employees of McDonald’s and Walmart and other businesses with yearly sales of $50 million or more?
Yes. I have been a leader within the Democratic Conference in the fight for minimum wage, and was the first to introduce legislation permitting New York City to set its own minimum wage. It is essential that this be indexed to inflation, so its purchasing power does not erode over time.
I support the push towards an 80/20 development model; closing a variety of loopholes that developers have used to shirk their responsibilities. This year, I proposed an Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone (UMEZ) reform plan to shift public subsidies away from big box stores and developments like East River Plaza (in East Harlem, a Bruce Ratner project) towards local small businesses and employers paying good wages and benefits.
I opposed the West Side Stadium project in Manhattan. In contrast, my opponent strongly supported it when he was in the City Council.
b. Much has been made of Mayor de Blasio’s pledge to build or restore 200,000 additional units of affordable housing in New York City. However, another issue that has not received nearly enough attention has been the lack of sustainability in New York City. What would you propose to ensure more green buildings are built and greater energy efficiency is met in existing structures?
A critical way to achieve energy efficiency is through transit-oriented development, to ensure that development occurs near public transportation; and expanding transit options in areas within rising population density. I support a concentrated push for this across the state. I have also pushed to maintain and expand weatherization subsidies, particularly for low-income households and neighborhoods.
c. Another issue in New York City is a lack of sunlight caused by the amount of tall buildings.
Would you support changes to zoning laws for thinner, smaller, greener structures being built?
Existing laws regulating “sliver buildings” prevent blighted conditions that existed throughout New York’s history and blocked low-income homes from sufficient light exposure. The limitations against conditions like this are sensible.
d. What is your opinion of NY Labor Law 240, otherwise known as the Scaffold Law? Contractors, property owners and insurers argue that the law is antiquated and prejudicial against contractors and property owners, and essentially absolves employees of responsibility for their own accidents, leading to huge settlements. The payouts, they contend, have in turn led to skyrocketing insurance premiums that are hampering construction and the state’s economic growth. But a counter-lobby of unions, workers’ advocates and trial lawyers argue that the law is essential to ensuring the safety of workers in some of the world’s most dangerous jobs, particularly those employed by shoddy contracting firms that cut corners to save money. The law, they say, holds developers and contractors accountable for keeping job sites safe.
I do not support amending the Scaffold Law; viable support for this issue does not currently exist within the legislature.
Enacting sweeping campaign finance reform is a critical step for eliminating corruption reducing the influence of special interests in Albany. I have also supported making the NYS Legislature a full time job, as I interpret it to be, to eliminate conflicts of interest.
I have supported and voted for medical marijuana legislation this year; I continue to support marijuana decriminalization.
Eric Garner, a 40-year old African American man from Staten Island died suspiciously while in N.Y.P.D. custody. Michael Brown, an unarmed 18-year-old black man, was shot dead by police in Ferguson, Missouri. Entire mosques in New York and New Jersey were labelled as "terrorist" organizations by an N.Y.P.D. special surveillance unit, as reported by the AP in the fall of 2013. (Mayor de Blasio shut down that unit in April.)
a. What strategies have you taken, or would you take, to deal with the problems of racism and increased militarization of local police?
I have been a persistent critic of counterproductive policing tactics primarily used under the previous mayoral administration, that violated civil liberties, including stop and frisk and the unrestricted surveillance of New York’s Muslim communities. I started my career as a NYPD Precinct Community Council Chair, and I have consistently forged working partnerships between Upper Manhattan communities and the NYPD, through effective collaboration on local issues and sought consensus whenever possible.
b. Would you be in favor of using the budget process to ensure that police are peace keepers, as opposed to a quasi-military force (i.e. by limiting local, state and federal budget appropriations for additional weapons)?
Yes. Our Police Department must be given all the resources it needs to be successful, and ensure the well being of its officers. But this does not require the use decommissioned military equipment; I would support using the legislative and budget process to codify this protection.
Are you in agreement with the Mayor that the state legislature should allow the city more control in the administration of traffic safety measures such as speed reduction?
Yes, and I began sponsoring legislation in 2013 to grant New York City permanent home rule over speed and red light camera governance, so the city does not need state approval for basic lifesaving measures.
I was an early supporter of Vision Zero, and have been endorsed by StreetsPAC in this campaign.
Are you in agreement with the three elements at the center of the Mayor de Blasio’s plan - reducing the citywide speed limit and increasing the number of cameras to catch drivers who speed or ignore red lights?
Yes, I have been a co-sponsor these initiatives, including the 2013 bill creating the speed camera pilot program, and this year’s successful push to reduce the city speed limit.
The City’s Taxi and Limousine Commission has been exploring initiatives to help further the Mayor’s goal of zero pedestrian deaths, such as installing black box recording devices to record driver behavior in TLC-licensed vehicles, forming an enforcement squad with speed guns to enforce speed limits, installing new technology in cabs that could limit vehicle speeds, warn of an impending crash, sound an alarm if the driver speeds and even reduce the fare or shut the meter if the driver is traveling too fast. However, as studies have shown, the crash rate as a result of taxis and livery cabs is actually lower than those of other vehicles. What do you think is most necessary to ensure vehicle safety on the roads and highways?
I support an “all hands on deck” approach to reducing the disproportionately high rates of traffic violence in Upper Manhattan and the West Side. I have proposed and supported slow zones, pedestrian plazas, street redesigns, speed cameras. And I believe that new regulations require enforcement to be successful; ensure the safety of pedestrians and cyclists.
Abortion - Do you support a women’s right to choose? Yes.
Marriage Equality: Do you support same-sex marriage? Do you believe all 50 states should allow marriage equality? Yes, I have consistently voted for marriage equality legislation since its first Assembly floor vote in 2007, and worked to build support within the Latino community in the run-up to the successful 2011 Senate vote.
Do you believe corporations should have the legal status of personhood? No!
Do you support Net Neutrality, and are you willing to publicly state this position? (For example, in a petition or comment letter to the FCC.) I support net neutrality, and will continue to state this publicly.
These are the responses from Adriano Espaillat, incumbent State Senator in the 31st District. To read the responses of his opponent, former City Councilmember Robert Jackson, click here.
Zephyr Teachout's Responses to DFNYC's 2014 Candidate Questionnaire
Zephyr Teachout
Candidate for Governor of New York
Would you support a change to full public financing of campaigns, similar to the Clean Money Clean Elections programs in Arizona, Connecticut and Maine?
Yes. The way to fix the broken system is to provide public financing for all statewide and legislative elections. In New York City and Connecticut, public funding has increased the influence of voters and small donors, diversified who contributes, and enabled a greater variety of candidates to run for office. Already, public funding has empowered middle class families to shape
policy, achieving reforms like paid sick days, and empowered more women and minorities to stand as candidates. Public funding of elections will bring us closer to achieving real democracy.
What is your opinion of the Supreme Court’s decision of McCutcheon v. FEC and its potential impact on NY campaigns?
Contribution limits are crucial to fighting real and perceived corruption. The devastating impact of this case will be to further amplify our State’s problem with money in politics. Barring the passage of publicly financed elections and increased regulations for state party housekeeping accounts New Yorkers’ faith in our elected representatives.
What is your opinion of Governor Cuomo’s actions toward the Moreland Commission?
Governor Cuomo should never have disbanded the Moreland Commission. His decision to close down a public investigation into corruption is deeply disturbing. His justification for it – that negotiations with lawmakers in closed discussions had rendered the Commission obsolete – reveals how little respect the Governor holds for the public and for public accountability. His actions squandered a huge opportunity to bring meaningful change to Albany. Instead, Governor Cuomo has reinforced and replicated existing corruption.
If Governor Cuomo directed or knew about Larry Schwartz’ actions, the Governor should resign. At the very least Schwartz should be fired. It’s hard to believe that Schwartz was not acting with the Governor’s knowledge.
I’m a property law professor. I strongly favor the repeal of the Urstadt law and believe in some degree of local control. The City Council and Mayor should have the authority to set housing laws. I also support rent stabilization and rent control laws.
Yes. We live in an exceptional state in one of the greatest cities in the world. As such, everyone should pay their fair share to enjoy these privileges. I support state legislation allowing Mayor de Blasio to raise marginal income tax on the wealthiest residents of New York City to support this program.
The over reliance on high stakes testing is problematic. Instead, we should be taking steps that keep good teachers in the classroom. There is no evidence to support the idea that basing teacher evaluations on test scores is educationally valid and I have a great deal of concern that this practice will encourage educators to simply teach-to-the-test. The primary objective of teacher evaluations should be to improve the quality of teaching. There is clear evidence that the most effective way to do this is to create a collaborative climate within schools, not a competitive climate between teachers. To facilitate this teacher mentoring programs are key which is why professional observations by other teachers are essential to effective evaluations. Principal observations are important. One positive feedback available from teachers regarding the new evaluation system is that the in depth interaction between principals and teachers is a valuable professional experience. Thorough interactions of this type, both between principals and teachers and between teacher mentors and teachers who are new or struggling are important to improving the quality of teaching and to retaining teachers. Student surveys can also make a valuable contribution to the teacher evaluation process--particularly if the focus is on aiding teachers to improve their craft. The entire issue of teacher evaluations has to be seen in a larger context where blaming teachers for the challenges our schools face is part of a larger political agenda on education reform.
Do you favor:
• Changing to a hybrid system, where power would be shared by the mayor and a school board,
One of the current parts of mayoral control that has caused the most controversy is the public hearing process. When the DOE proposes a change to a school or school building (co-location of a charter school, approval of a new school, phase out or "closing" of a school deemed to be failing), there is a joint public hearing (a "JFH") at the school building, where parents, teachers, students and other community members
can voice their concerns. But the ultimate vote is later, with the city-wide Panel for Education Policy (the "PEP"), a Board of appointees from the Mayor's Office and the Borough Presidents' Office. Critics say far from being a democratic process, the structure of the PEP and its hearings make it essentially a rubber stamp for whatever the DOE has already decided. Even some supporters of mayoral control have conceded this point and found PEP hearings to be mostly a waste of time for all parties involved. On the one hand, government officials need to plan and make decisions about schools and buildings in a timely, efficient matter. On the other hand, important decisions about schools should have a public hearing process and be made with community input. What are your ideas for balancing these interests, specifically in terms of changing the mayoral control legislation?
Under Mayor Bloomberg the PEP was in fact a rubber stamp, it voted with Bloomberg 100% of the time. The process of the PEP votes was essentially a meaningless charade. The only time the PEP was prepared to vote against the Mayor he fired several at will PEP members before the vote in order to secure the outcome he desired. New York City has the most extreme form of Mayoral Control in the country. There are reasons for optimism under Mayor de Blasio in that he has appointed educators and parents to the PEP who have real connections to local communities and he has pledged to let them make independent decisions. However, the PEP should have fixed terms to ensure that no matter who appoints them they can make independent decisions. It is important to remember that while Mayor Bloomberg named this panel as the PEP under state law it is actually the school board for the City of New York and it should have all the powers of a school board. School closings and co-locations should be significantly curtailed compared to what happened under Mayor Bloomberg. School closings should be a course of last resort rather than an educational strategy and co-locations that are hostile to existing schools should not be allowed. The Community Education Councils are the bodies you refer to which are responsible for the Joint Public Hearings along with the DOE. The CECs are currently powerless bodies that are supposed to give parents voice, but do not have any structural power. The CECs should have the power to reject closing and co-locations in schools in their districts. This is the only way to ensure that local parents have an actual voice in decision making. In 2014 there were policy changes that are directly relevant to mayoral control. Specifically the state mandated that in New York City if charter schools request a co-location then the City either must provide that co-location or must pay rent for that charter school in other space. This provision, which does not apply to any other locality in the state, should be repealed as part of the renewal of school governance laws in 2015. School governance is important, however, there have been multiple forms of governance in NYC over time. In fact there was a different form of mayoral control over 100 years ago, there has been a central school board that was not controlled by the mayor and there has been 32 locally elected school boards. Each system had flaws in terms of the education of the students. While I have not fully developed all of my positions on this, I do believe that the 2015 school governance legislation should address key educational strategies which may prove more important than governance itself. I would be interested in requirements that make the NYC DOE address overcrowding and require adequate resource investment and supports in struggling schools for instance. The focus on governance process sometimes overwhelms the need to focus on educational strategies--both are important.
a. Do you favor continued support of Common Core standards in New York? NO
b. Do you support the Common Core curriculum that has been developed in New York? NO
Common Core was a top-down approach to a deeply complex problem; there are no silver bullets in education reform. As a lawyer and activist, I participate in press events and rallies to highlight concerns around Common Core. As Governor, I would take what I have learned from families and concerned citizens at these events to reform Common Core for the betterment of New York State’s children. To do this properly it is essential that classroom educators, school administrators, parents and possibly even students are engaged in the development of standards and curriculum. NYS has placed more focus on raising the difficulty of the tests than on raising the quality of curriculum and instruction. If we are going to provide a higher standard of education, we cannot do that by simply making tests harder and expecting more of educators and students. We need to invest in our schools. New York has one of the greatest gaps in the inequity of school funding in the entire nation. The state is obligated to fulfill the Campaign for Fiscal Equity funding in order to begin closing this gap. Governor Cuomo has made no effort to do so. I would make fair and adequate school funding a top priority so we can get past the rhetoric of higher standards and actually provide a higher quality education particularly in poor communities which have suffered from decades of underfunded schools.
Would you vote to allow NYC to collect the tax from people from the suburbs who work in NYC and benefit from our services (police, fire, etc.)?
I’m not sure. It’s a complicated issue. I would do a comprehensive review of taxation and then carefully think about how to allocate the cost.
Would you support efforts to collect the tax from people who actually live in New York City but use a second home (a loophole not available to middle class New Yorkers with just one home) to avoid the city wage tax? YES
Do you support progressive taxation? YES
Would you support a federal financial transaction tax to either raise revenue, reduce the practice of high frequency trading, or both? YES. I support this both because it will make our markets more fair - by discouraging predatory high frequency trading - and could generate significant revenue in
Yes, I support Senator Squadron’s bill to raise the minimum wage as well as legislation that would give localities control to set the minimum wage above the state level, not below. New York is an extraordinary state, and we should have an economy that matches our capacity. Yet Governor Cuomo’s economy works primarily for a few big businesses, one that enriches the rich and strangles opportunities for the rest of us. Extreme consolidation has enabled a few giants to hike prices, squeeze supply, and unfairly trample competitors. The game is rigged, and the evidence is all around us. We face staggering inequality of wealth and opportunity, at levels unseen since the Gilded Age. Unemployment continues to soar even as corporate profits are booming. I am completely committed to local wage authorization. I strongly support paid sick days and paid family leave insurance, so that no parent has to choose between paying the bills and nursing a sick child. I support making it easier for workers to unionize. If a banker can join his ten friends to form a corporation, why should it be any harder for a factory worker to join his ten buddies to form a union?
This is a huge issue. I would push to eliminate subsidies that incentivize costly high rise buildings at the expense or to the exclusion of affordable housing. One of the best ways to increase affordable housing is to hold on to the affordable housing we have in New York. This means strong laws at the state level that are focused on middle and working class tenants and homeowners, not landlords, real estate developers and banks. I will also work with local officials to bring more resources and a better use of resources to NYCHA so that the problems facing residents can be fixed efficiently and safely.
b. Much has been made of Mayor de Blasio’s pledge to build or restore 200,000 additional units of affordable housing in New York City. However, another issue that has not received nearly enough attention has been the lack of sustainability in New York City.
What would you propose to ensure more green buildings are built and greater energy efficiency is met in existing structures?
I am in support of a public works program that would retrofit existing buildings to make them more energy efficient. We can accomplish this through a combination of mandates, public investments, and incentives should be implemented to ensure our buildings are more energy efficient.
c. Another issue in New York City is a lack of sunlight caused by the amount of tall buildings. Would you support changes to zoning laws for thinner, smaller, greener structures being built
In theory, yes. But I would have to learn more about the issue and existing policy proposals to understand if there might be other costs to these changes in zoning law.
I support the Scaffold law. It protects some of our most vulnerable workers. Everyone deserves the right to a safe and healthy work environment. While we cannot protect construction workers against all accidents we must offer workers the legal protection they deserve by holding those responsible accountable.
First and foremost, New York state should pass a publicly financed elections system modeled after New York City’s. Below is a starting list of policies as Governor I would focus on enacting
Empower the Attorney General to prosecute public corruption cases, especially those involving election law
Webcast all legislative proceedings for both houses
Increase disclosure and itemization of discretionary funds, such as lump sum funds and member items, and require reporting on the funds’ usage
Clarify the definition of coordination between candidates and political committees to ensure proper reporting
Require two periodic campaign finance reports be filed during the session
Close soft money loopholes - transfers from party committees to candidates should be limited to twice the limit that is set for individual contributors
Restrict campaign contributions from those who do business with the state and registered lobbyists
I support the legalization of marijuana. At a minimum, New York State must immediately decriminalize small amounts of marijuana possession, on the path to eventual legalization. This would drastically reduce the number of marijuana arrests, an overwhelming percent of which are just for possession. Worse, these arrests disproportionately target young African-Americans and Latinos.
These arrests cost taxpayers tens of millions of dollars annually and needlessly introduce young people to the criminal justice system while saddling them with permanent criminal records. Being stigmatized this way has huge long-term consequences, making it far harder to find a job or get into school. We should be expanding opportunities for young blacks and Latinos rather than foreclosing them. Ending arrests for 15 grams or less of marijuana would help ensure our criminal justice system doesn’t lock up thousands of our young men for petty crimes. We should support legislation that decriminalizes small amounts of marijuana, and should propose a system to regulate and tax marijuana in ways similar to how state law treats alcohol. This new approach would end decades of costly and counterproductive policies that reinforce racially discriminatory outcomes and foreclose promising futures.
I have called for a review by the Superintendent of Police and chairs of the Judiciary committees into what form militarization has taken in NY.
b. Would you be in favor of using the budget process to ensure that police are peace keepers, as opposed to a quasi-military force (i.e. by limiting local, state and federal budget appropriations for additional weapons)? Yes.
Cities should have much more autonomy, and power should be devolved from Albany.
We have not yet done a policy paper on this yet. I would need to learn more about the issue before prescribing a policy.
Abortion - Do you support a women’s right to choose?
Marriage Equality: Do you support same-sex marriage? Do you believe all 50 states should allow marriage equality?
Hobby Lobby: Do you support the "Boss Bill," which would update New York's labor laws to ban an employer from citing religious freedom as a reason to deny women reproductive health care — including access to birth control and infertility treatments?
Do you believe corporations should have the legal status of personhood?
Do you support Net Neutrality, and are you willing to publicly state this position? (For example, in a petition or comment letter to the FCC.)
These are the responses of Zephyr Teachout to our 2014 DFNYC questionnaire. To read the responses of her opponent in the Democratic primary, incumbent Governor Andrew Cuomo, click here.
Gov. Cuomo's responses to DFNYC's 2014 Candidate Questionnaire
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo
Candidate for Re-Election to Governor of New York
Yes. I have supported and continue to support public financing.
The Supreme Court decision speaks for itself. However, my Administration has repeatedly advanced proposals to reform the election system in New York to include a voluntary public funding system for campaigns and robust disclosure of political donors. A small donor matching system for campaigns allows candidates to raise money from ordinary citizens, rather than relying on a few wealthy donors. Further, requiring timely electronic reporting of contributions provides transparency on campaign financing. These reforms that have been advanced by the my Administration would boost accountability, curb corruption, and increase the voice of ordinary citizens in New York elections. I remain committed to exploring ways to improve the system in a new term.
My Administration strongly supports rent stabilization and rent control laws--passing one of the strongest strengthening of rent regulations in four decades. Affordable housing is essential to the fabric of the state, preserving communities and protecting New York’s middle class. The 2011 rent regulations proposed by my Administration and passed by the Legislature give tenants the strongest rent regulations in nearly 40 years and protect more than 1 million New Yorkers from skyrocketing rent. Among the important pro-tenant changes, the measure raises the deregulation rent threshold for the first time since 1993 and raises the income threshold for the first time since 1997. From 1994 to the present day, more than 238,000 apartments were removed from the rent regulation system, leaving middle class New Yorkers with fewer affordable housing options. Without this law, it is estimated that more than 100,000 additional apartments would have been lost to decontrol in the next few years. The regulations ensure that these units will stay in the rent regulation system and remain available for hard-working New Yorkers. The new rent regulations, which will be in effect until 2015, include the following pro-tenant changes: raises the deregulation rent threshold from $2000 to $2,500, raises the income threshold from $175,000 to $200,000, limits landlords to collect only one vacancy bonus per year, reducing the manipulation of leases in order to push units out of the system, and changes how improvements are calculated and verified for individual apartments, which will reduce a landlord’s ability to abuse these renovations as a tool to force units out of regulation. Further, as mentioned above, in 2011, New York passed the greatest strengthening of the state’s rent laws in forty years, and in February, my Administration created a new Tenant Protection Unit at HCR. This new unit is proactively preventing problems and rooting out fraud before it affects the lives of rent-regulated residents. The unit is now enforcing landlord obligations to tenants, and its ability to impose strict penalties for failure to comply with HCR orders and New York’s rent laws has already yielded an enormous increase in compliance, including the number of landlords now properly registering their properties with the state.
My Administration has pushed for increased resources for pre-K programs ranging from legislation that authorizes school districts to provide transportation services to Universal Pre-Kindergarten students to legislation that expands funding for Pre-K program state-wide. My Administration remains open to explore additional ways that he can increase resources for pre-K programs statewide.
a) Improvement in student test scores b) Professional observations by other teachers c) Student surveys d) Whether the teacher has an advanced degree) Classroom observations of the teacher by principals or other education professionals f) Principals’ unannounced observations of teachers.
A hallmark of my Administration has been the creation and implementation of the APPR--teacher evaluation system. The system relies on multiple measures (e.g. classroom observations, student artifacts, surveys, and student growth on assessments) which has been recognized as a fair and balanced approach and was supported by teacher stakeholders including NYSUT and UFT.
When mayoral control of the schools is up for renewal next June, it seems likely that it will be renewed, but with significant changes. Do you favor:
b. One of the current parts of mayoral control that has caused the most controversy is the public hearing process. When the DOE proposes a change to a school or school building (co-location of a charter school, approval of a new school, phase out or "closing" of a school deemed to be failing), there is a joint public hearing (a "JFH") at the school building, where parents, teachers, students and other community members can voice their concerns. But the ultimate vote is later, with the city-wide Panel for Education Policy (the "PEP"), a Board of appointees from the Mayor's Office and the Borough Presidents' Office. Critics say far from being a democratic process, the structure of the PEP and its hearings make it essentially a rubber stamp for whatever the DOE has already decided. Even some supporters of mayoral control have conceded this point and found PEP hearings to be mostly a waste of time for all parties involved. On the one hand, government officials need to plan and make decisions about schools and buildings in a timely, efficient matter. On the other hand, important decisions about schools should have a public hearing process and be made with community input. What are your ideas for balancing these interests, specifically in terms of changing the mayoral control legislation?
My Administration would consider new proposals on mayoral control in a new term. The specific terms of any legislative proposal would have to be reviewed and analyzed.
Do you favor continued support of Common Core standards in New York?
Do you support the Common Core curriculum that has been developed in New York?
What will you do – or have you done – to assist parents, teachers, and others in the education community that have raised concerns about Common Core?
My Administration continues to support Common Core standards in New York. However, my Administration recently advocated for and was successful in passing laws to protect students and teachers from the mishandled roll out of the Common Core.
Would you support efforts to collect the tax from people who actually live in New York City but use a second home (a loophole not available to middle class New Yorkers with just one home) to avoid the city wage tax?
Do you support progressive taxation?
Would you support a federal financial transaction tax to either raise revenue, reduce the practice of high frequency trading, or both?
I have passed income tax reform in New York State to be more progressive and fair. These are all complicated budgetary and policy issues that are more appropriately addressed in the legislative and budgetary context. For example, progressive taxation cannot be appropriately evaluated without understanding the impact (if any) on existing or proposed corporate taxation structure and property tax structure.
I signed legislation updating the state’s minimum wage law to align it with the cost of living in the state. The minimum wage will now be raised from $7.25/hour to $9.00/hour over three years, beginning with $8.00 by the end of 2013, $8.75 by the end of 2014, and $9.00 by the end of 2015. I strongly believe that a reasonable minimum wage increases the standard of living for the most vulnerable members of the workforce, reduces poverty, and encourages fair and more efficient business practices. My Administration remains open to exploring other ways to ensure fair wages for workers.
Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that as part of the plan to accelerate affordable housing construction at the site, the City’s Housing Development Corporation (HDC) will provide financial support to ensure the delivery of two 100% affordable housing buildings, totaling at least 590 units, and construction will begin by December 2014. The buildings will accommodate a broader range of family incomes—including those with very low incomes—and feature a greater mix of family-sized units that reflect the community’s needs. Consistent with its affordable housing plan’s commitment to maximize the returns on every dollar, the administration secured nearly twice as many units of affordable housing for its investment compared to the first building under construction at the Atlantic Yards site.
A few months ago, my Administration announced a comprehensive plan to accelerate the development of Atlantic Yards, including a fast tracked timeline for delivery of affordable housing. The new plan will shorten the completion timeframe to build 2,250 affordable apartments by ten years, from 2035 to 2025. Additionally, the deal will create a board, the Atlantic Yards Community Development Corporation, to provide input on development, housing, and community impact throughout the completion of the project.
My Administration announced the launch of the New York Green Bank, which will help to catalyze the private market for clean energy. It is the largest green bank in the nation, with an initial capitalization of $210 million for the $1 billion initiative, using a self-sustaining business model. The Green Bank is seeking to remove market barriers for private financing of renewable energy and energy efficiency projects. Further, my Administration announced a nearly $1 billion commitment to NY-Sun over the next decade to help the industry grow and reach sustainability. Since launching the NY-Sun program in 2012, Governor Cuomo has quadrupled the amount of customer-sited solar power installed annually in New York. The New York solar market now employs over 5,000 highly skilled jobs across 400 companies statewide. In addition, my Administration has set aggressive targets for energy reductions and efficiencies in public buildings and the first ever state law to promote homeowners to retrofit their homes with the onbill financing program.
c. Another issue in New York City is a lack of sunlight caused by the amount of tall buildings. Would you support changes to zoning laws for thinner, smaller, greener structures being built?
Yes, under appropriate circumstances.
My Administration has and continues to engage with business leaders and the labor community to attempt to address concerns that the Scaffold Law is increasing insurance costs for contractors and owners, which in turn has an impact on small businesses. Achieving a balance has been critical to obtaining legislative support.
As Attorney General and as Governor I have and continue to support comprehensive ethics reform including requiring disclosure of clients doing business with the state that are represented by legislators before the state and disclosure of how much they get paid, requiring the creation of an independent body to provide oversight and enforcement of ethics rules because, as we have seen in the past, self-policing does not work, requiring lobbyists to disclose any business relationship with legislators in excess of $1,000 and stripping pensions from those public officials convicted of a felony related to the abuse of their official duties.
Yes, I signed legislation to establish a medical marijuana program for New York State. The new law includes provisions to ensure medical marijuana is reserved only for patients with serious conditions and is dispensed and administered in a manner that protects public health and safety.
12. Police Militarization.
My Administration has and will continue to explore meaningful ways to address police practices that are racially disparate. For example, I introduced legislation a few years ago to modify the impact of stop and frisk. While stop and frisk can play an important role in the prevention of crime, there are also significant costs, including a deterioration of relationships between community residents and law enforcement, and the reality that stops fall disproportionately on communities of color and, in particular, on the young. Tangential to the stop and frisk problem is the rising number of arrests for marijuana possession. State law makes “open view” possession of 25 grams or less of marijuana a misdemeanor, while possession of the same amount of marijuana in the home is a violation—a non-criminal offense punishable by a fine. Police arrest 100 times more people for this offense and these arrests comprise the single largest category of arrests in New York City, accounting for 15 percent of all NYC arrests and 20 percent of NYC misdemeanors. The effects of those arrests fall almost entirely on Black and Hispanic individuals—82 percent—and largely on the young: 52 percent are under 25 and 69 percent are under 30. I sought to bring parity to the law and decriminalize public view with 15 grams or less.
Yes, I signed a bill authorizing New York City to lower its speed limits from 30 to 25 miles per hour. The law seeks to lower the number of vehicle and pedestrian accidents in New York City and supports the State’s ongoing effort to make roadways safer. The law allows New York City to lower its default speed limit, which is the speed at which drivers should operate their vehicle in areas where the speed limit is not posted within the City.
Marriage Equality: Do you support same-sex marriage? Do you believe all 50 states should allow marriage equality? Yes.
Hobby Lobby: Do you support the "Boss Bill," which would update New York's labor laws to ban an employer from citing religious freedom as a reason to deny women reproductive health care — including access to birth control and infertility treatments? Yes, assuming any legislative proposal can withstand constitutional scrutiny and achieves the balance between 1st and 14th amendment protections as recognized by the Supreme Court.
Do you support Net Neutrality, and are you willing to publicly state this position? (For example, in a petition or comment letter to the FCC.) Yes. This year I authored a law to strengthen state review of cable mergers and acquisitions to protect consumers across the state and will continue to advocate for such consumer protections.
This are the responses of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo to our 2014 DFNYC questionnaire. To read the responses of his opponent in the Democratic primary, Zephyr Teachout, click here.
NYS Senate Dist 20 - Brooklyn
NYS Senate - District 20
Former State Senator Eric Adams won his race for Brooklyn Borough President (endorsed by DFNYC!), so there is now an open seat in this central Brooklyn district. The lines were significantly redrawn after the 2010 census, and it is now farther south.
Election Date: September 9, 2014
Neighborhoods: (Brooklyn) Sunset Park, Gowanus, Prospect Heights, Crown Heights, Prospect Lefferts Gardens, Brownsville (This district changed significantly after 2012 redistricting).
Candidates: (in alphabetical order)
Rubain Dorancy (D)
Jesse Hamilton (D)
Demetrius Lawrence (D) -dropped out
Links & More Info:
Meet the Candidates Vying to Replace Eric Adams, DNA Info, May 2014
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Bridget Brice
Bridget Brice:
A great choice for a role needing some glamour but with a confident, business-like edge, Ms Brice may be familiar as Cowley's secretary from 'The Professionals', or from some other cop shows of the '70s including 'Z-Cars' and 'The Sweeney'.
Damsel in distress in 'Department S'
Further TV appearances include 'Department S' and three different characters in the long-running private detective series, 'Public Eye' starring Alfred Burke. In addition to those Euston Films secretary roles, she also appears in 'Doctor at Sea', 'Doctor in Charge', 'Howard's Way', 'Coronation Street', 'Man at the Top' with Kenneth Haigh, and was memorable as Sal Hawke, a criminal mistress-mind in 'Dick Turpin' with Richard O'Sullivan. She also has the distinction of playing the unlikely girlfriend, Pippa, in 'Sorry!', who finally rescues Ronnie Corbett's timid Timothy Lumsden from his manipulative mother.
With Richard O'Sullivan in 'Dick Turpin'
Movie-wise you can catch her, uncredited, among the British talent in Mel Brooks' 'The Twelve Chairs' (1970), the ecologically apocalyptic 'No Blade of Grass' (1970), and forgotten caper movies 'Loophole' (1981) and 'Real Life' (1984), as well as a fleeting role in the movie version of 'George & Mildred' (1980).
With a dashing Frank Langella in 'The Twelve Chairs' (1970)
Bridget Brice-imdb
Labels: Betty, Bridget Brice, cheekbones, Cowley, Department S, Dick Turpin, Frank Langella, glamour, Loophole, Mel Brooks, No Blade of Grass, Professionals, Real Life, Sorry!, Sweeney, topless, Twelve Chairs
Alan Dobie
Alan Dobie:
Alan Dobie seems a rather dour, astringent sort of actor, but perhaps that's because I find it a little difficult to separate him from the character of Inspector Cribb, as seen in the '80s Victorian detective series of that name. His career on the big screen has been one interesting oddities, with early roles including 'Captured' (1959), originally an army training film about resisting interrogation that has come to be seen as a classic POW drama, and the Brit-noir 'Seven Keys' (1961) in which he plays an ex-con unravelling a mystery while seeking hidden loot.
In 'Captured' (1959), a military training film that remained
unseen by the general public until 2004
He also appears in the popular Disney adventure serial, later released as a feature film, 'Dr Syn, Alias The Scarecrow' (1963) opposite Patrick McGoohan as the eponymous smuggler, and he's in the curiously seedy Kenneth More drama, 'The Comedy Man' (1964).
In the Walt Disney adventure serial 'Dr Syn' (1963)
For much of the '60s and '70s, he became a stalwart of the television play, appearing in various strands such as 'The Wednesday Play', 'BBC Sunday-Night Play', 'Theatre 625', and 'Play For Today'. He also in some heavy drama serials like 'Resurrection', 'The Plane Makers', 'War and Peace' and 'Hard Times', before getting the starring role in 'Cribb', itself a spin-off from an original play. Other highlights of the '80s include the post-'Secret Army' series 'Kessler', the highbrow, but rather fleshy, drama-documentary about the life of Ingres, 'Artists and Models', and the tour-de-force portrayal of Rabbi Moses Ben Nachman in the medieval religious debate of 'The Disputation'.
As Prince Bolkonsky in the 1972 BBC epic 'War and Peace'
As befits such an accomplished actor, he's more often been seen on the stage and is a regular of the Peter Hall Company at the Old Vic Theatre in London and the Theatre Royal, Bath.
Alan Dobie - imdb
Labels: Alan Dobie, Captured, Christopher Lee, Cribb, Dr Syn, Ingres, Kessler, Romney Marsh, Seven Keys, The Disputation, War and Peace, White Mischief
John Castle
John Castle:
A serious actor, strikingly handsome in a sullen way, looking rather like a cross between Derek Jacobi and Oliver Reed. Trained at RADA, he hit the acting scene with a modest bang, securing early appearances in 'Blow Up' (1966), 'The Lion in Winter' (1968), and the most talked-about TV show of the day, 'The Prisoner', though he didn't seem to quite grab the public imagination like some of his illustrious young contemporaries. He played Caesar in Charlton Heston's unloved film version of 'Antony & Cleopatra' (1972) and the Duke in 'The Man of La Mancha' (1972), but then things seemed to go a little bit quiet.
As Number 12 in 'The Prisoner' episode 'The General'
At the circus with Charlton Heston in 'Antony & Cleopatra' (1972)
There was a certain amount of television drama in the late '60s and early '70s, such as Johnny Speight's 'If There Weren't Any Blacks You'd Have to Invent Them' and a sprinkling of one-offs like 'ITV Sunday Night Theatre', and 'The Wednesday Play'. His next high profile role was as Postumus in the BBC's toga-ripper 'I, Claudius', which seemed to kick-start another spate of varyingly prestigious work. There are quite a few costume dramas and period pieces, which seem to suit his austere, brooding presence, such as 'The Fight Against Slavery', 'King John', 'Lillie', 'Penmarric' and a Jeremy Brett 'Sherlock Holmes'. He also plays Teddy, the destructive love-interest in 'The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie' with Geraldine McEwan. There were also a few action and police jobs like 'Strangers', 'The New Avengers', 'Softly, Softly' and 'The Professionals'. Not much in the way of comedy.
In the BBC's 2013 Christmas ghost story, MR James's "The Tractate Middoth'
The '80s and beyond have seen more of the same on TV, with the emphasis on providing some slightly sinister class to cosy crimes, ho-hum hospitals and political potboilers. Less cosy, perhaps, was the unenviable job of portraying racist historian David Irving in 'The Holocaust on Trial'. The big screen has also not been as forthcoming with good parts as one might hope, offering only the likes of 'RoboCop 3' (1995), Finnish mid-ocean thriller 'Merisairas' (1996), the Richard Gere Old Testament epic, 'King David (1985) and a few others.
He is, however, in the excellent Mark Gatiss adaptation of the MR James ghost story, 'The Tractate Middoth', which is where I was reminded of his great presence and ability.
Salvte.
John Castle - imdb
Labels: Blow Up, I Claudius, John Castle, Lillie, Lion in Winter, Lovejoy, Penmarric, Poirot, Professionals, RoboCop 3, Sherlock Holmes, Speight, Strangers, The Prisoner, Tractate Middoth
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First Church of Christ, Scientist, Richmond
Practical Christianity for everyday living
Sunday Service at 10.30am
Wednesday at 8pm
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Exit West by Mohsin Hamid
In the later afternoon, Saeed went to the top of the hill, and Nadia went to the top of the hill, and there they gazed out over the island, and out to sea, and he stood beside where she stood, and she stood beside where he stood, and the wind tugged and pushed at their hair, and they looked around at each other, but they did not see each other, for she went up before him, and he went up after her, and they were each at the crest of the hill only briefly, and at different times.
This is the most beautiful book I've read since Marilynne Robinson's Gilead. Hamid's writing is poetic, but deliberate and matter of fact. Exit West tells the story of Nadia and Saeed, who fall in love in an unnamed Middle Eastern city as it descends into civil war. Saeed and Nadia escape the violence through one of the mysterious doors that begin to appear all over the world and throw global order into chaos. No one knows where the doors will appear or where they go, but when one steps through, they can find themselves in Mykonos one minute and the bedroom of a vacant mansion in London the next. As a result, the refugee crises we know now are amplified by virtually unrestricted migration. Nadia and Saeed's world becomes more and more dangerous and uncertain, but their story is told on a personal level, which both detaches the reader from the global disorder and heightens the drama, for when it is seen through the eyes of individuals who aren't omniscient, it seems more realistic.
Exit West doesn't try to take on too much and is better for it. Despite the violence all around, there isn't a lot of action and nearly no dialogue. Still, Hamid's descriptions paint vivid pictures of his characters and the changes that they must confront. In addition, through his characters he is able to consider what it means to be a migrant and what it means to be a native, and how those descriptions can shift over time. This is really a spectacular book; one of the best I've read in a long time.
Brittany's Top 5 in 2018
I have never waited this long to write my end of the year post, and I really wish I hadn’t. I have already read 8 books this year and now 2019 and 2018 are swirling in my head. The way I feel right now in this moment about reading is clearly not how I felt for almost all of 2018. I read 22 books, which is just two more than my lowest year and a whopping 45 fewer than my highest year. I wrote 1 book review (joining the chorus of bloggers saying Sorry Chris!). In spite of my mostly lackluster year, I spent the last week of December at home with a large stack of books and fell back in love with reading.
22 complete books read (8 audiobooks, 9 non-fiction or memoirs, 10 young adult, 1 book of poems, 1 book of short stories, 1 re-read
22 authors (the only repeat was Neal Shusterman)
16 women authors, 6 men authors
21 living, 1 dead (RIP Michelle McNamara)
14 authors with nationalities/ethnicities besides white American: Nigerian American (Nnedi Okorafor), Senegalese African American (Issa Rae), African American (Roxane Gay, Rebecca Hankins, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Colson Whitehead), Latinx (Miguel Juárez, Celia C. Pérez is Mexican Cuban American, Elizabeth Acevedo is Dominican American, Benjamin Alire Sáenz and Erika L Sánchez are Mexican American), Creole and white (Nina LaCour), and British (Kate Atkinson)
Note: every author in Where Are All the Librarians of Color? The Experiences of People of Color in Academia is written by a person of color, but for the ease of numbers I only included the editors in my calculations for this book
Things that stand out compared to previous years: I am no longer reading for grad school which definitely changes what my reading looks like. As it has every years since I finished my MA in English literature, the percentages of women authors continues to increase (57% in 2015, 62% in 2016, 66% in 2017). In 2018 72% of the authors I read were women. This year, like last year, about two-thirds of my authors were non-white or non-American.
1 . Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
I have nothing new to say about this short non-fiction book except that it is as excellent as everyone continuously says it is. It is absolutely essential reading for anyone who is not Black in America. It was especially important for me because I do read many books by Black women, but not very many by Black men. In 2017 I didn’t read a single book by a Black man, so I definitely need to hear what Coates is saying.
2 . Difficult Women by Roxane Gay
And yet, this year I picked up my first Roxane Gay book, and I can’t believe it took me so long. I read a lot of books written by or about women, but it is still a total luxury to pick up a book of short stories and know that every single one will center a woman’s story. I liked some stories more than others, but all of them made me feel something powerful.
3. The First Rule of Punk by Celia C. Pérez
This middle reader (recommended grades 3-6) is a top book for me because it does something almost no book has done: it reminds me of me. Like Malú, I have a white parent and a Mexican parent and I spent my youth listening to punk music, making zines, and getting dresscoded.
In the past few years I keep having these moments where I see a woman on the screen doing something that women never get to do (Ghostbusters, A Wrinkle In Time, Wonder Women) and think, “This is what men feel all the time.” Or I would see a person of color on the screen doing something POC never get to do (A Wrinkle In Time, Black Panther, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse) and think, “This is what white people feel all the time.” Reading this book brought me to tears because it was seeing me and my identity and my experiences on every single page. It was wonderful to read this in my 30s, but it would have been absolutely magical to read it when I was in school. Representation is so important, and I really hope the publishing pipeline starts valuing #ownvoices and #weneeddiversebooks.
4. The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
I am almost always a fan of a novel that has interconnected stories and shifting narrators, so I was interested in this book both for both its structure and subject. Randy and I read this book together in between watching Roots (the 1977 version). The novel and the miniseries helped contextualize each other, especially because I received a standard white American education when it came to slavery (which is to say I knew almost nothing until I went to college and started taking literature classes). I appreciated that I read it with Randy - it is a hard heavy book, and I am glad I didn’t have to process it alone.
5. The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender
I originally read this in 2010 or 2011. I have a vivid memory of finishing the book because friends were picking me up to go see a movie, and I sat in the backseat and ignored them while I finished the last few pages and cried. I have no idea what movie we saw. When I was teaching English, if I ever had the need for a perfect opening page or a perfect paragraph or a perfect sentence, I would reach for this book:
On the counter, she’d set out the ingredients: Flour bag, sugar box, two brown eggs nestled in the grooves between tiles. A yellow block of butter blurring at the edges.
I cannot look at a block of butter without thinking of this book, and I love lemon cake. Randy took this book on our annual two-week camping/road trip, and he finished it in Congaree National Park. I immediately picked it up and didn’t put it down until I was finished, sighing in the tent and turning off my headlamp. It’s scary to reread a book you love so much, especially if your life is very different than it was when you first held it to your chest, but this book is one that always feels like home.
The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo: a young adult novel told in verse by our protagonist, Xiomara Batista, a Dominican American living in Harlem. I listened to this as an audiobook, so I missed out on the pleasure of seeing the poems laid out on the page, but it is narrated by Acevedo herself which is a treat.
Where Are All the Librarians of Color edited by Rebecca Hankins and Miguel Juárez: this edited volume has 13 chapters written exclusively by academic librarians of color. Librarianship is 86% white, but academic librarianship (librarians who work in colleges and universities in various capacities) is even whiter. I make up part of the 3% of academic librarians who are Latinx, so this book meant a lot to me.
Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City by Matthew Desmond won the Pulitzer Prize in General Nonfiction. The book follows eight people and families in Milwaukee, WI, one of the most segregated cities for renters in America. Six people are being evicted and two are landlords doing the evicting. I have been privileged enough to never face an eviction notice, so this book was particularly eye opening for me.
Posted by Brittany at 12:44 AM 0 comments
American Indian Writings, Legends, and Other Writings by Zitkala-Sa
The melancholy of those black days has left so long a shadow that it darkens the path of years that have since gone by. These sad memories rise above those of smoothly grinding school days. Perhaps my Indian nature is the moaning wind which stirs them now for their present record. But, however tempestuous this is within me, it comes out as the low voice of a curiously colored seashell, which is only for those ears that are bent with compassion to hear it.
We all saw it: the kid from a Kentucky Catholic school smirking at and staring down a Native activist of the Omaha tribe. I won't link to it or post the picture; I'm sure you can bring it to mind. It was one of those small moments that in and of themselves mean very little, but become targets of nationwide scrutiny because they capture so well the central conflicts of our current era. And of course they bring out whiteness' committed defenders, armed with excuses and rationalizations: It's the Native who started it; it was the Black Israelites who started it; it's not a smirk; he's just a kid.
The he's-just-a-kid brigade especially fails to see that the kid's youth is exactly what disturbs those of us who are disturbed; what we see is the perpetuation of oppression, mockery, and racism into new generations. That perception was subsequently confirmed by the kid's manufactured apology and his talk show tour and the predictable dissecting of every mistake Phillips ever made. But despite the spin the image remains. The smirk that puts a man in his place, draws him out of political invisibility only to isolate and reduce him, to turn him into a joke, something like a cigar store Indian or the crying Indian of the old "Keep America Beautiful" campaign. The Indigenous People's March, the Native American's claim for a political and cultural voice, recedes, superseded again by the narrative that whiteness wants to tell.
Anyway that was the context in which I read this collection of the writings of Zitkala-Sa, a Sioux activist from the late 19th and early 20th centuries who was one of the first Native Americans to claim a cultural voice in American culture. Zitkala-Sa was born as the United States was completing its long and bloody campaign to remove Native tribes from their land and place them on reservations; she was fourteen when hundred of men, women, and children were killed at Wounded Knee. She grew up in the era of assimilationist boarding schools; she attended and later taught at the infamous Carlisle Indian School in Pennsylvania. (Overlapping with football legend Pop Warner, but not Jim Thorpe, who came a little later.) Leaving Carlisle behind, she became an activist and writer whose work appeared in The Atlantic and who later founded the National Council of American Indians. This collection brings together several of her works: a series of traditional Dakota stories, poetry, political speeches and polemic, and pieces of memoir and fiction.
There were three sections here that I really loved. First, the traditional Dakota stories. They focus mostly on the figure of Iktomi, a "spider fairy" and trickster god who actually seems to spend most of his time getting tricked by other people. Iktomi gets bested by the avenger, a brave with a magic arrow born out of a clot of buffalo blood. Other stories tell about Iya, the camp eater, who appears as an abandoned baby, then waits until his rescuers are asleep to devour the entire village. Native American myths like these--if I can generalize here--have an irregular, discursive quality that make them continually surprising and fresh. And these tales are where Zitkala-Sa's skill as a writer shien most:
"To ride on one's own feet is tiresome, but to be carried like a warrior from a brave fight is great fun!" said the coyote in his heart. He had never been borne on any one's back before and the new experience delighted him. He lay there lazily on Iktomi's shoulders, now and then blinking blue winks. Did you never see a birdie blink a blue wink? This is how it first became a saying among the plains people. When a bird stands aloof watching your strange ways, a thin bluish white tissue slips quickly over his eyes and as quickly off again; so quick that you think it was only a mysterious blue wink. Sometimes when children grow drowsy they blink blue winks, while others who are too proud to look with friendly eyes upon people blink in this cold bird manner.
The next is a three-part memoir that details Zitkala-Sa's childhood on the plains, her departure to Carlisle on the "iron horse" (the railroad, that is), her abortive attempt at teaching and her eventual return. The cycle of leaving and return is literal and symbolic; the stories are structured to show the progression from enthusiasm about white civilization to disillusionment and psychological return, a process sometimes derisively called going "back to the blanket." Zitkala-Sa presents boarding school as bewildering and humiliating for the young Native: her language is disallowed, though she knows no English; her symbolic hair is cut. "During this time," she writes, "I seemed to hang in the heart of chaos." And yet only partial return is possible, even Zitkala-Sa's mother, skeptical from the beginning of the motives and methods of white schooling, has moved from her wigwam to a log cabin by the time that Zitkala-Sa comes back home. The memoir illustrates how Dubois' idea of double consciousness applies to the Native American as well as to black Americans, and how strange it is to feel alienated from your ancestral home.
The final piece that stood out to me is a story called "The Widespread Enigma Concerning Blue-Star Woman." It has something of the strange discursiveness of the Dakota myths; it doesn't quite fit traditional Western notions of story and conflict and climax. Blue-Star Woman is a Sioux woman who has been unable to prove her membership in the Sioux tribe, and has been dispossessed from her share of tribal land. Two schemers, both also Sioux, come to help her be added to the tribal rolls in exchange for half the land she receives. But the tribe, who doesn't know Blue-Star Woman, feels once again dispossessed of their land. The chief, High Flier, writes a letter, thinks better of it, burns it, and is arrested for arson--and while in prison has a dream in which an animated Statue of Liberty finally turns her lamp toward the tribal lands. It's weird and complex: couldn't it suggest American power turning its vision toward the land it wants to take, rather than providing liberty to Native Americans (most of whom weren't even American citizens)?
The dream is emblematic of Zitkala-Sa's ambivalent attitude toward the U.S. government: even while her memoir rejects the assimilationist attitudes of the Indian schools, elsewhere in her polemical work she appeals to traditional American notions of greatness, even in ways which seem strangely nationalist to my ears. One piece, appealing for citizenship, is called "Americanize the First American." "It is a tragedy to the American Indian and the fair name of America," she writes, "that the good intentions of a benevolent Government are turned into channels of inefficiency and criminal neglect." That seems like a wildly generous characterization of the government who killed Sitting Bull and perpetrated the massacre at Wounded Knee. Is it a sign of a woman who knows her audience, or a sincere vestige of her assimilationist schooling?
Either way, while this incredibly dumb and infuriating news cycle played itself out, it felt necessary and gratifying to turn to a Native voice speaking for itself. If Zitkala-Sa's polemical writings are spin, at least they're her spin and nobody else's.
Labels: American Indian Writings, native americans, Sioux, South Dakota, Zitkala-Sa
Strangers from a Different Shore: A History of Asian Americans
The migrants were unique in a felicitous way: they were dreamers. They could imagine what they could do in an unformed America, and their dreams inspired them to take risks. They wondered what they could become, unfurled before the winds of change and challenge . . . . Ah, but the world is big, others warned them: Do you know the meaning of immensity? And they answered: We will tell you someday when we get back. The migrants felt their hearts tugging them toward an alluring America as they separated themselves from the graves of their ancestors and from a world where there were common points of reference and where people looked like them and spoke their languages. They reached for "what persisted."
Ellis Island, yes, but what of Oahu or Angel Island, the immigration stations where immigrants from Asia first entered the United States? And what of their history, a history going back to the mid-nineteenth century and accounting for roughly 7% of the current U.S. population?
Professor Takaki seeks to tell this story in his history of Asian Americans: it has the familiar elements of immigrant stories: racism, exploitation, resilience, strength. Professor Takaki describes two waves of immigration.
The first wave describes immigration from China, Japan, Korean, the Philippines, and India from the 1850s until the start of World War II. For each group, the story is similar: the poverty of their home country coupled with the promise of the United States spurred the immigrants to leave. Many found themselves working in farms in Hawaii. There, plantation owners used ethnic divisions between each group of immigrants to prevent them from organizing together and demanding better working conditions. Nonetheless, Professor Takaki explains, the groups of immigrants and the native Hawaiian population still constituted a majority of the population of Hawaii. A fact that matters because racism against immigrants in Hawaii was, compared to the mainland, tame.
The immigrants who found their way to the mainland--whether from California or directly from their home countries--encountered virulent, and often violent, racism. Asian immigrants were perceived as a threat to white manual labor. This financial anxiety helped fuel racial fears of an Asian invasion of the West Coast, leading to the series of exclusion acts that eventually prohibited immigration from each of the Asian countries.
Although I've generalized each group's story for this summary, Professor Takaki describes each separately, providing explanations for how differences in each group's immigration and culture caused differences in how they settled (mainland v. Hawaii; which groups immigrated with women v. not; why some groups created enclaves of their own economic development; etc. etc. etc.). For me one of the highlights (there were many) was answering a longstanding question I've had about film noir: What's up with all the references to Chinatown (see, e.g., here, here, and here)? By the 1920s, Chinatowns had become a tourist destination:
Tourists were shown a fantasy land, a strange place they had read about in Bret Harte's stories and had seen in Hollywood movies about Fu Manchu and Charlie Chan. Guided through the narrow allies of this "wicked Orient," tourists were warned by white guides to stick together and not to stray from the group lest a hatchet man get them. The visitors peered into the dark shadows of the dimly lighted alleys "lit by flickering gas jets, which increased the sense of mystery" and saw "evil looking Chinaman, in the employ of the guides, slink back and forth, carrying knives and hatchets and providing atmosphere and local color." The tourists were told about dark, underground tunnels filled with opium dens, gambling joints, and brothels where slave girls were imprisoned. They were even taken to fake opium dens, led down ladders to a strange subterranean world where smokers were "sunk" in the bestial lethargy or the ecstatic dreams inspired by the drug." They were also shown "false lepers," and as they toured the markets of Chinatown, they were told that certain cuts of meat in the Chinese butcher shops were "carcasses of rats."
This all a show, of course, and much objected to by the Chinese community that was powerless to stop what the tourist industry was forcing upon them.
World War II was a watershed for Asian immigration. For all but Japanese immigrants, World War II motivated many Asians in the United States to start thinking of themselves as American. The war also caused the United States to rethink its immigration policies: Japanese propaganda criticized the exclusion acts and acts of racism against Asian immigrants; U.S. policy makers realized the criticisms were a little too accurate, and so repealed most the exclusion acts. For the Japanese population in the United States, World War II was more complicated. Internment was unjust, but how to overcome? Some reacted by trying to fight the internment (a la Korematsu), while others reacted by trying to prove their patriotism.
Following World War II, and the United States's self-perception as a world leader of democracy, civil rights and treatment of Asian Americans improved, leading to a second wave of immigration of Asian Americans. This second wave, Professor Takaki notes, differed from the first wave of immigration. Where the first wave of immigrants were mostly laborers in their home country, the second wave included large numbers of professionals. This second wave also included large numbers of Vietnamese refugees fleeing fall out from the end of the U.S. presence in Vietnam.
Professor Takaki covers much more in his 500+ page book (e.g., what's up with the model minority myth; why is affirmative action a difficult issue for Asian Americans). But, this review is already too long.
In his introduction, Professor Takaki explores how must students learn about East Coast immigration, but West Coast immigration is usually unmentioned. This was the case for me. Although, if asked, I would have said, "Yes, obviously Asian immigration is part of the American story," I never thought about it or the stories behind it. This book fills this gap in an important way. I would not say that everyone needs to read it, but at least parts of this history should be included in how U.S. history is taught. Not only is this book important for its substance, it's also beautifully written. Professor Takaki fills it with poems and excerpts of letters written by Asian Americans; he also includes personal notes about himself or his family. The fact that this is so well written is part of why Orientalism, which I started long before starting Strangers, is sitting untouched on my nightstand while this book is now finished.
One final point, by way of conclusion: I started reading this book about four months ago. The debate over the border wall was not in its current high fever state. But, as I was wrapping up this book, it struck me how little progress we have made. The fears of yesteryear are the fears of today: they'll take our jobs; they'll bring crime; they will ruin us. These fears were groundless then, and with hindsight easy to dismiss as ignorant.
But, alas, history repeats.
Barabbas by Par Lagerkvist
He had used his power in the most extraordinary way. Used it by not using it, as it were; allowed others to decide exactly as they liked; refrained from interfering and yet had got his own way all the same: to be crucified instead of Barabbas.
They spoke of his having died for them. That might be. But he really had died for Barabbas, no one could deny it! In actual fact, he was closer to him than they were, closer than anyone else, was bound up with him in quite another way. Although they didn't want to have anything to do with him. He was chosen, one might say, chosen to escape suffering, to be let off. He was the real chosen one, acquitted instead of the son of God himself--at his command, because he wished it. Though they suspected nothing.
In the Gospels, Barabbas is a "notorious prisoner" held by Pilate at the same time as Jesus. Pilate asks the crowd which of the two they would like to see released as part of a Passover rite of pardon, and they choose Barabbas. Par Lagerkvist's novel Barabbas imagines the life of Barabbas after his pardon, traveling up to Golgotha to see the man who is crucified in his stead, hanging around the empty tomb. Barabbas is haunted by Jesus, a man he's never met, but who literalizes one of the core facets of Christianity by dying in his stead.
At first, Barabbas has a kind of didactic fable-like quality to it. The contours of the novel seem pretty apparent: Barabbas, obsessed with this man who is linked to him by sacrifice, learns to become a Christian. Lingering around the nascent Christian community of Jerusalem, he's told that their only ideology is "Love one another," and as hard as it is for the criminal and murderer to understand, it seems to us both simplistic and doctrinaire. But the early Christians are not great at living this creed; they are suspicious of Barabbas, both for his connection to Jesus and his aloofness. Is Barabbas lovable, even by the Son of Man? It seems almost impossible, but such is the mystery of the crucifixion.
The book is best when it leaves Jerusalem, and the immediate context of Jesus' death, behind. It flash forwards several decades: Barabbas, having returned to a life of crime, has been captured and enslaved in the copper mines of the East. He's chained to a fellow criminal named Sahak, a Christian who has Jesus' name scrawled in Greek on the back of the golden medallion that identifies him as a slave. One of the best things about Barabbas is its insistence that Christianity is essentially a slave religion, one that upturns traditional notions of power. "I too have long been thinking of believing in this god," says their Roman overseer when he catches them talking about Jesus, "But how can I? How can I believe anything so strange? And I who am an overseer of slaves, how can I worship a crucified slave?" We, for whom Christianity has been wedded to power for decades, if not centuries, forget that it is a slave religion at heart: disdainful of worldly power, predicated on its abnegation. Jesus paradoxically uses his power "by not using it," as Barabbas notes.
When Sahak explains that the mark on his medallion professes Jesus as his true master, Barabbas has a realization: "Now Barabbas knew that he too was a Christian and that he was God's own slave." But it's not the pat transformation the beginning of the book made me expect. Sahak becomes God's slave of his own free will; Barabbas feels like Jesus' crucifixion in his stead has given him an involuntary claim over him. When the Roman asks if, like Sahak, Barabbas is a Christian, he says no, and he doesn't lie. He is not a believer, he doesn't want to "love one another"; his relationship to God is exactly as voluntary as his relationship to his slavers. Barabbas lingers outside Christianity, drawn to it because of his pardon but never embracing it. He is aloof from everything. Can Jesus redeem such a man, Lagerkvist asks? And if not, how do we make sense of the fact that Barabbas is the first man for whom Jesus sacrificed himself? Is the Barabbas who claims not to be a Christian really the first one?
The novel ends with Barabbas being crucified for another crime. Does this nullify his pardon? Does it suggest that Barabbas, unwilling to accept his reprieve, has God's favor withdrawn from him? At the last he speaks not to God, but to "the darkness" of death, saying, "To thee I deliver up my soul." "Very negative ending," the former owner of my copy wrote in a very polite script. But I'm not so sure. Barabbas reminds me of nothing more than the whiskey priests and lapsed Catholics of Graham Greene, who somehow always find themselves loved and absolved despite their intransigence and apostasy. Barabbas represents something of that central mystery.
Labels: Barabbas, nobel prize, Par Lagerkvist, sweden
Florida by Lauren Groff
Still, what would bright-eyed Puc-Puggy have seen of Florida before the automobile, before the airplane, before the planned communities, before the swarms of Mouseketeers?
A damp, dense tangle.
An Eden of dangerous things.
Lauren Groff's Florida isn't the Florida of Disneyworld or Sea World or strip malls or even South Beach: it's a kind of primeval jungle that lurks at the edge of civilization and threatens constantly to overtake it. It's the snake- and reptile-collecting hobby of the brutish father in the story "At the Earth's Round Imagined Corners." In these stories dogs are always wandering and off and going wild, as the title of "Dogs Go Wolf" implies, and children too, when they're abandoned on an island in the keys. A panther prowls through the cover and past the cabin of "The Midnight Zone." And eventually, the stories abandon Florida, stretching out to Brazil and France (twice), though even the main character of "Yport" admits that "[o]f all teh places in the world, she belongs in Florida. How dispiriting, to learn this of herself." She needn't feel embarrassed; it's the old and crumbling civilization of the Normandy coast that doesn't quite measure up to the allure of Floridian wildness.
The protagonists of Groff's stories tend to be disaffected women. Some are mothers, one is a caretaker for her own mother, but they run the gamut from mildly to deeply unhappy. The narrator of "Ghosts and Empties" gives an account of the landscape she jogs through because she can't bear to consider the unhappiness of her own marriage. They imagine intimate relationships instead with historical men: In "Flower Hunters," it's early Florida explorer William Bartram; in "Yport," it's Guy de Maupassant.
Their disaffected nature leads to a kind of paralysis that gets unfortunately reproduced in the narrative. "Ghosts and Empties" is the worst offender, a slice of Floridian atmosphere that goes around and around like the jogger-narrator, and I thought it was an unfortunate opener for the collection. But you see it also in "Above and Below," in which the narrator whose acedia is so strong she drops purposefully out of polite society and into homelessness, and "Salvador," which begins with an interesting premise--a woman visiting Brazil by herself is caught in a vicious rainstorm, where she is saved by a local who may or may not have sexual designs on her--but descends into a wan fever dream. Better is "For the God of Love, for the Love of God," which, while a little bit overstuffed, manages to tell a tight little story about adultery and alienation among four friends in a chalet outside of Paris.
There are some inspired moments here. I liked especially the moment in "The Midnight Zone" in which the mother-figure, having received a dangerous blow to the head without a way to get to a hospital, imagines herself projected into the panther slinking outside. My favorite is probably "Snake Stories," a bloodred little story that uses the serpent in the Garden of Eden, and its Floridian descendants, as a metaphor for rape. But most of the stories left me wanting more: a little more danger rather and less threat of danger, a few more snakes.
Labels: florida, Lauren Groff, short stories
Burning Down the House by Charles Baxter
I myself am an ex-poet. My friends the poets like me better now that I no longer write poetry. It always got in the way of our friendships, my being a poet, and writing poems. The one thing that can get a poet irritated and upset is the thought of another poet's poems. Now that I do not write poetry, I am better able to watch the spontaneous combustion of poets at a distance. The poets even invite our contemplation of their stormy lives, and perhaps this accounts for their recent production of memoirs. If you didn't read about this stuff in a book, you wouldn't believe it.
"There are a number of wild claims here," Charles Baxter says in the introduction to his collection of essays, Burning Down the House, "an occasional manic swing toward the large statements." They are "meant to be playful rather than ponderous," but they are meant to perform the title action of dismantling the understanding we have of literature, the kind that is so ubiquitous that we barely notice it. You can see that kind of fence-swinging in his statement on poets, whose lives are rarely the kind you would "wish upon your children." That seems a little more Ezra Pound than Mary Oliver to me, but it serves as a preface to a thoughtful essay that examines the way that narrative fiction, like poetry, has its own kind of rhyming, and like poetry it suffers if the rhyming is too clunky or exact.
I don't know if Baxter succeeds in burning down anything, but I did come away from these essays feeling like I had noticed things about modern literature that were beyond my sight. "Against Epiphanies," for example, shows just how reliant we have become on sudden realizations, though they are only rarely to be found in life as it's really lived. When we begin to expect epiphanies from our fiction we create false expectations and a kind of staleness: "The old insight train just comes chugging into the station, time after time."
Several essays deal with the ways in which our narratives have become deprived of meaningful action, especially wrong or villainous action. In one, he connects this symptom to the passive Nixonese that is still the lingua franca of the political class: "Mistakes were made." "In an atmosphere of constant moral judgment," he writes, "characters are not often permitted to make interesting and intelligent mistakes and then to acknowledge them." Instead, we write fiction as therapy, in which characters unearth traumas that explain their actions but rob them of agency. "The injury is the meaning" in these agentless narratives, "although it is, itself, opaque." A Thousand Little Acres receives special opprobrium. In another essay, he links our distaste for melodrama--defined as something like the work of evil for its own sake against innocence--to the cultural disappearance of the devil:
Satan as a figure is dead, but evil continues, without, however, someone to answer for it. Evil is more evil than ever, even when we have no name for it and no Satanic figure to blame for it. We still have melodrama, however: the honorable narrative house of horror and the unforgivable.
I got this book because it was on a list, somewhere, of great books about writing. It is a great book about fiction, but I'm not sure it's a great book about writing. Really interesting writing books are often full, I have found, of useless advice. Not necessarily wrong, but not useful, at least not for my purposes:
As an undergraduate I was taught that when a writer starts a story, s/he must begin with a character, an active, preferably vivid, ideally sympathetic, character. It takes a bit of time to see that stories don't in fact begin with characters, not from here, at least, not from behind this keyboard. They begin with words, one word after another.
Although I would never tell a student to make a character sympathetic (much better to make them a nasty little shit), I do tell them to begin with character. And it's not because that's what good fiction always does--though I don't think it's true in any meaningful sense that it begins with words, one word after another, either--but because it disorients students from the way they see writing as about plot and action. Baxter wants to return action, and moral agency, to the center of fiction, but students have trouble when it comes to retrofitting characters to the kinds of stories they want to tell. If they want to write a story about an alcoholic dad (and they do), they will fit the character into that box, but if you have them think about what kind of person the dad is and what he wants and how that manifests in action, the story begins to look more like life. And in fact, I think teenagers are especially susceptible to the kind of void in agency that he critiques, partially because they have yet to develop a critical eye toward the kind of narratives they consume, and partially because their own lives are pretty free of meaningful agency.
Anyway. The essays here are thoughtful and clever, wry and colloquial in style, and filled with illustrations from Flannery O'Connor and Marilynne Robinson and Donald Barthelme and Sylvia Townsend Warner in a way that seems mostly borne out of love. (Not poor old Jane Smiley, though.) It gave me a lot to think about in my own writing, even if it didn't make me want to burn down the whole house.
Labels: Burning Down the House, Charles Baxter, writing
Blues Legacies and Black Feminism: Gertrude "Ma" Rainey, Bessie Smith and Billie Holiday by Angela Y. Davis.
The former slaves economic status had not undergone a radical transformation - they were not less impoverished than they had been during slavery. It was the status of their personal relationships that was revolutionized.... Sexuality thus was one of the most tangible domains in which emancipation was acted upon and through which its meanings were expressed. Sovereignty in sexual matters marked an important divide between life during slavery and life after emancipation.
I noticed a pile of these books at The Strand while Christmas shopping and thought it was kind of published with me in mind - a prominent 60's radical writing literary criticism about blues music? What's not to love?
And I did enjoy this very much, though it is thinner than it appears. Literally, it is a 200 page essay with another 220 pages of lyrics, endnotes and sources, so you appear to be reading a tome when the whole thing is very brief. It is solidly argued, but some of it is a testament to the academic practice of taking common knowledge and re-stating it in intellectually precise terms. Take the final sentence quoted above - "Sovereignty in sexual matters marked an important divide between life during slavery and life after emancipation." No one who is even briefly familiar with the blues will be surprised to think of sexuality as an important area of freedom within that art form (Think Muddy Waters, "Mannish Boy" or Duke Ellington's "Rocks in My Bed" or, more to the point, Bessie Smith singing "Gimme a Pigfoot" or "Nobody's Business if I Do." However, it is worth the effort to read a really smart person think this through.
Davis's argument about the last song I just mentioned "Nobody's Business If I Do," is that Smith and Rainey and Holiday use the song to proclaim the importance of their freedom, their agency to engage in whatever relationships they want, whether they meet conventional social standards or not. She finds an unusual strength in Rainey and Smith's laments about abusive, disappearing lovers in that she sees these women owning their own pain and proudly surviving it. The pains of love are real, but they are not the pains imposed by white men, they are pains of free life and these women can handle that freedom.
Davis does an admirable job of discussing how Rainey and Smith, Smith in particular, opened up a space for African Americans to think about love and autonomy, abusive relationships and homosexuality in a popular forum. Davis is unshakeable in her belief that these gutsy, raw performers were artists of the highest order and that their influence on American culture has gone under appreciated. The history of black musicians being urged to take up more European, symphonic styles is harshly critiqued here.
Her inclusion of Billie Holiday in the title is somewhat misleading. There are two essays that touch upon Holiday, whose output was more American Songbook than classic blues. In the first, Davis argues that Holiday's artistry lay in taking mediocre material and making it art. A fine point, but it amounts to fandom more than analysis. She closes with a very solid article on "Strange Fruit" arguing for its place in the center of American protest songs. It is a good essay, but not a hard point to make.
On the whole, this is a great book for the streaming age - spend a day reading about and listening to Ma Rainey and Bessie Smith, with occasional excursions into Alberta Hunter and Sippie Wallace. Not a bad way to pass the time.
Posted by JPLoonam at 9:48 PM 0 comments
Love Medicine by Louise Erdrich
All through my life I never did believe in human measurement. Numbers, time, inches, feet. All are just ploys for cutting nature down to size. I know the grand scheme of the world is beyond our brains to fathom, so I don't try, just let it in. I don't believe in numbering God's creatures. I never let the United States census in my door, even though they say it's good for Indians. Well, quote me. I say that every time they counted us they knew the precise number to get rid of.
One of my favorite stories to teach is Louise Erdrich's "The Red Convertible." It's about Lyman Lamartine, a Chippewa in North Dakota, and his brother Henry who goes to the Vietnam War. Before the war, Lyman and Henry co-own a beautiful red convertible that they take on a road trip to Alaska. After the war, Henry is different, violent, darkened. Lyman tries to bring Henry back to life by banging up the convertible, pretending he's neglected it, and letting Henry fix it. For a while, it works. But then Henry admits that he knew all along it was a ruse, and like all ruses it falls apart once named, and the car follows Henry into the river after he drowns.
It's a beautiful story and good for students. It has a strong voice and a clear central image worth unpacking. It has a clear beginning, middle, and end. I like to use it to talk about narrative economy: no sooner does the hitchhiker they pick up tell Lyman and Henry she's from Chicken, Alaska, than they're up there: "We got up there and never wanted to leave." 2,500 miles compressed into three words--here's an author who knows what matters. The story is as efficient as the convertible itself, and as familiar to me as the car is to Lyman.
I enjoyed seeing it with new eyes, then, in the context of Erdrich's debut collection, Love Medicine. The back of the book calls it a novel, and you could make that argument, since the handful of stories here end up dwelling on a few events from different angles. But maybe because I knew "The Red Convertible" first, I was unable to see it as anything but a collection of loosely connected stories. It begins with "The World's Greatest Fisherman," in which June Morrissey--Lyman's cousin, if I'm reading the Byzantine family tree correctly--dies in a snowbank. June's death brings together her large extended family, the Kashpaws and Lamartines all recognizable from Erdrich's other novels. I found the cast of characters as difficult to keep straight here as in all those sequels--is Gerry the charismatic criminal who keeps escaping from the pen, or is that Gordie?--but I'm amazed how completely developed the whole set was from the very beginning.
If there's something like a central narrative to these stories, it's the love triangle between Nector Kashpaw, his wife Marie, nee Lazarre, and Lulu Lamartine. As a teen, Nector is in love with Lulu, but a chance encounter with Marie, a white girl and ward of the local nunnery, hooks him for life. Yet he returns to Lulu, even as an old man, and at one point sets her house on fire by accidentally dropping a cigarette ash into a love letter he's brought around. It's the fire, not the snowbank, that the book really revolves around: we get to see it from the perspective of each of the three characters. The title story, narrated by Lipsha Morrissey, the lucky and magical narrator of The Bingo Palace, is a masterpiece of high farce in which Lipsha's attempts to return the attentions of Nector, his now senile grandfather, to Marie from Lulu. (Nector ends up choking to death on the turkey heart meant to snare him--I guess you'll have to trust me that that's funny.) I liked Lipsha's canny observation about love among the elderly:
I saw that tears were in her eyes. And that's when I saw how much grief and love she felt for him. And it gave me a real shock to the system. You see I thought love got easier over the years so it didn't hurt so bad when it hurt, or feel so good when it felt good. I thought it smoothed out and old people hardly noticed it. I thought it curled up and died, I guess. Now I saw it rear up like a whip and lash.
I really like Lipsha's voice--casual, a little undereducated, but humble and wise. It's part of what makes The Bingo Palace my favorite of the Erdrich novels I've read. And it really sells "Love Medicine," as well as the final story, in which Lipsha is a third party to a tense standoff between his half-brother King and Gerry the escaped criminal (not Gordie) who is angry at King for snitching on him--and by the way is Lipsha's real father. (See what I mean about the family tree?) The image of the car comes back, this time a sportscar purchased with June's life insurance. Lipsha wins the car in a card game, and drives Gerry to safety across the border, in a car suffused with the spirit of June, his mother. It all feels a little bit like one of those vaudeville routines where ten minutes of setup is required for the punchline, but it's so elegant and effective you can't help but marvel at it. And it works because Erdrich isn't hasty to get there; each story has its own cohesion and independence, but they build on each other in effect--would that final story be as effective if we hadn't the lovely character sketch of the three-hundred pound Gerry, who can disappear like a ghost when the cops come around, in the story "Scales?"
In the end the book's friability, the ease with which it can be separated into parts, ends up making it seem a little less than a novel. The multiplicity of perspectives in Tracks and The Bingo Palace seems a little bit more to a purpose. But perhaps it's more accurate to think of those novels as all part of a greater piece, like the stories here are also.
Labels: Louise Erdrich, Love Medicine, native americans, North Dakota
Billy's top 5 of 2018
What my 2018 year in books lacked in quantity, it made up for in quality. At first I thought of only doing a top 3 so as not to include nearly a third of the books I read in my year end list, but there were just too many good ones to leave out.
5. The Nix by Nathan Hill
Sometimes you just need a big old novel that you just fly through. I still read a lot these days, but it's mostly news (and twitter). As a result, I'm reluctant to delve into anything longer than 500 pages because I worry I'll get sidetracked and never finish. I took The Nix to the beach, though, and devoured it in about three days. The story of a writer/professor trying to exorcise the ghost of his mother's abandonment of him when he was a child, The Nix sometimes goes a little off course, but the writing is so transporting that you forgive him. For example, the paragraphs about the protagonist's gamer friend spending hours trying to level up his secondary characters in an online role playing game weren't really necessary, but the character was so well developed that I didn't mind.
4. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
There's nothing else that I can really add about The Hate U Give that someone else (probably on this blog) hasn't said before, but I'll just say that just because a book is about young people shouldn't make it YA (and there shouldn't be as much stigma attached), and that when I read the list of people who had been killed by police at the end of the book, I sobbed.
3. Evicted by Matthew Desmond
I used to think that education was the number one most important social issue facing the country, but after reading Evicted, I'm convinced that housing is. Desmond tells the stories of landlords and tenants and exposes the realities of housing insecurity in America. It's clear that without a stable, dependable, habitable place to live, it's almost impossible to achieve anything. How can you get a job if you don't have an address? How can you get an education if you're sleeping in the third dilapidated shack you've been in that year? How can you have a healthy diet if your refrigerator is broken and your landlord won't fix it because you're behind on your rent? How can you pay your rent if you're sick and can't keep a job? There are villains, but mostly everyone is just trying to struggle by, and it's tragic. Just give everyone somewhere to live and so many other social ills will disappear.
2. Impeachment: A Citizen's Guide by Cass Sunstein
Hopefully this will be even more relevant in 2019!
1. Tomorrow Will Be Different by Sarah McBride
Speaking of books that made me openly cry (including three days in a row in the cafeteria at work). Sarah McBride is an activist who came out as trans in her senior year at American University (as she was finishing her terms as student body president). Since then she has fought for trans rights, spoken at the 2016 Democratic National Convention (the first openly trans person to do so), and endured the death of her husband. She's younger than me, but already has lived enough life to have a memoir, and it is as inspiring at parts as it is heartbreaking at others. She is a great writer and I expect wonderful things from her in the future. Highly recommend.
John's Best of 2018
Sing Unburied Sing. Jesmyn Ward
Lincoln in the Bardo. George Saunders
The Beautiful Struggle. Ta-nehisi Coates
Revolutionary Song. Russell Shorto
Tunneling to the Center of the Earth. Kevin Wilson
The Vegetarian. Han Kang
Lonely Avenue. Alex Halberstadt
Gay New York. George Chauncey
My Year of Rest and Relaxation. Otessa Moshfegh
Brown. Kevin Young
The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen
Thank you, dear Commandant, for the notes that you and the commissar have given me on my confession. You have asked me what I mean when I say "we" or "us," as in those moments when I identify with the southern soldiers and evacuees on whom I was sent to spy. Should I not refer to those people, my enemies, as "them"? I confess that after having spent almost my whole life in their company I cannot help but sympathize with them, as I do with many others. My weakness for sympathizing with others has much to do with my status as a bastard, which is not to say that being a bastard naturally predisposes one to sympathy. Many bastards behave like bastards, and I credit my gentle mother with teaching me the idea that blurring the lines between us and them can be a worthy behavior. After all, if she had not blurred the lines between maid and priest, or allowed them to be blurred, I would not exist.
I wanted to read Viet Thanh Nguyen's The Sympathizer as a complement to Tree of Smoke. Denis Johnson's novel is about the bewildered American in Vietnam, and Nguyen's is about the bewildered Vietnamese in America: specifically, an unnamed narrator working for an exiled South Vietnamese general in Los Angeles after the fall of Saigon. The narrator has a secret, though: he's really a committed communist, sending reports back to his North Vietnamese handlers. His unique position allows him to sympathize with both sides of the conflict, his northern colleagues and his southern friends. The dominant imagery in the novel all points to a split identity: Northern vs. Southern Vietnam, the East and the West, his French father and his Vietnamese mother.
Like Tree of Smoke, The Sympathizer makes explicit references to Graham Greene. The highly educated narrator, we learn, wrote his masters' thesis on the novelist's depiction of Vietnam; he's an expert in the way that the Western eye looks at his home country. It mimics Greene in its reliance on intrigue and spy stuff, as well as its interest in the psyche of a double agent. Its moral questions are very Greene-like: How can the murder of a communist by a communist be considered the right thing? If it helps the narrator keep his cover, is that enough?
But The Sympathizer is at its best when it's in high satire mode, like when the narrator reminisces about how he learned to masturbate with his mother's fresh squid as a child, or when a pompous Orientalist professor encourages him to write down and compare his "Oriental" and "Occidental" qualities. (There's a lot of satisfying tension in the way Nguyen mocks the reductive nature of binaries, while acknowledging that they have a real impact on the narrator's psyche.) A big chunk of the book is taken up the narrator's experience advising a movie production about the Vietnam War in the Philippines that is a clear analogue of Apocalypse Now. He wants to chip away at such propaganda from the inside, making a space for Vietnamese actors and tinkering with the script. He advises the director, called only the Auteur, that Vietnamese people don't go AIIIEEEE!!! when they scream, but AIEY-AAHHH!!! His efforts amount to very little; the Vietnamese Potemkin village mocks the absence of his home, and he ends up, in characteristic fashion, becoming part of the very machine he wants to work against.
It's not The Sympathizer's fault, but I found myself missing Johnson's anarchic prose style. The language in The Sympathizer is very staid and prim. It's a way for the narrator to exert control over the warring factions of his mind, and to assert an essential dignity in the face of Americans who would reduce him to ethnic stereotypes. Sometimes it works toward satirical ends, as when he tells us, "Perhaps I went too far when I invited him to perform fellatio on me," or when he calls sex the "oldest dialectic," but at other times it feels stilted or forced.
Ultimately, The Sympathizer is a book I respected more than enjoyed. I liked it most when it was at its silliest, and less when it was in its more serious mode. I thought that the end, which details the narrator's capture and torture by his own northern colleagues and is clearly inspired by the end of 1984, to be unfortunately muddled when the narrative needed clarity most. But the larger tragedy of the book is inescapable: the narrator has been exactly what his colleagues wanted, a convincing spy, but his strength becomes his weakness. His sympathy must be cleansed out of him; there is no room in the world for someone who can see both sides.
Labels: The Sympathizer, Viet Thanh Nguyen, vietnam, vietnam war
The Book of Speculation by Erika Swyler
I hated this book, partly because it took me about two third of the way in to realize I hated it, and by then I had passed the point of no return. I'm not the kind of person who HAS to finish a book once started, but at that point I had gotten so far into it that I felt compelled to hate read it to the end.
The Book of Speculation tells the twin tales of Simon, an unemployed librarian who is randomly gifted a book that contains the business journal of a travelling circus from the late 1700s, and the people who make up that circus, some of whom have a mysterious connection to Simon and his family. It also turns out that they're all cursed, which Simon must defeat before it's too late.
The problem is that most of the drama in the book feels unearned. No spoilers, but every time something tragic befalls the characters, it's hard not to wonder why they didn't take a totally obvious and easy different course of action. In order for any of the second half of the book to make sense, we also have to believe in curses. Not mystical curses, this isn't a fantasy or anything, but more like bad vibes. Deus ex tarot deck, basically. As a side note, the relationships are shallow. Why does Alice put up with any of Simon's nonsense? What is the point of Doyle other than to tell Simon and Enola that they're worried about each other? Why is Churchwarry so blase about the revelations at the end of the book? It doesn't make any sense. Don't read this book.
Posted by billy at 9:19 AM 1 comments
Folktales of Okinawa
When Agaripatoruma opened his eyes, he found himself inside his castle. The woman on the horse was now a dead mosquito, He carefully put the mosquito in his hand and went to the room where his wife's body lay. He placed the mosquito under her nose and soon her cheeks were pink and she began to breathe like she was sleeping. He waited and finally Fumukaji opened here eyes and looked upon him.
About four years ago I became motivated to read more about Okinawa. I bought a collection of modern fiction, a history of written in English, and this collection of folktales. I finished the fiction three years ago. I never finished the history, and I mostly ignore it on my nightstand. The folktales, however, I've been picking up on and off whenever the mood strikes me. A couple days ago, I finially finished them off.
The collection is remarkable. Professor Shoji Endo, of the Okinawa International University, moved to Okinawa in the early 1970s and began conducting a field survey of these stories. At the time that the book was published in 1995, he had 55,000 collected. (This collection includes a mere twenty-eight.).
And then, apparently, the Bank of the Ryukyus International Foundation thought it'd be a good idea to publish the book, with alternating English and Japanese translations. I remembered seeing this book because my mother borrowed a copy from her friend and showed it to me when I was home from college, maybe fifteen years ago. I always wanted to read it, so I found a used copy online.
I'm glad I did. I'm not going to say the folktales here are better or worse than other folktales; I don't feel comfortable having an opinion in that regard. They were, however, fun to read. The greedy characters always got their comeuppance; the good characters always suffered some tragedy, but were ultimately rewarded for their steadfast reliance on whichever virtue the folktale happened to be extolling.
As an example, in Agaripatoruma and Fumukaji, excerpted above: Agaripatoruma and Fumukaji are happily married, but Agaripatoruma must go off to war; to comfort his worried wife, he leaves a dish of water, instructing her that as long as the water remains clear, he is safe and healthy. But then he gets injured and the water turns red; Fumukaji, fearing the worst and knowing that she can't live on without him, commits suicide.
This leads Agaripatoruma on a quest to bring his wife back from the dead. After consulting a shrine maiden, licking pus from a leper (this sounds gross, but it was cool, trust me), riding between two bulls, kidnapping a woman from the godly realm, transforming the kidnappee into a mosquito, and then, finally, using that mosquito to resuscitate his wife.
A fun read, and I'd recommend it to anyone who wants a low-key way to learn about Okinawan culture.
Not All Dead White Men by Donna Zuckerberg
The men of the Red Pill use and abuse classical antiquity in a variety of ways. They have found ample material from ancient Greece and Rome to support their ideology, from Stoic self-help manuals to Ovidian seduction advice to ancient models of patriarchal marriage. Although their analyses of ancient sources rarely display much understanding of context and nuance, Red Pill writers nevertheless are adept at manipulating ancient sources to make them speak meaningfully to contemporary concerns. They have appropriate the tests and history of ancient Greece and Rome to bolster their most abhorrent ideas: that all women are deceitful and degenerate; that white men are by nature more rational than (and therefore superior to) everyone else; that women's sexual boundaries exist to be manipulated and crossed; and finally, that society as a whole would benefit if men were given the responsibility for making all decisions for women, particularly over their sexual and reproductive choices.
Why are right-wing nutjobs obsessed with the classical world? In the New Yorker, Margaret Talbot explains that Greek and Roman statuary were painted, not white, but that the myth of their whiteness is seized on by the extreme right so they might project their ideas of race and racial threat onto them. What Talbot does (it's a fascinating article, go read it) for race, Donna Zuckerberg does for gender in her book Not All Dead White Men: she traces the way that the alt-right (what she calls the "Red Pill community") uses ancient literature to support their ideas about gender politics.
The book comprises three brief essays. The first describes how men use the philosophy of Stoicism to bolster claims of male intellectual superiority. While Zuckerberg claims not to be interested in "debunking" the right's readings of classical literature, she does suggest that they misread, or at least selectively read, Stoic philosophers, ignoring their assertion that women are as capable of virtue as men. She even suggests that Stoicism, used correctly, could be a valuable philosophical outlook for men who feel dispossessed and estranged. But in practice, she explains, Stoicism is a way for the right to indulge in anger-based rhetoric while denying that they are angry, claim emotionlessness while projecting heated emotions onto their opponents.
The second essay is about the pick-up community. (Does anyone remember when Mystery, one of the original pick-up artists, had his own reality show where he taught men how to pick up women? That certainly seems misbegotten now.) For pick-up artists, the classic text is Ovid's Ars Amatoria, a mock didactic poem about how to seduce women. Zuckerberg concedes that Ovid's notion of women's sexual boundaries is pretty permeable, and often Ovid advocates what we would consider rape, even if it's tongue-in-cheek. But whether pick-up artists read Ovid rightly or wrongly, their use of Ovid is meant to suggest a continuity between the past and the present that validates their own ideas and actions: because Ovid sees women as little more than machines of conditioning, universally receptive to the right stimuli, pick-up artists can claim that all women are "that way" and have always been, to the chagrin of modern feminism.
Zuckerberg emphasizes this point in the final essay, in which she reads modern rape culture through the lens of the myth of Hippolytus and Phaedra. Phaedra accuses Hippolytus of rape when she spurns his advances, leading to disaster for them both. While Zuckerberg doesn't find this myth discussed much by Red Pillers, she claims that it illustrates the kind of world in which they want to live: one in which women's sexual boundaries are controlled and mediated by fathers and husbands, like Phaedra's are by Theseus. Again, the rhetorical claim is one of continuity: Red Pill activists want to return to a system of male coverture like the Roman paterfamilias or Greek kyrios, because its ancientness gives it, and them, legitimacy. Red Pillers want to position themselves as the inheritors of an old tradition from which modern mores have deviated, rather than the reactionaries they are.
Reading this book meant wading through a lot of really disgusting horseshit. I imagine it was tough for Zuckerberg, having to read through all the "rape is good" blogs and the "women aren't intelligent enough to make decisions" blogs and distill all of that. It makes you long for the pre-Elliot Rodger, pre-incel, pre-2016 feeling that all of these folks were fringe crazies with no real purchase in the world. Zuckerberg's style is pretty academic and dry, and I wish there were a little more righteous fire in it, as there is in the conclusion when she talks about the way that her work in this area has made her the target of sexualized and anti-Semitic threats. She also spares a last minute zing toward reformers on the left who want to reject and replace classical literature in the university canon for their tacit agreement with Red Pill folks who think that Ovid and Marcus Aurelius and Euripides belong to them. That'd be a book I'd like to read, the one that shows, in love and detail, how that cultural inheritance is for everybody, not just the fedora-topped rape apologists of the modern internet.
Labels: Donna Zuckerberg, Euripides, greek, Marcus Aurelius, non-fiction, Not All Dead White Men, Ovid, Roman
Chloe's Top 6.4 of 2018
Welp. As stated earlier, this was not my most successful year of reading; I had a kid, got a new job, started biking to work (and lost my subway commute/primary reading time), and generally destroyed any spare time/brain hormones/energy I had left. I made it to 32 right at the buzzer, and, despite that being the fewest books I've read in years (and probably one of my least intellectual line-ups), I'm pretty impressed that I made it that far. I'm hoping 2019 leaves me with a little more time (haha) or at least a little more ability to read in bed for more than a page at a time, but I'm not hugely optimistic. I may just pad my stats with kid books and start flooding this blog à la Chris with reviews of Sandra Boynton masterpieces. I definitely read more than 75 Sandra Boynton books this year. Watch out, buddy. I'm coming for you.
As is the fashion these days, I tried to read more women writers (I briefly tried for exclusively women, but I succeeded in well over half) and more writers of color (I did less well on that), and also tried to borrow as many as possible from the library (which somewhat dictated what I read when, but was also a surprisingly pleasant experience). I will say that, despite how much more difficult it was to find time to write these reviews, I appreciate them even more than I used to because I genuinely don't think I would have remembered reading any of this if I hadn't taken the time to jot down my ramblings. (Although I accidentally also reviewed the same book twice, so who knows how much I actually remember of anything at this point...)
Top 10/32 is hardly an endorsement, so I give you my top 6.4 in chronological order:
1. The Power by Naomi Alderman-This has stuck with me all year and floats back through my mind constantly. It was haunting and creepy and totally badass.
2. The Idiot by Elif Batuman-I love everything Elif Batuman does, and am glad I got this one in before the baby came and destroyed my brain and ability to process literature.
3. The Gardner and the Carpenter by Alison Gopnik-I've been enjoying Gopnik's takes on parenting and child development as Nathan gets bigger and seems more and more susceptible to being totally destroyed by my poor parenting choices. I may read this again next year just to remind myself that Science says I'm doing okay.
4. Angels in America by Tony Kushner-This made me want to read more plays (which, come to think of it, happens with most plays I read), and was sad and funny and immeasurably complex. I loved it.
5. Unsheltered by Barbara Kingsolver-Kingsolver might be my sweet spot of plot-driven and thought provoking big picture thematic right now. Her stuff is usually pretty divorced from current events, but this was topical in interesting and scary ways.
6. Becoming by Michelle Obama- This was a total guilty pleasure, but I just loved immersing myself in Obama nostalgia. This was way better written than I expected and gave me all the feels.
.4. Fifteen Animals by Sandra Boynton- Great counting practice, relatable content, and strong, unexpected twist at the end. 10/10 will probably read again tomorrow.
Brent's Top 10 of 2018
Another year, another 50+ books, another embarassing review shortage--but what a great year of reading! I think 2018 might be the most exciting set of books I've tackled yet, and I attribute a lot of that to my decision at the end of last year to read at least half books by women. I also made a concious effort to read less mainstream "classics", and branched a little--into biography, economics, politics, history. But, as usual, the most illuminating works were fiction. So without further ado, the 10 best books I read this year, in no particular order.
I've read a lot of the classic doorstops, but Middlemarch sits right at the top of the list alongside The Brothers Karamazov and Don Quixote. A wonderfully written pastoral with plenty of drama, humor, and fantastic characters, Middlemarch is really in this spot because it was the warmest, most human book I read this year. In spite of its scope, the action takes place on the ground, in kitchens, libraries, chilly estates, taverns, and the people--Dorothea, Casuabon, Lydgate, Rosamund--whose lives revolve around these seemingly mundane things.
The Man Who Loved Children - Christina Stead
If Middlemarch was the warmest book I read this year, The Man Who Loved Children was probably the second chilliest (Anna Kavan's excellent but inscrutable Ice was the first). In addition to the incredibly dysfunctional family at its center, Stead's dialog is both prevalent and cryptic--the book teaches you how to read it but it never goes down smooth. I don't even know if I entirely liked it. But it's so singular and so true somehow, so cruel and unsettling, it deserves to read.
The Death of Ivan Illych and Other Stories - Leo Tolstoy, trans. Pevear/Volkhonsky
My wife Liz read Anna Karenina this year, and it inspired me to pick up this collection fo Tolstoy's short stories and novellas. And boy, were they (mostly) bleak. This collection was laregly composed in the twilight of Tolstoy's life, and, having read War and Peace (an optimistic, early work) and Anna Karenina (a later, mixed bag on the optimism front), I felt I could see Tolstoy's faith in humanity dying. But almost every story ends with a burst of something ineffable, and those bursts--and Tolstoy's unfailing sense of how people act--make everything he wrote worthwhile.
Lives of Girls and Women - Alice Munro
This is, I believe, the fourth collection I've read of Munro's, and it might be the best overall. It's certainly the most consistent. It's basically a novel where every chapter can be read as a standalone. The average Munro story already feels like a novel waiting to happen--it was nice to read a collection where it did.
The Odyssey - Homer, trans. Emily Wilson
This was a bucket list book for me, and I'm so glad I read it first in Wilson's incredibly readable (but still very elegant) translation. It's much less of a pure hero story than I expected--Odysseus might be the first antihero. But the journey's fantastical and encompasses SO MUCH Greek mythology. It's really a lot of fun. Even if you've read The Odyssey before, it's worth picking up Wilson's translation for her great introduction, where she discusses the challenges of translating such a well-known work.
Death Comes for the Archbishop - Willa Cather
I don't love reading about landscapes but I DO love reading about priests. And I actually did love reading Cather's landscapes which, like McCarthy's, capture the feeling of the western US like most can't. The most impressive thing about this slim novel though is the way its loose structure comes together at the end to present a beautiful picture of a life well-lived and a death that feels like bliss instead of terror.
Lincoln in the Bardo - George Saunders
And speaking of death, George Saunders' fictionalization of the death of Abraham Lincoln's son was probably the most moving thing I read this year. I lost an aunt I was very close to unexpectedly in a car accident and the chapter near the end where Willie finally finds peace for himself and the other wandering souls in the Bardo graveyard has come to mind many times. And of course, Saunders is in contention for greatest livign American writer so the prose is inventive and wonderful.
My Brilliant Friend - Elena Ferrante
This book is everywhere and they just made an HBO series about it. But it's still good, a brilliant (see what I did there?) realistic novel about two girls in Italy and their complicated relationship in a time of political and social turmoil in Italy. Really looking forward to reading the other 3 volumes, and Ferrante's other work.
The Autobiography of Malcolm X - Malcom X and Alex Haley
What can I say about this? Certainly one of the most influential autobiographies of the 20th century, Malcolm's rags-to-riches story is given extra dramatic weight due to Haley's decision not to allow Malcolm to rewrite the earlier sections of the book after his acrimonious break from his spiritual mentor Elijah Muhammad, and the result is an autobiography with the dramatic structure of a novel. Malcolm touches on everything--religion, race, class, civil rights, Muhammad Ali--and the final chapter, which Haley wrote after Malcom's death, hits like a brick.
Warlock - Oakley Hall
I love a good western. And Warlock is a very good western. I actually reviewed this one so I won't say much about it here, except that it's really a joy to read about cowboys, outlaws, blood feuds, and all the rest, and still find space to be surprised.
And that's a wrap. I could include almost every other book I read this year in my honorable mentions, but instead, I want to mention Current Affairs, the great online magazine that I spent about half my time this year reading on my journey out of American Capitalism. So on that note, please join us for 2019! It's going to be a good year.
Tree of Smoke by Denis Johnson
...Kathy reflected, certainly not for the first time, that the war hadn't been only and exclusively terrible. It had delivered a sense, at first dreadful, eventually intoxicating, that something wild, magical, stunning might come from the next moment, death itself might erupt from the fabric of this very breath, unmasked as a friend...
Why did the U.S. bother itself in Vietnam? Tens of thousands of Americans dead, ten times as many Vietnamese, the great waste of life and money and time, for what? To say that it was to stem the tide of Communism sounds right in a high school history sort of way, and the protagonist of Tree of Smoke, CIA op William "Skip" Sands, sure seems keen on beating Communism. But the line between the ideology and the great material fact of war seems to have a gap in it somewhere, not at all like the great war of the previous generation. Tree of Smoke is a novel that presents the Vietnam War as a kind of immense fever dream, not just in the confusion of the jungle, but in the bungled ethos of the war itself.
At first, Tree of Smoke seems like a loving homage to Graham Greene. Kathy Jones, a Canadian missionary, makes the allusion explicit by comparing Skip, masquerading in the Philippines as a corporate stooge for Del Monte, to the Quiet American. Skip bristles at the comparison, his motives are not so rigid and his methods, he'd like to think, not so brash. Skip is part of CIA's Psy Ops--psychological operations, that is--under the tutelage of his uncle, Colonel F. X. Sands.
The Colonel is a living legend, a former POW and war hero who has developed unconventional ideas about how to wage war. "War is ninety percent myth anyway, isn't it?" he says. "In order to prosecute our own wars we raise them to the level of human sacrifice, don't we, and we constantly invoke our God. It's got to be about something bigger than dying, or we'd all turn deserter." The Colonel advocates complete immersion into local culture and turning myth, "the other fellow's gods," into a psychological tool. He also advocates a philosophical separation from the CIA chain of command, with predictably problematic results. For the Colonel, myth and mystery, enemies of clarity, are the only way to wage war:
He woke from an hour's nap and went to the veranda to drink hot, strong coffee less reviving than his thrilling vertigo before the vista of his mistakes, all the wrongness he'd wandered into on the tails of his uncle, the aboriginal Man of Action. Neanderthal, had been Rick Voss's term. Mr. Tho came out with a burning mosquito coil in a dish and set it on the arm of the opposite chair, and there you are, simplicity itself, the ember of the foul-smelling incense bead, orange bead tunneling along its spiral path toward extinction and nonentity. He felt surrounded, assailed, inhabited by such serpentine imagery--the tunnels, Project Labyrinth, the curling catacombs of the human ear... But over all loomed the central and quite different image: the Tree of Smoke. Yes, his uncle meant to unfold himself like a dark wraith and take on the whole Intelligence service, the very way of it, subvert its unturnable tides. Or assault it on the handball court.
The Greene pastiche halts early on; the whiskey priest-figure, a Catholic gun-runner for the Communists, is murdered by a blowgun. If Skip is assigned to keep tabs on the priest, who kills him and why? Another faction of the CIA? The Filipinos? Like Greene, Johnson's warriors are self-defeating, but it's not at all clear that what happens is a mistake rather than a grand mystery. Johnson's language, with its touches of Beatnik mysticism and high prophecy, are far from Greene's deflating realism.
All of that is prologue. When the action moves to Vietnam, things get worse and worse. The project that the Colonel has Sands working on--cultivating a double agent to infiltrate the North Vietnamese--never really gets off the ground, which is impressive in a book that stretches to 700 pages. It blows up, the Colonel dies under mysterious circumstances, but becomes a kind of myth himself, rumored to have let himself be captured in order to promulgate false info to the Viet Cong. What info? Does it matter? As one character says, "I'd venture the truth is in the legend." In a different book, that would be a platitude.
Tree of Smoke fills out its considerable bulk with several minor characters. Besides the Colonel, Skip, and Kathy Jones, there's Bill and James Houston, a pair of down-and-out Arizona brothers who bring the desolation of their lives to the jungle and then bring the madness of the jungle back to Arizona. Both are petty criminals, frightened children, irresponsible addicts, and while Tree of Smoke doesn't argue that Vietnam ruined them--they were pretty fucked up in the first place--it does want us to see that the war provides no better way. Johnson, with his loving attention toward junkies and lowlifes, refuses to give us a Vietnam novel without the grunts. Their connection to the main narrative is tenuous, but they remind us that the Colonel's spooky mythologizing engenders true violence. But neither does Johnson ignore the Vietnamese: several locals, all of whom are mixed up with the Colonel's double agent scheme, get their turn in the narrative. And while not all of these are worthwhile (I didn't need to linger so long with the mysterious German assassin, who returns to muse about his Nazi father), the scope of the novel mimics the way the war grows and spins out of control.
I can't tell you what I'd give to be able to write like Johnson. He's one of those rare writers whose every word seems perfectly considered. Every now and then, out of the morass of war, a perfect phrase emerges: A bowling ball "traveling away like a son, beyond hope of influence." James' fear that a man caught by an exploding grenade would "splash around him like paint." A corpse is described--horribly, but memorably--with its "rag of brain." And the dialogue zips, right at the edge of sense, as really good dialogue often does. It's hard to find a book of this immensity where the writing seems so precise and sharp, especially one whose big theme is confusion and mystery.
Labels: Denis Johnson, Tree of Smoke, vietnam, vietnam war
American Indian Writings, Legends, and Other Writi...
Strangers from a Different Shore: A History of Asi...
Blues Legacies and Black Feminism: Gertrude "Ma...
John's Best of 2018 Sing Unburied Sing. Jesmyn Wa...
Randy's Top 5 for 2018
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M*A*S*HCast #18 – Dear Dad, Again
M*A*S*HCast – Season 1, Episode 18: Dear Dad, Again
Special Guest Star: Dan Greenfield
DAN GREENFIELD – https://13thdimension.com
Theme music by Johnny Mandel
Subscribe to M*A*S*HCast on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/m-a-s-hcast/id1329304951
Follow M*A*S*HCast on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MASH4077Cast
Follow Fire & Water on TWITTER – https://twitter.com/FWPodcasts
Like our Fire & Water FACEBOOK page – https://www.facebook.com/FWPodcastNetwork
That is all!
http://www.fwpodcasts.com/rk/MASH-018.mp3
Tags: Dan Greenfield, M*A*S*H, M*A*S*H Season 1, M*A*S*HCast
5 responses to “M*A*S*HCast #18 – Dear Dad, Again”
Xum Yukinori says:
Great episode, gentlemen…
Oh, and the M*A*S*H episode in which Radar punches a wall… that would be when Hawkeye’s continuity had shifted…
Brian Linton says:
Thank you for another interesting episode. I never realized that Dear Dad Again followed so closely on the heels of Dear Dad. I’d always just assumed that they basically did one Dear X episode each season.
I don’t know if this was intentional or not on the part of the creators, but I always thought the Dear X episodes were good jumping on points for new viewers, because the letter writer typically introduces the recipient of the letter to all of the other major characters in the show, either individually or in pairs. As a result, each character generally gets their own scene in which to shine. Now that I think of it, that’s probably one of the big reasons I enjoy these episodes so much.
As you gentlemen mentioned, the creators later would find different ways to do this (i.e., highlight each of the characters in a single episode). The Season 8 episode Dreams is the first (and most striking) example of an “evolved” Dear X episode that comes to my mind.
Robert Altman’s MASH airs on 11/27 on Turner Classic Movies! It is followed that night by The Graduate & The Last Picture Show!
Tim Price says:
While the scene had its issues, Hawkeye walking across camp naked was so funny, and honestly, shocking when I first saw it as a kid. I really don’t remember a network show doing that before, but that was probably more me being young and still watching more kids’ shows. Still, it made an impression, that’s for sure.
Missive on
Adam Casey
Selfless shindig
Hawkeye naked
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Sullivan, Indiana
Sullivan is a city located in Sullivan County, Indiana. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 4,617. The city is the county seat of Sullivan CountyTemplate:GR.
Sullivan is located at 39°5'49" North, 87°24'23" West (39.096888, -87.406447)Template:GR.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 5.0 km² (1.9 mi²). 5.0 km² (1.9 mi²) of it is land and none of it is covered by water.
As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there are 4,617 people, 1,958 households, and 1,176 families residing in the city. The population density is 928.5/km² (2,410.1/mi²). There are 2,264 housing units at an average density of 455.3/km² (1,181.8/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 97.92% White, 0.50% African American, 0.37% Native American, 0.24% Asian, 0.00% Pacific Islander, 0.13% from other races, and 0.84% from two or more races. 0.82% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 1,958 households out of which 28.5% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.0% are married couples living together, 11.6% have a female householder with no husband present, and 39.9% are non-families. 36.0% of all households are made up of individuals and 19.9% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.26 and the average family size is 2.95.
In the city the population is spread out with 23.5% under the age of 18, 8.9% from 18 to 24, 25.5% from 25 to 44, 22.0% from 45 to 64, and 20.2% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 39 years. For every 100 females there are 83.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 77.5 males.
The median income for a household in the city is $26,115, and the median income for a family is $35,042. Males have a median income of $28,773 versus $21,992 for females. The per capita income for the city is $17,717. 16.6% of the population and 13.6% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 22.2% of those under the age of 18 and 11.0% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.
Template:Mapit-US-cityscale
Retrieved from "http://footwww.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Sullivan%2C_Indiana"
Categories: Cities in Indiana | Sullivan County, Indiana
This page was last modified 21:39, 23 Dec 2004.
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Top 5 shows of the weekend
July 27, 2017 By Chris Quartly
Well the week hasn’t had much of a bang at all, but we do get to end it with some great shows. I’m not going to beat around the bus today, you’ve got plans to make.
5) Andrew Bird, Esperanza Spalding at Prospect Park Bandshell
While the current weather forecast doesn’t sound particularly promising for an outdoor show on Friday night, hopefully Andrew Bird‘s sunny disposition can drive the incoming rain away. He last played the bandshell in 2011 so this should be somewhat of a triumphant return. Friday 7:30pm
4) Okkervil River, Jesse Hale Moore at Joe’s Pub
Part of a brief rarities and requests tour, which will see the band stripped down to a trio, Okkervil River will play two sets at Joe’s Pub on Thursday night (6pm and 9pm). These are the first dates as a trio they have played and should centre around the band’s more intimate material. Thursday 6pm & 9pm
3) Jeffrey Lewis and Los Bolts, Seth Faergolzia’s Multibird, Kyp Malone at Rough Trade
Jeffrey Lewis just keeps on putting out fabulous record after fabulous record, and never quite seems to get the credit he deserves. Last record Manhattan, was released a little over 18-months ago but new material has been written and I would expect some new songs to get an airing at Rough Trade. Be sure not to miss opener Kyp Malone of TV On the Radio play a solo set. Thursday 8pm
2) The Rubinoos, Baby Shakes at Union Pool
The Summer Thunder series at Union Pool is always one of the highlights of the summer, and they’ve pulled a real trump card with cult power-pop heroes The Rubinoos. The band formed in Berkeley in 1970 and while their biggest only reached number 45 in I Think We’re Alone Now in 1977, the band have always been well-loved (and more recently, settled out of court with Avril Lavigne over a plagiarism claim over her song Girlfriend and the band’s classic, I Want To Be Your Boyfriend). Local favourites Baby Shakes are more than fitting openers too, so don’t miss them, and maybe have a frozen drink or four. Saturday 2pm
1) Priests, Future Punx, Groupie at Brooklyn Night Bazaar
Priests’ full length debut, Nothing Feels Natural, is one of the year’s best records so far. It’s a subtle shift in style from the band’s earlier EPs and 7″ singles, taking on a more traditional post-punk sound, singer Katie Alice Greer has ditched some of the venom in her voice for the most part and while that may potentially take one aback to begin with, the whole package is the band’s best to date. Support comes from Future Punx and Groupie. Saturday 8pm
Filed Under: Events, Music Tagged With: andrew bird, Brooklyn Bazaar, jeffrey lewis, joe's pub, Okkervil River, Priests, Prospect Park, Rough Trade, The Rubinoos, Union Pool
About Chris Quartly
Chris is an unsightly English man who likes to go to shows and eats too much food. Please don't be afraid to say hello but he may be too afraid to say hi back. Can also be found on Twitter or Instagram
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But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. (2 Timothy 3:1-6)
Most Westerners today still believe that Marx’s theory of revolutionary utopianism had to do with economics. It did not. The rhetoric which Marx used, and which fuelled the left-wing totalitarian regimes of the twentieth century, was rooted in class and economics. Marx’s philosophy, however, could be applied to any identifiable category of humans. In the East, Marx’s dialectic was applied in line with his rhetoric on class. In the West, however, Marx’s doctrines were instead applied to race, culture, gender and faith. This process took several decades to be worked out, and can be understood rather easily once you know what cultural Marxism is.
We’ve had this toxic, totalitarian cult preached to the impressionable young in our universities for 50 years now. This has created a dangerous division within Western societies, as well as ultimately our demographic replacement. As we hurtle toward the final showdown between the brainwashed millennial land whales and the rising libertarian and nationalist reactions, it’s becoming apparent that, ideologically at least, the Soviet Union won the Cold War.
The great mistake of many in the libertarian and nationalist movements being generated in response to cultural Marxism is to believe that the social engineers in the deep state are stupid. These naive young men, who see themselves as either defenders of freedom or defenders of their race, don’t realise that whatever grassroot movements which arise (or are astroturfed) are co-opted by the deep state through operatives, influencers, social media manipulation and media propaganda campaigns. This happens on both the left and the right of politics. It has been well-known among both Antifa anarcho-whatevers and their national socialist opponents that domestic intelligence agencies infiltrate and direct both extremes of the political dialectic. This agenda is supported through the media, education and entertainment complex. It is subtle and sophisticated and operates throughout all levels of Western society.
There is no political solution to this problem of deep state control through ideological brainwashing and social engineering. Metapolitics is also futile. If a movement did arise which truly threatened the power of the cabal, it would be thoroughly discredited then utterly crushed. It would then be used as a bogeyman to scare future generations of schoolchildren, as Hitler is today.
The purpose of cultural Marxism was not simply to destroy the West, which it has accomplished. It was to bring down Christendom. Our societies in the West today are in the grip of a morbid and suicidal madness. We have become disgusting and contemptible to the rest of the world. Europeans were once seen as the leaders of humanity and worthy of respect. Now, we are scorned and mocked. It has been through the demoralisation of our societies, the weaponisation of minorities and women and the engineering of racial, gender and religious civil war by Western Marxists that this has been accomplished. This agenda was first initiated by Jewish Marxists and French communists and spread by intellectuals and academics at our universities. These were the men and women who propagated the ideas and the rhetoric which has demolished Christian societies.
The Bible warned us that, just prior to the return of Christ, there would be a great falling away of believers. The true and unfiltered gospel is not tolerated outside or even inside most churches today. The hearts of men are grown cold. This has not happened by itself. It was part of a plan.
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Home › Reviews › Enchanted ›
Enchanted Review
By Charles Wertz, November 30, 1994
This is Enchanted's first album as far as I know, and it is simply entitled Enchanted. The CD is 41 minutes long with 11 tracks. Track by track:
Track 1: The Struggle (1:14)
This track is basically the introduction to the whole CD. There is no Gregorian chant; it's just music that I guess depicts the struggle of mankind. It sounds kind of epic, but it didn't impress me very much.
Track 2: Enchanted (3:59)
This one begins with a melancholy sounding Gregorian chant with some nature sounds in the background (rain falling, birds chirping, etc.). After a few second some ambient music begins. Then, 1:40, the beat kicks in. It's standard hip-hop dance, nothing out of the ordinary, but it serves its purpose well enough. You can hear Dana Nicosia doing some vocal harmonies here and there. All in all, this track is pretty good, I just wish the beat would've kicked in earlier.
Track 3: Angels (Mother's Theme) (3:48)
Angels runs right off of Enchanted (Actually, all the tracks on the album run directly to the next one without a pause); the beat is exactly the same. The Gregorian chant changes also; it's more cheerful and uplifting. I liked this one; I wouldn't be surprised to see Angels as Enchanted's first single. Then again, Angels sounds a lot like a poppy Christmas song.
Track 4: Awakening (1:29)
Nothing much to say about this one; it's a musical interlude between tracks 3 and 5. It's a lot lighter sounding than The Struggle, which was pretty dark sounding now that I think about it. Awakening has a lot of ambient sounds to it.
Track 5: Love Vacation (7:07)
This one has a nice beat. Unfortunately, that doesn't save this song from being my least favorite on the whole CD. The Gregorian chant sounds like it was put in as an afterthought. The lyrics to the song are some of the lamest I've ever heard. Love Vacation is too long and too lame.
Track 6: The Truth (2:22)
Another musical interlude. It kinda has a "dark" feel to it. I usually press FWD on my CD player.
Track 7: Temptation (5:27)
I like this one. It opens up with a repetitive piano loop that sounds through the whole song. The chant begins soon after along with the beat. Every so often, a little Aladdin-esque sounding tune plays. My only problem it Temptation is that it's extremely repetitive, and after the first couple of minutes into the song I'm waiting impatiently to hear something new. But, for the most part, this is my second most listened to track on the CD.
Track 8: Fly Away (4:44)
No chant. No beat. Just some ambient-type (poppy?) music and more lame lyrics by Dana Nicosia. Someone earlier commented that this sounds like a Debbie Gibson song; I couldn't agree more. I hate sappy love songs.
Here it is again, in short form. Hooray.
Track 10: Heaven (6:16)
This is a kind of dark sounding, chant filled track. The beat is nice, with lots of bass. Pretty mediocre stuff, but I like it.
Track 11: Reprise (of "The Struggle" and "Awakening")
The Struggle and Awakening are spliced together and extended. I guess MoJoe Nicosia (producer of the album, and Dana's husband [I think]) ran out of originality..... not that is album is full of it, mind you...
Well, overall, if I had to give this album a letter grade, it would be a low "B". It's okay as a whole, but there are those lame lyrics in the two afore-mentioned songs. To sum it up: This is a watered-down Enigma. To those of you who live outside the US where the album is as yet unavailable, well, you're not missing much. I recommend Delerium before Enchanted. To those of you who do have Enchanted, I'd like to hear your opinions. To those who don't, I hope this review helps out a little.
Updated December 16, 1994 by Joar Grimstvedt joarg@hsr.no
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Major step against organised crime in Western Balkans
First Liaison Prosecutor for the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia at Eurojust
On 12 November 2018, Ms Lenche Ristoska took up her duties as the first Liaison Prosecutor for the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia at Eurojust. Her appointment is an important contribution to the growing relationship between the European Union and the Western Balkan region in the area of criminal law.
Since 2008, Eurojust has established an increasingly strong framework for structural judicial cooperation in the fight against serious cross-border crime between EU Member States and the Western Balkan States. Cooperation agreements, which unlock the possibility of safe and efficient exchange of judicial information and sharing of evidence, have been concluded with Albania, Montenegro and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. The agreements also allow for the partner States to take part in, and benefit from, all the practical cooperation tools offered through Eurojust to prosecute serious, transnational crime cases.
Since the conclusion of the cooperation agreement with the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia in 2008, prosecutors from all parties to the agreement have worked together in a growing number of cases, including in investigations of swindling and fraud, drug trafficking and migrant smuggling.
The cooperation agreement also provides for the appointment of a Liaison Prosecutor to Eurojust. Ms Ristoska, a prosecutor from the Special Public Prosecutors’ Office, is the second Liaison Prosecutor from a Western Balkan State at Eurojust after the arrival of the Liaison Prosecutor for Montenegro earlier this year. Liaison Prosecutors work side by side with magistrates from the EU Member States and play an important role in facilitating ongoing investigations of serious cross-border organised crime.
Upon her arrival, Ms Ristoska said: ‘It is a great honour and privilege to be the first Liaison Prosecutor for my country at Eurojust. As soon as I joined the Eurojust family, I witnessed the inspiring working atmosphere and deep commitment of all employees. I strongly believe that my country’s presence at Eurojust will contribute to enhancing international cooperation in the fight against transnational organised crime. I am also confident that this will be beneficial not only for my country but also for all countries with which international cooperation exists or will be established.’
Ms Lenche Ristoska is warmly welcomed by Mr Ladislav Hamran, President of Eurojust. Photos © Eurojust
Ms Ristoska graduated with honours from the Law Faculty of the St Cyril and Methodius University of Skopje and obtained a degree in law. In 2008, she passed her Bar Examination. Currently, she is working on her master thesis in the area of seizure of illegally gained assets.
In 2013, Ms Ristoska was appointed as public prosecutor at the Primary Public Prosecutor’s Office of Skopje, after graduating from the Academy for Judges and Public Prosecutors. In the Primary Public Prosecutor’s Office of Skopje, she worked in the Department for International Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters, executing incoming mutual legal assistance (MLA) requests, as well as in the Department for Drugs, Sexual and Violent Crimes.
In November 2015, she was appointed as prosecutor to the Special Public Prosecutor’s Office, where she was in charge of matters of international cooperation and MLA requests. She also conducted national criminal investigations into complex cases of illegal interception of communications, abuse of official powers, corruption, illegal political party financing and money laundering.
The negotiation of cooperation agreements between Eurojust and Western Balkan States and the appointment of Liaison Prosecutors to Eurojust are facilitated through the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance 2014-2020 (IPA II Project) ‘Countering Serious Crime in the Western Balkans’, which fosters structural judicial cooperation between EU Member States and the Western Balkan States. The project is jointly funded by the European Union, Germany and Italy.
Q & A on Eurojust’s cooperation with Albania and the Western Balkans
For more information about Eurojust, see www.eurojust.europa.eu or contact Eurojust’s Corporate Communications Unit at media@eurojust.europa.eu, phone +31 70 412 5000.
For all Eurojust press releases, please see www.eurojust.europa.eu (Press centre).
If you would like to have Eurojust press releases delivered electronically to your inbox, please complete and submit this subscription form.
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Of Gods and Men
2010 // France // Xavier Beauvois // March 29, 2011 // Theatrical Print (Landmark Plaza Frontenac Cinema)
It's a tricky thing, adapting real-world events fraught with moral, theological, and philosophical significance into a film which purports to share the same character. The burden of oblivious pretension and unprincipled exploitation has buckled the ambitions of countless films about Very Serious Matters, whose creators seem prone to an especially stubborn sort of artistic blinkeredness. In his Grand Prix-winning new film, Of Gods and Men, French writer-director Xavier Beauvois succeeds where many of his confreres have often failed, owing primarily to his disciplined and fitting stylistic choices.
Beauvois--whose other works are unfamiliar to me--uses a stripped-down approach to convey the tale of French Trappist monks in the Atlas Mountains of Algeria in 1996, who must decide whether to stay or leave their monastery when the nation's civil war comes knocking at their door. The director exhibits an admirable respect for his material's integrity. The monks are keenly aware of the momentous consequences of their choice on the villagers they serve; on the broader honor of their order; on their personal righteousness; and, most directly, on their own safety. Accordingly, Beauvois and co-writer Etienne Comar generally resist stifling their film with grave trimmings meant to double-underline the dire nature of the monks' predicament. The characters know exactly what they are facing, and we know it because the performers are intensely capable and the filmmakers regard them with rapt attentiveness.
Beauvois' film works carefully, establishing the pattern of the monks' lives, conveying the particulars of what it means to dedicate one's life wholly to Christ's teachings in a remote corner of the old French empire, surrounded by Muslim neighbors. The particulars, it turns out, are remarkably innocuous: the monks run a medical clinic for women and children, they listen to the concerns of the village leaders, they plant crops, they make honey, they scrub floors, they read the Bible, they pray. Baeuvois watches them in long shots as they chant together in communal worship, recalling Philip Gröning's masterful documentary, Into Great Silence. There is little music in the film, all of it diegetic. (The film's only real dramatic belly-flop involves an audio cassette recording of Swan Lake's thunderous crescendo. In a work that is otherwise so restrained, the scene in question comes across as comically heavy-handed.) Beavois doesn't use stirring string cues or beatific lighting to emphasize the gravity of his tale. Instead, he lingers on the naturalistic texture of the Atlas setting: glassy mountain lakes; herds of goats in the wooded hills; old cars stalled on dusty roads.
Gradually, the shadow of the civil war falls across the monastery, although the political and cultural context of the conflict remains obscure within the boundaries of the film. No one utters the words "canceled elections" or "Armed Islamic Group." It's clear, however, that the monks are fearful of the jihadist rebels and wary of the corrupt government, which still rumbles with anti-colonial sentiment. The monks only seem to trust their neighbors, who look at the thuggish jihadists and wonder despairingly and rhetorically, "Who are these people?" Eventually, it becomes apparent that the advancing rebels will either conscript the monks or kill them, and the brothers must therefore reach a consensus about whether this looming fate warrants any action beyond, well, reading and praying, I suppose.
The film is therefore a quite pointed first-order rumination on moral duty and martyrdom, one that is partly enmeshed with Catholic tradition but not wholly dependent on it for pathos. It's perhaps a bit dry to watch monks sitting around and debating the pros and cons of abandoning their home, or monks whispering anxious prayers to themselves in their dark cells. However, the film's events have the luster of graceful credibility, reinforced by an understated hand. One can envision that the monks would have had these conversations, and they would have taken the time to carefully consider the moral meaning of their choices. Many of the brothers are frightened or angry, confessing a secret wish to return home to the relative safety and comfort of life in France. French audiences were likely well aware of how the story concludes, and the film's American promotion does little to conceal the unhappy ending of the tale. Nonetheless, there is value in any tale told with such elegance, even one so thematically frank.
Newer:Sucker PunchOlder:Another Year
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Crown Media Renews Agreement with Cablevision
(released 5/6/2008)
Crown Media Holdings, owner and operator of Hallmark Channel and Hallmark Movie Channel, announced April 29th that it has renewed its distribution agreement for Hallmark Channel with Cablevision Systems. Under the terms of the new deal, Cablevision Systems will also have the right to distribute both the Standard Definition and High Definition versions of Hallmark Movie Channel.
"We are very happy to announce this renewal of our affiliation agreement with Cablevision which, because of its service area in and around New York City, is a particularly important partner in our ability to showcase our industry-leading, family-friendly programming," said Henry Schleiff, President and CEO, Crown Media Holdings, Inc. "Indeed, this new agreement reflects both Cablevision's and Crown Media's emphasis on quality and service to our respective subscribers and viewers."
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Home Research Books Pentecostalism and Politics of Conversion in India
Pentecostalism and Politics of Conversion in India
Sarbeswar Sahoo
Publisher's Name:
This book studies the politics of Pentecostal conversion and anti-Christian violence in India. It asks: why has India been experiencing increasing incidents of anti-Christian violence since the 1990s? Why are the Bhil Adivasis increasingly converting to Pentecostalism? And, what are the implications of conversion for religion within indigenous communities on the one hand and broader issues of secularism, religious freedom and democratic rights on the other? Drawing on extended ethnographic fieldwork amongst the Bhils of Northern India since 2006, this book asserts that ideological incompatibility and antagonism between Christian missionaries and Hindu nationalists provide only a partial explanation for anti-Christian violence in India. It unravels the complex interactions between different actors/ agents in the production of anti-Christian violence and provides detailed ethnographic narratives on Pentecostal conversion, Hindu nationalist politics and anti-Christian violence in the largest state of India that has hitherto been dominated by upper caste Rajput Hindu(tva) ideology.
"The modern state struggles with social diversity, especially religious diversity. The problem is exacerbated by a religious majority that seeks to define citizenship in exclusively majoritarian terms. India is no exception and we are all too familiar with Hindu and Muslim conflict. Less familiar perhaps is the growth of Pentecostalism in India which is often violently rejected by Hindu nationalists, but also criticized by mainstream Christianity. This book is a remarkable study of the spread of Pentecostalism mainly among the poor among the Bhil tribes of Rajastan. This fascinating account of the complexity of conversion experiences shows how religious conversion leads to both hope and social mobility. A major contribution to both the study of modern India and to the sociology of religion." Bryan S. Turner, Australian Catholic University
"Few topics are as highly charged today in India as is Christian conversion. Few, at the same time, raise more complex ethical and policy questions. In this vividly written and analytically sophisticated work, Sarbeswar Sahoo provides us with a ethnographically rich account of the politics and experience of Christian conversion in contemporary northern India. The result is not only one of the finest accounts currently available on Christian conversion in India, but a major contribution to the comparative study of Christianity and conversion in our contemporary world." Robert Hefner, Boston University
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President Donald Trump holds up a chart of military hardware sales as he meets with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the Oval Office on March 20, 2018, in Washington, D.C. (Kevin Dietsch-Pool/Getty Images)
Web Only / Features » June 10, 2019
Trump Lets Raytheon Share Sensitive Bomb-Making Tech with Saudi Arabia
The president is defying Congress, which wants to shut off a flow of U.S. weapons that have been used to kill thousands of Yemenis.
BY Jake Johnson, Common Dreams
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The provision, according to the Times, immediately "raised concerns that the Saudis could gain access to technology that would let them produce their own versions of American precision-guided bombs—weapons they have used in strikes on civilians since they began fighting a war in Yemen four years ago."
This post first appeared at Common Dreams.
In a move critics warned could empower the Saudis to manufacture their own high-tech weaponry for use in their assault on Yemen, the Trump administration reportedly wants to allow the American arms giant Raytheon to work with the kingdom to construct bomb and missile parts inside Saudi Arabia.
As The New York Times reported Friday, President Donald Trump's emergency declaration last month greenlighting billions of dollars in U.S. weapons sales to Saudi Arabia without congressional approval contained a provision that permits Raytheon to “team up with the Saudis to build high-tech bomb parts in Saudi Arabia.”
The provision, according to the Times, immediately “raised concerns that the Saudis could gain access to technology that would let them produce their own versions of American precision-guided bombs—weapons they have used in strikes on civilians since they began fighting a war in Yemen four years ago.”
“The move grants Raytheon and the Saudis sweeping permission to begin assembling the control systems, guidance electronics and circuit cards that are essential to the company's Paveway smart bombs,” the Times reported. “The United States has closely guarded such technology for national security reasons.”
In a detailed investigation published last month, In These Times found that the Saudi kingdom has “ordered more than 27,000 missiles worth at least $1.8 billion from Raytheon alone” since 2009.
“About $650 million of those Raytheon orders,” In These Times reported, “came after the Saudi war in Yemen began.”
William D. Hartung, director of the Arms and Security Project at the Center for International Policy, warned that handing the Saudis the capacity to develop high-tech bombs on the level of U.S. weaponry could have disastrous consequences for the people of Yemen, who are already suffering from the world's worst humanitarian crisis.
“If Saudi Arabia is able to develop an indigenous bomb-making capability as a result of this deal,” Hartung said, “it will undermine U.S. leverage to prevent them from engaging in indiscriminate strikes of the kind it has carried out in Yemen.”
According to the Times, the Trump administration's agreement with Raytheon “is part of a larger arms package, previously blocked by Congress, that includes 120,000 precision-guided bombs that Raytheon is prepared to ship to the coalition.”
“These will add to the tens of thousands of bombs that Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have already stockpiled,” the Times reported, “and some in Congress fear the surplus would let the countries continue fighting in Yemen long into the future.”
As Common Dreams reported in April, Trump vetoed a congressional effort—led by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.)—to end U.S. complicity in the Saudi assault on Yemen by halting military assistance to the kingdom.
A bipartisan group of lawmakers is now planning a series of votes in an attempt to block Trump's emergency declaration on Saudi arms sales.
“We will not stand idly by and allow the president or the secretary of state to further erode congressional review and oversight of arm sales,” said Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Jake Johnson, Common Dreams
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2008-01-02: Insubordinance
Roleplay Logs » Volume 03: Corruption » 2008-01-02: Insubordinance
Summary: Noah and Benjamin pay Elle a visit, and Noah has some questions for Elle. She gives the wrong answers.
Date It Happened: January 2nd, 2008
Innsubordinance
Elle Bishop's Apartment
Several days after her encounter with Gabriel Gray, Elle Bishop is holed up in her apartment, as she has been for much of the time, aside from having stepped out earlier in the day to visit a fellow agent. It's early evening, and the shades are drawn, the lights in the modest apartment all lit. In the kitchen, she's working on dinner, though she's hardly even started; there are various things laid out on the counter, and she's in the middle of chopping vegetables.
With a simple call to his Sprint phone, Noah soon make another to Benjamin Winters. The message is simple, asking Ben to head to Elle's apartment building. Considering the surveillance shows Elle is still in her room and alone, he has no qualms in such a public meeting place. As Ben moves toward the door of the building, Noah puts down the newspaper he was holding and walks along side.
As usual, the missing briefing is short and on a need to know basis as they go up the stairs together. "This is a simple mission; we need Miss Bishop to come with us. If what I hear is true, she might be helping a known escapee of the Company… Considering she might be working WITH the escapee, I don't think I need to explain what this could mean or how /important/ it is that she returns to the Company unharmed." As Noah arrives on Elle's floor, the final instructions are given. "Stay out of sight at all times, only use your power if it seems like Elle is refusing to come peacefully." Eyes shielded by glass turn to the Agent in Training. "Are we clear?"
Benjamin is feeling no pressure, partnering alongside Noah for this this outing. No pressure at all. He wasn't waiting very long for Noah at all at the apartment building. Now that the briefing has been made, he keeps quiet, listening to instructions, and focusing on doing the job. "Yes sir, perfectly clear." Staying down and out of sight works for him, he knows what Elle can do. Then that addition of her working with an escapee? He can stay down and play the waiting game. A more seasoned agent might put up an argument with Noah's orders, but not Ben. Not at this point in time.
Inside her apartment, Elle is oblivious to the agents approaching her apartment. In fact, she's unaware that her apartment is even under surveillance, though she ought to have considered the possibility. Standard operating procedure, particularly given her history. And it's precisely that history that has Elle so distracted tonight, her mind racing a mile a minute, as she realizes she's chopped about twice as many vegetables as she needs. Staring at them for a second before moving to put half of them into a container, she says to herself, "Get a grip, Elle."
Moving toward the door, the Company Man waits until Benji has gotten into position. If the Amazing Accountant isn't up against the wall and about seven feet of the door, Noah will motion silently for him to do. Once Ben is ready, Noah does his part. He knocks politely, preparing a nice warm smile before he keeps his handed clasped in front of him.
Benjamin does as instructed, down to the position of flattening himself to the wall. Technically, this is still a one of us, one of them partnering. He's still within range of acting fast to cover Noah's back.
At the knock, Elle turns to look to the door with a slightly surprised expression, pausing in mid-chop. She doesn't receive many guests, and the last time someone came knocking, it was a very unexpected visitor. Absently wondering if this might be that same visitor, she takes a cloth from the handle on the stove and approaches the door, drying her hands as she walks. She's not nearly naive enough to open the door without checking who it is, but what she sees through the peephole is not what she expected. She hesitates for a moment, hand on the deadbolt, unmoving… and then she unlocks it and pulls the door open, greeting Noah with a somewhat insincere smile. "Bennet," she says, ducking her head slightly, before continuing with feigned friendliness. "What are you doing here?"
"To be honest, Elle, I was hoping that you could tell me. I was notified that many of your reports were improperly filled out along with a few other concerns. I was asked to get to the bottom of it." Noah gives a regretful look at that before he tries to give a small smile to accompany his halftruth. "Is everything alright?" He pokes his head in to look around as he asks the question, trying to make it seem like he's worried that Elle is being held hostage or something is just as wrong. Whether or not Elle will buy any degree of concern from Bennet is another matter entirely.
Benjamin keeps quiet and still against the wall. His attention is focused on the pair, listening to the conversation. So far, so good.
When he sticks his head inside, Elle steps back from the door and sweeps an arm to invite Noah in, though she doesn't say as much. "Everything's fine," she replies coolly, her voice still a touch hoarse. "I'm coming down with something, so I took a few days off." Which is not entirely a lie, really. "But I guess that's why you're here, instead of finding me at the office." She adopts an innocent tone as she asks, "What do you mean about the reports?"
Noah takes a couple of steps in. Considering a satisfactory explanation isn't fore coming, Noah doesn't beat around the bush. "You were supposed to meet up with Peter Petrelli. Considering your history, we both know that he would try and maintain contact with you. Yet your reports have had rather noticeable gaps on your conversations with Mr. Petrelli." Noah looks around again, as if searching for the man himself. So far, no luck. "Your father is not going to be pleased if you are making this personal again. Not after what happened the LAST time."
Though she closes the door behind Noah, Elle doesn't move any further into the apartment, her hand hovering over the doorknob. Briefly taken aback by the 'personal' remark, she scrunches her nose, grip tightening on the doorknob… but she maintains her composure, refusing to rise to the bait. She may as well go all the way with her supposed ignorance of the situation, she decides, turning to Noah with a perplexed expression. "I don't know what you're talking about," she says noncommittally, raising her shoulders in a shrug. "I haven't seen Peter for weeks."
The Man with the Horned-Rimmed Glasses is not impressed, turning to face Elle, keeping his eyes on her and facing her as she now blocks the door. "Considering he told me personally that he wanted to talk to you, I find that hard to believe. After all, I was the one to tell him that you weren't dead after Sylar escaped from Level 5." Noah's eyebrows raise, the only sign that he is starting to get frustrated. "Now are you going to explain to me the truth or am I going to have to request an investigation from your father? We have better things to do than fill out paperwork, Elle. You know that, I know that."
Benjamin frowns as the door closes, but he doesn't move from his position. Tilting his head towards Elle's door, he continues listening in. Waiting for any signal that Noah needs backup.
"And he found me," Elle replies, equally unimpressed by Noah's persistence with the matter. "Months ago. It had nothing to do with the Company, so I didn't fill out a report." She pauses there, fixing him with a pointed look, one eyebrow raised. "Do you write a report about every conversation you have with your wife? How about your daughter?" Finally releasing the doorknob, she leans back against the door, crossing her arms. "We talked. If that's what you meant by 'personal,' then yeah. It was personal. Satisfied?"
Strike Three. "My orders aren't to talk with my wife. Yours were to talk to Petrelli and to report back any information. If you can't follow orders, I'll have to talk to Mr. Bishop… Or would you like to?" Noah pulls out his phone, flipping up the top in preparation to call.
Pushing away from the door, tossing the cloth back onto the counter in the kitchen, Elle rolls her eyes childishly. "Fine," she concedes, turning back to Noah with a look of exasperation. "Next time, I'll make sure I record the conversation and give you a tape." In other words, please don't call my father. "Anything else?"
A grim smile grows on HRG's lips, unable to keep up the perfect poker face for whatever reason. "Maybe you don't understand the gravity of the situation, Elle. You've just lied to me about your orders given to you directly by your father repeatedly. You are going to explain yourself to him in person. Now." Noah motions toward the door, expecting Elle to head out. He doesn't expect trouble out of her even at this point, but if she snaps well… That's what Benji is for. "Be glad that he protects you…. Or else this would have been MUCH messier for you."
Elle is the very picture of the "deer in the headlights" expression at Noah's command, and her heart skips a beat as she considers his words. Lied repeatedly - how would he know that? She flicks a glance to the door, eyes narrowing, but she doesn't approach it. Something about this isn't sitting right with her. "No," she says, long before thinking, and as soon as the word is out of her mouth, she can feel the colour rising in her cheeks. Recovering quickly, she continues, "I told him I'd see him on the weekend. I'll talk to him then." She tips her chin down, watching Noah carefully.
Clearly something has happened to Elle. Usually threat of daddy was always enough to have her leap and bound to his every command. The fact that she is trying to get out of it suggests that the variables have changed. This means the method of delivery has just changed. "I see. This was designed to be the final test. You can talk to your father, he's right behind the door." Putting his hand around his mouth, Noah shouts. "MISTER BISHOP I NEED YOU TO TALK TO YOUR DAUGHTER." Noah waits calmly with his hands in front of him. Hopefully, Benji will understand what this mean. If not, well, he's handled Evolved on his own before.
Benjamin does indeed understand what Noah's shouted sentence means. There's no one else out here who Noah could be speaking to. He knows he doesn't need to see his target to affect them. He knows who he needs to focus on, and she's well within his range. Even as he walks towards the short distance to Elle's apartment door, he's focusing his attention on putting her to sleep.
Uncertain whether Noah means precisely what he says or this is a call to a partner nearby - it could be either, and she wouldn't put it past her father to be standing outside - Elle hesitates. She hesitates for other reasons, too, which are more difficult to articulate in her mind. Dividing her attention between the door and Noah, she builds a charge in her hand, a blue glow emanating from her palm. "I said no," she snaps, and it would be much more threatening, as she raises her hand towards Noah, if she weren't suddenly overtaken with a wave of exhaustion. With a crack, the electricity dies before she can send an arc anywhere, and she stumbles. "Son of a…" Her eyes close, just like that, and Elle falls to the ground in a manner lacking for any grace. She hits hard, and for the second time in a matter of days, she's going to wake up with one wicked headache.
As soon as Elle is down, Noah calmly moves toward the kitchen area. As one would expect from the experienced man, he pulls out a syinge of a sedative. "Ben, get in here… Need to teach you something." Once the man enters the room, Noah begins his lesson for the day.
"First thing… Always try the most peaceful and safest route possible, but be ready for the worst. Elle wasn't going to shock me right off the bat, so I tried talking to her. When that didn't work, you were there to clean up." Noah sticks Elle with the syringe before going on. "Second thing, when you don't have something to keep them down, water keeps a electrokinesis Evolved from using their powers… Finally, do your damnest to keep your personal life away from the Company. It only leads to pain for all parties." With that, Noah takes Elle up into his arms and begins to make his way downstairs… Thankfully, Elle isn't TOO heavy.
Benjamin enters the room just in time to see that he was able to put Elle to sleep. So he merely nods at Noah's instruction and keeps most commentary to himself. It's just the easiest way to learn. Plus he's still firmly convinced that Noah will make good on the whole 'you are expendable' speech. "That won't be a problem. I don't have much of a personal life," he says quietly. It's the truth. Any friends he had outside of the Company for the most part now know of his affiliation and they don't trust him. When Elle is hefted, he helps Noah on the way out when needed.
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Home > Catholic Encyclopedia > D > Diocletian
(VALERIUS DIOCLETIANUS).
Roman Emperor and persecutor of the Church, born of parents who had been slaves, at Dioclea, near Salona, in Dalmatia, A.D. 245; d. at Salona, A.D. 313.
He entered the army and by his marked abilities attained the offices of Governor of Mœsia, consul, and commander of the guards of the palace. In the Persian war, under Carus, he especially distinguished himself. When the son and successor of Carus, Numerian, was murdered at Chalcedon, the choice of the army fell upon Diocletian, who immediately slew with his own hand the murderer Aper (17 Sept., 284). His career as emperor belongs to secular history. Here only a summary will be given. The reign of Diocletian (284-305) marked an era both in the military and political history of the empire. The triumph which he celebrated together with his colleague Maximian (20 Nov., 303) was the last triumph which Rome ever beheld. Britain, the Rhine, the Danube, and the Nile furnished trophies; but the proudest boast of the conqueror was that Persia, the persistent enemy of Rome, had at last been subdued. Soon after his accession to power Diocletian realized that the empire was too unwieldy and too much exposed to attack to be safely ruled by a single head. Accordingly, he associated with himself Maximian, a bold but rude soldier, at first as Cæsar and afterwards as Augustus (286). Later on, he further distributed his power by granting the inferior title of Cæsar to two generals, Galerius and Constantius (292). He reserved for his own portion Thrace, Egypt, and Asia; Italy and Africa were Maximian's provinces, while Galerius was stationed on the Danube, and Constantius had charge of Gaul, Spain, and Britain. But the supreme control remained in Diocletian's hands. None of the rulers resided in Rome, and thus the way was prepared for the downfall of the imperial city. Moreover, Diocletian undermined the authority of the Senate, assumed the diadem, and introduced the servile ceremonial of the Persian court. After a prosperous reign of nearly twenty-one years, he abdicated the throne and retired to Salona, where he lived in magnificent seclusion until his death.
Diocletian's name is associated with the last and most terrible of all the ten persecutions of the early Church. Nevertheless it is a fact that the Christians enjoyed peace and prosperity during the greater portion of his reign. Eusebius, who lived at this time, describes in glowing terms "the glory and the liberty with which the doctrine of piety was honoured", and he extols the clemency of the emperors towards the Christian governors whom they appointed, and towards the Christian members of their households. He tells us that the rulers of the Church "were courted and honoured with the greatest subserviency by all the rulers and governors". He speaks of the vast multitudes that flocked to the religion of Christ, and of the spacious and splendid churches erected in the place of the humbler buildings of earlier days. At the same time he bewails the falling from ancient fervour "by reason of excessive liberty" (Church History VIII.1). Diocletian remained sole emperor, he would probably have allowed this toleration to continue undisturbed. It was his subordinate Galerius who first induced him to turn persecutor. These two rulers of the East, at a council held at Nicomedia in 302, resolved to suppress Christianity throughout the empire. The cathedral of Nicomedia was demolished (24 Feb., 303). An edict was issued "to tear down the churches to the foundations and to destroy the Sacred Scriptures by fire; and commanding also that those who were in honourable stations should be degraded if they persevered in their adherence to Christianity" (Eusebius, op. cit., VIII, ii). Three further edicts (303-304) marked successive stages in the severity of the persecution: the first ordering that the bishops, presbyters, and deacons should be imprisoned; the second that they should be tortured and compelled by every means to sacrifice; the third including the laity as well as the clergy. The atrocious cruelty with which these edicts were enforced, and the vast numbers of those who suffered for the Faith are attested by Eusebius and the Acts of the Martyrs. We read even of the massacre of the whole population of a town because they declared themselves Christians (Eusebius, loc. cit., xi, xii; Lactant., "Div. Instit.", V, xi). The abdication of Diocletian (1 May, 305) and the subsequent partition of the empire brought relief to many provinces. In the East, however, where Galerius and Maximian held sway, the persecution continued to rage. Thus it will be seen that the so-called Diocletian persecution should be attributed to the influence of Galerius; it continued for seven years after Diocletian's abdication. (See PERSECUTIONS.)
EUSEBIUS, Church History in P.G., XX; De Mart. Palæstinæ, P.G., XX, 1457-1520; LACTANTIUS, Divinæ Institutiones, V, in P.L., VI; De Mortibus Persecutorum, P.L., VII; GIBBON, Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, xiii, xvi; ALLARD, Le persécution de Dioclétien et le triomphe de l'église (Paris, 1890); IDEM, Le christianisme et l'empire romain (Paris, 1898); IDEM, Ten Lectures on the Martyrs, tr. (London, 1907); DUCHESNE, Histoire ancienne de l'église (Paris, 1907), II.
APA citation. Scannell, T. (1909). Diocletian. In The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05007b.htm
MLA citation. Scannell, Thomas. "Diocletian." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 5. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1909. <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05007b.htm>.
Transcription. This article was transcribed for New Advent by WGKofron. With thanks to St. Mary's Church, Akron, Ohio.
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You are here: Home / Ali'i / Chiefs / Governance / Capital Punishment
October 20, 2013 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment
Pā‘ao (ca 1300,) from Kahiki (Tahiti,) is reported to have introduced (or significantly expanded) a religious and political code in old Hawai‘i, collectively called the kapu system.
The kapu system was the common structure, the rule of order, and religious and political code. This social and political structure gave leaders absolute rule and authority. This forbid many things and demanded many more, with many infractions being punishable by death.
Shortly after the death of Kamehameha I in 1819, King Kamehameha II (Liholiho) declared an end to the kapu system. In a dramatic and highly symbolic event, Kamehameha II ate and drank with women, thereby breaking the important eating kapu.
This changed the course of the civilization and ended the kapu system, effectively weakened belief in the power of the gods and the inevitability of divine punishment for those who opposed them. The end of the kapu system by Liholiho happened before the arrival of the missionaries; it made way for the transformation to Christianity and westernization.
While Liholiho’s brother Kauikeaouli (Kamehameha III) ruled as monarch (with shared authority with the Kuhina Nui,) he, too, took bold steps in changing the structure of governance. Kamehameha III initiated and implemented Hawaiʻi’s first constitution (1840) (one of five constitutions governing the Islands – and then, later, governance as part of the United States.)
Included were also published “penal laws,” which outlined classes of offenses and punishments for the same – with the death penalty being allowed for acts of murder.
“Many foreigners had predicted that whenever it became necessary to enforce the Penal Laws this enacted and promulgated, leniency would be shown towards chiefs of high rank.” (Bennet)
Then, there was enforcement and execution of the new laws on someone of rank, Kamanawa II (his father was High Chief Kepoʻokalani.)
Kamanawa, born during the days of the ancient customs with an unstructured approach to marriage, had found it difficult to live according to the increasingly Christian ways of his peers. When “one-to-one” marriage had been declared the law by royal order, his roving habits were not changed, and whenever he was attracted to a new love he followed his old ways. Kamokuiki (his wife,) adhering to the new faith, had little sympathy with his wanderings and finally went to the chiefs seeking a divorce. (Gutmanis)
As early as 1825, the chiefs in various districts had issued edicts of law that, following Christian teachings, included prohibitions against adultery and the biblical relief of divorce and the right to remarry given the injured party. And so it was with Kamokuiki whose divorce, dated August 16, 1840, stated: because Kamanawa has repeatedly committed adultery, his wife Kamokuiki has requested a separation. (Gutmanis)
There is no record of how Kamanawa received the decree, but six weeks later on September 26, 1840 Kamokuiki was dead. Murder being instantly suspected, an autopsy was performed and the stomach found to be “much inflamed while every thing else was in order.” (Gutmanis)
Kamanawa and his friend Lonopuakau, captain of the Hawaiian vessel Hooikaika, confessed that Kamanawa had administered the fatal dose and that the Captain had prepared the mixture of ʻakia, ʻauhuhu and ʻawa that caused Kamokuiki’s death.
“She survived but three hours, medical assistance being of no avail. As soon as she was dead, which was about midnight, the news immediately spread and a terrible wailing commenced, which was quickly born to the other side of the island. It was so loud, so prolonged and so sudden as to awake at once almost all the residents, and at that hour, as its sepulchral cadences rose and fell, and were lost in the distance, the effect was startling and mournful in the extreme.” (Hawaiian Gazette, October 12, 1894)
Justice was swift; on September 30, 1840, a jury of 12 chiefs was empaneled to try Kamanawa and Lonopuakau.
On “Wednesday morning a court was held at the Fort, for the trial of Kamanawa and Lono, captain of the schooner Hooikaika, for the murder of Kamokuiki, wife of the former. Governor Kekūanāoʻa was the presiding Judge, the King and high chiefs being present.” (The Polynesian, October 3, 1840)
“The court being organized, the trial commenced, when the following facts were developed: The first-mentioned person, it appears, had been divorced from his wife for some time past, but could not marry again while she was living: Having conceived a violent passion for another woman, he determined to rid himself of his wife, and applied to Lono, who was said to be skilled in preparing poisons. Lono also wishing to destroy his wife, the two agreed to poison both”. (The Polynesian, October 3, 1840)
The jury found the two guilty and sentenced to hang on October 20th.
On the October 24, The Polynesian carried a short item that succinctly summed up the execution of the sentencing: “The murderers Kamanawa and Lonopuakau expiated their crime on the scaffold on Tuesday last, at the Fort in the presence of a large concourse of people.”
The site of the execution was over the gate of Fort Kekuanohu (Fort Honolulu – that once stood at the bottom of Fort Street;) the gallows was erected above the gate, so it could be easily seen for some distance.
After the hanging, either one or both of the bodies were buried at the cross-roads, in accordance with the old English custom of burying executed criminals where they would be out of the way, and the burial places be forever unknown. It is believed that the cross roads selected were at the junction of King and Punchbowl or Queen and Punchbowl streets.
I should note – Kamanawa II was no ‘ordinary’ ranking chief.
He was the grandson of Kameʻeiamoku, one of the ‘royal twins’ (uncles of Kamehameha the Great and his counselors in the wars to unite the Islands.) He was named after his famous grand uncle, the other royal twin. (The twins are on Hawaiʻi’s Royal Coat of Arms; Kameʻeiamoku is on the right holding a kahili and Kamanawa on the left holding a spear.)
Oh, one more thing … Kamanawa II and Kamokuiki were parents of Caesar Kapaʻakea. In 1835, Caesar married the High Chiefess Analeʻa Keohokālole; they had several children.
Most notable were a son, who on February 13, 1874 became King Kalākaua, and a daughter, who on January 29, 1891 became Queen Liliʻuokalani (they were grandchildren of Kamanawa II, the first to be charged and hanged under Hawaiʻi’s first modern criminal laws.)
It is said that after Kalākaua came to the throne, he had the body of Kamanawa taken up and the bones removed to Mauna Ala in Nuʻuanu. This is positively stated by the natives. (Hawaiian Gazette, October 12, 1894) Kamokuiki was buried at Kawaiahaʻo Church.
The image shows Fort Kekuanohu (on right, looking down Queen Street.) In addition, I have added other images in a folder of like name in the Photos section on my Facebook and Google+ pages.
Filed Under: Ali'i / Chiefs / Governance, Hawaiian Traditions Tagged With: Fort Kekuanohu, Hawaii, Hawaiian Constitution, Kalakaua, Kamanawa, Kameeiamoku, Kamehameha III, Kamokuiki, Kapaakea, Kapu, Kauikeaouli, Keohokalole, Liliuokalani, Paao
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Kalloch Family Home Page
Website of The Kalloch Family Reunion Association
Rev. Joseph Kalloch
First President of the Kalloch Family Reunion Association
(Served 1867-1884)
Introducing the Kalloch Family
Our first known direct ancestor was John Killough. He came from the island of South Uist in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. Circa 1580 or 1590 he was with a unit of mounted Scots mercenaries in France. His son John II, known as John of Drogheda, joined a regiment of heavy horse in Ulster and in 1649 served with Cromwell's New Model Army.
By about 1660, John II and his wife Mary (Hyde) Killough, with son John III settled in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. John III married Anne McNeil and they had three sons, Robert (b. 1681), John IV (b. 1689), and James (b. 1692). Son James stayed in County Antrim, and Robert and John IV came to America.
Robert with wife Margaret (Finley) Killough and their sons Allen, Finley and John, and John IV with wife Jean (Young) Killough, came in the ship "William" from County Antrim, Northern Ireland to Boston in 1718. From Boston they journeyed to Freetown (now Assonet), Mass., near Worcester.
The English Congregationalist living there did not welcome the influx of Scots Presbyterians. John IV however, determined to make the best of the situation decided to stay, and his sons Samuel and John were born there. After a few years John IV joined fellow Presbyterians on the migration to Pennsylvania where they were to find a better sort of religious toleration. Robert and Margaret had another son David probably born at Worcester, but they soon moved to Portsmouth, N.H. where he set up a fish oil factory. When this burned Robert and his family also went south to Pennsylvania. Only their son Finley stayed in New England, a first settler in the Upper Settlement of St. Georges (now Warren), Maine.
Finley was only about 14 when his first child David was born in 1725. This may explain why he came north in 1735 with his parents-in-law who settled across the St. George's River. His wife Mary Young was 11 years his senior. For several generations none of the Maine Kellochs named their children after Finley's father, Robert, making it likely a family dispute was associated with this move.
Of Finley and Mary's children, John and Matthew settled in what is now the town of St. George, Maine, David and Alexander in what is now Warren, Maine, Margaret Boyd in Boothbay, Maine and Mary Brown perhaps in Boston, Mass.
In 1743 when Samuel Waldo gave a deed to "Finlo Kellough" for 90 acres of land on the St. Georges River. In 1762 when Finley's estate was settled, the name was given as "Findley Kelly (or Kellock)". His children however at once began to use the name "Kelloch" and this name uniformly runs through their Army and Navy records of the French and Indian war, the Revolution, and War of 1812, and all land conveyances down to around the year 1805. Then we diversified.
Witness the old St. George Cemetery where in a radius of 30 feet you can find it spelled Kelloch, Kallock, Kalloch, Keller and Kellar. Gravestones for husbands and wives spell it differently side by side in St. George and West Rockport. In Warren Benjamin's stone reads Kellar while a monument in his memory nearby spells it Kalloch. Why? Illiteracy, family disputes, whimsy? We don't know. Spell it as you like! The Reunion spells it Kalloch probably out of esteem bordering on reverence for our first Family Reunion Association president, Rev. Joseph Kalloch.
Kalloch Family Reunion Association
We believe that our Reunion is the oldest in America. When Eliza Butler came home from Indiana for a visit in 1866 her family gathered several times. At one gathering it was suggested that it would be good to gather all the Kalloch clans on a regular basis, among them our founding twins, Nancy Wall and Rev. Joseph Kalloch. The first Reunion was held on June 23, 1867.
Our 152nd annual Kalloch Family Reunion will be held on August 17, 2019 in Rockland, Maine at the First Universalist Church, located on 345 Broadway St.
No Frames | Site Map
Portions of the above text are from: Research done by Kalloch historian, Dean Mayhew. Introducing the Kalloch Family, by Peter T. Richardson, 1992. Tartan at the left side of framed pages is the "Modern MacDonald Tartan" from the Clan Donald-USA website (used with permission).
This site is labeled "Child Friendly" with ICRA, SafeSurf, and we have taken the Pro-Ethics Pledge of the International Webmaster's Association. This site is dedicate to my children and all of our children.
For more information about this site visit our "About this Website" page.
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Webmaster & Historian: Kenneth D. Kalloch, kdk44@juno.com
11 Joffre St. Concord, NH 03301-2634
Copyright ©2019 Kalloch Family Reunion Association. All Rights Reserved.
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The 15 best documentaries streaming on Netflix right now
The very best documentaries draw you in even if you don’t care about unfathomable crimes or political debates or jailed artists or sleep disorders. They allow us to see ourselves in the subject no matter how famous or how far removed they are from our own lives — which is part of the point, reaching for the humane strands that connect us across mileage and mental state.
Stories about leaders and burnouts. Stories about losses and resurrections. Stories about fears and triumphs. Stories as true as a camera can allow. If you want to watch a documentary every day for the foreseeable future, Netflix has you covered for at least the next two years.
To get you cheerfully enthusiastic about life and art, or to anger you to your very core, here are the 15 best documentaries you can stream on Netflix right now.
The best documentaries of 2018
A nightmare in progress.
The Nightmare(2015)
Horror movies aren’t usually non-fiction, which is part of what makes Rodney Ascher’s documentary so mesmerizing. Ascher’s harrowing film explores sleep paralysis — a medical condition that renders sufferers incapable of moving or speaking in the moments just before or after sleep — by recreating the hallucinations of those who experience it. Expert talking heads dryly explaining the biology are nowhere to be found; in their place is a dark figure called the Shadow Man who haunts the documentary as the conversations dig deeper into the profound terror induced by the condition.
Amy Winehouse.
Amy (2015)
Prior to her death from alcohol poisoning at the age of 27, Amy Winehouse astounded fans with her vocals and throwback style. While many biographical docs promise to show the “real” subject, director Asif Kapadia’s profile actually delivers, offering an impressive look behind the big hair and makeup while allowing us to question how healthy it is for us to obsess over fame this way in the first place. The story is far more complicated than a young woman’s inability to cope with stardom; Amy actively pushes against that flattened media narrative, urging viewers not to pretend that they can really know her, but to let us view an icon as a human being.
Gore Vidal and William F. Buckley Jr.
Best of Enemies (2015)
It seems like a hundred years ago that Jon Stewart went on the political debate show Crossfire to say that Crossfire was garbage that harmed the country. His condemnation was so effective that CNN cancelled the show, but cable TV discourse hasn’t exactly gotten any better since then. If you’re curious about how we got here, you need to meet Gore Vidal and William F. Buckley Jr. During the 1968 presidential campaign, these men — with firmly different ideologies — debated each other ten times on ABC, transforming disagreements about policy and principle into one-liner-laden sparring matches.
Joshua Wong in Bangkok.
Lam Yik Fei/Getty Images
Joshua: Teenager vs. Superpower (2017)
If you’re looking for motivation, listening to “Eye of the Tiger” is a quick fix, but Joshua: Teenager vs Superpower will get you even more pumped up. This film is a necessary primer on Hong Kong’s modern history and China’s increasing autonomy. At an age when most of us are worried primarily about acne and PSATs, the teenage Joshua Wong organized a student movement that helped eventually bring 100,000+ pro-suffrage protesters to the streets. This isn’t where the story ends, but the beginning is profoundly inspirational, and the film’s title is no exaggeration.
Ayrton Senna in his car.
Senna (2010)
Ayrton Senna was a world-class Brazilian Formula One racer at the center of a pulse-pounding sport. He was also a fiery, fascinating figure with outsized talent and ego. For a story set in the 1980s and 1990s, there’s an incredible immediacy to the footage of the races, and Senna’s personal story (and confidence) is magnetic enough to pull in people who haven’t even heard of Formula One. Culled from 15,000 hours of newsreel footage and home movies, the film tracks Senna’s rise through the sport and his challenging of the internal politics of racing, up through his tragic death at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix.
Vera, Jill, and Thomas Sung.
Abacus: Small Enough to Jail (2016)
If you’re pissed that the big banks that caused the 2008 financial crises never saw real judgment, there’s more bad news: The only bank that faced criminal charges was a family-owned bank called Abacus Federal Savings Bank, which was decidedly not too big to fail. The immigrant-run, immigrant-serving bank was brought up on charges of fraud related to millions in mortgages sold to Fannie Mae while executives from the larger banks responsible cashed big bonuses. Hoop Dreams director Steve James’ densely informative doc is vital to understanding the head-slapping follow-up to one of the worst catastrophes in modern history.
Nina Simone.
What Happened, Miss Simone? (2015)
Modern non-fiction master Liz Garbus turns her lens on the life of potent civil rights activist and singer Nina Simone in What Happened, Miss Simone?, pulling off the impossible by further elevating an already larger-than-life subject instead of diminishing her. The film boasts rare and never-before-seen archival footage, as well as interviews with living family members. For those who are casual – or even obsessive – fans of Simone’s music, the documentary creates an unforgettable window into the rest of her life, her political work, and her exile from the United States. For those who don’t know her, it’s time to tap your toes and get educated.
Jan Broberg, Robert Berchtold, and Mary Ann Broberg.
Abducted in Plain Sight (2017)
After Serial, Making a Murderer,and The Staircase, it’s become difficult to shock true-crime fans, but Abducted in Plain Sight should bring even the most jaded jaw down. Chronicling the two kidnappings of one young girl (there’s your first hint at how insane this story gets), the film delivers eyebrow-raising twists as quickly and intensely as Marvel delivers CGI fight scenes. It’s one of the most compelling survivor stories out there, but it also keeps you waiting for literally any adult involved to make a smart choice. Exploring familial care, poisonous charisma, and sci-fi elements (not kidding), the documentary exposes the atrocities allowed by well-meaning people like almost no film before it.
Jiro Ono and his team.
Jiro Dreams of Sushi (2011)
A festival for the senses and an ode to perfectionism, David Gelb’s foodie bait commands attention with cinematography so gorgeous that you’ll want to lick your TV screen. But the heart of the film isn’t the food — it’s the maker. Jiro Ono, owner of the Michelin three-star restaurant Sukiyabashi Jiro, is an octogenarian with a warmth and sense of commitment to his craft that feels simultaneously sadly outdated and desperately craved. Then there’s his 50-year-old son, Yoshikazu, who shares his father’s dedication, and faces the immense responsibility of one day taking over and somehow improving upon perfection. The joyful message of the movie is a kind of math equation, as Jiro posits that hard, smart work will lead to the highest possible quality product.
The artist Ai Weiwei.
Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images
Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry (2011)
What happens when an artist is raised in a world without freedom? For Ai Weiwei, it leads to a devout defense of it. Though Weiwei spent his adolescence in a Chinese labor camp in the Gobi Desert because of his father’s poetry, thereby learning the cost of political dissent at a frighteningly early age, his experiences didn’t stop him from speaking out through his art. It also led him to craft a photo series of him flipping off the White House, Tiananmen Square, and other global and political landmarks. Filmed with a freshness that’s been copied dozens of times since, Alison Klayman’s uplifting doc bounces between the high art world — celebrating his life and art at venues like the Tate Modern — and his experiences with the Chinese government, beating him, burning his studio, and imprisoning him. It culminates with a massive project that the Chinese government eventually shut down, but Ai Weiwei refuses to back down.
Child actors, waiting to audition for the part of JonBenét Ramsay.
Casting JonBenet (2017)
Kitty Green’s provocative film isn’t exactly about the murder of JonBenét Ramsey — the Christmas 1996 tragedy that rocked Boulder, Colorado and the rest of the nation — although it certainly offers a lot of information about it. Where most documentaries might hire actors to craft dramatizations of important, non-videotaped events, this experimental work makes the hiring of those actors the subject of the documentary itself. Since the actors are all Boulder locals with their own memories of how the news story unfolded two decades before, the movie penetrates the big question of how we process tabloid information, remember tragedies, find villains and heroes in people we don’t know, and otherwise cement a version of the truth in our minds that’s surprisingly difficult to alter.
Political activist, author, and academic Angela Davis.
13th (2016)
The Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, which abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, was ratified on December 6, 1865. However, it took another century before civil rights were secured, and another half-century before the election of the first African-American President. Ava DuVernay’s deep dive into America’s reckoning with its history of slavery should be required viewing for every high school civics class (and every adult, for that matter). It’s a gut check that spans the modern suppression of black citizens, signaling disenfranchisement, an egregious racial wealth gap, and an outsized rate of incarceration. It handles ongoing outrage with rationality, and delivers a righteous Cri de Coeur that should move even the most apathetic and disengaged viewer to action.
Sophia Siddique and Sandi Tan in 1992.
Universally acclaimed since its release (it’s got a bulletproof 100% on Rotten Tomatoes), Shirkers is ultimately a dissection of art, failure, and perseverance. In 1992, Sandi Tan set out to make a movie with her close, equally pop culture-obsessed friends Jasmine Ng and Sophia Siddique, and her middle-aged American mentor Georges Cardona. In a wild betrayal, the reels were taken from Tan and lost for nearly two decades. That’s just the start of a twisty tale of stolen potential that Tan has masterfully crafted into a detective yarn, a beautiful travelogue via time machine of 1990s Singapore, and an ambitious shout about the fragility and durability of art.
Deeyah Khan conducting an interview.
Fuuse Film
White Right: Meeting the Enemy (2017)
In an act of sheer bravery or madness, filmmaker and liberal Muslim immigrant Deeyah Khan sat down to talk with men who organize movements around hating people like her. In White Right, she engages with leaders from the National Socialist Movement (aka Nazis) and other white nationalist organizations after she receives a barrage of hate-filled messages. That includes marching alongside them in Charlottesville, Virginia for the Unite the Right rally – now infamous for the murder of activist Heather Heyer by a neo-Nazi – and sitting down with them in their homes to find out what fuels their hatred and fear. As with her 2015 documentary Jihad: A Story of the Others, Khan’s work suggests that even the most radical among us can be drawn back from the edge once a human face is placed on the devastation they want to inflict, creating a film as fascinating as it is vital to our current political conversation.
Adi Rukun.
The Look of Silence (2014)
In 2012, Joshua Oppenheimer and an anonymous co-director stunned the world with The Act of Killing, a nearly surreal examination of the Indonesian Mass Killings of 1965-66, which featured murderers recreating their past slaughter. Their companion piece, The Look of Silence, is even more impressive. The film focuses on Adi, a middle-aged Indonesian optometrist, who uses the cover of eye exams to interview the men responsible for killing his brother. That symbolism is serendipitous, but it’s Adi’s calm — seated within throttling distance from murderers — that’s truly astonishing. It’s a soul-testing documentary. When you recognize the killers’ lack of remorse and the fact that they’re still in power, Adi’s calm is (only slightly) easier to understand.
A 10-year veteran of movie culture criticism, Scott’s writing appears at Nerdist, Vanity Fair, Slashfilm, IndieWire, and more. He also co-hosts the screenwriting podcast Broken Projector, and his fiction has been published by Mulholland Books and Mythic Magazine. He wants to be Buster Keaton’s best friend.
‘Smash Dungeon’ is a ‘Smash TV’ Inspired Top-Down Arena Brawler that Will Be Looking for Beta Testers Soon
With ‘Fortnite’ Adding Controller Support, We Look at How Apple Could Take Things a Little Seriously with It
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'Real Is Rare. Real Is a Diamond' Commercial Shares Limelight During Last Night's Academy Awards
More than 30 million viewers tuning into the 89th annual Academy Awards last night got their first glimpse of "Runaways," the second in a series of “Real is Rare. Real is a Diamond” commercials produced by the Diamond Producers Association (DPA). It's been 10 years since the diamond category has shared the limelight of the Oscars — the second-most-watched event in the U.S. behind the Super Bowl.
Aimed at a millennial audience and shot as a short film, the provocative commercial offers a modern take on love and diamonds.
In the full one-minute version, the viewer gets to experience the whirlwind romance of a young couple, as told from the man's point of view. For this couple, it was love at first sight. They ran away together, and even though time has passed, the passion is still strong, as symbolized by her necklace strung with three diamond rings. An abbreviated 15-second version of "Runaways" ran last night at 10:24 p.m. EST during the Oscars.
How much DPA paid for the 15-second spot was not disclosed, although it is well known that a 30-second spot during this year's show has been selling for $2 million. The DPA reported that 67 percent of Oscar viewers are women.
"The DPA's 'Real is Rare. Real is a Diamond' marketing platform aims to connect with new generations in a way that is highly personal and emotionally relevant," observed Deborah Marquardt, DPA Chief Marketing Officer. "The campaign acknowledges millennials' desire to demonstrate their commitment in a more individualist, but equally sentimental and significant, way than previous generations."
The DPA successfully capitalized on Hollywood's biggest night. Before the show, viewers were dazzled by a red carpet parade of starlets decked out in head-turning gowns, complemented by stunning diamond and gemstone jewelry.
Established by the world’s biggest diamond mines to raise the profile and allure of diamonds for a millennial market, the DPA will release its third “Real is Rare” commercial this April. In September, DPA will roll out the second phase of its campaign, which will be targeted to a slightly older 25- to 32-year-old demographic, which tends to be more traditional when it comes to getting married.
Credits: Image captures via YouTube.com.
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The Female Brain
By Louann Brizendine, M.D.
Genre: Life Sciences
$12.99 On itunes Buy on Amazon
Since Dr. Brizendine wrote The Female Brain ten years ago, the response has been overwhelming. This New York Times bestseller has been translated into more than thirty languages, has sold nearly a million copies between editions, and has most recently inspired a romantic comedy starring Whitney Cummings and Sofia Vergara. And its profound scientific understanding of the nature and experience of the female brain continues to guide women as they pass through life stages, to help men better understand the girls and women in their lives, and to illuminate the delicate emotional machinery of a love relationship.
Why are women more verbal than men? Why do women remember details of fights that men can’t remember at all? Why do women tend to form deeper bonds with their female friends than men do with their male counterparts? These and other questions have stumped both sexes throughout the ages.
Now, pioneering neuropsychiatrist Louann Brizendine, M.D., brings together the latest findings to show how the unique structure of the female brain determines how women think, what they value, how they communicate, and who they love. While doing research as a medical student at Yale and then as a resident and faculty member at Harvard, Louann Brizendine discovered that almost all of the clinical data in existence on neurology, psychology, and neurobiology focused exclusively on males. In response to the overwhelming need for information on the female mind, Brizendine established the first clinic in the country to study and treat women’s brain function.
In The Female Brain, Dr. Brizendine distills all her findings and the latest information from the scientific community in a highly accessible book that educates women about their unique brain/body/behavior.
The result: women will come away from this book knowing that they have a lean, mean, communicating machine. Men will develop a serious case of brain envy.
Pseudoscientific garbage
By Luke Hanessian
Both of Ms. Brizendine's books about the psychology of men and women are overhyped, sensationalist nonsense that rely on poor sample studies as well as statements that are factually untrue. For example, one of the studies she uses to show that women are naturally better at empathizing and reading people's emotions better are based off of a study that included only women while another study showed both men and women responding with empathy. Another fallacy in her book is the claim that women are better multi-takers because "women's corpora callosa are larger than men's", despite the fact that women's corpora callosa are the same size. Finally, one of the more infamous fallacies in her book is the claim that men are better at math despite the NUMEROUS studies showing that boys and girls are just as good at math as each other as well as studies that show that boys lie about their math skills and say that they do better than girls in spite of the actual test scores which are the same as girls. For anyone who is genuinely interested in the psychology of men and women, stay away from this book. No matter how many copies of her books sell or receive rave reviews from people who don't know squat about neuroscience, Ms. Brizendine's books are pseudoscientific garbage that deserve to be in the same trash bin as books by creationists or climate change deniers.
By West1210
This author brings up some amazing theories on why women act the ways they do....and not only how they act but how they interact with the opposite sex. There is an explanation for everything in this book. I highly recommend it! I'm going to get The Male Brain as soon as I finish this one :)
More by Louann Brizendine, M.D.
Louann Brizendine, M.D.
The Male Brain
Copyright © 2019 JillBookStore.
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Warmest New Year's Day in Beijing for six decades
Beijing's warmest New Year's Day in decades saw people flood outdoors on Wednesday, the first day of 2014.
According to the Beijing meteorological bureau, the capital's temperature was 12.8 C at about 2 pm on Wednesday, the warmest since 1951.
There have only been five times since 1951 that Beijing's first winter snowfall took place in the new year.
The warm weather on New Year's Day drew tens of thousands of people in Beijing outdoors.
About 20,000 people gathered at Tian'anmen Square to attend the flag-raising ceremony at 7:36 am.
"It is such a treasured experience to witness the solemn ceremony," said Li Yinghao, a 10-year-old boy from Heze, Shandong province.
Also on Wednesday, a group of 2,014 people climbed Badaling Great Wall to mark the New Year. Parks in Beijing were crowded with thousands of people, many with their elderly parents and children.
Sun Jisong, chief forecaster of the Beijing meteorological bureau, said that the temperature in Beijing was about eight degrees higher than average in the past three decades.
In the coming week, the capital is unlikely to welcome its first snow, he said.
Experts, however, warned people of the danger of getting sick as such warm weather results in dry air.
It is more likely people will catch cold or flu viruses in dry air, as many viruses that cause respiratory problems can float around more easily, said Wang Guangfa, director of the Respiratory Medicine Department of Peking University First Hospital.
1. Beijing’s temperature on New Year’s Day was the warmest since what year?
2. How many people attended the flag-raising ceremony at Tian’anmen Square?
3. How many people climbed Badaling Great Wall to mark the New Year?
1. 1951.
2. About 20,000.
3. 2,014.
（中国日报网英语点津 Helen 编辑）
Anne Ruisi is an editor at China Daily online with more than 30 years of experience as a newspaper editor and reporter. She has worked at newspapers in the U.S., including The Birmingham News in Alabama and City Newspaper of Rochester, N.Y.
上一篇 : Beijing turns cold shoulder to Japan
下一篇 : Diaper firms set to clean up with disposables
Beijing to subsidize accident insurance for elderly people
Beijing prepares for September gridlock
Rubber duck to float in Beijing
Beijing rainstorm cancels flights, kills airport employee
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Nickelback Hosts Blackjack Tournament at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Las Vegas
February 28, 2018 | Filed under: Celebrity Sightings/Nightlife | Posted by: Debbie Hall
On Tuesday, Feb. 27, multi-platinum selling rock band Nickelback, Hard Rock Hotel & Casino and AEG Presents partnered with Lotus Broadcasting to host an exclusive blackjack tournament with radio winners, invited casino guests and members of media at Hard Rock Hotel ahead of the band’s third performance at The Joint.
Participants gathered inside the former Peacock High-Limit Gaming Lounge where they were seated at four tables, with one band member at each table. Fans mix and mingled with the band members, took selfies, asked for autographs and had a chance to play a one-hour tournament, face-to-face with the band members.
Lucky fans each received a pair of tickets to Nickelback’s show at The Joint and an autographed lyric sheet. The grand prize winner of the tournament received an electric guitar autographed by Nickelback.
After a nearly seven-year absence from Las Vegas, multi-platinum, chart-topping rock band, Nickelback, launched their highly anticipated five-night limited engagement at The Joint last weekend. Remaining shows are scheduled for Friday, March 2 and Saturday, March 3.
Tickets for the Feed The Machine Las Vegas residency start at $50.50 (plus applicable service fees), and are available now at the Hard Rock Hotel box office in Las Vegas, by calling 888.9.AXS.TIX or online at www.axs.com. For additional ticket information and details on where to buy tickets, visit www.nickelback.com.
Photo credit: © Brenton Ho/Kabik Photo Group
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Expand HIV/AIDS testing in prisons
by Georgia Elysee Queens Ledger
In mid-year 2007, the Bureau of Justice Statistics reported that approximately 2.3 million people were incarcerated and 21,980 state and federal prison inmates were known to be infected with HIV, or to have confirmed AIDS.
The prevalence of human immunodeficiency virus among incarcerated persons in the United States is four times greater than the prevalence in the general population. Given this, the reentry of formally incarcerated people into their communities presents a danger of spreading HIV and other infectious diseases. It is a public health concern.
A policy brief entitled “HIV Testing in State Prisons,” written by Jemel Aguilar at the University of Texas in Austin, proposed the idea of mandatory testing in prisons. The report makes a convincing case for prisons to conduct HIV/AIDS mandatory testing/screening of inmates.
Aguilar asks us to consider, “How state prisons can join community efforts to reduce the number of new infections and identify individuals unaware of their HIV status?”
The correctional system in the United States consists of state and federal prisons, jails, and juvenile facilities. Each facility serves a different purpose, plays a different role and has different policies. As a result, HIV/AIDS screening policies differ from one jurisdiction to another.
In many correctional facilities, policies may require that inmates be tested upon entry, upon release, or both. In addition, testing may be mandatory, routine, voluntary, or only on demand. However, more than 50 percent of state prison systems do not require HIV testing at any point.
In high-risk settings such as prisons and jails testing should be mandatory. In addition, inmates should be offered educational interventions prior to testing and after testing if they are given a positive status. Because incarcerated people may lack accurate information about HIV, it is important to provide education.
They should also receive care and treatment if they test positive. Currently, only 16 states and the federal prison system make it mandatory for inmates to be tested.
The World Health Organization and the American Public Health Association (APHA) Standards of Health Care in Correctional facilities are strongly opposed to the idea of mandatory testing.
One of their reasons is that confidentiality is difficult to protect in prisons. Establishing mandatory HIV testing for inmates may result in prisoners being discriminated against. Many conclude that HIV/AIDS in prisons should be treated the same as it is in communities.
But, how effective are the strategies in communities? We can either allow inmates to be left untreated, undiagnosed, and continuously spread HIV to others or we can deal with discrimination due to an HIV positive status. Which is the lesser of two evils?
The number of people infected with HIV/AIDS in the United States today is skyrocketing. According to the CDC, there are about 50,000 new HIV infections per year. More than one million people are living with HIV/AIDS in the U.S today, and one in five living with HIV is unaware of their infection.
Maybe it is time we take a different approach. Identifying HIV positive inmates during incarceration may be the route to take. Research shows that the lifestyles of many inmates prior to incarceration include unprotected sexual intercourse, drug and alcohol abuse, poverty, homelessness, under education, and unemployment—all of which are associated risks of HIV/AIDS.
Correctional facilities provide us with the opportunity to test individuals who might not get tested otherwise. Implementing a mandatory policy of testing inmates will reveal many undiagnosed cases.
The majority of incarcerated people will eventually return to their communities. Some return in a few months or a few years. In the event that the inmates return home and do not know their status, they may infect someone unknowingly.
Many people are often unaware of their HIV status because they are asymptomatic. Research also tells us that persons who are unaware of their HIV status are approximately three times more likely to transmit HIV than persons who are aware.
Knowing one’s status can provide a person with the information needed to make better decisions about their health. Early detection poses a great benefit to the health of the individual and leads to early medical attention.
Ultimately, health issues in prisons eventually become issues for society as a whole. On a bigger scale, early detection of infected inmates can reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS in our society.
Copyright 2019 Queens Ledger. All rights reserved.
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‘Hello Kitty’ movie is coming soon!
March 6, 2019 • Ankrizel Santos
Heads up, Hello Kitty fans! New Line Cinema, Sanrio, and FlynnPictureCo. are teaming up to develop an English-language film centering on Hello Kitty for the first time in her 45-year history.
The news was announced on the Facebook page of Warner Bros. Pictures on Wednesday, March 6. They said that this is the first time Sanrio has granted film rights to Hello Kitty and other popular characters like Gudetama, My Melody, Little Twin Stars, and more to a major film studio. It will now give the audiences outside Japan the opportunity to experience Hello Kitty as a feature film.
Sanrio founder, president and CEO Shintaro Tsuji shared that he’s extremely happy for Hello Kitty’s Hollywood debut.
“I am extremely pleased that Hello Kitty and other popular Sanrio characters will be making their Hollywood debut. Hello Kitty has long been a symbol of friendship and we hope this film will only serve to grow that circle of friendship around the world,” he said.
Hello Kitty’s debut will be produced by Beau Flynn and executive produced by Wendy Jacobson for FlynnPictureCo.
“Hello Kitty has been one of the most beloved characters around the world for the last forty-plus years. We’re incredibly honored that President Tsuji has entrusted us with the responsibility of bringing her story to the big screen globally for the first time ever, and it’s a dream that we get to do this with our long-term partners at New Line and Warner Bros. With the positive and family-oriented values that Hello Kitty and Sanrio embody, there has never been a better time than now to share her message with the world,” Beau Flynn, CEO, FlynnPictureCo., said.
There’s no release date or other information about the film yet, but the search for writers and creative talent will happen real soon.
Hello Kitty is one of the most popular characters by Sanrio. It was initially designed in 1974 and introduced on a coin purse a year later. She can be found in 130 countries on more than 50,000 different branded products every year.
In 2014, her identity has prompted uproars when a curator of a Hello Kitty exhibit at the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles said that the whiskered character was not actually a cat. But Sanrio eventually clarified that she’s “a personification of a cat.”
Who’s ready for Hello Kitty’s Hollywood debut?
Header image from sweetyhigh.com
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Wheaton, MD Real Estate
Wheaton is an urban area north of Washington, D.C. and northwest of Silver Spring.
Downtown Wheaton is situated in the center of three major thoroughfares – Georgia Avenue, Veirs Mill Road and University Boulevard. It is two miles north of the Capital Beltway.
Wheaton takes its name from Frank Wheaton, a career Army officer and volunteer in the Union army during the Civil War. He became a local hero when he defended nearby Fort Stevens and Washington, D.C. from attacks by the Confederates.
The community is home to Wheaton Regional Park, which includes a nature center, riding stables, dog park, a picnic area with an old fashion carousel and miniature train, an athletic complex, ice rink, tennis courts, ball fields and Brookside Gardens, an award winning 50-acre public display gardens. There are over a dozen different gardens ranging from the Azalea Garden, which holds over 300 Azalea varieties, to the Aquatic garden with water flowers, two ponds and a gazebo. Many soon-to-be-married couples have been photographed in these gardens over the years.
The diversity of Wheaton’s neighborhood is reflected by the high concentration of restaurants, shops and music venues located within the vicinity of Wheaton Plaza and Westfield Wheaton Shopping Mall. Currently, the Wheaton Redevelopment Program plans to create over 1,300 residential units and nearly 600,000 square feet of retail, all the while promoting development that emphasis transit and pedestrian accessibility.
With the addition of the Wheaton Metro station, as well as Metro and Ride-On buses, Wheaton has become an easily accessible community to Kensington, Chevy Chase, Silver Spring, Rockville and the District. Major roads include Veirs Mill Road, University Boulevard and Georgia Avenue.
View all Wheaton Listings
SEARCH FOR LISTINGS IN WHEATON
12312 SELFRIDGE ROAD
11300 GALT AVENUE
13225 HATHAWAY DRIVE
13504 WINDY MEADOW LANE
2609 ARVIN STREET
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Happy New Years! * 2009 *
Feliz Año Nuevo a todos mis amigos y sus familias!
The fireworks over Medellin light up the sky.
Happy New Years to all my friends and their families!
Thanks to all those who have stopped by to check out my posts and stories regarding my travel adventures in Medellin, Colombia!
Hope to meet some of you in Medellin next year!
Juanes Free Concert in Medellin: Dec. 19th
JUANES 'La Vida... Es Un Ratico' was iTunes Top-Selling Latin Album Of The Year!
As A Special Year-End Thank You To Fans In His Native City, And Once Again To Rally For The Release Of Hostages Still Held Throughout Colombia. JUANES Plans To Give A Free Holiday Concert in Medellin on December 19. The Special Event Is Expected To Attract Hundreds of Thousands of Fans.
About Juanes: Ten years ago, Juanes was marking time in a heavy-metal band in his home town, Medellin, in Colombia. He left for America with a demo cassette, and today is fêted as the world’s leading Latin music star, a singer-songwriter and guitarist whose four solo albums have sold more than 11m copies. His mix of soulful rock and Colombian folk, together with emotionally transparent and politically charged lyrics, have won him recognition as the Latin Bono or Bruce Springsteen, as well as 12 Latin Grammys and a French knighthood. For the producer Quincy Jones, who nominated him as one of Time magazine’s 100 most influen-tial people, Juanes embodies “music’s ability to speak to everyone”. Tickets go on sale on Friday for a gig at the Hammer-smith Apollo on June 2. Best book early: a gig at the Shepherds Bush Empire two years ago sold out within an hour.
Juanes’s success is all the more remarkable for his singing entirely in Spanish. He bucks the trend for crossover stars, such as the Puerto Rican Ricky Martin and fellow Colombian Shakira, to record albums in English. Living in Miami as well as Medellin, he says: “I think and live in Spanish, and I want to be honest.” A lifelong fan of Anglo-American rock, he jokes: “I prefer to play guitar in English and sing in Spanish. It’s nothing against my friends who sing in English, but Madonna or Robbie Williams singing in Spanish is not cool.”
Juanes: A Dios Le Pido video
aka Juan Esteban Aristizabal
Juanes (a contraction of Juan Esteban Aristizabal) is 35, and has forsaken long hair for a spiky crop. In a Kensington hotel, wearing a simple grey sweater, he appears more open and vulnerable than his rockero image might suggest – more boy next door than Desperado. But his sincerity is part of his appeal. He has songs about landmines and the kidnappings that, along with cocaine, have bankrolled Colombia’s 40-year war – and led to the murder of one of his cousins “after the family paid the ransom”. He used to be told he’d never get played on radio with such lyrics, but says, “I’d never remove that from my music, because that’s who I am. I care for my country.”
His latest album, La Vida . . . Es Un Ratico (Life Is Short) was released last autumn in 77 countries – unprecedented for a Spanish-language artist. Alongside the landmine protest song, Minas Piedras, are more intimate lyrics about loss and confusion, reflecting a period of very public separation from his wife, Karen Martinez, a former Colombian actress, with whom he has two daughters: Luna, four, and Paloma, two.
For Juanes, the album is about “facing fear, and about how difficult, but important, relationships are. If you talk about love, you have to know what hate means – like peace and war. Growing up in Colombia, I have stories about violence, but also a passion for being in love. Maybe feeling death so close makes us appreciate life.” The couple were reconciled after his “year off” from the incessant touring he believes provoked the split. “It was my mistake when I decided to finish it. But my wife helped me build our relationship again.” He is starting a US tour in March, but says: “We’ll take it easier. We want to travel more together.”
He loves the “melancholy of Latin music – not just the summer dance stuff. People think in stereotypes, but it’s so diverse”, and sees this, his fourth solo album, as more balanced between rock and folk.
“This is what I’m looking for all these years,” he says. “To mix elements, my essence.”
Juanes has his own Mi Sangre Foundation in Medellin
Born in Medellin in 1972, he learnt to sing and play guitar, aged seven, from his father, who owned a cattle ranch, and three brothers. His music is influenced by the sounds of rural Antioquia, including tango, and those from Colombia’s coastal meld of African, Iberian and Amerindian cultures. He imbibed the jaunty rhythms and mournful lyrics of vallenato, played on accordion, conga and the scraped-percussion guacharaca, and sultry, off-beat cumbia.
At 13, however, he got “crazy with metal music”, and started a band, Ekhymosis, who signed to a local label in 1988. “Music was our refuge,” he says of the metal and punk underground. “Medellin in the 1980s was very violent, with a stupid war between the cartels and the government, and bombs every day. Through music, I saw what was happening to our country. We found a way to take the anger out.” Some anger remains. “It’s hard for Colombians,” he says. “Every time you’re in an airport, they think you’re a narco-trafficker. Young Colombians are asking for legalisation, to destroy the mafias and guerrillas.”
While making contacts in Medellin’s famous music business, Juanes studied industrial design at university. Yet “I was always missing something.” Partly influenced by Carlos Vives, a 1990s pioneer La Vida... Es Un Ratico is now out on Wrasse; the single Me Enamora is released on February 4 of vallenato-pop, he started “to accept who I was and search my roots”. Moving to Los Angeles, he was eventually signed to the Surco label (Universal) by the Argentinian Gustavo Santaolalla, still his co-producer after eight years.
Juanes: Me Enamora video
His first solo album, 2000’s Fijate Bien (Look Closely), reflected both the violent reality he had left and personal transition. “I left everything, family and friends, to start from scratch. I was depressed; the album shows the darker side of my soul.” By his second, 2002’s Un Dia Normal (A Normal Day), he had met his wife (“I discovered love”) and had a hit with A Dios le Pido (I Ask God), a prayer for peace – though he says, wagging his finger, “I don’t follow the church”. By his third, 2004’s Mi Sangre (My Blood), he was “coming back to reality”. The love song La Camisa Negra (The Black Shirt) was a hit across western Europe, despite being espoused by Italian neo-fascists. “I was laughing, then scared; it was nothing to do with fascism,” he says.
Juanes rocks Medellin, December 19th.
Juanes has his own Mi Sangre Foundation in Medellin, for landmine survivors in Colombia – the worst afflicted country, where three people die each day. He has performed at the Nobel peace prize concert and in the EU parliament chamber. Last month, the Juanes Park of Peace in Medellin was opened in his name. He sees it as part of a transformation of the city from the worst violence of the 1980s. Colombia’s president, Alvaro Uribe, has praised him as the country’s “greatest ambassador”. “I’m not in any political team,” Juanes says, “but for the moment he’s the right president. There’s less violence and kidnapping.” Last year, he sang at a Medellin demo, as 1m Colombians marched to free remaining hostages.
Juanes: Para Tu Amor video
Juanes fans in Medellin
In the spring, Juanes is to launch his own label for Colombian talent on Universal, called 4Js (after the first initials of his father and three brothers). Being a middleman makes him uncomfortable, but he feels an obligation towards Colombia’s thriving music scene. “We get information from everywhere – the Atlantic and Pacific coasts,” he says. “And the young, because of our reality, are curious and have lots to say. We’re not waiting for time to pass us by.”
Visit www.juanesweb.com or www.juanes.net
Juanes concert in Medellin, 2008!
Christmas In Medellin, Colombia 2008
Alumbrados Navideños en Medellín, 2008
Merry Christmas from Medellin, Colombia
The famous Rio de Medellin
Angels on parade in Medellin
Santa Claus on wheels
Jardin Botanica Gardens
Santa Claus visits Parque Explora
Parque de Envigado
The lighting of the candles festival.
Festival of Lights in Medellin 2008
7 Cerros Sport Adventures in Medellin
The most important urban sports adventure race in South America.
• From December 5th through the 8th '7 Cerros Medellín' will be held, the urban sports adventure race organized by Medellin´s Mayor´s Office and the Inder.
• Teams from Spain, France, Finland, Sweden, Italy, Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay have confirmed.
• Athletes can compete in teams or individually.
• There are 4 days of competition, 450 kilometers of race course and around 60 million pesos in prizes.
• The race is free for competitors who compete in the individual category, all the necessary information and even the registration can be done on line at www.7cerrosmedellin2008.com
7 Cerros Medellin is an urban sports adventure race, which this year for the third consecutive year will be held from December 5th through 8th in the city of Medellin.
This sports competition includes unconventional disciplines and has as its base orienteering.
The main purpose of 7 Cerros Medellin is to promote Medellin’s topography as proof that each time the city is more prepared to live an international scale sports event and that it brings together sports and that passion for adventure. As well as hoping to foment the interchange of culture among athletes from different parts of the world.
El Volador, Nutibara, Tres Cruces, Asomadera, Pan de Azúcar, Santo Domingo and Picacho are the 7 main Cerros (Hills) from which Medellín is divided.
For the third year in a row, the route will be mapped out with a clear intention. The idea is fair play, to get a feel for this city full of contrasts. To make a great adventure out of culture, guided by our minds and spirits and pushing on solely through our physical and psychological strength.
Each year local, national and international media take charge of making sure people know everything going on during and throughout the days of the competition, taking down not just the events and occurrences of the race, but as well the interaction with the city, its people and culture.
With this third edition of the race we hope to add up approximately 1,400 kilometers of racing route. But beyond these kilometers, what’s important is the interaction with the fascinating nature that Medellin provides for us and that each day it surprises us with its landscapes, routes and climate which has brought it to be known as the City of Eternal Spring.
7Cerros Medelllin
Posted by Medellin Traveler at 11:22 AM No comments:
The Medellin Metrocable: An Urban Model For All Latin America
Medellin Aerial Tram Giving Hope To The Barrios
Service to slum revitalizes community.
Latin American - Herald Tribune.
By Albert Sallord
MEDELLIN, COLOMBIA -- The Medellin Metrocable, an aerial tramway system regarded as a model of urban integration for other mountainous Latin American metropolises, is providing a better life for marginalized populations of this Andean city who previously lacked easy access to downtown and other economically vibrant areas.
The opening a year ago of a second Metrocable line to service the Comuna 13 slum has enabled the inhabitants of that overcrowded, scarcely-paved community high in the hills west of downtown to feel a part of Medellin, Colombia's business hub and second-largest city.
Comuna 13 barrio in Medellin
Cities like Rio de Janeiro and Caracas where millions of inhabitants of hillside slums are poorly integrated into the rest of the metropolis have already shown an interest in the Medellin system, which was built with French technology at a very low cost.
The Comuna 13 line spans a distance of 2.7 kilometers (1.7 miles) and is capable of transporting some 25,000 people per hour along the 11-minute route.
Several support pilings, which rise from steep mountainsides, support the steel cables on which 90 eight-seat cabins move at an average speed of 16 kilometers (10 miles) per hour.
At the foot of the mountain, the Metrocable links to the Medellin Metro, enabling commuters to work downtown and avoid interminable climbs up or down the mountainside of as many as 600 steps.
The municipality, under then-Mayor Sergio Fajardo, invested close to $45 million to build the second Metrocable project, which followed on the heels of the first successful line that serviced Santo Domingo Savio, a marginalized community in northeastern Medellin.
The Medellin municipal government plans to spend a total of $361 million to remodel Comuna 13, taking advantage of the Metrocable's impact.
Thus far, a modern library, public parks, sporting complexes and health facilities have all been built, while some of the rundown public schools in that sector have been renovated.
"I've lived here for 25 years and this was a totally inhospitable place. The access routes were roads. There was a lot of violence up until Operation Orion, when the state came in and began investing in these very marginalized neighborhoods," Luz Marina Giraldo, a local community leader, told Efe.
Metrocable Line J serves residents in Comuna 13
Comuna 13 "now has more dignity and the quality of life has improved. Before there was practically no hope; for me this is a miracle," she added.
Medellin currently is planning to install two new lines with the aim of incorporating more marginalized community into the life of the city.
The Metrocable, a system that can be set up in different places around the world thanks to its low cost and structural versatility, has gained recognition as a valid model of social and urban integration.
Medellin metrocbale "Line J" going up.
Good News Out Of Colombia: Medellín
The metropolitan area of Medellín is settled within the Aburrá Valley.
The work of civil-society and human-rights groups is helping a Colombian city to reach beyond conflict and notoriety, finds Andrew Stroehlein.
The locals in Medellin march for peace in Colombia.
"This city used to be the murder capital of the world, but now look around Medellín", Mauricio Mosquera tells me with a smile. The director of the community TV TeleMedellín has a point: there are so many visible improvements here, it is impossible to deny things are looking up for Colombia's second city.
Santo Domingo cable cars provide affordable transportation in Medellin
You can see it all around as you travel in the cable car that takes you up the mountain to the neighbourhood of Santo Domingo Savio. The high-wire ride is not a tourist attraction; it is a part of the public-transport system that moves people from the metro train at the river up to what was once one of the most violent parts of the country. The bustling neighbourhood is still poor, but it is safe to wander around, and it exudes an unmistakable pride: there is almost no litter anywhere, and none of the cable-car stations, not even the posts supporting the line up and down the mountain, have the tiniest tag of graffiti.
El Poblado neighborhood in Medellin
This system, built in 2004, is just one symbol of Medellín's renaissance. Regeneration projects are improving the city landscape everywhere, and - from the new administrative and university buildings to the shopping centres to the public libraries in the popular neighbourhoods to the interactive museum - offer something for everyone. People are out and about in huge numbers in all the revitalised public spaces: lovers wandering amongst the Fernando Botero statues near the old townhall and children jumping through the pools and fountains across the river from the new one.
In fact, a few days in Medellín makes it hard to believe that this city's name was once synonymous with the local-boy-turned-bad Pablo Escobar. By Andrew Stroehlein.
Paragliding Above Medellin, Colombia
Travel Adventures in Medellin, Colombia.
Medellin is regarded as the main centre for paragliding in Colombia thanks to the rugged topography and favorable winds, the city and region provides great conditions for paragliding.
Medellin is home to some of the best national paragliding pilots in all of Colombia.
A great view of Medellin, Colombia.
Paragliding is perhaps often viewed as a higher-risk sport than it actually is. Nonetheless, there is great potential for injury for the reckless or ill-prepared.
The safety of the sport is directly proportional to the skill and sense of the pilot. It's important to note that almost all paragliding accidents are the result of pilot error. Paragliding equipment is very well built and, if properly cared for, will never fail. As an example, the average paraglider has around 30 lines connected to the risers, yet each one is strong enough to support the full weight of a pilot individually.
Aerodynamically, newer paragliders that are not within advanced or competition categories are rated for safety and will tend to recover from most incidents on their own (without pilot intervention).
Given that equipment failure of properly certified paragliding equipment can be considered a non-issue, it is accurate to say that paragliding can be a very safe sport. The individual pilot is the ultimate indicator of his or her personal safety level.
In general:
The safe pilot will not fly at sites that pose an unreasonable challenge to his/her flying skills.
The safe pilot will not be influenced by the possibly negative examples set by others.
The safe pilot will only fly on days in which the weather is conducive to safe flight. Turbulence in all its forms is enemy #1 for a flying paraglider wing. Because paragliders have no solid support, their shape (and ability to fly) can be ruined by an errant down draft or the like. Therefore, turbulence or conditions conducive to turbulence generation is a primary factor in determining whether the weather is safe.
Pargliding trips available in Medellin
The following weather is to be avoided:
Excessive wind speed or gustiness. 15mph wind is fairly windy for a paraglider, and most pilots won't take off in much more wind than that. High winds will also increase the effect of mechanical turbulence. Gusty conditions will make take-offs and landings more dangerous and will make collapses more likely while in flight.
A wind direction that will not allow a take-off (or landing) into the wind, or at least generally so. Tail-wind take-offs are to be avoided at all cost. Assurance that an [apparent] headwind is not actually a 'rotor' is also critical (rotors comprise a form of mechanical turbulence).
Excessively high atmospheric instability, indicated in part by overdeveloped cumulus clouds, or in worse situations by cumulo-nimbus cloud formation. Such conditions will contribute to turbulence. If cumulo-nimbus (thunderstorm) clouds are anywhere in sight, the effect of severe atmospheric instability may exist where you are.
Rain or snow. Because a paraglider wing is made from fabric, it has the ability to absorb moisture. Moreover, the weight (or lack thereof) of a paraglider wing is critical to its performance. Flying into heavy rain or snow will weigh the wing down and may terminate a flight quickly. A wet wing is also less controllable, less stable (more prone to collapse) and will exhibit less tendency to recover into normal flight.
High above Medellin Colombia
General safety precautions include pre-flight checks, helmets, harnesses with back protection (foam or air-bag), reserve parachutes, and careful pre-launch observation of other pilots in the air to evaluate conditions.
For pilots who want to stretch themselves into more challenging conditions, advanced ‘SIV’ (simulation d’incidents en vol, or simulation of flying incidents) courses are available to teach pilots how to cope with hazardous situations which can arise in flight. Through instruction over radio (above a lake), pilots deliberately induce major collapses, stalls, spins, etc, in order to learn procedures for recovering from them. (As mentioned above, modern recreational wings will recover from minor collapses without intervention).
For more info on paragliding in Medellin; Paragliding in Medellin
Death And Destruction Results From Heavy Rainfall In Medellin
The flooded streets of Medellin.
The northern industrial city, like much of the rest of Colombia, has been hit by seasonal rains that have saturated the earth, leading to deadly avalanches in hilly areas.
The mudslide in El Poblado, Medellin's most affluent district, swept away houses as their occupants slept early on Sunday morning, local police told reporters.
The home of Carlos Sanchez, who for 37 years promoted Colombian coffee as the mustachioed character Juan Valdez familiar from advertising campaigns, is located next to the destroyed area.
At least 15 people feared dead, as workers work around the clock to locate any survivors.
Mudslides also partially cut off the highway linking Manizales, the capital of Caldas province, to Bogota on the stretch through Tolima.
After weeks of torrential rains, the mudslides in the mountainous region of Antioquia's barrio Belen, Rincon has affected residents in this shanytown district of Medellin.
A couple of buses are precariously hanging off the side of the road as a local resident recovers personal property swept away in the rainfall.
The heavy rainfall swepted into a local church in Antioquia.
Many residents were left without homes after the heavy rainfall contributed to the collapsing of many homes.
Many residents lost everything they owned in the floods destructive path.
Friends and neighbors look on helplessly as people search through the wreckage trying to salvage any little bit of their personal belongings.
A simple photo recovered in the search would make a world of a difference, especially for those who lost everything.
The heavy rainfall in Novemeber has dampened many local residents spirits but the Paisas are a strong and resilent people. They have the strength to keep the faith in times like this as they look forward to the day when they can put this horrible experience behind them.
Even in times like these, the Paisas always manage to keep a smile on their face, true Paisa fashion.
The proud spirit of the Paisa's is something that makes them see beyond the tragedies and hardships created by the heavy rains destructive path.
Mayor of Medellin, Alfonso Salazaar, is out on scene as workers continue the search for those lost in the mudslide, praying for a miracle.
The rainfall continues...
Juan Pablo Angel has a career full of goals
New York Red Bulls forward Juan Pablos Angel, right, celebrates after scoring the game-winning goal against Columbus on Oct. 18.
The New York Red Bulls' star forward has put up high numbers in a 16-year career that's spanned three continents. He is MLS' best foreign acquisition by far.
When Major League Soccer decided a couple of years ago to allow its teams to circumvent the salary cap if they so desired, it opened up a whole new world.
England's David Beckham came to the Galaxy and showed how clubs that choose celebrity over substance don't necessarily prosper.
Mexico's Cuauhtemoc Blanco came to Chicago and taught his fellow Fire players the fine art of diving and feigning injury, along with some genuine soccer skills.
Brazil's Denilson came to Dallas and showed how a few rubes in Texas can be taken for a lot of money.
And Colombia's Juan Pablo Angel came to New York and proved that the MLS designated player rule isn't all bad.
Angel (pronounced "AHN-hell") has been far and away the best of the league's foreign acquisitions under the so-called "Beckham rule," at least in terms of on-field performance.
Juan Pablo Angel #9 of the New York Red Bulls and Bobby Burling #14 of the Chivas USA battle for the ball at Giants Stadium in the Meadowlands on June 6, 2008 in East Rutherford, New Jersey The Red Bulls defeat the Chivas USA 1-0
The 33-year-old from Medellin, Colombia, is the prime reason why the Red Bulls will be playing in Sunday's MLS Cup final against the Columbus Crew in Carson.
Beckham and Blanco might put people in the seats, but Angel puts the ball in the net -- without all the histrionics -- and he earns his $1.6 million a year.
"His presence in the locker room is invaluable to this team," said New York goalkeeper Danny Cepero. "I think if you were to come in and not know who Juan Pablo was, really you wouldn't think of him as a superstar. He's just like one of the regular guys."
Acquired in April 2007, the forward has played in 47 MLS regular-season games and has scored 33 goals -- numbers that are consistent with his entire 16-year professional career.
Even Crew Coach Sigi Schmid can't help but sing his praises.
"I think they have, in my opinion, one of the premier strikers in this league, if not the premier striker in Juan Pablo Angel," Schmid said. "He's a classic center forward. Good in the air, can hold the ball. He's lethal with his finishing. He's certainly an important weapon to have."
In his debut season, Angel bagged 19 goals in 24 games, finishing only one goal behind MLS golden boot winner Luciano Emilio, D.C. United's Brazilian striker.
This season Angel was dogged by lower-back and hamstring injuries, but he still scored 14 goals in 23 games, fourth-best in the league.
"If Juan Pablo was healthy [all season], he probably would have had more goals for us and we probably would have won more games," said Juan Carlos Osorio, New York's coach and a fellow Colombian. "But, again, when you have adversity and when he wasn't in the starting lineup, there was a time for other players to step up and bring their level of playing higher and score some goals."
The Red Bulls are Angel's fourth club, a remarkably small number for such a lengthy career.
After turning pro at age 17, he spent five seasons with Atletico Nacional in his home town of Medellin. The goals he scored there caught the eye of River Plate in Argentina, the next stop on his soccer journey.
The goals continued to flow and the money move came in 2001, when he swapped the Argentine league for the English Premier League, joining Aston Villa for a then club-record $19-million transfer fee.
Again, the Colombian international found that putting the ball in the back of the net was no more difficult in Europe than it had been in South America (he scored nine goals in 33 games for his country), and he quickly became a Villa fan favorite.
Add it all up and Angel has played more than 400 games on three continents and scored almost 200 goals. Those are just statistics, however, and do not explain the how and why of his soccer talent.
Strikers need teammates who can put the ball on their foot or on their head at precisely the right place and time. Angel has Dutch winger Dave van den Bergh. That pair, working individually or in combination, has powered the Red Bulls, Schmid said, accounting for fully half their goals in 2008.
"Every team has good players, every team has players you need to be concerned and worried about," Schmid said. "Obviously, those are two key players for New York. They're not the only ones, but they're two of the key guys.
". . . But [Angel] is also like a lot of good forwards. Sometimes, they disappear for a little, and that's often when they become the most dangerous."
Angel has not disappeared, although he and Osorio did duck out for a private strategy session Thursday night after the Red Bulls' charter flight had landed in Long Beach.
Two Colombians plotting the downfall of Columbus.
L.A. Times By Grahame L. Jones November 22, 2008
Sergio Fajardo Public Speaking Event
Former mayor of Medellin, Sergio Fajardo
Sergio Fajardo's Speaking Engagement
When: Saturday, November 22
Location: Plaza Major
Time: 9:00 am - 12:00 pm
Contact: 448 6048 / 216 3633
Newsweek - Archive Article Q/A
"The Mathematician of Medellín"
Sergio Fajardo has presided over a transformation of Medellín in recent years.
Newsweek Web Exclusive | Nov 11, 2007
By Daniel Kurtz-Phelan
Medellín, Colombia, has struggled to shed its notoriety, well earned in the days of Pablo Escobar and the Medellín cartel, as "the most dangerous city in the world." But in fact the city has undergone a remarkable transformation in recent years—presided over, since 2003, by Mayor Sergio Fajardo. Not only has the murder rate fallen below that of Washington, D.C. (from a high of more than 500 homicides a month in the early 1990s), but Medellín has also become a showcase for innovative urban planning and social policies. Fajardo, a mathematician, will leave office at the end of this year, succeeded as mayor by his former chief of staff, and speculation about his future in national politics has already begun. He spoke with NEWSWEEK's Daniel Kurtz-Phelan. Excerpts:
When you took over as mayor in 2004, what were the most critical problems facing the city?
Sergio Fajardo: I walked Medellín from end to end to get a clear conception of its problems, going house to house and talking to people. The first problem was inequality, and to start working toward equality you must improve education—public education. Public education must be the motor of social transformation. The second problem was violence. Everyone in Colombia today has lived in a violent society, but in Medellín we had a particular kind of violence because of drug trafficking. It is a violence with deep roots, and it has profound effects on a society, and it is a kind of violence that no other place in the world has the same experience of. But we have had results here. In 1991 there were about 6,500 murders in Medellín—381 per 100,000 inhabitants. Last year, 2006, approximately 700 murders—about 29 or 30 per 100,000 inhabitants. That is less than all other comparable cities in Latin America. My approach was to treat these challenges like math problems.
Sergio Fajardo out on the streets of Medellin
What was your formula?
Pragmatism built on basic principles, like math. We had to reduce violence, but every reduction in violence we had to follow immediately—and immediately is a key word—with social interventions. The order is important. Social interventions require time and resources to work, so they will have little effect in the midst of such profound violence. It is true that you must have effective social interventions to make sure violence does not return, but first you must do something about violence. I never before in my life thought that I would work closely with the police or that I would call for more police on the streets. But you need security for democracy, and for that we needed more police—as long as they were police who respected human rights, and out of conviction, not just because Human Rights Watch tells them to. Now the police force is the pride of Medellín.
Everyone in Medellín seems to disagree about where you fall on the ideological spectrum—left, right, center. How do you describe your governing philosophy?
We have broken the traditional structure of politics here. In 1999 I got together with 50 people, friends, from different arenas—academia, cultural organizations, social organizations, NGOs, business—all of whom were, in one way or another, interested in working for the city. We realized that we could work, talk, dream, but to really do anything we had to go into politics, because politicians are the ones who have power. So after many years of being outside of traditional politics, we built an independent civic movement. As a mathematician, I think in terms of axioms on which we can construct everything else. And that is how I came up with a proposal for the city. I don't define myself as liberal or conservative, left or right. Those old classifications don't mean anything today in Colombia. Now I can explain why public education must be the engine of social transformation, or why we have to work for equality in order to improve growth, and a conservative person can listen to me and see a lot of reason in what I say. That is what we have achieved: creating a new space to work together. It is a civic philosophy for the 21st century.
Biblioteca España in Medellin's barrio Santo Domingo
How did you go about improving education in the city?
We had to have a comprehensive approach. It is not just about schools. It is about the whole life of a society. And I should emphasize: it is about making public education good, not privatizing education. We went school to school, classroom to classroom, designing and carrying out "quality pacts." We mobilized everyone—business leaders, universities, private schools—to start working in the public education system. We increased spending on education to 40 percent of the municipal budget. We also built a lot of new schools and five "library parks" in the poorest neighborhoods in the city. These are not just libraries; they are community centers, the new axis of the neighborhood. And we made sure that they were beautiful, with spectacular architecture.
The education of Medellin.
Some of your critics accuse you of wasting money on fancy new buildings that do more for your image than for poor communities or poor students.
People who say that a beautiful building doesn't improve education don't understand something critical. We have to build Medellín's most beautiful buildings in the places where there has never been a real state. The first step toward quality education is the dignity of the space. When the poorest kid in Medellín arrives in the best classroom in the city, there is a powerful message of social inclusion. That kid has a newfound self-esteem, and he learns math more easily. If you give the most humble neighborhoods beautiful libraries, you make those communities proud of the libraries. That is powerful. We are saying that that library or school, with its spectacular architecture, is the most important building in the neighborhood. And it is sending the rest of society a very clear message of social transformation, but of social transformation without rage. This is our revolution. The most powerful people see us focusing on the most humble, and they are supporting us—that is an important achievement. (continued)
The Transformation of Medellin, Colombia
Michael Paul reports from Plaza Mayor in Medellin, Saturday 21, 2008
The Fajardo team is youthful and Obama like in its youth and enthusiasm. Fajardo spoke to an exuberant crowd, and he was cheered throughout. At the end, many got up on stage and the took photos with the popular former mayor of Medellin.
Sergio Fajardo is expected to announce his official candidacy for President of Colombia in May or June, but today's speech was to enunciate his platform and organize and structure his movement.
The theatre space was nearly packed to capacity and people lined the walls. They were displaying orange and green balloons and waving them about.
Sergio Fajardo speaks at Plaza Mayor in Medellin.
Michelle Rouillard Crowned As Miss Colombia
Colombian Michelle Rouillard, a candidate from the Cauca province, greets the public after being elected Miss Colombia during the annual beauty contest in Cartagena, November 17, 2008
Michelle Rouillard, O' Miss Colombia!
Michelle Rouillard, a 22-year old student of international business at Concord University in Canada, stands 1.74 m tall and will represent Colombia at the Miss Universe 2009 contest in July.
25 Beautiful Candidates of Miss Colombia!
Miss Colombia Competition; November 17, 2008.
Colombians are cazy for beauty pageants and have hundreds of competitions for titles such as; Miss Coffee, Miss Banana, Miss Petroleum, and Miss Flower.
The first Miss Colombia pageant was held in Cartagena to welcome U.S. president Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1934.
Since television was intruduced to Colombia, it has fixed its gimlet eye every November on the beauties gathered in Cartagena to vie for the crown.
The Miss Colombia competition is more popular there than the Academy Awards are in the United States and draws half of the available television viewership on the competition's final day.
Colombian woman can be spectacular.
During the Miss Colombia pageant, the lovelist among them parade on beaches, besides pools, as well as hanging out in restaurants.
The country's largest TV networks send dozens of its staff to cover the three-week long event. Each day is tightly scripted and there is rarely any unplanned surprises.
Meet the 25 beautiful contestants in tonights Miss Colombia 2008 competition.
The Medellin Metrocable: An Urban Model For All La...
Death And Destruction Results From Heavy Rainfall ...
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An American Abbot: Boniface Wimmer, O.S.B., 1809-1887 by Jerome Oetgen (review)
Joel Rippinger O.S.B.
Volume 85, Number 1, January 1999
10.1353/cat.1999.0006
118BOOK REVIEWS sea. Lord Acton is "more nearly than any other figure the exception to the rule that the Catholic intellectual revival was a convert phenomenon" (p. 37). Future cardinals Newman and Manning, the architect Augustus Pugin, and various representatives of the "American Oxford movement" figure prominently. Chapter IV has a good section on Newman and Orestes Brownson. Ultramontane Catholicism's hardening against modernity is seen through the lives of Isaac Hecker and Richard Simpson (Chapter V) and St. George Mivart and George Tyrrell (Chapter VI). Chapter VH's women converts include the historian Elizabeth Kite, author Katherine Burton, and social scientist Eva Ross. The final six chapters treat the twentieth century with emphasis on the converts ' role in creating, between the two world wars, a transatlantic, Catholic literary revival for which Frank Sheed and Maisie Ward provided the books. Allitt conveys the revival's disillusionment with secular rationality and its conflicted relationship with totalitarianism. Chapter XI, on the historians Carlton Hayes and Christopher Dawson, and Chapter XII, on the novelists Evelyn Waugh and Graham Greene, are especially worthwhile. The preface and introductory chapter summarize Allitt's argument well. In the main, the argument succeeds. But there is one group Allitt ignores. Bishops such as John England, Francis R Kenrick, his brilliant and cantankerous brother Peter, Martin Spalding, and clergy such as James Corcoran, Herman Heuser, and the Roman-trained priests of the NewYork "Accademia," all carried on a formidable intellectual life. They belonged to a Latin-language, Romewardlooking , transnational intellectual culture, the eclectic modern scholasticism that preceded the Thomistic revival of 1879. Though their engagement with American culture was in the "immigrant" style, they stand, along with the bishops and clergy associated with the Americanist movement at the turn of the century, as a challenge to Allitt's construal of the intellectual life. Allitt thinks it time to offer "at least a guarded tribute" (p. 14) to the convert intellectuals and their work. He shows a genuine appreciation for their sensibilities and keeps his thesis sufficiently in the background that each figure breathes freely. His pages succeed in bringing the convert intellectuals to life. William L. Portier Mount SaintMary's College Emmitsburg, Maryland AnAmericanAbbot:Boniface Wimmer, O.S.B., 1809-1887. ByJerome Oetgen. Revised edition. (Washington, D.C.: The Catholic University of America Press. 1997. Pp. xxi, 466. $39.95.) In 1976 Jerome Oetgen published An American Abbot. It was the first critical and comprehensive study of the life of Boniface Wimmer. With its appearance , Oetgen was able to introduce a host of new readers to the formidable personality and historically influential trajectory of the founding abbot of the BOOK REVIEWS119 first Benedictine community in North America. Publication of this new edition of the work more than two decades later is significant for several reasons. It is a credit to Oetgen that he has made this a true revision. He has incorporated material from a wide range of important works in American Catholic historiography that had not been accessible in the original work. He also did an extensive re-examination of his original sources, refining and re-evaluating earlier historical interpretations. The result is a substantial improvement over the original. The Catholic University of America Press also deserves credit for agreeing to publish this new edition and thus ensuring a wider reading audience. Dominating Oetgen's perspective is a conviction that Wimmer's role has been underestimated in the history of American Catholicism. Despite the fact that no less a scholar than John Tracy Ellis described Wimmer as "the greatest Catholic missionary of nineteenth-century America," this patriarch ofAmerican Benedictines has been largely overlooked in most historical surveys of the Catholic Church in the United States. Oetgen's intent has been to redress that oversight and insert Wimmer's life and work in the context of that history. Like so many of the seminal figures of American Catholic history of the last century,Wimmer's life bridged two continents and cultures. Born and raised in Bavaria,Wimmer studied for the priesthood at the University ofMunich when it was just beginning its period of revitalization under such luminaries as Johannes Ignaz von Döllinger and Francis Bader. Wimmer, as a...
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Noguchi Museum Presents Work by Spanish Sculptor Jorge Palacios
Editor . July 27, 2018
The Noguchi Museum presents the work of Spanish sculptor Jorge Palacios with an exhibition of works that explore the formal and conceptual potential of physics and motion in sculpture. In so doing, they shed light on what R. Buckminster Fuller called Isamu Noguchi’s intuitive grasp of the underlying structures of nature and his habit of incorporating those insights into his conception of sculpture. Jorge Palacios at The Noguchi Museum will include nine works in the Museum’s ground-floor galleries and garden. A large-scale public monument will also be installed on Manhattan’s Flatiron Plaza North.
Noguchi Museum Senior Curator Dakin Hart says, “Jorge Palacios’s beautifully engineered abstractions are a terrific prism through which to view Noguchi’s way of playing with nature in the cause of strengthening the connections between the planet we have and the world we make. Like Noguchi, Palacios is an idealist. The implicity and directness with which he models the physical universe, from the atom to the hurricane, will remind you of what it was like to learn physics on the merry-go-round and the swing.”
Jorge Palacios at The Noguchi Museum includes nine works installed in three of the Museum’s indoor galleries and its sculpture garden. While all of the sculptures are made of wood, Palacios is not, in fact, interested in exploring wood per se, but rather in how he can use it to articulate the laws of nature. To do this, he has spent the last twenty years learning to make wood seem to flow.
One of the indoor galleries contains five works concerned with fluid dynamics at different scales. Flowing Drop (2017) and Trajectory (2015) derive form from the ways that fluids move and affect motion. Others look at larger forces, such as those that produce hurricanes and whirlpools. Continuous Vortex (2011), for example, explores the shape of the self-reinforcing circulation of air in a tornado.
Another gallery contains a single new kinetic sculpture that puts mass into motion. Okiagari-Koboshi (2018) is named for, and based on the same principles of physics as, a traditional Japanese doll that cannot be knocked down. Like that doll, and the later Hasbro toy called a Weeble, Palacios’s 5.5-foot-tall sculpture, with which visitors are encouraged to play, challenges our intuitive understanding of the way things work. Few sculptors have done more than Noguchi to expand the practice of sculpture beyond static things that inertly occupy museum pedestals and corporate plazas. With Okiagari-Koboshi, explicitly following the example of Noguchi’s playground sculptures, Palacios has wandered onto the field of play.
Okiagari-Koboshi is complemented by a group of plaster maquettes from the mid-1960s that Noguchi made while thinking about playgrounds, as well as one for Red Cube, which appears to balance on one point on the plaza in front of 140 Broadway in Lower Manhattan.
In other galleries, Palacios’s work is integrated into the Museum’s permanent installation of sculptures by Noguchi. One work, Balance and Inertia (2011), a 6.5-foot pierced wooden disc, conveys the vertical balance a spinning coin achieves so long as its rotational energy is enough to offset gravity. The Singularity of the Curve (2017), also in this gallery, reifies the mathematics that underlie the interaction between the gravitational force that two massive bodies (here, the sculpture’s end blocks) exert on each other.
Finally, Palacios’s Weightless Movement (2018) is suspended from a branch of the central Katsura tree in the Museum’s sculpture garden. The pointedly oxymoronic title (which faintly recalls Noguchi’s 1961 exhibition of cut-and-folded aluminum and carved balsa wood sculptures entitled “Weightlessness”) reminds us that mass is a precondition of motion. A nearly 2.5-foot-long teak column with a hole near the bottom, Weightless Movement is a playful effort to raise our conception of the mass of Noguchi’s rock garden into the air.
Link (2018) is a monumental work, measuring approximately 13 feet high by 10 feet wide, that will be installed in Manhattan’s Flatiron Plaza North, across from the Flatiron Building and adjacent to Madison Square Park. Informed by Noguchi’s public works and intended to serve as a focal point for civic life, it explores the relationship between scale and public engagement through proportionality with its setting and integration into the urban fabric. Link will be installed from August 16 through November 6, 2018.
Jorge Palacios at The Noguchi Museum is supported by Porcelanosa and the Consulate General of Spain in New York. The exhibition is also supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council and from the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.
The installation of the sculpture Link is made possible thanks to the collaboration of the New York City Department of Transportation’s Art Program and the Flatiron/23rd Street Partnership.
Jorge Palacios
Jorge Palacios’s sculptures have been widely shown in public spaces, including in SoHo, in New York City, where he exhibited Sketch in the Air (2015), which was selected by Artnet as one of the ten most interesting public art works to see in Manhattan; in front of the Monastery of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, at the Floridablanca Sculpture Gardens, and in the “Torres de Colón” building, in Madrid; and, as part of an exhibition of his urban sculptures in the streets of Toledo, at that city’s Sun Gate, Bisagra Gate, and Santa Cruz Art Museum. His work has also been exhibited in numerous museums, including the Museum of Fine Arts of Guadalajara, the Santa Cruz Art Museum, and the Mirador Hall of the Thyssen-Bornemisza, in Madrid, and it may be found in public and private collections in Canada, Switzerland, Spain, and the United States.
Palacios divides his time between his studio in the Chelsea neighborhood of New York City and his workshop in Spain.
About The Noguchi Museum
Founded in 1985 by Isamu Noguchi (1904–88), one of the leading sculptors and designers of the twentieth century, The Noguchi Museum was the first museum in America to be established, designed, and installed by a living artist to show his or her own work. Widely viewed as among the artist’s greatest achievements, the Museum comprises ten indoor galleries in a converted factory building, as well as an internationally acclaimed outdoor sculpture garden. Since its founding, it has served as an international hub for Noguchi research and appreciation. In addition to housing the artist’s archives and the catalogue raisonné of his work, the Museum exhibits a comprehensive selection of sculpture, models for public projects and gardens, dance sets, and his Akari light sculptures. Provocative, frequently-changing installations drawn from the permanent collection, together with diverse special exhibitions related to Noguchi and the milieu in which he worked, offer a rich, contextualized view of Noguchi’s art and illuminate his enduring influence as a category-defying, multicultural, cross-disciplinary innovator.
The Noguchi Museum is located at 9-01 33rd Road (at Vernon Boulevard), Long Island City, New York. It is open Wednesday–Friday, 10 am–5 pm; Saturday and Sunday, 11 am–6 pm. General admission is $10; $5 for seniors and students with a valid ID. New York City public high-school students, children under 12, and Museum members are admitted free of charge. Admission is free on the first Friday of every month. Public tours in English are available daily at 2 pm, and in Japanese on the first Friday and second Sunday of every month. 718.204.7088 |
noguchi.org | @noguchimuseum
About NYC DOT Art
Launched in October 2008, the New York City Department of Transportation’s Art Program invigorates the City’s streetscapes with engaging temporary art installations. The Program partners with community-based organizations and artists to present murals, sculptures, projections and performances on plazas, fences, barriers, bridges and sidewalks for up to 11 months.
Projects are presented within four program tracks: Arterventions, Barrier Beautification, Community Commissions and Art Display Case. nyc.gov/dotart
About the Flatiron/23rd Street Partnership
The Flatiron/23rd Street Partnership Business Improvement District, formed in 2006, is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to enhance the area’s reputation as one of New York’s most vital and exciting neighborhoods. This is accomplished by maintaining a clean and safe environment for the district’s businesses, residents and visitors; by spearheading area improvement projects; and by marketing the diverse business and retail options in this vibrant and historic neighborhood. flatirondistrict.nyc
Website: www.noguchi.org
Jorge Palacios, Link, 2018.
Category: Fine Art
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Beyond the classroom: The imperatives of science
Mrs. Malathi, who taught us biology but whom I never had the chance of studying under, was quite a character. Hardy, confident, stern, but understanding, she was easy to irk and hard to please. In fact, that was one of her virtues. She was one of those rare teachers, from a now all-but-completely bygone era, who encouraged us to go beyond the classroom when it came to her subject. The result was that all her students, and I mean every one of them, grew to love her.
I remember an O/Level seminar I attended in Grade Eight. Nearly every teacher spoke on why we should choose their fields and on the careers they would open us to. Mrs. Malathi did no such thing. I don’t remember her exact words, but in essence, what she said amounted to this: “If you don’t have a green thumb, if you don’t know which plant and flower is what in your own garden, sorry, but don’t come to my class.” I distinctly remember my mother looking and frowning at me. I’m sorry to say that after all these years, she is still frowning at me.
I strongly believe that no society can prosper without actively engaging with “hard subjects”. In particular, science. There is some truth in the contention that society needs artists, but without industry and production, which since the 18th century have facilitated the evolution of modern science, there can be no environment conducive to artists in the first place. As a friend once put it to me, “No culture without industry!”
To be sure, Sri Lanka is not far behind here. But “not far behind” is not “full speed ahead.” The truth is that we are grappling with a serious problem on three broad fronts: the pedagogy, infrastructure, and interest of and in science.
Let’s get some perspective. Of 10,162 schools, only 867 have enough facilities for science subjects. On average, a student from the Western, Southern, Northwestern and Sabaragamuwa Provinces is more likely to choose science for his or her A/Levels than a student from another province. In Colombo and Gampaha, there’s one science stream school for every 10 kilometres, while in Moneragala, Mannar and Mullaitivu there is one for every 250. The disparity between the favoured and the unfavoured provinces, with all this, amounts to a shocking 20% (in terms of regional pass rates). As for teachers, the majority of them, once they gain experience, depart for more popular schools. The less popular schools have to do with “part time” teachers hired on a dubious, at times even illegal basis. In the end, the students lose out. “Free education rakes up inequalities,” someone once wrote somewhere. I would agree.
The Science Association of Royal College is doing something. By “something” I mean going beyond what is usually done. And by “what is usually done” I include those seminars and quizzes and interactive events which, relevant at one level, deteriorate at the end of the day to a series of “fun” skits and shows which serve little to no purpose
The solution, however, isn’t the privatisation of privileged institutions to concentrate on the less-privileged ones (as some advocate), but an efficient transfer of resources from those who have to those who do not. It is futile to think that the government, despite its efforts at combating structural anomalies, can solve every issue. Our best bets instead are the administrators, teachers, students, and science associations of the more favoured schools. No, they are not miracle workers. But they can help. Big time.
In that sense, the Science Association of Royal College is doing something. By “something” I mean going beyond what is usually done. And by “what is usually done” I include those seminars and quizzes and interactive events which, relevant at one level, deteriorate at the end of the day to a series of “fun” skits and shows which serve little to no purpose. By contrast, members of the Royal College association are tackling both the issues I highlighted before: resource anomalies and interest in the subject. That’s not just commendable, that’s also smart. And relevant.
True, there’s very little that a single organisation can do. But at a time when similar organisations engage in self-congratulatory projects elsewhere, the little that these boys do is worthy enough. Two months or so back, for instance, they paid a visit to Amaragedara Kanishta Vidyalaya in Bulathsinhala. That they conducted an O/Level seminar is not that important. What is important is that they soon came to terms with the issues and the deficits which beset such far-off schools.
Bulathsinhala, as statistics will confirm, is not exactly teeming with poverty, and as the boys in the Association told me a couple of weeks back, the road leading up to the vidyalaya has been paved and virtually polished so well that onlookers get baffled once they pass the school gates. It’s like entering a new world.
Yohan Chanaka, this year’s chairman, explained. “There were about 30 O/Level students there. It’s such a small population because most of them either leave before their O/Levels or graduate to better schools elsewhere. To be honest, we were not prepared to encounter such an environment when we planned the visit. We conducted the seminar just before the interval. During the interval, we walked around and talked with students from lower grades. They all had the same thing to say. They lack library and lab facilities. They don’t have enough teachers. They deserve better.”
Obviously, there’s very little that a single group can do: “We can’t perform miracles. We can’t change people. We can’t persuade administrators.” If that is so, however, what is it that they can contribute? Apart from seminars (they are planning on another one at a more distant school in the coming weeks), they can contribute, the way I see it, by changing the way “science events” in schools are organised.
Again, the Association at Royal is miles ahead. With one or two projects organised each month, the boys are adamant that such events must be geared towards the subject they are engaged with. I couldn’t agree more. What are Science and Commerce Days, after all, than exercises in noise and colour? When was the last time such a “day” actually stuck to its objectives without meandering to band shows and theatrical pieces? No, it is not that such items should not be encouraged, but then they do tend to detract one from what the “day” should be involved with in the first place.
On June 28, the Science Association, seeking something different, thus came up with Sci-ETCA. With the aim of demonstrating the practical component of science (which as academics have argued is missing, woefully, in the way the subject is taught here), ETCA saw the participation of a great many schools, around 15 stalls from sponsors, and sessions which actively involved invited students. “We wanted an event that would encourage participants to ascertain how experiments are conducted. What we did basically was transform their interest in those experiments into an opportunity to engage with experts in the field who are approachable.”
Sci-ETCA wasn’t isolated, incidentally. There had been seminars organised for students within the school before. The event had thus been an opportunity to project those seminars to the world outside, something these boys will continue through the sequel of sorts to ETCA, ENIGMA. Bigger and more ambitious in scope, ENIGMA is set to involve a quiz, a few lectures on important but tough areas in all three science subjects, and a motivation session.
Science is not “easy”. As Professor Deepthi Matthew observed not too long ago, parents spend almost two billion rupees every year on science tuition classes for their children. This, coupled with the rift between the number of students who do science at their A/Levels and the proportion who obtain adequate results to enter university, is a national issue, and for these boys, determined as they are to promote the subject in new, interesting ways, it is a problem they have to reckon with every day. As a final point then, I ask Yohan how students cope with the pressure this entails, and he points out that more often than not, they simply can’t: “Some of us go for two, even three classes over the same subject. There are those among us who cut school to attend these classes. They are not in the minority.”
Resource deficits outside the privileged provinces, and resource gluts and pressures in the privileged provinces: this is the rift at the heart of science education in the country, something Yohan touches on when he tells me, “Most of us do these subjects because it is felt we should do them.” How can one address this two-pronged problem? I feel tempted to ask these boys, in particular Yohan, but I desist. That is not up to them to elaborate. That is up to us to find out.
Suffice it to say, then, that the only real hope we can have when it comes to solving the issues of science education at school level, apart from efforts by OBUs and OGUs, are the clubs in more privileged institutions. Going by that, the Science Association at Royal is doing something. And that something, apart from being better than nothing, is probably the only thing we can claim as a veritable solution. Right now.
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Hale and hearty at over 100 years
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Vinyl Review: Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song
News / Reissues / Reviews / Vinyl Review / June 27, 2017
An essential soundtrack receives an essential reissue
Stax / Concord Music / Craft Recordings
For those who’ve seen Melvin Van Peebles’ 1971 magnum opus, Sweet Sweetback’s Baadassss Song, the soundtrack will come as something like a flashback. For those who’ve never seen it, thus just kind of expecting a collection of early Earth, Wind & Fire tunes — there’s going to be a moment of transition.
So, the brilliant thing about the record for Sweetback is that Van Peebles released the music to his X-rated firebomb polemic as a promotional device. As writer Jeff Weiss notes in his essay included on the inner sleeve, “Realizing that a 15-second commercial cost a fortune, but a song played on the radio was constant free promotion, Van Peebles released the album first to build hype for Sweetback. The success on the airwaves propelled the commercial reception of the film.”
It’s notable that the LP for Sweetback isn’t labeled as an original motion picture soundtrack, or music from and inspired by the film — nope, it is instead “A Film of Melvin Van Peebles — The Original Cast Soundtrack Album: Sweet Sweetback’s Baadassss Song (The Opera).” There are a couple of actual songs on the soundtrack, such as “Hoppin’ John” or “Mojo Woman,” as well as the epic instrumental of “Sweetback’s Theme,” but many of the cuts are more … poetic.
There’s much to be made of how the cut-and-paste aesthetic of tracks like “Sweetback Getting It Uptight And Preaching It So Hard The Bourgeois Reggin Angels In Heaven Turn Around” presage hip-hop, and play more like tone poems evoking the feeling of the film itself than actual music, but that sense of feeling is what makes Sweetback the opera so important as a musical release.
The sense of frustration and anger, and a constant sense of being barraged by life itself — that’s the film, and even if you’ve never seen it, you’ll know it by listening to this LP. For all of that, it’s still pretty damn funky at times, and while not quite the Earth, Wind & Fire we’ve come to know from “September,” the instrumental chops are there from the beginning, and Van Peebles’ lyrics on the penultimate track, “Won’t Bleed Me,” provide a rallying atmosphere against those who would attempt to keep him down.
Good god, Sweetback sounds amazing. They went back to the original analog tapes for this reissue, then cut the master on the original Stax lathe located at Ardent Studios, having it pressed at Memphis Record Pressing. They kept it local, and they kept it analog, and good god almighty did Concord Music/Craft Recordings make this sound amazing. It’s vibrant, it’s rich, and there’s no hisses or pops to be found.
This is an amazing reissue. Stax isn’t cutting corners with these 60th anniversary releases. The gatefold jacket is old-school, tip-on style, and it’s heavy-duty cardboard. The colors are remarkably vibrant, and while really close inspection shows that the artwork was likely reproduced from existing elements, it takes a sharp eye to notice. Sweetback looks like you pulled it straight off the shelf via a time portal back to 1971.The LP itself is on 180-gram vinyl, and comes in a printed inner sleeve with liner notes by Jeff Weiss, which are amazing, as well as a brief note by Melvin’s son, Mario, which is nice enough.
Download Code: No
An essential soundtrack receives an essential reissue Stax / Concord Music / Craft Recordings For those who’ve seen Melvin Van Peebles’ 1971 magnum opus, Sweet Sweetback’s Baadassss Song, the soundtrack will come as something like a flashback. For those who’ve never seen it, thus just kind of expecting a collection of early Earth, Wind & Fire tunes — there’s going to be a moment of transition. So, the brilliant thing about the record for Sweetback is that Van Peebles released the music to his X-rated firebomb polemic as a promotional device. As writer Jeff Weiss notes in his essay included on the inner sleeve, “Realizing that a 15-second commercial cost a fortune, but a song played on the radio was constant free promotion, Van Peebles released the album first to build hype for Sweetback. The success on the airwaves propelled the commercial reception of the film.” It’s notable that the LP for Sweetback isn’t labeled as an original motion picture soundtrack, or music from and inspired by the film — nope, it is instead “A Film of Melvin Van Peebles — The Original Cast Soundtrack Album: Sweet Sweetback’s Baadassss Song (The Opera).” There are a couple of actual songs on the soundtrack, such as “Hoppin’ John” or “Mojo Woman,” as well as the epic instrumental of “Sweetback’s Theme,” but many of the cuts are more … poetic. There’s much to be made of how the cut-and-paste aesthetic of tracks like “Sweetback Getting It Uptight And Preaching It So Hard The Bourgeois Reggin Angels In Heaven Turn Around” presage hip-hop, and play more like tone poems evoking the feeling of the film itself than actual music, but that sense of feeling is what makes Sweetback the opera so important as a musical release. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nSVzSmcsF4 The sense of frustration and anger, and a constant sense of being barraged by life itself — that’s the film, and even if you’ve never seen it, you’ll know it by listening to this LP. For all of that, it’s still pretty damn funky at times, and while not quite the Earth, Wind & Fire we’ve come to know from “September,” the instrumental chops are there from the beginning, and Van Peebles’ lyrics on the penultimate track, “Won’t Bleed Me,” provide a rallying atmosphere against those who would attempt to keep him down. Sound Quality Good god, Sweetback sounds amazing. They went back to the original analog tapes for this reissue, then cut the master on the original Stax lathe located at Ardent Studios, having it pressed at Memphis Record Pressing. They kept it local, and they kept it analog, and good god almighty did Concord Music/Craft Recordings make this sound amazing. It’s vibrant, it’s rich, and there’s no hisses or pops to be found. Packaging This is an amazing reissue. Stax isn’t cutting corners with these 60th anniversary releases. The gatefold jacket is old-school, tip-on style, and it’s heavy-duty cardboard. The colors are remarkably vibrant, and while really close inspection shows that the artwork was likely…
Nick Spacek
Music - 77%
Sound Quality - 95%
Packaging - 89%
Gorgeous-looking and amazing-sounding. A piece of music history you need in your life.
“Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song” is available on vinyl from Amazon .
Tags: Earth Wind & Fire, film soundtrack, Melvin Van Peebles, review, Stax Records
Nick Spacek was once a punk, but realized you can’t be hardcore and use the word “adorable” as often as he does. Nick is a self-described “rock star journalist,” which is strange, considering he’s married with four cats and usually goes to bed by 9. This is just further proof that you can’t trust anyone online.
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dmegs.com
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Talent Management Closing the Feedback Loop
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The National Insurance Board is pleased to advise that the project to construct a new government office complex in Alice Town, Bimini, is being restarted with the signing of the final contract on June 11, 2019 with Pyramid Construction.
All persons who receive monthly benefit or assistance payments are required to be verified - i.e., produce notarized documentation in evidence of their continuing eligibility for the payments.
The National Insurance Board invites proposals from suitably qualified firms for the procurement, installation and deployment....
Officials from the National Insurance Board recently conducted a site inspection of the proposed Ministry of National Security Building on John F. Kennedy Drive
NIB Welcomes New Chairman
Mr. Troy Smith, FLMI, HIA, has been appointed as Chairman of The National Insurance Board with effect from July 1, 2018. Mr. Smith has 29 years experience in the Life, Health, Disability and Annuity Insurance Industry, having served
Biennial Adjustments 2018
The National Insurance Board advises recipients of Long-Term Benefits and Assistances that the 2018 increases to pensions will be paid in October. The increases (of up to 1.2%) will be paid retroactive to July of this year.
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Home/Death
Maya Angelou Passes Away
Award-winning author, renowned poet and civil rights activist Dr. Maya Angelou was found dead in her Winston-Salem, N.C., home Wednesday morning. She was 86.
Winston-Salem Mayor Allen Jones confirmed Angelou’s death to Fox News. Police reportedly were at her home investigating. A press conference is scheduled for 11:45 a.m. ET.
Angelou, who rose from poverty as child raised in St. Louis and Stamps, Ark., to become a cultural icon, gained widespread acclaim for her first book, her autobiography “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,” making her one of the first African-American women to write a best-seller.
In 1998, she directed the film “Down in the Delta” about a drug-wrecked woman who returns to the home of her ancestors in the Mississippi Delta. She was the poet chosen to read at President Bill Clinton’s first inauguration in 1993. She wrote and read an original composition, “On the Pulse of Morning,” which became a million-seller.
Major League Baseball announced last week that Angelou would not attend its 2014 Beacon Awards Luncheon, where she was to be honored, due to health concerns. Angelou also canceled an event in April in Fayetteville, Ark., because of an “unexpected ailment” that sent her to the hospital.
“Dr. Angelou was a national treasure whose life and teachings inspired millions around the world, including countless students, faculty, and staff at Wake Forest, where she served as Reynolds Professor of American Studies since 1982,” Wake Forest University said in a statement. “Our thoughts and prayers are with Dr. Angelou’s family and friends during this difficult time.”
Born Marguerite Johnson in St. Louis on April 4, 1928, Angelou was raised in Stamps, Ark., and San Francisco, moving back and forth between her parents and grandmother. She was reportedly sent to California after sassing a white store clerk in Arkansas and, at other times, did not speak at all. She was raped by her mother’s boyfriend at age 7 and did not speak for years afterward, instead learning by reading and listening.
“I loved the poetry that was sung in the black church: ‘Go down Moses, way down in Egypt’s land,'” Angelou told The Associated Press. “It just seemed to me the most wonderful way of talking. And ‘Deep River.’ Ooh! Even now it can catch me. And then I started reading, really reading, at about 7 1/2, because a woman in my town took me to the library, a black school library. … And I read every book, even if I didn’t understand it.”
By age 9, Angelou was writing poetry and became a single mother by 17. In her early 20s, she danced at a strip club, ran a brothel and married Enistasious Tosh Angelos (her first of three husbands) before divorcing. By her mid-20s, she performed alongside another future star — Phyllis Diller — at the Purple Onion in San Francisco. She also spent a few days with Billie Holiday, who was astute enough to tell her: “You’re going to be famous. But it won’t be for singing.”
Angelou later renamed herself for the stage, choosing her childhood nickname before touring in “Porgy and Bess” and Jean Genet’s “The Blacks” and dancing alongside Alvin Ailey. She also worked for years in Egypt and Ghana, where she met Malcolm X and remained close to him until his assassination in 1965. Three years later, Angelou helped the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., organize a march in Memphis, Tenn., where the civil rights leader was killed on Angelou’s 40th birthday.
Angelou was little known outside of the theatrical community until “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,” which was published in 1969. The memoir was occasionally attacked as “manipulative” melodrama and her passages on rape and teen pregnancy have made it a mainstay on the American Library Association’s list of works that draw complaints from parents and educators.
“‘I thought that it was a mild book. There’s no profanity,” Angelou told the AP. “It speaks about surviving, and it really doesn’t make ogres of many people. I was shocked to find there were people who really wanted it banned, and I still believe people who are against the book have never read the book.”
Angelou would later appear on several television programs, including the groundbreaking 1977 miniseries “Roots.” She was also nominated for a Tony Award in 1973, won three Grammys her spoken-word albums and received an honorary National Book Award in 2013 for her contributions.
FoxNews.com’s Joshua Rhett Miller and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
8:18 am - May 28, 2014 Posted by DeeDee
George Duke 1946-2013
With great sadness and heavy hearts we report that Jazz, Funk legend George Duke has passed away. At this time, the details of his death remain undisclosed. Word of his passing was discovered via social media in a message to Ron Brewington. He was informed of George’s passing from former Supremes member Scherrie Payne in the note below
I just received the devastating and sad news that the great musician, George Duke, passed away this evening at St. John’s hospital in L.A. It was just one year earlier, July 18th, that his beloved wife and my friend, Corine, went to be with the Lord. Please keep his sons, Rasheed and John, in your prayers.
Funeral services will be private.
Scherrie
Our sincerest condolences go out to the Family and friends ofk the late great George Duke. His musical legacy will live on for generations to come
From His latest CD that was released July 16, 2013
6:25 am - August 6, 2013 Posted by DeeDee
Miss Melodie Passes Away
On Yesterday, the Hip-Hop world was rocked by the death of the 1st Lady of BDP(Boogie Down Productions), Ramona Parker, best known as Ms.Melodie. Ms Melodie had success with her first single in 1988 called “Hype According to Ms. Melodie” she released one album, Diva in 1989. Ms Melodie made an appearance on the 1989 single “Self Destruction” Ms Melodie was the ex-wife of Rapper KRS-One, the two of them along with Scott La Rock, D-Nice & the rest of the BDP crew helped to lay the foundation of hip-hop.
The BDP crew and their contribution will always be an indelible part of hip-hip history. Rest In Paradise Ms Melodie. The Neo Soul Cafe Family offers its sincerest condolences to the family and friends of this Hip-Hop Pioneer and Legend.
Check out the Diva alongside her bretheren handling the business…
8:29 am - July 19, 2012 Posted by DeeDee
Etta James passes at age 73
Legendary singer Etta James lost her battle with leukemia today at the age of 73. Etta’s health began to decline last year when she was was diagnosed with leukemia and a blood infection. She also reportedly suffered from dementia and kidney failure.
Born Jamesetta Hawkins, Etta began singing in church at age 5. During her teens she was the lead singer for a doo wop group Peaches, and recorded her first #1 song, “The Wallflower (Dance with Me Henry).” Shortly after this she attracted the attention of Little Richard who invited James to go on tour with him. This led to Etta’s legendary career as a soul singer. Ms James had a number of R&B hits however the most notable of all was “At Last” Rest In Peace Ms James…
10:16 am - January 20, 2012 Posted by DeeDee
Singer Vesta Williams Dies
The Neo Soul Cafe has just learned and is saddened to report that R & B singer Vesta Williams has passed away. She was found dead in a Los Angeles hotel room on yesterday, September 22, 2011. Details surrounding her death are sketchy. Radio personality Tom Joyner, confirmed her death with close friends of the singer, R & B singer Tony Terry and Actress Sheryl Lee Ralph. The R&B community as well as numerous friends have been tweeting about it since last night and are sending out their condolences. Ms. Williams was most known for her hit “Congratulations” and “Sweet Sweet Love.” Vesta Williams was 48 years old at the time of her passing.
8:55 am - September 23, 2011 Posted by DeeDee
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BP’s trial & error: What’s worked and what hasn’t
[Updated 10:25 a.m., Aug. 6]
With oil gushing into the Gulf of Mexico for almost three months, every attempt to stop the leak has failed, or fallen short - until now. Oil finally stopped gushing from the well on July 15. We look back at how we ended up here: what BP has tried and done so far.
Solution: Static Kill
Scientists are weighing a new option called "static kill” for permanently sealing it. The "static kill" would involve pumping mud into the well to force oil back into the reservoir below. This is similar to the "top kill" method that failed earlier (see below), except that now the oil isn't flowing - hence the word "static."
Read more on static kill at Time.com
Engineers are proceeding with the relief wells that eventually will pump concrete into the well bore to kill it from the bottom. A static kill, if pursued, would hit it from the top.
BP noted that the option could succeed where other similar attempts have failed because pressure in the well is lower than expected. Geologist Arthur Berman tells CNN's "American Morning" the relative simplicity of the static kill makes it an attractive option for BP.
BP finished pouring cement down the well on Aug. 6, completing the job earlier than expected. The process took six hours. Retired Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen said the cementing phase of the "static kill" operation is not the end of the process, "but it will virtually assure us there's no chance of oil leaking into the environment."
Solution: New better-fitting containment cap
BP said it was going to remove the old containment cap, replacing it with another that has a better fit. Robots removed six giant bolts from the apparatus July 11 so the new cap could be positioned.
Scientists will then be able to gauge the pressure inside the well and determine whether the cap is holding in the oil or if crews will need to continue siphoning oil.
BP says it will conduct a “well integrity test,” which involves closing the stack end and stemming the flow coming from the well.
If it works, oil collection via the vessels, Q4000 and Helix Producer, will cease. BP will then close in on the perforated pipe. This process, which will be done in collaboration with U.S. government officials, could take up to 48 hours.
In the best-case scenario, the containment cap would have the ability to actually close down the valves and slowly contain all the oil – not plug the well.
If oil collection was still necessary, over the next two to three weeks, 60,000 to 80,000 barrels (2.52 million to 3.36 million gallons) a day could be collected as part of the containment process, BP Senior Vice President Kent Wells said. That's because the containment cap would allow four collection ships to access the well, rather than the maximum of three allowed by the old cap.
The oil giant said earlier as well that the cap "should improve containment efficiency during hurricane season by allowing shorter disconnect and reconnect times."
Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen said he approved the cap-switch plan to take advantage of favorable weather predicted for coming days and because, once the switch is complete, the resulting capacity to contain oil "will be far greater than the capabilities we have achieved using current systems." Allen also stressed that once the capping device is on, "we would get the most accurate flow rate to date."
The oil stopped gushing out on the afternoon of July 15 - the first time BP has been able to gain control since the the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded three months ago and triggered the catastrophe.
The "well integrity test" began on July 15 after two days of delays, first as government scientists scrutinized testing procedures and then as BP replaced a leaking piece of equipment known as a choke line.
BP cautioned that the oil cutoff, while welcomed, isn't likely to go beyond the 48 hours. Valves are expected to open after that to resume siphoning oil to two ships on the surface, the Q4000 and Helix Producer, as government and BP officials assess the data and decide what to do next.
As of July 19, testing on a capped oil well in the Gulf of Mexico continues as the federal government says BP has addressed questions about a seep near the well. Retired Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen, the federal government's response manager for the oil spill, says that a federal science team and BP representatives discussed the seep during a conference call, including the "possible observation of methane over the well."
See progress on relief wells
Solution: Second containment system
BP said Wednesday it has started collecting oil gushing into the Gulf through a second containment system attached to the ruptured well. The new system is connected directly to the blowout preventer and carries oil up to a second ship, the Q4000. The Q4000 uses a specialised clean-burning system to flare oil and gas captured by this second system. The Q4000 uses a specialised clean-burning system to flare oil and gas captured by this second system.
This second system supplements the lower marine riser package (LMRP) cap containment system, which remains in operation, BP said. The new system is connected directly to the blowout preventer and carries oil and gas through a manifold and hoses to the Q4000 vessel on the surface.
Oil and gas collected from the blowout preventer reached the Q4000 at approximately early on June 16. Operations continue to stabilise and optimise the performance of the second containment system.
See progress on the relief wells
Solution: An altered version of "cut and cap"
BP went back to the drawing board June 3 and planned to cut away the remains of the damaged riser pipe with a robotic-arm shearing device. A containment dome would then be put over the blowout preventer's lower marine riser package, but the larger, less precise shearing device will have left a rougher cut than what the diamond wire cutter was supposed to offer.
The more primitive cut means that a rubber seal will not be as tight as previously hoped, so the dome may capture less of the oil. Nevertheless, the hope is that a good amount of the oil can be captured and brought to the surface until August, when BP is expected to be ready to use a relief well to seal the leaking well for good.Outcome
BP sliced off the remains of the damaged riser June 3, and Adm. Thad Allen, the federal government's response manager, called the news "extremely important." Robot submarines steered the new cap to the well later that evening. The cap placed over the top of the well funnels oil and gas to a surface ship, though oil is still spilling out from the cap and the valves.
On June 7, BP says that it has closed one of four vents on top of the cap, and that the process is working well. The company says it may not close all four of the valves because engineers think the valves may be releasing more gas than oil.
On June 10, scientists said as much as 40,000 barrels of crude are gushing into the sea every day. The previous estimate by researchers, made two weeks ago, was 12,000 to 19,000 barrels per day.
BP has collected about 73,300 barrels (about 3 million gallons) of oil since it placed a containment cap on its ruptured well, the company said.
Solution: "Cut and cap"
BP plans to send marine robots that will cut the "lower marine riser package,” or LMRP, on the well. This is a set of pipes that connect the oil well’s blowout preventer to the damaged pipe. After that, a diamond-cut saw will be used to make a "clean cut," preparing the way for a custom-made cap to be fitted over the package. One of a number of caps that BP has available, depending on the cut, will be placed over the package to bring the oil and gas to the surface.
The operation represents the first of three containment steps that BP plans to take. After the cap is on, a second operation will create a second flow through the blowout preventer, meaning there will be two channels of oil leaking to the surface.
When asked about his level of confidence in the capping procedure, given the fact that other operations aimed at stopping the spill have failed, BP Managing Director Bob Dudley said the company has learned a lot from previous attempts. For instance, warm water will be pumped down in an effort to combat the formation of hydrates, or crystals, that blocked a previous containment vessel.
While the engineering has never been attempted at a depth of 5,000 feet, Dudley said, it is "more straightforward" than that used in previous operations. The cap "should be able to capture most of the oil," Doug Suttles, chief operating officer of BP's global exploration and production business said. However, he cautioned that the new cap will not provide a "tight mechanical seal."
If successful, the procedure will allow BP to collect most, but not all, of the oil spewing from the well. The cutting that precedes the cap placement carries with it a risk of increasing the oil flow, Dudley acknowledged. But "even with increased flow rate, this cap will be able to handle this." However, the BP statement said, "systems such as the LMRP containment cap have never been deployed at these depths and conditions, and their efficiency and ability to contain the oil and gas cannot be assured."
BP's effort to slice off a damaged riser pipe stalled after the blade of a diamond wire saw got stuck June 2. The diamond wire cutter plan was dumped after the device got stuck midway through the pipe. It was freed and taken to the surface.
Solution: “Junk shot”
This method involves debris such as shredded tires, golf balls and similar objects being shot under extremely high pressure into the blowout preventer in an attempt to clog it and stop the leak. Engineers at BP used this technique along with the top kill.
What was expected
"Each of these [materials] has been proven to fill various-sized spaces in the blowout preventer until the flow is stopped," BP says in a statement on its website. "While there is no known perfect 'recipe,' a number of combinations of materials will be used." More drilling mud would follow the junk shot, with the hope that the two methods together would stop the oil long enough for cement to be poured into the well. BP’s Suttles compared the operation to stopping up a toilet.
This one failed, too. The process was carried out "a number of times" with the U.S. Coast Guard before the oil giant admitted that the experiment had failed, BP press officer Sheila Williams said. Engineers first used the junk shot to quell the 1991 Kuwait oil fires, but never at such depths. "I don't think we'll be using golf balls again," Williams said.
Solution: "Top kill"
The top kill involves pumping heavy drilling fluid into the head of the leaking well at the sea floor. The manufactured fluid, known as drilling mud, is normally used as a lubricant and counterweight in drilling operations. The hope is that the drilling mud will stop the flow of oil. Cement then would be pumped in to seal the well. The first round of pumping began May 26.
Top kill has worked on above-ground oil wells in the Middle East but has never been tested 5,000 feet underwater. BP Chief Executive Officer Tony Hayward has given the maneuver a 60 percent to 70 percent chance of success.
A team of experts will examine conditions inside the five-story blowout preventer to determine how much pressure the injected mud will have to overcome. The company then performs diagnostic tests to determine whether the procedure can proceed.
Three days of work involving three separate pumping efforts and 30,000 barrels of mud – along with what Hayward described as "16 different bridging material shots" – just didn't do the trick.
"We have not been able to stop the flow," a somber Suttles told reporters. " ... Repeated pumping, we don't believe, will achieve success, so we will move on to the next option." Suttles and other officials said that the top kill attempt to stop the flow did so – but only as long as they were pumping. When the pumping stopped, the oil resumed its escape.
Solution: Riser insertion tube
The riser insertion tube tool is a temporary solution that involves inserting a 4-inch-diameter tube into the Deepwater Horizon’s rise, a 21-inch diameter pipe, between the well and the broken end of the riser on the sea floor.
The insertion tube connects to a new riser to allow hydrocarbons to flow up to the Transocean Discoverer Enterprise drill ship. The oil will be separated and shipped ashore.
This seems to be the most successful effort thus far in containing some of the spill. The system was able to capture some of the leaking oil and pipe it aboard a drill ship, burning off some of the natural gas released in the process, according to a statement from the joint BP-Coast Guard command center leading the response to the oil spill.
The flow rate from the tube reached 3,000 barrels of crude (126,000 gallons) and 14 million cubic feet of gas a day as of May 20. BP’s Suttles said the company is "very pleased" with the performance of the tube. However, Gov. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana says the efforts haven't stopped oil from reaching his state's coastline.
Solution: Second containment dome or “top hat”
The "top-hat" cofferdam is a 5-foot-tall, 4-foot-diameter structure that weighs less than 2 tons and would be injected with alcohol to act as an antifreeze and keep its outlet clear.
BP built the smaller dome after the containment vessel, designed to cap the larger of two leaks in the well, developed glitches. The new device would keep most of the water out at the beginning of the capping process and allow engineers to pump in methanol to keep the hydrates from forming, BP's Suttles said. Methanol is a simple alcohol that can be used as an antifreeze.
BP abandoned the idea of using the “top hat” and opted to proceed with an insertion tube technique instead. It wasn’t clear why BP made that choice.
Solution: First containment dome
BP lowered a massive four-story containment vessel over the well to cap the larger of two leak points. The hope was that the container would collect the leaking oil, which would be sucked up to a drill ship on the surface.
"If all goes according to plan, we should begin the process of processing the fluid and stop the spilling to the sea," Suttles said. But the method had not been done at such depths before.
The plan was thwarted after ice-like hydrate crystals formed when gas combined with water to block the top of the dome and make it buoyant. The dome was moved off to the side of the wellhead and is resting on the sea floor, Suttles said. He declined to call it a failed operation but said, "What we attempted to do ... didn't work."
Solution: Drilling a relief well
The second well joins the failed well at the bottom, in rock 13,000 feet below the ocean. Once contact is made, drilling fluid and concrete will be put into the first well.
This will lower the pressure on the failed well, enough to allow a concrete plug to be placed into it and permanently shut it down. The relief well could also be used for future oil and gas production. BP began drilling the second well this month, but it will take three months to complete. Weather conditions could prolong the process, Beaudo said.
The well is expected to be completed by August. It would be a permanent solution to cap the leaking well.
End of April
Solution: Robots to shut blowout preventer
The rig’s blowout preventer, a 48-foot-tall, 450-ton apparatus that sits atop the well 5,000 feet underwater, failed to automatically cut off the oil flow after the April 20 explosion of the Deepwater Horizon rig. BP attempted to use remote-controlled submarines with robotic arms to reach access portals and activate the valve.
The highly complex task was to take 24 to 36 hours, said Doug Suttles, chief operating officer of BP's global exploration and production business.
Failed. "We've tried many different ways. Some things have showed promise; some haven't," BP spokesman Daren Beaudo said. "We don't know why the remote-operated shutdown systems haven't worked."
Testing on a capped oil well in the Gulf of Mexico continues for another day as the federal government says BP has addressed questions about a seep near the well. Retired Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen, the federal government's response manager for the oil spill, says that a federal science team and BP representatives discussed the seep during a conference call, including the "possible observation of methane over the well."
Post by: Journalist Derrick Ho
Filed under: BP • Gulf Coast Oil Spill
The real question: why the left tweaid 30 days to challenge the White House on its chronic laziness when it's clear Bush wouldn't have been given 30 minutes before being subjected to a full-scale partisan attack.The real answer: the Left doesn't really believe in the things they lecture us about.
March 13, 2012 at 1:36 am | Report abuse |
Rush did not say ..wackos blew up the rig.. I guess taking comtenms out of context is ok with you as long as it appears to make your point. He sad he was merely noting the timeline. You don't see any difference in that? Funny, cause I do. Many of you say if you listen to Rush you still don't get it Why? If we don't agree with you than we don't get it ? And your opinion is the only one, the correct one, the supreme one? What makes your opinion so special and above all others? The problem with the left is they do not like dissent. They'd rather clear the playing of any and opponents. That way they can cram their liberal agenda down the throats of Americans with little to no reistence. That's why they want to regulate and take over the internet, talk radio, etc..if they can't win a debate on the merits of an issue, they simply eliminate the oppenents. Then they can bride, promise, make back door deals with the dissenters on their own side and that is how they get things done. Obamacare being a perfect example. You don't like Rush, don't listen. You don't like Hannity, turn the channel. But please, don't worry about me listening to the dangerous Rush Limbaugh. And don't assume he needs to be removed so to protect me from myself! Get over yourselves all ready!!!
March 14, 2012 at 9:14 pm | Report abuse |
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World PR Report launches next month - preview
The World PR Report published by ICCO and PRWeek will be launched at the Global ICCO PR Summit in Oxford, United Kingdom on 29-30 September. The report is the annual analysis of the international public relations industry including a breakdown of the top 100 global agencies, market analysis from regional leaders, and a report on agency growth and opportunity, investment plans and talent challenges. Commenting on the talent challenges in the Asia Pacific market, Lynne Anne Davis, President – Asia Pacific at FleishmanHillard said: “PR’s massive transformation as an integrated, socially-centric industry was enabled by the introduction of non-traditional roles and expertise from other industries. That must never stop in order to continuously innovate, expand influence and supple the rising demand for PR services – especially in Asia where local companies are aggressively disrupting categories, exporting brands abroad and creating new spaces.” Colin Byrne, Weber Shandwick’s UK & EMEA CEO comments on strong growth in the market, but also the challenges ahead: “Macro-economic issues include economic downturn in BRIC and other emerging markets, security and political issues, the uncertainties around the US election and, yes, Brexit and associated recession warnings, are challenges for us and our clients.” Loretta Ahmed, Grayling’s CEO of Middle East Africa & Turkey analyses the developing markets of the Middle East and Africa: “Less risk averse than many parts of the world, the Middle East is coming of age and it is good to see more and more world-class work emanating from the region and being recognised in global award schemes.” “In Africa in particular, communications professionals are able to achieve CEO level client access at a far greater frequency than in other markets – while this comes with a far greater ability to influence decision-making it also creates the need for strategic communicators to feature heavily in the team mix – a challenge for agency heads looking to field local teams.” Commenting on trends in the European PR industry, Pascal Beucler, Chief Strategy Officer at MSLGROUP said: “Another trend we can see everywhere in Europe is the need for more integration, particularly for big, global clients: wasting energy, time and money because of having too many people from different networks/holdings around the table is really something they don’t want anymore. They say they want one team, as diverse as possible but belonging to the same P&L and led by one single, global manager. Such alignment allows better, faster, clearer decisions and action plans.” Full analysis and commentary of each of the markets is available in the World PR Report, launched at the Summit, and subsequently published by PRWeek online and in hard copy. Francis Ingham, Chief Executive of ICCO and Director General of PRCA UK & MENA will be presenting the findings at the Summit, and copies will be shared with attending delegates. For more information on the Global ICCO PR Summit visit www.iccosummit.org
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Home / Lifestyle / ABS-CBN says it has sold 6.1 million TVplus boxes
ABS-CBN says it has sold 6.1 million TVplus boxes
Almost three-fourths of non-cabled homes in Metro Manila are now watching television via digital terrestrial television (DTT), driven primarily by the robust sales of ABS-CBN TVplus that has already sold 6.1 million units as of October 10 since its launch in 2015.
Based on the latest establishment survey conducted by Kantar Media in August, a growing number of Filipinos are now watching television via digital terrestrial TV.
In Metro Manila alone, 71.6% of non-cabled homes have an ABS-CBN TVplus box, compared to 55% in August 2017.
Meanwhile, in Mega Manila, non-cabled homes that are enjoying the benefits of ABS-CBN TVplus rose to 64.7% from 44% in the same period last year.
The biggest growth in DTT penetration is in the suburbs as Kantar Media reported that 57% or more than half of non-cabled homes in the area now watch television using an ABS-CBN TVplus box, compared to only 33% in August 2017 – a 24-percentage point increase in consumer acquisition.
ABS-CBN, which is rapidly transitioning into a digital company, is also leading the country’s departure from analog following the government’s mandate for all broadcasting companies to migrate to digital TV before 2023.
It is also the first media and entertainment company in the country to make the historic switch from analog to digital terrestrial television to transform the TV viewing experience of Filipinos when it launched ABS-CBN TVplus in 2015.
In July 2018, ABS-CBN TVplus introduced new channels that are initially available in Metro Manila, Rizal, Cavite, Laguna, Metro Cebu, and Cagayan de Oro.
ABS-CBN said the TVplus signal coverage areas include Metro Manila, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pangasinan, Rizal, Laguna, Pampanga, Tarlac, Benguet, Cavite, Metro Cebu, Cagayan De Oro, Iloilo, Bacolod, and Davao.
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Guest Post: ‘New Battlefields, Old Laws’ – Debate on the Future of the 2001 AUMF
28 Sep Guest Post: ‘New Battlefields, Old Laws’ – Debate on the Future of the 2001 AUMF
28.09.14 | 1 Comment
[Myriam Feinberg is a Post-Doctoral Fellow of the GlobalTrust Project, Tel Aviv University (as of October 1, 2014)]
As part of the International Institute for Counter-Terrorism’s 14th Annual World Summit on Counter-Terrorism, a workshop was jointly organised by the ICT and the Institute for National Security and Counterterrorism of Syracuse University (INSCT), as part of the project ‘New Battlefields, Old Laws.’ Started in 2006 to adapt our understanding of laws of war, the NBOL Project brings together scholars and experts who aim to address the challenges for the future of armed conflict.
This year’s NBOL workshop dealt with the way we adapt to new threats and expanding battlefields in counterterrorism and culminated in an Oxford Union style debate on the future of the 2001 AUMF. A video of the debate can be found here.
The debate could not have been timelier as the blogosphere is abuzz following President Obama’s speech on the United States’ ‘Strategy to Counter the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL)’ delivered on the eve of the thirteenth anniversary of the attacks of 11 September 2001. In his speech, the President authorised further air strikes against ISIL militants in Iraq and appeared to authorise air strikes in Syria. He stated that he secured bipartisan support and welcomed further congressional action, yet also made clear that he did not need further authorisation from Congress to launch the strike. Other official statements made clear that the administration was relying on the 2001 Authorization to Use Military Force, which authorized the use of force against those responsible for the September 11, 2001, as a justification for striking ISIL. This comes despite a national security address at the US Military Academy in May 2013, when Obama said he wanted to repeal the 2001 AUMF.
At the NBOL workshop, Professor Nathan A. Sales of Syracuse University College of Law and Professor Jennifer Daskal of American University Washington College of Law debated the following motion: ‘This House believes that the 2001 AUMF should be amended to authorize force against future terrorist threats’.
They join a long list of scholars and experts who have called on the US administration to either amend, update, or repeal the 2001 AUMF and to clarify the basis for its action against ISIL and other terrorist groups that did not take part in the September 11th attacks – and in many cases did not even exist at the time of the attacks. See for instance Jens David Ohlin here, Deborah Pearlstein here, Peter Spiro here, Jack Goldsmith here, and Jennifer Daskal here.
While both Sales and Daskal expressed concerned with the current legal framework dealing with terrorist threats in the United States, their opinion differed as to the suitability of the AUMF to deal with emerging threats.
Nathan Sales, who argued in favour of the motion, first discussed three possible options for a new legal framework against terrorist groups: the first is a group specific AUMF which would name specific organizations against which the President is authorised to use force. The second is a general statutory framework that allows the President himself to designate groups against which to use force. The third option is the absence of statute and the reliance on the inherent authority of the President under Article II of the US Constitution.
Nathan Sales then pointed to the legal uncertainty of the 2001 AUMF, which would give insufficient authority to the President to use force against groups with no links to al Qaeda and generally stated that the 2001 AUMF is growing obsolete and should be replaced by a statute that would allow the President to designate future terrorist threats.
He based his argument on the idea that future United States presidents are likely to use military force to respond to future terrorist threats and that the use of military force should therefore be regulated through a legal framework. This legal framework would take the form of a flexible AUMF that would allow the President to designate groups as threats emerge. For Sales, the flexibility of designation should however be restrained by certain substantive and procedural criteria, including pre-designation consultation with Congress and some public notice. He suggested also that such a Statute could be tied to international law principles including the right of self-defence.
Sales made the counterintuitive claim that this framework would constrain the President better than relying solely on the President’s inherent constitutional authorities. He also suggested that such a delegation of power would be more modest than the 9/11 AUMF, which does not impose substantive or procedural criteria on the President.
Opposing the motion was Jennifer Daskal who has previously expressed her concerns about an open-ended use of force authorization that would delegate to the President the authority to unilaterally name the groups with which the nation is at war. Like Sales, Daskal expressed concern about the way the 2001 AUMF was being relied on – through the conception of “associated forces” to justify uses of force against a potentially expanding list of groups, and without transparency as to which groups were – or were not – covered. Daskal, however, disagreed with Sales on the solution.
For Daskal, any authorisation to use force against terrorist groups should be narrowly tailored for specific groups and specific contexts; it should definitely not be open-ended and it should only occur if there is clear evidence of a threat.
Daskal warned that an open-ended force authorization would encourage – or at least enable – use of force as the first response to terrorist threats. For Daskal, force should be a last, not a first, resort. She pointed out the range of other tools – including law enforcement (through prosecution in civilian courts), intelligence-gathering and counterterrorism partnerships with key allies, and strategic initiatives to counter violent extremism – that are available and often effective in countering terrorist threats, and warned that excessive use of force can be counterproductive and increase existing resentment against the United States.
Daskal also stressed the necessity – and in fact obligation – to employ force in situations where these other tools cannot effectively protect against an active and imminent threat to the nation or U.S. nationals, but maintained that the President had ample authority to engage in such uses of force pursuant to his Article II authorities. And that if and when an organized group – such as is now the case with ISIL – posed the type of threat that the President thought warranted offensive, ongoing uses of force, he could – and should – go to Congress to get authorization to deal with the specific threat. (In fact, Daskal has been critical of the President for not doing so in this case.) But that the authorization should be focused on the specific threat posed, and ideally come with a sunset clause, so as to avoid it being relied on some 13 years later for purposes totally unimagined when it was first passed.
The difference between Sales and Daskal focused on nature of the threat that could trigger the use of military force and the mechanism for formally embroiling the nation in armed conflict: Sales advocates for an AUMF that would authorise the President to use force against terrorist groups before they have attacked the United States. He argued that the Executive has the advantage over Congress in cases where an attack has not yet occurred because it has better information and can take immediate action. In particular, while he recognised that non-military means can sometimes be effective against terrorism, he considers that the US needs to calibrate the nature of its response for the particular threat and that a more robust exercise of national power is sometimes needed.
For Daskal, the US should not be authorising force against groups absent the determination that this group poses the type of threat that cannot be addressed through other means. And that the authorization should be done pursuant to Congressional deliberation, in response to a specific threat – consistent with what the Framers envisioned when they divided the responsibility to declare and make war between the congressional and executive branches of the government.
All that said, both Sales and Daskal agreed that the President should go to Congress to seek new authorization for his planned actions against ISIL. They just disagreed as to what such an authorization ought to look like. Meanwhile, many others have joined the debate on the blogosphere – raising multiple questions about the President’s legal justifications for the strikes.
Participants in this year’s NBOL workshop also included Professor William Banks, Dr. Daphné Richemond-Barak, Dr. Matthew Levitt, Professor Laurie Blank, Professor Geoffrey Corn, and Colonel (Res.) Ronen Cohen.
An informal vote gave a small majority in favour of the motion. Clearly the debate isn’t over.
Interesting, but the President has authority under Article II, Section 3 of the U.S. Const. to execute treaty law of the United States that, in this instance, provides an authority to engage in legitimate measures of collective self-defense. Further, the War Powers Act does not reach this power (Sec. 2(c), only the power as C-I-C) and does not alter the authority under “existing treaties” such as the UN Charter. See http://ssrn.com/abstract=2061835
and new op ed over at Jurist
Myriam Feinberg
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Home » Headlines » Iran eliminates trachoma as a public health problem
Iran eliminates trachoma as a public health problem
by Press Release
Headlines, Middle East
The Islamic Republic of Iran prepared a dossier on the elimination of trachoma as a public health problem which provided information on the current epidemiological situation of trachoma in the country and the systems for identifying and managing patients with Chlamydia trachomatis.
Image/tetracarbon via pixabay
Trachoma is the world’s leading infectious cause of blindness and one of 20 neglected tropical diseases that affect over one billion of the world’s poorest people.
Elimination of trachoma as a public health problem is defined as: 1) a prevalence of trachomatous trichiasis of less than 0.2% in adults aged over 15 years (approximately 1 case per 1000 people); and 2) a prevalence of less than 5% of trachomatous inflammation follicular in children aged 1–9 years.
The dossier was reviewed by an external Dossier Review Group convened by the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean. A patchwork of recent data, when taken together, presents a convincing case that the prevalence of trachoma is now below WHO thresholds for elimination as a public health problem. Antibiotics with anti-chlamydial activity are widely available. School health programs on health promotion run by relevant government ministries are well established. Systems appear to be in place to maintain access to clean water and improved sanitation facilities at current levels or greater. Cross-border issues are reviewed in the dossier, and have been adequately considered.
Trachoma – The Leading Cause of Preventable Blindness Worldwide
Based on the evidence provided in the dossier about investment in and implementation the SAFE strategy (Surgery, Antibiotics, Facial cleanliness, Environmental improvement) and the recommendation of the Dossier Review Group, WHO concludes that the Islamic Republic of Iran has achieved elimination of trachoma as a public health problem.
Dr Ghebreyesus mentioned in his message to His Excellency Dr Hassan Ghazizadeh Hashemi, The Minster of Health and Medical Education: “I would like to offer my warm congratulations to the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran on achieving this landmark.”
At this stage, WHO recommends continued surveillance for trachoma, awareness-raising within schools and communities, cross-border health checks, enhancing case finding and timely treatment for affected patients, and sharing the surveillance information with WHO.
Iran reports 120 CCHF cases in six months, Tehran spared so far
Iran reports MERS case in Kahnooj city man
Swine flu outbreak ‘under control’: Iran health minister
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Home » US News » Measles outbreak up to 121 cases nationwide
Measles outbreak up to 121 cases nationwide
The number of measles cases reported in the United States this year up to Feb. 6 has reached 121, according to the latest data provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Cases have now been reported in 17 states and Washington DC: AZ (7), CA (88), CO (1), DC (1), DE (1), IL (3), MI (1), MN (1), NE (2), NJ (1), NY (2), NV (2), OR (1), PA (1), SD (2) TX (1), UT (2), WA (4).
Eight out 10 cases have shown to be linked to the Disneyland outbreak.
The California Department of Public Health’s (CDPH) confirmed measles tally is higher than that reported by the CDC with 103 cases.
Of these:
39 cases visited Disneyland during December 17th-20th, 2014 where they are presumed to have been exposed
24 are household or close contacts to a confirmed case
4 were exposed in a community setting (e.g., emergency room) where a confirmed case was known to be present
36 have unknown exposure source
In addition, CDPH officials are warning against “measles parties” as opposed to vaccination noting that 30% of cases in the state required hospitalization for their illness:
The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) does not have any information to share about the background or frequency of pox parties. But CDPH strongly recommends against the intentional exposure of children to measles, as it unnecessarily places the exposed children at potentially grave risk and could contribute to further spread of the outbreak. Measles is a serious illness that can have significant consequences. Thirty percent of people with measles in the current California outbreak have been hospitalized.” – Dr. Gil Chavez, Deputy Director, State Epidemiologist, California Department of Public Health.
One thought on “Measles outbreak up to 121 cases nationwide”
Pingback: The sad inevitability of the measles outbreak – Rocky Mountain Collegian « Breaking Information
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Kenney & Council Proposal for New Housing Trust Fund Dollars
Today, Mayor Jim Kenney, City Council President Darrell Clarke, and Councilmembers Maria Quinones-Sanchez and Mark Squilla announced their proposal for how the first year of the new Housing Trust Fund Sub-Fund dollars will be spent. This $19 million infusion of resources is a result of years of advocacy, and will be followed by at least another $54 million over the next four years.
Their proposal for how the $19 million will be spent is now open for written public comment through March 15th, 2019. Then a hearing will be held in City Council to consider a proposed ordinance (date to be announced).
At a press conference in City Hall today with the Mayor and Council leaders, PACDC Executive Director Rick Sauer said, “These investments in affordable homes provide low- and moderate-income Philadelphians with the opportunity to improve their physical and mental health, educational attainment, job security, and quality of life. They will pay off in a stronger, healthier, more equitable Philadelphia.”
The proposal includes: $10 million for affordable housing production and preservation; $3 million for down-payment and closing cost assistance for new home buyers; $1 million for housing counseling; $2 million for a pilot to create a shallow rent subsidy program; $2 million to create a new “accelerator fund” meant to attract new private investment in affordable homes; and $1 million to cover administrative costs.
To learn more about the proposal, visit the legal notices section on the website of the Division of Housing and Community Development which also has instructions for how to submit written comments on the proposal.
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Medweb Provides Disaster Relief Internationally and at Home
As founder and CEO of Medweb in San Francisco, Peter “Pete” Killcommons guides his company in providing telemedicine and imaging services; his firm is one of the few corporations that include a dedicated philanthropic division. Among the recipients of Peter Killcommons’ charity projects are disaster sites in the United States and abroad.
Southwest Asia has been a focal point for several Medweb initiatives. In Afghanistan, Medweb installed and provided training for a deployable telemedicine clinic. This clinic enables doctors and patients in separate locations to communicate via voice and visual links. Medweb also improved satellite communications at a lab in Jalalabad.
Medweb also served Tristan de Cunha, a remote island west of South Africa that can only be reached by a weeklong boat trip. The company enhanced telemedicine capabilities and continues to provide technical support and training there.
In the US, Medweb aided victims of Hurricane Katrina with a mobile medical triage unit on the ground at Touro Hospital and on board the USNS Comfort.
About American Telemedicine Association Accreditation
The chief executive officer of Medweb, a medical software and device company, Peter Killcommons, MD, has more than two decades of experience in the industry. The head of the company’s disaster response, radiology, and telemedicine divisions, Dr. Peter “Pete” Killcommons is also a member of the American Telemedicine Association (ATA).
A nonprofit organization dedicated to addressing the affordability, equity, and quality of healthcare across the globe, the American Telemedicine Association is based in Washington, DC. With over 10,000 members, the ATA is open to students, individuals, corporations, and other institutions to help make it the leading association for the multi-billion-dollar telemedicine industry. In addition to member benefits, the organization offers benefits to healthcare providers and regulators with its accreditation program.
Accreditation, which must be renewed every three years, is a sign to consumers and regulators that an organization is dedicated to ensuring best practices regarding laws, regulations, and industry standards are followed. Providers then can differentiate themselves from their competitors while increasing consumer trust and recognition, and regulators can know the organization is committed to accuracy and quality in telemedicine. To receive ATA accreditation, an eligible healthcare provider organization must submit an application with all required supporting documents. The organization is then surveyed by ATA members to determine that all telemedicine policies and procedures meet necessary standards in the areas of demonstration, attestation, documentation, and online resources.
Telemedicine Brings Doctors and Patients Together
Dr. Peter Killcommons is the founder and CEO of Medweb, a California-based company that develops telemedical systems, helping to join doctors with patients who are not in the same location. As both a surgeon and philanthropist, Dr. Peter (Pete) Killcommons has participated for over 20 years in the evolution of telemedicine, which has seen rapid development over that time with the advent of the Internet and other modern communications technologies.
In addition to allowing doctors to apply their skills and expertise to patients beyond easy reach, such as those from rural communities, telemedicine can accelerate the medical examination process for patients in any circumstances. Cameras and other remotely operated devices, in combination with powerful encryption and network-connection tools, can allow doctors to study scanned images and diagnose patients across an electronic connection with the same accuracy as a personal examination. This not only helps to preserve hospital access and resources for emergencies, it allows doctors to be better prepared for a patient’s arrival on such an occasion and begin administering treatment sooner.
U.S. military medics particularly appreciate this aspect of the technology, since it allows them to examine a patient and transmit detailed information on the nature of an injury ahead of evacuation. This is far preferable to the previous method of simply filling out a card and tying it to the patient with a wire.
The possibility of being able to treat patients remotely is significant in other scenarios as well. NASA has long considered the possibility of an astronaut becoming injured or ill, and the agency being unable to abort the mission and return to Earth in time for treatment. At present, NASA is interested in the many applications of ultrasound technology for the crew of the International Space Station. This is because ultrasound can provide detailed tissue scans of patients, and it has been successfully used during the treatment of certain conditions like internal bleeding, potentially preventing death from a traumatic injury.
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Maple Mountain seniors learn lessons from the sidelines
Photos by Kevin McInnis
High school can be difficult enough when everything goes according to plan. Wouldn’t life be wonderful if every prep athlete was a star player, experiencing the highs of athletic success every time she took the field?
Seven exemplary seniors on the 2017 Class 5A state champion girls soccer team at Maple Mountain High School concluded their high school experience with a very different perspective of what constitutes individual success. Amy Williamson, Madison Webster, Amber Messick, Aubrey Mitton, Kristalyn Lockwood, Hannah Taylor and Samantha Wiscombe are outstanding players who saw playing time dry up as first-year coach Jeff Lewis took over the Golden Eagle girls program.
“Where this stems from is we’re a deep team,” Lewis said. “Each position, we’re two or three deep, which is really nice because when you have injuries or somebody plays a different style, it allows us to keep whoever’s playing the best that day.”
Maple Mountain girls soccer players hoist the state championship trophy at Rio Tinto Stadium. (Photo by Kevin McInnis)
The abundance of talented players created a situation in which these seven, who had played significant minutes in prior seasons, saw limited time on the pitch during their senior year. We’re conditioned to believe that it doesn’t work that way, but sometimes it does.
“We kept more people for our program than most surrounding schools had even try out,” Lewis said. “These (seven) girls, they play top level club soccer. Two of them, I’m actually in contact with colleges that still want them to go and play for them. It’s not that they’re poor players, it’s that there’s so much depth on our roster.
“Every coach has a different style, every coach has a different thing they’re looking for in players. They’re not less than the other players, just the style that I’m looking for is what I find in different players and that’s where the play time is chosen from.”
Sticking With It
Finding themselves on the bench for their senior year provided ample reason for each of these seven to consider other uses for the time they spend training with the soccer team. Each has her own reasons for sticking around, but for most of them, it starts with relationships.
“The reason that I’ve been able to stay is because of all these girls right here, all these seniors, the examples they are to me,” Wiscombe said. “There’s been a good amount of time where I’ve wanted to just stop coming, but because these girls were here and because we were able to be together and it was our last year playing high school soccer, it kept me coming back.”
“Having my teammates stay here as well, that’s made it easier, but I think if they would have all left, I think I would have stayed, at least tried,” Williamson said. “My parents have taught me that when you start something, you finish and that’s what I’m doing. I committed to be on this team, and I come in here and I didn’t expect it to be like this exactly, I’m still going to finish, no matter what.”
Each of these young women talks about the things this experience has taught them, and most of it goes beyond what happens on the soccer field. They cherish the friendships they’ve built this year in particular.
“I didn’t make the team last year and that was pretty rough, but it’s been a lot better this year,” Lockwood said. “I’ve worked really hard to come to everything this summer to try to make the team this year, and I’ve loved it this year because I’ve gotten to play with my friends and I’ve gotten to play soccer and that’s why I’m here.”
“This year has been a challenge,” Wiscombe said. “I started out playing a lot of varsity, being super involved with the soccer, and this year to go to really not playing at all, it’s been hard. Soccer’s been my whole life, but it’s kind of shifted. My focus has become more on the girls around me because these girls are my everything, they’re my greatest friends and I wouldn’t give that up just because I have to sit on the bench a couple of times.”
“My experience has been pretty good,” Messick added. “I played a lot of varsity in past years, just not as much this year. These girls have become some of my best friends and I’m grateful for my experience. For me, with all these girls, I look up to them so much, and I think they have taught me lessons that go beyond soccer, and that’s what high school soccer is really all about. It’s more that soccer, it’s about building relationships and learning about things beyond soccer to help you be prepared for real life.
Messick is one a good example of another way in which this group of seven has influenced this state championship program. Though her playing time has been limited, she is one of the team’s captains.
“Here’s a girl that doesn’t play, but every game she’s pumping up the girls, every day she’s reaching out to the girls that struggle,” Lewis said. “And it’s not just Amber. Each of those girls, I’ve seen them go talk to girls and pick up girls that are struggling and encourage girls. We have one of the most supportive benches in the region, that I’ve seen, and it’s because those girls realize, ‘I can make the girls on the field better by being supportive leaders on the sideline.’
“We have some young players. We start a lot of 10th graders, we have a couple of ninth graders on the varsity team, and those girls, they play good soccer, but it’s new for them to figure out the high school thing and it’s hard for some of those ‘freshies’ to fit in. These seniors make it so integral. They just bring them into the program and make them feel welcome, even though they’re the ones competing for play time.”
A Team Game
Not to mention the high level of competition they bring to training sessions. They might not be seeing action on game day, but these girls bring it when they run 11-on-11 at practice.
“The way we kind of deal with it is we try to show them their importance to the program,” Lewis said. “Some of them have earned playing time, so it creates a competitiveness at training. Every training, starters, non-starters, everybody is fighting for every ounce of time, so our sessions are actually sometimes more intense than real games. The struggle of it was actually early when they didn’t believe in that role, but I think that as we found success, the seniors believe in that role and realize how important they are to our program.”
And these seniors have embraced the role of helping their teammates become better players, more prepared for opponents. They do all they can to make scrimmages during training sessions intense. They might not see the pitch much against other schools, but they end up having two or three game days a week, and they’re all home games.
“I feel like we’ve made them better,” Mitton said. “I feel like if you were to come and watch one of our practices and you didn’t know anything about our team, you wouldn’t be able to tell who was the starters and who wasn’t. There’s not a distinct difference. We’re all really good. That’s what I like about practices is it’s always a new challenge and we’re all challenging each other, making each other better. We all have our different skill set, but when it comes down to it, when you look at it, you can’t tell who’s starting and who isn’t.”
Maple Mountain celebrates its state title. (Photo by Kevin McInnis)
A lifetime of playing the game they love doesn’t go away just because things get rough in the playing time department.
“I think for me, I really like soccer and I’ve been playing it since I was really little and I don’t want to give that up,” Lockwood said. “I also think we call come out here because we really do love the girls and we want to make them better, and I think us practicing against them makes them better. That’s why I do it.”
This group proves that leaders come in all kinds of different packages. Players who have a different role within the team are not just enduring a learning experience, they are able to give something back as they endure it well.
“This year’s definitely been different than years in the past, just because we have a new coach and that’s what it should be like, with change and all,” Webster said. “I think that it’s been harder for some of us, with that change. Overall, I think it’s definitely taught us lessons. Even though we haven’t been getting much playing time, we’ve still been able to learn and grow and be leaders on and off the field.”
Words of Advice
When asked what she would share with someone struggling in a similar situation, where things aren’t working out in the way you might expect, each of these seven seniors looked at her situation in a unique way.
Taylor pointed to the fact that we never know what’s coming around the next corner.
“I feel like they should keep going and keep trying,” she said. “They should work hard and keep doing what they’re doing because you never know what’s going to happen. You shouldn’t really give up just because of lack of playing time. Yea, it does suck, but you can earn your way, you can make so many new friends.”
Wiscombe advises a focus on what’s really important.
“My advice is to figure out what matters to you,” she said. “Soccer doesn’t last forever, but the relationships we make do last forever.”
From Lockwood comes a reminder that no one is the first or last to go down this path.
“Keep going because it is tough,” she said. “We feel like we’re the only ones that are feeling this way, but there’s a lot of people that are feeling this way and if you stand out by trying your hardest at practice and having a positive attitude, I feel like your coaches will notice.”
The little things are what gives Mitton her strength.
“Sometimes in life, no matter how hard you work, no matter how good you are at something, it won’t always pay off,” she said. “You can still be happy about it and find the happiness in your little successes. I’ll have a good day at practice and I’ll be happy with myself even though I don’t play the next game. My advice would be to just keep working hard and find that happiness.”
Messick knows that lessons learned will last a lifetime.
“My advice would be just bring it every day,” she said. “I know talking to some of the starters, they told me that I work hard and I think that by me working hard that makes the team better, and ultimately, the team is what matters. If we win state, we’re all going to be state champions. Even though the situation has been hard, I say just work hard every day, it teaches you persistence and to never give up, and I think that’s important.”
Webster knows she and her fellow seniors took the harder, better road.
“I think it says a lot about these girls and myself for staying on this team because we could have taken the easy way out and given up, but we didn’t,” she said. “We decided to stay and work through this hard time and even though it has been one of the hardest things that I personally have had to do, I think one of the biggest things is the lessons I’ve been able to learn that I can carry with me the rest of my life, like hard work and that dedication to doing what you love.
And Williamson acknowledges that failure is not found in losing out on playing time. It’s about how you handle the situation.
“Just keep going because I think that if you quit, I think you fail more than if you stay on and don’t get that playing time you want,” she said. “If I would have quit at the beginning, I would have regretted it throughout the whole year and I would have felt so guilty. As a person, I’ve learned to deal with people, I’ve learned to understand that sometimes even when you do work your hardest and come every day, you’re not going to always get what you want out of it, but it will make you better for other situations in life.”
When junior Brynlie Ivie buried her shot in Round 6 of the penalty kick shootout that concluded the 5A title game, followed by a Timpanogos miss, the Golden Eagles were state champions. For these seven special seniors, there is another award already earned, the lesson of life, that while there are certainly things we can’t control, the way we respond to adversity is always our choice.
“It reminds me of one of my favorite sayings that comes from a good motivational speaker,” Lewis said. “‘Pain is temporary, but quitting is forever.’ These girls have dealt with the pain of being in the program, they’ve dealt with the pain of not getting the playing time, but not one of them has ever quit.”
Related TopicsFeaturedGirls' SoccerGolden Eaglesin the sportlightJeff LewisMaple Mountain
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Let the Finder Beware
Name: Paul Burgess
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The Republic of New Netherland
Fig. 1 Map of the Republic of New Netherland
Once upon a time in an alternate history, the Dutch did not lose their North American colony to the English. On today's East Coast, between New England and the rest of the United States, stands the Republic of New Netherland. Or, as its own citizens call it in Dutch, de Republik van Nieuw-Nederland.
This is yet another fruit of my "radioactive core meltdown of the imagination." Actually I started working on New Netherland late, going into my mid 20s. I continued to work on it for ten years or more. Can't claim I've worked on it much since the early 1990s.
But talk about detail! I've got a list of every radio station in New Netherland, location, frequency, call letters, daytime and nighttime transmitter power. All the major highways, all the railroads. The 1980 census. The major league baseball teams of New Netherland's Knickerbocker League. A detailed history of the country. Reminiscences of the best (and worst) spots to smuggle goods in across the border from the United States. For New Netherland, you know, is a country unto itself.
Fig. 2 Flag of the Republic of New Netherland
To this day, hanging on the wall, I've got an actual full-sized flag of the Republic of New Netherland. Orange and white and blue, the old flag of the Prince of Orange, with a rising sun emblazoned on the middle stripe. I even composed the tune of New Netherland's national anthem, Onze Patrie (Our Fatherland): I've been known to astound friends by whistling it clear through from beginning to end.
The history of New Netherland begins, as in our timeline, with Henry Hudson exploring on behalf of the Netherlands, sailing up the Hudson River as far as the site of the present day Fort Orange [Albany]. The Dutch West India Company made a settlement in 1624, and in 1626 New Amsterdam was founded on Manhattan Island.
My alternate history diverges from our timeline in 1638, when David Pietersen de Vries (and not Willem Kieft) was appointed Director-General of New Netherland. As one history book puts it:
[In choosing] de Vries for the post... the States-General at a single stroke almost certainly prevented the Dutch colony in North America from eventually slipping out of their grasp...
De Vries had been a merchant skipper before coming to New Netherland. He was by all accounts a remarkable personality: shrewd, clear-headed, conciliatory but firm. De Vries was humane but unyielding in pressing forward to his goals... De Vries' first measure was to press for ending the fur trade monopoly of the Dutch West India Company. At the same time, he launched an intensive and successful campaign in Europe to draw a greater number of settlers to New Netherland. De Vries saw that the Dutch colony in the New World, if it was to survive, must become a true colony, and not just a station for a trading company.
De Vries established good relations with the Five Nations of the Iroquois. He fostered a degree of self-government in the colony with the setting up of the College of Twelve, which was the forerunner of today's New Netherlander Parliament. He pressed for the Connecticut River [Varsche Kill] as the boundary between New Netherland and the English colonies in New England, and he annexed the Swedish colony of New Sweden, along the Delaware River [South River, Zuid Kill] as the Dutch colony of New Amstel.
Most importantly, when the English sent four frigates in 1664 to take the chief colonial city of New Amsterdam:
They found a well-fortified city of eight thousand souls; de Vries had ordered the city prepared for the defense. In the ensuing battle, Dutch cannon sunk two of the English frigates, and the remaining two fled amidst fearsome volleys from the shore. The English attempt to seize the Dutch colonies in America had failed.
The English were eventually to recognize the Dutch title to New Netherland. De Vries was succeeded on his death by Hendrik Watervliet as Director-General. It was Watervliet who concluded an accord with his personal friend, William Penn, to establish the city of Philadelphia as a city under Dutch sovereignty with free trade rights to and from Pennsylvania through Philadelphia. Watervliet also oversaw the organization of the two provinces of Hudson and the Catskills in the valley of the Hudson River [North River, Noort Kill], where Dutch patroons with their land-grant feudal manors had been vying with one another for influence and power.
The Dutch remained neutral during the American Revolution. But New Netherland found itself on the path to independence when Napoleon Bonaparte seized the Netherlands in 1795. Director-General Philip Schuyler assumed administrative control of the Dutch colonies in the New World. A convention was gathered in New Amsterdam, and in 1798 the Constitution of the independent Republic of New Netherland was proclaimed.
Schuyler became the first Prime Minister of New Netherland, though he soon stepped down due to ill health. He was succeeded as Prime Minister by the patroon Stephen van Rensselaer. The first party divisions emerged, between the Conservatives ("Long Pipes") and Liberals ("Short Pipes").
The great New Netherlander statesman of the 19th century was Maarten van Buren, who became Prime Minister in 1820, and held the post for most of the next 36 years. This was the era when the Erie Canal was constructed, which for a time made New Netherland a major power in commercial transport to and from the interior of North America. This was also the era of the Anti-Rent War (1841-46), which ended in the patroons being stripped of their feudal manorial powers and reduced to a mere titled nobility.
Anti-slavery sentiment fueled New Netherlander aid to the Union in the Civil War, especially after Schuyler Colfax became Prime Minister (1863-77).
Theodore Roosevelt served as Prime Minister for most of the period 1897-1919, and New Netherland entered World War I in 1917 on the side of the Allies.
With the stock market crash in 1929, the Conservative government of Vermonter Calvin Coolidge resigned by the spring of 1930, and Franklin Delano Roosevelt headed up a Liberal government until his death in 1945. This was the period of the Great Depression and World War II, which New Netherland entered in 1940. FDR is also remembered for the constitutional crisis of 1935, when he extended the term of his government, and postponed national elections, one year beyond the constitutionally mandated five-year limit.
In 1948 Quentin Roosevelt, son of TR, became Prime Minister and led a Conservative government which continued until his death in 1965. It was the 1960s: three governments fell in the next 18 months, followed by the government of the first Iroquois Prime Minister of New Netherland, Oren Lyons (1967-74), under whom New Netherland broke with the US and by 1968 withdrew its forces from Vietnam. The tempestuous Lyons era was brought to an end in late 1974, when the President of New Netherland, a purely ceremonial appointive post, forced a constitutional crisis by asserting authority to unilaterally dissolve Parliament and call for elections.
Liberal Prime Minister D. Patrick Moynihan found his own party split between moderates and radicals, and he was forced to form a coalition "Neo-Conservative" government of Conservatives and moderate Liberals. In 1983 Jack Kemp became Conservative Prime Minister. The current Prime Minister of New Netherland is Rudy Giuliani.
The Government: The Parliament [Landdag] of New Netherland is comprised of two houses, the lower House of Burghers and the upper House of Peers. In practice, virtually all legislative power is vested in the House of Burghers. This lower house consists of 120 burghers, popularly elected, and apportioned among the provinces proportional to their populations as determined in a decennial census. The House of Peers consists of 40 patroons, five Iroquois chiefs, about 50 hereditary peers, about 150 life peers, one steward of the freeport, seven chancellors, and such other members as the House of Peers may itself admit (such as the President of New Netherland, the ambassador to the League of Nations, etc.).
The Prime Minister may choose his cabinet either from within or from without the Parliament, including such cabinet posts as the Koopman (secretary and parliamentarian of the cabinet), the Schout-Legal, the Schout-Fiscal, etc.
Political Parties: The two largest parties in New Netherland are the Conservative Party and the Liberal Party. Other parties which usually capture at least a few seats in Parliament are the Labor Party, the Socialist Party, and the right-wing Independent Progressive Party. The Communist Party reliably polls a number of votes, but has not held any seats in Parliament since the 1930s.
The Provinces: New Netherland is divided into 13 provinces, one city (New Amsterdam), and one freeport (Philadelphia).
The Law: New Netherland derives its legal heritage from Dutch law, based on Roman law, with some influences and admixtures from the English common law adopted by osmosis from the surrounding United States. The highest appellate court in most cases is the Chancellory, whose seven chancellors are nonvoting members of the House of Peers. The powers of the Chancellory do not extend to judicial review of legislation, and in some legal matters (the Maritime courts, the Freeport, Iroquois affairs) there are other courts which function as court of highest appeal.
Languages: According to the 1980 census, Dutch was the first language of about 85% of the population of New Netherland; English, of about 9%; Iroquois languages (Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, and Seneca), about 6%; and French, about 0.1%. This does not include the complicated linguistic situation of the Antilles, with Papiamento, Spanish, Portuguese, etc.
Areas which are majority English-speaking include the cities of Philadelphia, New Haven, and Hartford, and also eastern Vermont and the east end of Long Island. Iroquois languages are spoken in the Iroquois province and also among the several hundred thousand Mohawks in New Amsterdam. There are important English-speaking minorities in New Amsterdam and in Buffalo, and a sprinkling of English speakers in many other cities of New Netherland.
The spoken Dutch in New Netherland has diverged somewhat from the Dutch of the Netherlands, but the two are still more or less mutually intelligible. Up through World War I, European Dutch was employed in New Netherland as the literary language. But today the literary language in New Netherland is based much more closely on the spoken language.
Radio: Far out into the American heartland, radio stations from New Netherland can be received at night: D2CO 880 New Amsterdam, D2CA 1210 Philadelphia, D2R 710 New Amsterdam, D2Y 810 Schaeneckstede, D2WH 1180 Irondequoit; to say nothing of the several shortwave stations from New Netherland; and also two longwave stations, D2YZ 216 New Amsterdam and D2G 252 Buffalo, which date back to FDR's public works projects in the 1930s.
The national radio network in New Netherland is NNRK [Nieuw-Nederlander Radiotelephonische Koorpershaft], and in the 1950s the government organized a second "cultural" radio network; but there are also many private and commercial radio stations. The national television network is the Orange Network, which for many years was presided over by the benign authoritarian figure of Colonel Cornelius ten Broek, World War II hero of the old New Netherland Signal Corps.
Military: New Netherland has an Army, a Navy, an Air Force, and also the Iroquois Native Guard (who make the US Marines look like pantywaists).
Intelligence: The intelligence agency of New Netherland is Bluelight [Blauwlicht]. Not to be compared to the FBI, CIA, or NSA. More like the Mossad. Quick, efficient, direct, and sometimes not too heedful of niceties.
Baseball: In the world of New Netherland, all major league baseball teams are located no further west than the Mississippi, and not much further south than the Mason-Dixon line. In addition to the US and its National League and American League, New Netherland has eight major league baseball teams in the Knickerbocker League: the New Amsterdam Knickerbockers, the Breuckelen Dodgers, the Bergen Nine, the Philadelphia Phillies, the Buffalo Bisons, the Irondequoit Skylarks, the Onondaga Iroquois, and the Hartford Yellow Sox.
Gasoline: Everywhere you go in New Netherland, it's Blue & White gas. Blauw en Wit— de gasolijn, die Nieuw-Nederland gaan laat! ("Blue & White— the gasoline that makes New Netherland go!") And probably that gas goes into your Selden economy sedan, Van Buren luxury car, or Herkul truck, all manufactured by the Selden Automotive Corporation in Irondequoit, Genesee.
United States: Still has 50 states, with the addition of Plymouth, Franklin, Lincoln, and Puerto Rico. American culture in the world of New Netherland has been centered much more in mid-sized cities such as Boston, Baltimore, etc. American Presidents in this alternate history include Henry Clay (1837-1845), Lewis Cass (1849-1857), Samuel Tilden (1877-1881), Philander Knox (1901-1909), Charles Hughes (1923-1929), and the Progressive Robert M. La Follette, Jr. (1933-1953).
And that's only scratching the surface. I have tons and tons of material on the Republic of New Netherland, up through the early 1990s. All set in a world where the Dutch never lost their North American settlements to the English...
Name: The Republic of New Netherland (Dutch: de Republik van Nieuw-Nederland).
Area: 71,288 square miles.
Population: (1980 census) 31,267,971.
Capital: New Amsterdam (Nieuw-Amsterdam).
Largest Cities: New Amsterdam (7,071,030); Philadelphia (1,688,210); Buffalo (357,870).
Languages: Dutch, 84.8%; English, 8.8%; Iroquois (Cayuga, Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Seneca), 6.3%; French, 0.1%. Also a scattering of Spanish, Papiamento, and Portuguese in the Antilles.
Head of State: Eduard van Rensselaer, Patroon van Rensselaerwyck, President of New Netherland.
Head of Government: Rudy Giuliani, Prime Minister of New Netherland (Conservative).
Legislature: Parliament (Landdag): lower House of Burghers, 120 elected members; upper House of Peers, made up of appointed and hereditary members.
Currency: Guilder (fl.); fl.1 = US 27¢. 1 Guilder = 20 Stivers = 100 Cents.
Administrative Units: 13 provinces, 1 city, 1 freeport. All populations are 1980 census:
Adirondacks (Adirondacken), pop. 625,845; area, 15,299 sq. mi.; cap., Plattsburgh; seats in parliament, 2.
Antilles (Antillen), pop. 246,500; area, 385 sq. mi.; cap., Willemstad; seats in parliament, 1.
Bergen, pop. 5,377,134; area, 3,381 sq. mi.; cap., Amboy; seats in parliament, 20.
Catskills (Kaatskillen), pop. 399,890; area, 5,869 sq. mi.; cap., Wiltwyck; seats in parliament, 2.
Delaware (Zwaanendael), pop. 595,225; area, 1,982 sq. mi.; cap., New Amstel (Nieuw-Amstel); seats in parliament, 2.
Erie, pop. 1,475,195; area, 4,005 sq. mi.; cap., Buffalo; seats in parliament, 6.
Genesee, pop. 1,320,161; area, 6,407 sq. mi.; cap., Irondequoit; seats in parliament, 5.
Hudson, pop. 2,562,486; area, 5,765 sq. mi.; cap., Fort Orange (Fort-Oranje); seats in parliament, 10.
Iroquois, pop. 1,496,868; area, 9,004 sq. mi.; cap., Onondaga; seats in parliament, 6.
Nassau (Nassouwen), pop. 2,603,813; area, 1,218 sq. mi.; cap., Heemstede; seats in parliament, 10.
New Amsterdam, City of (Stad van Nieuw-Amsterdam), pop. 7,071,030; area, 300 sq. mi.; cap., New Amsterdam; seats in parliament, 26.
New Haven (Nieuw-Haven), pop. 2,788,395; area, 4,716 sq. mi.; cap., New Haven (Nieuw-Haven); seats in parliament, 11.
Orange (Oranje), pop. 1,987,689; area, 4,087 sq. mi.; cap., Fort Nassau (Fort-Nassouwen); seats in parliament, 8.
Philadelphia, Freeport of (Vrijport van Philadelphie), pop. 2,243,217; area, 320 sq. mi.; cap., Philadelphia; seats in parliament, 9.
Vermont, pop. 474,523; area, 8,486 sq. mi.; cap., Burlington; seats in parliament, 2.
Labels: worlds
posted by paul @ 12:43 AM
The Tetrast said...
I always had a feeling that there was a Dutch alternate reality hovering around me here in Nieuw Amsterdam.
Wednesday, October 17, 2007 6:38:00 PM
redjack said...
wow the world of new netherlands what a detailed place :)
and you say this is just scratching the surface.....amazing
Thursday, October 18, 2007 11:03:00 AM
Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg said...
I find the attitude in your blog in general frightening indeed. Creating detail is just a matter of putting time in writing details. Creating credibility, on the other hand, is something entirely different, and requires a lot of knowledge of historical and sociological aspects. I didn't read all of your post, I stopped when you had the country join the wrong side in WW I, but almost nothing of what you wrote could have happened that way.
Paul Burgess said...
Peter, welcome! I'm sorry you're late to the party, as this blog closed down for good several weeks ago. I'm also sorry you left your manners at home— my commenters and I always highly prized civility and good manners, and we seldom had a rude visitor show up on this blog.
So I "had the country [New Netherland] join the wrong side in WW I"?
Funny, if you'll go back and read more carefully, you'll find that what I actually wrote was: "New Netherland entered World War I in 1917 on the side of the Allies."
I repeat, "New Netherland entered World War I in 1917 on the side of the Allies." In other words, in my alternate history the independent (North American) Republic of New Netherland entered World War I on the same side as the United States, Great Britain, Canada, France, etc.; and at about the same time as its larger neighbor, the United States, entered the war.
To put it yet another way, the Republic of New Netherland, an independent liberal democracy which had severed all its political ties with the Netherlands way back in the 1790s (as also explained in my post above), entered World War I in 1917 on the same side as several other liberal democracies like itself.
Given your candid admission that you didn't read most of my piece, and given your manifest inability to get the details straight in the part you did read, I think we can let the matter rest there.
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Marano, Carla. “‘Rising Strongly and Rapidly’: The Universal Negro Improvement Association of Canada, 1919-1940.” The Canadian Historical Review Vol. 91, no. 2 (June 2010): 233–259.
Dere, Jessica, Andrew G. Ryder, and Laurence J. Kirmayer. “Bidimensional Measurement of Acculturation in a Multiethnic Community Sample of First-Generation Immigrants.” Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science/Revue canadienne des sciences du comportement Vol. 42, no. 2 (April 2010): 134–138.
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Hassan, Ghayda, Cécile Rousseau, Toby Measham, and Myrna Lashley. “Caribbean and Filipino Adolescents’ and Parents’ Perceptions of Parental Authority, Physical Punishment, and Cultural Values and Their Relation to Migratory Characteristics.” Canadian Ethnic Studies/Études ethniques au Canada Vol. 40, no. 2 (2008): 171–186.
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Economics/Industry (5)
Asians (5)
Francophones (2)
Italians (1)
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A Unit of Water, A Unit of Time …Book Review
June 11, 2018 Maine ReadsE.B. White, Joel White, Maine, Maine reads, non-fiction, sailboats, sailing
This book is about a family, the sea, and the art of boatbuilding. Anyone who has spent time in or around a boatyard understands the marriage between family and boatbuilding. Just as wood breathes and expands over time, so does the boatyard. With its workers, its love of an art, generations of young and old, it is a family. Joel White and the story of his last boat embody all of this, which is beautifully told in Douglas Whynot’s book, A Unit of Water, a Unit of Time — Joel White’s Last Boat.
Yes, that Joel White, the son of E.B. White. A gifted writer of the essay, famed for his children’s stories and as a sometimes farmer in Blue Hill, Maine, E. B. White wrote about what he observed and shared it with the world. He was also a sailor. Sailing fulfilled E.B. White’s passion for the wind and the boats that are powered by it. He passed that passion onto his son, Joel, at a very young age.
The story begins at Center Harbor in Brooklin, Maine. It is June 1996, and it is a launching day at the Brooklin Boat Yard. As Whynot points out, days like these are special, and today is no different. “Launching days are big events, after all, a time when the work of the year is revealed and the dreams of the owners hopefully come true.”
On this day, two Center Harbor 31s, Graceand Linda,are all decked out with a wreath of ribbon and flowers placed on their bows. The boats are the product of the design work of Joel White, who began his career as a boat builder forty years earlier, constructing wooden lobster boats. Learning the skills of boat building working for Arno Day, a revered name in boats back then and even today, White eventually purchases the Brooklin Boat Yard from Day. Here begins White’s dream to design and build his own boats.
Whynot’s focus though is not on the past, but on his time spent at the boatyard over the course of two years. White was spending most of his time designing boats, while his son Steve managed the operations of the boatyard. Whynot takes the reader and steps into the boat shed, a silent observer, listening and watching as heirlooms are designed and then built, watching White draw lines with precision, care and love.
The reader is immersed in wood chips and dust, long days and even longer nights until the completion of a project, schedules and more schedules, and, of course, conversations about all things boats off and on the water. Stories about designers from the past (Herreshoff, Gardner and Crealock) spring to life while White, ever obsessed with the linear look and movement of lines upon the water, begins designing his masterpiece, the W-76, a wooden racing yacht.
Being the son of such a famed writer as E.B. White had to be difficult, but with Whynot’s approach, the reader can easily picture the younger White shrugging his shoulders with a slight smile, dismissing it and perhaps answering, “He was my dad, and we certainly shared a passion to create, he had his way and I had mine.” Whynot captures the singularity of two lives, but more importantly the vital connectedness the two had during their time together.
But with most stories there is usually the proverbial “unseen moment” coming. That moment comes in a diagnosis of cancer, which White receives in late 1998. And what was White’s response after the diagnosis? He went back to work. Amidst the hospital trips for treatments, White was in the midst of designing the W-76, and would be doing this for as long as his mind and body would hold out. This boat would ultimately become White’s signature on an industry and on a place.
In one of his essays, E.B. White writes about a sailboat, “If a man must be obsessed by something, I suppose a boat is as good as anything, perhaps a bit better than most.” This book embraces that sentiment by telling the story of a man and the design of his last boat. But it’s also a story about a craft derived from the sea, handed down from the aged and passed onto their young. It is a beautiful story told by an adept writer keenly aware of his surroundings, and certainly up to the task of such an important story. A story about a man’s dream to place himself into everything he created, and does it well to the very end.
So, it is fitting that Whynot would end the book the same as it began, with the launching of a boat. It is launching day at Brooklin Boat Yard, and Joel White’s designed W-76, named Wild Horses, sits surrounded by workers, spectators, owners and family. The day has come, and Joel White’s last boat is readied for its first voyage. Whynot writes, “It’s been said that E.B. White wrote to communicate a love of the world. Perhaps the lines of Joel White’s boats can stand for his love of the world. If such a feeling is in a work such as Charlotte’s Web, can it not also be inherent in the sculptural composition of curved lines that are a boat? This seems possible, mysterious and wonderful, and may be the reason why Joel White’s lines can be called heartbreakingly beautiful.”
I think E.B. White would have agreed and would have loved this book, I know I did.
Doubleday Publishing, 1999, Hardcover, $23.95
← Fog and lighthouse as mother and father Mothers, sons and a warm Downeast blanket →
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Free Theatre Class Day!
Sunday October 18th
Rising Sun Performance Company Presents the launch of its
2010 Theatre Educational Department!
To help introduce our program to the theatrical community we are offering a FREE day of classes to the public!
"Without the support of Rising Sun, I would never have been able to make it as an artist in New York City."
"The family-like atmosphere allowed me to grow significantly as an actor"
"...there are no other people I know that are as passionate, caring and committed to everything they do."
WOW, thats just some of what former students, guest artists & ensemble members have to say about their learning experiences with Rising Sun!
We believe strongly in nurturing theatre artists at every level, and to kick off our 2010 educational programming Rising Sun is offering a day of free sample classes!
Come take a free class with Local & Nationally renowned Theatre Artists that come from varied backgrounds such as Blue Man Group, The Actors Studio, NYU, Clowns without Borders, and many other impressive credits! (Teacher bios are at bottom of email)
Space is limited! REGISTER TODAY!
All Classes are Free & Open to all skill levels!!
Beginners, mid-career and professional students are welcome!
Email us at submissions@risingsunnyc.com &
Please be sure to include the following information:
Full Name,
Phone number,
Email and
which classes you want to attend!
Register online at: http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dEtLcThreE9LM2xRNk9uZE8wYmtZTmc6MA
More feedback from former students & ensemble!
" It was great to have the opportunity to be challenged and grow as an artist, to find a home and people that are as passionate as you are. It is a great place to work, grow, expand, learn, and challenge yourself in a safe and supportive environment"
"I loved the people I worked with they were all just stellar people: kind, considerate, passionate about what they did, talented, and supportive. New York was hard at times but "Rising Sun" was easy. In a place that sometimes was so cold artistically "Rising Sun" was warm"
"I could not ask for better exposure as a beginning actor!"
Attendees are welcome to participate all day, in a single class or multiple classes.
Teachers & Workshops & Schedule subject to change
10AM- Sign in, welcome & Registration
10:30AM First Class- Physical Theatre with Peter Musante- class description coming soon
11:30AM Second Class- Playing the Villain with Kitt Lavoie
On Playing the Villain: A discussion and series of script analysis and acting exercises focused on the traps inherent in playing the antagonist in a play, how to avoid those traps, and the critical ways in which refusing to play “the bad guy” makes a character all the more dangerous. An introduction to an approach for creating an expansive world and history for a character – and the ways to make that history work to create a textured, nuanced, personal, and deeply accessible performance.
12:30PM Third Class- Monologue Coaching and Cold Readings:
How to get your foot in the door- With Jason Tyne-Zimmerman
Monologue Coaching and Cold Readings: There's more to auditioning than just showing off your talent. Talent aside, you also need to make people want to work with you. By considering the gestalt of the audition situation, you can showcase yourself more effectively and show off your talents more clearly.Please bring your standard audition material. A prepared monologue is recommended to attend this class
1:30PM Fourth Class- Viewpoints and Composition: How to listen to and follow your impulses. with Jason Tyne-Zimmerman
Viewpoints is a vocabulary for thinking about and acting, movement, and gesture. It is not a "technique" in and of itself, but will allow you to identify internal impulses and external catalysts to enhance and support any acting technique that you already know.
Please dress comfortably and be prepared to move.
2:30PM Fifth Class- Lucid Body with Christine Maddox: Class description coming soon
3:30PM Class Enrollment & Q& A
4PM End of Day
Peter Musante is a Brooklyn-based actor/musician currently performing Off-Broadway in Blue Man Group. As a Blue Man, he's worked in Chicago, Boston, Orlando, Bogota, Colombia and can be seen in ad campaigns all over Vegas and Brazil. Out of blue, he has taught improv to kids, improvised in drag at Universal Studios Hollywood, crooned cowboy tunes in Tokyo, worked as a standardized patient for medical students and, most recently, developed workshops for children with autism. After graduating from UCLA's School of Theater in 2005, he played Huck Finn in Big River at Vista, CA's Moonlight Amphitheater and won the San Diego Theater Critic's Circle Award for Best Actor in a Musical.
Kitt Lavoie has directed more than seventy-five shows in New York City, including the original productions of more than thirty plays. He is author of seventeen produced plays and musical books, including Twice Rather Perish and The Median Line (both winners of the Herbert J. Robinson Award for Dramatic Writing). Kitt also works regularly as an associate stage and television director Lonny Price, with whom he has recently worked on the Roundabout Theatre’s Broadway revival of 110 in the Shade (starring Audra McDonald and John Cullum), the American Premiere of Night Season by Rebecca Liefkowitz, the PBS filming of the Tony Award winning John Doyle revival of Stephen Sondheim’s Company, and the New York Philharmonic production and PBS filming of Camelot (starring Gabriel Byrne), as well as the feature film version of Athol Fugard's play Master Harold... and the boys, starring Freddie Highmore and Ving Rhames, which is currently filming in Cape Town, South Africa. Kitt has also appeared onstage as Macbeth, Benedick (Much Ado...), and Roy Cohn Angels in America, among others, and has designed sets/lights for more than sixty shows. He holds a Master of Fine Arts in Directing from the Actors Studio Drama School, is a founding member of the Professional Playwrights Workshop at the Players Club and is a Member of the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers (SSDC). Kitt is Artistic Director and co-founder of The CRY HAVOC Company. Most recently his work was published by Samuel French and he was nominated for a New York Innovative Theatre Award for Outstanding Original Short Script. (www.cryhavoccompany.org). http://www.kittlavoie.com/
Jason Tyne-Zimmerman earned a Masters degree from NYU (New York University) in Educational Theatre and a Masters of Fine Art from NU (Northwestern University). At Rising Sun he has directed "Baby with the Bathwater", "And That's the Way It is (if you think so)", and an invisible theatre project in the style of Augusto Boal. Additionally, he has acted off-Broadway in "Tony 'n' Tina's Wedding", "An Adult Evening of Shel Silverstein", and "A Change of Seasons". Jason has been working with Rising Sun since 2002.
Teaching philosophy: In teaching the arts, I make it my primary objective to facilitate the creation of the artists' vision, to utilize the artists' mind and body as a tool, and to focus on the creative processes of the artist. With all things, my teaching is always student-centric. I never expect my students to speak with my voice or create the art that I would create, but I do expect my students to be open to new processes to create their own art.
Christina Maddox - Bio coming soon
Akia (Director/Founding Artistic Director) has been is an active member of the flourishing Off-Off/Indie & Off Broadway theatre communities having produced, directed, and performed with numerous NYC companies since 1997. She is the Company Manager for the New York Production of the International Hit “Blue Man Group” at the Astor Place Theatre. She has worked as Associate Producer/ Production Coordinator for The Puerto Rican Traveling theatre, where she co-produced the Playwrights Unit Reading Series and INSIGHT 13 Series, as General Manager for the 1st annual FRIGID Festival and as Volunteer Coordinator for the 2009 FRIGID Festival. Proudly, she is the Founding Artistic Director of the Rising Sun Performance Company, now in its eighth season, and has been involved on all levels with each of its 35+ productions. In addition she is a Board Member of The Paul Butterfield Fund & Society, and Company Manager & Producer for The New York Innovative Theatre Awards, where she serves on their honorary awards committee as Sub-Committee Chairman and as an At-Large Judge.
Goodnight Lovin' Trail at FRINGE!
We had a fantastic time down in Wilmington Delaware. It was a truly bonding experience and we hope to take Goodnight Lovin' Trail out on the FRINGE Circuit next year.
Nic, Olivia, Akia & Matthew
We're missing JPB, Tiffini, Elaine & Lindsay on this trip! :(
Rehearsal, they take it to the streets!
Olivia & Nic
Mid-Rehearsal Nic & Olivia singing the closing song
We transformed a raw store front into a performance space
We used the street and environment as real elements into the show.
It was great!
Nic Mevoli in character outside the venue
Nic, Akia & Olivia
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Paul Barker Interview
Paul Barker is best known as the former bassist for Ministry & he created what would be the architecture of the band alongside Al Jourgenson up until his departure from the band.
I had the opportunity to speak with Paul during a promotion for the film "FIX" which is a behind the scenes look at how Ministry worked on & off stage in 1996.
Paul's demeanor for this interview was not extremely friendly & he didn't really warm up to me until the interview was basically over...when I had asked all of my questions Paul turned the interview back on me & asked my opinion of the film & once I explained to him that I didn't understand the entire world they portrayed in the film, that I had never done hard drugs nor understood the reasoning behind using them like Al did/does it was clear that Paul warmed up to me a bit & understood where I was coming from...prior to that point though Paul's answers were not necessarily friendly when delivered & he even pointed out that he was annoyed by my questions....without any further ado, here's my interview with Paul Barker!
Rock N Roll Experience: Did you quit Ministry or were you fired?
Paul Barker: I quit Ministry
Rock N Roll Experience: Was there any particular reasons why you quit Ministry?
Paul Barker: Well of course, you don't do things for no reason, right? (laughs), it's not like you are a chicken.
Rock N Roll Experience: Can you give me any reasons why you quit?
Paul Barker: Because I was no longer satisfied with being whatever...in the band.
Rock N Roll Experience: In the "FIX" movie Buzz from The Melvins & Al Jourgenson both state that the movie could all be a joke & that the drug use & crazy behavior isn't real, is the way Al acts in the movie for real or an act?
Paul Barker: Well, (laughs) I mean, he (Al) knew the camera was on when the camera was there so there's that. I mean I don't even know what to say, I mean that's Al...I mean whatever, sometimes people are goofy, sometimes they are angry, sometimes, you know, whatever, do you know what I am saying? I mean it's not, look dude, there was a shitload of footage & it's been edited so perhaps that's a better question for the film maker.
Rock N Roll Experience: There's one scene towards the end of the movie where Al goes on with one of his conspiracy theories & the look on your face seems like you're annoyed with Al, were you annoyed with his ranting or am I just reading more into that scene that there is?
Paul Barker: (laughs) Do I really have to answer that question? I mean, you saw it, you felt it, it's like, what, wait, what are you talking about? You have the skill of interpretation, right? I mean sure, it's an intensely...was I annoyed? Is that your question?
Rock N Roll Experience: Yes
Paul Barker: More annoyed than I am right now? (laughs)
Rock N Roll Experience: Well you have to realize, I don't know you personally so I don't know how you act in real life, I could have just read more into that scene that there really was, I don't know you personally so I can't really tell what you were feeling, that's just my take on it.
Paul Barker: Yeah....it was pretty absurd, so yeah...I mean, remember in the film when Dave Navarro was astutely talking about Monster A & Monster B...that's the answer right there.
Rock N Roll Experience: You have to realize, I don't personally know you guys, I don't know how hard drug users are, I'm looking at it from the outside & I have no clue how things are when hard drug use is involved so when I watch the movie it's a world I don't know.
Paul Barker: ok, I got ya.
Rock N Roll Experience: As a parent, would you be upset if David from Jesus Lizard walked around naked onstage infront of your kids?
Paul Barker: No! Give me a break, it's just art! Who cares? I mean it's just whatever, it comes & goes...I mean whatever, it's a f**king naked body, who cares? I mean it's different if he was shoving a giant dildo up his ass or something, you know, but whatever...it's just so lame, I mean what's wrong with this country, we are so lame it's unbelievable. The answer is no, I don't care, my kids can see naked bodies, I don't care, I mean it's beneficial...some are nice to look at & some aren't, who cares? I mean, nude beaches, whatever! Who cares?
Rock N Roll Experience: Do you have any thoughts on Paul Raven & Tony Campos?
Paul Barker: I don't really have any thoughts, I mean whatever...I was very unhappy to hear of Raven's passing & that blows, I liked him quite a bit & I think I've met Tony a couple of times on tour over the years but it's cool, whatever, it's fine...when I decided that I was going to stop playing with Al, from that point on I had no involvement with what the aesthetic of the band was becoming...I had no involvement whatsoever & that's cool, I was happy that Raven was playing with Al, I like him.
Rock N Roll Experience: In most rock n roll documentaries you see more naked women than naked men, where are all the naked women in the "FIX" movie?
Paul Barker: Well, because that's not really the point of this movie, I mean that's...how many times has been done? You just hit the nail on the head, in most rock n roll movies it's Sex, Drugs & Rock N Roll & who cares...the film wasn't about glorifying the rock n roll lifestyle, it's the opposite & the film makers did that intentionally & look, I didn't make the movie, I'm not a film maker so I trusted that these guys were going to make something interesting out of the footage that they captured so that aspect of there not being any naked chicks is totally fine with me & obviously some people might think there are gratuitous shots in there & maybe there are but hopefully less than most generic, let's glorify this band kinda rock documentary.
Rock N Roll Experience: Are you still friends with Al Jourgenson?
Paul Barker: No.
Rock N Roll Experience: Would you ever play in Ministry or with Al again?
Paul Barker: No I will not
Rock N Roll Experience: What was the writing process like in Ministry, how much material did you write?
Paul Barker: Whatever, I mean my hand is all over that music, that's not how we write music.
This was actually the last question that I asked Paul because I felt like he was not interested in chatting with me & I had more I wanted to ask but decided to just cut it short & call it a day because I had the key things I wanted to ask already answered & Paul just didn't seem to wanna talk about Ministry.
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Home Forums > Science > Comparative Religion >
Alternatives to the crucifixion story
Discussion in 'Comparative Religion' started by Sorcerer, Jan 2, 2014.
Sorcerer Put a Spell on you Registered Senior Member
Maybe I should have posted this on the religion thread, but I didn't want to upset people there.
Assuming the facts in the story are correct (OK, big assumption), there could be a prosaic explanation of what happened. Jesus was taken off the cross before he was dead, either because his mates bribed the guards, or because the authorities allowed it, due to political pressure or for some other reason. They patched him up and a few days later he was able to get around, but then he died of his wounds.
Does that sound more likely than coming back from the dead?
Sorcerer, Jan 2, 2014
If you do not want to believe in it, why bother asking questions about it.
There is plenty of things in this world that cannot be explained, and most people would not even fathom how they exist or work.
So you either accept how its written or you do not.
andy1033, Jan 2, 2014
This is a science forum so people ask questions.
One of the biggest problems, in terms of judging the past, is using the standards of one time in history, to judge another time. In this case using the present to judge the past. This is like the arm chair quarterback watching the Monday highlights, and boasting how he would not have thrown the pass on Sunday. Conditions are different in real time than in recorded time.
Some judge slavery of the past, like arm chair quarterbacks 150 year later, based on all the history hi-lights, and think the people of the past also had this data. The past had none of this data since it did not happen yet. It is like each generation remembers the past with nostalgia. The next generation may see eye to eye, from the POV in the present. It seems lame.
I would prefer go back to a time in history and try to look through their eyes. It is like listening to the parents tell their stories and you try to relate and live in their time by learning the ways of that time.
That being said, our modern knowledge of medicine and science is quite different from 2000 years ago. They did not measure brain waves using electronics, in case revisionists history using the armchair quarterback highlights, said differently. If Jesus went into shock, after so much pain and damage, death would be pronounced after he passed out. He was poked with the spear, to make sure he was not faking. One can be beaten and left for dead only to come back. The body will shut down and the layman will assume dead. Several days later he comes to.
If someone drown back 2000 years ago, and you rescued then, and used modern CPR to revive then, it would be called a miracle. Today is a novelty act, but back then this would be awe inspiring. You would be considered someone who could breath life into the dead. They did not have Monday recap to see that this has an explanation in science, but rather they are living only on Sunday, inside the game.
I remember when the first heart transplant was called a miracle of science. Now it is a routine procedure. If you use the Monday highlights, to explain the first successful transplant, the entire excitement of the original event seems overboard, since this a dime a dozen. It is useful to go back to that very time and empathize so one can be more historically accurate. This more accurate approach does not help revisionist history which needs mondays data to make the point we need for today.
wellwisher, Jan 3, 2014
Syne Sine qua non Valued Senior Member
After the resurrection, most accounts are that Jesus was only recognized after some significant interaction with him. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resurrection_of_Jesus#Resurrection_appearances_of_Jesus
What seems likely to me, at least assuming both the divinity of Jesus and the propensity for exaggeration, is that the spirit of Jesus was recognized in different people. He was alive in others. Seems to fit with both his message and the general characterization of salvation as welcoming Jesus into one's heart.
Syne, Jan 3, 2014
Another consideration can be seen with an analogy. Young people today may have a hard time understanding how their parents ever got along without a cell phone and/or a computer/internet. How many people, who own cell phones, would dare travel a long distance without one? Even a teen of the past would have done this on any day. This shows the people of the past routinely used extra brain power due to less tech support.
The cell phone is such a moment to moment part of some many young life, that their life without it seems harder to understand. What has happened is the cell phones/mini computer device have become technical prosthesis that extend our capability. But the trade-off, for this fit, is the need to use less underlying brain power in real time. If one lost their phone, the new lower brain power set point, would make one feel much more limited than their actual capacities.
It is like if you had robot legs that can make you run faster than anything natural. Your real legs would need to just dangle there, with the robot legs doing all the work pulling them along. This allows the robot legs not to get resistance. The leg speed looks impression from the outside surface. If you lost the robot legs, your real legs would have atrophied with real running much worse. Tech needs a dumb down brain to work better, so the tech can create the illusion of a smarter brain on the surface. Your brain needs to dangle.
The ancients had to use more of the brain and body's natural ability because they had no tech or science prosthesis. They also had a world that was not defined by science but was constantly in flux. They were a product of natural selection in a time of high mortality rates. Although the explanations of the past did not have the benefit of modern education, these people were much more hardy and needed to use more brain than today, since each day was survival and self reliance.
Jesus was a carpenter, which was not yet wimped out by OSHA regulations, so he would have been a very hardy and strong person able to think on his feet without procedures. The Pharisees used to complain of Jesus being a glutton and drunk. So he was not only strong but build due to sufficient food. The wimpy Jesus is a modern projection.
Not recognizing Jesus would have been expected of a man you knew, who had been beat almost to death, who has recovered in terms of his mind, but is still beat, punctured and bruised into someone who is not quite the same, until you meet him. He still had the holes in his strong hands which used to lift large timbers and swung a heavy hammer for half his young life. The 40 days could have been the time until he died of his stressed condition, never complaining, but always being positive for the sake of his friends and family. The heart of Jesus is often portray and may have been the cause of death. His heart had been clipped by the spear and his heart may not have healed all the way but eventually ruptured. The stories of this expand to give hope to those who would now be hunted like animals and killed in cruel ways by the pagans/atheists.
Syne said: ↑
In what way?
What do you mean by - ''the spirit of Jesus''?
Jan Ardena, Jan 3, 2014
Sorcerer said: ↑
It sounds like you're trying to take the piss.
Sure! But that question is stupid.
Jan Ardena said: ↑
No I'm not. If you have a set of facts then there may be more than one explanation. There's no harm in exploring them. Note that I didn't post this on the religion thread so no one should feel offended.
If people are interested then they can discuss it, as some have. If you don't want to contribute, you are free to leave.
Offended?
In your dreams!
I feel that my response contributed perfectly, and justly, regarding your take on it. Why would I want to leave?
Calling something stupid is not much of a contribution.
I'm glad you're not offended. I'm sensitive to that, since some Christians might take offence to any alternative explanation of that episode.
It is the perfect contribution if what you propose, is indeed stupid.
I'm quite sure that you know it's a stupid explanation, but just wanted some kind of hostile reaction from Christians.
jan said:
It's not an alternative explanation, you're making a mockery of Jesus.
They already have an explanation, and the honest thing to say is that you don't believe, or, agree with it.
That's untrue, and you have no basis for saying so. If I'd wanted a reaction from Christians I would have have posted it on the religion thread.
It is a perfectly valid explanation, and others have contributed their own views too.
If Christians are happy with their explanation, then that's fine with me. They can believe what they want.
If I want to get into an argument about my own beliefs I would do so on the correct part of the forum.
I'm actually trying to find out why you're trolling in a particularly negative fashion. This is in the 'science' section and therefore supposed to be for sensible discussion, not meaningless insults. Like I said, if you don't want to contribute to the thread, clear off.
Edit: OK, I just had a look at your profile and I see you're religious. You should have just told me that you're a Christian. That's OK, some of my best friends are Christian.
Sorcerer,
That's untrue, and you have no basis for saying so.
What did you mean by Jesus' ''mates''?
I wasn't aware that he had any ''mates'' in any of the senses that we use the term ''mates''
And what do you mean by ''patched him up''? He was severely beaten and had been pierced through his side with a sword of some kind, with blood gushing out of his side.
What do you think ''his mates'' did? Put a band aid on it (them)?
It's obvious you're being flippant with your remarks.
If I'd wanted a reaction from Christians I would have have posted it on the religion thread.
So that makes all the difference. Huh?
It is a perfectly valid explanation...
For you, and people like you? Maybe. But in the real world it's mockery.
It's not ''their'' explanation, it's ''an'' explanation. The only one.
As I said, the only thing you can honestly say is ''i don't believe that account'' or ''I don't agree with it''?
You so-called explanation does not draw any comparison to the original set of accounts, it is naught but mockery.
No you're not. You're trying to draw attention to the moderator or others to help you out.
Clear off. I haven't got time to talk to religionists like you. You're on ignore.
TheHun Registered Member
Even I get that the term mate was used in the sense of friends.so why get so pissy about it? This might be an important part of your belief system, but as it was pointed out earlier, this is a science thread. If you want reaffirmation of your religious beliefs you are in the wrong forum. And all the verbal drama aside, how do you know that a) Jesus actually existed, since there is no proof that one such person actually lived; b) that the blood was gushing, if he had been stuck in his side with a lance it would have been an act of mercy killing by the Roman soldiers (I doubt they would have missed the vital parts, after all, crucification was a common form of punishment.)
So that makes all the difference. Huh?v=
Yes, it does. It shows consideration towards those who cannot handle it if their worldview is challenged.
[Q UOTE]For you, and people like you? Maybe. But in the real world it's mockery. [/QUOTE]
It’s not mockery, it’s a viewpoint different from yours.
Again, it may be so for you and those who believe the same things. The rest of us will just continue to ask questions and not be limited by dogma. If you had studied any history you would understand the fallacy of your statement.
Sorcerer has a point. If he wanted to debate points of belief, dogma, and/or doctrine he would not do it in a science forum since it does not belong here.
Anyhow, which original account are you referencing here? The Romans did not record anything, and those were people who were very exacting with their recordkeeping. If Jesus actually had existed and if such a figure had been crucified, they would have given it at least a footnote in their histories.
And you are whining, and trying to play the victim. So does that make it all better?
TheHun, Jan 4, 2014
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From Page to Stage Part 2: Letting the Show Hit the Stage
Tagged: Edinburgh fringe festival, Playwrighting
By Rebecca Monks
Tuesday 9 August 2016
In my last blog, I explored how some gin-addled ramblings in an old notebook developed into a script, which in turn became an actual Fringe show. In that same post, I also wrote about how letting a polished script go can be difficult. Handing off your work, your pride, your wee word baby to a group of people to do with as they will is a daunting thing. Here's how I handled it and managed to stay (relatively) calm about the whole thing. And yes, the gin did help.
Discuss your vision: your foresight is right, but so is theirs
The words are written, the font is finalised, the pages are printed. All that's left to do is send over the script. If this is a new work (my play, Tyke, was written last year and has yet to be performed), then it is a good idea to talk to the production and directorial team about your own vision for the piece before handover. Talk through how you formed the characters, what the script means and what you hope an audience will take away. There is, of course, the argument that if your writing is strong enough, the meaning should be easily deduced. This is absolutely the case, but if you have the luxury of communication, use it.
Conduct interviews, watch showreels, have incredibly intense phone conversations about sets and props and flyers. It's worth it.
Make sure you're working with the right people
It's all well and good talking about 'visions' and 'communicating' (in a strictly non-Paranormal channel way), but that only really works if you've got the right team behind you. Before handing over the script, it's a good idea to get a sense of the director's aims, the producer's ability to produce cash from mid-air, and the actors' strengths, to make sure that the project is being taken on as well as it can be. It can be tempting to give your script to the first company to snatch it up, but wait for the right fit. It's always better to hang on for the real thing. Conduct interviews, watch showreels, have incredibly intense phone conversations about sets and props and flyers. It's worth it.
Settle in for a ride as a back-seat driver
Once you've handed off the script, that's it. It's up to the production team who they cast, how they stage it and, well, approximately everything else. Beyond those early conversations about 'vision', your job is finished the second you hit 'print'. When it comes to the staging process, your input doesn't have to matter (it can, if your production team want it, and in my opinion the process works infinitely better with a little feedback from the writer) but most teams will want to take full creative control of the process, and that can mean things don't turn out exactly as you imagined (and occasionally, even as you wrote).
Enjoy that first performance
The most important thing to remember, though, is to enjoy that first performance, even if it's not exactly as you imagined, even if the lines didn't sound as you thought they would. The inside of your mind is being played out on stage (for me, that meant coming face-to-face with a six-foot elephant puppet which is being stored in my living room for August). It's a strange, but rewarding process, and one to savour from curtains up to blackout.
Rebecca Monks
Rebecca Monks is an author, playwright and journalist based in Edinburgh. She has an MA (Hons) in English Literature from the University of Edinburgh, where she also studied creative writing. She was shortlisted for a Scottish Book Trust New Writer's Award in 2016, and she currently works at The List as a writer, researcher and News Editor.
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Harvey Nash Executive Search Appoints Rachael Hanley-Browne as Head of Leadership Consulting
Harvey Nash Executive Search is pleased to announce the appointment of Rachael Hanley-Browne as their new Head of Leadership Consulting, based in London.
Rachael joins Harvey Nash from Ashridge Business School, where she held the position of Corporate Client Director, a role that saw her develop international client relationships and business in Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Alongside this, she was a member of Ashridge's Custom & Consulting Leadership Team.
Ms Hanley-Browne has a track record in advising and consulting clients from multiple sectors; consumer, industry, financial services, public sector and education in the field of HR consultancy, organisation and personal development, executive coaching and assessment both in the UK and overseas.
Ms Hanley-Browne brings with her a wealth of deep and varied consultancy expertise and vast business experience to Harvey Nash from her career in business leadership and as a non-executive, having been employed by large multi-nationals and SME organisations within and outside of the search industry.
Ms Hanley-Browne is a Member of the European Coaching and Mentoring Council, registered with the BPS Psychometric Testing Centre, Fellow of the Institute of Directors, Fellow of the Institute of Recruitment Professionals and Fellow of the Institute of Sales and Marketing Management and was awarded the Eileen Simpson Award for Outstanding Contribution at the 2008 Recruitment and Employment Confederation Individual Membership Awards.
Ms Hanley-Browne said, "It is an exciting time to join the Harvey Nash Executive Search team. I am impressed by their leadership, professionalism and drive for innovation. In my new role, I look forward to contributing to the continued growth and diversification of Leadership Consulting. It feels great to be back in the industry."
Nigel Parslow, MD of Harvey Nash Executive Search UK said, "I am delighted to have Rachael on board in Harvey Nash Executive Search. She brings a wealth of experience and will contribute significantly to the UK and International Search organisation and our clients."
SOURCE: http://www.harveynash.com/group/mediacentre/2016/02/harvey_nash_executive_search_appoints_rachael_hanley-browne_as_head_of_leadership_consulting/index.asp
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Genworth Financial, Inc.
Genworth Financial, Inc. Securities Litigation
Case Status: SETTLED
Filing Date: August 19, 2014
According to the law firm press release, Genworth is a financial services company, and provides insurance, investment and financial solutions in the United States and internationally. The Complaint alleges that defendants issued false and misleading statements or failed to disclose material information concerning the Company’s business, operations and prospects. Specifically, defendants misrepresented and/or failed to disclose that the volume and size of the Company's long term care insurance claims were increasing, and that the Company would have to increase its reserves to meet these claims.
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On October 14, 2014, this case was voluntarily dismissed in favor of a pending lawsuit docketed under 14-cv-00682 in the Eastern District of Virginia.
On May 1, 2015, the court issued an Order granting in part and denying in part Defendants' Motion to Dismiss.
On April 1, 2016, the parties filed a Stipulation of Settlement. This Settlement was preliminarily approved by the Court on April 18.
Defendant: Genworth Financial, Inc.
Sector: Financial
Industry: Insurance (Life)
Ticker Symbol: GNW
Manuel Esguerra, et al. v. Genworth Financial, Inc., et al.
COURT: S.D. New York
JUDGE: Hon. Richard J. Sullivan
Kirby McInerney LLP (New York)
825 Third Avenue, Kirby McInerney LLP (New York), NY 10022
Law Offices of Howard G. Smith
3070 Bristol Pike, Suite 112, Law Offices of Howard G. Smith, PA 19020
In re Genworth Financial, Inc. Securities Litigation
COURT: E.D. Virginia
Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann LLP (San Diego)
12481 High Bluff Drive, Suite 300, Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann LLP (San Diego), CA 92130
858.793.0070 858.793.0323 · blbg@blbglaw.com
Bleichmar Fonti Tountas & Auld LLP
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Law Offices of Susan R. Podolsky
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3 Memorandum Opinion 05/01/2015
4 Order 05/01/2015
5 Stipulation and Agreement of Settlement 04/01/2016
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How The Greeks Affected Art
When one mentions the phrase “Ancient Greek art” one would have imagined mostly statues, paintings, pottery and architecture. They also imagine realistic depiction of humans and rightly so. It is after all the Greeks who were the first the ideal look of the human body. You definitely won’t find fat men in Greek art because they’re ugly.
It is this pursuit of perfection that would dominate western notion of what is considered as art for many ages. Indeed, even today war is being waged against modern artists because their works seems to lack any sense of artistic standards, drawing only inspiration from emotions and comes up with nothing but ugly and bland art that doesn’t really connect or appeal to the audience.
Greeks started chasing the ideal way back since 700 BC, at the beginning of what’s to be known as the Archaic Greek age. It was during this Archaic age (700 – 480 BC) that the Greeks learned to portray realistic humans in their art. The sculptures at that time were divided into two: The Kouroi for male depictions and Korai for female.
Then came the Classical Age of Greek art. After learning how to sculpt humans, Greek artists started depicting them in a more human way. They would depict them being relaxed, showing emotion or doing something. It gave Greek art a more naturalistic style. When one views them its kind of like playing a game of charades. You can tell what they’re what they’re doing, what they’re thinking. This gave Greek art the ability to make a connection with their audience, telling stories through the art. This is the beginning of the Hellenistic style, which is characterized by a connection with the artist’s emotions, but still upholding the same realistic perfection their predecessors has pursued.
This Greek spirit of art, that which seeks to express the artists’ emotions through a realistic and ideal style became a defining rule in art, especially to those who came after the Greeks. Before the Renaissance, more than 1000 years after the end of the Hellenistic age of Greek art, they still uphold the same sense of standard their predecessors had, though not as strong as before. When the Renaissance finally happened and Europe rediscovered Greek philosophy, it ushered in a renewal of that commitment to the realistic and ideal aesthetics in art. It became the birthplace of masters that would bridge the modern with the ancient. It is where the greatest pieces of art the world will ever know were created. In sculpture it gave birth to works like Donatello’s David and Madonna of the Clouds, Michaelangelo’s David and Risen Christ, the Pieta, the Deposition and many more. The world of paintings isn’t lacking as well. The Mona Lisa, famous all over the world for her knowing smile, was created during the last 200 years of the period. Other known works are Titian’s “Sacred and Profane Love”, Michaelangelo’s The Creation of Adam, and Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper.
If modern artist would hear one criticizing modern art as bad while Renaissance ones are masterpieces they would accuse him of gatekeeping art. They believe art is art and that’s actually true. However there is nothing bad about gatekeeping art. While we should accept that all art is art, and that all art shouldn’t be censored or prohibited, we should also uphold that sense of perfection that the past artists has perfected. Approve what we know is good while disapprove those that is bad. This is the Greek’s lasting legacy to art and we should honor this legacy by keeping this rule.
Photo Attribution:
Featured and 1st image by Terracotta kylix, <a href=”http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/images/h5/h5_1989.281.62.jpg”>via the Metropolitan Museum</a>
2nd image by The Last Supper, <a href=”https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4b/%C3%9Altima_Cena_-_Da_Vinci_5.jpg/1200px-%C3%9Altima_Cena_-_Da_Vinci_5.jpg”>via Wikipedia</a>
764 0 Art, Fashion Editor Ancient Greek, Archaic, Classical, Hellenistic, Renaissance
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Sun and clouds mixed. High 97F. Winds SSE at 10 to 20 mph..
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Haile: 12 Texans flew on Doolittle Raid
Bartee Haile This Week In Texas History
All available participants in the recent “Doolittle Raid” on Japan, including half of the dozen native Texans, were honored at the White House on June 25, 1941.
Nothing better describes American morale in the weeks after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor than that old West Texas saying “lower than a snake’s belly.” No one was more acutely aware of that fact than President Franklin Roosevelt, who insisted immediate retaliatory action be taken.
Jimmy Doolittle, a 45-year-old lieutenant colonel, devised a plan that would have been dismissed out of hand under any other circumstances. If the Navy could get him close enough to the Japanese Home Islands, he would launch 16 B-25’s from the deck of an aircraft carrier on a one-way bombing mission of Tokyo and nearby cities.
Doolittle figured the medium range bombers would have just enough fuel to reach friendly territory on the Chinese mainland not occupied by the Japanese. Once there, the 80 crewmen (five per plane) could be secretly spirited out of the country by resistance fighters and ordinary peasants.
On April 18, 1942, the six-ship task force was spotted by a Japanese picket boat that radioed the sighting before being sunk. Doolittle and the captain of the carrier Hornet agreed the “go” order had to be given 10 hours and 170 nautical miles ahead of schedule.
First into the air was Doolittle’s B-25 followed by the only bomber that carried two Texans: Lt. William N. Fitzhugh, co-pilot, and Douglas V. Radney, engineer-gunner. Born in Temple, Fitzhugh was a graduate of Galveston’s Ball High and the University of Texas, while Radney hailed from Mineola and had gone to school in Mexia.
Crew No. 2 had no trouble finding its targets in the daylight or a safe place to land in the dark — a rice paddy. Linking up with their escorts within hours, the two Texans and their three crewmates made it out of China without so much as a scratch.
Things did not go as smoothly for the third plane, the “Whisky Pete” piloted by Lt. Robert Manning Gray of Killeen. Flying on fumes and blinded by thick clouds, he had no choice but to order the crew to bail out not knowing what awaited them down below.
Gray landed on the side of a hill a few feet from the edge of a steep precipice. The unlucky gunner came to earth even closer to the cliff, lost his footing and plunged to his death becoming the first of three fatalities.
Like many of the Doolittle Raiders, Gray stayed in the so-called “China-Burman-India Theater.” Six months later, he was killed in action at the age of 23. The airfield at Fort Hood was renamed in his memory.
Co-pilot Lucian Nevelon Youngblood of Pampa was the co-pilot of the fourth bomber to clear the deck of the Hornet. He survived the raid along with the rest of the crew only to perish in a plane crash in the Mexican mountains west of Big Bend five months after the surrender of Japan.
Rodney Ross “Hoss” Wilder of Taylor attended UT and Southwestern University before enlisting in November 1940. The co-pilot of Crew No. 5 spent the rest of the war in Europe and rose to the rank of colonel before his discharge in 1947.
The eighth B-25 experienced engine problems before take-off that persisted on the flight to Tokyo and resulted in heavier than normal fuel consumption. With no chance of reaching the Chinese mainland, the pilot turned north toward the Soviet Union.
Instead of sending the Americans on their way with a full tank, the officially neutral Russians confiscated the aircraft and interned the crew that included bombardier-navigator Nolan Anderson Herndon of Greenville. But in May 1943, their obliging hosts arranged for an “escape” to British-controlled Iran.
Crews No. 9, 11, 12 and 13 each contained a single Texan. They were, in order: 1) co-pilot James M. Parker Jr. of Houston and a Texas Aggie; 2) co-pilot Kenneth E. Reddy of Bowie, victim of a stateside crash five months after the raid; 3) co-pilot Thadd Harrison Blanton of Archer City, who made a career of the military retiring in 1961; and 4) pilot Edgar E. McElroy of Ennis, who did the same, retiring in 1962.
John A. Hilger of Sherman was another Aggie and at 33 the oldest Texan on the raid. The pilot of Crew #14 served on the staff of Admiral Chester A. Nimitz for the last year and a half of WWII and retired in 1966 as a brigadier general.
That leaves Robert L. Hite of Odell, co-pilot of the 16th bomber. Hite and his crewmates parachuted right into the enemy’s clutches. Two with a third captive were executed as war criminals, and the other three POW’s were not freed until August 1945.
Hite was the last living Texan, when he passed away in 2015 at 95. He was survived at the time by two raiders, but as of April 2019 they too are gone.
Rarely mentioned but important to understand is the price the Chinese paid for their part in the Doolittle Raid. The Japanese executed everybody remotely suspected of aiding the American aviators going so far as to annihilate entire villages. The estimated death toll was a quarter of a million men, women and children.
Bartee Haile writes This Week In Texas History which appears every Sunday. He welcomes your comments and questions barteehaile@gmail.com or P.O. Box 130011, Spring, TX 77393 and invites you to visit his website at barteehaile.com.
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EU (Withdrawal) Bill: Progress of European Union (Withdrawal) Bill
Decision Maker: Constitutional and Legislative Affairs Committee
Status: Recommendations approved
Formerly known as the Great Repeal Bill, the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill (PDF, 303KB) is a UK Government Bill that aims to repeal the European Communities Act 1972, convert existing EU law into domestic UK law and give ministers power to make secondary legislation.
The UK Government published its White Paper, Legislating for the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union (PDF, 379KB), on 30 March 2017.
Throughout the process, the External Affairs and Additional Legislation Committee and the Constitutional and Legislative Affairs Committee consulted together, before producing separate outputs.
Initial evidence from the public
Both Committees held a public consultation to gather evidence on this topic.
The Committees considered the way in which the Bill deals with:
the treatment of devolution;
the delegation of powers and their control; and
the scrutiny processes and the role of the devolved legislatures.
The External Affairs and Additional Legislation Committee began work on the Bill in March 2017 with a view to ensuring that the implications for Wales are understood and acted upon by the UK Government.
This followed consideration of 13 written submissions and two committee hearings.
In June 2017, The Constitutional and Legislative Affairs Committee set out the principles that should underpin the Bill as part of its scrutiny of the Great Repeal Bill White Paper.
The External Affairs and Additional Legislation published a report on the ‘Great Repeal Bill’ White Paper in June 2017. Read the full report (PDF 1MB).
The re-named European Union (Withdrawal) Bill received its first reading in the House of Commons on 13 July 2017.
Following this, both the External Affairs and Additional Legislation Committee and the Constitutional and Legislative Affairs Committee issued a call for further written evidence in July 2017 and held a stakeholder conference to debate the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill on 18 September 2017.
The Committees were joined by Welsh stakeholders and leading constitutional and legal experts from across the UK to explore the implications of the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill for Wales.
Legislative Consent Memorandum
On 12 September 2017, the First Minister, The Rt. Hon Carwyn Jones AM, laid before the National Assembly a Legislative Consent Memorandum in respect of the Bill. The Business Committee referred the LCM to the External Affairs and Additional Legislation Committee and Constitutional and Legislative Affairs Committee for consideration on 19 September 2017.
After consulting jointly on the Bill, both Committees produced separate outputs:
The External Affairs and Additional Legislation Committee published its interim report on the EU Withdrawal Bill: Legislative Consent Memorandum (PDF, 426KB) on 15 December 2017.
The Constitutional and Legislative Affairs Committee published its report on the EU Withdrawal Bill: Legislative Consent Memorandum (PDF, 443KB) on 18 December 2017.
Both Committees recommended that the Assembly withhold its consent for the Bill in its current form.
In October 2017, the Chair of the External Affairs Committee wrote to all (PDF, 156KB) Welsh MPs with six objectives (PDF, 723KB) for changing the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill. Alongside these objectives the Committee sent suggested amendments (PDF, 83KB) to achieve its six objectives.
The Committees suggested amendments were tabled by Stephen Kinnock MP, but were not accepted at Committee stage. The Bill passed the House of Commons in 17 January 2018 before entering the House of Lords.
The Committee agreed to write to (PDF, 170KB) Members of the House of Lords to draw their attention to the objectives of the Committee. These letters were sent on 19 February 2018 prior to the second reading in the House of Lords.
On 23 March, the Committee sent additional correspondence (PDF, 151KB) to members of the House of Lords regarding the amendment of clause 11 of the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill.
On Monday 16 April, the Committee held a scrutiny session with the Cabinet Secretary for Finance focussing on the EU Withdrawal Bill and a range of issues relating to Brexit.
On Monday 30 April, the Committee held an evidence session with Robin Walker MP and Chloe Smith MP to discuss the EU Withdrawal Bill, the United Kingdom’s future relationship with Europe and the implications of trade policy on Wales.
On Monday 14 May, the External Affairs and Additional Legislation Committee held a scrutiny session with the First Minister for Wales. The session focused on the implications of UK trade policy and the EU Withdrawal Bill.
Law Derived from the European Union (Wales) Bill
On Wednesday 7 March 2108, the Welsh Government introduced the Law Derived from the European Union (Wales) Bill (PDF, 150KB). The bill intended to preserve EU law covering subjects devolved to Wales on the withdrawal of the UK from the EU.
The committee discussed the Bill during a scrutiny session with the Cabinet Secretary for Finance.
The Stage 1 debate on the Law Derived from the European Union (Wales) Bill took place on Tuesday 13 March.
Stage 2 consideration of the Bill took place in the Committee of the Whole Assembly on Tuesday 20 March.
Stage 3 and 4 consideration of the Bill took place on Wednesday 21 March before passing the Assembly on the same day.
A Supplementary Legislative Consent Memorandum
On Friday 27 April, the Welsh Government laid before the National Assembly a Legislative Consent Memorandum (PDF, 269KB) (Memorandum no.2) on the Bill.
The Welsh Government agreed to consent to the Bill following an agreement (PDF, 125KB) to amend the EU Withdrawal Bill between the Welsh and UK Governments’.
The External Affairs and Additional Legislation Committee published its report: European Union (Withdrawal) Bill - Progress towards delivering our six objectives (PDF, 437KB), on Monday 14 May.
On the day the report was published, David Rees AM, Chair of the Committee, said:
“The Committee can see that considerable progress has been made and we accept that negotiations require give and take on all sides, with compromise being reached to deliver an agreeable settlement.”
“However, the committee’s objectives have not been met in full and we remain particularly concerned that the Assembly’s ability to pass laws in devolved policy areas such agriculture could be constrained by the UK Parliament, even in circumstances where the Assembly has refused consent for such constraints to be imposed.”
On 15 May, a Legislative Consent Motion on the EU (Withdrawal) Bill was agreed during Plenary, granting the Assembly’s consent for the Bill.
The EU (Withdrawal) Bill received Royal Assent on 26 June 2018, becoming an Act.
If you'd like to know more about the work of the External Affairs and Additional Legislation Committee, please view its homepage, follow its Twitter account or contact the team that supports the Committee at SeneddEAAL@assembly.wales
The Committee sends a regular Brexit Update email. If you'd like to receive this in your inbox, please email SeneddEAAL@assembly.wales to request this.
Decisions:
The Committee considered the research brief.
Decided at meeting: 11/12/2017 - Constitutional and Legislative Affairs Committee
Restricted enclosure View reasons restricted
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Ironies and Onion Rings: The Layered Story of the Vidalia Onion
If you know and love the Vidalia onion—an onion sweet enough, its fans say, to eat like an apple—you likely also know it as a product of Georgia, as proudly claimed as the peach. But the story of the Vidalia’s popularity is far more complex than just one of a local onion made good. In this episode of Gravy: an...
Hungry in the Mississippi Delta
While civil rights activists worked in Mississippi in 1964, they encountered a poverty they could never have imagined. People were hungry, starving to death from malnutrition, particularly in the Mississippi Delta.
Doctors and medical professionals, including Dr. Jack Geiger, joined together to form the Medical...
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About Southington > Southington History
Southington History
Although Southington was formally established as a town separate from Farmington in 1779, its roots go back to a much earlier time. Samuel Woodruff moved from Farmington to the area then known as "Panthorne." The settlement grew, prospered, and came to be known as "South Farmington" and then later, the shortened version, "Southington."
A meeting house, independent of the Farmington parish, was first constructed here in 1726 and was used until 1757. Its location on the site of the present Oak Hill Cemetery is commemorated by the First Meeting House stone and plaque.
Southington became a thriving community with the construction of dwellings, taverns, and stores. Industry flourished rapidly. In 1767, Atwater's grist mill was established and by 1790, Southington had a button factory, saw mills, a brass foundry, and potash works. In addition, the first machines to make carriage bolts were developed in Southington.
Southington played a part in this country's military heritage. Important town visitors during the Revolutionary War include Washington, Lafayette, and Count Rochambeau.
Southington today is a growing community, once described as "A Microcosm of America." The town is located in Hartford County, within 20 miles of Hartford and 9 miles of Waterbury, and includes the sections of Plantsville, Milldale, and Marion. The geographic area of the town is 36.8 square miles, ranking it 40th out of 169 Connecticut towns and its population is approximately 43,000. While today it is a modern residential, commercial, and industrial community, Southington is proud of its history.
History of the Town Seal
Southington Street Map
Town Profile (2018)
Street Map of Southington
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Engineer Branch HQ NORTHAG
The Northern Army Group (NORTHAG) was a NATOmilitary formation comprising four Western European Army Corps, during the Cold War as part of NATO's forward defence in the Federal Republic of Germany.
NORTHAG's headquarters was established on 1 November 1952 in Bad Oeynhausen, but was relocated in 1954 to Rheindahlen. At the location Munchengladbach was NORTHAG HQ with three other command posts, the headquarters of the 2nd Allied Tactical Air Force (2 ATAF), the headquarters of the British Army of the Rhine (BAOR) and the headquarters of RAF Germany (RAFG).
During the construction of the main building of the joint HQ, the JHQ (Joint Headquarters), a Frankish battle ax (Franziska) was found. It was the badge NORTHAG chose because the Franks were a West-European tribe fighting against attackers from the East. The Franks defeated in the year 451 AD, an army under the leadership of Attila in Châlons-sur-Marne and ended thus a conquest of Western Europe by the Huns.
In the NATO command structure NORTHAG belonged to Allied Forces Central Europe (AFCENT), which in turn reported to Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE).
Commander in Chief of the HQ NORTHAG was basically a British General and Chief of the British Rhine Army (BAOR). Chief of Staff was a German Major General, with the Belgian and Dutch Major-General as alternates.
The HQ NORTHAG were assigned the following national formations:
· The I Belgian Corps,
· The I British Corps
· The I Dutch Corps (included First Division 7 December, 4th, and 5th Divisions in 1985)[1]
· The I German Corps (from 1957).
These organizations fell in peacetime under their respective national command authorities. Only in the case of attack did overall management authority over the Corps transfer to the NORTHAG HQ. Air support was channeled through 2 ATAF.
HQ NORTHAG had under its authority multi-national staff personnel, even in peacetime, and the following national units under control:
· The 13th Belgian Telecommunications Company (13 Cie T Tr)
· The 28th Signal Regiment, Royal Signals (NORTHAG)
· The German Telecommunications Battalion 840 (NORTHAG)
· A Dutch telecommunications company and the
· NORTHAG telecommunications company (radio NORTHAG Air Support Squadron), which consisted of soldiers from all four nations.
Intern was responsible for the communication between the headquarters and the associations, the responsible NORTHAG signal group. This was a multinational grouping, which the subordinate telecommunication organizations served, each a different type of connection required (relay, cable, etc.).
In the case of war the headquarters of the 2nd ATAF and NORTHAG would be relocated to the JOC (Joint Operations Center), a bunker complex in the St. Pietersberg in Maastricht area.
In the NATO defense plan, NORTHAG was assigned the area between Hamburg and Kassel (North-South) and the German-Dutch, Belgian to the (then) inner-German border to defend against a potential threat from the Warsaw Pact. The locations of NORTHAG forces were accordingly, mostly in this area. In the north the command bordered Allied Forces Northern Europe (AFNORTH) and in the south the Central Army Group (CENTAG).
Under General Sir Nigel Bagnall, NORTHAG tried to reorientate its defensive plans from a static defence to a more mobile approach.
Ground operations relating to the crisis in former Yugoslavia began in late 1992. In November 1992, the UN Protection Force in Bosnia-Herzegovina was provided with an operational headquarters drawn from HQ NORTHAG, including a staff of some 100 personnel, equipment, supplies and initial financial support.
Disbandment
On 24 June 1993, the headquarters of NORTHAG and 2 ATAF officially disbanded during a military ceremony. The last commander of NORTHAG was General Sir Charles Guthrie, KCB LVO OBE.[2] The last Chief of Staff was Major General Helmut Willmann, later commander of the Eurocorps.
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What We've Heard
Creative Cauldron is in the throes of it's annual Summer Cabaret Series. Coming up this week catch Nora Palka in "New York, New Nora" (7/19) and Kathy Halenda's "Somewhere Over the Rose" (7/20). Cabarets thru September including Stephen Gregory Smith, Chris Urquiaga, pianist Mark G Meadows, Katie McManus and more.
"Soldiers of the Cross" by Helen Hayes Award nominee Caleen Sinnette Jennings is presented July 15 7pm as part of Signature Theatre's SigWorks: Monday Night New Play Readings at Ali’s Bar. When black activist Asha Brown’s brothers marry outside of their race, she experiences the pain, compromises and joys of a new kind of family in a serio-comedy about intermarriage in Trump’s America. SigWorks is an initiative that highlights and supports the work of regional playwrights. This series is an opportunity for playwrights, actors, directors, and patrons to explore new plays in a fun and informal environment. FREE, no reservations required.
Shakespeare Theatre Company's Academy for Classical Acting term comes to a close with a trio of productions featuring the graduate actors including "As You Like It" directed by Aaron Posner, "Measure for Measure" directed by Timothy Douglas and "Macbeth" directed by Craig Baldwin. Performances July 8 – July 26 and Tickets
$15.00 per show or $30 for all three.
Coming up this weekend at GALA Hispanic Theatre - a weekend of DC Latinx Artists with Teatro de la Luna's Nuestra Señora De Las Nubes on July 12 and Teatro La Bolsa's Dream of Azul on July 13. Performed in Spanish with English surtitles. $20 only!
1st Stage presents the 3rd ANNUAL LOGAN FESTIVAL OF SOLO PERFORMANCE July 11-21. See The Things They Carried (starting July 11), Joy Rebel (starting July 12) and The Happiest Place on Earth (starting July 13). Limited performances for each. “All three are very different in structure and content but are remarkably beautiful and show off the unique power of solo work.”
The run has already begun, but don't miss your chance to catch Mike Daisey's return to DC with A PEOPLE'S HISTORY thru July 21. Recognized as “the master storyteller” by the New York Times, presents his most epic work—18 different full-length monologues, weaving together two very different histories: Howard Zinn's "A People's History of the United States", and his US History textbook he was taught from in rural Maine 25 years ago. Daisey confronts the legacy of our nation, our complicity, our responsibility, and the future in a unique theatrical event. Performed at Arena Stage as part of the Capital Fringe Festival 2019. Tickets $35, after one show in the series then each subsequent show is $20.
Bring your lawn chair or blanket and enjoy a FREE performance in your favorite park July 9 to 21 throughout Maryland from Prince George's Shakespeare in the Parks! For more information, call 301 446-3232; or visit arts.pgparks.com. All ages are welcome. This week: July 9, Brookside Gardens-Wheaton, MD; July 10, Meadowside Nature Center-Rockville, MD; July 11, Oxon Hill Manor-Oxon Hill, MD; July 12, The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center-College Park, MD; July 13, Cabin John Regional Park Amphitheater-Bethesda, MD; July 14, Harmony Hall Arts Center-Ft. Washington, MD.
Hear the story of how Dolley Madison saved a portrait of George Washington as the British burned the White House. Best Medicine Rep's DOLLEY MADISON, PRESIDENTRESS is a fun, intimate portrait of the famous First Lady, performed by Mara Bayewitz. July 12-14 only! Suitable for families.
Infinity Theatre Company presents their BROADWAY CABARET July 10 7pm & July 13 2pm in Annapolis. From contemporary to classic, come hear your favorite and most beloved Broadway hits.
Sharpen those swords and spend some time learning stage combat in a way only Rorschach Theatre can deliver in Fight Camp (July 6-Aug 3). Co-sponsored by The Theatre Lab. Taught by Rorschach Theatre company members and resident ninjas Casey Kaleba and Megan Reichelt, these classes are rooted in traditional stage combat technique but draw from a wide range of approaches and styles. Take them all or drop-in to one. For performers and students with no experience & those already familiar.
As part of the Playwrights' Initiative, NextStop Theatre Company presents their next development staged reading June 30 7pm: "Him" by Tess Higgins. Reading is FREE - No reservation required. Over the course of one night, the final contestants on a reality television dating show are confused and humiliated after discovering some upsetting truths about the intentions of their suitor (a man only referred to as “him”). On a show where women are and are traditionally pitted against each other, they must suddenly come together in a unique way to assert their self-worth and integrity.
Robbie Schaefer (Eddie from Ohio; writer/composer of Signature's musical "Light Years") and performer Ines Nassara (Signature's "Spunk," Ford's Theatre's "The Wiz") host an evening of folk-flavored music with an electric rock beat at Signature Theatre - "Blowin' in the Wind: Folk-rock in America" (thru June 30). Enjoy the lyrical storytelling and guitar melodies of Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Carly Simon, Neil Young, Tom Petty, James Taylor, Carole King, Paul Simon and some of Robbie’s original songs.
The Embassy of Canada will be hosting a reading of the new play “Chinoiserie” by Canadian artist and playwright Marjorie Chan at the Embassy on July 11 in collaboration with the National New Play Network and the Banff Centre. Reading features Canadian and American actors, is FREE and followed by a light reception. Reservations recommended.
The DC Black Theatre & Arts Festival, a 17-day multidisciplinary arts festival celebrating extraordinary stories from around the world, continues thru July 7 with more than 150 performances by local and national artists, writers, filmmakers and musicians. Check out film, play readings and theatre including Chester Gregory as Jackie Wilson in "The Eve of Jackie" (7/5-7) and Michael Colyar's "Momma" (6/28-30).
There's only one thing that can save the earth from the clutches of evil and darkness: unscripted theater. Washington Improv Theater’s interplanetary adventure "Starship Odyssey" will give audiences a dose of sci-fi adventure. Each show is headlined by a WIT ensemble. Also check out "Starship Odyssey: The Final Mission" - a live summer blockbuster that spans centuries and star systems. Running til August 4.
Theatre at the museum! AMAZING GRACE, a Broadway musical inspired by the awe-inspiring story behind the world’s most beloved song is currently on stage at DC's newest museum, the Museum of the Bible. Performances run til August 18 (Sundays at 2pm, Fridays at 2pm & 7pm, Saturdays at 2pm & 7pm).
On June 24, Nu Sass' production of Howard Zinn's "Marx in Soho" returns for one performance featuring Mary Myers' Helen Hayes nominated performance.Tickets $20. The time is now. The place is here. Karl Marx is back from the dead. And he's got some things to say.
Visit Studio Theatre this summer for "Showroom," a curated performance series in the summertime spirit—with spirits. The series includes:
EVERY BRILLIANT THING - thru July 7, DIANA OH IN CONCERT - June 28 & 29, SPOKAOKE - July 6 & 7, MORTIFIED - July 13 at 7pm/9pm, BRIGHT COLORS AND BOLD PATTERNS - July 9-28. EVERY BRILLIANT THING, Studio's presentation of Olney Theatre Center's hit production, is a play about depression, resilience, and the lengths we will go to for those we love—told in collaboration with the audience.
Eight Nights, a new play by Jennifer Maisel, directed by Theater J's Artistic Director Adam Immerwahr, and featuring a cast of Theater J favorites, is being given a staged reading at City Winery on June 24 at 7pm (doors at 6pm). “8 Nights of Eight Nights” is a series of staged readings of Eight Nights on eight different nights in eight different cities, to raise funds and awareness for HIAS in the wake of the Tree of Life shooting in Pittsburgh, and to stand with all those who are persecuted on the basis of race or religion the world over.
Convergence Theatre is back with their critically acclaimed production of "Guerrilla Theatre Works: A New Nation" to Northern Virginia. June 21 & 22 at 7:30pm. Admission is FREE (donations gratefully accepted). Also, June 29 at the One Journey Festival at the Washington National Cathedral. "A New Nation" probes responses to the immigration crisis in the US and current perceptions of the stranger, amplifying diverse voices to challenge fear and strengthen our sense of home.
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Cancer hospital in Balochistan
By: Sana Samad
In last few decades, cancer has become one of the deadliest diseases, continuously killing thousands of people yearly worldwide. The International Agency of Research estimated that more than 41 million new cases of cancer have been reported with 8.2 million deaths in 2012. The disease is growing and in 2030, the deaths rates could reach to 13 million.
Cancer is caused by tobacco, infectious organism, unhealthy diet and many more. The researchers have estimated that around 148,000 cases were emerged in Pakistan in 2012 and in 2014, Pakistan recorded the highest number of deaths rate of breast cancer in Asia.
Unfortunately, cancer is also spreading in Balochistan where there are no quality facilities for the treatment of cancer. According to the Health Department of Balochistan more than 35,000 patients are under treatment in the cancer unit of Balochistan Medical College (BMC). But most of the cancer patients visit Agha Khan University Hospital Karachi which is considered one of the most expensive hospitals in the country. Though Balochistan is full of natural resources, it is the poorest province of the country, so they cannot afford expensive treatment which they are often recommended.
Last year, a young boy named Rehan Rind from Khuzdar lost his life in Agha Khan University Hospital Karachi. Rehan was suffering from cancer but he could not afford further the treatment. The entire Baloch nation started denoting funds for his treatment yet what he received was not enough for his costly treatment.
Read also : Rehan Rind’s Message: A Cancer hospital in Balochistan
Similarly, a lady from Kalat was taken out from Agha Khan because she could not pay the bill which was around 900,000 after the treatment. Earlier in 2014, a boy named Niamat Ullah lost his live who was suffering from one of the kinds of gastric cancers in the same hospital.
It hurts me to mention that the young journalist (Editor of Balochistan Point) Yousaf Ajab Baloch young sister suffered from the same disease and like other she failed to survive.
These cases are enough to prove that death toll caused by cancer is rising but there is no good facility available in Balochistan for the treatment of cancer. And poor cannot afford to treat themselves in other provinces where the treatment is very expensive.
Read also: The notion of “Cancer ~death, no longer”, doesn’t seem acceptable in Balochistan
Several campaigns were launched to push government toward concrete steps of establishing a Cancer Hospital in Balochistan. And recently, the Chief Minister of Balochistan Nawab Sanaullah Zehri announced for the establishment of cancer hospital in Balochistan. Chief minister also mentioned that humanity is precious and Abdul Sattar Edhi just spent his entire life for the sole cause of humanity.
Establishment of cancer hospital in Balochistan might take some time but before that the provincial health department should launch awareness campaigns in all district headquarters hospitals of the province about the disease and its prevention. It is also the responsibility of the government to support affected individuals financially throughout the course of their treatment.
Previous: Turbat Governmental Schools Lack Quality Education
Next: Letter: Cancer Hospital is needed in Balochistan
Beating the drums of war
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United States stands for regime change in Venezuela
Alvin AileyDance Theatre celebrates 60th anniversary with performances at the Sony Centre
By The Caribbean Camera Inc. on January 27, 2019 Comments Off on Alvin AileyDance Theatre celebrates 60th anniversary with performances at the Sony Centre
Alvin Ailey American Dance
The renowned Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre will celebrate its 60th anniversary with three performances at the Sony Centre in Toronto on February 1-2.
The shows will include the Canadian premiers of Jamar Roberts’ Members Don’t Get Weary and Rennie Harris’s Lazarus, the company’s first two-act ballet, and Revelations, the finale.
Roberts, an acclaimed dancer with the theatre, says Members Don’t Get Weary “takes an abstract look into the notion of one ‘having the blues.’”
Set to the music of the legendary American jazz saxophonist and composer John Coltrane, the work uses the dancing body to inspire the audience to transcend their own personal blues momentarily.
Lazarus, the company’s first two-act ballet, addresses the racial inequities America faced when the company was founded in 1958 and still faces today,
Alvin Ailey’s 1960 masterpiece, Revelations, closes every performance with African-American spirituals, song-sermons, gospel songs and holy blues.
A news release from Civic Theatres Toronto says that that the Ailey company which is no stranger to Toronto, has performed ” for over 25 million people in 48 states and in 71 countries on six continents ” and ” inspires all in a universal celebration of the human spirit using the African-American cultural experience and the American modern dance tradition.”
Courtney Celeste Stears, one of the young dancers in the company, told The Caribbean Camera in an interview in New York, that she is looking forward to performing in Canada
Stears who has ” Caribbean roots” ( her mother is from The Bahamas), noted that Toronto will be one of several cities on her first North American tour with the company which will end in May.
Alvin AileyDance Theatre celebrates 60th anniversary with performances at the Sony Centre added by The Caribbean Camera Inc. on January 27, 2019
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Image: Glenn Wright, Nino Haggith, Merryn Jeann, Ben Franklin and Adam Marshall. Photo by Lyn McCarthy.
Destination NSW Announces 3-year Flagship Funding for Mullum Music Festival
Mullum Music Festival, the annual boutique music festival that takes place in the small NSW North Coast town of Mullumbimby, has been recognized for its cultural and economic significance by being awarded Flagship 3-year Funding by Destination NSW to help build the Festival’s reach.
The Hon. Adam Marshall MP (Minister for Tourism and Major Events) and The Hon Ben Franklin (Parliamentary Secretary for Renewable Energy and Northern NSW) made the welcome announcement on Friday morning at Mullumbimby’s Rock’n’Roll Cafe and enjoyed a performance by local musician Merryn Jeann.
Now in its eleventh year Mullum Music Festival has proved that small isn’t just beautiful, it’s also sustainable. For 4 days in November the family-friendly, affordable event takes place in more than 14 different existing venues in the hinterland village of Mullumbimby, 15 minutes from Byron Bay. The festival enlivens the town’s halls, pubs, clubs and streets with a diverse program that includes performances by more than 80 international, national and local musicians; a Youth Mentorship Program where established artists on the bill mentor young up-and-coming musicians; a sustainability focused program of workshops and talks; free street theatre and circus performances catering for families; a national songwriting competition where the winner gets to perform at the festival; and an annual New Orleans style street parade through the main avenue of the town led by local and visiting musicians.
“Mullumbimby is a small regional town and with a diverse community. The benefits of the festival taking place in the town flow on to local artists, local shops, and also to the bigger cultural picture of Mullumbimby as a unique regional town and counter culture hub,” said Festival Director Glenn Wright.
“Mullum Music Festival has become an annual pilgrimage for music lovers from all over Australia, as well as overseas,” said Mr Wright.
“What is unique about the Mullum Music Festival is that it embraces the whole Mullumbimby community. World class artists can perform in already existing exceptional venues in town,” said Mr Franklin.
“This boutique Festival not only celebrates music but it also showcases the beautiful Mullumbimby community.” said Mr Franklin.
Mullum Music Festival’s whole-town event model has proved so successful that five years ago Glenn Wright and the community of Bellingen on NSW Mid North Coast created a smaller sister festival in Bellingen, Bello Winter Music, that now sells out every year. Mullum Music Festival also partners with the Festival of Small Halls that tours musicians to community halls throughout regional Australia.
Mullum Music Festival received the Byron Shire Council’s Australia Day award for Community Event of the Year in January 2018 and an official acknowledgement in NSW State Government by Hon Ben Franklin MLC that coincided with the festival’s 10 years celebration in 2017. In a decade that saw many of the bigger festivals pull up stumps it was a credit to the organizers of Mullum Music Festival that their event established a unique and well-regarded brand in the music market.
Mullum’s 10th year celebration last year was a sell-out, with the event line-up including Jon Cleary & The Monster Gentlemen from New Orleans, Frazey Ford from Canada, Marlon Williams from NZ, and Wallis Bird from Ireland. National artists such as Harry James Angus from The Cat Empire debuted his new band, Mama Kin, Husky and William Crighton also wowed audiences, with over 80 artists and over 20 local acts from the region and 5 lucky young musicians who stood in the spotlight as part of the Youth Mentorship Program which is now in its 8th year.
According to Glenn Wright, the Festival Director “Mullum Music Festival’s biggest achievement over the last 10 years has been the discovery and support of artists of the future, the emerging acts. In 2016 Mullum Music Festival was one of the first festivals to program Tash Sultana as a headliner, and in 2017 Mullum championed The Teskey Brothers. These acts are now playing on some of the biggest stages and biggest festivals nationally and internationally. There have also been incredible success stories from our Youth Mentorship Program – Merryn Jeann, Tora, The Parcels amongst them. We also continue to foster local talent by dedicating one-third of the program to local musicians.”
As Harry James Angus of The Cat Empire says “I love Mullum Music Festival’s parades, its intimacy, its good taste and mad crowds. Why is it that so many artists that I first discovered on its stages have gone on to become superstars? How do they predict the future so consistently?”
The egalitarian, community atmosphere of Mullum makes it a favourite festival for musicians to play.
“Mullum is one of those extremely rare gems that manages to successfully tread the line between feeling like a community-based, grass-roots style event and being a professionally run festival that boasts top-shelf line-ups every year. And it’s due to an incredibly savvy and hardworking core team and a wider family who are all dedicated to providing the community with some of the best music the world has to offer in an amazing environment. It’s always so fun to play Mullum as a musician,” said musician Liz Stringer.
“The community of Mullumbimby embraces the festival and is in turn an integral part of it, the line between the imported participants and the locals is a very blurred one. And it’s this sensitivity to the community as well as a commitment to the unique aesthetic of Mullum that has seen it stay at the perfect size, just big enough to attract world class acts but small enough to be utterly intimate and accessible. I can’t wait to get back!” said musician Suzannah Espie.
It’s true that from little things big things grow. Long before the #MeToo campaign and the current focus on gender equity in the Australian music industry, Mullum Music Festival has always championed gender parity as a crucial part of its annual line-ups, with the 2017bill having 50/50 gender representation on the bill.
The line-up for the 2018 Mullum Music Festival (15 – 18 November) will be announced in July. Early Bird tickets are now on sale at www.mullummusicfestival.com
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Each of the following organizations and people have some relationship with me. I have either been a member, an affiliate or a supporter of the organizations whose web sites are listed and linked here; I have either worked with, partnered or am well-acquainted with the people whose web sites are listed and linked below. Each link is accompanied by some descriptive text so visitors may read something about the site before they decide to go visit it. Have a good time!
Acceleration Studies Foundation (ASF) : “Improving the Way We Look at the Future;” an educational nonprofit engaged in outreach, education, research, and selective advocacy with respect to communities and technologies of accelerating change; John serves as an advisor for ASF.
Alliance for a New Humanity recognizes at the core of its vision the unity of all life, and a wholehearted adherence to the noblest aspirations of humankind, as proclaimed in all spiritual and humanist traditions that call for compassion and the celebration of life; founded by Deepak Chopra.
AthenaOnline Business Knowledge Network is an Internet-based e-learning network for executives; affiliated with The Institute for Management Studies; Athena has produced a selection of video SmartBytes featuring a faculty that includes John, Russell Ackoff, Tony Buzan and other prominent authors and academics on a variety of topics.
Awakening the Dreamer Symposium: a four to six hour workshop that explores the link between three of humanity’s most critical concerns: environmental sustainability, social justice and spiritual fulfillment; hosted by Pachamama Alliance; allows participants to gain a new insight into the very nature of our time, and the opportunity we have to shape and impact the direction of our world with our everyday choices and action. John has participated in the symposium and added its mission as his own.
Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc.: Publishers of progressive business books; based in San Francisco, California; have published some of John’s created anthologies – two in paperback and one in hardcover.
Business for Social Responsibility: Membership organization of companies striving to be commercially successful while respecting ethical values, people, communities and the environment.
The Center for Leadership Studies : founded in the Fall of 2004, offers an accredited Masters of Arts in Organizational Leadership (MAOL) degree, in collaboration with the Graduate Institute of Connecticut; John serves as a member of their leadership faculty.
The Centre for Spirituality and the Workplace (established in 2004) is the first academic-based centre for spirituality and work in Canada. Housed in the Sobey School of Business at Saint Mary’s University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, the Centre is both a centre for academic activities and a centre of influence in the community, the nation, and the world.
Collective Wisdom Initiative came into being in 2002 with support of the Fetzer Institute and is attempting to call into awareness the field of collective consciousness; a group of self-selected individual writers, thinkers and practitioners working to build this discipline of collective wisdom, its study and practice; membership is open to anyone interested in this discipline. John is a member.
The Global Dialogue Center: a virtual gathering place for people throughout the world with a focus on leadership, professional and personal development — a place to think, question, explore new ideas, learn and connect with a purpose: helping us all become more effective leaders of our organizations, communities, schools, governments and families; John has participated in several GDC programs, archived on its website..
Global MindShift: Created in 2005, its mission is to help bring about a new era of cooperation and creativity on the planet; includes inclusive online conversations that make it possible for more and more people to creatively participate in forming new responses to natural and human challenges.
The Graduate Institute: Invested in the belief that transdisciplinary scholarship will give rise to new knowledge that is ineffably greater than the sum of its parts, The Institute is committed to creating graduate programs in emerging fields with an appropriate methodology for learning and teaching.
The Hoffman Institute: Offers the Hoffman Quadrinity Process – an intense eight day retreat that gets people in touch with mental, physical, emotional and spiritual parts of themselves at a core level. John did the Process in 1992 and is a strong advocate. Offered in various locations throughout the US. .
Institute of Noetic Sciences (IONS): A non-profit organization; founded in 1973 by astronaut Edgar Mitchell; researches and publishes papers on the development of the mind and consciousness; based in Petaluma; Willis Harman was president from 1977 to 1996, shortly before his passing. John is a long time supporter-member and has spoken at several of their events.
International Society for Philosophers: Based in UK and founded by Geoffrey Klempner, the Society’s objective is the promotion of philosophy for all and its practical benefits, primarily through the medium of the internet; publishes Philosophy for Business to which John has contributed articles.
London Perret Roche Group LLC: New Jersey-based consulting firm which was co-founded by Peter Roche and Solange Perret in the mid-1980s; LPR Group facilitates large-scale rapid and substantive change in business organizations. John has worked with LPR on several projects.
The Long Now Foundation was established in 1996 to become the seed of a very long term cultural institution and hopes to provide counterpoint to today’s “faster/cheaper” mind set and promote “slower/better” thinking and to creatively foster responsibility in the framework of the next 10,000 years; founded by Stewart Brand; hosts monthly lectures in San Francisco; video archives available to members; John is a founding member.
MBA Oath is a voluntary pledge for graduating MBAs to “create value responsibly and ethically.” It began in June 2009. Our goal is to begin a widespread movement of MBAs who aim to lead in the interests of the greater good and who have committed to living out the principles articulated in the oath.
The Millennium Project of the American Council for the United Nations University is a global participatory futures research think tank of futurists, scholars, business planners, and policy makers who work for international organizations, governments, corporations, NGOs, and universities;
New Voice of Business is a newly-formed membership organization breaking the mindset of “business as usual” in order to create a better future. They believe in the enormous power and creativity of business and business people to step up to a new and positive leadership role in addressing the enormous challenges and opportunities facing our nation and world today. John is a member.
The Pachamama Alliance is a non-profit organization whose mission is to preserve the Earth’s tropical rainforests by empowering the indigenous people who are its natural custodians and contribute to the creation of a new global vision of equity and sustainability for all; founded by Bill and Lynne Twist. John is a “partner” (financial contributor).
Quoteland: A library of various quotes by John and many others on a variety of subjects; formerly “Land of Quotes;” founded by David Borenstein in 1997; offers products such as coffee mugs and plaques on which quotes can be engraved.
Search for Common Ground: Founded in 1982 by John Marks, works to transform the way the world deals with conflict – away from adversarial approaches and towards collaborative problem solving; its global projects and initiatives deal with cross-border and cultural conflict issues. John is a supporter and friend to the Marks and Search.
The Shaping Tomorrow Foresight Network helps members to help each other anticipate change, explore best practice and co-create the future through this public site and our main site; members include leading future thinkers, strategists, and change agents from commercial, not-for-profit and governmental organizations around the world as well as many directors and executives. John is a member..
Systemantics , The Underground Text of Systems Lore: Four editions of this little-known book that takes a tongue-in-cheek look at complex human systems and how they behave (or misbehave); looks at how systems work and especially how they fail; John’s favorite book on systems; written by John Gall.
Earl Bakken , founder of Medtronics, Inc., not only invented the world’s first wearable, battery-operated external pacemaker, he helped launch the modern medical-technology industry; with a mission to use science to benefit humankind, he has a deep sense of spiritual calling, an understanding of his purpose on this earth.
Riane Eisler is a contributing author to several of John’s anthologies, co-author of The Partnership Way and founder of the Center for Partnership Studies; her best known book is The Chalice and the Blade; Riane is a visionary who foresees a future in which neither the masculine nor the feminine dominate the other.
Sally Helgesen is the author of five books, including The Web of Inclusion: A New Architecture for Building Great Organizations, which was cited in The Wall Street Journal as one of the best books on leadership of all time, as well as The Female Advantage: Women’s Ways of Leadership.
Kevin W. Kelley: artist and entrepreneur with an ability to effectively translate complex information about our existence into simple but powerful visualization that conveys deep intuitive understanding; author of the New York Times best selling book The Home Planet.
Debbe Kennedy : founder and president of the Leadership Solutions Companies, an award-winning women-owned and operated enterprise since 1990, specializing in leadership and organizational communications solutions; also founder, Global Dialogue Center (see organizations above).
Stewart Levine: a practicing lawyer Stewart realized that fighting was a very ineffective way of resolving problems; now widely recognized for creating agreement and empowerment in the most challenging circumstances; founder of Resolution Works and author of Getting to Resolution: Turning Conflict into Collaboration and The Book of Agreement.
Bernard Lietaer, Research Fellow at the Center for Sustainable Resources of the University of California at Berkeley; author, The Future of Money, former Belgium banker, currency trader and fund manager; expert in alternative currencies;
Alan Parisse is a long-time friend of John’s; named “One of the Top 21 Speakers for the 21st Century” by Successful Meetings Magazine and one of a select group to be inducted into the National Speakers Association’s Hall of Fame, Alan also offers The Speaking Intensive workshop – “an extreme makeover for presenters;”
Michael Ray: A friend, a contributing author to several of John’s anthologies and his co-editor for The New Entrepreneurs book, Michael started Insight Out Collaborations to offer companies programs based on his Creativity in Business course which he started at Stanford Business School in the 1980’s.
Peter Russell : Futurist; author of The Global Brain Awakens as well as The White Hole in Time; based in California and Great Britain; consultant, speaker, writer; title of homepage is “The Spirit of One;” Pete is a contributor to John’s yet-to-be-published anthology, The Conscious Organization; his latest book is From Science to God.
Martin Rutte : Co-author of Chicken Soup for the Soul at Work, Martin’s primary focus for his public speaking and consulting work is ‘spirituality in business;’ Martin is a Canadian living in Santa Fe, NM..
Howard Thurman (1900 – 1981): author, philosopher, theologian, educator and civil rights leader; co-founded the first racially integrated, intercultural church in the United States, the Church for the Fellowship of All Peoples in San Francisco; John is a member of the Church and a scholar of Thurman’s work.
Peter Turla : A long-time friend of John’s who specializes in corporate trainings and workshops; co-author of Time Management Made Easy (with Kathleen Hawkins); heads up National Management Institute, based in Texas.
Lynne Twist : Co-author of The Soul of Money, former Hunger Project funding director, IONS Board of Directors Co-Chair, and co-founder with her husband Bill Twist of the Pachamama Alliance (see Organizations links above); a long term friend of John’s, who quotes her in his book Getting to the Better Future.
Follow John On
John's Blog at The Futurist
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A Mature Approach to Commitment June 28, 2019
Can We Really Change Anyone? Some Thoughts for My Activist Friends June 1, 2019
The End of “Othering” May 1, 2019
Would You Hire a Three-Year-Old Life Coach? April 9, 2019
Where is the Kingdom of Heaven?
March 3, 2019
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Copyright © 2015 John Renesch. All Rights Reserved
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Do What U Want ft R.Kelly - NEW 2nd single from ARTPOP
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Thread: Do What U Want ft R.Kelly - NEW 2nd single from ARTPOP
^Indeed it is! I really want it, too. There's parts of R. Kelly's contribution that I love (the harmonies, the final note in his verse), but overall I think the song could benefit from Gaga's initial verse.
Can't wait to see her perform this tonight. She has to really sell it, it's the first big performance of the song in the US.
That performance on SNL was rough. :\ the choreography, if that's what you'd call it, felt so awkward and it seemed like R Kelly barely sang at all during the ending of the song. and on a superficial note, Gaga was wearing what looked like a blonde version of Tori's Cheeto wig/saggy crotched glitter jumpsuit getup. Not a good look for her.
I wasn't big on the choreography but I thought she did a great job! SNL performances generally suck for some reason - So it exceeded my expectations.
Andyland
The Do What U Want performance was about as unsexy as it could possibly be. It was like the little sister in Mean Girls dancing along to Milkshake. Her voice sounded great though.
Last edited by Andyland; 11-17-2013 at 03:46 PM.
Originally Posted by Andyland
Well, I mean, it's not SUPPOSED to be sexy. That's kind of the point of the song...
I enjoyed both performances! Vocally, it was the best she'd done "Do What U Want." And yeah, the choreography (...) was a little strange, but it definitely wasn't supposed to be a sexy performance. I thought that was obvious?
There's the portion of the song that is about her relationship with the media, but the R. Kelly verse reads to me as a straight up boy/girl lust R&B song. To me the interaction between Gaga and R. Kelly read as a failed attempt at sensual/erotic.
NeverHer
The lyric "no invitations, it's a private party," is giving me a little chuckle. Wouldn't a private party DEFINITELY have invitations? Or have I never experienced the MOST private of parties?
all i want to do is take naps on the sun
Don't turn away
I thought the performance on SNL was amazing. I mentioned elsewhere that I thought Gaga was the perfect mix of Donna Summer and Hedwig. The whole performance seemed like a scene from some very strange, awesome musical, as did Gypsy.
When they're calling
From the edge
bratboy
mat-a-tat-tat
I liked Gypsy and really liked the number she did in her opening. If DWUW was supposed to be cringe-inducing, it succeeded.
Video out December 3rd!
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/ne...undle-20131126
The video for Lady Gaga and R. Kelly's duet "Do What U Want," which appears on the former's new record Artpop, will see release on December 3rd through a unique "BitTorrent Bundle" courtesy of the file sharing service and Vice.
Directed by Terry Richardson, the video will be made available in the package alongside photos and 4K video that document the making of the clip, as well as exclusive interviews with Gaga and Richardson.
Though the "Do What You Want" package is being billed as Vice and BitTorrent's first bundle, the two companies announced a similar project with Madonna back in September: The pop star offered up a 17-minute film secretprojectrevolution, as well as plenty of bonus material, as a way to kick off her new Art for Freedom initiative.
In the statement announcing the "Do What U Want" video, the bundle was described as a way to "explore the link between open expression and open technology; providing an inside look at the creative process, with original film, music, archival content and behind-the-scenes footage direct from artists."
Gaga and Kelly have been promoting "Do What U Want" all over the place recently, performing the song at the American Music Awards – set in a sexy oval office no less – as well as during Gaga's recent turn as host and musical guest on Saturday Night Live.
"I felt that it was somewhat of a sexual song, but on a classy tip, you know?" Kelly told Rolling Stone about the song. "Because I have a lot of sexual classics myself. But this, it had a rock funkiness, and somehow, magically, an R&B-ish feel to it. I was just amazed by it."
Father Lucifer
ice cream and pizza
There's gonna be a remix with Rick Ross on it.
John's Face
Molecular Machine
Did anyone hear any news about why the video didn't happen today? I can't find anything on it.
All I want to be is the very best machine I can be.
Yeah! Where the fuck is the video?! Sorry... but come on.. it's been a quarter of a year since the Applause video came out. As much as I love DWUW, i'd be very pleased if she skipped this one and put out a video for Venus. Still my #1 on the album.
I'm pretty sure I read somewhere on her facebook that Venus had a video that was being released.
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Puerto Real is a very quiet private urbanization at the end of Playa El Agua. Spectacular private beach, natural landscape surroundings and tranquility makes this unique community really pleasant place to live. Private guards keep watch 24 hours a day.
Playa El Agua is the most famous tourist development on Margarita Island. It’s the right place for those who will be tired of remote and peaceful Puerto Real and want to taste the local beach vibrancy. Plenty of palm trees give shelter to numerous restaurants that offer their service directly to the beach chairs located in the fine sand. Most of the restaurants offer showers and toilets as well as a long list of tempting dishes, from local seafood to international ones. A cool and shady boulevard which runs along the beach starts with a small picturesque free market where you can buy everything from beach gear to local souvenirs and jewellery at very reasonable prices. This beach is favored by both locals and visitors because of its beauty, variety of services and huge beach parties organized in the tourist season.
La Isla Margarita, known as the "Pearl of the Caribbean", is situated 38 km north east of the mainland of Venezuela and far from the track of Atlantic tropical storms. Its location as an island in the Caribbean sea offers lots of beaches to explore, most of them virgin. Margarita Island is divided into two sections tenuously linked by a 24 km sand spit which separates the sea from the fascinating La Restinga Lagoon National Park. At its largest, Margarita Island measures 67 km from east to west (Punta Ballena to Punta Arenas) and 32.4 km from north to south.
It has 167 km long shoreline liberally endowed with inviting beaches. The average temperature is 27 degrees Celsius and the annual
rainfall averages 27 inches resulting in mostly dry landscapes with some wooded areas and fertile valleys. Over 300,000 people live
on Margarita Island most of whom live in the eastern part where the capital of Asuncion and the shoppers paradise of
Porlamar are located. The western part of Isla Margarita, called Peninsula de Macanao, is poorly populated.
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Various members of the Rose family, who lived at Sandhills in Mudeford, attained distinction; William Stewart Rose was a great friend of Sir Walter Scott, who, it is said, wrote at Sandhills. Sir Edmund Yeamans Walcott Henderson, chief commissioner of the Metropolitan police, who died in 1896, was born at Mudeford in 1821. 32) as also, in 1800, did Southey, who did much writing there.
Edmund Lord Lyons, admiral and diplomat, was born here in 1790. 52); Walmore, Lykehaye and Nonnewade (xvi cent.) (fn. In 1590 a house called Gerrard stood on the site of Somerford Manor, and near by was the Prior's Withie. 60) To its position between the rivers Avon and Stour the site of Christchurch owed its earlier name of Twinham, representing an old English , 'between the waters.' The Hampshire Twinham first appears in the chronicle in the annal for 901, which relates the events of 899, the year of King Alfred's death.
In 1843 the ecclesiastical parish of Highcliff was formed, but the civil parish of Christchurch remained unaltered until 1894, (fn. 4); the remainder, comprising about 1,000 acres in and around the town, constituted the new parish of Christchurch.
1) when an extensive subdivision was made, resulting in the formation of six separate civil parishes —namely, Christchurch East, (fn. In 1897 the civil parish of Highcliff was formed by cutting off from Christchurch East a wide parallel strip along the coast; and in 1901 this parish was further increased by a transference to it from Southbourne parish of the promontory known as Hengistbury Head. 5) In the following year the civil parishes of Southbourne and Pokesdown (fn. A great part of the parish was formerly common land, but in 1805 (fn.
Among the men of distinction educated at Christchurch Grammar School were Bingley the naturalist, Warner the county historian, and Admiral Sir Harry Neale. 33) The house built before 1787 by Gustavus Brander on the site of the priory was once inhabited by the Duke of Orleans, father of King Louis Philippe. 53); Hamborough, Bodyers, Gunters, and Ranckhams (xvi cent.) (fn. 55); Duncombe Close and Scottes Common (xvii cent.) (fn. Upon that event Ethelwold, a younger son of King Ethelred I, seized the estates of Wimborne of Twinham 'without the leave of the king or the Witan.' The suppression of his revolt was soon accomplished; its details are not relevant here. 61) But it is important to note that in the annal of 901 Wimborne and Twinham are described, not as .
The following place-names occur: Dudecompa (xii cent.) (fn. 35) the modern Dudmoor; La Grave, Bradefeld, and Hedenesbury (xii cent.), (fn. 42) was probably the modern Palmer's Ford in Hurn; Staple (xvii cent.), the modern Staple Cross (fn. 44) the modern Latch Farm in Hurn; Richedon (xii cent.), the modern Ramsdown Hill (fn. 56); Garton, Little Podney, Podney Magna, Ilesham, Morley's Cross and Creedes (xvii cent.) (fn. It is evident that in 899 Twinham possessed no fortifications other than belonged to the normal estate of the time.
The houses of the town are not of much architectural interest, and are for the most part of comparatively modern date, the bulk of the new building being to the north, where the presence of the railway station has caused a suburb to spring up.
There are, however, one or two red brick 18thcentury fronts, and in Castle Street is an ancient timberframed house which has been refronted and is now a butcher's shop.
West of the town is the picturesque village of Iford on the River Stour, close to which is the ground preserving traditions of Saxon battles. The parish of Christchurch East lies to the northeast of Christchurch and contains 6,755 acres, (fn. O., and the residence of Sir Harold Harmsworth, bart.
There was probably always a school in connexion with the priory; it was included among the possessions of the priory when these were confirmed by Baldwin de Redvers in about 1140. 13) At the time of the Dissolution a master was kept to teach the children grammar, and a daily lecture in divinity was given. 14) At a subsequent date, which is not known, a free grammar school was founded, (fn. 19) of which 1 acre is covered by tidal water and 27 by inland water; 2,285½ acres are arable, 1,737¾ permanent grass and 1,224 woods and plantations. 20) There are many gravel and clay pits in the parish, mostly now disused. It is an imposing modern building in a style based upon the French architecture of the 15th century.
The centre face of the south octagon contains a doorway opening to a flight of steps into the garden. Ricardo; and Sandhills, the property and residence of Sir George Rose. The extensive parish of Hurn lies north-west of Christchurch, and stretches further north than any other parish in the hundred. 27) of which 81 acres are covered by inland and 4 by tidal water, 990¼ acres are arable, 1,236 permanent grass and 1,528 woods and plantations. 28) The village lies 3 miles north-west from Christchurch upon a road leading to Hampreston. 29) the road crosses the Moors River, which turns Hurn water mill close to the village.
The whole building is crowned by an elaborately pierced stone parapet, and at the north-west angle is an imposing carriage porch with ogee-headed side openings, and a two-centred arch to the full height of the north face, which is steeply gabled and flanked by panelled octagonal turrets. Somerford Grange, which was once the grange of the prior of Christchurch, was inhabited by John Draper, the last prior after the Dissolution. Cottages and farm-houses are scattered over the whole parish, and the open country is for the most part low-lying.
The present parish of Christchurch comprises 1,030 acres, (fn.
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Previous (Gorgias)
Next (Gorilla)
Baroque Medusa combined beauty and horror: Medusa, after 1590, by Caravaggio
In Greek mythology, the Gorgons were three vicious female mythical creatures that lived on an island and possessed the ability to turn a person to stone by looking at them. They possessed both beautiful and hideous traits, the most famous being their head of coiled snakes instead of hair. Of the three, Medusa is perhaps the most famous of the Gorgons, being the only one of the three who was mortal. Also, many references are made to her specifically in literature and movies. She, like many such creatures, met her doom at the hands of a hero aided by the gods.
While the tales of Gorgons were and still are considered fictitious, they continue to have meaning for us today. Their beauty attracted all people to look at them, despite the presence of the snakes in their hair which could readily be seen as an indication of their evil nature. A mere glance by a person at a Gorgon was sufficient to kill a person. In metaphorical resonance, human beings readily succumb to temptation when they act out of selfish desire for immediate gratification while disregarding the guidance and warnings of the conscience, and through such actions they may well "die" in some way.
4 Perseus and Medusa
5 Gorgons in art
6 Gorgons in modern culture
The most beautiful Gorgon, Medusa, was also mortal, and so could be killed by the one who did not look directly at her. The lesson here could be that victory can be gained by avoiding even the sight of evil.
The word Gorgon comes from the Greek word γογύς which roughly translates as "terrible." The Latin form, Gorgonem, is the origin of the English word. From Latin also comes the words Gorgoneion, which means the representation, usually an artwork, of a Gorgon's head; Gogonia, someone that has been petrified by a Gorgon; Gorgonize, the act of petrifying someone; and Gorgonian, which is a resemblance to a Gorgon.[1] The name of the most famous Gorgon, Medusa, comes directly from the Greek Μέδουσα.
Gorgons. Attic black-figure lekythos, ca. 530 B.C.E.
Generally, the Gorgons are identified as female, with scaly golden bodies, a human if not hideous face, hair of coiled, live snakes, and the tusks of boars. They also are said to possess wings of gold, but it is not said if they can fly. Beyond their ability to turn anyone into stone by simply looking at them, the snakes on their head were believed to be poisonous and they sometimes were depicted as having sharp claws that could easily rip and tear flesh.
As with many Greek myths, the legend of the Gorgons cannot readily be traced to an original source. While the roots of many mythological creatures seem to lie in an attempt to understand nature and the world, the Gorgons seem to represent ugliness and fear. The Gorgons' ability to kill their opponents with a look renders nearly all human abilities useless, thus making even the most skilled warriors impotent. In many cultures, snakes are regarded with fear, so it is justifiable that such a dark creature would have them covering her head. Furthering this idea is the body of scales, suggesting a more reptilian connection, but there is just enough humanity mirrored in the face to make the Gorgon recognizable to humans. Thus the Gorgons may represent the ugliest and most demented aspects of humankind.
Stephen Wilk has argued that the myth actually resulted from astronomical phenomena: the variable brightness given off by a star in the Perseus constellation seems to mimic the mythical battle between Medusa and Perseus, in which the hero decapitated the Gorgon. To support his thesis that the myth derived from the constellation (as opposed to the generally accepted reverse scenario) Wilk also noted that a similar myth was common in many different cultures.[2]
As with many other Greek legends, successive generations and authors re-told the stories, and with each re-telling changed the story somewhat.
It was Hesiod (Theogony, Shield of Heracles) who increased the number of Gorgons to three—Stheno (the mighty), Euryale (the far-springer), and Medusa (the queen), and claimed they were the daughters of the sea-god Phorcys and of Keto. Medusa was believed to be the only mortal of the three, and coincidentally she was also the only one to become pregnant.
Tête de Méduse, by Peter Paul Rubens.
The Attic tradition, reproduced in Euripides (Ion), regarded the Gorgons as monsters, produced by Gaia to aid her sons, the giants, against the gods, and slain by Athena. According to Ovid (Metamorphoses), Medusa alone had serpents in her hair, and this was due to Athena (Roman Minerva) cursing her. Medusa had copulated with Poseidon (Roman Neptune), who was aroused by the golden color of Medusa's hair, in a temple of Athena. Athena therefore changed the enticing golden locks into serpents.
Perseus and Medusa
Medusa, by Arnold Böcklin (1878).
The most famous legend involving the Gorgons was the story of how Perseus killed Medusa. According to the story, Polydectes secretly planned to kill Perseus and conceived a plan to trick him into obtaining the head of Medusa as a wedding gift, knowing that Perseus would more than likely die trying to complete the task. However, Perseus was aided in his endeavors by the gods Hermes and Athena, who not only guided him to the Gorgons' island, but also equipped him with the tools necessary to slay Medusa. Hermes provided him with a sword strong enough to pierce Medusa's tough scales and Athena presented Perseus with a finely polished, bronze shield, in which he could look at her reflection in the shield as he guided his sword, that way avoiding her deadly stare. While the Gorgons slept, Perseus crept into their lair and decapitated Medusa. From the blood that spurted from her neck sprang Chrysaor and Pegasus (other sources say that each drop of blood became a snake), her two sons by Poseidon.[3].
Perseus and Medusa by Cellini, Loggia dei Lanzi, Firenze.
Instead of presenting the head to Polydectes, Perseus decided to use to his own advantage. He flew to his mother's island where she was about to be forced into marriage with the king, warned his mother to shield her eyes as he withdrew the severed head from the bag in which he had placed it. Everyone present except Perseus and his mother was turned into stone by the gaze of Medusa's head. Knowing that whoever possessed the head had a weapon of cataclysmic potential, Perseus decided to give the Gorgon's head to Athena, who placed it on her shield, the Aegis.
There are other, lesser told stories involving Medusa. Some say the goddess gave Medusa's magical blood to the physician Asclepius—some of which was a deadly poison and the other had the power to raise the dead—but that the power was too much for one man to possess and ultimately brought about his demise.
Heracles is said to have obtained a lock of Medusa’s hair (which possessed the same powers as the head) from Athena and given it to Sterope, the daughter of Cepheus, as a protection for the town of Tegea against attack.
Gorgons in art
Archaic fanged goggle-eyed gorgoneion flanked by sphinxes on a hydria from Vulci, 540-530 B.C.E.
Since ancient times, Medusa and the Gorgons have often been depicted in artworks. In Ancient Greece a Gorgoneion (or stone head, engraving or drawing of a Gorgon face, often with snakes protruding wildly and tongue sticking out between the fangs) was frequently used as an Apotropaic symbol and placed on doors, walls, coins, shields, breastplates, and tombstones in the hopes of warding off evil. In this regard Gorgoneia are similar to the sometimes grotesque faces on Chinese soldiers’ shields, also used generally as an amulet, a protection against the evil eye.
In some cruder representations, the blood flowing under the head can be mistaken for a beard.[4] On shields, pots, and even in large carvings and statues, the epic defeat of Medusa by Perseus has been depicted, usually in celebration of Perseus' triumph over the Gorgons.
Medusa is a well-known mythological icon throughout the world, having been portrayed in works of art as well as popular media over the ages. Leonardo da Vinci, Benvenuto Cellini, Antonio Canova, Salvador Dalí, and Arnold Böcklin are a few of the more famous painters who have depicted Medusa, often in battle with Perseus, over the years.
Gorgons in modern culture
Like cyclops, harpies, and other beasts of Greek mythology, Gorgons have been popularized in modern times by the fantasy genre such as in books, comics, role-playing games, and video games. Although not as well known as dragons or unicorns, most popular lore concerning Gorgons derives from Medusa and the Perseus legend.
Images of Gorgons and Medusa are commonly mistaken to be the same. According to most of the original Greek myths, Medusa was the only one of the Gorgon sisters to be beautiful; the others being hideous beasts. Over time, however, and possibly even in their original day, Medusa too came to be seen as an evil monster.
↑ The Oxford English Dictionary (Oxford Press, 1971). ISBN 019861117X)
↑ Stephen Wilk. Medusa: Solving the Mystery of the Gorgon (Oxford University Press, 2000).
↑ Edith Hamilton. Mythology (1942).
↑ Frederick Thomas Elworthy. "Chapter V: The Gorgoneion" (1895). Retrieved August 11, 2007.
Elworthy, Frederick Thomas. The Evil Eye: An Account of this Ancient and Widespread Superstition London: J. Murray, 1895. Retrieved August 11, 2007.
Hamilton, Edith. Mythology. Boston, MA: Back Bay Books, [1942] 1998. ISBN 0316341517
Harrison, Jane Ellen. Prolegomena to the Study of Greek Religion. [1903] 1922.
Wilk, Stephen R. Medusa: Solving the Mystery of the Gorgon. Oxford University Press, 2000. ISBN 0195124316
This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
All links retrieved June 26, 2017.
Medusa in Myth and Literary History
Medusa Coins Ancient coins depicting Medusa.
On the Medusa of Leonardo Da Vinci in the Florentine Gallery, by Percy Bysshe Shelley.
Theoi Project, Medousa & the Gorgones References to Medusa and her sisters in classical literature and art.
Gorgon history
Medusa history
History of "Gorgon"
Retrieved from http://web.newworldencyclopedia.org/p/index.php?title=Gorgon&oldid=1005363
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Editorial: The power of Black History Month
February 3rd, 2019 Volante Staff Opinion comments
Black history in America is often reduced to a handful of memorable moments and events. In Black history, this includes the Underground Railroad, the famous “I Have A Dream” speech by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and the Selma to Montgomery March.
But these are only a few events to remember.
Carter G. Woodson, a Harvard-trained historian, is credited with the creation of Negro History Week in 1926, which has blossomed into Black History Month as we know it today. In 1976, President Gerald R. Ford expanded the week into a full month.
Ford said the country needed to “seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history.”
In high school, we were required to read from authors like F. Scott Fitzgerald and Harper Lee, but how often were we required to read from authors like James Baldwin, Roxane Gay, or Octavia Butler? Black history should be just as much a part of our history as the rest of it.
It is extremely important that we take the time to learn about Black history. Black history is American history, and when those stories go untold, we are missing out on a critical part of our past.
Without a complete understanding of our history, we are doomed to repeat it.
Today, we are still caught up in debates about the Confederate flag while we continue to see rises in white supremacist groups. Today, we still find ourselves having to demand racial equality for those around us.
We can’t actively engage in these discussions without first fully understanding of our history.
We politely and eagerly celebrate the contributions made by African Americans, but many people still can’t face up to what Woodson called the “whole truth” of U.S. history.
For example, people will still claim that Confederate monuments have everything to do with southern “heritage” and nothing to do with white supremacy.
Black History Month is not a time to parade around about how far our society has come, nor is it a month-long tirade blaming white people for all of the bad things that happened to their ancestors.
Black History Month is so much more than that. It’s a reminder of how far we have come, as well as how far our nation has left to go. But although there has been immense progress, we are far from completely understanding all there is to understand.
While there are people who believe that it is time to do away with Black History Month, its importance is still immeasurable.
Black History Month is for all of us to educate ourselves. To dismiss it is to dismiss a crucial part of history. In order to complete the American narrative, we must make sure we include the history of native people, black people, and other minority people, whose stories, more often than not, remain untold.
Volante Staff
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New York fundraising effort started to help restore Notre Dame Cathedral
April 19, 2019 Catholic News Service UncategorizedNo comments
NEW YORK (CNS) — New York Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan said he named a fundraising effort for the Paris cathedral “From St. Patrick’s to Notre Dame” because he really wanted “to twin our beloved St Patrick’s Cathedral, America’s parish church here on Fifth Avenue, with Notre Dame.”
He made the comments April 18 on “Seize the Day With Gus Lloyd,” which airs on SiriusXM’s The Catholic Channel. By the time of the interview, about $150,000 in donations had already been received.
A website has been set up for the fundraiser, www.sptond.org. All donations will be sent to Paris Archbishop Michel Aupetit to assist with the restoration of the Notre Dame Cathedral and its numerous historical relics and artistic treasures.
New York Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan announces a fundraising effort from St. Patrick’s Cathedral April 18, 2019, to help support the restoration and rebuilding of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. (CNS photo/courtesy Archdiocese of New York)
Earlier in the day, Cardinal Dolan was joined by philanthropist Kenneth Langone, who is co-founder of Home Depot, Consul General Anne-Claire Legendre of France and other religious, business and political leaders to announce the fundraiser to help support the restoration and rebuilding of the Paris cathedral.
“Almost from the very first moments we heard the awful news that Notre Dame was ablaze, New Yorkers of all faiths, Catholic and non-Catholic alike, reached out to me to express their sorrow at the devastation and ask how they could help,” the cardinal said at a news conference.
Langone, “in his typically generous way, called and said, ‘We’ve got to do something. Count me in,'” Cardinal Dolan said.
“From Saint Patrick’s to Notre Dame,” the cardinal said, “is a way for people from New York and around the country to contribute in helping rebuild this magnificent house of faith and monument to Western civilization.” He called it a “noble effort.”
Langone reflected on his role in the recent restoration of the 140-year-old St. Patrick’s Cathedral as being a motivating factor in his decision to help rebuild Notre Dame.
“As a leader of the effort to restore St. Patrick’s Cathedral,” he said, “I came to more fully understand how much this beautiful church meant not only to my fellow Catholics, but to all New Yorkers, as a spiritual refuge from the frantic pace of the city, a place of prayer and reflection, a home where all are welcome.
He added, “Just as I can’t imagine New York City without St. Pat’s, I can’t imagine Paris without Notre Dame, and want to do all that I can to help in this restoration effort.”
The major fire that destroyed much Notre Dame Cathedral’s wooden structure and collapsed its famed spire erupted the evening of April 15. Many symbols of the faith and cultural heritage of Catholicism survived. Father Jean-Marc Fournier, chaplain of the Paris Fire Brigade, is credited with saving a reliquary containing the crown of thorns and the Blessed Sacrament from the burning cathedral.
A police official said April 18 that investigators think a short-circuit most likely caused the blaze and was possibly linked to renovation work that started in January. So far, about a billion dollars have been pledged to help restore the landmark.
“So many New Yorkers said, ‘Boy, we’re crying for the people in Paris because we know how down and crushed we’d be if our beloved St. Patrick’s went,'” Cardinal Dolan said on SiriusXM. “So, I thought, let’s twin the two and so we started it — the ‘From St. Patrick’s to Notre Dame” fund — and people could contribute, and by the way, they already are.”
Tagged: Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan donations Notre Dame Cathedral fire
Author: Catholic News Service
Catholic News Service is the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ news and information service.
View all posts by Catholic News Service
‘Their Calvary was lengthy’: Pope’s Stations recall those exploited
Singer-songwriter presents Crucifixion in concert
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City of Hope Aims 50 Million Dollar Gift at a Cure for T1D
A $50 million dollar donation to a T1D research center caused significant fanfare throughout the T1D community on Monday. The donation, which consists of a one-time gift from the Wanek family, as well as other anonymous donors, was awarded to the City of Hope (COH) Diabetes and Metabolism Research Institute in Los Angeles to establish the Wanek Family Project to Cure Type 1 Diabetes. The institution will devote the entire $50 million over the next six years to T1D research, with the main objective of finding a cure. This gift is unique because it is rare that a donation of this size is given to a single research center, as opposed to a large fundraising organization like the ADA or JDRF.
The project will focus on three main areas of research:
1. Immune system modulation
2. Beta cell expansion and replacement
3. Preventing diabetes complications
The project will be led by Dr. Bart Roep, Chair of COH’s Department of Diabetes Immunology, who hopes to build upon work from a past clinical trial he led in the Netherlands. Roep’s previous work focused on immune system modification and featured a vaccine which took patient immune cells, added vitamin D3 and a beta-cell protein, and transplanted them back into the patient.
The project is testing multiple initiatives which, if combined, could constitute a Practical Cure in the future. Because these initiatives are broken up into individual parts within the three areas of research, it does not currently represent a full Practical Cure. Although finding a cure in the next six years is unlikely, as progressing through all of the stages of clinical trials often takes more than 10 years, and remains an arduous and often timely process, it is encouraging to see an organization with the similar goal of finding a cure within a timeframe that will benefit those currently living with the disease.
To find out more, or to support the program directly, please visit the project webpage linked below:
https://www.cityofhope.org/wanek-project
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Prom Dresses by Top Designers and Hottest Prom Dress Styles
Without a doubt, using a design of this caliber would make your look one of the most commented of the party. While high school yearbooks did not start covering proms and including prom pictures until the s and s, historians, including Meghan Bretz, believe proms may have existed at colleges as early as the late 19th century. In South Africa, the equivalent of the American prom is the Matric Dance, taking place during the matriculation i.
Her statement necklace and long side-braid added to the overall appeal of the look and attracted countless double takes. This goofball looked seriously handsome at Senior Prom! This look was perfect on the Colorado State bound hippie. This BC sweetheart donned a look to remember at sprom. If only we could see his muscles through that tux…but in all seriousness, Connor rocked that teal blue vest and jet black jacket! Of course, this football hall-of-famer definitely did not leave the house without that legendary championship ring.
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The school stage has come to an end, and the most magnificent celebration is on its way. Prom Night is the opportunity for every girl to bring their best fashion and create a moment for a lifetime. However, what if you haven't decided on the model to wear?
Therefore, the ideal is to wear a dress that make you look amazing but most importantly make you feel comfortable without leaving out your style and personality. The date is coming; after sharing many years with teachers and friends, the school stage has come to an end. The night you have waited, anxious. For sure, many emotions and anxiety overwhelm you. And the truth is, that happens to everybody. You must have already dreamed of the prom dress you will wear, and it looks spectacular.
Before starting the dress selection, keep in mind the budget and talk in advance with those who are going to pay for it, your parents. Jovani has all the values the teenagers are looking for: Rectangular, triangular, hourglass-shaped, inverted triangle shaped, and pear-shaped, each needs a particular cut. The best attributes get accentuated and the less favorable, hide. If you are a fashionista who likes to acquire the latest trends you should aim for our most recent Prom Dresses collection which is very affordable but, previous models are also part o our online catalog, this way you can reduce the cost even more.
Among them the emotion reigns, joy, and confidence of looking fantastic in your prom party. On catwalks and red-carpet, it will make your decision easier. Choose a prom dress that fits your figure the right way. The principal and the class teacher are given big green ribbons as well. Men wear formal suits and women formal dresses. It usually starts at 6 p. In Slovenia, the equivalent is Maturantski ples.
It is held before the final exams between January and May, depending on the region and school. There is also a dinner and live music.
In some places in Spain proms are also celebrated as after-school parties. These parties are commonly called "fiestas de graduación", which can be translated as "graduation parties". In Sweden, this kind of event is usually known as "Studentbalen". The word "Studentbalen" is a proper noun meaning "The Student Ball," while the word studentbal is a common noun that can refer to any formal dinner and dance at a Swedish university.
Studentbalen is usually held during the final weeks before graduating and can be formal. The Swiss equivalent of a prom is the bal de printemps. It takes mostly part before the final exams. In Turkey, the equivalent is called "Graduation Ball. It is a graduation tradition for seniors. However, if the event is not described to the final year, it may be described as a Ball, School Formal , or simply Formal. If the event is in the final year of high school, it is sometimes called a Dinner-dance, Leavers' Dinner or Debutante Ball but is also commonly called a School Formal or "Formal.
As the name suggests, attire for the occasion is generally formal. Boys will usually dress in a suit and tie. Girls traditionally wear formal gowns or dresses.
In most cases a school formal is held at a local reception centre or ballroom. A multicourse meal is generally provided. After the meal students generally dance to popular music played by a hired DJ or sometimes a band. Many students group together to go to the formal in a limousine. While parents do not attend a formal, teachers may act as chaperones for the formal and security guards are sometimes hired. The use of chaperones is intended to prevent the occurrence of violence and alcohol or drug use.
Generally after a formal, one or more after-parties are held. In addition to the high school graduation "formal" that marks the end of Year 12, there is also an event that is sometimes held to celebrate completing the School Certificate at the end of Year 10 or Year 11 in New Zealand , and always held after receiving Higher School Certificate at the end of Year 12 and includes a dinner and dance. The NSW Government announced the abolition of the School Certificate after , with students in year 10 that year being the final cohort to sit the external examinations and receive the qualification.
Subsequent Year 10 "Formals" have been deemed "unnecessary" due to the fact that the majority of Year 10 students now progress to Year In year 11, students occasionally organise a "semi-formal" or "social" at the end of the school year, which is a more casual version of a formal. If a school has a sister school the social is typically organised in conjunction with them, as a "social event" for people to mingle and meet new people.
The Valedictory Dinner or Val as it is colloquially called is an event that only occurs in Year In New Zealand, most state school balls are held in the winter months, between June and August, while in Australia, a "formal" is held at the end of the year to mark the end of schooling, as is the Valedictory Dinner.
Due to cultural differences, in New Zealand these 'balls' may be held consistently each year with the appropriate respect, but except for private schools they tend to be far less formal and 'proper' than in the US or Australia. In Venezuela, they have prom as well, they call it "graduación" o "fiesta de graduación. In Argentina there are "fiestas de egresados" for students finishing their last year of high school.
These consist of big parties hosted by the senior students in local discos or other venues, starting at 10 p. They have dinner with parents and other members of the family, and after midnight friends and other guests join the dance. The parties start in late September, after most students come back from their senior trip to Bariloche and last until early December, after the graduation.
The students dress formally. In Brazil, bailes de formatura are usual at the end of high school and at college graduation. There is no crowning of a "king" or a "queen," but evening gowns and suits are required. Family may or may not be included, and there may be a live band or DJ hired to command the music. In Chile, proms, or "fiestas de graduación" graduation parties , are usually held at convention centers or hotels after the "licenciatura," or graduation from High School.
Students are expected to dress formally. They are allowed to go with dates or friends. After the dinner, the dance continues through the night into the next day. In Colombia many private schools usually have prom balls as well, usually consisting of a dinner, dancing, live music, and contests. They are usually held at hotels or clubs. In Costa Rica, like many other American countries, the "Baile de graduación" is celebrated after finishing High School, where grade 11 is also the last year.
It usually takes place before graduation to celebrate the end of school. It's normally held in hotels or saloons with a dance floor, music and dinner. It starts with the students walking through the dance floor and dancing a waltz.
The dinner comes after, and the rest of the night consists of dancing and celebration. In Honduras, they are called "Cena de Graduacion", they are held in luxury hotels, also familiars of the graduating students are invited. This event is held only for private schools, the act consists on a formal graduation and deliver of their diplomas, after that, a dinner is held between the graduating students and their familiars or friends in the same room which later will become in a dance floor for everyone.
In Peru, proms—"Fiestas de Promoción"—are usually held at hotels, convention centers, or big residences. The dress code is formal. Some parents and teachers are often invited, but they don't stay the whole night. Dinner is served as well as alcoholic drinks and delicatessen. Breakfast is often served the next day, at around 6—7 am. There is a growing tradition to hold a pre-prom for the students in the class below the graduating class, and even a pre-pre-prom for the students in the class below that.
In Mexico, most high schools and junior high middle school have proms only allow the graduating class seniors to have a prom, after a church service for the graduating class. The students dress in Formal wear and attend in couples. Some colleges have an after-graduation dinner dance. This is thrown simultaneously for fifth form and upper sixth form students during the months of June or July after the school's official graduation ceremony.
It is colloquially referred to as grad or gradz. Most gradz are held in popular clubs, hotels, halls or simply on the school's grounds. Most schools allow students to bring dates, and a formal dress code is usually in effect. In Uruguay, graduation parties are usually held after graduation itself. They may or may be not organised by the school, but by the students itself. Usually a place is rented, and formal parties are held.
Students are allowed to take one guest, as a friend or as a partner. The concept of extending prom to homeschool students has been realized in recent years. Although some school districts in the United States and Canada allow homeschool students to attend the prom in the school district where they reside, many homeschool groups also organize their own proms.
Some states, such as Oregon , [33] Ohio, Georgia, Tennessee, and Michigan , also host statewide homeschool proms, which any homeschool student in that state is welcome to attend. Proms that are specifically geared toward homeschool students can sometimes be significantly different from traditional high school proms. It is not uncommon for a homeschool student to attend a homeschool prom solo, rather than taking a date.
Often the music played is chosen by the parents rather than the students. An adult prom is a social event that is almost perfectly similar to a high school prom in terms of themes and attire, except that some adult proms also serve alcoholic beverages , and therefore most adult proms at least in the U.
The origin of adult prom is unclear, though Drew Barrymore is often credited with inadvertently inventing the concept in the s, when she stated in an interview on Late Night with Conan O'Brien that she threw a prom party for herself and a few friends who never got to go to prom. A form of adult prom is the "second chance prom", which is sometimes sponsored by a local radio station in some cities. It is a big gathering of people who either did not go to prom, wanted to relive prom, or whose high school prom did not work out the way they had hoped.
In the novel Nobody's Property , character Mallorie Walcott, an event planner, mentions that she helped put her younger daughter Cassandra through college, in part, from the revenue she made from planning adult proms in the s either for people who missed their actual high school proms in the s and s, or simply wanted to re-live their prom night.
They have become increasingly common, especially in the United States, and usually are hosted either as fundraisers for charities, or for-profit ventures.
A slightly different take on the adult prom is that of the disabilities prom, dedicated to providing a prom experience to disabled adults at no charge to the attendees. These events are most often organized by non-profit organizations focusing on the disabled, or large churches.
Sometimes, individuals re-create a prom-themed party either for themselves or a friend who did not get to attend his or her prom. Drew Barrymore has been known to host "prom parties" on at least two occasions, having once stated in an interview with Conan O'Brien in the late s that she threw one for herself one time because she had always wanted a prom, but didn't get the chance, having not finished high school.
In , Barrymore threw a prom-themed birthday party for a close friend who had missed her senior prom. In , friends, family members, and hospital workers in Atlanta, Georgia re-created a prom for then-senior Raven Johnson, who was in a coma at the time of her original senior prom. In , Theatrical producers in New York produced an audience participation theatrical play, set in an actual dance hall, called The Awesome 80s Prom , [37] where attendees were at a prom and got to vote on the king and queen from the cast of characters.
Anti-proms can be private, unofficial proms that are privately created, outside the control of the school, usually by people who disagree with their school's prom policies. Some schools also include the anti-prom as an official event called morp prom spelled backwards. Morp has become increasingly popular due to the raised awareness and effort on behalf of Kristina Siegert, Esegent Lemma, and Mary Boyd from Belleville, Ontario who refused to participate in the prom at Nicholson Catholic College.
Adult proms for gay and lesbian adults who could not attend their proms with a date of the same sex are popular in some cities. Over the course of history, proms have been the source of many controversies, many of which involve LGBT students. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. September Learn how and when to remove this template message. This article is about the formal dance held at the end of an academic year. For Prom disambiguation , see Prom disambiguation. For the Air Force program, see Senior Prom. For the film, see Junior Prom. For the band, see The Prom Kings.
For other uses, see Prom Queen disambiguation. This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. August Learn how and when to remove this template message. This section may be in need of reorganization to comply with Wikipedia's layout guidelines.
Please help by editing the article to make improvements to the overall structure. April Learn how and when to remove this template message. Find more about Prom at Wikipedia's sister projects.
Summit students enjoy a successful prom". Archived from the original on By the numbers — Yahoo! Prom expenses don't have to break bank".
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BETTER THAN KRAFT DINNER: If I had a million dollars, I'd certainly consider investing in Gordon: A Barenaked Musical, the currently in development musical with an original book based on the songs of Barenaked Ladies. (Quasi-related--while at the movies tonight, I saw the trailer for Hamlet 2, which looks like it may be worth seeing just to hear the entirety of "Rock Me, Sexy Jesus.")
SPANISH INFANTAS TRIUMPHANT ONCE AGAIN: I'm not sure how many people are on the email distribution list to be informed on the day the Social Security Administration posts the prior year's baby name data, but you can be assured that I am one of them. And thus I am able to inform you that the 2007 name data was posted this week.
Not a lot of news coming out of the top ten for either girls' or boys' names -- the only name not appearing in last year's top ten is Elizabeth, up from #11, pushing out Samantha. Isabella has moved from #4 to #2, squeezing apart the Emily/Emma combo that has been on top for the last four years. Madison skidded a bit to #5 after seven consecutive years as #2 or #3. Boys' names are as boring as ever -- the big news there is that Ethan has supplanted Joshua as #3, and Matthew plummeted (in top ten boys' name terms, anyway) from #5 to #9. Yaaawn.
But there are two big name ascension stories for 2007, one on each side of the aisle: Addison and Jayden. Jayden is this year's #18 name, up from #49 in 2006 and #54 in 2005. Over 15,000 boys were named Jayden last year, versus 9550 the year before. As for Addison, Shonda's red-haired wonder hit #11 in 2007, from =#28 in 2006 and #106 in 2005 -- meaning that the 11,823 little Addisons last year represent nearly a quadrupling of the 3014 girls given the name in 2005. (This increase far outweighs the decline in Madisons over that two year period, incidentally.)
We also have a bunch of newcomer names to the top #1000 list. Most prominently, although unsurprisingly, Miley is this year's #278 name, up from nowheresville ever before.
I haven't fully parsed the list yet, and I'm sure there are no shortage of interesting tidbits to be unearthed. Feel free to share as you notice them.
BRILLIANT (?) BUT....: With upfronts for every non-NBC network this coming week, we'll be getting dribs and drabs of pickup and scheduling news all through the week, but the fates of three "bubble shows" have been revealed. Cancelled? Somewhat surprisingly, the execrable Back To You will not return to Fox's schedule (though Brad Garrett vehicle 'Til Death will return for a third season). In sadder news, the CW will cancel Aliens in America, which proved both surprisingly funny and surprisingly tender (with a very funny Rent parody at one point) as a casualty of its selling off its Sunday programming block, but is now saying that the (much-improved in recent weeks) Reaper is 80% for renewal. No word yet on any other "bubble" programming, with those of most interest to ALOTT5MA viewers likely being HIMYM (while a pickup has widely been reported to be a foregone conclusion, no formal announcement has been made), Boston Legal (which they may just fire everyone save Spader and Shatner from again, since they seem to be interchangeable), and Eli Stone.
Update: Also done? New Amsterdam. Looking like they're back? Eli Stone and (most surprisingly) Miss Guided. Picked up to series? New J.J. Abrams/Joshua Jackson series Fringe.
Update Once More: Boston Legal back, but apparently with a regular cast of just Spader/Shatner/Bergen (if this ends the interminable Clarence plotline, I'm all for it), and Joss Whedon/Eliza Dushku project Dollhouse picked up for midseason.
Yet Again: Eli Stone officially picked up for short season of 13 new episodes.
DR. SPACEMAN, WHEN THEY CHECK MY DNA, WILL THEY TELL ME WHAT DISEASES I MIGHT GET, OR HELP ME REMEMBER MY ATM PIN CODE? When withdrawing cash from an ATM, why are you asked to input the number of cents? These machines don't dispense coins, after all. For that matter, why do you have to type in the units digit for the number of dollars? Machines don't dispense ones or fives, so why not just give us a template like "$ --0.00" and spare us those extra three keystrokes?
For that matter, as a friend once suggested to me, shouldn't the machine already know the language in which you'd prefer to transact business? Presumably, if English were not your preferred language you'd be receiving your bank statements in some other tongue; moreover, after years of transactions in which you've selected English every time, what are the chances you'd be changing your mind now? [Side question: do you ever select an alternate language just for the challenge?]
INSTRUCTIONS (PARTIAL):
Walk left
Stand right
Leading edge of roll on outside
Blades down (unloader safety)
Tines, heads down (unloader questionable hygiene)
Pre-rinse sticky substances
Hand-wash good knives (oxidation)
Hand-wash mixing bowls (space)
Top-sheet seams down
Larger denominations to smaller denominations from inside of billfold to outside, facing inside
General non-fiction, professional specialty nonfiction, reference, memorabilia, authors known personally, general fiction
Smart quotes on
Down (cheeks)
Down (upper lip)
Down, then up (chin)
Popular music, compilations, soundtracks, children's music, jazz, classical, music in foreign language understood only by spouse
Plane, chop, rip, drill mortises, mill tenons, glue, pin, sand, stain, wax
Squat, approach box, rest bat against leg, adjust glove, extend right arm with bat vertical, adjust sleeve from shoulder, bail out
Rip, mix, burn
PERHAPS I SHOULDN'T HAVE DONE THAT RAIN DANCE LAST NIGHT: Why is it that the day you're going to have folks over to grill burgers at your place winds up being the one day of the week that it pours rain and even briefly hails?
GERONIMO JACKSON: Do you know what you need, Mr. Locke? An all-plot, no-romance, almost-no-Jack episode. Guys? Cabin.
A DICHOTOMY: There are two kinds of people in the world: those who believe that government subsidization of the mortgage-bond market will aid financially-strapped homeowners and stimulate the economy; and those who don't understand the proper way to load a dishwasher.
I AM A JELLY DONUT: In a little more than a week, I'll be journeying to Berlin for the better part of a week on business, though with a fair amount of time to see the city. Anything ThingThrowers wish to suggest that I see or do while there is much appreciated.
UNLIKE CANDY IN "WALK ON THE WILD SIDE": Cincinnati Reds old-timey mascot Mr. Redlegs probably should have worn a seatbelt today.
If you're into handlebar mustache-themed videos, an all-sockpuppet production of "There Will Be Blood" is now online.
e.t.a.: Just so we're clear: the links in this article are completely safe for work. Mr. Redlegs engaged in no behavior covered by the Referral to the United States House of Representatives pursuant to Title 28, United States Code, § 595(c) Submitted by the Office of the Independent Counsel on September 9, 1998. Just play the video, folks.
SONG ABOUT A SUNBEAM, SONG ABOUT A GIRL: There was a time -- some three months before tonight's results show, perhaps -- but was indeed a time when Robbie Carrico, Alexandréa Lushington and Colton Berry still walked the earth, and when we didn't feel so frequently let down by this year's competitors. Let's go back to that time, shall we? Here's David Cook, "Hello"; Young David Archuleta, "Waiting for the World to Change"; Clifford the Crunchy Muppet, "Hallelujah"; and Syesha Mercado, "Think".
Two separate questions for tonight: (1) Would you rather have the final three we now have, or, say, Michael Johns, Carly Smithson and Chikezie Eze? Construct a narrative by which you preferred final three got to this point; and (2) Compared to other final threes we've had, this one's more talented as a whole than Fantasia/DeGarmo/Jasmine and Kelly/Justin/Nikki, I'd argue, but ... any others?
WRITTEN, PRODUCED, AND DIRECTED BY MAX BIALYSTOCK: Apparently, much panned musical Glory Days has already shut its doors, having opened just last night, making it join an elite club alongside Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All. Yes, that's worse than Prymate (the play about humans and animals getting it on) and Carrie: The Musical, which both played 5 performances. The only thing to beat it? Farrah Fawcett comedy Bobbi Boland, which closed after 7 previews without ever officially opening.
I'M JUST A NORMAL PERSON. I PUT MY PANTS ON TWO LEGS AT A TIME WHILE JUMPING FROM A SECOND-STORY BALCONY: More YouTube silliness. Because clothes, and the risk of severe bodily injury or death in donning them, make the man.
A GLASS-HALF-FULL KIND OF GUY: Now, I'm not a lawyer, but -- wait, yes, yes I am a lawyer -- so I speak with unquestionable expertise when I say that the next time I'm defending a guy accused of imprisoning and raping his daughter for 24 years and also imprisoning the seven (grand)children he fathered in the same secret underground dungeon, this will not be a huge part of my defense:
Fritzl, 73, claimed credit for having saved the life of his daughter and added: "I could have killed them all. Then there would have been no trace. No-one would have found me out."
Call me a legal maverick, but I don't think I want to play the "it could have been worse" card in the one case where, in fact, it couldn't. I mean, even that German cannibal's defense now is "it could be worse -- look at that messed-up Austrian dude."
BECAUSE, YES, PRETTY GIRLS ARE FUNGIBLE: So, plans are apparently afoot for a House spinoff. Sadly, not Wilson and Amber Move To The Big City or Lisa Cuddy: Rural M.D. or even Someplace Else Finally Hires Foreman, but instead one based on a private eye character to be introduced next season. Given that Shark and Canterbury's Law's attempts to be "House With Lawyers" haven't been resounding successes, I'm not convinced this is a workable idea.
YOU'RE ALL WASTED: I'm sorry for posting over the top, and please don't use this as a general Idol thread, but we're midway through tonight's show and I feel very, very strongly about this. The moment in "Baba O'Riley" where the overlapping round on the keyboard resolves into those three power chords and the drums kick in and then Daltrey sings "Out here in the fields/I fight for my meals/I get my back into my living"? That is probably one of the two or three most powerful moments in rock and roll, and I can't think of the other one or two. It's downright criminal to bury that the way Cook did. I don't care if he's the rocker, or he's trying to change it up -- you can't whisper about how you fight for your meals. I am outraged.
HEAVY BOOTS OF LEAD, FILLS HIS VICTIMS FULL OF DREAD: I finally got around to Iron Man this evening, and man, that's some good stuff. Pretty much perfectly cast all-around (especially, and unsurprisingly, RDJ as Tony Stark), and with a ton of quips and good lines. One of the most difficult things in making a comic book movie is balancing making a movie "for the fans" with one that the rest of the audience will enjoy. This one hit it just about right, with enough in-jokes for the fans ("Maybe next time," the Stan Lee cameo, the group to which the government agent played by Sorkin Family Player Clark Gregg belongs), without becoming nothing but fanwankery. And man, that final post-credits scene, which raises some casting questions of interest for later films (Thor? Captain America? Ant-Man?).
9 IP 1 H 0 R 0 ER 0 BB 20 K: Ten years ago today, Cubs pitcher Kerry Wood had perhaps the most dominating nine-inning performance in baseball history. SportsCenter's Rich Eisen narrated the highlights narrated the highlights (new link).
IN THE JINGLE JANGLE MORNING I'LL COME FOLLOWING YOU: Ma nishtana ha'Idol hazeh? On most other shows Ike Turner is not alluded to even once; tonight, he's alluded to twice. Oh, and Jason Castro's going home. I mean, really ...
David Cook: "Hungry Like The Wolf" was sung competently, but you've got to stalk the stage when you perform a Simon LeBon song. You've got to run through the crowd, taunt and tease ... you can't just wander in a five-foot radius. "Baba O'Reily" was awesome ... until five seconds before the ending and he shouted they're all WASTED!, which was great, and then he abruptly pivoted to a total Vegas/Idol glory note ending and killed the moment.
Syesha Mercado: If you're doing to climb Mt. Whitney, Mt. Mariah and Mt. Fantasia, hell, why not try to scale Tina Turner's "Proud Mary"? Because you're not Tina Turner. She's performing with a ton of confidence, but a performer can't just follow Tina's steps and make it your her own recipe ... unless she's Beyonce. And, hello?, Sam Cooke's "A Change Is Gonna Come" is not a personal empowerment anthem, nor is it a place for random shrieks and belting devoid of any interpretive intent, which means that Syesha should be going home, except, of course ...
Clifford the Crunchy Muppet: "I Shot The Sheriff" was a huge sloppy mess, a calamity down there with the Scott Savols and Corey Clarks of the world. It's not a singer's song, he started badly, and then committed the Anwar Robinson sin of letting the backup singers take the chorus. "Mr. Tambourine Man" was even worse, forgetting lyrics and just not caring anymore. He's the one who should have attempted "A Change Is Gonna Come," doing it like James Taylor did on The West Wing.
Dan Fienberg wants to know if this is the worst pair of final four performances ever, and the answer is "not quite": Josh Gracin once tortured us with the Bee Gees' "Jive Talkin'" and "To Love Somebody", after all.
Young David Archuleta: "Stand By Me" was technically solid and all, and then, whoa: he may have just won the competition with the falsetto at the end, no matter how dead his eyes may remain. The falsetto wasn't quite as there on "Love Me Tender," but again it was undeniably a good performance, and if you didn't already hate him tonight's performances would not have made you dread his winning the competition.
Any doubts, America?
THERE'D BETTER BE MORE THAN A FREE ALLEN WRENCH: The allure of camping out waiting for a store to open so you can be the first to buy a product generally eludes me. (Though midnight launches can have their allure--Harry Potter, movies on opening night, etc.) Eluding me even more is who exactly would camp out in front of the soon-to-open Brooklyn IKEA in order to be the first to experience the smell of lingonberry jelly and the joy of inexpensive, not particularly durable, furniture.
YES FISH EATERS, THE DAYS OF TROUBLESOME SCALING, CUTTING AND GUTTING ARE OVER: Nerve counts down the top 50 ad parodies of all time, which is predictably heavy on SNL clips. I was ready to dismiss the list until three of my all-time favorites--Samuel L. Jackson Beer, First CityWide Change Bank, and Old Glory Robot Insurance--showed up in the top 10. Still, the folks behind Shimer Floor Wax/Desert Topping and Taco Town have to be disappointed to be excluded.
And yes, 32 years later, putting a bass in a blender is still damn funny.
I SUGGEST "EXPLAINING THE SAME THING FOR THE FOURTH TIME TODAY WITHOUT GETTING SNIPPY:" I am quite sure we can add to McSweeney's list of "Classes My Top-Tier Law School Should Have Offered As Warnings About The Profession."
GLOAMING IS A GOOD WORD TOO: Via our frequent commenter Bill, here's an interesting piece by blogger Brendan Wolfe, whose blog is called "The Beiderbecke Affair" after the famous jazz musician (or perhaps an obscure television show?). It's a list of the songs he chose for the occasion of proposing to his beloved Molly (who said yes).
Wolfe has a gift for writing. I especially liked this passage about Thelonious Monk's lovely ballad “Crepuscule with Nellie”:
"I love his decision to use the otherwise obscure word crepuscule. It may mean “twilight,” but its consonants are too jagged and sharp for anything that’s, you know, just pretty. Baudelaire dug this sort of ambiguity, too, and he began his poem “Le Crépuscule du soir” with a reference to the “charming, friendly evening of the criminal” (or “Voici le soir charmant, ami du criminel”)."
Wolfe's list is not especially similar to the sort of songs I would choose in connection with a proposal, but I generally like what he has to say about them. I don't like "Bette Davis Eyes" as much as he does and I can't imagine anyone preferring the version of "You Were on my Mind" by Jay and the Americans over the nearly perfect original by Ian and Sylvia.
This may come as a shock to you, but I did not make a mix tape when I asked my wife to marry me (let's just say that I was WAY too spontaneous to think that far ahead). But I did send her a card with some flowers a few days after she said yes and included these lyrics by Jackson Browne in the card:
"Give up your heart and you lose your way
Trusting another to feel that way
Give up your heart and you find yourself
Living for something in somebody else"
Posted by BobE at 9:09 AM 0 comments
NOW WHEN I WAS A YOUNG BOY AT THE AGE OF FIVE, MY MOTHER SAID I WAS GONNA BE THE GREATEST MAN ALIVE: Tuesday night, Your American Idols will be singing selections from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's "500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll" list. It is a classic week for "go ahead, define yourself as an artist" selections. Here's some suggestions for what I'd like to hear:
David Cook: Big Bopper, "Chantilly Lace"; Rolling Stones, "Miss You"; any of the Robert Johnson or Muddy Waters songs listed, but especially "Mannish Boy".
Syesha Mercado: Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, "Tracks of My Tears"; Big Brother and the Holding Company, "Piece of My Heart"; ? and the Mysterians, "96 Tears"; the Replacements, "I Will Dare"; Little Richard, "Long Tall Sally".
Young David Archuleta: Would love to hear Metallica, "Enter Sandman"; Johnny Cash, "Folsom Prison Blues" or the Ramones, "Sheena Is A Punk Rocker"; the Kinks, "Lola"; the Wailers, "I Shot The Sheriff" (seriously, the list of inappropriate songs for YDA is endless); we will see him close his dead, dead eyes and sing Paul McCartney, "Maybe I'm Amazed"; Simon and Garfunkel "Bridge Over Troubled Water"; Marvin Gaye, "What's Going On" or the Penguins, "Earth Angel".
Clifford the Crunchy Muppet: The Beach Boys, "God Only Knows"; Madonna, "Like A Virgin" (ala the John Wesley Harding cover of "Like A Prayer"); Del Shannon, "Runaway"; Prince, "Little Red Corvette"; Toots & the Maytals, "Pressure Drop"; Joy Division, "Love Will Tear Us Apart"; Woody Guthrie, "This Land Is Your Land".
So: what should they sing, and what will they sing?
e.t.a. Sepinwall on this disappointing season: " The contestants look unhappy, the songs and song choices are poor, and things have gotten so dull that Paula Abdul's meltdowns - last week, she either was reading her notes from dress rehearsal or developed the ability to predict the future - are among the season's few highlights."
DROPPING THE GAY BOMB: Big thumbs up for Gossip Girl, which managed to balance the au courant (Vanessa Anne Hudgens and Elliot Spitzer jokes) with the meta (the whole bit with Eric being rumored to be Gossip Girl as a response to the internet notations) and rewarding forward momentum in the major plotlines both adult and teenage. Though anyone could have figured out the "big secret," even though the particular contours of the secret remain to be revealed.
I CARRIED A WATERMELON ALL THE WAY TO KOL NIDRE SERVICES: On Friday night, the family of Showtime channels (mine free for three months with my new cable installation!) offered a true abundance of riches as my own personal introduction to Showtime subscriberhood.
To wit: first, I got to watch my favorite movie from 4th grade -- The Jazz Singer. Complete with Laurence Olivier doing the Brooklyn cantor thing, Neil Diamond's hair and sparkly shirts doing whatever the hell they were doing back in 1980, and "America" being sung the non-dead, dead eyes way. Right from there, we shifted into Dirty Dancing, my favorite movie from the summer I turned 16. (Oh, how I loved this movie -- and still do, shhhhhh -- but I am quite sure that I've bored you all on this topic more than once.) From Jazz Singer to Dirty Dancing -- it was as though someone had programmed the Kim's Childhood Channel -- all that was missing was Grease 2 plopped in right between Jess Robbins and Frances Houseman. (Poor, poor Mr. Cosmo.)
What would the Showtime Your Youth Channel be airing this week?
IF LOVING YOU IS WRONG, I DON'T WANNA BE RIGHT: Mildred Loving, plaintiff in the landmark case of Loving v. Virginia, passed away yesterday. Loving (nee Jeter), a black woman, didn't know it was illegal when she married a white man, and her description of what she did -- "we loved each other and got married" -- was decidedly unheroic. Yet it was Loving who wrote to Bobby Kennedy that Virginia's anti-miscegenation law was wrong, and it was Loving's too-right-to-be-true name that topped the case that said, once and for all, that a marriage applicant's race is none of the state's business. Mildred's husband, Richard, died in 1975, but at least Mildred lived long enough to see the notion of opposition to interracial marriage disappear from both the law and all but the most stubborn corners of modern culture.
Hat tip: Russ.
SAVE THE MANATEES: Two tidbits of TV news from The Hollywood Reporter that are of interest:
A survey of the shows "On The Bubble," bringing the welcome news that pickups for Reaper and Boston Legal are "likely," and a fourth season of HIMYM is "considered a given." (Still in danger? Eli Stone, and I think the world needs more SpyDaddy singing.)
On a less exhilarating note--The highest paid showrunner in Hollywood? No, not David E. Kelley, the increasingly ubiquitous Greg Berlanti, or one of the folks from CSI, but rather Family Guy/American Dad overlord Seth MacFarlane--$100 million to lock up all the "remember that time when...." jokes you could ever want or need until 2012.
THE POWERS THAT BE THAT FORCE US TO LIVE LIKE WE DO: This weekend, the NYT sent a flotilla of reporters (though they didn't ask NBA players) to go out and review Red Lobster, the Cheesecake Factory and other casual dining chains in the region, and other than TGI Friday's they're mostly favorable. ("Naturally, we had the Bloomin’ Onion ($6.99), the chain’s signature appetizer. A softball-size onion is sliced into fingers, opening it up like a flower. This is dipped in a thick, spicy batter, deep-fried and served with a chili-rich rémoulade. No way around it, the thing was tasty. Oily, delicious and no doubt quite bad for you, but good.")
BETTER THAN KRAFT DINNER: If I had a million doll...
SPANISH INFANTAS TRIUMPHANT ONCE AGAIN: I'm not su...
BRILLIANT (?) BUT....: With upfronts for every non...
DR. SPACEMAN, WHEN THEY CHECK MY DNA, WILL THEY TE...
INSTRUCTIONS (PARTIAL): Walk left Stand right ...
PERHAPS I SHOULDN'T HAVE DONE THAT RAIN DANCE LAST...
GERONIMO JACKSON: Do you know what you need, Mr. ...
A DICHOTOMY: There are two kinds of people in the...
I AM A JELLY DONUT: In a little more than a week,...
UNLIKE CANDY IN "WALK ON THE WILD SIDE": Cincinnat...
SONG ABOUT A SUNBEAM, SONG ABOUT A GIRL: There wa...
WRITTEN, PRODUCED, AND DIRECTED BY MAX BIALYSTOCK:...
I'M JUST A NORMAL PERSON. I PUT MY PANTS ON TWO L...
A GLASS-HALF-FULL KIND OF GUY: Now, I'm not a law...
BECAUSE, YES, PRETTY GIRLS ARE FUNGIBLE: So, pla...
YOU'RE ALL WASTED: I'm sorry for posting over the...
HEAVY BOOTS OF LEAD, FILLS HIS VICTIMS FULL OF DRE...
9 IP 1 H 0 R 0 ER 0 BB 20 K: Ten years ago today,...
IN THE JINGLE JANGLE MORNING I'LL COME FOLLOWING Y...
THERE'D BETTER BE MORE THAN A FREE ALLEN WRENCH: T...
YES FISH EATERS, THE DAYS OF TROUBLESOME SCALING, ...
I SUGGEST "EXPLAINING THE SAME THING FOR THE FOURT...
GLOAMING IS A GOOD WORD TOO: Via our frequent com...
NOW WHEN I WAS A YOUNG BOY AT THE AGE OF FIVE, MY ...
DROPPING THE GAY BOMB: Big thumbs up for Gossip G...
I CARRIED A WATERMELON ALL THE WAY TO KOL NIDRE SE...
IF LOVING YOU IS WRONG, I DON'T WANNA BE RIGHT: M...
SAVE THE MANATEES: Two tidbits of TV news from Th...
THE POWERS THAT BE THAT FORCE US TO LIVE LIKE WE D...
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This really isn't complicated.
Spider-Man is a hero who fights baddies. He can carry on having adventures as long as the writers can think up baddies for him to fight. You might think that no-one ever wrote and drew Spider-Man as well as Ditko and Lee did (and frankly, if you don't think that, then I don't want to be your friend any more) but the idea of "Spider-Man stories by people other than Ditko and Lee" isn't intrinsically silly.
Similarly, once one person has had the idea of a sophisticated English assassin who hates Russians and likes martinis, it isn't intrinsically silly for a second person to invent new adventures for him. It may be intrinsically stupid to suppose that he can continue to exist into the 21st century without getting any older, or suddenly turn into a black man, but that's not the question I'm worrying about at the moment.
And a clever modern detective story writer might conceivably be able to think up decent new mysteries for Sherlock Holmes to solve, although it isn't quite clear why they would want to. If you've got an idea for a mystery that's worth solving, why not let your own detective solve it?
Going back to comics, were I in a magnanimous mood, I might concede that there have been one or two episodes of the Fantastic Four since 1970 which haven't been a complete waste of space. Before everyone jumps up and down shouting "John Byrne, John Byrne", I will note that Mr. Byrne's cleverness was in being as close to Mr. Kirby and Mr. Lee as it is physically possible to be, making his comics arguably pastiches and arguably redundant, even if they are quite enjoyable redundant pastiches. But surely it was Jack Kirby's uniquely deranged concepts, embellished by Stan lee's uniquely overdone writing, that made the Fantastic Four the Fantastic Four and once you take away Mr Kirby's stories and pictures and Mr Lee's dialogue, what you are left with is four not particularly interesting adventures.
But things like The New Gods (I'm looking at YOU Jim Starlin even though my fourteen year old self thought Warlock was profound) and The Eternals (you should be ashamed of yourself, Neil Gaiman, ashamed) derive all of their interest from being "a slice of what it feels like to be Jack Kirby in graphic form". Nothing that has been done with those characters by people other than Jack has had anything to do with the source material, and very little of it has had any merit on its own terms. (I believe that people who know about these things think that Darksied was once well-used as a villain in the Legion of Superheroes.)
But if you wanted to come up with the clearest possible example of a work of fiction whose whole interest comes from the original writer's cock-eyed way of looking at the world; whose whole interest is in being "the universe as seen through the eyes of..." then it would be The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. (If you wanted to come up with the second clearest possible example, it would be The Prisoner.) I am not saying that a story by A.N Other writer in which there happen to be characters called Ford, Arthur and Zaphod would be a travesty, or the equivalent of weeing on Douglas Adams grave or that they would somehow damage the original books.
The original books - and more importantly, the original 3-7 hours of radio footage - exist, and will always exist, as a snapshot of what 1970s earth looked like through the eyes of a particularly clever and silly man.
But still. A non-Adamsian sequel to Hitchhiker is a preposterously stupid idea.
Don't do it, guys. You'll regret it in the morning.
Labels: BOOKS., COMIC BOOKS, Comics
Andrew Hickey said...
They're not, are they? Dear God...
(BTW, some of Grant Morrison's work with the Fourth World characters has a lot of the feel of the original stuff, precisely because he does the *opposite* of what Starlin or Byrne would have done and is completely irreverent towards the source material).
Wait, Arthur's dead. I remember reading that in the last (not very good) book Adams wrote in the series.
It's also impossible to imagine anyone doing anything with The Prisoner which was worth watching (or reading or anything else). However, I would include Patrick McGoohan.
Andrew H: they are. Eoin Colfer is taking the reins. Personally I'd rather read another Arty adventure.
Andrew S: Arthur may be dead but then Earth was quite definitely destroyed, which presented no real obstacle to subsequent Earth-based adventures.
The Simpsons had a fair stab at the Prisoner. Don't see it working with anyone else.
Site Owner said...
Well except that, Thomas M Disch wrote a good Prisoner novel, and so did Jon Blum (co-wrote). Two other lesser writers wrote two bad pastiches, but the issue wasn't that they shouldn't have tried to write a new Prisoner book/series but that they should have been better writers. The only issue is *can* someone write as well as Douglas Adams. If not, not doing so is its own punishment. Oh, and John Byrne's FF was great.
Simon BJ
Tuesday, 30 September, 2008
What I was trying to say -- doubtless not very clearly -- was this:
The "Prisoner" is Patrick McGoohan. Whatever merit it has (and I am by no means its biggest fan) comes from Patrick McGoohan saying stuff that he believed about the 1960s. Take that away and you are left with some bicycles, some blazers, some Cornish architecture and some catch phrases. Yes, certainly, if you brief a good writer to writer "A novel based on 'The Prisoner' " there's a chance that he'll come up with a decent piece of work. But what on earth is the point? Hell, J*A*C*K K*I*R*B*Y started to do a comic book adaptation of "The Prisoner". (He also ripped it off for an episode of the "Fantastic Four", at the stage when he and Stan had stopped talking to each other.) But you can bet that it would be a Jack Kirby story, not a "Prisoner" story. I'm rather a big fan of the shortly lived Kirby "2001: A Space Odyssey" comic book, actually. Because I love it when Jack gets to just free associate and be cosmic and wierd. Point of connection to Arthur C Clarke? Nil.
It isn't a question of finding someone who can write "as well" as Douglas Adams. I can easily think of a dozen people who can write as "well" or "better" than him. (Salman Rushdie. Martin Amis. Simon Hoggart. Terry Pratchett.) The question is whether you can find someone who can write Douglas Adams material as well as Douglas Adams, to which the answer is "No, of course you can't, because what makes a writer's "style" isn't a few verbal mannerisms, but everything he has learned about the world, and about language, in his whole life, and no-one in the world has led the same life as him, which is why it's writing and not just typing." Yes: quite possibly the person who gets the licence will come up with an amusing little book. And their amusing little book will sell oodles of copies by virtue of having "official" stamped on it by Adams survivors, but it will not have anything whatsoever to do with "Hitchiker" so I can't see the point.
John Byrne did a very good nostalgic re-creation of Lee and Kirby, yes. I said so. My question is whether there is any point in this kind of affectionate forgery when the original is freely available.
Phil Masters said...
Italianate architecture. Transplanted to North Wales.
(Sorry.)
Do you realise that means I've spent 20 years believing Portmerion is in Cornwall, when it's really in Wales? What did I have it confused with, I wonder. (St. Ives?)
It's worse than that. Believing Portmeirion was in Cornwall is a mistake anyone can make. Believing Portmeirion represents Cornish architecture is baffling. And, of course, you didn't mention weather balloons.
I happen to love The Prisoner, but McGoohan pretty much finished it. What's the point of doing more fiction set there when there's nothing left to say? I haven't read the Disch or Blum novels, but there's nothing interesting they can say which ought to be told in The Prisoner format. The new TV show in development hell sounds like a similarly bad idea. For one thing, The Prisoner has dated very well, thanks to its high production values at the time. And if you're going to "reimagine" The Prisoner, why not just write your own show?
culfy said...
Is it really that bad for some other than Adams to write a Hitchiker's work. After all a precedent has already been set with the movie, which Adams died before being able to complete the screenplay. Therefore, we already have an example, with the Hitchikers Movie, of someone trying to write in the Adams' style......oh hang on, I see what you mean now.
NickPheas said...
I always rather assumed that the stage play, records, novels, TV series, films etc were fanfic anyhow. Admittedly, often by a very qualified fan, but not really canonical.
I think the extension of the word "fan-fic" to mean "any work I personally dislike" could eventually be a source of conflict.
The stage play, and I'm one of only about 16 people who saw it, was pretty much the text of the first radio series done as 3 hours of theatre, but (if I remember correctly, and why, at a distance of thirty years, wouldn't I) with the "Disaster Area" material substituted for the Hagamemnons.
with the "Disaster Area" material substituted for the Hagamemnons.
Which was the routine for the records, novels and tv programmes.
For the very good reason that the Hagamemnons were not written by Douglas Adams but by John Lloyd.
Is that right? Didn't know that. I've always thought "Do for Darwin what a fleet of Acturan stunt apples would have done for Newton" is a wonderful line. (Raising the question of why the Guide has heard of Darwin and Newton, of course.)
According to 'Wish You Were Here" by Nick Webb, Douglas Adams had reached a stage where he was writing not only Hitchikers but also Doctor Who and desperately needed a collaborator so he turned to his room-mate John Lloyd "at least one long Narrator's speech in episode six was entirely down to John, who also dreamed up the Haggunenons".
I thought that there were more than 16 people in the theatre the night I saw the stage play.
Though admittedly I didn't see all of it,due to having to catch the last train and the play lasting longer than scheduled, due to Ken Campbell deciding to insert some deeply boring second-rate rock music at one point for no apparent reason.
Isn't at least part of the stupidity of this idea the fact that Hitch Hiker is primarily a comedy? Science Fiction writers pick up each others' concepts and even terms all the time, without anyone worrying about it too much.
But comedy's about somebody presenting you with their quirky, quite individualisd view of how everything is.
The argument could be made that a lot of american comedy is somebody's quirky individualised view of how everything is transcribed through the medium of other writes (The Simpsons is Matt Groenings view done by other writers, 'Seinfeld' is Larry David's view done by other writers, 'The Office - An American Workplace' is Ricky Gervais's view done by other writers in an American context).
But then the argument is that Douglas Adam's view is so individualised that no other writer could pick up - a few people could come up with the idea of using a fish as a translation device, only Douglas could examine the philosophical implications of this enough to show that should a device would ultimately prove the non-existence of god.
Well at least your first example would indeed be a very good counter-argument to what I said. Of course The Simpsons still maintains the appearance of individuality. As has often been observed, those dayglo orange concoctions feel a lot more real than most flesh-and-blood characters. You laugh at something Homer says not just because it’s so funny, but because it’s so Homer. (You can see that tailing off in the later, less focused series.) How you can do that by committee I’ve really no idea.
Of course translation devices have always been a staple of SF, and they normally translate between writers fairly liberally. As they’re just a handy get-around to propel the story, you don’t really notice who thought them up first. I doubt I’ll ever get used to the fish in the year, even if a translation website’s now named after it.
I also suspect Hitch Hiker was at its best when it was structured like a comedy routine rather than a plot, free-associating more and more strange encounters and kooky concepts. You follow it to see what Adams will come up with next, not whether Arthur will ever get off with Trillian or return to Earth. In the later episodes even written by Adams, he returned much more to earlier themes and things were generally the poorer for it...
I imagine that the difference between The Simpsons and Hitchikers is that the former depends upon the interplay between the characters and the density of jokes and cultural references. You can easily imagine Matt Groening saying to his team 'Homer's stupid, Bart's rebellious, Lisa's smart go away and write some storylines on that basis and add a load of film references". Whereas I doubt any other writer could come up with a phrase such as 'The ships hung in the sky in much the same way as bricks don't" or 'The art of flying is the art of throwing yourself at the ground and missing" (I quote from memory)
I also suspect Hitch Hiker was at its best when it was structured like a comedy routine rather than a plot, free-associating more and more strange encounters and kooky concepts. You follow it to see what Adams will come up with next, not whether Arthur will ever get off with Trillian or return to Earth
Indeed. My whole problem with the film of Hitchikers was that it did indeed assume that the point of the story was to care whether or not Arthur and Trillian got together.
You can easily imagine Matt Groening saying to his team 'Homer's stupid, Bart's rebellious, Lisa's smart go away and write some storylines on that basis and add a load of film references".
Well, I’d argue there was much more of a richness to the characters than easy stereotypes. I like the way, for example, Homer is full aware how stupid he is but still able to talk himself into his next hairbrained theme. Or the way Lisa snaps back into being an 8 yr old girl when you least expect it. That’s the stuff I can’t imagine being done by committee, though (as you rightly point out) it is!
My whole problem with the film of Hitchikers was that it did indeed assume that the point of the story was to care whether or not Arthur and Trillian got together.
I never bothered to see the film. But even in the later Adams stories you get, for example, the return of the girl who dreams up a way we can all live together in peace and harmony with no-one nailed to anything. First time round, it’s a great gag. But what we want is another gag just as good, not the convoluted in-joke of her returning.
Indeed. I never intended to suggest that the characterisation on the Simpsons was two dimensional, merely that it is easy to imagine the basic characters being laid out for other writers to run with. It may even be that the characteristics you suggest (Lisa resorting to being a seven year old) were developed by another writer and fed back into the overall series bible with the approval of Matt Groening.
True. A bowl of petunias thinking 'Oh no not again" as it falls to its doom is a funny joke. I think the joke is lessened when a convoluted explanation as to why this happened is created. But then Douglas Adams isn't the first writer to fall into the trap of trying to retroactively explain and justify elements of his own creation rather than trying to develop new creations.
I couldn't agree with these comments more!
(Those who log onto the net hoping for a punch-up are not entitled to a refund.)
"I couldn't agree with these comments more!
(Those who log onto the net hoping for a punch-up are not entitled to a refund.)"
Where I come from, them's fighting words.
Phew! That's a relief.
Perhaps we could talk about the German influence on American Matt Groening's humor. His father Homer Groening, grew up in a Mennonite Plattdeutsch-speaking humor. It could easily be the German influence which makes Americans better at humor-by-committee.
That should have been family, not humor in the second sentence.
As the English are forever insisting that the Simpsons is honorary British and that the Germans have no sense of humour, this appeals to my sense of mischief.
Whether there's anything to it is another matter!
As the English are forever insisting that the Simpsons is honorary British
Really? I haven't heard this before. Is this a sort of 'no true scotsman" "The Americans don't understand irony or subtlety" "What about The Simpsons?" "That's not American, it's honorary British"
It's more implicit than explicit. But yes, as you describe...
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Leonard Licina appointed CEO of Legacy of Life Hawai‘i
Leadership /
Leonard Licina, CFP, MBA, FHFMA - Legacy of Life Hawaii President and CEO
Honolulu, March 25, 2019 – Legacy of Life Hawai‘i has appointed Leonard Licina as its new president and chief executive officer.
Licina brings with him more than 37 years of service in the healthcare industry. Most recently, he served as chief executive officer for Sutter Health Pacific dba Kahi Mohala Hospital for 11 years, after joining Kahi Mohali as its chief financial officer in 1995. Prior to that, he served as chief operating officer at the Mana Institute and controller for the Rehabilitation Hospital of the Pacific.
“We are delighted to have Leonard on board as CEO,” said Julie Meier, Legacy of Life Hawai‘i Board Chair. “He brings with him nearly 40 years of service in the healthcare industry and a track record of strong leadership and community involvement.”
Licina holds a master of business administration degree from Chaminade University and a bachelor of science degree in business administration from the University of Hawaii. He has served on the boards of Hawaii Health Information Exchange, the Healthcare Association of Hawaii, the Hawaii State Health Planning & Development Agency and the American Hospital Association. In 2008, Licina was awarded the Founders Medal of Honor by the Hawai‘i chapter of the Healthcare Financial Management Association.
About Legacy of Life Hawai’i
Legacy of Life Hawai’i is a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization and the only organization in Hawai'i federally designated to recover organs and tissue for transplant. Legacy of Life Hawai`i works closely with our island hospitals to cultivate an understanding in our diverse communities that life is worth giving.
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A self-management official warns of worsening humanitarian conditions in the "Holl" camp
Published on Tuesday, 09 July 2019 08:59 | |
Adar Press
Birevan Khaled, co-chair of the Executive Council of North and East Syria's self-administration, warned of the worsening of human suffering inside the Hull camp, "Al Ain" news website reported.
International humanitarian organizations, led by the Red Cross, have warned of the need to return women and children to the country. The warnings came after a stabbing incident against a member of the security forces in the "Holl" camp in northern Syria.
On Wednesday, "al-Holl" camp witnessed a stabbing incident by a foreign wife of a member of the security forces responsible for securing the place, which led to an increase in the security alert and a curfew on the perimeter of the camp.
She explained to the "Al Ain News" that the number of refugees in the camp south of the south-east Hasaka exceeded 73 thousand refugees, including 8 thousand children and 4 thousand women.
And the danger of the families of ISIS inside the camp, confirmed that it lies in their ideas, especially as there are large numbers of families of the terrorist organization have full faith in all the extremist ideas founded founded on them.
She pointed to the importance of holding seminars and dialogues within the Syrian society to protect children and youth from the spread of violence and extremism, and try to remove these ideas among the families of ISIS.
The Executive Chairman of the Executive Council of North and East Syria's Self-Governing Council noted that human suffering is worsening within the camp because its capacity is beyond the scope of their work, and the role of international humanitarian organizations in supporting camp refugees is lacking.
And revealed that "the camp suffers from a lack of food resources and medicines, especially with the increasing numbers and the accession of families ISIS after the siege of the organization in the recent battles in the Syrian north."
The "Holl" camp was established in the 1990s by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) following the outbreak of the second Gulf War between Iraq and Kuwait. During this period, the camp included some 15,000 refugees from Iraq and Palestine.
After the emergence of the ISIS organization in Iraq and Syria between June and August 2014, the importance of the "holl" returned, and thousands of Syrian and Iraqi families fled the war.
With the organization's control over the town of "Holl" in the Syrian city of Hasakah, the camp turned into a shelter for elements of the terrorist organization. The "holl" was once again under the control of Syria's democratic forces following the liberation of the city in November 2015.
Translation: Adar Press.
AdarPress © 2014
info@adarpress.net
A direct-dial phone: 00905382004298
Design and the host server to the
Emitis Group
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The representative office of the Dutch humanitarian organization AIDS Foundation East-West in the Republic of Tajikistan (AFEW) began its work in the country on April 17, 2003. A few months later - on September 5, 2003, the Office received official status in the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Tajikistan.
Since then, the Organization, in cooperation with state, public and international organizations, has implemented 29 preventive projects aimed at preventing the spread of socially significant infectious diseases, promoting healthy lifestyles and protecting human health.
In April 2013, the top management of AFEW made a decision to restructure the entire organization, as a result of which the Republican public organization “AFEW-Tajikistan” was established on the basis of the Representative Office of the Dutch humanitarian organization AIDS Foundation East-West. Such a restructuring has allowed the Organization to be closer to the “ground”, to use available material and intellectual resources more flexibly, to optimize the processes of finding and receiving funding for charitable purposes and to more effectively apply successfully established practices.
On February 5, 2019, the General Assembly of the founders of the "AFEW-Tajikistan", taking into account the desire of the Organization to expand the scope and areas of its activities, unanimously decided to change the Charter and the name of the Organization. On June 13, 2019, this decision was approved by the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Tajikistan. Now the Organization has received a new name: the Republican Public Organization "Afif". Being the legal successor of the “AFEW-Tajikistan”, the RPO “Afif”, the main mission, sees work to improve human health and well-being through the implementation of medical-psychological, social, educational, advocacy-legal, research, sports and health, environmental and environmental activities.
The organization seeks to achieve its goals by participating in the implementation of national strategies of the Republic of Tajikistan to improve the quality of life, protect public health and social protection, protect the environment and environmental safety, inform and educate the population, ensure the rights of people affected by HIV, TB, viral hepatitis, expanding their access to health services.
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> Apprenticeships > Bristol's engineering stars on course for MoD apprenticeships
Bristol’s engineering stars on course for MoD apprenticeships
03 Mar 16 | Author Allie Anderson | Apprenticeships Government & Policy
Apprentice Ryan Gaiger
The Ministry of Defence is calling for would-be candidates to sign up for a range of advanced- and degree-level apprenticeships.
The apprenticeships will be run in partnership with Bridgwater College and will be based at the MoD’s Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S) base in Filton, Bristol.
Applications are invited from youngsters with diverse backgrounds and interests, including project management, engineering, information technology, finance, procurement and logistics.
Phil Rotherham, senior apprentice development Manager DE&S, met engineering students at the College to showcase the range of apprenticeships on offer. He said: “It’s great to have the opportunity to highlight the career potential within the DE&S.”
Paul Goss, head of engineering at Bridgwater College, added: “Apprenticeships are crucial for DE&S in order to meet the future demands and challenges placed upon them.
“They currently offer a number of top-class apprenticeship opportunities to future engineers. Our students were left inspired by Phil’s talk and are now in the process of completing applications for the current apprentice vacancies.”
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Neal Scholarship to Benefit Top African American Students
JONESBORO – A recent endowment scholarship fund has been instituted at Arkansas State University to benefit African American students majoring in fields of education, agriculture and/or STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics).
The Anderson Neal Jr. and Marietha Goodwin Neal Endowment Scholarship was established through the generosity of Anderson Neal Jr. of Texarkana, Ark. Applications will be reviewed and final selection made by the scholarship committee of the Strong-Turner Chapter of Arkansas State Alumni Association.
Herman Strickland Jr., president of the Strong-Turner Chapter, announced the new scholarship endowment during the Black Alumni Reunion, conducted April 20-21 on campus.
Anderson, a native of Augusta, and his late wife, Marietha, from Brinkley, met while they were in school at Arkansas State.
“I am creating this scholarship to assist students with their education because of the opportunity our education at Arkansas State provided us,” Neal commented. “When I arrived at Arkansas State, I lived in public housing. When I left Arkansas State, I lived in public housing until a late sibling and myself were able to assist our parents purchase their own home. Because of the education we received here, we were able to enjoy some success in life.” Anderson stated he wants to assist others to pursue and reach their goals and objectives in life.
The couple was married for 37 years until Marietha’s untimely death in 2016. She was a teacher for 38 years, and Anderson worked for the U.S. Department of Agriculture for 37 ½ years. He also served in the Arkansas Air National Guard for 31 years, attaining the rank of lieutenant colonel. Both Anderson and Marietha have family members who received their education from Arkansas State University.
“We are very appreciative for Mr. Neal’s generosity and his investment in our students,” commented David McClain, executive director of development.
For additional information on scholarship endowments and other methods for assisting deserving Arkansas State students, contact the Office of Development at the Cooper Alumni Center, 2600 Alumni Blvd., or call (870) 972-3940.
Marietha and Anderson Neal
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The CG Argument
August 7, 2015 Bailey Kalesti
Over the past few years, I've heard a lot of criticism of computer generated visual effects in movies. Some people talk about how practical effects are better than modern movie magic techniques. And, overall, there seems to be a lot of nostalgia for a time when props were the thing. But this insistent love for practical effects is often misguided. Pretty much every movie has computer generated imagery in it nowadays. And when visual effects artists are doing their jobs well, no one even knows it was made digitally. On top of that, tools continue to advance, and people continue to get better at their craft. This means that at the top level it's getting harder and harder to spot what's practical and what's not.
So, for years I've been frustrated whenever someone confidently tells me how CG effects are worse than practical effects. It's such a broad and dismissive statement that, as a digital artist, I've felt the need to educate them on the facts and calmly explain that computer generated images in of themselves aren't bad. Digital tools are just tools, and it's up to the artist to deliver something good. However, my words don't always properly convey what I want to say.
But the fine folks over at RocketJump Film School have just released a new video that breaks down this argument. And they do it beautifully:
"Are computer generated visual effects really ruining movies? We believe that the reason we think all CG looks bad, is because we only see "bad" CG. Fantastic, beautiful, and wonderfully executed CG is everywhere - you just don't know it. Truly great visual effects serve story and character - and in doing so are, by their very definition, invisible."
Thanks again to Freddie and company for entertaining and educating. I've been a big fan of their work for many, many years. Check out their work if you haven't already.
In Art Philosophies Tags cg
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Home›Features›"Know Better, Do Better" Addresses the Realities of Campus Racism
Photo Courtesy of Lawrence Ross / Facebook
"Know Better, Do Better" Addresses the Realities of Campus Racism
Features, On Campus
by Audrey Morris
“We hope that this message didn’t offend you. We’re very sorry, and we promise we won’t do it again.” According to Lawrence Ross, renowned lecturer and bestselling author, statements like this one often follow racist incidents on college campuses, but they do not actually confront the problem of racism.
On Wednesday, March 14, Ross spoke to a room full of students in a lecture he titled “Know Better, Do Better: Campus, Racism, and You.” The event, hosted by the Undergraduate Government of Boston College's AHANA+ Leadership Council, addressed the prevalence of racism on campus and called students, faculty, and administrators to action.
Early on in his lecture, Ross laid out what he considers the founding principles of the United States: freedom, democracy, free-market capitalism, and white supremacy. He added, “One of the lies that we tell in history class is that slavery is America’s original sin. That’s not true. America’s first sin is white supremacy.”
What is white supremacy exactly? According to Ross, “It is a pseudo-science, a philosophy that is designed to allow Europeans to exploit non-Europeans by stripping non-Europeans of their humanity.” White supremacy is so integrated into society that, to many people, it often becomes invisible. If we don’t feel the effects of it directly, we don’t have to think about it. And if we don’t have to think about it, we can pretend it’s not there. But white supremacy touches all of us, even if we don’t recognize it.
It is white supremacy that results in systemic and individual racism, both on and off of college campuses. Campus racism, Ross stated, can be broken down into four areas: legacy of segregation and anti-affirmative action, campus symbolism, fraternities/sororities, and racial micro-aggressions. Despite the harm in all of areas, they are repeatedly trivialized by those looking to justify inequality.
Almost 90 percent of college and university presidents believe that race relations on their campuses are “good” or “excellent,” according to a survey by Inside Higher Education in 2016. How is this the case when we repeatedly witness students using racial slurs or insinuating that students of color don’t belong on campus? Ross shows that there is a huge disconnect between what is happening on college campuses and what administrators see.
Racism on campus is often used to maintain a sense of dominance, after deciding, “who has the natural right to be human, and who we are okay denigrating.” Campus racism is not new, since colleges and universities have practiced diversity without inclusion for years. Ross pointed out the classic image of a diverse group of students constantly represented on college brochures, but he questioned why these students were not being equally valued in day to day life on campus.
“Campus racism is not a benign issue. Campus racism makes people drop out of school. Campus racism makes people think that their school doesn’t have their back. Campus racism makes people think, ‘Why am I coming here?’”
How can students confronted with these racist incidents—those at University of South Carolina, University of Southern California, University of Hartford, Oklahoma State, Drake University, Texas A&M, Kansas State, and right here at Boston College, to name a few—take action?
Ross explained that eliminating racism on BC’s campus requires everyone to be invested in making a change. He added that racists do racist things, while non-racists, which Ross considers the most dangerous, watch racists do racist things and then rationalize them. With this is mind, Ross challenged his audience to be anti-racist by standing up and speaking up, humbling yourself and having empathy, and not being afraid to be considered stupid while working for justice.
Campus activism is a continuous fight. To make a real change, Ross suggests, “You have to make people see you.”
TagsAHANA Leadership CouncilALCaudrey morriscampus racismknow better do betterlawrence rossracismUGBC
UGBC Presents: What I Be
Features, Spotlight
'What is AHANA?': Conversations About Race Relations on Campus
BC News, News, Spotlight
Resources for LGBTQ Students: Where BC Currently Stands
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Siege of Petersburg Resources > Military Order of the Loyal… > Massachusetts > MOLLUS MA V1: Fourteen Months’…
Previous Post in this Category
MOLLUS MA V1: Fourteen Months’ Service with Colored Troops by Solon A. Carter
Editor’s Note: Some of this article covers topics just prior to the Siege of Petersburg. In this case, I’ve left the early part of the article because it is covers the Bermuda Hundred Campaign and is relevant to what the 3rd Division, 18th Corps did later at Petersburg. Solon A. Carter was the Ating Assitant Adjutant General of the 3rd (Colored) Division, 18th Corps, Army of the James during its time at Petersburg.
Fourteen Months’ Service with Colored Troops.1
BREVET-LIEUTENANT COLONEL SOLON A. CARTER, U.S.V.
The object of the present paper is to tell in simple language, without exaggeration or embellishment, the story of what the Colored Division of the Eighteenth Corps did, and how they did it, throwing here and there a side light upon previous descriptions of their deeds of valor and heroism. That the lights are of such exceedingly limited power must be attributed to the fault of the instrument, rather than lack of loyalty to the memory of the gallant officers and brave men, living and dead, whose acts are commemorated.
Late in the month of April, 1864, Brigadier General Edward W. Hincks, at that time in command of the camp for rebel prisoners at Point Lookout, Maryland, was summoned to Fortress Monroe by Major General Benjamin F. Butler, commanding the Department of Virginia and North Carolina, for consultation with reference to the campaign soon to be inaugurated. As the result of this interview, General Hincks returned to Point Lookout, and made arrangements for the transfer of his command to other hands. Within forty-eight hours of the receipt of his verbal instructions from General Butler, he established head quarters at Camp Hamilton, near Fortress Monroe, and upon the same day that his formal instructions were received from department head quarters, issued the following order:
“Head Quarters Of Division At Camp Hamilton, Va.
General Order, No. I. April 22nd, 1864.
In compliance with Par. X. S. O. No. 123, dated Head Quarters Department of Va. and N. C. April 22nd, 1864, the undersigned hereby assumes command of all troops at Camp Hamilton, Va. The following Division Staff Officers are announced, and will be obeyed and respected accordingly:
Capt. Solon A. Carter, 14th N. H. Vols., Act’g Ass’t Adj’t Gen.
Capt. John E. White, 99th N. Y. Vols., A. A. D. C.
Capt. Thos. L. Livermore, 5th N. H. Vols., A. A. D. C. & A. A. Q. M.
2nd Lieut. Robert N. Verplanck, 6th U. S. Col. Troops, A. A. D. C.
(signed) Edw. W. Hincks,
Brig. Gen. U. S. Vols.
Official,
(signed) Solon A. Carter,
Capt. and Act’g Ass’t Adj’t Genl.”
The troops composing the new command consisted of,
Battery B, 2nd U. S. Colored Light Artillery, Captain F. C. Choate.
1st U. S. Colored Cavalry, Colonel Jeptha Garrard.
2nd U. S. Colored Cavalry, Colonel George W. Cole.
The three foregoing organizations had been recruited at Camp Hamilton during the late autumn of 1863, and the winter of 1863-4.
1st Regiment U. S. Colored Troops, Colonel John H. Holman; (organized in the District of Columbia.)
4th Regiment U. S. Colored Troops, Colonel Samuel A. Duncan; (organized at Baltimore.)
5th Regiment U. S. Colored Troops, Colonel Conine, subsequently Colonel G. W. Shurtleff; (organized at Camp Delaware, Ohio.)
6th Regiment U. S. Colored Troops, Colonel John W. Ames; (organized at Camp William Penn, Philadelphia.)
10th Regiment U. S. Colored Troops, Colonel Stafford, subsequently Colonel Elias Wright; (organized in Virginia.)
22nd Regiment U. S. Colored Troops, Colonel Joseph B. Kiddoo; (organized at Philadelphia.)
37th Regiment U. S. Colored Troops, Lieutenant Colonel A. G. Chamberlain, subsequenly Colonel Nathan Goff; (organized at Norfolk, Va.)
The 36th Regiment U. S. Colored Troops, Colonel Alonzo G. Draper, which was organized at Portsmouth, Va., was at that time on duty at Point Lookout, Md., but joined the division during the summer.
The 1st U. S. Colored Cavalry was not recognized as a part of the division after breaking camp at Camp Hamilton, never thereafter reporting to division head quarters; but the 2nd U. S. Colored Cavalry was at intervals attached to the division, participating with it in some of its most important engagements, and furnishing a goodly number of capable officers for staff duty, not only to the division to which it was attached, but to other commands.
The organization of the division was further perfected by the formation of two brigades, the 1st, 10th, 22nd and 37th Regiments constituting the First Brigade, under the command of Brigadier General E[dward]. A. Wild. The Second Brigade consisted of the 4th, 5th and 6th Regiments, under the command of Colonel Samuel A. Duncan.
The short time intervening between the organization of the command and its departure from Camp Hamilton to become a part of the Army of the James, was spent in drill, in which most of the regiments were exceptionally proficient; and in supplying it with the necessary clothing, ammunition and equipment for active service in the field.
A feature of the formation of one of the regiments of the command (the 4th, Colonel Duncan), is perhaps worthy of mention, not in disparagement of any other, but because it was unique and had several advantages to recommend it. The usual formation of an infantry regiment was by placing the tallest man in each company on the right, giving the regiment, when in line, a somewhat jagged appearance. Colonel Duncan being given a thousand men, placed the tallest in the color company, tapering gradually to the wings. By this arrangement, his command when in line, especially when viewed from the front, gave the spectator the impression that the men were above the average height.
This formation greatly simplified the work of the captains in making requisitions for clothing.
ASCENT OF THE JAMES.
The hour was at hand for the general forward movement of all the armies of the Union, in accordance with a comprehensive plan.
The grand old battle-scarred Army of the Potomac was soon to grapple again with its old-time antagonist, and once more the battle should be joined, was never to loose its grip until victory, complete and decisive, should crown its efforts.
The Army of the James, consisting of the Eighteenth and Tenth Army Corps, under the command of Generals William F. Smith and Quincy A. Gillmore, had been concentrated at Yorktown, Gloucester Point, and Norfolk (with the exception of the Third Division of the Eighteenth Corps, which was at Camp Hamilton) ready to embark on transports when the movement of the Army of the Potomac should be announced. The Rapidan was crossed May 4th, and on the evening of that day the Army of the James embarked upon transports and dropped anchor in Hampton Roads.
At the dawn of the 5th of May, a motley fleet of upwards of one hundred and fifty vessels of all classes, but of sufficient capacity to transport an army of more than thirty thousand men, with their ammunition, camp equipage, commissary stores, artillery and horses, at a given signal weighed anchor, and convoyed by the naval fleet, bore away for the mouth of the James.
The little fleet of the Naval Brigade of the Army of the James, under command of Brigadier-General Charles K. Graham, had preceded the movement, destroying the enemy’s signal stations.
The transport fleet as far as practicable was grouped in brigade and division formation, but such formation was not wholly maintained, owing to the varying speed of the vessels.
It was an inspiring sight, and never to be forgotten by one who was privileged to witness it, and consider himself a unit in the magnificent pageant.
The sky was clear, the air balmy, and the banks of the stream were clothed with the luxuriant verdure of the rapidly advancing season. As each bend in the river disclosed a new vista, surpassing the former in beauty, the beholders forgot for the moment the scenes of carnage to which they were surely moving forward.
It was surprising that the onward movement of the fleet was not obstructed, as there were several points upon the river banks where artillery would have seriously delayed its progress.
Evidently the enemy had been taken by surprise; the audacity of the movement was our greatest security.
What of the Third Division? They occupied a peculiar position. For the first time, in Virginia at least, they were to be put to the supreme test. At Port Hudson and Wagner, indeed, they had given proof of their capacity, and their deeds had been published to the country, but there was an unmistakable feeling of distrust in the minds of many, soldiers and civilians as well, and a fear amounting to conviction, that they would flinch in an emergency.
These sentiments were not shared by the officers in immediate command of the colored troops, and they waited with impatience for an opportunity of demonstrating their steadiness and courage.
Forty miles above the mouth of the river, and nearly twenty miles below City Point, at Wilson’s Wharf, afterwards known as Fort Pocahontas, the first detachment was landed, consisting of the 1st, 22nd, and 37th Regiments, U. S. Colored Troops, and Captain Choate’s battery. General Wild was in command. Intrenchments were thrown up, and preparations made for a vigorous defence of the position, which commanded the river at that point.
Seven miles above, at Fort Powhattan, the remaining regiment of General Wild’s brigade (the 10th) was landed, and a few days later, as the importance of the position became apparent, the 22nd Regiment was transferred from Wilson’s Wharf to Powhattan, Colonel Kiddoo assuming command of the post.
At four o’clock in the afternoon, on May 5th, the little steamer upon which were General Hincks and staff and a small provost guard, made fast to the partially destroyed wharf at City Point, encountering no opposition from a detachment of the 8th North Carolina Confederate regiment stationed there.
Head quarters were quickly transferred from the steamer to to [sic] Dr. Eppes’ cottage, on the bluff (subsequently occupied by General Grant as army head quarters from the middle of June until the surrender of Lee’s army).
Colonel Duncan’s brigade was quickly landed, and dispositions made to intrench and hold the position so easily acquired.
A few days later the 4th and 6th Regiments of Duncan’s brigade moved out six or seven miles towards Petersburg, and constructed a strong redoubt at Spring Hill, on the right bank of the Appomattox, a position which, if controlled by the enemy, would have commanded the left of the line on the Bermuda front. The 5th Massachusetts Cavalry (colored), Colonel H. S. Russell, and a battalion of the 4th Massachusetts Cavalry, Colonel Arnold A. Rand, relieved Colonel Duncan’s brigade in the intrenchments at City Point.
This post, in the spring of 1864, was the point at which the exchange of prisoners of war was effected; Major Mulford and Robert Ould being the Federal and Confederate commissioners, respectively.
The Colored Division was in the enemy’s country, but scattered from Spring Hill, on the Appomattox, to Wilson’s Wharf, on the James, a distance of twenty-five miles.
The enemy made an occasional reconnoissance from Petersburg toward the work at Spring Hill and also towards our position at City Point; but no formidable demonstration was attempted upon either.
The position of General Wild’s brigade was an important one, commanding the river for a considerable distance, and was coveted by the Confederates.
On the 24th of May, General Fitz Hugh Lee, with a considerable force of cavalry, appeared before the works, and after a sharp skirmish drove our pickets inside the intrenchments.
He then sent to General Wild a formal summons to surrender, promising that both officers and men should be treated as prisoners of war, adding that in the event of a failure to comply with his demand, he would immediately assault, in which event he would not be responsible for the consequences. The interpretation of this threat was that colored soldiers taken as prisoners should be returned to their former masters, and their officers be delivered to the state authorities to be dealt with for inciting insurrection.
General Wild’s reply to Lee’s demand was that he was ready to try conclusions with him.
Lee dismounted his troopers, and at half past twelve o’clock made a furious attack upon the works. The colored soldiers withheld their fire until the assailants were entangled in the abattis, when it was delivered with murderous effect. The enemy recoiled and sought shelter; a second and third time they renewed the attack, and were as often repulsed. After five hours of fruitless effort, they withdrew, chagrined and disgusted, leaving their dead upon the field.
General Wild reported twenty-four of the enemy killed, including one major and a captain, and ten prisoners; also that the enemy had opportunity to remove their dead and wounded from all parts of the field, except the abattis. His own losses were two killed, nineteen wounded, and one missing.2
The results of this first encounter were highly gratifying, demonstrating that the colored troops possessed nerve and courage. Their critics were compelled to admit they had shown good qualities behind breastworks, but were still sceptical as to their ability to assault them.
Preparations were completed for an advance in force upon Petersburg on the 20th of May, but the movement was abandoned, owing to the withdrawal of sixteen thousand troops from the Bermuda front under General W. F. Smith, to reinforce the Army of the Potomac at Cold Harbor.
It was believed by General Butler that the defences of Petersburg had been weakened by the withdrawal of troops to send to the Army of Northern Virginia, and he planned to send General Hincks to attempt the capture of the city, with reasonable expectations of success.
General Gillmore, learning of the contemplated movement, expressed a desire to command it, and his request was acceded to.
On the ninth of June the demonstration was made with a column of sixty-five hundred infantry and artillery under the command of General Gillmore, besides a body of cavalry, numbering thirteen hundred, under the command of General A[ugust]. V. Kautz. Of the infantry comprising General Gillmore’s force the Third Division contributed three regiments, about nineteen hundred men, with General Hincks in command.
The troops from the Bermuda front had crossed the pontoon bridge at Broadway landing, by half past three o’clock in the morning, where they were joined by General Hincks. At five o’clock the column was in motion, the cavalry in advance, closely followed by the colored troops.
The route of the cavalry was southerly, crossing the City Point, Jordan’s Point, Prince George and Norfolk and Petersburg roads (a detour of nearly twenty miles), to the Jerusalem plank road, striking the latter at a point about four miles from the enemy’s intrenched line.
At seven o’clock the colored troops encountered the Confederate pickets at Bailey’s Creek, on the Jordan’s Point road, and drove them within their works on that front.
General Hincks took a position near the Ruffin house, with skirmishers advanced to the crest from which could be obtained a view of the enemy’s line of works.
It was now ten o’clock. Two hours later the three regiments of colored troops were withdrawn a short distance, and at one o’clock by order of General Gillmore fell back to Bryant’s house and by a subsequent order, at two P.M. General Hincks’ command rejoined General Gillmore’s column at Baylor’s farm.
Meanwhile General Kautz had moved up the Jerusalem plank road, gone within the enemy’s works, destroyed their camps, and captured forty-two prisoners; but hearing nothing from the infantry, had withdrawn by the same route by which he had advanced, without encountering opposition.
Nightfall found all the troops participating in this reconnoissance back in their camps, wondering what the day’s work had amounted to.3
The movements of the Colored Division on the fifteenth of June were in some respects a repetition of those of the 9th, but executed under changed conditions, and with better, if not entirely satisfactory results.
The strength of the division was increased, the 1st Regiment having joined from Wilson’s Wharf, constituting with the 5th Massachusetts Cavalry dismounted, a brigade under command of Colonel Holman, and the 22nd Regiment had been brought up from Powhattan and assigned to Colonel Duncan’s brigade.
It was understood that this time there would be no turning back; accordingly the comfortable head quarters which we had occupied since the fifth of May were abandoned, and all necessary preparations made to take the field and fulfil our part in the general plan of the campaign.
Our route brought the division substantially to the point reached on the ninth. General Smith returned on the evening of the fourteenth with the column he had commanded at Cold Harbor, disembarking from transports near Broadway landing, but on the Bermuda side.
At an early hour on the fifteenth, his two divisions, commanded by Generals Brooks and Martindale, crossed on the pontoon bridge, and preceded by General Kautz’s cavalry and the Colored Division (the latter being now a part of General Smith’s command) moved in the direction of the Petersburg intrenchments. The cavalry encountered the pickets of the enemy on the City Point road, and soon discovered a considerable force with two pieces of artillery in position, protected by an earthwork which had been erected since our former visit, contesting its advance.
General Kautz moved to the left without engaging this force, leaving the 3rd (of the Colored Division) to dislodge them. The field work referred to was on Baylor’s farm, in an open field, and commanded the City Point road. It was hidden from view by a strip of timber perhaps one hundred and fifty yards in width, with a dense undergrowth which separated the open ground in which it stood from another open field, over which the Colored Division must advance. The City Point road led through this timber.
Dispositions were quickly made for the attack, Duncan’s brigade being formed in two lines, the 4th and 6th Regiments on the right of the road, and the 22nd and 5th on the left, the 4th and 22nd Regiments being in the front line. Holman’s brigade was still further to the left.
Skirmishers were thrown forward and the line of battle advanced across the open field in splendid style, though the enemy’s artillery had perfect range and their practice was good.
There was no giving way on any part of the line, although progress through the wood was slow, owing to the tangled undergrowth through which they were obliged to force their way.
Emerging from the timber, the line charged with a rush, the enemy retreating before the furious onset, leaving one of their guns in possession of the 22nd Regiment.
General Hincks and staff closely followed the line of battle moving on the road, and upon reaching the work just captured, found a group of colored soldiers indulging in extravagant demonstrations of delight at their victory, one sable son of Mars being astride the captured gun as if it were a hobby horse, and disclosing a wide expanse of ivory.
Addressing him the general inquired, “What has become of the Johnnies?”
“Well, sah, dey jes’ done lit out; didn’t car’ to make close ‘quaintance. Reckon dey must ha’ smelled us.”
The column was quickly reformed and moving to the left, soon reached the Jordan’s Point road, on which the division advanced.
General Brooks and Martindale moved on the City Point and river roads, later going into position in front of the works on the enemy’s left. It was now nine o’clock. Reaching the Jordan’s Point road at a point nearly two miles from the intrenchments, a company of colored cavalry, from Colonel Coles’ regiment, commanded by Captain Robert Dollard, accompanied by Captain Livermore of the division staff, was placed in advance, and forced back the enemy’s skirmishers. At a favorable point this company dashed up the road, through the enemy’s skirmish line, and deploying to the right and left, cut out from under their guns and brought to the rear a number of prisoners, about equal in number to their own strength.
The division was in position in front of the enemy’s works on that part of the line soon after one o’clock p. m., with skirmishers advanced beyond the crest overlooking the enemy’s position, the line of battle slightly in the rear of the highest point intervening, and but slightly protected by it, from the fire of the batteries in our front and flanks.
Generals Martindale and Brooks had meanwhile taken their positions so that the line was in the following order: General Martindale on the right, General Brooks in the centre, and General Hincks on the left; General Kautz operating independently still farther to the left.
The Petersburg defences consisted of a line encircling the city and a distance about two miles from it, of strong redans or batteries connected by infantry parapets with high profiles, and all with ditches. The line commencing at the Appomattox river on the north of the city, extended nearly a mile in an easterly direction, thence southerly, considerably beyond the position of the Colored Division, and thence around to the river, on the other side of the city. The length of the entire line was upwards of seven miles. The redans were numbered from our right consecutively, battery five forming the salient, and commanded the approaches on both northern and eastern fronts.
The right of the line of the Colored Division was nearly opposite battery six, and connected with the 13th New Hampshire which formed the left of General Brooks’ division, and overlapped battery five.
The connection with General Brooks’ division was not absolutely perfect, a swamp intervening, but the gap was inconsiderable.
For five hours the command remained in this exposed position, swept by, at least, four of the enemy’s batteries, momentarily expecting the signal to attack, and under orders to be ready for instant response.
There they remained throughout the afternoon, hostile shot and shell doing their deadly work until the list of casualties was formidable, the oppressive heat adding to their discomfort, and they were unable to strike a blow in return. It was indeed a severe test for inexperienced troops.
At half-past six the long expected summons came, the skirmish line, which had previously been doubled, was ordered to assault along the whole front. The line moved forward promptly and steadily across the intervening space, in the face of a galling artillery and musketry fire from the parapets; up the slope which was surmounted by the enemy’s fortifications, over the parapet, inside the works, capturing all the guns in position and many prisoners, although many of the Confederates retreated in confusion toward what they must have considered the doomed city. The main line then advanced and occupied the captured line of works.
The charge was simultaneous on the part of the Colored Division and the division under command of General Brooks, and resulted in the capture of the entire line as far to the left as battery number ten, which was situated at the point where the Jordan’s Point road entered the line. There was at that time no obstruction between us and Petersburg.
The Third Division claimed for its share, the line from battery number seven to battery number ten, both inclusive, and immediately after the occupation of the line, a regiment moved to the left inside the Confederate line, and occupied battery eleven also, which was near the Dunn house.
The claim has been advanced by at least two eminent authorities, General Grant, in his memoirs, and General Butler, that it was the colored troops that captured the entire line. The claim is not justified by the facts. The left of General Brooks’ division, or the 13th New Hampshire, captured battery five and the line to and including battery six; and those works were the spoils of General Brooks’ division.
The casualties of the Colored Division, including the affair of the morning, at Baylor’s farm, were five hundred and seven killed and wounded, among the latter being Colonel Russell of the 5th Massachusetts Cavalry (temporarily attached to the division) and Lieut. Colonel Goff of the 22nd U. S. Colored Troops. (Colonel Goff returned to duty in November as colonel of the 37th U. S. C. T.)
No attempt was made to press the advantage secured that night, and the colored troops which had sustained themselves so well throughout the day (receiving commendation for their gallantry, in general orders from General Smith), were not allowed to occupy the line they had won, but were withdrawn, being relieved by the Second Corps which had come up late in the afternoon or early evening.4
It was a victory for which the active participants and the country were grateful; but in view of the conditions then existing, the numbers and character of the forces opposing, the absence of Lee’s Army, and the proximity of the veterans of the Army of the Potomac, it is a pertinent question whether it might not have been still more decisive and far reaching in its results.
Let the question be answered in the Yankee fashion, by asking others. 1st. Would the defence of the Confederates have been more stubborn at two o’clock than at half past six, when they must have been emboldened by the apparent timidity of their assailants during the the [sic] whole afternoon? 2nd. Would the assault have been less vigorous and determined at two o’clock, when the colored troops, at least, were elated at their success of the morning, than at sunset, after having been subjected to the demoralizing influences of the afternoon’s exposure?
Candid answers to these questions will suggest the answer to the former, and compel the admission that the same qualities of leadership which were displayed in such a marked degree in the campaign resulting in the surrender of Lee’s Army at Appomattox, if exercised on that day, would have given the Army of the James possession of Petersburg, and greatly simplified subsequent operations.
The Army alas, possessed but one Phil Sheridan!
The division was assigned a place on the right of the line during the earlier stages of the siege and division head quarters were established on the right, near the City Point road.
A battalion of sharp-shooters was organized by a detail of two hundred picked men from the command, suitably officered, which furnished a provost and head quarters guard.5
While occupying this position an order was promulgated, requiring public religious services at division head quarters on Sundays. Pursuant to the order, a colored chaplain was detailed to conduct the service the following Sunday, and as the fact became known there was a large congregation, including many representatives from neighboring head quarters.
The service was unique; the singing by the congregation hearty, as usual; the officiating clergyman read the Scripture lesson appreciatively, and prayed with fervor; but he was visibly embarrassed by the large audience, and his extemporaneous discourse was a decided failure, closing as follows: “Ma deah fren’s, I hopes you will all ‘scuse dis er — er somewhat in-co-herent discose. To tell de tru hones’ truf, de peculiar circumstances ob de occasion have made it jes impossible for me to ventilate myself as I could wish.”
About the first of July, General Hincks, still suffering from wounds received at Antietam, intensified by a fall from his horse during the engagement of June 15th, was advised by competent medical authority that it would be unwise for him to endure the exposure incident to active service in the field.
He reluctantly relinquished his command, greatly to the regret of his superior, as well as his subordinate officers.
July 30th, upon the occasion of firing the mine on General Burnside’s front, the division, being temporarily under the command of General James B. Carr, was assigned and occupied a position on the Ninth Corps front, but was not actively engaged.6
In August, Brigadier General Charles J. Paine was assigned to the command; the detachments from Wilson’s Wharf and Fort Powhattan were brought to the front, and the 36th Regiment joined the division from Point Lookout.
Under General Paine’s watchful eye and careful attention to all the little details, especially to the personel of the division, and the capacity of his brigade and regimental commanders, the command attained a high degree of efficiency.
In September the division left the Petersburg front for Deep Bottom, from which point it moved September 29th to the assault of the enemy’s position at Newmarket Heights, simultaneously with the movement of General Ord upon Fort Harrison, and that of the Tenth Corps under General Birney from Deep Bottom, to which Corps the Third Division was temporarily attached.
This engagement was the severest test of the fighting qualities of colored troops to which the Third Division was subjected, and it is believed to be within the bounds of truth to say that no other command of colored troops ever experienced a more trying ordeal.
The fortification to be attacked was on the Newmarket road, and was practically to the left of the Confederate line. It was defended by about one thousand Confederate veterans7, with artillery in position to command the narrow neck over which the assaulting column must advance. It occupied a considerable elevation and was protected by two lines of abattis; one about fifty yards from the parapet, and the other a very strong line about one hundred yards further down the slope; the position was further protected by a marshy swamp or morass which was imperfectly drained by a sluggish creek through which the assailants must force their way.
The effective strength of the command was not far from three thousand, organized in two brigades, commanded that day by Colonels Draper and Duncan.
The troops were in position at an early hour on the morning of September 29th on open ground descending towards the James, screened from the view of the enemy by the intervening crest; and officers and men were impressed with the idea that the charge must be vigorous and sustained, and that they were expected to capture the work at whatever sacrifice.
Muskets were loaded, but not capped, bayonets fixed, and everything made ready for the dash. At half past four o’clock, in the gray of dawn, the order to advance was given, and the line moved forward. But few moments were required to gain the crest, from which a view of the enemy’s position could be obtained.
The ground descended gradually to the marshy bottom and stream before described, and was exposed for the entire distance to the fire of the guns on the height beyond, which opened as soon as the column advanced beyond the crest, but with little effect at first.
The lines moved forward with steadiness and without any perceptible hesitancy until the marsh and stream were reached. At this point there was a little confusion, the left of the line finding the swamp impassable. This compelled a contraction of the front.
The column pressed forward across the stream and up the slope beyond, encountering the concentrated artillery and musketry fire of the enemy, which was terribly effective.
The first line of abattis was reached without any apparent check, and pioneers with axes commenced the work of removing it. Many were killed while so employed, but others seized the axes and the obstruction disappeared as if by magic.
It was still a hundred yards to the inner, and less formidable line of abattis, but the distance was soon traversed, and the demolition of the second line was commenced.
Here the head of the column seemed literally to melt away under the destructive fire to which it was subjected. It was an anxious moment. Could the men endure the frightful strain?
The obstruction delaying their progress rapidly disappeared under the almost superhuman efforts of the axemen; the officers gallantly rallied and encouraged their commands; the gaps in the ranks were filled and the onward movement was resumed with irresistible force and energy.
The last line of abattis once passed, the enemy did not wait for a bayonet charge, but fled in confusion along the Newmarket road towards the inner defences of Richmond.8
With exultant cheers the column swept forward over the parapet, and occupied the coveted prize.9
The casualties resulting from this brief engagement (it could not have much exceeded thirty minutes) were appalling.
General Butler, who was present, says, “As I rode across the brook and up towards the fort along this line of charge, some eighty feet wide and three or four hundred yards long, there lay in my path five hundred and forty-three dead and wounded of my colored comrades.”
The Official Army Register of the Volunteer Force of the United States Army, states that the casualties of the several regiments composing the assaulting column were five hundred and eighty-seven, as follows:
From this statement it appears that the 36th Regiment of Colonel Draper’s brigade, and the 4th and 6th of Colonel Duncan’s brigade bore the brunt of the engagement.
Many of the companies lost all their officers, and left the field under the command of non-commissioned officers.
Christian A. Fleetwood, late Sergeant Major 4th U. S. Colored Troops, in a paper entitled “The Negro as a Soldier” written for the Negro Congress at the Atlanta Exposition in 1895, compares the work of Duncan’s brigade on September 29th with the Charge of the Light Brigade at Balaklava, as follows: “Sometimes a comparison will illustrate better than figures alone. I give a single instance: Every one has heard of the charge of the Light Brigade at Balaklava. I will put beside it a Black Brigade of about the same number of men. Here they are:
The Tenth Corps moved up the Newmarket road, and in the afternoon unsuccessfully assaulted Fort Gilmer; in which assault a portion of the Third Division participated.
Meanwhile the white troops of the Eighteenth Corps had captured Fort Harrison with its connecting works at Chapin’s [sic, Chaffin’s] farm, from which line the Army of the James advanced to occupy the Confederate Capital, the following April.
The Third Division was moved to the left during the evening of [September] 29th, head quarters being established for the night within Fort Harrison, and the troops were employed in reversing the captured works.
On the morning of the 30th our wagon was brought up and preparations made for serving our mess with coffee. A convenient spot was selected on the plateau over which the Eighteenth Corps had charged the previous day; and soon the aroma of the refreshing beverage caused a little group to gather, with pleasant anticipations of a treat.
Meanwhile Confederate gun-boats in the river were getting the range and occasionally dropping a shell in the neighborhood.
During the night of the 29th and morning of the 30th the captured line was placed in a tolerable condition for defence; and none too soon; for during the afternoon of the 30th three determined attempts were made by the enemy to retake it, but without success.
During the attack, the left of the division rested on Fort Harrison, extending thence toward the Newmarket road, where the command did effective work in repulsing the repeated assaults of General Hoke’s Confederate division.10
The command later occupied a position on the left of the line of the Eighteenth Corps.
On the 27th of October, the 1st, 22nd and 37th Regiments formed a part of the force under General Weitzel, which moved to the right as far as the Seven Pines battle field of 1862, thence up the Williamsburg road to the enemy’s line. The Colored Brigade, under the command of Colonel Holman, was on the extreme right, beyond the railroad at Fair Oaks Station.
The 1st and 22nd Regiments assaulted at a point between the Williamsburg and Nine Mile roads, carrying the work in their front; dismounted two guns and threw them outside the Confederate work.
They were the only troops that succeeded in breaking the enemy’s line that day, but they were soon withdrawn by order of General Weitzel.
Colonel Holman and Colonel Kiddoo were both severely wounded while gallantly leading the charge; the total casualties in both regiments amounting to one hundred and five killed and wounded.
The brigade left the field under the command of Lieut. Colonel Chamberlain of the 37th Regiment, retreating about ten miles in a pouring rain, over the route by which they had advanced, and bivouacked about midnight.11
An incident illustrating the tenacity with which colored soldiers clung to their weapons occurred during this movement.
The surgeon-in-chief and assistant adjutant general of the division who had accompanied the command, were steaming under the same blanket when they were awakened at daybreak by some one inquiring for “de doctah.”
The caller was a colored soldier who had been shot through the right lung the previous afternoon, the bullet passing through his body. This man had followed the retreating column through mud and rain for ten miles, bringing his gun and equipments with him.
Surgeon Barnes dressed the wound and placed him in charge of the ambulance corps. Asked why he had brought his gun, the brave fellow replied that he “Didn’t car to be in dose parts widout sumpin to protect hisself.”
By direction of the President and an order from the War Department dated December 3, 1864, the Tenth and Eighteenth Army Corps were discontinued and the Twenty-fourth and Twenty-fifth Corps were constituted, the white infantry troops of the Army of the James constituting the former; and the colored troops of the Department of Virginia and North Carolina, the latter.
By this arrangement, the Third (Colored) Division of the Eighteenth Corps became the First Division of the Twenty-fifth Corps, with Brigadier General Charles J. Paine as its commander.
In the reorganization, the division gained four fighting regiments which had seen service with the Ninth Corps,
The 27th [USCT], Colonel A. M. Blackman;
The 30th [USCT], Colonel Delavan C. Bates;
The 39th [USCT], Colonel O. P. Stearns;
The 107th [USCT], Colonel Revere,
and lost the 1st, 10th and 36th Regiments, which were attached to another division.
The First Division, Twenty-fifth Corps, saw little or no service in Virginia after its organization, December 6th, but it accompanied both expeditions to Fort Fisher.
Editor’s Note: The final few pages of this article, which cover the division’s assaults on Fort Fisher and subsequent movements in North Carolina, have not been reproduced here.
Article Images
First Page:
Carter, Solon A. “Fourteen Months’ Service with Colored Troops.” Civil War Papers, Read Before the Commandery of the State of Massachusetts, Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States, Vol. 1, pp. 155-179 ↩
SOPO Editor’s Note: This was the Battle of Fort Pocahontas, fought on May 24, 1864. Click here for a good article on the battle. ↩
SOPO Editor’s Note: This was the First Battle of Petersburg, or the Battle of Old Men and Young Boys, fought on June 9, 1864, and is sometimes referred to as Butler’s Offensive against Petersburg. This is not to be confused with Grant’s nine subsequent offensives against the Cockade City. ↩
SOPO Editor’s Note: Carter is here describing the fighting on June 15, 1864 at the Second Battle of Petersburg. As he points out, the Union had an unbelievable chance to capture Petersburg that night if they had just moved forward. William F. “Baldy” Smith hesitated, and it would take nine and a half months to eventually cause the city’s fall. ↩
SOPO Editor’s Note: While the Confederates typically created sharpshooter battalions out of each brigade, the Union army slowly moved to create sharpshooter battalions at the division level. Before reading this account, I was entirely unaware that the 3rd Division, 18th Corps even had a sharpshooter battalion. Fred Ray is in the process of writing a book on the Federal sharpshooters to match the one he wrote on the Confederates. Perhaps he will shed some additional light on this organization. ↩
SOPO Editor’s Note: Carter is here referring to the Battle of the Crater, fought on July 30, 1864. ↩
SOPO Editor’s Note: This was the famed Texas Brigade, commanded by John Gregg. ↩
SOPO Editor’s Note: The Texas Brigade ever after claimed, perhaps fairly, that they had been notified of the fall of Fort Harrison and were rushing back to the next line to shore up the defenses there. For more on this controversy, see Jimmy Price’s book The Battle of New Market Heights: Freedom Will Be Theirs by the Sword. ↩
SOPO Editor’s Note: This was the Battle of New Market Heights, fought on the morning of Speptember 29, 1864, where more than a dozen Black soldiers won Medals of Honor for their actions that day. ↩
SOPO Editor’s Note: This was the second day of the Battle of Fort Harrison, where Lee’s concerted counterattack failed to dislodge the Yankees from their newly won gains. Generals Field and Hoke, as was so often the case in the last year of the war, failed to cooperate and the attacks did not accomplish their objective. ↩
SOPO Editor’s Note: This movement was Grant’s “right hook” during the Sixth Offensive, which occurred on October 27-28, 1864. While Hancock’s Second Corps was moving toward Hatcher’s Run and the Boydton Plank Road intersection over on the left, Butler fought the Battle of Fair Oaks and Darbytown Road which included the Second Battle of Fair Oaks. The effort was a failure, with no new ground gained. ↩
Tagged as: 107th united states colored troops, 10th united states colored troops, 13th new hampshire, 1st united states colored cavalry, 1st united states colored troops, 22nd united states colored troops, 27th united states colored troops, 2nd united states colored artillery battery b, 2nd united states colored cavalry, 30th united states colored troops, 36th united states colored troops, 37th united states colored troops, 39th united states colored troops, 4th massachusetts cavalry, 4th united states colored troops, 5th massachusetts cavalry colored, 5th united states colored troops, 6th united states colored troops, 8th north carolina, battle of chaffins farm, battle of fort gilmer, battle of fort pocahontas, battle of new market heights, battle of the crater, charles j. paine, charles k. graham, edward a. wild, edward w. hinks, fighting ability of black soldiers, first battle of petersburg, fort pocahontas, fort powhatan, godfrey weitzel, joseph b. kiddoo 22nd usct, july 30 1864, june 15 1864, june 9 1864, may 24 1864, MOLLUS War Papers, nav brig aotj union, quincy a. gillmore, samuel a. duncan 4th usct, second battle of petersburg, september 29 1864, september 30 1864, solon a. carter, william f. smith
Previous post: 150 Years Ago Today at Petersburg: September 26, 1864
Next post: LT: September 27, 1864 Orrin D. Holmes (29th Massachusetts)
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Hybrid Jazz From Trish Hennessey - with Gabrielle Stravelli!
Tue, Jul 5, 2016 04:30PM UTC
Trish Hennessey
If you liked this show, you should follow Trish Hennessey.
Gabrielle Stravelli has a new project with pianist Michael Kanan called "Stairway to the Stars" - it's magnificent!
Our guest is trained in the theater as well as in singing - she is able to deliver songs in a profoundly intuitive way because of that training
Wait until you hear who has said WHAT about her - and who has shared the stage with her :)
Doing the research for our next guest is a daunting task, seriously. Gabrielle Stravelli is SO well respected that it's tricky to describe. Looking at where she has played and who has said WHAT about her? She must have to remind herself each day that she is merely mortal :) Yes, it's like THAT.
This award-winning vocalist is also a trained actor - who received a beautiful education (BFA) from the University of Cincinnati-Conservatory of Music. But let's go back in time....at 15, this gifted artist was singing solos with orchestras. You might know that, to attract the attention of Wynton Marsalis, you HAVE to be something special. Well, she toured with Wynton in performance of his "Abyssinian Gospel Celebration." She has also opened for Esperanza Spalding and Cassandra Wilson - starred as Anita in "West Side Story" and as Jeannnie in the European tour of "Hair."
As part of the U.S. State Department's American Music Abroad program, The Gabrielle Stravelli Ensemble was one of only ten bands sent around the world to enhance diplomancy throught music. With workshops during the day and evening shows. 2015 was a great year for this successful Lady. Fortunate ears heard Gabrielle breathe life into Fred Hersch music - with lyrics from Mary Jo Salter - in "Dreams of Light." This chapter in Gabrielle's life was preceded by solo shows at Feinstein's/54 Below. All STELLAR reviews!
In teaming with sympatico pianist Michael Kanan, Ms. Stravelli has been able to re-create beloved songs to make them her own. The lovely sessions here happened at The Drawing Room in Brooklyn - in early 2015. You can hear the magic unfold. And you'll hear more of that magic when Gabrielle visits on 7/5/2016 :) One p.m. Eastern time - hope to see you in The Chat Room!
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Danielle McEwan Wins Second Career Major with U.S. Women’s Open Victory
by Aaron Smith, USBC Communications June 30, 2019 9:28 am0
NORTH LAS VEGAS, Nev. – Needing a double in the 10th frame for the chance to win the 2019 U.S. Women’s Open, Danielle McEwan of Stony Point, New York, delivered a pair of strikes and toppled nine pins to claim her second career major championship.
McEwan defeated top seed Tannya Roumimper of Indonesia in the title match, 201-199, to capture the coveted green jacket and $20,000 top prize for her fifth career Professional Women’s Bowling Association Tour title.
The 2019 event was held at Texas Star Lanes, and the stepladder finals was broadcast live on CBS Sports Network on Sunday.
“This was one of my top goals – to win the U.S. Women’s Open,” said McEwan, who also won the 2015 PWBA Tour Championship. “When you look at the people who have won this event, they’re the best in our sport. To add my name along theirs is amazing.”
The tightly contested finale saw both players open toward the end of the match, helping create the dramatic finish.
Roumimper left the 4-6-7-10 split in the eighth frame, while McEwan faltered in the ninth frame as she was unable to convert the 2-4-10 split.
Stepping up first in the 10th frame, Roumimper had the chance to double for the opportunity to shut out McEwan to claim her first career PWBA Tour title but was unable to connect for the second strike, leaving a high-flush 7 pin.
McEwan, who was making her fourth championship-round appearance at the U.S. Women’s Open, needed to fill 28 pins to secure the win and delivered in arguably the biggest moment of her career.
“I’ve been in that moment so many times in the past and haven’t come through,” said McEwan, an eight-time Team USA member. “I’ve spent many, many hours talking with my coaches and ball reps trying to figure out what caused it and how I could do better the next time in that situation. I just tried to build on all I’ve learned.”
Roumimper, who earned the top seed by defeating McEwan in the position round Saturday at Texas Star Lanes, rolled two of her best shots when she needed them and knows she has what it takes to put herself in position to win.
“I was just so numb on that shot because I was so focused inside my own bubble,” said Roumimper, who finished fourth last month at the United States Bowling Congress Queens. “I tried to just be happy and smile and control what I could control because my heart (was pounding). There was so much going on in my mind, and I needed to get it all out.
“She threw two really good shots in the 10th, so she deserved it. I just need to believe that everything happens for a reason, and my day will come. It will. I just need to keep believing in that and one day, it will be mine.”
McEwan’s 229-225 semifinal win against Shannon O’Keefe of Shiloh, Illinois, shared the same excitement as the title tilt, with McEwan rolling three strikes in the final frame to advance.
O’Keefe, who was looking for her first win at the U.S. Women’s Open after a pair of runner-up finishes, finished the semifinal with two strikes in the 10th frame, which forced McEwan to fill 27 pins to move to the title match.
O’Keefe won her first match Sunday, defeating defending U.S. Women’s Open champion Liz Kuhlkin of Schenectady, New York, 233-192.
Kuhlkin, who defeated Shannon Sellens of Long Beach, New York, in the opening match of the stepladder, 213-183, was looking to become the fourth player to successfully defend a title at the event and 12th bowler to win the tournament multiple times.
All competitors bowled 24 qualifying games over three days to determine the 36 players advancing to a cashers’ round. After eight additional games, the field was cut to the top 24 bowlers for round-robin match play.
The five finalists were determined by total pinfall, including bonus pins, for 56 games.
Each round of the 2019 U.S. Women’s Open leading up to the stepladder finals was broadcast live at BowlTV.com.
For more information on the U.S. Women’s Open, visit BOWL.com/USWomensOpen.
2019 U.S. Women’s Open
At Texas Star Lanes, North Las Vegas, Nev.
Sunday’s results
1, Danielle McEwan, Stony Point, N.Y., 430 (two games), $20,000
2, Tannya Roumimper, Indonesia, 199 (one game), $10,000
3, Shannon O’Keefe, Shiloh, Ill., 458 (two games), $7,700
4, Liz Kuhlkin, Schenectady, N.Y., 405 (two games), $6,600
5, Shannon Sellens, Long Beach, N.Y., 183 (one game), $5,600
STEPLADDER RESULTS
Match No. 1 – Kuhlkin def. Sellens, 213-183
Match No. 2 – O’Keefe def. Kuhlkin, 233-192
Semifinal – McEwan def. O’Keefe, 229-225
Championship – McEwan def. Roumimper, 201-199
Aaron Smith, USBC Communications
PODCAST: PBA Playoffs Champion Kris Prather
Breaking News / by Gianmarc Manzione - June 5, 2019 5:55 pm
Mark Roth Released from Hospital Following Heart Attack
Breaking News / by Gianmarc Manzione - May 7, 2019 10:18 am
Brian LeClair Leads PBA50 Johnny Petraglia BVL Open
Breaking News / by Jerry Schneider, Professional Bowlers Association - April 16, 2019 6:23 am
Former AMF Inc. Owner Irwin Jacobs, Wife Alexandra Dead in Apparent Murder-Suicide
Breaking News / by Bob Johnson - April 11, 2019 3:32 pm
Jason Belmonte, Sean Rash Among Pros Invited to Compete for $270K Top Prize in Bowlero Elite Series
Breaking News / by Gianmarc Manzione - February 27, 2019 11:59 am
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Maradona lashes out at Messi, says Barca star not a leader
Buenos Aires, Oct 14 (IANS) Argentine legend Diego Maradona feels Lionel Messi is not a leader and should not be considered a footballing god.
“We shouldn’t deify Messi any longer. He’s Messi when he plays for Barcelona. Messi is Messi when he wears that shirt, and he’s another Messi with Argentina,” he told Fox Sports.
“He’s a great player but he’s not a leader. It’s useless trying to make a leader out of a man who goes to the toilet 20 times before a game.”
Maradona, who along with Brazilian legend Pele, is widely considered to be among the best players of all time, coached the Argentine squad at the 2010 World Cup.
That Argentine team, who featured Messi as their main star, topped their group and beat Mexico 3-1 in the second round before being thrashed 4-0 by Germany in the quarter-finals.
ALSO READ: Copa America: Colombia beats Messi's Argentina 2-0
Messi is yet to win any silverware for Argentina but has won every possible honour with his club FC Barcelona and is a five-time FIFA World Player of the Year.
Messi has been on the losing side in all four of his finals with Argentina — three in the Copa America and at the 2014 World Cup — and has not scored in four World Cup knockout stages.
Maradona, who now coaches second-tier side Dorados in Mexico, added Messi’s break was sensible.
“I wouldn’t call him up right now, but never say never,” he said. “We have to take the pressure off him.”
dm/ajb/sed
Tags: barca lashes leader maradona messi
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Item#: ihcc34
ihcc34
The Indian Head one cent coin, was produced by the United States Mint from 1859 to 1909 at the Philadelphia Mint and in 1908 and 1909 at the San Francisco Mint. It was designed by James Barton Longacre the engraver at the Philadelphia Mint from 1844 to 1869.
The obverse of the coin shows "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA," the head of Liberty wearing a feather head dress of a Native American and the year of production. The word "LIBERTY" appears on the band of the head dress. From 1859 to 1864 the design did not feature any mark of the designer. In 1864, Longacre modified the portrait by sharpening the details at this time he added his initial "L" on the ribbon behind Liberty's neck as well. This design would continue largely unaltered until the end of the series, with a minor modification by Charles E. Barber in 1886 when the portrait was changed slightly.
Two reverse designs were used for the series. In 1859 the reverse featured "ONE CENT" within a wreath of olive. From 1860 until the end of the series the reverse featured "ONE CENT" within a wreath of oak and olive tied at the base with a ribbon with a Federal shield above. This design continued until the end on the series in 1909 with a minor modification by William Barber in 1870.
The coins struck between 1859 and 1864 contained 88% copper and 12% nickel. Due to the hoarding of all coinage during the Civil War, the nickel cents disappeared from daily use and were replaced in many Northern cities by tokens. The success of these copper tokens prompted the change of the cent to a similar metal. In 1864, the alloy changed to Bronze (95% Copper and 5% Tin and Zinc), and the weight of the coins was reduced from 72 grains to 48 grains. This weight continued for copper-alloy U.S. cents until the 1982 introduction of the current copper-plated zinc cent (about 38.6 grains).
The total production of the Indian Head cent was 1,849,648,000 pieces. The 1909-S had the lowest mintage, only 309,000. It is not considered as scarce as the 1877 issue, (852,500), since fewer of those were kept, particularly in the higher grades.
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St. James, lead us to Christ
Juan de Juanes' 'St. James the Pilgrim' painting depicts the apostle as a pilgrim
By Geoffrey LaForce On Jul 25, 2018
"St. James the Pilgrim" by Juan de Juanes (circa 1523–1579), Pilgrimage Museum, Santiago de Compostela, Spain. Photo: alamy
St. James holds an important role in the Catholic faith. Not only was he one of Jesus’ original Twelve Apostles who was present at the Transfiguration, he is believed to have carried out Jesus’ ministry to the far reaches of Europe, spreading Christianity to the Iberian Peninsula.
“St. James the Pilgrim” by Juan de Juanes (circa 1523–1579), Pilgrimage Museum, Santiago de Compostela, Spain. Photo: alamy
After St. James’ martyrdom in Jerusalem in the year 44 A.D., St. James’ body was brought to present-day Santiago de Compostela, Spain, which became a major pilgrimage sight in the Middle Ages. Since then, St. James has become the patron saint of Spain and the Camino de Santiago, or the Way of St. James, is one of the most well-known pilgrimage routes in the world.
Due to St. James’ importance to Spanish culture, many Catholic artists have created works featuring their interpretation of the saint. Although there are many of note, one that is a particularly interesting representation is St. James the Pilgrim by Spanish artist Juan de Juanes (circa 1523–1579), which is located in the Museum of Santiago and the Pilgrims in Santiago de Compostela.
Here, as in many depictions of the saint, James is dressed in the traditional garb of a pilgrim. He holds a walking stick to help him along the often-treacherous terrain through the Pyrenees Mountains and a wide-brimmed pilgrim hat, which serves to protect the pilgrim from the harsh sun.
The artist also chose to depict a scallop shell on St. James’ hat, which is one of the symbols not only of St. James, but of the entire Camino de Santiago. There are many different theories that may explain the link between St. James and the scallop shell, but the most likely explanation is that these shells are very common off the coast of Galicia, the northwestern region of Spain where Santiago de Compostela is located.
The scallop shell was also an important tool for pilgrims, as they often used them to gather drinking water and as a spoon to eat food out of makeshift bowls. Today, the scallop shell is the official symbol of the pilgrimage and is used to direct pilgrims along the path.
Juan de Juanes also used the humanism of the Renaissance to give this painting of St. James an emotional complexity that often was not present in earlier Christian art. Here, St. James is depicted staring directly at the viewer. He wears an expression of deep thought and almost sadness that is truly meant to affect those looking at the painting.
De Juanes uses this emotional aspect to make the saint appear more human and sympathetic in order to draw a sense of devotion from the onlooker. Essentially, when we look at St. James in this painting, we may be able to see ourselves reflected in him.
While I have never personally walked the Camino de Santiago, I have had the opportunity to encounter pilgrims walking the path. I was impressed by their devotion and desire to walk hundreds of miles, following the long and often uneven path laid out before them that so many others had taken before them and that hopefully many others will take after them, as well.
This long and uneven road reflects the experiences of the faithful who follow Christ. Like St. James, who dropped everything to follow Jesus on a path that was in no way easy and the pilgrims on the Camino de Santiago, our faith is a hard and uneven path. We can, however, look at figures like St. James, and be inspired by their faith and their perseverance in even the hardest of circumstances.
Feast of St. James ApostleGeoffrey LaForceJuan de JuanesSt. James the GreaterSt. James the PilgrimWay of Beauty
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Inspired by my love of all things ghost towns and abandoned places, False Cape is the first book in a planned series about life in the long-forgotten ghost town of Wash Woods, Virginia, located in what is now False Cape State Park in Virginia Beach.
Throughout the nineteenth century, countless ships wrecked on the shores of southeastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina, their ships unable to handle the rocky coast and storms that they encountered. Many people perished. However, some made it to shore.
On a narrow, remote spit of land was a bustling settlement of about three hundred people called Wash Woods, named for the wood that washed ashore from shipwrecks and which the residents used to build their homes. There, in that remote village, the hardy inhabitants made their living off the land and sea as fishers, crabbers, or farmers.
It is also the town where Mary Margaret “Mamie” Marsh lived with her mother, father, and four older brothers and sisters, at the turn of the 20th century. This long-forgotten town comes to life through the stories that Mamie tells her descendants. During family dinners with her children and grandchildren, she recounts her love for Arthur Chamberlain, a childhood friend, and her quest to find herself in spite of the restrictions placed on her as a young girl in the early 1900s.
This book is available now as an ebook and as a paperback from Amazon.com.
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