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Flying is humanity's oldest dream & Paragliding is this dream come true for a million & more humans across the globe today. It truly symbolises our deepest urge for freedom & pure joy.
I have been flying Paragliders for over 20 years now and the serene delight of floating thousands of feet over a splendid landscape still inspires wonder & amazement in me.
I can only be immensely thankful for this beautiful gift.
What really is Paragliding ?
Paragliding is the most modern form of sport aviation. A paraglider is a lightweight, foot-launched glider aircraft with a flexible wing. The pilot sits comfortably in a harness suspended below a wing made of nylon polyester fabric. The wing's shape is maintained by the suspension lines, static pressure inside the cell openings and the aerodynamic forces over its surface.
It's amazing how you can fit a real aircraft in a backpack, carry it anywhere anyhow on top of a hill, soar for hours together to your hearts content, land next to your car near a cafe, have a nice cooling drink & drive home smiling no end.
Paragliding is both a recreational & competitive adventure sport. There are over a million hobby pilots worldwide enjoying flying in the most exotic of locales on the planet.
A little History -
1950's - Paragliders have evolved from parachutes. Improved parachute designs led to cutouts at the rear and sides that enabled it to be towed into the air and steered, leading to Parasailing or Parascending. Parasailing is not Paragliding.
1960's - This led to the invention of the famous Ram-Air Design with sectioned cells with an open leading edge & a closed training edge.
1970's - A group of enthusiasts started towing Ram-Air Parachutes & a three French friends started inflating the Ram-Air Parachutes running down a slope & gliding down to the fields below.
1980's - the equipment then on continued to improve & the number of paragliding pilots & established sites continued to increase. The first officially sanctioned FAI World Paragliding Championship was held in Kössen, Austria, in 1989.
2000's till Today - Glider design & technology have come a long way and so have the training standards worldwide. There are national & international associations that regulate & promote the sport. Safety standards have gone up substantially & risk reduced to a great degree.
The two basic disciplines of the sport are Cross Country flying where pilots aim to find thermals & cover long distances & Acro Flying where pilots gain maximum altitude to do aerobatic trick with their wings. Most pilots choose one over the other and there are many who choose to enjoy both.
The best way to introduce oneself to this beautiful sport, if one is unsure, is to go on a two-seater tandem joyride with a qualified/licensed professional. The pilot will do all the flying while you sit I the comfort of a first class seat and enjoy the ride of your life with spectacular views while enjoying the thrill of free flight. Try & I promise it will be an experience of a lifetime. Most Tandem pilots carry GoPro's for you to take selfies in the sky and videos to show off to all your friends on social media.
Europe has seen the greatest growth in paragliding, with France alone currently registering over 40,000 active pilots.
Paragliding in India -
We don't really have a culture of adventure sports in India although the scene is fast changing due to the changing lifestyle aspirations of the well informed & well travelled Indian.
Paragliding first took roots in the hill station town of Manali when the first European paragliding enthusiasts began travelling abroad with their psychedelic coloured wings in the early 90's. They taught basics to the locals who then started flying Tourists on tandem gliders (two seater wings). The sport didn't really grow more than just small tandem rides in the Solang Valley & a few local solo pilots.
i started my flying in Manali too. I learnt the basic techniques & backed with my aviation background took to advance flying as a natural progression. I would travel to different valleys, find a launch & soar for hours over the spectacular Himalayan ranges. In a word I was in AWE of this form of flying.
Bir, Billing In Kangra Valley, Himachal Pradesh
The Bir-Billing area is a popular site for paraglider pilots, both Indians and visitors from all over the world. The open & vast valley to the south of the Dhauladhar Ranges make it an easy & attractive destination for cross country pilots. The flying season is from September to October, with some flying also done in November. The village continues to host periodic international competitions and events.
The paragliding launch site is in the meadow at Billing (14 km north of Bir), at an elevation of 2400 metres, while the landing site and most tourist accommodations are in the Tibetan village on the southern edge of Bir.
Kamshet, Maharashtra
The Sahyadri mountain ranges offered a much longer flying season from October right up to May. Th flying conditions are both reliable & predictable soon making it a popular training & flying hub in the country. Not only is Kamshet on the world map of Paragliding destinations along with the more famous site of Bir in the Himalayas, some of the top schools & clubs in the country operate from kamshet too due to its long flying season.
There are several flying sites within a radius of 30 kms that are ideal for all levels of flying, training, XC & Acro flying. You will have a choice of both doing a Joyride or Learning to fly in Kamshet. In India, paragliding is most professionally practiced in this region.
India is designed for paragliding. The weather and the landscapes in our country offer a huge variety of flying and a long season to follow it as a hobby. Himalayas in the north, the Deccan plateau, the Eastern & the Western Ghats all have a huge potential for the sport to grow in our country.
With culture of adventure sports slowly picking up, you will see more n more Indian pilots in the Indian skies. The sport is already spreading in the North eastern states as well as in the southern states like Kerala & Tamil Nadu.
Pilots from all over the world look upto the Himalayas in awe and it's every paragliding pilots dream to one day fly in the Himalayas. The Himalayas have hardly been explored and they are the biggest mountains in the world.
The future will see a lot of explorations & expeditions in the Himalayas as some of the best pilots test their skills in the Himalayas. Flying in the Himalayas is the the test for the sport to see its evolution & growth.
Labels: Paragliding
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New night tours launched at the Church of the Good Shepherd
The Church of the Good Shepherd and Earth & Sky have partnered together to launch a night-time experience at the famous Takapō (Lake Tekapo) heritage site.
Church Reverend, Andrew McDonald, says the guided tours are the church’s answer to sharing the stunning night-time views and experience of the grounds with the public, while protecting the natural landscape for future generations.
The church made the decision to close public access to the grounds at night indefinitely in December 2017, due to on-going destruction of the land by people accessing the grounds unguided.
Night sky at Church of the Good Shepherd
“The Church of the Good Shepherd is famous for its astro-photography and star-gazing, where on a clear night the Milky Way galaxy displays an extraordinary backdrop to the little stone church,” says McDonald.
“Unfortunately, open public access was causing a lot of damage to the site at night. The land surrounding the church is a majestic heritage site and we believe in the importance of maintaining it for the future.
“We knew we wanted to continue to allow access to this beautiful part of Aotearoa, and decided working with a partner who could facilitate and manage tours of the site was the right approach.
“We are excited to be partnering with Earth & Sky to deliver a serene and educational experience for visitors to this sacred site. We want people to have the opportunity to enjoy this experience, but we also need to ensure we are protecting and maintaining it.”
The Church Night Tour will take visitors on a journey of exploration, revelation and serenity, with naked-eye stargazing, storytelling, astro-photography and an opportunity for reflection. A professional astro-photographer will also help visitors as they take photos around the church.
Earth & Sky guides will deliver the Church of the Good Shepherd tours. Earth & Sky deliver stargazing and observatory tours in Takapō. In 2014, they entered into a partnership with Ngāi Tahu Tourism, a business owned by Ngāi Tahu who have an intimate and long history in Takapō.
McDonald says Earth & Sky was the preferred partner for this project as it is a whānau-owned business driven by its values and commitment to the long-term intergenerational investment in Aotearoa, particularly in the regions.
Co-owner of Earth & Sky, Graeme Murray, says the aim of the partnership, as well as giving visitors an incredible guided tour, is to have a positive impact on the region and to protect its incredible natural landscapes for generations to come.
“This is a fantastic example of local businesses from within a community coming together and forming a partnership for the greater good.”
Opened in 1935, the Church of the Good Shepherd is the sole church in Takapō and continues to be a place of worship for local residents.
Tours will be piloted for six months starting from the 1st September and will be made a permanent experience if successful.
Explore our Travel Trade Hub
Resources, tools and inspiration to help the travel trade sell Christchurch and Canterbury to the world.
Check out our comprehensive selection of trade ready tourism product in the city and region.
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PawSox to move to Worcester, MA
Pawtucket PawSox driven out by differences between House, Senate finance deals for new stadium
By Dylan Clark
After negotiations made to keep the Pawtucket PawSox in Rhode Island for the next thirty years fell through, R.I. officials voiced their frustration and disappointment with State House leadership for changing legislation.
The Pawtucket PawSox, Rhode Island’s only Triple-A affiliated Minor League Baseball team, signed a letter of intent to move to the Worcester, Massachusetts, Aug. 17, according to the Providence Journal. This decision came after the state Legislature passed a financing bill for the team that was different from what had been originally negotiated and approved by the team.
The letter, signed by PawSox Chairman Larry Lucchino and Worcester City Manager Edward Augustus Jr., outlines joint financing between the city and team to build an $86 million ballpark in Kelley Square. Worcester would issue $62.6 million in bonds and the team would need to provide a $6 million cash investment and $25.9 million financed through bonds. The agreement also outlines a $35 million grant for infrastructure projects related to the stadium and a clause that states the team will keep all stadium revenue, according to the Journal.
The team’s decision to relocate to Worcester came as a disappointment to Rhode Island state and local officials alike. Rep. Mary Messier, D-Pawtucket, said a deal to keep the PawSox in the state for the next three decades had been in the works for three years. “I’m just very disappointed that we couldn’t get this done,” she said.
The legislation did not start in the House, however. Sen. Donna Nesselbush ’84, D-Pawtucket, was one of three senators who initially introduced the bill detailing the financing of a new stadium in Pawtucket. In the Senate bill, which was drafted with input from the PawSox, the team would have contributed $12 million upfront in equity, and issued a principal debt of $33 million, while the city and state would have contributed $15 million and $23 million in debt respectively. These bonds would have been floated and executed through the Pawtucket Redevelopment Agency. In this bill, more than $80 million in potential borrowing would have been guaranteed by the state, the Journal reported.
The Senate passed the bill only two weeks after it was introduced, according to the Rhode Island General Assembly bill tracker. The House version, described as “a companion bill to the Senate bill,” was introduced soon after Jan. 25, said Messier, who co-sponsored the bill.
Though the Senate bill passed quickly, it took until May 29 for the House companion bill to get a hearing scheduled by the House Finance Committee, despite the fact that it had been referred the day it was introduced. The bill was then held for further study, heard by the Finance Committee again June 19 and once again held for study. It was finally recommended for passage after alterations were made June 21 and passed the next day, just days before the legislative session ended June 25. It was signed into law by Gov. Gina Raimondo a week later, according to the bill tracker.
The Finance Committee, in coordination with House leadership, made changes to the bill that removed the state guarantee and posed higher borrowing costs to the team, according to the Providence Journal.
Speaker of the House Nicholas Mattiello, D-Cranston, “was not in favor of the original bill because he thought it would hurt the taxpayer too much, so he wanted it changed,” Messier said.
The version that was ultimately passed “took away the risk for the taxpayers, which was one of the key elements that both my constituents and a number of my colleagues’ constituents were very concerned with,” said House Majority Whip John Edwards, D-Portsmouth and Tiverton. Edwards, who sits on the Finance Committee, said he met with House leadership “at least three times” to talk about changes for the House bill.
But the subject of taxpayer risk was not met with unanimus support. The changes made to the final House bill would make it impossible for the team to seek financial assistance from the City of Pawtucket or the state if they were not financially successful, Nesselbush said. “If for any reason the stadium was not making enough money, the investors couldn’t look to the State of Rhode Island or the City of Pawtucket for any payment,” Nesselbush said.
“This was calculated risk. It was designed for the ballpark to pay for itself, and for the economic development spurred by the ballpark to enable the city and the state to make their debt payment … in a revenue-neutral way that wouldn’t cost the taxpayers any money,” Nesselbush said. “I think that the PawSox were a tried and true successful business,” she added.
Blame was quick to follow the announcement of the PawSox move. Nesselbush called out Mattiello in a public Facebook post for not prioritizing the passage of the House bill. Allan Fung, Republican gubernatorial candidate, told the Providence Journal that “the dysfunctional relationship between the Governor, Speaker and Senate President prevented any deal from ever happening, and now families and local businesses are paying the price.” Fung opposed the initial deal made with the Senate, according to the Journal. Fung’s campaign did not respond to muliple requests for comment from The Herald.
“The changes were not agreed upon by the PawSox. That’s why they left. … At no time were the Governor, the Speaker, the Senate President, the PawSox, the Mayor of Pawtucket or the Pawtucket reps all in a room together. Never,” Messier said.
PawSox President Charles Steinberg, along with Lucchino, wanted the team to stay in state. Had the House passed the Senate’s version of the bill, the team would have stayed in Pawtucket, according to the Journal. Despite the desire to stay in state, the letter of intent signed with Worcester provided a significantly more attractive financial deal to the team. The team will provide $6 million in upfront equity, which is half of what the House bill would have required, and over $7 million less in issued debt. The Worcester Division of Planning and Regulatory Services declined to provide further comment, and the PawSox did not provide comment by press time.
In an Aug. 22 press conference recorded by NBC 10 News, Raimondo and Pawtucket Mayor Donald Grebien avoided placing blame and instead focused on the future of Pawtucket’s downtown district. “We’re committed … to continuously move forward,” Grebien said.
Raimondo reiterated her support for Pawtucket and congratulated Grebien on his efforts to keep the team in state. “You put your all into it,” she said.
“To compete with Worcester’s offer would have jeopardized our city’s future, and I would not have done that, just as the state was not willing to do that,” Grebien added.
Topics: Baseball, Pawtucket Paw Sox, Worcester Red Sox
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Cutest Couples To Walk The Red Carpet In 2018
People-watching as the stars strut down the red carpet has become a serious guilty pleasure around the world and these celebs make it very easy to get hooked! From the high-stakes fashion choices of established celebs to seeing the up-and-comers getting their very first taste of the spotlight, red carpet watching will always be a fan favorite activity.
Celebrity couples who walk the red carpet together have not only defined the term #relationshipgoals but they also have the ability to make us root for them time and time again. Let’s take a look at the cutest red carpet couples of 2018.
Sofia Vergara and Joe Manganiello
Photo by Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic
We honestly can’t remember a time when these two lovebirds weren’t together, but in reality it has only been two years since they had their first date. Sparks flew and shortly after, the couple got married! After being introduced by Modern Family co-star Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Sofia and Joe have been inseparable, and will celebrate their third wedding anniversary this November.
Manganiello recently defended Vergara on Instagram after a nasty commenter poked fun at her distinctive accent by saying, “How many takes for Sofia to pronounce your name correctly?” to which Joe clapped back with “I hope you’re sitting down for this one but it’s her last name too.”
Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds
Photo by ANGELA WEISS/AFP/Getty Images
These two gorgeous beings met on the set of Green Lantern and sparks flew instantly. Now married, the couple has two daughters together (one of their voices was featured in Taylor Swift’s 2017 track “Gorgeous”) and we think it’s safe to say not to rule out any more children in the future.
Widely regarded as the dreamiest celebrity couple, the way these two gush about each other will give you a toothache! “Everything we do in life we do together. I get to share my life with the person he’s become, and we get to grow from there,” shared Lively.
George and Amal Clooney
Photo by Felix Hörhager/picture alliance via Getty Images
George and Amal Clooney shocked us all when they started dating, but we knew marriage was on the way for these two. The couple recently celebrated their four-year wedding anniversary and George opened up about his wife, making the entire world swoon!
On a recent appearance on My Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman, the actor shared, “I met someone who I would absolutely trade my life for. I met someone, who, her life meant more to me than my life. I had never had that experience before.”
Nick Jonas and Priyanka Chopra
Photo by Mike Coppola/Getty Images for People.com
When Nick Jonas and Quantico star Priyanka Chopra announced that they were dating, we think it’s pretty safe to say that the entire world was quite shocked due to their age differences. However, once the engagement was official, fans started to fall in love with the two, as did we.
Rumored to take place in Jodhpur, India on November 30 – December 2, the couple’s wedding has been planned extensively since their August engagement and will for sure be the talk of the internet come November!
Miley Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth
Photo by Presley Ann/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images
There was a time when Miley Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth were the hottest couple in Hollywood. Then after a lengthy breakup that stunned fans, the two found their way back to each other after a rather troubling time in Cyrus’ career.
As their engagement remains, the two may not ever marry but sources say “the formality of marriage isn’t important for Hemsworth and Cyrus. The pair is focusing on loving each other, being happy together, and enjoying each other’s company.” Though they might not plan on getting hitched, Cyrus still wears her engagement ring as a sign of commitment.
Ansel Elgort and Violetta Komyshan
High school sweethearts Ansel Elgort and Violetta Komyshan are always the brightest stars on the red carpet and their story is just as inspiring.
The couple met while attending New York City’s famed Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School, a performing arts school where he majored in acting and she majored in dance. In 2015, they reportedly broke up for five months, but have been going strong ever since they thankfully reunited. Elgort shared, “I love when a girl is like, ‘I can’t hang out. I have to go to class.’ And I go pick her up and she’s all sweaty in a leotard with her hair in a bun. That’s the hottest thing ever.”
Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson
Photo by Rob Kim/WireImage
Who else wishes that Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson were their neighbors? These two have been dazzling red carpets for decades and there are no plans on stopping any time soon. “I view my wife as my lover, and we have a bond that goes beyond words like wife or girlfriend or mother,” shared Hanks.
The couple just celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary and the couple couldn’t help but gush about each other while making the entire world swoon in the process. “We give each other a natural sense of support for whatever the other wants to pursue. Our marriage doesn’t require vast work. We dig each other a lot.”
Chrissy Teigen and John Legend
Photo by Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic
Is there any couple more relatable than Chrissy Teigen and John Legend? We all know and love Chrissy’s keep-it-real approach to social media and that side plays a big part in the couple’s strong marriage.
“I fell in love with her over the phone because she is good with those 140 characters,” Legend joked to ET in 2016. “We would talk on the phone, and I started to fall in love with how engaging and witty and funny she is.” Teigen and Legend met in 2007 on the set of John’s music video for “Stereo.”
Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi
Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images
Ellen and Portia have been married for 10 years and not even divorce rumors can break their bond. Their romance began in 2004 but de Rossi shared she was in love with DeGeneres when she first laid eyes on her at a party in 2000.
“It took me three years to actually tell her how I felt about her,” de Rossi recalled. “Because I was on Ally McBeal at the time and I was not living as an openly gay person.” “Anybody who’s married knows that there is a difference. There’s an anchor, there’s a safety,” DeGeneres explained. “I’m going to be with her till the day I die and I know that.”
Amanda Seyfried and Thomas Sadoski
Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer/MG18/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue
Before Amanda Seyfriend and Thomas Sadoski got engaged in 2016, they worked together on a handful of projects. They first met in 2015 when they were co-stars in the Off-Broadway drama The Way We Get By, where they played lovers. Looks like this was foreshadowing!
The catch? The co-stars were both in relationships with other people at the time which pumped the breaks on anything that could have been. But after Seyfriend and longtime boyfriend Justin Long broke up and Sadoski and his wife Kimberly Hope called it quits, the stars aligned. The next year the two actors found themselves on the same set again and started dating. It didn’t take long for them to take things to the next level. The two were married in March on 2017. That same month they also welcomed a baby girl.
Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez
J-Lo and A-Rod (too perfect, huh?) may have an extensive and rather public dating history, but when these two got together, the entire world smiled.
They’ve only been dating for a year but this duo only keeps getting stronger. In fact, A-Rod has been known for showing his love for Lopez publicly. Remember those VMA red carpet shots of him playing photographer? In 2017, he gushed on The View, “She’s an amazing girl and one of the smartest human beings I’ve ever met and also an incredible mother.” “I understand him in a way that I don’t think anyone else could, and he understands me in a way that no one else could ever,” shared Lopez.
Scarlett Johansson and Colin Jost
Photo by Dan MacMedan/Getty Images
When these two started dating, it was pretty surprising, but after watching their insane chemistry on the red carpet, there’s no doubt that these two were meant to be. The actress and the Saturday Night Live star made their relationship “red carpet official” at the premiere of Avengers: Infinity War and it’s been red carpet bliss ever since.
Rumored to be set up by SNL co-star Kate McKinnon, this budding relationship may seem mismatched but is anything but. “The first time she hosted was the first year I was a writer on the show,” Jost told Entertainment Tonight in 2017. “So, we’ve kind of known each other since then. She’s the best,” he continued.
Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos
Photo by Rob Kim/Getty Images
Before the world knew Kelly Ripa as a morning talk show host, she starred on the soap opera All My Children in the ‘90s. It was there that she met future husband, Mark Consuelos. “I was drawn to Mark because he was positively an alpha male, and I didn’t think I would be drawn to that. But I just worship him,” Ripa shared.
“I thought she was adorable, hot and sexy and all that stuff,” Consuelos told HuffPost Live. “But I was very focused — I didn’t really think I had a chance with her, so I wasn’t really focused on that.” Now, these two are the king and queen of the red carpet showing the world that real, strong marriages do exist.
Olivia Wilde and Jason Sudeikis
Photo by Paul Archuleta/FilmMagic
It’s hard to remember a time when these two weren’t a power couple. Olivia Wilde and fiancé Jason Sudeikis are the ultimate definition of #RelationshipGoals!
With two kids and a future to look forward to, it doesn’t suck being either one of them! “Having two kids is the greatest thing that’s ever happened to us,” Wilde told Elite Daily. “We love them more than anything, and I think we both feel that family comes before career. But we do love our jobs, and we have a lot of fun with our jobs, and we have a pretty great partnership in terms of sharing time and space.”
Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel
Photo by Steve Granitz/WireImage
Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel met at the 2007 Golden Globes and they’ve been pretty smitten ever since.
Timberlake said he asked a mutual friend if he could call her and ask her out, and he got the OK to give it a shot. “I did it the old fashioned way — by telephone,” Timberlake shared. “I had to be pretty persistent in order to get her to say yes. But I have a fair amount of tenacity and if I want something I stick to it. And in the end she agreed.” Aww!
Chloe Bridges and Adam Devine
Photo by Jeff Kravitz/Getty Images for iHeartMedia
If you had no idea these two were dating, you’re not the only one. While at first glance they may seem a little mismatched, the cuteness really shines through!
The two have been dating for three years and met on the set of the horror comedy The Final Girls, in which they both played supporting roles. On and off the red carpet Bridges and Devine can be seen being all cute and supportive of one another on Instagram while we all only wish for that for ourselves! Though they kept their relationship private in the beginning, as most celebs tend to do, they’re now very public with their romance.
Dave Franco and Alison Brie
Couples who co-star together don’t always stay together but that saying doesn’t apply to Dave Franco and Alison Brie. The lovebirds married in 2017 and recently starred together in The Disaster Artist, directed by Franco’s brother, James.
“It’s so nice to work with your person, to be on set with someone who is the person you feel the most comfortable with in the world,” said Brie. “It’s a really great feeling, especially to be intimate with them on set or to have romantic or kissing scenes with that person. It’s delightfully easy.”
Meghan Trainor and Daryl Sabara
Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images
After Meghan Trainor penned “Dear Future Husband,” we were waiting for the day she’d find Mr. Right. Turns out, we didn’t have to wait very long!
Sabara, who starred in Spy Kids, was introduced to Trainor by friend Chloë Grace Moretz! “Day one of meeting Chloë, I was like, ‘You know anybody that I could date? Or love? Whatever,’” Trainor shared with Chelsea Handler on the host’s Netflix show. “And she’s like, ‘I know the nicest guy in the world, Daryl, and you should meet him.’”
Claire Danes and Hugh Dancy
Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images
Like pretty much every other Hollywood couple, Claire Danes and Hugh Dancy met and fell in love onscreen together. They met in 2007 and married in 2009.
“He is a gentleman. He was raised well, went to great schools, he’s a clever guy and he makes me giggle. I scored. I lucked out, big-time! But when you’re truly intimate with somebody, they tend to lose their physical shape, you see through them,” shared Danes. Dancy went on to gush, “She tries to be very honest, without artifice, in what she does. And it is hard to do that and be interesting and create something big. I know from experience and watching her now on set, that she is fantastic to work with, generous without trying to be generous.”
Emma Roberts and Evan Peters
Photo by Mike Coppola/VF18/Getty Images for VF
After meeting in 2012, Emma Roberts and Evan Peters have had a rather rocky relationship past so their story lands on the more intriguing side of the spectrum, to say the least.
While rumors flew that they were dating during the filming of Adult World, Roberts confirmed they didn’t get together until after. “Everyone thought we dated on the movie and we didn’t — not for a long time after,” she revealed on an episode of Chelsea Lately. “I actually, on the set, was like, ‘Oh yeah, we’re totally gonna date.’ And I would, like, flirt with him, which ended up looking like I had something in my eye because I’d be like, ‘Hey, what’s up?’ And he literally didn’t speak to me the entire movie. He thought I was so weird.”
Carson and Siri Daly
The relationship between Carson Daly and wife Siri is by far our favorite. There’s laughter, adorable children, good food, and funny tweets. What more could you ask for?
Daly and Siri have been together for over a decade and married in 2015. They met when Siri was a writer’s assistant at Daly’s longtime late-night talk show, Last Call with Carson Daly. “She would walk into our meetings and I would look at the other dudes in the room, like, ‘Do you see what I see?’ It was undeniable.” The couple share three children and are both TODAY show correspondents.
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Home Judicial Performance Evaluations 2008 Full List Judge Berryhill
First Judicial District - District Judge
Honorable Jack W. Berryhill
Recommendation: Retain
The First Judicial District Commission on Judicial Performance unanimously and strongly recommends that Judge Jack W. Berryhill BE RETAINED, with one member absent.
Background: Judge Berryhill was appointed to the First Judicial District Court in January, 2000. Before his appointment to the court, Judge Berryhill was a civil and commercial litigator in private practice for 25 years. His community interests include serving as a director of the Central City Opera Association and the Colorado Trial Foundation and by speaking to various community groups. He also has worked to improve the First Judicial District by working to implement several changes which have made the court more efficient and by updating and getting approval for new First Judicial District court rules.
Strengths: Judge Berryhill exhibits many qualities of a fine judge: excellent writer of opinions that are clear and well reasoned, knowledge of the law, intelligent, prepared and fair. Most attorneys and non-attorneys feel his diligence and dignity make him very professional. In a survey of attorneys, 76% recommended retention. In a survey of non-attorneys such as jurors, witnesses and parties, 91% recommended approval.
Weaknesses: One of Judge Berryhill’s weaknesses is that he is perceived as being inattentive to court proceedings when he is on his laptop taking notes; he will try to improve this problem with more frequent eye contact and questioning. Judge Berryhill often works long hours and on weekends; he is trying to balance this with vacations and trying to become more efficient.
Recommendation: The Commission strongly recommends that Judge Berryhill BE RETAINED.
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Edinboro’s men’s and women’s tennis programs find strength in their diversity
Wednesday, March 21st, 2018 at 5:25 PM
By Nathan Hirth
Published in: Vol. 117, No. 20
One of the most surprising things about Edinboro University’s tennis teams is a statistic that has little to do with their performance.
Or maybe it does.
A large majority of the men’s and women’s squads are made up of international students.
Kody Duncan, the head coach of both teams, explained the recruitment process he uses, which is the same that was used by the previous head coach, Lee Underwood. To put it simply, international students interested in playing tennis at American schools find agencies who can get them recruited.
For this, they need a video of themselves playing, along with their SAT and TOEFL scores. The TOEFL, Test of English as a Foreign Language, is an exam measuring their proficiency with America’s primary language.
Using that information, those agencies reach out to coaches in America, such as Duncan, who explained, “I get probably 10 to 15 emails a week just from these agencies showing me these students.”
If the coach is interested, they can get in touch and eventually offer a scholarship to the student to have them attend and play at that school. That scholarship can be a deciding factor for international students who want to attend college in the U.S.
According to Duncan, stories like that are common, which is why there are so many international students in Division II.
“And since there’s no scholarship in Division III, it’s a lot harder for international students to go to Division III when they don’t get that financial support,” he explained. “But Division II, it’s open for them because usually Division II is state schools so it’s a lot cheaper and they offer scholarships.”
Such was the case for Roxana Yeh, who came from Argentina to attend Edinboro. Yeh, a senior, explained that she probably wouldn’t have been able to attend college in the U.S. without the scholarships she received for playing tennis.
Furthermore, Yeh believes that variety helps them bond as a team.
“We have a couple of Americans on the team…and we always joke with them,” she described. “They joke, like make fun of us, like our accents and everything. We make fun of them, like American culture and everything. It’s fun to be around different cultures.”
The variety of backgrounds came as a surprise to Yeh, who was not expecting as many international students to be on the team. “I thought it would be one or two,” she explained. “Not more than half the team.”
Duncan experienced this as well when he was recruited by Underwood in 2010. “Obviously when you’re in the high school level you’re only going to be playing with American students,” he said. “But, when you come to the college level, especially Division II, I would say, probably, 80-90 percent of the people I played were international students.”
Thomas McCoy, a junior and one of four American students on Edinboro’s tennis team, had a less extreme change between playing in high school versus college. Being from Miami, Florida, he had played often against international players.
“You can play year-round there, so a lot of people go there to play,” he explained. “They have a tournament called the Junior Orange Bowl where kids from all over the world come and play.”
Given his experience, the transition into college was not as drastic a change. But while he was looking at the rosters of college tennis teams during his college search, he was still caught off guard.
“I was pretty surprised at the difference,” he recalled. “It wasn’t even like a 60/40 majority, it was like an 85/15 majority.”
Like Yeh, McCoy looks at that diversity as a positive thing.
“It’s cool to see more people, to hear different languages,” he explained. “You learn more things.”
And as the one who looks over both teams, Duncan had much the same to say about the diversity of the groups he coaches.
“I really think bringing all them together, all that diversity,” he began, “I really think it really does help and brings us all together.”
Nathan Hirth can be reached at sports.spectator@gmail.com.
Tags: sports, tennis
Lipinski's bat keeps softball playoff hopes alive
By Chris Rosato Jr.
Roni Lipinski saw five pitches in Wednesday’s game two, five-inning victory to complete the sweep over visiting Mercyhurst.
30th Softball season a special one for family
For the Gierlaks, Edinboro softball has always been a family tradition. Sports editor, Christopher Rosato Jr., tells the Gierlak's story in this week's sports section.
Scots sink Ship in Senior Day battle
The Edinboro women’s lacrosse team earned a winning streak for the first time this season with a 12-9 win over the Shippensburg Raiders Saturday while celebrating Senior Day.
First place Griffins take down Scots at 'Boro
In a week full of weather-induced game changes, the only doubleheader played as scheduled resulted in a pair of losses for Edinboro when first-place Seton Hill rolled into town Saturday.
Lacrosse keeps things close, Golden Bears pull away late
The Edinboro women’s lacrosse team kept things tight against Kutztown for most of the game, but KU pulled ahead with three goals in 90 seconds at the tail end of the game. The Scots would fall 12-7.
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China Daily | The Future of Economy Will Be Inclusive
By Andrew Moody | China Daily Europe | Updated: 2018-03-02
The quality rather than just the quantity of China’s economic growth is set to be high on the agenda as China’s top officials descend on Beijing for the major political gathering of the year, according to experts.
One of the main focuses of the annual two sessions is usually the GDP growth target, which is set in the Government Work Report due to be delivered by Premier Li Keqiang on March 5.
Yet, with achieving high-quality growth now a government priority, at least equal attention is likely to be given this year to how China intends to tackle industrial overcapacity, excess debt and income inequality, as well as environmental degradation, while pursuing development.
Workers assemble cars in a production line in Cangzhou, Hebei province. Mou Yu / Xinhua
Zhu Ning, Oceanwide professor of finance at Tsinghua University, says there will likely be a major emphasis on high-quality growth at the annual plenary meeting of both the National People’s Congress, China’s highest legislature, and the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, the country’s top political advisory body, which begins on March 3.
He says the importance attached to a new and more inclusive growth strategy was made clear at the Central Economic Work Conference, a key meeting in Beijing in December.
“The focus now is on the development of the overall economy. People have criticized China’s growth about being all about growth’s sake and not about development. We want a broader-based, more inclusive development than just the growth of the number,” he says.
Zhu, an acknowledged expert on China’s financial system, says he expects priority to be given to measures to reduce poverty, deal with the environment and tackle China’s debt problem.
“We have already seen a crackdown on environmentally polluting companies over the past few months. The government also lifted 10 million people out of poverty in a single year last year. There have also been other measures to get rid of the implicit guarantees in wealth management products, which will lead to more financial responsibility.”
Douglas McWilliams, deputy chairman of the Centre for Economics and Business Research, the London-based economics consultancy, says China’s adjustment to a higher-quality growth model could happen automatically, rather than be forced by policy changes.
“Labor shortages are leading to higher wages and higher productivity, which will bring about the change on its own. Growth, however, needs to be more evenly spread regionally. Western China, in particular, needs to catch up. The savings ratio also needs to fall, and working hours need to adjust to give a better work/life balance,” he says.
Edward Tse, managing director of Gao Feng Advisory and an expert on China’s tech industry sector, believes China’s new industry sectors are already generating high-quality growth.
“Internet-based businesses ranging from e-commerce to car-hailing services have been growing twice as quickly as China’s overall economy for the past 10 years. I expect the contribution from the new economy to continue in 2018, along with an increase in consumption and investment as well as trade.”
With China expecting to contribute 35 percent of global growth this year, according to the International Monetary Fund, financial markets across the world will also pay close attention to the government’s growth target.
Last year, the figure was set at “around 6.5 percent, or higher if possible” and was comfortably achieved with GDP rising 6.9 percent in 2017-the first time annual growth has accelerated since 2010.
China still needs to grow at a relatively fast pace to meet the government’s aim of becoming a “moderately well off society” by 2020, in time for the following year’s 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China. To achieve this, it needs to double the 2010 GDP per capita income level.
George Magnus, an associate at the Oxford University China Centre and an expert on the China economy, expects the government target to remain at “around 6.5 percent”.
“China looks to me to be well on course to meet the 2020 goal. On my reckoning, 6.2 percent per annum should do it. So there is even a bit of a cushion if things go slightly awry for any reason. China can now afford a bit of a tradeoff between the quantity and quality of growth in future,” he says.
Louis Kuijs, Hong Kong-based Asia head of economics consultancy Oxford Economics, also expects a target in line with the 6.5 percent of last year, although he believes there are risks of excessive credit growth to achieve it.
“Since China’s leadership is intent on meeting the 2020 target, it is likely it will be met, even though this implies only a moderate slowdown in credit growth, with credit already continuing to outpace nominal GDP growth this year.”
However, Tse, also author of China’s Disruptors: How Alibaba, Xiaomi, Tencent, and Other Companies Are Changing the Rules of Business, does not believe 6.5 percent is unrealistic or excessive.
“The perennial prediction of the ‘coming collapse of China’ is unlikely to happen, yet again.”
McWilliams, of the Centre for Economics and Business Research, says the major risk to China not meeting its 2020 target comes from global factors outside of Beijing’s control.
“The goal is likely to be met but it is not certain. There is a major world recession building up as the global debt problem unwinds. My best guess is that this will emerge between 2020 and 2025. China this time will be much more affected than it was by the global financial crisis,” he says
It has been suggested that China may soon move away from setting ambitious growth targets.
Neither of the future long-term targets of becoming a global technology leader by 2035 or a “great modern socialist country” by 2050 set out by General Secretary Xi Jinping in his report to the 19th National Congress of the CPC in October came with numbers attached.
“It is still an open question,” says Kuijs. “Clearly many experts, including me, would recommend abandoning specific targets for growth. Setting targets, however, remains a crucial element of economic policymaking in China’s vast government system.”
Magnus at Oxford University believes the government’s overall economic strategy would benefit if the government abandoned targets and made growth forecasts instead – the practice in most advanced economies.
“It would be a positive development if the government abandoned targets altogether, letting the economy find its sustainable level, consistent with lowering the debt burden and the growth of new sectors and industries,” he says.
The two sessions gathering takes place as China is marking the 40th anniversary of China’s reform and opening-up, which led to China opening up to the rest of the world and a transformation of the economy.
Zhu at Tsinghua University says it is important not to regard any transition to high-quality growth as a move away from the principles that were the basis of reform and opening-up.
“I don’t think we are approaching a big watershed moment where we are moving to a new growth model. Reform and opening-up was about the market playing an increasingly big role in determining the allocation of resources. I think this path will remain the same. The difference is that the targets are changing fundamentally.”
Tse at Gao Feng Advisory believes China is in the process of moving on from its post-reform and opening-up phase.
“China is entering into a new era, and it is one that is epitomized by both confidence and sophistication. It is also one based on knowledge, innovation and a strong will to drive critical global governance and leadership issues as well,” he says.
He believes the new era will combine a role for State direction and a burgeoning private sector.
“The top-down central government directive will continue to be strong. There will also be a role for local governments in the middle layer both competing and collaborating to provide further impetus for driving growth.”
Kuijs at Oxford Economics believes there are a number of challenges that policymakers will have to face in China’s next phase of development.
“The major challenge for China in the coming decades is to work out whether cementing socialism with Chinese characteristics can be consistent with further opening up and integration into the global economy,” he says.
However, he says the government is aware that the Chinese people will continue to demand a better life and higher standard of living.
“Pushing ahead with reforms to improve China’s health, education and social security systems would increase the chance of those demands being met.”
高风官网：www.gaofengadv.com
« CHINADebate’s Interview on China’s Ecosystem Organizations
China Daily | Focus on Quality Growth Expected »
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Home / Jewish Voice for Peace statement on Trump 'peace plan'
Jewish Voice for Peace statement on Trump 'peace plan'
Jewish Voice for Peace has on 29 August 2018, issued the following statement on the forthcoming peace plan by the Trump administration:
Trump’s 'peace plan' promises to be everything that the Trump administration is: dishonest, inhumane and ineffective. Under the Trump administration, the US has no right in claiming to be a peace broker. There is no possibility of a just, equitable and durable peace plan without the right of return for Palestinian refugees and their descendants. This question is foundational, on par with the status of Jerusalem, equal rights for Palestinian citizens of Israel, and an end to the 1967 occupation of Palestinian lands.
This alleged 'peace plan' is just more political theatre by Trump as he continues to court his conservative, evangelical and right-wing constituency, who support Israeli domination over Palestinian lives and land.
While no 'peace plan' has been officially released, recent indications of its content are highly concerning. On Friday it was announced that the US was reducing its aid to Palestinians by $200 million; yesterday rumours surfaced that the Trump administration is planning to end all future aid to UNRWA, the UN agency dedicated to assisting Palestinian refugees. On Saturday, it was alleged that the Trump administration proposes reducing the number of Palestinian refugees to only half a million – one tenth of the UN’s current tally of 5.3 million. Most recently, US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley stated her opposition to the Palestinian right of return.
Jewish Voice for Peace reiterates its commitment to supporting the right of Palestinians to return to their homes, and opposes the withholding of humanitarian aid for political gain.
JVP Deputy Director, Rabbi Alissa Wise, said: “Trump and Netanyahu think it’s a good idea to claim that Jerusalem belongs to Israel. Trump and Netanyahu think it’s a good idea to tell refugees that they’re not refugees. Trump and Netanyahu think it’s a good idea to withhold millions of dollars in humanitarian aid and force people to the negotiation table. Their shared racist disregard for human rights demands our urgent attention and action.”
JVP Government Affairs Liaison Rabbi Joseph Berman said: “There is a moral, religious, and legal obligation to protect the rights of refugees. Trump has denied refuge to those in need at the borders of the United States with hateful policies of separation and deportation. Now Trump is exporting his vitriol to Israel/Palestine by denying the very existence of Palestinian refugees and trying to strip them of their internationally recognised right of return.”
* Jewish Voice for Peace is a national US organisation inspired by Jewish tradition to work for a just and lasting peace according to principles of human rights, equality, and international law for all the people of Israel and Palestine. JVP has over 200,000 online supporters, over 70 chapters, a youth wing, a Rabbinic Council, an Artist Council, an Academic Advisory Council, and an Advisory Board made up of leading US intellectuals and artists. https://jewishvoiceforpeace.org/
Keywords:Benjamin Netanyahu | donald trump | human rights | humanitarian aid | international law | israel | jewish voice for peace | palestine | Peace | refugees
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Home Latest News ACCIONA invests $288m in wind after VRET success
ACCIONA invests $288m in wind after VRET success
ACCIONA is set to invest $288 million in a new wind farm in Victoria, after a win in the state’s renewable energy auction scheme.
The company will build the 157.5MW Mortlake South Wind Farm, which will incorporate a scalable battery energy storage system (BESS) to help boost performance and integration into the electricity grid.
Construction is scheduled to begin in early 2019, with completion expected in mid-2020.
“This auction result broadens and deepens our investment in Victoria and Australia more generally,” ACCIONA Energy Australia managing director Brett Wickham said.
“We’re pleased our track record and long-term, low-risk focus has been recognised, and we look forward to working with the government, local suppliers and local communities to get Mortlake South up and running.”
Based in Melbourne, the company is already a major investor in the Victorian renewables sector.
Its recently completed Mt Gellibrand facility is in the commissioning phase, while the wind farm at Waubra has been operating for almost a decade.
On completion, the new project will increase ACCIONA’s installed renewable energy capacity in Australia by 36%.
It represents a $288 million capital investment that will create approximately 100 jobs, including around 10 ongoing roles during operations.
Since entering the Australian market in 2002, ACCIONA has invested more than $1.3 billion in the sector, and sees the country as a key strategic pillar within its global energy portfolio.
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FISHING INDUSTRY NEWS – OCTOBER 2014
NEW WRECK REMOVAL REGIME FOR SOUTH AFRICA
Since vessels have had the ability to sail around the tip of Africa, the Southern African coast line has become the resting place for many a vessel, predominantly due to our traditionally dangerous seas.
As such the ability of South African authorities to prevent wreck situations or to efficiently remove ships wrecked or stranded on our coastline is of paramount importance to the preservation of our coastline, the marine environment and our marine resources.
It would therefore come as a surprise to the lay person that the existing legislative powers which SAMSA have with regard to wreck removal are contained only in one section of the Wreck and Salvage Act (WSA) which section comprises of only half a page. Section 18 of the WSA is the relevant section in question. Not only is it scant in detail regarding SAMSA’s wreck removal powers but it contains a glaring anomaly which seriously detracts from SAMSA’s powers of wreck removal.
For instance in a situation where a vessel loses dangerous cargo over board such as containers or heavy logs, according to Section 18(2) SAMSA may only take measures to remove such cargo from the sea if it has been unable to contact the owner of such cargo. In most cases SAMSA would be in a position to contact the owners and once contacted, SAMSA would therefore not have the legislative authority to remove such cargo from the water in order to prevent a hazard to navigation or a hazard to other users of our coastline.
Another element of our current legislation which is lacking is a uniform set of rules and procedures which clearly define and set out what constitutes a wreck/hazard, and exactly what process should be followed for its removal. More importantly being able to finance or recover the costs of such removal has often been a problem for SAMSA in the past. A prime example of this is the MV “Seli 1” which ran aground off Table View. SAMSA have been unable to recover their wreck removal costs from either the vessel owner or her insurers.
Enter the Nairobi International Convention on Removal of Wrecks (“NC”). The solution to the current hiatus in our wreck removal regime should hopefully come from the incorporation of the NC into South African Law. The NC was adopted by a diplomatic conference held in Kenya in 2007, and is an instrument to fill a gap in the existing international legal framework by providing the first set of uniform international rules ensuring prompt and effective removal of wrecks located beyond the territorial sea. Although its primary purpose was for wrecks located in the EEZ beyond the territorial sea, the convention provides that when ratifying or acceding to such convention, the NC can also apply to the territorial sea (up to 12 nautical miles).
The convention enters into force internationally 12 months from the date on which 10 states have signed or ratified the convention. In this regard the convention will enter into force on the 14th of April 2015 following Denmark’s ratification thereof on the 14th of April 2014. From a South African perspective a government press release dated the 7th of November 2013 has indicated Cabinet’s intention to ratify the convention and to give it effect within South Africa by incorporating it into our law. The most practical and expedient way of incorporation of the NC would be the amendment of the current WSA.
When incorporating the NC into our legislation it is vital that the NC is extended to apply in our territorial waters as this is predominantly where wreck removal situations arise.
The main advantages of incorporating the NC into South African Law are:
Article 5 provides for a specific procedure for the reporting of wrecks by the Master or Operator of the vessel which includes information relating to the precise location of the wreck; the type, size and construction of the wreck; the nature of damage and the condition of the wreck; the nature and quantity of the cargo and whether or not it is hazardous or noxious and the amounts and types of oils, including bunker oil and lubricating oil on board;
Article 6 sets out detailed criteria for the coastal state to determine whether a wreck poses a hazard. These criteria include inter alia the types and size of the wreck; depth of water; currents in the area; proximity of shipping routes/traffic lanes; nature and quantity of wreck’s cargo; vulnerability of port facilities; proximity of offshore installations, pipe lines, etc and then a general criterion being any other circumstances that might necessitate the removal of the wreck.
Articles 7 and 8 provide for the affected coastal state to warn mariners and states concerned of the nature and location of the wreck, and provides for reasonable steps to be taken to mark the wreck appropriately should it constitute a hazard.
Article 9 is one of the most important sections of the NC as it sets out detailed measures to facilitate the removal of wrecks. It plugs the current lacuna in Section 18 of our WSA (referred to above). It specifically provides for the obligation of the registered owner to remove the wreck which constitutes a hazard and for the state to lay down conditions for such removal. If the removal is not affected then the state can intervene and remove the wreck to the extent necessary. The state however must give a reasonable deadline for compliance by the registered owner.
Also of importance Article 10 makes provision for the liability of the owner for the costs of locating, marking and removing the wreck but also provide defences to such liability in the event of the wreck being: “as a result of an act of war etc” … “or as a result of a natural phenomenon of an exceptional, inevitable and irresistible character” – this particular exception may be problematic as it appears extremely vague. A further defence would be if the wreck was wholly caused by the negligence or other wrongful act of any government or other authority responsible for the maintenance of lights or other navigational aids in the exercise of that function – this may also be a problematic section for the state when incorporating into South African law.
The most important article in the NC from a “Seli 1” perspective is article 12 which provides for compulsory insurance or other financial security. In terms of this article vessels which are entering or leaving a port in the state territory must have insurance or other security (i.e. a bank guarantee) to cover liability for wreck removal under the NC in an amount not exceeding the limitation of liability regime set out in the Convention on the Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims of 1976. This provision is accordingly balanced in that it provides for much needed compulsory insurance/financial security for wreck removal in respect of vessels entering or leaving our ports (i.e. vessels which could potentially pose a threat to our coastline) and at the same time provides for a limit of liability for the ship owner. This may be a question which our government may have to debate as currently Section 18 does not have any limit of liability on the owner of wrecked vessels. We may also want to extend the need for security to other vessels who are entering our EEZ or territorial waters at least.
In summary, the NC does provide an essential tool which South Africa needs to incorporate into its legislative regime. The key will be to what extent amendments are made to the NC when incorporating into our law and whether or not these amendments will be acceptable to the P&I Clubs/Insurers of vessels which navigate our waters. It is ultimately the insurers and financial institutions who must put up security in terms of the NC in order to avoid a “Seli 1” scenario.
Filed under: Fishing News Articles by admin
FISHING INDUSTRY NEWS – AUGUST 2014
FISHING INDUSTRY NEWS ARTICLE – AUGUST 2014
BEWARE OF HIDDEN CLAIMS WHEN PURCHASING A VESSEL
It is a generally accepted principle of our law that in respect of moveable property such as a vessel, once the purchase price has been paid in full then on delivery of the vessel to the buyer ownership and risk passes to the buyer.
In order to protect the buyer against any encumbrances or charges against the vessel, it is usual to incorporate a warranty by the seller in the sale agreement. For instance the Norwegian sale form 2012 provides the following warranty:
“The sellers warrant that the vessel, at the time of delivery, is free from all charges, encumbrances, mortgages and maritime liens or any other debts whatsoever, and is not subject to port state or other administrative detentions. The sellers hereby undertake to indemnify the buyers against all consequences or claims made against the vessel which have been incurred prior to the time of delivery.”
As with any warranty it is only as strong as the financial strength of the seller unless (in the unlikely event) the buyer is able to obtain personal sureties from the directors or shareholders of the seller or some other financially strong parties. In addition, there may also be situations where the seller is not prepared to give such a warranty, for instance if the sale is in terms of business rescue or insolvency proceedings. Taking delivery and with it ownership of the vessel does not mean the buyer is home free.
As with the buying of a business or shares in a company, a proper due diligence needs to be undertaken. We discuss some of the dangers lurking under the surface which buyers should be aware of. The possible encumbrances vary in nature and “visibility”.
VISIBLE ENCUMBRANCES
The first check a buyer should undertake is whether or not Section 34(1) of the Insolvency Act applies to the sale. This section provides for the publishing of a notice in the government gazette, and two issues of an Afrikaans and two issues of an English newspaper within the area, giving notice of the intended sale not less than 30 days and not more than 60 days before the date of such transfer. In the event that such notice is not published then the transfer of the vessel would be void as against creditors for a period of 6 months after such transfer, and in addition shall be void against the trustee of the seller’s estate, if his estate is sequestrated at any time within the said period.
The Insolvency Act further defines a trader as:
“any person that who carries on any trade, business, industry or undertaking in which property is sold, bought, exchanged or manufactured for purposes of sale or exchange…”
A fairly recent Supreme Court of appeal decision [McCarthy vs Gore 2007 (6) SA 366 (SCA)] has held that a transport company that sold 28 of its trucks without a Section 34 notice did not fall within the definition of a trader because it could not be said that its “core business” was that of selling property. Thus section 34 could not be applied by the liquidator of the transport company.
Whether or not a fishing company selling one of its vessel’s would fall within the definition of a trader is a delicate question. In some instances owners of fishing vessels do not have their own fishing rights and merely act as a catching vessel for other rights holders. Accordingly their core business is not that of selling or manufacturing property but rather hiring out their catching services. However, what if the seller was a vessel owner with its own fishing rights or had contracted the fishing rights of others so that after the fish was caught on its vessel such fish was processed (manufactured) and sold. It could be argued that the core business of the fishing company was that of selling property and accordingly it could be seen to be a “trader” in terms of the Insolvency Act. Hence the sale of its vessel could be seen as a sale to which Section 34 applies with the protections set out therein being available to creditors / trustees.
Mortgage Bonds
In respect of vessels there are generally two types of mortgage bonds to look out for. Firstly, marine bonds registered in terms of the Ship Registration Act with the Registrar of Ships, and secondly special notarial bonds which are registered by a conveyancer in the Deeds Office. Marine bonds can only be registered over vessels which are registered on the ship registry whereas special notarial bonds are registered in the Deeds Office over vessels which are not registered on the South African ship registry.
Either way the prospective buyer can with relative ease establish whether there are such bonds registered by doing a search either at the Registrar of Ships or at the Deeds Office. If the vessel is delivered to the buyer with such charges still in place, then the bond holders will have recourse against the purchaser on the basis of the bonds over the vessel and in particular such bonds would empower the bond holder to take possession of the vessel and ultimately sell it in order to recover any outstanding debt which the bond was securing.
PARTIALLY VISIBLE ENCUMBRANCES
A pledge is effectively a contractual security where a debtor pledges an asset to a creditor as security for a debt / obligation. The pledge requires an agreement between the debtor and the creditor and most importantly requires the creditor to take possession of the asset in order for the creditor to have a real right of pledge over the vessel. As such, in a sale situation the buyer would generally be able to identify that a third party other than the seller is in possession of the vessel and this would obviously raise a red flag for the purchaser prior to the paying of the purchase price in terms of the sale agreement.
Repairer’s lien
Where a repairer has carried out work on a vessel and has not been paid, such repairer would be entitled to exercise a repairer’s lien over the vessel until it was paid. The exercise of such lien requires the repairer to retain possession of the vessel. As such a buyer again should be able to identify that the vessel is in the possession of a third party other than the seller and that the seller would not be in a position to hand over delivery to the buyer.
INVISIBLE ENCUMBRANCES
These are claims or rights of third parties which are more difficult to identify as there is no public record of such charges / rights and there is no visible evidence for the buyer to pick up on. Having a look at the recent financial statements or management accounts of the vessel owning company may give an indication to a buyer that there are such claims, but this is not a fool proof due diligence enquiry.
Gear / equipment not owned by the seller
On board the vessel there could be equipment which is either subject to an instalment sale agreement or is in fact rented by the seller. Such equipment cannot form part of the sale as the seller (not being the owner thereof) would not be able to transfer ownership in these assets to the buyer. After the delivery of the vessel to the buyer, the third party owner of such equipment would have a right to vindicate the property on board the vessel.
Maritime liens
The maritime lien is a concept which is now well known by admiralty lawyers around the world with its origins officially having arisen in England in the mid nineteenth century. In essence a maritime lien is a claim which follows the vessel irrespective of ownership / possession of the vessel. This allows the creditor with amaritime lien recourse against the ship herself notwithstanding any change of ownership of the vessel. The danger for a prospective buyer of course, is that they are not aware of any such maritime liens when they pay the purchase price and take delivery of the vessel. Thereafter the vessel can be arrested by the maritime lien holder in respect of a debt due by the previous owner or perhaps an owner prior to that. The principle liens recognised under South African and English law are as follows:
The Damage Lien – this is a lien in respect of damage done by a ship which covers damage done to external property and injury to persons external to the vessel;
The Wages Lien – this is a lien in respect of seaman’s wages and also covers the master’s wages;
The Master’s Disbursement Lien – this is in respect of payments made by the Master on behalf of or on an account of the ship;
The Salvage Lien – this is in respect of any salvage claim arising from the salvage of the vessel;
The Bottomry and Respondentia Lien – Bottomty and Respondentia historically is an arrangement by the Master of the ship who borrows money upon the security of the vessel where for example the ship needs urgent repairs during the course of a voyage and the Master is unable to contact the owner for funds. Where the ship.These forms of raising finance are no longer resorted to and as such these liens are irrelevant for the purposes of this advice.
As stated previously, these liens travel (like barnacles attached to the hull) with the vessel regardless of change of ownership. They can be extinguished inter alia by the discharge of the underlying indebtedness, the destruction of the ship, the underlying claim prescribing and/or by judicial sale.
What is important to note is that a judicial sale of a vessel in South Africa would be in terms of the Admiralty Jurisdiction Regulation Act and in terms of such sale all charges or debts against the vessel including liens are extinguished and the vessel is sold free of encumbrance to the purchaser. However, should the vessel be sold under insolvency or business rescue proceedings, this is not the case and such liens would continue to cling to the vessel even after such sale.
In rem maritime claims
Other than maritime liens, there are of course other claims which relate to the operation of vessels and which fall under the definition or maritime claims. In respect of such claims a maritime creditor can issue an in rem summons and arrest papers against the vessel itself. Based on the English case of the “Monica S” there is a strong view amongst South African admiralty lawyers that once proceedings in rem are commenced by merely the issue (and not service) of the in rem writ of summons, the claim then attaches to the vessel and action can proceed against the vessel by means of its arrest even after the subsequent delivery to a bona fide purchaser. A prudent buyer would carry out a writ search at the local Court adjacent to the port where the vessel operates from in order to see if any in rem papers have been issued. It is important to note that in rem papers once issued lapse after 12 months (unless extended by court order).
Regarding the above hidden claims, where one is purchasing a vessel in a foreign jurisdiction and delivery of such vessel is taking place in such jurisdiction, it is important to note that the laws relating to maritime liens, claims and potential charges against the vessel may and often do differ from the South African and English law position. Hence a local lawyer may need to be engaged in order to advise and / or carry out a due diligence.
Along with the inspection of the vessel to see that she is in a seaworthy condition, it is also advisable to carry out a due diligence to establish whether there are any visible or invisible charges which may prejudice the purchaser after payment of the purchase price and delivery of the vessel.
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Apple original TV shows: Full list, details, release date
Apple has recently announced 12 original series, including a scripted drama on Kevin Durant’s youth, and a series with Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston.
Apple’s $1 billion push into original TV programming has gotten off to a slow start. The Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday that quality control issues from Apple CEO Tim Cook have largely been responsible for the company’s delayed production of the more than dozen shows it has ordered. Cook
TV – Apple
Apple TV 4K lets you watch movies and shows in amazing 4K HDR — and now it completes the picture with immersive sound from Dolby Atmos. 1 It streams your favorite channels live. Has great content from apps like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and ESPN. 2 And thanks to …
Apple TV: Now With 4K and HDR Support – MacRumors
In September of 2017, Apple introduced the new Apple TV 4K, its first update to the set-top box since 2015.
On September 13, 2016, Apple released the tvOS 10 software update for the Apple TV, bringing an all new remote app, single-sign on, dark mode, HomeKit support, and other features to the 4th generation Apple TV. On September 12, 2017, Apple announced the 5th generation Apple TV, named Apple TV 4K, which supports 2160p output, HDR10, Dolby Vision, and includes a faster Apple A10X Fusion processor.
Manufacturer: Apple Inc., Foxconn (under contract), Pegatron (under contract)
Apple iPad Pro 2018 | News, Rumors, Features, Release Date
Apple is planning some big changes to its 2018 iPad Pro lineup. In addition to a massive specs boost, we’re also expecting a larger display and authentication via Face ID.
Apple I – Wikipedia
Apple Computer 1, also known later as the Apple I, or Apple-1, is a desktop computer released by the Apple Computer Company (now Apple Inc.) in 1976. It was designed and hand-built by Steve Wozniak. Wozniak’s friend Steve Jobs had the idea of selling the computer [citation needed].
CPU: MOS 6502 @ 1 MHz
Apple TV 4K.
The Apple TV App lets you browse content from over 100 video services without switching from one app to the next. You’ll find movies and shows, handpicked recommendations, and live sports and news. The Apple TV App is already on iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV and works seamlessly across them all.
Original Air Dates Of TV Shows
Original Air Dates Of TV Shows Full Frontal With Samantha Bee S03E23. Grand Designs S19E02. Homicide Hunter S08E05. I Am Frankie S02E14. Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia S13E04. Please note: Shows that do not have a “List of episodes” site on wikipedia will never be added.
The Originals (TV Series 2013–2018) – IMDb
Oct 03, 2013 · Video ansehen · A spin-off from The Vampire Diaries and set in New Orleans, The Originals centers on the Mikaelson siblings, otherwise known as the …
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United Airlines ‘Denmark’ glitch offers first-class transatlantic flights for just £50
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Anger grows in Italy as bridge collapse death toll rises
August 15 2018 12:36:00
GENOA - Agence France-Presse
A frantic search was underway Wednesday for survivors of a bridge collapse in Genoa as the death toll rose to 38 and the government blamed the company in charge of the country’s motorways for the disaster.
A vast span of the Morandi bridge caved in during a heavy rainstorm in the northern port city on Tuesday, sending about 35 cars and several trucks plunging 45 metres (150 feet) onto the railway tracks below.
The victims include children aged eight, 12 and 13, Interior Minister Matteo Salvini said on Wednesday, adding that more people were still missing.
The government said it intended to revoke the contract of Autostrade per l’Italia, a private sector company owned by Atlantia, and slap it with a fine of 150 million euros ($170 million).
Deputy prime minister Luigi Di Maio, who is due to arrive in Genoa on Wednesday morning, said the tragedy "could have been avoided".
"Autostrade should have done maintenance and didn’t do it," he said.
Rescuers recovered three bodies overnight, fire official Emanuele Gissi told AFP, after scouring the scene of devastation under floodlights.
"All accessible spaces have been explored, now we are moving the largest pieces of debris," Gissi said.
"We cannot know if there are survivors remaining, but it’s our job to search."
He added that two large cranes would be used in the operation, which is set to take days.
Sources in the interior ministry told Italian media that 16 people were wounded, including 12 in serious condition.
The collapse came as the bridge was undergoing maintenance work while the Liguria region, where Genoa is situated, experienced torrential rainfall.
Italian President Sergio Mattarella said a "catastrophe" had hit Genoa and the whole of Italy.
"Italians have the right to modern and efficient infrastructure that accompanies them safely through their everyday lives," Mattarella said.
Aerial footage showed more than 200 metres (650 feet) of the viaduct was completely destroyed.
Rescuers combed through the wreckage strewn among shrubland and train tracks, as helicopters winched survivors on stretchers from the rubble.
A thousand people have been mobilised in the rescue effort, according to the Civil Protection service.
As cars and trucks tumbled off the bridge, Afifi Idriss, 39, a Moroccan lorry driver, just managed to come to a halt in time.
"I saw the green lorry in front of me stop and then reverse so I stopped too, locked the truck and ran," he told AFP.
Some that plunged down with the bridge managed to escape unscathed, including a former goalkeeper for Italian Serie A club Cagliari.
"I was driving along the bridge, and at a certain point I saw the road in front of me collapse, and I went down with the car," Davide Capello told TV news channel Sky TG24.
The incident -- the deadliest of its kind in Europe since 2001 -- is the latest in a string of bridge collapses in Italy, a country prone to damage from seismic activity but where infrastructure generally is showing the effects of a faltering economy.
Genoa, home to half a million people, is located between the sea and the mountains of northwestern Italy.
Its rugged terrain means that motorways that run through the city and the surrounding area are characterised by long viaducts and tunnels.
The Morandi viaduct, completed in 1967, spans dozens of railway lines as well as an industrial zone with several factories.
One factory, immediately next to one of the viaduct’s support columns, was virtually empty on Tuesday on the eve of a national holiday, and seems to have sustained minimal damage.
"I live nearby and I cross the bridge every day on foot," said Ibou Toure, 23, a translator. "I was never sure of it, you’d always hear these noises whenever lorries were going over.
"When I heard it had collapsed, I wasn’t surprised."
In March last year, a couple were killed when a motorway overpass collapsed on their car near Ancona on the country’s Adriatic coast.
A pensioner died in October 2016 when his car was crushed by a collapsing bridge over a dual carriageway between Milan and Lecco.
That incident was blamed on bureaucratic bungling which led to a fatal delay in the bridge being closed after it was reported to be showing significant cracks.
Parliament supports government’s gas drilling activities in east Med Sea
Suspected arson in Japan anime studio leaves up to 23 dead
US replacing troops in Syria with mercenaries: Russia
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Home > Vol 4, No 1 (2015) > Petrilli
The Italian “alcohol question” from 1860 to 1930: Two opposing scientific interpretations
Enrico Petrilli, Franca Beccaria
Petrilli, E., & Beccaria, F. (2015). The Italian “alcohol question” from 1860 to 1930: Two opposing scientific interpretations. The International Journal Of Alcohol And Drug Research, 4(1), 37-43. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.7895/ijadr.v4i1.193
Background: In recent years, English-speaking and Northern European alcohol researchers have turned a historical gaze towards their subject, and in particular have explored how a medical view attempted to describe and explain phenomena such as alcohol abuse and addiction. Although there was a heated and prolific debate in Italy in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, there are few historical studies of the first scholars’ thoughts on alcohol-related problems.
Aims: The article depicts how the Italian scientific community interpreted and explained alcohol-related concerns following the emergence of the alcohol issue in the late 19th century. Specifically, the stances of the two main groups of scientists who dealt with the issue, the Positive School of Criminology and Legal Socialism, are examined.
Method: The article is based on the materials collected by the Italian research group during a comparative study carried out as part of the ALICE RAP project. More than 40 books and five scientific journals were consulted.
Results: Medical-related concerns were never predominant in the late 19th-century Italian debate on the alcohol question, but were addressed in the broader discussion of criminality, where positivists’ and legal socialists’ perspectives both focused mainly on social consequences, albeit with differing interpretations of causalities and remedies.
alcoholism; alcohol history; Legal Socialism; Positive School of Criminology; Italy
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SRK Quest: Ram Jaane (1995)
One of the drawbacks of watching early Shah Rukh Khan films is that so many of his role are negative. His romantic heroes are often flawed in some way (and redeemed or improved by love), and many of his negative roles, inversely, have some tiny sliver of good in them. In Darr and Baazigar, those small hopeful flashes appear throughout the movie, making an otherwise detestable character somewhat sympathetic. Then there are films like Ram Jaane, in which SRK plays a villain so black-hearted that even his legendary charm cannot make him attractive. (Though, I discussed below, he retains his humanity and it far from being a cardboard villain.) After watching Ram Jaane, I had to re-watch Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi to recover.
Ram Jaane is a reworking of the 1938 Hollywood classic, Angels with Dirty Faces, with Shah Rukh Khan in the James Cagney role of the slum kid who grows up to be a ruthless criminal. The Hindi version turned the virtuous boyhood friend into a social worker instead of a priest (can't work in a love triangle with a priest...), but otherwise the plot is very similar, and the ending is the same. The Cagney/SRK character is caught and convicted, and goes to his death promising bravado and defiance. At the last minute, in full view of witnesses, the condemned man cries and pleads for mercy. It is understood that this was his one unselfish act, an attempt to reduce himself in the eyes of his adoring young gang of wannabe gangsters.
Synopsis: A baby boy is abandoned and grows up neglected and abused. He doesn't even have a name; the film title is the response he is given when he asks what his name is, and gets the reply "ram jaane" (God knows). He was two childhood friends, a good-hearted boy (Murli) and a girl (Bela) that they both adore. Ram Jaane becomes a gangster; Murli and Bela devote their lives to helping orphaned children. Ram Jaane tries to help them, but only knows violence and corruption. Even his "good deeds" are criminal. The Murli convinces Bela to try to reform Ram Jaane, but his uncouth and violent behavior drives her away. Eventually, Ram Jaane is arrested, convicted of murder, and executed. After his death, Murli and Bela read a letter from Ram Jaane revealing that he knew that Bela loved Murli, which why he drove her away. So there is that one tiny sliver of goodness, at the very end. I don't usually cry at movies, but if this ending doesn't make you tear up, you are made of stone. This was the third of Shah Rukh Khan's hit films from 1995 (after Karan Arjun and Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge).
Worth watching for: The performances and the music. Juhi Chawla and Vivek Mushran are superb as Bela and Murli, and there is a marvelous array of villains, including Tinnu Anand, one of my favorite baddies. The music by Anu Malik (who has scored over 350 films in his career) helps set the mood and convey the characters' emotions beautifully.
Update: Marilyn, a sister SRKian from Ohio, posted this on Twitter: "Ram Janne makes me grieve for the child who craved love and grows into the man who was denied love, turning bad because of it." Beautifully said. The performances make it possible to be appalled by Ram Jaane's behavior without reducing his humanity. Ram Janne is the most fully developed of SRK's early negative characters; if there is a Don 3, i would love to see the same level of complexity, which the first two films in the franchise don't quite achieve.
Yes, Shah Rukh Khan's performance is energetic and over the top, but so was Cagney, in Angels with Dirty Faces. In Cagney's death row scene, his face isn't shown as his cowers and begs for his life. Shah Rukh, never afraid to look ugly, blubbers as he collapses in front of his horrified gang. I could not find a video of that scene, but here is a live performance of the courtroom scene where Ram Jaane indicts the corrupt and heartless system that punishes poor children for being born. It is a reminder that he was trained in theater, and knows how to deliver lines to a real audience.
Want to watch? It's $1.99 on Youtube. I got my copy through Interlibrary Loan.
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Mahinda gets to meet Modi only after an earnest request
May 12, 2017 by NHL Werasinghe 1 Comment
The retired President Mahinda Rajapaksa has been given an opportunity to meet Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and have a discussion with him only after an earnest request had been made by Mr. Rajapaksa say Indian officials.
The agenda of Mr. Modi who arrived in Sri Lanka to participate in the International Wesak Day celebrations did not have any time reserved for a meeting with Mr. Rajapaksa. However, an opportunity for a meeting has been given after considering the request put forward by Rajapaksa’s group.
Accordingly, the meeting between Modi and Rajapaksa was held after the dinner hosted in honour of the Indian Premier by President Maithripala Sirisena.
Responding to a question by a journalist the Indian High Commissioner in Sri Lanka Taranjit Singh Sandhu had said the meeting was held in a very cordial environment and the retired President had told Indian Premier that he was satisfied with the Indian support to Sri Lanka in the past and the present.
Former Defense Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa and former Minister G.L. Peiris participated in the discussion with the retired President and the Indian side was also represented by National Security Advisor of India Ajith Kumar Devole, Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar and several others.
Source: BBC Sinhala
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Desertion As A Ground Of Divorce
In laymen words, desertion merely means run away. Desertion means not to withdraw from a place but to withdraw from a state of things. It doesn’t mean to merely desert, as its literal meaning, but to leave from the society of the spouse. Even if the spouse left the house but still contacts her through phone or other means, it cannot be a ground for desertion. Desertion is to leave the life of the deserted spouse, without any reasonable cause, vacuumed. The spouse doesn’t care about the deserted one and ceases to live together renouncing his or her marital obligation and duties. The intention of the spouse to desert the other is the very essence of the desertion. The conceptualisation of “desertion” is incorporated in the Explanation to Section 13(1) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955. The Explanation goes as follows:
“In this subsection, the expression “desertion” means the desertion of the petitioner by the other party to the marriage without a reasonable rationale and without or against the wish of such party, and includes the wilful neglect of the petitioner by the other party to the marriage, and its grammatical variations and cognate expressions shall be construed accordingly.”
The desertion is considered as one of the grounds for divorce. Desertion as a ground is defined under section 13(1)(ib) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955. It provides for various conditions which are necessary for desertion as a ground of divorce. These are, firstly, petitioner has to be deserted for a continuous period of not less than 2 years before the petition is presented and secondly, the reason for desertion should be reasonable. The petitioner has a burden of proving and has to prove it beyond reasonable doubt to use desertion as a ground. It is not the single act but the conduct for a continuous period.
AMBIGUITY ON PERIOD OF TWO YEARS
These conditions are in itself vague and faulty. The very first condition, i.e., the desertion for a continuous period of two years, is too arbitrary. The period of 2 years doesn’t actually mean the aggregate of 2 years but the time by which the parties left the other spouse’s society till the continuous period they did not live together during this continuous stretch. The major contention raised is why the period of two years is fixed and why not the period less or more than 2 years. In some cases, the desertion acts as a deterrent for the spouse deserted. Taking an illustration, the husband shifted abroad for business purposes and for 3 years provided wife and child with the maintenance. But at a later stage, he stopped the maintenance. The wife approached the court for maintenance. The wife has been put to an endless wait for two years to apply for divorce with the desertion as a ground. The deserted spouse knows that the person has deserted him or her but the continuous period of two years acts as a stringent condition. The word “continuous” is too harsh to the spouse deserted even if the spouse is deserted for one year but in later stage contacted her, the condition of two years is not fulfilled. Therefore, the condition of two years in itself left a lot of gaps and has to be reviewed.
WHEN CRUELTY BECOMES GROUND FOR DESERTION
Another lacuna as to desertion is when cruelty becomes ground for desertion. No one should tolerate cruelty and torture in any form either it be physical, mental or psychological. Therefore, it becomes necessary for the spouse to take a step back from the matrimonial obligations and lives a free life. But desertion is being used in a negative manner. It serves as a double-edged knife for the spouse; if the spouse lives with her matrimonial obligation she would be tortured and live a horrible life being subject to cruelty and torture from the other spouse. And on another hand, if the spouse leaves the matrimonial obligation, she will be served with a divorce on the ground of desertion. This established that even after having long-stretched drafted legislation there still persist a lot of loopholes which need to be fulfilled. In case if the spouse is a woman, as it is known that Indian society is not much liberal, the wife is fearful in sustaining herself and hesitant in living a life with the dignity and self-respect. To prove the above contention, an illustration should be given - the wife is being subjected to a lot of harm and torture by the husband but she cannot prove it in the court of law. In such a case, if she refuses to re-join the matrimonial obligation, it will be cruelty by the wife on her behalf. Therefore, the simple contention is if all the concepts of desertion overshadow the cruelty, then why there is a need to have desertion as a separate ground and why not be included within the ambit of cruelty. But comparing both grounds i.e. cruelty and desertion, there seems to be existing sufficient differences. Firstly, desertion as a ground of divorce can be raised when the petitioner files the case whereas a ground like adultery and cruelty arises as soon as it occurs. Desertion seems to be a softer ground as it gives time to the spouse to reconcile, but the grounds likes cruelty and adultery leave no such scope to reconcile. The lacuna lies in the fact the wife is being inflicted with so much pain and being forced to leave the house and on the other hand upon leaving the house she is said to have deserted the husband. Being a land of diverse culture and with thousands of customary laws being followed, one of the solutions is provided by the Mizo customary Law which provides that when the husband seems to have deserted his wife and family, everything belonging to him i.e. house, property etc becomes the part of wife’s property. In fact, not just the property, but the custody of the children also goes to the wife.
Therefore, considering the circumstances which have been seen in various cases, and speed with which quantum of cases is raising, it becomes a serious challenge to the petitioner to prove such conditions. This condition not only violates human dignity and respect but also is a violation of Article 21 of the Constitution of India. Article 21 provides every citizen to live a life with self-respect and human dignity. But these conditions force the spouse to live under such circumstances which violate their right to life.
Navin Kumar Jaggi
on 24 December 2018
Published in Family Law
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LADY AT THE BAT
I'm not Casey and this isn't Mudville.™ A mostly Yankees blog, created By Bernadette Pasley
At Bat Since 2007
Our 12th season!
Lady At The Bat (LATB) is a (mostly) Yankee blog, published by Bernadette Pasley. Feedback, questions, suggestions? Advertising inquiries? Contact ladybatting@gmail.com.
One More Time: Bud Must Go
The SF Giants will be in Bud Selig's hometown of Milwaukee this weekend for a three-game series against the Brewers. As we all know, Barry Bonds now needs two home-runs to tie the all-time record and Selig still has not said whether he'll be in the ballpark when the record is broken.
I can't stand Bonds and I'm really upset that he's the one that's going to break this hallowed record. However, as I've said in the past, there's nothing anyone, not even Selig, can do about it. No one spoke up about steroids a decade ago and this is the price everyone has to pay.
If Selig hasn't made up his mind by now whether or not he'll be in the ballpark, Bonds might make it up for him if he hits homers 754 and 755 before the series ends. Not being in his hometown ballpark at that point would make Selig look like a foolish child. Bonds is well-rested going into this series. Looks like your weekend plans include a trip to Miller Park, Bud.
[Illustration: Daniel Adell/SI]
by Bernadette Pasley at 8:21 AM
Tags: 2007 Milestones, Barry Bonds, Beyond The Game
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Home Hardware UCSD Plans First Flash-Based Supercomputer
UCSD Plans First Flash-Based Supercomputer
By Andy Patrizio | November 07, 2009
The San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC) at the University of California, San Diego plans to be the first site running a supercomputer using flash memory-based storage to do the heavy lifting instead of hard drive-based storage systems.
The school has been awarded a five-year, $20 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to build the computer, which it named "Gordon." A flash-based computer named Gordon... Someone at UCSD has a sense of humor.
The computer, provided by high-performance computing vendor Appro, will consist of 32 "supernodes," each of which consists of 32 compute nodes that provide 240 gigaflops per node and 64 gigabytes of DRAM. A supernode also incorporates 2 I/O nodes, each with 4TB of flash memory. When tied together by virtual shared memory, each supernode has the potential of 7.7 teraflops (TFs) of compute power and 10 TB of memory (2TB of DRAM and 8TB of flash memory).
When fully configured and deployed, Gordon will feature 245 teraflops of total compute power, 64TB of DRAM, 256TB of flash memory and four petabytes of disk storage. Gordon's 32 supernodes will be interconnected via an InfiniBand network capable of 16 gigabits per second of bi-directional bandwidth. The clustering software will be ScaleMP's vSMP virtual memory sharing software.
Gordon will be configured to achieve a ratio of addressable memory in terabytes to peak teraflops on each supernode that is greater than 1:1. For many HPC systems, that ratio is less than 1:10, the school claims.
Waiting for Sandy Bridge
Gordon won't see operation until late 2011 or early 2012 because UCSD is waiting on future technologies. The center wants Intel's (NASDAQ: INTC) Sandy Bridge processor, due at the end of 2010 or early 2011. "The 8 flops per clock gets us to that 200 teraflops in the most economical way possible," explained Mike Norman, interim director of the SDSC.
They also want new controllers for flash drives that are considerably faster than the current generation. "We just couldn't get the system with all the [performance] numbers we wanted any earlier," said Norman. "We're using one-quarter petabyte of flash. The high aggregate I/O rates for all the flash needs a new controller technology that won't be there until 2010."
Norman said that discussions with Intel gave the center confidence that the SSD drives can last. "They are trying to move into the enterprise server space and they are developing the technology they say will have the reliability. So they are one of our partners and we're going to rely on them to deliver," he said.
One of the things that will help preserve the drives is the usage model, which will be to load massive databases and do lots of reads. It's writes to the disk that wear out an SSD, and Norman estimates a 10 to 1 read/write ratio.
"If you're reading continuously, it seems like we won't wear them out," he said. "I think part of it is these HPC machines have a three to four year lifespan, so we think we just won't wear them out before the end of life of the system." Intel's wear level technology is estimated to give the drives a seven-year lifespan.
Norman estimates the SSD drives will give ten times the performance of high speed hard drives and will give the center new opportunities for experiments.
"Where we see real opportunities is fusing databases together. We might have a genomics database in one supernode and a protein structure database in another and maybe epidemiology in a third. Then the user would cross-correlate them," he said.
The computer is one of many to be discussed at the upcoming SC09 show in Portland, Oregon, running from November 14 to 20.
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If you're meeting a blind date in a bar, probably don't order lemonade
For whatever reason, the bar I work in is a very popular spot for blind dates. The other night a guy came in by himself, and ordered a glass of water while he was waiting; pretty standard protocol for when you're not sure of the situation. I gave him a beer/wine/cocktail list to look over, which he handed to his date when she arrived a few minutes later. After allowing them a little time to chat, I walked over and asked what they would like to drink. She said "I'll have a lemonade please."
The stunned look of confusion on the guy's face at that moment was priceless (much like in the above picture). After hesitating for a second, he uncomfortably ordered a beer. About twenty minutes later she'd finished her lemonade, and his beer was empty. When I asked if I could get them anything else, she said that she was fine, so then he did too. They sat there talking with empty glasses in front of them for probably another half an hour before leaving.
The funny thing is they seemed to really enjoy each other. It's not as if she showed up, didn't like the looks of him, called an audible, and ordered a non-alcoholic beverage in order to shorten the date. She clearly had no intentions of drinking from the beginning, and he felt strange getting more than one beer because of this. So here's what I don't understand: Why did this date happen at a bar? Why not meet at a coffee shop, go for a walk, grab an ice cream, or even get a table and order something to eat in the very same restaurant; just don't sit at the bar. I'd think one of the first things they teach you in Blind Date 101 would be "don't make your date feel super awkward by going to a bar and not having a drink."
The Sharknado phenomenon
I got home from work last night and turned on my computer at about 11 pm to find my twitter feed dominated by the word "Sharknado." In fact "dominated" doesn't even really do it justice; it was the only thing people were talking about, almost like we got Bin Laden all over again. I was shocked and confused to discover that the thing taking over the internet was a made for TV movie on the Syfy network. I couldn't tell you the last time (if ever) that I even watched something on the Syfy network. How was this possible? I checked my cable guide, saw that it was going to be rerun from 1-3 am, and knew there was no chance I wasn't watching.
The combination of Tara Reid, Steve Sanders, and the dad from Home Alone as a drunk defending Los Angeles from sharks with his mighty bar stool is apparently must watch TV. That and the fact that Sharknado is a comedy masquerading as a horror movie. It's so intentionally fake and terrible that it's basically a parody of itself, which makes it funny.
While watching Sharknado you can't focus on stuff like it's the storm of the century with catastrophic flooding and hundreds of sharks flying around in the air eating people; yet it's also simultaneously perfectly dry and sunny and you can still get pulled over for speeding or walk into a liquor store and buy some bananas.
Dad, I'm going to pilot that helicopter into the tornado and drop these bombs on the flying sharks, and you can't stop me. "Nobody's taught me to help others." - Sharknado
Is Andrew Bynum a sneaky basketball-hating genius?
The Cleveland Cavaliers have apparently signed free agent center Andrew Bynum to a 2 year contract worth up to $24 million, with $6 million guaranteed. Bynum didn't play basketball last year. Philadelphia made a blockbuster trade to acquire him last offseason, and at the time he was reportedly recovering from a minor knee injury. Then when it appeared he was almost ready to return, Bynum allegedly re-aggravated the injury while bowling.
He sat out the entire season watching his Sixers struggle. In late February he came back and practiced for a single day, at which point Bynum's coach said he was out of shape and an obstruction to the rest of the team. He never took the court again.
Back when the bowling incident happened, it was reported that a former teammate had this to say about him:
"I do know that I’ve never met another player in the league who likes basketball less.”
It's unclear whether or not Bynum is "healthy" enough to play right now. He made $16.9 million last year. He can still earn another $6 mil from the Cavaliers without ever even suiting up for another game. If he decided a year ago that he hated basketball so much he didn't want to do it anymore, it's a pretty diabolical and impressive plan he's put together for continuing to get paid.
Mallrats, flavored scotch, and How I Met Your Mother
Today's blog has a few different themes to it, and they all relate to this Dewar's commercial staring Claire Forlani:
One, I've always liked Claire Forlani ever since she stared in Mallrats, which was easily my favorite movie my freshman year of college. I thought this game show scene was pretty much the funniest thing ever (it's definitely not PG rated):
So while I commend Dewars on their choice of actresses, I think the product they are pushing is completely absurd. Honey flavored scotch? Are you kidding me? The point of scotch is that it's aged to develop it's own unique flavor. It's for grandparents, not teenyboppers. I honestly think I'm being extremely generous with the size of the overlapping area in the picture below:
When I first learned of this abomination from Dewar's I was immediately reminded of this great scene from How I Met Your Mother (it's worth it, I promise):
RELATED: Fruit Loop flavored vodka, Pucker vodka for kids
Celtics summer league analysis: Olynyk good, Melo bad
I was not very pleased when the Celtics chose Kelly Olynyk with the 13th pick in the draft last month, especially considering they traded up to get him. But I have to admit I never actually saw him play before, and through three games at the Orlando Pro Summer League I am very impressed.
First off I want to say that it's important not to read too much into exhibition games made up primarily of guys who will never even play in the NBA. But it's definitely better competition than college, and the skills that Olynyk has displayed have taken me by surprise. He plays like a small forward, but he happens to be 7 feet tall. He hits three pointers. He can dribble a little bit. The easy comparison to make is that he looks like Dirk Nowitzki (I'm not saying he is like Dirk) with his post moves and one legged fallaway jumpers.
So far Olynyk is averaging 19.7 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 3 assists while shooting 56% (and 43% on three pointers). Also, these games are only 40 minutes long, so those numbers project to 23.7, 8.8, and 3.6 over a full length NBA contest. Yes, it's a very small and mostly insignificant sample, but the results are still encouraging.
On the other hand, last year's first round pick Fab Melo looks terrible, as if he doesn't even really understand basketball. I almost think he's regressed as a player since Boston drafted him. His minutes per game have fallen from 28 to 19 to 16, and today he didn't even start. Melo is averaging just 6.3 points and 4 rebounds, and at this point it's hard to envision him ever becoming an effective NBA player.
Well this is unusual
I just got back to Boston after almost a week away on Cape Cod and the Vineyard. While walking through Downtown Crossing this evening I noticed that the place where Filene's Basement used to be is now only empty space; but somehow the rest of the building on top of it is still there. I never realized it was possible to remove the bottom floor of a building without everything above it falling down.
This picture doesn't really do it justice (the whole thing reminded me of some crazy giant sized game of Jenga), but it's the best I could do while holding my cell phone up over the chain link fence surrounding the area. It's a bizarre feeling to look straight through a building and see the store signs a block away on the other side.
And like I said, I've been on vacation for the last six days, so I realize my content has been a little sub par of late.
Awesome Old Song of the Week: "Hypnotize" by The Notorious B.I.G.
I was a little blown away just now when I realized that "Biggie" has been dead for more than 16 years. I never really think of "Hypnotize" as an old song, but it was released as a single in December of 1996, three months before his murder.
For some reason the lyric "your daughter's tied up in a Brooklyn basement" always makes me laugh, I have no idea why. And I know I'm doing a bit of a disservice to The Notorious B.I.G. by saying this, but whenever I hear "Hypnotize" I'm reminded of this scene from the movie 10 Things I Hate About You (a totally underrated cheesy teen comedy from 1999):
I'd also completely forgotten how spectacular the music video is:
If you're meeting a blind date in a bar, probably ...
Is Andrew Bynum a sneaky basketball-hating genius?...
Mallrats, flavored scotch, and How I Met Your Moth...
Celtics summer league analysis: Olynyk good, Melo ...
Awesome Old Song of the Week: "Hypnotize" by The N...
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Eurozone private banking system gearing up to replace Eurosystem Quantitative Easing
The Eurozone banking system will have to gear itself up this autumn to take over the supply of credit from the Eurosystem, as the Eurosystem’s version of QE – called Asset Purchase Programmes – is wound down.
The winding-down is in stages. There will be no new purchases to start with, and then the proceeds of maturing bonds will no longer be re-invested. There will be no sell-off of the residual portfolio: that would send interest rates up and bond prices into a tailspin. Instead the portfolio will be allowed to run off, and this will be over a 5-7 year period. The Eurosystem has bought bonds only in the secondary market, not primary, so the average life of what they have bought will be somewhat shorter than the average life upon issue of the respective bonds.
The private banking system has now to step up to the plate to replace this liquidity, with new loans.
Preparations for how to create this headroom have been proceeding in the background, against an unprepossessing startpoint: high levels of Non-Performing Loans and accompanying low levels of capital, the CET1 ratio being the key measure of capital to assets.
“Assets” in this case are better termed “Risk-Weighted Assets” or “RWAs”, and are determined by putting the face value of every piece of business through a methodology that adjusts the face value to a value-at-risk, against which the bank should hold between 8% and 10.5% of CET1 capital, depending upon whether it is a Global Systemically Important Bank or not, and, if it is, what level of “GSIB” it is.
These methodologies, in the financial crisis, were shown to have been systematically understating the risks the bank was taking; a bank achieved compliance with its capital ratios by artifically diminishing the RWA figure.
The options for improving the CET1 ratio are limited. Capital markets are broadly closed to banks for raising new capital. Profitability remains low so new capital is not being generated internally. Securitisation of assets has stumbled upon the divergence of valuation between what the bank’s RWA calculations say the asset is worth, and what third-party investors believe it is worth. This only leaves one option for creating the necessary headroom for new lending: accounting actions aimed at the diminution of the RWA figure.
The RWA figure has been weighed down – in countries like Italy, Greece and Cyprus – by the high levels of Non-Performing Loans, or “NPLs”. In Cyprus these remain in the low 40% range of all loans. There has been a public relations campaign to argue that the situation is improving and that these levels of NPLs are not catastrophic.
The Central Bank of Cyprus issued a “good news” story through the Cyprus Business Mail on 13th July 2018 about the NPLs in the Cypriot banking system: they had fallen in March 2018 by almost €2.1bn to €19.9bn compared to February’s figure, and that this was the lowest figure for NPLs since December 2014.
Then on 23rd July 2018 it was announced that Bank of Cyprus was lining up a transaction to sell off a block of its NPLs in “Project Helix” to private equity investors listed as Apollo, Pimco and Lone Star. This project follows a template established in Italy for their banks to reduce their NPLs – a failed template.
The article cheerfully announced that Bank of Cyprus had reduced its NPLs for a 12th consecutive quarter. As of March 31st 2018 its NPLs had a face value (i.e. the amount stated in the loan contracts) of €8.3 billion, with what is known as a 51% “coverage ratio”. This means that the bank had written the value of these NPLs down in its books by 51%, to 49% of face value. This 49% figure is known as the “carrying value”.
The key formula is Face Value less Write-down = Carrying Value.
BoC’s quarterly report as of 31/3/18 bears ample testimony, in sections F1 to F8 on pages 28 to 35, to the manipulation of the NPLs figures such that they do not appear even worse:
“Forbearance” techniques, meaning things like the unpaid interest has been capitalised or the repayments have been stretched out. The loan then continues to rank as Performing and does not fall into Non-performing status;
“Restructuring” actions such as taking extra mortgage security, no doubt with suitably lax conditions around the Loan-to-Value, whether there is a re-sale market for the asset if repossessed and so on. The loan is then backed out of the NPLs figure and into Performing.
The Central Bank of Cyprus’ statements in their “good news” story of 13th July 2018 are misleading by omission: “The downward trend in NPFs (non-performing facilities) can be attributed to write-offs, increased restructurings successfully completed by the end of the observance period and reclassified as performing facilities, repayments as well as settlement of debt through swaps with immovable property that is expected to be sold with the aim of a faster cash collection”.
In other words NPLs are reducing because of the application across the industry of “forbearance” – to keep some bad loans classed as Performing – and “restructuring” – to back some loans out of NPL status and into Performing. In both instances the loans is recorded in the bank’s accounts at full face value.
If there really was any good news CBC’s statement would read: “The upswing of the economy, rising disposable incomes and business confidence have enabled many borrowers – personal and business – to clear the arrears on their debts and even manage increased capital repayments”. But it doesn’t say that, because none of this is happening.
We thus have NPLs mis-valued at two levels. Firstly there is a block of Performing Exposures which should be held as NPLs and written down to a “carrying value” below 100%. Then the NPLs that are admitted to are substantially over-valued.
Applied to Italy, we have a policy brief issued in September 2018 by the LSE called “A Stylised Narrative Of Italian Banking problems”, by renowned economists Lorenzo Codogno and and Mara Monti. The key paragraph is:
“The decrease in bad debt net inflows (down from €24.7 billion in 2015 to €10.8 billion in 2016 and -€19.6 billion in 2017) is mainly related to the recovery of the economy and NPL internal management by banks. Securitisation and sales of NPLs increased from €7.1 billion in 2015 to €17.9 billion in 2016 and €38.7 billion in 2017. The combined effect of these flows has allowed for a reduction in the stock of NPLs. In December 2015, they were €200.7 billion. They stayed broadly unchanged at €200.9 billion at the end of 2016, but they declined to €167.4 billion at the end of 2017 and to €127.5 billion in July 2018. Despite the pace of write-offs having increased significantly and despite the fact that loan loss provisions cover more than half of the total amount, the stock of NPLs as a percentage of total loans remains high”.
The analysis is flawed firstly in not clarifying whether it is the Face Value of NPLs that has changed or the Carrying Value. If it is the Face Value, then half of the entire figure for securitisation in 2017 can be attributed to Unicredit’s FINO project, where a substantial block of NPLs has been moved off the balance sheet, but where only about 40% has been successfully refinanced. The first tranche was securitised at or below the 13% Carrying Value in Unicredit’s books, and they have not been able to complete any more tranches, leaving 60% of the FINO portfolio in suspended animation.
In our view the reduction in the amounts of NPLs shown by banks has everything to do with “NPL internal management by banks” and nothing to do with “the recovery of the economy”.
In other words the reductions are 0% attributable to economic upswings and debtors paying, and 100% due to “forebearance” and “restructuring”.
The application of these techniques has allowed loans to be backed out of NPLs without borrowers paying anything.
Where a “restructuring” is completed in accordance with the central bank’s rules, the loan cannot fall back into NPLs for a grace period whatever happens.
“Restructurings” invariably involve the placing of extra security on real estate.
The thinking of the ECB on this matter was revealed by Mme Daniele Nouy, their chief banking supervisor, in a speech at a conference in Linz in July 2018, which was under-reported. It is of huge significance. Mme Nouy stated that Eurozone banks should be granted exceptions from global banking rules when it comes to mortgages and lending to companies.
All of this added together would result in four massive reliefs for the Eurozone banking system, in terms of diminishing the RWA number that the bank’s CET1 capital is divided into.
Firstly, Performing Loans with real estate security can be backed out of the RWA calculation.
Secondly, Restructured NPLs with real estate security can be backed out of NPLs into Performing Loans and also out of the RWA calculation.
Thirdly, Restructured NPLs without real estate security can be backed out of NPLs into Performing Loans, and can be allocated a much lower risk-weighting in the RWA calculation.
Fourthly, NPLs to which forebearance techniques have been applied can be backed out of NPLs into Performing Loans, and can be allocated a much lower risk-weighting in the RWA calculation.
A big issue with the recording of NPLs in Italy, as in Cyprus, has been that, although the loans have been written down from their Face Value to a lower Carrying Value, there was no evidence that the Carrying Value was being realistically weighted within the RWA calculation. It was being risk-weighted as if the Carrying Value was a Performing Loan and not part of an NPL.
The way out of that is not to assign a realistic risk-weighting to the Carrying Value, but to use these techniques to write the Carrying Value back up to nearer the Face Value or indeed to the complete Face Value, and then to assign an unrealistically favourable risk-weighting in the RWA calculation to the Face Value. The value is unrealistic because the loan was in default and the debtor has not had to come up with a single euro in debt service payments to enable the loan to be reclassified as Performing and for the RWA weighting to be reduced/eliminated.
The upshot is that the banks’ CET1 ratios become very favourable, because the figure for RWAs is substantially reduced by these four accounting actions. Static capital, divided into a much lower RWAs figure, delivers a much better CET1 ratio. The CET1 ratio goes into surplus compared to the level required by compliance.
This surplus produces an entirely contrived ability to make new loans, in a broad proportion of EUR20 of new loans for EUR1 of capital surplus. This in turn injects liquidity into the economy to replace the Eurosystem APP which is tapering off, as long as the banks can raise the deposits to make the new loans in a proportion of EUR19 new deposits to EUR20 of new loans.
This is the potential inhibitor, and it has to be overcome via each private bank’s Eurozone central bank, through the creation of asset-baced securities that the central bank views as eligible for refinancing. This does not have to be done on the back of TARGET2, and it is not repo funding, but is achieved through a standing facility between the central bank and the private bank. This is the pinchpoint in the scheme, though, because we have an implication that the Eurosystem central banks will individually take up all the slack that is left by the tapering off of the Eurosystem-wide APP.
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Leonesio says. Typically, the franchise looks for metro areas with 500,000 population or larger. “We believe there are about 1,200 potential locations in the country,” Leonesio says.
The potential for Flip Flop Shops appears to be considerable. The Kennesaw, Georgia-based chain of shops selling flip flops, sandals, and casual footwear lacks direct competition from any comparable chain, says President Brian Curin. And, with walls stocked with products bearing names resonant of waves and sand, the retailer appeals to anyone who enjoys an active lifestyle. “We carry the hottest brands and latest styles of flip flops and sandals,” Curin says.
A member of the Inc. 500 list of the countries fastest-growing companies, Flip Flop Shops ranked number 170 in 2012 by virtue of a 2,000-percent growth rate. Today, the company has 72 franchise locations open in the United States, Canada, and the Caribbean, and will open another 35 locations this year.
To franchisees, Flip Flop Shops presents an opportunity to earn a living while staying steeped in the mellow surfing world. “We wear shorts, t-shirts, jeans, and flip flops. That’s the culture,” Curin says. “It allows people to have a sort of laidback lifestyle. And there aren’t a lot of lifestyle franchises out there.” The theme doesn’t restrict Flip Flop Shop to beach locales. Primarily a mall-based concept, it generally goes into the top retail center in any market it enters. This year, Curin will expand to Australia, New Zealand, the Middle East, and Latin America.
Domestically, the franchise has departed from the malls to open its first airport location, in Las Vegas. And it has a couple of shops at Universal Studios, which Curin regards as a certificate of authenticity for the chain’s originality. “It’s the first time in the history of Universal that they’ve allowed an outside retailer to sell in the theme park,” Curin says. “And we are still the only outside retailer allowed.” Bedbug Chasers is built on the principle that bed bug infestations no longer have to be a life altering event. The New Jersey-based company employs proprietary heat remediation technology to effectively and efficiently kill all stages of bed bugs in a safe, green, chemical-free manner.
One of Bedbug Chasers’ biggest advantages for consumers is speed. The company’s treatments take just hours as opposed to traditional methods that can require up to four to six weeks. “With our proprietary heaters and process, preparation is minimal and you can leave for work or school
in the morning confident that by the time you return, your home will be bed bug free,” CEO Dean Averna says.
“We offer our franchises a very specific formula for success,” Averna adds. “We are focused on an industry that has grown 500 percent in the last five years and is starting to reach epidemic proportion with all 50 states reporting bed bug infestations.” Bedbugs Chasers currently operates a single corporate-owned location servicing New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. Interest in the franchise has been beyond expectation, Averna reports. Initial projections were to open 15 franchises this year. “With the overwhelming response that we continue to receive, we may exceed that figure,” Averna says.
Seniors Helping Seniors has regularly met or exceeded growth targets for expansion of its network of businesses providing non-medical in-home care to seniors. “We have been consistently ranked among the fastest growing franchise organizations for several years in all of the major franchise rankings, and we rank even higher among home-based franchises,” says Philip Yocom, co-founder and CEO of the Reading, Pennsylvania-based company.
Its goals have been aggressive: To double the size of its franchise community each of its first five years in business. The result of its success in reaching that objective is a system of more than 200 franchise territories Seniors Helping Seniors incorporates caring as a central component of its approach to business and what it offers franchisees. Members of its franchise community employ seniors to provide non-medical assistance to senior clients. The help may range from companionship to home maintenance. Franchisees report that, whatever the task, they have benefited personally as well as financially from the experience of earning a living helping others.
The franchiser has territories in more than 40 states and recently began pursuing international expansion, with England as the initial overseas growth target. Yocom promises lots of additional activity on the expansion front in 2013. “This spring we are launching our most aggressive growth campaign yet,” he says.
Soccer Shots recently launched its 128th new franchise location, up from 99 a year ago. The Middletown, Pennsylvania-based chain of youth soccer development businesses offers people who love soccer a chance to turn that passion into a career. Franchisees work with kids to develop their soccer skills as well as their individual characters.
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Popular social media such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and other social networks can provide marketers with a hard number of how large their audience is nevertheless a large audience may not always translate into a large sales volumes. Therefore, an effective SMM cannot be measured by a large audience but rather by vigorous audience activity such as social shares, re-tweets etc.
Early versions of search algorithms relied on webmaster-provided information such as the keyword meta tag or index files in engines like ALIWEB. Meta tags provide a guide to each page's content. Using metadata to index pages was found to be less than reliable, however, because the webmaster's choice of keywords in the meta tag could potentially be an inaccurate representation of the site's actual content. Inaccurate, incomplete, and inconsistent data in meta tags could and did cause pages to rank for irrelevant searches.[10][dubious – discuss] Web content providers also manipulated some attributes within the HTML source of a page in an attempt to rank well in search engines.[11] By 1997, search engine designers recognized that webmasters were making efforts to rank well in their search engine, and that some webmasters were even manipulating their rankings in search results by stuffing pages with excessive or irrelevant keywords. Early search engines, such as Altavista and Infoseek, adjusted their algorithms to prevent webmasters from manipulating rankings.[12]
The Internet and social networking leaks are one of the issues facing traditional advertising. Video and print ads are often leaked to the world via the Internet earlier than they are scheduled to premiere. Social networking sites allow those leaks to go viral, and be seen by many users more quickly. The time difference is also a problem facing traditional advertisers. When social events occur and are broadcast on television, there is often a time delay between airings on the east coast and west coast of the United States. Social networking sites have become a hub of comment and interaction concerning the event. This allows individuals watching the event on the west coast (time-delayed) to know the outcome before it airs. The 2011 Grammy Awards highlighted this problem. Viewers on the west coast learned who won different awards based on comments made on social networking sites by individuals watching live on the east coast.[92] Since viewers knew who won already, many tuned out and ratings were lower. All the advertisement and promotion put into the event was lost because viewers didn't have a reason to watch.[according to whom?]
Engagement in social media for the purpose of a social media strategy is divided into two parts. The first is proactive, regular posting of new online content. This can be seen through digital photos, digital videos, text, and conversations. It is also represented through sharing of content and information from others via weblinks. The second part is reactive conversations with social media users responding to those who reach out to your social media profiles through commenting or messaging.[22] Traditional media such as TV news shows are limited to one-way interaction with customers or 'push and tell' where only specific information is given to the customer with few or limited mechanisms to obtain customer feedback. Traditional media such as physical newspapers, do give readers the option of sending a letter to the editor. Though, this is a relatively slow process, as the editorial board has to review the letter and decide if it is appropriate for publication. On the other hand, social media is participative and open; Participants are able to instantly share their views on brands, products, and services. Traditional media gave control of message to the marketer, whereas social media shifts the balance to the consumer or citizen.
Snapchat is a popular messaging and picture exchanging application that was created in 2011 by three students at Stanford University named Evan Spiegel, Bobby Murphy, and Reggie Brown. The application was first developed to allow users to message back and forth and to also send photographs that are only available from 1–10 seconds until they are no longer available. The app was an instant hit with social media members and today there are up to 158 million people using snapchat every single day.[60] It is also estimated that Snapchat users are opening the application approximately 18 times per day, which means users are on the app for about 25–30 minutes per day.[60]
On April 24, 2012 many started to see that Google has started to penalize companies that are buying links for the purpose of passing off the rank. The Google Update was called Penguin. Since then, there have been several different Penguin/Panda updates rolled out by Google. SEM has, however, nothing to do with link buying and focuses on organic SEO and PPC management. As of October 20, 2014 Google has released three official revisions of their Penguin Update.
Facebook pages are far more detailed than Twitter accounts. They allow a product to provide videos, photos, longer descriptions, and testimonials where followers can comment on the product pages for others to see. Facebook can link back to the product's Twitter page, as well as send out event reminders. As of May 2015, 93% of businesses marketers use Facebook to promote their brand.[36] A study from 2011 attributed 84% of "engagement" or clicks and likes that link back to Facebook advertising.[37] By 2014, Facebook had restricted the content published from business and brand pages. Adjustments in Facebook algorithms have reduced the audience for non-paying business pages (that have at least 500,000 "Likes") from 16% in 2012 down to 2% in February 2014.[38] [39][40]
Blogging website Tumblr first launched ad products on May 29, 2012.[69] Rather than relying on simple banner ads, Tumblr requires advertisers to create a Tumblr blog so the content of those blogs can be featured on the site.[70] In one year, four native ad formats were created on web and mobile, and had more than 100 brands advertising on Tumblr with 500 cumulative sponsored posts.
Social media platforms like Yelp and FourSquare are great for brick and mortar businesses looking to implement marketing on social media. Register on these sites to claim your location spot, and then consider extra incentives such as check-in rewards or special discounts. Remember, these visitors will have their phones in hand, so they will be able to write and post reviews. A lot of good reviews can significantly help sway prospective visitors to come in and build your business!
Social networking websites allow individuals, businesses and other organizations to interact with one another and build relationships and communities online. When companies join these social channels, consumers can interact with them directly.[3] That interaction can be more personal to users than traditional methods of outbound marketing and advertising.[4] Social networking sites act as word of mouth or more precisely, e-word of mouth. The Internet's ability to reach billions across the globe has given online word of mouth a powerful voice and far reach. The ability to rapidly change buying patterns and product or service acquisition and activity to a growing number of consumers is defined as an influence network.[5] Social networking sites and blogs allow followers to "retweet" or "repost" comments made by others about a product being promoted, which occurs quite frequently on some social media sites.[6] By repeating the message, the user's connections are able to see the message, therefore reaching more people. Because the information about the product is being put out there and is getting repeated, more traffic is brought to the product/company.[4]
When referring to the homepage, a trailing slash after the hostname is optional since it leads to the same content ("https://example.com/" is the same as "https://example.com"). For the path and filename, a trailing slash would be seen as a different URL (signaling either a file or a directory), for example, "https://example.com/fish" is not the same as "https://example.com/fish/".
Black hat SEO attempts to improve rankings in ways that are disapproved of by the search engines, or involve deception. One black hat technique uses hidden text, either as text colored similar to the background, in an invisible div, or positioned off screen. Another method gives a different page depending on whether the page is being requested by a human visitor or a search engine, a technique known as cloaking. Another category sometimes used is grey hat SEO. This is in between black hat and white hat approaches, where the methods employed avoid the site being penalized but do not act in producing the best content for users. Grey hat SEO is entirely focused on improving search engine rankings.
Some search engines have also reached out to the SEO industry, and are frequent sponsors and guests at SEO conferences, webchats, and seminars. Major search engines provide information and guidelines to help with website optimization.[18][19] Google has a Sitemaps program to help webmasters learn if Google is having any problems indexing their website and also provides data on Google traffic to the website.[20] Bing Webmaster Tools provides a way for webmasters to submit a sitemap and web feeds, allows users to determine the "crawl rate", and track the web pages index status.
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Mountain Bike Association (Singapore)
MBASG Committee
Butterfly Trail Action Plan
Support MBASG
Trail Etiquette
Bukit Timah MTB Trail
Ketam MTB Trail
Kent Ridge MTB Trail
Tampines MTB Park
T15/ Gangsa Trail
Hiker/ Runner encounter alert
Trail Adoption
Stay tuned to this section for updates MBASG
Straits Times- Use of forest trail: It's bikers against nature lovers
Bike group wants Butterfly trail reopened; nature group says keep it closed
CYCLING enthusiasts have started a petition for a trail in a nature reserve to be reopened for mountain biking, but nature lovers oppose the move.
The trail in question is the Butterfly trail in the Central Catchment Nature Reserve, which was closed by the National Parks Board (NParks) in March, as parts of it fall within the construction site of the upcoming Chestnut Nature Park.
Mountain bikers have lamented the loss of this trail, famous for its terrain of interlocking tree roots and views of Upper Peirce Reservoir.
Yesterday, the Mountain Bike Association Singapore started a petition to the Government to reopen the site. Its president, Mr Calvin Chin, said that the 1,000-strong association hopes to get 5,000 signatures and will write to the authorities "within the next couple of weeks".
But environmentalists hope the trail stays closed to all human activities, including mountain biking, hiking and running, as these have damaged the century-old nature area off Chestnut Avenue.
On a site visit with NParks and the Nature Society (Singapore), or NSS, last Friday, The Straits Times saw that the roots of trees along the man-made trail were exposed, and the nutrient-rich leaf litter and topsoil layers were eroded.
"These issues result in the destruction of seedlings, as well as the loss of mature vegetation immediately adjacent to the trails," said Mr Tony O'Dempsey, chairman of the NSS' plant group, in a forum letter to The Straits Times on May 21.
But Mr Chin said bikers who use the trail are environmentally conscious. "We tell our members not to litter, and we do not veer off the tracks," he said, adding that a member paid about $500 last year for restoration works on the trail.
Cyclists can now go mountain biking at only four other areas - Bukit Timah, Mandai, Kent Ridge and Pulau Ubin.
Until recently, mountain biking was not allowed at the Butterfly trail, with riders risking fines from NParks. In 2012, the mountain bike association lobbied for the trail to be opened for recreational use and sent the parks board a study on the use of the Butterfly trail for mountain biking. NParks decided to allow cyclists to use the 3.2km trail until the building of new biking trails at the new Chestnut Nature Park began early this year.
Asked to comment on the report sent by the association, NParks told The Straits Times that the paper might have touched briefly on the environmental impact on the forest trails, but it cannot be considered an environmental impact assessment. Such an assessment is considered more rigorous.
It noted that the paper "did not make a comprehensive assessment of the current biodiversity found there nor a thorough assessment of the impact on the area should mountain biking be allowed to continue".
Studies done by NParks and NSS between 2013 and this year found a number of rare and endangered flora and fauna in the Butterfly trail site, including the Malayan porcupine and Hopea and Shorea trees. This was contrary to the association's study, which found no endangered species there.
Said NParks: "We are considering the possibility of closing the trail permanently. However, no decision has been taken yet and we will make another assessment of the area in 2016 before deciding."
The Straits Times understands that the mountain bike association and the NSS are meeting to exchange views tomorrow.
Said Mr O'Dempsey: "We are not picking on the mountain biking community. Our opposition to the use of the Butterfly trail is consistent with our overall policy on the conservation of native habitats in the nature reserve - areas for the conservation of native flora and fauna. This applies to mountain bikers, hikers, runners and, especially, ourselves."
audreyt@sph.com.sg
Save Butterfly Trail!
The association has released an action plan for members to help save access to Butterfly trail. Details here.
Butterfly trail in the media
Butterfly trail has been appearing on the Straits Times, with a report in the Home section and letters to the Straits Times Forum by the Nature Society (Singapore) and mountain bikers. Here are the details.
Acknowledgement and thanks to the Straits Times for drawing attention to our cause.
End of the road for popular bike trail. Published May 19, 2015
Users mourn loss as it is one of few left; group to ask Govt to reconsider
By Danson Cheong
THE wheels have stopped turning at one of Singapore's last five mountain biking trails. The 3km-long Butterfly trail, located off Chestnut Avenue in the Central Catchment Nature Reserve, was closed for "upgrading works" in March by the National Parks Board (NParks). According to an NParks notice at the entrance of the trail, it is supposed to reopen in the fourth quarter of this year.
However, The Straits Times understands that NParks is likely to close it permanently.The waterside track was not an official mountain biking trail - unlike those at Bukit Timah, Kent Ridge and Pulau Ubin - but bikers said they had been riding the kampung path for at least 30 years.
The move comes after the Tampines Bike Park - which had a mountain biking trail and the only BMX track here - was closed in September last year to make way for a housing development.
NParks director of conservation Wong Tuan Wah said the trail was closed because of the construction of Chestnut Nature Park. "As the entrance and part of Butterfly trail fall within the construction site... the area had to be closed to visitors for public safety," he said. He noted that trail had widened and deteriorated significantly in recent years because of "increasing human usage", which was damaging the forest. Seeking the understanding of cyclists, he said the new nature park will open by the end of 2016 and feature more than 6km of cycling trails in a different location.
"Unlike the Butterfly trail, hikers and bikers can look forward to separate trails designed specifically for each activity," he said.
But cycling enthusiasts are still disappointed. "It is an extremely beautiful trail," said Mr Jason Lim, 40, a mountain biker and stockbroker. "A portion of it hugs the fringe of Upper Peirce Reservoir - you are riding just beside peaceful and clear waters."
The Mountain Bike Association Singapore (MBAS), which has around 1,000 members, intends to submit a petition to the Government to encourage it to reconsider closing the site. Its president, Mr Calvin Chin, believes the Butterfly trail can be combined with the new trail at Chestnut Nature Park and another nearby trail called Track 15. "There could be a solid opportunity to have close to 30km of mountain bike trails within the Central Catchment Nature Reserve," said Mr Chin, 40, a business development manager. He said that MBAS had lobbied about two years ago to open the trail for recreational use. Before then, riders who used it did so illegally, risking fines from NParks. MBAS carried out its own environmental impact study at the time, which showed that there were no endangered species there - and sent it to NParks, which then allowed hikers and bikers in informally.
"We have trail days where we will maintain and repair the track," said Mr Chin. "We have taken good care of this place." Former national cyclist Junaidi Hashim, 33, said: "It is pretty sad. We keep getting news that more and more trails are closing - there are so few places left to ride."
dansonc@sph.com.sg
Right to limit access to nature trail, Published on Forum, May 21, 2015
THE Butterfly trail, off Chestnut Avenue in the Central Catchment Nature Reserve, has never been a public access trail, though we are aware that people have been using it illegally for some time ("End of the road for popular bike trail"; Tuesday).
Surveys conducted by the Nature Society's Vertebrate Study Group and Plant Group members have revealed that contrary to the environmental impact study the Mountain Bike Association Singapore said it conducted, the area not only harbours nationally endangered species of flora and fauna, but it is also becoming significantly degraded due to excessive bike and foot traffic.
Degradation includes impacts such as trail widening, compaction, erosion, root exposure, litter and fire damage. These issues result in the destruction of seedlings, as well as the loss of mature vegetation immediately adjacent to the trails. Diversions created to bypass fallen trees result in further damage and losses.
From a flora point of view, the area includes mature secondary forest, as well as a substantial amount of primary forest, including nationally endangered species, such as Aquilaria malaccensis and Hopea mengarawan, just to name a few that stand immediately next to the trails and that should not have been missed by an environmental impact study
Many of these trees have already suffered damage from trail users due to root damage, trail widening and hacking.
In terms of fauna, a number of nationally endangered mammals have been identified in the area, including the lesser mousedeer, Malayan porcupine, Sunda pangolin, and shrew-faced ground squirrel. Most forest mammals are extremely shy, and the presence of human traffic will drive them away from the trails.
Considering the richness of the flora and fauna in this unique patch of forest, the National Parks Board is fully justified on ecological grounds to limit public access to this and other sensitive areas, and it has the full support of Nature Society (Singapore) in doing so.
We also note that the substantial mountain-bike facilities planned for the adjoining Chestnut Nature Park, along with separated hiking trails, will represent an increase in the amount of trails available for these purposes.
Tony O'Dempsey
Plant Group
Nature Society (Singapore)
Create new spaces for mountain biking, Published on Forum, May 25, 2015
THE closure of the Butterfly Trail is a great loss to the local mountain biking community ("End of the road for popular bike trail"; last Tuesday) and it is no surprise why: The trail gave bikers arguably the most authentic mountain biking experience locally, with its scenic natural views and challenging technical terrain.
While these intangible benefits are unlikely to incentivise the authorities to reconsider the closure, there are more worrying tangible consequences that I hope the authorities have taken due appreciation of.
First, with the gradual disappearance of biking trails - starting with the Tampines Bike Trail last year - the few remaining trails have had to take on an increased load of cyclists, which may not be sustainable in the long run.
Second, local businesses involved in mountain biking, from equipment distribution to servicing, will take a hit, as fewer trails would mean more cyclists giving up, and possibly fewer people adopting the sport due to less accessibility and fewer avenues to practise the sport.
Lastly, mountain biking is a unique sport that transcends race, nationality and social class. From my observation, there is a significant number of expatriates who hit the trails, as mountain biking is widely popular in Western countries, and the trails here serve as an excellent platform for locals and foreigners to mingle.
While it is understandable that the Butterfly Trail had to be closed due to its deterioration, with these factors in mind, I hope the authorities will pay more attention to this niche sport and actively seek to open up more viable natural spaces for mountain biking to flourish.
Vong Victor Hansheng
Bt Timah Mountain Bike Trail not affected by closure of hiking trails
The Bt TImah Mountain Bike Trail , which is located on the peripheral of the Bt Timah Nature Reserve, is not affected by the closure of hiking trails announced by Nparks. This has been clarified by Nparks in response to MBASG's query on the matter.
With hiking trails in BT closed, mountain bikers can expect an increase in the number of hikers and runners who will encroach upon the MTB trails. We know of many near-misses, and this potential increase in unauthorized trail usage by hikers will lead to more of such incidents. We will engage with Nparks to see how we may best address this issue proactively. In order to provide numbers and statistics of near-misses, we will also be looking at setting up a near-miss reporting link or email where mountain bikers can provide data with details, which can then be shared with Nparks so that they can be aware of how serious the issue is.
Temporary closure of Kent Ridge Mountain Biking Trail for slope stabilization works from June 1
Thanks to Nazir Alsagoff for permission to repost his picture
Please note that the Kent Ridge Mountain Biking trail will be closed temporarily from June 1, 2013 for slope stabilization works.
MBASG has asked for a reroute to be considered so that the entire trail does not need to be closed off. This will be reviewed next Tuesday, June 4 by Nparks with our technical advisor HM Lim. Until further notice, Mountain bikers and Association members are urged to refrain from riding the trail for safety reasons.
MBASG Townhall - Sat, May 18, 2013 at 0830hrs
Meet MBASG as we hold a trail update townhall at Zhenghua Park meeting point 3, Chestnut Ave at 0830 on Sat May 18. There will be a quick update on local trail matters, and developments within MBASG. See you there!
MBASG's position on Tampines Bike Park (TBP)
It has been known amongst the mountain biking community that Tampines Bike Park (TBP) may not be a permanent facility after the 2010 YOG. With the release of the Land Use Plan by MND which mentioned Tampines North as a future housing estate to support plans for 6.9 Million people, it became clear that the days for TBP may be numbered.
MBASG is still formulating our course of action on this matter, and is working with various interest groups to examine options available. We know that many mountain bikers are concerned about future plans for TBP because it is one of our four precious mountain biking trails on mainland Singapore, and serves many mountain bikers residing in Eastern Singapore. We know that a concerned mountain biker wrote to Mr. Baey Yam Keng, MP of Tampines GRC to voice his concerns about this development.
MBASG understands the need for more residential housing in Singapore as the population expands, but we hope that the relevant authorities also see the benefits of having adequate green spaces for outdoor activities and sports such as mountain biking.
A much needed update posted.
MBASG has been working in the background, and the committee has been meeting on a monthly basis since the start of the year.
Some updates:
A Pro-Tem committee has been formed to take MBASG forward.
An FAQ section has been added
Trail Etiquette has been updated
MBASG had a meeting on 3 November 12 to update Nparks on the updates of BT2.0 as well as seeing what changes will be made to BT in 2012. The report summary can be found here.
Since the publication of our reply on the ST we have had over 400 hits on this site. Have a comment about our reply? Please feel free to contact us at webmaster@mbasg.org. Alternatively do drop us a reply under the contact us section. We work for the improvement of trails in Singapore for all mountain bikers.
Calvin Chin of the MBASG has got our reply to the straits times. The article can be found here. We are currently working as a voice for mountain bikers in Singapore. For updates please check back on this site or visit our facebook.
Pictures wanted. MBASG is looking for contributions for riders having fun on the trails or photographers with photographs to contribute! Due recognition will be given for the photographs contributed to our site. Please do email us at webmaster@mbasg.org if you have pictures to contribute. Thank you in advance.
MBASG congratulates Singaporean Rider Tan Hong Chun for clinching the 1st Runner up in the Asian MTB Championships in Lebanon.
Trail guide section has been updated. For riders who are unfamiliar with the trail this would be helpful. In addition we have also uploaded our response for a letter dated 6 October to the Straits Times. The reply can be found here.
Reply to Ms Vinita Ramani Mohan.
MBASG.org is now live. We look forward to update the mountain biking community with the latest happenings regarding trail usage and advocacy! Meanwhile please feel free to browse the site. These are all still works in progress.
-Kenneth
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Dutch German English Spanish French Italian Polish Portuguese Russian
Real name : Andrea Donna de Matteo
Place of birth : Queens
Bolen
Matteo de Drea
Drea de Matteo (1972)
Andrea Donna de Matteo
Drea de Matteo is an American television actress, perhaps best known for her roles Joey Tribbiani's sister Gina on the NBC sitcom Joey, as Angie Bolen on ABC's Desperate Housewives, and as Adriana La Cerva on the acclaimed HBO TV series The Sopranos, a role for which she won the Primetime Emmy Award for "Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series".
De Matteo, an Italian American, was born Andrea Donna de Matteo in Queens, New York, the daughter of Donna, a playwright and playwriting teacher, and Albert De Matteo, a furniture manufacturer. She grew up in a Roman Catholic family. She lives in New York City, where she owned Filth Mart, an East Village clothing store, with best friend and ex-boyfriend Michael Sportes. She is engaged to Shooter Jennings, the son of late country legend Waylon Jennings. The couple had their first child together, a girl named Alabama Gypsy Rose, on November 28, 2007. Jennings proposed onstage at the Stanley Center during a show in Utica, New York, on June 11, 2009, and confirmed the news on Twitter. "Asked Drea to marry me on stage tonight. I'm a lucky man," he Tweeted, "I'll never forget Utica, NY." On December 8, 2010, de Matteo's second pregnancy was announced. Their son, Waylon Albert "Blackjack" Jennings was born in April 2011.
She is good friends with Desperate Housewives co-star John Barrowman who played her ex-lover and eco-terrorist partner Patrick Logan. She told him that he was her long lost brother and joked that she'd love to be a surrogate for his children.
Barrowman mentions her in his autobiography, saying:
"Drea was brilliant to work with. When we first met, we hit it off immediately. She said something smart-ass tinged with a few expletives, I replied with something equally funny and we were off."
After graduating from the Loyola School, she studied at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, originally hoping to become a director, not an actress. De Matteo's role in The Sopranos was one of her earliest, helping to launch her career. She has appeared in several films including Swordfish, Deuces Wild, The Perfect You, Prey for Rock & Roll and the 2005 remake of John Carpenter's 1976 action film Assault on Precinct 13. She had the starring role in Abel Ferrara's R Xmas for which she received some very positive reviews.
In 2004, de Matteo won an Emmy for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Adriana on The Sopranos and also nominated for a Golden Globe the same year for the same role. She was ranked #42 and #56 on the Maxim Hot 100 Women of 2001 and 2002, respectively.
From 2004 to 2006, de Matteo portrayed Joey Tribbiani's sister Gina in the Friends spin-off Joey. The show was cancelled after two seasons.
Drea de Matteo played the role of Wendy Case in FX original series Sons of Anarchy. The pilot episode aired September 3, 2008.
Drea de Matteo played Angie Bolen, the mother of the Bolen family, on season 6 of the ABC show Desperate Housewives. She officially left Desperate Housewives at the season 6 finale in 2010 due to personal reasons.
Drea de Matteo played the stepmother of Steve Wilde, who is the main character of the FOX comedy, Running Wilde. She appeared in the 9th episode of Season 1 of the show.
Broken English
Walker Payne
Assault on precinct 13
Prey for Rock & Roll
Crazy Little Thing
Episodes: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
Episodes: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
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Episodes: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 101 113
Episodes: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 301 310 313
Whole or part of the information contained in this card come from the Wikipedia article "Drea de Matteo", licensed under CC-BY-SA full list of contributors here.
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No arrests, no injuries, as vehicle shooting probe continues
By Brian Hagen
(KAIR)--No arrests yet as the investigation into the shooting of a vehicle, in Atchison, moves forward.
Atchison Police Chief Mike Wilson told MSC News no one was hurt, despite the vehicle incurring gunshots, Wednesday afternoon. "It was around 3:40 on Wednesday afternoon when we responded to a shots fired call in the north-central area of the city. We learned that a number of shots had been fired from a vehicle at another vehicle in the 1000 block of North 7th. As were were responding and examining the scene in the 1000 block of North 7th, we received a call that one of the two vehicles involved in that incident was now in the area of U.S. 73 and Raven Hill Road, in a parking lot. We did locate the vehicle and five occupants in the vehicle. It had been struck by these bullets in the 1000 block of North 7th."
Wilson said the connection between the group that was shot at, and the alleged shooter, isn't immediately known, but it's believed the two sides knew each other. "We do believe that there had been previous confrontations between the individuals in both vehicles. We believe that both vehicles were in the area of the 1000 block of North 7th when one vehicle pulled up beside the other vehicle. The passenger in the suspect vehicle displayed a handgun, reached out of the vehicle and fired 6 to 8 shots at the other vehicle. We know that at least 6 shots hit the vehicle."
A rumor began circulating following the shooting that the motive might be a high school rivalry, but Wilson ruled that out.
"It is not a high school rivalry. There's five victims in the vehicle, they range in age, 17 through 22. There were three males. two females."
Wilson said the continuing investigation is focused not only on the Wednesday afternoon shooting, but on previous incidents involving the two sides.
© Many Signals Communications
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Major Jackson is the author of four books of poetry, including Roll Deep (2015), Holding Company (2010), Hoops (2006) and Leaving Saturn (2002), which won the Cave Canem Poetry Prize for a first book of poems. He is the editor of Library of America’s Countee Cullen: Collected Poems. A recipient of fellowships from the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, Guggenheim Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, and the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University, Major Jackson has been awarded a Pushcart Prize, a Whiting Writers’ Award, and has been honored by the Pew Fellowship in the Arts and the Witter Bynner Foundation in conjunction with the Library of Congress. He has published poems and essays in American Poetry Review, Callaloo, The New Yorker, The New York Times Book Review, Paris Review, Ploughshares, Poetry, Tin House, and included in multiple volumes of Best American Poetry. Major Jackson lives in South Burlington, Vermont, where he is the Richard Dennis Green and Gold University Distinguished Professor at the University of Vermont. He serves as the Poetry Editor of The Harvard Review.
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Makers of Mayhem
Venture Hearts
Evolution of Our Design Role
By admin | Uncategorized | No Comments
At its core, game development is composed of three disciplines: programming, art, and design. Programming and art are obvious: programming provides the foundation and infrastructure (skeleton and muscles, if you will), art the aesthetics (the facade, the appearance, the beauty). Purpose of design is less obvious. After all, throughout game history, there are countless one or two-person teams consisting of only programmers and artists. When resources are tight, design is a luxury and the first to be sacrificed. Nonetheless, the right designer on a team provides the vision, direction, and plan, which in turn help fully unlock a game’s potential. It is no wonder that the most notable names in the game industry tend not to be programmers or artists but designer legends like Shigeru Miyamoto (Super Mario Brothers, The Legend of Zelda) and Will Wright (SimCity, The Sims).
A peek at our About page reveals that our team consists of three programmers and one artist. That’s right, no designer.. at least not one with professional experience. Marshall (artist), Duong (programmer), and I, Randy (programmer), were coworkers at Rockstar Games, the publisher of the Grand Theft Auto series. Chen (programmer) competed in gaming eSports at a professional level. The Makers of Mayhem team has tremendous amount of experience, skill, and talent. More importantly, all of us share a burning passion for game making. However, the seemingly unbalanced skill set puts us at a disadvantage — while we definitely need all the programming help we can get when production kicks into high gear, it’s often not the most essential in early stages. In fact, having too many programmers, but not enough programming tasks, can actually be counterproductive. This was made obvious in our initial effort. Observing the mobile game market at the time, we came up with a free-to-play game idea inspired by a popular game. With a general idea in mind, we happily set out on production immediately. Big mistake. Since we didn’t have a unified direction and understanding of the needs of the game, everyone had different ideas of the specifics, and everyone was making up his own tasks. What made it worse was that we each worked on what we thought was most important, which at best were tangential and at worst conflicting. A clear vision and prioritization of the tasks would’ve prevented these difficulties. Sensing something must be done, I quickly drafted a design doc that at least provided a general direction. However, I was still primarily acting as a programmer, and design continued to be an afterthought. The goals we defined for ourselves were so vague, we frequently missed our deadlines, and that just stopped the momentum cold in its track.
The lack of focus was certainly a problem, but a bigger issue was that the scope of the game was too big. At the pace we were going, we weren’t sure if we would be able to complete it to the full extent of our original vision in ten years (!!). Reality set in, and we had to temporarily table the idea. Thinking that we should work on projects that we could finish quickly, for our next effort, we pooled ideas and collectively decided to work on a couple of mini-games simultaneously, most of them with similar gameplay to the then popular games. The limited scopes of the games also meant a dedicated designer wasn’t necessary, since it was clear how each game should play. This, nevertheless, didn’t last long. Because the games were so small, there was little fun in developing them. The lack of challenge led to waned interests, and we found ourselves making excuses not to work on the games.
Learning from our failed attempts, we’ve concluded on a couple of things to do differently in our next endeavor. First, the scope of the game should be just right: not overly ambitious, but also not so limited that it would be boring to develop. Second, the game has to have enough variety of interesting elements for development. We’ve formed Makers of Mayhem because we believe we can bring, on our own dimes and time, some very unique gaming experiences to the world. However, each of us has a different area of development that piques our interest and curiosity. Making the game should appeal to all our interests, so it’s more labor of love than work. Third, we no longer want to chase trends. Even if another type of game surges in popularity while we’re working on ours, we won’t let it influence our vision, and we would focus on getting the game released; i.e., we want to minimize the shiny object chasing syndrome. Lastly, we need a strong vision and direction. This last point is what made me decide to forego my programmer hat and become the dedicated designer of the team.\r\n\r\nAfter more brainstorming and electrifying discussions, VentureHearts is born. It’s a shop simulation set in a fantasy world, where player assumes the role of a shop owner, crafting and selling items like weapons, armor, and magic potions to adventurers. The twist is, unlike most shop simulation games, the focus isn’t on the customization of the shop itself. Instead, we are creating a sophisticated item creation system that lets player craft truly unique items. The game idea is not so daunting that we feel we will never be able to finish it, yet there are plenty of challenges — technically, artistically, and design-wise — to keep each of us feeling fresh and excited. Ultimately, if we’re not fired up about our own game, how can we expect the same of anyone else?
As for me personally, I love wearing the designer hat, at least for the foreseeable future. In addition to defining the vision and goals (design docs and spreadsheets are my best friends), coming up with gameplay ideas, and fine-tuning various aspects of the game, my day-to-day tasks also involve the meta, like coming up with a user-acquisition plan and marketing strategy. Maybe when the game development gets close to the final polish stage, I will help out with some of the programming parts again. For now, as the designer, I can be of the most help to the team and make the most impact on the game. This is where my true passion lies.
1st post for the new website
Building and restoring in progress!
© 2019 Makers of Mayhem.
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A New Form Of Giving
Philanthropy. We all know what it is: “the practice of giving money and time to help make life better for other people.” But not everyone may be aware that it’s much more than a way for corporations to give back. These days, companies areoften expected to be active participants – if not a driving force – in solving the most pressing social and environmental issues.
More than 8 out of 10 people surveyed in last year’s Cone Communications/Echo Global CSR Study said they would consider corporate social responsibility when deciding where to work (81%), what to buy or where to shop (87%) and which products and services to recommend to others (85%).
So what’s the most effective way for a company to act on its philanthropic goals?
For Toyota, it’s kaizen. Kaizen, which in Japanese means good (zen) change (kai), is a philosophy that encourages people to think outside the box, making small changes to generate big results.
“It’s a form of corporate philanthropy but instead of giving money, they’re sharing expertise,” says David J. Vogel, a professor and an expert in CSR at the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley. “It’s quite new.”
Kaizen is a main ingredient in Toyota’s business model and a key to its success. On its website, Toyota — #9 in the Fortune 500 Global rankings — writes, “We’re in the business of making great cars and trucks. But we also work every day to apply and share our know-how in ways that benefit people, the community, and our planet in order to build a better tomorrow.”
A fascinating article in The New York Times provides more detail, describing how Toyota donated kaizen to the Food Bank for New York City, one of the nation’s largest anti-hunger charities.
According to the head of the Food Bank, Toyota has “revolutionized the way we serve our community.” Here are some examples:
Harlem soup kitchen: wait time for dinner reduced to 18 minutes from up to 90
Staten Island food pantry: time spent filling bags reduced to 6 minutes from 11
Bushwick Warehouse: cut the time it took to pack one box to 11 seconds from 3 minutes
Corporate philanthropy professionals may want to consider Toyota’s donation of “know-how” as a new role model in corporate giving.
Everybody’s grandmother, at one time or another, has invoked the old aphorism: “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.”
Many companies and their employees are already doing tons of volunteer work now. How many are offering kaizen? How many are teaching men and women to fish?
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Find Malls: Dead or Alive
Dead Malls
Richmond Mall – Richmond, Kentucky
You are here Home > Dead Malls > Richmond Mall – Richmond, Kentucky
The city of Richmond is by no means a ‘big city’, but it does offer some of the things that you might see in larger cities throughout the United States. With a population of only 31,000, it’s a little surprising to see that the city is actually home of Eastern Kentucky University, as well as a relatively large shopping mall. Unfortunately for Richmond Mall, the large shopping mall is actually its neighboring complex, Richmond Centre.
Early Success for Richmond Mall
Richmond Mall is actually pretty new, it opened its doors in September of 1988 which is a reason why it saw early success. Despite the fact that the nearby city of Lexington had three large malls to offer competition with, Richmond Mall was still able to get by on the fact that it was newer. Eventually, Fayette Mall in Lexington would take a lot of business away from Richmond, but it wasn’t quite enough to really say Richmond was a dead mall.
Local Competition Problems for Richmond Mall
As if fighting with three neighboring malls in a more established community wasn’t enough for Richmond Mall to handle, in the year of 2008 the establishment would encounter its biggest foe, Richmond Centre. Essentially, Richmond Centre is a newer, bigger, better, and more accessible to the general public than Richmond Mall. With over 800,000 square feet and huge names shacking up like Belk, JCPenney, Michaels, TJ Maxx, Petsmart, and much much more, Richmond Centre was sure to be the death of Richmond Mall.
Although Richmond Mall probably could have survived and remained reasonably successful, the major problem ended up being the fact that Richmond Centre was right off of I-75 and so much easier to get to than its predecessor. Of course the fact that Richmond Centre is 20 years newer and twice as large was a major contributor to its success over the mall, but in the end nobody was going to go out of their way another couple miles just to visit a mall that was at much lower standards.
Current State of Richmond Mall
Despite numerous problems with competition and lack of renovation, the Richmond Mall still remains open today, barely. It should be noted that the real problem was in-fact Richmond Centre, not even precisely a culmination of Lexington’s shopping malls as well. Before the Centre opened, Richmond Mall actually boasted a 98% lease rate, only to be cut down to less than 50% just two years after Richmond Centre opened up.
Currently the mall is pretty much dead, but not completely, the only reason it still looks a lot more alive than it actually is, is because the majority of open stores are all on the same (west) side of the mall. On the east side shoppers will be able to find a Sear’s and maybe some trash cans, but that’s about it. Richmond Mall is a prime example of how quickly and easily a mall that has fought for prosperity throughout its existence, can be easily defeated.
830 Eastern Byp Richmond, KY 40475
37.7329801, -84.27314360000003
© 2013 Copyright by MallHistory.com All rights reserved.
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Home Meet Information
Director of Track and Field Programs
Alma Mater: Clemson
Graduating Year: 1996
Individual Champions Under Ross
Duane Ross joined North Carolina A&T as the director of the track and field programs on July 11, 2012. Ross is responsible for six programs at N.C. A&T – men’s and women’s cross country, men’s and women’s indoor track and field and men’s and women’s outdoor track and field. All six programs have made tremendous strides under Ross’ leadership.
Ross has won seven Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference titles with two in men’s indoor track and field, two in women’s indoor track and field, two in men’s outdoor track and field and one in women’s track and field.
In 2018, the Aggies won the men’s and women’s MEAC indoor titles to follow up winning both titles in 2017. It marked the first time a MEAC school has gone back-to-back in men’s and women’s indoor since Delaware State did it in 1986 and 87. A year earlier, the Aggies won all four track and field titles, indoor and outdoor. It was the first time since 2003 a MEAC school accomplished the feat. At the 2017 NCAA Track and Field Championships at Historic Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore., the Aggie men finished 14th nationally to secure the highest finish by historically black university since N.C. Central finished fourth in 1974. They were third among schools not in the ACC, Big 10, Big 12, SEC and Pac 12.
Seven different athletes have qualified for the NCAA indoor championships under Ross, while nine have qualified for the NCAA outdoor championships. Multiple athletes have accomplished All-American honors in qualifying for NCAA championships. At least one Aggie has earned either first-team or second-team All-American indoor honors for five straight seasons starting in 2014.
Christopher Belcher and Rodney Rowe are the only two Aggies to earn first-team All-American honors in three different events. In 2017, Belcher was a second-team All-American at the NCAA indoors in the 200 meters, then earned the bronze medal at the NCAA outdoors in the 100 meters and 4x100 relay. Belcher finished third in the U.S. 100m final to earn a prestigious spot on the United States Track and Field team and signed professionally with Nike the same year. A combined eight athletes have earned first-team All-American honors in either indoor or outdoor. Four athletes have earned multiple first-team honors. Eight different athletes have earned second-team All-American honors with three of those athletes earning multiple second-team honors.
Ross led a combined 19 athletes to the 2017 NCAA Division I East Preliminary Round to set a new school record. The Aggies shattered that record the next season with 24 invites. N.C. A&T's track and field All-American total have grown to a combined 34 student-athletes during his tenure.
N.C. A&T has been dominant in the MEAC under Ross. Thirty different individuals have won MEAC indoor titles. The Aggies have won the men’s 4x400 relay (2016-18) three straight seasons and the women’s 4x400 two straight seasons (2017-18). Thirty-six individuals have won MEAC outdoor titles.
In 2018, women’s sprinter and hurdler Kayla White became the first Aggie to win four different events at the MEAC outdoor championships when she won the 100 meters, the 100-meter hurdles, the 200 and the 4x100 relay. She was named the Most Outstanding Track Athlete. The men's 4x100 relay team of Rowe, Joel Thomas, Michael Bell and Michael Dickson earned second-team All-American honors, along with Trevor Stewart in the 400 meter during the NCAA outdoor championships.
N.C. A&T has also broken six MEAC meet records (indoor and outdoor combined) since Ross became the director of track and field program. The Aggies also gained their first-ever national ranking with Ross at the helm. The Aggies men’s team became the first MEAC track program to reach the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Top-25 when they earned the No. 21 ranking on May 8, 2016. A day later, the Aggies top three 100-meter runners were ranked as the No. 1 trio in the nation by USTFCCCA. Two years later, the Aggie men reached No. 18 in the nation.
In 2015, Michael Dickson (60-meter hurdles) and Maurice Eaddy qualified for NCAA indoor nationals to mark the first time in school history the Aggies qualified two male athletes for indoor nationals. Dickson was the first-ever 60mh runner from N.C. A&T to qualify. In 2015-16, Desmond Lawrence became the first Aggie athlete to earn All-American honors as an indoor and outdoor athlete when he advanced to the NCAA finals in the 60 meters.
Cross country has also seen improvements under Ross’ leadership. In 2012, the men finished fourth, in 2013 they finished third and in 2014 and ’15 they finished second. Three N.C. A&T men’s runners earned first-team All-MEAC honors in 2014 and ‘15. Hakeem Mustafaa finished second at the 2015 MEAC Cross Country Championships and he advanced to the NCAA Southeast Regional.
Ross came to A&T after serving as the track and field director at Methodist University, a Division III program, in Fayetteville, N.C. for the past five years. During his time at Methodist, the Monarchs won nine individual NCAA Championships and earned 46 All-American honors. On 62 occasions, a Monarch achieved an NCAA qualifying mark and Methodist has won 84 individual Mason Dixon Conference Championships under Ross' direction. The last four Mason Dixon Conference Athletes of the Year have been Monarchs, and the last two Cross Country Mason Dixon Athletes of the Year were also Methodist student-athletes.
The Monarch women captured both the indoor and outdoor Mason Dixon Conference Championship titles in 2011 and the outdoor title again in 2012. Their conference championship was the first in the program's history. In 2011 the Monarchs finished fourth at the NCAA Indoor Championship before going on to finish third at the 2011 NCAA Outdoor Championships. In 2012 the Monarchs finished fourth at the 2012 NCAA Indoor Championships and fourth again at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.
Under his tutelage, sprinter Ashlynn Chavis won numerous National Championships, set NCAA all-time bests in the 100 meters, long jump and as a member of the 4x100 meter relay, while sprinter Ruby Blackwell was named the United States Track & Field Cross Country Coaches Association National Athlete of the Year in 2011. His athletes took the USTFCCCA South/Southeast Region Track Athlete of the Year and the USTFCCCA South/Southeast Region Field Athlete of the Year awards in 2011.
Ross garnered numerous Coach of the Year awards during his time at Methodist: Two consecutive USTFCCCA South/Southeast Region Coach of the Year honors in 2011 and 2012, Mason Dixon Indoor Coach of the Year in 2011 and Outdoor Coach of the Year in 2011 and 2012, and Methodist University Coach of the Year in 2011.
Ross began his coaching career as a volunteer assistant coach at Clemson University, his alma mater, in 1996.
Ross joined Methodist University after retiring from his professional career as an Olympic athlete and world-class sprinter. Ross competed on the U.S. Olympic Team in 2004 and earned a silver medal in the 2004 Olympic Trials in the men's 110-meter hurdles. He finished ninth in the 110mh at the Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. He is a four-time member of the U.S. World Championship team, where he earned two U.S. Championships and two silvers medals in the 60 and 110mh. He also earned the bronze medal in that event in the 1999 World Championships. He was consistently ranked in the top 10 in the world in his event throughout his professional career.
He made his debut in world track and field events at the 1997 IAAF World Indoor Championships, where he finished fourth in the 60mh event. He also finished fourth in the 1999 IAAF World Indoor Championships and the 1999 IAAF Grand Prix Final. Ross was the 1998 USA Indoor 60mh champion. His highest ranking was fifth in the world in 2003.
Ross won the NCAA Championship in the 110mh in 1995 at Clemson. As a Tiger, he became a seven-time All-American and five-time ACC Champion in addition to his national title. He received his bachelor's degree in financial management in 1996 from Clemson. He completed his master's degree in sports management and physical education from Aspen University in 2016.
Ross is from Dallas, N.C., and attended North Gaston High School. He was a football standout in high school and joined the track and field team to rehabilitate an ankle injury before the next football season. He found immense success in the hurdles and won the North Carolina High School Athletic Association state title in the 110mh in his first season.
Ross holds a USA Track and Field Level 1 coaching certification and is also a certified USA Track and Field official. He's the former Vice President for USA Track and Field for the state of North Carolina.
Aggies Compete at Virginia Tech Indoor Invitational
Men's Track and Field Wins Another MEAC Title, Women Finish Second
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Regular events in the University Year
Race and the Curriculum
Women of Achievement
Latest University updates
University to pay settlement fees for all EU staff
EU referendum and Brexit: Analysis
HomeNews & EventsFind An ExpertProfessor Susan Jebb
Professor Susan Jebb
Professor of Diet and Population Health, Department of Primary Care Health Sciences; Fellow of Jesus College
Professor Jebb is a nutrition scientist who researches how diet affects the risk of gaining weight or becoming obese, and the interventions that could help people lose weight. She has conducted a series of randomised controlled trials to study how changes in diet affect the risk of cardiovascular disease, which found that, in general, body weight is a more important risk factor for ill-health than the precise nutritional composition of the diet.
Professor Jebb is also interested in how scientific evidence on diet is translated into policy and practice, by government, industry, the public health community and the media. She has advised the government on obesity and is now a member of the Public Health England Obesity Programme Board, as well as chairing the Public Health Responsibility Deal Food Network, developing voluntary agreements with industry to improve the food environment.
She is actively involved in a number of events and media projects to engage the public in issues relating to diet and health. In 2008 she was awarded an OBE for services to public health. In 2015 she was one of the recipients of the John Maddox Prize for Standing Up For Science.
Policy relating to food and obesity
Diet and public health
Effect of reducing portion size at a compulsory meal on later energy intake, gut hormones, and appetite in overweight adults (2015)
Price promotions on healthier compared with less healthy foods: a hierarchical regression analysis of the impact on sales and social patterning of responses to promotions in Great Britain (2015)
Variability in the reported energy, total fat and saturated fat contents in fast-food products across ten countries (2015)
Is plate clearing a risk factor for obesity? A cross-sectional study of self-reported data in US adults (2015)
Media experience
Professor Jebb has extensive experience of print and broadcast media, including live and pre-recorded interviews. In 2015 she was one of the expert advisers taking part in What's The Right Diet for You? A Horizon Special for BBC 2.
Recent media work
Low-fat diets not route to weight loss, says research
Yes, I work with the food industry, but I doubt they see me as a friend
Halt obesity with proper meals and taxes, says adviser
Government obesity adviser calls for action on sugary drinks
The Life Scientific
">Video of Professor Susan Jebb on healthy food across hospitals
susan.jebb@phc.ox.ac.uk
Department of Primary Care Health Sciences
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VI STATUTORY PROCEDURES
19 REGISTERED OFFICE
19.1 The registered office of the Constituent Body shall be at Cedar Court, Packwood Lane, Lapworth, Solihull, B94 6AU or at such other location in England as the Committee may from time to time otherwise determine.
19.2 Notice of any change in the situation of the registered office shall be given by the Honorary Secretary to the Registrar within fourteen days after the change.
20 USE OF NAME OF THE CONSTITUENT BODY
The name shall be kept painted or affixed in a conspicuous position and in letters which are easily legible on the outside of every office or place in which the activities of the Constituent Body are carried on.
20.2 The name shall be stated in legible characters in all business letters of the Constituent Body, in all notices, advertisements and other official publications of the Constituent Body, in all bills of exchange, promissory notes, endorsements, cheques and orders for money or goods purporting to be signed by or on behalf of the Constituent Body and in all bills, invoices, receipts and letters of credit of the Constituent Body.
20.3 Save with the authority of the Committee, the name of the Constituent Body shall not at anytime be used by any Member in any document or advertisement issued or published by, or on behalf of or with the authority of that Member in such a way as to indicate or imply that such document or advertisement was issued or published by or on behalf of the Constituent Body or the Committee.
The Constituent Body shall have its name engraved in legible characters on a seal with shall be kept in the custody of the Honorary Secretary and shall be used only under the authority of the Committee which may determine who shall countersign any instrument to which the seal is affixed and unless otherwise so determined it shall be countersigned by any two of the Officers.
22 REGISTER OF MEMBERS
22.1 The Constituent Body shall keep at its registered office a Register of Members and Officers in which the Honorary Secretary shall enter the following particulars:
22.1.1 The name and address of each Member and where a Member is a nominee the name of the Club making the nomination shall be noted against the name of the Member.
22.1.2 A statement of the share held by each Member and the amount paid therefore.
22.1.3 A statement of other property, if any, in the Constituent Body held by each Member whether in loans or otherwise.
22.1.4 The date on which each Member was entered in the Register as a Member and the date on which a Member ceased to be a Member.
22.1.5 The names and addresses of the Officers of the Constituent Body with the offices held by them respectively and the date on which they assumed and left office.
22.2 The Register of Members and Officers shall be so constructed that it is possible to be open to inspection the particulars entered pursuant to Rules 22.1.1. 22.1.4 and 22.1.5 without also opening to inspection the other particulars entered in the Register.
23 INSPECTION OF BOOKS
All Members and persons having an interest in the funds of the Constituent Body shall be allowed to inspect their own accounts and the particulars entered in the Register of Members and Officers other than those entered under Rules 22.1.2 and 22.1.3 at all reasonable hours at the registered office of the Constituent Body subject to such regulations as to the time and manner of such inspection as may be made from time to time by a resolution passed at a General Meeting.
24 ANNUAL RETURN
24.1 Every year not later than the date provided by the Act or where the return is made up to the date allowed by the Registrar not later than seven months after such date the Honorary Secretary shall send to the Registrar the annual return in the form prescribed by the Registrar relating to the affairs of the Constituent Body for the period required by the Act to be included in the return together with a copy of the Financial Statements of the Constituent Body with the Report of the Auditors where applicable thereon from the period included in the return and a copy of each balance sheet made during that period and the Report of the Auditors where applicable on that balance sheet.
24 2 A copy of the latest annual return shall be supplied free of charge on demand to every member or other person interested in the funds of Constituent Body.
25 PUBLICATION OF ACCOUNTS
The Constituent Body shall keep a copy of the last balance sheet for the time being together with the Report made by the Auditors, where applicable, thereon always hung up in a conspicuous place at its registered office.
26 REGISTRATION
These Rules shall take effect on and from the date of their registration pursuant to and in accordance with the provisions of The Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014
27 DISSOLUTION
In the event of it becoming necessary for the Members to discontinue the activities of the Constituent Body and to dissolve the Constituent Body under the provisions of the Act, its funds and property shall be appropriated or divided amongst the Members in such manner as the Committee consider to be fair and reasonable.
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Jane Little
16. May 2016 · Comments Off on Jane Little · Categories: Losses
Do you remember when I blogged about bassist Jane Little, the musician with the longest professional tenure with a single orchestra? Well, sad news now: she collapsed on stage and died yesterday.
I hadn’t realized she had multiple myeloma until reading the article. I’m amazed that she could manage to get on stage at all.
The symphony did not provide a cause of death. Little had not been feeling well. She’s been undergoing chemotherapy for multiple myeloma, had missed the orchestra’s April concert in Carnegie Hall in New York, and told Russell Williamson, the ASO’s senior orchestra manager, during intermission at Saturday night’s concert that she felt weak and woozy. That night, violinist Ellie Kosek asked Little to call when she got home safely, which she did.
Little was not a physically imposing figure. She weighed 98 pounds and had battled through, in addition to the myeloma, a broken shoulder, elbow and pelvis in recent years. Last August, she fell and cracked her vertebra, leaving her unable to play.
But in February, after months of rehabilitation, Little took to the stage and passed the record set by Frances Darger, the Utah Symphony violinist who had retired in 2012 after 70 years of playing. Little took pride in her feat.
“I’d thumb through the Guinness book and say, ‘Wouldn’t it be neat?’” Little told The Post in February. “A lot of people do crazy things like sitting on a flagpole for three days. I just kept on. It was just me and the lady in Utah. So finally, I said, ‘I’m going to do this.’”
Though frail and injury-prone, the prospect of setting the record seemed to have helped keep her going, albeit not for every ASO concert. “I was competing with this woman out in Utah, who played 70 years, 69 of them with the Utah Symphony,” she told Atlanta Magazine. “When I heard she was retiring, I said, ‘I’m going for it.’”
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Culture & Manipulation
When and How Did Mary Kay Go Wrong?
August 27, 2007 March 11, 2013 allison lamarr, dacia wiegandt, do it quick, frontloading, sean key
I am often asked, “Do you think Mary Kay (the company) is today what Mary Kay Ash envisioned it to be?”
When you look at the era in which the company was established, the 1960’s, I think it’s clear that there was a different need and a different way of life. Women had fewer career opportunities, and Mary Kay Cosmetics offered something new. Women were typically at home with their children, so in-home parties were convenient and often enjoyed. It was a new career opportunity and the “unlimited” income and advancement was appealing in an age when women had fewer choices.
Make no mistake, however, that Mary Kay Ash created a multi-level marketing company. They can call it many things, from direct sales to door-to-door sales to dual marketing. It is still a business model that relies upon the recruiting of many at the bottom of the pyramid, in order to elevate and promote the person at the top of the pyramid. That system is so wide-open for abuse. And as time has gone on, I think the abuses have grown considerably.
It used to take women 10 or 15 or 20 or more years to get to Mary Kay’s most coveted level of national sales director (nsd). Little by little, that time frame has eroded. Women started doing it in under ten years, and that raised some eyebrows. Now you have the women of the “do it fast” era in Mary Kay Cosmetics: women like Dacia Wiegandt and Allison LaMarr. You have training materials that promote the idea of becoming an nsd in 1,000 days.
It is my belief that this “do it fast” mentality in Mary Kay has had a significant negative impact on the company. To move to the level of national sales director so quickly, massive numbers of women must be recruited and massive amounts of inventory must be ordered by consultants. The idea is to stack the deck quickly before those who are recruited and turned into sales directors decide to quit. Play on the momentum and the emotion of women to keep adding to this house of cards.
The whole “do it quick” methodology gives rise to frontloading of inventory just to move quickly through the levels. This practice of quick and endless recruiting is one of the hallmarks of pyramid schemes, both legal and illegal. It is, in my opinion, one of the most abusive aspects of multi-level marketing companies like Mary Kay Inc.
When did it become okay to fly through directorship and recruit and order as fast as possible?
The change started in 1999 when a promotion to enter director-in-qualification (diq) early started. This was the first time that recruiters were allowed to enter diq with only 8 active team members, rather than earn the car first and then enter diq. Under the old requirements, recruiters needed at least 12 active team members and minimum production numbers. The old way promoted stronger teams prior to entering diq. The promtion to enter diq early was pitched as limited time only, but it has remained in effect ever since (as far as I know).
This “quick way” to get to director has had serious ramifications for the rest of Mary Kay’s leadership.
Not only does it seem to benefit the diq herself, it also benefits those who want to go national-in-qualification (niq). It makes it easier for them to churn directors and get to niq faster. As long as someone has the money to front inventory for directors who needed to make the minimums during niq, it doesn’t matter if the new directors are weak and likely to fall off quickly. All that matters is the niq period.
Probably one of the biggest turning points for the company was the promotion of Sean Key to Vice President of Sales Development and Administration, announced in January 2004. Sean says he started in the warehouse, and his Mary Kay bio confirms that he started with Mary Kay in 1990 at the Northeast Branch.
Sean had been in the sales development department for several years prior to his promotion, apparently being fairly successful and popular with the sales force. The sales development department is essentially “customer service” to the sales directors. Sales directors bring in all the money for Mary Kay, so they’re the real customers. The job of sales development is to make them happy and help solve their problems.
The promotion of Sean to a high level executive position was a bit of a surprise to some, as Sean reportedly does not even have a Bachelor’s degree. That’s quite unusual in this day and age in companies the size of Mary Kay. While sales directors, nsd’s and corporate employees recognized his popularity and reported success at Mary Kay, they doubted his ability to lead the company in the right direction.
With Sean’s promotion, things continued to go downhill from an ethical perspective, in the opinion of a number of members of the Mary Kay sales force. He is the designer of many of the sales director incentives, particularly in the car program. It is widely believed that Sean knows that promotions like “double credit” encourage sales directors to cheat, although he will never admit it. The promotions seem to be designed with “do it fast” recruiting and pushing inventory.
It is now widely believed that Sean Key is essentially running things at corporate. The other executives seem to be letting Sean do as he wishes. Darrell Overcash (President of U.S. Sales) is still “learning” the business, so he’s not paying attention. Gary Jinks (Senior Vice President of Sales) is just riding the wave for the next couple of years until he retires, so counting the days until retirement might be his priority right now. And no one is really sure what, if anything, David Holl (CEO) is busy doing. Richard Rogers (Chairman) is apparently busy elsewhere.
Sean has been given free reign to do as he wishes. However, this is probably contingent on continued growth in sales, which we now know has not been the case in 2006. With both recruiting and sales down in 2006, is Mary Kay Inc. willing to let someone like Sean steer the ship? Or will they wake up and realize what is happening before the luxury liner goes down?
Instead of Making Real Changes to Mary Kay
How Much Do Sales Directors Work?
Mary Kay Has Always Been a Bad Company
Mary Kay “Stays True to What They Know”
A Mary Kay Director’s Letter to Her Unit About Resigning
How Allison LaMarr Got to NSD So Quickly
February 14, 2016 at 12:44 pm 3 years ago
Unbelievable that a company built on the foundation of empowering women is run entirely by men.
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Author`s name Сергей Иванов
Estonian Soldiers Head for Iraq - 25 March, 2003
World » Former USSR
Estonian soldiers will take part in the peacemaking operation in Iraq. The Estonian government presented a project to parliament today to send troops to Kuwait, Qatar and Iraq in line with international obligations to provide security in the region after the war.
As a Rosbalt correspondent was informed by the press office of the Estonian government, the Ministry of Defense proposed sending up to 55 soldiers to the region on a six-month peacemaking mission. Two terms of six months are planned in total. The ministry added that all the expenses for the mission would be covered by extra budgetary funds.
'The Anglo-American military operation in Iraq is now reaching the stage when the provision of stability and security as well as humanitarian aid becomes the greatest concern,' runs the statement by the press office of the Estonian government.
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In the early 20th Century, not long after X-rays were discovered, medical professionals recognized their value as diagnostic tools: They could clearly reveal structures hidden inside the body without the need for risky surgery. At the dawn of the 21st century, a revolutionary new technology has entered the diagnostic arena. Today, Cone Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT) promises to change the way many dental problems are diagnosed and treated.
Cone Beam CT has some similarities with conventional X-rays, and also with the standard CT scans you would get in a hospital setting. But it's a quantum leap forward in technology and diagnostic precision. For the dentist, it offers the ability to visualize intricate structures inside the mouth, such as root canals, nerves and sinuses (air-filled spaces) in the jaw — in three dimensions — without surgery. For the patient, it can reduce the need for invasive procedures, shorten treatment time and offer the chance for a better outcome.
The detailed diagnostic images that CBCT provides have made it an essential tool in many dental specialties. But, as with any diagnostic tool that uses radiation, the medical benefits offered must be weighed against the (small) potential risks of the procedure.
How Cone Beam CT Works
X-rays, like visible light, are a form of energy on the electromagnetic spectrum. Just as light makes an image on photographic film (or a digital camera sensor), X-rays can also form an image. The difference is that energetic X-rays can penetrate bone and soft tissue, and reveal its hidden structure by their varying degrees of absorption; in other words, they form a grayscale picture of what's underneath the surface. But conventional X-rays are limited: Like a still-life picture, they show only one perspective on the scene.
Now imagine a “flip book” — the kind of small book made up of a series of pictures, each slightly different. When you rapidly page through it, you may see (for example) an animated cartoon or a still subject from different perspectives. If you could put together a flip book made from a series of X-ray “slices” of the same subject, taken at slightly different angles, you would be able to create an “animation” of the X-rays. And from there, it's only one more step to making a 3-D model.
That's exactly what CBCT scanners do. Using a rotating imaging device that moves around the patient's head, the scanner records between 150 and 600 different X-ray views in under a minute. Then, a powerful computer processes the information and creates a virtual model of the area under study. When it's done, the model appears as a three-dimensional image on a computer screen: It can be rotated from side to side or up and down, examined in greater or less detail, and manipulated in any number of ways — all without the patient feeling any discomfort... or even being present.
Where Cone Beam CT Is Used
The ability to see fine anatomical structures in 3-D has proven invaluable in treating conditions in many areas of dentistry.
Orthodontics: Having accurate information on the position of teeth and jaws helps determine exactly how and where teeth should be moved.
Dental implants: Detailed CBCT images are used to determine the optimum location for the titanium implants while avoiding nerves, sinuses and areas of low bone density.
Orthognathic Jaw Surgery and Temporo-mandibular Joint (TMJ) Disease: Patients benefit when the specialists who treat these conditions can evaluate their anatomy with the three-dimensional perspective that cone beam CT provides.
Oral Surgery: Treatment for tumors or impacted teeth is aided by the level of fine detail shown in these scans.
Endodontics: Dentists performing intricate procedures (like complex root canals, for example) can benefit from a clearer visualization of the tooth's anatomy.
Sleep Apnea: Imaging the tissues and structures of the nose, mouth and throat can aid in diagnosis and treatment of this dangerous condition.
Could Cone Beam CT Benefit You?
Each patient's situation is different, and must be carefully considered by a clinical professional before any test or procedure is performed. While CBCT delivers a smaller dose of radiation (X-rays) than many other diagnostic tests, it still carries a small risk — particularly for younger patients, or those with other health problems. As is the case for any medical procedure, all risks, benefits and alternatives are taken into account before the procedure is recommended.
Getting The Full Picture With Cone Beam Dental Scans Dental imaging took a major leap forward at the beginning of the new millennium with a three-dimensional technology known as cone beam computed tomography (CBCT). The name comes from the cone-shaped beam of x-rays the CBCT machine projects as it rotates around a person's head, taking multiple images that are compiled into a 3-D picture by a computer. Find out what CBCT can reveal and how it helps a doctor to make a highly informed diagnosis and choice of treatment... Read Article
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Effective sentencing for drug addicts committing crimes in Wisconsin
Wisconsin courts are now consistently facing the dilemma of having to sentence persons addicted to drugs for non-drug crimes. Such as when an addict commits a burglary to sell property to supply his/her habit. The prosecution may then try to argue that the defendant’s addiction does not matter since it is a burglary case, not a drug case.
The sentencing court must understand what drug addiction means. Some people betray a terrible misunderstanding of addiction when they suggest that if an addict is involved in the criminal justice system they can be simply ordered to stop using a drug. That thinking demonstrates ignorance about drug addiction. Drug addiction is a brain disease that affects behavior due to “brain changes, which accompany the transition from voluntary to compulsive drug use, affect the brain’s natural inhibition and reward centers, causing the addicted person to use drugs in spite of the adverse health, social, and legal consequence.” Principles of Drug Abuse Treatment for Criminal Justice Populations - A Research- Based Guide, (U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, revised April 2014) p.15. http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/principles-drug-abuse-treatment-criminal-justice-populations-research-based-guide/are-all-drug-abusers-in-criminal-justice-system-good. That is why those in the criminal system interested in really solving addiction issues do not seek punishment immediately for the addict who uses while in the criminal system. Instead, honesty is seen as the key to rehabilitation. Heroin addicts, for instance, should not punished for using heroin as long as they don't lie about it. But if they challenge a positive drug test, they should face a jail sanction. Gilman Halsted, Drug courts give heroin users an alternative to prison, Wisconsin Public Radio, Monday, July 22, 2013, http://www.wpr.org/drug-courts-give-heroin-users-alternative-prison. Finally, many in the legal system confuse forced abstinence with treatment. “Forced abstinence (when it occurs) is not treatment, and it does not cure addiction. Abstinent individuals must still learn how to avoid relapse, including those who may have been abstinent for a long period of time while incarcerated.” Principles of Drug Abuse Treatment for Criminal Justice Populations - A Research- Based Guide, id.
The defense should remind the court that the label which the court sees fit to attach to a case (“Counsel, this is a burglary case not a drug case!”) does not matter as much to the defense as solving the problem of defendant’s addiction which lead the person to commit crimes. As Dane County Judge John Markson once explained, criminality is fueled by drug addiction. If a court can treat their addiction and remove the root cause of the problem, we're being smarter about how we deal with criminality. Gilman Halsted, Drug courts give heroin users an alternative to prison, Wisconsin Public Radio, Monday, July 22, 2013, http://www.wpr.org/drug-courts-give-heroin-users-alternative-prison.
Determining the appropriate sentence in this straight forward manner causes one to ask the obvious question: can treatment for heroin addiction still benefit society and defendant after s/he committed robberies? The National Institute on Drug Abuse has explained that “drug abuse treatment is effective for offenders who have a history of serious and violent crime, particularly if they receive intensive, targeted services. The economic benefits in avoided crime costs and those of crime victims (e.g., medical costs, lost earnings, and loss in quality of life) may be substantial for these high-risk offenders. Treating them requires a high degree of coordination between drug abuse treatment providers and criminal justice personnel to ensure that the prisoners receive needed treatment and other services that will help prevent criminal recidivism.” Principles of Drug Abuse Treatment for Criminal Justice Populations - A Research-Based Guide, (U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services revised April 2014) p.18. http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/principles-drug-abuse-treatment-criminal-justice-populations-research-based-guide/are-all-drug-abusers-in-criminal-justice-system-good. Emphasis added.
If the sentencing court believes prison is necessary, the court needs to understand Wisconsin’s prison population. In September 2012, the Wisconsin Department of Corrections reported that 21,713 people were in Wisconsin state prisons; that is, the Wisconsin Prison System is operating at 129% or 4,600 more than the facilities’ permitted capacity. Healthier Lives, Stronger Families, Safer Communities: how increasing funding for alternatives to prison will save lives and money in Wisconsin (Human Impact Partners and WISDOM November 2012) p. 6, http://prayforjusticeinwi.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/11x15_Health_Impact_Assessment_Full_Report.pdf; Christina D. Carmichael, Adult Corrections Program (Wisconsin Legislative Fiscal Bureau Jan. 2013) p.4. Additional inmates were housed by: (a) exceeding the defined number of double occupancy cells; (b) housing more than two inmates in some cells; and (c) utilizing some non-housing space for housing purposes. Adult Corrections Program, id. Out of this general prison population, 12.6% are males in prison for robbery. Id., at 40. The cost of this prison population to a Wisconsin taxpayer was staggering. In 2011-12, daily per capita cost at all correctional facilities was approximately $33,400 annually. Adult Corrections Program, p.3.
For inmates with drug addiction issues, Wisconsin operates two facilities. One is The Drug Abuse Correctional Center which is located north of Oshkosh in Winnebago, Wisconsin. The current population capacity is 300 male inmates with 220 beds designated for treatment. The Drug Abuse Correctional Center, http://doc.wi.gov/families-visitors/find-facility/drug-abuse-correctional-center. The second is Chippewa Valley Correctional Treatment Facility which reserves 300 beds for treatment and of the 300 treatment beds, 10 provide an ATR resource. http://doc.wi.gov/families-visitors/find-facility/chippewa-valley-correctional-treatment-facility
So Wisconsin has set aside approximately 600 beds in a prison system of 21,713 inmates. While the Wisconsin Department of Corrections offers a variety of health, substance abuse treatment, and life skills programs to incarcerated offenders in other facilities, merely offering programs does not guarantee that prisoners can get in. Healthier Lives, Stronger Families, Safer Communities: how increasing funding for alternatives to prison will save lives and money in Wisconsin, p.7. Former Wisconsin prisoners mentioned long waiting lists and restrictive criteria that kept them out of the programs they wanted to enroll in. Said one former prisoner: “The waiting list is so long – hundreds and hundreds of people – so many people don’t get in.” Id. In fact, “[u]p to 85% of prisoners who could benefit from substance abuse treatment in prisons do not receive it.” Id. at 10. The defense would suggest that untreated or inadequately treated inmates are more likely to resume using drugs when released from prison, and commit crimes at a higher rate than non-abusers.
See also http://www.linkedin.com/pulse/effective-sentencing-drug-addicts-committing-crimes-paul-ksicinski and https://www.facebook.com/paulksicinskilaw
neuro rehabilitation service link
If I would have to choose one website to visit every single day it would be definitely this one. It has everything I need. It feels like all posts are written specially for me! Thanks for that.
Alcohol Rehab Ottawa link
When you or someone close to you needs drug abuse rehab, it can be hard to know where exactly to find help.
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Connected to the Past, Committed to the Future
Our family recently celebrated my grandmother’s 85th birthday. Family members from all over the country reunited in the small rural community where I grew up and my grandmother spent her entire life. I’m not sure if it is my age or the fact that I now have kids, but I spent a large part of the time reflecting on the rich heritage that I come from. I was reminded of the incredible work ethic, humility, faithfulness, and genuine goodness that is mysteriously embedded in my grandparents, parents, and uncles and aunts. It can be intimidating and even scary to think about living up to that...MORE
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The Situation in Syria
This is not easy to write about: 80,000 people have died. Thousands more are unaccounted for. More than 4,000,000 are in urgent need according to the UN. That’s ten times the population of the city of Minneapolis. That’s more people than the entire state of Connecticut and more than Brooklyn and Queens combined who are desperately in need of shelter, food, or medicine just to survive.
For the past year, Questscope and its partner, the Syrian Society for Social Development (SSSD), have been providing life-saving assistance to Syrians displaced or otherwise affected by the...MORE
Read more about The Situation in Syria
Zaatari's Wasted Youth
Last week at Zaatari refugee camp, as we sipped tea that was just a few degrees hotter than the air temperature, I asked a 22-year-old refugee named Hamdi why he was so quiet that day. Hamdi’s close friend Yazan, who has been the only pillar of stability in Hamdi’s life since he arrived in the camp, tried to ward us off the subject. “Mike, it’s complicated,” he said. “Forget about it.”
But Hamdi interrupted him. “My friend became a martyr yesterday,” he said, “in Dara’a.”
Each man present responded with the traditional and compulsory Arabic “Allah yerhamo,”...MORE
Read more about Zaatari's Wasted Youth
Overflowing classrooms continue to battle illiteracy in Jordan
(WNN/OD) Amman, JORDAN, WESTERN ASIA: Having no significant natural resources like our neighbors in the Gulf, and no coastline like Mediterranean countries, Jordan has always seemed intentionally delineated to be void of natural wealth. At times, this has been more of a blessing than a curse. Either way, in 2002 King Abdullah II realized that unless a petroleum reserve was to be discovered under Petra, his country needed an economic plan. He shortly announced his intention to transition Jordan’s work force into a “knowledge economy”, to keep up with the changing...MORE
Read more about Overflowing classrooms continue to battle illiteracy in Jordan
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Founded in October 2013, our Nurturing Peer Support programme here at ReGenerate- Hope For Autism CIC was developed to inspire and empower autistic children and young people, to build confidence and transform their lives.
The programme was created by a successful autistic adult who has overcome devastating anxieties, that had stopped her from interacting and talking with others for many years. Her experience of learning music, dance and drama had a huge impact on her confidence and her understanding of the social world – which is why these form key components of what we do. However, the programme has evolved to incorporate much, much more than that.
Prior to opening our doors here at ReGenerate – Hope For Autism, Keely had written a groundbreaking research paper at university – into how autism comes about, biologically, as a “spectrum”. This had enabled her to understand herself and her condition in a new light – much more deeply that she ever had before. And as she began to spend time working with and supporting other individuals at various points on the spectrum, within various settings and situations, her deepened understanding enabled her to realise that they all shared much in common with her. That even an individual who appeared to be at entirely the opposite end of the spectrum, from herself, was feeling similar anxieties and frustrations in the core of their being, as a result of dealing with similar sorts of issues to varying extents. And she found that she was able to connect with that core, no matter where on the spectrum each child was said to lie – just as easily and naturally as one non-autistic person would connect with another.
ReGenerate – Hope For Autism CIC was developed in response to this connection – out of a desire to see the voices of autistic children and young people being heard, and to see them come together and help each other more, to overcome the true nature of their challenges insofar as each individual is able, so as to foster their independence and help others to understand them better. It’s about creating hope for each child’s future – and that is why we are called “ReGenerate – Hope For Autism”.
As Keely has developed relationships with the wide variety of individuals who have entered the programme, she has found that their thoughts and anxieties are often directed towards one or two issues in particular, at any one time. She began to hear repetitive stories of health and education services either not understanding some of the issues, or (more often) simply not having the time or resources to advise or support them beyond a certain level.
Keely was touched and saddened by these stories – which all tended to concern issues that she had struggled with and conquered for herself. She realised that her personal experience, around each of these areas of challenge, would put her in a good place to share and offer personalised support towards building the children and their families up and empowering them to overcome their challenges. And so, she began to build into the “drama” time specifically targeted role play activities with a key sensory focus, which offer scope for tailored advice, support and gentle, gradual exposure to the crux of each child’s and young person’s greatest challenges. This approach is based on well-evidenced peer support principles which are widely used in the field of mental health, to promote recovery alongside traditional therapies. Our staff have received accredited training in Peer Support Facilitation, which enables us to adapt and use the same principles to help autistic children and young people overcome the huge anxieties that are created by difficulties with sensory processing and social integration.
Since this approach was introduced, it has seen some great successes, with large proportions of children and young people making notable progress across a wide range of areas. To see a summary of these, please see our Success Stories page.
ReGenerate – Hope for Autism, now has two new strands which focuses on helping autistic adults. Enriching Support is a group setting where autistic individuals come together once a month to do a wide variety of different things with similar people. The Extending strand works with adults who need some additional support to become independent. Please contact us for more information.
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How Liberals Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Military Industrial Complex
March 22, 2019 March 22, 2019 renegade 0 Comments
By Alan Macleod
WASHINGTON — With March 19 marking 16 years of continuous war in Iraq, there is a distinct feeling of deja vu in Washington, as neocon figures like John Bolton and Elliot Abrams beat the drum for war in Venezuela. Liberals and progressives have traditionally been more critical of war and militarism than their conservative counterparts. But in the age of Trump, everything seems up for debate, and the media is trying to sell the military industrial complex to a more discerning, liberal audience.
A case in point is a recent Bloomberg article from Hal Brands, the Henry Kissinger Distinguished Professor at Johns Hopkins University and Senior Fellow at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, entitled “Progressives Should Learn to Love the Pentagon Budget.” It argues that leftists like Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren are “misguided” in criticizing defense spending, as the military bolsters the middle class by creating jobs, provides healthcare to its employees, and “spreads liberal values.”
It claims that military spending is a “huge jobs program” open to Americans who would otherwise not have access to a middle-class lifestyle, and further that the Pentagon “supports key parts of the progressive agenda” and military spending “serves progressive ends.” Undisclosed is that the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments is directly funded by the U.S. military and by weapons corps such as Raytheon, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman, a fact that highlights the increasing connection between the state and the media.
This is just the latest example of a long trend of trying to sell war to those with liberal values. There has also been a glut of articles hailing the supposedly progressive achievement that women head most of the top military firms in the U.S. For example, Time wrote how “a new group of women leaders” in defense contractors are “proving that one’s gender doesn’t matter;…in the process, they are shaping the world.” Meanwhile missile manufacturer Raytheon has made much of its association with the Girl Scouts of America and received praise in the media for its program to get girls more interested in STEM subjects.
These efforts are an attempt to appeal to the values of the more liberal side of America and deflect attention away from the devastating consequences of Raytheon’s products — on display in Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan and many other countries around the world.
Trim the military? Not on our watch!
The continued growth of the world’s largest military budget – already greater than those of the next 12 largest countries combined – appears to be a top priority for the establishment. When it was rumored late last year that President Donald Trump was considering cutting America’s “crazy” arms budget, something close to hysteria broke out. The Washington Post described any cut to the world’s largest military as “suicide.” Forbes Magazine claimed “the security and well-being of the United States are at greater risk than at any time in decades,” claiming the only “sensible” option was to increase the budget. Bloomberg concurred, recommending an increase of 3 percent above inflation for a decade. The message is clear: do not challenge the military industrial complex.
In contrast to the “pink-washing” of defense contractors, progressive voices that question militarism are hectored, harried and condemned. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) was mercilessly attacked in the press for his refusal to endorse a military venture in Venezuela. The Wall Street Journal claimed he was “siding with a dictator” while Politico labeled him “disgusting,” “clueless,” and unworthy of the Democratic nomination. And for many in the establishment, Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) highlighting Elliot Abrams’ history of supporting massacres and regime change in Central America was further proof she was an anti-Semite.
Another prominent Democrat and presidential hopeful, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI), has been constantly smeared for her opposition to military intervention and war. The Hawaiian congresswoman has promised to “stop wasting trillions of dollars on wasteful, counterproductive wars and dedicate them to taking care of the urgent needs of communities across this country,” and noted that short-sighted politicians and media pundits who spent the last two years accusing Trump of being a Kremlin puppet have brought us to a new Cold War arms race, as Trump will do anything to prove he is not Putin’s man, including bringing the world to the brink of nuclear war.
“So you ask what I will change? I will change our priorities so we stop wasting trillions of our dollars on wasteful counterproductive wars and dedicate them to taking care of the urgent needs of our communities across this country.” #ServiceBeforeSelf #PeaceDvidend pic.twitter.com/kZ6QKmfMeq
— Tulsi Gabbard (@TulsiGabbard) March 19, 2019
For taking this anti-war stance, Gabbard has been attacked as an “Assad apologist” by many, including Meghan McCain. Criticisms of her revolve around hersupposed support for the enemy, rather than her policies. The establishment is not interested in critiquing her for positions such as her questionablesupport of the Hindu nationalist government of Narendra Modi in India. Rather, they reserve their ire for her opposition to foreign wars and interventions such as Iraq, which she (rightly) points out was built upon lies and false information.
The constant wave of military propaganda aimed at liberals in the era of Trump has led to a situation in which corporate Democrats have become arguably more hawkish on foreign policy than most Republicans. Almost twice as many Democrats see Russia as a threat as do Republicans, while Hillary Clinton and others of her party have proposed more aggressive lines of action with regards to Ukraine and Syria. It appears that many liberals, suffering from Trump Derangement Syndrome, have lost their heads and learned to love the military industrial complex.
Top Photo | President Donald Trump turns to House speaker Nancy Pelosi of Calif., as he delivers his State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington, as Vice President Mike Pence watches, Feb. 5, 2019. Doug Mills | The New York Times via AP
Alan MacLeod is an academic and writer for Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting. His book, Bad News From Venezuela: Twenty Years of Fake News and Misreporting was published in April.
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Entire County Refuses to Obey New Gun Control Law, Declares Itself Gun Owner Sanctuary
April 22, 2018 renegade 12
The 2020 Sweepstakes Begin. Let’s Keep Israel and the Phony Claims of Anti-Semitism Out of It
May 26, 2019 renegade 6
The Meaning of the Paris Attacks
November 17, 2015 Lasha Darkmoon 5
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Aussie mum of 3 Melanie Goanta, 37, gets melanoma from tanning bed
MELANIE Goanta is happily married but struggles to look at photos of her wedding, one of the happiest days of her life.
The 37-year-old mother of three boys, the youngest just seven, spent weeks leading up to her wedding using a solarium to look tanned for her big day.
Six years after her 2001 wedding to husband Alfred, she was diagnosed with a melanoma behind her right ear, and recently had surgery to remove a tumour from her lung after the cancer had spread.
JOY: Melanie Goanta, 37, used solariums before her wedding to Alf in 2001. She believes the experience prompted her melanoma.
She has been told her chances of survival are 20 per cent.
Mrs Goanta, of Cedar Vale, near the Gold Coast, believes her solarium use contributed to her cancer and wants to warn others of the dangers.
"I was going to the gym at the time and the gym played on my vulnerability," she said.
"I was getting married, wearing a white dress. Obviously, for your wedding, you want to look your best.
"The industry really plays on people's minds and makes them believe that the beautiful thing to do is to be brown. They said, 'Use a solarium, you'll get a nice base tan and you should colour for your wedding'."
Mrs Goanta had more than 12 solarium sessions in the lead-up to her wedding and has not used one since.
REGRETS: Melanie Goanta, 37, has a melanoma, which she says she got from a tanning bed. She is pictured here with sons Jayden, Cameren and Branden, and husband Alf.
"I look at my wedding pictures and think, 'I wasn't even brown'. It's really hard to look at them now. I think, 'Wow, I'm paying the price'.
"I should never have been allowed to use a solarium. I've got moles on my face, I'm light-skinned, I've got blue eyes. Queensland is the Sunshine State, the melanoma capital of the world. We don't need solariums. I don't think there's a place for them in Queensland society."
As Christmas approaches, Mrs Goanta gets angry with solarium businesses spruiking tanning sessions as gifts.
"It's crazy," she said. "It's like giving the gift of death."
SOURCE: news.com.au
Posted by canandanews at 11:08 PM
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February 14, 2019 One Guys Opinion
Producer: James Cameron and Jon Landau
Writer: James Cameron and Laeta Kalogridis
Stars: Rosa Sakazar, Christoph Waltz, Keean Johnson, Mahershala Ali, Jennifer Connelly, Ed Skrein, Jackie Earle Haley, Lana Condor, Idara Victor, Eiza Gonzalez, Jeff Fahey, Michelle Rodriguez and Marko Zaror
Studio: 20th Century Fox
A quarter-century-old manga provides the source matter for James Cameron’s megaproduction “Alita: Battle Angel.” That explains why, although in its original printed form Yukito Kishiro’s series might have broken new ground, much of the story now feels derivative. As visually extravagant as it is cluttered and silly, the tale of a kick-ass mechanized superheroine is eye-popping in the IMAX 3D format, but otherwise feels pretty stale.
In a dystopian future some three hundred years after a cataclysmic war, the population is divided into two groups. The surface-dwellers live in Iron City, a messy metropolis where battle-ready cyborgs patrol the streets as bounty hunters who receive credits for eliminating criminals. Ordinary folks may lead hard lives (though to tell the truth we don’t see very much of them), but they do have a popular form of entertainment: a roller-derby style competition called motorball, in which more cyborgs skate around a track in a huge arena, furiously trying to toss a metal sphere they fight over into a basket. Above Iron City floats another metropolis called Zalem, where the elites reside under the rule of a mysterious ruler called Nova.
Among the earthbound residents is Dyson Ido (Christoph Waltz), a doctor who treats damaged cyborgs using parts he scrounges from piles of garbage dumped from above. On one of his scavenging trips he discovers the head from a girl cyborg that still shows signs of life and gives it a new body. He calls the revived mechanism Alita, after his deceased daughter; and as played, in motion-capture movements with CGI enhancement, by Rosa Salazar, she soon exhibits remarkable fighting skills—as well as an immediate love of motorball, to which she’s introduced by a street kid named Hugo (Keean Johnson), who hopes to get a ticket to Zalem by collecting cyborg parts as head of a gang that literally rips them from those to whom they’re still attached.
It’s not long before Alita and Hugo are romantically involved, but she is also drawn into the world of the bounty hunters, as well as the motorball contest. The latter is supervised by a powerful fellow called Vector (Mahershala Ali), who has a special connection to Nova, and who’s assisted in his work by Chiren (Jennifer Connelly), Ido’s ex-wife. For reasons connected with that long-ago war, in which super-soldiers from Mars were pitted against earthlings, the duo aim to take down Alita using some of the more grotesque cyborgs as their instruments, both in the motorball tryouts she’s decided to enter and in the streets. She, of course, will fight back, and try to protect Hugo from his enemies as well.
This summary might make the movie sound like a jumble, and it is, not least because there are other plot threads to it as well. It’s arguable that Cameron simply admired the manga too much and brooded over the adaptation too long, reluctant to give up any part of it. But since what he had in mind was a feature rather than a multi-episode anime series, pruning and simplification were needed, not amplification and a degree of fidelity that extends to keeping the dialogue at comic-book level.
The flaws of his screenplay with Laeta Kalogridis are accentuated by Robert Rodriguez’s direction, which is high on CGI pizzazz but low on the human dimension. He seems devoted to the effects, and in fact they’re very good (kudos to the army of VFX workers), filling the huge screen with a grandiosity of vision that sometimes takes the breath away (and at others comes close to being nausea-inducing). The result is reminiscent of his work on “Sharkboy and Lavagirl,” though of course on a far larger scale—which is hardly a compliment.
In the resulting extravaganza, the performers are a secondary concern, but Salazar obviously gave the action her all; it’s a pity that her work is obscured by the comic-look redoing of the character, which makes Alita look as if she’d stepped out of the pages of a manga. And while Waltz brings his usual smoothness to Ido, Johnson is such a vacuous presence that Alita’s romance with Hugo—which extends to a ridiculous cliff-hanging denouement (a rare instance in which the effects don’t quite measure up)—is pure blandness. Apart from one good line allotted to him at the close, Ali is wasted, as is Connelly, and while Ed Skrein camps it up as the oiliest of the bounty hunters, others stuck in those roles, like Jackie Earle Haley, are so covered in CGI that they barely register. The only real exception is Jeff Fahey, who looks bemused in his role as a dog-lover.
The bottom line with “Alita” is that you’ve probably seen most everything in it before, even if in different permutations, but never so vividly depicted as in Cameron and company’s cutting-edge visuals. Whether that’s enough reason to bother with it is up to you.
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Wind River (2017): Review
The theater in my area only began screening Wind River this week. I wasn't going to make the same mistake I did with Taylor Sheridan's other works and miss the films theatrical run. When I entered the theater (roughly about 5 minutes before the film started) I was shocked to see I was the only person there. The film obviously went under the radar of casual fans.
Wind River is Sheridan's debut as a director but his screenwriting efforts have been nothing short of impressive. Both Sicario and Hell or High Water belong among the stronger films released in their respective years. The film really could be a wrap on what is a cool little unconnected crime drama trilogy.
I'm going to cut right to the chase and admit that this film probably isn't as good as Sicario or Hell or High Water but its still a memorable film. Indian Reserves don't often get explored in mainstream film very often. Cory Lambert (Jeremy Renner) is a wildlife officer who works in snow covered Wyoming who comes across the frozen dead body of a young Native woman inside the Wind River reserve. A girl who has a bit of connection to Lambert's past. He was formerly married to a Native woman and the pair have a young son together. FBI agent Jane Banner (Elizabeth Olsen) comes in from Las Vegas to investigate and requests help from Lambert with the case because of her lack of knowledge about the area.
Sheridan obviously points out the limitations on the Reserves as there is such a small group available to help Banner with the case and the town is so isolated that there is really no choice other than attempt to catch the killer with help of the Native Sheriff Ben (Graham Greene). The surrounding agencies seem set on ignoring the tragedy and the small group are left to find the answers themselves.
Jeremy Renner is a far better actor than most people remember. Taking a back seat in the Avengers and Mission Impossible franchises cause people to forget that he's a totally capable leading man. Despite being a white man Renner's character is respected around the reserve and the character stays fairly low-key. Renner shares two great scenes with Gil Birmingham (who can be recognized as Jeff Bridges partner in Hell or High Water) where both men have respect for each other and have gone through a lot of the same hardship.
I appreciated the relationship between Renner and Olsen as well. They obviously have some history together as they both appear in the Marvel films but Olsen knows that she would be lost in this mystery without Renner's help. I was glad to find that there is mutual respect between the character but there is no attempt to bring them together in a romance which would've felt cheap.
Sheridan lack of experience could be considering a hindrance on the film. There is no doubt that there is endless potential for him as a director but I would argue that I probably could've watched another 20 minutes of story here. The pinnacle of the film comes a little earlier than I expected and the pacing gets a little wacky in the last half hour. Sheridan isn't afraid to get a little brutal in the final minutes as the investigators start to piece things together.
Wind River is a film that I will revisit. Maybe following up Sicario and Hell or High Water. While the film is the weakest of the bunch it reinforces the fact that Taylor Sheridan is one of the strongest talents in the industry. His involvement in a project is going to be me automatically interested.
Wind River gets 80 out of 100.
Labels: crime drama Elizabeth olsen Jeremy renner jon bernthal
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Friday the 13th (2009): Review
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Notes-2013-10-13
The World of Celebration:A Holiday Concert
Sunday, December 8, 2013, 3:00 PM
Principal Soloists from Lyric Theatre
Holiday Handbell Choir
Walter M. Mayes, narrator
A Christmas Festival
Leroy Anderson (1908 – 1975)
Famous for his “concert music with a pop quality” (his own words), Anderson possessed skill in technique and a rich melodic gift, as well as an engaging sense of humor. He was particularly successful in creating descriptive pieces that effectively borrowed sounds and rhythms of the extramusical world, such as the ticking of a clock, the clicking of a typewriter, and the ringing of sleigh bells. Leroy Anderson first studied music with his mother, who was a church organist. He earned a BA degree in music and an MA degree in foreign language at Harvard University. As a student, he conducted the Harvard Band from 1928 to 1930. His musical career included positions as music instructor at Radcliffe College, band conductor at Harvard, church choir director, organist, conductor, and composer-arranger. His works in the “encore” category have few equals. Leroy Anderson was one of the leading arrangers for the Boston Pops Orchestra and frequently served as the orchestra’s guest conductor.
Composed in 1950, A Christmas Festival is a concert overture built upon traditional Christmas songs. Originally recorded by the Boston Pops, it is the Christmas medley that sets the standard for all others.
The Nutcracker Suite
Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky (1840 – 1893), transcribed by John MacKenzie Rogan, revised and edited by Clark McAlister and Alfred Reed
Tchaikovsky was born in Russia in 1840, the son of a wealthy mining engineer. He studied law and at 19 began work as a clerk with the Ministry of Justice. He resigned his post after four years to pursue his interest in music at the St. Petersburg Conservatory. In 1866 he went to Moscow, where he was appointed professor of harmony at the new Conservatory. He completed his first symphony there, along with the opera The Voyevode. In 1869 he completed his ballet Romeo and Juliet on an outline suggested by Balakirev. New inspirations flowed with his second and third symphonies, three operas, and the Piano Concerto No. 1, Op. 23, in B-flat minor. Following a disastrous marriage of just 9 weeks, Tchaikovsky attempted suicide and suffered a mental breakdown. Shortly afterward the wealthy widow, Madame von Meck, became his patron and gave him an annual salary, on the condition that they never meet. He gave up teaching and composed some of his most memorable music during that time. After 14 years of support, von Meck stopped all payments when she thought she was bankrupt. Tchaikovsky recovered financially, but not spiritually. He visited the United States, where he conducted his works for the opening of Carnegie Hall in 1891. Shortly after the premiere of his Symphony No. 6, Op. 74, in B minor, “Pathétique,” he drank some contaminated water and died of cholera in 1893.
The Nutcracker is a two-act ballet originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov. The libretto is adapted from E.T.A. Hoffmann’s story, “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King.” It premiered in St. Petersburg in December 1892. The original ballet production was not a success, but the twenty-minute suite that Tchaikovsky extracted from the ballet was. Despite this difficult beginning, The Nutcracker ballet has enjoyed enormous popularity since the late 1960s, especially in the United States. Major American ballet companies generate around 40 percent of their annual ticket revenues from performances of The Nutcracker. The suite has become one of Tchaikovsky’s most famous compositions.
A Festive Christmas Celebration
Choral arrangement by Audrey Snyder, band arrangement by John Moss (1948 – 2010)
A Festive Christmas Celebration is a lively arrangement of four popular Christmas tunes: “I Saw Three Ships,” “Ding Dong! Merrily on High!” “Deck the Hall.” and “We Wish You a Merry Christmas.”
A Chanukah Celebration
Arranged by David Bobrowitz (b. 1945), scored for band by Kenneth P. Soper
David Bobrowitz studied trombone performance at the Mannes College of Music and went on to study music education at Teachers College, Columbia University. He studied composition with Robert Russell Bennett and has been a freelance bass trombonist, pianist, composer, and arranger in the New York area for more than thirty years.
A Chanukah Celebration is an upbeat medley featuring five traditional songs: “Chanukah,” “The Dreidel Song,” “O Chanukah,” “Rock of Ages” and “Who Can Retell.”
The Bells of Christmas
Robert Longfield
Mr. Longfield is an award-winning composer, arranger, and educator. He studied at the University of Michigan and the University of Miami, where he was a student of Alfred Reed. As a high school band and orchestra teacher, Mr. Longfield has been awarded “Teacher of the Year” by the Michigan School Band and Orchestra Association, and the “Mr. Holland Award” from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences for outstanding contributions to music education. A member of ASCAP, Mr. Longfield has received several commissions, and his compositions and arrangements have been played and recorded by bands in the United States, Europe and Japan.
The traditional carol “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day” is based on the 1863 poem “Christmas Bells” by American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. During the Civil War, Longfellow’s son joined the Army as a soldier and was severely wounded in the Battle of New Hope Church. Coupled with the recent loss of his wife, Frances, who died as a result of an accidental fire, Longfellow was inspired to write “Christmas Bells.” He wrote the poem on Christmas Day in 1863, and it was first published in February 1865. The song tells of the narrator’s despair, upon hearing Christmas bells, that “hate is strong and mocks the song of peace on earth, good will to men.” The Bells of Christmas sets the touching poem to music that evokes the carol and concludes with the bells carrying renewed hope for peace among mankind.
Music and lyric by Mel Tormé (1925 – 1999) and Robert Wells, choral arrangement by Audrey Snyder, band accompaniment by John Higgins
Written in 1944, “The Christmas Song” is commonly subtitled “Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire” and was originally subtitled “Merry Christmas to You.” According to Mr. Tormé, the song was penned on a particularly hot summer day. “I saw a spiral pad on his (Robert Wells) piano with four lines written in pencil…They started, ‘Chestnuts roasting..., Jack Frost nipping..., Yuletide carols..., Folks dressed up like Eskimos.’ Bob didn’t think he was writing a song lyric. He said he thought if he could immerse himself in winter he could cool off…Improbable though it may sound, ‘The Christmas Song’ was completed about 45 minutes later.”
Russian Christmas Music for Symphonic Band
Alfred Reed (1921 – 2005)
Alfred Reed was born in New York City and began his formal music training at the age of ten, studying the trumpet. He performed in small hotel bands in the Catskill Mountains as a teenager. In 1938 he started working in the Radio Workshop in New York as a staff composer/arranger and assistant conductor. He enlisted in the U.S. Army at the outset of World War II and was assigned to the 529th Army Air Corps Band. He produced nearly one hundred compositions and arrangements for band during just three and a half years of service. Reed later studied composition with Vittorio Giannini at the Juilliard School of Music. He enrolled at Baylor University in 1953, serving as conductor of the Symphony Orchestra while he earned his Bachelor and Master of Music degrees. He served as the executive editor of Hansen Publishing from 1955 to 1966 and taught at the University of Miami until his retirement in 1993. Following his formal retirement, he continued to compose and made numerous international appearances as a guest conductor.
In 1944 international optimism was high, with the successful invasion of France and Belgium by the Allied forces. A holiday band concert was planned by the city of Denver to further promote Russian-American unity, featuring premiers of new works from both countries. The Russian work was intended to have been Prokofiev’s March, Op. 99, but it had already been performed in the United States. With just 16 days until the concert, Reed was assigned to compose a new Russian work. Reed found an authentic 16th-century Russian Christmas song, “Carol of the Little Russian Children,” to use for an introductory theme. Drawing on his investigations of Eastern Orthodox liturgical music for other thematic ideas, he completed the score of Russian Christmas Music in time. The music was first performed on December 12, 1944, on a nationwide NBC broadcast.
The liturgical music of the Eastern Orthodox Church is entirely vocal, and Reed captured the sonorities, rhythmic inflections, and flowing phrases of the human voice in his composition. Although the work is composed as a single movement, it features four distinct sections. The opening “Carol” sets a gentle mood, followed by the “Antiphonal Chant” carried by the woodwinds. “Village Song” is presented in two-bar phrases that rise and fall with the liturgy. The church bells announce the final “Cathedral Chorus” that steadily builds, pauses for a soft chorale, then continues adding instruments until all of the colors and intensity of the celebration fill the cathedral.
Irving Berlin’s Christmas
Words and music by Irving Berlin (1888 – 1989), choral arrangement by Mark Brymer, band arrangement by Michael Brown
Irving Berlin was born Israel Baline in Tyumen, Russia. His family fled to escape the region’s persecution of the Jewish community, and he emigrated to New York as a child. As a teen, Baline worked as a street singer, and by 1906 he had become a singing waiter in Chinatown. His name was misspelled on sheet music, as lyricist “I. Berlin.” He decided to keep the name, becoming Irving Berlin. He went on to become one of the most popular songwriters in the United States, with hits like “Alexander’s Ragtime Band,” “What’ll I Do” and “White Christmas.” Berlin’s film and Broadway musical shows include Puttin’ on the Ritz, Easter Parade and Annie Get Your Gun.
About the work of a composer, Mr. Berlin said, “The songwriter must look upon his work as a business, that is, to make a success of it, he must work and work, and then WORK.”
The Night Before Christmas
Randol Alan Bass (b. 1953), poem by Clement Clarke Moore (1779 – 1863)
Mr. Bass grew up in Texas, studying piano, working in community theater and singing with local choral ensembles. A longtime student of choral music, Mr. Bass studied at the University of Texas at Austin, the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, and Ohio State University’s Robert Shaw Institute. Bass sings regularly with the Dallas Symphony Chorus and performed as solo pianist with the Coast Guard Academy Band in New London, Connecticut. His choral and instrumental compositions have been commissioned and performed by numerous ensembles throughout the United States, including the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Boston Pops Orchestra, the Tanglewood Chorus, and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.
This piece was commissioned by the Cleveland Orchestra in 1988 and is a very cinematic setting of the famous poem. It is believed that Clement Clarke Moore wrote his immortal poem “A Visit From St. Nicholas,” also known as “The Night Before Christmas,” for his family on Christmas Eve, 1822. He never intended that it be published, but a family friend learned of the poem sometime later from Moore’s children. She submitted it to the editor of the Troy Sentinel (New York), where it made its first appearance in print on December 23, 1823. The poem was subsequently reprinted in other newspapers, magazines, and books. Moore did not acknowledge authorship until 1844 in a volume of his poetry entitled Poems, published at the request of his children. Generations later, it is the most-published, most-read, most-memorized and most-collected work in all of Christmas literature. Moore’s poem is largely responsible for the contemporary conception of Santa Claus, including his physical appearance, the night of his visit, his mode of transportation, and the number and names of his reindeer.
March of the Toys, from the operetta “Babes in Toyland”
Victor Herbert (1859 – 1924), arranged by Otto Langey and Herbert L. Clarke, edited by R. Mark Rogers
Victor Herbert was born in Dublin, Ireland, and educated in Stuttgart as a cellist and composer. After moving to New York to advance his career, he quickly advanced from being the principal cellist of the Metropolitan Opera to the director of the Armory Band. He became the music director of the Pittsburgh Orchestra in 1898. His more memorable career was as a composer of symphonic and chamber works and a series of 40 comic operettas.
The most commercially successful of Herbert’s works was the operetta Babes in Toyland. Written in an attempt to outdo the musical production of The Wizard of Oz playing on Broadway at the time, Babes in Toyland premiered in the Grand Opera of Chicago in 1903. It wove together various characters from Mother Goose nursery rhymes into a Christmas-themed musical extravaganza. The show was immediately embraced as a classic of children’s music and has continued to be performed in various forms for several generations. The best-known scene is “The March of the Toys,” during which the evil Toymaker displays his toys for human children who have strayed into Toyland. We hear tinny trumpet fanfares at the start, a military style in the opening march theme, and the full band in the closing march.
It’s the Holiday Season
Choral arrangement by Roger Emerson, band arrangement by John Moss
This sprightly medley of holiday-themed songs includes “It’s the Holiday Season,” “Happy Holiday,” “The Holiday Season,” and “Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!”
Memories of sleigh-ride sounds from his New England childhood suggested the musical themes in this work. As with many of Anderson’s works, nostalgic bell and horse sounds are used in Sleigh Ride.
SJWS program notes are edited by Karen Berry from the composers’ notes, Band Notes by Norm Smith and:
Silver Clef Music
Randol Bass Music
The Night Before Christmas website
Leroy Anderson Official Website
C. L. Barnhouse
biography.com
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John Wesley’s 23 questions to the University of Oxford
John Wesley (1703-91) The date is 24 August 1744. John Wesley is preaching at St Mary's, the university church at Oxford. He asks the clergy, dons and undergraduates 23 searching questions. How would they answer them today? 1 You venerable...
John Wesley and the Bishop of Exeter
John Wesley (1703-91) John Wesley always claimed that he didn’t enjoy controversy. However due to the opposition which Methodism, which he founded, generated he was often drawn into controversy. When he began to write his second letter to Bishop...
What happened after John Wesley visited St Paul’s
John Wesley (1703-91) No-one was demonstrating outside St Paul's cathedral when, on Wednesday 24 May 1738, at about five in the morning, John Wesley opened his Greek New Testament to these words: 'Thus he has given us through these...
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The cleansing of Zabadani
“To those who analyze the revolution theoretically, head to the battle sites and turn your words into actions.” Al-Zabadani 18/06/2013
By Leila Al Shami. First posted at Leila’s Blog.
The town of Zabadani lies some 50 kilometers from Damascus, close to the Lebanese border in south-western Syria. Nestled between green mountains, it was once a popular tourist resort for Damascenes escaping the capital’s stifling summer heat. In 2011 Zabadani became a centre of resistance to Assadist fascism. Today the town is being pulverized and its people driven from their homes.
The first anti-regime protest was held in the town on 25 March 2011. A diverse revolutionary movement kept protests and civil disobedience alive and the town’s women overcame traditional social barriers to play a central role. They took to the streets despite the mass arrest campaigns and the security forces’ live fire.
In January 2012, Zabadani was liberated by the Free Army. As the state retreated the town’s people came together to keep their community functioning and to try alternatives to decades-long dictatorship. Martyred anarchist Omar Aziz was involved in setting up the local council. Its members were elected with wide popular participation including by Christian residents of the Sunni-majority town. Young revolutionaries produced a weekly magazine, ‘Oxygen’, dedicated to peaceful resistance and providing analysis of the revolution. A photography collective called Lens Young Zabadani was set up to document daily life.
Zabadani’s people have lived freedom, but this has come at a huge cost. In a pattern played out across the liberated areas, the regime subjected the town to a siege which by May 2013 had turned into a full blockade accompanied by daily bombing. Since 3 July the situation has dramatically worsened as a result of a regime offensive supported by masses of fighters from the Iranian-backed Hizbullah.
On 30 July Zabadani Council issued an urgent appeal. It stated that 48,000 residents had fled Zabadani to the nearby towns of Madaya and Bloudan. “The displacement of the people of Zabadani to Madaya means that they will be confined to a narrow and very densely populated geographic area already populated by a large number of displaced civilians and will be again besieged in an area which is being continuously targeted with barrel bombs by Assad’s warplanes and with heavy artillery bombardment by regime ground forces. The area is also surrounded by regime checkpoints where regime troops are already hunting civilians (men, women and children) from Zabadani, as well as warning them to prepare for a massacre and long-term siege.” It continues: “These threats against the people of Zabadani are the start of the regime’s and its accomplices’ planned ‘demographic change’ which we have warned repeatedly of. This threat to the people is not limited to Sunni Muslims but also includes the town’s Christian and other population, with all the town’s people being driven out in order to ‘cleanse’ the area and prepare for it to be resettled by foreign occupiers.” There are further recent reports that civilians displaced to two neighbouring towns, Bloudan and Al Mamoura, are being forced to leave. They have not been allowed to take their belongings, and many have been taken by military vehicles to Madaya.
The plan to cleanse Zabadani of its inhabitants came to the fore during recent cease-fire negotiations held between the Islamist militia Ahrar Al Sham, now the dominant armed rebel group defending the town, and an Iranian delegation, yet one more sign that it is now Iran, not Assad, which is calling the shots in Syria. The negotiations were premised on ending regime attacks on Zabadani in exchange for the end of Ahrar Al Sham’s campaign on the two Shia/regime loyalist towns of Al Fawaa and Kefraya in Idlib province. Yet negotiations broke down when Iran demanded demographic changes, calling for the removal of civilians from Zabadani in exchange for relocating the residents of Al Fawaa and Kefraya to Damascus.
Cleansing opposition areas of their Sunni inhabitants is not new. Following a cease-fire agreement in Homs, civilians were evacuated through ‘safe’ corridors. Many were detained by the regime and never seen again, the Homs Land Registry was destroyed and mainly Alawite regime loyalists were moved into now vacant Sunni houses. Perhaps the scenario is closer still to that of Qusayr, another predominantly Sunni and strategically important town near the Lebanese border surrounded by Shia villages, which links the capital with the regime’s stronghold on the coast and is an important supply route to Homs and from Lebanon’s Bekka Valley. Liberated Qusayr fell to the regime in 2013 following a fierce attack by forces including thousands of Shia fighters from Hizbullah. A Lebanese-negotiated agreement between rebels and Hizbullah saw the evacuation of rebel fighters from Qusayr, as well as civilians, with reports of homes in nearby evacuated villages being looted and burnt to prevent residents returning.
Qusayr was the first battle in which Hizbullah played a lead combat role. This pro-regime intervention by foreign Shia Islamists led to a deepening of sectarian tensions. A few days later there was a savagely sectarian response at Hatla in Deir al-Zour, where 60 Shia – some shabiha but at least 30 civilians- were killed.
Zabadani is the last remaining rebel stronghold in the Qalamoun mountains. It is of strategic importance to the resistance around Damascus for its supply lines from Lebanon, and it is also of strategic importance to the regime, Hizbullah and Iran. Yet beyond immediate military value, forced population transfers give rise to the fear that there’s a plan to divide Syria on sectarian lines, to redraw the borders with Alawites and Shia, Sunnis and Kurds all taking their own sections of the country. Far from being a prelude to peace, such a plan would precipitate an ethnic cleansing on a scale not yet seen in the country. Syria’s diverse ethnic and religious groups do not fit neatly into geographical areas and are spread across all regions. Even in the coastal region, the regime’s Alawite stronghold and presumably a key part of any future Assadist state, the two main cities – Lattakia and Tartous- contain major Sunni populations.
Zabadani’s people once took to the streets chanting the anti-sectarian revolutionary slogan “The Syrian People are One”. Now they are being expelled from their homes for the sake of what looks like an Iranian-sectarian partition.
at 03:12:00 No comments:
Labels: Break the Sieges, Zabadani
Leaflet for tomorrow’s London event marking the second anniversary of the Ghouta massacre, 2pm at Trafalgar Square. PDF version here.
GHOUTA: 2nd Anniversary of the Chemical Attack in Ghouta, Syria.
On the 21st of August 2013, the Ghouta area of Damascus was shelled with rockets containing the chemical weapon Sarin. Over 1,700 people were reported killed.
In response, Britain’s parliamentarians voted to do nothing.
Despite multiple Security Council resolutions, and despite a massive international disarmament exercise by the OPCW and the UN, Assad has not stopped using chemical weapons. Instead, a century after chlorine was first used as a chemical weapon against Allied soldiers on the battlefields of the First World War, Assad has revived its use as a terror weapon against Syrian civilians.
Since the destruction of Syria’s declared chemical weapons was completed, experts from the OPCW have found evidence to indicate the Assad regime has retained secret stocks of both Sarin and VX nerve gas.
As Britain’s politicians debate taking on ISIS in Syria, they must face the consequences of their failure to take on Syria’s greatest killer, Assad.
This ongoing failure has contributed to the rise of ISIS, has degraded the status of the United Nations, and has eroded the trust of Syrians.
This failure has cost tens of thousands more civilian lives since the Ghouta massacre, and still the killers remain free to kill.
Five things everyone should know about Syria today
1. So far this year, the Assad regime has killed 7 times as many civilians as ISIS.
2. Since Security Council Resolution 2139 banned barrel bombs in February 2014, thousands more have been dropped onto hospitals, homes, and schools. Some of these bombs use chlorine gas to add to the terror. 95% of victims are civilians.
3. Assad’s air attacks are a leading cause of Syria’s refugee crisis.
4. Many of the barrel bombs are dropped on areas under siege. More than half a million people in Syria live in areas with no access to food, water or medicine, including the areas of Ghouta that were targeted by Sarin attacks in 2013.
5. The international anti-ISIS coalition is flying in the same airspace where Assad’s air force is attacking civilians, but it chooses not to intervene.
#ClearTheSky
Assad’s air force has helped ISIS expand into Syria. His air attacks fracture communities and drive extremism. To stop ISIS, stop the barrel bombs.
Syria needs a political solution. As in Bosnia, action to protect civilians can create conditions for political negotiations. A no-fly zone can help protect civilians from the worst of the violence.
Too many Syrians spend their days looking up at the sky, watching for the next barrel bomb will drop and fearing where it will hit.
Join 100+ non-violent Syrian groups in asking for the international community to enforce the UN ban on barrel bombs with a no-fly zone. Join the call to #clearthesky.
Planet Syria on 5 things everyone should know about Syria today, with sources.
Clear The Sky event page on Facebook.
Breathless on Facebook.
In London, Syrians and their friends will be marking the anniversary with an event tomorrow Saturday the 22nd of August.
Assemble at 2pm in Trafalgar Square, before walking to Downing Street. Please bring flowers to mourn the dead.
More on the Facebook event page.
Labels: East Ghouta, Ghouta anniversary
Clear the sky
Photo: Syria Civil Defence rescue volunteers watch the sky as they eat.
On the second anniversary of the Ghouta massacre, Planet Syria and Breathless are campaigning under the slogan ‘Clear The Sky’.
Clear The Sky – Facebook event page.
Planet Syria write:
Two years ago on 21st August 2013 the world was focused on Syria after the government of Bashar al-Assad used Sarin on civilians in the worst chemical attack for a quarter of a century. (Since the Halabjah chemical attacks by the Saddam Hussein regime in 1988).
The world feigned outrage. Obama said a red line had been crossed.
But today the chemical attacks continue. Chlorine is routinely used in barrel bomb attacks on civilian neighborhoods. But it’s not the chemicals that are killing most people, it’s the bombs themselves.
Please invite all your friends to this event and do the following:
A) Join a street vigil or protest and look up towards the skies in groups. Educate the public around you by distributing fliers. Take photos and post them to this event. If you can’t do that...
B) ...Change your profile photo to a picture of you looking up towards the skies. Copy and paste the five points below into the description of your profile picture and add a link to this event.
C) Don't forget to use #clearthesky on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etc.
In London, Syrians and their friends will be marking the anniversary with an event this Saturday the 22nd of August.
More in this earlier post and on the Facebook event page.
What’s happened since 2013 in Eastern Ghouta?
Areas of control in Damascus suburbs. © Carter Center. From Amnesty International’s report Left To Die Under Siege.
By Mark Boothroyd
Since the chemical attacks on August 21st 2013 the inhabitants of Eastern Ghouta have had no respite from the suffering inflicted upon them by the Assad regime. The siege which only parts of Eastern Ghouta had suffered since early 2013, have now become total. Food and medical aid is reduced to a trickle, and falls far short of what is needed to meet the basic needs of the besieged population.
Lack of medical supplies has meant easily treatable illnesses can become a death sentence. Dozens of patients requiring dialysis have died as doctors are forced to reduce the regularity of treatments to conserve supplies. A report by the Syrian-American Medical Society , Slow Death: Life and Death in Syrian communities under siege, documented over 200 civilians who have died from lack of medical supplies over the past 2 years. Hospitals are targeted regularly by the regime. The Medical Director of the hospital in the town of Erbeen reported they had been attacked 10 times in the previous year, killing two nurses and badly damaging the facility.
Earlier in August, Amnesty International published a detailed report on the siege and regime war crimes in the region. The regime has subjected the towns and villages of the Ghouta to regular bombardment, sparing no part of the area. In May 2014 a warehouse housing humanitarian aid was deliberately targeted by the regime, killing several civilians and aid workers. Over 500 civilians have been killed between January and June this year from regime air strikes. Schools, markets, hospitals; the basic services required to sustain life are all attacked. The aim is to make the situation unliveable and break the will of the population to resist the regime.
On August 16th the regime again bombed the central marketplace in Douma. Over 100 were killed, and over 500 wounded. Several salvos were fired, the later ones timed so they would hit those trying to rescue the wounded.
The dire situation has lead to the phenomena of ‘bucket children’, groups of children who roam Eastern Ghouta scavenging and begging for food. With their parents unable to provide for them and little or no educational facilities, scavenging has become a way to pass the time, and perhaps secure at least one meal. In the situation of lawlessness and dire poverty, these children suffer high levels of abuse and labour exploitation, as well as the everyday risk of death from snipers, barrel bombs or shells.
The residents of Eastern Ghouta still participate in the resistance to the regime. The town of Saqba has a Friday demonstration every week without fail. The demonstrations range from a few hundred of several thousand at a time, and are used to demonstrate their opposition to the regime, and to place demands on the armed groups of the opposition.
The armed opposition is not spared criticism by activists in Ghouta. The armed factions in the region, most prominently Jaysh Al-Islam lead by Zahran Alloush, have been accused of monopolising food and oil supplies, driving up the price and aggravating the situation for the already impoverished residents. As well, hundreds of civilians have been detained by the armed groups. These detentions spurred three days of protest in June across Ghouta as thousands took to the street demanding the release of the detainees, the improvement of living conditions and the fall of Zahran Alloush.
The situation in Eastern Ghouta is a scandal and demands action. Join the demonstration on August 22nd to highlight the continued suffering of people in the Ghouta. Across Syria between 650,000 and 1,000,000 are trapped in nightmarish conditions, subject to siege and warfare. They need our support now more than ever.
Syria Relief: Al Ghouta Under Siege, 2 June 2015.
Médecins Sans Frontières UK: Medics under bombardment struggling against the odds, 11 February 2015.
Syria 1st-Hand: The Siege of Damascus Suburb of Douma, Channel 4 News report and tweets by Lindsey Hilsum, 29 March 2014.
Through the Camera’s Lens, a Snapshot of Life in Ghouta, by Katarina Montgomery, Syria Deeply, 29 January 2015.
Doctors Describe Public Health Nightmare Amid Constant Threat of Attack, by Katarina Montgomery, Syria Deeply, 12 March 2015.
Damascus suburb hit by poison gas remains cut off, besieged, by Roy Gutman and Mousab Alhamadee, McClatchy DC, 12 June 2015.
Comment: Syria's civilians have been left to die under siege, by Kristyan Benedict, Amnesty International, 12 August 2015.
Assad Walls Off the Besieged Damascus Suburb He Gassed in 2013, by Michael Weiss, The Daily Beast, 12 August 2015.
Surviving Will, on the Assad regime’s ongoing violence against civilians in Douma, filmed in February 2015 by New Horizon Team.
On Saturday 22 August we will mark the second anniversary of the chemical weapons massacre in Ghouta, Syria.
We will assemble at 2pm in Trafalgar Square, before walking to Downing Street. Please bring flowers to mourn the dead.
Labels: Break the Sieges, East Ghouta, Ghouta anniversary
A message from Syria to the United Kingdom
Via Raed Fares, on Facebook and on Twitter.
Ghouta: Marking the 2nd Anniversary, 22nd August at 2pm, Trafalgar Square, London
Despite multiple UN Security Council resolutions, and despite the massive international disarmament exercise organised by the OPCW and the UN, Assad has not stopped using chemical weapons. Instead, a century after chlorine was first used as a chemical weapon against Allied soldiers on the battlefields of the First World War, Assad has revived its use as a terror weapon against Syrian civilians.
Since the destruction of Syria’s chemical weapons was supposed to have been completed, experts from OPCW (Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons) have found evidence to indicate the Assad regime has retained secret stocks of both Sarin and VX nerve gas.
This ongoing failure by the Western powers has contributed to the rise of ISIS, has degraded the status of the United Nations, and has eroded the trust of Syrians.
Ghouta: Marking the 2nd Anniversary, 22nd August a...
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Review – Panic by Lauren Oliver
by Michelle | Mar 5, 2014 | Books Read in 2014, O Author | 6 comments
Title: Panic
Author: Lauren Oliver
Genre: Young Adult; Fiction
Origins: HarperTeen
Release Date: 4 March 2014
Bottom Line: Outstanding
“Panic began as so many things do in Carp, a poor town of twelve thousand people in the middle of nowhere: because it was summer, and there was nothing else to do.
Heather never thought she would compete in panic, a legendary game played by graduating seniors, where the stakes are high and the payoff is even higher. She’d never thought of herself as fearless, the kind of person who would fight to stand out. But when she finds something, and someone, to fight for, she will discover that she is braver than she ever thought.
Dodge has never been afraid of panic. His secret will fuel him, and get him all the way through the game; he’s sure of it. But what he doesn’t know is that he’s not the only one with a secret. Everyone has something to play for.
For Heather and Dodge, the game will bring new alliances, unexpected revelations, and the possibility of first love for each of them—and the knowledge that sometimes the very things we fear are those we need the most.
In this gritty, spellbinding novel, New York Times bestselling author Lauren Oliver delivers a gripping narrative of friendship, courage, survival, and hope.”
Thoughts: The setting of Panic is bleak. The town is poor; its residents are rough. There is an entire area in this small town denoted as Meth Row, a huge indication as to the type of activities of which many of the residents partake. For many kids, Panic is the only opportunity they will ever have to earn enough money to get out of Carp and seek other opportunities. Because of this, there is a sense of desperation among the players that is quite depressing even while it is understandable.
Fueling the air of despondency within the novel are the individual stories of the players. The poverty of each is unimaginable, but their personal histories are particularly heartbreaking. These are kids exposed to the worst that life has to offer but still fighting against similar fates. It is no wonder they each take their chances in Panic – because they have seen the alternative up close and personal and refuse to succumb to the miseries life has already provided them.
At the same time as readers understand and sympathize with each of the players, their reasons for playing, and the personal obstacles they have to deal with when not playing the game, Ms. Oliver turns Panic into a harrowing version of “Would You Rather.” However, in her version, the choices are not disgusting but insanely dangerous. The fact that kids knowingly put themselves through these types of challenges, especially with the knowledge that more than one person died playing the game over the years, highlights the kids’ boredom and neediness. For all of them, Panic is not just a method by which to earn bragging rights, it is seriously their last option for a better life. The danger is astonishing; their misery is even more so.
Not all with Panic is bleak. There are some very beautiful moments as well. Heather’s love for and fierce protection of her sister are particularly poignant, while her long-lasting friendships are sweet. Heather is an amazing character – independent, practical, and strong although underneath she hides a vulnerability and loneliness that one aches to ease for her. Dodge is less forthright and therefore less sympathetic a character, but his love for his sister is incredible. His memories of better times will bring a smile to a reader’s face.
With Panic, Ms. Oliver proves why she is one of the leading YA authors today. The tension within the story is outstanding. The characters are achingly realistic and the choices they must make are significantly excruciating. Each challenge is better, and more disturbing, than the last. Because the stakes are as high as they can possibly get, the anticipation and suspense never truly breaks. Much like the proverbial car wreck that one must slow down to observe, readers cannot fail to be drawn into this intense and thrilling story. It is a powerful read, one that haunts readers for a myriad of reasons.
Kailana on March 7, 2014 at 11:09 AM
One day I will read this author!
Michelle on March 7, 2014 at 8:34 PM
Oh, she’s so good. I enjoyed Panic more than I did Before I Fall. I still have to get to her other series though.
Carrie K. on March 5, 2014 at 3:35 PM
I enjoy her writing so much, but I was a bit hesitant in case this is another first in a series. Is it a – gasp! – stand-alone?
It IS a stand-alone novel!! How exciting is that?
Ti on March 5, 2014 at 9:01 AM
I thought this was about the apocalypse! Boy, I was way off.
It sounds bleak. Real bleak, but it still sounds appealing to me!
Michelle on March 5, 2014 at 9:06 AM
The apocalypse? No. It is bleak. The town is poor, as are the inhabitants. It’s very depressing just how poor the townspeople are. This adds a level of desperation to the game of Panic that tears your heart but emotionally invests you in the proceedings. I adored this book in spite of its bleakness.
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pilgrim days.
i looked to jesus, and I found | in him my star, my sun | and in that light of life i'll walk | 'til pilgrim days are done.
the story.
The Real Enemy...
"Katniss, when you're in the arena...remember who your real enemy is."
The real enemy? When you're in an arena full of people trying to kill you, who isn't a real enemy? Katniss was on the way to her second appearance in the Hunger Games, where she was sure to be the prime target of the other former victors, and her mentor, Haymitch, was talking about "real enemies."
If I'm Katniss Everdeen, I'm coming out swinging. I'm shooting my arrows first, asking questions later. I've seen too much carnage. The Hunger Games only have one survivor.
But Haymitch was right, wasn't he? At the end of the day, the other competitors were not Katniss's real enemy. Sure, some of them were trying to kill her (certainly a qualification for "enemy" in my opinion). However, even the "career" tributes from District 2 were not her real enemy...and she wasn't theirs either. The real enemy was the Capitol--the oppressive government that created the Hunger Games in the first place. It was the sadistic system that annually required all 12 districts of Panem to send two teenage tributes to fight each other to the death.
Katniss's real enemies were not the other tributes...not even the ones who were trying to kill her. No. Katniss's real enemy was the Capitol, the power that played them all against each other. While all the tributes fought and killed one another in the Arena, year after year, the Capitol was the real enemy of all of them.
This picture stuck with me from Catching Fire, the second book in the Hunger Games trilogy--this picture of men and women fighting each other in a bloodbath, fighting for their very lives, forgetting that they all share a common enemy. This picture stuck with me because I think it's pretty similar to where we are right now in the Culture Wars.
Make no mistake: despite some seemingly holy intentions, the Culture War is no holy war.
At the end of the day, even if a winner does emerge from the battle, like the Hunger Games, the carnage left behind is irreparable...and there will just be another fight the following year. More fear. More blood. More victims. The victor survives, but no one really wins...no one, that is, except the real enemy behind it all.
Enter "God is Not Dead," the movie...stage right.
This movie, now in theaters, appears to be one more shot fired in the Culture Wars, and a particularly vindictive one at that.
Christian college student Josh Wheaton goes off to college and is told by the atheist Professor Radisson on the first day of philosophy class that he must sign a paper saying "God is Dead" or receive an F. He refuses, which according to the movie's website, provokes an "irate reaction from his smug professor." The professor challenges Josh to a head-to-head debate where he must present "well-researched, intellectual arguments and evidence" for the existence of God...or, again, fail. And we can probably figure out what happens from there.
Okay, to be fair, I haven't seen this movie. I've only seen the trailer. So I stand ready to be corrected if my take here is wrong. However, let's remember that the trailer is produced by the same people who produced the movie. They select the clips and the quotes to include. One would imagine they'd put their best foot forward in the trailer. Well...see for yourself:
This is war. It's on. The faithful vs. the unfaithful. The believers vs. the unbelievers. The Christian faith is under attack, we must fight back. “This is something God wants me to do," an exasperated Josh explains to his girlfriend, "I can’t just turn away from it.” This is a war that God has commissioned.
But did He?
We often hear the verse quoted from 1 Peter, "always [be] prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you." Yes, we should be prepared to make a defense...but neither should we forget the rest of the verse! "Yet do it with gentleness and respect." It appears from the trailer that Josh was prepared to defend his faith, but gentleness and respect? In the last scene of the trailer, we see Josh up in his professor's face, yelling, demanding, "WHY DO YOU HATE GOD?"
Put yourselves in the shoes of someone who does not believe in God. You've just watched this trailer for "God is Not Dead." What question are you asking yourself? Perhaps you're asking, "Why do Christians hate me?"
"But there really are professors like that!" some will say. "There really are antagonistic atheists, especially on college campuses!" Yes, indeed there are. (Although I highly doubt that requiring freshmen to recant their faith in order to pass a class would fly in any serious institution today.) But yes, there are antagonistic atheists, and there are professors who try to convince their students that God is dead. There are also Christians who belittle and demonize atheists. There are Christians who make movies that misrepresent them. There are Christians who yell, "WHY DO YOU HATE GOD?"
Atheists are not our real enemy...neither are Muslims, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, or other Christians we happen to disagree with.
"Okay, but they're fighting us!" They might be. Some certainly are! Many, I would argue, are largely indifferent toward us...when we're not yelling at them, that is. But what of the ones who are fighting us? What about those antagonistic college professors? What about the activists who want to label Christian doctrine as hate speech? What about the other tributes in the Arena--the ones trying to kill Katniss?
We must remember who the real enemy is.
Paul tells us in his letter to the Ephesians that we are not fighting against flesh and blood, but rather, against "the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic power over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places." (6:12) And what of our "enemies" here on earth? Those who hate us, who demean and belittle us, those who would even seek to do us harm? Jesus is clear: "Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you." (Luke 6:27-28)
We are not trying to defeat people. We're not fighting against people, even if they are fighting against us. We are called to love, and there is no greater love, Christ tells us, than someone laying down his life for his friends. Christ laid down his life for us when were his enemies. Are we not called to follow his pattern of self-sacrifice? I love this line from a hymn and its description of the Church's mission: "Our call to war: to love the captive soul, but to rage against the captor; And with the sword that makes the wounded whole, we will fight with faith and valor." Amen.
When will we see the college professor not simply as the "antagonistic atheist," but as the man, created in God's image, who loves the pursuit of knowledge and truth, who has been gifted with great intelligence, who loves and takes care of his family...and who needs Jesus? When will we see our neighbor not as the "weird new-age lady," but as the woman, created in God's image, who loves our planet and our fellow creatures, who has been gifted with great creativity and passion, who works hard for the peace of her community...and who also needs Jesus?
Enter "Noah"...stage left.
I've seen a number of Christians decrying the "Noah" movie that's also out in theaters right now. They list many things wrong with it, but one argument I keep seeing goes something like this: "the movie is made by a self-avowed atheist! How could an atheist make a good movie about the Bible? It's seeking to undermine Christian teaching, and thus, we should fight against it." Yes, it's true. Darren Aronofsky doesn't believe in the God of the Bible. Yes, his screenplay departs from the biblical narrative in a number of very significant ways. However, I think he made a powerful movie. There were some large theological holes, sure. (The rock people were more-than-a-little hokey.) But ultimately, in Aronofsky's "Noah," we see the depths of human sin, we see God's divine judgment of that sin, and we see God's mercy to those who really don't deserve it. We see Noah wrestling between the concepts of justice and mercy. Is that not the gospel? Certainly not the complete gospel, but at least a glimpse of it? Instead of decrying the fact that an unbeliever made a movie that departed from the biblical account, can we not rejoice that an unbeliever made a movie that demonstrates some of the most basic themes of the good news to mainstream audiences? Can we admit that someone who doesn't believe in God can still make a movie that we can learn from?
Because of its artistry and its themes of justice and mercy, I won't be surprised if "Noah," a movie by an unbeliever, starts far more gospel conversations than "God is Not Dead," a movie made by Christians...a movie that can't seem to decide if it's an evangelistic device or self-congratulatory diatribe.
Friends, Professor Radisson is not the enemy. Darren Aronofsky is certainly not the enemy. Our real enemy is the Devil, who would much rather us focus our firepower toward our fellow humans. He is the one we fight.
However, unlike Katniss, we fight with the knowledge that the real enemy has already been defeated. We fight with the full assurance of the outcome. We take courage, and through love and self-sacrifice, we fight to show our "enemies" here on earth that our real enemy is the father of lies, and Christ offers freedom.
The words are Haymitch's to Katniss, but they could very well be Paul's words to the Ephesian church and to us...
"Katniss [Christians], when you're in the arena [the world]...remember who the real enemy is."
stephen moss.
florida native.
tennessee convert.
midwest rookie.
twenty-something seminary student in saint louis, mo.
graduate of samford university & former ruf staff @ the university of tennessee.
Lord, Have Mercy...
Tweets by @stephenrmoss
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Sooners in the NFL
Riley Football Camp
HS Coach Ticket Requests
By John Rohde
Special to SoonerSports.com
Offensive lineman Ben Powers was so misjudged coming out of high school in Kansas he wasn't even allowed to walk on at an in-state major-college program.
Fast forward four years: The Oklahoma senior guard this week was selected as a semifinalist for the prestigious Outland Trophy.
Voted upon by the Football Writers Association of America, the Outland Trophy is presented to college football's best interior lineman on offense or defense. Powers is one of eight semifinalists and the field will be reduced to three finalists next week.
As an Outland semifinalist, it's almost a certainty the FWAA will select Powers as a first-team All-American. In his three seasons at OU, Powers twice has been a Big 12 second-team all-conference pick and was a first-team all-conference preseason selection this summer along with fellow left-side Sooners offensive lineman Bobby Evans.
Pretty heady stuff considering the impression Powers left on major-college coaches while at Wichita's Kapaun Mt. Carmel High School.
“I had zero offers out of high school. Zero,” Powers explained at Big 12 Media Days last July in Frisco, Texas. “The best offer I had was (Division II) Pittsburg (Kan.) State. I'm talking no Division I, no FCS, no nothing. Nobody wanted me. So I bet on myself and I went to junior college.”
"I had zero offers out of high school. Zero. Nobody wanted me. So I bet on myself."
- Ben Powers
Powers was particularly miffed at Kansas State. “They didn't even want me to walk on,” Powers said. “You know the recommended walk-on thing? No, not even that.”
Powers made an immediate impression at Butler Community College, located 30 miles northeast of Wichita in El Dorado. He received seven scholarship offers from notable schools his freshman season.
Kansas State was among them. “Yeah, they wanted me,” Powers said, “and I did not want anything to do with them. If they didn't want me four months previously, why would they want me now? Look, you go from August to when I got to Butler, and you go to December. What changed? Not much. Not a whole lot.”
Powers chose OU over TCU and enrolled immediately so he could participate in spring practice with the Sooners.
“Looking back, I'm glad it happened that way, because I bet on myself and I believed in myself when no one else did, and that really meant a lot,” Powers said of opting for community college.
Powers was picked by teammates as a team captain this season and is a key component on an offensive line that is arguably the nation's finest.
OU leads the country in yards per play (8.91), which is on pace to set an FBS record. The Sooners also lead in total offense (577.91 yards), touchdowns (64) and yards per rush (6.83). Their yards-per-completion average (16.92) ranks fifth. Their balanced attack averages 319.7 yards passing and 257.4 yards rushing, which each rank ninth nationally.
OU's offensive front is overwhelmingly physical and emotional. “They're like that,” offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh said. “That's how they play.”
Powers starts at left guard, but also has played some right guard for the Sooners. Alongside this season are fellow linemen Evans at left tackle, redshirt freshman Creed Humphrey at center, senior Dru Samia at right guard and redshirt junior Cody Ford at right tackle.
“This connection, the brotherhood these guys have in the meeting room, is unprecedented,” Powers said of the O-line. “It really is. I just love it.”
Bedenbaugh admitted he was one of those college coaches who was unaware of Powers coming out of high school.
How much has Powers improved since he arrived at OU in the spring semester of 2016? “Quite a bit, obviously,” Bedenbaugh said. “A lot of that goes into the hard work and time he's put in. He was ready to play, but probably not at a high level when he first got here. Right now, he's playing at an extremely high level.”
Powers said what makes the Sooners' offensive line particularly effective is they are all so similar. No one stands out more than the other.
Powers' personal accomplishments are difficult to ignore, however. He has allowed zero sacks this season (one pressure; two hits allowed), has 59 knockdowns in nine games and has been selected as one of the team's offensive players of the week three times.
“I've grown tremendously,” Powers said, “but that's also to say every single guy on this offensive line has done the same. That's a big attribute of the entire line. I'm close with every single guy, but Cody Ford, Bobby Evans, Dru Samia and I, we're all in the same class. We all graduated high school in 2015. This has to do with our connection together. Being able to be here and go through the process together, that's huge.”
Bedenbaugh agreed with Powers' assessment.
“I think they all are really pretty similar in how they work, their approach, how they play with their physicality and effort and toughness and all those things,” Bedenbaugh said. “All those guys, they prepare the right way. Those guys get along. They go out to eat together. They hang out together. I'm not saying they're together 100 percent of the time. I've always felt there's good camaraderie, good chemistry within the group.”
Normally abrupt in interviews, Powers somewhat mysteriously opened up during Big 12 Media Days and delivered this gem:
"A lot of people ask me what motivates me. What motivates me is I love taking a grown man's dreams and crushing them."
- Powers at Big 12 Media Day
“Offensive linemen, we just do our job and go home at the end of the day happy that we dominated the man in front of us,” Powers said. “A lot of people ask me what motivates me. What motivates me is I love taking a grown man's dreams and crushing them.”
Powers also mentioned the Sooners' annual clash against West Virginia, which comes next week in Morgantown.
The game routinely is physical and chippy, but the Mountaineers have yet to beat OU since joining the Big 12 in 2012 (0-6). “I think West Virginia hates us more than we hate them,” Powers said.
Bedenbaugh is beaming at Powers being named a semifinalist for the Outland. “That's a big deal. No doubt about it,” Bedenbaugh said. “I'm so proud of him.”
And now Powers, a kid not even allowed to pay his own way and walk on at a major-college program coming out of high school, could soon be playing on Sundays.
“I definitely think he's going to get drafted,” Bedenbaugh said. “Now, where he gets drafted, I don't have any idea. There's a lot of things that go into that. His off-the-field stuff, his intangibles, all those things are going to check out. It depends how he finishes up the season. He's played good up to this point.”
Asked about his personal goals, Powers said, “I want to be an All-American, all that good stuff, but I want to win the national championship and I want to have the best offensive line in the nation.”
By the time Powers leaves OU, he could have it all.
Outland Semifinalist
OU vs. Kansas
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StarShipSofa No 426 Christopher Priest and Carli Velocci
March 8, 2016 by Jeremy Szal
Interview: Carli Velocci Why do we keep using Nazis in space trope?
Main Fiction: “A Dying Fall” by Christopher Priest
Christopher Priest’s book – The Inverted World
Originally published in Asimov’s – December 2006
Christopher Priest was born in Cheshire, England. He began writing soon after leaving school and has been a full-time freelance writer since 1968. He has published thirteen novels, four short story collections and a number of other books, including critical works, biographies, novelizations and children’s non-fiction.
His novel The Separation won both the Arthur C. Clarke Award and the BSFA Award. In 1996 Priest won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for his novel The Prestige. He has been nominated four times for the Hugo award. He has won several awards abroad, including the Kurd Lasswitz Award (Germany), the Eurocon Award (Yugoslavia), the Ditmar Award (Australia), and Le Grand Prix de L’Imaginaire (France). In 2001 he was awarded the Prix Utopia (France) for lifetime achievement.
He has written drama for radio (BBC Radio 4) and television (Thames TV and HTV). In 2006, The Prestige was made into a major production by Newmarket Films. Directed by Christopher Nolan, The Prestige went straight to No.1 US box office. It received two Academy Award nominations.
Chris Priest’s most recent novel The Gradual will be published by Gollancz in 2016, and in the USA by Titan Books, He is Vice-President of the H. G. Wells Society. In 2007, an exhibition of installation art based on his novel The Affirmation was mounted in London.As a journalist he has written features and reviews for The Times, the Guardian, the Independent, the New Statesman, the Scotsman, and many different magazines.
Narrated by Mikael Naramore
Mikael Naramore has worked in the audiobook industry since 2001 when, fresh out of college, he was hired as a recording engineer for publisher Brilliance Audio (now Brilliance Publishing, subsidiary of Amazon.com). Over time, he transitioned to Director, all the while absorbing technique and nuance from the best actors in the business. To date, Mikael has narrated well over 100 titles, under his own and assumed names. Authors range from best-sellers Nora Roberts, Lisa Gardner, Edward Klein and Clive Barker to sci-fi rising stars Wesley Chu, Ramez Naam and Mark E. Cooper.
He was recently chosen to narrate prolific playwright and Oscar-nominated screenwriter Robert Ardrey’s seminal Nature of Man series which includes the international best-sellers African Genesis and The Territorial Imperative, titles which reportedly had a very heavy influence on Arthur C. Clarke and Stanley Kubrick in their development of 2001: A Space Odyssey as well as Kubrick’s adaptation of A Clockwork Orange.
Mikael is also an active writer, musician and recording artist, having scored the soundtrack to an independent short film, produced and engineered critically acclaimed rock records, and written, performed and recorded several “silly little lo-fi rock songs” of his own. He currently resides in the wild and scenic Columbia River Gorge outside of Portland, Oregon with his wife, two small boys and their beloved Golden Retriever.
Discuss this episode on our forums.
http://rss.acast.com/starshipsofa/starshipsofa-no-426-christopher-priest-and-carli-velocci/media.mp3
Categories: Podcast | Tags: a dying fall, asimovs, carli velocci, christopher nolan, christopher priest, hard sf, inception, mikael naramore, motherboard, nazis, the dark knight, the inverted world, the prestige, time travel sf
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Wild 400487031
Getting NHL franchise up and running in Las Vegas keeping McPhee busy
By Michael Russo Star Tribune
November 8, 2016 — 11:30pm
LAS VEGAS – He doesn’t have any players, or a coach, or an equipment manager or even a PR person, yet there was George McPhee, on Labor Day, hard at work at an upscale building in the Las Vegas suburb of Summerlin.
That building, bought 14 months earlier to house one of billionaire businessman Bill Foley’s title insurance companies, is doubling as the administration office for Foley’s newest baby — the 31st National Hockey League franchise.
The team will debut at T-Mobile Arena — off the Las Vegas Strip between New York-New York and Monte Carlo — next October.
McPhee, who spent 17 years with the Washington Capitals, was hired to manage the soon-to-be named team in July, and wasn’t the only one working on this national holiday. So was Katy Boettinger, McPhee’s director of hockey administration with the Capitals and his first hire in Sin City.
“Oh, shoot,” McPhee said, realizing he locked himself out of the office. He dialed Boettinger’s cell. “Katy, I left the thing — the key card — on my desk.”
It had been a busy weekend for McPhee. Two days earlier, he bought a house, a car, two beds, checked out a church and toured two schools for one of his three children — 11-year-old Adelaide, who will remain in Maryland with mom, Leah, this school year — to attend.
After two years of speculation that the NHL would become the first of the four major professional sports leagues to call Las Vegas home, McPhee will get to build the franchise from the ground up.
“It hit me when I was filling out my change-of-license form for the DMV,” McPhee said. “I was writing down my address, ‘Las Vegas, Nevada,’ and was like, ‘Holy cow, we’re here.’
“Most managers would probably fantasize getting an expansion team one day and being able to build it from the bottom up, and I certainly did. But when I arrived here and I saw the arena, not only the great location, but the arena itself, I couldn’t believe it.
“We have it all here. It’s easy to get around, it’s a beautiful place to live, no state income tax. My first news conference in Washington, there were, I think, three media people there. Here, there must have been 40. I was a little startled, thinking, ‘This is big time.’ ”
Team name, logo to come
On Nov. 22, the franchise will unveil its team name — likely the Desert Knights, Silver Knights or Golden Knights — and logo.
McPhee has 35 employees — and counting — on the hockey side, including more than a dozen scouts. Because so much can change in the NHL, McPhee doesn’t plan to hire a coach until after this season.
“I literally walked upstairs from my introductory news conference and started making phone calls, and it hasn’t stopped,” McPhee said. “The first couple weeks were incredibly overwhelming the number of people that called, texted and e-mailed. I couldn’t keep up.”
Murray Craven, after two years of advising Foley during his pursuit of a franchise, is senior vice president. He’s in charge of special projects such as finding an American Hockey League affiliation, hiring the training staff and medical team and taking the best ideas from all the practice facilities in the NHL and putting it all into one for a 120,000 square-foot practice facility that broke ground 20 minutes from the Strip last month.
But back on Labor Day, as McPhee sat in a giant boardroom and stared at a wall, his only focus was the following day, Sept. 6.
“Tomorrow’s going to be a historic day for us,” McPhee said, smiling. He was preparing for the first scouting meetings. which started with a team photo, included a swanky dinner at the Bellagio and a bonding outing to TopGolf.
Scouts received laptops, iPads, instructions on how to work the franchise’s customized scouting program, decided on the best way to do expenses and received initial coverage schedules.
But most importantly, they talked culture and the type of player McPhee wants to play in the entertainment capital of the world.
“Hockey’s a great game and it should never be boring,” McPhee said. “We’ll never be a team that sits back and doesn’t challenge. Teams that can score goals are fun to watch.”
Expansion draft key
Las Vegas will begin fielding a roster with the aid of an expansion draft. Teams must submit their protected lists June 17. On June 20, Las Vegas must submit its selections, to be announced the following day.
The franchise must select one player from each club, including 14 forwards, nine defensemen and three goalies and have a minimum of 20 players under contract for 2017-18 at an aggregate value of at least 60 percent ($43.8 million) of this season’s $73 million salary cap ceiling.
McPhee also will be permitted to sign pending unrestricted and restricted free agents who are left unprotected.
“So are we doing mock drafts every month?” McPhee said. “I’d like to. Even though I know it’ll be a total guess and things will change constantly as to who may be available to us, it’ll also allow us to become familiar with all the rules and really understand what kind of team we can start with.”
Vegas pro scouts Mike Foligno and Jim McKenzie already have taken in some Wild games.
NHL draft even more important
On June 23-24 at the NHL draft in Chicago, Las Vegas will get its first crack “at hopefully drafting our own Auston Matthews,” McPhee said.
Even though the expansion draft rules will make Las Vegas better equipped to succeed faster than past expansion teams, McPhee says the amateur draft is key to long-term success.
Las Vegas will be given the same odds in the 2017 draft lottery as the team finishing with the third-fewest points this season. As a result, Las Vegas will be guaranteed no lower than the sixth overall selection.
“We have to do really well in the draft,” McPhee said. “We’re going to have to have some lottery picks initially the first few years, but we don’t want to be doing that a long time.”
The final of Foley’s three installments to meet the NHL’s $500 million expansion fee is due April 1. After that, everything’s official. McPhee will even be permitted to start attending Board of Governors and GM meetings.
“I almost feel the same way today that I do the night before training camp, like a kid a couple of days before Christmas,” McPhee said. “It’s nice, I guess, at 58 years of age to feel that way. But I also feel there’s a tremendous amount of responsibility here. A lot of people are counting on us.
“The NHL is counting on us to succeed. Bill Foley’s put his name and his reputation on the line. There’s a lot of people here in Las Vegas that are really delighted to have a pro team and feel they’re a legitimate town now. So there’s a big responsibility here.”
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Wild re-signs Ryan Donato, Nico Sturm and Carson Soucy • Wild
The Old Man and the 'C': Wild captain Koivu rolls with the changes as elder statesman • Wild
It's NHL's turn to review replay • Wild
Hartman goes from Flyers to Stars to Wild in matter of days • Wild
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GENERAL Talk ANYTHING About TREASURE HUNTING »
General Talk about ANYTHING Regarding TREASURE HUNTING (Moderators: raquel_lyks, zeeker) »
What is the Truth about the so-called Marcos Wealth
Author Topic: What is the Truth about the so-called Marcos Wealth (Read 17369 times)
zeeker
Re: What is the Truth about the so-called Marcos Wealth
kizuna's real gender is now clarified
continue the journey
DoubtfulMind
@ Zobex, true as it may seems your perception regarding the corruption in our country that will change I hope with our new leadership.
Am proud to be a Pilipino and one reason is this.
In memory of CJ Jose Abad Santos
By: Lutgardo B. Barbo
Philippine Daily Inquirer
12:40 am |
Friday, May 4th, 2012Seventy years ago, at 2 p.m. of May 7 (some historians say May 2), 1942, the fifth chief justice of the Philippine Supreme Court, Jose Abad Santos, was shot to death by Japanese occupation forces for refusing to swear allegiance to the Japanese flag. At that time, he was acting president of the Philippines, having been appointed by President Manuel L. Quezon who left for the United States via Australia. On April 11, 1942, he and his son José Jr. were captured by the Japanese in Cebu and were taken to a concentration camp. When asked to cooperate with the Japanese, he refused to do so. The Japanese took him and his son to Parang, Cotabato, now in Maguindanao. The next day they were brought to Malabang, Lanao. Before he was shot to death, he was able to talk to his son. His poignant parting words were: “Don’t cry Pepito, my son. Show these people that you are brave. It is an honor to die for one’s country. Not everybody has that chance.”
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My Date With…
My Date With...Jason Derulo - Original Episode
By MuchMusic
TV Highlights
My Date With...
Thursday, July 8 at 8:30 p.m. ET on MuchMusic
Two lucky fans join singing sensation Jason Derulo for the latest episode of MY DATE WITH… Derulo lays on the charm, shows off some serious moves, and treats the fans to a private concert, all during a dream date they’ll never forget!
My Date With... Taylor Swift
Country cutie Taylor Swift is at the top of her game. She’s rapped with T-Pain, sparred with a Jonas Brother, gone triple platinum and celebrated more music awards than she has birthdays. Now, she and MuchMusic are making one super-fan’s dream come true on MY DATE WITH…TAYLOR SWIFT. The winning fan has a chance to take a private tour of Taylor’s dressing room (aka the T Party room), explore the shopping scene in Chicago and sit up front and centre at the singing sensation’s concert. Watch it all go down on Friday, Nov. 13 at 6:30 p.m. ET/ 9:30 p.m. PT on MuchMusic.
My Date With... Hedley
Hedley has come a long way since front man Jacob Hoggard’s stint on CANADIAN IDOL. They’ve toured with Yellowcard, performed at the JUNOS and won 4 MMVAs – and kept their trademark sense of humour along the way. Now, Hedley teams up with MuchMusic to give one fan the chance of a lifetime by spending the day with them in their hometown of Vancouver. On MY DATE WITH…HEDLEY, the lucky winner gets to see the sights, push the limits on a high-speed zipline, and taste the rock star lifestyle with the guys who live it. Watch the lucky fan’s dream come true on Friday, Nov. 6 at 6:30 p.m. ET/ 9:30 p.m. PT on MuchMusic.
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PGA Tour stop in W.Va. announces September dates
WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. (AP) — The PGA Tour’s annual stop in West Virginia has officially moved to September.
The Greenbrier resort announced Monday that A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier will be held Sept. 12-15 on the Old White TPC in White Sulphur Springs. In previous years the tournament typically was held around the Independence Day holiday in July.
The tournament will be part of the PGA Tour’s fall schedule, taking place three weeks after the Tour Championship in Atlanta.
The tournament honors the nation’s military members and first responders and will occur the week of the anniversary of the September 2001 U.S. terrorist attacks.
The resort also says Greenbrier vice president of golf Robert Harris will replace Habibi Mamone as the tournament’s executive director and that HNS Sports Group of Dublin, Ohio, has been retained to support the tournament’s business operations.
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Questions over coverage plague rural broadband expansion
In this Friday, April 5, 2019, photo, Kelly Povroznik grabs a few carrots from inside her storage space to give to her horses in their pasture outside of Clarksburg, W.Va. Povroznik teaches an online college course that has been hampered by slow connections on her computer and phone. There is widespread agreement that expanding broadband internet in rural America is desperately needed. (AP Photo/Craig Hudson)
By ANTHONY IZAGUIRRE Associated Press
There is a way around the notoriously sluggish internet in West Virginia. You just need a car and some time.
Kelly Povroznik can tell you, when she happens to get a good signal. She teaches an online college course so hampered by unreliable connections that she has had to drive a half-hour to her brother’s place just to enter grades into a database.
“It added so much additional work for me, and I just don’t have the time,” said Povroznik, who lives in Weston, West Virginia. “I just kept wanting to beat my head into a wall.”
Across rural America, a bandwidth gap separates communities like Weston from an increasingly digital world where high-speed internet has become a fundamental component of modern life, putting them at a disadvantage when it comes to economic growth and quality of life advancements.
A $4.5 billion federal grant program earmarked to expand wireless internet in rural areas was supposed to address the problem, but it’s on hold while the Federal Communications Commission investigates whether carriers submitted incorrect data for the maps used to allocate grants.
The broadband maps deemed Weston, a city of about 4,000 people, too well connected to qualify for a grant — even though the problems there are obvious to anyone who’s tried to send emails from their phones or gotten lost because Google Maps wouldn’t work.
FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel concedes that the agency doesn’t know for sure where the needs are most acute, calling it “embarrassing” and “shameful.”
“Our maps simply do not reflect the state of deployment on the ground. That’s a problem,” Rosenworcel said. “We have a digital divide in this country with millions of Americans who lack broadband where they live. If we want to fix this gap and close this divide, we first need an honest accounting of high-speed service in every community across the country.”
Lawmakers across the country are concerned that flawed, carrier-submitted maps on cellphone and home internet connectivity are crippling the effectiveness of various grant programs. In February, West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin joined 10 other senators in pushing the FCC for more accurate baselines.
Disagreements over the data have led to wildly different figures on high-speed internet availability nationwide — and a growing sense that the government just doesn’t know.
On one end, the FCC says more than 24 million people lack access to broadband at home. On the other, a recent study by Microsoft — which is pushing its own approach to extending broadband to rural areas — found that 162.8 million Americans don’t use the internet at high speeds, a problem that may point to cost of access, as well as lack of availability.
Part of the discrepancy has to do with how the FCC collects data. The agency considers an entire area covered if a carrier reports that a single building on a census block has fast internet speeds. Experts say this method allows carriers to attract more customers by advertising larger coverage areas. Critics argue that it is a poor way to determine internet speeds and have long called for more granular data.
Complaints about the wireless map have poured in to the FCC. The Rural Wireless Association, a trade group, asked the agency to investigate data submitted by Verizon and T-Mobile, suggesting the companies overstated coverage. The companies have denied doing so.
The February letter from Manchin and the other senators implored FCC Chairman Ajit Pai to use crowdsourced data and public feedback to create more accurate maps. Some of them have since introduced legislation to force the FCC to widen the scope.
Federal lawmakers from New Hampshire sent a separate letter, saying the FCC was forcing cash-strapped local governments there to disprove overstated claims made by carriers in the agency’s formal process for challenging the mapping data.
All told, only about 20 percent of the 106 carriers, government and tribal entities who could have challenged the FCC’s wireless map data actually did so, according to the FCC.
The whole process frustrated Manchin, who told the AP in an email: “As long as we continue to rely on carriers just telling us what they cover, we will never have a complete picture that depicts the real-world experiences of West Virginians.”
The FCC put the grant process for the $4.5 billion program on hold late last year as it launched an investigation into whether one or more major carriers violated rules and submitted incorrect maps. The investigation is ongoing.
Christopher Ali, an assistant professor of media studies at the University of Virginia, said the looming mapping question leaves the government flailing blindly at a problem that prevents it from meeting the needs of rural America.
“We can’t fix a problem when we don’t know where it exists,” he said, “and at the moment we don’t know where broadband deserts exist.”
Povroznik knows they exist in Weston, where she had to come up with work-arounds — including jumping in her car — to cope with spotty connections that disrupted her ability to field questions submitted by students online. She saw some improvement after switching service providers.
“In this technologically advanced world that we live in, it shouldn’t have been as difficult as it was for me to get this situation resolved,” she said.
Tali Arbel contributed to this story from New York.
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Miss Angelina with her 2 year old daughter
Principal: Angelina Spurrier
BA Hons (Dance) AISTD (Cecchetti) AISTD (Imperial)
Miss Angelina (as she is known to her pupils) started her ballet training with Molly Wright and Phyllis Adams in Great Yarmouth at the Phyllis Adams School of Dance, where Kenneth Macmillan (Choreographer, Royal Ballet) first started his ballet training. At the age of 6 Angelina gained a place at Merle Park’s School of Ballet (Merle Park was a Director of the Royal Ballet School) in Chiswick.
In 1979, at the age of eight, Angelina was offered a scholarship at the Paris Opera Ballet School. As a petit rat de LOpera (a name give to the young students attending the Opera ballet school) Angelina danced in a number of professional productions including The Sleeping Beauty, choreographed by Rosella Hightower, Le Festin de L’araignee and Movements, choreographed by Claude Bessy, Director of the Paris Opera Ballet School. She also participated in Nureyev’s rehearsals for Romeo and Juliet. Angelina danced for President Mitterand, and one of her most memorable experiences was when she met and danced with Gene Kelly in a tribute to An American in Paris.
When Angelina returned home to England she continued her training at Bush Davies, The Royal Ballet, Upper School TTC and Central School of Ballet.
Angelina danced with the Braunschweig Staatstheater, Germany, and danced in a range of classical and contemporary ballets; she was a member of the corps de ballet and was invited to perform the solo role of Queen of Spades in Jeux de Carte. Repertoire includes Giselle, Nutcracker, Rite of Spring, La Fille Mal Gardee, Bolero and a selection of other classical and contemporary ballets. Angelina first started teaching for Vacani in 1997 and since then has gained a first class honours degree in the Theory and Practice of Dance, and gained Distinctions for both her ISTD (Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing) Imperial and Cecchetti method teaching qualifications. Angelina is currently the ballet director of the Vacani School of Dance in Clapham and Colliers Wood; and Owner/Principal of Canada Water Studios.
Kirsten McCarron (see photo above)
Ballet Teacher BA (Hons) DDI Cecchetti
Originally from Scotland, Kirsten graduated from Central School of Ballet in 2009 with a BA(Hons) Professional Dance and Performance Studies. Kirsten danced professionally in a variety of international Ballet companies including the Estonian National Ballet, The Royal Opera and English National Ballet collaborating with street dance group Flawless. Kirsten has spent the past 5 years teaching ballet to children and adults in London. Kirsten is also a fully qualified Pilates Instructor.
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The Whitianga priest who is a father and grandfather
Posted On Wednesday, 10 July 2019 10:21
From a qualified barber and a banker with a lovely wife and two children to a Catholic priest, Father Tony Delsink, the priest of St Patrick’s Catholic Parish in Whitianga and St Mary’s Catholic Parish in Tairua, has packed multiple lives and many experiences into his 75 years.
Tony Delsink was born in occupied Holland in 1943, in a little medieval town called Deventer. Founded in the late 700s AD, Deventer still sports moats and remains largely unchanged. By the time Tony had finished primary school, his father was suffering from severe rheumatism and the family needed to make a relocation choice between the two much drier climates of Northern Canada or the South African Highveld. They moved to South Africa.
Landing in Pretoria in the middle of the school year, Tony was enrolled into Christian Brothers’ College, an English school, without speaking a word of English. Luckily, his entry mid-school term meant that he actually spent a year and a half in Year 6 and was able to build his English language proficiency and excel. After gaining his Junior Certificate at the age of 16, Tony left school and embarked on an apprenticeship to become a barber. After a few years, he determined that the barbering profession was not going to pay well and he joined Barclays Bank.
All new hires at Barclays were required to spend at least a year in a rural branch to learn from the ground up. Tony was sent to Swaziland, now called the Kingdom of Eswatini. Although he was only assigned to Swaziland for a short time, he ended up spending the next four and a half years there, meeting his wife Merle, who also worked at the bank.
When Swaziland gained its independence from Britain in 1968, Tony and Merle had to leave, because Merle was a citizen of Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) and would no longer be welcome in the country. The couple moved to Johannesburg, South Africa, where their son, Victor, was born later that year. In 1972, the couple had a daughter, Kylie.
Raising two children, Tony remained with Barclays Bank while Merle became more active in the Catholic church as a teacher of catechesis - basic Christian religious education of children and adults.
It wasn’t until 1983, as a result of an argument with a parish priest about an aspect of theology, that Tony picked up his first book on religion, the 1983 Code of Canon Law, which is the body of fundamental ecclesiastical laws for the Catholic Church. With his interest piqued, Tony started to attend lectures for a year and was interviewed about the potential of becoming a deacon - a single or married man ordained to an office in the Catholic Church. Still very much involved with his full-time banking career, Tony declined, although he committed to attending the five year course due to the personal interest in theology he developed.
In 1988, in the fifth year of his course, Merle passed away. As a recent widower with two teenaged children, Tony requested a transfer from Barclays’ branch system into the corporate head office. The bank moved him into their fraud prevention division where he spent the next seven years training bank staff on how to recognise the various forms of bank fraud.
At the same time, Tony also pursued his theological studies and was ordained as a deacon of the Catholic Church in 1992. This meant that during the week, Tony held down a corporate full-time job, while on the weekends he was working with the parish he was a part of.
Father Tony was ordained as a priest in 1997, while still working full-time in his corporate job. He referred to the holding down of two jobs at this time as “hell on wheels.” He held five services each weekend, then head back to work on Monday at the bank. One weekend, in addition to his five services, he also had two weddings and a funeral. He got home on Sunday, sat in his chair for a breather and woke up on Monday morning in the same chair, in time to go to work at the bank.
When asked if there was a cultural gap between the two roles, he said that corporate life and life in the Catholic Church are amazingly similar in that they both have a specific hierarchy, they both require preparation and they both involve a lot of public speaking. He also said that a surprising number of priests come from corporate life.
In early 1999, Father Tony made a trip to the UK to visit Victor, his son, who had moved there. It was suggested during the trip that after retiring, he might take a sabbatical in the UK. After the trip, when he returned to South Africa, he took stock of his life and decided to retire from the bank. In all, he spent more than three decades with Barclays.
Following his retirement, Father Tony contacted six Catholic Bishops in the UK, looking for opportunities, and landed in the Diocese of Plymouth for a two-year assignment, which turned into a stint more than double that time. He held varied priest roles in the Diocese of Plymouth, from a chaplain in a convent in Torquay, to a counsellor and chaplain in the Dartmoor Prison, to a priest for Notre Dame Girls School.
From the Diocese of Plymouth, Father Tony moved on to Cornwall where he took on the role of Dean of Cornwall, looking after the parishes of St Ives, Hayle and Germoe until 2008. He then moved to a Swanage, overlooking the Isle of White.
Kylie, Father Tony’s daughter, had moved to New Zealand in 2005 and Father Tony visited the country for the first time in 2007. On his third visit to New Zealand in 2009, Kylie and her family brought him to Whitianga. He described this visit as “love at first sight.” After another four years in Swanage, he made the move to New Zealand to be closer to his daughter and her husband and son, who is now just starting university.
Father Tony decided that rather than take on a parish role in New Zealand, he would work as a “locum” priest unless something came up in Whitianga. An opportunity came up after a few years and Father Tony was appointed to the parishes of Whitianga and Tairua in early 2017.
Apparently, although there are some previously married priests, Father Tony is relatively unique in that he has been a husband and still is a father and grandfather. He believes his life experiences have given him a fantastic grounding for the work he is doing with the Catholic Church. He understands children, is compassionate with regard to relationship counselling and is totally experienced with his own bereavement. It all serves him well in empathising and being responsive to his parishioners.
Pictured: Father Tony Delsink, the priest of St Patrick’s Catholic Parish in Whitianga and St Mary’s Catholic Parish in Tairua.
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‘By Any Means Necessary’ on an Upswing? How to Stop Campus Violence
A major uptick in violence on college campuses has been reported lately, concerning many over whether violence as a means of protest is now in vogue after a long dormant state. Is there a way to put an end to campus violence? Former Sen. Jim Talent has some ideas.
But first to recap a recent disturbing episode: You may have heard the story about Charles Murray, the famous social scientist who was invited to Middlebury College to speak and a mob broke out, threatening him and sending one of his hosts, Professor Allison Stanger, to the hospital.
Apparently, students at the liberal arts school were afraid of Murray’s words. He had written the book Coming Apart, The State of White America, 1960-2010, several years back, which premised that white America, like other racial and ethnic groups, is starkly divergent as a result of disparate wealth levels. The book description reads:
Drawing on five decades of statistics and research, Coming Apart demonstrates that a new upper class and a new lower class have diverged so far in core behaviors and values that they barely recognize their underlying American kinship—divergence that has nothing to do with income inequality and that has grown during good economic times and bad.
The top and bottom of white America increasingly live in different cultures, Murray argues, with the powerful upper class living in enclaves surrounded by their own kind, ignorant about life in mainstream America, and the lower class suffering from erosions of family and community life that strike at the heart of the pursuit of happiness. That divergence puts the success of the American project at risk.
Murray has been touring around the country discussing this book since its release. But college students at Middlebury decided that Murray needed to be shut down since he is so clearly (sarcasm) a “white supremacist.”
Murray says he was deeply shaken by the events that transpired, not because of the accusation, which he has confronted before, nor because of a protest of his speech, which is also not new to him. Murray said his fear stemmed from the animalistic behavior of the students.
Many looked like they had come straight out of casting for a film of brownshirt rallies. In some cases, I can only describe their eyes as crazed and their expressions as snarls. Melodramatic, I know. But that’s what they looked like.
Murray called for the university to inflict severe punishment on the students who behaved with such mob mentality, not because he was the subject of the attack, but because it is morally wrong and ultimately dangerous to normalize such behavior by letting it slide. Malcolm X popularized Jean-Paul Satre’s term “by any means necessary,” which predicated that violence is a fair tactic for protest. But even Malcolm X believed that violence is not necessary if the ends can be achieved through another method.
That’s where former Sen. Jim Talent comes in. Talent recently wrote that he thought America had already reached the point in which violence is never necessary as a means of political protest.
No one’s ideas should be shut out or shut down because of mob violence. Our people should not have to risk life and limb, or the destruction of property or property rights, because they want to speak or hear others speak.
But since it has evidently become popular again to use violence as protest (there seem to be plenty of examples of late), Talent says it’s time for government to get involved.
The government is not helpless to protect this right. Controlling the mob is something that governments have known how to do for millennia. In fact, if “controlling the mob” were a class in political science, it would be a survey course, part of “Government 101.”
And if local governments are unable or unwilling to protect the right to free speech on campus from the mob, state authorities should intervene and bring the full force of state law, and state resources, to bear.
In short, what is needed here is a classic exercise of the government’s police power, which belongs in the first instance to state government. So let’s not talk about the Justice Department intervening in this area. This is a job for the governments of the several states; in fact, it is an opportunity for the states to show that freedoms still matter, and that the law is still capable of defending them.
Talent offered a very legislative approach to coming up with rules about disorderly disruptions of speech on college campuses, including mandatory jail time for a first-time misdemeanor conviction, or a felony conviction for second offenses.
He also called for laws that require “automatic termination of any state employee, or expulsion of any student at a state university, convicted of violating the new statute, even if the conviction is a misdemeanor and regardless of whether the state employee has tenure or other civil-service protections.”
Talent also listed law enforcement training, special prosecutors, and other solutions in his piece.
Some of these solutions may seem severe, but Talent’s point, like Murray’s, is that failure to do anything is allowing the problem to grow.
Every time one of these episodes occurs, dozens of columns are written decrying them. That is good as far as it goes, but at a certain point it looks like hand wringing. The right response to speech is more speech, but the right response to violence against speech is not just verbal condemnation but strong laws, carefully written and stringently enforced.
We are not defenseless in the face of violence. This isn’t 1929, and America isn’t the Weimar Republic. Nor should our people have to rely on organizing their own self-defense. We don’t need anarchists and vigilantes fighting it out on the grounds of our universities. But that’s what we’re going to get, unless those who have the authority, and therefore the responsibility, take firm action to protect their people in the exercise of their rights.
Political speech is one thing, and shouldn’t be shut down, but violence is entirely another matter. Are new laws needed to curtail this particular type of violence?
Filed Under: Front-Page Feature, Liberty Tagged With: campus violence, Charles Murray, free speech, Middlebury College, protests, Sen. Jim Talent
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history documentary previews
Hudson River Journeys
Watch Thursday, September 29, 2016 at 7:30pm on WMHT-TV | WMHT production celebrating how the Hudson River inspired Pete Seeger and artist Len Tantillo and how they inspired each other.
The Hudson River School | Artistic Pioneers
The natural beauty of the Hudson River Valley, a picturesque section of New York State, has been called an American paradise.
1916 The Irish Rebellion
Watch Thursdays at 10pm April 7 -21 & Sunday, April 24, 2016 beginning at 2pm on WMHT TV | The dramatic story of the events that took place in Dublin during Easter Week 1916.
Soundbreaking: Stories from the Cutting Edge of Recorded Music
Watch November 14-23, 2016 at 10pm on WMHT TV | A behind-the-scenes look at the birth of brand new sounds.
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washingtonpost.com > Arts & Living
The Viewfinder
Ansel Adams spotted the scene in "Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico" (1941) in his rearview mirror. The photograph is among the 125 at the Corcoran Gallery. (Images From The Ansel Adams Publishing Rights Trust)
By Blake Gopnik
Ansel Adams produced some of the most iconic and breathtaking images of the great American outdoors: His famous photo of the church and tombstones in Hernandez, N.M., beneath the rising moon; images of New Mexico pueblos under the hot sun; quivering aspens at dawn in Colorado; and the peaks of the Sierra Nevada in California by every light you can imagine.
Today, the Corcoran Gallery of Art is opening a touring show that includes more than 125 of those fine-art photographs of nature.
They may show nature, but the first thing I see in them is the Great American Automobile. When I look at "Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico," I see the Pontiac station wagon Adams was driving along Highway 84, at 4:49 p.m. on Nov. 1, 1941, when he caught sight of an old-time Spanish settlement in his rear-view mirror, then screeched to a halt to capture it on film. In the pueblo pictures, I see the fancy Buick that Adams drove 2,400 miles in 1927, speeding him and its wealthy owner from their homes in San Francisco to the Southwest and back. Those magical pictures of Yosemite put before me all the vehicles it took to haul the 200 hikers of the Sierra Club -- the young photographer was an assistant manager for its outings -- to the trailhead.
Of course, none of those cars are visible in Adams's photos. (Or not in most of them, at any rate. More on that below.) But they are a hidden presence that helps give his photos force and builds their meaning. Adams and his images are a product of the glory days of Machine Age America, and they speak about it.
Adams's photos aren't just about landscape. They're about the particular confrontation between technology and landscape that made those photos possible. The images of the Sierra Nevada are as much about getting easy access to those mountains -- even with dozens of pounds of large-format camera equipment -- as about the mountains themselves. America's love affair with its landscape has never been only about the natural wonders it contains. It's been about pride in America's ownership of those wonders and the ability to go out from settled centers to take them in. Technology made it ever easier to make the trek; photographic technology made it possible to seize the instant of encounter and commemorate that ownership.
Let's not forget that Adams was the most technological of artists. In the 1930s, he helped found a group called f/64, named after the second smallest aperture on a view camera's lens -- the one that gave the sharpness that is such an Adams trademark, running from the nearest pebble to the farthest peak in every photograph. The movement's name, like its photographs, does homage to the power of photography's machinery as much as to the subjects it captures.
I owe Adams a debt of gratitude: He was the first artist I discovered on my own, as a 13-year-old wandering into a local gallery. His stunning pictures got me started in my love of art, and even led me, briefly, to a career in photography. What they didn't do -- and I bet I'm not alone in this -- is send me out to nature. They got me exploring, all right, but in the local camera stores and darkroom-supply houses, and into the depths of all the complex how-to books that Adams wrote.
Adams's own oft-told "eureka" moment came in 1930, when he paid a visit to Paul Strand, a pioneering modernist photographer from New York, when both were staying in New Mexico. (In a letter, Adams later reminded Strand of their encounter -- by recalling a drive they took together.) During that visit, Adams got a look at some of Strand's preternaturally crisp negatives -- there were no prints on hand -- and said it changed the way that he took photographs. What isn't even mentioned in that telling is the subject of those photographs, which would have been the hardest thing to read in negative. The moment's all about the legible technique that went into their making. Think about it for a moment, and you realize that Adams's greatest landscape images have more in common, as images, with Strand's famous photos of the gleaming insides of an Akeley movie camera than with any Frenchman's brushy "impression" of nature. At first, Adams's photos had tried to echo impressionist effects. The breakthrough moment came when Strand set him on another, more modern path.
At the Corcoran, think of how much the staccato repetition of pickets in an Adams fence, or the swirls of leaves in a view down on a forest floor, recall the almost abstract photos of machinery and gears that were pioneered in Europe in the 1920s. A slender white cross leaning drunkenly against a California sky looks like a motif from a radical Russian abstraction -- a few raking lines and angles balanced in a void -- pasted into the Western landscape. Adams's talent lies, maybe, in how he transfers a machine aesthetic out of the big city and into nature -- a classically American move.
In fact, the closest thing I know to the particular Sublime of Adams's high-contrast landscapes is the black-and-white photography Apollo astronauts brought back with them from space. In his most famous and successful photos, Adams's gaze is less immersed in the nature he shows than directed to some remote other, out there at an airless remove from us. It's the gaze of someone coming into nature from a world of machines and dependent on machinery to take that nature back with him, frozen and laid out for study, crystal-clear in all its parts. (Compare Adams to his younger colleague Lee Friedlander, whose great subject is everyday industrial America and whose photos show him swimming in it.)
At the Corcoran, there's an Adams self-portrait that depicts him only as a shadow, complete with tripod and huge camera, cast onto the landscape from afar. That same split reality, with light the only bridge between the photographic technician and the natural subject, is there in everything he shot.
Even well after color film had been perfected, Adams preferred the extra level of artifice that comes with black and white -- its dramatic ability to squeeze all of reality into a single continuum between gloom and effulgence. With a color photo, you can just about imagine yourself in the flesh in front of its subject. With black and white, there's no way you could be there: You know at once you're seeing through technology. Adams's art is built around that knowledge.
An Adams black-and-white is photography at its most technical: It depends on knowing everything there is to know about a film stock's "characteristic curve" and "spectral sensitivity graph" and other photographic esoterica. Ask anyone who's mastered Adams's famous Zone System -- a kind of 10-step program for perfect photographic exposure -- and they'll speak of long nights in the darkroom and eyes blurred from formulas.
None of which is meant to imply, for a second, that Adams is some kind of fake, or that he wasn't, to his very core, a true lover of nature or that his images are any less impressive than they seem. But what makes them powerful is the special tension inherent in them between the technology they depend on and the untechnological scenes they show. It's a tension we all respond to, because we're living it each time we glimpse a view from the car window.
Adams did take photos -- photos that are barely known -- that make their Machine Age context clear. But somehow they never speak as clearly of America's industrial reality as the ones that turn that context into subtext. In all the decades before he became an icon of photography -- great fame hit only in the 10 or 15 years before his death in 1984, at 82 -- Adams practiced as a commercial photographer, shooting whatever products or people he was paid to shoot. Such an image, of the U.S. Potash works in Carlsbad, N.M., is in the Corcoran show: It has all the hallmarks of Adams's technique, but falls flat compared with those photos where his technology comes head-to-head with nature.
Just by chance, The Washington Post also owns a bunch of Adams advertising shots, discovered in a drawer more than 10 years ago. There's not much of a clue to where they came from, but they feature trademark Adams subjects: the giant trees of northern California, the cliffs and peaks of Yosemite. Yet, in each shot, cars and roads bring people into the scene, so they can have fun and look sexy and, generally speaking, sell the tourist landscape all around them. One of them is a classically Adamsian shot of a famously huge tree -- with a shiny eight-door custom Cadillac parked at its base, disgorging happy city folk. In his commercial work, Adams depicted America's mechanized reality. His art displays its alter ego.
Ansel Adams, on tour from the Lane Collection at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, is at the Corcoran Gallery of Art through Jan. 27. Call 202-639-1700 or visit http://www.corcoran.org.
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Bush's Idea of Sacrifice
By Dan Froomkin
Special to washingtonpost.com
Wednesday, May 14, 2008 1:12 PM
The nation is in despair over the war in Iraq and the toll it is taking on our troops and their families. But President Bush shows no outward sign of inner pain.
He is chipper in his public pronouncements. His weekly bike rides and daily workouts have put a perpetual spring in his step. He's always ready with a wisecrack. He just hosted his daughter's wedding at his multi-million dollar estate in Texas. He takes more vacations than any president in history. He has made clear that he doesn't lie awake at nights.
And yet now it turns out that Bush has indeed made a personal sacrifice on account of the war. According to the president yesterday, his decision to stop playing golf five years ago wasn't just an exercise in image control or a function of his bum knee -- it was an act of solidarity with the families of the dead and wounded.
Here's the relevant exchange in an interview Bush gave to Mike Allen of Politico:
Allen: "Mr. President, you haven't been golfing in recent years. Is that related to Iraq?"
Bush: "Yes, it really is. I don't want some mom whose son may have recently died to see the commander-in-chief playing golf. I feel I owe it to the families to be as -- to be in solidarity as best as I can with them. And I think playing golf during a war just sends the wrong signal."
Allen: "Mr. President, was there a particular moment or incident that brought you to that decision, or how did you come to that?"
Bush: "No, I remember when de Mello, who was at the U.N., got killed in Baghdad as a result of these murderers taking this good man's life. And I was playing golf -- I think I was in central Texas -- and they pulled me off the golf course and I said, it's just not worth it anymore to do."
This is the latest in a series of statements by Bush, the first lady and Vice President Cheney illustrating how far removed they are from the consequences of the decision to go to war -- and stay at war.
But giving up golf?
Not only is it a hollow, trivial sacrifice at best, Bush's story doesn't hold water. While he dates his decision to abjure golf to Aug. 19, 2003 -- the day a truck bomb in Baghdad killed U.N. special representative Sergio Vieira de Mello and more than a dozen others -- the Associated Press reported on Oct. 13, 2003, that he'd spent a "cool, breezy Columbus Day" playing "a round of golf with three long-time buddies.
"Bush played at Andrews Air Force Base with Clay Johnson, Office of Management and Budget deputy director, Richard Hauser, Department of Housing and Urban Development general counsel and another friend, Mike Wood."
On that outing, he was typically full of what passes for good humor at the White House. The AP reported: "'Fine looking crew you got there. Fine looking crew,' Bush joked to reporters. 'That's what we'd hope for presidential coverage. Only the best.'
"He hit a couple of practice balls before flaring his tee-off shot into the right rough."
Dan Eggen writes in The Washington Post: "Democrats have criticized Bush for allegedly not requiring Americans to sacrifice enough while waging wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and for urging people to keep shopping as a way to fight terrorism after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Bush was also widely criticized in August 2002 when he decried terrorist bombings in Israel while golfing and then told reporters: 'Now watch this drive.'
"Although Bush says he has given up golf, he is a mountain-biking enthusiast who has been photographed taking part in rides. He took up biking after an injury sidelined him from running.
"Presidential historian Robert Dallek. . . said Bush's remarks about Iraq 'speak to his shallowness.' Dallek added: 'That's his idea of sacrifice, to give up golf?'"
In the Blogosphere
Jonathan Martin of the Politico called the golf revelation "a striking news nugget" and wrote: "You can be sure that this will launch a thousand liberal jabs and late-night jokes."
Indeed, the reaction in the blogosphere has been blistering.
Even the golfers aren't impressed.
William K. Wolfrum blogs for worldgolf.com: "In an insipid interview with the web site Politico that featured no less than 20 questions about his daughter's wedding, baseball, American Idol and who does the best impersonation of him, President George W. Bush was hit with a haymaker - Has he stopped golfing? . . .
"Bush has spent more time on vacation than any other president. . . . He's never attended a slain soldier's funeral. He's spent time fishing and endlessly clearing brush on his ranch, and attending his daughter's lavish wedding, among other things. But golf? Well, that would just send the wrong signal to the thousands killed in Iraq and Afghanistan and their families.
"War supporters take note - put away your golf clubs. It's just disrespectful."
Kevin Hayden blogs on the American Street: "Military funerals he's attended: 0
"Annual National Press Club comedy routines he's participated in: All of them.
"Times he played guitar while the Gulf Coast was drowning: 1
"Estimated number of returning veterans not being treated for PTSD and other disorders: tens of thousands.
"He's biked, run, worked out, met with members of athletic teams, thrown out first pitches, dismissed the importance of finding Osama Bin Laden, opposed expanding the GI Bill, but our troops and country can go to sleep happily assured that their Commander In Chief is not dissing their sweat and sacrifice, blood and tears by playing any of that dastardly golf stuff."
Blue Girl, Red State blogger Warren Street is skeptical of Bush's explanation: "Actually, it is far more likely that Bush quit playing golf because he was suffering from knee problems throughout the latter half of 2003," he writes.
And a Wonkette commenter suggests: "Has he thought about giving up Iraq for golf?"
A History of Cluelessness
In my March 25 column, Cheney's Unforgivable Egotism, I wrote about the vice president's incredible assertion that it is Bush -- not the soldiers and Marines who fight and die, or their families -- who is bearing the biggest burden of the war. Said Cheney: "The President carries the biggest burden, obviously; he's the one who has to make the decision to commit young Americans. But we are fortunate to have the group of men and women, the all-volunteer force, who voluntarily put on the uniform and go in harm's way for the rest of us."
Just a week before that, Tabassum Zakaria of Reuters quoted Bush as telling a group of U.S. military and civilian personnel in Afghanistan that he envied them: "If I were slightly younger and not employed here, I think it would be a fantastic experience to be on the front lines of helping this young democracy succeed. It must be exciting for you . . . in some ways romantic, in some ways, you know, confronting danger."
Sheryl Gay Stolberg wrote in the New York Times in December 2006: "The nation might despair, but not Mr. Bush; his presidential armor seemed firmly intact."
She noted: "On weeknights, the Bushes watch football or baseball on television, 'to try not to worry a little bit,' Mrs. Bush told CBS."
And Bush has repeatedly made clear that he is not overly troubled. People magazine asked Bush in December 2006 if he had trouble sleeping. As Karen Travers blogged for ABC News, his response was: "I must tell you, I'm sleeping a lot better than people would assume."
In June 2005, Bush told board members of the Radio-Television News Directors Association. "I'd say I'd spend most of my time worrying about right now people losing their life in Iraq. Both Americans and Iraqis." But then he added: "You know, I don't worry all that much, other than what I just described to you. I attribute that to . . . I've got peace of mind. A lot of it has to do with my particular faith, and a lot of that has to do with the fact that a lot of people pray for me and Laura . . . I'm sleeping pretty good. Seriously. I get asked that. There's times when I hadn't been. I've got peace of mind."
There's considerable evidence that Bush, who assiduously avoided combat during the Vietnam War, simply doesn't understand the sacrifices involved in war. In a January 2007 interview with PBS's Jim Lehrer, Bush was asked about shared sacrifice and responded: "Well, you know, I think a lot of people are in this fight. I mean, they sacrifice peace of mind when they see the terrible images of violence on TV every night. I mean, we've got a fantastic economy here in the United States, but yet, when you think about the psychology of the country, it is somewhat down because of this war."
At a June 14, 2007 White House briefing, then-press secretary Tony Snow insisted that Bush was on the front lines of the war "every day."
And in April 2007, first lady Laura Bush asserted that 'no one suffers more' than the president and she do when watching television footage of the carnage in Iraq.
The Moronic Interview
Has there ever been a more moronic interview of a president of the United States than the one conducted yesterday by Mike Allen? The only one I can recall that comes close was in June 2005, when Fox anchor Neil Cavuto asked Bush about John Kerry's Yale grades and the Michael Jackson trial's effect on public policy discourse -- without asking a single question about the war.
Allen's interview started off with seven questions about Jenna Bush's wedding, and went downhill from there.
The only really critical question came from a reader, who asked: "Do you feel that you were misled on Iraq?" Bush predictably ducked it.
Here are some of Allen's own questions:
"Mr. President, I know you're going to hate this, but I'm hoping that we may twist your arm and talk about baseball for just a moment. (Laughter.) Mr. President, you're a Major League Baseball team owner again. Everyone is a free agent. You have a Yankees-like wallet. Who is your first position player? Who's your pitcher?"
"Now, Mr. President, you and the First Lady appeared on American Idol's charity show, 'Idol Gives Back.' And I wonder who do you think is going to win? Syesha, David Cook, or David Archuleta?"
"All right. Mr. President, who does the better impression, Will Ferrell of you, or Dana Carvey of your father?"
"And speaking of impressions, our friend, Robert Draper, author of 'Dead Certain,' said you do a great impression of Dr. Evil from 'Austin Powers'."
Politico headlined its main story from the interview: " Bush warns of Iraq disaster". But Bush didn't actually say anything new to that effect.
Allen asked him: "If we were to pull out of Iraq next year, what's the worst that could happen, what's the doomsday scenario?" And Bush replied: "Doomsday scenario of course is that extremists throughout the Middle East would be emboldened, which would eventually lead to another attack on the United States."
In his dissection of the interview, Shakesville blogger William K. Wolfum calls attention to one particularly telling question. Allen asked: "Mr. President, the one thing we don't see in here is a computer, and we know that you went cold turkey off email for security reasons. What are you looking forward to when you finally get your computer back?"
But as Wolfum points out, Bush has never claimed he stopped emailing for security reasons.
Here's what Bush told CNBC in October 2006: "I tend not to email or -- not only tend not to email, I don't email, because of the different record requests that can happen to a president. I don't want to receive emails because, you know, there's no telling what somebody's email may -- it would show up as, you know, a part of some kind of a story, and I wouldn't be able to say, 'Well, I didn't read the email.' 'But I sent it to your address, how can you say you didn't?' So, in other words, I'm very cautious about emailing."
And here's what he told the American Society of Newspaper Editors in April 2005: "You know, I don't email, however. And there's a reason. I don't want you reading my personal stuff. There has got to be a certain sense of privacy. . . . And so I've made -- I've made an easy decision there. I just don't do it. Which is said, really, when you think about it."
Lashing out at Carter
One moment of real drama, however, came when Allen asked Bush about a recent comment by Jimmy Carter.
Allen: "Now, Mr. President, President Carter recently told Charlie Rose the next President could change America's image in 10 minutes. Here's what he said: 'I think the next President could change the image of this country around the world in 10 minutes by making an inaugural speech that would start off and say, "As long as I'm President we will never torture another prisoner, as long as I'm President we will never attack or invade another country unless our own security is directly threatened."'"
Bush: "Yes, well, what he ought to be saying is, is that America doesn't torture. If the implication there is that we do now, then he's wrong. And you bet we're going to protect ourselves by the use of military force. What he really is implying is -- or some imply -- you can be popular; if you want to be popular in the Middle East just go blame Israel for every problem. That will make you popular. Or if you want to be popular in Europe, say you're going to join the International Criminal Court.
"Popularity is fleeting, Michael. Principles are forever."
Tougher Questions
The White House yesterday also released transcripts of interviews Bush gave Monday to members of the foreign press.
Here's the transcript of his interview with Mona Shazli of Egyptian Dream TV.
Q. "You will be in the region very soon -- Israel, Saudi Arabia, then Egypt. The question is, maybe there are 250 million Arabs who think that President Bush has added to their suffering and problems during his administration. How would you adjudicate this?"
Bush: "I would just ask them to wait for history to answer the question. There's an advent of a young democracy in Iraq. Ask those people what it's like to live under a freer society, rather than the thumb of a tyrant or a dictator; or the people that we're trying to help in Lebanon by getting the Syrians out through a U.N. Security Council resolution; or the Palestinians who -- for whom I've articulated a state.
"In other words, I understand people's opinions. All I ask is that when history is finally recorded, judge whether or not I've been a contributor to peace or not."
Q. "Do you think history will be in your side?"
Bush: "I think history will say George Bush clearly saw the threats that keep the Middle East in turmoil, and was willing to do something about it, was willing to lead, and had this great faith in the capacity of democracies and great faith in the capacity of people to decide the fate of their countries; and that the democracy movement gained impetus and gained movement in the Middle East. Yeah, I think people will say, he had a difficult set of circumstances to deal with, and he dealt with them, with a sense of idealism."
And here's Bush talking to Lukman Ahmed of BBC Arabic.
Q. "You are calling both Iran and Syria to halt their support to Hezbollah. But in the absence of any direct contact with Iran and Syria, your administration -- how do you think both countries should stop doing this? You are not negotiating with them, you are not exploring other means to have them halt their support."
Bush: "So what's there to negotiate? I mean, they know my position. . . . "
Q. " Syria is -- last question, last question. Mr. President, seriously the end question. Obviously the people have in mind that the presentation at the U.N. with regard to the Iraqi weapon of mass destruction, so how do you see that?"
Bush: "Look, the difference was, in this case, there was concrete examples. I mean, everybody that analyzed the data realized it was true."
Bush in Israel
Bush arrived in Tel Aviv today to a warm welcome.
Here's Israeli President Shimon Peres: "Mr. President, you have demonstrated toward us a Biblical attitude, which is very rare; a warm friendship; a determined dedication to the promotion of peace and security in the entire region. . . . Mr. President, you stood like nobody else on our side in sunny mornings and stormy weather. So thank you, Mr. President."
Here's Prime Minister Ehud Olmert: "Since assuming office almost eight years ago, President George Bush has been our closest ally and partner. Your decision to celebrate this historic milestone with us is an extraordinary gesture of friendship, and is further evidence of your unending commitment to the security and well being of our country."
Editorial Watch
From the Jerusalem Post: "Of all the US presidents over the past 60 years, it is hard to think of a better friend to Israel than George W. Bush. No president has been more committed to steering the Middle East toward the values of liberty and tolerance which Americans naturally cherish, and presuppose to be universal. . . .
"While Bush may have been wrong on Iraq, he is dead right about Iran - though an ungrateful, sometimes spiteful world appears in denial."
From the Daily Star of Lebanon: "Bush is the delinquent foreign-policy maestro of an otherwise great country. He has failed to deal honestly and rationally with the realities of the region, preferring wishful thinking and simplistic black-and-white threats to the hard work and nuanced sensibilities that are needed to grapple with the problems, challenges and opportunities of the Arab-Asian region. His desperate, last minute, pull-the-rabbit-out-of-the-hat attempt at Annapolis to achieve Palestinian-Israeli peace was clearly insincere - because he did not invest the required political capital to get it done, and did not have the required intellectual clarity and moral gumption to make it happen. He hoped to ride a runaway horse to the finish line, and ended up in a horror house of mirrors. His peace partners have proved illusory, his necessary impartiality nonexistent, and his sense of how Palestine-Israel fits into the wider picture in the Middle East totally absent."
Lebanon Watch
Alistair Lyon writes for Reuters: "Hezbollah's humbling of Lebanon's U.S.-backed government has dealt a further blow to American credibility in the region less than a year after Hamas Islamists seized Gaza from Palestinian leaders supported by Washington. . . .
"Three years ago, compelling images of Lebanese demonstrators demanding -- and winning -- the withdrawal of Syrian troops who had dominated Lebanon for 29 years provided Bush with a rare moment to relish amid the disasters of the U.S. war in Iraq.
"Now the anti-Syrian ruling coalition he backs is in disarray after an 18-month-old power struggle with Hezbollah and its allies led to the violence that has cost 81 lives in the past week, nudging Lebanon closer towards sectarian civil war."
Lyon writes that the White House may have unwittingly precipitated the crisis -- potentially another classic Bush Middle East backfire.
"The crisis erupted after [Prime Minister Fouad] Siniora's government decided to outlaw Hezbollah's private telephone network and to fire Beirut airport's security chief, who is close to the Shi'ite group.
"Denouncing these moves as an attack on the 'weapons of the resistance' to Israel, Hezbollah went on the offensive against its Sunni and Druze foes in and around Beirut. . . .
"With no clear explanation of why the cabinet embarked on a provocative course, some analysts suggest the United States and its Arab allies pushed for the hard line against Hezbollah.
"'Perhaps U.S. policy to raise the pressure against Iran and its allies, and President Bush's impending visit to the Middle East impelled the government to do something,' wrote Paul Salem, director of the Carnegie Endowment's Middle East programme."
Christopher Dickey writes for Newsweek: "If you want to know what Iraq will look like 25 years from now, look at Lebanon today. The similarities and differences -- but mainly the similarities -- raise a lot of painful memories and questions for Americans."
Putting It on Autopilot
Massimo Calabresi writes for Time: "Bush's missteps in the region have tied his successors hands, committing the U.S. to a stabilizing presence in and around Iraq and strengthening Iran to the point that it does not need to deal. But in negotiating a long-term military relationship with Baghdad and backing Israel's redrawing of its borders, Bush has committed the U.S. to positions it will be difficult, if not impossible, for his successor to change. Privately, administration officials admit they are trying to lock in some of their policies. Which means by this time next year, Bush's successor will be the one struggling to address public discontent with the U.S. approach to the region."
Mississippi Watch
Paul Kane writes in The Washington Post: "A Democrat won the race for a GOP-held congressional seat in northern Mississippi yesterday, leaving the once-dominant House Republicans reeling from their third special-election defeat of the spring."
Adam Nossiter writes in the New York Times: "Having lost a similar Congressional race this month in Louisiana, Republicans had worked desperately to win this contest, sending Vice President Dick Cheney to campaign for Mr. Davis. . . .
"Mr. Davis had been hoping for a large turnout in his home of DeSoto County, where roughly 15 percent of the district's voters live, and which is solidly Republican and mostly white. But a last-minute appearance for him by Mr. Cheney on Monday apparently failed to rally his base sufficiently; indeed a modest room at a local convention center was hardly packed."
India Watch
Heather Timmons writes in the New York Times from New Delhi about "a growing number of politicians, economists and academics in this country, who are angry at statements by top United States officials that India's rising prosperity is to blame for food inflation."
Bush on May 2 said India was partly responsible for rising global food prices: "When you start getting wealth, you start demanding better nutrition and better food, and so demand is high, and that causes the price to go up."
Timmons writes: "In response to the president's remarks, a ranking official in the commerce ministry, Jairam Ramesh, told the Press Trust of India, 'George Bush has never been known for his knowledge of economics,' and the remarks proved again how 'comprehensively wrong' he is.
"The Asian Age, a newspaper based here, argued in an editorial last week that Mr. Bush's 'ignorance on most matters is widely known and openly acknowledged by his own countrymen,' and that he must not be allowed to 'get away' with an effort to 'divert global attention from the truth by passing the buck on to India.'"
I'm Live Online today at 1 p.m. ET. Tell me what else Bush should give up.
Cartoon Watch
Pat Oliphant on Bush's legacy; Matt Bors on an appropriate Bush memorial; Clay Bennett on disasters around the world.
© 2008 Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive
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University of Nebraska Yearbooks
Senior Books 1898-1905
Why can't I find a yearbook for a specific year?
Before 1906, the University of Nebraska yearbook called "The Sombrero" was published sporadically. It began publication as "The Cornhusker" in 1907 and was published yearly from 1907-1972. It was again published in 1999, 2000, 2001, and 2004 before ceasing publication for good.
I want to find something in a yearbook and it's not searchable. Why not?
The transcriptions for the Cornhusker yearbooks are being produced through crowd sourcing. If the yearbook you are interested in is not yet searchable, it is because our volunteers have not yet finished transcribing it. If you would like to help with the transcription process, please visit http://transcribe.unl.edu.
Why don't the transcriptions look the same?
A variety of volunteers produced the transcription through crowd sourcing. Because the individual yearbook pages vary in look and because the focus of the crowd sourcing project was on producing searchable text, no attempt was made to make each transcription look the same.
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If you find an error in a transcription, please email us. Please include in your message the url for the page and the error. For example: "On page http://yearbooks.unl.edu/reader/yearbooks.html?year=1898,318#page/4/mode/1u p the word Glothing should be Clothing."
If I see something offensive what should I do?
Materials in the transcription project are historical. As such, they may contain racial or sexual stereotypes that are inappropriate by today's standards. They have been retained in order to fully represent the materials in their original context. If the offensive text is not in the original but occurred during the transcription process, please email us.
How do I cite a yearbook from this website?
Following the major style guidelines, we suggest you cite this way:
The Cornhusker. Vol. 13. Lincoln, Neb.: University of Nebraska, 1919. http://yearbooks.unl.edu/cdrh/yearbooks/yearbook.php?year=1898,319#page/1/m ode/transcription.
The Cornhusker. Vol. 13. Lincoln, Neb.: University of Nebraska, 1919.
The Cornhusker. (1919) (Vol. 13). Lincoln, Neb.: University of Nebraska. Retrieved from http://yearbooks.unl.edu/cdrh/yearbooks/yearbook.php?year=1898,319#page/1/m ode/transcription
Where can I find the original yearbooks?
You can still page through the original yearbooks in Archives & Special Collections, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, 29 Love Library. Hours are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Central, Monday-Friday.
About • FAQ • ContactArchives & Special Collections, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries
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Imaging subjects' brains with fMRI as they reported experiencing ASMR tingles suggests support for this hypothesis, because brain areas such as the medial prefrontal cortex (associated with social behaviors including grooming), and the secondary somatosensory cortex (associated with sensation of touch) were activated more strongly during tingle periods than control periods.[29]
I would spend all Friday, Saturday drawing outlines with my 3 best friends, discussing art, colour and symmetry for hours, then spend all Saturday night bombing trains, painting together would activate it intensely, in the dark, spooky and exhilarating all at the same time, while four kids spent their weekends silently breaking the law to paint Top-to-Bottom Wholecars just for art’s sake)
The bizarreness of this footage means ASMR isn’t without controversies. In June 2018, the Chinese government banned ASMR videos, branding them “vulgar” and “pornographic”. In August, PayPal began blocking the accounts of ASMRtists who received money to make custom videos (although the company later denied it has a policy against ASMR content). For those who don’t experience ASMR, the videos can seem fetishistic. Beyond the weirdness of whispering and making “mouth sounds” as in Kelly’s honeycomb video, some people nickname ASMR a “brain orgasm”.
Richard suggests that the “extreme relaxation” of ASMR may be the mirror image of panic attacks, residing at the far end of the relaxation spectrum. If, as his data so far shows, three-quarters of his subjects use ASMR videos to help them sleep, a third say the videos help them “feel less sad,” and smaller percentages use the videos to deal with diagnosed anxiety disorders and depression, ASMR could one day have therapeutic applications, he argues.
Ally Maque is an ASMR YouTuber (ASMRrequests), who makes her living making videos. She once heard from parents of a young boy who suffered frequent horrible migraines. “They said that a series of videos I did, where I read fairy tales from a bedtime story book—whenever they’d put those videos on for their child when he was suffering, it would help,” Maque told Newsweek. “That one brought me to tears.”
Richard, who is also the author of Brain Tingles: The Secret to Triggering Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response for Improved Sleep, Stress Relief, and Head-to-Toe Euphoria, estimates around 20 per cent of the population experience strong ASMR. What triggers people may come down to individual preferences. “The key to triggering ASMR is to create gentle sounds,” he says. Richard’s own triggers include eye exams and [the Netflix series] The Joy of Painting with Bob Ross.
Being only thirteen, a new year at school always brings the excitement that I might get a teacher with one of those perfectly soft ASMR-y voices. I've only had one, but luckily I had her for two grades (grade two and three) she came from Ireland, but didn't have too strong of an accent, just enough that it would always relax me. Dang I miss that class... LOL.
In a 2012 blog post, Steven Novella, an academic clinical neurologist at Yale University School of Medicine, compared ASMR to migraine headaches — “We know they exist as a syndrome primarily because many different people report the same constellation of symptoms and natural history,” he wrote — and theorized that ASMR could even be a type of “pleasurable” seizure.
Of course, Kelly — who was named one of Teen Vogue’s “21 under 21” in November 2018 — is not the only star in the ASMR internet community. The current largest ASMR artist, or “ASMRtist”, on YouTube, Taylor Darling, aka ASMR Darling, has two million subscribers and earns an estimated $1,000 a day in advertising revenue. Global megabrands such as IKEA, Sony, McDonald’s and Toyota have now all created ASMR-inspired adverts, and in October 2018, platinum rapper Cardi B made an ASMR video that went on to be viewed nearly 10,000,000 times. It’s no longer surprising that 75 per cent of children want to be YouTubers, but these kids don’t want to be the next beauty-blogging Zoella or game-streaming PewDiePie. They want to be the next brain-tingling ASMR Darling.
She made her first ASMR video in February 2011, filming herself as she leafed through a journal and played with seashells. The video logged just two views in a month, and Maria was so disappointed that she deleted it. A few months later, she tried again; this time, there were a few encouraging comments. She kept at it, and by the end of the year, she had 30,000 subscribers. Nearly three years later, she has more than 300,000.
The first study to perform actual brain imaging (fMRI) on subjects currently experiencing ASMR tingles (as opposed to individuals who were merely able to experience the phenomenon) was published in BioImpacts in September 2018. Subjects viewed several ASMR videos with a screen and headphones while inside the MRI scanner. The study found a significant difference in brain activation between time periods when the subject reported tingling (communicated by pressing a button), as compared to time periods when they were watching a video but not reporting tingling (communicated by pressing a different button, to control for brain activation effects caused by merely pressing a button). They concluded that "the brain regions found most active during the tingling sensations were the nucleus accumbens, mPFC, insula and secondary somatosensory cortex", and suggested that these were similar to "activation of brain regions previously observed during experiences like social bonding and musical frisson".[29]
The only way someone can feel what we here, obviously feel, that isn’t inflicted with ASMR. Is to go out with friends, to your favourite club, drop pure MDMA, and wait….I’ll see you on the dance floor. I’ll be the six foot seven Infantry Soldier, waiting for you to come dancing, I’ll be dancing with the biggest smile on my face, for you, dancing with friends, lovers, strangers, until we’re all fucking annihilated, lying on the dance floor, in one mind, one moment, one achievement, shared and experienced together, forever and ever and ever. Then we go home, have a shower, lie down, and feel refreshed, and wonderfully happy, exhilarated just to exist, Lying there, that very moment, is what ASMR feels like. That beautiful feeling of peaceful serenity and contentment, just to be alive and kicking, together, connected, forever. That chemically induced empathic euphoria, is the only feeling that comes close to what ASMR feels like.
Nothing can currently be definitively known about any evolutionary origins for ASMR since the perceptual phenomenon itself has yet to be clearly identified as having biological correlations. Even so, a significant majority of descriptions of ASMR by those who experience it compare the sensation to that precipitated by receipt of tender physical touch, providing examples such as having their hair cut or combed. This has led to the conjecture that ASMR might be related to the act of grooming.[28]
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Drunken man breaks into zoo, bitten by croc
Michael Newman says he was tossed out of Diver's Tavern and took off for the zoo. He climbed into an area where a croc named Fatso lives, and the animal wasn't thrilled with his visitor.
Newman says he was only trying to pet him when the croc decided to take a chunk out of his leg. Eventually, the crocodile let him go.
"It got my leg and went for my leg. I thought, 'I'm in trouble here. I'm not coming out of here,'" he said.
Newman was able to return to the pub after the attack for help. He admits that trying to pet a crocodile while under the influence isn't the best idea.
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New Lenox train derailment shuts down area roads
February 9, 2014 (NEW LENOX, Ill.)
The derailment happened at approximately 5 a.m. Will County Office of Emergency Management crews responded to the scene in the 100-block of South Main Street.
Eyewitness News is told four train cars left the tracks. Two of them were put back on by 9:15 a.m, but it wasn't known how long it would take to restore the other two cars, said Domingo Kaller, an operations specialist with the Will County Emergency Management office.
No injuries were reported, but traffic was being affected as rail crossings along Laraway Road were blocked off at Gougar Road, Cherry Hill Road and Spencer Road, Kaller said.
It was not immediately known what the train cars were carrying. No hazardous materials response was requested.
Will County authorities said they were investigating the incident.
(The Sun-Times Media Wire contributed to this report.)
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Fossil takes on Apple, launches its own Android Wear smart watch
That iThingy You're Wearing
The Apple Watch might be winning new customers left, right, and center, but that hasn’t stopped manufacturers from taking a chance on Google’s own Android Wear platform. In fact, Fossil has just entered the smart watch market for the first time ever with a brand new wearable designed to work alongside Android Wear.
It’s all about what’s under the hood
Called Fossil Q Founder (and pictured above), the smart watch is priced at $275. It features a stainless steel link bracelet design that seems poised to challenge the mid-tier Apple Watch, offering customers a similar-level device for a fraction — that is, roughly half — of the price. Most notably, it’s powered by an Intel Atom processor (as opposed the Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 400, which features more commonly in Android Wear smart watches), yet beyond this the device seems fairly average.
Android Wear by any other name is still Android Wear
Fossil’s Q Founder nevertheless still runs Android Wear, and in this respect it’s similar to what’s already on the market. Of course, it delivers notifications to the wrist, it features an activity monitor, and you can use Android Wear’s card-based OS in order to navigate through content using the circular screen. Much like the Apple Watch, it features enough battery life to get users through the day, but little more.
No match for the Watch
In fact, the closer you look at Q Founder, the less impressive it becomes. The device doesn’t feature a built-in heart rate monitor, for instance. And on iOS, Android Wear is still as limited as ever. It’s nevertheless cheaper than the low-end aluminum Apple Watch Sport (which starts at $349), and in this respect it could capture a portion of the market which finds Cupertino’s device too pricey to consider. Yet if you were to ask us, Android Wear is still a smart watch OS which iPhone owners shouldn’t dare to consider.
Fossil’s Q Founder.
Our advice? Look out for a decent Apple Watch deal this Black Friday, instead.
Target is now offering a $100 gift card with any Apple Watch purchase
Vine lands on the Apple Watch with favorite videos and a complication
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For Peace between Israel and Palestine, Headwing Politics
Webmaster . Foreign Policy, Governance, Unificationism . 1 Comment
Secretary of State John Kerry (right) sits across from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (center), and, to his left, Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, in Jerusalem on June 29.
By Andrew Wilson, Professor of Scriptural Studies, UTS
These days Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is a man caught in the middle. He seems to have come around to the understanding that peace with the Palestinians is a necessity to preserve Israel’s future as a Jewish and democratic state. Yet he is beholden to members of his own Likud party, which includes rightists like Deputy Defense Minister Danny Danon. Danon recently stated on Israeli TV that there would never be a Palestinian state and the Palestinians would be governed by Jordan. Since Netanyahu apparently cannot find enough support for peace negotiations from his own base, if he truly wishes for peace, he has no choice but to reach across the aisle.
Netanyahu governs in a coalition with centrists like Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, an advocate of negotiations, and Finance Minister Yair Lapid, whose party’s surge in the polls early this year came at Likud’s expense. Lapid sees peace with the Palestinians as a desideratum for Israel’s economic future. Yet his coalition also includes Economics Minister Naftali Bennett, whose settler movement seeks permanent Israeli sovereignty over the entire West Bank. In June, he told a settlers group that the idea of a Palestinian state had reached a “dead end.”
And then there is the feisty right wing of Likud led by Danon. At a party nominating convention in May 2012, he organized a group of pro-settler Likud stalwarts to challenge Netanyahu and nearly deprived him of leadership of his own party. Netanyahu was forced to scramble back, which led to his short-lived alliance with Kadima Party leader Shaul Mofaz. Early this month, hardliners gained control of the Likud party. Netanyahu now has to govern with this fragile coalition, making domestic politics an ever-present problem. It goes a long way to explaining his recalcitrance, despite U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry’s five visits to the region since taking office to jumpstart peace talks.
Netanyahu needs to reach across the aisle, to politicians like Shelly Yacimovich, leader of the Labor Party which won 15 seats in January’s election. She is a strong advocate of peace talks, and two months ago met Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah and told him it is necessary to start peace talks immediately.
This is the nub of the argument I presented in a blog post last month on the website of the World Policy Institute. It is a strictly political argument; what, then, does it have to do with applied Unificationism?
"You're Not Really an Adult Until Your Father Dies": Reaching the Highest Stage of Filial Piety
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Webmaster Education, Governance, Religion & Spirituality, Science
The Technology-Empowered Cleric and the End of Religions as We Know Them
Thomas Friedman argued in Longitudes and Attitudes: Exploring the World After September 11 (2002) that modern technology had given rise to “super-empowered individuals” such as George Soros, Mark Zuckerberg, Robert Murdoch, Oprah Winfrey, and Osama bin Laden, who have amassed more power than traditional presidents, kings, generals, and dictators.
I believe super-empowered clerics have joined Friedman’s list of super-empowered individuals shaping the 21st century. These clerics are doing religion in ways never before imagined, hastening the decline of historic religions, and pioneering the rise of new global religions. Super-empowered clerics are taking religions to places where no one has gone before.
Here, I analyze the six (sometimes conflicting) characteristics of emerging religious movements: 1) The centrality of super-empowered clerics, 2) the merging of past, present and future, 3) the transience of religion, 4) the globalization of religions, 5) the deification of humans, and, 6) the politicization of religions.
Super-empowered clerics
The modern technological revolution is radically altering thousands-year-old systems of religious leadership. Super-empowered clerics such as Rev. Billy Graham, Menachem Schneerson of the Lubavitch Jewish sect, the Dalai Lama, Christian televangelists Robert H. Schuller and Joel Osteen, the Brazilian cleric Edir Macedo, ISIS caliph Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the Buddhist Dhammakaya Chandra Khhonnokyoong, and bin Laden emerged as religious superstars. They preside over virtual congregations, even empires, that exploit the Internet, cheap air travel, mass communications, videos, neuroscience, and have at their disposal colossal financial resources made possible by the new global economy.
Brazilian pastor Macedo is a prime example of the cleric of the future. Unlike traditional religious leaders who received their authority from long-established institutions, Macedo claims he received his calling and empowerment directly from God. He did not consider himself bound by ancient tradition, long-decided dogmas, historical precedent, or hierarchical superiors.
Macedo was born to a poor family in 1945, broke with the Catholic Church, and founded the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God in 1977. According to Forbes’ world billionaires list, among pastors, by 2013 Macedo was on top with a reported $1.24 billion for him and his family. Combining the modern quest for material riches with a return to the early Christian emphasis on exorcising evil spirits and other early Christian gifts of the Holy Spirit, he recognized that control of Brazilian television networks was the key to both returning Christianity to its biblical roots and spreading the good news of material prosperity to the world.
From his current corporate headquarters in New York City, the church controls 23 TV stations, 40 radio stations, two major newspapers, a real estate agency, a health insurance company, an airline, and claims a global membership of 15 million.
Macedo mastered online banking, exploited offshore havens, allegedly engaged in money laundering, and even crypto currencies that handled over $2 billion between 2003 and 2008. Always one step ahead of the law in Brazil, in many Latin American, African, Asian, and European countries, as well as the USA, his mastery of modern banking technology made Macedo into what Friedman termed a “super-empowered individual.”
Merging of past, present and future
One of the most empowering forces super-empowered clerics have mastered is the information revolution. Google, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, online magazines, blogs, and cable and satellite global news channels, have linked the most remote African tribal village with the great mega-cities of the globe into a virtual community. The overwhelming speed of technological change causes the past, present and future to merge into one blurred experience. Unsure of the future, and troubled by the present, new religious movements plunge into the distant past. Movements as diverse as ISIS, religious Zionism, the Hindu BJP, militant Buddhism, and Pentecostal Christianity, labor to restore the former greatness of religious civilizations.
Abu Musab al-Zarqawi founded ISIS (The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) in 1999 and elaborated a powerful future vision of restoring the Muslim world to the days of the Prophet Mohammed and first four caliphs. Overwhelmed by almost two millennia of Islamic history, culture, scholarship, and tradition, movements like ISIS found refuge in the Golden Age of the Prophet Mohammed. Islam is based on a series of divinely-inspired teachers including Adam, Moses, Abraham, and Jesus, plus a host of lesser-known “pagan” prophets. Unfortunately, from their perspective, a plethora of Jewish and Christian sects distorted and perverted the teachings of these prophets, as did a succession of Islamic theologians, kings, caliphs, and dictators.
When al-Baghdadi declared himself the new caliph in 2014, his followers believe he restored the central pillar of Islam founded by the Prophet himself. Islamic history allegedly regained its forward march into the 21st century.
The phenomenal success of the newest smartphone fades with the arrival of next year’s even more advanced device. The latest supermodel enjoys a shelf life of mere months, the next Hollywood blockbuster dominates screens for mere days, and today’s Washington political scandal blows over in hours. The speed of technological change has not only transformed the way we live but the way we think. Just as we easily dispose hardly worn sneakers when a new style hits an online shopping site, so we readily discard a superstar preacher, virtual congregation, or cherished religious newsfeed when we stumble upon a newer model. Even more strikingly, we no longer expect to remain a follower, a member, or a believer for long. Planned, and expected, obsolescence affects religions as much as it does smartphones.
This breakneck evolution of technological change has likewise given rise to religious movements that briefly rise, flower and decline. Hare Krishna and Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh (commonly called Rajineesh), took the USA by storm with his unique combination of 1960s cult fascination and astute sense of business, only to fade away and be replaced by the next religious fashion with its ownhierarchies, institutions, denominations, clergy, theology, rituals, and scriptures.
Liberated from the past, superstar clerics are free to reinterpret or even reject ancient scriptures, elaborate new rituals, sever any denominational affiliations, and invent new theologies. Freed from any roots, they can confront and hopefully resolve the challenges of climate change, sexism, racism, the arrival of artificial intelligence and robots, globalization, pandemics, same-sex relationships, and other current issues.
A replica of the Temple of Solomon, built by Brazilian televangelist Edir Macedo’s “Universal Church of the Kingdom of God” in Sao Paulo.
All of today’s major world religions, from Catholicism to Islam, from Protestantism to Mormonism, spread around the globe by successfully exploiting the latest technology. Saints Peter and Paul took to the Roman road system, Islam and Buddhism mastered the global trading routes, Luther embraced the printing press, and the Anglicans were one step behind the British army in transforming the Church of England into a global religion.
Rabbi Schneur Salman founded the Jewish Chasidic sect, the Lubavitchers, in Russia in 1775 as just another of many sects established by charismatic rabbis. Like most Chasidic and Orthodox rabbis at the time, Rabbi Shmuel Schneerson counseled his followers to remain in Russia rather than flee to America to escape the ravages of pogroms and religious persecution. The result was the virtual extermination of Russian Chasidic sects by the Czar, the Bolsheviks, and later Stalin and Hitler’s Gestapo.
Unusual for Orthodox rabbis at the time, Menachem Mendel Schneerson (1902-94) graduated from the ESTP (France’s leading engineering university) in Paris with a degree in mechanics and electrical engineering in 1937. During the Second World War, he found refuge in Brooklyn, NY, where he gathered the few surviving followers. Convinced the teachings of the sect must be preserved, he transformed the traditional geographic ghetto into a modern technological ghetto by exploiting every advance in modern technology. From a handful of survivors, the movement claims 200,000 members today in 3,600 institutions, in 1,000 cities and in 100 countries. Its mammoth online Chanukah celebration of 2015 reached an audience of over 8 million.
Mourid, Jain, Sikh, Voodoo, Santeria, Zen Buddhist, Wicca, and Dervish places of worship, study, and association have spread worldwide, along with web sites, email, online magazines, DVDs, chat sites, and even online seminaries and colleges in the global language, English, other major languages, and the home language of the movement.
The deification of humanity
For thousands of years, humans have worshipped deities who they described as omniscient, eternal, perfect, and omnipotent. In short, the gods were humans stripped of their imperfections. Humans spent years in educational pursuits, but the gods were omniscient. Humans entered life, lived, and faced eventual decline and death while the gods were eternal. Humans are born in pain, suffer a host of diseases, and die when their bodies finally give out, while the gods enjoy eternal perfect health.
From the classic novel, The Island of Doctor Moreau, to the 1989 martial arts film, Cyborg, scientists have taken the lead in fearlessly granting humans the attributes of the gods. Beginning with cardiac pacemakers, cochlear implants, hearing aids, contact lenses, to artificial hips and knees, humans are merging with machines. Soon neural implants will upload every memory, every word ever spoken, and every thought a person ever had, making humans virtually all knowing. In the film Transcendence, Johnny Depp achieves immortality by uploading his mind to a computer and even recreating a physical self.
In The Age of Spiritual Machines: When Computers Exceed Human Intelligence, Ray Kurzweil argues that not only will humans be enhanced by machine implants, but machines will become humanized and even spiritualized. Machines will not only have prodigious memories, he argues, but will “claim” to have consciousness, self-awareness, free will, and even spiritual experiences. Even more exciting, he continues, machines will begin building other more powerful machines without human supervision.
Science and technology are achieving the age-old goal of religion — the creation of the perfect human being. In a very telling comment in Transcendence, Depp proclaims he had become god. He was all-knowing, eternal, and all-powerful. He had transcended the constraints of physical existence and become a spiritual being. TIME magazine even wrote in a cover story that man would become immortal in the year 2045.
The politicization of religions
In The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order (1996), Samuel P. Huntington recognized that the 21st century would be marked by the triumph of religious-based civilizations. Nine religion-based civilizations are rapidly replacing the nation-state and the secular ideal of the modern nation-state as the principal actors on the world stage. Evangelical Christianity in the USA, Islam in the Muslim world, Orthodoxy in Russia, Hinduism in India, Judaism in Israel, and Confucianism in China are eroding the secular ideal and erasing national boundaries.
Unlike Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, and Confucianism that contain clearly elaborated principles for a religious-based state, Buddha vehemently rejected any notion of a Buddhist state. He even went so far as to list the state as one of the many illusions that impeded the human path toward enlightenment.
However, confronted by Muslim invaders, Christian missionaries, Marxist and socialist reformers, and more recently, American Evangelical Christians, the ancient kingdoms of South Asia have elaborated an ideal of a Theravada Buddhist state.
In Myanmar (Burma), the monk Ashin Wirathu founded the Ma Ba Tha (Association for the Protection of Race and Religion) and the 969 Movement to resist Muslim and Christian influences and construct a Theravada Empire. In cooperation with Buddhist militants in Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Sri Lanka, and in the diaspora, he founded a Great Sangha Alliance uniting monks and laity that hold conferences, coordinate military training, and pressure governments to institutionalize Buddhism. He organized monks into military formations called tahanphra, fortified monasteries, and according to critics, launched a campaign of terrorism against Christian churches and missionaries, Muslim mosques and communities, and the Rohingya minority in western Myanmar.
Wirathu has mastered YouTube, Facebook and other social media. Two 2017 documentary films on Wirathu, “The Venerable W” and “Sittwe,” attracted global attention and resulted in numerous interviews by the world press. The stereotypical image of the serene Buddhist monk lost in meditation has been replaced by the militant armed monk fighting to build a Buddhist global empire.
The products of modern technology are taking religions into universes where no one has gone before. Super-empowered clerics are doing religion in ways never before imagined, hastening the decline of historic religions, and pioneering the rise of new global religions.
No one can predict the future but hopefully this brief excursion into the religious future of humanity indicates some of the trends that will shape the future of our species.♦
Adapted from the author’s paper delivered in April at the New England-Maritimes Regional Group of the American Academy of Religion’s annual conference at the Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston.
Photo at top: Monk Wirathu speaks by video to a Ma Ba Tha conference last year in Yangon, Myanmar.
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11 thoughts on “The Technology-Empowered Cleric and the End of Religions as We Know Them”
A very interesting, almost breakneck, article. But…Sun Myung Moon is glaringly missing from this list. Replaced by the currently-alive Brazilian, maybe, though others mentioned are dead. I mean, Rev. Moon had at least as big an impact as the Brazilian. Bigger (religiously) than al-Baghdadi, whose only real claim to fame is vast, brutal murder, or Rabbi Schneerson, the “oops-called-that-wrong” comeback kid. So, I don’t get the omission.
You are absolutely right that the Rev. Moon has had an impact on contemporary religion and deserves to be listed among the Super-Empowered religious leaders of the age. But he failed to create a mass movement. He was more concerned with attracting an educated elite, founding a seminary and sending his followers to the best schools. Today the movement has ceased to grow.
I have nothing to say regarding your views of al-Baghdadi and Rabbi Schneerson. The 21st century is going to be a wild ride.
Chantal Marie Pajani Masuda says:
I can relate with your comment, Christoper. However I would not compare True Father with anyone else. He could have done all these things and many more glamorous things but would it help us — fallen people — to see, understand, and take the path of restoration? Individual restoration, while creating couples and families, communities and nations that are free from sins? True Parents are showing us the path to take and it is up to us to use technology to the max to spread the message. The point is that to succeed on a larger scale we have got to succeed individually, in our marriage, in our families, and our neighborhoods. Technology is a God-given tool to reach the masses in a short time — but again, it will only work when we figure out the basics.
David Eaton says:
We should remember that Sun Myung Moon was a proponent of using broadcast technologies and spoke about this in several of his speeches in the 1970s. The purchase of the Manhattan Center in 1976, as well as the renovation of MC’s Grand Ballroom in 1980, were done specifically with the idea of disseminating the teachings of the Unification movement “through the airwaves,” as he put it.
Today the Family Federation has full-fledged media departments in New York, Korea and Japan that develop content with the intent of utilizing various media platforms to spread its message. Distance learning as touted by UTS is but another use of current technologies. Marshall McLuhan’s axiom of “the medium is the message” certainly rings true.
Another example is Jordan Peterson. He shot to fame almost overnight in 2016 by standing up to hecklers on a YouTube video after Canada passed laws that infringed on freedom of speech. His channel very quickly gained over a million followers, and ads generated lots of money. His book, when released, instantly became a best-seller.
The changes in technology have also revolutionized the publishing world. If he had published that book without his YouTube fame, it would not have sold many copies. Today books and music albums follow the fame of authors and musicians made popular on electronic media.
Peterson may not be considered a “technology-empowered cleric” but as a psychologist who understands developmental psychology, and has personally widely read classics from Plato to Dostoyevsky, he can guide people to personal growth and can quickly take ideologues and naive news reporters to the mat, becoming a champion of people concerned about “fake news.” A professor at the University of Toronto, he is now called an “academic rock-star.”
Jeanne Carroll says:
Informative and thought-provoking article. I do wonder how the next generation will deal with religion. From my experience, they tend more to personal forays into spirituality rather than jumping on someone else’s bandwagon of religion.
“Personal forays” will remain an important part of religion in the 21st century as it always has. However, my opinion is that religions in the future will enter politics more and more. In the USA, the separation of Church and State is eroding and the Evangelicals have replaced the traditional mainline churches as the religious forces of the nation.
Alison Wakelin says:
I think there are signs within science that technology is not the last word, but there is room for spirituality to emerge on an extended scientific basis. I suspect that religion will fade as spirituality grows, and a cosmology that recognizes dark matter and dark energy will allow room for massive change in the human race.
Derek Dey says:
Interesting take. However religion has been disempowered right through the German idealists who arguably shifted philosophy and religion to the interior exploration of the human psyche. Schelling is notable in that journey but the trend runs through Fichte, Carus, Hartmann, Wundt, and so on. One can even argue Goethe who supplied C. G. Jung with some evidence of the feminine unconscious. Jung’s world is essentially religious by nature and he cites the “Christ Archetype” as the pattern which informs the human psychological domains: the self and our behaviors. This tradition running into psychology next flows through history coming out in what’s known as the “third force” psychologists but even here Abraham Maslow adds his “fourth force” which is part of his ideas about “peak experiences” which are often spiritual and creative by nature. Evidence of spiritual proclivities simply does not disappear, even in psychology.
One can follow others right through to the synthesis of psychology and neuro-biological advances which also embrace the family triad as a crucible for birthing the optimal or original self, however I’d go too far on this so put simply, spirituality is taken out of churches / religion and placed securely within self as a real and experiential factor. We can become a temple of God’s spirit. Moreover we see here the passing of traditional external religions coming to birth powerful movements into personal experiences. What all this does not preclude is community, because that relational word is established first in the psychological, spiritual birthing of the self within the family triad … and it is ultimately brought about by powerful emotional interactions. It is this which triggers neuronal surges stimulated by joyful empathies. Growth naturally continues through education, into social constructs which we tend to inhabit as adults. Rightfully, human warmth always supplies the glue for it all.
What’s the point here? Technologically empowered religious dogmas may function as an educational force but the question of authenticity, as usual, comes into play. Yet if authenticity becomes the hallmark, the movement I have illustrated, evident in the 20th century, continues with consciousness studies which relate neuron to a field theory and hence to the creator of such field properties (ideas or archetypal patterns of being, behaviors, familial and social patterns) which substantially offer healthy models of being and thinking; we call this optimal functions. This however is not a deterministic enterprise as individuality is one of the greatest expressions of this conscious universe we inhabit. As one screenwriter put it, in difference we can be found, “at play in the fields of the Lord.”
In that sense, mass media fails to inculcate authentic individuality no matter how good it might become. Self, in other words is the final arbitrator but if certain creative parameters are involved in all this allowing creative and personal explorations we have, I think, the future at hand preferring freedom and responsibility in a culture which supports such individuals also offers a massive amount of fresh creativity colored by spiritual ideas. Education, media and various cultural inputs can only do so much even when presented in a positive framework. At some point, the individual needs to embark on his or her own journey through life and as we see from the outset in the family crucible of life, from good families, it is deep emotional empathies, which run as the engine of development for the self and others through the stages of growth. In this, I await certain developments, but have yet to see electronic anything succeed. The electronic world so far is famed for its production of alienation so can we solve this dilemma?
With regard to “mass media,” Frankfurt School philosopher, Theodor Adorno, asserted in his “Essays on Mass Culture” (1944), that adult sensibilities are fettered by mass media in such a way that the “development of autonomous, independent individuals who judge and decide consciously for themselves” is impeded to such an extent that a truly democratic and pluralistic society cannot be easily sustained. I don’t agree with many of Adorno’s views, but I believe he was correct in this assessment.
The more we become passive members of society, the more we can be easily dominated or controlled by a particular power elite and thus be conditioned to desire and satiate “false needs.” Mass media tends to contribute to this passivity, IMO.
Donna Ferrantello says:
TBN (Trinity Broadcasting Network) is the largest Christian media in the world. It began in 1973 and was founded by Paul and Jan Crouch. Now, it is in over 40 countries and has satellites in Communist nations as well. Currently directed by the creative producer, Matt Crouch, the broadcast features the historically rich evangelical Christian, Jewish and Catholic traditions, and new innovative young preachers, as well as feature films, documentaries, (such as Drive Thru History about the historic biblical heritage), Creationist Evolution interviews, Bible prophecy, variety shows, Christian marriage counseling, animated biblical stories on TV for children, and musical concerts. TBN has had a most positive influence on the growth of Christianity in America and abroad. With the spread of TBN media, Christianity will remain a formidable movement that is opening to a diversity of religious voices and methodologies to spread the Gospel, creatively and with appeal to individuality and diverse interests. Contrary to some of the article’s thesis, most of these TBN programs serve to support and connect people to God, rather than alienate them.
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News & Outlook
Posted on July 9, 2019 by Kent Nutt
The world is transitioning between an era dominated by fossil fuels and one focused on a low-carbon economy through renewables, electric vehicles, and other technology solutions. Oil industry analysts say that major companies like ExxonMobil, BP and Shell must navigate two contradictory global forces: growing political, societal and market pressure to cut global emissions and the strong likelihood that “significant volumes of oil and gas will be required well after 2050.”
Lunchtime Conversations:
Analysts say energy demand forecasts are inconsistent with meeting Paris Agreement targets using currently available and economic technologies. Can growing political, societal, and financial market pressure for decarbonization help us achieve zero net carbon by 2050?
A coalition of environmental groups and major oil companies have launched the CEO Climate Dialogue that encourages Congress to enact a national carbon tax. Is this contrary to the interests of Big Oil? Or, is it seen as preferable to something like the Green New Deal that would fundamentally alter the way they do business?
Just 8% of oil majors’ patents are in what’s broadly described as “new energies,” including renewables. The rest are aimed at improving the efficiency of fossil fuels. How can greater innovation be incented and led within the oil companies?
“The renewable energy market is highly competitive and fragmented, returns on investments are typically lower than in oil and gas, and the average investment is much smaller in size,” says consulting firm Wood McKenzie.
Oil and gas companies spent 1.3% of their 2018 budgets on such things as wind and solar power or battery storage and carbon capture.
Big oil has come under intensive scrutiny from investors, climate activists, and state attorneys general, forcing it to become more transparent about how it values its climate risks while also doing more to curb its CO2 releases.
Storyline:
According to the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies, the move to clean tech “poses a major challenge for International oil companies whose business models and technologies are incompatible with full decarbonization, but whose future depends on them being part of the solution.”
There is a broad energy industry consensus that the expected increase in energy demand by 2050 cannot be met with today’s renewable technologies alone and that fossil fuels will continue to play a key role in the energy mix.
The Oxford Institute for Energy Studies estimates that even if the rate of investment in wind and solar could triple to an unprecedented $1 trillion annually, it would still take 55-years for these two renewables to ramp up to 50% of the world’s energy mix.
Companies are employing a mix of strategies that involve investments — both directly and via their VC arms — in tech that replaces fossil fuels, as well as ways to find and produce oil-and-gas more efficiently and see it burned it with less pollution.
Since 2016, 148 deals have been made in alternative energy and carbon capture, the CDP, or Carbon Disclosure Project says. Since 2010, $22 billion has been invested in alternative energies. And, 15 of 24 oil and gas companies it surveyed now have climate targets, with Repsol, Shell, and Total having the most ambitious ones.
The Oxford Institute for Energy Studies advises that “international oil companies ramp up on technologies where they see real opportunities and they are in a good position to exploit. But it remains very unclear whether these investments are being pursued as part of a long-term vision or as part of an ad-hoc approach.”
Sources: Axios, Bloomberg, Forbes, Oil Price, The Oxford Institute for Energy Studies,
Photo by Zbynek Burival on Unsplash
News & Outlook Big Oil, low carbon economy Post link
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September 23, 2013 February 20, 2014 Film Reviews 2 Comments 1980's filmAladdinAnimationBeauty and the BeastDr. Dawsonfilm reviewSherlock HolmesThe Great Mouse DetectiveThe Lion Kingtraditional animationVincent PriceWalt Disney
Film Review: The Great Mouse Detective (1986)
The Walt Disney Corporation went through hell in the immediate years leading up to the Disney Renaissance, which lasted from 1989′s The Little Mermaid to 1999′s Tarzan. When the release of The Black Cauldron in 1985 proved to be critically and commercially traumatic, the studio took a hard look at itself and its future with animated features. Thankfully, the company tossed out The Great Mouse Detective in 1986, which proved to be much more successful and paved the way for more iconic features such as The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin and The Lion King.
The Great Mouse Detective borrows heavily from the mythos of Sherlock Holmes for both story and characterization purposes. The anthropomorphized titular mouse is named Basil of Baker Street. At the beginning of the story Basil encounters two characters: the portly Dr. Dawson, who slowly becomes his unofficial partner; and a young mouse named Olivia, who has lost her father to the clutches of a hilarious bat named Fidget.
While initially dismissive of both parties, Basil becomes intrigued by Olivia’s plight when he learns of the abduction’s connection to his arch nemesis, Professor Ratigan. Before long, the unlikely trio is off on an adventure to not only recover Olivia’s father but to put an end to Ratigan’s nefarious scheming.
While not officially a part of the Disney Renaissance, The Great Mouse Detective is still a beautifully made animated feature in its own right, featuring evocative animation and excellent voice acting. The film does not come close to the epic thematic content and character development of Beauty and the Beast or Lion King, and the animation can’t really hold a candle to what the company began to do with those features.
Aesthetically, the film is very much a relic of a time, personifying an era before computer assistance became commonplace. There is a lovely nostalgic feeling to the art of The Great Mouse Detective. This quality is best exemplified in how you can see certain pencil marks popping in and out around the outlines of characters in certain scenes, and how the moving elements of each frame boldly stand out from their stagnant backgrounds.
Of course this isn’t always a good thing. While for the most part the animation is very fluid (especially the celebrated battle between Ratigan and Basil amidst the cogs and gears of Big Ben’s interior) certain movements, such as when the dog Toby charges away from the camera towards the horizon, look awkward and jarring.
The film’s greatest strength comes through the bright, consistently entertaining vocal work; there isn’t really a weak link in the cast, with the possible exception of Susanne Pollatschek’s performance as Olivia. Barrie Ingham owns the role of Basil, evoking both the character’s intelligence, tenacity and egomania perfectly. As his trusted sidekick Dr. Dawson, Val Bettin (who would bring The Sultan to life six years later in Aladdin), was perfectly cast as a character with a heart of gold who is mostly out of his depth.
Of course, the film’s greatest performance comes from the late Vincent Price, whose Ratigan is the ultimate megalomaniac blowhard. Like all great villains Ratigan is immensely colorful, dominating the entire film and usually overshadowing the hero. It’s strange that Ratigan is never included when people talk about great Disney villains; he really is a memorable creation.
An entertaining albeit slight feature, The Great Mouse Detective gives us an engaging caper plot with effective visuals and voice work. It’s an important entry in the Disney canon to return to for its historical status in the studio’s evolution. It stands as the film which corrected the company’s errors from the immediate past, and paved the way for the artistic explosion that was to come in the immediate future.
2 thoughts on “Film Review: The Great Mouse Detective (1986)”
Val Bettin actually only voiced the Sultan in the “Aladdin” sequels and TV series. In the original “Aladdin”, the Sultan was voiced by Douglas Seale.
The Animation Commendation , September 23, 2013 at 3:28
Pingback: Film Review: Beauty and the Beast (1991) | Adam Mohrbacher
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March 25, 2017 August 24, 2017 2010s Reviews, Film Reviews Leave a comment Alan menkenBeauty and the BeastBeauty and the Beast 2017DisneyEmma ThompsonEmma WatsonEwan McGregorJosh GadLuke EvansMoulin Rouge!The Walt Disney Corporation
Film Review: Beauty and the Beast (2017)
Over the course of my life I have probably seen Disney’s animated version of Beauty and the Beast at least a dozen times. I love it, even to this day. The stunning animation, voice acting and songs hold up remarkably well. The film was groundbreaking for its time and remains a watershed moment for the infamous Mouse House.
Thus, despite a voice in my head that kept quietly urging, “No, don’t do it,” I looked upon Disney’s live-action remake of the “tale as old as time” with hungry anticipation, like a dopey mouse who has eyes on a succulent slab of cheese. I purchased tickets well in advance of the film’s opening weekend and took up humming Alan Menken’s immortal score in the shower. I kept thinking to myself, “Oh yeah, this is going to be great,” pushing aside my awareness of the immense corporate machinery at work behind the scenes. Of course, the film wasn’t great or even all that good. It was merely adequate, an effective enough iteration that hits all the major points of the animated classic.
Beauty and the Beast’s story is so well-known that summarizing the plot feels silly, but I will do it anyway cause I like to feel crazy. Belle (Harry Potter’s Emma Watson) is a young woman living a self-professed “provincial life” with her crackpot father Maurice (Kevin Kline) in rural France. She is intelligent, ambitious and a bookworm, ostracizing qualities when living in the 18th century.
Belle is also the object of Gaston’s (Luke Evans) affection. A former soldier who, as we soon hilariously learn, is “especially good at expectorating” and considers himself “roughly the size of a barge,” Gaston is a total meathead, whose good looks belie ugly self-absorption. Belle wants none of his attentions, instead desiring to escape her backwater circumstances. “I want adventure in the great wide somewhere,” she warbles at one point. “I want it more than I can tell.”
This wish comes true when the bumbling Maurice gets himself lost in the woods one night. Seeking shelter, the old fool stumbles across a castle that is home to the Beast, a disgraced aristocrat who, years ago, was transformed into a hulking monster as punishment for his cruelty and vanity. Now a vindictive recluse, the Beast immediately hurls the blue-haired crackpot into a cell as punishment for trespassing. Soon after this, a worried Belle follows her father to the castle and offers to remain there in his place. Her brash decision is viewed by the castle’s similarly-transfigured servants – including the candelabra Lumière (Ewan McGregor), the clock Cogsworth (Sir Ian McKellen) and the teapot Mrs. Potts (Emma Thompson) – as a way to break the spell, a feat which can only be accomplished if the Beast learns to love someone else and earns their love in return.
Working from a script by Stephen Chbosky and Evan Spiliotopoulos, director Bill Condon gets this elaborate fairy tale up and running with ease. Belle’s milieu comes to life with flashes of color and snatches of song, and the film’s big opening number, the aptly-titled “Belle,” communicates volumes about the film’s town and its titular beauty. Condon stages these introductory moments with confidence and a necessary reverence for the source material. But he also introduces novel, modernizing touches, particularly the characterization of Gaston’s loyal sidekick LeFou (Josh Gad), whose subservience to Gaston is here paired with blatant, unrequited affection.
The film’s momentum begins to lag when the action transitions to the Beast’s castle and grounds. The nostalgic reverence intrinsic to a project like this starts to gradually become onerous, with many scenes, beats and moments inviting unfavorable comparisons rather than standing strongly on their own. New flourishes – such as a detail about Belle’s mother dying from the plague – don’t really connect the way that LeFou’s expanded characterization does. Instead, they feel inessential and vague, bogging the story down.
Menken’s score is still a highlight during this flabbier section, with the music and lyrics being a joy to listen to. There is inconsistency, however, in their execution. The beer hall song “Gaston” is probably one of the most successful, benefiting from strong interplay between the actors. Conversely, “Be Our Guest” works better in animated form than live-action. Already clunky and unnatural looking, the CGI that brings the transfigured Lumière, Cogsworth and Mrs. Potts to life becomes even more obvious under the harsh, hallucinogenic lighting that accompanies this piece. While the animated take on this song featured similarly aggressive pyrotechnics, it was never as abrasive. This version feels like a particularly unhinged riff on Cirque du Soleil – except, instead of being awed, you just want it to stop.
Dodgy aesthetics are not limited to the songs. Condon’s realization of the magical castle is woefully limited in scope – that is, much of the interior is lost due to murky cinematography by Tobias A. Schliessler and uninspired production design by Sarah Greenwood. There is also something dreadfully off about the film’s clarity – at least in my particular theater. Each time Condon and Schliessler perform elaborate camera movements, the frame takes on a bizarre, horrifying blurriness. This completely mars the impact of specific moments, such as the grandeur of the Beast revealing his library to a delighted Belle or the dance sequence set to the titular song “Beauty and the Beast.”
From an acting standpoint, the film is also plagued with inconsistency. Dan Stevens makes for an appropriately gruff Beast, but there isn’t really the wit or charisma that was apparent in Robby Benson ‘s vocals from the 1991 original. Not that this is a particularly fair comparison, as Stevens is lost behind so much unconvincing CGI that probably nobody could make Beast feel all that authentic or expressive.
The actors behind the three main servants are similarly adequate albeit unremarkable. All of them are sidelined by the story, even more than they were in the animated movie. Of the trio, it is probably Ewan McGregor’s Lumière that stands out the most; although, as mentioned, the CGI at work is somewhat underwhelming, stymieing the character from having much emotional range. And, despite being one of the better singers in the film, McGregor is no Jerry Orbach, who gave life to the animated Lumière. His rendition of “Be Our Guest” is fine, but all it really made me want to do is scurry back home and dust off my copy of Moulin Rouge!
Considerably more effective is Luke Evans’ and Josh Gad’s characters, who are both antagonistic yet still strangely likable. As opposed to several other actors, it is immediately clear that both Evans and Gad actually come from singing backgrounds. Their big musical moments pop more than some of the other performances, and both actors seem to understand the larger-than-life dimensions of the characters.
Now, they aren’t perfect. Evans, for instance, instills his Gaston with the humorous absurdity of the character; but he doesn’t fully embody the malice and potential for violence as easily as the vocals of Richard White, leading to a feeling of deflation in key moments.
And as for the film’s leading lady? Well, Belle is certainly not going to go down as one of the defining Emma Watson roles, at least not in regards to character complexity. Still, in many ways Watson is the ideal choice for Belle. Fiery, indomitable and whip-smart, Belle shares many Hermione Granger traits, the role that made Watson a star in the first place. Additionally, the semi-feminist contours of Belle are right up Watson’s alley, particularly considering her work as a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations.
Of course, it would be more ideal casting if the feminism of the character was little more than empty posturing. Belle is a strong, progressive female character – but only in theory. For the most part, she doesn’t change throughout the story. Even worse, she ends up falling into a fairly traditionalist mold, transitioning from one male household to another. It’s difficult to understand exactly what drew Watson to the role aside from major dollar signs, and this is yet another example of how the live action rendition of Beauty and the Beast creates problems that weren’t there previously. Not to say that Belle’s character wasn’t always problematic, but Watson’s off-screen activities creates an additional distraction. Oh, and she also can’t really sing.
This isn’t a surprise, as every aspect of this adaptation of an adaptation was always destined to invite comparisons – both for good and ill. Here, most of these comparisons are for ill, highlighting that Disney’s relentless desire to remake their animated properties is a double-edged sword. It’s certainly a shrewd move financially; the movie will make billions by drawing in new kiddie fans and old, pathetic schmucks like me. Yet artistically, this version of Beauty and the Beast always had an impossible bar to reach. That’s what happens when you build a product so heavily on nostalgia. It’s an emotion that can fuel a piece of work, but it can also damn it. Basically, it’s a tricky thing. Nostalgia can push one to return to a tired story, but it can also prompt a more aggressive level of scrutiny. It’s hard, if not impossible, to truly go home again. This take on Beauty and the Beast certainly doesn’t get you there, and it also doesn’t stand apart as its own animal.
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Advocate for the Convicted Felon
"Remember those in prison as if you were in prison."
Generating Opportunities for the Delinquent First
Expungement Services
Restoration of Rights Series/Nevada
I. Restoration of Civil Rights/Firearms Rights
A. Civil rights
Nevada has one of the most complicated civil rights restoration schemes in the country. Persons convicted of “treason or felony in any state” lose the right to vote, hold office, and sit on a jury. Nev. Const. art. 2, § 1; id. art. 15, § 3; Nev. Rev. Stat. § 6.010. First offenders convicted of all but the most serious and/or violent offenses are restored automatically to the right to vote and sit on a civil jury upon successful completion of sentence; to hold office after four years; and to sit on a criminal jury after six years. See Nev. Rev. Stat. §§ 213.157(1) (completion of sentence), 213.155(1) (discharge from parole), 176A.850(3) (discharge from probation). Persons convicted under Nevada law of Category A and violent Category B felonies resulting in substantial bodily harm, or who have more than one Nevada felony conviction, must seek restoration of civil rights in the court in which they were convicted, or from the Board of Pardons Commissioners. §§ 213.090(2), 213.155(2), 213.157(2), 176A.850(4).
Persons not “honorably” discharged from parole or probation (either because they were in fugitive status or because they were not excused from an obligation to pay court-ordered restitution) are also not eligible for automatic civil rights restoration under the law presently in effect. Legislation enacted in 2017, and effective January 1, 2019, extends automatic civil rights restoration to individuals who were not “honorably discharged” from probation or parole. However, this same legislation also provides that those convicted of violent Category B felonies not resulting in substantial bodily harm must wait for two years for restoration of voting rights. See AB-181, § 1 & 2 (2017) (amending Nev. Rev. Stat. §§ 213.155 & 176A.850).
B. Juvenile adjudications
Except as provided by a specific statute, a juvenile adjudication “does not impose any of the civil disabilities ordinarily resulting from conviction.” Nev. Rev. Stat. § 62E.010.
C. Federal and out-of-state convictions
Persons convicted of a felony in another state may exercise civil rights in Nevada if the person’s civil rights have been restored pursuant to the laws of the state in which he or she was convicted or a court in the jurisdiction of conviction certifies that his or her civil rights have been restored in that jurisdiction. See Nev. Rev. Stat. §§ 293.540(3), 293.543(2)(b)(2),1 §§ 213.155(5), 213.157(5), 176A.850(9). A federal offender may regain civil rights in Nevada upon proof of restoration by federal authorities, which is currently a presidential pardon. 1996 Nev. Op. Att’y Gen. No. 27, 1996 WL 587397, *3-4, 7-8 (Sept. 25, 1996).
D. Firearms
“A person shall not own or have in his possession or under his custody or control any firearm if he . . . has been convicted of a felony in this or any other state.” Nev. Rev. Stat. § 202.360(1)(a). Firearms rights may be restored only by pardon. Id.; see also § 213.090(1). Presumably federal and out-of-state offenders may have their firearms rights restored under Nevada law only by a pardon in the jurisdiction of their conviction.
E. Registration
All repeat offenders or persons convicted of a serious felony who reside in Nevada, or who enter the state on more than five occasions in a month, must register with the local sheriff. Nev. Rev. Stat. §§ 179C.100(1)-(2). Convicted persons who have had their civil rights restored may be relieved of this obligation by the sentencing court, the Board of Parole Commissioners, or Board of Pardons Commissioners. § 179C.100(6). No such relief is available from sex offender registration requirements. § 179D.490.
F. Collateral consequences inventory
Under Nev. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 176.0125(9), enacted in 2013 and amended in 2017, the Advisory Commission on the Administration of Justice2 is directed to “cause to be identified any provision in the Nevada Constitution, the Nevada Revised Statutes and the Nevada Administrative Code which imposes a collateral sanction or authorizes the imposition of a disqualification, and any provision of law that may afford relief from a collateral consequence.” In carrying out this duty it “may rely on the study of this State’s collateral sanctions, disqualifications and relief provisions prepared by the National Institute of Justice described in section 510 of the Court Security Improvement Act of 2007, Public Law 110-177.” Further, it “[m]ust include the posting of a hyperlink on the Commission’s website to any study of this State’s collateral sanctions, disqualifications and relief provisions prepared by the National Institute of Justice described in section 510 of the Court Security Improvement Act of 2007, Public Law 110-177.”
II. Discretionary Restoration Mechanisms
A. Executive pardon
The Nevada Constitution gives certain short-term clemency powers to the governor (reprieves, suspensions). Nev. Const. art. 5, § 13. However the full clemency power is entrusted to a panel consisting of “the governor, justices of the supreme court, and attorney general, or a major part of them.” Id. art. 5, § 14. The legislature has constituted this group as the Board of Pardons Commissioners. Nev. Rev. Stat. § 213.010(1). A majority of the Board can grant a pardon, but the governor must be among the majority. Nev. Const. art 5, § 14. The legislature has specified Board operating procedures (see below) but it may not modify or restrict Board’s powers. King v. Board of Regents, 200 P.2d 221 (Nev. 1948).3 The Board meets semiannually in the second weeks of November and May, or more often as determined by the Board. Nev. Rev. Stat. § 213.010(2); Nev. Admin. Code § 213.020(1), (2). The governor must report to the legislature at the beginning of each session every clemency action (no reasons necessary). Nev. Const. art 5, § 13.
The Chairman of the State Board of Parole Commissioners appoints a person to serve as secretary of the Board of Pardons Commissioners. Nev. Rev. Stat. § 213.017(1).
The application revised in 2012 no longer contains criteria for assessing pardon petitions, but provides only that
An application for a pardon will ordinarily not be considered unless a significant amount of time has passed since the applicant’s final discharge . . . . [during which period] an applicant is expected to demonstrate complete and total rehabilitation.
See Board of Pardons, Criteria and Application Instructions in Community Cases, available at http://pardons.nv.gov/Downloads/Community_Case_Pardons_Application_2012/.4 The Board accepts applications only from state offenders, including applications from misdemeanants, which represent about 20% of its caseload. Sex offenders may apply for pardon only after they have obtained relief from registration requirements by a court of competent jurisdiction. See Nev. Rev. Stat. § 179D.490.
“A person who is granted a full, unconditional pardon by the Board is restored to all civil rights . . . and is relieved of all disabilities incurred upon conviction.” Nev. Rev. Stat.§ 213.090(1). “A pardon granted by the Board shall be deemed to be a full, unconditional pardon unless the official document issued pursuant to subsection 3 explicitly limits the restoration of the civil rights of the person or does not relieve the person of all disabilities incurred upon conviction.” § 213.090(2); see also 2003 Attorney General Opinion, supra note 4 (full and unconditional pardon removes all disabilities, including licensing bars, but does not “erase conviction” or dispense with licensing boards’ authority to condition licensure on finding of good moral character).5 A pardon “does not attest to rehabilitation of a person” and “does not substitute a good reputation for one that is bad.” See http://www.pardons.nv.gov/About/Effect_of_a_Pardon.
For sex offenders, pardon does not obviate need to register. 2003 Attorney General Opinion, supra, at p. 14; http://www.pardons.nv.gov/About/Effect_of_a_Pardon. In re Sang Man Shin, 206 P.3d 91, 91 (Nev. 2009) (pardon did not supersede Nevada law prohibiting the sealing of a sex offense). Pardon relieves firearms restrictions in state law (unless otherwise provided in the pardon document itself), Nev. Rev. Stat. § 213.090; see also id. § 202.360(1)(a), and a pardoned conviction releasing the offender from all penalties and disabilities cannot serve as a predicate felony for federal firearms prosecution. 2003 Attorney General Opinion, supra, at p. 15 (citing U.S. v. Laskie, 258 F.3d 1047, 1052-53 (9th Cir. 2001) (state conviction that had been set-aside cannot serve as predicate felony for federal firearms prosecution)).
A public hearing is required in all cases where pardon is to be granted. Nev. Rev. Stat. §§ 233B.010 et seq., 213.020 et seq.; Nev. Admin. Code § 213.020 et seq.. Application form for community cases available http://www.pardons.nv.gov/About/Application. The Division of Parole & Probation prepares an extensive background investigation report for the Board’s consideration, a process that generally takes 2-3 months, after which cases will be chosen for a hearing. Nev. Admin. Code §§ 213.073(1), (2). The Board may hear cases twice a year. (In recent years, for budgetary reasons, the Board has held only one hearing each year.) Nev. Rev. Stat. § 213.010(2); Nev. Admin. Code § 213.020. All applications must be submitted at least 90 days beforehand. Nev. Admin Code § 213.040(2). The Board’s agenda is posted on the Pardons Board web site at http://www.pardons.nv.gov/Meetings. Copies of this agenda are mailed to every Nevada judge, every Nevada district attorney, and every person on the mailing list of the Board of Pardons. The Board must notify the county attorney and court of conviction 30 days before the hearing, and any victims 15 days before the hearing. Nev. Rev. Stat. §§ 213.010(3), 213.020(4). The County district attorney also gives notice to victims. Applications are generally presented to the Board only after the recommendation of the Department of Corrections and/or Secretary of the Board. See Nev. Admin. Code §§ 213.073, 213.183. Hearings are informal, though the Board may require the applicant’s presence. Nev. Admin. Code § 213.190. The Board’s decision is by a majority, which must include Governor. Nev. Const. art. 5, § 14(1). Proceedings are subject to the Nevada Administrative Procedure Act, so that the public receives 3 working days advance notice of a hearing, and minutes of meetings are public, including how each member voted. Nev. Rev. Stat. § 233B.010 et seq.
Expedited process for non-violent first time offenders: In August 2010, the Board adopted regulations providing for an expedited process to consider pardon applications filed by non-violent first-time offenders without a hearing, as long as there is no objection from district attorney, judge, or victim. See Nev. Admin Code § 213.077. See also Rev. Stat. Ann. § 213.017 (authorizing the Board to establish procedures for pardon and restoration of civil rights).
Frequency of grants
Pardons
In recent years the Board has received 50-80 new pardon applications from “community cases,” of which more than half have typically been granted a hearing. Some cases held over from prior years may also be heard. Until 2017 the Board met only once a year, but a second meeting was held in 2017 after a meeting in May resulted in 19 grants (the Board finished 2017 with 55 grants from 60 cases heard, for a grant rate of over 90%). The Board granted 21 pardons in 2016, 29 in 2015, 20 in 2014, and 25 in 2013. See Table below and reports published on the Board’s website, http://pardons.nv.gov/Meetings/.
Apps rec’d
Apps heard
Pardons granted
Grant rate
Source: Board of Pardons Commissioners
Between 2006 and 2011 there were about 20 grants each year, a substantial majority of those following hearings. See Nevada Pardons Board Historical Actions (1990-2011), on file with author.6 The Board’s 2009 authority to adopt an expedited process for non-violent first offenders began to show up in its case processing statistics after 2011.
Commutations
The Board receives about 1000 commutation petitions each year, hears about 20 cases each year, and in the past decade has granted about half of those. See Nevada Pardons Board Historical Actions (1990-2011), supra.
Brian Campolieti
Executive Secretary, Board of Pardons Commissioners
1677 Old Hot Springs Road, Suite A
bcampolieti@parole.nv.gov
B. Judicial sealing or expungement
1. Authority for sealing
Adult convictions
Legislation passed in June 2017 declares that it is “the public policy of this State . . . to favor the giving of second chances to offenders who are rehabilitated and the sealing of the records of such persons. . . ” Even before the 2017 law, Nevada had one of the broadest record-closing laws in the Nation, making all convictions but those for crimes against a child, sex offenses, and certain DUI offenses eligible for sealing after a waiting period.
After an eligibility waiting period that varies depending on the seriousness of the offense (for felonies, two-to-10 years after the date of conviction or release from actual custody, whichever is later; for misdemeanors, one-to-seven years), a person may petition the court in which he was convicted to seal all records related to the conviction. Nev. Rev. Stat. § 179.245(1).7 Sealing relief is not available to those convicted of crimes against a child, sex offenses, and certain DUI offenses, § 179.245(5), or to anyone who has been convicted during the eligibility waiting period. § 179.245(4); see also In re Sang Man Shin, supra, 206 P.3d at 91 (pardon did not supersede Nevada law prohibiting the sealing of a sex offense). Also effective October 1, 2017, probationers not given an honorable discharge from probation or parole are for the first time eligible to have their records sealed if they otherwise meet the eligibility standards of § 179.245. See AB-327, § 1 (2017).
Finally, the June 2017 legislation enacted “a rebuttable presumption that the records should be sealed if the applicant satisfies all statutory requirements for the sealing of the records.” This presumption does not apply to an individual who was not honorably discharged from probation or parole. See AB-327, § 4 (2017) (not yet codified).
Additional sealing authority for certain minor offenders
Probationers with mental illness or “retardation” after honorable discharge (Nev. Rev. Stat. §§ 176A.260, 176A.265(1)), successful reentry program participants (§ 179.259), persons convicted of drug possession after a three-year waiting period (§§ 453.336, 453.3365), and veterans (§§ 176A.290, 176A.295).
Human trafficking victims
Victims of human trafficking convicted of prostitution and related offenses may petition to have their convictions vacated and sealed “after the petitioner has ceased being a victim of trafficking or involuntary servitude or has sought services for victims of such trafficking or involuntary servitude.” AB-243, § 1.2 (2017), not yet codified. Sealing is discretionary, and the court must “take into consideration any reasonable concerns for the safety of the defendant, family members of the defendant or other victims that may be jeopardized by the granting of the petition.” Id. Prior to the enactment of AB-243 in 2017, vacatur was available for human trafficking victims, but sealing was not explicitly authorized.
Deferred sentencing and sealing for substance abusers and first-time drug offenders
Nev. Rev. Stat. § 458.300 authorizes deferred sentencing in the case of persons convicted of a crime and adjudged an addict or alcoholic. Certain crimes are not eligible. See §§ 458.300(1)-(7). Upon successful completion of a treatment program, the conviction may be set-aside and the record sealed. §§ 458.330(1), (4). Deferred sentencing and sealing is also available for first-time drug offenders. See § 453.3363.
Non-conviction records
Nonconviction records relating to a dismissal, declination or acquittal are also presumptively eligible for sealing after the charges are dismissed, declined for prosecution, or a person is acquitted. Nev. Rev. Stat. § 179.255.
Juvenile records
Records are sealed automatically upon reaching age 21 for most juvenile offenses. Nev. Rev. Stat. § 62H.140. Records for certain violent and sexual offenses may be sealed after reaching age 30. § 62H.150. Those under age 21 may petition for sealing if they have not been adjudicated in or referred to juvenile court for the preceding three-year period. Id. Before sealing, the court holds a hearing to determine whether the person has been convicted of any felony or misdemeanor involving moral turpitude and whether the applicant has been rehabilitated. § 62H.130. Upon sealing, a person may deny any existence of the records. § 62H.170.
2. Applicable procedures
The July 2017 legislation simplified the application process by relieving requirements that applications be accompanied by extensive records. When the court receives an application to seal the record, it must notify the prosecutor. Under the June 2017 legislation, if the prosecutor stipulates, the court need not hold a hearing but may seal the record. If an applicant seeks to have more than one record sealed, he or she may file a single petition in district court for the sealing of all records. The new law also authorizes the district court to order the sealing of any records in the justice or municipal courts in certain circumstances. As noted, there is a rebuttable presumption that eligible records should be sealed.
3. Effect of sealing
If the court seals the records, “all proceedings recounted in the record are deemed never to have occurred,” and the person “may properly answer accordingly to any inquiry . . . concerning the arrest, conviction, dismissal or acquittal and the events and proceedings related to the arrest, conviction, dismissal or acquittal.” Nev. Rev. Stat. § 179.285. A person whose records have been sealed may also vote, hold office and serve as a juror. Id.; see also § 179.285(b). However, sealing does not restore firearms rights under state law, for which a pardon is necessary. See § 179.285(2)(b). A sealed conviction may not be utilized to prove an element in a new crime or as an enhancement for a new conviction. In addition, with the exception of gaming and insurance licensing (see below), a sealed conviction may not be used as the basis for denial or revocation of a professional license. See Baliotis v. Clark County, 729 P.2d 1338, 1339-40 (Nev. 1986) (finding that licensing officials cannot use sealed convictions as basis for denying license, but licensing authorities may use independent knowledge of criminal behavior to make decision); see also Nev. Op. Att’y Gen. No. 83-13 (1983), available at http://ag.nv.gov/uploadedFiles/agnvgov/Content/Publications/opinions/1983_AGO.pdf.
Sealed records may be inspected under certain circumstances by prosecutors, § 179.295, agencies changed with gaming and insurance licensing, the Central Repository for Nevada Records of Criminal History, law enforcement, and the State Board of Pardons Commissioners. § 179.301. Sealed conviction records may be used to deny gaming employment if the crime “relates to the applicant’s suitability or qualifications to hold the work permit,” § 179.301(1), but there is no similar limiting caveat where insurance licensing is concerned. § 179.301(2). In addition, somewhat anomalously, professional licensing authorities are entitled to inspect records of sealed drug possession convictions “for purposes of determining suitability for a license or liability to discipline.” See Nev. Rev. Stat. § 453.3365(4); Yllas v. State, 920 P.2d 1003, 1005 n.3 (Nev. 1996). ).
III. Nondiscrimination in Licensing and Employment
A. Public employment
In June of 2017, the Nevada legislature enacted a nondiscrimination law that regulates consideration of convictions in public employment. See Assembly Bill 384, amending Chapter 284 of the Nevada Statutes. https://www.leg.state.nv.us/App/NELIS/REL/79th2017/Bill/5421/Overview. Under sections 2 and 3 of AB 384, which became effective January 1, 2018, employers may not consider the criminal history of an applicant for a position in the classified or unclassified service of the state until after the earliest of the following: (1) the final interview; (2) a conditional offer of employment; or (3) if applicable, the applicant has been certified by the Administrator. The law does not apply to persons who would be disqualified by state or federal law for employment in a particular position because of their particular criminal history and does not apply to certain positions (firefighter or peace officer and “any position that entails physical access to a computer or other equipment used for access to the Nevada Criminal Justice Information System or the National Crime Information Center”).
Under the new law, a public employer may refuse to certify an applicant or rescind a conditional offer of employment on the basis of a prior conviction or charges pending or filed within the last six months only after considering the following factors:
(a) Whether any criminal offense charged against the person or committed by the person directly relates to the responsibilities of the position for which the person has applied or is being considered;
(b) The nature and severity of each criminal offense charged against the person or committed by the person;
(c) The age of the person at the time of the commission of each criminal offense;
(d) The period between the commission of each criminal offense and the date of the application for employment in the unclassified/classified service; and
(e) Any information or documentation demonstrating the person’s rehabilitation.
Applications for employment must include a statement that a conviction record will not necessarily bar the applicant from employment and that the employer will consider the factors outlined above.
The law requires that written notice be sent to an applicant if criminal history is a basis for rejection, failure to certify, or rescission of a conditional offer, and that the applicant be given an opportunity to discuss the basis for rejection or rescission.
Non-conviction records: Employers are prohibited at any time from considering (a) arrests that did not result in conviction (unless charges are pending or have been filed within the last six months); (b) a record of conviction which was dismissed, expunged or sealed; or (c) an infraction or misdemeanor for which a sentence of imprisonment in a county jail was not imposed.
Enforcement: The new law also creates an enforcement mechanism, providing that failure to comply with its procedures is an unlawful employment practice and authorizing complaints to be filed with the Nevada Equal Rights Commission. See Sections 6.5 & 6.7 of AB 384, amending Nev. Rev. Stat. 613.330 & 613.405.
Section 5, 6, and 6.3 of the AB 384 provide similar provisions relating to public employment in counties, cities, and towns.
B. Licensing
Nevada has no general law regulating consideration of conviction in licensure. It does apply a direct relationship test in connection with some licenses. See, e.g., Nev. Rev. Stat. § 625.410(4) (discipline permissible based on “[c]onviction of . . . any crime an essential element of which is dishonesty or which is directly related to the practice of engineering or land surveying”).
C. Juvenile adjudications
Juvenile adjudications “must not be used to disqualify the child in any future application for or appointment to the civil service.” Nev. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 62E.010.
Section 293.543(2) was amended in 2005 to codify the results of a 1996 Attorney General Opinion:
Nevada should give full faith and credit to restorations of civil rights where certain criteria are met. The restoring jurisdiction must have also been the convicting jurisdiction. The restoration must purport to be just that, a restoration of the convicted person’s civil rights, and meet all the constitutional and statutory requirements of the restoring jurisdiction. Nevada must not have any overriding reason, such as a public policy set out in a statute or Nevada’s Constitution, for not recognizing the restoration. If all these questions can be answered affirmatively, then Nevada should recognize a restoration of civil rights by a foreign jurisdiction.
Nev. Op. Att’y Gen. No. 96-27 (1996), available at http://ag.nv.gov/uploadedFiles/agnvgov/Content/Publications/opinions/1996_AGO.pdf. This statute has been applied by the Secretary of State to federal offenders as well as those from other state jurisdictions.
The Advisory Commission includes as statutory members a representative group of criminal justice practitioners, judges, legislators, corrections officials, and members of the public, many of them appointed by the governor. The Attorney General sits on the Commission ex officio. See Nev. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 176.0123.
In 2003 the Nevada legislature sought to limit authority of the Board of Pardons Commissioners under Nev. Rev Stat. § 213.090 by imposing on the pardon application process the same eligibility requirements and waiting periods that apply to restoration of rights to first offenders under Nev. Rev. Stat. § 213.157. Seehttp://www.leg.state.nv.us/Session/72nd2003/bills/AB/AB55_EN.pdf. This law was found constitutionally problematic by the Nevada Attorney General. See Nev. Op. Atty Gen. (Nov. 18, 2003), available at http://www.pardons.nv.gov/sites/pardons/files/pdf/PardonInformalOpinion.pdf (hereinafter “2003 Attorney General Opinion”). In 2005 the statute was amended again to restore the Board’s previous authority. See http://www.leg.state.nv.us/Session/73rd2005/bills/SB/SB445_EN.pdf.
The application form in effect in 2011 varied the eligibility waiting period by type of conviction, and also provided that good conduct should be judged by “(1) post-conviction conduct, character, and reputation; (2) seriousness and relative recency of the offense; (3) acceptance of responsibility, remorse, and atonement; and (4) need for relief.” Criteria set forth a number of disqualifying factors based on institutional conduct; parole status; criminal charges, investigations, or appeals; and time and sentence. Id.
See Board of Pardons Commissioners, “Effect of a Pardon,” available at http://www.pardons.nv.gov/About/Effect_of_a_Pardon:
Where a statute limits rights based on the underlying conduct and not the pardoned offense itself, a pardon would not remove or erase the disability of past conduct. If there is a requirement that the license applicant has not been convicted of a felony, the pardon would permit licensing. However, if the licensing standard is good moral character, the pardon does not erase the moral guilt associated with the commission of a criminal offense and the fact giving rise to that conviction may be considered in determining whether that person is of ‘good moral character.’
Statutes containing licensing bars can be found on the Nevada Legislature’s website: www.leg.state.nv.us.
Prior to July 2010, the Pardons Board was authorized by regulation to issue “Certificates of Good Conduct” under Nev. Admin. Code § 213.130 et seq. According to a 2003 Attorney General opinion, these certificates served: “1) To remove a legal disability incurred through conviction; 2) to furnish evidence of good moral character where it is required by law; or 3) upon proof of the person’s performance of outstanding public services or if there is unusual and compelling evidence of his rehabilitation.” See 2003 Attorney General Opinion, supra note 2, at p. 21. However, per this opinion, only a pardon can remove the state firearms disability, so that the federal bar under 18 U.S.C. §921(a)(20) would still apply. See id. at p. 22-23. Additionally, the opinion noted that the Certificate could relieve other disabilities such as those in licensing and employment laws, but each one must be listed. See id. at p. 21. In July 2010, in recognition of the fact that it had not issued a Certificate of Good Conduct in many years, the Board rescinded the regulations authorizing Certificates based on its prior conclusion that these certificates were indistinguishable from pardons.
The June 2017 law reduced these waiting periods effective October 1, 2017. For felonies the previously applicable waiting period was seven-to-15 years, and for misdemeanors, one-to-seven years.
Author: wisenyc80
Advocate for the convicted felon View all posts by wisenyc80
Author wisenyc80Posted on May 13, 2018 May 13, 2018 Categories Community Awareness, Education, Freedom, Justice and EqualityTags buy the block; campaign; unity; community; blacks first; education; freedom; justice; equality
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Ph D Thesis: Searches for Massive Highly Ionising Particles at the ATLAS Experiment and in Polar Volcanic Rocks, and Performance Studies of the First Level ATLAS Trigger System
at FP41
Speaker : Katarina Bendtz (Stockholm University, Department of Physics)
Abstract : The Standard Model (SM) of particle physics describes the elementary particles and their interactions. Despite passing a number of high precision falsification tests, it is argued that the SM suffers from a number of shortcomings. Many Beyond the Standard Model (BSM) theories have therefore been postulated. Exotic highly ionising particles such as magnetic monopoles and Highly Electrically Charged Objects (HECOs), with masses at or above the TeV-scale, are predicted in many of these theories. Monopoles arise naturally in grand unification theories. Proposed candidates for HECOs are Qballs, strangelets and micro-black hole remnants. The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN is the world's largest and most powerful particle accelerator, colliding protons at centre-of-mass energies up to 13 TeV. One of the main purposes of the LHC is to search for particles beyond the SM. The research presented in this thesis comprises a search for magnetic monopoles and HECOs at one of the largest of the LHC detectors, the ATLAS detector. In addition, studies were made on the performance of the ATLAS trigger system, which is responsible for making the initial online selection of interesting proton-proton events. The search for monopoles and HECOs at ATLAS was conducted using a customized trigger and selection variables optimized for the non-standard particle signature in ATLAS. The dataset corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 7.0 fb^{-1} and the centre-of-mass energy was 8 TeV. No events were observed and upper limits on production cross-sections were set for monopoles and HECOs of mass 200-2500 GeV and charge in the range $0.5-2.0$ g_D, where g_D is the Dirac charge, and 10 - 60 e, respectively. Magnetic monopoles were also sought in polar volcanic rock using a SQUID magnetometer at ETH, Zürich. No candidates were found leading to limits on the monopole density in polar igneous rocks of 9.8 * 10^{-5}/gram.
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If young people today are so exhibitionistic, why no more flashing or streaking?
[Update on toplessness in France added]
You often hear from Baby Boomers and Gen X-ers how exhibitionistic young people have been since roughly 2003 or so -- putting up all those pictures of themselves on MySpace and later Facebook, uploading any video involving themselves to YouTube, not to mention all of the "over-sharing" they do in their Facebook status updates, etc. These are the facts, but is this the correct reading of the facts?
Hardly. This is just a technological change that has allowed people to broadcast themselves more widely to the rest of the world. Can you imagine if there had been YouTube or Facebook in 1968 or 1992? Friends on Facebook would have had to endure endless status updates about hearing the voice of a new generation, rising up against the patriarchy, bla bla bla. And while third wave feminism smothered any chance of there being a strong sexual vibe to Generation X's turnout, it doesn't take much imagination to picture what the counter-culture of the late '60s and early '70s would've uploaded to YouTube, MySpace, Flickr, and so on.
Young people recently have not been reserved in the way that 30-somethings during the 1950s would have been -- there is all that crap on Facebook, etc. -- but theirs is a mock-exhibitionism. How can we tell they're not willing to walk the walk? Consider the history of streaking: it peaked in popularity during the mid-'70s. Now it's only a few people a year who do it and only at the most high-profile events, whereas before you would've seen hundreds of college students running around campus naked even though there were no cameras trained on them at all. Of course, in the '70s there were also streakers at high-profile events like there are now.
In plain terms, today you have to pay people a dramatically higher price in attention to get them to streak, meaning their underlying preference to do so is more prudish than it was for young people of the 1970s. In more technical terms, and looking at it another way, the distribution of youthful exhibitionism has shifted in the prudish direction. That is, less of the mass is concentrated at the high end where you find streakers and flashers, and more of it is in the half-hearted part of the spectrum.
After the streaking fad burned out, did rampant exhibitionism fade away? No, it just took the form of girls flashing their boobs at rock concerts. Again, there are typically no cameras that will broadcast the girl to the rest of the world, so it is not a case of attention-whoring. It's just a wild thing that you do for the sheer thrill of it: omigod, that concert last night was like SOOO awesome -- i like TOTALLY flashed bon jovi!!!! It didn't matter if it was a small venue with under 100 people or a sold-out arena with tens of thousands. That's just what girls did.
But once wild times gave way to tame times in the early '90s, that died off too, effectively ending young people's indulgence in exhibitionism. I remember going to my first concert in the spring of 1995 -- it was the Foo Fighters (before their first album was out) playing at the Black Cat in DC. Here was the new band of an incredibly famous grunge musician, and none of the girls there flashed at all. I would've noticed since I was a horny 14 year-old and was pumped just to be around girls in a nightclub. Whether it was a smaller show like that one or the day-long HFStival that filled an entire stadium, I don't recall seeing girls flash at all. In fact, from all the videos I watched of Nirvana concerts held during the early '90s, I don't remember any flashing.
I haven't been to a big concert in awhile since hardly anyone has grabbed my attention as being a great live band. But flashing must be even lower now because the male musicians of today are either self-doubting crybabies or screaming rejects -- not the type that gets a girl hot and bothered enough to flash the lead singer. That's a pretty easy way to operationalize how masculine the musical zeitgeist is -- what percent of female fans flash at their concerts? Aerosmith or Prince -- high enough. John Mayer or Korn -- zero. Damn, I'll bet even Joan Jett had more flashing fans than those dorks in Weezer.
As with streaking, there's still a minimal amount of flashing going on, but it's only a handful of girls who travel to New Orleans for Mardi Gras. It's nothing on the scale of many girls doing it in every small town that a touring rock band played at. And again young people today need to get paid a lot -- namely in those highly sought-after beads -- in order to flash. The 17 year-old who snuck out after her curfew to see Guns N' Roses didn't expect to receive anything in exchange other than a little attention. Again it was mostly just for the thrill of doing it, like shoplifting or going for a joyride.
Indeed, I'm so confident that this is an effect of when you grew up rather than what age you are right now that I'll bet 40 year-old metal chicks still flash at the reunion tours of their favorite bands, while their young counterparts who are into nu metal, deathtronicacore, etc., would die of embarrassment to even ponder the idea out loud.
If you go through examples like streaking and flashing, most people will remember just how exhibitionistic young people were during wild times. So the only reason they perceive today's remarkably well-behaved young people as out-of-control is that they've blocked out the counter-evidence from the past. If they took an honest look, they wouldn't get to enjoy the age-old sport of whining during middle age about these slutty youngsters these days. Hey, the Gen X-ers' parents got to whine about this -- correctly -- when the Gen X-ers were growing up, so why shouldn't they get to, now that they are middle-aged?
[Update] In the comments Peter adds another case study that confirms my hunch about 40-something flashers, which is that toplessness in France is on the decline among the young. The article says that the golden days were the '70s and '80s, so it looks like the timing of the end of wild times was the same as it was here -- the early '90s. That's not surprising since the rise of wild times was basically the same as here, namely the late '50s and exploding in 1968. From the article:
But the trend is also part of a wider social movement by younger French women who are shunning the less-inhibited habits of previous generations. If burning bras and going topless were the ways French women of the 1970s and '80s demonstrated their freedom, their daughters and grand-daughters seem less comfortable with exposed flesh. "The values of our time are more conservative, traditional and familial," says Kaufmann.
With sensitivities like those, it's little wonder the poll found French women had strong opinions about public nakedness. Nearly 50% said they were bothered by total nudity on beaches or naturist camps, and 37% said they were disturbed by publicly exposed breasts or buttocks. Forty-five percent of respondents reported they'd prefer to see a lot less flesh hanging out in full view -- male or female.
Those attitudes got even more pronounced with respondents aged 18-24. A quarter of women within that group described themselves as very pudique [modest or priggish], and 20% saw any nudity as tantamount to indecency. That, sociologists say, explains the changing scenery on French beaches. Younger women disinclined to baring themselves make up the majority of female sunbathers; those still willing to go topless are usually older French women.
Top-rated crime and noir movies created during peaceful times
Lately I've been going through a lot of the great action crime movies -- Die Hard, Lethal Weapon, Beverly Hills Cop, etc. -- and not being a movie buff, I went to IMDb to see what other great crime movies are out there that I could move to next.
Surprisingly, almost none of the movies on the top 50 crime titles was in the vein of the three I just mentioned. They're more stylized, more glorifying of and sympathetic to criminals, and not as focused on action. That's fine, but I thought these movies should be listed under "drama" since most people think of Lethal Weapon or the Dirty Harry movies when it comes to the crime genre.
I noticed that almost all of these more stylized crime movies came from periods in American history when the homicide rate was falling or flat at a low level. The periods of rising homicide are 1900 (and maybe before) through 1933 and again from 1959 through 1991 or 1992. The periods of falling homicide are 1934 through 1958 and again from 1992 or 1993 through the present. There are a few exceptions (mostly ones that make the gangster / mob life look fun), but overall these top-rated crime movies were made during a time when their subject matter was fading out of the picture.
So next I went to the top 50 film noir titles, and they are almost entirely from low-crime times. Only 2 of the 50 are from high-crime times, and just barely: Scarface and I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (both 1932).
Why aren't such movies made during high-crime times? Because the audience is in the thick of the shit and can't remove themselves enough to appreciate a stylized and morally ambivalent portrayal of the world of crime. The great crime movies during high-crime times are more gritty than dressed up and draw fairly clear lines between who are the good guys vs. the bad guys. The focus is more on the impact of crime on average people and their surroundings -- accomplished through all the action shots rather than dialog. The only morally ambivalent aspect is that the crime fighters are vigilantes or cops with that streak. This is justified in these movies, however, by the flabbiness and blindness of the higher-ups and the establishment in general:
Homer: Ooh! It's that new show about the policeman who solves crimes in his spare time.
Bart: Crank it, Homer!
Chief: You busted up that crack house pretty bad, McGonigle. Did you really have to break so much furniture?
McGonigle: You tell me, Chief. You had a pretty good view from behind your desk.
Homer: Ah, McGonigle: eases the pain.
Chief: You're off the case, McGonigle!
McGonigle: You're off _your_ case, Chief!
Chief: What does that mean exactly?
Homer: [yelling] It means he gets results, you stupid chief!
Lisa: Dad, siddown.
Homer: Oh, I'm sorry.
You see exactly the same difference in crime-oriented video games. During the high-crime times of the '80s and early '90s, popular video games like Final Fight, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, X-Men, Double Dragon, Renegade, Golden Axe, Shinobi, NARC, Streets of Rage, Bad Dudes, and a thousand others -- they all feature criminals running amok, and you play as a vigilante that's going to flush all that scum down the sewer where it belongs.
In contrast, it was only when crime started falling after 1992 that video games where you play as the criminal, such as the Grand Theft Auto series, became popular and the renegade crime fighter stories faded away. The reason again is that when crime is high, it is palpable and people -- especially energetic young boys -- want to do something about it and go kick some scumbag's ass. Video games like Final Fight let you enjoy combat driven by moralistic aggression. When crime starts plummeting, people aren't as freaked out as before and don't have the same desire to clean up the streets Martin Riggs-style. Then young boys return to their default state of mild sociopathy and want to play as a sadistic killer or petty thief.
Fortunately for those who still enjoy the crime-fighting games, they've been collected into "arcade classics" compilations for the newer systems. There's still nothing more satisfying than knocking a criminal kingpin out of a window 50 stories high and hearing him cry like a little girl as he falls to his death.
Why I still go to record stores for CDs rather than to iTunes for mp3s
This week's EconTalk podcast is a great inside look at how the recorded music industry has operated from the early '70s through the present. Thankfully they didn't talk too much about piracy, which allowed them lots of time to focus on other things that the average listener probably hadn't already heard and thought about. (For a series of free articles on the negative impact that file-sharing has had on the music industry, look for the relevant titles in Stan Liebowitz's SSRN entry.) Most of the conversation is about the changes that accompanied the move from hard copies of music carried in brick-and-mortar stores to digital copies sold (or given away or stolen) online.
I was a freshman in college when Napster became popular, and lord knows I pirated lots of mp3s back then -- mostly shit, thinking back on it, but some of it good enough to burn onto CD. Last summer I bought a cheap mp3 player just to see if I really needed one -- after all, I'd gotten along fine without a portable CD player and only rarely used my Walkman as a kid. Nope, no use for it whatsoever. When I'm at home, in the library, or anywhere that has computer access, I can play CDs or mp3s on a computer. My car has a CD player, so I can always burn mp3s onto CDs and play them when I'm driving.
When else would I want to listen to music? While walking to and from my car? No; too short of a trip. While walking to and from campus or around the neighborhood -- it sounded plausible, so I tried it, but no. Being out and about while isolating yourself aurally makes no sense. It's as stupid as a person spending most of their time futzing around with their cell phone when they're in a gathering of friends.
That's just an argument against the portability benefit that digital music has. It also explains why I don't have a portable CD player. But here are five other reasons why hard copies bought from brick-and-mortar stores are better than digital copies obtained online:
1. You're out of the house and being social. Record stores never feel like other retailers, where you go there to stock up on necessities, you want to get this chore down as soon and as infrequently as possible, and you could care less about anyone else in the store. Record stores are a hangout. You're going there to collect the things that make life worth living, you want to linger there for as long as your schedule permits, and you feel like part of a larger community of music fans who are shopping alongside you or manning the cash register.
Online music stores could be a hangout, but for one person only, eliminating the social aspect of buying music. Plus you lose everything else in the physical environment that makes record stores such fun places to hang out -- holding things with your hands, running your eyes over the albums' artwork or liner notes, listening to whatever the staff is playing as a way of discovering groups you didn't know about, and so on.
2. There's a secondary market for hard copies but not digital copies. I mostly buy used CDs because all good popular music has already been made; arguably 1990 was the last year with many must-listen albums. Even the handful of recent good albums can still be bought used. Plus new and used CDs are basically indistinguishable to everyone, unlike used vs. new cars.
So you pay maybe $5 for the CD, and if at some point you want to trade it in, you'll get back $1 -- pretty good considering by that time you've gotten all you want out of it, and relative to the purchase price. Take a bunch of them that you don't listen to much anymore, and you can get several new albums that'll sustain you for a long time. None of this is possible with digital music.
3. You focus on better music when you buy entire CDs than when you cherry-pick single songs. Lots of people complain about an album that has 12 songs but only one good song. If that's an accurate assessment, then that band sucks and you should listen to someone who has enough talent to write at least two good songs in a year. Groups today are much more focused on singles, as they were in the '50s and '60s, but again the really good stuff comes from a period that was album-oriented. And there's simply too many of those albums for the average person to ever buy them all.
Also, they cover all major genres, so you'll never have to worry that you're missing out. For punk rock, you've got Rocket to Russia and Dookie. For (dance-)pop, you've got Thriller and Madonna's self-titled album. For glam / hard rock, you've got Electric Warrior and Slippery When Wet. For independent, you've got Psychocandy and Our Beloved Revolutionary Sweetheart. And on and on. All of those are packed with good-to-great songs, and you don't get that anymore in the single-driven age.
It's true that you can buy the entire album digitally, but most people do not. The online digital store encourages you to focus on isolated songs, rather than bundled albums.
4. You don't have to waste time and effort deciding which songs to listen to and in what order. Let's say you have 100 mp3s on you iPod. That's about 5 hours of music, so obviously you aren't going to listen to every one of them during a particular use of your iPod. The longest that a typical use might last is about 1 hour -- your commute, working out in the gym, etc. -- which means that you'll have to decide which 20 out of 100 songs to include for any given use of your iPod. Furthermore, you'll have to decide which order they'll be played in (even if the choice is random).
Unless you're a musical genius, you cannot hope for the resulting hour of songs to hang together in a pleasing gestalt way, especially when you're making these decisions on-the-fly during your commute, work-out, etc. Think of how mediocre it would sound if you sliced up 10 symphonies into 10 standalone pieces each, threw all 100 pieces into an iPod, and then could only choose 10 from this stew to listen to while driving to school or work. Pop music may not suffer as much because albums aren't as planned-out as symphonies, but it's still in that direction.
With hard copies, they've done all of that hard work for you -- the songs that will be played are those on the album, in the order they're listed on the back. The band members themselves, together with recording professionals, have thought very long and hard about which songs to put on an album and in what order. Therefore, the resulting hour of music is much more satisfying on a holistic level, above how enjoyable each song is on its own. I think using the right pace to set the mood and set up contrasts is the hardest thing for a normal person to do on their own.
Again you can just buy the album digitally and put it into your iPod in the intended order, but most people do not do this because digital music encourages focusing too much on the trees and not the forest. You still have tough choices to make with hard copies, but it's "which album or two to bring?" rather than "which song to hear next?" repeated 20 times in a row.
5. You're not inconvenienced by having to wait for the store to get in what you want. Again, there is so much great stuff out there that it's impossible for them to not have at least one album worth listening to. They might not have a particular album in a given week, but then you buy the ones they do have that week, or have them transfer it from a sister store or order it for you. So there is no real advantage to being able to get a particular song or album digitally online right now vs. later.
How do we know? Ask people what their favorite album or song is, and they usually can't make up their minds -- there are fifty or a thousand of them, although they're better than the other million songs they didn't think of. The same is true for the list of albums or songs they'd like to own but don't yet. There's a block of higher-priority stuff, but it's a really big block. People can't rank within this block; it's an undifferentiated wish list. Only if the record store didn't have anything from this wish list would you think of getting it online. I thought of doing just that recently because the CD is hard to find (Everything by Tones on Tail). Fortunately a sister store had it in, and after waiting a few days for the transfer, I got it for $8 instead of the $15 or more that it goes for -- used! -- on Amazon or Ebay.
Even if the store or a sister store didn't have it in, and you wanted to get it online, the record store has specialized knowledge of where to go for which albums to get you the best deal. This comes from specialization and competition between record stores for sales. I don't want to waste time and effort wading through Amazon or Ebay's endless lists of the same items to find the best combination of price, quality, and delivery time. Let the record store worry about that. Only if it's really expensive to get in hard copy does the digital copy become more attractive.
No one needs a song or album right this second, unless they're buying it to satisfy an impulse shopping desire. But of course clicking on the song at iTunes and reading the "download complete" box is not impulse shopping any more than is calling in a pizza for delivery. You have to be standing in front of the thing, perhaps holding it in your hands, and walking away with something tangible in order for it to feel like an indulgent impulse buy.
This probably reflects our hunter-gatherer past -- you come upon an apparently deserted honeycomb or a fresh lamb carcass that two predators seem to have killed themselves in a fight over. You'd like to take it, but what if the bees find out, and what if that one predator isn't actually dead? Hmmm, it seems like no one's looking, so what the hell, let's take it and run! If you can't run away with it tucked under your arm or slung over your shoulder, it's not an impulse buy.
There are other reasons why I still buy CDs from (used) record stores, but these are the most important, especially the ones about focusing on the entire group of songs you're going to listen to during a stretch. Digital copies have shifted people's thinking even more toward the frustrating and counter-productive focus on singles rather than albums or even greatest hits collections (again which ones and in what order?).
Will dorks pay women to play video games with them?
Via Tyler Cowen, here's a news item about an online service where video gamer shut-ins could pay to play video games with a woman. As if the concept itself didn't reek of desperation, the article is full of lame words like "hot," "ladies," and "buy her a drink." For just over $8, he would get 10 minutes of faceless play or 6 minutes of face-to-face online play.
Interestingly, all of the comments (well, I only looked through the first couple pages) slam the idea, calling it pathetic, a small step away from prostitution, etc. Doesn't sound too promising for the service. None mention costs and benefits -- like is it worth $8 or perhaps only $1.50 to slaughter zombies with a chick partner? Or perhaps some would say, "Damn, only $8 -- what a steal!" The very act of paying someone to be your friend violates the separation that people have in their minds between social relations among fellows and among market participants.
If your mother makes an especially good Thanksgiving dinner, your family members don't pass around a tip jar and tell her, "This is for a job well done." Conversely, no one walks into Starbucks and asks the cashiers to cut them some slack in paying for a month or two -- they'll get the money sometime and pay them back, but just not right now.
That's why no one pays for friends, dates, or sex partners. It's an admission that you can't get it by being worthy of having friends, dates, and sex partners. We don't care about the ultimate reward so much as we do about deserving that reward. Man does not only want to bang, but to be bang-worthy.
Incidentally, I think that's why some guys are turned off by the pickup artist lit. In their minds, using such techniques feels like getting the reward in an undeserving way. I don't see it that way at all. If game gurus really were focused only on the ends, they'd write instead about how to best evade laws against buying a prostitute's services. Rather, they write about how to best re-shape yourself into someone more deserving of girls' attention.
Speculation aside, here is how the author of the article describes his experience with the service:
She was a nice girl (and totally kicked my ass in both pool and Battleship, btw) but her boyfriend was hanging out behind her and she made mention of him a couple times. Her game mood is set to "flirty," but there was zero flirting going on. I can imagine some guys might be disappointed if they paid to play with a girl, only to hear her go on and on about her boyfriend -- and even have to see the guy during a video chat.
If I were the boyfriend, I would've interrupted by wrapping my arm around her shoulder, staring straight into the camera, and saying, "Sup brah, thanks for paying for our date later tonight. I sure am glad that [pointing to her ass] I'm gettin' it for free, BITCH!"
More female bonding during low-trust times
In general trying to get two females to play nice with each other is like trying to train two cats not to chase after the same rat. As a result, females tend to have very few close friends, while males are part of much larger social networks. Still, there are swings up and down when it becomes even harder or relatively easier for girls to get along.
Following the logic of what causes females to thrash one another so viciously -- namely, competition over prized males in the mating market -- we predict that when females withdraw more from the mating market, they won't have such strong reasons to hate each other, and they'll find it easier to get along. That's why post-menopausal women aren't as catty as teenagers.
One key ingredient to taking part in any market is trust in other people -- you are much less willing to play the roles of "buyer" and "seller" if you think your partner will cheat, lie, or otherwise act opportunistically. In low-trust environments, you'll move more of these "production" decisions in-house where people can be trusted. Often that will be literally in your own house where your blood relatives live, although it could also mean doing it by yourself or with only your most proven allies. Just not with generic strangers or someone you just met.
Trust levels have been falling steadily since the late 1980s, according to the General Social Survey. And in the early '90s trust took an extra hammering from the culture war that spawned third wave feminism, identity politics, and political correctness. Who can trust men when they're all a bunch of crypto-rapists just waiting for the right moment to slip a drug in your drink? Third wave feminism has been dead since at least the late '90s, but trust levels have remained low right up through the present. We'd expect females to withdraw more from the mating market and think more in terms of forming alliances against a common enemy. Hey, you two are both cynical and distrustful towards men -- why don't you build on that?
So is there any evidence that the prevalence of female bonding has gone up since then? Sure -- this period has seen the birth and flourishing of the "girls' night out." Obviously girls have been going out together at night forever, but this phenomenon is a plan to carve out a "safe space" where they can insulate themselves from the cooties that those yucky boys carry. Here is a graph of how in-the-air this topic has been in the NYT, by five-year blocks (each point is the middle year of the five):
The phrase also appeared twice in 1934 and once in 1942, but otherwise is absent until the late '80s. (The only instances from 1985 and 1986 are references to a rock band of that name.) It first caught the attention of feature journalists in 1989, as seen in this article. Since then, it has only shot up in popularity, as shown by this 2003 article about the comeback of Tupperware parties among trendy Manhattanites.
Plus there's all that only mildly social stuff that hip-striving females somewhat recently started forming clubs around, like knitting and growing your own vegetables, instead of going out on dates with boys.
Sex and the City clearly fits right in with this. Wikipedia has a category page on "female buddy films" -- no joke -- and they are all from 1988 and later, with a peak in 1996. Again, it's not as though there weren't movies before then where females helped each other out or enjoyed friendship. Just not ones where they formed a co-op to better their odds in the battle between the sexes.
And of course there's "girl power" music that grew out of third wave feminism, symbolized by ego-inflated slut brigades like The Spice Girls or The Pussycat Dolls, as well as the soporific line-up at Lilith Fair. You never would've seen anything that gay from The Runaways, The Go-Go's, Pat Benatar, Debbie Harry, or any other good female rock musician. (Looking through the names of those who did play Lilith Fair, I'm sad to say that The Pretenders and Susanna Hoffs both did, though.)
The tougher ones sing about how relationships don't always work out, but to suck it up and try to get on with life, rather than huddle with a bunch of other whining women and feel each others' pain. Even the slightly downer songs from high-trust times rarely complained about "what can we do to get them to treat us right?" like Queen Latifah's 1993 song "U.N.I.T.Y" -- but instead about "what can I do to get him to love me?" like Joan Jett's 1981 cover of "Crimson and Clover."
It's ironic that all of this female bonding crap gets promoted as proof of how strong and self-confident women have become, especially since third wave feminism. Back on planet Earth, this retreat from playing with the boys only signals how weak and unsure she is of her ability to handle life's risks. It takes a stronger girl to make herself vulnerable, and those girls from high-trust times were rewarded with much more exciting social lives than the girls-night-outters of today who make an evening out of in-home strip pole dancing.
Can only contrarians stick with a low-carb diet these days?
Low-carb diets are far and away the most effective at alleviating all symptoms of metabolic syndrome -- high body fat, high triglycerides, insulin resistance, etc. -- because these all spring from throwing your blood sugar levels outta whack, and that is caused by eating too many carbs. Plus they are the least physiologically painful diets to go on because fat and protein satisfy hunger, while carbs cause hunger by driving up insulin and thus locking away fat and depriving you of energy -- so your body screams at you to eat some more. You don't have to count calories in general, you get to eat tasty food, you lose your sweet tooth, and you're more energetic overall.
So why do people who experiment with low-carb eating and see the positive results for themselves give up? My mother jumped on the low-carb bandwagon around 2003 or so and truly seemed like a different person. Approaching 50 years old, she'd lost most of the body fat she'd built up during her 40s and had so much energy she didn't know what to do with it. Exercise was something she wanted to do, not a chore, and even after getting back from the gym she would still have enough energy to jump and bounce around the living room, just to show off how healthy she was. But the low-carb fad died and like most Americans she's now back to eating mostly carbs, although they tend to be low-glycemic. She still competes in ballroom dancing, but her energy level isn't what it used to be. Last summer I got my father on a low-carb diet for a few weeks or months, and he lost weight, wasn't hungry, and never felt cranky. By the end of the summer, though, he'd gone back to his old ways.
These examples are hardly atypical. It's understandable why other dieters would revert, but it's puzzling with low-carb eaters because everything starts to improve and they can see it with their own eyes. It is not a diet that requires a constant exercise of willpower because, again, the food tastes great, you don't have to count calories, and your health picks up. And since you lose your sweet tooth, it's not the eventual caving in to that pint of ice cream. I indulge in sweets once every two or three months, but then I go right back because it only takes one pint of ice cream for me to say "that's enough." After that, sweets are too saccharine to tolerate, and I want to get back to eggs, chorizo, and pate.
Gary Taubes, author of Good Calories, Bad Calories, has speculated that those who go back to a high-carb diet do so because they lack support from their doctors and other health care people -- indeed, they might get an earful about how this diet is going to kill them right away. That hectoring from the man in the white coat is enough to make the low-carb eater second-guess what's best for themselves. This means that the only people who will take to low-carb eating over the long term are those who are fine with -- and may even take pleasure in -- telling Dr. Know-It-All how far they're veering from his supposed dietary wisdom. Remember this little rant by Denis Leary in Demolition Man?
I think Taubes is right about that, but it actually applies much more broadly to everyone who will ever find out what you eat -- not only those in your social circle but anyone they might tell, other patrons when you're eating out, and so on. They all believe, wrongly, that eggs, sausage, butter, etc., is poison and that grains are healthy. They've internalized this from what the experts in the private sector say and from governmental warnings and propaganda. Most of the time the experts are right, but not here. If nutrition had no government interference, the diets proven to do best would win acclaim.
Once the government steps in, though, it has no incentive to find out what a good diet is -- it's not going to go bankrupt if it makes the wrong recommendations, unlike a private dieting firm. People trust the government when it comes to issuing warnings on safety -- is it safe to fly, to drive without seatbelts, etc.? -- so once the government scares the hell out of everyone about eating animal products, people will take that very seriously and not be likely to change their minds about it. *
So a low-carb eater is going to have to endure the disgusted looks and shaming stares from not only their social circle whose thoughts they care about, but also from the mob of mankind. "Jesus -- beef with butter, then ham and eggs with cheese. I guess he just doesn't care about his health. What a filthy pig." Even below that are the friendly jokes they'll always hear relating to their diet. It's not a brazen insult, but still a stream of remarks about your diet raises the psychic cost of eating that way. "There goes agnostic ordering a burger without a bun," or "So, what, you're too good to eat breadsticks? Are you saying we're bad people for eating them, then?"
And notice how no one -- anymore -- will make jokes about someone's vegetarian or vegan diet. Now they make remarks if you're an anti-vegan! How perverted has the received wisdom become?
I think it's this regard for peer approval, which in general is a good thing that keeps us from going off the deep end, together with our peers' wrongheaded beliefs about what healthy food is, that makes it so tough for most people to stay on a low-carb diet. These barriers make sure that the only ones who will enjoy the diet long-term are those who aren't moved by peer disapproval if they believe themselves to be in the right. Hey guys, I know you all think this is bad eating, but with all due respect you don't know anything about nutrition, so I'm going to politely ignore your attempts at shaming me into the skin-destroying and energy-sapping diets that you all follow because the experts and the government told you to. If you've spent any time reading low-carb people, you can tell that they have this contrarian and slightly libertarian streak.
This explains why it was easy to follow a low-carb plan in the early-mid 2000s. It suddenly became fashionable and therefore pre-approved by a large fraction of the crowd. You wouldn't have felt like a weirdo, unlike now. The views of doctors, health experts, government screwballs, etc., did not change at all during that time or since. What changed was what the crowd believed. So while Taubes was pretty close, it's actually how the mob is going to judge us that determines how easy or tough it will be to do something. We care less about our own health than we do about how others perceive our health-related behaviors.
* This shows why low-carb diets do not win out even among private dieting firms. The average person does not trust a for-profit firm to figure out what healthy is because he distrusts the profit motive. Since the government has no such motive, he will trust them to figure out what's safe. Suppose that seatbelts didn't really reduce mortality risk, but that the government kept a steady stream of warnings about the dangers of driving around unbuckled, in contrast to private firms who said "don't listen to that bull." Consumers would trust the government's warnings and demand seatbelts from for-profit carmakers -- even if the latter were not required by law to have them.
Similarly, when the government warns that dietary fat and cholesterol are harmful, it doesn't matter if it's nonsense. People will believe the government because there's no profit motive for them to lie, and they'll therefore demand diet programs from private firms that are all in the low-fat / low-cholesterol direction. They just wouldn't trust one that said "eat more beef and liver, and less bread and sugar." And once more, people really care about how others view them rather than about their own health, so the private firms that will dominate in the dieting industry are those that are best at giving consumers a diet that will garner the highest approval ratings from the crowd, not those that are best at improving the consumer's blood lipid profile or other objective measures of health.
Which car decals are elite-approved?
Here is a complaint on an NYT blog about car decals that say what beaches you head to for vacation, like the OBX one that stands for Outer Banks, North Carolina. (I don't know if these exist outside the East Coast.) Other prohibited decals are those that advertise what sports your kids play, including cheerleading -- things that might make them popular -- and decals that show your family togetherness by giving each member their own stick figure decal.
Are there any decals that the complainer would allow? Sure: the ones that signal where your kids went to college, ones that signal your political views, and presumably an Apple logo (hey, the personal is political).
Basically, being a status-obsessed dork is OK, while having a life is forbidden.
Young and middle-aged males giving up autonomy: Evidence from driver's licenses
For a post I'm putting together (at the data blog) on the change in young people's autonomy over time, I've been looking at numbers on driver's licenses (see here). Why? For the average American, having a license is one of the most important steps toward independence, whether financial, social, or otherwise. I assume the reasons for that are obvious.
But something else has struck me for the last year or so -- I always seem to see young males being driven around by girls. Sometimes it's clearly his girlfriend, but other times it could just be a friend who he pestered into giving him a ride. If I saw this as many times as I saw the guy driving around the girl, then no big deal. But it really does seem like the girls are more likely to drive around guys than vice versa. I notice because it's disgusting -- aren't you the one with the balls? You are supposed to be the one in charge -- the leader, the coordinator, the doer -- not some child being chauffeured around by a girl, who must feel more like your mommy than your lover. Either learn how to drive or just hand over your balls to her now and make it official.
Sure enough, the data back up my hunch. They allow you to see what percent of the male or female population has a license, by age group. As recently as 2000 (and at least back to 1994), males were more likely than females to have a license in all age groups, which is as it should be. It shouldn't even be close. Starting in 2001, though, females start to dominate in the youngest age groups -- the 19 and under and the 20-24 groups. The most recent data for 2008 show that females now dominate not only those groups but the 25-29, 30-34, and the 35-39 groups as well. So all young people and a good amount of middle-aged people -- anyone from 15 to 39 -- live in a world where males are less independent in any area of life that requires a car. Here is the difference between the % of females and % of males with licenses by age group in 2008 (so positive means females more likely to have licenses):
19 and under 0.2
20-24 3.8
40-44 -1.2
65-69 -10.7
85+ -34.2
Women in their 20s are several percentage points more likely to be able to drive than their male age-mates, and the gap is growing (since not long ago the gap went in the other direction). Unlike other areas of life where you can make an argument for feminism taking away opportunities from qualified men and giving them to less qualified women, getting a driver's license is not a zero-sum game -- just because a female gets one doesn't prevent a qualified male from getting one.
The widening gap is due to either a fall for males and rise for females, or both groups falling but males falling even lower. So this is a case of males increasingly dropping out, not males staying roughly the same and females gaining more and more to make up for previous very low levels. After abdicating their responsibility, though, of course they have to rely on someone to drive them around, and that person is more likely to be a girl than a guy. It doesn't look so bad when your buddy gives you a lift, but to have to depend so much on girls for your basic social existence? That's beyond pathetic. Not to sound too alarmist, but you wonder how long it'll take before white America looks like black Africa where the men are a bunch of parasitic losers relying on the independent womenfolk for their survival.
Would paleolithic people have needed a toilet brush?
[You may want to skip this if you don't like frank discussions about the gross parts of human physiology.]
There are many ways to tell that after going on a low-carb diet, your body is in better shape. You start burning off excess fat, your blood sugar plummets, so does insulin, your triglycerides fall, your HDL level goes up, your LDL particles shift from the small and dense type that cause heart disease to the large and fluffy type that don't, you have more energy, you aren't ever hungry -- and so you rarely snack or nap -- and on and on.
But then there are lots of so-called cosmetic ways in which your body gets better. Your skin becomes more clear and supple, your hair gets thicker, your teeth look nicer even when not brushed, and you won't get rashes, discolorations, etc., that almost always come from allergies to non-animal foods. Low-carb people don't emphasize these as much because it seems superficial -- you should care more about your risk of heart disease than how bouncy the skin on your face looks.
However, natural selection designed the human mind to find signs of health visually pleasing because it was impossible to give other people a blood lipid profile test, measure their fasting insulin levels, and so on. Just because these features are on-the-surface does not mean that they aren't honest signals of underlying good health. So we should absolutely pay attention to our own surface when we try to judge how healthy we are.
Still, these changes may take awhile to become perceptible -- not years, but maybe weeks or months. How can you tell within days that a low-carb diet has put your body in better shape? Simple: judge the quality of what came in by what came out. Grazing animals that subsist on low-quality food like grass must eat a lot more than carnivores do. So they take in a larger volume of food, and most of that is useless junk that gets excreted. Such animals therefore defecate frequently and copiously. Carnivores do so rarely and in slighter quantities. That's why you can tell, just by walking around, whether there are deer in the area, but you couldn't tell if there were cats unless you saw them with your own eyes. (This is not due to burying behavior of cats; deer could try to bury theirs too, but there would still be too much to hide.)
One of my housemates is a vegetarian who occasionally eats cheese and even more rarely fish, though never eggs. Like the typical vegetarian, he lives on grains, legumes / pulses / nuts, corn, pasta, soy or rice milk, chips and cookies, etc., with only a small amount of colorful vegetables and fruits. That's why the name "vegetarian" is misleading; if you ate only colorful vegetables and fruits, you'd die from lack of protein, fat, and most vitamins and minerals. Human non-carnivores should really be called grainitarians. The only difference between him and a typical American, though, is that he follows this diet out of some higher principle (I've never asked), whereas the typical American feeds on mostly processed carbs and few animal sources without making a cause out of it.
To be blunt, when he's used the bathroom for number two, I can always tell -- visually. If a cat were toilet-trained, it would never leave streaks in the bottom of the bowl. Its high-quality diet just does not result in the streakable consistency of dung that you find among cows, elephants, and other low-quality eaters. And again, because he's vegetarian, he's in there at least twice a day, and probably a time or two more when we're not home at the same time. The cat would be in there only as frequently as it would use its litter box to defecate -- once a day at the most.
You've all been in a public restroom, so you know what it sounds like when others are there in the stalls. It never sounds like there's a well-formed one that goes plop, but instead like the microwave blew up their bowl of soup. I'm pretty sure that's mother nature's way of telling you to eat like a man instead of a 9 year-old boy. Only a sugar-sucking grain-muncher is going to make that sound in the restroom.
So unlike the other feedback your body gives you about how high-quality your diet is, this one is particularly quick at letting you know. How then do people ignore the inescapable marks that their food leaves? I think it's because there is little variation over time -- you would have to experiment with various diets in order to see how that affected what you left behind. Most Americans don't care that much about experimenting to improve their health -- I mean what the hell, someone else will bail us out if we get sick due to our own horrible eating habits. Some cultures might be more open about excretion, and so pay more attention to what it says about their food's quality, but that'll never happen here. *
In our fecal-phobic culture, the best way to avoid embarrassment about the sounds you make and the traces you leave for others to see is to cut out most carbs from your diet. You don't need them and they don't add flavor. There's nothing wrong with a daily fruit, vegetable, or other low-carb / high-fiber food like an avocado or almonds, just as a cat occasionally eats grass. But otherwise don't bother with a high carb load. Your bum and everyone else affected by it will thank you.
* We only pay attention if we suspect we've been infected by a pathogen -- to us that's more serious than following a lifelong diet of low quality because germs infecting our gut could kill us in short order via dehydration.
Less or no nudity in hit movies today?
I'm not a movie person, but after re-visiting a lot of the big movies I saw as a little kid in the '80s, I'm struck by how much full or partial nudity there was compared to now. My hunch is that this reflects the general transition during the early-mid-'90s from wild times to tame times. It would take more effort to find out just when the "nudity in film" change happened, but as a brief comparison, consider just 1984 vs. 2009. We only want to include movies that lots of people see; if few see it, it's no big deal.
I looked up the top ten grossing films for both years at Wikipedia and then went to the "Parents' guide" section on each one's IMDb page. This lists instances of full or partial nudity, other sexual content, violence, profanity, and so on. It seems to be edited by paranoid parents who labor to tar all movies as depraved, so if there was something serious in it, they wouldn't miss it. So how do the hit movies of 1984 differ from those of 2009?
Each year had a hit movie that showed a non-human female with a mostly-nude costume that showed some of her breasts -- Ghostbusters and Avatar. I don't think that counts, but it's hard to call. For true cases of showing bare breasts, bare buttocks, full frontal nudity, etc., 2009 had only one hit movie with such images (The Hangover). However, five hit movies of 1984 did (Beverly Hills Cop, Police Academy, Footloose, Splash, and Purple Rain). So, the typical high-exposure movie from 1984 would have shown something, and the typical one from 2009 would not.
Perhaps the clearest illustration of this shift is in the amount of nudity shown in screwball teen movies -- if any genre is going to show something, it's this one. In Porky's (1981) there's full frontal and backal nudity, other shots of bare breasts, and so on. In Dazed and Confused (1993), there's nothing. American Pie (1999) has only one sequence showing bare breasts. And when we reach Superbad (2007), they don't show anything at all. It's understandable if they don't show anything in teen movies that aren't about slackers and adolescents trying to get laid, like Ferris Bueller's Day Off or Mean Girls. But even the screwball teen movies from at least 1993 onward refrain from showing nudity. And conversely, even a general coming-of-age movie like Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982) had full frontal nudity back during wild times.
Because the movie industry is one of the most competitive out there, it must be that this shift is due to changes in audience demand. If young people today still wanted to see bare boobs and butts, the movie studios would give it to them. This shift in their cultural tastes parallels their behavioral changes; promiscuity among high schoolers has been falling since 1991. Therefore, it is not simply a substitution of internet porn for teen movie nudity. It's part of a larger pattern.
(Also, adults weren't going to see Beverly Hills Cop or The Terminator in order to see T&A, since they had easy access to porn. Nudity in hit movies is not there to physically arouse the audience but to suggest wildness in the environment.)
Another curious thing I notice that's related is how juvenile young people want to remain today compared to during the '60s through the '80s. During all times, teenagers want to become independent and start living what they picture as the cool young adult life. Still, there are pendulum swings around that constant desire. Just look at how popular Ice Age, Harry Potter, and Transformers are. Or Pokemon -- still. Flash back to Fast Times at Ridgemont High again, and teenagers are worried about getting the right job in the most high-status part of the mall, or moving up from a job at a crummy vs. a respectable fast food place.
When young people perceive the world as pretty safe, they're going to delay going through rites of passage -- omigod, why should i hurry? i mean it's not like the world's gonna end or anything. Of course, when they do believe that life is shorter and more dangerous -- such as when the violent and property crime rates are going up -- then their mindset is more one of "piss or get off the pot." In particular, it's time to get a job and to work toward making some babies. While tame times last, though, they're more interested in meta-ironic-detached portrayals of rites of passage or else childlike fantasies. In the '80s, it was mostly little kids who were into The Neverending Story -- not college students, who were too busy working, driving around in their cars, drinking or doing drugs, and getting it on.
Dark ages for video games
I finally broke down and bought a PS2 (slim), though not because there are many good original games for it -- and with some 4500 games available, that is a pathetic success rate, compared to all the gems among the roughly 900 games for the Sega Genesis, 800 for the Nintendo, or 700 for the Super Nintendo. Rather, it offers lots of great compilations. Except for racing and first-person shooter games, which are the only genres that are superior in 3-D, video games have been in the dark ages since roughly 1995. However, just like during the Medieval period of European history, the great works from the previous golden age are still being preserved and even slightly expanded upon. Sure, there are a few greats that this period has produced -- such as Castlevania: Symphony of the Night and evidently the New Super Mario Bros Wii (both 2-D platformers) -- but it's mostly been an era of conservation.
I bought a GameCube last summer just so I could play Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance games on a TV, although I was also enticed by some of the compilations they had. Still, it's become clear that the variety just isn't there; it's the PS2 that is like Baghdad's House of Wisdom. As a little kid, I never would've imagined that I'd be able to play Final Fight for real on a home console, let alone that scores of other superstar arcade games would be included on the same disc -- or have all of the Mega Man or Sonic games on one disc -- and that this wouldn't cost more than a single disc otherwise would.
Now all they need is a compilation of rare or expensive action RPGs like Terranigma and Secret of Mana, and just to fill it out, maybe some of those turn-based RPGs (which I don't like) that are impossible to find cheaply like Chrono Trigger and Earthbound. They've already made a killing with two 16-bit era compilations, so why not? It would help to tide us over until the Renaissance comes.
What qualities does your name bring to mind?
Namipedia has a neat feature that allows the readers of a name's page to rate the name based on how smart, sexy, friendly, creative, strong, young, and sophisticated it sounds. To see how a name measures up, just type it into their search bar, and in the "Does X sound..." box click on "View all ratings."
Out of curiosity I looked up my own name and was flattered to learn how pleasantly the voters perceive it. Then on a hunch I looked up a bunch of other, obviously low-scoring names to see what the judgment was. To my surprise, every name gets at least a middle-of-the-scale rating on every variable, often much higher than they deserve.
The most objective way to show this is to look at the "young" rating of names that belong to very old people. (Namipedia also shows, off to the right, the rise and fall of that name's popularity over time, in case you're unsure.) Rose, Agnes, Beatrice, Ethyl, and Edith score no lower than the middle in the "young" variable, even though those names haven't been at all popular for roughly 100 years. Maybe there's some really horrific-sounding name that I couldn't think of, but generally everyone gets a favorable rating on everything. What gives?
If you read my post on why online comments are so negative while online product reviews are so positive, you already know the answer. This is just another example of an anonymous online rating that shows only high average scores. To reiterate the take-home message from before, critics inclined to leave negative reviews will silence themselves online because they expect their audience not to have experienced the target of their harsh words. When the audience doesn't know the back-story to a severe punishment, they reflexively side with the punished rather than the punisher -- "Hey, maybe it's not that great, I don't know, but it seems like you're being unfair." Faced with that lack of sympathy from the audience, and imagining their disapproving looks, negative reviewers will keep quiet. As Adam Smith put it: "Compared with the contempt of mankind, all other external evils are easily supported."
That changes when it's the comments section of a blog since the audience does know the back-story, as they too have read the post being commented on.
With the name ratings, what's really being rated is the group of people with that name. Raters are not divorcing the name from those who bear that name -- it's too hard for most people to do -- but thinking to themselves, "How smart are people named Raylene?" or "How sexy are people named Bert?" The typical audience member has had no contact with people named Raylene or Bert, certainly not at a level that would allow them to know how fair or unfair the judgments of the rater were. Therefore the rater, even if inclined to give a harsh grade -- like Agatha doesn't sound young at all -- will either keep quiet or give a much higher score than he'd want to. He expects that the audience would side with the poor Raylenes, from the "innocent until proven guilty" principle, and he doesn't even have the chance to prove their guilt. Picturing that entirely unsympathetic audience, he decides it isn't worth giving a low score.
Innocent love songs in wild times, dirty songs in tame times
Over at my data blog, I just looked at how levels of social trust are related to levels of risky sexual behavior among young people. The latter have been in decline since their early-'90s peak, along with all other sorts of thrill-seeking behavior.
Yet when we look to popular culture for clues about the sex lives of young people, we see the opposite of what we'd think at first -- from the late '50s through the early '90s, love songs aren't very raunchy or sassy, don't glorify promiscuity, and are typically addressed to a single person who is driving the singer crazy. OK, with the occasional exception. Still, look over the Billboard Hot 100 number ones from 1987 and note how refreshing they sound. During the tame times since the early '90s (and perhaps during the '30s and '40s, too, but I don't know much about that music), the fraction of songs about boys and girls that are provocative has gone up. What gives?
The kneejerk cynical answer is that people are hypocrites. The promiscuous people sing more sincere love songs to disguise their promiscuity, while the sexually less active people sing about being dirty to disguise their sub-promiscuous activity. Both are singing to disguise what they see as the flaws in their sex life. But then this explanation means nothing since it assumes that both see their sex lives as shameful and worth covering up. In general, you can impute hypocrisy to anyone by just assuming their mindset is what's needed for the theory to work. Even if this were true here, the cynical response wouldn't explain the shift across time -- why all of the suddent was the shameful thing less promiscuity, rather than more?
I think the answer comes down to trust in others, which has been falling since sometime in the late '80s. When social trust is high, you feel safer and will engage in riskier behavior -- and perhaps get burned, have to go back to square one, and thereby rack up more partners. People who are very trusting are also going to sing more about a single person and will emphasize the loss of control they feel. Low-trust people would never invest that much in another person, and they certainly wouldn't make themselves vulnerable enough to feel that they have little control over their actions.
I don't have to remind you what recent songs about men and women are like. Take anything by the Pussycat Dolls, Nelly Furtado, or Fergie. It's addressed to a crowd of men, men in general, or a generic man, who are all at a great social distance -- not the singer's one and only, who she trusts (or used to trust). And like everything else in the culture since the mid-'90s, the voice is highly self-conscious -- "don'tcha wish your girlfriend was hot like me?" -- rather than a voice from someone who's lost their sense of individuality through joining the other person who they trust -- "I'll stop the world and melt with you."
This self-consciousness is part of the foundation for their sense of control and power, unlike the vulnerability and lack of total control that singers expressed during wild times. And it sure is easier to feel in complete control when you don't trust others and rely only on yourself.
The apparent exception today is the Norah Jones school of sappy singer-songwriter junk -- that's hardly raunchy and power-thirsty. That may be so, but those songs still sound like they come from a low-trust society because the women never sing about how uncontrollably gone they are, nor express it in their inflection. Instead it's like, "Gosh, it's really, really neat to date you. Really neat!" They're intrigued in a gee-willikers way that a scientist might perk up on observing a colony of bacteria through a microscope. No involuntary passion.
Listening to the Pussycat Dolls or Norah Jones, you actually shouldn't be so surprised that promiscuity and sexual activity in general is down among hormone-crazed young people. If a girl feels like a spotlight is on her alone, and like she's in full control of her emotions and actions, she is not in a very susceptible state for risky sexual behavior. She has to feel like she's being swept along in the moment, like she can't help it, and so like there's no point in trying to fight it. She might as well just surrender now. I can't imagine that horse-faced transvestite Fergie getting into that mindset, but it used to be perfectly common. Here's just one of many that still stick in my memory even though I was only 6 or 7 when they were on the radio:
Teenagers less reckless even for trivial, unpunished risks
One broad class of theories about why American society has become a lot more civilized since the early-'90s peak in the rates of violent crime, property crime, teen promiscuity, child abuse, etc., is that law enforcement started cracking down harder. Raise the costs of homicide by raising the chance of it leading to life in prison (or whatever), and you'll see fewer homicides committed. I don't doubt that can play a role, but I question how widely that applies and what the magnitude is where it does apply.
As I've mentioned before, the list of risky behaviors that have declined since the early '90s is so vast that it makes less sense to propose ad hoc explanations for each decline -- for homicide, for teen pregnancy, etc. For example, locking up more of the risk-takers is a plausible account of why homicides declined, but not teen promiscuity or teen pregnancy because the risk-takers in those cases weren't given harsher punishments -- or any at all -- by law enforcement. Rather, it's better to talk about a fall in a generalized taste for risk in the minds of individuals. I prefer some kind of frequency-dependent selection model that has no stable equilibrium but instead oscillations.
As an example, imagine that almost everyone played "rock" -- then the frequency of "paper" would shoot up and that of "rock" would plummet. But then the frequency of "scissors" would shoot up and "paper" down. Finally, with "scissors" now the most common, the frequency of "rock" would shoot up and "scissors" down. And the cycle would repeat. What these categories would be in the case of falling levels of thrill-seeking, who knows. The point is that such models can account for very general changes and don't need lots of ad hoc explanations. By its nature the system will oscillate; we don't need to invoke lots of outside influences just before each swing of the pendulum, to mix metaphors.
Still, evidence would be good to look at. You might object to the case of teen promiscuity and pregnancy by saying that they could have gotten tougher on age-of-consent laws or something, so it really was like the "tough on crime" view would predict. (We'd still need evidence that law enforcement ramped up its efforts to enforce such laws, though.) What other risks are hardly ever punished? How about not wearing your seatbelt or not wearing a helmet while biking. The CDC's Youth Risk Behavior Survey polls a national representative sample of high schoolers every other year about all kinds of risky behavior, starting in 1991. Here is the percent of students who rarely or never wore a helmet (among those who rode a bike in the past 12 months), and the percent who rarely or never wear a seatbelt when riding in a car driven by someone else:
Both pictures fit the larger pattern of a general fall in risk-taking since the early '90s. It's dramatic for not wearing a seatbelt, and still down 10 percentage points for not wearing a bike helmet. Taking these risks is virtually never punished -- a conclusion we reach immediately from the fact that even now 85% of bike riders flaut whatever legislation there may be about wearing a helmet. So the fall in risky behavior is not due to a response to changes in particular policy incentives pertaining to homicide, teen pregnancy, etc., but rather to some very broad incentive, not embodied in any one policy, about risk-taking in general. I think that reflects the fall in trust of others -- that would cause you to be much more cautious. (That just pushes the question back to "what causes trust to cycle," but I prefer the same sort of model.)
This suggests that the increasingly "tough on crime" policies of law enforcement were reflecting a deeper and broader change already afoot in the population's taste for risk, rather than causing a thrill-seeking population to adjust its taste for risk downward. Everyone went into "better safe than sorry" mode, and because law enforcement can only be as harsh as the public will allow, the police could then level much stiffer penalties. Most people don't appreciate how much our public institutions reflect the public's desires in a competitive political system where violence is outlawed in the competition. Politicians don't brainwash a recalcitrant public; they give the public what it wants. * It is the same with the agencies of government that enforce the law on the ground.
* See Bryan Caplan's Myth of the Rational Voter.
America says "so long" to the babysitter
Some of the fondest memories I have of my later elementary school years involve hanging out with my best friend Robbie -- and his super-cute babysitter Susie. She was in her late teens, either a high school senior or just starting college, and therefore really playful around us in that way where teenage girls try to educate pre-pubescent boys in the ways of interacting with girls. Especially by being more easy-going and mock-flirtatious than they'd be with boys their own age, in order to get the younger boys to learn not to be afraid of girls: don't worry agnostic, i'm not gonna biteee. I even got to give her a shoulder massage a few times -- pretty sweet start for 9 years old.
Although she had a sweet and girly personality, she never tried to push any of that gross stuff on us. Besides, she could do something for us that she knew would get us so excited that the whining lobe of our brain would shut right off -- namely, take us for a cruise in her BLACK IROC-Z. Back when teenagers had a life and their own cars, that was one of the coolest things about having a high school babysitter: you could enjoy the freedom of driving around unsupervised by your parents or someone else's, even if you were never in the driver's seat. The car she drove was just a hint of her wild nature, however. After my friend became too old to need a babysitter, we found out that she'd taken up a topless dancing job to pay for college. She must be in her late 30s by now and so probably not in great shape, but I'm grateful that we got to enjoy her back when she was barely legal (or perhaps not even), unlike the poor deprived children of today.
A new book, Babysitter: An American History, details what I'd suspected about the prevalence of babysitting after the wild times ended in the early '90s -- it started fading away by the end of the century, and it's more or less gone today, at least as employment for young people. I've only browsed the book on Amazon; I might post a follow-up after I check it out. You probably hadn't thought about it, but it shouldn't be too surprising in the era of helicopter parents. First, the parents themselves have largely taken on the tasks of the babysitter. And second, with hyperactive parents pushing their kids to fill up every free second of their time with tutoring, student groups, sports, etc., the poor bastards have no time to devote to babysitting even if there were demand for their labor.
It's important that parents themselves are the ones hovering over their kids, chauffeuring them around, and so on. You might think that with the massive illegal immigration we've seen, parents are simply rejecting the too-high offers of native teens and going with cheaper-wage illegal immigrants. The timing isn't there, though, since Forman-Brunell notes the paranoia starting even by the late '80s and early '90s. If parents were just substituting one type of worker for another, "the babysitter" would be just as strong and obvious of a cultural symbol as before, except that she'd be a 30-something illegal Mexican instead of a 16 year-old white girl. Clearly that's not the case. Housemaids and lawn-cutters, sure, but not babysitters. Rather, as we all know, parents are rejecting offers from everyone and are just doing it themselves. The babysitter as an icon is just plain gone. (If they're well-to-do, women might participate in a babysitting co-op with other paranoid mothers who they're close to.)
When a firm used to contract some functions out to other specialists, and suddenly starts to move more of those jobs in-house, that reflects an increase in the transaction costs -- or the costs associated with contracting with other individuals who aren't under your own management. If aliens blocked off all accountant's offices from outside communication, your firm would have to move those accounting jobs in-house because otherwise you'd have to pay a much higher cost than before to contract with the accountant's office. However, these costs could be more intangible, such as having to trust the other party. If good faith is weakened between the two, their interactions become much more mercenary and lawyerly -- and therefore more costly -- since they will need to stipulate more things in the contract than if they could assume they'd be met out of good faith.
The General Social Survey shows that sometime in the late '80s, people's trust in others started to fall steadily. During the previous decades of high trust, people were afraid for the babysitter -- some escaped mental patient might try to hunt her down. When trust started plummeting, people were afraid of the babysitter -- now she was the basketcase who would destroy your family. In fairness, some of this decline in trust could be an understandable response to people's bad experiences with babysitters, even if you think it's an over-reaction.
I still recall one demented middle-aged cunt who locked me and my brothers in my room while she sat watching TV for a few hours. Hearing the lock caught us off-guard, and at first we had no idea what she was doing -- leaving us to starve, stealing things from our house, who knows? After we calmed each other down, I took off the metal ball that supported a corner of my bed, tossed it into a sock, and whacked a small hole through my door so we could at least see what the hell she was up to, and have our screams reach her more forcefully to ruin whatever she was doing. Needless to say, that bitch got canned. The only other incident across probably six years of babysitters and another two to four years of daycare was when a high school girl didn't like one of our smartass remarks and gave them a smack. I still forget who got it because it wasn't a big deal. She didn't show up again, and only later did we learn that she'd been fired for that.
Still, I think most cases like the first one can be avoided by requiring the babysitter to have a good reputation and provide some references. Of course, you have to trust those who provided the references, and if you're trusting, you may not even bother to follow up on them. Plus the gains are so large -- and I'm not only talking about the opportunity cost of the parents' time. The kids are especially better off because they get to hang around a cool teenager instead of their boring parents. That's a good step toward a lively social life right there. Just don't be cruel and hire a guy to babysit your sons. I had a male babysitter once, and he was cool enough -- he tried to teach us the make and model of all the hot cars in his car magazines, and again it was awesome to drive around in his Datsun 280ZX with t-tops.
At the same time, it's better for young boys to hang out with older girls. It boils down to their ability to take you to more enjoyable places because going anywhere with a teenage girl is automatically more fun. It could even be your own home, like the time when my cute high school babysitter had three or four chick friends over and were acting all goofy and giggly -- hey, what kid can't identify with that?! Her friends kept egging her on to omigod do the dog dance melissa, c'mon! and she'd follow with some funny dance. When she came back next week (alone), I tried to re-ignite that mood by begging her to tell me what the dog dance was. She looked really embarrassed and kept denying my pleas and trying to change the subject. Looking back on it, they'd probably gotten buzzed on alcohol and she didn't want her innocent little charge to find out what they'd done.
I think it was also her who hauled me and my brothers away at night, which we weren't too happy about. However, once we figured out we were on the Ohio State campus, it turned into a rite of passage -- our first wading through the sea of nubile estrogen-dripping college girls at night. It wasn't a typical sterile prison-like student dorm because it had wooden external stairwells and the students' doors all opened outward to a walkway that ran around the building, rather than facing an internal hallway. Doors were open, music was playing, lights were still on past our bedtime, and best of all her friends would all run up to these pint-size visitors and ask her, hey who's thissss???? omigod they're so cuuuuute!!! We didn't stay on campus very long -- I think she just had to talk to some of her friends or get something important from them really quick -- but still that was one of the coolest nights of my childhood.
And last but not least is the trip to the babysitter's house. Again, if she was middle-aged, it was like going to prison. But if she was a teenager, in all likelihood her parents would be gone too. It's not even a sexual thing -- like, I've got her alone at last! -- but just having fun unchaperoned in a new place. It seems like you're still supervised since the babysitter is there, but it never felt like that. Rather, it felt like the entire group -- you, your siblings, friends, as well as the babysitter and her friends -- were hanging out unsupervised. I mean, what's greater than getting to hang out unmolested with the cool high school kids, when normally they wouldn't be caught dead with you?
Perhaps the most vivid memory I have involving babysitters is of... damnit, I can't remember her name, but she was in high school. One day she took me over to her house so she could hang out with her boyfriend while I played Legend of Zelda with her younger brother, who as a 6th-grader was closer to my age. Her brother must have memorized the Nintendo Player's Guide because he showed me all sorts of places in that game that I'd been busting my balls to figure out how to reach. We were both completely engrossed in the game, he because he felt like hot shit showing off his knowledge, and me because it felt like discovering a hidden continent.
All of a sudden something breaks my focus, and I look over to see my babysitter and her boyfriend. They're both standing face-to-face, her with her back to us and him looking at us with a creepy grin. He says something like, "See this is how you do it..." It takes a few moments, but I notice that she has nothing but her bikini underwear on below her waist. (If I recall correctly, he'd taken down her shorts or lifted up her skirt.) "Left cheek, right cheek, left cheek, right cheek," he says while giving each one a squeeze. When you have no idea what's going on, you look to the other person's reaction to see what it means. If she'd been into it, she would've laughed in a mortified way and playfully slapped him, like hey don't do that when they're watching! But I just remember her standing dead still with her head hanging and a frozen, apologetic look on her face when she turned slightly toward us, like forgive me, it's not my fault.
Teenage babysitters today wouldn't believe it, but all of these episodes took place in an upper-middle-class suburb of Ohio, not some seedy slum in New Jersey. Times were just wilder then, even for little children, and that was only possible because of the high level of trust. Once good faith evaporates, parents go into lockdown mode and shield their kids from learning first-hand about how the real world works. Again, it wasn't that bad; the worst that happened was being locked in my room for a few hours. I did see my babysitter groped against her wishes, but if that kind of thing is going on in the world, it's better to know about it than be naive. Sometimes girls date creeps and losers before they figure things out.
Plus there's an entire world that kids need to get prepared for, but which their parents or other adults can't easily introduce them to -- namely the world of adolescents and young adults. As a kid, the only passport to visit that future of yours is hanging around your teenage babysitter. No other adolescent has any incentive to protect you like a guide when you venture into that world -- all the other older kids, the males at any rate, would drive you out. You might be lucky enough to have an adolescent sibling when you're little, but even then sibling rivalry will make them treat you like shit in front of their friends. I don't think it's only the financial incentive that the babysitter has to make sure you're fairly safe in teenage and college kid world, though that helps. Good babysitters -- the ones most likely to get hired -- give off a vibe of liking kids and growing somewhat attached to them. Then parents don't need to discipline the babysitter by threatening a pay cut if she does a bad job. Instead, she'd just feel horrible if another teenager tried to mistreat her cute little kids. She'll be permissive enough toward the kids that they can enjoy teenage world, but protective enough that they won't get seriously hurt if their bike turns over during the ride.
Children's subversive songs
While browsing through the folklore section of the library stacks, my eyes fixed on the title: Greasy Grimy Gopher Guts. It's 200 pages of collections of "subversive" children's songs, arranged by theme, plus another 50 or so pages of footnotes for those with a more academic interest in the material. Definitely worth a read, partly for nostalgia, just in case (like me) you've forgotten this one:
Joy to the world,
The teacher's dead!
We barbecued her head.
What happened to the body?
We flushed it down the potty.
And round and round it goes,
And round, and round,
And round it goes.
I actually had an easier time remembering those words to the tune than I did the words to the Christmas song, which I had to google to fully recall. (All I was sure of was "Let Earth receive her king" plus "And heaven and nature sing.")
And who could forget all of the extra verses to "Glory glory hallelujah / My teacher hit me with a ruler." It's a neat look into ones you've never heard, plus having them all assembled in one place lets you see patterns. For one thing, family members are entirely absent -- kids try to take down their friends, rivals, strangers, teachers, pop culture icons like Popeye and Barney, but really never their siblings or parents. Freud and John Hughes are responsible for exaggerating how intense conflict within families is. Sure it's there, but to most kids their siblings and parents are invisible and ignored, not hated and rebelled against.
The most recent data the authors collected was in 1994 at an elementary school, and these songs were still doing OK, although most entries were contributed by people who came of age in the mid-late-'50s through the '80s. Hardly any were from the '40s or earlier. I think that goes along with the "wild times vs. tame times" idea I've written about elsewhere on this blog. I wonder how many of these subversive songs an 8 year-old would know today. Children's response to larger social changes might not be so sensitive since they're not in fully social mode yet -- unlike adolescents and adults who are hyper-aware of what's going on. Still, my hunch is that these subversive songs -- especially the really strong, offensive, or gross ones -- aren't as popular among children today. As with the case of "99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall", I never heard them at my tutoring center.
Sounds like a good project for a folklorist or similar person to get to work on -- what's changed in the 15 years since, have these songs faded away just like all sorts of other wild bits of culture? Of course the humanities really went down the toilet for most of the '90s and 2000s, so there probably aren't too many people willing to do it. That crap seems to be on the way out, though, so maybe we'll find out some day.
If young people today are so exhibitionistic, why ...
Top-rated crime and noir movies created during pea...
Why I still go to record stores for CDs rather tha...
Will dorks pay women to play video games with them...
Can only contrarians stick with a low-carb diet th...
Young and middle-aged males giving up autonomy: Ev...
Would paleolithic people have needed a toilet brus...
Innocent love songs in wild times, dirty songs in ...
Teenagers less reckless even for trivial, unpunish...
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Agreements for the Joint Programme for the Empowerment of Adolescent Girls and Young Women through Education
Agreements between UNESCO and the Hamdan Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum Award for Distinguished Academic Performance
Agreement between UNESCO and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland in the Field of Development Cooperation
Accord de collaboration entre l'UNESCO et le Ministère de l'Artisinat et de l'Economie sociale et solidaire du Royaume du Maroc
Agreement between UNESCO and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan concerning the International Centre for Chemical and Biological Sciences as a centre under the auspices of UNESCO (category 2)
Memorandum of Understanding between UNESCO and the Supreme Court of Justice of Uruguay on behalf of the Secretaria Permanente de la Cumbre Judicial Iberoamericana (Iberoamerican Judicial Summit Permanent Secretariat)
File contains original English, Portuguese and Spanish-language versions of the signed Memorandum.
Republic of South Sudan - Instrument of Accession - Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage
Agreement between UNESCO and the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland in the field of development cooperation
Original signed agreement for contributions to the International Programme for the Development of Communication (IPDC).
Funds-in-Trust Project Agreement between UNESCO and the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Subseries includes original Funds-in-Trust agreement in support of activities related to "Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud's contribution to the improvement of the presence of the Arabic language in UNESCO."
St Christopher and Nevis - Instrument of Ratification - Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions
Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste - Instrument of Accession - Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions
Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste - Instrument of Accession - Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage
Arrangement between UNESCO and the National Commission of the People's Republic of China for UNESCO regarding the support to the UNESCO Courier
Programme Cooperation Agreement between UNESCO and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Norway
Framework Agreement in the Field of Development Cooperation between UNESCO and the Government of Norway
Memorandum of Agreement between UNESCO and the Korea Institute of Marine Science and Technology Promotion (KIMST)
Memorandum of Understanding between UNESCO and Chengdu Municipal People's Government
Cooperation agreement on the establishment of the Junior Professional Officer Programme between UNESCO and the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Agreement between UNESCO and the Ministry of Education of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Curaçau - Instrument of Acceptance - Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage
Instrument of Acceptance for Curaçao and accompanying letters from the Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
Accord de contribution entre deux organismes des Nations Unies - le PNUD et l'UNESCO - Appui à la création d'une radio citoyenne des jeunes
Memorandum of Understanding between UNESCO and the Government of the Basque Country (Kingdom of Spain)
Agreement between UNESCO and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia regarding the establishment of the International Institute of Earthquake Engineering and Engineering Seismology - IZIIS, as a category 2 institute under the auspices of UNESCO focused on Disaster Preparedness and Mitigation
File consists of Agreement and subsequent letters exchanged between UNESCO and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. The Agreement and the letter from UNESCO are undated.
Amendment No. 1 to the Framework Funds-in-Trust Agreement between UNESCO and the Government of the People's Republic of China regarding the support to UNESCO's activities in favor of Education Development in Africa
Memorandum of Understanding between UNESCO and the Supreme Court of Justice of Uruguay
File contains original English and Spanish-language versions of the signed Memorandum.
Memorandum of Understanding between UNESCO and the Ministry of Education and Culture of the Eastern Republic of Uruguay
File contains original English and Spanish-language versions of the signed Memorandum. Memorandum is undated.
Procès-verbal de la signature, sous réserve de ratification, par la République islamique de Mauritanie de la Convention révisée
FR PUNES AG 8-LEG-A-468-A-29-2
Romania - Instrument of Accession - Convention for the establishment of a European Organization for Nuclear Research and to the Financial Protocol annexed to the Convention
FR PUNES AG 8-LEG-A-19-113
Romania - Instrument of Accession - Protocol on the Privileges and Immunities of the European Organization of Nuclear Research
FR PUNES AG 8-LEG-A-19-A/30
Kingdom of Thailand - Instrument of Ratification - Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage
Funds-in-Trust Project Agreement between UNESCO and the Government of the State of Kuwait
Agreement to support implementation of the project "Enhancing Access to Secondary Education and Quality Results for Youth Affected by the Syria Crisis in Lebanon (EASE II)".
Letter of Intent between UNESCO and the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Korea on the project "The Better Education for Africa's Rise - Phase II"
Agreement between UNESCO and the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan
République Centrafricaine - Instrument de ratification - Convention internationale contre le dopage dans le sport
Agreement between UNESCO and Shenzhen Municipal Government, the People's Republic of China concerning the establishment of an International Centre for Higher Education Innovation in Shenzhen, China as a UNESCO Category 2 Centre
Lao People's Democratic Republic - Instrument of Accession - Convention against Doping in Sport
Funds-in-Trust Project Agreement with a governmental funding source between UNESCO and the Government of the State of Kuwait
Agreement to support implementation of the project "Advancing youth policies through shared knowledge, skills and innovative tools".
Agreement between UNESCO and the Commonwealth Secretariat
Agreement between UNESCO and the Government of Flanders, Kingdom of Belgium, on the UNESCO/Flanders Trust Fund for the support of UNESCO's activities in the field of Cultural and Natural Heritage
Accord complémentaire entre l'UNESCO et l'Organisation arabe pour l'éducation, la science et la culture (ALECSO)
Framework Agreement between UNESCO and the Government of the Republic of Kenya on cooperation in the implementation of digital literacy in Kenya
Recommendation on Adult Learning and Education
Two signed originals of Recommendation in English.
Recommendation concerning Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET)
Host country agreement
Signed original agreement between UNESCO and the Government of Colombia to host the Eleventh session of the Intergovernmental Coordination Group of the Tsunami and Other Coastal Hazards Warning System for the Caribbean and Adjacent Regions (ICG/CA...
Memorandum of Understanding between the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
St Christopher and Nevis - Instrument of Ratification - Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage
République de Guinée-Bissau - Lettre d'Acceptation - Convention pour la sauvegarde du patrimoine culturel immatériel
République de Guinée-Bissau - Lettre d'acceptation - Convention sur la protection du patrimoine culturel subaquatique
Memorandum of Understanding between UNESCO and ICRC, the International Committee of the Red Cross
Pouvoirs au nom du Gouvernement de la République islamique de Mauritanie
Memorandum of Understanding between UNESCO and the Government of the Italian Republic on the Italian National "Task Force in the framework of UNESCO's Global Coalition Unite4Heritage"...
Letter of Intent between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Korea, and UNESCO on the Implementation of Joint Initiatives
Republic of South Sudan - Instrument of Accession - Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions
Standard Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the Joint Programme on Empowering Adolescent Girls and Young Women through Education using pass-through fund management
Republic of Ghana - Instrument of Ratification - Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage
Amendment No. 1 to the Agreement between UNESCO and the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland
Original signed amendment without annexes. Amendment to 2013 agreement on promoting freedom of expression.
Republic of Ghana - Instrument of Ratification - Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage
Republic of Ghana - Instrument of Ratification - Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions
Agreement between UNESCO and the Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh on the establishment of the International Mother Language Institute under the auspices of UNESCO (Category 2)
Revised Convention on the Recognition of Studies, Certificates, Diplomas, Degrees and Other Academic Qualifications in Higher Education in African States
FR PUNES AG 8-LEG-A-468-A
Subsubseries consists of original Convention and credentials.
Funds-in-Trust - Libyan Arab Jamahiriya
Subsubseries contains FIT agreements for Libya as a donor and a recipient country.
Funds-in-Trust Programme - République populaire du Congo
Subsubseries consists of the FIT agreements for Congo as a recipient country.
Co-operation Agreements and Aide-memoires signed between UNESCO and the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam
Grant Agreement and Plan of Operation for Strategic Strengthening of Flood Warning and Management Capacity (Phase 2) in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan
Agreements between IOC and Republic of Korea
FR PUNES AG 8-LEG-A
Series primarily consists of legal instruments signed between UNESCO and member states, including state agencies and corporations. Instruments include co-operation agreements, host-country agreements, funds-in-trust agreements and plans of operat...
Cooperation Agreements between UNESCO and the United Nations Institute for Training and Research
Union des Comores - Pleins Pouvoirs - Convention régionale révisée sur la reconnaissance des études et des certificats, diplômes, grades et autres titres de l'enseignement supérieur dans les États d'Afrique
Agreements between UNESCO-IOC and the United States of America
Arrangements for the Meeting of the Twenty-sixth Session of the UNESCO Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC), Intergovernmental Coordination Group for the Pacific Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System (ICG/PTWS-XXVI), (Honolulu, Hawaii, 22-24 April 2015)
FR PUNES AG 8-LEG
In the course of its activities, UNESCO enters into legal agreements with member states, international and regional organizations, non-governmental organizations, universities, foundations, private companies and individuals. UNESCO’s General Confe...
UNESCO-Libya Funds-in-Trust Agreement in support of the project "Establishment of the Libyan National Seismological Network"
FR PUNES AG 8-LEG-A-372-79-10
File contains signed original amendment to the original agreement signed on 28 October 2013.
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North Allegheny hosts 34th Allegheny Valley Marching Band Festival | TribLIVE.com
North Allegheny hosts 34th Allegheny Valley Marching Band Festival
Laurie Rees
Wed., September 26, 2018 11:48 a.m. | Wednesday, September 26, 2018 11:48 a.m.
North Allegheny’s flag team performs during the 34th Allegheny Valley Marching Band Festival Sept. 22, 2018.
North Allegheny senior Jiwoo Cheon (center) performs during the 34th Allegheny Valley Marching Band Festival Sept. 22, 2018.
North Allegheny majorettes perform during the 34th Allegheny Valley Marching Band Festival Sept. 22, 2018 at North Allegheny Senior High School’s Newman Stadium.
North Allegheny majorette Lauren Rearick performs during the 34th Allegheny Valley Marching Band Festival Sept. 22, 2018.
Nearly 2,500 fans flocked into North Allegheny’s Newman Stadium, starting an hour and a half before start time. While some lingered in the parking lot to tailgate, others rushed toward the field to buy their tickets and secure a seat as close to the 50-yard line as they could get.
These die-hard fans were not coming to watch a highly contested football game against an arch rival. They were swarming to see the halftime show.
North Allegheny hosted the 34th annual Allegheny Valley Marching Band Festival on Saturday, Sept. 22, in which 1,231 student musicians from seven local high school bands — North Hills, Pine-Richland, Shaler Area, Hampton, Riverview, Northgate, and North Allegheny — performed their 2018 halftime shows.
“This festival is one of my favorites. It not only showcases all the talented students and directors from the Allegheny Valley, but brings together thousands of people to celebrate and support our fellow musicians and band members in the surrounding schools,” said George Tepshich, Director of the Shaler Area High School Marching Band.
Todd Stefan, NA’s band director and host of this year’s festival, agreed.
“I love seeing all the bands perform. We have such a wide variety of bands in the Allegheny Valley. It’s great for all the students to see and appreciate the different styles and kinds of marching band music,” he said. “Seeing the smiles on our kids’ faces is always the highlight of the evening for me.”
The bands, ranging in size from 31 members to 256, boasted their own unique style of rousing music, intricate drill, and colorful pageantry.
The Hampton High School Marching Band rolled a grand piano onto the field, along with a dance floor and an illuminated street lamp for its show, “City of Stars,” which featured music and dance routines from the 2016 musical film, “La La Land.”
The North Hills Marching Band wowed spectators with its precise, high-stepping military-style marching, while Pine-Richland brought its “World-Famous Dancing All-Girl Tuba Line” which has been thrilling crowds for the past 32 years.
The audience erupted in cheers when the Riverview “Raider” Marching Band played its rendition of Benny Goodman’s jazz hit, “Sing, Sing, Sing,” and drum majors Preston Proctor, Jr. and Parker Morgan danced the jitterbug with members of the dance team.
“It’s a great night. I love seeing all the northern bands come together for an evening that gives student musicians a chance to shine under the lights. It’s wonderful,” said Shayne Stromberg, 44, of McCandless.
Stromberg was a drum major for NA’s marching band in 1991 and now cherishes the opportunity to watch her own 16-year-old daughter, Lily, perform in NA’s drum line.
Stromberg’s mother, Mickey Bateson, 68, has attended more than 30 high school and collegiate band festivals, first watching her children perform when they were members of NA’s band, and now, watching her granddaughter.
“The band festivals never get old,” Bateson said. “They change with time. These days they use a lot of props and dances. But what impressed me the most about this year’s festival was that each of the bands cheered for each other as they were playing.”
One of the evening’s biggest applauses came when NA percussionist Aydan Klobuchar asked NA dance team member Autumn Belebush-Clouse to the homecoming dance over the loud speaker.
She tearfully accepted, to the delight of the roaring crowd.
While the purpose of the festival is for area schools to share their halftime shows with one another and learn from each other, it also serves as a fundraiser.
Nearly 150 NA band-parent volunteers sold tickets, baked goods, hot foods, candy grams, audio grams, and 50/50 raffle tickets to raise money to benefit NA’s band program and the Allegheny Valley Band Organization, which sponsors the annual marching band festival and cross-district honors bands for middle-school and high-school musicians.
“I wish we could do two or three or 100 band festivals every year,” Lily Stromberg said. “I like the fact that it’s all about the bands. I love when we look up in the stands and see people cheering instead of leaving for the concession stand, like they do at the football games.”
Laurie Rees is a Tribune-Review contributor.
Doctor reports can take away driving privileges
Five indicted for deadly drug trafficking in Pittsburgh
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Sinatra The Musical, Based on Life & Career of Frank Sinatra, in Development for 2020 Debut
January 19th, 2018 | By Andy Lefkowitz
Frank Sinatra Enterprises has announced the development of Sinatra The Musical, a new Frank Sinatra bio-show featuring the music of the legendary singer and actor. Emmy winner Danny Strong (Empire, Game Change), who is also at work on a movie remake of Oliver!, has been enlisted to write a book for the Sinatra musical, which is aiming to hit the stage in early 2020.
"It is an honor to get to write a musical about one of the biggest icons of the twentieth century," said Strong. "Sinatra is one of the great talents of all time and his fascinating and powerful story will make for a terrific stage musical. I'm deeply honored to get this opportunity."
Throughout his nine-decade career, Frank Sinatra performed on more than 1,400 recordings. He received nine Grammy Awards as well as three Academy Awards and three Golden Globes. Sinatra also appeared in more than 60 films, including the 1957 film adaptation of Pal Joey, and produced eight motion pictures. The many songs for which Sinatra is known include "My Way," "Fly Me to the Moon," "You Make Me Feel So Young," "The Lady Is a Tramp" and the iconic anthem "New York, New York."
Sinatra appeared on the Broadway stage in 1975 during the 16-performance concert engagement Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald and Count Basie. The 2010 balletic musical Come Fly Away featured Tony-nominated choreography by Twyla Tharp danced to the soundtrack of Sinatra classics.
Further information about Sinatra The Musical, including debut venue, dates and casting, will be announced at a later time.
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Filipino novel “America is in the Heart” now a Penguin Classic
Penguin Classics, a series by Penguin Random House, is known for republishing the canonical books of world literature such as Pride and Prejudice; Wuthering Heights; and To Kill a Mockingbird, and distributing them around the world. America Is in the Heart, one of the most influential working class literary classics about the U.S. pre-World War II, written by Carlos Bulosan is now joining this prestigious roster.
Bulosan, who grew up in Binalonan, Pangasinan, left for Seattle in the 1930s at the age of 17. Living there, he experienced the harsh realities for a Filipino immigrant: racism, labor exploitation, and poverty. All of these became the central themes in his book, American Is in the Heart (subtitled “A Personal History”).
First published in 1946 in New York, the semi-autobiographical novel begins with Allos’ rural childhood in the Philippines and the struggles of land-poor peasant families affected by the U.S. imperialism after the Spanish American war of the late 1980s. It, then, follows his journey to the U.S. as an itinerant migrant laborer during the Depression Era. While Allos’ story may have happened decades ago, his search for greener pastures remains painfully familiar to this day.
According to Penguin Random House, Bulosan was one of the most important 20th century social critics with his deeply moving account of what it was like to be criminalized in the U.S. as a Filipino migrant drawn to the ideals of what America symbolized and committed to social justice for all marginalized groups.
The new Penguin Classics edition is expected to come out on May 21, 2019, with a foreword by Filipino-American novelist Elaine Castillo — whose debut novel “America Is Not the Heart” (2018) continues questioning the so-called American dream that Bulosan’s novel started. America Is in the Heart is the fifth book to join Penguin’s roster after Jose Rizal’s “Noli Me Tangere” and “El Filibusterismo”, Jose Garcia Villa’s “Doveglion”, and Nick Joaquin’s “The Woman Who Had Two Navels and Tales of the Tropical Gothic”.
Order your copy today on the Penguin Random House website at www.penguinrandomhouse.com or support your local bookstore.
Tags: Books
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Drive for Greatness: States with the Best Drivers
Promoted by Insurify
It’s all green lights ahead for these drivers. These 10 states have the best motorists in the United States!
In driving, just as in life, it’s usually the squeaky wheel that gets the grease. In each state, it’s the worst-offending car owners—the speeders, drunk drivers, etc.—that get both the local news coverage and the national syndication. Rarely do good drivers get the recognition that they deserve, let alone an entire report dedicated to their merits.
Good driving is crucial, not just for safety, but for savings as well. In every state, drivers can make a habit of auto insurance quotes comparison to find the best car insurance for good driver automobile insurance discounts that will save them money on a monthly basis. Not only that, but these drivers do their part to minimize the staggering number of Americans that die in a car accident each year—a figure that has remained at around 40,000 deaths annually for the past three years according to the National Safety Council.
Well, the time has come to recognize good drivers. Not only do first-rate motorists deserve their credit, but the states with the highest proportion of those drivers also do as well. Without further ado, these are the Insurify top 10 states with the best drivers in America.
National averages. Across the country as a whole, an average of 23.29 percent of drivers has some form of moving violation on their record. In addition, 2.21 percent have driving under the influence (DUI) infractions, 12.12 percent have at-fault accidents, and 1.24 percent have run a red light. Moreover, 12.2 of 100,000 individuals lose their lives to traffic-related deaths per year nationwide.
No safety in the North. While the geographic divide is by no means universal, the states in the northern half of the country have a considerably higher percentage of drivers with driving incidents than in the South.
More violations, fewer deaths. Ever since the days of elementary school safety assemblies, we have been taught that reckless driving is dangerous and can lead to deadly accidents. However, in this case, the data demonstrates a small but discernable negative correlation between the ratio of drivers with infractions and the rate of vehicle-related deaths within a state. That is to say, the more drivers with moving violations in a state, the fewer people on average that die in a car accident every year. However, there was a good deal of variance to this pattern, and it is by no means a hard and fast rule.
To assess which states have the best drivers, the data science and research team at Insurify, an online auto insurance quotes comparison platform, evaluated its database of over 1.6 million car insurance applications. To get quotes, users provide personal, vehicle, and driver history information for all drivers on their policy. That driver history data includes any prior moving violation from the past seven years, comprising at-fault accidents, speeding, failure to stop infractions, reckless driving, and DUI. The researchers then indexed the drivers by location and identified which states had the lowest percentage of motorists with any sort of driving incident. Also included are the state-by-state statistics for the share of drivers with past speeding tickets, DUI convictions, at-fault accidents, and failure to stop at a red light. Figures on the traffic fatality rate by state come from the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety Fatality Facts 2017 report.
10. Arkansas
Percentage of drivers with any moving violations: 19.16%
Percentage of drivers with DUI convictions: 1.81%
Percentage of drivers with at-fault accidents: 9.98%
Percentage of drivers who have run red lights: 0.63%
Traffic fatality rate per population of 100,000: 16.4
Of all of the states listed on this top 10 ranking, Arkansas is the biggest mixed bag. On the one hand, not only is it within the bottom 10 in the country for drivers with traffic offenses, but it is also in the bottom 10 for at-fault accidents and the third lowest for failure to stop at red lights. On the other hand, it has the highest rate of DUI infractions of the top 10 states on this list and is within the top 10 nationwide for a high proportion of citizens dying in automobile accidents every year.
9. Oklahoma
As one of the states with the best drivers in America, Oklahoma already has a great deal of which to be proud. To make matters even better, it is also within the top five in the U.S. for low rates of car accidents, with fewer than one in 10 motorists having caused a wreck. In fact, the percentage of Oklahoma drivers with an at-fault accident conviction on their record is a full 23 percent lower than the national average.
8. New Jersey
Percentage of drivers with at-fault accidents: 11.70%
Traffic fatality rate per population of 100,000: 6.9
According to the National Traffic Safety Board, speeding is the primary cause of approximately 31 percent of car accident fatalities. Perhaps this relationship between speeding and traffic deaths can at least partially account for the Garden State’s stellar figures in each category. New Jersey is the state with the fifth lowest vehicle fatality rate and the second lowest speeding rate in America at 6.24 percent. One bill, currently in committee in the New Jersey State Senate, aims to lower that figure even further by setting all limited-access highway speed limits to the prevailing speed, also colloquially known as the speed of traffic. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration asserts that this change—namely, altering speed limits to rates that match the speed at which 85 percent of drivers are traveling at or below—will improve safety and further reduce car accidents deaths.
7. West Virginia
West Virginia is one of only two states on this list that falls below the national average for every reported driving offense statistic. Most notable among these are both rates of running red lights and causing accidents that each fall within the bottom 10 in the country. West Virginian drivers fail to stop at red lights a full 41 percent less than the average American motorists and cause accidents 16 percent less often.
The Lone Star State is a standout, not just in terms of having among the best drivers nationwide, but for having some of the soberest motorists. Texas has the ninth lowest percentage of drivers with DUI offenses in the United States. This may be in part due to drunk driving penalties that include thousands of dollars in fines, jail time, license suspension, and annual fines to reinstate that license; all of which only rise in severity following the first offense.
5. Florida
Florida is a state of extremes. Despite being one of the states with the smallest percentage of drivers who have committed traffic violations, the Sunshine State has very poor standing on a few metrics. For one, it is both the second worst state in the country in terms of running red lights and the fifth worst for annual vehicle fatalities. The state is also the largest offender in regard to at-fault accidents on this top 10 list, though notoriety is somewhat tempered by the fact that Florida is still below the national average on this measure. In spite of all of that, Florida is nonetheless the second best state nationwide for low rates of DUI, with a share that is no less than 68 percent below the national rate.
4. Nevada
Even though Nevada did not quite break into the top three states for best drivers this year, it nonetheless has a great deal to boast about. It is the second state on this top 10 ranking to fall below the national average by every standard. Nevada drivers surpass the average American driver in terms of overall driving incidents, DUI, accidents, failure to stop at red lights, and automotive deaths. For at-fault accidents in particular, Nevada stands within the top five in the United States.
3. Mississippi
The Magnolia State has the third-best drivers in America. Part of this standing is due to the fact that it is the second lowest in at-fault accidents and the sixth lowest in running red lights. However, these realities appear to do sadly little to improve the safety of Mississippi’s roads. Citizens in this state die in car accidents at a higher rate than any other state in the country, with more than 20 for every 100,000 losing their lives this way every year.
2. Kentucky
Two cheers for Kentucky! The state went from not even ranking in 2018, to having the second best drivers in the country in 2019. Moreover, Kentucky is the number-one state for low rates of failure to stop at intersections. Perhaps this is due in part to the fact that Kentucky drivers can expect three points on their license for every red light that they run.
1. Michigan
Coming in at the top of the list is the Great Lakes State, with only 15 percent of drivers having committed a moving violation in the past seven years. Beyond that, it is also the best state in the nation for low accident rates, with only around one in twenty motorists having one or more on their record. Michigan also notably bucks the trend of northern states having higher rates of traffic infractions. It is the only northern state where fewer than 18 percent of drivers are past offenders, and its rates of violation are drastically lower than those of its border states. Indeed, Michigan’s incident rate is 39 percent lower than Indiana’s and almost 50 percent lower than Wisconsin’ and Ohio’s.
Categories: Flint News
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21st January – Deaths & Events in Northern Ireland Troubles
January 21, 2016 Deaths in the Troubles21st January, 21st January deaths in the troubles, Benedict Hughes, Cullen Stephenson, James McColgan,, James Stronge, John Haughey,, John Kelly, John Stone, Michael McHugh, Norman Stronge,, Philip Stentiford, Samuel Rockbelfastchildis
There was a series of bomb explosions in Belfast in attacks carried out by the Irish Republican Army (IRA).
Two members of the IRA were killed when a bomb they were transporting by car exploded in Victoria Street, Belfast.
Government figures showed that 25,000 houses had been damaged in violence related to the conflict.
Gerry Fitt, then leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), told Members of Parliament (MPs) that some Tenant’s Associations in Belfast were under the control of various paramilitary groups.
Anne Maguire was found dead in what was believed to be a case of suicide. Anne Maguire was the mother of the three children who were killed in an incident on 10 August 1976 which led to the formation of the Peace People.
Norman Stronge (86), a former speaker of the Stormont parliament, and James Stronge (48), his son, were shot dead by the Irish Republican Army (IRA) in an attack on their mansion, Tynan Abbey, near Middletown, County Armagh
Danny Morrison
Owen Carron and Danny Morrison, then both members of Sinn Féin (SF), were arrested when they tried to illegally enter the United States of America (USA) from Canada. Both men were later deported back to Canada.
James Prior, then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, held a meeting with John DeLorean, then head of the DeLorean Motor Company, to discuss the financial problems that the company was going through.
[Wednesday 21 January 1987
The Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) announced that it would disband in its present form.
Ian Paisley, then leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), and William McCrea, then DUP Member of Parliament (MP), hand in a ‘Hands off the Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR)’ petition to Downing Street.
John Major, then British Prime Minister, wrote a letter to John Hume, then leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), in which he rejected calls for a new inquest into the events of Bloody Sunday.
Benedict (Ben) Hughes (55), a Catholic civilian, was shot dead by the Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF) in Utility Street, south Belfast. Hughes was shot as he left his place of work in Sandy Row a Protestant part of Belfast. Hughes was married with three children. No group claimed responsibility for the shooting.
[On 22 January 1998, Ronnie Flanagan, then Chief Constable of the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC), announced that the Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF) were responsible for the killing of Benedict Hughes. The UFF is a cover name (pseudonym) used by the Ulster Defence Association (UDA). The UFF at the time was on a self-proclaimed ceasefire.]
John McFarland, a Catholic civilian, was shot and injured by a Loyalist paramilitary group in Belfast. McFarland was in his taxi at the time and was able to drive himself to hospital. Steven Paul, a Protestant man, was shot and injured by an unidentified Loyalist paramilitary group. Paul was shot in his home in Belvoir Park estate, Belfast.
The funeral of Fergal (Rick) McCusker took place near Maghera, County Derry. The Irish Republican Army (IRA) issued a statement that rejected the ‘Propositions of Heads of Agreement’ document as being pro-Unionist.
Billy Hutchinson, then a spokesman for the Progressive Unionist Party (PUP), said that if the Good Friday Agreement failed and was replaced by a new Anglo-Irish Agreement (AIA) then Loyalist paramilitaries could target tourists in the Republic of Ireland.
William Hague, then leader of the Conservative Party, called on the government to halt the release of paramilitary prisoners until such time as decommissioning had begun.
The four Sinn Féin (SF) Members of Parliament (MPs) travelled to Westminster, London, to take their offices at the House of Commons. Previously SF had been banned from using parliamentary facilities; the ban was lifted in December 2001. The four MPs still refused to take the oath of allegiance to the Queen and said they would not be taking their seats in the debating chamber.
Allowances and office expenses for the four MPs are expected to total over £400.000. Prior to going to Westminster the four MPs had a meeting at Downing Street with Tony Blair, then British Prime Minister, about the security response to Loyalist violence in Northern Ireland. Gerry Adams, then President of Sinn Féin (SF), claimed that there had been collusion between the security services and Loyalist paramilitary groups. He also claimed that the British government had failed to deal adequately with recent Loyalist violence.
A man who had served 13 years in prison for murder had his appeal upheld by the Court of Appeal in Belfast. Thomas Green, a Protestant from the Ballysillan area of north Belfast, was convicted of the sectarian murder of John O’Neill, a Catholic, in 1985. Green lost an earlier appeal and was then freed in 1999 under the Good Friday Agreement. Green’s latest appeal was based on medical evidence which indicated that he may have been unaware of what he was doing when he signed the confession.
The Northern Ireland Assembly debated a motion tabled by Monica McWilliams, then member of the Northern Ireland Women’s Coalition (NIWC), and supported by the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland (APNI). The motion called on the British government to provide security documents on the Loyalist bombings in Dublin and Monaghan (on 17 May 1974) to the Commission of Inquiry taking place in the Republic of Ireland.
Victim of the Dublin and Monaghan Bombings
See Dublin and Monaghan Bombings
The NIWC had been approached by the organisation Justice For the Forgotten seeking aid to secure the documents given an alleged slow response by the British government. The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) opposed the motion but it was passed in a vote. [33 people were killed in the bombs in Dublin and Monaghan. A letter dated 26 February 2002 was sent by John Reid, then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, to the Commission of Inquiry.] John Hume, former leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), gave evidence to the Bloody Sunday Inquiry.
Hume was asked why he had not supported the anti-Internment march on 30 January 2002.
[Two shots were fired from a shotgun into the ceiling of a public house in Quay Street in Ardglass, County Down. The attack was carried out by a man wearing a balaclava. The motive for the incident was unclear.]
11 People lost their lives on the 21st January between 1972 – 1998
Philip Stentiford, (18)
Killed in land mine attack on British Army (BA) foot patrol, Derrynoose, near Keady, County Armagh.
John Haughey, (32)
Killed by remote controlled bomb, hidden in electricity distribution box, detonated when British Army (BA) foot patrol passed Lone Moor Road, Creggan, Derry
John Kelly, (26)
Status: Irish Republican Army (IRA),
Killed in premature bomb explosion while travelling in car along Victoria Street, Belfast.
John Stone, (23)
Killed in premature bomb explosion while travelling in car along Victoria Street, Belfast
Michael McHugh, (35)
Status: Civilian Political Activist (CivPA),
Former Sinn Fein (SF) member. Shot in the laneway of his home, Corgary, near Castlederg, County Tyrone.
James McColgan, (54)
Nightwatchman. Died from inhaling fumes during fire caused by incendiary bomb, Castle Street, Belfast.
Norman Stronge, (86)
Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) member, and former Speaker at Stormont. Shot together with his son at their mansion, Tynan Abbey, near Middletown, County Armagh.
James Stronge, (48)
Off duty. Shot together with his father, the former Speaker at Stormont, at their mansion, Tynan Abbey, near Middletown, County Armagh.
Cullen Stephenson, (63)
Status: ex-Royal Ulster Constabulary (xRUC),
Shot outside his home, Church Street, Brookeborough, County Fermanagh.
Samuel Rock, (30)
Shot at his home, Rosewood Street, Lower Oldpark, Belfast.
Benedict Hughes, (55)
Killed by: Ulster Defence Association (UDA)
Shot outside his workplace, Utility Street, off Donegall Road, Sandy Row, Belfast.
← 20th January – Deaths & Events in Northern Ireland Troubles What is Polonium ? – Used to kill Alexander Litvinenko →
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Everything to know about franchising
Achieve your franchise dream – here’s everything you need to know
My Business | Written by Samantha Koenderman
South Africa’s economy is under significant pressure and, for a number of reasons, there is little promise that this will change in the near future. In May this year, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicted only 1% growth in 2017, up 0.2% from their previous prediction of 0.8%. While it may be moving in the right direction, it falls short of being impressive by anyone’s standard.
Despite the economic challenges that businesses face, franchising is one sector that has consistently shown its resilience by performing well.
We spoke to Dumisani Bengu, head of Franchising at Absa, about the advantages of franchising and the financial options available to potential franchisees.
“As a business model, franchising is very resilient because you are buying an established brand that already has a committed following.” He explains. “South Africans are very brand conscious, they like to know it is a stable brand and that they can rely on the quality.”
And so, it seems, do banking institutions. But it isn’t the only factor considered when granting a loan.
“There a many reasons why a franchise model is appealing to a bank,” says Bengu. “Knowing that the applicant will have a certain number of customers who believe in the brand is just one aspect. Established brands also have tried-and-tested processes in the market, they have a mature and honed business model with track records and solid business projections. They also offer solid support in the form of training and guidance from experienced people who will guide new franchisees through all the pitfalls. All of this means less risk.”
Because of the resilience of established franchises, banks and financial institutions take a positive view of such companies. Existing relationships with certain franchises affords applicants preferential status when applying for finance.
What factors do banks look for when deciding to approve a loan?
“Banks are in the business of selling money,” explains Bengu. “They always have the will to lend money to fund your operations, but they need to be satisfied that their investment is secure.”
According to Bengu, the process starts with the bank assessing your level of risk, exploring questions such as:
Do you present a creditable prospect to the bank?
What are your ethical standards in terms of honouring your obligations?
What kind of credit record do you have?
If you are unwilling or unable to honour your obligations, what collateral do you have to secure the loan?
Your worthiness as an applicant, however, isn’t just about your credit rating or balance sheet. Personality is key to the success or failure of any business and, therefore, key to ascertaining whether you will receive your loan. Experience in business or as an entrepreneur helps, Bengu points out, but there are always individuals who show the signs that they have the right personality. Bengu encourages people to take a long, hard look at themselves to ascertain if they meet the criteria.
“Getting into any business is always an exciting experience, so people are always more likely to rush in without thinking everything through,” he says. “People need to assess themselves honestly and thoroughly to determine if they are happy to spend an inordinate amount of time running that business. If they aren’t passionate, their business will fail.”
Family support is also essential. Potential franchisees need to understand the pressures of the business weighed up against the family demands.
Basically, you need to know yourself inside and out, says Bengu, but also know the franchise. What is its track record? Are its ethics aligned with yours? What kind of training and support does it offer? Do your research, speak to people who have been there to get first-hand experience. One of the biggest mistakes someone can make is not fully investigating the business or yourself.
Does this mean that only well-established franchises with big names will be considered? “Absolutely not. But any potential business still needs to show that it is a business worth investing in. There should be some kind of track record (three to five years) and proof that they have built it into a franchiseable format. It will need service models, the ability to track and refine model, a business process that is documented in an operations manual and evidence that their brand is accepted in the market.”
No one-size-fits-all finance option.
Once the bank has ascertained that you are a good risk, then there are many different finance options, depending on your particular circumstances and needs.
For buying the business, for example, they could organise a term loan, whereas the required working capital could be structured into a long-term loan or short-term instrument such as a credit card. If you are running your business from property that you own, a mortgage-based loan could be arranged. Other options, should you qualify, include enterprise development funding – where there is a reduced requirement in terms of your own contributions (as low as 20%) – or BEE funding. Each loan, as well as the interest rates, will be weighed up against your needs and capacity to pay it back.
So, now that you know what to do when deciding on a franchise, what is the one thing you should never do? “Never overestimate the value of your business,” insists Bengu. “Every cent that you borrow has to be paid back. When we ask you to contribute 50% to your business, it is not to push you away. It is to make sure you never put too heavy a burden on your cash flow. Don’t over finance and then go out of business because your obligations are too high.”
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CNN brings 360-degree videos to its Android app
CNN has enhanced the video experience in its Android app by adding support for 360-degree video. Now, when you see a video story with a 360-degree video icon, you can just tap, then slide your phone into a Google Cardboard headset and look around for a full experience.
Coinciding with the launch of 360-degree video in its app, CNN has produced a look back at its coverage of the explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger back in 1986. Created by the news organization’s CNNVR division, the look back reenacts the coverage from that day in virtual reality.
You can start watching CNN’s new VR-friendly video by grabbing the app from the Google Play Store.
A deeper look at themes on the Galaxy S7 and S7 edge
Samsung’s theme engine has been improved dramatically on the Galaxy S7 and S7 edge, completing the concept from the previous generation.
Theming your phone can be a complicated but deeply rewarding project. Even with in-depth instructions and a tutorial video, a frequent response to some of the incredible themes assembled by our own Ara Wagoner is asking why there isn’t a one-button solution that applies the theme automatically. Last year we started to see that exact feature roll out in various forms from Samsung, HTC, LG, and Cyanogen. Each system presented their own unique set of problems, but Samsung’s has shown the most growth and improvement from the early days.
Here’s what you need to know about Samsung themes on the Galaxy S7 and S7 edge.
At first glance, Samsung’s theme system doesn’t appear to have changed much. All of the buttons are in the same place, which means you can access themes from the home screen or the settings panel, and once you’re there you can set a launcher icon if you really want it. The UI for the theme engine itself is still designed to let you browse and install anything published to the store by Samsung’s partners, with a smaller section for themes you’ve already downloaded should you be the kind of person who wants a selection of themes to quickly switch to. There’s still no search button, but there are way more curated collections to search through and a new color-based theme browser if you know what aesthetic you’re going for from the beginning.
The most significant change you’ll see at first is the volume of themes, and how different they are from what was available on the Galaxy S6 a year ago. Last year there was an overwhelming amount of sponsored themes from Samsung’s partners to get people interested in the store, but it’s clear that is neither necessary nor a priority anymore. Gone are the Avengers themes from Samsung’s partnership with Marvel, and instead there are pages and pages of hand-drawn wallpapers and custom icon packs to match them. There’s still plenty of fairly tacky themes, in fact the top installed themes according to the store are metallic gold and silver offerings, but the sheer volume of options is impressive. You’ll even find a couple of “Material Design” themes, though like last year they’re not exactly what you’d think by the descriptions.
Downloading and applying a theme is quite similar to the original setup, with one key difference now. Since Samsung is allowing them creators to charge for their themes — the most expensive we saw was $3.99 — there’s now a trial option for themes. You can download a paid theme without actually paying for it, and try it out on your phone for five minuted. When that five minutes expires, you’re no longer able to use that theme without paying for it. Whether pair or free, the application process is still basically the same. You see a progress bar, and when it’s finished all of the new theme elements are in place.
Themes on the Galaxy S7 are still an all-or-nothing experience. You can’t pick an icon pack and mix it up with a settings theme from somewhere else, which still feels quite limiting. That having been said, Samsung has extended the functionality of themes considerably. Creators can give you custom designs for the Always-On Display that match the theme, and there are no more errors with themes making parts of the interface unreadable from the research we’ve done so far. Samsung does a great job of making sure the design elements don’t break anything anymore, which means the nicer themes you find in the store feel much more like a complete thought.
Nothing about the theme engine screams “must have” in any new or exciting way, and if you’re using Samsung’s new Good Lock UI you’ll find things like the notification tray don’t theme correctly, but overall this is a great option to have. Samsung has clearly been improving over time, and with that comes a more mature ecosystem and tons of options to choose from. If you’re inclined to get a little creative with the look and feel of your phone, Samsung themes are clearly going to be a solid option for quite a while.
Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 edge
Galaxy S7 review
Galaxy S7 edge review
Galaxy S7 edge with Exynos: A Canadian perspective
Here are all four Galaxy S7 colors
Details on the Galaxy S7’s camera
The SD card is back on the GS7
Join our Galaxy S7 forums
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BlackBerry exec hints at an upcoming Marshmallow beta test for Priv
While BlackBerry has confirmed that the Android 6.0 Marshmallow update for the BlackBerry Priv is coming by early May, it looks like that the company might offer owners of the smartphone access to a beta test for the OS upgrade.
Michael Clewley, the director of Handheld Software Product Management at BlackBerry, hinted about the beta in his personal Twitter feed:
I’d talk about a #PRIV Marshmallow beta today but given #AprilFools you might not believe me! Gonna have to wait for next week
— Michael Clewley (@MichaelClewley) April 1, 2016
You can learn all about what Marshmallow will bring to the Priv in our full review over on Android Central.
Kanye West brings The Life of Pablo to Google Play Music All Access and Spotify
Alright folks, this isn’t an April Fools’ Day prank: Kanye West has brought his latest album, The Life of Pablo, to the major music streaming services, including Google Play Music All Access and Spotify. The album was initially released as an exclusive to the Tidal streaming service, and West had previously stated that it would remain that way.
The Life of Pablo is West’s seventh studio album, and features several guest vocalists, including Rihanna, Chance the Rapper, Frank Ocean, and The Weeknd. Interestingly, while the track listing for the album remains the same, a number of people are reporting that the tracks themselves have been updated and tweaked since their initial release on Tidal.
If you like to purchase your music, unfortunately you can buy The Life of Pablo from Google Play, though it is available for $20 directly from Kanye West’s website.
Check out The Life of Pablo on Google Play Music All Access
Check out The Life of Pablo on Spotify
Muzik wants its smart headphones to do more than just share
Muzik’s smart headphones are set to arrive this spring, and the company is looking for more apps to integrate with its newfangled cans. Thanks to a hand from Microsoft, Muzik launched an SDK for Windows 10, iOS and Android that will allow apps and services to make use of the headphones’ smart keys. Muzik already announced the audio gear would allow to you share what you’re listening to via social networks, and the folks at Microsoft used the SDK to allow sharing to Slack as well.
“Muzik and Microsoft aim to create integrated user experiences between applications, games and hardware, which has not previously existed in the headphone category,” the SDK announcement explains. The headphones were announced back at CES, touting the ability to share tunes, photos and location info to social channels like Twitter. In fact, Twitter invested in the company, but details on the partnership have been rather scarce. Hopefully we’ll hear more about what the two have planned, and the fruits of the SDK release, when Muzik’s $299 over-ear model launches in the coming weeks.
Uncovering the glory and gore of a 1970s South American cult
It’s 1970 and you’ve abandoned the cruel machinery of modern society and started fresh in a South American jungle. You’re surrounded by like-minded folks — people fed up with wars, poverty, segregation and corruption — and you all contribute in some way to the fledgling commune. It’s led by two charismatic leaders with grand ideas about the future of humanity. Outsiders call it a cult.
Everything goes well, until one of your comrades is repeatedly caught stealing food from the storage unit — a heinous crime in such a small, tightly knit community. If the commune were still a part of larger society, its leaders would throw the thief in jail. But there is no jail in the jungle, and your leaders have no plans to implement a costly prison system. What do you do with the rule-breaker? How do you make him fall in line so the entire commune doesn’t come apart at the seams?
A fellow member suggests an option that would not only teach the thief a lesson, but send a message to the entire community: Chain him up and publicly beat him until the dirt runs red.
“It’s not that I condone that behavior, but you could see how, in that sort of environment, there would be an ethical debate about, should we torture people? How much should we torture them?” asks Richard Rouse III, a veteran game developer who’s spent a lot of time pondering questions about commune life.
Rouse isn’t a fledgling cult leader, but he is intrigued by the mechanisms of alternative societies. His latest game, The Church in the Darkness, is set in a fictional South American commune called Freedom Town in the 1970s. Its leaders, Isaac and Rebecca Walker of the Collective Justice Mission, preach socialism and sustainable agricultural living in a Christian society.
On the surface, the Walkers’ commune doesn’t sound like a terrible place to live. It’s on the fringe and extreme, to be sure, but its systems aren’t inherently evil, exploitative or dangerous. At least, not at first.
Playing as Vic, a former law enforcement officer, you sneak around Freedom Town in a top-down perspective, attempting to locate your nephew, Alex, who voluntarily left the United States to join the commune. Freedom Town isn’t particularly friendly to visitors, so Vic treads lightly, sticking to the shadows behind dusty, tin-roof huts and steering clear of any red-adorned elite guards. Players get to choose their play style: conduct a nonlethal, stealthy invasion or go in guns blazing.
The commune is different in every play-through. Sometimes Isaac and Rebecca are harsh, authoritarian rulers inflicting punishment on their followers for the slightest of missteps, and other times they’re fun-loving, understanding leaders. Half the game is figuring out which kind of commune you’re sneaking around.
Each story unfolds mainly through Isaac and Rebecca’s regular updates over the camp’s PA system — and these should be infinitely entertaining, considering the couple is voiced by celebrated husband-and-wife voice actors Ellen McLain (GLaDOS in Portal) and John Patrick Lowrie (The Sniper in Team Fortress 2).
Rouse met Lowrie back when he was building the 2004 horror game, The Suffering, and Rouse thought he’d be a great fit for The Church in the Darkness — after all, Lowrie was once a “traveling hippie musician” with friends who once belonged to communes. Though they’ve lent their skills to numerous titles, this is Lowrie and McLain’s first gig in which they’re portraying a married couple in a game, and they’ve been providing input from the beginning of development.
“That’s the cool thing I find about being indie like this, is you can just go try to get this creative person and this creative person, and [collaborate],” Rouse says. “That’s not always as possible when you’re working on the bigger projects.”
On top of the announcements, the game’s scenery is packed with clues about each commune’s systems. Documents, sounds and landmarks shed light on Freedom Town’s true purpose every time you load a new game. In one play-through, Isaac may thank his followers for constructing a basketball court (he’s a huge hoops fan), and in others, he might growl through the PA system, demanding to know who destroyed his court. You may spot a wooden pole surrounded by chains and blood, or see “HELP US” spelled out with tree branches in a secret clearing — signs that your nephew, Alex, could be in trouble.
“The game has a lot of immersive SIM-type of qualities you might find in Dishonored or something like that, but it’s trying to be grounded in reality as much as possible,” Rouse says.
Freedom Town takes inspiration from real-life cults, communes and fringe groups. Rouse is particularly intrigued by the Source Family, a spiritual commune that took root in the Hollywood Hills in the late 1960s. Led by James Edward Baker, known as Father Yod, the Source Family attracted more than 100 followers and valued nature, organic vegetarian diets and communal living (and copious amounts of sex, as it happens). Eventually, the group moved to Hawaii — and that’s when Baker realized how difficult it was to run a utopian society, Rouse says.
In 1975, Baker, by then a self-declared god, attempted to hang-glide with no previous experience. He crash-landed and died that day. After mourning his death, some of his commune members remained in Hawaii, while some joined other fringe groups and still more reverted to traditional lives, working at places like Goldman Sachs, Rouse says.
The Source Family was passionate, innovative and wild, but it wasn’t evil.
“You hear less about those types of groups, where it’s like they tried to do something just as progressive and radical, but then they pulled back before oblivion,” Rouse says. “That was what interested me: How do you know which type of group and how do you interpret it?”
Another community that inspired Rouse was Rajneeshpuram, a mystical, sex-focused community that attempted to settle in Oregon in the 1980s. After arguing with locals over land, Rajneeshpuram followers ended up carrying out the largest biological warfare attack in US history: They sprayed the salad bars of local restaurants with salmonella, poisoning 750 people.
Rouse recognizes the strangeness and corruption that often seeps into communities like the Source Family and Rajneeshpuram, but he also sees their ingrained humanity. In researching communes and cults, he discovered a common thread among many former followers: They repeatedly claimed they weren’t brainwashed or crazy, and they looked back fondly at their time in the communes. Their intentions were noble, even if ego and power eventually won out.
“You don’t join a cult because you’re a weak person,” Rouse says. “You join it because you want to change the world or you have a really strong viewpoint or you can imagine the world could be better. So, you’re going to join this group and see if you can make a go of it.”
That’s something Rouse wants to inject into The Church in the Darkness when it launches on Steam, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One early next year: humanity. Isaac and Rebecca are extreme, but they can also be compassionate and caring. Or they can be power-hungry monsters. It all depends on which story you see.
Egypt blocked Facebook’s Free Basics over surveillance requests
Facebook was forced to abandon its Free Basics program in Egypt after refusing to facilitate government surveillance, according to a report by Reuters. The news agency refers to two unnamed sources who are supposedly familiar with the matter, each confirming the disagreement and its relation to the shutdown last December. Free Basics had only been available for two months, through an agreement with the domestic carrier Etisalat. The service is part of Facebook’s internet.org, an initiative which provides free access to some “basic” applications including Facebook.
Reuters’ report is light on detail. It doesn’t mention when the talks took place or what type of access the government was requesting. What is clear, however, is that Facebook refused to comply with the demands. Facebook and Etisalat are yet to comment on the matter. Mohamed Hanafi, a spokesperson for Egypt’s Ministry of Communication, gave Reuters a different explanation, however. He said it was a regulator’s decision:
“The service was offered free of charge to the consumer, and the national telecommunication regulator saw the service as harmful to companies and their competitors.”
Since the closure, Facebook’s internet.org has been forced to pull out of India too. That decision, however, was due to wider criticisms about Free Basics and its effect on net neutrality. By supplying free access to a select group of services, the argument goes that Facebook was discouraging alternative sites and apps. As a result, not all data was being treated equally — an action that breaks the spirit of net neutrality. India and Egypt are massive markets, but it doesn’t spell the end of Free Basics just yet. The service is still live in 37 countries, including Thailand and Mexico.
Hacker claims he helped swing Mexican election
A Bloomberg Businessweek report centered on a Colombian online campaign strategist alleges he hacked political rivals to engineer results in elections across nine Latin American countries.
The man, Andrés Sepúlveda, is currently serving a 10-year prison sentence for offences related to hacking during Colombia’s 2014 presidential election. But talking to Bloomberg, he alleges that his involvement in politics in the region runs far deeper. The full article runs almost 5,000 words, exposing a vast array of hacking activity.
Sepúlveda alleges that the money for these operations came from Juan José Rendón, a Venezuelan political consultant based in Miami. Rendón vehemently denies his involvement, and says emails provided to Bloomberg as proof were faked.
Assignments that Sepúlveda claims he was handed range from mundane activity like protecting a Honduran candidate from other hackers, or stealing opponents’ email databases to spam accounts with disinformation. But some are far more nefarious. Perhaps the most ostentatious allegation he makes is that he was paid to ensure Mexico’s Institutional Revolutionary Party’s (PRI) candidate, Peña Nieto, won the country’s election in 2012.
Sepúlveda claims he was given a $600,000 war chest to ensure victory, and assembled a team of hackers to make it happen. The team, he says, installed router malware at the headquarters of PRI’s main opponents. and used that to tap into phones and computers in the buildings. With this link established, he could read campaign schedules and speeches before they were even finished, and read confidential emails between campaign team members.
He then used both fake, hand-written accounts and an army of 30,000 Twitter bots, using this confidential information to give his candidate the upper hand. In one example of it all coming together, Bloomberg says Sepúlveda discovered a candidate’s weaknesses among voters in an internal staff memo, and started stoking that fear to make the topic trend on Twitter.
Other tactics allegedly used during the campaign include faking 3am robo-calls from political rivals on election eve, or starting a (fake) movement of gay men backing a candidate to alienate his heavily Catholic voter base.
Rendón acknowledges that he has worked with PRI candidates for 16 years, but says his working relationship with Sepúlveda never extended past website design. Sepúlveda, for his part, admits that candidates in some elections may not have been aware that he was even involved, let alone breaking the law. Since being incarcerated, he says he’s been working on behalf of the government to “track and disrupt drug cartels” using a modified version of the software he created to hack campaigns. He also claims he can identify ISIS recruiters on Twitter within minutes of them signing up, and says he wants to share the software he uses to do it with the US and other countries fighting the terrorist organization.
Sepúlveda’s story is truly stunning, and Bloomberg was able to corroborate parts of the narrative, although admits that not all details could be independently verified. One anonymous source in the Mexican campaign “substantially confirmed Sepúlveda’s accounts of his and Rendón’s roles in that election.”
Source: Bloomberg Businessweek
The best standing desks
By Mark Lukach and Nathan Edwards
This post was done in partnership with The Wirecutter, a buyer’s guide to the best technology. Read the full article here.
Three years ago, The Wirecutter was the first publication to pit all of the major standing desks against one another in a head-to-head test. After spending hundreds of hours testing 13 desks over the years, we can say that the Ergo Depot Jarvis Bamboo (configured with a 60-inch bamboo desktop, cable management, and the handset upgrade) is the best standing desk for most people. It’s as reliable as desks costing more than $1,500, but it provides more stability, sells for half the price, and comes with a seven-year warranty that eclipses the one- to five-year policies its competitors offer.
We also recommend getting our pick for the best standing-desk mat, which will provide support for your feet and relieve pressure on your heels, back, legs, neck, and shoulders to help you stand longer and mitigate injury risks.
Who should buy this and why
If you have a desk job, making sure you move around during the day and alternate between sitting and standing can help keep you healthy and injury-free. (But if you’re reading this, you probably already knew that.) You can find a staggering amount of convincing research about the perils of sitting, though as more data comes in, it’s beginning to look like the problem isn’t sitting per se, but the opportunity cost of sitting, namely a lack of physical exercise (standing all day isn’t any better for you).
You should consider an adjustable standing desk if you spend most of your day working at a desk—especially if you have some control over what kind of desk you work at, and particularly if you work from home, as a growing number of people do.
Before you buy it, try it
We’re big believers in starting cheap: One of our testers worked at his kitchen counter for a year before he bought anything. You could also stack boxes or books on your desk so that you can give it a shot—just make sure the ergonomics are right.
You can easily piece together a makeshift standing desk, like Colin Nederkoorn’s $20 IKEA hack, the Standesk 2200. Mat Honan, BuzzFeed’s Silicon Valley bureau chief, built one at his office when he worked at WIRED. “I think I may have been the first person at WIRED to build one, and now there are eight people at the office who have one, too,” Honan told us. “It’s cheap and easy and it looks good.”
What to do if you have a laptop
Whether you’re sitting or standing, the ergonomics of a laptop are awful. The screen is right by the keyboard, rather than up at eye level, so either your hands are in the wrong place or your neck is at the wrong angle. If you work at a laptop, get a stand to raise the screen to eye level, and purchase a separate keyboard and mouse so that your forearms are parallel to the floor; otherwise you’re going to end up with neck or wrist issues. If you use the IKEA hack linked above, put your keyboard and mouse on the lower shelf and your laptop on the top one. For more options, check out our full guide.
How we picked and tested
We tested the Chairigami (left) and VARIDESK (right) standing desks, among eleven others. Photo: Mark Lukach
After deciding to focus primarily on electronic adjustable desks (thanks to their positive effect on your long-term health, as well as their popularity, reliability, and cost-effectiveness), we brought it in a total of 13 standing desks for testing.
Testing began as soon as the packages arrived. Before using the desks, we factored in how long it took to arrive, how many boxes it came in, and ease of assembly. One of our testers set up desks in his garage on concrete and also on a piece of carpeting, to best emulate most offices. He tried to work at each desk for several hours a day over the course of a week, and varied the height multiple times each hour to see how consistently responsive each desk was. He also paid attention to the subjective category of aesthetics, which in the world of furniture clearly matters.
The Ergo Depot Jarvis is a great (and great-looking) desk for the money. Photo: Kevin Purdy
The Ergo Depot Jarvis Bamboo has all the essential features of a great standing desk you’d expect to cost more than $1,500, but for about half that. It has the most stable frame of any desk we’ve tested because Ergo Depot redesigned the frame so that the larger, heavier end of the lifting column is on the bottom—most desks using the original design have the opposite arrangement. This results in minimal wobble, even when fully extended up to 50 inches (which includes the height of the desktop itself). That’s high enough to fit people as tall as 6’7″ or so—whereas most desks top out at either 45 or 48 inches.
The height adjustment is controlled by a wired remote that has four presets; that means you can customize ideal sitting and standing heights for up to two people. It’s driven by a reliable electrical motor that can raise or lower at 1.3 inches per second (in line with other desks in this price range). Additionally, Ergo Depot also offers an array of functional, unpretentious accessories, like a wire-management bundle that contains a six-outlet power strip, a raceway for cable organization, and a bunch of zip ties (and mount points for those zip ties). The desk comes with a seven-year warranty and ships quickly. And if you already have a desktop you like, you can buy the frame by itself—it adjusts to work with desktops of many different sizes.
For converting your existing desk
04 – For converting your existing deskWirecutter editor Zhao uses this desk at home. His cat approves. Photo: Michael Zhao
If you already have a desk that you like and you don’t want to commit to a full-size sit/stand desk, consider the Ergo Desktop Kangaroo Pro Junior. It sits on top of your existing desk and converts from sitting to standing position in seconds without electricity. Instead of motors, the Kangaroo uses pneumatic springs to lift its work surface, and you lower it by pushing it down manually. It’s much lighter and less bulky than other conversion options like those from VARIDESK, and you can easily move it around your desk if you need to.
This guide may have been updated by The Wirecutter. To see the current recommendation, please go here.
Microsoft’s diversity should mirror its keynote
At Build 2016, Microsoft offered a glimpse at the company’s future. We saw a preview of new universal apps, Linux development within Windows 10, a HoloLens update and its brand new Cortana-fueled AI strategy. But we might have also had a peek at another side of Microsoft, one that is attempting to acknowledge and perhaps overcome its diversity issues.
During the company’s keynote, four out of 11 Microsoft employees who presented on stage were women (there was one non-employee: Pamela Davis, Case Western Reserve University medical school dean). That’s not quite 50 percent, but it’s still an impressive number. Especially when you consider that most tech keynotes don’t usually have so many women on stage. Apple’s keynote a couple weeks ago had one woman out of five presenters; its iPhone event last year had three out of 14. Last year’s Google I/O featured three women out of nine.
It’s even more noteworthy when you consider Microsoft’s latest faux pas. A couple weeks ago, it hired several scantily-clad women to dance at a company-hosted party during the annual Game Developer’s Conference in San Francisco. It was a bad look for a company that has made public statements pledging to increase diversity within its ranks.
Microsoft admits it, too: Shortly after it received criticism for the party, head of Xbox Phil Spencer apologized, stating: “We must ensure that diversity and inclusion are central to our everyday business and core values. We will do better in the future.”
The fact that four out of 11 — that’s 37 percent! — of presenters at the firm’s developer conference are women is certainly better. It’s also great to see that these women on stage were not necessarily marketing executives, but engineers and product managers, people who are immersed in the day-to-day technological side of creating a product. Ashley Speicher is an Xbox game dev, Lilian Rincon is the principal group manager from the Skype team, Lili Cheng is an engineer and Cornelia Carapcea is a senior product manager for Microsoft’s cognitive services.
That said, Microsoft’s efforts shouldn’t stop there. It’s all well and good to make a show of diversity at a keynote, but it’s more important to increase diversity efforts within the company as a whole. At last check, 26.8 percent of Microsoft’s global organization are women, while only 17 percent of both tech and leadership positions are filled by women.
But it’s good to see Microsoft at least make an attempt. If the company cared enough to increase gender diversity on stage, perhaps that’ll translate to the rest of the firm. And, hopefully, to the tech industry as a whole.
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Nov 01 The Challenges of Influencer Marketing Attribution
Many marketers have struggled with attribution when it comes to measuring influencer marketing efforts. While the problem is simple, the solution isn't - but we have two possible solutions you can test out.
#1. Create a Multi-Attribution Formula
Your first option is to create a formula for attribution where you give a percentage of value to various contributors - the first touch gets some value, the last touch gets some value, the influencer exposures on social get some value, etc. Some of our clients have developed these formulas and they're a good apples-to-apples way to measure the value of certain programs.
The problem, however, is that somebody who sees content on Facebook but doesn't click on it will not automatically go into your Google Analytics (or whatever analytics program you're using) because they didn't click through.
#2. Create a Snapshot-in-Time Analysis
The other option to consider is to create a snapshot-in-time analysis, where you look at the view rate to the conversion rate using the Facebook Pixel for the influencer exposures, and the view rate to conversion rate for the other marketing efforts you're running (banner ads, television spots, etc.). The benefit of this approach is you'll be able to see those people who were exposed to the content but didn't click.
Our experience with our clients shows that those who were exposed to content but didn't click is a much larger number than you'd assume. For one client, at the end of our program we found that 70% of the sales that we could track occurred within 24-hours of exposure to influencer content but without a click, yet only 3% of sales within 24-hours occurred with a click. So if you're only counting last touch click attribution, you're under-counting by a factor of about 25x.
This type of error has always been true within the auto industry. They highly value search as a last touch attribution, but they don't factor in what made the consumer search to begin with - like the TV ads, the sports sponsorship, the banner ads, etc. The same sort of problem is happening with influencer marketing.
Facebook has also attempted to provide a solution with their Facebook Pixel informing brands who was exposed and who converts. This approach works except that Facebook takes 100% credit for all those sales. Again, they're not counting the blog post, email, or banner ad the consumer saw prior to their purchase. There's two reasons Facebook does this. One, they have an incentive to show you your return on ad spend was fantastic because these exposed people bought. The second issue is more tactical - they can't actually see the other exposures. They can't see who got an email and who read a blog post because that's over in your analytics platform.
So those are some challenges and possible solutions you have to consider. Just know, if your team is using last touch attribution or first touch attribution, you're likely missing a huge percentage of the impact of your influencer marketing campaigns. So go ahead and create a formula or do that snapshot-in-time analysis.
I know this is a complicated topic, so you have any questions, contact us today and we can develop a solution for you.
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Flinders Petrie: His Life and Work in an Hour
By Debbie J Challis, on 29 March 2012
How do you do an overview of one of the most famous archaeologists responsible for 60 years of ground breaking techniques in Egypt, Palestine and Britain for a general audience in an hour? Well, last night’s The Man Who Discovered Egypt at 9pm on BBC4 did it pretty well. Of course, you can quibble and point out all the great things Petrie did, the people he knew, the sites he worked at etc etc, but it is difficult to get a documentary about Flinders Petrie, ‘a Victorian Brit of whom I’d [the Guardian critic] never heard’, right for the larger audience of television.
I will admit to having a vested interest in this documentary as a small section of it was filmed at the Petrie Museum and Institute of Archaeology, and obviously myself and the other colleagues involved in helping with photographs, information and more, want to see it succeed. Despite the title, which would annoy me if I was Egyptian, as a documentary explaining Petrie for the non-expert it did succeed. It helped that the presenter was Chris Naunton, director of the Egypt Exploration Society and an archaeologist himself, who explained Petrie’s interests and discoveries with enthusiasm. The locations in Egypt and Palestine helped too and the cinematography was impressive. It was great to see Petrie’s work in Palestine given almost equal billing with his work in Egypt.
The range of experts involved also conveyed the scale of Petrie’s work; from our very own Stephen Quirke and Rachael Sparks to the Palestine Exploration Fund to the Quftis Omar and Ali to curators at the Cairo Museum and Rockefeller Museum and archaeologists in the field at some of Petrie’s sites. The documentary did not shy away from Petrie’s eugenic thinking or the differences between him and his wife Hilda with younger archaeologists towards the end of their working lives. Overall it was a rounded picture of Petrie, the man and archaeologist.
And Petrie would so have an iPad if he worked in Egypt today and would have created an iMeasure app!
The documentary will be repeated over the next week but is also available to view on BBC iPlayer here.
Filed under Institute of Archaeology Collections, Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology
Tags: BBC4, Egypt Exploration Society, Flinders Petrie, history of archaeology, Institute of Archaeology UCL, Palestine Exploration Society, Petrie Museum, The Man Who Discovered Egypt
3 Responses to “Flinders Petrie: His Life and Work in an Hour”
Aaron wrote on 29 March 2012:
Do you know if this will be screened in Australia? I REALLY want to see it, but am not able to watch in on BBC iPlayer.
Debbie Challis wrote on 31 March 2012:
Hello Aaron,
I’m afraid I don’t know about Australia, hopefully yes! I imagine it will be on the BBC for a while.
Charmed Quark wrote on 3 April 2012:
You can get the program from UK Nova, an excellent site to catch BBC programs that you missed the first time around. It only provides programs that are not for sale on DVD, so it’s a bit like watching the program on iPlayer, but without the regional restrictions.
http://www.uknova.com/
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Ithaka's Perspective on Digital Preservation
Oya Rieger of Ithaka S+R has published a report entitled The State of Digital Preservation in 2018: A Snapshot of Challenges and Gaps. In June and July Rieger:
talked with 21 experts and thought leaders to hear their perspectives on the state of digital preservation. The purpose of this report is to share a number of common themes that permeated through the conversations and provide an opportunity for broader community reaction and engagement, which will over time contribute to the development of an Ithaka S+R research agenda in these areas.
Below the fold, a critique.
The first thing to notice is that the list of interviewees includes only managers. It lacks anyone actively developing tools and services for digital preservation, it lacks anyone whose hands are actually on the tasks of digital preservation. Rieger writes:
This was not based on a balanced sampling of individuals involved in different stages of digital preservation, holding distinctive roles (e.g., senior library leaders, director of preservation services, preservation specialist/technician, IT specialist, archivist, etc.).
This is the bureaucracy's view of the landscape. Not that their perspective isn't valuable, but it is just one view that can be somewhat out of touch with "ground truth" (as illustrated by the misspelling of Memento, Archive-It, and MetaArchive, and the mis-attribution of the BitCurator Consortium). As a result, the report lacks any real reference to the technical, as opposed to the organizational and educational challenges facing the field.
Second, there is very little coverage of Web archiving, which is clearly by far the largest and most important digital preservation initiative both for current and future readers. The Internet Archive rates only two mentions, in the middle of a list of activities and in a footnote. This is despite the fact that archive.org is currently the 211th most visited site in the US (272nd globally) with over 5.5M registered users, adding over 500 per day, and serving nearly 4M unique IPs per day. For comparison, the Library of Congress currently ranks 1439th in the US (5441st globally). The Internet Archive's Web collection alone probably dwarfs all other digital preservation efforts combined both in size and in usage. Not to mention their vast collections of software, digitized books, audio, video and TV news..
Rieger writes:
There is a lack of understanding about how archived websites are discovered, used, and referenced. “Researchers prefer to cite the original live-web as it is easier and shorter,” pointed out one of the experts. “There is limited awareness of the existence of web archives and lack of community consensus on how to treat them in scholarly work. The problems are not about technology any more, it is about usability, awareness, and scholarly practices.” The interviewee referred to a recent CRL study based on an analysis of referrals to archived content from papers that concluded that the citations were mainly to articles about web archiving projects.
It is surprising that the report doesn't point out that the responsibility for educating scholars in the use of resources lies with the "experts and thought leaders" from institutions such as the University of California, Michigan State, Cornell, MIT, NYU and Virginia Tech. That these "experts and thought leaders" don't consider the Internet Archive to be a resource worth mentioning might have something to do with the fact that their scholars don't know that they should be using it.
A report whose first major section, entitled "What's Working Well", totally fails to acknowledge the single most important digital preservation effort of the last two decades clearly lacks credibility
Third, the report ignores the most important, and long overdue, new digital preservation effort of the last two years. In that short period the Software Heritage Foundation has made huge progress in collecting and preserving software source code in a useful form:
the Software Heritage Archive contains more than four billion unique source code files and one billion individual commits, gathered from more than 80 million publicly available source code repositories (including a full and up-to-date mirror of GitHub) and packages (including a full and up-to-date mirror of Debian). Three copies are currently maintained, including one on a public cloud.
As a graph, the Merkle DAG underpinning the archive consists of 10 billion nodes and 100 billion edges; in terms of resources, the compressed and fully de-duplicated archive requires some 200TB of storage space
As I wrote in 2013:
Software, and in particular open source software is just as much a cultural production as books, music, movies, plays, TV, newspapers, maps and everything else that research libraries, and in particular the Library of Congress, collect and preserve so that future scholars can understand our society.
The blind spot that has prevented libraries and archives from collecting, preserving, and making available to scholars the extraordinary collaborative cultural achievement represented by the open source code base is really astonishing.
Fourth, the report fails to notice the important developments from the teams at the University of Freiburg and at the Internet Archive in making emulation of preserved software binaries both routine and scalable. The Internet Archive's software collection now includes over 100K titles.
Finally, there is no acknowledgement that the most serious challenge facing the field is economic. Except for a few corner cases, we know how to do digital preservation, we just don't want to pay enough to have it done. Thus the key challenge is to achieve some mixture of significant increase in funding for, and significant cost reduction in the processes of, digital preservation.
Information technology processes naturally have very strong economies of scale, which result in winner-take-all markets (as W. Brian Arthur pointed out in 1985). It is notable that the report doesn't mention the winners we already have, in Web and source code archiving, and in emulation. All are at the point where a competitor is unlikely to be viable.
To be affordable, digital preservation needs to be done at scale. The report's orientation is very much "let a thousand flowers bloom", which in IT markets only happens at a very early stage. This is likely the result of talking only to people nurturing a small-scale flower, not to people who have already dominated their market niche. It is certainly a risk that each area will have a single point of failure, but trying to fight against the inherent economics of IT pretty much guarantees ineffectiveness.
No doubt Rieger will defend the report by saying, correctly, that it mostly represents a summary of what she was told by the "experts and thought leaders" of the digital preservation field. If so, it reveals a disturbing insularity among those "experts and thought leaders".
The report's final section is Rieger's. It identifies three "Potential Research Areas":
Building a "cohesive and compelling roadmap".
Dealing with the "notions of ownership and control".
Enunciating a "strong set of value propositions" to justify increased funding.
My reaction to these is "meh".
1) The big successes in the field haven't come from consensus building around a roadmap, they have come from idiosyncratic individuals such as Brewster Kahle, Roberto di Cosmo and Jason Scott identifying a need and building a system to address it no matter what "the community" thinks. We have a couple of decades of experience showing that "the community" is incapable of coming to a coherent consensus that leads to action on a scale appropriate to the problem. In any case, describing road-mapping as "research" is a stretch.
2) Under severe funding pressure, almost all libraries have de-emphasized their custodial role of building collections in favor of responding to immediate client needs. Rieger writes:
As one interviewee stated, library leaders have “shifted their attention from seeing preservation as a moral imperative to catering to the university’s immediate needs.”
Regrettably, but inevitably given the economics of IT markets, this provides a market opportunity for outsourcing. Ithaka has exploited one such opportunity with Portico. This bullet does describe "research" in the sense of "market research". Success is, however, much more likely to come from the success of an individual effort than from a consensus about what should be done among people who can't actually do it.
3) In the current climate, increased funding for libraries and archives simply isn't going to happen. These institutions have shown a marked reluctance to divert their shrinking funds from legacy to digital media. Thus the research topic with the greatest leverage in turning funds into preserved digital content is into increasing the cost-effectiveness of the tools, processes and infrastructure of digital preservation.
Labels: digital preservation, emulation, memento, scholarly communication, software preservation, web archiving
Dorothea said...
If you haven't already read Alissa Centivany's "The Dark History of HathiTrust," I think you would enjoy it; it is additional evidence for your argument about individuals rather than collectives taking responsibility for digital preservation.
https://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/bitstream/10125/41440/1/paper0291.pdf
@LibSkrat tweets:
"This is a repeated problem with Ithaka research. They are positively ALLERGIC to talking to anybody who isn’t a manager.
It really damages the credibility of their research."
There's a misunderstanding here.
Ithaka S+R are consultants. The goal of a consultant is more contracts. Their market is managers; only managers can hire them, or pay for expensive reports. So what they need to know is what managers want to hear. Its pointless for them to talk to the manager's staff, or to write what the staff want to hear. What Ithaka S+R calls "research" is really "marketing" for future "research"; setting "the community's" agenda in ways that require lots more "research" by Ithaka S+R.
Institutions like the Internet Archive or Software Heritage don't need Ithaka S+R to tell them what to do; they have a clear mission and they're sticking to it. So there's no money for Ithaka S+R in paying attention to them.
I'm not blaming Ithaka S+R for behaving this way. Their "Slow AI" makes them do what they need to do to stay in business (see also Cory Doctorow). The real problem is the insularity of the "experts and thought leaders".
In response to this post, someone tweeted a link to this short video.
See also the tooltip on this XKCD. As regards archive.org, I actually did.
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Use of Force and Total War in Cyberspace: Part II
October 16, 2016 Joel Aber
This is the second part of a paper I wrote for the Naval War College. In part one, we discussed whether or not a cyber attack can rise to the same level of use of force as a kinetic attack. The contents of this paper reflect my own personal views and are not necessarily endorsed by the Naval War College or the Department of the Navy. I am by no means an expert on the cyber realm. This is a conceptual argument, nothing more.
The theories of absolute war and total war cause a great deal of confusion. Absolute war (or ideal war) is a theoretical construct raised by Carl von Clausewitz in his treatise On War. Clausewitz views absolute war as a war without limitations to means of victory. He does note, however, that absolute war is a purely theoretical premise and acknowledges that in reality, political considerations will limit military commanders in their conduct of war (Clausewitz, 1976).
Total war, on the other hand, is a war conducted short of absolute war that involves the full mobilization of the nation’s civilian populace and infrastructure in support of the war effort. Because the populace and infrastructure fully mobilize as part of the war effort, they become valid targets for the opposing army. An example of total war is the pillaging of Confederate states during the American Civil War under the justification of breaking the will of the people to fight while depriving the Confederate Army of needed war supplies (Janda, 1995). More recent examples of total war include the deliberate carpet-bombing of both British and German targets during World War II, along with the conversion of civilian production lines to tank or bomber production.
In the cyber world, everything is connected. The hard distinction between a military target and a civilian target does not exist. In order to target the power to a military base, attackers could target a nearby power generation plant or a power grid. However, taking down that power plant or grid could “bleed” into blackouts in surrounding critical infrastructure. That bleed could have severe effects on the local civilian population, especially if done during extreme weather conditions or on a grid with a hospital or other emergency services nexus.
Spc. Isaiah Anderson, an Information Management Officer with U.S. Army Alaska updates the anti-virus software on a stand-alone, off-network computer in the signals section of USARAK headquarters. Cyber security is important on both military and civilian networks.
Cyber-attacks offer an opportunity for substantial effects at relatively low cost. Take, for example, a future conflict between China and the United States. China is rising, and its goals are not clear. If they choose to pursue regional hegemony, they must push out the American influence from their sphere in the Pacific. If they pursue great power status, conflict may be inevitable, a possibility foreshadowed by the conflict between Athens and Sparta between 500 and 400 B.C. (Allison, 2015). From the perspective of a modernized military, China lags significantly. They certainly possess a numerical superiority, but they also suffer from an inability to move those numbers the distance required to use them to affect the continental United States. China knows this, and they must seek a way to defeat the United States in a deniable way that avoids a physical battle. As Sun Tzu said, “Thus, those skilled in war subdue the enemy’s army without battle. They capture his cities without assaulting them and overthrow his state without protracted operations.” (Tzu, 1963) Cyber may prove to be the key.
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China could pursue a dual-pronged strategy that would first destroy the people’s will to fight, while also impeding any military response to the attack. Targeting the economic, technological, electrical, and logistical structure of the United States creates an opportunity to distract the American leadership while China makes moves that would normally merit a military response. A simple glitch in the system provides no benefit, it must be a sustained outage that deprives the American people of necessities and conveniences long enough to cause pain, not mere discomfort. It need not rise to the level of physical death to people, although once power and supply chains are attacked, the death toll will rise as the duration of the shortages lengthen. As American General Philip Sheridan once said: “Death is popularly considered the maximum of punishment in war, but it is not; reduction to poverty brings prayers for peace more surely and more quickly than does the destruction of human life, as the selfishness of man has demonstrated in more than one great conflict” (Sheridan, 2004). A simultaneous, or closely following, attack on the military’s command and control and logistical systems would disrupt the military’s ability to provide a cogent response, whether kinetic or cyber.
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This strategy is not without serious danger, however. First, it plainly falls within the category of both a use of force and armed attack. Under the United Nations Charter, the United States would be well within its right to respond either kinetically or in the cyber realm. Second, due to the international connections of the financial sector, an attack on the economic structure of the United States could easily affect many more nations than originally targeted. While this may cause further confusion under which China could move, it would also broaden the number of countries eligible to respond under the Charter, and possibly forge them into an alliance. Third, and closely related to the second point, China requires a market for the goods it produces. Causing massive economic harm could backfire rapidly unless China has a well thought out strategy for the aftermath of the attack.
Marines with I Marine Expeditionary Force and sailors with 553 Cyber Protection Team, monitor network activity during I MEF Large Scale Exercise 2016 (LSE-16) at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, Calif., Aug 22, 2016. The overall purpose of the exercise was to practice the deployment of a fighting force of more than 50,000 military personnel to a partner nation and incorporate both live-fire and simulated combat scenarios against a near-peer enemy force. 553-CPT is a team of cyber defense specialists with Fleet Cyber Command. The team advised I MEF while setting up the command element’s networks.
Though the gap diminishes with every passing year, the United States remains the world’s most powerful military. However, weaknesses in our cyber infrastructure provide an opportunity for an adversary willing to wage a total war and suffer its backlash. A massive attack aimed at both military and civilian targets could provide the “shock and awe” and disruption necessary to prevent a kinetic or cyber response, or at least minimize it. Total war in the cyber realm involves many of the same risks as kinetic war, and could be every bit as devastating to the belligerents and the international order. The advantage to cyber-attack lies in its ability to strike far beyond the range of kinetic weapons and avoid attribution. It could prove to be the equalizer between nations with extreme disparity in kinetic forces, allowing weaker countries to assert their areas of influence without ever firing a shot.
Allison, G. (2015, September 24). The Thucydides Trap: Are the U.S. and China Headed for War. The Atlantic. Retrieved October 11, 2016, from http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2015/09/united-states-china-war-thucydides-trap/406756/
Clausewitz, C. v. (1976). On War. (M. Howard, P. Paret, Eds., M. Howard, & P. Paret, Trans.) Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press.
Janda, L. (1995, January). Shutting the Gates of Mercy: The American Origins of Total War, 1860-1880. The Journal of Military History, 59(1), 7-26. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/2944362?origin=JSTOR-pdf
Schmitt, M. (Ed.). (2013). Tallinn Manual on the International Law Applicable to Cyberspace. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Retrieved from https://issuu.com/nato_ccd_coe/docs/tallinnmanual?e=0/1803379
Sheridan, P. H. (2004, June 7). The Memoirs of General P. H. Sheridan, Volume 1. Retrieved October 9, 2016, from Grant Under Fire: http://www.grantunderfire.com/civil-war-resources/various-memoirs/sheridans-memoirs-vol-2/
Tzu, S. (1963). The Art of War. (S. B. Griffith, Trans.) New York, New York: Oxford University Press.
United Nations. (2016, October 5). Charter of the United Nations: Chapter VII. Retrieved from United Nations Web Site: http://www.un.org/en/sections/un-charter/chapter-vii/index.html
United Nations. (2016, October 5). United Nations Charter: Chapter I. Retrieved from United Nations Web Site: http://www.un.org/en/sections/un-charter/chapter-i/index.html
Joel is an 12 year veteran of the US Coast Guard, where he has served at various units including the International Training Division and Maritime Security Response Team. He has held qualifications including Deployable Team Leader/Instructor, Direct Action Section Team Leader, and Precision Marksman – Observer. He has deployed/instructed on five continents and served in quick reaction force roles for multiple National Special Security Events in the US. He is the owner of Hybrid Defensive Strategies, LLC in Chesapeake, VA, and can be contacted on Facebook and Instagram. Any opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the US Coast Guard or the US Government.
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“Bewildered and Covered in Blood.” Syria’s Children One Year After Alan Kurdi’s Death
11-year-old Tamer fled Syria with his family. He now lives in a refugee camp in Lebanon.
On September 2nd, the one year anniversary of Alan Kurdi’s death, there was a lot of reflecting on what the world has done since to prevent such needless loss of life.
Many rightly conclude not nearly enough.
Almost 4,000 people have drowned since Alan’s death – over 3,000 of them this year alone – trying to reach European shores from Africa and the Middle East.
And for those who remain in Syria – the country Alan and his family died trying to flee from – there is utterly unthinkable suffering and despair.
Inside Syria
The situation in Syria right now is possibly the worst it has been since the conflict began over 5 years ago.
There are still around 250,000 children living in besieged areas across Syria. And the reports we’re receiving from our partners working to reach these children grow increasingly more tragic.
Donate to our Syria Crisis Appeal
We all saw the shocking images from Madaya at the start of the year. Skeletal children, pleading to be fed.
The town has been under siege by government forces and affiliated militias for more than a year. No aid has made it into Madaya since April and families are facing deadly shortages of food and medical supplies.
Yesterday we received a report from our partners that moved me to tears.
The situation has become so desperate, and children so emotionally and physically crushed, that medical staff say at least six children – the youngest a 12-year-old girl – and seven young adults have attempted suicide in the past two months, unable to cope with torturous conditions.
Escaping Syria
Even for those offered an escape route, such as the evacuation of Daraya last weekend, there are concerns for their safety and freedom of movement as they are transferred into shelters in government-held areas.
It shouldn’t require an entire community to leave their homes for families to get access to vital food, water and medical supplies.
There is a humanitarian imperative to ensure sustained and regular access for aid convoys to all besieged towns. But this continues to be denied.
A Save the Children supported school in Syria that has been bombed.
Since Alan’s death, children continue to pay the price of this war.
The world was once again stunned at the image of Omran Daqneesh, the five-year-old boy from Aleppo, sitting bewildered in the ambulance, covered in blood and dust.
Aleppo is witnessing among the most extreme bombardment this crisis has seen.
Just this weekend our partners reported that 11 children have been killed by an airstrike, then as their grief-stricken community paid their respects to these young lives, their funeral was barrel bombed.
Other unverified reports suggest that in July alone, up to 340 children in Aleppo were injured by airstrikes and other-war related injuries and 101 died after being admitted to hospitals.
But where is the outcry?
The complete apathy around the Syria crisis is an insult to the thousands of children, like Alan, who have died as a result of this conflict in some shape of form.
At the weekend it seemed like some glimmer of hope might be there for the thousands of children trapped in Aleppo – Russia and the US agreed a path to get all parties around the table to discuss a 48-hour cease fire.
We all know that to make sure we can safely conduct effective and efficient humanitarian activities, the ceasefire for Aleppo must be extended beyond 48 hours, but this would be a welcome first step.
But one week on from this promise and we’ve seen no evidence that parties can agree to even this short pause in fighting. This is not acceptable.
Syria’s children cannot wait any longer.
Anniversaries of such tragic moments serve to remind us that we must do more to protect children in war. We should feel upset today, we should feel angry, but most of all we should demand action.
Donate to our Syria Crisis Appeal today.
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Accepting Palestinian Culture That Treats Killers as Role Models - by Jonathan Tobin
...Theirs is a culture that denies history and turns morality on its head by treating killers as role models. Palestinians believe it is unreasonable to ask them to give it up. But if their conflict with Israel is ever to be solved, that is exactly what they must do.
Link: https://www.commentarymagazine.com/terrorism/accepting-palestinian-culture-terrorism/
Palestinians are incredulous. When the Palestine Media Watch website noted that, for the fourth time, the Palestinian Authority had named one of its schools after the late head of the 1970’s terror group Black September, the news created a bit of an uproar in Israel. A spokesperson for Prime Minister Netanyahu accused the PA of glorifying terrorists, but the response from the PA wasn’t the least bit defensive. Though the Obama administration continues to insist that the PA is a partner for peace, the PA gave a telling answer to the Israeli charge. The Palestinian Authority official in charge of Tulkarem—the district where the most recent Salah Khalaf school was dedicated—said the following: “The occupation [Israel] is delusional if it thinks the Palestinian people can change its culture.”
This statement reveals something that most peace process advocates and critics of Israel either don’t understand or willfully miss. The PA’s repeated refusals of Israeli peace offers isn’t rooted in how many homes are built by Israelis in existing West Bank settlements or differences over where the border between a putative Palestinian state and Israel should be drawn. Rather, the problem is something far more deep-seated: culture.
As poll after poll of Palestinian public opinion has shown over the years, support for violence against Israelis and Jews and the rejection of Israel’s legitimacy isn’t merely a policy preference or a position taken by the PA at the United Nations. It is rooted in a Palestinian political culture that views the Jews as having no rights to any part of the country, and sees violence taken against them is an act of patriotism.
Like his boss, Yasir Arafat, Khalaf’s role in history as the author of some of the most brazen and depraved terror incidents of the postwar era secured him a place of honor among Palestinians. Black September claimed to be distinct from the Palestine Liberation Organization but was, in fact, under Arafat’s orders. In that capacity, Khalaf planned the 1972 Munich Olympic massacre of Israeli athletes, a series of airplane hijackings, as well as the assassination of two American diplomats in Sudan. Like Arafat, Khalaf later posed as enough of a moderate to convince Secretary of State James Baker that he was someone that the U.S. should deal with. He was never held accountable by the U.S. for his attacks on Americans, let alone Israelis. And he was eventually killed by a member of the Abu Nidal splinter group as part of an internecine Palestinian conflict.
This culture that venerates murder and death isn’t just part of the Palestinian past. It also inspires the carnage of the present. By continually honoring Khalaf and a host of other murderers of Jews, the PA is validating a mindset that views terrorism as laudable. The lesson imparted to children is clear and can be traced to the most recent upsurge in terror known as the “stabbing intifada” in which Palestinian teenagers and even young children have played a tragic part. It is impossible to separate the incitement to terror by PA schools and media and the decisions of so many youngsters to sacrifice their lives by attacking random Jews with knives. These kids are certain they will be hailed as “martyrs” and “heroes”—like Khalaf—no matter how gruesome their assaults might be.
Nor is this culture one that is separated from diplomacy. The century-old war against Zionism is inextricably linked to Palestinian identity. Putting Khalaf’s name on schools and honoring other terrorists in similar ways explains why the PA has chosen to try to sue Britain over the 1917 Balfour Declaration, which recognized the Jews’ right to a national home. It’s also of a piece with the Palestinians most recent diplomatic success: a series of votes at the UN’s education, scientific, and cultural organization—UNESCO—in which they have persuaded the world body to view Jerusalem’s Temple Mount and Western Wall as exclusively Muslim shrines.
If a two-state solution is to be achieved, Palestinians must learn to share the country, and that murder of Jews will have to cease to be their national sport. Until that happens, it won’t matter how much Western leaders like President Obama—who appears to be considering supporting the Palestinians at the United Nations after the presidential election is concluded and he is freed from political constraints—do to tilt the diplomatic playing field in their direction. As they’ve always done, they will reject every peace offer no matter how generous or sensible it might be.
Theirs is a culture that denies history and turns morality on its head by treating killers as role models. Palestinians believe it is unreasonable to ask them to give it up. But if their conflict with Israel is ever to be solved, that is exactly what they must do.
Posted by Yosef Hartuv at 10:31:00 AM
Labels: honoring terrorists, Palestinian culture of hate, Terrorist glorification, weaponizing of Pal Arab children
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MATE Robotics Competition Names Winners From Canada, Wisconsin
By Michael Hart
Teams from a university in Newfoundland and Labrador and a high school in Wisconsin took first place at the Marine Advanced Technology Education (MATE) Underwater Robotics Competition.
The competition, which challenges students at all levels — K-12, community college and university — to design and build remote operated vehicles (ROVs), robots, to accomplish underwater tasks, took place at the NASA Johnson Space Center's Neutral Buoyancy Lab.
The winning team in the advanced Explorer class was from Memorial University of St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. A team from Ozaukee High School in Ozaukee, WI, took first place in the intermediate Ranger class.
The Memorial University team also won an award for best product demonstration in the Explorer class and a special award went to team member Rachel Seymour, who was named Most Valuable Player for her demonstration during the final presentation.
Ozaukee High School also won an award for best product demonstration in its class, as well as the "Best Bang for the Buck" award for having the vehicle with the best performance for the price.
In the Explorer class, Jesuit High School of Carmichael, CA took second place and AMNO & CO of Seattle won third place. In the Ranger class, the Highway 68 ROV Club of Salinas, CA came in second and Harrington Middle School of Mt. Laurel, NJ third.
A complete list of winners of all awards is available online.
MATE's goal is to encourage students to learn and apply science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) skills, particularly in an effort to prepare them for the future workforce for ocean occupations.
Throughout the school year, teams at all grade levels worked to develop dual-purpose single-launch ROVs that can operate in the deepest oceans and harshest outer space environments. Using the NASA’s Neutral Buoyancy Lab - the world’s largest indoor pool at 202 feet long, 102 feet wide and 40 feet deep - the teams had their ROVs conduct a number of tasks.
In the ocean-themed missions, students used their ROVs to turn a decommissioned oil rig into an artificial reef and collect oil samples and coral specimens. The space-based missions challenged the teams to pilot their ROVs under the ice sheet of Jupiter’s moon Europa to collect data.
Michael Hart is a Los Angeles-based freelance writer and the former executive editor of THE Journal.
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Homepage > News & Media > News > Ohio State Receives Press Ganey Guardian of Excellence Award
Ohio State Receives Press Ganey Guardian of Excellence Award
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute (OSUCCC – James) -- central Ohio’s only National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center -- has been named a 2016 Guardian of Excellence Award® winner by Press Ganey.
The Guardian of Excellence Award recognizes top-performing health care organizations that have consistently achieved the 95th percentile or above of performance inpatient care experience and the Centers for Medicare/Medicaid’s Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS).
The Press Ganey Guardian of Excellence Award is a nationally recognized symbol of achievement in health care. Presented annually, the award honors clients who consistently sustained performance in the top 5 percent of all Press Ganey clients for each reporting period during the course of one year.
“The award represents an important recognition from the industry’s leader in measuring, understanding and improving the patient experience,” says Michael Caligiuri, MD, director of The OSUCCC and CEO of The James.
"We are proud to partner with the OSUCCC - James,” said Patrick T. Ryan, CEO of Press Ganey. “This award is a testament to the organization’s leadership in delivering patient-centered care. By achieving and sustaining this level of excellence, the OSUCCC - James continues to demonstrate their commitment to reducing patient suffering and advancing the overall quality of health care.”
The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute strives to create a cancer-free world by integrating scientific research with excellence in education and patient-centered care, a strategy that leads to better methods of prevention, detection and treatment. Ohio State is one of only 49 National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers and one of only four centers funded by the NCI to conduct both phase I and phase II clinical trials on novel anti-cancer drugs. As the cancer program’s 308-bed adult patient-care component, The James is one of the top cancer hospitals in the nation as ranked by U.S. News & World Report and has achieved Magnet designation, the highest honor an organization can receive for quality patient care and professional nursing practice. At 21 floors with more than 1.1 million square feet, The James is a transformational facility that fosters collaboration and integration of cancer research and clinical cancer care.
About Press Ganey
Press Ganey is a leading provider of patient experience measurement, performance analytics and strategic advisory solutions for health care organizations across the continuum of care. With over 30 years of experience, Press Ganey is recognized as a pioneer and thought leader in patient experience measurement and performance improvement solutions. Our mission is to help health care organizations reduce patient suffering and improve clinical quality, safety and the patient experience. As of January 1, 2016, Press Ganey served more than 26,000 health care facilities. For more information, visit pressganey.com.
Contact Media Staff
Amanda Harper
Director of Media Relations
614-685-5420 (direct)
614-293-3737 (main)
Amanda.Harper2@osumc.edu
Media staff are available by calling 614-293-3737 Monday through Friday between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.
If after hours, please call 614-293-8000 (ask the operator to page the hospital administrative manager).
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Phil Kline is a composer and sound artist, who makes music in many genres and contexts, from experimental electronics and sound installations to songs, choral, theater, chamber and orchestral music.
Raised in Akron, Ohio, he came to New York to study English Literature and music at Columbia. After graduation, he dived into the downtown New York arts scene: founding the rock band The Del-Byzanteens with Jim Jarmusch and James Nares, collaborating with Nan Goldin on the soundtrack to The Ballad of Sexual Dependency, and playing guitar in the notorious Glenn Branca Ensemble.
His early compositions grew out of his solo performance art and often used boombox tape players as a medium, most notably in the Christmas piece Unsilent Night, which debuted in the streets of Greenwich Village in 1992 and is now performed annually in dozens of cities around the world.
Other notable early compositions include Zippo Songs, a song cycle for Theo Bleckmann, based on poems Vietnam vets inscribed on their Zippo lighters, The Blue Room and Other Stories, written for string quartet Ethel, and Exquisite Corpses, commissioned by the Bang on a Can All-Stars. The music theater spectacle, Locus solus, based on the novel by Raymond Roussel, was presented at the Ryerss Mansion Museum in Philadelphia in 2006.
More recent works include the Mass John the Revelator, written for vocal group Lionheart; The Long Winter, written for pianist Sarah Cahill; and scores for three evening-length dance pieces by Wally Cardona: Everywhere, Site and Really Real. The sound installation World on a String opened the season at the Krannert Center in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, in September 2007 and SPACE for string quartet and electronics was performed by Ethel at the gala reopening of Alice Tully Hall in 2009.
2011 saw the premieres of A Dream and its Opposite, written for the La Jolla Symphony Orchestra, Canzona a due Cuori, commissioned by the St. Luke’s Chamber Ensemble, and a book of organ pieces commissioned for the gigantic Kotschmar Organ of Portland, Maine. A new monodrama for Theo Bleckmann, Out Cold, premiered at the BAM Next Wave Festival in October 2012.
Kline is currently working on an opera, Tesla in New York, in collaboration with writer-director Jim Jarmusch. He lives on the Lower East Side of Manhattan with his wife and daughter.
John the Revelator
Messiah Remix
Zippo Songs
Unsilent Night
Renegade Heaven
philkline.com
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Exercise as awareness
Being active is more than a hobby for Claire Romine. It’s more than a job, too, even though she graduated in May from the University of Delaware with a master’s degree in clinical exercise physiology. For her, physical activity is part of a recipe for healthy living – and a way to support others fighting for their own lives.
Romine is halfway through a seven-week journey running across the country to raise money for young adults with cancer. She began in San Francisco in June and will end next month in Baltimore.
Along the way, she’s running 10 to 13 miles a day with a team of runners and cyclists participating in the 4K for Cancer, a program of the Ulman Cancer Fund for Young Adults. Nearly a month in, Romine has crossed the border of her fifth state. She remains energetic, despite hot weather and high altitudes along the way.
“Ran with one of my favorite people today and made it to our last night in Colorado! Not much scenery today and the mountains are starting to disappear as we make our way East,” she wrote in a recent post on her Facebook page, where she is chronicling her trip.
Ulman is a Baltimore-based organization that focuses on creating a support community for young adults with cancer and their loved ones. This age group faces unique challenges when battling cancer, including fertility preservation, delayed diagnosis, social isolation and more. The 4K for Cancer, in its 17th year, organizes these trips to raise money, inspire hope and unite people to fight against cancer.
Romine’s interest in supporting cancer patients is personal. Her mother, Kathy, was diagnosed with breast cancer when Romine was a high school senior. Although now cancer-free for five years, Kathy Romine endured surgery and eight months of chemotherapy while juggling the typical challenges of making her daughter’s track meets and lacrosse games.
In college, Romine worked as a camp counselor at a camp for children going through oncology treatments. She also participated in UDance each of her four years as an undergraduate at UD. After graduation, she decided to pursue her master’s degree in exercise physiology with the goal of working with oncology patients.
Romine was part of the second cohort of students in the M.S. in Clinical Exercise Physiology program. This one-year, professional graduate program, which started in 2016, allows students to take classes and participate in clinical rotations at the same time. Students spend more than 500 hours working with patients in cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation, pediatric cardiology and weight management, exercise counseling, health coaching and more.
“After this, I hope to work with people in the cancer field or cardiac rehab,” said Romine, who raised nearly $15,000 for Ulman before leaving Delaware. “I’ve always been an exercise enthusiast. To see people other making progress and to see where they can go from day one is pretty cool. They might hate me the first day but they can do so much. It gives everyone hope.”
Brittany Overstreet, coordinator of the Clinical Exercise Physiology graduate program, said Romine was a driving force in the push to include an oncology rehabilitation rotation in the program, something that’s currently in the works.
“Claire is a great example of taking the core competencies obtained during her graduate studies and putting them into practice,” Overstreet said. “She is doing a wonderful job of not only using exercise as medicine, but using exercise as awareness and service.”
There aren’t many people who could keep up the challenge of running the equivalent of a half-marathon nearly every day for seven weeks. But Romine isn’t focused on her own physical endurance – it’s the perseverance of cancer patients that keeps her going.
“The people we have met along the way are amazing and everybody is astounded at what we’ve been doing,” she said. “It’s definitely very tiring not sleeping or eating a lot but it’s a great experience.”
To donate to Claire’s campaign, visit here.
You can follow along on Claire Romine’s journey from San Francisco to Baltimore by following her Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/claires4krun/. Here are some of her recent dispatches from the road:
7/5 – Definitely a different kind of 4th of July this year. Ran another 13 miles from Moab, Utah to Telluride, Colorado. I ran for Jerry Roland, a person near and dear to my heart who unfairly lost his battle with cancer. I couldn’t think of a better day to dedicate to him.
7/2 – Bumped up our mileage and ran a half marathon today finishing at just over 13 miles for the day. We crossed over the state border yet again and made it to a small town in Utah who opened their church doors for us. We were hosted to an amazing meal that all of us needed & are so thankful for all of our hosts along this journey.
6/28 – Another amazing day! Kingsman, AZ —> Prescott, AZ Finally we were able to run the historic Route 66 & stopped along the way to meet some amazing people who were interested in our run & why we were the only people coming through their town dripping sweat in matching uniforms. We then were treated to an amazing home cooked meal followed by a well deserved beer at a local brewery.
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All posts tagged "LAAC winner"
Alvaro Ortiz ends long wait to claim the 2019 Latin America Amateur Championship
Mexico’s Alvaro Ortiz clinched the Latin America Amateur Championship (LAAC) in style today after a keenly contested duel with Luis Gagne of...
Paul Chaplet and Jorge García return to Teeth of the Dog for more glory
The Costa Rican will return to Casa de Campo, Dominican Republic, where he made history by becoming the youngest champion of the...
LAAC 2019: Confirmed players entries
The best 108 amateurs from 28 countries in the region will be in Casa de Campo from January 17 to 20, 2019...
The LAAC 2019 was presented to the press of the Dominican Republic
The Latin America Amateur Championship (LAAC) which will take place in Teeth of the Dog in Casa de Campo from January 17 to 20,...
Casa de Campo will be hosting the Latin America Amateur Championship (LAAC) in 2019
The official confirmation arrived on January 20, 2018 when the three institutions that organize the championship announced in the Prince of Wales...
The Latin America Amateur Championship (LAAC) will return to Casa de Campo Resort & Villas
The Latin American Amateur Championship (LAAC) will return to Casa de Campo Resort & Villas in the Dominican Republic to celebrate for...
Paul Chaplet from Costa Rica wins the Latin America Amateur Championship (LAAC)!
Paul Chaplet, from Costa Rica and the second youngest player of the championship, surprised everyone by taking the trophy in this year’s...
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Catholic-Muslim dialogue is at the end of the road
William Oddie
Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, head of the Vatican's Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, left, talks with Mustafa Ceric, head of the Bosnia Islamic Community (Photo: PA)
A week ago, I wrote a blog with the headline “Top Muslim scholars seem to be telling us that dialogue with them is a waste of time”: the president of the al-Azhar University in Cairo had broken off dialogue with the Vatican because of the Pope’s absolutely justified defence of the Egyptian Copts against their consistent persecution by the Muslim majority in Egypt; and a colleague had at the same time issued a fatwa justifying the suppression of all non-Muslim religions in the Arabian peninsula.
I ended by saying that “it is now up to that section of Islamic opinion which fundamentally disagrees with the views emanating from the al-Azhar University to make its views known as vigorously as the ‘scholars’ have done. The ball is now in the court of ‘moderate’ Islamic opinion. Is there anyone out there? If so, for heaven’s sake, say something.”
Well, I have heard nothing, absolutely nothing from any moderate Muslim. And that can’t be because no Muslim is going to read a Catholic blog: non-Catholics often end up commenting on my pieces, having mostly arrived at them after scanning on Google to see what there is out there of interest to them. I bet there will be Muslims reading this. So I repeat my invitation now. But I’m not holding my breath.
So what precisely have we gained, from all these years of “dialogue”? Has it improved mutual respect? I don’t see why we shouldn’t respect Muslims of good will as long as we don’t start saying that we accept their religion any more than they accept ours. The difficulty with this is that showing signs of respect for them as individuals can backfire, and end up looking remarkably like a betrayal of the Catholic faith: the most spectacular example of that, of course, was the kissing by Pope John Paul II of a copy of the Koran. I don’t believe it was, in fact, a betrayal: but nobody who saw it as such can be blamed. The late pope was a great one for symbolic gestures: the trouble is that the symbolism of that one was dangerously ambiguous.
But the pope’s gesture nevertheless did not indicate, despite its deeply risky lack of clarity, any acceptance by him of the Muslim religion. Here is one explanation of his actions, written at the time by the American priest Fr Joseph Jenkins, putting them into context, which was that the copy of the Koran in question was a gift from an Iraqi delegation in the time of Saddam:
“Looking at the incident in question, the Holy Father received a delegation that included the Shiite Imam of Khadum Mosque, the Sunni President of the council that operates the Iraqi Islamic Bank, and a member of the Iraqi Ministry of Religion. The invitation of a papal visit was renewed. They even went so far as to say that it would be “a grace from heaven”. While Iraq has been guilty of real violations of human rights, this Islamic state has been the most tolerant of Christians than any of its Islamic neighbors. Many Catholics hold positions in government, commerce, education, etc.
“The Chaldean Patriarch of Babylon [Iraq], His Beatitude Raphael I Bidawid, was a major spokesman for the delegation. He applauded the Pope’s actions and words as a true sign of concern from the Successor of St Peter…. Islamic peoples are not casual in the giving of gifts. It represents the giver. They knew perfectly well that the Pope was a Catholic Christian, but they gave to him that which was regarded as most important in their life, their own holy book. Thus, at the end of the audience, the Pope showed his deep appreciation to this intimate self-donation, by bowing and kissing the Koran as a sign of respect … He makes the first move, not in the capitulation of our faith, but in the recognition that the followers of Jesus and those who cherish Mohammed should not be engaged in name-calling, or worse, killing each other.”
Well, fine. But, just as the great era of ecumenical dialogue with the Protestant churches (except for harmless assurances of mutual respect) has now come more or less to an end, this experiment having gone as far as it can or should, so the necessary process of discovering just how far the Islamic world genuinely shares the recognition, that “the followers of Jesus and those who cherish Mohammed should not be engaged in name-calling, or worse, killing each other”, has now gone as far as it can. We have the answer: the answer appears to be that this is not an idea it recognises at all seriously.
It is, after all, quite a long time since Christians went in for killing or otherwise suppressing Muslims: the last time I looked, the Muslim world was still at it, name-calling and killing non-Muslims with impunity. Muslim toleration of Christians, wherever Muslims are in a clear majority and culturally dominant, hardly exists (this phenomenon can clearly be seen in certain areas of some English cities). If the president of al-Azhar University really thinks that for the Pope to protest against the oppression of the Copts gives him a good reason to break off dialogue with the Vatican, we should take him at his word. I hope I’m wrong, of course: but it looks to me as though we have reached the end of this particular road.
‘Top Muslim scholars’ seem to be telling us that dialogue with them is a waste of time
If there are any ‘moderate Muslims’ around, let’s hear from them
Top Muslim scholars announce boycott of dialogue with Vatican
Boycott by scholars in Egypt comes after Pope Benedict XVI’s remarks about anti-Christian violence
A Muslim group forbids tomatoes ‘because they are Christian’. Will dialogue with Muslims ever be possible? Perhaps: but it won’t be easy
There are sane and moderate Muslims: but will they ever predominate?
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The Saudi crown prince wants to return to ‘moderate Islam’. But what does that mean?
Dr David Cowan
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (Getty Images)
When I first visited Saudi Arabia, I was with a group of colleagues going to a restaurant but it had closed for prayer time. The rule is that if you’re already inside you can carry on your meal, but you cannot enter and instead wait or go to prayer. This was reinforced by the Mutawa (religious police), cruising the streets urging stragglers like ourselves to go to prayer.
To visit Saudi I have to declare my religion and denomination on my visa application form. I cannot wear religious symbols or proselytize, but I am permitted a Bible for personal use. There are no churches for me to attend, though Christian services do take place on Fridays in embassies, and some small Christian house groups do gather. We are very far off from religious integration within Saudi society, but there is not complete indifference.
Things are changing, even the famed Mutawa have now had their wings severely clipped. Saudi is in the midst of an economic and social revolution. Heir to the throne, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, known by the moniker MBS, is driving change to move Saudi from oil-dependency into a diversified economy. He has launched a raft of reforms called Vision 2030, including a planned $100 billion share sale of Saudi Aramco, the national oil company.
Most interesting was the announcement this week by MBS that he will lead his country back to “moderate Islam.” I suggest one inspiration for such moderation is the 14th century Muslim philosopher of history Ibn Khaldun (1332-1406AD), arguably the founding father of sociology. In explaining the dynamics of society and history, Ibn Khaldun explained that empires rise and fall in relationship to the people’s sense of social cohesion or asabiyyah. When society begins to lose this social cohesion it becomes increasingly sedentary and weakened, and new social groups overthrow the old order.
This social cohesion is central to understanding authority in Saudi, which is different from secular liberalism and western democracy. The political philosophy of Saudi is a political theology underpinning a clan-based theocratic state. But this theocracy is not the image conjured up by hysterical western commentary, it is more deeply rooted in Ibn Khaldun’s explanation of social cohesion. MBS wants to forge a new social contract, but forget Hobbes and Rousseau, think Ibn Khaldun and you’ll begin to unlock how this return to moderation may well come about.
We need to talk about moderation, because of how Islam has erupted in geopolitical influence since the 1979 Iranian revolution and 9/11. Weber’s secularization thesis to explain religious change, much beloved by social scientists in the 20th century, has proven woefully inadequate. There are better ways to talk about the issues. I have had many interesting theological discussions with Saudis about Islam. Foreign visitors with me are usually very squeamish when they are present, because there is an expat mantra that you don’t discuss Islam in Saudi. They need not be offended on behalf of Saudis. I have learned a lot from my Saudi contacts, and I believe it has been mutual.
Since 2005, Saudi has been involved in inter-religious dialogue globally, holding an International conference on dialogue in Mecca with 500 international Muslim scholars, and then in 2007 the late King Abdullah met with Pope Benedict. This led to an agreement by the Saudi, Austrian and Spanish governments to establish the King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz International Centre for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue (KAICIID). The centre was inaugurated in Vienna in 2012, with representatives from major world religions and the Holy See as a Founding Observer.
This is significant for global interfaith relations, but leaves untouched the absence of other religions in Saudi due to the belief that the Arab peninsula should be for Muslims only. My recent interview in the Catholic Herald with Bishop Hinder in Abu Dhabi explains how things work there in a more liberalized situation. The Emirati experience suggests this view can be challenged, but we are still a long way off to extending a collaborative hand to Christians in Saudi.
Effecting such change means maintaining social cohesion based on Islamic identity, so there are four things you can look out for. First, there will be small hints signalling change. Second, expect increasing diplomatic religious dialogue. Third, if moderation takes hold there will be an easing of other religious practices. Lastly, any Christian dialogue and change will likely be directed through relationships with the Vatican and regional Catholic church structures, rather than other denominations.
What the Saudis do want, and I hear this from a lot of young Saudis, is to keep their religious faith and identity and avoid some of the excesses of Western secularism. MBS has stated education is needed. If these young Saudis are to be believed then moderation will come about gradually and social cohesion maintained, though this still leaves the economic questions to be answered. Weber’s thesis doesn’t help us here and Western social and political scientists would do well to study Ibn Khaldun. It’s not just the Saudis who need moderation in understanding Islam.
Saudi Grand Mufti calls for churches to be destroyed: will David Cameron mention this next time he’s in Riyadh?
Freedom of religion is non-negotiable
Fr Alexander Lucie-Smith
Saudi Arabia’s Grand Mufti wants churches destroyed – it’s time for the West to rethink relations
Unless Western powers show they care about human rights they will be exposed as hypocrites
Why would a Saudi Prince pay $450m for a painting of Christ?
Could it be a sign of hope for Saudi Arabia’s persecuted Christian minority?
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__label__wiki
| 0.666033
| 0.666033
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HP Canada brings Print 2.0 to the enterprise
Partner WBM Office Systems explains how it’s building a business around printing, not printers
Cisco adds data centre to VIP program
Networking giant outlines US$14 billion hardware and services opportunity in the data centre market for channel partners
Intel focuses on services to grow its channel
Vendor launches Hosting Service Program and outlines key growth opportunities
Big Blue launches WebSphere Business Events
IBM promises the SOA package will help detect fraud, and alert managers to certain activities
Technology embedded in the body, driverless cars and lots of biometrics
Accenture’s CTO paints a sketch of the IT world of 2038, and stresses balancing usability and ubiquity will be the challenge
Education, government institutions becoming hacker targets: Symantec
The vendor says partners need to add a services component to their security offerings
Yahoo again rebuffs Microsoft in letter
The search company fires back at threats of a hostile takeover, holding-out for a higher offer
HP admits to selling infected flash-floppy drives
A security analyst says its likely ProLiant servers were targeted in a factory-originated attack
AMD announces layoffs, drops revenue forecast
The chipmaker will lay off 10 per cent of its workforce in a bid to return to profitability
Will Cisco’s product prices ever go down?
Plus, a possible extension on Windows XP and MySpace offers music service
Your cell phone wants to be a Wifi hot spot
A new model is emerging that combines mobile broadband and WiFi for the best of both worlds
Using Microsoft Dynamics to keep on trucking
After two false-starts with other platforms, Peel Truck and Trailer turned to Microsoft partner EC Advance to integrate its IT processes
Why the Microsoft bid for Yahoo is not going anywhere
Plus, BlackBerry Pearl and what Microsoft should do with Windows XP
Wireless competition in Canada
What will be the right mix for both the channel and its customers?
Cisco is transitioning its services strategy
The networking giant asks partners to build on Smart Care services
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Carsen Edwards Kyle Guy Mamadi Diakite Sports College basketball Basketball College sports Men's college basketball Men's basketball Men's sports NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship Coaching
Arkansas-Little Rock Sun Belt Virginia ACC Texas Tech Big 12 Purdue Gonzaga
Virginia, Texas Tech give Final Four certain new look
By JOHN MARSHALL - Mar. 31, 2019 10:49 AM EDT
Gonzaga players react to a loss to Texas Tech during the West Regional final in the NCAA men's college basketball tournament Saturday, March 30, 2019, in Anaheim, Calif. Texas Tech won 75-69. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Texas Tech shut down the nation's most efficient offense to reach its first Final Four in 93 years as a program.
Virginia erased the bitter taste of last year's historic NCAA Tournament flop by surviving Carsen Edwards' offensive onslaught to earn a spot in the national semifinals for the first time 1984.
No doubt, there's going to be a different feel next weekend in Minneapolis.
"Growing up my whole life watching these press conferences and the guy that always gets there and says 'undescribable,'" Texas Tech coach Chris Beard said. "And I'm like, 'Oh, give us something better than that.' But I don't have anything better. It's undescribable."
Virginia coach Tony Bennett knows the feeling. He also knows what it's like to be on the wrong side of history.
A year ago, Virginia became the first No. 1 seed to lose to a No. 16 when UMBC took down the Cavaliers in the first round.
The historic loss added a layer to arguments about whether Bennett can get it done under the brightest lights.
Bennett started building Virginia after being hired in 2009, gradually turning the program into one of the nation's best.
The Cavaliers won at least 22 games every year since 2012 and reached the NCAA Tournament each of the past six years. Virginia had a shot at the Final Four in 2016, but was knocked off by Syracuse in the Elite Eight.
The Cavaliers reached the Sweet 16 one other time and had the epic fail last year.
Virginia appeared to be in trouble Saturday night, when Edwards couldn't seem to miss, hitting 10 3-pointers while scoring 42 points.
But the Cavaliers tied it in regulation on Mamadi Diakite's buzzer-beating jumper after Kyle Guy purposely missed a free throw. Virginia held off the Boilermakers in overtime for the 80-75 win.
Now, finally, they're headed to the Final Four.
"No one knows what this team has been through," Bennett said. "I do and it's good."
So is what Beard has done.
Pre-Chris Beard Texas Tech occasionally popped up on the relevancy radar before falling back to the middle of the pack.
Pre-Texas Tech Chris Beard made a steady rise through the coaching ranks before one monumental victory made him the hot-ticket coach everyone seemed to want.
Beard coached everywhere from junior college to the ABA to Division II McMurry University after serving as a student assistant under Tom Penders at Texas.
Beard's breakthrough moment came during the 2016 NCAA Tournament, when his 13th-seeded Arkansas-Little Rock Trojans rallied from a 14-point deficit in the final five minutes to beat fifth-seeded Purdue in double overtime.
Little Rock's Cinderella run had Beard's phone ringing. One call he took was to accept the head job at UNLV.
Less than a month later, he was in Lubbock after leaving the Runnin' Rebels to coach Texas Tech, where he spent seven seasons as an assistant coach.
It worked out well for him and the Red Raiders.
After an 18-14 inaugural season, Texas Tech won 27 games and reached the Elite Eight for the first time last season.
The Red Raiders won a share of the Big 12 regular-season title to end Kansas' 14-year reign this season and shut down four straight NCAA Tournament opponents to reach the Final Four for the first time.
Not bad for a bunch of non-five-star players.
"It's like when I go to Grandy's," Beard said. "Do I want double mashed potatoes or mashed potatoes and corn? I want both. So we would love to have All-Americans and turn 'em into grinders."
By grinding, he means defense. Best-in-the-nation defense.
The quick-handed Red Raiders play defense like pickpockets on a crowded subway train, often snatching the ball before the dribbler knows it's gone.
They were the nation's most efficient offense this season and made the most efficient offense sputter like it was missing spark plugs in the Elite Eight, knocking off top-seeded Gonzaga for the program's first Final Four.
"It's real. That defense is real," Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. "And Chris has done a great job with it and it definitely impacted us tonight."
Virginia and Texas Tech's breakthroughs will certainly have an impact on the Final Four next week, regardless of which two teams join them.
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__label__wiki
| 0.938714
| 0.938714
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Carsen Edwards Sports College sports Basketball College basketball Men's college basketball Men's basketball Men's sports NBA Draft NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship NBA basketball Professional basketball
Purdue Big Ten
Purdue's Edwards plans to hire agent, enter NBA draft
Purdue's Carsen Edwards looks up at the scoreboard during overtime of the men's NCAA Tournament college basketball South Regional final game against Virginia, Saturday against Virginia, March 30, 2019, in Louisville, Ky. Virginia won 80-75. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley)
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) — Carsen Edwards heard the comparisons to Steph Curry throughout the NCAA Tournament.
Now he faces the real test — in the NBA.
The 6-foot-1 shooting guard will enter the draft and will hire an agent. He made his announcement Monday on Twitter .
"For as long as I can remember, it has been a dream of mine to play in the NBA. I feel that time is now," Edwards wrote. "This is the beginning of a new journey and I am thankful for everyone's support. And I'm ready for the next chapter in my life."
The college chapter turned out pretty well, too.
In three seasons, Edwards played on two Big Ten regular-season championship teams and was a two-time All-American.
He finishes with 1,920 career points — seventh on the school list — 79 points behind Terry Dischinger, who was named to this year's National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame class last week.
Edwards considered entering last year's draft, with Purdue's other four starters, all seniors, but eventually withdrew.
When he returned to campus, Edwards was the undisputed leader on a team trying to replace three 1,000-point scorers. This season, the ball was in Edwards more often and he showed he could handle the ball and see the floor as well as any point guard.
But his shooting touch is what made him special.
Boilermakers fans watched him develop for three seasons. The rest of the college basketball world took notice in March.
After averaging 24.3 points during the regular season — the most by any Big Ten player since Shawn Respert of Michigan State had 25.6 points in 1994-95 — he was even more impressive in the tournament.
In four games, he scored 34.8 points with a range that seemed to have no bounds as he almost carried the Boilermakers to the Final Four. Purdue lost to top-seeded Virginia in the regional finals.
"Congrats," coach Matt Painter wrote on Twitter. "You deserve this. Excited to watch your future in the NBA."
Scouts may be eager to see how he fares in workouts, too, after witnessing his remarkable performance in the tourney.
Leaving early will cost Edwards a chance to pass Rick Mount (2,323 points) and become the school's career scoring leader or reaching that elusive Final Four.
But the reward of living out his childhood dream, Edwards believes, is worth it.
"The last three years have been an amazing ride with the best teammates and coaches in the country," Edwards wrote after thanking his parents and reflecting on his religious faith. "I wouldn't trade my time and successes at Purdue for anything."
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| 0.686254
| 0.686254
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College sports Sports Men's basketball Men's sports Basketball College basketball Men's college basketball Kerry Blackshear Jr. P.J. Horne Isaiah Wilkins Tyrone Outlaw Nickeil Alexander-Walker Torin Dorn Derek Funderburk Wyatt Walker Braxton Beverly Markell Johnson Jericole Hellems Devon Daniels C.J. Bryce
West Coast Gonzaga Saint Mary's (Cal.) Virginia Tech ACC Miami (FL) Virginia North Carolina State
ACC - Second Round - Game 1 (win) at Virginia Cavaliers 3/14/2019
St. Mary's Jordan Ford dribbles around a Gonzaga player during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game for the West Coast Conference men's tournament title, Tuesday, March 12, 2019, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Virginia Tech's Kerry Blackshear Jr. (24) drives past Miami's Ebuka Izundu (15) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament in Charlotte, N.C., Wednesday, March 13, 2019. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond)
Virginia Tech head coach Buzz Williams, left, talks with P.J. Horne, right, during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Miami in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament in Charlotte, N.C., Wednesday, March 13, 2019. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond)
Virginia Tech's Isaiah Wilkins (1) shoots past Miami's Anthony Lawrence II (3) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament in Charlotte, N.C., Wednesday, March 13, 2019. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)
Virginia Tech head coach Buzz Williams directs his team against Miami during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament in Charlotte, N.C., Wednesday, March 13, 2019. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)
Miami's Ebuka Izundu (15) shoots against Virginia Tech's Ty Outlaw (42) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament in Charlotte, N.C., Wednesday, March 13, 2019. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)
Virginia Tech's Nickeil Alexander-Walker (4) passes the ball as Miami's Ebuka Izundu (15) and Chris Lykes (0) defend during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament in Charlotte, N.C., Wednesday, March 13, 2019. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond)
Miami's Dejan Vasiljevic (1) drives to the basket against Virginia Tech's Ty Outlaw (42) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament in Charlotte, N.C., Wednesday, March 13, 2019. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond)
Miami's Sam Waardenburg, right, and Virginia Tech's Nickeil Alexander-Walker, left, battle for a rebound during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament in Charlotte, N.C., Wednesday, March 13, 2019. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond)
Virginia Tech's Kerry Blackshear Jr. (24) dunks past Miami's Anthony Lawrence II (3) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament in Charlotte, N.C., Wednesday, March 13, 2019. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond)
North Carolina State's Torin Dorn, left, drives against Virginia's Braxton Key, right, during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament in Charlotte, N.C., Thursday, March 14, 2019. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond)
Virginia's Jack Salt (33) grabs a rebound as North Carolina State's DJ Funderburk (0) defends during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament in Charlotte, N.C., Thursday, March 14, 2019. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond)
North Carolina State's Torin Dorn (2) drives against Virginia's Jay Huff (30) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament in Charlotte, N.C., Thursday, March 14, 2019. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond)
North Carolina State's Wyatt Walker (33) battles Virginia's Ty Jerome (11) for a rebound during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament in Charlotte, N.C., Thursday, March 14, 2019. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond)
North Carolina State's DJ Funderburk (0) shoots against Virginia's Jay Huff (30) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament in Charlotte, N.C., Thursday, March 14, 2019. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond)
Virginia head coach Tony Bennett directs his team against North Carolina State during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament in Charlotte, N.C., Thursday, March 14, 2019. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond)
North Carolina State's Braxton Beverly (10) drives against Virginia's Kyle Guy (5) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament in Charlotte, N.C., Thursday, March 14, 2019. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond)
North Carolina State's Markell Johnson (11) shoots against Virginia's Jack Salt (33) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament in Charlotte, N.C., Thursday, March 14, 2019. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond)
Virginia's Kyle Guy (5) puts on his shoe after losing it during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against North Carolina State in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament in Charlotte, N.C., Thursday, March 14, 2019. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)
Virginia's Kyle Guy (5) holds his shoe as he runs down the court during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against North Carolina State in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament in Charlotte, N.C., Thursday, March 14, 2019. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)
Virginia's Kyle Guy (5) drives past North Carolina State's Jericole Hellems (4) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament in Charlotte, N.C., Thursday, March 14, 2019. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)
North Carolina State's Wyatt Walker, right, blocks a shot by Virginia's Jack Salt, left, during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament in Charlotte, N.C., Thursday, March 14, 2019. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)
Virginia's Kihei Clark (0) loses the ball as he drives between North Carolina State's Devon Daniels (24) and DJ Funderburk, back, during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament in Charlotte, N.C., Thursday, March 14, 2019. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)
Virginia's Kyle Guy (5) shoots against North Carolina State's C.J. Bryce (13) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament in Charlotte, N.C., Thursday, March 14, 2019. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)
North Carolina State head coach Kevin Keatts, right, argues a call during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Virginia in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament in Charlotte, N.C., Thursday, March 14, 2019. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)
North Carolina State head coach Kevin Keatts, left, and Virginia head coach Tony Bennett, right, watch their teams play during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament in Charlotte, N.C., Thursday, March 14, 2019. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond)
Virginia's Kyle Guy drives to the basket against North Carolina State's Jericole Hellems (4) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in the Atlantic Coast Conference men's tournament in Charlotte, N.C., Thursday, March 14, 2019. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)
Virginia's Jack Salt (33) dunks against North Carolina State during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament in Charlotte, N.C., Thursday, March 14, 2019. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)
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