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Listen & Watch
Micro Bio
Fialta is a California-based indie pop band including Michael Leibovich and David Provenzano, Beth Clements, and Sarah Shotwell, four multi-instrumentalists who joined forces in 2011 to write and record their harmony, keyboard, and percussion-driven pop. Fialta will release their debut full length album, Summer Winter, locally on June 21, 2013, and nationally on July 23rd, 2013.
Fialta, a California-based indie pop quartet, includes Michael Leibovich, Beth Clements, David Provenzano, and Sarah Shotwell, a group of experienced multi-instrumentalists who joined forces in 2011 to write and record their harmony, keyboard, and percussion-driven pop.
Self-described as a democratic collective of songwriters, Fialta is characterized in live performances by constant movement and instrument-swapping (a spectacle that sometimes happens even mid-song). They have come to describe their sound as Central Coast Literary Pop, a genre they dotingly created for their sun-drenched, winter-dreading, narrative sensibilities, honed as much by a love of poetry, fiction and film as by the landscape of their beloved town, San Luis Obispo.
Fialta looks forward to releasing their debut full length album, Summer Winter, locally on June 21st, 2013, and nationally on July 23rd, 2013.
Medium Bio
“If summer had a soundtrack, they’d be a power artist.”
-Content Magazine
Fialta, a California-based indie pop quartet, includes Michael Leibovich, Beth Clements, David Provenzano, and Sarah Shotwell, all experienced multi-instrumentalists who joined forces in 2011 to write and record their harmony, keyboard, and percussion-driven pop. Leibovich and Provenzano were touring with former band Sherwood when they met Clements and Shotwell, who were living in Connecticut and Seattle, respectively. At the time, Clements was finishing her Master’s in English Education at the University of Connecticut and Shotwell was enrolled in a creative writing MFA at the University of Washington. Soon, all four were sending tracks back and forth over email and holding critique sessions over Skype. When, one-by-one, the foursome finally returned to California, they already had a great foundation in place.
Self-described as a democratic collective of songwriters, Fialta has been characterized in live performances by constant movement and instrument-swapping (a spectacle that sometimes happens even mid-song). They have come to describe their sound as “Central Coast Literary Pop,” a genre they dotingly created for their sun-drenched, winter-dreading, narrative sensibilities, honed as much by a love of poetry, fiction and film as by the landscape of their beloved town, San Luis Obispo. Fialta is fairly unabashed about this regionalism. As Turntable Kitchen writes, “...there is the sense that they couldn’t have come from anywhere else.”
On the first day of summer Fialta looks forward to putting out their debut full length album, Summer Winter. Currently unsigned, they will self-release the LP using funds earned by a serendipitous spring ad placement for KMART trampolines.
While Fialta’s 2011 release (a 3-track EP) was a great intro to the band’s music and remixed versions of those songs will be included on the full-length, Summer Winter will feature nine new ones, including a few darker ballads balanced by some kicky power-pop tracks. The album runs a spectrum in terms of mood, with the goal of taking the listener on a pop journey that explores both lyrically and melodically the changing of the seasons, fading youth, loss, new love, and homesickness.
Fialta will release Summer Winter locally on June 21, 2013, and nationally on July 23rd, 2013.
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منتدى قصة الإسلام > English Website Forum > Article Forum
Australia Honors Muslim Professor
Article Forum Discussion about Dr. Ragheb ElSregany's articles as well as other articles
aammar
المنتدى : Article Forum
Recognizing his effort in boosting interfaith dialogue, a muslim professor at Melbourne University has been made a member of the Order of australia for his significant services in setting educational programs about Islam in Australian universities.
Professor Abdullah Saeed has been made a member of the Order of Australia for ''significant service to tertiary education in the field of Islamic studies, and to the community, especially through promotion of interfaith dialogue,” the 2013 honors list was cited by The Age newspaper on Saturday, January 26.
The award was announced amid celebrations for Australia Day, the official national day of Australia, celebrated annually on 26 January.
The nomination is usually made and reviewed by the Council for the Order of Australia and then approved by the Governor-General.
Born in the Maldives, Professor Saeed studied in Saudi Arabia before coming to the University of Melbourne where he obtained a PhD in Islamic Studies in 1992.
Now the Sultan of Oman Professor of Arab and Islamic Studies at Melbourne University and a Fellow of Australian Academy of Humanities, his work focuses on Islam and human rights, Islamic law reform, Muslim communities in Australia and freedom of religion.
Teaching at Melbourne University, Professor Saeed has been one of the first Australian academics who worked to build a program focused on contemporary Islam.
Thanks to their efforts, courses on Islamic studies have become common at Australian universities.
Such interest in Islamic courses began after 9/11 attacks.
“Most universities in Australia started taking an interest in Islamic studies after 9/11,” he said.
The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, to recognize Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service.
Clearing Misconceptions
Teaching at Australian universities, the renowned professor worked to correct misconceptions about Islam, the biggest of which was homogeneity.
“The idea that Muslims are just one lot of 1.6 billion people effectively functioning the same,” Professor Saeed said.
The esteemed professor also joined interfaith dialogue events looking for a common word between Islam and other Abrahamic faiths.
During one of the event, he attended interfaith meetings with the former Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams.
“It is how we understand our own religion too,” he said.
Islam is Australia’s second largest religion after Christianity.
Muslims, who have been in Australia for more than 200 years, make up 1.7 percent of its 20-million population.
Australia Honors Muslim Professor - Asia-Pacific - News - OnIslam.net...
Australia Honors Muslim Professor australia honors muslim professor
australia, honors, muslim, professor
« Sri Lanka Monks: Stop Muslim Hatred | Indian Invitation for Rushdie on Islam »
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Home > Society
Student missing after falling overboard on ferry trip off north Taiwan
CNA file photo
Taipei, Jan. 15 (CNA) A university student fell overboard during a ferry ride from Matsu Island to Keelung on Tuesday and had not been found as of 5:30 p.m., according to a local government official.
Chen Kuan-hao (陳冠豪) was traveling in a group with approximately 20 other students from National Taiwan Ocean University (NTOU), returning from a trip to Matsu, when he fell overboard at 3:14 p.m., said Lin Chang-ching (林長青), head of Lienchiang County tourism department.
At the time, the Taima Star ferry was about 27.9 nautical miles off Taipei Port and it started searching for Chen, Lin said.
The crew also immediately called the Coast Guard Administration (COA) and the North Taiwan Maritime Affairs Center to help in the search, Lin said.
According to Legislator Chen Hsueh-sheng (陳雪生), a search and rescue helicopter was dispatched to the area at 4:15 p.m., and a COA boat joined the search for the student at 5:10 p.m.
As of 5:30 p.m., however, he had not been located and the search was still in progress, the legislator said.
(By William Yen)
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The Comic's Comic Presents Last Things First
Tom Rhodes
Tom Rhodes has been obsessed with stand-up comedy since he was 12. As a teenager in Florida in the 1980s, he performed with fake IDs to get into the comedy clubs and won a contest that allowed him to perform at 19 at The Comedy Store in Hollywood. After stops in New York City and San Francisco, Rhodes became the first comedian signed to a deal with Comedy Central, and starred in his own NBC sitcom, Mr. Rhodes, in the mid-1990s. A decade later, he was hosting his own late-night talk show in Amsterdam. Three CDs, two half-hour specials, self-produced DVDs and many travels later, Rhodes and his wife are still globetrotting, but stopped long enough to catch me up on where he’s been and what’s next. So let’s get to it!
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Hinge-like protein may open new doors in cystic fibrosis treatment
IMAGE: A potentiator (orange) binds to a protein ‘hotspot,’ altering the molecule’s conformation.
Credit: Laboratory of Membrane Biology and Biophysics at The Rockefeller University
In recent decades, treatment options for people with cystic fibrosis have improved dramatically. The newest drugs, known as potentiators, target a protein called cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator, which is mutated in people with the disease. Yet, while these medications can help some people with CF, they are far from perfect. Moreover, researchers haven’t been able to figure out how the drugs actually work–until now.
A new study by Rockefeller scientists characterizes, for the first time, the interaction between potentiators and the protein they target at atomic resolution. The research, described in a recent report in Science, shows that two distinct compounds act on the same protein region–a finding that points to strategies for developing more effective drugs.
Finding the hotspot
The cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) is a channel that, when open, allows chloride ions to move in and out of cells. When CFTR is mutated, ions cannot flow freely, leading to changes in the make-up of mucus lining internal organs. These changes can be particularly dangerous in the lungs where they cause thick mucus to accumulate, often leading to impaired breathing and persistent infections.
Potentiators are used to increase the flow of ions through CFTR, ameliorating some symptoms of cystic fibrosis (CF). Currently, only one such drug, known as ivacaftor, is on the market; another, called GLPG1837, is now in development.
“Ivacaftor can improve lung function by about ten percent. It can help a lot, but it’s not a cure and not everybody responds to it,” says Jue Chen, the William E. Ford Professor. “So there’s a lot of interest in developing new potentiators.”
Pursuing this goal, Chen and her colleagues investigated how existing potentiators work. They used cryo-electron microscopy–a technique that beams electrons at a frozen specimen to reveal protein architecture at an atomic level–to study the structure of CFTR attached to either ivacaftor or GLPG1837. Somewhat surprisingly, the researchers found that the two drugs bind to the exact same spot on the protein.
“These compounds are developed by two different companies and have very different chemical properties. But they manage to make their way to the same site,” says Chen. “That tells us that this is a very sensitive, very important region of the protein.”
Better drugs, more access
Upon analyzing the “hotspot” where the two potentiators bound, the researchers noticed a peculiar feature: this area contained unwound loops inside the membrane that signify a flexible structure. And this flexibility, the researchers realized, serves a practical function.
“The region we identified, it turns out, works as a hinge that swings open to allow ions through the channel–so its structure needs to be flexible,” says Chen. “The compounds we studied bind to that very region, locking it into a channel-open conformation to improve ion flow. That’s how they work.”
With this knowledge, the researchers hope to craft compounds that directly target the hinge and do an even better job at keeping the ion channel open. And as Chen and her colleagues work toward the development of new drugs, she encourages other researchers to do the same. This kind of competition, she hopes, will drive down the cost of potentiators, making the medication available to a much larger portion of patients.
“We put our original data online and welcome anyone to use it,” says Chen. “Because if more researchers use it, more treatment options will become available, prices will drop, and more people will be helped.”
Reflecting on this breakthrough study, Chen acknowledges the work of David C. Gadsby, who passed away this March. The Patrick A. Gerschel Family Professor Emeritus and head of the Laboratory of Cardiac and Membrane Physiology, Gadsby’s early work on CFTR laid the groundwork for much of Chen’s research.
“He did a series of beautiful functional studies of CFTR, and he was a source of inspiration and knowledge,” she says. “It’s a pity he didn’t live to see it. We dedicate this study to him.”
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Guilherme Dias Gomes
Musician and composer Guilherme Dias Gomes is releasing his new CD, Trips, the seventh of his career, with all original music, mostly inspired by travel, places, and sensations which left their mark on the musician, such as Edinburgh, which he composed while practicing trumpet in a hotel room in Scotland, or the romantic, but also somewhat claustrophobic, feel of Cabin 3334, written in a ship cabin at night in the middle of the sea.
Not all of the songs refer to travel, however, Guilherme explains - "Clair, for example, is a re-recording from my first album, Milhas e Milhas (1988), I gave it this name as a tribute to my mother, and Maracatu Lacraia is a lively Maracatu to add that pure Brazilian touch.
The album was recorded in two sessions. The band was so tight that some tracks were done after the first take, such as River Thames and Salvaterra.
I recorded it here in Rio de Janeiro with Brazilian musicians, but it was mastered in New York to give it an international sound."
The songs on Trips are:
- Amstel Bossa Nova
- Salvaterra
- Clair
- Munchen Samba
- River Thames
- Maracatu Lacraia
- Cabin 3334
Working since 1991 as TV Globo's musical producer, where he wrote numerous scores for various soap operas and series, the musician decided to set off on a new path, leaving Rede Globo in 2014 to invest more in what he loves: working as a musician and composer. The immediate result was the CD Leste, with 9 original songs, released in the same year.
Son of Dias Gomes and Janete Clair, Rio de Janeiro native Guilherme Emmer Dias Gomes, trumpet player, composer, and musical producer, began studying piano at six years old and trumpet at 12. In 1974, he graduated from the Uni-Rio music program. In 1978 and 1979, he perfected his studies at the Berklee College of Music (Boston, USA).
In 1980, he released his first disk as Guilherme Emmer. Called You'll Never Know, it was the score to the soap opera "Coração Alado." Guilherme Dias Gomes is featured as a musician on albums by Rita Lee, Gal Costa, Ivan Lins, Paulinho da Viola, Roberto Carlos, Chico Buarque, and Nara Leão, among other first rate artists.
His new CD, TRIPS, features David Feldman as musical director and pianist, André Vasconcelos on the acoustic bass, Rafael Barata on drums, Idriss Boudrioua on the saxophone, Firmino on percussion, and Guilherme Dias Gomes on trumpet and flugelhorn.
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Mosaic Clubs & Resorts takes over Rancho Viejo Resort & Country Club
Posted on 3/18/2014, by Robert J. Vasilak
Mosaic Clubs & Resorts has established a presence deep, deep in the heart of Texas.
The Alpharetta, Georgia-based firm has been retained to manage Rancho Viejo Resort & Country Club, a 1,400-acre private resort community in the Rio Grande Valley outside Brownsville, the southernmost city in the state. Rancho Viejo offers villas and other lodging, meeting space and a pair of golf courses, the nine-hole El Angel and the 18-hole El Diablo.
Mosaic, a recently established spin-off of Affiniti Golf Partners, was created to operate “the world’s most prestigious private and resort clubs.” These days, it also operates two properties in Georgia and one in South Carolina.
Mosaic will manage both the club and resort elements at Rancho Viejo, including lodging, dining, two golf courses and a golf academy, conference center, swim and tennis, fitness center and club member activities.
Whitney Crouse, Mosaic’s chairman, describes Rancho Viejo as a place of “renown, tropical beauty and enriched heritage.” It’s located in a part of the nation where golf can reportedly be played on 340 days a year. Rancho Viejo is located just outside Brownsville, Texas, at the southernmost point of the United States mainland.
Opened in 1971, Rancho Viejo’s two 18-hole golf courses, El Diablo and El Angel, are framed by resacas, the ancient waterways of the Rio Grande Delta. The championship courses have played host to several national-class competitions, including the PGA Tour Qualifying School, where elite golfers like Curtis Strange, Craig Stadler and Peter Jacobson vied to earn their Tour cards.
Also located on property are two dining facilities and a conference center with meeting and special occasion event rooms. Rancho Viejo’s swimming pool boasts a large waterfall and a sandy beach landing. Resort guests stay in 1-, 2- and 3-bedroom villas, offering the privacy of a conventional hotel room with all the amenities of a luxury home.
Mosaid was retained in January to manage the club at The Country Club of South Carolina, an award-winning 900-acre residential community located in Florence, S.C.
Opened in 1968, The Country Club of South Carolina boasts a 7,150-yard championship course designed by Ellis Maples.
“The Country Club of South Carolina has been a fixture of community life in Florence for nearly five decades,” Crouse said. “The Mosaic team is honored to play a role in ensuring the continuing success of the club.”
In addition to championship golf, amenities at Country Club of South Carolina include a 30,000 square foot clubhouse, multiple dining venues, a fitness center, junior Olympic pool, lighted tennis complex and multi-station playground.
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John Jay’s Immigrant Student Success Center offers resources, comfort, and community.
by Abe Loomis
“You feel distraught when you lose everything you know,” Jessica ’19 says, reflecting on her experience as an immigrant student, “but you try to catch up as much as you can.” For Jessica, who fled violence in her native Ecuador with her sister at eight years old to join her parents in Rockland County, New York, “catching up” meant overcoming fear, learning a new language, taking AP classes, and earning grades good enough to place her on the honor roll at school—and then realizing that despite all of her hard work, she still might not be able to attend college.
“I remember telling my mom, ‘What’s the point if they’re going to deny me just because I don’t have a social security number?’” Jessica says. “Moments like those happened throughout high school. I would be proud of myself, but I would question if that would be enough to overcome my barrier of not being documented.”
Now a wife, a new mother, and the first in her family to attend college, the proud Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipient and winner of the Litza and Samuel Schlanger Scholarship has proven her ability to succeed. But that doesn’t mean it has been easy. Last year, while pregnant, working, attending school, and overwhelmed by all of it, she needed support. And thanks to the efforts of students, faculty, and administrators who had worked to bring to life John Jay’s Immigrant Student Success Center (ImSSC)—the first of its kind in the CUNY system—she had somewhere to turn. “Something that I appreciate so much about the Center,” Jessica says, “is that it is a safe place. It is somewhere where you don’t feel watched, you don’t feel persecuted, or put into certain boxes because of who you are. It’s not, ‘Oh, you’re an immigrant,’ or ‘Oh, you’re undocumented,’ it’s ‘Hey, how are you? Come in!’”
Fostering that sense of welcome is the job of Immigrant Student Success Center Manager Cynthia Nayeli Carvajal, who was herself an undocumented immigrant for 14 years before receiving permanent residency. Carvajal envisions the Center, which officially opened in October 2018, as a source of empowerment for students, achieving that end by sharing information, encouraging mentoring, facilitating advocacy, and referring students to educational, financial, and legal services. But she also sees it simply as a place for students to feel safe and supported. “Part of it is definitely to do programming and to advocate for students,” Carvajal says. “But its creation, at the heart of it, was really for it to serve as a space for students to feel seen, to feel connected, and to be in community with others who are experiencing similar things.”
The need for a dedicated space to support immigrant students emerged from conversations among students, faculty, and administrators. In 2015, Assistant Professor Isabel Martinez, Director of the Unaccompanied Latin American Minor Project, followed up on a comment from a student in one of her classes and found that immigrant students at John Jay had few resources purposefully designed to support their success. With help from Kate Szur, Director of Student Academic Success Programs, Martinez began to identify individuals whom immigrant students could seek out for assistance and to build a webpage listing these resources. Soon after the 2016 U.S. Presidential election, she and Associate Director for Student Success Initiatives Nancy Yang began to host “Pizza Mondays,” where students could discuss their worries, share helpful information, and connect over a slice.
Then, in collaboration with Professor José Luis Morín, Chairperson of the Latin American and Latino/a Studies Department, Martinez and Yang met with stakeholders on campus including the Division of Student Affairs, the Financial Aid Office, the Department of Public Safety, and the Office of Legal Counsel, to map out concerns and solutions for undocumented students.
“We cannot talk about the success and well being of John Jay students without talking about immigrant students,” Martinez says. “Thirty-three percent of the John Jay student population is immigrant, a number that balloons if we consider students who are children of immigrants. In accepting immigrant students, whether they are undocumented, DACAmented or otherwise, we have made a commitment to them, to see them through to graduation, and it is our responsibility as an institution to provide the resources that can help ensure that.”
Adds Yang, “Our Immigrant Student Success Center is an exclamation that John Jay College supports and cares about undocumented students. I am beyond thrilled that the Center is led by Cynthia Carvajal, someone who is thoughtful and creative about meeting undocumented student needs and has designed a variety of programming in just a few short months.”
Lisa ’20, a Criminology major, says the presence of the Center on campus has made a huge difference in her life. For Lisa, whose family left Guyana after they were robbed at gunpoint in the restaurant they owned, having a space to be with others who have faced challenges like hers brings a sense of community and solidarity.
“It’s especially hard for undocumented students,” Lisa says, “because there are so many barriers that we have to go through and so many challenges in terms of finding ways to connect with other people who are undocumented, or to have a support system, or to just have someone to be able to talk to about what they’re experiencing. It’s very empowering to see so many students who are undocumented come into this safe space. They don’t have to say that they’re undocumented, but it’s nice to know that it’s a location where I can have fun and just talk about issues and things like that and know that the people around me have experienced, or have family members who have experienced, similar situations as me.”
Carvajal (second from left) chatting with students in the new Immigrant Student Success Center.
Kai ’18, an alumna who is now a first-year Public Policy graduate student at Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Public Administration at The George Washington University, was thrilled to hear of the Center’s launch. While at John Jay—a community she says she found deeply supportive of undocumented students—she consulted with a lawyer outside the community whose advice she says turned out to be inaccurate. “Eventually,” she says, “I was able to check with a second attorney who was an immigration attorney and very knowledgeable. That person corrected everything that the previous attorney told me to do. So, I feel like having an actual Center where students can turn to someone, where students can get direct and straightforward answers, is something that the school lacked before, and now students stand a better chance of being properly advised.”
Along with such advantages, Carvajal notes, comes expanded awareness in the broader community, and practical measures to protect students. In response to incidents students reported, she says, the Center has been working to provide a deportation defense manual for students. “It often goes unsaid on school campuses, because we focus on education and how to make sure they graduate, but in between all of that, students are still dodging Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and dodging the impact of deportation on their communities.”
“We cannot talk about the success and well-being of John Jay students without talking about immigrant students.”
—Isabel Martinez
Carvajal is also quick to point out the importance of student activism in moving the Center from concept to reality. One alumna who saw that process up close was Diana ’18. She won a fellowship this year with Immigrant Justice Corps in New York City, working to provide legal representation to immigrant communities. Diana says the conversation about a space to support immigrant students was already under way when she arrived at John Jay. “I think it’s really beautiful to praise or to highlight John Jay as the first school to have that Center,” Diana says, “but I think it’s also important to highlight the individuals who worked behind the scenes—students, professors, and staff—before there was even a Center. They’re the real reason why the Center is opened and flourishing now.”
For Jessica, Lisa, and many others, the result of that work has been, finally, a place that feels like home. “I remember going to Cynthia and crying because I didn’t know what to do,” Jessica says. “I was tired, I was pregnant, I was freaking out about all these things, balancing school, work, and trying to live at the same time. And she said, ‘don’t worry, here are some resources. Don’t worry, come if you want to cry, come if you want to talk.’ I think it’s amazing they opened the Center, and I thank God that they did and that it was available for me when I needed it.”
By the NumberspreviousLeading the Waynext
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August, 2004, Comedy
Directed by:Zach Braff
Starring:Zach Braff, Natalie Portman, Peter Sarsgaard, Jackie Hoffman, and Ian Holm
The face that stares out from the screen in the opening scenes of this new comedic drama may look vaguely familiar; it belongs to Zach Braff, the long-faced actor who plays Dr. "D.J." Dorin on the television series "Scrubs". Braff works both sides of the camera in this meandering study of 20-something angst set in the Jersey suburbs of The Big Apple. Working from his own script, this first-time director proves he's a real triple threat, using shrewd observation and a mordant wit to examine the lives of middle class kids who've failed to meet their parents' mainstream expectations. While the movie's final reel suffers from an unfortunate dose of self-importance, there's enough humor and bite here to make for a thoroughly enjoyable summer film. Best of all, it features a shimmering performance by young Natalie Portman that worth the price of admission all by itself.
Barff plays Andrew Largeman, called home from a dead-end acting career in Hollywood to attend the funeral of his wheelchair-bound mother. Estranged from both his parents for reasons that are explained late in the picture, "Large" reconnects with his old school buddies submerging himself in alcohol and drug-induced numbness with Mark, (Peter Sarsgaard) who works as a gravedigger at the cemetery where Mrs. Largeman's been buried. (Mark supplements his income as a gravedigger by helping himself to jewelry that's been left in coffins after mourners depart, a moonlighting avocation that bears rather too heavily on the plot's resolution).
Since our hero's recreational drug use supplements a barrage of anti-depressants prescribed by his physician father, (Ian Holm) it's not surprising to find Large consulting a neurologist to find the source of blinding headaches which have begun to put a damper on his already fragile state of mind. While there, he meets "Sam", (Natalie Portman) a legal assistant who's immediately drawn to Largeman's sardonic sense of humor and diffident style. A romance quickly develops, forcing Largeman to confront his manipulative father and finally deal with what responsibility he might bear for his mother's condition before her death.
If the resolution of those soap opera issues burdens Garden State with a weight it's ultimately incapable of bearing, the sharply observed portraits of Large's "looser" friends enliven the action more effectively than any other comedy to come out this year; a thick-headed cop, an amusement park employee who's become the boy-toy of Mark's mother and the geeky inventor of "soundless Velcro" each get their moments of inspired lunacy here, providing a welcome relief from Largeman's generally downbeat demeanor. Only the sullen Mark hints at the real cost these layabouts bear for lives that have drifted far off course too early in life.
But it's Natalie Portman's Samantha that not only rescues Largeman in the end, but the movie in the bargain. Impish, motor-mouthed and touchingly vulnerable, she radiates a seductive ebullience from her first meeting with Large in the doctor's office and then manages to steal the affections of the film's remaining characters--and the audience--as well. Portman, an Israeli actress who first came to the attention of American audiences in Michael Mann's Heat in 1995, has since been largely relegated to highly visible mediocrity in the second stage of George Lucas's Star Wars saga. Her performance as an embittered Confederate War widow in Cold Mountain provided the only memorable moments in that otherwise lackluster effort; her appearance here as a lighter-than-air romantic heroine suggests that her range as an actress may match her pixie-ish good looks.
As Mark, Peter Sarsgaard delivers yet another of his patented performances as a man seething with often unfocused fury; with 16 screen roles to his credit in the last eight years, (4 in 2002 alone) and another handful of parts in movies scheduled to be released during the next 18 months, this superb character actor may become as ubiquitous as Harvey Keitel was a decade ago.
Given the seasoned appearances of the three leads and the sophistication of both script and production values, it's important to note how young, (by Hollywood standards) these principals are: Braff just turned 29, Sarsgaard is barely 33, Portman a decade younger. That's good news; based on their work in Garden State, audiences can look forward to seeing a great deal more of them.
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Comparative Analysis in Conflict Resolution: Computer Speech Synthesis and Humans Speech Production in View
Okpala Izunna Udebuana, Department of Communication and Translation Studies, National Institute for Nigerian Languages Aba, Akpaa, Nigeria
Received: Mar. 1, 2019; Accepted: Apr. 11, 2019; Published: May 10, 2019
Conflict is inevitable when it comes to communication between people from diverse background and settings. Computer systems also experience conflicts in form of bugs. Most naturally, before conflict of any sort occurs, be it ideas or perception, there must be some form of communication. Speech is one of the oldest and most natural means of information exchange between human beings. Humans speak and listen to each other in human-human interface in order to resolve certain conflicts, but computers speak to humans in a computer-human interface. The echo that comes out of a given speech might be understood or perceived differently when presented to different people. This paper is based on a comparative approach and focuses on given a run-down of the successes recorded in conflict resolution using human speech production in contrast to computer speech production. The author registers the conflict resolution practices in computers using a try-catch block pseudocode, its effectiveness in conflict resolution, plus the properties it lacks, and then, compares it to that of human functions as regards conflict resolution, in order to find a better approach. The methodology employed in this research is qualitative in nature. The author explores the stages and techniques of applying an artificial Intelligence system that scans through a given speech production and also how the brain processes information before it is finally voiced out.
Artificial Intelligence, Information Exchange, Speech Production, Conflict Resolution
Okpala Izunna Udebuana, Comparative Analysis in Conflict Resolution: Computer Speech Synthesis and Humans Speech Production in View, International Journal of European Studies. Vol. 3, No. 1, 2019, pp. 34-38. doi: 10.11648/j.ijes.20190301.16
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Fagyal, Z. (2001). Phonetics and speaking machines: On the mechanical simulation of human speech in the 17th century. Historiographia linguistica, 28(3), 289-330.
Nwakanma, I. C., Okpala, I. U., & Oluigbo I. (2014). Text – To – Speech Synthesis (TTS).
Webel, C., & Galtung, J. (Eds.). (2007). Handbook of peace and conflict studies. Routledge.
Ali, A. M., Asgari, S., Collier, T. C., Allen, M., Girod, L., Hudson, R. E.,... & Blumstein, D. T. (2009). An empirical study of collaborative acoustic source localization. Journal of Signal Processing Systems, 57(3), 415-436.
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Bergenthum, R., Desel, J., Lorenz, R., & Mauser, S. (2008). Synthesis of Petri nets from finite partial languages. Fundamenta Informaticae, 88(4), 437-468.
Blench, R. (2012). Research and development of Nigerian minority languages. Advances in Minority Language Research in Nigeria, 1, 1-15.
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Demmers, J. (2002). Diaspora and conflict: Locality, long-distance nationalism, and delocalisation of conflict dynamics. Javnost-The Public, 9(1), 85-96.
Dudley, H., & Tarnoczy, T. H. (1950). The speaking machine of Wolfgang von Kempelen. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 22(2), 151-166.
Dutoit, T. (1997). An introduction to text-to-speech synthesis (Vol. 3). Springer Science & Business Media.
Emejulu, O. A., Nwakanma, I. C., & Okpala, I. U. (2019). Digital Language Mining Platform for Nigerian languages (DLMP).
Fagyal, Z., Kibbee, D., & Jenkins, F. (2006). French: A linguistic introduction. Cambridge University Press.
Henze, R., Katz, A., & Norte, E. (2000). Rethinking the concept of racial or ethnic conflict in schools: A leadership perspective. Race Ethnicity and Education, 3(2), 195-206.
Jabri, V. (1996). Discourses on violence: Conflict analysis reconsidered. Manchester University Press.
Meyer, P., Rühl, H. W., Krüger, R., Kugler, M., Vogten, L. L. M., Dirksen, A., & Belhoula, K. (1993). PHRITTS-A Text-To-Speech Synthesizer for the German Language. In Third European Conference on Speech Communication and Technology.
Monperrus, M., de Montauzan, M. G., Cornu, B., Marvie, R., & Rouvoy, R. (2013). Challenging Analytical Knowledge On Exception-Handling: An Empirical Study of 32 Java Software Packages (Doctoral dissertation, Laboratoire d'Informatique Fondamentale de Lille).
Ramsbotham, O., Miall, H., & Woodhouse, T. (2011). Contemporary conflict resolution. Polity.
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Manar: Time is now to change school funding (VIDEO)
No Illinois schools would lose out on state money under a revised school funding reform plan introduced Tuesday by Sen. Andy Manar (D-Bunker Hill).
The legislation, Senate Bill 231, provides that state funding for education would be distributed based on student need while ensuring that no district would receive less state money than it did in the 2015-16 school year.
“We’ve waited a generation to try to do this. We’ve been listening to Gov. Rauner, who says kids are our number one priority. We agree. That’s our priority, too,” Manar said. “As a result, under this proposal no school would lose any state money. This legislation allows him to keep his word and us to keep our commitment to bring funding fairness to public education.”
The legislation comes after lengthy conversations with school district leaders and lawmakers statewide, as well as careful attention to Gov. Bruce Rauner’s desire that no school district lose money under any reform of the state’s school funding formula.
The state’s current formula for funding education, adopted in 1997, created a system in which school spending varies drastically. Currently, some schools spend as much as $30,000 per student, while others can only afford about $6,000. Manar’s proposal targets state dollars to schools where the dollars can produce the biggest academic turnaround among students. Examples would be schools with high concentrations of students living in poverty, students with disabilities and English learners.
Facing economic pressures, in 2012 the state began a process of shortchanging the state’s investment in public kindergarten through high school education. A year later, the Senate Education Funding Advisory Committee (EFAC) was created to study the impact of these cuts in the hope of addressing the fundamental unfairness of the state’s school funding system. Since then, Manar has sponsored two other plans aimed at achieving this goal, Senate Bill 16 and Senate Bill 1.
“Everyone recognizes the current system is broken,” said Manar. “It’s time to come together and support a modern funding system that ensures all students in Illinois – from Cairo to Rockford – have the same opportunities to learn and to compete.”
Students discuss the effects lack of funding has on education:
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Pro99 News - Saving LA's Intimate Theater - What's New
Home › Pro99 News
John Rubinstein to Actors Equity – “We are fighting for our lives”
Posted on February 17, 2017 by Team #pro99 — 1 Comment ↓
Letter to Actors Equity from esteemed actor John Rubinstein
(Reprinted with permission from a Facebook post by Mr. Rubinstein which began, “We are fighting for our lives at Interact. For the third time in three years, I have written to the entire Equity council and officers tonight….”)
Dear Equity leaders and councilors:
I am a member of AEA in good standing, and have been since 1965. I am, urgently, and with all my heart, requesting that you consider the proposal to allow theater companies to appeal Equity rulings in a legal and official hearing, in the same way that producers are currently given that same right and opportunity. Please, in the interest of fairness and openness, and of adhering to the union’s mission to support its paying members in the work they do, vote in favor of this appeals proposal. I am a member of Interact Theatre Company in Los Angeles, and our company has, we believe erroneously and unjustly, been denied “membership status.” We are asking for a chance to appeal that unilateral edict, so that we can continue to do the work we love and need to do.
The paragraph above is the primary reason for this email. If you care to read further, I include some history, and some expressions of bewilderment and sadness. And yes, some anger, no doubt about it. I would nonetheless be appreciative if you would read it all, and I welcome and encourage any and all responses you may wish to send me.
Life for theater actors in Los Angeles has entered a confusing, dark, and threatening era. It’s truly terrible; and it’s terribly hard to come to terms with the fact that it is our own union — you very elected officers and councilors, whose only true purpose in your generously chosen volunteer AEA jobs is to see to the welfare, protection, and nurturing of us, your colleagues, your fellow dues-paying Equity actors — that have chosen to so aggressively and cruelly implement the draconian, punitive, destructive, and utterly unnecessary new 99-seat Rules which are already beginning the erosion, the inevitable winnowing, and the intended evisceration, of the large, productive, flourishing, and soul-saving small theater movement in LA.
The choices now left for the dozens and dozens of 99-seat theater companies are meager, and contain within them arbitrary and restrictive deadlines, requirements, caps, limits and exclusions which are clearly and solely meant to cause theater after theater to either severely reduce their ability to produce, or, more logically, to close their doors permanently. The union — you, our representatives — have forced this through, despite a massive majority vote by LA members saying NO to these new Rules. You have used widely disseminated lies to bolster your false rationale:
* “producers” of small theaters in LA are reaping and pocketing profits on the backs of their abused and underpaid actors (total fiction);
* AEA is simply fighting for actors to be paid for their work (which LA actors knowingly and willingly do for love and art and creative necessity, but, in LA small theaters, NEVER for a living wage, since they know it is neither available nor possible);
* money will suddenly appear where it has never been before, and these happy actors will finally, thanks to their beneficent union, be paid at least minimum wage for every hour of rehearsal and performance (again, pure fiction. That money does NOT exist, thus the actors will NOT be paid for anything at all; they will simply be denied the right to put on the kind and caliber of plays that they have been voluntarily and passionately staging for decades).
For those companies who still manage to somehow fit within the confines of the new Rules, you deign to allow them to continue to use their Equity members, yet you have withdrawn the few union protections and safeguards which, however reluctantly, AEA had provided for the last thirty years. Or, they can go ahead and use only non-Equity actors (so much for the union actors, your constituents, who pay their annual dues, as well as their work dues when they are lucky enough to book a job in a union house!), but if any AEA members get caught acting on a stage in such a company, you will take those actors down! Or, better and simpler still, they can all just go to hell. Who cares? Well, the actors do; so do the audiences, the local businesses, the communities, the underprivileged children who take classes at those theaters. They all care that their local small theaters are being shoved out of existence. But certainly not the venerable Actors’ Equity Association. It’s weird, it’s wrong, and it’s disorienting, and it’s hurtful.
I have been a proud, loyal, happy, and grateful member of Actors’ Equity for 52 years. I am currently in rehearsals for a big Broadway musical, and was, as usual, knocked out with admiration at the wonderful 90-minute meeting delivered by the Equity rep on the first day, outlining the succor and support, the protections and perks, the benefits and boons available to us from our beloved union. I am only too glad and willing to contribute a solid chunk of my paycheck every week to help fund all those services, and to bolster the insurance and pensions for the combined membership. Also, in the past, to help pay the relatively tiny costs of providing the barest essential protections to Equity actors in small companies in LA and around the country that aren’t at the top of the theater food chain, and who struggle on a daily basis to merely keep the lights on. I’ve been more than delighted to contribute the tens of thousands of dollars that I have paid to AEA over the last half century. Worth every nickel. Thank goodness that we have this terrific union, looking after us. As long as we are raking in the cash. But nowadays, if you are only making theater because you love it and must do it, your union leaves you out in the cold. Worse — it PUSHES you out into the cold, and either ignores or threatens you if you knock on the door and ask to be let back in! It is tragic, and ridiculous.
I realize and appreciate my exceptional good fortune when I get to work on Broadway; or off- or off-off-. Or on tour. Or at one of the handful of theaters in Los Angeles where enough money comes in so that actors can, in fact, and usually for a very short period, make a decent salary. But in LA, the theater world really is the vast network of small, actor-produced membership theaters that do excellent work on a shoestring, and ONLY because the actors choose to do it as volunteers. It is either that, or simply stay home. That choice should be left to the actors, and supported by the union to which they pay their dues; not decided and decreed tyrannically and thoughtlessly by a mostly New York-based Equity council that seems to neither care about nor understand the LA small theater scene.
I have also been a proud and grateful member of Interact Theatre Company in Los Angeles for the last 25 years — a non-profit 99-seat membership company, with a large majority of Equity actors as members. We would sincerely like to try to survive, in spite of our own union’s harsh and dedicated effort to close our doors, along with those of all the other small theaters in our city. We absolutely qualify for “membership status” under the restrictive new Rules.
But Gail Gabler, your hired West Coast director, has decided not to grant that status to our company. She has been astonishingly unavailable. She has rejected overtures, cancelled scheduled meetings, repeatedly refused to answer phone calls. For months. She recently did manage to find enough time to write a response to one of the many, many requests for an explanation and a reversal that our company respectfully submitted to her. Her letter was brief and dismissive, and contained the following sentence: “While I appreciate your continued disagreement regarding this determination, please understand that this is an internal membership rule and our determination stands.”
That is not only a complete dodge of the very plain and simple question — where is the rule that denies Interact membership status? — but its phony politeness (she “appreciates” our disagreement? how quaint and kind and condescending of her!) and insultingly vague lingo (what the hell is an “internal membership rule”? Some sort of secret law that she needn’t inform us of if she chooses not to??) make it absolutely clear that she has no intention of simply explaining her mistaken, unethical, and probably even illegal denial of status to our award-winning, long-standing company of dues-paying Equity members. We, who pay her quite impressive salary out of our pockets, are stunned and furious that Ms. Gabler, an employee of our union, would choose to treat her employer/members with such repulsive rudeness, disregard, and unfairness.
I am personally not only outraged at these actions taken by my union with such unfeeling severity, and in such contrast with the royal and respectful way we temporarily lucky Broadway actors are treated, but I am still totally mystified and confused as to how and why so many of you sitting on the council have not only bought into all the dishonest and fictional “reasons” for this two-year campaign, the patronizing and disrespectful tone of the communications, the one-sided presentation of the spin and false figures and invented motivations, the blatant dismissal of the clear referendum tally and the urgent outcry from the thousands of dues-paying LA actors — but why and how you can justify the fact that so many of you continue to vociferously, and in some cases sneeringly, stand up for it. And vote for these repressive Rules. And vote against proposals like the recent ones which would have granted some more openness and transparency and communication between the membership and the union. Even after so very many of you ran for your council seats on a campaign of transparency and open communication! I don’t get it. If you think you are helping your LA colleagues, you are not. You are taking away our ability to practice our art. If you think all this secrecy and misrepresentation and dishonesty is justified in the cause of getting proper pay for your constituents, you are deceiving yourselves, or you are being deceived by those manipulating and misinforming you.
Once again, I urge each and every one of you to really take the time and make the effort to look at what the situation actually is in Los Angeles — how completely different it is from that in New York, where The Theater is one of the mainstays of the entire city’s tourism and income, and millions upon millions of dollars flow into its coffers on a daily basis, 52 weeks a year. Don’t look down upon your brothers and sisters who live and work in LA, but who are still actors just like you, who want and need to act on the stage, even when there is nowhere near enough money to fund their productions, and who are striving to carve out an artistic and cultural existence for themselves from the ground up. There has been no need for you, and for the council and officers that preceded you, to put together and implement such a massive drive to dismantle and eliminate what LA Equity members have achieved, and what they still aspire to achieve in the future.
Please vote in favor of this appeals measure, so that at the very least, a group like Interact Theatre Company can present an argument that will have to be heard and taken into consideration, to appeal what we see as, at best, a mistake, and, at worst, a deliberate effort to destroy what we’ve worked so hard to build for close to thirty years.
I thank you all for volunteering and running for office at Actors’ Equity. Where the union has decided to invest its heart and its good will, it has accomplished wonders for its members. I beg you to tap into that great history, and into the generosity of spirit you all obviously have — to also open your hearts to your colleagues in LA and in small theaters everywhere, so that the true meanings of the three words, “actors,” “equity,” and “association” can once again rightfully earn their position as our shared titular emblem of inclusion, strength, and solidarity.
Posted in AEA, AEA Lawsuit, Pro99
Tagged with john rubinstein
Tales in the aftermath of AEA’s termination of LA’s 99 seat theatre plan
Posted on February 5, 2017 by Team #pro99 — No Comments ↓
A catastrophic blow to the intimate theatres of Los Angeles
THE FALLOUT:
Less work for union actors.
Theatre companies left scrambling.
We’ll keep the stories here updated and current.
“Since the December 14 termination by Actors’ Equity Association of the 99-Seat Plan, Los Angeles intimate theatres have been tackling the issue of how to continue to produce under these new conditions. Some producing organizations have implied they intend to go completely non-union in the future, and others have simply announced they are unable to make the jump to the new Agreement, and must find a feasible way to keep producing that works within their financial realities.” – This Stage Magazine
“Perhaps the most important opportunities provided by the now bludgeoned 99-Seat Plan was the quality of the local culture for the audiences who attended the tens of thousands of performances staged here over the decades. The number and quality of those performances will now inevitably be diminished.” – Steven Leigh Morris, Executive Director of LA STAGE Alliance ► READ MORE
How theatre artists of Los Angeles are moving forward. Or not. Under these new conditions:
The Theatre @ Boston Court Looks Forward After AEA Termination of 99-Seat Plan
Letter: Equity Stonewalls L.A. Theater Company
After the Fallout: Effects of Equity’s new Agreement for LA
Tagged with 99seat plan termination, aftermath, fallout
So far, (paying) jobs for union actors are decreasing, not increasing.
Posted on January 15, 2017 by Team #pro99 — No Comments ↓
“Our 2017 season will … employ the smallest number of actors in our history in order to afford to be in compliance.”
“We have the first evidence of the impacts from Actors’ Equity Association’s new, promulgated 99-Seat Agreement in Los Angeles County theaters.
The idea underlining the Agreement was that it was supposed to incentivize producers to pay union actors a living wage – the first step being minimum wage to actors and stage managers for all rehearsals and performances in theaters of all sizes – replacing a system of volunteerism with steadily rising expense reimbursements… but it’s as grounded in the empirical reality of 2017 LA theater as a Polar Bear wandering across the Mojave Desert.”
READ MORE HERE ► After the Fallout: Effects of Equity’s new Agreement for LA by Steven Leigh Morris for StageRaw
Posted in AEA
Tagged with jobs, stage raw, Steven Leigh Morris
Equity was able to gaslight the majority of its membership over its elimination of the 99-Seat Plan.
Equity is eliminating the 99-Seat Plan that broadened the availability of intimate theater opportunities for hundreds of actors.
“…what Equity did in just this instance, the artist – who is, after all, a truth-seeker – should be quite wary of other statements made by the Union and its officials.
…Equity invented the narrative that “L.A. actors don’t want to get paid.” This is patently false. If actors, who are so good at understanding character motivation, had applied their craft on the invented narrative, it would have withered quickly. Instead, most actors outside Los Angeles accepted Equity’s line despite the constant and consistent claim from L.A. actors that “We are for change, just not this change” – from their first town hall meeting with Equity back in January 2015 through a town hall meeting in August 2016 and right to the present.
Another Equity meme is “The 99-Seat Plan allowed producers to take advantage of actors.” This convenient line neglected two inconvenient facts: (1) the majority of L.A. intimate theater productions are actor-produced (the producers are actors) and (2) Equity created the 99-Seat plan, specifically to ensure it would be difficult to take advantage of actors. Mary McColl (and those supporting the Equity position) would justify the “evil producer” meme by first pointing to some theater budgets that were large and then implying all theaters had plenty of money to pay actors. According to Equity’s false narrative, the theaters were simply holding back.”
READ MORE HERE ► The Responsibility of the Artist by Kevin Delin for Footlights
Tagged with Footlights, gaslighting, Kevin Delin
Los Angeles is about to lose a part of its cultural infrastructure
Posted on December 14, 2016 by Team #pro99 — 1 Comment ↓
Yes, this is a dramatic image. But we are talking about the THEATER here.
The very reason so many of us get up in the morning.
December 13 was the last day of small theater in Los Angeles as we’ve known it for the last three decades.
Yes that is a dramatic statement. But sadly, it’s TRUE.
“It doesn’t feel like a big deal because there are no front page stories, even on the art section because, let’s face it, there is no art section. There is no rally in the streets by the theater community. There is no city-wide campaign of support for these actors. But it is a big deal, Los Angeles is about to lose a part of its cultural infrastructure: less theater, less art, less community . . . and that’s a tragedy.” – Anthony Byrnes Opening the Curtain on LA Theater for KCRW ► READ MORE
“December 14 is the day that the stage actors’ union, Actors Equity, implements a plan that will certainly decimate the Los Angeles theater scene, and will hit especially hard the most vulnerable – minority, women-centered and LGBT communities…. Theater has long served to bring a voice to the powerless, and nowhere more than in the small fringe movements that have sprung up from the fearlessness and dedication of underrepresented communities. In one fell swoop, and with little regard for their membership, Actors Equity has muzzled the voices of the many artists who speak truth to power, and joined the ranks of those who would rob them – and the audiences they serve – of their hopes and dreams.
It is indeed a sad day in LA.” – Hoyt Hilsman for Huffington Post ► READ MORE
“Perhaps the most important opportunities provided by the now bludgeoned 99-Seat Plan was the quality of the local culture for the audiences who attended the tens of thousands of performances staged here over the decades. The number and quality of those performances will now inevitably be diminished… In this Brave New World, when the U.S. President-elect is already attacking union leaders and unionism in general, Actors’ Equity Association, with its inimitable lack of foresight, flexibility and empathy, couldn’t have found a more impolitic time to enrage its own membership in its second largest market.” – Steven Leigh Morris for This Stage.LA Magazine ► READ MORE
December 14th Press Release:
Members of L.A.’s “Pro99” theater community continue to gather signatures to demand a new referendum on Actors’ Equity’s 99-Seat Theater Plan, which is scheduled to end today.
► READ THE FULL PRESS RELEASE
► SIGN the referendum
“Our community is united. We will prevail.” – Members of Pro99
Tagged with aea, lawsuit, press release
Court case brought by Los Angeles actors against AEA is dismissed
Posted on December 8, 2016 by Team #pro99 — No Comments ↓
Judge Hatter has dismissed, without prejudice, the lawsuit brought against Actors Equity by Los Angeles area actors.
But the plaintiffs announced that they will continue to fight for the survival of the 99-seat theater system.
YOUR SIGNATURE IS NEEDED – please sign the petition for a new referendum to bring AEA back to the table.
More info and links to original documents can be found on FOOTLIGHTS and STAGE RAW.
Posted in AEA, AEA Lawsuit
Tagged with court case, lawsuit
Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Issues Statement on Equity’s Proposed Changes to LA Theatre
Posted on October 18, 2016 by Team #pro99 — No Comments ↓
“…We urge that the current system be maintained in place until the issues in controversy are resolved to avoid irreparable harm to the public, the artistic community, the related businesses and the quality of civic life in the region…. Once the infrastructure that undergirds the best of Los Angeles small theater is forced out of existence, it cannot, realistically, be resurrected.”
The Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle (LADCC) has issued the following statement on behalf of the current situation regarding the current proposed changes by Actors Equity Association (AEA) to the Los Angeles intimate theatre community:
As the dispute over the Los Angeles theater’s 99-Seat Plan nears a crisis point, with a new policy set to be unilaterally imposed by Actors Equity Association (AEA) in December, the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle would appreciate all concerned, including the U.S. District Court, to take notice of its Resolution of February 2015, slightly shortened below.
If the pending changes are allowed to take effect, the immediate impact on the community of greater Los Angeles, as well as on its actors and other theater artists, would be deleterious and probably irreversible. Many companies, a good number of them operating productively for 10 to 30 years, have already had to cancel planned productions and have been unable to do essential long-range planning in this uncertain environment where they may have no viable future. Los Angeles’ most dedicated theater actors will be deprived of their free expression and realization of their craft, under circumstances that pose no genuine threat to the interests of AEA and contrary to their overwhelmingly expressed desire to continue to do so.
We urge that the current system be maintained in place until the issues in controversy are resolved to avoid irreparable harm to the public, the artistic community, the related businesses and the quality of civic life in the region.
From February 2015:
“The Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle views the impending changes of policy concerning the small theaters of the greater Los Angeles area with alarm. We are concerned that the inevitable result of such changes will be a drastic reduction in the amount and quality of local theater. Indeed, we foresee what could be the demise of Los Angeles as a leading incubator of plays and theater of innovation and diversity.
As critics, we are the front lines of the audience. Thus, we are keenly aware of the importance of small theaters and the actors who perform at them to the cultural ecosystem of Los Angeles as a major metropolitan center for the arts. Our institutional theaters and touring roadshows provide a valuable and popular service, but they alone do not and cannot provide the vast spectrum of forms of expression which a great city requires. Within that spectrum, live theater plays an essential role.
Under current proposals, nearly all of the winners of our Margaret Harford Award for sustained excellence over the past dozen years – our highest honor – would be threatened with closure or, at best, severely curtailed activities. A majority of the shows recognized in our annual nominations and awards would likely have never been produced. Worse, the future would promise a vastly constricted, less diverse, less venturesome, less exciting and relevant theater scene.
The cultural loss would be incalculable, affecting the hundreds of productions staged annually in Los Angeles. The economic loss of all the businesses interdependent on that production output is calculable, but even without the numbers being run, we believe the net impact on the city could be catastrophic.
The current situation is urgent and dire. When an historic piece of eminent architecture is destroyed, a natural resource despoiled, or a species goes extinct, the loss is irreplaceable. Once the infrastructure that undergirds the best of Los Angeles small theater is forced out of existence, it cannot, realistically, be resurrected.”
For interviews or questions, please contact David Elzer/DEMAND PR at 818-508-1754 or at davidelzer@me.com.
Tagged with LADCC, Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle, press release
Love 99 film documents the Los Angeles 99-seat theatre scene
Please. Help support this film. Click the image:
From the official press release:
Los Angeles, CA – October 10, 2016 – Helen Mirren narrated documentary film, Love 99, has launched a Kickstarter campaign for finishing funds and is on track for a December 2016 release.
Directed by Veronica Brady, LOVE 99 is a feature-length documentary following the lives of 9 actors in the Los Angeles 99-seat theatre scene as they fight for their passion during tumultuous times.
A few months before filming began, Actors’ Equity Association – the actors’ union – announced it would terminate the contract governing and protecting how and when their members could work in the nearly 200 intimate theatres spread across the city. The union would enforce the dissolution of the “99-seat waiver contract,” as its known, against the wishes of its members. The loss of such artistic freedom quickly galvanized the community into action.
LOVE 99 drops right down into the middle of this storm and gives the viewer unprecedented access into the wild, joyful, and passionate life of theatre artists in LA and exposes what they will do to protect their creative freedom.
LOVE 99 is produced by Planet Grande Pictures, a 7-time Emmy Award-winning documentary production company, in collaboration with Hybrid Collective.
About Planet Grande Pictures
Planet Grande Pictures is an independent production company based in Malibu CA, founded by multi-Emmy winners John Watkin & Eamon Harrington. The company has produced over 200 projects for major networks, including CBS, ABC, NBC, FOX, HBO, SHOWTIME, CMT, FUSE, DISCOVERY, DISNEY CHANNEL & VH1.
Veronica Brady (Director)
veronicaabrady@gmail.com
Jasmine Pook (Associate Producer)
jasmine@planetgrande.net
MORE: www.love99film.com
Posted in Pro99
Tagged with Helen Mirren, kickstarter, Love 99
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Community Alert on Immigration Executive Order, issued by President D. J. Trump on January 27, 2017
January 30, 2017 | Immigration News & Announcements - Butvilas & Associates PC
NOTE: This information is quickly changing and being clarified and will be published as it becomes available.
TERMS OF EXECUTIVE ORDER AS WE CURRENTLY KNOW:
Suspends immigrant and non-immigrant admissions to the U.S. for at least 90 days for individuals from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen.
Note: Citizens of the affected countries who hold dual citizenship with the U.S. should not be affected. Non-U.S. citizens who hold dual citizenship with the affected countries may be subject to the ban.
Note: Other countries may be added to the ban by Executive Order at any time.
Note: This ban may include individuals who have traveled to the designated countries as well, even if they do not hold a nationality of one of the affected countries. At a minimum, additional screening could be expected for those who have traveled to affected countries.
Suspends the full U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) for at least 120 days.
Indefinitely suspends U.S. resettlement for refugees from Syria.
Note: The ban will only be lifted when the President determines that sufficient changes have been made to ensure that the admission of Syrian refugees is in the national interest.
May impact non-U.S. citizen individuals from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen who are currently in the U.S.
Despite the ban, returning Lawful Permanent Residents (LPRs), aka green card holders, may be admitted on a case-by-case basis and following a thorough security screening by the U.S. government.
Note: Additional screening may include the search of luggage, mobile phones, computers, and electronics, including social media pages for any antiAmerican communications or posts.
Note: LPRs returning to the U.S. after a short time abroad have the legal right to return to the U.S., barring exceptional circumstances.
Note: LPRs should not agree to abandon or relinquish their status or sign any forms during any detention by Customs and Border Protection. They should insist on speaking with an immigration attorney and appearing before an immigration judge.
It is important to note that individuals who arrive in the U.S. who have been persecuted or who may face persecution if returned to their home country may have a legal right to claim asylum in the U.S., and claim a credible fear of return. The Executive Order does not limit this legal right.
Note: Non-immigrants and first time immigrant visa admissions from the listed countries may be denied entry, consistent with the Executive Order.
Worldwide U.S. Embassies and Consulates have been instructed not to issue any nonimmigrant or immigrant visas to persons from the affected countries, consistent with the Executive Order.
What Should Individuals and Family Members from Affected Countries Do:
Consult with an immigration attorney before traveling outside of the U.S. Many nonimmigrant visa classifications allow for extensions of stay to ensure maintenance of legal status in the U.S.
Individuals already outside the U.S. and prevented from returning should contact an immigration attorney.
Individuals traveling from outside the U.S. should provide a digital copy of the personal data page of their passport and any additional travel documents such as a visa or green card, in the event additional legal assistance is required during a detention by Customs and Border Protection.
Individuals from one of the affected countries who have a pending immigration petition or application (i.e. green card) will experience delays in the adjudication of their cases. These individuals also should contact an immigration attorney, as such delays may be improper and unlawful.
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Le-Puy III
← Saintes-Maries-de-la-MerLe-Puy-en-Velay →
Behind the main altar in the Cathedral, 2 Rue de la Manecanterie, 43000 Le-Puy-en-Velay
Our Lady of Le Puy III
In 1844, this 17th century approximate copy of Our Lady of Le Puy was taken from another church to assume the empty throne and title of her burnt sister. She was crowned by the bishop of Le Puy in the name of Pope Pius IX in 1856.
Note her mantle. I have heard non-Christians complain about, "those patriarchs, who cover the Mother in those horrid wrappings!" Actually, the dressing of statues is one privilege that is usually left to pious women called 'sacristans'. In "The Healing Touch of Mary" by Cheri Lomonte,(*1) three such sacristans tell moving stories about Our Lady communicating messages by "choosing" certain dresses on certain days. They all cherish an intimacy with the Mother of God that comes from cleaning and dressing her, and creating her wardrobe. (Sponging her down with wine was a medieval custom, which according to Ean Begg survives as an annual ritual in Le Puy-en-Velay.(*2 )
Many of Mary's mantels turn her into a triangle, the oldest symbol from Neolithic times for the Sacred Feminine in human as well as in divine form. I don't think this is a coincident, but a message from Our Mother and from a deep, unconscious memory carried in our DNA. What does it mean? Ask Her!
This particular mantle was offered to Our Lady by a group of women on assumption day (8/15) 1945. During the war 40 of their children had been sent to forced labor camps in Germany. Each week these mothers would gather before the Mother of God to implore her protection for their children. They would place photos of the youths under the mantle of the Black Madonna. When all 40 returned safe and sound, this mantle was made in thanksgiving.(*3)
Le Puy is an incredible place to visit, beautiful in its nature and in its medieval town, which is of great historical interest. If you don't mind a crowd of 15-20,000 pilgrims, the best time to see Our Lady in all her glory is on August 15th, the feast of the assumption. The night before there is a 9 p.m. torch light procession, then masses all morning, but the most festive one at 10 a.m. At 3 p.m. a great procession takes Our Lady through the decorated city.
To this day the sanctuary is a major starting point for the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostella. Interestingly the website of the cathedral appreciates the surge of interest in Black Madonnas and suggests a 2-3 week pilgrimage route along the Black Madonna sites of the Auvergne as a warm up exercise for going all the way to Santiago de Compostella.(*4)
During the Crusades many a legion would commence its warpath in Le Puy in the effort to make this a “holy war”, but Our Lady preferred the way of peace. In 1180, she appeared to a carpenter of Le Puy by the name of Durand, instructing him to spread the message of peace. She gave him a document, or seal, bearing an image of the Madonna and child with the inscription: "Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world, grant us peace." With the Mother's help, Durand formed a peace association that was instrumental in appeasing the culture of violence inflicted upon the whole population by aristocratic gangs.(*5) The association's defense was religious and social renewal under the guidance of Our Mother. Its members wore white capes which earned them the name Capuciati.
*1: Cheri Lamonte, The Healing touch of Mary: Real Life Stories from those touched by Mary, Divine Impressions, Austin, Tx: 2005
*2: Ean Begg, The Cult of the Black Virgin, p. 213
*3:"Les manteaux de Notre-Dame du Puy au long de l'année", a booklet published by and sold in the sanctuary.
*4: The article is called “A Route of Black Madonnas?” It lists these sanctuaries as possible stops on the way: Moulins, Coulandon, Souvigny, Autry-Issards, Meillers, Rocles, Chappes, Lalizolle, Lisseuil ou Ebreuil, St Pardoux, Mozac, Riom , Marsat, Clermont-Ferrand, Notre-Dame du Port, Beaumont, Orcival, Saulzet-le-Froid, St Nectaire, Saint Saturnin, Authezat, Chidrac, Ardes, Saint Gervazy, Lempdes, Brioude, Langeac, Saint Julien et Sainte Marie des Chazes, Saugues, Monistrol d'Allier, Le Puy-en-Velay.
*5: Marcus Bull, The Miracles of Our Lady of Rocamadour, Boydell Press, Woodbridge, UK: 1999, pp. 86-7
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Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi a Leader who can get the Job Done
San Francisco, CA “There will come a day when Ross is the chief executive of the City and County of San Francisco.” These were the words of Supervisor Aaron Peskin at a campaign kick-off reception for Ross Mirkarimi, the first Iranian American elected to office in San Francisco.
Mirkarimi was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 2004 and is currently seeking a second term in the upcoming November 2008 election. He represents district 5, which encompasses Haight-Ashbury and is one of the most diverse districts in San Francisco.
The Board of Supervisors is the legislative branch of the City and County of San Francisco. The Board consists of 11 members. Each member is elected on a non-partisan basis from a district where he or she lives. The Board has served as a launching pad for the careers of several prominent politicians, including Mayor Gavin Newsom, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and Senator Dianne Feinstein.
Mirkarimi (pronounced Meehr-kah-reem-E) was born in Chicago in 1961 to an Iranian father and a Russian-American mother. He received his Bachelor's degree in political science from St. Louis University, a Master's degree in international economics and affairs from Golden Gate University, and a Master of Science degree in environmental science from the University of San Francisco. A resident of San Francisco since 1984, Mirkarimi has been a tireless force for progressive change. A cofounder of California’s Green Party, he has worked to put underdog progressive candidates in elected office and led legislative efforts and campaigns to make City Hall more accountable to the people.
As a supervisor, Mirkarimi has sponsored over 40 pieces of legislation, including a measure that requires police foot patrols in high-crime neighborhoods. In March 2007, he authored legislation that prohibits the use of plastic bags made of petroleum products from certain chain stores, making San Francisco the first city to regulate such bags.
"Instead of waiting for the federal government to do something about this country's oil dependence, environmental degradation or contribution to global warming, local governments can step up and do their part,” explained Mirkarimi in an interview. “We estimate that the plastic prohibition will save 450,000 gallons of oil and prevent 1,400 tons of trash from ending up in our landfills annually.” Since its passage, other cities around the country and in Europe are taking up similar measures.
Mirkarimi has also been a vocal supporter of the Iranian American community in the Bay area. He introduced a resolution in an effort to ensure that Iranian Americans are not discriminated against in the City of San Francisco and took swift action in responding to the unjust detainment of Iranian visitors who had legally traveled to the U.S. for an annual alumni college reunion. In 2006, Mirkarimi joined Mayor Newsom in hosting over 500 guests from across the Bay Area for the 1st Annual Norouz Celebration in the City and County of San Francisco.
Mirkarimi faces Rob Anderson in the 2008 election. He is one of three incumbents, who traditionally have an advantage, on the November ballot. Numerous organizations and city officials including, the Sierra Club, California Nurses Association, Police Commissioners Theresa Sparks, and former Mayors Art Agnos and Willie Brown have endorsed Mirkarimi’s campaign.
If reelected, Mirkarimi’s priorities include securing long-term solutions to homelessness and neighborhood distress as well as taking control of San Francisco's energy future by making clean and green energy cheap and accessible.
“Ross Mirkarimi was championing green issues before it was cool,” explained former Mayor Agnos at Mirkarimi’s campaign kickoff reception. “He is a leader who can get the job done long after the press conferences are over.”
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S. Dey and A. Joshi, Local perturbations do not affect stability of laboratory fruitfly metapopulations, PloS ONE 2, (2007).
N. S. Bharathi, N. Archana, B. Anjana, K. M. Satish, J. Mohan and A. Joshi, Time to death in the presence of E. coli: a mass-scale method for assaying pathogen resistance in Drosophila, Journal of Genetics 86, 75 - 79 (2007).
M. Rajamani, N. Raghavendra, N. G. Prasad, N. Archana, A. Joshi and M. Shakarad, Reduced larval feeding rate is a strong evolutionary correlate of rapid development in Drosophila melanogaster, Journal of Genetics 85, 209 - 212 (2006).
S. Dey and A. Joshi, Response to comment on "Stability via asynchrony in Drosophila metapopulations with low migration rates, Science 314, 420 (2006).
S. Dey and A. Joshi, Stability via asynchrony in Drosophila metapopulations with low migration rates, Science 312, 434 - 436 (2006).
S. Dey, J. Mohan and A. Joshi, Micro-environmental variation in pre-assay rearing conditions can lead to anomalies in the measurement of life-history traits, Journal of Genetics 85, 53 - 56 (2006).
S. Dey, S. Dabholkar and A. Joshi, The effect of migration on metapopulation stability is qualitatively unaffected by demographic and spatial heterogeneity, Journal of Theoretical Biology 238, 78 - 84 (2006).
A. Joshi, Behaviour genetics in the post-genomics era: from genes to behaviour and vice versa, Current Science 89, 1128 - 1135 (2005).
D. A. Paranjpe, D. Anitha, M. K. Chandrashekaran, A. Joshi and V. K. Sharma, Possible role of eclosion rhythm in mediating the effects of light-dark environments on pre-adult development in Drosophila melanogaster, BMC Developmental Biology 5, 5 (2005).
M. Shakarad, N. G. Prasad, K. Gokhale, V. Gadagkar, M. Rajamani and A. Joshi, Faster development does not lead to correlated evolution of greater pre-adult competitive ability in Drosophila melanogaster, Biology Letters 1, 91 - 94 (2005).
A. Joshi, Inbreeding and sex: canalization, plasticity and sexual selection, Journal of Genetics 84, 13 - 15 (2005).
N. S. Bharathi, N. G. Prasad, M. Shakarad and A. Joshi, Variation in adult life-history and stress resistance across five species of Drosophila, Journal of Genetics 82, 191 - 205 (2003).
A. Joshi, R. B. Castillo and L. D. Mueller, The contribution of ancestry, chance, and past and ongoing selection to adaptive evolution, Journal of Genetics 82, 147 - 162 (2003).
N. G. Prasad and A. Joshi, What have two decades of laboratory life-history evolution studies on Drosophila melanogaster taught us?, Journal of Genetics 82, 45 - 76 (2003).
N. G. Prasad, M. Shakarad, M. Rajamani and A. Joshi, Interaction between the effects of maternal and larval nutritional levels on pre-adult survival in Drosophila melanogaster, Evolutionary Ecology Research 5, 903 - 911 (2003).
N. G. Prasad, S. Dey, M. Shakarad and A. Joshi, The evolution of population stability as a by-product of life-history evolution, Proceedings of the Royal Society of London: Biological Sciences 270, (2003).
D. A. Paranjpe, D. Anitha, S. Kumar, D. Kumar, K. Verkhedkar, M. K. Chandrashekaran, A. Joshi and V. K. Sharma, Entrainment of eclosion rhythm in Drosophila melanogaster populations reared for more than 700 generations in constant light environment, Chronobiology International 20, 977 - 987 (2003).
V. Sheeba, M. K. Chandrashekaran, A. Joshi and V. K. Sharma, Developmental plasticity of the locomotor activity rhythm of Drosophila melanogaster, Journal of Insect Physiology 48, 25 - 32 (2002).
V. Sheeba, M. K. Chandrashekaran, A. Joshi and V. K. Sharma, Locomotor activity rhythm in Drosophila melanogaster after 600 generations in an aperiodic environment, Naturwissenschaften 89, 512 - 514 (2002).
A. Joshi, Development and competition in fruit flies: a tale of two densities, Proceedings of the Indian National Science Academy B 67, 389 - 396 (2001).
V. Sheeba, M. Nihal, S. J. Mathew, N. M. Swamy, L. Bandhopadhyay, M. K. Chandrashekaran, A. Joshi and V. K. Sharma, Does the difference in the timing of eclosion of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster reflect differences in the circadian organization?, Chronobiology International 18, 601 - 612 (2001).
N. G. Prasad, M. Shakarad, D. Anitha, M. Rajamani and A. Joshi, Correlated responses to selection for faster development and early reproduction in Drosophila: the evolution of larval traits, Evolution 55, 1363 - 1372 (2001).
M. Shakarad, N. G. Prasad, M. Rajamani and A. Joshi, Evolution of faster development does not lead to greater fluctuating asymmetry of sternopleural bristle number in Drosophila, Journal of Genetics 80, 1 - 7 (2001).
V. Sheeba, M. K. Chandrashekaran, A. Joshi and V. K. Sharma, A case for multiple oscillators controlling different rhythms in Drosophila melanogaster, Journal of Insect Physiology 47, 1217 - 1225 (2001).
V. Sheeba, M. K. Chandrashekaran, A. Joshi and V. K. Sharma, Persistence of oviposition rhythm in individuals of Drosophila melanogaster reared in an aperiodic environment for several hundred generations, Journal of Experimental Zoology 290, 541 - 549 (2001).
S. Jaggi and A. Joshi, Incorporating spatial variation in density enhances the stability of simple population dynamics models, Journal of Theoretical Biology 209, 249 - 255 (2001).
A. Joshi, N. G. Prasad and M. Shakarad, K-selection, a-selection, effectiveness, and tolerance in competition: density-dependent selection revisited, Journal of Genetics 80, 63 - 75 (2001).
N. G. Prasad, M. Shakarad, V. M. Gohil, V. Sheeba, M. Rajamani and A. Joshi, Evolution of reduced pre-adult viability and larval growth rate in laboratory populations of Drosophila melanogaster selected for shorter development time, Genetical Research 76, 249 - 259 (2000).
L. D. Mueller, A. Joshi and D. J. Borash, Does population stability evolve?, Ecology 81, 1273 - 1285 (2000).
A. Joshi, Life-history evolution in the laboratory, Journal of the Indian Institute of Science 80, 25 - 37 (2000).
V. Sheeba, V. K. Sharma, K. Shubha, M. K. Chandrashekaran and A. Joshi, The effect of different light regimes on adult lifespan in Drosophila melanogaster is partly mediated through reproductive output, Journal of Biological Rhythms 15, 380 - 392 (2000).
V. Sheeba, V. K. Sharma, M. K. Chandrashekaran and A. Joshi, Effect of different light regimes on pre-adult fitness in Drosophila melanogaster populations reared in constant light for over six hundred generations, Biological Rhythms Research 30, 424 - 433 (1999).
V. Sheeba, M. Rajamani and A. Joshi, Bimodal distribution of oviposition preference for a novel food medium in Drosophila melanogaster, Current Science 77, 1197 - 1200 (1999).
V. Sheeba, V. K. Sharma, M. K. Chandrashekaran and A. Joshi, Persistence of Drosophila eclosion rhythm after 600 generations in an aperiodic environment, Naturwissenschaften 86, 448 - 449 (1999).
A. Joshi, M. H. Do and L. D. Mueller, Poisson distribution of male mating success in laboratory populations of Drosophila melanogaster, Genetical Research 73, 239 - 249 (1999).
A. Joshi and M. E. Moody, The cost of sex revisited: effects of male gamete output of hermaphrodites that are asexual in their female capacity, Journal of Theoretical Biology 195, 533 - 542 (1998).
A. Joshi, W. A. Oshiro, J. Shiotsugu and L. D. Mueller, Short and long-term effects of environmental urea on fecundity in Drosophila melanogaster, Journal of Biosciences 23, 279 - 283 (1998).
V. Sheeba:A. Joshi, A test of simple models of population growth using data from very small populations of Drosophila melanogaster, Current Science 75, 1406 - 1410 (1998).
V. Sheeba, N. A. A. Madhyastha and A. Joshi, Oviposition preference for novel versus normal food resources in laboratory populations of Drosophila melanogaster, Journal of Biosciences 23, 93 - 100 (1998).
D. J. Borash, A. G. Gibbs, A. Joshi and L. D. Mueller, A genetic polymorphism maintained by natural selection in a temporally varying environment, American Naturalist 151, 148 - 156 (1998).
A. Joshi, W. Wu and L. D. Mueller, Density-dependent natural selection in Drosophila: adaptation to adult crowding, Evolutionary Ecology 12, 363 - 376 (1998).
A. Joshi, Adaptive evolution and the footprints of history, Current Science 72, 944 - 949 (1997).
A. Joshi, Laboratory studies of density-dependent selection: adaptations to crowding in Drosophila melanogaster, Current Science 72, 555 - 561 (1997).
A. Joshi and L. D. Mueller, Adult crowding effects on longevity in Drosophila melanogaster: increase in age-independent mortality, Current Science 72, 255 - 260 (1997).
A. Joshi and J. N. Thompson, Adaptation and specialization in a two-resource environment in Drosophila species, Evolution 51, 846 - 855 (1997).
M. Santos, D. J. Borash, A. Joshi, N. Bounlutay and L. D. Mueller, Density-dependent natural selection in Drosophila: evolution of growth rate and body size, Evolution 51, 420 - 432 (1997).
A. Joshi, W. A. Oshiro, J. Shiotsugu and L. D. Mueller, Within- and among-population variation in oviposition preference for urea-supplemented food in Drosophila melanogaster, Journal of Biosciences 22, 325 - 338 (1997).
A. Joshi, J. Shiotsugu and L. D. Mueller, Phenotypic enhancement of longevity by environmental urea in Drosophila melanogaster, Experimental Gerontology 31, 533 - 544 (1996).
A. Joshi and L. D. Mueller, Density-dependent natural selection in Drosophila: trade-offs between larval food acquisition and utilization, Evolutionary Ecology 10, 463 - 474 (1996).
A. Joshi, C. D. Knight and L. D. Mueller, Genetics of larval urea tolerance in Drosophila melanogaster, Heredity 77, 33 - 39 (1996).
A. Joshi and J. N. Thompson, Evolution of broad and specific competitive ability in novel versus familiar environments in Drosophila species, Evolution 50, 188 - 194 (1996).
A. Joshi and M. E. Moody, Male gamete output of asexuals and the dynamics of populations polymorphic for reproductive mode, Journal of Theoretical Biology 174, 189 - 197 (1995).
A. Joshi and J. N. Thompson, Alternative routes to the evolution of competitive ability in two competing species of Drosophila, Evolution 49, 616 - 625 (1995).
A. Joshi and J. N. Thompson, Trade-offs and the evolution of host specialization, Evolutionary Ecology 9, 82 - 92 (1995).
A. Joshi and L. D. Mueller, Directional and stabilizing density-dependent natural selection for pupation height in Drosophila melanogaster, Evolution 47, 176 - 184 (1993).
A. Joshi and L. D. Mueller, Evolution of higher feeding rate in Drosophila due to density-dependent natural selection, Evolution 42, 1090 - 1092 (1988).
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Expressive Conduct About
Kidset Radio
Kidset Media
This is Expressive Conduct.
"The Dangers of Political Myth: Past and Present" by Robert S. Leib
Shakespeare is said to have introduced about 1000 words and over 100 idioms into the English language, and we often cite him as an immense influence on modern English as we know it. By contrast, the Nazi-Deutsch Lexicon, a dictionary of all the new words and specials senses in which old words were appropriated, lists at least twice as many introductions into the German language by Nazis as Shakespeare achieved in English.
As every voter realizes, politically motivated lies, propaganda, and spin present significant challenges to a just and fair democracy. Political myth, however, is a less recognized and potentially more dangerous adversary. While lies and propaganda might be exposed for what they are, and spin may be corrected by the ‘facts’, political myth is largely immune to argument and reason because it projects a dream for the community, a narrative in light of which a group or nation orients itself and forms its identity. At the same time, however, these myths can be used to exclude and silence those whom a community rejects. As Jewish philosopher Ernst Cassirer wrote of the Nazis’ rise to power in 1933: “The real rearmament began with the origin and rise of the political myths. The later military rearmament was only an accessory after the fact.” But, what is political myth, and how does it work? According to Cassirer, myth works according to the 'magical' function of language, a mode of speech wherein saying and being coincide. This immediate link between what is said and what becomes the case for a community means that myth can breed discontent, violence, and paralysis, even while it speaks ostensibly in terms of freedom and security, and cultural identity. “Political myth acted in the same way as a serpent that tries to paralyze its victims before attacking them," Cassirer says. "Men...were vanquished and subdued before they had realized what actually happened.” This talk examines the relationship between language and politics in the context of Nazi Germany, with an eye toward current and emerging forms of political practice.
This talk was given by Robert Leib on November 3rd, 2016 at the Peace, Justice, and Human Rights Colloquium Series at Florida Atlantic University.
Expressive Conduct Blog
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newsroom / 2017 archives / november 2017
Traffic Collision Kills 11-Year-Old GirlNR17335dm
Los Angeles: On November 10, 2017, around 7:00 p.m., a 2015 Ford Mustang was traveling west on Whittier Boulevard. The Mustang crossed over into the eastbound lanes of Whittier Boulevard and collided into the front of a parked 2015 Nissan Sentra. The force of the impact caused the Nissan to be pushed violently onto the sidewalk, striking four pedestrians. After colliding with the Nissan, the Mustang continued in the eastbound lanes of Whittier before colliding into the front of a parked 2005 Chevrolet Silverado and stopping.
Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics responded to the scene and transported all four victims to a local hospital. Despite lifesaving efforts, 11-year-old Elektra Yepez succumbed to her injuries and was pronounced dead. The other three victims sustained non-life threatening injuries.
The driver of the Ford Mustang, Jose Louis Perez, was arrested and booked for Vehicular Manslaughter. A juvenile passenger of the Ford Mustang was arrested for possession of Nitrous Oxide.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the LAPD Central Traffic Division Detectives at (213) 833-3713, Detective DeHesa at (213) 486-0750, Officer Eri Poss at (213) 486-0760 or the Central Traffic Division Watch Commander at (213) 388-3746. During non-business hours or on weekends, calls should be directed to 1-877-LAPD-24-7 (877-527-3247). Anyone wishing to remain anonymous should call Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS (800-222-8477). Tipsters may also contact Crime Stoppers by texting to phone number 274637 (C-R-I-M-E-S on most keypads) with a cell phone. All text messages should begin with the letters "LAPD." Tipsters may also go to LAPDOnline.org, click on "webtips" and follow the prompts.
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Family Pleads for Public's Help
Los Angeles: The family of Larry Watson and detectives with the Los Angeles Police Department's Southeast Police Station held a news conference today to ask the public's help in finding the person responsible for Watson's death.
"Mr. Watson was a good man," said Detective Leo Kerchenske. "We think the motive was a mistake in identity, which compounds the tragedy. But it also means the suspects are still out there and a threat to society."
Larry Watson, 25, was killed on June 4, 2006, around 10 PM when a man walked up to him and shot him in the chest. Watson was visiting friends in the 9200 block of South Central Avenue.
"We have very few leads in this case," Detective Kerchenske said. "But there are people out there who know what happened. We hope they will come forward. An innocent man is dead and his family is grieving."
Anyone with information is asked to call Detective Kerchenske at 213-972-7850. On weekends and during off-hours, call the 24-hour toll free number at 1-877-LAWFULL (1-877-529-3855).
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Serving Simoom Sound families with their cremation needs for over two decades
Simoom Sound, British Columbia Cremation Services
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Together with the Simoom Sound, British Columbia cremation services, you can come up with hundreds of creative ideas for a customized gravestone. The gravestones at a cemetery or burial ground of one of the Simoom Sound, British Columbia cremation services should act as a true remembrance for the life of the deceased. This can only be done if you make the gravestone appropriate to the personality and acts of the deceased with the help of Simoom Sound, British Columbia cremation services.
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The cremation services in Simoom Sound, British Columbia can also organize specialized memorial keepsakes that capture the essence of the deceased's life in a nutshell. Get the cremation services in Simoom Sound, British Columbia to make special prayer cards with memorable quotes which have great relevance in the life of the departed soul. You can get the cremation services in Simoom Sound, British Columbia to create special tribute videos in memory of the deceased. Cremation services in Simoom Sound, British Columbia can be requested to organize special postcards or small, personalized mementos that can be handed over to people at the service.
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TRANSFORM100
TRANSFORM 100
Business leaders across Scotland are being asked to play a leading role in supporting the country’s young people by each donating £1,000 which will allow them to unlock their potential, develop new skills and ultimately transform their lives.
LWOB is looking for 100 Scottish businesses to each make a pledge of £1,000 which will directly support 100 young people in Scotland to get into work, education, enterprise or training.
The initiative was announced at the LWOB Launch held on Thursday 2 May at Prestonfield House Hotel in Edinburgh, by James Thomson OBE, and the Lunch with an Old Bag Committee, chaired by Fiona Donaldson.
LWOB chair, Fiona Donaldson said: “In a society obsessed with staying youthful, women over 40 are often inappropriately perceived as ‘Old Bags’, as ‘over the hill’ or ‘past it’, in much the same way as disadvantaged young people are often wrongly labelled as ‘time-wasters’ or ‘no-hopers’. That’s why James Thomson founded Lunch with an Old Bag in 2009, to challenge negative stereotypes, shine a light on the issues faced by young people in Scotland, and help The Prince’s Trust Scotland to transform young lives.
“We hope that 100 generous Scottish Businesses will donate at least £1,000, transform a young life, and at the same time support new businesses and the wider Scottish economy. As a youth charity, The Prince’s Trust has a duty to help young people, and we believe we can make the most difference by working in partnership with businesses and government. Together, we can assist young people back into education and, from there, onto the job market. We can nurture skills which are vital to the economic future of the country, and our programmes can equip all Prince’s Trust young people with the skills needed for a variety of trades and employment sectors.”
James Thomson OBE, who is also a member of The Prince’s Trust Scotland Council, and has sponsored the event since 2009, comments: “The Prince’s Trust Scotland believes that every young person should have the chance to succeed, and is committed to empowering young people, by developing the skills and coping mechanisms they need to thrive in work, education and training. With the right support and understanding, this generation of young people, who face challenges which simply couldn’t have been imagined when LWOB was launched in 2009, will fulfil their potential.”
Support for young people is needed now, more than ever. The tenth Prince’s Trust eBay Youth Index, released in January, reveals that 70% of 16 to 25 year olds in the UK feel anxious about their future due to the current economic climate and more than half (54%) fear that they will never be financially stable and able to plan ahead.
To pledge your donation, visit: www.justgiving.com/fundraising/lwob
For all event enquiries please contact The Prince's Trust events team on events.scotland@princes-trust.org.uk
Prince's Trust Scotland © All Rights Reserved
Website by Simon Woolverton
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Monday Briefing: President Obama's Final UNGA Address
Paul Salem, Robert S. Ford, Charles Lister, Alex Vatanka, David Mack
In this week's Monday Briefing, MEI experts Paul Salem, Robert S. Ford, Charles Lister, Alex Vatanka, and David Mack provide analysis on recent and upcoming events including Obama’s upcoming final speech to the UN General Assembly, the Syrian collapsed ceasefire, the buildup to an eventual Mosul offensive, Rouhani's trip to Latin America, and Libya's oil exports.
Obama’s Last UNGA Speech and his MidEast Legacy
Paul Salem, Vice President for Policy and Research
In his first UN speech in 2009, President Obama emphasized four pillars of his foreign policy: stop the spread of nuclear weapons; reach an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal and combat terrorism; address climate change; and put the global economy on a more solid footing. On Tuesday, he can announce that he has made progress on 1, 3 and 4.
In his 2013 speech he announced that the United States had four core interests in the Middle East: maintaining the free flow of energy; stopping the spread of weapons of mass destruction; confronting external aggression against allies; and combatting terror. Energy flows and prices are in good shape, and the J.C.P.O.A. has temporarily blocked Iran’s path to a nuclear weapon and avoided further nuclear proliferation in the Middle East. U.S. national security relations with its allies in the region remain robust, despite cool relations between Obama and regional leaders.
But under Obama, terrorism has gone from bad to worse. Events and policy choices in Iraq and Syria enabled the rise of the Islamic State and that, coupled with refugee flows from Syria, have already struck Europe and threatened the United States. At the political level, the Obama administration has ended up with poor relations with all of America’s allies in the Middle East, and it has lost deterrence with its adversaries, mainly Iran and a resurgent Russia—let alone a defiant Assad.
Obama will leave office with a job half-done in the Middle East with relative success on energy and weapons of mass destruction. But the next president will have to figure out a way to rebuild stability in the Middle East, dramatically weaken terrorist groups, and repair relations with partners and deterrence with adversaries.
Syria Cease-Fire Deal Collapses
Robert S. Ford, Senior Fellow
The Syrian government declared today the end of the cessation of hostilities. A series of violations toward the end of last week, many of them committed by the regime itself, have undone the U.S.-Russian brokered cease-fire. Regime airstrikes over the weekend hit Aleppo, Idlib, and suburban Damascus, including areas where extremists are not present. According to the U.N., the Syrian government was preventing aid convoys from reaching opposition-held besieged communities even though the Syrian government asserted September 17 that it was doing all it was required to do. The Syrian armed opposition on September 18 warned they’ll abandon the cease-fire entirely if government forces keep attacking besieged communities or compelling evacuation of residents. The first test of this threat could come today when several hundred Jabhat Fateh al-Sham fighters are to quit the besieged district of Waer in Homs city.
Adding further strain to the cease-fire, the United States admitted on September 17 that its coalition had mistakenly struck Syrian army positions in the eastern city of Deir Ezzor, provoking new rhetorical broadsides with Russia. The Russians are also demanding that Washington force moderate rebels to physically separate themselves from the al-Qaeda-linked Fateh al-Sham fighters. The Americans lack the leverage, and Fateh al-Sham’s leader said in an interview aired September 17 that merger talks are underway with other major rebel groups.
The final collapse of the cessation deal, whether due to aid blockades or more fighting, will likely propel that merger among Syrian rebels and impede the announced U.S.-Russian goal of coordinated airstrikes against extremists in Syria. Even if the Russians and Americans ever do coordinate airstrikes, the erroneous Deir Ezzor attack shows the limits of militarily actionable intelligence on the complicated Syrian battlefield.
U.S.-Coalition Continues Prep for Mosul Offensive
Charles Lister, Senior Fellow
After more than two years, the anti-ISIS coalition is finally reaching the doorsteps of Mosul. With the issue of displaced people already crippling northern Iraq and the K.R.G., the fight for Mosul could end up forcing as much as a million more from their homes.
Although substantial pre-operation challenges remain unresolved, it appears increasingly likely that we’ll see Mosul’s outer limits under attack within the next eight weeks. Several hundred U.S. troops just arrived in the operation’s crucial staging area: Qayyara airbase, south of the city. Given its importance, ISIS will almost certainly seek to launch pre-emptive attacks in Qayyara’s vicinity in the coming weeks.
For now, Kurdish peshmerga are the closest force to Mosul—positioned 10km away on Mount Bashiqa, with some forward-deployed units as little as 1km from ISIS positions. According to Kurdish sources, ISIS remains deeply embedded in Mosul, with tunnels dug 20ft below ground, equipped with bathrooms and substantial food supplies. Given ISIS’ previous record, large numbers of car and truck bombs are undoubtedly ready for a ‘shock and awe’ defense.
Despite being further away—65km, in Qayyara—the Iraqi army and elite members of the Counter-Terrorism Service and Golden Division are the critical components for U.S. strategy. The role of the divisive and often Iranian-backed militias remains worryingly unclear. So too does the role of Turkey and its tribal proxy, al-Hashd al-Watani, which are deployed only 15km from Mosul.
Any battle for Mosul will be long and highly destructive, but ultimately it’ll be the days after that matter the most. No operation should be launched until stabilization issues are fully resolved.
Rouhani’s Underwhelming Latin America Pop-In
Alex Vatanka, Senior Fellow
Last week, Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani visited Venezuela to attend the summit of the Non-Aligned Movement and hand over the rotating presidency of the bloc to Venezuela. From there he travelled to Cuba before flying to New York to attend the U.N. General Assembly. Rouhani’s trip to Latin America late in his first term is consistent with his promises of strengthening Iran’s standing on the international stage. Still, his hardline critics that have constantly accused him of pursuing an unbalanced foreign policy that puts disproportionate emphasis on relations with the West say he has through neglect undermined Iran’s influence in the region.
Rouhani’s predecessor, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, invested huge political capital in Latin America and fashioned strong personal ties with leaders such as Hugo Chavez of Venezuela and Evo Morales of Bolivia. Iranian investments increased notably there, but this was only possible due to historic high oil prices that the Ahmadinejad presidency enjoyed. Rouhani from the beginning made it clear he would not focus on symbolic relations to lessen the perception of Iranian isolation in the world, but prioritize ties with countries that are important to Iran’s economic interests. Europe took precedence for the Rouhani team and it is unlikely that Latin America will return anytime soon as darlings of Tehran, as was the case under Ahmadinejad.
For Rouhani, the main priority remains tangible economic benefits, including attracting foreign investment and transfer of technological know-how to Iran’s important sectors such as the energy industry. It has also been noticeable that the Rouhani administration did little to publicize Iran's presidency of N.A.M., again underscoring its unwillingness to bank on make-believe policy ventures.
Libya’s Oil Exports Complicated by Hifter
David Mack, MEI Scholar
Seizure of major Libyan oil terminals by units of the Libyan National Army loyal to General Khalifa Hifter puts added strain on the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (G.N.A.). The Libyan National Oil Company (L.N.O.C.) falls under the authority of the G.N.A., and the U.N. Security Council resolution 2146 prohibits the export of Libyan oil outside of this channel.
Libyan militias have struggled over control of oil fields, pipelines and terminals. Libyan crude oil exports have declined to a fraction of the country’s exports prior to the overthrow of the Qaddafi government. The Libyan economy is overwhelmingly dependent on oil revenues, and no central government will be viable for long without succeeding in raising exports back toward pre-revolution levels.
Hifter is supported by the remnants of an elected parliament in Tobruk and the mostly inoperative government in Baida, both in eastern Libya. He has been unable to gain full control over the major eastern city of Benghazi, and his claim to leadership of the army and other Libyan military forces is strongly opposed by most factions in western Libya. The capture of the oil terminals gives him a bargaining chip with the G.N.A. He was already allowing a small export stream from the far eastern terminal of Hariga near Tobruk with revenues going to the national oil company. L.N.O.C. is trying to work out modalities with Hifter for resumption of exports from the four terminals he seized along the central Libyan oil crescent—Zwitina, Brega, Ras Lanuf and Sidra. If this succeeds, it will improve his chances of gaining a measure of national legitimacy, although likely less than he seeks.
Related By Region
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Frederic Chemaly
Freshwater Resources in the MENA Region: Risks and Opportunities
Amal Kandeel
The EU needs a more robust Middle East human rights report
Przemysław Osiewicz
Related By Issue
“Civilianizing” the State in the MENA and Asia Pacific Regions
Jihadi Recruitment and Return: Asian Threat and Response
Indonesia and the Middle East: Exploring Connections
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Venezuela: Building popular power through Communal Councils
By Jim McIlroy
October 3, 2007 -- Links International Journal of Socialist Renewal -- Living in Caracas, Venezuela, for a year during 2006, the most striking impression one gained is of a tumultuous mass movement, in which the social energies of the people have been released in an outpouring of revolutionary enthusiasm and creativity. One was constantly reminded of Vladimir Lenin’s description of revolution as a “festival of the oppressed”.
My partner Coral Wynter and myself spent last year in Venezuela as the Caracas Bureau of the Australian socialist newspaper Green Left Weekly. It was a life-changing experience. As long-time members of the revolutionary socialist movement in Australia, the practice of being a radical activist in the West has been, generally speaking, a hard slog over the past couple of decades.
In Australia, the greatest moments of mass radical action one has experienced were the essentially episodic national days of action against war, such as the Vietnam Moratoriums of the early 1970s, the anti-nuclear mobilisations of the 1980s, the one-million strong February 2003 anti-war demonstrations prior to the US invasion of Iraq, and most recently the several trade union national days of action against Prime Minister John Howard’s anti-worker industrial legislation. In general, however, progressive political life in Australia is the arena of an activist minority.
By contrast, in Venezuela at present, the Bolivarian revolution has created a truly popular transformation of political and social life of the country. In one of the most deeply democratic movements in history, the Venezuelan revolution has drawn the most oppressed and impoverished majority of the population into regular political action in their own interests, generally for the first time.
From the time of the two-million strong mass march and rally we experienced on February 4, 2006, to commemorate the 14th anniversary of the attempted military uprising led by President [then Major] Hugo Chavez against the neoliberal regime of the Fourth Republic, we saw many mobilisations of the revolutionary masses in their red T-shirts and caps. A notable feature of these rallies was the countless slogans and names of organisations emblazoned on shirts, and on the banners and placards carried by the participants.
This multitude of organisations -- social missions, political groups, unions, community bodies -- reflects the huge diversity and pluralism of the Bolivarian revolutionary movement. However, the experience of some 10 years of increasing struggle against US imperialism and the old ruling oligarchy has united the great majority of the Venezuelan people – in the first place around the slogan “No volveran” (No return to the past) and, more recently, around President Chavez’ call for building “socialism of the 21st century”.
The dialectic between revolutionary leadership, centred mainly until now on the role of President Hugo Chavez Frias, and the mobilisation of the people, has provided the dynamic of this revolution. Chavez himself learned from the failure of the 1992 attempted military coup by a group of progressive officers, and turned to the electoral tactic in 1998 as a vehicle for mobilising the masses for a radical transformation of society.
At the same time, he turned away from a militarist, conspiratorial view of how to end the rule of the corrupt oligarchy which had dominated Venezuelan society for decades, and embraced the necessity for mass mobilisation and popular participation as the essential means to bring about social change. From the outset of his novel election campaign for president in 1998, Chavez realised the need to reach out to the people and bring them with him on the journey to democratise and transform society.
Communal Councils
The latest and highest stage of the development of popular power in Venezuela has been the formation of the Communal Councils:
“The election of Hugo Chavez to the presidency of Venezuela in 1998 signalled the end of the old, corrupt representative democracy of the ‘Fourth Republic’, in which the two major parties [Accion Democratica and COPEI] – each representing the interests of the rich elites – shared power between themselves, while the poor 80% were excluded. From its ashes rose the Fifth Republic based on the idea of active and participatory democracy, which was enshrined in the new constitution [ratified by overwhelming popular vote in 1999]. The aim was not only that the poor were to be given access to health, education and basic services, but that they would play an active role in deciding how these areas would function.
“There was a rise in health committees, local neighbourhood groups, Urban Land Committees and many more forms of community organisation that sprang up. While these organisations continue to exist, many of the participants have encountered problems, including difficulties working with some of the bureaucratic structures inherited from the Fourth Republic. Many people from the old structures have continued to work in the administrations, hindering the work of the community.
“Some state institutions worked in a counterproductive way in the establishment of these community organisations, with party politics influencing who received funds or was given official recognition. Also, the explosion in community organisations meant that in one community, multiple organisations are found, each working away on their own projects, sometimes competing for resources and weakening their ability to tackle problems….” (Fred Fuentes, Green Left Weekly, November 2, 2005.)
To help overcome these problems, a number of revolutionary activists began an experiment in popular government, known as Communal Councils. These councils have since spread nationally, under the initial auspices of the Ministry of Popular Participation and Social Development (MINPADES).
“The idea was that, on a scale small enough for people to exercise power, to bring all the people and different organisations present in the community together to work out a single plan, tackling issues from public works to health and education.
“What is important, [revolutionary activist Freddy] Gil said, is that the project of building the new society is starting from the grassroots upwards. To set up a communal council, an assembly is called by convoking 200 to 400 families [fewer in rural areas] in a local community.
“‘Once it is determined that in this area it is possible to form a community government then we would go with an invitation calling on all of the community, taken to each house, independent of their political ideas. At the assembly, they would be asked to choose 20 people to form the promotion team for the community government, made up of those who put themselves forward at the assemblies’…
“The promotion team are entrusted with the job of carrying out a census of the population to find out exactly who lives in the area and what their specific problems are, and to notify them of coming elections for the council. Thirteen members of the communal council will be elected, each with a designated role such as education, culture, science and technology, or citizen and community security…
“For radical Latin American journalist Marta Harnecker, who is working with MINPADES on the promotion of the communal councils, broad participation in this project is very important for the revolution. She explained to Green Left Weekly that ‘participation will help consolidate this process at the grassroots, and broaden it, creating more forces in favor of the process.’
“By broadening participation, many people who may not yet support the revolution due to the ‘politicking and defects of the process … could be won to the construction of a new humanist society.’ ‘There are many people who are not Chavistas but would help construct this new society. It needs to be opened up to all those people.’
“Harnecker argues it would be a ‘grave mistake to politicise participation. Participation itself can politicise people, for instance in the case of the participatory budget in Porto Alegre [in Brazil] where people from other parties were involved, but who began to sympathise with the Workers’ Party after they participated in a process that wasn´t politicised. I believe that is the road to win people over to this project.’…
“Discussing, debating, executing and supervising projects that tackle the entirety of the problems faced at the local level would give the communities real power. Not all problems would be able to be fixed in the first round, and some projects of a bigger nature would need to be taken to higher authorities, but with a solid organisational base the communities could make sure that more and more power would reside there, rather than in the old structures.
“Gil commented that for him the communal councils ‘are a school where people learn and take up the idea that they can socialise their potential, learning what we would need for a bigger system…. If we all learn in this collective exercise about the socialisation of things, of course we are going to advance further in socialising [on a larger scale].’…
“‘We used to talk about socialism’, said Gil, ‘of taking power from the enemy through arms, but where the people did not exercise anything. Today we have political power, we have a president that calls for a debate on “socialism of the 21st century”, and we have a whole community debating, discussing and experimenting.’” (Fred Fuentes, Green Left Weekly, November 2, 2005.)
‘Basic cell of future society’
Marta Harnecker was again interviewed for Green Left Weekly in late October 2006 about the experience of developing the communal council project. She explained: “As Freddy Bernal [mayor of Libertador municipality in central Caracas] said, [the communal council] is a basic cell of the future society.
“If we are successful in constructing communities that orient toward solidarity, the people will be concerned with the poor people who live in their area. Within [a framework of] solidarity, they will look for a solution for this sector….
“Chavez was looking at different formulas for popular organisations. The Bolivarian Circles are more within a broad political framework. They are organisations aimed at political power. The communal councils include those who are with Chavez and those who are not. They are the community: the communal councils must reflect all the colours of a rainbow; must cover everyone who wants to work for the community, without political affiliations, without government associations….
“If you organise in the barrio, the organisation is on a much smaller scale. You need a person who is flexible, not sectarian, with the capacity to work with everyone – carrying out projects, trying to solve the problems of the people...”
Asked about the role the workers’ movement plays in relation to community organising, Harnecker replied: “Logically, we accept that in general the experience of popular power means that, as it is based on territorial spaces, the workers do not appear [directly] as active members. I remember a very interesting discussion in Cuba, when they were planning popular power through electoral registrations. Inevitably, the neighbour who proposed a candidate in their area would choose the person who could solve the most practical problems within the community. This meant it was difficult, up to now, for the workers to be directly involved.
“Because of this, in Cuba, it was suggested that there be two forms of choosing candidates, one territorial and the other at the workplace – two ways of deciding…. In Venezuela, up to now, we don’t have the unity of the workers within the [revolution]. The union movement is not strong enough at this stage.
“I have said to the trade unions, ‘Why don’t you strengthen the communal councils, by integrating with them? You, as workers, should be involved in the community’. Up to now, they have not done this.
“We should think of the communal councils as a central community of workers, [as well as of neighbours]. To me, it is very important to consider the micro-economy and the necessity to bring in economic organisations so that they can be democratised, in the direction of solidarity and not of corporatism. There should be a close link between the organisation of work and the community.”
Asked how the Communal Councils work, Harnecker said: “There are now 16,000 CCs, established in six months [since the start of the national program in 2006]. It is a very serious initiative, in my opinion. The CC process requires many months to allow people to mature, and to elect true leaders. We began with a process involving motivators. The committee of motivators have to go house to house to make a census. This is one of the most basic jobs – a socioeconomic census. It requires the committee to visit all the households in the area.
“It seems that it needs serious and diligent leaders who are capable of going house to house. Because of this, we think it would not be possible to elect spokespeople for the CC without going through this process. There should be an assembly first, and then an election.
“There has to be a team, a promotions commission, who should do this social and geographic history – the story of the community. [To achieve this], it would take at least eight months. When they have the meeting of the assembly, they will elect the future spokespeople. Then the process is approved [legally]. Some of the CCs are working okay, others are not.
“Another very important thing is that the CC has the opportunity to elect a new leadership…. The leadership must be elected by a general assembly where anyone can be proposed. The spokespeople are not the assembly – they are not the organisation. The assembly must ratify the proposals – whether from a committee for housing, or a committee for health. If someone who becomes the spokesperson does not have the confidence of the assembly, the CC will not work.
“It is a democratic way to renovate the leadership, and permits the assembly to choose a new leadership. I think the law respects this will of the assembly. I was part of the group that oversaw the formation of the CCs. In the law it is very clear: Where is the power? The power is not with the spokespeople – it is with the general assembly. Why are they called ‘voceros’? Because they are the voice of the community. If they lose the position of spokesperson, they stop having any power…
“I think this is an experimental way of organising popular power. But, for me, it is the future direction we should be taking. This is the basic idea: not from above.
“It also depends on the type of problem. There are problems thatrequire the involvement of various CCs, because they are problems of the whole barrio – for example, the water pipes that pass through the whole barrio. This must be resolved at the level of the Barrio Council. The stairs, the lighting, the rubbish – you can resolve these within the CC. These CCs are the base – very democratic; a scheme for participation….
“They are looking for ways to prioritise the things the community can resolve: but not to create a kind of ‘begging’ neighbourhood that sees a problem, and just calls on the state to resolve it….
“These are methods that allow the community to resolve issues…. We make an assessment and prioritise problems: what the community can resolve, and what it can’t. The ‘voices’ of the different communities must discuss these problems at a higher level.
“This is how solidarity begins, because you start to see that your problem is wider than your small reality, and you must help others. Thus, the communal councils are more of a school for political formation. I think popular power, when it is really democratic, is the best school, because it produces this process. This is because you have been fighting for your house, your land. And you begin to realise that your house is in a barrio, and the barrio is in a city….”
Following his landslide re-election as president in the poll held on December 3, 2006, with 63 per cent of the popular vote, President Hugo Chavez lost no time in announcing a dramatic deepening of the Venezuelan revolution. “We’re on our way to socialism, and nothing and no one can prevent it”, Chavez declared. “All that was privatised, let it be nationalised”, he added, according to a January 9 Associated Press report.
According to a January 8, 2007, Venezuelanalysis.com report, Chavez described the first eight years of his government from 1998-2006 as a now-completed “phase of transition” and insisted, “we are entering a new era, the National Simon Bolivar Project of 2007-2021”, which aims to construct “Bolivarian socialism”. He announced “five motors” to advance the revolution, including moves to “dismantle the bourgeois state”, to be replaced by an “explosion of communal councils”.
Chavez called for an expansion, in number and power, of the Communal Councils to form the base of a new revolutionary state. Venezuelanalysis.com reported on January 10, 2007, that the government would provide US$5 billion in funding directly to these councils this year, up from $1.5 billion last year. At the start of 2007, some 13,000 Communal Councils exist and this number is expected to grow to 21,000 by the end of the year.
“It is clear that the Chavez government is extending, rather than restricting, democracy. In combining this with deepening moves to reverse free-market policies, the revolution in Venezuela is providing a powerful alternative to the ‘savage capitalism’ being forced down the throats of working people the world over.” (Stuart Munckton, Green Left Weekly, January 7, 2007.)
The growth and development of the communal councils has opened up new vistas for the potential of popular power in Venezuela, at the same time as problems and dilemmas have emerged.
“Though no one – not even Chavez – has said with certainty just how far community councils will go, many inside and outside government say the idea is to steer Venezuela away from municipal councils and mayors and hand funding and decisionmaking directly to the people. ‘If this works, community councils would bury city hall, but something better would be born,’ said [Roberto] Nacuanagua, a teacher who… belongs to the council of La Hacienda Maria, in Caracas, Venezuela´s capital.
“`Even with the mistakes, the people are emerging, the poorest people, occupying spaces that were occupied before by those blind, hardened classes’, Jose Vicente Rangel, who was replaced as vice president in January, said in an interview. ‘That is the central point of what is happening in the country.’”
“In the neighborhoods, it’s hard to find anything but bubbling enthusiasm for the councils.
“Council members are elected, and each oversees a committee thqt concerns itself with an issue such as education or health care or youth services. When the big decisions are made, they must be put before a neighborhood assembly of residents, representing an average of about 400 families. The state provides funding for a wide range of projects.
“Organisers are often fervent, using the language of populist revolution when explaining the inner workings of the councils.
“`Our job is to end poverty in all its forms, to contribute to the strengthening of the Bolivarian Revolution based in the thinking of El Commandante Chavez’, said Rodrigo Tovar, one such council organiser. ‘Our job is to take the message to the most humble and needy people, and that message is to take happiness to the people.’
“For Venezuelans in poor barrios – who felt excluded under the corrupt power-sharing system that ended with Chavez´s election in 1998 – the community councils are a means of empowerment. A December survey released by Latinobarometro, a Chilean polling firm, found that in all of Latin America, only Uruguayans had a more favorable view of their democratic institutions than Venezuelans…
“`Things are working’, said Lusitana Borges, a council member. ‘The government gave power to the people so they can channel their concerns and resolve problems. These problems that were never fixed by mayors, [municipal] council members and governors. What happened before was nothing but pure bureaucracy.’“ (Juan Ferrero, Washington Post, reprinted on Venezuelanalysis.com, May 17, 2007.)
In “Communal Councils in Venezuela: Can 200 Families Revolutionise Democracy?”, Josh Lerner (Z Magazine, reprinted in Venezuelanalysis.com, March 6, 2007) described the election process for spokespeople in Las Delicias, a small Caracas barrio: “One of the many voters explains proudly, ‘We had to wait seven years for this, but finally they´re transferring power to the people.’
“Since the start of 2006, thousands of tiny Venezuelan neighborhoods, with an average of 200 families each, have been organising communal councils. The councils are part of a broad effort to build a new political system of participatory democracy, in which citizens have control over the decisions that affect their lives. After seven years in power, Hugo Chavez’s government launched the councils as ‘the great motors of the new era of the Revolution,’ ‘a basic cell of the future society’, and ‘fundamental… for revolutionary democracy.’ More broadly, the councils also serve as a giant laboratory for experiments in political participation.”
Article 2 of the Communal Council Law states: “The communal councils, in the constitutional framework of participatory and protagonistic democracy, are instances of participation, articulation and integration between the diverse community organisations, social groups and the citizens, that permit the organised people to directly exercise the administration (management) of public policies and projects oriented to respond to the necessities and aspirations of the communities in the construction of an equal and socially just society.”
“The Communal Councils Law was passed in April 2006, but the story begins much earlier. Venezuela began an extensive decentralisation process, launching mayoral elections and handing over new responsibilities for local governments. After Chavez was elected president in 1998, he continued the decentralisation, but changed its emphasis. He called for transferring power not to local government, but directly to popular movements.
“This `popular decentralisation’ has led to a series of experiments in grassroots democracy. First came the Bolivarian Circles, neighborhood councils that were officially autonomous, but often linked to and supportive of the government. At Chavez’s urging, the Bolivarian Circles were mostly succeeded by Electoral Battle Units (UBEs), which mobilised the pro-Chavez vote for elections. Next, the government launched Local Public Planning Councils, in which citizens, politicians and bureaucrats were to collaborate at the city level to address local problems.
“By 2005, most of the Local Public Planning Councils had become mired in bureaucracy and dominated by politicians, paving the way for the communal councils…. The Communal Councils Law calls for the councils to decide their own geographic limits, but also follow a detailed set of guidelines. The law recommends that each urban council contain 200-400 families, each rural council at least 20 families, and each indigenous council at least 10 families. All decisions are to be made in citizen assemblies with a minimum of 10 per cent of residents over age 15. These assemblies are to elect executive, financial management, and monitoring committees, as well as thematic committees based on local priorities (health, education, recreation, land, safety, etc.)
“Perhaps most importantly, money can flow into and out of the councils. By law, they can receive funds directly from the national, state or city governments, from their own fundraising, or from donations. In turn, the councils can award grants for community projects. If they set up a communal bank with neighboring councils, they can also make loans to co-operatives or other activities.
“In practice, funding has depended more on the discretion of government leaders than the law. Councils can apply for up to $14,000 per project (enough for a modest street-paving), although this limit is not specified in the law. The councils are encouraged to submit larger proposals to their city’s participatory budgeting process or district councils, the only problem being that these do not yet exist in most cities. No matter, the funding limit was later increased to $28,000 for second-time applicants and some councils have reportedly received even more.
“Officially, communal councils are to send project proposals directly to the Presidential Commission of Popular Power, which gives the go-ahead as long as they are legally valid. The law does not explain who sits on this commission or what its funding criteria are. It was eventually filled by a motley crew of government leaders, but many projects were funded before the commission ever met. Councils often send projects to their municipality for review first, but somehow the projects are approved in Caracas. The money is then delivered in high-profile spectacles called Gabinetes Moviles.
“Despite this confusion, the communal councils have been wildly popular. Eight months after the law was passed, over 16,000 councils had already been formed throughout the country – 12,000 of them had received funding for community projects. That’s $1 billion total, out of a national budget of $53 billion. The councils had established nearly 300 communal banks, which have received $70 million for micro-loans. The government plans to transfer another $4 billion in 2007. Thanks to these funds, the councils have implemented thousands of community projects, such as street pavings, sports fields, medical centers, and sewage and water systems.”
Problems and dilemmas
“Government officials agree that the communal councils are the foundation for a new system of participatory democracy, but they differ on what this means. The former Minister of Popular Participation, Jose Antonio Mota, suggests that the councils form the base of a political pyramid, like earlier versions of council communism. ‘Proposals should filter up from the communal council to the district council to the municipality to the state to the nation.’ Other leaders, such as Carlos Escarra, have proposed that the councils replace city and state governments entirely, or work parallel to them. This debate is only one of many controversies….”
“A national system of participatory democracy requires a huge amount and variety of participation. As a result, the councils are facing a challenge of compensation: how to decide what kind of participation should be voluntary popular participation and what should be paid labor. For Miguel Gonzalez Marregot, a public critic of communal councils, popular participation should mean involvement in developing broad government plans: ‘The communal councils should say we need stairs, not develop a project to build stairs.’…
“Communal councils cannot avoid middle levels of government, however. If a council builds a road or water pipes, they need to connect to the citywide system. City and state governments provide publicity and technical assistance for the councils and council projects often influence city issues. One council, for example, proposed a municipal referendum to impeach the mayor. Meanwhile, funding for communal councils comes at the direct expense of funding for cities.
“A research group at Monteavila University has proposed integrating different levels of government through ‘popular federalism’. Their plan calls for ‘a state where regional autonomy is strong and the central state weak, but coordinating,’ with a focus on strengthening grassroots community groups. This approach would redefine participatory democracy as a multi-level system of participation, rather than just communal councils…
“The Venezuelan government and communal councils have demonstrated several ways to encourage (and in some cases discourage) participation. First, Caracas has delegated significant power directly to the communal councils. The allure of self-government attracts many people. The government has also provided direct positive incentives for participation. The most obvious is money. Many people get involved because they can get funds for neighborhood improvements, but only if they form a council. Since the councils are so small, any one person can have a substantial effect on which projects are developed. Obviously the government can only give out money if it has it and in this respect Venezuela is more privileged than other countries…
“Often the councils attract people by making their events fun. Some of the more prolific councils mix music, food, and entertainment into their assemblies. These virtual block parties transform one of the costs of participation (tedious meetings) into a benefit (a good time). Other councils have more formal events dominated by long speeches.
“Finally, the government is trying to reduce the obstacles to participation. Because the councils are so local, the transportation and time costs of participation are less. Another approach is even more ambitious – freeing people’s time by making participation part of their jobs. As Vice Minister Mota explained, ‘We need to arrange that employers will let employees off from work for a couple of hours a week if they participate in a communal council. This could be coordinated by the state, like a form of community service.’ Such a program could especially boost the participation of working professionals such as Mota who admits that he has not even had time to get involved in his own communal council.”
Bolivarian Circles
An important form of popular organisation established in the early 2000s, prior to the creation of the communal councils, were the Bolivarian Circles. They were part of an expansion of people’s movements established in the period after the National Referendum which ratified the new, highly democratic Venezuelan Constitution in 1999, by an overwhelming vote of almost 80 per cent of the voting population.
“Taking part in this grassroots movement [were] the groups known as the Bolivarian Circles, named after Venezuela´s independence hero: Simon Bolivar. Endorsed by the Venezuelan President and supported by a majority of the population, Bolivarian Circles grouped community leaders and neighbors alike. They worked hand in hand in order to make ends meet at various shantytowns, neighborhoods, and villages across Venezuela...
“Bolivarian Circles across Venezuela began an extensive social and political activism intended to aid the usual disenfranchised population of Venezuela. Other Bolivarian Circles, for example, concentrated their work and efforts on feeding the hungry, providing after school care for poor children, securing resources for small businesses, etc.
“President Chavez did … a lot to provide the means and resources necessary for grassroots movements such as the Bolivarian Circles to be able to help themselves. Thus, the Venezuelan National Assembly, with the support of the President, passed legislation and appropriated funds for the creation of a line of credit available for small businesses, particularly those owned by low-income Venezuelans, women, Native Americans (Indigenous), and other minorities.
“With the participation of the Bolivarian Circles, President Chavez implemented Plan Bolivar 2000. The plan allowed President Chavez to mobilise the Venezuelan Armed Forces in poor areas of the country with the goal of providing health care, subsidised food, construction equipment, school tutoring, and logistical organisation to those who needed it most: the poor in the shantytowns of Caracas and other large cities of Venezuela.” (“Bolivarian Circles: A Grassroots Movement”, by Alvaro Sanchez, Venezuelanalysis.com, September 30, 2003.)
The Bolivarian Circles also played an important role in mobilising the population against the April 11, 2002, US-supported right-wing coup, which briefly ousted President Chavez, before he was reinstated three days later, by the combined forces of the people and a key section of the military which remained loyal to the revolution.
In recent years, the Bolivarian Circles have tended to be superseded by the Communal Councils and other popular organisations as vehicles of mass involvement, and have become more left political groups with a particular viewpoint. However, they still have some strength in certain areas.
Other participatory organisations
“In 2001, the Local Public Planning Councils (CLPP) were formed across the country with the intent of electing community representatives to work hand and hand with government officials to agree on municipal budgets. Unfortunately, the CLPP were far from successful. In many cases political parties only gave representation to fellow members, and true community control was hard to find when spokespersons, expected to represent hundreds of thousands of people were elected with almost no input from the community.
“`They were captured by the mayors, that manipulated the elections,’ said former Venezuelan Planning Minister, Felipe Perez Marti recently. According to Perez, the CLPPs, which technically still exist, have become further ‘debilitated’ with the creation of the communal councils because the people have decided to try out the newly formed councils, where they feel they actually may have a say. An addendum to the recent Law of Communal Councils additionally gave the newly formed councils power over the CLPPs.” (Michael Fox, Venezuelanalysis.com, November 28, 2006).
Another experiment in popular organising, established in the period leading up to the Venezuelan opposition’s push for a recall referendum against Chavez in 2004, were the Units of Electoral Battle (UBEs). “In the lead-up to the referendum, local networks and activists were key in organising popular sectors in support of the ‘No’ campaign to keep Chavez in office. Chavez replaced the Comando Ayacucho with the Comando Maisanta, and a vertically organised structure of local units known as Unidades de Batalles Electorales (UBEs). Community groups co-operated with the UBEs and at times even incorporated into them, but for the most part these were tactical and temporary groupings to win the referendum.
“The driving force behind the ‘No’ campaign came from organised community activists, who launched an aggressive campaign to register and mobilise voters to vote in the referendum. Community organisers set up Voter Registration Centres in all the parishes, and these were staffed around the clock by teams of local activists. Barrio-based radio and television stations and newspapers devoted space to explaining the importance of the referendum and encouraging people to vote for Chavez. As the day of the referendum grew closer, several radio stations located centrally, such as Radio Negro Primero, became News Centres, which gathered information and passed it on to other radio stations. Rather than Chavez’s charisma, his subsidised programs, or the ineptitude of the opposition, the decisive factor in Chavez’s ultimate victory was the mobilising role played by local barrio organisations.” (Sujatha Fernandes, LASA Forum, reprinted in Venezuelanalysis.com, April 12, 2007.)
The UBEs have also faded out as the immediate focus on the recall referendum past, after it was decisively defeated. In the 2006 presidential elections, the main Chavista campaign organisation was the Comando Miranda, which coordinated the mobilisation of the people during the mass rallies leading up to Chavez’ overwhelming victory in the December 3 national ballot.
Another influential form of popular organisation prior to the establishment of the Communal Councils were the Urban Land Committees. “With the passage of the [Communal Council] law, many members of Venezuela’s Urban Land Committees (CTUs) – one of the most organised and important instances of community organising – were put off. They saw the Communal Councils as an attack against the work they had already been doing in the community. After all, they said, the CTUs are the ones writing community charters and pushing for land titles and housing rights for communities that were never before legally recognised.
“CTUs viewed the creation of the communal councils as a government attempt to do something good, while inadvertently causing more harm. Infighting was predicted as community committees: urban land, health, water, etc. would fight for resources amongst each other that they had previously struggled individually to acquire from the Mayor’s office.
“A shift occurred quickly, however, in the months following the passage of the communal council law. The CTUs realised that they would have to join, organise and promote the communal councils in order to have a say in community decisions. The CTUs now appear to be one of the main pillars of the communal councils, believing that the new proposal is the next step in local democracy.
“`The CTU should be one of the fundamental bases of the communal councils. They should not substitute them nor be the councils themselves,’ declared CTU activist Hernan Peralta, at the CTU National Meeting earlier this month just outside of Caracas. ‘They are the crystallisation of this project of new construction,’ he said. (Michael Fox, Veneuelanalysis.com, November 28, 2006.)
In short, the Bolivarian Circles, the Local Public Planning Committees, the UBEs and the CTUs were all vehicles for popular mobilisation and participation which flourished to varying degrees in the early to mid 2000s, as the Bolivarian revolution developed. But they seem to have been superseded or subsumed by the rise of the communal councils, which have become the predominant structures for people power in Venezuela at present.
Building a workers’ state
In the process of transformation from a capitalist state toward socialism, the social missions have played a key role in bypassing the normal functions of the old state machine. Chavez established Mission Barrio Adentro in health, Missions Robinson, Ribas and Sucre in education, and more than 20 others in various areas of public service in which the existing bureaucratic departments, inherited from the Fourth Republic, were unwilling or incapable of carrying through the social policies of the revolution.
The establishment and consolidation of a workers’ and farmers’ government, at the head of an embryonic workers’ and farmers’ state, which occurred as a result of the popular victory over the April 2002 coup and the December 2002-January 2003 bosses’ oil boycott, led to the development of an alternative state machine, centred on the social missions, the other popular organisations and the revolutionary army.
This contradiction between the bureaucracy inherited from the old regime and the institutions of a new, revolutionary state cannot continue forever, although the Chavez government’s decisive control of the oil industry, through the state petroleum company PDVSA, and its leadership of the armed forces, means that the government has been able to buy some time for the construction of a comprehensive new state machine.
The radical extension of nationalisation of key industries during 2007 has strengthened the hand of the Chavez government in this process. And the preparations for the formation of a new, mass-based revolutionary party, the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), represent a crucial advance toward the consolidation of a united, revolutionary leadership to guide the next stage in the struggle for the creation of a socialist state in Venezuela, as a vanguard part of the project for Socialism of the 21st Century.
In this context, the Communal Councils are set to play an essential role in helping to organise and prepare the Venezuelan working people to take power in their own hands, as the basis of a new, democratic workers’ state. This process has historical antecedents, from which valuable lessons can be learnt – going back to the Paris Commune of 1871, to the soviets of the Russian Revolution of 1917, to the People’s Power experience of the Cuban revolution.
“The first qualitative step in establishing the democratic power of the working class is the revolutionary replacement of the capitalist government by a working people’s government based on organisations of mass struggle.
“The Russian soviets – the committees of workers’, soldiers’ and peasants’ delegates that cohered the demands and actions of the different sections of the population in revolutionary struggle in Russia early last century – remain the most advanced form of such organisations in history. It was the soviets´ high level of development – including their centralised, nationwide congresses and thorough democracy, within which all political currents in the revolutionary upsurge vied for leadership – that enable the revolution to so rapidly (and relatively bloodlessly) replace the old state apparatus and the bourgeois Provisional Government with a workers state in the October 1917 insurrection….
“From that revolution, and the Paris Commune before it, we know that the political form of a workers’ state needs to be along the lines of a democratically centralised system of popular power in which a national assembly, made up of representatives from committees of working people’s delegates elected from workplaces, neighbourhoods and mass organisations, would be a working body. That is, it would function as both a legislature (law making) and executive (implementation). Such a structure is the antithesis of the situation in capitalism where the business of the state is performed behind closed doors by an unelected bureaucracy unaccountable to the people, while ‘Parliament is given up to talk for the special purpose of fooling the “common people”’, as Lenin put it.
“Today, the Cuban revolution has the most developed forms of participatory democracy in the world. They are not without real problems, not least because there is no blueprint for constructing institutions that will advance proletarian democracy, and Cuba is having to feel its way forward. But also because 45 years of economic blockade and political and ideological attack by the most powerful imperialist power in history has forced this tiny country to make many concessions and temporary retreats….
“In constructing the Organs of People’s Power, the foundations of Cuba’s national assembly, the Cubans drew on the example first provided by the Paris Commune and legislated that all delegates at every level – municipal (local), provincial and national – are elected, recallable by a vote of the majority of their electors at any time, and are expected to carry out their functions in their free time, or where they have to do them full-time, are paid no more than their usual wage in their regular job.” (Lisa Macdonald, feature talk presented to the Democratic Socialist Perspective Socialist Summer School, Sydney, January 2007.)
The development of a system of communal councils in Venezuela, their exact functions and methods of operation, and their relationship to the revolutionary national government, including the existing National Assembly – which is entirely composed of pro-Chavez delegates, but which has been inherited from the previous representative system – is still being worked out in practice. No doubt, historical experience, most notably that of Venezuela’s socialist neighbour Cuba, will provide some guidance for the future.
“Venezuela’s Communal Councils are still a work in progress, but so far, the results are promising. Thousands of communities are mobilising as never before, taking advantage of their new power to decide government spending and policies. In the process, the communal councils are raising major challenges for democratic participation: how to decide what people should participate in, how to deal with serious disagreements, how to integrate different levels of government, how many rules to have, and how to get enough people to participate….
“The fate of the Communal Councils is highly contested. If Chavez’ old guard holds on to power, the councils may remain highly participatory appendages of the central state. Some of the newer government ministers, however, are eager to expand the communal councils´ power at the expense of old political structures, such as the city and state governments. Although Chavez was recently re-elected by a strong majority, the opposition won over a third of the vote and is becoming involved in the communal councils. If the opposition groups continue their resurgence, they might use the councils as a wedge into the government’s political power.
“As a sign of success, the communal councils are taking on a life of their own. Council activists and grassroots movements are demanding more say in the councils´ funding, rules and powers. If they can transform these demands into new political structures and processes, the communal councils may indeed reinvent government by the people….” (Josh Lerner, Z Magazine, from Venezuelanalysis.com, March 6, 2007.)
The Communal Councils, together with the new united socialist party, form the main potential base for the development of a new socialist political system in Venezuela. As President Chavez has repeatedly stressed, these mass organizations must function to create a new, cooperative and humanist socialist consciousness among the people as a necessity for the transformation of society.
Federico Fuentes, who recently returned from Venezuela as an organiser of the 2007 May Day Solidarity Brigade from Australia (sponsored by the Australia-Venezuela Solidarity Network), outlined the future of the communal councils in an interview with Green Left Weekly. He attended a meeting in the eastern Caracas suburb of Petare, the largest barrio in Venezuela, aiming to create a federation of communal councils in the area:
“I was able to get a real sense of both the exciting potential of the Communal Councils, as well as some of the problems they face. What was very clear was the push by those leading the process of constructing popular power to explain to people that the councils were not the end point, but were the means to achieve something much more fundamental. The formation of the councils is seen as a process through which a sense of community spirit can be formed, and humans can develop themselves….”
“This is why you see the combination of the push around the community councils, which seeks to organise the entire Venezuelan society, along with the formation of the new revolutionary party, which attempts to group together the real leadership emerging out of real struggles across the country. That is, those whose authority stems not from past struggles, but the real organic leadership developing today, which needs to be given space to develop. We are seeing a whole new layer of revolutionaries that are yet to impose themselves on this process, but are beginning to do so through the combined dynamic of the communal councils on the one hand, and the new party on the other,” Fuentes explained. (From Communal power versus capitalism in Venezuela, by Stuart Munckton, Green Left Weekly, May 30, 2007.)
The success of this combined process involving the Communal Councils and the new socialist party will determine the future of the Venezuelan revolution. And the development of the revolution in Venezuela will provide a new highpoint in the historical struggle to forge a deeply democratic system of government, based on the power of working people, essential to replace capitalist tyranny with Socialism of the 21st Century.
[Jim McIlroy is a leading member of the Australia-Venezuela Solidarity Network and a leader of the Socialist Alliance in Australia.]
AVSN
Marta Harnecker
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Don McKenzie and the University
Danny Abse, “The Green Field”, as printed in the pamphlet by Wai-te-Ata Press commemorating the life and work of Don McKenzie.
I spent yesterday reading some of the books and ephemera held by the Bodleian by and about D F McKenzie, New Zealander, bibliographic scholar and long-time professor here at Oxford. I had only previously read excerpts from his famous Bibliography and the Sociology of Texts, so this was my first real engagement with his work—it seemed appropriate too to read on the 6th and 7th of February his work on the Treaty of Waitangi.
What a coincidence, then, to receive an email reminding me that that very day, at 5pm, would be held the 23rd D F McKenzie lecture, this year to be given by Professor Kate Nation on “linking biology and culture via cognition.” The timing couldn’t have been more strange, so I walked straight from the library to the talk.
But I want to write here not about that lecture, and instead about one given by McKenzie himself in 1997 at Victoria University when he received his honorary doctorate.
Some background: in 1997 the New Zealand Government published a “green paper” discussion document titled “A future tertiary education policy for New Zealand.” This built on explicit promises made less than a year earlier in the coalition agreement between the National and New Zealand First parties to review tertiary education. The paper sparked strong debate, and obviously great concern from the universities—for this was one of the moments when the commercialism that had long been encroaching upon the universities was made explicit, and accelerated.
In his speech McKenzie weaved back and forth between graciousness and praise for his colleagues, a story of his life and career, and explicit concern about what the proposals laid out in the green paper might do to the university that he so loved. The speech was given less than a year after Don’s retirement from his professorship at Oxford, and less than two years before his death. It was reprinted in the service pamphlet passed out at his funeral in 1999 at Old St. Paul’s in Wellington (probably the most beautiful pamphlet printed in New Zealand, by Wai-te-Ata Press which Don himself founded in 1962).
There are two academic traditions which could be noted here, the Socratic and the Sophistic. In the Socratic tradition, the end of knowledge is virtue. Socrates simply says, ‘This is so, is it not?’. If you say ‘Yes’, then you fully accept as your own the truth you’ve arrived at. There can be no question of being badly taught and then later sueing your teacher, because at every stage, your participation implies a responsibility on your part to question and resolve the point at issue before you proceed further. This is the way in which, in the humanities, we have traditionally taught and learned. Within this tradition, a phrase like ‘the knowledge of business’, for example, is a solecism.
The Sophistic tradition, however, is money-based. Sophists are information-providers. They advertise and say: ‘I know, and for a price I’ll tell you’. There’s a financial contract which implies an efficient transfer of information, and if it doesn’t happen, the student who pays may claim compensation. The Green Paper would like us all to be Sophists.
It’s not surprising therefore that the Green Paper pays scant attention to those definitions of a university given in the Education Act of 1989. Let me remind you of three of the most pertinent: (1) universities are primarily concerned with more advanced learning, the main aim being to develop intellectual independence; (2) their research and teaching are closely interdependent and most of their teaching is done by people who are active in advancing knowledge; (3) they accept a role as critic and conscience of society. All three, I believe, are now at risk.
For New Zealanders, and for many people around the world, the state of affairs that McKenzie worried about has sadly come to pass. Two years ago the New Zealand government published a report on “New Models of Tertiary Education”, in which some of the more worrying parts of the 1997 report have become hidden foundations. (I published my own concerns about that report in this essay).
But then again—I am here, studying at a university, with the freedom to read the words of someone like Don McKenzie. The worry about the future of the university itself sometimes seems a sign of the success of the university in the kinds of things that McKenzie quoted from New Zealand’s Education Act. The worry remains, though, about numbers—how many people feel the freedom to do this kind of reading? Ever fewer, from accounts of professors. And this reading itself can sometimes seem ever more difficult as the instrumentalist logic of reports like the Green Paper seeps into every corner of the library.
Of the poem I photographed above, McKenzie said: “It’s one which shows how blind we are when the variety of our human and natural worlds is obscured by our distance from the objects of study.” Thanks to Don McKenzie for the ever-fresh reminder of what we’re really here for—for being A New Zealand Scholar. And thanks to all those who continue his work, and keep his lecture series running.
Author mmoorejonesPosted on February 9, 2019 February 9, 2019 Categories Articles, Education, LinksTags Don McKenzie, John Beaglehole, liberal education, Oxford, Victoria University
Oceania at the Antipodes
This year’s Oceania exhibition at London’s Royal Academy of Arts has so far made quite an impression. Here’s The Guardian’s Jonathan Jones: “From a two-headed Tahitian god to a mourner’s costume made of pearl shells, this dazzling exhibition is like having the ocean roll under your canoe.” Five stars, he says.
But Oceania visiting the antipodes is not exactly new. Since 1945 there have been, as far as I can tell, at least ten major exhibitions of Oceanic and Pacific art in Europe and America. This time, the curation seems far more sensitive and detailed; perhaps the interest is greater, too (certainly the marketing budget is). Yet we shouldn’t forget the history of similar exhibitions to be staged—and by comparing them we might be able to glean the extent of changing attitudes, and scholarly progress, towards the art of Oceania.
Here’s a list of Oceanic/Pacific exhibitions overseas that I’m aware of, with catalogue links (when available) and descriptions from the host museums. Please get in touch if you’re aware of other exhibitions I could include in this list.
1. 1945, City Art Museum of St. Louis: Oceanic Culture. (The entire exhibition grew out of the American experience in the Pacific during WWII, which is fascinating in itself. The catalogue is painful to read, though not unsurprising, for its stereotypes and views of cultural development).
“In the recent conflict in the Pacific, no area was of more vital importance to the ultimate victory of the Allies than Oceania, a vast region where the proportion of sea to that of land is awe-inspiringly large. Yet the myriad Pacific islands, many of them almost infinitesimal in size, were all-important to the execution of the brilliant strategy whereby with dramatic suddenness our enemy was overcome… It is important that we know more about the kind of people who gave us generous aid and among whom many of our own men found themselves living for months at a time under conditions of great hardship.”
2. 1946, Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York: Arts of the South Seas. Catalogue here.
“Arts of the South Seas was a singularly comprehensive exhibition of artwork from Oceanic cultures. Part of a series of non-Western, non-modern art exhibitions, it featured more than 400 works of art from Polynesia, Micronesia, Melanesia, and Australia. In the accompanying catalogue, René d’Harnoncourt, the director of the Museum’s Department of Manual Industry, explained the impetus for the exhibition: although Oceanic art was relatively unknown in the West, there was great “kinship between arts of the South Seas and recent movements in modern art such as Expressionism and Surrealism.”
3. 1979, National Gallery of Art (NGA), Washington, D.C.: Art of the Pacific Islands. Catalogue here. (This is the only other Oceanic art exhibition that I could see referenced anywhere in the RA’s Oceania catalogue).
“In spite of the wealth it has to offer, the art of the Pacific Islands remains perhaps the least known of the world’s art to the modern audience. Throughout this mass of islands there existed hundreds of cultures, many of them sustained by only a few hundred people. The cultures developed into richly disparate modes with elaborate social systems and highly refined systems of intellectual and religious life. Most striking of all, however, is that these cultures created an extraordinary range of art styles to express and serve their beliefs. The aim of the exhibition this catalog accompanied was to highlight objects that were made before or collected at the earliest contact by Westerners, and which therefore reflect the most pristine state of the cultures.”
4. 1984, Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York: “Primitivism” in Twentieth Century Art: Affinities of the Tribal and the Modern. (This well-discussed and controversial exhibition was not solely devoted to Pacific art, but included a large section of it. Interestingly neither a description or the English catalogue are available on MoMA’s website.)
5. 1984, Metropolitan Museum of Art (Met), New York: Te Maori. (Perhaps the most important exhibition for New Zealand to be staged overseas. The Met doesn’t include any information on the exhibition on its website, nor a digital version of the catalogue. The New Yorker’s article from the time gives a sense of the exhibition’s US reception; Hirini Moko Mead’s Art New Zealand article tells of the Maori response).
6. 2006, The British Museum, London: Power and Taboo: Sacred objects from the eastern Pacific.
“The exhibition will feature several famous examples of Polynesian material including the enigmatic A’a figure from the Austral Islands, the striking feather god head from Hawaii and an intricate nephrite tiki pendant from New Zealand. These objects have had a significant impact on the development of modernist art as they were studied and admired by artists such as Henry Moore and Pablo Picasso (who had a replica of the A’a sculpture in his studio). They also continue to inspire Polynesian artists, many of whom have produced work based upon this collection.”
7. 2006, Museum of Art and Archaeology, Cambridge: Pasifika Styles.
“Pasifika Styles was an exhibition and festival celebrating contemporary art work inspired by Maori and Pacific Island culture and historic collections. Showcasing selected works from New Zealand’s top contemporary and emerging artists, the exhibition was presented in the Museum’s galleries alongside an unparalleled collection of historic Oceanic art.”
8. 2006, University of East Anglia: Pacific Encounters: Art and Divinity in Polynesia 1760-1860. (I’m lacking online information about this exhibition, but this review deals with these last 3 exhibitions).
9. 2013, Rautenstrauch-Joest-Museum, Cologne: Made in Oceania: Tapa – Art and Daily Life. (Article here).
““Tapa” is the Polynesian word for fabrics made from a special type of tree bark which can be painted and used for variety of purposes. Oceania, in particular, has a rich, multifaceted tapa culture, which the Rautenstrauch-Joest-Museum presented for the first time in Germany in a special, large-scale exhibition. The exhibition featuring international loans (e.g. from New Zealand and Australia) and pieces from its own collection compared and contrasted contemporary works of tapa. The presentation focused on various aspects, such as gender, religion, identity, migration and diaspora, and examined these further in discussions with artists and in workshops.”
10. 2018, Royal Academy of Arts (RA), London: Oceania.
If nothing else, the list dampens somewhat the RA’s marketing claims of the exhibition’s uniqueness. But some further questions, out of this brief survey: Did it take the American war experience in the Pacific to first spark any interest, however patronising, in Pacific art? What accounts for the subsequent intermittent interest—could these exhibitions be linked somehow to global events that put Oceania/the Pacific on Europe’s metaphorical map? And why did it take so much longer for any European exhibitions of Pacific art to be staged than in America; is this representative of the provincialism of European attitudes to art from anywhere else?
In light of that latter question, the Royal Academy’s Oceania seems not so much a marking of 250 years since Cook “discovered” the Pacific, but of perhaps a decade since Britain and Europe opened their artistic sights on the rest of the world. Oceania is a fitting beginning.
Author mmoorejonesPosted on November 7, 2018 November 7, 2018 Categories Art, Essays, LinksTags exhibitions, New Zealand, Pacific, UK
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Imagine for a moment, though, that you - a rat and a talented cook! You need to gather all the ingredients for the soup and the second to start the train! But do not run into a strict chef!
Russian popular card game - a fool. Vinnipuhom to fight for the right called a fool.
Power Splash
Such a combination of a romantic character, and the underwater monster. You will be diving. A jellyfish in the ocean and fish are found ... All of this should be skushat. Manage simple and at the beginning of show.
Your task is to fill the cell numbers from 1 to 9 so that the amount of rows and columns correspond to the specified.
Use the map on top of the middle of the screen, Hubert all the cards faster than the computer.
Jumping Jelly Beans
need to click on these chudikov that they jumped and were collected by firefly!
Take the men
Raise all muzhichkov, and then they show you their belly and flee, but instead they pribegut other
We go, nor who did not vrezayas while collecting bonuses (gap). The more smash into other cars, the less energy you have.
Kaskaderskie stunts on a motorcycle - jumping through the rows of barrels. Watch for the speed and keep the balance of the motorcycle in flight using the mouse
A great game for all lovers of "talent Detsla. The musical accompaniment appropriate.
Almost sure like to play snowballs. Here are just a time of year does not always correspond. Well, have to play in flash snowballs
Monster Munch
Nice game about a snow man who likes to eat falling snowflakes. It snowflakes, not snow or icicles balls!
Penguin Push
Bring order into his apartment, lay out the interior of the ice in its place
Dogs - the closest human animals. They help people to guard home and livestock. Searching for the missing things and we just skrashivayut leisure. Razukras fun doggie on the screen. He wants to look not as many of his fellow dogs. Young children love sorevnovatsya - who is better to paint doggy?
You are ninja, armed with "stars." You invade countless enemies. Since it is very difficult to win here, then at least to sell life РПДПТПЦЕ.
Grasped
Minimalistichnaya arcade with simple graphics. Appear on the screen balls, and the player must collect them and dispose of in the center of the screen.
helicover
In this game you will need to run the engine helicopter, and then take off and fly without end, and edges. On some operating rasslablyayusche
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Hough Home
228 North Congress Street today
Address: 228 North Congress Street, Jackson, Mississippi, USA
Opened: Between 1917 and 1920; became women only with death of Dr. Joseph W. Hough on December 11, 1920.
Closed: Sold on March 1, 1985 to the Magnolia Federal Bank
The Hough Home (sometimes referred to as the Joseph W. Hough Home - Business Woman's Home or the Business Women's Home) was said to be the last of the old-fashioned, ladies-only boarding houses in the State of Mississippi. According to the 1920 Census, Dr. Hough, a 92-year-old widower, was still living at this address--with twenty-five women. But by the time he passed away at the end of the year, it was strictly for the ladies until 1985.
From the Waycross Journal-Herald, May 4, 1985:
The closing of the historical Hough Home in Mississippi's capital ends the days of women-only boarding houses that offered rooms, meals and sets of rules for parlour courting.
"The Hough House was the last of an era because there's nothing else like it around. I don't know of another boarding house for women. The younger girls now are more independent and all want to share together--they're more adventuresome," said Elaine Porter, 38, who has lived at the Hough House for four years.
The downtown Jackson structure was built between 1912 to 1915 and purchased by Dr. Joseph W. Hough in 1917. Hough donated the two-story colonial revival wood-frame house to a charitable organization.
"It was Dr. Hough's specific request that the house be used for the benefit of the women in the business community," according to Jackson Landmarks, a historical guide compiled by the Junior League of Jackson.
The eight-member Hough Home of Board of Directors sold the house to Magnolia Federal Bank on March 1.
"It was getting too expensive to run. It wasn't serving its purpose. The girls didn't work downtown, they worked all over the city and there wasn't adequate parking," said Hough Home Board President Sallie Crim.
The money from the sale will go into a scholarship fund for students at local colleges.
Single women boarding in the Hough Home were usually Mississippians fresh out of high school or college with jobs in state government, banks and insurance agencies.
Hostess Janie Gamble said they discovered the boarding house through word of mouth.
"It was never advertised. That way you never have as many undesirables applying. I tried and did keep it decent, where a mother would be glad for her daughter to stay there," Ms. Gamble said.
Curfews went out of style with bell-bottom jeans in the 70s, she said, but most tenants still returned home early on weeknights and "not too late" on Friday and Saturday nights.
It was downstairs-only for male visitors, who were restricted to the den and living room. The women could have men up to their bedrooms for moving purposes only, and that was strictly with the permission of the hostess.
The Hough Home was the last of the Jackson women's boarding homes that ran according to the old school of courting, where couples stayed at elbows-length until marriage, Ms. Gamble said.
"I don't know where the girls are supposed to go to meet a young man. They used to go to church...I always told them you don't meet nice young men in bars," she said.
For Belinda Gurley, who lived in the Hough Home for seven years, the house was sometimes an answer to sensitive dating situations. "In this day and time, I'm pretty liberal. But if you went out with somebody and when they took you home, there wasn't a problem," she said.
"I suppose if the Hough Home hadn't closed, I would have stayed there until I was married or an old maid," laughed Miss Gurley, who moved in with a former "Houghee" at a downtown Jackson apartment complex.
Ms. Gamble, 71, known as "Granny" to former Hough residents, said many of her tenants came to Hough Home from small Mississippi towns in hopes of meeting "responsible young bachelors. But it doesn't always work out like that."
"I'd tell them, 'Well honey, you've got to learn to stand on your own two feet and you know you really do,'" she said. She worked as a beautician before accepting the job as Hough Home hostess in May 1972.
For $135 a month, tenants received three meals each weekday and a semi-private furnished room. With room for 46 women, the Hough Home was sometimes close to empty and at other times had a waiting list.
"I miss all of the girls. They were sweet to me; they were just precious to me and almost always they respected me. Always I was Granny; that's what they all called me," Ms. Gamble said.
"I just wish that I had started taking notes. Some of them were really hilarious; some of them you could have spanked for it."
Posted by ANONYMOUS at 10:05 PM No comments:
Labels: boarding house, Mississippi
Central Park Ladies Refreshment Salon
Central Park Casino (1929)
Location: 72nd Street near Fifth Avenue, Central Park, New York, New York, USA
Closed: 1873 in favor of a restaurant "serving" both men and women
The Central Park Ladies Refreshment Salon was designed by the noted architect Calvert Vaux in 1865. The Salon was a large and impressive structure spanning two blocks at the northeast end of the Mall. It wasn't terribly long-lived as a womyn's space, however, as park authorities decided to change it into a "mixed" restaurant serving alcoholic beverages to wealthy and elite New Yorkers in the 1870s. (The Ladies Refreshment Salon limited itself to "light refreshments" for ladies and young children.)
Note that in the history below, the use of this space as a Ladies Refreshment Salon was not in the original Central Park Plan, but was a "compromise"--and ultimately a short-lived one at that.
It is also important to realize that the mere fact that both men and women were served at the restaurant replacing the Ladies Refreshment Salon does NOT mean women unescorted by men were admitted. Whether in fact unescorted women were admitted into the Casino is not something that is clarified in any of the literature on this place that I have examined. But it was not common for "fashionable" restaurants of this era to admit unescorted women.
From the City of New York Parks and Recreation website:
The Casino and Rumsey Playfield
In the original 1858 Greensward Plan for Central Park, the designers Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux intended for this site an exhibition and music hall required by the Board of Commissioners as a feature of the new park. Plans changed, and by 1862 music was performed at the old Bandstand on the Concert Ground at the end of the Mall. This area then became the site of the Casino (casino means "little house" in Italian). The building was designed by Vaux to be used as the Ladies' Refreshment Saloon, a respectable dining establishment for the enjoyment of women who had come to the Park without a male escort. This plan changed, however, and the Casino became the main restaurant in the Park serving both men and women.
The building resembled upstate country houses that Vaux had previously designed in his private architectural practice. At night, the building was described in Baldwin's Guide to the Central Park as "brilliantly illuminated with gas from handsome pendants." During the day patrons would drive up in their carriages to visit the Casino, sit under the Wisteria Pergola at the western edge of the site, and listen to the strains of music from the Wednesday and Saturday afternoon concerts on the Mall below. In the summer seasons refreshments from the Casino were served at tables placed under the archway leading to Bethesda Terrace.
In the 1920s the restaurant was extended to include an elaborately decorated ballroom created by Josef Urban, the esteemed Viennese interior designer. It became a fashionable nightclub frequented by New York Mayor "Gentleman" Jimmy Walker, and featured the musical talent of Eddie Duchin's orchestra and such performers as Ethel Merman.
In 1935 this site underwent another transformation. Newly appointed Parks Commissioner Robert Moses ordered the demolition of the Casino, and the site was developed as the Mary Harriman Rumsey Playground for children. A statue of Mother Goose, designed by F.G.R. Roth, was erected near the playground entrance in 1938. Purchased with Works Progress Administration funds, it depicts Mother Goose and some of her nursery-rhyme characters, including Little Jack Horner, Humpty Dumpty, and Little Bo Peep. In 1986 it became Rumsey Playfield, a clay-surfaced sports area for school groups, and in 1990 the site of Summerstage, returning the site to the original musical intention of Olmsted and Vaux.
Posted by ANONYMOUS at 1:28 PM 8 comments:
Labels: ladies cafe, ladies refreshment saloon, ladies restaurant, New York, women's restaurant
River Bank Refreshment Saloon
Location: Fronting the River Front near the Colonial Hospital, Whanganui, New Zealand
Opened/Closed: 1871 - ?
The River Bank Refreshment Saloon is another one of those random finds that's rather intriguing.
The business is obviously being started by a woman--a widow is my guess. And we know from the history of that era that "refreshment rooms" were generally intended for women. At any rate, Mrs. Peter Ross makes it pretty clear that this is a "convenient and comfortable resort" for the ladies--and not, by rather obvious implication, for the gents. Who else to appreciate the rooms that had been "tastefully and elegantly fitted up"--apparently by Mrs R. herself?
The refreshment saloon (or salon) was a mid-nineteenth century Victorian invention. Although not exclusively for women--there was a prominent one established in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania for Civil War soldiers--they tended to be associated with ladies and young children as they only served non-alcoholic fountain beverages. In general, they were considered "respectable" establishments where a lady might indulge in a tasty treat without a male escort in tow. New York's Central Park boasted a Ladies Refreshment Salon in its early days; the Calvert Vaux-designed building was constructed in 1865. It later became a "mixed" restaurant before being converted into the Casino, a swanky, high-society nightclub, in 1929. (The building is now gone, having been demolished in the mid-1930s for a playground.)
Whanganui, New Zealand (1886)
At the time that the River Front Refreshment Saloon was opened, Whanganui (then spelled Wanganui) was a young town. White immigrants battled with the Maori for control over land and territory, and these conflicts erupted into the Land Wars of the 1860s. The first Town Bridge had just been completed that same year (1871), which I assume made the River Bank area more commercially viable. With all the travel through and around the town, I imagine that Mrs. Peter Ross regarded a ladies refreshment saloon as a good and safe business decision. And as a pleasant space removed from the catcalls and hurly burly of the waterfront streets, at least for European women.
Labels: ladies cafe, ladies refreshment saloon, ladies restaurant, New Zealand, women's restaurant
Studio Feminin
Opera of Paris (1932)
Location: Street of the Admirals, Paris, France
Opened/Closed: 1932 to ?
From the Montreal Gazette, September 10, 1932:
THEATRE FOR WOMEN
Men Will be Excluded From Studio Feminin
An exclusive, feminine theatre has been founded in Paris. Men are to be entirely excluded from its undertakings. The plays are to be written, produced, performed, and supplied with incidental music by women only. Moreover, the scenery will be both designed and shifted without male aid.
The Studio Feminin was established, somewhat inconsistently in the Street of the Admirals, because it was felt that too few women have taken up playwriting heretofore. A competition is to be held, the closing date for the acceptance of plays having been fixed as September 15. The most successful effort will be performed next winter.
The principal object of the enterprise is to enable women to take a more important part in the ordinary theatre. Although the honor role in the casting of characters often is given to a woman, it is felt that men hitherto have jealously kept to themselves the roles of playwright and producer.
And without finding some good scholarly works on the history of Parisian theater in the 1930s, that's all I know.
Posted by ANONYMOUS at 9:09 PM No comments:
Labels: France, Women's Theater
Women's Bank of Prague
Prague Credit Bank (1929)
Location: Prague, Czech Republic
Opened/Closed: 1933
The idea of a women's bank is not totally without precedent, especially in today's middle east. But the Women's Bank of Prague is certainly one of the earlier attempts at women-only banking--an attempt that probably did not advance too far, given the era in which it was proposed. Not surprisingly, I can find no information on this Bank beyond the announcement of its formation in March 1933. And, needless to say, the AP news article is very patronizing:
PRAGUE, Czechoslovakia, March 9--Several leaders of the women's clubs here-abouts announced today that they were sick and tired of the mess men bankers had made of the world's finances and that therefore they had organized the Women's Bank of Prague.
It will be managed entirely by women and will extend credit to women only. The profits if any will be devoted to feminist propaganda.
Labels: Czech Republic, Women's Bank
Chixx
1015 - 1019 South 10th Street (around 2003)
Location: 1019 South 10th Street, Omaha, Nebraska, USA
Opened/Closed: Around 2007 to 2009?
Chixx seems to have been a lesbian bar located next door to a gay (male) bar called Flixx. She had her own myspace page, but she still comes across as a painfully shy kind of gal, as this is all she had to say about herself:
Located on 10th and Pacific Omaha, Nebraska Free parking in the rear! Specials Every Night ..
Not exactly informative, is it? I know this is Nebraska and all, but still. Was she cowered by the shadow of her gay big brother? Maybe so. At any rate, there's not a lot of information on this venue.
One of the few references to Chixx that I have found is the following:
Chixx interior (2007)
In June 2007, the Witching Hour Theater produced a "scary lesbian striptease" at Chixx as part of the local Fringe Festival. Check out the video if you're game.
So we do know at minimum that Chixx was open by the summer of 2007.
According to one commenter in May 2010, Chixx was no longer in existence as of that date, as the square footage had been taken over by Flixx:
There used to be a great bar called Chixx adjacent to Flixx. Unfortunately, that is now closed and that section is now Flixx show bar for special occasions.
Does this sound like a familiar theme yet? Men's space encroaching upon and eliminating womyn's space? Sort of like the drinking man's equivalent of Radcliffe giving it up for Harvard?
Although her existence seemed somewhat marginalized during her lifetime, there is still some nostalgia floating around for Chixx. As an old Chixx fan lamented in June 2010:
DAMN! I miss the days when that Chixx was around cuz it was fun and it was pretty classy.
The requisite pool table at Chixx (2007)
This was part of a review for Connections, Omaha's last existing lesbian bar. At least she appears to be still breathing, though there are ocassional rumors regarding life support....
March 28, 2012: Correction. I have now verified that Connections is deceased as well. She was replaced by a new lesbian bar (very unusual) called Door 19 which opened on January 14, 2012. Will write up a Connections obituary soon....
Labels: lesbian bar, Nebraska
Hudson & Manhattan Railroad women-only cars
Stairway from the Hudson Terminal Concourse to the platforms
Location: Between Newark, New Jersey and New York, New York, USA
Opened/Closed: Women-only cars reintroduced for commuter train service on July 7, 1958. Service was limited to one car on each train on the downtown line during rush hour. However, with no real explanation, the service was "withdrawn after a short while."
We've posted here before on New York City's "suffragette" railcars of 1909, and how these turned out to be a pioneering effort in establishing women-only public transportation around the world. Just to jog your memory, here's a little refresher course:
About one year after the Tubes [i.e. the Hudson Tubes of the Hudson & Manhattan Railroad] started its first service, the Woman's Municipal League, noting that women and children were being squeezed, jostled and potentially endangered in the rush hour crowds on the trains, asked the H&M for a "women's car" service during the rush hours for a two weeks' trial period. There would be one car on each rush hour train reserved for women and children. Since the North River ferries already had "women's cabins", this was not a particularly unusual request. [William G.] McAdoo, the H&M's President, responded with a three months' trial starting March 31, 1909.
At first the service was very popular with women and the cars were well patronized. But then newspapers began a campaign of ridiculing the cars and their users, referring to the "Jane Crowe Car", "Hen Car", "Old Maid's Retreat" and ridership dropped off precipitously. When the three month trial period was up, the cars were returned to mixed service.
Meanwhile, on April 24, 1909, while the experiment was still underway, a Francis Dundon lodged a complaint with the ICC against the H&M, alleging that the exclusion of men from the cars was illegal under the provisions of the Interstate Commerce Acts. The H&M responded to the ICC stating that "we do not exclude men from this car. We simply advise them that this car is reserved for women." The H&M's position was that the women's car was analogous to a smoking car. The ICC agreed with the H&M that making a request to men not to use the car was not the same as insisting that men not use the car. In any case the point was moot since the newspaper ridicule had doomed the women's cars.
Which just goes to show that men's obsessive efforts to kill off womyn's space, whether through public ridicule or legal avenues, are nothing new....
What is even less well known is that there was a short-lived effort to revive women-only service in the late 1950s, which was once again praised by women passengers. Also notice that even in the late 1950s, sharp-eyed women were observing how men "hog space" in public areas--and how these women weren't afraid to call them out on it either:
"Marvelous."
That's how one feminine commuter described the Hudson & Manhattan Railroad's new car for women only.
The baby blue, perfume-scented car was placed in service for the first time Thursday [i.e. June 7, 1958] on the morning rush-hour run between here [i.e. Newark, New Jersey] to New York City.
Mrs. Vera Veseley of Fords, said the car was marvelous because she had more elbow room.
"Men always spread out their newspapers and hog space," she said. "Only yesterday I had to tell a man to fold up his paper."
But the roominess in the air-conditioned car didn't last for long. All 44 seats were soon taken and standees jammed the aisle.
Mrs. Veseley had only one mild criticism: "You could probably save time by applying make-up in the ladies car instead of at home, but there are no mirrors. As long as the railroad spent all this money, I don't see why it didn't install wall-to-wall mirrors."
Mrs. Corinne Rose of Edison patted the blue leather seats and commented: "These will save my stockings. Those cane seats in the old cars always gave me runners."
Santa Fe ad (1954). The preferred image for women on trains?
One woman offered a dissenting opinion.
"I enjoy riding with men more," she said.
Well it appears that somebody got the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) involved once more, as two years later, in July 1960, we see the following headline in the Hartford Courant: "Shocking-Pink Ladies 'Club Car' Is Okayed As a No Man's Land." The explanation: "Ladies rode the rails of the Hudson & Manhattan Railroad in their own shocking-pink pastel cars Friday with the informal blessing of the Interstate Commerce Commission."
What happened to the baby-blue cars? Or these later "shocking-pink" cars? Seems there is a lot more lost herstory to explore here....
Lest you think that all this is in the quaint and distant past, consider the following: Czech Railways just instituted "female priority" compartments on their trains.
Posted by ANONYMOUS at 1:00 PM 1 comment:
Labels: New Jersey, New York, public transportation
The Tearoom
Six Girls and The Tea Room (1907)
Location: Especially common in Great Britain, but seen in other English speaking countries as well
Opened/Closed: Heyday was in the late 19th century, early 20th century
I have long believed that owning and/or managing actual physical public space for women by women was somehow of central importance to our liberation and freedom, and to the building of women's community. We can dance, drink, talk politics, or network all we like in private homes, but the attendance will necessarily be limited to the fringes of our immediate circle. And for women living in small quarters or in extended families with fathers or husbands, the potential of such gatherings will be extremely constrained from the start. The same goes for floating meetings or parties held hither and yon--in a backroom this week, a church basement next month. These tend to be hard to sustain over time much less grow in size. And yet some women--particularly younger self-styled "queer" women--assure us that the loss of lesbian bars, community centers, women's music festivals, feminist boookstores and the like is not important. It's okay to "claim" a new party space once a month at yet another hard-to-find location somewhere across town, or in the corners of the local gay men's bar. We don't need public meeting spaces just for us, they say. As if women were somehow fundamentally different from every other group in their need for some territory of their own.
That said, it was still a revelation when I stumbled upon this article showing how having access to tangible public spaces mattered for the early women's movement. And it's a space that tends to be treated disdainfully, if it's existence is noted at all. I speak of the humble tearoom. Yes, where your great-grandmother (if of the middle-class sort) may have taken tea and a biscuit, or even a pleasant luncheon or two with several of her lady friends. Bourgeois and suffocatingly respectable you say? Wrong.
Also notice how another seemingly innocuous public space we have taken for granted until fairly recently--the ladies lavatory or restroom--was a deeply political struggle within Victorian society. Sobering stuff, given that the very existence of a ladies restroom as such (i.e. for female persons only) is once again a point of attack and contention in transgender politics.
Tea and Women – how the Tearoom supported women’s suffrage
Jane Pettigrew – tea specialist, historian, and writer
Tea has many unusual connections but one of the least obvious perhaps is the fact that towards the end of the 19th century, tearooms provided a safe haven and meeting place for the women suffragists and may have been instrumental in furthering their cause.
In many areas of Britain, local branches of the women’s movement grew out of the temperance societies. T-Total meetings were often just very large tea parties (with a sermon or two thrown in) and the women, who brewed gallons of tea and dished it out in mugs, encouraged ‘guests’ to turn away from harmful alcohol and instead drink ‘the cup that cheers but does not inebriate’.
Towards the end of the 19th century, society was changing fast. New public transport allowed easier movement into and around town, more women were working in professional employment, going out more, shopping in the new departments stores. And yet, there were no even moderately respectable places where some kind of refreshment could be taken by female shoppers. When William Whitely opened his department store in Bayswater in the 1870, he applied for a licence to open a restaurant inside the store but was refused on the grounds of its potential for immoral assignations!
And where were women to wash their hands and find other essential comforts? It was still considered very improper and frightfully bad manners to refer to women’s bodies, and finding a lavatory was almost impossible. The provision of public conveniences for ladies was considered outrageous and it was not until 1884 that the first ‘convenience’ run by the Ladies Lavatory Company opened near Oxford Circus.
The tearoom at the Walforf Hilton, London
To provide for women’s needs, women-only clubs started appearing – The University Women’s Club in 1883, The Camelot Club for shop and office workers in 1898, Harrods Ladies Club in 1890. And women met more and more frequently in tearooms. Tea had always had very genteel connections and, as the public tearooms became more and more popular during the 1880s and 90s, they were recognised as very respectable places where respectable women could enjoy a peaceful cup of tea away from the hurley-burley of busy urban streets. They created the perfect place for a little light refreshment, for a chat, and for discussions about politics and votes for women and, of course, for planning campaigns and demonstrations.
Fullers' tearoom at The London Colisseum in London
In Votes For Women, published in 1956, Roger Fulford wrote, “The spread of independence was helped by the growth of the tea-shop. A few expensive restaurants existed but apart from these, there were no places for a quick meal other than the formality of the large damask tablecloth and best silver at home, or the brisk clatter of the bar parlour. The tea-shop gave the young – perhaps in revolt against the stuffiness of family afternoon tea – an ideal meeting place; it was an integral part of the women’s liberation movement.” And according to Margaret Corbett Ashby, the teashops run by the ABC (Aerated Bread Company) were “an enormous move to freedom”.
Once the Suffrage campaign got going, the tearooms played a central part. In 1907, the Young Hot Bloods (the younger members of the Women’s Social & Political Union, founded in 1907) met at a tea shop in the Strand. And Alan’s Tea Room at 263 Oxford Street regularly advertised the free use of its large function room for members of the Women’s Social Political Union. Records show that the room was used in 1910 by the Tax Resistance League and in 1911 by the Catholic Women’s Suffrage Society for its inaugural meeting. In 1913, at the end of the ‘pilgrimage’ to London by the NUWSS (the National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies), some of the women (a few from the 50,000 who attended the rally) went to Alan’s for dinner and no doubt for several restorative and well-deserved cups of tea!
Labels: lesbian tea room, tea room, United Kingdom
The White Lion
The White Lion (l967-68)
Location: 51 Grange Road, West Kirby, Merseyside, England
Opened: Dates back to the 17th century, became "ladies only" in 1975
Closed: Apparently still open. But it ceased to be "ladies only" sometime in the early 1980s.
By the looks of it, the White Lion is one of those classic Olde English pubs, the kind where you toss back a pint or two with your mates. In other words, a thoroughly laddish affair. But for a time in the mid 1970s, it was staked out as a womyn's space. The announcement that the White Lion was now "ladies only" even got picked up as an Associated Press story in March 1975:
A 17th century inn here has made history with a new sign outside one of its bars: "ladies only."
The White Lion Tavern in this northwest England town claims to have the only bar in Britain from which males are banned. The click of knitting needles has replaced the thunk of darts, and martinis perched on tables once splattered with the foam of ale.
Not surprisingly, the White Lion's owner is a woman. But Margaret Richardson doesn't claim to be a women's libber.
A visit to a London bar convinced the 36-year-old drama teacher that she wanted to open a place where women could go for a drink without being "humiliated, ogled or assumed to be an easy pickup."
The ladies bar, Mrs. Richardson admits, doesn't make money.
But she says she isn't worried. It is enough "that I've provided a place where respectable women can have a civilized drink without harassment," she says.
"When I went into that bar in London," she recalls, "my reception was such that I left without finishing my drink, and I was determined to provide a place where women could drink without fear of insult."
So with the support of her accountant husband, Mrs. Richardson turned the White Lion's games room into a female preserve.
It's fascinating how carefully this "ladies only" space is coded as heterosexual. All the way from the prominent mention of the knitting needles (in the 1970s?!?) to Mrs. Richardson's marital status and her "women's libber" denials. Was this a deliberate attempt at camouflage, or was Mrs. Richardson really intent on reserving this as a place for "respectable" wives and mothers? Did lesbians manage to claim this space regardless? The whole tone of this article comes across as remarkably disingenous for the time, as if this little English village pub existed in some pristine bubble that history forgot.
But the bubble finally pricked and it all came to an end regardless. A 2002 piece in the Liverpool Echo picks up the tale over 25 years later:
The White Lion stands on the hill that glides down into West Kirby's town centre, with Hilbre Island seemingly floating in the late December sea of slate grey sky. A return to harsh reality came with the realisation that the Lion has no car park - but the muncipal at the next major turning right provided a cheap (30 pence for three hours) and accessible (less than five minutes walk) alternative.
The inside is a traditionalist's dream more like a warm cave than a boozer. Lanterns shed dim light across the stone floors and walls, a pleasant musky smell from the coal fire beside the bar adding extra savour to the welcoming atmosphere and the excellent quality of the ale. And being a trad pub there is strictly a 'no young kids allowed' policy. We parked ourselves on wooden benches around the long oak table in a raised alcove facing the pumps dubbed the Royal Box by Christine Stokes licensee/manager of a decade-plus. "That's what we call the naughty table - it's always very noisy and rowdy up there'' explained Christine later, aware that perhaps we'd found our spiritual home. The Royal Box is also home to a potted history display for this building which has been serving ale for much of its existence since the 1600s.
Special prominence is given to a period through the late 70s and early 80s when it became the focus for national press attention as an early bastion of Girl Power.
The former licensee Margaret Richardson declared one of the alcoves a Man Free zone where women could drink without harassment. It has, however, been consigned to the knicker drawer of history because as Christine stated: "It's not necessary any more; women are far more confident these days than to need such things.''
Ah yes. The women-don't-want-womyn's-space-anymore line. They've outgrown it. After all, male harassment ended, um, around 1980, right? Doesn't exist anymore! So have some more Kool-aid, er ale, girls. Bottoms up!
Labels: ladies bar, United Kingdom
Ladies Cafe and Oyster Parlor
Ladies having tea and donuts - around 1900
Location: Bonham, Texas, USA
Opened/Closed: Around 1907
In the Daily Favorite from November 30, 1907, we see the following ad:
LADIES CAFE AND
OYSTER PARLOR
The best of everything
served in the best style.
Hot Chocolate and Coffee
served at all hours.
BONHAM CANDY KITCHEN
So here's the deal. If you indulged in too many Red Head beers at the Ladies' Cafe in Springfield, Ohio, you could always crawl back into your time machine and sober up at the Ladies Cafe in Bonham, Texas. Cheers!
Labels: ladies cafe, ladies restaurant, Texas, women's restaurant
Ladies' Cafe (Springfield, Ohio)
14 North Fountain Today
Location: 14 North Fountain Avenue, Springfield, Ohio, USA
Opened/Closed: c. 1902-1903
Ladies' Cafe - Springfield, Ohio (1902)
Sometimes I stumble upon a lost womyn's space for which there is very little (readily available) information. Though I haven't found out much about the Ladies' Cafe in Springfield, Ohio, it still manages to intrigue me--partly because there is no reference to it being attached to a (male) restaurant or drinking establishment. But until we can find something more substantial--like maybe a photograph or biographical data on J.J. Clancy the proprietor--we'll just have to voyage back in our imaginations.
The following ad appeared in the Champaign Democrat through 1902 and 1903. It's hard to read, so I'll retype the content below.
Ladies' Cafe
14 N. Fountain Ave., Springfield, Ohio.....
Fine Wines, Beer and all popular Refreshments served from Car in adjoining building. A pleasant cheerful place to meet your friends and chat. Cloak Room, Toilet-Rooms and Lavatory provided.
J.J. CLANCY, Prop.,
16 North Fountain Avenue, Springfield, O
Don't you wish you had a time machine just about now? If you get there before I do, could you order me a Red Head beer? Seems it was a well-known local brew of the time....
Important historical point: New York City's Cafe des Beaux Arts Ladies Bar (founded in 1911) is typically credited with being the oldest "ladies bar"-- at least in the U.S. I think that with some confidence we can now say this is NOT true.
March 28, 2012: Just out of curiosity, I did a little genealogy research into J. J. Clancy (sometimes called James J. Clancy). He was born in England of Irish parents in 1859 and immigrated to the U.S. as a child. He became a naturalized citizen in 1880 and married a woman named Bridget Flannigan in 1891. They eventually had two children, Catherine and John. The first Springfield City Directory reference to Clancy having a "saloon" on 16 North Fountain Avenue occurs in 1894. Beginning in 1900, we see this place referred to as the "New Sample Room." By 1903, we see that Clancy's business has expanded to include14 North Fountain Avenue, where we know the Ladies Cafe was located. However, the City Directory makes no mention of the Ladies Cafe--not that this is terribly signficant, as the City Directory is limited to just bare-bones information. It appears that around 1908, Clancy may have consolidated his business to just the 14 North Fountain Avenue address. Does this mean that the Ladies Cafe was dropped about this time? Difficult to say without additional information. Then for a few years, his saloon is listed as being at 12 and 14 North Fountain Avenue. The saloon disappears from the City Directory sometime between 1917 and 1920, about the time Bridget apparently passed away. Of course, these were also the years when prohibition triumphed in the U.S.; the Eighteenth Amendment and the Volstead Act both passed in 1919, and weren't repealed until 1933.
But what we still don't know--and may never know--is why Clancy opened a Ladies Cafe, and what factors influenced his decision. Did his wife Bridget play a role in this? Or his daughter, who apparently never married?
Nor do we know what kinds of ladies patronized the Cafe, what they ate or drank, how they entertained themselves, what they talked about, how they felt about the place, or what relationships developed there. All that remains a mystery wrapped in an engma....
But as I look further into Springfield history, I can tell you one thing: we can safely assume that none of the patrons at the Ladies Cafe were African-American. Especially during the era in question, Springfield was a hotbed of white terrorism:
On March 7, 1904, over a thousand Springfield residents formed a lynch mob, stormed the jail and removed prisoner Richard Dixon, a black man accused of murdering a police officer. Richard Dixon was shot to death and then hung from a pole on the corner of Fountain and Main Street, where the mob continued to shoot his lifeless body. The mob then proceeded to burn much of the black area of town. In February 1906, another mob formed and again burned the black section of town known as “the levee”.
Realize that the lynching spot where Richard Dixon was tortured and murdered was just half a block south from the Ladies Cafe....
Posted by ANONYMOUS at 9:28 AM No comments:
Labels: ladies bar, ladies cafe, ladies restaurant, Ohio, women's restaurant
Winnepeg Beach women-only beer parlour
Winnepeg Beach
Winnepeg Beach women-only beer parlor
Location: Lake Winnepeg, Province of Manitoba, Canada
Opened/Closed: Winnipeg Beach was open from 1902 to 1964; the women-only beer parlour was open for just a few hours in 1928 before being shut down by the authorities. During this same time period (1902-1964), male-only drinking establishments flourished and in fact were typically protected as male-only space by law.
Winnepeg Beach was a beachside amusement park, a self-styled "Coney Island of the West." In its heyday, it drew up to 40,000 visitors a day. And like New York's Coney Island, it served as both a center for leisure and (heterosexual) courtship.
Nevertheless, though the dance halls, promenades, and beaches were gender mixed --given that they were the proper domain of courting (heterosexual) couples--some spaces were strictly segregated and reserved for the men. One of these areas was the male-only bar or beer parlour. As historian Dale E. Barbour observes, public drinking establishments were exclusive male territory from the very beginning:
In the early years of Winnipeg Beach, the hotels would have offered a place for men to drink. The Empress Hotel, for example, was famous for its "lavish bar." Women were discouraged from taking place in this male-oriented drinking.
Barbour later concludes:
Clearly, alcohol was considered to be within the male domain and the men going to the hotels were engaged in male sociability. This public sociability was ended in 1916 when prohibition was enacted in Manitoba. The rules were relaxed in 1923 to allow for the sale of liquor in government run stores and then again in 1928 to allow public drinking in licensed male-only beer parlours. The male-only beer parlours, and Winnipeg Beach did have one on its Main Street after 1928, make clear that liquor regulations were a gendered affair, with regulations predicated on fears that mixing men, women and alcohol would lead to immoral behavior. It would not be until 1957 that mixed-gender public drinking establishments were allowed in Manitoba.
So there can be little doubt that beer parlours were male-only spaces--by both social custom and legal statute--for nearly 60 years. No girls allowed!
Except for a few short hours in 1928, when a remarkable act of resistance occurred:
In 1928, Winnipeg Beach was home to Manitoba's only women's beer parlour -- which lasted just a few hours before being closed down over licensing issues. The men's-only beer parlour operated into the early '60s.
I'm still looking for information on who organized this women's beer parlour, and what women chose to come in and make this their home for the few brief hours of its aborted existence.
This is the kind of history that people forget when comparing contemporary "men's bars" and "women's bars"--or even male and female public spaces in general. Public female spaces--especially women's drinking establishments--have never enjoyed the same legal, political, and social protections as the men's spaces; they've never even come close in a rough equivalence. That's one reason they continue to be vulnerable and easily destroyed. That's why those who pressure the miniscule number of women's bars (or clinics or shelters) to be more "diverse" or open to all comers typically have a complete ignorance of (or indifference to) the actual historical record. Within the larger scheme of things, men's spaces have not been subject to the same pressures, and in many cases, were actually protected and sanctioned by the State. Given the monopolistic control that men have had on public space from the very beginning (whether "mixed" or male-only), it's perhaps not surprising that even the right to female-only public restrooms or locker rooms is increasingly under siege in some quarters, especially in Canada. When a couple of gals can't even hoist a few brews together for more than a single evening (before the heavy hand of state intrudes and shuts down the bar), we can certainly see why no women's space--not even a toilet stall--can be considered truly safe or beyond challenge in the male-dominated political realm.
Labels: Canada, ladies bar, women's bar
The saloons of Kansas City's "Little Italy"
Kansas City's City Market on Fifth Street (1906)
The saloons of Kansas City's Little Italy
Location: Little Italy (also known as the Columbus Park area), Kansas City, Missouri, USA
Opened/Closed: Women allowed in saloons for brief time around 1909--before police crackdown
We've noted here before that bars and saloons have been classified as "male space" by the dominant American culture. And so they were...and still are in many (mostly) unspoken ways.
But it's interesting that not all ethnic groups observed this gender restriction. In particular, the saloon owners of Kansas City's Little Italy apparently saw nothing wrong in letting women "frequent" their establishments and even act as bartenders. The authorities, however, vehemently disagreed. Hence, the police crackdown in December 1909. But for a while, women were able to carve out and claim these public spaces as their own "home"--at least to some degree:
FIND WOMEN IN A SALOON.
Italian Promises Police Board to
Bar Them in Future.
910 East Fifth Street today
The board of police commissioners is having a hard time impressing upon the Italians of "Little Italy" the fact that their women must not frequent saloons. In the past some Italian women have been as much at home in the saloon as in the home; in fact, many of them used to tend bar while their husbands were at meals.
Yesterday Mattaeo La Salla, who has a saloon at Missouri avenue and Cherry street, was before the board for permitting his wife and mother to frequent his saloon. It was some time before Judge Middlebrook could impress La Salla with the fact that there was a law in this state which prevents women from frequenting saloons. The Italian looked worried, puzzled, but he promised that his women folks would keep out of his saloon in the future.
Salino Defeo, 600 East Fifth street, and his bartender were seen twice, it is alleged , to serve a woman with a bucket of beer. Commissioner Marks was closing Defeo's saloon for two days, but, being Christmas week, Judge Middlebrook thought the board should be more lenient and a reprimand was given.
For having a man not in his employ in his saloon at 1:20 a. m. last Friday, John Honl, a saloonkeeper at 7306 East Fifteenth street, was ordered to close his place Friday and Saturday.
Labels: Kansas City. Missouri
Kansas City Ladies' College
1500 North Liberty Street
Kansas City Ladies College
Location: Independence, Missouri, USA
Opened: 1871 as the Independence Female College
Very little information is readily available on the Kansas City Ladies' College.
However, we do have several names attached to the history of the Kansas City Ladies' College--and they all belong to men.
Civic leader William McCoy was one of these men. According to the Dictionary of Missouri Biography, McCoy "was one of the petitioners and board members for the Independence Female College, established in 1871 and subsequently known as as the Kansas City Ladies' College until its closing in 1905."
We're also told that William Chrisman, a successful Independence lawyer and banker, helped found the Kansas City Ladies' College and paid for the financing of the college’s principal buildings. However, no dates are given, though it is implied that this took place sometime between 1867 and 1875.
The Kansas City Public Library Missouri Valley Special Collections has a Catalog for the Kansas City Ladies' College for 1886-1887 and announcements for the 1888-1889 academic year. These documents are found in the rear of the Independence city directory for 1888-1889. Unfortunately, the contents are not available on-line.
Dr. James McDonald Chaney, an ordained Presbyterian minister, became president of the Kansas City Ladies' College in 1885. He left in 1891 when he assumed the presidency of Independence Academy of Missouri. According to his 1909 obituary in the Kansas City Journal, "Rev. Chaney, after severing his connection with the Kansas City Ladies' college, promoted an academy for young men at Independence, making a feature of higher mathematics." Implying I suppose, at least in the mind of Reverend Chaney, that higher mathematics wasn't an entirely suitable subject for young ladies.
The Boston Evening Transcript reports that a Reverend George Frederick Ayres served as president of the Kansas City Ladies' College for a time, but the dates are not provided. However, it appears that it was just for a brief time after Dr. Chaney left, as Reverend Ayres assumed the presidency of Lindenwood College (another lost womyn's space) in 1902, and for four years before that, he was a pastor in Poplar Bluff, Missouri. Reverend Ayres died in 1913.
Ad for Kansas City Ladies' College, Kansas City Journal, July 22, 1897
In addition, it appears that George Porterfield Gates, the grandfather of Bess Wallace Truman (Harry's wife), had dealings with the Kansas City Ladies' College, as there is mention of the college in his financial affairs records. Those records can be found at the Harry S. Truman Library in Independence.
In 1894, Colonel Harvey M. Vaile of Independence passed away and left his mansion (pictured above) to the Kansas City Ladies' College. The College promptly auctioned off the house's content to raise money. But it turned out that Colonel Vaile's gift turned out to be something of a Trojan horse. According to the Kansas City Journal (December 10, 1897),
The Vaile estate, which was bequeathed to the Kansas City Ladies' college, on condition that the institution be called Vaile Institute, is still in the hands of the administrator, and will likely continue to do so for some time to come. Since Colonel Vaile died, claims have been filed against the estate to such an amount that if the provisions of the will are carried out, Colonel Vaile's bequest will be his name without any financial aid. According to the terms of the will the institution was to assume the name of "Vaile Institute" within five years of the death of the testator. The time will expire within a year and unless the conditions are complied with the heirs may get a small percentage of the estate, which was once considered large. The estate is far from being settled up, and friends of the institution are of the opinion that after the administrator's fees and claims are paid nothing will be left for the college.
According to this site, the Vaile mansion, which was constructed in 1881, is "rumored to be haunted."
Few juicy details are provided--other than that Mrs. Harvey Vaile apparently committed suicide in the home in 1883. It is claimed that her ghost can still seen looking out the windows.
Labels: girl's school, Missouri, women's college
Hudson Arms
Hudson Arms? Or random bar photo?
Location: Central Avenue (Corner of Lark Street), Albany, New York, USA
Opened/Closed: 1960s/1970s?
Back in June 2011, Slate did a series on the gay bar which included interviews with "eminent gay, lesbian and bisexual writers" on the first gay bar they had ever visited. That's where Len Barot introduces us to the Hudson Arms:
Len Barot, publisher of Bold Strokes Books, writes as radclyffe and L.L. Raand
When I came out at 18, I was a freshman in college. I had heard there was a gay bar for women on Albany's Central Avenue called the Hudson Arms. I walked past that bar half a dozen times before I had the courage to go inside. When I did, I found a working-class community of lesbians who were somewhat suspicious at first of those of us who braved the trip from the college campus on a Friday night. They weren't sure we were lesbians because we didn't know the rules and we didn't look the part. (Ki-ki they called us.) The bar patrons were very different from us in their appearance, their comportment, and their ideology. Over the course of my three years at SUNY-Albany, I became a frequent patron of the bar. These women were my community, despite our social and class differences. Ultimately, we came together around the quintessential lesbian activity—softball. I would not give up that experience, despite my fears and the challenges, for anything in the world. When I recently moved back to upstate New York, one of the first things I did was try to find the bar to show my partner. Sadly, it is gone, but the memories of my first lesbian home have not diminished in my heart.
Unfortunately, Len doesn't tell us when she was 18, so we don't have much of an idea as to when she visited the Hudson Arms. But elsewhere it is reported (i.e. Wickipedia) that she was born in 1950, so that must have been around 1968.
The good news is that we're able to determine that the Hudson Arms was still open (at the very least) in the mid 1970s. We know this because it's mentioned in an interview with two lesbians ("Joan" and "Martha") in ASPects, the Albany Student Press Magazine. The date of the issue is November 18, 1975.
The bad news is that the copy on the Internet is from a very poor quality microfilm, and some of the story is unreadable--particularly the part where "Martha" mentions the Hudson Arms. I can just make out something about "old-line women" going there, and something (I think) about it being the oldest women's bar in Albany. And also something about it being a "rough place" with role playing and butch/femme stuff, of which "Martha" disapproves. But that's about it.
An article called "Are Lesbian Bars Going Extinct?" appeared in AfterEllen about the same time as the Slate series, and author Trish Bendix quotes Len Barot's recollections of the Hudson Arms--but with the photo reproduced above. Whether it is in fact a picture from the Hudson Arms--or just some random photo from an old-time lesbian bar--is not made clear. But it's a wonderful photo, some I'm including it here anyway.
Labels: Albany, lesbian bar, New York
D-Gem
Candace Gingrich (1995)
Location: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, USA
Opened: ?
With The Newt boasting a pretty high profile as of late (you know, through the bizarro circus known as the Republican primaries), I thought it would be fun to see what his sister Candace was up to these days.
That's how I found out about D-Gem. And it's only through Candace that there is any information about D-Gem on the Internet at all. Such are the strange and mysterious ways that "lost womyn's spaces" get preserved for posterity....
Back on March 7, 1995, the Advocate did a cover story on Candace Gingrich, and her somewhat belated introduction to political activism:
Until her brother was elected House speaker, Gingrich lived a quiet existence in Harrisburg. Although she describes her political leanings as "as far to the left as Newt's are to the right," she says she's given little thought to politics, devoting most of her time to working two part-time jobs as a shipper at United Parcel Service and as a computer technician for the state's education department, where her boss is her sister Roberta Brown.
Gingrich spends her spare time with her family and playing rugby on a women's team in Harrisburg. In June she broke up with a girlfriend whom she met seven years ago while attending Indiana University of Pennsylvania, where she received a degree in sociology. Candace says she has yet to begin dating, in part because the city's only women's bar, D-Gem, closed last year. leaving her little opportunity to meet other lesbians in Harrisburg.
A year later, in September 1996, Candace published The Accidental Activist: A Political and Personal Memoir. In the subsequent review published in the New York Times, we once again see mention of D-Gem. But now we see how a lesbian bar like the D-Gem functioned as more than a place to find sex, intimacy, and a possible mate. We also see how it served as a "second home" or place of refuge, and as a center of community activism:
After the '94 elections, she wasn't surprised when the A.P. reporter ''guessed'' she was a lesbian, but she was surprised when Human Rights Campaign Fund representatives approached her. What, she wondered, did those ''well-heeled gay white men'' who held ''exclusive black-tie fund-raisers'' want with ''a blue-collar rugby dyke like me?'' What they got, and presumably came to like, was a young woman who wanted to be more than a thorn in her brother's side, who wanted to make ''some special contribution'' to gay rights, and who decided the way was to remain true to her ''blue-collar roots.'' She figured the large national gay rights organizations had plenty of sophisticated, inside-the-Beltway strategists; in fact, that is what made them seem nearly as removed as her brother from the kind of homosexuals she knew, the couples who have to rent apartments with an extra bedroom they can't afford, ''for show.'' Although alien to the black-tie crowd, she knew that small-town gay bars served their communities the way black churches served theirs, as places of refuge and, when mobilized, as centers of activism. She could be the rights campaign's ambassador to places like the D-Gem, for years Harrisburg's only lesbian bar and Candace's ''second home.''
For two years now, through 51 cities, she has been doing just that, serving as liaison between Beltway and barstool and, more recently, as the spearhead of a voter registration drive that might help undo the accident that propelled her to public attention.
Unfortunately, here we are fifteen years later, and the big brother is just as much of a homophobic, misogynist freak as ever....
Labels: lesbian bar, Pennsylvania
Arezou (Wish) Island
Urumiyeh Lake, Iran
Location: Urumiyeh Lake, Western Azerbaijan Province, Iran
Opened/Closed: Apparently never progressed beyond the planning stages back in 2007
Arezou (Wish) Island is a "lost womyn's space" that never existed outside the imaginations of a few ambitious tourism planners--and a few hopeful women.
Here's how Reuters announced the news back on February 22, 2007:
TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran plans a female-only island to boost tourism in a northwest province, the Tehran-e Emrouz newspaper on Wednesday quoted a local official as saying.
It will be on the Urumiyeh lake in Western Azerbaijan province, a municipality official identified only as Aghai said.
Under Iran's strict Islamic law, mixing with men in public is forbidden. Strict sex segregation actually protects women rather than restricting their rights, officials argue.
"There will be no men on the Arezou (Wish) island. Public transport, restaurants and other facilities will be staffed only by women," Aghai said.
Parts of Iranian beaches are reserved for women, where they can remove their headscarves and wear swimming costumes. Women have forced their way into the national sports stadium, defying strict sex segregation. There are several parks for women only.
In public women have to cover their body in long loose coats and their hair with headscarves. The chador, literally meaning 'tent', an all-enveloping, usually black cloth is obligatory in some government offices.
From there, the story circulated around the blogosphere for a while--then evaporated. So what happened to Arezou Island?
It seems that since this starry island vision was born, Urumiyeh Lake has been the subject of an increasingly severe environmental crisis. The lake is literally drying up. Where there used to be water, there is nothing but a thick crust of salt. Years of "man-made" interferences--dam building along with other water diversion schemes--have taken their toll. The damage has been compounded by the effects of an ongoing drought, no doubt driven by climate change. There is now an ever-increasing risk of "salt storms," where strong winds will carry the salt elsewhere, creating further environmental degradation. In fact, there were even protests in Iran last fall over this issue, with sixty people arrested.
It's not reported whether these protesters were women.
The boys giveth, the boys taketh away....
Labels: Iran, women's island
Rent parties
Back in January, riese posted an absolutely marvelous piece at Autostraddle called "10 Great Places to Meet Lesbians If You Have a Time Machine." There is so much great material here, that I urge you to read the piece in its entirety. Meanwhile, I'm going to borrow just this section on rent parties:
Private parties were still the safest places to meet other ladies during The Harlem Renaissance and "rent parties" were the most popular kind of private parties in which to do so. Rent Parties were huge in Harlem at the time, and some were very gay. The hosts provided bootleg liquor, dancing and jazz and charged admission (to help the resident pay their rent, which was astronomical at the time -- many white landlords charged black tenants double what their white counterparts would pay). Fear-mongering local papers described lesbian-attended Rent Parties as "dangerous to the health of all concerned" because of their "combination of bad gin, jealous women and a carving knife." (a.k.a. "dyke drama")
Actually, I've read that rent parties (or house parties) were an established institution outside of New York City as well, especially in the African-American gay and lesbian community. In particular, I've seen mention of them in places like Buffalo and Detroit.
Labels: black women, New York
Woman's Coffeehouse
Never Never Land
Augie & C.K.'s
Huddle Tavern
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Mal Reding
Broadcaster and educator
A Short Biog
✉ archive@malreding.com
A unique archive of exclusive audio interviews with some of rock and pop's greatest names.
Explore the tapes...
Home / The Mal Reding Interview Archive / Tears for Fears
Curt Smith talks Songs from the Big Chair and The Hurting
Length: 19 min, 36 s // Recorded: 1985
http://malreding.com/wp-content/uploads/woocommerce_uploads/2016/02/Curt-Smith-in-conversation.mp3
Songs from the Big Chair was the second studio album by the British rock band Tears for Fears, released on 25 February 1985 by Phonogram Records. The album peaked at number two in the UK and number one in the US. It spawned a string of international hit singles, including “Mothers Talk“, “Shout“, “Everybody Wants to Rule the World“, and “Head over Heels“. It remains their best-selling album to date.
During this conversation from 1985 founder member Curt Smith talks about this, their second album, the inspiration behind their songs and the preparation for their world concert tour.
Download the full interview as an MP3 to enjoy on your computer or mobile device.
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About Mal
Mal Reding was a producer and presenter for a variety of television and radio networks on both sides of the Atlantic. As a correspondent for NBC News, he covered stories as diverse as the US elections, the Live Aid Concert and the Prince’s Trust Concerts, and interviewed many of the world’s top recording artists and film stars including Sir Paul McCartney, Sting, U2, Michael Caine, Tom Hanks and Tom Cruise.
Find out more on Mal's personal site.
The Mal Reding Interview Archive is a growing collection that will eventually showcase over 40 radio interviews, recorded with some of the most successful and interesting recording artists of the 20th century including Paul McCartney, Elton John, Kate Bush and Rod Stewart. Many of these conversations were recorded over thirty years ago and reveal a unique insight into the lives of these artists.
All interviews are available free to stream and download as high quality DRM-free MP3s.
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People November 19, 2017 November 19, 2017
BREAKING THE NEWS
by Robert Cocuzzo
Written By: Robert Cocuzzo
CNN commentator David Gregory shares his insights on the media, the presidency, and the future of the country.
N MAGAZINE: In recent days, we’ve learned about a number of high-profile sexual harassment cases in Hollywood and the news media, most notably Bill O’ Reilly’s $32 million settlement. Are we watching the beginning of an unraveling in these industries? Is this behavior more pervasive than we were aware of?
GREGORY: I think what is changing is that women are feeling more empowered to report what has happened to them. And finally, people are listening and taking action. The environment at Fox News was clearly one where this behavior was wide-spread and tolerated. Too many men were getting away with it. There was also a conspiracy of silence. That has changed.
N MAGAZINE: Do you think it’s limited to Fox News or is it throughout the industry?
GREGORY: It’s everywhere. And I know women are not surprised by that. It’s behavior that I have not seen very often in my experience, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t pervasive. What we are hearing about takes place in private, and often it goes unreported. Now, things are changing and it’s clearly being taken more seriously.
N MAGAZINE: One of Harvey Weinstein’s early defenses when the New York Times broke the story about his many transgressions against women was that he was part of an older generation in Hollywood where that kind of behavior was commonplace. You grew up in that industry. Your father worked in the entertainment industry. Did you ever see that kind of behavior?
GREGORY: I really didn’t see it growing up, but it doesn’t mean that it wasn’t going on. It’s always been pretty rampant. The problem is that there were enough people who were willing to excuse it or who thought they could get away with it. You’re seeing more and more women who are courageous and are standing up to say, “No, that’s not right.” But the real onus here is on men. This is true of sexism, of harassment and of assault. Men are the ones who have to step up and say this is wrong and that they’re not going let this happen. This is not something that anyone should be tolerating. They should be willing to be good listeners and be willing to take action to stop this from happening. And when it does happen, they need to make sure that there are consequences for it, instead of just looking the other way or being silent about it.
N MAGAZINE: Certain media outlets have come under attack by the president, which in a way has galvanized the media’s efforts. Is it possible for them to report objectively on the president when they are being attacked so fiercely?
GREGORY: I think it’s possible to be fair to the president. He’s attacking news outlets, but what he’s really trying to do is delegitimize mainstream news sources. That is something that should be resisted. In many cases, he’s saying things that are not true. There’s a distinction between pushing back against coverage that he thinks is unfair, calling things fake that are true and calling things that are true fake. You have to understand that the president is a modern media creature. He knows how to manipulate the media. He knows how to use it as a foil. He knows how to use it to stay at the center of the storm, which is where he wants to be so that he’s at the center of everyone’s attention. I think the challenge for news organizations is not to get caught up in any kind of personal dispute with the president and simply do their jobs.
N MAGAZINE: Do you think the president has been effective in sowing distrust of the media in the hearts of average Americans?
GREGORY: I think he’s been pretty effective. He has a pretty dedicated political base who support him and are frustrated with large institutions like Congress, government and the media. There’s a lot of skepticism about the media. He’s pushing on this open door of skepticism about the news media and exploiting the political divisions that tend to dovetail with where people like to get their news and information. You have liberal communities and conservative communities, and they tend to go in different directions to get their news and information.
N MAGAZINE: Do you think there will ever be a return to the old Walter Cronkite style of news in which people get their information from the same place?
GREGORY: No, I think that’s a bygone era. But I think CNN has been very successful. The New York Times and The Washington Post have been very successful. People approach news and information more critically than ever before, and they’re looking for bias. I don’t see us reverting back because the center of gravity has changed completely in news and information. I think those figures who were the go-to figures are now viewed more skeptically and being scrutinized in ways they haven’t been before.
N MAGAZINE: Given how volatile the news cycle has been in the last year and a half, with a new story breaking seemingly everyday, are Americans getting beaten into complacency?
GREGORY: Society gets conditioned to different things. We have to remember the broad sweep of history. We’ve had periods of political polarization that were really nasty. There’s stories of people being caned on the senate floor. Or you look at the Civil War. We’ve had these periods of intense polarization and disagreement. We have to remind ourselves of that when things get particularly sticky.
N MAGAZINE: But with all the stories breaking so frequently, is there anything shocking enough to change people’s position?
GREGORY: There’s a glut of information and two things happen. People get numb to the notion of breaking news all the time. At the same time, there’s a tremendous appetite for news and information right now. Trump, for good or for ill, has been the source of that. The other piece of it is that voters are making judgments about Congress, the president, the media, about North Korea. People are making those judgments and then going about their lives. There’s so much news and information, there’s so much exchange of ideas, that we forget most people aren’t able to keep up because they’re doing other things. And they’ve made fundamental judgments and they’re not necessarily changing because of the latest news item.
N MAGAZINE: Is Trump impervious to the news?
GREGORY: People may not agree with President Trump, they may not like him, they may think he’s not fit for office and that he may not last, but look at everything he’s survived so far. The things he’s said. The tweeting controversies. I don’t know of any other political figure who could have weathered this — and he has. What that means is we have to think about all of this differently. We have to try and understand it differently. We have to try to understand the audience, the American people, voters — we have to understand all of those differently than we have before.
N MAGAZINE: Just recently we heard Senator Flake’s forceful rebuke of the president. We’ve also heard less direct criticisms from President Bush. Do you expect this critical refrain from the Republican leadership to continue?
GREGORY: The Republican establishment is beginning to really turn against Trump. But we saw some of this during the campaign and Trump prevailed. The misreading is to think that this is the beginning of the unraveling. What we’ve seen so far have been more established Republicans saying Donald Trump is debasing the country, or he is embarrassing, or he is not fit to be president. But they’re not necessarily saying that they have a big ideological split with the president. They’re saying they don’t like his character, and that’s a different matter.
N MAGAZINE: You’ve said in the past that you don’t think the Russian investigation will yield anything impeachable. Do you still believe that?
GREGORY: It’s the developments in the Mueller investigation that we don’t know about. Is the president guilty of obstructing justice in how he fired the FBI director? I don’t know. Ultimately, we’re not going to know for a while whether there’s any evidence of cooperation with the Russians. I don’t know where it goes. I think it’s just as easy to see this netting some figures around the president shy of implicating the president himself. Or it may amount to arrogance, inexperience and naiveté dealing with the Russians short of a crime.
N MAGAZINE: What could force the president out of office?
GREGORY: I think the biggest political peril for the president is the question of competence and achievement. What has he accomplished legislatively? How has he helped the people he’s promised to help? Does he seem like a force for change in Washington, or is he seen as unfit to be president? Is he leading the Republican Party in a new direction or is he standing on his own? Do voters judge him harshly on how he responded to Puerto Rico or how America is getting along with its allies and dealing with threats like North Korea? You have to worry about war or some kind of military confrontation that endangers the country. You have to worry about political competence. His political vulnerability can be judged somewhat by the midterms, but we’re not going to know that until he runs for reelection. We don’t know what the alternative is to Trump, but I still think it would be wrong for us to underestimate his political strength.
N MAGAZINE: While he hasn’t had any major legislative accomplishments, can you point to any of his successes as president? What are some of his positive contributions to the country?
GREGORY: He’s still seen as someone fighting the establishment, which matters to a lot of people. Conservatives will look at aspects of his tax reform and say that it’s conservative. They’ll look at his judicial nominees, including the Supreme Court. They’ll look at his stand on certain business regulations and ending certain Obama-era regulations, and they’ll say that’s a pretty good record. The international picture is a lot more mixed, because we don’t know what will become of his promises on trade. He’s certainly alienating some of the foreign policy establishment. I think getting something done through Congress is really, really important.
N MAGAZINE: To take a page out of the president’s book, what letter grade would you give his first year in office thus far?
GREGORY: [Laughs] I’m not going to do that. It’s not for me to say. He’s politically vulnerable, but I still don’t know if I’m using a conventional playbook to make that assessment. I have to believe that the Republicans are vulnerable because they’re not achieving much. But we just don’t know. I think the Democrats are sufficiently disorganized and are saying we don’t know what the future holds.
N MAGAZINE: What does the Democratic Party have to do to rebuild and regain strength?
GREGORY: Democrats thought it was possible to disqualify Trump, but that hasn’t proven possible. Again, the rules of politics have changed. The question is: Do they have the kind of figure who can take Trump on? Do they have to become a more working class party? I think a lot of the energy is pushing to the left, becoming more populist and working to secure a coalition of voters who look similar to what President Obama had. But I don’t know who the standard bearer is — and I don’t think they know. I think we’re looking at a 2020 race that has fifteen-plus Democratic candidates. It will look a lot like how the Republicans looked in 2016.
N MAGAZINE: Do you have any ideas of who could be coming up as a leader of the Democratic Party?
GREGORY: There’s lots of familiar names. Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders seem to catch a lot of the energy of the party. But that still may be the afterglow of 2016 and that sense of what the Democrats think Hillary did wrong. I don’t see an obvious counterweight to Trump. The Democratic Party is still very much the party that identifies with Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi. They’re not breaking any molds yet here. Obama seems like a singular sensation and the party is now trying to figure out what’s next.
N MAGAZINE: Regarding Hillary Clinton, can you pinpoint what her greatest shortcoming was?
GREGORY: It’s difficult to pinpoint. I think Hillary Clinton brought a lot of the Clinton baggage to the race. She was the victim of sexism on the part of a lot of male voters. She mishandled key aspects of the campaign. The bottom line was, in a year that voters were looking for massive change, she was not seen as a change candidate. She was seen as much too old guard and damaged. Nothing that represented turning the whole place upside down like Donald Trump.
N MAGAZINE: Joe Biden is coming to Nantucket for Thanksgiving, as he’s done many years in the past, and will be speaking to the community. While it’s unclear whether he would ever run for president again, if he did, do you think that would help or hurt the party?
GREGORY: There’s still great fascination with Biden. I don’t know if he’s poised for a run. He has statesman-like qualities and broad appeal. I don’t think it will happen, but he’s smart enough not to rule it out and keep himself in the conversation.
N MAGAZINE: What’s your greatest concern for the country today?
GREGORY: Military conflict. I worry that we’re going to fight a war with North Korea or China or elsewhere. I worry that it could be the result of miscalculation. World War I was the result of miscalculation. More recent wars highlighted people in the foreign policy establishment who knew what they were doing, but they still made tremendous errors. I worry about the impulsiveness of the president and just how cohesive his team is.
N MAGAZINE: What are you optimistic about as far as the country is concerned?
GREGORY: I like the performance of the economy overall. If you look at how companies are performing, how the stock market is performing, I think those are positive signs. I’d love to see the economy in a more pro-growth mode and achieve real economic growth. But I also am confident in our resiliency as a country and the strengths of our institutions and of our democracy. People really despair who don’t like Trump, but we’ve been in these periods before, and we’ve been strong enough to get through it.
David Gregory, Nantucket, Politics
Robert Cocuzzo
More from Robert Cocuzzo
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NANTUCKET REALTY ADVISORS LAUNCH PARTY
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REVIEW: Macy Todd “Give It Up”
Macy Todd is a singer/songwriter out of Georgia who caught my attention last year with her debut single “I’ve Got A Feeling”. When you listen to her debut you recognize that she’s in a class of her own. Her music is a fine mixture of Pop, Vintage Soul, Jazz, and Country, with a flare to her vocals that compares to no other.
On Macy’s second single “Give It Up” the singer/songwriter takes it up a notch (if that’s even possible). There’s a swagger and aggressiveness to the tune that really comes to life in a pretty dope lyric video (seen above).
Macy is high on my list of new artists deserving and ready for the big spotlight and she should be on yours too. You can stream “Give It Up” on all streaming services including Apple Music today.
All Tracks, Music, Pop, Pop Soul, Reviews, Soul
LISTEN: Macy Todd “Bump That”
REVIEW: Macy Todd “In Like With You”
LISTEN: Macy Todd “I Got A Feelin’”
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Page last updated at 14:37 GMT, Tuesday, 2 December 2008
Menezes verdict choice restricted
Jean Charles de Menezes was mistaken for a suicide bomber
The jury at the inquest into the death of Jean Charles de Menezes will not be able to consider a verdict of unlawful killing, the coroner has said.
Sir Michael Wright said that having heard all the evidence, a verdict of unlawful killing was "not justified".
Mr de Menezes, 27, was shot dead by police at Stockwell Tube station in south London after he was mistaken for one of the failed 21 July 2005 bombers.
The jury may now return either an open or lawful killing verdict.
Sir Michael's ruling came as he began his summing up of the case on Tuesday.
"In directing you that you cannot return a verdict of unlawful killing, I am not saying that nothing went wrong in a police operation which resulted in the killing of an innocent man," he told the hearing.
Put aside any emotion
Sir Michael Wright, coroner
But in narrowing down the choice of verdict, he added: "All interested persons agree that a verdict of unlawful killing could only be left to you if you could be sure that a specific officer had committed a very serious crime - murder or manslaughter."
Sir Michael also warned jurors that they must not attach any criminal or civil fault to any individuals.
The 11-strong jury has heard from 100 witnesses since the inquest began at the Oval Cricket Ground in September. Among them were the two firearms officers who shot Mr de Menezes, known only as C2 and C12.
The coroner told the jury that the verdict they chose depended on whether they felt that those two officers honestly believed the Brazilian represented an imminent, mortal threat and whether lethal force was justified in those circumstances.
Jury choice
Reminding them that the Brazilian's mother, Maria Otone de Menezes, had heard much of the evidence, Sir Michael said: "I know that your heart will go out to her.
"But these are emotional reactions, ladies and gentlemen, and you are charged with returning a verdict based on evidence.
"Put aside any emotion - put them to one side."
In 2007, the Metropolitan Police was fined £175,000 over the shooting of Mr de Menezes, after it was convicted under the Health and Safety Act of "endangering the public".
But the trial concluded that police chief Cressida Dick, who led the operation, bore "no personal culpability", and Sir Michael told the inquest jury that their verdict could not be inconsistent with that decision.
The jury was also given a series of questions to consider based on what they have heard.
These included whether C12 shouted a warning - "Armed police" - before opening fire, and whether Mr de Menezes stood up and moved towards officers as they approached.
Jurors were also asked to consider which of a number of factors contributed to the Brazilian's death.
Among those were:
The pressure on police after the 7 July London bombings
A failure by police to ensure that Mr de Menezes was stopped before he reached the Underground
The innocent behaviour of Mr de Menezes increasing suspicion
Shortcomings in the communications system between various police teams involved in the operation
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TOP UK STORIES
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3 injured in shooting, fight at Lone Star College in Houston
Three people, including a maintenance man who was accidentally shot and two people who were fighting each other, were injured during fight at Lone Star College campus in Houston, Texas, officials say
Fourth person also sent to hospital with medical condition, officials say
It's not immediately clear whether one or two people fired shots, or how the two "persons of interest" were injured
Below are updates as they came to us; full story here. Also, check out CNN affiliates KHOU, KPRC and KTRK
[Updated at 6:08 p.m. ET] "We don’t know exactly if she had a heart attack or a stroke,” Harris County sheriff's spokeswoman Christina Garza says of the female who was hospitalized with an unspecified medical condition.
[Updated at 5:44 p.m. ET] According to officials at a news conference, four people were taken to hospitals - three who were injured and one who suffered an unspecified medical condition - but the account of who they were differs from information we received earlier.
One person - a school maintenance worker - was accidentally shot during an altercation between two other people, Harris County sheriff's Maj. Armando Tello said. That man was shot in the leg, is in his mid-50s, and is in stable condition, said Richard Carpenter, chancellor for the Lone Star College system.
The two "persons of interest" suspected of fighting each other also were injured, Tello said. Tello did not say how they were injured.
Tello also said one handgun was involved in the incident. When asked whether only one person was armed, Tello said he didn't know. Earlier, a school spokesman had said two gunmen were involved in the incident.
Also, a fourth person - a female who has a student ID - was taken to a hospital with some sort of medical condition, Tello said. Earlier, a federal law enforcement source told CNN that someone had suffered a heart attack.
Carpenter said the fight happened in a courtyard area between two buildings. That seems to mesh with what a law enforcement source said earlier about the incident happening in an outside area between a library and a cafeteria.
[Updated at 4:52 p.m. ET] A law enforcement official briefed on the investigation says the shooting appears to have taken place in an outside area between a library and a cafeteria, CNN's Carol Cratty reports.
[Updated at 4:30 p.m. ET] Two suspects are now in custody, CNN affiliates KHOU and KTRK reported. CNN has not yet independently confirmed this information.
Authorities are expected to conduct a news conference at about 5 p.m. ET.
[Updated at 4:03 p.m. ET] Police believe the second suspect fled into woods nearby, a law enforcement source briefed by officers on the scene told CNN.
Authorities are focusing their search on the wooded area, which is adjacent to George Bush Intercontinental Airport, the source said.
[Updated at 3:59 p.m. ET] An unidentified Lone Star College student who says she witnessed some of the shooting told CNN affiliate KHOU that an argument between two people preceded the gunfire.
A gunman, she said, told someone: "I don't want to fight you; I'm not trying to go to jail."
The witness appeared to reference only one gunman; it wasn't clear whether she saw a second gunman. She said he "actually turned away from the situation" at first but eventually pulled a gun out of a backpack. She said she heard about nine shots.
"I think it was a bunch of crap that could've been resolved and never should have gone that far," the witness said.
[Updated at 3:23 p.m. ET] Texas Gov. Rick Perry is being briefed about the situation by law enforcement personnel, Perry spokesman Josh Havens said.
"(Perry's) thoughts and prayers are with those that have been impacted," Havens said. "We have nothing more to add at this point, but the governor will continue to closely monitor the situation."
[Updated at 3:17 p.m. ET] A freshman who was in a nearby classroom, Amanda Vasquez, tells CNN's Brooke Baldwin that she heard about six shots. She says she heard from other people that some shooting happened in a library, but she believes that the gunshots she heard came not from the library, but from the hallway outside her class.
"I was in the academic building, waiting for English class to start. I heard about six shots, and kids started rushing down the hallway. A few came into our class. It really happened so fast," she said.
She said people were shouting, and she hid under a table in a corner of the classroom. She called her mother.
"I called my mom to (let her know) I was OK (and that) I loved her, just in case anything was going to happen," Vasquez said. "... At first she didn’t believe me ... but I kept telling her it's happening and need you to call the cops."
[Updated at 3:06 p.m. ET] Someone - a fourth person - suffered a heart attack, according to a federal law enforcement source who is receiving reports from the scene, CNN's Carol Cratty reports.
So, recapping what we've been told:
- Three people, including a gunman, were wounded in a shooting between two people on the North Harris campus of Lone Star College in Houston, school spokesman Jed Young said.
- The second gunman is on the loose but not believed to be on campus, Young said.
- A fourth person suffered a heart attack, according to the federal law enforcement source.
- The shooting happened at a campus library, the federal law enforcement source says.
- No deaths have been reported.
[Updated at 2:54 p.m. ET] Two wounded people have been taken to surgery at Ben Taub Hospital and are in "relatively serious condition," CNN affiliate KTRK reported. They were conscious when they arrived at the hospital, KTRK reported.
[Updated at 2:43 p.m. ET] Three people - one suspected shooter and two people caught in a "crossfire" - were wounded in a shooting that appears to have been between two people at the Lone Star College campus in Houston, school spokesman Jed Young said.
The wounded suspect is in custody, and the second gunman is on the loose but not believed to be on campus, Young said.
Authorities believe the school is "under control, but the school is still being evacuated," Young said.
Young said he doesn't know the conditions of the wounded. He said the shooting - apparently between two gunmen - was reported at about 12:31 p.m. CT.
Two apparently unintended targets were shot in a "crossfire," he said.
[Updated at 2:28 p.m. ET] The FBI and ATF have sent agents to assist local authorities, according to Shauna Dunlop with FBI Houston and Franceska Perot with ATF Houston.
[Updated at 2:27 p.m. ET] A witness told CNN affiliate KPRC that she hid underneath her desk while she heard five or six gunshots at Lone Star College.
[Updated at 2:26 p.m. ET] One person has been transported to Houston Northwest Medical Center, according to spokeswoman Ashley Walton.
She would not give any further details about the patient.
[Updated at 2:14 p.m. ET] Students were filing out of what CNN affiliate KHOU reports is the library on campus.
[Updated at 2:10 p.m. ET] Video from CNN affiliate KPRC shows law enforcement personnel herding people from one part of the campus to another.
[Updated at 2:02 p.m. ET] Students at a Lone Star College campus in Houston have been asked to take shelter after reports of a gunman on campus, a school spokesman said.
More than 10,000 students are at the North Harris campus of Lone Star College, spokesman Jed Young said.
[Initial post, 1:50 p.m. ET] A shooting has been reported at a Lone Star College campus in Houston, Texas, CNN affiliates KTRK and KPRC reported.
Footage from KPRC showed a large number of law enforcement personnel on campus, and at least two people being wheeled on gurneys toward ambulances.
This story is developing. We'll post more details as we get them.
Post by: CNN news blog editor Mallory Simon, CNN's Jason Hanna
Filed under: Gun violence • Texas
thealaskacurmudgeon
More guns!
January 22, 2013 at 2:48 pm | Report abuse |
I agree, even the handicapped must be armed! Children perhaps too!
His Dudeness
Who are these Friggin' Idiots? This is getting absolutely nuts.
To ALL those in favor of guns here, PLEASE follow these steps:
1. shake your head from right to left 4 times,
2. wait for the two neurons in your head to spark
3. Now you have unlocked the possibility to THINK! so THINK!
By now, you should have reached the conclusion that guns need to be banned.
dplandry
IIf gun control works why does Chicago have the strictest gun laws and the highest crime rate? Gun control is about CONTROL, not guns. How about looking at what's driving a seemingly normal person to loose it.
ummm... a universal healthcare system that half your country doesnt want to fund?
Even better. Grab the first non-thinking liberal by the neck and shake hard. Listen for the inevitable sound of air whooshing out of their ears signifying a brainless condition. Then have pity on their poor sheep like behavior as they try to understand that a law won't work on criminals because CRIMINALS DON'T PAY ATTENTION TO LAWS!
bspurloc
they just have Madrassas where the young are more intensely brain washed by the Christian Taliban
MrNeedtoKnow
Name calling and labeling a liberal way to get attention in the media.
It happened in the Woodlands, it's a very rich area not known for gang activity. Another fact, Houston and the area around it is pretty liberal. This is not the stupid part of Texas, Houston elected the first lesbian Mayer by the way.
Gunspoint is over 10 miles from the woodlands.
Wow. Where did that come from?
joice miller
@TED you are the WINNER
mkey
What a banner week for the NRA. Fathers killing their wives and children. Gunmen attacking more students. A police officer offing himself and his family. Thanks 2nd amendment!
...............ANOTHER.......NRA WIN........................BOOMBOOM BA BOOM BOOM
Here are where both the good guys AND the bad guys have guns. . . . Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan. Hmmmmm.
Bruce H.
There are several campuses in Houston. Which one? That is important if you are a good reporter!
TiredOfThisStory
What was the caliber of the bullets? Apparently, I am supposed to be educated about this. I have seen a lot of posts indicating that a true understanding of the gun issues in the US requires advanced levels of knowledge on gun physics, history, and design. Hopefully, we will get a report on the hole-sizes in this case, and then based on the hole sizes, we should all calm down and stop talking about managing guns. If the holes are small and not numerous per victim, apparently they don't count.
Portland tony
Let's find out what happened before we condemn the entire State of Texas ...jeez
richard benson
it has nothing to do with liberalismin the usa,regarding gun violence,it is the fact that the media,both on radio and tv keep harping about shootings,then there is the issue of the way some children are raised,some children are ending up as holligans,or another would be killer because they are saturated in violent video games,then they see these immages flashing in their heads,and there mind pushes them into acting a video game in real life,then they go to jail and ultimately to death row,and that is the way it goes.
mcskadittle
yes, so more innocent people get killed in crossfire
Did you see an NRA member involved in the shooting ?
I bet you people out there. TOMORROW is GUN news. yesterday was gun news; last sunday was gun news on gun show.
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Homepage :: J. Statements/Communiqués
VN, Japan issue joint statement on deepening partnership
VGP - PMs of Viet Nam and Japan Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Shinzo Abe have reaffirmed their determination to foster the Viet Nam-Japan relationship in a comprehensive and extensive manner in a joint statement on deepening the two countries’ extensive strategic partnership.
The following is the full text of the joint statement which was issued during Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc’s official visit to Japan from June 4-8.
“At the invitation of Prime Minister of Japan H.E. Mr.Shinzo Abe, Prime Minister of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam H.E. Mr. Nguyen Xuan Phuc paid an official visit to Japan. During the visit from 4 to 8 June 2017, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc was received in audience by Their Majesties the Emperor and the Empress of Japan, held a summit meeting with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, and had meetings with other Japanese political and economic figures, attended and addressed at the Viet Nam Investment Conference with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc also visited some prefectures of the Kansai region of Japan.
The development of Vietnam – Japan relations
1. Both sides noted with satisfaction the robust, comprehensive and substantive growth of the Viet Nam-Japan relationship in all areas since its upgrade to the “Extensive Strategic Partnership for Peace and Prosperity in Asia” in 2014. Mutual visits and contacts by high-level leaders of both countries have taken place on a regular basis, contributing to strengthening mutual political trust. Bilateral economic, trade and investment ties have expanded significantly, helping to promote the connectivity between the two economies. Cooperation in the areas of defense and security, agriculture, science and technology, education and training, environment, climate change response, labor, construction, information, health, culture, tourism, sports and province-to-province and people-to-people exchanges have seen substantive progress.
2. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe highly valued the achievements in socio-economic development of Viet Nam thanks to the implementation of the reform (Doi Moi) policy during the past 30 years as well as Viet Nam’s efforts for promoting economic restructuring and growth model transformation to step up national industrialization and modernization at present. Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc highly valued achievements in the implementation of theAbenomics for Japan’s economy, and expressed his belief that the Japanese economic growth will firmly contribute to the regional and global economic development.
3. Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc expressed his gratitude to Japan, the largest donor providing Official Development Assistance (ODA), for the effective assistance to Viet Nam's sustainable social and economic development, and poverty reduction. He also highly valued the active role and contribution by Japanese companies to the economic development and national construction in Viet Nam. Both leaders shared the intention to cooperate in resolving the bottlenecks which hinder smooth implementation of Japan’s ODA projects.
4. Both leaders emphasized that Viet Nam and Japan are important partners to each other with shared strategic interests. They confirmed that the two countries are presented with favorable conditions to further deepen the Viet Nam-Japan extensive strategic partnership. Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc reiterated that Japan continued to be a top and long-term partner of Viet Nam, and hoped that Japan would continue to play an active and constructive role in international and regional issues. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe highly appreciated Viet Nam's increasingly important and active role in international and regional issues, and reaffirmed the importance Japan attaches to VietNam in its foreign policy in the Asia-Pacific.
5. Both leaders reaffirmed their determination to foster the Viet Nam-Japan relationship in a comprehensive and extensive manner by further enhancing political trust, improving the cooperation mechanisms, promoting economic connectivity, strengthening human resources developmentcooperation, and cooperating closely on regional and international issues. Both leaders shared the intention to maintain regular exchange of visits and contacts between high-level leaders, political parties and parliaments, including at multilateral forums.
During the visit, both sides signed many cooperation frameworks between their ministries, agencies, local authorities and businesses.
Political, Defense and Security Relations
6. Both leaders shared the desire to strengthen cooperation in defense and security areas, to maintain and enhance the effectiveness of dialogue mechanisms, and to promote the exchange of delegations at various levels. They shared the intention to enhance cooperation in building capacity in humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, as well as in participating in the United Nations Peacekeeping operations, and to promote cooperation in defense equipment and technology, in information technology and in human resources development, as appropriate. Both leaders will continue to consider the possibilities of cooperation in the Vietnamese efforts in overcoming the damage caused by the war through removing landmines and unexploded ordinances and dioxin upon concrete requests by the Vietnamese side.
7. Both leaders confirmed the intention to enhance cooperation in responding to non-traditional security issues, including cyber-security, and in countering cyber-crimes, international terrorism and transnational crimes.
8. Both leaders highlighted the commitment to strengthen maritime security and safety cooperation such as search and rescue and anti-piracy measures, including through information exchange between coast guard agencies of both countries and cooperation under the Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia (ReCAAP) framework. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pledged to assist Viet Nam in strengthening maritime law enforcement capability, including human resource development. Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuchighly appreciated Japan’s assistance to enhance maritime law enforcement capability, including the provisions by Japan of used vessels and new patrol vessels and defense capacity building assistance, and welcomed vessels of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force and the patrol ships of the Japan Coast Guard to visit Viet Nam in accordance with the Vietnamese law.
9. Both sides shared the view on the importance of arms export control to counter the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
Economic, trade, investment and energy cooperation
10. Both leaders shared the intention to closely collaborate in strengthening connectivity between the two economies as stated in the 2015 “Joint Vision Statement on Viet Nam-Japan Relations" with focus on linking their economic development strategies, production capacity and human resources on the mutually complimentary, mutually reinforcing and mutually beneficial basis.
11. Both leaders shared the intention to maintain their close collaboration to make maximum use of the existing dialogue mechanisms such as the Viet Nam-Japan Cooperation Committee, the Viet Nam-Japan Joint Committee on Industrial, Trade and Energy Cooperation and the Japan-Viet Nam Agricultural Cooperation Dialogue, as well as other ongoing dialogue mechanisms in ODA, investment, labor, science and technology, justice, environment, construction, among others. They highly valued the outcomes of the Vietnam Investment Conference on 5th June 2017.
12. Both leaders shared the intention to promote their bilateral trade cooperation, striving to realize the goal of doubling two-way trade and investment from 2014 till 2020.
13. Noting that Viet Nam’s economic development is very important for the region, Prime Minister ShinzoAbe expressed his continued and strong support to Viet Nam's sustainable economic growth throughcooperation in quality infrastructure development, energy, climate change response and human resources development. Both sides witnessed with delight the signing of the exchange of Notes of yen loan projects worth ¥100.3 billion pledged by Japan in fiscal year 2016 for four projects in Vietnam, namely the Maritime Security and Safety Capacity Improvement Project, the Ben Tre Water Management Project, the Bien Hoa City Drainage and Wastewater Treatment Systems Project (Stage 1), the Hoa Lac Science and Technology City Development Project (phase II), and three grant assistance projects in the fields of disaster prevention and human resources development, as well as and the loan Agreement for the Hoa Lac Science and Technology City Development Project.
14. Both leaders shared the view that Japan would provide support to expediting high quality, large scale and critical national infrastructure projects, including the North-South expressway and the metro railway. They confirmed that both sides continue to cooperate in implementing the Hoa Lac Science and Technology City Development project. Both sides would continue the discussion on the expressway project connecting Ha Noi (Viet Nam) and Vientiane (Laos). The Vietnamese side welcomed Japanese companies’ wish to participate in the Long Thanhairport project, the underground arcade in BenThanh and the BRT bus system in Binh Duong province.
15. Both leaders confirmed their willingness to make efforts to facilitate procedures to allow exportations of Japanese citrus fruit into Viet Nam and Vietnamese lychee, longan fruit into Japan and toproceed cooperation in protection of geographical indications.
16. The Japanese side confirmed its support for Viet Nam in implementing plans of the six selected industries in Viet Nam's Industrialization Strategy as outlined in the Viet Nam-Japan Cooperation Framework until 2020 with vision to 2030, in a mutually beneficial manner, as well as organizing a working group for the effective implementation of the Strategy and that Japan would consider training advanced engineers for the six industries in the Industrialization Strategy.
They confirmed to strengthen cooperation in the energy sector, including the construction of high-efficient and environmentally compliant coal-fired power plants as well as the application of new liquefied natural gas technology. Both leaders will also make efforts to promote negotiations towards prompt commencement of commercial operation of three BOT projects of coal-fired power plants. Both leaders will intensify cooperation on energy saving and power grid development.
17. The Vietnamese side will consider and realize concrete and strong measures consistent with the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreements for the purpose of sustaining and expanding domestic production of Complete Build Units (CBUs) as first priority. Both sides will establish a working group and develop concrete measures incorporated in an action plan by the end of this year. The Japanese side confirmed its support for Viet Nam’s automobile and supporting industries.
18. Both leaders shared the intention to coordinate closely to improve the investment environment in Viet Nam through the implementation of the 6th phase of the Viet Nam-Japan Joint Initiative on improving the investment climate and legal system, strengthening the governance and restructuring of Vietnamese State-Owned Enterprises with ensuring the information disclosure by companies. Both leaders expressed their wish to promote more investment from Japanese companies into Vietnam and to promote public-private partnership (PPP) projects.
19. The Vietnamese side confirmed that Japan is one of the cooperation partners in the field of peaceful use of atomic energy.
Agriculture, environment, climate change response, science and technology, education and training, justice, information and communications technology and construction
20. Both leaders decided to promote cooperation for comprehensive development of the agriculture, forestry and fisheries sectors in Vietnam, to continue working closely to implement the "Japan-Viet Nam Medium-Long Term Vision on Agricultural Cooperation", and organize the 4th Japan-Vietnam Agricultural Cooperation Dialogue as a high-level meeting in 2017, and to consider mutually beneficial cooperation such as Japanese investment into clean and high-tech agriculture in Viet Nam.
21. Both leaders welcomed the renewal of the Memorandum of Cooperation on Low Carbon Growth for the Joint Crediting Mechanism for the period from 2016 to 2020. They shared the intention to maintain close collaboration in the environment, climate change responses, hydro-meteorology and natural resources, the environment and marine biodiversity research and surveillance. They also shared the intention to facilitate cooperation in waste management, including waste-to-energy, building on the achievement of cooperation in developing waste management laws and regulations. The Japanese side is committed to supporting Viet Nam in dealing with climate change, drought and saline intrusion, working with Viet Nam to find long-term and fundamental solutions and considering utilizing ODA in this regard.
22. Both leaders shared the view to further promote collaborative activities in such research fields as space and healthcare, including infectious diseases.
23. Both leaders shared the intention to promote cooperation in the field of information and communications technology, especially cooperation in telecommunication and its cyber-security, frequency and postal services by utilizing such schemes as Joint Working Groups. Acknowledging the importance of the wireless information transmission system for aeronautical and maritime transport safety, both leaders will promote the study of possibility of cooperation in establishing the High Frequency Radio Monitoring System.
24. Both leaders shared the intention to promote cooperation on human resources development under the Industrial Human Resources Development Initiative as well as by utilizing the Japan-Viet Nam University and “Innovative Asia.” As for Viet Nam’s efforts for administrative structure reform and training of future leaders, the Japanese side stands ready to provide training opportunities for more than 800 officials for the next five years through master’s and doctoral courses at Japanese universities and short- and medium-term courses in Japan and Viet Nam.
25. Both leaders shared the intention to cooperate to enhance Japanese-language education and expand the Japanese education model, and to promote inter-university exchanges between the two countries.
26. Both leaders welcomed the newly-opened Japan Student Services Organization (JASSO) office in HaNoi and will promote cooperation on student exchanges and distribution of information on studying in Japan. Both leaders will also cooperate in setting up KOSEN (NIT) office in Ha Noi which will contribute to the improvement of quality of vocational education in Viet Nam.
27. Both leaders welcomed the active participation of Vietnamese Technical Intern Trainees in Japan and the signing of the Memorandum of Cooperation on the Technical Intern Training Program, and confirmed the intention to properly implement the Technical Intern Training Program to transfer technical skills from Japan to Viet Nam, in accordance with the new Act on Proper Technical Intern Training and Protection of Technical Trainees that will come into force in November 2017. Both leaders will also work closely to promote cooperation for the appropriate implementation of technical intern training and to hold periodical working level meetings to address various issues surrounding the Technical Intern Training Program.
28. Both leaders welcomed a steady progress of dispatching and accepting Vietnamese candidates for nurses and certified care workers to Japan based on the Economic Partnership Agreement between the two countries, and will cooperate for its smooth and appropriate implementation.
29. Both leaders shared the intention to continue legal and judicial cooperation by effective implementation of the existing programs and projects, and to proactively study the possibility of bilateral agreements on mutual legal assistance on criminal matters and on transfer of sentenced persons.
30. Both sides shared the intention to strengthen comprehensive cooperation in urban development, especially effective implementation of eco-cities, smart cities, and Transit-oriented Development (TOD) integrated cities in line with Japan’s models, to promote investment cooperation in urban renovation and development and to transfer technologies in water, sewage and solid waste treatment.
Cooperation in culture, sports, tourism, people-to-people exchange and exchange between localities
31. Both sides shared the intention to work closely to step up their cultural cooperation and people-to-people exchange, to further cultural exchanges through the co-organization of exchange activities to promote each country's people, culture, and arts, and to promote mutual understanding of each other’s culture, tradition and history. Both sides also shared their desire to continue cooperation and exchanges between them according to WA Project as well as Japanese language education.
32. Both leaders welcomed the signing of a Memorandum of Cooperation on sports cooperation to strengthen the cooperation towards the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games within the framework of the “Sport for Tomorrow” program.
33. Both leaders shared the view that tourism cooperation in such areas as in enhancing destination marketing initiatives of each country, providing technical assistance and developing workforce skills should be promoted with a view to further encouraging two-way tourist exchanges, in a consistent manner with the Memorandum signed among the Viet Nam National Administration of Tourism, the Japan Tourism Agency and the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO).
34. Both leaders highly valued the recent developments in the cooperation among their localities as an effective channel for substantive cooperation that further deepened bilateral cooperation. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe reaffirmed that he would encourage Japanese localities to establish and enhance comprehensive cooperation with Vietnamese localities, thereby promoting investment and technological transfer from Japanese localities to Viet Nam.
Towards the 45th anniversary of the Viet Nam–Japan diplomatic relations
35. Both leaders confirmed that they would coordinate closely to successfully organize activities commemorating the 45th anniversary of the Viet Nam-Japan diplomatic relations, and further strengthen people-to-people exchanges such as JENESYS (Japan-East Asia Network of Exchange for Students and Youths) and “SAKURA Science Plan (Japan- Asia Youth Exchange Program in Science)” in order to promote mutual trust and understanding between the people of the two countries and lay a solid foundation to further promote future friendship and cooperation.
Strengthen cooperation at international and regional forums
36. Both leaders reaffirmed their commitment to stepping up their extensive collaboration and cooperation at regional and international forums such as the UN, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) and other regional mechanisms such as the East Asia Summit (EAS), ASEAN 3 (APT), ASEAN-JAPAN, ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting Plus (ADMM ), the Expanded ASEAN Maritime Forum (EAMF), among others, in order to make active and constructive contribution to the maintenance of peace, stability, cooperation and development in the region and the world.
37. With the establishment of the ASEAN Community, both leaders expressed their determination to strengthen cooperation to enhance the connectivity of ASEAN, a massive market of 600 million consumers, and reduce the development gap within ASEAN through Japan's continuing support of the implementation of the 3rd Phase of the Work Plan of the Initiative for ASEAN Integration (IAI) and the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity (MPAC) 2025 and through relevant initiatives including Quality Infrastructure Investment.
38. Both leaders sent their congratulations on the occasion of the 50th Anniversary of ASEAN. PrimeMinister Shinzo Abe reaffirmed Japan's strong assistance to enhance ASEAN’s centrality, unity and solidarity. Both leaders shared the view that Japan and ASEAN will work together to reinforce ASEAN's integrity as partners sharing fundamental values, expressed through the rule of law, and to maintain peace, stability and prosperity in the region.
39. Both leaders noted with satisfaction the positive outcomes in the relations and cooperation between Japan and the Mekong countries across multiple fields such as politics, economy, development cooperation, contributing to the maintenance of peace, stability and prosperity of the region. They reaffirmed the intention to further advance the Mekong-Japan cooperation in areas such as development of quality infrastructure, human resources, climate change response, and water resource management.
They shared the view to further promote the Japan-Mekong Connectivity Initiative and the Mekong Industrial Development Vision to promote robust and effective connectivity in the region. They also reconfirmed the utmost importance of sustainably developing and managing the Mekong River, and of close cooperation between the Mekong-Japan cooperation mechanism and regional and international organizations, particularly, the Mekong River Commission (MRC).
40. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe confirmed his commitment to supporting Viet Nam comprehensively for the successful hosting of the 2017 APEC Year. Both leaders will collaborate in creating new dynamism in such areas as deepening regional economic integration, fostering sustainable, innovative and inclusive growth, enhancing food security and sustainable agriculture, and strengthening Micro, Small & Medium Enterprise’s (MSME) competitiveness and innovation, human resources development in the digital age, supporting industries.
41. Against the backdrop of mounting anti-globalization and protectionism in the world, both leaders reiterated the matters relating to free trade and protectionism as stated in the G7 Leaders’ Communiqué in May 2017 and the 2016 APEC Leaders’ Declaration and reaffirmed that free and fair trade and investment are an important driver for the global economy and decided to work together in promoting open and free trade and investment. They are determined to promote discussion on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) with the aim to promptly reach a modern, comprehensive, high-quality and mutually beneficial agreement under ASEAN leadership.
They recognized that RCEP’s market access commitments, rules, and cooperation will deepen regional economic integration and promote supply chain growth. They reaffirmed the balanced outcome and the strategic and economic importance of Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP), not only to its members but also to the Asia-Pacific. On that basis, both leaders shared the view to cooperate in the discussion among TPP members to bring the comprehensive, high-quality Agreement into force expeditiously.
42. Both leaders shared the view that maintaining peace, stability and cooperation in the South China Sea plays an important role to regional and global peace, stability and prosperity. Both leaders expressed deep concern over the complex developments that have been taking place in the South China Sea. Both leaders urged the parties concerned to refrain from taking unilateral actions, including militarization, that change the status quo and further complicate or expand disputes in the South China Sea, stressed the importance of maintaining peace, maritime security and safety, freedom of navigation and overflight, self-restraint, and full respect for legal and diplomatic processes, settling all disputes through peaceful means on the basis of international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), and full and effective implementation of the 2002 Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) in its entirety, and promptly concluding an effective Code of Conduct in the South China Sea (COC).
43. As the maritime countries facing vast oceans, both leaders stressed their commitment to promoting the freedom of navigation and overflight and unimpeded commerce, emphasizing that maintaining and strengthening a free and open maritime order based on the rule of law is a cornerstone of the strategic interests for the stability and prosperity of both countries and the international community as a whole. They underlined the importance of ensuring a stable, free and open, rules-based order across the Indo-Pacific region and beyond.
In this regard, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe expressed Japan’s intention to further promote bilateral cooperation to enhance connectivity of ASEAN and the region through relevant initiatives including the Free and Open Indo-Pacific Strategy and Quality Infrastructure Investment. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe also expressed his intention to contribute even more proactively in securing peace, stability and prosperity of the region and the international community under its policy of “Proactive Contribution to Peace” based on the principle of international cooperation, including “Legislation for Peace and Security”.
In this context, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phucwelcomed Japan’s active contribution to peace and development in the region and the world as well as constructive initiatives, legislations and policies that aim at securing economic prosperity, maritime freedom and safety in compliance with the UN Charter and international law, and on the basis of respect for national independence and sovereignty, for peace, stability, cooperation and development of the region and the world.
44. Both leaders expressed serious concern about the recent complex developments on the Korean Peninsula, including the nuclear tests and missile launches by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). Both leaders reiterated the positions expressed in the relevant UNSC resolutions and ASEAN Statements, and underlined the need to refrain from actions which might escalate tension, and to fully and seriously comply with the obligations under relevant UNSC resolutions, including Resolution 2356, and the commitments in the 2005 Joint Statement of the Six-Party Talks towards denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.
They supported peace and stability in and denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. They opposed the acts of abductions, and shared the intention to enhance cooperation in order to immediately resolve the abductions issue - an issue of humanitarian concern for the international community.
45. Both leaders shared the intention to promote cooperation for international peace and security, and reaffirmed the importance of UNSC reform to make the organization more in line with the reality of the international community in the 21st century and to strengthen its legitimacy, effectiveness, representativeness and transparency.
Accordingly, they shared the intention to actively cooperate towards early reform through efforts to reach concrete progress in the Intergovernmental Negotiations. They also reached a decision to promote cooperation at international forums and organizations and to positively consider supporting each other at elections of international organizations. Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuconce again expressed his commitment to continue supporting Japan to become an UNSC permanent member.
46. Both leaders underlined the importance of the sustainable use of marine living resources including cetaceans. The Vietnamese side informed that it was actively considering and proceeding with necessary procedures towards early joining the International Whaling Commission (IWC).”
Viet Nam-Norway Joint Statement26/05
Vesak 2019: Ha Nam Declaration issued 14/05
Viet Nam-Nepal Joint Statement11/05
Full Viet Nam-Czech Republic Joint Statement18/04
Full Viet Nam-Romania Joint Statement18/04
Joint statement for enhancing VN-U.S. comprehensive partnership01/06
VN, Laos issue joint statement27/04
VN, Cambodia issue Joint Statement26/04
VN-Singapore issue Joint Statement24/03
VN, China issues Joint Communiqué 15/01
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History of Machu Picchu
Archaeological evidence uncovered around the site suggests that the area was first used for agricultural purposes back in 760 B.C.
The war of Vilcambamba Pachacutec in 1440 established the first settlement at the site. It was called the Tahuantinsuyo Empire which was later followed by the formation of the government of Manco Capac.
It is thought that Machu Picchu was first inhabited by 300-1000 inhabitants, who were of the highest class or “Llactas”.
The valleys around these areas were important for their agricultural contribution, however after death of the Emperor Pachacutec, it lost its importance, with the establishment of new sites like Ollaytantambo and Vilcambamba. The building of these new sites by his successors, in more accessible terrain made Machu Picchu less appealing.
From 1527 to 1532, two brothers Huáscar and Atahualpa fought against each other in a civil war over the Inca Empire. Their father, Inca Huayna Capac had given each brother a section of the empire to manage, one in Huáscar in Cuzco and Atahualpa in Quito. When Huayna Capac and his heir, Ninan Cuyuchi, died somewhere between 1525 and 1527, the two brothers Atahualpa and Huáscar went to war over who should rule. The population who had come to live in the Machu Picchu area from rural or remote locations left after the war ended to return to where they came from. Later another brother, Manco Inca was sent into exile in Vilcambamba, and Machu Picchu was deserted.
Antonio Raimondi was an Italian geographer and scientist from Milan who visited Machu Picchu in 1851. In 1867 Augusto Berns arrived to mine the site.
Hiram Bingham re-discovered the ruins in 1911. He documented and publicised his “discovery”.
Photo of Hiram Bingham
Posted on March 15, 2017 Tags Active Adventures South America, Machu Picchu Hiking, Machu Picchu History, Machu Picchu Inca Trail, Machu Picchu Peru, Peru Ruins, Peru Travel, Peru Trekking
Facts About Machu Picchu To Outsmart Your Tour Guide
Peru has so many ancient ruins, villages imbued with an infusion of ancient and modern Incan tradition, mixed with a melting pot of Colonial and pre- Spanish Peruvian culture.
Of all the Peru landmarks, Machu Picchu (which in the Quechua native language, means “Old Peak” or “Old Mountain.”) is the one categorised as both one of the best known and also most mysterious of the ancient Inca sites. Call it cliche to label it the jewel of Peru’s crown or it’s most famous contribution to the 7th wonders of the world, but Machu Picchu has remained in the limelight since it’s discovery by Hiram Bingham in 1911. It stands at 2,400 meters above sea level and it’s precise stone construction is spread along a narrow and uneven mountain vista, tucked up against a 400m sheer cliff, overlooking the Urubamba Valley and River. The whole city was hidden (and thus saved) from marauding conquistadores for centuries and its high remote location makes if feel like it is floating on a sheet of mist.
Local guides will tell of legends withed down from Inca ancestors, archaeologists will give you another perspective all adding to the sites enigmatic status, but it’s actually quite hard to put your finger on the reasons why this citadel in the clouds is just so fascinating.
Many of the discoveries in and around Machu Picchu have led to more questions than answers around it’s true purpose. The more discoveries made it seems, the wider the variety of possibilities.
Rather than give you a list of dates, numbers and scientific facts, this page is going to offer you a treat, so you can wow your guides and make them think you’ve been on a crash course of anthropology and/or Incan philosophy!
I probably don’t need to tell you that Machu Picchu’s walls, caves and buildings are widely adorned with intricate carvings in the citadel, boasting carefully selected cave entrances, strange altars, 600 impressively engineered terraces, a 1km long aqueduct and exquisitely engineered buildings. Quizzical llama lawnmowers help to keep the grass around the buildings all beautifully manicured, showing off their best features. It is indeed a sensory feast for 21st century eyes staring firsthand at structures built by Incan hands more than a thousand years ago!
Did you also know that the positioning of the buildings are no accident. Inca people were master astrologers, the milky way had particular significance, and they arranged structures within the citadel to align with the cosmos or rising of the sun at specific times of year?
Standing amongst these features, everyone marvels at the masterful engineering the ancient Incan builders managed to achieve way back in the mid 14th century. You may find yourself getting lost in stories told by local legends if you walk through the various buildings with a local guide (like our Cynthia Valledares). When you also understand the significance of the structures around you from a spiritual and ritualistic point of view – it is not at all difficult for ones mind to be blown!
The technique used to build the structure is called called “ashlar”, this means that stones that are precisely cut to fit together without any mortar. This method is so precise that not even a credit card can slide between stones. Peru has experienced hundreds of years of seismic activity, yet the stones the Inca’s crafted stand strong, mostly undamaged by natures powerful forces.
Some of the most interesting architectural features of Machu Picchu are all closely huddled together over it’s total area of 32,592 hectares, an assortment of structures, each with an archaeological and spiritual back story that would make even Indiana Jones proud!
Sacred Rock
Looking out over the central plaza to the far end of Machu Picchu , we find the Sacred Rock, something you will notice in almost every Inca village. The Inca practiced placing a sacred stone in close proximity to the building site and this was dedicated to the site itself, which adds to the intrigue of the site; what did this mean to these people, and what daily practices took place right here where you stand, some say they can still feel the energy of these people and the land they revered so much.The Sacred Stone of Machu Picchu was carefully placed at the base of Huayna Picchu (or little peak), a place from which it’s possible to ascend right up to the summit, for a magnificent view down the valley. After your hour-long hike to the top of the peak, you can choose to stop off on the way back down at the Gatekeeper’s shack for a signed memoir, verifying you have conquered the steep climb up Huayna Picchu. The rock, resembling the shape of the top of the mountains behind it is a shrine where the Incas carried out special rituals and pachamamas (offerings to the earth).
The Sacred Rock is a powerful symbol in Machu Picchu, and is recognised as being a spiritual area for meditation and absorbing positive energies.
Many visitors like to include Temple of The Moon cave, another enigmatic structure situated approximately 1280 feet or 390 m below the summit of Huayna Picchu facing North. This is less than an hours walk from Sacred Rock, and will reward you with not only grand Inca structures to marvel over, but also spectacular views down the valley.
Central Plaza
The Central Plaza of Machu Picchu is laid out with rows of many roofless stone structures embedded among steep terraces, facing outward for a grand view of Huayna Picchu. The lush green grass colour in the middle of the plaza can be likened to an island sitting amongst the rest of the Inca stone buildings that make up Machu Picchu. It’s an enticing and inviting spot amongst the buildings for Llamas and other grazing animals to frequent for a tasty meal. The Central Plaza’s grassy field also provides separation from the Sacred Plaza and Intiwatana to the residential areas on the farther side of the complex.
One of the buildings bordering the plaza is the Temple of the Three Windows. From this standpoint we look out to see a pretty view out on to the green central field, if we carry on from here, a flight of stairs at the back of the Sacred Plaza takes us back down to the Central Plaza.
At the very lowest end of the Central Plaza we find what is known as the Prison Group, this is essentially a network of cells, passageways, and niches extending both underground and up to the plateau above. Right in the center of this group of structures, we find the Temple of the Condor, some visitors and locals call this the main attraction because of its attention seeking condor carved in stone right above a rock pile. Behind this striking carved condor head, is a doorway leading to a tiny underground cell.
Temple of the Condor
The Temple of the Condor in Machu Picchu has to be one of the highlights (although you will find it difficult to choose one) of your exploration of these Inca ruins. It is an exquisite example of Inca stonemasonry. The Inca took a natural rock formation shaped by the elements millions of years ago, and skillfully shaped it into the outspread wings of a condor in flight. The Condor represented spirit and higher levels of consciousness, so the Inca considered the Condor to be of elevated importance in the animal, and spirit kingdom.
On the floor of the Condor temple you can see a rock carved in the shape of the condor’s head and neck feathers, this section of the rock makes up the figure of a three-dimensional bird. Historians speculate that the Inca used the head of the condor here as a sacrificial altar. Underneath this is a small cave that used to contain a mummy, the hierarchal importance of which perplexed archaeologists like many other mummified remains found in this area. Behind the temple, is situated a prison complex. The prison comprised of many human-sized niches and an underground maze of dark dingy dungeons. The close proximation of the alleged sacrificial temple and the prison structures conjures up visions of how the Inca may have used them for sacrifice or other rituals. Similar Inca prison sites, record events outlining the handling of an accused citizen… word has it that the prisoners would be shackled into these niches for up to 3 days to await their fate. The jury could nominate their death for such simple sins as laziness, lust, or more in line with Victorian punishments, theft.
Funerary Rock Hut
If you are a photographic enthusiast, you will want to take a small hike to Machu Picchu’s Funerary Rock Hut. It’s believed this location was the place where Inca nobility were mummified, and like many places chosen for overseers to rest, the vantage point from the hut offers a dramatic view over the whole complex.
Every day herds of Alpacas and Llamas arrive via the terraces near the Funerary Rock Hut to graze leisurely on the grass. These furry manicurists keep the lawns short, neat and tidy for our benefit whilst filling their stomachs with rich green grass. From this position we look out towards the start of the Inca Trail, in contrast to many of the skinny mountainous trails in the region, it is easy to see because the Inca Trail is a well developed wider road that connects the Cusco region directly with Machu Picchu.
The hike up the long sturdy stairs that lead to the Funerary Rock Hut will give your muscles a good workout, but the rewards at the end of this short but relatively steep hike are worth every drop of sweat. The views from this viewpoint will stay in your memory along with many snapshots of your unforgettable trip to Machu Picchu.
From this point we take a detour back down the stairs to arrive at the Royal Tomb.
Royal Tomb
Walking down and to the left descending a long set of stairs, we approach the Royal Tomb. This cave-esque area of Machu Picchu is decorated with ceremonial niches and adjacent to the Temple of the Sun is a carefully carved Inca cross. The cross design resembles steps, and represents the three levels of existence in the Inca world. The first step, symbolised by the snake, is representative of the underworld or of death. The second step represents the present, or human life, symbolised by the jaguar. The highest step represents the celestial or spiritual plane of the gods, and is symbolised by the condor.
This revered site has been the focus of numerous mummy excavations. Over 100 skeletal remains have been discovered here, 80% of which were women. For this and several other factual reasons, historians surmised that the area was inhabited primarily by Inca high priests and an elite selection of chosen women.
Immediately to the left of the royal tomb lies a series of 16 ceremonial baths, cleverly linked together via a skilfully engineered viaduct. At the top of this system we find the watershed hut, which passes beside the rock quarry emerging at the Sacred Plaza.
Intiwatana
The Intiwatana at Machu Picchu, is referred to by Inca and modern people as the “hitching post of the sun”. One of Machu Picchu’s primary functions was that of astronomical observatory. It is a carved rock pillar with construction planned to orient towards the four cardinal points. As accomplished astronomers the Inca used the angles of the pillar to accurately predict the solstices. The sun was an integral part of the Inca way of life and greatly influenced agriculture which supported the life of the whole community. The Inca considered the Sun the supreme natural god and during the winter solstice on June 21, it is said that the high priest would rope a golden disc to the Intiwatana, to symbolically catch the sun, returning it back to earth, thus ensuring another bountiful season of crops.
Sadly the Intiwatana is the only structure of its kind left standing by the Spanish conquerors, who went on a aggressive campaign to wipe out all structural references to Inca religion. Many visitors report that Machu Picchu feels like one of Earth’s magnetic focal points, it emanates a mystical quality and carries an inherent spiritual or metaphysical power.
When you’re sitting on the edge of heaven, perched high above the valley at the Sacred Plaza looking down at the Urubamba River below, it’s hard to deny the etherial sense this place is embued with. Turn around behind you, and absorb the genius of the ancient builders who created these stone plaza and temple structures, framed magnificently in the background by the spectacular mountain peaks of Machu Picchu and Huayna Picchu to the left and right. How could you not be moved and humbled by this experience?
Huayna Picchu
The big little mountain that everyone forgets. Huayna Picchu is like a jewel in the crown of Machu Picchu. Standing at 2,720 metres (8,930 feet), it towers above and behind the citadel of Machu Picchu. Only 400 people are allowed daily to climb Huayna Picchu in 2 groups – first departing at 7.00AM second at 10.00Am. The steep (both hands and feet needed) climb winds up the side of the rock faces and through a tunnel. It takes about 1.5-2 hours up and about 45 minutes to 1 hour down. For many people climbing Huayna Picchu is one of the highlights when visiting Machu Picchu. The view from the top highlights how the structures and terraces below are built on seemingly impossible places like they are almost glued to the mountain side. You are in for a breathtakingly beautiful panorama of the site of Machu Picchu below, but also the snowcapped mountains and grand valleys beyond.
Machu Picchu is divided in two parts
Hanan and Urin according with the Inca tradition. This essentially means upper and lower, or heaven and earth. The upper realm = included the sky, the sun, the moon, the stars, the planets, and constellations (milky way in particular) and was called hanan pacha (in Quechua). The hanan pacha was inhabited Inti, the masculine sun god, and Mama Killa, the feminine moon goddess. The lower realm is where earth spirits reside, or the people who inhabit the earthly realms.
Popular Trails Leading To Machu Picchu
Ancient Inca rulers forged trails and communication systems through this region over 18,600 miles long, paving mountain tracks, building runners and swing bridges from straw ropes. Most of these structure still exist today, and it’s quite astounding to think that the well worn steps you are walking on when traversing the Inca or Lares trails were hand constructed by Inca stonemasons so very long ago.
The most popular trails leading to Machu Picchu are the Lares Trail and the Inca Trail. There is also the Salkantay trek, but the two most raved about journeys by far are the Lares and Inca trail. The Lares takes you through many more villages, without the same level of foot traffic you may encounter on the Inca Trail. You can also opt for cycle and kayak options, where you can visit a small village on Lake Titicaca’s reed islands and hang with the locals. Experiences like these are magical, they add a few more days to your adventure, but you’ll leave with a whole new sense of the meaning of immersion in another uniquely Peruvian culture. Check out this comparison between the Inca Trail vs. Lares Trails or take a look at our Jaguar trip which gives you the option of visiting these places and many more.
Inca Trail Hike to Machu Picchu
A trip to Machu Picchu along the Inca trail is the epitome of a spiritual and wondrous experience to one of the worlds most fascinating ancient wonders of the world. An unforgettable experience is not something you have to ‘try’ to achieve when visiting Machu Picchu – you’ll be taken on a journey of curiosity and wonder in all directions.
Facebook Review:
Noel Carroll reviewed Active Adventures – 5 star – 29 July ·
Jaguar trip to Peru. Great guides, accommodations, activities, food. Absolutely the best adventure I have had, and I have been blessed with quite a few. Would definitely consider another one. Hiking the Inca trail on this trip was the hardest and most rewarding thing I have done.
Other pages that may be of interest:
Best Time To Trek Machu Picchu | Machu Picchu Tours |4 Day Machu Picchu Trek
Posted on March 15, 2017 Tags Active Adventures South America, Bucket List, Group tour, Hiking, Machu Picchu, Machu Picchu Hiking, Machu Picchu History, Machu Picchu Inca Trail, Machu Picchu Peru, Peru Ruins, Peru Travel, Peru Trekking, small group tour, Tips and Things To Know
Although it’s one of the most well-known archaeological wonders of the world, Machu Picchu still holds plenty of secrets and is on our shortlist of must-see destinations on any Peru trip.
Paul Walrath enjoying Machu Picchu – on the ‘Jaguar‘ trip
Machu Picchu is an enigma, some would say a paradox because it is known as both the best known yet least known about of the Inca sites. Since its discovery on July 24, 1911 by North American Hiram Bingham, Machu Picchu has been considered one of the world’s greatest architectural and archaeological monuments, due to its extraordinary magnificence and harmonious structure. Machu Picchu is definitely one of the most fascinating sites in Peru.
At 2,400 meters above sea level, in the province of Urubamba, Machu Picchu surprises us because of the way its stone constructions are spread over a narrow and uneven mountain top, bordering a sheer 400 meter cliff into the Urubamba River canyon.
Why and how was Machu Picchu built?
Machu Picchu is a citadel shrouded in mystery, and to this day archaeologists have not definitively uncovered the purpose of this city of stone. The site covers an area of about one square mile, and stands in a region that the Incas considered to be magical, due to the meeting of the Andes mountains with the mighty Amazon river. When 135 bodies were discovered while exploring the site, 109 of which were female, some believed that Machu Picchu could have been a monastery where acllas (young girls) were trained to serve the Inca and the Willac Uno (High Priest). Others said it may simply have been an advance settlement for further expansions planned by the Incas. Perhaps the mystery may never be fully explained.
The surprising perfection and beauty of Machu Picchu’s walls, built by joining stone to stone without using any cement or adhesive whatsoever, has led to many theories developing around how the city was constructed as well. It is said that a bird by the name of Kak’aqllu knew the formula for softening rock but by command, perhaps by the ancient Inca gods, had its tongue torn out. Others say there was a magic plant that could dissolve and compress stone. Nonetheless, mysteries and myths aside, the obvious wisdom and skill of the city’s ancient builders – evidenced by Machu Picchu’s many squares, aqueducts, watchtowers, observatories and its sun clock – is quite clear.
Many people may be drawn to Peru by Machu Picchu, yet it is considered by many of our guests, to be just one of many of the ruins featuring on the “highlights reel”of their trip. See reviews to read more
How to get to Machu Picchu – One day or multi day trails
You can take a one day trip to Peru from Cuzco or Lima, and walk up to this citadel in the clouds high in the Andes, or you can take some time to get acclimatised and trek via several trails that lead to Machu Picchu, most taking around 4 to 5 days to complete. A lot of people begin their Peru trip with the intent of visiting Machu Picchu, but don’t know how much more there is to see and do in and around Machu Picchu.
After all, if you are going to Peru to experience a South American trip of a lifetime, why not learn about all the activities and other ruins there are to discover.
Popular activities on our Peru trips (including Machu Picchu):
Hiking the Lares or Classic Inca Trail
Exploring Machu Picchu – facts about Machu Picchu
Hiking in the Amazon jungle
Sea kayaking on Lake Titicaca
Staying with a local family on Amantani Island
Hiking Sacsayhuamán fortress
Hiking and cycle in the Sacred Valley of the Incas
Exploring Cuzco
Cycling through Andean villages and La Raya Pass
Hiking Amantani and Taquile Islands
You may be surprised at the number of activities you can do in Peru. In fact it’s a surprise to a lot of people that it is possible to enjoy these “non Machu Picchu focused” activities at all. Our philosophy is a little different to many tour companies, we believe that if you are going to travel all the way to a new country to experience a whole new culture, why not experience as many perspectives, local cultures and ruins as you can while you are there?
Obviously the most popular trail chosen by visitors wanting to visit Machu Picchu is the Inca Trail. Some people prefer the Lares Trail because it offers a much more immersive experience in Peruvian village culture. If you wants to experience some of the traditions and village life the early Inca’s enjoyed, you can stay with their descendants in one of the many villages along the Lares Trail.
If you want to hike the traditional route, take a sneak peak below at some of what the Inca Trail has to offer.
Hike to Machu Picchu on the ancient Inca Trail
The Inca Trail between the Sacred Valley of the Urubamba River and the mysterious abandoned citadel of Machu Picchu is one of the world’s classic treks. Climbing out of the river valley, crossing rugged mountain passes over 13,000 ft high, the trail winds through the Andes, passing numerous significant Inca ruins en route before descending through the Sun Gate to the silent stone city of Machu Picchu. To hike the Inca Trail is a thrilling experience and a great privilege. You need a permit from the Peruvian government to set foot on it, and there are strict limits on the number of permits issued each year. If you join a guided tour like the ‘Jaguar‘ trip, these permits are all take care of for you.
But the Inca Trail is much more than a great hike. It is one small portion of an incredible network of such trails crossing high mountain ranges, bleak deserts, and raging Andean rivers, tying the Inca Empire together. At its peak expansion, Tahuantinsuyo (or The Four Corners as the empire was known) extended from what is now southern Colombia in the north, to central Chile in the south, covering a distance of about 5500 km (3400 mi). To rule such a vast domain, the emperor, or Inca, forged a remarkable communications system of approximately 18,600 miles of trails, paved through much of its length, stepped where need be, through tunnels where necessary, and using gossamer suspension bridges built of straw ropes to cross rivers unfordable in the wet season.
The roads served to move the conquering Inca armies, and were generally wide enough for a minimum of two warriors to travel abreast. A system of runners stationed at rest houses known as tambos sped messages along the roadways, much like the Pony Express mail of the old American West. The Inca, at his empire’s capital in Cuzco, could receive news from far away Quito as rapidly as a letter crosses between the two cities in today’s mail.
As remarkable as this highway system was in the days when it was built, used and maintained, it is an astounding testimony to its construction that so many segments remain serviceable today, after half a millennium of neglect. Clearly the Inca highway system ranks as one of the greatest engineering achievements of pre-industrial man.
The full Inca Trail is approximately 40km long. Spread over 4 days, this amounts to about five hours walking per day, although you can walk at your own pace – you are not forced to walk with your group the whole time. It is not a difficult walk, although there are a couple of high passes, and a steep climb on the second day, so a basic level of fitness is required.
Aventura Fantastica!
“This was our second Active Adventures trip and while we went to Peru mainly to see Machu Picchu, I feel it was only a fraction of the fun we had during our trip. For me, hiking at 14,000+ feet, climbing rocks via ferrata to go zip lining was an awesome experience despite being very prone to altitude illness (we got there a day early and I was fine by the second day) and having a hubby who is very afraid of heights. Machu Picchu was magnificent but I really enjoyed the less crowded Incan and pre-Incan sites we visited more because we had them nearly all to ourselves. Our tour leader Jhayro and another local guide Daniel (who we had for 3 days in Peru) also made our trip extra special being so friendly and fun to be with both while leading us on adventures as well as during meals and on the bus.
The food we had in Peru was excellent and that is coming from someone who is usually viewed as a picky eater with a fussy stomach. My hubby, who is a much more adventurous eater than I, tried alpaca and guinea pig and both were surprisingly good (yes, I tried them too!). After a couple days, we were used to not drinking the tap water or flushing paper down toilets so neither were a big deal. In fact, when we were in Quito, it seemed strange to be able to do so!
For the Galapagos portion of our trip, we were led by Jose since our scheduled guide Pablo couldn’t be there due to a family emergency. Jose was very knowledgable about the local geology, flora, fauna and variety of other things and with several in our group being (former) teachers or scientists, we sure did ask a lot of questions. The unique wildlife of the islands was the primary reason I wanted to visit and I loved seeing Galapagos turtles again as I’d not seen them since I was a child back in the 60’s (I remember riding on some in a zoo which I know now was so wrong!). It was my first time seeing marine iguanas and blue footed boobies in the wild and I also enjoyed seeing a variety of other creatures that are in other places but we don’t see very often, even living in Hawaii which has very similar geology.
Like Hawaii, each of the Galapagos Islands was different and it was interesting to see how they varied. The different forms of transportation we used to get from island to island were also adventures in themselves: 2 hour ride on a speed boat and an hourish ride on a teeny prop plane!
The only thing that was not quite what we expected with this trip was that some of the activities listed on the Galapagos Island itinerary we did not get to do. Nevertheless, the trip was fantastic and being probably my one and only trip to South America, it will always be remembered.”
Shirley Pratt – Hawaii, United States
Iguana, May 2016
To learn more about Peru as a destination, download our Brochure or join our Newsletter
10 Quick Facts about Machu Picchu
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1. Longitude and Latitude Machu Picchu
Machu Picchu’s geographical position is 13.1631° S, 72.5450° W. It’s located 74.7 kilometres (46.4 miles) from Cusco. See How To Get To Machu Picchu
2. Size of Machu Picchu
The Machu Picchu Inca Ruins cover an area of one square mile. The area of the greater Machu Picchu Historic Sanctuary in the Vilcanota-Urubamba basin covers 32,592 hectares.
3. Temperature at Machu Picchu
During the warmer months of September, October, November and December the weather is fairly mild with a good average temperature of between 8 degrees celcius (44 degrees F) and 20 degrees celcius (68 degrees F).
4. Population of Machu Picchu
The population of Machu Picchu was most likely between 1,000 and 1,200 at any given time – but the ruins have been uninhabited for hundreds of years now. Today – the closest town to Machu Picchu is Aguas Calientes, with a permanent population of around 3000 people.
5. Languages Spoken in and Around Machu Picchu
The native spoken language is ‘Quechua’ – the ancient Inca language. Spanish is the colonial language, introduced by the Spanish on their arrival in November 15, 1532
6. Weather And Seasons at Machu Picchu
Machu Picchu is usually covered in mist until mid morning, giving it the feeling of hovering amongst the clouds. Most rainfall (during the rainy season) is seen in December, January, February and March. Machu Picchu has dry periods in May, June, July, August and September. On average, the warmest month is September. See Best Time To Visit Machu Picchu
7. Meaning of the name Machu Picchu
In the Quechua native language, “Machu Picchu” means “Old Peak” or “Old Mountain.”
8. Machu Picchu’s Global Significance
Machu Picchu is recognised as one of the Seven Wonders of the World and is featured on many intrepid travellers bucket list.
9. Machu Picchu Transport
There are several options for getting to Machu Picchu, other than by foot of course. Trains operate, as do busses, both public and private. Small group tour busses are less crowded if you can find them. You can visit this page for more information about transport to Machu Picchu.
10. Fitness For Machu Picchu & Other Hiking Options
Machu Picchu is a city at altitude, so it’s a great idea to stay a few days and enjoy being treated to some authentic Peruvian hospitality. It’s a pleasant day hike from Aguas Calientes if you are only interested in a flying visit to Machu Picchu itself. If you are going to walk one of the “trip of a lifetime” journeys to get there however, you’ll need a moderate level of fitness. Again, taking your time to acclimatise and investigate the local villages, or other ruins along the way makes for a much more “cruisy” (as we say in New Zealand) adventure to the city in the clouds.
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Home Discoveries Guyana gives ExxonMobil thumbs-up for new discovery
Guyana gives ExxonMobil thumbs-up for new discovery
Exxon Country Manager, Rod Henson (L) and Guyana's Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman in conversation at a recent event.
Guyana’s Ministry of Natural Resources said in a statement on Thursday evening that it joins the country’s President, David Granger, and the Guyanese people, in congratulating ExxonMobil and its joint-venture partners Hess and CNOOC Nexen for their latest discovery at the Turbot-1 well in the Stabroek Block offshore Guyana.
The US super-major said today it began drilling the Turbot-1 well on Aug. 14, 2017 and encountered a reservoir of 75 feet (23 meters) of high-quality, oil-bearing sandstone in the primary objective. The well was safely drilled to 18,445 feet (5,622 meters) in 5,912 feet (1,802 meters) of water on Sept. 29, 2017. The Turbot-1 well is located in the southeastern portion of the Stabroek Block, approximately 30 miles (50 kilometers) to the southeast of the Liza phase one project.
The announcement, following that of the Payara-2 discovery in July 2017, is another important milepost in Guyana’s journey towards becoming an oil producing country, the Ministry said.
This latest discovery, the Ministry stated, also underscores the need for continued capacity building not only of Government and its agencies but also of the private sector, civil society and individuals to ensure that they contribute to and benefit from the oil and gas sector in an equitable manner.
The Ministry says it looks forward to the support of all stakeholders as it puts in place a strong regulatory and fiscal framework to ensure that production of petroleum is carried out in a transparent and accountable manner and in a way that is respectful of the country’s environment
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ExxonMobil makes 10th discovery offshore Guyana
Total buys stakes in offshore Guyana blocks
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Political Science >
The President and Congress
The President and Congress Research Papers
President and Congress research papers discuss the divisions between the executive and legislative branches of the federal government.
The President and Congress have an interesting relationship that can be explicated in a custom research paper. omesp writers write political science and government research for any student, organization or publication that needs information.
As two independent elements of our federal government, the executive and legislative branches are predisposed to conflicts that can present difficulties in creating and implementing “coherent and positive programs to deal with national problems”. As chief executive, the president is offered strong authority over many aspects of the government. At the same time, the Congress is given comparable power in “overseeing and checking” the activities of the other branches of government. It is also given the significant responsibility of maintaining a constitutional balance through legislature that is representative of the demands of the American people. When the purposes and objectives of these two powers are in opposition, controversy becomes inevitable.
One of the most significant precipitators of conflict between the executive and legislative branches of government is a split-party condition where the Congress and President are separated on party lines. This condition almost inherently offers the potential for conflicts over the political agendas of presidents and the congressional majority. Some past examples of this political condition include:
Nixon in 1969
Reagan in 1981
Bush in 1989
A more recent example was demonstrated in 1997 when Clinton entered his second term under split-party conditions. Conflicts can arise in cases like these when a president’s political agenda is not aligned with the objectives of Congress, which can create a “deadlock” over issues that must be handled by both branches.
Party divisions do not always prevent productive interaction between the President and Congress however, which was demonstrated throughout the Nixon-Ford presidencies. While the administrative terms of Nixon and Ford were periods of “high partisan conflict”, there were seventy-four major laws enacted during that time. There are political scholars that suggest that such a divided government “invalidates the entire theory of party government and presidential leadership”, however the productivity demonstrated in the Nixon-Ford presidencies indicates that the split-party condition does not always contribute to conflict.
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How to Write a Research Paper on The President and Congress
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Home News World Christianity Grows in Chilean Region Despite Church Arsons
Christianity Grows in Chilean Region Despite Church Arsons
The Council of Pastors of La Araucanía in Chile said the recent burning of churches in the region did not stop Christianity from growing.
The Christian Missionary Alliance church was burned down on August 3, 2018 in the town of Padre Las Casas south of Chile. Church leaders claimed it was intentional. The Council of Pastors believed that “the violent actions seek to prevent our growth,” according to Evangelical Focus.
It is the responsibility of the State to ensure that events such as these don’t happen again, by ensuring that those responsible are brought to justice, as well as protecting the victims and ensuring their church is rebuilt. —Araucanía Pastors’ Council
The evangelical church was also attacked a month ago, but firefighters were able to put out the fire before it caused any major damage in the building.
The governor of the province of Cautín, Mauricio Ojeda, said the conflict between Mapuche communities and private companies might be the reason for the arson attacks. He disclosed that pamphlets were scattered around the site of the fire which alludes to the Mapuche cause.
The south of Chile has seen several incidents of violence as Mapuches demanded their right to ancestral territories that are legally owned by agricultural or forestry companies. Many Mapuche villagers have died and were incarcerated because of the conflict.
Radical members of Mapuche have burned down 27 Catholic and evangelical churches since 2015. Despite the decades-long conflict in the area, the Regional Council of Pastors (RCP) said more than 2,000 evangelical temples are established in the Mapuche community.
Matías Sanhueza, president of the RCP, said there are several reasons why Christianity is growing in Mapuche amid the difficulties. He revealed that Mapuche pastors are continuously training to help them lead in their communities. Also, two major projects are ongoing which aim to strengthen the indigenous community: rescuing the Mapuche language, and translation of the Old Testament into Mapuche language.
The majority of Mapuches identify as Christian: 55% as Catholic, and 32% as Protestant. Despite the high number, Christians are still seen and treated as outsiders, reports the World Watch Monitor.
Juan Mella, leader of an Assemblies of God church which was also burned down recently, lamented the arson attacks.
“Each human being can have their own views with regard to faith, spirituality,” he said. “We have never imposed our faith, but we have shared it with everyone because the Lord sent us to every nation, every tribe.”
The Pastors’ Council of Araucanía released a statement condemning the violent attacks against Christians. Part of the statement said, “It is the responsibility of the State to ensure that events such as these don’t happen again, by ensuring that those responsible are brought to justice, as well as protecting the victims and ensuring their church is rebuilt.”
Evangelical Focus
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Religious Upbringing Linked to Better Health and Well-being – Study
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Unpacking differences in psychological contracts of organisational expatriates and self-initiated expatriates: a mixed method study
Zhang, Kate and Rienties, Bart (2017). Unpacking differences in psychological contracts of organisational expatriates and self-initiated expatriates: a mixed method study. Journal of Global Mobility, 5(1) pp. 93–108.
https://doi.org/10.1108/JGM-06-2016-0025
Global staffing has remained a main focus within the field of International Human Resource Management (IHRM) since the 1970s (Collings, Scullion and Morley, 2007). With the changing patterns of global staffing in multinational enterprises, the latest trend has seen a decline in traditional international posts, and a rise in the number of self-initiated expatriates (SIEs), with Asian countries being the emerging popular migration destinations (Collings et al., 2007; OECD, 2012).
In recent years, scholars have presented the importance of treating organisational expatriates (OEs) and SIEs as heterogeneous groups (Altman and Baruch, 2012; Guzzo, Noonon, & Elron, 1994). OEs are defined as expatriates whom are sent to international assignments by their home employers, whereas SIEs are those who make their own decisions to work and live in a foreign country (Doherty et al., 2013). SIEs have become a larger segment relative to OEs in global labour market (Myers and Pringle, 2005). Indeed, multi-National Corporations (MNCs) have indicated an intention to replace OE managers with local-hired SIEs (Collings et al., 2007). With the increased reliance on SIEs relative to OEs in organisations, it is important to acknowledge that the drivers and motivations of SIEs might differ, as well as their perceptions towards the Psychological Contract (PC). In the present study, we adopt the definition by Rousseau (1989, p.123) whereby the PC refers to the employee’s beliefs “regarding the terms and conditions of a reciprocal exchange agreement between that focal person and another party”. Given the protean career attitudes of SIEs, which are described as a self-driven and value-oriented towards career advancement (Bricoe et al., 2006), it might result in substantial differences for SIEs in their expectation of their employer and understanding of the perceived promises relative to OEs. Moreover, previous studies have indicated various (perceived) differences of the two groups, e.g. motives, interaction with locals, work adjustment and career advancement opportunities, international mobility patterns (Alshahrani and Morley, 2015; Altman and Baruch, 2012; Guzzo, Noonon, & Elron, 1994). These factors may also have a significant impact on the differences in how SIEs experience the lack of fulfilment of the employer’s obligations, and their emotional reactions to perceived failed promises made by the employer.
Bart Rienties
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151 A Conversation With a Barber During a Haircut is The Most 24:35 04/02/09 04/09/2009
150 If You Can’t Beat Them, Join Them 24:40 03/26/09 04/02/2009
149 When breaking a Chuubert in half, the end with the knob s 24:35 03/19/09 03/26/2009
148 Zip Up Your Fly Nice and Slowly 24:35 03/12/09 03/19/2009
147 All Adults are Instructors for All Children 24:35 03/05/09 03/12/2009
146 The Taste of Drinking Under Broad Daylight Is Something S 24:35 02/26/09 03/05/2009
145 The Color for Each Person’s Bond Comes in Various C 24:35 02/19/09 02/26/2009
144 Don’t Trust Bedtime Stories 24:35 02/12/09 02/19/2009
143 Those Who Stand On Four Legs Are Beasts. Those Who Stand 24:35 02/05/09 02/12/2009
142 Life Is About Making Consecutive Decisions 24:35 01/29/09 02/05/2009
141 Butting Into A Fight Is Dangerous 24:25 01/22/09 01/29/2009
140 Beware of Those Who Use an Umbrella on a Sunny Day! 24:25 01/15/09 01/22/2009
139 Don't Put Your Wallet In Your Back Pocket 24:25 01/08/09 01/15/2009
137 99% Of Men Are Not Confident In Confessing Their Love 24:35 01/06/09 01/06/2009
136 It’s Your House, You Build It 24:35 01/06/09 01/06/2009
135 Before Thinking About the Earth, Think About the More End 24:35 01/06/09 01/06/2009
134 Be Very Careful When Using Ghost Stories 24:35 01/02/09 01/15/2009
133 Gin and His Excellency’s Good For Nothing 24:35 01/02/09 01/15/2009
132 Briefs Will Unavoidably Get Skidmarks 24:35 01/08/09 01/08/2009
131 Fights Often Ensue During Trips 24:35 01/08/09 01/08/2009
130 Cat Lovers and Dog Lovers Are Mutually Exclusive 24:35 01/08/09 01/08/2009
129 Beware of Food You Pick Up Off the Ground 24:35 01/08/09 01/08/2009
128 “Sometimes You Can’t Tell Just By Meeting Som 24:35 01/02/09 10/15/2009
127 “Sometimes You Must Meet to Understand” 24:35 01/02/09 10/15/2009
126 “Some Things Can Only Be Conveyed Through the Writt 24:41 07/15/09 10/08/2009
125 “Entering the Final Chapter!” 24:41 07/15/09 10/08/2009
124 "When Nagging Goes Too Far It Becomes Intimidating" 24:41 07/15/09 10/08/2009
123 "Always Keep a Screwdriver In Your Heart" 24:52 07/15/09 10/08/2009
122 ”Imagination Is Nurtured In the 8th Grade” 24:41 07/15/09 10/01/2009
121 “Novices Only Need a Flathead and a Phillips” 24:41 07/15/09 10/01/2009
120 "Japanese Restaurants Abroad Taste Pretty Much like Schoo 24:41 07/15/09 10/01/2009
119 "Within Each Box of Cigarettes, Are One or Two Cigarettes 24:52 07/15/09 10/01/2009
118 "Even if Your Back is Bent, Go Straight Forward" 24:41 07/15/09 09/24/2009
117 "Beauty is Like a Summer Fruit " 24:41 07/15/09 09/24/2009
116 “The Older, The Wiser” 24:41 07/15/09 09/24/2009
115 “Summer Vacation is the Most Fun Right Before It Be 24:52 12/23/08 09/24/2009
114 “They Say Soy Sauce On Pudding Tastes Like Sea Urch 24:41 12/23/08 09/17/2009
113 “Cleaning the Toilet Cleanses the Soul” 26:59 12/23/08 09/17/2009
112 "Lucky Is a Man Who Gets Up and Goes to Work" 22:23 12/23/08 09/17/2009
111 “Definitely Do Not Let Your Girlfriend See The Thin 24:54 12/23/08 09/17/2009
110 “People Are All Escapees of Their Own Inner Prisons 24:41 12/23/08 09/10/2009
109 “Life is a Test” 24:46 12/23/08 09/10/2009
108 "Some Things Are Better Left Unsaid" 24:41 12/23/08 09/10/2009
107 “Kids Don’t Understand How Their Parents Feel 24:54 12/23/08 09/10/2009
106 "Love Is Often Played Out In Sudden Death" 24:41 12/23/08 09/03/2009
105 "It’s All About the Beat and Timing" 24:41 12/23/08 09/03/2009
104 “Important Things Are Hard To See” 24:41 12/23/08 09/03/2009
103 "There's a Thin Line Between Strengths and Weaknesses" 24:54 12/23/08 09/03/2009
102 "Otaku Are Talkative" 24:41 12/23/08 08/27/2009
101 "Rules Are Made to be Broken" 24:41 12/23/08 08/27/2009
100 "The More Something Is Disliked, The More Lovely It Is" 24:41 12/23/08 08/27/2009
99 "Life and Video Games are Full of Bugs" 24:49 12/23/08 08/27/2009
98 "Play Video Games for Only An Hour A Day" 24:41 12/23/08 08/20/2009
97 “Exaggerate the Tales of Your Exploits by a Third, s 24:49 12/23/08 08/20/2009
96 "If You're A Man, Don't Give Up" 24:41 12/23/08 08/20/2009
95 "Men, Be A Madao" 24:41 12/23/08 08/20/2009
94 When Riding A Train, Make Sure You Grab The Straps With Bo 24:41 12/23/08 08/13/2009
93 Even A Hero Has Issues 24:49 12/23/08 08/13/2009
92 Be a Person Who Can See People's Strong Points and Not The 24:42 12/23/08 08/13/2009
91 If You Want To Lose Weight, Then Stop Eating and Start Mov 24:41 12/23/08 08/13/2009
90 "The More Delicious the Food, the Nastier It Is When It Go 24:40 12/23/08 08/06/2009
89 "What Happens Twice, Happens Thrice" 24:49 12/23/08 08/06/2009
88 "The Most Exciting Part of a Group Date is Before it Start 24:41 12/23/08 08/06/2009
87 "Perform a German Suplex On a Woman Who Asks If She or the 24:41 12/23/08 08/06/2009
86 "It's Often Difficult to Sleep When You're Engrossed With 24:41 12/23/08 07/30/2009
85 oiled Eggs Don't Crack" 24:49 12/23/08 07/30/2009
84 oiled Egg on a Man's Heart" 24:26 12/23/08 07/30/2009
83 "Rank Has Nothing to Do With Luck" 24:56 12/23/08 07/30/2009
82 “You Say Kawaii so Often, You Must Really Think You& 24:41 12/23/08 07/23/2009
81 “A Woman's Best Make Up is Her Smile” 24:49 12/23/08 07/23/2009
80 "When someone who wears glasses takes them off, it looks l 24:41 12/23/08 07/23/2009
79 "Four Heads are Better than One" 24:41 12/23/08 07/23/2009
78 "People who are picky about food are picky about people, t 24:41 12/23/08 07/16/2009
77 “Yesterday’s Enemy, After All Is Said and Done 24:49 12/23/08 07/16/2009
76 "In Those Situations, Keep Quiet and Cook Red Rice With Be 24:41 12/23/08 07/16/2009
75 “Don’t complain about your job at home, do it 24:41 12/23/08 07/16/2009
74 "The Manga Writer Becomes a Pro, After Doing a Stock of Ma 24:41 12/23/08 07/09/2009
73 "Think for a Minute Now, Do Matsutake Mushrooms Really Tas 24:49 12/23/08 07/09/2009
72 "A Dog's Paws Smell Fragrant" / "Drive With A "Might" Atti 24:41 12/23/08 07/09/2009
71 "Some Data Cannot Be Erased" 24:41 12/23/08 07/09/2009
70 "Too Many Cuties Can Make You Sick" 24:41 12/23/08 07/02/2009
69 "Please Help by Separating Your Trash" 24:49 12/23/08 07/02/2009
68 "Like a Haunted House, Life is Filled with Horrors" 24:41 12/23/08 07/02/2009
67 "For the Wind Is the Life" 23:12 12/23/08 07/02/2009
66 "Dango Over Flowers" 26:10 12/23/08 06/25/2009
65 "Rhinoceros Beetles Teach Boys that Life is Precious" 24:49 12/23/08 06/25/2009
64 "Eating Nmaibo Can Make You Full in No Time!" 24:41 12/23/08 06/25/2009
63 "The Preview Section in JUMP is Always Unreliable" 24:41 12/23/08 06/25/2009
62 Even Mummy Hunters Sometimes Turn into Mummys 24:41 12/23/08 06/18/2009
61 On A Moonless Night, Insects Are Drawn To The Light 24:49 12/23/08 06/18/2009
60 The Sun Will Rise Again 24:41 12/23/08 06/18/2009
59 Be Careful Not to Leave Your Umbrella Somewhere 24:41 12/23/08 06/18/2009
58 Croquette Sandwiches Are Always the Most Popular Food Sold 24:40 12/23/08 06/11/2009
57 When Looking For Something You've Lost, Remember What You 24:49 12/23/08 06/11/2009
56 Keep an Eye on the Chief for the Day 24:40 12/23/08 06/11/2009
55 Don't Make Munching Noises When You Eat 24:42 12/23/08 06/11/2009
54 Mothers Everywhere Are All the Same 24:41 12/23/08 06/04/2009
53 Stress Makes You Bald, but It's Stressful to Avoid Stress, 24:49 12/23/08 06/04/2009
52 If You Want to See Someone, Make an Appo First 24:42 12/23/08 06/04/2009
51 Milk Should Be Served at Body Temperature 24:40 12/23/08 06/04/2009
50 irl Gintama"" or “Pendin 24:41 12/23/08 05/28/2009
49 A Life Without Gambling is like Sushi Without Wasabi 24:49 12/23/08 05/28/2009
48 The More You're Alike, the More You Fight 24:41 12/23/08 05/28/2009
47 Do Cherries Come from Cherry Trees? 24:41 12/23/08 05/28/2009
46 Adults Only. We Wouldn’t Want Anyone Immature in Her 24:49 12/23/08 05/21/2009
45 Walk Your Dog at an Appropriate Speed 24:47 12/23/08 05/21/2009
44 Mom’s Busy, Too, So Quit Complaining About What̵ 24:41 12/23/08 05/21/2009
43 Make Characters So Anybody Can Tell Who They Are by Just T 24:41 12/23/08 05/21/2009
42 You Know What Happens if You Pee on a Worm 24:49 12/23/08 05/14/2009
41 You Can't Judge a Movie by Its Title 24:41 12/23/08 05/14/2009
40 Give a Thought to Planned Pregnancy 24:41 12/23/08 05/14/2009
39 Ramen Shops with Long Menus Never Do Well 24:41 12/23/08 05/14/2009
38 Only Children Play in the Snow 24:44 12/23/08 05/07/2009
37 People Who Say that Santa Doesn’t Really Exist Actua 24:46 12/23/08 05/07/2009
36 People with Dark Pasts Can't Shut Up 24:41 12/23/08 05/07/2009
35 Love Doesn’t Require a Manual (Continued) / You Can 24:41 12/23/08 05/07/2009
34 Love Doesn’t Require a Manual 24:49 12/23/08 04/30/2009
33 Mistaking Someone’s Name is Rude! 24:41 12/23/08 04/30/2009
32 Life Moves on Like a Conveyor Belt 24:41 12/23/08 04/23/2009
31 You Always Remember the Things that Matter the Least 24:41 12/23/08 04/23/2009
30 Even Teen Idols Act Like You Guys 24:50 12/23/08 04/16/2009
29 Part 1: Don’t Panic – There’s a Return P 24:40 12/23/08 04/16/2009
28 Good Things Never Come in Twos (but bad things do) 24:41 12/23/08 04/09/2009
27 Some Things Can’t Be Cut with a Sword 26:12 12/23/08 04/09/2009
26 Don’t Be Shy – Just Raise Your Hand and Say It 24:54 12/23/08 04/02/2009
25 A Shared Soup Pot Is a Microcosm of Life 24:41 12/23/08 04/02/2009
24 Cute Faces Are Always Hiding Something 24:56 12/23/08 03/26/2009
23 When You’re in a Fix, Keep on Laughing, LaughingR 24:56 12/23/08 03/26/2009
22 Marriage Is Prolonging an Illusion for Your Whole Life 24:31 12/23/08 03/19/2009
21 If You Go to Sleep With the Fan On, You’ll Get a Sto 24:56 12/23/08 03/19/2009
20 Watch Out for Conveyer Belts! 24:56 12/23/08 03/12/2009
19 Why’s the Sea So Salty? Because You City Folk Pee Wh 24:56 12/23/08 03/12/2009
18 Oh, Yeah! Our Crib Is Number One! 25:04 12/23/08 03/05/2009
17 Sons Only Take After Their Father’s Negative Attribu 26:22 12/23/08 03/05/2009
16 If You Stop and Think About It, Your Life’s a Lot Lo 24:56 12/23/08 02/26/2009
15 Pets Resemble Their Owners 24:56 12/23/08 02/26/2009
14 Just the Armpits 25:04 12/23/08 02/19/2009
13 If You’re Going to Cosplay, Go All Out 24:56 12/23/08 02/19/2009
12 People Who Make Good First Impressions Usually Suck 24:56 12/23/08 02/12/2009
11 Look, Overly Sticky Sweet Dumplings Are Not Real Dumplings 24:56 12/23/08 02/12/2009
10 Eat Something Sour When You’re Tired 25:04 12/23/08 02/05/2009
9 Fighting Should Be Done with Fists 24:56 12/23/08 02/05/2009
8 There Is Butt a Fine Line Between Persistence and Stubbornn 24:56 12/23/08 01/29/2009
7 Responsible Owners Should Clean Up After Their Pets 24:56 12/23/08 01/29/2009
6 Keep Your Promise Even If It Kills You 25:04 12/23/08 01/22/2009
5 Make Friends You Can Call by Their Nicknames, Even When You 24:56 12/23/08 01/22/2009
4 Watch Out! Weekly Shonen Jump Sometimes Comes Out on Saturd 24:56 01/02/09 01/02/2009
3 Nobody with Naturally Wavy Hair Can Be That Bad 24:56 01/02/09 01/02/2009
2 You Guys!! Do You Even Have a Gintama? (Part 2) 23:39 01/02/09 01/02/2009
No Matter How Old You Get, You Still Hate the Dentist 24:10 12/13/12 12/20/2012
an. Stupid Me!! 24:10 12/06/12 12/13/2012
It Takes a Bit of Courage to Enter a Street Vendor's Stan 24:10 11/22/12 11/29/2012
Life is a Test 24:10 11/15/12 11/22/2012
Within Each Box of Cigarettes, Are One or Two Cigarettes 24:10 11/08/12 11/15/2012
It's Your House, You Build It 24:10 11/01/12 11/01/2012
V 1 0:30 09/27/12 09/27/2012
Gintama' PV 2 0:30 03/29/11 03/29/2011
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Canada's wildfires catastrophe: “We have a temperature and it’s turning into a fever"
June 18, 2017:
Wildfires are spreading rapidly across the Canadian province of British Columbia, so far eluding firefighters and forcing some 40,000 people from their homes. And with no rain in the forecast until Thursday, Canadian officials fear the fires currently raging will worsen before they can battle back the blazes.
As the current state of emergency in British Columbia continues, more than 3,200 square kilometers of land have been scorched, 40,000+ people have been forced from their homes, and hundreds of wildfires still continue to burn in B.C.’s interior, many of which are a direct threat to local communities. The effects of such a catastrophe are unprecedented in Canada. In addition to the rapid mobilization of Canada’s P&C insurance industry, there are over 3,500 firefighters and additional personnel battling the blazes with auxiliary support from 375 members of the military.
Canada wildfire: why a sleeping giant awoke in Alberta and became relentless
By Ashifa Kassam in Calgary
Those on the front lines ask what made this fire of ‘unprecedented speed’ different from the hundreds of other blazes that ignite yearly in the region
A multi-headed monster. An animal of fire. The Beast.
As it raged out of control across northern Alberta and burst into Fort McMurray with unparalleled ferocity, the wildfire began racking up a list of colourful nicknames.
Within the span of a few days, the blaze had swelled in size, from some 1,200 hectares (3,000 acres) to more than 220,000 hectares (544,000 acres) . It cut a path of destruction through Fort McMurray, a city in the heart of Alberta’s oilsands, forcing the evacuation of more than 88,000 people and flattening some parts of the city, leaving a trail of charred rubble in its wake.
Few on the front lines had ever seen anything like it. “It’s an unprecedented fire with respect to the rate it spread, how it involved the community,” said regional fire chief Darby Allen earlier this week, after cooler temperatures and higher humidity allowed crews to get a handle on the fire.
“The way this thing happened, the way it travelled, the way it behaved – they’re rewriting their formulas on how fires behave, based on this fire,” he said.
So what made this fire different from the hundreds of others that ignite yearly in the region, or other wildfires around the world?
“We’ve had faster fire speeds, we’ve had bigger fires, but this one, in terms of impact and where it landed, it is definitely historic,” explained Chad Morrison, Alberta’s manager of wildfire prevention.
Shifting winds early last week saw the fire swiftly transform from one that was largely under control into a raging blaze that breached the boundaries of Fort McMurray. At one point, the fire managed to jump a kilometre-wide river. [emphasis mine]
“No amount of tankers or resources, or no size of firebreak, could have prevented it from hitting the community that day,” Morrison said. “Sometimes Mother Nature is going to do what it wants to do and bad things happen.”
The “nasty, dirty” fire – in the words of the local fire chief – surprised scientists by igniting its own fires, said Mike Flannigan, who studies wildland fire at Edmonton’s University of Alberta.
Fuelled by tinder and helped along by unseasonably warm weather and low humidity, the fire released massive amounts of energy as it moved, creating its own weather, including lightning. Fires that produce lightning are not unheard of, said Flannigan. “But this one generated lightning and then generated new fire starts. That’s the first time I’ve heard this.”
As the fire made headlines around the world, many were quick to link its extreme behaviour to climate change. But Kerry Anderson, a fire research scientist with Natural Resources Canada, said the long-term records needed to firmly establish whether this link existed. “We know that forest fires occurred 100 years ago, but it’s not really until the last 15 or 20 years that we’ve gotten a fairly reliable record of the fire area being burned every year.”
He pointed to the current El Niño event to explain the extreme fire. A mild winter in Canada saw the fire season start some four weeks earlier than usual and helped created the tinder-dry conditions. “Fire is a natural part of the environment in Canada … If it weren’t for fires, mature forests would suddenly be susceptible to fire and disease.”
Others say climate change could make these kinds of extreme fire events the new normal. “We have a temperature and it’s turning into a fever and we’re trying to ignore it,” said Tim Lynham, a fire behaviour expert with Natural Resources Canada.
Climate warming has seen snow melt earlier, leaving soil and vegetation drier and helping to push the fire season to begin earlier. The result is a longer period of the year when fires can occur, said Lynham. “And with that will come more threats to communities.”
More than 500 firefighters continue to fight the blaze in northern Alberta. Its growth has slowed in recent days and its size now hovers around 241,000 hectares. Winds have helped shift its movement away from the communities.
Across Alberta, where more than 15 wildfires are currently burning, firefighters continue to aggressively focus on the fire they call the Beast, all too conscious of its latent strength and power to wreak havoc.
“It’s kind of a sleeping giant in that forested area,” Morrison said. “And someday, when it gets hot and dry again, it’s going to wake up and go for a little walk in the forest and burn some more.”
"Someday" came little more than a year later with the wildfires in British Columbia.
See also the Globe and Mail's July 23 article, "Amid B.C.'s worst wildfire season in recent memory, solutions arise for future fires."
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Church of England: Peals and special prayer to celebrate royal birth
‘Diana’ film receives mixed reception from critics after London premiere
‘William and Kate are doing absolutely brilliant’ says uncle Gary Goldsmith
On Thursday evening a rather distinct ringing of the Canterbury Cathedral bells took place. The ringing was to honour the birth of His Royal Highness Prince George Alexander Louis of Cambridge.
The three hour peal in Canterbury was the second of its kind this week as the Royal Church of Westminster Abbey had its ringers participate in a full peal of its bells.
“I am delighted to congratulate the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge on the arrival of their baby boy. Along with millions here and around the world, I share in their joy at this special time. May God bless this family with love, health and happiness in their shared life ahead,” The Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Reverend, Justin Welby told the Anglican Communion News Service.
A little over two and a half hours away in Leicester, visitors are adding their personal congratulatory notes and well wishes in a book available at the Leicester Cathedral. Lately, an influx of tourists to the Leicester Cathedral has grown with the finding of King Richard III’s remains which will possibly be interred at the Cathedral.
The Prince of Wales, The Princess Royal, The Duke of York and Prince William all were baptised in the Music Room at Buckingham Palace. It is possible that there will be a break with tradition for the baptism of His Royal Highness Prince George. It has been rumoured that the Archbishop of Canterbury will conduct the ceremony possibly at St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle.
photo credit: Keith Marshall via photopin cc
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Princess Maria Isabella of Savoy-Genoa was the guest of honor tonight at the 15th annual Imperial Ball at the Plaza Hotel's Grand Ballroom, reports the New York Times. The ball was actually a "pleasant enough dinner dance with the usual formally clad crowd of what are euphemistically known as the right people." The gala's primary focus is a fund-raiser for the Hospitalized Veterans Service of the Musicians Emergency Fund.
The Princess, 26, is the daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Ancona, and is said to be an "expert horsewoman," who also plays the guitar and worked as a public relations associate for Air Express International Corporation in Rome.
Her parents live in Brazil, where they "cultivate coffee," rather than "chummy relationships with the International Set."
I've never sponsored anything like this before," she said. "It's quite a big responsibility I think."
Princess Maria Isabella wore a heavy white dress with pearl beading. In her long, dark hair, she wore an heirloom bracelet that doubled as a band of diamonds, "wide enough to pass for a tiara."
The princess is the only child of Prince Eugenio of Savoy, Duke of Ancona, and his wife, Princess Lucia of Bourbon-Two Sicilies. Eugenio is himself the youngest of Prince Tommaso of Savoy, Duke of Genoa, and Princess Maria Elisabeth of Bavaria. He is the heir to the Dukedom of Genoa, as his brother, Filiberto, and his wife, Princess Lydia of Arenberg, do not have any sons. Filiberto succeeded to the title in 1963, following the death of the eldest son, Ferdinando, whose marriage was childless.
The Genoan line of the House of Savoy is a junior branch of the Italian royal family. Isabella's great-grandfather, Ferdinando, Duke of Genoa, was the younger brother of Vittorio Emmanuele II, King of Sardinia, who became king of Italy, in 1861.
Prince Tommmaso's older sister, Margherita, married her first cousin, King Umberto I, who was assassinated in 1900.
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Cut Down Corruption And Killings In Your Country – Trumps Tells Buhari
President Donald Trump of United States of America told President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday to cut down corruption and the killings going on in various parts of Nigeria. President Trump made this call during a joint press conference held in Washington D.C on April 30.
President Donald Trump of United States of America told President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday to cut down corruption and the killings going on in various parts of Nigeria.
President Trump made this call during a joint press conference held in Washington D.C on April 30.
He said, “Nigeria has a massive reputation for corruption. I discussed it with the president and we agreed to do something on it. The President (Buhari) has to do something about it. He has to cut down the corruption element in the country.” President Muhammadu Buhari and U.S President Donald Trump
“We are deeply concern about the killings and the and burning of churches and the persecution of Christians in Nigeria. It is a terrible story. We encourage Nigeria and the government federal, states, and local to do everything in their power and to immediately secure the affected areas and to protect innocent civilians of all faiths, including Muslims and Christians,” he added.
President Trump also spoke on the activities of the insurgents in the North-Eastern part of the country and how the United States is planning to assist Nigeria to curb terrorism: “We want to assist Nigeria by facilitating intelligence, co-operation, and providing training and military equipment to Nigerian forces. For example, we recently sold Nigeria 12 A-29 Super Tacuno Aircraft in the first-ever sale of American military equipment to Nigeria. This aircraft will allow Nigeria target terrorists and protect civilians.
He also said that the Tacuno Aircraft will be delivered to Nigeria very soon as he expressed optimism on the relationship the two countries are currently enjoying.
In his reaction, President Trump said he appreciates efforts of the United States in assisting Nigeria to fight insurgents.
He noted that the U.S military are in the country to provide training to the Nigerian forces.
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This Singaporean couple chose to raise pets instead of children & that ought to be purrfectly fine
When you choose to have dogs instead of children after getting married, it isn’t always smooth sailing.
Kathir and Jannah, a happily married couple, are the ‘pawrents’ of three Cavalier King Charles Spaniels — Troy, Cassie, and Maya (from left to right).
They knew for a long time that they did not want to have children, and do not intend to have any children in the future either; an unusual choice for couples in Singapore who generally go down the route of finding a BTO, getting married, and raising kids.
As I sat down with them, I was hounded by these fluffy balls of fur and excitement that sniffed and licked me enthusiastically. I don’t deny the joys of having such furry and warm doggies surround you every day, but I could not help but wonder why they ruled out having children completely.
Why don’t you want children?
When asked this question, Kathir replied with a self-deprecating grin, “For selfish reasons. My biggest passion in life is travelling.”
Kathir shared about the sense of adventure, freedom and anonymity that comes from travelling in a foreign country, and admits that though it would still be possible to travel with children, it would alter the experience greatly.
“Secondly, I’m not at all good with kids, especially infants. I’m okay with teenagers and older children, but I don’t want to be tied down by responsibility. Once you have a child, you’ll be tied down for life.”
“People always ask me what I’m gonna do when I’m alone; won’t I feel lonely? But I won’t,” he assured. “I grew up mostly alone, and I’m genuinely happy chilling alone at home with my pets to keep me company.”
Jannah on the other hand, grew up as the eldest child in a family of six. She had the heavy responsibility of looking after all of her siblings from a tender age, and through that, she knew that she would not enjoy raising children of her own.
Don’t you get a lot of flak for not having children?
Both Kathir and Jannah nodded in agreement. “All the time,” said Kathir. “People take us for a joke. They belittle the fact that we have dogs (and not children).”
“My mom keeps asking when we are going to have children,” he says. “It’s not going to happen.”
“And other people, they always ask us why we even bothered to get married. I don’t get people who think the sole purpose of getting married is to have kids,” said Kathir.
The couple also said that both friends and relatives often question them about their lifestyle, but many end the conversation by asserting that “it’s only a matter of time” before they have a child.
Singaporeans seem to be so caught up in the social norms of having children and ensuring they get enough tuition, get into the right school, right CCA etc, that the idea of not having a child in the first place becomes a bewildering concept.
Is life incomplete or sadder without children in the picture? Probably not, if you’re anything like Kathir and Jannah. The life of having dogs instead of children is not for everyone, but it sure suits this couple very well.
“You never hear us complain because we have dogs. We enjoy whatever we do with our dogs, whether it’s going to the vet, the park, dog cafe, etc.”
“Many times, I hear people who are parents complain a lot about their restrictions when they have a child. We don’t judge people who have kids. But why have a child if you’re only going to complain about them all the time?” asked Kathir.
But who will take care of you when you’re old?
“We’ll just take care of each other,” said Jannah. “Yeah. Also, the thought of growing old and having kids scares me,” quipped Kathir.
“When you look at Singapore, a lot of the elderly end up in old folks homes anyway,” said Jannah.
What Jannah said is true though, as many elderly people in Singapore today are made to live alone or are abandoned by their families when they become a “burden”. Nevertheless, the future is uncertain, regardless of whether you have children or not.
As such, Jannah and Kathir believe strongly in working hard now and being independent to ensure they will have a comfortable life when they retire.
Why dogs in particular, and exclusively Cavalier King Charles?
Kathir has had a dog for nearly every year of his life, and having grown up like that, he cannot imagine living without dogs.
Jannah on the other hand, has never had a dog before, but when she first interacted with a Cavalier King Charles, she was surprised at how gentle they were. Having fallen in love with these natural therapy dogs, she knew that was the breed she wanted.
Cassie, a 10-year-old Cavalier King Charles
They also feel that dogs have many qualities that humans often do not have, such as unwavering loyalty and the ability to forgive easily. They bring up Cassie as an example.
Cassie was recently adopted by Kathir and Jannah after being severely neglected by her past owners, to the point that she had a skin disease and an ear infection that led to her becoming deaf.
“Despite what she’s been through, look at her, she’s so sweet and can still trust humans,” said Kathir.
I can’t help but agree with how sweet Cassie is, as the moment I sat on the floor, Cassie plopped herself into my lap and snuggled against me, radiating an aura of warmth. I could tell that she really craves love and affection, even from strangers, and that really melted my heart.
‘Pawrenting’ is not as easy as it looks
Though it seems therapeutic and fun to live with dogs, Kathir and Jannah tell me that owning dogs is not just about keeping them, but about raising them properly.
“We need to teach them the appropriate behaviours, how to react. When you come in, they don’t jump all over you. And when our friends visit us, they are surprised that the house doesn’t smell bad. That’s because they are toilet trained,” said Kathir.
“It’s not easy to train them. It’s amazing that you can teach a dog not to pee in the house when you can’t even communicate with them using language,” he said.
The three dogs wait patiently outside the kitchen for their dinner.
Having owned a dog myself, I can testify as to how incredibly difficult it can be to toilet train a dog or teach it how to behave around visitors, let alone do it three times over.
“If you leave the dogs just like that, they conform to their defaults. As parents, we need to teach them how to be the perfect dog,” said Kathir. “There’s a huge sense of responsibility that comes with owning dogs, it’s really a proud ‘pawrenting’ moment for us when people tell us our dogs are so well behaved.”
In a society where a nuclear family model is valued above all others, Kathir and Jannah come out as the underdogs when they face snide remarks or stigmas associated with not having children.
Though it may initially seem like a lonely or risky life, talking to this couple has shown me that living with dogs is quite the opposite, and comes with undeniably enviable perks such as greater freedom and a smaller financial strain.
But of course, this lifestyle may not be for everyone. Ultimately, I just hope this article has given people a chance to paws, and consider a life that is different from the one that society tells you to have.
Note: This article first appeared on Hype & Stuff
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← The Red Pickup Truck
Police believe that the incident was drug-related. →
“Criminal Attorney” JACK TERRIER’S HOUSE ARREST!
Jack Terrier was a prominent lawyer in Hudson City. A “Criminal Attorney,” his clients were a miserable mix of small time bookies, petty drug dealers, and failed thieves. A maestro of the criminal justice system, Jack would perform before nodding, complacent, if not complicit, judges many times a day. The truly virtuoso displays took place later on that evening at a local watering hole, “MacGonigles.” There, over expensive Scotch and free corned beef, judges found leniency to be its own reward. Seated on a bar stool, members of Hudson City’s Finest could be observed slapping the back of “Good Ol’ JT.” Detectives, who a few hours earlier could not remember faces, names, dates, or even the color of their own wive’s hair, would now be overheard giving blow by blow descriptions of obscure welterweight bouts of some thirty years in the past
Ah, but as Summer must invariably give way to Fall, as the golden tresses of the young lass must turn to white, all good things must come to an end! It seems that Jack MacGonigle, owner of the aforementioned tavern, and his silent partner, and also his brother-in-law, Ivan “Stash” Piskorskey, Hudson City Police Captain were the possessors of tremendous stamina. Captain Piskorskey, in addition to his duties as a peace officer, had a night job at a trucking terminal. He made a deal with the watchman to allow Jack MacGonigle to drive into the yard with a van. On a daily basis all three helped themselves to a varied assortment of freight: cameras, cans of crab meat, typewriters, Oriental rugs, and, as the official report later stated, “many other items of value.”
It’s been said that “the wheels of the gods grind extremely slowly, but they grind exceedingly fine.” If you’re caught stealing at some corner candy store, the owner will just give you the old heave-ho, an’ don’t let the door hit ya in the ass! Large businesses work differently. It takes a long time for anybody to realize that anything is amiss. Then there will be a host of claims to both the trucking outfit and to various insurance companies for the lost merchandise. When it is obvious to all that the dam has, in fact, sprung a leak, the FBI will be contacted. The Feds have their own circular set of maneuvers. They just don’t run out to the warehouse and drag some clown off to Newark. They wait. They watch. They take pictures. No arrests are made until the snare is around the whole little clique. When the FBI is sure that they know every part of the scheme, and that there will be convictions, the whole crew gets arrested at the same time.
So it was here. The FBI had an agent, using an assumed identity, of course, rent an apartment directly across the street from “MacGonigles.” The premises were kept under surveillance, both by agents and by motion picture cameras, twenty-four hours a day. Appropriate listening and recording devices were installed in the walls of the bar and on both the public and private phone lines. The Feds got the pictures that they expected – Jack MacGonigle and Captain Stash Piskorskey unloading cases of goods during the dead of night. The Washington Net also caught a lot of other fish, both big and small. The FBI got pictures of Jack Terrier, accompanied by a parade of judges and police going into the bar every night. The wiretaps heard a host of “arrangements” discussed over the telephone. And the murmuring sounds that accompany counting, usually of cash, “one hundred, two hundred, three hundred….” Recordings of judges counting. Recordings of police counting. Hours and hours of it, every day.
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The television and film producer talks to Colin MacCabe about his career and collaborations with Simon Gray
Colin MacCabe: How did you first get into the BBC, what were your original interests in drama?
Kenith Trodd: I got into the BBC classically, by the back door. Which, scandalously, people say you probably couldn’t do now, but I think you probably could do now. One of the people I was at Oxford with was a man called Roger Smith, and he left Oxford early and went writing and then found his way into the BBC. I stayed the course at Oxford and started to become an academic, and I’d come back from doing 2 years teaching at universities in West Africa and was being groomed by my Oxford mentor, F. W Bates -?? lovely bloke. Who was trying to get me jobs. And I went for an interview at, I think it was Sussex, and was offered this job, but had, by the time I got into the interview, already decided I didn’t want it, which is probably why I performed very well, because the day was running late, and I was left with my future colleagues, over lunch, and I thought, no, I can’t really -?? this is not really what I want to have my life built around. So they offered me the job, and meanwhile Roger Smith had said, can we have a drink? And we’d gone out for a drink, and he said, look, why don’t you come into the BBC, and in fact my kind of trajectory at Oxford had been much less drama than politics so I’d not -?? I hadn’t really thought of the arts world at all. And I said why, and he said, because I can’t stand these fuckers I’m working with. I then realized if I got in someone would be fired. And I said, can you do anything? He said, I’ll see what I can do. Time passed, and time passed. I got offered the academic job, and Roger was still saying, hold on, hold on, hold on. And I was doing the most ludicrous thing -?? the university at one point even phoned, and I got a girlfriend to say, oh he’s too ill to come to the phone to give you an answer. So eventually Roger comes -?? there’s a three month possibility, we can just have a go. So I wrote to the university and said -?? very very kind of you indeed to think of me, and go through all that trouble and offer me the job. On this occasion I’m going to decline. I then got a rather angry communication from Bates. He said, you can’t do that, at your beginner stage. They can turn you down, you can’t turn them down. It may make me difficult to go on being your champion. So I somehow burnt boats, and went into the BBC, not on the staff, and it was very much hand to mouth in terms of the tenure, but it was the Wednesday play, the first year of the Wednesday play.
CM: So which years is this? ‘??65?
KT: That would be ’65. And I became number three script editor, with Roger, who was number one and Tony Garnett number two, and I came in as the tyro. Of course both of then had more experience in show business than I did, and our kind of, uncle-boss was James MacTaggart, of MacTaggart lecture fame. That team broke up at the end of that year for various reasons. People didn’t want to go on doing it -?? we’d done 39 plays in 52 weeks. Though a lot of those had been under way before I got there, and my first claim for attention was that the play that was going out next week, suddenly there was a crisis about on the on the Tuesday, before the Wednesday. It may even have been on the Wednesday. And they said, look we’ve got to find the writer and tell him, that there is this problem, they’re not going to put it out tonight. And they couldn’t find the writer. The writer was one Dennis Potter whom I knew. And I just happened to know he was on Woman’s Hour that morning, promoting the play. So I called him and said, I think you’d better come down to Television Centre. He did, and the legendary Sydney Newman, you know, the Joe Stalin who ran BBC drama at this point, got us all together, Garnett, me, Roger and Dennis, and said look they’re not going to broadcast it, because they’ve got a problem with the content, and the content was that it was really -?? it was exceeding its remit as drama. Although the Wednesday Play has a remit to be radical, to get out on the streets. Dennis had gone too far.
CM: Which play was this?
KT: This was Vote, Vote, Vote for Nigel Barton, the one based on his experiences as a candidate in a hopeless Tory seat. And what he’d done was -?? it wasn’t just a chronicle of his experiences, and the character was fictionalized, and there was a lot of original stuff in it, including a very bold use of, if you like, the studio technique. And at the end, the thing I think they most objected to -?? this was Paul Fox, who was then not Controller, but head of current affairs or politics or whatever -?? was the very end where the main character, played by Keith Barron, does a walk-down to the audience, straight into camera, having had a humiliating defeat, and says ‘That’s it folks, and if you’ve got any problems with the tone or content of this documentary, you know what you can do -?? write to your MP’. Now that we never got back in, and there were months of negotiations, with Dennis, who for some reason at that time was living in the wilds of Norfolk. Tony Garnett and I went out there as emissaries, and were treated like men from the Kremlin, and Dennis, who was never someone to put a low price of forgiveness, said, well, I’ll make some changes but we’ll have to negotiate them all, and what I want is another commission. So he then wrote the second part of that pairing, Stand Up, Nigel Barton, and that was paired with Vote, Vote, and they went out in the autumn. And that kind of launched Dennis. I’d known Dennis earlier, at Oxford, and I’d also known him even earlier than that. He said somewhere that he thought he’d known me longer than anyone else except his mother, which was an exaggeration. So that was that year, and that team then broke up, and I was still there. And what they handed me, as it were on a plate, but a kind of twisting, dangerous plate, was to go to BBC 2 and develop this series called Thirty Minute Theatre -?? which is meant to be new writers, if you can find them, 26 half hours, transmitted week by week, in the first half of next year. And it’s live. And that was a blow, because in so far as I had habituated myself during that first year, with Garnett and Smith and so forth, it was to develop a healthy dislike of the prevailing dramatic norm, which was of course multi-camera in the studio. Of course the other figure floating around there was Ken Loach, and during that year we were preparing things like Up the Junction and so on, where Ken was showing his weight and total doggedness -?? I want to be a film-maker, I want to get out on the streets and you know, bugger this script stuff. The actual prelude to them agreeing to Up the Junction was itself very characteristically anarchic. Ken had some arrangement, as a number of directors did -?? although they were freelance they were contracted to do 4 or 5 dramas in a year. If you’re on a conveyor belt, the attraction of the conveyor belt and its congeniality depends very much on how interesting the scripts were. So I can remember Roger had already left to write his Great Gatsby which didn’t quite come off, but anyway Roger had gone, so Garnett and I were left, and Garnett was developing his own ambitions. But I can remember very clearly the way Up the Junction got into production was exactly the way it shouldn’t have got into production, by way of BBC norms. Ken turned down various scripts that we’d offered him, and came in one morning with this book. And said, can you read this, and it was Up the Junction. And we glanced at it -?? it wasn’t a drama, it wasn’t a story. And he only gave us one copy. Tony said to me I’ll read it over night and get in early then you can read it. And Tony came into my office holding the book and said ‘It’s all cunt!’ And we then had to decide whether to commit ourselves to the idea of the book, or not. And there then followed a kind of daily pas de deux where James MacTaggart who was -?? he was a kind of solid Scotsman with radical ideas who was very much -?? his brief was to look after us as the young Turks, but his own notions were quite conventional in terms of drama. And he was scared stiff at the idea of giving Ken this thing just to run with. And so day after day in my memory we would stand in the area between our offices and Jimmy’s with Ken hovering between us, and Jimmy would say ‘no’ and Ken would say ‘I want to do it’ and Garnett and I wouldn’t quite know what to do. And then there came one morning when we were having one of these pointless arguments, and there was Ken standing there slightly restlessly holding the book, and suddenly looks at his watch, and pushes his spectacles up his nose and says, if you don’t mind I’m going upstairs to start doing some casting. And we were down the slip road. And that kind of creative anarchy was how things worked. But getting together Thirty Minute Theatre in the studio, live and with a great pressure on the actors to be wonderful was kind of anathema to the prejudices or ambitions I’d developed in the first year. But I had to do it. It was no negotiating of it. I either did it or I didn’t and you couldn’t say ‘oh, we’ll do one or two which are all film’, or; ‘we’ll just play around with this’. So what in effect happened was that it was a mad scramble, and although I was given a producer, he never seemed to be there. I can’t really remember what happened to him. Sometimes he was there and sometimes he wasn’t. So the way that we rose to this challenge, or the directors did, was to say, OK it’s live and it’s in studio G or Studio 2 or wherever it was, and to make it as difficult and ambitious as we can. So I can remember we did one written, would you believe, by Raymond Williams, who I was working with quite a lot as a writer at that point. And this was mostly set on platform one of Paddington station. It had a moving train, it had characters running up and down, and was directed by a man called Toby Robertson, who was totally a theatre figure, who had no real instinct or canniness about vision, and live on BBC 2. It kind of collapsed in a way. But nevertheless, we got through, and as the half year wore on we learned a few tricks and had the courage of our convictions. I can remember that the season climax, with the piece called, I think it was called Liberation Summer or Free Summer, set in the south of America about the freedom movement -?? 29 characters and eight or nine sets, in 29 minutes, directed by one Jimmy Ferman, who then went on to be the film censor. Now in the middle of all this there was I scrabbling to find material, and I came across a story in one of those short story collections that I think still appear those anthologies, I think it’s called The Winter’s Tales, and it was called ‘The Caramel Crisis’. I would say it’s one of those stories which is not archetypal, but like in the Championship league, not the Premiere league, of archetypal stories. It’s the one about someone who impersonates or appropriates someone else’s medical qualifications and passes himself off as a doctor, so it has very dynamic narrative implications, I think in this case it was his dead brother he’d taken on. So I liked this story and I was looking around for a hack to adapt it, and I suddenly got this call from somebody who said, I wrote it, can I have a go? And I said, who are you? And he said, my name’s Simon Gray. And I said, have you written any drama? No – and I said, OK you’re on. So, we just went into that, and essentially on that project we were two tyros finding our way, particularly finding our way in the geography and conventions of how to be an actor in this new medium, how to be anything in this new medium, because the medium was fairly new. We assembled quite an extraordinary cast which included Peter Sallis and George Cole and I think Max Adrian, and in particular John le Mesurier. So in the interval before the live transmission, the dinner interval, I do my dutiful thing, one of the tricks I’ve learned in the previous year -?? you troll the writer around and wish all the actors good luck. So, there was Sallis and whoever else -?? can’t find Le Mesurier. And it’s getting quite close to transmission. And eventually we find him shaking, shaking in some devastated, isolated coffee bar, with 10 minutes to go. It never occurred to me whether he’d been drinking, I don’t know if he had or not. But we just about managed to get him there, get him into his chair, and we did it. Having said before we got there -?? the only consolation about doing live television is, I never have to look at myself. And it came off. But I remember Simon and I -?? I don’t know if we discussed it there and then. I was very traumatic -?? this was the wing you’re on, it isn’t theatre, it’s certainly not film, it isn’t radio, but it’s a hybrid we’re into. From there on we collaborated -??
CM: Let me just hesitate a moment here. You’re describing what in retrospect -?? not just in retrospect, because I was a child watching the Wednesday play -?? is seen as the great Golden Age of television. Were you aware of that at the time?
KT: No. No, we had very little idea how lucky we were, and most of the valid insights I have about the experience are after the event. Because during the time it was a scrabble, about keeping going, delivery dates. It was exciting. But I, and I suppose the others too, although Roger had departed -?? you were struggling for your own position. I mean it wasn’t that easy for me to get going, even though they were giving me that quite heavy responsibility in the second year -?? during the first year there had been one or two hiccups, when I didn’t quite adjust to how you speak to agents, and what the conventions of operating with actors are. I think, by the end of that year, if someone had come back to me, and rung me from Sussex and said we’ve held the job open for you I might have gone. I mean I didn’t find it particularly glamorous, although it was new, and in a way both terrifying and some aspects of it distasteful. I can remember the very first time I went to an outside rehearsal. The routine for making a studio piece, if it was going to be seventy five minutes, which most of these were, you rehearsed in a rehearsal room for two and half of those weeks, and the last three or four days in the rehearsal room people came to see what you were up to. And there were things -?? there was a producer’s run and a tech run. And I went to the tech run of a piece written by John Hopkins, called Fable, and starring Eileen Atkins. And Fable was fabulous in many ways, in that again it was much too ambitious not just in scale but in its content. Because we already by this time -?? I saw we, I mean I joined the we -?? had a reputation for cutting edge and I suppose being leftish, and Fable was about apartheid. And Fable‘s proposition was, let’s just invert it. That it’s the black people who are in power and the white who are oppressed. And let’s see how we invert it. And it boomeranged, I’m afraid. I wasn’t anything to do with the making of it -?? I stepped in for the producers and the tech run. Had I been there I don’t think I would have had any more insight -?? rather than hindsight -?? than I did then. And the general reaction was: that’s what would happen if you gave the blacks power. Completely hit us back in the face. And we were so naïve about the freedom we had, that we didn’t have the time or non-excitement enough to sit down and be beady about it. But the main thing I remember about that tech run was that, what the actors would do was run the piece usually in narrative order, which was the last time it would be seen in narrative order. And you’d be trailed in the rehearsal room by anything up to 8 or 9 camera men, people making notes, space, all that, and Eileen had to start it off. What she had to do was go through a door and into a room, and as she went through the door she tripped on the rostrum. We’re about ten minutes in and getting towards lunchtime. And the director, who I’m tempted to name -?? it was Christopher [Morahan] -?? he said, ‘Stop the watch, back to the top’. And the technicians got more edgy about their lunch being put off, because there was this woman who couldn’t do it, and we started all over again. So it became quite terroristic in my experience of it. I can remember being in the gallery for the first time, not for that production, but for another one that was quite complicated, not directed by Christopher. And the thrill of sitting on the edge of the gallery and seeing the row of monitors in front of you, and with your left eye you could look down and see the reality below you. It was utterly magical. But also very slightly repellent because it was something that depended -?? because you only had a very limited time in the studio -?? on a kind of over-organisation, and depended too on a certain militaristic temperament -?? that’s a bad word, but you know what I mean -?? organisational ability to be able to marshal people, remember the names of the cameramen who you’ll never meet again, or at least not until the next show -?? but somehow gather the creative juices out of that. And the person during that era who in my experience was best at that was Piers Haggard. Who looked like a blonde god, had a great deal of charm, was a descendant of Rider Haggard, and could do all that stuff -?? marshal everything. We did Pennies from Heaven together when he was extremely good at being inventive. That should have been a movie, it should have been made on film but we had to use mostly the studio. Piers was wonderful at bringing all that together. Piers oddly enough was not terribly good at making films. Quite a different kind of more supple, less controlling, more insightful, let-it-happen, kind of thing. I can remember looking down from the gallery. And there was quite a crowded scene -?? in a courtroom I think. And I heard the director, who was on my right in the gallery, suddenly say to his phones to the floor manager, ‘We’ll go again, and that extra will not tap his pencil’. This is as close as you can get to aesthetic Fascism as possible. What we were trying to create already, through experiences like that, was the ability to get out of that studio, in a kind of controlling way, and to make movies in the streets. But of course, what was associated with making movies in the streets was a content commitment to something very radical and quite un-bourgeois -?? bourgeois in content, bourgeois in structure. And I know at that time we used to try and inspire new writers -?? again talking about my first year -?? with saying this is what we don’t want. We do not want your old-fashioned non-kitchen sink play which opens in a kind of sunlit drawing room, leading on to a garden, and a character rushes on into it and says ‘anyone for tennis?’ And ironically, at the end of that year, the team which took over the Wednesday Play, were quite traditional and right wing-ish. And the first play they commissioned and broadcast in their season was by J B Priestley, who was still living, and it was called Anyone for Tennis? So, they were all kind of bits of politics –
CM: So this is the general context, but you started working with Simon -?? you work on this play. How does that play work?
KT: That play works -?? The Caramel Crisis -?? worked very well, as I remember. But sadly it perished. And yet, just to finish on the Thirty Minute Theatre, although that one perished, I’m constantly hearing people saying we found this, found that. And only last week somebody at the BFI said they had found the Dennis Potter one that I did in that series. And I have a very painful memory of that, sitting in the producer’s box, during that live transmission, with Dennis, and watching helplessly as an old actor lost his way. You think, what on earth are we going to do? We can’t stop, we can’t go in and prompt him. And I think eventually another actor managed to prompt him and get out of it. I was told last week that that piece, which is called Emergency Ward 9, has been found in the hands of a private collector. What private collector was using what technology in 1966 to capture this thing -?? because this is pre any form of video tape, and I suppose all you could have done was point a camera at the set. There would have been ways of capturing it. But generally those things vanished, and all the others -?? I mean I did stuff there with Andrew Davis and various other people I worked with later. But with Simon what happened was I said to him -?? do you fancy tackling something longer? And he did, and came up with a piece called Death of a Teddy Bear, which, like Terence Rattigan’s Cause Celebre, is about the Alma Rattenbury case, that celebrated murder in the mid-30s where a middle class woman married a much older man, took on a gardener who became her lover, and the man was eventually killed. And I think what happened in the end was that the boy was hanged and she was reprieved. And so Simon made out of this a very memorable piece of kind of English meditation, about taboos and about characterization, and in a way about a certain kind of English woman. That was not live, it was done very painstakingly in a mixture of film and studio, but it was still wiped. And we don’t have it any more than we have the next one I was involved in, which was called Man in a Side-Car. Several of those were lost. And one of the rather unexpected ironies is that I’ve found that practically everything I was involved with during those years, in and out of the BBC to ITV and back -?? ITV have kept everything, although they charge you a hefty price to go and look at it, but it exists.- And the BBC just resolutely used to wipe things. Which is a sadness. And that includes several pieces of Simon’s, and a few of Dennis’s, and I don’t think they’re all going to turn up in private collections. But Simon, of course, was extremely resourceful in the way he used his material, and Death of a Teddy Bear became a moderately successful stage play called Molly, which he did later, and one of the characteristics of Simon in an industrial way was how prolific he was. How tireless he was in his activity. And how he never wanted to stop the creative momentum, the kind of manic creative momentum, which we were generally in control of, but sometimes to the astonishment and distress to the people around us. I can remember much later, Unnatural Pursuits -?? which is one of the landmark pieces of the later years -?? we’d finished it, it was going to be broadcast quite soon, and we had a preview somewhere in Soho. And Simon and I -?? and Christopher was there, who directed it -?? and Simon and I picked up that there was one scene that didn’t quite work, and we said, we could actually make quite a nifty cut there, and it would make quite a difference. So we went to the editor, a very sweet, diligent BBC woman, who said, we have to massacre a music cue there. And Simon and I said, OK well if we have to massacre a music cue, we do. And she said, if only you’d told me few days ago, I could have really done something quite elegant there. And Simon said, we didn’t know until ten minutes ago. And it was that kind of craziness and persistence, which went on and on, and I didn’t meet that in any other writer, including Potter. But Simon was never away from it. And I don’t know how long in his life Simon claimed only to get up at two in the afternoon, but I can tell you for those years I don’t believe it, because nobody could have turned up quite so much material, nearly all of it vibrant although not always working. So much so that the pairing we have in the retrospective, of Plaintiffs and Defendants and Two Sundays, came about because he was writing draft after draft of a piece I commissioned, and it wasn’t quite working, and I didn’t really take to it, and I can’t remember if Michael Lindsay-Hogg, the director, was involved early at that point or not. And he said, OK, I’ll have another go, and he goes away, and comes back and there’s a quite different play. But it isn’t quite a different play, and what we’re able to do is to make both of them with the same cast, with Alan Bates and Dinsdale Landen, and they complement each other and within they’re complementary. So that kind of prolificity was quite amazing in Simon, and it was one of the most admirable things about him. I think he had, whatever misgivings one might have about the more or less similar trail of middle class preoccupation that he trod, he had a very radical attitude to his material. It seemed to me as radical and as honest as anything that was in Jim Allen and Colin Welland and the other people I was also working with during that time. I think that the content of what defines a writer’s thrust, or a writer’s moral motivation, has very little necessarily to do with content. I mean Potter was very indifferent to political drama, he did not particularly want to see it, did not particularly want to write it. He wrote one play which I didn’t produce, I think I was elsewhere, called Angels Are So Few. I think I was working at London Weekend at the time. And this was about a young man who believed he could fly, could jump of roofs. And Dennis told me, you don’t see what that’s about, do you? I said, no, and he said, well, privately, it’s about Roger Smith, who was a mutual friend and we’d both been at Oxford with. And Roger by this time had become a disciple of the WRP -?? the Worker’s Revolutionary Party -?? and Dennis had observed this from a distance, because Dennis, unlike the rest of us, did not attend their Friday night gatherings. Dennis was very detached from that, partly because he didn’t live in London, and partly because he had a kind of certain feeling of caution about the whole thing. And he used, or I think I came up with, this wonderful phrase from Dryden -?? he was everything by starts and nothing long. Dennis had this insight about our friend and that was the characteristic he was observing, of someone who was absolutely in the middle of something, like writing the Great Gatsby, and then couldn’t follow that through, and then got right in the middle of the WRP, and then suffered all the disillusionment of that. So, he did believe that he had wings and could jump of roofs.
CM: This is in some sense going back over what you just said, but you’re relatively active in the WRP at that time?
KT: No, the full extent of my activity was going to meetings and occasionally giving them a cheque, and not a very hefty cheque. But I was pursued by them quite avidly, particularly by Gerry Healy, who was the leader of the WRP. Gerry used to flatter me by calling me the man with the rapier mind, and I remember very clearly thinking, yes, but that rapier’s not for you. That was based on -?? I don’t have many conscious feelings of gratitude about being brought up in the Plymouth Brethren, which I was, but the gratitude I do have, was that it forced me -?? the Plymouth Brethren being a very fundamentalist, protestant sect who believe they are the chosen, and that the verbal inspiration of the Bible is based entirely in the King James version -?? that was my parents’ background. They were not the most ardent of Plymouth Brethren, but that was their life and their mind. And I went to quite a posh local grammar school when I was eleven, and my parents then encouraged me to go to a slightly posher version of the church in that town, in Southampton. But I can remember quite consciously deciding -?? I’m sure this was not the language in my head as a 13 year-old -?? belief systems are not for me, I’d have enough of that, and I can balance the life at home, without confronting the contradictions that are there when I go to schools and have science lessons and talk Darwin. And so it managed to insulate me from ever again being that committed or that in thrall to any belief system ever again. And of course there’s a down side to that as well which means you’re a bit too detached -??
CM: But at the same time you’re very actively involved, or in the world of, Trotskyist politics, and Simon is never remotely -??
KT: When you say actively involved- – I was not a member. The closest I came to being warmed to it was through Roy Battersby. He became a full-time revolutionary, and Roger to an extent did, but I wasn’t seeing much of Roger at that time. And Roy, who I think still feels great pain looking back on that whole period, and has tried to write about it but has not quite done so successfully, really abandoned his life as a director and an artist to make the revolution happen, And there was a curious parallelism there, we made a film in I think ’73 or ’74 called Leeds United, which was probably the most radical piece I was associated with. Of course, it was written by Colin Welland, who was Leftish, but was more sentimental than Marxist, in the best sense, Colin, but nevertheless, made sense of that story, which was the story about a woman’s clothing strike in Leeds only a couple of years before Colin wrote it, and he wrote it because his mother-in-law had been a participant in that strike, and didn’t understand what had happened to them. Colin, as he did with everything, researched it thoroughly, we were going to do it with Granada, but Granada bottled out, so we took it to the BBC. And there’s no doubt it was informed a little by the insights of the WRP. It made narrative sense, which you couldn’t make narrative sense of at such a distance of time between the events and making the film any other way. And the only trace of it in the film, which would not be that obvious except to ardent political aficionados, is the voice-over at the end, spoken by one of the women, which says, the next time we have a fight, we’ll trust ourselves to those who won’t let us down. There’s a kind of message there, but it didn’t offend it dramatically. One of the interesting things is that we’re dealing here with a period when there was a Labour government, and not a Tory government, were increasingly uneasy about the BBC, or certain elements in the BBC. That perennial thing, which has kind of gone away at the moment, except when people talk about the BBC’s attitude to Israel, that the BBC is endemically lefty -?? I’ve never been able to make up my mind about that really. I certainly didn’t feel that the antagonisms I was involved din at the BBC were political on that narrow basis. But nevertheless there was that perception. And around 1976 -?? 2 or 3 years after Leeds United -?? they tried a purge. But just to remain with Leeds Untied for a moment. On the night it was transmitted it was immediately followed on BBC2 by a kind of live discussion programme which came form Leeds. And I spent most of the afternoon in Leeds trying to negotiate with the producer of that programme, who was Will Wyatt, who subsequently became a big BBC mandarin, that Roy Battersby should be on the panel. Otherwise the film would not have been much represented, because Welland for some reason wasn’t there, because he was working somewhere else, and they wouldn’t have Roy on, so I went on instead. And there was a terrific moment in the middle of this thing -?? it was anchored by a man called William Hardcastle, and one of the people we had on the panel was the managing director of Burtons, which was one of the biggest clothing manufacturers, and the argument about whether Roy should be allowed on there continued right up to the moment of transmission. Hardcastle was involved more as an observer than anything, and I think could sense that some unfairness was being administered there with a panel of about 12 people and only one representing the film itself, and so he was keeping an eye very much upon what kind of arguments were being deployed by who, and trying to be fair. And there was a moment when the man from Burtons began to talk about political activists, and I can remember seeing him reach down beside his chair and picking up a bundle of documents. Hardcastle immediately brought somebody else in, so he had the sense that there was going to be some kind of diatribe against the WRP and probably indicting Roy personally. So we were saved that. I don’t think that means that William Hardcastle was a big lefty, but I think there was a feeling that we were being slightly dealt a poor hand.
CM: At this point you are moving between BBC and ITV -?? at what point did you move from being a script editor to a producer, and what were the contractual relations?
KT: I was never on the staff of the BBC. The big episode I’ve left out is that quite soon after the Thirty Minute Theatre year, there were big changes in ITV, and a lot of contracts were given out. And London Weekend were given a new contract to provide the national ITV television across Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and the group that had got it was a very trendy liberal group -?? it was David Frost and Michael Peacock and Humphrey Burton -??those kind of very good liberal television people. They won this goldmine, and they separately approached Garnett and me to say, would you like to come and be producers? Garnett and I got together, and I remember completely sort of flippantly said well, do you want to do that? Do you want to go and work for some dirty commercial company? I said, not really, do you? No, I don’t think so. Then we came up with this jape, we would go back to them, and we would stymie them by saying, we’ll come and we’ll come together, we’ll come as a company, as an entity. And we thought, that will completely throw them because it’s not part of their horizon, or their vision, at all. But they bought it. So we became Kestrel productions. Got their drama contract for two years, and supplied them with all the single drama they did in that period.
CM: So apart from anything else that means considerable professional success?
KT: Oh yes, but not for the first time, and not for the last time, I sensed that what LWT were wanting was to buy and appropriate what we’d done at the BBC. Because it was very prestigious, it was the kind of thing that got you television contracts in that kind of brownie points, elevated way. And we were in a sense trapped by our own joke, and then went ahead with it, and formed a group which included David Mercer and James MacTaggart, and I was providing most of that material because Tony by this time was trying -?? he must have already done Cathy Come Home and all those, and was looking where to go next, but was wanting to go towards the movies, and I was still earning my- spurs mostly in television. So I took on producing all that stuff, so that was the break into producing, and I think the only one that Tony produced was All in a Lifetime, which was a story about a Liverpool working class cleaner which Ken directed, and among the other people I used in that year were Simon, and Dennis Potter and a whole retinue of people that I worked with there. But the London Weekend arrangement sort of soured through our mischief from the beginning, because we were contracted to do 16, and they said, do you want to do another one? And we said, well, we haven’t done any yet. And they said, we’re opening in August and we’d like to have an opening souffle, for our weekend, is there something you can come up with? And they obviously didn’t have any sense of how ill-motivated we were. And we said fine, yes we will, we’ll do something, we’ll do this piece celebrating the opening of a new television station. And it’s called the Franchise Trail, written by Nemone Lethbridge. It had a much lighter more comic touch than most of the others did, and it was a comic expose of how they got their franchise. They immediately wanted to ban it, and they didn’t quite ban it. That was the only ITV piece I was involved with which did get wiped, because they couldn’t see the joke. It was a very mild, farcical joke. So we were already being oysters in the stew wherever we went.
CM: And you’re working with Simon throughout this period?
KT: Yes, there was a little gap. But it isn’t a very long gap. We did The Franchise Trail, and then Death of a Teddy Bear, then Man in a Side Car, and then another one also wiped, which was an adaptation about an elderly serial killer, called A Way with the Ladies -?? it’s where you put the ‘a’ -?? that got wiped as well. Then during this period I went to Granada for a couple of years. The London Weekend thing finished because that glorious, liberal optimistic London Weekend didn’t survive more than about 2 years. They wanted us to stay, we didn’t want to stay, and although they offered us shares, we said no. Quite recently Andrea, my wife, who has quite a mischievous bent, said, you turned them down, but are you sure Tony did? I assume he did. I certainly did. So we were still, at least I was, maintaining this slightly sort of starry eyed, in the face of reality, believing we were not ambitious -??
CM: But here I want to press you again, because it’s also part of my own life. There is a period from the mid-60s to the mid-70s, when very large numbers of people were starry eyed in that way. But Simon was never one of those.
KT: Simon was never one of those, but Simon was never hostile, he was just not involved. I don’t know how many times he would have met Dennis Potter, for example, or Jim Allen. Although all of us were with the same agent. First of all we were all with a man called Clive Goodwin, who died. And Dennis and I were then responsible for floating financially Judy Daish, as an agent, who acquired most of those clients and set up her own agency which is still flourishing today, although unfortunately I have a rather negative relationship with that world for reasons that don’t matter here. I suppose the reason why I’m hesitating -?? trying to find the end of the narrative, I can’t remember any stars falling from my eyes. What did happen during that period, you’re quite right, was that I suppose the media glitterati tended to be on the left. They tended to be committed to change. The extreme epigram for that was the WRP telling you that when the revolution came the gutters of Park Lane would be running with the blood of the aristocracy. And quite a lot of people believed that. I never did -?? I didn’t find it that repellent, I didn’t find it that particularly real as an image or a creation. In later years, into the 80s, it collapsed in kind of squalid, sexual scandals. Whether that reflects on the poison of the political vision or not, I wouldn’t make that connection. But I remember Roy being the person I was quite close to, but had no desire or inclination to follow that route. And I can remember, with Leeds United, for some reason a few years after we’d made it Roy and I went to Canada for something called the Grierson Festival, where I think Leeds United was a big exhibit and won a prize. And Roy and I came back on the plane and he was talking about how by this time his energy for being a full-time revolutionary in Glasgow was gone and he was looking to come back in. And I remember thinking on that plane, I would love to but I can’t employ you now. Partly because there wasn’t anything that appropriate, although I was continuing. That was one of those occasions, when we got to Heathrow, and there was a driver waiting for Roy to take him in a Volkswagen into London, or somewhere, and I was given a lift and at the end of the journey I wrote a cheque, partly out of expiation, or guilt, or whatever. But, there was a kind of very strange, ironic pay-off to that. Because that was around ’76 which was the year there was a big purge, I referred to earlier, and they wanted to get rid of me. This purge was -??
CM: In the BBC?
KT: In the BBC.
CM: So you’re back at the BBC –
KT: I’m back at the BBC. What happened was I think it was ’68 to ’71 at- London Weekend, then a year or two at Granada, back to the BBC with Leeds United. Then there was a crisis –
CM: But project by project, you’re taking projects to them, or on rolling contracts?
KT: A mixture of both, but certainly with Leeds United -?? and this happened twice to me, once in ’74 and once in 1980 -?? we took extremely expensive hot potatoes, which had been bottled out by ITV, first Granada, then a few years later when I had a deal with Potter at London Weekend, we took to the BBC United Kingdom, which was the piece Jim Allen wrote and was the last thing Roland Joffé directed before he went off to do The Killing Fields. What’s notable about that was not that the BBC was corporately or ideologically disposed to that kind of work, although they couldn’t have been ill-disposed towards it -?? it was that they saw, on that narrow commercial definition of cutting edge drama, where the measurement for success wasn’t only ratings, it was a combination of rating press approval and consensus inside, that to accept something which Granada was very much a feather in the BBC’s cap. It was almost like a commercial consideration where the commerce was not money. And I think that prevailed for a number of years. But nevertheless in ’76 I was in this bad situation of being cheap xanax 2mg fingered and told they didn’t want me any more. But the other thing that happened in that very year is that I had done -?? this is clearly what I was doing after Leeds United at the BBC -?? there were three new Dennis Potter pieces that were due to be transmitted in the Spring of 76. One of which was a piece which I still admire enormously, and which earned me my only written communication from Mary Whitehouse, which was a letter of praise. It was called Where Adam Stood, based by Dennis on a Victorian classic called Father and Son. Well, not Victorian, written in the 20s, by a man called Edmund Gosse, who was the son of Philip Gosse, a Plymouth Brethren biologist at the time of Darwin. Dennis and I picked that partly because we knew of that background. That was a very brilliant piece of work, both in content and in structure, because if you look at Father and Son the book, it’s four fifty minutes, six if we’re lucky. Dennis did it in 75 minutes and got the essence of the thing, absolutely brilliant, and it’s a very positive piece of work, although it’s got a lot of strange Potter characteristics, so that was not a problem. Then there was a piece that I thought was really going to give us a problem, called Double Dare, which was to do with probably one of the most personal and awkward pieces that Dennis wrote. He had a writer’s block, owed me script, and I was pestering him and trying to manoeuvre around it. He suddenly called me one day and said, I think I can break the block if you’ll be helpful. And I said, well, what do you want? He said I want you to arrange for me to meet Kika Markham. And I said, I’ve got to be a pimp to get a script? Kika Markham being a very glamorous actress who had been David Mercer’s girlfriend and was an up and coming thing. So I set them up for a meeting in a hotel in the West End, and I’m just about to leave my office to go to the theatre, and I get this call from Kika saying, can you come over? And I said, what do you want me there for? What does he want? So I go over there, en route to where I was going, and have a drink to try to get the temperature of the thing. Clearly Dennis is coming on to her but is also promising her a part at the same time. But anyway, I do my bit and off I go and I don’t really hear much more about it from either of them, except within, at the most, six weeks, probably less, I get this script, which is about this writer meting an actress in a hotel. But the writer is doubled with a kind of punter’s client who’s actually meeting a call girl. And these perambulations are interrupted by the writer’s producer turning up on the way to the theatre. But that was a very kind of itchy piece, really about Dennis’s own obsessions at that time, which were to do with the difficulty of writing, which were to do with identifying what kind of sexuality he could identify himself with. The equation he had in that film was the equation between the actress and the tart, which did provide an absolutely brilliant part for Kika, and we made it as a film, in Ealing, directed by John Mackenzie. It was in the end a very Hitchcockian thriller -?? but I thought, that’s going to be trouble. And the third one was Brimstone and Treacle, and, of course, I was wrong, it was Brimstone and Treacle that gave us the problem, and got banned and became a cause célèbre, and we then out of frustration made a movie of it, but it meant that I was very non grata for a while.
CM: If we go back -?? that provides a lot of the context. We’ve had A Way With the Ladies, but that’s still very early. How did you work with Simon, did you ring him up every six months?
KT: I didn’t socialise with Simon -?? I’m just trying to pare away what I didn’t do. I didn’t socialise with him particularly, and he was I think by that time quite prolifically operating in the theatre with mixed success -?? and Butley of course, was ’71 -?? so across that period we were still working. There was then a gap which was maybe two or three years before we came to Plaintiffs and Defendants and Two Sundays, so I think we kept in touch. Simon would say I’ve got this idea or whatever. But his attention turned to theatre, and mine turned to working with other people. But the main body of the successful surviving work I did with him begins with Plaintiffs and Defendants. Because the piece we did at London Weekend, we did two of them as part of the Kestrel thing -?? one was directed by Jimmy MacTaggart, and it’s sort of about a writer, but watching it recently I thought, God we were on a learning curve, we really did not quite know what we were doing -?? Pig in a Poke it was called. It was mostly based in the studio, and it was really gawky, even though MacTaggart directed it -?? straining for articulacy, straining for a voice. And if you can just deduce Simon from that piece, he’s just as kind of trendy and interested in a kind of radicalism, or radical attitudes, as Potter was, but remembering I said that Potter wasn’t palpably interested in those things. The only piece that Potter ever wrote that I’m aware of that dealt specifically with public affairs was Paper Roses, which was about the old son, the slightly pre-Murdoch son, which is a brilliant expose of tabloid journalism at that time. And I remember attacking Dennis at the time, saying you were going to do this expose of tabloid newspapers and instead you’ve written this piece this old journalist. He said, that’s what I’ve done, you’ll find it’s all there. And he was right. But he didn’t go at those things, and Simon didn’t.- But the clip that we found from Pig in a Poke to use on this panel night is from the very end, and it’s about the play on the telly, and Mary Whitehouse. And the other one which again is accidentally topical is a piece called The Dirt on Lucy Lane. I sat down to watch it at the BFI last week, and I said, I have a dread here, which was to see the credits -?? there was my name as producer. It was one of Kestrel’s. That was adapted from a story by a writer you may remember, I’d forgotten him, called Thomas Hind. Quite fashionable in the ’60s and ’70s -?? short story writer, quite a posh background -?? and it’s about tabloid journalists. It’s almost like a paradisical anticipation of what we’ve got going on now, without the technology. It’s about a journalist preying upon a fading star and her husband putting pressure back. So what you could say there is that Simon is still developing his voice.
CM: And this is also the time that he wrote Wise Child, for the theatre. I didn’t know this until preparing for this interview, that he originally wrote Wise Child for television, and it was thought to be too difficult for television.
KT: I don’t think that went through me. I don’t remember, but I saw it in the theatre.- It probably would have been fairly unacceptable even at that time, but that was pre-Butley, wasn’t it?
CM: Yes, ’68 or ’69 [’67 ed]
KT: I did two with him at that period at Kestrel. He may have taken that to somebody else at the BBC. Because one of the things that was very important to all those writers in that period -?? I don’t remember having to do this with Simon, but with Dennis sometimes I had to, not exactly cheat, but there was sometimes a moment when he was desperate because he had a growing family, and was always moving house, just to give him the first half of the fee and hope the second half would come. And I remember taking stock of this and thinking, I’ve never had to give a writer the whole of a fee without anything to show for it, but you could have done. So those support systems were there. But I don’t remember having to do that with Simon. But I don’t suppose Simon was making money out of the theatre, really. There wouldn’t have been much in the way of royalties, until Butley.
CM: I think Wise Child was very successful financially. But if we go forward now to Plaintiffs and Defendants, this is, in a sense, the second phase.
KT: The second phase, yes, although the join between A Way with the Ladies and Plaintiffs and Defendants probably is no more than about two years. So I wasn’t, as I was with Dennis, and Welland, and one or two others, and Poliakoff later, getting everything they did and everything they offered. So you could probably say that Simon wasn’t settled into television at that point. But to go up now to ’76 and the attempts to rescue me, I remember Clive Goodwin, the agent, he said we take your case to Time Out and we have a blaze of glory, and march in the street. And Dennis said quietly, don’t, don’t do that, just keep quiet. So I compromised by getting Brian Gibson, the director I’d worked with, to organise a petition. I think everybody who worked with me during that period signed, including Simon. But that was on a professional basis, rather than we’re saying we’re defending his political beliefs. And the historical irony about all that was that I persisted within the BBC, going back and back again to the two main honchos, who were Alistair Milne and Ian Trethowan, at that time, and saying why is this happening to me, and I remember at one point being given a very patronizing lecture by Ian Trethowan saying: you mustn’t rely on me, conspiracy view of history, I’m sure you’ll work here again, and all that stuff. But the breakthrough came, and this has happened to me on another occasion, you know you have a big meeting with a honcho, and the meeting is over, and his PA is saying he’s got somebody else coming in, and the honcho at that period -?? they don’t any more -?? had pretty large offices. So in a very courteous way Alistair is leading me all the way down there, and we’re still chuntering as we go, and he says: well anyway I don’t see what you’ve got to worry about, I mean your beliefs are well-known, and you’ve stood up for them and you’ve run for Parliament’. At this point I’m at the lift and replaying this, and saying, what is this, running for Parliament? And, they’d confused me for Battersby, who had run for Parliament, as Vanessa [Redgrave] did in whatever election it was. So I went back – I think I still had a BBC office then -?? I went back and I actually did start -?? I took a piece of paper, ‘I’m not now nor have I ever been’, the classic apostasy. And I managed, via Piers Haggard, who was at that time representing the director’s guild and trying to get residuals out of the BBC, so seeing the brass, I said to him, look, I’ve done what I can, but if you get the chance in your classy way to kind of mention a word, do so. And he did, and somehow or other, things relaxed, and within no time at all, months perhaps, the BBC came to me -?? probably the head of department -?? and said would you feel like going to Dennis Potter and seeing if he’ll write something for us. And this was while Brimstone and Treacle was still seething, and Dennis had won the war, and the press -??
CM: And Plaintiffs and Defendants is from the same time?
KT: ’75, yeah. And what happened there was that I did go to Dennis and Dennis again tried to make a bargain. He said I’m not going to write one play. I want to write a novel for television. And out of that came Pennies from Heaven. And it’s a great testimony to the paradox -?? which I don’t think continues in that form-?? in the BBC at that time, that they could want to throw somebody out, ban a writer’s play, and almost without drawing breath go and say, not to somebody else, not some neutral figure -?? will you go back to him?- And they then left us alone in an absolutely delirious way for months and months and we came up with Pennies from Heaven.
CM: And how did you get back in touch with Simon?
KT: You know I cannot remember, because absurdly I never kept diaries. We may have played around with ideas that didn’t go anywhere. But we didn’t, as Simon did with a lot of other associates, meet regularly for meals or anything like that. But clearly I would have been in touch with that entire fraternity through the agency. Although Dennis and I never participated in the management of the agency, we were very much the launchers of it, and there’d have been parties, and you’d talk, and that’s how they came up. So I don’t think there was a gap where either of us missed the other. We were both each in our own way fully occupied, and I cannot remember the germ of Plaintiffs and Defendants, but it was only going to be one piece, It would have been that I had an assignment to come up with six or seven Plays for Today, as it was by that time called, in a season, and was looking around for material. Because I know there was one season -?? and for some reason I was sharing -?? there were going to be 13 -?? it was only in that first year that they did as many as 39, so it would have been 13 or 15 or something like that. And I was sharing them in numbers with a producer called Irene Shubik, who I didn’t get on with at all. I mean, we didn’t fall out, though she was a completely different stripe from me. One just had to put material together. That was the last time I did that, and it also included those three of Dennis’s. Because, once we’d started on doing series, and you went on doing singles, it was not the same kind of brief. And gradually, partly through our growing ambition to do things on a bigger scale and always working on film, the numbers of single dramas on BBC television generally began to decline.
CM: But you did Two Sundays immediately after -??
KT: Well they were done together. They were paired -?? that would have been one long production period where we would have had, with only a short break, Alan and Dinsdale, going right through for the best part of 6 months. Back to back. Because the casts are similar in both cases, just in Two Sundays there’s the whole school element.
CM: But then there’s really quite a long break until After Pilkington?
KT: Yes there is.
CM: Presumably because Simon’s writing for the theatre.
KT: Yes, and I was then being quite manically busy, I think. Because we also started to be ambitious about the movies. And there was the second period at London Weekend, which wasn’t too happy, when we did three of Dennis’s pieces, and again they were needing to renew their franchise. This is London Weekend run by Michael Grade. And I don’t think I commissioned Simon among the people that -?? or yes, I did, intermittently, and this may have occupied us for both periods. We wanted to do Simon’s Dickens play. That had a stumbling history for some reason. At one time MacTaggart was going to do it, and MacTaggart died around ’77. And then the BBC changed the head of their series. But we were both very busy in the other field. I never took that much interest in the theatre. I never wanted to be involved in the theatre, except that for a long time I was on the board of the Bush. I didn’t always see Simon’s stage plays. And then we came back together.
CM: So how did After Pilkington happen, which is a very accomplished film?
KT: It’s an extremely accomplished film, yes. He wanted to do something. By this time my brief with the BBC, although I was going in and out of there, would have been to produce a fewer number of things over a season, but they all could have been on film. One of the things I was doing in that period, we’re now running into the ’80s, was the Singing Detective, which was very onerous. It took me a long time to find a director, and then eventually I did find Jon Amiel, and then I went off to do a film in Italy. But when I got to wherever we were, in Bologna, there was this urgent message from Jon Amiel. I felt very proud, because I’d set him up -?? took me a long time to find a director -?? and he and Dennis are going to meet and I don’t need to be there. And I got this urgent message saying I think you should come back because he’s trying to get rid of you. There was all this professional jealousy going on, because Dennis felt I should be exclusively for him. I wanted to work with other people. All that was a very preoccupying period. And during it we also did Dream Child, which was the movie about adoption that Dennis wrote. So it was extremely busy. And I don’t have any feeling -?? I mean there were periods with Potter where on personal grounds we didn’t speak for two years and then we’d come back suddenly and work prolifically. There was never any negativity between me and Simon. And retrospectively the oddity I feel about our personal relationship is that it’s almost like we never discussed Cambridge -?? although I was at Oxford -?? and it’s only reading Howard Jacobson’s piece in your Critical Quarterly, that Simon was a kind of Leavisite. And what I had done, or not done, at Oxford, I had braved their obscurantism by proposing Scrutiny as the subject of my thesis. But I left without completing it. So there was a kind of intellectual congeniality which was never spoken. Even though, of course, we did a television film version of The Common Pursuit, which is about that era. Just to tell you one thing, which is only incidentally to do with Simon- – the Golden Age, as far as being able to be contained, and in the best sense patronising with writers, flourished intensely and then was suddenly stopped. And it went into the nineties. It happened that in preparing for this season at the BFI, I wanted to look at The Common Pursuit. I found a VHS at home called VHS transmission. I put it in, and it contained the presentation voiceover.- Now this was a piece that had Tim Roth, Andrew MacCarthy, Stephen Fry -?? a glittering cast. You know what the presentation announcement says? -??Ken Trodd and Christopher Morahan’s latest piece is – -?. Absolutely incredible, as late as ’91/’92, actually presenting us as the names that you sell it on. I thought, was this an aberration? No, it wasn’t. I don’t know if it happened many other times, but certainly I didn’t stage it or set it up. I just took it for granted. I thought, did I really hear this? By that time things were already crumbling, and they crumbled as far as Simon is concerned, a year or so later, after we’d made Femme Fatale, which was the last one. And I remember going with Simon to see the Head of Drama, who was Mark Shivas, and there was a new elephant in the room. It was actually an elephant I knew, it was a woman who had been around the Garnett entourage for some time, subsequently produced Eastenders. So she was friendly, and we knew each other. And she got herself a job as some weasley title, like special assistant to the Head of Drama.
CM: Her name?
KT: Jane Harris. Do you know Jane Harris?
CM: No, I don’t.
KT: No, there are one or two Jane Harris’s. I’m not sure what she’s doing now. She was trying to write a book about that period, or about Garnett, but it didn’t come off. That was recently. And -?? if I can remember the questions we were asked -?? we were just going really to say, well, we’d like to do another one. There’s an idea, can we just go ahead? Probably in past years I wouldn’t have even had to wheel Simon into the building. And I remember once giving an interview to Screen International or Broadcast, where I said in a very vainglorious way, sounds boastful and probably was boastful at the time -?? well, I’m working with these writers, I have a certain amount of freedom, if I decide I want to give a writer permission all I have to do is get the signature of a little boss along the corridor. The little boss along the corridor read this and thought, oh, is that what I am? And there was a bit of smoothing down to do. But it was in effect like that. You were give a kind of autonomy, and provided you didn’t break the law too much and weren’t that demanding, and they got feedback -??
CM: So this is the last period, the period of perhaps your most intense collaboration with Simon, actually the very last period of what you might call British television.
KT: Yes. And I can’t remember what the idea was that we were wheeled in to speak to Mark and Jane Harris about, but there were just too many questions being asked. They all seemed perfectly innocuous questions, like who do you see being in it, what’s the span, can we have a treatment? And all that was just in a way which -?? it probably sounds precious -?? was just too much for Simon. Because what he’d been used to -?? being able to come back and get something commissioned, not for any princely fee -?? but, more or less, providing he didn’t bottle out, it would get made. It would get made without any great trumpeting, that much expectation, but it would reap benefits for everybody concerned. And suddenly they were wanting to put a stop in this process. Some BBC historian -?? a very nice woman, the lady who’s doing it now -?? approached me last year and clearly had no feel for drama at all, and I’ve always felt that drama in television during that period, and probably still now, in fact it is still now, is a different culture, even from light entertainment, and the actual experience of working within it, even if you’re a PA or a cameraman, is quite a different feeling for everybody, and there’s something peculiar and probably a little in-grown -?? in-grown toenail -?? about drama. And it depended on that kind of complicity. If you wanted to pick holes in it you could say it was a kind of favouritism, but that’s what you do, you make your judgment, you say you’d like to work with this person rather than that and here rather than there. Greg Dyke told me that he thinks one of the big mistakes John Birt made was to come in and, as it was, from Mars, decide we’ve got to have an executive cadre, which was an executive cadre nothing to do with programme making. Because I think the real fibre of the BBC had been programme making -?? getting people who were fulcrum people, producers like myself, to be between the management, the money and the talent below you, and what Birt produced, although he was originally a programme maker, was a quite alien notion other industries. And I think it was Greg that told me this, he felt that the BBC was lacking in some kind of status if it wasn’t able to demonstrate that there was a Head of Heritage, you know -?? seems a crazy thing.
CM: But if we go back to this period, it’s 1987, there’s After Pilkington, the A Month in the Country, Old Flames and Unnatural Pursuits, and Femme Fatale, so it’s six films in six years. Let’s start with After Pilkington -?? did Simon send you a script? Did you say, I want a script?
KT: No, we worked at it, and talked about the character being this woman who was a kind of mad person, and Simon was very keen to make her the centre of attention. Now, whether there had been any comment or pressure -?? as there certainly was from time to time with Potter -?? about the weakness or inappropriateness about the way they presented women -?? I don’t remember that with Simon. But certainly he wanted to make the woman the centre and for it to be Oxford oriented, and he developed the plot, mostly on his own, and we tweaked it, and there were various bits and pieces. This was a period when I was also trying to do some Simenon with Simon, because he had a commission from Granada to do a lot of Simenon, and Simon had taken on a Simenon story called something like The Blue Room. To make one connection between Dennis and Simon, the musical material in Unnatural Pursuits, which I think is quite original and works quite well, that was a diffusion of Dennis. It happened to me too with Jack Rosenthal when I tried to do something with him in that period -?? being mesmerized by what Dennis had achieved by using that song material, and wanting to do something similar in their own work. And part of the evolution process with Unnatural Pursuits was to say, you don’t need to be imitative, unconsciously or consciously of what another writer has done. But it may be a way of you conceiving a musical contribution in your own terms, which is what he did, and of course that musical material is not Cole Porter like the Potter stuff is. We had a composer and Simon wrote the lyrics. But it was a way of both of them -?? though Rosenthal was a completely different kind of writer, really -?? responding to something which had been a little bit overwhelming in that world.
CM: So -?? After Pilkington -?? you work on the script together. And the casting was particularly brilliant. Was that Simon or was that you?
KT: And Christopher too. We were offered or mooted Helen Mirren. We decided no, we would rather have Miranda. She’d done the Ruth Ellis movie, that’s about all she’d done. It was a very lucky set of circumstances -?? how it came together. It’s a very remarkable story.
CM: And Simon was very active in rehearsal of his plays?
KT: He was when he needed to be. He wasn’t somebody who I desired or who was in any way required to be there every day. Like Dennis -?? Dennis was sometimes unable to come because he was unwell, but would come urgently if there was a real problem, which sometimes there was, with an actor not understanding something. And he would come. I remember him coming to the Singing Detective a few times, and once coming to a hospital set where, he’s just sitting alone waiting for the crew or me to turn up, and a dermatologist comes in and sees he’s a patient. But there wasn’t anything compulsive about Simon being on the set, and although I think I mooted with him more than once -?? was he inclined to direct? -?? he wasn’t. With Simon, I think we were always looking for a dream director which we never found. And so we’d come round to the same one. Christopher has done very well for us before so let’s go there again. When Simon did appear on sets, he was an extraordinary, insistent power. I remember on the set of Old Flames, where it was a three-handed scene between Callow, Stephen Fry and Miriam, or it may have been just been the two men. We were in this lovely house in Tite Street. Simon is there and something isn’t quite working, and again the morning was wearing on, and everyone was thinking, we’ve got to finish this scene before lunch. Simon expresses some dissent. And the form, or the etiquette, of how you do this remains, I suppose charming, but elaborate: Simon speaks me, I speak to Christopher, the director, who then crosses the floor and whispers to the actor, and off we go again. That take doesn’t work. And Simon is persisting. So I say to Christopher, do you mind? So Christopher goes again. It doesn’t work, and we do one more, because Simon is still very persistent, still hasn’t been able to break the etiquette, and speak to the actor. So Christopher beginning, just in dumb show -?? the tension beginning to rise. So he finishes it, and walks back towards us, and then turns round and says ‘And Stephen this time just act it a lot better!’ That was the effect, in the most courteous way, of Simon being very insistent and always caring, and in a way never leaving things alone. I don’t know what the experience of being directed by Simon was like. I did commission something based upon the Cell Mates incident. And what Simon first of all did was an almost literal writing of it -?? it was too literal. Not because it was embarrassing but it didn’t really have enough life, partly because he couldn’t really come to terms with it. And we then went into one or two other gyrations -?? which as to -?? he wanted to write a piece about double acts, starting with Rik [Mayall] and Stephen Fry, but actually going back to two Cambridge figures -?? there was an academic called Graham -?? an English academic, I can’t remember his name, who apparently had some kind of vaudeville double act in Cambridge that Simon was aware of, and he wanted to take the archetypes of the Stephen Fry situation and recreate it through his memories of this pair. But it was little bit too -?? trying to bring together bits of material from different sources. It didn’t quite work. But we obviously did persist beyond -?? because the Cell Mates thing wasn’t until ’95. But I remember going to the launch of The Smoking Diaries. I hadn’t seen Simon for a little while, and I remember saying to him, do you think there’s anything in this for television? And Simon saying, in a rather legendary but terminal way, I think I’m too old for television.
CM: So that’s After Pilkington, and then you go straight on to A Month in the Country -?? they must have almost been back to back.
KT: Yes, I think it was. Because A Month in the Country was made as a movie with Warners and Channel 4, though earlier it was going to be television with Yorkshire, and then it wasn’t that. And I just chose Simon. I was interested in the book before we even had a director. So the order was me, plus Simon, then plus Pat O’Connor. Again, Simon’s attitude to other material was in the best, almost destructive, anarchic way, very creative. I can’t bear literary voiceovers in movies,- which is a very dogmatic position. There are movies which work like that, but generally the literary origins are too obvious. And here was a book that was already quite accoladed and had prizes, and a great following, and Simon first of all wrote a draft that was full of voiceover and too respectful, and sent it to me. I think I waited perhaps half a day too long before getting back to Simon, and he then called me, and before I could speak he said ‘I know, it’s not right, it’s not right. Don’t say a word. I know what mistake I’ve made. I haven’t learnt to despise the book yet.’ I said, that’s fine. From then on in there was not a word of voiceover or narrative, and yet almost everybody who loves the book recognises it as an honest and filmic account, and people who don’t know the book don’t realise its literary origins. So he immersed himself in that, and it’s very characteristic of Simon, but it’s equally very faithful to JL Carr. It’s a kind of landmark piece. It’s got a real cult status as a movie. And for some reason -?? it’s the kind of shibboleth which follows cult status pieces around -?? you can never find a good print.
CM: You then make what I think is, in some ways, one of Simon’s strangest pieces, which is Old Flames.
KT: I think there he wanted to work with Simon Callow -?? it started with that. But I think unlike Pilkington, which went through a lot of mutation, I think Old Flames, when it came in it was substantially what we were going to do. I think what we did not do there, and I do not know why -?? my fault, I suppose, perhaps I was doing too many other things -?? we did not put that ending through the ringer as many times as we should have done. And I think Christopher was a little too unaware that there were risks in realising that. Because there’s quite a jump in style and mode, and everything -?? it’s a kind a leap of faith in actually what’s happening in that ending, and I should have been more insistent on our trying to rework it. But I think Christopher found it very satisfactory from his point of view, as it was, and therefore I couldn’t really articulate -?? and I didn’t see it as a problem. Do you think it’s a major problem?
CM: No, no -?? it’s a shock.
KT: It’s a shock, but it’s a shock that works? Yes I think it probably does.
CM: And then you have The Common Pursuit, which we’ve talked about before.
KT: One interesting thing to say, is that Common Pursuit is ’91 or ’92, and Pilkington is ’87, and there’s a television version of Quartermaine, which is also ’87 -?? and the difference in feeling. I watched that recently, and thought, well this is done in the studio and it must have been the early ’80s. It was directed by a man called Bill Hayes, who was really a director from a different mutation, who did mostly series. And then discover it’s not the early ’80s its ’87 -?? so the same year as Pilkington -?? and it was made on film, but it feels as static and as stagey as anything could and the material is not liberated. Whereas I think with Pilkington and Common Pursuit you do feel that you’re in an idiom where conscious efforts have been made to cinematicise both the writing and the realisation, and it feels like something in a different mode.
CM: And Common Pursuit in terms of script development, casting, how did that all go?
KT: We got money from WNET, via a man called Jack McQuiggan, who had been Simon’s theatre producer in New York, and that’s partly why we got Andrew MacCarthy -?? the kind of American interest -?? and it developed in that way. I’d met Jack in New York on other business and he’d worked with Simon quite a bit, until, as Jack insists, his career got ruined by Simon’s. There was a year or two when Simon was directing his own things in New York and things had just got personally quite out of hand, and Jack subsequently turned writer and wrote a script dealing with that whole material. Simon heard about it and said, Jack and I don’t speak very much, but if you’d like to get me the script I’ll see if I can make any suggestions. I think I did get him the script, but if there were any suggestions they went directly to Jack. But that worked extremely well. It’s rather a strange cast -?? the only thing you have to get over is that we accept these actors for what they are, which is mostly in their early 30s, but in the first scene they’re undergraduates, But you kind of buy that. And again, to me it feels like a movie rather than an account of a stage piece.
CM: And then, one of my complete favourites, you have Unnatural Pursuits. One of the funniest things I’ve ever seen on television. How did that come about?
KT: That came about because I read the diary -?? How’s That For Telling ‘Em, Fat Lady -?? and said, there’s a piece here. It’s not a literal account of that book, but that was the inspiration. We just went from there and made it happen. It was originally meant to be a three-parter. I think we had to cut it and just do it in two bits. It wasn’t an enormous hit on BBC2 when it first went out, I don’t know why. I think it was a funny time of year they put it out. Yentob was a bit bitchy about it both before and after, and then we managed to get it to the Emmy’s, and it kind of took off from there. What I feel about it, and I suppose each time I see it I feel this less -?? I want him to get into that plane. I find the stuff in London, the first half hour a little bit self-conscious. It doesn’t really liberate in terms of his obsession until you get the American cultural clash. It’s just a tiny bit cosy -?? filming in the Riverside in Hammersmith. But it’s fun.
CM: I don’t think I can get enough distance from it. It’s one of the very few things I’ve seen on television since I was child that’s made me almost ache with laughter.
KT: Some people have that intensity of feeling about After Pilkington, although it isn’t so much laughter. You know a writer called Frank Delaney, told me that when his kids were growing up they used to watch Pilkington two or three times a year as a treat -?? this kind of world you bury yourself in. And one of the characteristics of Simon, which isn’t quite true in that way of the other big people I’ve worked with, is that when you start watching something you feel that vitality and that confidence and that, in the most glorious, not intimidating way, overpowering confidence of someone with something to say and in control of the material. There’s a television version of The Rear Column, where Harold [Pinter] has been a bit too indulgent with the theatre origins, but the authority of it is very strong. Very powerful stuff, it’s kind of radiant.
CM: And then the final one, Femme Fatale, which must have been almost immediately after Unnatural Pursuits.
KT: No I think there was a gap. I was doing quite a bit of Poliakoff around that period, and kind of flirting with Dennis -?? Lipstick on your Collar, which I came onto and came off. I think there was a little bit of a gap. I think Christopher had done Ashenden for the BBC, quite a big job, I think that was a four-parter. And we were then going on to Unnatural Pursuits. And suddenly I couldn’t get a crew, because the feeling of Christopher’s dominance had really spread around the business. And there was a period in pre-production when I fired Christopher -?? with Simon’s agreement. Christopher then wrote to me a sort of apologia,. And from then on I never had a word of problems with Christopher for the rest of our time together. We did one or two other tings that weren’t by Simon after that. And, I remember telling this story to somebody. And they said, you know why, don’t you? Because he knows you’ve got that letter in your safe. And my only riposte was, we came to the end of filming Unnatural Pursuits, we were in lower Manhattan on a Saturday and had the party there, and Jim Clay, who was a wonderful designer, and did the Mike Leighs I did, and the Singing Detective, worked a lot with Amiel in the movies, and did Unnatural Pursuits. I said, let’s have a T-shirt. And he did a wonderful front which was an image of the hotel he built for LA, which is actually in Houston, and he said, what shall I put on the back? And I wrote it down for him -?? ‘Do I make myself clear’. So when you turned round -?? I think it was a joke that Christopher had to struggle with.
CM: So Femme Fatale -?? any thoughts about that?
KT: It’s a strange piece. It almost comes not quite out of left or right field. I think it starts as a kind of pastiche of a slightly cod Italian thriller, and then moves into English pastoral and acquires Simon’s own voice. It’s very telling and quite effective, and I think the cast is very strong.
CM: One of the things that becomes clear to me is that Simon’s career is much more tied up with television than I thought, and almost to an uncanny degree -?? from 1966 to 1993 -?? it is the golden era of television.
KT: Yes, it is, it is.
CM: I always think that the crucial date, and I forget which year it was now -?? it was ’93, ’94, ’95 -?? when the Channel 4 board effectively vote themselves huge salaries. And one of the things we’ve talked about, programme makers and executives, it’s not simply that the executives were generally drawn from the programme makers, but actually -?? not everybody earned the same amount of money -?? but everything was within a certain range.
KT: Yes, and the BBC got a fantastically generous licence settlement, which is earlier than that, and ITV coincidentally went into a financial dip. Suddenly you earn less working for ITV than you did at the BBC, although the BBC then went into a very savage fee cutting, and trying to -??well they told themselves they were spending their money on the website, on the technology -?? but I think they didn’t, I think they took their eye off the ball. Because right now it’s quit a different organisation, it’s inhibited and strange.
CM: It you were to look back at Simon’s career all in all, how would you characterise his relation to television and television’s relation to him?
KT: Well, it was very fruitful. I think that body of work speaks for itself. It lives. And I think Howard Jacobson says in that piece [for the Critical Quarterly], it may live longer because it has doesn’t have that topicality. I don’t know if the overtly agit-prop pieces will have that kind of durability, some of them will. But I think there’s something about Simon’s detachment from the furore of the day which gives it a greater strength. I think it was almost like a stealthy career, alongside the theatre one, and there’s no doubt that it kind of suffers not in its content but in its approbation. There are two bits of snobbery you face if you work intensely in television, and they crowd you from either side.- The theatre one -?? there’s a great deal of prestige about being a person of the theatre, and I think Simon had a bit of that. There was never any point when Simon was condescending towards television, but I think he wanted to be a great man of the theatre. He did acknowledge that to be lucky in the theatre you want one big simple idea which you milk for two hours. But if you are entertaining a larger audience for television and you want to keep them watching and not switching, you’ve got to keep coming up with new tricks and I think instinctively he developed that, so the originality of some of those pieces is extremely strong. The other shadow is the one from film, which isn’t that much relevant to Simon. I mean, there may have been excursions into movies I don’t know about -?? movie movies rather than television movies -?? but the main one I was aware of which I was aware of which I was involved with but I don’t think started it off, was the one about Sassoon, or about that period, set in a military hospital in the First World War. But that didn’t come off, so Simon in a way doesn’t really dignify the argument- that some films are more films than others. I think his sense of the expansiveness that was necessary for the scale of A Month in the Country, even though it’s quite intimate, is there. It would have been a great pity if that had only been a television piece. But then I suppose in the end I come back to my own quite ideological mantra, that a film is a film is a film, and you could say that Driving Miss Daisy should only have been for television. But time and time again things defy the physical scale because they just insist on speaking at every level. And now that people do watch on their mobile, the days are probably fast going when you can’t make any valid point about visual quality or sound quality. In a way I appreciate that because I think content is all.
By Editor|March 9th, 2014|Interviews, Simon Gray|0 Comments
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The Perils of the Playwright
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Presidents message 10
Dear Maritime College Community,
As you know, President Trump signed a number of appropriations bills on Friday to keep the Government open and operating. One of those bills was the Transportation Appropriations Bill, which provides support to the State Maritime Academies through the Maritime Administration (MARAD) budget.
This year's MARAD budget is truly historic in terms of the support provided to the State Maritime Academies. The total support to the State Maritime Academies provided this year is $45.2 million, more than double the $18.5 million appropriated in my first year as President. During my time as President, our direct support grant has increased from $600,000 to $1.0 million, and funds for fuel assistance have increased from $200,000 to $633,333. Funds for maintenance and repair of the six State Maritime Academy training vessels has increased from $11.3 million to $25 million.
I am particularly pleased to report that this budget contains another $300 million for the construction of a second National Security Multi-mission Vessel (NSMV), to replace Massachusetts Maritime Academy's training ship, the T/S Kennedy. This will have a direct impact on the construction of the first NSMV replacing T/S Empire State through increased competition and decreased costs for what is now a multi-ship build.
All of this would not be possible without the outstanding leadership and support of Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao and MARAD Administrator Mark Buzby.
In just a little more than four years, the Presidents of the six State Maritime Academies have built a bi-partisan coalition across two administrations that has resulted in $600 million for a program than many questioned and openly doubted, and some opposed.
By all accounts, this is a remarkable accomplishment, and I am proud of what my colleagues and I have been able to achieve. By working together, we have educated many members of Congress on the importance to the Nation of the State Maritime Academies, the US Merchant Marine, and the Maritime Industry. This year's budget demonstrates that many in Congress now believe in the value of the State Maritime Academies.
Today, we can pause and celebrate the results of a great deal of time, energy, and effort. In a few weeks, I head back to Washington DC to begin work again on next year's appropriations bill where we hope to maintain this historic level of support in what is going to be a very challenging budget year.
Rear Admiral Michael A. Alfultis,
USMS, Ph.D.
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Payout for Drivers
Payout for DriversSpringport2019-04-29T21:33:07-04:00
General Payout Rules
Payout will be announced throughout the evening, please collect payout A.S.A.P at the pay
window.
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If you wish to protest your finishing position or payout, do not sign until being directed
to do so by the race director.
Pay‐out personnel are not allowed to settle grievance’s or protests about finishing
position or payout. All grievances and protests will be directed to the race director on
the night of the event.
Winnings will be paid to the driver unless registration specifies otherwise.
All Heat Race Payouts
$20, $15, $10, $5
Super Outlaw Late Models Payouts
$1000, $700, $600, $500, $400, $350, $325, $300, $250 to Start
If needed announcement will be made at the track or posted for special events.
Modifieds Payouts
$700, $500, $400, $350, $300, $275, $250, $225, $200, $175, $165 to Start
Late Model/Sportsman Payouts
$600, $400, $300, $250, $200, $190, $180, $150 to Start
$200, $175, $150, $125, $75 to Start
If needed announced @ the track/or posted for special events
Street Stock Payouts
A. $400, 300, 225, 175, 125, 100 To Start
Outlaw/Port Stock (FWD) Payouts
$150, $100, $95, $85, $80, $75, $70, $50 to Start
$100, $80, $75, $70, $65, $50 to Start
We would like to thank you for your interest in racing at Springport Mid-Michigan Speedway. Our payout we feel is very competitive to all tracks in our area and we encourage you to see what non-monetary value our track has to offer for your race team and family. We have one of the nicest and most fan friendly race environments in Michigan and a staff who is considered by many to be some of the best in the industry.
Point Values
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My name is Tamara Laird.
Working with sound has always amazed me from a very young age, since listening to the first album I bought when I was eight years old, I always wondered how they got particular instruments to sound the way it did and how did they got the track to sound so professional. I also grew up in a musical family and I think that’s why sound production interested me so much. From the start its always been recording for me, I enjoy communicating with bands and experimenting with different effects and techniques.
Growing up I wasn’t a typical girly girl and always loved working with my hands and doing subjects at school like tech and music. Although, I had to do my own research to find a sound production course because there was and still isn’t enough awareness about this type of career.
That’s Sound is a great way of getting young people involved in sound, especially young girls. Although, this particular career isn’t for everyone, it’s a good to show people that there are courses out there and giving young people the chance to learn something new. There are loads of women sound engineers out there but yet again, no awareness of them. It would be great to see more women/girls going into sound because it shows other women and girls that you can make it in the industry as a female. There is a lack of female role models, especially in education.
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Suspiria: 40th Anniversary (Steelbook Blu-ray Review)
Reviewed by: Tim Salmons
Review Date: Jan 12, 2018
Format: Blu-ray Disc
1977 (December 19, 2017)
Seda Spettacoli/Produzioni Atlas Consorziate/International Classics (Synapse Films)
Film/Program Grade: A
Video Grade: A+
Audio Grade: A+
Extras Grade: A-
A beautiful, young American woman steps off a plane into a foreign land, enveloped by a torrential downpour. She arrives at a dance academy where another young woman runs out of the building, saying something almost indistinct – a clue that will lead both her and us, the audience, deeper into the horror fairytale world or Suspiria, Dario Argento’s 1977 masterpiece.
Little needs to be said about the might and majesty of Suspiria. It’s a gorgeous piece of cinema, arguably one of horror’s finest. Its use of color as a means to capture its world of witches and murder is its greatest strength, a strength that overrides everything else about it. A modern horror critic could argue the faults in the dialogue and the questionable logic, but one must also remember that Suspiria’s main thrust is its fable-like atmosphere, more so than its actual story or structure.
There’s also its lead ingénue, Jessica Harper, whose wide-eyed innocence in this supernatural, candy-coated Neverland of sorts anchors the audience, and her plight is one of great concern. After all, she is being groomed to be a witch’s coven’s future sacrifice, a plot that slowly unravels as the film goes on. Her trip into Hell is sonically aided by Goblin’s beautiful and haunting score, including the opening music box-like chords that repeat over and over again as a disembodied voice whispers “la la la” maniacally in unison, almost as a foretelling of her impending doom.
All of this decorative talk aside, Suspiria is also quite a scary experience for the uninitiated. I first experienced it when Anchor Bay released it on VHS and DVD back in the 1990s, and it was terrifying. Besides the opening fifteen minutes, which includes an absolutely brutal and over the top murder sequence, there’s also the final moments when the reanimated corpse of one of the young girls at the school attempts to murder Harper’s character. It’s effective, to say the least. Dario Argento definitely left quite the mark on horror cinema with his catalogue of work, both directed and produced, and for many, his is the yellow brick road to Italian horror cinema, which in the case of Suspiria, is entirely appropriate.
Suspiria is also a film that many fans have been clamoring for a Blu-ray release of since the dawn of the format. Although other labels on the other side of the Atlantic have released it a few times, none of them have been overly satisfactory. Enter Synapse Films. Anyone following Don May, Jr. and Vincent Pereira on Facebook and Instagram can attest to the enormously-long 3-year process of Suspiria being prepped for a Blu-ray release here in the U.S. Featuring a new 4K restoration of the film sourced from the original 35mm camera negative with extensive color correction and clean-up, all supervised by the film’s cinematographer Luciano Tovoli, this release has been one of horror home video’s most anticipated moments. Unsurprisingly, the film’s A/V presentation is a stunner, one that is a highlight for the Blu-ray format as a whole. The only possible way that it could look any better is either by seeing it screened theatrically or re-released via 4K UHD Blu-ray (something that Synapse Films is considering). The film has never looked better with amazingly high levels of fine detail, solid black levels, and even grain. The aforementioned colors, which were originally achieved using the three-strip Technicolor process as to have more direct control over them, are incredibly rich. Reds, blues, yellows, and greens pop off the screen like never before. Excellent skin tones are also on display with perfect contrast levels and no obvious leftover film artifacts.
Equally impressive is the film’s main audio presentation. It is presented via an English 4.0 DTS-HD track, which is the original 1977 theatrical release mix that has never been heard on home video before (other than a mixed down 2.0 track for a Laserdisc release, which I don’t even count). It’s also presented in 96hz/24-bit, which audiophiles will note is the peak of sonic perfection. In a word, it’s perfect, and it runs circles around its alternate Italian 5.1 DTS-HD option. Besides the massive envelopment quality that it exhibits, many levels of sound which were buried or missing altogether in previous surround mixes are now more apparent. Dialogue is reproduced well, obviously, but the score and sound design are really the stars of the show here. This is a booming soundtrack, which will rattle your windows if you have it cranked to the appropriate levels. There’s really nothing like it. It’s spectacular. And for those who might need them, there are a couple of subtitle options as well, including English SDH for the English audio version and simply English for the Italian audio version.
At first glance, the supplements on this release may seem limited due to an apparent lack of on camera interviews with anybody involved with the film, but there are some great academic extras to be had in their place. On Disc One, which contains the film itself, you have the option of watching it with either the English or Italian opening and closing credits, which is a nice touch. There are also two separate audio commentaries here as well: one with author Troy Howarth and the other with author Derek Botelho and film scholar David Del Valle. Both tracks are enjoyable and go into enormous amounts of detail about the film and Argento. Disc Two is where the bulk of the main extras can be found. They include A Sigh from the Depths: 40 Years of Suspiria, a 27-minute featurette from Ballyhoo Motion Pictures that features a variety of filmmakers, film historians, and fans of the film, offering up some scholarly insight mixed with love for the film; Do You Know Anything About Witches?, an excellent 30-minute visual essay about the film written, directed, and narrated by writer/blogger Michael Mackenzie; Suzy in Nazi Germany, a brief 8-minute featurette narrated by Marcus Stiglegger, which goes into detail about many of the filming locations and the histories therein; Olga’s Story, a 17-minute interview with actress Barbara Magnolfi by Red Shirt Pictures; the International Classics “Breathing Letters” U.S. release alternate opening credits, presented in HD; the U.S. teaser, the U.S. theatrical, and international trailers; 3 U.S. TV spots; and 5 U.S. radio spots, including 2 double feature spots with Eyeball (also in desperate need of a Blu-ray release).
Also included in the package is a cardboard insert with an advertisement for Artdigiland Publishing’s book “On Suspiria and Beyond”, containing an interview with the film’s cinematographer Luciano Tovoli; a 20-page insert booklet with an introduction by Tovoli, an essay on the film by Derek Botelho, an edited reprinting of an interview with Tovoli that originally appeared in “American Cinematographer” magazine, and audio restoration notes by Vincent Pereira, as well as additional restoration notes by Don May, Jr.; a 20-page 2018 Synapse Films product catalogue; and last but certainly not least, a CD of the original motion picture soundtrack of Goblin’s incredible score. All of this material is housed within beautiful Steelbook packaging with custom artwork, as well as an optional O-card with the film’s original Italian theatrical artwork on one side and another custom artwork piece on the other.
It’s worth noting that a number of extras from the film’s previous and various home video releases in other territories haven’t been included here, including those from Anchor Bay’s 3-Disc Limited Edition DVD set, which featured the 52-minute Suspiria 25th Anniversary documentary, and the Nouveaux Pictures Region B Blu-ray release, which included the Fear at 400 Degrees: The Cine-Excess of Suspiria featurette. In addition many other featurettes, audio commentaries, and still galleries are not included either. Truth be told, I’m not really surprised. This film has been released by so many different labels that including all of the extras from them would have been an expensive and time-consuming process, and I would prefer that all of that time and money be put into the actual presentation of the film, which is what has happened. Despite covering much of the same territory, the extras on this release are definitely top of the line. However, if you’re a hardcore fan, I suggest hanging onto those other releases if you want the missing extras.
To say that the wait for Synapse Films’ U.S. Blu-ray debut of Suspiria was well worth it would be a gross understatement. This is one of the most beautiful horror films ever made and this release is one of the most beautiful Blu-ray releases ever mounted by any distribution company, big or small. And as a limited edition of 6,000 units, I’d say that picking it up sooner rather than later should be a priority. A cheaper, more standard Blu-ray package will likely appear sometime down the road (as well as a possible 4K UHD Blu-ray release), but for now, this is the definitive release of the film to own, bar none.
- Tim Salmons
1977, 20th Century Fox, 40th Anniversary, Alida Valli, Ballyhoo Motion Pictures, Barbara Magnolfi, Blu-ray, Blu-ray Disc, Claudio Argento, Daria Nicolodi, Dario Argento, David Del Valle, Derek Botelho, Don May Jr, Flavio Bucci, Franco Fraticelli, giallo, Goblin, horror, International Classics, Jessica Harper, Joan Bennett, Luciano Tovoli, Marcus Stiglegger, Michael Mackenzie, Miguel Bose, Produzioni Atlas Consorziate, Red Shirt Pictures, review, Seda Spettacoli, Steelbook, Stefania Casini, Suspiria, Synapse Films, The Digital Bits, The Goblins, Tim Salmons, Troy Howarth, Vincent Pereira, William Kiehl
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From the Earth to the Moon (Blu-ray Review)
Review Date: Jul 17, 2019
Reviewed By: Bill Hunt
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HomeSportsAdams racks up program-record third All-American recognition, named second team by ABCA
Adams racks up program-record third All-American recognition, named second team by ABCA
First Texan to be named to three different All-America teams
May 29, 2018 debug Sports, zAS-Tarleton, zAS-Top 0
STEPHENVILLE – It’s a clean sweep of NCAA Division II All-American honors for Blake Adams.
The senior outfielder from Longview becomes the first Texan in program history to be named to three different All-America teams after being named to the ABCA/Rawlings All-America Second Team Tuesday morning.
In addition to the ABCA honor, Adams was also a second-team honoree by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association and a first-team honoree by the Division II Conference Commissioner’s Association. With his three All-American honors, he passes Tommy Keeling for the most in program history. Keeling had one award in 1995 and another in 1996.
“Blake has been a tremendous representative of our university both on and off the field,” said head coach Bryan Conger earlier in the week following Adams’ second award. “He is an excellent example of a true student-athlete that has worked exceptionally hard to turn himself into an All-American.”
Adams is the third player in program history to earn All-America status by ABCA/Rawlings, joining Keeling (1996 First Team; 1995 Third Team) and Jay Grona (1998 Third Team).
Adams put together arguably one of the greatest offensive seasons in program history as the senior from Longview is hit .390 with 74 runs scored, 16 doubles, three triples, 17 home runs, and 69 RBI – all from the leadoff spot in the Tarleton lineup. He led the league in runs scored, home runs, slugging percentage (.781), and hit by pitches (25) while also ranking among the top three in the LSC in batting average, hits, and RBI. His 17 home runs were the second-most in a single season in school history and the most in a season for a Texan since the school joined the NCAA.
Adams was named the LSC Tournament Championship MVP after hitting .667 with six runs scored, seven RBI, and three home runs for the weekend. He is a two-time All-LSC First Team selection and a three-time All-Region honoree in his career.
With Adams leading the charge, the Texans earned a trip to the fourth NCAA regional tournament in school history after winning the LSC Tournament Championship.
ABCA/Rawlings
blake adams
Bryan Conger
Tommy Keeling
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BY RUSSELL HUFFMAN TheFlashToday.com (April 3, 2018) – Glen Rose’s David Schackelford limited the Yellow [Click for more]
Wild sits two strokes off lead after two rounds of NCAA Golf Championship
HOUSTON – Casey Wild is two strokes off the lead and in fourth place after [Click for more]
Tarleton uses late charge to give Reisman win No. 600
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By BRAD KEITH TheFlashToday.com STEPHENVILLE (January 2, 2015) — For head coach Lonn Reisman, there [Click for more]
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Report on Dukono (Indonesia) — December 1994
Bulletin of the Global Volcanism Network, vol. 19, no. 12 (December 1994)
Managing Editor: Richard Wunderman.
Dukono (Indonesia) Small eruptions prompt aviation notices
Global Volcanism Program, 1994. Report on Dukono (Indonesia). In: Wunderman, R. (ed.), Bulletin of the Global Volcanism Network, 19:12. Smithsonian Institution. https://doi.org/10.5479/si.GVP.BGVN199412-268010.
Dukono
1.693°N, 127.894°E; summit elev. 1229 m
NOTAMs issued from the Ujung Pandang aviation control center on 22 November and 1 December 1994 indicated that Dukono was active, but the height of the ash cloud and its direction of drift were unknown. Satellite imagery on 22 November showed cumulus clouds but no evidence of ash. A pilot report from Qantas Airlines on 7 January 1995 described an ash cloud extending to ~6 km altitude and drifting NW, consistent with upper-level wind data; satellite imagery showed no evidence of ash.
Eruptive activity during he first half of 1993 consisted of dark ash clouds, sometimes associated with incandescent fragments (VSI, 1993a). The height of the ash cloud generally varied from 300-600 m above Malupang Magiwe crater . . . .
Geologic Background. Reports from this remote volcano in northernmost Halmahera are rare, but Dukono has been one of Indonesia's most active volcanoes. More-or-less continuous explosive eruptions, sometimes accompanied by lava flows, occurred from 1933 until at least the mid-1990s, when routine observations were curtailed. During a major eruption in 1550, a lava flow filled in the strait between Halmahera and the north-flank cone of Gunung Mamuya. This complex volcano presents a broad, low profile with multiple summit peaks and overlapping craters. Malupang Wariang, 1 km SW of the summit crater complex, contains a 700 x 570 m crater that has also been active during historical time.
Information Contacts: BOM Darwin, Australia.
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Jay-Z :: 4:44
Sy Shackleford July 4, 2017
Four years ago, when “Magna Carta… Holy Grail” dropped, I considered it mostly a lyrical exercise in an indulgence that was just as pervasive in hip-hop as it was redundant. Though hip-hop music is a youth-oriented institution, if you can spit proper, then age is irrelevant. But my reservations at the time about Jay-Z didn’t concern his age, but rather his unparalleled accomplishments, both personally and professionally. With all that he’s done, what was there left for him to talk about? He’s no longer hungry like he was on “Reasonable Doubt” and “In My Lifetime, Vol. 1“; he doesn’t have a crew anymore like he did on “Vol. 3… Life and Times of S. Carter” and “The Dynasty Roc La Familia“; the man has done it all and rapped about it all. While I liked Magna Carta, I felt that he didn’t have a wide range of topics to discuss going into it. Songs like “Picasso Baby” and “Tom Ford” unnerved me because I felt it was pretentious to rap about owning high-class art. Four years later, I now consider myself to be wrong.
Content-wise, Jay-Z was somewhat pushing the envelope on that album by referencing all this traditional artwork, particularly when you read up on Jean Michel’s history (“Spray everything like SAMO” was a Basquiat reference). His seemingly bourgeois affectations and thirst for “unattainable” things in life was him telling his listeners to wake up and broaden their horizons. While he was bragging, he was definitely not bragging about the same things as everyone else. On his 13th studio album “4:44” that statement rings very true. Actually, he’s not bragging at all. What he does is answer the questions that the public most certain has, and then some. Though he has addressed the dichotomy of Shawn Carter and Jay-Z before, “4:44” is his most personal lyrical analysis of his own juxtaposition of selves yet. A mix of confessions, regrets, life-lessons, and legacies, “4:44” is hip-hop as an adult contemporary style.
Much like his last album, Jay has shown that he can announce that he’ll be releasing an album next week via technological applications and people will devour it in spades. Though this time his album was available exclusively through the Sprint-owned music streaming service TIDAL, the result was still the same. “4:44” has had no lead singles or that much promotion, but he knew the album would sell by the strength of his name and reputation alone. For his business acumen in the streets and the boardroom, he’s an amalgam of Avon Barksdale and Stringer Bell. Veteran Chicago beatsmith No I.D. produced the entirety of this album. It was a good decision for Jay to work with him. The way No I.D. can flip samples makes his music fun to listen to straight all the way through. It’s near-dearth of guest stars here is also a plus. With 10 tracks clocking in at under forty minutes, Jay-Z enlisted just three.
The album’s opener, “Kill Jay-Z”, has been heavily discussed for Hov’s subliminal shots at Kanye West. The concept of the song, however, has Jay rapping at himself, and is a lyrical equivalent of the ending scene of his 2004 music video for “99 Problems” where Jay is riddled by gunshots, reportedly representing the death of Jay-Z and the rebirth of Shawn Carter.
The second track has a beat comprised of a piano sample, accompanying bass, and a sped-up vocal sample. Titled “The Story of O.J.”, he drops some knowledge about what it means to be an Ÿber-successful African-American. With lines like “Y’all think it’s bougie, I think that’s fine, but I’m just tryna give you $1 million worth of game for only $9.99” (which is ironic because TIDAL made this album available for free with no subscription just this past Sunday night), it’s clear he’s been watching House of Cards on Netflix: “He chose money over power. In this town, a mistake nearly everyone makes. Money is the Mc-mansion in Sarasota that starts falling apart after 10 years. Power is the old stone building that stands for centuries. I cannot respect someone who doesn’t see the difference.” He expresses regrets over having so much money at one point with no real financial freedom or the foresight to make smart investments with it. He’s at his most lyrical on “Smile”. With frantic snares and multi-track gospel vocals in the background, he has his mother, Gloria Carter, deliver a Big Rube-like spoken word outro. Also, it’s the most lyrically autobiographical track on the album with a revelation about his mother:
“Mama had four kids, but she’s a lesbian
Had to pretend so long that she’s a thespian
Had to hide in the closet, so she medicate
Society shame and the pain was too much to take
Cried tears of joy when you fell in love
Don’t matter to me if it’s a him or her
I just wanna see you smile through all the hate
Marie Antoinette, baby, let ’em eat cake”
Of course, this review would be remiss if it were not to include at least something about the biggest question about Jay-Z that everyone’s had on their mind. That question was borne of his wife, Beyonce and her 2016 controversial song “Sorry”, which alleged that Jay had a mistress. The title-track on this album finally answers that question and doubles as an answer record to “Sorry”. He confesses his infidelities and apologizes profusely over a soulful sample.
As a man, husband, and father, he expresses a good level of shame at what he’s done. He raps “what good is a menage-a-trois when you’ve got a soulmate”. Apart from his mother, the other two guest appearances on the album are Frank Ocean and Damian Marley on the Nina Simone-sampling “Caught Their Eyes” and the Dancehall style “Bam”, respectively.
One of two standout tracks on the latter half of the album is “Family Feud”. In it, he addresses the current state of hip-hop in relation to the lack of support within rap culture, as well as its perception and inequality of wealth. The second is “Marcy Me”, which is the second best song on the album after “Smile”. The beat has a Marvin Gaye feel to it with the blues piano sample and is a love letter to the Marcy section of Brooklyn where Jay was raised, lyrically applying a mother as a metaphor to represent where he grew up.
Lyrically, Jay-Z still has his gift for wordplay and flow. For what he does not display in terms of technical emceeing ability on this album, he makes up for it by dropping clever gems filled with knowledge. Despite the album’s flaws (the production on “Moonlight” and “Legacy” is their only saving grace), what makes it listenable as far as lyrics go is the that, on one hand, it’s a swipe at his critics. On the other hand, it’s self-aggrandizement mixed with self-criticism. Jay-Z is well-aware of how he’s perceived, but he’s mindful about it now more than ever. With the monumental ambition, drive and success, maybe he should’ve titled the album “How to Make It in America”. After all, nothing succeeds like success.
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Patrick Taylor January 2, 2019
Jay-Z :: Unplugged
Steve 'Flash' Juon December 21, 2001
Patrick Taylor December 25, 2007
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Benedict XVI Speeches 2005 September
[ DE - EN - ES - FR - PT ]
ADDRESS OF HIS HOLINESS BENEDICT XVI
TO THE CHIEF RABBIS OF ISRAEL
Distinguished Gentlemen,
With an open heart I welcome you here today, and express my appreciation of the fact that your visit intends to emphasize the positive results that have come from the Second Vatican Council's declaration Nostra Aetate, the fortieth anniversary of which we are commemorating this year. I see your visit as a further step forward in the process of building deeper religious relations between Catholics and Jews, a course which has received new impulse and energy from Nostra Aetate and from the many forms of contact, dialogue and co-operation that have their origin in the principles and spirit of that document. The Church continues to make every effort to implement the Council's vision of a new era of better mutual understanding, respect and solidarity between us.
Nostra Aetate has proven to be a milestone on the road towards reconciliation of Christians with the Jewish people. It makes clear that "God holds the Jews most dear for the sake of their Fathers; he does not repent of the gifts he makes or of the calls he issues” (N° 4).
Today, we must continue to seek ways to fulfil that responsibility of which I spoke during my recent visit to the Synagogue in Cologne: "of handing down to young people the torch of hope that God has given to Jews and to Christians, so that never again will the forces of evil come to power, and that future generations, with God's help, may be able to build a more just and peaceful world, in which all people have equal rights and are equally at home".
The eyes of the world constantly turn to the Holy Land, the Land that is considered holy to Jews, Christians and Muslims. Unfortunately our attention is too often drawn by acts of violence and terror, a cause of immense sorrow to everyone living there. We must continue to insist that religion and peace go together.
On this occasion my thoughts turn also to the Christian communities in the Holy Land, a living presence and witness there since the dawn of Christianity through all the vicissitudes of history. Today these brothers and sisters in the faith face new and increasing challenges. While we are pleased that diplomatic relations between the Holy See and the State of Israel have led to more solid and stable forms of co-operation, we eagerly await the fulfilment of the Fundamental Agreement on issues still outstanding.
Dear Chief Rabbis, as religious leaders we stand before God with a serious responsibility for the teaching we give and the decisions we make. May the Lord sustain us in serving the great cause of promoting the sacredness of human life and defending the human dignity of every person, so that justice and peace may flourish in the world.
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Undiagnosed diabetes cases rising on Isles
June 6, 2014 10:55 am 0 comments Views: 62
Staggering figures released by the Scottish Government reveal the extent of undiagnosed diabetes cases in the Western Isles.
The figures obtained from the Scottish Government through a series of Parliamentary Questions revealed that there are 1,259 people in the Western Isles diagnosed with Diabetes, whilst it is estimated that a further 698 people remain undiagnosed and at significant risk of developing health issues and complications from the condition.
Commenting on the figures, MSP David Stewart, Scottish Parliamentary Champion for Diabetes, said: “The numbers of people living with undiagnosed diabetes in the Western Isles is simply staggering, and could easily be rectified.
“I hope these revealing figures will spur on the Scottish Government to act and tackle this increasingly alarming trend in undiagnosed diabetes cases.”
Jane MacAulay is part of NHS Western Isles’ diabetes nurse specialist team. There are four nurses and a consultant physician as well as Diabetologist clinics in Benbecula and Stornoway.
She said: “NHS Western Isles is well aware of the increasing prevalence of diabetes in the community and has invested heavily in specialist services as well as training for clinical staff in primary, community and secondary care to ensure that the increased demand can be managed in an effective and evidence based manner.
“We are confident that the measures put in place are sufficient to manage the increasing number of patients.
“The earlier the diagnosis, the better. This benefits the patients, in terms of leading a healthier life and avoiding the complications of diabetes. Our aim is to continuously raise awareness of the signs, symptoms and risks, so that people can be diagnosed as early as possible.
“I would ask anyone who feels that they have any of the symptoms of diabetes, no matter how mild, to see their GP for a check up. Also anyone aged 40-65, please do attend the Well North Programme when they are called.
“It is obviously important to remember that in many cases the development of Type 2 diabetes is largely affected by lifestyle.
“Increased calorie intake and decreased mobility with associated weight gain are key factors.”
Well North Outer Hebrides is the screening programme that has been in place in NHS Western Isles for over five years. It provides a comprehensive risk assessment, rather than just a diabetes test, for Cardiovascular Disease and uses a reliable screening test (HbA1C) which has uncovered many cases of ‘silent’ diabetes.
Abdul Rias was admitted to hospital for suspected appendicitis and during routine blood-test it was discovered that he was diabetic.
He said: “I had all the symptoms under the sun but due to lack of awareness I was unable to suspect diabetes. I had a different excuse for each symptom – tiredness due to driving 200 miles per day; thirst and passing water very frequently due to age.
“I have had to adjust my diet – I was a proper chocoholic. I could eat boxes of chocolates in one go! I was very lazy but now make it a point to walk for at least half an hour after each meal.”
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Press Reactions |
A Documentary That Defines "The Good Life"
Thu 17, Mar 16 | By Ethan de Seife, Seven Days Vermont
"Boll stitches together a portrait of how 'small good things' — community-minded agriculture, yoga instruction, even cycling with friends — can, piece by piece, yield richer, happier lives."
By Ethan de Seife, Seven Days Vermont
Pamela Tanner Boll knows that the central question of her latest documentary, A Small Good Thing, is not a new one. What it means to "live a good life" has been contested, she says, at least since Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics, written around 350 BC. But that doesn't mean we've found the answer.
A Small Good Thing, which screens on Wednesday, March 23, at Middlebury College, draws on the personal stories of six people to propose that the quality of one's life increases with the strength of the communities in which one participates. The 71-minute film also draws on new social science research that suggests compassion and togetherness have been the driving forces in the development of human society.
By phone from Arizona, Boll said, "I was trying [in the film] to let us look at some paradigm shifts about what it means to be human. We can be extremely successful without necessarily killing each other off or killing the planet."
The six people at the heart of A Small Good Thing reside in the Berkshires region of western Massachusetts, an area long known for its progressive politics and "back to the land" ethos. Boll stitches together a portrait of how "small good things" — community-minded agriculture, yoga instruction, even cycling with friends — can, piece by piece, yield richer, happier lives.
Asked if that thesis isn't a little diffuse, Boll laughed: She's heard that one before. "People didn't understand what I was doing," she said. "Is [the film] a call to action for everybody to do yoga, or a call to action for everybody to revert to small farming? Is it about meditation? I kept saying that it's all of the above ... It's a very important topic: What is a good life? How do we live well?”
Boll is a seasoned producer of "social issues" documentaries; her biggest success in that role was Born Into Brothels: Calcutta's Red Light Kids, which won the Oscar for Best Documentary in 2005. Boll's first directorial effort wasWho Does She Think She Is?, a 2008 documentary that investigates women's struggles to balance professional and personal responsibilities. A Small Good Thing is the second film she's directed.
Boll is an alum and former trustee of Middlebury College, which also employs renowned environmental activist Bill McKibben. He's one of several experts interviewed in the film, speaking about the connection between community building and environmental health.
"The American experience seems to indicate that as we suburbanized — as we built big houses farther apart from each other — community dwindled," he wrote in an email to Seven Days.
A Small Good Thing, Boll said, was made according to the principles the film espouses. In the Berkshires, the director found her interviewees by word of mouth. Boll said that friends in the area kept mentioning "this amazing woman who's making a huge difference in her community." When she finally met that woman, social worker Shirley Edgerton, a conversation over coffee convinced the filmmaker that Edgerton should be in the film.
Edgerton will join Boll and McKibben at the Middlebury screening to answer questions about the doc.
"A Small Good Thing" at Dana Auditorium, Sunderland Language Center, Middlebury College. Wed., March 23, 7 p.m. Free.
This article was originally published in Seven Days Vermont:
http://www.sevendaysvt.com/vermont/a-documentary-that-defines-the-good-life/Content?oid=3235315
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DATE News (chronologically)
Latest F1 news in brief - Friday
Can Ferrari take it to Mercedes in 2016? Mario Andretti thinks so, but AR1 doubts they can beat the Aldo Costa designed Mercedes
Ferrari can fight for 2016 title - Andretti
Carmen Jorda 'excited' about future with Renault
No Renault 'fireworks' in early 2016 - Palmer
Monza future brighter as law tweaked
Hugo Hakkinen not following Mick Schumacher to F1
Wolff ready for 'even bigger' driver fight
Wolff not worried about rivals poaching staff
'Strange' that Volkswagen not in F1 - Marchionne
Vandoorne aims for F1 debut in 2017
Lowe questions downforce increase for 2017
High Cost Of Hosting F1 Revealed
2016 Formula 1 Grand Prix of Europe Tickets On Sale
You just don't beat an Aldo Costa designed car. He is now doing for Mercedes what he did for Ferrari in the Schumacher era
(GMM) Mario Andretti, a motor racing legend and former Ferrari driver, says he can imagine the Maranello marque taking on Mercedes for the title in 2016.
"Yes, of course," he is quoted by Italy's Omnicorse.
"It seems to me that the atmosphere is very motivated and serene, and (Sebastian) Vettel is the right person for Maranello.
"I think the conditions are right for them to give their best next year," Andretti, an Italian-born American who is now 75, added.
Andretti, who won his title in 1978 with the original Lotus team, said he thinks Ferrari this year laid the foundation for a championship challenge in 2016.
"What I see now is a team that does not think about winning a race every now and then, as happened in 2015, but a team that will fight for the title. And I sincerely hope they do," he said.
Meanwhile, he was also asked about F1's current champion Lewis Hamilton and his controversial balance between success at Mercedes and a 'rock star' lifestyle.
"He lives for the day," Andretti said of the Briton. "He is having fun and I don't want to say 'modern', but it is with a very personal style.
"But he's a good guy. He knows what his priorities are and we should not blame him for anything. I don't think his way of life affects his performance -- I can see him remaining as a driver at the very top," he added.
Carmen Jorda is hot
(GMM) Carmen Jorda sounds confident she will remain with Enstone as the current Lotus team transitions to Renault ownership over the winter.
Often controversially, the 27-year-old female GP3 driver has been a development driver with Lotus in 2015, travelling the calendar but not actually driving the black and gold car.
When asked this week what she is doing next, the Spaniard answered: "Hopefully I'll have good news to announce with the team and I'm excited to see what the future holds and for something new.
"We're all hoping for a good end after a challenging year," Jorda added.
She says she enjoyed the season, even though Lotus struggled for mere survival at times as it waited for new owner Renault to make its final decision.
Asked what color she thinks the 2016 car will be, Jorda answered: "I think yellow for sure!"
"It was a really good year for me and an amazing experience in which I learnt a lot from everyone here at Enstone," she explained. "The team and I have been through a lot of exciting moments, and some slightly more challenging. I think there was a good balance through the year though."
Jolyon Palmer
(GMM) Jolyon Palmer has warned that Renault may not shine immediately as the carmaker returns to full works status in formula one next year.
It was amid Lotus' financial troubles that the Enstone team's Friday driver was promoted to a full race seat for 2016.
Since the buyout, Renault CEO Carlos Ghosn has cast doubt on whether Palmer and Pastor Maldonado will actually race, but the British driver sounds confident.
"Renault coming in is huge, because this team would be insecure without them," he told the January edition of F1 Racing magazine.
"It's been tough going, but the shareholders have been working through things. Renault coming in is good for the sport and exciting for me next season.
"I don't think there'll be fireworks straight away, but they'll secure the team financially and will be fully motivated to do a good job," Palmer added.
Monza looks secure
(GMM) In the days before Christmas, good news emerged this week from Italian parliamentary circles.
La Repubblica reports that after a marathon 37 hour sitting, the budget committee gave a green light to tweak the 'Legge di stabilita' (stability law) that had earlier cast doubt on Monza's ability to host the Italian grand prix.
Article 183 has been reportedly rewritten to expand the funding of the historic race beyond Aci, the Italian automobile club.
Italy's La Gazzetta dello Sport predicted that a new race deal with Bernie Ecclestone beyond 2016 could be agreed soon.
"This change has been decisive and so the most important work is now done," said Angelo Sticchi Damiani, the Aci chief.
Much sadder news is emerging from Spain, where El Pais newspaper has published a series of photos showing the former Valencia street circuit in a state of disrepair.
Equipment is abandoned, tall weeds are growing out of the old blue-painted run-off areas, electrical boxes have been ransacked and spectator tunnels are flooded with standing water.
And La Vanguardia, another Spanish daily, said it will be 2023 before all the loans to cover the EUR 100 million cost of the failed European grand prix are even re-paid.
Hugo Hakkinen (L) with dad Mika and mom at Monaco this year
(GMM) In 1999, as Mika Hakkinen won his second world championship, arch F1 rival Michael Schumacher welcomed a son - Mick - into the world.
Similarly, it was in 2000 when Schumacher and Hakkinen had their now legendary overtaking dice at Spa -- the same year that the Finn's son Hugo was born.
Now, Mick is racing towards F1 stardom.
It seems the 16-year-old German is hedging his bets between a future at Ferrari or Mercedes, the teams his father Michael most famously raced for.
Kolner Express newspaper reports that Mick's team in German Formula 4, Van Amersfoort, has completed its switch for 2016 from Volkswagen to Mercedes power.
And the report added that Schumacher Jr looks set to split his time next year between the German series and also Italian F4, with the Ferrari-linked Prema team.
The next step for 2017, it would seem, is the highly-competitive world of European F3, from which Max Verstappen launched his own F1 career.
But it's a different story for Hakkinen's son Hugo, the 1998 and 1999 title winner reveals.
In 2012, we reported that Hugo embarked on a full season in the Italian kart championship, with Mika saying at the time: "I see now what a hunger my son Hugo has."
But now, Hakkinen reports: "Hugo tried karting, and he was good, but it was not his passion.
"He is 15 now, and his passion is football. He is committed to trying to become a professional football player and I will support him in that," the Finn wrote in a McLaren blog.
"I do not mind that he will not become a professional racing driver, although I would have supported him if that is what he had wanted," Hakkinen added. "You support your kids like that, don't you?"
Has Rosberg been chosen by Mercedes to win the 2016 title?
(GMM) Toto Wolff insists he does not want to end the controversial rivalry between warring Mercedes drivers Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg.
That is despite the fact that he was recently quoted as warning that if the feud gets out of hand and affects team spirit, Mercedes may need to change its lineup.
"I said that. And I said it deliberately," Wolff admits to Auto Motor und Sport.
"But controversy on the track is important. It's part of formula one and the last thing I want to do is stop it.
"Our philosophy has always been that they are allowed to race hard against each other. But the drivers must also respect the fact that there is this huge effort not only from them but from the whole team," he explained.
"Controversy between the two of them is absolutely fine. It can even be bigger. But I will not allow a situation when the fight splits and damages the team.
"Our success is because we have a good spirit, a positive energy and we enjoy working together. All these so-called F1 experts with an opinion should put themselves in our position: it's not easy to manage two number 1 drivers," said Wolff.
Interestingly, Wolff suggested that Mercedes may even be prepared to accept a further escalation of the hostilities between Hamilton and Rosberg, now that the team has wrapped up two consecutive world championships.
"I don't mind if the drivers fight with no holds barred," he told the German magazine. "It was a different situation when we were going for our first title, as we had to make sure we won.
"Now we are a bit more relaxed. The example is Lewis (and his lifestyle) and the fact that we give him space for that. All I am asking for is a minimal understanding that there is a team behind it all. And both of our drivers do (understand)," added Wolff.
Toto Wolff sues staff trying to leave Mercedes for rivals
(GMM) Toto Wolff says he is not worried Mercedes' success will be eroded by rival teams poaching top staff.
When asked about rumors that Ferrari poached five Mercedes engineers as the Italian marque significantly improved its engine last year, he insisted: "That's nonsense."
But he also admitted that, in light of Mercedes' utter dominance in the new 'power unit' era, his staff are now highly sought after.
"Every successful business has to deal with change," Wolff told Auto Motor und Sport.
"Most important is to have your finger on the pulse, which can sometimes be difficult when you have 1200 people. There are always those who are looking for a new challenge or are looking for higher positions somewhere else.
"But at the moment we are holding together as a strong team," he added.
F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone, however, has gone on the record to suggest that while Mercedes is winning, it is Ferrari's "incredible fan base" that makes the fabled Italian team even stronger.
"Ferrari have an incredible fan base even when they lose," he told Motorsport-Magain.com. "You don't find that with Mercedes.
"If they begin to lose, then you'll see what happens. If Mercedes stop winning, I don't think that many people will feel any sympathy for them," Ecclestone added.
Sergio Marchionne thinks VW should join them in spending hundreds of million dollars in F1
(GMM) Sergio Marchionne, the Ferrari and Fiat Chrysler chief, says he is still urging his Volkswagen counterpart to consider entering formula one.
Currently, only four carmakers are on the grid, even though Renault has just stepped up its involvement by buying Lotus and returning to full works status for 2016.
"I know Carlos Ghosn," said Marchionne, "and how much he had to realign himself to the reality of the Renault team that won the titles in the mid-2000s," said the Italian-Canadian at Ferrari's recent Christmas celebrations.
But he said more carmakers should now follow that example.
"For example, I've always encouraged the CEO of Volkswagen to enter," said Marchionne. "For the largest automobile company in the world to not be competing is a bit strange.
"If others come in, it would be good for the sport, good for them, good for us. I also must not minimize the presence of Honda.
"I think they were so focused on giving the engine to (McLaren supremo Ron) Dennis who is a person who leaves not a lot of room. That they had difficulties is a shame but they also have the ability to return to winning," he added.
"That Ghosn is coming in with Lotus now is important," said Marchionne.
However, Christian Horner has argued in recent days that Red Bull's criticism of Renault as an engine supplier in the past couple of years was justified.
Marchionne insisted: "I think they (Red Bull) forgot that it was with the very same people (Renault) that they won the world championships, without properly recognizing it.
"In short, a bit of balance would have been better," he said. "I certainly do not blame Horner, but we must be fair in our assessment."
Stoffel Vandoorne will have to wait until 2017 to drive the backmarker McLaren-Honda
(GMM) Stoffel Vandoorne has acknowledged that his F1 race career will have to wait until 2017 at least.
The McLaren-backed Belgian has been dominant en route to becoming the new GP2 champion this year.
"There is always pressure," said the 23-year-old, "because I knew after coming second last year I had to win in 2015, but I feel that I've handled it well.
"I've broken almost every record in GP2, so that shows how strong my season has been."
McLaren's race lineup is all locked out for now with Fernando Alonso alongside Jenson Button, and as GP2 champion, Vandoorne cannot simply stay in the feeder series.
So he will be McLaren's official reserve in 2016, almost certainly combining that role with a race seat in the Japanese open wheel series Super Formula, where Honda has a significant presence.
Vandoorne had his first test at the end of last month at Suzuka, driving for the Honda-powered team Dandelion.
It is believed he is now close to signing a Super Formula deal for 2016.
"There's only one or two clashes with F1," Vandoorne told the January edition of F1 Racing magazine, "so it would be possible to do both.
"I don't have a race seat in F1 for next season, but hopefully I can get one in 2017 -- that's what I'm working on, flat out.
"I've done everything right, everything that has been asked of me, and I'll continue to work hard. Unfortunately, there are no guarantees in this sport," he added.
Paddy Lowe
(GMM) Mercedes is among those who are worried about F1's expected new rules for 2017.
The sport basically agrees that the cars must be more spectacular and faster for the future, but there is disagreement about how that should be achieved.
World champion Lewis Hamilton, for one, worries that plans to speed up cornering speeds by adding downforce is the wrong move if the aim is also to promote overtaking.
Indeed, Germany's Auto Motor und Sport reports that it has seen the outline of the 2017 rules, with the cars to have "massively" bigger diffusers and wings.
Force India's technical boss Andy Green said: "Due to the rake of the cars I expect the bigger and more flexible wings might touch the ground quite heavily in fast corners like Eau Rouge."
Auto Motor und Sport said the 2017 blueprint is for 100 additional 'points' of downforce, or 30 per cent more than the current cars.
Correspondent Michael Schmidt said that the FIA's graphics depicting an example 2017 car is in Red Bull livery, as the former quadruple world champion team devised the concept.
Paddy Lowe, Mercedes' executive director, warned: "We have to be careful about putting on more downforce.
"We have never done that before," he told the January edition of F1 Racing magazine. "All previous rule changes have been about keeping it in check."
The cost to bankrupt F1 races like Valencia revealed
Former Valencia region President Francisco Camps assured that holding an F1 race in Valencia "was not going to cost Valencians 1 euro," according to Salvador Enguix of LA VANGUARDIA.
The facts "confirm, however, that on the contrary, organizing the race had a very elevated cost for the public coffers of the Valencian Government." In fact, "more years will pass before all the debts have been amortized."
This is what Valencian Government official Maria Jose Salvador found, and "among other facts," she revealed that works carried out to host F1 in Valencia cost 98M euro.
To finance these works, a loan of $64.8M had to be solicited. This will be paid from '16-23, in annual payments of $8.1M.
There were also "extra costs" of $17.8M. Salvador warned that documentation of this "has been sent to the District Attorney's office."
She underlined her "indignation" that a company like EIGE, "whose principal function is social housing, was used for the work carried out to host F1, and the majority of those facilities are not used for anything." LA VANGUARDIA
Baku City Circuit (BCC) today held a special press conference to announce that tickets for the newest addition to the Formula 1 calendar, the 2016 Formula 1 Grand Prix of Europe in Baku, will be available to purchase online from tomorrow via www.bakucitycircuit.com. The race weekend will take place on the weekend of 17-19 June 2016.
The Minister of Youth and Sports, Azad Rahimov, was also present at today's announcement, lending his support to the BCC team at this important junction for the newest street circuit in Formula 1.
The opening of the ticket sales process has been timed to coincide with this weekend's ‘Six-Months-To-Go' celebrations, a series of entertainment activities taking place in downtown Baku to celebrate F1's arrival in Azerbaijan's capital city. The launch of the online ticket sales program marks a key milestone in a process that has been several years in the making and that will culminate with F1 cars racing in Azerbaijan for the very first time next summer.
Speaking immediately after the announcement earlier today, Bulent Ozerdim, said: "Today marks a key moment in the arrival of Formula 1 in Baku. We are absolutely delighted to launch our ticket sales program this weekend. Our message to everyone is clear: come to Baku next June not only to witness an incredible race weekend but also to discover this beautiful city and all it has to offer. I would advise fans wishing to celebrate with us next summer to act fast and get their tickets while they are still available!"
The Minister of Youth and Sports, Azad Rahimov, was also thrilled to be present at this landmark occasion, stating: "This is another hugely positive development in the overall process of bringing one of the biggest sporting events in the world to Baku. I am convinced that both F1 and Baku are a perfect fit and I encourage all fans to come and experience the 2016 Formula 1 Grand Prix of Europe for themselves in this wonderful city. We look forward to welcoming the global F1 family to Azerbaijan next June."
Excitement amongst the residents of Azerbaijan's capital city is building steadily as Baku continues in its preparations to welcome F1 next summer. Indeed, a recent survey conducted nationwide amongst 1,001 respondents via face-to-face interviews by SIAR Research and Consulting Group found that over 80 percent of Azerbaijan's population believe the inaugural Formula 1 Grand Prix of Europe in Baku will deliver an exceptional sporting event that will play a strong role in positioning the country on the world stage and help establish Baku as a prime tourist attraction for regional and international tourists. Furthermore, in a positive sign for the fledgling race, half of Baku's residents - of whom the majority are under 34 - indicated that they are keen to buy tickets for the race next summer.
A variety of ticket options are on offer for the 2016 Formula 1 Grand Prix of Europe, including various packages for the Absheron Grandstand, which will offer fans some fantastic views of the start/finish lane, as well as a wide range of different Grandstand seating options, located at various corners and straights along the track. In addition, General Admission roaming tickets will also be on offer to those preferring to watch the action from different locations on the track on various standing areas and podiums.
With only 6 months to go until the engines of the world's greatest race cars roar through the streets of the city, the message from Baku City Circuit to the world's F1 audience is very simple: this will be more than a race, so get your tickets while you still can!
For more information on how to purchase tickets and plan your stay in Baku for the 2016 Formula 1 Grand Prix of Europe please visit: www.bakucitycircuit.com
About Baku City Circuit
Baku at night
Baku City Circuit (formally Baku Grand Prix LLC) stands for the name of official promoter of the 2016 Formula 1 Grand Prix of Europe in Azerbaijan, as well as the title of the host venue of the race.
With a length measuring at slightly over six kilometers, the 20-corner track will be lapped 51 times, with cars reaching potential speeds of up to 340km per hour, marking the circuit out as the fastest street circuit on the existing F1 calendar.
The circuit offers a number of challenges for drivers, including an extremely narrow uphill section along the old town walls that will require pinpoint accuracy, and it has an acceleration section of almost 2.2 kilometers along the seaside promenade, which will see the cars running flat out at very high speed - something that will create an incredible show for race fans.
On the weekend of June 17-19, 2016, the specially constructed Baku City Circuit will see Formula 1 cars race around the picturesque streets of downtown Baku, incorporating the city's UNESCO-protected old town – Icheri Sheher - as well as its modern skyline and beautiful Caspian Sea vista in front of a global audience of millions.
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Select one... 01/01/03 to 01/08/03 01/09/03 to 01/15/03 01/16/03 to 01/22/03 01/23/03 to 01/29/03 01/30/03 to 02/05/03 02/06/03 to 02/12/03 02/13/03 to 02/18/03 02/19/03 to 02/23/03 02/24/03 to 02/27/03 02/28/03 to 03/04/03 03/05/03 to 03/08/03 03/09/03 to 03/14/03 03/15/03 to 03/21/03 03/22/03 to 03/27/03 03/28/03 to 04/05/03 04/06/03 to 04/11/03 04/12/03 to 04/17/03 04/18/03 to 04/23/03 04/24/03 to 04/29/03 04/30/03 to 05/06/03 05/07/03 to 05/12/03 05/13/03 to 05/19/03 05/20/03 to 05/24/03 05/25/03 to 05/29/03 05/30/03 to 06/05/03 06/06/03 to 06/12/03 06/13/03 to 06/20/03 06/21/03 to 06/28/03 06/29/03 to 07/05/03 07/06/03 to 07/12/03 07/13/03 to 07/18/03 07/19/03 to 07/25/03 07/26/03 to 07/31/03 08/01/03 to 08/07/03 08/08/03 to 08/13/03 08/14/03 to 08/20/03 08/21/03 to 08/27/03 08/28/03 to 09/02/03 09/03/03 to 09/09/03 09/10/03 to 09/16/03 09/17/03 to 09/22/03 09/23/03 to 09/29/03 09/30/03 to 10/05/03 10/06/03 to 10/11/03 10/12/03 to 10/17/03 10/18/03 to 10/24/03 10/25/03 to 10/31/03 11/01/03 to 11/06/03 11/07/03 to 11/13/03 11/14/03 to 11/20/03 11/21/03 to 11/27/03 11/28/03 to 12/05/03 12/06/03 to 12/14/03 12/15/03 to 12/22/03 12/23/03 to 12/31/03
Select one... 01/01/04 to 01/07/04 01/08/04 to 01/14/04 01/15/04 to 01/20/04 01/21/04 to 01/26/04 01/27/04 to 01/31/04 02/01/04 to 02/06/04 02/07/04 to 02/12/04 02/13/04 to 02/19/04 02/20/04 to 02/27/04 02/28/04 to 03/05/04 03/06/04 to 03/11/04 03/12/04 to 03/18/04 03/19/04 to 03/25/04 03/26/04 to 03/31/04 04/01/04 to 04/08/04 04/09/04 to 04/17/04 04/18/04 to 04/26/04 04/27/04 to 05/04/04 05/05/04 to 05/11/04 05/12/04 to 05/17/04 05/18/04 to 05/23/04 05/24/04 to 05/28/04 05/29/04 to 06/05/04 06/06/04 to 06/13/04 06/14/04 to 06/18/04 06/19/04 to 06/23/04 06/24/04 to 06/28/04 06/24/04 to 06/29/04 06/30/04 to 07/04/04 07/05/04 to 07/12/04 07/13/04 to 07/19/04 07/20/04 to 07/25/04 07/26/04 to 08/02/04 08/03/04 to 08/06/04 08/06/04 to 08/12/0408/13/04 to 08/18/0408/19/04 to 08/26/0408/27/04 to 09/02/0409/03/04 to 09/09/0409/10/04 to 09/15/0409/16/04 to 09/22/0409/23/04 to 09/27/0409/28/04 to 10/04/0410/05/04 to 10/10/0410/11/04 to 10/16/0410/17/04 to 10/22/0410/23/04 to 10/30/0410/31/04 to 11/09/0411/10/04 to 11/17/0411/18/04 to 11/23/0411/24/04 to 11/29/0411/30/04 to 12/05/0412/06/04 to 12/14/0412/15/04 to 12/22/04
Select one...12/23/04 to 01/03/0501/04/05 to 01/09/0501/10/05 to 01/14/0501/15/05 to 01/19/0501/20/05 to 01/24/0501/25/05 to 01/28/0501/29/05 to 02/03/0502/04/05 to 02/08/0502/09/05 to 02/13/0502/14/05 to 02/17/0502/18/05 to 02/22/0502/23/05 to 02/27/0502/28/05 to 03/02/0503/03/05 to 03/06/0503/07/05 to 03/11/0503/12/05 to 03/16/0503/17/05 to 03/19/0503/20/05 to 03/24/0503/25/05 to 03/30/0503/31/05 to 04/04/0504/05/05 to 04/09/0504/10/05 to 04/13/0504/14/05 to 04/18/0504/19/05 to 04/24/0504/25/05 to 04/29/0504/30/05 to 05/04/0505/05/05 to 05/10/0505/11/05 to 05/16/0505/17/05 to 05/20/0505/21/05 to 05/25/0505/26/05 to 05/31/0506/01/05 to 06/06/0506/07/05 to 06/11/0506/12/05 to 06/16/0506/17/05 to 06/19/0506/20/05 to 06/24/0506/25/05 to 06/29/0506/30/05 to 07/06/0507/07/05 to 07/11/0507/12/05 to 07/17/0507/18/05 to 07/22/0507/23/05 to 07/27/0507/28/05 to 07/31/0508/01/05 to 08/07/0508/08/05 to 08/12/0508/13/05 to 08/17/0508/18/05 to 08/21/0508/22/05 to 08/26/0508/27/05 to 09/01/0509/02/05 to 09/06/0509/07/05 to 09/09/0509/10/05 to 09/14/0509/15/05 to 09/18/0509/19/05 to 09/22/0509/23/05 to 09/27/0509/28/05 to 10/01/0510/02/05 to 10/07/0510/08/05 to 10/13/0510/14/05 to 10/18/0510/19/05 to 10/26/0510/27/05 to 11/01/0511/02/05 to 11/06/0511/07/05 to 11/13/0511/14/05 to 11/17/0511/18/05 to 11/22/0511/23/05 to 11/30/0512/01/05 to 12/03/0512/04/05 to 12/07/0512/08/05 to 12/12/0512/13/05 to 12/16/0512/17/05 to 12/21/0512/22/05 to 12/30/05
Select one...12/31/05 to 01/04/0601/05/06 to 01/09/0601/10/06 to 01/13/0601/14/06 to 01/18/0601/19/06 to 01/22/0601/23/06 to 01/25/0601/26/06 to 01/28/0601/29/06 to 02/01/0602/02/06 to 02/06/0602/07/06 to 02/10/0602/11/06 to 02/15/0602/16/06 to 02/19/0602/20/06 to 02/23/0602/24/06 to 02/27/0602/28/06 to 03/02/0603/03/06 to 03/06/0603/07/06 to 03/09/0603/10/06 to 03/12/0603/13/06 to 03/15/0603/16/06 to 03/17/0603/18/06 to 03/21/0603/22/06 to 03/24/0603/25/06 to 03/28/0603/29/06 to 03/31/0604/01/06 to 04/04/0604/05/06 to 04/08/0604/09/06 to 04/12/0604/13/06 to 04/17/0604/18/06 to 04/21/0604/22/06 to 04/26/0604/27/06 to 04/30/0605/01/06 to 05/03/0605/04/06 to 05/06/0605/07/06 to 05/10/0605/11/06 to 05/12/0605/13/06 to 05/15/0605/16/06 to 05/19/0605/20/06 to 05/22/0605/23/06 to 05/25/0605/26/06 to 05/29/0605/30/06 to 06/02/0606/03/06 to 06/06/0606/07/06 to 06/10/0606/11/06 to 06/14/0606/15/06 to 06/17/0606/18/06 to 06/21/0606/22/06 to 06/26/0606/27/06 to 06/30/0607/01/06 to 07/06/0607/07/06 to 07/10/0607/11/06 to 07/14/0607/15/06 to 07/19/0607/20/06 to 07/24/0607/25/06 to 07/27/0607/28/06 to 07/31/0608/01/06 to 08/06/0608/07/06 to 08/11/0608/12/06 to 08/16/0608/17/06 to 08/22/0608/23/06 to 08/26/0608/27/06 to 08/31/0609/01/06 to 09/05/0609/06/06 to 09/08/0609/09/06 to 09/13/0609/14/06 to 09/18/0609/19/06 to 09/24/0609/25/06 to 09/28/0609/29/06 to 10/03/0610/04/06 to 10/08/0610/09/06 to 10/14/0610/15/06 to 10/17/0610/18/06 to 10/22/0610/23/06 to 10/27/0610/28/06 to 10/31/0611/01/06 to 11/05/0611/06/06 to 11/09/0611/10/06 to 11/16/0611/17/06 to 11/21/0611/22/06 to 11/26/0611/27/06 to 11/30/0612/01/06 to 12/04/0612/05/06 to 12/08/0612/09/06 to 12/14/0612/15/06 to 12/19/0612/20/06 to 12/30/06
Select one...12/31/06 to 01/04/0701/05/07 to 01/08/0701/09/07 to 01/11/0701/12/07 to 01/17/0701/18/07 to 01/21/0701/22/07 to 01/25/0701/26/07 to 01/29/0701/30/07 to 02/03/0702/04/07 to 02/08/0702/09/07 to 02/12/0702/13/07 to 02/16/0702/17/07 to 02/21/0702/22/07 to 02/26/0702/27/07 to 03/01/0703/02/07 to 03/05/0703/06/07 to 03/08/0703/09/07 to 03/12/0703/13/07 to 03/14/0703/15/07 to 03/17/0703/18/07 to 03/21/0703/22/07 to 03/25/0703/26/07 to 03/28/0703/29/07 to 04/02/0704/03/07 to 04/04/0704/05/07 to 04/08/0704/09/07 to 04/11/0704/12/07 to 04/13/0704/14/07 to 04/17/0704/18/07 to 04/20/0704/21/07 to 04/24/0704/25/07 to 04/28/0704/29/07 to 05/02/0705/03/07 to 05/05/0705/06/07 to 05/08/0705/09/07 to 05/11/0705/12/07 to 05/14/0705/15/07 to 05/17/0705/18/07 to 05/21/0705/22/07 to 05/24/0705/25/07 to 05/29/0705/30/07 to 06/03/0706/04/07 to 06/06/0706/07/07 to 06/08/0706/09/07 to 06/11/0706/12/07 to 06/13/0706/14/07 to 06/15/0706/16/07 to 06/18/0706/19/07 to 06/21/0706/22/07 to 06/26/0706/27/07 to 06/29/0706/30/07 to 07/01/0707/02/07 to 07/04/0707/05/07 to 07/07/0707/08/07 to 07/12/0707/13/07 to 07/16/0707/17/07 to 07/19/0707/20/07 to 07/21/0707/22/07 to 07/25/0707/26/07 to 07/30/0707/31/07 to 08/03/0708/04/07 to 08/08/0708/09/07 to 08/13/0708/14/07 to 08/19/0708/20/07 to 08/23/0708/24/07 to 08/27/0708/28/07 to 08/30/0708/31/07 to 09/03/0709/04/07 to 09/06/0709/07/07 to 09/10/0709/11/07 to 09/12/0709/13/07 to 09/14/0709/15/07 to 09/18/0709/19/07 to 09/22/0709/23/07 to 09/26/0709/27/07 to 09/29/0709/30/07 to 10/02/0710/03/07 to 10/04/0710/05/07 to 10/07/0710/08/07 to 10/11/0710/12/07 to 10/14/0710/15/07 to 10/16/0710/17/07 to 10/18/0710/19/07 to 10/21/0710/22/07 to 10/25/0710/26/07 to 10/28/0710/29/07 to 10/31/0711/01/07 to 11/04/0711/05/07 to 11/08/0711/09/07 to 11/13/0711/14/07 to 11/17/0711/18/07 to 11/22/0711/23/07 to 11/28/0711/29/07 to 12/04/0712/05/07 to 12/07/0712/08/07 to 12/12/0712/13/07 to 12/17/0712/18/07 to 12/25/07
Select one...12/26/07 to 01/03/0801/04/08 to 01/08/0801/09/08 to 01/12/0801/13/08 to 01/15/0801/16/08 to 01/20/0801/21/08 to 01/23/0801/24/08 to 01/27/0801/28/08 to 01/30/0801/31/08 to 02/03/0802/04/08 to 02/06/0802/07/08 to 02/08/0802/09/08 to 02/12/0802/13/08 to 02/14/0802/15/08 to 02/18/0802/19/08 to 02/21/0802/22/08 to 02/25/0802/26/08 to 02/28/0802/29/08 to 03/04/0803/05/08 to 03/08/0803/09/08 to 03/11/0803/12/08 to 03/13/0803/14/08 to 03/16/0803/17/08 to 03/19/0803/20/08 to 03/21/0803/22/08 to 03/25/0803/26/08 to 03/28/0803/29/08 to 04/01/0804/02/08 to 04/04/0804/05/08 to 04/07/0804/08/08 to 04/10/0804/11/08 to 04/14/0804/15/08 to 04/17/0804/18/08 to 04/20/0804/21/08 to 04/24/0804/25/08 to 04/26/0804/27/08 to 04/30/0805/01/08 to 05/03/0805/04/08 to 05/05/0805/06/08 to 05/07/0805/08/08 to 05/09/0805/10/08 to 05/12/0805/13/08 to 05/15/0805/16/08 to 05/17/0805/18/08 to 05/21/0805/22/08 to 05/23/0805/24/08 to 05/26/0805/27/08 to 05/29/0805/30/08 to 06/01/0806/02/08 to 06/05/0806/06/08 to 06/06/0806/07/08 to 06/09/0806/10/08 to 06/11/0806/12/08 to 06/13/0806/14/08 to 06/14/0806/15/08 to 06/17/0806/18/08 to 06/19/0806/20/08 to 06/21/0806/22/08 to 06/24/0806/25/08 to 06/28/0806/29/08 to 07/01/0807/02/08 to 07/03/0807/04/08 to 07/06/0807/07/08 to 07/10/0807/11/08 to 07/13/0807/14/08 to 07/17/0807/18/08 to 07/19/0807/20/08 to 07/22/0807/23/08 to 07/25/0807/26/08 to 07/28/0807/29/08 to 07/31/0808/01/08 to 08/05/0808/06/08 to 08/08/0808/09/08 to 08/13/0808/14/08 to 08/17/0808/18/08 to 08/20/0808/21/08 to 08/22/0808/23/08 to 08/26/0808/27/08 to 08/29/0808/30/08 to 09/02/0809/03/08 to 09/05/0809/06/08 to 09/08/0809/09/08 to 09/11/0809/12/08 to 09/13/0809/14/08 to 09/17/0809/18/08 to 09/21/0809/22/08 to 09/23/0809/24/08 to 09/26/0809/27/08 to 09/29/0809/30/08 to 10/02/0810/03/08 to 10/04/0810/05/08 to 10/07/0810/08/08 to 10/11/0810/12/08 to 10/14/0810/15/08 to 10/16/0810/17/08 to 10/18/0810/19/08 to 10/22/0810/23/08 to 10/26/0810/27/08 to 10/29/0810/30/08 to 11/02/0811/03/08 to 11/05/0811/06/08 to 11/10/0811/11/08 to 11/14/0811/15/08 to 11/19/0811/20/08 to 11/24/0811/25/08 to 11/29/0811/30/08 to 12/03/0812/04/08 to 12/07/0812/08/08 to 12/11/0812/12/08 to 12/16/0812/17/08 to 12/22/08
Select one...12/23/08 to 01/02/0901/03/09 to 01/07/0901/08/09 to 01/11/0901/12/09 to 01/15/0901/16/09 to 01/19/0901/20/09 to 01/22/0901/23/09 to 01/24/0901/25/09 to 01/27/0901/28/09 to 02/01/0902/02/09 to 02/04/0902/05/09 to 02/07/0902/08/09 to 02/10/0902/11/09 to 02/12/0902/13/09 to 02/14/0902/15/09 to 02/17/0902/18/09 to 02/21/0902/22/09 to 02/24/0902/25/09 to 02/27/0902/28/09 to 03/03/0903/04/09 to 03/07/0903/08/09 to 03/10/0903/11/09 to 03/13/0903/14/09 to 03/16/0903/17/09 to 03/17/0903/18/09 to 03/19/0903/20/09 to 03/21/0903/22/09 to 03/24/0903/25/09 to 03/26/0903/27/09 to 03/30/0903/31/09 to 04/01/0904/02/09 to 04/02/0904/03/09 to 04/03/0904/04/09 to 04/08/0904/09/09 to 04/12/0904/13/09 to 04/15/0904/16/09 to 04/17/0904/18/09 to 04/20/0904/21/09 to 04/23/0904/24/09 to 04/25/0904/26/09 to 04/28/0904/29/09 to 05/01/0905/02/09 to 05/04/0905/05/09 to 05/06/0905/07/09 to 05/08/0905/09/09 to 05/11/0905/12/09 to 05/14/0905/15/09 to 05/16/0905/17/09 to 05/18/0905/19/09 to 05/20/0905/21/09 to 05/21/0905/22/09 to 05/23/0905/24/09 to 05/27/0905/28/09 to 06/01/0906/02/09 to 06/04/0906/05/09 to 06/06/0906/07/09 to 06/10/0906/11/09 to 06/12/0906/13/09 to 06/15/0906/16/09 to 06/19/0906/20/09 to 06/23/0906/24/09 to 06/27/0906/28/09 to 07/02/0907/03/09 to 07/06/0907/07/09 to 07/09/0907/10/09 to 07/12/0907/13/09 to 07/16/0907/17/09 to 07/19/0907/20/09 to 07/22/0907/23/09 to 07/25/0907/26/09 to 07/29/0907/30/09 to 08/03/0908/04/09 to 08/08/0908/09/09 to 08/13/0908/14/09 to 08/18/0908/19/09 to 08/21/0908/22/09 to 08/26/0908/27/09 to 08/30/0908/31/09 to 09/05/0909/06/09 to 09/09/0909/10/09 to 09/13/0909/14/09 to 09/20/0909/21/09 to 09/24/0909/25/09 to 09/29/0909/30/09 to 10/03/0910/04/09 to 10/08/0910/09/09 to 10/13/0910/14/09 to 10/16/0910/17/09 to 10/20/0910/21/09 to 10/26/0910/27/09 to 10/30/0910/31/09 to 11/04/0911/05/09 to 11/09/0911/10/09 to 11/15/0911/16/09 to 11/19/0911/20/09 to 11/22/0911/23/09 to 11/29/0911/30/09 to 12/03/0912/04/09 to 12/09/0912/10/09 to 12/13/0912/14/09 to 12/18/0912/19/09 to 12/26/09
Select one...12/27/09 to 01/04/1001/05/10 to 01/07/1001/08/10 to 01/12/1001/13/10 to 01/17/1001/18/10 to 01/21/1001/22/10 to 01/26/1001/27/10 to 01/29/1001/30/10 to 01/31/1002/01/10 to 02/03/1002/04/10 to 02/07/1002/08/10 to 02/11/1002/12/10 to 02/15/1002/16/10 to 02/19/1002/20/10 to 02/23/1002/24/10 to 02/26/1002/27/10 to 03/03/1003/04/10 to 03/07/1003/08/10 to 03/10/1003/11/10 to 03/13/1003/14/10 to 03/16/1003/17/10 to 03/18/1003/19/10 to 03/22/1003/23/10 to 03/25/1003/26/10 to 03/27/1003/28/10 to 03/31/1004/01/10 to 04/05/1004/06/10 to 04/08/1004/09/10 to 04/12/1004/13/10 to 04/15/1004/16/10 to 04/17/1004/18/10 to 04/21/1004/22/10 to 04/26/1004/27/10 to 04/29/1004/30/10 to 05/03/1005/04/10 to 05/06/1005/07/10 to 05/09/1005/10/10 to 05/12/1005/13/10 to 05/14/1005/15/10 to 05/16/1005/17/10 to 05/18/1005/19/10 to 05/20/1005/21/10 to 05/22/1005/23/10 to 05/25/1005/26/10 to 05/27/1005/28/10 to 05/28/1005/29/10 to 05/31/1006/01/10 to 06/04/1006/05/10 to 06/08/1006/09/10 to 06/11/1006/12/10 to 06/12/1006/13/10 to 06/16/1006/17/10 to 06/19/1006/20/10 to 06/23/1006/24/10 to 06/25/1006/26/10 to 06/27/1006/28/10 to 07/01/1007/02/10 to 07/02/1007/03/10 to 07/03/1007/04/10 to 07/07/1007/08/10 to 07/10/1007/11/10 to 07/15/1007/16/10 to 07/17/1007/18/10 to 07/20/1007/21/10 to 07/23/1007/24/10 to 07/26/1007/27/10 to 07/30/1007/31/10 to 08/02/1008/03/10 to 08/07/1008/08/10 to 08/13/1008/14/10 to 08/18/1008/19/10 to 08/22/1008/23/10 to 08/26/1008/27/10 to 08/27/1008/28/10 to 08/28/1008/29/10 to 09/02/1009/03/10 to 09/07/1009/08/10 to 09/10/1009/11/10 to 09/15/1009/16/10 to 09/20/1009/21/10 to 09/24/1009/25/10 to 09/29/1009/30/10 to 10/02/1010/03/10 to 10/06/1010/07/10 to 10/10/1010/11/10 to 10/15/1010/16/10 to 10/20/1010/21/10 to 10/26/1010/27/10 to 10/30/1010/31/10 to 11/04/1011/05/10 to 11/07/1011/08/10 to 11/11/1011/12/10 to 11/14/1011/15/10 to 11/18/1011/19/10 to 11/24/1011/25/10 to 11/30/1012/01/10 to 12/05/1012/06/10 to 12/09/1012/10/10 to 12/13/1012/14/10 to 12/18/1012/19/10 to 12/25/10
Select one...12/26/10 to 01/04/1101/05/11 to 01/09/1101/10/11 to 01/13/1101/14/11 to 01/19/1101/20/11 to 01/23/1101/24/11 to 01/27/1101/28/11 to 01/29/1101/30/11 to 01/31/1102/01/11 to 02/02/1102/03/11 to 02/05/1102/06/11 to 02/06/1102/07/11 to 02/07/1102/08/11 to 02/10/1102/11/11 to 02/15/1102/16/11 to 02/20/1102/21/11 to 02/25/1102/26/11 to 03/01/1103/02/11 to 03/03/1103/04/11 to 03/08/1103/09/11 to 03/12/1103/13/11 to 03/15/1103/16/11 to 03/18/1103/19/11 to 03/20/1103/21/11 to 03/23/1103/24/11 to 03/25/1103/26/11 to 03/28/1103/29/11 to 03/31/1104/01/11 to 04/04/1104/05/11 to 04/07/1104/08/11 to 04/11/1104/12/11 to 04/14/1104/15/11 to 04/15/1104/16/11 to 04/18/1104/19/11 to 04/23/1104/24/11 to 04/28/1104/29/11 to 04/30/1105/01/11 to 05/04/1105/05/11 to 05/06/1105/07/11 to 05/08/1105/09/11 to 05/11/1105/12/11 to 05/13/1105/14/11 to 05/14/1105/15/11 to 05/16/1105/17/11 to 05/18/1105/19/11 to 05/19/1105/20/11 to 05/20/1105/21/11 to 05/21/1105/22/11 to 05/23/1105/24/11 to 05/25/1105/26/11 to 05/26/1105/27/11 to 05/27/1105/28/11 to 05/31/1106/01/11 to 06/02/1106/03/11 to 06/05/1106/06/11 to 06/09/1106/10/11 to 06/11/1106/12/11 to 06/14/1106/15/11 to 06/17/1106/18/11 to 06/22/1106/23/11 to 06/24/1106/25/11 to 06/27/1106/28/11 to 07/01/1107/02/11 to 07/04/1107/05/11 to 07/07/1107/08/11 to 07/08/1107/09/11 to 07/11/1107/12/11 to 07/16/1107/17/11 to 07/20/1107/21/11 to 07/22/1107/23/11 to 07/24/1107/25/11 to 07/28/1107/29/11 to 07/29/1107/30/11 to 08/02/1108/03/11 to 08/05/1108/06/11 to 08/08/1108/09/11 to 08/12/1108/13/11 to 08/17/1108/18/11 to 08/20/1108/21/11 to 08/24/1108/25/11 to 08/26/1108/27/11 to 08/29/1108/30/11 to 09/02/1109/03/11 to 09/06/1109/07/11 to 09/09/1109/10/11 to 09/12/1109/13/11 to 09/15/1109/16/11 to 09/19/1109/20/11 to 09/23/1109/24/11 to 09/27/1109/28/11 to 09/29/1109/30/11 to 10/01/1110/02/11 to 10/04/1110/05/11 to 10/07/1110/08/11 to 10/10/1110/11/11 to 10/13/1110/14/11 to 10/16/1110/17/11 to 10/19/1110/20/11 to 10/23/1110/24/11 to 10/26/1110/27/11 to 10/29/1110/30/11 to 11/03/1111/04/11 to 11/07/1111/08/11 to 11/10/1111/11/11 to 11/14/1111/15/11 to 11/17/1111/18/11 to 11/22/1111/23/11 to 11/27/1111/28/11 to 12/01/1112/02/11 to 12/06/1112/07/11 to 12/12/1112/13/11 to 12/18/1112/19/11 to 12/27/11
Select one...12/28/11 to 01/03/1201/04/12 to 01/08/1201/09/12 to 01/11/1201/12/12 to 01/13/1201/14/12 to 01/16/1201/17/12 to 01/20/1201/21/12 to 01/25/1201/26/12 to 01/28/1201/29/12 to 01/31/1202/01/12 to 02/04/1202/05/12 to 02/07/1202/08/12 to 02/10/1202/11/12 to 02/14/1202/15/12 to 02/17/1202/18/12 to 02/21/1202/22/12 to 02/26/1202/27/12 to 02/29/1203/01/12 to 03/03/1203/04/12 to 03/06/1203/07/12 to 03/08/1203/09/12 to 03/11/1203/12/12 to 03/13/1203/14/12 to 03/16/1203/17/12 to 03/19/1203/20/12 to 03/22/1203/23/12 to 03/24/1203/25/12 to 03/28/1203/29/12 to 04/01/1204/02/12 to 04/04/1204/05/12 to 04/08/1204/09/12 to 04/11/1204/12/12 to 04/13/1204/14/12 to 04/16/1204/17/12 to 04/20/1204/21/12 to 04/25/1204/26/12 to 04/27/1204/28/12 to 05/01/1205/02/12 to 05/05/1205/06/12 to 05/08/1205/09/12 to 05/11/1205/12/12 to 05/12/1205/13/12 to 05/14/1205/15/12 to 05/16/1205/17/12 to 05/19/1205/20/12 to 05/23/1205/24/12 to 05/24/1205/25/12 to 05/25/1205/26/12 to 05/28/1205/29/12 to 05/31/1206/01/12 to 06/02/1206/03/12 to 06/06/1206/07/12 to 06/08/1206/09/12 to 06/11/1206/12/12 to 06/14/1206/15/12 to 06/16/1206/17/12 to 06/20/1206/21/12 to 06/23/1206/24/12 to 06/28/1206/29/12 to 07/02/1207/03/12 to 07/05/1207/06/12 to 07/06/1207/07/12 to 07/08/1207/09/12 to 07/14/1207/15/12 to 07/18/1207/19/12 to 07/20/1207/21/12 to 07/24/1207/25/12 to 07/27/1207/28/12 to 07/30/1207/31/12 to 08/03/1208/04/12 to 08/08/1208/09/12 to 08/14/1208/15/12 to 08/18/1208/19/12 to 08/23/1208/24/12 to 08/26/1208/27/12 to 08/30/1208/31/12 to 08/31/1209/01/12 to 09/03/1209/04/12 to 09/06/1209/07/12 to 09/09/1209/10/12 to 09/14/1209/15/12 to 09/19/1209/20/12 to 09/23/1209/24/12 to 09/28/1209/29/12 to 10/01/1210/02/12 to 10/05/1210/06/12 to 10/10/1210/11/12 to 10/13/1210/14/12 to 10/17/1210/18/12 to 10/21/1210/22/12 to 10/25/1210/26/12 to 10/29/1210/30/12 to 11/03/1211/04/12 to 11/07/1211/08/12 to 11/11/1211/12/12 to 11/15/1211/16/12 to 11/17/1211/18/12 to 11/21/1211/22/12 to 11/23/1211/24/12 to 11/28/1211/29/12 to 12/03/1212/04/12 to 12/09/1212/10/12 to 12/13/1212/14/12 to 12/17/1212/18/12 to 12/25/12
Select one...12/26/12 to 01/03/1301/04/13 to 01/08/1301/09/13 to 01/10/1301/11/13 to 01/15/1301/16/13 to 01/21/1301/22/13 to 01/26/1301/27/13 to 01/31/1302/01/13 to 02/05/1302/06/13 to 02/07/1302/08/13 to 02/11/1302/12/13 to 02/15/1302/16/13 to 02/19/1302/20/13 to 02/21/1302/22/13 to 02/24/1302/25/13 to 02/26/1302/27/13 to 03/01/1303/02/13 to 03/05/1303/06/13 to 03/08/1303/09/13 to 03/10/1303/11/13 to 03/11/1303/12/13 to 03/13/1303/14/13 to 03/17/1303/18/13 to 03/21/1303/22/13 to 03/23/1303/24/13 to 03/28/1303/29/13 to 04/03/1304/04/13 to 04/05/1304/06/13 to 04/09/1304/10/13 to 04/13/1304/14/13 to 04/17/1304/18/13 to 04/19/1304/20/13 to 04/22/1304/23/13 to 04/27/1304/28/13 to 05/03/1305/04/13 to 05/07/1305/08/13 to 05/10/1305/11/13 to 05/12/1305/13/13 to 05/14/1305/15/13 to 05/16/1305/17/13 to 05/18/1305/19/13 to 05/21/1305/22/13 to 05/23/1305/24/13 to 05/26/1305/27/13 to 05/31/1306/01/13 to 06/05/1306/06/13 to 06/09/1306/10/13 to 06/14/1306/15/13 to 06/19/1306/20/13 to 06/21/1306/22/13 to 06/23/1306/24/13 to 06/27/1306/28/13 to 06/30/1307/01/13 to 07/04/1307/05/13 to 07/05/1307/06/13 to 07/09/1307/10/13 to 07/12/1307/13/13 to 07/15/1307/16/13 to 07/19/1307/20/13 to 07/24/1307/25/13 to 07/29/1307/30/13 to 08/02/1308/03/13 to 08/07/1308/08/13 to 08/11/1308/12/13 to 08/16/1308/17/13 to 08/21/1308/22/13 to 08/23/1308/24/13 to 08/26/1308/27/13 to 08/29/1308/30/13 to 09/01/1309/02/13 to 09/05/1309/06/13 to 09/08/1309/09/13 to 09/11/1309/12/13 to 09/16/1309/17/13 to 09/20/1309/21/13 to 09/24/1309/25/13 to 09/29/1309/30/13 to 10/03/1310/04/13 to 10/07/1310/08/13 to 10/11/1310/12/13 to 10/15/1310/16/13 to 10/18/1310/19/13 to 10/23/1310/24/13 to 10/26/1310/27/13 to 10/31/1311/01/13 to 11/04/1311/05/13 to 11/08/1311/09/13 to 11/14/1311/15/13 to 11/17/1311/18/13 to 11/21/1311/22/13 to 11/27/1311/28/13 to 12/04/1312/05/13 to 12/10/1312/11/13 to 12/15/1312/16/13 to 12/21/13
Select one...12/22/13 to 01/01/1401/02/14 to 01/05/1401/06/14 to 01/09/1401/10/14 to 01/13/1401/14/14 to 01/16/1401/17/14 to 01/20/1401/21/14 to 01/23/1401/24/14 to 01/25/1401/26/14 to 01/27/1401/28/14 to 01/30/1401/31/14 to 02/04/1402/05/14 to 02/09/1402/10/14 to 02/12/1402/13/14 to 02/16/1402/17/14 to 02/19/1402/20/14 to 02/21/1402/22/14 to 02/25/1402/26/14 to 02/28/1403/01/14 to 03/03/1403/04/14 to 03/06/1403/07/14 to 03/10/1403/11/14 to 03/12/1403/13/14 to 03/13/1403/14/14 to 03/14/1403/15/14 to 03/16/1403/17/14 to 03/19/1403/20/14 to 03/22/1403/23/14 to 03/26/1403/27/14 to 03/28/1403/29/14 to 04/01/1404/02/14 to 04/05/1404/06/14 to 04/09/1404/10/14 to 04/12/1404/13/14 to 04/16/1404/17/14 to 04/19/1404/20/14 to 04/23/1404/24/14 to 04/26/1404/27/14 to 04/30/1405/01/14 to 05/03/1405/04/14 to 05/06/1405/07/14 to 05/08/1405/09/14 to 05/10/1405/11/14 to 05/12/1405/13/14 to 05/14/1405/15/14 to 05/17/1405/18/14 to 05/20/1405/21/14 to 05/22/1405/23/14 to 05/26/1405/27/14 to 05/30/1405/31/14 to 06/01/1406/02/14 to 06/05/1406/06/14 to 06/08/1406/09/14 to 06/13/1406/14/14 to 06/15/1406/16/14 to 06/20/1406/21/14 to 06/24/1406/25/14 to 06/27/1406/28/14 to 07/01/1407/02/14 to 07/04/1407/05/14 to 07/09/1407/10/14 to 07/12/1407/13/14 to 07/16/1407/17/14 to 07/18/1407/19/14 to 07/22/1407/23/14 to 07/25/1407/26/14 to 07/31/1408/01/14 to 08/01/1408/02/14 to 08/03/1408/04/14 to 08/08/1408/09/14 to 08/12/1408/13/14 to 08/16/1408/17/14 to 08/20/1408/21/14 to 08/22/1408/23/14 to 08/25/1408/26/14 to 08/31/1409/01/14 to 09/04/1409/05/14 to 09/08/1409/09/14 to 09/11/1409/12/14 to 09/15/1409/16/14 to 09/18/1409/19/14 to 09/23/1409/24/14 to 09/27/1409/28/14 to 10/02/1410/03/14 to 10/07/1410/08/14 to 10/10/1410/11/14 to 10/13/1410/14/14 to 10/16/1410/17/14 to 10/18/1410/19/14 to 10/21/1410/22/14 to 10/24/1410/25/14 to 10/28/1410/29/14 to 10/30/1410/31/14 to 11/01/1411/02/14 to 11/04/1411/05/14 to 11/07/1411/08/14 to 11/09/1411/10/14 to 11/13/1411/14/14 to 11/16/1411/17/14 to 11/20/1411/21/14 to 11/23/1411/24/14 to 11/28/1411/29/14 to 12/02/1412/03/14 to 12/07/1412/08/14 to 12/11/1412/12/14 to 12/16/1412/17/14 to 12/23/14
Select one...12/24/14 to 01/03/1501/04/15 to 01/05/1501/06/15 to 01/07/1501/08/15 to 01/10/1501/11/15 to 01/12/1501/13/15 to 01/14/1501/15/15 to 01/19/1501/20/15 to 01/21/1501/22/15 to 01/23/1501/24/15 to 01/24/1501/25/15 to 01/25/1501/26/15 to 01/29/1501/30/15 to 02/02/1502/03/15 to 02/04/1502/05/15 to 02/07/1502/08/15 to 02/09/1502/10/15 to 02/12/1502/13/15 to 02/13/1502/14/15 to 02/15/1502/16/15 to 02/17/1502/18/15 to 02/18/1502/19/15 to 02/19/1502/20/15 to 02/20/1502/21/15 to 02/23/1502/24/15 to 02/25/1502/26/15 to 02/27/1502/28/15 to 03/03/1503/04/15 to 03/06/1503/07/15 to 03/07/1503/08/15 to 03/09/1503/10/15 to 03/11/1503/12/15 to 03/13/1503/14/15 to 03/15/1503/16/15 to 03/17/1503/18/15 to 03/18/1503/19/15 to 03/19/1503/20/15 to 03/20/1503/21/15 to 03/21/1503/22/15 to 03/25/1503/26/15 to 03/26/1503/27/15 to 03/27/1503/28/15 to 03/28/1503/29/15 to 03/31/1504/01/15 to 04/03/1504/04/15 to 04/06/1504/07/15 to 04/08/1504/09/15 to 04/09/1504/10/15 to 04/10/1504/11/15 to 04/11/1504/12/15 to 04/14/1504/15/15 to 04/16/1504/17/15 to 04/17/1504/18/15 to 04/18/1504/19/15 to 04/21/1504/22/15 to 04/24/1504/25/15 to 04/25/1504/26/15 to 04/28/1504/29/15 to 04/30/1505/01/15 to 05/01/1505/02/15 to 05/02/1505/03/15 to 05/04/1505/05/15 to 05/05/1505/06/15 to 05/06/1505/07/15 to 05/07/1505/08/15 to 05/08/1505/09/15 to 05/10/1505/11/15 to 05/12/1505/13/15 to 05/14/1505/15/15 to 05/16/1505/17/15 to 05/19/1505/20/15 to 05/21/1505/22/15 to 05/22/1505/23/15 to 05/24/1505/25/15 to 05/27/1505/28/15 to 05/29/1505/30/15 to 05/31/1506/01/15 to 06/03/1506/04/15 to 06/05/1506/06/15 to 06/09/1506/10/15 to 06/11/1506/12/15 to 06/12/1506/13/15 to 06/13/1506/14/15 to 06/15/1506/16/15 to 06/18/1506/19/15 to 06/20/1506/21/15 to 06/23/1506/24/15 to 06/25/1506/26/15 to 06/27/1506/28/15 to 06/30/1507/01/15 to 07/03/1507/04/15 to 07/06/1507/07/15 to 07/10/1507/11/15 to 07/13/1507/14/15 to 07/16/1507/17/15 to 07/21/1507/22/15 to 07/25/1507/26/15 to 07/29/1507/30/15 to 07/31/1508/01/15 to 08/02/1508/03/15 to 08/08/1508/09/15 to 08/13/1508/14/15 to 08/17/1508/18/15 to 08/20/1508/21/15 to 08/22/1508/23/15 to 08/26/1508/27/15 to 08/28/1508/29/15 to 08/31/1509/01/15 to 09/04/1509/05/15 to 09/08/1509/09/15 to 09/11/1509/12/15 to 09/14/1509/15/15 to 09/17/1509/18/15 to 09/21/1509/22/15 to 09/25/1509/26/15 to 09/28/1509/29/15 to 09/30/1510/01/15 to 10/05/1510/06/15 to 10/08/1510/09/15 to 10/09/1510/10/15 to 10/13/1510/14/15 to 10/16/1510/17/15 to 10/20/1510/21/15 to 10/22/1510/23/15 to 10/23/1510/24/15 to 10/25/1510/26/15 to 10/28/1510/29/15 to 10/31/1511/01/15 to 11/04/1511/05/15 to 11/07/1511/08/15 to 11/10/1511/11/15 to 11/13/1511/14/15 to 11/16/1511/17/15 to 11/18/1511/19/15 to 11/19/1511/20/15 to 11/21/1511/22/15 to 11/22/1511/23/15 to 11/26/1511/27/15 to 11/27/1511/28/15 to 12/01/1512/02/15 to 12/03/1512/04/15 to 12/07/1512/08/15 to 12/10/1512/11/15 to 12/15/1512/16/15 to 12/18/1512/19/15 to 12/22/1512/23/15 to 12/30/15
Select one...12/31/15 to 01/04/1601/05/16 to 01/07/1601/08/16 to 01/11/1601/12/16 to 01/15/1601/16/16 to 01/19/1601/20/16 to 01/21/1601/22/16 to 01/24/1601/25/16 to 01/26/1601/27/16 to 01/28/1601/29/16 to 01/29/1601/30/16 to 01/30/1601/31/16 to 01/31/1602/01/16 to 02/02/1602/03/16 to 02/04/1602/05/16 to 02/08/1602/09/16 to 02/11/1602/12/16 to 02/13/1602/14/16 to 02/16/1602/17/16 to 02/18/1602/19/16 to 02/20/1602/21/16 to 02/22/1602/23/16 to 02/23/1602/24/16 to 02/25/1602/26/16 to 02/26/1602/27/16 to 02/28/1602/29/16 to 03/02/1603/03/16 to 03/05/1603/06/16 to 03/08/1603/09/16 to 03/10/1603/11/16 to 03/12/1603/13/16 to 03/15/1603/16/16 to 03/17/1603/18/16 to 03/18/1603/19/16 to 03/19/1603/20/16 to 03/23/1603/24/16 to 03/26/1603/27/16 to 03/29/1603/30/16 to 03/31/1604/01/16 to 04/01/1604/02/16 to 04/04/1604/05/16 to 04/07/1604/08/16 to 04/11/1604/12/16 to 04/14/1604/15/16 to 04/16/1604/17/16 to 04/19/1604/20/16 to 04/21/1604/22/16 to 04/22/1604/23/16 to 04/23/1604/24/16 to 04/26/1604/27/16 to 04/28/1604/29/16 to 04/30/1605/01/16 to 05/03/1605/04/16 to 05/05/1605/06/16 to 05/08/1605/09/16 to 05/11/1605/12/16 to 05/12/1605/13/16 to 05/13/1605/14/16 to 05/14/1605/15/16 to 05/16/1605/17/16 to 05/18/1605/19/16 to 05/20/1605/21/16 to 05/22/1605/23/16 to 05/25/1605/26/16 to 05/26/1605/27/16 to 05/27/1605/28/16 to 05/28/1605/29/16 to 05/30/1605/31/16 to 06/01/1606/02/16 to 06/03/1606/04/16 to 06/05/1606/06/16 to 06/09/1606/10/16 to 06/11/1606/12/16 to 06/14/1606/15/16 to 06/17/1606/18/16 to 06/18/1606/19/16 to 06/19/1606/20/16 to 06/22/1606/23/16 to 06/24/1606/25/16 to 06/25/1606/26/16 to 06/29/1606/30/16 to 07/01/1607/02/16 to 07/04/1607/05/16 to 07/07/1607/08/16 to 07/09/1607/10/16 to 07/13/1607/14/16 to 07/15/1607/16/16 to 07/19/1607/20/16 to 07/23/1607/24/16 to 07/27/1607/28/16 to 07/28/1607/29/16 to 07/29/1607/30/16 to 07/31/1608/01/16 to 08/04/1608/05/16 to 08/09/1608/10/16 to 08/14/1608/15/16 to 08/18/1608/19/16 to 08/19/1608/20/16 to 08/23/1608/24/16 to 08/26/1608/27/16 to 08/30/1608/31/16 to 09/02/1609/03/16 to 09/03/1609/04/16 to 09/07/1609/08/16 to 09/10/1609/11/16 to 09/13/1609/14/16 to 09/16/1609/17/16 to 09/19/1609/20/16 to 09/23/1609/24/16 to 09/27/1609/28/16 to 10/01/1610/02/16 to 10/05/1610/06/16 to 10/07/1610/08/16 to 10/11/1610/12/16 to 10/16/1610/17/16 to 10/19/1610/20/16 to 10/22/1610/23/16 to 10/25/1610/26/16 to 10/28/1610/29/16 to 11/01/1611/02/16 to 11/05/1611/06/16 to 11/10/1611/11/16 to 11/12/1611/13/16 to 11/15/1611/16/16 to 11/17/1611/18/16 to 11/21/1611/22/16 to 11/24/1611/25/16 to 11/26/1611/27/16 to 11/30/1612/01/16 to 12/02/1612/03/16 to 12/05/1612/06/16 to 12/07/1612/08/16 to 12/11/1612/12/16 to 12/13/1612/14/16 to 12/17/1612/18/16 to 12/21/1612/22/16 to 12/29/16
Select one...12/30/16 to 01/03/1701/04/17 to 01/06/1701/07/17 to 01/09/1701/10/17 to 01/12/1701/13/17 to 01/16/1701/17/17 to 01/19/1701/20/17 to 01/23/1701/24/17 to 01/26/1701/27/17 to 01/27/1701/28/17 to 01/28/1701/29/17 to 01/29/1701/30/17 to 02/01/1702/02/17 to 02/05/1702/06/17 to 02/07/1702/08/17 to 02/09/1702/10/17 to 02/10/1702/11/17 to 02/13/1702/14/17 to 02/16/1702/17/17 to 02/20/1702/21/17 to 02/23/1702/24/17 to 02/26/1702/27/17 to 02/28/1703/01/17 to 03/02/1703/03/17 to 03/05/1703/06/17 to 03/08/1703/09/17 to 03/10/1703/11/17 to 03/13/1703/14/17 to 03/17/1703/18/17 to 03/18/1703/19/17 to 03/22/1703/23/17 to 03/25/1703/26/17 to 03/28/1703/29/17 to 03/31/1704/01/17 to 04/03/1704/04/17 to 04/05/1704/06/17 to 04/07/1704/08/17 to 04/10/1704/11/17 to 04/14/1704/15/17 to 04/17/1704/18/17 to 04/19/1704/20/17 to 04/21/1704/22/17 to 04/24/1704/25/17 to 04/27/1704/28/17 to 05/01/1705/02/17 to 05/05/1705/06/17 to 05/10/1705/11/17 to 05/11/1705/12/17 to 05/12/1705/13/17 to 05/15/1705/16/17 to 05/17/1705/18/17 to 05/18/1705/19/17 to 05/19/1705/20/17 to 05/21/1705/22/17 to 05/24/1705/25/17 to 05/25/1705/26/17 to 05/26/1705/27/17 to 05/28/1705/29/17 to 06/01/1706/02/17 to 06/04/1706/05/17 to 06/07/1706/08/17 to 06/09/1706/10/17 to 06/14/1706/15/17 to 06/16/1706/17/17 to 06/17/1706/18/17 to 06/20/1706/21/17 to 06/22/1706/23/17 to 06/23/1706/24/17 to 06/26/1706/27/17 to 06/29/1706/30/17 to 07/05/1707/06/17 to 07/07/1707/08/17 to 07/08/1707/09/17 to 07/11/1707/12/17 to 07/14/1707/15/17 to 07/17/1707/18/17 to 07/23/1707/24/17 to 07/26/1707/27/17 to 07/27/1707/28/17 to 07/28/1707/29/17 to 07/29/1707/30/17 to 07/31/1708/01/17 to 08/03/1708/04/17 to 08/06/1708/07/17 to 08/09/1708/10/17 to 08/11/1708/12/17 to 08/16/1708/17/17 to 08/19/1708/20/17 to 08/23/1708/24/17 to 08/24/1708/25/17 to 08/25/1708/26/17 to 08/28/1708/29/17 to 08/31/1709/01/17 to 09/02/1709/03/17 to 09/06/1709/07/17 to 09/11/1709/12/17 to 09/14/1709/15/17 to 09/15/1709/16/17 to 09/17/1709/18/17 to 09/21/1709/22/17 to 09/23/1709/24/17 to 09/26/1709/27/17 to 09/29/1709/30/17 to 10/02/1710/03/17 to 10/04/1710/05/17 to 10/06/1710/07/17 to 10/10/1710/11/17 to 10/13/1710/14/17 to 10/17/1710/18/17 to 10/20/1710/21/17 to 10/24/1710/25/17 to 10/28/1710/29/17 to 11/02/1711/03/17 to 11/06/1711/07/17 to 11/09/1711/10/17 to 11/11/1711/12/17 to 11/15/1711/16/17 to 11/19/1711/20/17 to 11/23/1711/24/17 to 11/25/1711/26/17 to 11/28/1711/29/17 to 12/01/1712/02/17 to 12/05/1712/06/17 to 12/10/1712/11/17 to 12/13/1712/14/17 to 12/18/1712/19/17 to 12/24/17
Select one...12/25/17 to 01/03/1801/04/18 to 01/07/1801/08/18 to 01/11/1801/12/18 to 01/15/1801/16/18 to 01/18/1801/19/18 to 01/21/1801/22/18 to 01/24/1801/25/18 to 01/26/1801/27/18 to 01/27/1801/28/18 to 01/28/1801/29/18 to 01/30/1801/31/18 to 02/03/1802/04/18 to 02/06/1802/07/18 to 02/08/1802/09/18 to 02/10/1802/11/18 to 02/14/1802/15/18 to 02/15/1802/16/18 to 02/16/1802/17/18 to 02/19/1802/20/18 to 02/22/1802/23/18 to 02/25/1802/26/18 to 02/27/1802/28/18 to 03/01/1803/02/18 to 03/04/1803/05/18 to 03/06/1803/07/18 to 03/08/1803/09/18 to 03/09/1803/10/18 to 03/11/1803/12/18 to 03/14/1803/15/18 to 03/16/1803/17/18 to 03/17/1803/18/18 to 03/20/1803/21/18 to 03/22/1803/23/18 to 03/23/1803/24/18 to 03/25/1803/26/18 to 03/29/1803/30/18 to 04/04/1804/05/18 to 04/05/1804/06/18 to 04/06/1804/07/18 to 04/09/1804/10/18 to 04/12/1804/13/18 to 04/13/1804/14/18 to 04/17/1804/18/18 to 04/20/1804/21/18 to 04/24/1804/25/18 to 04/26/1804/27/18 to 04/29/1804/30/18 to 05/02/1805/03/18 to 05/06/1805/07/18 to 05/10/1805/11/18 to 05/12/1805/13/18 to 05/15/1805/16/18 to 05/16/1805/17/18 to 05/17/1805/18/18 to 05/18/1805/19/18 to 05/20/1805/21/18 to 05/23/1805/24/18 to 05/24/1805/25/18 to 05/25/1805/26/18 to 05/28/1805/29/18 to 05/31/1806/01/18 to 06/04/1806/05/18 to 06/07/1806/08/18 to 06/11/1806/12/18 to 06/15/1806/16/18 to 06/16/1806/17/18 to 06/17/1806/18/18 to 06/21/1806/22/18 to 06/22/1806/23/18 to 06/24/1806/25/18 to 06/28/1806/29/18 to 07/02/1807/03/18 to 07/06/1807/07/18 to 07/07/1807/08/18 to 07/10/1807/11/18 to 07/13/1807/14/18 to 07/17/1807/18/18 to 07/19/1807/20/18 to 07/21/1807/22/18 to 07/26/1807/27/18 to 07/27/1807/28/18 to 07/29/1807/30/18 to 08/02/1808/03/18 to 08/05/1808/06/18 to 08/09/1808/10/18 to 08/11/1808/12/18 to 08/16/1808/17/18 to 08/20/1808/21/18 to 08/23/1808/24/18 to 08/24/1808/25/18 to 08/26/1808/27/18 to 08/28/1808/29/18 to 08/30/1808/31/18 to 09/01/1809/02/18 to 09/04/1809/05/18 to 09/06/1809/07/18 to 09/09/1809/10/18 to 09/13/1809/14/18 to 09/15/1809/16/18 to 09/19/1809/20/18 to 09/22/1809/23/18 to 09/25/1809/26/18 to 09/28/1809/29/18 to 10/02/1810/03/18 to 10/05/1810/06/18 to 10/10/1810/11/18 to 10/12/1810/13/18 to 10/15/1810/16/18 to 10/18/1810/19/18 to 10/22/1810/23/18 to 10/25/1810/26/18 to 10/27/1810/28/18 to 10/30/1810/31/18 to 11/04/1811/05/18 to 11/08/1811/09/18 to 11/11/1811/12/18 to 11/15/1811/16/18 to 11/20/1811/21/18 to 11/23/1811/24/18 to 11/26/1811/27/18 to 11/29/1811/30/18 to 12/01/1812/02/18 to 12/03/1812/04/18 to 12/05/1812/06/18 to 12/09/1812/10/18 to 12/13/1812/14/18 to 12/18/1812/19/18 to 12/22/18
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Cuts and Co-Writes
The Cymbal Crashing Clouds
The Ill-Tempered Klavier
Ben Shive
Photography Akos Major
I do what I love.
-I produce records at a studio called The Beehive located in Nashville, TN.
-I write songs, compose, and arrange music.
-I work as a keyboardist in the studio and on the road.
You can contact me at benshive@me.com
It's getting better all the time.
I grew up in St. Louis, Missouri. By the time I was 16 I was pretty sure I wanted to play Hammond organ and piano on records for a living. When I was 19 I finally got the courage to try. That's when I moved to Nashville to finish college at Belmont.
Things happened fast. Two years after moving to town, when I should have been practicing for my senior recital, I was writing strings for Andrew Peterson's Behold The Lamb Of God. Months later, I graduated and started traveling with Andrew, which I still do.
My dream of playing sessions came true very quickly when producers like Steve Hindalong and Ed Cash began hiring me as a keyboardist and string arranger. These days I play fewer sessions and write fewer arrangements than I used to because other passions have taken precedence. But I still love to do both.
The first record I produced was for a Belmont student named Sara Beth Go. The second was Behold The Lamb Of God. By 2005 I saw myself as a producer first, then a session player, then a string arranger. In 2013 I produced or co-produced 10 albums, a record number for me. Pun intended.
I've also released two solo records, The Ill-Tempered Klavier and The Cymbal Crashing Clouds, as well as writing songs with Andrew Peterson, Sara Groves, Jason Gray, Ben Rector, and Brandon Heath. These days, writing is catching up to producing as the biggest consumer of my time. And that's good because I love to do it.
I've always been blessed to work with the cream of the crop and each year gets better than the one before it. I'm truly blessed.
Feathers in my cap. Excuse the (un)humble brag.
First writing credit on a label album: Canaan Bound, recorded by Andrew Peterson. Background singer on that song: Alison Krauss. Perhaps you've heard of her.
Astronaut Pat Forrester took a cd I produced (Andrew Peterson's THE FAR COUNTRY) to space with him. Perhaps you've heard of it. He photographed the cd floating in front of the earth. I had signed it, "Hi, me."
Have been a part of the bigger-than-all-of-us tour, Behold the Lamb of God since 2001. We play the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, perhaps you've heard of it, each year.
Over the years, I've shared the stage with Andrew Peterson, Dave Barnes, Ben Rector, Steven Curtis Chapman, Matt Wertz, Bebo Norman, Sara Groves, Jill Phillips, Andy Gullahorn, Andrew Osenga, Jason Gray, Ellie Holcomb, Drew Holcomb and the Neighbors, Allison Krauss, Michael Card, Fernando Ortega, Eric Peters, Melanie Penn, Audio Adrenaline (the Kevin Max version), Laura Story, SheDaisy, and probably somebody else I'm forgetting. Perhaps you've heard of them.
I've played the Grand Ole Opry on three occasions. Perhaps you've heard of it.
I've gotten to produce some amazing artists, but I've also gotten to co-produce alongside two of my favorite producers, namely Cason Cooley and Brown Bannister. Perhaps you've heard of them--if you read liner notes.
In 2012, Andrew Peterson and I got to sit with Paul Simon for about an hour. We talked production, songwriting, and caffeine. Perhaps you've heard of it.
I've been married to my wife, Beth, since May 26th, 2001. We have four kids. Come to think of it, forget all that other stuff.
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Locals Get Their Due at This Year’s Book Fair
Written by Anne Tschida, BT Arts Editor
A tented “swamp,” popups, and more multimedia twists
T he Miami Book Fair International has become the nation’s largest literary fair, one of South Florida’s biggest annual events, and a serious crowd pleaser. But sometimes the “Florida” in the fair gets a little lost. Not this year. Some new additions are all about the Sunshine State, from literature to art to music.
Most of the celebration of local talent will be centered in the Swamp, at the southeast corner of NE 3rd Street and NE 2nd Avenue. There a tent is being transformed into a culture lounge, according to program director Lissette Mendez. It’s supposed to feel like a cross between the great and divey (now defunct) Jimbo’s and the white-draped Delano. You can’t get much more Miami than that.
Inside, starting on Sunday, November 16, will be an array of eclectic offerings; in fact, the Swamp appears to be as much a “happening” as anything else.
So on opening day, you might stop by the tent and board the “Weird Miami Bus Tour: Muhammad Ali Edition,” presented by Bas Fisher Invitational and Thought Loom. It leaves at 4:00 p.m. and “follows Cassius Clay’s daily training run from Overtown to Miami Beach,” and includes film, dance, and poetry, plus an interactive musical experience. Space is limited, so RSVP early: www.basfisherinvitational.com.
Or stay at the tent for the opening party and DJ Lolo spinning records on the Porch from 4:00 p.m. on; or partake in the poetry karaoke party (“Come for the poetry, stay for the flubbed lines!”) courtesy of the O, Miami poetry collective. Maybe you’ll want to sit still and watch the new documentary Deep City: The Birth of Miami Sound, about Miami music in the early 1960s.
On Monday, musician Oscar Fuentes, the man known at the Biscayne Poet, will write poetry on the spot, “live” on the Porch.
On Thursday, listen to the lyrical reading of her first book from Afro-Spanish singing star Buika (who now makes Miami home), accompanied by a cajon player. Sticking with the Ali theme, check out the screening that day of Muhammad Ali: Made in Miami, by Miamians Alan Tomlinson and BT contributor Gaspar González. There will also be dance performance by the Tattooed Ballerinas and a concert from the Spam Allstars.
Throughout the week, murals will be painted on the tent; there’ll be talks about African-American and Afro-Cuban musical and literary history in Florida; bizarre tales of haunted houses and mermaids; and readings from the second edition of the local Sweat Broadside Project.
The Swamp, says Mendez -- who arrived with the Mariel Boatlift and has witnessed the rise of the new Miami -- is long overdue. “There has long been a literary culture in Florida, sometimes hidden,” she says. But recently “there has just been this explosion of the arts,” and it seemed only right for that energetic outburst to get its own venue and platform at the book fair.
Sunday will close with a mini-film festival from the Borscht indie-film crew; a drag queen and queer reading brunch; and music and food courtesy of the Rhythm Foundation and a condensed version of its Big Night in Little Haiti.
Another new feature this year: the EXILE Artists’ Book Lounge, brainchild of local artist Amanda Keeley. She inaugurated the first “pop-up” artists bookstore at Locust Projects art gallery in September -- a quirky and engrossing installation that was filled with publications made by artists.
“Artists’ books are not traditional monographs or exhibition catalogues that simply display photos of an artist’s work,” explains Keeley. “These books are conceived as works of art, in and of themselves. They are affordable and accessible, usually mass distributed and produced, intended to reach a broad audience.”
When she returned to Miami in 2013, Keeley says, she was surprised there were no alternative spaces highlighting such works. But instead of a traditional brick-and-mortar store, “I decided that EXILE should be experimental and adaptive. By having a traveling pop-up-shop business model, it allows the store to reach different communities and to evolve with each location.”
After Locust, her store migrated to Books & Books in Coral Gables, not coincidentally run by one of the book fair’s founders, Mitchell Kaplan. Now, it will pop up at the fair, where, she hopes, “it will be a relaxed atmosphere where people can come and browse, relax, mingle, and enjoy some of the events we have scheduled -- readings, performances, live printing. It will be a lot of fun to gather a community together and share in our passion for print culture.”
The works in the lounge will not be all local, and not all books. The book fair describes the EXILE offerings as performances, lectures, and workshops revealing the “radical history and legacy of artists’ publications.” Yoko Ono will provide the wish trees (on which visitors tie their written wishes); Isis Miller will jump-start the Flash Poetry Mob; and naturally, Dada and Fluxus will be discussed.
Performance artist Domingo Castillo will do some “live” printing, and the Peter London Global Dance Company will interpret the concept through movement. “EXILE is collaborative in nature,” says Keeley. “We provide artists a platform to present related projects that connect to the selected theme.”
Clearly, as the cliché goes, this isn’t your grandmother’s book fair. Both Mendez and Keeley have a vision that falls within the current trend that’s not just local, but national and international. For many in the arts community, standing alone has gotten to be a lonely position -- trying to involve as many disciplines as possible at happenings and events is the future. It cultivates broader awareness; someone only familiar with dance will encounter poetry; electronic music will be an aural addition to browsing the latest novels; contemporary art will complement an author reading.
So it’s no wonder that public radio station WLRN is involved in these new fair ventures, as is the Jewish Museum of Florida, the Rhythm Foundation, HistoryMiami, and the various independent dance, music, and arts groups. And the Knight Foundation has funded most of it.
There truly will be something for everyone at the fresh tents and lounges of the 2014 Miami Book Fair International.
The fair runs November 16 through November 23 at the downtown Miami-Dade College Wolfson campus. The Swamp will be at the corner of NE 3rd Street and NE 2nd Avenue; the EXILE Artists’ Book Lounge will be in Room 2103, Building 2. Check out the complete listings at www.miamibookfair.com. You can download the entire pdf or the app.
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Get The Indian Uprising from Amazon.com
Order our The Indian Uprising Study Guide
Critical Overview
+Essays
Critical Essay #1
Topics for Further Study
At the Tolstoy Museum
Introduction & Overview of The Indian Uprising
This Study Guide consists of approximately 39 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more - everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of The Indian Uprising.
(approx. 1 page at 400 words per page)
The Indian Uprising Summary & Study Guide Description
The Indian Uprising Summary & Study Guide includes comprehensive information and analysis to help you understand the book. This study guide contains the following sections:
This detailed literature summary also contains Bibliography on The Indian Uprising by Donald Barthelme.
In Donald Barthelme's short story "The Indian Uprising," the unnamed narrator tells of a battle between his troops and a group referred to as "the Comanches." Interspersed between scenes of battle and the torture of a captured Comanche are the narrator's memories of past events and people, conversations with his girlfriend, Sylvia, and sessions with a teacher named Miss R. Ultimately, the narrator's soldiers find themselves overrun by the enemy; the narrator has been betrayed by Sylvia and fooled by Miss R., both of whom reveal that they have sided with the Comanches. At the story's end, the narrator is taken prisoner and presented to a "Clemency Committee," thanks to Miss R., with the Comanches in attendance.
Some critics and scholars have considered Barthelme a writer of metafiction; that is, writing that draws attention to the fact that it is an artifact, not naturally occurring, in order to bring up questions about reality and its relation to fiction. Critics have also called Barthelme a writer of postmodern fiction, which is variously defined as fiction written by anyone after 1945, fiction that blurs the line between high and popular culture, or fiction that questions previous literary forms (the definitions of postmodernism are multiple and often contradictory).
In this story, as in most of his work, Barthleme experiments with word usage, syntax, narrative flow, and time to create a collage of images rather than a traditionally structured tale. Very little is revealed about the action's location or the characters' backgrounds, but the images Barthelme paints are rich with the curious detail of everyday material items and popular culture. Some critics have noted that the story, written in the 1960s, reflects the televised terrors of the Vietnam War and its protesters, as well as the historical violence of the American West. Others have focused on the story's warlike representation of male-female relationships.
"The Indian Uprising" was one of Barthelme's earliest stories, first published in the New Yorker. In 1968, Barthleme included it in his collection of stories, Unspeakable Practices, Unnatural Acts.
More summaries and resources for teaching or studying The Indian Uprising.
The Indian Uprising from Gale. ©2005-2006 Thomson Gale, a part of the Thomson Corporation. All rights reserved.
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World Book Night and the Armed Services Editions
About this time last year I noticed a lot of bookish people on Twitter talking about World Book Night. Founded in 2011 in the United Kingdom and 2012 in the United States, World Book Night is an annual April 23rd giveaway of thousands of free paperback books. As I read more about the program I recognized many parallels with the Armed Services Editions book giveaway program during WWII. Despite the similarities, the founders of WBN were not actively following the ASEs as a model.
These days the memory of the Armed Services Editions resides mostly in the minds of vintage book collectors. So, this year I thought it would be interesting to compare the two book giveaway programs. Today’s World Book Night is an international event (US, UK, and Ireland). The Armed Services Editions program of the 1940s was limited to Americans, so I’m focusing my comparison to World Book Night US.
World Book Night US is run by an independent nonprofit organization. World Book Night UK also began as an independent charity, but now it is one of several programs run by The Reading Agency. In 1943 the Armed Services Editions was one of many programs managed by a US nonprofit organization, the Council on Books in Wartime. In January of 1944 it was spun off into its own independent nonprofit corporation under the name Editions for the Armed Services, Inc. Although it was then legally separate from the CBW, the same people staffed the two organizations.
The organizations managing the book giveaways in the 1940s and today were headed by book publishing professionals. Members of the Board of Directors of World Book Night US include executives from major publishers, book distributors, and book sellers (see staff listing on their website). The Board of Directors for the Council on Books in Wartime was filled with the similar publishing leaders, often representing the very same publishers then as today (see the full list in my earlier post).
Selected Titles
World Book Night and the Armed Services Editions have both taken existing popular books and repackaged them as specially-branded paperbacks to donate to people unused to reading recreationally. The book selection process for the two programs appears to be very similar. The 30 to 35 WBN US books each year are chosen by a panel of librarians and booksellers. Books chosen for the ASEs (30 to 40 each month) were decided by a special committee of publishing staff, librarians, and booksellers. Because the ASEs were destined for the troops, the selection committee also included a representative from the Army, the Navy, and the government’s Office of War Information.
World Book Night titles are recently published fiction and nonfiction books, along with some classics. Likewise, the titles selected for the Armed Services Editions were new general trade books with classics that were not already available as paperbacks. Both organizations have sought to pick quality books that would likely be entertaining to people who are not in the habit of reading.
The World Book Night website says that their books are given to people, “who don’t regularly read and/or people who don’t normally have access to printed books, for reasons of means or geography.” The same could be said of the Armed Services Editions program. While WBN US donates books to the public across the United States*, the ASEs were distributed by the military to Americans serving abroad. Red Cross and USO clubs, permanent military bases, and large navy ships sometimes had a small library, but the selection was limited. These military library books reached only a small percentage of American troops, and as one officer in the Army Library Service wrote, “The collections varied from mediocre to bad.” GIs in the field or at sea had virtually no ordinary access to books. Having grown up during the Great Depression, many of the GIs were reading recreationally for the first time thanks to the ASEs.
*WBN US also donates books to the military through individual volunteers and by partnering with Operation Gratitude.
Authors and publishers involved in WBN agree to forgo royalties. The publishers of books included in the list are responsible for their respective printing costs. Further funding is provided by donations from various members of the publishing industry (see list of 2104 WBN Partners) and individuals. Volunteers distribute the books locally.
During WWII the US government paid for the production, storage, shipping, and distribution of the ASEs. There was a 1 cent royalty for each copy. Half a cent was paid to the author and half a cent to the publisher. ASEs were shipped overseas along with other military supplies.
Armed Services Editions from my collection alongside a couple titles from the 2013 World Book Night US.
Both the World Book Night books and the Armed Services Editions were printed specifically for the giveaways. Books from both programs were printed as paperbacks (hardcover books would be more expensive to produce and ship). WBN and ASE books were printed with specially-branded covers. While WBN paperbacks are the same size as general trade paperbacks (6 x 9 inches, 5½ x 8½ in, etc.), ASE paperbacks were printed much smaller (5½ x 3⅞ inches or 6½ x 4½) in order to fit in a GI’s pocket. In a previous post I wrote a detailed description of the production of ASE paperbacks.
Print Runs
In its first year the World Book Night in the UK was called, “the biggest book giveaway ever” (see “World Book Night giveaway goes international” on The Guardian). In 2011 WBN UK distributed one million copies in Britain. The next year WBN UK printed one million books again, and WBN US debuted with 500,000 for American readers. That’s a combined 2,500,000 books in two years’ time. In 1943, the first year of the Armed Services Editions program, a whopping six million free books were printed for distribution to GIs.
In 2013 WBN UK reduced its print run to 500,000 copies, and this year they halved it again to 250,000. In 2013 WBN US distributed 500,000 copies, and it moved up to 550,000 for 2014. So, after four years the combined number of US and UK books given away will be 4,300,000. From 1943 to the fall of 1946 123,535,305 ASE books were put in the hands of GIs. ASEs continued to be printed for the US troops who served in post-war Europe and Asia. By the summer of 1947 the final total of books printed was 108,512,000. With the backing of the US government at war, the Armed Services Editions is likely to remain the biggest book giveaway ever.
A recovering GI getting a haircut and reading the Armed Services Edition of Hell on Ice, by Edward Ellberg.
Readers’ Reactions
World Book Night has had a passionate response from book-lovers. Tens of thousands of people volunteer every year to be the book givers who distribute the free books. Givers follow up with the recipients, and you can read some of their reader feedback on the WBN US website.
In World War II, homesick American GIs were delighted to have books to distract them from military life. Colonoel Trautman, the Army representative on the ASE selection board, reported that “The only complaint the boys have about the books is that there just aren't enough of them.” While, the New York Times Book Review called ASEs, “more popular than pin-up girls.”
Effect on the Publishing Business
When World Book Night debuted there was concern from some booksellers that the free books would hurt their sales. Some authors thought that the giveaway would devalue the public perception of books. Yet, it is ordinary for the book publishing industry to give away thousands of free books every year as advance reader copies. Free books create word-of-mouth, which sells more books. The hundreds of thousands of books given away on World Book Night are actually good for business. Publishers’ Weekly reported that the titles included in the 2013 WBN US saw a 32% sales increase after the giveaway.
Considering the millions free books involved in the Armed Services Editions giveaway, publishers in the 1940s were very wary of flooding the market. Their agreement with the US government stipulated that the ASEs were not to enter civilian hands. Initially the ASEs could only be distributed outside the United States. This rule was relaxed somewhat when the Council on Books in Wartime allowed ASEs into military hospitals on US soil (but the books had to be destroyed after reading). The flimsy paperback books themselves were designed to be disposable. When the war ended excess stock in government warehouses had to be pulped. The ASE program was very good for business. It cost publishers almost nothing, and the free books encouraged the habit of reading to millions of men in the military. This is thought to have been one of the reasons for the boom in book buying in the later 1940s and 1950s (see my post on The Great Gatsby).
ArmedServicesEditions.com A great resource devoted to ASEs.
The Guardian has numerous articles about World Book Night.
A History of the Council on Books in Wartime, 1942–1946. New York, 1946. The CBW published this history before the nonprofit corporation was dissolved in 1946.
Jamieson, John. Books for the Army: The Army Library Service in the Second World War. Columbia University Press, New York, 1950.
Jamieson, John. Editions for the Armed Services, Inc.: A History, Together With the Complete List of the 1,324 Books Published for American Armed Forces Overseas. New York, 1948.
Labels: Armed Services Editions
Transit passes advertising the 1942 and 1943 Victory Book Campaign
On eBay this week I found a 1942 St. Louis transit pass to go along with my 1943 find from last year. They both advertise for the Victory Book Campaign, a book donation program for GIs in WWII. See my previous post describing the VBC.
Posted by Andrew at 1:22 AM 0 comments
Labels: art and design, Victory Book Campaign
Board of Directors for the Council on Books in Wartime
The Board of Directors of the Council on Books in Wartime included some of the most important American publishers of the decade. The long list of various publishers and booksellers illustrates just how much the industry was committed to doing their bit for the war effort. Many of these names and companies are still familiar today.
1943 Board Members
William Warder Norton (Chairman of the Board), founder of W. W. Norton & Company
John Farrar (Vice-Chairman), co-founder of Farrar & Rinehart (after WWII he co-founded Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
F. S. Crofts (Treasurer), F. S. Crofts & Co.
Malcolm Johnson, Doubleday, Doran & Co.
Nicholas Wreden, The Scribner Book Store
Pat Beaird, Abingdon-Cokesbury Press
David S. Beasley, The University Press
Clarence B. Boutell, G. P. Putnam’s Sons
Martin M. Foss, McGraw-Hill Book Co.
Donald P. Geddes, Columbia University Press
Franklin F. Hopper, New York Public Library
Howard C. Lewis, Dodd, Mead & Co.
Alfred R. McIntyre, Little, Brown, and Company
F. L. Reed, Grosset & Dunlap
S. Spencer Scott (became Treasurer in October 1943), Harcourt, Brace & Co.
Richard L. Simon, co-founder of Simon & Schuster
Meredith Wood, The Book-of-the-Month Club (a man, despite the name)
Stanley P. Hunnewell, Book Publishers Bureau
Robert M. Coles, American Booksellers Association
Janet Lumb, executive secretary
William Warder Norton (Chairman), founder of W. W. Norton & Company
Richard L. Simon (Vice-Chairman), co-founder of Simon & Schuster
S. Spencer Scott (Treasurer), Harcourt, Brace & Co.
Marshall A. Best, The Viking Press
A. J. Blanton, The Macmillan Co.
Bennet A. Cerf, co-founder of Random House
Robert F. De Graff, Pocket Books
C. Halliwell Duell, Duell, Sloan & Pearce
Benedict Freud, Gimbel Brothers Bookstore
George A. Hecht, Doubleday, Doran Book Shops
Curtice N. Hitchcock, Reynald & Hitchcock
Henry Hoyns, Harper & Brothers
Josephine Kimball, Young Books (one of only two woman on the board)
Joseph W. Lippincott, J. B. Lippincott Co.
Elliot B Macrae, E. P. Dutton & Co.
Stanley M. Rinehart, Farrar & Rinehart
William Sloane, Henry Holt & Co.
Datus C. Smith, Jr, Princeton University Press
James S. Thompson, Whittlesey House
Richard J. Walsh, The John Day Co.
Mrs. Robert M. Coles, The American Booksellers Association (one of only two woman on the board)
Carl H. Milam, American Library Association
Marion Beacon, Vassar Book Shop
Hugh Kelly, Whittlesey House
Alfred A. Knopf, founder of Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Henry Laughlin, Houghton Mifflin Co.
Frank S. MacGregor, Harper & Brothers
Joseph A. Margolies, Brentano’s
Charles G. Proffitt, Columbia University Press
Meredith Wood, The Book-of-the-Month Club
Mrs. Robert M. Coles, The American Booksellers Association
Carl H. Milham, American Library Association
Posted by Andrew at 11:10 PM 0 comments
Labels: Council on Books in Wartime
Transit passes advertising the 1942 and 1943 Victo...
Board of Directors for the Council on Books in War...
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« BGR Mock Draft III: Final Predictions
BGR Makes Guest Appearance on Baltimore Sports & Life »
Flacco Not Comparing Himself to Anyone
April 23rd, 2012 Matt Jergensen Posted in Opinions
Flacco's Comments Get Blown Out of Proportion...again.
Joe Flacco generated a media frenzy earlier this month when he said during a radio interview that he believes he is the game’s best quarterback.
Experts, analysts and bloggers were quick to jump all over Flacco claiming that he was delusional, incredibly cocky or both.
Of course for those of us that have covered Flacco over these past four years knew the truth. This story was just another typical media creation that unfortunately permeates the sports landscape today. Print the headline, without context and hope for reaction among fans who only seem to want surface knowledge on a subject.
Flacco can be many things when he stands in front of a microphone. He is usually bland and unassuming but over the past few years he’s shown a dry sense of humor and great confidence when called out by the media. He’s also almost always been honest and usually answers questions with a direct answer.
When Flacco reported for voluntary workouts this past week he clarified his comments that had caused such a stir over the last month.
“I’m not comparing myself to anybody,” Flacco said. “I just have belief in my abilities and that’s really what it comes down to.”
Flacco stood by his remarks, which came after he was asked whether he is one of the NFL’s top-five quarterbacks. The response, he said, was nothing more than an honest answer to the question.
“You’re asked if you believe you’re the best quarterback, and yeah I have belief in my abilities. I think I’m the best. If I were to ask anybody else about that, about what they do, I hope they would say they’re the best.”
I believe what he says. It was a simple answer when asked about his abilities. Certainly the response gets a bit more complicated since he and the Ravens are in the midst of long-term contract negotiations. Flacco’s agent has stated that he feels that his client should be paid as one of the game’s elite at the position. So while I feel he was being truthful there is also a level of spin to position himself for a generous long-term contract going on too.
For whatever reason Flacco is still searching for acceptance, not only nationally but among some of his own fanbase. His detractors who point to his less than stellar numbers seem to forget that Cam Cameron’s system does not call for the pass attempts on par with those in New England, New Orleans, or Green Bay. The make-up of the Ravens roster effects Flacco’s production too. Ray Rice, another player searching for long-term security, also greatly effects the offense being centered around the Quarterback.
Still, Flacco remains committed to winning, and improving his skills in hopes that Baltimore can reach that elusive goal of another NFL championship.
Tags: joe flacco
One Response to “Flacco Not Comparing Himself to Anyone”
Judy Bowen says:
I agree that his remarks are often being taken out of context. That happens to all public figures. But that is exactly why he has to be careful about what he says on the air or when being interviewed. Maybe he doesn’t care that puts himself in jeopardy of being mocked when he says these things, but his fan base does.
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Precast Constructions Features Connectivty Set Free Juscelino Kubitschek Bridge, Brazil
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Juscelino Kubitschek Bridge, Brazil
An Inspiring Architecture-Astounding Beauty
The JK Bridge represents artistry as well as engineering prowess, soaring and swooping gracefully across the waters by day and joined at night by a host of twinkling
lights that make it into a veritable visual feast.
The Juscelino Kubitschek Bridge is also known as the President JK Bridge or simply the JK Bridge, crosses Lake Paranoá in Brasilia in the capital city of Brazil. The bridge's astounding beauty and design sophistication reflect the intent of the former president of the country, Juscelino Kubitschek de Oliveira, for whom it is named, when he made the commitment to build Brasilia as a majestic new capital.
The JK Bridge represents artistry as well as engineering prowess, soaring and swooping gracefully across the waters by day and joined at night by a host of twinkling lights that make it into a veritable visual feast. Alexandre Chan designed this gorgeous span with instructions to create something special, and he certainly met that requirement. It was conceived and built as part of the Orla Project which is a comprehensive sustainable development initiative of the Brazilian government, focused on planning and preservation for all river and ocean coastal activities in the country.
The requirement for a bridge in this location arose from increasing levels of congestion on the two existing bridges across the lake, located to the south of the proposed third crossing. The congestion on these bridges became a significant problem as the city expanded at a faster rate than anyone predicted during their design.
Despite some modifications to these bridges they were unable to cope with the high level of traffic present. By constructing a bridge in the chosen location the travel distances between outlying areas of the region were reduced. This had the effect of increasing the accessibility of the city and its amenities to people living in these communities. A secondary aim of locating a bridge at this point on the lake was to revert on the privatisation of the edges of the lake which had occurred in the area immediately surrounding the site. The introduction of a crossing means that the area becomes part of the public realm rather than the private one. The design of the bridge was conceived by architect Alexandre Chan, with close collaboration from structural engineer Mario Vila Verde, and associated design teams.
Ravishing Design
The form of the bridge evidently reflects its simple structure; the slender steel arches remain clearly visible from different aspects, an attribute that clearly emphasises their functional role. A feeling of stability is generated from this ability to always be able to identify the structure of the bridge. The layout of the structure is such that a distinct feeling of instability is created by the combination of the way that the arches criss-cross the road deck and the angles at which the stays are attached vary depending upon the location. The proportions of the JK Bridge are well considered, with the cables obviously being the most slender element.
Care has been taken in the design to integrate the concrete supports with the steel elements and there is no visible distinction between them. By positioning the arches above the deck sensible heights have been maintained for navigation, whilst the form of the arch is still fully exploited. Another benefit of having repeated the arch element three times across the central span is that the approach spans are proportionally smaller than the main spans. While this effect is not as pronounced as it would be in a bridge across a valley it still contributes to the aesthetic appeal of the bridge. Manipulation of elements can also be identified in the arches, the top of the arches are tapered to be smaller than the base. This has an aesthetic effect but is also structurally important for maintaining the thrust line within the arch at the base.
Urban Landmark
The choice of a steel arch bridge to span the lake environment is somewhat unusual. The type of bridge associated with such an environment is more commonly a beam and slab bridge or for longer spans a suspension bridge, simply because these techniques are easier to design and construct. The JK Bridge however is an urban landmark it reflects the dynamism of the growing city, but maintains links with the natural environment in which it is placed. The architect has used the form of this structure to imitate the idea of a stone skimming across the water's surface.
The JK Bridge is an important artery for the city and its continuing development. The width of the bridge has been determined by the perceived level of traffic and its predicted growth, as the choice of design eliminates the possibility of further expansion. The bridge has been designed to have six vehicle lanes and two pedestrian lanes having dimensions that correspond to local normal technical specifications.
Rather than having been designed to blend in with the surrounding environment in an unobtrusive way the JK Bridge has been designed as a monumental landmark that mimics the modern fabric of the city, this is a factor that has clearly influenced the choice of bridge type. For this bridge it is clear that the architect chose to use a steel arch bridge for aesthetic rather than structural reasons. The absence of tension in an arch bridge allows for the use of materials that have a low tensile strength. An arch allows for the creation of a longer span than that which can be achieved using a beam bridge in those materials.
The absence of tension in an arch bridge allows for the use of materials that have a low tensile strength.
In making the decision to construct the JK Bridge predominately from steel the design team have intentionally used engineering skill to a high degree. They have begun to develop a base of skills and knowledge amongst engineers that may lead to an expanded use of steel in construction within the country. The main issue for the construction was the lack of skilled construction workers due to the fact that steel was not a well used material. The principal behind the construction technique was that the workers involved would develop the necessary skills so that they are able to competently use steel in future projects.
The lack of local skilled steelworkers meant that despite the low labour costs in the country the construction cost of the JK Bridge was higher than an equivalent concrete bridge. This is because external skilled worker were needed to aid with the construction process. Aside from being a new technology, the reduced weight of steel as a construction material made the transportation of the prefabricated arch segments easier, and cheaper than if concrete segments had been used. For several reasons concrete has been chosen for the construction of the Bridge piers. This combined method of material choice has meant that whilst a new technology has been used, it has not had a detrimental effect on the speed of the construction process; something that is often seen in construction projects in Brazil.
Prudence over Future Changes
The choice of a steel arch bridge of this type makes further additions to the bridge almost impossible. Given the reasons stated for the construction of a bridge at this location, the designers should have considered this aspect in more detail. Whilst predicted future growth rates have been used to over design the bridge for current traffic levels, it would be disastrous for the local economy if a similar problem were to occur again in the future.
Construction of JK Bridge
The foundations of the JK Bridge used piles combined with concrete pile caps. Due to poor ground conditions on the bed of the lake they reached a depth of 65 metres; this was so that both horizontal and vertical homogeneity of soil layers was achieved.
The JK Bridge contained three types of pier, those on the approach spans, the central piers, and the temporary supports. The piers in the approach spans were constructed from concrete. They have a hollow form, with longitudinal wall thicknesses of 25cm, and external dimensions of 11m by 2.5m. The shorted ends of the piers have a significantly larger wall thickness; it is these sections that support most of the weight of the deck at these locations. The four central piers each contain two concrete elements with a thickness of 2m which are connected to the same foundation block. One element is inclined at the same angle as the start of the arch, while the other is vertical. This arrangement allows both horizontal and vertical forces to be resolved satisfactorily.
The deck of the JK Bridge has been constructed using the incremental launching technique. Incremental launching means that the deck is created in factory like conditions on site avoiding costly transportation of large elements. By selecting to undertake construction at an abutment, the problems associated with the construction over water present in this case are eliminated. This method of construction is likely to have been chosen because it is identical to the method used for concrete bridges a technology with which the constructors will have been very familiar.
The principal alternative method for arch bridge construction is suspended cantilever construction.
The pavement surface applied to the bridge deck is Dermasfalt [5]. This is a unique polymeric thin layer paving product that was first used in Brazil in 1984. It is likely that the design team chose this product because it has many advantages over conventional pavement materials, and has been widely used in Brazil particularly for steel deck bridges. It significantly reduces the dead weight of the structure as it is applied as a thin layer (averaging 8mm). It can be applied directly to the structure without the need for additional binding materials.
The method selected for the construction of the steel arches was to support them on formwork until they were complete. This formwork was made from steel trusses and was supported on the deck; during this process the load was supported by both the permanent and temporary supports and foundations. The sections of the arches that protrude directly from the water's surface are constructed from high performance concrete. There are potentially several reasons behind this choice; the first is that since concrete is the most widely used construction material in Brazil it will also be the most trusted material, and therefore deemed suitable for such an application.
The prefabricated arch segments were moved into the appropriate position on the surface of the lake by floating platforms. The arch was then constructed by being lifted into place in pieces by cranes, and was supported by the formwork until the keying piece was inserted. The keying part of each arch was inserted at night; this was to allow for controlled temperature conditions, whilst the final closing weld was completed.
Complementary Techniques Adopted
The principal alternative method for arch bridge construction is suspended cantilever construction. This involves the use of temporary cable stays to support the structure during construction. It does however involve the construction of large temporary towers which are needed for the suspension of the cables. The foundation conditions at the edges of the lake are preferable to those found on the bed of the lake, so for a single arch structure this would be a viable construction method. However for the bridge design chosen it would be unsuitable as there are three arches rather than just a single arch.
Bridge design is done using a limit state philosophy. The JK Bridge is primarily a steel bridge, with some concrete elements, with both of these materials design is at ultimate limit state (ULS) and then further checks are carried out at serviceability limit state (SLS). Since the JK Bridge is located in Brazil it is likely to have been designed using American bridge loadings, as these are more sensible than the loadings that are used in the UK.
Inspection and Monitoring
During its construction the JK Bridge was fitted with over 50 sensors in the cables and arches in order to monitor the deflections and stresses both during construction and once the bridge is in service. In fitting these sensors to the bridge the designers have eliminated some of the need for close inspection. However other components of the bridge will still need to be inspected regularly. While the cross section of the deck will allow for this, inspection of the arches themselves will be much more difficult.
http://www.bath.ac.uk/ace/uploads/StudentProjects/Bridgeconference2007/conference/mainpage/Bailey_Kubitschek.pdf
http://www.globalsalesgrowth.com/brazils-juscelino-kubitschek-bridge
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Cancer treatment unaffordable | Drug pricing corruption | Premier tackles HIV stigma | Rare diseases not reimbursed | US medical exams popular in China
Public punchbag to pay son's cancer fees
In Beijing a man who cannot afford the Y700,000 ($114,000) medical bills for his son with leukaemia has offered himself as a public punchbag to raise money. The man called Xia Jun stands outside Guomao station and asks for 10 Yuan to be thumped. He says he has collected 10,000 yuan in one day without anyone taking up the opportunity to hit him.
Corruption on drug price setting cited as reason for abolition
The recent move to abolish price caps for prescription medicines was triggered by corruption in the agency charged with setting drug prices. Critics said officials in the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) were under investigation by the anti-corruption and bribery bureau under the Supreme People's Procurate for taking bribes. Pharma company executives said the current pricing system forced them to pay bribes to regulators to set higher procurement prices.
Premier lends support to ending HIV stigma
Premier Li Keqiang has shown public support for people with HIV and aimed to dispel prejudice and ignorance about the infection by visiting a HIV clinic at the inspected Beijing You'an Hospital.
For World AIDS Day, the Premier met HIV patients and healthcare workers and said the old attitudes of fear surrounding the topic of HIV must be abandoned and HIV patients need more care.
Rare diseases slip through the health insurance cracks
China's health system is not working for children with rare diseases, as their families face high treatment costs and no access to medical fee reimbursement, according to an article in the SCMP. One mother of a 3-year old boy with Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH) said his bills for diagnosis and treatment had reached nearly 200,000 yuan ($33,000), of which just 4,800 yuan ($780) had been reimbursed by the rural medical insurance scheme.
US medical exams popular in China
Thousands of China's medical students and young doctors are studying for the US Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) that will allow them to practice medicine in the US. However, despite studying for up to 1500 hours for the exam, many of them say they are taking it to improve their medical skill rather than just to get a better paying job. Many Chinese students said the US medical exams taught them a more patient-centred approach and put more emphasis on communication and empathy rather than just rote-learning of medical facts. The test is also taken by many of the 60,000 foreign students studying medicine in China.
Labels: cancer, corruption, HIV, medical education, paediatrics, pharmaceuticals
Survivors of Mao's 1959 Great Famine now in poor health
by Michael Woodhead
The Great Famine of 1959-61 triggered by Mao Zedong's disastrous agricultural policies is estimated to have caused 16-30 million deaths. But its effects are still being felt among the survivors - especially the children who were born around that time and who are now reaching retirement age.
In a major national survey two Chinese researchers Fan Wen and Qian Yue have found that the "59-61" generation have significantly worse physical and self rated health than a similar cohort of unaffected people. The poor health is not unexpected given the malnutrition experienced by the children growing up in that era. Previous studies have shown major effects on growth retardation and development. Interestingly, the researchers found that those currently in the worst health tended to be people from families who had Communist Party connections. This was presumably a 'weak survivor' effect because people with Party connection had better access to food during the famine, whereas families without Party connections would simply have starved, killing off the weaker children. Writing in Social Science Research, the researchers say there are millions of Chinese in their fifties and sixties who in poor health because of the early life effects of the famine.
They conclude: "Having experienced one of the largest famines in human history, these individuals are now moving through their retirement years. Our study suggests the necessity of paying special attention to this cohort, with programs designed specifically to meet their special needs."
Drug price caps abolished | Healthcare staff HIV knowledge lacking | China develops drug for lung cancer
Drug prices to rise as price caps abolished
The Chinese government is to abolish price caps on all medicines in a move to end drug shortages and bring market forces into play on the country's pharmaceutical supply system. Draft rules propose to "cancel government-set prices on drugs, and through insurance price controls and the tendering process, allow the actual transaction price of drugs to be set by market competition,"an official report said. Drug prices will in future be determined by health insurance departments, tendering processes and negotiations, it said. Analysts said the government would have to strike a balance between keeping essential medicines affordable and ensuring that companies had enough profit to ensure supply of medicines.
HIV ignorance still common in rural China
Healthcare workers in rural China have a poor understanding of HIV and how it is transmitted, a study carried out in Shaanxi has shown. When subject to a knowledge test on HIV, healthcare workers such as nurses and medical technicians scored only about half of questions correctly, and showed a lack of knowledge of about the transmission of HIV, exposure risks and appropriate protection measures. The lack of knowledge about HIV also translated into inappropriate behaviours, said researchers from the Xi’an Jiaotong University School of Public Health.
Lung cancer drug shows promise
China's homegrown epidermal growth factor receptor inhibitor (EGFR) icotinib (Conmana) shows promise for non-small cell lung cancer, researchers say. The targeted anti-cancer molecule has been researched and produced by the Zhejiang-based Beta pharmaceutical company. It has shown good results published in the Lancet and offers a lower cost alternative to western drugs for the disease that is very common in China, say experts.
China's move to a GP-based primary care system: lots of policy, little progress
In China the average salary for a GP is about half that of a hairdresser.
If you relied on the official Chinese media you could be forgiven for thinking that China's primary care system was the best thing since sliced bread. Hardly a week goes by without an article extolling the virtues of the new networks of general practitioner-based community health clinics.
Many cities such as Beijing and Shanghai are strongly encouraging all residents to enrol with the local community medical centre and to visit the GP for everyday ailments rather than going direct to hospital. The public are enticed to see GP clinics with incentives, such as the free or low cost availability of GP clinic services and ease of getting to see a GP with little need for waiting or queuing up for registration, as is the case with hospitals. Unfortunately, the great Chinese public are not buying it, and they continue to make a beeline for hospitals whenever they are sick.
This week a revealing commentary in the Quarterly Journal of Medicine paints a more realistic picture of China's fledgling GP system. In fact, fledgling isn't the word, foundling might be a better descriptor.
According to the article by Dr Kong Xiangyi and Dr Yang Yi of the Peking Union Medical College Hospital and Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, the primary care system is in a kind of "Failure to Launch" status. They say the government's stated aim of training 150, 000 GPs by 2015 is pie in the sky. The problem, it seems, is that nobody wants to be a GP and nobody wants to see a GP. In China, to be a doctor in the community health service is a low-status position in an underfunded and unrecognised branch of medicine. As the two doctors point out, "the average annual income of a Chinese GP is less than half of a hairdresser and far lower than a specialist."
Part of the problem is that there isn't really any good local model for the would-be GP to emulate. There is no real definition of a GP, and currently many GPs are little more than barefoot doctors - local clinic practitioners who have received five years of basic training in health and medicine. They are employed to offer the "Six Basics" of health: prevention, health education, women and children’s care, elderly care, immunisations and physical rehabilitation. There is also a three-year postgraduate program for medical graduates to train as GPs, similar to that seen in western countries. However, there are very few takers for these courses and their impact on the national medical workforce has been minimal.
The authors of the article say that there appears to be little real enthusiasm for creating a genuine general practice system in China. As they put it, there is a lot of policy, but very little concrete support for funding and training programs. There are no primary care institutions or programs in China: the speciality is a career dead end, and the cream of China's medical expertise and social status is still centred around the big teaching hospitals.
The solution, according to the authors, is for China to emulate foreign countries that operate well-funded and high status family medicine programs. The aim must be to create a gatekeeper system in which patients are triaged by the GP before being allowed to see a specialist. And conversely, GPs must be enabled to provide follow up care after a patient is discharged from hospital. To do this, the health ministry needs to harness the skills and the prestige of the major hospitals to implement such programs.
Until that happens, patients will continue to avoid the community medical clinics, which are underfunded and have poor quality and outdated equipment. The lack of funding means that GPs have to charge commissions on drugs and medical supplies, further eroding trust in their services.
"China’s current reforms still do not emphasize enough the value of GP led primary care," they conclude.
Labels: com, general practice, GP, primary care, training, workforce
China's anaesthetists are dying of overwork
The sudden death of a 40-year old anaesthetist at the Beijing Fuwai hospital this month has put the spotlight on the high work burden of anaesthetists in China and the shortage of doctors in this speciality.
Colleagues of the doctor who died of a brain haemorrhage after a long shift are not only mourning him but also the dire state of their branch of medicine. Many of the deceased doctor's colleagues said it could have been them, given the amount of strain they are working under. As one doctor told the CCTV news station, anaesthetists were working such long hours that some of them took naps on spare operating tables. And it was well known that there have been more than 15 fatigue- and stress-related sudden deaths among anaesthetists in recent years.
A recent survey carried out by the Chinese Medical Association's anaesthesia branch found that more than half of the doctors were working shifts in excess of 10 hours a day and 80% believed they were working beyond safe limits to do their job properly. In addition, 70% of anaesthetists said they were dissatisfied with their branch of medicine.
These findings were confirmed in an interview with an anaesthetist in her mid 40s who told reporters that it was not unusual to do 12 hours shifts due to the lack of staff and it was even known for doctors to work right through a double shift of 24 hours.
The president of the CMA anaesthetist branch Professor Hou Ren said the job was highly stressful as they literally had people's lives in their hands every hour of the day. The job was especially taxing because of the high workload and lack of time for preparation, which meant that an anaesthetist might be dealing with a frail elderly person one minute, then a person with cardiovascular problems the next and later a pregnant woman . Each of these situations required very different management and skills, he said and anaesthetist had to make decision and adjustments according to a patient's condition by the minute.
He said the main problem was that the anaesthetist workforce had not kept track with the increasing number of hospital patients and operations. There were 2.8 million doctors in China, of whom only 2.5% were anaesthetists, which meant there was a national shortage of about 70,000 anaesthetists.
And while some hospitals had enough anaesthetists in theory, in practice there were always shortages because anaesthetists were off sick, on study leave or because they had to teach students.
To remedy the problem some general physicians were being re-trained as temporary anaesthetists, but this was only a short term solution, he said. Another way of addressing the problem was to learn from foreign countries which had managed to use anaesthetists more efficiently through the use of technology and better staff management, he added. In the meantime, anaesthetists faced high levels of pressure and there would continue to be overwork, stress and potentially unsafe work situations.
Labels: anaesthesiology
County hospitals under scrutiny | iKang CEO gets award | Mass General expands into China
China sends in hit squads to fix unpopular country hospitals
Authorities in China have decided to take action to tackle the growing problem of Chinese patients leapfrogging their local hospitals and making a beeline for the big city hospitals (which makes them hopelessly overcrowded). County hospitals are seen by many Chinese as second rate and over priced, and hence they willing to travel long distances to be seen by a doctor in a major hospital in a big city. Now the State Council has decided to send teams to inspect improvements at county-level public hospitals around the country.The teams will conduct onsite inspections to ensure that reforms are being implemented, including overhauls of financing to eliminate commissions and profiteering in commissioning and contracts.
Healthcare tycoon wins entrepreneur award
The head of medical centre operator iKang has won an international award for being Entrepreneur of the Year. Zhang Ligang, who is CEO of iKang, has been named as the EY Entrepreneur of the Year in the 2014 National Life Science Awards. Mr Zhang is the founder of iKang, which now owns 50 private medical clinics and has contract arrangements with a further 300 medical facilities and hospitals.
Prejudice against leprosy patients triggers riots in Hainan over new medical centre
Deeply felt cultural phobias and prejudices about infectious diseases have triggered mass riots in the southern province of Hainan, where local residents in Haikou violently opposed the construction of a leprosy recovery centre.
According to local reports, thousands of local residents in Hainan clashed with riot police over the construction of a new dermatology clinic in the Sanjiang district for patients recovering from infections including leprosy and STDs.
Although authorities explained that patients who had recovered from leprosy were no longer infectious, this was not enough to assuage the fears of local residents, who strongly opposed the building of the clinic and rest facilities in their neighbourhood. Authorities said the clinic was a rehab centre for elderly people who had recovered from the disease and who were no longer contagious, but local people violently opposed the building of the clinic.
According to Chinese state media, local people clashed with police and overturned police vehicles. Several police and local residents were injured in the riot.
Local authorities were reported to have ceased construction of the clinic until a consensus could be achieved with local residents.
Labels: infectious diseases
9 scary health stories from China that might put you off working there
1. Six nurses have been murdered and a hospital janitor killed in a knife attack on a hospital dormitory in Hebei. The attack at the No. 281 Hospital in Qinhuangdao was thought to be the work of a 27-year old male from Tangshan, who has been detained by police.
2. Outdoor pollution can't be escaped by staying indoors in China because it is also a major cause of sick building syndrome, according to researchers at the Institute of Environmental Science, Shanxi University, Taiyuan. In a study of 2134 school students they found that many suffered from skin and mucosal problems that were exacerbated by high levels of outdoor air pollutants such as SO2, NO2, O3 and PM10 particles.
3. A quack doctor in Henan has been jailed for 15 years after he killed a student with what he claimed to be a traditional Chinese medicine cure based on soy sauce, sugar and vinegar. The 65-year old bogus healer had only just been released from jail after serving an 11-year sentence for the same offence - his previous quack remedies had killed as several people in Luoyang.
4. Make no bones about it - China has about a quarter of a billion osteoporotic fractures every year due to brittle bones. A study from Anhui Medical University and Nanjing Medical University estimated that in 2010 there were more than 2.3 million osteoporosis-related hip, clinical vertebral and wrist fractures in Chinese people aged 50 years and over, costing the Chinese healthcare system US$9.61 billion.
5. An outbreak of scrub typhus that originated in a Guangzhou park killed four people and caused serious disease in 29 people, according to local researchers. The outbreak at the Xiaogang Park in May 2012 seemed to affect people who sat on the grass or who were near rat burrows.
6. One in seven young Chinese are Weibo addicts, findings from a study in Anhui suggest. In a study of more than 3000 college students between 4% and 15% of students showed signs of addiction to Weibo-like microblogs, including cravings, dependence, withdrawal and disruption to everyday activities, according to researchers at the Laboratory of Brain Function and Disease, and School of Life Science, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei.
7. Extreme weather triggers heart attacks, according to a Jiangsu study. Heart attacks were found to be more common following changes in atmospheric pressure and variations in temperature, according to a study by Dr Jia Enzhi of the Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University. The findings suggested that climate change could have a major impact on cardiovascular disease rates, he concluded.
8. Superbugs are already a major problem in China and now it has been shown that the use of animal manure as fertiliser is spreading the problem of antibiotic resistance even further. A study of agricultural soil in Jiangsu found that fertiliser was responsible for the high prevalence of sulfonamide-resistant bacteria and their resistance genes.
9. A previously unrecognised tick disease may be endemic in several parts of China inlcuding Yunnan and Zhejiang, say parasitologists.After a recent epidemic of babesiosis in malarial areas of Yunnan they carried out a review that suggests the diseases carried by ticks and rodents may have caused many more cases of disease and outbreaks in recent years that were mischaracterised as other tick-borne fevers.
Doctors refuse red envelope pledge | Online pharmacies to be allowed | Chinese diabetes patients don't adjust diet
Famous doctor won't sign bribe pledge
One of China's leading doctors has refused to sign the government's anti-bribery pledge against accepting red envelopes, saying it is an ineffective and damaging document. SARS hero Professor Zhong Nanshan said the no red envelopes pledge was not a legally-binding document and its ethical pledges were already contained in the Hippocratic Oath that doctors already swore when they graduated from medical school. He said that if doctors signed the pledge it would be a tacit admission of guilt that all doctors were accepting bribes for preferential treatment, which was not the case. He added that signing the pledge also sent the wrong signal that doctors were to blame for the high costs of medical bills, which he said were actually driven by systemic problems such as the linking of hospital doctors incomes to overservicing and the lack of government funding for government hospitals.
Online pharmacies permitted from 2015
Online sales of prescription medicines in China may begin within months, according to the China Food and Drug Administration. The regulatory agency is expected to announce new policies that will allow online prescription medicine sales as early as January 2015. Pharmaceutical retailers have said the opening up of online medicine sales will open up a potential 10 billion yuan market for drugs. However, the expected increase in online pharmacies will have a major impact on bricks and mortar pharmacies, they have warned.
Diabetes patients don't adjust diet
Chinese people with diabetes have little idea how to manage their diet so as to better control their condition, a new study shows. A survey of 100 people with type 1 diabetes by researchers at Peking University People's Hospital found that less than half had ever seen a dietician and few monitored or adjusted their diet to help control their blood glucose levels. The study found that while 64% were aware of carbohydrate counting', only 12% ever used the technique
Labels: corruption, diabetes, diet, pharmaceuticals, pharmacists
China's public hospitals and breastfeeding mums are the losers with latest free trade deal
China's private hospitals are the winners and breastfeeding mums are the losers under the Free Trade Agreement Xi Jinping agreed with Australia today.
The FTA gives Australian companies unprecedented access to China's healthcare system, allowing Aussie health providers to build and operate hospitals in China without the current restrictions that apply to other foreign health companies.
Until recently foreign companies have only been allowed to set up joint venture hospitals, although rules have recently been eased to permit foreign hospitals to be buy or set up hospitals and clinics in Shanghai, Beijing and Tianjin.
One of Australia's leading private hospital operators, Ramsay Health, has already announced a move to buy into a Chengdu private hospital group that operates five hospitals. However, it remains to be seen whether other Australian companies follow suit, especially given that Australia has only a limited number of private hospital operators. Australian healthcare companies may also find it difficult to work in the cut-throat China healthcare environment as they are accustomed to working in a heavily protected and subsidised market. Private health companies receive $5 billion in Australian government handouts a year in a support scheme introduced in the 1990s to prop up the uncompetitive industry when Australians abandoned private hospitals in favour of the public hospital system funded by Medicare.
Australians are more accustomed to dealing with China over resources than services, though one mining tycoon has been quick off the mark to cash in on the free trade agreement to sell milk formula to anxious Chinese mothers. Billionaire Gina Rinehart, whose fortune come from iron ore mines she inherited from her father, has announced she will set up a massive dairy operation to produce milk formula for the China market. Australia's richest woman will acquire about 5,000 hectares of farmland in Queensland to that is expected to produce an estimated 30,000 tonnes of infant formula for export to China every year.
However, the move is unlikely to be welcomed by China's child health specialists, who are already struggling to raise China's pitiful 28% breastfeeding rate to somewhere near to the global average of 40%. Groups such as the World Health Organisation and UNICEF have called for urgent action to boost China's breast feeding rates, but they struggle against aggressive and unethical promotions by milk formula companies, who are also known to bribe hospitals and clinicians to promote their products.
Labels: hospital, Xi Jinping
Leukaemia donations missing | Asthma rates soar | Syphilis rates as high as 44% in sex workers
Leukaemia boy misses out on donations
One of the top stories in the Xinhua news this weekend is the story of a boy from Leshan in Sichuan with leukaemia who has missed out on most of the funds donated by wellwishers for his treatment. The family of the 8-year-oldcalled Lin Zhouzheng appealed for help in paying several hundred thousand yuan in medical bills after they ran out of money and even sold their house to pay for chemotherapy for their son. They were approached by a local man called Xu Ping who mounted a major publicity drive to raise money, and this netted more than 100,000 yuan. However, to date the boy's family have only received 7,000 in money from all the fundraising despite taking part in many media interviews, publicity appearances and having an army of volunteers working under Xu Ping. However, Xu Ping told reporters that the 110,000 yuan raised had only been pledges rather than actual donations - and he was still working to get companies and individuals to make good on their pledges.
Asthma rates soar in Shanghai
Asthma rates in Shanghai have increased four-fold over the last 15 years, with pollution being given much of the blame. A study of more than 27,000 residents of Pudong found that the prevalence of asthma was 1.4%, markedly higher than the 0.4% rate seen in the last major study carried out in 1997. Researchers from the Department of Respiratory Medicine at the Shanghai Putuo District People's Hospital carried out further pulmonary tests on 428 people with asthma and found that 53% had an FEV below 80% of normal and the severity of impaired lung function increased with age. The main triggers for asthma were dust exposure, cold air and respiratory tract infections.
STDs rates high in Jiangxi sex workers
More than 40% of female sex workers in Jiangxi have syphilis, a study has found. Researchers from the Department of Dermatology and STDs at the Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University tested 361 street-based female sex workers and found that 44% had syphilis infection. About half of the sex workers had little education, a high proportion had been sex workers for several years and many failed to use condoms consistently. "Comprehensive interventions targeting this high-risk group, especially scaling up screening and ensuring consistent use of condoms during sex are needed," the researchers suggested.
Labels: asthma, oncology, respiratory medicine, Sichuan, STDs
China's first mental health law - 27 years in the making, but will it change negative attitudes?
There is a very severe stigma about mental health in China - just try calling someone "shenjingbing" (神经病, mentally ill) and watch the reaction. This cultural taboo about mental health is just as strong for doctors in China - a 2012 survey found that even Chinese psychiatrists had negative and unscientific views about mental illness. Most worryingly, many psychiatrists believed that the best approach for someone with mental illness was to institutionalise them, by force, if necessary. There is still a strong belief in involuntary treatment of mental health conditions in China.
It is therefore interesting to see the reactions to the Mental Health Law that was enacted more than a year ago, in May 2013. This law had originally been proposed by the Ministry of Health back in 1985. Such was the lack of interest in change and the entrenched attitudes, it took more than 20 years to get even as far as the draft stage, when it was submitted to the State Council in 2007. After much more negotiation and consultation, the law was approved and came into effect on 1 May 2013.
To westerners, much of the law would appear unremarkable. It states that mental illness must be treated according to basic clinical guidelines, with an emphasis on prevention, treatment and rehabilitation. Where the law has proved controversial (in China at least) is on the matter of involuntary treatment. The new law states that for people with mental illness, "voluntary admission and treatment should be the priority". It also states that involuntary admission should be based on “risk criteria", but this is a grey area that is untested in China.
In an article published this month by three psychiatrists from Shanghai's Jiaotong University School of Medicine, it is argued that the new law is flawed and will still allow mentally ill patients to be inappropriately 'committed' to an institution on flimsy pretenses. They argue that the risk criteria are too broad and open to interpretation. They say the regulations put too much weight on the opinions and wishes of the families of mentally ill people. In reality this will mean that families with 'backward' attitudes and knowledge about mental health will be able to 'get rid' of the stigma of mentally ill person in their family by having them admitted involuntarily.
The psychiatrists say the national law also lacks detail and may not be implemented at a local level. They point to local programs and treatment pathways for mental illness that have been adopted in advanced cities such as Shanghai and Beijing, and they say these should be the model for other parts of China.
However, for the time being psychiatric treatment remains out of reach for many people with mental illness in China. There are an estimated 173 million people with psychiatric disorders in China, but only 20,000 psychiatrists and a few hundred mental hospitals and clinics. China has a long way to go in providing appropriate care for its many citizens with mental illness.
Labels: mental health, psychiatry
The crisis in paediatrics in China
by Michael Wodhead
In the US medical journal Pediatrics this month is an extraordinary editorial about the workforce crisis affecting the discipline of paediatrics in China.
The article written by Dr Zhang Shu-Cheng and colleagues at the Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, says that few doctors in China want to be paediatricians because of the low pay and high pressure from pushy parents. Dr Zhang says there is a recruitment crisis affecting paediatrics in China, with many hospitals unable to fill positions.
The country has a shortage of 200,000 paediatricians, and this creates a vicious circle by creating additional pressure on those who do choose to work in this field. Because paediatricians are in short supply, they have to see high volumes of patients, leading to more errors and more dissatisfaction from families who feel their child's medical complaints are being rushed and ignored. This in turn leads to conflicts between families and doctors - especially as Chinese culture and the one child policy puts a lot of focus on the health and wellbeing of the child.
According to Dr Zhang and colleagues, much of the problem stems from the low pay and low status of paediatricians. They receive about 70% of the base pay of other doctors, and even less when it comes to the 'grey income' based on sales of drugs and income from procedures and other items. And yet despite these problems - and their causes - being well known to the government, nothing is being done, they lament. Many paediatricians are voting with their feet - moving into better paid or less stressful positions within hospitals, such as lab work or as administrators. Others change to different branches of medicine or leave clinical medicine altogether.
"Despite this crisis, little is being done by the Chinese government to stop the loss of pediatricians, by either increasing their pay, decreasing their job intensity, or attempting to prosecute the violence
committed against pediatricians. The government needs to play a leading role in dealing with this crisis by writing and implementing appropriate laws and establishing fair and objective third party
accreditation bodies. Increasing the investment in pediatrics from public finances, easing the pressure on pediatricians, eliminating the practice of physicians supplementing their income by selling medicines, and increasing pediatricians’ salary levels are possible steps that will lead to
more pediatricians willing to stay in the profession," they conclude.
Labels: paediatrics, workforce
Health insurance cover for 95% of Chinese? More like 30%.
For the last few years the official Chinese media have been proudly trumpeting the claim that almost all Chinese are now covered by government-funded basic health insurance. Health minister Li Bin's recent statement that "China's public insurance schemes have achieved over 95% health coverage in urban and rural populations" was accepted and repeated uncritically by Lancet editor Richard Horton on a recent visit to China.
But wait a minute ... is it true? The Atlantic last year reported Chinese academics saying that the true figure was likely to be much lower. And this week we have further confirmation that health insurance cover is nothing like 95% - especially for the most impoverished and vulnerable of China's citizens, the 250 million 'floating population' of migrant workers
A survey of more than 600 migrant workers carried out by researchers from the National Center for Chronic and Non-communicable Disease Control and Prevention in Beijing found that only a third had health insurance in their place of residence. This is probably because health insurance is provided according to the hukou (residence permit) by the authorities of a citizen's hometown, and that is not the place of residence for most migrant workers. But even in their hometown, only about 60% of migrant workers had health cover. The researchers, including an actuary from the China Life Insurance Group, said the low rates of health insurance cover were likely due to a number of reasons, including lack of awareness and inability to negotiate the system and its paperwork for poorly-educated rural residents.
And as well as having poor coverage, health insurance cover had little depth in the real world - it did not cover most of the expenses for those who had it. The study showed that rural migrant workers faced high out of pocket costs for health - averaging 2000 yuan a year in gross average payouts and more than 1000 yuan per person per year even after upfront costs had been reimbursed.
The authors conclude: "overall the coverage depth of basic insurance is still very limited, and the insured in China still end up paying a high amount of medical cost out of pocket. In addition, the floating population has a lower coverage rate than the general population, which further diminishes the protecting effects of insurance."
My take? China's government deserves credit for trying to bring in universal health insurance. Unfortunately, the implementation has been patchy and has favoured the urban, employed and middle classes. Claiming 95% coverage may sound good at WHO conferences and on the front page of China Daily, but the reality is that effective health coverage is nothing like that level. And the biggest losers are the rural migrants. Somehow, Xi Jinping's "The China Dream" left them behind.
Corruption crackdown targets doctors running clinical trials
Senior doctors who accept drug company money to run clinical trials are to be reined in by new health ministry regulations that aim to clean up the potentially unethical and corrupt practices and make clinical research more ordered and accountable.
The National Health and Family Planning Commission has released a new position statement entitled "Administrative Measures for the Clinical Study Projects of Medical Institutions" which will force clinical trials to be run under the auspices of hospital research committees rather than individual doctors or their departments.
The new rules stipulate that to clinical trials will be co-ordinated by a Clinical Study Administration Committee in hospitals, and funding for trials from industry will be channelled through hospitals rather than a particular department or individual doctor.
The study committee will have to set standards and procedures for administering clinical trials and maintain constant supervision of studies. Each trial will need to have a full record and documentation of its aims, protocols and the researchers involved. There will also be strict rules about the financing of trials and bans on having industry paying for or accepting "expenses".
Labels: NHFPC, research
Dengue crisis worsens as disease spreads north
China is now experiencing its worse outbreak of dengue fever in two decades, with almost 1000 cases a day being recorded in south China, and the infection spreading as far north as Henan.
Outbreaks of the serious infection spread by the Aedes mosquito are centred around Guangdong, where almost 43,000 cases have been recorded this year.
However, the disease is now affecting other parts of China, including Zhejiang, Fujian, Yunnan and Guangxi, according to the National Health and Family Planning Commission (NHFPC).
"The outbreak of dengue fever this year is the worst in China since 1995, when 6,812 cases were recorded," according to Qin Chengfeng, a researcher with the Chinese Academy of Military Medical Sciences.
Alarm bells are ringing because the infection has also been reported as far north as Henan, half way between Shanghai and Beijing. Researchers say this is the first time the disease has been seen so far from the traditional areas of south China. Infectious disease experts said there were more than 50 cases of dengue fever reported in Shenhou township, presumably imported by migrant workers who had been in south China and Laos. They said the findings should act as a warning that the disease is spreading rapidly within China.
Other experts have attributed the spread of dengue to changing weather patterns, pointing to high rainfall that encourages the breeding of the Aedes mosquito.
Labels: dengue fever, Henan
CMA pharma ban | Cancer survival lags | High rates of undiagnosed diabetes
Health ministry curbs CMA's lucrative industry links
The National Health and Family Planning Commission (NHFPC) is taking steps to curb hugely-profitable links between the Chinese Medical Association and the pharmaceutical and medical device industries. Although supposedly a non-profit organisation, the CMA makes 820 million yuan ($133 million) in income from industry-sponsored events such as medical conferences. The NHFPC has ordered the doctor's professional association to put its conference management on a more sound ethical footing and to stop promoting links between industry and the profession.
Cancer survival rates in China lag behind other countries
Cancer researchers have highlighted the huge disparity between cancer survival rates in China and in developed nations. A study of 139,000 Chinese cancer patients found that only about one-third of survived five years after their diagnosis, compared to 70% in counties such as the US. Researchers from the Cancer Prevention and Control Office said the poor survival rates in China ere due to poor levels of medical treatment and research. Another reason was that China had more cases of stomach, lung and liver cancers, which were more difficult to detect and treat than the common cancers in western countries.
High diabetes rates in central China
Diabetes has become a major public health problem in the region around the Three Gorges of the Yangtze, and a large number of the cases are undiagnosed and untreated. A study involving 3721 randomly selected adults found that the prevalence of diabetes and impaired fasting glucose were 7.6% and 9% respectively. About 55% of the cases of diabetes identified in the study were previously undiagnosed. The researchers from the Third Military Medical University, Chongqing said diabetes was linked to age, family history of diabetes, central obesity, educational level and hypertension for both men and women.
Low awareness of cervical cancer prevention in China
Cervical cancer is not 'on the radar' of even the most health literate Chinese, a new survey suggests.
A study of medical students has found that while most were aware of HPV as a cause of cervical cancer, few were aware of the screening techniques for cervical cancer or the role of a HPV vaccine in preventing the disease.
The survey of 1878 students at Chengdu Medical College found that 79% of females and 54% of males had a positive view of cervical cancer screening, 40% of females and 45% of males were not aware of what it involved. Most had little idea of when cervical screening screening should start or the role of HPV in the development of cervical cancer. Likewise, few Chinese medical students were aware of the ideal intervals for screening, according to the findings published in PLOS One.
When asked about HPV vaccine, only 14% were aware that persistent HPV infection was the necessary cause of cervical cancer and only 29% knew there was an HPV vaccine available. About 50% of males and 65% of females said they would support HPV vaccination, but about 40% said they had concerns about side effects and the cost of the vaccine.
The researchers led by Dr Pan Xiong Fei of the Department of Epidemiology, West China School of Public Health, Sichuan University, said it was a major concern that China's health providers knew little about HPV and prevention of cervical cancer.
"It is important to improve the knowledge of HPV and cervical cancer among medical students in order to supply well-informed health care providers for prevention and control of cervical cancer," they concluded..
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Health insurance cover for 95% of Chinese? More li...
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CMA pharma ban | Cancer survival lags | High rates...
Low awareness of cervical cancer prevention in Chi...
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Human Rights and Employment
ARTICLE | October 3, 2010 | BY Winston P. Nagan
Winston P. Nagan
In the development of internationally sanctioned standards for labor and employment there are some threshold considerations that must be taken into account. First, labor and employment rights generally fall within the category of social, cultural and political rights. This is to be distinguished from conventional, civil and political rights. Internationally, the institution which had primary responsibility for developing labor and employment rights has been the International Labor Organization which was founded under the League of Nations and now grandfathered into the UN system. Thus, labor issues were on the international agenda as matters of international concern prior to the development of human rights law under the UN Charter.
In 1948, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted. Articles 23 and 24 specifically identify and explain the issue of the right to work and employment as human rights from the perspective of the Declaration. These articles are as follows:
“1. Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favourable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment.
2. Everyone, without any discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equal work.
3. Everyone who works has the right to just and favourable remuneration ensuring for himself and his family an existence worthy of human dignity, and supplemented, if necessary, by other means of social protection.
4. Everyone has the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of his interests.”
“Everyone has the right to rest and leisure, including reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic holidays with pay.”
The specific issue to note is that the Universal Declaration is an instrument of moral and political obligation, but it is not a Declaration that requires legally binding prescription, enforcement and application.
The ILO was an already established institution and it had developed a corpus of treaty law and practice prior to the UN era. The ILO was moved by the principle that “lasting universal peace can be established only if it is based on social justice.” Thus, it saw its mission as establishing social justice standards for all the world’s workers. The ILO therefore institutionally is an institution with a distinct bureaucracy, an established nomenclature, developed constituencies and consistent practices. The ILO did not see it as crucial that it integrate its approach to the newly developing human rights constituencies. Among the differences was the idea that human rights spokesmen talked of the abuse of individual human rights whereas the ILO emphasized the duties of states. The violation of individual human rights was expressed in terms of the failure to conform to international standards.
An important development occurred in the 1960s when the UDHR served as the foundation for the development of two critically important human rights treaties. One dealt with civil and political rights, the other with economic, cultural and social rights. These two instruments together with the UDHR are generally considered to be an International Bill of Human Rights. These instruments confronted strongly entrenched ideological positions which fed the Cold War. Western industrialized countries favored civil and political rights in part because they were judicially enforceable and essential for democratic political culture. On the other hand, the socialist states of the East took the opposite position. They favored economic and social rights but were not willing to embrace the implications of importing Western democratic principles via an International Bill of Rights. The ILO was in an awkward position politically and in practice, tended to be somewhat more distanced from the developing human rights community.
From a technical perspective, the limitations and objections to economic and social rights were that these were not really rights in a legal sense; they were more closely related to political and economic goals. In this sense, the central decisions about social economic justice were ones that were more suited to the political rather than the legal sphere of government. We should keep in mind that employment and labor rights influence and are influenced by most of the other rights in the International Bill of Rights. For example, on the agenda of the ILO has been such issues as slavery, forced labor, child labor, debt bondage, discrimination (gender and racial), and associational freedoms which include claims to collective bargaining, etc.
The modern view of human rights has generated a consensus that these rights are universal, indivisible, inter-dependent and interrelated. At the UN’s 1995 Summit on Social Development, the core labor rights such as freedom of association, the right to organize, and collectively bargain were reaffirmed as fundamental human rights. Development within the ILO was significantly furthered in 1998 when the Conference of the ILO adopted a “Declaration of Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work.” These developments do not explicitly articulate the idea of an individual’s enforceable human right to employment or the states duty to provide employment or a corporate obligation to do what is possible within sound business practice to avoid unemployment strategies of doing business.
If we conceptualize the right to employment and labor as encapsulated in the value of skill, it is possible to briefly map the way in which skill is a base of power for securing other articulate human rights values. For example, skill in terms of access to power is a base that is critical to the shaping and sharing of power. In this sense, skill is a critical value for protecting human rights interests tied up with the exercise of political power. Similarly, skill is an important base to acquire wealth and related economic values and is therefore critical for economic justice. Skill is also a base for access to education and enlightenment which is central to human development. Skill is also a base for access to health and well being as well as to the institutions of social rectitude. Thus, employment rights including access and performance influence every other human rights value. Similarly, every other human rights value will influence the shaping and the sharing of labor and skill values. With this in mind, we examine the problem of full employment as a human right. It may be at the outset, better to see this in terms of the political will and articulate ideology of the state and state responsibility. From this perspective it is self-evident that governments routinely intervene in matters that directly affect the economic status of the individual. Such interventions may well influence both quantity of employment opportunities available as well as the nature of these opportunities. Some obvious examples of governmental policy influencing these issues are its role in setting interest rates, its approach to budget deficits, the expansive or restrictive nature of its import and export policy, its tax policies, its military expenditure, its immigration policies, its approach to industrial development, its investment in the society, its licensing policies, its environmental regulations, and a good deal more. One illustration of the way in which an ostensibly neutral tax policy could influence employment patterns is the regulation that provides incentives for capital investment in the form of depreciation while providing disincentives to employment in the payroll tax. This suggests a partiality to investing in technology rather than labor.
To the extent that employment is one of the most important mechanisms for the allocation of purchasing power to the individual, the right to employment may be seen as the critical foundation of economic democracy. If society cannot assure the survival of all citizens through employment access, it may be that the state has a special obligation to provide employment opportunities for all. In short, the right to employment is not a privilege, it is a right. To the extent that economic survival is critically sustained by employment it could be argued that the right to employment has the character of a fundamental human right. The critical question then is: How strategically should the state act to secure this fundamental right to economic survival?
The International Commission on Peace and Food provided a report to the UN on this matter in 1994. Its principle point was that there had to be a universal affirmation of and commitment to, the delivery of fundamental economic rights to all. According to the International Commission there should be an approach which recognizes:
“.. [t]he right of every citizen to employment is the essential basis and the most effective strategy for generating the necessary political will to provide jobs for all. What is needed is not another job generation program, but a change in social values that will accelerate the natural and inevitable evolution of society, from one in which labor is regarded as a dispensable resource to one based on full human rights and the enormous productive potential of the human being. The type and magnitude of change needed today is comparable to that embodied in President Roosevelt’s New Deal for the American people during the Great Depression at a time when 25 percent of the work force was unemployed, to the Indian Government’s decision to launch the Green Revolution in the mid-1960s to achieve self-sufficiency in food grains at a time when the country was highly dependent on imported food to stave off famine, and to Mikhail Gorbachev’s initiatives late in the 1980s to end the Cold War and transform Soviet society.”1
There are many skeptics in political circles as well as academic and scientific circles who genuinely believe that full employment is simply an unfeasible policy. It is very possible that this outlook has a corrosive effect which initiates this discourse with an assumption of futility. Thus, a critical part of initiating this dialogue is the assumption that a full employment society is a realistic prediction if there is a plausible and wide-spread acceptance of the necessity of this in economic terms as well as the importance of this commitment in juridical and moral terms. In this sense, more may be required to fully explore all the ramifications of the notion of employment itself. This could include not simply the market value of labor but other components of labor that deal with the very nature of human development. An approach is suggested in the Human Development Report of 1990 which stresses that a significant element of the dynamic of employment is embedded in the “capability approach.” This approach suggests that economic measures of labor value are insufficient. For example, a measure like the GDP may unintentionally distort our view of the critical value of employment to individual and social well being. It may be that the notion of employment seen through the lens of capability would emphasize the production and distribution of freedom as a better indication of human value. According to the Human Development Report “the basic objective of development is to create an enabling environment for people to enjoy long healthy and creative lives. This may appear to be simple truth but it is often forgotten in the immediate concern with accumulation of commodities and financial wealth.” Central to the capability approach is the insight that social and economic arrangements should have as a key objective the expansion of human capability. This includes the freedom to defend and enhance valuable activity. Central therefore to the stress on capability is the expansion of human freedom in the aggregate in the economic sector. It also permits a clearer link to the fundamental human rights standards which are now the foundation of modern social organization. In short, what is central then to human rights approach to employment is the recognition of “opportunity freedom” (capability) and “process freedom.” These freedoms are then cornerstones of the dynamic of employment both in terms of the conditions of access and performance.
The challenge that a focused human rights approach generates is that it compels a discourse about the values which implicate human rights and are part of the culture of labor, skill and employment. This carries a further implication that these values must in turn provide compelling normative guidance for newer approach to the problem of a commitment to full employment. It may be assumed that the current flavor of dominant economic policy is one that either tolerates or may even tacitly encourage unemployment as an economically efficient mechanism for stabilizing the market, and the dominant business values of self-interest behind it. This means that we must generate a change in the discourse of our values and then look toward a process of those changes being reflected in a wide framework of decision making at all levels for the promotion of full employment. This a view also taken by the International Commission as follows:
“We must recognize that the present status and functioning of our economies is the result of specific choices that have been made in the past, based on priorities and values that were relevant or dominant at the time, but which we certainly are not obliged to live with indefinitely, and, in fact, are continuously in the process of discarding in favor of new values and priorities. The rapid adoption of environmentally-friendly policies around the world is positive proof of how quickly the rules, even economic rules, can change when there is a concerted will for a breakthrough.”2
1 International Commission on Peace & Food, Uncommon Opportunities: Agenda for Peace & Equitable Development, Zed Books, London, 1994, p.86. See http://www.icpd.org/UncommonOpp/CHAP04.htm.
2 Ibid, p. 86.
Chairman, Board of Trustees, World Academy of Art & Science; Director, Institute for Human Rights, Peace and Development, University of Florida, Gainesville, Fl, USA
capability approach
economic rights
labour value
right to employment
A Project on The Wealth of Nations Revisited
- Ivo Šlaus and Garry Jacobs
Updating Macro-economics
CADMUS: The Personality of a Journal
Introductory Paper for a Programme on The Wealth of Nations Revisited
- Orio Giarini, Garry Jacobs,
Bernard Lietaer, Ivo Šlaus
The Knowledge Society: A Sustainability Paradigm
- Naim Hamdija Afgan & Maria
G. Carvalho
Theory and Strategies for Full Employment
Indicators of Economic Progress: The Power of Measurement and Human Welfare
Transforming Finance Group's Call Recognizes Finance as a Global Commons Ethical Markets
The World Academy of Art and Science: History and Manifesto
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46 High Street, New Malden, KT3 4EZ
1,180 sq ft (110 sq m) - LET
PRIME A1/A2 RETAIL UNIT. The premises comprise a three storey mid terrace building with a retail unit on the ground floor and offices over the first and second floors. To the rear of the shop area is a kitchen, ancillary/storage area and two WCs with further WCs provided on the first floor. The first and second floor offices benefit from carpeting and fluorescent lighting. There is also rear access and a yard area providing parking for two vehicles. The premises were previously used as an estate agent offices and are fitted out accordingly and benefit from A2 planning consent.
Carpeted
Whole 1,180 sq ft (110 sq m)
The property occupies a prominent location on the High Street in a parade also containing Waitrose supermarket, NatWest bank and situated directly opposite Tudor Williams department store. New Malden mainline railway station is within 100 yards of the unit.
The property is available by way of assignment of the existing lease or to let on a new FR&I sub lease for a term to expire November 2018
£25,000 pa excl.
We have been advised that the property is not currently elected for VAT.
Whole 1,180 sq ft
(110 sq m) £25,000 pa excl. £18,500 £8,547 (13/14) LET
Strictly by appointment through the sole agents
I am enquiring about 46 High Street, New Malden, KT3 4EZ
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Scabies Epidemic In West Darfur
by Mazy on Sat 14 Sep 2013, 02:44
KIREINIK
(12 Sep.2013)
The authorities of West Darfur state have confirmed that in the locality of Kireinik more than 3,000 people suffer from scabies, a phenomenon described to be the first of its kind in the area.
The medical director of the Kireinik hospital, Dr Abd El Aziz Adam Yusuf, revealed that the number of persons infected with scabies has reached 3,130, based on samples taken from the patients for initial tests.
The commissioner of Kireinik locality, Younis El Haj Ibrahim, has acknowledged the increase in scabies infections too. He stressed the inability of the locality to combat the disease, calling on the state government and the federal Ministry of Health to intervene and curb the spread of the disease in the locality and other parts of West Darfur state.
He affirmed that the results of tests conducted by a medical team at the state level confirmed that the skin disease is indeed scabies.
Yet, a number of residents of Kireinik locality told Radio Dabanga that the number of those infected with scabies far exceeds what the government authorities have announced, explaining that the patients have been suffering from the disease for a long time, and reportedly also from ringworm.
They reported that they had notified the authorities since the emergence of the diseases. The authorities however, did not respond to their early complaints.
‘Scabies In West Darfur Came From Jebel Amer’: Minister
from Radio Dabanga
Published on 13 Sep 2013 —View Original
Authorities of West Darfur state have announced that the current epidemic of scabies arrived from the Jabel Amer region in North Darfur.
As reported by Radio Dabanga on Thursday, more than 3,000 people in Kireinik locality are infected, according to initial tests.
The Minister of Education and the Acting Governor, Adam Bashir Yahya, confirmed the concentration of the scabies epidemic is found in the areas of Kireinik, Umm Dukhun and Umm Tajok. He warned that if the spreading of this very contagious disease cannot be halted, it may reach the neighbouring Darfur states too.
He added that a large number of people in the Kireinik region have now been vaccinated, in order to prevent the spreading of the disease, and that a committee has been formed to investigate the origins of the disease.
Re: Scabies Epidemic In West Darfur
by it's me on Sat 14 Sep 2013, 05:36
One problem that seems near to be solved...
George Clooney fan forever!
by Katiedot on Sat 14 Sep 2013, 07:19
Man, I had to look this up!
Scabies (from Latin: scabere, "to scratch") is a contagious skin infection caused by the mite Sarcoptes scabiei. The mite is a tiny and usually not directly visible parasite which burrows under the host's skin, causing intense allergic itching. The infection in animals other than humans is caused by a different but related mite species, and is called sarcoptic mange.
Scabies is classified by the World Health Organization as a water-related disease.[3] The disease may be transmitted from objects, but is most often transmitted by direct skin-to-skin contact, with a higher risk with prolonged contact. Initial infections require four to six weeks to become symptomatic. Reinfection, however, may manifest symptoms within as few as 24 hours. Because the symptoms are allergic, their delay in onset is often mirrored by a significant delay in relief after the parasites have been eradicated. Crusted scabies, formerly known as Norwegian scabies, is a more severe form of the infection often associated with immunosuppression.
Scabies is one of the three most common skin disorders in children, along with tinea and pyoderma.[17] As of 2010 it affects approximately 100 million people (1.5% of the population) and is equally common in both genders.[28] The mites are distributed around the world and equally infect all ages, races, and socioeconomic classes in different climates.[9] Scabies is more often seen in crowded areas with unhygienic living conditions.[29] Globally as of 2009, an estimated 300 million cases of scabies occur each year, although various parties claim the figure is either over- or underestimated.[6][30] About 1–10% of the global population is estimated to be infected with scabies, but in certain populations, the infection rate may be as high as 50–80%
Scabies is an ancient disease. Archeological evidence from Egypt and the Middle East suggests scabies was present as early as 494 BC.[12][31] The first recorded reference to scabies is believed to be from the Bible (Leviticus, the third book of Moses) circa 1200 BC.[32] Later, in the fourth century BC, the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle reported on "lice" that "escape from little pimples if they are pricked";[33] scholars believe this was actually a reference to scabies.[who?]
Nevertheless, Greek physician Celsus is credited with naming the disease "scabies" and describing its characteristic features.[33] The parasitic etiology of scabies was later documented by the Italian physician Giovanni Cosimo Bonomo (1663–99 AD) in his famous 1687 letter, "Observations concerning the fleshworms of the human body".[33] With this discovery, scabies became one of the first diseases with a known cause.
And this caught my eye:
Gorillas are known to be susceptible to infection via contact with items used by humans
by melbert on Sat 14 Sep 2013, 12:15
ewwwwwwwwwwwwww!
melbert
Location : George's House
It kinda makes your skin crawl. Poor people that don't have enough suffering.
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Population 5.7 million
GDP per capita 56,631 US$
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major macro economic indicators
2018 (e)
2019 (f)
GDP growth (%) 2.4 2.3 1.4 1.6
Inflation (yearly average, %) 0.3 1.1 0.8 1.2
Budget balance (% GDP) -0.4 1.1 0.2 -0.1
Current account balance (% GDP) 7.9 8 5.9 6.1
Public debt (% GDP) 37.3 35.6 33 32.2
(e): Estimate. (f): Forecast.
World’s fifth largest shipping operator
Energy self-sufficiency (oil in the North Sea and Greenland); net energy exporter
Niche industries (renewable energy/biotechnology)
Well managed public finances
Large current account surplus
Krone pegged to the euro
Small open economy sensitive to external demand
Government instability related to the fragmentation of Parliament
Very high household debt (272% of disposable income)
Public sector constitutes a significant part of the country’s employment (30% of employees in August 2018)
Tensions over housing in some cities
Growth still dynamic, driven by domestic demand
Growth will remain resilient in 2019 thanks to strong private consumption and investment. Household consumption will continue to be driven by a buoyant labour market, characterised by full employment (unemployment rate at 3.9% in September 2018), and the resulting increase in wages. Between three and four million homeowners will receive property tax refunds in 2019, due to the reduction in the tax base, in line with the reform of the property valuation system. Inflation will accelerate slightly but is expected to remain moderate. As a result, the central bank should maintain an accommodative monetary policy in 2019, in line with that of the ECB. In addition to this particularly favourable financial environment – the key interest rate is at a record low 0% –, households will benefit from the wealth effect linked to rising house prices. However, although household debt has been falling since 2014, it remains the highest in the OECD, coming in at 272% of disposable income in 2017. In parallel, investment will be supported by supply constraints, with production capacity utilisation rates and recruitment difficulties at their pre-2008 crisis levels. Shipping, which accounts for 50% of exports of services, will be affected by the slowdown in world trade, and the impact will be even greater if protectionist measures are increased. Although house prices have softened in Copenhagen, residential construction is expected to remain brisk thanks to the improvement in the financial situation of households. The energy sector (oil and gas) will benefit from continued high prices. The slowdown in the main partner countries will affect exports and reduce external trade’s growth contribution, which could turn negative.
Prudent fiscal policy and a substantial current account surplus
The government will maintain its prudent fiscal policy and is not expected to increase public spending, in order to avoid a risk of overheating given the low unemployment rate. The few increases will be concentrated in the social sector (healthcare, early childhood, the elderly) and the environment, but will be very limited (less than 0.1% of GDP). The government deficit and public debt, which are both already well below the thresholds set by the European Stability and Growth Pact (3% and 60% of GDP respectively), will continue their downward trend.
Denmark will continue to run a large current account surplus in 2019. The trade balance will still generate a significant surplus (over 6% of GDP), although imports, driven by domestic demand, are expected to be more dynamic than exports. Exports will be hurt on the one hand by cooler growth in the EU and the United States, and on the other hand by Brexit, which will reduce demand from the United Kingdom. Exports of agricultural products, including pork and dairy products, which account for 20% of exports to the UK, would be particularly affected if the country leaves without an agreement, as they are subject to substantial customs duties (up to 40% depending on the product). However, exports to the UK have diversified significantly in recent years, with the share of machinery and equipment increasing from 20% to 40% of the total between 2015 and 2017. The income balance is also in surplus, thanks to the income of Danish companies abroad. External debt remains considerable, at around 150% of GDP in the second quarter of 2018, but has been gradually declining since 2013. The Danish financial sector, which is interconnected with its Nordic counterparts, accounts for two thirds of this debt.
The left slightly ahead in the polls
Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen leads a centre-right government coalition composed of his own Liberal Party, the Liberal Alliance (LA) and the Conservative People's Party (KF). This minority coalition (53 MPs out of 179) depends on the support of the far-right Danish People's Party (DF), which has 37 MPs, but which did not wish to participate in the government. The Prime Minister's term of office, which will end no later than June 2019, has been marked by significant disagreements between the coalition parties, compounded by the demands of the DF. The outcome of the 2019 parliamentary elections – which will be affected by the scandal over money laundering involving the Estonian subsidiary of Danske Bank, Denmark’s leading bank, between 2007 and 2015 – remains uncertain: at the end of October 2018, polls showed 51% support for the left against 49% for the right-wing parties, including the DF. According to the polling data, the balance of power has changed little since the 2015 elections: the Social Democratic Party (SD), led by the former Minister of Employment and then Justice, Mette Frederiksen, is predicted to win, followed by the Liberal Party and the DF in a neck-and-neck race for second.
With local elections confirming Greenland's desire to gradually move towards independence (the Arctic being a region potentially rich in mineral, oil and gas resources), Denmark will inevitably have to address this issue in the medium term.
Last update : February 2019
Denmark is in the process of becoming a cashless society and bank transfers are the most commonly used means of payment. All major Danish banks use the SWIFT network, as it is a rapid and efficient solution for the payment of domestic and international transactions. Denmark has also implemented the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) in order to simplify bank transfers in euros.
Cheques and bills of exchange are now seldom used in Denmark. Both are seen as an acknowledgement of debt.
Unpaid bills of exchange and cheques that have been accepted are legally enforceable instruments that mean that creditors do not need to obtain a court judgement. In cases such as these, a “judge-bailiff” (Fogedret) is appointed to oversee the enforcement of the attachment. Prior to this, the debtor is summonsed to declare his financial situation, in order to establish his ability to repay the debt. It is a criminal offence to make a false statement of insolvency.
Amicable phase
The amicable phase begins with the creditor, or his legal counsel (e.g. attorney, licenced collection agency, etc.), sending the debtor a final demand for payment by post, in which he is given ten days to settle the principal amount, plus any penalties for interest provided for in the initial agreement.
Once the ten days from the date of the letter of demand have expired, the creditor’s legal counsel can charge the debtor for out of court collection costs (based on an official tariff) and present the debtor with a debt collection letter which gives them ten further days to pay. If this payment deadline is not respected, the debtor can be sent a warning notice which sets out the date and time of a visit. A third reminder can be sent and calls can be made.
When no specific interest rate clauses have been agreed by the parties (maximum of 2% per month),the rate of interest applicable to commercial agreements contracted after 1st August 2002 is either the Danish National Bank’s benchmark, or the lending rate (udlånsrente) in force on 1st January or 1st July of the year in question, plus an additional 8%.
Fast-track proceedings
Since 1st January 2008, overdue payments which do not exceed 50,000 Danish kroner (DKK) or EUR 6,723 and are uncontested are handled via a simplified collection procedure (forenklet inkassoprocedure), whereby the creditor submits an injunction form directly to the judge-bailiff for service on the debtor. If there is no response within 14 days, an enforcement order is issued.
Ordinary proceedings
If a debtor fails to respond to a demand for payment, or if the dispute is not severe, creditors can obtain a judgement following an adversarial hearing or a judgement by default ordering the debtor to pay. This usually takes three months.
In the case of a judgement by default, the debtor can be ordered to pay the principal amount plus interest and expenses (including court fees and, where applicable, a contribution to the creditor’s legal costs) within 14 days.
All cases, whatever the size of the claim and level of complexity, disputed or not, are heard by the court of first instance (Byret). The court is presided over by a panel of three judges, or one judge assisted by experts, who consider both written and orally-presented evidence.
Appeals on claims which exceed DKK 10,000 are heard by one of two regional courts - either the Vestre Landsret in Viborg (for the Jutland area) or the Østre Landsret in Copenhagen (for the rest of the country). Exceptional cases that involve questions of principle can be submitted directly to the appropriate regional court.
These proceedings involve a series of preliminary hearings, during which the parties present written submissions and evidence, and a plenary hearing, in which the court hears witness testimonies and arguments from both parties.Court costs depend on the value of the claim. The losing party generally bears the legal costs.
Denmark only has commercial courts in the Copenhagen area. These comprise a maritime and a commercial court (Sø-og Handelsretten) which are presided over by a panel of professional and non-professional judges. These judges are competent to hear cases involving commercial and maritime disputes, competition law, insolvency proceedings and cases involving international trade.
Enforcement of a legal decision
Domestic judgements become enforceable when all appeal venues have been exhausted. If the debtor fails to comply with the judgment within two weeks, the creditor can have it enforced through the bailiff’s Court. Enforcement can take the form of a payment arrangement, or a seizure of the debtor’s assets. Payment plans are normally agreed in court and the debtor’s assets that can be seized are normally agreed at the same time. Courts normally accept payment plans of up to ten to twelve months depending on the amount.
As concerns foreign awards, the scenario can be more difficult if the decision is issued by an EU member, as Denmark does not adhere to the EU regulations on European Payment Order procedures. Decisions issued by non-EU members can be recognised and enforced, provided that the issuing country is part of a bilateral or multilateral agreement with Denmark.
Insolvency proceedings
Out-of-court proceedings
Non-judicial restructuring can take place through formal composition agreements, whereby the debts owed to the creditors are acknowledged and payment instalment agreed upon, without having recourse to a judge. Nevertheless, as Danish courts are an efficient solution, out-of-court proceedings tend to be used as informal negotiation tools.
Restructuring proceedings
Restructuring procedures are based on decisions handed down by the bankruptcy court. The court examines the possibility of a compulsory composition and/or a business transfer. These proceedings can be initiated by the debtor, in cases of insolvency, or by the creditor (but only with respect to legal entities). The court then appoints a restructuring administrator. The debtor maintains control of his assets during the procedure but is not allowed to enter into transactions of material significance without the consent of the restructuring administrator. The outcome of the procedure depends on the administrator’s proposal.
Liquidation procedures are based on bankruptcy orders issued by the Court, either at the request of the debtor or a creditor. The debtor must be insolvent. The Court appoints a trustee who is authorised to act in all matters on behalf of the bankrupt estate. His primary objectives are to liquidate the debtor’s assets and distribute the proceeds between the creditors. Creditors need to file their claims with the trustee for assessment.
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« Colts Players Taking Written Tests For Teams’ New Offense
An Early Guess At Who the Colts 2018 MVP Will Be »
New Colts DE Chris McCain Denies Battery Charge: “She is Lying”
June 6th, 2018 Luke Schultheis Posted in News, Police Blotter
New Colts defensive end Chris McCain has been charged with two counts of battery stemming from an alleged incident involving a woman earlier this year, Mike Wells of ESPN reports.
McCain is accused of spitting on and grabbing the neck of Arpi Davtyan, according to the documents. The charges were filed last week, and the defensive end is scheduled to be arraigned on July 13.
“She is lying,” McCain told the Indianapolis Star.
McCain also said no investigators have contacted him about the matter. “No one has contacted me about anything,” he said. “No cops, no one. No one has talked to me.”
“We take these matters very seriously and we will provide updates as appropriate,” the Colts said in a statement.
The Chargers placed a right of first refusal on McCain, who was a restricted free agent, at the start of free agency in March.
The tender would have paid McCain a base salary of $1.9 million for the 2018 season. However, the Chargers notified McCain of their intention to rescind the tender in April, making him an unrestricted free agent.
The Chargers would not divulge if an incident led them to rescind the tender offer. However, the team did say it had learned of an incident involving McCain before making its decision.
“We were aware of an alleged incident and alerted the league office at the time,” a Chargers spokesperson said.
Tags: Chris McCain
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There are two things that must concur before a person could enter into a contract, express or implied. Those would be civil personality and capacity to act, and while the latter is something that a person could acquire and lose many times during his or her lifetime, the former, civil personality, is something acquired by birth and is lost only through death. If either is missing, then the person could not enter into any kind of agreement. When one considers this, then one begins to understand the reason why death records like Mariposa County Death Records are very important.
Mariposa County Death Certificates are the best evidence that one could present in order to prove the death of the deceased, and there are many reasons why there is a need to prove the death. A person who could claim against the estate of the deceased would first have to prove that the deceased is indeed dead, and the death certificate is the best way to do that. After all, death is something that the court could not take judicial notice of, and as such, it is something that could be contested and would have to first be proven.
Mariposa County Death Certificates
Fortunately, Mariposa County Death Notices, like all other death notices, are public records in the sense that they enjoy the presumption of regularity such that it would always be considered accurate unless someone would allege otherwise. Either way, the person who is claiming that the records are false would have the burden of proving such allegations. It must also be noted that death notices are vital records, but despite this, certified copies of death records may only be requested by those who are related to the deceased. This is the reason why there are informational copies, and though these copies are available to the general public, the contents would be the same as that of certified copies; it is just that informational copies could not be used to establish the identity of the person presenting the records.
Copies of the death records are available at both the state and local or county level, though if the person who is making the search is sure that the death had occurred in the county, then the best place to search for the records would be at the local level because there would be fewer records here owing to the territorial limitations of county offices. The procedure to request for records would require the person who desires the record to travel to the office and make the request in person. Note that the office is currently not able to accommodate requests for the records via mail, but a request made in person has its own set of advantages, foremost of which is the fact that records requested through this level are made available, usually, within the same day that it is requested for.
Copies of Public Social Security Death Records may be obtained online through the use of online databases, and while these databases are not official sources, they provide substantially the same information as the official sources, but using a platform that is not only faster, but also more efficient and cheaper.
A request for death certificates at the local level should follow the procedure given below
Head over to the office of the assessor-recorder
Inform the clerk on duty of your request for death records.
The clerk would ask you some questions regarding the record that you are interested in and would help you search for the records.
Once the records had been located, make sure that the records are the ones that you are interested in.
Ask that copies of the same be made for you.
Pay the required fee at the cashier office before returning to claim your copies.
Mariposa County Death Notices
Other important information may be accessed through the following links
Mariposa County
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Cowboys Fans, Be Thankful Today
November 24, 2016 by Rob Dob
Cowboys fans have many reasons to be grateful this season. Despite being a couple of decades removed from our last Super Bowl, we have much to look back on and be thankful for, as well.
I am thankful for…
…Landry, Brandt, and Schramm…fourteen members in the Pro Football Hall of Fame…Larry Allen chasing down a linebacker after a 55-yard return of an interception…Manster, Thurman’s Thieves, Mr. Cowboy, Doomsday Defense, Bullet, Too Tall, Too Mean, Captain Comeback, America’s Team, The Hitting Machine, Big Cat, the Zero Club, Thrill, Moose, Dandy Don, Playmaker, Hollywood, The Kitchen, Captain Crash, and the original Triplets, as well as many, many great players without nicknames…twenty-one members in the Ring of Honor…George Teague blasting Terrell Owens off of the Star…Brad Sham…Harvey Martin tossing a funeral wreath into the Redskins’ locker room…Jimmy Johnson…Aikman to Harper on a slant for 71 yards in the 1992 NFC Championship Game…Crazy Ray…Dorsett’s 99-yard touchdown run…Neil O’Donnell to Larry Brown. Twice…Clint Murchison, Jr. and Bedford Wynne, who bought the rights to “Hail to the Redskins” and ensured the birth of our team…the Mad Bomber’s “triumph of the uncluttered mind”…seven Super Bowl MVPs…Lilly sacking Griese in Super Bowl VI for a 29-yard loss…the NFL’s all-time rushing leader…and this portion of my list begins and ends with “the man in the funny hat,” Tom Landry.
…the Cotton Bowl, Texas Stadium, and Cowboys (AT&T) Stadium…the hole in roof, so God can watch His favorite team…”How ‘bout dem Cowboys?!”…the team not sticking with the names “Steers” or “Rangers”…the first team to have a modern cheerleading squad…the Great Trade Robbery…the first team to broadcast games in Spanish…Valley Ranch and the Star, both state-of-the-art facilities when they opened…the first team to use computers in scouting…the Landry Shift…the Shotgun…the Flex defense…the Hail Mary.
…twenty consecutive winning seasons…eight conference championships…the run of appearing in 10 of 13 conference championship games…the Super Bowl record for nine forced turnovers (XXVII), breaking our own record of eight (XII)…the Redskins, Giants, Eagles, Steelers, and 49ers (how dull life would be without them to hate)…eighteen division championships…the only Super Bowl MVP to play for a team that did not win…the first team with league leaders in rushing and receiving in the same season (1991 – only other team to do this is the 1999 Colts)…Super Bowls VI, XII, XXVII, XXVIII, and XXX…the league record of 13 players selected to the Pro Bowl in one season…the only Super Bowl team to not allow a touchdown (XII)…the league’s #1 offense and #1 defense in 1977…twenty-seven seasons with 10+ victories…the Cowboys record against their division: 67-42-2 vs. the Redskins, 62-49 vs. the Eagles, and 62-44 vs. the Giants.
I’m thankful for…
…the return to relevance…our 9-1 record…Dak…Zeke…Dez…Witten…Beasley…the offensive line…the scrappy, physical defense…all of the players, including Romo…the coaches…the fans.
I’m also thankful every year that our Cowboys play on Thanksgiving (except for 1975 & 1977). Being fans of a team with such a rich history, we have much for which to be thankful. You’ve read my list. What would you add?
A Win Over the Ravens and a Thanksgiving Tradition
Thanksgiving Victory, Finishing Strong, and Dallas’ Rookie Juggernauts
About Rob Dob
A Cowboys fan since 1976, Rob Dob was born in a small town in western Illinois. He worked for the team during the 2002 training camp and wrote for a Cowboys fan forum site from 2009-2011. He lives and teaches in central Illinois.
What a Difference Six Years Make: No Quit in Garrett’s Cowboys
Relax, Cowboys Fans: There Is No Wrong Answer at QB
Dak Looks Like Romo on Night Before Halloween, Scares Eagles
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The Fanciful Norwegian
Location: Teegeeack
#1 Post by The Fanciful Norwegian » Tue Dec 28, 2004 3:41 pm
Susan Sontag, the author, activist and self-defined "zealot of seriousness" whose voracious mind and provocative prose made her a leading intellectual of the past half century, died today. She was 71.
Sontag died at 7:10 a.m. today, said Esther Carver, a spokeswoman for Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in Manhattan. The hospital declined to release a cause of death. Sontag had been treated for breast cancer in the 1970s.
Sontag called herself a "besotted aesthete," an "obsessed moralist" and a "zealot of seriousness." She wrote a best-selling historical novel, "The Volcano Lover," and in 2000 won the National Book Award for the historical novel "In America." But her greatest literary impact was as an essayist.
The 1964 piece "Notes on Camp," which established her as a major new writer, popularized the "so bad it's good" attitude toward popular culture, applicable to everything from "Swan Lake" to feather boas. In "Against Interpretation," this most analytical of writers worried that critical analysis interfered with art's "incantatory, magical" power.
She also wrote such influential works as "Illness as Metaphor," in which she examined how disease had been alternately romanticized and demonized, and "On Photography," in which she argued pictures sometimes distance viewers from the subject matter. "On Photography" received a National Book Critics Circle award in 1978. "Regarding the Pain of Others," a partial refutation of "On Photography," was an NBCC finalist in 2004.
She read authors from all over the world and is credited with introducing such European intellectuals as Roland Barthes and Elias Canetti to American readers. "I know of no other intellectual who is so clear-minded with a capacity to link, to connect, to relate," Carlos Fuentes, the Mexican novelist, once said. "She is unique."
Unlike many American writers, she was deeply involved in politics, even after the 1960s. From 1987-89, Sontag served as president of American chapter of the writers organization PEN. When the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini called for Salman Rushdie's death because of the alleged blasphemy of "The Satanic Verses," she helped lead protests in the literary community.
Sontag campaigned relentlessly for human rights and throughout the 1990s traveled to the region of Yugoslavia, calling for international action against the growing civil war. In 1993, she visited Sarajevo and staged a production of "Waiting for Godot."
The daughter of a fur trader, she was born Susan Rosenblatt in New York in 1933, and also spent her early years in Tucson, Ariz., and Los Angeles. Her mother was an alcoholic; her father died when she was 5. Her mother later married an Army officer, Capt. Nathan Sontag.
Susan Sontag remembered her childhood as "one long prison sentence." She skipped three grades and graduated from high school at 15; the principal told her she was wasting her time there. Her mother, meanwhile, warned if she did not stop reading she would never marry.
Her mother was wrong. At the University of Chicago, she attended a lecture by Philip Rieff, a social psychologist and historian. They were married 10 days later. She was 17, he 28. "He was passionate, he was bookish, he was pure," she later said of him.
By the mid-1960s, she and Rieff were divorced (they had a son, David, born in 1952), and Sontag had emerged in New York's literary society. She was known for her essays, but also wrote fiction, although not so successfully at first. "Death Kit" and "The Benefactor" were experimental novels few found worth getting through.
"Unfortunately, Miss Sontag's intelligence is still greater than her talent," Gore Vidal wrote in a 1967 review of "Death Kit."
"Yet ... once she has freed herself of literature, she will have the power to make it, and there are not many American writers one can say that of."
Her fiction became more accessible. She wrote an acclaimed short story about AIDS, "The Way We Live Now," and a best-selling novel, "The Volcano Lover," about Lord Nelson and his mistress Lady Hamilton.
In 2000, her novel "In America," about the 19th-century Polish actress Helena Modjeska, was a commercial disappointment and was criticized for the uncredited use of material from fiction and nonfiction sources. Nonetheless, Sontag won the National Book Award.
Sontag's work also included making the films "Duet For Cannibals" and "Brother Carl" and writing the play "Alice in Bed," based on the life of Alice James, the ailing sister of Henry and William James. Sontag appeared as herself in Woody Allen's mock documentary, "Zelig."
In 1999 she wrote an essay for "Women," a compilation of portraits by her longtime companion, photographer Annie Leibovitz.
Sontag did not practice the art of restrained discourse. Writing in the 1960s about the Vietnam War she declared "the white race is the cancer of human history." Days after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, she criticized U.S. foreign policy and offered backhanded praise for the hijackers.
"Where is the acknowledgment that this was not a 'cowardly' attack on 'civilization' or 'liberty' or 'humanity' or 'the free world' but an attack on the world's self-proclaimed superpower, undertaken as a consequence of specific American alliances and actions?" she wrote in The New Yorker.
"In the matter of courage (a morally neutral virtue): whatever may be said of the perpetrators of Tuesday's slaughter, they were not cowards."
Even among sympathetic souls, she found reason to contend. At a 1998 dinner, she was one of three given a Writers For Writers Award for contributions to others in the field. Sontag spoke after fellow guest of honor E.L. Doctorow, who urged writers to treat each other as "colleagues" and worried about the isolation of what he called "print culture."
"I agree with Mr. Doctorow that we are all colleagues, but there are perhaps too many of us," Sontag stated.
"Nobody has to be a writer. Print culture may be under siege, but there has been an enormous inflation in the number of books printed, and very few of these could be considered part of literature. ... Unlike what has been said here before, for me the primary obligation is human solidarity."
jesus the mexican boi
Location: South of the Capitol of Texas
#2 Post by jesus the mexican boi » Wed Dec 29, 2004 12:48 pm
After a months-long battle with prostate cancer, actor Jerry Orbach has died.
In a story first heard on 1010 WINS, Orbach's manager Robert Malcolm confirmed orbach's death. He was 69 and had only recently revealed his battle with cancer. Orbach died Tuesday night in Manhattan after several weeks of treatment, Audrey Davis of the public relations agency Lippin Group said. The cast and crew of "Law and Order", on which Orbach played detective Lennie Briscoe, had known about the treatments since last spring. Orbach had been with the series since the beginning, 12 seasons ago
Born Jerome Orbach, on October 20, 1935, in the Bronx, New York. The only child of Emily (nee O'Lexy), a greeting card manufacturer, and Leon Orbach, a restaurant manager. Since neither of his parents were strangers to the performing arts (his father had tried vaudeville and his mother once had a stint as a radio singer), they were always supportive of Jerry�s desire to be an actor. While Jerry was still in grade school, the family moved frequently but finally settled in Waukegan, Illinois, where he joined the football team and began learning basic acting techniques from his speech teacher. In 1952, following his high school graduation, he worked in summer stock at the Chevy Chase Country Club in Wheeling, Illinois, where he got to try his hand at everything from minor performances to set building. After attending the University of Illinois for one year, Jerry transferred to Northwestern University, where he continued to study the Stanislavsky method of drama.
In the fall of 1955, Orbach decided to forego his senior year at Northwestern and move to New York City, where he found work as an understudy in The Threepenny Opera. He stayed with the show for over three years, eventually playing the lead character, Mack the Knife. During this time, he continued to study acting under the tutelage of Herbert Berghof, Mira Rostova, and Lee Strasberg of The Actor�s Studio. In 1959, he received two simultaneous acting offers: one for a Broadway production paying $250 a week and the other for an off-Broadway show paying only $45 a week.
Orbach chose the latter and created the role of El Gallo in the off-Broadway production The Fantastiks, which met exceptional reviews and became the longest running off-Broadway show in history. Orbach left the show in 1961 to make his Broadway debut in David Merrick�s production of Carnival! and won rave reviews for both his singing and his acting.
Following this success, Orbach experienced a brief slump; discouraged about being typecast in musicals, he spent a few miserable months trying unsuccessfully to break into films in Hollywood. However, he hit his stride once again when he returned to the East and earned a Tony nomination for his portrayal of Skye Masterson in Guys and Dolls and made a stunning, critically acclaimed performance as a neurotic Jewish intellectual in Scuba Duba. He then went on to win a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical in 1969 for his portrayal of Chuck Baxter in Promises, Promises, a Neil Simon adaptation of Billy Wilder�s 1960 film The Apartment. In 1976, he received another Tony nomination for his role in Chicago. He last appeared on Broadway in 1981, playing Julian Marsh in 42nd Street at the Majestic Theatre in New York.
Launching off from his illustrious theater career, Orbach began to move increasingly toward roles in film and television in the 1980s and 1990s. He was a recurring guest star on Murder, She Wrote and played the title role in its short-lived spin-off, The Law and Harry McGraw. His stint in Neil Simon�s Broadway Bound (1991) and his frequent appearances on the sitcom The Golden Girls both earned him Emmy nominations.
His first major supporting film role came in Sidney Lumet�s drama Prince of the City (1981), and he followed up with the crime-thriller F/X in 1986. In 1987, he changed pace, playing the stern but loving father of a rebellious teenage girl in the runaway hit Dirty Dancing, costarring Jennifer Grey and Patrick Swayze, still his best-known movie role. He then lent his voice and personality to the loquacious lantern, Lumiere, in the animated musical Beauty and the Beast (1991). Most recently, he starred in Chinese Coffee (2000) with longtime friend Al Pacino, who also produced and directed the film.
Orbach first appeared on the critically acclaimed NBC series Law & Order in 1990 and in 1992 landed a regular role on the show, playing the quick-witted and sharp-tongued Detective Lennie Briscoe.
Orbach and actress/writer Marta Curro, who was a fellow understudy in The Threepenny Opera, married in June 1958 and had two sons, Anthony and Christopher, before divorcing in 1975. In 1979, Orbach married Elaine Cancilla, who had replaced Chita Rivera as his co-star in the 1975 production of Chicago. They live in New York City.
(Source: Biography.com)
JERRY ORBACH CREDITS
Cop Hater (1958), Twenty Four Hours in a Woman's Life (TV-1961), Mad Dog Coll (1961), Ensign Pulver (1964), John Goldfarb, Please Come Home (1965), Annie Get Your Gun (TV-1967), The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight (1971), A Fan's Notes (1972), Fore Play (1975), The Sentinel (1977), Underground Aces (1980), Prince of the City (1981), An Invasion of Privacy (TV-1983), Brewster's Millions (1985), F/X (1986), Dream West (TV miniseries-1986), The Imagemaker (1986), Out on a Limb (TV-1987), Love Among Thieves (TV-1987), Dirty Dancing (1987), Someone to Watch Over Me (1987), I Love N.Y. (1988), Perry Mason: The Case of the Musical Murder (TV-1989), The Flamingo Kid (TV-1989), Last Exit to Brooklyn (1989), Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989), In Defense of a Married Man (TV-1990), Kojak: None So Blind (TV-1990), Perry Mason: The Case of the Ruthless Reporter (TV-1991), Coney Island (TV voice-1991), Out for Justice (1991), Toy Soldiers (1991), Delusions (1991), Delirious (1991), Beauty and the Beast (voice-1991), Dead Women in Lingerie (1991), California Casanova (1991), A Gnome Named Gnorm (1992), Broadway Bound (TV-1992), Quiet Killer (TV-1992), Straight Talk (1992), Universal Soldier (1992), Mr. Saturday Night (1992), Mastergate (TV-1992), The Cemetery Club (1993), Disney Sing-Along-Songs: Be Our Guest (voice-1994), Aladdin and the King of Thieves (voice-1996), Beauty and the Beast: Enchanted Christmas (voice-1997), Belle's Magical World (voice-1997), Chinese Coffee (2000), Prince of Central Park (2000), The Acting Class (2000)
TV Series: The Law and Harry McGraw (1987), The Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers (voice-1988), Encounters With the Unexplained (host-2000), House of Mouse (voice-2001)
#3 Post by Caligula » Tue Jan 18, 2005 11:15 am
Actress Virginia Mayo dead at 84
Virginia Mayo, a 1940s screen siren who co-starred opposite such greats as Danny Kaye and James Cagney, died near Los Angeles Monday of pneumonia and heart failure, the Los Angeles Times reported on its Web site. She was 84.
Mayo, whose films included "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty," "White Heat" and "The Best Years of Our Lives," died in a nursing home near her residence in Thousand Oaks, California, the newspaper quoted a family friend as saying.
Famed for her peaches-and-cream complexion and curvaceous figure, the St. Louis native appeared in more than 40 films during the 1940s and '50s, equally adept at comedies and dramas. A former vaudeville performer, she made her Hollywood debut in the 1943 movie "Jack London," starring her future husband, Michael O'Shea.
She teamed with Kaye the following year in "Up in Arms," and they reunited over the next few years in "The Kid From Brooklyn," "A Song Is Born," and "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty."
Perhaps her most memorable role was as the unscrupulous wife of Cagney's gangster character in the 1949 crime melodrama "White Heat."
"Jimmy was the master actor, the most dynamic star the screen ever had," Mayo told the Los Angeles Times in 1981. "His acting was so real that I was really scared half the time we were on the set."
Her other credits included "Captain Horatio Hornblower" with Gregory Peck; "The Silver Chalice" with Paul Newman; and "The Flame and the Arrow" with Burt Lancaster. She co-starred in two of her films with Ronald Reagan -- 1949's "The Girl From Jones Beach" and 1952's "She's Working Her Way Through College."
After her career faded in the early 1960s, she did stage and dinner theater work.
She was married to O'Shea from 1947 until his death in 1973. She is survived by a daughter, Mary Johnston.
Fletch F. Fletch
Big fan of the former president
Location: Provo, Utah
#4 Post by Fletch F. Fletch » Tue Jan 18, 2005 1:30 pm
'All My Children' Star Ruth Warrick Dies
She played the icy first wife of Orson Welles in "Citizen Kane" and a mysterious housekeeper on "Peyton Place," but one role seemed to resonate the most with Ruth Warrick � that of Phoebe Tyler Wallingford, an inveterate busybody on "All My Children."
"I understand her. I may not be all Phoebe, but she is all me," Warrick wrote in her 1980 autobiography, "The Confessions of Phoebe Tyler."
Warrick, who was honored last May with a Daytime Emmy Award for lifetime achievement, died at her New York home Saturday of complications from pneumonia, ABC-TV said Monday. She was 88.
In "All My Children," which debuted in 1970, Warrick played the grande dame of the fictitious affluent town of Pine Valley. She portrayed the meddlesome and over-the-top personality so believably that her fans often had trouble distinguishing between the stylish actress and her equally sophisticated character. Producer Jorn Winther once said of the actress: "Obviously Ruth and Phoebe are separate and unique, yet they have much in common. All I can say with confidence is that they are both great ladies and that I love them."
Twice nominated for an Emmy for the role, she made her final appearance less than two weeks ago to commemorate the show's 35th anniversary. Susan Lucci, who plays Erica Kane on "All My Children," said Warrick was her first mentor. "Over the years she not only shared with me her talent and grace, but she did so with the entire country," Lucci said in the ABC statement.
Warrick, born and raised in St. Joseph, Mo., left for New York after graduating from the University of Kansas City. Her interest in acting led her to the Mercury Theater troupe, headed by Welles. She made her Hollywood debut in 1941 in "Citizen Kane" as Emily Norton Kane. Welles, who co-wrote, directed and starred in the film, hand-picked her for the role of his wife because he said there were no "ladies in Hollywood" who fit the bill.
In 1991, Warrick was honored with a caricature on the wall of the famous New York restaurant Sardi's in honor of the 50th anniversary of her performance in the film. Warrick later appeared in other movies, including "The Corsican Brothers," with Douglas Fairbanks Jr., and "The Great Bank Robbery" with Zero Mostel. Her Broadway credits include appearances with Debbie Reynolds in the 1973 musical "Irene" and with Jackie Gleason (news) in the 1959 musical "Take Me Along."
But television turned out to be her medium. Before landing the role of Phoebe Tyler, Warrick had the starring role in the series "Father of the Bride" and received an Emmy nomination for her role as Hannah Cord in the long-running "Peyton Place." She also appeared in two other TV series � "As the World Turns," from 1956-60, and "The Guiding Light," from 1953-54.
Warrick seemed to find her niche in the role of Phoebe Tyler. She said that it was Welles' "compelling hand" that was indirectly responsible for the character's development. Besides her acting, Warrick had a strong commitment to the arts in education. She taught at Julia Richman High School in New York as part of former President Carter's City in Schools program and was a dropout prevention consultant for the Department of Labor under former President Kennedy and for former President Johnson's Job Training Corps.
Warrick, who married five times, is survived by three children, a grandson and six great-grandchildren.
Contact neuro
#5 Post by neuro » Sun Jan 23, 2005 3:53 pm
Very, very sad...
Late-Night King Johnny Carson Dies at 79
LOS ANGELES - Johnny Carson (news), the "Tonight Show" host who served America a smooth nightcap of celebrity banter, droll comedy and heartland charm for 30 years, died Sunday. He was 79. NBC said Carson died of emphysema at his Malibu home.
"Mr. Carson passed away peacefully early Sunday morning," his nephew, Jeff Sotzing, told The Associated Press. "He was surrounded by his family, whose loss will be immeasurable." The boyish-looking Nebraska native with the disarming grin, who survived every attempt to topple him from his late-night talk show throne, was a star who managed never to distance himself from his audience.
His wealth, the adoration of his guests � particularly the many young comics whose careers he launched � the wry tales of multiple divorces: Carson's air of modesty made it all serve to enhance his bedtime intimacy with viewers.
"Heeeeere's Johnny!" was the booming announcement from sidekick Ed McMahon that ushered Carson out to the stage. Then the formula: the topical monologue, the guests, the broadly played skits such as "Carnac the Magnificent." But America never tired of him; Carson went out on top when he retired in May 1992. In his final show, he told his audience: "And so it has come to this. I am one of the lucky people in the world. I found something that I always wanted to do and I have enjoyed every single minute of it."
His personal life could not match the perfection of his career. Carson was married four times, divorced three. In 1991, one of his three sons, 39-year-old Ricky, was killed in a car accident.
Nearly all of Carson's professional life was spent in television, from his postwar start at Nebraska stations in the late 1940s to his three decades with NBC's "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson." Carson choose to let "Tonight" stand as his career zenith and his finale, withdrawing into a quiet retirement that suited his private nature and refusing involvement in other show business projects. In 1993, he explained his absence from the limelight. "I have an ego like anybody else," Carson told The Washington Post, "but I don't need to be stoked by going before the public all the time."
He was open to finding the right follow-up to "Tonight," he told friends. But his longtime producer, Fred de Cordova, said Carson didn't feel pressured � he could look back on his TV success and say "I did it."
"And that makes sense. He is one of a kind, was one of a kind," de Cordova said in 1995. "I don't think there's any reason for him to try something different."
Carson spent his retirement years sailing, traveling and socializing with a few close friends including media mogul Barry Diller and NBC executive Bob Wright. He simply refused to be wooed back on stage. "I just let the work speak for itself," he told Esquire magazine in 2002 in a rare interview.
Carson did find an outlet for his creativity: He wrote short humor pieces for The New Yorker magazine, including "Recently Discovered Childhood Letters to Santa," which purported to give the youthful wish lists of William Buckley, Don Rickles and others.
Carson made his debut as "Tonight" host in October 1962 and quickly won over audiences. He even made headlines with such clever ploys as the 1969 on-show marriage of eccentric singer Tiny Tim to Miss Vicki, which won the show its biggest-ever ratings.
The wedding and other noteworthy moments from the show were collected into a yearly "Tonight" anniversary special.
In 1972, "Tonight" moved from New York to Burbank. Growing respect for Carson's consistency and staying power, along with four consecutive Emmy Awards, came his way in the late 1970s.
His quickness and his ability to handle an audience were impressive. When his jokes missed their target, the smooth Carson won over a groaning studio audience with a clever look or sly, self-deprecating remark.
Politics provided monologue fodder for him as he skewered lawmakers of every stripe, mirroring the mood of voters. His Watergate jabs at President Nixon were seen as cementing Nixon's fall from office in 1974.
He made presidential history again in July 1988 when he had then-Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton (news - web sites) on his show a few days after Clinton came under widespread ridicule for a boring speech at the Democratic National Convention. Clinton traded quips with Carson and played "Summertime" on the saxophone in what was hailed as a stunning comeback. Competing networks tried a variety of formats and hosts to challenge Carson, but never managed to best "Tonight."
There was the occasional battle with NBC: In 1967, for instance, Carson walked out for several weeks until the network managed to lure him back with a contract that reportedly gave him $1 million-plus yearly.
In 1980, after more walkout threats, the show was scaled back from 90 minutes to an hour. Carson also eased his schedule by cutting back on his work days; a number of substitute hosts filled in, including Joan Rivers, Jerry Lewis and Jay Leno, Carson's eventual successor.
Rivers was one of the countless comedians whose careers took off after they were on Carson's show. After she rocked the audience with her jokes in that 1965 appearance, he remarked, "God, you're funny. You're going to be a star."
"If Johnny hadn't made the choice to put me on his show, I might still be in Greenwich Village as the oldest living undiscovered female comic," she recalled in an Associated Press interview 20 years later. She tried her own talk show in 1986, quickly becoming one of the many challengers who could not budge Carson.
In the '80s, Carson was reportedly the highest-paid performer in television history with a $5 million "Tonight" show salary alone. His Carson Productions created and sold pilots to NBC, including "TV's Bloopers and Practical Jokes." Carson himself made occasional cameo appearances on other TV series. He also performed in Las Vegas and Atlantic City, N.J., and was host of the Academy Awards (news - web sites) five times in the '70s and '80s.
Carson's graceful exit from "Tonight" did not avoid a messy, bitter tug-of-war between Leno and fellow comedian David Letterman to take over his throne. Leno took over on May 25, 1992, becoming the fourth man to hold the job after Steve Allen, Jack Paar and Carson. Letterman landed on rival CBS.
Born in Corning, Iowa, and raised in nearby Norfolk, Neb., Carson started his show business career at age 14 as the magician "The Great Carsoni." After World War II service in the Navy, he took a series of jobs in local radio and TV in Nebraska before starting at KNXT-TV in Los Angeles in 1950. There he started a sketch comedy show, "Carson's Cellar," which ran from 1951-53 and attracted attention from Hollywood. A staff writing job for "The Red Skelton Show" followed.
The program provided Carson with a lucky break: When Skelton was injured backstage, Carson took the comedian's place in front of the cameras. Producers tried to find the right program for the up-and-coming comic, trying him out as host of the quiz show "Earn Your Vacation" (1954), the variety show "The Johnny Carson Show" (1955-56), the game show "Who Do You Trust?" (1957-62).
A few acting roles came Carson's way, including one on "Playhouse 90" in 1957, and he did a pilot in 1960 for a prime-time series, "Johnny Come Lately," that never made it onto a network schedule. In 1958, Carson sat in for "Tonight Show" host Paar. When Paar left the show four years later, Carson was NBC's choice as his replacement.
After his retirement, Carson took on the role of Malibu-based retiree with apparent ease. An avid tennis fan, he was still playing a vigorous game in his 70s. He and his wife, Alexis, traveled frequently. The pair met on the Malibu beach in the early 1980s; he was 61 when they married in June 1987, she was in her 30s.
Carson's first wife was his childhood sweetheart, Jody, the mother of his three sons. They married in 1949 and split in 1963. He married Joanne Copeland Carson that same year, but divorced nine years later. His third marriage, to Joanna Holland Carson, took place in 1972. They divorced in 1985.
On the occasion of Carson's 70th birthday, former "Tonight" bandleader Doc Severinsen, who toured with musicians from the show, said he was constantly reminded of Carson's enduring popularity. "Every place we go people ask `How is he? Where is he? What is he doing? Tell him how much we miss him.' It doesn't surprise me," Severinsen said.
Carson won a Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor, in 1992, with the first President Bush (news - web sites) saying, "With decency and style he's made America laugh and think." In 1993, he was celebrated by the prestigious Kennedy Center Honors for career achievement. His nephew said there will be no memorial service.
TechNoir
#6 Post by TechNoir » Wed Feb 02, 2005 5:55 pm
Criterion Mourns the Loss of Goffredo Lombardo
The Criterion Collection is saddened to note the passing of Italian film luminary Goffredo Lombardo. For more than five decades, Lombardo led Titanus�one of Italy's most celebrated companies, founded in 1904 by his father, Gustavo Lombardo�and produced such classics as Luchino Visconti's The Leopard, Ermanno Olmi's Il Posto and I Fidanzati, and hundreds of others. Lombardo passed away in Rome on Wednesday, February 2, at the age of 84.
ellipsis7
#7 Post by ellipsis7 » Fri Feb 04, 2005 6:03 am
The Italian film producer Goffredo Lombardo, who has died aged 84, differed from most of his colleagues who helped to give international prestige to the Italian film industry after the second world war, in that he had grown up in the movie business.
He didn't marry a movie star as most of his fellow producers did, but his mother was Leda Gys, one of the great beauties of the Italian silent screen, and his father, Gustavo, founded the Titanus film company and had been a pioneer of Italian cinema.
Goffredo, who was born in Rome, got his university degree in 1938 with a thesis on film royalties. His first job was as a scene painter at Titanus's Farnesina studios in Rome. During the 1930s Titanus had distributed mostly comedies, but after the war Goffredo and his father relaunched the company, and by 1952, when his father died, Titanus was producing and distributing popular melodramas, mostly directed by Raffaello Matarazzo. His I Figli Di Nessuno (Nobody's Children, 1951) was Goffredo's first credit as producer.
By 1953, some of the starkness had been taken out of neo-realism by films like Renato Castellani's buoyant peasant comedy, Due Soldi Di Speranza (Two Pennyworth Of Hope, 1952). Lombardo signed up that film's scriptwriter, Ettore Margadonna, and commissioned him to write Pane, Amore E Fantasia (Bread, Love And Dreams), to be directed by Luigi Comencini.
Vittorio de Sica, as actor rather than neo-realist filmmaker, won new popularity as the middle-aged carabiniere who courts the buxom peasant girl played by the new sex goddess, Gina Lollobrigida. It was a triumph for Titanus at home and abroad. Lombardo immediately made an equally successful sequel, Bread, Love And Jealousy (1954).
In 1955, when Comencini and La Lollo refused to do a third film, the undaunted Lombardo persuaded Dino Risi to direct what in English was called Scandal In Sorrento, with Sophia Loren as the poor fish seller, courted by De Sica's philandering cop. It was a hit, as were two other "rosy realism" comedies directed by Risi, Poor But Beautiful (1957) and Poor Girl, Pretty Girl (1957), set among the impoverished but randy youths of Rome.
In the 1950s, the Italian cinema also indulged in teaming big Hollywood names with Italian stars. Lombardo made his modest contribution by pairing De Sica with Marlene Dietrich in Montecarlo (1953), and the popular comedian Alberto Sordi as Nero with Gloria Swanson as Agrippina and Brigitte Bardot as Poppea in Mio Figlio Nerone (My Son Nero, 1956).
But Lombardo also supported more serious Italian cinema. He distributed early films by Ermanno Olmi and Valerio Zurlini, and signed Fellini to make two films, but after the first, Il Bidone (1955), with Broderick Crawford uncomfortably cast as an Italian trickster, which proved to be Fellini's biggest-ever flop, they never agreed on a second project. Lombardo was intrigued by Fellini's idea for La Dolce Vita, but the budget seemed unthinkable to him.
Even so, he produced another "scandalous" and costly film in 1960: one of his most prestigious achievements, Luchino Visconti's Rocco And His Brothers. The saga of a close-knit southern Italian family who move to the north for work and find their unity destroyed, it got a box-office boost thanks to shocking the Italian censors. In the end they accepted Lombardo's compromise: to get the projectionists to dim the lights during certain scenes: a homosexual seduction and close-ups of Annie Girardot in her knickers.
In the early 1960s, the Italians tried to make "American" films. Lombardo had already realised The Naked Maja (1959), shot in Spain with Ava Gardner. Now he undertook two international productions, which were to bring him close to ruin.
One was Visconti's Il Gattopardo (The Leopard, 1963), starring Burt Lancaster as the Sicilian prince of Lampedusa's novel, for which Lombardo had bought the rights soon after publication. The other was Sodom And Gommorah (1962), for which he had hired Robert Aldrich as director, later admitting the choice to be " the greatest mistake of my whole life". After he fired Aldrich, Sergio Leone finished the shoot, but it did not save the film.
Both films did well at the Italian box office, but they had gone so far over budget that Lombardo never recovered costs. At least in Visconti's case the result was an artistic success, winning the Palme d'Or at Cannes in 1963.
To add to Lombardo's woes, Titanus was also the loser on a disastrous film produced by Carlo Ponti, an adaptation of Sartre's The Condemned Of Altona (1962), with Sophia Loren, Maximilian Schell and Fredric March, directed by an unconvinced De Sica.
Lombardo had to sell his studios and most of his private property, but somehow managed to keep Titanus afloat, at least as a distributor. He was producer and distributor of Giuseppe Tornatore's first film The Professor (1985), with Ben Gazzara, and distributed his more successful second feature, Cinema Paradiso (1989), which made money only in Italy after its success at Cannes and the Oscars.
After the big financial debacle, Lombardo had obtained support from Edison and later was linked to other financial groups including Silvio Berlusconi's Fininvest, but their TV-oriented machinations outbid his attempts to save Italian filmmaking from TV dependence.
The last feature he personally backed was in 1989: Luigi Comencini's Buon Natale ... Buon Anno (Happy Christmas ... Happy New Year), a heartrending story of an aged couple kept apart by their married children's egoism, which was boycotted by exhibitors. Goffredo withdrew altogether and left Titanus in the hands of his son Guido, who soon abandoned theatrical distribution to produce for television.
His other son, Giulio, died in an accident at the age of 24. His wife Carla died in 1996.
Goffredo Lombardo, film producer and distributor, born May 8 1920; died February 2 2005.
cdnchris
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#8 Post by cdnchris » Fri Feb 04, 2005 9:56 am
John "Dean Wormer" Vernon
LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- John Vernon, a stage-trained character actor who played cunning villains in film and TV and made his comedy mark as Dean Wormer in "National Lampoon's Animal House," has died. He was 72.
Vernon died at home in his sleep Tuesday following complications from January 16 heart surgery, his daughter, Kate Vernon, said Thursday.
The Canadian-born actor found satisfaction in his varied career, his daughter said.
"He loved the comedy that he was able to do, but his training was in drama and he really enjoyed the dramatic roles," she said.
Movie fans may know him best for his role in "Animal House" as Dean Wormer, who is bent on expelling the hard-partying Delta fraternity house. The movie, starring John Belushi and Tim Matheson, is one of the most popular comedies ever made.
Born in 1932 in Montreal, Vernon studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. He did repertory work in England and was heard off-screen as the voice of Big Brother in the 1956 film "1984."
He returned to Canada to appear on stage and on television, including the starring role in the 1960s drama "Wojeck," in which he played a coroner.
"John was superb. He really knew how to use the camera, and vocally he was just born to have a mike nearby," Ted Follows, his co-star in "Wojeck," told The Canadian Press.
After appearing on Broadway in "Royal Hunt of the Sun" he became a steady player in U.S. films, making his debut in director John Boorman's "Point Blank" (1967) as a turncoat tossed to his death by Lee Marvin.
Vernon went on to work with other celebrated filmmakers including Alfred Hitchcock ("Topaz," 1969); Don Siegel ("Dirty Harry," 1971), and Clint Eastwood ("The Outlaw Josey Wales," 1976).
His deep, menacing voice was custom-made for the many bad guys he played.
He reprised his role in "National Lampoon's Animal House" in the TV spinoff "Delta House" (1979). Other comedy roles followed, including the part of Mr. Big in the film "I'm Gonna Git You Sucka" in 1988.
Vernon appeared in a DVD edition of "Animal House" as part of a satiric update on the characters. Wormer was portrayed as a curmudgeonly old man in a wheelchair.
Lemdog
The Man with no Title
#9 Post by Lemdog » Fri Feb 04, 2005 12:14 pm
Ossie Davis, an actor distinguished for roles dealing with racial injustice on stage, screen and in real life - and perhaps best known as the husband and partner of actress Ruby Dee - has died at the age of 87.
Davis was found dead on Friday in his hotel room in Miami, where he was making a film called "Retirement," according to Arminda Thomas, who works in his office in New Rochelle, N.Y.
Davis, who wrote, acted, directed and produced for the theater and Hollywood, was a central figure among black performers of the last five decades. He and Dee celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in 1998 with the publication of a dual autobiography, "In This Life Together."
Their partnership called to mind other performing couples, such as the Lunts, or Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy. Davis and Dee first appeared together in the plays "Jeb," in 1946, and "Anna Lucasta," in 1946-47. Davis' first film, "No Way Out" in 1950, was Dee's fifth. They shared billing in 11 stage productions and five movies during long parallel careers.
Both had key roles in the television series "Roots: The Next Generation" (1978), "Martin Luther King: The Dream and the Drum" (1986) and "The Stand" (1994). Davis appeared in three Spike Lee films, including "School Daze," "Do the Right Thing" and "Jungle Fever." Dee also appeared in the latter two; among her best-known films was "A Raisin in the Sun," in 1961.
In 2004, he and Dee were among the artists selected to receive the Kennedy Center Honors.
When not on stage or on camera, Davis and Dee were deeply involved in civil rights issues and efforts to promote the cause of blacks in the entertainment industry. They nearly ran afoul of the anti-Communist witch-hunts of the early 1950s, but were never openly accused of any wrongdoing.
Davis, the oldest of five children of a self-taught railroad builder and herb doctor in tiny Cogdell, Ga., grew up in nearby Waycross and Valdosta. He left home in 1935, hitchhiking to Washington to enter Howard University, where he studied drama, intending to be a playwright.
His career as an actor began in 1939 with the Rose McClendon Players in Harlem, then the center of black culture in America. There, the young Davis met or mingled with some of the most influential figures of the time, including the preacher Father Divine, W.E.B. DuBois, A. Philip Randolph, Langston Hughes and Richard Wright.
He also had what he described in the book as a "flirtation with the Young Communist League," which he said essentially ended with the onset of World War II. Davis spent nearly four years in service, mainly as a surgical technician in an Army hospital in Liberia, serving both wounded troops and local inhabitants.
Back in New York in 1946, Davis debuted on Broadway in "Jeb," a play about a returning soldier. His co-star was Ruby Dee, whose budding stage career had paralleled his own. They had even appeared in different productions of the same play, "On Strivers Row," in 1940.
It marked the beginning of a collaboration on and off the stage.
In December 1948, on a day off from rehearsals from another play, "The Smile of the World," Davis and Dee took a bus to New Jersey to get married. They already were so close that "it felt almost like an appointment we finally got around to keeping," Dee writes in "In This Life Together."
As black performers, they found themselves caught up in the social unrest fomented by the then-new Cold War and the growing debate over social and racial justice in the United States.
"We young ones in the theater, trying to fathom even as we followed, were pulled this way and that by the swirling currents of these new dimensions of the Struggle," Davis wrote in the joint autobiography. "Black revolutionaries fighting, just like the Russians, to liberate the workers and save the world, against the black bourgeoisie fighting, at the behest of rich white folks, to defeat the Communist menace and save the world."
Davis says he "had no trouble identifying which side I was on." He lined up with black socialist reformer DuBois and singer Paul Robeson, remaining fiercely loyal to the singer even after Robeson was denounced by other black political, sports and show business figures for his openly communist and pro-Soviet sympathies.
While Hollywood and, to a lesser extent, the New York theater world became engulfed in McCarthyism and red-baiting controversies, Davis and Dee -despite their leftist activism in causes ranging from labor rallies to saving the accused atom spies Julius and Ethel Rosenberg - emerged from the anti-communist fervor unscathed and, in Davis' view, justifiably so.
"We've never been, to our knowledge, guilty of anything - other than being black - that might upset anybody," he wrote.
They were friends with baseball star Jackie Robinson and his wife, Rachel - Dee played her, opposite Robinson himself, in the 1950 movie, "The Jackie Robinson Story" - and with Malcolm X.
In the book, Davis told how a prior commitment caused them to miss the Harlem rally where Malcolm was assassinated. But Davis delivered the eulogy at Malcolm's funeral, and reprised it in a voice-over for the 1992 Spike Lee film, "Malcolm X."
Along with film, stage and television, their careers extended to a radio show, "The Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee Story Hour," that ran on 65 stations for four years in the mid-1970s, featuring a mix of black themes.
Both wrote plays and screenplays, and Davis directed several films, most notably "Cotton Comes to Harlem" (1970) and "Countdown at Kusini" (1976), in which he also appeared with Dee.
Other films in which Davis appeared include "The Cardinal" (1963), "The Hill" (1965), "Grumpy Old Men" (1993), "The Client" (1994) and "I'm Not Rappaport" (1996), a reprise of his stage role 10 years earlier.
On television, he appeared in "The Emperor Jones" (1955), "Freedom Road" (1979), "Miss Evers' Boys" (1997) and "Twelve Angry Men" (1997). He was a cast member on "The Defenders" from 1963-65, and "Evening Shade" from 1990-94, among other shows.
Both Davis and Dee made numerous guest appearances on television shows.
#10 Post by Fletch F. Fletch » Fri Feb 11, 2005 1:08 pm
Playwright Arthur Miller Dies at 89
Arthur Miller, the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright whose most famous fictional creation, Willy Loman in "Death of a Salesman," came to symbolize the American Dream gone awry, has died. He was 89. Miller, who had been hailed as America's greatest living playwright, died Thursday night at his home in Roxbury of heart failure, his assistant, Julia Bolus, said Friday. His family was at his bedside, she said.
His plays, with their strong emphasis on family, morality and personal responsibility, spoke to the growing fragmentation of American society.
"A lot of my work goes to the center of where we belong if there is any root to life � because nowadays the family is broken up, and people don't live in the same place for very long," Miller said in a 1988 interview.
"Dislocation, maybe, is part of our uneasiness. It implants the feeling that nothing is really permanent." Miller's career was marked by early success. He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for "Death of a Salesman" in 1949, when he was just 33 years old.
His marriage to Marilyn Monroe in 1956 further catapulted the playwright to fame, though that was publicity he said he never pursued. In a 1992 interview with a French newspaper, he called her "highly self-destructive" and said that during their marriage, "all my energy and attention were devoted to trying to help her solve her problems. Unfortunately, I didn't have much success."
"Death of a Salesman," which took Miller only six weeks to write, earned rave reviews when it opened on Broadway in February 1949, directed by Elia Kazan. The story of Willy Loman, a man destroyed by his own stubborn belief in the glory of American capitalism and the redemptive power of success, was made into a movie and staged all over the world.
"I couldn't have predicted that a work like `Death of a Salesman' would take on the proportions it has," Miller said in 1988. "Originally, it was a literal play about a literal salesman, but it has become a bit of a myth, not only here but in many other parts of the world." In 1999, 50 years after it won the Tony Award as best play, "Death of a Salesman" won the Tony for best revival of the Broadway season. The show also won the top acting prize for Brian Dennehy (news), who played Loman.
Miller, then 83, received a lifetime achievement award. "Just being around to receive it is a pleasure," he joked to the audience during the awards ceremony.
Miller won the New York Drama Critics' Circle's best play award twice in the 1940s, for "All My Sons" in 1947 and for "Death of a Salesman." In 1953, he received a Tony Award for "The Crucible," a play about mass hysteria during the Salem witch trials that was inspired by the repressive political environment of McCarthyism. That play, still read by thousands of American high-school students each year, is Miller's most frequently performed work.
Miller and Monroe divorced after five years and in 1962 he married his third wife, photographer Inge Morath. That same year, Monroe committed suicide. Miller wrote the screenplay for the Monroe film "The Misfits," which came out in 1960, and reflected on their relationship in his 1963 play "After the Fall."
Reminiscing about Monroe in his 1987 autobiography, "Timebends: A Life," Miller lamented that she was rarely taken seriously as anything but a sex symbol. "To have survived, she would have had to be either more cynical or even further from reality than she was," he wrote. "Instead, she was a poet on a street corner trying to recite to a crowd pulling at her clothes."
Miller's success, so overwhelming in the 1940s and '50s, seemed to be on the wane during the next two decades. But the 1980s brought a renewal of interest, beginning with a Broadway revival of "Death of a Salesman" starring Dustin Hoffman in 1984. Enthusiasm for Miller's work was particularly strong in England, which marked his 75th birthday in 1990 with four major productions of his plays.
Miller also directed a Chinese production of "Death of a Salesman" at the Beijing Peoples' Art Theatre in 1983. Those who saw the Beijing production may not have identified with Loman's career, Miller wrote, but they shared his desire, "which was to excel, to win out over anonymity and meaninglessness, to love and be loved, and above all, perhaps, to count."
In his later years, Miller became increasingly disillusioned with Broadway, and in 1991 he premiered a new play, "The Ride Down Mt. Morgan," in London � the first time he had opened a play outside of the United States. Miller said at the time he opted for the London opening to avoid the "dark defeatism" of the New York theater scene.
"There is an open terror of the critics (in New York) and of losing fortunes of money," Miller said in an interview that year. "I have always hated that myself. All in all, it seemed like we ought to do the play in London."
He returned to Broadway in 1994 with "Broken Glass," a drama about a dysfunctional family that won respectful reviews and a Tony nomination, but no big audiences. In London, it won an Olivier award as best play.
Even in his later years, Miller continued to write. "It is what I do," he said in a 1996 interview with The Associated Press.
"It is my art. I am better at it than I ever was. And I will do it as long as I can. When you reach a certain age you can slough off what is unnecessary and concentrate on what is. And why not?"
"Resurrection Blues" had its world premiere at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis in the summer of 2002 when Miller was 86. Set in an unnamed banana republic, the satire dealt with the possible televised execution of a revolutionary.
In recent years New York even rediscovered Miller's first Broadway play, "The Man Who Had All the Luck," which was a four-performance flop in 1944, but had a successful revival, starring Chris O'Donnell, nearly six decades later.
Last October, another new play, "Finishing the Picture," premiered at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago. It was based on an episode of his marriage to Monroe.
In accepting his lifetime achievement award at the 1999 Tony awards ceremony, Miller lamented that Broadway had become too narrow. "I hope that a new dimension and fresh resolve will inspire the powers that be to welcome fiercely ambitious playwrights," Miller said. "And that the time will come again when they will find a welcome for their big, world-challenging plays, somewhere west of London and somewhere east of the Hudson River."
He was born Oct. 17, 1915, Miller was one of three children in a middle-class Jewish family. His father, a manufacturer of women's coats, was hard hit by the Depression in the 1930s, and could not afford to send Miller to college when the time came. Miller worked as a loader and shipping clerk at a New York warehouse to earn tuition money and eventually attended the University of Michigan, where he earned a bachelor's degree in 1938.
He wrote his first plays in college, where they were awarded numerous prizes. He also published several novels and collections of short stories.
He wrote several screenplays, including "The Misfits" (1961), which became Monroe's last movie, and "Playing for Time," (1981) a controversial television movie about the women's orchestra at Auschwitz.
He also wrote a number of books with Morath, mainly about their travels in Russia and China.
Miller had two children, Jane Ellen and Robert, by his first wife, Mary Slattery, and he and Morath had one daughter, Rebecca.
#11 Post by Subbuteo » Fri Feb 11, 2005 1:14 pm
Good innings for a great playwright and human being.
Sad day
#12 Post by neuro » Fri Feb 18, 2005 9:42 pm
Veteran Irish Actor Dan O'Herlihy Dies
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Irish actor Dan O'Herlihy, nominated for an Oscar in 1954 for his performance in Luis Bunuel's "The Adventures of Robinson Crusoe," has died at age 85 at his home in Malibu, California, a family spokesman said on Friday.
An architecture student who turned to acting to earn money for college, O'Herlihy wound up working with Hollywood notables including Orson Welles, Gregory Peck and John Huston after being discovered by British director Carol Reed and cast opposite James Mason in the 1947 thriller "Odd Man Out."
He appeared in more than 70 plays on the Dublin stage and played the lead in the original production of Sean O'Casey's "Red Roses for Me."
He made his U.S. film debut in Orson Welles' "Macbeth" in 1948, playing the role of Macduff.
His Academy Award Best Actor nomination for "Robinson Crusoe" was a career highlight, but one of his opponents that year was Marlon Brando (news), who won for his performance in "On the Waterfront."
O'Herlihy had a long and varied career that included a lead role in John Huston's film version of the James Joyce story "The Dead" in 1987 and playing Kennedy family patriarch Joe Kennedy in a TV film "The Rat Pack" in 1998.
He was the CEO of Omni Consumer Products in "RoboCop" in 1987 and its 1990 sequel, and a friendly alien lizard in 1984's "The Last Starfighter."
Michael Druxman, a close friend, said O'Herlihy was famed for his sense of humor. He recalled O'Herlihy wearing the lizard costume as he drove home from the studio to see if anyone noticed.
He also played U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt in "MacArthur," starring Gregory Peck, and appeared in several episodes of David Lynch's TV series "Twin Peaks."
He is survived by his wife, five children, 10 grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
Rufus T. Firefly
Go, and never darken my towels again!
#13 Post by Rufus T. Firefly » Sun Feb 20, 2005 1:32 am
Film director Kihachi Okamoto, known for his comedy and war movies, died of esophagus cancer Saturday afternoon at his home in Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, his family said. He was 81.
Okamoto, a native of Tottori Prefecture, was at a military school in Japan when World War II ended and later demobilized. He made his debut as a film director in 1958. He produced a number of World War II related-films such as "Nihon No Ichiban Nagai Hi" (Japan's Longest Day), which depicted Japan's surrender, and "Dokuritsu Gurentai" (Desperado Outpost), about Japanese soldiers revealing corruption in his corps in China during the war period. --Kyodo News
Location: all up in thurr
#14 Post by Martha » Sun Feb 20, 2005 5:33 pm
Sandra Dee, the actress who became an icon for a generation playing roles in such films as "Gidget" and "Imitation of Life," died today at Los Robles Hospital and Medical Center in Thousand Oaks, Calif. She was 63.
The cause was complications from kidney disease, said Steve Blauner, a friend of the family.
Ms. Dee was married to the singer Bobby Darin, who died in 1973 at the age of 37 and was the subject of the recent film "Beyond the Sea."
She is survived by her son, Dodd Darin of Malibu, Calif., and two granddaughters. --NYTimes
the dancing kid
#15 Post by the dancing kid » Mon Feb 21, 2005 12:26 am
Hunter S. Thompson, the acerbic counter-culture author of books such as "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas," fatally shot himself Sunday night at his Aspen-area home, his son said. He was 67.
"Hunter prized his privacy and we ask that his friends and admirers respect that privacy as well as that of his family," Juan Thompson said in a statement released to the Aspen Daily News.
Pitkin County Sheriff Bob Braudis, a personal friend of Thompson, confirmed the death to the News. Sheriff's officials did not return calls to The Associated Press late Sunday.
#16 Post by neuro » Mon Feb 21, 2005 2:04 am
I'm completely depressed. Hunter was a personal hero of sorts for me, and this news is devastating.
In true Hunter spirit, I'll be in the bar...and say hello to Dick Nixon for me, doc.
#17 Post by Fletch F. Fletch » Tue Feb 22, 2005 10:17 am
I couldn't agree more. Hunter was an original. He was, as he would say, "Some kind of high powered mutant never even considered for mass production. Too weird to live, and too rare to die."
#18 Post by Michael Kerpan » Tue Feb 22, 2005 10:46 am
LEE Eun-ju was a wonderful young actress who starred in numerous films, including "Virgin Stripped Bare by her Bachelors", "Bungee Jumping of Their Own", "Lovers Concerto" and "Taegukgi". Last night, she hung herself -- apparently depressed over the failure of her last film and a romantic breakup. One of Koreas finest young actresses is gone. A very very sad story.
Addendum: Apparently Lee just (belatedly) graduated from college last Friday.
#19 Post by The Fanciful Norwegian » Tue Feb 22, 2005 6:27 pm
The good Rev. Gene Scott has passed on. You may know him as the star of Herzog's God's Angry Man. A sad day for watchers of televangelist crazies everywhere.
acquarello
Contact acquarello
#20 Post by acquarello » Tue Feb 22, 2005 6:55 pm
Tien Miao passed away from lymphoma. He appeared in the original Dragon Inn and is perhaps best known today for his recurring role as the father in Tsai Ming-liang's films.
Tsai Ming-liang's father figure dies
By Yu Sen-lun
After winning three awards at the closing ceremony of the Berlin Film Festival on Saturday, filmmaker Tsai Ming-liang (èâ€Â¡Ã¦ËœÅ½Ã¤ÂºÂ®) lost his favorite actor Miao Tien (苗天) on the same day. Miao was a favorite father figure for Asian movie fans. Miao died Saturday evening of lymph cancer at Taipei's Veteran's Hospital (榮總). He was 80.
The actor gained fame for his role as the villain in the martial-arts classic Dragon Inn (é¾
zedz
#21 Post by zedz » Wed Feb 23, 2005 6:17 pm
The French actress Simone Simon passed away yesterday in Paris.
In the 1930s, Darryl Zanuck whisked her to the USA, amid much hoopla, where she starred in a number of Fox films before becoming disenchanted with Hollywood. Among those American films were Henry King's sound remake of the Borzage silent classic, Seventh Heaven (1937), in which Simon starred opposite James Stewart.
Simon also starred in Jean Renoir's La B�te humaine (1938); William Dieterle's The Devil and Daniel Webster (1941); Jacques Tourneur's Cat People (1942); and Max Oph�ls' La Ronde (1950) and Le Plaisir (1952). - N.W.
Some great movies there. . .
porquenegar
#22 Post by porquenegar » Thu Feb 24, 2005 7:55 pm
zedz wrote:
Simon also starred in Jean Renoir's La Bete humaine (1938); William Dieterle's The Devil and Daniel Webster (1941); Jacques Tourneur's Cat People (1942); and Max Ophuls' La Ronde (1950) and Le Plaisir (1952). - N.W.
95 years old! That sounds like a full life. I don't know much about her but I thought she was hauntingly beautiful in the Devil and Daniel Webster and have been stumbling across her name a lot lately.
J-Horror Junkie
#23 Post by Pinback » Mon Mar 07, 2005 2:43 pm
'Halloween' Writer-Producer Debra Hill Dies at 54
LOS ANGELES - Debra Hill, who co-wrote the horror classic "Halloween" and was one of Hollywood's pioneering woman producers, died Monday, according to a family friend. She was 54. The friend, Barbara Ligeti, said more information would be made available later Monday.
Hill's big break came in horror films when she and director John Carpenter co-wrote the genre's modern classic, "Halloween." The 1979 film, also directed by Carpenter and produced by Hill, starred a 20-year-old Jamie Lee Curtis (news) as the baby sitter terrorized by a murderous psychopath. Made on a modest $300,000 budget, it grossed $60 million worldwide, a record for an independent movie at the time, and launched a seemingly endless chain of sequels.
Hill, Carpenter and Curtis returned for "Halloween II," and Hill and Carpenter were involved in the writing of several later sequels, including "Halloween: Resurrection," "Halloween 5" and "Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers." A "Halloween 9," also written by Hill and Carpenter, is reported by the Internet Movie Database to be in production.
After her "Halloween" run, Hill joined her friend Lynda Obst in forming an independent production company in 1986 that made "Adventures in Babysitting" and "Heartbreak Hotel," both directed by Chris Columbus, and Terry Gilliam's "The Fisher King" with Robin Williams and Jeff Bridges (news).
In 1988 she entered a contract with Walt Disney Pictures under which she produced the feature "Gross Anatomy," short films for the Walt Disney theme park and an NBC special for Disneyland's 35th anniversary. Films she produced included "The Dead Zone," 1983; "Head Office," 1985; and "Clue," 1986.
"Back when I started in 1974, there were very few women in the industry, and everybody called me 'Honey,'" she recalled in 2003. "I was assumed to be the makeup and hair person, or the script person. I was never assumed to be the writer or producer. I took a look around and realized there weren't many women, so I had to carve a niche for myself." Carpenter praised her as "a real pioneer in this business."
"Unlike many producers, she came from the crew ranks. I think they're the most under-appreciated people, and they work the hardest," he said. "She had experienced the ins and the outs and had a thorough understanding of what it took to make a picture."
Hill began as a production assistant on adventure documentaries, working up to films as a script supervisor, a job that required sitting beside the director and keeping a record of each scene. From there she landed jobs as assistant director and second-unit director and became associated with Carpenter, who was then a rising young director. The two also collaborated on 1980's "The Fog" and 1981's "Escape From New York."
When she was honored by Women in Film in 2003, Hill said, "I hope some day there won't be a need for Women in Film. That it will be People in Film. That it will be equal pay, equal rights and equal job opportunities for everybody."
#24 Post by Fletch F. Fletch » Tue Mar 08, 2005 1:41 pm
Teresa Wright, Stage and Film Star, Dies at 86
By DOUGLAS MARTIN
Teresa Wright, the high-minded ing�nue who marshaled intelligence and spunk to avoid being typecast as another 1940's "sweater girl" and became the only actor to be nominated for Academy Awards for her first three films, died on Sunday at Yale-New Haven Hospital. She was 86. The cause was a heart attack, her daughter, Mary-Kelly Busch, said.
Miss Wright had many parts on Broadway and once performed at a White House dinner for President Franklin D. Roosevelt, but her meteoric landing in Hollywood in 1941 is the stuff of legend.
After seeing her on Broadway, Samuel Goldwyn, the legendary producer, asked her to play the role of Bette Davis's daughter in "The Little Foxes" in 1941. Her performance in the film moved its director, William Wyler, to tell The New York Times that she was the most promising young actress he had ever directed.
She proved his point by being nominated for an Academy Award for best supporting actress for the picture. The next year, she was nominated for best actress for her next role, opposite Gary Cooper as Lou Gehrig's wife in "The Pride of the Yankees," and won the Oscar for best supporting actress as the love interest of Greer Garson's war-bound son in "Mrs. Miniver."
Her work included a starring role in Wyler's "Best Years of Our Lives," winner of the best-picture Oscar in 1946; playing opposite Marlon Brando in his first movie, "The Men," in 1950; and creating the character of Charlie, the innocent but suspicious niece of a serial killer, in Alfred Hitchcock's harrowing "Shadow of a Doubt" in 1943.
After the 1950's, she drifted away from movies and worked on the stage in roles like Linda Loman opposite George C. Scott's Willy in a 1975 Broadway production of "Death of a Salesman." She was nominated for three Emmy Awards for her dramatic roles on television and in 1997 appeared in a cinematic adaptation of John Grisham's "Rainmaker."
For all her allure as the fetching "girl next door," Miss Wright fiercely fought not to be a glamour girl. She loathed pictures in bathing suits and interviews with fan magazines, and told Goldwyn as much. He assured her he was not of "the bathing suit school of Hollywood producers," according to The Times in 1942, and promised to promote her more ethereal talents.
"There would be no leg art, no whispered romances for the columnists, no orchid and ermine setting for her background," her contract stipulated, according to The Times. But Miss Wright's disregard for Hollywood's demands eventually caused Goldwyn to terminate her contract, in 1948. In their highly publicized exchange, he said she was lax in publicizing her pictures. She said movies had become too brazenly commercial.
"I was going to be Joan of Arc," she said in an interview with The New York Post in 1969, "and all I proved was that I was an actress who would work for less money." For her next picture, "The Men," instead of the $125,000 she had once commanded, she received $20,000, but her co-star was Marlon Brando.
Muriel Teresa Wright was born on Oct. 27, 1918, in Manhattan. She dropped her first named in her early 20's when she found another Muriel Wright was already registered with Actors' Equity.
Her parents separated soon after she was born, and her father, an insurance salesman, farmed her out to various relatives in New York and New Jersey. She did not start school until she was 8, and did not graduate from high school in Maplewood, N.J., until she was almost 20.
She was inspired to become an actress by seeing Helen Hayes in "Victoria Regina" on Broadway while still a student. She played leading parts in high school plays, but a teacher told her to stick with typing. Another teacher helped her get a scholarship to the Wharf Theater in Provincetown, Mass., the summer of her junior year. That led to summer stock work, an understudy role on Broadway in "Our Town" and, in 1939, the part of Mary in "Life With Father," based on the memoirs of Clarence Day. After seeing it, Goldwyn went backstage to hire her.
Miss Wright was married for 10 years to Niven Busch, a screenwriter and novelist. She married the playwright Robert Anderson in 1959, and they divorced in the early 1970's. Ms. Busch, Miss Wright's daughter, said the two remained close.
In addition to her daughter, who lives in Clinton, Conn., Miss Wright is survived by her son, Niven Perence Busch of Indianapolis, and two grandchildren.
In 1998, Miss Wright was asked to throw the first pitch at a Yankees game in honor of the anniversary of Lou Gehrig's famous farewell speech to fans in 1939, the climax of "Pride of the Yankees." She said it was her first game. But after years of ignoring baseball, she then became a fervent fan herself, raptly following the Yankees on television and at their stadium.
"The whole thing is pure theater to me," she explained.
Cinephrenic
Location: Paris, Texas
#25 Post by Cinephrenic » Wed Mar 09, 2005 4:07 pm
Criterion Remembers Brigitte Mira
Criterion is saddened to note the passing of the great German actress Brigitte Mira. A renowned stage and cabaret performer, Mira broke into film in the late 1940s, appearing in a wide range of projects for the big screen and television throughout the next five decades. She is best known to international audiences for her work with pioneering director Rainer Werner Fassbinder in Mother K�sters Goes to Heaven, Chinese Roulette, Berlin Alexanderplatz, and Ali: Fear Eats the Soul. In 2003, the remarkably vibrant and effortlessly charming Mira�at the age of 92�recorded a video interview for Criterion�s DVD release of Ali. In it, she said of her longtime friend and colleague Fassbinder, �We belonged together, the Siamese Twins.� Mira died in Berlin on Tuesday, March 8. She was 94.
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Home»About Us»Board of Directors
T. Michael Ansley , , , Interim Chief Executive Officer and Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors
T. Michael Ansley is the Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors, a position he has held since our inception. Mr. Ansley assumed the role of Interim Chief Executive Officer in July 2019. He previously served as President and Chief Executive Officer until October 2016. Mr. Ansley is also the Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Bagger Dave’s Burger Tavern, Inc.
Mr. Ansley has been a restaurant operator since 1996. In 1999, he opened his first Buffalo Wild Wing (BWW) location in Sterling Heights. In the spring of 2004, the company opened its first Florida location and continues to grow its presence in that market. In January 2008, the company opened its first Bagger Dave’s, a full-service, family-friendly restaurant and bar, in Berkley, Michigan and currently has 19 locations. He also currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Michigan Restaurant Association.
The Buffalo Wild Wings corporate office in Minneapolis has recognized Mr. Ansley and his company with several awards, including: 2000 Operator of the Year, 2003 Highest Restaurant Sales (Novi, MI), 2004 Jimmy Disbrow Founder’s Award (Highest Honor), 2004 Scott Lowery Franchise Development Award, 2004, 2005, 2006 Highest Restaurant Sales (Novi, MI) and 2007 IFA Franchisee of the Year Award and Multi-Unit Franchisee of the Year.
Mr. Ansley’s passion is demonstrated in every aspect of his work, from finding the perfect new restaurant location to sourcing the highest quality product to serve the guests. He surrounds himself with people who are dedicated to providing a dining experience that delights the guests. Mr. Ansley carries his passion forward into the community by providing a high level of support to the Children’s Leukemia Foundation of Michigan, the Boys and Girls Club of South Oakland County, and the Detroit Area Chefs Feed the Need Program. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration in 1993 from the University of Dayton.
Jay Alan Dusenberry , , , Director
Jay Alan Dusenberry has been a member of the Board since our inception. Mr. Dusenberry served as our Treasurer from our inception to March 22, 2010. Mr. Dusenberry is a member of both the Audit Committee and the Compensation Committee. Currently, Mr. Dusenberry is a Vice President of Michigan Metal Coatings. From 2013 to 2017, he served as Vice President of KAMAX, a fastener technology company for the automotive industry. From 2009 to 2013, he served as a Vice President at Cold Heading Company, a manufacturer of cold-formed fasteners. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in finance from the University of Dayton and a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Detroit Mercy.
Philip Friedman , , , Director
Philip Friedman is a member of the Board of Directors of Diversified Restaurant Holdings, Inc. An industry veteran, he also serves as Chairman and CEO of Salsarita’s Fresh Cantina, a quick casual Mexican restaurant concept with 80 locations in 19 states, which he acquired in June 2011. From 1999 through July 2010, Mr. Friedman served as Chairman, President and CEO of McAllister’s Corporation, a rapidly growing quick casual restaurant concept. Operating and franchising restaurants in 22 states, McAlister’s grew from 27 to 300 restaurants during his leadership. Currently, Mr. Friedman is Chairman of Brandstand Marketing group and is a Founding member of IL ‘Pioppo, LLC, importers of organic Italian wines. Mr. Friedman is also President of Friedman & Associates, a strategic planning and management consulting company he founded in 1986. Mr. Friedman served as Chairman of Rosti Restaurants; President of Panda Management Company, Inc.; Chief Financial Officer for Service America Corporation; Vice President of Restaurant Planning for Marriott Corporation; Vice President of Planning for Chi Chi’s Inc.; and as Chief Operating Officer for Sutton Place Gourmet Markets. Mr. Friedman has served on the Board of Directors for the Following companies: Roma Corp. (Tony Roma Restaurants), Cini-Little International, Inc. (a food consulting firm), Panda Management, HomeTown Buffet, Inc., Paramark Enterprises, Inc. (T.J. Cinnamons) Roadhouse Grill, Inc. and Silver Diner Corporation. Mr. Friedman serves on the Board for the National Restaurant Association (“NRA”), the Mississippi Restaurant Association, and is a Trustee for the NRA and a Trustee for the Education Foundation. He is a member of the Culinary Institute of America’s Society of Fellows and the National Association of Corporate Directors.
David Ligotti , , , Director
David Ligotti is a member of the Board of Directors of Diversified Restaurant Holdings, Inc. and has held that position since our inception. Mr. Ligotti has 25 years of experience in restaurant finance, accounting, technology, operation and administration. From 1996 to the present, Mr. Ligotti has owned and operated Oakwood Business Services, LLC, an accounting and tax consulting firm located in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Mr. Ligotti received a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science in 1979 from Kalamazoo College, located in Kalamazoo, Michigan. In 1981 Mr. Ligotti received a Masters of Business Administration degree with a major in accounting from the University of Michigan, located in Ann Arbor, Michigan. In 1984 Mr. Ligotti received a Master of Science in Taxation degree from Walsh College located in Troy, Michigan.
Roger Lipton , , , Director
Roger Lipton joined the Board of Directors of Diversified Restaurant Holdings, Inc. in September 2018. Mr. Lipton is an investment professional with more than four decades of experience specializing in restaurants and retailers. He earned a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and an MBA at Harvard. After working as an auditor with PricewaterhouseCoopers for two years, he began a career on Wall Street, where he focused on the restaurant and franchising industries. He then moved on to build and operate a chain of fast casual restaurants in Canada. He subsequently spent 13 years at Ladenburg, Thalmann & Co., Inc., where he managed the Lipton Research Division, specializing in the restaurant industry. While at Ladenburg, he sponsored an annual restaurant conference for investment professionals. He formed his own firm, Lipton Financial Services, Inc. in 1993 to invest in restaurant and retail companies. Mr. Lipton also serves on the board of Barfly Ventures, operator of the HopCat chain of casual dining restaurants.
Joseph Nowicki , , , Director
Joseph M. Nowicki was elected to the Board at the 2010 annual meeting of stockholders. Mr. Nowicki is the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Beacon Roofing Supply ("BECN"), a NASDAQ-listed company, a position he assumed on March 25, 2013. At BECN, Mr. Nowicki is responsible for the oversight of finance, credit and investor relations. Mr. Nowicki served as the Chief Financial Officer of Spartan Motors, Inc. (“SPAR”), a NASDAQ-listed specialty vehicle manufacturer based in Charlotte, Michigan from June 30, 2009 to March 22, 2013. Previously, Mr. Nowicki spent approximately 17 years with the Michigan-based furniture manufacturer, Herman Miller, Inc., where he held progressive financial roles, lastly as Vice President, Investor Relations and Treasurer. Before joining Herman Miller, he held several operations and finance positions, including working for IBM and General Motors, and spent several years in public accounting. Mr. Nowicki received a Master of Business Administration from the University of Michigan - Ross School of Business.
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MBB: HORNETS FALL SHORT IN BID FOR FIFTH STRAIGHT WIN
Courtesy: DSU Athletic Media Relations
Release: 02/13/2017
DeAndre Haywood
DSU season stats
Baltimore Md. (Feb. 13, 2017) --- Delaware State’s bid for a fifth straight victory was doomed by several missed opportunities late in the game, which Coppin State took advantage of to hand the Hornets an 83-75 MEAC loss at the CSU Physical Education Complex this evening.
The loss snapped a four-game winning streak for the Hornets, who fell to 9-19 overall and 6-7 in the MEAC. The Eagles improved to 7-20 and 6-6.
The setback also overshadowed a scintillating performance by Hornet senior DeAndre Haywood, who led all players with a season-high 24 points on 8-for-10 shooting from the field and 8-of-8 at the free throw line. He also had five rebounds, three assists and two steals in the contest. Haywood's career-high is 25 points, set during his sophomore season in 2014-15.
Devin Morgan was the only other Delaware State player in double-figures with 14 points.
Chas Brown led five Coppin State players in double-figures with 22 points. He also pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds.
The Hornets got off to a slow start in the game, falling behind 22-8 after a three-pointer by Coppin State’s Tre’ Thomas at the 8:57 mark of the first half. The Eagles nailed five three-pointers in the first 11 minutes to help build their lead.
Delaware State hit nine of its final 14 first half shots to pull to within 39-33 at the break.
Coppin State led by nine on two occasions early in the second half.
The Eagles were ahead 52-47 when Haywood drilled two free throws and a lay-up, and DeVaughn Mallory hit one of two at the line to time the game with 11:07 left to play.
The score was also tied at 54 before Coppin State scored seven of the next nine points to open up a 61-56 lead.
The Hornets pulled to within two points twice and three points on another occasion over the next four minutes, but couldn't get any closer.
Coppin State hit 13 consecutive free throws during a late two-minute stretch to seal the win.
Delaware State was 26-for-66 from the field in the game (39.4%), including 7-of-28 on three-point shots (25%). The Eagles shot 42.1% for the game, connecting on 24-of-57 attempts from the field and nine three-pointers on 35 attempts (25.7%).
Coppin State won the rebound battle 47-34, although the Hornets took better care of the basketball, committing a season-low six turnovers to 13 for the Eagles.
Delaware State will play its last three regular season games at home, starting Monday (Feb. 20) against Morgan State. Game time is scheduled for 7:30 p.m., following the DSU/Morgan State women’s contest in Memorial Hall. Delaware State will also host UMES on Feb. 25 (4:00 p.m.) and wrap up the regular season at home against Howard on Mar. 2 (7:30 p.m.).
…Morgan was 4-for-4 at the free throw line to raise his season average to 91% … he has hit 25 of his last 26 attempts at the line
…Waller extended his streak with at least one three-pointer to 20 games
… The Hornets were 5-3 in MEAC regular season road games this season
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By Greg Aragon on July 7, 2019
The La Brea Tar Pits has uncovered more than 3 million prehistoric fossils in its asphalt pools. -Photo by Greg Aragon / Beacon Media News
By Greg Aragon
Los Angeles has many fascinating sights, but nothing can match the history or mystery of the La Brea Tar Pits. This area of bubbling asphalt along Wilshire Boulevard has intrigued scientists and visitors since it was discovered more than 100 years ago. As of today it is the only actively excavated Ice Age fossil site found in an urban location in the world.
I recently took an expedition to the La Brea Tar Pits to examine the fossil remains and to also see the new Second Home Serpentine Pavilion, a colorful temporary structure that is both a giant piece of art and a functioning public space.
My tour of the tar pits began in the main gallery, where I encountered large ground sloths, massive mammoths, and menacing saber-toothed cats. I also got a chance to look inside a real working lab to watch scientists prepare specimens found on site.
The biggest and most impressive display in the gallery is the Columbian mammoth. Standing nearly 14 feet-tall and weighing some 17,000 pounds this giant proboscidean mammal roamed what is now Los Angeles between 11,500 and 1.6 million years ago. The Columbian mammoth is recreated at La Brea Tar Pits with actual skeletal remains and also with a giant, live-sized model.
Another ancient animal found onsite is the giant ice age bear, which lived 12,000 to 1.5 million years ago. With the help of a giant replica, the museum brings this massive creature to life, giving visitors a scary glimpse of the largest carnivore during the last ice age.
The discovered bones of other extinct animals on display include the American lion, which resembled today’s lions; the extinct camel, which lived about 45 million years ago; the California saber-tooth cat, with its huge fang-like teeth; the dire wolf; and the American mastodon.
So visitors can get an idea of how the bones are cleaned and prepared, there is a working lab in the middle of the museum that is surrounded by windows so guests can watch paleontologists at work.
While touring the museum I learned a lot of history about the tar pits. Over the last 50,000 years, Ice Age animals, plants, and insects were trapped and preserved in sticky tar, which is actually asphalt. More than 100 excavations have been made at the Tar Pits since the early 1900s, and most of the fossils discovered here are housed onsite. The discoveries range in size from huge, extinct mammoths and sloths to “microfossils,” or tiny remains of plants and animals that give us clues about how ancient ecosystems and climates changed. Since opening, the museum has excavated over 3.5 million fossils from the Tar Pits, and they are still digging.
Besides all the incredible bones on display, the museum is also showing a movie called “Titans of the Ice Age,” which is an additional $5 on top of admission. In this mesmerizing 3D adventure, narrated by Christopher Plummer, viewers will discover an icy world on the brink of extinction, where humans share the frozen tundra with majestic beasts. The movie is a great way to see how these magnificent creatures lived 10,000-50,000 years before humans, and how they became trapped in tar, preserved in time, and are being unearthed today at the Tar Pits.
Outside the museum are actual bubbling tar pits, including the large Lake Pit that welcomes visitors near the front entrance. Left over from asphalt mining work in the 1800s, the pit is highlighted by a mammoth trapped in tar.
Across the lawn from this pit is the new Serpentine Pavilion, designed by Spanish architect SelgasCano. Organized by Second Home, a London-based workspace business, the 866-square-foot chrysalis-like structure is covered in a translucent, multi-colored fabric membrane, allowing the public to experience architecture “through shape, light, transparency, color, and materials.”
The pavilion offers the public a flexible, multi-purpose social space in which to enjoy public programs and events focusing on the intersection of art, design, science, and nature. The Second Home Serpentine Pavilion will be at La Brea Tar Pits through Nov. 24, 2019.
The La Brea Tar Pits is located at 5801 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, 90036. Adult admission is $15 and parking is $15. For more information, call (213) 763-3499 or visit tarpits.org.
Published in Travel
La Brea Tar Pits
Greg Aragon
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#1,293. Riding Giants (2004)
Directed By: Stacy Peralta
Starring: Laird John Hamilton, Darrick Doerner, Greg Noll
Tag line: "It doesn't get any bigger than this"
Trivia: This movie won the 2004 A.C.E. Eddie Award for Best Edited Documentary
Those who surf say there’s no feeling in the world that can compare. “It becomes so important to you”, says Steve Pezman, editor of Surfer’s Journal, ”that it becomes the object around which you plan the rest of your life”. In 2004’s Riding Giants, director Stacy Peralta pays tribute to those who’ve dedicated their lives to catching the biggest waves.
Kicking things off with a briskly entertaining history lesson, playfully titled “1,000 Years of Surfing in Two Minutes or Less”, Riding Giants then introduces us to some of the men whose passion for the sport led them to become pioneers of big-wave surfing. Greg Noll, who in the ‘50s and ‘60s braved the humongous swells of Hawaii’s Waimea Bay, was one of the first to tackle giant waves, while Laird Hamilton, an innovator of “tow-in” surfing (where a jet ski drags the riders out to where the waves are biggest), has tackled some as tall as 70 feet (21 meters) high, reaching speeds of 50 mph (80 km/h) while doing so.
Utilizing the same rapid-fire style he employed in his award-winning 2000 documentary Dogtown and Z Boys, director Peralta manages to capture at least a portion of the excitement that goes hand-in-hand with big wave surfing. With countless examples of men and women conquering huge swells, Riding Giants also focuses on the dangers involved, showing wipeouts so severe we can’t believe anyone survived them. One surfer talks of how he fractured his neck at Waimea, though is quick to add that “every single big-wave surfer” can tell a similar story. Unfortunately, a few didn’t live to tell theirs; in 1994, Mark Foo, one of the sports brightest stars, drowned while surfing at Mavericks, a prime spot situated in Northern California’s Half Moon Bay.
Still, for guys like Greg Noll, Laird Hamilton, and scores of others, the thrill of catching a big-wave is well worth the risk. As one surfer put it: “It isn’t just a sport, it’s a statement”, a way to thumb your nose at conventional society by hanging out at the beach all day. With Riding Giants, Stacy Peralta gives us a taste of just how liberating it all can be.
#1,294. The Jerk (1979)
#1,295. Stitches (2012)
#1,296. Dallas Buyers Club (2013)
#1,297. The Lenny Bruce Performance Film (1966)
#1,298. Edward Scissorhands (1990)
#1,299. Twister (1996)
#1,300. Vampires (1998)
#1,301. My Bodyguard (1980)
#1,302. Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002)
#1,303. Lilo & Stitch (2002)
#1,304. A Corner in Wheat (1909)
#1,305. Cat People (1982)
#1,306. All Hallows' Eve (2013)
#1,307. All is Lost (2013)
#1,308. Fighting the War (1916)
#1,309. I, Madman (1989)
#1,310. Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee (2007)
#1,311. Night of the Ghouls (1959)
#1,312. Deck Dogz (2005)
#1,313. The Bad News Bears in Breaking Training (...
#1,314. Pufnstuf (1970)
#1,315. House of 1000 Corpses (2003)
#1,316. Family Guy Presents It's a Trap (2010)
#1,317. Diamonds are Forever (1971)
#1,318. Gangs of New York (2002)
#1,319. The Hills Have Eyes (1977)
#1,320. The North Avenue Irregulars (1979)
#1,321. Step Brothers (2008)
#1,322. The Time Machine (1960)
#1,323. Here Comes Peter Cottontail (1971)
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Injured Louisiana Man Sues Three Oil Companies for 3 Million Dollars
June 3, 2015 | News
Houston, TX (Law Firm Newswire) June 3, 2015 – A Houma, Louisiana man is seeking $3 million in damages from three companies after sustaining spinal injuries during an accident while working onboard an offshore rig two years ago.
Walter Hewitt and his wife Patricia filed the suit against three defendants: Shell Oil, Frank’s International, and Noble Drilling. The suit was launched in the U.S. District Court in New Orleans, Louisiana on April 14, 2015.
Walter Hewitt was employed by Frank’s International onboard the Frontier Driller rig in the Gulf of Mexico. According to the suit, Shell operates the Noble-Drilling-owned deep water floater. Frank’s International built the 12-foot-by-12-foot toolbox in which he was working. He was inside the box at the time of the accident.
Hewitt was hit on the head by its massive lid, which was knocked over by a gust of wind. He lost consciousness and fractured his spine.
Hewitt is now disabled from the neck down, though fortunately, not entirely paralyzed. He is suing for lost earning capacity and wages, mental distress, physical pain and for the costs and prospects of lifelong treatment.
Personal injury attorney Richard LaGarde, who is not involved with the case, said, “The key to a case like this is to examine whether safety protocols were in place prior to the accident, and whether negligence on the part of the employer or the other parties caused the injuries.”
The plaintiffs claim that the three companies failed to provide Hewitt with a safe workplace, as the toolbox could not withstand the strong offshore winds. It lacked a hydraulic closure system that would have made it safe in those conditions.
If the federal court determines the plaintiff is a seaman under the Jones Act, he can take action against his employer. If not, Hewitt will simply get worker’s compensation from his employer and the case will come to an end.
LaGarde added, “As such offshore incidents fall under maritime law, you need to determine whether you are entitled to compensation for your injuries and which laws provide you with protection. The Jones Act protects seamen who are injured while working on seafaring oil rigs or ships. It is essential, in each case, to look at the circumstances of the injuries as well as their nature and severity.”
Learn more at http://www.lagardelaw.com.
LaGarde Law Firm, P.C
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GTECH May Blame Texas Lottery Commission for Fun 5’s Fail
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It's Time to "Receive Your Heavenly Blessings" for Women's History Month
First Community Interfaith Institute Inc will have a program of “Honor and Thank you” on Friday, March 10, 2017 (6 PM) at First Community Interfaith Institute Inc., 219 Hamilton Street, Rochester NY.
The Institute will honor the late Siti Akanke (AKA Mary Bailey), who helped Minister Evans develop case management services at First Community Interfaith Institute Inc. She also was a trustee at the Institute for over twenty years. Libation will be performed on behalf of Sister Siti.
Also on the Women’s History Month program, the Institute will give Rev. Myra Brown a “Thank You” in its traditional “Shout Out” based on its Doology discipline.
Rev. Myra Brown, who was ordained into the priesthood at Spiritus Christi Church, will be saluted at First Community Interfaith Institute Inc at the Institute’s Women’s History Month program “Receiving Our Heavenly Blessing: Tribute to Sister Siti Akanke” on March 10, 2017 at the First Community Interfaith Institute Inc., 6 PM, 219 Hamilton Street, Roche…
It's Time to "Receive Your Heavenly Blessings" for...
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For Ten Years NASA Has Been Capturing Images Of Mars – And They - FOX21- Entertaining Delmarva One Click at a Time
For Ten Years NASA Has Been Capturing Images Of Mars – And They Reveal The Planet’s Amazing Beauty
Monday, June 17, 2019 5:31 PM EDT
Originally posted on https://factsverse.com/for-ten-years-nasa-has-been-capturing-images-of-mars-and-they-reveal-the-planets-amazing-beauty/
On August 12, 2005, NASA launched an unmanned spacecraft. The idea was for them to capture photos of the unexplored planet. Mars is also known as the Red Planet. This is because the planet has a reddish hue when observed in the night sky. It is the fourth closest planet to the sun, right beside Earth, which is the third. Mars is just over half the size of Earth. It has just about 38 percent of the surface gravity than Earth does. Mars has water; however, because of the low atmospheric pressure on Mars, it has only 1 percent of the water that Earth does.
On Mars, there is a lot of water ice. Scientists believe that the Mars polar caps contain a great deal of ice. They believe that if all of the ice at the south pole of Mars were to melt, it would cover the whole planet in 36 feet of water. In 1610, a scientist was able to examine Mars through a telescope. It was then that the Italian astronomer Galileo made his breakthrough. In 1659, a Dutch scientist named Christiaan Huygens was the first scientist to identify a Martian feature, the volcanic plain of Syrtis Major. It was then determined that the length of a day on Mars was 24 hours and 30 minutes.
The Cold War Space Race
We couldn’t wait to get spaceships to Mars to explore. This started the Cold War Space Race between the USA and the USSR. The Soviets were the first to launch a probe to Mars in 1961, but the Americans were the first to find success with Mars-bound spaceships. The Soviet Union launched five missions to Mars between 1960 and 1962, but all of them failed. The US sent their first ship to Mars in 1964, but that one failed also. Later in 1964, the US spaceship, Mariner 4, made it to Mars. They had a successful flyby in July 1965. When the craft returned to Earth, it had detailed pictures of the surface of the planet.
Continued Mission
After the first flyby of Mars, more and more missions were sent to the planet. With technology, the missions were more successful. Regardless of the success, two out of three missions failed. In 1971, Mariner 7 managed to orbit around the whole planet. In 1976, Viking 1 and 2 were able to land on the surface of Mars. Viking 1 managed to get the first ever, color photo of the planet’s surface.
Searching For Optimal Landing Spots
In 1966, the Mars Global Surveyor spaceship was sent to space for a mapping exercise. It wasn’t going to land on Mars, but it was going to find optimal spots for spacecraft to land in the future. Finally, in 2008, the American spacecraft Phoenix landed in the northern pole of Mars. It was a robotic vehicle that had a probing arm. It was then that we confirmed that there is water on Mars in the form of ice.
The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
This spacecraft launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida in August 2005, and it cost $720 million to build. The spaceship was 21-feet tall, and it contained a radio antenna dish that was 10-feet in diameter. It was also fitted with 220 square feet of solar panels. It weighed 4,800 pounds when it was launched, and half of that was fuel to power the necessary 20 thrust engines.
When the Orbiter was launched, it took seven months to get to Mars. The operation lasted for five months. The main objective of the Orbiter was to find out more about the past levels of water n Mars. Scientists knew that the water ran across the surface of the planet earlier. Now they wanted to know if there was still water present, allowing for living organisms to thrive on the planet for long periods of time.
The purpose of the mission was to measure the weather trends on the Red Planet. They wanted to know more about the seasonal changes and the makeup of the polar ice fields. They also wanted to search for dangerous landing areas, such as protruding rocks.
2008 Milestone
In 2008, the Phoenix that had been launched in August 2007 and it had a successful soft landing on Mars. They managed to get a photo of Phoenix as it parachuted down to Mars. The area where it landed looked a lot like the Earth’s polar regions that are covered with permafrost. The robotic arm was dropped to take samples of the soil on Mars. These samples confirmed that there was ice just below the surface.
During the mission, the spacecraft was able to capture 2,054 images of the Red Planet. The photos told them a lot about the planet. There are pictures of the areas where there was once water. There are a few frozen spots on the planet that are sheltered from the sun’s rays by deep folds of dunes. There is a photo that was taken in May, which is the Martian spring, where snow and ice on the ground are actually frozen carbon dioxide, also known as dry ice. For Ten Years NASA Has Been Capturing Images Of Mars And They Reveal The Planet’s Amazing Beauty.
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Saudi prince sues Forbes for underestimating his wealth
Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, who owns London’s Savoy hotel, claims US publication undervalued his wealth by $9.6bn
Saudi Arabia’s Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, one of the world’s wealthiest businessmen who owns assets including London’s Savoy hotel, has launched a libel action against the business magazine Forbes over claims it underestimated his fortune by $9.6bn.
Alwaleed, who is often described as the most influential businessman in the Middle East, vowed to sever ties with Forbes in March when its coveted annual Rich List valued him at $20bn – placing him as the 26th most wealthy billionaire on the planet.
The prince insisted he was worth closer to $30bn and accused the respected US magazine of being “demonstrably biased” against Saudi Arabian firms.
Now Alwaleed has taken his complaints about the magazine to the high court in London, filing a defamation claim against the Forbes publisher, its editor Randall Lane and two of its journalists, according to court documents seen by the Guardian.
Through his Saudi-based investment vehicle, Kingdom Holding, Alwaleed owns large stakes in Apple, Twitter and Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation and has built a formidable property portfolio, including the Savoy Hotel in London and the Plaza in New York.
Alwaleed is known for his opulent lifestyle – a gold throne sits in the centre of his private Boeing 747 jet, dubbed “the flying palace” – but his displays of grandeur rarely spill into public disputes with the media.
Forbes said it calculated his fortune based on the underlying value of Kingdom Holding’s investments, rather than the price of its shares on the Saudi stock exchange, the Tadawul. The magazine said the company’s share price inexplicably rose each year as it was compiling data for its Rich List and quoted a former Alwaleed executive who described the Tadawul as a gambling site.
Forbes also claimed it had been subject to “intermittent lobbying, cajoling and threatening” by Alwaleed’s coterie of advisors in a bid to boost his ranking on the annual list.
In a Sunday Telegraph interview last month, the 58-year-old attacked Forbes and said: “They are accusing me of market manipulation. I am not pursuing it because of my wealth, but because they are accusing Saudi Arabia of being manipulated because we have no casinos. This is unacceptable.”.
Forbes said in a statement in response to the libel action: “We’re very surprised at claims that Prince Alwaleed has decided to sue Forbes, particularly if he has done so in the United Kingdom, a jurisdiction that has nothing whatsoever to do with our recent story which raised questions about his claims about his wealth.
“The Prince’s suit would be precisely the kind of libel tourism that the UK’s recently-passed libel reform law is intended to thwart. We would anticipate that the London high court will agree. Forbes stands by its story.”
Legal experts said Alwaleed will have to prove that his reputation in England and Wales suffered “serious harm”, if the lawsuit is eventually tried at the high court. He will also have to show that the Forbes publication caused Kingdom Holding serious financial loss.
Richard Green, a partner and head of regulation at the law firm Hill Dickinson, said the case would cement London’s reputation as the libel capital of the world. “While I accept that Forbes magazine is published in England and Wales both in hard copy and on the internet, it is difficult to see why this is the most appropriate forum for the case other than its perceived pro-claimant reputation,” he added.
“Libel tourism is common and is widely credited with damaging freedom of speech in the defendant’s home jurisdiction.”
However, Sarah Webb, a partner at law firm Payne Hicks Beach, said Alwaleed has a “substantial international reputation” but added that there were protections for media defendants to prevent so-called libel tourism.
“He will have to satisfy the court that England and Wales is clearly the more appropriate forum for his dispute and this will tie in again to the ‘serious harm’ test [to his reputation],” she said.
A spokesman for Kingdom Holding said Alwaleed was “examining all of his legal options” but declined to comment further. Kobre and Kim, the law firm acting for Alwaleed in the claim, declined to comment.
Source: Guardian
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March 8th, 2018 | Written by Haylle Sok
DP World Signs Agreement With Indian State Government
JAMMU AND KASHMIR: Developing infrastructure and facilities is one way that the Indian economy will continue to grow.
DP World CEO: India has vast economic potential – unlocking it is key for trade.
Discussions will take place on a multi-modal logistics park and hub in Jammu.
DP World looking to invest in warehouses and specialized storage solutions in India.
The government of Dubai, global trade enabler DP World, and the government of Jammu and Kashmir have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to explore opportunities to develop trade infrastructure in the Indian state.
The agreement will see discussions take place on a multi-modal logistics park and hub in Jammu, comprising warehouses and specialized storage solutions that will also encourage intermodal transfer of containers, bulk and break-bulk cargo.
Speaking at the World Government Summit, DP World Group Chairman and CEO Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem said: “Opening up the Indian hinterland through new infrastructure and facilities is one of the ways that the Indian economy will continue to grow and we are delighted to enter into these discussions with representatives of the Jammu and Kashmir government. India has vast economic potential and unlocking it will provide new trade opportunities.”
The value of goods exported and imported by DP World’s operations in India reached almost $50 billion in 2016, accounting for 15 percent of India’s total non-oil imports and exports. Bilateral trade between the UAE and India has grown from $128 million 30 years ago to more than $53 billion today.
“The country is currently the fastest growing in the world with major strides being made already with the logistics sector set to reach $215 billion by 2020, 34 mega multi-modal logistics parks and over 1300 infrastructure projects underway,” said Bin Sulayem. “DP World has already invested $1.2 billion in the last 20 years supporting 28% of all container trade and we look forward to growing this partnership further in Jammu and Kashmir.”
US will drive LNG growth in North America
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In a First, Woman Member Elected to Maine AFL-CIO Helm
Cynthia Phinney worked as a hand sewer for 12 years in Maine’s struggling shoe industry. She loved the work. She didn’t like the way she and co-workers were treated while management sent jobs overseas. They fought back and got some concessions, but it was a difficult battle without union representation.
“After that, I specifically looked for a union job because I had learned a little bit about organizing while working at a nonunion shop,” Phinney said.
Manchester, Maine, Local 1837 member Cynthia Phinney speaks at the Maine Fair Trade Campaign annual meeting in 2015.
A local utility hired her as a customer services representative and she later became a meter reader, joining Manchester, Maine, Local 1837 in 1991. She’s left quite a mark on labor in the Pine Tree State ever since, culminating with her election as the first woman president of the Maine AFL-CIO during its convention in October. The federation represents 160 unions and more than 40,000 workers.
“She is just a tremendously balanced, smart, caring person,” said Matthew Beck, Local 1837 organizer and business representative. “I think everyone is excited that we’ve elected the first woman, but I think they’re more excited we elected Cynthia. She is so well-known and loved by the Maine labor community.”
Phinney was hired as Local 1837’s first full-time organizer in 1998 and served as business manager from 2004-10. She’s been a meter installer and reader for Central Maine Power since leaving office, but is retiring in December to begin her four-year term as president.
She said she doesn’t think gender played a role in her election, but it is a positive for Maine’s unions going forward. A woman previously was appointed to the position after a president resigned, but Phinney is the first to be elected by the delegates.
“One of the things we know is that in all of the labor movement, our real strength is in our numbers and solidarity,” she said. “The more diverse our leadership and activists are, the richer we are. That fact that I as a woman can get elected is a good thing.”
Local 1837 Business Manager Dick Rogers is one of her most ardent supporters – even though Rogers beat her in the 2010 election that put him in his current position. He said Phinney was classy in defeat, noting she went out of her way to introduce him to all companies with which Local 1837 does business.
Cynthia Phinney, a former Local 1837 business manager, recently became the first woman elected to head the Maine AFL-CIO.
Rogers said Phinney’s organizing skills and passion for the labor movement will make her a perfect fit for the job.
“It’s what she should be doing,” he said. “We supported her in every way.”
Phinney formerly served on Maine’s Citizen Trade Policy Commission, a state government entity that examines the impact of trade agreements on the state. In 2008, she was the recipient of the Solidarity Award, presented by the 6,000-member Eastern Maine Labor Council.
She also has received the Paul A. Loughran Memorial Award, which is given to a business manager who has shown outstanding leadership in the Second District. Loughran, who died in 2002, was a journeyman wireman and beloved IBEW leader in New England who served as the Second District’s International Vice President from 1990-97.
Beck got to know Phinney when he was the shop steward at television station WGME in Portland, Maine, and led several job actions during contract negotiations with owner Sinclair Broadcast Group.
“She’s one of the most ethical and dedicated trade unionists that I’ve ever known,” Beck said. “She has a tremendously balanced world view, not just about union members, but workers in general.”
Phinney has had an adventurous spirit and a fondness for work her entire life. She grew up near Milwaukee, but moved to New England to study French at the University of Maine at Fort Kent, in the northern part of the state along the Canadian border. It’s in the heart of Acadian culture and many people in the area speak French.
She loved the experience, but realized she wanted to work with her hands and didn’t finish her degree. She now lives in Livermore Falls with her husband, Paul Wilson.
“The union movement is the best way, and maybe the only way, that workers can be effective in the impact they have on the economy,” she said. “Our well-being is set up by how well the economy is working and right now, it is set up to benefit a few. I want to help change that.”
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The role and interaction of microgrids and centralized grids in developing modern power systems
Energy access constitutes one of the fundamental building blocks for economic growth, as well as social equity, in the modern world.
Access to sustainable energy is needed to achieve sustainable development. This paper serves as an input document to the global discussion on how to reach the UN goal of “Sustainable Energy for All”, by sharing case study knowledge in the field. The following topics are considered through the examination of several implemented cases from different parts of the world:
Analysis of the interaction between centralized grids and microgrids.
Analysis of stakeholder decision parameters for electrification through extension of the central grid or microgrids; such as distance from grid, economic feasibility and environmental sustainability.
Analysis of design differences and requirements for microgrids, based on intended purpose and the needs of the end customer.
It has been determined that good planning, appropriate requirements and clear regulations for microgrids limit the risk of stranded assets and enable better business cases for the involved stakeholders.
ISGAN_DiscussionPaper_MicrogridsCentralizedGrids_2016-1.pdf
Synchrophasor Applications for Wide Area Monitoring and Control
A synchrophasor is a time-synchronized measurement of a quantity described by a phasor. Like a vector, a phasor is a complex number that represents both the magnitude and phase angle of voltage and current sinusoidal waveforms at a specific point in time. Devices called phasor measurement units (PMU) measure voltage and current, and with these measurements, calculate parameters such as frequency, real power (MW), reactive power (MVAR) and phase angle. Data reporting rates for these parameters are typically 30 to 60 records per second, and may be higher. In contrast, current supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems typically report data every four to six seconds – over a hundred times slower than PMUs.
Measurements taken by PMUs in different locations on the network are accurately synchronized with each other and can be time-aligned, allowing the relative phase angles between different points in the system to be determined as directly measured quantities. Synchrophasor measurements can thus be combined to provide a precise and comprehensive “view” of an entire interconnection, allowing unprecedented visibility into system conditions.
The number of PMUs installed worldwide, as well as the number and type of grid operations informed by PMU data and applications, have seen notable increases in recent years. The past six years have seen a significant increase in the number of PMUs installed across North America’s transmission grid, from fewer than 500 installed in 2009 to nearly 2,000 today. This rapid increase in deployment of PMUs was spurred by the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), which funded federal Smart Grid Investment Grants (SGIG) and Smart Grid Demonstration Projects (SGDP), with matching private funds. In Norway, responsibility for the deployment of PMUs has recently been assumed by the Transmission System Operator’s IT division, meaning that PMUs are becoming an integral part of the grid information infrastructure for system operations.
ISGAN_DiscussionPaper_SynchrophasorApplications_2016-1.pdf
Storage and balancing as key elements for future network planning and electricity markets design
The aim of this report is to analyze the flexibility contribution that identified resources could provide as a contribution towards the achievement of efficient and cost-effective dispatching of the electric system, in presence of an ever increasing penetration of Renewable Energy Sources (RES) which are characterized by a variable generation pattern.
Higher flexibility in network dispatching can be achieved either by increasing the deployment of bulk storage in the transmission network, or by widening the set of resources available as a base for energy balancing. The latter strategy could potentially be actuated by allowing reserve procurement across transmission operator jurisdictions.
In a European context this strategy would be referred to as trans-national balancing; and could also be relevant to procurement across different Regions and Balancing Authorities in North America. A further positive could be achieved through participation in the balancing mechanism from generators and loads located in distribution networks. Beyond supporting dispatching efficiency, these flexibility elements make it possible to deploy a sustainable expansion strategy of the trans-national transmission corridors, taking into account the current difficulties faced in achieving public consensus for the building of new overhead lines. This report illustrates the potential of these strategies by referencing the results achieved in a number of important and ongoing European research projects.
ISGAN_DiscussionPaper_StorageAndBalancing_2016-1.pdf
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ISGAN. All Rights Reserved. The ISGAN TCP is part of a network of autonomous collaborative partnerships focused on a wide range of energy technologies known as Technology Collaboration Programmes or TCPs. The TCPs are organised under the auspices of the International Energy Agency (IEA), but the TCPs are functionally and legally autonomous. Views, findings and publications of the ISGAN TCP do not necessarily represent the views or policies of the IEA Secretariat or its individual member countries.
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Will France actually be able to ban all gas and diesel vehicles by 2040?
in: Alternative Transportation,Automobiles,Electric Vehicles,Science & Technology News
The government of France announced plans to end the sale of gasoline and diesel vehicles by 2040, with ecology minister Nicolas Hulot unveiling a wide range of targets and initiatives timed to coincide with the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany, last week. The announcement was made as a part of the country’s renewed commitment to the goals of the Paris Climate Accords, which were reaffirmed by 19 of the 20 countries gathered at the summit last week.
Hulot also rolled out plans to end the use of coal-fired power plants in the country by 2022 and to stop granting licenses for oil and gas exploration. His initiatives were noted to mirror the campaign promises of Emmanuel Macron, the country’s new prime minister, whose platform was heavy on ambitious environmental goals. Of the major initiatives, the phaseout of coal is viewed to be the most realistic target voiced by the minister; France currently relies on coal for just 5 percent of its energy needs, but the goal of getting nuclear power reliance down from 75 percent to 50 percent in 2025 appears to pose more of a challenge, one connected to an expected increase in the number of electric cars.
Hulot’s comments were met with some skepticism even from environmental and political activists — some of whom have had misgivings about the planned diesel car ban in Paris, set to take effect in 2025 if not sooner. As with smaller citywide initiatives, Hulot’s plans appeared to move policy too fast, at the cost of industry and ultimately jobs, and most industry analysts were skeptical of the world’s sixth largest economy being able to transition away from fossil fuels that quickly.
Paris recently instituted a partial ban on cars within city limits made before 1997. Photo by Autoweek
Hulot was quick to address the concerns of naysayers, indicating that low-income drivers who may not be able to afford electric cars by that timeframe will be given government help.
Despite the ambitious goal, Peugeot Citroen owner PSA signaled it was on board with the minister’s plans, as the automaker already plans to offer electric or hybrid versions of 80 percent of its models by the year 2023.
Still, France will have to deal with more than the French automotive industry, which does not exist in a vacuum and will have to continue to supply other countries with gasoline and diesel-engined cars. Even if all French automakers will be able to satisfy the domestic market by 2040 with electric cars, other automakers that enjoy a significant presence in France may not be so quick. The ban effectively acts as a trade barrier inside the borderless European Union, a condition likely to be viewed with ire by other automakers.
Hulot’s plans also envision far greater energy production with the 2040 goal: Cars using electricity and other alternative energy sources, such as hydrogen, will require far greater energy production and a vastly upgraded power grid — all that electricity still has to come from somewhere — and this ultimately brings us back to the issue of nuclear power plants. Coupled with the 2025 target for nuclear power, France will have to develop new means of generating electricity very rapidly, with solar power being the most likely option in the short term.
Hulot’s proposed plans once again drew calls of discrimination against owners of older vehicles, whether by choice or by income. Photo by Autoweek
Aside from largely ignoring the issue of electrification of trucks, which is happening far more slowly than passenger cars, Hulot’s plans also appear to disregard second and third-order effects if the 2040 ban on gasoline and diesel-engined cars proceeds as planned. Absent some technological miracle, the rapid shift to electric cars will require major increases in the production of car batteries, either at home or overseas, and the metals that will have to be mined for their production will cause ecological harm elsewhere, likely outside of France. The planned ban on the sale of gas and diesel cars in 2040 also ignores the promise of advances in synthetic fuels, which may allow internal combustion engines to operate much cleaner in the future without significant changes in underlying technology. The proposed ban, if not adopted across the European Union, may also have the effect of placing a burden on neighboring countries, which rely on France’s economy and petroleum industry, in effect creating a distinct economic island in France that may disadvantage poorer neighboring states.
The upcoming 2025 ban on diesels in Paris well may be a trial run for the current government’s plans: The mayors of Paris, Madrid, Mexico City and Athens announced plans to end the use of diesel cars and trucks within their cities by this year. Other cities are expected to follow suit. If these small experiments succeed, the 2040 goal may appear achievable not just to France but to other EU countries closely tied to its economy.
Via Auto-week
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Ledger Online / April 12, 2011 / No Comment
Earth Day 2011: Local Jewish communities think green
Protecting human health and the diversity of life is a value emphasized in Torah, Talmud, and rabbinic literature throughout the ages—beginning with the commandment in Genesis for Adam and Eve to serve and protect the Garden of Eden. Three new efforts in the greater Hartford Jewish community link Jewish values with sustainable solutions. Given that Earth Day will be marked nationally on Friday, April 22, we thought this would be the perfect time to highlight these efforts…and inspire others.
Jewish Local Greens is a cross-denominational, cross synagogue group in West Hartford
Jewish Local Greens brings together sustainable agriculture and Judaism
A new project, Jewish Local Greens, is bringing the mitzvah to Greater Hartford in collaboration with a Jewish educational farm. The result: Jewish Community Supported Agriculture. Jewish Local Greens is a cross-denominational, cross synagogue group in West Hartford that had formed to purchase produce shares from Adamah, the largest Jewish educational farm in the region. This is the first Jewish CSA Community Supported Agriculture in the area.
Adamah, Hebrew for “earth,” is located at the Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center in Falls Village, Conn. and is the largest educational Jewish farm in the U.S. Adamah works to connect people to their roots – to the land, to community, to Judaism, and to themselves – by providing educational programs and products in order to build a more sustainable world.
Adamah is affiliated with Hazon, Hebrew for “vision,” the largest Jewish environmental group in the U.S. One of the organization’s projects is to help Jewish communities create CSAs, an endeavor that has been recognized by Michelle Obama as the largest faith-based CSA program in North America.
CSA describes a relationship between small farmers and their communities. Individuals purchase a season’s worth of produce in advance, which provides the farm with start-up capital and a guaranteed market. This arrangement helps ensure the survival of small farms, and provides local communities with high-quality, fresh produce.
In a Jewish CSA, members not only establish the commercial relationship with a farmer, but also have an opportunity to learn how farming and local food relate to Judaism and Torah values. Jewish Local Greens and Adamah will create educational programs both at Isabella Freedman and in the greater Hartford Jewish community. The idea came about when Davida Ginsberg of West Hartford participated in the Adamah Fellowship at the Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center. A three-month leadership training program for Jewish young adults in their 20s, the fellowship integrates organic farming, sustainable living, Jewish learning, community-building, and contemplative spiritual practice.
Adamah had been partnering with a CSA farm in Westchester, N.Y. and wanted to work with Jewish communities closer by. Davida returned to her native West Hartford and recruited her mother, Elaine Shapiro, to help coordinate a project, gathering interested people from area synagogues. Elaine became part of the four-member core group serving as liaisons between Adamah and the Jewish community. Other members include Mo Hart, Judy Brenner, and Maggie Cohen.
In late winter, CSA members purchase a share of the farm’s produce. Every Thursday from 4 to 6:45 p.m. for 22 weeks from early June to late October, the farm will bring the vegetables to a drop-off location in the Mandell JCC of Greater Hartford, where members will pick up their vegetables. Once a month, the farmers will set up a market at the JCC with produce, pickled items, and goat-milk products. _As part of the CSA membership, each member will work three two-hour shifts during the season.
A share includes a diverse range of organically grown vegetables and is designed to provide enough vegetables for a family of four for a week. Each share costs $600, about $30 per week, which is below wholesale rates. Shares may be split between two or more participants. A one-time membership fee of $50 enables Jewish Local Greens to join Hazon, network with other Hazon CSAs, receive expert advice, and create programs.
Membership is limited to 40 shares, and organizer Elaine Shapiro says that there are still spaces available. Registration will close on Apr. 22, but there are many other opportunities to participate in Jewish Local Greens. Info/registration: whcsa11@gmail.com
For more information on Adamah: www.isabellafreedman.org/adamah
For more information on Hazon: www.hazon.org
The Kostin family of West Hartford has created the Jessie’s Community Gardens project
New community garden project fosters tikkun olam
Jessica Kostin was only 26 when she died suddenly and unexpectedly last August. An avid chef whose passion was kosher cooking using fresh, locally sourced ingredients, Kostin’s memory will now live on in a unique community project that combines her talents with the Jewish obligation to feed the hungry and the stranger.
The Kostin family of West Hartford has created the Jessie’s Community Gardens project, and will fund each garden, with the understanding that at least 50 percent of the produce will be donated to a food service or food bank that supports the needy.
The initial garden is being installed this spring on the grounds of the Jewish Federation of Greater Hartford, close to the kosher food pantry of the Jewish Family Services of Greater Hartford, a beneficiary agency of the Jewish Federation. Open to anyone in need, the pantry serves 16 towns in the Greater Hartford area, and has seen a 1200-percent rise in clientele since the economic downturn. “Fresh vegetables are not readily available to the people the pantry serves, but we are going to change that,” wrote Jessica’s parents, Dane and Michelle Kostin, in a thank-you letter to donors.
The second garden will be installed on the grounds of the Kostins’ congregation, Beth El Temple, on Sunday, May 1, followed by a third on the grounds of Hebrew Healthcare in West Hartford. Up to 15 gardens are planned throughout the Greater Hartford community.
“At Beth El, we are involving our congregational community in a wide variety of ways, including core volunteers to build, plant, harvest, and maintain the garden,” says project co-chair Dan Kulakofsky, “We are also looking to involve our religious school and already have our first student who is developing a bar mitzvah ‘mitzvah project’ involving the garden. We are also actively working to engage our USY and Yachad communities.”
Kulakofsky says that the Jessie’s Community Gardens project will allow each participating group a good deal of freedom in determining how it would like to be involved. All groups will be expected to follow the Kostins’ guidelines: to ensure that the focus of Jessie’s Community Gardens remain on food justice, providing fresh vegetables to the hungry who often lack these essential foods, and to build bridges within and outside the Jewish community through generosity and a commitment to core Jewish values.
For more informati
on on Jessie’s Community Gardens, contact area coordinator Judy Brenner: jkbrenner03@hotmail.com / (860) 523-1762
Anything that uses a cord or battery can be ‘e-cycled'
Electronics recycling day at Beth El
WEST HARTFORD – Beth El Temple’s T’Green Olam Committee and Men’s Club host their first e-recycling day on Sunday, May 1, from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., in partnership with Green Monster e-Cycling of West Hartford.
“Anything that uses a cord or battery can be ‘e-cycled,’” says T’Green Olam chair David Brandwein – old computer parts, small electric appliances, electronics like TVs, VCRs, and stereos.
Brandwein got the idea from a similar drive held at Temple Beth El in Springfield, Mass. “Most people are concerned about throwing things in the trash that can’t be there,” says event co-chair Lonni Schulz. “Towns and municipalities are starting to accept these things at their facilities, but many are only open during the week while people are at work, and on Shabbat, so we decided that Sunday morning is a good option.”
Fees in cash or check made out to Beth El Temple are $18 per car-full and $10 per each additional TV. Acceptable items include anything that uses a cord or batteries: TVs; computer monitors, terminals, mainframes, laptops, keyboards, CPUs, mice, cables, printers, scanners, modems; toner cartridges, ink-jet cartridges; iPods, PDAs, MP3 players, fax machines, video game consoles and controllers, cellphones, telephone PBX, camcorders, VCRs, DVD players, stereo components, radios, ups backups, dehumidifiers, air conditioners, medical equipment, lab equipment, test equipment, vacuum cleaners, electric razors, kitchen mixers, fans, snow-blowers, leaf blowers, as well as the cords and batteries themselves.
Non-acceptable items include light bulbs of any kind, household chemicals (used motor oil, lawn and garden chemicals, paint, hazardous waste), large appliances (refrigerator, washer, dryer, dishwasher, freezer, etc.).
Schulz advises that, while a popular idea, there are no current plans to make the event an annual one, so the community is encouraged to participate this year.
For more information: Lonni Schulz, (860) 651-0072 / LonniSchulz@sbcglobal.net.
Tags Earth Day Jewish values
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The Matisyahu affair: In Europe, conflating Jew and Israel
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Few Jokes / Recent Jokes
Three men are sitting naked in the sauna. Suddenly there is a beeping sound. The first man presses his forearm and the beeping stops. The others look at him questioningly.
"That`s my pager," he says. "I have a microchip under the skin of my arm."
A few minutes later a phone rings. The second man lifts his palm to his ear.
When he finishes he explains, "That`s my mobile phone. I have a microchip in my hand."
The third man, feeling decidedly low-tech, steps out of the sauna. In a few minutes he returns with a piece of toilet paper extending from his rear.
The others raise their eyebrows.
"I`m getting a Fax," he explains
Give Us This Day
The president of the Festive Foods Corporation was included in a papal audience and he took the opportunity of making a business proposition to the Pope; that if he could arrange for the Lord's Prayer to be changed from "Give us this day our daily bread" to "Give us this day our daily turkey" throughout the whole of Advent and Christmas. In exchange the Festive Foods Corporation would give £20 million to Catholic charities. The Pope declined his offer. A few weeks later the man called the Pope and upped the offer to £50 million; but once again it was turned down. A few weeks before the beginning of Advent the man came back to the Pope with an astonishing offer of £100 million. The Pope considered all the good works that could be done with such a large amount of money and decided to go ahead. The next day he called a special meeting of the Cardinals to let them know about the situation. "Well" said the Pope. "I have good news and bad news. The good more...
Rudy and the garbage disposal
This is the story of the night my ten-year-old cat, Rudy, got his head stuck in the garbage disposal. I knew at the time that the experience would be funny if the cat survived, so let me tell you right up front that he's fine. Getting him out wasn't easy, though, and the process included numerous home remedies, a plumber, two cops, an emergency overnight veterinary clinic, a case of mistaken identity, five hours of panic, and fifteen minutes of fame.
My husband, Rich, and I had just returned from a vacation in the Cayman Islands, where I had been sick as a dog the whole time, trying to convince myself that if I had to feel lousy, it was better to do it in paradise. We had arrived home at 9 p.m., a day and a half later than we had planned because of airline problems. I still had illness-related vertigo, and because of the flight delays, had not been able to prepare the class I was supposed to teach at 8:40 the next morning. I sat down at my desk to think and around ten more...
1997 Darwin Award Winner
You all know about the Darwin Awards - It's an annual honor given to the person who did the
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stupid way.
The 1995 winner was the fellow who was killed by a Coke machine which toppled over on top
of him as he was attempting to tip a free soda out of it.
In 1996 the winner was an air force sergeant who attached a JATO (rocket) unit to his car
and crashed into a cliff several hundred feet above the roadbed.
And now, the 1997 winner: Larry Waters of Los Angeles -- one of the few Darwin winners to
survive his award-winning accomplishment. Larry's boyhood dream was to fly. When he
graduated from high school, he joined the Air Force in hopes of becoming a pilot.
Unfortunately, poor eyesight disqualified him. When he was finally discharged, he had to
satisfy himself with watching jets fly over his backyard.
One day, Larry, had a bright idea. He more...
A man is sitting in a plane which is about to take off when another man with a dog occupies the empty seats alongside. The dog takes the middle seat, and his handler explains that they work for the airline. "Don't mind Rover," the handler says, "he is a sniffer dog, the best there is. I'll show you once we get airborne and I set him to work." The plane takes off and levels out when the handler says to the first man, "Watch this." He tells the dog, "Rover, search!" The dog jumps down, walks along the aisle and sits next to a woman for a few seconds. It then returns to its seat and puts one paw on the handler's arm. He says, "Good boy!" He turns to the first man and says, "That woman is in possession of marijuana, so I'm making a note of this, and the seat number, for the police who will apprehend her on arrival." "Fantastic!" replies the first man. Once again he sends the dog to search the aisles. The dog sniffs more...
Curtain Rods - Priceless
She spent the first day packing her belongings into boxes, crates and suitcases.
On the second day, she had the movers come and collect her things.
On the third day, she sat down for the last time at their beautiful dining room table by candle-light, put on some soft background music, and feasted on a pound of shrimp, a jar of caviar, and a bottle of spring-water.
When she had finished, she went into each and every room and deposited a few half-eaten shrimp shells dipped in caviar into the hollow of the curtain rods.
She then cleaned up the kitchen and left. When the husband returned with his new girlfriend, all was bliss for the first few days.
Then slowly, the house began to smell.
They tried everything; cleaning, mopping and airing the place out.
Vents were checked for dead rodents and carpets were steam cleaned.
Air fresheners were hung everywhere. Exterminators were brought in to set off gas canisters, during which they had to move out for more...
Best Drinking Story Ever Told
Recently, a routine police patrol was parked outside a local neighborhood bar in Wisconsin. Late in the evening, the officer noticed a man leaving the bar so intoxicated that he could barely walk. The man stumbled around the parking lot for a few minutes with the officer quietly watching.
After what seemed an eternity and trying his keys on five different vehicles, the man managed to find his own car which he fell into. He was there for a few minutes as a number of other patrons left the bar and drove off.
Finally, he started his car, switched the wipers on and off (it was a dry night), flicked the hazard flasher on and off, tooted the horn and then switched on the lights. He moved the vehicle forward a few inches, reversed a little and then remained stationary for a few more minutes as more patrons left in their vehicles.
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More JokesBack
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All Another Back Bar Car Day Days Few First Give Good Know Later Little Man Minutes Not One Out Over Say See She Things Think Time Two Wife Woman You
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Home » Local » Ghunaimat lays out government’s achievements, plans for year
Ghunaimat lays out government’s achievements, plans for year
Minister says housing project to cover needs of some 5,000 families
By Bahaa Al Deen Al Nawas - Jun 24,2019 - Last updated at Jun 24,2019
AMMAN — Minister of State for Media Affairs and the Government Spokesperson Jumana Ghunaimat on Sunday highlighted the government's future plans to improve conditions in the various sectors in the Kingdom.
As part of Sunday's meeting with the press to announce the government's achievements since its appointment, Ghunaimat announced plans for a new housing project to be implemented in order to support families with limited income.
As part of the 2019-2020 strategy, the Housing and Urban Development Corporation and the private sector planned to provide 1,900 housing units, however, Prime Minister Omar Razzaz had instructed them to increase the number to 4,176 housing units, according to Ghunaimat.
"The 4,176 units are to be distributed in Karak, Amman, Tafileh, Zarqa, Mafraq, Naour, Maan and Aqaba," the minister said, adding that the project will cover the needs of 20,000 individuals, or around 5,000 families.
These projects will also provide temporary jobs for around 11,000 Jordanians, according to Ghunaimat.
Regarding transportation, the minister highlighted the planned launch of 135 modern buses in Amman, which will allow people to pay using an e-card.
The minister also said that the government has started working on training 6,000 bus drivers, and the government aims to hold 188 training courses at 61 centres with the help of more than eight companies.
"The current trade rate in the [Amman] stock exchange stands at JD6 million, which is a very small number compared to past years where it used to reach JD150 million," Ghunaimat said, noting that the government has a plan to improve the market.
The real estate sector is directly related to the stock exchange, the minister said, adding that there are also plans aimed at improving the real estate market as well.
As for the health sector, Razzaz ordered the creation of a unified money spending mechanism for public health sector institutions, Ghunaimat said, noting that a lot of money is not spent efficiently in the sector and does not meet the level of services needed.
The problems are still present and the strategies are still under development, but the government is doing its best to improve its performance in order to improve the country's different sectors, its economy and its conditions, the minister said.
Those who wish to view the government’s detailed document on achievements and plans can visit http://www.pm.gov.jo.
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Highways, bridges, and ferries; funding sources and a consolidated state entity for the planning and implementation of mobility and transit services; provisions
(1) Tanner, Kevin 9th(2) Smyre, Calvin 135th(3) England, Terry 116th
(4) Carpenter, Kasey 4th(5) Anulewicz, Teri 42nd(6) Frye, Spencer 118th
HC: TransportationSC: Transportation
A BILL to be entitled an Act to amend Titles 32, 36, 45, 48, and 50 of the O.C.G.A., relating to highways, bridges, and ferries; local government; to repeal and reserve Chapter 32 of Title 50 of the O.C.G.A., relating to the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority; to amend Title 40 of the O.C.G.A., relating to motor vehicles and traffic, so as to correct a cross-reference; to amend Article 2 of Chapter 10 of Title 32 of the O.C.G.A., relating to the State Road and Tollway Authority, so as to redesignate Code sections relative to such authority to a new chapter and make conforming changes to reflect such transfer; to amend the O.C.G.A., so as to make conforming and cross-reference changes relating to such redesignation and transfer; to reserve Article 2 of Chapter 10 of Title 32 of the O.C.G.A., relating to the State Road and Tollway Authority; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
Mar/08/2019 - Senate Read and Referred
Mar/07/2019 - House Passed/Adopted By Substitute
Mar/07/2019 - House Third Readers
Mar/05/2019 - House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute
03/07/2019 Passed House by Rules Committee Substitute; 03/07/2019 Modified Structured Rule
Mar/07/2019 - House Vote #186Yea(159)Nay(11)NV(6)
LC 39 2206S/RCS
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About LexisNexis-In the Community
Like other court clerks, Tom Hall spends much of his workday and a lot of his leisure time reading. He knows that many disadvantaged students can’t afford to buy books – and some don’t have even one book to call their own.
So last year Tom, then president of the National Conference of Appellate Court Clerks (NCACC), talked to LexisNexis about partnering on an outreach event during NCACC’s annual meeting in Sacramento, Calif., in August 2009. Tom envisioned putting books in the hands of students from Sacramento’s poorest areas.
"So NCACC had the idea, and LexisNexis handled all the logistics," said Tom, Clerk of the Court, Supreme Court of Florida. "It was a true collaborative effort."
Meeting sponsor LexisNexis found that students attending two South Sacramento schools – Ethel Phillips and Maple Elementary – are in challenged neighborhoods affected by poverty, substance abuse, crime, homelessness and other issues. By coordinating with each school principal, who supplied reading lists for books in English and Spanish, NCACC and LexisNexis planned a book drive and evening "wrapping party" at the meeting Aug. 5.
Before gift-wrapping all 242 new books – donated by members of NCACC and the National Center for State Courts, meeting attendees wrote a personal note of encouragement to each student.
"I wrapped Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, so I wrote about how much I loved that book and hoped it would get the student interested in reading more," said Nikki Daugherty of LexisNexis, Director, Government Content Acquisition, who worked with LexisNexis Cares on the NCACC meeting. "The event generated so much excitement about books and reading. We realized how the simple act of giving a book would have so much impact on these students, since a book can take them where their feet can’t go."
Since many NCACC members attend the annual meeting with their families, the wrapping party became a family affair. "Our children learned that not everybody can afford to buy books, so it gave them a new perspective," Tom said.
At Maple Elementary in Sacramento, principal Lorena Carrillo gave the wrapped books to students in grades 4 through 6 on the first day of school in September.
"I knew it would be like Christmas to them, and it was!" she said. "They were very surprised and are really excited about reading the books and sharing their adventures."
Tom said meeting attendees responded to the outreach activity even better than he’d hoped. "They know the importance of reading, so this project struck a chord," he said. "It was something they really wanted to do and something truly needed in this Sacramento community."
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Free Foodbank
Governance & Board
Kyneton Safety Net Alliance
Pick My Project - How to Vote
As a not-for-profit incorporated association, KCC is required to have a ‘management committee’ or ‘board’ that is responsible for looking after the association’s affairs and has specific legal duties under the Associations Incorporation Reform Act 2012.
The board comprises representatives of the broader local community (Kyneton and surrounding areas) from a diverse range of backgrounds and experience. While KCC is still working towards its goal of gender equality at board level, it is intended to move towards a more equal balance of female and male board members by the end of 2018.
Board/Committee of Management
Ryan Smith (Chairman)
Michelle Balthazar
John Dettmann
Paul Fox
Mat Gordon
Ron Sims
Board Member Biographies (Summary)
Ryan Smith (Chairman)
Ryan Smith is the Victorian State Director for Global Interaction, the global mission agency for the Baptist Church in Australia.
Previously a physiotherapist, Ryan also has more than 10 years of experience in pastoral ministry and has a particular interest in promoting effective contextual mission both locally and globally.
Ryan has been a local Kyneton resident since 2006. He and his wife Suzie have raised their three children in Kyneton where they have all been schooled locally. Ryan in involved in a number of local organisations and clubs including Kyneton Baptist Church, Kyneton Football and Netball Club and Kyneton Cricket Club.
He enjoys journeying with people who are wanting to explore meaning, purpose, and how they can be involved in helping others.
(See full bio below)
Michelle is currently the Coordinator of the Romsey Neighbourhood House and the Pastoral Care Coordinator for the Kyneton Baptist Church.
Michelle has been a member of the KCC board for two years and was the acting Operations Manager for six months during the organisation’s restructure in 2016.
Michelle has over 25 years experience in the social and community service sectors, having worked with school children of all ages, youth-at-risk, long-term unemployed, sexually abused children, as well as adults, families and communities recovering from crisis’. She is a qualified social worker and secondary school teacher who has worked in Australia and the United States.
She has lived in the Macedon Ranges region for 15 years, where she and her husband have raised their 3 children on their farm at Benloch, 20 mins east of Kyneton.
John is a local farmer running a predominately Angus Cattle operation and an agricultural contracting business producing hay and other feeds, from his family property at Barfold (15 mins north east of Kyneton).
John has been a very active member of the local community over many years. He served for nine years as a Councillor on the Kyneton Shire Council (the Shire of Kyneton was dissolved in 1995, its parts being incorporated into the new municipalities of Hepburn Shire Council and Macedon Ranges Shire Council), and served one term as Shire President (the role now known as Mayor). He was chairman of the Kyneton Daffodil and Arts Festival organising committee for three years and has been an active member of the Kyneton Baptist Church.
John was born in Kyneton and is a fifth generation local farmer. He lives with his wife Linley on the family property at Barfold. John & Linley have brought up their three children in the local area and have 10 grandchildren.
(See full bio below)
Paul is currently Managing Director of Fox Strategic, an aviation-sector business advisory firm, and is a Director of Agri-nomics Australia, an innovative international airfreight business exporting high-value Australian agricultural produce to China and other key Asian markets.
Paul has been a member of the KCC board since September 2017.
He has previously held a number of senior executive roles in the aviation sector, including running the national peak industry body, and the Asia Pacific arm of an international airline safety association headquartered in Washington DC in the United States. He has also run one of Australia's top national leadership think-tanks and an affiliate of the World Economic Forum, where he was responsible for overseeing some of Australia’s most important gatherings of senior corporate, political, government, and community leaders, including a meeting of the CEOs of the world’s leading resources companies as a component of the 2006 G-20 Meeting in Melbourne.
Paul has considerable experience running not-for-profit organisations and has sat on a number of charity and association committees and boards.
Paul and his wife Bernadette Nunn, have been proud residents of Kyneton since 2007 and they have both been committee members of the Kyneton Agricultural Society since 2014.
Paul’s support of KCC is driven by his own recent mental health challenges, which resulted in him experiencing first hand the significant benefits of the generosity and support of his local community. It is his hope that through the KCC initiative, everyone in this community also have access to the care and support they need.
specialist diamond drilling exploration company which provides drilling services to the mining industry throughout Australia and Papua New Guinea.
Previously, Mat was the Superintendent at the Kyneton Saleyards (2014-2015) where he was responsible for managing the saleyard operation on behalf of the Macedon Ranges Shire Council.
Prior to this role Mat was a partner in a large agricultural operation based in the Macedon Ranges that encompassed four properties located throughout the Shire and he was instrumental in developing this operation over a ten-year period from 300 acres to 3500 acres involving a rapid capital and agricultural improvement program.
Prior to this Mat worked worked in Western Australia and West Africa (Ghana and Guinea Bissau), primarily in the mining exploration sector as a multi-purpose driller.
Mat was born in Kyneton and having attended both Woodend Primary School and Kyneton Secondary College, has a strong connection to the communities of the Macedon Ranges. He brings a strong community connection, a broad range of multi-facetted life experience and a passion and desire to implement and facilitate genuine support on an as-needed basis to those who seek it within our community.
Ron Sims was born and raised in Manly, Sydney. After earning a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Accounting (UNSW), Ron was admitted to the Chartered Accountants of Australia and New Zealand (CAANZ) while working in the Sydney office of Price Waterhouse.
He subsequently trained in missionary work and theology, then married Evelyn and undertook French study in Switzerland before serving as a missionary in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Ron’s two sons John-Paul and Alexander were both born in the Congo.
He subsequently undertook postgraduate studies at Fuller Theological Seminary (in Pasadena, California), earning Master of Theology (Missiology) and Doctor of Missiology degrees. During the 1990s he served as a teacher at Sydney Missionary and Bible College.
In 1999, Ron returned to the field of financial management, serving first as Finance Manager of Presbyterian Aged Care (NSW & ACT), then as Business Manager of Hunters Hill Congregational Church – a church owning and governing a portfolio of enterprises including retirement villages.
In 2015 Ron retired from full-time employment and moved with his wife Evelyn to Kyneton Victoria to be near family, especially their three young grandsons.
Ron joined the KCC board in 2016 and currently holds the role of treasurer. He remains a current member of CAANZ.
Board Member Full Biographies
Ryan Smith - Chairman
Michelle Balthazar – Board Member
Michelle has over 25 years experience in the social and community service sectors, having worked with school children of all ages, youth at risk, long-term unemployed, sexually abused children, as well as adults, families and communities recovering from crisis’. She is a qualified social worker and secondary school teacher who has worked in Australia and the United States.
She is currently the manager of the Romsey Neighbourhood House - a community organisation that promotes lifelong learning, social interaction and wellbeing for the local residents, and is also the Pastoral Care Coordinator for the Kyneton Baptist Church.
Michelle has been a member of the KCC board for two years and has an intimate understanding of the organisation having been the acting Operations Manager for six months during the organisation’s restructure in 2016.
Michelle began her career as secondary school teacher, however she soon developed a passion for understanding what was stopping children in her classroom for being able to learn, which led her to pursue a degree in social work.
Around this time Michelle also participated in a volunteer exchange program between the California Conservation Corps (an agency of the Government of California, USA delivering a work development program for men and women between the ages of 18 to 25) and Australian Trust for Conservation Volunteers. As part of this exchange she worked on a rehabilitation program for California-based youth at risk, and particularly gang-involved young adults.
After completing your degree in social work, Michelle initially worked in residential care, working with sexually abused young people and subsequently delivered a range of community engagement programs with schools in the St Kilda and Port Melbourne areas focused on encouraging local community engagement within the schools.
Michelle then worked with the Glen Eira City Council, the City of Port Phillip and the City of Stonnington in Melbourne, delivering a local government funded school focused youth service.
She was subsequently a consultant with Juno Consulting, a leading consulting firm in corporate social responsibility and leadership development, delivering intensive “Passport to Work” training programs for long-term unemployed through the Federal Government “Job Network” program.
More locally, Michelle has worked in Kyneton as a Welfare Councillor with both Cobaw Community Health and Sacred Heart Secondary College, and in 2014 was the project manager for the Macedon Ranges Shire Council’s “Celebrating Lancefield Together” project, which resulted in a range of initiatives, including the creation of the Lancefield Farmers Market and Men’s Shed.
Michelle holds a Bachelor of Education (Secondary) from Deakin University, and a Bachelor of Social Work from Monash University.
She has also worked as a lecturer at Bendigo TAFE, Holmesglen Institute of TAFE, and Northern Melbourne Institute of TAFE, lecturing in youth work, welfare studies, drug and alcohol studies, and juvenile justice studies. She is also a supervisor for Masters of Social Work students at Deakin University.
In addition her role with KCC, some of Michelle’s other honorary activities within the local community include being a member of the Brigade Management Team for Benloch CFA. She was also a member of the Recovery Committee for the 2015 Lancefield-Cobaw fires.
Michelle has lived in the Macedon Ranges region for 15 years, where she and her husband have raised their 3 children on their farm at Benloch, 20 mins east of Kyneton.
John Dettmann – Board Member
John was born at the old Kyneton Hospital and undertook all of his schooling in Kyneton. He is a fifth generation local farmer and lives with his wife Linley on the family property at Barfold (15 mins north east of Kyneton). John & Linley have brought up their three children in the local area and have 10 grandchildren.
John is a long-standing member of the KCC board and his involvement dates back to 2015 when he bought the 60 Mollison Street building to provide a stable home for the organisation. He has been instrumental in taking the organisation to its next stage of growth and maturity, and in addition to being a sympathetic landlord (providing security of tenure for the organisation), he brings considerable experience, common sense and compassion to the board.
John has been running the family farm since his early 20’s, initially running predominantly Merino sheep, but for the past 20 years producing mainly Angus beef cattle. He also runs an agricultural contracting business producing hay and other feeds. In 2014, John and his wife Linley, took out top honours in Australia's biggest cattle evaluation contest, the “Beef Spectacular Feedback Trial”, after two years coming in runner up. With 127 competitors across all eastern states, the contest marked the cattle on their size, structure, temperament and, among other things, their ability to gain weight during 112 days on feed.
An innovator in farm land conservation, in the early 1980’s John was the founding member of the Kyneton Tree Group initiative, the pre-cursor to the current Landcare group, and in 1980 was the winner of the Victorian Government Soil Conservation Authority’ competition for soil conservation for the North Central (Southern Section) region (the Hanslow Cup). As a result of the award the Authority hosted a field day on John’s Glenhope property which was attended by 150 people.
John has been a very active member of the local community over many years and served for nine years as a Councillor on the Kyneton Shire Council (the Shire of Kyneton was dissolved in 1995, its parts being incorporated into the new municipalities of Hepburn Shire Council and Macedon Ranges Shire Council), and served one term as Shire President (the role now known as Mayor).
He was chairman of the Kyneton Daffodil and Arts Festival organising committee for three years, and one of the legacies of his involvement with the Festival was the planting of the now iconic “Kyneton Golden Mile” of daffodils at the Burton Avenue and Bourke Street entrances to the town.
John has been a senior member of Kyneton Baptist Church community for many years and still runs a “Men’s Breakfast” event that focuses on men’s issues (such as general and mental health), open to all men from the broader Kyneton and surrounding areas, not just the church community.
He has been a member of the Langley-Barfold CFA for more than 40 years and has been recognised for his service. John is vintage tractor enthusiast and a regular participant in local vintage tractor pull events.
Paul Fox – Board Member
Paul is currently Managing Director of Fox Strategic, an aviation-sector business advisory firm, and is a Director of Agri-nomics Australia, an innovative international airfreight and logistics business focused on the export of Australia’s high-value agricultural produce to China and other key Asian markets.
Paul is the former Deputy Chairman of ‘Aviation/Aerospace Australia’, the national peak body for the Australian aviation industries. Paul was responsible for national policy development for the sector and was particularly involved driving trade development programs, which also involved planning and leading international trade missions to China, Indonesia, Vietnam, India and Singapore.
Prior to this, Paul was the Regional Director Asia Pacific of the US-based Flight Safety Foundation, where he was responsible for the development of the Basic Aviation Risk Standard (BARS) Program. An innovative Australian initiative, the BARS program is an internationally recognised, global safety program for aviation operations in the resources and allied sectors.
Prior to this, Paul was General Manager of the Australian Davos Connection - an affiliate of the World Economic Forum, where he was responsible for overseeing some of Australia’s most important gatherings of senior corporate, political, government, and community leaders, including a meeting of the CEOs of the world’s leading resources companies as a component of the 2006 G-20 Meeting in Melbourne.
Paul has considerable experience running not-for-profit organisations (Australian Davos Connection Ltd, Flight Safety Foundation Ltd, Aviation/Aerospace Australia Ltd) and has sat on a number of charity and association committees and boards, including: Organising Committee “Walk for the Cure” Juvenile Diabetes Foundation (Queensland); Zoe Reed Little Bridge House Hospice for Children; Gold Coast Business Excellence Awards Association Inc.; and Australian Centenary of Powered Fight (Mia Mia) Inc.
Paul’s support of KCC is a result of his own recent mental health challenges, which resulted in him experiencing first hand the significant benefits of the generosity and support of his local community. Paul’s support of KCC is driven by his own recent mental health challenges, which resulted in him experiencing first hand the significant benefits of the generosity and support of his local community. It is his hope that through the KCC initiative, everyone in this community also have access to the care and support they need.
Mat Gordon – Board Member
Mat is currently the Safety and Training Officer with Bendigo-based Deepcore Drilling, a specialist diamond drilling exploration company. Deepcore have in excess of 250 personnel and provide surface and underground exploration and production drilling services to the mining industry throughout Australia and Papua New Guinea. Mat’s role is to monitor, maintain, develop and roll-out safety and environmental standards and associated training, across the company to all personnel, while working closely with clients to ensure all Government regulations, acts and compliance expectations are met.
Prior to joining Deepcore Mat was the Superintendent at the Kyneton Saleyards (2014-2015) where he was responsible for managing the saleyard operation on behalf of the Macedon Ranges Shire Council. In this role Mat played a major role in advocating for the implementation of the soft flooring program in the cattle yards.
Prior to this role Mat was a partner in a large agricultural operation based in the Macedon Ranges. This operation encompassed four properties located throughout the Shire. Mat was instrumental in developing this operation over a ten-year period from 300 acres to 3500 acres involving a rapid capital and agricultural improvement program. Initially carrying a herd of 100 Lawson Blood Angus cows, Mat developed this herd, predominately through breeding, into a commercially recognised herd of 1200 Angus-Angus Cross cattle. During this time Mat also become a qualified artificial insemination technician and bovine pregnancy testing consultant.
From 1992 to 2003 Mat worked in Western Australia, primarily in the mining exploration sector as a multi-purpose driller, throughout the central goldfields area of Kalgoorlie, Leonora and Kambalda. During this period Mat also worked briefly in the mining sector in West Africa, primarily in Ghana and Guinea Bissau.
Mat holds an Associate Diploma in Farm Management from Glenormiston Agricultural College and subsequent to his initial training, spent time working in a wide variety of agricultural operations around Australia.
Mat was born in Kyneton and having attended both Woodend Primary School and Kyneton Secondary College, has a strong connection to the communities of the Macedon Ranges. He has a strong belief in social justice and equity, which led him to seeking involvement with the Kyneton Caring Community initiative in 2015. He brings a strong community connection, a broad range of multi-facetted life experience and a passion and desire to implement and facilitate genuine support on an as-needed basis to those who seek it within our community.
Ron Sims – Board Member
Kyneton Caring Community Inc.
60 Mollison Street, Kyneton Vic 3444
ABN: 92 467 326 595
KCC is registered with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) as a Public Benevolent Institution and is endorsed as a Deductible Gift Recipient (DGR) with the Australian Taxation Office
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Cuba's digital destination
Mid-summer solstice at Club Havana
The evening of June 23, or St John’s Eve, is a feast that is celebrated around the globe in different ways. Despite its religious origin, more pagan reasons lay behind the festivity. The feast of St. John the Baptist coincides with the June solstice, which is also referred to as Midsummer. A common element to all St. John’s feasts worldwide are bonfires, which are lit in streets and plazas where friends and family get together to celebrate. According to legend, the fires were lit in an attempt to boost the power of the Sun, which, after Midsummer Day, slowly begins to ebb. Symbolically, they are also supposed to cleanse and purify the souls of the people who watch the fire.
Practically all over Latin America, St. John’s Eve is celebrated following the practices brought over by the Spanish and Portuguese and other European immigrants, like Italians and Germans. In some countries, these practices are syncretized with Indian and African elements.
In Cuba, the most important celebration of St John’s Eve takes place in Camagüey, whose carnival, which is the highlight of the festivity, dates back to 1725. The celebration begins, as then, on the eve of the 24th with the reading of an edict from the Government balcony. Then, as the sun goes down, congas parade down the city’s main street. On the following day, everywhere in the city, huge pots of “ajiaco” (a kind of thick soup that is especially rich in tubers and pork) are cooked outside the homes on the sidewalks or streets. The festivities last for five days, and on the 29th, St. Peter’s Day, a straw doll is burned in the Plaza de Bedoya, marking the end of the “San Juan Camagüeyano” festivities.
Havana is not noted for celebrating this day, but this year, an unusual event took place on June 23, 2012 at Club Habana. Hosted by the Spanish Businessmen Association, St. John’s Eve was celebrated with the traditions customary to this day: lighting a bonfire and taking the saint out to sea. At midnight, the fireworks began along with the performance of jugglers and acrobats. Then came the fire-eaters, who were in charge of lighting the bonfire through their art. The drums began to beat and the dancers pranced around the fire in the manner of old tribal rituals.
The dancers then sought out the spectators and took them to the shore. Legend has it that if a man jumps over eight waves and makes love afterwards, there is a very good chance that he may get his wife pregnant. It goes without saying, that many avoided jumping over the waves, but almost everyone was willing to take their shoes off and refresh their feet in the cool water.
The party, however, had just begun. The popular singer-songwriter Kelvis Ochoa came on stage and really got things going. Kelvis is an example of the cultural and religious syncretism in this island. The music continued into the small hours of the morning and only when the sun started to rise, did the party come to an end. The celebration of Saint John’s Eve at Club Habana this year was a special occasion, but has all the potentials of becoming a regular event.
Boosting the power of the Sun? Purifying the souls of the people? The bottom line is that, regardless the religious and mythical connotations the festivity may have, it is a great excuse for just having good fun. June 2012
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9 Plâtre
(Paris: Lafayette Anticipations, 2018)
I copy-edited and proofread the catalogue for the launch of 9 Plâtre, the building created by Rem Koolhaas and OMA for Lafayette Anticipations.
Cover text:
More than a century separates the work of Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas from that of the French architect Samuel Menjot de Dammartin, who erected the building at 9 rue du Plâtre in Paris in 1891. The new creation by Rem Koolhaas, co-founder of the architectural firm OMA and winner of the 2000 Pritzker Prize, is nested in the courtyard of this building constructed during the Industrial Revolution. This former warehouse in the Marais district, built for the needs of the nearby Bazar de l’Hôtel de Ville department store, has been converted into a production workshop and an exhibition machine for Lafayette Anticipations – Fondation d’entreprise Galeries Lafayette.
From the initial discussions with OMA and its think tank AMO in 2012, to the final weeks of construction in autumn 2017, the book 9 Plâtre looks back at the many stages involved in creating a building that will serve as a tool for supporting, producing and presenting the artworks of its time. In an interview, Rem Koolhaas discusses the conceptual, artistic, social and political considerations that determined the architecture of his first building in Paris, while photographic works by Bas Princen take a keen look at the space’s successive transformations. 9 Plâtre is a manifesto that sets out the principles of an art space open to the city and the general public. It marks the beginning of an art programme bringing together ideas and practices.
©Bas Princen
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Want to Sue the FBI for Spying on Your Mosque? Sorry, That’s Secret.
August 8, 2011 • 0 Comments
Obama, once a critic of the state secrets doctrine, has invoked it repeatedly. But critics say his latest use of Bush’sfavorite get-out-of-court-free card is different.
By Hamed Aleaziz
The state secrets privilege—perhaps the most powerful weapon in the government’s legal arsenal—has a complicated history. For years, Democrats, including then-Sen. Barack Obama, accused the Bush administration of overusing of the privilege, which allows the government to quash cases that involve national security before a court even hears evidence. Then, after Obama took office, his Justice Department used this get-out-of-court-free card repeatedly.
Last week, the DOJ invoked the state secrets privilege yet again. But this case, civil liberties groups say, is different.
Most of the post-9/11 cases that the government has killed with the state secrets privilege have either involved foreign-born terrorist suspects or the government’s actions abroad. The case the Obama administration tried to quash last week doesn’t explicitly involve either. The case in question, which was brought by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), focuses squarely on domestic intelligence-gathering targeting Americans—namely the FBI’s allegedly widespread use of informants and surveillance against Muslim Americans.
The FBI’s involvement in the case—and the fact that it involves Americans—makes it stand out among the other state secrets cases, says Ameena Qazi, CAIR’s deputy executive director. “We’re surprised at the government’s shocking move in invoking the state secrets doctrine in this case of all cases,” Qazi says. Since this case “involves domestic intelligence-gathering on US soil against Americans,” she explains, “it’s an unprecedented move to our knowledge.”
The case, Fazaga v. FBI, stems from the purported actions of Craig Monteilh, a 49-year-old convicted criminal who claims that he spent 15 months in 2006 and 2007 infiltrating mosques in Orange County, California, as part of an undercover FBI investigation known as “Operation Flex.” The Fazaga case, which the ACLU and CAIR filed in February 2011, claims that the FBI utilized Monteilh to “collect personal information on hundreds and perhaps thousands of innocent Muslim Americans in Southern California.” The ACLU says that the FBI investigation “violated the Constitution’s fundamental guarantee of government neutrality toward all religions.” For evidence, the two groups point to a somewhat problematic source: Monteilh.
According to Monteilh, Operation Flex did indeed involve the indiscriminate monitoring of the Southern California Muslim community with the goal of apprehending terrorists. Monteilh claims to have gone by the name Farouk al-Aziz and posed as a French Syrian man pushing a radical Islamist view on mosque-goers in Irvine, California. And after months of Monteilh’s spying, Southern California Muslims did in fact call the FBI to alert them of a possible terrorist: Monteilh. The whole episode was a bit of an embarrassment for the FBI, and received national press attention after 2007, when Monteilh was imprisoned for grand theft and started talking to the press.
To CAIR’s Qazi, the fact that Operation Flex allegedly took place in the United States and targeted Americans makes Fazaga v. FBI different from previous state secrets cases. “If the government were to prevail on their invocation of the state secrets doctrine it would essentially make such FBI actions non-reviewable by the courts and render any redress by our clients or by any other Americans for such activities ineffective,” she says. “That’s really the concerning part of what their use of the state secrets doctrine implies.”
Robert Chesney, a law professor and national security law expert at University of Texas-Austin, disagrees with Qazi’s assessment. “At the end of the day, the FBI is part of the intelligence community as well—it’s not necessarily thought of as any different than the NSA,” Chesney said. “Is the effort to prevent a bombing only national-security-related if the perpetrators have an international connection? I wouldn’t hold my breath on a court accepting that logic.”
Just because an international connection hasn’t emerged so far in this case doesn’t mean one isn’t there, Chesney explains. “It certainly could be the case that the very secret at issue here has to do with a possible foreign nexus,” he says.
[UPDATE: My colleague Trevor Aaronson emails to note that “Operation Flex” did produce at least one case with an (somewhat tenuous) international connection. In 2009, thegovernment arrested Ahmadullah Niazi, a naturalized citizen, and charged him with perjury. The government alleged that Niazi failed to tell US immigration officials about his relationships with terrorist groups. The government claimed Niazi’s brother-in-law was a bodyguard for Osama bin Laden. But a year after Niazi was arrested, the government dropped the charges.]
Monteilh, for his part, says he knows what the government might be trying to hide. Monteilh—who, for what it’s worth, is a convicted felon—now says that the FBI broached the subject of his traveling abroad to act on the intelligence he gathered during Operation Flex. In one instance, Monteilh says, the FBI asked him whether he’d be interested in traveling to Pakistan to assassinate a terrorist target. Monteilh claims that a CIA representative reviewed his progress in Arabic and Islamic training every month.
Monteilh alleges that during his time as an informant, the FBI also involved him in an elaborate plan to present himself as a single, Muslim man seeking introductions to potential wives in Orange County and record his meetings with the women. Monteilh says that before the relationships turned sexual, he approached the FBI agents on the case: “I said look guys, as you hear the recordings, if it goes to a level where there’s a potential sexual encounter what do you want me to do?” According to Monteilh, the agents said to go ahead with the sexual interactions in cases where good information existed. After learning more about the women’s potential “terrorist” connections abroad through Monteilh, the FBI would confront the women with recordings of their sexual encounters with Monteilh, intending to frighten them into giving the bureau actionable intelligence. “They told me that we’re going to use the [Islamic] culture against the Muslim community,” Monteilh says.
Monteilh’s claims aren’t the kind of thing that anyone would believe without further proof of the kind that could be obtained in a courtroom. But if the Justice Department gets its way, that kind of proof is unlikely to be forthcoming. “In asserting the state secrets privilege they have sealed the gaps of the entire Department of Justice on Operation Flex,” Monteilh says. “There’s one gap they can’t touch—which is me.”
For the alleged victims of Operation Flex, that probably seems like cold comfort. source
← Spirituality High In Irish Ramadan
Taken by the Mind! The Rise in Young Female Converts to Islam →
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Mr B’s Classroom
An Unusual Website For Teachers
Tag: Parthenon
Why I Spent A Saturday Making a Map
When I write an Ability Guidebook I do my best to take all of my own pictures. But the one thing I am always lacking is maps. Most maps are copyrighted and the ones that have been generously shared online, often don’t have the information I need.
Maps are an important way for people with autism to get an idea of where they are going on an upcoming journey. I know my books are better when they contain a map.
In April I needed a map of the Acropolis and found several online maps that I could publish, but, oddly enough, none of them had the restrooms marked on them. They were a mix of ancient architecture and modern viewpoints but they lacked the information my book needed. I could have doctored up somebody else’s map but that didn’t seem right. And so I spent a Saturday creating a map of the Acropolis.
Now I’m the first to acknowledge I am not a graphic artist. But sometimes need pushes us to work outside of our comfort zone. I needed a map with dark bold lines (for our friend’s with visual issues) that was simple in that it contained only the necessary information. That map didn’t exist and so now it does.
That last sentence is important to me. “That map didn’t exist and so now it does.” That is how I feel about my books. They are supports for people with autism and other neuro-diverse people. Some of those people need a support like this to get out into the world. That support didn’t exist so now it does.
What I’m doing didn’t exist so now it does.
That’s how I’m contributing. That’s how I’m leaving a mark. I’m setting an example, doing some of the work and trying to inspire others to jump in and contribute. This week Dr. Florian Sohn translated “I Am Going to the Parthenon” into German. That support didn’t exist for German speakers so now it does.
And that is why I spent a Saturday drawing a map of the Acropolis. That’s why I spent this Saturday drawing a map of the Pantheon. That’s why I will probably spend next Saturday drawing a map of the Roman Forum. Because I want change and I’m willing to work to make it happen.
Author Brett BighamPosted on May 8, 2016 May 8, 2016 Categories UncategorizedTags acropolis, Athens, autism, Greece, italy, pantheon, Parthenon, rome, support, touristLeave a comment on Why I Spent A Saturday Making a Map
An Exciting Day! We Have Gone German! Ich besuche das Parthenon!
This is a very exciting day today! My dear friend Dr. Florian Sohn of Passau, Germany has translated “I Am Going To The Parthenon!” into German!!! I have known Florian since 1990. I had just been robbed and was having a meltdown in the Copenhagen train station. This young West German from Passau helped me calm down and we’ve been friends ever since.
Florian is no longer a 19 year-old West German, he’s now a something-something year-old German Doctor who flies a plane and still has a heart of gold.
Florian has opened some doors for people in Germany who have autism. These books have a single purpose. Open a door for somebody. Help them get out into the real world. I’ve seen estimations that there are over 200,000 people with autism within the three major German-speaking countries (Switzerland, Austria and Germany). That means there are 200,000 families who dream of vacations and visiting amazing places like the Parthenon. Add those to the 800,000 people in English-speaking countries who have autism and think of their family vacations. Why can’t the Parthenon be within their grasp?
In a perfect world the airports would all have a book, and the metro would have a book and there would be supports like this for every step of the way. But this is the start. There is a book for the Portland International Airport http://www.mrbsclassroom.com/uncategorized/39/ so I am doing what I can.
And today, with Dr Florian’s help, we’ve Start den Ball ins Rollen. (See, I can speak German when I need to!)
Ability Guidebook_ I Am Going To The Parthenon! GERMAN
Author Brett BighamPosted on May 6, 2016 Categories UncategorizedTags ability, Athens, autism, Greece, guidebook, Parthenon, touristLeave a comment on An Exciting Day! We Have Gone German! Ich besuche das Parthenon!
I Am Going To The Parthenon! A New Ability Guidebook To Support People With Autism
Hello! I am very excited to announce that I have finished another Ability Guidebook! These “guidebooks” are basic instructions on how to visit community destinations and events. I began writing these books to assist my own students with autism in attending field trips but I realized that I could be doing so much more.
In 2015 I had the amazing honor of being named an National Education Association Foundation Global Fellow. Through this program I was sent to Peru as an ambassador for American educators. I’m the first special education teacher from Oregon to be named a Global Fellow and the trip to Peru gave me a chance to do what I do best: support people with special needs. From that trip came my first international Ability Guidebook “I’m Going to the Museo de Inka!” I’m absolutely grateful to the NEA Foundation for giving me the opportunity to share this project with another country.
In 2015 I also had the joy of going on my honeymoon and from that trip will come the next round of international guidebooks. I have realized that I can make books whenever I visit a new city. I can show the teachers and Autism Specialists around the world of a new and better way to support our students. If our students aren’t out participating in the real world then we haven’t succeeded in our jobs. I want to make sure that I have done everything I can to help.
I am thrilled to say the first honeymoon book is finished! I know that a book like this would have helped my own students visit the Acropolis and I hope it will help other people as well.
I am also hoping to find people to translate books into their native languages. If you can translate this into Greek or any other language, get in touch!
Ability Guidebook_ I Am Going To The Parthenon!
Author Brett BighamPosted on April 15, 2016 November 17, 2017 Categories Ability GuidebookTags Ability Guidebook, acropolis, Athens, autism, brett bigham, Greece, oregon, Parthenon, teacher of the year, αυτισμό2 Comments on I Am Going To The Parthenon! A New Ability Guidebook To Support People With Autism
A Little Bit About Brett….
Brett Bigham is the 2014 Oregon State Teacher of the Year and the recipient of a 2015 NEA National Award for Excellence in Education. He is the first Oregon Special Education Teacher to be named with these honors.
As a 2015 NEA Global Fellow Brett travelled to Peru to meet with Peruvian teachers, students and dignitaries. He has visited schools in more than 20 countries and is proud to be a voice both here and abroad for people with disabilities. He has created Ability Guidebooks for people with autism or who are near-diverse.
In 2015 Brett was honored with the NEA LGBT National Teacher Role Model Award and he is proud to advocate for LGBT teachers and youth.
In July Brett will be presenting at the NNSTOY conference in Chicago and at the Save Our Schools Rally at the Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall and Conference at Howard University in Washington, D.C.
Check out my curriculum!
I love creating new and adapted curriculum and sharing it with teachers. Almost half the items in my store are free! https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Mr-Bs-Classroom
A Brand New Ability Guidebook For India!! Let’s go visit Ajanta Ellora Caves!
Soon Washington, D.C. Will Have More Ability Guidebooks Than Portland!
An Easy Ability Guidebook to Visit The Gandhi Statue in Washington, D.C.
A New Ability Guidebook for the District Six Museum in Cape Town, South Africa!
More Free Supports for People with Autism in Johannesburg! I Am Going To Sisulu Square!
Johannesburg Has Their First Ability Guidebook! I Am Going to the Nelson Mandela House! Free online autism support!
A New Support For Autistic People in South Africa! I Am Going To The South African National Gallery!
With Heartfelt Thanks to the NEA Foundation: South Africa Has It’s Very First Ability Guidebook. I Am Going to The Company’s Park!
Because I LOVE the National Parks! A Guide To Help Kids With Autism Meet Woodsy Owl!!
I Am Going To The Galileo Galilei Planetarium! The First Ability Guidebook for Argentina!
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Static sEMG & dynaROM sEMG
MyoVision is a wireless physiological monitoring system that allows chiropractors to measure the effectiveness of treatment over time with quantitative, objective data. In the event of a car accident and resulting whiplash injuries, this technology may be your best defense.
What is MyoVision, and where did the technology come from?
NASA from 1983 to 1986, were evaluating hand controllers that were going to be integrated into the helicopter cockpit. They were comparing different hand controllers, and one of the things they were looking at was whether one of these hand controllers was creating more muscle fatigue than the other. They put together their own million-dollar lab at NASA and they completed a master’s thesis on evaluating hand controllers using this technology called Surface Electromyography. Very simply, the device measures muscle tension, in the same manner as an EKG. A grant was written and a proposal to the National Institutes of Health to develop the MyoVision device. There really was no place for it with chiropractors at the time, but we found out that when people have neuromuscular injuries, or spinal subluxations, the device is able to detect the muscle firing which occurs to compensate for the injury. For example, in a whiplash the device can establish whether injuries are real or not, and how severe they are by evaluating the muscle firing patterns and amount of “spasm” or hypertonicity.
What does the MyoVision device look like, and what does it measure?
There are two devices. The static EMG is a handheld device that is more of a screening tool. It gives you a quick reading of the muscles around the spine. It provides a graphic image of the back, showing levels of muscle tension as bars extending from the center of the spine outward. You can see how much muscle tension there is and the pattern of muscular bracing and guarding. The new patented 3G Wirefree device performs the test in only takes thirty seconds due to its unique design which allows it to take two measurements at a time instead of one.
The second tool, which is called the dynamic EMG or DynaROM, simultaneously measures range of motion along with surface EMG and graphs them over time. It allows you to document not just how far the patient is able to bend, but if muscles guard and brace in response to limited range of motion, it allows you to document the presence or absence of injury. It is more of a functional test as the patient performs all the ranges of motion during the test. DynROM sEMG is a wonderful add-on to Static sEMG because some individuals are used to the pain they are in while standing still (the position the Static sEMG is measured in), but when we move the patient, we then elicit abnormal muscle firing patterns which don’t always appear in the static test. It is a definite requirement when documenting any type of personal injury or workers compensation case.
The current MyoVision is called the 3G Wirefree System ™ , and it’s revolutionary not only because it measures how far you can bend and muscle guarding simultaneously, but does so in a wireless fashion with a range of up to 50 feet. This range allows you to walk out to potential patients at a screening and not have to convince them to come to you to be tested, increasing your ability to “connect” with potential patients without them experiencing the fear of commitment that comes with having them come up to your booth.
What is it like to have the MyoVision technology used on the body?
There are no sensations at all when MyoVision is used as it simply measures and does not stimulate at all. It is so safe it can be used on pregnant women and children and is completely painless.
How can Dynamic or Kinetic sEMG be used if a person is in a car accident?
Why does it work? It is the body’s natural defense mechanism to respond to subluxations and/or soft tissue injury by bracing and guarding to immobilize the region of injury. Research studies have shown clearly that when someone has an injury from a whiplash, for example, that their muscles not only fire to brace and guard, but fire with significant irritability. When you have that sudden acceleration and deceleration that occurs in a whiplash, you damage the ligaments. The muscles have to then take over and do the job the ligaments are supposed to do and keep the spine in place. What happens in whiplash, then, is that the muscles have to tense in an extreme fashion to compensate for the instability created by the ligamentous damage caused by whiplash.
The unintentional response to injury is to tense those muscles. What is different is that we’re measuring this and documenting it accurately, objectively and very quickly. That’s what makes MyoVision unique. We’re able to show a jury data in a visual form using graphics establishing that, yes, indeed, when a person goes to move their head, their muscles fire in an abnormal fashion.
How long after a car accident should the MyoVision technology be used?
If an injury is not treated properly, we can still see it two to five years later, but, in general, it’s optimal to use it in the first four to six weeks. This tool can then be used to see how well the treatment plan is going, so you might do another test six or eight weeks after that to track progress and either continue or alter the treatment plan if needed.
Do most chiropractors have MyoVision?
It’s something that most upper cervical practitioners have not quite adopted unless they do personal injury work. It is now recognized as a standard tool for evaluating injury by the American Medical Association, the American Chiropractic Association’s Fitness and Rehabilitation group and the International Chiropractic Association so more people are beginning to accept it. Chiropractors who use MyoVision are always amazed at how patients respond, and are able to show what is going on inside the body. MyoVision does this job for them so they can focus on adjusting and not convincing patients to stay with them for care.
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Tag: margareta
How popular is the baby name Margareta in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Find out using the graph below! Plus, check out all the blog posts that mention the name Margareta.
Popularity of the Baby Name Margareta
Posts that Mention the Name Margareta
217 Saintly Surnames – Bosco, Neri, Sheen, Talbot…
Looking for a surname-inspired baby name with a connection to Catholicism?
Here are more than 200 options, most of which come from Catholic Englishmen martyred during the 16th and 17th centuries.
Because the goal was to include as many realistic baby names as possible, I interpreted “surname” and “saint” liberally in some cases. Xavier is not technically a surname, for instance, and many of the folks below are not yet full-fledged saints.
The hyperlinked names will take you to popularity graphs.
Abel, for Bl. Thomas Abel (d. 1540) of England.
Abbot, for Bl. Henry Abbot (d. 1597) of England.
Albert, for Bl. Federico Albert (d. 1876) of Italy.
Almond, for St. John Almond (d. 1612) of England.
Amias, for Bl. John Amias (d. 1589) of England.
Ancina, for Bl. John Juvenal Ancina (d. 1604) of Italy.
Andleby, for Bl. William Andleby (d. 1597) of England.
Aquinas, for St. Thomas Aquinas (d. 1274) of Italy.
Arrowsmith, for St. Edmund Arrowsmith (d. 1628) of England.
Ashley, for Bl. Ralph Ashley (d. 1606) of England.
Ashton, for Ven. Roger Ashton (d. 1592) of England.
Atkinson, for Bl. Thomas Atkinson (d. 1616) of England.
Aufield, for Bl. Thomas Aufield (d. 1585) of England.
Barlow, for St. Ambrose Barlow (d. 1641) of England.
Baylon, for St. Paschal Baylon (d. 1592) of Spain.
Becket, from St. Thomas Becket (d. 1170) of England.
Beesley, for Bl. George Beesley (d. 1591) of England.
Belson, for Bl. Thomas Belson (d. 1589) of England.
Bertie, for Servant of God Andrew Bertie (d. 2008) of England/Malta.
Bertrand, for St. Louis Bertrand (d. 1581) of Spain/South America.
Bessette, for St. André Bessette (d. 1937) of Canada.
Bonzel, for Bl. Maria Theresia Bonzel (d. 1905) of Germany.
Bosco, for St. John Bosco (d. 1888) of Italy.
Bosgrave, for Bl. Thomas Bosgrave (d. 1594) of England.
Bowes, for Bl. Marmaduke Bowes (d. 1585) of England.
Briant, for St. Alexander Briant (d. 1581) of England.
Britton, for Bl. John Britton (d. 1598) of England.
Buxton, for Bl. Christopher Buxton (d. 1588) of England.
Cabrini, for St. Frances Xavier Cabrini (d. 1917) of Italy/U.S.
Campion, for St. Edmund Campion (d. 1581) of England.
Carey, for Bl. John Carey (d. 1594) of England.
Carter, for Bl. William Carter (b. 1584) of England.
Casey, for Ven. Solanus Casey (d. 1957) of the U.S. (His religious name “Solanus” comes from St. Francis Solanus, below.)
Cassant, for Bl. Pierre-Joseph Cassant (d. 1903) of France.
Catherick, for Bl. Edmund Catherick (d. 1642) of England.
Chanel, for St. Peter Chanel (d. 1841) of France.
Claver, for St. Peter Claver (d. 1654) of Spain.
Claxton, for Bl. James Claxton (d. 1588) of England.
Collins, for Bl. Dominic Collins (d. 1602) of Ireland.
Cope, for St. Marianne Cope (d. 1918) of Germany/U.S.
Corbie, for Ven. Ralph Corbie (d. 1644) of Ireland.
Cornelius, for Bl. John Cornelius (d. 1594) of England.
Dalby, for Bl. Robert Dalby (d. 1589) of England.
Daniel, for St. Antoine Daniel (d. 1648) of France/Canada.
David, for Bl. Vicente Vilar David (1937) of Spain or Bl. Toros Oghlou David (d. 1895) of Armenia
Davy, for Bl. John Davy (d. 1537) of England or Bl. Charlotte Davy (d. 1794) of France.
Dean, for Bl. William Dean (d. 1588) of England.
Dorie, for Bl. Pierre Henri Dorie (d. 1866) of France.
Douglas, for Bl. George Douglas (d. 1587) of Scotland.
Drexel, for St. Katharine Drexel (d. 1955) of the U.S.
Drury, for Bl. Robert Drury (d. 1607) of England.
Duff, for Servant of God Frank Duff (d. 1980) of Ireland.
Duke, for Bl. Edmund Duke (d. 1590) of England.
Durando, for Bl. Marco Antonio Durando (d. 1880) of Italy.
Dutton, for Servant of God Joseph Dutton (d. 1931) of the U.S.
Ebner, for Bl. Margareta Ebner (d. 1351) of Germany.
Emmerich, for Bl. Anne Catherine Emmerich (d. 1824) of Germany.
Errico, for St. Gaetano Errico (d. 1860) of Italy.
Errington, for Bl. George Errington (d. 1596) of England.
Evans, for St. Philip Evans (d. 1679) of Wales.
Faber, for St. Peter Faber (d. 1546) of France.
Falzon, for Bl. Nazju Falzon (d. 1865) of Malta.
Farina, for St. Giovanni Antonio Farina (d. 1888) of Italy.
Fasani, for St. Francis Anthony Fasani (d. 1742) of Italy.
Felton, for Bl. John Felton (d. 1570) in England.
Fenn, for Bl. James Fenn (d. 1584) in England.
Fenwick, for Bl. John Fenwick (d. 1679) of England.
Ferrari, for Bl. Andrea Carlo Ferrari (d. 1921) of Italy.
Ferrer, for St. Vincent Ferrer (d. 1419) of Spain.
Filby, for Bl. William Filby (d. 1582) of England.
Frassati, for Bl. Pier Giorgio Frassati (d. 1925) of Italy.
Fulthrop, for Bl. Edward Fulthrop (d. 1597) of England.
Finch, for Bl. John Finch (d. 1584) of England.
Fisher, for Bl. John Fisher (d. 1535) of England.
Foley, for Servant of God Theodore Foley (d. 1974) of the U.S.
Fontaine, for Bl. Marie-Madeleine Fontaine (d. 1794) of France.
Forest, for Bl. John Forest (d. 1538) of England.
Garnet, for St. Thomas Garnet (d. 1608) of England.
Gavan, for Bl. John Gavan (d. 1679) of England.
Gennings, for St. Edmund Gennings (d. 1591) of England.
Gerard, for Bl. Jeanne Gerard (d. 1794) of France or Bl. Joseph Gérard, (d. 1914) of France/South Africa.
Gerosa, for St. Vincentia Gerosa (d. 1847) of Italy.
Gervase, for Bl. George Gervase (d. 1608) of England.
Gibson, for Bl. William Gibson (d. 1596) of England.
Goretti, for St. Maria Goretti (d. 1902) of Italy.
Grove, for Bl. John Grove (d. 1679) of England.
Gwyn, for St. Richard Gwyn (d. 1584) of Wales.
Harrington, for Bl. William Harrington (d. 1594) of England.
Heath, for Bl. Henry Heath (d. 1643) of England.
Hewitt, for Bl. John Hewitt (d. 1588) of England.
Higgins, for Bl. Peter Higgins (d. 1642) of Irish.
Houghton, for St. John Houghton (d. 1535) of England.
Howard, for St. Philip Howard (d. 1595) of England or for his grandson, Bl. William Howard (d. 1680) of England.
Humphrey, for St. Lawrence Humphrey (d. 1590) of England.
Hunt, for Bl. Thurston Hunt (d. 1601) of England.
Ingleby, for Bl. Francis Ingleby (d. 1586) of England.
Ingram, for Ven. John Ingram (d. 1594) of England.
Janssen, for St. Arnold Janssen (d. 1909) of Germany.
Kemble, for St. John Kemble (d. 1679) of England.
Kern, for Bl. Jakob Kern (d. 1924) of Austria.
Kirby, for St. Luke Kirby (d. 1582) of England.
Kolbe, for St. Maximilian Kolbe (d. 1941) of Poland.
Konrad, for Bl. Nicholas Konrad (d. 1941) of Ukraine.
Lakota, for Bl. Gregor Lakota (d. 1950) of Ukraine.
Langley, for Bl. Richard Langley (d. 1586) of England.
Lanteri, for Ven. Bruno Lanteri (d. 1830) of Italy.
Larke, for Bl. John Larke (d. 1544) of England.
Laval, for Bl. Jacques-Désiré Laval (d. 1864) of France/Mauritius.
Lawrence, for St. Robert Lawrence (d. 1535) of England.
Leigh, for Bl. Richard Leigh (d. 1588) of England.
Lewis, for St. David Lewis (d. 1679) of Wales
Liguori, for St. Alphonsus Liguori (d. 1787) of Italy.
Lilli, for Bl. Salvatore Lilli (d. 1895) of Italy.
Lloyd, for St. John Lloyd (d. 1679) of Wales.
Lockwood, for Bl. John Lockwood (d. 1642) of England.
Lucas, for Bl. Charlotte Lucas (d. 1794) of France.
MacKillop, for St. Mary MacKillop (d. 1909) of Australia.
Majali, for Bl. Giuliano Majali (d. 1470) of Sicily.
Majella, for St. Gerard Majella (d. 1755) of Italy.
Manna, for Bl. Paolo Manna (d. 1952) of Italy.
Marchand, for St. Joseph Marchand (d. 1835) of France.
Marella, for Ven. Olinto Marella (d. 1969) of Italy.
Mareri, for Bl. Philippa Mareri (d. 1236) of Italy.
Margil, for Ven. Antonio Margil (d. 1726) of Spain/Central America.
Mari, for Servant of God Ida Mari (d. 1981) of Italy.
Martin, for St. Louis Martin (d. 1894) of France or Bl. Richard Martin (d. 1588) of England.
Marsden, from Bl. William Marsden (d. 1586) of England.
Marto, for Bl. Francisco Marto (d. 1919) of Portugal.
Mason, for Bl. John Mason (d. 1591) of England.
Massey, for Bl. René-Julien Massey (d. 1792) of France.
Maxfield, for Bl. Thomas Maxfield (d. 1616) of England.
Munden, for Bl. John Munden (d. 1584) of England.
Mayer, for Bl. Rupert Mayer (d. 1945) of Germany.
McAuley, for Ven. Catherine McAuley (d. 1841) of Ireland.
Meehan, for Bl. Charles Meehan (d. 1679) of Ireland.
Merlo, for Ven. Thecla Merlo (d. 1964) of Italy.
Medina, for Bl. Manuel Medina y Olmos (d. 1936) of Spain.
Mela, for Ven. Itala Mela (d. 1957) of Italy.
Merton, for Fr. Thomas Merton (d. 1968) of the U.S.
Mesina, for Bl. Antonia Mesina (d. 1935) of Italy.
Miki, for St. Paul Miki (d. 1597) of Japan.
Molina, for Bl. Mercedes de Jesús Molina y Ayala (d. 1883) of Ecuador.
Molla, for St. Gianna Beretta Molla (d. 1962) of Italy.
Mora, for Bl. Elisabeth Canori Mora (d. 1825) of Italy.
Morse, for St. Henry Morse (d. 1645) of England.
Nelson, for Bl. John Nelson (d. 1578) of England.
Neri, for St. Philip Neri (d. 1595) of Italy.
Newman, for Bl. John Henry Newman (d. 1890) of England.
Nichols, for Bl. George Nichols (d. 1589) fo England.
Nolasco, for St. Peter Nolasco (d. 1256) of France.
Ogilvie, for St. John Ogilvie (d. 1615) of Scotland.
Owen, for St. Nicholas Owen (d. 1606) of England.
Page, for Bl. Anthony Page (d. 1593) of England or Bl. Francis Page (d. 1602) of England.
Percy, for Bl. Thomas Percy (d. 1572) of England.
Potter, for Ven. Mary Potter (d. 1913) of England.
Powell, for Bl. Edward Powell (d. 1540) of Wales.
Quinn, for Ven. Edel Quinn (d. 1944) of Ireland.
Rawlins, for Bl. Alexander Rawlins (d. 1595) of England.
Regis, for St. John Francis Regis (d. 1640) of France.
Reynolds, for St. Richard Reynolds (d. 1535) of England or Bl. Thomas Reynolds (d. 1560) of England.
Richardson, for Bl. Lawrence Richardson (d. 1582) of England or Bl. William Richardson (d. 1603) of England.
Rigby, for St. John Rigby (d. 1600) of England
Rivi, for Bl. Rolando Rivi (d. 1945) of Italy.
Robinson, for St. Christopher Robinson (d. 1598) of England.
Rochester, for Bl. John Rochester (d. 1537) of England.
Roe, for St. Alban Roe (d. 1642) of England.
Romano, for Bl. Vincent Romano (d. 1831) of Italy.
Rossello, for St. Maria Giuseppa Rossello (d. 1880) of Italy.
Sala, for Bl. Maria Anna Sala (d. 1891) of Italy.
Savio, for St. Dominic Savio (d. 1857) of Italy.
Scott, for Bl. Montford Scott (d. 1591) of England or Bl. Maurus Scott (d. 1612) of England.
Serra, for St. Junipero Serra (d. 1784) of Spain/New Spain.
Seton, for St. Elizabeth Ann Seton (d. 1821) of the U.S.
Sheen, for Ven. Fulton J. Sheen (d. 1979) of the U.S.
Shelley, for Bl. Edward Shelley (d. 1588) of England.
Sherwin, for St. Ralph Sherwin (d. 1581) of England.
Sherwood, for Bl. Thomas Sherwood (d. 1578) of England.
Sinclair, for Ven. Margaret Anne Sinclair (d. 1925) of Scotland.
Slade, for Bl. John Slade (d. 1583) of England.
Solanus, for St. Francis Solanus (d. 1610) of Spain.
Southwell, for St. Robert Southwell (d. 1595) of England.
Southworth, for St. John Southworth (d. 1654) of England.
Steno, for Bl. Nicolas Steno (d. 1686) of Denmark.
Spenser, for Bl. William Spenser (d. 1589) of England.
Spencer, for Ven. Ignatius Spencer (d. 1864) of England.
Stefani, for Bl. Irene Stefani (d. 1930) of Italy.
Stein, for St. Edith Stein (d. 1942) of Germany.
Stone, for St. John Stone (d. 1539) in England.
Sullivan, for Ven. John Sullivan (d. 1933) in Ireland.
Sutton, for Bl. Robert Sutton (d. 1587) of England.
Talbot, for Ven. Matt Talbot (d. 1925) of Ireland or Bl. John Talbot (d. 1600) of England.
Tansi, for Bl. Cyprian Michael Tansi (d. 1964) of Nigeria.
Taylor, for Bl. Hugh Taylor (d. 1585) of England, Francis Taylor (d. 1621) of Ireland, or Ven. Frances Margaret Taylor (d. 1900) of England.
Tezza, for Bl. Luigi Tezza (d. 1923) of Italy.
Thirkeld, for Bl. Richard Thirkeld (d. 1583) in England.
Thompson, for Bl. James Thompson (d. 1582) of England.
Thorne, for Bl. John Thorne (d. 1539) of England.
Thorpe, for Bl. Robert Thorpe (d. 1591) of England.
Tirry, for Bl. William Tirry (d. 1654) of Ireland.
Tomasi, for St. Giuseppe Maria Tomasi (d. 1713) of Italy.
Tunstall, for Bl. Thomas Tunstall (d. 1616) of England.
Turner, for Bl. Anthony Turner (d. 1679) of England.
Vega, for Servant of God Pablo Muñoz Vega (d. 1994) of Ecuador.
Venard, for St. Jean-Théophane Vénard (d. 1861) of France.
Vera, for Ven. Jacinto Vera y Durán (d. 1881) of Uruguay.
Verna, for Bl. Antonia Maria Verna (d. 1838) of Italy.
Vianney, for St. Jean Vianney (d. 1859) of France.
Ward, for St. Margaret Ward (d. 1588) of England.
Webster, for St. Augustine Webster (d. 1535) of England.
Wells, for St. Swithun Wells (d. 1591) of England.
Wharton, for Bl. Christopher Wharton (d. 1600) of England.
Whitaker, for Bl. Thomas Whitaker (d. 1646) of England.
Wilson, for Ven. Mary Jane Wilson (d. 1916) of British India.
Wright, for Bl. Peter Wright (d. 1651) of England.
Xavier, for St. Francis Xavier (d. 1552) of Spain.
Zaccaria, for St. Antonio Maria Zaccaria (d. 1539) of Italy.
Zola, for Bl. Giovanni Batista Zola (d. 1626) of Italy.
Which of the above do you like best?
And, what other saint-inspired surnames would make good baby names? I’m sure I missed a few. Let me know in the comments!
Categories: Lists of Names Tags: abbot, abel, alban, albert, alexander, almond, alphonsus, ambrose, amias, ancina, andleby, andre, andrea, andrew, ann, anne, anthony, antoine, antonia, antonio, aquinas, arnold, arrowsmith, ashley, ashton, atkinson, aufield, augustine, barlow, baylon, becket, beesley, belson, bertie, bertrand, bessette, bonzel, bosco, bosgrave, bowes, briant, britton, bruno, buxton, cabrini, campion, carey, carter, casey, cassant, catherick, catherine, chanel, charles, charlotte, christopher, claver, claxton, collins, cope, corbie, cornelius, cyprian, dalby, daniel, david, davy, dean, desire, dominic, dorie, douglas, drexel, drury, duff, duke, durando, dutton, ebner, edel, edith, edmund, edward, elisabeth, elizabeth, emmerich, errico, errington, evans, faber, falzon, farina, fasani, federico, felton, fenn, fenwick, ferrari, ferrer, filby, finch, fisher, foley, fontaine, forest, frances, francis, francisco, frank, frassati, fulthrop, fulton, gaetano, garnet, gavan, gennings, george, gerard, gerosa, gervase, gianna, gibson, giorgio, giovanni, giuliano, giuseppa, giuseppe, goretti, gregor, grove, gwyn, harrington, heath, henri, henry, hewitt, higgins, houghton, howard, hugh, humphrey, hunt, ida, ignatius, ingleby, ingram, irene, itala, jacinto, jacques, jakob, james, jane, janssen, jean, jeanne, john, joseph, julien, junipero, katharine, kemble, kern, kirby, kolbe, konrad, lakota, langley, lanteri, larke, laval, lawrence, leigh, lewis, liguori, lilli, lloyd, lockwood, louis, lucas, luigi, luke, mackillop, madeleine, majali, majella, manna, manuel, marchand, marco, marella, mareri, margaret, margareta, margil, mari, maria, marianne, marmaduke, marsden, martin, marto, mary, mason, massey, matt, maurus, maxfield, maximilian, mayer, mcauley, medina, meehan, mela, mercedes, merlo, merton, mesina, michael, miki, molina, molla, montford, mora, morse, munden, nazju, nelson, neri, newman, nicholas, nichols, nicolas, nolasco, ogilvie, olinto, owen, pablo, page, paolo, paschal, paul, percy, peter, philip, philippa, pier, pierre, potter, powell, quinn, ralph, rawlins, regis, rene, reynolds, richard, richardson, rigby, rivi, robert, robinson, rochester, roe, roger, rolando, romano, rossello, rupert, sala, salvatore, savio, scott, serra, seton, sheen, shelley, sherwin, sherwood, sinclair, slade, solanus, southwell, southworth, spencer, spenser, stefani, stein, steno, stone, sullivan, sutton, swithun, talbot, tansi, taylor, tezza, thecla, theodore, theophane, thirkeld, thomas, thompson, thorne, thorpe, thurston, tirry, tomasi, toros, tunstall, turner, vega, venard, vera, verna, vianney, vicente, vincent, vincentia, ward, webster, wells, wharton, whitaker, william, wilson, wright, xavier, zaccaria, zola Leave a comment
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I am an adult student. Now a days, we're called 'life-long-learners.' In 2010, I went back to college after 20 years to attain a BA degree in creativity in the arts from SUNY Empire. Many years ago, I left Temple University in my senior year to co-found my own non-profit theatre company at the age of 21. Anyway, Empire State College of New York has a very progressive component within their undergraduate program. Adult students can count life experience as academic credit toward a undergraduate degree. However, in order to gain life experience credits, students must chronicle their professional experience into a narrative essay. The essay is then sent onto a noted and credentialed professional within the specified area of experience. The student must then pass a rigorous interviewing process with the life experience assessor before the life experience credits can be accrued and counted toward academic credit.
These days, so many folks are challenged with going back to college. Needless to say, so much in education has changed. I didn't know what a 'life experience' essay was before I had to write one. The process of writing about my professional experience in an exacting way, and then arguing for the corresponding academic credits was arduous. Luckily for me, I loved writing. I also brought years of playwriting collaboration to the table. I am published and credited as a contributing writer for a role I originated in the Nuyorican Poet's Cafe's "Aloud" published by Simon and Schuster. So, I've decided to post part of the series of life experience essays I wrote for my undergraduate degree here as style samples. The essays also give my older works context. And as I contemplate graduate school, I can look to these writing samples as a way to stay the course. No sense in letting so much written work continue to gather dust on my hard drive; it's better to share it. Hopefully, other adult students may find them useful.
Black and Blue Angels Series of Twelve. Mixed media art quilt. Hand dyed cotton, silk, mesh and wood. 27"W x 33"L. 2007.
Parts of the "Black & Blue Angels" series have been privately collected and other parts hang as part of the Abington Memorial Hospital's art collection in Philadelphia, PA.
“Objects are not without spirit. As living things they touch us in unimaginable ways” ( Hooks, 2007, 316)
As a child growing up in Philadelphia, I was fascinated with the quilts my grandmother would make for us. They were asymmetrical and eccentric, like so many of my relatives. Today, I am still mesmerized by the ancient connection of fabric and family found within the elaborate stitching. In relating my experience with quilting, my story begins with what I saw. I have my grandmother, Maybell’s eyes; her multidimensional way of seeing; her eye for color. From a woman who bore sixteen children, including a set of twins, I also inherited a comfortability within certain kinds of chaos.
It’s difficult to explain exactly how those quilts happened to me, the way they seeped into my subconscious. Those quilts were part of some of my earliest memories. They were visual events in my life. I was enthralled by the stitches like grains of rice, along with the clashes of seersucker, plaids, double knits, and calicos. There were tweed suits in those old quilts. Uncle Dove’s brown pinstripes? There were floral dresses in them too. Aunt Kitten’s sundress? There were old blue jeans, and scraps from Uncle King’s Army issue khakis. Yes, I had an Uncle King Albert. Maybell’s quilts with their knots, ties, and stretched out squares were spirited expressions of frugality. They were sturdy hugs against cold nights for us all.
As I look back at my childhood, I can see how my grandmother’s quilts, along with my mother’s chicken and dumplings, and the Jesus Christ Super Star album, were amongst my first blissful aesthetic experiences. I will never forget the day my big sister brought that album home. It was 1970, I was six years old. Eisner described aesthetic experience as the affect an art work can have on the beholder by the arrangement of its elements, its structure. The sensate aspects of the form the art work embodies, can animate connections in the beholder’s mind. This is part of what, “...causes us to be touched or moved in its presence” (2002, p.81). This was also true for me. My mother’s chicken and dumplings were aromatic bowls full of love. The Jesus Christ Super Star album rocked my small child’s mind into a place of no return. That’s a story for another day.
I also felt the fabric deeply. After reading Dewey’s discussion of art and aesthetics in his book “Art as Experience,” I now see, how my grandmother’s quilts moved me toward a way of seeing as experiencing. The time I spent with those quilts amounts to hours of ruminating their construction. I was puzzled by irregular squares and my mind rested in the disparity of colors and textures. There was something in the composition of those quilts that relayed to me a freedom of spirit. This feeling was out of sync with my grandmother’s stern ways with us little ones. And at six, I had no way of engrossing my grandmother in a conversation about her color theory. She was a quiet woman. And though both my parents were creative; my mother was an avid gardener and my father could build anything; art was not discussed in my house. So these were not thoughts or questions I had out loud. Besides, I was an introspective child. Zen Master John Daido Loori, spoke of contemplation as a meditative way of seeing. Daido Loori called it, “...whole body and mind seeing” (2008, p.78), where the viewer takes in an object without projecting an identity onto it. As a child, this kind of seeing came naturally. As a child, I remember the spiritual life of objects. They had voices. Those quilts were alive in my eyes. I can attest that my grandmother’s quilts, always spoke to me first. As I look back, I see that those quilts were communicating a language to me; a special syntax of patchwork. Fabric dialogue continues to be a running theme in my work, to this day.
"First Winter in Beacon," Salvaged upholstery fabric and silk. Hand and machine stitched by Shelita Birchett Benash. 2004.
“...love of beauty imposes itself upon man as an ontological imperative; it is far from being just a sentimental attraction” (Shah-Kazemi, 2003, 216).
My grandmother did not carry herself as an artist. She was a plain woman without affectation. She did not treat her quilts as artworks, as she threw them upon the clothes line and across the beds. Nonetheless, those quilts for me, reflected a state of mind that took me on a train south and other places unknown to me. I had no words for it at the time, for what I was feeling. It would not be until years later, when I became a young adult with a passion for collecting antique textiles and lace, that I would begin to understand my own sense of perceiving those quilts as beautiful artworks, and my desire to recapture those childhood memories through my own patchwork. Dewey noted that, “Even crude experience, if authentically an experience, is more fit to give a clue to the intrinsic nature of esthetic experience than is an object already set apart from any other mode of experience” (1980, p.11). In my view, Dewey’s statement reaffirms my early age experience of the ordinary nature of the utilitarian bed quilt as art work. My untrained eye was not at a deficit of understanding. Instead, my perception was in tune with the most instinctual level of beauty, color, design, composition, element, emotional life, and expression. Dewey believed, this type of objective aesthetic deciphering of the “run-of-the-mill”(p.11) could make the eye more attuned to the roots of what then constitutes a recognized masterpiece.
"Doors," Leather quilts and doors salvaged from an antique chest. 2006.
“As with great works of art, these quilts are both Classical and Romantic. They are products of everyday life, mental agility, deep sensitivity, and genius” (Beardsley and Arnett, 2002, p.7).
What is art, after all? Were my grandmother’s quilts art? My art education and way of seeing began with my grandmother’s quilts. Those quilts were simply part of my ordinary reality. They were the back drop for naps, board games, and backyard forts. Was it still possible to then view those quilts as art? For me, the Quilts of Gee Bend lend themselves perfectly as part of this provocative argument. Orland suggests we, “...learn about the nature of art by simply responding to the piece itself...”(2006, p.24). That suggests to me, an inclusive and expansive way of seeing. Dewey then seems to suggest a desire to broaden the platform for objects that are to be considered fine art. That could be possible if we were to eliminate the line that separates fine art objects from their connection with the everyday. Dewey then asserted that to break with static notions of art objects that we should, “...forget them for a time, to turn aside from them and have recourse to the ordinary forces and conditions of experience that we do not usually regard as aesthetic” ( 1934, p.4). This is where new significance and context could be found.
This aspect of aesthetic thinking catapults me back to 2007, when I first physically met with quilts from the Gees Bend collection at the Gees Bend: The Architecture of the Quilt exhibition, at the Tacoma Art Museum, in Washington. Upon entering that great room in the museum where the giant Gees Bend quilts were arranged two rows high on each never ending wall, my eyes sprang spontaneous tears. My heart filled with knowing and exhilaration. Every cell in my body rang with the conscious awareness that I was experiencing genius. However, this genius was not disconnected or apart from me. The Gees Bend quilts were in a museum gallery and were presented as art. They were art works that spoke to me in my own language. In that moment, I couldn’t help but think of my grandmother and my own idiosyncratic patchwork. After all, my friends at The City Quilter, jokingly called me “Raw-Edge Woman.” Suddenly, I felt exalted by my inherited artistic aesthetic.
In part of his discussion of African American Vernacular Art, Paul Arnett contended that, “ We must walk away from our absorptions with what this art isn’t---and why it isn’t whatever it’s represented to be---toward the richer soil of what it is---or atleast, what the practitioners believe it to be(2001,p. 26). In my view, Arnett’s statement gets to the heart of the conflicting narratives that can sometimes swirl around the head of the self-taught untrained artist who ventures into the mainstream artistic arena; that is, until that untrained artist’s “crude” art work is recognized as a masterpiece.
"Spreading Centers Series: Bramble" Whole cloth art quilt. Expressive hand weaving and animate fiber work on floor loom. Silk, metal, bamboo, and organic fiber. Published at part of the "Fiber Force: A Futuristic Approach" catalogue, and exhibited nationally as part of the corresponding invitational that debuted in the Pacific International Quilt Festival, 26"W x 111"L, 2007
“...quilt making was a spiritual process where one learned surrender. It was a form of meditation where the self was let go” ( Hooks, 2007, p.327).
"Porch" Antique wood salvaged from the demolition of my front porch. Hand pieced leather quilts. 8"w x16"L. 2004.
"Spreading Centers Series:"Sphinx" Whole cloth art quilt. Expressive hand weaving and animate fiber work on floor loom. Silk, metal, fresh water pearls and organic fiber. Published at part of the "Fiber Force: A Futuristic Approach" catalogue, and exhibited nationally as part of the corresponding invitational that debuted in the Pacific International Quilt Festival, 26"W x 111"L, 2007
Art Wear
“That feeling of being torn comes from hearing consciously or unconsciously, something call us, calling us back, something we cannot say no to without hurting ourselves” (Estes, 1992, p.278).
Skitzo Skirtz: Cherished Denim Collection, 2001
Reclaimed denim, silk chiffon, silk velvet, vintage and antique textiles and lace, machine pieced and stitched.
By Shelita Birchett Benash
It was a beautiful day in the city. I was on the 6 train on my way to meet a friend in Soho. I got off the train at Bleecker Street and began making my way through the turn-style and up the stairs. As I walked up Bleecker, I could hear a woman calling after me. I turned around to watch a petite woman with pixie cut auburn hair running toward me. She looked like she was in her late 40s. As she got closer she panted, “I love your skirt. It’s gorgeous. I couldn’t stop staring at you on the train. Can I ask where you got it?” I was flattered and caught off guard as I told the woman that I had made the skirt myself. She then asked,”Do you sell them?” Now, this is one of those slow motion moments that I will never forget because at first I answered, “No.” I always said, “No” whenever asked about selling my Skitzo Skirtz. It was not because I coveted them. On the contrary, I’d been giving them away to friends and family for years. Perhaps, it was the quilter in me; I had yet to see tangible worth in those things I had made by hand. However, within a split second that lasted 100 years, I experienced a shift in my mind. It felt literal. It was jarring. I was caught by the energy coming out of that woman’s hazel eyes. I towered over her in my wedges, as people buzzed by us standing there. Still, that extra second was just long enough to let that woman into my personal space. Then as if someone had kicked me in the behind, I said, “Yes.”
That crystalized moment happened in 2002. At the time, I had no idea how saying, “Yes” to that woman on the sidewalk, would setoff a chain of events that would completely alter the trajectory of my life.
In the years since that day, I’ve come to recognize that experience as a “call to adventure” (Plotikn, 2003, p.17). Ecopyschologist, Bill Plotkin described the “call to adventure” as both “ a crisis and an unsurpassed opportunity” (p.48). According to Plotkin the “call to adventure” is partly the way of the soul summoning us to go deeper into our own spirits, so that we might release ourselves from those things that are keeping us from experiencing our true place in the world. Joseph Campbell described the “call to adventure as, “...the awakening of the self”(2008, p.42), that can happen at any stage or position in life. Campbell then goes on to assert that the “call to adventure” signals the beginnings of, “...a mystery of transfiguration---a rite, or moment, of spiritual passage, which, when complete, amounts to a dying and a birth. The familiar life has been outgrown; the old concepts, ideals, and emotional patterns no longer fit; the time for passing of a threshold is at hand” ( p.43).
As I look back, the sense of spirituality along with the death and rebirth aspects of Campbell’s “call to adventure”(2008, p.42) theory are especially resonating because the day that woman arrested me with her question, I was still experiencing the aftershocks in the wake of 911. Like most people who were in New York City on that day, I experienced a shattering of my perspective of life: humanity, the world and my place within it. I was forever changed. My views on the meaning of success and happiness had also begun to change. Certain career aspirations had begun to lose their sway over me, and I started thinking more about the quality of the life I was living, and what was really most meaningful to me.
“...the soul waits for---or creates---a trauma, something extreme that will loosen the ego’s grip on its old way of belonging to the world” (Plotkin, 2003, 50).
That first customer and paid commission for one of my original designs marked the beginning of the end of my acting career. Of course, I did not see it that way at the time and it’s far too complicated to go into it here. Still, the new venture of designing and selling artwear from my New York City apartment, caused what Plotkin described as, “...an earthquake in the middle of my life” (2003, p. 17). It was an exciting and unbelievably confusing time. It was also very difficult. I was experiencing what Campbell described as a diametrical tension between my life as it was, as opposed to this new force that was reshaping my self-perception and the way I was moving through the world. After all, I was going full blast with my theatre company. We were in the midst of preproduction planning for an Off-Broadway run of our adaptation of “For Colored Girls...” I had auditions for commercials and voiceovers happening. I was in the midst of commuting between New York City and Philadelphia, while working on the development of a lead character in an independent film with, director and screenplay writer, Steve Jimenez. As it stood, I had been working together with Steve and two other actors for over a year, already. I was not living the life of a fashion designer. Nonetheless, I kept saying, “Yes” to each new Skitzo Skirt commission and trunk show. I kept saying, “Yes.”
Strangely, I felt comfortable moving amongst the crafts people and artists that I was meeting at the different craft shows I attended around New York City and Upstate New York. Suddenly, I saw something material in a home life. I began to envision an organic studio that revolved around sharing a creative journey with my husband, making art and sharing beauty.
“...you long to embody your soul in a way that engenders genuine and intimate communion between people, the land, and the other-than-human beings” (Plotkin, 2008, p. 307-308).
These days, many are faced with remaking their lives. So many people are being let-go; or walking away from an unhappiness; or experiencing a career change after a lifetime of doing something else. I believe, those people would understand what it was like for me to leave my theatre company. I believe, others could relate to the feelings of unbelievable loss that I experienced as I left my business partner and my professional circle after 16 years. The process of leaving my life as I knew it, and the subsequent loneliness I felt as I walked through the doorway of a new way of being, is something that I think other people could relate to. According to Plotkin, Rilke described “the call” as an approaching storm that we can’t outrun. It’s a storm we must turn toward, facing the winds (2003, p.49). Therefore, saying, “Yes,” to the “call to adventure,” living blissfully, the soul journey, and starting over as an adult in mid-life are definitely subjects I would like to study more about in graduate school.
Theatre Management, Collaboration and Performance
Shelita Birchett Benash
Promotional postcard 2002.
Becoming the custodian of my own theatre company at 22, offered me the opportunity to grow and to develop skills I might not have developed otherwise. I embraced the entrepreneurial spirit and learned to do many jobs like: public relations, graphic design, scouting and securing performance venues, contract negotiations, fundraising, producing, grant writing, casting, hiring and working with technical staff, all out of shear necessity.
At the time, I had no conception of leadership as a system of theoretical behaviors. Nor did I recognize organizations as contained cultural structures. For all I knew, I was just doing my job. I also had no managing philosophy. Back then, my approach to doing business was simply to learn how to do the things I did not know how to do: quickly. The idea was to get things done. Most times, that meant doing things myself. This was the essence of my relationship to running a theatre company. I would describe both mine and my business partners’ management styles as very hands-on. Our hands were in everything from writing plays, to painting sets, to cleaning bathrooms.
“The science of theatre-building must come from studying what it is that brings about the most vivid relationship between people---and is this best served by asymetry, even disorder?”(Brook, 1968, 65).
Since my return to college in 2008, I’ve taken two courses that have informed my understanding of business management and organizational structures. Both courses were 400 level: Organizational Communications at Temple University and Exploring Business and Management at Marist College. I have no formal education in business and art, which means, I’ve learned everything I know about running a business and making art, while on the job. Taking a communications course, as an adult student exposed me to organizational concepts and theories such as the, “New Science” systems theory which according to Miller, breaks with rigid classical views of organizational structure. Within the “New Science” theory there is a movement toward putting physics and cosmology theories into practical use while examining organizational structures. As a result organizations are then viewed by Miller’s assessment as potentially organic. Miller then uses Horgan (1996, pp. 196-197) in her text to further her point of discussion of the nonlinear and nonstandard organization “...which emphasizes the importance of complexity, fluctuating information, and innovativeness that can emerge when a system is at “the edge of chaos.” (p. 85).
I was surprised to come across this kind of information upon my return to college as an adult. I was even more surprised to find an organizational structure that I was very familiar with described as being on the vanguard of systems research. Therefore, I’m interested in studying more about “New Science” systems theories in graduate school as a way of better understanding and synthesizing my theatre experience, as well as articulating that experience into practical applications to be used in other types of organizational cultures.
I would describe my theatre experience as creative, alternative, experimental and entrepreneurial. In 1987, I left Temple University in my junior year, to pursue my passion in the theatre. I had been a Broadcast Journalism major. I lacked formal academic training in theatre, which positioned me outside the conventional mainstream theatre community that was burgeoning in Philadelphia, at the time. Despite not having an academic background in theatre, I went on to work with many of Philadelphia’s well established mainstream regional theatres. I was cast in many enriching and exciting roles that challenged me to grow as an actor, while also helping me to better my craft. Nonetheless, I was most interested in developing and producing my own work. The original plays that I helped to develop and write with my theatre company would take precedent over the extensive auditioning process that would have otherwise been part of the main focus of a more conventional actor’s career path. Instead, I was the type of actor that would work years on devising, collaborating, developing and writing an original character for the stage. By working that way over the years, I developed a type of creative endurance and unique skill set that became a tremendous asset to me as an actor, producer and writer. For instance, I was honored to be invited to work on two, two year long Equity developmental workshop productions with InterAct Theatre Company in Philadelphia, PA. Award winning Playwright, Thomas Gibbons invited me to work on the development of two roles he conceived with me mind. Ramona Africa, in 6221: Prophecy and Tragedy, 1992 and Shelita Burns in Bee-Luther-Hatchee, 1999. It was an immense honor to work on both world premiere productions and to have Thom name one of the characters I originated for the stage after me.
During my theatre career, I also had the honor to work on originating two roles for the stage written by Joyce Carol Oates. In 1995, I was cast in the Philadelphia Festival Theatre for New Plays world premiere of Here She Is!: Nine One-Act Plays by Joyce Carol Oates and directed by Carol Rocamora, which were performed at the Harold Prince Theatre in Philadelphia, PA. Both roles I originated were comedic. Veronica in Negative and Miss Michigan in Here She Is! Regarding her workshop experience during production, Oates wrote, “At each reading and rehearsal, I learn not only more about the potential depths of the characters I’ve created, but about the fascinating subtleties of the actor’s craft; the ingenuity of the director whose vision is implemented with such elliptical art, an audience may think there is no art---no “artifice”---at all” (Playbill, March 8-19, 1995).
The development of both comedic characters involved working directly with artistic director, Carol Rocamora and playwright, Joyce Carol Oates. The developmental workshop for both plays involved: structured improvisations; creating a back story for my character; improvising dialogue; discussing character intentions with the playwright; employing specific acting exercises at the behest of the director during rehearsals; implementing script changes daily; reading lines exactly as written. Devising new plays for the theatre taught me what was most required from all artists hired for and committed to the process of bringing a new play to the stage: seriousness for their craft; attention to detail; big picture thinking; a creative and adaptive sensibility; comfortability within the chaos of not knowing; ability to immediately invest in new realities in service to plot, story line, structure, character and production.
During my career in the theatre, I also had the opportunity to develop characters for educational theatre productions. I’ve included a synopsis of some of the more notable theatre educational outreach productions I have worked on. My experience with doing educational theatre outreach is another example of my commitment to working on long-term creative projects in the theatre. It is also illustrative of my ability to work with different directors on devising and developing new characters and contributing to the writing and developing of work that informed and educated an audience.
The productions listed here all began without written scripts. The plays were devised and written during the rehearsal process. The process of devising and developing a script during preproduction requires a certain level of commitment from the actors and directors involved in the process. When I worked on creating new work for the theatre, I often came to the table having done intensive research for the subject of the play. For instance, for the role of the artist that encountered the ghost of Henry Osawa Tanner in Appearing Light, I was tutored in fine art drawing at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. I read about Henry Osawa Tanner’s contributions to art history. I studied his paintings. I believed, that was part of my responsibility to the creative process.
Alison Oddey described the process of devising theatre as,”...thinking, conceiving, and forming ideas, being imaginative and spontaneous, as well as planning. It’s about inventing, adapting, and creating what you do as a group” (1994, p.1).
Shelita Birchett Benash, originated role of Shelita Burns.
Theatre Educational Outreach
Devising, Development and Collaboration
Statues!
InterAct Theatre Company, Philadelphia, PA
Directed by Seth Rozin,
Statues! was an environmental theatre production. Along with five other actors and the director Seth Rozin, I participated in a six month long Equity developmental workshop that resulted with a script that dealt with iconography and hero worship within our society. Statues! was performed outdoors in front of many of Philadelphia’s most well known monumental outdoor sculptures. The interactive theatre piece encouraged people to really look at the great statuary they walked by daily and to discuss the history and importance of statues in their communities. The National Gallery of the American Art of the Smithsonian Institution used Statues!, as part of a larger video entitled American Identity: Nation, Community, and Place. The video was then distributed nationwide as part of the Save Outdoor Sculpture! initiative.
Appearing Light
Free Association Theatre, Los Angeles, CA
Directed by Joshua Korton,
The Appearing Light was sponsored by the Philadelphia Art Museum and the Ford Motor Company. The performance art piece was staged as a spontaneous debate between two strangers within the Henry Osawa Tanner exhibition. Appearing Light, answered questions about Tanner and his contributions to art history, as well as challenged the way viewers engaged with art within the Art Museum setting. As an actor, I was integral to the writing and development of my character. My contributions to the script were maintained throughout the national tour of the production. The Henry Osawa Tanner exhibition was the first solo exhibition of an African American artist in the history of the Philadelphia Art Museum.
All it Takes...
Directed by Barry Kornhauser
Fulton Opera House, Lancaster, PA,
A 90 minute highly interacted play that was developed at the Fulton Opera House, in Lancaster, PA., under the auspices of the Philadelphia Department of Education. Along with the director and four other actors, I was integral to developing the story line and structuring the improvisations that were designed to educate adolescents about HIV/AIDS. My role as Health Educator required that I be trained and certified through the American Red Cross as an HIV/AIDS instructor. During each performance I facilitated an extensive Q&A session that helped students to understand how HIV/AIDS related directly to their lifestyle choices. All it Takes... reached almost 20,000 students over a six month tour of the state of Pennsylvania.
Theatre Management
My former business partner, Michael LeLand and I were interviewed for an article that ran in the Philadelphia Tribune on November 23, 1999. We were soon to celebrate a year in our new theatre on Walnut Street. The article written by Christina Crews, gave a detailed history of Theatre Double, as well as an insightful look into what our mission and philosophy was at the time; the challenges we faced with running our own 200 seat theatre space in downtown Philadelphia; theatrical projects underway; and our commitment to professional and artistic growth. The Philadelphia Tribune article supplies solid supporting background of my experience in managing my own not-for-profit theatre company including mention of an experience with a Pew Charitable Trust Foundation mentor.
Philadelphia Tribune Article
Theatre Double was co-founded by actress Shelita Birchett and director Michael LeLand in 1987. Before taking up permanent residence in Philadelphia, the group performed both here -- in venues like the Walnut Studio Theatre and The Painted Bride and The Brick Playhouse --and in New York in the Nuyorican Poet's Cafe, Westbank Downstair's Theatre and the HERE Center for Performing Arts.
Though Birchett and LeLand, Philadelphia natives, met while working at Bushfire Theatre, they feel that that all these years later, instead of going back to their roots, the call to be independent was more compelling.
Currently, Theatre Double is performing "Jason & Medea" which will run until Dec. 12. Described as "a metaphor for race in America," "Jason & Medea" is taken from a 4,000-year-old Greek myth that explores issues of xenophobia, racism, misogyny and the effect of divorce on children. It is Birchett who plays Medea meaning "the foreigner."
Copyright Philadelphia Tribune Nov 23, 1999
Artistic duo finds home on Walnut St.: Theatre Double provides space, training for actors, playwrights
There's a new theater on the block. Literally.
Theatre Double, a Black-owned and operated theater company, is approaching its one year anniversary of taking permanent refuge in the building that was formerly inhabited by Temple University in Center City. The building, at 1619 Walnut St., is no longer frequented by students walking to their first semester classes. Now the building breathes life into actors, writers, directors and stagehands that seek to envelop the city in their craft.
Though they were content to bandy back and forth between states, they were offered a bit of sage advice. "We had a really good mentor at the Pew Foundation who was honest and said `Look, you guys can keep producing like this, using your own money, until you're in your 70s, but you won't get to the next level unless you look forward to having a space and creating a profile here in Philadelphia,'" recalls Birchett.
They took that into consideration, especially when realizing that renting a theater space in this city is so expensive that when it came time to put on a show, finding a space that was in their budget was little more than aggravating. That's when LeLand took the project under his wing. Donning the cap of a super sleuth, he discovered that the space on Walnut Street, rife with history that includes housing the old "Mike Douglas Show" of the `60s and `70s, had been vacant for two years. He seized his opportunity.
"It seemed a feasible thing to do ... to put roots down here, produce from this space and create an umbrella situation for other artists to come here and work under our auspices," said Birchett, 35.
Theatre Double started out as a bunch of friends who shared a passion for dramatic art. They would gather once a year, outside of their professional commitments, to produce a show with each other. Because they enjoyed working with each other so much, in 1994 they decided to produce a whole season of shows instead of one annual show.
LeLand says, "We started producing because as artists and as African Americans, you want to have control over how your image is portrayed and what it says in your work."
Operating on the theory of "God bless the child that's got his own," Theatre Double has it's own direction, its own purpose and its own ideas.
Getting inspiration from renowned African American playwright August Wilson ("The Piano Lesson," "Jitney") who stated that though Philadelphia is 45 percent Black, only three Blacks run theaters, while there are 25 in the area.
"It's an area where minorities are underrepresented ... there's room for another voice," said LeLand. "Being African American, when we look at art we're going to have a different cultural, experiential base from which to draw and make judgements. The buck stops with us. You're going to see extreme multicultural work here but you can look at it and see that African Americans were essential to its creation."
"As actors, sometimes we're not challenged to be more -- to learn how to administrate, to write grants, produce, etc., branching out into my own theater and developing my own projects opened the sky to me. I feel like my ability to be a success in this business is limitless and its given me a lot of fortitude," believes Birchett.
And though other Black-owned theaters exist, this duo at Theatre Double say they are different because they almost exclusively perform new work that they themselves create.
They believe these creations intrigue people and make them question their expectations of others.
Theatre Double also allows local and national playwrights to have their work performed.
But the 12-member multicultural group doesn't just concentrate on their acting, directing and constructing.
They have acting classes for adults and children, a voluntary intern program, open auditions, reading series and a children's theater series.
Keeping the theater up and running is constant work, but the sweat of their labor in bringing forth much fruit.
"I think the struggle is just the nature of who we are as human beings. We're always pushing ourselves farther than we really ought to be going. But in doing so, we're growing quickly and our capacities are always expanding because we're always challenging ourselves," says LeLand, 33.
Birchett agrees. "Blessings and tidings are coming in daily and that's just based on sheer tenacity of wanting to be here," she said.
The next production, "The Me Nobody Knows," based on the book of the same title, runs Jan. 12-Feb. 6. 2000.
Theatre Double's future involves expansion.
The duo says they will continue to nurture and develop new artists and playwrights, in addition to stepping into the community to begin an anti-violence outreach program that will go out into the schools next year.
Also, next summer they will have a children's theater competition, where young ones will compose plays of their own. LeLand says, "You're rewarded in this society for being good in sports, but you're not rewarded so much for being a good artist or being creative and I think it's a good thing to encourage our young people to do so."
Photo (Michael LeLand and Shelita Birchett)
Indexing (document details)
Shelita Birchett Benash with former business partner, Michael LeLand.
“We are not free and the sky can still fall on our heads. And the theatre has been created to teach us that first of all” (Artuad, 1958, 79).
The experimental plays that I created, developed, wrote and produced with Theatre Double were very process oriented and character driven pieces that focused upon delving into the human experience beneath the civilized mask. The theatre company’s mission was modeled around visionaries such as, Antonin Artaud, Peter Brook, and Jerzy Grotowski. Our method of examination into the human experience was through the combination of poetry, live music, and movement.
As artists we truly believed that the theatre was not meant to be an elite experience, that only served to reaffirm historical societal norms and customs. We believed that the audience should also partake in the risk of revelation and release from psychological and emotional artifice. We sought symbiotic communion through performance. As Grotowski espoused, we also chose to create works that were, “...concerned with the spectator who has genuine spiritual needs and who really wishes, through confrontation with the performance, to analyse himself” (2002, 40). Ours was an idealistic view. We believed that our theatre had something of value to contribute to the greater meaning of collective society. As actor Peter Feldman described from his work with Peter Brook, “Our object was to make visible on stage those levels of reality which are usually not expressed in situations: the elusive, irrational, fragile, mysterious or monstrous lives within our lives...” (Kustow, 2005 p. 138).
At the time, I viewed the ritual of theatre as similar to that of the church. I believed, the church and theatre shared a uniquely human and uniquely sacred communion of belief. This belief system placed me and the people I worked with, at the time, inside a very particular artistic aesthetic that would infuse not only my craft, but my life.
I took my work seriously, and wanted to learn as much as I could about the craft of acting, so I took acting classes at several professional theatres in Philadelphia and New York City. My theatre training included: scene study with Al Simpkins of Bushfire Theatre; method acting with Gordon Phillips and film technique with Jiri Zizka, both of Wilma Theatre. I also studied improvisational and commercial acting with Jeffery Zeiner at the Creative Actor’s Workshop in New York City.
When I decided that I wanted to become an actor, I was most fortunate in that, I began working immediately in the field. It was not long before I garnered my Equity, SAG, and AFTRA union cards. My theatre training was on-the-job. I was also fortunate to cultivate professional relationships with veterans in the field who encouraged my career aspirations and who were instrumental in my artistic and professional growth. Most notable were, Miguel Alguarin, founder of the Nuyorican Poet’s cafe, in New York City, and professor of English at Rutgers University, and Lois Elaine Griffith, artistic director at the Nuyorican and professor of English at Borough of Manhattan Community College. Miguel and Lois were both influential to my growth and development as an artist and theatre owner. They gave my theatre company free rehearsal space; they helped us to apply to and win a small grant toward our production costs for Jason & Meda; they schooled us in the ways of running a successful experimental theatre; they included our play Just the Boys as part of their theatre anthology, Action: The Nuyorican Poets Cafe Theatre Festival, published by Simon & Schuster. That would be my first credit as a published writer. Miguel and lois believed, as we did, that theatre should be accessible to everyone. Miguel was also fiercely supportive of those of us who were committed to creating new work for the theatre and to telling stories from diverse cultural points of view. They believed in our vision, at the time, and helped Theatre Double to broaden its artistic scope as a burgeoning not-for-profit theatre. Miguel had strong views on the potential for commercial success in the not-for-profit theatre. “Not-for-profit theatre as a rule is viewed as being fourth rate, but this is far from so. The last twenty years have proven that the not-for-profit sector can produce rich and vastly innovative theater for the marquees of Broadway”(1997, p.xvi). Miguel Algurin and Lois Griffith were allies and friends to me.
Other professional allies and mentors included: Kevin McShane a commercial casting agent at the Fifi Oscard Casting Agency, located in New York City. Mike Lemon, of Mike Lemon Casting in Philadelphia, PA and Gregory K. Spence, who at the time was the Vice President and General Council of the New School For Social Research, in New York City. He was a member of Theatre Double’s Board of Directors. He was also a great mentor and friend to my business partners and me.
I soaked up all I could from other performing artists, fellow actors, playwrights, and directors, about the many ways of self-preparation. I used what I had learned from taking acting workshops at the Wilma Theatre with Gordon Phillips that specialized in the classic methods by Stankislavky. Those workshops centered on challenging the actor to tap into their own life experiences as a way of developing a more truthful character. I also had the occasion to work with a particular director, Carol Roccamora, who at the time, was the artistic director for Festival Theatre for New Plays in Philadelphia, PA. Carol liked to use Uta Hagen acting exercises as part of rehearsals. For instance, I remember exercises that focused on active listening in which, “We do not hear the outer word or words, but rather what is inherent in them” (Hagen, 1991, 113). From all of that, I then developed my own strategic and disciplined approach to acting. I found out what worked for me. I used meditation, breathing techniques, singing, movement, visualization, and prayer as the means to prepare my mind for its journey to the other side of consciousness.
Shelita Birchett Benash, as Medea at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe, 1996.
My life experience credits include: Theatre Management, Theatre Performance, and Collaboration. I managed my own not-for-profit theatre company for 16 years. Theatre Double Repertory was multicultural and intergenerational. Not one of us was from a wealthy family, graduates of a business school, or drama conservatory. We were idealists; a group of determined dreamers: artists, poets, writers, craftsworkers and musicians. We hailed from a myriad of ethnic backgrounds, ages, disciplines, and experience. As a resident company, we fostered each others artistic growth and development. Our shared passion to express new ideas in the theatre pushed us to artistic heights we may not have achieved on our own.
During my tenure as artistic director from 1987 to 2003, I held many jobs that were instrumental to the daily maintenance of running a theatre. As far for the technical aspects involved in theatre production, I was the resident costume designer for Theatre Double. I am not a seamstress, so I would employ a seamstress to work with me on sketching out my designs and executing costumes needed for a particular production. I am a self-taught sewer and devised my own unique way of building wearable art. I was able to use my technique in designing and building costumes for Theatre Double’s, 2002, Off-Broadway production of For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enough by Ntozake Shange. My costume design for that production received this notice,”Costumes by Birchett are beautifully layered and adorned with patches of different designs but clearly distinguished by the ladies’ seven colors of the rainbow: red, brown, green, purple, orange, blue and yellow...” Toomer, J. ( 2003, March 6-12). Breaking New Ground ‘For Colored Girls’. New Amsterdam News, p. 23
Our theatre was inclusive. For instance, some of the technicians we worked with had never before stepped inside a theatre, and in some cases had never even seen a play. This created a dynamic and exciting atmosphere of intuitive creativity. For instance, the lighting designer for our first production of Theatre Double’s Jason & Medea in 1994, was notable for designing concert lights at clubs in the Philadelphia music scene. As opposed to exclusively working with trained theatrical set designers, costume designers, sound designers, and builders, we often collaborated with artists who worked outside the theatre. We enlisted the talents of fine art painters and sculptors who made art pieces for our productions, as well as musicians who wrote and performed original live music. We also enlisted a roofing contractor who moonlighted as a harmonica playing blues musician to build our sets. We worked with many people who, at the time, would have never been sought after to work in Philadelphia’s mainstream theatre. We worked that way by circumstance and necessity. Many of those artists and technicians were our friends who were simply excited by what we were doing and the kind of theatre that we were creating. Nonetheless, working that way, opened us up to bold new perspectives and unprecedented possibilities within the artistic process. We found innovative ways to design lighting, sets, sound, and costumes that were not limited to the conventional theatre. This was all a part of the alternative theatre experience. Our way of creating theatre was completely outside the box. This experimental collaborative environment was where I learned all it takes to devise, develop, write, and produce a play.
16 years of working in the professional theatre has given me solid experience in organized creativity as a working structure, and its use as part of a systematic expression in the arts. My alternative experience in the theatre also allowed me to incorporate my academic background in Communications. Life in the theatre for me, was a daily exercise in the practice and application of: the dynamics of small group communication; problem solving; risk-taking; organizational change; transformational leadership; collaboration; innovative thinking; building and managing creative environments; and sustaining creativity through flux. Therefore, I’m interested in studying more about creativity theories in graduate school as a way of better understanding and synthesizing my theatre experience, as well as articulating that experience into practical applications to be used in other types of organizational cultures.
I left the theatre in 2003, however I’ve maintained my psychological conditioning. It still causes me to work in a very particular way that flows throughout all aspects of my life, including my professional pursuits as a visual artist and adult student. I still carry that resident company experience with me. Making authentic grounded connections with those I work with, and fostering a supportive creative learning environment where new ideas and approaches are encouraged, continues to be very important to me.
I broke all the rules during my career in the theatre. I teetered on the edge of chaos. And in the process I honed my creative spirit into a viable work ethic that has been very useful to me academically. In this next phase of my artistic and academic careers, I look forward to discovering ways of translating some of my most valued life principles and creativity based work ethics, into practical applications that will find their way into environments outside of the arts, where I might inspire others to explore the heights of their own creative potential. My mission as I look forward to graduate school, is to use creativity as a synergistic learning tool, while maximizing the outward scope and expression of my talents combined.
“Many gratifying moments....There are those moments when Creon and his troops let us feel the threat Medea felt... above all, when the final slaughter is described in a choked scream, then you think this theatre company could do almost anything well.”
D.J.R. Bruckner, New York Times, September 25, 1996
“....Moritz has linked up with director Michael LeLand, actor Shelita Birchett and a dozen other artists to form Theatre Double, a theatre collective that’s been making a bit of a stir off-off-Broadway in New York.
C.M.M. Philadelphia City Paper, February 28-March 6, 1997
“In the supremely challenging role of Medea Shelita Birchett, a stunning actress giving a beautifully modulated performance that alternately conveys passion, hysteria, rage and control.”
Ben Bradley, Canales Magazine, 1996
“Oates’ sharp-edged humor, and well-realized performances by Shelita Birchett as the overweening Veronica...”
Douglas J. Keating, Philadelphia Inquirer, March 14, 1995
Just the Boys “...With spine-tingling, live, original saxophone music from Elliot Levine...By turns poetic, dramatic, raunchy, sexy, and humorous, this is a rich theatrical experience.
Victor Gluck, Back Stage, September 19, 1997
“Regardless, a production this bold---and which broke as many rules as this did---should not go unnoticed.”
OObr The Off-Off-Broadway Review, February 24, 2000
“...the piece is served well by the rough-hewn physicality of Peter Patrikos’ Gerry and the incandescent comic performance of Shelita Birchett as a rejected lover.”
Douglas J. Keating, Philadelphia Inquirer, February 22, 1997
Theatre Double’s production of for colored girls ran an unprecedented 10 weeks at the Theatre Double Mainstage in Philadelphia in 2001 and received enthusiastic reviews.
Kenneth Jones, Playbill, February 17, 2003
“Theatre Double is just beginning to come into its own; this small but impressive production should mark their triumphant arrival onto the New York scene.”
Jenny Sandman, Curtain Up Review, 2003
Shelita Birchett stands out as the Lady in Red with her riveting, dramatic telling of "Passion Flower" and the heart-wrenching domestic abuse tragedy of "Beau Willie Brown." Birchett has the ability to draw on depths of emotion with varying magnitude. Whether it be despair, lust, happiness, fear, sadness, loneliness or desperation, she can portray it with believable and touching veracity.
Jeanette Toomer, New Amsterdam News, March 6, 2003
Refreneces
Artaud, A. (1958). The Theater and its Double. New York, NY: Grove Press, Inc..
Growtoski, J. (2002). Towards a poor theatre. New York, NY: Routledge.
Hagen, U. (1991). A Challenge for the Actor. New York, NY: Scribner.
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Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is a 2018 American computer-animated superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Miles Morales / Spider-Man, produced by Columbia Pictures and Sony Pictures Animation in association with Marvel, and distributed by
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Paris Junior College » PJC News » Entry
Friday graduation features PJC top student award
Outstanding sophomore students nominated for the Paris Junior College Distinguished Service Award include, from left, Breanna Smallwood, John Altmann, Maddie Ellsworth, and Giselle Benitez. Not pictured is Jayla Oldfield.
While not quite at the record of over 600 graduates at Paris Junior College a few years ago, more than 440 students have applied to graduate from Paris Junior College this semester. Over half plan to walk in the Friday evening commencement ceremony at 7:00 p.m. in Noyes Stadium, April 17, 2019.
Part of the ceremony will be the announcement of the Distinguished Service Award, the highest student honor given at PJC. Five outstanding sophomores have been nominated for the Distinguished Service Award this year, including John Altman of College Station, Giselle Benitez of Paris, Maddie Ellsworth of Clarksville, Jayla Oldfield of Detroit, and Breanne Smallwood of Mt. Pleasant.
Altman is a two-year member of the Dragons baseball team and Phi Theta Kappa (two-year college international honor society), as well as a community volunteer. He served as the Student Government Association secretary/treasurer, and won the 2019 Bobby Walters Cup for highest GPA among all PJC sophomore athletes.
Benitez is a drama major who participated in Delta Psi Omega, the drama honor society. She is a community volunteer, represented PJC at Community College Day in Austin, and received the Outstanding Sophomore Drama Student Award.
Ellsworth is a member of Phi Theta Kappa, has worked in the PJC Writing Center, and was nominated for Miss PJC. She also placed second in Creative Writing for Research with Documentation in the annual creative writing awards competition.
Oldfield is a member of Phi Theta Kappa, serving as Vice President of Fellowship, is a community volunteer, and worked in the Writing Center, assisting other students.
Breanne Smallwood is a two year member of the PJC softball team and of Phi Theta Kappa. She has volunteered with the Dixie League Tryouts and the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
For more information about graduation, contact the Office of Admissions and Records at 903-782-0425.
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