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Accurately measuring layout on the web
Posted by Nolan Lawson in Web. Tagged: performance. 22 comments
Update (August 2019): the technique described below, in particular how to schedule an event to fire after style/layout calculations are complete, is now captured in a web API proposal called requestPostAnimationFrame. There is also a good polyfill called afterframe.
We all want to make faster websites. The question is just what to measure, and how to use that information to determine what’s “slow” and what could be made faster.
The browser rendering pipeline is complicated. For that reason, it’s tricky to measure the performance of a webpage, especially when components are rendered client-side and everything becomes an intricate ballet between JavaScript, the DOM, styling, layout, and rendering. Many folks stick to what they understand, and so they may under-measure or completely mis-measure their website’s frontend performance.
So in this post, I want to demystify some of these concepts, and offer techniques for accurately measuring what’s going on when we render things on the web.
The web rendering pipeline
Let’s say we have a component that is rendered client-side, using JavaScript. To keep things simple, I wrote a demo component in vanilla JS, but everything I’m about to say would also apply to React, Vue, Angular, etc.
When we use the handy Performance profiler in the Chrome Dev Tools, we see something like this:
This is a view of the CPU costs of our component, in terms of milliseconds on the UI thread. To break things down, here are the steps required:
Execute JavaScript – executing (but not necessarily compiling) JavaScript, including any state manipulation, “virtual DOM diffing,” and modifying the DOM.
Calculate style – taking a CSS stylesheet and matching its selector rules with elements in the DOM. This is also known as “formatting.”
Calculate layout – taking those CSS styles we calculated in step #2 and figuring out where the boxes should be laid out on the screen. This is also known as “reflow.”
Render – the process of actually putting pixels on the screen. This often involves painting, compositing, GPU acceleration, and a separate rendering thread.
All of these steps invoke CPU costs, and therefore all of them can impact the user experience. If any one of them takes a long time, it can lead to the appearance of a slow-loading component.
The naïve approach
Now, the most common mistake that folks make when trying to measure this process is to skip steps 2, 3, and 4 entirely. In other words, they just measure the time spent executing JavaScript, and completely ignore everything after that.
When I worked as a browser performance engineer, I would often look at a trace of a team’s website and ask them which mark they used to measure “done.” More often than not, it turned out that their mark landed right after JavaScript, but before style and layout, meaning the last bit of CPU work wasn’t being measured.
So how do we measure these costs? For the purposes of this post, let’s focus on how we measure style and layout in particular. As it turns out, the render step is much more complicated to measure, and indeed it’s impossible to measure accurately, because rendering is often a complex interplay between separate threads and the GPU, and therefore isn’t even visible to userland JavaScript running on the main thread.
Style and layout calculations, however, are 100% measurable because they block the main thread. And yes, this is true even with something like Firefox’s Stylo engine – even if multiple threads can be employed to speed up the work, ultimately the main thread has to wait on all the other threads to deliver the final result. This is just the way the web works, as specc’ed.
What to measure
So in practical terms, we want to put a performance mark before our JavaScript starts executing, and another one after all the additional work is done:
I’ve written previously about various JavaScript timers on the web. Can any of these help us out?
As it turns out, requestAnimationFrame will be our main tool of choice, but there’s a problem. As Jake Archibald explains in his excellent talk on the event loop, browsers disagree on where to fire this callback:
Now, per the HTML5 event loop spec, requestAnimationFrame is indeed supposed to fire before style and layout are calculated. Edge has already fixed this in v18, and perhaps Safari will fix it in the future as well. But that would still leave us with inconsistent behavior in IE, as well as in older versions of Safari and Edge.
Also, if anything, the spec-compliant behavior actually makes it more difficult to measure style and layout! In an ideal world, the spec would have two timers – one for requestAnimationFrame, and another for requestAnimationFrameAfterStyleAndLayout (or something like that). In fact, there has been some discussion at the WHATWG about adding an API for this, but so far it’s just a gleam in the spec authors’ eyes.
Unfortunately, we live in the real world with real constraints, and we can’t wait for browsers to add this timer. So we’ll just have to figure out how to crack this nut, even with browsers disagreeing on when requestAnimationFrame should fire. Is there any solution that will work cross-browser?
Cross-browser “after frame” callback
There’s no solution that will work perfectly to place a callback right after style and layout, but based on the advice of Todd Reifsteck, I believe this comes closest:
requestAnimationFrame(() => {
performance.mark('end')
Let’s break down what this code is doing. In the case of spec-compliant browsers, such as Chrome, it looks like this:
Note that rAF fires before style and layout, but the next setTimeout fires just after those steps (including “paint,” in this case).
And here’s how it works in non-spec-compliant browsers, such as Edge 17:
Note that rAF fires after style and layout, and the next setTimeout happens so soon that the Edge F12 Tools actually render the two marks on top of each other.
So essentially, the trick is to queue a setTimeout callback inside of a rAF, which ensures that the second callback happens after style and layout, regardless of whether the browser is spec-compliant or not.
Downsides and alternatives
Now to be fair, there are a lot of problems with this technique:
setTimeout is somewhat unpredictable in that it may be clamped to 4ms (or more in some cases).
If there are any other setTimeout callbacks that have been queued elsewhere in the code, then ours may not be the last one to run.
In the non-spec-compliant browsers, doing the setTimeout is actually a waste, because we already have a perfectly good place to set our mark – right inside the rAF!
However, if you’re looking for a one-size-fits-all solution for all browsers, rAF + setTimeout is about as close as you can get. Let’s consider some alternative approaches and why they wouldn’t work so well:
rAF + microtask
Promise.resolve().then(() => {
performance.mark('after')
This one doesn’t work at all, because microtasks (e.g. Promises) run immediately after JavaScript execution has completed. So it doesn’t wait for style and layout at all:
rAF + requestIdleCallback
requestIdleCallback(() => {
Calling requestIdleCallback from inside of a requestAnimationFrame will indeed capture style and layout:
However, if the microtask version fires too early, I would worry that this one would fire too late. The screenshot above shows it firing fairly quickly, but if the main thread is busy doing other work, rIC could be delayed a long time waiting for the browser to decide that it’s safe to run some “idle” work. This one is far less of a sure bet than setTimeout.
rAF + rAF
This one, also called a “double rAF,” is a perfectly fine solution, but compared to the setTimeout version, it probably captures more idle time – roughly 16.7ms on a 60Hz screen, as opposed to the standard 4ms for setTimeout – and is therefore slightly more inaccurate.
You might wonder about that, given that I’ve already talked about setTimeout(0) not really firing in 0 (or even necessarily 4) milliseconds in a previous blog post. But keep in mind that, even though setTimeout() may be clamped by as much as a second, this only occurs in a background tab. And if we’re running in a background tab, we can’t count on rAF at all, because it may be paused altogether. (How to deal with noisy telemetry from background tabs is an interesting but separate question.)
So rAF+setTimeout, despite its flaws, is probably still better than rAF+rAF.
Not fooling ourselves
In any case, whether we choose rAF+setTimeout or double rAF, we can rest assured that we’re capturing any event-loop-driven style and layout costs. With this measure in place, it’s much less likely that we’ll fool ourselves by only measuring JavaScript and direct DOM API performance.
As an example, let’s consider what would happen if our style and layout costs weren’t just invoked by the event loop – that is, if our component were calling one of the many APIs that force style/layout recalculation, such as getBoundingClientRect(), offsetTop, etc.
If we call getBoundingClientRect() just once, notice that the style and layout calculations shift over into the middle of JavaScript execution:
The important point here is that we’re not doing anything any slower or faster – we’ve merely moved the costs around. If we don’t measure the full costs of style and layout, though, we might deceive ourselves into thinking that calling getBoundingClientRect() is slower than not calling it! In fact, though, it’s just a case of robbing Peter to pay Paul.
It’s worth noting, though, that the Chrome Dev Tools have added little red triangles to our style/layout calculations, with the message “Forced reflow is a likely performance bottleneck.” This can be a bit misleading in this case, because again, the costs are not actually any higher – they’ve just moved to earlier in the trace.
(Now it’s true that, if we call getBoundingClientRect() repeatedly and change the DOM in the process, then we might invoke layout thrashing, in which case the overall costs would indeed be higher. So the Chrome Dev Tools are right to warn folks in that case.)
In any case, my point is that it’s easy to fool yourself if you only measure explicit JavaScript execution, and ignore any event-loop-driven style and layout costs that come afterward. The two costs may be scheduled differently, but they both impact performance.
Accurately measuring layout on the web is hard. There’s no perfect metric to capture style and layout – or indeed, rendering – even though all three can impact the user experience just as much as JavaScript.
However, it’s important to understand how the HTML5 event loop works, and to place performance marks at the appropriate points in the component rendering lifecycle. This can help avoid any mistaken conclusions about what’s “slower” or “faster” based on an incomplete view of the pipeline, and ensure that style and layout costs are accounted for.
I hope this blog post was useful, and that the art of measuring client-side performance is a little less mysterious now. And maybe it’s time to push browser vendors to add requestAnimationFrameAfterStyleAndLayout (we’ll bikeshed on the name though!).
Thanks to Ben Kelly, Todd Reifsteck, and Alex Russell for feedback on a draft of this blog post.
YubiKeys are neat
Posted by Nolan Lawson in Technology. Tagged: security. 6 comments
I recently picked up a YubiKey, because we use them at work and I was impressed with how simple and easy-to-use they are. I’ve been really happy with it so far – enough to write a blog post about it.
Basically, YubiKey works like this: whenever you need to do two-factor authentication (2FA), you just plug this little wafer into a USB port and tap a button, and it types out your one-time pass code. Interestingly, it does this by pretending to be a keyboard, which means it doesn’t require any special drivers. (Although it’s funny how Mac pops up a window saying, “Set up your keyboard…”)
The YubiKey Neo, which is the one I got, also supports NFC, so you can use it on a phone or tablet as well. I’ve only tested it on Android, but apparently iOS has some support too.
YubiKey is especially nice for sites like Google, GitHub, and Dropbox, because it runs directly in the browser using the FIDO U2F standard. Currently this is only supported in Chrome, but in Firefox you can also set security.webauth.u2f to true in about:config and it works just fine. (I use Firefox as my main browser, so I can confirm that this works across a variety of websites.)
One thing that pleasantly surprised me about YubiKey is that you can even use it for websites that don’t support U2F devices. Just download the Yubico Authenticator app, plug in your YubiKey, and now your YubiKey is an OTP app, i.e. a replacement for Google Authenticator, Authy, FreeOTP, etc. (Note that Yubico Authenticator doesn’t seem to support iOS, but it runs on desktops and Android, and is even open source on F-Droid.)
What I like the most about Yubico Authenticator is that it works the same across multiple devices, as long as you’re using the same YubiKey. This is great for me, because I have a weird Android setup, and so I’m frequently factory-resetting my phone, meaning I’d normally have to go through the hassle of setting up all my 2FA accounts again. But with YubiKey, I just have to remember to hold onto this little device that’s smaller than a stick of gum and fits on a keyring.
One thing I did find a bit annoying, though, is that the NFC communication between my YubiKey and OnePlus 5T is pretty spotty. To get it to work, I have to remove my phone from its case and the YubiKey from my keyring and clumsily mash them together a few times until it finally registers. But it does work.
Overall though, YubiKey is really cool. Definitely a worthy addition to one’s keyring, and as a bonus it makes me feel like a 21st-century James Bond. (I mean, when I plug it in and it “just works,” not when I’m mashing it into my phone like a monkey.)
If you’d like to read more about YubiKey and security, you might enjoy this article by Maciej Ceglowski on “basic security precautions for non-profits and journalists in the United States.”
Update: In addition to U2F, there is also an emerging standard called WebAuthn which is supported in Chrome, Firefox, and Edge without flags and is supported by YubiKey. So far though, website support seems limited, with Dropbox being a major exception.
Moving on from Microsoft
Posted by Nolan Lawson in Web. 5 comments
When I first joined Microsoft, I wrote an idealistic blog post describing the web as a public good, one that I hoped to serve by working for a browser vendor. I still believe in that vision of the web: it’s the freest platform on earth, it’s not totally dominated by any one entity, and it provides both users and developers with a degree of control that isn’t really available in the walled-garden app models of iOS, Android, etc.
“This is for everyone”, a tribute to the web and Tim Berners-Lee (source)
After joining Microsoft, I continued to be blown away by the dedication and passion of those working on the Edge browser, many of whom shared my feelings about the open web. There were folks who were ex-Mozilla, ex-Opera, ex-Google, ex-Samsung – basically ex-AnyBrowserVendor. There were also plenty of Microsoft veterans who took their expertise in Windows, the CLR, and other Microsoft technologies and applied it with gusto to the unique challenges of the web.
It was fascinating to see so many people from so many different backgrounds working on something as enormously complex as a browser, and collaborating with like-minded folks at other browser vendors in the open forums of the W3C, TC39, WHATWG, and other standards bodies. Getting a peek behind the curtain at how the web “sausage” is made was a unique experience, and one that I cherish.
I’m also proud of the work I accomplished during my tenure at Microsoft. I wrote a blog post on how browser scrolling works, which not only provided a comprehensive overview for web developers, but I suspect may have even spurred Mozilla to up their scrolling game. (Congrats to Firefox for becoming the first browser to support asynchronous keyboard scrolling!)
I also did some work on the Intersection Observer spec, which I became interested in after discovering some cross-browser incompatibilities prompted by a bug in Mastodon. This was exactly the kind of thing I wanted to do for the web:
Find a browser bug while working on an open-source project.
Rather than just work around the bug, actually fix the browsers!
Discuss the problem with the spec owners at other browser vendors.
Submit the fixes to the spec and the web platform tests.
I didn’t do as much spec work as I would have liked (in particular, as a member of the Web Performance Working Group), but I am happy with the small contributions I managed to make.
While at Microsoft, I was also given the opportunity to speak at several conferences, an experience I found exhilarating if not a bit exhausting. (Eight talks in one year was perhaps too ambitious of me!) Overall, though, being a public speaker was a part of the browser gig that I thoroughly enjoyed, and the friendships I made with other conference attendees will surely linger in my mind long after I’ve forgotten whatever it was I gave a talk about. (Thankfully, though, there are always the videos!)
“Solving the web performance crisis,” a talk I gave on JavaScript performance (video link)
I also wrote a blog post on input responsiveness, which later inspired a post on JavaScript timers. It’s amazing how much you can learn about how a browser works by (wait for it) working on a browser! During my first year at Microsoft, I found myself steeped in discussions about the HTML5 event loop, Promises, setTimeout, setImmediate, and all the other wonderful ways of scheduling things on the web, because at the time we were knee-deep in rewriting the EdgeHTML event loop to improve performance and reliability.
Some of this work was even paralleled by other browser vendors, as shown in this blog post by Ben Kelly about Firefox 52. I fondly recall Ben and me swapping some benchmarks at a TPAC meeting. (When you get into the nitty-gritty of this stuff, sometimes it feels like other browser vendors are the only ones who really understand what you’re going through!)
I also did some work internal to Microsoft that I believe had a positive impact. In short, I met with lots of web teams and coached them on performance – walking through traces of Edge, IE, and Chrome – and helped them improve performance of their site across all browsers. Most of this coaching involved Windows Performance Analyzer, which is a surprisingly powerful tool despite being somewhat under-documented. (Although this post by my colleague Todd Reifsteck goes a long way toward demystifying some of the trickier aspects.)
I discussed this work a bit in an interview I did for Between the Wires, but most of it is private to the teams I worked with, since performance can be a tricky subject to talk about publicly. In general, neither browser vendors nor website owners want to shout to the heavens about their performance problems, so to avoid embarrassing both parties, most of the work I did in this area will probably never be public.
A slide from a talk I gave at the Edge Web Summit (video link, photo source)
Still, this work (we called it “Performance Clubs”) was one of my favorite parts of working at Microsoft. Being a “performance consultant,” analyzing traces, and reasoning about the interplay between browser architecture and website architecture was something I really enjoyed. It was part education (I gave a lot of impromptu speeches in front of whiteboards!) and part detective work (lots of puzzling over traces, muttering to myself “this thread isn’t supposed to do that!”). But as someone who is fond of both people and technology, I think I was well-suited for the task.
After Microsoft, I’ll continue doing this same sort of work, but in a new context. I’ll be joining Salesforce as a developer working on the Lightning Platform. I’m looking forward to the challenges of building an easy-to-use web framework that doesn’t sacrifice on performance – anticipating the needs of developers as well as the inherent limitations of CPUs, GPUs, memory, storage, and networks.
It will also be fun to apply my knowledge of cross-browser differences to the enterprise space, where developers often don’t have the luxury of saying “just use another browser.” It’s an unforgiving environment to develop in, but those are exactly the kinds of challenges I relish about the web!
For those who follow me mostly for my open-source work, nothing will change with my transition to Salesforce. I intend to continue working on Mastodon- and JavaScript-related projects in my spare time, including Pinafore. In fact, my experience with Pinafore and SvelteJS may pay dividends at my new gig; one of my new coworkers even mentioned SvelteJS as their north star for building a great JavaScript framework. (Seems I may have found my tribe!) Much of my Salesforce work will also be open-source, so I’m looking forward to spending more time back on GitHub as well. (Although perhaps not as intensely as I used to.)
Leaving Microsoft is a bit bittersweet for me. I’m excited by the new challenges, but I’m also going to miss all the talented and passionate people whose company I enjoyed on the Microsoft Edge team. That said, the web is nothing if not a big tent, and there’s plenty of room to work in, on, and around it. To everyone else who loves the web as I do: I’m sure our paths will cross again.
A tour of JavaScript timers on the web
Posted by Nolan Lawson in Web. Tagged: javascript, performance. 28 comments
Pop quiz: what is the difference between these JavaScript timers?
setImmediate
More specifically, if you queue up all of these timers at once, do you have any idea which order they’ll fire in?
If not, you’re probably not alone. I’ve been doing JavaScript and web programming for years, I’ve worked for a browser vendor for two of those years, and it’s only recently that I really came to understand all these timers and how they play together.
In this post, I’m going to give a high-level overview of how these timers work, and when you might want to use them. I’ll also cover the Lodash functions debounce() and throttle(), because I find them useful as well.
Promises and microtasks
Let’s get this one out of the way first, because it’s probably the simplest. A Promise callback is also called a “microtask,” and it runs at the same frequency as MutationObserver callbacks. Assuming queueMicrotask() ever makes it out of spec-land and into browser-land, it will also be the same thing.
I’ve already written a lot about promises. One quick misconception about promises that’s worth covering, though, is that they don’t give the browser a chance to breathe. Just because you’re queuing up an asynchronous callback, that doesn’t mean that the browser can render, or process input, or do any of the stuff we want browsers to do.
For example, let’s say we have a function that blocks the main thread for 1 second:
function block() {
var start = Date.now()
while (Date.now() - start < 1000) { /* wheee */ }
If we were to queue up a bunch of microtasks to call this function:
for (var i = 0; i < 100; i++) {
Promise.resolve().then(block)
This would block the browser for about 100 seconds. It’s basically the same as if we had done:
block()
Microtasks execute immediately after any synchronous execution is complete. There’s no chance to fit in any work between the two. So if you think you can break up a long-running task by separating it into microtasks, then it won’t do what you think it’s doing.
setTimeout and setInterval
These two are cousins: setTimeout queues a task to run in x number of milliseconds, whereas setInterval queues a recurring task to run every x milliseconds.
The thing is… browsers don’t really respect that milliseconds thing. You see, historically, web developers have abused setTimeout. A lot. To the point where browsers have had to add mitigations for setTimeout(/* ... */, 0) to avoid locking up the browser’s main thread, because a lot of websites tended to throw around setTimeout(0) like confetti.
This is the reason that a lot of the tricks in crashmybrowser.com don’t work anymore, such as queuing up a setTimeout that calls two more setTimeouts, which call two more setTimeouts, etc. I covered a few of these mitigations from the Edge side of things in “Improving input responsiveness in Microsoft Edge”.
Broadly speaking, a setTimeout(0) doesn’t really run in zero milliseconds. Usually, it runs in 4. Sometimes, it may run in 16 (this is what Edge does when it’s on battery power, for instance). Sometimes it may be clamped to 1 second (e.g., when running in a background tab). These are the sorts of tricks that browsers have had to invent to prevent runaway web pages from chewing up your CPU doing useless setTimeout work.
So that said, setTimeout does allow the browser to run some work before the callback fires (unlike microtasks). But if your goal is to allow input or rendering to run before the callback, setTimeout is usually not the best choice because it only incidentally allows those things to happen. Nowadays, there are better browser APIs that can hook more directly into the browser’s rendering system.
Before moving on to those “better browser APIs,” it’s worth mentioning this thing. setImmediate is, for lack of a better word … weird. If you look it up on caniuse.com, you’ll see that only Microsoft browsers support it. And yet it also exists in Node.js, and has lots of “polyfills” on npm. What the heck is this thing?
setImmediate was originally proposed by Microsoft to get around the problems with setTimeout described above. Basically, setTimeout had been abused, and so the thinking was that we can create a new thing to allow setImmediate(0) to actually be setImmediate(0) and not this funky “clamped to 4ms” thing. You can see some discussion about it from Jason Weber back in 2011.
Unfortunately, setImmediate was only ever adopted by IE and Edge. Part of the reason it’s still in use is that it has a sort of superpower in IE, where it allows input events like keyboard and mouseclicks to “jump the queue” and fire before the setImmediate callback is executed, whereas IE doesn’t have the same magic for setTimeout. (Edge eventually fixed this, as detailed in the previously-mentioned post.)
Also, the fact that setImmediate exists in Node means that a lot of “Node-polyfilled” code is using it in the browser without really knowing what it does. It doesn’t help that the differences between Node’s setImmediate and process.nextTick are very confusing, and even the official Node docs say the names should really be reversed. (For the purposes of this blog post though, I’m going to focus on the browser rather than Node because I’m not a Node expert.)
Bottom line: use setImmediate if you know what you’re doing and you’re trying to optimize input performance for IE. If not, then just don’t bother. (Or only use it in Node.)
Now we get to the most important setTimeout replacement, a timer that actually hooks into the browser’s rendering loop. By the way, if you don’t know how the browser event loops works, I strongly recommend this talk by Jake Archibald. Go watch it, I’ll wait.
Okay, now that you’re back, requestAnimationFrame basically works like this: it’s sort of like a setTimeout, except instead of waiting for some unpredictable amount of time (4 milliseconds, 16 milliseconds, 1 second, etc.), it executes before the browser’s next style/layout calculation step. Now, as Jake points out in his talk, there is a minor wrinkle in that it actually executes after this step in Safari, IE, and Edge <18, but let's ignore that for now since it's usually not an important detail.
The way I think of requestAnimationFrame is this: whenever I want to do some work that I know is going to modify the browser's style or layout – for instance, changing CSS properties or starting up an animation – I stick it in a requestAnimationFrame (abbreviated to rAF from here on out). This ensures a few things:
I'm less likely to layout thrash, because all of the changes to the DOM are being queued up and coordinated.
My code will naturally adapt to the performance characteristics of the browser. For instance, if it's a low-cost device that is struggling to render some DOM elements, rAF will naturally slow down from the usual 16.7ms intervals (on 60 Hertz screens) and thus it won't bog down the machine in the same way that running a lot of setTimeouts or setIntervals might.
This is why animation libraries that don't rely on CSS transitions or keyframes, such as GreenSock or React Motion, will typically make their changes in a rAF callback. If you're animating an element between opacity: 0 and opacity: 1, there's no sense in queuing up a billion callbacks to animate every possible intermediate state, including opacity: 0.0000001 and opacity: 0.9999999.
Instead, you're better off just using rAF to let the browser tell you how many frames you're able to paint during a given period of time, and calculate the "tween" for that particular frame. That way, slow devices naturally end up with a slower framerate, and faster devices end up with a faster framerate, which wouldn't necessarily be true if you used something like setTimeout, which operates independently of the browser's rendering speed.
rAF is probably the most useful timer in the toolkit, but requestIdleCallback is worth talking about as well. The browser support isn't great, but there's a polyfill that works just fine (and it uses rAF under the hood).
In many ways rAF is similar to requestIdleCallback. (I'll abbreviate it to rIC from now on. Starting to sound like a pair of troublemakers from West Side Story, huh? "There go Rick and Raff, up to no good!")
Like rAF, rIC will naturally adapt to the browser's performance characteristics: if the device is under heavy load, rIC may be delayed. The difference is that rIC fires on the browser "idle" state, i.e. when the browser has decided it doesn't have any tasks, microtasks, or input events to process, and you're free to do some work. It also gives you a "deadline" to track how much of your budget you're using, which is a nice feature.
Dan Abramov has a good talk from JSConf Iceland 2018 where he shows how you might use rIC. In the talk, he has a webapp that calls rIC for every keyboard event while the user is typing, and then it updates the rendered state inside of the callback. This is great because a fast typist can cause many keydown/keyup events to fire very quickly, but you don't necessarily want to update the rendered state of the page for every keypress.
Another good example of this is a “remaining character count” indicator on Twitter or Mastodon. I use rIC for this in Pinafore, because I don't really care if the indicator updates for every single key that I type. If I'm typing quickly, it's better to prioritize input responsiveness so that I don't lose my sense of flow.
In Pinafore, the little horizontal bar and the “characters remaining” indicator update as you type.
One thing I’ve noticed about rIC, though, is that it’s a little finicky in Chrome. In Firefox it seems to fire whenever I would, intuitively, think that the browser is “idle” and ready to run some code. (Same goes for the polyfill.) In mobile Chrome for Android, though, I’ve noticed that whenever I scroll with touch scrolling, it might delay rIC for several seconds even after I’m done touching the screen and the browser is doing absolutely nothing. (I suspect the issue I’m seeing is this one.)
Update: Alex Russell from the Chrome team informs me that this is a known issue and should be fixed soon!
In any case, rIC is another great tool to add to the tool chest. I tend to think of it this way: use rAF for critical rendering work, use rIC for non-critical work.
debounce and throttle
These two functions aren’t built in to the browser, but they’re so useful that they’re worth calling out on their own. If you aren’t familiar with them, there’s a good breakdown in CSS Tricks.
My standard use for debounce is inside of a resize callback. When the user is resizing their browser window, there’s no point in updating the layout for every resize callback, because it fires too frequently. Instead, you can debounce for a few hundred milliseconds, which will ensure that the callback eventually fires once the user is done fiddling with their window size.
throttle, on the other hand, is something I use much more liberally. For instance, a good use case is inside of a scroll event. Once again, it’s usually senseless to try to update the rendered state of the app for every scroll callback, because it fires too frequently (and the frequency can vary from browser to browser and from input method to input method… ugh). Using throttle normalizes this behavior, and ensures that it only fires every x number of milliseconds. You can also tweak Lodash’s throttle (or debounce) function to fire at the start of the delay, at the end, both, or neither.
In contrast, I wouldn’t use debounce for the scrolling scenario, because I don’t want the UI to only update after the user has explicitly stopped scrolling. That can get annoying, or even confusing, because the user might get frustrated and try to keep scrolling in order to update the UI state (e.g. in an infinite-scrolling list). throttle is better in this case, because it doesn’t wait for the scroll event to stop firing.
throttle is a function I use all over the place for all kinds of user input, and even for some regularly-scheduled tasks like IndexedDB cleanups. It’s extremely useful. Maybe it should just be baked into the browser some day!
So that’s my whirlwind tour of the various timer functions available in the browser, and how you might use them. I probably missed a few, because there are certainly some exotic ones out there (postMessage or lifecycle events, anyone?). But hopefully this at least provides a good overview of how I think about JavaScript timers on the web.
How to deal with “discourse”
Posted by Nolan Lawson in Mastodon. Leave a comment
It was chaotic human weather. There’d be a nice morning and then suddenly a storm would roll in.
– Jaron Lanier, describing computer message boards in the 1970s (source, p. 42)
Are you tired of the “discourse” and drama in Mastodon and the fediverse? When it happens, do you wish it would just go away?
Here’s one simple trick to stop discourse dead in its tracks:
Don’t talk about it.
Now, this may sound too glib and oversimplified, so to put it in other words:
When discourse is happening, just don’t talk about it.
That’s it. That’s the way you solve discourse. It’s really as easy as that.
Discourse is a reflection of the innate human desire to not only look at a car crash, but to slow down and gawk at it, causing traffic to grind to a halt so that everyone else says, “Well, I may as well see what the fuss is about.” The more you talk about it, the more you feed it.
So just don’t. Don’t write hot takes on it, don’t make jokes about it, don’t comment on how you’re tired of it, don’t try to calm everybody down, don’t write a big thread about how discourse is ruining the fediverse and won’t it please stop. Just don’t. Pretend like it’s not even there.
There’s a scene in a Simpsons Halloween episode where a bunch of billboard ads have come to life and are running amuck, destroying Springfield. Eventually though, Lisa realizes that the only power ads have is the power we give them, and if you “just don’t look” then they’ll keel over and die.
The “discourse” is exactly the same. Every time you talk about it, even just to mention it offhand or make a joke about it, it encourages more people to say to themselves, “Ooh, a fight! I gotta check this out.” Then they scroll back in their timeline to try to figure out the context, and the cycle begins anew. It’s like a disease that spreads by people complaining about it.
This is why whenever discourse is happening, I just talk about something else. I might also block or mute anyone who is talking about it, because I find the endless drama boring.
Like a car crash, it’s never really interesting. It’s never something that’s going to change your life by finding out about it. It’s always the same petty squabbling you’ve seen a hundred times online.
Once the storm has passed, though, it’s safe to talk about it. You may even write a longwinded blog post about it. But while it’s happening, remember: “just don’t look, just don’t look.”
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FOREIGN SCENE
NOLLY POLITICS
WOMEN IN NOLLYWOOD
OKIKE TV
MIXED REACTION AS OSCAR DISQUALIFIES GENEVIEVE NNAJI’S LION HEART
by Nollywood Insider
Nollywood has in recent times received applauds and commendations thanks to the continuous growth in the industry. Movies like Niyi Akinmolayan’s ‘The wedding party 2, ‘Mokalik’ directed by Kunle Afolayan and Genevieve’s ‘Lion Heart’ , a predominantly English movie which is currently streaming on Netflix. The comedy ‘Lion Heart was the first-ever Nigerian Movie submitted for Best International Feature Oscar consideration ; a freshly renamed international feature film category, pitifully was disqualified by the Academy of Motion Picture Art and Sciences for having too much dialogue in English .
The movie was starred and directed by Genevieve Nnaji ; who is called the Julia Robert of Nigeria. The story line tells of a young woman trying to keep her father’s company afloat in a male-dominated world.
“Lionheart” was one of 10 African films officially submitted for Oscar consideration this year, a record for the continent. With the disqualification, the number of films in contention for the award has dropped from 93 to 92. The film is still eligible to be considered in other Oscar categories.
Although this isn’t the first time the academy has disqualified a foreign film from consideration for having too much English dialogue; in recent years, the 2015 Afghan film “Utopia” and the 2007 Israeli movie “The Band’s Visit” were disqualified for the same reason. Still, the disqualification of “Lionheart” which, ironically, follows the academy’s decision earlier this year to change the name of the category from best foreign-language film to best international feature film, struck a sour note with at least one high-powered Hollywood figure. American Director Ava DuVernay tweeted her dismay, noting that English is the official language of Nigeria. Most Nigerians expressed their disappointment, majority stating that English is our official language.
Genevieve Nnaji ,the director and main actor in the movie reacted to the disqualification on Twitter said that ‘The movie represents the way we speak as Nigerians ,which includes English which acts as a bridge between the 500+ languages spoken in our country; thereby making us #OneNigeria.
It won’t be easy for all Nigerians to relate with and appreciate the movie the way they did, if our official language wasn’t predominant. We obviously didn’t choose who colonized us, so the choice to disqualify the movie seems biased.
Tags: genevieve
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Love Live Series Merchandise
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Love Live! is a multimedia project co-developed by ASCII Media Works, Dengeki G’s Magazine, music label Lantis, and animation studio Sunrise. The project tells the story of fictional high school girls who start an idol group in order to save their school from closing down. The series launched in the August 2010 issue of Dengeki G’s Magazine and has gone on to encompass anime adaptations, manga adaptations, music releases, video games, and more. To date, the franchise has received two anime adaptations and a movie directed by Takahiko Kyogoku, written by Jukki Hanada, and produced by studio Sunrise: Love Live! School Idol Project, Love Live! Sunshine!!, and Love Live! The School Idol Movie.
The Love Live! School Idol Project anime is the first in the franchise and its two seasons aired on Tokyo MX, TVA, and BS11 from Jan. 6, 2013 to June 29, 2014. Its story follows main character Honoka and members of the newly formed idol group μ's as they try to save their school, Otonokizaka Academy, from shutting down and follow their dreams of winning the Love Live idol competition and becoming full fledged idols. The anime spans 26 episodes total.
μ's Members:
Honoka Kosaka (CV: Emi Nitta) - The main character of Love Live! School Idol Project. She has a bubbly, cheerful personality and is the leader of μ's.
Kotori Minami (CV: Aya Uchida) - Honoka’s childhood friend who’s a bit airheaded. She is the wardrobe designer and choreographer of μ's.
Eli Ayase (CV: Yoshino Nanjo) - The Otonokizaka Academy student council president who is friends with Nozomi. She excels at sports and academics and is the choreographer of μ's along with Kotori.
Hanayo Koizumi (CV: Yurika Kubo) - A shy and quiet girl with poor self-esteem prior to joining μ's who later becomes president of the Idol Research Club.
Umi Sonoda (CV: Suzuko Mimori) - Honoka’s childhood friend who has expertise in kendo, koto, nagauta, shodo, and nichibu, and is the lyricist of μ's.
Rin Hoshizora (CV: Riho Iida) - A tomboy with an athletic and cheerful personality who is best friends with Hanayo.
Nico Yazawa (CV: Sora Tokui) - An idol superfan and founder of the Idol Research Club. She is the wardrobe designer of μ's along with Kotori. Her catchphrase is “Nico Nico Nii!”
Maki Nishikino (CV: Pile) - A talented singer and pianist, Maki is the main composer and vocal coach of the group.
Nozomi Tojo (CV: Aina Kusuda) - The big sister of the group who is demure with a mischievous side and acts as the group’s spiritual leader. Her hobby is fortune-telling.
The members of μ's are also divided into three mini groups. BiBi is comprised of Eli, Maki, and Nico, and their singles include "Diamond Princess no Yuutsu" and "Cutie Panther." Printemps is comprised of Honoka, Kotori, and Hanayo, and their singles include "Love Marginal" and "Pure Girls Project." The third group, Lily White, is comprised of Umi, Rin, and Nozomi, and their singles include "Shiranai Love*Oshiete Love" and "Binetsu kara Mystery."
The second anime, Love Live! Sunshine!! began airing on Tokyo MX, Sun TV, KBS, BS11, TVA, SBS, TVQ, and TVh on July 2, 2016. It tells a very similar story to Love Live! School Idol Project - girls banding together and forming an idol unit to save their school from closing - but its setting shifts to Uranohoshi Girls' Academy with a new lineup of characters who form the idol group Aqours. Its opening and ending themes are "Aozora Jumping Heart" and "Yume Kataru yori Yume Utao." Thirteen episodes of the anime are planned.
Aqours Members:
Chika Takami (CV: Anju Inami) - The main character of Love Live! Sunshine!! who has a complex about being too ordinary and looks up to μ's which leads her to form a school idol group of her own.
Riko Sakurauchi (CV: Riakko Aida) - A modest, down to earth transfer student and the group’s composer.
Kanan Matsuura (CV: Nanaka Suwa) - Chika’s childhood friend who takes care of her injured grandfather and has a hard time attending class.
Dia Kurosawa (CV: Arisa Komiya) - The Uranohoshi Girls' Academy student council president, Dia is prideful and joins the group after losing a bet to Chika. She is also a diehard fan of μ's.
You Watanabe (CV: Shuka Saito) - Chika’s childhood friend who has an energetic, positive personality. Her catchphrase is “Keep her steady!”
Yoshiko Tsushima (CV: Aika Kobayashi) - Yoshiko joins the group in an attempt to try and overcome her chunibyo. She refers to herself as Yohane, a fallen angel.
Hanamaru Kunikida (CV: Kanako Takatsuki) - A ditzy, talented singer whose family runs a local temple.
Mari Ohara (CV: Aina Suzuki) - A bright go-getter whose favorite music is industrial metal.
Ruby Kurosawa (CV: Ai Furihata) - Dia’s timid crybaby sister who has long dreamed of becoming an idol and has androphobia (the fear of men).
Just like μ's, the members of Aqours are also divided into three mini groups. The first, CYaRon!, is comprised of You, Ruby, and Chika, and their first single is "Genki Zenkai Day! Day! Day!" Azalea is comprised of Dia, Kanan, and Hanamaru and their first single is "Torikoriko Please!!" Yoshiko, Riko and Mari make up the third group, Guilty Kiss, whose first single is "Strawberry Trapper."
Being an idol franchise, there is a main focus on music. A total of 46 singles have been released for Love Live! School Idol Project including the first season opening and ending themes "Bokura wa Ima no Naka de" and "Kitto Seishun ga Kikoeru," the second season opening and ending themes "Sore wa Bokutachi no Kiseki" and "Donna Toki mo Zutto," and μ's final single “Moment Ring.” Other notable μ's singles include "KiRa-KiRa Sensation! / Happy Maker!," "Korekara no Someday / Wonder Zone,” "Susume→Tomorrow / Start:Dash!!," and “Snow Halation.” There have also been 14 original song CDs including those released with the Blu-ray volumes, 20 character albums, and 7 video albums of concerts including μ's final concert “μ's FinalLoveLive! 2016: μ'sic Forever.” Nine singles have also been released for Aquors, the idol group from Love Live! Sunshine!!, including "Kimi no Kokoro wa Kagayaiteru Kai?" and "Koi ni Naritai Aquarium" with their latest being "Yume de Yozora o Terashitai/Mijuku Dreamer," two insert songs used in the anime.
Aside from anime and music, the franchise also spans a wide range of other media. Three manga written by Sakurako Kimino have been published so far by ASCII Media Works in Dengeki G’s Magazine and Dengeki G’s Comic - these include Love Live! School Idol Project, Love Live! Anthology, and Love Live! School Idol Diary. A novel also titled Love Live! School Idol Diary written by Sakurako Kimino that remixes the anime series and is told from the perspective of different μ's members is published by ASCII Media Works and includes 11 volumes to date. Love Live! School Idol Festival, a collectable card and rhythm action game for the iOS and Android, was released by Bushiroad in Japan on April 16, 2013 and worldwide May 11, 2014. The game has since spawned the School Idol Festival Thanksgiving Festival, a competition held yearly in Japan since 2015 looking for the best School Idol Festival player. There have also been three rhythm action video games released on the PS Vita under the title Love Live! School Idol Paradise on Aug. 28, 2014, developed by Dingo Inc. These include: Vol. 1 Printemps, Vol. 2 BiBi, and Vol. 3 Lily White. There is also a board game called Love Live! Board Game: Fan Acquisition, School Idol Great Operation!, and radio web shows that include Love Live! µ's Public Relations Department ~NicoRinPana~ and RADIO Animelo Mix Love Live! ~NozoEri Radio Garden~. Love Live! characters have also appeared in four Bushiroad trading card games: Victory Spark Booster Pack "Baby Princess & Love Live!", Weiss Schwarz Love Live! School Idol Project, Fiveqross, and Love Live! School Idol Collection.
Love Live! Sunshine!!, Love Live!, First Live: with You
Chika Takami, You Watanabe, Nico Yazawa, Mari Ohara, Riko Sakurauchi, Yoshiko Tsushima, Umi Sonoda, Hanamaru Kunikida, Nozomi Tojo, Eli Ayase, Kanan Matsuura, Ruby Kurosawa, Rin Hoshizora, Dia Kurosawa, Maki Nishikino, Kotori Minami, Hanayo Koizumi, Honoka Kosaka, Nijigasaki Academy School Idol Club, Saint Snow, Leah Kazuno, Sarah Kazuno
Love Live! Sunshine!! The School Idol Movie: Over the Rainbow Pamphlet
Love Live! Comic Anthology: School Idol Project 2
Scale Figures (1)
Plushie Accessories (1)
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Many UFO Reports Filed in Ontario in June – Part 4 of 5
While the Oshawa, Ontario area seems to be experiencing a wave of UFO sightings (the ones written about previously are only a few of them. In fact, UFO sightings have risen across the province in the past few months.
For example, on June 23, 2012 a resident of Port Colburn reported on MUFON that at approximately 9:45 p.m., three witnesses saw about a dozen sphere-shaped objects “flying in triangle formation from west to east.” They made no sound and “at one point, a plane came out of the clouds and followed for a minute (and) then changed route.”
The witnesses thought they might be seeing lanterns. However, they noted that the objects were “too large” and moved “too quickly.”
On June 24 a Brampton resident reported on MUFON that three adults and four children saw a black triangle-shaped object move slowly across a clear sky and made no sound at approximately 10:45 p.m. For more details on this sighting, go HERE.
On June 23 at approximately 1:35 a.m., a Toronto resident in a sixth-floor apartment reported on MUFON that a moan was heard, so the witness looked outside. When the person peered out a window, what at first appeared to be a shooting star was seen but it “came straight down from high in the sky. It was very bright and very fast. Then all of a sudden, it stopped and was hoving above some buildings in the distance.”
The witness noted that the object had rotating white lights. It remained stationary for several minutes and then “the lights went out but I could still see the object in the sky” which appeared to be “large” and “disc-shaped.” After a few more minutes, the object “emitted a large lightening-like flash. Then it went straight back up in the sky faster than it came down,” leaving the witness in shock.
On June 16 at about 11:48 p.m. two Caledonia resident saw two orange balls in the southwestern sky. They were driving south on Highway 6 at the time and just crossing the Grand River.
“The balls appeared to be the size of large hot air balloons but were perfectly round and appeared to be luminated, the color of orange fire but not flickering, ” the witness noted on the MUFON site.
As they moved in a northern direction, their color changed to “a greenish-blue” and they grew smaller until they disappeared from view.
“Then two more objects came from the south in the exact same manner as the previous two and followed the exact same path…”
Again, this is only a smattering of the reports posted on MUFON over the past month. As for Paul Shishis in Oshawa, he has come to a few conclusions about the increased activity in his area.
See Part 5: Shishis finds Commonalities in Oshawa UFO Sightings
More Obscure Reports of Minnesota UFO Encounters as 'UFO Week' Continues
Many Ontario Camping Sites Welcome Dogs
The Land of 10,000 UFOs? Little known, obscure UFO reports in Minnesota
Iowa family reports egg UFO hovering over nearby power lines
Orange light UFO sighting reports on the increase nationally
Anderson Cooper: Charges filed in hazing death of FAMU drum major
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Latest News/Articles
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SPLM's Kiir to run in Sudan presidential election
Written/Submitted by Pachodo.org News Room
Category: Pachodo.org Latest English Articles
KHARTOUM, July 27 (Reuters) - Sudan's former southern rebels said on Sunday their leader would run for the presidency in elections due next year under a landmark 2005 peace deal which ended Africa's longest civil war. Sudan's north-south civil war ended with an accord that shared power and wealth, created a semi-autonomous south Sudan, and envisaged democratic elections and a southern vote on secession by 2011.
The southern Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) joined the national government and its head, Salva Kiir, became first vice president. "The SPLM has officially decided to contest the elections on all levels including the president's position," senior SPLM official Yasir Arman told Reuters after an SPLM leadership meeting lasting several days. He said Kiir would be nominated for the presidency. "All the indications show very clearly that the SPLM is going to be a leading force and will definitely win the elections," he added.
The SPLM has registered tens of thousands of members in northern Sudan but some in the north say Kiir does not spend enough time in Khartoum and that many SPLM ministers in the national government have not been active enough. Arman said the Darfur conflict had to be resolved before the elections so that the remote western region could take part. The International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor sought an arrest warrant for President Omar Hassan al-Bashir on July 14 for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur, creating a political crisis in Sudan.
Arman said the SPLM had drawn up a plan to end the Darfur crisis and deal with the ICC warrant but would make no details public until it had met Bashir's National Congress Party (NCP). "We are looking for a joint leadership meeting between the NCP and SPLM as soon as possible to discuss the present crisis in the country and how we can defuse this crisis," Arman added.
Sudan has gained African Union and Arab League support for a U.N. Security Council resolution suspending any warrant for Bashir for a renewable 12-month period. Sudan has also indicated it may use national courts to try Darfur war crimes suspects. International experts estimate 200,000 people have died and 2.5 million have been driven from their homes in Darfur since mostly non-Arab rebels took up arms in early 2003, accusing the central government of neglect. Khartoum mobilised mostly Arab militia to quell the revolt who are accused of atrocities such as rape, murder and looting. Last year the ICC indicted a Sudanese junior government minister and an allied militia leader for war crimes but Khartoum refuses to recognise the court. Sudan signed but did not ratify the treaty forming the ICC.
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Sean Penn feels the ‘Heat’ with a young blonde
By Maggie Coughlan
Sean Penn Getty Images
Sean Penn, 59, and girlfriend Leila George, 27, make rare public appearance
Leonardo DiCaprio, Sean Penn get cozy with girlfriends on yacht
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Sean Penn is feeling the heat on and off screen.
On Wednesday, Penn was spotted at a sold-out screening of a new remaster of Michael Mann’s 1995 action flick, “Heat,” at Beverly Hills’ Samuel Goldwyn Theater.
The 56-year-old was joined by a “hot blonde” who looked like “she was probably not alive when ‘Heat’ came out 21 years ago,” a spy told Page Six.
Dressed in a black leather jacket, Penn’s companion sat along the aisle while the actor, who wore a blue shirt and “stunk of nicotine,” slouched down in his seat beside her.
Despite his attempts to keep a low profile, Penn was recognized by a number of attendees who “stopped by to pay court,” our source adds.
Following the screening, Christopher Nolan moderated an hour-long panel which featured the film’s stars Al Pacino and Robert De Niro. But it seems Penn, who “had his hand on his date’s thigh” during the discussion, wasn’t too interested in the reunion, exiting the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences event before it was finished.
In March, the actor who inadvertently brought down El Chapo was seen dining at Chicago Cut Steakhouse with “a beautiful younger blonde … in her early 20s.” A source told us at the time that the couple “ate near a window in full view. Many public kisses were shared.”
Penn dated Charlize Theron for two years before calling off their engagement in June 2015. He was previously married to Robin Wright from 1996 to 2010 and prior to that, Madonna from 1985 to 1989.
Filed under sean penn , sightings
Vons apologizes to Zendaya for 'misunderstanding'
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'Romeo and Juliet' star Olivia Hussey: I was raped at Charles Manson murder home
July 25, 2018 | 12:01pm
“I didn’t know if he was going to kill me,” Hussey said.
Even Phil Spector was scared of Charles Manson
"After being slipped a note from Manson wanting to meet with him, Phil was quoted as being ‘too scared’ to meet Manson because he thought he was crazy,” a source...
Al Pacino joins Quentin Tarantino's Charles Manson movie
June 8, 2018 | 11:54am
Pacino will play Marvin Shwarz — Leonardo DiCaprio's character's agent in the Sony film — marking his first collaboration with Tarantino.
Sharon Tate's sister blasts Leo, Brad Pitt for Manson murder film
March 2, 2018 | 2:30pm
Debra hopes Pitt and DiCaprio simply haven't thought the project through because it would mean they were "throwing all their social responsibility to the wind."
Pitt, DiCaprio set to star in Tarantino's Manson film
March 1, 2018 | 1:31am
The film has been dated for a theatrical release on Aug. 9, 2019.
Suki Waterhouse is growing out her chin and leg hair
February 9, 2018 | 3:05pm
She is embarking on a major transformation to play a Charles Manson follower in an upcoming film.
Hollywood blasts Tarantino ahead of upcoming Charles Manson flick
Judd Apatow and others are coming down on Quentin Tarantino’s Charles Manson movie before it gets started.
Sharon Tate's sister slams Hilary Duff film about actress' murder
February 7, 2018 | 11:54am
“It doesn’t matter who it is acting in it – it’s just tasteless,” Tate's siter said.
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The film is separate from the one that Quentin Tarantino is working on about the Manson Murders.
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DiCaprio will play an aging actor in the story that is being kept under wraps.
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The Death Toll At Home
In the wake of a recent, alarming RAND study reporting that one in five returning veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan experiences post traumatic stress disorder, Slate.com has posted an unsavory e-mail from Norma Perez, head of the Olin E. Teague Veterans' Center in Texas, attempting to dissuade medical workers from diagnosing the "disability-qualifying" disorder which entitles veterans to an "improved pension." Perez wrote that due to the increase in "compensation-seeking veterans," social workers and psychologists should forgo PTSD diagnoses in favor of the less-serious "adjustment disorder." When the email was leaked to VoteVets.org (and met with inevitable outrage and calls for repudiation) Perez changed her tune and has become, Slate reports, "extremely apologetic."
Her (token, scripted) apology is appropriate--the repercussions of misdiagnosing PTSD, though thrifty, are often tragic.
As Sarah Stillman reports in a great piece on TNR.com today, the broader failure of the Pentagon to provide adequate care for injured, traumatized soldiers has led to a disturbing prevalence of suicides among Iraq and Afghanistan veterans--a figure that, according to the director of the National Institute of Mental Health, "could trump the combat deaths" for U.S. soldiers. Stillman (a former Iraq correspondent and volunteer at Walter Reed Army Medical Center) uses her intimate knowledge of the issue to explain both the science and the politics behind this troubling phenomenon:
In 2006, Congress cut funding for the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center, a key facility devoted to treating and understanding war-related brain traumas. "Honestly, they would have loved to have funded it," explained spokeswoman Jenny Manley of the Senate Appropriations Committee, "but there were just so many priorities." More recently, authorities from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) attempted a seedy cover-up of soldiers' astronomical suicide rates. In a February email boldly titled "Shh!", Dr. Ira Katz, deputy chief patient care services officer at the VA, told colleagues, "Our suicide prevention coordinators are identifying about 1,000 suicide attempts per month among the veterans we see.... Is this something we should address ourselves in some sort of release before someone stumbles on it?"
As the presidential candidates debate our Iraq policy, Stillman's piece is a sobering reminder that "the human consequences of our continued presence there are much greater than just those who die on the battlefield."
--Bess Kalb
Person Career, The Plank, Social Issues
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by Avi Mizrahi
Coinbase Develops Bitpay Competitor Supporting BTC, BCH, ETH and LTC
While its trading clients might have preferred Coinbase to focus on improving its core service, the exchange is busy now expanding into another market. Coinbase Commerce has launched to help online stores handle payments in four leading cryptocurrencies.
Also Read: Independent Ratings Agency Alerts Investors About Dangers of Tether
San Francisco-based cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has developed a new service that aims to simplify for merchants the adoption of multiple cryptocurrencies as payments for goods and services. Coinbase Commerce facilitates the acceptance of cryptocurrencies by monitoring, validating and confirming client transactions on each blockchain. And the company says that payments made from its customers are performed on-chain.
After a quiet soft launch test period, Coinbase Commerce was made available on Wednesday February 14 for all merchants globally. Online retailers everywhere can now use the service to accept bitcoin (BTC), bitcoin cash (BCH), ethereum (ETH) and litecoin (LTC) payments. It enables merchants to accept multiple cryptocurrencies directly into a user-controlled wallet. Unlike previous merchant tools that the company developed, this one is not a hosted service, meaning that retailers have actual control of their own digital currency.
Shopify Integration
The developers of Coinbase Commerce say that it can be directly integrated into a merchant’s checkout flow or added as a payment option on an e-commerce platform. With just an email address and a phone, merchants can sign up and begin accepting crypto payments. The service has already been integrated with Canada-headquartered Shopify (NYSE: SHOP), one of the largest multi-channel commerce platforms, boasting more than 500,000 merchants with a total gross merchandise volume exceeding $45 billion. They add that they are actively adding more integrations with such platforms to make accepting cryptocurrency as easy as possible for merchants.
While the service can be most easily explained to retailers from outside the cryptocurrency ecosystem as a Paypal checkout for bitcoin, it’s more of an actual competitor to the largest bitcoin payment processor in the world today – Bitpay. The digital asset service provider based in Atlanta, Georgia has been the dominant player in the sector for a while now but Coinbase, whose revenues exceeded $1 billion last year, might be the best placed firm to challenge it.
Is competition between Coinbase and Bitpay going to lead to better services? Tell us what you think in the comments section below.
Images courtesy of Shutterstock and Coinbase.
Do you like to research and read about Bitcoin technology? Check out Bitcoin.com’s Wiki page for an in-depth look at Bitcoin’s innovative technology and interesting history.
BCH, Bitcoin Payments, BitPay, BTC, Coinbase, ETH, LTC, Merchant Services, N-Featured, Paypal, Shopify
SERVICES | Avi Mizrahi
Bitcoin Cash has been added to Mecon Cash’s M.Pay platform which is integrated with over 13,000 ATMs in South Korea.… read more.
SERVICES | Jamie Redman
On January 17, Bitcoin.com CEO Stefan Rust introduced the company’s new SLP minting application. The Bitcoin.com Mint is a noncustodial… read more.
Avi Mizrahi is an economist and entrepreneur who has been covering Bitcoin as a journalist since 2013. He has spoken about the promise of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology at numerous financial conferences around the world, from London to Hong-Kong.
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Trump Favorable Rating Dips
by Jim Norman
Majority of Americans have viewed Trump unfavorably throughout his presidency
Just over a third (36%) view independent counsel Robert Mueller favorably
Trump is disliked more than predecessors were early in their presidencies
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- President Donald Trump's favorable rating, already low by historical standards, has dropped to 38% -- while his unfavorable rating is at 59%.
This marks a dip in his favorable rating from 41% in December last year. It comes as Trump has escalated his attacks on special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation of possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia to influence the 2016 election. In contrast to Trump's overall image, Mueller's image is net positive -- 36% favorable and 28% unfavorable.
Favorable ratings of Donald Trump and Robert Mueller
Net favorable
pct. pts.
38 59 3 -21
36 28 36 +8
Gallup, April 2-11, 2018
More than a third (36%) of the public has no opinion about Mueller, split between those who know of him but have no opinion (15%) and those who have not heard of him (21%).
Among those who have an opinion on both men, 45% view Mueller favorably and Trump unfavorably. Twenty-six percent have a favorable view of Trump and an unfavorable one of Mueller, and 29% like both (12%) or dislike both (17%).
Trump has been a longtime critic of Mueller's investigation, labeling it "a witch hunt" last month. He ramped up his attacks this week after an FBI raid Monday on the offices of his longtime personal attorney Michael Cohen. Trump described the raid as "a disgraceful situation" and mused publicly about firing Mueller.
The raid took place after about three-fourths of the poll had been conducted. There was no significant difference between the favorable ratings before and those after the raid for Trump or Mueller.
Trump's Favorable Ratings Comparatively Low Since He Took Office
Trump's favorable ratings have varied little since he took office at the start of last year, ranging from 46% in February last year to 38% now. In every poll, a majority has had an unfavorable opinion of Trump.
None of his three White House predecessors had a majority of Americans view them unfavorably during their first 15 months in office. (Gallup did not ask the favorability question regularly about presidents before Bill Clinton's first term.)
Comparing Favorables for Four Presidents Early On
Highest favorable and unfavorable ratings for Presidents Trump, Obama, G.W. Bush and Clinton during their first 15 months in office
Highest favorable
Highest unfavorable
Public reaction to Trump when he took office was far more negative than the reception other recent presidents have received. His 40% job approval rating after his first month as president was 21 percentage points below the historical average for presidents during the parallel time period. His first favorable rating as president (46%) was significantly lower than the first ratings for Obama (69%), Bush (64%) or Clinton (65%).
The favorability ratings for Obama and Clinton fell by the end of their first 15 months in office -- Clinton's to 56% and Obama's to 52% -- but both still had a majority viewing them favorably. Bush's rating rose to 79% in the spring of his second year in office, as the country rallied behind him in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Trump's favorable rating remains higher now than it was during the year before he was elected, when the public's positive views never rose above 35%. In November 2016, immediately after his election, the rating rose to 42% and had stayed at 40% or above until now.
##SPEEDBUMP##
In spite of the controversy that has swirled around the Trump presidency from its beginning, public opinion about Trump has changed little. The percentage of Americans who like him and the percentage who dislike him have stayed in a fairly narrow range. That is still true, even with the latest slight drop in his favorable rating -- the highest and lowest ratings of his presidency are still less than 10 percentage points apart.
It is too soon to tell whether the latest events surrounding the Mueller investigation will push Trump's image down to pre-election levels, but the reaction from the Americans polled in the immediate aftermath does not indicate a major shift in views.
Results for this Gallup poll are based on telephone interviews conducted April 2-11, 2018, with a random sample of 1,015 adults, aged 18 and older, living in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. For results based on the total sample of national adults, the margin of sampling error is ±4 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. All reported margins of sampling error include computed design effects for weighting.
View survey methodology, complete question responses and trends.
Learn more about how the Gallup Poll Social Series works.
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USA All Gallup Headlines Favorability Government Politics Presidential Job Approval The Presidency
Evangelicals and Trump
Two-thirds of highly religious white Protestants approve of the job Trump is doing as president, and they are likely to continue barring major policy changes.
Americans Continue to Rate Trump Highest on Economy
Americans give Donald Trump his best reviews for making the country prosperous, but he scores poorly on energy and the environment.
Satisfaction With Direction of U.S. Down in March
The 28% of Americans who say they are satisfied with the direction of the U.S. in March is down from the 36% recorded in February.
Approval as an Objective Measure of Presidential Performance
by Frank Newport
The job approval rating continues to provide a valuable way of summarizing a president's performance in a single measure.
Gallup https://news.gallup.com/poll/232433/trump-favorable-rating-dips.aspx
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Behind the Design of the New Sonata: the Exterior
The 8th Generation Sonata attracted plenty of attention ever since it was announced with a teaser image. The designers' dedication and tenacity for amazing design oversaw every design aspect of the new Sonata. We sat down with the lead designer responsible for the exterior design: Lead Researcher Lee Ji-heon.
The new Sonata is one of the most talked about new cars in Korea, and its design is a major part of it. The new design pays homage to the original Sonata design, but also features unique details and dynamic design flourishes. There is a lot to unpack on the Sonata, visually and conceptually.
What decisions and behind-the-scenes discussions led to the final design?To find the answers, we met the designer behind the new Sonata and listened to what efforts were put in and challenges overcome. The first designer we met was Lee Ji-heon, lead researcher on the Hyundai Exterior Design Team 1.
Lead Researcher Lee was a key voice in the new design
Q. You obviously put everything on the line for this design, and there was a lot at stake, especially for you to succeed. What were you going through at that time?
Obviously, there was pressure, but it was what we needed to perform optimally. Looking back, I think our team pulled through very well and that's how we were able to complete the design.
YF Sonata had caused a similar ripple when it came out, and I think that was the place we went to in our minds, to stay motivated and focused. It helped us reach deep to find that driving force, to be able to define our design identity, and bring forward this beauty unique to the Sonata. At the time VP Luc Donkerwolke who just joined us as global head of design, and Director Lee Sang-yup who just came in to develop overall design strategy and direction. I remember working day and night to establish a design vernacular for Sonata.
Automobile designs are intangible in many regards. Expressing it in an objective manner with a unified voice and establishing an identity recognized across the industry is a difficult task. But great challenges can reward you with a tremendous sense of accomplishment. We went through countless iterations of design elements before reaching the current one that was released.
The 8th Generation Sonata embodies Hyundai's Sensuous Sportiness design language and is the first model to embody it
Q. What seeded the design concept for the 8th Generation Sonata?
I can answer that in two parts: Put the Sonata back on the map as Hyundai's quintessential model, and to do it by completely going beyond former iterations. Hyundai Motor's previous design identity was Fluidic Sculpture, and when we tried to progressively evolve from that concept, we were able to reach and establish the new design identity of Sensuous Sportiness.
While Fluidic Sculpture was inspired by nature's vitality, vibrancy, and dynamic properties, Sensuous Sportiness is about proportion, architecture, styling, and technology. Like the name states, it is about sportiness with emotive appeal. With that new identity, we wanted to bring change on the road and reveal the aesthetics inherent to automobiles.
Q. As you mentioned, the Sonata is iconic to Hyundai Motor. When there is an established identity, you have to find balance between paying close homage and bringing something new to the table. How did you approach that for the 8th Generation Sonata?
We drew some aspects from 6th Generation YF. We derived some sportiness from it, and that was all. We wanted to shed that quintessential family sedan perception. The aim was to create something sporty and sexy, desirable to all. I think we succeeded. One might say that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but the new Sonata's body silhouette and voluptious contouring really is as close to objective beauty as one can get.
Alongside the 8th Generation Sonata release was the Le Fil Rouge concept car, designed concurrently. Look closely and you'll spot some Sonata traits in the concept car
Q. So the Le Fil Rouge concept car design happened alongside the 8th Generation Sonata. How did the concept car affect the new Sonata?
The Sonata design came first. When we moved on from the second design model to the approved design model, that was when the Le Fil Rouge concept design began. That overlap in design process meant that design language was shared, and this resulted in the new Sonata having some aspects of forward-looking design. The 8th Generation Sonata and the Le Fil Rouge concept car synergistically helped establish Hyundai Motor's new design identity.
8th Generation Sonata features a coupe-like design sensibility
Q. The 8th Generation Sonata leaves behind the obvious 4-door sedan design and opts for a thrilling coupe-like style. What sparked this change?
The 8th Generation Sonata is built on the new 3rd Generation Platform, which opened up more options in terms of overal form and proportions. The 6th and 7th Generation Sonata were built on the 2nd Generation Platform with a cab forward design (the wind shield aligns close to the center of the front wheel). The 8th Generation Sonata shifted its center of gravity to the rear, resulting in a more coupe-like style 4-door design.
The 3rd Generation Platform was the biggest factor that allowed 8th Generation Sonata to have this new dynamic proportion
Q. So the new platform was the leading factor in the new Sonata's stylish design.
Exactly right. From the very beginning, the new Sonata's design team collaborated closely with the platform development team and the package team. It was through collaboration that bodywork proportions were set and design specifications were finalized. As a designer, the opportunity to work on a new design on a new platform was truly a great pleasure.
The hidden lighting DRL that connects with the headlamp is another great detail on the 8th Generation Sonata
Q. A major design accent on the Sonata is the hidden lighting under the chrome garnish that turns into a DRL when the ignition turns. How was that developed?
The initial design of the DRL did not take into account for the chrome garnish. But the R&D Center came up with the half mirror (partially opaque and reflective mirror) technology, and there was a suggestion that it would make for a signature look. The concept had great appeal, but the development and implementation was quite a challenge.
The main issue was getting the LED illumination to blend in with the chrome garnish. Without a good taper of the illumination, the overall design would look forced and unnatural. We were in some long talks with the lamp design supervisor, concerning whether a standard or translucent chrome, how the gradation could be achieved from a technical stand point.We went through thousands of samples from the lamp vendor before arriving where we are at now.
The rear view of the new Sonata was inspired by a large rear spoiler
Q. The 8th Generation Sonata adopted the horizontally connected bar-shape design for the rear lamps. Is this an emerging trend? It is being adopted around the world.
That's a good question, and it is true that more automakers are using that design, but I wouldn't say that is a design trend. I would say it is a of a particular design intention for particular types of cars being reflected in the design.
I think the 8th Generation Sonata's rear lamp design is on the same trajectory. The raised tip of the trunk lid also serves as the rear spoiler. It not only works great as a design, but also enhances aerodynamic performance. It is a summary embodiment of Hyundai's Sensuous Sportiness deisgn language.The horizontal bar design of the tail lamp further concretized the rear-spoiler design.
Q. The automarket is shifting its focus away from sedans and towards SUVs or crossover types. How does this shifting balance affect your decision to design a sedan?
When quality of life improves, work-life balance and leisure becomes a point of interest. That change is reflected in the automarket as growing interst in SUVs and crossover-type vehicles. Nonetheless, the sedan segment is still very much there. We wanted the 8th iteration Sonata to break out of the sedan mold, to find its own identity as the quintessential Hyundai model, or the Key Car loved by the consumers.
The aesthetic design of the 8th Generation Sonata also serves the sporty driving performance
Q. The 8th Generation Sonata's sportiness is more than just the style, but also in the driving sensibility. Where does performance and design meet in the the new Sonata?
The Sonata shed away its former modest, but unexciting look for a more visually appealing sporty design. We didn't stop at just appearance; it actually functionally impacts the driving performance of the new Sonata.
As mentioned earlier, a spoiler is on the rear trunk lid, air curtains on the front bumper, and aero fins atop the taillights. The angle of departure of the rear bumper increased for aerodynamic performance. These small but effective elements combine to generate a significant aerodynamic advantage, and improve driving stability.
The body contour was made in collaboration with the aerodynamics team, so it would improve aerodynamic performance. Although not immediately apprent as the surface is intricatley finished, the Sonata's overall silhouette is sleek and streamlined. If you get to drive the new Sonata, that correlation between aerodynamic design and driving stability becomes immediately noticable.
Lead Researcher Lee Ji-heon hopes that the 8th Generation Sonata leaves a long-lasting impression of beauty
Q. Sonata is not only a design familiar in Korea, but has been the face of Hyundai and Korea around the world. What is the design impression you wish to leave?
Obviously, I hope people remember it as an aesthetic car. I hope that the design introduces a type of beauty into the otherwise stark urbanscape. Hopefullly it'll come to be seen as something of desirable ownership.
The beauty of the new Sonata is immediately and intuitively apparent
Lead Researcher Lee Ji-heon who oversaw the exterior design emphasized the aesthetically pleasing design multiple times throughout the interview. It was clear that he sought to convey the aesthetic values to shine through, even without the complicated explanations concerning design or philosophy.
It was also clear that the beauty of the new Sonata's design needed no further explanation. To behold it is to immediatey recognize its beauty and marvel at it. Excellent design gives inspiration and even enjoyment without saying much, if at all. In that sense, not much more needs to be said about the 8th Generation Sonata. All that is left is for more people to experience the inspiration and enjoyment it brings.
The_new_Sonata 8th_sonata 8th_sonata_exterior_design exterior_ design HMG HMGjourna
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Autonomous Cars Will Lead to Less Car Ownership
Once car-sharing becomes a standard practice with the rise of fully autonomous cars, will these cars still be owned, or shared?
08/03/2018 Hyundai·Kia Motors Homepage Link
Have you ever wondered what the word automobile means? When translated into Korean/Japanese/Chinese, it is written (自動車 - self-moving-wagon). The translation is quite literal, where auto became 自動(self-moving) and mobile became 車(wagon). In some ways, it is a mistranslation, or perhaps an anachronism. To dig deeper in the the origin of the word automobile, we find that it was not exclusively for wheeled vehicles the way we now understand. It was a more general way of expressing self-movable. This makes plenty more sense if you consider the context of when automobiles became commercially available in the first half of the 19th century. The choice of expression was to distinguish the engine-driven vehicle from the horse-drawn carriages. Whether it was an internal combustion engine or a steam engine, it appeared to be self-driven. In other words, automobile was a term used to differentiate a particular means of locomotion distinguished from the horse-mobile. Interestingly enough, about a century later, technological advancements are finally doing the name justice. We are now at the cusp of an age of self-driving-cars. Again, to differentiate from the former means of locomotion, we are calling these autonomous cars.
Conceptually, the term is used interchangeably with the expression connected cars. 'Connected to what?', you might ask. Frankly, all things in this world. Connected cars are connected to other cars, people, and even roads, bridges and overpasses, road signs, and even the houses we live in. This may sound strange and otherworldly, but the concept of connected cars is in fact a lot closer than we think. Maybe even as old as automobiles. The automobile had begun replacing the horse-carriage as a means of transport in the 19th century. As the automobile removed many constraints in physical distance and time, remote areas began to be developed and valuable supplies could be delivered to where they were desired and needed the most. Nations exchanged more, and people could drive around to experience new locations, makes new acquaintances, eat new foods, experience foreign culture, and nature. Modern civilization made leaps and bounds not in small party due to the significantly expanded lifestyle of modern people, thanks to the automobile(among other means of transport) which connected different spaces.
Earlier this year, the IHS adjusted their predictions on autonomous vehicles by a large upward margin. Autonomous driving is become the standard, faster than expected.
The future of cars will no longer require a human operator to drive, or to connect spaces; it will be part of what a car does, and that future is closer than we think. In fact, leading global automakers are publicly stating the age of autonomous cars will dawn by 2020-2022. Market research and analysis agencies are putting forth similar forecasts. UK-based market research agency IHS estimated an annual sales of autonomous cars of 50,000 in 2021, a million in 2025, then 33 million in 2040. Take these forecasts with a pinch of salt. Considering the annual sales of 80-90 million new cars are sold every year around the world, the generous forecast for 7 years later is only 10% of the total. To be more specific, the real auto-mobile will most likely be released into the high-end luxury segment before gradually making it down the premium ladder to the consumer market.
Although the Hyundai KONA is a compact SUV, it has advanced technological equipment such as FCA and LKA.
Nonetheless, around the time automakers started showing up in earnest at consumer electronics shows like CES, automobile related technologies began evolving at breakneck speeds. For example, FCA(Forward Collision-Avoidance Assist) and LKA (Lane Keep Assist) are near-autonomous features that had been widely implemented on popular models like the Kia K3 or the KONA. Such advanced technologies applied to mini and compact passenger cars are a testimony to just how close it is to standard implementation. This is one reason the autonomous car is not a vaporous future but something tangible in the present.
If a car doesn't need a human operator to drive, turn, and stop, then what is the driver for? If it is just about not having to drive, then what makes it any different to say, subways or a bus? Does this mean there is no longer a need to own a car? After 130 years after human beings first encountered the combustion engine-powered cars, we once again stand before another novelty, unsure of what to do without having to pull the door latch, start the ignition, and grip the steering wheel. Of course this is no reason to admonish the age of autonomous cars, as the only way to truly avoid them would be to become a hermit in the mountains.
The PC gradually pushed out the typewriter, the GPS on the dashboard did away with the roadmaps in glove compartments and seat pockets, and the mobile phones that made it unnecessary for us to remember combinations of numbers, perhaps we should be welcoming this change; looking forward to what new things it may bring. Furthermore, there are forces at play far beyond our will.Some automakers even foresaw what was happening and began launching shared-car businesses for the autonomous era.
As these huge motorways and streets change into parks and greeneries, so will our urban lifestyles change.
If the privately owned vehicle becomes public commodity, and the automobile industry becomes fully engaged in supplying public cars, the convenience of driving will be available to formerly those who were not able, such as the elderly, children, and disabled people. Furthermore, imagine the impact on urban environment. Once down-town streets are filled with autonomous cars, distinguishing between pedestrian walks and driveways become more ambiguous. The cars will be aware of surrounding objects and obstacles, share data, and move autonomously. While privately owned cars are not being used over certain hours, it can be shared with someone who does use it in those hours. The car can be more useful and not be parked like unused furniture. This will certainly reduce frustrations from finding space for, or paying for parking. As the car is capable of driving away on its own, your city might even create a parking facility out of the busier areas. This will free up even greater space, allowing room for parks, greeneries, and other convenience facilities where cars used to take up space. Large streets in downtown Seoul such as Gangnam-daero, Teheran-ro, Sejong-ro, would all become sprawling grass fields sprinkled with sports and performance facilities, with food trucks and various pop-up stores. What more could you ask of urban life?
The Porsche Passport is a monthly subscription service. the subscriber pays a monthly bill to gain access to different models in Porsche's stable of amazing cars, and a choice to drive a different model each moth.
Not all automobiles in the age of autonomous cars will function as public goods. Automakers that have weathered changing times and industry conditions, planning and developing, manufacturing and selling cars for more than a century, are considering various means to maintain relevance. Seeking a way less taken by either vehicle-ownership and the concept of car-sharing, the automakers have been working toward a subscription-based service model. Traditionally, the word subscription conjures images of magazines and newspapers, something that is received at regular intervals, so the concept may be a little confusing. Yet at the same time, we are already accessing diverse contents besides magazines and newspapers, on a subscription-based service. The most commonly used subscription-based service is music-streaming, and recently we saw this model expand into movies and shows like those provided via Netflix. The key ideas are similar to the car subscription, as operated by some car brands and shared-economy start-ups. Subscriber pays a monthly or annual fee, and the service provider delivers a certain service for that period.
Leasing and rentals, car sharing are similarly categorized goods and services, but automobile subscription periods will be 1 month to maximum 1 year, a relatively short period. Once the contract is signed, traditional leases, rentals, or sharing limits the user to a single vehicle over the contracted term, but subscription service can add different automobiles, allow a set number of different cars, or available types. Access to different models of cars to best fit a lifestyle can be extremely attractive, but it does come with a price tag as high as vehicle-ownership in the present. As such, the concept is being "test-run" and employed in high-end luxury brackets with super cars.
AI can improve your driving skills. All you have to do is listen to the AI's guidance, and you just might drive like a semi-professional racer.
Neither complete ownership nor completely shared ownership will disappear. Rather, as autonomous vehicles become closer to public goods in nature, the concept of automobile ownership may become more valuable than it is today. As key technologies of autonomous era, namely connectedness and AI, AR will provide ever safer, richer, and thrilling and satisfying driving experiences. This is not just speculation. Many 'old guards' of driving pleasure have been claiming for years that autonomous technologies will make possible even greater exhileration in the driver's seat. AI can recognize and analyze the driver's driving patterns and provide timely guidance and cues to the most optimized times and points for acceleration and turns, essentially allowing the human driver to perform far beyond normal capabilities. Imagine an augmented-reality graphic, much like a HUD, pop up on the windscreen, reading "full brake in 3...2...1.. now". Doesn't that just sound exhilarating?
Even in the age of shared cars, we are unlikely to seek ownership of cars.
Even once autonomous driving technologies fully mature and become standard, people will continue to seek ownership. This is not only because the AI-powered capabilities will make driving that much more enjoyable and rewarding. We will continue to seek ways of ownership, even after our hands let go of the wheel and we feel comfortable feeling so. This is because the end goal of autonomous driving, unmanned driving, shared cars, and subscription-based cars, all of which describe future mobility, all converge on the idea of 'personalized experience'. In other words, 'my own driving experience' is the most important topic for future drivers. If you had the option of looking at scenes photographed yesterday, or watching the European Champions league scheduled for tonight, or the next episode of your favorite show coming tomorrow, and you could watch it all in your car on the way to somewhere, why would you not? Would you not jump into the seat behind the dashboard display, well contoured to the interior and presenting video at clear and natural colors, the convenient and intuitive UI, and the excellent audio without the cacophony of the road outside, with great style and amazing philosophy of design? After all, being able to secure time for yourself is more precious than gold. This too, is a future not far away. We are seeing this it in our smartphones, notebook computers, and even in trivial accessories like earphones and pouches, where we are willing to pay large sums to seek out and secure my own style.
car sharing autonomous future of cars HIS KIA HYUNDAI AI connected car HMG HMGjournal
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Choose one named area of the
Write an introductory paragraph that includes a thesis statement
An investigation of avon essay
Home accounting homework help Mumbai monorail essay
Mumbai monorail essay
Overview of Train Lines Mumbai has 3 major train lines that run north and south and there is a brand new metro line in the northern suburbs as well as a limited monorail line in eastern Mumbai. Mumbai Suburban Rail Network. Before you leave your internet sanctuary do a little research on the route. You can use the map above for this planning.
Early years[ edit ] The Mumbai monorail essay monorail prototype was made in Russia in by Ivan Elmanov. Attempts at creating monorail alternatives to conventional railways have been made since the early part of the 19th century.
Monorail - Wikipedia
It was intended for military use, but was also seen to have civilian use as a "cheap railway. A surviving suspended version is the oldest still in service system: Also in the early s, Gyro monorails with cars gyroscopically balanced on top of a single rail were tested, but never developed beyond the prototype stage.
The Ewing Systemused in the Patiala State Monorail Trainways in PunjabIndiarelies on a hybrid model with a load-bearing single rail and an external wheel for balance. One of the first systems put into practical use was that of French engineer Charles Larigue, who built a line between Ballybunion and Listowel in Ireland, opened in and closed in due to damage from Ireland's Civil War.
Monorails of Asia
It uses a load-bearing single rail and two lower, external rails for balance, the three carried on triangular supports. Possibly the first monorail locomotive was a steam locomotive.
A highspeed monorail using the Lartigue system was proposed in between Liverpool and Manchester. The first half of the 20th century saw many further proposed designs that either never left the drawing board or remained short-lived prototypes.
One of the first monorails planned in the United States was in New York City in the early s, scrubbed for an elevated train system.
Inthe first monorail to operate in the US began test operations in Houston, Texas. Monorails were promoted as futuristic technology with exhibition installations and amusement park purchases, as seen by the legacy systems in use today. However, monorails gained little foothold compared to conventional transport systems.
Niche private enterprise uses for monorails emerged, with the emergence of air travel and shopping mallswith shuttle-type systems being built.
Monorails of the World
Perceptions of monorail as public transport[ edit ] The Las Vegas Monorail pulling into the Las Vegas Convention Center Station From tothe monorail concept may have suffered, as with all public transport systems, from competition with the automobile.
Monorails in particular may have suffered from the reluctance of public transit authorities to invest in the perceived high cost of un-proven technology when faced with cheaper mature alternatives. One notable example of a public monorail is the AMF Monorail that was used as transportation around the World's Fair.
This high-cost perception was challenged most notably in when the ALWEG consortium proposed to finance the construction of a major system in Los Angeles in return for the right of operation.
Several monorails[ example needed ] initially conceived as transport systems survive on revenues generated from tourismbenefiting from the unique views offered from the largely elevated installations. Recent history[ edit ] Monorail in the Europa-Park in Rust, Germany From the s, most monorail mass transit systems are in Japanwith a few exceptions.
Tokyo Monorailtoday one of the world's busiest, averagespassengers per day and has served over 1. Monorail configurations have also been adopted by maglev trains.Word of the Year. Our Word of the Year choice serves as a symbol of each year’s most meaningful events and lookup trends.
It is an opportunity for us to reflect on . The Moments That Make Us Who We Are. Life provides turning points of many kinds, but the most powerful of all may be character-revealing moments. The National commission on urbanization submitted its report in and 65th constitutional amendment was introduced in Lok Sabha in , this was first attempt to give urban local bodies a constitutional status with three tier federal structure.
Search the world's information, including webpages, images, videos and more. Google has many special features to help you find exactly what you're looking for. Download-Theses Mercredi 10 juin Mumbai’s local railway is aptly nicknamed the “lifeline of the city.” Mumbai is one of the densest cities in the world and the trains are its saving grace, transporting a staggering million people per day.
Trains can get so overcrowded during peak hours that it is common to have people per square meter.
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What did Visa need to patch with Plaid?
Posted by PaymentsSource
Before Visa agreed to acquire data company Plaid for $5.3 billion, Mastercard had been pulling ahead in the race among the card brands to break beyond reliance on basic processing fees.
Visa’s Plaid deal is part of a series of rapid moves to manage challenges as diverse as gig economy payouts, real-time processing and building product stacks for technology clients. It also follows years of moves from Mastercard to serve the same goal.
One such deal was Mastercard’s $3 billion acquisition of a payment platform from Denmark-based technology company Nets in 2019. That deal came quickly on the heels of $1.1 billion in other Mastercard purchases, such as Ethoca, a fraud technology company; and Vyze, a point of sale provider.
At the time, Mastercard said these deals would slice into financial performance for the short-term, but also give Mastercard an inside track to provide issuers, merchants and acquirers the tools to handle border-less retail, supply chains and instant funds access.
“[Mastercard also has] its Vocalink property that supports real-time networks like The Clearing House in the U.S. and Faster Payments in the U.K.” said Dayna Ford, a senior research director at Gartner.
Visa’s Plaid deal “can also be seen as defensive to these Mastercard moves,” Ford said.
Visa has been evolving over the past few years to become more of a technology provider in addition to a payment network. After opening its technology to external developers four years ago, Visa has made investments to accommodate financial services models that, at times, are positioned as rivals to traditional card processing.
For example, Visa has invested in Klarna, a Swedish installment payment company that has marketed itself as a way to avoid card debt. The investment gives Visa access to younger consumers and a company that has embraced new retail strategies that tie checkout to a broader experience.
And just before the end of the year, Visa formed a partnership with Global Processing Services, a U.K.-based payment technology firm that will allow Visa to accelerate its fintech outreach in Europe while both companies promote faster payments to support digital commerce. GPS has also worked with Revolut and other fintechs, giving Visa an extra connection to that part of the financial services market.
The Plaid deal “opens new markets and positions us to capitalize on the fintech-driven revolution in financial services,” said Al Kelly, Visa’s CEO, in a conference call Monday. “The connectivity between banks and fintech developers has become critically important.”
Visa and Mastercard’s native real-time payment products, Visa Direct and Mastercard Send, are push-to-debit services that run on the networks traditional rails, and have gained significant adoption, according to Ford.
“They have gained especially in the form of payouts to gig economy workers and are often intertwined with the same fintechs that are utilizing Plaid,” Ford said. “It seems likely that Plaid will expand to include those rails as well.”
Plaid has gaps of its own — mostly geographic — as the company is live in only Canada, the U.K. and the U.S. But it’s in pilot in other markets, and has made strides in the U.S.
Plaid has connections to more than 2,600 fintech developers and 11,000 financial institutions. And about 25% of U.S. consumers with a bank account have connected that account to Plaid.
Visa’s global network will allow Plaid to quickly scale in international markets, while Visa makes up ground on Mastercard.
“Plaid represents an opportunity for Visa to enter new faster-growth fintech verticals, where Plaid remains significantly underpenetrated, such as banking, investing, and consumer payments,” Jeffries equity analysts Trevor Williams and John Hecht wrote in a research note on Tuesday.
Visa can improve its core business by enhancing the value proposition it can bring to existing and potential fintech clients, “where it has been playing catch up with Mastercard,” they wrote.
Given Plaid’s scale with fintechs and Visa’s network, the deal is also a chance for Visa to extend its role in open banking, or data sharing between banks and third parties such as fintechs, though there may be more opportunity in the U.S., where there’s no PSD2 rule but still an impetus for the traditional banks in Visa’s issuer network to connect with technology companies.
“Plaid can be thought of as a grassroots PSD2 for the U.S., absent the SCA components,” Ford said, adding Plaid will have more competition in Europe as firms such as Token.io and Salt Edge already have a presence and payment vendors such as Adyen are building connections into bank APIs.
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Tag Archives: credible
Christian Child Abducted, Forced into Bonded Labor in Pakistan
Muslim landowner offers to remove chains from 11-year-old boy if he converts to Islam.
WAZIRABAD, Pakistan, June 21 (CDN) — An 11-year-old Christian boy here is growing weak and ill from malnutrition from working in slave-like conditions for a Muslim landowner who kidnapped him and is forcing him to work off his family’s debts, his mother told Compass.
Katherine Bibi said landowner Ashraf Cheema of Dhonikay village, Wazirabad, has offered her son better conditions and possibly cancellation of the debt if he will convert to Islam.
“He is frequently invited to convert to Islam by Ashraf Cheema, and in return he is promised that he will be freed from the iron chains and his work will be eased and he will be served better meals,” she said. “Cheema has said, ‘The debt of your father and brother might also be forgiven if you convert.’”
Young Danish Masih works without break from 4 a.m. to 11 p.m., often in iron chains, on half a loaf of bread per day, according to Dawood Masih of the National Commission of Justice and Peace (NCJP).
“Due to the lack of sleep and immense physical and mental pressure, he is becoming weaker and ill,” Dawood Masih said. “And he is doing this bonded labor without any kind of leave, including sick leave, for the last one-and-a-half years, in place of his father Riaz Masih and elder brother Adnan Kashif.”
The boy’s father and older brother had been working for Cheema to pay off a debt of 142,000 rupees (US$1,640), but their employer was neither paying their monthly wages nor deducting the amounts from their debt, said Emmanuel Berkat Gill of the All Pakistan Minorities Alliance (APMA). Riaz Masih’s monthly wage was 3,000 rupees (US$35), and Adnan Kashif earned 2,500 rupees (US$29) per month.
Cheema also extorted land worth 35,000 rupees (US$404) from the boy’s older brother, again without deducting the amount from their debt, and ransacked the family’s house in Ali Naggar village, stealing Katherine Bibi’s dowry worth 200,000 rupees (US$2,308), she and Gill said.
“Being a rich, powerful and influential Muslim landowner, Cheema did all of this and also had the cruelty to not deduct the amount from the debt,” Gill said.
Suffering under Cheema in this way, the family decided to flee to Islamabad, 165 miles (102 miles) away, Katherine Bibi said. About 18 months ago, however, the peaceful life they had begun anew was shattered when Cheema abducted their youngest son, also known as Mithu, and took him to his farmhouse at Dhonikay village near Ali Naggar in Wazirabad.
“After all these cruelties, Ashraf Cheema owes us some amount, rather than us owing him,” an inconsolable Katherine Bibi told Compass by telephone.
She has gone to court to recover her son – both her husband and older son do not risk provoking Cheema by attaching their names to the case – and on June 10 District and Sessions Judge Chaudhary Muhammad Ilyas sent a bailiff to Cheema’s farm to secure the return of the 11-year-old.
“But the bailiff returned unsuccessfully without Mithu, as Ashraf Cheema, being an influential and rich landowner, was told beforehand about the raid by an anonymous insider, and he hid the child,” Katherine Bibi said.
She said that since the bailiff failed to recover her son, Cheema has hurled threats at her and her husband, saying, “After this raid by the bailiff, you will neither be able to get back your son, nor will you be granted a cancellation for your debt.”
After joint efforts by Gill of APMA and Dawood Masih of the NCJP, however, Cheema agreed that if Riaz Masih would work in place of his son, he would release the child, Gill said. When Gill, Dawood Masih and Riaz Masih went to Cheema’s farmhouse, however, the landowner went back on his word and refused to hand over the boy.
Contacted by Compass, Cheema said that no such boy works at his farm or fields, and that “someone must have misled you.”
Besides the court recognition of the abduction, however, Gill and other credible sources assert that Danish Masih works from dawn to dusk under a sizzling summer sun without any break or meal.
At press time local Christian leaders had petitioned the deputy superintendent police of Wazirabad to recover Danish Masih.
Posted in Christianity, Islam, Pakistan | Tagged abducted, abduction, Adnan Kashif, agreed, Ali Naggar, All Pakistan Minorities Alliance, amount, amounts, anonymous, APMA, Ashraf Cheema, attaching, bailiff, beforehand, better, bonded, boy, bread, break, brother, cancellation, case, chains, Chaudhary Muhammad Ilyas, child, Christian, Christianity, Christians, conditions, convert, converts, court, credible, cruelties, cruelty, Danish Masih, dawn, Dawood Masih, debts, decided, deducting, Deputy, Dhonikay, dusk, eased, efforts, elder, Emmanuel Berkat Gill, employer, extorted, failed, family, farm, farmhouse, Father, fields, flee, forced, forcing, forgiven, freed, frequently, granted, growing, half, hid, house, hurled, husband, ill, immense, including, inconsolable, influential, insider, invited, iron, Islam, Islamabad, joint, Katherine Bibi, Kidnapped, kind, Labor, lack, landowner, leaders, leave, life, loaf, malnitrition, meal, meals, mental, misled, Mithu, monthly, mother, Muslim, muslims, names, National Commission of Justice and Peace, NCJP, offered, offers, older, owes, owing, Pakistan, pay, paying, peaceful, Persecution, petitioned, physical, police, powerful, press time, pressure, promised, provoking, raid, ransacked, recognition, recover, release, remove, return, Riaz Masih, rich, risk, secure, served, Sessions Judge, shattered, sick, sizzling, slave-like, sleep, son, sources, stealing, suffering, summer, Sun, superintendent, telephone, threats, under, unsuccessfully, village, wages, Wazirabad, weak, weaker, without, work, working, works, young, youngest | Leave a comment
Iran: government security forces burned hundreds of Bibles
Ati News, a site belonging to Morteza Talaee who is the previous head of the security forces and the current member of the Tehran’s city council, in its usual anti-Christian propaganda reported that their social-life reporter had disclosed that shipments of so called, "Perverted Torah and Gospels" had entered Iran through its Western borders, reports FCNN.
Two days later, on May 31st, the same report was reiterated by the official anti-crime website of the Pasdaran Army called "Gerdaub" that a large shipment of Jewish and Christian Scriptures has entered Iran through the Western Azerbaijan province and according to security officials of that province the "occupier forces" that operate in the Western regions of Iraq were responsible for such activities.
Gerdaub, the official website of the Pasdaran Army continued its report by quoting the security official who had stated that:
Some of these books are distributed locally, but most of the books are smuggled and distributed all over the country. In just the last few months, hundreds of such "perverted Bibles" have been seized and burned in the border town of Sardasht.
The same unidentified security source adds that his intention has been to inform and enlighten people.
While the depiction of the Prophet of Islam and other historical religious leaders, whether in good or bad taste, has caused uproar and violent protests, threats of retaliation and assassinations, closure of embassies, long and mournful marches in various parts of countries of the world such as Pakistan, Iran, and Saudi Arabia, its quite interesting that the official website of the most powerful military wing of the Islamic Republic of Iran engages in the shameful act of reporting the burning
of Bibles.
Of course, the security officials have not clarified the difference between these so called "perverted Bibles" and those that are commonly used by people around the world – including Iran.
These officials shamefully label the Holy Scriptures of the Christians contraband without realizing the over two billion people around the world and at least five hundred thousand people in Iran revere and consider holy. This action is no different than what the government has wrongfully accused many Christians of insulting the sacred beliefs of Islam.
On the hand the defenders of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the international organizations and human rights forums claim that religious minorities such as Jews and Christians enjoy constitutional protection and the adherents of these religions not only can elect their own representatives to the parliament, but exercise their religious rights freely and openly. But, as with many other rights and freedoms granted to the people in the constitution, this fundamental right has also been violated
and repressed by the Islamic government.
The leaders of the Islamic Republic not only use the weapon of their pre-selected parliamentary candidates to control who gets into the legislature, but severely suppresses the religious minorities by demanding the names of those attending church services, banning the entry of Farsi-speaking members into church building and any preaching in the Farsi language, rejecting any building permits for church buildings, and the publishing of Bibles and other Christian literature which amounts to nothing
but direct interference in the religious affairs of the very people it claims to be protecting.
For these reasons Christians have taken refuge at homes and congregate in home-style churches form small home-based churches. Even then, many of these Christians are harassed and often pursued by security agents and are arrested and detained. Many Christian leaders have been detained for long periods of time in undisclosed locations and often very expensive bails have to be posted to secure their freedom.
The question remains as to how long the Christian community outside of Iran can tolerate such persecutions and atrocities? Moreover, and not withstanding the fact that Iranian Christians do not have the right to publish their holy scriptures, those Christians from around the world who donate Bibles to their brothers and sisters inside Iran are insulted by labeling their donated Bibles as contraband and burned by the security agents.
It is only appropriate that the official website of the Pasdaran army that has published this report and has confirmed the validity of this news through one of its security agents be condemned by the international Christian community and the world to demand the identification of those perpetrated this shameful act.
Such insults and offensive actions in burning the Christian Bible coincides with the Islamic community’s full enjoyment, freedom, and the blessings of the Western nations that allow them to publish the Islamic Holy Book, the Quran, and to build as many mosques as its needed in various European and North America cities.
The Quran states that the Torah and the Gospels are Holy Scriptures as well. Nevertheless, the Islamic leaders claim that the Bibles used by Christians and Jews are not the authentic scriptures but have been changed by the church. Considering the fact that the Quran also states that no man can destroy the word of God, the question remains that if the currently used Bible is, as the Islamic leaders so claim, a changed and untrustworthy document where is the real Torah and the Gospels?
If the Quranic claim that the word of God can never be perverted and changed, then there must be a copy of the real Torah and the Gospels somewhere. To this question Muslims have not credible answers. There is no such difference or variance between today’s Scriptures and the original writings. Our modern Bibles go back to the very ancient copies of the scriptures that in some cases date back to only 50 years from Christ Himself. There are even copies of the Old Testament that date several hundred
years before Christ.
Definitely and for sure, one can not find any ancient writings that have been as carefully and precisely copied and preserved as the Bible has been. There are thousands of ancient manuscripts in world museums that testify to this fact. Therefore the claim that the Bible is a changed and false scripture is totally baseless and is nothing but a ploy to confuse and mislead people by the Islamic leaders.
In any event, the burning of any book, especially one that is honored and revered by a great majority of people around the world, is an unacceptable and immoral act and must be condemned by the world community.
Posted in Christianity, Iran, Islam, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia | Tagged ;province, accused, act, action, actions, activities, adherents, affairs, agents, allow, ancient, answers, anti-Christian, anti-crime, appropriate, arrested, assassinations, Ati News, atrocities, attending, authentic, Azerbaijan, bad, bails, banning, baseless, before, beliefs, belonging, Bibles, blessings, book, Books, border, borders, brothers, build, building, burned, burning, called, candidates, caused, Christ, Christian, Christianity, Christians, church, churches, cities, city, claim, claims, clarified, closure, coincides, commonly, community, condemned, confirmed, confuse, congregate, consider, constitutional, continued, contraband, control, copied, copies, copy, council, countries, country, credible, current, defenders, demand, demanding, depiction, destroy, detained, difference, direct, disclosed, distributed, document, donate, elect, embassies, engages, enjoy, enjoyment, enlighten, entered, entry, European, exercise, expensive, fact, Farsi, Farsi-speaking, forces, form, forums, freedoms, freely, full, fundamental, Gerdaub, God, good, gospels, government, granted, harassed, head, historical, Holy, home-based, home-style, honored, human rights, identification, immoral, including, inform, inside, insulted, insulting, intention, interesting, interference, international, Iran, Iranian, Islam, Islamic, Islamic Republic of Iran, Jewish, Jews, label, labeling, language, large, leaders, legislature, literature, locally, locations, long, majority, manuscripts, marches, member, members, military, minorities, mislead, modern, Morteza Talaee, mosques, mournful, museums, Muslim, muslims, names, needed, news, North American, occupier, offensive, official, Old Testament, openly, operate, organizations, original, outside, Pakistan, Parliament, parliamentary, parts, Pasdaran Army, people, periods, permits, perpetrated, Persecution, perverted, ploy, posted, powerful, preaching, precisely, preserved, previous, propaganda, prophet, protecting, protection, protests, publish, publishing, pursued, question, quoting, Quran, Quranic, real, regions, reiterated, rejecting, religions, religious, reported, reporter, representatives, repressed, responsible, retaliation, revere, right, rights, sacred, Sardasht, Saudi Arabia, Scriptures, secure, security, seized, services, severely, shameful, shamefully, shipment, shipments, sisters, site, small, smuggled, social-life, source, suppresses, taste, Tehran, testify, threats, tolerate, Torah, totally, town, unacceptable, undisclosed, unidentified, untrustworthy, uproar, used, usual, validity, variance, various, violated, violent, weapon, Website, western, wing, Word, world, writings, wrongfully | Leave a comment
Baseless Case Against Turkish Christians Further Prolonged
Posted on February 16, 2010 by particularkev
Justice Ministry receives international inquiry about progress of trial.
SILIVRI, Turkey, February 15 (CDN) — Barely five minutes into the latest hearing of a more than three-year-old case against two Christians accused of “insulting Turkishness and Islam,” the session was over.
The prosecution had failed to produce their three final witnesses to testify against Hakan Tastan and Turan Topal for alleged crimes committed under Article 301 of the Turkish penal code. The same three witnesses had failed to heed a previous court summons to testify at the last hearing, held on Oct. 15, 2009.
This time, at the Jan. 28 hearing, one witness employed in Istanbul’s security police headquarters sent word to inform the court that she was recovering from surgery and unable to attend. Of the other two witnesses, both identified as “armed forces” personnel, one was found to be registered at an address 675 miles away, in the city of Iskenderun, and the other’s whereabouts had not yet been confirmed.
So the court issued instructions for the female witness to be summoned a third time, to testify at the next hearing, set for May 25. The court ordered the witness in Iskenderun to submit his “eyewitness” testimony in writing to the Iskenderun criminal court, to be forwarded to the Silivri court. No further action was taken to summon the third witness.
International Inquiry
Judge Hayrettin Sevim, who has presided over the last five hearings on the case, informed the plaintiff and defense lawyers that recently his court had been requested to supply the Justice Ministry with a copy of relevant documents and details from the case file.
An inquiry outside Turkey about the progress of the case, he said, prompted the request.
Seven different state prosecutors have been assigned to the case since Prosecutor Ahmet Demirhuyuk declared at the fourth hearing in July 2007 that “not a single concrete, credible piece of evidence” had been produced to support the accusations against the Protestant defendants. After Demihuyuk recommended that the charges be dropped and the two Christians acquitted, he was removed from the case.
Originally filed in October 2006, the controversial Article 301 case accused Tastan and Topal, both former Muslims who converted to Christianity, of slandering the Turkish nation and Muslim religion while involved in evangelistic activities in Silivri, an hour’s drive west of Istanbul in northwestern Turkey.
After Turkey enacted cosmetic changes in the wording of Article 301 in May 2008, all cases filed under this law require formal permission from the justice minister himself to go on to trial.
According to the Turkish Justice Ministry, only eight of more than 900 Article 301 cases sent for review since the law’s revision have been approved for prosecution. On Friday (Feb. 12) the Justice Ministry declined in writing a Compass request last month for a list of the eight cases in question.
Despite the lack of any legally credible evidence against Tastan and Topal, the Silivri case is one of those eight cases personally approved by the Justice Minister.
According to a CNNTURK report dated Dec. 8, 2009, U.S. President Barack Obama raised the Article 301 issue with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan during their last face-to-face meeting in Washington, D.C.
“I think those asking about this don’t know what Article 301 is,” Erdogan reportedly said. “Until now it has only happened to eight persons.”
This month the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe criticized Turkey’s revision of Article 301, declaring that the government should simply abolish the law.
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) in Strasbourg also warned earlier this month that Turkey is violating Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights to the extent that the European Court of Human Rights may impose sanctions on Turkey over Article 301.
Noting that the Assembly welcomed previous amendments to the law, the most recent PACE report declares it “deplores the fact that Turkey has not abolished Article 301.”
Posted in Barack Obama, Christianity, European Union, Islam, Turkey, USA | Tagged 2006, 2007, 2009, abolish, abolished, accusations, accused, acquitted, action, activities, address, against, Ahmet Demirhuyuk, alleged, amendments, approved, armed, article 10, article 301, asking, assembly, assigned, attend, Barack Obama, baseless, case, changes, charges, Christian, Christianity, Christians, city, CNNTURK, committed, concrete, confirmed, controversial, converted, copy, cosmetic, Council of Europe, court, credible, crimes, criminal, criticized, declared, declares, declined, defendants, defense, deplores, details, different, documents, drive, dropped, during, earlier, employed, enacted, European Convention on Human Rights, European Court of Human Rights, evangelistic, evidence, extent, eyewitness, face-to-face, fact, failed, female, file, Final, forces, formal, former, forwarded, found, fourth, further, government, Hakan Tastan, happened, Hayrettin Sevim, headquarters, hearing, heed, identified, impose, inform, informed, inquiry, instructions, insulting, international, involved, Iskenderun, Islam, issue, issued, Istanbul, judge, Justice Minister, Justice Ministry, last, law, lawyers, legally, meeting, most, Muslim, muslims, nation, next, northwestern, Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, outside, over, pace, Parliamentary Assembly, penal code, permission, Persecution, personally, personnel, piece, Plaintiff, police, presided, President, previous, Prime Minister, produce, produced, progress, prolonged, prompted, prosecution, prosecutors, Protestant, raised, receives, recent, recently, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, recommended, recovering, registered, relevant, religion, removed, report, requested, require, revision, sanctions, security, session, Silivri, simply, single, slandering, Stasbourg, submit, summoned, summons, supply, support, surgery, testify, testimony, third, time, trial, Turan Topal, Turkey, Turkish, Turkishness, unable, under, USA, violating, warned, Washington D. C., welcomed, West, whereabouts, witness, witnesses, Word, wording, writing | Leave a comment
Conclusive scientific evidence: homosexuality is treatable
The U.S.-based National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH) has just released its long-awaited comprehensive review of over 125 years of scientific research on homosexuality, reports Family Watch International.
This groundbreaking report, “What Research Shows,” dispels the myths that are commonly used to promote the legalization of same-sex marriage and the mainstreaming of homosexuality throughout society and in the public schools by force of law.
NARTH is a professional association of scientists and mental health professionals whose stated mission is to conduct and disseminate scientific research on homosexuality, promote effective treatment, and to protect the right of individuals with unwanted same-sex attraction to receive effective care.
While one might think that such a mission would be viewed as both commendable and relatively non-controversial, the reality is just the opposite. Homosexual activists try to suppress research on same-sex attraction because one of the pillars of homosexual advocacy is the falsehood that homosexuals are “born that way” and cannot change their orientation. Since the NARTH report proves that homosexuality can be changed through therapy in the same way conditions like alcoholism and other addictions can be changed, the whole case for mainstreaming homosexuality into society crumbles. Another myth the NARTH report disproves is that therapy to help people with unwanted same-sex attraction is ineffective and even harmful.
The extensive research and clinical experience reviewed by NARTH makes it clear even to a layman that these claims are false. Homosexual activists spread these misconceptions about homosexuality and even persecute their own who seek treatment because they know that public opinion polls show that people who believe homosexuals are born that way are more likely to support the homosexual agenda. NARTH is one of the very few credible, professional organizations anywhere in the world that is successfully challenging this propaganda.
Specifically, the NARTH report substantiates the following conclusions:
1. There is substantial evidence that sexual orientation may be changed through reorientation therapy.
“Treatment success for clients seeking to change unwanted homosexuality and develop their heterosexual potential has been documented in the professional and research literature since the late 19th century. …125 years of clinical and scientific reports which document those professionally-assisted and other attempts at volitional change from homosexuality toward heterosexuality has been successful for many and that such change continues to be possible for those who are motivated to try.”
2. Efforts to change sexual orientation have not been shown to be consistently harmful or to regularly lead to greater self-hatred, depression, and other self-destructive behaviors.
“We acknowledge that change in sexual orientation may be difficult to attain. As with other difficult challenges and behavioral patterns—such as low-self-esteem, abuse of alcohol, social phobias, eating disorders, or borderline personality disorder, as well as sexual compulsions and addictions—change through therapy does not come easily.”
“We conclude that the documented benefits of reorientation therapy—and the lack of its documented general harmfulness—support its continued availability to clients who exercise their right of therapeutic autonomy and self-determination through ethically informed consent.”
The NARTH report warns that “The limited body of clinical reports that claim that harm is possible—if not probable— if a person simply attempts to change typically were written by gay activist professionals.”
3. There is significantly greater medical, psychological, and relational pathology in the homosexual population than the general population.
“Researchers have shown that medical, psychological and relationship pathology within the homosexual community is more prevalent than within the general population. …In some cases, homosexual men are at greater risk than homosexual women and heterosexual men, while in other cases homosexual women are more at risk than homosexual men and heterosexual women. …Overall, many of these problematic behaviors and psychological dysfunctions are experienced among homosexuals at about three times the prevalence found in the general population—and sometimes much more. …We believe that no other group of comparable size in society experiences such intense and widespread pathology.”
You can read NARTH’s executive summary of the report on our Web site here.
Posted in Homosexuality, USA | Tagged abuse, acknowledge, activists, addictions, advocacy, agenda, alcohol, alcoholism, assisted, association, attain, attempts, attraction, autonomy, availability, based, behaviors, believe, benefits, body, borderline, born, cannot, care, case, cases, challenging, claims, clear, clients, clinical, commendable, commonly, community, comparable, comprehensive, compulsions, conclude, conclusions, conclusive, conditions, conduct, consent, consistently, continued, continues, credible, crumbles, depression, develop, disorder, disorders, dispels, disproves, disseminate, documented, dysfunctions, easily, eating, effective, efforts, ethically, evidence, exercise, experience, experiences, extensive, false, falsehood, following, force, found, gay, general, greater, groundbreaking, group, harm, harmful, harmfulness, health, help, heterosexual, heterosexuality, homosexual, Homosexuality, homosexuals, individuals, ineffective, informed, intense, lack, law, layman, legalization, limited, literature, long-awaited, low, mainstreaming, marriage, medical, men, mental, misconceptions, mission, motivated, myth, myths, NARTH, National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality, non-controversial, opinion, opposite, organizations, orientation, pathology, patterns, people, persecute, person, personality, phobias, pillars, polls, population, possible, potential, prevalence, prevalent, probable, problematic, professional, professionals, promote, propaganda, protect, proves, psychological, public, reality, receive, regularly, relational, relationship, relatively, released, reorientation, research, researchers, review, reviewed, right, risk, same-sex, schools, scientific, scientists, seek, self-destructive, self-determination, self-esteem, self-hatred, sexual, shown, significantly, simply, size, social, Society, specifically, spread, stated, substantial, substantiates, success, successfully, support, suppress, therapeutic, therapy, treatable, treatment, typically, unwanted, USA, viewed, volitional, warns, What Research Shows, whole, widespread, women, world, written | 3 Comments
SERIOUS PERSECUTIONS AND MARTYRDOM IN THE INDIAN STATE OF ORISSA
By an Indian Missionary to India
Note from the editor: The following is written by a man who returned to India to establish better training for his fellow Indians. He is personally known by me and I believe his reports are trustworthy. I have decided since this was going to be published in a searchable web site not to post his name for prudence and safety sake.
– R. L. Gerard, DOGMA Ministries Servant.
Many of you have expressed your concern about our safety and assured us of your continuing prayers for us. Thanks for your encouraging letters! The situation in Orissa is grim. Persecution continues unabated. Media and social organizations are kept out of the troubled Kandhamal District of Orissa. Strangely the government media is affirming the continuation of curfew and fresh killing of Christians in this troubled district while declaring that the situation is under control. Everyday churches are being destroyed and Christians are being killed.
Are people really so aggressively religious that they persecute Christians day in and day out here? Or has the lure of plundering Christians to become rich overnight had any role to play in persecution? How do Hindu fundamentalists sponsor these kinds of sustained riots? After a wave of Church demolitions, house burning, killing and extensive plundering, three days back the reconversion of Christians into Hinduism started. Many pastors have fled into other districts. We are hearing reports that many Christians are returning to Hinduism for the fear of being burnt to death. It is very discouraging to know that even pastor’s families are melting under this pressure, going through these rituals of home coming returning to Hinduism. There are rumours everywhere – so much so that it is difficult to know what is true and we are living in constant fear.
The Churches at Balangir, in my home district, have already been threatened in writing that if they don’t returned to Hinduism by the 23rd September certain Christian leaders of Balangir will be killed. My district has a large number of Christians living in a cluster. One thing is sure that any flare up between Hindus and Christians in Balangir will lead to a big fight and bloodshed. We are hearing that Bhubaneswar city, where we are living, is the last target of the Hindu fundamentalists. They have already shortlisted over one hundred Christian leaders of Bhubaneswar area to kill them.
It is true that hundreds of houses belonging to Christians have been destroyed or burned. In the light of such destruction, rumours are causing a lot of fear among the Christians here. I have desisted from reporting to you any news of Orissa because there are no credible reports to send you. The most distressful thing is the irresponsible action of the Orissa government – persecuting the Christians hand in glove with BJP, the Hindu party, instead of defending the weak and the poor. Please pray for the Christians who have lost everything overnight. My heart particularly goes out for the families of those Pastors who have been killed or are on the run and have lost everything for their faith! There is hope for the Church in this troubled state if we can help these Pastors to settle down again and regroup their flocks.
I am forwarding an email which has a few moving pictures of torture and destruction in Orissa. I do not know the sources and details of these pictures. These are obviously, from Orissa state. Anyway, I am sending them to you. I hope and pray that these pictures will encourage you to pray for the persecuted ones in Orissa and India.
We have accumulated a few thousands of books for ****** ******** Seminary. Just one spark from the enemy can reduce our precious collections to ashes. Many of our faculty and students belong to the Kandhamal district of Orissa where this persecution is intense. Their parents and family members are hiding and are constant on the move. We will deeply appreciate your prayers for the safety of our family, staff, students and our assets. Thanks for your continuing prayer, partnership and friendship in difficult times like this!
Name withheld.
Posted in Christianity, India | Tagged accumulated, action, affirming, aggressively, Ashes, assets, assured, Balangir, believe, Bhubaneswar, BJP, bloodshed, Books, burning, burnt, Christian, Christianity, Christians, churches, city, cluster, collections, concern, continuation, control, credible, curfew, death, decided, defending, demolitions, desisted, destroyed, destruction, details, difficult, discouraging, distressing, district, DOGMA, editor, Email, encourage, enemy, establish, expressed, extensive, faculty, faith, families, family, fear, fellow, fight, flare, fled, flocks, friendship, fundamentalists, government, grim, hearing, heart, Hindu, Hinduism, hope, house, houses, India, Indian, intense, irresponsible, Kandhamal, kill, killed, killing, known, leaders, letters, living, man, martyrdom, media, melting, members, ministries, missionary, name, name prudence, news, note, organizations, Orissa, overnight, parents, partnership, party, pastors, persecuted, persecuting, Persecution, persecutions, personally, pictures, play, plundering, poor, post, pray, prayer, prayers, precious, pressure, published, R. L. Gerard, reconversion, reduce, regroup, religious, reports, returned, rich, riots, rituals, role, rumours, safety, searchable, seminary, servant, shortlisted, site, situation, social, spark, sponsor, staff, started, state, students, sustained, target, thanks. encouraging, times, torture, training, troubled, true, trustworthy, unabated, wave, weak, web, Website, withheld, writing, written | Leave a comment
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Tag Archives: Majidan
Young Christian Woman Allegedly Abducted in Pakistan
Posted on April 14, 2010 by particularkev
Muslims said to employ various ruses; forced conversion, marriage feared.
LAHORE, Pakistan, April 13 (CDN) — A Muslim tricked a 19-year-old Christian woman into leaving her house here on April 1, and he and a car full of friends took her away, according to her family.
Sonia Mohan’s family said they fear the Muslim, Ali Raza, will force her to convert to Islam and marry him. Raza came to their home in Lahore’s Nishtar Colony claiming that her brother, Johnson Parvaiz, wanted to see her outside, Parvaiz said.
“Sonia would not have gone with them if he hadn’t told her that I wanted to see her,” Parvaiz said. “Ali Raza came to our home and told Sonia that I had asked for her, and she went out of the house with him. They had parked a vehicle outside and left, and afterwards we never heard from her.”
He said his sister’s cell phone remained off for two days. When it began to ring again they called repeatedly, and finally a man answered the phone and then handed it to Mohan. Parvaiz said she told him not to call her, that she was very happy and that they should not try to find her.
“It was obvious from her voice that she had been forced to say that,” Parvaiz said. “I fear that she will first be converted to Islam, and then married, and then it will become impossible for us to see her again.”
Initially police were unwilling to register the family’s complaint, he said. Only after the family enlisted the help of the All Pakistan Minorities Alliance (APMA) did police begin searching for Raza and Mohan.
Parvaiz added that Raza and his friends had previously told her to convert to Islam, saying that because she was beautiful she did not deserve to live as a lowly Christian. Raza and Mohan had no prior contact except that Raza had harassed his sister that one time, he said; her family complained to his parents, who live in the area.
Parvaiz added that Raza worked in a factory called Combined Fabrics, where he had a reputation of harassing Christian women. Since the alleged abduction he has been missing from work.
Nishtar Colony Station House Officer Munawar Doggar told Compass that it did not appear that Mohan, who along with the rest of her family belongs to the American Reformed Presbyterian Church, went with Raza willingly. He said he had delayed registering a case on behalf of Mohan’s family only because Raza’s family had filed a complaint that Raza himself had been abducted.
After speaking with Compass, however, Doggar said he would file a First Information Report imminently.
“I want to fully investigate the matter so that no injustice is done to any party,” he said. “But the family of the girl should now come to the police station and surely their FIR will be registered.”
On the day of the kidnapping, Raza’s uncle, Zaffar Jamil, filed a complaint that Raza himself had been abducted as a smokescreen to delay police in pursuing the abduction of Mohan, Parvaiz said.
“In this way, the police would reject my police complaint, saying, ‘Raza was abducted, so how could he abduct Sonia?’” Parvaiz said.
In his uncle Jamil’s complaint to police, Jamil had said that two men identified only as Fahad and Almas – friends of Raza present in the waiting car when Raza allegedly kidnapped Mohan – were the ones who likely abducted Raza.
Compass has obtained a copy of Jamil’s complaint. He crafted it in such a way that he can withdraw it at any point, and he says he had only a suspicion about the abduction of Raza and the identity of the supposed culprits. Otherwise police would quickly determine that Fahad and Almas had not abducted Raza, and the tactic to delay justice would be short-lived, Parvaiz said.
APMA Chief Organizer in Punjab Province Khalid Gill told Compass that previously Fahad had employed duplicitous tactics to marry a Christian woman in Youhanabad, Lahore, and that for that reason Raza had sought Fahad’s help in tricking Mohan into going with him.
Gill said that in such kidnapping cases, police often delay investigations until after abducted women get pregnant, after which legally it is nearly impossible for courts to return them to their families.
“That is the reason that APMA has been asking for revision of the family laws, and that in such cases where such tactics have been used, the marriage should be declared void so that the girl returns to the family and starts living her life from where it was interrupted,” Gill said.
Jamil and Raza’s brother, Nasir Dilawar, and Dilawar’s wife Majidan, along with Raza’s brother Muhammad Asif, have assured Mohan’s family that she will be returned soon, but that promise also was only at attempt to forestall legal action, Parvaiz said.
He added that the fact that Raza and his accomplices felt it necessary to employ the ruses to delay police investigations was further evidence that Mohan and Raza had no prior relationship.
The family fears that the longer her return is delayed, the more likely that she will become pregnant or get intimidated into giving a statement in court that she went willingly due to her captors’ threats that her father or brothers will be killed if she refuses, Parvaiz said.
Posted in Christianity, Islam, Pakistan | Tagged ;province, abducted, abduction, accomplices, action, Ali Raza, All Pakistan Minorities Alliance, alleged, allegedly, Almas, American Reformed Presbyterian Church, answered, APMA, appear, area, asked, assured, attempt, away, beautiful, behalf, belongs, brother, call, captors, car, case, cases, cell phone, Chief Organizer, Christian, Christianity, Christians, claiming, Combined Fabrics, complained, complaint, contact, conversion, convert, copy, Courts, crafted, culprits, declared, delay, delayed, deserve, determine, duplicitous, employ, employed, enlisted, evidence, except, fact, factory, Fahad, families, family, fear, feared, felt, file, FIR, First Information Report, force, forced, forestall, friends, full, fully, girl, handed, happy, harassed, harassing, heard, help, house, identified, imminently, impossible, injustice, interrupted, investigate, investigations, Islam, Johnson Parvaiz, justice, Khalid Gill, kidnapping, killed, Lahore, laws, leaving, left, legal, legally, life, likely, live, living, longer, lowly, Majidan, man, marriage, marry, matter, men, missing, Muhammad Asif, Munawar Doggar, Muslim, muslims, Nasir Dilawar, necessary, Nishtar Colony, obtained, obvious, outside, Pakistan, parents, parked, party, Persecution, phone, police, police station, pregnant, present, prior, promise, Punjab, pursuing, reason, refuses, register, registering, reject, relationship, remained, repeatedly, reputation, rest, return, revision, ring, ruses, searching, short-lived, Sister, smokescreen, Sonia Mohan, starts, statement, Station House Officer, suspicion, tactic, threats, tricked, tricking, uncle, unwilling, various, vehicle, very, voice, void, waiting, wife, willingly, withdraw, woman, women, work, worked, Youhanabad, young, Zaffar Jamil | Leave a comment
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Tag Archives: Vice-Governor
Seminary Students in Indonesia Evicted from Two Locations
Forced departure from campground and office building leads to demonstration, arrests, injuries.
JAKARTA, Indonesia, October 30 (CDN) — In the past week hundreds of students from Arastamar Evangelical Theological Seminary (SETIA) were evicted from two sites where they had taken refuge after Muslim protestors drove them from their campus last year.
With about 700 students earlier evicted from Bumi Perkemahan Cibubur (BUPERTA) campground, officers appointed by the West Jakarta District Court on Monday (Oct. 26) began evacuating more than 300 students from the former municipal building of West Jakarta.
In response, the more than 1,000 evicted SETIA students demonstrated in West Jakarta on Tuesday (Oct. 27), clogging traffic and leading to altercations with police that led to the arrest of at least five students. Six officers were injured.
The eviction from the former West Jakarta mayoral building came after the city settled accounts last week with the Sawerigading Foundation, which officially gained ownership of the site from the city after a long court dispute. The foundation plans to build apartments on the land, a 13,765 square-meter parcel with six buildings.
Demonstrating in front of the buildings, the students formed a blockade. A bulldozer began to level buildings, and students began throwing plastic chairs and rocks at police. Officers responded with tear gas that dispersed the crowd.
“Five people were arrested and taken for questioning by the West Jakarta Police,” Police Commissioner Djoni Iskandar told Compass at the site. The identities of the five students were not known at press time, although the head of the student senate, Alexander Dimu, said that one was identified as Adi Siwa.
Traffic Police Chief Commissioner Sungkono, who goes by a single name, told Compass that two traffic officers and four security policeman were injured by objects the students had thrown.
“Brigade Chief Charles and Sudiyanto had just gotten out of a car when they were hit by flying objects,” he said. “The same was true of four other police: Diak, Arif, Luki, and Mardiana, who had injuries to their hands, feet, and a torn lip.”
Inadequate Alternatives
The students were originally driven from their school when hundreds of protestors shouting “Allahu-Akbar [“God is greater]” and brandishing machetes forced the evacuation of staff and students from the SETIA campus in Kampung Pulo village on July 26-27, 2008.
Urged on by announcements from a mosque loudspeaker to “drive out the unwanted neighbor” following a misunderstanding between students and local residents, the protestors also had sharpened bamboo and acid and injured at least 20 students, some seriously.
The Jakarta provincial government has offered to house students at a city-owned office building in North Jakarta that SETIA officials said was unfit for habitation.
“A barn for water buffalo is much nicer than that place,” Ronald Simanjuntak secretary of the SETIA Foundation, told Compass.
The building has broken windows, non-functioning toilets, a roof that is in disrepair, and a bare cement floor, he said, adding that major renovations would be necessary.
“Our primary request is that we be allowed to return to our own campus peacefully,” Simanjuntak said. “We were in the old West Jakarta mayor’s office because the provincial government sent us there. Don’t imagine that we were trying to take over that place.”
An inspection of the North Jakarta building by representatives from the SETIA Foundation, the Sawerigading Foundation, and city officials found the building was uninhabitable and unsuitable for classes, said SETIA’s rector, the Rev. Matheus Mangentang.
“So the solution is to return us to our campus,” Rev. Mangentang told Compass. “[The North Jakarta building] needs months of renovation work; it was supposed to be torn down.”
The area secretary for the Jakarta Provincial Government who goes by a single name, Muhayat, told Compass that suitability “is a relative thing.”
“Why is the place unsuitable?” he said. “Is it the location?”
According to Muhayat, the Jakarta government plans to sell a property that would allow it to provide proceeds for construction of a new SETIA campus in the Lippo area of Cikarang, West Java Province. Officials hope a sale could be completed late this year, allowing construction to begin in early 2010.
“The students need to be patient and not act unilaterally,” Muhayat said. “The provincial government and the [SETIA] Foundation are in the midst of working on a new campus.”
The students would like to return to their former campus in Kampung Pulo, East Jakarta, with assurances of safety and security from the vice-governor, but area residents reportedly remain hostile.
SETIA’s Simanjuntak said that if students are forced to the North Jakarta building, school officials would ask the Sawerigading Foundation for time to renovate it. Sawerigading has offered 250 million rupiahs (US$26,000) to SETIA for renovations.
Of the total SETIA students, another 297 are still living at the Transit Lodge in Kalimalang, East Jakarta.
Posted in Christianity, Indonesia, Islam | Tagged 2008, 2010, ;province, accounts, acid, Adi Siwa, Alexander Dimu, Allahu Akbar, allow, altercations, alternatives, announcements, apartments, appointed, Arastamar Evangelical Theological Seminary, area, Arif, arrest, arrests, assurances, bamboo, bare, barn, began, blockade, brandishing, brigade, broken, build, building, bulldozer, Bumi Perkemahan Cibubur, BUPERTA, campground, campus, car, cement, chairs, Charles, chief, Christian, Christianity, Christians, Cikarang, city, classes, clogging, construction, court, crowd, demonstrated, demonstration, departure, Diak, dispersed, dispute, disrepair, Djoni Iskandar, drove, earlier, East Jakarta, evacuating, evicted, eviction, feet, floor, flying, following, forced, formed, former, foundation, front, gained, God is greater, government, habitation, hands, head, hit, hostile, house, identified, identities, imagine, inadequate, Indonesia, injuries, inspection, Islam, Jakarta, Jakarta Provincial Government, Kalimalang, Kampung Pulo, land, leading, leads, led, level, lip, Lippo, local, locations, loudspeaker, Luki, machetes, major, Mardiana, Matheus Mangentang, mayoral, midst, misunderstanding, mosque, Muhayat, municipal, Muslim, muslims, name, necessary, neighbor, new, nicer, non-functioning, North Jakarta, objects, offered, office, officers, officially, old, originally, ownership, parcel, patient, peacefully, people, Persecution, plans, plastic, police, police commissioner, policemen, press time, primary, proceeds, property, protestors, provide, provincial, questioning, rector, refuge, relative, remain, renovate, renovations, representatives, request, residents, response, return, Rev, rocks, Ronald Simanjuntak, roof, safety, sale, Sawerigading Foundation, school, secretary, security, seminary, senate, seriously, SETIA, settled, sharpened, shouting, Simanjuntak, single, site, sites, solution, staff, students, Sudiyanto, suitability, Sungkono, tear gas, throwing, thrown, toilets, torn, traffic, Traffic Police Chief Commissioner, Transit Lodge, true, unfit, unilaterally, unsuitable, unwanted, urged, Vice-Governor, village, water buffalo, West Jakarta, West Jakarta District Court, West Java, windows | Leave a comment
Theology Students in Indonesia to be Evicted from Campground
Government stops paying rent for site where students were driven more than a year ago.
JAKARTA, Indonesia, October 20 (CDN) — Approximately 700 students from Arastamar Evangelical Theological Seminary (SETIA) are facing eviction at the end of the month from a campground where Muslim protestors drove them last year.
Education will end for students who have been living in 11 large tents and studying in the open air at Bumi Perkemahan Cibubur (BUPERTA) campground, many of them for more than a year. Hundreds of protestors shouting “Allahu-Akbar [“God is greater]” and brandishing machetes forced the evacuation of staff and students from the SETIA campus in Kampung Pulo village on July 26-27, 2008.
The Jakarta provincial government has ceased paying the rental fee of the campsite in East Jakarta, a bill that now totals 2.7 billion rupiahs (US$280,000), which camp officials said will result in the eviction of the students and the end of their studies at the end of the month.
At the beginning of the month, camp officials cut off electricity and water; as a result, the students have had to go 1,500 meters to bathe and use the toilet in the Cibubur marketplace. Additionally, several of the student tents were taken down. In spite of the conditions, sources said, the students have maintained their enthusiasm and no one has quit the school.
SETIA officials said camp management rejected their request for an extension.
“The electricity and the water were cut off after the Cibubur campground managers rejected Arastamar’s request,” said Yusuf Lifire, SETIA administrator.
Other students at the seminary have taken temporary shelter in the other parts of greater Jakarta. Those living quarters, however, are so overcrowded that some of the students have become ill.
Umar Lubis, head of BUPERTA campground, said camp officials have provided the students great leeway and shown great tolerance in the year that rent has not been paid.
“We have provided water, electricity, and other facilities,” Lubis told Compass. “However, Jakarta Province has not paid us campground rental since October 2008. The government did pay 700 million rupiahs [US$75,000], but that only covered the rental fees through September 2008.”
Muhayat, area secretary of Jakarta Province who goes by a single name, told Compass that beginning in October 2008, the provincial government was no longer responsible for campsite rental for the SETIA students. The provincial government made this decision, he said, because the seminary refused to move to Jonggol, Bogor, West Java, about 50 kilometers (31 miles) from the old campus.
“We offered to move them to Jonggol, but Arastamar took a hard line and wanted to be in Jakarta,” Muhayat said.
The Rev. Matheus Mangentang, rector of SETIA, said that they refused to move to Jonggol because their school permit was for Jakarta.
“If we moved to Jonggol, we would have to get a new permit,” Mangentang told Compass. “We suspect that this would be an extremely difficult process.”
Illness Strikes
Many students are suffering from respiratory and other illnesses, and some have breast cancer. The sick are being cared for at the Christian University of Indonesia hospital.
One of the students living at the BUPERTA campground told Compass that many of the students had fever from mosquito bites.
“When it rains here, we sleep on water and mud,” said a 21-year-old student who identified herself only as Siska. Her statements were echoed by a Christian education major named Ahasyweros.
“We struggle daily in a place like this – especially after our request was turned down,” the student said. “We don’t know where we are going to go. We hope that the Jakarta provincial government will have the heart to help us.”
The staff and students were forced from their campus by a mob that claimed to be acting for the local citizens of Pulo Kampung, Makasar District, East Jakarta last year. Key among motives for the attack was that area Muslims felt “disturbed” by the presence of the Christian college. They wanted it to be moved to another area.
The approximately 1,300 seminary students were placed in three locations: 760 at the BUPERTA campground, 330 at the Kalimalang Transit Lodge, and 220 at the former office of the mayor of West Jakarta.
The fate of the students at all locations was similar; they were overcrowded and short on water, and overall facilities were substandard.
Jakarta Vice-Gov. Prijanto, who goes by a single name, had promised to find a solution. He had also stated that the government was ready to help and would pay for the students’ room and board, but this has not been the case.
Mangentang said he continues to hope for good will from the Jakarta government, which he said should return the school to its original site in Pulo Kampung.
“Even if there is talk in the provincial government that the locals don’t accept us, we still want to go back,” he said. “After we are back, then we would be prepared to talk and negotiate about the future. Healthy discussions are not possible if we are not back in our own home. If we tried to talk now, while we are trampled upon and pressured, nothing healthy would result. It is better that we return to our own place so that we can talk at the same level.”
Posted in Christianity, Indonesia, Islam | Tagged 2008, accept, acid, acting, administrator, Ahasyweros, Allahu Akbar, announcements, Arastamar Evangelical Theological Seminary, attack, bamboo, bathe, beginning, board, Bogor, brandishing, breast cancer, Bumi Perkemahan Cibubur, BUPERTA, camp, campground, campsite, campus, cared, ceased, Christian, Christian University of Indonesia, Christianity, Christians, Cibubur, citizens, college, conditions, continues, covered, daily, decision, difficult, discussions, district, disturbed, driven, East Jakarta, echoed, education, electricity, end, enthusiasm, evacuation, evicted, eviction, extension, extremely, facilities, fate, fee, find, following, forced, former, future, God, good will, government, great, greater, hard, head, healthy, heart, help, home, hope, hospital, identified, ill, illness, Indonesia, injured, Islam, Jakarta, Jonggol, Kalimalang Transit Lodge, Kampung Pulo, key, large, leeway, level, line, living, local, locations, loudspeaker, machetes, maintained, major, Makasar, management, managers, marketplace, Matheus Mangentang, mayor, misunderstanding, mob, mosque, motives, mud, Muhayat, Muslim, muslims, name, negotiate, neighbor, new, offered, office, officials, old, open-air, original, overcrowded, paid, paying, permit, Persecution, possible, presence, pressured, Prijanto, process, promised, protestors, provided, provincial, quarters, quit, rains, rector, refused, rejected, rent, rental, request, residents, respiratory, responsible, result, return, Rev, school, secretary, seminary, seriously, SETIA, sharpened, shelter, shouting, sick, similar, single, Siska, site, sleep, solution, staff, stated, statements, stops, strikes, struggle, students, studies, studying, substandard, suffering, suspect, talk, temporary, tents, Theology, toilet, tolerance, totals, trampled, Umar Lubis, unwanted, urged, Vice-Governor, village, water, West Java, Yusuf Lifire | Leave a comment
INDONESIA: LAND DISPUTE LEADS TO ATTACKS ON CHRISTIAN HUB
Public Order officer warns ministry chairman to be ‘careful of your life.’
JAKARTA, September 3 (Compass Direct News) – A land dispute led to two attacks on the headquarters of the Indonesian Christian Students’ Movement (GMKI) and its parent ministry, the Alliance of Indonesian Churches (PGI), last week (August 26 and 28).
Sources said an illegal land deal in Jakarta has created the bitter dispute between the GMKI and a private company that claims it has the legal right to build on land previously occupied by GMKI.
GMKI and PGI share an office on the disputed land. Sources said that on August 26 volunteer Public Order officials – who normally mediate local disputes, but who in this case have sided with the private company laying claim to the land, Kencana Indotama Persada Co. (KIP) – threw stones at the Christian organizations’ offices and damaged doors, windows and student motorbikes.
On Thursday (Aug. 28), according to sources, the Public Order officers again attacked the premises, this time using heavy implements to break glass panes and damage other property. Students present fled to a nearby office of the Indonesia Bible Institute (LAI). Policemen standing nearby on the street made no attempt to intervene.
Mysterious Appropriation
The disputed property is a large piece of land originally granted by the Dutch colonial government to the Vereneging Christian School (VCS) Foundation. The VCS then gave the land to the Christian School Association, which in turn passed it on to a branch of its own association, the Christian Education Foundation (YBPK).
Although occupied by many Christian ministries and associations, including the Christian University of Indonesia and LAI, sources said the land belonged to YBPK.
Under the terms of the land grant, the land could not legally be sold to business entities, according to GMKI lawyer Nikson Lalu. In August 2006, however, a board member of YBPK, acting independently of the board, sold a small plot of land to KIP. An old office belonging to GMKI was still standing on the plot of land, adjacent to a newer building shared by GMKI and PGI.
Compass sources noted that a gas station and business offices had replaced other ministry offices on the granted land. It was not clear, however, how the businesses had appropriated the land from YBPK.
Dispute Escalates
Sources said that on August 23, at around 5 p.m., Public Order officer Simanjuntak, who has only a single name, visited the GMKI office and informed staff members that a boundary wall would be built between their current building and the old building, which was now considered the property of KIP.
KIP then erected a boundary wall between the two buildings, sources said, and KIP construction workers also used a bulldozer to partially demolish the old GMKI office despite protests from GMKI Chairman Charles Hutahaean. On August 26, GMKI students demolished the boundary wall that KIP had erected.
GMKI had filed a complaint against KIP in the district court, according to sources, but the court ruled in favor of KIP. GMKI’s lawyer then took the case to the Supreme Court, which at press time had yet to announce a decision.
Sources said that KIP claimed it had a previous letter of decision from the Supreme Court stating that KIP was the owner of the disputed land, despite the fact that the land could not legally be sold to a business enterprise.
A day before the first attack, Public Order officers had a confrontation with GMKI students. On August 25, Public Order officers noted that GMKI students had erected a banner inside their own boundary fence, facing the street, protesting against a new bylaw forbidding the sale of fruit, cigarettes and other goods by street vendors in the area.
When officers tried to remove the banner, according to sources, the students protested, claiming that since the banner was on their own property, they did not require a permit from the district office to display it.
Attacks, Threat
At around 4 p.m. on August 26, a large group of Public Order officers returned to the shared GMKI and PGI premises and began to throw stones at the building, breaking glass window and door panes and damaging motorbikes owned by GMKI students.
Sources said the students threw stones back at the officers, who then scaled the fence and tried to break into the PGI building itself; a PGI security guard managed to stop them.
The following day, Jakarta Vice-Governor Prijanto, who has only a single name, met with PGI Chairman Andreas Yewangoe and other PGI leaders. He apologized for the disturbance and promised compensation for the damaged property.
Additionally, Engkartiasto Lukito of the Golkar party and Ara Sirait of the Indonesian Democratic Struggle Party (PdiP) came to offer condolences, as did Hasyim Muzadi, leader of Nahdatul Ulama, the largest Muslim organization in Indonesia.
Nevertheless, on Thursday (Aug. 28), Public Order officers returned to carry out the second attack.
A Public Order officer involved in the dispute also warned GMKI Chairman Hutahaean to be “careful with your life.”
Compass sources explained that Public Order officers would likely benefit financially from protecting the business interests of KIP.
KIP construction workers on Friday (August 29) erected a sign on the disputed plot of land adjacent to the GMKI and PGI building, declaring that the land belonged to KIP.
Posted in Christianity, Indonesia | Tagged Alliance of Indonesian Churches, Andreas Yewangoe, apologized, Ara Sirait, attack, attacks, banner, board, boundary, bulldozer, bylaw, careful, chairman, Charles Hutahaean, Christian, Christian Education Foundation, Christian School Association, Christian University of Indonesia, Christianity, Christians, cigarettes, claim, colonial, compensation, complaint, condolences, confrontation, construction, court, damage, decision, demolished, dispute, district, disturbance, Dutch, Engkartiasto Lukito, fled, fruit, gas station, GMKI, Golkar, government, granted, Hasyim Muzadi, headquarters, hub, illegal, Indonesia, Indonesia Bible Institute, Indonesian Christian Students' Movement, Indonesian Democratic Struggle Party, Islam, Jakarta, Kencana Indotama Persada Co., KIP, LAI, land, lawyer, letter, life, mediate, member, ministry, motorbikes, Muslim, muslims, Nahdatul Ulama, Nikson Lalu, officer, officials, owner, party, PdiP, permit, Persecution, PGI, plot, police, Prijanto, property, Public Order, public order officer, security guard, sign, Simanjuntak, sold, stones, street vendors, student, students, supreme, VCS, Vereneging Christian School Foundation, Vice-Governor, volunteer, wall, warns, workers, YBPK | Leave a comment
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Great Candidates Trump Trump. Will You Support Them?
By Mike Fox for Donna, Mike H., Janis, Deb, Kimberly, Bryan, Dan, Dr. Bill, and Judy, your PDA National Team
Help Us Elect A Congress That
Will Stand Up Against Trump
Earlier today, we told you about our coalition efforts to bring EPA head Scott Pruitt to justice. Almost 200 Representatives and Senators have called for his removal from office. We need more courageous Congress members. Here are 4 more great progressive champions that we can count on to make the same kind of principled stand if we can get them through their primaries between now and June 5th.
While local chapters have endorsed many great candidates, these four stand out as exceptionally solid progressive champions who have built campaigns that have a good chance of winning—especially if we pile on. We’re organizing our members on the ground and have a nationwide phone bank in the game for all of the folks below. Click on the links and photos below to contribute to the candidates and our efforts on their behalf by card or check.
Laura Moser (TX-07) is a journalist whose bylines have appeared in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and more. Following the 2016 election she founded the national activism group Daily Action, and it’s members regularly fight for the 99%. She supports all of our progressive issues, including medicare for all, a living wage, peace, social, economic, racial, and environmental justice and getting big money out of politics. Her election is May 22nd. Help us help her now.
Col. Doug Applegate (CA-49) made national news when he came within a hair of defeating Darrell Issa in 2016. We were with him then, and we’re with him now. He’s solid on all of our issues, and is a real rarity as an ex military man who is a voice for peace. His election is June 5, but vote by mail has already started. Help us help him now.
Kevin de Leon (CA US Senate) is the embodiment of the American Dream. His immigrant single parent mother provided for her family by doing house work and odd jobs. Kevin rose from the San Diego barrio of Logan Heights to become the first in his family to graduate from high school, and then graduate college with honors. He grew to be the head of the CA Senate with hard work, determination, and a true passion for helping the 99%. His election is June 5 but vote by mail has already started. Help us help him now.
Roger Manno (MD-06) is a real progressive fighter. A cancer survivor from a humble working class household, Roger has been a champion for the people during his time as a Capitol Hill staffer and his tenure in the Maryland State Legislature. On the Hill, Roger helped with the initial launch of H.R. 676, and his passion for a National Improved Medicare for All health plan is second to none. As a Maryland legislator, he took on insurance companies who denied care, and won. He took on corporations that denied their workers shift breaks, and won. He took on the big polluters and union-busting bosses, and won. And he’ll bring that same leadership, strong spine, and policy expertise to DC. His primary election is June 26th, but early voting starts in a few weeks. Help us help him now.
Can’t make a donation? Then please jump on board by making easy and effective calls from home on any candidate’s behalf. Simply reply to this email with when you’re available and I’ll get you going.
Thanks so much for anything you can do right now.
Mike Fox for Donna, Mike H., Janis, Deb, Kimberly, Bryan, Dan, Dr. Bill, and Judy, your PDA National Team
P.S. We’re here to help you make progress in your state and locality! If you need help organizing a new PDA chapter or energizing your existing chapter, please contact PDA Field Coordinator Dan O’Neal.
We can’t do anything without your generous support
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Isabella Cattadori
Associate Professor, Biology
Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences
External disturbances impact helminth–host interactions by affecting dynamics of infection, parasite traits, and host immune responses
Cattadori, I. M., Pathak, A. K. & Ferrari, M. J., Dec 1 2019, In : Ecology and Evolution. 9, 23, p. 13495-13505 11 p.
IMAP: An integrated bioinformatics and visualization pipeline for microbiome data analysis
Buza, T. M., Tonui, T., Stomeo, F., Tiambo, C., Katani, R., Schilling, M., Lyimo, B., Gwakisa, P., Cattadori, I., Buza, J. & Kapur, V., Jul 3 2019, In : BMC bioinformatics. 20, 1, 374.
Innate immune genes associated with newcastle disease virus load in chick embryos from inbred and outbred lines
Schilling, M. A., Memari, S., Cattadori, I., Katani, R., Muhairwa, A. P., Buza, J. J. & Kapur, V., Jan 1 2019, In : Frontiers in Microbiology. 10, JUN, 1432.
Newcastle disease virus
Chick Embryo
Ecotype
Pastoral production is associated with increased peste des petits ruminants seroprevalence in northern Tanzania across sheep, goats and cattle
Herzog, C. M., de Glanville, W. A., Willett, B. J., Kibona, T. J., Cattadori, I. M., Kapur, V., Hudson, P. J., Buza, J., Cleaveland, S. & Bjørnstad, O. N., Jan 1 2019, In : Epidemiology and Infection. 147, e242.
Peste-des-Petits-Ruminants
Changes in parasite traits, rather than intensity, affect the dynamics of infection under external perturbation
Ghosh, S., Ferrari, M. J., Pathak, A. K. & Cattadori, I. M., Jun 2018, In : PLoS computational biology. 14, 6, e1006167.
The evolutionary response of virulence to host heterogeneity: A general model with application to myxomatosis in rabbits co-infected with intestinal helminths
Kain, M. P., Cattadori, I. & Bolker, B. M., May 1 2018, In : Aegyptus. 19, 3, p. 257-278 22 p.
Genomic and phenotypic characterization of myxoma virus from Great Britain reveals multiple evolutionary pathways distinct from those in Australia
Kerr, P. J., Cattadori, I. M., Rogers, M. B., Fitch, A., Geber, A., Liu, J., Sim, D. G., Boag, B., Eden, J. S., Ghedin, E., Read, A. F. & Holmes, E. C., Mar 2017, In : PLoS pathogens. 13, 3, e1006252.
Myxoma virus
Next step in the ongoing arms race between myxoma virus and wild rabbits in Australia is a novel disease phenotype
Kerr, P. J., Cattadori, I. M., Liu, J., Sim, D. G., Dodds, J. W., Brooks, J. W., Kennett, M. J., Holmes, E. C. & Read, A. F., Aug 29 2017, In : Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 114, 35, p. 9397-9402 6 p.
Patterns of tsetse abundance and trypanosome infection rates among habitats of surveyed villages in Maasai steppe of northern Tanzania
Ngonyoka, A., Gwakisa, P. S., Estes, A. B., Salekwa, L. P., Nnko, H. J., Hudson, P. J. & Cattadori, I., Sep 4 2017, In : Infectious Diseases of Poverty. 6, 1, 126.
Tsetse Flies
Reverse engineering field isolates of myxoma virus demonstrates that some gene disruptions or losses of function do not explain virulence changes observed in the field
Liu, J., Cattadori, I. M., Sim, D. G., Eden, J. S., Holmes, E. C., Read, A. F. & Kerr, P. J., Oct 1 2017, In : Journal of virology. 91, 20, e01289-17.
gene targeting
Seasonal variation of tsetse fly species abundance and prevalence of trypanosomes in the Maasai Steppe, Tanzania
Nnko, H. J., Ngonyoka, A., Salekwa, L., Estes, A. B., Hudson, P. J., Gwakisa, P. S. & Cattadori, I., Jun 1 2017, In : Journal of Vector Ecology. 42, 1, p. 24-33 10 p.
tsetse fly
Glossina
Variation of tsetse fly abundance in relation to habitat and host presence in the Maasai Steppe, Tanzania
Ngonyoka, A., Gwakisa, P. S., Estes, A. B., Nnko, H. J., Hudson, P. J. & Cattadori, I., Jun 1 2017, In : Journal of Vector Ecology. 42, 1, p. 34-43 10 p.
Host immunity shapes the impact of climate changes on the dynamics of parasite infections
Mignatti, A., Boag, B. & Cattadori, I. M., Mar 15 2016, In : Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 113, 11, p. 2970-2975 6 p.
Helminths
Impact of helminth infections and nutritional constraints on the small intestine microbiota
Cattadori, I. M., Sebastian, A., Hao, H., Katani, R., Albert, I., Eilertson, K. E., Kapur, V., Pathak, A. & Mitchell, S., Jul 1 2016, In : PloS one. 11, 7, e0159770.
helminthiasis
Does host immunity influence helminth egg hatchability in the environment?
Lambert, K. A., Pathak, A. K. & Cattadori, I. M., Jul 29 2015, In : Journal of Helminthology. 89, 4, p. 446-452 7 p.
egg hatchability
Infections do not predict shedding in co-infections with two helminths from a natural system
Cattadori, I. M., Wagner, B. R., Wodzinski, L. A., Pathak, A. K., Poole, A. & Boag, B., Jun 2014, In : Ecology. 95, 6, p. 1684-1692 9 p.
mixed infection
A co-infection with two gastrointestinal nematodes alters host immune responses and only partially parasite dynamics
Murphy, L., Pathak, A. K. & Cattadori, I. M., Dec 1 2013, In : Parasite Immunology. 35, 12, p. 421-432 12 p.
Coinfection
Trichostrongylus
Climate changes influence free-living stages of soil-transmitted parasites of European rabbits
Hernandez, A. D., Poole, A. & Cattadori, I. M., Apr 1 2013, In : Global Change Biology. 19, 4, p. 1028-1042 15 p.
Comparative analysis of the complete genome sequence of the california msw strain of myxoma virus reveals potential host adaptations
Kerr, P. J., Rogers, M. B., Fitch, A., DePasse, J. V., Cattadori, I. M., Hudson, P. J., Tscharke, D. C., Holmes, E. C. & Ghedin, E., 2013, In : Journal of virology. 87, 22, p. 12080-12089 10 p.
Californian (rabbit breed)
Genome scale evolution of myxoma virus reveals host-pathogen adaptation and rapid geographic spread
Kerr, P. J., Rogers, M. B., Fitch, A., DePasse, J. V., Cattadori, I. M., Twaddle, A. C., Hudson, P. J., Tscharke, D. C., Read, A. F., Holmes, E. C. & Ghedin, E., Dec 1 2013, In : Journal of virology. 87, 23, p. 12900-12915 16 p.
Observations on the epidemiology and interactions between myxomatosis, coccidiosis and helminth parasites in a wild rabbit population in Scotland
Boag, B., Hernandez, A. D. & Cattadori, I., Aug 1 2013, In : European Journal of Wildlife Research. 59, 4, p. 557-562 6 p.
wild population
Variability in the intensity of nematode larvae from gastrointestinal tissues of a natural herbivore
Van Kuren, A. T., Boag, B., Hruban, E. & Cattadori, I. M., Apr 1 2013, In : Parasitology. 140, 5, p. 632-640 9 p.
Herbivory
nematode larvae
Evolutionary History and Attenuation of Myxoma Virus on Two Continents
Kerr, P. J., Ghedin, E., DePasse, J. V., Fitch, A., Cattadori, I. M., Hudson, P. J., Tscharke, D. C., Read, A. F. & Holmes, E. C., Oct 1 2012, In : PLoS pathogens. 8, 10, e1002950.
DNA Viruses
Immuno-epidemiology of chronic bacterial and helminth co-infections: Observations from the field and evidence from the laboratory
Pathak, A. K., Pelensky, C., Boag, B. & Cattadori, I. M., Jun 1 2012, In : International Journal for Parasitology. 42, 7, p. 647-655 9 p.
Bordetella bronchiseptica
Network model of immune responses reveals key effectors to single and co-infection dynamics by a respiratory bacterium and a gastrointestinal helminth
Thakar, J., Pathak, A. K., Murphy, L., Albert, R. & Cattadori, I. M., Jan 1 2012, In : PLoS computational biology. 8, 1, e1002345.
Explaining patterns of infection in free-living populations using laboratory immune experiments
Murphy, L., Nalpas, N., Stear, M. & Cattadori, I. M., May 1 2011, In : Parasite Immunology. 33, 5, p. 287-302 16 p.
Eosinophilia
Immunoglobulin A
Seasonal breeding drives the incidence of a chronic bacterial infection in a free-living herbivore population
Pathak, A. K., Boag, B., Poss, M., Harvill, E. T. & Cattadori, I. M., Aug 1 2011, In : Epidemiology and Infection. 139, 8, p. 1210-1219 10 p.
Snapshot of spatio-temporal cytokine responses to single and co-infections with helminths and bacteria
Pathak, A. K., Biarnes, M. C., Murphy, L. & Cattadori, I. M., Jan 1 2011, In : Results in Immunology. 1, 1, p. 95-102 8 p.
Immune regulation of a chronic bacteria infection and consequences for pathogen transmission
Pathak, A. K., Creppage, K. E., Werner, J. R. & Cattadori, I. M., Aug 27 2010, In : BMC microbiology. 10, 226.
Infectious Disease Transmission
Effects of host characteristics and parasite intensity on growth and fecundity of Trichostrongylus retortaeformis infections in rabbits
Chylinski, C., Boag, B., Stear, M. J. & Cattadori, I. M., Jan 1 2009, In : Parasitology. 136, 1, p. 117-123 7 p.
Heligmosomoides polygyrus reduces infestation of Ixodes ricinus in free-living yellow-necked mice, Apodemus flavicollis
Ferrari, N., Cattadori, I. M., Rizzoli, A. & Hudson, P. J., Mar 1 2009, In : Parasitology. 136, 3, p. 305-316 12 p.
Nematospiroides dubius
Tick Infestations
Heligmosomoides polygyrus
Apodemus flavicollis
Murinae
Parasite co-infection and interaction as drivers of host heterogeneity
Cattadori, I., Boag, B. & Hudson, P. J., Mar 1 2008, In : International Journal for Parasitology. 38, 3-4, p. 371-380 10 p.
Seasonality, cohort-dependence and the development of immunity in a natural host-nematode system
Cornell, S. J., Bjornstad, O. N., Cattadori, I., Boag, B. & Hudson, P. J., Mar 7 2008, In : Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 275, 1634, p. 511-518 8 p.
Variation in host susceptibility and infectiousness generated by co-infection: The myxoma - Trichostrongylus retortaeformis case in wild rabbits
Cattadori, I., Albert, R. Z. & Boag, B., Oct 22 2007, In : Journal of the Royal Society Interface. 4, 16, p. 831-840 10 p.
Myxoma
Climate disruption and parasite-host dynamics: Patterns and processes associated with warming and the frequency of extreme climatic events
Hudson, P. J., Cattadori, I. M., Boag, B. & Dobson, A. P., Jun 2006, In : Journal of Helminthology. 80, 2, p. 175-182 8 p.
Hantavirus and arenavirus antibody prevalence in rodents and humans in Trentino, Northern Italy
Kallio-Kokko, H., Laakkonen, J., Rizzoli, A., Tagliapietra, V., Cattadori, I., Perkins, S. E., Hudson, P. J., Cristofolini, A., Versini, W., Vapalahti, O., Vaheri, A. & Henttonen, H., Aug 1 2006, In : Epidemiology and Infection. 134, 4, p. 830-836 7 p.
Arenavirus
Arvicolinae
Localized deer absence leads to tick amplification
Perkins, S. E., Cattadori, I. M., Tagliapietra, V., Rizzoli, A. P. & Hudson, P. J., Jan 1 2006, In : Ecology. 87, 8, p. 1981-1986 6 p.
Spatiotemporal patterns of malaria incidence in northern Thailand
Childs, D. Z., Cattadori, I., Suwonkerd, W., Prajakwong, S. & Boots, M., Jul 1 2006, In : Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. 100, 7, p. 623-631 9 p.
Plasmodium falciparum
Parasites and climate synchronize red grouse populations
Cattadori, I., Haydon, D. T. & Hudson, P. J., Feb 17 2005, In : Nature. 433, 7027, p. 737-741 5 p.
Peak shift and epidemiology in a seasonal host-nematode system
Cattadori, I. M., Boag, B., Bjørnstad, O. N., Cornell, S. J. & Hudson, P. J., Jun 7 2005, In : Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 272, 1568, p. 1163-1169 7 p.
The decline of the grey partridge in Europe: Comparing demographies in traditional and modern agricultural landscapes
De Leo, G. A., Focardi, S., Gatto, M. & Cattadori, I., Oct 1 2004, In : Ecological Modelling. 177, 3-4, p. 313-335 23 p.
extinction risk
The role of host sex in parasite dynamics: Field experiments on the yellow-necked mouse Apodemus flavicollis
Ferrari, N., Cattadori, I. M., Nespereira, J., Rizzoli, A. & Hudson, P. J., Feb 1 2004, In : Ecology Letters. 7, 2, p. 88-94 7 p.
The shape of red grouse cycles
Shaw, D. J., Haydon, D. T., Cattadori, I. M., Hudson, P. J. & Thirgood, S. J., Jul 1 2004, In : Journal of Animal Ecology. 73, 4, p. 767-776 10 p.
Lagopus lagopus scoticus
Are indirect measures of abundance a useful index of population density? The case of red grouse harvesting
Cattadori, I. M., Haydon, D. T., Thirgood, S. J. & Hudson, P. J., Mar 1 2003, In : Oikos. 100, 3, p. 439-446 8 p.
density dependence
Empirical evidence for key hosts in persistence of a tick-borne disease
Perkins, S. E., Cattadori, I. M., Tagliapietra, V., Rizzoli, A. P. & Hudson, P. J., Aug 2003, In : International Journal for Parasitology. 33, 9, p. 909-917 9 p.
Tick-Borne Encephalitis
Is the rock partridge Alectoris graeca saxatilis threatened in the Dolomitic Alps?
Cattadori, I. M., Ranci-Ortigosa, G., Gatto, M. & Hudson, P. J., Feb 1 2003, In : Animal Conservation. 6, 1, p. 71-81 11 p.
metapopulation
Analysing noisy time-series: Describing regional variation in the cyclic dynamics of red grouse
Haydon, D. T., Shaw, D. J., Cattadori, I. M., Hudson, P. J. & Thirgood, S. J., Aug 7 2002, In : Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 269, 1500, p. 1609-1617 9 p.
Trophic interactions and population growth rates: Describing patterns and identifying mechanisms
Hudson, P. J., Dobson, A. P., Cattadori, I. M., Newborn, D., Haydon, D. T., Shaw, D. J., Benton, T. G. & Grenfell, B. T., Sep 29 2002, In : Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 357, 1425, p. 1259-1271 13 p.
Are grouse populations unstable at the southern end of their range?
Cattadori, I. M. & Hudson, P. J., Dec 1 2000, In : Wildlife Biology. 6, 4, p. 213-218 6 p.
population cycle
Alps region
Searching for mechanisms of synchrony in spatially structured gamebird populations
Cattadori, I., Merler, S. & Hudson, P. J., Jul 1 2000, In : Journal of Animal Ecology. 69, 4, p. 620-638 19 p.
Contact Isabella Cattadori
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HomeCommunityRaising Socially Conscious Kids
Raising Socially Conscious Kids
By Frannie Barnes September 1, 2019
Above: Zander Ward and his friend Anthony help with food distribution
We live in a selfie society, where if you don’t capture something on your smartphone and share it immediately, it’s as if it didn’t happen. And while there are positive benefits to social media, we are seeing an increased need for a better balance between sharing about ourselves with others and giving to others, especially in children. With new ways to digitally connect arising almost daily, how can we raise kids who focus more on giving than receiving – a generation of socially conscious people?
More than just being aware of social issues, being socially conscious means understanding the society we live in and the importance of contributing to it. One of the most meaningful ways to do this is to volunteer. Doing so achieves more than just helping others; it can be a healthy and important way to combat a rise in anxiety and mental health conditions, both in adults and children. But with children growing up in the digital age, it’s important to face these issues earlier and provide a healthy balance.
According to Laura Jessup, LPC, NCC and therapist at Gainesville Professional Counseling Center, in the past decade there has been an increase in academic pressures and demands on children as a result of the negative impacts of excessive social media use and bullying. She believes these increases are closely related to the rise in the number of children diagnosed with mental health conditions. Clinical depression and anxiety disorders diagnoses, specifically, have increased the most in our youth within the past few years.
Laura believes that, “Now more than ever, it is important to teach children about their own emotions and behavioral responses, as well as the impact they have on others. Helping children improve social-emotional awareness of themselves and others can dramatically affect the way they perceive and follow healthy, positive social skills and expectations.”
The Ward Family. Through bake sales and other events, twelve-year-old Ben Ward of Haymarket has raised more than $12,000 for Serve Our Willing Warriors in the past two years.
By Kara Thorpe
The Wards are a local family who have made it a priority to teach their children the value of being socially conscious from an early age. Mom, Michelle, grew up volunteering – it was part of her family’s values and expectations and she and husband Matt passed that along to their two boys, Ben, 12 and Zander, 10. When Ben turned 10, Michelle and Matt asked him to research how he wanted to give back to his community. The Wards knew that whatever options Ben came up with, they would have to accompany him due to his age. Ben came up with a list, but it was a free local concert at the Battlefield Garden Center that left an indelible impression on him. Serve Our Willing Warriors (SOWW), a local nonprofit organization that cares for wounded service members by providing a respite at the Retreat at Bull Run, was the beneficiary of the concert. A young, wheelchair-bound captain shared her story about how SOWW made a positive impact on her. Ben made his decision that night.
Of the ways that children can volunteer for SOWW, Ben chose to fundraise. Through bake sales and other events, he has raised more than $12,000 for the nonprofit over the past two years. (He’s also become somewhat of a local celebrity for it too!) His hard work and dedication had another positive effect; from watching Ben work to help others, younger brother Zander decided he wanted to give back as well. He decided not to wait until he turned 10, and about two years ago, he began volunteering his time, giving his own money, and collecting food for the Haymarket Regional Food Pantry. Sometimes he even fundraises alongside Ben. He has donated about 2,500 pounds of food so far, and has worked with his parents stocking the pantry and cleaning after hours.
The Wards are a great example of the ways to instill social consciousness in kids even at an early age.
“Even toddlers can start learning and practicing pro-social behaviors for their communities,” said Laura. “Things such as picking up litter and throwing it in the trash can or waving and smiling at a stranger. Older children can be encouraged to engage in similar simple, charitable acts, such as holding the door for someone, offering to help a person in need in a store or parking lot, or even just asking another child that looks upset ‘Are you OK? Anything I can do to help?’ Each of these prosocial behaviors can be used as excellent opportunities to practice social awareness, selflessness, and empathy.”
The Tyndall Family
Another local couple, Sarah and Stephen Tyndall of Haymarket, wanted to show their two young children, Paxton, 6, and Maxwell, 4, that there is life outside of their neighborhood.
“I believe that it is my job as a parent to do my best to raise respectful, well-rounded, caring and kind individuals. I think that being socially conscious and serving others will allow my children to gain perspective. I also hope they learn to be empathetic towards others. Having the ability to put themselves in someone else’s shoes and to see things from a different point of view will serve them well in their future,” said Sarah.
The Tyndall’s took this desire further by starting a nonprofit called Boxes of Basics. Both of the boys help mom receive clothing from donors and pack boxes of outfits that are distributed to local families.
There are myriad benefits to fostering volunteerism and social consciousness in children. As Sarah mentioned, it teaches empathy and Ben Ward can tell you that he has learned to be responsible in his tenure as a fundraiser; formulating a dialogue to explain to those you’re asking for money about the organization and keeping track of fundraising events and funds is a hefty responsibility. Children who volunteer also gain experience working with others – certainly a lifelong skill that will help in their futures. Volunteering provides opportunities to explore new interests and develop new passions. It’s also been shown to reduce stress and provide a sense of purpose and satisfaction. Making a difference in others’ lives teaches not only civic responsibility and ways to give back, but it’s also good for one’s mental health.
And who couldn’t use a good old-fashioned mental health boost?
Laura Jessup adds, “Socially conscious children have a general understanding of social expectations, are able and willing to put effort into acting in developmentally appropriate ways that are consistent with those expectations and are tuned in to the basic emotions of those around them.”
When asked why he likes to give back, Ben Ward said simply, “It makes me feel good knowing I’ve helped others.”
Gainesville Professional Counseling Center
Serve our willing warriors
About Frannie Barnes 30 Articles
Frannie Barnes is a content writer and editor, and the owner of ForWord Communication. She lives in Gainesville with her husband, three active kids, cat, and dog. To contact Frannie, you can e-mail her at franniebarnes@forwordcommunication.com.
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General Discussion PH Forum Community
Home Forums > Pinoy Tambayan - Gamer Lounge > General Discussion >
Palestinian Muslim making a Game about Palestine Resistance
Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by nidalnijm, Nov 28, 2019.
nidalnijm Casual Gamer
Assalamu Alaykum (Peace be with you)
My name is Nidal Nijm, I am Brazillian Muslim, from Arab ascendance, my father is from Palestine.
I am just an indie solo developer trying to find my place in the game industry.
I am well known on the homebrew PS3 community. Just search on google UDK Ultimate Engine (http://wololo.net/2019/09/24/a-look...rt-and-main-developer-to-soon-showcase-an-or/)
Summarizing, some years ago I did port UDK Engine (the free version of Unreal Engine 3) from EPIC Games to PS3 and Xbox360 creating the first and only Fully 3D Engine for developing homebrew games for PS3 and Xbox360. This project stayed online for almost 3 years, it got a lot of visibility, millions of download, untill recently EPIC Games got aware of this project and asked me to take it down, because it breaks their EULA and Copyrights.
So I did take down this project, and did apologize for EPIC Games, because I never intended to harm them in anyway. EPIC Games were so kind with me, they recognized my efforts and talent on porting their engine for home consoles by myself, and allowed me to keep using my modified version of their engine, they gave me a Unreal Engine 3 License, I signed with them a contract, and now I am developing my first comercial game.
I even created a very fun and free mini game recently, for PC, PS3 and Xbox360, using my modified version of UDK Engine.
The download links are on the video description on my YouTube Channel.
So now with a Commercial License for using Unreal Engine 3, I decided to develop my first commercial game, a game about the War in Palestine.
I know this theme may be very sensitive for many people, as we all know there are victims on both sides of this war, however, I will try to explain what my game is about, and will show that my game does not promote violence or terrorist propaganda.
First of all, In this game, the player does not shoot Israeli civilians, women, children, elderly, only soldiers. Also in this game there are NO images of sexual content, illicit drugs, religious desecration, hate of speech against any group, ethnicity or religion, anti-Semitist propaganda against Jews, Nazi propaganda or boasting of any terrorist groups and / or other unlawful acts. This game only contains the virtual representation of the Palestinian Resistance Movement against the Israeli Military Occupation, which is officially recognized by the United Nations (UN).
I want to be clear that my objective in this game is not to make you hate Israel or Love Palestine, I just want to players experience a war game through another perspective. From since I was a Kid I always asked myself why there are no games on which we, Arabs and Muslims, are portraied as heroes, instead of villains and terrorists? And this is true, the representation of Arabs and Muslims in games for a long time was just through the flag of Terrorists, Killers, Assassins, Bandits, and so on. Only recently middle-eastern and muslim characters are portraied as heroes and "cool" characters, like in Street Fighter V, Tekken 7, Overwatch, and others.
Please watch this GDC talk about this matter:
https://www.gamasutra.com/view/news..._for_Muslim_representation_in_video_games.php
Added to this, my father was a Fighter of the Palestine Resistance Movement, he fought against Israel Army in the Lebanese Civil War on the 70's, and from since I was a kid, I felt too much proud of my father and the Palestine People in General, because of their Strenght and Constant Resistance. So this game is kinda tribute to the Brave People of Palestine and their Resistance against Military Occupation.
Talking about the game itself, Fursan al-Aqsa - Knights of al-Aqsa Mosque is a Third Person Action Game on which you play as Ahmad al-Ghazzawi, a young Palestinian Student who was unjustly tortured and jailed by Israeli Soldiers for 5 years, had all his family killed by an Israeli Airstrike and now after getting out from the prison he seeks revenge against those who wronged him, killed his family and stolen his homeland.
This game is being developed during the course of 4 years by one person (me, Nidal Nijm), in a custom version of UDK Engine (Unreal Engine 3), using the best technology to tell a compelling story through a game packed with non stop action, advanced 3D graphics and modern gameplay mechanics, however keeping the soul of old school shooters. You will play in missions accross ground, sea and sky, you have many objectives to accomplish in each mission, epic bosses battles, powerful guns, vehicles to drive, helicopters to take down, and much more. Expect a LOT of Action and Adrenaline!!!
This game also is greatly inspired by Hideo Kojima's Metal Gear Solid, Call of Duty Modern Warfare and Insurgency Sandstorm.
I hope untill the end of this month (november) release a free demo of this game (for PC, PS3 and Xbox360), so people can enjoy and feel what my game is about, enjoy the gameplay, feel the action. I plan to make something similar to Metal Gear Solid VR Missions (If you may remember), on which I will teach the player the basis of the Gameplay, like training the player for the true battle that will come on the final game. About the first episode (mission), I hope to release it untill the end of December, beginning of January 2020.
Now I will show you some trailers of the game itself, a beta version of this game. I am already redoing everything from scratch, remaking the models, animations, and maps, raising the overall quality, polishing things here and there, to deliver a high quality product for all people enjoy.
Also you can see the new updated model for my character protagonist, and the difference between the new player model and the old one, so you all can be sure I am commited to do my best on this game. These old models were just placeholders for me develop the basic game programming framework and features.
This trailer tells the history of how the muslims re-conquered Jerusalem:
https://www.moddb.com/games/fursan-...mosque/videos/1-fursan-al-aqsa-reveal-trailer
This trailer tells the history of the Game's Protagonist:
https://www.moddb.com/games/fursan-al-aqsa-knights-of-al-aqsa-mosque/videos/video
This is the promotional trailer "Join the Resistance":
https://www.moddb.com/games/fursan-.../3-fursan-al-aqsa-join-the-resistance-trailer
This is the PC Gameplay Trailer. The PC Version supports ANY Gamepad through xbox360 controller emulator (already included):
https://www.moddb.com/games/fursan-...ue/videos/6-fursan-al-aqsa-pc-gameplay-teaser
This is the PS3 Gameplay Trailer (sorry for the video quality, I don't have a HDMI Capture Card):
https://www.moddb.com/games/fursan-...e/videos/7-fursan-al-aqsa-ps3-gameplay-teaser
This is the Xbox360 Gameplay Trailer (sorry for the video quality, I don't have a HDMI Capture Card):
https://www.moddb.com/games/fursan-...deos/8-fursan-al-aqsa-xbox360-gameplay-teaser
Some Screenshots of the new Player Model In-Game:
Now some Behind the Scenes Trailers.
Making off "Crusader Battle Trailer":
https://www.moddb.com/games/fursan-...os/5-fursan-al-aqsa-reveal-trailer-making-off
Making off "Ahmad al-Ghazzawi":
https://www.moddb.com/games/fursan-...0-fursan-al-aqsa-ahmad-al-ghazzawi-making-off
You can follow the development of my game here:
https://sites.google.com/view/fursanalaqsagame/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcw8iE7JGheoU3Tq4ducTpw/
https://twitter.com/UdkUltimate
https://www.moddb.com/games/fursan-al-aqsa-knights-of-al-aqsa-mosque
https://www.indiedb.com/games/fursan-al-aqsa-knights-of-al-aqsa-mosque
Jazakom Allah Khayr (May God give you the best)
#1 nidalnijm, Nov 28, 2019
Something important I forgot to say.
This map, which will be the first mission (episode) of my game:
It's a remake of a Custom Map for Counter Strike Global Offensive, the map name is de_heat.
Whenever I create my maps, I like to take many games as reference, and I prefer to use Source Engine Games Maps, because it's easy to import on 3dsmax, and use the original map as a reference to model my map over the original map.
I have choosen this map, because it's similar to the real city of "Old Jerusalem", which is where the first mission of my game takes place.
However, I contacted the original author of this map from since I began creating this map in UDK Engine, last year. And he was very kind to me and gave me authorization to remake his map for my game:
However, as I told before, these screenshots of this map, and the gameplay trailers, are a bit outdated, because I am already working on chaing this map a bit, especially changing some assets (props) which are from Valve (the devs of Counter Strike) and not from the map author.
I am replacing these assets with some assets created by me and others purchased on 3D Marketplaces arround the internet. This is very common especially for indie and solo developers, purchase assets, download royalty-free assets to use whenever developing a game.
Imagine if all indies would make games creating all the assets from scratch. You would not see so many indie games arround there.
The same is truth for my new updated protagonist model. This new updated model is a mix of character parts from many models, which I purchased recently to update my 3d models library, which was a bit outdated (the marjority of my old models were from the time of Counter Strike Source).
However, you may think: "Man, getting ready models to create a game is very easy, because you have done almost nothing". I must inform you that the truth is far away for this thought. In game development there is no a "copy and paste", or "plug and play" solution, just one click and your game is done! No, even using pre-made 3d Models, you will never get the model which you want to fit on your project unless you do the dirty work of modifying this asset to fit on your game. Yeah, there is a LOT of work to be done.
I have done a lot of manual changes on this model, in example, the head cover was untill the neck, however I wanted this headcover to raise down untill the chest, so I manually modelled that extra part to make it reach the chest. Also the original texture was a plain black, so I manually created in Photoshop this Shemagh Texture in red color, the traditional Palestine Head Cover. Also to add some more depth, I did bake some small shadows on the texture to make it look more realistic and give a kind of fake volume to this head cover.
Another change I have done, because I am using the default UDK Skeleton (Unreal Tournament 3 Rig), and the default Animation System in UDK Engine (UE3) is pre programmed to work with the UT3 Skeleton outside the box, I did manually rig the character mesh to the UT3 Skeleton, as you can see in the video. And the character arms I used for this model, were a bit larger than the UT3 Skeleton, so I had to manually reduce the arms lenght, thus repositioning the hands aswell, to fit perfectly to UT3 Skeleton (so I don't have to re-program the Animation System).
Cheers and untill next update!
For those who accused my game of terrorist propaganda: I sent the game synopsis alongside gameplay to Brazillian Government Justice Department for Approval and Age Rating. My game was approved, and got Age Rating +18!
IndieDB - Indie Game of the Year. Please vote on Fursan al-Aqsa: http://tiny.cc/8hkmgz
#4 nidalnijm, Dec 1, 2019
There just 2 days left for the competition, so if you did not vote yet, please vote now: https://www.indiedb.com/games/fursan-al-aqsa-knights-of-al-aqsa-mosque
I would like to thank all my friends for voting in my game on @IndieDB
I don't have words to say how happy I am with all your support guys.
You are awesome people who are supporting me and my game. I think the best word is:
May Allah (God) give you the best
My game is now on the top 100 list, and first one on its category!
There is still 10 days to go!
Please vote again for this second phase: http://tiny.cc/5lu9gz
#6 nidalnijm, Dec 11, 2019
Fursan al-Aqsa Dev Blog #5 - Updated Animations for Ahmad al-Ghazzawi
www.moddb.com/games/fursan-al-aqsa-knights-of-al-aqsa-mosque/videos/13-fursan-al-aqsa-ahmad-al-ghazzawi-making-off-mocap
In game development is a common practice to use placeholder assets, which can be 3D Models, Textures and even Animations. Whenever I first began developing this game 2 years ago, I use the default UDK AnimationSet, which includes all the Character Animations used in Unreal Tournament 3. However, to give my game some originality, I decided to replace some of these stock UT3 (Unreal Tournament 3) animations by other animations from my Assets Library (which includes MOCAP animations from MegaMoCap, TrueBones, TurboSquid, NaturalMotion, and others).
I did not make too much polishments on these first animations I used, as I was just bored to look all time to the Default UDK Animations, so I just wanted something provisory, to polish later.
UDK/UE3 Engine has a perfectly working Animation System, pre-configured to work outside the box for a Shooter Game. One of these functions is what we call Aiming Profiles, which means, for any type of weapon the player carries, there are a different set of animations: in example, run forward rifle, run left pistol, rifle idle animation, bazooka run forward, and so on. For the sake of simplicity, I just replaced many of these stock UDK animationsby these new mocap files (retargetting these animations to the default UDK Skeleton in Motion Builder).
It would be very cool if using custom animations for UDK was just a matter of copy and paste. Even though the retargetting animations process is flawlessy inside Motion Builder, however, because of differences in skeleton size (UDK Skeleton x Custom MOCAP Skeletons), I had to manually edit each mocap animation to fit into UDK Skeleton. The fixes is just reposition of the character skeleton to fit and work flawlessly. In Motion Builder I just added a new animaton layer and added some key frame animations to fix the MOCAP, one by one.
Added to this, I did some Custom MOCAP using my Kinect Camera, as you san see in the video above. I must admit that is far better using professional captured MOCAP files than doing it yourself. I used Custom Kinect MOCAP files whenever I could not find, inside my assets library, the animation wanted, so it is time for "Do it Yourself". Again, after some (MANY) tweaks on these custom kinect mocap files, I got something good looking wich you can check aswell on the above video. And these will be the final animations for the game's protagonist.
I hope you are enjoying de follow the development of Fursan al-Aqsa.
P.S: If you did not vote yet for Fursan al-Aqsa, please vote now, it is disputing the Top 10 Indie Games of 2019, it is now the #1 of Upcoming Third Person Shooter:
http://tiny.cc/18blhz
Cheers and until Next Update!
carlolance Newbie Gamer
good to all of us.. more play to come en enjoy
#8 carlolance, Dec 22, 2019
nidalnijm likes this.
carlolance said: ↑
Thanks brother for the compliments!
New Updated Model for Zionist Soldier - Work in Progress
#10 nidalnijm, Dec 22, 2019
Today I began to sketchup some ideas of Maps for Fursan al-Aqsa Training Missions. Besides the Campaign Mode, I will add a Training Mode for my game with a LOT of Cool Missions, inspired by Metal Gear Solid 2 VR Missions (Kill All, Stealth, Weapon Shooting and Variety).
I decided to change my custom camera to make it look more similar to MetalGearSolid4. I am happy with the final result, so now my game has more of that MGS feeling! Next step will be add the iconic solid snake's crawling animation!
Be like a Chameleon. Suprise your enemies by invading their base disguised as one of them, and kill them all without mercy! Just testing a new feature on #FursanAlaqsaGame for the stealth missions mode!
Hello guys, some new promo art here:
Fursan al-Aqsa Dev Blog #6 - Updated Models for IDF Soldiers
This article shows a small gameplay test of the new Updated Models for Israeli Soldiers running on Playstation 3, and a small "Behind the Scenes" of the creation of the new IDF Models:
https://www.indiedb.com/games/fursa...sa-dev-blog-6-updated-models-for-idf-soldiers
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Ethics and medical professionalism 24
Health care and patient safety 26
Health human resources 22
Health information and e-health
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Physician practice/ compensation/ forms 11
Population health/ health equity/ public health 33
Policy resolution 5
Assessment of payment arrangements
The Canadian Medical Association will work with provincial/territorial medical associations to carry out an inventory and assessment of the payment arrangements across Canada that foster the emergence of new practice models based on an interdisciplinary approach and the use of new information technologies.
Policy resolution
Ethics and medical professionalism
The Canadian Medical Association will work with provincial/territorial medical associations to demand that governments recognize that the flow of information from the patient record to the electronic health records is the professional responsibility of physicians.
Evaluation of the impact of health information technology
The Canadian Medical Association and provincial/territorial medical associations call on governments to ensure completion of an evaluation of the impact of health information technology that considers the level of functionality and assesses its effect on patient and provider experience of care, population health and per capita costs.
Patient bill of health information rights
The Canadian Medical Association and provincial/territorial medical associations call on governments to engage patients and the public in the development of a patient bill of health information rights that sets out a vision for the governance of patient health information.
Principles for the development, use and evaluation of health care databases
https://policybase.cma.ca/en/permalink/policy579
That physicians, through the Canadian Medical Association, its Divisions and affiliates, should be involved in delineating principles to guide the development, use and evaluation of databases that provide linkages between health care utilization, socioeconomic status and other determinants of health and health status.
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Posts Tagged ‘Sexual Abuse’
Posted: October 31, 2011 in Academic Porn, Bullies, Devolution, Forty years later, Male bodies as objects, Sex Porn, Sexual Commodities, White Female Privilege
Tags: Dustin Hoffman, Equity and gender feminism, John Wayne, Jon Voight, Julia Kristeva, Midnight Cowboy, Politics of Sexuality, Sex-positive feminism, Sexual Abuse, Sexual objectification, sexual politics, Victim blaming, white female privilege, women and power, women who sexually abuse children
One of my all time favorite movies is Midnight Cowboy, for reasons that go beyond being a mere devotee of the acting of Dustin Hoffman, or the music of Henry Nilsson, a fan of the young Jon Voight, or practitioner of deconstructionism. Or the fact that it only got a showing at the seedy theaters in my town when it came out.
It is one of the best, most insightful scripts I have ever read too, and in fact the background guys–like song writer Fred Neil, and script writer Waldo Salt, who survived and thrived after being blacklisted during the red scare of McCarthy–are more incredible than the actors .
Here’s the intro clip:
Midnight Cowboy is the only X rated film in history to ever receive an Oscar. Maybe it was the “gay theme” or maybe it was because it was one of the rare films in all of history to examine the issue of women who sexually abuse young boys; and how women are complicit, if not instrumental in shaping the sexuality of children (no pun intended–but you will see what I mean). Here is a bit of Joe Bucks nightmare:
Zoom close-up -- Anastasia screaming soundlessly...
... thermometer under Little Joe's tongue...
... Sally Buck shoves chocolate in her mouth...
... bewigged poodle licks her fingers...
... Sally Buck hangs enema can on bedpost...
... Ratso leads ratpack chasing naked Anastasia...
... corona of flashlights...
I still remember the run-down, dirty white theater fronts that had it up on the marquee in blue letters, or red; and everything about cowboys fascinated me in that era.Certainly everything about the forbidden letter X fascinated me too.
Being stoic, self reliant, silently suffering cowboys was what they taught boys to be back then, and to think about being when we got older–little men running around with guns that go *BANG!*, fighting the bad Indians, and the ‘bad men’ who were-apparently-everywhere. And certainly, we were taught to always tip our hats for the ladies–even if they were sticking enemas in our asses.
But by the time I was old enough to watch it myself, some fifteen or years later, it showed me some things about cowboys that John Wayne and the other cowboy as uber-man posturing of that era never did, and I liked that too.
But I like Midnight Cowboy because it’s just plain old, incredibly good film, full of stunningly complex images that are explained to us with remarkable simplicity.
Original Movie Poster
Very few films address sex and gender imbalances in ways that are inclusive of the recognition that men are engendered in certain ways that women cannot, or will not understand, even when they see it in action. Women as a rule are either not equipped to understand the male experience, or because of the nature of woman is equipped only to stare at herself, and issues that reflect herself constantly–or something like that…;-)
In the case of Joe Buck, the intrepid male prostitute, our character learns that the world is not equal, and we, as an audience, learn a bit about what creates false constructs of sexuality in the mind of a young boy. And how those constructs lead to poor choices.
In one scene we have the gang rape of a woman who could aptly be called “the town pump”, and Joe Bucks inability to stop that rape–of the woman who he thinks he loves; in another scene, aptly a nightmare, we have Joe Buck being anally raped by his grandmother; and the all too obvious conclusion that male sexuality is undervalued, or disposable to women.
It’s a film about the awakening of America to issues of the human body as a commodious object, and the reality of under-valued male love. It’s a gay film in as much as it has a theme of men, loving each other, or men who are used by other men, but it’s a human story beyond that.
If you haven’t seen it, rent it, and if you have seen it, rent it again. Or just have a good read tonight--here’s the script.
Rick Perry: John Wayne Cowboy, Or Midnight Cowboy? (riehlworldview.com)
Rape “Switch” Component Identified in Human Males and Possibly, Females. (pornalysis.wordpress.com)
When Reason fails: Emotion takes its place; either that, or hysterical discussions (pornalysis.wordpress.com)
Are all women potentially pedophiles? Greg Laden’s theory of evolutionary biology predicts that they are. (pornalysis.wordpress.com)
Voight snubbed by Lennon (hollywood.com)
Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie and surprise guest Jon Voight together at ‘Salt’ premiere (hollywoodnews.com)
Angelina Jolie Parties in Hungary With Her Six Kids and Brad’s Parents (popsugar.com)
John Voight in Israel: Quote of the Day (bokertov.typepad.com)
Relationships:deconstructing preconceived ideas (achorusofehoes.wordpress.com)
Moviefone Mash: Cowboys and Aliens (VIDEO) (moviefone.com)
Linda Lee’s Halloween “Cowboys & Indian’s” Style! (wycd.radio.com)
FOR ADULTS ONLY: These Films Got Slapped With NC-17 Ratings But Became Hits Anyway (businessinsider.com)
Minus One for John Wayne Gacy Jr.; plus one for Sufjan Stevens
Posted: October 27, 2011 in Bullies, Devolution, Fascist Tendencies, Junk Science, Male bodies as objects, Rape and Rape Culture, Uncategorized
Tags: Amnesty International, Anamosa State Penitentiary, Chicago, Crime, Equity and gender feminism, Florida, Gacy, Harold Wayne Lovell, John Wayne, John Wayne Gacy, Politics of Sexuality, Serial killer, Sexual Abuse, Sexual objectification, Sexuality, Sufjan Stevens, Victim blaming
What do John Wayne Gacy Jr. and Sufjan Stevens have in common?
That other John Wayne: Gacy as Pogo the Clown.mon?
No–it isn’t songwriting, or sympathetic followings, per se–it is secrets, hidden underneath their floor boards. And their polar opposite reactions to being sensitive men or sexual men in a society that has a problem with sensitive, sexual men.
Is Sufjan Stevens gay, or just very very homo-romantic? I don’t know–what really matters is that he, through the feat of human compassion, brought my attention to an obscure fact about a serial killer, the effects of labeling theory, and the self fulfilling prophecy of criminalizing male sexuality, and rendering men as demons–before they actually become demonic.
Sufjan Stevens’ Ballad of John Wayne Gacy
Another thing they have in common is that neither men ever knew this other man, Harold Wayne Lovell, who was long thought to be one of Gacy’s eight unidentified victims. Lovell was recently found alive living in Florida, and his surviving family members are overjoyed at their reunion.
“Tim Lovell and Theresa Hasselberg hadn’t seen their brother, Harold Wayne Lovell, since he left their family’s Chicago home in May 1977 in search of construction work. At the time, Gacy was trolling for young men and boys in the area. He was a contractor, and he lured many of the 33 young men and boys he killed by offering them work.” More story here
Youtube is full of videos about Gacy, but here is one with footage that I actually remember from that time:
The Gacy story touched me directly when I was young, because I grew up in the windy city, not far from where he was stashing bodies like a squirrel stores nuts for the winter– young male bodies, underneath his floorboards; and he was one of the first “boogiemen” that I was actually afraid of. The city went into ‘evil gay boogieman overdrive,’ when his victims were discovered.
But it was the song by Sufjan Stevens some decades later that made me LOOK AT Gacy differently, to actually see part of him that I was not even made aware of: Gacy himself was sentenced to ten years in prison, essentially for being a gay man, and it wasn’t until later, after he got out, that he became a serial killer.*
Such are the effects of sexual repression and oppression of the rights of human beings to have consensual, or private sex; and the effects of social mechanisms that selectively enforce the way our bodies are categorized, objectified, labeled, used, and abused by society. Such are the effects of mis-directed rage.
If Gacy was wiser, maybe he would have just taken a shotgun down to the local police station and aimed for a few heads. Silent complicity is still silence when it comes to oppression.
And American prisons are rape factories, with some 216,ooo reported rapes or sexual assaults per year. American prisons are routinely cited for human rights violations by Amnesty International.
I am not a criminologist, or anything other than an amateur profiler, yet neither do I trust the profiles in any sense other than confirmation bias, as the constructions or the constructors and their interpretations of social reality are almost always devoid of causal factors that deny us insight into the society that creates them. We give the jobs to those who uphold the norms, not to those who challenge them.
Gacy Before society applied the label of deviant, and ...
I do not condone homicide or rape, or the rape of men and boys. However, it is not a stretch that one could imagine that Gacy’s crimes were preventable, had society not criminalized homosexuality at the time. And the deaths of 33 men and boys could have been prevented.
I remember the first footage I ever saw of the scene of the crime, and I remember thinking “that could be anywhere; I could have been under those floorboards.”
But, now, looking back, I realize that Gacy buried a piece of himself under those boards as well, because it takes quite snap of the mind and lots of rage to do something like he did. I also takes a society that criminalizes male sexual urges as well.
Oh: what did John Wayne Gacy look like in his last booking photo? What did he look like after his wife left him, he was imprisoned, and he lost everything that he had ever worked for? What did he look like after being imprisoned for consensual sex? AFTER the label of deviant stuck?
He was smiling that last time, in his last arrest– a strange, ironic, almost relieved and painfully annoyingly smile–the smile of an ‘anti-social sociopath.’
After the label stuck: The Smiling Sociopath
Personal notes for later thought: 1) The name John Wayne carries a lot of masculine baggage 2) False expectations on men cause sexual deviance , re: the diathesis stress model 3) society has a need to create a criminal class, and then, to police that class. 4) scapegoating males begins early, and often until they become monsters 5) I am against the death penalty even more now.
Below is a short list of how normal deviance is pushed by ‘normative’ social forces into becoming abnormal deviance.
* From Wikipedia: “On December 3, 1968,[27] Gacy was convicted of sodomy and sentenced to 10 years at Anamosa State Penitentiary, located in Jones County, Iowa.[27][28] The day Gacy was sentenced, his wife petitioned for divorce[29] and requested possession of the couples’ home, property and subsequent alimony payments.[30] The Court ruled in her favor and the divorce was final in September 1969. Gacy never saw his first wife or children again”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Wayne_Gacy
John Wayne Gacy Victim Found Living in Florida [Serial Killers] (gawker.com)
Family finds supposed Gacy victim alive in Fla. (cbsnews.com)
Man Feared to Be Gacy Victim Found (abcnews.go.com)
Man Thought to Be Gacy Victim Found Alive (foxnews.com)
Man thought to be Gacy victim found alive in Fla. (msnbc.msn.com)
Man thought to be Gacy victim found alive in Fla. (thenewstribune.com)
Missing man linked to John Wayne Gacy murders resurfaces, reunites with family (calgaryherald.com)
Family finds man they feared was Gacy victim (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
New Video: Rubblebucket Covers Sufjan Stevens’ “John Wayne Gacy, Jr.” (popdose.com)
30 Day Song Challenge – Day 28 (englishavenger.wordpress.com)
Serial Bachmann Killed the TSA Stars (thevigilantlens.wordpress.com)
Michele Bachmann Cites Hometown Hero John Wayne (While Actually In The Hometown Of John Wayne Gacy) (mediaite.com)
Sufjan Stevens Announces More Soundtrack Performances, Shares Track (pitchfork.com)
Michele Bachmann is so summer 2011 (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
Sufjan Stevens: 7 May 2010 – Berlin (Review) (popmatters.com)
Man Thought To Be Victim of John Wayne Gacy Turns Up Alive (lezgetreal.com)
Supposed John Wayne Gacy Victim Found Alive and Well (inquisitr.com)
Sheriff Hopes to Identify John Wayne Gacy Victims Using DNA (nytimes.com)
Do You Want to Fight Rape? Then learn to fight.
Posted: October 15, 2011 in Feminist belief system, Leading Feminists, Male bodies as objects, Rape and Rape Culture
Tags: Crime, Equity and gender feminism, Krav Maga, Martial arts, Minneapolis, Northeast Minneapolis, Organizations, Politics of Sexuality, Rape, Rape culture, Schools and Instruction, Self-defense, Sexual Abuse, Sexual objectification, Tai chi chuan, women and power
Do you hate getting beat up, raped, or otherwise physically assaulted as much as I do? (warning: the first link is NOT work or children friendly) If your answer is no–and you are a rape and bondage fetishist, or just curious go here.
But if you are tired of being afraid, try some Krav Maga–you can use more of what you learn with real actual self-defense in ten lessons of Krav Maga than you will EVER need to learn in ten years of Gong Fu, Tai Qi, or karate. Don’t believe me? Watch this video below.
There are defenses against hair pulling, bear hugs, chokes, and even being picked up off of the ground! Here is one example of a defense against a common assault: from behind, while loading groceries!
Did that look hard? It’s not! But the blogosphere is constantly buzzing with fearful dialogues about real, and often, imaginary rape, and women rally around rape anxiety, but how often do you spend the time to learn about self defense?
The best defense against rape is learning how to NOT get raped–how NOT to be a victim. Krav Maga can teach you more about actual self defense in ten lessons than any other martial art, and the last incredible Krav Maga instructor I met was a middle aged white woman.
Most of Krav Maga is based on techniques of actual street fighting–not theoretical martial wisdom, or ‘spiritual’ based disciplines. It is also one of the most adapted and adaptable forms of martial arts I have ever participated in.
And I bet you can do most of those moves you saw up there, too, but you just need to practice the more developed stuff with a trained instructor.
Well, if you live in the Minneapolis Saint Paul area, you will have a chance to do just that. Internationally renowned Krav Maga trainer Tamir Gilad , a Global Instructor for the International Krav Maga Federation, trainer to Israeli police and soldiers, women and children, is coming to Minneapolis on October 25th, but you have to register in advance, because his classes are popular.
Here below, Gilad talks about how he trains you–and the police that you call when you are in trouble as well.
The event is from 6 to 9 p.m., October 25th at Conga Nightclub in Nordeast Minneapolis!
For details call Gail at 612-558-2284, and tell her pornalysis sent you, or go to http://kravmagampls.com or send an e-mail to info@kravmagampls.com
Krav Maga Instruction Fundamentals (mademan.com)
Why is Krav Maga the best (wiki.answers.com)
Krav Maga (confidenceiseverything.wordpress.com)
Krav Maga New York Trains New York State Police SORT Team (prweb.com)
Krav Maga versus MMA (corporate-selfdefense.be)
10 Krav Maga Martial Arts Tips (mademan.com)
Krav Maga of San Francisco is Offering a Beach Training Seminar (prweb.com)
Gilad to be home in five days. (crazyjew.wordpress.com)
Protected: Cherry Blossom Life: Female pedophile found?
Posted: September 19, 2011 in Academic Porn, Devolution, Fascist Tendencies, Feminist belief system, Girl Porn, Rape and Rape Culture, White Female Privilege
Tags: Asia, Cherry Blossom Life, Cherryblossomlife, Child abuse, Children Youth and Family, female pedophiles, Feminism, feminist theory, maternal incest, Pedophilia, Person of color, Racism, sex negative feminism, Sexual Abuse, women who sexually abuse children, women who use children, World view
Is it racist to not report female perpetration of child abuse?
Posted: August 18, 2011 in Feminist belief system, PORNALYSIS MISSION STATEMENT AND PURPOSE, Rape and Rape Culture, Sexual Commodities, White Female Privilege
Tags: Child abuse, Child Protective Services, Child sexual abuse, Children Youth and Family, maternal incest, Sexual Abuse, Sexual Addiction, Support Groups, white female privilege, women who sexually abuse children, women who use children
We know that there are definitional biases and gender discrepancies when it comes to recognizing,and diagnosing child abuse. But emerging research and cohort studies are lifting a twenty year embargo against discussing gender and race in re-examining both gender of perpetrators, and redefining ‘what is sexual abuse.’
For instance, it is common to examine girls for every range of possibility of sexual abuse, but no special procedures that differentiate sexual abuse of boys that was perpetrated by specifically women– like saliva analysis, or bruising caused by objects, or a child’s exposure to other forms of female behavior that would qualify as sexual abuse.
And boys are less likely to be asked if women, girls, mothers, aunts, and/or female caretakers physically or sexually abused them.
It is also certain more often than not, that any boy who has been sexually abused by a female is less likely to self-report that fact, and by inference of all data, it is more likely that any hospital visit will have a female caretaker present, which can intimidate self reporting of sexual and physical abuse.
It is well known that abuse victims cannot and will not expose their abuser if the abuser is standing next to them. And most abusers of children have primary custodial control of the child, meaning the child is wholly stifled at knowing how to express the abuse they have endured.
But some are asking another question: does race get in the way of boys reporting their sexual abuse at large, and specifically their sexual abuse by women? I think it does, and I am not alone–anymore..
“Child maltreatment is a significant problem within US society, and minority children have higher rates of substantiated maltreatment than do white children. However, it is unclear whether minority children are abused more frequently than whites or whether their cases are more likely to be reported. OBJECTIVES: To determine whether there are racial differences in the evaluation and Child Protective Services (CPS) reporting of young children hospitalized for fractures.”
While it is likely that historic institutionalized racism is a factor that can explain higher diagnostic success of detecting abuse in black children, it is also a possibility that observer bias ( nurses, doctors, emergency room personell) gets in the way, because white women are seldom if ever suspects–ever–in crime.
Other minority groups have their own profile issues to contend with, but beyond the biased definitional basis for ‘what is abuse,’ beyond the stereotype of male, race is a factor.
It’s not necessarily that black people abuse their children at any higher rates than white people, but rather that suspects, and suspicions of child abuse perpetrated by white people are often downplayed because of racial profiling. Whites are always “less suspect”–and white women in particular–who are the primary caretakers of children–are almost never suspected of any crimes, much less child abuse.
Yet men of all races are constantly primary suspects. They even have a gendered epithet that applies to this profile: the boogieMAN.
I suspect that it’s time to re-visit the race and child abuse question, and redefine ‘what is a suspect,’ for the sake of the children, and the future.
Note to self: put this on the white female privilege checklist.
Sexual Abuse Against Young Males: are victim assessment procedure differences between males and females significant? (pornalysis.wordpress.com)
The Complexity of Investigating Possible Sexual Abuse of a Child (cutie79.wordpress.com)
How can the truthfulness of children making child sex abuse allegations be established? (cutie79.wordpress.com)
Bullying and its Relation to Child Abuse, Sexual Victimization, Domestic Violence, and … (education.com)
Inter- Generational Family Sexual Abuse (walkinginsunshine1.wordpress.com)
Dutch sex abuse panel probes 1950s Catholic deaths (theprovince.com)
Okla. City police officer resigns, charged with sexually abusing adopted and foster children (cutie79.wordpress.com)
Rapper Big Sean Arrested on Sexual Abuse Complaint (sweetspill.com)
Peace Corps needs new sex abuse policy (cnn.com)
Repressed-Memory Therapy: Lies of the Mind (time.com)
sex abuse facts n figure (cutie79.wordpress.com)
Protected: Men Are All Rapists Check! Brought to you by sex negative feminists, and bitter girls with red hair…
Posted: August 8, 2011 in Bullies, Devolution, Feminist belief system, Girl Porn, Male bodies as objects, Rape and Rape Culture, Real feminists are actually just great women who defy labels entirely, White Female Privilege
Tags: 11-year-old boy raped by girls, Equity and gender feminism, Feminism, feminist theory, Julia Kristeva, Politics of Sexuality, Prostitution, Rape, sex negative feminism, Sex-positive movement, Sexual Abuse, Sexual objectification, women and power
Sexual Abuse Against Young Males: are victim assessment procedure differences between males and females significant?
Posted: August 5, 2011 in Child Porn, Gender War Porn, Rape and Rape Culture, Sexual Commodities, Uncategorized
Tags: Child abuse, female pedophiles, female sex perpetrators, Forensic science, Research question, Sexual Abuse, Support Groups, women and power, women who sexually abuse children, women who use children, women's aggression, women's violence
Sexual Abuse Against Males.
When little boys are murdered, I wonder: are there procedural differences in how they are autopsied? Is sexual abuse by women even suspected in cases where a femal;e caregiver reports that a boy has died in her care?
Are female caregiver to male sexual victim abuse symptoms different than the model for girl victims ?My research question is as follows:
Are little boys treated differently than little girls in the forensic assessments for child sexual abuse? Are the young male victims examined as rigorously, or is abuse sexual abuse specifically suspected when the murderer is a woman; and if so, is the fact that women abuse children in different ways than men taken into account?
For instance, are saliva samples taken, and do female to male sexual abuse victim bruise patterns in certain areas take different forms?If so, are saliva specifically samples sought from the genital or other regions?
Survivors of female perpetrated sexual abuse tell us that women sexually abuse children, and their methods are different, and often hard to detect, or talk about.
I have had the good fortune of having a series of questions posed at the Forensic Nursing Chronicles © 2009-2011 Forensic Nursing Chronicles. All rights reserved. Email: admin@healthcare-online-education.com
Shepherding Survivors of Sexual Abuse – EFCA Today (wisecounsel.wordpress.com)
Brandon McInerney’s Brother Testifies Teen Killer Was Sexually Abused: VIDEO (towleroad.com)
The importance of falsehood, betrayal, and dis-loyalty in modern feminist narrative and narratology
Posted: July 23, 2011 in Devolution, Fascist Tendencies, Fifty years later, Gender War Porn, Leading Feminists, Male bodies as objects, Rape and Rape Culture, Sex Porn, War Porn, White Female Privilege
Tags: Andrea Dworkin, Betty Friedan, Child sexual abuse, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, Feminism, feminist theory, Gloria Steinem, Henry Kissinger, maternal incest, Mercy, one winged feminism, Rape, Rape culture, sex negative feminism, Sexual Abuse, sexual politics, the maternal gaze, Victim blaming, women and power
Cover of Mercy
Andrea Dworkin‘s Fiction 101: “Lie, for effect.”
The roots of the feminist ‘men are doormats’ dilemma, and why nice guys lose, finally, and always, in feminist theory. They can’t help themselves–literally! They are dependent upon female narratives.
UPDATE: As predicted, DSK was found innocent and absolved of any wrong doing in this matter, and currently, Naffisatou Diallo is ‘seeking a confrontation’ to avoid being deported, and to vindicate her untenable position.
I am trying to track down this odd obscure detail about Andrea Dworkin, which is probably going to be harder than explaining why the wage gap between men and women is either a clever falsehood, or a mis-representation of women’s choices.
And even harder than trying to explain why hiding the identity of Dominique Strauss-Kahn‘s rape-accuser, Nafisatou Diallo, is the western version of ‘putting a veil on women.’
Here is Naffisatou Diallo below– false rape accuser, and drug money courier. Her false accusation against Dominique Strauss Kahn could throw the French presidential election.
Tolerating One Lie, Leads to Generations of More Lies: Naffisatou Diallo, false rape accuser
But back to obscure facts for a minute. It seems that John Preston, gay activist, author, and founder of the now-defunct Gay House, Inc. in Minneapolis, remembers Andrea Dworkin being in Minneapolis sometime in 1971.
She claimed she was in Amsterdam at the time as a “battered wife.”
I haven’t the time or the resources to track down everything that feminists claim as truth, and I have learned the hard way that truth to them is not factual, or even ascertainable by standard methodology. Truth is monolithic, not individual, and collective, not personal, so collective lies become truths, and personal truth becomes a lie.
Such is the case in the genesis of Dworkin’s work Mercy, which I will address below. Mercy is also a great part of Dworkin’s belief in lying as an imperative to creating new truths, which is not necessarily ignoble when old truth constructions don’t work anymore but it IS dubious and non-factual nonetheless.
Nor do I want to waste too much time on tracking down one attention getting manipulation of facts, or conflations of statistics after another, like the latest inflation of statistics, or sketchy evidence on sex trafficking by the now soundly debunked Schapiro Group.
But I have a hunch I can find some data about this one claim. After all, Gay House was right up the block from one of my homes.
I am seeking the data because I have a theory that modern feminism is a co-option of womens voices, and a product of CIA social engineering. Sounds all hoolie boolie, huh?
But not so hoolie boolie when you think about a few things:
1) it is now well known that Gloria Steinem was a CIA operative—so much so that Betty Friedan questioned CIA involvement in the women’s movement, and
2) Dworkin herself was a curiously mobile, though rather penniless individual who crossed borders, and crossed gender identities so fluidly: not bad for an uneducated girl, until you take into account her affiliation with Steinem[…]; and
3) modern feminism is so deeply allied with the subversion of domestic discourse, and allied with police power that falsehoods are widely circulated as truths—subjectivity has overcome objectivity in truth telling, so much so that the latest ‘study’ of the exploitation of teen prostitutes need only base its assertions on “lookism,” rather than hard data, or what the rest of us know as “facts”.
And then, when you realize that the false rape ideology that drives them, and is popping up all over the media [Assange, DSK , etc.] became a memetic device around the same time that Steinem was sleeping with the CIA chief, and also running around with Henry Kissinger, the great war chief who brought us the severed ears fingers and hands of Viet Nam, and the sawed off feet of Guatemalan Indians some years later.
Together, they devised perhaps the most clever plan ever of capitalist imperial conquest; and devised one of the best smokescreens against truth in history–next to the bible, of course.
Here, have a look yourself: the word rape is a very popular adword, and a cash cow for bloggers.
Rape is a popular Google Adword--bloggers make money with rape!
But the weight of just one lie can wear you out, and make you feel like nothing is worth it—that life itself is not worth living if lies are the vehicle to truth, or as truth is more commonly known in feminist circles, consensus, monolithic, collective female consensus. And that version of truth is even heavier with the agency of the state behind its telling.
Even so, I am trying to lift Andrea off of my shoulders, and get to the bottom of a simple fact.
Inspiring White Females to action: rationalization abjection* and separatist feminist cowardice. (pornalysis.wordpress.com)
Radical Feminism: Changing the Frame (radicalhub.wordpress.com)
SlutWalk Raises Awareness of the Need for Therapists, not Cops (fightthepolice.wordpress.com)
Steinem Goes Off Her Meds; Sarah, Trig and the Secret Life of Self-Aborting Bears (intolerantfox.wordpress.com)
Becoming a wife in the post-feminist age. (metalandiron.com)
Rapeflation in Action.The mechanics of false rape accusations. (pornalysis.wordpress.com)
Little White Girls, Red Riding Hood, and flawed white feminist narratology. (pornalysis.wordpress.com)
With Dim Lights: On Feminism and Virtue (tigerbeatdown.com)
On “Positivity” and Radfem Blogging (radicalhub.wordpress.com)
Why Are Young Women So Afraid To Call Themselves Feminists? (thegloss.com)
Honey Money: The Power of Erotic Capital by Catherine Hakim: review (telegraph.co.uk)
Sex Porn: The maternal gaze and pornography, part 3
Posted: July 6, 2011 in Leading Feminists, Sex Porn
Tags: Andrea Dworkin, Child sexual abuse, Feminism, feminist theory, Internet pornography, Lord of the Flies, Marjorie Morningstar, maternal incest, Nadine Strossen, oppression of women, pedophilia and women, Politics of Sexuality, Rape culture, Sex-positive feminism, Sexual Abuse, the maternal gaze, war pornography and sex pornography, womens pedophilia, womens voyeurism
So what are the desires of powerful women? What is it that ‘turns them on’ beyond power? Where does their healthy urge merge with deviance, or illegal activity?
I suspect the answer is that what turns them on is what turns anyone in power on: the tools of power–rape, violence directed at the poor, child molestation, class and gender oppression, the committing of crimes withouit accountability, and social control. Profiles exist of such people, but these profiles are directed against, embodied, and engendered male.
The difference is that no one has yet questioned what these women are, or what is really beneath the surface of their desires, or how much they fit the sexual profiles of power they themselves have established.
But here below, is a clue, from a recollection of Andrea Dworkin, militant one-winged anti-male feminist, activist against rape, oppression, enslavement, and pornography. In the published recollection, she describes a “love” for her mother, Sylvia ( she does not ‘name’ her father in that same piece) that was in her own words, her “first great romance.
Andrea Dworkin, childhood sexual experience with her mother, and other children.
I have idyllic memories of childhood in Camden: my brother, my father, and me having tickling fights, wrestling, on the living room floor; me in my cowgirl suit practicing my fast draw so I could be an American hero; a tiny sandbox on our front lawn where all the children played, boys and girls together, our Eden until a certain year when the girls had to wear tops–I may have been five but I remember screaming and crying in an inarticulate outrage. We girls played with dolls on the stoops, washed their hair, set it, combed it out, dressed the dolls, tried to make stories of glamour in which they stood for us. I remember being humiliated by some girl I didn’t like for not washing my doll’s hair right–I think the doll was probably drowning. Later, my grandfather married her mother across the street, and I had to be nice to her.
I was happier when we moved from dolls to canasta, gin rummy, poker, and strip poker. The children on the street developed a collective secret life, a half dozen games of sex and dominance that we played, half in front of our mothers’ eyes, half in a conspiracy of hiding. And we played Red Rover and Giant Steps, appropriating the whole block from traffic. And there was always ball, in formal games, or alone to pass the time, against brick walls, against the cement stoops. I liked the sex-and-dominance games, which could be overtly sadomasochistic, because I liked the risk and the intensity; and I liked ordinary games like hide-and-seek. I loved the cement, the alleys, the wires and telephone poles, the parked cars that provided sanctuary from the adults, a kind of metallic barrier against their eyes and ears; and I loved the communal life of us, the children, half Lord of the Flies, half a prelude to Marjorie Morningstar. To this day, my idea of a good time is to sit on a city stoop amid a profusion of people and noise as dark is coming on.”
My question is: what exactly is she re-living on those steps, and why is she seeking her memories of children, and children’s games to re-live it?
We have a father encouraging heroism in the young Andrea; a father establishing a sexual angst based but clear boundary by stopping the play at tickling, but we have a mother who is omnipresent, omniscient, and possibly controlling a child’s deepest fears about death and harm in every situation, and yet that mother is adored.
Dominance in sexual situations; dominance in sexual situations with children; secrecy in dominance games with children. Are glimpses into Andrea Dworkin’s—one feminist among many, but what a feminist she was– inner motivations.
The key, in my opinion, to understanding the motivations, libidos, and power quests of women isn’t going to be found in asking patriarchy the same old questions about men, but from understanding the scant empirical evidence of powerful women’s self-edited, or self- suppressed, self-censored, coded, and hidden dialogues.
In Andrea’s case—and Andrea who became grossly overweight in her later years, like many child victims of maternal sexual abuse—she played out her early sexual power quests in front of her mother, as she said, and her early sexual experimentation, and its direction occurred “half in front of our mothers’ eyes, half in a conspiracy of hiding.”
That conspiracy of hiding is the biggest clue, along with the fact that it was Andrea, and other girls who had other mothers, that played such things out—in front of mothers.
I personally believe that women’s rape fears are the internalized, non-verbally cued, female embodied, and maternally engendered fear that fathers would not approve of the behaviors that mothers instill, encourage, embody, and condone, as long as those behaviors take place in front of women.
And those women, just like cops, like to mediate wider social interactions, and to see what young vaginas are up to, voyeuristically, from the outside looking in.
Andrea never had children, and I suspect it is because she knew herself well, and protected them pro-actively from herself, and her mothers female embodied, voyeuristic Lacanian gaze. Later Andrea extrapolated that gaze into her views of pornography, and projected that gaze onto men in general, rather than being a true hero, and discussing her interactions of childhood sexual dominance play that could likely have been encouraged, embodied, or manipulated by her mother, and the mothers of other girls whom she played with.
That is my pure specualtion of exactly what it is that might lay beneath the surface of feminist projections about male sexuality, after all, the evidence i so scant- but I believe that underneath women’s dialogues lurks Andrea, on the steps, still looking for kids to play with and dominate—and another mother to look at her approval seeking, dominance-based sexual displays.
Naomi Wolf, porn and the misuse of dopamine (mindhacks.com)
A Mother’s Sexuality: Taking Back MILF (blogher.com)
What is porn (wiki.answers.com)
Sex and Self-destruction (room4truth.com)
America: Deforming the Child Porn Discussion (pornalysis.wordpress.com)
PORNALYSIS: Mission Statement and Purpose (pornalysis.wordpress.com)
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Valencia to develop its hinterland and rail connectivity
Posted on August 9, 2018 | By Julia Louppova | No comments
MSC Terminal Valencia. Source: APV
The Port Authority of Valencia (La Autoridad Portuaria de Valencia, or APV) has announced the awarding of the contract to draft the Intermodal Development Plan to TRN Taryet, the Spanish consulting company specialized in transport planning and research. With this project, Valencia aims to expand its hinterland and to attract cargo from beyond its area of direct influence. The study is to be completed and delivered by 1 March 2019.
The analysis will allow to define the areas of interest for the three ports managed by APV (Valencia, Sagunto and Gandia), as well as the requirements for establishing regional branches or building an infrastructure in the zones of cargo concentration along the main rail corridors.
At the latest meeting of the Port’s Board of Directors, Aurelio Martinez, APV President, highlighted the necessity to search for cargo beyond the port’s area of influence, in order to guarantee the port’s further growth. “It is a paradigm shift. We have to go and be present where the cargo flow is generated,” he said.
Aurelio Martinez has explained that the intermodality – and especially the railway corridors connecting the ports – are strategic elements for expanding the port’s hinterland. Once the study is delivered, the Valencia port will be able to start developing this sphere of logistics, with the focus on railway access to its ports.
The scope of the study awarded to TRN Taryet includes, in particular, analysis of those areas where the port’s hinterland can be expanded, a qualitative evaluation of the areas of cargo production and consumption to which it would be interesting to provide rail access and finally the identification and analysis of the basic rail corridors connecting these areas. These corridors include the Mediterranean corridor, the line connecting Valencia-Sagunto-Teruel and Zaragoza, the Central corridor and the Andalusian corridor. For each corridor, TRN Taryet will analyse its characteristics and limitations, identifying the circumstances that generate bottlenecks, etc.
The analysis will also provide a qualitative estimation of the future demand generated by both current and potential areas of influence. This includes an estimation of import/export traffic of the hinterland expansion zones, as well as the market share that could be captured by Valencia, Sagunto and Gandia in comparison with the competing ports.
The implementation of the Intermodal Plan will imply promoting dry ports and appointing representatives where the port does not have a significant presence today, in order to offer services to different points of its hinterland, capturing new cargoes and facilitating their arrival at the port.
Today, the area of Valencia’s direct influence covers the radius of 350km. The port acts as a prime cargo gate for Madrid connecting the capital by rail corridor. In 2017, Valencia handled on average 75 trains per week working with 6 railway operators.
Category: News | Tag: logistics, port projects, rail, Spain
We will not bother you more often than once a month
Russian container volumes reach 5 mln TEU in 2018
ICTSI inaugurates Batumi terminal expansion
MSC to construct Portugal’s largest dry port
Oakland completes berth expansion to handle increasing volumes
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Conference: "The End of Western Hegemonies ?"
Department of History and Ethnology, University of Jyväskylä
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Institut für Philosophie, University of Bonn
Topics: Medieval and Renaissance Philosophy, History of Western Philosophy, Miscellaneous
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Faculty of Theology, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun, Poland
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Department of Philosophy, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Split
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Conference: Thomas Aquinas and the Church Fathers
Topics: Medieval and Renaissance Philosophy
Talk: La materia in Gregorio di Nissa
Department of Philosophy, University Vita-Salute San Raffaele
Seminario Patristico - a.a. 2018-2019
Anna Marmodoro (Durham University)
CFA: MAP @ Bristol Conference: 'Postcolonial and Decolonial Reception of European Thought'
Department of Philosophy, University of Bristol
Topics: History of Western Philosophy, Philosophical Traditions
Conference: Ciclo de Conferencias 2019
Grupo de Estudios Kantianos
I Simposio Internacional del GEK; II Simposio Internacional del GEK; III Simposio Internacional del GEK; IV Simposio Internacional del GEK
Topics: History of Western Philosophy, Metaphysics and Epistemology, Philosophical Traditions, Science, Logic, and Mathematics
Conference: Britain's Early Philosophers
Durham Centre for Ancient and Medieval Philosophy, Durham University
Topics: Ancient Greek and Roman Philosophy, Medieval and Renaissance Philosophy
CFP: Special issue on the politics of negative emotions
Topics: History of Western Philosophy, Philosophical Traditions, Applied Ethics, Normative Ethics, Philosophy of Gender, Race, and Sexuality, Philosophy of Law, Social and Political Philosophy
CFP: Special Issue of MANUSCRITO: “Aristotle on science and its logical and metaphysical entanglements”
Topics: Ancient Greek and Roman Philosophy
CFP: Contingency and Necessity in Medieval and Post-medieval Scholasticism
Institute of Philosophy, Department for the Study of Ancient and Medieval Thought, Czech Academy of Sciences
Topics: 17th/18th Century Philosophy, Ancient Greek and Roman Philosophy, Medieval and Renaissance Philosophy, History of Western Philosophy, Miscellaneous, Epistemology, Metaphilosophy, Metaphysics, Philosophy of Action, Philosophy of Language, Philosophy of Religion, M&E, Miscellaneous, European Philosophy
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CFP: 6th Annual International Conference for the Centre for Phenomenology in South Africa: Philosophy and Laughter
Department of Philosophy, University of Johannesburg, University of Fort Hare
Annual International Conference for the Centre for Phenomenology in South Africa
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CFP: Collective Intentions in Voting
University of Oxford, University of Oxford
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Department of Philosophy and Education, University of Turin
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Department of Philosophy, Marquette University
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Graduate Conference: Thinking and Living the Good Life
Philosophy Department, Fordham University
The Red Star Line Conference
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Talk: ‘On viewing the figure’: Wolff, Mendelssohn, Lambert and Kant on the method of geometry
Department of Philosophy, University of Western Ontario
Emily Carson (McGill University)
Topics: History of Western Philosophy
Conference: Vitalism in Early Modern Philosophy
Emmanuel college, Cambridge University
Conference: Dostoevsky and Philosophy
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Talk: Dissenso ed eterodossia nel pensiero ebraico
Department of Philosophy and Cultural Heritage, Ca' Foscari University, Venice
Prismi della modernità. Itinerari di storia della filosofia dal XIV al XVIII secolo. 2018-2019
Topics: 17th/18th Century Philosophy, Medieval and Renaissance Philosophy, History of Western Philosophy, Miscellaneous, Epistemology, Metaphysics, Philosophy of Mind, Philosophy of Religion, M&E, Miscellaneous, Continental Philosophy, European Philosophy, Philosophical Traditions, Miscellaneous, Applied Ethics, Meta-Ethics, Normative Ethics, Philosophy of Law, Social and Political Philosophy, Value Theory, Miscellaneous
Conference: Thinking with Nancy
Balliol College, Oxford University, Oxford University
Topics: 20th Century Philosophy, Epistemology, Metaphysics, Philosophy of Religion, Continental Philosophy, European Philosophy
CFP: Thinking with Nancy
Conference: Dissenso ed eterodossia nel pensiero ebraico
Talk: 'Philosophy is not a lexicon’: Metaphor as Methodological Doubt in Whitehead and Merleau-Ponty
Department of Philosophy, PHI research group, Deakin University
Deakin Philosophy Seminar Series
Andrew Kirkpatrick (Deakin University)
Topics: History of Western Philosophy, Value Theory
Conference: ATWAP 2019: Aristotle's Hylomorphism
Collaborative Program in Ancient & Medieval Philosophy, University of Toronto
Annual Toronto Workshop in Ancient Philosophy
Conference: Pennsylvania Circle of Ancient Philosophy
Villanova University, Villanova University
Conference: Powers: A History
Department of Philosophy, The Ohio State University
Topics: 17th/18th Century Philosophy, 19th Century Philosophy, Ancient Greek and Roman Philosophy, Medieval and Renaissance Philosophy, Metaphysics
CFP: Baudelaire and Philosophy: A Conference sponsored by the British Society of Aesthetics
Centre for Philosophy and Critical Thought, Goldsmiths, University of London
Topics: 19th Century Philosophy, 20th Century Philosophy, Continental Philosophy, European Philosophy, Aesthetics, Social and Political Philosophy
Conference: CAREP conference March 21-24, 2019: Why The Kyoto School Today?
The Centre for Advanced Research in European Philosophy, King's College University, Western University
CAREP Conferences
Topics: 20th Century Philosophy, Metaphysics, Philosophy of Religion, Asian Philosophy, Continental Philosophy, European Philosophy
Talk: When nihilism appears in the world
Petra Brown (Deakin University)
Conference: Coloquio Internacional Kant
Academia Nacional de Ciencias de Buenos Aires, Grupo de Estudios Kantianos
Topics: 17th/18th Century Philosophy, Epistemology, Metaphysics, Continental Philosophy, General Philosophy of Science, Logic and Philosophy of Logic
CFP: Eros in Ancient Philosophy
Faculty of Classics, Cambridge University
The Ninth Annual Cambridge Graduate Conference in Ancient Philosophy
CFP: Crossroads of Critique: Axel Honneth and the Frankfurt School Project
Sciences Po Paris
Sciences Po Graduate Conference in Political Theory
Topics: 20th Century Philosophy, Continental Philosophy, European Philosophy
*EXTENDED DEADLINE* CFP: Bergen Workshop on Logical Disagreements
Department of Philosophy, University of Bergen
Topics: History of Western Philosophy, Miscellaneous, Epistemology, Logic and Philosophy of Logic
*EXTENDED DEADLINE* CFP: Bergen Early-Career Masterclass on Logical Epistemology
Conference: UTSC Annual International Undergraduate Philosophy Conference
Department of Philosophy, University of Toronto at Scarborough
UTSC International Undergraduate Philosophy Conference
Topics: Ancient Greek and Roman Philosophy, Medieval and Renaissance Philosophy, History of Western Philosophy, Miscellaneous
CFP: The Liberal Subject: Decay, Demise, and Deliverance, UNM Graduate Conference
Department of Philosophy, University of New Mexico
Topics: 17th/18th Century Philosophy, 19th Century Philosophy, 20th Century Philosophy, African/Africana Philosophy, Continental Philosophy, European Philosophy, Aesthetics, Philosophy of Gender, Race, and Sexuality, Philosophy of Law, Social and Political Philosophy
CFP: Summer School in Neo-Kantian Philosophy
Department of Philosophy, Chinese University of Hong Kong
Conference: Free Speech: Freedom, Speech, and Society
Florida Gulf Coast University, Florida Gulf Coast University
Topics: 17th/18th Century Philosophy, 19th Century Philosophy, 20th Century Philosophy, Ancient Greek and Roman Philosophy, Philosophy of Language, Applied Ethics, Normative Ethics, Philosophy of Law, Social and Political Philosophy
Conference: Aesthetics
Department of Philosophy, Towson University
Geo-aesthetics conference series
Conference: Political Epistemologies
Philosophy Graduate Student Union (PGSU), Villanova University
Topics: History of Western Philosophy, Epistemology, Philosophy of Religion, African/Africana Philosophy, Asian Philosophy, Continental Philosophy, European Philosophy, Philosophy of the Americas, Philosophy of Social Science, Normative Ethics, Philosophy of Gender, Race, and Sexuality, Social and Political Philosophy
Conference: Constitutivism Workshop
Department of Philosophy, University at Albany (SUNY)
Topics: History of Western Philosophy, Metaphysics, Philosophy of Action, Meta-Ethics, Normative Ethics
Conference: Popular Sovereignty and Populism
George Washington Forum on American Ideas, Politics and Institutions, Ohio University
CFP: 3rd TiLPS History of Analytic Philosophy Workshop
TiLPS, Tilburg University
TiLPS History of Analytic Philosophy Workshops
Topics: 20th Century Philosophy, Epistemology, Metaphilosophy, Metaphysics, Philosophy of Language, Philosophy of Mind, General Philosophy of Science, Applied Ethics, Meta-Ethics
Conference: Wittgenstein Seminar: Wittgenstein, Ethics and Culture
Dipartimento di Filosofia, Sapienza Università di Roma
Seminario permanente di etica
Topics: 20th Century Philosophy, Meta-Ethics
Conference: Comparing Philosophical Traditions: Selfhood, Historicity and Representation between Hermeneutics and Pragmatism
Dipartimento di Pedagogia, Psicologia e Filosofia, Università degli Studi di Cagliari
Topics: 19th Century Philosophy, 20th Century Philosophy, History of Western Philosophy, Miscellaneous, Epistemology, Philosophy of Action, Philosophical Traditions, Miscellaneous, Philosophy of Social Science, Social and Political Philosophy
Conference: 46th Annual Meeting of the Society for the Advancement of American Philosophy
Society for the Advancement of American Philosophy
Topics: 19th Century Philosophy, 20th Century Philosophy, History of Western Philosophy, Miscellaneous, Epistemology, Metaphysics, Philosophy of Religion, M&E, Miscellaneous, African/Africana Philosophy, Continental Philosophy, Philosophy of the Americas, Philosophical Traditions, Miscellaneous, Aesthetics, Applied Ethics, Normative Ethics, Philosophy of Gender, Race, and Sexuality, Social and Political Philosophy, Value Theory, Miscellaneous
Conference: What We Say about Media and What That Says about Us: Medium, Its Message, and Geopolitics
Escuela de Artes Plásticas y Audiovisuales (ARPA), Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla (BUAP)
Society for Phenomenology and Media 21st Annual International Conference
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Bandit opens a ‘mobile-only’ coffee shop in New York
If you wander into the Bandit coffee shop in Midtown New York, you won’t be able to just walk up to the counter and order something. Instead, you’ll need to download a mobile app.
I experienced it for myself yesterday afternoon, when I — along with several other customers — pulled out my phone, downloaded the Bandit app, then used the app to create a profile, order and pay. A couple of minutes later, a barista called me up to the counter and handed me a pretty good cup of coffee.
In other words, while Starbucks has been experimenting with mobile ordering and payment, Bandit is betting entirely on what co-founder and CEO Max Crowley called a “mobile-only” store.
Obviously, this model can lead to some initial awkwardness, particularly if random passersby don’t understand it. But there are friendly Bandit staff members on-hand to help, and Crowley (who was previously the general manager of Uber for Business) said that this model offers an opportunity to create “a whole new type of experience.”
He pointed to the rapid growth of China’s Luckin Coffee as an inspiration, and suggested that, ultimately, Bandit should offer customers the most convenient way to satisfy their coffee cravings: Wherever they are, they open the app and order the drink they want. Then they’ll be told when it will be ready, and where to pick it up.
Bandit can’t deliver that level of convenience for most customers quite yet, as it only has a single location. But Crowley said he’s rethought other aspects of the coffee shop model.
For one thing, this first Bandit store is located in what’s essentially a raw retail space. Crowley said his team has developed an 11’x11′ countertop where all the coffee is prepared — it’s assembled elsewhere and just needs to be plugged in, eliminating the need for an extensive buildout.
“We can launch [a new location] in a few hours, and we can do it at about a tenth the cost of a traditional store,” he said.
So the plan is to launch four or five more New York stores in the coming months, and to expand beyond New York by the end of the first quarter of 2020.
Crowley added that by keeping costs down, Bandit can also keep its coffee affordable: “I don’t think an iced latte needs to be $6 or $7. Our goal is to be less expensive than Starbucks.” (My coffee yesterday, for example, cost me $2.) It’s also experimenting with other pricing models, starting with a $20 subscription that gets you an unlimited number of $1 drinks for a month.
And if this phone and pop up-focused mentality sounds a little transactional — maybe even a little soulless — I will note that the actual coffee shop didn’t feel that way at all. While the space was a bit bare, it was eye-catching, with several large games like cornhole set up for customers. Most importantly, people weren’t just rushing in to pick up their coffee — they were actually hanging out.
“When we did some rudimentary scouting of coffee shop locations, we saw that about 80% of customers are grabbing their coffee and leaving,” Crowley said. “That is definitely core to us, making it super easy to grab it and leave, fulfilling drink orders in less than a minute. All of that said, in the future, we’re going to have this portfolio of different kinds of spaces, different kinds of experiences.”
Bottomless has a solution for lazy coffee addicts
Cloosiv gives local coffee shops a mobile ordering experience on par with the mega chains Starbucks’ mobile ordering app has proven wildly popular for the company, with reports indicating that…
Uber Eats invades restaurants with Dine-In option Tired of cleaning up after take-out or getting hangry waiting at your table in restaurants?…
Snap opens second Spectacles pop-up shop in Venice, LA Snap today took another step on its quest to truly become the “camera company” it…
Uber eats Uber Eats, embedding it in the main app Uber’s best hope to beat all its ride sharing and food delivery competitors is that…
N26 launches its challenger bank in the US European fintech startup N26 is now accepting customers in the U.S. The company is launching…
Запись опубликована 21.11.2019 автором Mobile news chief editor в рубрике Default с метками China, Luckin Coffee, Midtown New York.
← Tele2 запускает MVNO для «ГЛОНАСС» Совет директоров «Ростелекома» одобрил приобретение облачного провайдера «Даталайн» →
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See Ben Platt, Winners Ekele Ukegbu & Ethan Kelso & More at the 2019 Jimmy Awards
June 25th, 2019 | By Lindsey Sullivan
The 11th Annual Jimmy Awards took place on June 24 at the Minskoff Theatre, current home to The Lion King. The Jimmy Awards, also known as National High School Musical Theatre Awards, is basically the Tonys for high school students. Last year’s winners Andrew Barth Feldman and Reneé Rapp made their Broadway debuts this year in Dear Evan Hansen and Mean Girls, respectively. This year, top prizes went to Ethan Kelso, winning Best Performance by an Actor for his work as Will Bloom in Big Fish at Salt Lake School for the Performing Arts in Logan, Utah and Ekele Ukegbu, who won Best Performance by an Actress, having played Aida in Aida at Elmont Memorial Junior-Senior High School in Nassau County, New York. Kelso performed “Wondering” from The Bridges of Madison County, and Ukegbu performed “I’m Here” from The Color Purple. Both were awarded $25,000 scholarships. More than 80 students competed, and Dear Evan Hansen Tony winner Ben Platt hosted the big night. Congrats to winners Kelso and Ukegbu! Take a look at these fun shots from the ceremony!
Jimmy Awards host and Dear Evan Hansen Tony winner Ben Platt visits the gents before the ceremony.
Ekele Ukegbu takes the stage.
This year’s winners Ethan Kelso and Ekele Ukegbu chat with last year’s big winners Andrew Barth Feldman and Reneé Rapp.
Tags: Hot Shot
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Anti-Human Rights, Chaosistan, Middle East, Phenomenon of Terrorism, United States, Video
The Great War For Civilization: A Lesson From History
Written by Gulam ASGAR MITHA on 26/06/2017
More in Anti-Human Rights:
The Politics Behind Banning Russia From The Olympics 14/01/2020
Disruptive Assassinations: Killing Qassem Soleimani 06/01/2020
The Mafia Would Have Been Proud 06/01/2020
Recently I was listening to Jerry Day’s video titled We Are Being Judged By What We Permit To Be Done. He says “As Germany was in 1939, America is today bringing unprovoked horror and death to a host of countries (Muslim of course).” There is hardly any untruth in what he has to say. There is a general consensus that the Great War for the survival of this civilization is fast becoming a reality. but then when will the war start? Just as a tree takes time to bear fruits from when the seed is planted, similarly the seeds of war have been planted starting with the Arab Spring in Egypt in December 2010. Seven years later, the roots of the tree are strong in the heart of the Middle Eastern oil regions and the fruits may be ripe.
George Orwell published his dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four in 1948, which has since received glowing reviews, read extensively and taught in schools. Orwell’s French teacher from Eton was none other than Aldous Huxley who wrote Brave New World in 1931, the other great 20th century dystopian novel. Huxley’s book anticipates developments in reproductive technology, sleep-learning, psychological manipulation, and classical conditioning that are combined to profoundly change society. Huxley wrote a letter to Orwell praising the book, describing it as “profoundly important.” He continues, “The philosophy of the ruling minority in Nineteen Eighty-Four is sadism which has been carried to its logical conclusion by going beyond sex and denying it.” Huxley continues, “Whether in actual fact the policy of the boot-on-the-face (hard kick) can go on indefinitely seems doubtful. My own belief is that the ruling oligarchy will find less arduous and wasteful ways of governing and of satisfying its lust for power, and these ways will resemble those which I described in Brave New World.”
What Huxley meant by less arduous ways of governing is how the newer generation is being led to believe in lies by the plutocratic oligarchy using social media such as twitter which no leader has used so extensively as Donald Trump to mislead and inculcate hatred. They’re being told that everything is fine and dandy. The medium of entertainment (the best in TV, gaming and the theater experience), the best in technology, well paid jobs, and bars galore for the weekends to unwind are few that bombard minds with subliminal messages of hate. Orwell’s “Big Brother” though is watching and processing feedbacks.
Hitler amassed young Germans and prepared them for an anti-Jewish movement telling them that the Jews were stealing their jobs. He promised a greater Aryan dominated nation. He promised them jobs and he did so by building a war machine. Those jobs led not only to mass horror and death that gripped Europe, Russia and Asian powers in a devastating war for over 6 years. Similarly Trump has been amassing young Americans to spread anti-Islamism and associated terrorism not only in the west but in Muslim countries as well. Trump is preparing for the great massacre in the Middle East. Hitler was dangerous and unpredictable and so is Trump.
Recently Sir Richard Branson discussed about US President Trump in an interview with CBC “On The Money” mentioning an anecdote to illustrate “the vindictive nature of this man and as a dangerous individual. The way he speaks about people, the way he talks about minority groups, the way he deals with climate change they are palpably wrong therefore it would be morally wrong to try to kowtow to him.” It’s exactly for these qualities of Trump that the American electorate was brainwashed by the media controlled by a plutocratic oligarchy using Huxley techniques of ‘psychological manipulation, and classical conditioning that are combined to profoundly change society’ to provide a small but influential American population to elect Trump with grand promises of jobs while at the same instant promoting hatred. Simply stated Trump has an ingrained quality of instilling hate and that likely has been the reason that Day has compared Hitler’s Germany with Trump’s America today. It’s certainly by design and not a miracle that Trump won over several seasoned political contenders during 2016 elections. He used his inherent quality of vindictiveness among his followers targeting the Muslim minority in the US and other Muslim countries with the exception of the Arab monarchies. The oligarchy- the cabal- has been exuberant with their choice.
Trump’s racist outpourings not only extends to the Muslims in USA but it includes Barack Obama whose agendas he continues to vilify including scrapping Iran N-deal, health care, anti-immigrant policies and trade deals with China, Mexico and Canada.
The investigation of Russian involvement in influencing the 2016 Presidential election involving Trump and some of his team is a pressure tactic on Trump to implement the agenda for the forthcoming war.
European leaders seem to have given Trump a cold shoulder during G6 meeting in Italy following his visit to Saudi Arabia regarding his threat of tearing up the Iran P5+1 nuclear agreement. Europe has no penchant to get involved in a war in the Middle East or with Russia and China. European leaders don’t seem to trust Trump. Moreover he has no legal grounds either in the Republican controlled Congress and Senate to tear up the Iran deal so he is feeding the Arab monarchies with hate not only against Iran but any Arab or Muslim country.
In the meantime Iran is propping up its defenses building an arsenal of short, medium and long range missiles. Iran decided it did not need a nuclear arsenal but deterrent missiles for its defenses. Iran has demonstrated this by recently lobbing a medium range missile from its northwestern territory into central Syria targeting “ISIS and anti-Assad terrorists” and to serve a warning that the US bases in the Middle East are vulnerable and to Israel that it even possesses long range missiles.
The Sunni Arab coalition is stalemated in the Middle East due to Iran’s political and military dominancy in Syria and Yemen supported by Hezbollah, Iraq and Russia.
Trump’s weapon remains Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, UAE and Egypt where he has successfully sowed seeds of discord and hatred towards Iran. He is methodically dividing up the Middle East not only on a sectarian basis but also regional/tribal basis. The tree of hatred has grown strong roots; only the fruits have to be plucked. It’s the hate factor that will start the major conflict.
World Wars have agendas. In a simplistic statement the agenda is world domination. One World if You Will in the words of David Rockefeller in his book “Memoirs” in which he admits that he is part of a secret cabal (the plutocratic oligarchy) to establish NWO (New World Order). As stated to Trilateral Commission in 1991 by David Rockefeller “The supranational sovereignty of an intellectual elite and world bankers is surely preferable to the national auto-determination practiced in past centuries.” The Trilateral Commission was founded by David Rockefeller and Zbigniew Brzezenski (his vision is documented in his book The Grand Chessboard: American Primacy and its Geostrategic Imperatives) in 1973 with the objective of setting up a power structure to assume global control and dominating governments and economies. Both Rockefeller and Brzezenski are dead but their legacies still have to be implemented by the cabal. It is now gathering urgency and it is up to an unpredictable, vindictive and dangerous American President to gather the dark storm clouds of a catastrophic war as it gathers support in USA. Saudi Arabia is a willing American partner who has subscribed to regime changes in Syria and Yemen that has led to untold deaths and diseases. The Muslim world is splintered and in chaos as its leaders kowtow American and Saudi policies making the possibility of a war inevitable.
If World War 2 fought with comparatively primitive weapons left over 75 million civilians and soldiers dead due to war casualties and diseases and it took two nuclear bombs with only one western power to stop it, we need to think what would be the human toll in a hate war fought with hi-tech weapons and thousands of nuclear bombs at the disposal of five Asian and three western powers. It’s getting scary. We hope that the American leadership and the people can fathom the devastation and prevent the Great War for American primacy and its geostrategic imperatives- the vision of the cabal.
The views expressed are the author’s own and not necessarily represent ones of the ORIENTAL REVIEW Editorial.
Reposts are welcomed with the reference to ORIENTAL REVIEW.
Interview with Sheikh Imran Nazar Hosein, an Islamic scholar, author and philosopher specializing in Islamic eschatology, world politics, economics, and modern socio-economic/political issues. Source: Strategic Culture Foundation YouTube Channel
Gulam Asgar Mitha is a retired Technical Safety Engineer. He has worked in Libya, Qatar, Pakistan, France, Yemen and UAE with several N. American and International oil and gas companies.. Currently Gulam lives in Calgary, Canada and enjoys reading and keeping in tune with current global political issues.
Pingback: The Great War For Civilization: A Lesson From History - GeoPol Intelligence
Harold Jay Hoover
‘Sir’ Richard Branson, the White Helmets fan-boy, his concern regarding morality is not genuine.
https://twitter.com/Virgin/status/805185064904589316
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HighWire Free PMC article
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Fasting Hypochlorhydria With Gram Positive Gastric Flora Is Highly Prevalent in Healthy Old People
E Husebye 1 , V Skar, T Høverstad, K Melby
1 Department of Medicine, Ullevål University Hospital, Oslo, Norway.
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E Husebye et al. Gut. Oct 1992
Fifteen healthy old people mean age 84 years (range 80-91 years), were examined to assess the effect of advanced age on the microecology of the upper gastrointestinal tract. Twelve of 15 (80%) were hypochlorhydric with pH 6.6 (0.3) (mean (SEM) and a mean bacterial count of 10(8) colony forming units (CFU) per ml (range 10(5)-10(10)) in fasting gastric aspirate. Normochlorhydric subjects had low counts (< or = 10(1) CFU/ml). The microbial flora was dominated by viridans streptococci, coagulase negative staphylococci, and Haemophilus sp. Only one subject harboured significant concentrations of Gram negative bacilli with Escherichia coli (10(4-5) CFU/ml) and Klebsiella (10(4-5)). Strict anaerobes were not found. The total concentration of short chain fatty acids in gastric aspirate was 10.6 (2.9) mmol/l (mean (SEM). Absence of significant, intraluminal fermentation of xylose to CO2 was shown by the 14C-d Xylose breath test, and ambulatory manometry showed preserved fasting motility pattern of the small intestine. Serum immunoglobulins were normal. Advanced age is accompanied by fasting hypochlorhydria and colonisation with mainly Gram positive flora in the upper gut. Other factors than old age and fasting hypochlorhydria are required for colonisation with Gram negative bacilli.
Abnormal Intestinal Motor Patterns Explain Enteric Colonization With Gram-Negative Bacilli in Late Radiation Enteropathy
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Impaired motility emerges as a causal factor for gastrointestinal colonization with GNB, whereas hypochlorhydria facilitates unspecific gastric colonization. Abnormal mot …
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Achlorhydria / immunology
Achlorhydria / microbiology *
Aging / immunology
Aging / physiology *
Colony Count, Microbial
Fasting / physiology *
Gastrointestinal Motility / physiology
Gram-Positive Bacteria / isolation & purification *
Immunoglobulin G / analysis
Intestine, Small / physiology
Stomach / microbiology *
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Title & authors Abstract Similar articles Cited by MeSH terms LinkOut - more resources
Pediatr Infect Dis
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Mar-Apr 1983
Yersinia Pseudotuberculosis Infection in Children, Resembling Izumi Fever and Kawasaki Syndrome
K Sato, K Ouchi, M Taki
DOI: 10.1097/00006454-198303000-00011
K Sato et al. Pediatr Infect Dis. Mar-Apr 1983
Yersinia pseudotuberculosis infection was diagnosed in 12 children on the basis of recovery of the organism from stool cultures and a 4-fold or greater titer change in agglutinating antibody. Eight of the 12 Yersinia isolates were recovered from stool cultures only after cold enrichment. Clinical findings in 50% or more of patients were fever, rash, diarrhea, desquamation, strawberry tongue, vomiting, red and cracked lips, abdominal pain, arthralgias, hepatomegaly and conjunctivitis. The patients' clinical manifestations and courses of illness resembled those of Izumi fever, an illness that occurs epidemically in Japan. Additionally the finding in two children fulfilled the strict criteria for Kawasaki syndrome, and signs in the other 10 children were consistent with that diagnosis.
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Kawasaki disease (KD) is an acute systemic vasculitis of childhood that does not have a known cause or aetiology. The epidemiological features (existence of epidemics, co …
A Child With Kawasaki Disease and Yersinia Enterocolitica Infection: A Closer Look at Pathogenesis
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Fever / diagnosis *
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Sneaky Sodium is Hard on the Heart
February 17, 2017 | General, Health and Safety, Heart Center, Nutrition and Obesity
Author: Heather Cooper Post Comment
Nearly 90% of kids in the U.S. consume too much sodium, putting them at risk for high blood pressure in childhood, and heart disease and stroke later in life. While everyone needs a small amount of sodium to help control the fluid balance in the body and allow nerves and muscles work, too much sodium is harmful and is dubbed the ‘silent killer.’
In honor of American Heart Month, On the Pulse asked Kirsten Thompson, a dietitian in Seattle Children’s Pediatric Hypertension program, to provide insight into how kids are consuming so much sodium.
“When I ask patients and families about sodium intake, they often say that they don’t eat too much sodium because they don’t add salt from the salt shaker to the foods they eat,” said Thompson. “They’re often surprised to learn that sodium is actually hidden in a lot of foods that we wouldn’t normally think of as salty.”
Sodium is found in table salt, baking soda and food preservatives. It’s a sneaky ingredient used in packaged foods to add flavor, preserve freshness, enhance color and change texture. Foods bought at grocery stores provide 58% of the sodium kids eat. Restaurants use excessive amounts of salt for flavor, and kids get 23% of their sodium from meals out. Another 10% of their sodium intake comes from school cafeterias. Clearly, avoiding the salt shaker is a good first step, but more attention is needed to lower the amount of sodium children consume.
How much is too much sodium?
The recommended daily sodium intake for kids is 1,500 to 2,300 milligrams (mg), depending on age. A recent study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that among kids ages 6 to 18, their average daily salt intake is 3,256 mg, which does not include salt added at the table. Daily intake varies greatly by gender, with boys consuming 3,584 mg and girls consuming 2,919 mg. Teens consume more than younger children with kids ages 14 to 18 ingesting 3,565 mg daily.
Thompson tells families that knowing the recommended daily sodium intake is important, and from there, they can drill down to look at the amount of sodium per serving of food.
“Sodium is broken down into five categories, from very low sodium per serving to very high sodium per serving,” said Thompson. “Foods that have less than 35 mg of sodium per serving are considered very low in sodium, and foods that have greater than 500 mg of sodium per serving are considered very high in sodium.”
Where sodium hides
Ten types of food account for almost half the sodium that kids consume: pizza, Mexican mixed dishes, sandwiches (including burgers), breads, cold cuts, soups, savory snacks, cheese, poultry and plain milk. Plain milk naturally contains sodium; for the other nine, sodium is added during processing or preparation.
“Oftentimes, sweet things, like ketchup and baked goods have a lot of added sodium,” said Thompson. “Once families are aware of that, they understand how it’s possible to be getting too much sodium even when leaving the salt shaker alone.”
Reducing sodium intake
Thompson urges families to pay attention to sodium consumption from the time their child starts eating solids. Common kid meals, like chicken nuggets and packaged macaroni and cheese, have lots of sodium. Try baked chicken and homemade macaroni and cheese instead, always giving fruits and vegetables the majority of the space on the plate. When kids are given low-sodium foods from the start, they won’t prefer as much salt later in life.
“Starting early is best, but it’s never too late to start reducing sodium,” said Thompson. “If you make small changes over time, taste buds will adjust, and kids and parents will crave less salt.”
Thompson shared tips for reducing sodium:
Avoid too much processed food. Instead, opt for fresh foods, including lots of fruits and vegetables.
Add flavor to foods with herbs, pepper, vinegars, citrus juice, garlic and salt-free seasonings.
Look for foods labeled “low sodium,” “reduced sodium,” or “no salt added.”
Read nutrition labels and teach your child to do the same. Aim for foods with less than 140 mg of sodium per serving.
Know that different brands of the same food can have vastly different amounts of sodium.
Keep the salt shaker off the table and add little or none when cooking.
Limit dining out and send your child to school with a packed lunch, when possible.
“When I sit down with families in clinic, we often look up nutritional information for the places they go to eat and they’re always surprised about how much sodium is in the food,” said Thompson. “I recommend that families do this to get familiar with menus at the restaurants they frequent so they’re able to make informed choices going forward.”
With more than 1 in 8 children ages 12 to 19 being at risk for having, or already having, high blood pressure, it’s time to take a close look at sodium intake.
“Make informed choices in the grocery store and when dining out, but know that we all have days where we splurge,” said Thompson. “Just remember that reducing the risk of heart disease and stroke and improving the chances for a long healthy life is worth the time and effort of monitoring sodium intake for your loved ones, young and old.”
Healthy Eating With Less Sodium Video Series
Low-sodium Eating
Low-sodium Recipes
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Strategies to improve neuroreceptor parameter estimation by linear regression analysis
Masanori Ichise, Hiroshi Toyama, Robert B. Innis, Richard E. Carson
In an attempt to improve neuroreceptor distribution volume (V) estimates, the authors evaluated three alternative linear methods to Logan graphical analysis (GA): GA using total least squares (TLS), and two multilinear analyses, MA1 and MA2, based on mathematical rearrangement of GA equation and two-tissue compartments, respectively, using simulated and actual PET data of two receptor tracers, [18F]FCWAY and [11C]MDL 100,907. For simulations, all three methods decreased the noise-induced GA bias (up to 30%) at the expense of increased variability. The bias reduction was most pronounced for MA1, moderate to large for MA2, and modest to moderate for TLS. In addition, GA, TLS, and MA1, methods that used only a portion of the data (T >t*, chosen by an automatic process), showed a small V underestimation for [11C]MDL 100,907 with its slow kinetics, due to selection of t* before the true point of linearity. These noniterative methods are computationally simple, allowing efficient pixelwise parameter estimation. For tracers with kinetics that permit t* to be accurately identified within the study duration, MA1 appears to be the best. For tracers with slow kinetics and low to moderate noise, however, MA2 may provide the lowest bias while maintaining computational ease for pixelwise parameter estimation.
Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism
https://doi.org/10.1097/01.WCB.0000038000.34930.4E
Sensory Receptor Cells
MDL 100907
Ichise, M., Toyama, H., Innis, R. B., & Carson, R. E. (2002). Strategies to improve neuroreceptor parameter estimation by linear regression analysis. Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism, 22(10), 1271-1281. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.WCB.0000038000.34930.4E
Ichise, Masanori ; Toyama, Hiroshi ; Innis, Robert B. ; Carson, Richard E. / Strategies to improve neuroreceptor parameter estimation by linear regression analysis. In: Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism. 2002 ; Vol. 22, No. 10. pp. 1271-1281.
@article{7d59682f665e4d65affda8266eafa932,
title = "Strategies to improve neuroreceptor parameter estimation by linear regression analysis",
abstract = "In an attempt to improve neuroreceptor distribution volume (V) estimates, the authors evaluated three alternative linear methods to Logan graphical analysis (GA): GA using total least squares (TLS), and two multilinear analyses, MA1 and MA2, based on mathematical rearrangement of GA equation and two-tissue compartments, respectively, using simulated and actual PET data of two receptor tracers, [18F]FCWAY and [11C]MDL 100,907. For simulations, all three methods decreased the noise-induced GA bias (up to 30{\%}) at the expense of increased variability. The bias reduction was most pronounced for MA1, moderate to large for MA2, and modest to moderate for TLS. In addition, GA, TLS, and MA1, methods that used only a portion of the data (T >t*, chosen by an automatic process), showed a small V underestimation for [11C]MDL 100,907 with its slow kinetics, due to selection of t* before the true point of linearity. These noniterative methods are computationally simple, allowing efficient pixelwise parameter estimation. For tracers with kinetics that permit t* to be accurately identified within the study duration, MA1 appears to be the best. For tracers with slow kinetics and low to moderate noise, however, MA2 may provide the lowest bias while maintaining computational ease for pixelwise parameter estimation.",
author = "Masanori Ichise and Hiroshi Toyama and Innis, {Robert B.} and Carson, {Richard E.}",
doi = "10.1097/01.WCB.0000038000.34930.4E",
journal = "Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism",
Ichise, M, Toyama, H, Innis, RB & Carson, RE 2002, 'Strategies to improve neuroreceptor parameter estimation by linear regression analysis', Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism, vol. 22, no. 10, pp. 1271-1281. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.WCB.0000038000.34930.4E
Strategies to improve neuroreceptor parameter estimation by linear regression analysis. / Ichise, Masanori; Toyama, Hiroshi; Innis, Robert B.; Carson, Richard E.
In: Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism, Vol. 22, No. 10, 01.10.2002, p. 1271-1281.
T1 - Strategies to improve neuroreceptor parameter estimation by linear regression analysis
AU - Ichise, Masanori
AU - Toyama, Hiroshi
AU - Innis, Robert B.
AU - Carson, Richard E.
N2 - In an attempt to improve neuroreceptor distribution volume (V) estimates, the authors evaluated three alternative linear methods to Logan graphical analysis (GA): GA using total least squares (TLS), and two multilinear analyses, MA1 and MA2, based on mathematical rearrangement of GA equation and two-tissue compartments, respectively, using simulated and actual PET data of two receptor tracers, [18F]FCWAY and [11C]MDL 100,907. For simulations, all three methods decreased the noise-induced GA bias (up to 30%) at the expense of increased variability. The bias reduction was most pronounced for MA1, moderate to large for MA2, and modest to moderate for TLS. In addition, GA, TLS, and MA1, methods that used only a portion of the data (T >t*, chosen by an automatic process), showed a small V underestimation for [11C]MDL 100,907 with its slow kinetics, due to selection of t* before the true point of linearity. These noniterative methods are computationally simple, allowing efficient pixelwise parameter estimation. For tracers with kinetics that permit t* to be accurately identified within the study duration, MA1 appears to be the best. For tracers with slow kinetics and low to moderate noise, however, MA2 may provide the lowest bias while maintaining computational ease for pixelwise parameter estimation.
AB - In an attempt to improve neuroreceptor distribution volume (V) estimates, the authors evaluated three alternative linear methods to Logan graphical analysis (GA): GA using total least squares (TLS), and two multilinear analyses, MA1 and MA2, based on mathematical rearrangement of GA equation and two-tissue compartments, respectively, using simulated and actual PET data of two receptor tracers, [18F]FCWAY and [11C]MDL 100,907. For simulations, all three methods decreased the noise-induced GA bias (up to 30%) at the expense of increased variability. The bias reduction was most pronounced for MA1, moderate to large for MA2, and modest to moderate for TLS. In addition, GA, TLS, and MA1, methods that used only a portion of the data (T >t*, chosen by an automatic process), showed a small V underestimation for [11C]MDL 100,907 with its slow kinetics, due to selection of t* before the true point of linearity. These noniterative methods are computationally simple, allowing efficient pixelwise parameter estimation. For tracers with kinetics that permit t* to be accurately identified within the study duration, MA1 appears to be the best. For tracers with slow kinetics and low to moderate noise, however, MA2 may provide the lowest bias while maintaining computational ease for pixelwise parameter estimation.
U2 - 10.1097/01.WCB.0000038000.34930.4E
DO - 10.1097/01.WCB.0000038000.34930.4E
JO - Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism
JF - Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism
Ichise M, Toyama H, Innis RB, Carson RE. Strategies to improve neuroreceptor parameter estimation by linear regression analysis. Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism. 2002 Oct 1;22(10):1271-1281. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.WCB.0000038000.34930.4E
10.1097/01.WCB.0000038000.34930.4E
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PrZen/33307561
The best in Texas blues comes to East Texas the weekend of October 25 – 27, 2019.
GRAPELAND, Texas - PrZen -- The piney woods of East Texas are rich with blues history of enduring legacy. Considered the westernmost region of the Deep South; it is the birthplace of seminal artists including Blind Lemon Jefferson, Mance Lipscomb, T-Bone Walker and Lightnin' Hopkins. A younger generation of legendary Texas bluesmen including Albert Collins and Freddie King also hail from East Texas. Today, Benny Turner carries that legacy, a living link to the blues he and big brother Freddie first heard from their mother and uncles on the back porch of their Gilmer, TX home.
On two stages over three days, performers will showcase the wonderful array of blues music – rock blues, soul blues, folk blues, country blues plus a little bit of rock and some of the great guitar Texas is known for. From multi-award winners to young players just staring to emerge on the scene; to young and old; male and female; black and white; the audience will not only experience the modern-day flavors of electric blues on the main stage, but will also be transported back to the roots with acoustic music on the porch stage. Benny Turner bridges those roots of the early years with a lifetime legacy of writing, producing and performing the blues all over the world as he celebrates his 80th birthday back home in East Texas that weekend. This occasion of both historic and sentimental significance is a celebration not to be missed!
Venue: Salmon Lake Park, Grapeland, TX (West of Hwy 287; 24 miles south of Palestine)
Date: Friday – Sunday, October 25 – 27, 2019
Tickets: https://www.lonestarbluesfest.com/tickets & 717.208.6807
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Betsie Brown
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Source: Nola Blue, Inc.
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If You’re Going Through Hell, Keep Going
Winston Churchill? John Randall Dunn? J. Woodruff Smith? Douglas Bloch? Linda Crew? Mario Murillo? Brian Mulroney? Wally Amos? Ron Kenoly? Anonymous?
Dear Quote Investigator: Winston Churchill is often associated with quotations about steadfastness and tenacity. Consider the following saying:
If you’re going through hell, keep going.
I have seen this statement attributed to Churchill several times, but I have never seen any solid citations. Are these really the words of the famous British Prime Minister?
Quote Investigator: Probably not. In 2009 the publication “Finest Hour: The Journal of Winston Churchill” stated that the saying above was “not by Churchill, or at least not verifiable in any of the 50 million published words by and about him”. 1 In addition, the statement was placed in an appendix titled “Red Herrings: False Attributions” in the book “Churchill By Himself” which is the most comprehensive collection of quotations from the statesman. The editor was Richard M. Langworth, the top expert in this domain. 2
This adage is difficult to trace because of the malleability of its expression. The earliest evidence located by QI appeared in a religious context in the October 30, 1943 issue of the “Christian Science Sentinel” journal of Boston, Massachusetts. The saying was presented in dialog form. Boldface has been added to excerpts: 3
Someone once asked a man how he was. He replied, “I’m going through hell!” Said his friend: “Well, keep on going. That is no place to stop!” If you seem to be going through the deep waters of physical anguish and cannot for the moment seem to gain the understanding which binds the strong man, keep on going—keep on clinging to Truth, and hear again the comforting, strengthening message, “My grace is sufficient for thee.” God, divine Love, is eternally sustaining His child, and will “bind the power of pain” as surely as the summer sun will melt the stubborn frost.
The passage above was written by a Christian Science lecturer and editor named John Randall Dunn, but the dialog was attributed to an unnamed man and his anonymous friend.
The saying appeared again in the pages of the “Christian Science Sentinel” in July 1969 in an article by J. Woodruff Smith. He also credited the dialog to anonymous individuals: 4
A man who was going through deep waters of fear called a Christian Science practitioner. In anguish he cried, “Oh, you don’t know what I’m going through. I’m just going through hell.” With vigor his helper replied, “That’s no place to stop. Keep going.” There was a short silence. Then a ripple of amusement followed by a wave of laughter as the mesmerism burst.
In 1990 “The Oregonian” newspaper of Portland, Oregon printed a variant instance. A self-help author and counselor named Douglas Bloch was profiled in an article that contained the following in its title: “If You’re Going Through Hell, Don’t Stop”. The phrase “don’t stop” was used instead of “keep going”. Within the body of the article Bloch spoke a slightly different two-part comment-response version of the maxim to his interviewer: 5
When someone says, “I’m going through hell,” the best response is to tell them, “Don’t stop!” Bloch maintains. If we see that pain, grief and tough times are a process and that it will get better, we’re less likely to get stuck in the hell.
Further below is a 2014 citation in which Bloch disclaimed credit for the expression, and linked it to Winston Churchill.
In 1993 the book “Ordinary Miracles” by Linda Crew was published with a saying that closely matched the title of the 1990 article. The author gave no ascription and indicated that the expression was already in circulation 6
He studied me for a moment. “You do seem to be under a lot of stress with this. Why don’t you consider just taking a breather? Even if you’re determined to go on, nothing says you have to do it right away.”
No, I had to be done with this one way or the other. You know what they say—when you’re going through hell, for Pete’s sake, don’t stop.
In 1994 another instance closely matching the 1990 expression was printed in religious book titled “When Lucifer and Jezebel Join Your Church” by Dick Bernal. The work began with a page of “Quotable Quotes”, and the following three statements were listed first: 7
Life is just a test. This is only a test.—Kevin Gerald
When you’re going through hell, don’t stop.—Mario Murillo
Never, never, never, never quit.—Sir Winston Churchill
The saying was ascribed to Mario Murillo, an evangelist. Note that the adjacent remark was credited to Churchill, and sometimes contiguous quotations have resulted in confusion and reassignment, but QI does not know if an error was introduced at this point.
In October 1995 an article about a shareholder meeting of Archer Daniels Midland Company was published in the “Herald & Review” of Decatur, Illinois. The ADM chairman, Dwayne O. Andreas, described a comment made to him by board member Brian Mulroney, the former Canadian prime minister. Mulroney spoke the modern version of the quotation attributed to Winston Churchill, and this was the first linkage to Churchill located by QI: 8
Andreas closed the meeting by admitting he and the company had been through tough times lately. He said Mulroney asked him if the press had been giving him hell. When Andreas said such was the case, Mulroney quoted Sir Winston Churchill: “If you’re going through hell, keep going.”
In June 1996 Wally Amos, the founder of Famous Amos Cookies, relayed an entertaining variant of the expression during a newspaper interview: 9
“A friend of mine gave me a wonderful quote,” he said. “‘When you’re going through hell, don’t stop to take pictures.”‘
In October 1997 Ron Kenoly, a popular musician and religious worship leader, employed an instance of the saying during a concert: 10
During his performance, Kenoly offered this message to audience members who were going through tough times in their lives: “If you catch hell don’t hold it. If you’re going through hell, don’t stop. Here’s what you do: You go ahead, go ahead, go ahead, go ahead, go ahead. Don’t stop.”
In December 1997 a message was posted to the Usenet discussion system that contained an instance of the quotation attributed to Winston Churchill. The adage appeared with other sayings appended to the end of a message about the Windows 95 operating system: 11
“When you’re going through hell, keep on going.” — Winston Churchill
In 2014 the author Douglas Bloch uploaded a video to “YouTube” in which he discussed the provenance of the expression containing the phrase “don’t stop”. Bloch said that he first heard it from a minister who had derived it from a remark ascribed to Winston Churchill: 12
Hello my name is Douglas Bloch. I am an author and a depression survivor, and I’d like to share something to you that means a lot to both Noah and myself. It’s a phrase called “When going through hell, don’t stop”.
Now, I first heard this when I was on a radio show in 1989 in California with a minister talking about affirmations, and he used this phrase, and I thought it was very, very clever. So I asked him after the show “How did you come up with it?” He said it was actually his take on a phrase that Winston Churchill had used called “When going through hell, keep going”.
In conclusion, the saying was in circulation by 1943. It appeared in a Christian Science periodical in that year in dialog form, but the attribution was anonymous. The second earliest citation was also in a Christian Science periodical in 1969.
Winston Churchill died in 1965, and QI has found no substantive evidence that he used the expression. Attributions to him appeared only many years after his death. There are two popular variants containing the phrases “keep going” or “don’t stop”, and neither has been found in the writings or speeches of Churchill.
Image Notes: Flames from PublicDomainPictures at Pixabay. Image has been cropped and resized.
(Great thanks to George Mannes whose query led QI to formulate this question and perform this exploration. Thanks to the librarians of the Bethel Seminary Library of St. Paul, Minnesota for helping to verify the 1994 citation. Thanks to the staff at sentinel.christianscience.com for help with the 1943 citation. In addition, thanks to Charles Doyle of the University of Georgia for help with the 1943 and 1969 citations. Also, thanks to Fabrizio Benedetti who told QI that Douglas Bloch had disclaimed credit for the phrase in a 2014 YouTube video.)
Update History: On January 29, 2016 the citations in 1943, 1969, and 2014 were added, and the article was partially rewritten.
2009-2010 Winter, Finest Hour: The Journal of Winston Churchill, Number 145, Around & About, Quote Page 9, Column 2, The Churchill Centre & Churchill Museum, Andover, Hampshire, United Kingdom. (Verified with PDF) link ↩
2013 December 12 (Kindle Edition Date), Churchill By Himself (Winston Churchill’s In His Own Words Collection), Compiled and edited by Richard M. Langworth, Appendix I: Red Herrings: False Attributions, Entry: If you’re going through hell, keep going. (Kindle Location 19706) ↩
1943 October 30, Christian Science Sentinel, Volume 45, Issue 44, Section: Editorial, Binding the Power of Pain by John Randall Dunn, Start Page 1849, Quote Page 1851, Christian Science Publishing Society, Boston, Massachusetts. (Verified with full text and scans; thanks to the staff of The Christian Science Publishing Society at sentinel.christianscience.com; also thanks to Charles Doyle and the University of Georgia library system) ↩
1969 July 26, Christian Science Sentinel, Volume 71, Issue 30, Truth Is the Victor by J. Woodruff Smith, Start Page 1286, Quote Page 1286, Christian Science Publishing Society, Boston, Massachusetts. (Verified with scans; thanks to Charles Doyle and the University of Georgia library system) ↩
1990 November 18, The Oregonian, Edition: Fourth, Section: Living, If You’re Going Through Hell, Don’t Stop by Jann Mitchell (The Oregonian staff), Quote Page L04, Portland, Oregon. (NewsBank Access World News) ↩
1993, Ordinary Miracles by Linda Crew, Quote Page 179, Published by William Morrow and Company, New York. (Verified with scans) ↩
1994 copyright, When Lucifer and Jezebel Join Your Church by Dick Bernal, Page Title: Quotable Quotes, Quote Page 5 (after table of contents), Published by Jubilee Christian Center, San Jose, California. (Verified with scans of second printing July 1995) ↩
1995 October 20, Herald & Review, Section: News, ‘My rules’ – Despite dissidents, Dwayne Andreas retains a firm grip on shareholders meeting -and ADM by John C. Patterson (H&R Staff Writer), Quote Page A1, Decatur, Illinois. (NewsBank Access World News) ↩
1996 June 12, Omaha World-Herald, Edition: Sunrise, Section: Living Today, Cookie Founder Doles Out Advice by Doug Thomas (World – Herald Staff Writer), Quote Page 43sf, Omaha, Nebraska. (NewsBank Access World News) ↩
1997 October 8, The Florida Times-Union, Edition: City, Section: Rap, Kenoly lifts spirits high in concert by John Clark (T-U Rap staff writer), Quote Page C-2, Jacksonville, Florida. (NewsBank Access World News) ↩
1997 December 23, Usenet discussion message, Newsgroup: microsoft.public.win95.filediskmanage, From: Robert Avery Hornberg <CAS…@earthling.net>, Subject: Re: CD impersonating Neighbor’s Vacumn Cleaner. (Google Groups Search; Accessed September 13, 2014) link ↩
YouTube video, Title: When Going Through Hell, Don’t Stop!, Uploaded on May 14, 2014, Uploaded by: Douglas Bloch, Video description: “In this video, author and depression counselor Douglas Bloch shares an inspirational message from his re-published book, When Going Through Hell, Don’t Stop”. (Accessed on youtube.com on January 29, 2016) link ↩
Posted on September 14, 2014 May 29, 2019 Author quoteresearchCategories Winston ChurchillTags Brian Mulroney, Douglas Bloch, J. Woodruff Smith, John Randall Dunn, Linda Crew, Mario Murillo, Ron Kenoly, Wally Amos, Winston Churchill
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JOURNAL OF ADVANCES IN PHYSICS
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Deterministic Irreversibility and The Matter Structure
Vyacheslav Michailovich Somsikov Institute of Ionosphere , head of laboratory "Physics geocosmic relation"
DOI: https://doi.org/10.24297/jap.v16i1.8109
Keywords: irreversibility, classical mechanics, evolution, entropy, symmetry
The role of existence of the deterministic irreversibility mechanism in development of evolution physics is studied. The short explanation of physical essence of this mechanism is offered. Based on this mechanism, is proved, that the base element of matter should be an open non-equilibrium dynamic system (ONDS). The principles of the emergence, existence and development of the ONDS hierarchical structure are considered. The questions about hierarchy of the matter and existence of stationary states ONDS are studied. The question, how external constraints determine of the evolution of ONDS, is analyzed. Equations that determine the development of ONDS are submitted.
Anderson P. W. More Is Different Science. New Series. Vol.177. No.4047.(1972). P. 393-396
Hooft G. W’t. Light is Heavy. arXiv:1508.06478v1 [physics.hist-ph] 26 Aug 2015
Hooft G. W’t. Free will in the theory of everything arXiv:1709.02874v1[quant-ph]8 Sep 2017
Callaway H.G. Fundamental Physics, Partial Models and Time's Arrow. Dec.2016. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/296327588
Prigogine I. From Being to Becoming. Nauka. M. (1980). 342 p
Zaslavsky G.M. The physics of chaos in Hamiltonian systems. London. Imperial College Press. 2007. 269 p.
Somsikov V.M. Deterministic mechanism of irreversibility. Journal of Advances in Physics. V. 14. Is. 3. (2018). P. 5708-5733
Penrose R. The path to reality or the laws governing the universe. Full guide. M. Izhevsk: (2007). 912 p
Somsikov V.M. Problems of Evolution of Open Systems. PEOS. 9(2). (2007). P.5-16
Loskutov A.Yu, Mikhailov A.S. Introduction to Synergetic. M. Nauka. (1990) 272 p
Somsikov V.M. Open nonequilibrium dynamical systems. PEOS.(2017). No 19 (2). P.33-47
Lanczos C. The variational principles of mechanics. Mir. M. (1962). 408 p
Goldstein H. Classical Mechanics. Nauka. Moscow. (1975). 416 p
Somsikov V.M.The equilibration of a hard-disks system.IJBC.(2004).V.14(11).P.4027-4033
Somsikov V.M. Limitation of classical mechanics and ways it’s expansion. ISHEPP XXII. Dubna.(2014).P.1-12
Somsikov V. M. To the basics of the physics of evolution. Almaty. (2016). 306 p
Somsikov V.M., Andreyev A.B., Mokhnatkin A.I. Relation between classical mechanics and physics of condensed medium. Intern. Journal of Physical Sci. Vol. 10(3). (2017). P. 112-122
Klimontovich Yu. L. Introduction to the physics of open systems. M. Janus-K. (2002). 284 p
Rumer Yu., Ryvkin M.S. Thermodynamics Stat. Physics and Kinetics. M. Sci. (1977). 532 p
Landau. LD, Lifshits E.M. Physical kinetics. M. Science. (1979). 528 p
Landau LD, Lifshits E.M. Statistical physics. M. Science. (1976).583 p
Schrödinger A. What is life? Atomizdat. (1972). 88 p
Krylov A.N. Essays on the history of the establishment of the basic principles of mechanics. UFN. 2. 1921. p.143-161
Somsikov, V. M. (2019). Deterministic Irreversibility and The Matter Structure. JOURNAL OF ADVANCES IN PHYSICS, 16(1), 21-33. https://doi.org/10.24297/jap.v16i1.8109
Copyright (c) 2019 Vyacheslav Michailovich Somsikov
The author warrants that the article is original, written by stated author(s), has not been published before, contains no unlawful statements, does not infringe the rights of others, is subject to copyright that is vested exclusively in the author and free of any third party rights, and that any necessary written permissions to quote from other sources have been obtained by the author(s).
Vyacheslav Michailovich Somsikov, Deterministic Mechanism of Irreversibility , JOURNAL OF ADVANCES IN PHYSICS: Vol. 14 No. 3
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Tag Archives: Laughter Yoga
The Laughing Yogi
August 21, 2016 Edward Staskus Leave a comment
“I am thankful for laughter, except when milk comes out of my nose.” Woody Allen
Yoga is a dead serious body mind spirit rubber mat hits the road adventure.
It is a rigorous undertaking when you are trying and trying to get asana poses just right, much less trying and trying to achieve the higher state of being and thought the practice aims at. Meditation and its hardball goal of spiritual insight is a life-long commitment, not just the old college try. The concentration and stern self-discipline needed to get to moksha are no laughing matter.
Or is it really all that long-faced?
Since the mid-90s a practice called Laughter Yoga has gainsaid the notion that yoga is cold sober no-nonsense by the book, and humorless. The brainchild of Dr. Madan Kataria, an Indian doctor now informally known as the ‘Laughter Guru’, it is premised on the idea that laughing is good for you.
Their motto is a few ha ha ha’s are a boon boon boon.
What did the yoga mat say to the yoga student? I will catch you if you fall.
It’s long been said that laughter is the best medicine. It strengthens immune systems, boosts energy levels, and protects from the damaging effects of stress. Laughing enhances blood flow, which is a factor in cardiovascular health. It releases endorphins, which are the body’s natural feel-good chemicals.
“Laughter is the tonic, the relief, the surcease for pain,” said Charlie Chaplin.
It’s priceless and it’s free, too.
Not only that, no matter whether it is real or feigned, it works, although, if you’re laughing for no reason at all, you might need either counseling or medicine.
“The mind does not know that we’re faking it,” explained Mary Wilson, a news reporter for ABC/Fox in New York who practices yuks on the mat. Dr. Kataria based his brainstorm on the concept that canned laughter yields the same results as spontaneous laughter.
“In Laughter Yoga there is no need to wait until something funny happens. You can laugh intentionally whenever you want,” said Dr. Kataria.
When it’s real it’s even better, as any belly laugh will testify. A new study at Loma Linda University demonstrated that adults shown a funny 20-minute video scored better on short-term memory tests than a control group. Their levels of cortisol, a stress hormone, were also significantly decreased.
“Learning ability and delayed recall become more challenging as we age,” said Dr. Gurindor Bains, the Ph.D candidate in Rehabilitation Sciences who led the study. “Laughing with friends or even watching 20 minutes of humor on TV, as I do daily, helps me cope with my daily stressors.”
A rose is a rose is a rose, Gertrude Stein famously observed, but when is a yoga studio not a yoga studio not a yoga studio, even though tens of thousands of people have taken classes there. That would be a Laughter Yoga studio, which is usually in a park or on a beach.
The American School of Laughter Yoga promotes Laughter Clubs that are free and open to the public. “Thousands around the world volunteer their time to make them happen, freely and unconditionally, from the heart as an act of service.”
Laughter Yoga is practiced in more than 8,000 clubs and in more than 65 countries. “Laughter is the tool. Yoga is the end,” said Sebastien Gendry of the American School of Laughter.
Some people crack a yoga joke and everyone laughs. But, some people make a joke of yoga and laugh all the way to the bank, with wads of other people’s money.
Bikram Choudhury of eponymous Bikram Yoga fame was having lunch with friends when a cell phone on the table rang. He answered and put it on speaker.
Bikram: “Hello!”
Woman: “Hi Honey, it’s me. Are you having lunch?”
Bikram: “Yes.”
Woman: “I’m at the shops now and found this beautiful mink coat. It’s only $9,000. Is it OK if I buy it?”
Bikram: “Sure, go ahead if you like it that much.”
Woman: “I stopped at the Lexus dealership, too, and looked at the new models. I saw one I really liked.”
Bikram: “How much?”
“$120,000.”
Bikram: “OK, but for that price make sure you get it with all the options.”
Woman: “Great! I was just talking to Janie and found out that house I wanted last year is back on the market. They’re asking four-and-a-half million for it.”
Bikram: “Well, go ahead and make an offer of four million. They’ll probably take it. If not, you can go the extra half-mil if that’s what you really want.”
Woman: “Oh, thank you! I’ll see you later! I love you so much!”
Bikram: “Bye! I love you, too.”
He hung up.
Everyone at the table was staring at him in wonder and astonishment at his generosity.
Bikram turned and asked, “Anyone know whose phone this is?”
Sometimes yoga is said to cure everything except the common cold.
Bikram Yoga claims that 30 days of his hot yoga will transform anyone, making them strong and buff, and those who say during steam class “Please, kill me now” have got it all wrong.
Laughter Yoga says a week without laughter will make a man weak.
“This stuff really works!” said Harry Hamlin, at the far end of hunkdom, about Laughter Yoga after high-stepping the cha-cha-cha on ‘Dancing with the Stars’.
Others, like John Friend, the former founder and former chief guru of the former Anusara Yoga, think they’re laughing all the way to the bank until they find out what’s in their wallet is all a can of worms.
John Friend was praying to Krishna.
“Krishna,” he said, “I would like to ask you a question.”
Krishna responded, “No problem. Go ahead.”
“Krishna, is it true that a million years to you is but a second?”
“Well, then, what is a million dollars to you?”
“A million dollars to me is but a penny.”
“Ah, then, Krishna,” said John Friend, “may I have a penny?”
“Sure,” said Krishna. “Just a second.”
The laughter of the gods is sometimes the upshot of setting yourself up as the arbiter of your own schemes. Some people say laughter is God’s blessing. Or, conversely, as Lord Byron put it, “Nothing can confound a wise man more than laughter from a dunce.”
Still others, like Jeff Briar, the founder of the Laughter Yoga Institute, laugh daily in their yoga practice for the fun and friendship of it. A professional comedic actor for more than 30 years, Mr. Briar is a certified Laughter Yoga Teacher and in 2006 was appointed by Dr. Kataria as an International Laughter Ambassador. He has published manuals, written books, and shot videos, including ‘Gibberish Sets You Free! Five Films on the Power of Talking Nonsense’.
Comedians often have the gift of shtick, but Laughter Yoga posits chuckles and chakras as the joy cocktail, and a great workout, too. “We laugh as a form of exercise,” said Mr. Briar. Want a toned tummy? Stomach muscles expand and contract when you laugh. A night at the comedy club can start you on the way to a rack of six-pack abs.
“Start laughing for no reason and watch yourself feel better,” said Mr. Briar on the Oprah Winfrey Show. “Laughter relieves all the negative effects of stress.”
What did the meditating yogi say to the other meditating yogi? Are you not thinking what I’m not thinking?
What did the breathless yogi say to his yoga teacher? It turns out I’ve been inhaling when I should be exhaling and exhaling when I should be inhaling.
What did the cat say to the other cat while watching their pet owners practice yoga? Who knows how many years of yoga and they still can’t lick their own butts.
What did the man say to his friend about going to yoga class? Nah, I’m down, dog.
What ran through the mind of the young yogi in Warrior Pose? Am I doing this right? Am I doing anything right? What is my life’s purpose? Am I happy? What do I want? Should I get chips for dinner? Is everyone looking at me? Do my boobs look weird in this top?
Standing on one leg in yoga class doesn’t make you a yogi any more than standing in a garage makes you a car.
That’s not a joke.
T cells are white blood cells that fight infections and are the mechanism essential for human immunity. When you laugh you activate T cells, getting them on the go from where they are stored in the lymph system. Biophysical research has demonstrated that belly laughing generates a negative pressure in the body that increases the speed and flow of lymph up to 15 times the normal rate.
“Believe it or not, a hearty chuckle can help,” said Dr. Andrea Nelson of the University of Leeds. “This is because laughing gets the diaphragm moving and this plays a vital role in moving blood around the body.” She stopped short of saying take two aspirins and go watch an Adam Sandler movie.
A woman reported her husband’s disappearance to the police. They asked for a description and she said, “He takes an Ashtanga Yoga class every day, he’s toned, tall, amazingly energetic, with thick curly hair.”
Her friend said, “What are you talking about? Your husband is five-foot-four, bald, lazy, and has a big belly.”
The woman said, “Who wants that one back?”
A good sense of humor won’t cure everything that ails you, but giggles and guffaws are a great RX, nevertheless. “Laughter can stimulate circulation and aid muscle relaxation,” says the Mayo Clinic. “A laugh fires you up and can increase your heart rate and blood pressure. The result? A good relaxed feeling.”
Laughter activates the body’s relaxation response. You forget your troubles when you’re laughing. “People who are laughing report being less bothered by the pain they do experience,” according to the Chopra Center.
Yoga is an eight-fold path to wonder. Maybe watching reruns of ‘The Wonder Years’ should be part of the eight-fold path.
There are many different ways of going on the long strange winding road trip of yoga. Although it’s probably true no one can change their destination, everyone can change their way of travel. “It is a direction, not a destination,” said Carl Rogers, a founder of humanism in psychology practice.
Getting there can be Sturm und Drang. Getting there can be a hoot. Getting there can be gotten to on foot, in a shiny new SUV, or on the Furthur bus.
No one wants to die, but everyone wants to go to heaven. The psychedelic painted school bus Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters called Furthur, painted in laugh-out-loud splashes, would be as good a way to go as any other.
A man arrives at the gates of heaven.
St. Peter asks, “Religion?”
The man says, “Methodist.”
St. Peter looks down his list, and says, “Go to room twenty-eight, but be very quiet as you pass room eight.”
Another man arrives at the gates of heaven. “Religion?”
“Baptist.”
“Go to room eighteen, but be very quiet as you pass room eight.”
A third man arrives at the gates. “Religion?”
“Jewish.”
“Go to room eleven, but be very quiet as you pass room eight.”
The man says, “I can understand there being different rooms for different religions, but why must I be quiet when I pass room eight?”
St. Peter says, “The yogis are in room eight and they think they’re the only ones here.”
Everyone next in line had to wait a minute from here to eternity while St. Peter rolled around the pearly gates in paroxysms of laughter.
Click here to see more writing between fiction and non-fiction by Ed Staskus.
American School of Laughter YogaBikram ChoudhuryDr. Madan KatariaEd StaskusHarry HamlinJeff BriarJohn Friend Anusara YogaLaughter ClubLaughter YogaLaughter Yoga InstitutePaperback YogaSebastien Gendryyogayoga humor
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Question Without Notice No. 1539 asked in the Legislative Council on 4 December 2019 by Hon Nick Goiran
Parliament: 40 Session: 1
Answered on 4 December 2019
CARE LEAVERS — HOME STRETCH TRIAL
1539. Hon NICK GOIRAN to the Leader of the House representing the Minister for Child Protection:
I refer to reports of an extension to the Home Stretch trial for an extra 60 young people.
(1) Where will the expansion be based?
(2) When will the expansion commence?
(3) Will the minister table her two most recent briefing notes about the extension?
Hon SUE ELLERY replied:
I thank the honourable member for some notice of the question.
Through additional resources from Lotterywest, the Home Stretch trial is being expanded to assist up to 25 extra young people over three years. The additional funding provides a total of 60 places over the three years, consisting of up to 10 places in the first year and up to 25 places in each of the second and third years.
(1) A decision on the location of the expansion has not yet been made.
(2) The expansion will commence in the first half of 2020.
(3) I table the attached briefing notes.
[See paper 3485.]
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How becoming a Harlequin India® author changed my life
Blast from the past: 22, January, 2014
I am a doctor. A surgeon. Surgeons are trained to observe, to delve, to record.
When I won the Passions contest in 2013, I was catapulted into, for me, an uncharted part of the cosmos: the world of Harlequin® authors. Authors, too, are known to observe and delve and record, but there is a tangible difference between the two vocations. Doctors focus on people with problems, even on people who don’t want to develop problems; however, authors, because their creativity depends on it, focus on everybody and everything, most, if not all, the time….
Read more on the Harlequin India Blog…
I’m ‘Stirring your Senses’ on the Harlequin Blog
Have you ever walked into somebody’s home and been pleasurably assaulted by the smell of brownies cooling on a rack?
Or heard the welcome patter of rain as it falls on a parched driveway?
How about a bunch of golden kumquats bravely clinging to the branches of a barren tree – that you had given up on – ever seen a more gratifying sight?
And when a child throws grubby arms about you, her face pressed into your neck, could anything be more precious than the feel of her skin, warm against yours?
Read more on the Harlequin Blog...
The challenge in writing a romance in an Indian setting
In response to a question posed by poet and author, Madhuri Maitra:
The romances I grew up reading revolved around dashing Englishmen, debonair French nobles, ruthless Arab sheiks, swashbuckling Australian ranchers and the like. The stories unfolded in exotic locations. Therefore, when called upon to write a romance in an Indian setting, I imagined it would be difficult. How would I get an Indian hero to do what Englishmen and Frenchmen had been doing in the Mills and Boons of yore?
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Pradip Bhattacharya
Indologist, Mahabharata scholar
The Mahabharata of Vyasa – Moksha Dharma Parva
The Jaiminiya Mahabharata
The Jaiminiya Ashvamedhaparva
The Secret of the Mahabharata
Themes & Structure in the Mahabharata
The Mahabharata TV film Script: A Long Critique
YAJNASENI: The Story Of Draupadi
Pancha Kanya: the five virgins of India’s Epics
Revisiting the Panchakanyas
Narrative Art in the Mahabharata—the Adi Parva
Prachin Bharatey ebong Mahabharatey Netritva O Kshamatar Byabahar
Ruskin’s Unto This Last: A Critical Edition
TS Eliot – The Sacred Wood, A Dissertation
Bankimchandra Chatterjee’s Krishna Charitra
Shivaji Sawant’s Mrityunjaya: A Long Critique
Subodh Ghosh’s Bharat Prem Katha
Parashuram’s Puranic Tales for Cynical People
PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION & MANAGEMENT
Leadership & Power: Ethical Explorations
Human Values: The Tagorean Panorama
Edited Administrative Training Institute Monographs 1-20. Kolkata. 2005-9
Edited Samsad Series on Public Administration. Kolkata, 2007-8
KARTTIKEYA
The Monkey Prince
A New Approach to Homoeopathic Treatment
Reviews in The Statesman
Review : Rajesh M. Iyer: Evading the Shadows
Review : Bibek DebRoy: The Mahabharata, volume 7
Review :The Harivansha – The Significance of a Neglected Text
Review : Battle, Bards and Brahmins ed. John Brockington
Review : Heroic Krishna. Friendship in epic Mahabharata
Review : I Was Born for Valour, I Was Born to Achieve Glory
Review : The Complete Bhishma & Drona Parvas
Review : The Complete Virata and Udyoga Parvas of the Mahabharata
Review : Revolutionizing Ancient History: The Case of Israel and Christianity
Reviews in BIBLIO
Reviews in INDIAN REVIEW OF BOOKS And THE BOOK REVIEW New Delhi
Reviews in INDIAN BOOK CHRONICLE (MONTHLY JOURNAL ABOUT BOOKS AND COMMUNICATION ARTS)
MOTHER INDIA
JOURNAL OF HUMAN VALUES
BHANDAAR
THE ADMINSTRATOR
INDIAN RAILWAYS MAGAZINE
WORLD HEALTH FORUM, WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION, GENEVA
INDIA INTERNATIONAL CENTRE QUARTERLY
ACTUALITIES EN ANALYSE TRANSACTIONNELLE
TASI DARSHAN
STORIES, ESSAYS & POSTS
Chakravyuha by Manoranjan Bhattacharya
The Head Clerk. A short story.
120 hours in Bangladesh. A memoir
Epic discovery: City scholars find lost Mahabharata in Chennai library – The Times of India (Kolkata)
Dr. Pradip Bhattacharya's profile
An Indian Administrative Officer, Dr. Pradip Bhattacharya has a PhD in Comparative Literature for his research on the Mahabharata, a Post Graduate Diploma with distinction in Public Service Training from Manchester. He is India’s only International HRD Fellow (awarded by Manchester University and the Institute of Training and Development, UK) and an MD in Homeopathy. He has been the West Bengal State Govt.'s nominee on the Board of Governors, Indian Institute of Management Calcutta for over 15 years and is on the editorial board of its Journal of Human Values. He has been Regional Editor (East) for the Mahabharata Encyclopaedia Project of the Mahabharata Samshodhana Pratishthanam, Bangalore, funded by the Ministry of HRD, Govt. of India. He is also Member of the governing board of the Rabindranath Tagore Centre for Human Values set up by Ambuja Realty in May 2011 to commemorate the 150th birth anniversary of Tagore. Dr. Bhattacharya initiated a Regional Mahabharatas Documentation Project by the Indira Gandhi National Centre of Arts, New Delhi, under the Ministry of Culture.
He has authored and edited 30 books and published numerous articles in India and abroad on Public Administration, Comparative Mythology, Mahabharata, Homeopathy, Management and Human Values. His latest books are: The Jaiminiya Mahabharata: Mairavanacaritam and Sahasramukharavanacaritam, A Critical Edition (National Mission for Manuscripts); The Mahabharata of Vyasa: Mokshadharma Parva, translated from the Sanskrit (Writers Workshop); “Love Stories from the Mahabharata” and “Puranic Tales for Cynical People” (both from Indialog, New Delhi) and “Pancha Kanya: the five virgins of Indian Epics” (Writers Workshop, Kolkata).
A Landmark in Indological Studies–Companions to Indian Epics
Madhusraba Dasgupta: Samsad Companions to The Mahabharata and The Ramayana, Shishu Sahitya Samsad, Kolkata, Rs. 1200 and Rs.800; pp. (large size) 608 & 400
The sheer magnitude of India’s epics has proved a great challenge as much to the scholar as to the aficionado, besides putting off the common reader—but no longer. Thanks to the astonishing labour of Smt. Madhusraba Dasgupta, who has put together single-handedly everything there is to know about both epics, even the quizmaster will now have an easy time finding material to draw upon. For the Mahabharata, she has used the Pune Bhandarkar edition, the Bengal Asiatic Society edition, and its translation by K.M. Ganguli, which she unaccountably refers to as “P.C. Ray” although he was only the publisher. Every entry is referenced with respect to both editions—an extremely useful feature. The publisher, Debajyoti Dutta, deserves our gratitude for publishing these volumes with such excellent production values.
Long ago, Sorensen had compiled an index to the Mahabharata arranged in dictionary form. A Hindi version by Ramkumar Rai was published in several volumes in the Chowkhamba Sanskrit Series, with a parallel “kosha” for the Ramayana in the early 1980s. If, however, one wishes to find out what weapons were used, what the terms mean and what the army formations were, that information was not found there. Dasgupta groups the data under eight headings “to kindle enthusiasm and ease the exertion of the reader who wants to see beyond a mere account of facts.” These are: the parvas and sections; identities; the ancient world (then and now); races, tribes, castes; troop formations, weapons, accessories; specific terms; other names of characters; an appendix providing select genealogies, the last without providing any reference to the text. She has formulated her own pronunciation guide, departing from the internationally accepted diacriticals, finding that inadequate.
The introduction to the Mahabharata volume is rather slender. She makes the interesting point that no detailed physical description of any character is found—what we have is quite vague. Besides listing characters and places, she also provides the inhabitants of different regions, the social orders. She points out the lack of mention of any temple or idol. However, in Ganguli’s translation of the Sabha Parva section 79, we find Vidura telling Dhritarashtra, “And jackals and vultures and ravens and other carnivorous beasts and birds began to shriek and cry aloud from the temples of the gods and the tops of sacred trees and walls and house-tops.” In section 32, there is reference to temples of gods, and to a temple of Shiva in section 15 in which Jarasandha imprisoned princes. Dasgupta claims that there is archaeological evidence of the Kurukshetra battle. Actually, no such evidence has been found. Only pottery was dug up in the early 1950s, but nothing that connects to what we find in the Mahabharata. Strangely enough, there has been no excavation here since then, despite all the breast-beating about unearthing and preserving ancient Indian heritage. The astronomical evidence she refers to as fixing 1500 BC, as the time of the war is as dubious as the Yudhishthira Era of 3102 BC is. She refers to the epic having had 8,800 verses initially, an erroneous notion propagated by Weber. This is the number of verses that Sauti refers to as “knotted slokas,” very difficult to understand. Nor does the Mahabharata consist of one lakh slokas, but extends to over 90,000 verses.
Anyone wanting a list of all the pilgrimage spots mentioned will find it readily in this volume. The spots Balarama visits could have been mentioned in a cluster as has been done for the Pandavas. All forests, lakes, rivers, mountains, kingdoms, cities, villages and even steeds and standards are listed! Besides vyuhas (troop formations), parts of the chariot, the various modes of fighting, celestial weapons and normal ones are catalogued. She has tried to identify, as far as possible, the current names of the places mentioned, so that the geography comes alive to us today. Unfortunately, there is no map in both volumes, which would have enhanced their usefulness.
The entry on Shiva seems to contain a few errors. It was Agni, not Shiva, who gifted the Gandiva bow to Arjuna. Shiva’s pinaka is not a small drum but a pike or trident. What he holds is a dambaru which is an hour-glass shaped small drum. His going before Arjuna killing those whom his arrows later slay has been omitted.
Some of the entries could have been a little more informative. Where can we find the names of the eight sons of Kavi? Surya was named Martanda (dead-egg) because he was stillborn (like Parikshit). Also, as Martanda is also the name of Yama, it hints at why he was called lord of death. Again, Ekalavya is not the son of Nishada king Hiranyadhanu, but his adopted son, born to Krishna’s paternal uncle Devashrava who gave him away. He is, thus, Krishna’s agnate cousin whom he kills, as he does his aunt’s son Shishupala. Again, Jara, Krishna’s killer was his stepbrother, being Vasudeva’s son from a Shudra wife who became a Nishada chief (cf. Harivansha, Vishnu Parva, 103.27). In the genealogy provided in the Appendix, these relationships are not indicated, nor the fact that Pritha-Kunti was of Yadu’s lineage and the sister of Vasudeva, and names of the mothers of Balarama, Krishna and Subhadra. Balarama and Krishna’s wives are also missing. One would have thought that the very critical role women play in the Mahabharata would have motivated Smt. Dasgupta to include all the names of women in the genealogies. She overlooks references in the Ashramavasika Parva to two more wives: another wife of Bhima is the sister of Krishna’s inveterate foe (Shishupala/ Jarasandha/Dantavakra?) and a wife of Sahadeva is a daughter of Jarasandha. Their names and progeny are not mentioned. How many of us realise that when Abhimanyu killed Brihadbala, ruler of Kosala, it was in effect the Lunar Dynasty wiping out Ayodhya’s Solar Dynasty! In the genealogy, no link is shown between Pratipa (Paryashravas in a parallel version) and Shantanu, despite their being father and son. The fact that Bharata adopted Bhumanyu from Bharadvaja, disinheriting his nine sons, has not been indicated.
One misses a list of the partial descents (amshavatarana) of gods, demi-gods and anti-gods that is an important part of the framework of the epic, which is to relieve the earth of its burden of demonic rulers. Surya’s two wives, their progeny and how Surya was partly shorn of his blaze are missing. Though the names of Yayati’s disinherited sons are given, what happened to their lineages is missing. However, bhaktas will readily find here the 1008 names of Shiva and Vishnu conveniently grouped at one place.
The introduction to the Ramayana Companion is satisfyingly long, providing features of the three cities that are in conflict: Ayodhya, Kishkindha and Lanka, along with the living patterns, culture, and an overview of the characters and the pantheon. Unlike the other volume, this draws not upon the Baroda critical edition, but only on the vulgate, i.e. the Gita Press and the Calcutta edition of 1907. Besides the sectional headings of the preceding book, added here are creatures, heavenly bodies, flora-fauna, gems, musical instruments, food and drink, transport, units of measures and weights. These additional sections indicate that the society of the Ramayana is more developed than that of the ostensibly later Mahabharata which is quite Hobbesian in being nasty and brutish. Interestingly enough, there is no paean listing multiple names of any deity in Valmiki’s composition, which does suggest an earlier culture. The geographical section omits the name of Shravasti, the capital of Northern Kosala ruled by Lava. The unfortunate omission of an index in the Mahabharata volume has been remedied here so that one can easily locate the relevant entry.
No praise is adequate for the extraordinary work Smt. Dasgupta has done. Hers is a signal contribution to Indological studies. The publisher, too, richly deserves accolades from all readers.
Filed Under: BOOK REVIEWS, IN THE NEWS, MAHABHARATA, Ramayana
Review of Mokshadharma Parva, Mahabharata in Indologica Taurinensia
Indologica Taurinensia 43 (2017)
PRADIP BHATTACHARYA, trans. from Sanskrit, The Mahabharata of Vyasa: The Complete Shantiparva Part 2: Mokshadharma, Writers Workshop, Kolkata, 2016, pp. 1107, Rs. 2000/-
The book reviewed here is Pradip Bhattacharya’s translation of Mokṣadharmaparvan in the Śānti-Parvan of Mahābhārata, which starts from Section 174 of the Śānti-Parvan in Kisari Mohan Ganguli’s (KMG) prose translation, and corresponds to Section 168 of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute (BORI) or Pune Critical Edition (C.E).
Padma Shri Professor Purushottam Lal, D. Litt. began the first ever attempt to a verse “transcreation” of the Mahabharata in 1968; unfortunately, his timeless ongoing work lost to time in 2010 with his untimely demise, so that “transcreation” of sixteen and a half of the epic’s eighteen books could be published. Bhattacharya takes up the unfinished job of his Guru, and offers this verse-prose Guru–Dakṣiṇā to his “much-admired guru and beloved acharya”, Prof. Lal. He however, is on his own in that he does “translate rather than transcreate”.
Bhattacharya proposes to “keeping to the original syntax as far as possible without making the reading too awkward” and sets out on his translation venture “in free verse (alternate lines of ten and four-to-six feet) and in prose (as in original) faithful to Prof. Lal’s objective of providing the full ‘ragbag’ version.”
Mokṣadharmaparvan being the philosophic and soteriological culmination of Mahābhārata and Ancient India’s message and wisdom, Bhattacharya’s work is culturally important in bringing to the English speaking world this very important parvan.
The idea of Mokṣa that Kṛṣṇa teaches Arjuna in the Gītā (Udyoga Parvan) and found elsewhere (though mostly in the sense of liberty from any Tyrannous Power) is elaborated in Mokṣadharmaparvan through Itihāsa-Puraṇa, narratives, recollections and fables. Mokṣa is the final of the Four Puruṣārthas – following Dharma, Artha and Kāma; yet it would not arrive automatically or inevitably by law of chronology unless Puruṣakāra blends with Daiva, and Daiva may favour only when Balance of Puruṣārthas – Dharma-Artha-Kāma – is attained through Buddhi, Upāya (Strategy/Policy), Will and Karma.
The parvan stands out as unique in its advocacy of Liberal Varṇa System (portraying non-Brāhmiṇ characters like Sulabhā, prostitute Piṅgalā and Śūdras as qualified for higher merit and social status through wisdom), and carries the important and interesting message that understanding Gender Relation or Evolutionary Nature of Gender is essential for Prajñā leading to Mokṣa. Yudhiṣṭhira learns all these theoretically from grandfather Bhīṣma, who is then on his Bed of Arrows. This is not without significance. Bhīṣma’s physical life-in-death or death-in-life is apt parallel and metaphor for Yudhiṣṭhira’s mental state. Yudhiṣṭhira and his brothers and Draupadī qualify to gain knowledge on Mokṣa–Dharma only after their growing realization through dialogues, debates, experiences and feelings that victory in war has been futile, and Kurukṣetra War is as much external as internal. Yet, at the end of Śānti-Parvan, theoretical knowledge does not suffice, and the Pāṇḍavas and Draupadī emerge Dynamic in their quest for more quests – that sets the stage for further of Bhīṣma’s advice in Anuśāsana Parvan. The message that emerges from Mokṣadharmaparvan is that, one has to actually attain Mokṣa; mere theorizing is only furthering Bandhana.
Bhattacharya has long been a critic of the C.E considered almost sacrosanct by perhaps most of the Videśi and Svadeśī scholars alike, while, ironically, even V.S. Sukhtankhar (1887-1943), the first general editor of the project, was tentative in calling it an approximation of the earliest recoverable form of the Mahākāvya. Bhattacharya’s taking up the massive project of translation is, in a way, his critical commentary on C.E through action; he boldly declares about his project “whatever the C.E. has left out has been sought to be included” – ringing like Mahābhārata’s famous self-proclamation – yad ihāsti tad anyatra yan nehāsti na tat kva cit (1.56.33).
Bhattacharya’s project is thus, what James Hegarty calls “(recovery of) embarrassment of riches” and perhaps more, because it is “a conflation of the editions published by the Gita Press (Gorakhpur, 9th edition, 1980), Āryaśāstra (Calcutta, 1937) and that translated and edited by Haridās Siddhāntavāgiś Bhattacharya in Bengali with the Bhāratakaumudī and Nīlakaṅṭha’s Bhāratabhāvadīpa annotations (Bishwabani Prakashani, Calcutta, 1939).”
Bhattacharya has done an invaluable job to English readership by providing four episodes found in Haridās Siddhāntavāgiś (Nibandhana-Bhogavatī, Nārada, Garuḍa and Kapilā Āsurī narratives) and many verses not found in the Gorakhpur edition. Of these, the Kapilā Āsurī Saṃvāda at Section 321-A (p-815) is only found in Siddhāntavāgiś edition (vol. 37, pp. 3345-3359). Just as in archaeology, every piece of human-treated rock delved from earth is beyond value, I would say that every unique variation or every narrative in Mahābhārata recensions is of similar value particularly in marking a curious interaction point between Classical and Folk Mahābhārata – that no serious Mahābhārata scholar can ignore.
Bhattacharya deserves kudos for bringing into light the stupendous work and name of Siddhāntavāgiś, an almost forgotten name even to most Bengalis, and an unknown scholar to most Mahābhārata scholars or readers, almost eclipsed by the other popular Bengali translator Kālī Prasanna Siṃha.
Translation is a difficult and complex ball-game, particularly when it comes to Sanskrit. India and the Mahābhārata-World have witnessed much Translation Game all in the name of scholarship. The Translation Game as a part of Colonizer’s Agenda as well as the Game-calling is already cliché – having been pointed out and criticized by stalwarts from Rsi Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay to Edward W. Saïd. Sometimes Agenda sometimes peculiar whims have done injustice to Sanskrit. While Alf Hiltebeitel’s constant rendering of Itihāsa as “History”, or Mahākāvya as “Epic”, or translation of Dharma as “religion” or “law” or “foundation” (the latter also in Patrick Olivelle) is the most common example of the former, Van Buitenan’s rendering of Kṣatriya as “Baron” is a signal case of the latter.
The whole Vedic (later, Hindu) tradition is contained in culturally sensitive lexicons that should not be subjected to Free Play in the name of translation. Needless to say, Dharma holds the Key to Bhāratiya Itihāsa as also understanding Mahābhārata. Given the inclusion of Dharma in Oxford dictionary, and given definition of Itihāsa in Kauṭilya’s Arthaśāstra (anywhere between c.a 300 BCE – 300 CE) and Kalhana’s (c. 12th century) Rājātaraṅgini, I wonder why Dharma has to be translated at all, or why Itihāsa has to be translated as “History”, a signifier that falls shorter to the signified of Itihāsa. Bhattacharya arrives at a compromise by rendering “Itihāsa-history” (e.g. Section 343, p- 998).
Bhattacharya’s translation venture has to be understood at the backdrop of above-mentioned translation-scenario. He declares he has been cautious on the matter of translation in having cross-checked with Kaliprasanna Sinha’s Bengali translation (1886), KMG’s first English translation (1883-96) and the shorter BORI edition. Such crosschecking with available translations in different languages of a time-tested Sanskrit work is no doubt the safest and most appropriate translation-methodology that every aspiring translator of already rendered works should follow. Mahābhārata can neither be reduced into simplistic narratives, nor it can be thought in terms of Grand Narrative; more so because Sanskrit denies singular and straightjacket interpretation of signifiers. Varied translations are actually explorations of various narrative possibilities in the Sanskrit lexicon and Ślokas. The wise way therefore, is to keep open to different narrative possibilities.
As one reads Bhattacharya’s translation, one finds that his work is as much experimentation with translating Sanskrit into English, as much with English language itself. If Sanskrit is not a translatable language, then English must transform into a worthy receptacle language – this, it seems, is Bhattacharya’s underlying purpose and belief. He retains Sanskrit words that are in the Oxford English Dictionary, and following Prof. Lal’s style of rendering some Sanskrit words and giving their common or contextual English synonym with a hyphen, also coins Sanskrit-English compounds or retain Sanskrit word as it is. In latter cases, initially, the unused eye and ear may miss the rhythm; however, the Sanskrit-English compound has a rhythm of its own, adds to poetic flavor, enables Bhattacharya to maintain syllable counts in feet, and also enables him to be the simultaneous translator and reader.
Bhattacharya’s Sanskrit-English compounding is utilitarian and perhaps Political too, and surely comes under the purview of Skopostheorie. The reader has the option either to make sense of the Sanskrit on his/her own, or take the English suggested by Bhattacharya. In ‘pure’ translation, this option is unavailable and the reader has to be at the receiving end.
At times, however, over-use of Sanskrit-English compounds makes the reading strenuous and breaks the rhythm. For example, “Likewise by force do I Pṛthivī-earth verily for the welfare of all creatures” (Section 339, verse 71, p- 936) is not a sonorous rendering. Similarly, in “Niṣāda-tribals” (Section 328, verse 14, p- 863), compounding ‘tribal’ is neither politically correct, nor historically or Mahābhāratically correct, because Niṣāda is Varṇasaṃkara (12.285.8-9), and sometimes considered Kṣatriya – though “fallen”, and overall a very complex entity.
In some cases, where the Śloka itself offers the explanation to an epithet or name, Bhattacharya’s retaining the Sanskrit word for what is already explained in the Śloka is a laudable strategy to introduce the Sanskrit word into English vocabulary. For example, “śitikaṇṭha” (verse 98) and “Khaṇḍaparaśu” (verse 100) at Section 342 (p- 990). However, the “ś” in former is small, but “K” in later is in capital; consistency should have been maintained, as also in the case of “maha”. For example, mahāprājña (12.200.1a) rendered as “Maha-wise” is with capital “M” (verse 1, 12, p- 157, 159), whereas it is not in other 6 cases like “maha-rishis” (p- 1026, 1027). ‘P’ in Puruṣottama is not capitalized at Section 235 verse 39 (p- 908), but capitalized at page- 910 (verse 53). Guṇa is not transcripted (Sec- 205, verse 10-12, p- 142); it is with small “g” in most cases, even at page-143, verse 17 where once it is small and once with a capital “G”. Kāla is transcripted but in same verse-line saṃsāra is not (Sec- 213, verse 13, p- 217). Similarly, “atman” (Ātmā) is sometimes with small “a” sometimes capital “A” (e.g. p-386-7).
Bhattacharya may address these minor issues in his next edition; minor, because his laudable retention of culturally exclusive words like “arghya” (e.g. Section 343, p- 1000) and “āñjali” [“palms joined in āñjali” (e.g. Section 325, verse 30 & 32, p- 846)], as also Praṇāma in “pranam-ed” (verse 19, p- 176) and “pranam-ing” (Sec- 209A, verse 25, 28, 29, 33; p- 177), outweighs occasional capitalization-italicization inconsistency or misses.
Even if it is not “inconsistency” but deliberate, Bhattacharya’s dual strategy of transcripting Sanskrit words in IAST, and non-transcripting Oxford accepted Sanskrit words, may appear confusing to readers. For example, he does not transcript the prefix ‘maha’ or italicize it. Similar is “rishis”. In my opinion, the recurrence of the prefix ‘maha’ could have been avoided in some cases. For example, “maha-humans” (Section 343, p- 999) and ‘mahāyaśāḥ’ (12.200.33a) translated as “maha-renowned” (Sec- 207, vn. 33, p- 161) sounds odd and breaks the rhythm.
The translation experimentation is Bhattacharya’s commentary too – which Sanskrit words English should accept in vocabulary instead of futile indulging in Translation Game. Take for example the word Puruṣa, which is a Key word in the Mokṣadharmaparvan and in the doctrine of Puruṣārthas. Puruṣa has been translated in various ways. Renowned scholars like Julius Eggeling, Max Muller, Arthur Berriedale Keith and Hanns Oertel have mostly translated Puruṣa as “man” or “person” in their renderings of ancient Vedic texts. Needless to say, these renderings are misleading because originally, it is a non-gendered concept. Bhattacharya has it both ways; he retains Puruṣa and offers different compounding in different contexts – Puruṣa-Spirit (e.g. Sec- 348, p- 1026), “Puruṣa-being” (e.g. Sec- 321, verse 37, p- 817; Sec- 343, p- 1000), and “Puruṣa the Supreme Person” (Sec- 334, verse 29, p- 900). While the contextual compounding offers the reader the choice to make his own sense of Puruṣa, in my opinion, Bhattacharya could have retained Puruṣa as it is, because the compounded English translation is at times etymologically problematic. For example, Bhattacharya translates ekāntinas tu puruṣā gacchanti paramaṃ padam (12.336.3c) as “those exclusive devotees, reaching Puruṣa-spirit the supreme station” (Sec- 348, p- 1026). But, ‘Spirit’ from PIE *(s)peis– “to blow” does not go well with Puruṣa (though “ru” connotes “sound”), and though the Latin spiritus connotes “soul” (other than “courage, vigor, breath”), the modern English connotation (since c.1250) “animating or vital principle in man and animals,” and Puruṣa is indeed identified with Prāṇa in Brāhmaṇas and Āraṇyakas, yet Puruṣa is much more than all those combined connotations and significances. Perhaps, Bhattacharya could have left Puruṣa as Puruṣa, and Pada as Pada given the immense significations of Pada. “Supreme station” does not seem to be an adequate translation of paramaṃ padam. ‘Station’ from PIE base *sta– “to stand” is rather Static, whereas, Puruṣa is a Dynamic principle in Vedas with “thousand feet” (RV- 10.90). Bhattacharya seems to have followed Griffith’s translation of Paramaṃ Padaṃ as “supreme station” (e.g. Griffith’s trans. in RV- 1.22.21 – “Vishnu’s station most sublime” for viṣṇoḥ yat paramam padam). Further, the punctuation ‘comma’ is missing after Puruṣa-spirit.
Bhattacharya has sometimes quoted the whole Sanskrit Śloka and then given its translation. Mostly these are well-known and oft-quoted famous Ślokas; at times, it seems these are his personal favourites. This strategy is a severe jolt to conventional translation. Bhattacharya makes the point that despite reading translation, the reader must have the reminder of the original. In some renderings, he has used popular English idioms in addition to the translation, which carry the sense of the Śloka though not literally implied. Such experimentation makes the communication forceful. For example, he translates karoti yādṛśaṃ karma tādṛśaṃ pratipadyate (12.279.21c) as “as is the karma done, similar is the result obtained”; and then further adds, “as you sow, so shall you reap” (verse 22, p- 639). This being a popular idiom, succeeds in better communication with the reader, which is no doubt the translator’s achievement.
Bhattacharya’s translation is crisp, compact and lucid. For example, KMG renders – manoratharathaṃ prāpya indriyārthahayaṃ naraḥ / raśmibhir jñānasaṃbhūtair yo gacchati sa buddhimān (12.280.1) as “That man who, having obtained this car, viz., his body endued with mind, goes on, curbing with the reins of-knowledge the steeds represented by the objects of the senses, should certainly be regarded as possessed of intelligence.” The result is loosening and dispersing of the original sense; besides, “curbing” adds negative dimension. Bhattacharya translates this as “obtaining this chariot of the mind drawn by the horses of the sense-objects, the man who guides it by the reins of knowledge…” – which is a more practical and easy-flowing rendering, retaining the poetic flavour; besides, “guiding” instead of KMG’s “curbing” is positive and does justice to the optimistic philosophy implied here.
Bhattacharya’s task is indeed a “Himalayan task” (preface, p-6) as he is aware of the “challenge”. With all humbleness that befits an Indian scholar’s Śraddhā to Indian tradition, Bhattacharya is open-minded to revise towards perfection and admits “all errors are mine and I shall be grateful if these are pointed out” (Preface, p- 6).
As an experimentation in translation, Bhattacharya’s methodology is here to last; future translators of Sanskrit may improve the system, but surely cannot indulge in whimsical translations without mentioning the original Sanskrit words that hold the key to the overall meaning of a Śloka or a section or even the whole Text.
The annexures provided at the end of the translation work is useful and enlightening. Annexure-1 gives the internationally accepted system of Roman transliteration of the Devanāgari. Annexure-2 is Prof. P. Lal’s sketch of the Mahābhāratan North India (based on the Historical Atlas of South Asia) showing important places and rivers; however, one feels, the sketch could have been magnified a bit for better legibility. This document and Annexure-3, another sketch of the whole of India, is historically valuable as reminiscence of Prof. P. Lal. Annexure-4 provides a comprehensive list of all the episodes of Mokṣa–Dharma parvan courtesy Madhusraba Dasgupta. This document is an instant information provider of what is contained in Mokṣa–Dharma parvan. One wishes, Bhattacharya could have provided the corresponding page numbers to the episodes of his translation.
In final analysis, Bhattacharya’s rendering is a must in library for serious scholars and readers alike.
Indrajit Bandyopadhyay
Associate Professor, Department of English
Kalyani Mahavidyalaya, West Bengal, India
Filed Under: BOOK REVIEWS, IN THE NEWS, MAHABHARATA Tagged With: Mokshadharma
Insights into the Harivansha
Couture HV-2
Andre Couture: Krishna in the Harivamsha, vol. 2—the greatest of all sovereigns and masters, DK Printworld, New Delhi.
In 1858 at the age of 18 when Kaliprasanna Singha embarked upon his massive project of translating the Mahabharata (MB) into Bengali, he omitted the Harivansha (HV) finding it patently later in language and style. MB refers to it as khila, appendix. Andre Couture, professor of Indology at the Universite Laval, Quebec, is the only scholar to have studied this neglected text in great detail showing that in order to appreciate the dimensions of Krishna’s character one has to read the HV. Like the sub-tales in the MB, the HV serves to complement the mahakavya.
Western Indologists have argued that the figure of Krishna conflates two separate persons: the child-god, a pastoral deity, and the warrior-hero. In Couture’s first volume he had shown how the childhood tales elaborate the nature of Krishna’s divinity. He is protector of the gopas, creator of a new world and destroyer of demons. Restoring stolen earrings to Aditi, mother of the devas, he also harries Swarga to snatch its Parijata tree. The present work takes this further to argue that instead of being a haphazard anthology of ancient tales of diverse origins the HV is a dextrous weaving of material to portray the universal sovereignty of Krishna. Looking at him merely as a hero fails to explain major elements in his life.
What is most satisfying is that Couture does not restrict himself to the Critical Edition—which leaves out huge swathes of material—but studies the vulgate’s rich repository. Comparing the later accounts of Krishna’s childhood in the Puranas he makes the very important point that the shortest version does not necessarily connote the oldest. Further, thematic content and literary structure remain the only means for studying the received text as its authorship cannot be pinned down. The HV is not an ancient relic. It was a living composition responding to questions from new listeners familiar with ritual practices. The episode about the destruction of the kapittha tree (rejected by the CE), for instance, explains the link between Krishna and Shiva. For Couture, “the various HV versions hide lingering questions…the traditional text adjusts to ever-changing environments while still speaking the same, unchanging mythic language.” These changes reveal what is underlying. Another good example is the fight with Bana. Instead of exemplifying how bards corrupted the text (as the CE editors hold), it shows how pauranikas reworked it to keep the audience interested and explain it to them. He finds that a passage (*1259 after HV 108.98) about Narada meeting Aniruddha and Usha has not been included in the CE although it occurs in all the key recensions. Another such passage (*435 after HV 28.12) is about the origin of the Syamantaka gem His research leads to the conclusion that “the logic underlying the reconstruction of the HV is not always evident. (p.145)”
Beginning with Krishna and Balarama’s initiation at Sandipani’s ashram, Couture shows that it marks stepping into adulthood leading to Krishna’s victory in Dvaraka. In the process he acts as a son in many ways: rescues his parents; resurrects Devaki’s six sons; restores the throne to Ugrasena; restores to his guru his lost son; restores to a Brahmin his four dead sons. Arjuna undergoes similar initiatory rites of passage vis-à-vis Drona and Shiva in the MB. MB and HV follow the same plan.
The paper on Dvaraka shows how it is built following procedures for constructing a temple. That indicates the later date of the HV because the MB does not know temples. Couture holds that HV took shape between 200 and 1200 or 1300 AD. Dvaravati is built as objectifying Vasudeva’s divine self. As Krishna-Balarama are the complementary sheshin and shesha, so is Dvaraka complemented by the sea which retreats to house it. Further, between the two brothers in the city stands their sister Ekanamsha, Krishna’s maya. Their combination in the court that replicates heavenly Sudharma shows that this is a city embodying dharma. Its destruction is wrought by ascetics representing nivritti, withdrawal from creation.
Couture draws a fascinating parallel between Madhuvana and Kushasthali. Shatrughna destroys the former and builds Mathura there. Yakshas and rakshasas destroy the latter and Krishna builds Dvaraka there. Before that, Krishna has abandoned Vraja, causing wolves to appear so that the gopas flee to Vrindavana, which is also abandoned after the brothers shift to Mathura. The Yadavas abandon these settlements as the avatara takes birth and dies. Couture proposes that the HV has moved beyond the earlier contrasting of the town with the forest to a new philosophy conscious of the ambiguities inherent in building a city. While it must be built following prescribed rituals, it must be destroyed like any ritual construction.
Couture is the only scholar to study in depth Krishna’s enthronement by kings in Kundinapura (rejected in the CE) to show how it replicates his childhood installation as Upendra/Govinda in the Govardhana episode. This new tale stresses Krishna’s status as universal sovereign. Unlike Shiva he is no renunciant but deals with riches all the time. All the foes he destroys are hoarders. Whatever wealth he recovers he does not hoard but redistributes among devotees. His use of wealth follows the tradition of yagyas in which the monarch distributed the tribute he received among the public. In Dvaraka he says, “I do not wish to see any more hungry, thin, dirty, poor people asking for alms in this city” (86. 60). His speech in the Govardhana episode is similar to that in the Gita in urging all to perform their svadhrma and surrender to the Supreme Purusha in self-sacrifice. The HV’s originality lies in modelling Krishna along the lines of Narayana the Yagya-Purusha to whom worldly goods must be surrendered so that he may redistribute them.
A very important contribution is the development of the theme of goddess Yoganidra-Ekanamsa (“one and indivisible”). She is Ekanamsa because by herself she protects Krishna after birth. Five papers explore the critical role she plays in ensuring the success of Krishna-Balarama’s exploits. Most interestingly, Couture shows that in HV (96) she stands between the two exactly as they are depicted in iconography today. They are avatars of Narayana, Nidra the cosmic night and Shesha-naga. She is sister to both Krishna and Indra, “mahendra-vishnu-bhagini”. She is given the name Kaushiki as Indra takes her as his sister (he is of the Kushika gotra). She is also called Katyayani, consort of Narayana who is worshipped in the Vindhyas and elsewhere with offerings of meat. Thus, when the HV was composed there were many places where the goddess was worshipped (c. 1st to 3rd centuries AD?). Couture equates her with Devi Kotavi who suddenly appears nude during Krishna’s attack on Bana to ensure his “svadharma” in honouring Shiva’s boon to the asura. The HV posits that Krishna as the Purushottama is one with Rudra. She is also related to “jrimbha” (yawn) which appears when demonic forces have to be destroyed, closely linked to fever (“jvara”). Pradyumna and his father Krishna exhibit similarities in childhood, with the devi playing a role in both. As Maya, she helps Pradyumna kill Shambara and as Kotavi she saves Aniruddha’s father-in-law Bana. In a valuable contribution Couture shows that the Pancharatra tetrad is foreshadowed in the HV. Aniruddha alone is not an avatar. He stands for the ego (“ahankara”) sunk in worldly life from which Krishna (kshetrajna, the knower-of-the-self), Balarama (the atman) and Pradyumna-Sanatkumara (“manas”) liberate him.
There is a peculiar cross-cousin marital custom prevalent among the Yadavas that Couture overlooks. Pradyumna marries his maternal uncle Rukmin’s daughter Subhangi. Their son Aniruddha marries Rukin’s granddaughter Rukmavati. In the MB Arjuna marries Subhadra, daughter of his maternal uncle Vasudeva. In Telegu folklore their son Abhimanyu marries his maternal uncle Balarama’s daughter Shashirekha or Vatsala.
Couture provides us with a detailed analysis of Sankarshana’s relations with Krishna—how they come together and move apart. Balarama is not a name given in the MB and the HV, which call him “halin/langalin” (plough-wielder), Sankarshana and Baladeva. Balarama’s plough is linked both to sacrificial rites and to the destruction of cleaving the earth. It is in Jain texts that he is called “Rama”. The MB refers to Sankarshana as the first born of all beings who at dissolution withdraws all into himself. Krishna is the spiritual principle “purusha” while he is the material principle, “pradhana”. The adult relationship of Balarama and Krishna is a vexed one although they complement each other. The episode of the Syamantak gem marks a break in trust, with Balarama moving away to Mithila presuming that Krishna is concealing his appropriation of the gem. Such separation always heralds some violence analogous to cosmic dissolution (pralaya). Couture makes a puzzling reference to Sankarshana being an avatar of the snake who consumes the earth during pralaya, as no such phenomenon is described. Their relationship is seen to evolve from the HV through the Vishnu and Bhagavata Puranas to the Brahmavaivarta Purana where Sankarshana fades out and Radha predominates.
Couture misses an important point the HV makes. Krishna’s conflict with his own clan is not limited to the Mausala Parva of the MB. He refers to having killed Ekalavya, who is a son of his paternal uncle Devashrava. He also kills his paternal aunt’s son Shishupala. Jara, who kills Krishna, is also a cousin of his. Thus, the fratricide that is the Kurukshetra holocaust is paralleled in Krishna’s life. The Syamantaka gem is at the centre of this conflict.
Challenging the editor of the Critical Edition who sets little store by the peculiar story of the Syamantaka gem, Couture shows that every element of it constitutes a carefully constructed narrative depicting the supreme sovereignty of Krishna. Indeed, he is the Yagya-Purusha, the lord of sacrifice (Agni and Soma), of the sun and the moon and through them of the two major royal lineages. It is as the Yagya-Purusha that he overcomes the three Vedic fires who confront him in the battle with Bana, an incident that makes no sense otherwise. Besides the MB, Yaska’s Nirukta refers to Syamantaka, showing its antiquity. Its appearance coincides with the founding of Dvaraka and it has a solar as well as an oceanic (i.e. lunar) origin. Krishna’s possession of it indicates his mastery of both these yagyic principles. Indeed, Janamejaya states that Vishnu contains both. Couture has not noticed that the Krishna-Jambavan duel inside a cave with Balarama posted outside is a clear parallel of the Vali-Mayavi duel with Sugriva standing guard in the Ramayana.
The concept of bhakti in the MB and the HV receives detailed attention. It denotes a two-way traffic. It is not just that the devotee depends upon the deity, but there is a reciprocity involved, an interdependence. The deity, too, has a duty towards his bhakta.
The concluding paper analyses the concept of avatar, finding that the devas’ descent upon earth is analogous to appearing on stage (ranga-avatarana), like the Greek deus-ex-machina. Earth is the arena (ranga) for Vishnu’s performance (lila, krida), in which he assumes many disguises (pradurbhava, kritrima rupa). Significantly, Krishna kills Kansa in an arena and both brothers are said to appear on the stage like the Ashvins descending from Swarga. Couture in an inspired observation links this to Krishna being named “Ranganatha,” lord of the stage.
There are a few misprints, a major one occurs on page 243 where instead of Jarasandha the text has “Janardana”. On page 393 Ugrashravas Sauti is called a Brahmin whereas he is a suta. While putting the papers together, Couture could have edited out the repetitions relating to Yoganidra-Ekanamsa. There is a very useful bibliography and an index. The front cover has a lovely Vishnu sculpture and the back has a bas relief of Krishna teaching Arjuna both from Tamil Nadu. Other than the minor lapses, this well-bound volume is essential reading for any Indologist interested in the HV, providing many new and valuable insights.
This was first published in The Sunday Statesman’s 8th Day Literary Supplement of 15th April 2018.
Filed Under: IN THE NEWS, Uncategorized Tagged With: Harivansha, krishna, Yogamaya
The “Lost” Mahabharata of Jaimini
This paper features on pp. 33-67 of IGNCA’s journal of arts, KALAKALPA, Basant Panchami 2019, vol.III, No.2. The Editor-in-Chief, Dr. Sachchidanand Joshi, Member Secretary of the IGNCA, writes in his editorial, “Professor Pradip Bhattacharya is an acclaimed scholar on Mahabharata…Professor Bhattacharya’s contribution is stupendous.” The paper has been published with 3 colour plates of photographs I took of frescos on the walls of the Silver Pagoda in Phnom Penh, 3.65 metres high, illustrating the episodes contained in these 2 manuscripts of Jaimini which retell unknown episodes from the Ramayana in the Ashramavasika Parva of the Mahabharata.
Filed Under: IN THE NEWS, Ramayana, STORIES, ESSAYS & POSTS Tagged With: Hanuman, Jaimini, Mahabharata, Mairavana, Ramayana, Sahasramukharavana, Sita
Revising the Critical Edition of the Mahabharata: an approach through the attempt to strip Draupadi
This paper was presented in the Mahabharata Manthan International Conference organised in July 2017 in New Delhi by the Draupadi Dream Trust, and published in volume 1, pages 119-140, of the 2 volume book of proceedings, “Mahabharata Manthan” (B.R. Publishing Corporation, Delhi-110052.
In his detailed review of the volumes, this is what Major General and Indologist Shekhar Kumar Sen writes: “It is a veritable storehouse of information. First he has discussed very thoroughly the need to take a “hard look” at the CE since it had not taken into consideration so many important versions extant at the time of its writing, e.g., the Nepali palm-leaf Mss, the Razmnama, the Arabic translation and so many others. Also, he reiterates, the inconsistencies, contradictions and repetitions that exist in the CE must be removed. He has listed out many of these, underlining the need for revision. One of these is the episode of stripping of Draupadi. And that is his second proposition – he has quoted incident after incident from the entire epic and cited collateral evidence from other works in Sanskrit literature to establish that Draupadi was dragged by the hair, insulted in the assembly in the Sabha Parva but never stripped by Duhshasana. Still the CE includes it. This view has given rise to a lot of controversy but the author’s well-laid arguments can hardly be ignored. Other eminent scholars of the epic too have had serious reservations about the CE. Pradip has reproduced their views in support of his arguments. In short, this is a very comprehensive, informative and readable article. It also has three interesting plates depicting the disrobing of Draupadi.”
Filed Under: IN THE NEWS, STORIES, ESSAYS & POSTS
DESIRE UNDER THE KALPATARU
“Man is born unto trouble,” says Job, “as the sparks fly upward,” and, he points out, this “affliction cometh not forth of the dust, neither doth trouble spring out of the ground.” An engrossing study of the root cause of this “trouble” was made in the West, in this century, by Eugene O’Neill in Desire Under The Elms. But are we Indians aware of Vyasa’s fascinating portrayal of “Desire Under the Kalpataru” in the Mahabharata? Such a remorseless expose of the frailties that the flesh is heir to, spanning the entire gamut of human existence, is unrivalled in world literature. Leaving aside the sheer narrative brilliance of Vyasa, it is the perception of over-arching symbols, such as the Kalpataru, which gradually dawns on the readers, stirring the innermost depths of their psyche, as they voyage across the one hundred thousand verses of this ocean among epics; that fascinates them, compelling them to return, time and again, to the Mahabharata.
To appreciate the thematic brilliance of this concept, it is first necessary to recount the story of the Kalpataru, the Wish-fulfilling Tree, described in eidetic detail by Krsna in the beginning of chapter 15 of the Gita. Its roots are in the heavens and its branches permeate the cosmos, paralleled in occidental mythology by the Norse Yggdrasill. The parable has been recounted by P. Lal in his introductory essay to Barbara Harrison’s Learning About India, and by Christopher Isherwood in Vedanta for the West.
Into a room full of children at play walks the proverbial “mama” (maternal uncle)” who invariably “knows better.” He tells them to lift up their eyes, look out of the window and see the huge Kalpataru outside. He tells them that they should cast aside their silly indoor games, and go to the tree which will grant them whatever they wish – the real stuff! The children rush out, stand under the all-encompassing branches, and ask. They ask for what all children crave: toys and sweets. The tree grants them their wishes. But with it, they also get a bonus: the built-in opposite of the wish! Along with the toys they get boredom; and with the sweets they get tummy-ache. Sure that something has gone wrong with their wishing, the children ask for bigger toys and sweeter sweets. The Tree obliges, along with greater boredom and more painful stomach-ache. Time passes. The children grow up into young men and women. Their wishes change with their age. Now they “know more”. They ask for wealth, fame, power and sex. Unquestioningly, the tree grants their desire, but also gifts them cupidity, insomnia, anxiety and frustration. Time passes. The askers are now old. They gather in three groups under the tree. The first group exclaims that all this is an illusion. They are fools and have learned nothing. The second group is “wiser” and decides to wish better next time. They are greater fools and have learned less than nothing. The third group, disgusted with everything, asks for death. The tree grants their desire and, with it, its opposite, re-birth, and under the same tree. For, where can one be born, or re-born, but within the cosmos! They are the most foolish of all.
All this while, one child has been unable to move out of the room. Being lame, he was pushed aside in the rush to the door as his playmates ran to get to the tree. He has been riveted to the window, watching the lila (the play) of the Kalpataru unfold itself. He has watched his friends make their wishes, get them along with their built-in opposites and suffer; yet, compulsively, continue to make more wishes. Transfixed by this fascinating play and counterplay of desire and its fruits, a profound swell of compassion wells up in the heart of this lame child, reaching out to his companions. In that process he forgets to wish for anything (not even remembering to forget). In that moment of spontaneous compassion for others, he has sliced through the roots of the cosmic tree with the sword of non-attachment, of nishkama karma. He, alone, is the liberated one, the mukta-purusha.
It is this parable of the Kalpataru, whose roots are upwards and whose branches pervade the cosmos, which is the over-arching symbol encompassing the Mahabharata.
Pururava, monarch of the lunar dynasty, is the first of those driven by desire, who believe “The world will be your wish- fulfilling cow” (Gita 3.10). Infatuated by the heavenly courtesan Urvashi, his desire to possess her is granted. However, it is inevitably accompanied with the penalty of losing the very object of his desire. In the agony of that loss, he even goes mad. This is not the only instance of the fruit desire bore for this king. Pururava once stole the wealth of some Brahmins out of greed, and refused to return it.
As smoke smothers fire,
as dust films glass,
as womb enfolds seed,
So greed destroys judgment.
Greed is a fierce fire.
It destroys judgment.
It fools the wise.
It destroys the atman. (Gita, 3.38-39)
He was cursed by the Brahmins with loss of his prosperity, the precise opposite of his desire.
Pururava’s grandson is Nahusa, who is crowned king of the gods in Indra’s absence, but then falls prey to desire for Saci, Indra’s wife. The result is that he is cursed by the sages, whom he forces to carry his palanquin to meet Saci, and turns into a python, crawling in the dust.
Nahusa’s son is Yayati, the most famous instance in world mythology of lust and its doom. Driven by lust, he possesses Sarmistha in secret, and is struck with senility. Those very sons, “children of his heart, ” whom he has fathered on Devayani and Sarmistha, scornfully turn away from his anguished plea to assume his decrepitude so that he can enjoy the pleasures of the flesh for some time more. Even when that wish is granted, he finds that lust only consumes and does not satisfy. Later, desiring heaven, he achieves it, only to be thrown down from there because of his overweening pride in his merit. Yayati is, indeed, the archetypal figure of desire and its fruits as given by this cosmos, which is the Wish-Fulfilling Tree.
Yayati’s wife, Devayani, is herself a telling example of this parable. Obsessed by the desire to avenge the humiliation suffered at the hands of Sarmistha, she achieves her goal of turning the princess into her hand-maiden. Eager to prove that despite being a Brahmin’s daughter she can best the daughter of the Danava King, she over-rules the objections of the reluctant Yayati to an inter-caste marriage, and compels him to marry her. Soon, thereafter, she loses her chosen husband to her hand-maid! Further, not only has she only she only two sons by him while Sarmistha has three, but also none of her sons inherit the throne, despite being elder. It is Sarmistha’s youngest son, Puru, who is chosen by Yayati as dynast for having willingly parted with his youth for his father’s sake. In a similar way, one of his descendants, Devavrata, will sacrifice his youth to subserve his father’s sexual appetite.
It is in the same dynasty that Samvarana is born, who is so sun-struck by Tapati, daughter of Surya, that he neglects his kingdom. Significantly, as with his descendants Santanu and Pandu and his ancestor Pururava, desire seizes him in its constricting coils while he is engaged in hunting. Lust goes hand-in-hand with anger and cruelty:
Her body shone
Like a straight flame…
She stood, a black-
Eyed beauty on the hill-top,
Statuesque,
Like a golden girl.
The hill, its creepers,
Its bushes, all flamed
With the golden beauty
Of the golden girl…
She had trapped his mind
And his eyes. He stood
Transfixed, as if tied
With ropes, as if senseless. (Adi parva, 173.26-28, 31)
This is precisely the point that Krsna makes in the Gita, that lust, hiding in the senses, destroys judgment like an all-consuming flame. Samvarana’s condition, when Tapati suddenly disappears, is like that of Pururava bereft of Urvashi:
Like a man crazed
He wandered in the woods
… the love smitten
king fell on the ground.
The imagery used by Samvarana in his appeals to Tapati revolves around raging fire, senselessness, fury, loss of self-control—all the typical signs associated with the madness desire is seen to inflict on its victims.
Then a fearful-faced messenger came
And shouted loudly, thrice:
Lost! Lost! Lost!
And I fell from Nandana. (Adi parva, 89. 17-20)
The fourth, Samvarana, gets his desire at the cost of his kingdom. Neither he, nor his descendant Shantanu, appear to have drawn any lessons from the tragic lives of their ancestors.
Ironically, Shantanu’s name means “the child of controlled passions,” as he was born to his parents in their old age. He seems to have a special penchant for unknown tribal women encountered by the riverside:
He stood there,
Entranced,
All his body
In horripilation.
With both eyes
He drank in her beauty
And wanted
To drink more. (Adi Parva, 97.28)
Smitten by the sight of Ganga—who had wantonly solicited his father Pratipa and was politely rejected as not belonging to the same caste — he unthinkingly accepts all her conditions so that he can make her his own:
Captivated by her charms,
The king was not conscious of
The months, seasons, years that rolled by.
The lord of men enjoyed her whenever he wished. (Adi parva, 98.11,12)
The Kalpataru grants him that sexual gratification which he so passionately desires like Pururava, Yayati and Samvarana. But, along with it, he has to undergo the repeated experience of watching seven of his sons being consigned to the river, one after another, year after year, by that same object of his violent infatuation, Ganga. Well might we say,
“La Belle Dame sans Merci
Hath thee in thrall!”
In his old age, this “child of controlled passions” is infatuated with yet another maiden-by-the-river, Matsyagandha, fish-odorous, who has been transformed by the sage Parasara into Yojanagandha, lotus-fragrant-for-a-yojana (a unit of distance), in return for having enjoyed her body. Once again, Santanu has no regard for propriety, status, or the rights of Devavrata, his Crown Prince. He must have her:
She was fragrant,
Santanu saw her,
And desired her…
The fire of desire
Ravaged his body
…desire maddened him.
He kept thinking of
The daughter of the fisherman. (Adi parva, 100.49,56,75)
The symptoms could virtually be describing Samvarana’s state after Tapati vanishes. The same discrimination-destroying, judgment-clouding fire of desire afflicts both Samvarana and Santanu. In both cases, it is the kingdom which suffers. Santanu himself, having learned nothing from his experience with Ganga, dies, leaving behind two children, both weaklings. both die prematurely. The elder, Citrangada, dies unmarried. The younger, Vicitravirya, is another instance of the Kalpataru in action. Under the instructions of Satyavati (Santanu’s second wife), Bhishma (his son by Ganga) obtains not one, but two brides for his foster brother, so that the future of the dynasty is assured:
Both were tall.
black, wavy hair.
Fingernails and toe nails
Painted red, pointed.
Hips round and full.
Swelling and large breasts.
Vicitravirya,
driven by passion, became
A victim of his own lust. (Adi parva, 102.65, 66)
He dies after seven years without any issue. Thus, the dynasty of Pururava comes to an end.
What has Satyavati got out of the Kalpataru? As a nubile maiden, her dearest desire was to rid herself of the powerful fishy odour. This she was granted, at the cost of her virginity. After Santanu met her, the desire of her father (or foster-father, if we accept the story that king Uparicara Vasu of Cedi was her real father) is that through her he should be the dynast of Hastinapura. The Kalpataru grants this wish through what becomes renowned as the most terrifying of all vows: Devavrata becomes Bhishma (one who has taken the vow of celibacy) so that Satyavati’s children alone succeed to Santanu’s throne. Santanu himself does not live long after this marriage, and Satyavati becomes the Queen Mother, with minor children. She sees one killed in a skirmish, and the other die of consumption, both without issue. Now, both the Dasa-king, her father, and she find that the greatest obstacle to perpetuating the dynasty of Santanu is precisely that very vow which they had demanded as the security for ensuring their hegemony over Hastinapura in perpetuity through their children! Bhishma stonily refuses to break his vow and father progeny on the widows of Vicitravirya by following the custom of niyoga (sexual union with another’s wife).
Satyavati, like the people clustered under the Kalpataru in the parable, has not learned anything from her experiences, so far, of desire and its fruits. “Hungry for grandsons,” she summons Vyasa, her illegitimate son by Parasara, and orders him to practice niyoga on Ambika and Ambalika. Vyasa advises a year-long vow on their so that they purify themselves of the lust they have been tainted with through seven years with his foster brother. Satyavati cannot wait. Her judgment is warped by her insensate desire to have grandsons immediately. She leads her daughters-in-law to believe that Bhishma will be coming to them. Hence, being wholly unprepared for the horrendous looks and malodorous body of Vyasa, they give birth to the blind Dhritarastra and the anaemic, jaundiced Pandu. Even now, Satyavati has learned nothing. She had wanted grandsons at any cost. The Tree fulfilled her desire; but, along with it, gave her offspring incapable of being proper monarchs. Yet, she again asks Ambika to like with Vyasa. Ambika deceives her, and sends in her maid instead, who is without fear and aversion, and has only profound respect for the sage. Their child is the virtuous Vidura, possibly the sole true grandson of Satyavati, born of her son and of a Sudra (low caste) maid like herself. He is the only one born whole in mind and in body, and is untouched by the craving to rush to the Kalpataru. He, too, however, dies childless. Her other grandson, Pandu, dies, like his putative father Vicitravirya, without having been able to father progeny.
Thus, in her lifetime, empire-hungry and progeny-hungry Satyavati sees her husband, her two sons and one grandson die; the eldest grandson born blind; the youngest one not qualified to be king, being base-born, despite being the only fully healthy and virtuous issue, (although by that argument her sons, too, should not be kings, as she is a fisherman’s daughter. Hence, probably, the legend of her having been fathered by the king of Cedi on an apsara-turned-fish).
Perhaps, after Pandu’s death, the coming of the Pandavas to the Hastina court and the sibling rivalry which breaks out, Satyavati might have come to realize what it means to ask of the Kalpataru. And, perhaps because of that realization, she meekly obeys her son Vyasa when he advises her to leave the court and retire to the forest with her daughters-in-law:
The green years of the earth
are gone. . . . .
Do not be a witness
to the suicide
of your own race.
Satyavati and her grand daughter-in-law Kunti share various similarities. Uparicara Vasu of Cedi sends off his fish-born daughter Matsyagandha to be brought up by a Dasa-chief among fishermen. Pritha is the daughter of King Sursasena of the Vrishnis who gifts her to his cousin Kuntibhoja, who renames her Kunti, respectively. Both Satyavati and Kunti have pre-marital sons. In both cases the issues are discarded and reappear full grown, as does Devavrata. One appears before us as the sage Krsna-Dvaipayana Vyasa, the Dark Island-born Arranger. The other comes as Vasusena, born with the wealth of skin-armour and ear rings, also called Karna. Both Parasara and Surya gift-armour and ear rings, also called Karna. Both Parasara and Surya gift Matsyagandha and Kunti with unimpaired virginity as the reward for becoming willing partners in their concupiscence. This virginity is not merely a physical attribute, but very much of a psychological quality with they share with Draupadi, who is said to regain her virginity before living in turn with each of her five husbands. In that respect, Draupadi is carrying on a special trait found long back in the ancestry of the family into which she marries.. Yayati’s daughter Madhavi also had this boon of regaining her virginity even after giving birth to a child. On the strength of that, Galava loaned her to Haryasva, Divodasa, Usinara and Visvamitra to fulfil his guri-daksina (graduation fee pad by pupil to teacher).
The precise opposite of this can be seen in the Madri type of woman, who is dependent on what others think, regardless of what her real opinions might be, and always acts as a female counterpart to a male and is not “one in herself.” The psychologically virgin woman is not, however, thus dependent. Dr M. Esther Harding writes in Women’s Mysteries (Rider, 1971), “as virgin, she is not influenced by the considerations that make the nonvirgin woman, whether married or not, trim her sails and adapt herself to expediency…she does what she does not because of any desire to please, not to be liked, or to be approved, even by herself; not because of any desire to gain power over another, to catch his interest or love, but because of any desire to gain power over another, to catch his interest or love, but because what she does is true. Her actions may, indeed, be unconventional. She is what she is because that is what she is.” (pp.125-6) such a personality is wholly integrated and autonomous-in-herself, defining herself in her terms and not dependant on others for finding and acting out her role in life.
Kunti is by no means the conventional wife typified in Madri. She is one found fit by Durvasa to be the custodian of the mighty spell which forces even gods to respond to her desires for progeny. It is she who, single-handed, provides Pandu with five foster-children through herself and through Madri, and guards them amid all the venal politics of the Kuru court till they can hold their own in life.
What did Kunti ask of the Tree? Her first desire was to test the efficacy of Durvasa’s mantra. This desire was granted promptly, swiftly followed by the anguish of having to abandon its fruit and , later by the excruciating agony of being forced to remain a silent spectator to this death at the hands of her fourth son. In abandoning her first born, she is akin not only to her “direct” grandmother-in-law Satyavati, but also to her grandfather-in-law’s first wife, Ganga, who threw into the river seven sons, one after another. Of course, Pritha herself is her father’s discarded offspring.
Kunti’s second desire is for Pandu. Pandu is the only one in the Kuru dynasty to go to a svayamvara (husband-choosing), and this is ere Kunti chooses him above everyone else. Immediately thereafter, she loses him to Madri, who is brought by Bhishma to Hastinapura after payment of heavy bride-price, in accordance with the Kuru tradition. So, the Tree granted her Pandu, but with it , gave her the opposite: the anguish of losing the object of her desire to another and, ultimately, seeing him die in the arms of that another:-
Princes of Vahlika! (she tells Madri)
You are fortunate indeed…
I never had the chance to see
his face radiant in intercourse. (Adi parva, 25.23)
Even in death, Kunti is not allowed by Madri to accompany her chosen beloved. It is Madri who immolates herself with Pandu’s body.
Kunti’s sole desire now is to establish her sons as rulers of a kingdom. This desire, too, is granted. But in its wake she has to undergo a triple agony: first, she has to witness the enslavement of her children and the attempted stripping of her daughter-in-law in the royal court; then, she has to bear their exile to the forests for thirteen years; ultimately, she has to see her first-born slain, when defenceless, by her fourth-born, at the urging of her nephew, Krsna, who alone, besides herself and her first son, knows of the relationship. How tragically ironic it is that, by revealing the secret of this relationship on the eve of the battle to Karna, Kunti should have effectively ensured the death of Karna and the victory of her other sons. For, while they know only that they are fighting to slay the detested charioteer’s son, he knows that he is facing his cognate brothers, whom he has sworn not to harm!
Kunti desires that marriage should not sunder the unity of her five sons. Hence she strives to ensure that Draupadi does not belong only to Arjuna who won her. The Kalpataru grants her this too, with the consequence that Draupadi, though five-husbanded, is actually anathavat, without a husband, to protect her from molestation by Duhsasana, Jayadratha, Kirmira and Kicaka. None of the five husbands turns back to help her, let alone wait at her side, when she falls down, dying on the slopes of the Himalayas during their last journey together.
Like Kunti, Draupadi’s burning desire, born as she is full-grown out of the sacrificial fire, is to rule over the kingdom of Hastinapura and thus avenge the humiliation of her father at the hands of the Kauravas. It is worthwhile, at this point, to note that although it is the Pandavas who imprison Drupada at Drona’s command, his vengeance is directed against the throne of Hastinapura, of which Drona is a servant. This is a legacy of the ancient rivalry between the Pancalas and the Kurus which began when Samvarana left his kingdom defenceless in his infatuated pursuit of Tapati. Drupada arranges the contest for Draupadi’s hand in such a fashion that only an archer of Arjuna’s skill can succeed, and through that alliance he hopes to wreak his revenge.
Draupadi’s interaction with the Kalpataru is indeed an engrossing spectacle. Her desire for a kingdom is granted as Indraprastha comes into being, “a miracle of rare device.” Along with this she is granted her first taste of sweet revenge when she sees Duryodhana flounder into the pool created by illusion. The consequences are terrible: first, the kingdom is gambled away; then, she herself is unspeakably humiliated in public. Like Satyavati, Draupadi does not learn from these experiences. Her consuming passion remains revenge, now an intensely personal raging desire. That, too, is granted her by none other than the Kalpataru itself, incarnated in the person of Krsna (as he describes himself in the Gita.) She gets a field of ashes to rule over, with not a single son left alive to enjoy life with.
What of Draupadi’s desire for Arjuna— that desire which Yudhishthira coldly cites, without so much as a backward glance at her prone, dying form, as he cause of her inability to reach heaven in the physical body? By the time it was Arjuna’s time to live with her, he was away as an exile in the course of which he had no scruples in obliging the amorous Ulupi, wooing Citrangada and abducting Subhadra. This last he did only after obtaining the consent of Yudhishthira. Vyasa does not tell us that the eldest Pandava bothered not to pass on the information to Draupadi. He was, perhaps, pleased that Arjuna should have fallen in love elsewhere and ,particularly, that it should have cemented an alliance with the powerful Krsna clan. So, when her beloved Arjuna returned to Indraprastha, it was with Subhadra, who had his heart. The greatest archer won her, but was never hers. Even in the thirteen-year exile, she was bereft of his company, for he was sent off by Yudhishthira to obtain celestial weapons. When he returned, it was as a eunuch, merely enquiring of her how she had managed to escape the murderous clutches of Kicaka’s henchmen, who had dragged her off to be burnt with his corpse. Never did Brihannala (Arjuna’s name during the period he had turned eunuch) raise a voice in her defence, either in the Kaurava court, or in the court of Virata (where the Pandavas had to live incognito).
Draupadi’s relationship with the Kalpataru goes back to her previous birth, as narrated by Vyasa to Drupada, Apparently, she had carried out severe penance and begged off Siva that he grant her a husband. The moment she wished this, it was granted, but with a five-fold bonus, because, it seems, she had said “husband” five times! Thus, the cosmos grants her intense desire, but also provides its built-in opposite by multiplying it five-fold.
In being five-husbanded, she resembles her mother-in-law Kunti, who has “known” five men or gods: Surya, Pandu, Dharma, Vayu and Indra. She is also like her great-grandmother-in-law Satyavati, in being of unknown parentage and brought up by foster parents. Both are famous for the enchanting odour emanating from their dark bodies. Satyavati is renowned as the dark (“kali”) “Yojanagandha” (whose scent extends for a yojana); while Draupadi-Krishna’s complexion is like that of the blue lotus and the sweet scent of her body wafts for a krosa. Both are left with no children. One (Satyavati) built up the huge Kaurava dynasty, while the other (Draupadi) annihilated it. Neither seems to have learnt anything from the experience of making wish after wish under Kalpataru.
The two handicapped brothers, Dhritarashtra and Pandu, themselves exemplify the Kalpataru syndrome. Pandu is one of the rare few in the epic who, like his ancestor Yayati, realizes how he has victimized himself. Not content with being the chosen of Kunti, he espouses Madri, and his inveterate appetites lead to the incurring of the fatal curse. We recall Shakespeare’s unforgettable lines describing lust as:
… murderous, bloody, full of blame
Savage, extreme, rude, cruel.
Perversely hunting down a deer-sage in the coital act, Pandu himself is cursed to die in the act of intercourse. Thus, his love of the hunt is duly gratified, but with what tragic consequences! Pandu exclaims bitterly:
Noble blood is of little help.
Deluded by passions, the best
Of men turn wicked, and reap
the evil that they sow.
My father was born noble,
his father was noble too.
Lust was his ruin, he died
While still a youth.
And in his lustful field
I was sown by Krsna Dvaipayana…
And I am a victim of the hunt!
My mind is full of killing… (Adi parva, 119.2-5)
Obviously, despite all the ancestral praise-chanting by the sutas and magadhas, Yayati’s descendants have not learnt anything either from the history of their ancestors, or from their own harrowing experiences. It is this fatal attraction of Desire, which people are aware of, yet deliberately give in to, which has been expressed so poignantly by Shakespeare in sonnet 129:
Mad in pursuit and in possession so. . .
A bliss in proof, and proved, a very woe. . .
All this the world well knows; yet none knows well
To shun the heaven that leads men to this hell.
Pandu is perhaps the clearest instance of the ultimate end of Desire. Ironically, when Kunti initially refuses to accede to his requests for surrogate children, she cites the legend of Vyusitasva and Bhadra, with the telling words:
So strong was their passion,
So frequent their indulgence,
that he soon fell a victim
To consumption. (Adi parva, 121.17,18)
Despite this, and although Pandu is fully aware of its fruits,
Passion overpowered him
it seemed that he wanted
To commit suicide, as it were.
First he lost his sense,
Then, clouded by lust,
he sought the loss of his life. (Adi parva, 125. 121-3)
The tragedy of these desire-driven kings of the lunar dynasty is their compulsive refusal to heed the agony of generations of
“… pale kings, and princes too,
Pale warriors, death-pale were they all; ”
“starved lips in the gloam
With horrid warning gaped wide.”
That dire warning,
though voiced with desperate urgency by Yayati, and despite its destructive aftermath being exemplified repeatedly in the lives of Pururuva, Nahusa, Samvarana, Santanu, Vicitravirya and Pandu, goes unheeded by the hungry generations of their descendants.
How closely this exemplifies the warning of Krsna!~
It hides in the mind,
The intellect and the senses.
It destroys the atman
By working through them.
Therefore, first control the senses (Gita, 3.39-41)
As for Dhritarashtra, his intense craving for being king—- which he feels to be his birthright as the eldest—is duly obliged, but at the cost of his entire progeny. He is left alive to experience the fruits of desire after the Kurukshetra holocaust. His predicament is expressed in his own lament to Sanjaya:
“My own sons were impulsive, and disliked me for I was old and blind. I endured it, because I loved them, because my state was miserable. I was a fond old father to a son whose folly grew daily.” (Adi parva, 1.143)
Neither of the two brothers learns anything from his experiences of desire and its fruits. The same holds true for the unusual duo of Duryodhana and Karna.
The case of Duryodhana is so obvious as not to require elaboration. However, in Karna’s case it is easy to miss the finer shades of the play and counter-play of light-and-shade as the myriad leaves of the Kalpataru and its counless branches respond to his intense cravings. Karna is the egotistical sublime paralleling Bhishma in his own esteem. His consuming desire for public status is granted almost miraculously in the tournament arena, but did Karna ever perform the duties of a king with respect to Anga? Is not his kingship veritably but in name? Again, the craving to acquire supremacy in weapon-craft is granted; but, along with it, the curse that this precious knowledge will desert him in his greatest need. Perhaps it is Karna who experiences, in the most direct form possible, what it means to desire anything. The fruits come to him almost immediately. His triumphant obtaining of the infallible weapon from Indra in return for the slicing –off of skin-armour also turns out fruitless, as he is unable to use it against Arjuna. Karna’s intense desire for fame is gratified when he finds out that he is not only royal, but also half-god. Yet at what cost? He can never share the joy of kinship with his brothers, and must bear the recurrent whiplash of their contempt for the charioteer’s son. But, most of all, his life-long desire to know who he truly is becomes the root cause of his destruction. That knowledge brings in its wake the pledge not to slay his brothers, with the inevitable implication that he must die at their hands. And so we are presented with the heart-rending spectacle of the eldest Kaunteya being shot down, unarmed, by the fourth son of Kunti, at the behest of her nephew.
Perhaps, it is only Kunti who learns something about this Kalpataru-lila. Each of her three major choices bears soul-searing consequences: Each of her three major choices bears soul-searing consequences: calling Surya; choosing Pandu; insisting on her sons sharing Draupadi. Notice her peculiar predicament each time she is told by Pandu whom she must lie with. She has no choice in the matter. The only time she did choose, she had to abandon the fruit of that union: Karna. Yet, when she is made to pass on her power to Madri, Pandu does not impose on his second wife any similar directive. Madri is free to choose! Possibly, it is a result of the realization of the inexorable nature of desire and its fruits that , after the war, Kunti refuses to stay on with her children as Queen Mother. She insists on following Dhritarashtra and Gandhari into the forest. Unlike Satyavati, these three have witnessed the suicide of their progeny; Kunti has five sons but not a single grandson and no husband, despite the fathers of her three sons being alive. Gandhari and Draupadi have husbands, but nothing else left. It is Kunti who has learned. That is why Iravati Karve in Yuganta imagines Kunti telling Gandhari and Dhritarashtra that, instead of trying to escape from the forest fire, they should walk towards it with open arms as a liberator from this harsh world, where we draw our breath in pain, where, as King Lear said, we are bound
Upon a wheel of fire, that (our) own tears
Do scald like molten lead.
What of Gandhari? Yoked to a blind husband, she would have looked forward to giving birth to the first Kuru scion. Indeed, she conceived first, but carried the embryo for two years. By then Kunti had given birth to Yudhishthira and was pregnant with Bhima. Vyasa fulfilled her desire to be a mother, but this was followed by its opposite: her sons became wicked, arrogant, and disobedient. In open court, Duryodhana defied her commands to accept Krishna’s peace proposals. If Draupadi, though five-husbanded is without a husband, then Gandhari, despite having a hundred sons is sonless, much like her grandmother-in-law Satyavati who, despite having two sons, ended up having none. In both cases, the ambition to become Queen Mother is fulfilled, only to find the sweet fruition of an earthly crown turning into the bitter ashes of disillusionment.
Perhaps the most striking image of desire and attachment in its most intense and complex form, after Yayati, is Gangadatta-Devavrata-Bhisma. Bhishma and Krsna are two colossi bestriding the Mahabharatan universe, one as the mightiest bulwark of an age which does not wish to pass away; and the other as the herald of a new epoch. Bhisma’s dearest desire—and in this he parallels his ancestor Puru vis-à-vis Yayati—is to see his father happy; a father whom he has not known from birth; a father who has mutely witnessed Ganga consigning seven siblings of his to the river; a father to whom his mother hands him over in teenage and disappears. For the sake of fulfilling this desire, Devavrata sacrifices not only his paternal heritage but also his personal marital right and the right to receive the offerings of his progeny in death. But, beyond this, he also sacrifices the paramount, super-ordinate goal, the welfare of the kingdom and its people, which is the reason for the very appellative RAJA, one who looks after the general weal, not the welfare of only one father. The Tree grants his desire. Santanu is beside himself with joy, and grants his son what looks like a boon but is actually a curse: the power to hold death at bay, and to give in to its call only at will. Is it a boon at all to be not only a witness, like Gandhari and Kunti, to the suicide of one’s race, but be an active participant in it, fighting on the side which one knows to be in the wrong and against those whom one loves and knows to be in the right? Is it a boon to be able to hold death at bay and slay millions of innocent soldiers continuously over a period of ten days? The pangs of conscience multiplied over decades of silent witnessing of the poisoning of Bhima, the gutting of the lacquer house, the cheating in the dice-game, the stripping of Draupadi, the exiling of the Pandavas— are all these the scorpion-stings symbolized in the bed-of-arrows on which he like torturing himself, as if expiating his inaction, until the holocaust is over, and the suicide of the dynasty is complete?
Bhishma is also responsible for acting indiscriminately as the instrument of his stepmother for fulfilling her insensate longing for grandchildren. Instead of getting one bride for her son, he abducts all the three daughters of the king of Kasi. In doing so, he fulfils his desire to establish the supremacy of Hastinapura before all the kings. In that process, however, he also sows the seeds of his own destruction by arousing the fury of the woman scorned —-Amba. So strong is his attachment to his vow (the change of his name to Bhishma itself connotes that the two—man and vow—are one, knit together in an indissoluble bond) that it steels him against all human obligations. Caught up in that intense egotism, he destroys the lives of the three princesses of Kasi. His desire to please his father appears t have undergone a metamorphosis into an adamantine will to please himself. We find him turning into the egotistical Sublime of the epic. As for the fruits of his desire, they grow on the field of Kurukshetra, amid the quagmire of blood, sweat and gore, littered with grinning skulls and broken, bones. The Kalpataru granted his desire: his vow remained unbroken, but was it worth the cost of eighteen aksauhinis (a very large unit of counting) and a world bereft of youth, peopled by widows and infants, echoing to the sound of wailing women and lit up by the smoky flames of innumerable funeral pyres?
Between Krsna and Bhishma a strange parallelism exists. Both are the eighth-born and the only surviving sons of their parents. Each is the unquestioned leader of the opposing party in the fratricidal strife. Both are renowned not only as warriors par-excellence, but also as statesman and masters of the scriptures. Vyasa portrays two sublime moments in which these two similar, yet opposing, proponents of two dharmas, two ages, meet. One is in the Rajasuya yajna of Yudhishthira, where Bhishma explains why the arghya ought to be offered to Krsna as pre-eminent among all present. The other is on the battlefield, when Krsna, furious with Arjuna for failing to control Bhishma’s unremitting slaughter of the army, breaks his own vow and rushes to slay him. In words of exquisite beauty, Bhishma welcomes death at Krishna’s hands. But this is not granted him. The fruit of his desire is to be slain by the eunuch Shikhandi, whom he knows to be Amba reborn. But the real point is that Krsna has no hesitation in breaking his vow of remaining a non-combatant where lives need to be saved. This is where he differs totally from Bhishma’s enslavement to his vow, to his twisted dharma of loyalty to Dhritarashtra. Unlike Bhishma, Krsna never hesitates to root out wickedness, be it in the form of his kith and kin (Kamsa, Shishupala, Satadhanva), or otherwise.
Krsna appears to have had two major desires: the bringing together of carious clans such as the Vrsnis, Andhakas, Bhojas, Yadavas, Kukutas, etc. to form a single community at Dvaraka, safe from the depredations of the imperialistic ambitions of Magadha and Hastinapura. This was granted him. As its counterpoint, he witnessed his kith and kin destroy one another in a drunken orgy of senseless violence, with Krsna himself joining in that destructive spree.
His second desire, subsuming the first one, was the establishment of an empire based upon dharma, righteousness, doing away with warring petty kingdoms and bringing them all under a single sovereign of impeccable rectitude. This, too, was granted him. But what subjects were left for Dharmaraja Yudhishthira to rule over? A filed of ashes filled with millions of mourning widows! The Stri Parva is a merciless commentary on the fruit of Krishna’s desire and has found expression in words of unsurpassed poignancy voiced by Gandhari as she stands in Kurukshetra:
“See, Krsna, where Duryodhana, general of eleven aksauhinis, lies bloody-bodied, embracing his mace. His wife and Lakshmana’s mother lies fallen on his breast. My daughters-in-law, bereft of husbands and sons, are running about with hair unbound on this battlefield. Look, look there, the young bride of my Vikarna is desperately trying to drive away the flesh-greedy vultures, but is failing. Jackals have eaten away half of my Durmukha’s face. Kesava, that Abhimanyu, whom people used to describe as more valiant than even you or Arjuna, even he is slain; and mad with grief his bride, the adolescent Uttara, is crying, ” O hero, you were killed just six months after our union.” Alas, Karna’s wife has fallen unconscious on the ground, for the jackals are tearing at the body of Jayadratha, king of Sauvira, and my daughter Duhsala is trying to kill herself while abusing the Pandavas. Oh, oh, look! Duhsala, not finding her husband’s severed head, is running about madly in search of it. Krsna, see, Sakuni is surrounded by vultures, and even that wicked soul will attain heaven because he died in battle.”
What is the end of Krsna? The death of a hero, brought down in a duel of epic dimensions by an opponent of mighty prowess? Hardly, Leaving a Dvaraka filled with wailing widows and children, having seen his elder brother Balarama die, he lies down under a tree and dies of the injury caused by an arrow shot into his foot by a ere tribal hunter, a nisada, not even a warrior out on a hunt. So that is what gets from the Kalpataru along with the granting of his two desires.
This, then, is the picture of “Desire under the Kalpataru”: that desire, if powerful, does get fulfilled, but brings in its wake a price to be paid which, more often than not, outweighs the gratification experienced through fulfilment of the desire. In a way, it is very much like Stevenson’s bottle imp. It is Yayati who sums it up in words of deceptive simplicity that go straight to the mark:
Desire never ends,
Desire grows with feeding,
Like sacrificial flames
Lapping up ghee.
Become the sole lord of
The world’s paddy fields, wheat-fields,
Precious stones, beasts, women…
Still not enough.
Discard desire.
This disease kills. The wicked
Cannot give it up, old age
Cannot lessen it. True happiness
Lies in controlling it. (Adi parva, 85.12-14)
The experience of Vyasa’s Yayati is echoes by a great epic poet of the occident, John Milton in Paradise Lost:
…They, fondly thinking to allay
Their appetite with lust, instead of fruit
Chewed bitter ashes.
This is the existential experience with pervades the Mahabharata and which Vyasa, the oriental seer-poet, envisions as an outcome of man’s fascination with the Kalpataru. Vyasa creates a marvellously eidetic picture of this symbol in the words of Krsna in the Gita (15.1-3):
Mention is made of a cosmic fig-tree
Rooted above,
whose leaves are said to be the Vedas;
the knower of this fig-tree
is the knower of the Vedas.
Its branches reach out below and above,
its flowers are the objects of the senses;
below the ground flourish more roots,
giving birth to action.
You may not see its real shape,
nor its end, birth and existence.
Slice this fig-tree with non-attachment.
N.B. The extracts from the Mahabharata and the Gita are from the P. Lal transcreation (Writers Workshop, Calcutta, 1969).
Filed Under: IN THE NEWS, MAHABHARATA, STORIES, ESSAYS & POSTS Tagged With: Desire, Kalpataru, parable
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The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills – Luaus and Lies
Posted on January 14, 2014 by empressofaiken
How do you even write a recap about this episode without sounding like a damn fool? Oh well, here it goes. Kyle Richards is having her vagina waxed in front of her niece and sister while her legs are in the air and holding a dildo but is too embarrassed to call it a vagina because it sounds gross. The Richards sisters have come up with their own names for their girly pieces, like wiener and tweeter, woofer and sub-woofer. Okay, so we get past that and are treated to pole dancing lessons with students, Carlton and Brandi. Carlton is drunk out of her skull and Brandi is making herself dizzy doing upside down spins on the pole. Carlton is wearing a pair of shorts that say “F**k You” and is fondling a friend of hers because she finds women’s bodies so beautiful. She’s also impressed with Brandi’s talented performance on the pole. Carlton licks the pole. This is Bravo TV.
This is also the condition that Brandi and Carlton are in when they show up for the graduation party for a high school girl. They have the munchies, so they stuff cheeseburgers into their faces while sitting on Kim’s front steps. It’s moments like this when I so envy all of the fine people of Beverly Hills.
Brandi is shocked that some guy sent her a picture of his penis on her phone. I’m not – nope, not shocked at all. It’s gross, but Brandi seems to invite gross things and people into her life. Once inside the party, which is a luau according to Kim, they head straight for the bar and are beside themselves that Kim, who is trying to stay sober, is not serving alcohol at a party for a teenager. Joyce arrives, dressed in what looks like something right out of a Disney Does Hawaii show. Yolanda couldn’t make it and Lisa is missing, which will cause all sorts of problems later on between Lisa and Kim. Kim’s and Kyle’s sister is also absent because she’s at Buckingham Palace. Maybe she meant Kris Jenner’s house.
Brandi, having been without alcohol for most of the day, is feeling sick. She blames the Fat Burger for making her want to puke, so she heads for the bathroom for a little binge and purge cleanse. Carlton hurries after her to listen from outside the door. All she had to do was wait until she watched it on TV and could hear Brandi’s gagging and retching right along with the rest of us. The two of them decide that they should leave and stumble back outside where Carlton calls a cab and the two head to the nearest bar with a stripper pole.
Lisa is calling the ladies to ask them if they would be willing to donate gowns for girls who are unable to purchase their own for their proms. All of them agree. Joyce is in the middle of a “No Bullying” campaign photo shoot where she poses flipping off bullies. That’ll teach ’em.
The ladies gather at Lisa’s and Kim wants to know why Lisa wasn’t at her daughter’s party. Lisa doesn’t seem to remember where she was and thinks that she was in Missouri for an event for children with alopecia. Kim says that her hairdresser saw her at SUR so Lisa must be a big fat liar. Lisa says that yes, maybe she was at SUR, come to think of it. She also says that she and Ken got back late, but had sent a gift and had RSVP’d earlier saying that they couldn’t attend. Kim says that Lisa is a big fat liar. Ken then pipes up, reminding Kim about things she can’t remember, like all the times she didn’t attend events she was invited to. Okay, maybe that was a cheap shot, given that Kim has spent most of the past decade in a fog. Ken doesn’t want to apologize, he’d rather just escape, but he says that he’s just sticking up for his wife. There’s a lot of double standards with this bunch, dontcha think?
Anyway, now that Kim has proved that Lisa is a big fat liar, the rest of the group shows up. Kyle brings her dog, Roxy (recently deceased) who has eaten a bunny rabbit at Kyle’s house and Lisa runs to rescue Giggy before he turns into an hors d’oeuvre. Brandi wants to use this gathering to settle things with Joyce. The others make themselves scarce, but Lisa and Kyle don’t wander too far off. They want to listen to the showdown. Brandi presents her opening argument by saying that she’s not a racist but she is a bitch. She then says that when Joyce calls her a racist she puts the custody of her children in peril. I’m giggling a little now, because there are oh so many reasons why her children’s custody would come into question, and none of them involve Joyce. Now Joyce has her turn and presents her own talking points. She says that she doesn’t think that Brandi’s a racist but she made racist comments. She also tells Brandi that she’s tired of being bullied by her. Joyce really has to let that go. She’s not being bullied, and arguing about that, or about anything, with Brandi is a waste of time – ours and hers.
Lisa and Kyle are trying to hear what’s going on when Carlton arrives. Now, I have no idea what could come out of her closet that would be suitable for anyone’s prom, but there she is, bearing some garments. Because she’s fallen madly in love with Brandi and wants to marry her, she jumps into the conversation between Brandi and Joyce. She lectures Joyce on her use of labels and the damage they do. Brandi says, over and over, that she; not a bully or a racist, it’s just her being a bitch and if she was a bully she would have knocked out Joyce’s f**king teeth by now. Okay, that’s better. She’s not a bully or a racist – she’s a street thug. Lisa then steps in and asks them if they can just end it.
Joyce gets up and hugs Brandi, and Brandi apologizes, saying that she’ll never call Joyce anything other than her real name. In her talking head, Brandi says that Joyce shouldn’t have touched her, squealing “eeewww” at the very thought of it. And so, on Twitter and in galaxies far, far away, the war continues to this day. Like I said, this is Bravo TV.
This entry was posted in BravoTV, Real Housewives of Beverly Hills and tagged Brandi Glanville, BravoTV, Carlton Gebbia, Joyce Giraud de Ohoven, Kyle Richards, Kyle Richards Kim Richards, Lisa Vanderpump, The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, Yolanda Foster. Bookmark the permalink.
19 Responses to The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills – Luaus and Lies
She’s a thug in a too small, barely fitting cocktail dress!! In my day it was called “Picking on” Brandi has been picking on Joyce. Bully was a word we used for physical violence. And the best way not to be picked on was to be quicker with you words and meaner with your words……lesson learned in elementary school…..just saying. And Brandi can “dish it out but she can’t take it” so last week she ran away from the table. BH is rapidly going the way of the other HWs shows I don’t watch anymore.
Hope it is being a Happy New Year!!!
Oh pindy, this was a particularly nasty episode with lots of gross stuff. It’s really a shame what’s happened to this franchise. Am I crazy to hold out hope for New York?
No, I am holding out hope. This episode was so gross. I changed channels a couple of times. But I want to believe that NY will stay classy but I could already be delusional, lol!!!
disgrazia4 says:
I am just so done with the whole franchise series Empress. Looking at the previews for NYC, I’d advise you NOT to hold your breath expecting a higher level of maturity from these ladies. Teeth dropping, legs flying and vulgarities dribbling from everyones lips. Bravo seems determined to bring the it all crashing down. Where are those icky Walkers when you need them.
I am watching Bigfoot Bounty. At least there is a point to it, whether or not the chase is futile. Unlike Bravo where all the ladies chase their own angry tails.
Disgrazia, I know – I’m being so naive to think New York is going to be any better. I mean really, teeth and legs dropping all over the place. It’s such a shame. BH and NY used to be my favorites.
Is this seriously what Bravo thinks we want to watch? I miss the early seasons. I miss Vicki being upset that they sent a van that was too small to get to the airport! I miss the housewives seeming to genuinely like each other and have fun. Yes, some drama is good. Like Simon showing up at Jill’s dinner party and Ramona having a crisis about it! That was fun. Ramona and Jill playing tennis. Even cuckoo Kelly and Bethenny at the Monkey Bar. I’ll take Camille & her wacko pal Alison DuBois over this crap.
Sue, I don’ think Bravo even cares what we want. They throw real crap at us and yet, we still watch – we’re disgusted, but we look anyway. smdh 😦
I feel so good about myself when I watch these wealthy insecure women act like foolish children. And bravo to Ken for tossing shade at the self righteous a-hole Kim about not showing up! BURN!
Oh Stacey, IKR!!! Somehow our little quiet uneventful lives don’t seem so bad after all. 😉
The first sentence says it all!!! Another winner is….” It’s moments like this when I so envy all of the fine people of Beverly Hills.” Don’t we all – LOL! Enjoyed your recap Empress! Have a good day. 🙂
Hey TT, You just have to make lemonade when Bravo gives us lemons. Glad you enjoyed it and have great day, too. 🙂
krie says:
I love Ken Lisa and Giggy. I am sick of Kim and I still think she is on something. They RSVP’d and sent a gift from Tiffany’s. What the hell else does Kim want. Does she want them to kiss her ass. GMAFB. I was glad to see Ken give it back to Kim all the things she missed because of her drunk or high. She is the last one to talk about someone not coming.
And according to Lisa, no acknowledgement or thank you note for said gift.
krie, I’m on the fence about that exchange between Ken and Kim. It was a low blow but then I think about things like the way she acted in Hawaii and Paris and a few other times and then I think that maybe she had it coming. Kim and Kyle have always acted as if they are the entitled ones.
As much as it pains me to admit this, I miss the Lips McGee days when there was something real to pick apart. The K. Grammar cheating on his wife as he was trading her in for a newer model when, even though she was the biggest bitch on the cast, we could still cheer a bit in support of Camille because Kelsey was a bigger bitch.
MTH, I get it, really. Taylor was such a good villain, a la Jill Zarin. This seems like a lot of made up nonsense over absolutely nothing.
cusi77 says:
What a great Blog, Empress! You made me laugh hard! I wish I could stop watching… what makes for me worth to watch are the Blogs and the funny comments about these wanna be ladies! Besos!
Megyn White (@WhiteMegyn) says:
I love your blog because you tell it like it is – no sides, no favorites. Brandi and Carlton are definitely not ladies. As the saying goes, you can take the girl out of the trailer park… or in Carlton’s case, council estates. Brandi had better make all the money she can now; she is losing her “appeal” and any positive reputation she may have had prior to BH. She’s already past her peak of popularity and heading downwards quickly – straight to rehab! (Too bad Celebrity Rehab isn’t on any longer; that would’ve naturally been the next step of her television “career”. Or perhaps a third book installment “Drinking & Rehab”!)
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Home › Mens Jewellery › Wild & Free
Wild & Free
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History & Cultural Significance
"Considered a life-force for Native American people and a gift from the Great Spirit, this symbolic animal represents: wisdom, patience, prosperity, gratitude, abundance, strength, stability, consistency and blessing. The buffalo teaches us to remain well grounded, find strength to carry on our path, to be in harmony with Mother Earth and to connect with the sacredness of life."
Inspired by the profound wisdom of Native American culture, our buffalo skull pendant with decorative sun mandala has been intricately carved by hand using deer antler and buffalo horn. This handmade unisex tribal necklace is a very special piece and we encourage our customers to take the time and read our 'History' Menu below for further information on the cultural significance of the buffalo.
All our products come in either an envelope style gift bag, or gift box.
GENERAL HISTORY:
Buffalo, also referred to as bison, once ruled the North American plains from Canada down to Mexico and reigned supreme over their territory. They were believed to have been the biggest population of large wild mammals anywhere on Earth numbering a staggering estimated 50 million before European settlers arrived. Awestruck witnesses reported seeing 'seas of black', and feeling the ground trembling beneath their feet with the beat of literally millions of pounding hooves.
Where they once roamed wild and free, the landscape of the West dramatically changed when they were tragically hunted to near extinction during the 19th century. By the mid 1880s these majestic beasts were reduced to only few hundred, and it is estimated an astonishing 7.5 million buffalo were killed in a two year period from 1872 to 1874 alone, thus bringing an end to an important era in American history.
Some say it was the decade starting from 1874 that the butchery was at its most extreme. A major contributing factor was the building of continental railways in both Canada and the United States. These long-haul trips made it easy to reach buffalo herds further and further out in the plains. The hunting became so prevalent that both travellers and commercial hunters would shoot bison from windows or roofs of trains in the Midwest.
With the market for bison hides a booming industry during this time, massive shipments were being exported to Europe regularly. The majority of buffalo were killed for their hides alone, and the principal buyers of these hides were the steam-powered industrial factories of the time, who valued the durable quality of the leather and utilized them for use as machine belts. After hides, the next most valuable commodity to be gained from the slaughter of buffalo was their bones which were used in the manufacture of bone china, buttons, glue and fertilizer among other things. A bone seller could earn anywhere between $2.50 and $15.00 a ton, and it?s estimated the state of Kansas alone made a staggering 2.5 million dollars from the sale of bison bones between 1868 and 1881.
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Wildcat Way
The Student News Site of Royal Palm Beach High School
Latin Club News
Yvens LaRoche, Guest Writer
Latin Club, otherwise known as “Sodalitas Latina,” consists of about 30 students, and members are always working on new and exciting projects and activities. For example, we create an annual scrapbook and banners, make videos, and take special pictures. Every year, we attend an extraordinary event, the State Latin Forum, where our creativity and excitement for the Latin language and culture come alive. It is also a great experience because we get to meet other students and share our love of Latin and its origins with members from different schools. A toga party/assembly, athletic events such as water balloon tossing, running a marathon, etc. are different fun activities that you can participate in at Forum, but there are some requirements. You have to compete in either two academic events or one academic event and a creative event, where you get to show artistic and creative skills that you possess. Also, you need to complete a minimum of ten “practice” tests in each academic event that you are competing in. All in all, it’s an academic yet fun experience where you get to meet new people and become friends with others who share similar interests. In order to progress from States to Nationals, you must rank at least in the top five places in one of your academic events. We have a passion for Latin, and we hope to add new recruits to the Latin Club team at Royal Palm Beach High School throughout the years.
Around our own campus, we compete in Homecoming events such as the door banner and courtyard banner competitions, Black History month door banner competition, and we are involved in several community service projects, just to mention a few of our activities.
By the way, the best part of being a member of this academic team is that it is an impressive résumé builder on a college transcript. The major four year universities in Florida all have Classics Departments; therefore, if a student has participated and/or placed in any event at State Forum, the admissions directors are all too familiar with this prestigious academic event.
Royal Palm Beach High School 5 - Dwyer High School 8
Royal Palm Beach High School 1 - Wellington High School 6
Royal Palm Beach High School 2 - Palm Beach Gardens High School 4
Royal Palm Beach High School 5 - Jupiter High School 14
Royal Palm Beach High School 1 - Dwyer High School 12
Boys Varsity Volleyball
Royal Palm Beach High School 1 - John I. Leonard High School 3
Royal Palm Beach High School 19 - Forest Hill High School 2
Royal Palm Beach High School 0 - Santaluces High School 2
Royal Palm Beach High School 1 - Seminole Ridge High School 2
Royal Palm Beach High School 7 - Boca Raton 3
Royal Palm Beach High School 3 - Forest Hill 10
Drama Students Compete in Theatre Festival
A Successful Prom for RPBHS
Royal Palm Beach High School Competes at Invitational Track Meet
RPBHS Teacher Named Palm Beach County Teacher of the Year
HOSA Club Wins at State Championship
The Surprise Visit
The Battle (Royal Palm Beach vs. Palm Beach Lakes)
Event Of Clubs
Softball Season
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Anxiety, Podcast, Restoration Therapy
by Rhett Smith | Oct 27, 2016
Last weekend I had the humbling opportunity to speak at the first ever Restoration Therapy Conference which was held at Pepperdine University in Malibu, CA. When the founder of the model, Dr. Terry Hargrave asked med to present on anxiety and the Restoration Therapy model, I knew it was an invitation that I couldn’t refuse. I consider Dr. Hargrave not only a mentor, but also a friend, so I definitely wanted to participate in anything he was doing. But I also knew I would be anxious for several months leading up to my presentation. And I was. But it was a great time to be with a bunch of other therapists and researches who are on the ground floor in the ongoing development of the Restoration Therapy model.
I won’t go into details in this post since you will hear more in this episode. But I’ve been using Restoration Therapy as my primary therapeutic model since about 2010 when I was first exposed to it co-leading marriage intensives at The Hideaway Experience in Amarillo, TX. I did not know the model as Restoration Therapy at the time, but rather as The 5 Days to a New Marriage model…and essentially, the Pain and Peace Cycle model.
But no model has changed my life more than this one. And no model has helped my clients more than this one. I have experience and training and proficiency in a lot of different models, but I believe this is the best one out there for a lot of reasons…many of which I will go into in this episode.
This is a 2 part episode, and in these episodes I explore the concept of anxiety and how it differs from fear…and why that distinction is so important. I look at what anxiety is and how to define it. I talk about how to normalize anxiety for your clients and reframe it as an opportunity for growth. I talk about how to get at the roots of anxiety using the RT Model and understanding the work of the Pain and Peace Cycle. I talk about how to take the Pain and Peace Cycle and practice it daily to create transformation. And then I talk about the important tools and resources that can help people manage their anxiety.
But for now, what you must know is this. In the Restoration Therapy Model, anxiety is not a feeling, but rather a coping behavior. We don’t feel anxious, rather we become anxious. We do anxiety. But there is some other feeling that drives the anxiety. And that’s important, otherwise we could end up just chasing the relief of the symptoms (though important), rather than dealing with the root issues of anxiety. Keeping that in mind, it’s important to understand that anxiety is about issues concerning individual(love/identity) and relational personhood (trust/safety). And they are about “ultimate concerns” in life such as faith, life, death, purpose, meaning, relationships. Whereas, fear is about specific situations and circumstances.
So as I spell out in these episodes, my fear growing up was speaking in front of people because I would stutter. But my anxiety was that I would feel inadequate, be alone, not measure up. And I spent most of my life trying to relieve my fears (speaking), rather than understanding and dealing with my anxiety (coping behavior) and what was at the root of it, which was those feelings of inadequacy (feelings).
It may not seem like an important distinction at the outset, but actually has huge implications in terms of one getting healing when it comes to their anxiety. And I think you can see this distinction play out both in faith and biblical perspectives, as well as psychological and secular perspectives…so I address these integrative pieces as well.
So whether you are a therapist, lay counselor, pastor, friend, spouse, parent, colleague….who wants to help someone with anxiety…or whether you are trying to help your own anxiety…these episodes are for you.
Please listen and subscribe to my podcast in the following places, and then leave a comment letting me know what you liked about the show, or what guest you would like to hear from. Thank you so much for your support.
iTunes — Stitcher
Player FM — Libsyn
Link to Episode 80
People and Resources Mentioned in the Episodes
Restoration Therapy Model — in Episode 21 I talk about Restoration Therapy and how I use it for my work with individuals, couples, churches and organizations.
Restoration Therapy Conference
Terry Hargrave — in Episode 55 I interview Dr. Hargrave
Pain Cycle (this is Episode 42)
Peace Cycle (this is Episode 43)
Sharon Hargrave
Steve and Rajan Trafton
The Hideaway Experience
The Anxious Christian by Rhett Smith
The Concept of Anxiety by Soren Kierkegaard
Fear and Trembling by Soren Kierkegaard
The Meaning of Anxiety by Rollo May
Be Not Anxious: Pastoral Care of Disquieted Souls by Allan Huge Cole Jr.
Things Might Go Terribly, Horribly Wrong: A Guide to Life Liberated from Anxiety by Kelly G. Wilson and Todd Dufrene
The Courage to Be by Paul Tillich
Existential Psychotherapy by Irvin D. Yalom
Rhett Smith Podcast 14: Simplifying Life, Family Togetherness, and Creating Margin for Exploration -...
Rhett Smith Podcast 35: How to Navigate the Morning Routine in Different Stages of Life (Follow Up t...
Rhett Smith 81: Making Your Marriage a Priority in a Culture of Busyness -- Assessing Marital Drift ...
Allan Hugh Cole Jr anxiety anxiety counseling anxiety therapy fear Irvin D. Yalom Kelly G. Wilson marriage intensives pain cycle Paul Tillich peace cycle Restoration Therapy Restoration Therapy Conference Rollo May Sharon Hargrave Soren Kierkegaard stress Terry Hargrave The Anxious Christian The Hideaway Experience The RT Dialogue Todd Dufrene worry
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Home » Posts tagged "Peabody Coal"
Tag: Peabody Coal
Thunder in the Streets: #ClimateStrike!
By sparki March 15, 2019 March 15, 2019 Announcements, Featured News, Front, RT Newswire
A couple of days ago, I posted a blog stating that the Green New Deal needed massive social movement to pressure, and even, break political and corporate institutions preventing real action on climate change….. AND…. HERE IT IS!
Today, in over 120 countries, youth have caused a thunder on the streets with the Climate Strike.
And the fossil fuel sector is feeling it. Yesterday, in Houston at an annual gathering of energy analysts, industry executives and other predatory capitalists, Glenn Kellow, the CEO of Peabody Coal, made a remarkable statement: “No doubt that environmental activism plays a part. Certain funds, particularly in Europe and particularly in the U.S. taking certain views means that the capital that has been available in the past may not be there in the future.” Kellow said there are 300 coal power plants under construction in Asia alone, but he acknowledged that new growth may be undermined by environmental campaigners who have raised the costs for coal production.
But while industry plots and schemes their backlash, here’s some images from today’s #Climate Strike:
"Police tried to close the entrance to The Mall leading to Buckingham Palace but they just keep on coming… #ExtinctionRebellion #climatestrike #schoolstrike4climate", @LdnRebellion.#YouthStrike4Climate #FridaysForFuture @Strike4Youth @UKSCN1 @ukyccpic.twitter.com/kmfmj5YSdR
— Extinction Rebellion ?? (@ExtinctionR) March 15, 2019
Sign at the Minnesota State Capitol: "I want you to panic" –@GretaThunberg #climatestrike #FridaysForFuture pic.twitter.com/LE6ePabqXS
— Eric Holthaus (@EricHolthaus) March 15, 2019
Hundreds of young people striking outside the MA State House right now! The energy here is amazing and inspiring! ? (video better with volume on) #ClimateStrike pic.twitter.com/xXWZb8zPzh
— Mass Sierra Club (@MassSierraClub) March 15, 2019
Incredible – at least 25,000 joined today's #FridaysforFuture #ClimateStrike in #Berlin!! @GretaThunberg has unleashed a force to be reckoned with. Young people around the world demand a future without climate chaos. Adults, it's well and truly time to act! #schoolstrike4climate pic.twitter.com/izoRJ85UzJ
— Fossil Free Deutschland (@FossilFreeDe) March 15, 2019
LOOK AT THE SIZE OF THE MARCH IN BRUSSELS!!! Young people are rising in 2052 places in 123 countries on every continents.
There is no time to waste. We must #ActOnClimate. #climatestrike #klimaatstaking #FridayForFutures #GreenNewDeal @GretaThunberg ? via @JohnHyphen pic.twitter.com/3CGLMDYE8v
— Mike Hudema (@MikeHudema) March 15, 2019
Just one group of the many, many groups of New York City students streaming towards City Hall for the #ClimateStrike rally. pic.twitter.com/ltErsMqyZT
— Jeff Coltin (@JCColtin) March 15, 2019
Thousands of youths take over Market Street in San Francisco chanting, “No coal! No oil! Keep your carbon in the soil!” Youth #ClimateStrike pic.twitter.com/UN36lReGPP
— Antonia Juhasz (@AntoniaJuhasz) March 15, 2019
This is only the beginning. Let’s sustain and grow it.
Scott Parkin is a climate organizer working with Rising Tide North America. You can follow him on Twitter at @sparki1969
Tagged CERAWeek, climate change, climate strike, direct action, Extinction Rebellion, fossil fuels, Green New Deal, Peabody Coal, prestige worldwide
Eleven Arrested At Peabody Coal’s Annual Shareholder Meeting
By sparki May 8, 2014 July 8, 2014 Announcements, Featured News, RT Newswire, RT Press Releases
11 Activists Arrested At Peabody Coal’s Annual Shareholder Meeting in Clayton
Community members from St. Louis, Black Mesa, and Rocky Branch Unite to Hold Peabody Accountable for Destroying Communities
ST. LOUIS–Today, for the second time in less than a week, activists were arrested at a Peabody Coal demonstration. 75 people rallied at Peabody’s annual shareholder meeting at the Ritz Carlton in Clayton. Members of the local Take Back St. Louis campaign were joined by Dineh (Navajo) Peabody resisters from Black Mesa and residents from Rocky Branch, Illinois who are currently fighting Peabody’s mine expansion there.
Representatives from Take Back St. Louis, Justice for Rocky Branch, and Tonizhoni Ani had bought shares of Peabody in order to attend the shareholder meeting and voice their concerns to CEO Greg Boyce, but were not allowed into the main meeting room with Peabody executives. When they were placed in an “overflow room,” they walked out of the meeting. The entire rally then marched to the entrance of the Ritz Carlton to deliver a letter outlining the group’s demands to Greg Boyce. Eight people were arrested while trying to enter the Ritz Carlton to deliver the letter. Two other people were arrested attempting to enter the shareholder meeting from the overflow room.
Today’s protest comes less than a week after Wash U Students Against Peabody’s 17 day sit-in ended when seven students were arrested trying to enter their Board of Trustees meeting to encourage Peabody CEO Greg Boyce to resign from the University’s Board of Trustees.
“I am here today to continue to spread the message that the Wash U Students Against Peabody started spreading with their actions over the past weeks,“ said Marshall Johnson, Black Mesa Resident and member of Tonizhoni Ani. “We need to stand up to Peabody on Black Mesa and here in St. Louis so our children and grandchildren and all future generations can have clean water and clean air. I am grateful to Wash U students for standing up for a respectful future for us all.”
Recently, Peabody has been engaging in unprecedented attempts to undermine St. Louis’ local democracy. In late March, Peabody sued to keep the citizen-driven Take Back St. Louis initiative off the ballot and away from voters. The ballot initiative would stop the city’s policy of giving Peabody and other big corporations large tax breaks. Now, in the past few days, Peabody’s lobbyists and Mayor Slay’s lobbyists have inserted amendments into Missouri Senate Bill 672 that would ban the city of St. Louis from “by ballot measure impos[ing] any restriction on any public financial incentive authorized by statute.” The amendment is a blow to local control, stripping the city of the ability to determine its own tax regulation.
“The ballot initiative process exists so that we as city residents can bring our concerns to our government and other city residents. Peabody Coal and Mayor Slay are blatantly attempting to subvert our local democratic process,” said Joretta Wilson, member of the Take Back St. Louis campaign. “We collected 22,000 signatures to put the Take Back St. Louis ballot initiative on the ballot, and now Peabody and Slay’s lobbyists are trying to make the initiative illegal before St. Louis residents even get a chance to vote on the initiative.”
Today’s demonstration united the local Take Back St. Louis campaign with communities fighting Peabody across the nation, including Dineh (Navajo) resistors from Big Mountain/Black Mesa in Arizona, and the Justice for Rocky Branch campaign in Southern Illinois. For decades, these communities have experienced Peabody using its financial power to influence democracy and ensure continued profits without concern for human lives, homes, and futures.
“I am here today to ask Mr. Boyce why our homes and our land are being destroyed for Peabody’s bottom line, “ said Judy Kellen, one of the Rocky Branch residents who tried to enter today’s shareholder meeting. “Peabody is making profits at the expense of our future and the health of future generations.”
This year marks the 40th year of Indigenous resistance by the Diné (Navajo) communities of Big Mountain and Black Mesa, Arizona to forced relocation from ancestral homelands due to Peabody Coal’s massive strip mining. The effects of the relocation meet all the criteria of the UN’s internationally recognized definition of cultural genocide. Diné (Navajo) resistors on Black Mesa are planning a one-week training camp starting May 16th to demand “not one more relocation” of Indigenous people by Peabody. Members of the Take Back St. Louis campaign will be traveling to Black Mesa for the camp, continuing the increased unity amongst groups fighting Peabody across the country.
More information on Take Back St. Louis is available here: www.TakeBackStLouis.com
More information on the Big Mountain Training Camp is available here: Big Mountain Spring Training Camp
Photos are attached. Video available upon request.
Activists are available for interviews all day.
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Tagged Big Mountain, Black Mesa, climate change, direct action, Greg Boyce, MORE, Peabody Coal, RAMPS, rising tide, Rocky Branch, Take Back St. Louis
St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Climate change is about corporate power
By sparki August 24, 2012 August 24, 2012 RT Newswire
This article was originally posted in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Climate change is about corporate power
By Jeff Ordower
The sense of urgency is palpable.
Last week, 50 strangers turned out for a meeting on climate change at Central Reform Congregation. The Post-Dispatch played a critical role in that organizing through its use of the editorial page.
There is motion starting, but I worry about the where and the how. Many in the movement argue this is simply a matter of lifestyle changes. We will never be able, though, to change the behavior for the 3 million people in the region. More importantly, not all of those people will be able to buy local or drive less. While low-income folks might want to save gas, their driving to a job far away is necessary to providing an income for their household. As we are seeing this summer, senior citizens are simply not able to live without air conditioning. And to be perfectly honest, most of us (myself included) like some decadent components of our lifestyles and will never give up our creature comforts of good food or travel.
None of us can make lasting changes in our lives out of guilt. We should not feel guilt over the emissions that are causing global warming. Powerful corporations made it this way.
My parents can talk about the vast network of streetcars that existed around St. Louis. What happened to these streetcars across the U.S.? Automobile companies lobbied to eliminate streetcar tracks and privilege the roads and cars. The advantages accrued by unsustainable extractive companies continue to grow. Oil companies receive billions in subsidies while renewable energy providers receive almost nothing. There are huge tax breaks going for natural gas hydrofracturing (fracking) extraction, but nothing for commercial weatherization. Banks and global finance capital help perpetuate this system and make huge bets on coal extraction, yet a start-up solar company requires government assistance. Even the food we eat is traded by hedge funds on the secondary market as commodities produced by agribusiness.
The system is doing its job. It tells us that global warming is about our choices as consumers, rather than going after the root cause of our predicament. Here in St. Louis, we have an incredible opportunity to tackle corporate power head on. The largest private sector coal company in the world, Peabody Coal, is headquartered here in St. Louis, as is Monsanto, the largest agribusiness giant. In addition to Peabody, there are four other coal companies in the St. Louis area.
You would think that when trying to attack global warming here, people would want to challenge these local corporations. The corporations, though, play local politics pretty smart. Rather than paying its fair share of taxes, Peabody spends millions on the sponsorship of civic activities, including chairing this year’s United Way appeal. Who can argue with such a “charitable” corporation?
When we talk about building a movement, this is no movement in the abstract. This is about the coal companies, and their interest in garnering profits, rather than creating sustainable jobs. This is about the banks, and their interest in funding the extractive industries rather than adopting a path towards sustainability. And most importantly, this is about a corporate and institutional culture in the St. Louis region that considers the largest climate destroyers the most important engines of our region’s economic growth, rewarding them with plum positions on the RCGA, the United Way and on the board of Washington University, our most prestigious local university. Those whose behavior we must change are people who we can name — Greg Boyce, Hugh Grant, Mark Wrighton, Gary Dollar, Stephen Leer, Joe Reagan.
The people writing in to the Post-Dispatch are right. We need a movement. We need direct action. We need civil disobedience in a Selma-Montgomery-style movement. History shows that power structures do not change without bold, courageous and mass action. We ask those who are interested to join us in building a movement that compels our civic leaders and corporations to build a sustainable region for all of us, and most importantly for our future generations.
Jeff Ordower is the executive director of Missourians Organizing for Reform and Empowerment, organizes with Rising Tide North America and has been a community or labor organizer for the past 20 years.
Tagged climate change, Coal, Peabody Coal, St. Louis
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Chennai International Airport - IATA Code - MAA
Chennai International Airport Address- G. S. Satellite Road, Meenambakkam, Chennai, Tamil Nadu 600027
The capital city of Tamil Nadu, Chennai is both an important business hub and a vibrant cultural center. Before it was rechristened Chennai, the city lived its life as Madras, when it was founded by the English East India Company in 1639. It went on to become one of the most significant administrative centers of the British Empire, and later, a hub of Tamil politics,culture and economy. Today's Chennai might not seem welcoming to a first-time visitor, but given a proper introduction by someone who knows Chennai then you can discover its rich tradition of music, dance, cinema, crafts and food. Serene Beaches, a motley assortment of architectural wonders and numerous eateries offering delectable local as well as international fare—there are many places to visit in Chennai that will fill you up with everlasting memories. Relive the days of the Chola and Chalukya dynasties at the Government Museum, take a walk down India’s first fortress built by the East India Company in the 17th century, or observe classic Dravidian architecture at the Kapaleshwar temple at Mylapore. For those who love outdoors, the campus of the Theosophical Society at Adyar is the place to be. Take a pleasant stroll at the tree-lined pathways before heading towards San Thome Church. A striking contrast to the Dravidian architecture of the Kapaleshwar temple, this neo-Gothic cathedral is a treat to the eyes. Offering an eclectic mix of temples, churches, mosques, parks, and forts, a tour of Chennai will leave you coming back for more. The city’s historic temples, churches and markets, and art-hubs ensure that visitors have plenty of things to do in Chennai. Pick up arty souvenirs from Dakshinachitra, explore the city’s Government Museum housed in a stunning British-era building, stroll on the stunning Marina Beach, or go wildlife spotting at the Guindy National Park—Chennai enthrals you with a variety of activities and experiences. We tell you where to go, and what to see when you are in Chennai. The best time to visit Madras city is from November to February i.e. during the winter months.
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Home Mobile Phones Samsung Galaxy S6 Design Concept and Specification
Samsung Galaxy S6 Design Concept and Specification
Samsung is going to release their next flagship in the beginning of 2015 and there are a lot of news and rumors coming out everyday. We wonder how the Samsung’ Galaxy S6 will look like? Will Samsung produce an all metal frame Galaxy S6 or the plastic body will be back.
Samsung release Galaxy Alpha and recently the Galaxy A series smartphones with complete metal frame. I hope Samsung Galaxy S6 will also follow the same design concept.
The design will be premium and sleek. Designer Yasser Farahi showed what he thinks the Galaxy S6 will look like. It is a very good render of Galaxy S6, which is yet to be announced.
Galaxy S6 Specification Prediction
He predicts that the phone will be 6.7 mm thick and will measure around 140 grams. The prediction is that the back cover will be non-removable and the phone will feature micro-SIM and micro-SD card. Galaxy S6 will have a sharp Quad HD display with a 5.2 inch diagonal and a 20 megapixel back camera with 4K video recording. He stated the front camera will be 3.7 mega pixel but I think it will be at least 5 megapixel as the Galaxy A series smartphones.
The processor will be 64 bits, probably a QualcommSnapdragon 810 Octa-core processor (four Cortex-A57 and Cortex-A53 cores) with Adreno 430GPU. Galaxy S6 will also feature a fingerprint scanner and a heart rate monitor.
On connectivity front the phone will have LTE Category 6, WiFi, Bluetooth and NFC.
What do you think about the Galaxy S6 Prediction?
Galaxy S6 Battery Replacement – How to Replace and Fix
Galaxy S6 On the Verge of Receiving Marshmallow Update
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Resident Evil 2 Original Avatars Will Be Coming to the Game in March
You could poke someone's eye out with those classic costumes.
byShabana Arif
Resident Evil 2 players will be able to use classic skins from the original 1998 game, in the remake at launch if they pick up special promotional items, according to a sighting on ResetEra.
The news was announced at a Resident Evil 2 Launch party event, stating that it is part of a special Japanese promotion.
A PSN points card was seen that will unlock the original Claire and Leon skins for free. The skins will reportedly be available for everyone on March 22, however, it is unclear if this promotion is limited to Japan, or if it will come to other regions post-launch.
Making old character model skins available in newer releases in a series has been done previously, with Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain, which featured MGS1's Solid Snake, and Shadow of the Tomb Raider, which featured Lara's classic outfits from the numerous original Tomb Raider games.
Resident Evil 2 releases on Jan. 25 on PC, PS4, and Xbox One, so make sure to check out the available pre-order bonuses while there's still time.
Shabana is a freelance writer who enjoys JRPGs, wine, and not finishing games. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram.
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Resident Evil 2 Remake Beginner's Guide and Essential Tips: Codes, Ammo, and More
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« At What Cost?
Washington….What? »
I guess we could continue to beat the already-dead horse about the Apple Cup….but I think you, us and everyone else with an opinion has weighed in. There really isn’t much left to say as we wait for the shoe to drop.
With that, might as well see what else is going on…links-style. And believe it or not, there are some things happening other than the move of this game.
From Grippi, the Cougs had a scrimmage on Saturday, as spring ball enters the last week. It sounded like things went alright, although the ranks are awfully thin right now. Tardy with one carry before heading to the sideline with ice on his left leg? James Montgomery didn’t even play? Tons of linebackers, like Andy Mattingly and now Louis Bland, several defensive backs, etc, all out? Levenseller and Lobbestael still not part of scrimmage action? Wonderful.
Well, at least Kevin Lopina is getting a lot of reps, and with the thin running back situation, there were a lot of throwing opportunities. Lopina turned in some fairly decent numbers – 12-for-17, 162 yards, plus the only offensive TD of the scrimmage. 162 yards? That would be good for Lopina’s third-best total from all of last season (174 yards at Baylor, 167 vs. UW). So it is fair to say he’s playing pretty well given the extra opportunities.
But it is also fair to say that overall, the entire team is far from full strength, and maybe even a shell of the team that we will see in the fall. No offense to the current players who are out busting their butts on the field right now, but everyone knows they are missing some pretty key parts to this thing.
Moving on, from the same Grippi – WSU recruit Brock Motum has reaffirmed his pledge to Ken Bone, Ben Johnson and WSU! VERY, very good news here. The 6-9 Aussie will be ready to roll next fall.
Talk about a productive beginning for Bone – three of the four recruits, all regarded as the most important three of the four, all decide to still come to Pullman? No defections on the current roster? Retaining Ben Johnson? It’s ALL GOOD right now. And don’t forget, our own Kaddy met Ken Bone a week ago, and you can read all about it here.
Read on for more…
Meanwhile, off the field, UW is getting new Field Turf. Big deal, right? We already got ours a couple of years ago, as did Qwest Field last year. But the difference? PAINTED END ZONES! That’s right, UW is getting gold end zone paint, not just the green with their name colored in. So I ask, WHERE ARE OUR CRIMSON END ZONES!?!? Not a big deal, but still. I heard one time that painting the end zones a solid color was actually pretty expensive, over 100K or something crazy, so that’s part of the reason we don’t do it.
Washington State senate bill SB6116 has moved out of committee. It now heads to the senate, where they will vote, then if it passes there, to the house. If it passes all phases, then it becomes reality. Why point that out? Because SB6116 is the bill that has the stadium “language” in it, where not only would Key Arena get the long-desired renovation funds, but the door also opens for Husky Stadium. There is thought that the momentum is building behind this thing, and could be passed this week by the senate. From there it must pass the house, or, it could be “tacked on” to another house bill, such as house bill 2252. Should be interesting.
Here’s a question for you. If the bill means the Seattle Center and Key Arena get a major overhaul, but, UW gets their money to renovate their stadium, what do you think from a WSU angle? I know the NBA has been out of sight, out of mind for many of you. I know I survived without the league this winter. Would have been nice to have the NBA back, but with college hoops keeping some interest, and then with the return of Griffey to the M’s, things have blended nicely. As much as I loved having the Sonics in town, I have to admit I didn’t miss it a whole lot. Now part of that was by design of the prior ownership, where they did every possible thing they could to alienate the fanbase and get the hell outta dodge, on their way to “paradise” in OKC…you know, Oklahoma City? The center of the basketball universe? The Thunder sure put them on the map.
Anyway, it’s a double-edged sword. Having Steve Ballmer own the Sonics in an updated Key Arena and a major Seattle Center overhaul would be a great thing for Seattle and the NW. But it also means UW wins in their tax money grab, and they get their $300 million palace on the lake. We’ll see what happens, but it should be an interesting final week in the legislature.
Around the PAC-10:
USC had a scrimmage on Saturday, and their QB battle is still seriously ON. FOUR high school All-Americans are competing for the job?? Wow, tough times at Troy.
Oregon State is talking about money, and what might or might not be cut in these trying times. Even with Reser Stadium naming rights, a renovated stadium, and all their donors, they are struggling just like anyone else right now. It’s a good read to see how our state cousins in Corvallis are fairing.
The Quacks had a scrimmage on Saturday as well (seems like everyone had scrimmages Saturday) and it went “just OK” according to Chip Kelly. Jeremiah Masoli had a big day though, three TD passes plus a 51-yard run. Anyone who watched Oregon late last year and the improvement in their offense as Masoli grabbed that job can see that they got pretty scary by the end of the season. Who knows what they can do with a full season of him leading the offense, but he looks born to run that system.
Cal had their spring game on Saturday. The defense sounds clearly ahead of the offense, and threw a lot of blitzes at the O. Kevin Riley was “okay” according to their recap, but maybe a little indecisive if not disappointing?
UW had a scrimmage too – did we mention everyone had a scrimmage Saturday? – and they took a big step towards an undefeated 2009 with a running game so dominant, so brilliant, it blinded those who dared to stare directly at it….OK, not really. But they did churn out 174 rushing yards. LOOK OUT LSU!
Locker played OK – 10-16 for 133 yards (hey, LOPINA WAS BETTER!) – but he sounds like he is starting to get more comfortable in the pro-style offense.
“He’s starting to understand the nuances of the position within our system,” Sarkisian said. “I thought he was much more comfortable today than he’s been the entire spring. The one pick was a miscommunication between him and (Aguilar), I thought the rest of the day he had a really good day. He felt comfortable, distributed the ball well, had great huddle presence, had good command at the line of scrimmage, I just though he handled the day well.”
OK, it must be said – Is it me, or are they serving up super-sized helpings of hype to anyone who cares out there? I guess the change from the closed off, angry, guarded Ty Willie to the Twitter King in Sarkisian, with his arms wide open to all comers, is a big part of it. But the media seems to be playing along. Whatever. We’ll see soon enough if it’s the real thing.
That’s about it for a Monday. Enjoy it, and GO COUGS!
This entry was posted on April 20, 2009 at 12:57 pm and is filed under 2009 Spring Football, Brock Motum, Ken Bone, Kevin Lopina, PAC-10 spring football, Paul Wulff. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
11 Responses to “Monday Links”
Screw the NBA. They spit in your face when they left so why welcome them back into your bed. It is like the long-time wife goes off and screws some young guy, but then says if you refurb the house I will come back. And if the NBA bill means UW gets their tax money then HELLS NO!
Ditto Anony #1
Gibby Says:
CKB is awesome baby. One could not ask for better starts than this. Hope he can coach as well as he represents. I see all 3 of the new baby cougs playing next year.
The fussies are all hype. Kjr nurses off theit teets and it is in their interests to have them hype the team = more listeners. Kiro is all sports now and the fussy flagship has major competition now. Kjr will pull out the stops to jack off Uw. U thought it was awful before wait until football season. It is an unlistenable train wreck anywho. Tracy taylor is hot though and she likes the cougs, from eastern washington.
Done with david stern’s nba. It is headed for a lockout so, let the league impload, oust little napoleon and then pick up the pieces at a discount. Getting in now is a terrible idea as Ballmers group would overpay to move a team. Not the time to buy right now so let them get desperate.
Just heard an update from the Save Our Sonics guy. Turns out this bill has been modified to have stronger language and it is NOT a dual-stadium issue. The bill out of the senate now is only for the Key remodel, not the UW renovation. Phew.
Now it will move on to the house where it will meet some major opposition.
Sedi, are you saying that UW’s funding side of the Senate Bill is dead?
Lucas, that is what Brian Robinson said on kjr about a hour ago. These bills are supposedly different and the language was updated in committee to make it stronger towards Key renovation with SB 6116. Robinson said UW is going through what Wally Walker and Howard Schultz went through, in that you take some lumps the first few years in Oly. But his words were “dead”.
But man, with slimy politicians, you just never know.
calebcherry Says:
Today’s ESPN ‘lets do everything we can to kill time, not talk about the draft… but talk about the draft’ focus was on “Mock Draft for the Ages.”
A pretty fun read, and the only reason I’m linking through this blog is because they’ve got two of our big cougar arms listed on the draft board of all time college QBs.
http://bit.ly/19luzu
I’m glad to see that coming out of college, Bledsoe and Leaf, are seen as physically athletic and capable of being valued as a high pick to play at the NFL level.
Glad to hear UWs money grab might be ‘dead.’ Fairness doesn’t even enter the realm of my critique now. When education on every level is as strapped as it is in our state… not even the biggest football fan in me can stomach state money going towards anything but making classrooms smaller than they were the year before.
Also watching a brief WR spotlight on the top 8-10 WRs on the NFL network, I can’t help but thing that if this were last year and B-Gibs had left he would slated well above the names like Derek Williams (PennSt) and Brian Robiskie (OhioSt … I’m not going to say THEEE before that school, ever) which were listed in this years group.
I really hope to hear his name called this weekend and a chance to grow into a 4th, maybe even 3rd WR spot on a competitive team.
Does anyone think he’s still talented enough to make a team and hopefully get that payday he deserves in a few years?
Can’t wait for this weekend! GO COUGS!
CKB is really impressing me. He has the POTENTIAL to make us say Tony who? The way has stepped in so foar and seamlessly solidified the current and future roster left to him by Bennettdict Arnold is impressive. Even more encouraging is his stated commitment to not doing the entire “scrap that sytem it’s not mine” thing most coaches who are worried about making a quick resume enhancement stop seem to take. He has mentioned that there should be a gradual transition form Bennettdict ball to Bone ball.
This tells me that he understands a combination of things. One, that he knows these kids are built perfectly for the transition to Boneball. They have at least a year of slow down offense under their belts. Capers, Casto and Klay also have the athleticism to get out run, so if there is a clear opportunity let the thoroughbreds out they should have the go ahead to do so. Last year the onlytime we saw this potential was in the UCKLA game. I look forward to seeing a little more freedom next year.
The retention of Big Ben means so much more than the Aussie pipeline continuing. The possibility of the pack defense cintinuing as we know in the near future is cool but I look forward the cool mutation we can see in the future.
As good of a job that CKB did in keeping his team together I am(a
homer) believer so far in CWP. The gains that we saw in the training table/weight room alone tell me that this culture is changing. We can temper our expectations but for one will not temper my optimism. these kids have been thorough a crucible last year and I feel that fire has made them stronger. Time will tell.
On the Sonics front, This bill will cut out the Fuskie Muttlake provision. I too feel burned by Napolean Stern. That being said this is the time to get the deal done. As Sedi mentioned the Senate has cut the hated Defeateds money grab out of the legislation. To quote Brian Robinson “it is DEAD.” However as much as it would make burn a hle in my stomach if the purple and piss got their money,it might have worked given us a window of opportunity to get some for us. Personally I don’t want to take that chance. Anyway, enough of the the Stiffmiesters long winded ramblings.
Good work Stiffy. Also Bone hired Curtis Allen, a strong move to help recruit the puget sound region (he’s well-regarded anyway but a former UW player and Tacoma product). I like his addition.
As far as CPW, it does sound good. And while they are thin as hell right now, the words have been good in terms of intensity and physical nature of play, something lacking last year. It will be a better year, whether that translates in the final score or not we’ll see, but I have no doubt it will be better.
On the Husky deal, I’m still officially worried! I know Robinson’s words were strong today, very strong to throw out “it’s dead” in terms of Husky stadium. But I also heard from someone at WSU this afternoon, and they have someone in Oly telling them that there could be some slight-of-hand going on here and that UW may still get what they are after. I don’t know any other details than that, but let’s just say that some at WSU aren’t sharing the same sentiment as Robinson today.
And, Bob Condotta is going as far as to call the same bill the “Husky Stadium Bill”. Check it out:
http://blog.seattletimes.nwsource.com/huskyfootball/2009/04/20/finally_some_movement_on_husky.html
Doesn’t sound as dead as Robinson says it is! Lots of mixed messages right now.
Sedi,
you are right in your earlier statements that you neve know woth slimy politicians. That being said I figure I might have heard some hooping from the the rest of my family. My brother is in deep with the Grinch. He is now a the senior lawyer with a division of the transportation department and his wife is a judge appointed by Pristine Gregliar. Like my blogfatehr friend Hooty, I grew up with the stench of purple and piss on my Crimson and Grey soul. I haven’t heard any squawking from the relatives yet so there is hope that the coastoes won’t get the money grab and the
ac and a new toilet bowl to flush their dreams away in.
PS..
House Bill 6116 has made it out of the ways and means committee and this is the one that excludes the Fuskie funding!
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Daniel J. Schneider
In My Bag
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Expired Film Day
Photographs, blog and reviews by a film photographer
Kodak Brownie Hawkeye: A cube of Art Deco Bakelite
By Daniel J. Schneider Posted: April 21, 2015
The Kodak Brownie Hawkeye camera, a robust block of Bakelite that oozes Art Deco, is a paragon of modern camera design. (Daniel J. Schneider)
The Kodak Brownie Hawkeye is a true classic, one of the cameras that visually defines an era with its art Deco styling and simplicity. Cheap and plentiful, it’s an icon of its time.
As if it were machined from a single billet of solid Bakelite, the Brownie Hawkeye is a basically a near-cubic brick of the hard plastic, with a lens in the front and a button on the side. The corners are rounded, of course, as it was produced in the age of Deco — from 1949 to 1961.
The Brownie Hawkeye was a popular camera for young photographers in the 1950s, originally priced at $5.50 for non-flash models and $7.00 for flash models.
The Accelerated Schools on Cook Street in Denver. The private school occupies the historic Fitzroy mansion, a Richardsonian Romanesque-style with ties to the Iliff family which was completed in 1893. (Daniel J. Schneider)
It takes 620 roll film. As you know, 620 is just 120 film rolled onto a smaller spool with thinner ends. Many people believe Kodak did this just to reap the rewards of selling the only film that would work in these cameras, or making a mint in licensing when other companies (at the time, probably Agfa, Ilford and Ansco) had to make their own to compete. Sound business, and I don’t blame them — but 50 years later it leaves guys like me rerolling 120 film onto our hoarded 620 spools.
The Brownie Hawkeye has a simple meniscus lens and a rotary shutter that fires at about 1/30 sec. in instant mode. It also has bulb mode, which you activate by lifting up the grey button on the left (as you look down at the viewfinder). When lifted, the button exposes an “L,” presumably for “Long.”
The viewfinder, referred to as “brilliant” by many sources, is similar to a TLR design. There’s a small lens on the front of the camera, a mirror inside, and a large magnifying element on the top of the camera.
Looking down, you’ll see a blurry reproduction of what the camera sees. Depending on the age of your Brownie Hawkeye, it could be quite dim, too (I have two, and they are both quite dim). It’s backwards and not nearly as big as your TLR or top-down SLR, and it’s frankly not that easy to frame a shot. Fortunately, what you see isn’t quite what you get — the finished frame appears to be about 25 percent larger than what you see in the viewfinder.
A sunken greenbelt along Hampden Avenue in Denver follows Little Dry Creek, walled off from the concrete sprawl on both sides. (Daniel J. Schneider)
Very late models had an acrylic viewfinder with framing guides molded into it — they have nothing to do with the edges of the frame, but are meant to help budding photographers center and appropriately size the ‘area of interest.’
There are several reasons these particular Brownies are popular with lomographers and toy camera photographers today, not the least of which is just how many of them there are — Kodak probably made a couple million of them. They can be found in almost any antique store in America, and were marketed in plenty of other countries, too. Consequently, they’re cheap.
Beyond that, the lenses and viewfinders in all but the last models were made of glass, and are very easy to take apart. Because they are easy to disassemble, you can remove and clean the lens. If you do this, be careful to keep the lens the right way around. Or don’t.
Some people like to ‘hack’ their Brownie Hawkeyes by reversing the lens. This flipped-lens effect makes the images slightly softer in the center, and somewhat more soft than that around the edges. Some people do this on purpose, though it may require a bit of effort (I have not tried this). There is also a square piece of flat glass in front of the lens which will fall out if you take the camera apart — be careful not to break it (one of mine is cracked).
A winding maze of narrow aisles bedecked with gas masks and a cutaway training model of a B.A.R., the Broadway Surplus store in Denver has everything you need for camping, fishing, survival, and all kinds of other things. (Daniel J. Schneider)
As you can see, the edges are already a bit softer than the center, as is common with meniscus lenses. The falloff doesn’t become noticeable until you get pretty close to the edge, though, and even then it’s not really that bad. Overall, sharpness is much higher than many of my other box cameras, such as the Imperial Debonair, getting just a bit dreamy in the outer 20% or so of the frame. The Brownie Hawkeye’s fixed focus is from 5 feet to infinity according to the manual.
The fixed aperture appears to be about f/16, and the focal length is reportedly around 85mm. Despite its good looks, there isn’t a whole lot to this camera that doesn’t apply to most Brownies. Well, it was designed by period genius and industrial design legend Arthur H. Crapsey.
All but the earliest models accept a Kodak flash attachment with one pin and one screw, such as the Kodalite Flashholder. Loading film is done by flipping the little switch at the base of the handle and sliding the back cover off. It has no double-exposure prevention and no tripod mount.
The Brownie Hawkeye was available in a variety of outfits over the years, most including a flash attachment along with bulbs, film and batteries. A field case and a couple lens attachments were also available.
A jogger takes a moment to relax in the grass of Observatory Park in Denver, with the dome of the observatory visible over the trees. (Daniel J. Schneider)
This smaller observatory was reportedly built to allow younger students to find their feet before winning a place under the larger dome. The main observatory houses a 26-foot-long, 20-inch-diameter aperture, f/15 Alvan Clark-George Saegmuller refracting telescope built in 1894. (Daniel J. Schneider)
With its steep concrete sides and jagged roofline, Englewood United Methodist Church is a great example of Denver’s Mid-Century Modern heritage. I don’t think it was used in Sleeper, but it probably should’ve been. (Daniel J. Schneider)
While I’ve seen some others’ example photos that look fairly stellar, as you can see I didn’t find the lens quite that sharp. Now that could be the result of dirt in my own examples, or owe to the fact that the lenses underwent changes through the years, and mind aren’t in as good of shape as they could be.
Personally, I found the smallish “bright” viewfinder difficult to frame a shot with. It didn’t seem possible to get straight horizons and decent composition out of the camera, especially not knowing quite how much of the frame was going to be outside the viewfinder area. The curvature of the viewfinder glass is deceptive sometimes. I just wasn’t terribly impressed with the overall function.
That said, It’s lovely and feels pretty good in the hand. I think I just am starting to prefer box cameras with an eye-level viewfinder. The Kodak Brownie Hawkeye can’t be beat for looks and availability, tho, and it’s certainly easy to use.
It’s easy, really. Just like any other box camera. Pick one up today! (Or don’t!)
The University of Denver’s historic Chamberlain Observatory was completed in 1890, also in the Richardson Romanesque style. (Daniel J. Schneider)
Kodak Brownie Hawkeye camera
Topics: 6x6, Bakelite, box camera, brownie, Kodak, medium format, toy camera
Kodak Six-20 Bulls-Eye (Brownie) box camera
Ansco Shur-Flash box camera review and photos
Antique Kodak Baby Brownie Special toy camera
What’s it worth? How to estimate the value of old film cameras
The Canon AE-1 and Canon A-1: Game-changing SLRs
Pentax K1000 SE: Why is it so good?
Mamiya ZE-2: Don’t waste your money, probably
All contents Copyright © 1996-2020 Daniel J. Schneider. All rights reserved.
This material may not be copied, published, broadcast, rewritten, redistributed or manipulated without permission for any purpose.
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Revista Brasileira de Epidemiologia
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ORIGINAL ARTICLE • Rev. bras. epidemiol. 22 (Suppl 3) 28 Nov 20192019 • https://doi.org/10.1590/1980-549720190011.supl.3 copy
Improvement of the unspecified external causes classification based on the investigation of death in Brazil in 2017
Adauto Martins Soares Filho
Grupo de Pesquisa em Epidemiologia e Avaliação de Serviços, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte (MG), Brasilhttp://orcid.org/0000-0002-0917-7473
Cintia Honório Vasconcelos
Secretaria de Vigilância em Saúde, Ministério da Saúde - Brasília (DF), Brasilhttp://orcid.org/0000-0002-9635-0501
Aglaêr Alves da Nóbrega
Isabella Vitral Pinto
Edgar Merchan-Hamann
Programa de Pós-Graduação em Saúde Coletiva, Universidade de Brasília, Brasília (DF), Brasilhttp://orcid.org/0000-0001-6775-9466
Lenice Harumi Ishitani
Elisabeth Barboza França
Programa de Pós-Graduação em Saúde Pública, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte (MG) - Brasilhttp://orcid.org/0000-0001-6984-0233
Unspecified causes of death are among the traditional indicators of quality of information.
To verify the performance of the 60 cities in the Data for Health Initiative project and to analyze the reclassification of unspecified external causes of death (UEC).
Using the 2017 records from the Mortality Information System, the proportion and percent change in UEC were compared after investigation between project cities and other cities, and the percent of reclassification to specific external causes was calculated.
The project cities comprised 52% (n = 11,759) of the total UEC in Brazil, of which 64.5% were reclassified after investigation, whereas the other cities reclassified 31% of UEC. Results were similar for men, youth, blacks, metropolitan cities, the Southeast region, and deaths attested by forensic institutes. In the project cities, pedestrian traffic accidents were external causes with greater reclassification. In men, the UEC was reclassified to homicides (23.8%) and accident of terrestrial transportation (ATT) (11.1%), with motorcyclists (4.4%) and pedestrians (4.3%) being the most prominent. In women, these causes were changed to other accident causes (20.8%), ATT (10.6%) and homicides (7.9%). UEC changed to ATT (18.3%) in the age groups of 0-14 years old and to homicides (32.5%) in the age groups of 15-44 years.
The project cities obtained better results after investigation of UEC, enabling analysis of the reclassification to specific causes by sex and age groups.
Cause of death; Mortality registries; External causes; Data accuracy; Information systems; Death certificates
Cause-of-death statistics are important sources of information to monitor population health and to establish public policy. However, death certificates (DC) do not always provide accurate evidence about the circumstance. Unknown, nonspecific causes, or garbage causes (GC) are among the traditional quality indicators of mortality reporting11. Rao C, Lopez AD, Yang G, Begg S, Ma J. Evaluating national cause-of-death statistics: principles and application to the case of China. Bull World Health Organ. 2005;83(8):618-25.)- (33. Cendales R, Pardo C. Quality of death certification in Colombia. Colombia Med. 2018;49(1):121-7. http://dx.doi.org/10.25100/cm.v49i1.3155
http://dx.doi.org/10.25100/cm.v49i1.3155... . Many of these DC conceal the true underlying cause of death44. Soares Filho AM, Cortez-Escalante JJ, França E. Revisão dos métodos de correção de óbitos e dimensões de qualidade da causa básica por acidentes e violências no Brasil. Ciênc. Saúde Coletiva. 2016;21(12):3803-18. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/1413-812320152112.13682015
http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/1413-812320152... , and clarification is needed through field investigations.
Redistribution of GC to defined causes is essential for the calculation of estimates made by the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study55. Murray CJL, Ezzati M, Flaxman AD, Lim S, Lozano R, Michaud C, et al. GBD 2010: design, definitions, and metrics. Lancet. 2012;380(9859):2063-66. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(12)61899-6
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(12)... ), (66. GBD 2017 Causes of Death Collaborators. Global, regional, and national age-sex-specific mortality for 282 causes of death in 195 countries and territories, 1980-2017: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017. Lancet. 2018;392(10159):1736-88. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(18)32203-7
https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(18)32... ). Periodically reviewed, GC include ill-defined (IDC) and unspecific causes belonging to different chapters of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD), which are, therefore, of little use from a public health perspective77. Ishitani LH, Teixeira RA, Abreu DMX, Paixão LMMM, França EB. Qualidade da informação das estatísticas de mortalidade: códigos garbage declarados como causas de morte em Belo Horizonte, 2011-2013. Rev Bras Epidemiol. 2017;20(Supl 1):34-45. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/1980-5497201700050004
http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/1980-549720170... ), (88. GBD 2016 Brazil Collaborators. Burden of disease in Brazil, 1990-2016: a systematic subnational analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2016. Lancet. 2018;392(10149):760-75. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(18)31221-2
https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(18)31... ).
In 2016, Brazil recorded more than 1.3 million deaths, 33.6% with some type of GC, and 155,861 external causes, with 15.4% unspecified external causes (UEC). In about 80% of these cases, the DC was issued by institutes of forensic medicine (IFM) in the Northeast and Southeast regions99. Brasil. Ministério da Saúde. Painel de monitoramento da mortalidade por causas básicas inespecíficas ou incompletas (Garbage Codes) [Internet]. 2018 [citado em 21 dez. 2018]. Disponível em: http://svs.aids.gov.br/dantps/centrais-de-conteudos/paineis-de-monitoramento/mortalidade/codigos-garbage/?s=MSQyMDE3JDIkMSQzNSQ3NiQxJDEkMCQyNzAwMCQwJDAkNiQyJDcwMDAwMSQwJDI=
http://svs.aids.gov.br/dantps/centrais-d... . The identification of external causes between IDC1010. França E, Teixeira R, Ishitani L, Duncan BB, Cortez-Escalante JJ, Morais Neto OL, Szwarcwald CL. Causas mal definidas de óbito no Brasil: método de redistribuição baseado na investigação do óbito. Rev Saúde Pública. 2014;48(4):671-81. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0034-8910.2014048005146
http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0034-8910.201... )- (1212. Campos D, França E, Loschi RH, Souza MFM. Uso da autópsia verbal na investigação de óbitos com causa mal definida em Minas Gerais, Brasil. Cad Saude Publica. 2010;26(6):1221-33. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0102-311X2010000600015
http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0102-311X2010... and the frequency of UEC, considered quality indicators of the records produced by IFM, indicate insufficient access to public services and quality of health care1313. Cerqueira D. Mortes violentas não esclarecidas e impunidade no Rio de Janeiro. Econ Apl. 2012;16(2):201-35. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S1413-80502012000200001
http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S1413-80502012... )- (1515. Cunha CC, Teixeira R, França E. Avaliação da investigação de óbitos por causas mal definidas no Brasil em 2010. Epidemiol Serv Saúde. 2017;26(1):19-30. http://dx.doi.org/10.5123/s1679-49742017000100003
http://dx.doi.org/10.5123/s1679-49742017... .
In assessing levels and patterns of mortality from external causes, it is vital to mitigate information bias due to its under-enumeration in the Mortality Information System (MIS). The estimation of external causes, based on data retrieval, allows to generate more reliable indicators, while managers undertake structuring actions to reduce unspecified causes of death44. Soares Filho AM, Cortez-Escalante JJ, França E. Revisão dos métodos de correção de óbitos e dimensões de qualidade da causa básica por acidentes e violências no Brasil. Ciênc. Saúde Coletiva. 2016;21(12):3803-18. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/1413-812320152112.13682015
http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/1413-812320152... .
Brazil has been expanding MIS data quality improvement and, since 2005, the reduction of IDC has been its main focus1010. França E, Teixeira R, Ishitani L, Duncan BB, Cortez-Escalante JJ, Morais Neto OL, Szwarcwald CL. Causas mal definidas de óbito no Brasil: método de redistribuição baseado na investigação do óbito. Rev Saúde Pública. 2014;48(4):671-81. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0034-8910.2014048005146
http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0034-8910.201... ), (1212. Campos D, França E, Loschi RH, Souza MFM. Uso da autópsia verbal na investigação de óbitos com causa mal definida em Minas Gerais, Brasil. Cad Saude Publica. 2010;26(6):1221-33. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0102-311X2010000600015
http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0102-311X2010... ), (1515. Cunha CC, Teixeira R, França E. Avaliação da investigação de óbitos por causas mal definidas no Brasil em 2010. Epidemiol Serv Saúde. 2017;26(1):19-30. http://dx.doi.org/10.5123/s1679-49742017000100003
http://dx.doi.org/10.5123/s1679-49742017... . Implemented in 2017, the Data for Health project aims to improve the diagnosis of cause of death in Brazil in cooperation with death surveillance teams from 60 municipalities through the investigation of GC. The UEC investigation uses as central source of information collection the IFM, recognized for having detailed technical data, often not transcribed to the DC1616. Simões EMS, Reichenheim ME. Confiabilidade das informações de causa básica nas declarações de óbito por causas externas em menores de 18 anos no município de Duque de Caxias, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil. Cad Saúde Pública. 2001;17(3):521-31. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0102-311X2001000300008
http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0102-311X2001... ), (1717. Mello Jorge MHP, Gotlieb SLD, Laurenti R. O sistema de informações sobre mortalidade: problemas e propostas para o seu enfrentamento, II - mortes por causas externas. Rev Bras Epidemiol. 2002;5(2):212-23. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S1415-790X2002000200008
http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S1415-790X2002... .
This paper therefore aims to verify the performance of the 60 cities of the Health Data project and to analyze the reclassification of unspecified external causes of mortality after investigations.
From the 2017 MIS records, an evaluative study of the investigations of deaths by UEC was conducted in the sixty cities of the Data for Health project, comparing the results of these cities before and after the intervention, and also using the other Brazilian cities as a comparative group.
The selection of the sixty cities in the project activities was made by adhesion agreement. From different population sizes, from all regions of the country, the cities had teams to investigate deaths reported in 2017. Composed of service professionals with experience in investigation of records, the team retrieved data in notifying units, such as IFM and hospitals, according to reference protocol for field work, using standard investigation form. From a list of deaths with GC considered a priority, deaths occurring in residents of the municipality were identified. Cities with up to 500 GC deaths per year should investigate all cases.
In some Brazilian cities not participating in the project, there was a continuation of the investigation routine of epidemiological deaths from UEC, with active search in reports of the IFM and sometimes civil police and press, but carried out without standardized protocol. The capitals have a systematic search activity for traffic accident victims in MIS, which may not translate into qualification of mortality data. In all cities in the country, the ICD-10 chapter 18 death investigations with IDC - infant deaths and maternal causes - were maintained in accordance with the death surveillance guidance policies set out in institutional documents and ordinances of the Ministry of Health1818. Brasil. Ministério da Saúde. Portaria nº 1.119, de 5 de junho de 2008. Diário Oficial da União [Internet]. 6 jun. 2008 [citado em 2 set. 2019]. Disponível em: http://bvsms.saude.gov.br/bvs/saudelegis/gm/2008/prt1119_05_06_2008.html
http://bvsms.saude.gov.br/bvs/saudelegis... ), (1919. Brasil. Ministério da Saúde. Portaria nº 72, de 11 de janeiro de 2010. Diário Oficial da União [Internet]. 12 jan. 2010 [citado em 2 set. 2019];7:29. Disponível em: http://bvsms.saude.gov.br/bvs/saudelegis/gm/2010/prt0072_11_01_2010.html
http://bvsms.saude.gov.br/bvs/saudelegis... .
The priority research UEC and object of analysis of this work were grouped according to GBD 20152020. GBD 2015 Mortality and Causes of Death Collaborators. Global, regional, and national life expectancy, all-cause mortality, and cause-specific mortality for 249 causes of death, 198-2015: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015. Lancet. 2016;388:1459-544. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(16)31012-1
https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(16)31... for the ICD-102121. Organização Mundial de Saúde. Classificação estatística internacional de doenças e problemas relacionados à saúde-décima revisão. 9a ed. São Paulo: Edusp; 2003. into: unspecified ATT (V87.0; V87.1; V87.4-V88.1; V88.4-V89.9); accident with unspecified transportation (V99); other unspecified accident causes (X59); unspecified homicide (Y09); and undetermined intention (Y10-Y34). It is noteworthy that a group of UEC was not the object of this study, as it is considered non-priority in the protocol: W76; X40-X44; X47.0; X49; Y85-Y86; Y87.1-Y87.9; Y89. In the reclassification, the defined causes were the ATT (pedestrians: V01-V04 and V06-V09, cyclist: V10-V19, motorcyclist: V20-V29, vehicle occupant: V30-V79, V87.2 and V87.3, and other specified ATT: V05 and V80-V86), other traffic accidents (V88.2, V88.3 and V90-V98), other specified accident causes (W00-W75, W77- X39, X45, X46, X47.1-X47.8, X48, X50-X58), suicides (X60-X84, Y87.0), specified homicides (X85-Y08), legal intervention (Y35), and other external causes (Y40-Y84, Y88, Y90-Y98). In addition, reclassification to natural and ill-defined causes (A00-R99) was verified. Figure 1 shows a schematic representation flowchart of the external cause reclassification process.
Flow diagram of schematic representation of deaths from injuries reclassified in Brazil, 2017.
The criterion to consider alteration of the cause of death was the change of the original underlying cause after the investigation, in MIS, according to the reclassification method proposed by França et al. (1010. França E, Teixeira R, Ishitani L, Duncan BB, Cortez-Escalante JJ, Morais Neto OL, Szwarcwald CL. Causas mal definidas de óbito no Brasil: método de redistribuição baseado na investigação do óbito. Rev Saúde Pública. 2014;48(4):671-81. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0034-8910.2014048005146
http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0034-8910.201... .
In the characterization of the UEvC, the following variables were also analyzed: gender (male; female), age group (0 to 14; 15 to 44; 45 to 74; 75 or more), race/color (white; black), population size of the municipality (<50 thousand; 50 to 100 thousand; ≥ 100 thousand), metropolitan region (yes; no) and large regions (North; Northeast; Southeast; South; Midwest), place of occurrence (hospital/other health facilities; domicile/street and others), and certificate (IFM; others).
Intervention performance was analyzed by comparing results from participating cities (Project cities) and non-project participants (Other cities). Statistical inference was estimated for each proportion by 95% confidence intervals (95%CI). The hypothesis of no difference (H0) of proportions was refuted when the confidence intervals did not overlap, that is, the alternative hypothesis (H1) was assumed that the proportions were significantly different in the comparisons. The interval estimation is given by the following formula:
x ± z σn
This study was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of the Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (CAEE 75555317.0.0000.5149). The study used non-nominal secondary data, according to Resolution No. 510 of April 7, 2016, which provides for research standards2222. Brasil. Ministério da Saúde. Resolução nº 510, de 7 de abril de 2016. Diário Oficial da União [Internet]. 2016 maio 24 [citado em 29 ago. 2019]. Disponível em: http://bvsms.saude.gov.br/bvs/saudelegis/cns/2016/res0510_07_04_2016.html
From the 60 cities in the project, 48 are in metropolitan regions and, of these, 20 are capital cities; and 52 have a population of over 100,000. In these municipalities reside 35% of the Brazilian population, distributed in the five regions, mainly Southeast and Northeast. These cities registered 31% (n = 34,558) of deaths from external causes in 2017, and of these 34% (n = 11,759) were originally UEC. In cities not participating in the project, there were 10,972 deaths from these causes (Table 1 and Figure 1). Ignored data of the analyzed variables ranged from 0.1% to 3%.
Change after investigation of classification of the unspecified injuries according to the city in the Project and demographic variables, Brazil, 2017.
Research in the 60 cities corrected deaths from external causes from 34,558 to 35,745 (3%) due to migration of events between natural and unnatural causes, where 453 external causes were reclassified into natural causes, and 1,640 natural causes were reclassified as external causes (Figure 1).
From the total UEC, 64.5% (95%CI 63.7; 65.4) changed the cause after investigation in the project cities and 31% (95%CI 30.2; 31.9) in the other cities (data not shown). These differences were repeated for the variables gender, age group, race/color, place of occurrence and attestant. The largest proportions of changes in the project cities were observed in males (67.7%), age group 15 to 44 years old (73.2%), black race (67.6%) and attestant IFM (69, 1%) (Table 1).
The cities of the project also had higher proportions of changes in undetermined intent deaths (71.3%, 95%CI 70.4; 72.2) and ATT or unspecified traffic accidents (42.2%, 95%CI 38.4; 46.0), in municipalities with more than 100 thousand inhabitants (64.5%, 95%CI 63.7; 65.4), metropolitan areas (65.5%, 95%CI 64.6, 66.4) and the Midwest (85.2%, 95%CI 81.1; 89.3) and Southeast (69.7%, 95%CI 68.8; 70.7). It is noteworthy that the data by region and type of UEC were not presented in table (Table 1).
After reclassification of external causes of mortality, the cities of the project presented a higher percentage variation for all types of defined external causes when compared to other cities, with statistically significant differences, except for other traffic accidents and other external causes. In the project cities, the variation was higher in legal intervention (616.8%), in accidents with pedestrian (72.5%), cyclists (71.8%), and motorcyclists (50.5%); while the percentage variation of specified suicides and homicides was 45.5% and 16%, respectively. There was a reduction of 71.2% (95%CI −73.3; −69.0) of undetermined external causes in the project cities, and 39.5% in other cities (95%CI −41.3; − 37,7). The latter group also exhibited a decrease in unspecified ATT/transportation and other unspecified accident causes (Table 2).
Percent variation of the reclassification from injuries after investigation, according to cause and city in the Project, Brazil, 2017.
In the project cities, other accident causes and unspecified homicides were the UEC that remained with a higher proportion without clarification, for both gender (Table 3). In men, the UEC were mainly reclassified to specified homicides (23.8%, n = 2,177) and ATT (11.1%, n = 1,016), with emphasis on motorcycle (4.4%, n = 399) and pedestrian (4.3%, n = 389) accidents. Specified homicides were clarified in 27% (n = 2,114) of undetermined intentions and 20.3% (n = 57) of unspecified homicides. Other unspecified accident causes migrated to other specified accident causes (6.4%, n = 31) and motorcycle accident (4.4%, n = 21). Unspecified ATT/unspecified transport accidents changed to motorcycle accident (21.9%, n = 123) and motor vehicle occupant (8.7%, n = 49).
Reclassification (%) after investigation of deaths from unspecified injuries by gender, in the cities of the Project, Brazil, 2017.
In females, the UEC migrated mainly to other specified accident causes (20.8%, n = 544), ATT (10.6%, n = 276), mainly pedestrians, and specified homicides (7.9%, n = 205). Undetermined intentions were reclassified especially to other specified accident causes (24.3%; n = 522) and specified homicides (8.8%; n = 144). Unspecified homicides clarified changed to specified homicides (35.7%) in their entirety. Other unspecified accident causes migrated to other specified ones (6.5%; n = 21). Unspecified ATT/unspecified transportation accidents were reclassified to motorcycle (20.2%, n = 20) and pedestrian (13.1%, n = 13) accidents (Table 3).
Regarding age group, in the 0-14 age group, informed UEC migrated mainly to ATT (18.3%), especially pedestrians (n = 29), other specified accident causes (n = 36) and specified homicides (n = 31). In the 15-44 age group, migration occurred mainly for specified homicides (32.5%, n = 1,929) and legal intervention (9.7%, n = 575), while in the 45-74 age group, occurred for other specified accident causes (18.8%, n = 638) and specified homicides (11.2%, n = 381). And in the 75 years and older group, the main changes happened for other specified accident causes (29.6%, n = 607) and pedestrians (4.6%, n = 94). The UEC groups that remained with the highest proportion without clarification were undetermined intentions (38.2%, n = 784) and other unspecified accident causes (18.7%, n = 384) in the 75 years and older group, and unspecified homicides (7%, n = 414) and unspecified ATT/traffic accidents (7.2%, n = 425) aged 15 to 44 years (Table 4).
Reclassification (%) of deaths from unspecified injuries after investigation, by age group, in the cities of the Project, Brazil, 2017.
The performance in improving the diagnosis of UEC of death was, on average, 2.1 times higher in the project cities than in the other cities. This performance is repeated mainly in men, youth and black people, from metropolitan cities, Southeast and Midwest regions of the country, and for deaths attested by the IFM.
In the 60 cities, reclassification of causes after investigation corrected deaths from external causes by 3%, while study GBD2323. Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation. GBD Results Tool [Internet]. 2016 [citado em 2 jan. 2019]. Disponível em: http://ghdx.healthdata.org/gbd-results-tool
http://ghdx.healthdata.org/gbd-results-t... ) corrected by 9% for Brazil. In addition to reclassifying all GC, it is noteworthy that GBD also corrects underreporting of deaths. Opposed to the results obtained in the project cities, the GBD also estimated a higher proportion of traffic accidents and lower homicides for 2016.
In men, the UEC were reclassified mainly for homicide and ATT, especially those involving motorcyclists and pedestrians. In women, they migrated to other specified accident causes, ATT, especially pedestrians, and homicides. The clarification of undetermined intentions in the state of Rio de Janeiro resulted in the largest increase, especially of traffic accidents and homicides in 20142424. Lopes AS, Passos VMA, Souza MFM, Cascão AM. Melhoria da qualidade do registro da causa básica de morte por causas externas a partir do relacionamento de dados dos setores Saúde, Segurança Pública e imprensa, no estado do Rio de Janeiro, 2014. Epidemiol Serv Saúde. 2018;27(4):e2018058. http://dx.doi.org/10.5123/s1679-49742018000400011
http://dx.doi.org/10.5123/s1679-49742018... . These differences may indicate heterogeneity in the results of investigations conducted in different areas of Brazil, due to different demographic and socioeconomic characteristics.
Regarding age, the UEC migrated mainly to ATT in the 0-14 age group, to homicides at 15-44 years old, and to other specified accident causes in the other age groups. Pedestrian accidents are among the ATTs with higher percentage increase after investigation at all ages, similar to that estimated by the GBD2323. Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation. GBD Results Tool [Internet]. 2016 [citado em 2 jan. 2019]. Disponível em: http://ghdx.healthdata.org/gbd-results-tool
http://ghdx.healthdata.org/gbd-results-t... study This demographic profile found in the clarification of the UEC is similar to the findings in the state of Rio de Janeiro and in Belo Horizonte and in places where data from external causes are routinely investigated through the retrieval of information from IFM and newspapers77. Ishitani LH, Teixeira RA, Abreu DMX, Paixão LMMM, França EB. Qualidade da informação das estatísticas de mortalidade: códigos garbage declarados como causas de morte em Belo Horizonte, 2011-2013. Rev Bras Epidemiol. 2017;20(Supl 1):34-45. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/1980-5497201700050004
http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/1980-549720170... ), (1414. Villela LCM, Rezende EM, Drumond EF, Ishitani LH, Carvalho GML. Utilização da imprensa escrita na qualificação das causas externas de morte. Rev Saúde Pública. 2012;46(4):730-6. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0034-89102012005000041
http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0034-89102012... ), (2424. Lopes AS, Passos VMA, Souza MFM, Cascão AM. Melhoria da qualidade do registro da causa básica de morte por causas externas a partir do relacionamento de dados dos setores Saúde, Segurança Pública e imprensa, no estado do Rio de Janeiro, 2014. Epidemiol Serv Saúde. 2018;27(4):e2018058. http://dx.doi.org/10.5123/s1679-49742018000400011
Different scenarios in the municipalities and multiple study designs have an impact on the reclassification of the cause. In addition to the repertoire of non-specific causes, other conditions determine its success, such as the species and composition of data retrieve sources. Since 1990, most research conducted in different parts of the country has been restricted to events of undetermined intent and unspecified accidents, with the IFM as the central source44. Soares Filho AM, Cortez-Escalante JJ, França E. Revisão dos métodos de correção de óbitos e dimensões de qualidade da causa básica por acidentes e violências no Brasil. Ciênc. Saúde Coletiva. 2016;21(12):3803-18. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/1413-812320152112.13682015
http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/1413-812320152... ). In these institutes, police reports, autopsy reports and referral files were available from health facilities1616. Simões EMS, Reichenheim ME. Confiabilidade das informações de causa básica nas declarações de óbito por causas externas em menores de 18 anos no município de Duque de Caxias, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil. Cad Saúde Pública. 2001;17(3):521-31. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0102-311X2001000300008
http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S1415-790X2002... ), (2525. Drumond M Jr, Lira MMTA, Freitas M, Nitrini TMV, Shibao K. Avaliação da qualidade das informações de mortalidade por acidentes não especificados e eventos com intenção indeterminada. Rev Saúde Pública. 1999;33(3):273-80. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0034-89101999000300008
http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0034-89101999... ), (2626. Matos SG, Proietti FA, Barata RCB. Confiabilidade da informação sobre mortalidade por violência em Belo Horizonte, MG. Rev Saúde Pública. 2007;41(1):76-84. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0034-89102007000100011
Certain data sources, by their own characteristics, result in unique diagnoses, such as police inquiries that favor the identification of homicides1717. Mello Jorge MHP, Gotlieb SLD, Laurenti R. O sistema de informações sobre mortalidade: problemas e propostas para o seu enfrentamento, II - mortes por causas externas. Rev Bras Epidemiol. 2002;5(2):212-23. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S1415-790X2002000200008
http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S1415-790X2002... ), (2424. Lopes AS, Passos VMA, Souza MFM, Cascão AM. Melhoria da qualidade do registro da causa básica de morte por causas externas a partir do relacionamento de dados dos setores Saúde, Segurança Pública e imprensa, no estado do Rio de Janeiro, 2014. Epidemiol Serv Saúde. 2018;27(4):e2018058. http://dx.doi.org/10.5123/s1679-49742018000400011
http://dx.doi.org/10.5123/s1679-49742018... )- (2626. Matos SG, Proietti FA, Barata RCB. Confiabilidade da informação sobre mortalidade por violência em Belo Horizonte, MG. Rev Saúde Pública. 2007;41(1):76-84. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0034-89102007000100011
http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0034-89102007... , and news from newspapers that favor the capture of ATT accidents1414. Villela LCM, Rezende EM, Drumond EF, Ishitani LH, Carvalho GML. Utilização da imprensa escrita na qualificação das causas externas de morte. Rev Saúde Pública. 2012;46(4):730-6. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0034-89102012005000041
http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0034-89102012... . Medicalrecords are an important source for clarifying causes, especially inspecialized units77. Ishitani LH, Teixeira RA, Abreu DMX, Paixão LMMM, França EB. Qualidade da informação das estatísticas de mortalidade: códigos garbage declarados como causas de morte em Belo Horizonte, 2011-2013. Rev Bras Epidemiol. 2017;20(Supl 1):34-45. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/1980-5497201700050004
http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/1980-549720170... and associated with home investigation2727. França EB, Cunha CC, Vasconcelos AMN, Escalante JJC, Abreu DX, Lima RB, Morais Neto OL. Avaliação da implantação do programa "Redução do percentual de óbitos por causas mal definidas" em um estado do Nordeste do Brasil. Rev Bras Epidemiol. 2014;17(1):119-34. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/1415-790X201400010010eng
http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/1415-790X20140... . It is observed greater efficiency ofusing multiple sources in redefining the causes of death44. Soares Filho AM, Cortez-Escalante JJ, França E. Revisão dos métodos de correção de óbitos e dimensões de qualidade da causa básica por acidentes e violências no Brasil. Ciênc. Saúde Coletiva. 2016;21(12):3803-18. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/1413-812320152112.13682015
http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/1413-812320152... . Note thatthis study found natural and ill-defined causes reclassified to external causes. By coinciding with previous findings1515. Cunha CC, Teixeira R, França E. Avaliação da investigação de óbitos por causas mal definidas no Brasil em 2010. Epidemiol Serv Saúde. 2017;26(1):19-30. http://dx.doi.org/10.5123/s1679-49742017000100003
http://dx.doi.org/10.5123/s1679-49742018... , it contradicts studies that disregard external causes in the redistribution of IDC, as other authors have pointed out1010. França E, Teixeira R, Ishitani L, Duncan BB, Cortez-Escalante JJ, Morais Neto OL, Szwarcwald CL. Causas mal definidas de óbito no Brasil: método de redistribuição baseado na investigação do óbito. Rev Saúde Pública. 2014;48(4):671-81. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0034-8910.2014048005146
http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0102-311X2010... ), (2828. Mello Jorge MHP, Gotlieb SLD, Laurenti R. O Sistema de Informação de Mortalidade: problemas e propostas para o seu enfrentamento, I - causas naturais. Rev Bras Epidemiol. 2002;5(2):197-211. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S1415-790X2002000200007
http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S1415-790X2002... ), (2929. Teixeira CLS, Klein CH, Bloch KV, Coeli CM. Reclassificação dos grupos de causas prováveis dos óbitos de causa mal definida, com base nas autorizações de internação hospitalar no Sistema Único de Saúde, estado do Rio de Janeiro, Brasil. Cad Saúde Pública. 2006;22(6):1315-24. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0102-311X2006000600020
http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0102-311X2006... ).
Some hypotheses have been enumerated about the explanatory conditions for IFMs not incorporating information necessary to define the death circumstance in the DC. The technical-legal character of the institutional management of deaths with unnatural causes certified by an institute linked to the Secretariat of Security and Justice, the IFM, which is distinct from the epidemiological purpose of the health sector, may play a central role. Dissonant logics conditiondifferent rhythms and criteria in the process of defining the diagnosis by external causes, so essential to the elaboration of public policies. Prosecutors are alleged to be punitive for possible failures in the exercise of their profession for the use of DC in lawsuits; in turn, the clarification of the cause of death would depend on examinations and the performance of the police inquiry44. Soares Filho AM, Cortez-Escalante JJ, França E. Revisão dos métodos de correção de óbitos e dimensões de qualidade da causa básica por acidentes e violências no Brasil. Ciênc. Saúde Coletiva. 2016;21(12):3803-18. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/1413-812320152112.13682015
http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/1413-812320152... ), (1515. Cunha CC, Teixeira R, França E. Avaliação da investigação de óbitos por causas mal definidas no Brasil em 2010. Epidemiol Serv Saúde. 2017;26(1):19-30. http://dx.doi.org/10.5123/s1679-49742017000100003
http://dx.doi.org/10.5123/s1679-49742017... ), (1616. Simões EMS, Reichenheim ME. Confiabilidade das informações de causa básica nas declarações de óbito por causas externas em menores de 18 anos no município de Duque de Caxias, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil. Cad Saúde Pública. 2001;17(3):521-31. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0102-311X2001000300008
http://dx.doi.org/10.5123/s1679-49742018... . These questions reinforce the importance of actively seeking autopsy results and establishing flows and procedures for reporting information on the DC issued by the IFM, until the MIS reaches satisfactory levels of data quality on causes of death.
In addition, it is necessary to improve both the completion of the appropriate sequence of death causes in the DC, as well as the codification and selection of the underlying cause, besides medical and police information in the documents for the referral of bodies for autopsy, which is essential to the effective work of the coroner1414. Villela LCM, Rezende EM, Drumond EF, Ishitani LH, Carvalho GML. Utilização da imprensa escrita na qualificação das causas externas de morte. Rev Saúde Pública. 2012;46(4):730-6. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0034-89102012005000041
http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0034-89102007... ), (3030. Messias KLM, Bispo JP Jr, Pegado MFQ, Oliveira LC, Peixoto TG, Sales Madeline AC, et al. Qualidade da informação dos óbitos por causas externas em Fortaleza, Ceará, Brasil. Ciênc Saúde Coletiva. 2016;21(4):1255-67. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/1413-81232015214.07922015
http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/1413-812320152... . Result from incorrect ordering of the causal chain, GC-coded DCs may provide evidence of the valid cause of death from underlying causes noted in the DC lines, corresponding to those that contributed to death3131. Foreman KJ, Naghavi M, Ezzati M. Improving the usefulness of US mortality data: new methods for reclassification of underlying cause of death. Popul Health Metr. 2016; 14:14. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12963-016-0082-4
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12963-016-0082-... .
The experience of other countries points out ways to deal with all these issues, such as the establishment of a deadline of up to 6 days after death to fill the sequence of causes in the DC, favoring the incorporation of examinations and police investigation results. The implementation of a prior death certificate for civil registration purposes, without initial mention to the cause of death2424. Lopes AS, Passos VMA, Souza MFM, Cascão AM. Melhoria da qualidade do registro da causa básica de morte por causas externas a partir do relacionamento de dados dos setores Saúde, Segurança Pública e imprensa, no estado do Rio de Janeiro, 2014. Epidemiol Serv Saúde. 2018;27(4):e2018058. http://dx.doi.org/10.5123/s1679-49742018000400011
http://dx.doi.org/10.5123/s1679-49742018... , could be a possibility to assist in the correct registration of external causes. As well as an online death certification system combined with medical training programs3232. Miki J, Rampatige R, Richards N, Adair T, Cortez-Escalante J, Vargas-Herrera J. Saving lives through certifying deaths: assessing the impact of two interventions to improve cause of death data in Perú. BMC Public Health. 2018;18(1):1329. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-018-6264-1
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-018-6264-... . Finally, information systems need to work together to ensure cooperation and integration of service provision by public institutions. Access to legal documents through certification of vital events is the fundamental purpose of the systems, as they provide evidence of event characteristics based on which governments determine rights3333. Jackson D, Wenz K, Muniz M, Abouzahr C, Schmider A, Braschi MW, et al. Civil registration and vital statistics in health systems. Bull World Health Organ. 2018;96(12):861-3. https://doi.org/10.2471/BLT.18.213090
https://doi.org/10.2471/BLT.18.213090... .
Although the underreporting of external causes is not the object of this paper, it is important to highlight that it is a subinformation dimension, although smaller when considering the correction of mortality data. Investigation of active search of death described IFM as a source of information for at least 2% of deaths recovered and not reported in MIS in 2012, remaining the biggest challenge to reach rural and remote municipalities3434. Frias PG, Szwarcwald CL, Morais Neto OL, Leal MC, Cortez-Escalante JJ, Souza PRB Jr, et al. Utilização das informações vitais para a estimação de indicadores de mortalidade no Brasil: da busca ativa de eventos ao desenvolvimento de métodos. Cad Saúde Pública. 2017;33(3):e00206015. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/0102-311x00206015
http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/0102-311x00206... )- (3636. Almeida WS, Szwarcwald CL. Adequação das informações de mortalidade e correção dos óbitos informados a partir da Pesquisa de Busca Ativa. Ciênc Saúde Coletiva. 2017;22(10):3193-203. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/1413-812320172210.12002016
http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/1413-812320172... , probably areas with poor socioeconomic and access to services indicators, especially health and public security agencies3737. Melo CM, Bevilacqua PD, Barletto M, França EB. Qualidade da informação sobre óbitos por causas externas em município de médio porte em Minas Gerais, Brasil. Cad Saúde Pública. 2014;30(9):1999-2004. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/0102-311X00187213
http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/0102-311X00187... .
Possible limitations of this study refer to regional differences in MIS quality and coverage and to the geographic distribution of the population from the project municipalities, which are different from other cities. The quality of the investigations and the validity of the reclassified causes was also not assessed. The use of protocol and the results presented here indicate, however, greater reliability of this type of planned investigation, which allowed a significant reduction of the UEC.
The UEC needs explanations on issues not fully understood, such as why the medical expert does not use all the information found in the IFM to define the probable cause of death. The characterization of the interests of 2 distinct sectors (public security and health) and the mediations of the interinstitutional structure of these rationalities in the actions and interactions of professionals would form a set of evidence for informed decision making in the production of quality death records by IFM3838. Dias RISC, Barreto JOM, Vanni T, Candido AMSC, Moraes LH, Gomes MAR. Estratégias para estimular o uso de evidências científicas na tomada de decisão. Cad Saúde Colet. 2015;23(3):316-22. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/1414-462X201500030005
http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/1414-462X20150... . The promotion of the evidence-based interinstitutional health-justice dialogue can be an incentive for the formulation of a intersector national policy of qualified registration of death by accidents and violence, with consequent reduction of the need for investigations by health managers. In addition, planned GC research makes it possible to identify misconduct and conduct at the local level, as well as systematizing knowledge about the best collaborative practices of surveillance and forensic expertise services.
The findings of this study indicated that the cities participating in the Data for Health project obtained a greater - statistically significant - reduction in the UEC after investigation when compared to the others, which did not implement a systematic intervention to recover the cause of death records of 2017. The UEC reclassification has corrected the under-enumeration of defined causes of accidents and violence - in particular homicides, other accident causes and traffic accidents - thus impacting on improved health information; therefore, continuity and expansion of this type of intervention is recommended.
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» http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/1414-462X201500030005
Financial support: Funding from Vital Strategies as part of the Bloomberg Philanthropies Data for Health Initiative (Project 23998 Fundep/UFMG).
Publication in this collection
Este é um artigo publicado em acesso aberto sob uma licença Creative Commons
Grupo de Pesquisa em Epidemiologia e Avaliação de Serviços, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte (MG), Brasil
Secretaria de Vigilância em Saúde, Ministério da Saúde - Brasília (DF), Brasil
Programa de Pós-Graduação em Saúde Coletiva, Universidade de Brasília, Brasília (DF), Brasil
Programa de Pós-Graduação em Saúde Pública, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte (MG) - Brasil
Corresponding author: Adauto Martins Soares Filho. Setor de Rádio e Televisão Norte, 701, Via W5 Norte, building PO700, 6th floor, CEP: 70723-040, Brasília, DF, Brazil. Email: afilho_2006@hotmail.com
Authors’ contribution: Soares AM, Vasconcelos CH, Nóbrega AA, Pinto IV, Merchan-Hamman E, Ishitani LH and França EB contributed to the conception, study design and analysis. Specifically Soares Filho AM and Vasconcelos CH worked on data acquisition and Soares Filho AM in their interpretation. All of them contributed to the drafting of the preliminary versions, approved the final version of the article and declared themselves responsible for all aspects of the work, to make sure that issues related to the accuracy or completeness of any part of the work are properly investigated and resolved.
Conflict of interests: nothing to declare
Figures | Tables | Formulas
Formulas (1)
Figure 1 Flow diagram of schematic representation of deaths from injuries reclassified in Brazil, 2017.
IDC: ill-defined causes; EC: external causes.
Table 1 Change after investigation of classification of the unspecified injuries according to the city in the Project and demographic variables, Brazil, 2017.
before (n)
Change (%; CI)
Male 9,143 67.7 (66.7; 68.7) 8,821 31.0 (30.0; 31.9)
Female 2,610 53.4 (51.5; 55.4) 2,137 31.4 (29.5; 33.4)
0 to 14 years old 240 68.3 (62.4; 74.2) 364 25.0 (20.6; 29.4)
15 to 44 years old 5,942 73.2 (72.1; 74.3) 5,804 33.9 (32.7; 35.2)
75 years or older 2,052 44.4 (42.2; 46.5) 1,295 28.8 (26.3; 31.3)
White 4,415 60.6 (59.1; 62.0) 4,059 28.8 (27.4; 30.2)
Black 7,163 67.6 (66.5; 68.7) 6,592 32.9 (31.8; 34.1)
< 50 thousand 2 - 3,328 14.9 (13.7; 16.1)
50 to 100 thousand 10 70.0 (41.6; 98.4) 1,566 21.5 (19.4; 23.5)
> 100 thousand 11,747 64.5 (63.7; 65.4) 6,078 42.3 (41.1; 43.6)
Yes 11,516 65.5 (64.6; 66.4) 5,597 43.6 (42.3; 44.9)
No 243 18.5 (13.6; 23.4) 5,375 18.0 (16.9; 19.0)
Hospital* 6,920 64.0 (62.9; 65.1) 3.960 33.7 (32.2; 35.2)
Domicile** 4,833 65.2 (63.9; 66.6) 6,955 29.7 (28.6; 30.7)
IFM 10,479 69.1 (68.2; 69.9) 8,877 33.7 (32.7; 34.7)
Others 1,116 27.4 (24.8; 30.0) 1,654 18.9 (17.0; 20.7)
UEC: unspecified external causes; ATT: accident of terrestrial transportation; US: unspecified; * and other health facilities; ** and public street.
Table 2 Percent variation of the reclassification from injuries after investigation, according to cause and city in the Project, Brazil, 2017.
Cities of the project (n = 34,558)
Other cities (n = 76,162)
after (n,%; CI)
ATT/traffic accident US 661 688 4.1 (2.6; 5.6) 2,998 2,584 −13.8 (−15.2; −12.4)
US accident 803 928 15.6 (13.1; 18.1) 866 589 −32.0 (−36.3; −27.7)
US homicide 323 549 70.0 (65.0;75.0) 711 730 2.7 (1.5; 3.9)
undetermined 9,972 2,875 −71.2 (−73.3; −69.0) 6,397 3,871 −39.5 (−41.3; −37.7)
pedestrian 801 1,382 72.5 (69.4; 75.6) 2,531 2,768 9.4 (8.2; 10.5)
cyclist 124 213 71.8 (63.9; 79.7) 629 699 11.1 (8.7; 13.6)
motorcyclist 992 1,493 50.5 (47.4; 53.6) 5,400 5,867 8.6 (7.9; 9.4)
motor vehicle occupant 356 527 48.0 (42.8; 53.2) 3,341 3,560 6.6 (5.7; 7.4)
other ATT 30 49 63.3 (46.1; 80.6) 251 266 6.0 (3.0, 8.9)
other traffic accidents 14 16 14.3 (−4.0; 32.6) 95 97 2.1 (−0.8; 5.0)
specific accidents 4,560 5,934 30.1 (28.8; 31.5) 11,715 12,154 3.7 (3.4; 4.1)
suicides 1,443 2,099 45.5 (42.9; 48.0) 8,272 8,560 3.5 (3.1; 3.9)
specific homicides 13,381 15,518 16.0 (15.3; 16.6) 31,858 32,856 3.1 (2.9, 3.3)
legal intervention 131 939 616.8 (520; 713) 290 451 55.5 (44.8; 66.2)
other EC 647 557 −13.9 (−17.0; −10.8) 472 423 −10.4 (−13.2; −7.2)
other garbage 320 338 5.6 (3.1; 8.1) 336 342 1.8 (0.4; 3.2)
natural/IDC - 453 - - 345 -
UEC: nonspecific external causes; ATT: accident of terrestrial transportation; US: unspecified; IDC: ill-defined cause; EC: external causes.
Table 3 Reclassification (%) after investigation of deaths from unspecified injuries by gender, in the cities of the Project, Brazil, 2017.
Before the investigation
ATT/traffic US accident
US accident
US homicide
After the investigation
ATT/transportation US accidents 58.3 54.5 0.4 - - - 3.4 1.6 6.5 3.4
US accident - - 81.9 90.4 - - 2.3 2.6 6.3 13.3
US homicide - - 0.2 - 75.8 64.3 3.6 0.8 5.4 1.7
Undetermined - - 0.4 0.3 - - 25.8 39.3 22.1 32.3
pedestrian 6.2 13.1 2.9 0.6 - - 4.3 7.2 4.3 6.5
cyclist 2.9 1.0 0.6 - - - 0.6 0.2 0.7 0.2
motorcyclist 21.9 20.2 4.4 0.6 - - 3.3 1.2 4.4 1.8
motor vehicle occupant 8.7 9.1 1.0 0.3 0.4 - 1.2 1.9 1.6 1.9
other ATT - - 0.2 0.3 - - 0.2 0.1 0.2 0.2
Specified accidents 1.4 1.0 6.4 6.5 1.4 - 11.5 24.3 10.3 20.8
suicides - - 0.2 - - - 6.3 6.7 5.4 5.5
specified homicides 0.5 1.0 0.6 0.3 20.3 35.7 27.0 8.8 23.8 7.9
legal intervention - - 0.2 - 2.1 - 7.5 - 6.5 -
natural/IDC - - 0.4 0.3 - - 2.6 5.0 2.2 4.2
UEC: unspecific external causes; ATT: accident of terrestrial transportation; US: unspecified; IDC: ill-defined cause; gender ignored: 0.1%; 0.3% of US accidents and undetermined migrated to non-priority garbage.
Table 4 Reclassification (%) of deaths from unspecified injuries after investigation, by age group, in the cities of the Project, Brazil, 2017.
Priority UEC (before investigation)
n = 5,942
n = 11,633
Priority EC
ATT/US Transport Accidents 4.6 7.2 6.0 1.5 5.8
US accident causes 7.1 4.0 8.4 18.7 7.9
US homicide 5.8 7.0 2.7 0.4 4.5
undetermined causes 21.7 17.1 28.2 38.2 24.2
pedestrian 12.1 3.0 7.4 4.6 4.8
cyclist 1.3 0.5 1.0 0.1 0.6
motorcyclist 1.7 6.2 2.2 - 3.8
motor vehicle occupant 3.3 2.0 1.7 0.5 1.7
other ATT - 0.3 0.1 - 0.2
specified accidents 15.0 3.3 18.8 29.6 12.7
suicides 3.8 5.5 7.7 2.0 5.5
specified homicides 12.9 32.5 11.2 1.0 20.3
legal intervention 1.7 9.7 0.2 - 5.0
non-priority garbage - 0.3 0.3 0.1 0.3
natural/IDC 9.2 1.5 4.0 3.1 2.7
UEC: unspecific external causes; ATT: accident of terrestrial transportation; US: unspecified; IDC: ill-defined causes; age ignored: 1.1%.
Associação Brasileira de Pós -Graduação em Saúde Coletiva São Paulo - SP - Brazil
E-mail: revbrepi@usp.br
Melhoria da classificação das causas externas inespecíficas de mortalidade baseada na investigação do óbito no Brasil em 2017
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Legend Chapter 100
During the Inheritance Ceremony, Vel suddenly took out a dagger and tried to destroy the magic stone of the Ancient Dragon.
Although Rei rushed towards him as soon as he saw that, a magic spear was stabbed at him just one step before Vel entered the Death Scythe’s range.
He instinctively sensed danger at Vel’s words and forcibly shifted his body. Still, the magic spear that stabbed out from behind him still gave a strong impact to his side.
Fortunately for him, Rei was wearing a magic item, the Dragon Robe. At first glance it looked like an ordinary robe, but its true identity was of a highest quality item made by sewing two layers of dragon skin over dragon scales, it boasted one of the highest magical and physical defenses. Its defensive power was much greater than that of plate mail. Thanks to that, it didn’t become a situation where the magic spear penetrated into his flank.
「Damn, w-what!?」
However, even if it didn’t stab into him, the impact couldn’t be ignored. And for Rei, who was still trying to swing the Death Scythe, the blow broke his balance.
Nevertheless, he still didn’t fall to the ground, it was probably due to Rei’s extremely high physical abilities that he managed to keep himself up with his hands. When Rei reflexively looked back, the sight of Kuust thrusting his magic spear towards him filled his vision.
「Gururururu~!」
Set answered Rei’s shout and tried to slash his claws in from the side……
「No, Rei-dono! If Kuust is taken out of the magic formation now, there will be a bad effect on Elena’s ceremony!」
「Tch, Set!」
「Gururu~!」
Probably understanding what Rei wanted, Set stopped his attack from the side and slammed Kuust down into the magic formation instead, holding him down to stop him from moving.
Confirming that, he dashed forward again towards Vel……
「You’re a bit too late.」
With a ridiculing smile on his face, he swung his dagger down at the magic stone, which had already shrunk by 70%, without any hesistation.
「Stop ittttttttttt!」
Shouting out, Rei swung the Death Scythe even though he knew he wouldn’t make it in time……
「Oops. That’s dangerous, very dangerous.」
Vel stabbed his dagger into the magic stone, destroying it before jumping backwards and taking some distance from Rei.
「Vel!」
「Don’t get so angry. Even I didn’t like what I had to do. ……However, it’s a pity. It was the only hope to save the Mireana Kingdom. Now it will be impossible to compete against the Bestir Empire.」
Rei ground his teeth as Vel told him with a big smile.
「More than that, don’t you have to look behind you?」
Rei turned to look back for a moment. Maybe due to the fact that the ceremony was forcibly interrupted half way, he saw that Ara, Kuust……even Elena had lost consciousness and had collapsed on the magic formation.
Seeing that situation, he grasped the handle of the Death Scythe tightly in his hands.
(Calm down. Right now, it’s better to collect information than to kill him.)
Muttering in his mind, he calmed his raging heart.
「Now then, what is all this for you ask?」
Rei and Vel. Vel was superior in ability as a thief, but if you considered pure fighting strength, Vel couldn’t even reach Rei’s feet. Even so, Vel had a smile on his face, he was smiling as if watching a fun performance.
While having doubts, he kept talking to try to gather more information.
「You were a member of Elena’s Knight escort? And yet, why would you come here and betray her?」
「I don’t want questions in reply to questions.」
Bang~, Rei wielded the Death Scythe threateningly.
「Whoops, I don’t stand a chance if we have to fight. I see, I’ll answer then. Well then, why do you think I betrayed Elena here?」
「If you think about the probable assumptions, you’ve turned to the Bestir Empire’s side.」
「Well, that’s only half of it. The correct answer is that not just me, but my whole house has turned to the Bestir Empire’s side.」
「……Your house, is it? According to the story I’ve heard, your house should have been nobles as well? I’ve heard that you also have a close relationship to Duke Kerebel, a central figure in the Nobles Faction, the second largest faction next to the Royalists.」
「That is the case. But my thoughts aside, my father does not believe that the Mireana Kingdom can compete with the Bestir Empire. There are several reasons for this, but the biggest reason is technology. Though I think you heard it from Elena after reaching the Altar of Succession, though it’s simplified, the Bestir Empire has established an Inheritance Ceremony and has already had a number of people undergo it. Ah, by the way, I can tell you that soldiers who endured the Inheritance Ceremony are called 『Demon Soldiers』. ……I think it’s simple.」
「Demon Soldiers. So you decided that there was no chance of winning and defected.」
「Yes. Well, that is my father’s opinion, I’m different.」
Vel kept explaining with a smile on his face.
「In that case, why did you turn traitor? Haven’t you also been acquainted with Elena for a long time?」
「That’s right. It’s been roughly five years since I joined Duke Kerebel’s Knights.」
「If you’ve lived with each other for such a long time, then naturally there should be feelings. Besides, aren’t you Knights that also serve as Elena’s escorts?」
「Ahh, that’s no mistake. But……」
As he said that, Vel’s smile suddenly changed.
If it was said that his smile up until now had been an amused smile, now it was like the smile of a madman.
「I just thought about it. It’s nice to kill people from the Bestir Empire by being part of the Mireana Kingdom as it is. But a person on the Bestir Empires side seems to have more possibilities to kill people.」
「A sadistic murderer.」
「Oh? That title is good. Yep, in the future I’ll use that. Vel Sails, the sadistic murderer.」
「……It’s not something I can say but, what is the fun in killing people?」
Rei himself had killed all the members of Dark Night’s Star during the attack on the Orc settlement. Even in the rank up test, he had killed bandits. However, he only killed them because it was necessary. He had never felt pleasure in the act of killing people. Because of that, he couldn’t understand the man before him.
「Eh? It’s fun. Ending a person’s life with your own hands, touching their skin and cutting it and their flesh. The scream that comes out when you stab your knife into a living person and break their bones! And the face of their despair when you cut out their organs and show them their lungs! ……Ahh, I can’t bear it any longer.」
「……I was an idiot to talk with a madman.」
「Madman, I don’t need you to compliment me so much. Of course, you’re wondering why I would side with the Bestir Empire. As I said earlier, there is a technique to make Demon Soldiers over there. Also, it isn’t a low level technology with a high failure rate like here in the Mireana Kingdom, but a technology with a high success rate. If I became a Demon Soldier over there, what kind of abilities would I gain? Could I dissolve a person with strong acid? Mentioning that, there’s also the tentacles like the Emerald Wolves. It isn’t too fascinating though to be able to change my body size like a Spriggan……no, it might not be so bad to enjoy the looks of despair if you pretend to be a small child to approach them and then transform into a giant in front of them.」
「He’s definitely a madman.」
While muttering, he turned to look at the unconscious Kuust, whom Set was still holding down just in case.
「So, what did you do to Kuust?」
「What? Originally, Kuust hated you, isn’t that right?」
「……It’s different. Certainly he disliked or hated me. However, his love and respect of Elena was still greater than his dislike or hatred of me. Do you think he would obstruct someone who was attacking someone else who was likely to cause harm to Elena, who was his superior?」
Though Kuust thoroughly despised and spurned Rei, the respect that he gave to his superior, Elena, was genuine. Maybe it was feelings of love, or that he was attracted to her fame as the General Princess, or maybe because she was someone as the center of the Nobles Faction, Rei didn’t know. However, he had no doubt his respect was real. If that wasn’t the case, perhaps Kuust would already have been slashed by the Death Scythe by now.
「I see, I see. It’s unexpected that though you disliked each other, you still believe in him. Let me give you a hint. What’s this?」
Saying that, he removed a bottle of water from his waist pouch.
However, when he saw that bottle, Rei recalled some things.
Hadn’t he seen Vel hand over a water bottle to Kuust, then drank from it, several times after entering the dungeon?
「Did you use some sort of magical potion?」
Rei muttered, but was puzzled in his mind.
(I recall Vel handing that bottle of water over to Kuust. However, at that time, Vel had drank from it himself as well.)
「Congratulations, correct answer! As you said, Kuust’s actions became strange after drinking this magic potion.」
「But, you ought to have drank from that bottle as well?」
「Ahh, you were paying attention. But, do you not know that there are antidotes for magic potions?」
「So you manipulated Kuust without the effects of the magic potion affecting yourself.」
「Yes. But I only made Kuust drink the magic potion, I can’t do anything if the person rejects it in his mind. There must be a desire to do something in his subconscious, like the first time I ordered him. Well, I didn’t think that Kuust’s unconscious hatred against you was that great.」
Roar-!
Rei swung the Death Scythe in his hands. A roar echoed around as its speed split the air.
「That’s good enough, shut up. I only know one thing after I listening to your story.」
「What? You should kill me before I escape to the Bestir Empire because I’m dangerous?」
Isn’t that natural? Vel seemed to say as he questioned Rei, but Rei shook his head.
「No. I don’t mind that. Just watching you makes me feel uncomfortable. That’s why I’ll kill you here! Flying Slash!」
It was the easiest skill to use from the Death Scythe, in addition, the power of the skill was relatively high.
The Death Scythe was swung down, slashing through the air towards Vel.
While watching death approaching in the form of that slash, Vel still smiled crazily……
It was not Vel who said that……but Rei.
Rei unconsciously gave a cry as he looked towards Vel. Some sort of vividly purple tentacles which had appeared to block the slash from Rei were torn apart.
The tips of the tentacle that tried to block the Flying Slash were cut and soon fell to the ground. However, another one immediately took its place and stretched out to defend Vel. The source of the tentacles was the inner pocket of Vel’s leather armour.
「Ahahahaha. That’s too bad. This is a magical creature made by the alchemists of the Bestir Empire to serve as escorts. It will be hard to deal with this fellow if you have too little strength.」
With a look of ridicule, Vel turned to look at Rei.
In his eyes, he had a look of distorted pleasure as the powerful person in front of him would soon become prey to kill.
He was not confused or panicking. At Rei’s extremely calm reply, Vel frowned his eyebrows unpleasantly.
「What are you talking about. Your attacks can’t reach me, why are you so calm?」
「Well then, I wonder. Certainly my attack had no effect on you. However, you seem to have forgotten that the skill you blocked isn’t the only one I have. In addition……even if my attack was ineffective, your attacks would be the same. Even though Kuust ambushed me, I didn’t take any damage. Your attacks are overwhelming inferior to Kuust’s, what are you going to do?」
「Certainly, but that might not be so. However, you only blocked Kuust’s attack because of your robe right? If that’s so, I can just aim for the face, and limbs that the robe doesn’t cover.」
He took a dagger out from his chest. It was obvious from the purple blade that it wasn’t an ordinary dagger.
「Poison Knife. It’s a high level magic item. It has the wonderful effect that if you are even scratched, your body will be paralyzed for about ten minutes……can you counter that Rei?」
「Well, even if you say that it’s a powerful magic item, there will still only be an effect if you scratch my face, hands or feet. In the first place, do you even think you can fight me in melee combat? With your bow and knife, you could only attack from the rear, but now there’s no one to act as a shield for you. Are you going to leave that to your tentacles?」
Rei provoked Vel by clearly pointing out his weakness.
However, Vel still kept his smile as he heard Rei’s words.
「Yes, you’re right, that is true. In that case, I just have to make a vanguard.」
Pachi~, Vel snapped his fingers. And the next moment.
Set’s somewhat confused cry could be heard and Rei immediately jumped to the side.
The next moment, something went through the place Rei was at just a moment before. And as Rei avoided it, that something passed him by and stood between Rei and Vel.
「……Kuust.」
Dark Jackel
June 4, 2017 – 2:06 am
I can’t say that this is a *boring* development, exactly, but geez, what a stupid reason… 😥
sukattomicka
June 4, 2017 – 10:15 am
I sorta knew something was going on when the author mentioned that Vel was giving water to Kuust
Well I am just sad thet Elena didn’t got to become more that Human, I hope that there is not a twist of events where vel guets away.
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Archives for posts with tag: classical music
Lessons from Mahler, haibun by Joanne Corey (WHEN I HEAR THAT SONG Series)
Lessons from Mahler
by Joanne Corey
In Sage Hall 5 at Smith, spring 1980, our music theory professor places the needle on the final band of the album of Mahler’s Rückert-Lieder. The voice of mezzosoprano Janet Baker emerges from the orchestra:
Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen…
I am lost to the world…
She weaves her way among the delicately orchestrated lines, answers the English horn, sings of how the world may think she is dead because she has set aside its tumult to rest in a quiet place. In serenity:
Ich leb’ allein in meinem Himmel,
In meinem Lieben, in meinem Lied.
I live alone in my heaven,
in my love, in my song.
As the English horn resolves a suspension at the final cadence, I look up from my score to see our professor weeping.
Analysis of
chromatic chords failed that day.
Tears taught me Mahler.
Thirty-five years on
life, faith, love, music combine.
Eyes well, spirit rests.
AUTHOR’S PHOTO CAPTION: My friend and roommate Mary Wallace took this photo of me at the console of the 1910 Austin organ in John M. Greene Hall on the Smith College campus, Northampton, Massachusetts. It appears in our Smith Class of 1982 yearbook.
NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR: During the summer 2015 session of the Binghamton Poetry Project, I learned about the haibun form and have been experimenting with it. This is the first haibun I am sharing with a wider audience.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Joanne Corey lives and writes in Vestal, New York, where she is active with the Binghamton Poetry Project, Sappho’s Circle, and the Bunn Hill Poets. Her 2015 publications include the spring anthology of the Binghamton Poetry Project, Candles of Hope anthology (GWL Publishing, U.K.), the “All About My Name,” “My Perfect Vacation,” and “My Sweet Word” poetry series from Silver Birch Press, and Wilderness House Literary Review fall quarterly. She invites you to visit her eclectic blog at topofjcsmind.wordpress.com.
Tags Authors, classical music, Music, opera, Poems, poetry, poets, Songs, Writers, Writing
Categories When I Hear That Song
Thus Played Zarathustra, poem by Kimmy Alan (WHEN I HEAR THAT SONG Series)
Thus Played Zarathustra
by Kimmy Alan
A Child of Rock & Roll
A farm boy from the Wisconsin cold
I didn’t like classical music at all
Till I found myself in Movie Theater
Thinking I was about to see
Another Sci-Fi feature
But there were no
Monsters or Aliens
Instead a troupe of Apes
Screaming and chattering
Till the breaking of the dawn
When one of the creatures
Discovered a bone
Could be used for a tool
Or a weapon of war
When he began breaking bones
The Vienna Philharmonic began
Playing the theme song
I felt my hair stand up on end
Goosebumps rose on my skin
This was more than a Sci-Fi fantasy
This was 2001: A Space Odyssey
From that day I believe science
Does not contradict evolution
For Humanity has, and will continue
To evolve both physically and spiritually
And when I look up into the starry night
I hear “Zarathustra” playback in my mind
I am overwhelmed by the mystery
Of what we do not yet know
And in my wonder, I find spiritual ecstasy
NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR: When I was a farm boy. I seldom saw friends unless we were doing field work together. The exception was Saturday night, when we’d meet at the Old Gem Theater in New Richmond, Wisconsin. At that time, my view of the world was limited — till the night I saw 2001: A Space Odyssey. Since, I’ve come to realize that there are no limits to my life or soul. “Zarathustra” was more than an inspiration; it is a spiritual hymn.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Kimmy Alan is neither an academic nor a poet. He’s a blue-collar worker of a steelworker hue. He’s never accomplished anything great nor has he done anything noteworthy. What he has done for years is work hard. Now, in his old age, he works hard for those other women and men who work even harder than he — encouraging them to organize and stand up for their rights. For though they are a humble lot, their skills and labor are essential to the survival of this world. Proud of being a part of an army that carried lunchboxes instead of briefcases, Kimmy is happy and content in his inconspicuousness.
ABOUT THE MUSIC: Here’s a link to scenes from 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) that lead into the opening of “Thus Spake Zarathustra” by Richard Strauss (1896).
Tags Authors, classical music, Films, Movies, Music, Poems, poetry, poets, Writers, Writing
Bachianas Brasileiras #5: Aria by Heitor Villa-Lobos, performed by Kathleen Battle
Take a five minutes in your busy day to listen to this beautiful aria by Heitor Villa-Lobos, performed by soprano Kathleen Battle accompanied by Christopher Parkening on guitar.
ABOUT THE COMPOSER: Heitor Villa-Lobos (1887–1959) was a Brazilian composer, described as “the single most significant creative figure in 20th-century Brazilian art music.” Villa-Lobos wrote numerous orchestral, chamber, instrumental, and vocal works. His music was influenced by both Brazilian folk music and by stylistic elements from the European classical tradition, as exemplified by his Bachianas Brasileiras (Brazilian Bachian-pieces). (SOURCE: Wikipedia.org.)
Tags Brazil, Brazilian music, classical music, Music, Singers, Songs
Categories Music
Music by Erik Satie played by Pascal Rogé
From the album Satie: Piano Music by Pascal Rogé. This beautiful 27-minute nature film features Satie’s Gymnopédies and Gnossiennes — sublime music paired with the sublime images. Remarkable! Find the album at Amazon.com.
ABOUT THE MUSIC: The Gymnopédies, published in Paris starting in 1888, are three piano compositions written by French composer and pianist Erik Satie. The Gnossiennes are six piano compositions written by Satie in the late 19th century.
ABOUT THE COMPOSER: Éric Alfred Leslie Satie (1866–1925) was a French composer and pianist. Satie was a colourful figure in the early 20th century Parisian avant-garde. His work was a precursor to later artistic movements such as minimalism, repetitive music, and the Theatre of the Absurd. In addition to his body of music, Satie also left a remarkable set of writings, contributing work to a range of publications, from the dadaist 391 to the American culture chronicle Vanity Fair. (SOURCE: Wikipedia.org.)
ABOUT THE PIANIST: Pascal Rogé made his first public appearance in 1960, performing Claude Debussy’s Préludes. He won the piano prize at the Paris Conservatory and at seventeen gave his first recitals in major European cities, landing a recording contract with Decca. He has a particular affinity for French composers such as Claude Debussy, Gabriel Fauré, Maurice Ravel, and Francis Poulenc. He gives recitals worldwide in all major cities. Visit him at pascalroge.net.
Tags classical music, composers, Erik Satie, French composers, French musicians, Music, nature films, Pascal Roge
Bach in the DC Subway, poem by David Lee Garrison
BACH IN THE DC SUBWAY
by David Lee Garrison
As an experiment,
asked a concert violinist—
wearing jeans, tennis shoes,
and a baseball cap—
to stand near a trash can
at rush hour in the subway
and play Bach
on a Stradivarius.
Partita No. 2 in D Minor
called out to commuters
like an ocean to waves,
sang to the station
about why we should bother
to live.
streamed by. Seven of them
paused for a minute or so
and thirty-two dollars floated
into the open violin case.
A café hostess who drifted
over to the open door
each time she was free
said later that Bach
gave her peace,
and all the children,
all of them,
waded into the music
as if it were water,
listening until they had to be
rescued by parents
who had somewhere else to go.
Find the poem in David Lee Garrison‘s collection Playing Bach in the DC Metro, available at Amazon.com.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: David Lee Garrison earned his PhD from the Johns Hopkins University, taught Spanish and Portuguese at Wright State University from 1979 to 2009, and is now retired. Garrison’s poems have appeared widely in journals such as Connecticut Review, Poem, and Rattle, and also in several anthologies. Two poems from his book, Sweeping the Cemetery, were read by Garrison Keillor on The Writer’s Almanac, and one was included in Keillor’s Good Poems, American Places. The title poem from his book, Playing Bach in the D. C. Metro, was featured by Ted Kooser on his website, American Life in Poetry. (Source: poetryfoundation.org)
Pearl Before Breakfast: Can one of the nation’s great musicians cut through the fog of a D.C. rush hour? Washington Post
The Things We Miss: Violin Virtuoso Plays a DC Metro Station, huffingtonpost.com
WATCH AND LISTEN:
Joshua Bell plays a DC metro station (youtube.com)
Tags Authors, Bach, classical music, inspiration, Joshua Bell, Music, Musings, Poem, Poet, poetry, Reflections, violin, Washington DC, Writers, Writing
Categories Music, Poetry
Clair de Lune by Claude Debussy and Paul Verlaine
Claude Debussy (1982-1918, shown above in a portrait by Marcel Baschet) composed one of the world’s most beloved and beautiful pieces of music — the sublime “Clair de Lune” (Light of the Moon). Listen to a rendition by pianist Ivan Moravec here.
Debussy was inspired to write “Clair de Lune” after reading Paul Verlaine‘s 1869 poem of the same name. (Verlaine’s portrait below is by Gustave Courbet.)
by Paul Verlaine
Your soul is as a moonlit landscape fair,
Peopled with maskers delicate and dim,
That play on lutes and dance and have an air
Of being sad in their fantastic trim.
The while they celebrate in minor strain
Triumphant love, effective enterprise,
They have an air of knowing all is vain,—
And through the quiet moonlight their songs rise,
The melancholy moonlight, sweet and lone,
That makes to dream the birds upon the tree,
And in their polished basins of white rock
The fountains tall to sob with ecstasy.
Tags astronomy, Clair de Lune, classical music, Claude Debussy, France, French artists, French literature, French Music, French Poets, Gustave Courbet, impressionist music, Ivan Moravec, Marcel Baschet, moon, Paul Verlaine
Ode to Joy, music by Beethoven, lyrics by Schiller
On this Memorial Day morning, I woke up to the child next door practicing the “Ode to Joy” section of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony on the piano, with a crow sitting in the lemon tree outside the building singing along with the music. As the junior pianist repeated passages over and over, ending in the middle and beginning again, I felt privileged that life was reminding me to recognize and appreciate joy.
So this post is my way of sharing a joyous moment — and wishing the same for all of you.
Beethoven based the “Ode to Joy” chorale on a poem written by Friedrich von Schiller in 1785. While much of the language is obscure by today’s standards, suffice it to say the verses address Joy as a goddess and cite her accomplishments and attributes. Here are some excerpts (English translation from German).
TO JOY (Excerpts)
by Friedrich von Schiller
Joy, beautiful sparkle of the gods,
Daughter of Elysium,
We enter, fire-drunk,
Heavenly one, your shrine.
Your magics bind again
What custom has strictly parted…
Joy is the name of the strong spring
In eternal nature.
Joy, joy drives the wheels
In the great clock of worlds.
She lures flowers from the buds,
Suns out of the firmament,
She rolls spheres in the spaces
That the seer’s telescope does not know.
Read the entire poem at wikisource.org.
Listen to Leonard Bernstein conduct the Vienna Philharmonic in the “Ode to Joy” chorale of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony at youtube.com — beautiful!
Illustration: “Crow in a Lemon Tree,” giclee archival art print by Lynnette Shelley. Find the print at etsy.com. Visit Lynnette Shelley‘s etsy.com store and view more of her beautiful artwork — including whimsical, original depictions of animals.
Tags Art, Artists, Beethoven, classical music, crows, fruit trees, German poets, inspiration, joy, Leonard Bernstein, nature, paintings, Poems, poetry, poets, Schiller
Categories Art, Music, Poetry
Sublime Messages, Quote by Socrates with Music by Chopin
“I decided that it was not wisdom that enabled poets to write their poetry, but a kind of instinct or inspiration, such as you would find in seers and prophets who deliver all their sublime messages without knowing in the least what they mean.” SOCRATES
Photo: Alice PopKorn
Speaking of sublime messages…when I turned on the radio this morning, I heard Vladimir Horowitz playing Chopin. Listen to the master(s) here.
Tags Chopin, classical music, inspiration, Mazurka, Poems, poetry, poets, Socrates, sublime, Vladimir Horowitz
Categories Music, Poetry, Writer's Quotes
This post is about four French artists — two painters, a composer, and a poet. Let’s start with the composer, Claude Debussy (shown at right in a portrait by Marcel Baschet). Debussy (1862-1918) composed one of the world’s most beloved and beautiful pieces of music — the sublime “Clair de Lune” (Light of the Moon).
I wanted to write this post because I had one of those lucky moments yesterday — turning on the radio in my car just as “Clair de Lune” started to play on KUSC-FM (listen to the rendition by pianist Ivan Moravec here).
L’amour vainqueur et la vie opportune
Ils n’ont pas l’air de croire à leur bonheur
Et sangloter d’extase les jets d’eau,
Les grands jets d’eau sveltes parmi les marbres.
So, there you have it — music, art, and poetry, all inspired by a lucky click of the radio in the underground parking lot at Ralph’s Supermarket in L.A.
Tags astronomy, Clair de Lune, classical music, Claude Debussy, France, French artists, French literature, French Music, French Poets, Gustave Courbet, impressionist music, Ivan Moravec, KUSC-FM, Luna, Lune, Marcel Baschet, moon, Paul Verlaine
Categories Art, Music
Listening to Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No.3 with Clancy
As most cat lovers know, cats love music — especially classical music. My cat Clancy loves the mornings — basking in the sun while lounging on the bookcase that holds the radio, his ears moving in perfect rhythm to the music. Listen here to one of his favorites — Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 by performed by the Academy of Ancient Music (Christopher Hogwood, conductor).
Tags Academy of Ancient Music, animals, Bach, Brandenburg Concerto No. 3, cats, Christopher Hogwood, classical music, Music, music appreciation, pets
Categories Animals, Music
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Set The Tape
Independent pop culture entertainment site covering film, games, music, TV and more. © 2019 – Set The Tape. All Rights Reserved.
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A Celebration of John Williams in Concert – Event Review
By Shaun Rodger 29 October 2018 6 January 2019
Leave a Comment on A Celebration of John Williams in Concert – Event Review
It is probably not hyperbole to state that John Williams is likely one of the best known composers alive today. People might not know the name, but they know his work whether they realise it or not. Three generations have grown up with his music infusing popular culture, from Star Wars and Raiders of the Lost Ark to Harry Potter and Schindler’s List, Williams has created more iconic movie themes than any other composer. Superman, Jurassic Park, Jaws, the list goes on and on.
“A Celebration of John Williams in Concert” at the Royal Albert Hall, London, featured the London Symphony Orchestra who have worked with Williams on so many of his iconic soundtracks. Initially it had been intended that Williams himself would conduct the orchestra but due to ill health he was forced to pull out and instead Maestro Dirk Brossé took over the reins. Brossé is no stranger to Williams’ music, having conducted over 150 shows during the “Star Wars: In Concert” tour, so there was no better replacement to take over and he did Williams proud with his passion and enthusiasm coming through loud and clear.
Credit: Christie Goodwin
Being broadcast live on Classic FM, the night was filled with not only music but thoughts and anecdotes from Brossé and members of the orchestra, talking about how they had grown up with Williams’ music, how it inspired them, and what it was like to work with him. Apparently Williams was listening along live on the radio so we can only hope that the repeated rounds of applause helped in some way to help him get over the disappointment of not being there in person. The Royal Albert Hall was near full to capacity with eager fans and all through the night the atmosphere was light and cheerful, helped by the LSO’s masterful performance and Brossé’s exuberant conducting.
The setlist from the night:
Star Wars Main Title
Excerpts from Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Hedwig’s Theme (From Harry Potter)
Fawkes the Phoenix (From Harry Potter)
Harry’s Wondrous World (From Harry Potter)
End Titles from Dracula
Adventures on Earth (From E.T.)
Superman March
A Child’s Tale: Suite from The BFG
Theme from Jurassic Park / Welcome to Jurassic Park
Theme from Schindler’s List
The Imperial March (Darth Vader’s Theme)
Han Solo & the Princess
Throne Room & Finale
Encores
Jaws – Main Titles
Yoda’s Theme
The Raiders March
It was interesting to hear so many themes back-to-back. It allowed the audience to start to pick up the themes and motifs that Williams is fond of using; little musical turns of phrase that mark out his work. Every piece was beautifully played by the LSO, but there were some definite standout moments. “Excerpts from Close Encounters of the Third Kind” was genuinely chilling in places, incorporating parts of “The Visitors/Bye” which start with shrill, lingering strings and ominous, skittering plucked notes that could make the hair on the back of your neck stand up.
“Theme from Schindler’s List” featured lead violinist Roman Simovic in a spellbinding performance of that sad, tragic theme that had the audience silent and resulted in the first standing ovation of the night when he finished. A simply sublime performance of a piece thick with emotion and history.
When looking at the original setlist, there were some notable entries from Williams’ career conspicuous by their absence, but luckily the encores took care of that with the opening note of Jaws being greeted by applause and laughter from the audience. It must be said that watching an entire orchestra perform that iconic theme further emphasises the menace of the piece, the movements on their instruments sharp and precise, bows chopping frantically back and forth across the strings to hammer out that legendary theme.
The Raiders March ended the evening, signing off the event in high style. Brossé and the LSO were treated to three standing ovations with people distinctly unwilling to let them go until their hands ached from clapping. While the absence of John Williams himself was noted, the event was in no way diminished by his absence; and knowing he was listening live may have helped lift the orchestra’s effort just that little bit more.
It was certainly a night to be remembered and a beautiful tribute to a man who has influenced the lives of so many of us over the decades.
There’s still time to catch the concert on Classic FM. Were you there? Did you have a similar experience to Shaun? Let us know in the comments.
Tags: Dirk Brossé John Williams Royal Albert Hall
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Competition Ts&Cs
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New Isekai anime announced as I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level light novels get TV anime
Live-action Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba play reveals Tanjiro and Nezuko
Posted on Oct 22nd, 2019
live-action aqnd 2.5D
Like many anime, manga, and video game titles these days, Koyoharu Gotoge’s Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba manga is also getting a live-action stage play. 2.5D plays, which are the stage adaptations of anime, gaming, and manga titles, are getting more and more popular these days, so it’s no surprise that the series is also getting one. And now, the staff have finally revealed the play’s new key visual featuring Tanjiro!
The play will feature Ryota Kobayashi as Tanjiro Kamado, as well as Akari Takaishi as Nezuko Kamado. They also revealed the two siblings in new character visuals as well:
Kenichi Suemitsu, who previously directed the Touken Ranbu plays, is also directing the project. As for the music, Shunsuke Wada, who provided the score for Live Spectacle Naruto, is also working on this adaptation. The play will first hit the Galaxy Theater in Tokyo from January 18 to 26, 2020. It will then head to Kobe’s AiiA 2.5 Theater from January 31 to February 2. Advance ticket sales will open from November 11 to 17, but only for Shonen Jump annual readers.
You can also read more about anime here on SGCafe.
Also join in on the community’s discussions at http://forums.sgcafe.com
source: Kimetsu no Yaiba stage play’s official website
Re:Zero’s new Frozen Bonds prequel OVA reveals new trailer and theme song
Live-action Touken Ranbu movie is getting a sequel
Touken Ranbu received a live-action movie last year. And now, the sword boys are back,
2.5 D musical
DEMON SLAYER – KIMETSU NO YAIBA – The Movie: Mugen Train reveals very first trailer
Kaguya-sama: Love is War TV anime is getting a second season!
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Home Engrenages HPC
Engrenages HPC is a Limited Liability company that is specialised in the distribution of mechanical components and power transmission products, some of which can be manufactured or modified to order.
Since 1991, the company has built up its reputation by constantly increasing its range of products and today offers more than 35,000 different references. As in the beginning, HPC promotes still its products through its now infamous small catalogues:
Precision gears and sprockets
Conveyor and housing parts
In addition to the wide range of standard products listed in the catalogue, HPC is also happy to respond to request for non standard items from its customers. This is possible due to the wide network of suppliers that the company has built up over the last 25 years.
Highly trained technicians are available to help those customers who need standard products modified to meet their specific requirements, pieces manufactured to measure or sourcing items that are not in the catalogues. Always keeping up to date with the latest technologies, HPC now offers a 3D printing service.
HPC in Europe
France and international
Tél.: +33(0)4 37 496 496
Fax : +33(0)4 37 490 055
SARL au capital de 76224€
Lyon, code APE 4669B
TVA FR 41 382 911 907.
Via Valfrè 14
10121 Torino - Italia
Tel : +39 011 760 95 05
Fax : +39 011 760 91 51
www.ctmeca.com
C.F., p.IVA e Iscr. 10284000014
C.M.H. AUTOMACION, S.L.
Pol. Ind. El Collet 401 A Nave 1
12580 BENICARLO (Castellón)
Tel: (+34) 964.46.12.41
Ondrives Ltd. (pièces mécaniques)
Foxwood Industrial Park
Chesterfield, Derbyshire, S41 9RN, UK
Tel : +44 1246 455 500
Fax : +44 1246 455 522
www.ondrives.com
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NWN! Releases
Rare and Used
Zines and Books
Departure Chandelier "The Black Crest Of Death, The Gold Wreath Of War" CD
The Black Crest Of Death, The Gold Wreath Of War by Departure Chandelier
ANTI-GOTH 471
Originally released in 2011 on the Tour de Garde label, Departure Chandelier’s demo recording, “The Black Crest of Death, the Gold Wreath of War,” was recorded in 2010, a year after “Antichirst Rise To Power,” the band’s recently released debut full-length completed in 2009. With slightly heavier production than the album—an intentional act by the band—this demo nevertheless achieves the same atmosphere, one defined by the inherent discord between the visceral body of the songs and the ornate melodies reflected in the poignant interplay of guitars and keyboards, in which one hears the influence of O.T.A.L. and Strid. Musically and conceptually, Departure Chandelier explore the dichotomous relationship connecting unbridled freedom and the concomitant lust for power with tyranny and despotism. “The Genius of France between Liberty and Death,” the late-18th century painting by Regnault, serves as the cover art and the entry point into the release. France appears depicted as an angel, poised, with arms outstretched between the enlightened figure of Liberty and the shrouded voyeur of Death – all three looming along the bloody path to the guillotine of the French Revolution. Internalized in Departure Chandelier’s music is the tension between these contradictory states, and the recognition of the sinister need for opposing forces, held in precarious equipoise, but always pulled to the dark and imbalanced side of the scales. The shadow of the Marquis de Sade—a counterpoint to the Emperor Napoleon—looms over Departure Chandelier’s demo. The superimposition of Sade and Napoleon—both from noble families, both participated in the revolution, and both perished in state ordered incarceration—the dialectic exploration of tyranny and freedom, of libertine sadism—is at the heart of Departure Chandelier’s “Napoleonic War Black Metal.” Usurping the waning power of the divine, clutched in the hands of man, Sade, untethered by moral dogma, indulged his boundless destruction of morality. As his writings turned criminal, Sade drew the ire of Napoleon, who ordered his arrest. The aristocrat-philosopher as prisoner resisted justice until his demise. And yet, whether sequestered behind the stone walls of the Bastille or condemned to Charenton Asylum, de Sade’s corruption still bloomed; loyal to his philosophy, his beliefs remained unaltered. “The Black Crest of Death, the Gold Wreath of War” forms an essential piece of the Departure Chandelier discography, and, as such, is made widely available again with this reissue.
Picture LP version will be exclusive to Record Boy Japan.
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Nyogthaeblisz "Abrahamic Godhead Besieged by Adversarial Usurpation" CD
Impure "Satan's Eclipse" CD
Bewitched Hibernum in Perpetuum - 22th Anniversary Celebration" Double CD
Outre-Tombe "Nécrovortex" CD
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Is This the Real Thing? How the Brain Separates Fantasy From Reality
When the moon finally eclipsed the sun’s dazzling rays, I stared at the black orb in the sky with utter disbelief.
I was one among the tens of thousands camped out amongst the Painted Hills in Oregon, experiencing the celestial event of a lifetime. I’d heard from previous eclipse chasers that people have drastically different reactions to a total solar eclipse: wonder, awe or even ecstasy. But disbelief may be among the most common emotion.
The reason? A black hole in the middle of our burning sun, with a 360° sunset darkening the skies at 10AM, is something utterly beyond most people’s normal expectation of our world.
Humans perceive the world not just through senses like sight—mixed into our perception is a heavy dose of prediction. The brain actively works to fill in information to make sense of what we’re seeing—what’s the color and shape? Is it a face? Is it supposed to be there?
Most of the time, our expectations accurately match up with our senses. When the system works normally, it allows us to distinguish between what we think we’ll see from what we’re actually seeing. It even lets us accept the abnormal as the new normal.
But sometimes the system fails. This week, a new study in Science answered a question first set forth by the philosopher Rene Descartes over 300 years ago: if we can’t be sure our perception reflects the world, how can we separate illusion from reality?
As it turns out, our brains keep a running tab on reality through an internal fact-checking system. The fact-checker constantly monitors our previous expectations and predictions about the world. If the brain is overly expectant, the system reins it in.
When the fact-checker fails, the study found, the result is hallucinations.
It’s a “very elegant” study, says Dr. Georg Northoff at the University of Ottawa who was not involved in the work. The findings may point us towards faulty brain regions that produce hallucinations, and potentially new treatments for schizophrenia, bipolar and other serious psychiatric disorders.
To the late neuroscientist and prolific writer Dr. Oliver Sacks, hallucinations are a quirk of human perception that isn’t necessarily distressing.
Although we mostly associate hearing voices and other sensory illusions with mental illness, the truth is up to 5 to 15 percent of the general population experiences some type of auditory hallucinations in their lifetimes. Roughly one percent may hear those ghostly whispers or melodies quite often—they just ignore it or accept it as part of their normal lives.
It’s this one percent that caught Yale psychiatrist Dr. Albert Power’s attention. “We wanted to understand what’s common and what’s protecting people who hallucinate but who don’t require psychological intervention,” he says.
Previous studies have found that hallucinations activate the part of the brain normally responsible for processing those stimuli—an imagined “ding” fires up the auditory cortex, for example. But how hallucinations come about remained a mystery.
According to Powers, it’s all about expectation. Hallucinations arise when the brain’s prediction or belief of what should happen overrides the senses.
In an experiment devised at Yale University back in the 1890s, a group of researchers repeatedly showed their volunteers an image accompanied by a ringing sound. Eventually, the participants reported hearing the sound every time the image appeared, even though the researchers had long stopped playing it.
You may have experienced something similar before—seeing shapes in clouds and Rorschach blots, or hearing a cell phone ding or buzz only to find it shut off.
“People come to expect the sound so much that the brain hears it for them,” Powers says.
Auditory Inception
To test whether hallucinations come from an overly expectant brain, Powers and his colleagues dropped by an unusual location: their local organization of psychics. There, the team almost immediately realized the similarities between the psychics’ descriptions of their hallucinatory experiences, and those experienced by patients diagnosed with psychosis.
How loud the voices they heard, the frequency it occurred, the length and complexity were all remarkably similar, says Powers.
The team invited fifteen voice-hearing psychics to their lab. There, they applied a digitized version of the 1890 Yale experiment to them and three additional groups: patients with schizophrenia who hallucinate voices, people with psychosis but do not hear voices, and healthy controls.
The researchers trained everyone to associate an image of a checkerboard with a 1-kHz tone. Once a strong link formed, the team played with the intensity of the sound—sometimes turning it off completely—and asked the participants to press a button every time they thought they heard the tone.
If they felt confident, the researchers instructed, press the button down hard; otherwise just give it a light tap.
All the while, the team used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to capture the participants’ entire brains at work, taking a snapshot of activated networks as they made their choice.
If expectation is driving perception in hallucinations, then people who hear voices are more prone to “believing” in the link: that the visual must be accompanied by the tone.
That’s exactly what they found: the two voice-hearing groups were roughly five times more likely to report hearing a nonexistent tone than the controls. They were also 28 percent more confident in their assertion that there was a sound.
Their prior belief about the association was so strong that it drove the auditory hallucination, the researchers say.
When the team added additional trials without the tone, the psychics and controls eventually tweaked their prediction model: they no longer associated the checkerboard with the tone, and stopped reporting sounds that weren’t there.
In contrast, the groups with mental illness had trouble updating their priors. Despite increasing evidence that the tone was no longer present, both groups clung to their belief that the ghostly sound hung around.
“People with a psychotic illness find their perceptions really difficult to abandon even when everybody around [them] agrees that what [they] are hearing is not actually happening,” says study author Dr. Philip Corlett. “The results match closely with what we see in the clinics,” he adds.
An internal fact-checker
Both psychics and patients with schizophrenia showed abnormally low activity in several brain regions known to monitor our models of the world. The stronger reported hallucinations, for example, correlated with weaker activity in the cerebellum, a small crinkled apple-shaped brain region that sits near the base of the skull.
Normally involved in planning and coordinating movements, the cerebellum constantly makes predictions about the world and how our bodies interact with it.
A handful of recent studies suggest that the cerebellum may also play a role in memory and other higher cognitive functions. However, this study is one of the first to reveal a fact-checking role for the “little brain.”
“Doing this kind of research, particularly with non-clinical voice hearers, is really key for showing how what we believe about the world, what we expect to hear can really shape our sensory experiences,” says Dr. Ben Alderson-Day at Durham University who was not involved in the study. Alderson-Day recently showed that people who hear voices have brains that are more primed to look for meaningful patterns in ambiguous situations, further giving weight to the idea that our perception heavily relies on priors.
If the theory holds up over time, the researchers believe that it could trigger a field change to the way we treat—and think about—mental illness. Rather than dousing the entire brain with psychoactive medication, for example, physicians may be able to stop hallucinations by tweaking the brain’s fact-checking system with targeted brain stimulation. Psychologists may even be able help the patients re-frame their phantom voices into something less distressing.
To Powers, the major impact of his study lies in its experimental way to manipulate what the mind perceives. Future studies using similar protocols could answer why the placebo effect is so strong in some populations, or how environmental stimuli—lack of sleep or sensory deprivation—could mix fantasy with reality in otherwise healthy people.
“The power of the mind over itself is amazing,” he says. “We’re only just beginning to understand the biology behind that.”
Stock Media provided by Ig0r_Z / Pond5
Shelly Xuelai Fan is a neuroscientist-turned-science writer. She completed her PhD in neuroscience at the University of British Columbia, where she developed novel treatments for neurodegeneration. While studying biological brains, she became fascinated with AI and all things biotech. Following graduation, she moved to UCSF to study blood-based factors that rejuvenate aged brains. She is the ...
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Scientists Discovered ‘Mini-Computers’ in Human Neurons—and That’s Great News for AI
These Breakthroughs Made the 2010s the Decade of the Brain
This Year’s 4 Most Mind-Boggling Stories About the Brain
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Marilyn Pease
I am an Assistant Professor in the Department of Business Economics and Public Policy (BEPP), Kelley School of Business, Indiana University
Link to CV
marpease (at) iu.edu
"Costly Search with Adverse Selection: Solicitation Curse vs. Acceleration Blessing", with Kyungmin (Teddy) Kim, RAND Journal of Economics, Vol. 48, No. 2 (May 2017), pp. 1756-2171
"Optimal Information Design for Search Goods", with Michael Choi and Kyungmin (Teddy) Kim, AEA Papers and Proceedings, Volume 109 (May 2019), Pages 550-556.
Working Papers:
"Shopping for Information: The Implications of Consumer Learning for Optimal Pricing and Product Design"
"Advertising Auctions" with Kyungmin (Teddy) Kim
Work in Progress:
"Consumer Search Under Rational Inattention" with Anovia (Yifan) Dai and Kyungmin (Teddy) Kim
"Information and Promotion with On-the-Job Search"
Economic Theory, Industrial Organization, Search Theory, Labor Economics, Dynamic Games
Ph.D. in Economics, University of Iowa, May 2017
Advisor: Prof. Kyungmin (Teddy) Kim
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Characters, Celebrities, Jewish characters,
200 and 201 Celebrities
Adult characters
Movie Celebrities
Criminal Celebrities
"Cripple Fight"
Steven Spielberg is the director of the Indiana Jones series, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, and many other films. He has been featured in several episodes.
In "Cripple Fight", Spielberg is seen withdrawing his support for the Boy Scouts in support of gay rights.
Spielberg is featured prominently in the episode "Free Hat", in which he and George Lucas release updated versions of Star Wars and Raiders of the Lost Ark. Spielberg seems to be the more dominant of the pair, with Lucas behaving more in the role of a lackey and servant who "belongs to him".
When the boys attempt to convince Lucas to give them up the original film version of Raiders, Spielberg arrived, causing Lucas to again become submissive. Spielberg later convinces Tweek to surrender so that the new movie can be seen. However, during the preview of the remastered version of Raiders of the Lost Ark, Spielberg's head explodes because the film is really, really terrible.
In the episode "The China Probrem", Lucas and Spielberg apparently survived their initial encounter with the boys (or at least pulled a Kenny and were resurrected through unknown means). Upon making Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, the general public (with the exception of Butters) are horrified by the film, feeling that Lucas and Spielberg raped their beloved character Indiana Jones.
As a result, the boys file a lawsuit against Lucas and Spielberg for class-1 rape. When the police arrive to arrest them, they find that Lucas and Spielberg are gang-raping a Star Wars Storm Trooper, and later inform the boys that they found the dead raped bodies of Short Round and Yoda in the basement at Skywalker Ranch.
Throughout the episode, various versions of Spielberg is seen during the rape-vision had by people who saw the films. Each version is a parody of the films Boys Don't Cry (lines only), The Accused, and Deliverance.
In "200", Indiana Jones is now serving as Steven and George Lucas's sex slave.
Steven Spielberg has been redesigned several times in his numerous appearances throughout the series. In "Cripple Fight", he appeared briefly behind his desk dressed in a turquoise suit, pink shirt and blue hat. He was seen wearing glasses and had grey hair and beard, similar to his real-life appearance. In "Free Hat", he appeared dressed almost identically to the Indiana Jones character Belloq, in a white suit and fedora, with a blue shirt and dark blue tie. He was heavily redesigned for his appearance in "The China Probrem", in which he appeared dressed in a black coat, grey shirt and brown trousers. He was also occasionally wearing a hat with "Director" emblazoned on it.
Images of Steven Spielberg
Steven Spielberg in "Cripple Fight".
Spielberg with Francis Ford Coppola in "Free Hat".
Spielberg with the remastered version of Raiders of the Lost Ark.
Steven Spielberg dressed up as the Hebrews' High Priest
Steven Spielberg in "The China Probrem"
Steven Spielberg raping Indiana Jones.
Steven Spielberg and George Lucas hunting Indiana Jones.
Spielberg raping Indiana Jones again.
Yet another picture of Spielberg raping Indiana Jones.
While "Free Hat" portrays Spielberg as the mastermind behind the edits, with George Lucas reluctantly going along, in real life the two directors' attitudes ended up being the other way around. Steven Spielberg later stated that editing E.T. was a huge mistake and vowed never to do such a thing again, while Lucas has seen numerous edits made to the original trilogy since this episode and has stated more may well occur.
In the episode "The Mexican Staring Frog of Southern Sri Lanka", Eric Cartman refers to Stan as "Steven Spielberg" while they are filming their second video.
During the film festival in the episode "Chef's Chocolate Salty Balls", a man on a cell phone says, "Well you tell Spielberg he can kiss my ass."
"Chef's Chocolate Salty Balls" (mentioned only)
"Free Hat"
"The China Probrem"
Alec Baldwin • Angelina Jolie • Arnold Schwarzenegger • Ben Affleck • Bill Cosby • Brian Dennehy • Charlie Sheen • Cheech and Chong • Christopher Reeve • David Hasselhoff • Eric Roberts • Francis Ford Coppola • Fred Savage • Gene Hackman • Gene Siskel • George Burns • George Clooney • George Lucas • J.J. Abrams • Jada Pinkett Smith • James Cameron • Jeff Goldblum • John Travolta • Kurt Fuller • Kurt Russell • Leonard Maltin • Leonardo DiCaprio • Liza Minnelli • M. Night Shyamalan • Malcolm McDowell • Matthew Broderick • Matthew McConaughey • Mel Gibson • Michael Bay • Michael Dorn • Michael Douglas • Michael Richards • Morgan Freeman • Natalie Portman • Nick Nolte • Nicole Kidman • Ricardo Montalban • Rob Schneider • Robert Redford • Robin Williams Hologram • Russell Crowe • Sarah Jessica Parker • Sidney Poitier • Steven Seagal • Steven Spielberg • Sylvester Stallone • Terry Gilliam • The Baldwins • Tim Burton • Tom Cruise • Tyler Perry • Vin Diesel • Whoopi Goldberg • William Shatner • Winona Ryder
More Information: Movie Celebrities
Retrieved from "https://southpark.fandom.com/wiki/Steven_Spielberg?oldid=359432"
Jewish characters
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Featured Article Winners, Characters, Characters voiced by Trey Parker,
4th Graders
Minority characters
African-American characters
South Park Let's Go Tower Defense Play! Playable Characters
Male 4th Graders
Characters in a Relationship
Catholic characters
Token Black
Trey Parker (Season 3)
Adrien Beard (Season 4 - Present)
Lou Rawls (singing. episode "Wing")
Steve Black
"Cartman Gets an Anal Probe"
"Conjoined Fetus Lady"
May-June 2007 Featured Article Winner
Token Black, formerly known as Token Williams, is a male fourth grader at South Park Elementary and is voiced by Adrien Beard. His name is a play on words referring to the politically-correct idea of the "token black guy" commonly featured on American television shows.
Token Black is a regular member of Craig's gang and is most notable for being the only black child in South Park, other than guest characters and Nichole. His name refers to the phrase "token black guy", a black man placed into a television show for racial diversity. His birthday is June 20th. He is also known to be one of the smarter boys, being a straight-A student.
Token made his first appearance in the series pilot episode, "Cartman Gets an Anal Probe", where he appears as a background character. In early episodes, he was an unnamed character, however, in the episode "Gnomes", his name was revealed by Mr. Garrison.
Token after being hit by Cartman in "Cartman's Silly Hate Crime 2000".
His first major role was in "Cartman's Silly Hate Crime 2000", in which the boys were competing in a sled race against the girls. Token made fun of Cartman's weight by saying: "Yeah! And with Cartman's enormously fat ass, the boys are sure to win!". Angered, Cartman throws a rock at him, giving him a black eye. However, because Token is an African American, the FBI assumes this was a racist act. Cartman is tried in a federal court and convicted of a hate crime, and was sentenced to juvenile prison.
After realizing that they had no chance against the girls without Cartman's fat ass, Stan and Kyle go to Token's house and ask him to help them get Cartman out of prison. The boys then put on a presentation before the governor, complete with visual aids, in which they detail their opposition to hate crime laws, declaring it as "savage hypocrisy".
They argue that all forms of crime warrant some sort of hate, and the laws serve only to encourage discrimination further, impressing the governor and securing Cartman's release. Cartman returns home, arriving at the sled race just as they are about to begin, and helps the boys beat the girls.
"I don't fit in anywhere."
Token had another major role in "Here Comes the Neighborhood". Token is being teased by his friends for being rich. For example, he was teased by the kids of South Park for having a DVD player, and not knowing what a VHS was, or for having clothes from Armani Exchange. Token, sick of constantly being teased, decides to try and blend in, going to buy clothes at the local J-Mart. However, the people at the store gave him and his parents strange looks, upsetting Token.
After failing to blend in with the rest of the town's kids, Token sings a song asking God to send more rich people to his town. Soon enough, other rich people, including Will Smith, Oprah Winfrey, Snoop Dogg, and their families arrive in South Park. Token tries to play with them, suggesting a snowball fight. Instead, the rich kids make fun of him and go off to play polo. Token, downtrodden, says to himself, "I don't fit in anywhere."
Token then goes to the zoo and asks Aslan the Lion if he could try fit in with the lions, who inexplicably happen to be really into practical jokes and physical comedy. However, after he fails to understand the lions' humor, he realizes that he still doesn't fit in with them. However, in the end, his friends told Token they were just ripping on him, which is just what kids do to each other, and that he had always been part of the group from the beginning.
Token with Butters and Cartman, as Faith + 1.
In "Christian Rock Hard", Token joins Cartman's new Christian rock band, Faith + 1. Cartman asserted that Token being black automatically meant that he would own and be capable of playing the bass guitar. Although initially skeptical and annoyed with Cartman's racial profiling, Token finds that he is, in fact, fully capable of playing the bass to a high degree of proficiency.
After selling one million albums, Cartman is informed that he cannot achieve platinum certification in a Christian rock band, because Christian rock bands are certified along gold, frankincense, and myrrh as opposed to gold, platinum and diamond. Enraged, Cartman yells, "Fuck Jesus!", angering both the Christian crowd gathered at the ceremony and Token, who beats Cartman up.
In "Raisins", Token became Wendy's boyfriend, causing Stan to fall into a deep depression. However, Stan comes to terms with his loss, flipping off both Token and Wendy at the end of the episode. As Wendy and Token are not seen together on any subsequent occasions, it can be assumed this relationship ended at some point following the episode.
In "With Apologies to Jesse Jackson", Token is super pissed off at Stan's dad, Randy, for saying the N-word on Wheel of Fortune. Stan exacerbates the situation by claiming that he understood fully how the word was hurtful to black people, a claim Token would never accept. However, Stan realized that as a white person, he will never understand how black people feel. Pleased, Token responds "Now you get it, Stan", appearing to make amends.
Token can't stop himself from laughing at Tyler Perry.
In "Funnybot", Token was unable to contain his laughter at Tyler Perry's jokes. Throughout the episode, Tyler Perry, as his character Madea, would continually make jokes that only Token found funny. Each time this happened, Token appeared disappointed and embarrassed at himself, but still handed money over to Perry.
Token reluctantly helped Cartman in "1%", who needed a place to stay safe from whoever was killing his stuffed toys. The climactic events of the episode unfolded at Token's house.
The theme of racism often involves Token. Pictured is Token in "Free Willzyx".
Racism has often been a theme based around Token, such as in the episodes "Cartman's Silly Hate Crime 2000" and "With Apologies to Jesse Jackson". Since the demise of Chef, Token and his parents were the only regular African-American characters on the show until "Cartman Finds Love".
Cartman is the most obvious source of racism towards Token. When Cartman decides to make a Christian rock group, he immediately went to Token and demanded that Token get the bass guitar out of his basement. Token, offended, responded that he didn't own a bass and didn't know how to play it anyways. Cartman shoots back that because he's black, he, of course, owns one and knows how to play it. Much to Token's annoyance, Cartman was right on both counts.
Another incident of Cartman's racist behavior occurred in "Quest for Ratings". As the boys were making a news show, Sexy Action School News, Cartman tells Token to change his voice for presenting because it sounded too black or "ethnic". Token does so, and puts on an overly pompous white stereotype voice. In the episode "Wing", when Cartman and the gang try to become Token's agents to get 10% of prize money from a talent show he was entering, Cartman stated, "Now you're probably wondering 'Hell, why do I need to give you guys ten percent?!'" in a stereotypically affected voice.
In "Imaginationland", his codename is "Blackie". Occasionally, however, there are times where Cartman does something perceived as racist without the intent behind it, such as when he threw a rock at Token because Token called him fat in "Cartman's Silly Hate Crime 2000".
In "Free Willzyx", while the other boys have their faces camouflaged black, his is camouflaged white. In "Follow That Egg!", while working with Lola on the egg science project, he was given a brown egg while all the other couples got white eggs; and he understood what this meant and shot Mrs. Garrison an annoyed expression.
Stan and Token confront each other over what Stan's dad said.
In "With Apologies to Jesse Jackson", Token was deeply offended by Stan's dad saying "n*****s" as an answer on Wheel of Fortune. He eventually forgave Stan when the latter realized that he could never understand how it feels to hear the word from an African-American's viewpoint.
In "Funnybot" Tyler Perry makes a guest appearance as Madea for Jimmy's comedy awards, and Token is the only character shown laughing at his jokes. This suggests a stereotype that African Americans are the only group that finds Madea entertaining.
In "1%" Cartman stays at Token's house to hide from whoever is killing his dolls, convinced that since Token is black, no one would dare attack him there because it would supposedly be a sign of racism.
In "Cartman Finds Love", Cartman attempts to force a romantic relationship between Token and Nichole Daniels, believing "black people should be together." Although his intentions were insincere, the two do become a couple and were quite happy with each other.
Token with his bass guitar.
Despite never having previously touched the instrument, Token is shown to be highly skilled with the bass guitar, as seen in the episode "Christian Rock Hard". However, he is annoyed by this talent, as Cartman tells him it is hereditary due to his ethnicity.
He also has an excellent singing voice, as seen in the episode "Wing". He sang the Lou Rawls song "You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine" for the Ms. Colorado Beauty Pageant and won $200. Cartman also attributes his vocal skills to his ethnicity. However, he eventually lost his money when he hired an exploitative agent, and wound up serving drinks at Sylvester Stallone's son's wedding.
He also sang a ballad, "Why Can't I Be Like All the Other Kids?", in "Here Comes the Neighborhood", but did not sound nearly as impressive as he does in "Wing". This is because his performance in "Wing" was actually a sped-up version of the original Lou Rawls track, while his performance in "Here Comes the Neighborhood" was performed by his standard voice actor, Adrien Beard.
Near the end of the episode "Christian Rock Hard", Token rather easily beat up Cartman with two punches and a kick. This indicates that he is a decent fighter. In "Bebe's Boobs Destroy Society", Token was seen fighting the other boys with some proficiency. He is also seen wielding nun-chucks in "Good Times with Weapons".
Token also has a vigilante alter-ego, under the alias Tupperware. Although he is never actually seen fighting as Tupperware, he and the rest of Coon and Friends try to intervene when cultists corner Mysterion.
Token is seen to be very good at sports, playing on the dodgeball team in "Conjoined Fetus Lady", on the baseball team at first-base in "The Losing Edge", and on the basketball team in "Elementary School Musical". In "Medicinal Fried Chicken", he is seen with the soccer team.
Superhero Alter-Ego
See: Tupperware
Filing a false police report: In "The Wacky Molestation Adventure", he files a false police report against his parents and other adults, claiming they abused him.
Damage to Property or Vandalism: In "Skank Hunt", he, along with some of his classmates, destroy Cartman's electronics when they think that he is Skankhunt42.
Indecent exposure: In "Wieners Out", he joins the Wieners Out movement, which involves exposing genitalia.
Assault: In "Christian Rock Hard", he assaults Cartman for making a racist remark and losing the crowd he, Butters, and Eric gained after they sold one million copies by saying "fuck Jesus".
Token wears a light purple Armani Exchange shirt with a letter "T" in light orange and a pair of dark gray pants. He is African American and has dark brown skin. He has short black hair.
To see images of Token Black, visit Token Black/Gallery.
Token is usually level-headed, calm and rational. He has also been shown to be highly intelligent, besides Kyle. However, this has caused Cartman to label him "a smartass."
He has a strong willingness to stand up for himself and his rights; in "With Apologies to Jesse Jackson", he was obviously incredibly upset by Stan's dad Randy saying the N-word on Wheel of Fortune, and did not forgive Stan until the latter admitted that he would never be able to understand the connotations of the word.
He was also annoyed by Cartman's constant racial stereotyping in "Christian Rock Hard", but managed to contain his frustrations and continued to work with him. However, he eventually lost his temper with Cartman, physically assaulting him for saying "Fuck Jesus!" in front of a huge crowd of Christian fans.
In "Here Comes the Neighborhood" he took the other kids' teasing personally, causing him to feel like an outcast and not part of the group, possibly indicating that he is sensitive to social criticism.
In the episode "Free Willzyx", he helped Kyle and the other boys save a whale, revealing a compassionate attitude.
Token and his parents.
See also: Black Residence
Originally known as Token Williams, he is the only minority (aside from Kevin, a Chinese-American) in the main characters' class, and with the loss of Chef, he and his family are the only recurring African American characters in South Park.
His name comes from the phrase "token minority," typically used to describe non-Caucasian persons thrown into small roles in TV shows and movies for the sole purpose of character diversity. In an intentional reversal of racial stereotypes, Token and his parents are said to be the wealthiest family in South Park; his father Steve is a lawyer and his mother Linda is a chemist.
Token as part of Craig's Gang.
Token and Clyde appear to be good friends. They are usually seen talking to each other in background scenes and both form the core of Craig's group.
Token is a constant member of Craig's Gang. The two have only been seen talking to each other in "Jewpacabra" and "Raising the Bar."
Token with Cartman.
Token has been shown to possess a strong dislike of Cartman on numerous occasions. This is probably because Cartman is a racist and insults black people right in front of Token. In the episode "Cartman's Silly Hate Crime 2000" Cartman throws a rock at Token because Token called him fat. In the episode "Here Comes the Neighborhood" Cartman was together with some other guys insulting Token for being rich.
On the other hand, Token did agree to help Cartman with his Christian rock band, Faith + 1, in "Christian Rock Hard", but only because he was promised money. Cartman believed that because Token is black, he should both own and be able to play a bass guitar instinctively. He was right, and Token was even able to play it despite never picking up the instrument before, much to his own frustration.
In the same episode, Token stated that he was "getting sick of [Cartman's] stereotypes!" but nonetheless continued to play for Cartman. After Token called Cartman "tubby", Cartman privately promised himself that he would kill Token. At the end of the episode, after Cartman said "Fuck Jesus!" in front of thousands of people, and called him a "black asshole", Token eventually became enraged, brutally beat him up and walked away.
Token tends to side with Cartman over Stan and Kyle, as seen in "The Wacky Molestation Adventure," the "Black Friday" trilogy, and The Stick of Truth.
In "1%", Cartman comes to Token's house for protection, although Token didn't seem very happy about this, especially after learning that it is only because Cartman thinks he will be safe in a house owned by black people.
In “Skank Hunt”, he joins Kyle, Stan, Butters, Clyde, Craig and Jimmy to smash Cartman’s electronics when he was blamed for being the internet called Skankhunt42.
Token with Stan Marsh.
Generally, Stan and Token appear to be on relatively good terms, often sitting and talking with each other at the lunch table.
However, in "Raisins", they experienced some friction after Token started going out with Stan's ex-girlfriend, Wendy. Stan flipped them both off at the end of the episode.
In "With Apologies to Jesse Jackson", Token was incredibly upset that Randy Marsh had said the word "n*****" on national television; the situation was worsened when Stan claimed to understand how black people feel when they hear the word "n*****." However, their feud is resolved by the end of the episode when Stan understands that he can't possibly know how it feels.
Bebe called Token a "midnight blue" in "Stupid Spoiled Whore Video Playset" and invited him in her party. However, it should be noted that at this point Bebe was acting like a total whore and invited almost every boy to her party.
In "Bebe's Boobs Destroy Society", Token and Clyde started liking her and thinking she was cool, smart and awesome. However, Token and all the boys were fighting for Bebe at this point, and all the boys thought she was cool and super awesome because of her breasts.
Token and Butters collaborated on the Faith + 1 band in "Christian Rock Hard". They also talk sometimes and sit together during lunchtime.
In "#REHASH", Butters talks about Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare with Token.
Token and Wendy.
In the episode "Raisins", he began going out with Wendy Testaburger, leading her break up with Stan Marsh. However, it seems probable that their relationship was not as long-lived as Wendy's relationship with Stan, as they haven't been shown together again. They were seen together afterwards riding on a ferris wheel in "The Jeffersons". He was also shown with other girls at the party in "Stupid Spoiled Whore Video Playset".
In "Cartman Finds Love", when the girls are hanging out at Bebe's sleepover, Nichole mentions that Token has a crush on her. Wendy comments that he's really nice and as such she dated him for a while, referencing their relationship in "Raisins".
Token and Lola were paired in the "Follow That Egg!" episode and were given a brown egg by Mrs. Garrison; a slightly racist jab at Token.
Token and Red attended the Bay of Pigs memorial dance together in "Hooked on Monkey Fonics". Red gave Rebecca Cotswolds a dirty look when she hit on Token, but Token didn't seem to mind.
Nichole Daniels
In "Cartman Finds Love", after being trapped in the boys locker room together by Cartman, Token and Nichole start to build a strong relationship, as a couple. To strengthen their relationship, Cartman planted a teddy bear on both Token and Nichole's doorway. Assuming the teddy bear was by Token, Nichole got upset when she saw "Cuz blacks belong together" written on its collar, which caused her to end her relationship with Token. When she learned from Kyle that it was Cartman who gave the teddy bear, she apologized to Token, who revealed that he was even avoiding her in the first place because she was black. As a result, the two reconcile their differences and got back together again. As of "The Hobbit", it is mentioned that they still are together.
However, the two broke up toward the end of "Skank Hunt"; Nichole gave Token the note while was playing basketball.
In "Dead Kids" Nichole tells Cartman that they are trying to make their relationship work again.
Social Standing in General
In the episode "Here Comes the Neighborhood", Token becomes tired of being an outcast due to his wealth, and successfully gets more rich people to move to South Park, all of whom are famous African Americans. At the end of the episode, the other boys tell him they tease each other for any faults they have all the time, and therefore they accepted him into their group. They then decide that from then on, they would tease him for being a pussy rather than tease him for being rich. Token responds that he liked getting teased for being rich better.
Token: "I don't wanna be rich anymore! I wanna eat macaroni and cheese for dinner and, and wear clothes from J mart!" from "Here Comes the Neighborhood"
Token: "I don't fit in anywhere." from "Here Comes the Neighborhood"
Token: "I'm gettin' sick of your stereotypes!" from "Christian Rock Hard"
Token: "If you really think it's not a big deal, then you really are ignorant. That's all." from "With Apologies to Jesse Jackson"
An example of a "white Token" in "Big Gay Al's Big Gay Boat Ride".
Token is also as a very smart character that, aside from Stan Marsh and Kyle Broflovski, is least affected by Cartman's attempts at manipulation, much to the annoyance of Cartman.
Token as a blacksmith.
Token's name was mentioned by writer Brian C. Anderson as an example of South Park being, in the words of Andrew Sullivan, "The best antidote to PC [politically-correct] culture we have."
In the early seasons, a white version of Token was occasionally seen, usually in background shots. In the Season One commentary, Trey and Matt say it is probably due to the animators being lazy (reusing Token's model and then recoloring his face).
In "The Succubus", a picture in the background of Herbert Garrison's class depicts a picture of a white token with Token's name on it.
Token has spoken in every season since his first speaking role in Season Two.
As of Season Nineteen, Token is 1 of the 4 minorities in South Park Elementary.
Promotions for South Park: The Stick of Truth featured Token as a blacksmith. This is referenced in the game, as Cartman tells Token that he should be a blacksmith.
In "Here Comes the Neighborhood", when his classmates decide to insult Token for being a pussy is similar to when everyone mocks Butters Stotch for being wimpy.
Token is one of the only male students in South Park Elementary to not be voiced by Trey Parker or Matt Stone.
Originally, in "World War Zimmerman" Token was supposed to be killed off permanently.
Token in "Faith Hilling".
"The Unaired Pilot" - Watches DogPoo roll in dirt.
"Cartman Gets an Anal Probe" - Seen in class.
"Big Gay Al's Big Gay Boat Ride" - White version of Token seen in bleachers.
"Mr. Hankey, the Christmas Poo" - White version of Token seen in the background.
"Chickenlover" - Seen on the playground.
"Chef's Chocolate Salty Balls" - Seen in the classroom.
"Chef Aid" - Seen standing in the lunch line.
"Gnomes" - First referred to by name as Token by Mr. Garrison.
"Tweek vs. Craig" - Second speaking role, though his only line is "Yeah they left!" in a different voice to later episodes.
South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut - He made some appearances in the movie.
"Hooked on Monkey Fonics" - He is seen at the dance with Red.
"Cartman's Silly Hate Crime 2000" - Token is hit by a rock Cartman threw at him, resulting in the latter going to prison. He later helps the boys get Cartman out of jail by repealing hate-crime sentence.
"Chef Goes Nanners" - Token and his family stand with Chef as he protests the racism depicted on the South Park flag.
"Helen Keller! The Musical" - Token thinks that Gobbles sucks for the play.
"Scott Tenorman Must Die" - Seen at Cartman's Chili-Con Carnival.
"Here Comes the Neighborhood" - Token, tired of being teased on account of his wealth, invites several rich, black, celebrity families to move to South Park.
"Professor Chaos" - Token passes the "bus stop test" and the "talent test". He appears to be the best candidate, but the boys say he's too much of a smartass and kick him out.
"The Return of the Fellowship of the Ring to the Two Towers" - Token is chosen to watch the Forbidden Tape (which was actually a hardcore porno) at the gathering. After watching, he becomes traumatized and stops role-playing.
"Toilet Paper" - Seen molding clay with Annie in art class.
"Christian Rock Hard" - Token is chosen along with Butters to form a Christian rock band, Faith + 1 with Cartman. Also, he beats up Cartman because he made them lose a big crowd.
"Raisins" - Token is Wendy's new boyfriend.
"It's Christmas in Canada" - Seen in the crowd of people at the Christmas tree lighting in South Park.
"Good Times with Weapons" - Token and the others in Stan and Craig's gangs play ninjas with each other.
"The Jeffersons"- Seen in the background riding the Ferris Wheel in Mr.Jefferson's backyard, sitting next to Wendy.
"Quest for Ratings" - Token is in the boys' extended gang for their news show.
"Wing" - The boys try to get Token as their new client in their agency, but he is stolen by another agency.
"Free Willzyx" - Helps the rest of the fourth-grade boys free the imprisoned whale.
"Mystery of the Urinal Deuce"
"With Apologies to Jesse Jackson" - Token is initially upset after Randy Marsh says the "N" word on live television, but is even more upset when Stan doesn't understand why that's so bad.
"Lice Capades" - He is shown with the guys giving Kenny a sock bath.
"The Snuke" - Seen in class.
"Imaginationland" - Claims to Cartman that he does not like the codename blackie.
"The List" - Token is ranked the second cutest boy in the school on the first corrupted list.
"Super Fun Time" - Token is field trip partners with Clyde.
"Breast Cancer Show Ever" - Token is with the other boys saying things about Wendy and Cartman fighting.
"Elementary School Musical" - Token joins the school singing with Bridon Guermo.
"W.T.F." - Token joins the wrestling show, his wrestling name is Kongo.
"200" - Seen in the crowd giving Santa in bear costume to gingers.
"Coon 2: Hindsight" - He appears as TupperWear, a member of "Coon and Friends".
"Mysterion Rises" - He appears as TupperWear, a member of "Coon and Friends".
"Coon vs. Coon & Friends" - Again is TupperWear.
"Funnybot" - Laughs at every joke Tyler Perry says.
"City Sushi" - Seen at the school assembly.
"You're Getting Old" - Appears in Stan's birthday party.
"The Last of the Meheecans" - Attends Cartman's slumber party and plays Texans vs. Mexicans.
"Bass to Mouth" - Appears in Stan's group attempting to stop Eavesdropper.
"1%" - Cartman stays at his house, thinking that he will be safe from any assaults because Token is black. Token witnesses Cartman 'growing up' along with Stan, Kyle, and Kenny.
"Reverse Cowgirl" - Seen in the background of Mr. Garrison's class.
"Cash For Gold" - Mentioned when Cartman greets him on the playground trying to get him to sell his mother's jewelry.
"Faith Hilling" - Seen in the memeing class with the other 4th Grade students.
"Jewpacabra" - Seen at the Easter egg hunt and at the church guarding the perimeter.
"Butterballs" - Seen in the background at the school assembly and during Stan's anti-bullying video.
"Cartman Finds Love" - Begins dating Nichole, a new kid in South Park Elementary.
"Sarcastaball" - A player on the South Park Cows Sarcastaball team.
"Raising the Bar" - Helps Kyle make a "documentary" in order to make money.
"Going Native" - Seen waiting for Butters outside the Boys bathroom.
"A Scause For Applause"
"Obama Wins!" - Seen playing basketball with the other boys and joins Stan and Kyle in their effort to out Cartman, for rigging the 2012 presidential election.
"World War Zimmerman" - Token is harassed by Cartman, who believes he is racially violent following George Zimmerman's acquittal, framed as "Patient Zero" by Cartman, and eventually shot by Cartman, although he survives.
"Black Friday" - Token is a member of the group that wants to get Xbox Ones on Black Friday.
"A Song of Ass and Fire" - Token is a member of the group that wants to get Xbox Ones on Black Friday.
"Titties and Dragons" - Token is a member of the group that wants to get Xbox Ones on Black Friday, but was apathetic when getting the Xbox One after watching Bill Gates kill the Sony President in the Red Robin.
"Gluten Free Ebola" - Token and the rest of the 4th-grade class ostracize the boys after they left school, told everyone to "go fuck" themselves, and started a start-up company, which eventually failed, forcing them to go back to school.
"The Cissy" - Briefly seen in the school hallway.
"The Magic Bush" - Token, along with Jimmy and Clyde, mock Craig over his mom's "bush".
"Grounded Vindaloop" - Seen with the boys along with Jimmy at the lunch table.
"#REHASH" - Seen talking about Dragon Age with Butters.
"Stunning and Brave" - Seen in the hallway.
"The City Part of Town" - Seen at the Whole Foods Market.
"You're Not Yelping" - Briefly yells at Cartman for commanding an Army of Yelpers to destroy Whistlin' Willy's.
"Truth and Advertising"
"PC Principal Final Justice"- Seen at the school assembly.
"Member Berries" - Seen in the hallway.
"Skank Hunt" - Along with several of his classmates, he destroys Eric Cartman's electronic devices and buries them. Nichole breaks up with him.
"The Damned" - On a group video chat with Kyle Broflovski, Clyde Donovan, Butters Stotch, and Craig Tucker discussing the police's recent visit to Kyle's house.
"Wieners Out" - Seen participating in Butters' Wieners Out movement.
"Douche and a Danish" - Seen in the battle between the boys and the girls.
"Oh, Jeez" - Seen at the school assembly.
"The End of Serialization as We Know It" - Seen in the video call with Kyle and tells him the worst thing to say on a "United Negro College Fund" website to anger its users.
"White People Renovating Houses" - Plays with Alexa with the other boys at Cartman's house. He is later seen playing basketball at the basketball court.
"Put It Down" - Sings "Put It Down" with the other students.
"Franchise Prequel" - Reappears as Tupperware.
"Hummels & Heroin" - Rallies with Marcus Preston after witnessing his presentation in the school cafeteria.
"Sons A Witches" - Seen at the school assembly.
"Doubling Down" - Cartman comes to his house in shambles after Heidi breaks up with him. He pleads for Token to let him stay over, racistly claiming to now understand his 'black rage' and asks Token's parents if he can flip over cars and disrespect the American flag with them.
"Dead Kids" - Investigated by Cartman for making him fail the maths test.
"A Boy And A Priest" - Seen at Clyde's party.
"The Problem with a Poo" - Seen in the school band and at Denny’s with Craig's Gang. Later watches Mr. Hankey leave South Park.
"Tegridy Farms" - Seen sitting with the boys at the school cafeteria.
"The Scoots" - Is part of Clyde's trick or treating group.
"Time To Get Cereal" - Seen in the school's playground after evacuation.
"Buddha Box" - Takes his dad to an anxiety management session.
"Bike Parade" - Seen at the bike parade.
"Band in China" - Seen at the Autumn Fest.
"Shots!!!" - Seen eating with the boys at the cafeteria.
"Let Them Eat Goo" - Seen in the cafeteria.
"Tegridy Farms Halloween Special" - Seen at the school assembly.
"Board Girls" - Seen watching the games between the girls and Heather Swanson.
"Basic Cable" - Seen in the classroom.
"Christmas Snow" - Seen ice skating with the other fourth graders.
South Park Let's Go Tower Defense Play!
Token plays no role in the storyline of South Park Let's Go Tower Defense Play! and is one of the 'additional characters' unlocked at the game's completion. He is the same class as Eric Cartman, Wendy Testaburger and Red. His unique special ability is playing blues music, causing damage to all enemies within a small radius of Token.
"Gate Crasher" is part of a main quest where Cartman asks the player to find Token. He can be found in his home within the gated community. After Douchebag purchases a gas mask from Jimbo's Guns, he is immune to the security guard's pepper spray and thus forces a battle with him. Once Douchebag defeats the security guard, he can get to Token's house, where Token adds him on Facebook and gets his equipment to continue roleplaying with the other boys. Token is later seen healing his allies in Jimmy's house and South Park Elementary.
Shaman Token
Space Warrior Token
Witch Doctor Token
Rogue Token
South Park students
6th Grader Leader | Allie Nelson | Annie | Annie Knitts | Ashley | Baahir Hakeem | Bebe Stevens | Bill Allen | Billy Miller | Billy Thompson | Boy with Blond Hair | Boy with Red Shirt | Bradley Biggle | Bridon Gueermo | Brimmy | Butters Stotch | Casey Miller | Christophe | Clyde Donovan | Craig Tucker | Damien Thorn | DogPoo Petuski | Dougie O'Connell | Douglas | David Rodriguez | Eric Cartman | Esther | Firkle Smith | Filmore Anderson | Flora Larsen | Fosse McDonald | Francis | Gary Harrison | Girl with Blonde Hair | Gordon Stoltski | Goth Kids | Gregory | Heidi Turner | Henrietta Biggle | Ike Broflovski | Isla | Jake | Jason White | Jenny Simons | Jessie | Jimmy Valmer | Josh Myers | Kal | Kenny McCormick | Kevin Stoley | Kindergartners | Kip Drordy | Kyle Broflovski | | Liza Nelson | Lizzy | Lola | Loogie | Louis | Leslie Meyers | Marcus Preston | Mandy | Mark Cotswolds | Meagan Ridley | Michael | Mike Cooper | Mike Makowski | Millie Larsen | Nancy | Nate | Nathan | Nelly | Nichole Daniels | Patty Nelson | Pete Thelman | Pete Thelman (3rd grader) | Peter Mullen | Pip Pirrip | Rebecca Cotswolds | Red | Sally Darson | Sally Turner | Samantha Dunskin | Sarah Peterson | Scott Malkinson | Shauna | Sophie Gray | Stan Marsh | Tammy Warner | Terrance Mephesto | The 6th Graders | The 9th Graders | The Boys | The New Kid | The Ugly Kids | Theresa | Thomas | Timmy Burch | Token Black | Trent Boyett | Tommy Edwards | Tommy Turner | Tweek Tweak | Wendy Testaburger
List of Female 4th Graders | List of Male 4th Graders | Portal:Characters
Retrieved from "https://southpark.fandom.com/wiki/Token_Black?oldid=372330"
Featured Article Winners
Characters voiced by Trey Parker
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SpaceFund Reality Rating (SFR)
Space Market Intelligence
Contact SpaceFund
OrbitFab
The SpaceFund Rising Star project is designed to highlight those companies who we believe have the best shot at transforming the “space” of space. The Rising Stars we feature will include teams developing new technologies and creating new markets as they work to open the frontier. We do not attest nor imply our endorsement of them or their products, nor are any of our statements meant to suggest or advise investments in them. Also, while we may or may not invest in them ourselves at some point, we feel they are noteworthy enough to highlight in this format for the education of the industry, media and public.
The use of space resources, in space, is critical to developing an industrial economy in space. A first step towards that goal is changing the space paradigm away from disposability and towards re-useability. This is already happening with space transportation, but satellites are still considered to be disposable. Through their development of in-space fuel depots, Orbit Fab is helping usher in an age of reusable satellites.
In order to enable reusable satellites, Orbit Fab has worked with companies across the industry to build a standard refueling interface. From inputs provided by satellite constellations and servicing vehicles to integrators and thruster providers, Orbit Fab has developed and tested the Rapidly Attachable Fuel Transfer Interface known as RAFTI.
Orbit Fab envisions a thriving in-space market for products and services that support both existing space businesses (communications and Earth observation) and new industries like space tourism, manufacturing, and mining. The company will offer a ubiquitous supply of satellite propellant in Earth Orbit, expanding the operational potential of new and existing space assets and enabling unprecedented business model flexibility for satellite owners. The future for satellites is no longer restricted to the fuel they are launched with. The company will provide the fuel that satellites need, where and when they need it, to achieve things never thought possible.
The RAFTI fueling port can replace the fill and drain valves on a spacecraft, allowing for both the initial fueling on the ground and the option to refuel in orbit. The RAFTI fueling port is now commercially available, with the first delivery to a customer scheduled for later this month.
Left image: RAFTI pre-production model. Right image: RAFTI production model.
Orbit Fab was awarded a contract with the ISS U. S. National Lab to test the key systems of their tankers in microgravity that include pumps, valves, and plumbing. Their in-space demonstration analyzed the effects of residual momentum and slosh in the tanks with various levels of propellant.
OrbitFab is an example of the new way to do business in space by disrupting from within – identify a need based on a blindspot in the traditional market and apply the frontier paradigm to the solution. Also, if you can, work within the system, burn as little of your investor’s funds as needed and get to the proof of your concept as fast as possible.
In less than one year after their first funding round, the company has completed two successful demonstration missions on the International Space Station (ISS) and became the first private company to supply water to the ISS using their own refueling equipment. In addition, they have started selling their first product, the RAFTI fill/drain port. With early revenue, and a strong customer focus, the team is rapidly building a new market for in-space fuel. The importance of fuel depots in space cannot be underscored enough. The establishment of an in-space supply chain, that will one day support thousands of new companies, depends first on the establishment of standardized fuel ports, and available gas stations.
OrbitFab in The News
Orbit Fab Becomes First Startup to Supply Water to ISS, Paving the way for Satellite Refueling
Not even two years into its existence, orbital fuel supply startup Orbit Fab has chalked up a big win — successfully supplying the International Space Station with water, a first for any private company. It’s a big deal, because providing water to the ISS involved a multi-day refueling process, done in microgravity, using processes and equipment Orbit Fab developed itself.
Orbit Fab demonstrates satellite refueling technology on ISS
A startup company that plans to develop tankers for refueling satellites has completed a key test of its technology on the International Space Station.
Orbit Fab announced June 18 it completed tests of an experiment called Furphy on the ISS, demonstrating the ability to transfer water between two satellite testbeds.
Deep Space Gas Stations Prepare for In-Space Market
Daniel Faber and Jeremy Schiel share their vision for the future of space and the critical need for satellite fueling stations. With help from our partners at Bolt, a technology accelerator, Orbit Fab has developed a preliminary design that was launched with a SpaceX Dragon rocket and is now in place at the ISS. Read on to learn about their Furphy device and how fueling satellites will be a game changer in the next chapter of space technology.
More Updates from the Frontier
Rising StarsThe SpaceFund Rising Star project is designed to highlight those companies who we believe have the best shot at transforming the “space” of space. The Rising Stars we feature will include teams developing new technologies and creating new markets as they...
Rising Star: Axiom Space
Location, location, location. If what they say is true – and within a practical margin of engineering bravado error we believe it is – within a few years Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin and Elon Musk’s SpaceX are going to be able to transport large numbers of people to and from space. Yet today, outside of China’s government facility, we have only one space station in orbit.
Why We’re Not on the Moon
As we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first humans to walk on the Moon, you might notice we aren’t celebrating it on the Moon. Why? Having achieved the greatest feat in human history, why is all we have to show for it flags, footprints, and footage?
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/*]]>*/ Ohio Power Siting Board Holding Hearing On 125 MW Solar Facility - Solar Industry
Home Projects & Contracts Ohio Power Siting Board Holding Hearing On 125 MW Solar Facility
Ohio Power Siting Board Holding Hearing On 125 MW Solar Facility
Following delays last year, the Ohio Power Siting Board (OPSB) is holding a hearing on July 24 to allow members of the public to express their views regarding Vinton Solar Energy LLC’s proposal to construct a solar facility in Vinton County.
The Vinton Solar Energy Facility would comprise a solar PV project with a capacity of up to 125 MW. The proposed project would be located on approximately 1,950 acres of leased land in Elk Township. Vinton Solar Energy plans to interconnect the facility to the electric transmission grid via American Electric Power’s nearby 138 kV Elk Substation.
The OPSB postponed both hearings last fall in response to a request from Vinton Solar Energy to suspend the schedule until the company obtained a required system impact study from PJM Interconnection. The PJM study was completed in June, the board says.
An adjudicatory hearing in this proceeding will take place on Aug. 1.
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Tampa Bay Rays vs. Toronto Blue Jays - 8/6/19 MLB Pick, Odds, and Prediction
Updated: 8/6/19
Toronto Blue Jays at Tampa Bay Rays
Tuesday August 6, 2019, 7:10 PM (EDT)
Tampa Bay, Florida
Tampa Bay Rays -179 / Toronto Blue Jays +162 O/U: 9
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The Toronto Blue Jays and the Tampa Bay Rays will match up on the MLB diamond Tuesday to continue their series.
In the Monday opener of this set, the Blue Jays scored twice in the first three innings and held on for a 2-0 win.
For Tuesday’s game, the Blue Jays will be sending out Trent Thornton in the start. Across his 105.0 innings and 4-7 record this year, Thornton has a 5.23 ERA with 102 Ks and 45 BBs.
Toronto put up nine hits in the win Monday. Galvis, Bichette and Grichuk each had two knocks.
Over on the Rays’ side, they’e sending out Andrew Kittredge in the start Tuesday. Kittredge is 1-0 with a 2.52 ERA and 30 Ks this year.
Tampa could only muster five hits on Monday. No Rays player had more than one.
The Blue Jays are 7-0 in the last seven in game two of a series and 0-4 in Thornton’s last four starts versus a team with a winning record. Toronto is 1-5 in Thornton’s last six road starts versus a team with a winning record and the over is 7-1 in his last eight overall.
Meanwhile, the Rays are 2-6 in their last eight Tuesday games and 2-5 in their last eight in game two of a series. The over is 4-0 in the Rays’ last four in game two of a series and 5-0 in their last five Tuesday games.
Thornton has been pretty up and down over this last four starts. In the two bad ones, he gave up nine earned in 4.1 innings combined, and in the pair of quality starts during that time he gave up one earned in 12.0 innings, winning both.
I’m not ready to trust Thornton these days—not to mention the Jays offense—so I’m going Rays here.
Tampa Bay Rays -179
@SCPAndrew
Andrew has been with Sports Chat Place since 2012, contributing to football, baseball and basketball across the fantasy, college and professional ranks. His goal is to break down the complicated trends and numbers into a language that's accessible even if you're not a seasoned sports bettor, providing comprehensive insight that can apply to just about everyone. Follow Andrew on Twitter for links to his latest Sports Chat Place picks.
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US Promises 'Firm' Measures if Damascus Breaks Ceasefire in Daraa
© Sputnik / Mikhail Voskresenskiy
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201805261064839163-syria-leaflets-reaction-daraa-ceasefire/
The region of Daraa is enjoying a ceasefire negotiated after a meeting between US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in July 2017. The region, known as the "cradle of the revolution" during the Arab Spring in 2011, is now mostly controlled by numerous anti-government organizations.
The US State Department issued a statement late Friday saying it was "concerned" by leaflets, which were reportedly dropped by government aircraft in the province of Daraa. According to reports circulating among pro-opposition monitors, the leaflets called on the militants to stop fighting and reconcile with the Syrian government, otherwise they would allegedly "gamble their lives" and head to "inevitable death."
READ MORE: US-Led Coalition Hits Syrian Army Base — Reports
"We also caution the Syrian regime against any actions that risk broadening the conflict or jeopardize the ceasefire," said spokeswoman Heather Nauert, noting that the ceasefire had been reaffirmed by Washington and Moscow last November. "As a guarantor of this de-escalation area with Russia and Jordan, the United States will take firm and appropriate measures in response to Assad regime violations," she added.
© Sputnik / Mikhail Voskresensky
WATCH Syrian Army Strikes Daesh Positions With Golan-1000 Rocket System
Earlier this week, a spokesman for the General Command of the Syrian Army announced the complete liberation of Damascus after Daesh* terrorists were ousted from their remaining strongholds in the al-Yarmouk Camp district of Syria's capital.
The Daraa province, where the first anti-government riots started in 2011, is now only partly controlled by Damascus, while many armed factions and terrorist organizations, including Daesh, are present in the region.
*Daesh, also known as ISIS, Islamic State is a terrorist group banned in Russia
Turkey, US Agree on Roadmap for Cooperation in Syria's Manbij
Syrian Army Calls On Militants in Southern Syria to Surrender Ahead of Offensive
Syria May Need Over $400Bln to Be Rebuilt, Relies on Russian Aid - Minister
Syrian war, leaflets, Daesh, State Department, Heather Nauert, Syria
08:08San Francisco 49ers Throttle Green Bay Packers, Advance to First Super Bowl in Seven Years
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Vietnam’s Football Team Gets Rewarded With Bikini Show For Silver Medal (VIDEO)
© Photo : Youtube / Vietjet
https://sputniknews.com/viral/201801291061153955-vietnam-footbal-team-bikini-show/
VietJet Air apparently decided that an improvised catwalk show of bikini-clad models onboard their flight is what a football team needs after playing a good game in the finals of the AFC Asian Cup.
Vietnam's U-23 football team managed to win a silver medal at the AFC Asian Cup after a tough competition, making it to the final game for the first time. They received an unexpected gift from the VietJet Air airline, which flew the team from Changzhou back to Hanoi. According to Taiwan News, it decided to invite several models to perform a bikini show onboard the team's flight.
READ MORE: Israel's Hottest Weapon of Mass Destruction: Taking the World by Beauty (PHOTOS)
In a video, filmed by one of the passengers and posted on YouTube, you can see that while some members of the team are enjoying the show and capturing it on their phones, others seem to feel a bit more awkward, or even embarrassed.
The performance caused a backlash against the airline on social networks and made it issue an apology, claiming that it was not planned by the company, but was added by the flight's reception team.
READ MORE: Meet the Russian Student Who's Just Become 'Miss Bikini World' (PHOTOS)
This is not the first time VietJet Air gets involved in a bikini scandal. The airline was fined for its controversial promo-performance, after in August 2012 flight attendants dressed in Hawaiian bikinis marched through the cabin of the VietJet flight from Ho Chi Minh City to the coastal holiday destination of Nha Trang.
It also released a hot promo calendar for 2018, featuring plenty of skimpily-clad models, posing both inside and outside of the company airliners.
Vietnamese Airline 'VietJet' Defends 'Overly Sexualized' Marketing Campaign
Bikini-Clad 'Female Indiana Jones' Takes on Plastic Trash (VIDEO)
Japanese Bikini Bombshells Strip Off to Cheer Up Local Baseball Champs (PHOTOS)
'Roll, Baby, Roll!' Bikini-Skiing Carnival Captivates Sochi
scandals, scandal, reward, surprise, airlines, Football, models, show, girls, bikini, YouTube, Vietjet, Vietnam
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Slut-Shaming Isn’t Just a “Girl-On-Girl Crime”
By Amanda Hess
Women take part in a “slut walk” in London.
Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP/GettyImages
New research into the science of slut-shaming has found that promiscuous women can’t get a break—even from other promiscuous women. For a study published in the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, researchers from Cornell University asked college women to read a vignette describing a hypothetical female peer, “Joan,” then rate their feelings about her personality. To one group of women, Joan was described as having two lifetime sexual partners; to another group, she’d bedded 20. The study found that women—even women who were more promiscuous themselves—rated the Joan with 20 partners as less competent, emotionally stable, warm, and dominant than the Joan who’d only boasted two.
Slutty Joan is just another statistic tossed onto the mounting pile of evidence of girl on girl crime, in which sexism is inflicted on women by other women. But lately, the public fascination with female infighting has threatened to let men—and really, the society we all live in—off the hook for hating on ladies who get around.
Take the press coverage of the Cornell study, which has focused heavily on female attitudes toward promiscuous women while sliding over the male attitudes unearthed in the research. While researchers were quizzing women about Joan, they presented a group of men with identical descriptions of a male peer, “Jim.” In opposition to the female response, the young men actually rated Slutty Jim as more competent and emotionally stable than Prudish Jim. The men did see Slutty Jim as a threat to their own sexual security—what the researchers call “mate guarding”—but that threat didn’t translate into perceiving Jim as a bad person.
That finding could be interpreted as evidence that men engage in social policing of sexual behavior less than women do. But it’s really just that they’re saving their judgment for women like Joan instead of for each other. The Cornell study itself didn’t rate male attitudes about promiscuous women (or vice versa), but as lead author Zhana Vrangalova told Science, that’s partly because “study after study has found that sexually permissive women are discriminated against by potential romantic partners.” And as UCLA sociologist Jessica Carbino recently told Ann Friedman at The Cut, “men and women both agree that men should actively pursue female partners and that women should be passive recipients to their advances,” and that “when women do not adhere to these scripts they are viewed negatively.”
Lately, whenever I write about social stigma against women who sleep around—from social media shaming in the wake of Steubenville to the science on the social barriers that hold women back from pursuing casual sex—I hear from men who tell me, “Men don’t slut-shame women. We’d love for women to have more casual sex with us.” But liking the fact that a woman wants to have sex doesn’t translate to actually liking the woman herself—especially if she’s mostly interested in doing it with another guy, like Jim. Slut-shaming isn’t just an instance of girl-on-girl crime, much as we love that Mean Girls narrative. It’s everyone against girls.
Domestic Violence Sex
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The future of mobility with automated vehicles isn’t autos versus tech, but autos plus tech: collaborations that weave together products, services, and business models to meet the needs of individual users across wide-ranging use cases.
Innovation, Frontiers, Business Model Innovation, Technology Implementation, Partnerships & Alliances
How Will U.S. Companies Respond to Regulation Rollbacks?
This month’s MIT SMR Strategy Forum poll looks at the recent rollbacks from the Trump administration on a wide variety of U.S. regulations pertaining to water, air, land, and public health. We ask our panel of experts to weigh in on whether corporations will decide to adhere to rules that closely resemble original standards, or if they will embrace deregulation.
Strategy, Sustainability, Organizational Behavior, Developing Strategy, Business & The Environment
Where China Is Leading the Mobility Revolution
China is shaking off its reputation for “copycatting” and establishing itself as a digital leader. One of the key areas where it’s moving ahead of the U.S. and Europe is transportation. China has made strides in electronic and autonomous vehicles as well as high-speed rail in recent years — and its most important development has been to transform itself into an innovation-focused, entrepreneurial hub of technical prowess.
Global, Innovation, Global Strategy, New Product Development, Technology Implementation
Heiko Rauscher
The Hybrid Trap: Why Most Efforts to Bridge Old and New Technology Miss the Mark
Magazine: Spring 2018 Issue
Research Feature
Mature companies often lack the vision and the commitment to fully commit to new technologies — even when consumers are ready for them. This leads firms to develop watered down products with limited capabilities and leaves them exposed to upstart competitors.
Innovation, Strategy, Innovation Strategy, New Product Development, Technology Implementation
Fernando F. Suarez, James Utterback, Paul von Gruben, and Hye Young Kang
Tangled Webs and Executive Naïveté
Leaders in a digital world have to navigate more complexity than ever before, where a problem that arises in one node of such network work can spread easily, with widespread adverse impact. But complexity-induced problems often have similar fundamental causes — and similar solutions. Leaders can ameliorate the effects of complexity by developing broader, not just deeper, perspectives; learning to think in terms of scenarios; and being clear about strategic intent.
Leadership, Strategy, Global Operations, Leadership Skills, Digital Business, Developing Strategy
Amit S. Mukherjee
Manufacturers Can Also Win in the Sharing Economy
The sharing economy isn’t all bad news for manufacturers of big-ticket items such as cars. Research from Carnegie Mellon and UC Berkeley says that manufacturers will sometimes be able to charge higher prices to customers who are planning to rent out those goods. In a Q&A, one researcher says that when there’s heterogeneity in the market, meaning both a high-usage population and a low-usage population, circumstances are ripe for “a win-win-win for the borrower, the owner, and the manufacturer.”
Strategy, Business Model Innovation, Digital Business, Business Models, Pricing & Promotion, Collaboration & Networks
Vibhanshu Abhishek, interviewed by Frieda Klotz
Mastering the Digital Innovation Challenge
For Volvo Cars, pursuing digital innovation required fundamentally rethinking the organization, while also keeping the core business functioning efficiently. The company did so by balancing four interrelated competing concerns: (1) new and established innovation capabilities; (2) process and product focus; (3) external and internal collaboration; and (4) flexibility and control in relationships with external partners.
Innovation, Innovation Strategy, New Product Development, Open Innovation, Digital Business
Fredrik Svahn, Lars Mathiassen, Rikard Lindgren, and Gerald C. Kane
General Motors Relies on IoT to Anticipate Customers’ Needs
Big Idea: Competing With Data & Analytics
Steve Schwinke, a member of the original design team for General Motors’ OnStar service and director of its Global Connected Customer Experience unit, says that GM is leveraging the Internet of Things to deliver products and services that consistently ensure the safety of its customers. “I always talk to my team about the Wayne Gretzky quote — skate to where the puck is going,” he says. “How good are we at really anticipating? What are the things that our customers need but don’t know they need?”
Data & Analytics, Internet of Things
Steve Schwinke (GM), interviewed by Michael Fitzgerald
Building a Better Car Company With Analytics
Using data and analytics to understand the complexities of modern business has become not only common, but essential. Gahl Berkooz joined Ford Motor Co. in 2004, eventually becoming head of data and governance and a member of the company’s global data insights and analytics skill team. Berkooz became acutely aware of how important analytics is to the company’s ability to thrive in the global marketplace. “What it boils down to,” he told MIT SMR ’s Michael Fitzgerald, “is that we know how to make decisions. It’s about finding the opportunities to bring data and analytics to make better decisions.”
Data & Analytics, Operations, Organizational Behavior, Organizational Structure, Analytics & Organizational Culture, Analytics & Performance, Project Management
Gahl Berkooz (Ford Motor Co.), interviewed by Michael Fitzgerald
How Do Innovators Spot Market Opportunities?
Executives need the ability to quickly spot both new opportunities and hidden risks. Asking the right questions can broaden perspective and shake up existing assumptions. For instance, Elon Musk, founder of Tesla Motors, SpaceX and SolarCity, has a noted ability to spot unmet market needs. Musk has said that his forward-thinking style, exemplified in his vision of commercializing electric vehicles for the mass market, comes from “just trying really hard — the first order of business is to try. You must try until your brain hurts.”
Innovation, New Product Development
Audi Puts Its Future Into High (Tech) Gear
Big Idea: Social Business
Cars have made the transition from offline to fully networked, which makes them social vehicles, able to communicate about traffic patterns and weather. The next decade will see cars integrate more fully into consumers’ lives, says Audi’s Ricky Hudi, head of electronics at the fast-growing unit of Volkswagen. The goal for the industry: making upgradable cars, so that cars will no longer lag years behind consumer technology trends.
Social Business, Technology Implementation, Social Business Adoption
Ricky Hudi (Audi), interviewed by Michael Fitzgerald
Inside Renault’s Digital Factory
Engaging with the digital technology in consumers’ lives creates unique challenges for traditional companies. Renault hired Patrick Hoffstetter, an executive with extensive Web experience, to shape its Digital Factory concept — a new way of marketing its cars. Hoffstetter says Renault must shift its mindset about the auto business and uses pilot programs in test markets to help the company respond more quickly to consumer interest in things like content for their cars or shopping online.
Digital, Digital Business, Technology Implementation, Quality & Service
Michael Fitzgerald
Stories That Deliver Business Insights
Magazine: Winter 2014
Companies are gaining value from ethnography, the in-person study of how people actually use a product or service. Through its attention to the details of people’s lives, ethnography can be a powerful tool to help executives gain insights into their markets. Ethnographic stories can also be indispensable in helping executives rethink their assumptions about what customers care about and about overall strategic direction.
Marketing, Developing Strategy, Marketing Strategy, Sales & Business Development
Julien Cayla, Robin Beers and Eric Arnould
From Shook's Prize-Winning Article: Change Behavior If You Want to Change Culture
John Shook’s prize-winning article on NUMMI explains how, if you want to change a company’s culture, you have to change people’s behavior first.
Leadership, Organizational Behavior
Rapid-Response Capability in Value-Chain Design
Organizations today must quickly and continually assess which parts of their value chain are vulnerable, which parts are defensible, which alliances make strategic sense, and which threats are deadly.
Operations, Supply Chains & Logistics
Charles H. Fine, Roger Vardan, Robert Pethick and Jamal El-Hout
ABB and Ford: Creating Value through Cooperation
Magazine: Fall 1993
Sherwood C. Frey Jr. and Michael M. Schlosser
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Shop-in-shopo
After six and a half years of being a part of a television network in Chennai, Krithika Nelson took a break and set up a studio to design whacky wedding invitation cards. But she quickly realised that she needed to do something on a larger scale and soon enough, when she was returning home in an auto rickshaw one day after visiting a handicrafts exhibition with her friend Theyagarajan. S, they had an eureka moment.
“We suddenly looked at each other and said, ‘This is it’. We have to create an assorted handicrafts bazaar online,” says Nelson. But this wasn’t the duo’s first eureka moment. They had had other ideas in the past – right from live streaming the December kutcheries (music concert) to various ideas in the organic products’ space. However, this time they knew this had to be done.
We get close to 100 requests every day from sellers across the country. Our curators sift through products for quality and look at scalability potential. Most importantly, if the person who has contacted us is indeed the person who makes the products as well, they sell. At Shopo, we don’t want middlemen or dealers.
Her father gave the duo Rs. 1 lakh as seed money and while Nelson started hunting for people who could sell their goods online, Theyagarajan quit his job at Bankbazaar.com, an online financial services firm, and started working on the technical aspects of the project. Finally, with 20-odd sellers on board, Shopo.in (Shopo) was launched on June 12, 2011. It’s been almost a year and Shopo today has over 300 sellers or ‘shops’.
Checks in place
Nelson is quick to rattle out other figures: her team now comprises of 25 people, they ship an average of 200 products every day and almost 60 per cent of their customers come back for a repeat purchase. “We get close to 100 requests every day from sellers across the country. Our curators sift through products for quality and look at scalability potential. Most importantly, if the person who has contacted us is indeed the person who makes the products as well, they sell. At Shopo, we don’t want middlemen or dealers,” she says.
Once the checks are done, Shopo guides sellers on how to shoot products’ pictures and to write product descriptions. “We’re now launching a self service dashboard, where sellers can create their own shop with tools prepared for them, much like how you upload and edit photos on Facebook,” says Theyagarajan. Shopo charges no flat rentals, but takes a 15 per cent cut of every product sold. “This becomes an incentive for the sellers and for us to push sales,” he adds. Shopo has products in various categories like apparel, jewellery, bags, shoes, accessories, food and dining, home décor, stationery and beauty care. While apparel accounts for highest value sales, home décor charts the biggest volume numbers.
Perhaps the biggest perk that Shopo provides is the logistics support to most of their sellers. “Getting logistics in place was a nightmare. Thanks to the boom in e-commerce, logistics partners were on board when picking up products from a single or at best, a couple of warehouses and shipping to various parts of the country. Our model involved collection from multiple locations and then shipping to numerous customers. Our logistics partners were horrified when we first brought them on board,” recalls Nelson.
The other pain point has been hiring. “The business starting growing faster than we imagined and we needed to ramp up quickly, else we would fail. But getting a good candidate at modest startup salaries in Chennai is really tough,” says Theyagarajan. The company is still hiring, given their speed of growth, and Theyagarajan and Nelson find themselves discussing prospective candidates more often than any other aspect of the company. Eventually, it’s the ability to stay at it and continue interviewing till the right candidate is found that is helping them overcome the hiring challenge.
Shopo.in
Founders: Krithika Nelson and Theyagarajan. S
USP: Online shop-in-shop for handcrafted products without middlemen
Investors: Self-funded
Then of course, there is competition. Nelson makes no secret of the fact that Shopo is an Indian avatar of Etsy (US-based e-store). “Their global success is a huge inspiration and we really want to get to where they have,” she shares. There’s competition on home turf too, most directly from Mumbai-based Craftsvilla.com, which has a fairly similar model. Nelson and Theyagarajan credit their competitor with expanding the market and keeping Shopo on its toes. That the two sites wind up sharing some sellers doesn’t seem to bother this team.
The cool factor
One of Shopo’s successes is that they helped enable access to ‘cool stuff’. “One doesn’t have to go all the way to Dilli Haat (craft bazaar in New Delhi) or wait for handicraft exhibitions to buy something pretty or quirky. While hunting in a bazaar can be fun, not everyone has the access to the kind of range we have online,” says Nelson.
On the other hand, there are people who’ve started selling stuff on Shopo as a hobby. Like the head of programming at a local TV network in Bengaluru who sold innovative Channapatna toys as a weekend hobby. “He has now taken up a consultancy role in his office and sells toys as a full time job,” says Nelson. She also narrates the story of a woman, who sells jewellery on Shopo and lived in a studio apartment last year, but has now moved into a larger apartment in a much better location due to great sales.
Theyagarajan adds that they balanced the presence of rank newcomers with better known brands like Chumbak, The Big Bag Theory and Happily Unmarried. “This helped with the cool quotient of our site and increased sales for these brands, making them bigger,” he says.
Adding to the momentum
Shopo has only just started tapping into the NRI potential by introducing international shipping to the U.S., the U.K., Canada, UAE, Singapore and Malaysia. It faces competition here too from the likes of RedPatang and of course, Craftsvilla that started international shipping before Shopo did. “But we’re doing great sales. Indians living abroad spend much more – and I’m talking in terms of lakhs of rupees – when they buy from our site. The delight of finding pretty, quirky Indian things online and the convenience of not having to lug it all from their annual Indian vacations are too good for them to resist. And thanks to them, we’re hoping their local friends, who’re not of Indian origin, too start shopping with us,” says Nelson.
“I think we need to increase our products in the chemical free cosmetics. In fact, when we first started stocking handmade soaps from Puro, I used the products myself before we put it online,” says Nelson, adding that she has never gone back to her older soap. “Also, I’m really passionate about organic food. I think we have a huge market for that and I really want to explore that online, ideally through Shopo.”
It would certainly help to add a new category, since Shopo intends to touch four million buyers in the next five years. The company is also in talks with some angel investors to help ramp up growth. The team at Shopo is also working on improving their user interface. The primary target audience of the site is women, so the look is colourful and ethnic. “But there is scope for improvement. We need to get better and cleaner,” says Theyagarajan.
The driven duo is lucky to have supportive spouses. While Nelson recounts her husband’s cluelessness about his wife’s plans when she quit her day job, Theyagarajan reminisces about how his then girlfriend, now newlywed wife Roopika was their first customer. “That was a lucky buy for us. It really set things rolling,” says Nelson, on a concluding note.
Krithika Nelson and Theyagarajan. S, founders of Shopo.in want to make a dent in the online handcrafted products retail space. The space is exciting thanks to two major factors: good international potential of selling Indian handcrafted products to a global audience and a platform to help smaller companies expand their market through the Internet.
Today, the company acts as the online e-commerce platform for 300 odd brands and helps them reach a wide range of customers. The company employs over 25 people, and ships an average of 200 products every day. Almost 60 per cent of their customers come back for a repeat purchase.
Modelled along the lines of Etsy, the company that calls itself the ‘world’s handmade marketplace’, Shopo.in needs to focus on more on what it does best to win in this sector. It is crucial to balance the needs to both brand owners (sellers) and consumers (buyers) without compromising on either side. The tactic the company can adopt to make this happen can be its biggest differentiator.
Team SmartCEO
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The Cornish Village School - Second Chances - Kitty Wilson
The Cornish Village School - Second Chances
Kitty Wilson
Canelo Escape
Sylvie Williams is in trouble.
What with juggling her ballet classes, preparing shy Sam for his first day at Penmenna Village school and trying to finally move out from the farm she shares with her cantankerous Uncle Tom, life is anything but easy.
Television journalist Alex is facing challenges of his own. Seeking a calmer environment for his newly adopted daughter, Ellie, he's swapped reporting in war zones for the school PTA in quiet Penmenna, where his best friend has persuaded him to start laying some roots.
Fireworks ignite when Sylvie and Alex meet, but will they be able to keep things strictly platonic for the sake of the children?
This feel-good and rib-tickling romance is perfect for fans of Tilly Tennant and Cathy Bramley.
Praise for The Cornish Village School - Second Chances
'A terrific read and I hope there's more to come in this topnotch series. Absolutely recommended to those who enjoy an entertaining rom-com with a bit of substance to the story!' Reader review
'This one hit all my sweet spots!' Reader review
'Really looked forward to reading this one and wasn't disappointed... with a mix of old and new characters this was a charming novel... very easy reading and especially liked the community spirit with the school once again at the heart of the story... excellent read' Reader review
'I love this series!!! Such fun, funny, sweet books :)' Reader review
'This is a first for me by this author but won't be the last... It's a heart-warming, real and yet funny story of two strangers coming together' Reader review
"From an eclectic cast of characters to the charming village setting, the book is feel-good, warm, funny, endearing and thoroughly entertaining!" Curious Ginger Cat
'A really delightful book, laugh out loud and full of autumn... Kitty Wilson tells this heart-warming story of two single parents of reception class children so well. It's not sugary or schmaltzy but real and funny and I think anyone who's ever fallen in love - or in lust - will recognise Sylvie's feelings. The Cornish Village School is a brilliant concept and I can see Penmenna becoming as real to readers of romantic fiction as Heidi Swain's Wynbridge. The recurring characters are beautifully drawn - warts and all - and I can't wait to find out what happens next in their lives.' Reader review
'This book is heartwarming, makes you feel good, is entertaining and it's really enjoyable.' Reader review
The Cornish Village School - Second Chances - Kitty Wilson.
Kitty Wilson lived in Cornwall for twenty-five years having been dragged there, against her will, as a stroppy teen. She is now remarkably grateful to her parents for their foresight and wisdom - and that her own children aren't as hideous. Recently she has moved to Bristol, but only for love and on the understanding that she and her partner will be returning to Cornwall to live very soon. She spends most of her time welded to the keyboard, dreaming of the beach or bombing back down the motorway for a quick visit! She has a penchant for very loud music, equally loud dresses and romantic heroines who speak their mind.
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By rajtechnews • On October 22, 2018 • In Uncategorized Uncategorized 0
OnePlus 6T will be globally launched at an event in New York on October 29. The company was forced to reschedule the launch of the upcoming OnePlus flagship, after Apple confirmed that it would launch the new iPad Pro and Mac series on October 30, which will take place in New York as well.
Many features of the OnePlus 6T stand confirmed by the company’s posts across social media, as well as the OnePlus Community blogposts. These include the presence of Screen Unlock, as well as the absence of a third rear camera lens, that had been rumoured through initial leaks. Here’s what can expect from the OnePlus 6T, given what we know.
OnePlus 6T: Display with fingerprint scanner, waterdrop style notch
OnePlus 6T will carry an AMOLED display, though the size will differ. While the OnePlus 6 comes with a 6.28-inch screen, OnePlus 6 will be launched with a 6.4-inch display. Another change in the display orientation is that of the notch. While OnePlus 6 held a rectangular notch, OnePlus 6T is expected to hold a waterdrop design notch, that has been spotted through image renders. OnePlus is expected to model its upcoming flagship on the Oppo R17, that holds a waterdrop notch.
The biggest change will be the presence of the fingerprint scanner underneath the display. The in-display fingerprint scanner for OnePlus 6T has been confirmed by CEO Pete Lau, who has also verified that the feature will be known as ‘Screen Unlock’.
In addition, the company also went on to explain the process used by the in-display scanner to recognise fingerprints. OnePlus 6T will feature an optical in-display fingerprint sensor, that will use the finger as a light source, and accordingly recognise the pattern and size of the user’s fingerprint. The other Android phones that come with an in-display fingerprint scanner include Vivo X21 and Vivo Nex and Oppo Find X.
OnePlus 6T: Phone to sport 3700mAh battery, lack wireless charging
OnePlus 6T will have bigger battery than OnePlus 6. The latter was launched in May, and offers 3400mAh of battery backup. In comparison, OnePlus 6T will feature a 3700mAh battery, and has been confirmed by the company as well.
OnePlus 6T is expected to support the DashCharge fast charging technology, while other improvements, if any, remain unknown. In addition, Lau has confirmed that OnePlus 6T will not offer wireless charging support.
OnePlus 6T: Android Pie out-of-the-box, Snapdragon 845 SoC, up to 512GB storage
OnePlus has been among the fastest brands in terms of Android adoption, and the case seems no different for OnePlus 6T. The Chinese OEM has confirmed that OnePlus 6T will ship Android 9 Pie out-of-the-box, a first for the company. This is not surprising, as the company has been developing OxygenOS for the latest version of Android, and has already rolled out the Android Pie update to the OnePlus 6.
The company has hinted that OnePlus 6T features new UI and improved gestures, hinting at modified OxygenOS UI for the phone. Besides, the upcoming OnePlus flagship will also run the Snapdragon 845 processor, that also powers its predecessor.
Recent leaks have also shown that OnePlus 6T is expected in two RAM options: 6GB RAM and 8GB RAM. While these options remain the same as the previous iteration, the upcoming flagship is expected to feature the base variant with 128GB of internal memory. OnePlus 6 comes with 64GB, 128GB and 256GB internal storage options, which will continue on the new phone. OnePlus 6T is reported to come with a 512GB storage variant.
OnePlus 6T: Dual rear cameras with minimal changes
Through the early launches, it was suggested that OnePlus 6T could feature three cameras at the back. More recent leaks and image renders, though, have shown a dual rear configuration, which is expected to continue with the vertically stacked alignment.
Unlike other features of the phone, not much is known on the camera capabilities of OnePlus 6T, though the company did recently promote the same, claiming that the OnePlus flagship will feature better low-light performance.
Meanwhile, OnePlus 6 consists of a 16MP+20MP dual rear configuration, that supports both OIS and EIS. On the front, it sports a 16MP sensor.
OnePlus 6T: No waterproofing, 3.5mm headphone jack
Among the other confirmed specifications, OnePlus 6T will not feature waterproof or dustproof certification. TheOnePlus flagship is expected to be launched without an audio input jack, as design renders have shown the phone without the 3.5mm headphone jack, and this has also been confirmed by the company.
Product listings of the new OnePlus Bullets Wireless headphones have been spotted online. The new earphones, which have been dubbed as ‘OnePlus Bullets 2T’, are expected to be debuted alongside OnePlus 6T. OnePlus Bullets Wireless was launched alongside the OnePlus 6.
OnePlus 6T: Amazon India exclusive, open for pre-orders
Those who are interested in purchasing the OnePlus 6T with added benefits could look to the dedicated Amazon page.
OnePlus 6T will be launched in India on October 30, at an event being held in New Delhi. In a build-up to the launch event, OnePlus had introduced passes for the same, that have been priced at Rs 999 each. Those who attend the event will receive a host of OnePlus accessories, as well as free merchandise. OnePlus has confirmed via Twitter that the India launch event passes have been sold out.
Those who are interested in purchasing the OnePlus 6T with added benefits could look to the dedicated Amazon page. The upcoming OnePlus flagship will be launched as an Amazon India exclusive, and has been available for pre-orders from October 9. Shoppers can consider booking their OnePlus 6T, which is bundled with free Bullets wireless headphones. Also, Amazon account holders who use Amazon.in Gift Cards will receive additional cashback worth Rs 500.
Recently, a leak claims to have spotted a limited edition version of OnePlus 6T. As per Swedish website Webhallen, the phone was listed as ‘OnePlus 6T Ultimate Limited Edition’, that could come with 8GB RAM and 512GB of internal storage. While OnePlus could launch a special edition phone, as with the OnePlus 5T Star Wars Edition, and OnePlus 6 Avengers Infinty War Edition, the specifications are only expected to be known at the launch event. Also, a MySmartPrice report has revealed that OnePlus 6T could be priced from Rs 37,999, with the 512GB storage variant expected to be priced at Rs 44,999.
Source:- indianexpress
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Tag Archives: Boulez
More Messiaen at the Proms
Posted on 02/08/2019 by StephenJones.blog
I spare no efforts to remind everyone of Messiaen‘s astounding Turangalîla; but an equally monumental (if rather less catchy) later orchestral masterpiece is his Des canyons aux étoiles (1974), which I attended at Sunday’s Prom, hot on the heels of the NYO concert.
Composed “to Glorify God in the Beauties of His Creations; from the colours of the earth and the songs of the birds to the colours of the stars and the Resurrected Ones in Heaven”, it was inspired by the canyons of Utah. It features a vertiginous solo horn part (notably the sixth movement “Interstellar call”) alongside piano cadenzas with Messiaen’s signature birdsong. The mystical intimacy of “The resurrected and the song of the star Aldebaran” makes a tranquil centrepiece, akin to the enchanted Jardin du sommeil d’amour in Turangalîla.
Again, short of staging it at Bryce Canyon itself, the Royal Albert Hall makes a rather suitable venue. Given the work’s cosmic dimensions, it uses quite modest forces, with percussion prominent—notably xylorimba and glockenspiel, aeoliphone wind machine and geophone sand machine, with impressive solos from Nicolas Hodges (piano) and Martin Owen (horn). Sakari Oramo and the BBC Symphony Orchestra really know their way around this kind of music. Indeed, the orchestra did the first UK performance under Boulez in 1975.
Here’s a 2002 recording conducted by Myung-Whun Chung:
And here are the titles in English:
The orioles
What is written in the stars
The white-browed robin-chat
Cedar Breaks and the gift of awe
Interstellar call
Bryce Canyon and the red-orange rocks
The resurrected and the song of the star Aldebaran
The mockingbird
The wood thrush
Omao, leiothrix, ‘elepaio, shama
Zion Park and the celestial city
For more Messiaen, see tag—not least Saint François d’Assise, and Éclairs sur l’au-delà …
Posted in composers, WAM / Tagged Boulez, Messiaen, Proms / 2 Comments
Apart from the Matthew Passion and Nina Hagen (yet more unlikely bedfellows), here are further compelling reasons to learn German. While I’ve never been drawn to the mainstream lieder scene, I owe my enchantment by these song cycles, yet again (cf. Mahler’s Rückert lieder, and Ravel’s Shéhérazade), to Boulez:
First Wagner—the Wesendonck lieder. Christa Ludwig, with Klemperer, 1962:
or the wonderful Anne Sofie von Otter:
Then Berg, exploring a path opened up by his mentor Mahler. The Seven early songs (which I got to love at our 1971 NYO Prom):
(or a live version here, with helpful Japanese subtitles);
and the (five, nearly as early) Altenberg lieder—to picture-postcard texts (Ansichtskartentexte, another entry in our lexicon of German mouthfuls. Fin-de-siècle Viennese haiku?):
The third song is haunting:
Über die Grenzen des All blicktest du sinnend hinaus
Hattest nie Sorge um Hof und Haus
Leben und Traum von Leben—plötzlich ist alles aus!
(After the menacing whisper of “plötzlich ist alles aus!” (plötzlich is officially my favourite word), find me a singer who can diminuendo from pp up to that final top C—Nina Hagen, perhaps?!)
For a spellbinding recent addition to the canon of orchestral song-cycles, see here.
Posted in composers, European, language, WAM / Tagged art, Boulez, German, Mahler / 7 Comments
Noddy: the art of conducting
A tribute to the great Gennadi Rozhdestvensky (1931–2018)
We musos may be critical of conductors (cf. Norman Lebrecht, The maestro myth: great conductors in pursuit of power), but don’t get me wrong, we deeply admire great ones—such as Boulez, Tennstedt, Gardiner, Rattle (unlikely bedfellows…).
Apart from Boulez, another highlight of depping regularly with the BBC Symphony Orchestra was working for Rozhdestvensky (known in the trade as Noddy).
Gennadi Rozhdestvensky—conductor or conjuror? (Bruno Monsaingeon, 2003) is a wonderful film:
In a work that otherwise requires little imaginative filming, do watch the brilliant scene from 32.40—the traffic cop Marcel Mehala should take a bow too.
Believing in a kind of spontaneous combustion, and trusting his players to match his own mastery, taking risks together, Noddy was renowned for his aversion to rehearsal—greater still than that of orchestras. Once, turning up for the first of a couple of whole days’ scheduled rehearsals for a fiendishly difficult and unfamiliar modern piece, he conducted the first few bars and then told the band nonchalantly, “Good, see you at the concert”. In a rare reversal of the musos’ philosophy of “It’ll be all right on the night”, the leader took him to one side and asked him if he wouldn’t mind just taking them through the whole piece once.
Even on stage, his style doesn’t look like much—inscrutable, even casual, his gestures by turn minimal and flamboyant. But his concerts were electrifying. Doing Petrushka, it was as if we were all composing it, living it, together with him. And the Scriabin piano concerto with Viktoria Postnikova was exquisite too—a YouTube video of them playing it together has disappeared, so here’s another audio recording of them.
The documentary ends with an illuminating sequence where he rehearses and reflects on Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet. If only we could see more of the archive footage below—the curious camerawork shows him only briefly, though with characteristic gestures:
He reflects on the political vagaries of the Soviet system in another documentary by Bruno Monsaingeon:
For obituaries, see here and here. For his solution to conducting the opening of the Symphonie fantastique (film, from 22.24), see also here.
For a roundup of posts under the conducting tag, see here.
Posted in tributes, WAM / Tagged Boulez, conducting, film / Leave a comment
“Knock-kneed and long-braided Lolitas”, 1913.
Though The Rite of Spring has become standard, a classic, since the 1970s, it remains overwhelming today, whether or not you’re familiar with it. Playing it in 1970 with the National Youth Orchestra, conducted by Boulez, was one of the great experiences of my life. Never mind that it’s the kind of imagining of “pagan rites” that academically I would dispute—it’s a world away from the cultural pundits’ romanticized view of folk culture! (For a “pagan” ritual performer among the Cheremis, see here; and for the New Year rituals of Gaoluo in China, here.)
Remember, at the 1913 Paris premiere the ballet was just as shocking as the music—the recreation (from 25.40) following this documentary gives an impression:
Pina Bausch’s version is amazing:
For an intense series of posts on the ballet, see here.
Among endless discussions, try this. And here’s an attractive quandary:
Stravinsky once joked that the dauntingly high-register bassoon solo which opens the piece should be transposed up every year to stop players getting complacent about it. He wanted the effort to register.
But “it’s complicated”—see also here (and note the ritual wind instrument connection). I’m not sure about the dudka, but if it’s really related to the Armenian duduk, then there’s a link to the guanzi of north Chinese ritual bands! There’s a wealth of discussion of that opening solo in bassoon blogs.
Not only do concert-goers “share intimate and personal cultural moments with strangers”, but they have to keep still; the Rite is one of many pieces where this should be an impossible demand. And another where conducting without a score yields fruit:
If Stravinsky really said that Karajan’s version
sounded like someone driving through the jungle in a Mercedes with the windows up,
then good for him.
And then there’s the “original instrument” debate—the “lite Rite”, as Richard Taruskin called it:
This version for organ, far from silly, is just awe-inspiring:
A harpsichord rendition has also appeared on YouTube. Jazz tributes include the Bad Plus arrangement:
In her recent exploration of The Rite, Gillian Moore also observes:
My feelings of creeping feminist unease in writing a book on a ballet about the sacrifice of a young woman created by three men were at least partly relieved when I came across the Russian folk metal band Arkona and their frontwoman Masha Scream.
On a lighter note, here I imagine the Danse sacrale as a suitable riposte to the haka.
By the way, Ravel’s Daphnis and Chloe, less revolutionary but no less captivating, must have suffered by its proximity.
Posted in composers, Daoism, Taoism, WAM / Tagged Boulez, dance, jazz, pop, Ravel, Stravinsky / 22 Comments
Staving off old age
Religious life in 1930s’ Fujian
The first gulag
Ritual artisans in 1950s’ Beijing
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Li Manshan doing paperwork for Hoisting the Pennant ritual, 2003 https://stephenjones.blog/the-film/
Daoist priests of the Li family https://stephenjones.blog/the-book/
Li Qing copying ritual document, 1991 https://stephenjones.blog/2017/03/10/beauty-of-mouth-organ/
Ritual painting (detail), Artisan the Sixth, early 1980s https://stephenjones.blog/god-images-old-and-new-1/
Ritual painting of Li Peisen https://stephenjones.blog/li-peisen-paintings/
Ten Kings detail https://stephenjones.blog/2018/04/04/god-images-old-and-new-1/
Elder Hu https://stephenjones.blog/2018/04/20/elder-hu/
Li Qing’s widow https://stephenjones.blog/2017/06/13/women-of-yanggao-13-daoist-families/
Duilian couplet at entrance to scripture hall https://stephenjones.blog/documents/
Courtyard in snow https://stephenjones.blog/2018/04/16/home-with-master-daoist/
Fetching Water, Pansi village 2011 https://stephenjones.blog/photos/
The Pardon, 1991 https://stephenjones.blog/the-film/
Pardon manual, Li Peisen https://stephenjones.blog/documents/
The Li band in Italy https://stephenjones.blog/2017/08/25/venetian-greetings/
The Li band in France https://stephenjones.blog/2017/05/27/the-li-band-in-france-notes/
Funeral procession, Yanggao https://stephenjones.blog/yanggao-other/
Shuozhou Daoists https://stephenjones.blog/shuozhou-daoists/
Temple mural https://stephenjones.blog/2017/08/24/temple-murals/
Statuette, Tianzhen https://stephenjones.blog/tianzhen-daoists/
Shanxi sect https://stephenjones.blog/2017/06/14/women-of-yanggao-23-sectarians-and-mediums/
Hunyuan Daoists 1992 https://stephenjones.blog/2017/03/05/shanxi-summer-1992/
Hunyuan yankou https://stephenjones.blog/hunyuan-daoists/
Xi’an village festival, 1950s: https://stephenjones.blog/ritual-life-around-xian/
Yang Yinliu 1950 https://stephenjones.blog/2017/02/26/a-tribute-to-yang-yinliu/
Zhihua temple 1954 https://stephenjones.blog/2017/02/23/a-slender-but-magical-clue/
Zhihua temple at BM https://stephenjones.blog/2018/04/25/baldies-mouth-organ/
https://stephenjones.blog/2019/07/20/south-jiangsu-roundup/
N. Xinzhuang 1959 https://stephenjones.blog/sects-hebei/
Shifan c1962 https://stephenjones.blog/2017/02/26/a-tribute-to-yang-yinliu/
1930 donors’ list, South Gaoluo https://stephenjones.blog/2017/03/01/two-local-cultural-workers/
Women of Gaoluo https://stephenjones.blog/2017/11/20/gaoluo-women/
Gaoluo 1989 https://stephenjones.blog/2017/02/20/more-on-hebei-2/
Pantheon, Gaoluo https://stephenjones.blog/ritual-images-gaoluo/
Houtu scroll https://stephenjones.blog/houtu-scroll/
Gaoluo 1993 https://stephenjones.blog/south-gaoluo-a-tribute-to-two-ritual-leaders/
Plucking the winds https://stephenjones.blog/other-publications/
https://stephenjones.blog/2019/07/11/village-elder/
Seniors,S. Gaoluo 1995 https://stephenjones.blog/south-gaoluo-a-tribute-to-two-ritual-leaders/
Pantheon, Liujing 1995 https://stephenjones.blog/2017/03/01/two-local-cultural-workers/
Ritual painting, N. Qiaotou https://stephenjones.blog/houshan-daoists/
Medium and disciples, Houshan 1993 https://stephenjones.blog/2017/03/01/two-local-cultural-workers/
Renqiu nun https://stephenjones.blog/hebei-nuns/
Langfang https://stephenjones.blog/langfang-ritual/
Xushui 1959 https://stephenjones.blog/xushui-ritual/
Baiyangdian lake https://stephenjones.blog/baiyangdian-ritual/
Hanzhuang score https://stephenjones.blog/xiongxian-ritual/
Ritual in fiction https://stephenjones.blog/2018/02/03/hongloumeng/
Guanzi player, Bazhou https://stephenjones.blog/bazhou-ritual/
Funeral, N. Xinzhuang https://stephenjones.blog/suburban-beijing-ritual/
Fan Huilai 1993 https://stephenjones.blog/2018/03/01/sheng-repairers/
N. Shakou https://stephenjones.blog/xiongxian-ritual/
Baiyunshan pilgrims 2001 https://stephenjones.blog/2017/02/01/a-great-daoist-priest/
Wutai pantheon https://stephenjones.blog/2017/03/05/shanxi-summer-1992/
Intriguing shopfront https://stephenjones.blog/2017/09/10/shabi/
Daoist football https://stephenjones.blog/2017/09/28/daoist-football/
Twin Peaks https://stephenjones.blog/2018/10/17/twin-peaks/
The great Philomena Cunk https://stephenjones.blog/2017/11/08/cunk/
The tribulations of fieldwork https://stephenjones.blog/2017/10/27/one-belt-one-road/
Noh drama https://stephenjones.blog/2019/11/26/noh/
Dressing modestly https://stephenjones.blog/2017/10/30/dressing-modestly/
Hermit https://stephenjones.blog/2018/05/27/on-visiting-a-hermit/
Chet Baker https://stephenjones.blog/2017/10/28/chet/
qin and erhu https://stephenjones.blog/2018/09/21/qin-erhu/
Van Gulik https://stephenjones.blog/2018/09/29/gulik/
Love, Nina https://stephenjones.blog/2017/12/19/love-nina/
Mazu procession https://stephenjones.blog/2019/04/16/fujian-1961/
Female mediums https://stephenjones.blog/2018/10/06/lives-of-female-mediums/
Gansu Daoists https://stephenjones.blog/2018/09/15/mao-worship/
Ningxia ritual https://stephenjones.blog/ningxia-ritual/
Rain rituals https://stephenjones.blog/2018/08/08/rain-rituals/
Bards of Shaanbei https://stephenjones.blog/2018/06/23/bards-of-shaanbei/
Guo Yuhua https://stephenjones.blog/2018/06/19/guo-yuhua/
Yangjiagou funeral 1999 https://stephenjones.blog/2017/03/14/walking-shrill-shawm-bands-in-china/
Learning with the Hua band, 2001 https://stephenjones.blog/2017/03/14/walking-shrill-shawm-bands-in-china/
An unsung local hero https://stephenjones.blog/2016/12/27/an-unsung-local-hero/
Fieldwork https://stephenjones.blog/2017/09/01/fieldworkers/
SOAS shawms https://stephenjones.blog/2017/03/14/walking-shrill-shawm-bands-in-china/
Wind band https://stephenjones.blog/2017/11/05/wind/
Confucian ritual in Hunan https://stephenjones.blog/2019/03/28/hunan-confucian-ritual/
A 1956 fieldtrip to Hunan https://stephenjones.blog/2019/03/11/hunan-1956/
Wang Mingming https://stephenjones.blog/2018/06/13/notes-from-beijing-2/
Ethnographers of Beishida https://stephenjones.blog/2018/05/08/notes-from-beijing-1/
Beijing punk https://stephenjones.blog/2018/10/19/new-musics-beijing/
Berlioz https://stephenjones.blog/2018/11/12/berlioz/
Mahler and the mouth-organ https://stephenjones.blog/2018/11/16/mahler-and-mouth-organ/
Un homme et une femme https://stephenjones.blog/2018/11/18/un-homme-et-une-femme/
Moon river https://stephenjones.blog/2018/11/28/moon-river/
Performance https://stephenjones.blog/2018/11/22/performance/
The conformist https://stephenjones.blog/2018/11/08/the-conformist/
flamenco: gender and politics https://stephenjones.blog/2018/06/25/flamenco-2/
Flamenco https://stephenjones.blog/2018/06/17/flamenco-1/
Sardinian chronicles https://stephenjones.blog/2018/07/25/sardinian-chronicles/
Irish music https://stephenjones.blog/2016/11/07/oirish/
https://stephenjones.blog/2019/07/26/paul-bowles-morocco/
Women of Herat https://stephenjones.blog/2018/10/29/women-of-herat/
Ohashi https://stephenjones.blog/2019/01/27/tzar-spangled-banner/
Hélène Grimaud https://stephenjones.blog/2019/11/12/grimaud/
Let me tell you https://stephenjones.blog/2019/01/13/nordic-noir/
Gepopo https://stephenjones.blog/2018/09/13/gepopo/
Musicking https://stephenjones.blog/2018/07/30/musicking/
Popular culture in early modern Europe https://stephenjones.blog/2019/05/03/popular-culture-europe/
Tibet https://stephenjones.blog/2019/02/25/cultural-revolution-tibet/
Uyghur culture in crisis https://stephenjones.blog/2019/10/23/uyghur-culture-crisis/
Lisbon 1939 https://stephenjones.blog/2018/05/14/lisbon-2/
Italy: folk musicking https://stephenjones.blog/2019/04/29/italy-folk-musicking/
Kulaks exiled, 1930s https://stephenjones.blog/2019/05/13/lives-in-stalins-russia/
Commemorating trauma in China https://stephenjones.blog/2018/05/18/china-trauma/
Famine and expressive culture https://stephenjones.blog/2019/03/16/1960s-famine-and-expressive-culture/
Bloodlands https://stephenjones.blog/2018/12/02/bloodlands/
Blind minstrels of Ukraine https://stephenjones.blog/2018/10/13/blind-minstrels-ukraine/
Czech couple with Qi Baishi https://stephenjones.blog/2019/02/15/czechs-in-tianqiao/
Denis Twitchett and An Lushan https://stephenjones.blog/2019/04/03/twitchett-tang/
Picken https://stephenjones.blog/2017/02/10/laurence-picken/
Nazi legacy https://stephenjones.blog/2018/05/16/nazi-legacy/
GDR 2 https://stephenjones.blog/2018/05/02/gdr-2/
Sachsenhausen https://stephenjones.blog/2018/04/27/sachsenhausen/
Les Parisiennes https://stephenjones.blog/2018/07/18/parisiennes/
Esperance https://stephenjones.blog/2019/04/08/morris/
Empirical language acquisition https://stephenjones.blog/2017/02/05/language-acquisition/
Ravensbruck https://stephenjones.blog/2017/07/24/bearing-witness-if-this-is-a-woman/
Mahler 10 https://stephenjones.blog/2018/04/29/mahler-10/
Hildi with Bach https://stephenjones.blog/2018/02/17/echoes-of-the-past-2/
1945 refugees https://stephenjones.blog/2018/02/16/echoes-of-the-past-1/
Bach party https://stephenjones.blog/2017/11/24/feuchtwang-variations/
Bach letter https://stephenjones.blog/2017/12/26/bach-patronage/
Proof-reading https://stephenjones.blog/2016/12/07/proof-reading/
Great works missing the crucial element https://stephenjones.blog/2019/04/14/missing-crucial-element/
Stammering songs https://stephenjones.blog/2019/01/21/more-stammering-songs/
Laowai and CR https://stephenjones.blog/2017/11/14/laowai-and-cr/
Natasha https://stephenjones.blog/2017/07/16/in-memory-of-natasha/
Granddad https://stephenjones.blog/2017/01/19/wisdom-of-the-elders/
Zhihua temple, Xiao Huayan 1953
Li family Daoists, Invitation
Li family Daoists, Sandai zhou 2001
Li family Daoists, Sandai zhou, Paris 2018
Li family Daoists, Zouma
Hua band, Shuilongyin (meihuadiao)
Liu band, Liaoyang, Batiaolong
Gaoluo, Houtu precious scroll
Gaoqiao village, Jintang yue
Gaoluo, Ma yulang sung
Gaoluo, Ma yulang played
Hua band, Da Yanluo (fanzidiao)
Xi'an suite opening
Feuchtwang variations
Longchui 1961
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Alterity “Pop Music For Vampires”
Dec 11, 2018 - Rebecca Cullen
After reviewing and reveling in their latest album Afterlife, intrigue got the better of us. We were blessed with the opportunity to interview the band’s founder, Drearia, to find out more about how all of this came to be and what their hopes are for the future. Here’s the conversation in full.
Hi Drearia, thank you for your time with this. Afterlife is a superb album, congratulations on the release. Just to give a little background – how would you describe Alterity?
I think the best way to describe Alterity at this very moment in as few words as possible is Pop music for vampires. I’ve said “Alterity is a Goth band”, people have said “it’s synthrock”, “it’s Synthwave”, “it’s New Wave”, and these comments are all valid. However, I think Spectrum Pulse put it best when he compared tracks like Alone in the Woods and The Looks That Kill to Pat Benatar and compared Without You to Gaga’s work on A Star Is Born. No matter how much of an edge the sound has and no matter how much of a gothic touch Alterity has, there is no denying the Pop hooks, the catchy riffs in the guitars and synths, and the structure that gives way to a Pop song.
What were some early musical favourites of yours that perhaps helped pave the way for your style now as an artist?
My Dad played a lot of 80’s New Wave gems, he had this compilation that had tracks like Duran Duran’s Girls on Film, Spandau Ballet’s To Cut A Long Story Short and Talk Talk’s It’s My Life that defined my taste for this type of music now. I even looked back recently, and it even had some tracks like Kate Bush’s Running Up That Hill and especially Killing Joke’s Love Like Blood that now are even more defining of my taste. When I played guitar in high school, I also was really into Steve Vai, Prince, and Danzig, three hidden influences in Alterity and Drearia works that might not be super apparent but are very important to both.
What does the album Afterlife mean to you?
Afterlife is a new chapter for me as an artist and what defines myself. I will most likely be able to get into this later, but Afterlife establishing myself closer to what I want to do felt the most important. Admittedly, with Afterlife I didn’t really know what I was doing as much until the end, I just had a blanket vision of a lot of records I loved and wanted to bring all these ideas together. You can hear some of them throughout, tracks like The Weeknd’s Starboy, 45 Grave’s Partytime, and Breton’s Got Well Soon, but then albums like the Sisters of Mercy’s Floodland, The Cure’s Pornography, and Cold Cave’s Cherish the Light Years. Working on this record allowed me to see where this all was going, and I am thankful for everyone involved, especially Sandra Bullet and Maverick, for helping me get closer to where I am right now.
In what sort of setting do you imagine people would generally get the best experience out of the collection – and why?
Let me tell you, you can find it right on the art of Afterlife. The art of Afterlife and the aesthetic of Alterity as a whole is inspired by a local club in my area, the Leland City Club, which is the main Goth outing in Michigan. A lot of the designs on the walls, the environment, all of that really affects how I portray Alterity. I really wanted to bring that to what I knew was most likely an audience that had never heard any of the music that was played on those nights, and so I think having it played there would probably be the best of a way to experience it. This especially goes for tracks like Alone in the Woods, where that bass-line and drum machine is built for the dance-floor, but most fit for the Goth clubs.
Where did Alterity begin, and how would you say the sound has evolved over time?
This is going to be confusing, bear with me here. Alterity began as a solo project, just me, making EDM. I had connections to a promo group so a remix I had picked up a decent amount of traction, but then after that remix I had wanted to try some new things, head in a darker direction as that was what I decided was the best direction for me. However, their interests conflicted with mine, and so I left out of frustration and reconciled with Skveezy for the new Alterity that you hear in Afterlife. I was working with Sandra already, so she became a big part of the record, and I think those two things were a key part of the sound you get on Afterlife. Now that Skveezy is gone, I have spent so much time with Sandra and now Maverick, a lot of that dynamic has now allowed me to expand my sound further. I’ve really pushed to really experiment with different sounds while keeping a basic foundation, and I think that will really show on the next record, Alterwave.
What made you choose the name Alterity?
I am probably going to be clowned for this, but when I first created the name Alterity, I did not know it already was a word. I used it to bring together the words “Alternate Reality”, in reference to my anonymous status but then also a reference to Alternative music and culture, something I was identifying with at the time. (An association that would eventually lean me towards Goth music) When I discovered the word alterity and its meaning, I immediately decided that it was even more of a perfect fit for what I was doing. For the standards of festival EDM, I had a very abnormal blend of sounds and aesthetic at the time, so I identified with it.
How does a new track generally begin?
Usually what happened with Afterlife when it was me and Skveezy was we would build a few things and go from the ground up and develop the instrumental. Usually we would start with a guitar groove, a drum loop, something like that to attach to. We would then send it to Sandra, she would add in her guitar parts and vocals, Skveezy would mix and master it (Admittedly I am terrible with mixing and mastering), then it would be done. Given how much better the new Alterity tracks are, I’m not sure I like this as much. Usually when I do Alterity tracks nowadays, I’ll start with the bass-line or something on strings. I really want to evoke a type of darkness that I feel comes from these types of sounds naturally when you play those darker melodies. That’s why for me personally, synths are more used for atmospheres, the drums are often loud, and the bass and guitar are at the forefront of course next to the vocals. It will reflect on the Alterwave material, Sandra really pushed the bass out as I will soon be able to emphasize on, and the guitars are much more present in the mix than they were in the first half of Afterlife.
Have you ever had any difficulty regarding creative disagreements when collaborating, and if so – how do you over come that?
This depends on the person involved, honestly, but it can get ugly and define a record one way or another. It should be noted though that for anyone trying to work up a collaborative project, there must be chemistry involved, and that’s why Skveezy is out. The two of us clashed in style, resulting in multiple disagreements on Afterlife. For example, on Fright Night Part III, I wanted the guitars to be much louder in the mix, but he oddly felt he couldn’t turn it up any more.
Sometimes though these types of challenges can provide a different type of perspective or a different type of sound. For instance, on the new track coming on the 11th, Damage, Sandra sent the drum and bass foundation based on the demo I had, and I didn’t like how the bass was so low and not quite powerful, so then she came up with this bass sound that distorted the bass guitar into oblivion and I was all about it. It really becomes finding what the issue is in the disagreement and finding what can make the track overall better, and in the end finding a solution one way or another. A functional collaborative project depends on everybody being all in it together and at their best, otherwise as a whole it falls apart.
With this being a digital band, what are the chances of catching a live performance, and what might that involve?
It’s very hard to say, but I’d say what that would first require would be a stable lineup altogether. Skveezy is gone from Alterity and in is LiQ, but there is a lack of anybody else. Things like guitar, bass, and of course vocals would need to be covered. We could do a DJ set sort of thing, but I’m not sure if that type of market would want to hear us play Goth and Industrial music. There are ways we could do it, but it would take a lot of work and honestly Alterity would have to be bigger for it to even be worth it.
In the age of social media, why is it important to you to maintain a level of anonymity?
It depends on the artist, really. I have seen some artists use that image of themselves to be transparent with their audience and connect with them on some level. However, for me, I like being a walking enigma. It comes with the aesthetic of Alterity and Drearia, I think it would be hard to do it otherwise honestly.
Going back to Spectrum Pulse, he mentioned this idea of having a distance between himself and his audience, and I feel the same. This is why everyone at my work who knows who I am either is no longer working there or wouldn’t bother looking me up. I would not want them to associate me with the more…… shocking image I present myself with. None of my family knows either except my sister, let alone any of them knowing I am bisexual. If I ever NEED to bring it up I will, but if I don’t have to then I won’t bother.
What advice could you give to solo artists who want to find and connect with like-minded musicians and make great music?
I would say just get yourself out there and interact with other musicians. Sometimes even just putting you are looking for people to work with is a fantastic start. That’s how I found LiQ, I put up an offer of looking for new Alterity members after I booted out Skveezy and eventually it reached out to LiQ and he was down. We talked for a while and eventually it became apparent that we needed to start working together. I’m sure you’ll be able to find your equivalent too.
In what ways does the music you release as Drearia differ from that of Alterity?
A lot of the work released as Drearia is very unfiltered. The Alterity music goes through a lot of polish, Sandra puts my guitar and bass riffs to real guitar and bass, Maverick does her thing with the vocals, and the mix is a lot tighter. However, with Drearia, you have this very scattershot sound that is frantic, abrasive, and unrefined. There are a lot of unique traits, whether it be the samples, the abuse of chorus, reverb, and distortion, or the VST guitar solos, that you won’t fine in almost anything else. At the very least, you probably won’t find them together.
Drearia works also tend to take a lot of the weird influences that bring together the Alterity music and almost breaks them down if you will. Blood Red flirts with various Metal genres and 90’s Darkwave, whereas the coming Revival brings in the weird electronic influences like Witch House while also being more direct than ever of my epic trailer and horror music influences. A lot of these things you would hear in Alterity music, but in more subtle ways, whereas in Drearia it all kinda is there, exploring these ideas to apply them into the next Alterity album. In other words, if you hear something in a Drearia album, you can expect to hear it in some way in Alterity in the future.
Are there any other genres you might be tempted to toy around with in the future?
I could make a list of these, honestly. For one, I’d like to dive deeper into Industrial and at least try some of that music and/or EBM. I’m starting to get into acts like Aesthetic Perfection and Psyclon Nine, and I would like to try something like what they are doing, though of course with a lot of my own touches. I also would like to explore Witch House just a bit more, I feel I could have more to offer it, maybe even do a full project exploring that sound. I used to produce Hip Hop as well, I did a few tracks with Mind Over MattR a while back and wouldn’t mind doing that again.
If you as an artist were to share just one song with someone, to introduce your work, which would you choose – and why?
I would say with the context of all of Alterity’s coming work and currently released tracks in mind, Alone in The Woods would probably be the best introduction. The horror aspects and the focus on the bass that defines the new Alterity works are all there, and the massive drums, big guitars, and haunting vocals of the current Alterity stuff is all right there as well. It’s catchy enough to be accessible, but dark enough to match the band’s blackest tendencies that will define us going forward.
Who or what currently inspires you in the art and music world?
I could go on about many talents in this vein. Where do I start? How about rook and her duo Black Dresses? They have this fantastic way of taking that Ke$ha era bratty Pop music and making it a walking nightmare of everything wrong with the world right now that has inspired me to take a much harsher route with the Drearia solo stuff. I’ve gone neck deep into the underground and discovering all kinds of music, it also helps that I moderate a Discord server with Jaylyn Snow that has introduced me to a lot of talent I otherwise would have never heard. ZXSP, Levinsky, DREDDD, and Doctor Snik are among some of those. In my digging beyond, discovering acts like Midnight Configuration, Bragolin, The Black Queen, and Trench Run has all helped me expand my sound to the grave beyond.
My growing interest in horror films is also another thing that has been a big influence as well, revisiting films like The Omen and Fright Night but also digging into films like Night of the Demons and Jennifer’s Body I might have missed. That last one should be noted as a big inspiration for some of the lyrical content in some of Alterity’s coming music.
What are your hopes and plans creatively over the coming months and years?
I have LOTS planned over the course of 2019. I will start with the closest releases coming around the corner.
December 11th will see the release of the Alterity single Damage with Jaylyn Snow alongside the music video that will premiere 12AM EST on that day. A follow-up single, Too Far Gone, will be released on January 11th, but receive a radio premiere on DJ Dark Dave’s show on Radio Dark Tunnel before the end of the year.
January 25th will be the release date of LiQ’s album Awake While I’d Rather Be Asleep. LiQ is the newest member of Alterity, and I believe this album is a great example of why I welcomed him along.
On my 24th birthday on February 15th, you can expect the Drearia solo outing 24, which is sort of the culmination of both Blood Red and Revival with an even more experimental touch.
For Alterity, two projects have already been announced, Alterwave and Neon Monsters, Alterwave most likely coming out in late February or mid-March. We intended this to be a short 7 track record, but it probably will be a full 10 track release because we are enjoying working on it so much, we shall see in the end honestly. In comparison to Afterlife, Alterwave will be taking a much more Rock heavy sound, with a bigger focus on real instruments and even some horror undertones while still being a fun record.
Neon Monsters will be the first Alterity album with LiQ and most likely drop by the end of the year. This is going to be the darkest Alterity yet, with the lyrics and the pacing inspired a lot by horror films and even taking the soundtrack of these films into account with LiQ’s bizarre atmospherics and unique production to compliment what we already have to offer.
While I don’t know when it will come out, I have a side project called Sorry for Staying with rappers Mind Over MattR and parr alongside music critic Marko Nilmar of And Justice for Reviews working on new material. I can’t say much more than that.
If you could sit down to lunch with absolutely anyone, past or present – who would you invite, and what would you ask them about?
This might not seem like the most immediate choice at first, but to me there is nobody I would rather sit down with than Iggy Pop. I definitely would ask him about some of his progression through his career, namely his time as Iggy & The Stooges around the time Raw Power was being worked on and all of those bizarre tracks that keep resurfacing into various compilations. (Which have always fascinated me) I probably would also ask how he got through all the crazy things I have heard him describe in interviews, he really seems like the kind of artist where an autobiography could only do good. I would read that book many times over, I feel like there is a lot I could learn and perhaps even relate to on some ends considering my crazy history with the industry as well, or even as to where he is at now.
I guess I will simply end this with two things.
A friendly reminder that Alterity isn’t just about me. Alterity is really everyone involved, whether it’s LiQ who is officially a part of Alterity, or whether it’s people I work very close with on this music like Sandra Bullet, Maverick, Hollie Thubron, George Galanos. I feel they all deserve the same appreciation. I get it all the time with people tagging Drearia on Twitter when talking about Alterity and it gets frustrating, though I sort of get it.
If you are just getting into Goth music through Alterity, I’d recommend doing some digging into it. The Sisters of Mercy’s Floodland, The Cure’s Pornography, and The Gothic Sounds of Nightbreed Vol. 1 are three great places to start if you are just entering in through Afterlife. If you want more synths, The Frozen Autumn’s Emotional Screening Device is a good way to expand further. If you want more guitars, Rosetta Stone’s Adrenaline is your next step. I hope at least someone if not a few people dive into the scene further and perhaps dig into the parts of the scene that inspired me to make this record.
Download the album via Bandcamp. Find & follow Alterity on Instagram.
Dark WaveElectronic RockGothSynth WaveAlterityDreariaUSA
Founder & Editor
Founder, Editor, Musician & MA Songwriter
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Science Translational Medicine
EditorialGENETIC DIAGNOSTICS
AMP v. Myriad: A Surgical Strike on Blockbuster Business Models
Richard E. Gold,
Robert Cook-Deegan and
Tania Bubela
E. Richard Gold is James McGill Professor in the Faculty of Law, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec H3A 1W9, Canada.
Robert Cook-Deegan is Research Professor in the Institute for Genome Sciences & Policy and the Sanford School of Public Policy, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708–0141, USA.
Tania Bubela is Associate Professor in the School of Public Health, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 1C9, Canada.
E-mail: tbubela{at}ualberta.ca
Science Translational Medicine 03 Jul 2013:
Vol. 5, Issue 192, pp. 192ed9
DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.3006849
Richard E. Gold
Robert Cook-Deegan
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By Richard E. Gold, Robert Cook-Deegan, Tania Bubela
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The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in the Myriad Genetics case will promote translation of genetics-based diagnostics while preserving patent protection for other biomedical products.
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Connecting Database Integrations
Connecting Amazon RDS
Connecting databases via a VPN
Connecting Microsoft SQL Server
Connecting MongoDB via SSH tunnel
Connecting MySQL via a direct connection
Connecting MySQL via cPanel
Connecting MySQL via SSH tunnel
Connecting PostgreSQL
Amazon Relational Database Services (RDS) is a managed database service that runs on database engines that you're probably already familiar with - MySQL, Microsoft SQL, and PostgreSQL.
The steps for connecting your RDS instance vary slightly depending on the type of database you're using (use the links above for detailed instructions for each database), and whether or not you're using an encrypted connection (like an SSH tunnel for MySQL), but here's the gist of it:
Authorize Magento BI to access your database
On the credentials page (Manage Data > Connections) for each database, you'll see a box containing the IP address you'll need to authorize to connect RDS to Magento BI. Here's a look at the MySQL credentials page, where we highlighted the IP address box:
For Magento BI to successfully connect with your RDS instance, you'll need to add this IP address to the appropriate database security group via the AWS management console. This IP address can be added to an existing group or you can create a new one - the important thing is that the group is authorized to access the instance you want to connect to Magento BI.
When adding the Magento BI IP address, make sure you add a "/32" to the end of the address to indicate to Amazon that it is an exact IP address. Don't worry; the AWS interface will make it clear that this is required.
Create a Linux user for Magento BI
This step is only required if you're using an encrypted connection. For instructions on how to do this, refer to the setup article for the database you're using (ex: MySQL). The Linux user will allow us to create an SSH tunnel, which is the safest method of sending data over the internet.
Create a database user for Magento BI
This is the part of the process where, depending on the database you're using, the steps will vary. The idea is the same, though: you'll create a user for Magento BI which will be used to access your database. Instructions for creating a database Magento BI user can be found in the setup article for the database you're using.
Enter connection info into Magento BI
After you've granted Magento BI access to your instance and created a user for us, the last thing you'll need to do is enter the connection info into Magento BI.
The credential pages for MySQL, Microsoft SQL, and PostgreSQL are accessed via the Connections page (Manage Data > Connections) by clicking the Add a Data Source button. When the list of integrations displays, click the icon for the database you're using to go to the credentials page.
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Reauthenticating integrations
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Occupational accidents
FILE - In this June 21, 2019 file photo, flames and smoke emerge from the Philadelphia Energy Solutions Refining Complex in Philadelphia. Federal investigators say an aging, failed elbow pipe appears to be the cause of the June fire and subsequent explosions that left five people with minor injuries and destroyed part of the processing unit at the largest oil refinery on the East Coast. The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board released a preliminary report Wednesday, Oct. 16 on findings from the June 21 explosion at the Philadelphia Energy Solutions Refining Complex. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)
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Paris prosecutor Jean-François Ricard gives a press conference at the Paris courthouse, France, Saturday Oct. 5, 2019. French prosecutors opened an investigation Friday that treats the fatal knife attack that a civilian employee carried out at Paris police headquarters as a potential act of terrorism. The longtime police employee stabbed four colleagues to death Thursday before he was shot and killed. (AP Photo/Rafael Yaghobzadeh)
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4 Chinese tourists killed in Utah bus accident identified
PANGUITCH, Utah (AP) — Authorities on Saturday identified the four Chinese tourists killed in a bus crash in southern Utah, and the tour group is dispatching employees from China to help those injured. Three women and one man perished in the crash on a highway running through the red-rock landscape...
A police officer salutes as the procession honoring Farmington Fire Rescue Capt. Michael Bell as it arrives in Farmington, Maine, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2019. Bell was killed in an explosion the day before that also injured six other firefighters and a maintenance worker at the LEAP building, a nonprofit that serves people with cognitive and intellectual disabilities in Farmington. (Rich Abrahamson/The Central Maine Morning Sentinel via AP)
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FILE - This Sunday, Oct. 7, 2018 file photo, shows an entrance to "The State Central Navy Testing Range" near the village of Nyonoksa, northwestern Russia. The Aug. 8, 2019, explosion of a rocket engine at the Russian navy's testing range just outside Nyonoksa led to a brief spike in radiation levels and raised new questions about prospective Russian weapons. Over Russian 100 medical workers who helped treat victims of a recent mysterious explosion at a military testing range have undergone checks and one man has been found with a trace of radiation, officials said Friday Aug. 23, 2019. (AP Photo/Sergei Yakovlev, File)
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, foreground, visits the "new safe confinement" shelter that spans the remains of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant's Reactor No. 4, in Chernobyl, Ukraine, Wednesday, July 10, 2019. A structure built to confine radioactive dust from the nuclear reactor at the center of the 1986 Chernobyl disaster was formally unveiled on Wednesday.(Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP)
Ukraine: Chernobyl's radioactive dust shelter unveiled
KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Wednesday inaugurated a giant structure built to confine radioactive debris at the nuclear reactor that exploded in Chernobyl in 1986. The confinement structure for the Chernobyl nuclear power plant's Reactor No. 4 cost 1.5 billion...
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Daktronics Releases Statement on Mis-Timing at ISCA Jr National Cup
Daktronics, the company that manufactured the timing system at the Liberty University pool, has released a statement regarding the faulty... Stock photo via “Rafael/Domeyko Photography”
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by Braden Keith 40
March 23rd, 2018 Club, Industry, National, News
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Daktronics, the company that manufactured the timing system at the Liberty University pool, has released a statement regarding the faulty equipment that caused timing errors through Thursday morning’s session at the 2018 ISCA Junior National Cup hosted there. The statement doesn’t share many details, but sources at the meet have filled in the gaps between what the statement says.
The Statement from Daktronics:
Liberty University has alerted us to an issue with the aquatics timing system at their venue. We understand that accuracy in timing for these events is imperative at all levels of competition and have worked directly with the university to determine the cause of this issue and implement a resolution. The issue caused a delay at the beginning of events between the horn going off and the timer starting. Liberty University and the International Swim Coaches Association (ISCA) were properly following directions in setting up the system for the ISCA Junior National Championship Cup.
A short-term resolution has been implemented to the existing equipment to ensure accuracy for the remaining events of the meet. Daktronics will be sending new horn starts to replace the affected product at Liberty University. In addition, we have communicated with the officials to establish the corrected times for the previous events. Daktronics will continue to stand behind Liberty University to provide the necessary customer support.
A representative from the company was on hand at the meet on Thursday. The issue is reported to have involved a miswiring of the timing boxes that both control the communication between the starter and the swimmers. For those unfamiliar with starting systems, the microphone has a button on it that controls the starting sound that begins the race, and that electronically triggers the timing system to begin. The internal mis-wire of the starters box, which has a hand-soldering manufacturing process, was causing an approximate .39-second delay in the start of the timing system, which was making times for races clock .39 seconds faster than they were actually being swum.
This same effect can be caused by a the microphone being plugged in to the wrong socket of the starter’s box, but meet organizers say that this was not the case at this week’s ISCA meet. Instead, an internal miswiring in the microphone caused a similar effect.
The problem was seen in 2 of the 3 microphones that the new Liberty University facility uses, making it impossible to determine which microphone was used at which meet. That’s significant because Liberty hosted an NCAA Last Chance Qualifying event in February where 5 female swimmers earned qualifying times for the NCAA Championship meet. 3 of those times, even if they were .39 seconds slower, still would have been fast enough to earn an invite to NCAAs, while 2 would not have been. None of those 5 swimmers wound up scoring individually at NCAAs.
That same last-chance meet was declared not “bona fide” competition for the men’s team from East Carolina because they were the only men’s team competing. The error with the timing system this week validates the NCAAs requirement to have multiple teams competing at a meet, because while not a perfect fix, it does create an environment of oversight for results.
Daktronics’ statement says that they will “continue to stand behind Liberty Uniersity to provide the necessary customer support.” The statement also implies that Daktronics feels comfortable that they know how to adjust the times done with the faulty equipment, and coaches were reportedly told on Friday morning that .396 would be added to all swims for the 1st two days. USA Swimming tells us on Saturday morning that their times people are still working on it and have been coordinating with the rules chair, Daktronics, and the meet site for 2 days to come up with a decision.
Updated: Daktronics told SwimSwam on Friday afternoon that they “believe this concern to be isolated,” but that “to ensure…best product performance and customer experience, they are further investigating and will reach out to customers directly if needed.” They also say thata current inventory has been checked and is “performing correctly.”
Update 2: the latest information is that the error was in the starter’s box, not the microphone.
« 2018 NCAA Division III Women’s Championships – Day 3 Prelims Live Recap
16-Year Old Swimmer Removed from Life Support After School Shooting »
Do we know what that means for Michael Andrew’s records?
Sam – that’s still a question we don’t have an answer to, because 1 of the pool’s 3 microphones was apparently functioning properly, and we don’t know which microphone was used in which sessions, which courses (they were splitting course in prelims), etc. There’s a chance that all times will be thrown out because of the inability to verify. There’s a chance that times will just have a ‘factor’ added to them.
swimdad
Does Daktronics not test their products before they ship/sell them? How can 2 out of 3 microphones be faulty? Thats a 66% product failure rate? Daktronics should consider a recall of all their microphones? How many other faulty microphones has been sold by Daktronics? How many other swim races could be in jeopardy of having their times thrown out? #daktronics-faulty-microphones
Vote Up8-1Vote Down Reply
“The internal mis-wire of the microphone, which has a hand-soldering manufacturing process…” Where are the Daktronics microphones manufactured? What quality controls do they have built into their supply chain and manufacturing process? This had to have been going on for years, if not decades – “hand soldering”?
#daktronics-faulty-microphones
Does this mean that Michael Andrew his NAG record gets corrected or not?
CRD – that’s still a question we don’t have an answer to, because 1 of the pool’s 3 microphones was apparently functioning properly, and we don’t know which microphone was used in which sessions, which courses (they were splitting course in prelims), etc. There’s a chance that all times will be thrown out because of the inability to verify. There’s a chance that times will just have a ‘factor’ added to them.
Ryan Skogg
I think if you were to compile the backup timers watch times for each of the sessions, you would see ON AVERAGE a 0.394 s slower times comparing the backup times versus the clock pad times. It would not be perfect, but i would be willing to bet that there were enough heats and manual times taken that you would be able to statistically differentiate the times. While there is certain variability in the backup timers recorded times, with enough samples you could statistically show an average difference between the data sets. Each session on those 9 lane pools would compile a pretty good data set. It would require compiling all of the hand recorded backup times taken on the… Read more »
If you add .39 to MA’s times he does not get the record. Not sure how they are going to work all that out.
SWIM FAN TOO
No record.
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About Braden Keith
Braden Keith is the Editor-in-Chief and a co-founder of SwimSwam.com. He first got his feet wet by building The Swimmers' Circle beginning in January 2010, and now comes to SwimSwam to use that experience and help build a new leader in the sport of swimming. Aside from his life on the InterWet, …
More from Braden Keith
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Seliskar Scratches Remaining Events at PSS-Knoxville (Heat Sheets)
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TABLE OF TWO CITIES
Untold stories of refugees in Hong Kong
Facts about refugees
Category: Human Rights
Freedom – above all: Refugee Perspectives
As told to Mhairi McLaughlin and Rivekie Ho. Annie* arrived in Hong Kong over a year ago, after being trafficked into a forced marriage in Mainland China. She is originally from Madagascar. Although living in limbo as an asylum seeker, she talks about the importance of freedom. How long have you been in Hong Kong?…
“We just hope that there is a future”: Keeping family together against all odds
As told to Tegan Smyth Kiran* has been in Hong Kong for over a decade, after fleeing political persecution in his home country. He shared several Nepalese dishes and discussed how he is trying to make the best life for his family in Hong Kong. How is it making Nepalese food in Hong Kong?…
“No matter the situation, we should always have hope”
As told to Edmond Lo and Tegan Smyth. Translated by Tegan Smyth. André* has been living in Hong Kong since 2013, after fleeing sectarian violence in his home country, Togo. He left amid suspicious fires occurring at two major markets in Togo, leading to the arrest of opposition members without trial, ahead of the country’s parliamentary polls….
Canadian barrister denied admission to the appeal of one of Edward Snowden’s Guardian “Angels”. Repercussions for Hong Kong’s refugee community?
Written by Askia M Sillah* Snowden’s Guardian Angels, as they are commonly referred to by the media, are at immediate risk of being detained by the Director of Immigration at the Castle Peak Bay Immigration Centre in Tuen Mun (“CIC”), as well as and being removed or deported to their home countries. At a…
Two Women, One Goal: “When the time is right, we will return home in dignity.”
As told to Fatima Qureshi Unspeakable conditions at work, political conflicts at home and the ongoing battle for safety and security, Rita* and Anne* came to Hong Kong from the Philippines nearly 10 years ago in hopes to financially support their families as migrant domestic workers. But unforeseeable circumstances at their agency discontinued further opportunities…
Language Barriers & Isolation: Keeping culture and hope alive in Hong Kong
Daud* and Aicha* came to Hong Kong nearly 3 years ago. While preparing several dishes from their country of origin, Chad, they told us about their day to day lives in Hong Kong and the difficulties that stem from not being able to work and having no means to speak to people in a common…
Legal Limbo, Mental Health & Faith: Intersections
As told to Shama Mashroor When discussing the lives of refugees, mental health is a factor that is often overlooked by policy-makers and individual citizens alike. What does it feel like to leave your home behind in search of a better one so that you can provide for your family, while also struggling with an…
“We love to share our food with friends and celebrate being together”: Refugee perspectives
“I was training to become a wrestler back in my home country, I hope I can one day be sponsored to continue my passion in Hong Kong”, says Roman*, an asylum seeker from the Caucasus. Roman’s place of birth is only recognised as an independent country by a handful of nations. To the rest of…
“Cooking brings everyone together”: A Refugee’s Dream
As told to Fatima Qureshi Esther* is from Nigeria. Living in Hong Kong for 3 years now, Esther was a well-renowned cook in her church back home. But with communal violence on the rise, she was forced to leave the hostile environment and talks about how she is trying to reconcile her dreams of opening…
Safeguarding faith, family and freedom in Hong Kong
As told to Fatima Qureshi. Sabah* is from Egypt. Seeking refuge in Hong Kong with her husband and three children for a year now from religious persecution after her conversion to Christianity, Sabah talks about her broken past, struggling present and hopes for the future free from the anxiety of danger and exclusion. This is…
A refugee’s story of hope: safeguarding faith, family and freedom
Creating a life after trauma: building a future in Hong Kong
As told to Mhairi McLaughlin and Sophie Hines. Translation by Tegan Smyth. Laura and Maria*, are from Madagascar. They arrived in Hong Kong around a year ago, after fleeing forced marriages to men in Mainland China. This is their story (Part 2 of 2). See Part 1 here. And then you escaped to Hong Kong?…
Indonesian 🇮🇩 and Cameroonian 🇨🇲 cuisine are quite distinct but there are some similarities. We served a vegan and traditional version of Ndole, Cameroon's national dish, spinach/bitterleaves in a rich peanut sauce. Alongside this, we had Gado Gado, an Indonesian salad that features several ingredients tied together with spicy peanut sauce. If you liked what you tried, please check out the One Love event on 27 January at Mui Wo. A link is in our profile. We hope you learnt more about these cultures on the evening and look forward to bringing you the next installment of "Taste Of..." Photos: Phoebe So (@swimmingsquares) #tableoftwocities
What a beautiful evening ❤️ Taste of... Afro-Asian Fusion - such a great way to start the year, with plentiful food and new friends to share a meal together. #tableoftwocities
A moveable (vegetarian) feast 🇪🇬 . Thanks @kafnuhongkong for the opportunity to be part of this event 😊
Great night at @kafnuhongkong kicking off their first Sustainable Fashion event. Vegetarian Egyptian food, drinks and conversation = the recipe of a great evening. #welcomerefugees
Thoroughly enjoying reading the new issue of @arianamag.hk and seeing two powerful women on the cover - @artwomenhk and @_harmonyhk ✌️✌️❤️ make sure you grab an issue, there's some impressive stories inside. Thank you @winstonscoffee for this copy. #girlpower
Sign up here: https://hongkong.kafnu.com/en/events/view/1221516360/kafnu-x-gwen-s-boutique-presents-the-preloved-fashion-shopathon Imagine a shopping night with good music, nibbles and a treasure trove of second-hand high street clothing curated by us especially for you, all for the price of one ticket. Take home as many pieces as you like, and feel good about doing your part in helping to tackle the overwhelming amount of waste the fashion cycle creates with its constant pursuit of newness. After all, second hand is not second best, and by shopping preloved you are helping to give clothes a longer lifespan while contributing directly to the recycling community. There is no limit to how many pieces you can pick up at our Shopathon, but we do have a very limited number of VIP tickets that give you early access and first dibs on all the goodies available. With food lovingly cooked by Table of Two Cities, an NGO that supports refugees and part of the ticket sales being donated to charity, walking away with a brand new guilt-free wardrobe never felt better!
Djembe and Donuts: My First Encounter with Hong Kong’s African Community
Art Women
fez-cooks
Soapbox Spectator
a Dash of Nash
Archives Select Month August 2019 March 2019 September 2018 July 2018 April 2018 February 2018 January 2018 November 2017 September 2017 July 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016
Categories Select Category Africa Asylum Seekers Caucasus Children Food Health Hong Kong Human Rights Human trafficking Nigeria Refugees Religion Social Issues South East Asia Uganda Uncategorized Welfare
Handmade products by female refugees
I'm still learning
Commentary on Australian politics and the economy
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Archive for August, 2013|Monthly archive page
ANOTHER WHISTLEBLOWER GETS BLOWN
Down at National Harbor yesterday, one of the TIGTA Deputy IG’s, R. David Holmgren, gave us an overview of what TIGTA does. I asked him after the lecture why TIGTA didn’t deal with the unending stonewalling by the Whistleblower Office, which seems to spend its waking hours denying claims when they’re not claiming that they haven’t determined anything. I cannot disclose his reply, here or elsewhere, as I asked informally.
See my blogposts “The Whistleblower Blows It”, 6/20/11, and “Qui Tam?” 9/12/12. In the former, I commented upon the case of William Prentice Cooper, III, 136 T.C. 30, released 6/20/11. So does STJ Daniel A. (“Yuda”) Guy, Jr., in blowing up would-be whistleblower Roy J. Meidinger, Docket No. 16513-12W, in a designated hitter filed 8/30/13.
The usual story: Roy turns up alleged skullduggery, sluggery and thuggery at a 501(c)(3) and drops a Form 211 on Bullet Bob Gardner, the retiring chief of the Whistleblower Squad. Remember Bullet Bob and his skirmishes with would-be Whistleblower Joe Insinga? No? Then check out my blogpost “A Voyage Of Discovery”, 3/30/12.
Here’s STJ Yuda’s story: “The Whistleblower Office forwarded petitioner’s information to the IRS Exempt Organizations Division and the Large Business and International Division. After reviewing petitioner’s original information and supplemental information, the Commissioner prepared Form 11369, Confidential Evaluation Report on Claim for Award, explaining his decision not to proceed with an administrative or judicial action against the taxpayers in question. … Robert Gardner, the Program Manager for the Whistleblower Office, sent a letter to petitioner stating that the information he provided did not result in the collection of any proceeds, and, therefore, he was not eligible for an award under section 7623.” Order, p. 2.
Roy claims IRS abused its discretion, but IRS counters with the Cooper case–no money, no award.
Roy comes back, claiming he had a contract with the IRS, and cites the Tucker Act, 28 USC §1491(a), and demands specific performance and binding arbitration.
Of course, that argument bites the dust. Judge Yuda says that Section 7623 controls Whistleblowing, and doesn’t go into the statutory language that places jurisdiction over Tucker Act claims with the Court of Federal Claims or the USDCs, but leaves out Tax Court.
Not surprisingly, Roy’s demand for relief doesn’t even get the usual “we ain’t got no equitable jurisdiction”, and anyhow Tax Court couldn’t order binding arbitration even if they did have equitable jurisdiction.
So Roy is tossed. “It is well settled that the threshold for a whistleblower award is the Commissioner’s collection of proceeds upon which an award can be based. That threshold not having been crossed here, petitioner is entitled to no award. There is no genuine issue as to any material fact, and we will dispose of this case in respondent’s favor on the basis of Cooper v. Commissioner, 136 T.C. at 601.” Order, at p. 3. (Footnote omitted).
OK, so as far as Tax Court is concerned, once IRS says there’s no money, that ends the Whistleblower’s relationship with IRS. To quote Mr. Kipling, “If a year of life be lent her/If her temple’s shrine we enter/The door is shut/We may not look behind”.
Now lest I be misunderstood, I agree that the Courts’ role in reviewing administrative determinations by the Executive branch should be limited. We still have some vestige of a Constitutional separation of powers. There are places where courts cannot, and should not, go.
But the administrative agency here has its own check and balances, provided by the Legislative branch. There’s TIGTA, whose mission is “(T)o provide integrated audit, investigative, and inspection and evaluation services that promote economy, efficiency, and integrity in the administration of the internal revenue laws.”
Might could be y’all should take a look at how the Whistleblower Office is doing.
MAYBE NOT SO DANGEROUS
See my blogpost “A Dangerous Thing”, 4/13/11, for my take on Alexander Pope’s famous verses on drinking deep from the Pierian spring.
Well, another Alexander, Dr. Stanley by name, and Ruth, his wife, didn’t even sip much, and it helped them avoid the 75% fraud hammer from the hand of Judge Goeke in Stanley L. Alexander and Ruth A. Alexander, 2013 T. C. Memo. 206, filed 8/29/13, which I finally get to blog as I’m homeward bound from National Harbor, MD, and the 2013 IRS Nationwide Tax Forum, that well-known fount of knowledge.
Stan and Ruth get hooked up in one of those offshore employee leasing roundy-rounds. Ruth claims to be just a farm girl, but she did bookkeeping for Stan and her pleas of innocence are belied by her participation via her grantor trust and the absence of any records of her farming activity.
For a quick review of the offshore leasing game, see my blogpost “What Not To Say”, 11/3/11, the tale of Merry Perry Browning, whose case is cited by Judge Goeke here. Instead of the credit cards Merry Perry and Mrs. Merry Perry used, Stan and Ruth used revolving credit lines from their offshores, and there were many, to funnel the cash parked offshore back to Stan and Ruth. From Ireland to Isle of Man to Hungary runs the tangled trail, and Judge Goeke runs them all down.
If old-time wheeling and dealing sings to you, read the full opinion.
Of course Stan gets nailed for underreporting, failure to file, failure to pay, and accuracy, and his controlled corporation gets nailed for nonpayment of withholding taxes. As aforesaid, Ruth is in there with Stan, jointly and severally.
Now Stan is a retired Air Force light bird and a plastic surgeon of repute. He was an honors graduate of Otterbein College with an MD from Ohio State. Ruth had a BFA from Wright State in Dayton, OH, and took accounting and computer courses thereafter. Not a stupid couple, and Judge Goeke makes that clear.
So after blowing up the employee leasing scam and eviscerating the farming claims and the unsubstantiated deductions, Judge Goeke turns to penalties. And he hands out plenty, to Stan and his corporation, and Ruth.
But when it comes to fraud, Judge Goeke says IRS didn’t prove it clearly and convincingly. IRS shows that Stan was in the thick of the wheeling and dealing, and Ruth was by his side, although the deals were concocted and run by a couple of lawyers Stan met through an offshore peddler of leasing deals.
But that’s not enough for Judge Goeke. “While Dr. Alexander is highly educated and a very accomplished medical doctor, respondent [IRS] did not establish that he understood complex tax law issues. To be sure, Dr. Alexander has a basic understanding of corporate structures and filed his own tax returns, but nothing in the records establishes that he understood the complex tax laws involved with the OEL [overseas employee leasing] transaction, nor that he possessed the knowledge to determine that the OEL transaction did not comply with applicable tax laws. Similarly, Mrs. Alexander does have some accounting education, but she does not possess the education or experience for the Court to hold her to a higher level of understanding when it comes to the OEL transaction.
“The evidence shows that Messrs. Kritt and Reiserer [the promoters] explained the OEL transaction in detail to Dr. Alexander and assured him the plan complied with the tax laws. There is nothing in his education or experience that would indicate that he should have known differently. Messrs. Reiserer and Kritt structured and implemented every aspect of the OEL transaction. Dr. and Mrs. Alexander relied upon the assurance of Messrs. Reiserer and Kritt that the OEL plan conformed to the tax laws. Dr. and Mrs. Alexander do not possess the education and experience to understand that the plan did not conform to the applicable tax laws.” 2013 T. C. Memo. 203, at p. 44.
So, unlike the famous frankfurter, neither the doc nor Ruth must answer to a higher authority when it comes to knowing tax law.
Of course, their asserted good-faith reliance on the promoters gets sunk, as the promoters made the deal happen.
But maybe a little knowledge isn’t such a dangerous thing, after all.
Footnote for a lady– This is my post number 555–Triple Nickel.
NO, IT’S NOT A VENDETTA
The readers of my blogposts (“the few, the happy few”, to paraphrase a much finer writer) should not think I have a grudge against tax matters partners. It’s true I’ve stated that their duties as partners exceed those as tax matterers; see my blogpost “Bang – A Warning to Tax Matters Partners (and their advisors)”, 1/5/11, and “Wise Guys?”, 4/22/13. I’ll come back to “Wise Guys?” later.
But I feel it necessary to remind the TMPs, as they’re known in TEFRA circles, and their colleagues the notice partners and the five-percenters, that they’re all in it together. And therefore the exercise of diligence and prompt internal communication are essential.
As an ornament to the Supreme Court once remarked, “A trustee is held to something stricter than the morals of the market place. Not honesty alone, but the punctilio of an honor the most sensitive, is then the standard of behavior… the level of conduct for fiduciaries [has] been kept at a level higher than that trodden by the crowd.” (Citation omitted).
So today’s illustration is found in 2013 T.C. Memo. 202, filed 8/28/13, involving Biomage, LLC, Front Row Enterprises LLC, Tax Matters Partner. It’s the usual FPAA and Tax Court petition case.
IRS moves to dismiss the petition as untimely.
Front Row claims IRS never mailed it the FPAA, but if it did, then the petition was timely, as they sent it within 150 days of the date that IRS mailed a notice partner a copy of the FPAA.
Ch J Thornton brushes aside the claim by Front Row that they never got the FPAA, and that the USPS Form 3877 proof of mailing misstates the tax year involved; the IRS employee who prepared the 3877 swears it was a mistake. And USPS confirms delivery of the certified letter to the address given by Front Row.
“Petitioner asserts alternatively that if the IRS mailed an FPAA to petitioner, then the petition was filed timely as to the notice partner copy so as to invoke the Court’s jurisdiction. To that end, petitioner contends that it filed the petition as a partner other than the TMP within 150 days of the day that the IRS mailed petitioner the notice partner copy in its capacity as a notice partner of Biomage. We disagree with petitioner as to its understanding of the 150-day petitioning period (i.e., 90 days for the TMP plus 60 days for notice partners). Contrary to petitioner’s suggestion that the period begins on the day that the notice partner copy was mailed to petitioner, section 6226(a) and (b) requires that the count begin on the day that the FPAA was mailed to the TMP. See Han Kook LLC I-D v. Commissioner, 102 T.C.M. (CCH) at 259. The count, therefore, began on June 4, 2010, and petitioner’s petition was untimely.” 2013 T. C. Memo. 202, at p. 12.
So Han Kook cooks Biomage’s goose (sorry, guys).
And as I said in “Wise Guys?”, “Tax Matters Partners, read and heed; send in that petition at once. And five-percenters and notice partners (Section 6226(b)(1), check in with the TMP and be ready to roll on Day 91.”
NOT PARSLEY, SAGE, ROSEMARY AND THYME
No, other plant life, namely green supplements, flax seeds and D-3, in the case of Kenneth Delano Humphrey, 2013 T. C. Memo. 198, filed 8/28/13.
So Paul Simon doesn’t feature in today’s blogpost.
KD was an officer in the US Dep’t of Homeland Security during the year at issue, and scheduled numerous deductions in his Schedule A, most of which Judge Goeke blows off for want of substantiation. But KD’s plant life gets a juridical OK.
“As part of phytotherapy, petitioner claimed as medical expenses the purchase of various natural supplements (green supplements, flax seeds, and D-3) to alleviate his prostate cancer. The regimen was based on medical guidelines by Johns Hopkins Medical Urology, Harvard Medical School, and the Mayo Clinic. Petitioner has been under the care of two doctors since 2008.” 2013 T. C. Memo. 198, at pp. 3-4.
“Petitioner seeks to deduct supplements and health foods as a medical expense. Medical care deductions are not strictly limited to traditional medical procedures but include amounts paid for affecting the structure of the body. Medical expenses for nontraditional medical care may be deductible under the broad view of medical care. The term ‘medical care’ includes amounts paid ‘for the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease, or for the purpose of affecting any structure or function of the body’.” 2013 T. C. Memo. 198, at p. 7. (Citations omitted).
Judge Goeke is willing to give KD the benefit of the doubt: “To prevail, petitioner must show that the health foods and supplements cure, mitigate, treat, or prevent his prostate cancer or affect any structure or function of his body. To be deductible, the treatment must be for the specific purpose of alleviating the prostate cancer, rather than for the general well-being of petitioner. Sec. 1.213-1(e)(1)(ii), Income Tax Regs. It is difficult to determine the difference, but here we feel petitioner has proven that the health foods and supplements were for alleviating his prostate cancer rather than just for general health.
“Petitioner provided receipts from a discount health food store to substantiate purchases of green supplements, flax seeds, and D-3. It is pertinent to determine whether the health foods and supplements were prescribed by a doctor. From the record we find that the expenses for health foods and supplements have been substantiated. Petitioner provided credible testimony that his doctors suggested the health foods and cited medical guidelines by Johns Hopkins Medical Urology, Harvard Medical School, and the Mayo Clinic.” 2013 T. C. Memo. 198, at pp. 8-9.
Takeaway- Don’t overlook those supplements. Good medical evidence wins the day.
NEITHER DEATH NOR DISEASE
Will deter that obliging jurist Judge Gustafson from bringing a case on to trial. Although Frank is dead and Dulce’s health has seriously deteriorated since they petitioned in 2009, Judge Gustafson isn’t prepared to wait much longer to deal with whatever the issues might be in Estate of Frank San Pedro, Deceased, Alberto E. San Pedro, Personal Representative, and Dulce San Pedro, Docket No. 11905-09, filed 8/28/13.
Trial is set for a date certain less than three months away, but apparently Alberto asked for a continuance. Judge Gustafson doesn’t say who wants the time-out, but in any case he’s not obliging this time.
“The record shows that Frank San Pedro died in July 2009 (several months after the petition was filed) and that Dulce San Pedro’s health has seriously deteriorated. While such circumstances are sometimes a reason to continue a case, a continuance should be granted only if the passage of time will better enable the parties to try the case. In a circumstance like this, a continuance may have the disadvantage of making it only more difficult to locate witnesses and documents relevant to the case. The parties should therefore be aware that the Court will not reflexively grant any further continuance.” Order, at p. 1.
So file a status report, guys, and get with it.
I WISH I WERE HOMEWARD BOUND
On tour this week with the IRS Nationwide Tax Forum, I post here a rare personal reflection.
Echoing Paul Simon’s 1965 hit, I’m sitting in the National Harbor Gaylord Resort Hotel, with a railway ticket to my destination, but with two more days of CPE (gotta get those hours) ahead.
And I’m bored.
I’ve got no gripe with the lectures or the lecturers, but the 2013 tax law changes have lost their novelty, the Affordable Care Act has become this year’s l’Affaire Dreyfuss (take a look at that splendid Caran d’Ache cartoon “they spoke of it”), and there’s not a lot new with SFRs and ASFRs, and preparer penalties.
There is a new Form 8938 Statement of Foreign Assets to go with 1040s, and FBARs are now all going to be filed electronically, but that has been circulating for a while on the IRS website. Moreover, discussions of tax forms are not what I do best.
And Tax Court, the source of my blogposts, today has two pedestrian T. C. Memos only, and no interesting orders.
One reiterates yet again the TFRP rule that the entity’s liability has nothing to do with the responsible person’s obligation to remit the withheld funds, even when the entity bears the intriguing title of Hey Baby Enterprises, Inc. The case is Pamela L. Lengua, 2013 T. C. Memo. 197, filed 8/27/13, but the corporate name is the best part of the case.
Next is an old protester trying to relitigate his 1991 loss, and getting yet another Section 6673 jab from that usually welcoming, but now unsympathetic, jurist Judge Lauber. I pass.
So this evening I again turn to Mr. Simon: “But all my words come back to me/ In shades of mediocrity.”
I wish I were homeward bound.
HONOR YOUR PARTNER
Whoever your partner might be. No, not Historic Boardwalk Hall; see my blogpost “Honor Your Partner?”, 9/3/12. This time it’s Jimastowlo Oil, LLC, et al., John J. Petito, Tax Matters Partner, 2013 T. C. Memo. 195, filed 8/26/13, a day to keep us bloggers blogging far into the night.
Judge Halpern is seeking the source, not Perrier, but the source partner, the partnership whence cometh all the FPAAs that Jimastowlo and its buddy Oil Coming We Are Humming LLC are fighting about. IRS hit Jim and Hum with FPAAs, claiming Section 469 passivity and imposing accuracy penalties.
But Jim and Hum were themselves owners of a couple of working interests in oil leases, the chief worker of which was Energytec, Inc., who sold Jim and Hum “income programs” in some played-out Texas wells.
After fighting through the FPAAs, Judge Halpern thinks maybe the real partnership is among Energytec, Jim and Hum, and so he has no jurisdiction because Energytec, the “source” partner, isn’t in the mix.
For those of us who don’t do oil deals, a working interest has been defined by Hank Black, the law dictionarian, as “(T)he rights to the mineral interest granted by an oil-and-gas lease, so called because the lessee acquires the right to work on the leased property to search, develop, and produce oil and gas, as well as the obligation to pay all costs.” 2013 T. C. Memo. 195, at p. 7, footnote 3.
OK, but were Energytec, Jim and Hum partners? Now usually in these deals there’s an operating agreement, spelling out who does what and who gets what and who pays what. But here there was none; the wells were worked by Energytec or its designee, who drilled, collected, sold, kept the books and distributed the net. Neither Hum nor Jim could do anything, take any oil or sell any oil. And when Energytec finally got around to proffering operating agreements, Hum and Jim refused to sign, for the reasons hereinafter in the next succeeding paragraph set forth, as the high-priced lawyers say.
At first Jim and Hum got paid based on the projected yields from the leases, but the projections were wildly optimistic, the payments got cut, and Jim and Hum wound up owing Energytec money. Jim and Hum yelled “Ponzi scheme” and sued. And claimed theft losses. Energytec filed chapter (what else?), and so far no decision on the fraud claims.
But was it a partnership? No, says IRS, so nail Jim and Hum on the FPAAs we gave them. Yes it was, say Jim and Hum, so toss the case for no jurisdiction.
Energytec never filed a 1065. Their 1120 said they were in the oil business, but made no reference to any passthroughs. Jim and Hum each filed their own 1065s, but said nothing about source partnerships; they were simply in what my daughter the Texan calls the “awl bizniz”.
So Judge Halpern checks out the statute and regulations. A simple expense-sharing arrangement is not a partnership, but when two or more are gathered together in a business entity, and aren’t a trust or corporation, they are a partnership.
And that means TEFRA, and FPAAs, and partnership-level and partner-level computations. And affected items, those that show up on partners’ returns but are passed through from the partnership.
Judge Halpern: “Because affected items depend upon partnership-level determinations with respect to partnership items, any issuance of notice of deficiency or FPAA regarding affected items, and any resulting litigation, must await the outcome of the partnership proceeding or the expiration of the time to initiate one. That rule applies equally to affected items reported by a ‘pass-thru’ partner that were derived from a lower tier or ‘source’ partnership.” 2013 T. C. Memo. 195, at p. 23. (Citations omitted, but Judge Halpern cites the Rawls case, the subject of two of my blogposts “Finishing the Play”, 3/26/12, and “Hail, All Hail Cornell!”, 12/5/12).
And it doesn’t matter that none of the partners knew they were partners, filed returns as partners, and even that IRS never claimed they were partners. “The principle… that we lack jurisdiction to redetermine affected items attributable to a source partnership before the source partnership-level proceedings have been completed, applies even when the members of the source partnership have failed to recognize that they have created a separate entity (i.e., a partnership) for Federal income tax purposes and have not, therefore, filed a partnership return on its behalf, and the Commissioner has neither conducted a source partnership-level audit nor issued an FPAA to it.” 2013 T. C. Memo. 195, at p. 24. (Citations omitted).
The Section 469 passivity and the penalties are partnership-level items for the source partnership, and that partnership, if it is a partnership, isn’t before Tax Court. And even economic substance and sham transaction, challenging whether there even was a partnership, are partnership-level issues. See Petaluma.
Guess what? It is a partnership. Even though some assignments of working interests were recorded late or not recorded at all, as among themselves Energytec, Jim and Hum were co-tenants. And some business was being done, however minimal. Some oil was recovered, collected, sold, and some bills were paid.
It was more than co-ownership or expense-sharing. “Each LLC was, thus, a coowner with Energytec (and others) of a working interest in an oil and gas leasehold, which working interest entitled the coowners thereof to find and extract oil and gas. To exploit the working interest, the coowners had to cooperate. During the audit years, Energytec, acting as common agent, operated the wells on a cooperative basis for the working interest owners. No working interest owner could take his share of production in kind or sell it independently of the other owners. The coowners were not merely sharing expenses. They were jointly carrying on a trade or business and dividing the proceeds therefrom.” 2013 T. C. Memo. 195, at p. 40.
Out go the FPAAs, and out goes the petition.
CHARITY IS AS CHARITY DOES
Two 501(c)(3)s today, August 26, both Section 7428 declaratory judgments, as Tax Court releases a bushelbasketful of opinions.
First up, Partners in Charity, Inc., (“PIC”) 141 T. C. 2, filed 8/26/13. IRS revoked PIC’s exempt status retroactive to day one.
PIC was the brainchild of Chicago real estater Charlie Konkus. He claimed PIC was going to raise money to provide poor would-be homeowners with downpayments, if they could get mortgages.
What Charlie did was to get the sellers to front the downpayments, by paying Charlie the downpayments plus a little on the side, whereupon Charlie would use PIC to give the downpayment money (directly into escrow) for the buyers, and then funnel it back to the seller through the escrow at closing, thus permitting sellers to give the purchasers the downpayment, something prohibited by FHA regulations. And let the sellers charge more for their houses (as Charlie pointed out in his promotional materials). But FHA regulations allow charities to fund downpayments for the poor.
Of course, Charlie did not restrict his pseudo-largesse to the poor: anyone, rich or poor or in-between, could avail themselves; and, since Charlie had no controls to make sure his beneficence would only aid the poor, they did. Charlie hired his wife’s company to promote the business, and in two years racked up $3 million in profit.
Judge Gustafson, usually so obliging, is not amused: “Indiscriminately giving money away to anyone who will take it is not a charitable purpose, even if some of the recipients are poor people. Section 501(c)(3) requires more; it requires that the money be given away in such a way that it furthers a purpose of reducing poverty, promoting education, science, or religion, or promoting another public good. We conclude that… PIC’s DPA program did not operate for a charitable purpose.” 141 T. C. 2, at pp. 28-29.
It’s what you do, not what you say you will do.
PIC was a broker, not a charity. And IRS has discretion to revoke a 501(c)(3) exemption retroactive to day one, and here that discretion was not abused.
Next up, Judge Gustafson examines the gymnastics of Capital Gymnastics Booster Club, Inc., in 2013 T. C. Memo. 193, filed 8/26/13. Here the question is did the exempt income inure to the private benefit of insiders, and Judge Gustafson finds that it did.
The Capitalists, a 501(c)(3) athletic outfit, required member-parents to front the money for their children’s competitive efforts, in training and in competitions. Alternatively, the parents could “fund-raise”, that is solicit contributions to the Capitalists, receiving a formulaic credit against the not-inconsequential annual membership dues and assessments for concomitant expenses connected with their offsprings’ handsprings.
“Capital Gymnastics computed the assessment at the beginning of each season by consulting with meet sponsors. Capital Gymnastics did not allow athletes to compete unless their assessment was paid in full, including any late fees. The record shows no conferring of ‘scholarships’ nor any other relaxation of this requirement.” 2013 T. C. Memo. 193, at p. 6.
But there was an out; fund-raisers and other special friends of the Capitalists didn’t pay the full freight. “For the families that chose to fundraise, Capital Gymnastics awarded points in proportion to the fundraising profit that each family generated. Each point was worth $10. The chairperson of each fundraiser also received a small number of points as an incentive to manage the fundraisers. Parents could earn additional points by filling certain board positions on Capital Gymnastics. Capital Gymnastics’ financial manager periodically tallied the points for each family and reduced the family’s unpaid assessment in dollars, according to the number of points that the family had earned.” 2013 T. C. Memo. 193, at p. 8.
The fundraisers got big discounts, the non-fundraisers (described by the Capitalists as “moochers” or “freeloaders”) got nothing.
Now fostering amateur sport competitions is a valid Section 501(c)(3) purpose, so the Capitalists’ aims are legit. What sinks them is the benefits to the fundraisers.
Exempts can’t benefit insiders or private parties. The Capitalists argue that the kids are the beneficiaries. IRS says no, it’s the fundraising parents, who are members, who are getting the benefit.
Judge Gustafson: “Applying the law to Capital Gymnastics’ facts and circumstances, we find that, in violation of section 501(c)(3), Capital Gymnastics allowed substantial private inurement to the parent-member-insiders who fundraised (by providing to those insiders relief from an economic burden in the form of ‘points’ applied to their assessments) and thereby conferred an impermissible substantial private benefit on the child-athletes of those parents only (as opposed to its child-athletes generally). Capital Gymnastics authorized parent-members to raise funds for their own benefit but under the name of Capital Gymnastics and trading on its tax-exemption ruling. Capital Gymnastics rigorously assured that its fundraising did not generally benefit all the child-athletes in its programs but rather benefited only the children of parents who did the fundraising.” 2013 T. C. Memo. 193, at pp. 19-20.
And Judge Gustafson makes clear the contrast between the occasional fundraiser (bake sale, car wash) and the Capitalists’ all-out drive. “…this is not a circumstance (like, say, a school band’s sale of candy or a church youth group’s carwash for a once-a-year event) in which the fundraising is a tiny fraction of the organization’s overall function; here, the fundraising is, instead, the admitted ‘primary function’ of the organization. This is not a circumstance in which the individual’s contribution of his share of the cost is optional or where scholarships are made available for those who cannot afford the cost. Nor is this a circumstance in which every member is required to perform fundraising and no one can buy his way out; rather, the fundraising was an option chosen by those who wanted to earn their assessments. The assessments at issue were not arguably de minimis charges that might be covered by a child’s paper route or babysitting, but rather were serious parental obligations….” 2013 T. C. Memo. 193, at p. 20.
In short, the money wasn’t spread around. No exemption.
No, not into R. M. Crawford’s 1938 “wild blue yonder”, but rather to imbibe taxational wisdom and CPE hours at the IRS Nationwide Tax Forum at National Harbor, MD, the situs I love to hate. Still, gotta get the hours. Again I’m lobbying to have the Big Show brought back to New York City.
Can’t leave out the Big Apple.
“AGREE WITH THINE ADVERSARY WHILST THOU ART IN THE WAY”
The subtitle of my blogpost “Give It Your Best Number”, 4/9/12, should serve as a warning to taxpayers who get hit with a deficiency; even before the SNOD, prepare to settle.
John V. Black, Docket No. 2260-12, filed 8/23/13 is an object lesson.
CSTJ Panuthos administers the lesson. First, the background: “…respondent [IRS] filed a Motion for Leave To File Amendment to Answer, lodging the corresponding Amendment to Answer. Respondent’s motion states that the notice of deficiency that forms the basis of this case was prepared using information returns provided by third parties. Thereafter, respondent performed a bank deposit analysis and determined that… petitioner received additional unreported taxable income from his business activity, which was not reported by third parties and therefore was not included in the original notice of deficiency. Respondent’s Amendment to Answer seeks an increased deficiency of $11,683 and additions to tax resulting from this alleged additional unreported income.” Order, at p. 1.
Sound familiar? See my blogpost “Pay The Man”, 7/31/12.
John objects to IRS’ proposed Amendment: “…petitioner alleges that he wants to settle his case and allowing respondent to amend his answer will result in ‘added costs, hassles and delay.’” Order, at p. 1.
But Rule 41, like FRCP Rule 51, is in favor of amendments.
CSTJ Panuthos: “Whether to permit such an amendment is a matter within the sound discretion of the Court. The touchstone in evaluating whether to allow an amendment is the existence of unfair surprise or prejudice to the nonmoving party. Such surprise or prejudice, in turn, rests largely on evidentiary and other considerations bearing on the nonmovant’s opportunity to respond. For instance, this and other courts may take into account whether the nonmovant would be prevented from presenting evidence that might have been introduced if the matter had been raised earlier and whether the movant delayed unduly in raising the matter.” Order, at p. 2. (Citations omitted).
In short, as we’ve seen before, the question is whether the Amendment is an ambush.
Not here, says CSTJ Panuthos: “Petitioner’s generalized allegations of hassles and delays lack persuasive specifics or value. Furthermore, we cannot find any undue delay, bad faith or dilatory motive on the part of respondent when the existence of this alleged additional unreported income was not known to respondent until respondent obtained petitioner’s bank records… in preparation for trial.” Order, at p. 2.
Finally, CSTJ Panuthos understands what John wants, but “(W)hile we understand petitioner’s desire to settle this case based on the notice of deficiency as issued, Tax Court precedent is clear that ‘[w]e acquire jurisdiction when a taxpayer files with the Court and that jurisdiction extends to the entire subject matter of the correct tax for the taxable year.’” Order, at p.2. (Citation omitted).
Or in simple terms, once you file a petition, everything in every tax year in your petition is up for grabs.
So IRS gets its Amendment, to which John must respond.
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Hudl Scores $72.5M From Accel To Rally Teams To Its Sports Video Coaching Tool
Josh Constine @JoshConstine / 5 years
You might not have heard of Hudl, but it’s how 100,000 sports teams spent $30 million last year to review game tape on mobile. Hudl never raised institutional funding since starting in 2006, but it’s quietly amassed 1 billion video clips and 3.5 million users across 40 countries. Now it’s ready to trounce its competitors with a jaw-dropping $72.5 million round of funding led by Accel that will pay for more sales reps so it can sign up as many teams as possible.
You’d be forgiven for wondering how Hudl isn’t just a niche business. How many teams are really recording game tape to be annotated by coaches and shared with players? Well, since the rise of mobile, the answer is basically all of them, from pros in the NFL and NBA down through college, high school and even little league sports teams.
And they pay. Hudl charges around $1,400 a year per high school and college team. That allowed it to build a software-as-a-service business that won $30 million in revenue in 2014.
So what exactly does Hudl do? Coaches can use it to either record or upload video tape of games and practices that can be viewed by all their players on mobile. That used to be quite difficult, especially when teams were traveling. Coaches can add text, drawing and audio annotations to Hudl videos to teach players what they did right and wrong.
Hudl players can then cobble together highlight videos of their play that they can openly host on their Hudl profile for fans to watch, post to social networks, or instantly send to recruiters. Hudl does it all, from football, baseball, and basketball, to tennis, golf, and volleyball, to water skiing, snowboarding, and bobsledding.
Hudl CEO David Graff tells me most serious high school athletes now list their Hudl link on their Twitter profile. There have been a slew of success stories of otherwise little-known players who got big offers to play at top schools thanks to Hudl.
Fotu Leiato, for example, went to Washington’s Steilacoom High School and was looking at D3 football programs when his Hudl highlight video went viral. It showed him utterly destroying opponents while blocking for kick returns. Suddenly Leiato had offers from UCLA and Michigan State before going to play for powerhouse D1 team University Of Oregon.
It’s these kinds of videos that represent Hudl’s next big revenue stream. It’s now running video pre-roll ads on its most popular clips, and licensing them out to news outlets like ESPN and Bleacher Report.
Started by Graff and his University Of Nebraska-Lincoln buddies John Wirtz and Brian Kaiser, Hudl raised an early $3 million seed round from angel investors back around 2008. After starting with just a few teams, it quickly became profitable, leading it to forgo additional funding or much press.
Now it’s grown to 230 employees across four offices, and has made several acquisitions to break into new markets, like UberSense to support individual athletes like runners and weight lifters, and ReplayAnalysis to pick up English football premiership clubs.
Now with the new $72.5 million from Accel, Nelnet, and former Microsoft Business president Jeff Raikes, it plans to have enough money in the bank to “be opportunistic about making acquisitions” of competitors, Graff tells me.
There are plenty of startups crowding the paint, though, like XOS for the NFL, Sportstec for the NBA, and Krossover for high school teams. With mobile democratizing video recording, all these companies have been in a fierce sales war. But Hudl is bringing in a ringer with Accel and its funding. Graff says “Accel stood out in having a track record of companies they’ve helped succeed through this scaling stage.” I’ll spare you the cliché “on steroids” metaphor, but the funding could rapidly accelerate Hudl’s growth.
Down the line, Graff says he’d be willing to take Hudl public if it makes sense, or run it as a private business, though he insists it’s “not looking to be acquired.” Hudl never started as a money-maker anyways. Graff concludes, “My two biggest areas of passion are sports and technology. I don’t think I could find a better fit.”
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10/07/2018 S130 European Parliament - Services - Contract notice - Open procedure
Luxembourg-Luxembourg: Purchase of washing tickets for European Parliament service vehicles in Brussels
Official name: European Parliament
Postal address: Plateau de Kirchberg
Town: Luxembourg
NUTS code: LU000
Postal code: L-2929
Contact person: Direction de la logistique — Service de passation de marchés publics / bureau KAD 03G025
E-mail: INLO.CFT@ep.europa.eu
Main address: http://www.europarl.europa.eu
The procurement documents are available for unrestricted and full direct access, free of charge, at: https://etendering.ted.europa.eu/cft/cft-display.html?cftId=3678
European institution/agency or international organisation
Purchase of washing tickets for European Parliament service vehicles in Brussels
Reference number: 06B10/2018/M028
The European Parliament has decided to launch an invitation to tender with a view to concluding a framework contract enabling it to obtain washing tickets to clean its service vehicles near its buildings in Brussels for a maximum period of 4 years.
NUTS code: BE10
Brussels-Capital Region
The number of washes is estimated at 5,000 (exterior washing with hand finish) and 1,650 (complete interior cleaning) per year. It must be carried out by a classic roller washing process, using ecological products.
A detailed description of the services and requirements are in the tender specification which can be downloaded from the address under I.1.
Criteria below
Quality criterion - Name: Environmental measures / Weighting: 10
Quality criterion - Name: Delivery process / Weighting: 10
Price - Weighting: 60
The maximum value of the framework contract will be determined on the basis of unit prices, according to the presumed annual quantities and by applying a coefficient of 1.15 for unforeseen variation in requirements during the duration of the framework contract.
The framework contract will be concluded for an initial period of 1 year, renewable 3 times.
— entry in the professional or commercial register, unless the tenderer is an international organisation,
— all necessary authorisations to execute the object of the contract in Belgium.
List and brief description of selection criteria:
— minimum annual turnover of 150 000 EUR achieved in the field to which the contract to be awarded relates (vehicle washing), during the last two financial years ended,
— professional risk insurance.
— experience of at least 2 years for the contract in question,
— technical equipment, tools and material proposed for use by the tenderer to carry out the contract, which must comply with the tender specification (technical characteristics and geographical situation).
See invitation to tender documents which can be downloaded from the address under point I.1.
The procurement involves the establishment of a framework agreement
Framework agreement with a single operator
Bulgarian, Czech, Danish, German, Greek, English, Spanish, Estonian, Finnish, French, Irish, Croatian, Hungarian, Italian, Lithuanian, Latvian, Maltese, Dutch, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovak, Slovenian, Swedish
See tender documents. It is possible to request records of the opening bids in order to avoid travelling.
This is a recurrent procurement: yes
Estimated timing for further notices to be published:
The date under IV.2.2 will be understood as the deadline for the submission of documents for dispatch (postmark).
Tenders may not be submitted by e-mail address, under penalty of rejection.
An optional information session will be held in Brussels, as specified in the tender documents. Presence there is strongly recommended.
Official name: General Court, organe juridictionnel de la Cour de justice de l'Union européenne
Postal address: Rue du Fort Niedergrünewald
Internet address: https://curia.europa.eu
Official name: European Ombudsman
Town: Strasbourg
Internet address: https://www.ombudsman.europa.eu/shortcuts/contacts.faces
Within 2 months of this notice, possibly extended due to distance
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Stunning EP By Tall Poppies
July 23, 2015 — Leave a comment
Working with producer Brian O’Shaughnessy (produced Primal Scream’s ‘Screamadellica’) as well as with Paul Tipler (Elastica, Idlewild, The Horrors, Stereolab), the ‘High Time’ EP is a technical triumph, finding Tall Poppies at the top of their game in the studio. Working with such high profile names has come as a result of a growing reputation, helped along by superb live notices in both the UK and Australia.
Having supported Mark Morrison from the Bluetones, other live highlights include a sell out launch show at Perth’s ‘His Majesty Theatre’, and a number of gigs in the UK such as 2000 Trees festival in Gloucester, Hay on Wye Festival and the Harlequin festival in Norwich.
Their live reputation has also seen them secure regular gigs for the manager of cult sensation Public Service Broadcasting, who books them for gigs at one of the hottest underground venues in London, Paperdress Vintage.
It’s all great news from a fiercely DIY band who are working hard to continue their creative innovations. With self-made music videos, photoshoot costumes and artwork, this is a four piece whose creativity reigns across the board.
‘High Time’ EP is out from Tall Poppies on August 24th.
www.thetallpoppies.com
www.soundcloud.com/tallpoppies
www.facebook.com/tallpoppiesmusic
www.twitter.com/thetallpoppies
www.youtube.com/tallpoppiesmusic
This entry was posted in Uncategorized and tagged Facebook, soundcloud, Tall Poppies, Twitter, Youtube. Bookmark the permalink.
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Tell The Bartender
Tag Archives: sender
Episode 67: Shaken Up
Listen to Episode 67: Shaken Up
Download From iTunes Here
New York native Anthony survived the devastating LA earthquake of ’94. But he soon found out the damage wasn’t nearly done. And The Bitchy Waiter is back to tell us what happened to him hours after the last time he was on the show… he isn’t proud.
PLUS listener shout outs, and The Bartender is going on tour with the comedy podcast Keith and The Girl in October! See show dates here. Like the show? Tip The Bartender! Or give it 5 stars!
About the Guests:
Anthony Arkin is an incredible actor, writer, director and overall awesome person. He is currently raising money for his new movie that he wrote and will be directing, Sender. Support independent art and donate here! In 2008 Anthony won best editing honors at the Santa Fe Film Festival for his feature, State of Rock. He is a founding member of STEEL DRUM IN SPACE, and he shoots and edits much of their content. As an actor he has appeared in numerous films and TV shows including The Americans, Person of Interest, Blue Bloods, The Good Wife, The Late Show and the upcoming ABC mini-series, Madoff.
The Bitchy Waiter, one of our favorite guests, waits tables and writes about it, hysterically. He is also a brilliant actor and singer, and has a book coming out next year! You should follow him on Twitter and Facebook. Here he is on Dr. Phil:
Music Credits:
“Setting Sun” by Chris Powers
“I Will Survive” by Cake
“El President” by Drugstore Featuring Thom Yorke
“Kiss Them For Me” by Siouxsie and the Banshees
“Bottled in Cork” by Ted Leo & The Pharmacists
This entry was posted in Uncategorized and tagged anthony arkin, bitchy waiter, earthquake, Katharine Heller, Keith and the Girl, Podcast, sender, Stories, Tell the Bartender, tour on September 8, 2015 by tellthebartender.
Episode 86/69: Catfish in the Cradle
Episode 106: It’s Harder To Give Up
Episode 105: Pizza and Photos and Vampires (oh my)
Episode 104: For The Record (Store)
Episode 103: “We Would Have Preferred Phish, Not Actual Fish” And Other Roadblocks While Fighting The Drug War
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Get the right advice
The dead, white male view of history lives with naming of third seat
Ian Bushnell 29 May 2018 29 May 2018 16
Charles Bean. The Australian War Memorial is his legacy, let’s find another name for the new seat.
It looks like I’ll be voting, and soon too, in the new Federal electorate of Bean. But like many, I just can’t get excited about the name.
The Member for Bean just doesn’t resonate, and sorry Brendan the only image it conjures is of Mr Bean, not the World War 1 correspondent and historian Charles Bean, seen as instrumental to the establishment of the Australian War Memorial, which is across the lake in Campbell by the way.
It’s been a while since the Australian Electoral Commission’s announcement of the result of its redistribution in the ACT that rightly restored a third seat and offered up the name of Bean, over Aboriginal activist Ngingali Cullen and the first Member for the ACT, Dr Lewis Windermere Nott.
And the objections to the name have rolled in, most notably from Labor Eden-Monaro MP and former soldier Mike Kelly, with a strong counter-attack mounted by AWM Director Dr Brendan Nelson backed by several divisions of facts, quotes and anecdotes.
It seems Bean was an anti-Semite, like many at the time apparently, and plotted against General Sir John Monash, who, as is the nature of Australia’s obsession with national myth-making when it comes to military matters, won the war.
Nelson says he was simply a man of his time and eventually had seen the light and repudiated his anti-Semitic beliefs, which is not good enough for stickler Kelly.
But the real crime in all this is not Bean’s contentious past or divisive character but the Electoral Commission’s lack of imagination and its falling under the spell of the 100-year anniversary of the Great War that has been rolling out across the country since 1914.
Like the war itself, it’s been an exhausting campaign.
I’m all for lest we forget, because far from making this country, the war broke us and those 60,000 dead should not be forgotten, nor why.
But in 2018 do we really need to pull out yet another white, Anglo-Saxon man who already has a lasting legacy in Canberra?
As Kim Fischer argued recently, despite 30% of Australians having a culturally and linguistically diverse background, only around 5% of seats out of the 150 are named after significant CALD figures. Of the 70 electorate names considered by the Committee, it appears that only one (Ruth Arndt) was from a CALD background.
Surely there are plenty of other names that would better reflect the electorate’s people and the land it encompasses – a woman, a migrant, and the obvious, an Indigenous trailblazer? Or even just a place name like Namadgi?
Something distinct to Canberra that unites us going forward.
“Why was Romaldo Giurgola, the architect of Parliament House, not deemed suitable for consideration? The instigator of the Hare-Clark system in the ACT, Bogey Musidlak? Or Amirah Inglis, a prolific Canberra-based writer and author from Belgium? Or even Pawe? Strzelecki, the explorer who named Mount Kosciuszko?” asks Fischer.
Because no matter how Dr Nelson may argue that the War Memorial, great attraction though it may be, is an apolitical, neutral institution that commemorates not celebrates our role in war, it is as much a creature of culture and myth as any other.
Bean wanted us to remember the fallen but he went much further, establishing a national myth that some say defines us, and others say chains us to a certain past.
The AEC should broaden its view, and reconsider.
Tags australian electoral commission Australian war memorial Bean Charles Bean Dr Brendan Nelson Dr Lewis Windermere Nott eden monaro General Sir John Monash namadgi Ngingali Cullen
16 Responses to The dead, white male view of history lives with naming of third seat
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Peter Major 3:33 pm 30 May 18
Mr Bean would be apt given the comic fiasco Canberra has become
Reply Show 2 replies
David Brown 4:16 pm 30 May 18
I think that trivialises it. 🙁
Reply Hide replies
David Brown who cares to be honest. I don't
Bean was a great man. I am proud to have a seat named after him.
Keran Niquet 3:57 pm 29 May 18
PC rears its ugly head again ! This article is most offensive, it suggests that the colour of your skin determines whether you should be recognised and honoured. Shame!
chewy14 2:34 pm 29 May 18
I can’t believe that in a country with a predominantly white, Anglo heritage, that the majority of our seats are named after that predominant majority. It’s terrible and discriminatory.
For diversity’s sake, we should be rethinking these namings and have a competition to find the smallest of small intersectional minorities to be graced with the honour.
And in fact, why should people who have achieved historical fame and prior recognition for their deeds be given primacy? Surely this is just representative of their privilege and so the seats should be named after people who have achieved little and are unheard of previously.
Mike Long 1:51 pm 29 May 18
Yurupingu, the only family that I am aware of that has had two members as Australian's of the year.
Reply Show 1 reply
AOY is all political. It requires “balance”. Females, natives, non-whites etc etc.
justin heywood 1:27 pm 29 May 18
The fact that, in the mind of the author, the name Bean conjures up a British TV character and not the very famous Australian, is reason enough to keep Charles Bean’s name alive.
The rest of the article is faintly offensive and anti-intellectual – almost a parody of ‘progressive’ memes.
Lucy Baker 1:02 pm 29 May 18
Bean’s War Memorial brings millions into the ACT economy each year and directly & indirectly creates employment for many hundreds of Canberrans. Fine to name an electorate after him!
Ian Bushnell 4:07 pm 29 May 18
It is not Bean’s War Memorial, nor Brendan Nelson’s. It is everybody’s.
As you well know, without Bean there would be no AWM.
Kim Fischer 6:17 pm 29 May 18
So does Parliament House, designed by Romaldo Giurgola. Yet he wasn’t even shortlisted.
Blen_Carmichael 10:00 am 29 May 18
We’re supposed to “get excited’ about electrate names, are we?
Rob Sanders 8:09 am 29 May 18
Finally, the recognition Mr. Bean deserves! 😎
gooterz 7:51 am 29 May 18
So you don’t like the name and come up with reasons why. The underlying point is your association of Mr Bean.
The rest of the article is just an excuse.
Bean to stay as name of new southern seat, says AEC
Ian Bushnell 4 July 2018
Parties jockey as AEC redistribition proposes new southern seat of Bean for ACT
Ian Bushnell 6 April 2018
When will we recognise Australia’s frontier wars as part of our war history?
Rebecca Vassarotti 25 April 2019 62
Beware the cult of the Digger as War Memorial takes pride of place
Ian Bushnell 6 November 2018 14
Goulburn voters in prime seat
Maryann Weston 30 April 2018 1
Thousands answer the call at capital’s Anzac commemorations
Ian Bushnell 26 April 2019
We need more ethnic names for our electorates
Kim Fischer 14 May 2018 32
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The Best Smart Doorbell Camera
We’ve added information on Array by Hampton’s Video Doorbell and the Blue Doorbell Camera to the What to look forward to section.
Rachel Cericola
Jon Chase
A smart doorbell camera, connected to your Wi-Fi network, allows you to see who’s on the other side of your door even when you aren’t home, so you can weed out guests who don’t come bearing Girl Scout cookies. We recommend the Eufy Video Doorbell because it displays a clear 2K image, can distinguish between people and general motion, and includes a wireless plug-in chime. It also records clips up to five minutes long and saves them to internal memory, which frees you from paying for video storage in the cloud.
Eufy Video Doorbell
This affordable smart doorbell packs in a lot of complex features, including a 2K image, person detection, local storage, customizable responses, and a separate wireless chime.
$160 $110 from Amazon
with on-page coupon
The Eufy Video Doorbell is good looking and includes a lot of features most companies charge for, including enough internal memory to store up to 30 days’ worth of video and the ability to distinguish between people and other motion, like birds or swaying branches. It creates clear recordings up to five minutes in length, as long as motion is detected, and stores those clips in its 4 gigabytes of built-in memory, so you don’t have to worry about added fees for cloud plans. If you prefer to use the cloud, it’s not an option Eufy offers yet. And although it comes with a wireless plug-in chime, it does not work with existing doorbell chimes.
Upgrade pick
Google Nest Hello
For better security
Around-the-clock video recording with AI-powered motion detection and facial recognition make the Hello a great home-security option, but it's overkill for just watching your door.
$230 from Walmart
Google’s Nest Hello is the most advanced DIY smart doorbell cam we’ve tested. Unlike most smart doorbells, it records and stores video 24/7. For easy access, Google’s cloud service also automatically tags clips that include motion or people, using facial-recognition software to learn and identify who is coming and going—although there is a learning curve. This comprehensive approach comes with an elevated price, however: A Nest Aware subscription, which is essential for video recording, costs $5 a month to store five days of video for a single camera, $10 for 10 days, and $30 per month for 30 days—placing it in line with the cost of home-security services.
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The Best Outdoor Security Camera
After more than two years of long-term use and testing of a raft of new models, we still think the Google Nest Cam Outdoor is the best outdoor security camera.
The Best Smart Outdoor Lighting for Backyards, Pathways, and More
Outdoor lights look nice and improve security. Smart lighting adds convenience. We recommend these smart versions of bulbs, path lights, and fixtures.
How we picked
How we tested
Our pick: Eufy Video Doorbell
Upgrade pick for better security and smarts: Google Nest Hello
What about Ring?
Rachel Cericola started testing smart-home items back when the only smart-home items were X10. Over the past 15 years, she’s had her hands on everything from remotes and security cameras to AV receivers and smart light switches. She’s also written tech articles for The New York Times (Wirecutter’s parent company), Wired, Men’s Health, and others.
As a journalist covering consumer technology for nearly two decades for a range of national publications, Jon Chase has tested hundreds of devices, including dozens of smart-home devices. He currently has more than three dozen smart devices installed throughout his home and is eager for a future when people abandon the term Internet of Things.
Smart doorbell cameras are for anyone who wants to be able to screen their visitors the way we do phone calls using caller ID. They also serve a valuable security function by recording video of whoever (or whatever) comes to your door or crosses your walkway, whether it’s FedEx or UPS dropping off a package—or the sorts of miscreants who like to pilfer them.
These devices let you monitor your entryway whether you’re in the bath, in the backyard, or on vacation 2,000 miles away. They replace your existing doorbell with one that bundles a ringer button, camera, microphone, and speaker, and several sensors. When triggered by motion or a ring of the button, a smart doorbell camera will notify you via an audible chime and smartphone notifications, and stream live audio and video to your phone or tablet so you can hear and see your visitors in real time. You can even talk with those visitors or, in the case of solicitors, send them on their way.
Doorbell cameras also serve a valuable security function by recording video of whoever or whatever comes to your door or crosses your walkway.
In most homes with a powered doorbell, you can simply swap out your old doorbell button for a smart one and use the existing wiring; a few models—including two of our picks—can also run on rechargeable batteries. One practical issue some homeowners will face is having an inadequate power transformer, a device that reduces your home’s 120-volt electrical service to a lower (and safer) voltage required by many smart doorbells. Though the majority of smart doorbells claim to work with the standard 16-volt transformer found in most homes with a wired doorbell, some are rated for 16 to 24 volts and may require installation of a power transformer to work properly. If you install a smart doorbell and hear humming, or the doorbell chime doesn’t sound right, your existing transformer is likely the issue. If you’re not comfortable or knowledgeable about home wiring, best to hire an electrician.
Installing an all-seeing eye on your front door necessarily raises issues of privacy—both yours and your unwitting neighbors'. Many people assume that the companies that make these cameras have free access to your recordings, though with all the cameras we’ve tested that is not the case. We provide a few scenarios and suggestions in “How to Keep Unwanted Eyes From Spying on Your Security Cameras,” but it’s incumbent upon you to take a few minutes to understand their terms of service and privacy policies. Also know that some neighbors, postal workers, pizza delivery drivers, and other guests may not appreciate being recorded—and may be protected by local or state laws. For more about these issues, see our post “Security Cameras, Ethics, and the Law.”
Some of the smart doorbell cameras we tested for this update. Photo: Rachel Cericola
We focused exclusively on smart doorbell cameras you can install yourself, rather than higher-end models that are part of a larger security system. That eliminated options from ADT and Vivint, which require additional equipment and sometimes hefty subscription fees. We also consulted reviews from a number of professional sources, including CNET, Tom’s Guide, PCMag, and Digital Trends, as well as owner reviews and comments found on Amazon and community and support forums.
In order to be considered, smart doorbells needed to have all of the following:
Smartphone alerts and remote live-view video: Once someone rings your doorbell or moves within its motion-detection range (see the next item), it should alert you and let you view a live video feed on your phone.
Motion detection: The doorbell camera should be able to detect movement at a good range from your door. This is especially handy for package drop-offs, but it also allows the doorbell to double as a security camera for your entryway, even if no one rings the bell. Some cameras let you tweak the motion-detection area and sensitivity so that you aren’t constantly alerted to every person passing by your home. Some can even recognize humans versus general movement.
We also considered a few features that are nice to have but not totally necessary:
Cloud storage for clips: Most of the models we tested require an ongoing subscription to access previously recorded video beyond a very small window of time. This allows you to access content even when the system is down—or if it has been stolen (it happens!).
Smart-home integration: Integration with other smart devices and platforms can be useful. For example, some products allow you to use smart speakers such as the Echo Show as video displays or a Google Home as an intercom. Of course, if you aren’t interested in expanding beyond your front door, who and what your doorbell is compatible with is a nonissue.
Battery support: Not everyone has the wiring necessary to install a smart doorbell, so battery-powered models are convenient for many people, especially renters. However, that battery will need to be charged every few weeks, depending on how many people are coming and going, as well as the number of recordings and alerts the doorbell is sending.
1080p HD video: All the models we tested have at least 720p resolution, but we prefer options with 1080p video or higher resolution to capture the most important details and be able to recognize faces.
The average cost of a smart doorbell is under $200. Models with advanced motion sensing cost slightly more.
We used each smart doorbell outside for a minimum of two weeks using a homemade rig that houses up to four doorbells. The rig includes standard doorbell wiring and an indoor switcher, so we could flip power to operate one doorbell at a time. We timed motion and bell notifications, as well as how long it took to establish a video and voice connection and actual recording times. We repeated these tests over both Wi-Fi and our phone’s LTE connection with both Android and iOS smartphones.
Wirecutter takes security and privacy issues seriously and investigates as much as possible how the companies we recommend deal with customer data. As part of our vetting process, we have confirmed all of the security and data privacy practices behind our product picks and will report any issues we think you should consider before buying.
The Eufy Video Doorbell delivers some of the best images we’ve seen from a smart doorbell, despite also being one of the most affordable models we’ve tested. It captures detailed 2K video, and its two-way audio was clear. It’s also the only smart doorbell to capture lengthy video clips, without recording 24/7: As long as motion is detected, it will record for up to five minutes and store the clip internally (versus uploading it to the cloud, like other models). That could be an issue if the power goes out or your Wi-Fi is down—or someone swipes your doorbell—but it frees you from monthly fees and some worries about hacking (and inadvertently draining your monthly data allotment if you have satellite Internet).
The Eufy Video Doorbell boasts a 2560×1920 resolution, which allowed us to see faces at the door, license plates in the driveway, and movement on the sidewalk 60 feet away. However, we tweaked sensitivity and adjusted activity zones, so it wouldn’t alert us to every person, car, or school bus that went by.
The Eufy Video Doorbell also looks good by a door, which we think is important, since it’s the first thing guests will see. It’s thin enough to fit on any doorframe and comes with one mounting wedge, so you can aim the camera to improve your view. You will need doorbell wiring, since the Eufy doesn’t have a battery or any type of battery backup, unlike the Ring 2. If you have an existing doorbell, this is an easy swap, but your old chime will become a piece of wall art. This model doesn’t work with mechanical or digital chimes, only the included plug-in chime, which has eight doorbell sounds to choose from. (See Flaws but not dealbreakers for additional info on that.)
Video: Rachel Cericola
During testing, we found the Eufy Video Doorbell triggered smartphone alerts within three seconds of motion. Based on your sensitivity and activity zone settings, the doorbell will distinguish between a human and general motion (like trees blowing in the wind or cars driving by), which can greatly reduce the number of nuisance alerts. We had a few issues where car tires and trees were tagged as “human,” but after making some adjustments to the settings, alerts became pretty flawless. The Eufy will record motion continuously, up to five minutes, which is more than any smart doorbell camera that limits length (so any model that’s not the Google Nest Hello).
The Eufy Security app is useful and makes it easy to access recordings.
The Eufy Security app is useful and easy to navigate. The app’s homepage is uncluttered, making it simple to click for a live view or find recorded events in a timeline. Customized settings allow you to include a thumbnail with smartphone notifications, which provides a nice preview of who goes there, and you can choose to view the motion-trigger event or go right to a live view from your camera. We also got a quick response from Amazon Alexa devices, which included calling up live views on the Echo Show 5 and getting a customized doorbell sound on the Echo Plus when the button was pressed (we chose “Football Hut Hut Hike”). The app also allows users to snooze motion and chime alerts, which has come in handy a lot around my house during a construction project. Eufy is also compatible with Google Assistant devices, which we didn’t test.
Through the app settings you are able to adjust motion detection, activity zones, streaming quality, and recording quality. The latter is important, because if your phone is more than a few years old and doesn’t support 2K video playback, you will only be able to access live video, which means you would need to lower the resolution to view recordings (iPhone 7 and newer or Android devices with Quad-HD displays support 2K video). There are also options to add prerecorded responses and tweak notifications and volume for the doorbell and the ringtone, although chime volume is done manually on the actual plug-in device.
The Eufy Video Doorbell. Photo: Sarah Kobos
The Eufy Video Doorbell has 4 GB of built-in memory, which stores up to 30 days’ worth of recordings (based on 30 videos a day, each 30 seconds long—your mileage may vary, but we think it’s a very decent amount of storage). Eufy uses the same type of encryption the US government does (AES 256, to be specific), so only the user can access live video and recordings. In fact, Eufy claims it’s so secure, even they don’t have access to your recordings. Having the storage embedded also makes it more secure than an SD card, which can be easily swiped. The trade-offs: You can only access recordings through the app (only a live view is possible on the Web browser), and you need to keep the doorbell connected to both electrical power and your home’s Wi-Fi. If power goes down while you’re on vacation, you won’t be able to access your prior recordings, which you can do with doorbells that upload video to the cloud. Eufy claims that cloud storage will be coming soon, and then you can opt to use it or not. (Read our blog on “How to Keep Unwanted Eyes From Spying on Your Security Cameras” for a list of potential issues and solutions with cloud storage of video.)
Having embedded storage makes the Eufy Video Doorbell a standout, but there is currently no cloud storage option. That means, if someone steals the doorbell, they will have your recordings—but that’s not as easy as swiping an SD card. Not having the cloud service also means that when the power is out or the Wi-Fi is down, you won’t be able to access stored recordings. When we first started testing the unit, we were told that cloud service is coming, but the company now says they’re looking for feedback from customers.
Unlike many of the smart doorbells we tested, the Eufy does not work with existing doorbell chimes. That means you are limited to Eufy’s wireless chime, which comes with the doorbell. Eufy plans to release a standalone plug-in chime that can be purchased separately, so you can plug them in around the house and link up to four chimes to each doorbell.
Finally, you’ll need wiring to use the Eufy Video Doorbell. It doesn’t use a battery or have any type of battery backup. If you don’t have an existing doorbell and aren’t comfortable with wiring, hire an electrician or check out the battery option on the Ring Video Doorbell 2.
Photo: Michael Hession
The Google Nest Hello has 24/7 video recording, sophisticated facial recognition, and customizable motion detection, all of which make it a better option if security is your primary concern. However, the Hello itself is $70 more than the Eufy Video Doorbell, and its required subscription service, Nest Aware, can end up costing 10 times more over the course of a year than Ring’s service.
Whereas every other camera we tested waits to be activated by a button press or detected motion, the Hello is a visual vacuum cleaner that records 24/7. All of that video is sent to the cloud, where it is analyzed (more on this in a moment) and stored, and can be accessed for a length of time based on your subscription.
Video from the Nest Hello is bright and crisp, though the Hello’s advanced features require a Nest Aware subscription.
The Nest app lets you tweak the Hello’s settings, including toggling chimes on and off, adjusting volume and status lights, and configuring integration with other compatible devices. (Annoyingly, setting up motion-detection zones requires that you log in to your Nest account using a Web browser, rather than using the app.) The app is also where you access Hello-captured video. No other camera we tested streams video so quickly, and the quality is excellent (though surprisingly not CSI level, as we’d presumed; license plates that can be clearly read using a smartphone camera are indecipherable when video is zoomed).
The Hello sent a smartphone alert within seconds of a doorbell press, and our Google Home announced “Someone is at the door.” The app also offers easy access to a persistent timeline of recorded video, with motion events and doorbell triggers highlighted; tap a still image and within 10 or 20 seconds the video streams from the cloud.
The Nest Hello is about half the size of our main doorbell camera pick, which might make it an easier and less obtrusive fit on your doorframe. Photo: Michael Hession
The Hello’s ability to detect faces is both intriguing and useful, because it can personalize smartphone alerts as it learns familiar faces. The learning process does require a bit of work on your part: Whenever a human comes into view, Hello generates a person alert. The next time you use the app, you can scroll through snapshots of faces the Hello has recorded and either label them, merge them with existing Familiar Faces, or delete them. Hello differentiates between faces and other objects really well (it did mistake a hubcap for a face—but only once), though after a week or so of training it was still learning to consistently recognize family members. You can also integrate the Hello with Google Home speakers (and only Google Home speakers) to announce when a familiar face comes into view or rings the doorbell. (This brute-force facial-recognition dragnet presents some ethical issues, because all of the images of the faces the Hello collects and you label are beamed to the cloud to be digested by AI, without asking the subject for their consent; we encourage you to read our post on the ethics of security camera recordings.)
Hello’s motion detection is still a work in progress. Our installation produced a firehose of motion events—nearly 1,700 on one particular day. To make that manageable, you can restrict alerts to Person and Familiar Faces, as well as mute alerts for so-called cool-down periods between alerts for an indeterminate amount of time that Nest doesn’t specify—an unfriendly support choice and all the more so for a device that involves home security. Even if you turn off alerts, you still have a full record in the cloud of everything that goes down at home, another feature unique to the Hello.
The Nest’s motion-detection and facial-recognition features are a work in progress. At left, the camera captured more than 1,800 events in a single day. At right, a hubcap is recognized as a person.
This comprehensive approach to video recording also comes at a cost in terms of bandwidth: When capturing high-resolution video, the Hello uses up to 300 GB of data per month per camera—so one camera uses up roughly a third of the entire typical monthly allotment of data from Internet providers like Comcast. Other smart doorbell cameras, including Eufy and Ring models, use data only when they are being accessed through the app, detecting motion, or are recording an event, which means they’ll be much less of a drain on your Internet service.
Considering how technologically advanced and costly the Nest Hello is, we wish it was just a bit more precise. We couldn’t make out license plates 20 feet away, and people at night looked like blobby white ghosts. In addition, the Nest Aware service, which is essential to using the Hello, is also relatively pricey: The highest-tier plan, $30 per month for 30 days of cloud video storage, provides half the time span of Ring while costing 10 times the price. In fact, at that level, Hello’s monthly costs rival some professionally monitored home security systems. But because the Hello effectively functions as both a security camera and a doorbell camera, the price isn’t unreasonable if you’re using it for both.
Eufy has announced a new battery powered version of its video doorbell. It should share all of the specs of the current wired version, but without the hassle of wiring it into your mainline power. Eufy says that the battery will last 180 days before needing to recharge, and that the doorbell should be available for purchase for $200 in the first few months of 2020.
We’ve also started testing the Knok WiFi Video Doorbell, which records 1080p video, has a remote 110-db siren, and supports Google Assistant. The Knok also provides 24 hours of free cloud storage, with additional storage starting at $5 per month; you can also opt for local storage video its microSD card slot.
We will soon have a review of the Arlo Video Doorbell, which has a 180-degree field of view and a square aspect ratio, so you can see visitors from head to toe, as well as packages left on the doorstep. Other features include a 1536 x 1536 video resolution, pre-recorded messages, a siren, and live video calls to your smartphone whenever the button is pressed. It doesn’t include any free storage, but comes with a 3-month trial of Arlo Smart. After that, plans start at $3 per month for 30 days of video storage, activity zones, and alerts that can distinguish between people, packages, animals, and vehicles.
We’re also taking another look at the August View, a battery-powered smart doorbell camera, which experienced a number of technical problems when it was first released in April 2019. The company originally suspended sales, but has since resolved those issues.
The Netatmo Smart Video Doorbell has been pushed to 2020, although there’s no official release date. In addition to free video storage via the included microSD card and/or your personal Dropbox or FTP account, the hook on this 1080p-capable model is that it will be compatible with Apple HomeKit.
Ring is the Kleenex of the smart doorbell camera industry. It is synonymous with the category and has produced a few best-selling models, several of which have been past Wirecutter picks (though we think only one is still noteworthy at this point; see the Competition section).
Even though Ring, owned by Amazon, is a big brand and has a decent doorbell lineup, it has also become notorious due to a series of security and privacy related issues—and after careful consideration, we think that some of that infamy is deserved. As such, we think our readers should choose other smart doorbell options, at least for now.
In particular, our primary concern is Ring’s Neighbors service, which allows Ring customers to upload, share, and view video clips from their Ring devices. While we think it can be helpful and engaging, Neighbors does create potential privacy issues, and so we think it’s especially problematic that Ring customers have no method to opt out of Neighbors, since it is built directly into the Ring app—you can ignore it, but you can’t actually delete the Neighbors component. Further, Ring has often provided conflicting and incomplete information about its various relationships and agreements with law enforcement agencies, as well as its data handling policies and practices, which we think creates confusion and distrust. We would like the company to make Neighbors a truly opt-in feature and/or create a better filtering system for false and useless reports.
We also find fault with the way Ring manages its relationships with customers in times of crisis. Like many other electronics companies, Ring may have been subject to at least one data breach of customer information. That is an unfortunate but also not uncommon occurrence. However, Ring’s response often comes slowly in the form of boilerplate statements and most recently the company shifted blame solely on its customers rather than recognizing its own need to adopt more stringent security practices. (While we do agree that smart-home device users have a responsibility to protect themselves, by default Ring, and other smart camera makers, should design their services so that stronger security standards are the default, relying on any number of already available security practices, such as 2FA).
We have taken great care to judge Ring based on the facts we have been able to independently confirm through first-hand reporting, which includes speaking at length with the company and many of its partners, members of law enforcement, and several security experts. Wirecutter strives to recommend products only from companies that respect their customers and do their best to honor their trust. In our opinion, Ring has failed to match those standards repeatedly. Until it improves, we think there are better options available.
We tested a number of smart doorbell cameras that we didn’t prefer as overall picks but may do the trick, depending on your needs:
Our previous pick, the SkyBell HD, gives you a week’s worth of free video storage, but the doorbell’s large size and some reliability issues resulted in it being pushed out by the Ring 2, which costs the same and requires only a very small subscription fee. The SkyBell HD has a 30-second reset time between alerts, which could result in your missing some action. We’ve also seen an alarming number of complaints about connection issues with SkyBell cameras.
The SkyBell Trim Plus, the newer, slimmer sibling of the SkyBell HD, was a solid contender due to its modest size, ability to integrate with other smart devices, and seven days of free video-recording storage. Like with the SkyBell HD, frequent connection problems have been noted, according to owner reviews. It’s an issue we have also experienced.
We also tested a few doorbell cameras that worked fine but didn’t earn our recommendation because our picks were much better:
At last count, we’ve reviewed four of the doorbell models currently offered by Amazon-owned Ring. All require the Ring Protect plan to capture events, max out at 1 minute of recording for hardwired doorbells (and 30 seconds for battery-operated devices), and have the same issues we outlined in the What About Ring? section. The Ring Video Doorbell 2 is our former runner-up pick and still the best Ring doorbell to date, based on image, price, usability, and ease of use. The Ring Peephole Camera isn't quite as durable, but is a decent option for apartment dwellers without a hardwired connection. The Ring Video Doorbell Pro is more expensive for a slimmer and sleeker design, and it’s the only Ring device to require a hardwired connection. We have removed the original Ring Video Doorbell as a budget pick because between the price, the image, and the painful recharging process, it’s not a bargain anymore.
Running around $100, the RemoBell S is an inexpensive solution that includes three days of free cloud storage. However, the installation was more difficult than most of the models we tested, night vision isn’t great, and motion detection is too easily triggered. Also, after a month of use, the bell corroded, developing a rusty look.
The SimpliSafe Video Doorbell Pro is the only doorbell that works with SimpliSafe’s security system. If you don’t have that, then skip it. Recordings and video storage are only available with a $5 monthly fee (or with SimpliSafe’s Interactive monitoring plan). It includes a built-in chime, which was out of sync with our existing one—and it can’t be muted. Daytime 1080p images were fine, but faces were washed out during nighttime viewing. Also, we found motion detection to be very sensitive, even on the lowest setting, triggering every time a truck or larger car would drive by 40 feet away from our front door.
We love that the Maximus Answer DualCam Video Doorbell adds in a second camera specifically designed to keep an eye out for package deliveries. For the price, we expect better smart-home integration (it only works with the doorbell light) and better night vision. Also, the motion triggers drove us crazy enough to shut them off, but the doorbell still recorded every person across the street, every car, and every tree rustling.
We tested the August Doorbell Cam Pro and liked its Hindsight function, which prerecords video before motion is triggered. But in our testing, the August didn’t work with our existing 16-volt doorbell transformer; we found a number of similar complaints from owners. It also doesn’t work with digital chimes or wireless plug-in chimes, which means some homeowners might conceivably need to upgrade their transformer and their chime just to use this model.
In the previous version of this guide we tested a number of smart doorbells that didn’t match the performance of our eventual picks. That includes the original August Doorbell Cam, HeathZenith Notifi, and RemoBell. We also skipped the DoorBird, due to pricing and poor reviews.
Next month, we plan to start testing the Blue Doorbell Camera. Able to work with or without the comprehensive Blue by ADT security system (due soon), this $200 camera has 1080p video, facial recognition, and support for Amazon Alexa and IFTTT (Google Assistant and HomeKit are expected to follow). It also includes 24 hours of free cloud storage, with 60-day plans starting at $3 per month per camera.
Hampton Products will launch the Array by Hampton Video Doorbell this spring. The Wi-Fi doorbell camera includes a rechargeable battery that promises up to four months of use on a full charge.
John R. Delaney, The Best Video Doorbells for 2019, PCMag, October 17, 2019
Megan Wollerton, Nest Hello review, CNET, March 17, 2018
John R. Delaney, Ring Video Doorbell 2 review, PCMag, February 13, 2018
Mike Prospero, Best Video Doorbells of 2019, Tom’s Guide, September 9, 2019
Erika Rawes, The Best Video Doorbells for 2019, Digital Trends, July 18, 2019
The Best Security Cameras for Your Home
by Rachel Cericola
Wi-Fi security cameras help you protect your home and family when you’re away. We’ve reviewed and picked the best.
Alexa Smart-Home Starter Kit
Put Amazon's Alexa to work for you with these great smart-home devices.
The Best Alexa-Compatible Smart-Home Devices for Amazon Echo
We selected the best smart-home devices to work with your Alexa speaker, based on our extensive testing and real-world use.
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The holy sanctuary of public libraries
Chad Comello • October 10, 2014
As places of study, searching and refuge, public libraries can play the part of holy sanctuaries.
As a reference librarian at a suburban public library, I sit at the information desk, waiting to answer patrons’ many different questions. On Friday evenings, the foot traffic slows and a soothing silence descends on my area. Save the soft clattering of the keyboards in the computer lab, it is mercifully quiet. It’s in these moments I realize: I’m in a holy place.
As civil institutions funded mostly by taxes from the people they serve, public libraries are strictly secular. Patrons can use their space and resources for whatever cause, without regard for politics, religion, race or any other category. But, as we know, there’s no such thing as secular. Writing for Think Christian last year, Caryn Rivadeneira made a similar point about the beauty of art museums:
Perhaps it had something to do with the grandeur of the space. Certainly it had something to do with being surrounded by centuries’ worth of wondrous examples of image-bearing creativity. Definitively it had to do with being drawn into works that speak a mystical language, that communicate through brush-strokes or film or clay and yet speak from the artist’s heart to the viewer’s.
When I look around the library on quiet Friday nights, I see the place itself as holy. I see a cathedral of books, each one comprising a distinct identity and yet functioning as one small part of the larger body. I became much more aware of the library as a place after reading Robert Dawson’s The Public Library: An American Commons, a photographic essay documenting public library buildings all over America. The libraries in Dawson’s photographs range from a one-room wooden structure built by former slaves in California to the imposing, Romanesque Revival-style Carnegie Library in Pennsylvania to the sleek, futuristic Central Library in Seattle. Whether old or new, deserted or bustling, each of these buildings, like the books they contain, tells a unique story.
Considering the uncertain state of public libraries today, I can’t help but see their challenges running parallel with those of the American church. Both institutions, rooted in history but now confronted with modernity, are struggling to navigate the tenuous space between orthodoxy and innovation. They hear the same critical buzzwords thrown at them: outdated, unnecessary, old-fashioned, dull. They are debating internally how to attract young people and the unconverted, how to revitalize their diminishing influence amidst cultural and digital revolutions and how to make their missions feel essential in a world abounding with choices.
Both libraries and the church are struggling to navigate the tenuous space between orthodoxy and innovation.
But above all, I see them both as sanctuaries - havens for world-weary patrons and all their baggage. I’m sure a pastor could sympathize with the variety of interpersonal issues public librarians navigate gracefully every day. I’ve had people approach me looking for books about divorce, STDs, Alcoholics Anonymous, and for ways to track down someone who wronged them. But I’ve also retrieved books on weddings, suggested new reads to eager patrons and even helped a woman find an image of, in her words, a “whimsical walrus.” Many people, some with mental disabilities, simply want to talk. This often requires an abundance of patience; when there are a dozen other things you could be doing, choosing to serve a patron in need suddenly becomes the most challenging one. But extending grace on the frontlines of humanity, whether in the pews or in the stacks, is a challenge worth taking.
As a librarian and a believer, I see the struggles of libraries and churches up close. I also see their beauty - as institutions attempting to serve the greater good; as places of study, searching and refuge; and as living archives of our shared cultural experiences. These places can transform us if we let them. All we have to do is walk through their doors and take a look around.
Topics: Culture At Large, Arts & Leisure, Books, Theology & The Church, The Church, News & Politics, North America
Chad Comello is a librarian by trade but writer and filmgoer at heart. You can find him at ChadComello.com and on Twitter. / Image of Boston Public Library via Shutterstock.
More Articles by Chad Comello
Bibliotheca and the real reason we call the Bible boring
Stephen Woodworth
How art museums can be holy
Caryn Rivadeneira
D. Marquel
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It’s Not Just China's Retaliatory Tariffs That Should Worry U.S. Businesses
By Charlie Campbell / Beijing
On Monday, China hit back at the Trump administration’s decision to raise duties on steel and aluminum imports, imposing tariffs of up to 25% on 128 American goods — including pork, wine and fruit — worth an estimated $3 billion.
Beijing said the hike was intended to “safeguard China’s interests and balance” losses caused by the new 25% tariff on steel imports and 10% on aluminum that Washington imposed from March 23, citing “national security.” President Trump has stated that trade wars are “good” and “easy to win,” while common consensus among economists is that all parties lose.
Beijing’s strident state media has praised the retaliation. A Global Times editorial described the tit-for-tat as “now an unofficial trade war.”
“It is time for Washington to bid farewell to the fantasy it has long been living in, a delusional world of make-believe whereby it imagines China as an unresponsive nation and tolerant toward U.S. tariffs,” it added.
Why Trump's Trade Deal Won't End Trade Wars
Chicken Feet Could Herald a New Era for U.S.-China Trade
For now, the dispute doesn’t appear to be spiraling, though that could change if the White House follows through with recent threats of an additional $60 billion of tariffs related to alleged Intellectual Property (IP) theft.
“If this is a Jujitsu match, I haven’t seen any major moves yet,” says Jeffrey Towson, a private-equity investor and a professor of investment at Peking University in Beijing. “This looks like grappling to me, but nobody’s choking each other out.”
Still, if this turns into a street brawl, China knows how to fight dirty — and frequently does. The Beijing government has a record of slapping tariffs on nations for political or retaliatory purposes. Moreover, China doesn’t even have to take explicit action to hurt other nations in the pocket — its people can do that themselves.
One of the biggest weapons Beijing wields is popular nationalism, which often works in cahoots with government coercion. Last year, China targeted South Korea’s economy in response to Seoul’s decision to host the U.S. THAAD missile defense system, which Beijing deems an affront. According to South Korea’s National Assembly’s Budget Office, a tourism boycott alone saw Chinese arrivals drop 67% and cost the South Korean economy $6.8 billion.
In addition, department stores run by South Korean conglomerate Lotte — which owns the land where THAAD was deployed — were forced to close in China on dubious “fire safety” grounds. Sales of Hyuandi and Samsung products also suffered. In fact, there were 43 cases of retaliation in the six months to last February, according to Korean news agency Yonhap.
Economic warfare will often spring organically. In 2008, Chinese nationalists urged a boycott against French supermarket chain Carrefour after Tibetan independence advocates protested the Olympic torch’s route through Paris. In 2010, by contrast, China declared an official boycott against Norwegian salmon exports after the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo. Philippine banana imports were also banned over territorial disputes between Beijing and Manila in the South China Sea.
Read more: How China Could Use ‘America First’ to Its Advantage
Japan is frequently targeted owning to territorial disputes in the East China Sea and historical grievances over abuses during Japanese occupation of China, with periodic boycotts of celebrated auto and electronics brands, such as Honda, Toyota and Sony. And the U.S. was even targeted in 2016 over a July 12 ruling by an international tribunal that rejected China’s historic claims to the South China Sea. Protesters targeted certain iconic American symbols — KFC and McDonalds — but were dispersed by police.
While such actions can be organic, they rarely gather steam without official backing, and it seems that the Beijing government never felt fully comfortable with officially sanctioning anti-American action. But judging by the increasingly jingoistic language of China’s state press, and how maoyi zhan, or “trade war,” is increasingly part of the everyday lexicon, that may soon change.
Worryingly for American firms, China not only represents a large chunk of current foreign earnings but also represents a key sector for future growth. Apple, the world’s most valuable firm, earned $17.9 billion in Greater China in the last quarter of 2017 — about 20% of global revenue. Trump has accused China of unfair trade practices that led 60,000 American factories to close at a loss of 6 million jobs. But the U.S. has never felt the devastation wrought by 1.3 billion angry Chinese consumers.
“We’ve never seen a Pan-American boycott like we’ve seen for other countries,” says Towson. “I’m curious if we will now.”
Write to Charlie Campbell at charlie.campbell@time.com.
Michelle Obama Releases Her 2020 Workout Playlist
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The 10 Best Movie Performances of the 2010s
Marion Cotillard in 'The Immigrant'; Mahershala Ali in 'Moonlight'; Philip Seymour Hoffman in 'A Most Wanted Man.'
By Stephanie Zacharek
Sifting through the performances you’ve seen over a decade is a fraught task, but not a thankless one. How can you be certain you’re making the absolute, perfect choices? You can’t be. Are you sure you’re not forgetting a particularly sensational one? Of course you are. The idea, though, isn’t just to compute some safe, neutered collection of highlights. It’s to look back over a decade’s worth of moviegoing and to recollect how certain performances made you feel, how a certain gesture or glance managed to stick with you. Actors are regular humans with gifts that sometimes seem mysterious. Acting is a craft, a discipline that enfolds certain practical elements, but it’s often better when the viewer isn’t privy to all the gears at work, and is instead invited into a new world—into the life of a character—without even being aware of the seduction. Here are 10 movie performances that had that power over me during the 2010s, presented in order of each film’s year of release.
Joker's Rise to Oscar Dominance Is Not an Underdog Story—But That Narrative Sure Helped Get It There
Greta Gerwig Didn't Get a Best Director Nod. But the Radical Triumph of Little Women Will Outlive the Oscars
Also read TIME’s list of the best movies, nonfiction books and fiction books of the decade.
Tilda Swinton, I Am Love (2010)
Tilda Swinton in I Am Love.
Tilda Swinton, in her many roles and guises, can never be anything less than innately elegant. But in Luca Guadagnino’s audacious I Am Love, a reflection on crumbling cultural institutions, fading aristocracy and forbidden romance, Swinton’s black-swan refinement reaches dazzling heights. As Emma, the middle-aged matriarch of an aristocratic Italian family who sheds her old life of sheath dresses and liquid-cashmere coats to find torrid but true love with a shamelessly hot chef (Edoardo Gabriellini), Swinton is glorious to watch. She works a regal enchantment that’s also, somehow, firmly rooted in the natural world, an expression of sensuality and selfhood that’s as weightless as a dandelion seed yet as persistent as, well, a dandelion.
Denis Lavant, Holy Motors (2012)
(L-R) Eva Mendes and Denis Lavant in Holy Motors.
Indomina/Everett Collection
Holy Motors, a work of cracked genius from out-there French filmmaker Léos Carax, is a love letter to movies, even though the more movies you’ve seen in your lifetime, the less sense it’s likely to make. It almost feels like a film made in a time before language, a rendering of modern lives as a kind of cinematic cave painting. What kind of actor can make a thing like that work? Only one as bold and unfettered as Denis Lavant, the gloriously acrobatic French actor—and Carax regular—who, as a mysterious individual named Oscar, is the movie’s erratically beating heart. Oscar roams Paris, driven though the glittering city in a magically capacious stretch limo, donning various disguises: one minute he’s a hit man assigned to kill a thug who will become his own double; the next he’s a dying man attended by his grief-stricken niece. At one point he becomes a sewer-dwelling troll in a ratty green velvet suit, striding angrily through Pére-Lachaise cemetery, where he storms a fashion shoot and takes a supermodel as his hostage. (She’s played by Eva Mendes.) Is Oscar an actor? A secret agent? A purveyor of dreams? Does it really matter? Lavant is a wonder here, a font of rage and beauty, of sorrow and elation, in a performance you may think you dreamed—but no, it’s for real.
Ethan Hawke, Before Midnight (2013)
Ethan Hawke in Before Midnight.
Sony Classics/Everett Collection
Richard Linklater’s Before Midnight is the third movie in a trilogy that began with a guy and a girl meeting on a European train and embarking on a romance that might have lasted just one night (the 1995 Before Sunrise) and continued with a rekindling nine years later (in 2004’s Before Sunset). In Before Midnight, the characters we met in that first movie, Julie Delpy’s Celine and Ethan Hawke’s Jesse, are now older if not necessarily wiser—and they’re also together as partners, with twin daughters. That didn’t happen overnight: Jesse’s earlier marriage has dissolved; he has a teenage son from that union, whom he loves but rarely gets to see. And his current, committed relationship with Celine shows its cracks too: As the couple winds down a vacation in Greece, she turns on him in a rage, her furor stoked partly by the everyday micro-stresses of motherhood. Her pain is real, and Hawke’s Jesse doesn’t turn away from it. Instead, he absorbs it, even though he can barely comprehend it. His bewilderment is painful to watch, for lots of reasons. How could he not have seen this coming, you wonder? And yet his earnest cluelessness and his eagerness to do the right thing are bound into his nature. All of that is there on Jesse’s face, in a performance that proves that listening, not talking, is the greater part of acting—and one that also suggests just how hard it is, sometimes, to be a good man.
Marion Cotillard, The Immigrant (2014)
Marion Cotillard in The Immigrant.
Weinstein Company/Everett Collection
Director James Gray has a knack for wrapping up big themes in an intimate embrace, and his romantic epic The Immigrant is no exception. The film’s guiding spirit is Marion Cotillard’s Ewa, a Polish immigrant struggling to find her way in 1920s New York. Out of necessity, she finds a place for herself in a tawdry cabaret run by a man, Joaquin Phoenix’s Bruno, who claims he wants to help her, though he may really only want to possess her. As Ewa, Cotillard seems to be negotiating this strange new world through every nerve ending. Her despair and her determination meld into a kind of chisel, a tool for carving out a home in a place where she’s not welcome. Ewa may become disillusioned, but she’s never bitter; Cotillard gives a performance that’s as resilient as a length of rough wool and still, somehow, lighter than chiffon.
Philip Seymour Hoffman, A Most Wanted Man (2014)
Philip Seymour Hoffman in A Most Wanted Man.
Roadside Attractions/Everett Collection
The role of Lancaster Dodd in Paul Thomas Anderson’s The Master may be the most lauded late-career performance of Philip Seymour Hoffman, who died in 2014. But he’s even better as the German counterterrorist operative Günther Bachmann in Anton Corbijn’s subtle and underappreciated John le Carré adaptation A Most Wanted Man. Bachmann’s method is to recruit informants and use the intelligence they provide to move higher up the chain of those involved in Islamic terrorism, while protecting innocent people who might get caught in the web of others’ misdeeds. He’s good at what he does, but the movie hints at a perceived failure in his past, one that caused people who trusted him to lose their lives. That’s the burden carried by Bachmann, played by Hoffman as a dissolute, disheveled, crushed soul who still gives his all to his exacting, dangerous work. Hoffman carries all of Bachmann’s pain deep inside; you see it in the way he averts his eyes from the radiance of his trusted right-hand associate, Irna (Nina Hoss), or in the way he cups a glass of whiskey as if it had become part of the flesh of his hand. The Delmore Schwartz poem “The Heavy Bear Who Goes with Me” speaks of the contrast between our corporeal padding and the finer filaments of our souls: “Clumsy and lumbering here and there/ The central ton of every place,/ The hungry beating brutish one/ In love with candy, anger and sleep.” In this performance, Hoffman carries the essence of that poem in every muscle, including his heart.
Timothy Spall, Mr. Turner (2014)
Timothy Spall in Mr. Turner.
How much can an actor say with a grunt, or a scowl? Timothy Spall answers that question in his astonishing performance as the great 19th-century British painter J.M.W. Turner, in Mike Leigh’s thorny-tender Mr. Turner, which is less your standard-issue biopic than a foray into the mystery of human feeling. Spall’s Turner appears to have little of this in supply for those around him; he takes more pleasure in the colors and textures of a piece of driftwood than he does in any sort of personal interaction. When he’s introduced to his first grandchild, a pink-cheeked babe with powdery, angelic skin, he dismisses her with a moderate snort—only to have another look at her a minute later, during which he betrays how subtly captivated he is. Spall’s Turner is irascible and uncommunicative, seemingly a thundercloud charged with negativity. But the performance gradually reveals that his orneriness is actually an expression of humility in the face of nature and all its glories. Turner rarely painted human figures, preferring the majesty of roaring-orange sunsets and misty, stormy seas. His paintings glow with gratitude and wonder—big feelings that are also delicate ones—and Spall’s performance captures all of it.
Mahershala Ali, Moonlight (2016)
Mahershala Ali holding Alex R. Hibbert in Moonlight.
A24/Everett Collection
In Barry Jenkins’ lustrous coming-of-age story Moonlight, Mahershala Ali plays Juan, a Miami drug dealer who goes out of his way to help a scrawny little kid who’s being picked on by his classmates. The boy—he actually goes by the name Little, and he’s played by Alex Hibbert—is having trouble at home, too, and Juan somehow picks up on his unspoken crisis mode. Juan may be in a rough line of work, but he has kindness to spare when it counts, and Ali pours a wealth of tenderness into the role. His Juan is open to the world, and open to this kid: He embodies the way light can cut across darkness, in the space of just an instant, when one person stops to listen.
Annette Bening, 20th Century Women (2016)
(L-R) Annette Bening and Billy Crudup in 20th Century Women.
With 20th Century Women, director Mike Mills draws from his own experience as an adolescent in late-1970s Santa Barbara: Annette Bening’s Dorothea is a middle-aged woman raising a son, Lucas Jade Zumann’s Jamie, on her own, in a ramshackle Victorian house filled with boarders who are treated like family members. Dorothea—born, as we’re told in an explanatory voiceover, in 1924—is something of a 1950s-style bohemian, a woman who wears Birkenstocks with red lipstick, who has always worked outside of the home, who values her independence and who takes every opportunity to enlarge her world by learning from others. But she’s also lonely, and those feelings intensify as Jamie begins drawing away from her, as children need to do. Bening is terrific, getting at the way middle-aged loneliness and contentment can be so intermingled that it’s almost impossible to tell which is which. She walks that line with the skill of a Beatnik ballerina: there’s a gorgeous girlishness about her—her laughter has a teenager-at-the-soda-shoppe buoyancy. But her face is also marked by those little laugh and frown lines that creep up on all of us as we age, a reminder that anxiety, too, is part of living. Bening captures all the complexities of semi-happiness in this performance, acknowledging the inevitable messiness that lies behind that elusive thing we call a life well lived.
Ruth Negga, Loving (2016)
Ruth Negga in Loving.
Jeff Nichols’ beautifully crafted Loving tells the story of Richard and Mildred Loving, the interracial couple whose 1958 arrest in Virginia led to the 1967 Supreme Court ruling making interracial marriage legal in all states. Loving is one of those movies that makes history feel real and lived-in. That’s largely thanks to Joel Edgerton and Ruth Negga, the actors who play the Lovings, but Negga, in particular, is the movie’s stealth powerhouse. Nothing she does is obvious or overt, but you can tell exactly what she’s thinking or feeling just by watching as her face reflects sun or shadow, like a meadow subtly shifting its mood on a half-bright, half-cloudy day. Her eyes reflect fear, anger, frustration, determination and all gradations in between. This is a radiant performance about the triumph of love over hate—and a reminder that we’re still fighting battles we might have thought settled long ago.
Melissa McCarthy, Can You Ever Forgive Me? (2018)
Melissa McCarthy in Can You Ever Forgive Me?
Fox Searchlight Pictures/Everett Collection
In Marielle Heller’s smart and wryly affecting movie, set in New York in the early 1980s and based on a true story, Melissa McCarthy plays a down-on-her-luck writer, Lee Israel, who discovers a novel but wholly illegal way to make money: she concocts letters alleged to have been written by famous figures and forges the signatures, selling the convincing phonies to eager dealers around town. The movie would be entertaining enough if it were just your classic flim-flam story. But McCarthy’s performance pushes it into deeper, richer territory, capturing a particular brand of New York loneliness—the no-money, no-lover, drab-apartment kind—but also the exhilaration of finding new ways to use skills that others have deemed worthless (in this case, being a clever writer). McCarthy reveals the vulnerability beneath Israel’s sourness, even as she recognizes that a certain kind of semi-misanthropic skepticism can be just the thing to keep you going: being able to laugh at absurd and terrible things that happen to you is the best route to survival. There’s so much cantankerous joy in McCarthy’s performance. You feel deeply for Israel. You never, ever pity her.
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Peso restaurant to open in former Huron Room, Fist of Curry in Mexicantown
Culture, Food, Neighborhood, News
by Serena Maria Daniels
Photo courtesy of Peso
The founders behind the forthcoming Toma Detroit tequila tasting room and restaurant in Corktown have announced another project to open much sooner in Mexicantown.
To be called Peso, partners Tony Lopez (Cabresto Tequila) and Eddie Vargas (former general manager of El Barzon and currently Vertical) have teamed up with Jacques Driscoll of InLaws Hospitality to open what is expected to be more of a fast-paced eatery and bar inside the former location of the restaurant group’s previous concepts, the Huron Room and the short-lived Fist of Curry at 2547 Bagley Ave.
A soft opening is expected at the end of February and a grand opening is supposed to take place in early March.
The entrepreneurs conceived of the idea to collaborate last fall during a Toma Detroit pop-up event held at the location.
Driscoll’s InLaws Hospitality operates the popular Green Dot Stables and Johnny Noodle King. Most recently the group’s Fist of Curry occupied the space, but only for a short while between February and last summer before closing its doors. Before that, the location house the Huron Room, an Up North fish ‘n chips-inspired eatery.
Other partners involved in Peso include Jose Maldonado, Carlos Diaz de Leon and Corey McIntosh.
The menu will feature Mexican-inspired fare using fresh ingredients from local vendors and will be offered three different ways: as a burrito, a torta or la carte. A full bar will focus on a variety of tequila-based cocktails like margaritas, cantaritos and palomas featuring among others, Lopez’s family-owned brand Tequila Cabresto, as well as sangrias. Special weekend menus will include other Mexican comfort food like pozole, birria and micheladas.
[UPDATED 4:24 p.m.] Maldonado tells Tostada Magazine that the aesthetic will be an homage to his and his partners’ upbringing in Southwest Detroit in the 1990s. Commissioned to design a mural on the back wall will be local street artist Freddy “SW Freddy” Diaz, whose works can be found in public spaces throughout the neighborhood. The interior will also incorporate the work of photographer Erik Howard, who’s also the founder of Inside Southwest Detroit and who’s been documenting lowrider culture in Southwest for decades. The bar will be covered with thousands of peso coins that Lopez has been collecting during his travels to his family’s home state of Jalisco.
“I lived in the neighborhood my whole life and don’t remember ever hanging out there,” Maldonado says of the location, which sits across the street from Mexican Village Restaurant — the city’s oldest Mexican eatery.
Maldonado wants to change that.
He says the team is looking to appeal to residents in the neighborhood as a low-key hangout for happy hour or weekend brunch, blue-collar workers in need of a quick bite and the influx of young professionals who are expected to make their way to the area once Ford Motor Company takes home inside the nearby Michigan Central Station.
The team behind Toma Detroit announced plans last fall to open their tequila bar and restaurant inside a former Irish pub in Corktown, prior to competing for and winning $50,000 in the 2018 Comerica Hatch Detroit Contest.
Toma Detroit will specialize in Latin-inspired cuisine, rare mezcals and tequilas, and will serve as a tasting room for Tequila Cabresto, a brand founded by the Lopez family, longtime Detroiters who own an agave farm in the highlands of Jalisco. Maldonado says the partners own the building but are considering further funding options before next steps are taken.
This article was made possible by the Detroit Journalism Engagement Fund, a project of the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan, that’s working to increase quality journalism and help better inform communities.
Author: Serena Maria Daniels
Serena Maria Daniels is the co-founder and head chingona of Tostada Magazine. She is an award-winning journalist based in Detroit and specializes on the intersection of food, identity, and culture.
Find her on Twitter and Instagram @serenamaria36!
Serena Maria Daniels January 10, 2019
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Totally Nutz Franchise
Meet the Crazy Founders of Totally Nutz® Franchise
When the Barker’s made the decision to go into the nut business their families thought they were crazy.
Matt & Yvette Barker were looking for a business that would allow them more freedom to spend time with their young children. A business where they could determine their own hours and location of their operation. This is something they could not do by working for someone else.
While attending a trade show, Matt discovered cinnamon glazed almonds. After much research and discussions with Yvette, Barker’s Olde Fashioned Almonds was born. Initially, their family members thought they were crazy to get into the nut business, but they soon proved everyone wrong.
Many hours were spent perfecting the glaze and roasting process and after several successful years the Barker’s decided to add more nuts to their menu and changed the name of the business to Totally Nutz®.
After having received so many inquiries from interested parties, Matt & Yvette began franchising in 2014 and Totally Nutz Franchise was born.
“What we loved about the idea of franchising is that we can teach our concept, trade secrets, and best practices with new business owners and watch them achieve success. Our business changes lives. It allows people to leave unrewarding jobs, long commutes and spend more time doing what they love,” said Yvette.
“They are spending more time with their families and many of them are running Totally Nutz as a family business. The Totally Nutz concept teaches great life skills and creates jobs for so many people,” stated Matt.
“It is exciting to see our Totally Nutz brand growing as we develop relationships with venues and events across the country. We believe our franchisees are part of our Totally Nutz family and do everything we can to support them and help them be successful,” added Matt.
The family is a big part of the Barker’s lives. Having the flexibility to attend their children’s soccer games, travel with them on school breaks, and to enjoy quality family time together is one of their biggest priorities.
In addition to running the franchise side of Totally Nutz, Utah is the one state that the Barker’s retained for their family while every other state is open. During November and December of every year, they have Totally Nutz locations set up in five Utah malls.
Their entire family works very hard during this time period, staffing all locations, delivering the product every week, creating holiday gift boxes for selling in the malls, and for their corporate and individual clients.
At the end of the holiday season, the Barker’s take a long vacation to relax and spend time together. “Being able to work hard and play hard is why we have enjoyed this business concept. Determining our own schedule around our family calendar is so important to us. You can’t say that about very many jobs,” said Yvette.
It has been 28 years since the business was started and they are still crazy about the business. To date, Totally Nutz Franchise now has over 65 franchises located throughout the United States.
For more information on Totally Nutz, please visit www.totallynutzfranchise.com.
Tags: affordable franchise, franchise, franchise for veterans, low-cost franchise, mobile franchise
Press Release Search
Our Totally Nutz Team
Matt Barker
Yvette Barker
Jill E Summerhays
Jennifer Aldrich
Director of Public Relations & Content Management
Contact us and learn about our
69 East 2580 South
Saint George, UT 84790
Matt Barker was already a fantastic salesman selling various products to new customers across the country when he decided to try selling fresh roasted cinnamon glazed nuts at various events and venues. Matt saw a niche and had a strong gut feeling that roasting nuts on site would draw a crowd. He was right! Millions of customers have been drawn in by the aroma of cinnamon glazed nuts roasting in any venue, indoor or out, for over 26 years. Matt’s vast technical and mechanical knowledge and sales abilities have kept Totally Nutz running strong. He now spends the majority of his time at the corporate office managing the day to day operations of Totally Nutz. Matt and his wife, Yvette, reside in St George, Utah with their four wonderfully talented children. Family time is important to the Barkers so they have always involved their children in the business. Matt’s motto is, ‘Work hard so you can play hard!’. The Barker family is active in football, soccer, biking, and boating.
Yvette and her husband, Matt, have worked together building the Totally Nutz brand for over 26 years. Before Matt and Yvette were married, Matt took Yvette on the road with him and they worked together selling various products. Matt and Yvette also owned a successful Taco Time franchise in Utah. Yvette has vast experience in sales and in running Totally Nutz at events and venues. Yvette also supervises Totally Nutz office operations by coordinating events, venues, and malls, scheduling employees, and ensuring the business is running smoothly. She now spends her time at the corporate headquarters not only managing the day to day operations of Totally Nutz but also the world-wide franchise operations. Yvette attended Dixie State University, where she and Matt met. She is the mother of four wonderfully talented children. Yvette and Matt can often be spotted on the field coaching and cheering for their children in various sporting events.
Jill E Summerhays is the Founder of Maui Wowi Hawaiian Coffees and Smoothies. She created the first retail smoothie concept in 1983 when she started blending her own smoothie concoctions in an old wooden shack at fairs and festivals. At the time she had no idea that her little part-time business would grow into an international franchise organization supporting 660 franchisees in 9 countries around the world. In addition to protecting and promoting the Maui Wowi brand, Jill formed Green Seed Franchise Development, a company that helps innovative entrepreneurs build a solid foundation for future franchising and positions them for aggressive expansion. After helping Totally Nutz lay this groundwork for franchising their unique concept in 2013 and continuing to promote their development and rapid expansion, Jill has limited her focus to the two brands, Maui Wowi and Totally Nutz franchising, exclusively. Clear, concise branding and corporate growth strategy while maintaining the company’s unique qualities are challenging in any organization but this is Jill’s forte and passion. In her free time Jill loves to hike on any nearby dirt trail but she is especially devoted to the beautiful Wasatch Mountain range.
Jennifer has spent her career working in sales, marketing and IT Product Management for Fortune 500 Companies and the University of Utah. Jennifer moved to Mesquite, Nevada in April 2017 and is bringing her expertise to Totally Nutz where she will be focused on sales, marketing, people and business development, as well as boosting the overall Totally Nutz brand. Jennifer has a Bachelor of Science degree in the Management of Human Resources from the Palm Beach Atlantic University. While not working, Jennifer loves to travel, play golf and spend time with her family and friends.
© 2017 Totally Nutz. All rights reserved.
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Tag Archives: The Last of Us
Train2Game News UK Top 20 Games – 02.03.15
Posted on March 2, 2015 by Train2Game Blogger Team
A new week and once again a new number one in the charts with the popular Dying Light shining in top spot. Dragon Ball Xenoverse has debuted at number three and further down the charts at number fifteen The Last Of Us Remastered has made a return.
Week ending 28 February 2015
POS. TITLE PUBLISHER LAST
1 DYING LIGHT WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE –
2 – CALL OF DUTY: ADVANCED WARFARE ACTIVISION 2
3 DRAGON BALL XENOVERSE BANDAI NAMCO GAMES –
4 THE ORDER: 1886 SONY COMPUTER ENT. 1
5 – GRAND THEFT AUTO V ROCKSTAR 5
6 – FIFA 15 EA SPORTS 6
7 FAR CRY 4 UBISOFT 4
8 EVOLVE 2K GAMES 3
9 MINECRAFT: XBOX EDITION MICROSOFT 7
10 MINECRAFT: PLAYSTATION EDITION SONY COMPUTER ENT. 9
11 DESTINY ACTIVISION 10
12 FORZA HORIZON 2 MICROSOFT 19
13 ASSASSIN’S CREED: UNITY UBISOFT 11
14 THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: MAJORA’S MASK 3D NINTENDO 8
15 THE LAST OF US: REMASTERED SONY COMPUTER ENT. –
16 DISNEY INFINITY 2.0 DISNEY INFINITY 17
17 WWE 2K15 2K SPORTS 13
18 THE CREW UBISOFT 16
19 TERRARIA XBOX 360 CLASSICS 15
20 – CALL OF DUTY: GHOSTS ACTIVISION 20
< previous week
Leisure software charts compiled by Chart Track, (C)2015 UKIE Ltd
These charts cannot be reproduced either in print or online without obtaining permission from Ukie. If you wish to reproduce the charts in print or online, please contact david.smith@ukie.org.uk for the appropriate license.
Posted in 2, Developer, game, games, Games Developer, train, train 2 game, Train2Game, www.train2game-news.co.uk | Tagged 2, Dragon Ball, Dying Light, game, Game Development, games industry, Remastered, The Last of Us, train, Train2Game, UK Charts, UK Games Industry, Video Games, Xenoverse
Posted on August 11, 2014 by Train2Game Blogger Team
The game charts are back to their normal quiet selves this week as The Last Of Us: Remastered has remained at number one. The only new game to enter the charts this week is the PC version of Ultra Street Fighter IV which debuts at number fifteen.
Week ending 9 August 2014
1 – THE LAST OF US: REMASTERED SONY COMPUTER ENT. 1
2 – WATCH DOGS UBISOFT 2
4 GRAND THEFT AUTO V ROCKSTAR 10
5 – MINECRAFT: XBOX 360 EDITION MICROSOFT 5
6 THE LEGO MOVIE VIDEOGAME WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE 4
7 MINECRAFT: PLAYSTATION 3 EDITION SONY COMPUTER ENT. 6
8 – CALL OF DUTY: GHOSTS ACTIVISION 8
9 – BATTLEFIELD 4 EA GAMES 9
10 SNIPER ELITE 3 505 GAMES 7
11 TOMODACHI LIFE NINTENDO 12
12 TITANFALL EA GAMES 11
13 – ASSASSIN’S CREED IV: BLACK FLAG UBISOFT 13
14 – LEGO MARVEL SUPER HEROES WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE 14
15 ULTRA STREET FIGHTER IV CAPCOM –
16 PLANTS VS ZOMBIES: GARDEN WARFARE EA GAMES 15
18 WWE 2K14 2K SPORTS –
19 WOLFENSTEIN: THE NEW ORDER BETHESDA SOFTWORKS 17
20 MARIO KART 8 NINTENDO 16
Posted in 2, Developer, game, games, train, train 2 game, Train2Game, www.train2game-news.co.uk | Tagged 2, game, Game Development, games industry, IV, Remastered, Street Fighter, The Last of Us, train, Train2Game, UK Charts, UK Games Industry, Ultra, Video Games
Posted on August 4, 2014 by Train2Game Blogger Team
After several weeks with no new games we finally have a new number one for the game charts. The Last of Us Remastered has knocked Watch Dogs down to the second spot and sits at number one. At the opposite end of the charts Need For Speed: Rivals has re-entered the charts at number twenty.
1 THE LAST OF US: REMASTERED SONY COMPUTER ENT. –
2 WATCH DOGS UBISOFT 1
3 FIFA 14 EA SPORTS 2
5 MINECRAFT: XBOX 360 EDITION MICROSOFT 3
6 – MINECRAFT: PLAYSTATION 3 EDITION SONY COMPUTER ENT. 6
7 SNIPER ELITE 3 505 GAMES 4
8 CALL OF DUTY: GHOSTS ACTIVISION 9
9 BATTLEFIELD 4 EA GAMES 10
10 GRAND THEFT AUTO V ROCKSTAR 7
11 TITANFALL EA GAMES 8
15 – PLANTS VS ZOMBIES: GARDEN WARFARE EA GAMES 15
16 – MARIO KART 8 NINTENDO 16
18 – EA SPORTS UFC EA SPORTS 18
19 – TERRARIA XBOX 360 CLASSICS 19
20 NEED FOR SPEED: RIVALS EA GAMES –
Posted in 2, Developer, game, games, train, train 2 game, Train2Game, www.train2game-news.co.uk | Tagged 2, game, Game Development, games industry, Remastered, The Last of Us, train, Train2Game, UK Charts, UK Games Industry, Video Games, Watch Dogs
Train2Game News: UK Top 20 Games – 30.07.13
Posted on July 30, 2013 by Train2Game Blogger Team
The games industry charts are a bit later this week as I was away yesterday. The Last Of Us has now been knocked off of the top of the charts and falls to number three. It was knocked off by Minecraft: Xbox360 Edition thanks to a surge in sales for the game. This week Nintendo add two more first party titles, the first being Pikmin 3, which debuts at number two beating it’s predecessor, Pikmin 2, which debuted way back in week 41, 2004 on Gamecube at number thirty two. The other Nintendo release this week is also for Wii U, New Super Luigi U at number thirteen.
Week ending 27 July 2013
2 PIKMIN 3 NINTENDO –
3 THE LAST OF US SONY COMPUTER ENT. 1
4 – ANIMAL CROSSING: NEW LEAF NINTENDO 4
5 MARIO AND LUIGI: DREAM TEAM BROS. NINTENDO 3
8 – THE ELDER SCROLLS V: SKYRIM – LEGENDARY BETHESDA SOFTWORKS 8
9 TOMB RAIDER SQUARE ENIX 10
10 LEGO BATMAN 2: DC SUPER HEROES WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE 12
11 ASSASSIN’S CREED III XBOX 360 CLASSICS 13
12 GRAND THEFT AUTO IV XBOX 360 CLASSICS 14
13 NEW SUPER LUIGI U NINTENDO –
14 MAX PAYNE 3 ROCKSTAR 7
15 LEGO THE LORD OF THE RINGS WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE 19
16 CALL OF DUTY: BLACK OPS II ACTIVISION 11
17 – GRAND THEFT AUTO EPISODES – LIBERTY CITY ROCKSTAR 17
18 DYNASTY WARRIORS 8 KOEI 5
19 BATTLEFIELD 3 EA GAMES –
20 NEED FOR SPEED MOST WANTED EA GAMES 15
Posted in 2, game, games, train, train 2 game, Train2Game | Tagged 2, game, Gamecube, games industry, Microsoft, Minecraft, Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition, New Super Luigi U, Nintendo, Pikmin, Pikmin 3, PlayStatioN 3, Sony, The Last of Us, train, Train2Game, UK Charts, UK Games Industry, Video Games, Wii U, Xbox 360
The game charts are out and The Last Of Us is at number one for a sixth week running! In topping the chart again it also matches the unbroken runs of ‘Black Ops II’ and ‘FIFA 12’, an impressive feat as the title is exclusive to just one format. The only new addition to the charts is Dynasty Warriors 8 which has entered the chart at number five.
1 – THE LAST OF US SONY COMPUTER ENT. 1
3 – MARIO AND LUIGI: DREAM TEAM BROS. NINTENDO 3
4 ANIMAL CROSSING: NEW LEAF NINTENDO 2
5 DYNASTY WARRIORS 8 KOEI –
6 – FAR CRY 3 UBISOFT 6
7 MAX PAYNE 3 ROCKSTAR –
8 THE ELDER SCROLLS V: SKYRIM – LEGENDARY BETHESDA SOFTWORKS 11
10 TOMB RAIDER SQUARE ENIX 9
11 CALL OF DUTY: BLACK OPS II ACTIVISION 7
12 – LEGO BATMAN 2: DC SUPER HEROES WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE 12
13 ASSASSIN’S CREED III XBOX 360 CLASSICS 8
16 LUIGI’S MANSION 2 NINTENDO 14
17 GRAND THEFT AUTO EPISODES – LIBERTY CITY ROCKSTAR –
18 RED DEAD REDEMPTION: GOTY ROCKSTAR –
20 THE SIMS 3: ISLAND PARADISE EA GAMES 15
Posted in 2, game, games, train, train 2 game, Train2Game | Tagged 2, Dynasty Warriors 8, game, Game Development, games industry, Naughty Dog, PC gaming, PlayStatioN 3, Sony, The Last of Us, train, Train2Game, UK Charts, UK Games Industry, Video Games, Xbox 360
The dream team of Mario and Luigi’s new game, Mario and Luigi: Dream Team Bros still wasn’t good enough to knock The Last Of Us off of the top spot. If it makes it to six consecutive weeks at number one, then it will equal the unbroken runs of Black Ops II and FIFA 12. Aliens: Colonial Marines has re-entered the charts this week thanks to a budget price.
Week ending 6 July 2013
POS. TITLE
SONY COMPUTER ENT.
MARIO AND LUIGI: DREAM TEAM BROS.
ASSASSIN’S CREED III
XBOX 360 CLASSICS
SQUARE ENIXACTIVISION
THE ELDER SCROLLS V: SKYRIM – LEGENDARY
THE SIMS 3: ISLAND PARADISE
Posted in 2, Developer, game, games, train, train 2 game, Train2Game | Tagged 2, Aliens: Colonial Marines, game, Game Development, games industry, Mario and Luigi: Dream Team Bros, The Last of Us, train, Train2Game, UK Charts, UK Games Industry, Video Games
Posted on July 8, 2013 by Train2Game Blogger Team
The game charts are out and Naughty Dog’s PS3 exclusive The Last Of Us still sits at the top for a fourth week in a row. This is the first time in 2013 that a game has been at number one for over four weeks in a row. The only other new entry this week is down at number eighteen with Namco Bandai’s fighting RPG, Project X Zone, on Nintendo 3DS at number eighteen.
5 ASSASSIN’S CREED III XBOX 360 CLASSICS 9
6 TOMB RAIDER SQUARE ENIX 7
7 CALL OF DUTY: BLACK OPS II ACTIVISION 8
8 THE SIMS 3: ISLAND PARADISE EA GAMES 5
9 DEADPOOL ACTIVISION 6
10 FAR CRY 3 UBISOFT 12
11 – INJUSTICE: GODS AMONG US WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE 11
14 BIOSHOCK INFINITE 2K GAMES –
15 THE ELDER SCROLLS V: SKYRIM – LEGENDARY BETHESDA SOFTWORKS 16
16 GOD OF WAR: ASCENSION SONY COMPUTER ENT. –
17 – GRID 2 CODEMASTERS 17
18 PROJECT X ZONE NAMCO BANDAI GAMES –
20 LEGO THE LORD OF THE RINGS WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE –
Posted in 2, game, games, train, train 2 game, Train2Game | Tagged 2, Fighter, game, games industry, Namco Bandai, Naughty Dog, PlayStatioN 3, Project X Zone, RPG, Sony, The Last of Us, train, Train2Game, UK Charts, UK Games Industry, Video Games, Xbox 360
Sony and Naughty Dog’s PS3 exclusive The Last Of Us remains at number one for a third consecutive week and Microsoft’s Xbox 360 edition of Minecraft debuts at number two. There area further 3 new entries within the Top 10 this week: debuting at number five is EA’s ‘The Sims 3: Island Paradise’, the 10th PC Expansion Pack in the series and the second this year, after ‘The Sims 3: University Life’ back in week ten. Right behind and new at number six is Activision/Blizzard’s Marvel Comics ‘Deadpool’ for 360/PS3 (No one tell Deadpool he isn’t number one!) and completing the new releases is Sega’s ‘Company of Heroes 2’ on PC, new at number ten
2 MINECRAFT: XBOX 360 EDITION MICROSOFT –
5 THE SIMS 3: ISLAND PARADISE EA GAMES –
6 DEADPOOL ACTIVISION –
9 – ASSASSIN’S CREED III XBOX 360 CLASSICS 9
10 COMPANY OF HEROES 2 SEGA –
11 INJUSTICE: GODS AMONG US WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE 8
12 FAR CRY 3 UBISOFT 7
17 GRID 2 CODEMASTERS 10
18 DEAD ISLAND: RIPTIDE DEEP SILVER 14
19 ALIENS: COLONIAL MARINES SEGA –
Posted in 2, Developer, game, games, train, train 2 game, Train2Game | Tagged 2, Activision, Blizzard, Company of Heroes 2, Deadpool, EA, game, games industry, Marvel, Microsoft, Minecraft, Naughty Dog, PC gaming, PlayStatioN 3, SEGA, Sony, The Last of Us, The Sims, The Sims 3: Island Paradise, train, Train2Game, UK Charts, UK Games Industry, Video Games, Xbox 360
Posted on June 24, 2013 by Train2Game Blogger Team
Sony and Naughty Dog’s PS3 exclusive, The Last Of Us, remains at number one for a second week and Nintendo’s big new 3DS release from last week, Animal Crossing: New Leaf, remains at number two. Max Payne 3 re-enters the chart at number five thanks to huge price promotions on PS3 and Xbox360. The only new entry to the top twenty this week is Moto GP ’13 which enters the charts at number number fifteen.
4 – TOMB RAIDER SQUARE ENIX 4
6 CALL OF DUTY: BLACK OPS II ACTIVISION 14
8 INJUSTICE: GODS AMONG US WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE 6
9 ASSASSIN’S CREED III XBOX 360 CLASSICS 10
10 GRID 2 CODEMASTERS 3
11 LUIGI’S MANSION 2 NINTENDO 9
13 THE ELDER SCROLLS V: SKYRIM – LEGENDARY BETHESDA SOFTWORKS 8
15 MOTOGP 13 PQUBE –
17 DONKEY KONG COUNTRY RETURNS NINTENDO 15
18 NEED FOR SPEED MOST WANTED EA GAMES –
19 BIOSHOCK INFINITE 2K GAMES 16
Leisure software charts compiled by Chart Track, (C)2013 UKIE LtdThese charts cannot be reproduced either in print or online without obtaining permission from Ukie. If you wish to reproduce the charts in print or online, please contact david.smith@ukie.org.uk for the appropriate license.
Posted in 2, Developer, game, games, train, train 2 game, Train2Game | Tagged 2, 3DS, Animal Crossing: New Leaf, game, Game Development, games industry, Max Payne 3, Microsoft, Moto GP 13, Naughty Dog, Nintendo, PC gaming, PlayStatioN 3, price promotions, Sony, The Last of Us, train, Train2Game, UK Charts, UK Games Industry, Video Games, Xbox 360
Train2Game News: Fastest selling XBLA Game
The official Xbox blog has specified that State of Decay is the “fastest selling original game ever” on Xbox Live Arcade.
The open world Zombie game from Undead Labs has sold over five hundred thousand copies on the Xbox Live arcade store to date.
Taking you beyond the initial panic of a Zombie apocalypse, and beyond the first weeks of the crisis, State of Decay is the embodiment of the “What if?” zombie apocalypse scenario. The world is now your oyster…a shiny oyster that happens to be filled with zombies. This game lets you fulfil your plans of what would I do if the worst happened?
According to Undead Labs founder Jeff Strain, there is a future for the series. “We’re laying plans for the future of State of Decay right now,” he said.
“There’s an incredibly sophisticated simulation engine driving the world of State of Decay – we call it FateEngine – and it gives s a platform to do much more with the game. For a start, I can tell you we’re working on a sandbox mode designed to be a pure survival simulation.”
The game is currently 1600 Microsoft Points on the Xbox Live Arcade store but the game is currently in development for PC.
State of Decay, The Last Of Us and The Walking Dead proves that Zombie games are still popular but, for how much longer?
Posted in 2, Developer, game, games, Microsoft, train, train 2 game, Train2Game | Tagged 2, game, Game Development, games industry, Jeff Strain, Microsoft, Open World, PC gaming, State of Decay, The Last of Us, The Walking Dead, train, Train2Game, Undead Labs, Video Games, Xbox 360, Xbox Live Arcade, Zombie Games
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Billikens Must Fix Free Throw Troubles Before A-10 Play
Sam Glass, Sports Editor
In 2000, The University News put out a piece by Nick Weber titled “Missed Free Throws Doom SLU In 68-56 Loss.” Almost 20 years later and this same headline could end up right back in the paper. SLU ranks dead last in Free Throw Percentage in the 350 NCAA Division I programs with 52.5 percent. ...
Getting Technical: SLU Alumnus continues soccer career as an entrepreneur
“It’s hot in here,” Adam panted to his dad 20 minutes into his training session with 2019 SLU Soccer alumnus Anthony Brown. They shared a quick laugh and a splash of water before the continual “thud” of the soccer ball enveloped the room again. Brown graduated with a degree in finan...
Kent Starts Career Strong, Is a “Program-Player”
Jeremiah Kirsch, Staff Writer
Coach Lisa Stone has continued to recruit well in her eighth season leading the women’s basketball team. From landing high-profile recruits like Jackie Kemph and Ciaja Harbison, to keeping local players like Brooke Flowers and Kendra Wilken close to home, Stone’s ability to land players who fit her pro...
Heartbreak in South Bend: SLU Falls in NCAA First Round
A group of about 60 Billiken supporters huddled around the gates of Notre Dame’s Alumni Stadium. The sky was overcast with temperatures in the mid-30s. As the Saint Louis University women’s soccer team exited the arena, they were met with a great round of applause. However, Billiken fans were met...
Men’s Basketball Looks to Returners for A-10 Championship Repeat
Jeremiah Kirsch, Contributor
Preseason results/expectations: The Billikens were picked to finish 7th in the A-10 this season by the league’s coaches and media. With many new faces, the Billikens are like a penny stock—they could shoot up and be very successful, or they could spin their tires and stay in the middle of the pa...
Women’s Basketball Posted Fourth in A-10
Mishal Mustaque, Staff Writer
Preseason results/expectations: Ciaja Harbison was named in the A-10 All Conference First Team, and despite having five sophomores and four freshmen on the roster, expectations are high for Saint Louis’ young guns. Qualifying for the NCAA first-round would be a dream, but the Billikens will first h...
Back to back women’s soccer A10 Champions
One goal, two goal, red fish? Blue fish? It may not rhyme, but it does accurately represent the firepower coming from the SLU women’s soccer team. A 3-1 win over George Washinton makes the Bills back-to-back Atlantic 10 champions and grants them an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. A...
Billikens Continue Winning Stretch
The SLU women’s volleyball team continued their recent success with two more victories this weekend. The Billikens knocked off George Mason on Friday night and defeated George Washington on Sunday afternoon. In the process, they moved their current win streak to eight games. Friday’s match was a h...
The Road to Tokyo: U.S. Athletes are already punching their ticket to the 2020 Games
Erin McClelland, Associate Sports Editor
There are 266 days left until the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympic Games, and Team USA is slowly being formed athlete by athlete. The year leading up to the games is when these athletes get to realize their dreams of qualifying for the Games, something many of them have been working towards their entire li...
Screams, Smoke Bombs and SLUnatics: Alex Smith
Mishal Mustaque, Contributor
If that sounds like you (or your ulterior persona), you are a perfect fit for SLUnatics. SLU’s very own group of superfans barrel through every barrier imaginable to hype their team into snatching the dub. Saint Louis University’s women’s soccer team won the championship last year, and the men’s ...
Get Her in the Game Keeps Diaz at SLU
In 1972, the historic Title IX was passed, granting women equality in education and athletics. Since its implementation, female student athletes across the nation have taken advantage of their opportunities to compete and receive an education. Saint Louis University Athletics promotes opportunities fo...
Swim and Dive Sweeps at home
The Saint Louis University swim and dive teams held their first home meet of the season on Saturday, Oct. 19. The Billikens hosted Maryville and Eastern Illinois in the Simon Recreation Center. Garbed in their pink swim caps, the Billikens took the water in style ready for a fierce competi...
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Course name eg psychology
Location: city, town or county
Predicted grades
City, town or county
- A* A B C D E
- A B C D
0 12 24 36 48 60 72 84 96 108 120 132 144 156 168 180 192 204 216 228 240 252 264 276 288 300
eg University of Oxford
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954,722 Torontonians can’t be wrong. Follow us:
Introducing: Dundas Park Kitchen, a new takeout sandwich shop in Roncesvalles
By Megan Leahy | July 18, 2013
By Megan Leahy | 07/18/2013
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Name: Dundas Park Kitchen
Neighbourhood: Roncesvalles
Contact Info: 2066 Dundas St. W., 647-351-4793, dundasparkkitchen.ca/, @DundasPark
Owners/Chefs: Husband-and-wife team Alex Tso, former head chef at Amuse in the Beach, and Melanie Harris, pastry chef at Aria next to the ACC
The Food: Soups, salads and sandwiches, like marinated eggplant on focaccia with squash hummus, olive salad and onion jam. Take-out dinners consist of whole roast chickens with sides like chickpea salad and coleslaw. Homemade cookies, cakes and galettes for dessert.
The Drinks: Juices, sodas and Beau’s Lug Tread beer on draught.
The Place: The diminutive space feels like a workshop, with its open kitchen, bare concrete walls and exposed air ducts. Seating is limited to a cluster of wooden blocks by the window.
The Numbers:
• 62.5 minutes to roast the take-out chickens
• $7.50 for a breakfast sausage sandwich, which the owners used to sell from a stall at The Stop Farmers’ Market before opening the restaurant
• 1 special sandwich a day that isn’t listed on the menu
(Image: Megan Leahy)
Introducing: Dundas Park Kitchen
https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/dundas-park-kitchen-toronto-restaurant-02-96x96.jpg
https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/dundas-park-kitchen-toronto-restaurant-02.jpg
https://torontolife.com/food/restaurants/dundas-park-kitchen-toronto-restaurants/slide/dundas-park-kitchen-toronto-restaurant-02/
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The takeout counter is open from 11–7 p.m.
Salads and pastries
Pork sausage sandwich with corn relish, cheddar and grainy mustard ($7.50). This breakfast sandwich was a hit at The Stop Farmers’ Market and inspired the owners to open Dundas Park Kitchen
https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/dundas-park-kitchen-toronto-restaurant-intro-96x96.jpg
https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/dundas-park-kitchen-toronto-restaurant-intro.jpg
https://torontolife.com/food/restaurants/dundas-park-kitchen-toronto-restaurants/slide/dundas-park-kitchen-toronto-restaurant-intro/
dundas-park-kitchen-toronto-restaurant-intro
Marinated eggplant sandwich with squash hummus, sunflower sprouts, red onion jam and olive salad ($8.50)
House-made salads vary daily
Whole roast chicken with two sides, available 5–7 p.m. ($25)
A short pour of Beau’s Lug Tread on draught ($3.50)
Homemade pastries, including a strawberry-rhubarb galette
Topics: Dundas Park Kitchen introducing Openings Toronto Restaurants
My father died on Flight 752. Here’s what I want you to know
A look at the most dazzling displays at the Toronto Light Festival in the Distillery District
Every Toronto location that shows up in the first season of Netflix’s Spinning Out
The best new bottles at the LCBO in January
Real Weddings: Inside a sparkly queer art party with multiple drag performances
Life Aquatic: How a family of three lives on a 47-foot sailboat in Toronto Harbour
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About VPR
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“J’Accuse..!” – The Endless Recurrence of History
An Alumnus’ Response to “OP-ED: What Do We Gain from Allowing Chinese Espionage”
It was a sunny winter morning in the year of 1898, when the bourgeois class of French Third Republic woke up to a fresh edition of L’Aurore on their countertops. Little would the good citizens of the republic know that it was the most famous issue of the literary newspaper they would ever encounter – the prominent writer and social observer of the time, Émile Zola, had just ran a full-page open cover titled “J’Accuse…!,” which would later go down in history as synonymous with outrage and accusation against the powerful and the unjust. As an alumnus of this great institution I once called home, I found history repeating itself again when I came across the op-ed, “What do We Gain from Allowing Chinese Espionage?,” which was recently taken down.
Back in 1894, Alfred Dreyfus, a Jewish French artillery captain, was accused of treason on the basis of suspicion that he had been providing secret military information to Germany, the archenemy of the French following the Franco-Prussian War. It was a great amusement, as the op-ed opened with the claim that, “(Chinese international) students are known to be an arm of Chinese espionage.” My initial reaction at the moment was almost clouded by the fantasy of myself cruising in Rand with a hairdo, trying to steal the recipe of the famous cookie; or a midnight Stevenson sunglass selfie captioned by “I’m not the spy, you’re a spy,” a line inspired by one of the sassier Instagram posts made by Kendall Jenner – I wonder if a century ago, Monsieur Dreyfus felt the same. As distant as either my fantasy or the accusation against Dreyfus is, I found this claim to be nothing but lacking in evidence. Or would the author be so scholarly as to footnote the source – the sitting president and his “wise” choice of words, I presume? And how would the author convince his audience of the credibility of such a source, I wonder?
With regard to his second claim that China is a “country known for espionage” – I regretfully have to concede that I own no evidence of either there is truth or falsehood to such claim. For the time being, however, I must draw the reader’s attention to a fine line between the reputation of a state and the will of its citizens – if China is, indeed, a country famed for its espionage skills, should the same be held for its citizens that everyone is prone to such espionage? If I am a receptionist at a fine restaurant in Europe with dress code, must I keep a constant eye on these “American tourists” and make sure they won’t show up in basketball trunks and start dictating everyone, just because I have the perception of the U.S. being a regime with self-proclaimed exceptionalism in global affairs? Vice versa, the citizens’ actions should not be construed as evidence to generalize a state – if a group of seventh century Chinese merchants were to visit Byzantine Empire for trades, and accidentally found out that there already was Byzantine-made silk and textile on sale in the bazaar of Constantinople (two monks in the mid-sixth century famously smuggled the crucial silkworms from China), would they find any reason to stand up to the Eastern Roman emperor, and accuse him of espionage activities made by his subjects, with no evidence that his regime should be held responsible? There have been way too many defenses against the notion of generalization, so please allow me to use analogies to render my argument less boring.
Finally, I must also address the author’s only “flattering” claim that Chinese students bring too much tuition money for my alma mater to naysay. In my graduation class (Class of 2017), I was only aware of around 20+ Chinese internationals who made the voyage from China to Vanderbilt, and it is my understanding that as Vandy adopts a new admission strategy, more and more Chinese students have had the chances of being admitted this great school, due to their academic caliber and increased familiarity with U.S. college admission at home. If the author were to accuse the admission office for the existing admission practices which unfairly leans toward us, surely he could invoke more meritocracy-based evidence to support his claim; but until such evidence is found, let’s leave the matter to the admission office’s realm and trust them with fair judgments.
On a personal note, by no means did I consider myself to be the privileged class with means to plunder my parent’s wealth, as they had been saving up for the entirety of my tuition with not many scholarships/student loans/financial stipends available. Plus, it also has to be acknowledged that China has only transformed into a capitalist society in the last 40 years, and its average GDP per capita is less than 1/6 of that of the United States. So please imagine if your middle-class parents drained their 401k plan to cover your tuition expense because you have (i) no matching criteria to qualify for scholarships and (ii) no student loan options available. Upon graduation, I have had the chance to work at a Wall Street financial institution considered to be a decent outcome from campus recruiting. Looking back, I was grateful for Vandy, not only because I considered my time here worthwhile, surrounded by world-class educational resources and supportive mentors, but also because of the harsh reality the school has taught me – the very essence of Vandy social culture has always been engulfed with kinships of various forms. And as an international student, it was childish for me to ever think that my American peers would naturally treat me with friendship and without suspicion. In that sense, I am grateful for the author for openly displaying and confirming the very suspicion of hostility that international students have to face on a daily basis. Herein I implore my fellow international (Chinese and non-Chinese) readers – while taking advantage of making friends at a great school like Vandy, do never place your trust at fabricated friendship, and please walk away from nonsense as early as you see it.
Following a series of unjust trials with evidence based on thin air, Monsieur Dreyfus was eventually humiliated and sentenced into exile. So fierce was Zola’s open letter defending Dreyfus and accusing the general anti-Semitism of the Republic, that the letter caused an eruption of outrage and stir across France. Zola later found himself locked up behind prison cells because of his words. Although both would be eventually freed, it was not until the end of WWII did the world unilaterally decry the notion of anti-Semitism. As a man of progress, I believe the elements of Spanish Inquisitions and Kristallnachts should stay the way they are – in history books – and discriminations solely based on generalizations should never be allowed entry into this great campus I proudly call my alma mater.
Alumnus – Class of 2017
Author’s Note: Before the author published this article, Vanderbilt Political Review’s Board presented to the author the citations of sources within the original op-ed (which has now been taken offline). The author fully acknowledges the sources provided by the authors of the original op-ed. This article only represents the author’s own personal views and understanding of the matter, and is not affiliated with any organization.
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Vanderbilt's First and Only Nonpartisan Political Journal
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Read Next: SAG Awards 2020: The Biggest Snubs and Surprises
Markets & Festivals
February 12, 2019 11:27AM PT
Film Review: ‘Piranhas’
Mob bosses get younger every day in Claudio Giovannesi's Naples-set adaptation of a bestselling novel by the writer of 'Gomorrah.'
By Jessica Kiang
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CREDIT: Courtesy Berlin Film Festival
Claudio Giovannesi
Francesco Di Napoli, Ar Tem, Alfredo Turitto, Viviana Aprea, Valentina Vannino, Pasquale Marotta, Luca Nacarlo, Carmine Pizzo, Ciro Pellecchia, Ciro Vecchione, Mattia Piano Del Balzo, Aniello Arena, Roberto Carrano, Adam Jendoubi, Renato Carpentieri.
At the kingpin table on the mezzanine level of a Neapolitan nightclub, Nicola (Francesco di Napoli) snorts a line of coke and slings his arm around Letizia (Viviana Aprea) while Tyson (Ar Tem) pops a bottle of champagne. Over the pulsing music, the whole jostling crew laughs down at the 500€-a-table territory below, noting from their Godlike perch which neighborhood gangs are looking up at them with animosity, which with envy. Claudio Giovannesi’s “Piranhas” begins a few short weeks before this scene, when Nicola’s penniless gang gets turned away from places like this, but look, now he’s made it! He is 15 years old.
Based on the book “La Paranza dei Bambini” (“The Children’s Parade”) by “Gomorrah” writer Roberto Saviano who co-wrote the screenplay, “Piranhas” is both helped and hamstrung by its central, chilling observation: The children of central Naples are inducted into the mob lifestyle, its tribalism, gun violence, and the cycle of death and retribution, at an ever younger age. But to watch young people fall into old patterns is still to watch those old patterns, and the film cannot escape the familiarity of its archetypal, rise-to-power, fall-from-grace narrative.
The locations teem with the real life of the city, and the cast is made up of local kids and non-professionals from the area who innately understand its invisible demarcations and hierarchies. But despite some fine, if perhaps overly glossy filmmaking and the charisma of many of these first-timers, it’s likely that the commercially viable, solidly made “Piranhas” will remain top of the mob-movie pile for about as long as its kid-Godfather will occupy that top table — that is, only until the next one comes along.
There is some immediacy gained from the way the film was shot — in sequence and over a period of weeks apparently not that much shorter than the entire span covered by the film. But it also means that we’re only introduced to Nicola and his gang right before their irrevocable plunge into criminality. “We’re decent guys!” claims Nicola more than once. “We wouldn’t harm a fly!” But a scene or two later, they’re gleefully rooting through a bag of guns, and practice-shooting under the cover of a fireworks display. The loss-of-innocence narrative is constrained by these characters never having that much innocence to lose.
Still, it’s a mild shock when Nicola commits his first violent crime, partly because although Daniele Ciprì’s elegant, classical cinematography caresses the photogenic di Napoli in frequent closeups, we never really get a sense of the thought processes going on behind those high cheekbones. At the outset his motivation for allying himself with a local mobster is depressingly logical: If he becomes a lieutenant, perhaps he can prevail on his new colleagues to stop extorting protection money from his mother’s dry-cleaning business. And it will provide him and his sidekicks with the cash to afford the things they want — the Adidas gear, the nightclub tables, the garish furniture (there’s a little humor in Nicola’s awestruck admiration for what can only be described as Trump Tower kitsch, including a white-and-gold liquor cabinet in the inexplicable shape of a double bass).
The only complicating factor is that Nicola has befriended Agostino (Pasquale Marotta), the son of the previous murdered Don, who is therefore regarded as the enemy by the new regime. But when his new boss is arrested (at the wedding of his niece, which again feels like a scene we’ve watched a fair few times before), Nicola is quick to propose that he and Agostino step in to fill the power vacuum. All they need is a gun; and the distance from there to forming new alliances, committing territorial violence and murder is no distance at all.
Within such a well-established framework, the very youth of the protagonists undercuts some of the stakes. At one point, for political reasons, Nicola has to break with the lovely Letizia, and as the pair form the film’s central romance (complete with first date at the opera), this is supposed to have the gravitas of great sacrifice on his part. But they’re also just two 21st-century teenagers so it’s a little hard to regard their puppy love as some tragic amour fou. Similarly, the moment inevitably arrives when the brotherly bond between Nicola and Agostino is tested, and while the outcome will have major repercussions for the whole gang (who are otherwise not terribly well differentiated), it’s hard to feel anguish for loyalties so hastily formed.
The film’s prologue promises a more powerful, original experience than the “Piranhas” we get. After stealing a Christmas tree from one of those lovely, marbled Italian malls, Nicola and his friends build a massive bonfire and drink and dance in its glow like painted savages. In this electric opening, Giovannesi’s film feels raw and dangerous and alive with unknowable potential — more infused with the youthful vibe of his own neorealist debut “Ali Blue Eyes” — so it’s a pity that, like its swaggering protagonists, it has to grow up so soon.
Film Review: 'Piranhas'
Reviewed at Berlin Film Festival (competing), Feb. 12, 2019. Running Time: 111 MIN. (Original title: "La Paranza dei Bambini")
Production: (Italy) A Palomar production with Vision Distribution in collaboration with Sky Cinema, TimVision. (Int'l sales: Elle Driver, Paris.) Producers: Carlo Degli Esposti, Nicola Serra. Executive producer: Gian Luca Chiaretti.
Crew: Director: Claudio Giovannesi. Screenplay: Maurizio Braucci, Roberto Saviano, Claudio Giovannesi based on the novel "La Paranza Dei Bambini" by Roberto Saviano. Camera (color, widescreen): Daniele Ciprì. Editor: Giuseppe Trepiccione. Music: Andrea Moscianese, Claudio Giovannesi.
With: Francesco Di Napoli, Ar Tem, Alfredo Turitto, Viviana Aprea, Valentina Vannino, Pasquale Marotta, Luca Nacarlo, Carmine Pizzo, Ciro Pellecchia, Ciro Vecchione, Mattia Piano Del Balzo, Aniello Arena, Roberto Carrano, Adam Jendoubi, Renato Carpentieri.
Berlin Film Festival
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Project Runway’s Host Tim Gunn Supports NYC Fur Ban
The fashion icon believes that the material is outdated, cruel, and unnecessary and will urge NYC lawmakers to put an end to the “gratuitous violence” animals endure in the fur industry.
Fashion legend Tim Gunn—host of series Project Runway for the last 16 years—is expected to testify during a hearing on Wednesday in favor of Council Speaker Corey Johnson’s proposed legislation to ban fur sale and manufacturing across New York City. The New York Post obtained a draft of Gunn’s testimony, which leans heavily in favor of the ban. “Now it’s time to safeguard all the other animals from such gratuitous violence … as lawmakers have already done in Los Angeles and San Francisco,” Gunn is expected to say during the hearing. The famed television personality will explain that the fur industry is declining in popularity in New York City, where only 14 garment district storefronts sold fur in 2018—a decrease from 450 such businesses operating in 1977. “Designers are finding it increasingly easy to be creative without being destructive,” Gunn will say. “Hundreds of fabrics have been developed that are more eco-friendly and animal-friendly. Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger, Armani, and Chanel have enacted fur-free policies, as have dozens of mass-market brands like H&M, Zara, Gap, Nine West, and The North Face.” In addition to Johnson’s proposed city legislation, New York assemblywoman and animal-rights activist Linda Rosenthal introduced a bill on the state level in March that would ban the sale and production of fur across New York by 2021.
Islington Becomes First London Borough to Ban Fur
California Moves One Step Closer to Becoming First Fur-Free State
Wu-Tang’s RZA Backs NYC Fur Ban
BREAKING: NYC Becomes Largest City in the World to Ban Foie Gras
California Becomes First State to Ban Fur
The Queen of England Ditches Fur for Good
California Passes Groundbreaking Fur Trapping Ban
New York Bill Pushes to Ban Fur by 2021
UK Government Body Urges EU to Drop “Veggie Burger” Label Ban
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Dimitri Rascalov
Jimmy Pegorino
Karl Tanner
Death Gun
Yokai (Big Hero 6)
Mr. Yama
Evil Creation
Hostile Species
Wolverine Villains
Alternate Reality Villains
Marvel Villains
One-Man Army
Sentient Weapon
Destroyer of Innocence
Evil from the Past
Sentinels (X-Men Movies)
NOTE: This article is about the incarnation of the Sentinels from the X-Men film series. The mainstream version can be found here: Sentinels.
Mk. I possesses superhuman strength, durability, flight, and minigun on right arm
Mk. X possess the same except for the minigun which has been replaced with changing the arm into a spear as well as the ability to discharge laser beams from it's face
Adapt to any mutant powers through metamorphic transformation (Mk. X)
MK. I Sentinels
Mk. X Sentinels
Hunting down and exterminating mutants
Wipe out each mutant whose hiding or not upon the Earth, including the X-Men (Future: Succeeded)
Wipe out every human life on Earth under the command of Magneto (Past; All Failed)
Type of Hostile Species
Robotic Destroyers
The Sentinels are the secondary antagonists of X-Men: Days of Future Past. They are specialized mutant-hunting machines created by Dr. Bolivar Trask with help from Colonel William Stryker to hunt down and destroy mutants.
Original Timeline
In 1973, Bolivar Trask pitches the Sentinels to Congress but they decline him so he pitches them to foreign powers. Mystique shoots Trask in revenge for the murders he has committed of mutants while creating the Sentinels, not knowing the future this will create.
A Sentinel briefly appears during a training session in the Danger Room. After Colossus launches Wolverine into the air, he cuts off the head of the Sentinel with his claws. The head falls through the air and lands in front of the X-Men.
In a dystopian 2023, the Sentinels hunt down mutants in a war that has also wiped out most of humanity and left only the "worst" of humanity left to rule the world. These Sentinels have been created using Mystique's DNA which gives them the ability to adapt to mutant powers and even use some. The surviving X-Men gather in a monastery in China for a last stand against the Sentinels while Shadowcat uses her powers to project Wolverine's consciousness back to 1973 to try to change the future where the Sentinels were created. In a final battle, all the X-Men fall to the Sentinels, unable to flee, but hold them back long enough that Wolverine's changes to the timeline erase the Sentinel future from existence.
Revised Timeline
In 1973, Bolivar Trask pitches the Sentinels to Congress but they decline him so he pitches them to foreign powers. Mystique attempts to kill Trask in revenge for the murders he has committed of mutants while creating the Sentinels, not knowing the future this will create, but is interrupted by Charles Xavier, Beast, Magneto and a time-travelingWolverine who are attempting to prevent the destruction caused by the Sentinel project's completion. After seeingXavier's gladness after finding Mystique, Magneto tries to kill Mystique, claiming he is making a more "secure future".
Unfortunately, the fight with Mystique and Magneto reveals the existence of mutants to the world and President Nixon agrees to their use while Mystique's blood is collected from where she was wounded, allowing the Sentinels of the future to have her powers. Magneto, both to stop the Sentinels and to use them to take over the world, surrounds them in steel, allowing him to control the Sentinels at their unveiling on the White House lawn. Magneto uses the Sentinels to attack the crowd and hold off Wolverine, Xavier and McCoy, but before he can kill what he believes to be Nixon (really a disguised Mystique), McCoy suppresses his mutation with a serum causing a Sentinel to turn on Magneto.
He quickly disables it, but the distraction allows Mystique to shoot him with a plastic gun, wounding him and then knock him out, deactivating the Sentinels. After Xavier convinces Mystique through telepathy to let Trask, Nixon and his cabinet live, the world sees that a mutant saved the President and the Sentinel program is shut down and Trask is arrested for selling military secrets to foreign powers, erasing the dystopian future.
Though Sentinel program is shut down for good, at least three or four Sentinels are revealed to be under possession of Xavier. Fortunately, they no longer used to hunt down mutants, as instead, they now reprogrammed for training new X-Men members.
One sentinel appears on the EMPIRE Magazine.
the sentinels in the past (1973) and the sentinles in the dystopian future (2023).
Retrieved from "https://villains.fandom.com/wiki/Sentinels_(X-Men_Movies)?oldid=3468738"
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The Hoard Facts
Virsto-XenDesktop Combo Imminent
Virsto Software announced its initial support for Hyper-V -- as opposed to VMware -- when the company debuted in 2007, but has subsequently spread the wealth across VMware and Citrix as well. In its latest announcement, Virsto is taking something of a hybrid, best-of-breed approach with an eye on VDI by unveiling a beta version of Virsto for XenDesktop on vSphere.
This move wasn't too difficult to anticipate, given the complementary nature of the Citrix and VMware products. After all, as far back as August of last year, John Fanelli, VP, Product Marketing, Enterprise Desktops and Apps for Citrix declared, "Both XenDesktop 5.5 and vSphere 5 represent the very best technology our respective companies have put forward." Definitely a Kumbaya moment.
Of course, from Virsto's perspective, this is all about using their purpose-built storage hypervisor to carve out market share while saving big bucks for customers on storage in the multi-thousand-seat VDI environments Citrix likes to brag about.
Specifically, Virsto -- which refers to itself as a close partner of Citrix, Microsoft and VMware -- claims, "Virsto is changing the economics of XenDesktop deployments by lowering the storage costs per desktop by more than 50 percent while providing performance gains of up to 10x, and storage utilization gains of up to 10x."
Keys to success here include native support for vSphere 4.1 and 5.0, along with easy-to-use storage management features including virtual machine storage, self-provisioning, automated space reclamation, thin provisioning, and tiering of golden master and user data volumes.
Virsto says that current XenDesktop users can continue using the company's software-only storage hypervisor while employing native Citrix desktop management workflows. As Virsto explains it, this is because Virsto is "seamlessly" compatible with existing workflows, and offers high-performance, space-efficient storage that is instantly provisioned, and fully supports high availability features such as failover, using any existing, block-based storage.
Like all the other vendors looking to capitalize on the burgeoning VDI market, Virsto spins horror stories about pilots failing due to miserable end-user experiences, bloated storage costs, chaotic bootstorms, and forced over-provisioning. The result is a bad situation waiting for a good answer, and Virsto thinks it has that answer.
Now in beta, Virsto for XenDesktop on vSphere will be generally available during Q3 of 2012.
Posted by Bruce Hoard on 05/16/2012 at 12:48 PM
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