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Fighting Patton: George S. Patton Jr. Through the Eyes of His Enemies
Название: Fighting Patton: George S. Patton Jr. Through the Eyes of His Enemies
Автор: Harry Yeide
Издательство: Zenith Press
What was it like to fight against one of the most hard-driving generals in history? He is remembered as an officer with few equals, a leader who attained legendary status while commanding corps and armies as a general during World War II. Nicknamed 'Old Blood and Guts,' he was also well known for his hard attitude, eccentricities, and controversial outspokenness.
turbobit.cc
2bay.org
Patton's Madness: The Dark Side of a Battlefield Genius
The Armies of George S. Patton
Weapons of Patton's Armies
George S. Patton: On Guts, Glory, and Winning
The generals : Patton, MacArthur, Marshall, and the winning of World War II
Patton’s Third Army at War
90-mm Gun Tank M47 Patton Technical Manual
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45 Games to Play When Bored
Bored out of your mind?
Don’t worry, it happens to the best of us.
When those long streaks of boredom hit, most people will resort to scrolling through their news feed or binge-watching TV shows.
If this sounds like you, it’s high-time to reconnect with your inner child and utilize some of those long-forgotten methods for combating boredom — games!
These activities will fuel your imagination, unlock your creativity, and significantly improve your mood.
Here’s our curated list of 45 games to play when bored.
What's In This Article
Games to Play When Bored at Work
1. Excel Sheep
2. Type Racer
3. Sudoku
4. Crossword Puzzles
5. Hangman
6. Tic-Tac-Toe
7. Karoshi Suicide Salaryman
8. Office Bingo
10. Charades
11. Mad Ads
Games to Play When Bored With a Friend
12. Riddle Challenge
13. Truth or Dare
14. Scrabble
15. Chess
16. Hive
17. Jaipur
18. The Settlers of Catan
20. I Spy
21. The Alphabet Game
22. Carcassonne
Games to Play When Bored on Your Computer
23. Plants vs. Zombies
25. Doom
26. Frogger
27. The Sims
28. Cube
29. Fortnite
30. Dota
31. League of Legends
32. Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft
Best Games to Play Outside When Bored
34. Scavenger Hunt
35. Capture the Flag
36. Bocce
37. Ball Games
38. Frisbee
39. Croquet
40. Badminton
41. Limbo
42. Ring Toss
43. Oversized Jenga
44. Beer Pong
45. Roundnet
Which of these games to play when bored caught your attention?
Your boss may think you’re actually doing something work-related when you’re playing a fun game of Excel Sheep.
Disguised as a regular Excel spreadsheet, the goal of the game is to gather all your scattered sheep into the bar graph sheep pen.
Want to put your typing speed to test? Try Type Racer.
Fuel your racing car by typing out the designated paragraphs in the shortest time possible to beat other players.
The classic game of Sudoku tests your logic skills.
Find it online or in your local newspaper and try to fill the partially completed 9×9 grid with digits from 1-9.
Make sure not to repeat any of the numbers twice because you’ll have a hard time figuring out the conundrum.
Nothing beats a nice, old word puzzle.
There’s a wide variety of crossword puzzles available that will challenge your vocabulary, logic skills, as well as problem-solving abilities.
Challenge your coworkers to a fun game of Hangman.
Make the game more exciting and work-friendly by introducing words and phrases related to your industry and profession.
Whoever loses buys lunch for the whole office!
Although primarily designed for children, this classic game has a lot of variants that may prove quite challenging even for the most sharp-witted adults!
Ultimate tic-tac-toe is a fine example of a more complex variant of the well-known game.
If you work in a stressful environment you can probably relate to Karoshi.
This aggrieved office worker is in the business of committing suicide in the most innovative ways possible.
Help the poor worker find his resting place by killing him off on each platform.
Office bingo is one of the best games to enjoy if you want to boost morale in your office.
You can customize the board to your liking and include as many people as possible.
The great thing about this game is that it’s so inconspicuous that your boss won’t even know you’re playing!
This workspace platform is used to communicate with your team and perform office-related tasks more effectively.
What most people don’t know is that Slack also offers respite in the form of easily integrated game apps you can add to your platform.
Those long business meetings just got a bit more exciting!
Charades is a nice pick me up option for those tedious days at the office and you can personalize the themes to match your current business objectives.
It’s also a great “get-to-know-you” game for work-related retreats or seminars.
If you work in an advertising agency this may be the perfect game for you and your work buddies.
Mad Ads challenges your creativity by prompting you to create an ad for something completely bizarre.
Make a dashing advertisement for the abominable snowmen, a flying toilet seat or whatever else pops to mind.
Put your brain cells to use by challenging your friend to a game of riddles.
There are numerous YouTube videos as well as internet sources of engaging and fun riddles that can keep you occupied for hours to come.
Want to find out if your friends are hiding something from you? Or maybe you’d be more pleased to see them do something silly?
Truth or Dare gives you the best of both worlds.
You can play this game with just one person or a group of friends and all you need is a bit of imagination to get you started.
This standard word game tests your vocabulary knowledge in a similar fashion to crossword puzzles.
Make sure to follow the rules or your friends just might decide to challenge you!
The famed strategy board game dates back to the 7th century and has since gained popularity all across the globe.
Playing chess can improve problem-solving skills, refine your memory and make you smarter!
The objective of the game is to capture the opponent's queen bee while protecting your own. Sounds easy enough? Think again!
What makes Hive special is that it uses both elements of tile and board games at the same time, making it more interesting and taxing at the same time.
A favorite among card lovers, Jaipur combines role-playing, strategy, and gambling in one game.
It’s a fast-paced game for two players and the ultimate goal is to become the richest merchant in Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan.
The rules are quite simple but the game itself can be vexing for even the most seasoned card players.
If you love history and strategy but aren’t ready to tackle some of the more complex games, The Settlers of Catan is a great way to dive into the word of strategy board games.
Gather resources, build your holdings and trade with other settlements to gain the maximum amount of points.
The well-known game of Uno can make or break friendships. It’s super simple to learn and it’s even possible to enjoy this game with a standard deck of cards.
Uno is a shedding-type card game and the aim is to lose all your cards before your opponent.
One of our childhood favorites, I Spy has been an indispensable part of road trips and family gatherings.
Take a trip down memory lane by employing your friends to guess the object you spy with your little eye.
Quite similar to I Spy, The Alphabet Game is another guessing game suitable for all ages.
Think of an object, animal, food, movie or music band starting with a certain letter and let your friend try and guess what exactly is on your mind.
A tile-based board game suitable for two to five people, Carcassonne is an exciting game where players build the landscape around a fortified city.
Develop strategies, disrupt the other player’s plans and build your path to victory!
The celebrated tower defense game puts you amid a zombie apocalypse where you’re forced to fend off the upcoming brain-hungry beasts by using…yup, you’ve guessed it – plants.
Secure the lanes around your house because if the zombies cross one it’s game over for you!
Slide the blocks around the grid and combine them to increase their value.
If you can reach 2048 you’re a winner..and probably much smarter than the rest of the world.
A first-person shooter game, Doom allows you to tackle demons and hordes of the undead while playing the part of a space marine.
This is one of the first games of this type and has gained worldwide recognition.
Guide the frogs across a busy road in this classic arcade game.
Make sure to look both sides before crossing unless you want to get squished!
One of the best selling video games of all time, The Sims is a life simulation game.
Build your dream life from scratch, keep your Sims satisfied and become a god of a tiny universe.
Enjoy a bit of mystery with your morning coffee? Try the Cube Escape Series.
If you’re a fan of Twin Peaks, then this game should be right up your alley.
Are you going to be the last person standing?
Enter Fortnite, a magical world of quirky characters, incredible dynamics and battle strategies.
Featuring unique gameplay, beautiful designs, cooperative playing and over 100 heroes, Dota is considered one of the greatest video games of all time.
Designed in a similar fashion to Dota, LOL is visually stunning and offers immersive storylines.
It has a huge fan base and has become one of the most played PC games in both North America and Europe.
If you loved the original Warcraft series, then this digital collectible card game will fit you like a glove.
Hearthstone has also gained massive popularity as an esport with over $4 million available in the prize pool.
Hide and Seek remains one of the most beloved childhood games.
Sometimes, going back to our roots is just what we need to lift our spirits.
Organizing a Scavenger Hunt is ideal for family gatherings and big parties.
Work in groups, search for clues and use your wits to gather all the items on the list before the opposing team.
As the name suggests, the aim of this traditional outdoor game is to capture the opponent’s flag and bring it back to your base.
The game is suitable for all ages and is best played in large groups.
Earn points as you toss the bocce ball as close as possible to the pallina.
The ancient game of bocce has gained massive popularity among the elderly, as well as children.
Care for some old-fashioned sports? Football, dodgeball, and volleyball will never disappoint.
All you need is a ball and a spacious lawn and you’re all set!
There’s nothing better than a game of Frisbee to get your blood pumping.
Even if it’s just you and your furry companion, this simple game of toss will keep you entertained hour upon hour.
Indulge in a fun game of wickets during your next backyard barbeque.
Even if you don’t have the tools, you can easily improvise by using regular balls, batts, and homemade hoops.
An ideal activity for those long summer afternoons, Badminton is loved by people of all ages.
The rules are pretty straightforward and the game can easily be played in pairs, as well as one-on-one.
The aim of the game is to pass underneath a bar with your chest facing upwards. The catch? After each round, the bar is placed slightly lower.
Turn on some music, form a line and see who of your friends is the most flexible one!
Also known as horseshoe toss, this casual game is a staple at carnivals and fairs.
You can always get creative with bottles and homemade rings if you're short of pegs.
Remove as many wooden blocks as possible before the tower collapses.
For extra entertainment, opt for an oversized version of this game.
You don't need to be a college student to enjoy a fun game of beer pong.
Personalize the game by using drinks of your own choice and try to beat the opposing team by landing a ping pong ball in a cup at the other side of the table.
Also known as spikeball, the game consists of a small ball and a trampoline-like net placed between the players.
The game ends once the ball hits the ground, so you better be quick!
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The next time you sense boredom creeping up on you, make sure to check out this extensive list of fun games we prepared especially for you and your loved ones.
These games will provide you with entertainment in any situation, regardless of whether you're at the office, a friend’s house or hosting a family dinner.
From textbook puzzles, classic outdoor activities to modern video games, we can assure you that you’ll never experience a dull moment again.
What’s your favorite game to play when bored?
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„An incredible thing to experience“
by Peter Brade
on 29. June 2015
Roland Digby is an expert aviculturist. His skill at breeding and rearing birds has helped return cirl buntings and Eurasian cranes to parts of southern England. He’s spent long periods working in remote parts of the world including the Madagascar highlands, where he helped set up breeding facilities for the world’s rarest bird – the Madagascar pochard – and the Russian Far East, where he runs a headstarting programme for chicks of the Critically Endangered spoon-billed sandpiper. This is what he reports from Chukotka in the Russian Far East.
Over the last few weeks I’ve been surveying spoon-billed sandpipers as they return to breed. This is my fourth summer out here. I’m based in Meinypil’gyno, a small coastal village nestled amongst moraine hills. The village’s multi-coloured houses are clustered on a spit of land that separates Lake Pekulneyskoye from the Bering Sea. It’s remote; so remote that there’re no roads in or out. You either arrive by sea or via the aging ex-military helicopter that brought us here from the capital, Anadyr.
I’m here for a reason, which I’ve written about before. I’m an aviculturist with the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust and effectively I’m here to prop up the spoon-billed sandpiper population while, elsewhere in its 8,000 km range, friends and colleagues tackle the things that are killing them off.
However, my main job only starts in earnest once the spoonies have paired up and start laying eggs. Until then, it’s fieldwork. And what an amazing place this is to work.
The birds come here so their new born chicks can thrive on the insect life that irrupts during the short summer. To be ready for that the birds first arrive as the snow is just starting to melt. And, to be ready for the birds, we arrive even earlier, when everything is still covered in snow.
As the snow melt drains off the moraine hills, water defines the landscape. Most years storms during the winter have blocked the river mouth with shingle from the spit. As the water backs up it replenishes the vast Lake Pekulneyskoye and spills out across the land turning it into marsh.
Eventually the full weight of the water will force its way through the blocked river mouth, but in the meantime everyone waits in the flooded landscape. The spoonies wait for their breeding territories to appear from beneath the marshes. The villagers wait to catch the spawning salmon that are building up offshore. The salmon run is their main source of protein for the year and their main source of income.
June 13th is a key date. If the river hasn’t freed itself by then, the local administration come and clear the blockage. But last year, the local fishermen got fed up waiting and took matters into their own hands, physically clearing the river mouth by hand. This winter they drove a bulldozer our across the spit while the ice was at its thickest and strongest, so that it was in place ready to be used to reopen the river. But even so this year’s flooding has been as extensive as I’ve ever seen it. It’s hard going for us as we survey the birds. The marshy areas are impassable, unless we borrow a monster truck (!) from our host, Roman. On foot we’re forced to take big detours to reach known spoony territories – I’ve been doing 20km round trips some days, which is keeping me fit!
It’s hard for the birds too, because a lot of the usual spots are underwater. The first spoony turned up on June 3rd this year while the low-lying marshes were completely flooded. These first arrivals have to head for territories in the moraine hills to pair up and get down to business. With fewer territories we’ve noticed is that the unpaired birds have been moving about a lot more than in drier years, as they try to be in the right spot at the right time as the waters recede.
I love getting these little insights into the lives of these spoon-billed sandpipers and building up a picture of how they cope in this wild and elemental landscape.
The good news is that it looks like it will be a good breeding season for the spoonies at Meinypil’gyno, despite these early disruptions. A healthy number of birds have returned already and about eleven pairs so far have settled down already. This is looking much better than a few years ago when numbers were falling by about a quarter each year.
What we’re really celebrating is that among the spoonies we’ve surveyed, there are several ‘headstarted’ birds – ones that I hand-reared in past summers as part of our work here. They have now returned to breed themselves. It’s a huge relief that they have made it, alongside their kin that were hatched and reared by their natural parents.
We always suspected that they would because so much of spoon-billed sandpipers’ lives is innate and instinctual, but headstarting is at the more radical end of conservation and spoon-billed sandpipers are quite unique.
Incredibly the young birds first set off on their amazing 16,000 km round trip at less than one month old. Both parents have already left, leaving them with just the company of other similarly aged and inexperienced birds. They make it all the way to the estuaries of Myanmar, Bangladesh and Thailand on instinct. And two years later they manage find their way back here in the hope of finding a mate of their own and starting the cycle again. It’s an incredible thing to experience.
Written by Peter Brade
Exploring Gulf Coast Waters
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Hardware, the Ugly Stepchild of Venture Capital, Is Having a Glamour Moment
Lemnos Labs Hardware 2.0 Conference Featured in Wired —
“The old saw in Silicon Valley is that venture capitalists won’t touch hardware investments. It’s not because they hate gadgets and machines, it’s that the cost to launch a hardware startup is much higher compared to the price to code a new piece of software. Not only do you have to build it, you’ve got to find the shelf space (virtual or otherwise) to sell it. All that adds up to a risk most investors don’t want to touch.
If you ask Jeremy Conrad, co-founder of hardware incubator Lemnos Labs, he’ll tell you that those notions are outdated. “Venture capitalists are starting to look at radically different companies than they used to because the cost to launch a hardware startup has gone down,” he says. Conrad hosted the Hardware 2.0 conference in San Francisco, where investors, startup founders, and others in the hardware space challenged the notion that hardware startups are impossible to fund.”
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Finally! A Telepresence Robot That Won't Break The Bank Our 2013 New Years’ Resolutions
Copyright © 2018. All Rights Reserved. Site by Big Bridge Labs
info@lemnoslabs.com
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Sex ‘chore’ that is ruining my marriage
by Isiah McKimmie
Welcome to Relationship Rehab, news.com.au's weekly column solving all your romantic problems, no holds barred. This week, our resident sexologist Isiah McKimmie tackles a man considering desperate measures to get some sex, a boyfriend seeking advice on a risqué gift and a man who chooses the gym over his wife.
THE SEX CHORE I CAN'T GET OVER
QUESTION: I have been married for 10 years now and in my early 30s. Alongside my wife and our two little ones we make a lovely family.
Before we had kids our intimate life wasn't great but wasn't too bad either. My wife was just never really keen on that for whatever reason. I loved her and thought this is something we could overcome as a couple so I didn't stress too much on it.
On all three occasions (our first was a miscarriage) when my wife got pregnant it usually meant no bed time for us until mostly 3-4 months pre-and-post-delivery. I understand it was a difficult time for her, both physically and emotionally, hence I fully supported her in that.
Now that our youngest has turned 1, it's been a good 4-5 years the spark has been missing from our bed. We do get to it sometimes once in a month (or twice if lucky) but even then it's like another chore among many.
Getting towards mid-30s, doing well in my career and family pretty settled, I feel like my body needs something more which I am not getting. So I decided to bring it up with her to understand her feelings and convey mine. However after repeated conversations, and an agreement that we'll try and make things better, nothing, unfortunately, has progressed.
She is a very closed person and doesn't talk to anyone about how she feels. So when I suggested that maybe we could see a therapist or counsellor, that idea didn't go down well with her either.
I got to a stage where I started thinking about fulfilling my needs outside of marriage but concluded it wasn't right for me and my family so I didn't pursue.
I don't want to walk away from marriage because I love my kids and it'll also be unfair for my wife who has given a lot to bring them into this life. But there is an increasing desire inside me which doesn't make me sleep well. What would you suggest I do?
ANSWER: I always feel sad when I hear one person voicing needs in a relationship and their partner seeming unwilling to address or meet that need.
Unfortunately I see this a lot in regard to sexual intimacy. One partner feels that it isn't important to them - or feels too uncomfortable to adequately address it - and the other misses out on an important need.
A loving, satisfying, mutually enjoyable sex life is a valid need in a relationship. It's understandable you want this for yourself. I'm sorry your attempts to address it haven't been very well met so far.
It's a common cycle that many couples find themselves in - they know that something needs to change, so they talk about it and say they'll do something, but nothing really happens.
It's often because they don't have the tools, the strategy or the support to make meaningful change. It can be difficult to address sex in a relationship. Most of us weren't taught how to talk about it, or about our sexual function beyond the biology of reproduction.
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Sex can be a hard topic for couples to discuss. Picture: iStock
Broader issues such as connection, communication, intimacy and self-confidence are often connected to this, making it even more complex to deal with.
This is why a therapist is helpful. A therapist can guide you step by step to discover greater intimacy and overcome mismatched desire, giving you support and advice to keep moving forward in the process.
You have a couple of options here.
It's not unreasonable to think about fulfilling your needs outside of the marriage. This is something many people end up doing because they're not getting the intimacy (of various kinds) they want inside their relationship.
Some people actually credit this with saving their relationship. Having some of their needs met elsewhere, although it isn't ideal, sustains them enough that they can go without in their relationship.
You could also choose to bring it up with her again.
It takes the average couple seven years to seek help with relationship challenges. While I always wish couples would reach out sooner, the reality is that many hope the problem will just go away or feel that they should be able to address it by themselves.
When a problem feels overwhelming, wanting to bury our head in the sand can be a way of coping. Unfortunately, someone may not be aware of how bad things have become for their partner.
What I'm hearing is that you've at least considered getting your sexual needs met outside your marriage and the possibility of breaking up. I also hear that you don't actually want either of those options.
Sexologist and couples therapist Isiah McKimmie. Picture: Supplied
I'm not suggesting an ultimatum, but it may be helpful to tell her just how important this is to you and what the consequences of you not getting your needs in the relationship might be.
I'm guessing she feels a degree of shame around sex - that's usually what our discomfort around it is - and she possibly feels like she's letting you down as a wife because she's not "satisfying you". When you do raise this again, which you will, because it's important to you, be aware that she might be feeling hopeless, helpless and ashamed.
Stress to her that you value the relationship and want to make it better for both of you, which includes discovering more about her needs for intimacy also.
This isn't going to be something that you can just push aside and pretend doesn't exist for you. Our needs don't work that way. I've seen many couples who've struggled with mismatched desire for over 20 years.
It's really tough when one person isn't willing to take action on something that's important for their partner. I hope for your sake your partner is willing to work on this sooner rather than later.
CAN I GET MY NEW GIRLFRIEND SOME SEXY KNICKERS?
Is sexy lingerie an appropriate Christmas present? Picture: iStock
QUESTION: Is it inappropriate to give my new girlfriend sexy lingerie for Christmas? We haven't slept together yet, but obviously I would really like to. We have been dating for about two months, and a couple for two weeks.
ANSWER: There's an equal chance she could be really excited - or feel objectified and that you've actually bought a present for yourself.
What is your girlfriend like? How open is she about sex? Do you have much idea of what she likes when it comes to lingerie?
My thoughts: It's risky.
Unless you've had really open conversations about sex and what you both like, you could end up making her feel uncomfortable and buy her something she doesn't love.
This is your first Christmas together. What would you like her to look back on in a few years' time and remember about the gift you gave her?
You can always buy her both.
HOW CAN I MAKE MY HUSBAND LISTEN?
Constructive arguments between couples can be hard to master. Picture: iStock
QUESTION: Is there a way to make my confrontation-averse husband actually talk about some of the issues in our relationship? Every time I try to bring up something thorny, he makes an excuse and goes to the gym. It's really starting to drive me crazy!
ANSWER: Is there a way to "make him"? No. But are there things you can do to make it easier for him and more likely that he'll engage? Yes.
Give him plenty of warning that you'd like to talk about it. Ask when a good time would be.
Try to understand why it's so hard for him to talk about. Ask what arises for him when you have difficult conversations.
Speak from "I" and voice your emotions and needs in a positive way. Don't go into blame or judgment of him.
Ultimately, you may need to be firmer about your need for open, honest communication.
Isiah McKimmie is a couples therapist, sex therapist and sexologist. For more expert advice follow her on Instagram.
If you have a question for Isiah, email relationship.rehab@news.com.au
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Geely to take stake in flying taxi joint venture with Germany’s Volocopter
A Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd research and development centre in Ningbo city in China’s Zhejiang province. XINHUA NEWS AGENCY
Publication date 11 September 2019 | 21:36 ICT
Zhejiang Geely Holding Group will invest in German flying taxi company Volocopter, and set up a joint venture with the start-up to launch air taxis in China, the company said on Monday.
Geely led a round of investment that raised €50 million ($55 million) to help the VoloCity aircraft with its commercial launch within the next three years, the company said in a statement on Monday. Geely will take a 10 per cent stake in the flying-car developer, it said.
Geely Holding chairman Li Shufu said Geely has been “transitioning from being an automotive manufacturer to a mobility technology group”.
Li said the planned joint venture with Volocopter “underlines our confidence in Volocopter air taxis as the next ambitious step in our wider expansion in both electrification and new mobility services”.
Volocopter CEO Florian Reuter said urban mobility needs to evolve in the next few years to meet rising demand. This new round of funding can help the company “take great strides” toward bringing airborne cars to life, he said.
The first closing will increase the total capital that Volocopter has received to €85 million.
Volocopter is also in discussions with investors to raise more funds by the end of this year, according to the statement.
The flying-vehicle developer will put the funds toward receiving commercial certification by the EU Aviation Safety Agency for its VoloCity aircraft, the statement said.
Volocopter is among a host of companies tapping into the rising demand for flying vehicles. Since its foundation in 2011, Volocopter has built three generations of Volocopter aircraft, two of which received licences for manned and unmanned flight with a total funding of €35 million.
The company has performed a number of public demonstrations of the viability of electrically powered vertical takeoff and landing aircraft. Most recently it successfully completed a flight at Helsinki Airport.
After the Series C funding round, Geely will become a minority investor in Volocopter, next to existing strategic investors like Daimler AG. Volocopter’s founders will remain the company’s largest shareholder.
Daimler AG management board chairman Ola Kallenius said: “We are delighted to see our partners at Geely investing into Volocopter and becoming shareholders as we have been since 2017.”
Other companies in the US and Japan, such as Uber Technologies Inc, Boeing Co, Airbus SE and a Toyota Motor Corp-backed start-up, are also developing airborne vehicles and trying to commercialise them in the near future. CHINA DAILY
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Tel: +855(0) 23 214 3 11-17
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09 Aug 1985 00:00 - Staff Reporter
Winnie stays away from 'danger' home
Winnie Mandela has not returned to her house because of her lawyers fears for her safety.
Winnie Mandela, whose Brandfort house was the scene of a major incident involving police this week, has not returned to her house because of her lawyers fears for her safety.
Her Johannesburg lawyer, Ismail Ayob, said he had asked her to stay "in a safe place". He declined to reveal her whereabouts.
She was in Johannesburg this week, undergoing medical treatment when police broke up a demonstration by pupils near her house and then, according to George Bosman, who looks after her house in her absence, pursued those pupils seeking refuge in her house.
Bosman alleges police forced entry, breaking doors in the process. Police say they hurled tear smoke grenades into the house after being attacked by youths brandishing spades, knives and axes.
A Weekly Mail reporter who visited the house a day after the incident found doom and windows broken and food, clothing and medicine scattered over the floor. Traces of blood were spattered on the walls of Mandela's bedroom.
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He Will Rock You! Freddie Portelli Becomes A Musical
By Steffie Weenink
Malta’s 75-year-old rock ’n roll legend Freddie Portelli, most famous for the classic Mur Ħallini, is getting his own musical this summer, in a show that will celebrate his greatest hits.
And to promote the show, Freddie Portelli will also be gracing our airwaves with a brand new song, which, like the musical, is named after his famous catchphrase: Il-Kbir Għadu Ġej.
Il-Kbir Għadu Ġej, the musical, is the brainchild of the team behind previous original shows Balzunetta Towers (2017) and Ħanina Maddalena (2018), with direction by Sean Buhagiar and Mro. Dominic Galea taking over the musical arrangements and live band.
Buhagiar grew up in Portelli’s hometown of St Paul’s Bay, and followed the cult singer’s career closely. Eventually he worked with Portelli on a couple of concerts and the idea of a Freddie Portelli jukebox was something that began floating around his mind. After establishing such a great relationship with Mro. Galea, and working on original Maltese musicals together, he felt this was the perfect timing for Portelli’s very own musical. Mro. Galea has been friends with Portelli for a long time and was electrified at the thought.
One phone call to Freddie, and that was all it took. He was sold from the word go. The deal was eventually sealed over whiskey and chocolate cake.
The musical is written by local heavyweight Malcolm Galea, the man behind many a successful pantomime and the infamous Porn – The Musical. Together with Buhagiar and Mro. Galea, they’re working hard to bring us what they’re calling Malta’s own version of We Will Rock You or Mamma Mia.
Portelli is arguably Malta’s highest-grossing singer and has had one of the longest careers in Malta’s history, belting out hit after hit and amassing an impressive discography throughout his lifetime.
Mur Ħallini will obviously be one of the highlights of the show, but the musical will also feature many other known hits like Viva Malta, Xewqat Sbieħ, Se Jkolli Nemmen and Għal Dejjem. Il-Kbir will also feature lesser known jewels like Bħalek Hawn Kemm Trid, Ma Taħraqni B’Xejn.
And it will obviously include the new release Il-Kbir Għadu Ġej which will promote the musical throughout the summer. So it’s not just his classics that we get to re-live, but he’s also back with what we’re sure will be another hit.
Portelli is apparently phoning the team twice a day, attending recordings, sending feedback, writing notes and wants to see this happen more than anyone. And he’s already thinking about the sequel! On the day, he will be invited to the premiere and be made to wear a suit – we’re told it’s going to be shiny and we can’t wait.
Il-Kbir Għadu Ġej will be premiere on the 9th of August 2019 and run for two weekends at the Mediterranean Conference Centre in Valletta. Keep an eye out on social media for the release of Freddie Portelli’s new single and some exciting cast announcements!
Tag a friend who’s going to love this musical!
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Culture & Life
UK boarding school hosts Luxembourg information event
Representatives from Merchiston Castle School, a boys' school in Edinburgh, will visit Luxembourg next week to hold an information evening for parents interested in boarding school education.
(CS) Representatives from Merchiston Castle School, a boys' school in Edinburgh, will visit Luxembourg next week to hold an information evening for parents interested in boarding school education.
Founded in 1833, the school is rated one of the top ten boys' boarding schools in the UK, welcoming students aged 8 to 18 at its campus located just outside the Edinburgh city centre and near the Scottish capital's airport.
Sports play a big role at the school, which boasts its own tennis and golf academies, and it has been rated “excellent” by the Care Inspectorate in 2013.
On Monday, November 11, Philip Rossiter, Head of Middle Years and Fourth Form Housemaster, and Niamh Waldron, Head of Merchiston Juniors and Merchiston Juniors Housemaster, will host an information evening at Golf Club Grand Ducal in Senningerberg.
The event starts at 6.30pm and registrations can be made via rsvp@merchiston.co.uk or +44 (0) 131 2235/6
Alternatively, individual meetings with Rossiter and Waldron can be arranged on November 11 and 12.
Find out more on merchiston.co.uk
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View all cards in Blue Diamond Library
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by Ryan December 9, 2019
A library card provides free streaming access to TV, movies, music, and more!
Have you been considering cutting the cable cord? You aren’t alone. Abandoning traditional cable and satellite TV subscriptions has become a huge trend in America over the last decade. A study by Leichtman Research Group found that since 2012, pay TV has lost 10 million subscribers.
While financially it makes sense to be free of ever-increasing cable bills, it can be an overwhelming proposition to figure out what to replace it with. As you research your options, you should know that the Las Vegas-Clark County Library District offers free resources for streaming movies, TV shows, and music.
With an array of digital streaming services available to Library District cardholders, you will find lots of intriguing movies or TV shows. All you have to do is visit LVCCLD.org and click eResources from the blue drop-down menu, then click on the subcategories of Movies & TV or Music to find the various streaming services.
One popular service that gives you direct access to everything on the shelves of your local library is Hoopla Digital, which allows you to borrow movies, music, audiobooks, eBooks, comics, and TV shows to enjoy on your computer, tablet, or phone—and even your TV. With no waiting, titles can be streamed immediately, or downloaded to phones or tablets for offline enjoyment later.
For Anglophiles who need their wry British fix in the form of “Doc Martin” or “Manhunt,” you’ll want to take advantage of Acorn TV. It’s another digital service offered by the Library District that provides unlimited streaming of mysteries, dramas, and comedies from Britain and beyond.
We also offer Pongalo, a service for Spanish speakers, which includes over 13,000 hours of American movies translated into Spanish, such as “Punch-Drunk Love,” “Hellboy,” and “Two for the Money.” Additionally, Pongalo has the largest collection (over 10,000 episodes) of telenovelas and TV series, such as “La Mujer de Judas,” “Amor de Carnaval,” and “Corazón Traicionado.”
If indies, documentaries, and classic movies run more to your viewing tastes, your library card also provides free access to Kanopy. This award-winning video streaming service has a collection of more than 30,000 independent and documentary films that will give you access to rare and hard-to-find titles, film festival favorites, indie and classic films, and world cinema.
For young developing minds, Kanopy Kids has a collection of films and TV series that inspire and inform, helping children develop empathy, mindfulness, and self-esteem through entertaining and educational videos. Kanopy Kids categories include TV series, language tutorials, animated storybooks, anime favorites, classic films, and movies for the whole family.
Finally, music lovers will want to tune into Freegal Music, a service that lets customers download and listen to some 13 million songs, including Sony Music’s catalog of legendary artists, and over 40,000 music videos. In total, the collection is comprised of more than 40,000 labels with music that originates from over 100 countries.
With our wide variety of free streaming services, you can cut the cord today and start saving. Even better, you will never need to pay for movies, TV, or music again.
View all cards in Did You Know? (3)
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Best Friends Until The Very End: Moving Photo Of A Dog Looking Into His Friend's Casket Hits The Internet
They say that man's best friend is a dog. Over and over, we have seen the truth of this popular saying, but it never ceases to amaze us.
76-year old William D. Schiller, a North Carolina man, was about to be laid to rest when something unusual happened.
Martchan / Shutterstock.com
On April 11, at the private viewing in James Funeral Home, Huntersville, an incredible photo of a dog standing on his hind legs as he leaned into the casket was taken.
It featured the sad dog paying his last respects to his owner while being held by the deceased's girlfriend, Anne Marie Sibthrop.
InBetweentheBlinks / Shutterstock.com
The photo was taken by William’s 12-year old granddaughter, Nina Holcombe.
Seeing how remarkable the candid shot was, the director of the funeral home, Sam James opted to post the photo on Facebook, captioning it:
'Touching moment.'
Liliya Kulianionak / Shutterstock.com
James explained that this kind of behavior is common amongst pets and he has been often asked to accommodate pets grieving their late owners.
Chief, the dog, is actually owned by Anne Marie as she rescued him in 2014. However, Bill, as the deceased was called, was the one who convinced her to keep the dog.
Describing the moment when Chief said goodbye to Bill, Anne Marie said in an interview with NBC.
"I’ll never forget. He stretched his neck in as far as he could, and he gave Bill just one little quick lick on his ear, and of course, Bill didn’t move."
Lucas Photo / Shutterstock.com
Bill was buried on April 13 and was survived by three sons, six granddaughters and six great-grandchildren.
Indeed, this story proves to us that animals mourn and feel the need for closure just like humans. They are indeed man’s best friend!
READ ALSO: Emotional Video Shows Loyal Dog Crying At The Grave Of A Loved One
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Web Hosting Glossary
Active X Microsoft component standard. Customized class programming & reusability of code packed into one object called component. Whole technology called Active X component.
Add-on domains An add-on domain is a domain name that points to a subdirectory within your account. For example, you may want help.net to point to mydomain/help/. Add-on domains must be registered domain names that you own and configured to point to your web site's servers. Add-on domains will only work after nameserver changes.
Anonymous FTP The ability to access an FTP on which one does not have an account. Usually, anonymous users have more constrained access rights than users with accounts.
Apache World Wide Web server of Linux which actually host websites.
Applet Applets, member of Java language. Java applets are commonly used to add effects and interactivity to a website, for anything from text effects to games.
ASP Active Server Pages. Microsoft server programming technology which actually works server side combined with scripting language like VBScript or JavaScript.
Attachment A document sends with emails. Basically it is attached with main message of an email that's why its called 'Attachment'. Usually the attachment files are .txt, .doc. It is advisable to scan attached documents through Antivirus software to prevent virus attack.
Auto Responder Send automatic reply to incoming emails with pre-entered text, sometimes with or without attachment.
Bandwidth Bandwidth is the total number of bytes you use in a month. The easiest way to explain it is with an example. Let's suppose that you have a page with 5,000 bytes of text and 55,000 bytes of graphics, for a total of 60,000 bytes on your page. If you get 100 hits a day that is 60,000 bytes * 100 or 6 megabytes a day. Now multiply that by 30 days and you get 180 megabytes per month. That's only 3,000 hits in a month (which isn't enough hits to stay in business). Most of the ISP's give you 300 megabytes or so. But what if you have 10 pages the same size or you get 200 hits a day, in both cases you are way over your bandwidth limit.
CGI A set of rules that describe how a Web server communicates with another application running on the same computer and how the application (called a CGI program) communicates with the Web server. Any application can be a CGI program if it handles input and output according to the CGI standard.
Control Panel A web based scripting program which allows user to change his/her websites settings for e.g. Package, Email account, Sub-domains, Domain-alias etc. The popular examples are cPanel, WebsitePanel, Plesk Panel.
CSS A cascading style sheet is a document containing style information that can be referenced by various web pages. Styles define look and layout of content on web pages and allow writers more control over how content is appeared on web browsers.
Dedicated Hosting A dedicated hosting generally used for a website with a huge amount of traffic that provides special use of hosting computer to its client. It generally obtains on rent or on leased. Client cannot benefit with server only, but he can access connection to Internet, server software. Dedicated server provides large amount of hard disk space, memory capacity and bandwidth limit and generally operated from client's remote location.
Default (Home) Page A page which opens automatically when someone types your website address default page might be one of these: index.htm, index.html, default.htm, default.html, index.asp, default.asp, index.php, index.pl etc.
Directory Browsing To allow user to see a hypertext listing of the files and subdirectories of his account.
DNS The Internet service responsible for translating a human-readable hostname such as mydomain.com into a numeric IP address (192.168.10.10) for TCP/IP communications.
Domain Aliasing One domain pointing to another called 'Domain Aliasing. For e.g. test.com -> test.net.
Domain Name The location of an organization or other entity on the Internet. For example, the address www.mydomain.com locates an Internet address for the domain name "mydomain.com" at a particular IP address and a particular host server named "www".
Domain Parking You can setup a domain name that you own to point to another domain name. This is known as "Parking" a domain. Example: You own the test.com and test.net domain names. You already have a website for test.com, but you do not want to create a new website for test.net at the moment. By parking test.net on top of test.com, all URLs for test.net will automatically go to test.com instead.
Email Forwarding To send a copy of an email to another email address is called email forwarding. For e.g. [email protected] -> forward to -> [email protected]
Firewall A combination of hardware and software that provides a security system, usually to prevent unauthorized access from outside to an internal network or Intranet.
Forum A discussion type website, where users raise the questions and another users reply to questions. Different forum contains different type of discussion categories for e.g. Web hosting forum may contain the categories like Control panel, Emails, Resellers, etc.
FrontPage Extension A set of programs and scripts that support authoring in FrontPage and extend the functionality of a Web server.
FTP A communication protocol that makes it possible for a user to transfer files between remote locations on a network. This protocol also allows users to use FTP commands, such as listing files and folders, to work with files on a remote location.
HTML A set of "markup" symbols or tags inserted in a text .le intended for display on a World Wide Web browser. The markup tags tell the Web browser how to display a Web page's content, words and images. HTML is a subset of Standardized Generalized Markup Language (SGML).
HTTP Internet protocol that carries information on the World Wide Web. Makes it possible for a user with a client program to go through a URL (or click a hyperlink) and get text, graphics, sound, and other digital information from a Web server.
Hyperlink A hyperlink is a link from one web page or file to another. Hyperlinks open different destinations based on hyperlink nature. For e.g. it can open an email program, another webpage, sound file etc.
IIS Internet Information Services. Microsoft Web server software that uses Hypertext Transfer Protocol to deliver World Wide Web documents. IIS includes various functions like Security, CGI, HTTP, FTP servers, Mail server, etc.
IP A network-layer protocol in the TCP/IP stack. Offering a connectionless Internet work service. IP provides features for addressing, type-of-service specification, fragmentation and reassembly and security.
IP Address An allocated number used to recognize a computer that is connected to the Internet, much in the same way a telephone number identifies a telephone on a telephone network. An IP address is four numbers separated by periods, such as 172.16.96.1.
ISP (Internet Service Provider) An industry that provides access to the Internet for e.g., email, chat World Wide Web. Some ISPs are international, offering access in many locations, while others provide access to limited area.
JAVA A popular OOP programming language used in web technology too.
Mail Server A server which sends and receives recipient emails.
Mailing List A list of email addresses. When user sends an email to mailing list, each person added in the mailing list receives an email. Called group emailing too.
MIME Multipurpose Internet Mail Extension, standard system to recognize the file extension on Internet. Also used for binary attachment in email for e.g., graphics, audio, video.
MSSQL Server A Relation Database Management System (RDBMS) & part of Microsoft's Backoffice Family. SQL server provides client server interface to software and web application.
MySQL Open source database. Good combination of PHP+MySQL+Linux
Nameservers A program that constitutes the server half of the DNS client-server mechanism. A nameserver contains information about a segment of the DNS database and makes it available to a client called a 'Resolver'. A resolver is often just a library routine that creates queries and sends them across a network to a nameserver.
ODBC Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) is a programming interface that enables programs to access data in database management systems that use SQL as a data access standard.
OLE A way to transmit and share information between applications by pasting information created in one application into a document created in another application, such as an MS-Paint or an MS-Word file.
Perl Practical Extraction and Reporting Language. A programming language used to create CGI programs.
Permissions To access certain objects, users must have some permission for e.g., in case file permissions it could be write, read, execute, delete, etc.
PHP Hypertext Preprocessor scripting programming language, open source, widely used server side & embedded into HTML. Generally found on Linux server & good combination of PHP+MySQL.
Ping An utility that verifies connections to one or more remote hosts. Ping determines and checks that whether a particular IP system on a network is functional. Ping is useful for diagnosing IP network or router failures.
POP3 Post Office Protocol (POP) is a standard protocol for receiving email. POP is a client/server protocol in which email is received and held for you by your Internet server. When you read your email, all of it is immediately downloaded to your computer and no longer maintained on the server. POP3 is built into the Netscape Navigator and Microsoft Internet Explorer browsers. POP can be thought of as a store-and-forward service.
Port Generally, a connection point on your computer where you can connect devices that pass data into and out of a computer. For example, a printer is typically connected to a parallel port.
Proxy Server A proxy server acts as an intermediary between your Internal network (Intranet) and the Internet, retrieving files from remote Web servers.
Redirects A web link points to another web link. For e.g., http://www.mydomain.com/page.asp http://www.yourdomain.com/home.asp
Registrant An organization or person registered the domain name with registrar company & who apparently hold the domain ownership.
Registrar A company, where you actually registered your domain name.
Scripting Programming code included in HTML files. For e.g., Java script, VB script.
Server Side Includes (SSI) A processing directive included in HTML files, which works "server side" & generated the data as per browser's requirement.
Shopping Cart A script or software used in E-Commerce website to purchase and store the products.
SMTP The TCP/IP standard protocol for transferring electronic mail messages between points on the Internet. SMTP specifies how two mail systems interact and the format of control messages they exchange to transfer mail. SMTP is a protocol for transferring emails between points on the Internet.
SPAM Unwanted and unsolicited emails sent to people for promoting products or services called SAPM mails or Spamming. An individual or company doing this is called 'Spammer'.
SSH Secure Shell (SSH), known as Secure Socket Shell also, is a Linux based command line interface and protocol to get secure access of remote computer.
SSL (Secure Socket Layers) Secure Sockets Layer is a program layer created by Netscape Communications for managing the security of message transmissions in a network. Netscape's idea was that the programming for keeping your messages confidential ought to be contained in a program layer between higher-level protocols (such as HTTP or IMAP) and the TCP/IP layers of the Internet.
The "sockets" part of the term refers to the sockets method of passing data between a client and a server program in a network or between program layers in the same computer. SSL allows an SSL-enabled server to authenticate itself to an SSL-enabled client, allows the client to authenticate itself to the server and allows both machines to establish an encrypted connection.
Statistics A report that shows website visitor's data. i.e. how many times people visited your website, from which browser, from which country & IP address etc. Popular web based statistics are AwStats & WebAlizer.
Sub-domain A part of main domain that does not include "www". For e.g., http://help.mydomain.com, here "help" is subdomain.
Sub-Web A subweb is a website nested inside another website. The website that contains a subweb is called a 'root web'.
Telnet Telnet Client and Telnet Server work together to allow users to communicate with a remote computer. Telnet Client allows users to connect to a remote computer and interact with that computer through a terminal window.
Tickets or Threads Customer's email or topic or post.
Trace (Tracert) This utility determines the route taken to a destination by sending echo packets to the destination. For e.g., tracert mydomain.com will display different destination route from your PC to destination server. Useful to find breakage between routes.
URL Uniform Resource Locator (URL): An address that states a protocol (such as HTTP or FTP) and a location of an object, document, World Wide Web page, or other target on the Internet or an Intranet.
Virtual Directory Directory name that points or refer to physical location of directory on server.
Virtual/Shared Hosting Multiple domains host on web server & accessible through server's IP address.
Web Based Email A web based programming script that allows you to send & receive your emails plus other functionality for e.g., address book, mailing list, mailing group, etc.
Web Server A computer that hosts Web pages and answers to requests from web browsers (Internet Explorer, Netscape navigator, etc). Also known as an HTTP server, a Web server stores files whose URLs begin with http://.
WHOIS A searchable database, shows information about website, owner, owner's name & address, server's IP, etc.
WWW World Wide Web.
XML eXtensible Markup Language. Based on SGML standard. XML makes possible to created user specified tag (HTML tag). Saved with .xml extension & can be embedded into web pages.
Note: AccuWebHosting.com users are invited to submit new glossary terms to [email protected].
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X-Factor Investigations members, X-Ceptionals members, X-Factor (Government) members,
X-Corps members
X-Corporation members
Public Identity
Mutants (Homo superior)
Married Characters
Government Agents
Earth-616 Characters
Len Wein/Creator
Chris Claremont/Creator
John Buscema/Creator
Living Characters
Bronze-Age Characters
1975 Character Debuts
James Madrox (Earth-616)/Quotes
Power Grid Added
Power Grid Complete
Learned Intelligence
Peak Human Strength
Normal Speed
No Energy Projection
Fighting Ability - Experienced fighter
Post-M-Day Mutants (The 198)
Buddhist Characters
Episcopalian Characters
Legacy Virus Victims
Killed by Legacy Virus
Madrox Family
Former Demons
High Threats
Retired Characters
Homo Killcrop
Formerly Deceased
Changes: James Madrox (Earth-616)
Kanali (wall | contribs)
Cennobite2 (wall | contribs)
| HistoryText =
===Origin===
Jamie Madrox's [[Homo superior|mutant]] ability was apparent as early as his birth. He created his first duplicate when the doctor smacked him on the bottom. Two weeks later, [[Daniel Madrox (Earth-616)|Jamie's father]] resigned from the [[Los Alamos]] Nuclear Research Center and moved his family to an intentionally isolated farm in [[Lawrenceville]], [[Kansas]]{{r|Giant-Size Fantastic Four #4}} at the suggestion of [[Charles Xavier (Earth-616)|Professor Charles Xavier]]. Later, [[Dafydd ap Andras (Earth-6124)|Damien Tryp]], of [[Singularity Investigations]], made his own offer to look after Jamie, claiming that Jamie was not in fact a mutant, but a "[[Homo Killcrop|changeling]]," a predecessor to mutants whom manifest their powers at birth. Jamie's parents, however, refused to give Jamie to Tryp.{{r|X-Factor Vol 3 11}} From a young age, Madrox was given a special suit to wear that would neutralise his mutant power, but before this could be explained to him a freak tornado killed his parents when he was 15,{{r|Giant-Size Fantastic Four #4}} later revealed to have been caused by Tryp.{{r|X-Factor Vol 3 11}}
Jamie Madrox's [[Homo superior|mutant]] ability was apparent as early as his birth. He created his first duplicate when the doctor smacked him on the bottom. Two weeks later, [[Daniel Madrox (Earth-616)|Jamie's father]] resigned from the [[Los Alamos]] Nuclear Research Center and moved his family to an intentionally isolated farm in [[Lawrenceville]], [[Kansas]]{{r|Giant-Size Fantastic Four #4}} at the suggestion of [[Charles Xavier (Earth-616)|Professor Charles Xavier]]. Later, [[Dafydd ap Andras (Earth-6124)|Damien Tryp]], of [[Singularity Investigations]], made his own offer to look after Jamie, claiming that Jamie was not in fact a mutant, but a "[[Homo Killcrop|changeling]]," a predecessor to mutants whom manifest their powers at birth. Jamie's parents, however, refused to give Jamie to Tryp.{{r|X-Factor Vol 3 11}} From a young age, Madrox was given a special suit to wear that would neutralize his mutant power, but before this could be explained to him a freak tornado killed his parents when he was 15,{{r|Giant-Size Fantastic Four #4}} later revealed to have been caused by Tryp.{{r|X-Factor Vol 3 11}}
Madrox spent the next six years alone caring for his parents' farm. When he was 21, malfunctioning control elements in the suit caused a power surge that released his inhibited power and caused the suit to begin absorbing ambient electrical energy. Confused, frightened, and driven mad by isolation, Madrox felt himself drawn to New York City. There, he clashed with the [[Fantastic Four (Earth-616)|Fantastic Four]] until Xavier arrived to defuse the situation.{{r|Giant-Size Fantastic Four #4}} With the help of Xavier and [[Reed Richards (Earth-616)|Reed Richards]], Madrox's suit was repaired and he accompanied Xavier back to his mansion in [[Westchester]]. There, Madrox's temporary madness was cured and, after learning to cope with his powers, he was invited to join the [[X-Men (Earth-616)|X-Men]]. He declined, and instead accompanied Xavier to [[Muir Island]] where he became a laboratory assistant to mutant researcher [[Moira Kinross (Earth-616)|Doctor Moira MacTaggert]].
Due to [[James Madrox (The X-Factor) (Earth-616)|one of Madrox's dupes]] blowing up the SI building, apparently killing Tryp, Junior and Tryp, Senior (i.e., the middle-aged version), only the ancient Tryp (the one who had been alive the longest and has seen the grim future) was still alive.
After the destruction of Singularity Investigations, the present form of Damian Tryp (the elder/ancient) revealed to Layla that her very existence had foiled his plans — she was a force of chaos like he was. Tryp also revealed that when he comes into conflict with Layla, terrible events would occur as a result. Following her encounter with Tryp, Layla was genuinely shocked for the first time: the glass of milk she was pouring overflowed, spilling onto the floor.
After the destruction of Singularity Investigations, the present form of Damian Tryp (the elder/ancient) revealed to Layla that her very existence had foiled his plans - she was a force of chaos like he was. Tryp also revealed that when he comes into conflict with Layla, terrible events would occur as a result. Following her encounter with Tryp, Layla was genuinely shocked for the first time: the glass of milk she was pouring overflowed, spilling onto the floor.
After finding out about the foretold event, each member of the X-Factor Investigations received a session with [[Leonard Samson (Earth-616)|Doc Samson]].
[[File:James Madrox (Earth-616) from X-Factor Vol 3 25 0001.jpg|thumb|300px|right|The Multiple Man in action]]
*'''Kinetic Duplication:''' Jamie Madrox creates an identical physical living duplicate of himself upon any physical impact, possibly via extra-dimensional mass acquisition similar to the process used by [[Ant-Man]] or the [[Hulk]]. This process is spontaneous and cannot be prevented by Madrox. Although he can create multiple duplicates, and the duplicates themselves can also replicate, each is only able to create one duplicate at a time; he has been seen to produce around forty duplicates before no more would be created. The duplicates think, feel, and act independently, though usually guided by the original. Each tends to manifest one aspect of Madrox' personality, which increases in strength with lengthier separation from the original; these traits have recently become more extreme. Madrox is telepathically and em pathetically linked to his duplicates, suffering severe, potentially fatal, trauma if one dies. If Madrox himself were killed, it is not known whether any existing duplicates would continue to function independently; it is said in theory, that if the original Madrox was killed, that one of his active dupes is capable of taking over as the new original and will assume the dominant abilities and collective personality that the original Madrox had. It is virtually impossible to distinguish the original from the duplicates. His powers have increased during his life. He was once able to create hundreds of dupes by himself. He has even gained better control of his powers, he has learned to prevent his body from producing duplicates, and has even been shown at one time to have duplicated without kinetic impact.Madrox was able to merge himself into the home-dimension of the duplicates, and to came back without kinetic impact from the dupe who absorbed him.
*'''Kinetic Duplication:''' Jamie Madrox creates an identical physical living duplicate of himself upon any physical impact, possibly via extra-dimensional mass acquisition similar to the process used by [[Ant-Man]] or the [[Hulk]]. This process is spontaneous and cannot be prevented by Madrox. Although he can create multiple duplicates, and the duplicates themselves can also replicate, each is only able to create one duplicate at a time; he has been seen to produce around forty duplicates before no more would be created. The duplicates think, feel, and act independently, though usually guided by the original. Each tends to manifest one aspect of Madrox' personality, which increases in strength with lengthier separation from the original; these traits have recently become more extreme. Madrox is telepathically and em pathetically linked to his duplicates, suffering severe, potentially fatal, trauma if one dies. If Madrox himself were killed, it is not known whether any existing duplicates would continue to function independently; it is said in theory, that if the original Madrox was killed, that one of his active dupes is capable of taking over as the new original and will assume the dominant abilities and collective personality that the original Madrox had. It is virtually impossible to distinguish the original from the duplicates. His powers have increased during his life. He was once able to create hundreds of dupes by himself. He has even gained better control of his powers, he has learned to prevent his body from producing duplicates, and has even been shown at one time to have duplicated without kinetic impact. Madrox was able to merge himself into the home-dimension of the duplicates, and to came back without kinetic impact from the dupe who absorbed him.
** '''''Duplication Absorption:''''' The original Madrox can absorb them back into himself at will, at the same time absorbing the memories, skills and experiences of the duplicate. The only limit to this power is he can't absorb a dead dupe.
** '''''Duplication Experience Transference:''''' Madrox merges back, he retains memories (albeit somewhat imperfect), knowledge, and experiences of the dupe. Madrox doesn't have to absorb his duplicates to absorb information from them, he automatically absorbs information from any of his dupes if it kills itself.
Revision as of 21:16, May 17, 2016
Multiple Man
James Arthur Madrox
Current Alias
Jamie, John Maddox,[1] Demon Madrox,[citation needed] Madrox Prime,[citation needed] Prime Madrox,[2] He-Whose-Bodies-Are-As-Many-As-The-Leaves-On-A-Tree,[3] Legion,[4] Maddy,[5] Schizoid Man,[6] Multitask,[7] Carbon Copy[8]
Dr. Daniel Madrox (father, deceased);
Dr. Joan Madrox (mother, deceased);
Shelia DeSoto (first wife via a dupe, deceased);
Layla Miller (second wife);
Sean Madrox ("son"/infant duplicate, reabsorbed);
John Maddox (duplicate);
Cortex (duplicate);
Matt Rocks (duplicate);
Agent Madrox (duplicate, reabsorbed);
The X-Factor (duplicate, deceased);
James Madrox (duplicate, reabsorbed);
Madroxes (Fallen Angels Madrox' duplicates, reabsorbed)
Formerly X-Factor Investigations, X-Ceptionals, Summers Rebellion; X-Factor; X-Corps; X-Corporation; Muir Island X-Men; Fallen Angels & Nasty Boys (evil duplicate); S.H.I.E.L.D. (duplicate); Hydra (duplicate), ally of the X-Men
Base Of Operations
X-Factor Investigations Headquarters, New York City, New York; formerly Detroit, Michigan; Mutant Town, Manhattan, New York City, New York; Beat Street Club, Manhattan, New York; Muir Island, Scotland; Lawrenceville, Kansas; Los Alamos, New Mexico
Adventurer, attorney; former private investigator, laboratory assistant, farmer, priest (Episcopalian), Shaolin monk, coroner's assistant, athlete, agent of S.H.I.E.L.D (government agent), goffer, scoutmaster, EMT, actor, magician's assistant, lawyer
College level graduate courses; several other qualifications learned via duplicates
5' 11" (1.80 m)
155 lbs (70.31 kg)
Unusual Features
Currently "M" shaped tattoo over right eye
Mutant substrate called Changeling, formerly Demon
Earth-616
Len Wein, Chris Claremont, John Buscema
Giant-Size Fantastic Four #4
(February, 1975)
Bizarre. The more dupes I created, the more it "thinned out" Locke's control, until I finally broke free. And all these Hydra agents dead...because of me. Frightening. But the most frightening thing of all...is that I don't feel anything. No regret. no horror. No elation. Just...empty. And that's bad. Very...very...bad.
-- Multiple Man src
Jamie Madrox's mutant ability was apparent as early as his birth. He created his first duplicate when the doctor smacked him on the bottom. Two weeks later, Jamie's father resigned from the Los Alamos Nuclear Research Center and moved his family to an intentionally isolated farm in Lawrenceville, Kansas[9] at the suggestion of Professor Charles Xavier. Later, Damien Tryp, of Singularity Investigations, made his own offer to look after Jamie, claiming that Jamie was not in fact a mutant, but a "changeling," a predecessor to mutants whom manifest their powers at birth. Jamie's parents, however, refused to give Jamie to Tryp.[6] From a young age, Madrox was given a special suit to wear that would neutralize his mutant power, but before this could be explained to him a freak tornado killed his parents when he was 15,[9] later revealed to have been caused by Tryp.[6]
Madrox spent the next six years alone caring for his parents' farm. When he was 21, malfunctioning control elements in the suit caused a power surge that released his inhibited power and caused the suit to begin absorbing ambient electrical energy. Confused, frightened, and driven mad by isolation, Madrox felt himself drawn to New York City. There, he clashed with the Fantastic Four until Xavier arrived to defuse the situation.[9] With the help of Xavier and Reed Richards, Madrox's suit was repaired and he accompanied Xavier back to his mansion in Westchester. There, Madrox's temporary madness was cured and, after learning to cope with his powers, he was invited to join the X-Men. He declined, and instead accompanied Xavier to Muir Island where he became a laboratory assistant to mutant researcher Doctor Moira MacTaggert.
Muir Island
Madrox's ability proved invaluable to MacTaggert, and he quickly became a regular fixture on Muir. Unfortunately, Madrox also found himself battling against threats such as the alien Eric the Red and the reality-altering mutant Proteus, who possessed one of Madrox's duplicates in order to escape confinement on Muir. Proteus's possession instantly killed the duplicate, and for the first time Madrox felt the severe psychic backlash caused by the death of one of his duplicates. After Proteus was defeated, Madrox again declined to join the X-Men, preferring to remain on Muir Island with Moira and her lover, the X-Man Banshee. Soon after, Banshee's daughter Siryn came to live on Muir. She and Madrox ultimately grew close.
Eventually, one of Madrox's duplicates sought to remain apart from the original and live his own life. To this end, he drugged the original Madrox and joined Moira and Siryn on a trip to the U.S. to search for Sunspot and Warlock, two missing members of the New Mutants. Eventually finding the runaway mutants as members of the Vanisher's teenage gang, the Fallen Angels, the duplicate Madrox and Siryn were persuaded to join by the alien Ariel. During their time with the group, the duplicate Madrox and Siryn engaged in a brief romance. Eventually, the true nature of the Fallen Angels was revealed to be a ruse by aliens from the Coconut Grove planet who sought to cure their race's stalled evolution by experimenting on mutants. Defeating the aliens, the team returned to Earth, but apparently disbanded soon after. The duplicate and Siryn rejoined Moira at the Xavier Institute to return to Muir; however, the duplicate had no desire to be reabsorbed and so created another duplicate to take his place on the return trip while he secretly remained in the U.S.
Later, the original Madrox was possessed by the psionic entity the Shadow King during the villain's takeover of Muir; after his defeat Madrox joined the government-sponsored X-Factor team. Unknown to Madrox, the duplicate that had joined the Fallen Angels years before had since found a place in the Nasty Boys, a team of super-powered mercenaries employed by geneticist Mister Sinister. With the help of Senator Steven Shaffran/Ricochet, a mutant with the ability to turn other mutants' powers and fears against them, the duplicate convinced the Nasty Boys, and Madrox himself, that he was the original. Madrox merged with the duplicate, but it was a ruse; he "disassembled" the duplicate from the inside and remained the dominant personality in order to expose Shaffran and stop Sinister.
Later, when most of the team were busy with another assignment, Madrox and his teammate Quicksilver were sent to investigate a murder case in Maine in which the prime suspect was a young mutant named Rhapsody, who had been fired from her music teaching job after turning blue and first manifesting her ability to entrance others with music. The man responsible for terminating her employment was found dead two days later, with Rhapsody apprehended at the scene of the crime. Exposed to the effects of Rhapsody's power, Madrox became convinced of her innocence and was set to break her out of prison when the truth was revealed. Rhapsody had used her power on the victim in an effort to make him see the error of his decision to fire her, only to accidentally cause his death.
Following an attempted assassination of Xavier supposedly by the mutant soldier from the future, Cable, X-Factor and the X-Men teamed up to capture Cable's team of young mutants, X-Force. Among X-Force's number was Siryn, who confronted Madrox over their past relationship. Madrox revealed to Siryn that although he retained all the memories of her relationship with his renegade duplicate, he possessed none of the related emotional attachment.
Among his X-Factor teammates, Madrox formed a close bond with Strong Guy. The pair shared an odd sense of humor and often joked around much to team leader Havok's chagrin. A psychiatric analysis by Doctor Leonard Samson ultimately revealed the reason for Madrox's humorous attitude. His living alone for many years as a child created an almost pathological need for attention to ensure he would never be alone again, and he was willing to do virtually anything - whether it be telling jokes, playing gags, or creative use of dupes - to get people to notice him.
During a subsequent mission with X-Factor to the island nation of Genosha, one of Madrox's duplicates contracted the deadly Legacy Virus; when reabsorbed, it was believed Madrox himself was infected. The mutant prophetess Haven offered to cure Madrox of the Virus, but the attempt failed and he seemingly died. However, Madrox unconsciously stayed split into separate bodies, ensuring that the Virus would be contained in one body and not duplicate into the others. When the infected body died, the shock of its death caused Madrox to lose his memory. Later, X-Factor was sent on a mission to apprehend a mysterious figure that was revealed to be Madrox, alive and well with his memory restored. Madrox had been recruited by elements of the U.S. government that wanted to turn him into the ultimate secret agent, training him to become a one-man army. Madrox ultimately rejoined X-Factor until the team's disbanding after the apparent death of its leader, Havok. He then returned to Muir Island where he was reunited with both Moira and his X-Factor teammate Wolfsbane. Madrox subsequently worked in Genosha at the behest of Professor X to monitor the situation there after the rise to power of mutant activist Magneto.
X-Corps
Madrox was then recruited by Banshee into the paramilitary X-Corps organisation for which Madrox created duplicates to function as support staff performing duties ranging from communications monitoring to gunship pilots. Following the restructuring of the X-Corps into the X-Corporation global mutant search and rescue organisation, Madrox worked with the group's European branch for a time until a pitched battle against the living bacterial consciousness known as Weapon XII cost the life of his teammate Darkstar.
X-Factor Investigations
Madrox subsequently quit and struck out on his own. For a long time, Madrox had been unable to decide what to do with his life, and as a solution, had sent out a large number of dupes for the past few years to each live separate lives and then return to him so that he could absorb their knowledge and experiences. Madrox also established XXX Investigators in Mutant Town hiring former X-Factor teammates Guido and Wolfsbane as a bodyguard and assistant respectively. His first case was to investigate the murder of one of his duplicates by an assassin named Clay, who also possessed the ability to create duplicates of himself, which led Madrox to Chicago and Sheila DeSoto, fiancée of multi-millionaire industrialist Edward Vance. Unbeknown to Madrox, who had become romantically involved with Sheila, she was the one who had hired Clay to prevent Madrox from interfering in her plans to take control of the Chicago crime syndicate. Sheila was ultimately killed after she was revealed to be a self-styled highly evolved mutant. The firm was renamed X-Factor Investigations after the government-sponsored X-Factor mutant superhero group that the three founders had previously served on.[10]
X-Factor Investigations after M-Day
Decimation
Following M-Day, Madrox's new-found wealth from winning a Who Wants to be a Millionaire-style game show allowed him to recruit several of his former colleagues of the Paris branch of the now defunct X-Corporation. New members included Siryn, a depowered Rictor, Generation X's Monet and the mysterious, young Layla Miller.[11] Almost immediately the team came into conflict with rival agency Singularity Investigations after they ordered Siryn beaten and left for dead.[12]
After meeting with Singularity CEO Damian Tryp, Madrox asked Siryn to find out more about the Decimation from the heroes who might have been involved (by using her modulated voice to make them more suggestible). She learned from Spider-Man that the X-Men (who had denied any involvement), as well as Quicksilver were, in fact, central to the ending of the House of M and the subsequent Decimation.
Little was known about Damian Tryp apart from the fact that he ran Singularity Investigations, which was in direct competition with Madrox's X-Factor Investigations and his encounters with Madrox's team. He was also one of the few mutants who kept their superhuman powers after the M-Day, although it was discovered that he might not be a mutant, but a genetic throwback to an earlier time, i.e., a "changeling", a predecessor to mutants who manifest powers at birth. Tryp's mutation enabled him to live for a very long time, as evidenced by him being alive in the 14th-century Wales. He also was able to move through time in a similar fashion to Quicksilver, which enabled him to bring together himself at three different times.
Damian Tryp also seemed to be involved in Jamie Madrox’s past. When Jamie was born, the doctor’s slap caused him to multiply into two identical babies, which was rather shocking to both his parents and the doctor. Professor Charles Xavier, a friend of the Madrox family, suggested that they move to Kansas to raise the boy in privacy with the possibility of the boy to be later taught at Professor X’s school for the gifted youngsters. However, when Madrox was still young, Tryp also made an own offer to look after Jamie, claiming that Jamie was also a "changeling" like him. Jamie's parents, however, refused to give Jamie to Tryp, who proceeded to create a freak tornado that killed Jamie’s parents.
The all out conflict between Tryp's Singularity Investigations and X-Factor Investigations began after the youngest version of Tryp badly beat Siryn (after shooting her in the neck with a dart that prevented her from using her powers) and left her for dead. Siryn, as part of her duties for X-Factor Investigations, was investigating the murder of the woman who died in Jack Vaughn's penthouse under suspicious circumstances. Jack Vaughn (a movie star) claimed that the woman was killed by her sister, Gloria Santiago, who was upset about the relationship (claiming that Jack was “no good” for her sister), and that all he was trying to do was wrestle the gun away from her. The sister thus hired X-Factor Investigations to help her clear her name and bring Jack to justice. Singularity Investigations was representing Jack Vaughn with Tryp, Junior (i.e., the youngest version) as the defense counsel. Siryn and X-Factor Investigations managed to incriminate Vaughn and to thwart SI’s assassination attempt on Rictor. Tryp, Junior was so infuriated by this that he ambushed Siryn and beat her almost to death, leaving her to die in an alley.[13]
Madrox and Strong Guy gave Tryp a very public warning as Tryp was jogging in Central Park. They told Tryp that they knew that it was him who hurt Siryn, and while they would not hurt him in broad daylight, he should watch his back. Tryp, Junior and Tryp, Senior made Madrox an offer to join their firm, and Madrox laughed in response.
Quicksilver returned to Mutant Town,[14][5] having gained the ability to restore other mutants' powers from the Terrigen Crystals. X-Factor used this to confront the X-Men with their knowledge of the Decimation. As a result, X-Factor took a public stance in defiance of the Superhuman Registration Act and the X-Men have decided not to interfere with Quicksilver as long as he stayed in Mutant Town.
X-Factor Investigations together
It was exposed that Tryp and his company have been working on a new version of the legacy virus. A former Singularity employee came to X-Factor Investigations and related that Tryp was attempting to restart the Legacy Virus, the plague that killed several mutants, including, briefly, Madrox himself. Strong Guy was sent to drive the man to safety but once they were alone, Strong Guy killed him and called Tryp to report. It was later discovered that Tryp had placed a hypnotic suggestion in Strong Guy’s head to turn him into a sleeper agent. According to the oldest version of Tryp (ancient), all of Singularity Investigations' efforts to create the Legacy Virus had been to prevent a possible future in which X-Factor managed to undo the Decimation, but as a result, humanity was wiped out by the re-powered mutants in a bloody conflict. As such, X-Factor Investigations' new goal was to undo Decimation, but also to prevent the conflict Tryp predicted.
Due to one of Madrox's dupes blowing up the SI building, apparently killing Tryp, Junior and Tryp, Senior (i.e., the middle-aged version), only the ancient Tryp (the one who had been alive the longest and has seen the grim future) was still alive.
After finding out about the foretold event, each member of the X-Factor Investigations received a session with Doc Samson.
X-Factor Investigations took public stance in defiance of the Superhuman Registration Act, and Madrox had helped Aegis elude S.H.I.E.L.D. authorities. However, Rictor and M were registered by a duplicate of Madrox who was an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. Madrox, Strong Guy, and Wolfsbane were already registered because of their membership in the previous, government-sponsored X-Factor.
After Madrox's experience with his S.H.I.E.L.D. dupe, a dupe he had forgotten about, Madrox went on a quest to gather his lost dupes and revealed an ability to absorb himself into dupes. This quest met an end when he found a dupe who had built his own family. Meanwhile Siryn and Monet bounded in France and rescued a child from a riot. X-Factor was then attacked by the X-Cell and almost defeated. The X-Cell's member believed the government to be responsible for their lost powers. All but Marrow and Callisto were re-powered by Quicksilver and Rictor -- a process that resulted in the death of their leader and Abyss, Fatale and Reaper fleeing into the brimstone dimension to fate unknown. When Layla Miller revealed what truly happened to Callisto and Marrow, Rictor used his powers to expel the Terrigen crystals from Quicksilver's body (except for one, which he kept) at the cost of his powers.
One night, Madrox made a dupe of himself and got drunk. He was unhappy to discover that while one had slept with Siryn, the other had slept with Monet. Doc Samson convinced him to tell the two about this; they did not take it well.
X-Factor tangled with The Isolationist, a powerful telepath (among other things), who convinced Jamie Madorx, Cyclops , and Beast to organize a "Million Mutant March" political rally on Washington, D.C. to get mutants declared an endangered species by the U.S. government. However, Layla Miller told Madrox that one of Huber's agents had tried to kill her, and it was revealed that Huber's plan was a plot to get all the mutants in one place so they could be destroyed. Huber claimed that all the mutant voices in his head were driving him crazy. He also claimed that he had manipulated and arranged all of X-Factor Investigations problems and adventures. Then he teleported the team to a frozen wasteland.
Fighting as Superheroes
Messiah Complex
Madrox, Rictor, and an accompanying Layla Miller were alerted to the Xavier Mansion by Emma Frost after the first mutant birth since M-Day. Madrox and Layla were sent to Forge's headquarters to send two dupes into different alternate realities. Layla jumped in with one of the dupes at the last minute, claiming she had a part to play in their mission. Unfortunately, Forge informed Madrox that there was no way to retrieve Layla and his dupes, who received instructions to kill themselves once they received the information they needed to get reabsorbed into Madrox Prime. Layla and the Madrox-dupe landed in Bishop's future, where they were captured and abused in mutant interment camps. Layla killed Madrox's dupe, which strangely led to Madrox Prime gaining the same tattoo the dupe had gotten. Jaime became depressed and angry about Layla being left in the future.
Divided We Stand
After a confrontation with Jamie about her leaving, Rahne revealed that she had seen herself murder Jamie and Layla Madrox on their wedding night, and not wanting to kill Layla upon her return from the dystopian future, left the team. Meanwhile, Rictor, while walking down a street, thought he saw Layla. After following the young girl, he found a young prostitute who happened to appear around the same age. After some aggressive words with the young woman's pimp, he got into a fight that left him wounded. After Guido joined in the fight, the men quickly dispersed, and he walked with Rictor to the E.R. Elsewhere, Jamie was looking for a fight, and found himself at a Purifier gathering. After shooting their leader with a tranquilizer, Jamie made three copies of himself, and readied for a fight. Siryn revealed to a reverend that she was pregnant with Jamie's child; and later at a bar, revealed to Monet that she intended to give birth to the child.[15]
Meanwhile, Mutant Town was under the clutches of X-Men villain Arcade with Rictor as his prisoner. In the end, they were unable to save Mutant Town, and it was destroyed by Arcade's bombs. Val Cooper returned and X-Factor relocated to Detroit, Michigan.
Darwin went in search of Professor Xavier because he wanted to help him. He encountered Longshot, who tried to lead him to the Professor by using his powers. Longshot, however was unsure if his powers had been working correctly and tested them out on a group of people who turned on Darwin and attacked. After a brief fight, Darwin managed to get away and the crowd turned on Longshot. Darwin's father hired X-Factor to find his son, supposedly because he felt bad for walking out on him and his mother when he was younger.[16] Madrox, Monet and Guido tracked down Darwin and Longshot but Longshot was attacked by Jazinda and She-Hulk who were trailing after him because he was really Nogor the Talisman, a Skrull priest.[17]
After a fight between the two groups, they both realized Longshot was a Skrull impostor, defeat him, hand him over to Jazinda and She-Hulk before parting ways.[18]
Cortex and the Summers Rebellion
Summers Rebellion
Darwin was reunited with his father, only to be betrayed and sold out to by operatives of an organization known as the Karma Project, who were experimenting on living human beings. Meanwhile, the real Longshot showed up and he and Darwin joined X-Factor. Valerie Cooper took an interest in Siryn's unborn child. During a confrontation when Siryn was leaving for the hospital because her water broke, Val was accidentally shot.[19] While Val recovered, Siryn gave birth and finally acknowledged that her father was dead and never coming back. She named her son Sean, after her father but when Madrox held him, he absorbed Sean.[20] Jamie then left X-Factor Investigations and Detroit to wander and contemplate suicide. Before killing himself, Jamie walked to Vermont to speak with Pastor John Maddox, a dupe who had settled down and started a family. Explaining to John that dupes were unable to have babies, John revealed that he already knew this. However, Jamie threatened to kill himself, knocking out John. Before he pulled the trigger, an older Layla Miller returned to stop him.[21]
Jamie was transported to the future in the midst of the Summers Rebellion, where mutants rose up against Sentinel and human oppressors, who were led by Ruby Summers, the daughter of Cyclops and Emma Frost with her fathers' eye beams and Emma's organic mineral body, Layla, and a cyborg Cyclops, whose predicament was Jamie's fault. After Jamie kissed Layla (now an adult) out of happiness at seeing her, Cyclops wanted Jamie to find out why some mutants were winking out off existence. The group visited an aging senile Doctor Doom, who said Layla told him in the past that he'd have to instruct Jamie and her on something in the future, and it is now.
In the present, X-Factor and new members Longshot and Darwin battled Cortex, an agent of the Summers Rebellion era government. Cortex briefly controlled Shatterstar and M, using them to respectively make assassination attempts on Reverend John Maddox and Lenore Wilkinson. Cortex grabbed Longshot, trying to also control him, and realized he and Shatterstar were connected, and when Cortex lost control over Monet, she attacked him and his hood fell back revealing that he was the second Jamie Madrox duplicate from Messiah Complex.[22]
The Summer's Rebellion was attacked, and Trevor Fitzroy was killed. Layla was forced to resurrect him, making him into the villain he was destined to be; while Layla can bring people to life, it leaves them soulless. Madrox and Layla were sent back to the present. While Madrox ended up with X-Factor, Layla was nowhere to be seen.
When X-Factor was hired to go to Latveria to search for the Invisible Woman, Madrox was surprised to see Layla in the company of Doctor Doom. She remained behind with Shatterstar, frustrating Jamie. She returned to X-Factor with Shatterstar in the midst of Bastion's attack on Utopia.
When protecting J. Jonah Jameson, mayor of New York, Strong Guy was killed. Layla brought him back to life. This changed the future Layla knew. When the demon Bloodbath attacked X-Factor, Jamie was killed. This caused Layla great emotional distress.
They Keep Killing Madrox
Jamie, however, did not simply die. He appeared in an alternate reality by the corpses of Layla and himself on their wedding night, and confronted Vanora, who Layla had paid to kill them. Jaime died and found himself in a reality in which humans were dominated by Deathlok. He died once more and found himself the apprentice of Doctor Strange, who had just died at the hands of Dormammu. The spirit of Doc Strange was able to send Jamie back to his reality, but complication drew Vanora, Deathlok and Dormammu with him.
Jamie's body suddenly came back to life in the icebox Layla had kept it in. Overjoyed at his revival, Layla immediately slept with him. Afterwords, Jamie regretted letting that happen, and was surprised to learn that Havok and Polaris had taken over X-Factor Investigations. Madrox and Alex made a deal that Alex would take the lead on missions given by Wolverine and Valerie Cooper while Madrox would lead those given by ordinary clients.
After the events of the Hell on Earth War, Jaime retired to his family farm with Layla and sold the rights to the X-Factor name to Harrison Snow.[23]
Power Grid [43]
Energy Projection
Fighting Skills
Madrox is a Changeling, the genetic predecessors of mutants whose powers manifest at birth instead of during puberty. Madrox's powers include:
The Multiple Man in action
Kinetic Duplication: Jamie Madrox creates an identical physical living duplicate of himself upon any physical impact, possibly via extra-dimensional mass acquisition similar to the process used by Ant-Man or the Hulk. This process is spontaneous and cannot be prevented by Madrox. Although he can create multiple duplicates, and the duplicates themselves can also replicate, each is only able to create one duplicate at a time; he has been seen to produce around forty duplicates before no more would be created. The duplicates think, feel, and act independently, though usually guided by the original. Each tends to manifest one aspect of Madrox' personality, which increases in strength with lengthier separation from the original; these traits have recently become more extreme. Madrox is telepathically and em pathetically linked to his duplicates, suffering severe, potentially fatal, trauma if one dies. If Madrox himself were killed, it is not known whether any existing duplicates would continue to function independently; it is said in theory, that if the original Madrox was killed, that one of his active dupes is capable of taking over as the new original and will assume the dominant abilities and collective personality that the original Madrox had. It is virtually impossible to distinguish the original from the duplicates. His powers have increased during his life. He was once able to create hundreds of dupes by himself. He has even gained better control of his powers, he has learned to prevent his body from producing duplicates, and has even been shown at one time to have duplicated without kinetic impact. Madrox was able to merge himself into the home-dimension of the duplicates, and to came back without kinetic impact from the dupe who absorbed him.
Duplication Absorption: The original Madrox can absorb them back into himself at will, at the same time absorbing the memories, skills and experiences of the duplicate. The only limit to this power is he can't absorb a dead dupe.
Duplication Experience Transference: Madrox merges back, he retains memories (albeit somewhat imperfect), knowledge, and experiences of the dupe. Madrox doesn't have to absorb his duplicates to absorb information from them, he automatically absorbs information from any of his dupes if it kills itself.
Duplication Healing: He also uses merging as a form of healing - Originally, uninjured Madri "shared" the damage when they reemerged (e.g., if an injured dupe merged with an uninjured Madrox, the resulting Madrox had an injury half as severe as the original injury). Now, however, the core Madrox can reabsorb injured or even near-dead dupes without taking on any of their physical injuries at all.
Jamie Madrox the Multiple Man
Notable Duplicates
Proteus possessed dupe - Proteus once possessed a Madrox duplicate in order to escape confinement on Muir Island, killing him at the instant he possessed him. It was the first dupe to die, causing a trauma to Jamie.
Fallen Angels & Nasty Boys dupe - one of Madrox's evil dupes joined the Nasty Boys. The first to show real independence, drugging Jamie to go to USA with Moira and join the Fallen Angels. Later came back and impersonated the original, absorbing him for a short time, unknowing it was on the real Madrox authorization.
Independent Mutated Madroxes - During his trip to U.S., the Fallen Angels dupe created a duplicate who wanted to live from himself. His source paradoxically stated it was the first dupe who denied to re-merge. His difference was shown by an incomplete independence on his source duplicate (or it was the fact that this was not the original source) and a Mini-Cerebro analysis who designed him as different from his source.
Chicago dupe - This dupe lived in Chicago and married Shelia DeSoto, crime boss Edward Vance's fiancée. He was later assassinated by Clay.[24]
Shaolin Monk dupe - This dupe was sent by Madrox Prime to Tibet to study mediation. He later returned for absorption.[24]
Homosexual dupe(s) - Several dupes have demonstrated or discussed some homosexual feelings and/or tendencies.[25][26][27][28]
EMT dupe - One of Madrox's many dupes was trained as a paramedic.
Anatomy class dupe - One of Madrox's many dupes audited an anatomy class for six months.[26]
Russian dupe - One of Madrox's many dupes was sent to live in Moscow for a year and a half to learn Russian. He complained a lot that he wasn't in Hawaii.
The X-Factor dupe - This dupe once tried to kill Rictor[29] and later reemerged in time to blow up Singularity Investigations. He alone seemed to remember his first encounter with Damian Tryp.[30]
James Madrox Esq. - One of Madrox's many dupes was went to law school and passed the New York State Bar Exam.[31]
Agent Madrox - Agent Madrox was a "co-original" of Madrox sent out to study espionage. He made contact with Val Cooper, who set him up with her connections at S.H.I.E.L.D..[5]
"Heff" dupe - After celebrating and heavy drinking, Madrox bumped into a wall and created a dupe that later sleep with Banshee or Monet (or both).[6] Jamie described this dupes as his "libido unleashed".[27] The result of the union was the conception of Sean Madrox.
Father John Maddox - John was originally created to learn from the world,[32] went study religion, but while studying he changed his name to John Maddox, married, started a family and became an Episcopal pastor. Jamie decided not to absorb him because of his family and life.[1]
"World's Greatest Detective" dupe - After going to Detroit and Chicago to study investigation, criminal justice, and police work, this dupe became disillusioned with society and the justice system. When Madrox came to reabsorb him, he claimed to have become the World's Greatest Detective. He also claimed to know why Madrox's dupes were becoming more unpredictable, the source of Madrox's powers, "what's coming" and "uber". This knowledge caused him to turn to drinking. Finally, before Madrox could reabsorb this dupe, he shot a dirty cop and was gunned down by the police in order to spare Madrox Prime the burden of knowledge.[33]
Cortex - One of two dupes sent into the only remaining two futures with mutants.[34] Cortex encountered Damian Tryp and was altered to served Tryps purposes.[35]
Scoutmaster dupe - One of Jamie's dupes worked as a scoutmaster for a year.[36]
Vengeful dupe - Similar to the X-Factor dupe, the dupe is Jamie's darker side and he tried to kill Hector Muñoz.[37]
Sean Madrox - Sean was actually a child convinced by Banshee and a dupe.[6] However, as a child of a dupe, Sean possessed the same attributes of a dupe and was inadvertently absorbed by Madrox Prime.[20]
R.S.C. dupe - One of Madrox's dupes spend eighteen months with the Royal Shakespeare Company.[21]
Chaos War resurrected dupes - When the Chaos King put the living asleep and opened the underworld, three Madrox dupes were among the resurrected.[38] They were all later killed in battle against the Carrion Crow.[39]
Goffer dupe - One of Madrox's dupes worked as a goffer on the set of Supernatural for six months, and learned some things about warding off demons.[40]
Bloodbath dupe - Dupe created at Imperial Studios while the X-Factor crew was searching for Bloodbath. Later killed by Terry Roland, and possessed by Bloodbath to murder Madrox Prime.[41]
Matt Rocks, Esq. - One of the dupes sent to study law. He moved to Los Angeles and became an entertainment lawyer. Madrox Prime chose not to reabsorb Matt in exchange for Matt sending him half of his earnings. Unlike Madrox Prime, Matt has jet black hair, tanned skin, and constantly wears sunglasses. Also, he is portrayed in a more comical fashion than many of other dupes.[42]
Madrox has acquired extensive knowledge and skills via his duplicates' experiences, such as human anatomy,[citation needed] speaking Russian,[citation needed] and Shaolin monk stealth techniques.[citation needed] He also has hand to hand combat training, learned as part of X-Factor and from a dupe who studied martial arts.[citation needed] Madrox is a certified lawyer,[citation needed] has medical training and training as a gymnast,[citation needed] and can pick locks.[citation needed]
Strength level
Jamie Madrox possesses the normal human strength of a man of his age, height, and build who engages in intensive regular exercise.[citation needed]
Multiple Man's special suit
Kinetic Dampening Suit: Madrox once wore a suit that damped kinetic impacts so that he wouldn't duplicate from accidental impacts.
The plural form of Madrox has been given as both "Madri"[citation needed] and "Madroxes".[citation needed]
275 Appearances of James Madrox (Earth-616)
10 Minor Appearances of James Madrox (Earth-616)
Media James Madrox (Earth-616) was Mentioned in
233 Images featuring James Madrox (Earth-616)
37 Quotations by or about James Madrox (Earth-616)
Character Gallery: James Madrox (Earth-616)
James Madrox (Earth-616) at Marvel.com
James Madrox (Earth-616) at Wikipedia.org
Madrox: Multiple Choice
uncannyxmen.net Spotlight On... Multiple Man
Discover and Discuss
Search this site for: Multiple Man · James Arthur Madrox · James Madrox (Earth-616)
↑ 1.0 1.1 X-Factor Vol 3 #16
↑ New X-Men Vol 2 #44
↑ Fallen Angels #5
↑ Madrox #4
↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 X-Factor Vol 3 #8
↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 X-Factor Vol 3 #11
↑ X-Factor #235
↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Giant-Size Fantastic Four #4
↑ Madrox #1-5
↑ X-Factor Vol 3 #1
↑ X-Factor Vol 3 #1-4
↑ Son of M #1-6
↑ X-Factor Vol 3 #28
↑ She-Hulk Vol 2 #31
↑ 20.0 20.1 X-Factor Vol 3 #39
↑ All-New X-Factor #1
↑ 24.0 24.1 Madrox #1
↑ Wolverine: First Class #18
↑ Chaos War: X-Men #1
↑ She-Hulk Vol 3 #8
Like this? Let us know!
Retrieved from "https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/James_Madrox_(Earth-616)?oldid=3506658"
Articles Needing Citation
X-Factor Investigations members
X-Ceptionals members
X-Factor (Government) members
Demons (Full Listing)
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Hands On With "Friends" for iPhone: Keeping Your Social Networks Sorted [PICS]
By Christina Warren 2010-11-10 18:13:52 UTC
iPhone and iPad development studio Taptivate is about to release its latest app for the iPhone and iPod touch, "Friends." Friends is an app that is designed to streamline the way you keep up with your friends, family members and colleagues across social networks.
Taptivate is no stranger to creating apps that plug into social networks — some of its other apps include Formspring client Spring and the official Digg iPhone app — but Friends is unique in that it takes in data from multiple social networks, including Twitter, Facebook, MySpace and LinkedIn.
The Taptivate team provided us with a beta build of Friends, giving us a chance to take a look at the app to see what it's all about.
Check out this promo video to get a feel for the app:
The app automatically organizes your iPhone contacts with Facebook. This is convenient because it offers you easy access to all your Facebook contacts, while also merging their information with any related address book entries.
Unfortunately, at this point, the app doesn't equally consolidate LinkedIn and Twitter contacts — but you can still find them and get various info on those friends. You can also view streams of either all your contacts from assorted networks and individual streams, or you can pick and choose groups of contacts you want to keep up with and follow.
Friends also makes it easy to sort content by type — photos, videos and posts. The app also works with photo attachment services to make previewing images and videos easy and you can also directly visit a URL and view it without leaving the app. You can even view "Places" to see recent checkins from your friends, alongside a Google map. Friends supports Instapaper, and you can choose a "Read Later" option for links or posts you find interesting.
The app can also be used to update your status across your social networks. You can selectively update or post to every network you are signed onto. Each network section acts as its own little app of sorts. When viewing a tweet, you can retweet, reply or favorite. When viewing a Facebook status message, you can "like," comment or view comments.
The app is still in development, but we think it shows tons of promise. The interface is gorgeous, the app is easy to figure out, and the grouping options make sense. We also appreciate that Friends doesn't corrupt your own address book on the iPhone or iPod touch. And you can even make calls with the app, which is pretty handy.
These days, social mobile apps are a dime a dozen. Finding the right mix of an app that can consolidate multiple channels, while also making the management of those streams easier, is a pretty tough task. From what we've seen, Friends is up to the challenge.
Check out these screenshots to see Friends in action.
Friends for iPhone
How do you manage your social networks on your mobile device? Let us know.
Topics: Facebook, friends, iPhone, iPhone Apps, LinkedIn, mobile apps, social software, taptivate, Twitter
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“You can’t do that! Stories have to be about White people”
AuthorMedia DiversifiedPosted on December 7, 2013 July 17, 2015 CategoriesCulture, Darren Chetty, Eastenders, Education, Literature, Student, What is British?TagsColor blindness, Eastenders, London, Tamarind Books, Teacher, Toni Morrison, White people, World Book Day
Young Writers of Colour
by Darren Chetty Follow @rapclassroom
I’ve spent almost two decades teaching in English primary schools, which serve multiracial, multicultural, multifaith communities. I want to explore two things I have noticed.
1) Almost without exception, whenever children are asked to write a story in school, children of colour will write a story featuring white characters with ‘traditional’ English names who speak English as a first language.
2) Teachers do not discuss this phenomenon.
Furthermore, simply pointing these two things out can lead to some angry responses in my experience.
Why are you making an issue of race when children are colourblind?”
is an example of the sort of question that sometimes gets asked.
Well let’s look at that. If children were writing stories where the race of characters was varied and random, there might be some merit in claiming that children are colourblind. However, even proponents of racial colourblindness do not argue that all people are White… and English. They argue that race no longer matters. If that’s true, why are young children of colour and young white children writing exclusively about white characters?
But, surely you are not arguing that teachers are telling them to do this?”
I’m not. I think it’s more complicated than that.
A few years ago, I taught a Year 2 class in East London. I had built up a good bank of multicultural picture-books and resources and shared these with the class whenever seemed appropriate. When it came time for the class to write their own stories, I suggested that they used the name of someone in their family for their protagonist. I wanted them to draw on their own backgrounds, but was worried about ‘making an issue of race’. When it came to sharing their stories, I noticed only one boy had acted upon my suggestion, naming his main character after his uncle. He had recently arrived from Nigeria and was eager to read his story to the class. However when he read out the protagonists name he was interrupted by another boy, who was born in Britain and identified as Congolese.
“You can’t do that! Stories have to be about White people.”
I’m confident the boy who announced this was being sincere and indeed, in the ensuing class discussion there was a fair bit of uncertainty about who could and couldn’t be in stories. I was surprised and confused by this. Why did they always write stories about children from very different backgrounds to themselves? And why were these characters always White? After all, I had shared a number of stories about children of colour with the class.
I just hadn’t realised what I was up against.
What do I mean? Well, if you are a teacher, try this with your class. Ask them to write down their favourite 25 children’s book characters. Then ask them to count how many of those characters are White (and look for other patterns too). Publishers like Verna Wilkins at Tamarind do a great job at promoting books featuring People of Colour. However, a friend of mine who writes for children, has been told by publishers that by making her central character a black girl, she will reduce its marketability – so unless she is writing specifically about ‘black issues’ she should make her ‘front-cover’ characters white.
On World Book Day, many primary schools ask children and staff to dress up as a famous book character. On this day in my local schools, you will see children of colour dressed as White fictional children. Again, this in itself might not be a problem – but the lack of options is worrying for some Black teachers and parents. A Black colleague’s exasperation at this, led to us creating a resource for discussion that has proved an effective way of starting conversations with colleagues and children about race and representation in children’s literature. World Book Day – A Teacher’s Dilemna
This isn’t confined at children’s literature of course. In her essay ‘Playing in the Dark’, Toni Morrison argues that “the readers of virtually all of American fiction have been positioned as white.” (Morrison 1992:xiv) We might ask if the same is true of children’s literature and how that might affect children’s relationship to story-writing. And I don’t think any such marginalization is limited to books. Take a programme set in the very area of England where I teach. When EastEnders was launched, it was lauded for its inner-city realism and diversity. Recently the BBC compiled this list of characters with the most ‘doof doof’ cliffhangers – an indication, albeit an imprecise one, of who has the main storyline. In the top 50 characters, the number of People of Colour was exactly zero.
Reflecting on my experience with my Year 2 class, the following year, whilst teaching Year 5, I was emboldened to experiment.
What would happen if for just one lesson I insisted they write about a character from a similar ethnic, religious, linguistic background as themselves – just as I sometimes insist they try to include fronted adverbials, or a moral dilemma for their protagonist?
First we discussed ourselves in terms of amongst other things: language, family migration, physical appearance including skin and hair, religion, hobbies and clothes. Then I asked them to write a character who was similar in some but not necessarily all of categories. As I modelled this process for them, I realized it was something I rarely did in class myself, causing me to later think of my role as a teacher of colour (indeed the only male teacher of colour in my current school.)
Then they wrote. Clearly, many of them enjoyed the lesson and many produced their best piece of writing. Here are a couple of examples:
Bang! As I stormed to headteacher Mrs. Paula’s office my head filled with fear. Fear of exclusion!
Mrs. Paula was a short, slim, young white woman with red ruddy cheeks. She was a stern woman who hated disobedience and inappropriateness. As I stroked my black hair, my smooth lips crumpled and my creamy brown face turned red with worry.
Maryam Patel was a twelve year old girl, whose parents were Indian, but she was born in Britain. She was a fairly religious person. However Maryam thought one does not have to wear a headscarf to be religious. She loved her red straight hair. Her hair was as red as blood. She had decided to dye her hair as she hated her dark brown hair. She loved football and the club she supported was Liverpool. One day I will play for the Liverpool women she thought.
I want to avoid making huge claims here. However, I do sense a greater emotional engagement with the story from the children and the beginnings of an authorial voice in both Michael’s dramatic first-person opening and Nabila’s character description.
Nabila did start four sentences with ‘She’ and I would want to give her feedback on varying her sentence structure. But there is genuine characterisation in the paragraph not just a short list of features, which I often encounter. More than that, there is some psychological insight in this 9 year-old’s writing precisely because she is using her own life as inspiration for her creativity.
Speaking to Nabila, she told me she had never written about an Indian heritage and/or Muslim character before. Nobody had ever told her she shouldn’t. But at the same time, nobody had ever explicitly given her permission. Subsequently, she wrote two further full stories about ‘Maryam Patel’. The third installment described Maryam’s trip to India. Trust me, it was a good read.
*Names of children have been changed.
Teacher, Governor, Higher Ed Tutor, Hip Hop Educator, P4Cer, PhDer. RapClassRoom Find Darren Chetty on twitter @rapclassroom
READ the follow up: Writing and Reading While Black. Lessons learned.
Our lives, our cultures, are composed of many overlapping stories. Novelist Chimamanda Adichie tells the story of how she found her authentic cultural voice — and warns that if we hear only a single story about another person or country, we risk a critical misunderstanding.
Book list for black girls: promoting self-love and empowering young black women (mediadiversified.org)
“Black people don’t go to galleries” – The reproduction of taste and cultural value (mediadiversified.org)
Eastenders: Not Quite #AllWhiteTV; Doesn’t Make It Right (mediadiversified.org)
168 thoughts on ““You can’t do that! Stories have to be about White people””
Pingback: Part One: Ethnic Minority? No, Global Majority. – Media Diversified
The Paperback Post says:
This was a great read! We conducted a study on the literature used in U.S. high schools and compared the authors heritage and sex. 76% Of the common literature is written by white English or American males. They leave such little room for minorities (including women). It’s unfortunate to think of the ways that schools contribute to the vision of a white world. You can read the blog here if you’re interested: https://thepaperbackpost.com/2017/04/03/women-in-high-school-literature/?iframe=true&theme_preview=true
Pingback: The Subject of Race and Ethnicity | Books and Smizmars
Interesting piece! One of the problems I had was the kids ‘projecting’ attitudes, etc. onto their characters that originated in their own lives. The good part was that we identified several social and family problems (abusive parents, no breakfast or missed meals on weekends, etc), but EVERY character was a well off white male of impeccable manners and concern for others. We realized, too late, that every kid wanted that ‘guy’ as a friend. Male/Female, B/W/etc, they all wanted to be Tom Swift’s buddy (Yes, I’m dating myself!) and live vicariously through him. My guess is they would all want Harry Potter as a BFF now.
One Black girl wrote how she went park walking with her dog and met her ‘Harry’ and they walked their dogs until dark, then he walked her home and said bye from the sidewalk because her Dad didn’t like white boys. Stupid me just saw the overlying pain, not knowing that her father had died a few years earlier. I wish I had known and could have helped her become her own ‘Harry, heroine of her own life.
shidensenn says:
this was such a great read. i remember in high school, reading manic magee or maybe it was Jr high? but i loved the fact race and everything was addressed the protagonist was a child that didn’t see a difference in color and really spoke to you. great read! wish i was in your class too haha
wakingupthechildren says:
This is very interesting and perhaps telling that we need to be more blatant about representation of people from all backgrounds and cultures being featured in stories, books, paintings, photographs etc etc…and positive ones, until it is part of everyone’s psyche. We are all people, all equal, all important and that is not what children from ethnic minority groups are feeling! It really needs a head-on change.
TMCN says:
Brilliant. Thank you.
mythoughts1blog says:
I love the thought that you put into it, and you are correct: there is a greater number of picture books about white children than those of other backgrounds. And it is unfortunate that, rather than embracing it, we are somehow taught, whether consciously or not, to ignore the diversity of our cultures and heritages. My former professor in a course about early childhood also mentioned this, and she emphasized using the mirrors and windows of books in our classroom: children should use books to see themselves and the world.
By the way, the idea of mirrors and windows came from this article, if anyone is interested in searching it up:
Wiltse, L. (2015) Mirrors and windows: Teaching and research reflections on Canadian Aboriginal children’s literature. Language and Literacy, 17(2), 22-42.
Locke Dor says:
I know I have commented on this but I really love it. It deserves some real appreciation. But the real question is, will this method of perception ever change? Will we ever be open to the day where they will show novels with people of color or motion films with the actors and actresses being people of color. I hope in that in this productive era, that we will see our society develop. Thank you so much for writing this!
kwesispeaks says:
I really enjoyed such a valid and daring post. I like Ralph Waldo Emerson’s quote “Let me never fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted.” Concerning American education, I believe it is still producing talented thinkers; however, the rate and quantity are being lost in botched standardized test scores and constant disrespect for teachers. It is amazing how countries such as India, under the caste system, esteemed educators as being important in their society. Again, great read.
thegoldenavenue says:
Great post! I have seen this Ted Talk several times, even blogged about it myself as it is powerful! It really gets one to look at something we take for granted like literature and show a whole new light of how it effects others around the world.
readingroomcafeproject says:
This is a fantastic article. A couple of years ago I worked right in the heart of a couple of Pakistani families, and it took a while to work out why all of the characters the children wrote had western names, even though they were doing things like going learning Arabic and reciting the Quran. I was a bit confused until I heard an aunt calling two of the children Mary and Sam. Humayra and Usama. Luckily this family had a balance that they were comfortable with and the children were writing characters who they identified with.
Where I do find a problem is a character I’ve written. In my head she was always black – she’s an amalgam of some wonderful kid’s I’ve worked with, but people read her as white, because people expect her to be. Which is fine, I suppose and perhaps a more traditional name would have helped, but Delilah is a British child and her name, while not typically English, is one that wouldn’t stand out too much – I didn’t want to be that white woman writing a stereotype. It’s a hard line to walk.
libralove92 says:
It’s great for you to be bringing this type of insight unto your students. Despite all the challenges clearly the world is still changing, why not with one book at a time 🙂
mikaylaannm says:
Very important and insightful post! Thanks for sharing!
amerita says:
This is such an interesting article. I’m almost 25 years old and after reading this, I find I do the same thing as some of these children without knowing. Definitely going to be thinking about this the next time I write something.
lilly1949 says:
Congratulations on accomplishing your teaching goal! I was a teacher myself.
Wonderful insight, something I struggle with as an English teacher in a mid-Western state … finding ways to incorporate novels by non-white authors.
khulud khamis says:
Insightful and sadly true. In recent years, I have become aware of the absence of disabled women as main characters in fiction. It’s a theme i deal with in my writing, from a personal experience with my disabled mother, and, as a feminist, making the connections between the personal and wider socio-political issues.
leearango123 says:
Wonderful article exposing the truth in US Academia.
Great post good to know the facts on what education should be.
@Millennium School of Business
B. Artis says:
Great article. Not long ago, a news channel interviewed black girls showing pictures of different girls and asking them to pick their favorite. Most black girls picked white girl pictures stating “they are me beautiful, they are prettier, I wish I were lighter “. So sad how they perceive themselves.
roofbreaker says:
Thank you so much for writing this! I am Hispanic and love writing but always have unknowingly wrote about characters who are white! I think you are so used to the culture of television and stories being promoted in class rooms! My husband grew up in Chicago and his school taught black culture! We def need to promote who we are because we all have a significant part in this world and we need to make our mark as multicultural people!
sandrosirait says:
You catch people’s attention.
Jê Ernesto says:
Really amazing! I just don’t like the use of “people of coulor” to talk about Black people.
Just say it: Black people, all right?
By the end, white people are people of colour or discolour?
It’s language keeps a Padron and it’s terrible tô hear, read or think about ir like it was normal.
hrgovan says:
Very valid points. Although you can argue that the use of an English-derived name does not mean said character is inherently English or white. I am mixed race and my parents nor myself are Jewish, but my name is still Hannah.
Race is important to discuss in literature because of the lack of ethnic and racial diversity in western literature. But is there an argument in creating characters with unknown or unstated characteristics such as race, or even gender and sexuality, to see how character development can be made when certain identity tropes are taken away?
I wish i were in your class. Thanks for making me ponder over such a delicate yet overlooked issue. Keep sharing your insights. Lots of love.
And yes i am an indian and Nabila’s character seems like the girl next door. Colours and shades indubitaly connects.
♥ 🙂
areebaimran says:
This is a brilliant article! I too think that other cultures should be given just as much exposure as the white culture so that we’re wowed by the uniqueness of the world. I’d definitely like to show a wider side of my own heritage from now onwards. Eye opener indeed!
maryangeladouglas says:
I can feel the heart, good will and genuine love for the children here. But a person as grand as Maya Angelou, in fact Maya Angelou was very concerned about African American children and all so called minority children (minority of what; a person with a soul is a majority before God and people who know what it is to stand as an individual) losing their heritage AS HUMAN BEINGS CONNECTED TO EVERY FORM OF LITERATURE WRITTEN BY ALL HUMAN BEINGS AS THEIR BIRTHRIGHT. FOR INSTANCE, SHAKESPEARE…the beauty of language. “ALL THE EXCELLENCIES ARE MINE, ” said Maya Angelou and she certainly meant the whole entire heritage of world literature inclouding the great classics written by “white” people. This is a ridiculous way of actually marginalizing so called minority kids generally by DENYING them the feeling that ANYTHING HUMAN ANYTHING BEAUTIFUL IS THERES by birthright whether they see themselves in the picture or not, it is the words in which human feelings, human aspirations, the human soul especially in poetry has been expressed for ALL TIME for ALL PEOPLE that belongs, belongs, belongs to them. The picture is in the words, the picture is in THE REFLECTION OF THE HUMAN HEART NO MATTER WHO WROTE IT WHEN.
mschievous1 says:
Excellent read, I enjoyed this in its entirety. I wish more teachers were like this, identifying underlying problems and addressing it. I recall writing as a child but never given color or race to the characters. It wasn’t until I was older that I became painfully aware of race. I digress, your doing an amazing job and the impact you are making in these children’s lives will be unforgettable. I wish I had a teacher like you.
Just Being Me says:
Very poignant post! Personally, when I write stories, I make sure there is diversity. One of my current works features an interracial couple and their mixed daughter. Life is full of color – why shouldn’t novels/movies/series/commercials/billboards/everything celebrate it? The face of the world has changed. We need to change with it.
MeroSource says:
I think it gives students everywhere including adults and better point of view. Well when it comes to story telling anyway.
repurposedbygrace says:
Wow, great perspective. As an educator myself, I have never given this much thought. I respect how you presented this issue as something that we need to bring awareness to and not make it a racist thing. Because as a white educator of multicultural students, I don’t intentionally push a ‘white agenda’ but I see now (thanks to your article) that I am sadly unaware of the lack of culture that our literature and curriculum include. And I believe most educators would be very accepting to the idea of adding more culture to the curriculum but just lack the awareness and know how. Thanks for being bold and provoking thought and change.
lukewedwards says:
A brilliant post, for someone who reads (and writes) a lot I had never thought of this but now you’ve highlighted it I can’t help but think that it is really obvious. https://saynototourguides.com/
insightyourstar says:
This is an excellent article. I am glad you are raising awareness about the niche in the market. Your perspective will give future writers an eyeopener and maybe they will try and make their characters more diverse. Moreover this article is beneficial for the education system as they could introduce more diverse books at an early age and maybe get children to study it as part as their curriculum. I hope this article gets more views. Thank you.
Ms. Conqueror says:
Great read! I question this very same thing as I raise a young African American girl. When I was a kid I believe that I probably wrote stories with white characters also. My dolls were white, the television shows I watched had white main characters, and the books I read in school had white characters also. I do believe the world that we live in now is a bit more diverse than it was back in the 90’s when I was a kid. Even with this it hasn’t changed that “American culture” is “White culture. This definitely affects the lenses that kids see themselves through, how they perceive the world, and how they tell their respective stories.
piecesofme2016 says:
Very interesting post! I teach secondary music in the UAE but we have a cross curriculum for year 7 and this is based off 4 books Macbeth, Boy overboard, Private Peaceful and The demon headmaster. At least Boy Overboard relates to Arabic children but the others are based on white characters. It would be nice if school incorporated books of black origin, (or different ethnic backgrounds full stop) instead of being exclusively white. It immediately excludes a group of people. This post reminds me of a black girl in the news recently who said that Santa Claus should be an animal an not a white man for all children to be able to relate, after all its all about inclusion within schools!
Wow, great perspective! Loved it.
Kavya Shah says:
This article raises a very important question. It stresses me out to see the condition today.
It is a brilliant post. It made me think about things beyond my small little world.
Imani Odindo says:
Excellent article. This is very true. I remember my days in school, I was that student who always wrote an essay about white people. Now that I think of it, I believe people or rather the society at large could change their perspectives on this issue.
thehimzheart says:
rositaintanp says:
I agree , i hope there were dedicated teachers in indonesia . And teaching with more sincerely
midnightexpressions says:
Deez says:
I feel this is anecdotal. Young children just imitate. They don’t put any thought into issues like this.
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“Blacks around the table” Absent from the Academy →
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The Medical Minute: A true or false quiz on vaccines
By Benjamin Levi
True or false?
True or false:
1. Vaccines cause autism.
False. Study after study has failed to link autism and vaccines, says the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). The myth that vaccines cause autism stems from a 1998 study of the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine. This study was later found to have serious flaws and its lead author to have had financial ties with a malpractice lawyer involved in suing vaccine manufacturers. As a result, all but two of its authors now agree it was wrong. Autism is often first identified when a child is 18 to 30 months old. Since the MMR vaccine is typically given just before that age, the myth about this link persists.
2. Vaccines have not wiped out common childhood illnesses.
True. Vaccines can have dramatic effects. After U.S. doctors began using the chickenpox vaccine in 1995, chickenpox cases fell 90 percent in 10 years. But chickenpox, measles, whooping cough and other deadly diseases are not gone. They’re just a plane ride away, says the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Travelers “import” them from overseas. When that happens, communities with lots of unvaccinated children face a higher risk of outbreaks.
3. Giving multiple vaccines at one time is likely to harm a young child.
False. Children need vaccines while they’re young and most vulnerable to serious illness. That’s why a child gets up to 23 immunizations by age 2—sometimes half a dozen at one visit. That may seem like a lot. But studies show it’s safe to give a child more than one vaccine in a visit, and typically they’re combined into just two or three actual shots. According to the AAP and the CDC, multiple vaccines work very well, don’t worsen side effects, and won’t harm a normal child’s immune system.
4. You can protect a child by getting vaccinated yourself.
True. Getting a flu shot while pregnant, for instance, helps protect your baby from the flu. One study found that babies born to moms who got a flu shot had a 63 percent lower risk of the flu than infants born to moms who didn’t get a flu shot. Children less than 6 months old can’t get a flu shot, so that extra protection is vital. You also can help protect your baby from whooping cough by making sure everyone around the infant has had a booster shot against this illness.
5. Kids get all the shots they need by their sixth birthday.
False. Some vaccines wear off over time. Around age 11 or 12, children need booster shots against tetanus, diphtheria, and whooping cough, the CDC says. Preteens also face disease threats such as meningitis, and a vaccine can thwart many cases of this illness. Preteen girls should be vaccinated against a virus that causes most cases of cervical cancer.
Penn State Hershey researcher and pediatrician, Benjamin Levi, says that “given what parents hear and see in the media it’s understandable that they worry about the safety of vaccines. But vaccines are enormously effective at protecting children from serious and potentially deadly infectious diseases, and are one of the best ways that parents can protect the health and wellbeing of their children.”
Provided by Pennsylvania State University
Vaccines and autism: Many hypotheses, but no correlation
Citation: The Medical Minute: A true or false quiz on vaccines (2009, August 6) retrieved 21 January 2020 from https://medicalxpress.com/news/2009-08-medical-minute-true-false-quiz.html
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Survey confirms parents' fears, confusion over autism
A medical insight in Michelangelo's David, 'hiding in plain sight'
Celebrated ancient Egyptian woman physician likely never existed, says researcher
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Women scientists author fewer invited commentaries in medical journals than men
Doctor burnout costs health care system $4.6 billion a year
Pediatric endocrinologist gives iconic 'Mona Lisa' a second medical opinion
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A Civil Rights Law Firm
Unlawful Arrests
Unlawful Searches and Seizures
Construction and Minority Business Fraud
Declined Qui Tam Cases
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Complex Litigation & Commercial Matters
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Loevy in the News
Marconi v. City of Joliet Class Action
Wisconsin votes to more than triple wrongfully convicted man’s award
By Cindy Tsai
Robert Lee Stinson spent more than 23 years behind bars for a crime he did not commit, before DNA evidence finally exonerated him. Now, thanks to an unprecedented decision by the Wisconsin legislature and governor, he will have substantially more compensation than others in the state have previously won.
Stinson was exonerated and freed in 2009 through the efforts of the University of Wisconsin’s Innocence Project. After his release, Stinson sought compensation under the state’s innocent convict provision. Authorities provided the maximum that current Wisconsin law allows to compensate him for his decades in prison. But that maximum is only $25,000 – just over $1k for each year he wrongfully missed the company of his family and friends and the right to control his own life.
In voting for the maximum amount they could, the Wisconsin Claims Board also recommended that the state do much better, and last week the legislature and Governor Scott Walker came through with an additional $90,000. Supporters hope that Mr. Stinson’s case opens the door for a wholesale reevaluation of how much Wisconsin compensates its wrongfully convicted people.
Stinson’s wrongful conviction stems from the 1984 rape/murder of Ms. Ione Cychosz in a vacant lot near her home in Milwaukee, WI. The science of DNA testing was not available at the time, and the only physical evidence that alleged tied Stinson to the crime was based on so-called “bite mark forensics,” a new and largely untested detective technique.
Ms. Cychosz had a bite mark on her body which seemed to indicate that her assailant was missing one of his front teeth. Police detectives canvassing the neighborhood noticed that Mr. Stinson, whose property abutted on the vacant lot, was missing one of his front teeth and eventually arrested him for the murder.
Stinson has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit alleging that the detectives along with Dr. Lowell T. Johnson and Dr. Raymond Rawson conspired to frame him for the Cychosz murder.
Dr. Lowell Thomas Johnson testified at Stinson’s criminal trial that the bite mark on Ms. Cychosz’s body “had to have been made by teeth identical” to Stinson’s teeth. But no reputable scientist would make such an extraordinarily sweeping claim for the results of a test in a well-established branch of science, let alone one with as skimpy a track record as bite mark forensics. And as the National Registry of Exonerations noted, “There was no other direct evidence linking him to the murder.”
Thanks to the work of the Wisconsin Innocence Project, Stinson is now a free man. In 2005 they began arranging to have the biological evidence found on the victim’s clothing DNA tested, which ultimately excluded Stinson as a suspect. Then, they went one step further, hiring a panel of four forensic dental experts who re-examined the bite mark evidence and concluded that Stinson’s teeth did not match the bitemark injuries found on the victim’s body.
Buttressing the Innocence Project’s work was a ground-breaking 2004 investigative series [2] [3] [4] by the Chicago Tribune which called into question the whole alleged “science” of bite mark forensics, using the then-new DNA science which “injected a dose of truth serum into other forensic tools.”
A 2009 article by Tribune investigative reporter Steve Mills made Mr. Stinson’s case the centerpiece of its debunking of previously sacrosanct bite mark expert testimony.
Since Stinson’s conviction, “bite-mark comparison has come under withering scrutiny,” wrote Mills. “A 2004 Tribune series, ‘Forensics Under the Microscope,’ showed that even the discipline’s leading experts later have been proven wrong by DNA evidence…. The Tribune in its series also examined 154 cases involving bite-mark comparison, mostly murders and rapes, that reached appeals courts around the country and found that, in more than one-quarter of the cases, forensic dentists for the prosecution and defense gave diametrically opposed opinions.”
Speaking of alleged experts, DePaul University Law Professor Terrence Kiely noted that “It’s the white coat-and-resume problem. They’re very, very believable people. And sometimes the jurors will take [their testimony] as a ‘yes,’ where the science can only say it’s a ‘maybe.'”
To put a finer point on it, highly-educated expert witnesses with impressive-sounding credentials can speak to juries with a seeming authority that may be unfounded in light of a dispassionate look at the real state of the science.
Top DCFS Officials & Psychiatric Hospital Sued For Allowing Gross Abuse of Children
By Andy Thayer
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Student Testing Giant “College Board” Sued for Illegally Collecting & Selling Students’ Data
Accessible Architecture: A Job Far From Done
By Josh Loevy
Top Burge Associates & City Sued for Torture, Quarter Century of Wrongful Imprisonment
“They all lied” – 5 Cops Slammed by Judge Face Federal Suit Financial Fraud Opens Door to Whistleblowers
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Chanel 01P Pant White Cotton Flare Leg 36 fits 2 to 4 Do Peek
Guaranteed authentic Coco Chanel pants 01P milk white.
Narrow flat front cut over the hip with a flare leg.
Waist has over sized 'tabs' - 2 in front and 3 in rear.
Front tabs have silver squares embossed CHANEL.
Fabric is cotton and nylon.
Mightychic offers Coco Chanel women's clothing and a superior online shopping experience.
TIDS ‘n BITS:
“The best color in the whole world is the one that looks good on you.” - Coco Chanel
Known for her trademark designs and perfumes, revered style icon and famed fashion designer Coco Chanel was born Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel on August 19, 1883, in Saumur, France.
She transformed fashion with her revolutionary designs by introducing masculine colors and replacing the lavish, constricted, and structured clothes popular at the time with elegant, simple-line designs emphasizing comfort and function while still flattering to a woman’s figure.
Coco created the House of Chanel in 1910 when she opened a millinery shop in Paris. Soon after she launched a clothing boutique and offered a collection of sportswear which was an immediate success and firmly established the House of Chanel in France.
With the creation of her trademark “Chanel Suit” and “Little Black Dress”, the reputation of her fashion house grew throughout Europe and America.
In 1921 Coco unveiled her first fragrance and signature scent, Chanel No. 5., which is named after the number of the sample she liked best and is a timeless symbol of femininity.
In February 1955 Chanel launched the “2.55” quilted leather handbag which featured a gold color chain as a new style of shoulder strap that allowed the bag to be carried by hand or over the shoulder.
Chanel created her legendary two-tone shoe in beige with a contrasting black toe cap in 1957. This unique style produced a flattering effect by lengthening the leg and shortening the foot.
Coco was still designing at the time of her death, at the age of 87, on January 10, 1971, leaving behind a triumphant posthumous collection.
With the appointment of Karl Lagerfeld as artistic director and chief designer in 1983, Coco Chanel’s legend continues to thrive and prosper into the 21st century.
USA SIZE 2
PANT MEASURES:
LENGTH 42 3/4"
HIP 16 1/2"
INSEAM 33 1/2"
RISE 9"
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Magic figuration
Cubist abstraction
Cubist painting
Realistic Painting
Miguel Guía creating
More of the artist
The artist’s workshop
Miguel Guía
The Sculpture Lived Day by Day
Miguel Guía was born in Madrid on October 29, 1960.
Since early life spending his time at the company of artistic reproductions founded by his father, Miguel grew up surrounded by art, observing work and modeling by many sculptors and in variety of styles, such as: classics, impressionists, constructivists, etc., learning along the way all the modeling techniques, materials and molds. Immersed in a family environment Miguel begun and continues to model, paint, design and causes everything to come together to develop a creative spirit and a special sensitivity for beauty in all forms of expression.
We can see in the works of Miguel Guía several stages of his always integrated evolution, in which continuity is not lost, where no previous achievements are discarded, instead, remain and continue to bear fruit in parallel with the development of new forms of expression.
His permanent restlessness and creativity, fed by the current means and techniques of information that permanently turn over the artist with a true tsunami of inspiration, stimuli, ideas and new technical possibilities of design and execution, is reflected in the most recent era of Miguel Guía. All at the current moment, in full maturity, in the materialization of complex work and difficult to the condition by a specific epigraph. We can see how he defines shapes, stamped and marked forever, his works become fluid, as Zygmunt Bauman would say, and released to manifest themselves in a multitude of languages and expressive ways that only Miguel knows how to use to the creative fullness in order to achieve the goal of all art: Incessant search for Beauty.
Already,y in his sculptoric maturity, Miguel surprises us with the work “The Essence of Youth,” the first series of the opera, which he will later name as the Essences Series. In it, Miguel uses an expressive language starting from the formal reality he subtracts elements and creates spaces that invite the viewer to feel the emotion of participating and being integrated into the creative process.
Miguel proposes to us to feel the magic of following him from that initial singularity that contains the whole in front of the void. Then guides us through the emergence of matter and the form that he projects open to change and permanent transformation, all the while not allowing the dynamic impulse in a determined and closed composition to deteriorate and keeping the initial inspirational breath alive.
It was not until 1990 when he approached his first stage as a realist sculptor with ” The Calm and Silence” and “The Reflection.” Thay is also his first two steps in the Realism Series, with which Miguel starts to take on a reversed path to his previous stage. What was previously proposed as a projection towards the spectator, dynamic and expansive, now becomes introspective, intimate, directed at the world of reflection and having a contracted and serene form.
Both the Magical figuration and realism create a dialogue in the creative process of Miguel, so heavily influenced by his admiration for Antonio López, they form a thesis and antithesis which will be constant in the successive stages. Alternating and sometimes overlapping in time without one prevailing definitively over the other.
Cubist Abstraction,
His first steps as a sculptor were cubist, inspired by Gargallo, Lipchitz, and Archipenko. They were the avant-garde of cubism in sculpture. At the same time in his works we can notice the strong influence exerted by Juan Gris and Pablo Picasso, more specifically out of the graphics work in that form of expression, which moves him to create an outstanding series of works in which he deals and manages to respond to the challenge of creating a cubist abstraction. Among his works in that style stand out the Harmony of Samothrace, the Cubist Horse of Guernica, the Harlequin and the Menina.
In painting he navigates in three directions: Cubism, Realism and Impressionist.
Although he began his cubism exploration with a sculpture, he soon, after seeing an exhibition of Juan Gris at the Reina Sofia Museum in Madrid, became interested in the pictorial aspect of cubism. He began to painting creating his own style, a three-dimensional cubism, based on his sculptures; he decomposes the cubist planes giving them more dimensions in the eyes of the viewer, creating a very special space. His first work “Three-dimensional cubist harlequin” manifests perfectly what the artist wants to show us.
This artist has always liked realism and in painting he, specifically, seeks to reach the viewer not only by an actual reproduction of an idea, but to cross through the gaze of the observer and make them excited by the painting. As a very good example, thereof, may serve one of his first paintings “Leaning into Africa” where the artist transmits to the observer who, through the window, looks out over the African continent, its light and its people and, in turn, the children from there appear to be looking through the same window into our world.
Within Miguel Guía’s artistic versatility, he navigates through a very particular impressionist style, although his other styles, especially realism, are also recognizable within his works. His impressionism does not stop being a reality that does not depend so much on the literality of the trace but the effect of light and shapes on our retina and to this end Miguel uses the color with the force necessary for his paintings to reflect that other reality.
His first painting “Raining in New York” is a clear example of how the author achieves a very cinematic and visual effect with light and color.
Tel./WhatsApp (ENGLISH): +34 607 71 23 14
Tel./WhatsApp (ESPAÑOL): +34 676 14 45 89
© 2020 Miguel Guía. Todos los derechos reservados.
Desarrollado por Brainhole Studio
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March Madness Marching Band
Wonderful video short done by Jennifer Miller about March Madness Marching Band. Yay, Jennifer!
Hoop-a-thon 2010 Photobooth
Originally uploaded by mrtoastey
I love doing this photobooth thing, even if I've got some bugs to work out. And I love this photo.
The whole set is located here.
Business Lexington portraiture
Lately, I've been doing field portraits for a local business newsmagazine. It's a fun and always challenging gig. I think my subjects are generally surprised when I show up and monkey around with a setting for sometimes over an hour before calling them over for the shot.
clipped from www.bizlex.com
Brent Mayer, R&D manager at Neogen.
photo by: Mick Jeffries.
Lexington, KY - Brent Mayer's title with Neogen Corporation in Lexington is manager of research and development, but a more accurate title might be "problem solver."
A tirade directly following a viewing of AVATAR
I don’t think movies can change the world. Movies can’t change anything. And it’s the painful aching created by James Cameron’s Avatar that makes this such an acute thing to grapple with.
Avatar. The most expensive movie ever made. Well, so far. In fact, that’s one of many ways that Avatar stands as both outside observer and part of the problem.
But watching Avatar made me need a drink. I expected to be impressed by the SFX, and sure, it’s arresting visually, and lives up to its invoice, I guess. It is astonishing candy for the eyes, especially in Real-D 3D, which makes it gooey and gritty and feathery. But the thing I walked out thinking is this: Avatar is sad. Really fucking sad.
It’s a flawed blockbuster, too, but that’s a different kind of sad, not the kind I’m talking about. I think Cameron — who never made any good impression on me with Titanic — hit a homer with this one, and the problem is he hit it right into our nuts.
There’s some pretty familiar themes in the movie — some pedestrian, easily-digestible themes: the power of true love; the rag-tag band of vigilantes, outgunned x1000, but armed with the most powerful weapons of all: truth and goodness; etc.
I don’t care about these themes: They are deeply-rutted clichés that Americans seem to need at the movies. Cameron, I think, saw that these themes were needed to get butts in seats.
What is undeniable to me in Avatar is just how fucking sad it all is, not in some ethereal dream world, but right here in the 21st Century US of A. And that’s the ultra-bummer of a way that Cameron gets it right with Avatar: a world where capitalist corporate interests have warped common sense, compassion, civility, and most every other positive human quality with some unassailable rationalization that revolves around enormous, undeniable profit-potential — wielding a well-equipped private army, in case of dissenters. Hell, you want a compelling story? That one is the most compelling — and tragic — ones that we’ve got. For centuries now.
We’re drunk with it, as a society, and Avatar does a great job of portraying all the little rationalizations that allow the typical upright ape to be okay with it, to participate, and to safely arrive at some popular straw-man argument that it’s either us or them.
That Avatar portrays this so effectively is arresting, moving and — as I keep saying — fucking sad. I wish that seeing Avatar would make me drop what I’m doing and work in some more substantial way for the good of:
Its disaffected billions, who are basically fucked so that we can go to the mall and worry about swine flu.
Some other segment of humanity that is getting fucked the fuck over by our collective tacit agreement that big business and a profit-based ideology are at all okay and beneficial.
They’re not — and I probably won’t. Don’t ask me what we’re supposed to do instead; I have no idea. But things are not going well in this world and it’s easy to feel powerless against juggernauts of multi-national business — or juggernauts of stadium-sized machinery, as portrayed in Avatar, but which likely actually exist within the fleets of huge companies like DuPont or Dow or Halliburton or I-don’t-even-know.
Even with its manufactured happy ending, Avatar couldn’t help but point out that we are so fucked. Which isn’t new news: Today happens to be the anniversary of the death of George Orwell, who got it at least 60 years ago, and immortalized it in 1984.
Avatar reminded me: There is evil in the hearts of men, or — failing that — at the very least a unique ability to distance ourselves strategically from the suffering of others, and especially any role that we may be playing in perpetuating said suffering.
This may come across as spectacularly sophomoric and preachy. I don’t care. James Cameron can see it. You don’t make the most expensive movie ever with this core implicit theme and not be able to see it.
I do see this as the message of the movie, and if Cameron realized that he could only “sell it” with a triumphant happy ending, well, so be it. As I said, more butts in seats in this case is good. Currently, Avatar has been seen by droves of people, far more than I would have expected for a fantasy/sci-fi pic with feline-looking CGI people. Why is that? Is it possible that people might actually be inspired in some profoundly uncomfortable way to stop accepting the kind of evil that is done in the name of profit and comfort and ease and convenience?
Probably not. It’s just a movie. I don’t expect people to walk out and do any different than I did, which is to express a momentary outrage, share it in some social media outlet, feel genuine sympathy that fades back into “the daily grind,” and just get on with this colossal mess that the vast majority of us are either helping to make or neglecting to work on cleaning up.
Avatar is just a movie, after all. A stupid, beautiful movie that does a shockingly brilliant job of pointing out how stupidly we’re behaving as a society. There has got to be a better way for us to behave as a society and a species, and every single person knows it. What has to happen for we as a society to do that?
Finally, if I need to clarify: Go see Avatar. Forget the happy ending, forget the Hollywood trappings. And watch James Cameron show us how we as a people have just got to change before we completely screw ourselves.
Posted by Mick Jeffries at 11:52 PM 5 comments:
Robot Cowboy at Busters
Dinesh's History of Logos
Stumbled across this kind-of addictive site that contains brief histories of the origins of many well-known logos. It may seem peculiar to think that such common daily images as the Coke logo have stories … but they most certainly do.
clipped from www.dinesh.com
Home History of Logos
Quad cam can!
Eric Sutherland at "Someday We Will"
Bruce Burris' opening at Institute 193, attended by some of my favorite folks. Yay, Lexington.
Eric Sutherland & Bruce Burris on Trivial Thursdays
Great radio show this AM. Thanks, guys.
(never) Still Life with Bruce
Summoning Lost Cameras
clipped from photojojo.com
Bring Lost Cameras Home with a Digital Summoning Spell
But never fear: writer Andrew McDonald employs a clever trick to call home his wayward cameras.
Oh no, you just lost your camera! (Not really, but let’s pretend.)
How to Summon Home a Misplaced Camera
Olive wanted to go out. Mr. Mustard isn't allowed to go out, but he can gloat when Olive decides that going out was not such a great idea.
Frozen Chosen III
A prime turnout for an icy serene bike odyssey through sonambulant Lexi. Cold, snowy, finale at Al's — afterglowy.
View Frozen Chosen III Bike Route in a larger map
Sky Bar Lunch
Gotta say — Lexington's new Sky Bar is impressive. It's the first place I've seen in a long time that aims for "swanky" and might pull it off. The furnishings? Leather sleek, with moody lighting. Music? Sinatra & Miles... No complaint there. The bar? Sleek and well-stocked. Not cheap. Beef stew for lunch - excellent. The view? Unmatched for a Lexington restaurant.
Sky Bar Lunch view
Sky Bar View
Posted by Mick Jeffries at 12:41 PM 1 comment:
Rebel New Year's 2009-2010
Eric Sutherland & Bruce Burris on Trivial Thursday...
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Westgate Bridge Anniversary
Home > The Hon Kelly O’Dwyer MP > Westgate Bridge Anniversary
Tuesday 16 October 2018 Speech
The Hon Kelly O’Dwyer MP
Minister for Jobs and Industrial Relations
Today we recall the tragedy of the Westgate Bridge collapse.
The Westgate is a bridge that is dear to every Melbournian because, as you drive over the top of this bridge, the marvellous sweeping vista of our great city is unveiled, from Port Phillip Bay all the way to The Dandenongs.
But it also a bridge that is has an unforgettable and tragic history, not only for Victorians but for all Australians.
The Westgate Bridge accident happened two years into construction of the bridge at 11:50am on a windy Thursday on October 15, 1970.
A 112 metre long span weighing 2,000 tonnes of steel and cement collapsed into the Yarraville mud below.
35 construction workers were killed and another 18 injured, most of them with life-changing injuries.
Eighty-eight children lost their fathers in a few seconds that awful morning.
This was Australia’s worst industrial accident.
Many of those killed were on lunch break in workers’ huts when the falling span crushed them.
Others were inside the girder when it plummeted into the river.
Descriptions of how the men were killed are too horrible to detail.
The following morning, the then Premier of Victoria, Sir Henry Bolte, called a Royal Commission into the cause of the disaster.
The Royal Commission reported eight months later, attributing the failure to multiple human errors, and to flaws by the designers of the bridge, Freeman Fox. The Royal Commission also blamed the unorthodox method of construction undertaken by the bridge’s original contractors.
The designers at the time believed they were constructing a bridge that pushed the boundaries of engineering knowledge, but in doing so, their negligence cost a great number of lives.
“Error begat error,” the Royal Commission concluded.
The men who died and were injured were the innocent victims of these dangerous and calamitous failures, the Royal Commission found.
As Minister for Jobs and Industrial Relations, I want to lend my deep sympathies to the families and relatives and colleagues of those who were killed and injured in this terrible tragedy.
Like all of us, I believe unsafe workplaces are unacceptable, and that we all have a responsibility to be diligent in finding ways to make our workplaces safer.
Many lives were changed that day, and any Victorian who lived in the city at that time has never forgotten the tragedy.
It is a fitting coincidence that every year in October, Australian employers and workers participate in National Safe Work Month.
This event began as National Safe Work Week in 2005, but five years ago was extended to National Safe Work Month.
It is a particular time of the year where we all renew our commitment to building safer workplaces in Australia.
This tragedy also helps shape our national focus on ensuring safety on all work sites and a shared commitment to people returning safely from a day on the job.
We are indeed fortunate that Australia is one of the safest places in the world to work, but no industry should be unsafe to work in and no death or injury is acceptable.
Injury or death in the workplace changes individuals’ and families’ lives forever so we must do everything in our powers to prevent accidents and unsafe workplaces.
The Westgate Bridge disaster was a tragic example of multiple factors contributing to a terrible accident.
It reminds us to avoid the temptation of laying blame at the feet of just one person or one group, particularly when the causes of accidents are complex.
And that is the risk we run with the types of industrial manslaughter laws that some have been calling for.
The risk is that - people who have done nothing wrong in workplaces where good policies and practices are in place - become the focus of blame.
And that might see them unfairly convicted and jailed for up to 20 years. Then it will be their lives and their families that will be destroyed.
If these industrial manslaughter laws were to be implemented we would see a shift in focus to punishment after the event.
Our current health and safety laws provide a more effective approach that has been shown to reduce workplace fatalities.
They hold companies and managers accountable for any breaches of their duty of care to workers, regardless whether an accident occurs.
And they impose criminal offences on those who breach their duties, with fines of up to $3 million for companies and $600,000 for managers.
Government action on health and safety
While every workplace death is a tragedy, the level of fatalities has been falling:
Workplace fatalities have reduced by 48 per cent from 310 in 2007 to 190 in 2017
The rate of fatalities has halved, from 3 fatalities per 100,000 workers to in 2007 to 1.5 per 100,000 in 2016
And in the Construction industry, the fatality rate has fallen by 45 percent since 2007, and by 20 per cent since 2015
And the rate of serious workers compensation has also fallen 16 per cent over the five years to 2016-17.
The evidence shows our model work health a safety laws are driving the right focus on preventing deaths and injuries.
The Coalition Government has been taking action across the country to ensure workers and all Australian are safer in workplaces.
To ensure building sites are safer and fairer we re-established the ABCC and implemented a strong Building Code for the industry.
Our laws protect one million workers and over 300,000 small businesses from bullying and lawlessness in the industry
We have introduced mandatory drug and alcohol testing on Commonwealth-funded building sites to improve safety
We are completing a Review of Work Health and Safety laws and their effectiveness in the industry
The Federal Safety Commissioner has set new safety standards on Commonwealth funded building projects
And there has been a 24 per cent increase in companies under the WHS Accreditation Scheme, cutting red tape while increasing safety
We are also taking unprecedented action on Asbestos:
We have more than doubled the funding for the Asbestos Safety and Eradication Agency, providing an extra $1.7m for 2018/19
We have negotiated the first ever national Strategic Plan for Asbestos management, with all States and Territories signing on
150 activities are taking place across Australia under the Plan
We have strengthened border requirements to stop asbestos reaching Australia
And the Mesothelioma Registry has been established
Furthermore, we are taking urgent action on silicosis.
As a result Safe Work Australia will be:
updating the exposure standards for crystalline silica
requiring employers to monitor health of at risk workers
developing an awareness campaign to help the industry manage risks
And hosting and broadcasting virtual seminars on silicosis risks
Safe Work Australia has already:
Commenced a ground-breaking review of the workplace exposure standards
Published National Guidance on Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace
Developed nationally consistent policy on key areas of explosives regulation
Transitioned Australia to the Globally Harmonised System for labelling chemicals
Commenced a comprehensive review of the model Work Health and Safety laws.
Our work is comprehensive, but it is constantly evolving and being updated.
In conclusion, the anniversary of Westgate Bridge tragedy is a reminder to us all to be ever vigilant in our efforts to reduce workplace accidents because one death in our workplaces is one too many.
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Council on Library and Information Resources
Academic Image Exchange [Western Art History Survey]
to support the development and evaluation of a prototype for an 'Academic Image Exchange,' a digital image resource for students, teachers, and scholars of the history of art and related disciplines
Other grants awarded to Council on Library and Information Resources
Operational Support III
Arlington, VA, United States
Awarded $1,200,000 in June 2019 to support general operations
Recordings at Risk: Audiovisual Preservation
Awarded $2,807,000 in March 2019 to support a regranting competition for audio and audiovisual preservation
Postdoctoral Fellowships in Support of Data Curation for African American and African Studies
Awarded $2,750,000 in September 2018 to support fellowships in humanities data curation for African American and African studies
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12/8/2019 football Edit
BREAKING: Missouri to hire Eliah Drinkwitz
Click here to take advantage of this special offer.
Gabe DeArmond and Mitchell Forde
After a winding, eight-day search, Missouri has settled on a new head football coach, pending approval by the Board of Curators. PowerMizzou has confirmed a report by ESPN's Chris Low that the school has reached a deal with former Appalachian State Eliah Drinkwitz. Nothing between the two parties has yet been signed, but a university official said an agreement is in place.
Missouri is set to hire Appalachian State's Eliah Drinkwitz. (Jeremy Brevard/USAToday)
Missouri fired Barry Odom on Dec. 1 after four seasons as head coach. A week later, a private plane flew from Columbia to North Wilkesboro, NC on Saturday night. That same flight returned to Columbia late Saturday evening. Sources have indicated the flight took Director of Athletics Jim Sterk, and possibly other Mizzou officials, to meet with Drinkwitz following the Mountaineers’ 45-38 win over Louisiana in the Sun Belt Conference championship game.
Sunday, the two sides agreed on terms, though the details of the agreement have not yet been made public. Missouri will have to pay $1.7 million to buy Drinkwitz out of the remaining four years of his contract with Appalachian State.
At the outset of the search, Sterk said he wanted a coach with head coaching experience and an offensive background. The 36-year-old Drinkwitz checks both of those boxes, although his experience is limited. The 2018 season represented Drinkwitz's first as a college head coach. Taking over for Scott Satterfield at Appalachian State, Drinkwitz went 12-1 and has the Mountaineers ranked No. 20 in the final College Football Playoff rankings. Appalachian State accepted a bid to the New Orleans Bowl, where It will play UAB.
Prior to getting the head job at Appalachian State, Drinkwitz served as an assistant under several prominent head coaches, including Gus Malzahn and Dave Doeren. Drinkwitz started his college coaching career as a quality control assistant at Auburn under Gene Chizik, where he was part of the Tigers' 2010 national title team. He then followed Malzahn to Arkansas State, where he coached the running backs in 2012 and added co-offensive coordinator to his duties in 2013. From there, he moved to Boise State, where he spent a year as the tight ends coach and another as the offensive coordinator. Finally, from 2016 to 2018, he served as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at North Carolina State.
For more information on Drinkwitz, check out the candidate profile we posted Sunday morning. As more information becomes available we will keep Tiger fans up to date.
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The Weeknd Sued for Trademark Infringement Over ‘Starboy’ Comic Concept
Kevin Winter, Getty Images for Coachella
The Weeknd is being sued for a trademark violation.
According to TMZ, comic book writer Eymun Talasazan has alleged the Canadian singer-songwriter poached an idea from a character he invented in 2015, also named Starboy, after their potential collaboration to marry his hero with The Weeknd's alter-ego fell through in 2017. Even so, the site states Talasazan moved to file a trademark on Starboy the same year.
Mind you, the Grammy winner dropped his album — which shares the same name of its smash single — Starboy in November 2016. Though he wouldn't announce his comic book project with Marvel until following October, which eventually published in June 2018.
However, Talasazan maintains the "Call Out My Name" performer's comic "had a near identical premise as the one he pitched" to the musician the year prior. Additionally, TMZ makes mentions Talasazan was apparently in talks to develop a "story arc and additional characters" with the departed Marvel Comics co-creator Stan Lee back in 2016.
The writer's attorney, Kirk Schenck, told the site: "This is not a case about who created or first used the term 'Starboy.' This case will decide if a songwriter automatically (without filing a trademark application) obtains trademark protection for all lyrical uses of a word, even if those later uses have nothing to do with albums, song titles, music or lyrics."
Contrarily, however, TMZ notes the artist filed opposing docs against his accuser back in April, contesting that Talasazan is only trying to leech profit off his success.
As of late, The Weeknd has yet to answer these new claims of infringement.
Deleted Tweets Celebrities Wish We Never Saw
Source: The Weeknd Sued for Trademark Infringement Over ‘Starboy’ Comic Concept
Filed Under: The Weeknd
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ScriptEclipse
ScriptEclipse allows developers to add functionality to Eclipse by scripting. Supported languages are Python, Ruby, Groovy and JavaScript. Discounted packages here. Video: http://viplugin.com/fil...
Groovy Development Tools
The Groovy Development Tools (GDT) provides Eclipse and Maven (m2e) support for the Apache Groovy programming language. GDT adds full-featured IDE support including editors, wizards, content assist...
Notch is a plugin for Eclipse that extends the IDE with groovy scripts. It is a productivity tool that enables you to assign hotkeys to scripts that automatically generate code or execute comman...
Groovy/Grails Tool Suite (GGTS) for Eclipse
The Groovy/Grails Tool Suite™ (GGTS) provides the best Eclipse-powered development environment for building Groovy and Grails applications. GGTS provides support for the latest versions of Gr...
Demoiselle Nimble Eclipse Plugin
The Demoiselle Nimble Eclipse Plugin is a new tool made by Demoiselle Community to support the development, through automatic code generation, of Java EE applications that is using the Framework De...
IDE, Languages, Editor, Programming Languages
Last Updated on Monday, January 20, 2020 - 11:37 by Andrew Clement
Last Updated on Thursday, March 7, 2019 - 07:12 by Martin Lippert
UI, Application Development Frameworks, Systems Development, J2EE Development Platform, Tools
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Last Updated on Tuesday, October 22, 2019 - 11:31 by Steven Rowlands
Editor, General Purpose Tools, IDE, Other, Programming Languages
Last Updated on Monday, February 4, 2019 - 13:53 by Michael Bartl
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Friday, February 07, 2014 ... / /
Study finds a huge discrimination against boys at schools
Science shows that the opposite of the feminist claims is true
In the famous Czech cartoon for kids, Mr Mach and Ms Šebestová (right) found a torn off telephone receiver. Comrade teacher Ms Kadrnošková (pink skirt) tends to treat Mr Horáček and Mr Pažout as two ultimate losers although they may be smarter than Ms Šebestová and she just dislikes their rebellious character. Episodes at YouTube.
Czech news server iDNES.cz discusses a pair of new sociological papers about the favoritism in education:
Czech teachers disciminate against boys. A new study debunks the feminists.
Dr/Mr Petr Matějů, the currently most cited Czech sociologist and the dean of a Faculty of Social Studies, along with Dr/Ms Natalie Simonová, another sociologist (who is as pretty as her namesake with an extra diacritical sign, a model), wrote a paper to be printed in the March 2014 issue of Orbis Scholae (The Eye/Circle/World of Schools) titled
Who is disciminated against at school: boys or girls?
An extended international version written along with the Prague-based U.S. sociologist Michael L. Smith will appear in the upcoming issue of The British Journal of Sociology of Education.
Their research has analyzed the decade-old exams and grades from 2003 of 2,598 nineth-graders (*1987). The data included the reading and mathematical abilities in the international research tests PISA (where favoritism isn't possible), along with the grades from the normal school process where favoritism is possible. They were interested in various correlations of these numbers with the schookids' sex, socio-economic, cultural, and family background, and the kids' further plans.
Dr Matějů says that because of a growing avalanche of international research papers, he was ready to find out that the boys are discriminated against. But he didn't expect the differences to be so spectacular.
The favoritism aiding girls was found in every individual kind of test.
Even though boys' more objective PISA exams showed better scores than the girls' in all respects, girls are 2 times more likely to get a "1" in mathematics (an "A", from a 1-5 scale) than boys. In the Czech language, the chance of the girls' to get a "1" is a staggering 5 times higher than the boys' odds, despite the better boys' objective results.
The authors conclude that the discrimination against girls at schools is self-evidently a feminist myth. They have pointed out the absence of actual evidence in some other papers claiming to study the same questions, including one paper by Ms Lucie Jarkovská and Ms Kateřina Lišková called Gender Aspects of the Czech School Education System. The latter paper admitted that girls are the benefactors of favoritism when it comes to grades but it has also claimed – without any actual evidence – that the teachers like to question the girls' abilities.
Ms Jarkovská, the feminist, emitted lots of incomprehensible fog in order to try to diminish the impact of the new studies. "Unlike these authors, we don't view this as a fight – to find out who is worse off." It's too bad because exactly this "fight" question was claimed to be the topic of their very paper, too. Ms Jarkovská says that one must also judge the actual impact of the grades on the future success in education, the feeling of satisfaction, and later better income. Clearly, they haven't done any actual research on any of these things but they love to spread the answers supporting their preconceived ideology, anyway.
Drs Matějů and Simonová have found out that both sex and the social background of the schookid have a profound impact on the decisions about the further studies. The daughter of college-educated parents has many times higher chances to study a gymnasium (intellectuals' high school) followed by a college than the son of parents with apprenticeship.
"These biases have apparently been operating in our society for quite some time, and unless the situation will change, we may expect a further deterioration of the boys' ideas about the success in life – and this deterioration unavoidably evolves into the emergence of problem-riddled behavior, including violence and crime," Dr Matějů said. He would be a deputy minister of education for universities some years ago.
The reasons behind the favoritism is only discussed marginally by the paper. They speculate that a possible explanation is that the teachers give better grades to more disciplined, obedient, polite schoolkids – which tend to be girls.
Another possible explanation is the significant overrepresentation of women among teachers. If this turned out to be the actual cause, the society should work hard to increase the percentage of men among the teachers – in the analogous way in which it is sometimes being tried to increase the percentage of women in the STEM fields (well, I would add: it would actually be possible to increase the number of men among teachers while it is not possible to markedly increase the women in STEM fields). They also recommend various unspecified improvements of the education methods that would allow everyone to choose the specialization according to his or her interests rather than gender stereotypes.
They were asked how can the better girls' grades be reconciled with their lower average income. They answered that due to the discrimination against boys at schools, boys are forced to work harder which is something they later find helpful when they work. Well, I don't believe this explanation much, but let me not turn this news story into my essay.
Ms/Dr Jarkovská, the co-author of the older feminist study, mentioned many likely teachers' stereotypes. The assumption is that due to their later puberty, the boys are believed to be likely to catch up with the girls later. Teachers sometimes tend to prefer schoolkids who have been already "boxed" as the earners of the best grades "1". She also says that while the girls get many more "one's", their value is often devalued – teachers think that they resulted from memorization, not intellect and ingenuity. I actually think that these explanatory comments by the feminist are right (and so is the teachers' belief, in most cases). Teachers may give better grades to the girls but they also know it's happening, so they're largely remove this bias back when they see the grades (given by their colleague) as an input.
The x-axis shows the grade group (1 is best, 5 is worst), and gymnasiums (left half) and specialized expertise high schools (right half). The y-axis shows the average score of the sex-schooltype-grade bin for boys (dark blue) and girls (light blue). You may see that the boys' (impersonal) scores are always significantly higher. In fact, the boys' score would earn them a grade better by one whole degree (–1) if they were graded according to girls' standards.
Czech media have repeatedly discussed analogous conclusions of more "industrial" surveys of this kind. For example, in Spring 2012, we were told about 2005 tests by an institution named Scio that also showed that boys with the same grades had significantly higher scores in impersonal tests than girls who would receive the same grades from the (biased) teachers. See the graph above.
The discussion thread under the new newspaper article is highly civilized, partly because of the fact that virtually all readers seem to think that the papers confirm their experience which many of them describe in some detail. The votes under the comments sometime indicate the dominance of anti-feminist readers by the 60-1 or 30-0 ratio. It is still sort of staggering to remember that I was treated like a Nazi boss – or as a Jew in Auschwitz – for the very same common-sense views and knowledge. The only feminist-like assertion I could find in the discussion was one by a man that "girls probably need more motivation". A female reader quickly corrects the man by pointing out that the truth is exactly the opposite. It's the girls who are easier to be motivated – programmed to do something – while boys tend to preserve their own character and priorities and are sometimes notoriously hard to motivate.
Vystavil Luboš Motl v 9:57 AM | |
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Enrolled Families
Accessing Your Music Together Songs
The Music of Music Together®
Music Together Do Re with Me is proud to teach the Music Together curriculum, which includes an award-winning mix of original songs and traditional tunes from a range of musical styles, including folk, blues, jazz, and world music. The music is pitched just right for children's voices, and the arrangements are fun, sophisticated, and loved by children---and grownups! The combination gives the children of Newport and Bangor a rich music experience, and makes this kids’ music enjoyable for adult listening, too!
Have a listen to some songs by downloading our free "Hello Everybody" app which includes eight full-length songs.
The Music Together songs are organized into nine collections of twenty-five songs, with three collections taught each year. Your family is welcome to join us at any time and continue for three years---and beyond. Many families cycle back and re-experience the collections as their children turn three or four. Because music-learning is cumulative, your children will experience developmental benefits that build over time. That’s why we encourage their participation in Music Together for as many years as possible from infancy through kindergarten.
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Subject: Investment News Briefs
URL: http://mney.co/1SCWiaL
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Investment News Briefs
By Investment News Staff, Money Morning - October 20, 2009
"New Reality" For Newspaper Publishers Forces Search for New Revenue Streams to Tap Into
New York Times Will Offer Content For Free
With our investment news briefs, Money Morning provides investors with a quick overview of the most important investing news stories from all around the world. More Insider Trading Arrests Coming; Icahn Offers CIT Bailout; Oil Pushes $80; Treasury Steps In To Support HFAs; N.Y. Times to Cut 100 Newsroom Jobs; Hasbro Shares Fall Amid Soft […]
By Bob Blandeburgo, Associate Editor, Money Morning - September 21, 2009
As traditional print media continues its steep declines in advertising sales and circulation, publishers are struggling to come up with new and creative ways to generate revenue. Ad revenues in the newspaper industry plunged 16.7% last year to $37.8 million, according to the Newspaper Association of America (NAA). The 2009 take is estimated to fall […]
By Investment News Staff, Money Morning - September 18, 2007
From Staff Reports In a move that's certain to have a ripple effect on the newspaper sector, the New York Times Co. (NYT) last night (Monday) announced that editorial content previously accessible only via subscription will be available for free, starting tomorrow (Wednesday). Currently, that content is available only through the Times' two-year-old TimesSelect subscription […]
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To Communicate
To Innovate
To Ignite
To Excite
To Move You
Award-winning creative, dedicated client support, trailblazing marketing innovation – Moore and Scarry Advertising is a full-service agency driven to move your automotive retail business forward.
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Moore & Scarry Advertising
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Award-Winning is our Legacy
Founded in 2001, Moore & Scarry Advertising has grown to become the largest agency in Southwest Florida. Boasting 21 Telly awards and multiple ADDYs, our full-service advertising and audiovisual production capabilities are industry proven.
With over 70 full-time employees and offices in Florida and Colorado, our clients enjoy local support with national impact.
Dedicated client professionals guide you to results that matter, translating your goals into action, and upholding the standards of your brand.
Innovative graphic designers, video editors, and copywriters deliver fresh, award-winning creative across all forms of media.
Specialized media representatives place your message where it counts, capturing new audiences that translate into new sales.
Experienced billing specialists ensure a smooth and hassle-free financial process with no surprises.
Moore & Scarry Advertising is 100% dedicated to your automotive retail business. With years of experience serving clients and delivering results in a specific industry, no other agency understands you better.
In the early to mid-2000s, other agencies took notice of our trailblazing service and creative, as company co-founder Duncan Scarry built the foundations of a leading automotive agency.
During the economic downturn, we continued to deliver breakthrough strategy that helped our clients, including Morgan Automotive Group, achieve success when others faltered.
Today, new ownership has revitalized the company’s culture and outlook. By utilizing strategic partnerships with Yahoo!, AutoTrader.com, and Cars.com, we work on the cutting edge of digital and traditional advertising to give you more.
Active Rooftops
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From aerial videography to state-of-the-art equipment and software, Moore & Scarry Advertising delivers hundreds of produced spots each month to clients across the country, each with unique branding touches to help you stand out.
It’s why some of the nation’s largest automotive dealer groups choose us, including Group 1 Automotive, Zeigler Automotive Group, and Asbury Automotive Group.
Our Creative
Moore & Scarry Advertising delivers high impact creative on a consistent basis. By maximizing leads, capturing new audiences, and establishing strong branding identity, you’ll immediately notice results
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Oktoberfest For All
Pay in May
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Market dominance… We’ve gone from #5 to #1 - John Marazzi - Managing Partner, Brandon Honda
Market dominance… We’ve gone from #5 to #1
Written by: John Marazzi
Moore & Scarry
They have the personnel… they have the insight… they have the creativity - Tim Van Binsbergen, GM, Mountain States Toyota
They have the personnel… they have the insight… they have the creativity
Written by: Tim Van Binsbergen
They know the markets… they understand our business - Brett Morgan, Operations Director at Morgan Auto Group
They know the markets… they understand our business
Written by: Brett Morgan
"Market dominance… We’ve gone from #5 to #1"
John Marazzi - Managing Partner, Brandon Honda
"They have the personnel… they have the insight…they have the creativity…"
Tim Van Binsbergen - GM, Mountain States Toyota
"They know the markets… they understand our business…"
Brett Morgan - Operations Director at Morgan Auto Group
The Moore & Scarry Leadership Team
Extensive experience in advertising and business meets a passion for automotive. It’s that combination that helps the top brass of Moore & Scarry Advertising deliver results for your business.
Paul Caldwell is a partner at Moore & Scarry Advertising. With over 18 years of successful automotive advertising agency, broadcast, digital and direct mail experience, he is one of the industry's leading authorities on retail sales ...
Tom Kerr
Tom Kerr is a partner at Moore & Scarry Advertising and co-founder of SPARQ. He began his career as an account coordinator in 2005 and has since held leadership positions as an account executive, director of account operations, vice president and general manager, and executive vice president...
Jacquie Miller
Jacquie brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise in the field of Automotive Advertising and customer service. Over the past five years, she has worked with large dealer groups as well as single point stores where she efficiently conquered unique advertising challenges...
Ed Kiesel
Ed is an 11-year creative veteran of the retail automotive advertising industry. A graduate of USF with a fine arts degree, he soon learned that the "starving" part of starving artist was not as glamorous as it was cracked up to be and sought a high-energy outlet for his designs.
Karyn Cardona
Karyn is a savvy 20 year retail media veteran spanning nearly every market in the nation. Nicknamed "The Negotiator" she is relentless in ensuring that every dollar invested is optimized and reconciled for added value promotions, sponsorships and impact placement...
Lucero Ruiz
Born and raised in Mexico City Lucero Ruiz always had a passion of the arts. She graduated from Savannah College of Art and Design with a B.F.A. in Visual Effects and a minor in Technical Direction while being part of the Women’s Soccer Team...
Janet Talpasz
Janet is a senior account executive and homegrown talent of Moore & Scarry Advertising since beginning her career in 2010. Janet developed a strong sense of passion for...
Kayla Judd
Born and raised in Fort Myers, FL and a graduate of Edison State College, Kayla has been with Moore and Scarry since January of 2010. She started as a Me...
Kevin McDade
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Culture That Moves You
Cutting edge creative and dedicated client service during the week. Gulf beaches and mountain vistas during the weekends.
Whether it’s our location in Cape Coral or our West office in Denver, there’s a lot to look forward to when working at MSA. We keep things casual, but stay focused on achieving success; whether it’s at our annual basketball or paintball tournaments, or bringing home nationally-recognized awards.
Ping pong, company swag bags, and paper airplane contests are just some of the extra perks you get while working at Moore & Scarry Advertising. For what we have in store next, you’ll just have to join us and see for yourself.
Careers At Moore & Scarry Advertising
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Devin Dawson Is Now a Married Man
After meeting as students at Belmont University two-and-a-half-years ago, Devin Dawson and Leah Sykes tied the knot on Sunday (Oct. 27) in a ceremony filled with personal touches that highlighted their love story.
The 30-year-old and his new bride wed at Franklin, Tenn.'s historic Carton Plantation, People confirms.
"The property has a perfect set up for a fall wedding with the garden, foliage and a 250-year-old oak tree serving as an incredibly gorgeous and natural altar," the couple says. Dawson's trademark color, black, was paired with merlot and champagne to cover the space for their wedding and reception.
The wedding was a family affair — Sykes' brother, Jacob, married the couple as the officiant, while Dawson's best man was his twin brother, Jacob Durrett.
In lieu of traditional wedding vows, the couple wrote their own vows to one another. "We wanted to recite our own written vows in addition to traditional wedding vows," the "All on Me" singer explains. "You better believe that two songwriters and artists wanted to write our own vows and promises!"
With music being a big part of their lives, the couple sang "How Deep the Father's Love" during the ceremony to celebrate their faith. "We could flood the Cumberland [River] with the tears of joy and love that will fall," Dawson joked of the tears that fell during the ceremony.
The couple chose "Wouldn't Mean a Thing" by Bruno Major to dance to together. Sykes wore a Monique Lhuillier gown that was adorned with lace, paired with a chapel length veil.
"Honestly, I said I wanted to feel like a fairy princess and that is exactly how the dress makes me feel," the bride says. Dawson wore a white tuxedo for the reception, a far cry from his usual all-black attire.
The country star helped design his new bride's engagement ring and wedding band at Bezalel in Nashville. His goal was to create something that was "simple, elegant and timeless." His grand romantic gesture was adding Sykes' great-grandmother's diamond from her wedding ring in the wedding band, underneath the main diamond.
The couple first stepped out as a couple at the Academy of Country Music Awards in 2018. Dawson proposed to Sykes on the two year anniversary of their first date, on March 10, 2018.
Devin Dawson's Foy Vance Cover Is Spellbinding
See the Top 10 Country Songs of 2019:
Source: Devin Dawson Is Now a Married Man
Filed Under: Devin Dawson
Categories: Entertainment News, Music News
Video of Mrs. Barton's 1st Grade at Legacy Leading us in Pledge
2020 Kiss Country 93.7 is part of the Taste Of Country Network, Townsquare Media, Inc. All rights reserved.
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Then shift to second person, exclaiming “You’re in charge of your life and emotions.” Practicing in second person is enhanced by speaking into a mirror, and seeing the person looking back at you (your best audience and worst critic, yourself). If you speak to the eyes looking back at you in the mirror until the one looking back really “gets” the communication, you are doing well!
Next, shift to third person, “He is in charge of his life and emotions. She is…”
Then the “Royal We,” inferring that “All the parts of me that make up myself are…in charge of our emotions.”
What’s next? “They are…in charge of their life and emotions.” It is essential to acknowledge others for developing this same quality, along with reinforcing it within yourself. Subliminally, practicing this on your own sets up a ‘win-win’ dynamic through which you will be listened to with greater attentiveness, as the people you speak with feel that they mean as much to your presentation as your downloading information to them.
Once you’ve practiced this exercise with the 5 key pronouns of I, you, (s)he, we and they, now go back to the first person, and activating the powerful “I AM” presence, literally put your foot down, as though your life depended on it, simultaneously saying the words as you direct your strongest intention through the base of your spine towards the centre of the molten earth.
Then whisper it, and as you decrease the volume of your sounds, increase the ‘volume’ of your gestures.
Sing it! “I am in charge…” (It doesn’t have to be an academy award performance, just bring melody and rhythm to the simple statement, and sing it 3 times, each time building up your physical presence with larger movements and sounds until you are belting out the key phrase for all and everyone to hear.
Laugh it, act silly, do it in gibberish – so you can bring the feeling behind the intonation out, with more humour (and more of you)
See all the different ways that you can see, feel and hear you coming to the fore. This way you’ll find many more parts of you that, perhaps, have been in hiding and not feeling quite safe to come out. Like an archaeologist, imagine yourself digging up those underlying ways of speaking what you’ve always wanted to voice.
Let’s look again now at our body. Notice, how your spine naturally straightens as you say these words, “I am centred, calm and free. Have you heard the good news? (S)he’s centred, calm and free!”
And you may find yourself saying it in different ways again: playfully, seriously, in gibberish, singing, whispering, mouthing the words, shouting and even miming — having your gestures ‘speak’ so clearly there’s no need to say any words at all. Even writing down the words and speaking them out loud while the words are being formed is another way of encoding the new self-talk into your muscle memory.
Know that you can access now all these different ways of speaking up that can come out of hiding – from the crannies and corners of your bodymind’s landscape. “I am a vehicle for the fullest expression of good.” Awake! Awake! For Goodness’ sake.
How do you recognise this territory of being centred in your body? How can you remember how to get back here when you need it most? What gets activated in sensations and locations in your body when you say, “I go further than I thought I could”? Do you breathe longer? Do you move with larger movements or with subtler movements? “I stretch my limits with ease.” And here’s a wonderful one to shout as well as to whisper: “I stretch my limits with ease!!”
Sing, “I stretch my limits with ease.” I’ve asked someone to sing that once around the room, and they were so much afraid of letting their inner child out, that they at first wound up crying instead.
What I am saying to you is get all these considerations we’ve had about being fully ourselves out of your system, by giving them voice. Then, out will come the part of you that is a masterful communicator. Out come the words without even having to say them out loud. Feel it deep inside in your innermost core. Make a note of the sounds. What affirmations right now will you turn into a positive statement that you can stand on, live with and bring through you?
How does that ring true for you? What areas of your life have you said, “Yes, but…” Where have you pulled back moving forward with ease? Put your attention now on your buttocks area in your body and realize how the “Yes, but… ” is centralised there.
In fact, in order to authentically be able to say, “I move forward with ease,” we discover ways to no longer have to pull back these muscles at the same time. So, the body becomes a more alive piece of your ability to say with your word what again matches up on every level. “Yes, but” becomes “Yes, and…”
Speaking about saying yes to yourself, what area(s) of your life right now are you ready to set free, to allow your fullest self-expression to emerge? Where are you ready to go further right now than ever before? Make this statement and feel how specific sensations and locations are activated in your body. Is there a lengthening of the spine, a fullness of the breath, a deepening of the sound, an ease in the joints, a fluidity where there was once a rigidity?
With respect to your posture, breath, movement and voice, you are now – more than ever before – a engaging partner to yourself throughout your whole body. Notice what happens in your physical body when you say to yourself, “I am a partner with my posture, movement, breath and voice. Every part of me speaks my whole message.”
How do you notice that it’s truer when you allow these words to take place? If your breath would have a voice and talk to your body, what would it say? It might say, “Give me more room. I deserve equal attention here, too. More room for me, more room for you.” Find your own dialogue between different parts of you. The posture may talk to the breath: “I stand for you, take more time for me.” The voice may talk to your movement: “Let’s support each other more.”What part of you has more to say? Listen; there is a message in here. Speak your truth, as the breath streams clear…
Visualise now, as you exhale, letting go old ways of holding. As pressure leaves your lungs, declare to yourself, “I let go of old ways that were holding – no longer needed, no longer wanted.” Even see these words again riveted, illuminated on this neon screen of your mind. And thank the old ways for what they showed you, the ways of holding tight may have been protecting you from being rejected, judged and hurt from others in the past. Yet, the muscle memory now shifts, as you practice a new story, a new glory.
Visualise waters falling as you exhale long, picturing and feeling yourself letting go of old ways — no longer needed, no longer wanted — in your body, mind and life. Longer exhales, more room to let go, more room to trust what you deeply know… Longer exhales, deeper sounds, further intentions — through the pelvic floor, longer deeper further than you once allowed before… And as you breathe in strong, feel yourself connecting with what you truly belong. Out with the old, in with the new, all the way in, all the way through. With each new inspiration, fresh ideas and insights stream through — further, longer, deeper than you once allowed and knew…
As you breath in, feel your Breath rising — without hesitation — like a great wave. And as you exhale, feel your Breath falling — without questioning — like a great wave. A great wave rising and falling between the shores of your pelvis and shoulders, and back again. Longer exhales meeting stronger inhales. The Breath, the sacred messenger of thought, carries our every intention — surely rising towards the shore of our shoulders, surely falling towards the shore of the pelvis.
Seeing the way we breathe in this transformed way, as the “carrier of our consciousness,” also shifts how we express our inner intentions with our outer expression. This leads us to address the subject of “intonation,” the way we vocally transmit sound through our body as the chief instrument of communication.
Indeed, aligning our intentions through our vocal sounds, our visual gestures and our verbal words is the foundation of “The Art of Speaking.”
About the Author: Gary Wohlman
agree Australia authenticity authority breakthrough communication skills directors double extreme doubt dynamic dialogue embodiment expression hostile I am presence impact information inner conflict inner guide inspiration leadership listening message monty python overcoming fear overcoming fear of looking silly participatory questions point presence presentation public speaking Q & A relationship self-talk sing speaking up speaking voice speech delivery stage presence step up tone unlock vocal vocal expression work yes
Archives Select Month August 2017 (1) July 2017 (2) May 2016 (1) January 2016 (37)
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A project of the BMBF funding programme
Iron-based nanoparticles and nanocomposite
structures for removal of contaminantsfrom groundwater and sewage
Overall Findings of the Project Fe-nanosit (2010-2013)
The joint project Fe-Nanosit aimed at the development of catalysts on the basis of iron or iron oxides. The catalysts were further developed to achieve an improved technological application for ground water and wastewater treatment, and the applicability of the method was proven.
With regard to groundwater treatment, a nanomaterial composed of nano iron and charcoal (Carbo-Iron) was further developed. Carbo-Iron accelerates the reduction of harmful chlorinated hydrocarbon compounds (CHC) present in contaminated groundwater. Compared to pure iron nanoparticles, Carbo-Iron showed improved stability in the air, an improvement of injection and transport properties and a higher reactivity towards CHC.
Accordingly, Carbo-Iron was tested for the first time under real environmental conditions on a CHC contaminated site (below a former laundry).
The Carbo-Iron particles were injected into the contaminated groundwater and subsequently, a very effective chemical degradation of chlorinated hydrocarbons over a period of > 2 months was detected by an extensive monitoring. In addition, a further CHC reduction was observed, due to an increased activity of microorganisms in the aquifer. It is assumed that the iron released from the nano-catalystes causes a fertilisation effect, leading to an enhanced growth of microorganisms in the groundwater. This effect is currently being investigated in more detail in subsequent projects. In comparison to the use of pure iron nanoparticles also the formation of the undesired by-product vinyl chloride is prevented.
Within the project, also innovative nano-catalysts for the cleaning of contaminated wastewater should be developed. Here, the magnetic properties of ferrous nanomaterials should be exploited to allow the separation from the wastewater after use. This prevents on one hand the particle release into the environment; on the other hand it is resource friendly, as the nano-catalysts can be used for multiple cleaning cycles. Within the project various highly active materials for both reduction and oxidation processes were selected and further developed.
As a case study, a real waste problem from the formaldehyde industry was chosen. So-called iron-zeolite nano-catalysts showed at pilot scale that a rapid degradation of small contaminant molecules can be achieved even within the neutral pH range.
Since an environmental release of Carbo-Iron particles takes place intentionally and cannot completely rules out for the nano-catalysts for wastewater treatment, possible risks posed by the developed materials to environmental organisms were concomitantly investigated. The ecotoxicological studies showed no effects on various model organisms or effects of nanomaterials only at very high concentrations. Taking into account the stability of the particle suspension, the potential environmental concentrations and the high concentration and toxicity of pollutants to be removed, the environmental hazard of nanomaterials developed in this project was considered to be very low.
Grant No.: 03X0082
Duration : 01.05.2010 - 30.04.2013 (extended to 31.10.2013)
Dr. Stefan Scholz, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ), Leipzig (DE)
Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ), Leipzig (DE)
Department Bioanalytical Ecotoxicology (UFZ)
Department of Environmental Engineering (UFZ)
Department System Ecotoxicology (UFZ)
Institute of Geosciences,
University of Potsdam, Potsdam (DE)
Golder Associates GmbH, Celle (DE)
Max Bergmann Center of Biomaterials (MBC), Dresden (DE)
Fraunhofer Institute for Ceramic Technologies and Systems (IKTS), Dresden (DE)
IBL Umwelt- & Biotechnik GmbH, Heidelberg (DE)
TU Dresden, Dresden (DE)
ECT Oekotoxikologie GmbH, Floersheim am Main (DE)
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Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images
Long: How rules package, hard tire played key role in Denny Hamlin’s win
By Dustin LongApr 2, 2019, 7:30 PM EDT
FORT WORTH, Texas — Any other year, Denny Hamlin likely doesn’t win. But a new rules package, combined with key strategy calls and a tire that didn’t fall off much, allowed Hamlin to rally from two pit road penalties to win Sunday’s race at Texas Motor Speedway.
No driver had come back from two pit road penalties in the same race to win since Brad Keselowski did it in October 2014 at Talladega. But that was restrictor-plate racing, and Keselowski’s penalties came during the same caution period a third of the way through that race.
Hamlin faced a much different situation at Texas.
The first half of Hamlin’s race was a mess. He missed pit road on Lap 63 and was speeding on pit road when he made it there on Lap 64.
“I was just beating my head against the steering wheel thinking, ‘Man, we’re going to finish bad with a really fast car,’“ Hamlin said.
An uncontrolled tire on Lap 173 of the 334-lap race sent Hamlin to the back.
“It was a very rough day,” crew chief Chris Gabehart said.
Just as Gabehart’s pit calls helped Hamlin win the Daytona 500, Gabehart again guided his driver to victory Sunday.
Gabehart could do so because of the rules and the tire.
The new rules package is intended to keep the field closer together. That creates more opportunities to pass. Previously, the fields at Texas Motor Speedway would spread out, making it harder to gain ground a few laps after a restart.
Denny Hamlin pits for fuel in the final laps at Texas Motor Speedway. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
Gabehart said that this was not a track position race because how cars could move through the field. Just as important was that the tires did not have a significant drop off in time during the course of a run. Had these been tires that wore, Gabehart would not have been able to call for no-tire stops. He would have had to change four tires each stop and Hamlin would not have been able to leapfrog some cars through strategy.
A no-tire stop put Hamlin in the lead on Lap 156, and he won the second stage, which ended at Lap 170. Hamlin came down pit road during that caution for four tires. He was penalized for the uncontrolled tire during that stop, dropping him outside the top 15.
Gabehart called for a no-tire stop a second time during caution on Lap 256. Hamlin restarted sixth behind three cars that did not pit and two others that also did not take tires.
“For our scenario each time, it just made the most sense,” Gabehart said of the no-tire calls.
Hamlin took the lead on Lap 303 from teammate Erik Jones when Jones pitted for two tires and fuel. Hamlin relinquished the lead on Lap 319 for enough fuel to make it to the end. When the field cycled through, Hamlin was back in front because of how little time he had spent on pit road.
“This is a complete different style of racing than what I used to do in the past,” Hamlin said. “I have to adapt. Seems like I’m adapting quickly.”
As is Gabehart.
Rarely do you hear NASCAR officials so candid and raw as Steve O’Donnell was Monday on “The Morning Drive” on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
The topic was group qualifying and the issues that have pervaded the sport the past month.
Cars parked on pit road during qualifying at Texas. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
Asked if he was angered by the controversy, O’Donnell said: “I think it’s ridiculous, candidly. I know the drivers did not like this qualifying before the season. Part of you says, ‘Are (they) doing this on purpose to get rid of it?’ “
O’Donnell’s comments were part of an offensive that series officials have gone on since Auto Club Speedway last month when all 12 cars failed to complete a lap before time expired in the final round.
Driver complaints about the qualifying have been constant since.
NASCAR President Steve Phelps appeared on “The Dale Jr. Download” (5:30 – 6:30 p.m. ET Tuesday on NBCSN) and was vocal about what has happened in qualifying.
“That was unacceptable if I was a race fan and unacceptable if I was at the race track,” Phelps said of this past weekend.
Scott Miller, senior vice president of competition, expressed his displeasure with what happened March 15 at Auto Club Speedway, saying the actions of drivers made “a mockery” of qualifying. Miller also said of the drivers not completing a lap in time: “It surprised me that they weren’t smart enough to go out.”
Last weekend at Texas, Jay Fabian, Cup series director, also raised questions about the drivers’ actions, saying: “Some of it is a little confusing because they say they don’t want to go out first … but (Daniel Suarez) went out by himself and transferred twice by himself. They say you got to follow somebody, but they chose to not follow him. I don’t understand why they didn’t.”
Since Auto Club Speedway, various NASCAR officials have used the term “mockery,” “ridiculous,” and “unacceptable” in discussing qualifying, and O’Donnell even said it makes one wonder if the drivers are doing this on purpose to get rid of the format.
Strong words but the time will come for action. The draft won’t be a factor in qualifying until Kansas next month (Talladega already has single-car qualifying) so NASCAR has some time to address the matter. The question is how strong will NASCAR’s response be?
The driver who might have had the most reason to be upset with NASCAR moving the championship race from Miami to ISM Raceway in 2020 would be Kyle Larson, but he wasn’t.
Miami is one of Larson’s best tracks and had he qualified for the championship race, he likely would have been the favorite regardless of who the other contenders were.
“Even though Homestead has been a track where I can lead a bunch of laps and also challenge for the win, I’ve always felt like it needs to go somewhere else,” Larson said. “I would like to see it go … to a different track every year.”
Kyle Busch has one more race left this season in the Gander Outdoors Truck Series. Busch, who has won his first four starts this season, is limited to five races in that series because of his Cup experience.
Busch’s remaining race is next month’s event at Charlotte. It will mark the earliest his Truck season has ended. Part of the reason he races in the Truck series is to help improve his equipment at Kyle Busch Motorsports for his other drivers. With being done so early in the season, how will that impact the organization’s performance the rest of the year?
Kyle Busch has won all four Truck races he’s entered this season. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
“For us, we aren’t a Cup team and so we move a lot slower than the Cup teams do,” Busch said. “You all talked about how when everybody got done with the West Coast swing, the first time people would have updates to their cars would be Texas. I don’t think we would see an update to our stuff for two months. It just takes a bit longer to kind of get all that instilled into our stuff.
“If you look at me running the front side of the season and running as much as I do right now, we’ve been building some notes, and we’ve been building some things that we can work on and get better and do a little bit differently, so when we get to say July, August – that’s when you’ll start seeing some stuff coming out.
“That will be the brunt of the season, kind of closing in for the playoffs and then the playoff push. I’d like to run more or maybe I’d like to run a little bit later, but I just don’t know that the races fall, especially with me – like going to Iowa, I’ve never been to Iowa. Gateway, those places, I don’t need to go to those places, so it doesn’t make any sense for me to go to those places.”
Tyler Ankrum was excited after his sixth-place finish in Friday night’s Truck race. It was just the fourth career start in the series for the 18-year-old. That tied his career-high finish. He also placed sixth at ISM Raceway but Friday’s run was special because it was his first race on a 1.5-mile speedway.
“It’s kind of still surreal,” Ankrum said after the race. “I”m racing against (Matt) Crafton, Kyle Busch and (Johnny) Sauter. It’s crazy. I even passed Sauter on the outside! I don’t think you realize how important that is for me. I had a ton of fun and can’t wait to come back.”
He wasn’t the only driver who had a memorable weekend. Saturday’s Xfinity race saw Jeb Burton finish fifth in his first start of the season for JR Motorsports (Burton is back in the car next month in Charlotte).
As Burton talked about his finish to Performance Racing Network, he got emotional.
Here's the @PRNlive audio today on @JebBurtonRacing following his fifth-place finish today @TXMotorSpeedway.
Link: https://t.co/myBzEedp2X#NASCAR
— Chris Knight ツ (@Knighter01) March 30, 2019
Other notable finishes from the weekend: William Byron‘s sixth-place finish matched his career-best result in Cup. Ryan Sieg won his first stage in the Xfinity Series on Saturday. Ronnie Bassett Jr. finished 15th in the Xfinity race, the second-career start for the 23-year-old.
Tags: Auto Club Speedway, Chris Gabehart, Dale Jr. Download, jay fabian, Jeb Burton, Johnny Sauter, Kyle Busch Motorsports, Matt Crafton, nascar, Ronnie Bassett Jr., Ryan Sieg, Scott Miller, siriusxm nascar radio, Steve O'Donnell, Steve Phelps, texas motor speedway, Tyler Ankrum, Brad Keselowski, Daniel Suarez, Denny Hamlin, Erik Jones, Jeb Burton, Kyle Busch, Kyle Larson, Ronnie Bassett Jr., Ryan Sieg, Tyler Ankrum, William Byron
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Chile wildfire rages on after destroying 120 homes on Christmas Eve
Chile has recently been battling the most severe drought in decades. In September, the country declared water shortages in more than 50 communities across three regions
A house burns following the spread of wildfires in Valparaiso, Chile, December 24, 2019.Rodrigo Garrido/REUTERS
Deanna Paul, The Washington Post
A wildfire consumed the outskirts of a coastal Chilean city on Tuesday, destroying dozens of homes. Firefighters struggled to control the rapidly spreading blaze, prompting an evacuation order in Valparaiso, a port city northwest of Santiago.
Although the source of the Christmas Eve fire has not been determined, Valparaiso Mayor Jorge Sharp told local news outlets Wednesday that there was reason to believe it had been set intentionally.
As of Wednesday, the fire, which was worsened by strong winds, consumed more than 120 homes in the popular tourist town, known for its vividly colored wooden houses. There were no reports of casualties.
A house burns following the spread of wildfires in Valparaiso, Chile, December 24, 2019. Rodrigo Garrido/REUTERS
“We have decided to decree a communal emergency which will facilitate debris removal and reconstruction,” Sharp said in a tweet early Wednesday.
“In addition, we will file a complaint against those who are responsible for the obvious intentionality of this fire,” he added.
The effort to extinguish the fire continued through the morning. Helicopters doused the affected areas, and two schools were turned into shelters for residents who fled the fire.
Chile has recently been battling the most severe drought in decades. In September, the country declared water shortages in more than 50 communities across three regions.
A man throws water to help to extinguish a fire following the spread of wildfires in Valparaiso, Chile, December 24, 2019. Rodrigo Garrido/REUTERS
President Sebastián Piñera said in a statement posted on Twitter that emergency responders were fighting “tirelessly” to control the blaze in Valparaiso, one of the country’s largest cities and a major Pacific port.
“We deeply regret the fire that affects so many families in the hills of Valparaíso and especially on Christmas Eve,” he said.
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Briefly about Microsoft BizTalk Server platform
Microsoft BizTalk Server is a software product that serves as a platform to integrate applications across an enterprise and to manage its business processes. With Microsoft BizTalk Server, you can create distributed business processes which will integrate different applications within the enterprise and feature reliable and secure interaction with the partners via a local network and the Internet. Microsoft BizTalk Server ensures the integration of information systems at both the business process level and data level.
Microsoft BizTalk Server includes tools for designing, development, deployment and administration, as well as over 25 ready-to-use adapters which provide high-quality integration of systems based on well-known industrial platforms: SAP, Siebel, PeopleSoft, Oracle JD Edwards, etc. Over 10,000 companies are already using BizTalk Server in order to integrate their information systems. Depending on the enterprise size and particular integration purposes, you can choose the suitable Microsoft BizTalk version from the available four which differ with their functionalities.
Quick integration of new systems
Quick recovery after failures
Secure message delivery
Sustainable work even if remote systems are poorly accessible
High productivity
Embedded tools for management and monitoring
Data transfer across systems
Microsoft BizTalk Server enables synchronous and asynchronous data exchange between the connected systems. BizTalk supports main integrating patterns for message routing and features a graphic editor which provides rich functionality to customize the transformation of the transmitted data.
Managing data transfer business processes
Microsoft BizTalk Server allows you to create distributed business processes of data transfer using a data orchestration mechanism. To create the data orchestrations, BizTalk provides a graphic editor where the business process can be visualized in the form of conditional statements, relations, data transformations and other operations.
Analytical tools (BAM portal) for the transmitted data
Microsoft BizTalk Server allows you to analyse the transmitted data using BAM component (Business Activity Monitoring). BAM saves the information about the transmitted messages in Microsoft SQL Server database, then the information is processed by SQL Server Analysis service, after which you can build the reports using Excel or the web interface (BAM portal) based on user-defined parameters.
For instance, you can check the value of purchase orders transferred from the sales system to the accounting system, the number of the orders and the processing time.
Integration management tools (Business Rules)
Microsoft BizTalk Server provides a tool to manage data transfer business processes. With the Business Rules mechanism, the business user can change the key parameters of a business process without stopping it.
For example, for the invoice reconciliation process you can specify the invoice amount that requires an approval by the financial director.
The platform is being used by
SKB Kontur
SKB Kontur / Implementation of an enterprise service bus and a master data management system
JSC Gazprom Gazenergoset
Gazprom Gazenergoset / Implementation of an ESB and a master data management system
Solutions on the platform
Navicon MDM
Microsoft SQL Server, Microsoft BizTalk Server, Microsoft Azure
Navicon. Data Talks: New Trigger-Based Analytics Platform AYRA, Discussions on Brand Promotion
The Navicon. Data Talks forum has taken place for the 9th time in Moscow on September 26, 2019. Experts in such areas as the pharma industry and consumer goods came together to discuss the matters of brand promotion, while Navicon team presented its new analytics platform AYRA, to which companies can now entrust decisions related to increasing their ROMI and sales.
Navicon Is Microsoft Authorized Reseller Under Open Value Program
Microsoft has authorized Navicon to be its reseller under Microsoft Open Value licensing program in Russia.
Navicon Is Microsoft Business Applications Platform Partner for 2018
Microsoft Corporation has recognized Navicon as its Business Applications Platform Partner of 2018 in Russia. Navicon, a system integrator and software developer headquartered in Russia, has been actively promoting Microsoft cloud technologies in the Russian market, while also developing and implementing its own IT solutions based on Microsoft Dynamics 365, mainly for the pharmaceutical industry.
Navicon Among Top 10 Companies in Russian Master Data Management Market
Navicon has joined top 10 leading players of the Russian Master Data Management market according to TAdviser, the leading IT mass media in Russia. Navicon is in the 7th position. The TAdviser ranking takes into account IT companies’ achievements in the Russian market in 2016-2017.
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Working Paper: Theory versus Reality in Charter Schools in Colombia
National Center for the Study of Privatization in EducationWorking Paper: Theory versus Reality in Charter Schools in Colombia
Working Paper: Theory v. Reality in Charter Schools in Colombia
In "Theory versus Reality in Charter Schools in Colombia," D. Brent Edwards Jr. and Hilary Hartley go beyond assessing academic outcomes to examine the process of authorization, evaluation, and enrollment to determine the degree of accountability and choice. Edwards and Hartley conclude that choice has been limited by inadequate supply, in turn curtailed by insufficient funding necessary for new Concession Schools to meet government standards; and that accountability has been compromised by the absence of a clear and common set of criteria.
By: D. Brent Edwards Jr. and Hilary Hartley
National Center for the Study of Privatization in Education
In 1999, Colombia joined many other countries in amplifying educational options by introducing charter schools. Called Concession Schools (Colegios en Concesión), they have been confined to the capital city, Bogotá, they grew in number by 2003 to 25 and remained at that count through 2014, accounting for 4 percent of the nearly 1 million students in the city's primary and secondary schools.
Edwards and Hartley base their findings on interviews with parents, principals of both Concessions Schools and neighboring traditional public schools, evaluators working for the Bogotá School System, and officials at the Colombian Ministry of Education; on quantitative and qualitative evaluations of schools; and on visits to both Concessions Schools and traditional public schools. The result is not only a detailed depiction of educational privatization in Bogotá but also an instructive tableau of foreign practice for comparative analysis.
Published Tuesday, Jun. 30, 2015
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Denise Richards (Denise Lee Richards) is one of those brave actresses in Hollywood who was not afraid to do most sexy scenes on the big screen. She was also the most stubborn actresses of Hollywood who could expose herself on camera. For her stunning physical beauty, she appeared in James Bond >> Read More... movie named ‘The World Is Not Enough’ which was released in 1999. The spell of her sexy costumes in the Bond film had spread wide criticism too. It does not wonder to say that she remained unfazed by the criticism and went to cash her success with her Bond girl image. Earlier, she had worked with two men actors Matt Dillon >> Read More... and Neve Campbell Neve Campbell is a film actress and television art >> Read More... in 1998's Wild Things, where an intimate bedroom scene took her career to higher success at a very young age. Hence whenever she came on screen, viewers wanted this sparkle lady to keep the viewers with her hot appeal. Over two decades she not only worked very hard to become the style icon and one of the super hotties in the 2000s.
Her most successful movie was Starship Troopers, which was a highest grosser film worldwide( over $120 million). It is true that it is not her acting skill, but her sexy look had paved the way for her stardom. She also worked hard in many TV series and was acclaimed for her roles and even won several awards too She was a model and hence this actress was more appealing on the screen. This actress was too young when she came to Los Angeles for her modeling career. Soon due to her gorgeous personality and hot appeal, she got cast in a number of television series, television films and then got cast in Hollywood movies too. She married her co-star Charlie Sheen Carlos Irwin Estévez, more prominently known as Ch >> Read More... . She got pregnant and after their second child, she filed for divorce.
This actress publicly fought Sheen in to get custody of her two daughters. Later, she was also known for dating another music personality Bon Jovi Jon Bon Jovi, whose original name is John Francis >> Read More... , who was married already. Even this relationship broke, and now she is living her life as a single mother.
Claudia Ciesla
The tide seems to have turned for Bollywood. Earlier, Indian films had to be sent abroad for technical finesse, and the dream of many Indian actors was to act in Hollywood movies. But at the turn of the century the tide has turned, as India started being looked at from a different perspective. This affected the film world too and in a reverse phenomenon, overseas actors and actresses started looking at Bollywood as a viable prospect for pursuing their acting careers. The case of the 28 year old Claudia Ciesla, born of Polish-German parents in remote Poland is a case in point. She had started her career in show biz at the young age of 15 with modelling, winning recognition and publicity in various European countries. By 2008, with her getting a name in modelling, it inevitably propelled her into German TV and internet based serials. Her Indian journey began in a mixed manner with appearances as a brand ambassador of an Indian University and also appearing in an Indian Bengali film “10-10” featuring the noted Bengali actor Soumitra Chatterjee and in this film she plays her own European self being portrayed as a German journalist. The main incident which, however, brought her into the limelight was her appearance in the TV reality show “Bigg Boss” in 2009 and her subsequent appearance in another reality show “Zor Ka Jhatka” hosted by Shah Rukh Khan. Although this did not give her any identity as an actress, it did give her some amount of celebrity status, making it easier for her to enter the world of Hindi films. For her glamour and looks she seemed ideally fitted for an item number for Akshay Kumar’s “Khiladi 786” very well and this really launched her as an oomph girl in Bollywood. The Balma song of that movie, as it has been popularly referred to, has made her an instant hit with many other producers willing to take her on for their items numbers. In fact, she has already bagged another item number role for herself in the movie “Desi Katte”’ with a song with a Bihari tinge, entitled Patnewali hoon. Her name having spread, she has also now received similar roles in Punjabi and Malayalam films also, and is eyeing the industry in the South for a larger number of roles. Claudia’s future growth in her career in India may generate similar inflow of overseas talent in the Indian film industry, and such future trends may not be just limited to item number roles.
Elizabeth Hurley is an English model turned actress, who had featured in TV serials and even movies. She is better known for her off-screen romances that are linked with few top male personalities in the world. When she met Hugh Grant, English actor and film producer, she married him and spent 13 (1985-2000) years with him and even has a son. But the couple got separated and she started dating Indian textile heir Arun Naryar since 2002, and they again filed divorce in 2011 and the couple had parted ways. She was engaged to Aussie cricketer, Shane Warne. She was busy bringingup her son Damian, who is now 13. After 8 years of remaining away from camera and flashlights, she will be doing a guest appearance in popular TV drama Gossip Girl. In addition, Elizabeth will also be appearing in a lead role in Royals that will be aired in US Entertainment Channel E. She has managed to purchase a 13-bedroom, $13.3 million country home in Herefordsine, which she purchased with ex-fiance, Aussie cricketer Shane Warne’s money and stays there with her 13-year old son. While she has may not have own any applauds for her film roles, she has been always popular celebrity, who always attracted a new generation of fans. She always aspired to become a dancer. She took ballet class and even studied dance and theater at London Studio Centre. Although she got her first job in modeling at the age of 29, even after decades of signing the modeling contract with Estee Lauder, she is still brand ambassador and spokesperson for the company’s breast cancer awareness campaign. For acting career spanning almost 30 years, she bagged bet supporting actress role for Austin Powers, International Man of Mystery. She has appeared over 20 films and have appeared in in twenty serials. She is perhaps one of the royal actress, who has an estimated net worth of $35 million. She was born on 10th June 1965 in Hampshire as younger daughter of Angela Mary and Roy Leonard Hurley. She is doing a lot of charitable services. She is active in Estee lauder’s breast cancer awareness campaign, under which she created Elizabeth Pink Lipstick, whose sales benefit in collecting money for the cause. She did take up this work, as her grandmother passed away while suffering in breast cancer.
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PH faces security challenges in joint exploration with China: analyst
Posted at Aug 08 2018 09:14 AM | Updated as of Aug 08 2018 09:38 AM
MANILA - Security will be a bigger concern should a joint energy exploration deal between the Philippines and China push through, a professor on maritime affairs said Wednesday.
Jay Batongbacal, director of the Institute for Maritime Affairs and Law of the Sea, said a deal on joint exploration may give China legitimate grounds to send more ships to disputed areas in the South China Sea.
"The fact that China will have a stake in these 2 contracts means they now have a legitimate ground to send ships to establish a presence and even protect Chinese operations," he told ANC.
"How do you handle presence of Chinese warship or law enforcement vessels escorting Chinese commercial vessels off Coron? That is something our Navy should prepare for," he added.
Meanwhile, Batongbacal also said 60-40 sharing on the proposed joint exploration is no doubt allowed by the Constitution, but he stressed that the real issue is how this will be implemented.
"What's important for us is there should be no acknowledgement on our part that they have any legal rights to the resources, that this agreement is being done purely in a matter of political accommodation and has no legal effects at all," he said.
Former solicitor general Florin Hilbay earlier warned the Philippines would waive its rights over the West Philippine Sea should it agree to a joint oil and gas exploration with China.
"That's rather blatantly unconstitutional. It's against the decision in the Philippines vs. China, which declares that we don't have any overlapping entitlements with China over the West Philippine Sea. Which means that the potential oil and gas, such as Reed Bank, is entirely and exclusively ours," Hilbay told ANC.
"The moment you enter into some kind of an agreement such as co-ownership, you are recognizing the right of the co-owner, which will result in the waiver of the decision in Philippines vs China."
Joint exploration would waive PH rights over West Philippine Sea: Hilbay
China must recognize PH ownership of resources before joint exploration: Carpio
Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano has said the administration is working on a framework for possible oil exploration with China where companies can work on a commercial level without damaging the country's claims.
PH against unilateral exploitation of South China Sea: Cayetano
Cayetano assured that the framework will not go beyond the Philippine Constitution and follow as a standard the Malampaya 60-40 sharing of revenues for the Philippines.
Manila is now racing to tap oil resources in the disputed sea as the Malampaya natural gas field off Palawan can only supply gas up to 2029.
China, Joint Exploration, South China Sea, West Philippine Sea, Jay Batongbacal, ANC Top, ANC Exclusive, Early Edition
Read More: China Joint Exploration South China Sea West Philippine Sea Jay Batongbacal ANC Top ANC Exclusive Early Edition
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NILL added new content to the Indian Law Bulletins on 7/12
Law Review & Bar Journal Bulletin
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American colonialism and constitutional redemption.
An analysis of the lack of protection for intangible tribal cultural property in the digital age.
The Trump public lands revolution: Redefining "the public" in public land law.
Global water crisis and human rights: A glass half empty.
The untold story of the Dakota Access Pipeline: How politics almost undermined the rule of law.
The distributive state and the function of tax expenditures.
Congressional power and sovereignty in Indian affairs.
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Caddo Nation of Oklahoma v. Wichita and Affiliated Tribes (Tribal Sovereign Immunity)
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State of North Dakota v. Peltier (Child Support - Concurrent Jurisdiction)
http://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/news/currentnews.html
In the Land & Water section, we feature an article about a dispute between Maine tribes and the EPA over water quality rules.
Regulatory Bulletin
http://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/regulatory/2018.html
We feature notices of the Department of the Interior relating to leasing regulations under the Helping Expedite and Advance Responsible Tribal Homeownership Act of 2012 (HEARTH Act) for two tribes.
U.S. Legislation Bulletin
http://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/legislation/115_uslegislation.html
The following bills were added:
H.R.6147: Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2019.
NILL added new content to the Indian Law Bulletins...
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You are here: Home » Artist » Rhett Akins Named First-Ever ACM Songwriter of the Decade
Rhett Akins Named First-Ever ACM Songwriter of the Decade
Sarah Skates • September 17, 2019
Photo L-R: Ed Warm, Academy of Country Music Chairman; RAC Clark, ACM Interim Executive Director; Sonya Akins; Rhett Akins; Lauren Akins; Willa Gray Akins; Ada James Akins; Thomas Rhett. Photo Credit: Alex Justice
Rhett Akins was honored with the ACM Songwriter of the Decade Award during a surprise presentation backstage at his son Thomas Rhett’s recent tour stop at the United Center in Chicago.
This honor is one of seven new ACM Decade Awards categories. Factors considered for the ACM Songwriter of the Decade Award include success of body of work at radio, commercial media, sales and streaming, creative integrity, artistic merit and ACM Award recognition.
To that end, Akins was named ACM Songwriter of the Year in 2017 and was nominated in the same category in 2011 and 2013. His first ACM nomination came in 1997 for Top New Male Vocalist. During his 24 years of hitmaking, Akins has had 30 No.1 singles and 36 BMI Awards.
The ACM Decade Awards were ratified by the ACM Board of Directors, following a stringent examination by more than 20 Board members and the ACM Special Awards Committee, co-chaired by Chuck Aly and Kelly Rich.
The ACM Song of the Decade Award was recently awarded to Miranda Lambert, and songwriters Tom Douglas and Allen Shamblin, for “The House That Built Me.” Recipients of the remaining Decade Award categories (Album, Artist-Songwriter, Breakout Artist, Single, and Music Event) will be announced in the coming weeks.
Category: Artist, Awards, Featured
Sarah Skates has worked in the music business for more than a decade and is a longtime contributor to MusicRow.
CMA Hosts Country Music Hall Of Fame Inductees For 16th Annual Artist Luncheon »
« Warner Music Artist Services Promotes Andrew Peterson
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TIPS2000 Kiosks Installed at VA New Jersey Healthcare System
September 11, 2000 /in Government (Military / VA), Healthcare, Kiosk News /by
It looks like the VA New Jersey Healthcare System in East Orange and Lyons will continue to set the standard for customer service by leveraging the power of the internet to better serve their retired military community.
They recently purchased two new TIPS2000 touchscreen information kiosks, which will be installed at the VAMC in East Orange and Lyons. The systems are provided by DynaTouch Corporation, the San Antonio-based company that has been supplying touchscreen kiosks to DoD for over 10 years. With over 600 units in operation at military installations worldwide, the DynaTouch kiosks have a proven track record as being an extremely effective utilization of technology to enhance customer service and reduce administrative burden. The predominant use of the kiosks will be to act as a point of information for visitors as well as patients.
“Our visitors will now be able to access the Internet, view a comprehensive multimedia presentation of printable, detailed maps with directions, hours and phone numbers for clinics, support facilities and services, and obtain other helpful information about the local community – all via the kiosks!” says Steve Stoner, Assistant Chief of IRM.
One important point is that the TIPS2000 kiosk not only provides information, but collects it as well. Usage statistics are being recorded with every touch. There is also a powerful customer feedback survey on the kiosk. “We can let the kiosk ask our visitors and patients questions, then we’ll be able to retrieve the answers via the Internet whenever we want.” Usage statistics reports can also be retrieved via the Internet, allowing you to measure the effectiveness of the kiosk.
One of the most welcomed changes with TIPS2000 is that DynaTouch can update the kiosk via the Internet for these VAMC locations, whenever they need help. The Internet, without a doubt, continues to change the way we all do business.
Tags: DynaTouch, Healthcare, Information Kiosk, New Jersey, TIPS2000, VA, VA New Jersey Healthcare System, Veterans Affairs
https://news.dynatouch.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/VANewJersey.png 500 830 Amanda Haller https://news.dynatouch.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/header-logo.png Amanda Haller2000-09-11 09:00:212018-01-24 09:35:05TIPS2000 Kiosks Installed at VA New Jersey Healthcare System
Fairchild AFB Pharmacy Sets the Standard for Customer Service
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Social Security Administration (SSA) Upgrades Nearly 5000 Devices with TIPS Kiosk Management Software
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Riigikogu to convene next Friday for no-confidence vote against Ratas ({{contentCtrl.commentsTotal}})
Prime Minister Jüri Ratas (Centre). Source: Ken Mürk/ERR
The opposition Reform Party has decided to request that the Board of the Riigikogu convene the Riigikogu for an extraordinary sitting next Friday, Aug. 30, for a no-confidence vote against Prime Minister Jüri Ratas (Centre). The opposition alone, however, does not have enough votes to dismiss the prime minister.
Reform had initially hoped to convene the Riigikogu on Monday, but this date did not work for all MPs.
"We wrote a statement for the no-confidence motion against the prime minister in favor of which all Reform Party and Social Democratic Party (SDE) MPs and [independent, ex-Centre MP] Raimond Kaljulaid have promised to vote," Reform Party parliamentary group chairwoman Kaja Kallas said on Friday.
"We must regretfully profess that as prime minister, Jüri Ratas has been incapable of ensuring the dignified governance of Estonia," the text of the motion reads. "Jüri Ratas has been incapable of forming a government that would work toward moving Estonia forward. Instead, Estonia has a government that has, since taking office, attacked various societal groups and destroyed its society's cohesion. We have a government that is damaging Estonia's international reputation, and whose incompetent ministers overstep the bounds of their authority and for whom the rule of law means nothing at all. We have a government who, despite economic growth, have been spending and continue to spend at the future's expense."
The Riigikogu can express no confidence in the government, the prime minister or a minister with a decision in favor of which a majority, or at least 51 MPs, votes.
A motion of no confidence can be initiated by one fifth of the Riigikogu, or at least 21 MPs. Should a no-confidence vote against the government or prime minister pass, the entire government resigns.
In absence of a quorum at a general sitting of the Riigikogu, at least 51 MPs must be present at an extended sitting and at an extraordinary sitting.
While a general sitting of the Riigikogu lacks a quorum, or minimum required number of participating MPs, a quorum of 51 MPs is required for an additional or extraordinary sitting, in the absence of which it cannot vote.
MPs of the coalition Centre Party, Conservative People's Party of Estonia (EKRE) and Isamaa plan to participate in next Friday's sitting, however more exact plans will be agreed upon next week. Prior to the no-confidence vote, Ratas must first respond to MPs' questions at the Riigikogu.
The opposition Reform Party has 34 seats in the 101-seat Riigikogu; the SDE has 10.
The coalition, meanwhile, has a total of 56 votes: 25 in the Centre Party, 19 in EKRE and 12 in Isamaa.
Raimond Kaljulaid is currently the only independent MP in the Riigikogu.
reform partyjüri ratasno-confidence votes
Vote of no-confidence against Ratas fails
Riigikogu convenes extraordinary sitting, Ratas to face no-confidence vote
Gallery: Ratas supporters gather at Toompea before no-confidence vote
Kallas: Ratas' government destroying Estonia 28 years in making
Prime Minister: No-confidence vote Riigikogu sitting going ahead Friday
This step unavoidable, Reform says in no-confidence motion against Ratas
Reform wants no-confidence vote against Ratas on Monday
SDE backs Reform's planned no-confidence motion against Ratas
Kallas: We're prepared to cooperate, but ball in Ratas' court
Reform in knots, I just want return to normality, says prime minister
Reform wants Ratas no-confidence vote before Riigikogu summer break ends
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About SAP SE / SAP News Center / Ecosystem
Keeping Highways Safe with RFID and Blockchain
October 31, 2019 by Jeanette Rohr
Globalization has made cross-border shipping commonplace. A truck could leave Munich today, reach Istanbul overnight, and be back at the German border tomorrow. Truck tires are covering distances of thousands of kilometers per week. Due to wear, treads must be renewed on a regular basis.
GS1 is a neutral, not-for-profit organization that develops and maintains the most widely used global standards for efficient business communication. The organization came together with SAP Co-Innovation Lab on a project to digitalize tire retread activities to improve safety on the road. The failure of overused tires can cause street accidents. There are exact product homologations and regulations for the use and renewal of truck tires.
Supported by SAP Co-Innovation Lab, GS1 developed a solution that uses radio frequency identification (RFID) and blockchain to identify overused truck tires and approve tire repair.
How can manufacturers and workshops make sure the tires being sent for repair are still within the conditions of the warranty? “They can’t – at least not to 100 percent,” said Joey Bronner, senior software development engineer from SAP Co-Innovation Lab. “That is why, together with GS1, we created the TWAREG project: we wanted to develop a tool that provides warrantors with trusted information on an individual tire’s history.”
Blockchain for Tire Safety
Tire treads can be renewed numerous times. In fact, renewals are welcome as the production of new tires causes much more harm to the environment than retreading does. Tracking the actual number of retreads on a particular tire, however, is a challenge. Many different parties have stakes in the product and the geographical spread of usage across different regions has enlarged the ecosystem. The spread makes it hard for stakeholders to monitor the history of a specific tire.
“Regulations are more strictly observed in some geographical regions than others” said Peter Snowdon from SAP Co-Innovation Lab. “It’s not unheard of that tires that have gone out of usage in one country are being sent elsewhere and then taken back on the road of the country from which they originally had been banned. When the tire fails, how are the repairmen supposed to know? You cannot judge by just looking at the tire how many times the treads have undergone renewal.”
It is difficult for manufacturers to provide warranties under such circumstances. Only technology can provide dependable knowledge of a tire’s actual status. Using blockchain technology, the joint tire-safety project, TWAREG, resulted in the development of a tool for tire life cycle management that includes tire warranty, retread guidance, and tracking.
“Each tire is equipped with an RFID device that uniquely identifies the tire, while the blockchain records the tire mileage and service activities” explained Nicolas Pauvre, a traceability project manager from GS1. “The carrier or repairer can scan the RFID tag and read the individual tire’s complete history of usage in the blockchain. After that, renewals and repair can be applied for. Information about each singular repair or retread is stored in the blockchain. Due to the decentralized nature of the blockchain technology, it is impossible for one member of the chain to manipulate the information stored there.”
GS1 Helps Bring Innovative Technologies to the Ecosystem
GS1 is represented in 150 countries and defines standards for all relevant B2B and B2C products and their identifications by allotting them an International Article Number. GS1 is an important stakeholder to SAP as it defines many of the global standards SAP software helps customers adhere to.
“For us, TWAREG demonstrates the power of combining innovative technologies, such as blockchain and RFID, with GS1 global standards,” remarked Pauvre. “The tool makes ‘invisible technologies’ such as blockchain tangible for our customers. Thanks to our collaboration with SAP Co-Innovation Lab, companies benefit from key lessons learned related to the implementation of those technologies. It’s a source inspiration for companies to build their own roadmap and project themselves into the future.”
The idea for a joint project arose when GS1 visited SAP in Paris. Inspired by other lab projects, they invited the SAP Co-Innovation Lab experts to kick off TWAREG.
SAP Co-Innovation Lab helps potential SAP partners ramp up their SAP solution skills around an innovative and value-adding hybrid use case and provides a legal framework to prototype it together. Potential partners can test what working with SAP is like.
“The only condition to work with the SAP Co-Innovation Lab is to be interested in SAP and open for collaboration,” said Miliau Pape, head of SAP Co-Innovation Lab in North Europe.
GS1 built the tire life cycle management prototype with support from SAP Co-Innovation Lab. This mix of knowledge-transfer and live demonstrations enabled GS1 developers to gain new skills and inspired industry players.
“The mix of expertise and a strong customer-driven approach at SAP Co-Innovation Lab is a key assets in our partnership and results in a successful co-innovation work. There was a pleasant atmosphere of openness and trust among the teams,” remarked Pauvre.
Co-Innovation for Customer Satisfaction and Safety
“We have been promoting TWAREG in major events such as supply chain events, Vivatech, GS1 Global Forum, and others to reach new business opportunities and engage innovative projects with customers,” said Pauvre. “The feedback on the tool has been very positive. Professionals from various sectors such as automotive, rail, transport, and logistics love the concrete use case demonstrated by TWAREG.”
“What makes this project special is that GS1 is technically not an SAP partner, nor are they a customer of ours,” said Pape. “Working with GS1 is particularly attractive to us because of the connection to all parties involved in the life cycle of a tire. Together, we can incorporate the future customers’ feedback and turn the prototype into a sophisticated product that addresses their needs and covers the whole life cycle of a product.”
Tags: blockchain, ecosystem, globalization, GS1, RFID, SAP Co-Innovation Lab
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Tag Archives: Tracy Letts
Eavesdropping at the Movies: 204 – Little Women (2019)
January 7, 2020 Eavesdropping at the Movies, UncategorizedChris Cooper, drama, Eliza Scanlen, Emma Watson, Florence Pugh, Greta Gerwig, Laura Dern, Little Women, Louisa May Alcott, Meryl Streep, Saoirse Ronan, Timothée Chalamet, Tracy LettsNotesonFilm1
José has been brushing up, recently rewatching the 1933, 1959 and 1994 adaptations of Louisa May Alcott’s novel. Mike has neither seen any adaptations nor read the book, coming to the story entirely fresh. And so we get to grips with Greta Gerwig’s wonderful, open-hearted, energetic version of Little Women.
José finds much to contrast between the versions, picking up in particular on the unusual dimensionality given to the male supporting characters here, whose roles have previously been thankless. Timothée Chalamet and Chris Cooper particularly impress, the former capturing Laurie’s playful, generous spirit; the latter touchingly evoking Mr. Laurence’s grief. Less successful is Meryl Streep’s Aunt March, who slightly too mechanically reaches for the laughs for which she’s designed.
The girls, though, are a triumph of energetic wildness, ambitions and realism. The scenes they share in their childhood home are well observed, wisely mixing all-American sentimentality you might expect with a disarming sororal combativeness you might not. If there’s a bum note amongst them it’s Emma Watson as Meg, who Mike argues never truly embodies the roles she plays, but Saoirse Ronan is miraculously transparent as Jo, and Florence Pugh gives Jo a burning, vital sense of frustration and fury at always being second best to her sisters. Their relationships make the film the success it is, and, Mike suggests, even when the film begins to wrap their stories up in some fairly convenient ways, so fond are we of them that it’s hard not to be swept along.
Greta Gerwig has achieved magical things with Little Women, and you miss it at your peril.
The podcast can be listened to in the players above or on iTunes.
With José Arroyo of First Impressions and Michael Glass of Writing About Film.
Eavesdropping at the Movies: 195 – Le Mans ’66
November 27, 2019 Uncategorized24 Hours of Le Mans, biopic, Brummie, Carroll Shelby, Christian Bale, drama, family, Ford v Ferrari, friendship, James Mangold, Jon Bernthal, Josh Lucas, Ken Miles, Le Mans '66, Matt Damon, motorsport, racing, Rush, Tracy LettsNotesonFilm1
Cars, business, and a big chummy Brummie combine in 1960s California as Ford sets itself the mission of beating the all-conquering Ferrari in the 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race, in a film that has not one but two boring titles: Ford v Ferrari in the USA, and Le Mans ’66 in the UK. Mike had a good enough time to see it twice, even though it’s directed by James Mangold, for whom he has little love; José, incredibly, even welled up at the end.
Although one might expect clashes between the egos of our heroes, the Texan car designer Carroll Shelby (Matt Damon) and Brummie racer Ken Miles (Christian Bale), their relationship is really one of friendship, common goals, and coping with the management at Ford, for whom Le Mans is about business opportunity and making their way into the increasingly deep pockets of the American teenager. José finds Ken’s family life of particular emotional interest, the support he receives from his wife a pleasure and their arguments complex, though Mike isn’t as complimentary, seeing the film as overall too slick for its own good, failing to generate real tension in the problems it depicts. This goes for the racing, too, for which he reserves some criticism, opining that while the races are good fun and entertaining larks, they don’t convey the stresses or feeling of endurance as they should. But José, a man who cares not a jot for cars or racing, enjoyed the heck out of them, and perhaps that is an achievement all of its own.
The film offers some rather crude comic representations of Italians, the Ferrari pit crew running around like cartoons, which despite only really showing up twice do stick in the mind; and lightly poses the competition as a continuation of the Second World War, the Allies at Ford battling the Axis Power of Italy (at one point, Henry Ford II, played to a T by the great Tracy Letts, brags to Shelby about the role his factory played in building planes for the American war effort, telling him, “Go to war”). It’s an American film about the greatness of America at the height of America’s cultural standing in the world; as José describes it, their empire.
And plonked in the middle of this American myth-making is a sarcastic showoff from Sutton Coldfield, unable to keep his mouth shut except when he’s got some tea in there. Mike responded with unbridled joy to the attention to detail shown to Ken’s origins, not only in the broad, charming accent Bale employs, but also in the dialect he brings with him, talking of cheese cobs and using the phrase “round the Wrekin”, something most of Britain probably has no clue about, let alone America. Peaky Blinders may have given Birmingham a platform in modern pop culture, particularly amongst Americans, but Mike enjoys Ken here much more, ecstatic that a $100m movie that’s going down well with audiences features a Brummie as one of its heroes.
Le Mans ’66 is an honest to god charm offensive of a film, with entertaining action, performances that do the well-written screenplay justice, and even an emotional sting in the tail. Get yourself to the cinema for it. It’s bosting.
Eavesdropping at the Movies 50 – Lady Bird
Our 50th! We finally get around to seeing the one Best Picture nominee we were missing, Greta Gerwig’s Lady Bird. It’s been highly praised, but has the hype hurt it? We discuss its female-centric twists on coming-of-age teen movies, the mother-daughter relationship, its attitude to sex, and the Everyman Cinema in Birmingham, which we visit for the first time.
Recorded on 27th February 2018.
The podcast can be listened to in the player above or on iTunes.
We appreciate your feedback so do keep on sending it.
José Arroyo and Michael Glass of Writing About Film.
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THE LAST RESORT
On The Road To Las Cruces
Hello Life
Poetry For Sale
Exile In Paradise
SO MUCH Selected Poems 1969-1989
the thousand marvels of every moment
So Much, Volume II
Poetry For Sale Now Available!
September 17, 2015 Non-fiction, PoetryBasho, Buson, Earl Miner, Gloria Frym, haikai no renga, haiku, independent publishers, indie publishers, Jack Kerouac, Japanese Poetry, Joen Eshima Moore, John Veglia, Keith Abbott, Kikaku, Linked Poetry, literature, Maureen Owen, Michael Sowl, new titles, Northern California, Nualláin House, Pat Nolan, poetry for sale, renga, Sandy Berrigan, Steven Lavoie, tankaNuallain House, Publishers
from Nualláin House, Publishers
Order Now & Get Free Shipping!
(Sorry, Free Shipping Available
To North American Destinations Only)
Offer Good Through October 15, 2015
Haikai No Renga (linked poetry)
Introduction by Pat Nolan
Haikai no Renga with
Keith Kumasen Abbott,
Sandy Berrigan, Gloria Frym,
Steven Lavoie, Joen Eshima Moore,
Maureen Owen, Michael Sowl,
and John Veglia.
The eleven haikai no renga included in Poetry For Sale were written over period of nearly thirty years by Pat Nolan and his renku collaborators, Keith Kumasen Abbott, Sandy Berrigan, Gloria Frym, Steven Lavoie, Joen Eshima Moore, Maureen Owen, Michael Sowl, and John Veglia. This collection of linked poetry presents a fascinating excursion in comparative literature by a cross-section of exceptional, widely-published American poets. What these poets bring to the collaborative linking of stanzas is a visceral sense of the poetic that transcends two disparate languages and the gap of centuries. In these pages haikai no renga is synthesized as a brief, highly suggestive, well spoken, maddeningly ambiguous, read-between-the-lines kind of poetry tuned to a common understanding.
October 2015 ~ 152 pages ~ $16 ~ paper ~ ISBN978-0-9840310-4-7
click on the How To Order tab for more information
from HARDLY STRICTLY HAIKAI
Haikai no Renga is collaborative poetry of Japanese origin normally written by two or more poets linking stanzas of 17 syllables and 14 syllables according to specific rules governing the relationship between stanzas. Haikai collaboration can be as complex as chess, as multi-dimensional as go, and as fast-paced and entertaining as dominoes. It is as much about the interaction of the poets as it is about what gets written. The forward progress of its improvisation is akin to that of a tight jazz combo. Haikai composition has also been compared to montage in experimental film where the discontinuity of images and vectors achieves an integral non-narrative expression.
Haikai no renga is known variously as renga, haikai, renku, and linked poetry. Generally the term renga is applied to an older, more traditional style of linking poetry practiced by the aristocracy and the upper echelon of medieval Japanese society. Haikai no renga means “non-standard renga” though it has often been translated as “mongrel” or “dog renga” which places it in the literary hierarchy as common entertainment.
In the introduction to her seminal study of Matsuo Basho’s haikai no renga, Monkey’s Raincoat (Grossinger/Mushinsha, 1973), Dr. Maeda Cana offers a further explication of the word haikai. “The main characteristics of the haikai are partly discernible in the kanji or Chinese characters which make up the words haikai and renku: hai denotes fun, play, humor, and also actor or actress, and kai friendly exchange of words; ren represents a number of carriages passing along a road one after another and has the meaning of continuing to completion while ku is expressive of the rhythmic changes in speech and denotes end or stop.”
Renku is a literary game of high seriousness valuing cooperation and rewarding intelligence as well as intuition. A poet’s erudition and sense of language are called upon to clear paths and build bridges that will meander through the landscape of a literary garden. Its cooperative result, a balance of unpredictable language gestures as insubstantial as smoke but possessed of a palpable humanity, is what is important. The echo of the response, its relationship to the previous stanza, and how it extends its meaning, poignantly or allusively, is the esthetic ground for this kind of poetry. The linking process, in renga, and in haikai, allows a sequence whose subtle oscillation of playfulness and gravity walk the tightrope of language’s built-in ambiguities.
“Generally speaking, haikai is steeped in the wit and banter” as Dr. Cana explains, and “it has a brilliance that shocks. Such brilliance is continual and amazes. . .at every turn.” Poets are under pressure to produce the unpredictable so that the possibilities of cleverness are continually exploited at a tempo that is swift and witty. The haikai poets of old delighted in word play, literary allusions, double entendres as well as displays of authentic sensibility. The completed renku is as much a certificate of cooperation as it is a multi-page poem and a sequence of short poems. Its literary value is in its effervescent spontaneity and transitory nature, a quality much appreciated by the Japanese.
Poetry For Sale—Free Shipping!
August 25, 2015 Non-fiction, PoetryBasho, Buson, Earl Miner, Gloria Frym, haikai no renga, haiku, independent publishers, indie publishers, Jack Kerouac, Japanese Poetry, Joen Eshima Moore, John Veglia, Keith Abbott, Kikaku, Linked Poetry, literature, Maureen Owen, Michael Sowl, Northern California, Nualláin House, Pat Nolan, poetry for sale, renga, Sandy Berrigan, Steven LavoieNuallain House, Publishers
(Offer Good Through October 15th)
Haikai no Renga also known as renku is a literary game of high seriousness valuing cooperation and rewarding intelligence as well as intuition. A poet’s erudition and sense of language are called upon to clear paths and build bridges that will meander through the landscape of a literary garden. Its cooperative result, a balance of unpredictable language gestures as insubstantial as smoke but possessed of a palpable humanity, is what is important. The echo of the response, its relationship to previous stanza, and how it extends its meaning, poignantly or allusively, is the esthetic ground for this kind of poetry. The linking process, in renga, and in haikai, allows a sequence whose subtle oscillation of playfulness and gravity walk the tightrope of language’s built-in ambiguities.
go to How To Order page for more information
Poetry For Sale, Fall of 2015
July 17, 2015 PoetryGloria Frym, haikai no renga, haiku, independent publishers, indie publishers, Japanese Poetry, Joen Eshima Moore, Keith Abbott, Linked Poetry, literature, Maureen Owen, Michael Sowl, Nualláin House, Pat Nolan, poetry for sale, renga, renku, Sandy Berrigan, Steven LavoieNuallain House, Publishers
Coming Soon From
Nualláin House, Publishers
Fall of 2015
Haikai no Renga
(Linked Poetry)
Pat Nolan
and John Veglia
Renku is a literary game of high seriousness valuing cooperation and rewarding intelligence as well as intuition. A poet’s erudition and sense of language are called upon to clear paths and build bridges that will meander through the landscape of a literary garden. Its cooperative result, a balance of unpredictable language gestures as insubstantial as smoke but possessed of a palpable humanity, is what is important. The echo of the response, its relationship to previous stanza, and how it extends its meaning, poignantly or allusively, is the esthetic ground for this kind of poetry. The linking process, in renga, and in haikai, allows a sequence whose subtle oscillation of playfulness and gravity walk the tightrope of language’s built-in ambiguities.
Pre-orders now being accepted.
Place your dibs at
nuallainhousepublishers.gmail.com
April Is The Worst!
April 8, 2015 Fiction, Limited Editions, Linoleum Prints, Modern Poetry, Non-fiction, PoetryGail King, haikai no renga, independent publishers, indie publishers, Japanese Poetry, Japanese style binding, Keith Abbott, limited editions, literature, Maureen Owen, new titles, Northern California, Nualláin House, Pat Nolan, Philip Whalen, rare editions, rengaNuallain House, Publishers
Some poets celebrate April as National Poetry Month, claiming that it brings much needed attention to a marginalized art, while others deride the designation, arguing that it is patronizing and trivializing of an ancient (some might say arcane) way of sentience. Be that as it may, designating a day, week or month for the celebration of poetry has the intent of focusing attention on a timeless art that many see as underappreciated in the greater world of commercial consumerist media. Any search of ‘poetry’ online will turn up over 300 million hits, many duplicated of course, but all the same a number that is quite close to astronomical. Some literary elitists might argue that such a large number amounts to a lot of bad poetry. They may have a point. However, the intent of poetry is always pure; it is often for a lack of skillful execution that it fails. That doesn’t mean that poetry should be the sole purview of academic busybodies whose only function is to taxonomically classify poetry according to a moldy moth-eaten esthetic. Poetry lives because language is alive, mutable, and like a stream, treacherous or calm, torrential or stagnant, is a source of consciousness available to all. Perhaps the idea behind designating a Poetry Month serves the purpose of reminding everyone that poetry belongs to them, that poetry is free for the speaking, good, bad or indifferent.
FREE POETRY FREE POETRY FREE POETRY FREE
From its inception the Nualláin House, Publishers site has offered free access to the full texts of select out-of-print limited edition poetry titles as downloadable pdf files. Most of these poetry books were handmade using Japanese papers and bindings in editions of twenty-six to thirty-six signed by the author or authors. The free titles include Gail King’s Boxes & Chairs, Pat Nolan’s travel journal, Ah Bolinas!, and Random Rocks, a haikai collaboration with Keith Kumasen Abbott, Pat Nolan, Maureen Owen, and Michael Sowl. By scrolling down the sidebar, poetry enthusiasts can find any number of limited edition posts featuring full text access to that particular out-of-print title.
Also available for free is a signed limited edition broadside of Advice To A Young Poet by Pat Nolan accompanied by a linoleum block print from his Smoking Poets series. Send $3 for shipping and handling with return address to Nualláin House, Publishers PO Box 798 Monte Rio, CA 95462
And for all orders placed in the month of April, Nualláin House retail titles, in particular Gail King’s Hello Life and Pat Nolan’s Your Name Here, shipping is free. See How To Order.
More interested in reading about poetry? Try Parole, blog of The New Black Bart Poetry Society. Parole features essays on poetry, poets, and the poetry scene with articles on William Carlos Williams, Andrei Codrescu, Alice Notley, Philip Whalen, Frank O’Hara, and Bob Dylan to name just a few. Access is free.
Click here to read Steven Lavoie’s essay on Darrell Grey and the Actualists on the West Coast.
Essays not your thing? How about a fictional poetry soap opera?
Ode To Sunset, A Year In The Life Of American Genius is a serial fiction about a poet who is not quite Charles Baudelaire, not quite Charles Bukowski, who looks like a well worn Alex Trebeck but with the demeanor of a Mickey Rourke. It mostly takes place in a city not always quite Frisco. It is satirical, playful, and inevitably deadly serious.
Ode To Sunset has posted installments for six months to word-of-mouth acclaim. The first section, DAY, is available as individual episodes or as The Complete DAY, a pdf file. WEEK is now in progress. For free access go to Ode To Sunset.
Nualláin House, Publishers is pleased to announce it’s 2015 title,
Poetry For Sale,
Haikai no Renga (linked verse)
Haikai no Renga with Keith Kumasen Abbott, Sandy Berrigan, Gloria Frym, Steven Lavoie, Joen Moore, Maureen Owen, Michael Sowl & John Veglia
Haikai no Renga is collaborative verse of Japanese provenance written by two or more poets trading stanza of 17 and 14 syllables according to specific rules governing the relationship between stanzas, and with stanzas numbering as many as one hundred. A haikai collaboration is as complex as chess, as multi-dimensional as go, and as fast-paced and entertaining as dominoes. It is as much about the interaction of the poets as it is about what gets written, the forward progress of its improvisation akin to that of a really tight jazz combo.
Pre-orders are now being accepted.
Limited Edition: The Chinese Quartet
February 27, 2015 Limited Editions, Modern Poetry, PoetryAlbion handpress, Chinese poetry, Clifford Burke, Cranium Press, Dylan, Eric Johnson, Goudy types, independent publishers, indie publishers, Iota Press, Japanese Poetry, letterpress printing, limited editions, linoleum print, literature, Northern California, Nualláin House, Ode To Sunset, Pat Nolan, Publishers, rare editions, The Chinese Quartet, The New Black Bart Poetry SocietyNuallain House, Publishers
The Chinese Quartet
by Pat Nolan
A small number of this very rare chapbook has recently been recovered from the storage locker of a prominent Bay Area bookseller. Published in 1973 by Cranium Press, handset in Goudy types and printed on an Albion hand press by master printer Clifford Burke in an edition of three hundred, they are an exquisite example of Burke’s conception of how a poem should appear on the page. The sixteen poems by Pat Nolan, printed on the rag paper ends from a larger Book Club of California job, represent Nolan’s early experimentation with ideas adapted from Chinese and Japanese prosody. The austere brown paper wrapper is offset by the red centered label depicting a group of Renaissance musicians; that it represents a trio, not a quartet, is, in fact, an inside joke. The book measurements are 7.5×6.75 inches (19×17.1 cm). Signed copies of The Chinese Quartet are available for purchase at $50 each and include free shipping in North America (otherwise international rates apply). Cash, checks, or money orders accepted. See How to Order for more information.
“The poems are wonderful as a grouping, and the printing is freaking beautiful. One of the best examples I’ve seen of the type and spacing and paper enhancing the sensibility in the writing.” — Eric Johnson, Iota Press
Still available for FREE from Nualláin House, Publishers is a limited edition letterpress broadside of Pat Nolan’s poem Advice To A Young Poet and his original linoleum cut of Dylan Thomas from the Smoking Poets series, printed by Eric Johnson of Iota Press on a Vandercook proof press. Send your request, along with $2 for shipping and handling, for this limited edition broadside printed on the occasion of Nolan’s reading at the Iota printery upon the publication of his latest collection of poems, Your Name Here. Broadside measures 10×8.5 inches (25.4×21.6 cm).
A reminder to take a look at Nualláin House, Publishers’ allied sites, Parole, the blog of The New Black Bart Poetry Society, and Ode To Sunset, A Year In The Life of American Genius, an online serial fiction.
January 27, 2015 Crime Fiction, Fiction, Limited Editions, Linoleum Prints, Modern Poetry, Poetry, WesternCharles Baudelaire, Charles Bukowski, crime fiction, detective, fiction, Gail King, hard-boiled, independent publishers, indie publishers, Las Cruces, Lincoln County, literature, neo-pulp fiction, New Mexico, new titles, Northern California, Nualláin House, online serial fiction, Outlaws, Pat Garrett, Pat Nolan, pulp fiction, Selected Poems, Southwest History, the last resort, westernsNuallain House, Publishers
2015 marks the fifth year of operation here at Nualláin House, Publishers, and while there were a few surprises and learning experiences, there is also no doubt the education opportunities will keep presenting themselves. Of the four books Nualláin House has published to date, two have been genre fiction and two have been poetry. This should not be surprising as among the principals of the publishing concern are two poets. Genre fiction will still be a focus but because of the abundance of readily available material, poetry will always be a consideration. Now with four books complete and available, a fifth is in the planning stages. More on that in the near future.
The Nualláin House mission has not changed. As a publishing venture committed to introducing diverse literary entertainment to the reading public, Nualláin House, Publishers, will continue to offer a range of quirky and engaging titles to enhance the modern “reading life.” What has changed is the variety of options available in presenting and producing written entertainment, and one that Nualláin House, Publishers, is encouraged to attempt.
Access and availability seem to be the buzz words. The reading public now totes their devices the way some folks used to carry paperbacks around (some folks still do). In fact, one of the early paperback publishers was Pocket Books, the name emphasizing their product’s portability. What has changed is that information, in this case literature, no longer needs to be tied to a single use artifact. Access to the virtual information cloud seems unlimited as is its round the clock availability. Technology always changes the way business is done whether it is developing a new type of spearhead or the latest application for digital devices. How it applies to independent publishing requires a reevaluation of what is being made available, in this case reading material. Business, independent publishing included, carries with it the assumption that there will be compensation for the effort expended in offering a product, and that money needs to change hands. Although that aspect of business will not go away if it expects to remain business, it is quite possible that virtual content will represent merely the ephemeral inducement to acquire the printed artifact as an item of cultural capital.
Perhaps the access to intellectual product should not be predicated on a monetary return. The factor that will determine such a product’s financial viability is demand. If there is no significant demand should the property be withheld or should unconditional access be open to all cyber grazers in the marketplace? Granted, such a free site becomes a special niche, boutique, if you will, visited by a unique readership brought there through interest generated on social media.
Although eBooks seem to occupy the virtual niche, their basis is not all that different from their printed versions in that they are, at the get-go, a product that must be purchased to access, albeit at a reduced cost. Also, their virtual life lasts only as long as it takes to complete reading the text which can be anywhere from 12 hours to several months, depending on the product. An alternate paradigm would be one that takes its cues from entertainment programming in that it offers episodic installments available at a predictable time and date and a compelling story arc that carries over an extended period the interest and attention of the reader. That it is offered without cost removes a further obstacle in its availability. What is being described is the online serial.
While the concept of an online serial is not new, Nualláin House is encouraged to adapt the concept to an ongoing pulp series of online genre fiction and is currently testing the waters with an original online serial fiction, Ode To Sunset. Judging from the initial and ongoing response to posted episodes, there is no doubt that it is a viable enterprise with exciting potential. Many of the details are still in flux as to the format and presentation of serial online fictions, but one thing is certain: companion print editions will inevitably be available for purchase. More will be forthcoming as further developments take shape.
Ode To Sunset, A Year in the Life of American Genius, is the title of the ongoing online serial fiction. As of this post, eight installments have been published, with two more episodes to complete the current section. Ode To Sunset is the story of American genius told over the course of a year. It is about a poet who is not quite Charles Baudelaire not quite Charles Bukowski, who looks like a well worn Alex Trebeck but with the demeanor of a Mickey Rourke. It mostly takes place in a city not always quite Frisco. It is satirical, playful, and inevitably deadly serious. Now available for your oculation. Ode To Sunset.
Nualláin House Publishers is also the sponsor of a sister site, Parole, blog of The New Black Bart Poetry Society. Parole features essays and critiques on the art of poetry, poets, and the poetry world in general. Previous posts have included essays on Philip Whalen, William Carlos Williams, Andrei Codrescu, and Bob Dylan. Membership in The New Black Bart Poetry Society is open to anyone who follows Parole.
current titles are still available,
free shipping with the purchase of
more than one copy or title
see How To Order
Your Name Here, New Poems by Pat Nolan
Never one to settle into a style, Pat Nolan has made of his poetry an exploration of other poetries and of the numerous ways a poem can be. As an adherent of the Philip Whalen Buddhist-inspired “mind moving” school, he holds to the idea that the poem is framed sentience. Just as the observed world is an occasion of subjectivity, it also mirrors the self in a way that reflects objectively. The poems in Your Name Here revolve around that quantum axis with seemingly random discontinuities that do not pin down meaning but are left to mean themselves. Written to be heard by the mind’s ear, Nolan’s poetry enacts a sub-vocal monologue that is like the murmur of cosmic background radiation, noticeable only in its cessation or as pauses when the mind registers the sum of discrete moments in an instant.
November 2014 ~ 80 pages ~ $16 ~ paper ~ ISBN 978-0-9840310-0-9
Hello Life by Gail KingPoetry; The poems of Hello Life achieve their freshness in the particularity of experience. The poet surrenders herself to the moment and tenders that subtle cognition as a delighted welcome to life. The ease of her expression in dealing with the everyday communicates an uncommon wisdom. The poems present, through playful understatement and sly humor, the immediacy of spontaneous impressions. Maureen Owen, former artistic director for The Poetry Project in NYC and author of Edges of Water and Erosion’s Pull, says “In Gail King’s poems the events of the day become transformative, the images of the temporary become immediate, and the mystery of being alive in the Now unfolds. “…time like a lake breeze” says the poet, and the wind rises.” Gail King’s poems have also won the praise of Andrei Codrescu, poet, novelist, essayist and NPR commentator, author of So Recent Rent A World, who said “Reading Gail King has always been one of my great poetry pleasures. Her inimitable voice narrates the world with humor and tenderness, a world of beauty and occasional sorrow. Her work has healing effects.”
December 2013 ~ $16.00 ~ 64 pages ~ Paper ~ ISBN 978-0-9840310-3-0
The Last Resort, A Lee Malone Adventure by Pat Nolan
Pat Nolan has written a fast paced, tongue-in-cheek, pun filled comedy of errors, misunderstandings, and faux intuition in the mode of a 1930’s pulp thriller to talk about the pulp fiction of that era. In doing so, The Last Resort presents an unlikely set of circumstances in which a worldly-wise female reporter must untangle herself from her past in order to deal with the puzzling events of her present. Rather than the typical splinter-jawed, broken nosed, tobacco breathed tough guy hero, Nolan upends the stereotype by introducing a gorgeous internationally famous former fashion model whose super power is her beauty. The Last Resort, A Lee Malone Adventure, is a quirky, entertaining recreation of the lurid screed that once peopled pulp pages on newsstands everywhere.
August 2012 ~ $19.99 ~ 212 pages ~ Paper~ ISBN 978-0-9840310-2-3
On The Road To Las Cruces, Being A Novel Account of The Last Day In The Life of A Legendary Western Lawman by Pat Nolan
On The Road To Las Cruces, a work of fiction tethered loosely to historical fact, is the story of the relationship between two men, one garrulous, the other taciturn, the Mutt and Jeff of the old Southwest. What is related on the road to Las Cruces is as much a retelling of some history as it is how such a retelling might come about, and is represented in the manner of a tall tale, the deadpan details of a crime story, melodrama, and a conspiracy to murder. The road to Las Cruces is full of twists and turns. The sound of a door slamming like a gunshot brings us into the world of the old Southwest and the gun violence of that historical era. More than just the tale of a legendary lawman who remains nameless to the end, it is a lesson in storytelling and an allegory for how lives were lived and how death was dealt. As much a dusty tale of buffalo hunts and shoot-outs as a politically driven “whodunit,” On The Road To Las Cruces is the story of youthful bravado and an old man’s regret.
November, 2011 ~ $16.99 ~ 154 pages ~ paper ~ ISBN 978-0-9840310-1-6
Nualláin House, Publishers, in partnership with Bamboo Leaf Studio, will continue to offer its series of linoleum block print portraits entitled Smoking Poets featuring such literary luminaries as Dylan Thomas, Roberto Bolano, and Charles Bukowski.
Andre Breton 4×6 $20
Roberto Bolano 5×7 $40
Charles Bukowski 5×7 $40
Pierre Reverdy 4×6 $20
Also available from Bamboo Leaf Studio are selection of Buddhist-inspired prints featuring faux homilies for the 21st Century. All linoleum block prints are hand printed on unbleached mulberry washi and signed by the artist with his seal.Order through Nualláin House, Publishers Box 798, Monte Rio, CA 95462
JUST IN TIME FOR THE HOLIDAYS
December 5, 2014 Crime Fiction, Fiction, Limited Editions, Linoleum Prints, Modern Poetry, Non-fiction, Poetry, WesternAndre Breton, Bamboo Leaf Studio, crime fiction, detective, Dylan Thomas, Gail King, hard-boiled, independent publishers, indie publishers, Las Cruces, letterpress printing, limited edition broadside, Lincoln County, literature, neo-pulp fiction, New Mexico, Northern California, Nualláin House, Outlaws, Pat Garrett, Pat Nolan, Publishers, Selected Poems, Smoking Poets, Southwest History, the last resort, W.H. Auden, westernsNuallain House, Publishers
Free shipping (US only) and a deep discount on
the Nualláin House, Publishers back list.
(offer ends December 31, 2014)
Order all four titles and save even more!
Get all four Nualláin House titles for just $50!!
Save almost $20!!!
Bonus !!
with every purchase get a limited edition signed
broadside featuring the poem Advice To A Young Poet
from Pat Nolan’s Your Name Here
and an original linoleum print of Dylan Thomas
from Pat Nolan’s Smoking Poets series
send cash, check or money order
(made out to ‘Pat Nolan’) to
Box 798 Monte Rio, CA 95462
and indicate the title(s) you are purchasing
Nualláin House, Publishers in partnership with Bamboo Leaf Studio
is offering two new prints from
Pat Nolan’s Smoking Poets series
W.H. Auden 5×7 $40
Also available from Bamboo Leaf Studio are a selection of Pat Nolan’s Buddhist-inspired prints
“Every time I catch one the other two get away” 6×9″ (15.2×22.8 cm) edition of 50 $40 each
“The more you know the more you know you know” 6×9″ (15.2×22.8 cm) edition of 50 $40 each
All linoleum block prints are hand printed on unbleached mulberry washi
and signed by the artist with his seal.
Order through Nualláin House, Publishers
Box 798, Monte Rio, CA 95462
Make check or money order payable to Pat Nolan.
Add $5 for shipping and handling for each order.
Scenes From A Publication Party At Iota Press
November 30, 2014 Modern Poetry, PoetryCalifornia, Dylan Thomas, Eric Johnson, Fine Printing, independent publishers, indie publishers, Iota Cooperative of Fine Printers, Iota Press, Iota Press Printery, judi goldberg, letterpress printing, modern American poetry, Northern California, Nualláin House, Pat Nolan, Poetry, Sebastopol, Smoking Poets, Your Name HereNuallain House, Publishers
Here are a few pictures from the publication party for Pat Nolan’s Your Name Here held on Sunday, November 9th, 2014 at the Iota Press Printery in Sebastopol, California. Many thanks to Eric, judi and the rest of the Iota Cooperative of Fine Printers for hosting this splendid event. A few remaining copies of the broadside featuring an original linoleum print of Dylan Thomas from Pat Nolan’s Smoking Poets series and the poem Advice To A Young Poet from Your Name Here signed with the author’s seal are still available for those who did not have the opportunity to attend the publication party due to previous engagements or geographic constraints. For a free copy send $2 USD (check, or money order made out to ‘Pat Nolan’ or cash) to cover shipping and handling to Nualláin House, Publishers Box 798 Monte Rio, CA 95462
Iota Press Printery
Pat Nolan promises to keep the reading short
Pat Nolan proudly displays the commemorative broadside
“They’re free”
The crowd roared for more (or less)
“I’m just going to read a few poems.”
“I wrote this one standing on my head.”
“Ok, just so you’ll know. . .
“And futhermore. . . .”
“Now that wasn’t so bad, was it?”
For those living in the North Bay latitudes of Northern California, Iota Press wishes to invite you to their 5th Annual Open House on Sunday, Dec. 7th, from 2:00-6:00. Please come and help celebrate their first year in the new and bigger shop space at the printery behind the BeeKind Honey Store, 925D Gravenstein Hwy. South in Sebastopol.
The occasion will also be the launch party for their third annual collaborative work, eRrAtiCa 3. This year it is in the form of a portfolio of broadsides, representative of the kind of work each of the members are working on right now. There will also be a demonstration of printing, and impromptu poetry might be read. Maybe some promptu as well. As usual wine and food will be provided, and there will be a table of things for sale.
Praise for YOUR NAME HERE
November 1, 2014 Modern Poetry, PoetryAndrei Codrescu, bebop, Chinese poetry, Eric Johnson, independent publishers, indie publishers, Iota Press, Keith Abbott, luci friesen, Maureen Owen, new titles, Northern California, Nualláin House, Pat Nolan, Philip Whalen, Selected Poems, Ted Berrigan, the Russian RiverNuallain House, Publishers
Praise for Your Name Here, New Poems
“The book itself takes no prisoners.”
—Lucille Friesen, poet, printer
“Pat Nolan is one of the poets, Ted Berrigan once said, that you have to always keep an eye on because he can do unexpected startling things that leave you eating his dust. What was once “irony,” which is that generous distance of youth regarding itself in the odd act of “seeing” and “scratching” words became an essential tool to survive as poet. Pat Nolan’s poetry has indeed survived, with the help of not just the luxury of irony, but also the blending of his secretly bilingual (French-Canadian and American) language, his intensely questioned, but never renounced, faith in poetry. Add to this work, the joyous and extensive reading of a profound autodidact with an active and sometimes polemical involvement in the “literary scenes” of the West and East coasts for better than half a century, and you have, standing suddenly in front of you, a poetry giant.”
— Andrei Codrescu, author of Bibliodeath: My Archives (with Life in Footnotes), and So Recently Rent a World: New and Selected Poems, 1968-2012.
“Nolan’s painterly sensitivity unfolds a delicate beauty that breathtakingly fuses nature with a Surrealistic philosophic questioning and meditative soul searching. Descriptions of nature so translucent we can only marvel how he weaves us into them, onward, around that eternal share of misfortune, bitter realization, and expectations gone wrong. This is Nolan’s secret power. He engages us in magical transformation and will not let us look away.”
— Maureen Owen, author of Erosion’s Pull and Edges of Water
“. . .reminded me of James Joyce in that brief moments can become long & engrossing & turn the page for you despite any wishes thoughts & warnings you may have about more . . . .”
—Keith Abbott, poet, professor emeritus, and author of Downstream From Trout Fishing In America, A Memoir.
“The poems glow with insight and wit as they simply monitor the flow of a mind steeped in Chinese poetry, bebop, the Russian River, the beats, the birds, Heraclitus. . . . [Nolan] in his own words, is an alphabet male. And despite the breadth of his learning and thought, is always just talking from right here. It’s a hell of a book.”
—Eric Johnson, poet and print master at Iota Press.
Now available, click on How To Order on the menu bar to learn how.
Poet, translator, editor, publisher Pat Nolan is the author of over a dozen poetry selections and two novels. He is the founder of Nualláin House, Publishers, and maintains The New Black Bart Poetry Society’s blog, Parole (thenewblackbartpoetrysociety.wordpress.com). His work has been published in numerous national and international literary magazines and included in late 20th Century poetry anthologies and collections. He has recently begun posting his online serial novel, Ode To Sunset (odetosunset.com), about poets and poetry, death and dying. He lives along the lower Russian River in Northern California.
For readers in the North Bay latitudes of Northern California, join Pat Nolan for a publication party on November 9th.
Iota Press
invite you to
a publication party
Sunday Nov 9th
for Pat Nolan’s
new book of poems
at the Iota Press printery
925-D Gravenstein Hwy. South
Sebastopol CA
(behind BeeKind)
Meet the author, book signing and sales,
refreshments in a convivial literary atmosphere
Caution: some poetry will be read
Your Name Here, Pre-Publication Offer
October 3, 2014 Modern Poetry, PoetryAndrei Codrescu, Henri Focillon, Maureen Owen, New Poems, Northern California, Nualláin House, Parole, Pat Nolan, Philip Whalen, Russian River, Selected Poems, Ted Berrigan, The New Black Bart Poetry Society, Your Name HereNuallain House, Publishers
Order advance copies now and get free shipping!!
New Poems
“The chief characteristic of the mind is to be consistently describing itself.”
− Henri Focillon (1881−1943)
Advance praise for Your Name Here
“Pat Nolan is one of the poets, Ted Berrigan once said, that you have to always keep an eye on. . .because he can do unexpected startling things that leave you eating his dust.”
“. . .Nolan’s secret power. . .engages us in magical transformation and will not let us look away.”
Poet, translator, editor, publisher Pat Nolan is the author of over a dozen poetry selections and two novels. He is the founder of Nualláin House, Publishers, and maintains The New Black Bart Poetry Society’s blog, Parole (thenewblackbartpoetrysociety.wordpress.com). His work has been published in numerous national and international literary magazines and included in late 20th Century poetry anthologies and collections. He lives along the lower Russian River in Northern California.
Under the Nualláin House Umbrella
Technology Changes Poetry
SO MUCH Vol. II Now Available
SO MUCH Volume II Free Shipping
Notebook Keyboard: Order Now!
Available for Pre-Order: Notebook Keyboard
The Blurbs of 2018
Why Gift Edition?
The Thousand Marvels. . . . Free Shipping
Fall, 2018, the thousand marvels of every moment
WHITE HOT Summer Deals
Handwritten Typewriter
So Much Handwritten Typewriter 1969-1989
So Much, Spring 2018
Exile In Paradise just in time for the Chinese New Year
Holiday Bargains
Exile In Paradise FREE SHIPPING
Exile In Paradise now available for preorder
Autumn, 2017: Exile In Paradise
Michael Fisher, The Art of Illustration
Faux Koans and Borderline Haiga
Year of the Fire Monkey
Seasonal Specials from Nualláin House
YOUR NAME HERE Preview
Your Name Here — New Poems by Pat Nolan
Limited Edition: So Remote The Mountains
Smoking Poets
Limited Edition: Lyre Liar
Limited Edition: Exile In Paradise
Limited Edition: Carved In Stone
Limited Edition: All Ears
Nualláin House So Far
What is being said about Gail King
Hello Life, Poems by Gail King
The Nolan Anthology of Poetry, Volume II: The Modern Era
Limited Edition: Jacks Or Better
Special Offer: Cloud Traffic
Limited Edition: Carbon Data
Limited Edition: Random Rocks
Limited Edition: Untouched By Rain
Limited Edition: Boxes & Chairs
DICK LIT: Q&A with Pat Nolan
Limited Edition: Where The Four Winds Blow (translations)
Limited Edition: Later
Limited Edition: Ah Bolinas!
Limited Edition: Intellectual Pretensions
Limited Edition: Poetry For Sale
Limited Edition: Thin Wings
Limited Edition: Fly By Night
Neo-Pulp Fiction
Archives Select Month December 2019 June 2019 May 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 June 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 October 2017 September 2017 December 2016 September 2016 February 2016 November 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 April 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012
Indie Presses & Publishers
Ode To Sunset
Poltroon Press
Kelly's Cove Press
Dalkey Archive
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2019/20 seasonal determination update
Monday 2 September, 2019
Resource Manager Andrew Shields said flows into the major storages maintained relatively steady since the last assessment and this contributed to the increase in water available.
“Flows into the storages are below average for this time of the year. The catchments remain relatively wet but more rainfall during spring is needed to increase the volume of water available," Mr Shields said.
“With the seasonal determinations rising above 30 per cent in the Murray system, early season reserves for 2020/21 are being established. These reserves will be fully established when the Murray system seasonal determination is 44 per cent.
“The latest Bureau of Meteorology seasonal outlook indicates below-average rainfall across all of northern Victoria is more likely during the September to November period."
The seasonal determinations for northern Victorian water systems on Monday, September 2 are:
The next 2019/20 seasonal determination announcement will be released on Monday 16 September 2019 and will include an updated seasonal determination outlook.
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YOKO'S PLEA TO PAROLE BOARD
By Kenneth Lovett
ALBANY – Yoko Ono is pleading with state officials to keep John Lennon’s killer behind bars, just days before his parole hearing. Ono, Lennon’s widow, wrote the parole board, saying...
'APT. CON MAN HAD 2ND SCAM'
By Alex Ginsberg
Authorities are investigating complaints that the Long Island man charged yesterday with ripping off apartment-seekers also may have run a bogus flier service, The Post has learned. Three New York...
CLASSROOM EXTRA: CELEBRATE THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
By Jasmin K. Williams
Classroom Extra continues its salute to Hispanic Heritage Month with a look at the history and culture of the Dominican Republic. The Dominican Republic is located on the island of...
DAD'S STOLEN KISSES: VISITS KIDNAPPED GIRL
By Dareh Gregorian
She hadn’t seen her father in a year and a half, but little Charlotte recognized him instantly: “Papa!” David Washington – the New York man who’s been waging an international...
THE RIDE STUFF
By Barbara Hoffman
Memo to Miss America: The race to represent the world’s most famous transit system is no mere beauty contest. On the contrary, representing the subways these days requires poise, intelligence...
DRIVE BEGINS TO GET GUARD UP
By Neil Graves
The Army National Guard next month is kicking off an advertising campaign aimed at recruiting 5,000 more soldiers than it was able to attract in the 2004 fiscal year. The...
PAUL SCHWARTZ' GIANT REPORT CARD: WHAT'S NOT TO LIKE?
By Paul Schwartz
QUARTERBACKS Just wait until he’s completely in grained in the offense. For now, Kurt Warner (19 of 27, 286 yards) was cool and accurate and showed great touch on deep...
TRANSFER SURPRISES KEARNEY
By Dan Martin
James Kearney has been the coach for 34 years at August Martin and acknowledges that his days of contending for a PSAL championship are probably over. “We don’t really compete...
ROBINSON: I WANT TO STAY A DEVIL
By Mark Everson
Acknowledging that he’d be subbing for Pat Burns as interim coach, Larry Robinson yesterday said he prefers remaining with the Devils even as a consultant than being head coach anywhere...
LINE OF CREDIT ; FRONT FIVE MAKING LIFE EASY FOR JINTS
Not long after the Giants had finished up their most thorough performance of the season, disposing of the Browns with ease on Sunday, Chris Snee turned to his wife, Katie,...
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OCISO
Run For A New Start
The “Bobby Effect”……..
“The OCISO career mentorship program has without a doubt been the most important factor in jump starting my career in Canada.”
Here’s the original “Bobby Effect” article on OLIP website.
Can you imagine moving across the world, with no job and no professional network? It’s a daunting thought, and for many skilled newcomers to Ottawa, it’s not just a hypothetical question; it’s their reality.
This is where OCISO’s Career Mentoring programs come in.
OCISO’s Career Mentoring and Federal Internship for Newcomers (FIN) mentoring programs provide newcomers with opportunities to expand their professional networks as well as provide support to internationally educated professionals seeking to secure employment in their field.
Both the Career Mentoring and FIN mentorship programs rely on dedicated volunteer mentors to offer newcomers the chance to obtain meaningful employment in their new home.
Ottawa lawyer Robert (Bobby) Sampson is one such volunteer. Since 2015, he has been a committed mentor in both mentoring programs. Robert is so dedicated to the mentorship programs that he has created a phenomenon – the “Bobby Effect.”
His mentees appreciate the Bobby Effect so much they nominated Robert for a Welcoming Ottawa Ambassador award (part of activities to celebrate “Welcoming Ottawa Week” [WOW] 2018), recognizing Ottawa residents who go out of their way to support newcomers in their daily efforts to make this city their new home.
At a special WOW presentation at City Hall, Robert was recognized alongside other Ottawa residents and received the WOW Ambassador award.
“Bobby helped me unleash the potential in my skills and experience in so many new ways,” says Ayokunle Ogundipe, a lawyer from Nigeria. “He taught me the value of building a diverse and vibrant network, and provided me with the tools to do so.”
Within six weeks from their first mentorship meeting, Ayokunle had secured a great position within his dream organization – far better than the jobs he had originally applied for. Ayokunle considers OCISO and his match with Robert to be the game changer for him.
“The OCISO career mentorship program has without a doubt been the most important factor in jump starting my career in Canada,” Ayokunle explains, “From ‘pre-match’ preparations to being matched with a highly committed and prolific mentor, the entire process was empowering and enjoyable.”
Great CBC interview with Ayokunle, Clémence and Bobby!
Former FIN intern Clémence Naré is another newcomer who benefited from the Bobby Effect. Robert was on the case even before he met his extremely accomplished mentee from Burkina Faso who has multiple degrees in law and public administration.
Although Clémence had a remarkable caliber of experience, Robert recognized the importance of tailoring her impressive CV to the jobs she was seeking. It was likely that without this customization, employers would consider her over-qualified and her CV could potentially be disregarded.
Robert also noted that as with most newcomers, Clémence was not familiar with public service human resources competitions. Important concepts – such as essential qualifications, asset qualifications and organizational requirements – were foreign to her, and this is where he saw an opportunity to offer support.
Clémence’s resume indicated an interest in teaching law. Suddenly the bells went off in Robert’s head. Just a week before he and a law school friend had gone for coffee. His friend mentioned a possible teaching opportunity with a local university.
Robert saw a natural fit for Clémence, and with her permission, forwarded her CV to his friend. Very quickly after this, Clémence’s resume was passed along to the human resources department at the university.
All of this happened even before Robert had met Clémence! After they met, they worked on tailoring her CV, made lists of public services entities that may be a good fit, discussed alternative options, talked about cover letters and practiced mock interviews. They shared laughs and had a lot of fun together.
For Robert, mentoring means so much more than having fun. He quickly learned to admire Clémence’s tenacity, modesty and work ethic. She diligently sent out application after application, note after note and thoroughly prepared for their meetings and any interviews that were offered.
Like Robert, other mentors have expressed a desire to make a positive impact on someone’s life, and to help others find success in their career journey.
Volunteering as a mentor with OCISO offers people the opportunity to give back to the community in a meaningful way, and have fun while doing it.
Prepared by Tonya Pomerantz, OCISO Mentorship Facilitator, tpomerantz@ociso.org.
David Rain2018-09-28T19:01:19+00:00
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Blog & Links
Wood Book
curator. writer. producer.
plays in peoria
Posted on August 18, 2009 by dumsumla
The New York Times reported new National Endowment for the Arts chair Rocco Landesman is going to visit Peoria, IL to see what plays there. Peoria is my hometown. I was born there, and I moved to Canton, IL, which is about 30 minutes from Peoria, when I was 9 years old. At 12, I started working in community theatre in The Fulton County Playhouse. Just before I moved to New York City to study theatre, I had the honor of performing in Big River, Metropolis and Lucky Stiff, all produced at Eastlight Theatre in East Peoria, IL. Central Illinois theatre was integral to who I am.
It was at Eastlight I first had exposure to Actors Equity Association, performing with a guest actor from Chicago. It was at Eastlight I performed in a Midwest regional premiere of Metropolis. It was at Eastlight I decided to become a professional in the theatre. The opportunities I received at Eastlight and The Fulton County Playhouse taught me the essentials of what I do every day. I learned how to build sets, how to act, how to write, how to run sound (with lack of barking recordings, I found myself backstage “playing” the dog in Steel Magnolias), and how to work as a team.
When I read the original interview in the NY Times last week, I was put off. I didn’t say it out loud to anyone, but I was. I needed a few days to digest it. There’s always a stigma on community theatre. I get it. It’s for people working as doctors, lawyers, teachers, chiropractors, and IT techs that have decent voices, did theater in high school or college and still have the bug. It’s not professional, it’s not as good as Chicago theatre, and it’s certainly not Broadway. But, if one delves into the New York theatre scene, a vast majority of theatre artists trying to make it in this unforgiving business work as bartenders, waiters, temporary assistants, nannies, paralegals, and real estate agents. They are New Yorkers, pursuing careers in theatre, but they do other jobs to pay the rent. These artists return to regional theaters and grace them with their talents, inspiring young people to pursue insane lives as vagabonds, directors, raconteurs, clowns, actors, designers and artists. We’re all artists. We all matter. We’re just having different experiences.
The Peoria Players Theatre, Cornstock Theatre, and The Peoria Civic Center, which brings in professional national tours of plays and musicals like Broadway Bound with Zeljko Ivanek, (who’s career I’ve followed since I was in high school) and Cats (of course) are other wonderful Peoria theatres that inspired me through their productions and programming. I would be remiss in not mentioning them. Though I never worked for those theatres, many of my former colleagues did. They still invigorate the city of Peoria, IL. They produce plays from Broadway and Off Broadway, bringing New York playwrights to the Midwest. They encourage young people just starting off to passionately pursue this profession.
Fortunately, Kathy Chitwood, executive director at Eastlight, and Suzette Boulais, the executive director of ArtsPartners of Central Illinois had the tenacity to reach out to Mr. Landesman and challenge him. I’m very proud to know Kathy, and I wish her all the best when meeting with Mr. Landesman. From what I’ve heard he’s a tough nut, but he’s a fair one. Mr. Landesman said of Kathy and Ms. Boulais’ invitation to visit Peoria, “I think it’s something we’re all going to have good fun with. It’s great for the Peoria folks — having some attention. And we can make a statement about the N.E.A. — we do intend to be everywhere. I’m looking forward to it.”
Eastlight’s recent production of Rent is just closed, but if it’s like any of the shows they produced 15 years ago, it was professional and well acted. They include outstanding singers that bring the Heart of Illinois together to drink theatre in like an oasis in the desert. I’m happy to hear Mr. Landesman is visiting in early December when Eastlight presents its annual production of Joseph and the Amazing Technecolor Dreamcoat. It’s a fantastic representation of what they do.
There’s a reason for the old saying “Will it play in Peoria?” They’re cultured. And the only reason they are cultured is because its theatre companies bring plays like Albee’s The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia? and Lindsay-Abair’s Rabbit Hole to their stages. When you see a mob of high school students craning their necks in Times Square, blocking the sidewalk because they are jazzed that they’re going to see Avenue Q or Hair on Broadway, it’s because of these fine artists living in Peoria and thousands of other smaller cities across America. They are our life blood. If we cease to support them, we cease to exist. It is very important Mr. Landesman understands this when he visits.
One more thing – I have to credit two other people when touting my current career path. Jim Carter and Ilene Carter are my parents, and without their encouragement and support as I worked my way through these estemed institutions (existing longer than most New York theatre companies) I would not be a playwright, producer and advocate of theatre in all its splendor. Thanks to them for all their support.
Canton Community Eastlight Ilene Carter Jim Carter Kathy Chitwood New York Times Peoria Rocco Landesman Suzette Boulais The Fulton County Playhouse
no news day
fringe nyc 2009
Buriednova · August 18, 2009
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CHECK EM OUT
COOL CREATIVES IN OTHER WORLDS
Christy Briggs
Lost in E Minor
Lovely Pieces
Mouse Bouche
Ze Frank
SMART THEATRE ARTISTS & BARD BLOGS
2amtheatre
Adam Szymkowicz
Flux Theatre Ensemble
Leah Nanako Winkler
Mac Rogers
Paco Tolson
RJ Tolan
terraNOVA Collective
Youngblog
Zach Calhoon
TRANSMEDIA & TECH TYPES
Murmurco
StoryCode
Sundance Film Institute
Tribeca Film Institute
Workbook Project
Fast Talk
Cool Pics
Thrilled I happen to be in NYC on the occasion of @cd_clifford opening of “I Want Your Blood,” which is part of the #abortionisnormal show co-curated by @browngirlcurator & @rjampol. Christen filled perfume bottles with menstrual blood, and it’s gorgeous. Congrats to all. Some amazing, powerful, and beautiful pieces.
My hearts.
My wife did something super special for us this weekend for my birthday, which is next week when we won’t be together. Can’t wait to visit again.
Stacked. #nj #boxcar
This business called show can be super satisfying and fantastically fun. It’s also tough as hell—long hours, separation from loved ones, and lost sleep. I couldn’t be more fortunate to have the support of my strong women. The girls have done without their papa, and Christy’s been on her own with the girls much more than she’d like. But it’s evenings like tonight—perfect weather on closing night—when they come visit at work and we all get to experience the joy together. Makes it all worthwhile.
This is one to flip through to see the progress: @marymattingly joined us at the @aasummerfest this past weekend for a four day community driven residency presented with @ummamuseum “Objects in the Round.” Participants brought objects or selected donated objects from @a2recycle and added to the installation. They drew objects or wrote stories about their objects before placing them in the growing sculpture. Then, on the final day, Mary deinstalled the work by wrapping it up in a tight bundle, which echoes her work “Life of Objects” at UMMA’s current exhibition The World to Come: Art in the Age of Anthropocene. Was very happy our little artists were able to contribute to the work, and Mary generously took a pic with #winro to commemorate the moment.
Seven years ago I posted the work of @davidzinn on social media. Was a random share of something I loved. Quirky, fun, and lovely. Feel fortunate to have landed here in Ann Arbor where I have the honor of presenting his work each year. Thanks, David.
The future’s so bright... #lastdayofschool #schoolsoutforsummer #winro #yipeeeeee
Finally caught #theworldtocome Art in the age of Anthropocene at @ummamuseum. Honored to be presenting @marymattingly at @aasummerfest in conjunction with this important group show. Join Mary at #topofthepark June 27-30 in the Annex and help her create her newest community collaboration Objects in the Round. The World to Come offers many sundry perspectives on where our big blue marble is headed. Check it out.
When you’re thrilled you’ve conquered King’s Landing but decide to destroy it all anyway.
Said goodbye to this fella last night. 16 years. Pretty good run.
Just playin’ in a box while the sun bounces off the snow and reflects from my sequin headband. NBD #winro #sundayfunday #chill #boxfun
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Operative Neurosurgery
Tools Show pagesourceExport to PDFBacklinks Recent ChangesMedia ManagerSitemap Log In
Trace: • akt
Protein kinase B (PKB), also known as Akt, is a serine/threonine-specific protein kinase that plays a key role in multiple cellular processes such as glucose metabolism, apoptosis, cell proliferation, transcription and cell migration.
Emerging studies have focused on inhibiting AKT activation; here Mehta et al. demonstrate that in primary glioblastoma (GBM) tumor samples, full-dose inhibition of AKT activity leads to differential responses among samples in the context of cell death and self- renewal, reinforcing the notion that GBM is a heterogeneous disease. In contrast, low-dose AKT inhibition when combined with fractionation of radiation doses leads to a significant apoptosis-mediated cell death of primary patient-derived GBM cells. Therefore, low-dose targeted therapies might be better for radiosensitization of primary GBM cells and further allow for reducing the clinical toxicities often associated with targeting the AKT/PI3K/mTOR pathway. This work emphasizes the discrepancies between cell lines and primary tumors in drug testing, and indicates that there are salient differences between patients, highlighting the need for personalized medicine in treating high grade glioma 1).
Current standard treatment for glioma patients is surgical removal followed by radiotherapy and adjuvant chemotherapy. Due to therapeutic resistance and tumor recurrence, efforts are ongoing to identify the molecules that are fundamental to regulate the tumor progression and provide additional methods for individual treatment of glioma patients. By studying the initiation and maintenance of glioma, studies focused on the targets of tyrosine kinase receptors including EGFR, PDGFR and other crucial signal pathways such as PI3K/AKT and RAS/RAF/MAPK pathway. Furthermore, recent advances in targeting immunotherapy and stem cell therapy also brought numerous strategies to glioma treatment 2).
Mehta M, Khan A, Danish S, Haffty BG, Sabaawy HE. Radiosensitization of Primary Human Glioblastoma Stem-like Cells With Low-dose AKT Inhibition. Mol Cancer Ther. 2015 Feb 18. pii: molcanther.0708.2014. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 25695954.
Lin L, Cai J, Jiang C. Recent advances in targeted therapy for glioma. Curr Med Chem. 2016 Dec 23. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 28019637.
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Atlanta Braves vs Cincinnati Reds - April 23, 2019 Box Score
Braves Braves 11-11
April 23, 2019 - Final
Robert Stephenson
Reds Reds 9-13
2-0, 1.50
Puig 1 (3)
Barnhart 1 (2)
WP Stephenson Cin (2-0)
LP Gausman Atl (1-2)
S Iglesias Cin (5)
Reds (9-13)
Albies 2B 5 1 1 0 0 1 .274
Donaldson 3B 5 1 1 1 0 3 .266
Freeman 1B 5 1 1 1 0 3 .310
Acuna Jr. LF 4 0 1 0 0 0 .304
Markakis RF 2 1 0 1 1 1 .329
Swanson SS 4 1 2 1 0 1 .268
Flowers C 4 0 0 0 0 3 .317
Inciarte CF 3 1 2 1 0 0 .216
Gausman P 2 0 0 0 0 2 .111
sub_line
Biddle P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Parsons P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Culberson PH 1 0 1 1 0 0 .455
Winkler P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Sobotka P 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Joyce PH 1 0 1 0 0 0 .263
Totals 36 6 10 6 1 14
Hitting Summary
2B: Donaldson 1 (6), Swanson 1 (3), Culberson 1 (2), Joyce 1 (3)
3B: Swanson 1 (2)
RBI: Donaldson 1 (8), Freeman 1 (13), Markakis 1 (17), Swanson 1 (21), Inciarte 1 (4), Culberson 1 (6)
SB: Swanson 1 (2), Inciarte 1 (3)
PC-ST
Gausman 5.1 8 6 5 2 6 2 88 - 58 3.96
Biddle 0.0 0 1 0 3 0 0 13 - 4 2.38
Parsons 0.2 0 0 0 1 1 0 10 - 5 4.32
Winkler 1.0 0 0 0 1 2 0 18 - 10 0.00
Sobotka 1.0 1 0 0 2 2 0 29 - 15 9.90
Totals 9 7 5 9 11 2
Votto 1B 2 1 1 0 3 1 .235
Suarez 3B 3 0 0 0 2 1 .225
Winker LF 2 1 1 0 1 0 .182
Ervin PH-LF 1 0 0 1 1 1 .333
Puig RF 4 1 2 3 0 0 .183
Schebler CF 4 0 0 0 1 4 .153
Iglesias P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Barnhart C 5 1 1 1 0 2 .245
Iglesias SS 4 1 2 0 0 1 .286
Gray P 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Stephenson P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Dietrich PH 1 1 1 0 0 0 .238
Peralta P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Hernandez P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Farmer PH 0 0 0 0 1 0 .167
Hughes P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Garrett P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Lorenzen CF 0 0 0 0 0 0 .200
Peraza 2B 4 1 1 2 0 1 .159
Totals 30 7 9 7 9 11
2B: Peraza 1 (2)
HR: Puig 1 (3), Barnhart 1 (2)
RBI: Ervin 1 (1), Puig 3 (12), Barnhart 1 (4), Peraza 2 (3)
Gray 5.1 6 4 4 0 9 0 88 - 59 3.65
Stephenson 0.2 0 0 0 0 2 0 8 - 6 1.50
Peralta 0.1 2 1 1 0 0 0 8 - 6 1.13
Hernandez 0.2 0 0 0 0 2 0 10 - 6 2.79
Hughes 0.2 1 1 1 1 1 0 22 - 12 6.52
Garrett 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 - 1 1.00
Iglesias 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 0 10 - 7 4.22
Totals 10 6 6 1 14 0
More from MLB
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The New York Mets fired manager Mickey Callaway after two seasons with the team. He started off hot in the Big Apple, winning 11 of the team’s first 12 games in 2018. After missing the postseason with an 86-76 record this season, Callaway ends his Mets tenure with a 163-161 record. With an opening in baseball’s biggest market, SI Now hosts Robin Lundberg and Amy Campbell assess how attractive the job is.
Ronald Acuña Jr. in Hot Water Over Lack of Hustle in NLDS Game 1
Ronald Acuña Jr. thought he hit a home run but it turned out to be just a single that cost the Atlanta Braves a run as the lost to the St. Louis Cardinals 7-6 in game one of the NLDS. Teammate Freddie Freeman and manager Brian Snitker criticized Acuña for failing to hustle out of the box and leg out a double. This isn’t the first time he’s been chastised for lack of hustle, but SI Now hosts Robin Lundberg and Amy Campbell discuss if this should even happen in a postseason game.
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Been Shopping
The things you find on the internet
After watching 'Zulu' and 'Zulu Dawn', I decided that one of those stabbing spears would be a great wall ornament- yes- a wall ornament- not a burglar-sticker (take note all you dairy owners- these are only for opening bundles of newpapers)!
A quick google and I find that Cold Steel make such an item!
Now to find one of these decorative spears in NZ!
A dead duck
...would seem to be where NZ First is now, as Ron Mark looks towards local government.
First he has to shake of the stigma of associating with Bad Company...
AAAARRRRGGGGHHHH!
I was checking cruise lines because I heard the rates are very cheap right now.
I found a Somali cruise package that departs from Sawakin (in the Sudan ) and docks at Bagamoya (in Tanzania ).
The cost is a bit high @ 800 per person double occupancy but I didn’t find that offensive. What I found encouraging and enlightened is that the cruise is encouraging people to bring their 'High powered weapons' along on the cruise. If you don’t have weapons you can rent them right there on the boat. They claim to have a master blacksmith on board and will have reloading parties every afternoon. The cruise lasts from 4-8 days and nights and costs a maximum of $3200 per person double occupancy (4 days). All the boat does is sail up and down the coast of Somalia waiting to get hijacked by pirates. Here are some of the costs and claims associated with the package.
$800.00 US/per day double occupancy (4 day max billing)
M-16 full auto rental $ 25.00/day ammo at 100 rounds of 5.56 armor piercing ammo at $15.95
Ak-47 riffle @ No charge. ammo at 100 rounds of 7.62 com block ball ammo at $14.95
Barrett M-107 .50 cal sniper riffle rental 55.00/day ammo at 25 rounds 50 cal armor piercing at $9.95
Crew members can double as spotters for $30.00 per hour ( spotting scope included).
Jesus Christ---- they even offer RPG's at 75 bucks and 200 dollars for 3 standard loads
"Everyone gets use of free complimentary night vision equipment and coffee and snacks on the top deck from 7pm-6am."
Meals are not included but seem reasonable.
Most cruises offer a mini-bar... these gung ho entrepreneurs offer......... get this.....
"MOUNTED MINIGUN AVAILABLE @ 450.00 per 30 seconds of sustained fire"
Sign my ass up!
They advertise group rates and corporate discounts...... and even claim "FUN FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY"
They even offer a partial money back if not satisfied....here’s some text from the ad.
"We guarantee that you will experience at least two hijacking attempts by pirates or we will refund half your money back including gun rental charges and any unused ammo ( mini gun charges not included).. How can we guarantee you will experience a hijacking? We operate at 5 kno ts within 12 miles of the coast of Somalia . If an attempted Hijacking does not occur we will turn the boat around and cruise by at 4 knots. We will repeat this for up to 8 days making three passes a day along the entire length of Somalia . At night the boat is fully lit and bottle rockets are shot off at intervals and loud disco music beamed shore side to attract attention. Cabin space is limited so respond quickly. Reserve your package before Feb 29 and get 100 rounds of free tracer ammo in the caliber of your choice."
As if all that isn’t enough to whet your appetite, there were a few testimonials
“I got three confirmed kills on my last trip. I'LL never hunt big game in Africa again. I felt like the Komandant in Schindlers list!”---- Lars , Hamburg Germany
"Six attacks in 4 days was more than I expected. I bagged three pirates and my 12yr old son sank two rowboats with the minigun. PIRATES 0 -PASSENGERS-32! Well worth the trip. Just make sure your spotter speaks English"
Ned, Salt Lake city , Utah USA
"I haven’t had this much fun since flying choppers in NAM . Don’t worry about getting shot by pirates as they never even got close to the ship with those weapons they use and their shitty aim--reminds me of a drunken 'juicer' door gunner we picked up from the motor pool back in Nam" --"chopper'
Dan ----Toledo USA.
"Like ducks in a barrel. They turned the ship around=2 0and we saw them bleed and cry in the water like little girls. Saw one wounded pirate eaten by sharks--what a laugh riot!! This is a must do.--- Zeke-Minnahaw Springs Kentucky USA
Hat tip- Theo Spark
Arseholes on the road
Today its the twat with the horse float.
For some reason these dog tucker transporters seem totally unable to PULL OVER AND LET THE FASTER TRAFFIC PASS!
It's also interesting how the large 4WD's (devoid of any dirt or sign of EVER being off the sealed roads) pulling these trailers are meticulous about obeying the speed limit for a vehicle with a trailer.
Without the trailer, the Karori tractors seem blissfully unaware of speed limits.
So it's a big 'Up Yours' to you and your horse!
Honourary Doctorates
They have about as much merit as the titles and decorations of- His Excellency President for Life, Field Marshal Al Hadji Doctor Idi Amin Dada, VC, DSO, MC, CBE.
As phony as a $20 dollar Rolex.
Democracy in Local Government
There is much wailing and gnashing off teeth over the the 'SuperCouncil' being anti-democratic.
Sorry to piss on your fish & Chips, but the whole system of voting in a Mayor, Councilors and community board is but window dressing.
Their input is minimal and they are resented and as often as not obstructed by the grey-shoe wearers who are quite safe from the wroth of the ratepayers.
It's just like the anonymous snivel-servants that carry on celebrating mediocrity, incompetence and the toxic personality cult as their 'masters' change.
Mention the local council staff and what images immediately come to mind:
The inept third-rate 'engineer' who would be out of his depth in a kindergarten sand pit.
The myopic building inspector who couldn't build a dog kennel that stays dry, but knows all the building regulations that will stop you doing something with your own property.
The Parking Warden. Enough said.
The bloated chocolate-addict behind the counter that scowls at you when you go to pay the rates demand. Probably kicked out of Quantas for a poor customer service attitude.
The gin-addled old fart who can't be pushed out the door now that there is no retirement age. Nobody actually know what he does
We all know them, regardless of where we live. South Wairarapa has the bloody lot-- but they are a joke even to other councils.
I have personally heard them state that the Mayor & councilors should stay out of their affairs and stick to opening school fairs and sporting events. Safe behind bomb-proof employment contracts- you can bet they do all they can to keep the elected officials at a distance!
If you think we REALLY have a say- you are deluded.
We need ALL council functions minimised and put out to facilities management contracts. These can be overseen by elected officials.
Bogans not welcome in the suicide capital
They must have been short of news yesterday.
Firstly- Do people from Wainuiomata travel? Apart from in vehicles that belong to Police or Corrections, that is.
Secondly- Palmerston North? If I was staying there, it would only be because I had been arrested.
Thirdly- Doesn't Mallard have something useful to do, like scraping bubble gum from underneath office desks.
"...The next in line is tipped to be the Inland Revenue Department, with several hundred jobs nationwide affected by restructuring. It has 6000 staff..."
6000 staff!
I had no idea there were so many involved in the state-sanctioned theft of other people's property!
If a cow was bloated that bad, it would be dog tucker- which the more I think about it- would be the answer to IRD too...
The UN can kiss my arse
When the usual rimjaws start crying foul, you know you have done the right thing!
"...Labour and the Greens are at odds with the Government over its decision to boycott this week's United Nations conference on racism..."
The UN would be the most, corrupt, self-serving and morally bankrupt collection of leeches on the planet. Their hypocrisy defines the word.
I applaud the governments decision to shun their loathsome company.
I'm just surprised that the US camel-jockey hasn't insisting on turning up...
Kicking a woman in the back
Well- up the arse was more the thought of the time.
That happens when you overhear a couple of DPB bludgers bitching to each other about 'Having no time to themselves or money for a babysitter so they can go out and party and how they should get more cash (of course).'
That does not sit well as one is about to start another 12 day shift with seven days on-call 24hrs.
The four-figure tax loss in the next pay is going- where?
This whole sense of entitlement is really giving me the shits of late. These slappers want US to pay for the upbringing their illegitimate spawn and now they want us to pay more so they can get out and copulate in some nightclub toilets!
Time to stop feeding the pigeons!
Take the Black Capsule
On the subject of suicide, it is an observation that women will ATTEMPT suicide or threaten to do so far more often than they will consummate the act.
It's a cry for attention and/or help.
Men on the other hand, just go out and do it out of the blue.
It's not hard to destroy yourself, once one decides to do so.
There are obvious exceptions to every rule of thumb.
Draw your own conclusions...
A Thought for today
Never has this quote been more true...
"The America of my time line is a laboratory example of what can happen to democracies, what has eventually happened to all perfect democracies throughout all histories. A perfect democracy, a ‘warm body’ democracy in which every adult may vote and all votes count equally, has no internal feedback for self-correction. It depends solely on the wisdom and self-restraint of citizens… which is opposed by the folly and lack of self-restraint of other citizens. What is supposed to happen in a democracy is that each sovereign citizen will always vote in the public interest for the safety and welfare of all. But what does happen is that he votes his own self-interest as he sees it… which for the majority translates as ‘Bread and Circuses.’
‘Bread and Circuses’ is the cancer of democracy, the fatal disease for which there is no cure. Democracy often works beautifully at first. But once a state extends the franchise to every warm body, be he producer or parasite, that day marks the beginning of the end of the state. For when the plebs discover that they can vote themselves bread and circuses without limit and that the productive members of the body politic cannot stop them, they will do so, until the state bleeds to death, or in its weakened condition the state succumbs to an invader—the barbarians enter Rome."
— Robert A. Heinlein (To Sail Beyond the Sunset)
Nyaaa!
Another time-wasting internet quiz!
Back to drugs in the workplace
A while back I got an email on my 'drug testing employees' post
"Most, I suspect are the functioning potheads that, while they dont vote on the issue, know all to well that 'a little pot' has no measurable effect on personal responsibility, safety or duty of care. There are likely on anyone day, to be more than 150,000 New Zealanders that would fail the 'metabolites' test while absent any proof of impairment. It is the logical equivalent of licking someones exhaust pipe to see if they have been speeding in the last month."
I put this aside as I was rather busy at the time, but thought it was worth commenting on.
Firstly, my position on drugs is that using them should not be a criminal act- but (and it's a big but) users need to be made responsible for for their actions relating to the use of drugs- such as any medical treatment resulting from their use or criminal acts 'under the influence'
I believe that association with the drug-dealing criminal fraternity is probably more harmful than the act of using the substances.
Secondly, while I support decriminalization, I believe that employers have every right to contract that employees may not use whatever substances they see fit or to set conditions on their use.
Now to the email above, I would reply that since more information has come to light- the conclusions are quite wrong.
With the benefit of hindsight, it has turned out that those who tested positive had a significantly higher rate of absenteeism, accidents and breakage of equipment. Perhaps they would not be impaired in some jobs but these people were operating heavy machinery and power tools.
If they were smoking on the job, we will never really know, although there is anecdotal evidence to suggest this was the case. I sure as hell don't want anyone pissed, stoned, high or just plain stupid working around me! I have worked in such places in the past and seen a few idiot stoners maimed for life- better them than me, thankfully. These retard thought it was their right to smoke up during a break. The least of it was that you always wound up carrying their deadweight.
It is worth mentioning that I can recall at least four that have been fired for drinking on the job, over the last couple of years.
The Parable of the Plum Tree
I remember years ago being out picking plums from a large tree overhanging the footpath at a friends flat. This tree was absolutely loaded with those plums with the tasty, sweet yellow flesh.
A couple of bludgers (as we found) came past and asked if they could have some plums. We said 'Sure, pick as many as you want' We had a big bucket full that got turned into plum wine- but that's another story.
They then shrugged and walked off- what they actually wanted were the plums that we had already picked.
Now this is an attitude often seen in food banks. Many want food that needs no more than a quick zap in the microwave. Stuff like pasta, rice and flour are discarded or at best, returned.
Like picking the plums themselves, that sort of food is too hard to prepare.
What they really want from the food banks are KFC/McD's or Pizza vouchers.
Death Star Canteen
Hat tip: NZ Conservative
No note, no nosh
"...Lower Hutt's food bank is having to turn away people seeking help unless they carry a note from Work and Income New Zealand that they have used up their food allowance..."
I'm only surprised that they weren't doing this years ago!
I have heard several anecdotal tales of bludgers going along 'to get the free food', just to save them the bother of having to pay for food. These bludging leeches WORKED at the same place as my informant, BTW.
They should also hand out copies of WINZ's excellent Cookbook for Dummies! (get Pak & Save to sponsor it!)- I hear that much of the food in the packages is refused as they don't know what to do with such esoteric ingredients as flour...
Payback!
Crystal ball gazing
Over here, talk is that the councils of the Wairarapa will amalgamate. I believe that amalgamation will go a bit further than that!
My prediction is that Wellington will follow the way of Auckland, with one council ruling the area currently under the Wellington Regional Council.
WRC will become 'Environmental Wellington' or suchlike and merge in the the Lower North Island Ubercouncil.
In fact, I can see a council governing each province in the future.
We have to remember that population-wise- New Zealand is only city sized. Mayors are in charge of cities bigger than NZ...
Pirates and vandals with spray cans.
I have noticed a clear link between two groups.
They seem unable to be stopped.
It's not they can't be stopped. Both activities could be halted almost immediately but this ain't going to happen.
The problem is a lack of political will to effectively deal with the problem.
The pirates are treated as a 'Policing' problem by the powers-that-be, who believe they should be detained (without harming them of course!) arrested and laced before a court.
The Navy(s) know that the way to deal with pirates is to turn them into crab food. You don't negotiate- you adjust the fall of shot.
Craphead graffiti vandals can be stopped by letting the public loose on them. The powers-that-be like to spout fluff about 'the problem belongs to all of the community'. Very well- let the community deal with the problem as they see fit. A few tar & feathering's and the problem will vanish.
Like the Somali pirates, they know they can get away with their crimes as nothing much will happen to them. I have noticed that since one poor sod was sent down for stabbing one of these humanoid cockroaches, there has been an explosion of graffiti and general vandalism about town. They know well that now people won't risk a conviction for assault in a confrontation.
So they carry on with impunity.
Food Nazis feck off!
"...Canterbury District Health Board public health nutritionist Bronwen King said the availability of big eggs was exploiting the Easter tradition..."
Would you sod off and choke to death on a block of tofu!
It would never occur to the health Nazis that a 1 kg chocolate egg is no different to 10 x 100 gram chocolate bars.
How many people would actually eat it all- in one sitting? In any case, it's none of your friggin' business.
In my house, there are two occasions the kids are allowed to go a bit nuts with sweets. Easter and Christmas.
And what would you REALLY care about 'Easter Tradition"?
Keeping the world safe from being free
"...Seventeen retailers across New Zealand face legal action after Department of Labour inspectors caught them trading during today's holiday.
The Department of Labour declined to name the offending businesses, nor what action it intended to take for trading on Good Friday.
Most of those caught were garden centres, although inspectors also caught three music shops breaking the law..."
Find out who the busybodies were and make them redundant. How does penalizing businesses help in hard economic times?
This is a bloody ridiculous situation, where one shop may open and another may not.
Put these (inspectors) relics of a socialist era on the scrap heap!
Another 'holiday' phenomenon
I often wonder why so FEW people are killed on the road on any given long weekend.
What I have seen today proves my often stated theory that Mr Brain takes a holiday at a different location to Mr Body, in about 20% of drivers.
So far I have been passed on double yellow lines, tailgated, stuck behind a moron traveling at half the speed limit, cut off and indicators seem to be an optional extra this weekend.
That's on a 70km trip!
Stay home on long weekends- It has to be better for your life expectancy...
YOU figure the courts out!
You dump a newborn baby in a rubbish bin and then walk away from court free.
Try dumping a sack of kittens and see what happens to you if you get caught!
No- I can't figure that one out...
Some serious apologist bullshit
"...Popo's uncle, Popo Su'a, said yesterday that his nephew should not have been charged with murder for killing Porirua police sergeant Derek Wootton.
Popo's plea of guilty to manslaughter was "best for him", Mr Su'a said. "It wasn't something he did on purpose. It wasn't murder."
Mr Su'a, a minister of the Congregational Christian Church of Samoa, said: "What happened saddens me, not only for him but also for the police officer's family. But I believe it wasn't intentional. It wasn't his fault, in a way..."
Not his fault!
What a total load of rancid donkey bollocks!
"...The Crown alleged that the car, taken by Popo from another man the night before, had been travelling at up to 150kmh during the police chase that led to the tragedy.
Popo also pleaded guilty to injuring a man and unlawfully taking his car in Tawa, and driving while disqualified. He still faces a charge of kidnapping a teenager..."
I suppose that lot was also 'not his fault , in a way'.
*So this piece of shit races his car* and kills a police officer trying to stop him- and because he didn't mean it that makes everything OK and all he deserves is a telling off, I suppose.
What he does deserve is 25 years minimum at hard labour for killing a police officer in the line of duty. The kidnapping charge should round it out to a drop on a short rope!
But this is NZ and the slimebucket will get five years for manslaughter and cry because he can't get home detention.
And his fucktard uncle should get a bloody good kicking for ' It wasn't his fault, in a way.'
*Correction: ...this piece of shit races the car he has hijacked and stolen...
Das Ubercouncil
Firstly- you would think that this was the first city in the world to contain more than a million people! Cities around the world have had larger populations for centuries.
I'm sure there are plenty of overseas models to have a look at. I would like somebody else to pay for me to go on an extended tour of these cities!
I promise to bring back plenty of photos and post them here!
But seriously, the idea is meant to improve efficiencies by economy of scale and by eliminating duplication of 'services'.
Sounds fair, but as we know, government plans seldom work as intended and usually just create a bigger, more costly clusterfuck.
Not PC gives a detailed rundown on the wolf in sheep's clothing here.
What would I like to see done?
Same as Peter:
"...Cap real rates, repeal the Local Government Act 2002, remove the power of general competence from councils, and so limit the power of planners and local bureaucrats to push us all around..."
Pull the bastards teeth by setting in law a very limited range of council functions!
Footpaths, water, waste and parks.
Fox News on Gun-Free zones
"...You would think that it would be an important part of the news stories for a simple reason: Gun-free zones are a magnet for these attacks. Extensive discussions of these attacks can be found here and here. We want to keep people safe, but the problem is that it is the law-abiding good citizens, not the criminals, who obey these laws. We end up disarming the potential victims and not the criminals. Rather than making places safe for victims, we unintentionally make them safe for the criminal..."
Story here.
Of course here in NZ, we are all living in a free-fire zone for crims...
Responsibilities before Rights
We keep hear a lot about the 'Rights' of children.
We really need to here a lot more on the RESPONSIBILITIES of parents. They are the ones who should be raising children- not the useless bloody UN!
Responsibilities such as not to breed more that you can feed.
It's not just about a modicum of food, clothing and shelter- it's about teaching them to be social beings, as opposed to feral scraps.
To install discipline, manners and respect (which is NOT the same as fear!)
To spend TIME with them.
To have ambition and the desire to better themselves.
To WORK HARD at maintaining a good relationship, thus setting a model for the future. Not throwing hands in the air and walking out the momnet the going gets a bit tough.
Ever wonder why kids are running amock?
This is why!
"Television's Supernanny has been sent to the naughty step.
Behaviour-control techniques popularised by the TV disciplinarian have spread to preschools despite being in breach of the United Nations (UN) Declaration of the Rights of the Child and the national curriculum, an Auckland academic says.
Pauline Bishop, a Unitec lecturer with 20 years experience in early childhood education, this week told the Early Intervention Association conference in Auckland that Supernanny techniques were unprofessional for teachers..."
Because of this namby-pamby PC bullshit- as often as not dreamed up by queers and steers that have have zero practical experience with children.
You see, the 'problem' is that we are punishing these Satan's spawn instead of 'teaching' them. In my experience that is teaching them.
They learn there are *consequences* for being a little shit.
You limp-wristed, hand-wringing, pantie-wetters have had your chance.
You were wrong.
If you don't believe me, go and try and 'teach' a crowd of out of control teenagers on the rampage, that their behavior is inappropriate.
It's time to reintroduce discipline as a virtue!
You can't have it both ways!
I was reading this article on turning plastics into fuel*, when I had the thought that then the greenies will bitch about CO2!
Which led to the thought about how they continually bleat about plastics that don't degrade in landfills- now plastics MUST be good because they lock up carbon! And for a long time!
This assumes that they know anything about the nature of plastics and I don't believe the Book of Green says anything other than it is a sin...
*- Something I have been doing for years by burning plastic in a hot log burner (they burn clean if you have a hot fire)-
10 days of it so far. About another 100 to go.
It hasn't been too bad but this is my weekend off and Friday night is Fish & chips and drinks night- and I'm as dry as a Salvation Army picnic!
No greasy's either!
Take a Viagra
And harden up!
This is just the classic 'Bad Taste' party most of us went to when we were younger.
Been to a few 'KKK' themed ones myself and there were people of all colours wearing hoods and sheet- and having a blast!
Nothing to see here apart from kids having a bit of fun!
Furious!
I'M BLOODY FURIOUS!
I have been since I read this:
"...Cherishsiliala Tahuri-Wright, 3, known as Cherish, suffered severe head injuries at a house in Marton on February 17, police allege. A 56-year-old woman, charged with her murder, is in custody.
Although emergency services were alerted about 12.15pm, the critically hurt toddler did not arrive at Palmerston North Hospital till 2.40pm.
"It really pisses me off to think they dicked around for a couple of hours while a little girl was dying," said family spokeswoman and Porirua Deputy Mayor Litea Ah Hoi..."
Heaven forbid you feel righteous anger towards the festering turd that bashed this child to death!!!
What would have probably happened is that, being out of a main center, the first responder would have had basic Ambulance qualifications and made the call on assessing the injuries, to call for an advanced paramedic. Sorry but that's the reality- we can't have an advanced paramedic at every corner, waiting for you to smash your child. Be thankful to a very few volunteers that you have an ambulance service at all!
They do the best job they can, with what they have. When you are a long way from a hospital, 'scoop and scoot' without stabilizing the patient just turns your ambulance into a hearse.
The family mouthpiece can be excused for being an ignorant, stupid person by association with scum that bash children. (Note to Sue Bradford- this is real bashing)
Porrirua's Deputy dog-catcher needs to resign immediately and apologize to St Johns. That worthless muck-raker needs to take a big cup of shut-the-fuck-up.
Of course all of the above will be declining the services of St Johns in the future.
Other commentary at:
Whaleoil
Roarprawn
"...However, in a statement today, St John operations director Tony Blaber said interim findings showed an Advanced Life Support capable doctor was on the scene in 19 minutes, and a double-crewed ambulance from Feilding arrived within the next minute.
"In addition a clinical manager with specialist skills, an Advanced Life Support emergency helicopter and an Advanced Life Support crew from Wanganui were also mobilised," Mr Blaber said.
"The patient received high level clinical care at the scene and needed to be stabilised before being transported to hospital in an air ambulance."
Interim investigation findings from St John's medical advisor showed the specific care provided to Cherish had been of a high standard and it was unlikely it had any impact on her outcome..."
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Guatemala Promises Mexico Extradition of Fugitive Ex-Governor, Says “Will Never Be a Haven for Criminals”
GuatemalaCentral AmericaDrug WarFeatured
By Elena Toledo On Apr 19, 2017
“Duarte’s arrest is definitely a message from Guatemala,” Aldana said. “We don’t want to be a country that tolerates people wanted by other nations. On the contrary, we want to work with our neighbors to help them seek justice.” (Segunda Vuelta)
EspañolGuatemala took a strong stance against fighting crime in Mexico this week following the discovery of ex-Governor of Veracruz Javier Duarte in Panajachel.
Guatemalan Attorney General Thelma Aldana said her country “will never be a haven for Mexican criminals,” adding that she will fully support the Mexican Attorney General in the criminal proceedings and extradition process of Duarte, who was arrested last Saturday night for stealing funds that would have been used for hospitals, schools and other public institutions in his Mexican city.
“Duarte’s arrest is definitely a message from Guatemala,” Aldana said. “We don’t want to be a country that tolerates people wanted by other nations. On the contrary, we want to work with our neighbors to help them seek justice.”
“We definitely do not want to become a home for Mexican criminals,” she added. “This former governor’s arrest is also a message to Mexican drug traffickers that the prosecutors in their country and Guatemala are organized, in cooperation with public ministries and we are united to fight against crime.”
Read More: Common Objections to Skeptics of Trump’s Immigration Ban, Answered
Read More: Trump Administration Stumbles on Immigration Message Following First Trip to Mexico
The most respected public prosecutor in Central America also complained that because of the few resources available to the Public Prosecutor’s Office, Mexican mafias are currently penetrating Guatemala arms and drug trafficking, among other crimes that are carried out near the border with Mexico.
As for the preparedness of Guatemalan institutions, Aldana said that her country will “certainly be transparent, objective, with due process, the right to a defense and in collaboration with the Mexican Attorney General in anything required from us. ”
Source: El Universal
Crime in Guatemala
Elena Toledo 568 posts 0 comments
Educator by trade, social-media apprentice, activist for a democratic Honduras, and free thinker. Follow her on Twitter @NenaToledo.
Live Blog from Venezuela’s Mega-Protest against the Maduro Dictatorship
Mexico Is Ready for NAFTA Renegotiation Talks This Summer, Border Wall Not On the Table
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Alberto Fernández’s Economic Plan Won’t Save Argentina
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Allison Rzen
PFM Partner
SUCCESS STARTS HERE.
We are a worldwide leader in executive search with the talent to find exactly what you’re looking for.
Learn what makes us a worldwide leader in executive search.
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BC Housing Vice President, Corporate Services & Chief Financial Officer Burnaby, BC
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BC Lottery Corporation Vice President, People & Culture Kamloops, British Columbia
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Capilano University Dean, Faculty of Business & Professional Studies North Vancouver, BC
Thank you for shepherding us through the whole process using such a considered and inclusive approach. I think I speak for us all in saying we felt we were in control of our own destiny as it were, but very well supported with sage advice, some challenging thoughts and excellent coordination of all aspects of the search process. We were really happy with everyone at PFM, the level of candidates you managed to attract and ultimately, the final result.
I’m sure you have many, very worthwhile organizations that you help on an ongoing basis, but we do appreciate you taking the time to carefully consider work on our search, and thinking of our specific requirements and situation. I’m sure our new CEO will go on to create a lot of positive change within Brightside and we will keep you up to date with how things progress.
Greg Tooke
Board Chair, Brightside Community Homes Foundation
On behalf of the Board and Easter Seals BC Yukon, we would like to thank you for assisting us in the recruitment of our organization’s new President and CEO. When we first started working together on this recruitment, we asked that you and your team think outside of the box. It was very important because we wanted to elevate the organization and its future, and to do so we would need a special leader. The candidates you presented us with were just that. This gave us a lot to consider and it ensured that we were focused on what we wanted to achieve over the next five years and the appropriate individual to deliver the results.
Tracy Lakeman
Chair, Board of Directors, Easter Seals BC/Yukon
I highly recommend PFM for your next Executive Search. From the beginning to the end, the PFM team operated as an extension of our organization. What started off as a routine search ended up being much longer than anticipated (due to an unforeseen circumstance that was out of both of our controls). The PFM team got us back on track and stood by us as a true partner and continued to search and support our board until we successfully found our perfect candidate. We thank PFM for their professionalism, hard work, and support.
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Board Director, Prince George Airport Authority
Thank you for an exceptional experience. This was a critical and complex role within our team, and at every point of the search process you worked diligently to ensure that our needs were understood as well as reflected in the candidates selected for consideration. I would enthusiastically recommend PFM Executive Search’s services and am confident in their ability to discover compelling and highly capable global talent.
Craig Lehto
General Manager , Vancouver Convention Centre
PFM’s greatest strength is their ability to listen to many stakeholders and to gain a full appreciation of the culture and the leadership needs of an organization. It isn’t about completing a search but rather being fully invested in the process and finding the best candidate. PFM is there every step of the way and I can’t thank them enough for their professionalism and expertise.
Susan Ewanick
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I’d like to thank you for conducting such an excellent search to position and fill this challenging and unique role. I believe the panel was quite surprised by the comprehensiveness and diversity of the list of potential candidates… PFM certainly helped us see new opportunities and adeptly managed us through a fairly complicated process.
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Associate Partner
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Hong Kong Timelapse and Hyperlapse by Kirill Neiezhmakov
by photogrist
Hong Kong Hyperlapse
Hong Kong Timelapse
Kirill Neiezhmakov
Kirill Neiezhmakov is an award winning professional photographer from Kharkov, Ukraine, who made a timelapse and hyperlapse video of Hong Kong. It’s a timelapse / hyperlapse video with a hefty dose of psychedelic elements and a tight soundtrack. In a glorious journey through Hong Kong, Kirill takes us through some of the more iconic night scenes of the city, as well as some hidden gems.
The video was made using two Canon cameras: Canon EOS 60D, an Canon EOS 70D, Sigma 10-20mm f/4.0-5.6, Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8, Samyang 8mm f/3.5, Canon EF 17-55mm f/2.8, Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L and a GoPro Hero 4. Post production was done in Adobe After Effects, Lightroom and LRTimelapse.
Hong Kong has developed from a small fishing village in the 1800s into a dynamic and thrilling 21st century cosmopolitan metropolis. It is a bustling coastal city full of impressive high rises, and a fusion of eastern and western cultures. It proudly proclaims itself to be “Asia’s World City” and remains a key gateway to China.
– Kirill Neiezhmakov
More info: instagram / facebook / vimeo
Stunning Photo Manipulations by Dillon Saw
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Nick Moir is a professional 45-years old photographer, and storm chaser from Sydney, Australia. Nick
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Stunning futuristic and cyberpunk manipulations by Aaron Elliott, a talented artist, designer, and web developer
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Photogrist Photography Magazine featuring articles and information on digital and film photography, as well as inspirational photos and pieces from around the world.
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Founders & Governance
Paul's Partners (Monthly)
Goats, Gardens, and Business Training Empower Mother in Neno
Published by Ian Pinnell on July 30, 2019 July 30, 2019
Dalitso Mkango and her youngest son, Yohane, tend some of their 12 goats earlier this year in Neno District, Malawi. PIH provided the goats through a social support program that has enabled Dalitso, who has been living with HIV since 2006, to use manure as fertilizer, grow her gardening business and feed her family. (Photo by Elise Mann/PIH)
On most days, Dalitso Mkango is busy selling her vegetables in the market in the central village of Neno District, Malawi. And if she’s not selling her produce, then she’s at home working in her gardens. Rumour has it that she has some of the best produce around—likely because of the fertilizer she uses, a homemade mixture of manure from the goats she cares for at her home.
How Mkango, 45, came to own those goats—and to use them for a sustainable business—is a story that stretches over 12 years, through a longtime connection between her family, her community, and Partners In Health, known in Malawi as Abwenzi Pa Za Umoyo.
Staff with PIH’s Program on Social and Economic Rights, or POSER, first met Mkango on a visit to her home in 2007, the same year PIH began working in rural Neno District. PIH collaborates with Malawi’s Ministry of Health to provide comprehensive care for more than 140,000 people in Neno, including support for 12 health centers, two hospitals, and more than 1,200 community health workers.
POSER staff, like those health workers, visit people and families at their homes and in their communities, to provide resources and access to care. But while health workers focus on screenings for disease or physical ailments, access to medicine, and more, POSER teams visit homes to focus on social determinants of health, such as access to food, transportation, education, and economic support.
It was through those local visits that the POSER team met Mkango. During a home visit to understand her circumstances and see if there were ways PIH could support her, the team learned about the severe challenges she and her family were facing.
Mkango had learned she was HIV positive in 2006, but had been unable to access antiretroviral therapy until PIH arrived in Neno a year later. She was caring for her three children and ailing mother, despite many economic and social challenges within her family and her community.
Mkango had been taking her HIV medication diligently since 2007, but still was getting sick—likely because, at least in part, she wasn’t getting enough to eat. With her small garden, she was only able to harvest 10 bags of maize at a time, which was not enough to sustain her household of five.
Beyond providing immediate financial support to her and her family, POSER also began helping Mkango work toward financial self-sufficiency.
In 2008, the team invited Mkango to join five other women in a knitting collective. The six of them learned to knit and created wool products that were sold in the United States. After two years, when international hurdles slowed that business, the women came together and asked POSER to help them start a restaurant. From 2010-12, Mkango worked as a co-founder of the eatery, while completing formal business training that POSER provided as the women worked. In 2012, she graduated with new knowledge in business management, ready to manage and grow her income.
A year later, the POSER team gave her two goats, as part of a PIH-Malawi initiative called Goats Pass On. She now has 12 goats, significantly expanding her financial options—she recently planned to sell one of them to pay for home improvements, for example. And over the past five years, Mkango has been able to dramatically increase the amount of maize she produces, by using manure to boost her fertilizer. While she previously struggled to harvest 10 bags of maize, she now reaps more than 55 bags in each harvest, and has made more than 120,000 kwacha ($210 CAD) selling what her family doesn’t need. With her cabbage, she’s made an additional 250,000 kwacha ($438 CAD).
As Dalitso Mkango’s vegetable business and income grow, she is able to manage her finances with business training she received through PIH. (Photo by Elise Mann/PIH)
And most importantly, her body is much more responsive to her HIV medication.
“I’m just slender, no longer so sick,” she said earlier this year. “Before, we struggled, but now I can grow enough maize and vegetables to feed my family and run my own business. My family has no problems with food or money today.”
Mkango’s story embodies POSER’s mission. Since 2007, POSER has worked with vulnerable families across Neno to overcome financial and geographic challenges and help them realize their right to health. POSER work is rooted in PIH’s belief that medical intervention alone is not enough; in the absence of social and economic support, people can still struggle to care for themselves and their families.
In Malawi, the POSER team distributes more than 800,000 kwacha ($1,401 CAD) per month to support families with food packages, money for transportation to and from health facilities, household items, and more. The Goats Pass On initiative is one example of the long-term investments POSER makes in individuals so that they, in turn, can invest in their communities.
Victor Kanyema, POSER program manager for PIH in Malawi, has known Mkango for years and appreciates how hard she has worked to achieve success with her goats and gardens.
“It’s not easy to manage goats, you know how they are,” he said. “It requires a lot of work, which is a unique part of this program and shows you how committed Dalitso has been to raising her many goats.”
When asked about Mkango, POSER officer Edwin Kambanga smiled.
“She’s always been full of so much energy,” he said. “She’s very special to POSER.”
In part because of Mkango’s success, the POSER team is working to launch a large-scale, multi-year initiative to expand the goats program and related training. Kanyema is optimistic that many more people across Neno could benefit from goats, and their source of fertilizer.
With her ongoing HIV treatment and growing economic opportunities, Mkango is doing better than ever—an outcome that Kanyema hopes to replicate across the district.
“We are proud of her and appreciate all of the lessons she has provided to our programming, which ultimately can help others in Neno,” he said.
Article originally posted on pih.org
Health care isn’t effective unless patients have the social support they need to be healthy. Make a gift today to help PIH continue to provide the support our patients need to get and stay healthy.
Learn more about how the POSER Program is making a difference in the lives of patients in Rwanda through agricultural support and in Malawi by helping young women continue their education.
Categories: Featured StoriesPIHC Updates
Tags: MalawiPOSERSocial Support
University Hospital in Haiti Earns Global Accreditation for Medical Education Programs
University Hospital in Mirebalais, Haiti, received formal accreditation from an international oversight group this week, affirming that the hospital’s medical education and residency programs meet the highest global standards—and causing Dr. Paul Farmer to reach Read more…
Graduates of Medical Residencies Bolster Haiti’s Health System
Haiti’s 2010 earthquake was devastating, killing nearly 300,000 people and injuring hundreds of thousands more. The disaster’s impact on the medical community was swift, and would be felt over the long term. The nursing school Read more…
Training the Trainers: Emergency Medicine Course Aims to Expand Care in Haiti
Dr. Linda Rimpel said two of the most important questions about lifesaving care—where are you when you have an emergency, and what can be done for you—are, all too often, much too closely connected. Read more…
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Former MTA head Jay Walder tapped to be new Citi Bike boss
NEW YORK (PIX11) – Citi Bike is expanding and it’s getting a new boss who is no stranger to transportation in New York.
Bikeshare Holdings, Alta Bicycle Share and a group of private investors announced that Jay Walder, former MTA Chairman/CEO, will be become CEO of Alta Bicycle Share. Previously he was Chief Executive Officer of MTR Corporation, the transit system that serves Hong Kong.
A news release says Alta will add 6,000 bicycles to the system and double the number of stations to more than 700, including some in Queens.
“In an increasingly urban world, cities large and small are turning to bike sharing as a necessary ingredient of urban life. Bike share improves mobility and gives people control over how and when they travel,” Jay Walder said. “We see a tremendous opportunity to leverage private investment capital and build highly engaging corporate and media relationships to create and enhance bike share partnerships in key urban environments.”
The expansion of the project was possible with Citi Bank’s significantly expanded sponsorship — $70.5 million will be invested, on top of the original $41 million, a spokesperson told PIX11.
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All posts tagged "OWL"
Demolition of Whiston Library Begins
The demolition of the former Whiston Library began on Thursday 10 December. Knowsley Council closed the library in 2013, under strain from government cuts to their budget. Volunteers tried to re-open it with help from Hugh Baird...
Whiston Library Set for October Demolition, Prescot Library Hours Cut
The former Whiston Library will be demolished in October 2015, Knowsley Council have announced. The library, on Dragon Drive, shut its doors in March 2014. A deal to re-open it with the support of Hugh Baird College...
Whiston Library up for Demolition, Sale
Knowsley Council will knock down the former Whiston Library and sell the land. In July 2013, the council announced they would be closing the library as of 1 April 2014, due to budget cuts. A community group,...
What’s Happening to Prescot’s Buildings?
Have you ever passed an iconic Prescot landmark and wondered, What’s happening to that? Leave a comment below or post to the Prescot Online Facebook page if you have other buildings and sites to add to the...
Whiston Library Shuts, Will Re-open April, May
Whiston Library opens for the last time today, Friday 28 March, to be relaunched in a few weeks’ time as Whiston Library & Community Hub. Under pressure of budget cuts, Knowsley Council voted to close the library...
College & Community Partnership to Save Whiston Library
Volunteers are joining forces with a Merseyside college to save Whiston Library from closure. The newly formed community group OWL, or Our Whiston Library, plan to team up with Hugh Baird College to keep the building open...
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Jeff Bartlett shares his favourite Fine Art Prints from his home province - Alberta, Canada. Jeff spends countless hours exploring Banff and Jasper National Parks, along with smaller wilderness areas spread across the entire province.
Pyramid Storms
An incredible and unexpected winter storm hit Pyramid Lake, in Jasper National Park, long before the lakes froze. The stunning conditions blanketed the landscape and helped create one of Jeff's all-time favourite images.
Icefield Parkway, Banff National Park
The infamous Icefield Parkway spans 230 km from Lake Louise to Jasper, crossing both Jasper and Banff National Parks. It's one of the world's most spectacular drives.
Elk Island National Park
Located just 30 minutes from Edmonton, Alberta, Elk Island National Park is part of the larger Beaverhills Dark Sky Preserve. It's incredible that such clear night skies are visible such a short distance from a major Canadian city.
Aurora Borealis in Lakeland
Lakeland Provincial Park is the newest Dark Sky Preserve in Alberta and it's one of the best places to view northern lights.
Lone Pine in Cypress Hills
Located in southeastern Alberta, Cyrpess Hills in an accredited Dark Sky Preserve and offers incredible stargazing opportunities along the triple border of Montana, Saskatchewan, and Alberta.
Twilight and sunrise are always the best times to explore the Icefield Parkways, long before the daytime crowds arrive.
Canmore Inversions
Rare weather brought an inversion to Canmore, pushing clouds low into the valley. The Spray Lakes road, which climbs high above the western edge of town, provided the perfect vantage above the cloud.
Moraine Lake Mornings
The stunning view across Maligne Lake highlights the Valley of the 10 Peaks. It's one of the park's most popular photography destinations, yet it remains a classic.
Valley of the Ten
Sunrise at Maligne Lake is a right of passage for photographers in the Bow Valley. No two mornings are alike, so it's possible to return multiple times to photograph similar, yet distinctly different images.
Two Jack Lake
Two Jack Lake, in Banff National Park, is one of the classic scenes in the Canadian Rockies. The layers of trees are simply stunning, while the powerful Mt Rundle provides the ultimate background.
Falling Starlight
Cameron Falls, located in Waterton National Park, is just a few minutes from the townsite, but it's the gateway to an incredible wilderness area.
Starlight Cascades
Cameron Falls, in Waterton National Park, is just a stone's throw from town; however, it's the first hint of the incredible wilderness found in the International Peace Park shared between Glacier National Park and Waterton.
Waterton Giants
The stunning hardwood trees that line Waterton Lake are something of an anomaly in Alberta.
Jasper's Skyline Star
Few mountains dominate a skyline quite like Mt Kirkeslin. From nearly anywhere in Jasper, if you gaze south, its impossible to ignore this stunning peak.
Goats, Glaciers, and a Million Stars
One of the most overlooked viewpoints along the Icefield Parkway, Goats and Glaciers is also one of its most spectacular.
A night spent near Spirit Island, on Maligne Lake in Jasper National Park, was highlighted by a brief-yet-spectacular northern lights display.
Maligned Spirits
Incredible northern lights dance high above Maligne Lake during an early-season paddling adventure in Jasper National Park.
Whirlpool River Stars
The view west along the Whirlpool River stretches clear across the Continental Divide into British Columbia. It's often cloud-covered, as the higher peaks catch cloudy weather and holds it in place. On a rare clear night, it provided one of the best dark skies in the park.
Mt Rundle Sunrise
The Banff National Park Classic, Mt Rundle from Vermilion Lake at sunrise.
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Stay Centered in Love
Some thoughts today on Love…Hope it helps…Velinda
“Love is life and if you are missing love, you are missing life”
Be in love with life…experience it all…the newness and the pain. There’s something miraculous about a love for life that brings all we want and need.
If you experience pain…remember the experience, learn the lesson and KNOW that there is new love on the way
Open your heart… a closed heart never finds love
Don’t hold back…vulnerability is not weakness, it is power
Align yourself completely with your uniqueness…your needs, dreams, and desires…and you will find someone who resonates with you
Get into life to feel and experience all the richness that awaits…love is not found sitting in your living room. (And remember, real relationships are not the ones you have on your cell phone or facebook)
Do what you love…in a job, a hobby, or giving to others…doing what you love makes you feel alive
Because in the end all that matters is that you experienced love
“Love is the bridge between you and everything”
Category : Relationships, Today's Thoughts
Tags : Life, Love, Relationships
← THAT MOMENT OF CHANGE
The Love You Haven’t Met Yet →
24 thoughts on “Stay Centered in Love”
Dilip Jaisinghani on March 25, 2014 at 8:12 pm said:
Sirf ahsaas hai ye, rooh se mahsus karo, Pyaar ko Pyaar hi rahne do, koi naam na do. Love is God, God is Love.
Anonymous on April 26, 2014 at 4:06 am said:
rajendra dave on April 27, 2014 at 3:47 am said:
very good, mind blowing
Raiyanansar on June 1, 2014 at 3:18 pm said:
Life is a single,
Make a “LOVE” and life should become a mingle…
Life is Single,
Single should becomes “LOVE” and it changes the life like a mingle…
NoTHinG iS ImpOsSiBle!!!!…
Be in love with life…experience it all…the
newness and the pain. There’s something
miraculous about a love for life that brings
all we want and need….
Stay tunezzzz….
Anonymous on October 22, 2014 at 1:41 am said:
Pyar mia kuch nhi rakha…..
sweeti on October 24, 2014 at 9:32 pm said:
if u can change the world then first change urself!
Accamma on November 15, 2014 at 5:59 am said:
Hamazzzzzng
Wndeeeeeerrrful thugts.
Wht a wndeeeeerfuk thugts
Love a prsn.., life wl b beautiful on its own.
ekta on December 14, 2014 at 7:53 am said:
love is a best poison to spoil the lyf
insaan on December 25, 2014 at 10:43 pm said:
pyaar kisi ek insaan se nai balki puri insaaniyat se honi chahiye.
Anonymous on January 11, 2015 at 9:57 am said:
Is duniya mein ek hi pyar saacha aur marney k badh bhi saath rehta hai woh hai ma ka pyarrrr…..love u ammi
Anonymous on April 2, 2015 at 7:56 pm said:
nice thought
ankush gupta on April 28, 2015 at 5:14 am said:
pyar dosti hai….
ayushi khajuria on June 19, 2015 at 8:43 am said:
love ufff its all waste
Anonymous on November 14, 2015 at 10:07 am said:
Love is life that’s true but few of people believe in true love….
Most of fake people for love……
Surti Yadav on November 14, 2015 at 10:11 am said:
Pyar hota to bahut aasan h kisi se karna,
Magar hota h nibhana bada muskil doston.
Jisko mil gaya ye WO bahut hi lucky h,
Nahi mila WO to fakir se bhi bada fakir h doston.
arjun on February 26, 2016 at 12:22 am said:
“If we r fill with love in our soul..heart ..and thought we can go against the whole world”
I’m not perfect, but I am loyal..
Tajender sharma on May 14, 2016 at 10:35 pm said:
Really very nice thought
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cmt(Patrick, Helen) » Refine Search
Enthusiastic Educators and Interested Visitors: Investigating the Relationships between Museum Educators' Enthusiasm and Visitors' Situational Interest
by Liu, ChangChia James, Ph.D. Purdue University. 2018: 85 pages; 10844568.
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Authenticity Is a Two-Way Street
September 7, 2011 at 12:30 am · Filed under Market Research, Social Media
Eric Melin and Mike Brown have a couple good posts on Scott Monty’s visit to SMCKC last week, which was really a pleasure to be a part of. He deftly mixed in social media truisms (“business strategy, not social strategy”) with original and inspiring campaign executions.
But a couple things struck me beyond the straight social components of the presentation.
First, Scott was the consummate brand representative for Ford and served as an unusual example of the critical relationship between social media and authenticity.
Usually, “authenticity” in social media means that a brand lets its hair down and interacts with people as people. It means cutting the corporate brand-speak and actually engaging. As Scott himself pointed out, people want to be spoken to like human beings.
Neither Average Joe nor hipster guru
Still, you never got the feeling that Scott Monty was the average guy, just keeping it real with the customers. Nor did you feel like he was some hipster creative marketing guru. You felt like he was Ford—a precise blend of heritage, comfort, forward thinking, and approachability. But also that he was genuinely, authentically Scott Monty.
Companies always want to hire good people, but in a social world, hiring the kind of people you want to be is more important than ever.
Another thing that stood out is how Ford uses conventional market research tools in addition to digital metrics to measure the effectiveness of social media campaigns and understand how they work.
Surveys may be out of vogue in a world of sentiment ratings and Klout, but Ford measures trust, quality perception and favorability ratings to understand how social media can have an impact beyond the sliver of its customers who follow @FocusDoug on Twitter or Like him on Facebook.
If social media truly is intended to support broader business strategy, it’s important to take a holistic view of insights and analytics, and it’s great to see Ford really taking that to heart.
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Home Magazine Smoking Gun: The President Who Loved to Fire People
Smoking Gun: The President Who Loved to Fire People
Few people have been more closely associated with job termination than Donald Trump.
Few people have been more closely associated with job termination than Donald Trump. For years, the signature line on his awful TV show, The Apprentice, was “You’re fired!” He has always treated his employees, past and present, with contempt. If anyone deserves to be canned, without compunction or remorse, it’s Donald Trump. Here’s a recap of some of his firings as Jerk-Boss-in-Chief.
James Comey, FBI Director
Fired in May 2017
Offense: Comey refused Trump’s request, in regard to National Security Adviser Michael Flynn’s possibly treasonous behavior, to “see your way clear to letting this go.” Trump later called Comey “a total sleaze” and “a crooked cop” whose firing was “a great day for America.”
Sally Yates, Acting U.S. Attorney General
Fired in January 2017
Offense: Refused to defend Trump’s Muslim travel ban. The White House, in a statement, accused Yates of having “betrayed” the country. The President, according to Michael Wolff’s book Fire and Fury, called her an obscenity.
Michael Cohen, Trump’s personal lawyer and “fixer”
Fired in June 2018
Offense: He stopped helping cover up Trump’s crimes and began cooperating with the Mueller probe. “He is a weak person,” Trump said. “[He’s] lying and he’s trying to get a reduced sentence for things that have nothing to do with me.”*
* They actually do.
Rex Tillerson, Secretary of State
Fired by Tweet in March 2018
Offense: Tillerson had “a different mind-set, a different thinking” than Trump. Tillerson, the President would later elaborate, “was dumb as a rock and I couldn’t get rid of him fast enough. He was lazy as hell.”
Jeff Sessions, U.S. Attorney General
Fired in November 2018
Offense: Refused to remain in control of the Mueller probe despite conflicts of interest, prompting Trump to call Sessions “scared stiff and Missing in Action” and to publicly wonder, “What kind of a man is this?”
Omarosa Manigault Newman, Director of communications for the Office of Public Liaison
Fired in December 2017
Offense: Omarosa, Trump noted, “only said GREAT things about me—until she got fired!” And then he called her “wacky” and said, “People in the White House hated her. She was vicious, but not smart.”*
* Look who’s talking.
John Kelly, White House Chief of Staff
Offense: Kelly kept telling him not to do reckless and stupid things. Or as the President put it, “I’ve got another nut job here who thinks he’s running things.”
James “Mad dog” Mattis, Secretary of Defense
Pushed out the door after announcing plans to resign: December 2018
Offense: Mattis failed to somehow “win” a seventeen-year-old war in Afghanistan, causing Trump to ask, “What’s he done for me?”
Trump Magazine April/May 2019 Politics
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Trump, Trudeau discuss trade, economic issues over phone call
First to be publicly disclosed since Trump blasted Trudeau as “very dishonest and weak”
Saturday, 30 Jun 2018 PSJTV News
U.S. President Donald Trump spoke with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau late on Friday to discuss trade and other economic issues, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said on Saturday.
The phone call between the two leaders was the first to be publicly disclosed since Trump blasted Trudeau as “very dishonest and weak” at the end of the Group of Seven leaders meeting in Canada earlier this month.
Trump has repeatedly suggested Canada was profiting from U.S. trade, and his blistering comments after the G7 meeting drove bilateral relations to their lowest point in decades.
On Friday, Canada struck back at the Trump administration over U.S. steel and aluminum tariffs, vowing to impose punitive measures on C$16.6 billion ($12.6 billion) worth of American goods until Washington relents.
During the call, Trudeau told Trump that Canada had no choice but to announce reciprocal countermeasures to the steel and aluminum tariffs, according to a separate statement issued by Canada late on Friday. The two leaders agreed to stay in close touch on a way forward, the statement added.
Trudeau also expressed his condolences for the victims of the shooting at the Capital Gazette newspaper in Annapolis, Maryland, the Canadian statement said.
Separately, Trudeau also spoke with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto on Friday to discuss the Mexican elections on July 1. The two leaders also discussed the North American Free Trade (NAFTA) negotiations and agreed to continue working toward a mutually beneficial outcome.
Negotiations to modernize NAFTA started last August and were initially scheduled to finish by the end of December, but the three countries have yet to reach a deal.
Trump's U.N. envoy Nikki Haley quits
Apple, Amazon deny Bloomberg report on Chinese hardware attack
Putin might swallow "neophyte" Trump in a glance
When Trump was told NO on his face
Trump says Putin meeting possible in Helsinki after NATO summit
Moscow and Washington strike deal to hold Putin-Trump summit
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Since We Last Spoke
Since We Last Spoke: A Bright Future for Biochar
Updates to stories from the Pacific Standard archive.
Dispatches: Five Essential Reads From the Past Week
A collection of some of our most important and timely stories, from a feature on biochar in the Amazon to an interview with Cornell University professor Jamila Michener on how unstable medicaid programs affect political engagement.
The Lede, Issue #17: The Benefits of Depo-Provera, on the Frontlines of Extinction in the Gulf of California, What's Next for Venezuela, and More
The Great, Chaotic Biochar Experiment
Australian plant ecologist Brenton Ladd wants to reengineer the notoriously nutrient-poor soils in the Amazon, and, in the process, save the world's trees. But first, he has to convince Peruvian farmers and non-profits—and occasionally, his own research team—that he's not just another gringo with a strange idea.
By Kate Wheeling
The Lede, Issue #16: A Tool for Tackling Sexual Assault, Experiments in Biochar, Shrinking Bears Ears, and More
The Edit, Episode #10: The Great, Chaotic Biochar Experiment
On the latest episode of Pacific Standard's podcast about how our stories are made, a feature story about Australian plant ecologist Brenton Ladd—an outsider who wants to save the region's trees.
The Lede, Issue #10: A Trip to the Amazon, the History of Body Snatching, Leslie Jamison's Memoir of Addiction, and More
The Dirt on Climate Change
Could soil engineered specifically to maximize carbon storage dampen some effects of climate change? Very possibly.
By Peter Friederici
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Is mapping sound frequencies to the vertical axis universal?
Shrill notes are said to be "high", and rumbles are said to be "low". Humans seem to metaphorically map frequency to the vertical axis, and in the cultures that I know of, high frequency is considered "up".
Is this a universal phenomenon? Are there any cultures that map it upside-down, or in a completely different way? (For example, smaller objects tend to produce higher pitches. Are there any cultures that say that a pitch is "small" instead of "high"?)
Does this convention pre-date the scientific understanding of sound waves?
If it is universal (or nearly so), is there any neurological hard-wiring that would cause that mapping?
language music audition
200_success200_success
Humans technically don't perceive frequencies, they perceive pitch. According to Wikipedia:
the idiom relating vertical height to sound pitch is shared by most languages.
citing a 1930 article by Pratt, which in turn says that:
Stumpf has found that adjectives meaning high and low (or words closely related in meaning) have been applied to tones in almost every known language.[2] But why should tones be characterized as high or low? Do these characteristics refer to differences in spatial height and depth? The answer to this second question has been almost without exception in the negative. A high tone does not mean a tone which is high in space. The phrase is merely figurative, and must be accounted for in terms of secondary criteria such as, e.g., the apparent localization of high vocal tones in the head and low ones in the chest. The composer Berlioz makes sport of such explanations and reminds his readers that high and low tones for the pianist lie in the horizontal directions of right and left and that the violoncellist must reach downward to produce high tones, and suggests that those composers of opera who use descending passages for a person falling downstairs have stupidly transferred to the tones the arbitrary downward character of the printed notes on the staff. And yet Stumpf, convinced that there can be no intrinsic height and depth in tones, has felt obliged to argue that here again some associative mechanism, strangely obscure and elusive, has been at work. Even Wundt was forced to agree with Stumpf in calling these terms metaphorical when applied to tones [3], and most psychologists who have given the matter any thought have expressed similar views [4].
[2]: C. Stumpf, Tonpsychologie, 1883, I, 192 ff.
[3]: W. Wundt, Grundzüge der physiologischen Psychologie, 1910, 11, 78.
[4]: J. Redfield, Music: a Science and an Art, 1928, 42 ff.
All these sources are pretty dated alas.
There are however some newer papers on this; e.g. Fernandez-Prieto et al. (2017) which do qualify such statements, e.g.:
Higher frequency and louder sounds are associated with higher positions whereas lower frequency and quieter sounds are associated with lower locations. In English, ‘‘high’’ and ‘‘low’’ are used to label pitch, loudness, and spatial verticality. By contrast, different words are preferentially used, in Catalan and Spanish, for pitch (high: ‘‘agut/agudo’’; low: ‘‘greu/grave’’) and for loudness/verticality (high: ‘‘alt/alto’’; low: ‘‘baix/bajo’’). Thus, English and Catalan/Spanish differ in the spatial connotations for pitch. To analyze the influence of language on these crossmodal associations, a task was conducted in which English and Spanish/Catalan speakers had to judge whether a tone was higher or lower (in pitch or loudness) than a reference tone. The response buttons were located at crossmodally congruent or incongruent positions with respect to the probe tone. Crossmodal correspondences were evidenced in both language groups. However, English speakers showed greater effects for pitch, suggesting an influence of linguistic background.
They also cite an older review paper (Cassanto, 2013) which highlights a similar studies (co-authored by Cassanto) on Dutch vs Farsi:
Like English, Dutch describes pitches as ‘high’ (hoog) or ‘low’ (laag), but this is not the only possible spatial metaphor for pitch. In Farsi, high pitches are ‘thin’ (nāzok) and low pitches are ‘thick’ (koloft). Dutch and Farsi speakers’ performance on non-linguistic pitch reproduction tasks reflects these linguistic differences (Dolscheid, Shayan, Majid, and Casasanto 2013). Participants were asked to reproduce the pitch of tones that they heard in the presence of irrelevant spatial information: lines that varied in their height (height interference task) or their thickness (thickness interference task). Dutch speakers’ pitch estimates showed stronger crossdimensional interference from spatial height, and Farsi speakers’ from the thickness of visually presented stimuli. This effect was not explained by differences in accuracy, or in musical training. When trained to talk about pitches using Farsi-like metaphors (e.g. a tuba sounds thicker than a flute) for 20-30 minutes, Dutch speakers’ performance on the non-linguistic thickness interference task became indistinguishable from native Farsi speakers’. Experience using one kind of spatial metaphor or another in language can have a causal influence on non-linguistic pitch representations. [...]
infants as young as four months old are sensitive to the height-pitch mapping found in Dutch-speaking adults (but not in Farsi-speaking adults), and also to the thickness-pitch mapping found in Farsi-speaking adults (but not in Dutch-speaking adults; Dolscheid, Hunnius, Casasanto, and Majid 2012). There is no need, therefore, to posit that using linguistic metaphors causes people to construct these mappings de novo.
A somewhat similar paper on infants, perhaps with stronger claims is from Walker et al., 2010:
Stimulation of one sensory modality can induce perceptual experiences in another modality that reflect synaesthetic correspondences among different dimensions of sensory experience. In visual-hearing synaesthesia, for example, higher pitched sounds induce visual images that are brighter, smaller, higher in space, and sharper than those induced by lower pitched sounds. Claims that neonatal perception is synaesthetic imply that such correspondences are an unlearned aspect of perception. To date, the youngest children in whom such correspondences have been confirmed with any certainty were 2- to 3-year-olds. We examined preferential looking to assess 3- to 4-month-old preverbal infants’ sensitivity to the correspondences linking auditory pitch to visuospatial height and visual sharpness. The infants looked longer at a changing visual display when this was accompanied by a sound whose changing pitch was congruent, rather than incongruent, with these correspondences. This is the strongest indication to date that synaesthetic cross-modality correspondences are an unlearned aspect of perception.
Cassanto and colleagues also develop a Hierarchical Mental Metaphors Theory (HMMT) according to which
correlational mental metaphors develop in two stages, the second of which may extend throughout the lifetime. The mental metaphors that adults typically use are specific instances of more general families of mappings. These families may be evident in behavior from infancy, and reflect regularities in humans’ experiences of the physical and social world, many of which may be universal. As children are exposed to peculiar aspects of their languages, cultures, or even their own bodies, certain mappings from a given source-target family become strengthened through repeated use, which weakens ‘sibling’ mappings as a consequence. The result is that people tend to think in language-specific, culture-specific, or body-specific mental metaphors: Relativity emerges from universals. [...]
One prediction of HMMT is that specific source-target mappings should be easy to activate via linguistic training so long as they are members of one of the families of source-target mappings encoded in our minds (over phylogenetic or ontogenetic time) on the basis of observable sourcetarget correspondences in the world. Mappings that are not members of a pre-linguistically established family (and that do not reflect correlations in our experience) should be relatively hard to activate via training, because these mappings would need to be created, not just strengthened.
In a test of this prediction, Dutch speakers were trained to used a thickness- pitch mapping that is the reverse of the mapping found in Farsi, and in the natural world: thin=low and thick=high. These ‘reverse-Farsi’ trained participants received the same amount of training as the participants trained to use the Farsi-like mapping. Whereas Farsi-like training had a significant effect on participants’ nonlinguistic pitch representations, reverse-Farsi training had no effect (Dolscheid et al. 2013). Thus, brief linguistic experience caused participants to use the thickness-pitch mapping that reflects correlations between thickness and pitch in the world (and is evident in prelinguistic infants). Yet, the same amount of linguistic experience was not effective at instilling the opposite thickness-pitch mapping, which has no obvious experiential correlates, and is therefore not predicted to be among the pre-linguistically established space-pitch mappings.
That's referring to the same paper as the first citation in the previous quote. Oddly this experiment isn't summarized in the paper's abstract, but does appear in the paper (as Experiment 4). Cassanto has a free pdf of that paper as well.
A 2014 PNAS paper by Parise et al. proposes that the low-high pitch metaphor has a natural basis in the elevation of the sources of such sounds in nature.
$\begingroup$ Fascinating references — thanks! Dated is good: Tonpsychologie is out of copyright. French and Chinese use "high/low", like English. It seems like many languages use partial mappings, though. German uses "high/deep". The Greeks and Romans used "sharp/heavy", which carries over to Spanish/Catalan. Sanskrit used one word for treble/loud, but separate words for bass vs. soft. Good observation by Berlioz about cartoon falls. There is definitely something going on cognitively, even if it's not always linguistically consistent. $\endgroup$ – 200_success Sep 30 '18 at 7:45
$\begingroup$ Parise 2014 seems to give a pretty plausible explanation for the origin of the mapping: the human ear is designed to enhance perception of treble sounds from above and bass sounds from below, to optimize for where those frequencies tend to come from. $\endgroup$ – 200_success Sep 30 '18 at 8:06
Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged language music audition or ask your own question.
Phenomenon that causes music to sound like it's being played at a different tempo than remembered?
Why does repeating one word over and over again sound weird to us after some time?
How does the brain compute sound localisation without the equations?
432 Hz vs. 440 Hz frequencies: health and psychological effects?
Why is the sound of running water soothing?
Blocking out unwanted sound sources
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Cambridge Room Collections
Cambridge Immigrant Voting Rights Campaign Records, 1992-2003
Identifier: 041
Cambridge Room, Cambridge Public Library Archives and Special Collections
This collection contains pamphlets, flyers, newspaper articles, lobbying packets, research on and historical material about immigrant voting rights in Massachusetts, the US and the world. The campaign materials like pamphlets and flyers have been translated into Haitian Creole, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, and Korean. Immigrant testimony exists in 4 Word Newsletter in the 2003 Lobbying packet and quotes Cambridge residents from the 1994 Voting Rights Forum in the 1994 folder. The brochures list which elected Cambridge officials voted for or against the 1999 and 2000 petitions. Additionally, the collection contains campaign materials against Ron Unz from 2002.
Cambridge Immigrant Voting Rights Campaign (Creator, Organization)
Access to Collection
This collection is open to researchers.
The material in this collection is subject to copyright and intellectual property restrictions. It is the responsibility of the researcher to understand and observe copyright law and to identify and satisfy the holders of all copyright. Researchers must obtain written permission from the copyright holder(s) if they wish to publish materials from this collection. Questions concerning copyright and permission to publish should be directed to the Cambridge Room, Cambridge Public Library Archives and Special Collections.
.2 Linear Feet
.2 Cubic Feet
1 boxes (half Hollinger box.)
The Cambridge Immigrant Voting Rights Campaign, a grassroots movement win the right of all residents of Cambridge regardless of citizenship status to be able to vote in local elections, grew out of struggles to protect and defend housing and other basic services for immigrants. Founded in 1993, the Campaign was as an extension of the Cambridge Free Eviction Zone, a nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting affordable housing for low-income residents. Other Cambridge based and local immigrant rights and civic groups endorsed the platform.
The principles of the Campaign are founded on the idea that many stake holders in Cambridge who pay taxes, abide by laws, send children to the Cambridge Public Schools, own businesses, and rent or own properties are without formal representation. The 1990 census showed that 15% of Cambridge residents were non citizens and 20% were foreign born; the 2000 City Census recorded 20% of Cambridge’s population as non-citizens. The Campaign notes that immigrants often live in Cambridge for many years before becoming citizens. Although Massachusetts and the U.S. Constitutions limit the right to vote to citizens for state and national offices, local Massachusetts communities can pass home rule petitions to ask the state legislature to give them the right to allow all residents to vote, regardless of citizenship status. The Cambridge Voting Rights Campaign followed this law to gain the following political results:
• June 1999, the Cambridge School Committee decided in favor of immigrant voting rights for school board elections in a 5 to 1 decision.
• November 6, 2000, the Cambridge City Council voted to submit a home rule petition to the state legislature in a 5 to 3 decision.
• 2003, the City of Cambridge home rule petition was filed at the State House by Representative Alice Wolf and Representative Jarrett Barrios.
• February 2005, representatives re-filed home rule petition. No definitive action was taken.
Cambridge’s move to allow immigrant voting rights came two years after Amherst, Massachusetts passed its own home rule petition in 1998. It was approved by the House Election Committee but never reached the floor for a vote. In 2006, Wayland approved its own home rule petition. The three towns are awaiting action by the Massachusetts legislature.
In 2000, the Campaign came out against Ron Unz, Silicon Valley millionaire, who in 1998 spearheaded the passage of California’s Proposition 227, designed to ban bilingual education as an instructional method. After Arizona passed similar legislation two years later, Unz brought his campaign to Colorado and Massachusetts. He received enough signatures for a similar initiative to appear on the November 2002 ballot in Massachusetts, known as ballot question #2. The initiative passed by 68% and bilingual education was banned in the state.
The Cambridge Campaign is affiliated with the Immigrant Voting Project, a resource network dedicated to promoting discussion about the practice of allowing immigrants to vote in local elections.
Organization of Collection
Approx. 100 items arranged chronologically.
Donated by Marla Erlien. There is no known date of the donation.
Processed in June 2013 and encoded in October 2015 by Alyssa Pacy.
Cambridge (Mass.). City Council
Cambridge (Mass.). School Committee
Immigrants -- Massachusetts -- Cambridge
Publications (documents)
Erlien, Marla (Donor, Person)
Cambridge Immigrant Voting Rights Campaign Records, 1992-2003 041
Alyssa Pacy
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Part of the Cambridge Room, Cambridge Public Library Archives and Special Collections Repository
http://www.cambridgema.gov/cpl/Services/cambridgeroom
Cambridge MA 02138 USA
apacy@cambridgema.gov
Please use the following format when citing materials from this collection: [Identification of item], Cambridge Immigrant Voting Rights Campaign Records, 041, [Box#, Folder title], Cambridge Room, Cambridge Public Library Archives and Special Collections. https://public.archivesspace.dlconsulting.com/repositories/2/resources/43 Accessed January 21, 2020.
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Assault: Court asks police to pay lawyer N20m
File Photo: Police
An Owerri High Court on Wednesday awarded N20m as damage against the Nigeria Police for assaulting an Owerri-based lawyer, Chukwuemeka Amaghiro, in 2016.
In his judgment, Justice K.A Orjiako, said the respondents were found guilty of gross violation of the applicant’s fundamental human right.
Amaghiro had in 2016 filed a suit of violation of his fundamental human right against the Police Service Commission, Nigerian Police Force, Commissioner of Police in Imo State and the OC D8 SARS Investigative Police Officer, Bassey Ikpa, for assaulting him in 2016.
Orjiako further held that all evidence before him proved that the lawyer’s fundamental right was grossly violated.
He said he decided to award the damage considering the reputation of the person assaulted and the provision of the law on human right violation.
He further advised the police to always respect human right while discharging their duties.
Amaghiro and Emeka Iwuchukwu were allegedly assaulted by some police officers when they visited their client, Keziah Nwoha, who was under police detention in 2016.
Iwuchukwu, who was equally assaulted on the same issue was awarded N10m as damage in December 6, 2016 in an Owerri High Court presided by Justice E.F Njemanze.
The counsel to the applicant, Mr. Soronnadi Njoku, said that his clients decided to approach the court due to how they were manhandled by police officers on the instigation of the OC SARS D10, Mr. Emenike.
He said the two lawyers visited the police to find out why their client was arrested and detained as her case was still pending in court.
He said, “When the lawyers got to the police, the Investigating Police Officer, Mr. Bassey Ikpa became hostile on the two lawyers.
“The lawyers became helpless and decided to approach his superior, who directed the officers to deal with them.”
He said he would enforce the two judgments simultaneously to ensure that the damage awarded to the applicants was paid.
All the respondents and their lawyers were absent during the judgment.
(NAN)
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Home About PVAngels Get Involved Local News Event Calendar Add a Charity Partners for Change Contact Us Search
Banderas Bay American Legion Post 14
Puerto Vallarta • Riviera Nayarit
The American Legion is a service organization formed of men and women who served in the Armed Forces of the United States during time of war.
We are dedicated to serving our comrades in distress, the widows and orphans of our fallen comrades, and our communities.
For those of us who live outside the USA, we understand that when we speak of "the community, state, and nation" we mean our host countries as well as the country we served proudly as members of the Armed Forces.
The American Legion was chartered and incorporated by Congress in 1919 as a patriotic veterans organization devoted to mutual helpfulness. It is the nation’s largest wartime veterans service organization, committed to mentoring youth and sponsorship of wholesome programs in our communities, advocating patriotism and honor, promoting strong national security, and continued devotion to our fellow servicemembers and veterans.
Hundreds of local American Legion programs and activities strengthen the nation one community at a time. American Legion Baseball is one of the nation’s most successful amateur athletic programs, educating young people about the importance of sportsmanship, citizenship and fitness. The Heroes to Hometowns program connects local Legionnaires with recovering wounded warriors and their families, providing a variety of support activities. The Legion raises millions of dollars in donations at the local, state and national levels to help veterans and their families and to provide college scholarship opportunities.
The American Legion is a nonpartisan, not-for-profit organization with great political influence perpetuated by its grass-roots involvement in the legislation process from local districts to Capitol Hill. Legionnaires’ sense of obligation to community, state and nation drives an honest advocacy for veterans in Washington. The Legion stands behind the issues most important to the nation's veterans community, backed by resolutions passed by volunteer leadership.
The American Legion’s success depends entirely on active membership, participation and volunteerism. The organization belongs to the people it serves and the communities in which it thrives.
David Franklin Lilley
June 1, 1925 – October 13, 2010
David Franklin Lilley, also known as "Escondida Dave" and "Pops", passed away on October 13, 2010 while in the VA Hospital in Seattle, Washington. He was 85 years old and had been living in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico for the last 24 years.
Dave was born on June 1, 1925 on the Penny Slade Plantation in Williamston, North Carolina, to Alexander Franklin and Mollie Coltrain. He is survived by his wife Bonnie Wilma Hollbrook, his ex-wife and the mother of his three children, Arlene Frances Dearing, his daughters, Donna Marie Armitage, Suzanne Carol Lilley, and his son Michael David Lilley. He had four grandchildren, Brett David Armitage, Michael Scott Armitage, David Michael Lilley and Natalie Arlene Lilley. He also had two great grandchildren, Kenneth Joseph Armitage and David Scott Armitage.
After his graduation from Williamston, North Carolina High School in 1942, he enlisted in the Navy, for the duration of WWII, where he served for 5 years. Once discharged from the Navy, he immediately enlisted in the Army where he rose to the rank of Command Sergeant Major. Upon his retirement 20 years later, he was one of three that held this rank and status in the Army. He served in WWII, Korea and Vietnam.
While in the Army, he was stationed in Germany for 8 years and travelled all over Europe. At one time he was assigned to head a 5 man team of coaches to go to Jordan and set up a complete sports program for the King Hussein and the Jordan Arab Army. He had a love of sports, especially football, basketball and boxing and was a referee, registered in both Europe and the United States, even travelling with the Harlem Globetrotters throughout Germany, France, Belgium and Luxemburg as the "stern" referee.
While in Vietnam, his artillery group was adopted by the town of Gadsden, Alabama, and he was sent to speak at numerous schools and civic functions. Upon his return to Vietnam, his unit, with the funds generated in Gadsden, built a complete refugee village for the aged and helped them start a brick making business.
After his retirement from the Army in 1968, he became the Civilian Youth Director at McChord Air Force Base in Tacoma, Washington, where he organized 15 Little League Baseball team, 6 soccer teams and 5 football teams, with a staff of just one secretary and numerous volunteers.
In 1969, he moved to Westport, Washington, where he married Bonnie Wilma Hollbrook, and became a Charter Boat Captain, owning and operating his own company, along with a motel, bowling alley and restaurant.
In 1978, he moved to Patterson, Louisiana where he worked for a time as a 1st mate on a supply boat in the Gulf of Mexico. He completed the course needed to obtain his United States Coast Guard License to operate or navigate passenger carrying vessels and went to work for United Gas Pipeline as a Captain on a 142 foot supply and work boat, where he worked for 9 years. The company offered him an early retirement, which he took and moved to Seattle.
His love of boats and the ocean propelled him to buy a 36 foot sailboat with his son Michael and they began their year- long journey down the west coast that eventually landed them in Banderas Bay, in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Dave fell in love with Puerto Vallarta and made it his home for the last 24 years.
After chartering the sailboat for a while, he bought a little cantina and turned it into La Escondida Sports Bar which he ran for 5 years before selling it to his daughter Suzanne. He also worked for Jorge Zambrano at Andales and Mike Pohl at the Frankfurter, volunteering his services for whatever was needed.
He was a member of the VFW, Elks, Eagles and American Legion. He supported local charities and was actively involved in New Life Mexico Street Boys Program.
The American Legion Post 14 had a memorial service for Dave on November 11, 2010, hosted by Steve's Bar at 12:00pm. There was a donation box for New Life Mexico Street Boys Program set up for those that choose to donate in Dave's memory.
Dave was well loved, admired and most of all, respected, by all of the friends whose lives he touched. He will be greatly missed by his friends and family.
His ashes were spread in the Bay of Banderas from the sailboat that brought him to the Puerto Vallarta that he so loved. He always signed his correspondence "Dave in Paradise" and now it will be his final resting place.
About the American Legion Post 14
Dennis A. Rike, USN: Born in Oakland California and lived adult life in New Jersey. Served from 1960 to 1963 on USS Bryce Canyon AD-36 and USS Rochester CA-124 before receiving an Honorable discharge. Dennis is a full time Puerto Vallarta resident 10 years, married to Dinia Hernandez and has a 16 year old son Kenneth (date 8-2013). Email address: dennisrike@hotmail.com.
1st Vice-Commander
Norm Deveraux, ARMY: Born in Utah. Norm served in the Army from 1967 to 1970, two years of which were spent in Vietnam. Norm is a full time resident of Puerto Vallarta. Email address: reconorm@hotmail.com.
2nd Vice-Commander
Dave Rathje, Army
Russ Mills was born in Marin County, California, and served in the U.S. Army from 1966 to 1968, receiving an honorable discharge. He retired and moved to Puerto Vallarta in 1994, and is a full-time resident. E-Mail addresses: russ.mills@prodigy.net.mx and russmills@yahoo.com.
Service Officer
Cheryl Kehler, Born in Madison, Wisconsin.Joined the Army in December 1985. Was honorably discharged from active service in February,1992 into the active Reserves. Was honorably discharged from the reserves in December, 1999. Married to Larry Kehler and am a full time resident of Puerto Vallarta. I have one daughter and one grandchild.
Clark "Ed" GriffenUSA Driver Armored Tank 1961 - 1964.
Jim Mawdesley
Judge Advocate
Fred Crowely, USMC.
Jim Brockway
David Puckett, USAF: David was born in Camden, NJ and joined the Air Force in 1982 and was honorably discharged in 1991.
How to Join Banderas Bay American Legion Post 14
There are many benefits associated with joining the American Legion. Many American companies provide significant discounts to members:
Membership Eligibility Requirements
In order to be eligible for membership into the American Legion, you must have served any branch of the U.S. Armed Forces during any of the dates listed below.
World War I: April 6, 1917 to November 11, 1918
World War II: December 7, 1941 to December 31, 1946
Korean War: June 25, 1950 to January 31, 1955
Vietnam War: February 28, 1961 to May 7, 1975
Lebanon/Grenada: August 24, 1982 to July 31, 1984
Operation Desert Shield/Storm: December 20, 1989 to January 31, 1990
Desert Storm cont: August 2, 1990 to today
Membership forms are available at the following location:
Steve's Sports Bar: Basilio Badillo #286 Col. Emiliano Zapata
Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco Tel: (322) 222-0256
We have our general meeting every third Tuesday of the month at noon at Steve's Sports Bar. The executive meeting (open to all members) is held the first Thursday of every month at noon. Steve's Bar is located at 286 Basilio Badillo, in Old Town Vallarta.
Members of the American Legion Post 14 gather every Thursday to play golf and share war stories at Field of Dreams Golf Course in Gauyabitos.
Last updated: October 14, 2019 · Charity ID: 130
Being a Partner for Change can have a different meaning and application to each of us depending on our role, our location, our clients, our relationships. But no matter where you are or who you are, you can be a Partner for Change.
Click here to get started today.
Be the Big Winner at Puerto Vallarta Poker Tour Fundraiser
The Annual PV Poker Tour sponsored by Murphy’s Irish Pub, Nacho Daddy, Escondida Sports Bar, Gringo Loco Cantina, All-Access Sports Bar & Bar La Playa, Kelly's Pour Favor and Steve’s Sports Bar will be held on Saturday, January 18th at 1:00 pm.
American Legion PV Veteran's / Remembrance Day
To honor service members of the U.S. and Canadian armed forces, the Jay Sadler Project and American Legion are organizing a Veteran's / Remembrance Day memorial on Monday, November 11th.
Vallarta Celtfest and St. Patrick's Day for Charity Fiestas
The mission of Vallarta Celtfest is to promote awareness and appreciation for Celtic Heritage, and to offer a grand event for both the tourists and locals of Vallarta. Vallarta Celtfest is a celebration of Celtic traditional music, dance, food & beverage, and culture.
Charity Chili Cook-Off at El Rio BBQ in Paso Ancho
Jim Sullivan will again chair this year's "All you can eat" chili feast, featuring recipes from some 18 popular PV area bar restaurants and sponsors - all competing for trophies and bragging rights.
PV Poker Tour Fundraiser Sponsored by Local Restaurants
The Annual PV Poker Tour sponsored by Murphy's Irish Pub, Nacho Daddy, Escondida, Gringo Loco, All Access & Bar La Playa, Kelly's Pour Favor and Devil’s Bar will be held on Saturday January 12th at 1:00 pm.
American Legion Remembrance & Veterans Day Event
To honor service members of the U.S. and Canadian armed forces the American Legion and Jay Sadler Project is organizing a Veteran's / Remembrance memorial on November 11th.
American Legion PV to Sponsor Free Memorial Day Event for Veterans
Steve's Sports Bar will host a Memorial Day event, offering a hot dog, hamburger and one drink —Free— to every U.S. military veteran who wishes to come.
American Legion Post 14 Salutes on Veterans Day
The American Legion Post 14 invites all American, Canadian, and Mexican citizens to join them in remembering and giving thanks to our veterans on November 11, 2017.
Vallarta Vets Semi-Official Newsletter from American Legion Post 14
It’s great to see our members trickling back into town after “taking the summer off” and heading back to the states. Welcome Home!
As summer comes to an end we start thinking about all of our snowbird members flying back home to the roost here in and around PV. We are anxious for your return!
American Legion PV Suggests Helping the Hurricane Harvey Vets
We are all aware of the devastating disaster that took place AND IS taking place in Texas. I just received the following communication from the Texas VFW.
Featured Interview: The American Legion Post 14, One Plus One Equals Three
PVAngels
The Post 14 has been in Puerto Vallarta for around eight years now and it has almost 100 members. Raising thousands of dollars in donations they help veterans and their families during times of need and also to non-profit local charities.
Help Welcome the Crew of US Coast Guard Cutter Stratton to Vallarta
You don't have to be a member of the American Legion or the Navy League to join in the fun reception to welcome the United States Coast Guard Cutter Stratton to Puerto Vallarta.
Punta de Mita Foundation Supports Local Causes
They do many workshops, provide feedback and support to local groups, expend community development funds locally, and manage funds for other organizations that are doing good work in the community.
Wow – the Independence Day Celebration at the Post had a great turnout! Not only did most of the local members show up – we had over a dozen additional guests.
Read about all the news, activities and helpful information links from Banderas Bay American Legion Post 14.
First Annual Puerto Vallarta Summer Mango Festival
Enjoy various dishes of the King of Tropical Fruit provided by local restaurants and vendors. Families flock to celebrate the sweetest produce of the summer - mangoes!
Celebrate the Fourth of July in Vallarta with American Legion Post 14
Another holiday is approaching and the Post would like to celebrate the event with a "Meet & Greet" at the Post Headquarters - Steve's Sports Bar on Basilio Badillo in Old Town Puerto Vallarta.
Volunteers from Yoga Retreat Contribute to the Puerto Vallarta Community
The group came to PV for a week of yoga and rest and relaxation. The ladies wanted to contribute to the community while on their retreat.
American Legion to Sponsor Free Memorial Day Event for Veterans at Steve’s Sports Bar
Steve’s Sports Bar will host a free Memorial Day event, offering a hot dog, hamburger, chips and one free drink to every military veteran who stops by on Monday, May 29.
Guest Speaker on Assisted Living Facility at American Legion Vallarta
We hope you'll join us for this informative meeting where you will also learn more about the activities at Post 14 and volunteer activities. We'll even have a raffle.
Although helping the community is admirable and gets a lot of notoriety, I believe helping our aging (yep, that’s me too) Veterans should be our first and main priority here in Puerto Vallarta.
A Record Turnout Enjoyed the 5th Annual American Legion Charity Chili Cook-Off
The American Legion and Nacho Daddy won bragging rights by sharing the top prizes at the 5th Annual Charity Chili Cook-Off at beautiful El Rio BBQ.
Events Not to Miss This Week in Puerto Vallarta and Riviera Nayarit
A lot is going on around Banderas Bay this week including Live Shows and Concerts, Ceviche & Aguachile Market, Fundraisers, Art Walks, Cooking Classes, Charity Bingo, Dinner Theater, Film Festival, Farmers Markets every day of the week, and so much more.
Events Not to Miss This Week in Vallarta-Nayarit
A lot is going on around Banderas Bay this week including Live Shows and Concerts, Ceviche & Aguachile Market, Fundraisers, Art Walks, Cooking Classes, Charity Bingo, Dinner Theater, Farmers Markets every day of the week, and so much more.
Murphy's Irish Pub Gears Up With Two Early St. Patrick's Fundraisers
Celebrate St. Patrick's Day early with Murphy's Irish Pub on the Malecon charity benefits to support the Playground Project in Vista Hermosa.
A lot is going on around Banderas Bay this week including Live Shows and Concerts, Ceviche & Aguachile Market, Fundraisers, Art Walks, Cooking Classes, Charity Bingo, TED Talks, Chili Cook-Off, Farmers Markets every day of the week, and so much more.
Chili Cooks and Musical Groups Tune Up for 5th Annual Charity Chili Cook-Off
Last year's cook-off drew upwards of 500 chili and music lovers. It's expected that this year's event will meet or even exceed that number.
Fifth Annual Chili Cook Off by Banderas Bay American Legion Post 14
This will be the FIFTH annual Chili Cook Off for the Post. Last year an estimated 500 paying customers sampled chili’s from 20 different sponsors. This year’s event looks to be at least as large.
A lot is going on around Banderas Bay this week including Live Shows and Concerts, Ceviche & Aguachile Market, Fundraisers, Art Walks, Cooking Classes, Adult & Charity Bingo, Southside Shuffle, Trivia Challenge, Farmers Markets every day of the week, and so much more.
A lot is going on around Banderas Bay this week including Live Shows and Concerts, Ceviche & Aguachile Market, Fundraisers, Art Walks, Cooking Classes, Kitty Bingo, Trivia Challenge, Farmers Markets every day of the week, and so much more.
Five Nights of Grand Pub Quiz Tournament 2017 Fundraiser to Build New Playground
We hope you'll join us for 5 nights of trivia, fun and drinks and helping a great project!
American Legion Post 14 Meet & Greet Plus Carla's Food Bank for the Needy
During our last General Membership meeting, Carla (the owner and manager of Steve's Sports Bar) told the group that she frequently encounters Vets and other Americans/Canadians who are out of money and/or food at the end of the month and ask her for a little help.
Vallarta American Legion Post 14 Annual Poker Tour
Puerto Vallarta's American Legion Post 14 invites you to join us on Saturday, December 17 for the always fun Poker Tour Fundraiser. We have over 50 bottles of Tequila to give away.
Toys for Tots Golf Scramble and Gala Dinner/Dance
Puerto Vallarta Navy League
For the 18th consecutive year, the Navy League in partnership with the Marriott CasaMagna Resort, the Vista Vallarta Golf Club and many other sponsors will be raising money to buy thousands of toys for distribution on Three Kings Day to needy kids this holiday season.
A lot is going on around Banderas Bay this week including Live Shows and Concerts, Ceviche & Aguachile Market, Fundraisers, Art Walks, International Gourmet Festival, Triatlon Extreme, Farmers Markets every day of the week, and so much more.
Puerto Vallarta Navy League Newsletter & Events
The first line in the mission statement of the Puerto Vallarta Navy League is to meet and greet visiting sailors from friendly nations when they chose to stop for fuel and supplies in our favorite port.
His Will, His Way Ministries Seeks 'Parents' for New Children's Shelter
His Will, His Way Ministries PV
We need two sets of parents for the CompasionNet Church home. If you are in your 40 to 60's and would like to love and help kids have a real set of part time parents, we can use your help.
American Legion & Navy League Events for Veterans and Remembrance Day
American Legion Post 14 and the Puerto Vallarta Navy League invite all American, Canadian and Mexican citizens to celebrate these commemorative holidays with events on November 11th and 12th.
US Consulate Kelly Trainor to be Guest Speaker at American Legion Meeting
Please mark your calendars for the General Membership Meeting of Post 14 - American Legion to be held on Tuesday, November 15. We will be having the first of what we hope to be quarterly meetings NORTH of PV.
Introducing a New Expat Guide to Living in Mexico
Expats In Mexico is a new online magazine dedicated to the specific needs of expats living in Mexico and aspiring expats who want to call Mexico their home.
'Meet a Vet' from Puerto Vallarta American Legion Post 14
Get to know Todd Baumruck, Vietnam Vet and current Finance Officer/Treasurer of Banderas Bay American Legion Post 14.
Lakeside Medical Group Expands Managed Care HMO Services into Puerto Vallarta
Lakeside Medical Group's Managed Care HMO is expanding into Puerta Vallarta with a limited pilot program. We are accepting 20 patients into the pilot program.
'Meet a Vet' from American Legion Post 14 Vallarta
Each month, the American Legion Post 14 in Puerto Vallarta publishes an interview with one of their valued members. This month you will meet J. R. Wilson, Adjutant.
Dolphins Give Smiles to Children with Cancer
Vallarta Adventures and the American Legion teamed up to provide a day of happiness for children with cancer in the Puerto Vallarta area.
Puerto Vallarta June Newsletter from American Legion Post 14
Greetings from sunny and warm Puerto Vallarta. Please enjoy the latest newsletter from American Legion Post 14. Feel free to pass this newsletter along to friends, relatives, and other Vets.
Join the American Legion as Children with Cancer Swim with the Dolphins
On Saturday June 18th, approximately 30 children from the Cancer Screening Center will be visiting and swimming with the Dolphins at Vallarta Adventures.
'Rhythms of the Night' Spectacular to Celebrate July 4 and Canada Day
To celebrate 4th of July and Canadian Day July 1, the American Legion Post 14 of Puerto Vallarta is sponsoring a special 'Rhythms of the Night' spectacular by Vallarta Adventures on Saturday, July 2.
New Pharmacy Program for US Veterans in Vallarta
HealthCare Resources PV
I have begun many new projects there, one of them being setting up our new Pharmacy Program for veterans who have been paying out of pocket for their medications.
American Legion to Sponsor Free Memorial Day Event for Veterans at Steve's Sports Bar
Steve's Sports Bar will host a Memorial Day event, offering two free drinks and a hot dog to every military veteran who wishes to come. There will also be a 50/50 raffle for prizes.
Puerto Vallarta May Newsletter from the American Legion Post 14
American Legion – Post 14
American Legion Post 14 Vallarta April Newsletter
This is the first of a series of Newsletters I hope to publish on a fairly regular basis over the next few months. The purpose of these Newsletters is to inform, encourage, and entertain. All suggestions are welcome.
A lot is going on around Banderas Bay this week including Dinner Theater, Live Concerts, Charity Bingo, Ceviche & Aguachile Market, Fundraisers, Spring Jazz Festival, Farmers Markets every day of the week, and so much more.
Three US and Canadian Coast Guard Ships Visit Vallarta This Week
An old friend, the Alert, arrived PV yesterday and departs on Tuesday. The Coast Guard Cutter Steadfast arrives on Wednesday and departs on Friday or Saturday. The Canadian Frigate Vancouver will arrive on Tuesday for a brief visit.
Murphy's to Host Pre-St. Patrick's Benefit Party
Proceeds from the event will benefit the Torpedos, which is an American football team for kids, Beta Sigma Phi, a worldwide community service organization for women and a myriad of other American Legion charitable community projects.
A lot is going on around Banderas Bay this week including Dinner Theater, Live Concerts, Charity Bingo, Academy Awards Movie Screenings, Ceviche & Aguachile Market, Tango Lessons, Art Walk, Fundraisers, Murder Mystery Dinner Show, Farmers Markets every day of the week, and so much more.
Fourth Annual American Legion Charity Chili Cook-Off Returns to El Rio BBQ
It's an "all you can eat" chili feast, featuring 18 recipes from a broad range of sponsors, including many popular local restaurants. Also included is an order of El Rio's famous smoked riblets and an aguafresca.
Another Great Year of Toys for Tots Vallarta Distributions
In addition to giving away 8,000 toys, Toys for Tots this year generated enough funds to construct a number of playgrounds in some of the neighborhoods visited.
Events Not to Miss This Week in Puerto Vallarta & Riviera Nayarit
A lot is going on around Banderas Bay this week including Dinner Theater, Bucerias Christmas for Kids, International Friendship Club Home Tours, Live Concerts, Fundraisers, Voice of Vallarta, Farmers Markets, Festivals and so much more.
Another Reason to Attend Children with Cancer Fundraiser on Thanksgiving
Asociacion Femenil
Luis Angel, a beautiful 9 year old boy, an honor student who loved sports is so lucky to have survived after beeing hospitalized for four months in Guadalajara.
Navy League Social at Hacienda de Los Santos
Join the Puerto Vallarta Navy League on Thursday, November 19 from 6:00 until 8:00 pm at the beautiful Hacienda de Los Santos in Marina Vallarta.
Autumn Festival Continuous Buffet Fundraiser at Coco Tropical
Join us on Thursday, November 12 from 5:30 until 9:00 pm for our Autumn Festival Fundraiser and enjoy a continuous buffet of the delicious cuisine from the Coco Tropical Restaurant and Beach Club.
Toys for Tots Golf Scramble and Dinner/Dance
This year's major fundraisers will be held the weekend of December 12-13. On December 12 a fun-filled golf scramble tournament will be held at the Vista Vallarta Golf Club. On December 13 a gala holiday Dinner/Dance will be celebrated at the Marriott.
Veterans and Remembrance Day Observed by American Legion and Navy League of PV
The Navy League of Vallarta and The American Legion Post 14 invite Americans, Canadians and Mexican Citizens to pay tribute to those who gave their lives so the world could live in peace.
Tour the USS William P Lawrence Guided Missile Destroyer Now in Vallarta
Join American Legion Post 14 and the Navy League of Puerto Vallarta in touring the USS William P Lawrence on Sunday, October 11, 2015 at 10:00 am.
Pitch in with the USS William P Lawrence for Community Relations Work Days
The USS William P Lawrence, DDG 110 will be arriving in Puerto Vallarta on Friday, October 9th. The crew will be joining American Legion Post 14 and the Navy League in two days of Community Relations work.
Come Watch the Torpedos Play American Football in Puerto Vallarta
Craving some live American Football action in Puerto Vallarta? American Legion Post 14 of Puerto Vallarta constantly supports the Torpedos American Football teams - just like Pop Warner in the United States.
U.S. Coast Guard Puts Final Touches on Kinder Care Rehab
Navy League
The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Midgett, operating out of Seattle, Washington, visited Puerto Vallarta last week for a bit of R&R, but also found time to send a work party of 10 sailors to finish the total overhaul of a Kinder Care in Ixtapa.
Join the Crew of USCG Cutter Midgett in Community Project, Ship Tour and Fun
The United States Coast Guard 'Cutter Midgett' has arrived in Puerto Vallarta. They'll be here until Friday morning. Some activities you may want to attend include a soccer match, reception, community relations project and ship tour.
United States Navy Continues to Spread Goodwill to Puerto Vallarta
Puerto Vallarta was honored to welcome the USS Lake Champlain, a US Navy Guided Missile Cruiser, to its waters last week. They were here mainly to deliver much needed medical supplies, as a goodwill gesture from Northcom of the U.S. Government.
Banderas Bay American Legion Scores Big Again at the Chili Cook-Off Festival
The American Legion Post 14 scores big again with over 500 hungry people attending their 3rd Annual Chili Cook-Off Festival at El Rio BBQ in Paso Ancho.
A lot is going on around Banderas Bay this week including Theater Shows, Movie Screenings, Fundraisers, Film Fest, Whodunit Mystery Theater, What a Drag, Children's Circus, Paws for the Cause, Chamber Orchestra, Farmers Markets almost every day, and so much more.
A lot is going on around Banderas Bay this week including Theater Shows, Movie Screenings, Fundraisers, Soccer Cup, Film Fest, Kirtan Chanting, Harley Davidson Rally, Chili Cook-Off, Chacala Music Festival, Farmers Markets every day, and so much more.
Early Bird St. Patrick's Celebration Fundraiser at Murphy's Irish Pub
Let's gather at Murphy's Irish Pub on Monday, March 16, for an Irish party fundraiser. The purpose of the party is to eat and drink Irish, to raise funds for the Navy League and American Legion, and to have fun!
American Legion 3rd Annual Chili Cook-Off Festival at El Rio BBQ
Doors will open at 1:00 pm on March 14. Mariachis will perform from 12:30 to 2:00 then Mikki Prost, Murphy's Dave Whitty & Matt Cooke and finishing the entertainment with Nacho Daddy's Texas Embassy Blues Band.
Where to Watch Super Bowl XLIX in Vallarta-Nayarit
If you happen to be in Puerto Vallarta or Riviera Nayarit on Super Bowl Sunday, February 1, 2015, we've put together a sampler of sports bars and restaurants around Banderas Bay that will be hosting Super Bowl parties as the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks go head to head for the Lombardi Trophy.
American Legion Post 14 Puerto Vallarta Poker Tour Fundraiser
The Tour will begin at 1:00 pm on December 13 at Steve's Sports Bar, American Legion Post 14 Headquarters on Basilio Badillo in Old Town Vallarta. Proceeds benefit our local charities.
Toys for Tots Fundraisers Include Golf Scramble & Dinner Dance
If you enjoy golf, dining and dancing, join us for our two primary fundraisers on December 6 & 7 to help put smiles on the children's faces in Puerto Vallarta this holiday season.
A lot is going on around Banderas Bay this week including the Gourmet Festival, Fund raiser for Bucerias Seniors, Mariachi Festival, Kitty and Adult Bingo, Half-Narathon & 10K, and so much more.
American Legion PV Presents Medicare Advantage Program for Expats in Mexico
Dr. Ian from Lakeside Medical will speak about various options for Veteran's medical benefits along with Medicare Advantage program in Mexico on November 18 at Steve's Sports Bar in Old Town Vallarta.
Bravos Restaurant Puerto Vallarta Treats Veterans to Free Dinner
On Veterans Day / Remembrance Day, November 11, 2014 Veterans will receive their meal at no cost. All you have to do is show your official military ID or American Legion card and your dinner is on Bravos.
American Legion Veterans / Remembrance Day Parade & Memorial 2014
The event will take place at Steve's Sports Bar on Basilio Badillo in Old Town Vallarta on Tuesday, November 11 at 10:00 am. There will be a small parade as well as music and time for remembrance.
Grab a Paint Brush and Join in Refurbishment of Puerto Vallarta's DIF Senior Home
On Wednesday, August 13 we are returning to the Senior Home to finish the electrical and could use a few people to paint. If interested, transportation can be arranged.
ComRel at DIF Senior Home with USCGC BERTHOLF and PV's Navy League
Each U.S. Ship and its crew, at their arrival to Puerto Vallarta, with our Navy League members, take part in a communitarian aid social program aimed to promoting a cultural approach between both nations.
How to Obtain Your Senior Citizen's Discount Card in Puerto Vallarta
The INAPAM Card provides for significant discounts on a number of items, such as bus and domestic airline fares, movies, museums, and some restaurant and retail purchases, including pharmaceuticals.
2nd Annual Chili Cook Off Sponsored by American Legion and Navy League
Join us on March 29 at El Rio BBQ in Puerto Vallarta for an all you can eat chili, entertainment and help us judge over 15 recipes from local restaurants and individuals while supporting our local non-profit organizations.
Early Bird St. Patrick's Fundraiser at Murphy's Irish Pub with Authentic Celtic-Style Music
The purpose of the party is to eat and drink Irish, to raise funds for the Navy League and American Legion, and to have fun! Let's gather at Murphy's Irish Pub on Sunday, March 16, for an Irish party planned by Jon Murphy.
There a lot going on this week in Vallarta-Nayarit including Medical Matters, performances by Kinsey Sicks, Style Show Luncheon, all the Valentine's Day happenings, Alberto Mejia in Concert, Real Estate Fair, American Legion Poker Tour, and more.
Puerto Vallarta Poker Tour Fundraiser by American Legion Post 14
All skill levels of poker players are invited to join us on Saturday, February 15, for our always fun and popular Poker Tour Fundraiser. 50% of the proceeds from the donation ticket sales will be divided between Corazon de Nina and Youth Sports.
American Legion in Vallarta-Nayarit Seeks Volunteers
One of the main methods American Legion Post 14 contributes to the community is through various fundraising efforts. Another way we help is to provide necessary resources and manpower to improve various institutions in the Banderas Bay area.
Golf Tournament and Gala Dinner Fundraisers to Bring Smiles to Toys for Tots Children
Prensa Global
Funds raised will be used to buy toys for the children of Puerto Vallarta who normally do not receive any toys for the holidays. The goal is to spread more than 8,000 smiles next January on the Three Kings Day traditional Mexican festivity.
Oktoberfest Fundraiser Supports Children With Cancer in Puerto Vallarta
Banderas Bay American Legion Post #14
The American Legion and Navy League have joined the Vallarta Women's Association in supporting the Children's Cancer Center by holding a traditional Oktoberfest hosted by Hacienda Alemana on November the 13th.
Puerto Vallarta's American Legion Post Observes Veterans and Remembrance Day 2013
American, Canadian and Mexican citizens are welcome to pay tribute to those who gave there lives so the world could live in peace. Join us on Monday, November 11, for a service honoring our Veteran heroes.
American Legion Post 14 Provides Needed Building Maintenance for PV Non-Profits
One of the main methods Post 14 contributes to the community is through various fundraising efforts. Another way we help is to provide necessary resources and manpower to improve various institutions in the Banderas Bay area.
A Growing List of Charities Needing Assistance in Puerto Vallarta & Riviera Nayarit
Because of the overwhelming response from our local charities in Puerto Vallarta and Banderas Bay about their needs for help and volunteers, we have put together a summary of how you can help.
American Legion & Navy League Invite You to the 4th of July Celebration Cruise
Enjoy the famous Vallarta Adventures tour "Rhythms of the Night" in Catamaran travel across Banderas Bay to Las Caletas (John Huston's Hideaway) after appreciating the beautiful view of downtown Puerto Vallarta with its boardwalk and cathedral.
Senior Citizen Discount Card for ExPats in Vallarta
The INAPAM Card is available to national or foreign persons who have reached the age of sixty (60) and who have residency status in Mexico and provides significant discounts. The card is free and available at DIF Vallarta.
Charity Pub Quiz Challenge 2013 Partners Up with Toys for Tots
Every Wednesday from May 15 to June 12 in Puerto Vallarta, contestants will team up to show off their intellectual prowess, win thousands of pesos worth of prizes, and help the local Toys for Tots program.
Banderas Bay American Legion Post 14 to Host 'Department of Mexico' Convention
Our Local Post 14 of the American Legion in Puerto Vallarta is proud to host the Convention which will consist of delegates of the AL Posts from Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Nicaragua and Panama.
Everybody's a Winner as the First Chili Cook-Off is Deemed a Sizzling Success
Navy League of Puerto Vallarta
Last Saturday's chili cook-off sponsored jointly by American Legion and Navy League of Puerto Vallarta attracted an overflow crowd of more than 400 happy patrons who consumed in excess of 60 gallons of chili, ranging from mild to spicy hot.
12th Anniversary Golf Tournament at Vista Vallarta's Jack Nicklaus Course
Grab your clubs and join us at Vista Vallarta Golf & Country Club on Saturday, March 23, for the 12th Anniversary Golf Tournament on the Jack Nicklaus Course. The fun competition begins at 9:00 am and the format is Best Ball - Partners - Two Person Team.
Chili Cook-Off Fundraiser to Benefit the Youth of Banderas Bay
Save the date of Saturday, March 30, as the American Legion Post 14 and Navy League of Puerto Vallarta team up with El Rio Bar & Grill for this chili cook-off fundraiser to benefit four of our Banderas Bay charities.
Where to Watch Super Bowl XLVII in Puerto Vallarta & Riviera Nayarit
If you happen to be in Puerto Vallarta on Super Bowl Sunday, we've put together a sampler of sports bars and restaurants around Banderas Bay that will be hosting Super Bowl parties as the Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers go head to head for the Lombardi Trophy.
Banderas Bay American Legion Pub Crawl to Benefit Paralyzed Children
The American Legion Post 14 of Puerto Vallarta announces their 6th annual Pub Crawl / Poker Walk, a charity event for Proyecto Pitillal Association for Paralyzed Children, on Saturday, January 12, 2013.
Veterans Health Benefits in Mexico or Outside the United States
The Foreign Medical Program by the US Department of Veteran Affairs will reimburse you for certain treatment or medical services while you are outside the United States, if needed as part of your VA-approved vocational rehabilitation program.
Puerto Vallarta Commemorates International Day of Persons with Disabilities
Informa Vallarta
Dozens of children, youth and adults showed their talents in various disciplines in commemoration of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, which aims to promote the social integration of this sector and promotes equal opportunities.
Toys for Tots Vallarta Golf Tournament & Gala Dinner Fundraiser
The Golf Tournament will be on Saturday, December 8, at the Vista Vallarta-Weiskopf Golf Course and will be a scramble format. The Gala Dinner will take place at the CasaMagna Marriott Hotel in Marina Vallarta on the following day, Sunday, December 9.
Daily Life in Mexico Has Its Own Specific Set of Rules
Mexico News Daily
As in life, the rules are multilayered; there are overall rules and rules for specific activities. An extremely important overall rule for a sagacious life in Mexico is that if you accomplish only one thing in a day, the day is to be considered a success.
Millions of Americans Live in Mexico. Can We Continue to Coexist?
Beyond our trading relationship and our common border, Mexicans and Americans share a dream: one of freedom and prosperity for their people. Let’s not put that at risk.
Clinton Rouses U.S. Expats in Mexico as She Accepts Democratic Nomination
Dozens of US expats in Mexico City gathered at the capital’s American Legion bar on Thursday to watch Hillary Clinton accept the Democratic presidential nomination.
The First Bikini, Presidential Deaths and Other Events That Occurred Around Independence Day
IBTimes
Americans celebrate the country’s birthday on the Fourth of July, gathering with family and friends year after year. As you mark Independence Day 2016 with them, here’s a compilation of inspiring quotations focused on freedom and its trappings.
Many US Veterans Today Make Their Homes in Mexico
Mexidata.info
Mexico is the number one retirement destination for U.S. Veterans outside of the USA by far with the vast majority living in the greater Guadalajara area, specifically in Ajijic on Lake Chapala.
American Legion Post in Mexico City Bridges Countries, Cultures
Deep in the heart of Mexico City, the American Legion post serves as a home away from home for U.S. veteran expats and doubles as an unofficial center for people-to-people diplomacy.
We invite you to add your charity or supporting organizations' news stories and coming events to PVAngels so we can share them with the world. Do it now!
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AmericanLegion14.org
Basilio Badillo #286 (Steves Sports Bar)
Col. Emiliano Zapata
Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco
Contact: Commander Dennis Rike
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2019 • m3 • this site is part of a charitable conspiracy
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More than 750,000 could lose food stamps under Trump proposal
Posted 11:01 AM, April 4, 2019, by Tribune Media Wire
The Trump administration’s plans for food stamps could cost more than 750,000 people their benefits, and most of these folks are among the poorest of the poor.
The administration wants to make more Americans work for their food stamps by limiting states’ ability to seek waivers from the current employment requirement. More than three-quarters of a million people could fall off the rolls, according to the Department of Agriculture.
The proposal, however, would hit very poor Americans, researcher Karen Cunnyngham told a House subcommittee Wednesday. The average monthly income of this group is $557, or 43% of the poverty level. Only 11% had jobs, but they didn’t work enough to satisfy the proposed requirement, according to Cunnyngham, an associate director at Mathematica, a policy research firm.
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, as the food stamp program is formally known, already requires non-disabled, working-age adults without dependents to have jobs. They can only receive benefits for three months out of every 36 months unless they work or participate in training programs at least 20 hours a week.
But states can waive that time limit in areas with high unemployment or where there is an insufficient number of jobs, as defined by the Department of Labor.
In keeping with its push to add work requirements to safety net programs, the Trump administration is looking to tighten the definition of areas where there are insufficient jobs. The area’s unemployment rate must also be at least 7%.
The agency announced the rule in December on the same day as President Donald Trump signed a farm bill that had a similar provision that was eventually eliminated. Thousands of people have submitted comments, many of them opposing the proposal.
Several experts told members of the House Agriculture subcommittee that requiring people to work will not lead to their gaining employment.
“Those subject to the time limit have profound barriers to employment,” said Lisa Hamler-Fugitt, executive director of the Ohio Association of Foodbanks.
The association found that one in three clients reported they have a physical or mental limitation, one-third did not finish high school or have a GED and more than half don’t have reliable transportation.
Republicans pushed back, saying that employment helps people move out of poverty.
“Work has dignity. Work is opportunity. Work is not a dirty word,” said Rep. Dusty Johnson of South Dakota, the nutrition subcommittee’s ranking member. “Able-bodied adults cannot be kept on the sidelines while we witness historically low unemployment and a record-high seven million open jobs.”
Trump administration tightens food stamp work requirements
Trump announces rule requiring hospitals to reveal rates
Half of America will be obese within 10 years, study says, unless we work together
Trump administration proposes allowing imports of certain drugs from Canada
The private border wall being built on the Rio Grande
Split Supreme Court appears ready to allow Trump to end DACA
Trump administration eases Obama-era rules on coal pollution
Warren’s health plan: $20 trillion, no middle class tax hike
FCC unanimously approves proposal for new 3-digit number as Suicide Prevention Hotline
Trump hears opposing viewpoints in debate over youth vaping
Trump administration plans to ban most flavored e-cigarette cartridges, but not menthol
FDA approves new drug for migraine sufferers
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REPERTORY
If you would like to download a PDF of our Press Kit please use the link below
In 2003, Erica Rebollar created a modern dance collaborative where multi-genre artists can make innovative work. RebollarDance examines dichotomies and fragmentations of physical behavior that explore boundaries of performance, using bodies, light, and sound as conceptual canvasses to evoke authentic, highly charged experiences for both dancers and audience. Rebollar Dance’s mission is to create and present cutting edge choreography that impact large and diverse audiences, examining movement as a facet of modern life and a laboratory for analyzing themes. Exploring choreography as innovation, RebollarDance promotes an artistic process of challenge and risk-taking.
Born in Los Angeles, raised In New York City, and currently based in Washington DC, RebollarDance has to its credit over 85 performances in more than 40 venues nationally in Los Angeles, Seattle, San Francisco, New York City, Salt Lake City, Washington DC and internationally in London, Paris, Stockholm, Frankfurt, Hamburg, and throughout Indonesia. With a steady stream of performances in traditional venues and site-specific locations, the company has reached thousands of individuals.
RebollarDance draws together the unique backgrounds and talents of Choreographer Erica Rebollar, dancer/choreographers Ronya Lee Anderson, Amanda Blythe, Heather Doyle, Samual Horning, Kjersten Lynse, Althea Skinner, and Katie Sopoci Drake. Their training in modern dance, ballet and contemporary movement styles such as Butoh, somatic practices, and release technique fuse with backgrounds in theatre and martial arts. The amalgamation of these trainings is a primal yet precise style of movement rooted in technique.
Weaving textural guitar loops, soulful melodies and grounded rhythms into tapestries of sound, composers Charlie Campagna and Jeffrey Dorfman compose and perform music for RebollarDance performances and workshops.
FULL LENGTH WORKS
RebollarDance has four current “tourable” full-length productions: “Sacred Profane”, “GOODHURT“, “Space Junk“, and “Tinsel and Bone.” Each work melds the many artistic facets of RebollarDance: contemporary dance, installation/costume/set design, video installation, text and original music by Charlie Campagna and Jeffrey Dorfman.
The company‘s 2015 work Sacred Profane premiered with a sold out run at Dance Place DC. Sacred Profane is an evening length, multi-company, cross-cultural collaboration between RebollarDance’s Erica Rebollar and women-led, DC-based dance companies. The all female cast highlights backgrounds in various dance genres and viewpoints as Rebollar collaborates with punk rock dance band Tia Nina, South Asian Performing Arts Network and Institute (SAPAN), Somapa Thai Dance Company and guest artists. Sacred Profane engages women of diverse ages, cultures and ethnicities to create an all-encompassing feminist work, at times delving into human rights issues and at times celebrating the irreverent joy of sisterhood. Using music composition by Jeffrey Dorfman coupled with pop songs and classical music, Sacred Profane skirts the boundaries of risk-taking. With special interest in the subjects of performativity, colonialization, orientalism, occidentalism, femininity and feminist culture, Rebollar presents manifestations of women as subject vs. object. Sacred Profane is a loose, provocative canvas of bodies in motion, placing movement stories in juxtaposition to each other in order to provoke questions and challenge beliefs. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJ4GPPntUCs
Space Junk received critical acclaim in the Washington Post, Metro DC Theater Arts, and DC Theater Scene and was given a Metro DC Dance Award for “Outstanding Choreography”. Space Junk is the evening-length result of an intensive collaborative process of experiential movement, light and sound. Using an original score based on mechanical algorithms by Charlie Campagna and the unusual use of lighting design and projection by Ben Levine and David Dowling, Space Junk highlights the dialogue of the body as it negotiates subjective and objective worlds. Originally Presented in partnership with CulturalDC’s Mead Theatre Lab Program and CityDance at Strathmore, Space Junk received rave reviews: “transfixing…minute in its attention to details…entranced by this performance” (Rebecca Ritzel, Washington Post), “endlessly inventive and constantly suggestive… Rebollar is not afraid to throw everything at you” (David Cannon, Mocovox Entertainment).https://vimeo.com/80863753
Hailed as “Exactly what the district needs”, GOODHURT is an evening-length investigation of the role that hurt plays in the lives of performers. Created through the personal lens of each dancer, the project is a multimedia, highly charged journey using dynamic movement to display the politics and negotiations of pain as part of the human experience. By examining dichotomies and fragmentations of physical behavior, GOODHURT presents the challenge that the dancer – and all of us – encounter in navigating the experience of pain. GOODHURT performers and audiences experience a visceral, sympathetic reaction to the resilient body in an innately human experience. The insightful, witty nature of this work creates a bittersweet environment, full of sympathy and humor. https://vimeo.com/84373495, https://vimeo.com/82445666
DC’s City Paper’s “pick of the season”, Tinsel and Bone is an evening-length exploration of various identities of movement within a person’s external, social body (Tinsel) and their internal, private state (Bone). The piece weaves task-like actions into the structure of highly physical dance by transforming simple phrases into movement. Dancers work with the dynamics of body movement as it relates to disjointed ideas of public versus personal relations with self and audience. Without attempting to heal the polarity between themes of the synthetic and organic, Tinsel and Bone examines dichotomies and fragmentations of physical behavior through the exploration of choreography and sound. Peeling away layers, Tinsel and Bone explores the boundaries of performance and the audience/dancer relationship.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5DyrpRaH-o
SHORTER WORKS
Cyborg Suites is a 30-minute work that imagines post-humanism with dancing cyborgs. Inspired by Donna Haraway’s “Cyborg Manifesto”, Cyborg Suites examines movement boundaries between machine and human, automatic and sensory, internal and external. With an original sound score from DC composer Jeffrey Dorfman and 4 women dancers, Rebollar highlights physicality in its visceral and mechanical aspects, while challenging ideas of performance and identity within public/private spaces.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkyFZ1Hr4rc
Absurdist Suites is a 12-minute piece inspired by the absurdist theories of Albert Camus and the Beach Boys. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgRp6VpfABA
Future Preludes is a short piece based on Rachmaninoff’s Op. 32, No. 8, A Minor: Vivo
An awardee of NYC’s A.W.A.R.D show, The Lights From the Heavens are Called Stars is a 12-minute solo exploration of our manic social behavior versus need for private spaces. Polarity and strain are at the heart of this work. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYRxPALsOYM
SITE SPECIFIC PERFORMANCE
Enjoying site specific work, RebollarDance has performed throughout Italy as part of Europe’s “Civitanova Marche Intl. Dance Festival” site-specific Dance Festival; at Navy Yards Park, DC in a collaboration of over 60 performers with Force/Collision theater company presenting Nautical Yards; in various DC locations through Dance Place’s “Arts on 8th” outdoor performance series; and at Malcolm X Park, DC and Arlington Arts Center, VA. RebollarDance offers performances in inspiring natural, industrial, and indoor settings to create provocative installation and mixed media work.
AWARDS / FUNDING
Pola Nirenska Award for “Outstanding Contribution to Dance”
NPN supported company through Dance Place DC
Fairfax County Art Council: Operating Support Grant 2015
Dance Place DC Space Grant
American Dance Institute Space Grant
Metro DC Dance Award: Excellence in Choreography
Dance Metro DC Commissioning Project
American Dance Institute (ADI) Incubator Residency
Metro DC Dance Award Nominee: Outstanding New Work
Fairfax Country Art Council: Strauss Fellowship 2013
Mead Theatre Lab Program Grant and Residency Program
Strathmore/City Dance Residency
Local Dance Commissioning Project (LDCP), Kennedy Center, Washington DC
Lower Manhattan Cultural Council (LMCC) Space Grant, New York, NY
A.W.A.R.D Show recipient, Joyce Soho, New York, NY
Mabou Mines Artist Residence Program, 6-month choreography and dance residency, Mabou Mines Suites, PS 122, New York, NY
Los Angeles Dance Resource Center/ Lester Horton Dance Award nominee for choreography: The Lights From the Heavens Are alled Stars, Japan American Theatre, CA.
Los Angeles Dance Resource Center/Lester Horton Dance Award nominee for dance: Hunter/Hunted, LA Dance Invitational, LA
American College Dance Festival (ACDFA) National First Place award in Choreography, Second Place in Dance Performance
ARTISTIC VISION STATEMENT
I make work that po ses a series of questions. The process of questioning, unraveling meaning, and exploring answers is why I work. Choreography is my opportunity to connect in a meaningful way with audiences and myself. Using sound and dance as conceptual canvasses, I work to create an authentic, highly charged experience. I seek to communicate and to create an initial, human bond. The best surprises are in small ways, original ways of thinking. I seek innovation and open behavior to impact my audiences intimately, immediately.
I choreograph movement about themes of conflict without attempting to heal the polarity between thought and action. I am curious as to how minor and seemingly random events and encounters can create a powerful inclusive narrative. I weave vignettes together to serve as layered information toward a complex whole. The discreet battles within movement, sound and memory excite my processes. Rather than tell a thematic tale, I form multi-layered works that deal with problem solving. In this way I seek to guide viewers and myself through a challenge of multifaceted knots.
My dance seeks to heighten the commonplace events of subtle and restrained interactions in public and private spaces, individually and socially. I like to evoke a sense of the profound in the mundane, a sense of hope in futility, and the richness of empty space.
– Erica Rebollar, Artistic Director
ARTISTIC/EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Erica Rebollar
MUSIC DIRECTOR/COMPOSER
Charlie Campagna
Jeffrey Dorfman
Toni Adams
Heinz Adjakwah
Franki Graham
Amanda Blythe
Heather Doyle
Samual Horning
Kjersten Lynse
Althea Skinner
Katie Sopoci Drake
Ben Levine
VIDEO/PROJECTION DESIGN
David Dowling
Katy Kincade
Rachael Shane
Zachary Handler
www.ninedesign.org
RebollarDance EIN #45-5001394
RebollarDance is a non-profit (501c3) organization under Fractured Atlas
Fractured Atlas:
• Holly Sidford, Chair
• Russell Willis Taylor, Vice Chair
• Adam Huttler, Secretary (ex-officio)
• Alanna Weifenbach, Treasurer
• Alexandra Farkas
• Christopher J. Mackie, Ph.D.
• E. Andrew Taylor
• Lisa Yancey
• Beverly Jones, Director Emeritus
• Joshua Lindland, Director Emeritus
• Susan Longstreet, Director Emeritus
• Larry Searcy, Director Emeritus
• Saul Shapiro, Director Emeritus
• Susan Vargo, Director Emeritus
• Kenneth Weinberg, M.D., Director Emeritus
• Amy Wrzesniewski, Director Emeritus
Brentwood, MD 20722
info@rebollarDance.com
www.RebollarDance.com
Tri-City Concert Tour, Philadelphia, DC, and Baltimore
Evening length premiere “Title TBD”, Kennedy Center Millennium Stage, May 17, 2016
Evening length premiere “Sacred Profane” at Dance Place DC (Dance Place/NPN supported tour)
“Sacred Profane”, evening length premiere: Dance Place, October 3-4, 2015
“Everything For the First Time”, shared concert with Helanius Wilkins, Atlas Performing Arts Center, April 11. 2015
“Absurdist Suites” January 5, 2014, Dance Place’s “Modern Moves” at Atlas Performing Arts Center
“Cyborg Suites” November 9, 2014, Baltimore Art Museum Main Stage
“Cyborg Suites” October 24-25, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
“Cyborg Suites” June 21, Dance Place’s “Monroe Street Arts Walk” stage
“Cyborg Suites” May 28, Dance Place’s “Modern Moves” at CenterStage, Reston, VA
Velocity Dance Festival, Sidney Harman Hall, Shakespeare Theatre, DC, October 2013
“Future Preludes” at Dance Place, June 2013
“GOODHURT “, evening length premiere at American Dance Institute’s Incubator Residency: ADI, 6/13
“Lines”, site-specific show, Malcolm X Park, Washington DC
“Cardinal Points”, evening length performance Intersections Festival: Sprenger Theatre, Atlas Performing Arts Center, 3/13
“Space Junk”, evening length premiere at Strathmore Performing Arts Center as Resident Artist: Strathmore’s CityDance and Cultural DC’s Mead Theatre Lab Program
Velocity Dance Festival, Harman Hall, October 20, 2012
“Nautical Yards”, site-specific evening length premiere in collaboration with Force/Collision Theater Company at Navy Yards Park, April 2012
Theatre Project/Baltimore and Dance Bethesda, March 2012
“Tinsel and Bone”, evening length performance at Dance Place DC, February 4-5, 2011
Local Dance Commissioning Project, Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage: “Tinsel and Bone” evening length performance October 6-7, 2011
Velocity Dance Festival, Sidney Harman Hall, Shakespeare Theatre, DC
Dance Project, Joy of Motion’s Jack Guidone Theater
The Lights From The Heavens are Called Stars, A.W.A.R.D Show, Joyce Soho, NYC
The Lights From the Heavens are Called Stars, premiere at Judson Church, NYC
Erased, Cool 2007 Dance Festival, Brooklyn, NY
Erased, Sweat Series, DeBaaun Auditorium, Hoboken, NJ
Bound to Collide, Sashama Storefront Performance Series, Times Square, NYC
Wooden Mary Excerpts, Dance Conversations at the Flea Theater, NYC
Wooden Mary, self produced premiere at St. Mark’s Church, New York, NY
Black Out, full-length premiere at PS 122 through residency at Mabou Mines, New York, NY
Dance Conversations at the Flea
Judson Church at DTW
New Works at Tribeca Performing Arts Center
Cool NYC 2006 Dance Festival, Brooklyn, NY
d.u.m.b.o dance festival
Breath and Bones, Venice, CA
Catch Performance Series
Galapagos Performance Space, Brooklyn, NY
Flesh, Self-Produced Concert, Highways Performance Space, Santa Monica, CA
Hunter/Hunted, Summerfest, San Francisco, CA
Hope Code, Dance Moving Forward Festival, Los Angeles, CA
When The Bones Lie Open, Trip Dance Company, Highways Performance Space, Santa Monica, CA
Hunter/Hunted, Choreography in Mark Eby’s Film Falling Down
Hunter/Hunted, Los Angeles Dance Invitational
Ajar, self-produced concert, Highways Performance Space, Santa Monica, CA
Place of No Tears, American College Dance Festival (National First Place Award in choreography)
Place of No Tears, set on Brigham Young University, Provo Utah and tour of India
Place of No Tears, Solo Dance Festival, Jakarta, Indonesia; Makassar Arts Forum, Ujungpandang, Sulawesi; TUK Theater, Jakarta; STSI Pendopo, Solo, Java.
East Meets West, self-produced concert at Chamber Theatre, Seattle, WA
Land Of Thin Dimes, Second Journey Company, – solo performance Indonesian Dance Festival, Jakarta, Indonesia; Makassar Arts Forum, Ujungpandang, Sulawesi; TUK Theater, Jakarta; STSI Pendopo, Solo, Java; Solo Festival 2000.
Place of No Tears, American College Dance Festival: Northwest Regional First Place Award in Choreography
Inconclusive Blooming – collaboration with Eko Supriyanto, 1999 APPEX Salon, UCLA, Los Angeles; Broadway Performance Hall, Seattle; Highways Performance Space, LA; Forum Kerja Koreografer 2000, Bali, Indonesia and Riau Dance Forum, Sumatra, Indonesia.
ERICA REBOLLAR - ARTISTIC/EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
ERICA REBOLLAR (Artistic Director/Choreographer/Workshop Facilitator) was born in Madrid, began studies at Washington School of Ballet, and completed her MFA in choreography at UCLA. With the founding of RebollarDance in 2003, Erica Rebollar created a modern dance collaborative where multi-genre artists can make innovative work. RebollarDance examines dichotomies and fragmentations of physical behavior that explore boundaries of performance, using bodies, light and sound as conceptual canvasses to evoke authentic, highly charged experiences for both dancers and audience.
Rebollar was a 3-time Lester Horton Award nominee in Los Angeles. Awarded the prestigious Mabou Mines Suites residency program in NYC, Erica showed works at PS 122 and St. Mark’s Church. She was a recipient of Joyce Soho’s A.W.A.R.D show, performing at Judson Church, DTW (NY Live Arts), DNA, TPAC, and the Flea.
Upon relocating to DC, RebollarDance has received funding from the Art Council of Fairfax County, Kennedy Center’s LDCP grant, Culture DC’s Mead Theatre Lab Program/CityDance at Strathmore, and space grants from American Dance Institute and Dance Place. The company has performed numerous evenings at Dance Place, VelocityDC/ Harman Hall/Shakespeare Theatre, Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage, ADI, Atlas, Roundhouse, and Jack Guidone Theaters. Nominated for two Dance Metro DC Awards, RebollarDance has been twice highlighted as a Season Pick in City Paper and Washington Post with features on WAMU radio, FOX 5, and NBC news shows, along with a feature in the “Arts and Power” issue of DC Magazine/Modern Luxury. Hailed as “exactly what the District needs”, RebollarDance received a 2013 Dance Metro DC Award for “Excellence in Choreography”.
RebollarDance is the current awardee of Fairfax County Art Council’s Operating Support Grant and Dance Place’s Space Grant for her recent creation of “Sacred Profane”, to be toured through the National Performance Network. Erica is currently Visiting Artist in the Department of Dance at UMBC and the 2016 awardee of the prestigious Pola Nirenska Award for Outstanding Contributions to Dance.
DANCER BIOGRAPHIES
Heinz Adjakwah began his dance career taking technique classes in his senior year of high school and upon graduation; he enrolled at Morgan State University, where he majored in Nursing. He became a company member of the Morgan State Modern Dance Ensemble under the directorialship of Dr. Iantha Tucker and was awarded the Dorothy .P. Stanley Scholarship the spring of his freshman year. This gave him the opportunity to participate in a summer intensive in Atlanta, Georgia with the Atlanta Dance Connection Dance Company.After being at Morgan State University and with the Modern Dance Ensemble for two years, he transferred to the University of Maryland, Baltimore County and graduated in December 2015 with a dual degree in Dance and Health Administration and Public Policy. He recently performed at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C during the National College Dance Festival which featured him in a duet choreography that received the Outstanding Student Choreography Award from the American College Dance Association Conference and Dance Magazine.His choreography was also presented at the American College Dance Association 2015 and has performed with Baltimore Dance Project and Howard County Ballet in Maryland. Adjakwah has also been a recipient of the Summer Dance Study Award at the University of Maryland Baltimore County and gained an internship position at the renowned Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival the summer of 2015 where he took classes taught by distinguished choreographers like Kyle Abraham, Eric Gauthier and dance companies such as BODYTRAFFIC, Jessica Lang Dance, Gauthier Dance, La Otra Orilla, MADBOOTS Dance and many others. As time progresses Adjakwah aims to use his gift to inspire and change lives through performances and teaching.
Amanda Blythe was born in California, grew up in Pennsylvania and is now based in Washington, DC. Classically trained in ballet, she dove into the world of modern dance after high school and has never turned back. Amanda works in the DC arts community, both on stage and behind the scenes. When she’s not dancing with Erica Rebollar/Rebollar Dance, she works with Nancy Havlik’s Dance Performance Group and UpRooted Dance as a company member, as well as personal choreographic projects. She earned a BA in dance, studying with Chris Aiken, Peter DiMuro, Meredith Lyons, Ruth Andrien, Colleen Thomas, Ishmael Houston-Jones, Tania Isaacs, Nicole Wolcott and many others.
Heather Doyle is an artist and activist from the mountain south now living and working primarily in the mid-Atlantic. Her recent creative projects include dancing with RebollarDance for several seasons, and performing with Katie Sopoci Drake, Stephanie Miracle, and Human Landscape Dance. Other notable projects include dancing with mansurdance, PEARSONWIDRIG DANCETHEATER, Andary Dance, and Tzveta Kassabova. Heather offers deep gratitude for the creative work she shared with Niki Juralewicz, the Informall Theater Company, and the John Gamble Dance Theater in North Carolina. Her choreography has been presented in Movement Research’s Open Performance series, the North Carolina Dance Project, the Greensboro Fringe Festival, District Calling, Dance is the Answer, and the Dinner Party. In 2009, Heather produced tributaries, a concert gathering dance artists from NY, NC and DC during Artomatic. She practices GYROTONIC and GYROKINESIS. Heather has extensive experience in dance production, and supports emerging performing artists as a production stage manager and theater technician.
Kjerstin Lysne Palasthy is a lifelong student of the Body. She began her dance training with Ballet in her childhood home of Fargo, before studying Contemporary Dance at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in London and University of North Carolina, School of the Arts, from which she graduated in 2008. She spent the following two seasons performing for, and teaching, kids throughout the Southeastern United States as a member of the children’s theater company, Open Dream Ensemble. She worked with several choreographers in Washington, DC, from 2010 to 2013, where and when she also experimented with collaboratively creating with follow dance and theater artists. Also during this time, she completed her yoga teacher training and began guiding classes. Her evolution as an artist was greatly impacted by her emigration to Belgium in 2014, where she first encountered Body Mind Centering and a community of artists that have expanded her perception of the potentials of a dance, or movement-based, artistic practice.
Althea Skinner is a member of Rebollar Dance. She has premiered in solos by Deb Riley and Vladamir Angelov, and performed in Roxie Doniphan Thomas’ Unhinged at the Kennedy Center’s Millenium Stage. She has also performed as a guest artist with DancEthos, the Eureka! Dance Festival and ClancyWorks. As Althea departs for Brazil to work with the World Wildlife Fund, she is especially grateful to the DC dance community for these opportunities. In the coming years, Althea is excited to dance in Brasilia and serve as the Representative to Brazil for the International Consortium for Advancement in Choreography.
Katie C. Sopoci Drake, MFA, GL-CMA, is a professional dancer, choreographer and teacher specializing in Laban-based contemporary dance. Her movement musings come from flora, fauna and fiction and as a classically trained vocalist, she never shies away from the use of the human voice in her productions. Currently a core member of Mountain Empire Performance Collective (MEPC) and a company member of Rebollar Dance, past company credits include Mordine and Company Dance Theater of Chicago (2012-2013), Momentum Dance Company of Miami (2009-2012), Wild Space Dance Company of Milwaukee (2005-2009), and Rosy Simas Danse of Minneapolis (2001-2005). Katie has also made appearances with Clancyworks, Core Project, Brazz Dance, Your Mother Dances, The Florentine Opera, The Minnesota Opera and many more. Her critically acclaimed choreography has been performed across the country by many of the companies and colleges she has been with and her works have been performed on stages such as The Colony Theater in Miami, The Southern Theater of Minneapolis, The Milwaukee Art Museum, and the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery in Washington D.C. Katie has been on faculty at the University of Maryland – College Park, The University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee, Nova Southeastern University, Miami Dade College-Wolfson, Miami Dade College-Kendall, Carthage College, and Lawrence University. Katie’s own work in Laban Movement Analysis has been presented at the National Dance Education Conference 2015 and the Bill Evans International Conference on Somatics-Based Dance Education 2015; her work with MEPC in long-distance collaboration has been presented at the National Dance Education Conference 2015.
Sam Horning is a dancer, educator, and dance maker currently based in Washington, DC. As an artist, his choreographic mind has been heavily influenced by the quotidian and poetic spectrums of dance. He values everyday experiences and archival knowledge, mining both for the inspiration, materials, and compositional structures that become the textures of his dancing. Sam relies on efficiency and chance encounters as a means of movement invention. His work is produced from detailed improvisation techniques and is rooted by the information the body can receive from the floor.
Sam is a recent graduate from Wayne State University with a BFA in dance. During his undergrad career, he had the immense pleasure of studying with Biba Bell, Nicholas Leichter, Meg Paul, Jeffrey Rebudal, Addison O’Day, Ariel Osterweis, Sean Hoskins, and other WSU faculty whom have greatly influenced his artistic choices. While on academic and talent scholarship, Sam was the personal assistant to the Associate Professor and Area Head–Dance, Jeffrey Rebudal and was simultaneously the President of WSU Dance Workshop in his senior year. Sam was featured in The Michigan Opera Theatre’s production of The Merry Widow in spring of 2015 and was also a member of Artlab J dance in Detroit. He has had the honor of performing in several traditional and non-traditional spaces, but most notably at the The Kennedy Center, The Joyce, The Detroit Music Hall, the Detroit Opera House, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Dequindre Cut in Detroit, and Sogang University in Seoul, South Korea. Sam currently dances for Bowen McCauley Dance and is the Facilities Coordinator at Dance Exchange.
Franki Graham holds an M.A. in Dance Performance from the Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in London, England where she graduated with Distinction. Funded as a Leverhulme Scholar, she danced as a member of Transitions Dance Company 2014-2015 under the artistic direction of David Waring, performing and touring original works by choreographers Stefanie Batten-Bland, Ikky Maas and Dog Kennel Hill Project. She holds a B.A. in Dance from UMBC where she was a Linehan Artist Scholar and also earned Education and Honors certificates. She is currently in her third year as dance faculty for the Performing and Visual Arts Magnet Program in Anne Arundel County where she teaches modern dance and directs the student dance company. Graham currently dances with Baltimore Dance Project and Kinetics Dance Theatre. She is thrilled to be dancing her first season with Rebollar Dance.
CHARLIE CAMPAGNA (Music Director/Composer/Guitarist) has worked as a composer and musician in Los Angeles since 1989. The Los Angeles Times has praised Charlie for his “transfixing” and “crackling guitar work”. Charlie’s compositions and live playing merge his interests in guitar, percussion, textural sound collage and world music. He has composed and directed music for over 20 evening-length dance productions. He is co-founder of the Sacred Spaces Workshop, where he directs the improvisational music ensemble and plays guitar and cello. He often plays live, incorporating his guitar and live looping/sampling techniques with live percussion, piano, vocals, etc. to create lush sonic soundscapes.
Charlie enjoys working in many areas of music, including composing for film, producing, recording, mastering, composing and performing. Charlie contributed guitar work to the films “Don’t Say A Word”, “High Crimes”. He has created music for commercials and films such as “There’s Something About Mary”, “The Wild Side”, and “Phoenix” and has collaborated with composers such as Paul Hasslinger and Graham Revel. Charlie is a mastering engineer with clients such as Savoy Jazz, the late Barry White, James Hood, BMG, DJ Dan, Arista Records and Windham Hill.
Jeffrey Dorfman is a freelance Sound Designer based in Washington, D.C. He has studied theatre at SUNY Buffalo and University of Maryland, College Park. Jeff utilizes his background in music, composition, and theatre arts in order to immerse the audience in worlds of imagination. He could not function as a theatre artist without his inspiration, Leigh-Ann. Recent work includes Studio Theatre: Out of Silence; Kennedy Center Millennium Stage: Grains; CenterStage; Cyborg Suites: Singular Feminine Possessive; Olney Theatre Center; Once on this Island, Cinderella, Over The Tavern, Sleuth, The Sound Of Music, Cinderella, Angel Street, King & I; UMD: Collidescope, Sandwalk, MFA in Performance Festival of New Work, “Way In” Dance Thesis; DC Fringe; Stopgap. www.jeffreydorfmandesign.com
Ben Levine is Passionate about modern dance and experimental theater, Ben aims to combine his dance and theater training with his knowledge of theater technology to make awesome art. Since 2007, Ben has worked as the Technical Director/Theater Manager of Dance Place in Washington, DC. As Resident Lighting Designer at Dance Place, he has had the opportunity to design for many DC-based and touring dance companies including Wally Cardona, City Dance Ensemble, Tiffany Mills Company, Lionel Popkin, Nejla Yatkin/NY2Dance, Dana Tai Soon Burgess & Co, Rebollar Dance, Dance Box Theater, and EDGEWORKS Dance Theater. Ben holds a degree in Theater Arts and Mathematics from Drew University. He was recently named “Best Up-For-Anything Technical Director” in the Washington City Paper.
David Dowling is a videographer/photographer and founder of IsItModern?, which specializes in Dance Video. He especially enjoys capturing unfolding images in nature. He believes that design is the sinew and fiber of a project, and that presentation stems from a simple and direct desire to communicate. David has published a book of children’s poetry, composed and written several short, educational films that have been shown internationally. He currently works in Development at Dance Place Theatre and with Rebollar Dance.
Katy Kincade, after many years in the affordable housing field, is launching a second career as a costume designer. She recently finished her studies in the Fiber Department at the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA). She has done costuming for Tia Nina for their performance at Slutwalk on the Mall in Washington; for the Restoration comedy, The Man of Mode; and for the futuristic Zombie: the American while an intern at the Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company. She likes that range and looks forward to more exciting work ahead.
PRESS QUOTES
GOODHURT
“A postmodern duet most memorable for its torrent of lifts and its frantic episodes of running in place… the piece’s best moments were its last few minutes, which were danced in silence. When all you could hear was the dancers’ breath, it helped tighten the focus on their shaking hands and, ultimately, on a strangely chilly final embrace.”
Washington Post: “VelocityDC Dance Festival gives audience samples of virtuosity”
– Sarah Halzack October 11, 2013
CARDINAL POINTS
“Rebollar Dance company exhibited a refreshing professionalism and an innovative approach to contemporary dance. They are exactly what the District needs.”
MD Theatre Guide
“‘Cardinal Points’ by Rebollar Dance at Atlas Intersections Festival”
– Maya Oliver March 21, 2013
“With Cardinal Points, Erica Rebollar has presented work alongside that of her dancers. Not only is the success of this show a testament to her choreographic prowess, as well as that of her dancers, but it is proof that she knows how to select a mature, open, and creative team of dancers that can present work alongside her own and have the evening be cohesive, evocative, and exciting… Rebollar Dance is an exciting and entertaining gem in the DC dance scene. Erica Rebollar and her dancers bring honest work to the table time after time, and there is something refreshing in a company of dancers/choreographers that don’t need bells and whistles to make their work sparkle and shine. The movement speaks for itself; it evokes intimacy, humor, and excitement at various moments throughout, and leaves you wanting more. Put Rebollar Dance on your radar so you don’t miss any future performances of their work!”
DC Metro Theatre Arts:
“‘Cardinal Points’ by Rebollar Dance at INTERSECTIONS at Atlas”
– Rick Westerkamp, March 9, 2013
“The work was big and abstract in scope, but minute in its attention to details… the movement vocabulary was as unique as the design. By the light of a (fake) full moon, they created an illusion of floating — at least that’s how they appeared to one subjective mind entranced by this performance.”
Washington Post: “At City Dance, a true — and transfixing — space oddity”
– Rebecca Ritzel, December 2, 2012
“The choreography by Erica Rebollar and her dancers was endlessly inventive and constantly suggestive and cryptic… Where so many modern dance pieces use music to create patterns and ever shifting forms, Rebollar has something to say with “Space Junk.”… Rebollar is not afraid to throw everything at you… I can only imagine how fiendishly difficult this piece must have been to develop and then execute…We forget how important space exploration has been this year –but “Space Junk” was a timely reminder.”
Mocovox Entertainment: “This Space Junk is a Space Oddity”- David Cannon, December 2, 2012
“Sometimes structured and lively, sometimes turbulent and dizzy. Always mesmerizing… They are risk-taking experimenters moving beyond well-known, often-done routines of classical dance… the Rebollar Dance Theatre is far from humdrum or milquetoast. The athletic troupe has a dance style that is rigorous, intricate and physically stylized… she works with time in its stillness and warp speed. She works with space, whether constrained or vast. She works with an idea of the human body and its emotional alertness…”
Fairfax County Times: ‘Space Junk’ explores all aspects of dance:
Rebollar Dance Theatre production mixes power, precision
– David Siegel, November 20, 2012
“It was refreshing to experience the head-throbbing dizziness of Rebollar Dance.”
DC Metro Theatre Arts: ‘VelocityDC Dance Festival’ – Breena Siegel, October 22, 2012
“Since arriving in the District more than a year ago, Erica Rebollar has been one of the most intriguing additions to the city’s dance scene. A fluid dancer whose choreography tends towards the specific, Rebollar has quickly established herself here. This fall is a big one for her.”
City Paper’s Fall Arts Guide 2012:“Rebollar Dance”
Rebollar Dance’s “Space Junk” Dec. 1 and 2 at Strathmore
– Amanda Abrams, September 14, 2012
http://wamu.org/programs/art_beat/12/11/30/art_beat_with_lauren_landau_nov_30
NBCNews: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iuzUECiOB5k
FOX5News: http://www.myfoxdc.com/story/19862364/velocity-dc-dance-festival-returns-to-the-district?autoStart=true&topVideoCatNo=default&clipId=7859768#.UIHbgnSHAoY.facebook
NAUTICAL YARDS SITE SPECIFIC COLLABORATION
“Choreographer Erica Rebollar creates masterful pieces of work displayed by a team of four dancers, herself included, performed almost entirely in the water. Rebollar, joined with Heather Doyle, Sylvana Christopher, and Amber Jean Tietgens, become the four aquatic nymphs in a sense, their first series of movements in the water almost as if they are the water itself. They move about, swaying and falling against one another as waves crash upon the shore. Rebollar creates dynamic changes between her segments of dance, one moment fluid and serene the next jarring and stilted with sharp jerky motions performed to a pointed rhythmic clockwork soundtrack. The performers are beyond courageous for adapting hints of a story through interpretive dance and exploratory movement in the water. With a perfect twilight to end a perfect show this limited engagement is the crowning glory of exploratory devised works this season.”
DC Metro Theater Arts
— Amanda Gunther, April 27, 2012
“The Nautical Yards has been a joint venture with choreographer Erica Rebollar and Rebollar Dance. Together with director John Moletress, the team has created a performance art work that unfolds slowly in a series of scenes or rituals. Each section brings our focus to the many symbolic roles of water. The movement vocabulary of the performance is an interesting blend of forms. Strong bare legs and the way feet plant themselves in the grass or flick then pull through water remind me of the Pina Bausch Company and that company’s use and attention to the elements. Sylvana Christopher blends perky show steps and jazz in a strong solo… I walked to my car feeling satisfied and strangely teary by having seen something odd but brave and moving that was communicating to us something about being human, and, in its expression, bringing life to a spot in Washington that has been long emptied and neglected. Isn’t this what theatre is meant to do?”
DC Theatre Scene
~Susan Galbraith, April 29, 2012
TINSEL AND BONE
“A psychology-major roommate told me once that a hallmark of the human brain is its proclivity for categorization. Well, count me in. In ruminating about this year’s memorable dance performances, I found myself subconsciously dividing them into three groups…Physical…Mental…and Complete Package…
A few shows this year managed to combine both elements, mixing gorgeous dancing with a sense of something deeper, be it ideas, emotions, or simply an abstract mood. I’m thinking of Tinsel and Bone, by Erica Rebollar, which showed on the Millennium Stage…”
Most Memorable Dance Performances of 2011, City Paper
– Amanda Abrams, Dec. 30, 2011
“Erica Rebollar recently arrived in D.C., but she’s earned her chops in Los Angeles, New York, and Indonesia—and has a precise, contemporary style to show for it. In her first big performance in the area, Rebollar will perform “Tinsel and Bone,” which explores the various identities humans carry within them, at Millennium Stage.”
The Fall’s Best Modern Dance, City Paper’s Fall Arts Guide 2011:
“Three Surprising Modern Dance Shows, Even for Modern Dance”
Rebollar Dance’s “Tinsel and Bone” at the Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage
“Best Brainfood”
The List, Washington Examiner, Oct 6, 2011
LIGHTS FROM THE HEAVENS ARE CALLED STARS
“Erica Rebollar’s body in “The Lights” is attuned to an e-world.”
“Autumn Bounty”, DanceViewTimes
Velocity DC Dance Festival,
Harman Hall,
Washington, DC
October 9, 2010
– George Jackson
“Erica Rebollar choreographed and performed The Lights From The Heavens are Called Stars. This one-woman dance included stiff arm movements like a part of a machine and machine based street life sounds to which she danced. She had precise pauses between movements. Some of the movements were based in real life movements, such as riding a subway. By the end of the dance when she rolled her shoulders back, she was glistening in sweat. She portrayed chaos while still being in control of her movements throughout.”
The A.W.A.R.D Show, Joyce Soho – March 2007 Performance
-Robert Abrams, 2009
“Erica Rebollar’s solo work defied gravity in places. These weren’t explosive moves, just ones that made you wonder how she tunneled from Point A to Point B without strictly exploring any of the space in between.”
The Hidden Theater, Los Angeles, January 15, 2006
– Ravi Narasimhan, http://www.rettacs.org
“I was totally blown away by her work.”
– Nina Winthrop, Artistic Director of Nina Winthrop and Dancers and Curator of “Dance Conversations”, NYC
“The speed of the solo act (Erica Rebollar) was quite amazing. To see a human being move as fast as she did in the poses and movements was spectacular. The combination of using her hand and feet to demonstrate the ticking of clock was a reminder of how great choreography can add to a performance.”
– Chantell C./ CAL State Dominguez Hills
WOODEN MARY: ST. MARK’S CHURCH
“Words played a crucial role in Erica Rebollar and…shared evening of works at Danspace Project on Thursday night. Ms. Rebollar’s “Wooden Mary,” a series of vignettes based on iconic female figures, held more shape…The setting of Ms. Rebollar’s “Wooden Mary” was spare, except for two red squares on the floor. The work began as Haruka Fujita swayed slightly, eventually facing the audience as her arms rippled from her sides like an ethereal swan. With slinky control, she distorted her body — stretching her arms behind her back like broken wings — and infused the dance with the aura of a Japanese thriller. She inched off the stage, toe to heel. The toe-to-heel motif ran through other sections of the work, which featured six women and one man. Another dancer, Eriko Jimbo, poised on a red square, spun her body into a fury of turns. Dan Kwong, holding a sword, sliced off the heads of long-stemmed white blossoms held by Ms. Fujita… an eerie world.”
“Words played a crucial role in Erica Rebollar and Kim Whittam’s shared evening of works at Danspace Project on Thursday night.“
– Gia Kourlas, NY Times, Sept 23, 2006
BLACK OUT: MABOU MINES, PS.122, NYC
“On Saturday, I saw Erica Rebollar’s piece in the ongoing Mabou Mines RAP presentations. If you recall, I posted about her explorations of amnesia a couple months ago.
The piece in full was truly amazing. Not only did her movements and gesture continue to develop into a great dance, but she did awesome things with projection and through collaboration with a composer that really enhanced her work.
A few moments that really stood out to me were these gigantic projections of her doing the piece that covered her moving body and the back wall. Since the piece was about the loss and attempt at reconstructing identity this was particularly effective. There was another moment of projection when she lay on the floor with her back arched and her forehead facing the audience when a line of text was projected and ran right over her forehead. You could read it like a news ticker. Since, once again, the piece was about amnesia and the text was a Washington Post story about an amnesiac, this was enormously successful.
Congratulations to her. If you’ve been missing these presentations, you’ve been missing out.”
-A. Rey Pamatmat, Playwright
http://playreyplay.blogspot.com/2006/02/remembering -to-forget-to-remember.html,
FLESH, HIGHWAYS PERFORMANCE SPACE, LOS ANGELES
“If you’re looking for diversion, pop scores or a Fred-and-Ginger kind of night, “Flesh,” an evening of new choreography at Highways Performance Space, is not recommended. If, however, you’re willing to go to the Planet of Pain, populated by deep-thinking, angst-ridden dance-maker Erica Rebollar…will take you there…Rebollar, who bears a resemblance to Catherine Zeta-Jones, joined the elastic-limbed Efka Kvaraciejus to perform Schon’s “Hush.”…Rebollar’s “The Time It Takes to Love” begins with a previously reviewed solo, “Hunter/Hunted.” As before, Rebollar dazzled with her signature martial arts/yoga variations…the choreographer’s feral presence. One longed for Rebollar to reappear; when she did, in a coda, it was as if the piece came back to life.”
“Angst is overriding in this suite of newly choreographed works”
-Victoria Looseleaf. LA Times, Calendar Aug 23, 2003 “Primeval pain sets the scene in ‘Flesh’”
HUNTER/HUNTED AND HOPE CODE
“Since one of them, fortunately one of the better ones, Erica Rebollar, brought two works…The revelation of these two evenings came from the Spanish-born but American-trained Rebollar. An exquisite dancer the softest of descents and rebounds, an ability to shift weight and direction with great precision, and a knack for constructing tightly constructed pieces. Hunter/Hunted and Hope Code took advantage of a varied training with must have included Asian as well as more conventional Western styles in addition, probably, to martial arts and yoga. The deep lunges with one leg straight out to the side, the open body postures and the filigreed hands looked as though they stepped out of a traditional Asian dance drama. Yet the speed, the force of attack, and the complex way of layering material were assertively of today. In Hunter/Hunted, set to percussive score by David Karagianis, Rebollar deftly shifted back and forth between embodying the hunter and her prey. She gradually tightened the noose until at the end the two merged, as her fingers clenched the imaginary mirror – an image with which the piece had opened. In both works she expanded from a circumscribed area into a wider space only to return to it; both pieces also opened and closed with a singular image—the hand clenching mirror, for the first; arms, stretched up into a source of light, for the second. It will be fascinating to see where thistalented artist takes her choreography, which at this point is still tightly connected to her own physical training.”
“One Night Stands” -Rita Felciano, danceviewwest: writers on dancing. July 22, 2003 SummerFest/ODC Theater
“Erica Rebollar’s ‘Hope Code’ was a severe but arresting solo incorporating martial arts poses and suggesting a quest for both transcendence and self-control.”
“Strong steps forward,” Chris Pasles, LA Times, Calendar, June 28, 2003.
“Erica Rebollar’s new ‘Hunter/Hunted,’ saw the choreographer-dancer in thrilling variations on yoga postures.”
“LA Dance Invitational impresses with a strong roster of talent,”
Victoria Looseleaf, LA Times, Calendar, June 9, 2003.
WHEN THE BONES LIE OPEN
“Another showstopper: ‘When the Bones Lie Open,’ Favand’s collaboration with guest dancer-choreographer Erica Rebollar, was a primeval romp set to Ron Bartlett’s arpeggiated score…”
“’Daybreak’ flows into pertinent themes,”
Victoria Looseleaf, LA Times, Calendar
BENEFIT PERFORMANCES
As part of our commitment to women and the environment, RebollarDance offers performances at benefits for non-profit agencies. In this way, we support fund-raising efforts for women’s shelters, women’s rights, women’s health, environmental and animal protection.
RebollarDance has been invited to artist residences in Dance Departments at University of Maryland Baltimore County; University of California, Los Angeles; Brigham Young University, Utah; College of the Arts, Solo, Indonesia; and Oakwood Performing Arts High School, Hollywood, CA. Master classes at Towson University, MD; American University, DC; Joy of Motion,DC and other schools and studios. RebollarDance teaches a unique perspective of movement that fuses somatic and technical practices with focus on performativity and gaze practices.
RebollarDance is pleased to offer Sacred Space Workshops. Led by Erica Rebollar, these community-based improvisational dance workshops with live music are for people with and without dance training who want to explore the communicative, expressive and joyful aspects of dance.
MODERN DANCE TECHNIQUE
Instructor: Erica Rebollar
Level: Intermediate or Intermediate/Advanced
Length: 1 1/2 – 2 hours
Age Group: Young Adult – Adult
Style: Contemporary Modern Dance
Level: All Levels
Length: 1 1/2 hour – 2 hours
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Scourge 19.4
Posted on March 2, 2013 by wildbow
“I was perfectly happy,” Scapegoat said, “Being able to tell myself that hey, the news is blowing things out of proportion. There’s no way Brockton Bay is as scary as they’re making it out to be. Dragon suits get sent in and are promptly forced out, but really, the mayor‘s telling Washington it’s safe enough. The media got something wrong, or they’re making little problems sound bigger than they are. See the piles of dead bodies where this girl-”
“Echidna,” Tattletale supplied.
“Where Echidna spat out clones. Okay. I can live with that. An unusual power and strong parahuman. Could be an exaggeration. See the destruction, the ruined buildings and the streets that still haven’t drained a hundred percent. More or less what I expected from the news. The girl with the mutant dogs? Bug girl? Still manageable. But she opens her mouth,” Scapegoat pointed at Tattletale, “And pop goes my bubble of happy self-delusion.”
“You want to tear a hole in reality?” Tecton asked Tattletale.
“I do. I want to use Scrub’s power in conjunction with another power that draws heavily on accessing other worlds. It’s why I contacted Faultline’s crew. They’re our best bet. Myrddin might work, but he’s unlikely to cooperate. Scapegoat could work too, but I think it’d take too long, and it might need a human sacrifice, having Scrub hit someone who was heavily affected by the goat’s power.”
Regent nudged me. “With Grue gone, it’s your job to lay down the law. No human sacrifices.”
He’d mimicked Grue’s tone of voice, with a forced lowness.
No human sacrifices? Did I really want to veto any possibilities, when we were faced with threats like the Endbringers and Echidna?
“You’re not saying no,” Regent commented.
“Tattletale,” I said, “What’s the point? Why open a hole like that?”
“It’s a place to put Noelle, for one thing.”
“We can stop her other ways,” I said. “She’s not invincible.”
“Yet,” Tattletale said.
“Yet. We can put her down. With Legend, Eidolon and Alexandria alone, we should be able to do enough damage that she can’t keep regenerating.”
“Maybe. It was hard enough before. We’ve got big guns, now, but it’s going to be rough. It’ll be a lot easier if we have the Travelers on our side, and we’ll have that if we can give them what they want. A way home.”
“A way home?” Tecton asked.
“Cauldron’s the group responsible for plucking people from their realities, wiping their memories and leaving them changed, marked with a tattoo,” Tattletale said. She glanced at Gully.
I did too. Gully’s eyes were wide behind the curtain of braids.
“And the Travelers, far as I can figure, are the same. Only they still have their memories, and they weren’t altered in appearance. It’s like Noelle got her entire group’s share,” Tattletale said.
Gully slammed her shovel into the ground, but she didn’t say anything as seconds passed.
“You want to tear a hole in reality to send them home?” Tecton asked.
“It’s the best bargaining chip we have, short of a cure for Noelle.”
“How do we even know which world it is?”
“We don’t, but we can ask,” Tattletale said. “What I’m getting at is that this is our best weapon, our best bargaining chip and our best tool. If I’m right, if I‘m close to right, then this is a way to shut powers off at the source.”
“Assuming you have a way to kill or break the connection with these things you’re describing,” Tecton said.
“I’m assuming we can get our hands on some weapon of mass destruction,” Tattletale said.
“Too many potential disasters,” Tecton said. “Listen, I get it. I’ve been where you are. There’s a lot of tinkers and some thinkers who’ve been where you’re at right now. Who’ve had that brilliant idea with the power to change the world, for better or for worse. Most of us stop at that line. We have to.”
“This isn’t changing the world,” Tattletale said. “This is going to the heart of every single damn problem we’ve been facing and surgically removing the most dangerous parts. We can access the places where the powers are coming from and shut them off. It’s an answer.”
“If you can manage the risk,” Tecton said. “And I don’t think surgically is even close to being the word you want. With tears in reality, it’s equivalent to using explosives with a yield you can’t even guess at.”
“I’m a good guesser,” Tattletale said.
“And this is the part where I cut in,” I said. “We’re short on time, and I have stuff to see to. Why don’t you guys talk this through, and I’ll collect supplies with Scapegoat in the meantime.”
“Go for it,” Tattletale said.
“I’ll come,” Rachel told me. “Too much fucking talking.”
“We can’t let Scapegoat leave in the company of two known, dangerous villains,” Tecton said.
“Send someone with us,” I said.
“Gully and Wanton, then,” Tecton said. “If that’s alright, Gully? We’ll watch your prisoners.”
“I’ll ask,” she said.
“Thank you,” I said.
“Atlas isn’t far from your territory,” Tattletale said. “Head a little north, and you should find him with your range.”
Gully gave me a thumbs up, her phone still pressed to one ear, and we headed to the van. Wanton was the only one who could fit in the driver’s seat and who had a license.
With Gully and Bitch both in the back, I figured it would be safest to ride with them. Rachel was managing better these days, but a fight between her and one of the heroes could spell disaster.
It took a minute for all the dogs to climb into the back of the vehicle. I used the time to gather my bugs in nearby buildings, where I could collect them on my return trip.
Rachel wasn’t feeling talkative, Gully seemed lost in thought, and both Wanton and Scapegoat were in the front. That left me to get a discussion going, and I was too tired to bother. I closed my eyes, arranging my bugs into an arrow on the dashboard of the van. They rearranged themselves into a right turn sign to steer him toward Lord street, and from there it was relatively smooth sailing.
Someone had given the order for evacuation, and people were being directed to the shelters. We had only two indications that things would get any worse. Tattletale’s gut, which wasn’t a sure thing, and Dinah, who’d indicated that there was a good chance a large portion of the city would suffer at Echidna’s hands.
Or, even, not specifically at her hands. With our luck, it would be Tattletale’s plan that leveled half the city and we’d find out that Echidna was permanently trapped beneath the rubble, not even a consideration.
Twice, I nodded off, my head starting to drift forward, before the sudden movement of my bugs stirred me fully awake. The interior of the van was warm, dim and the vibration was oddly soothing.
The third time I drifted off, my bugs didn’t catch the movement. My head leaned back against the wall of the van, and I slipped into the twilight state of near-sleep.
It was the appearance of Atlas that brought me back to my senses. I signaled for Wanton to stop the van.
He was inside a garage, so still I thought he might be dead. Without ingrained instincts, he had only the barest minimum of processing. Enough to breathe, at least.
He hadn’t eaten in twelve hours. I was sure to feed him a supply of the less essential bugs from the area, moving them straight into his open mouth. I could reach my lair, and drew out every single one of the bugs I had stored there, calling them to me.
He would be weak, I noted, but at least he wasn’t hurt. Coil had probably ordered for Atlas to be left alone for much the same reason that he’d carted the giant beetle to this area. Doing otherwise could have clued the other Undersiders into what was really going on.
Wanton opened the back of the van, and I stepped outside. Gully emerged as well, likely due to curiosity as much as anything else.
Atlas, at my bidding, found his way past the closed and unlocked door, made his way outside and flew to me.
When the giant beetle dropped out of the sky to land just beside the van, Wanton briefly shifted into his other form, and Gully raised her shovel protectively in front of her.
My bugs flowed over Atlas’ carapace, and I used my hands as well, checking there was no damage. Scrapes and gouges on his underside. Had they lifted him into a truck to transport him? My gloved fingertip ran along the length of his scythe-like foreleg. Maybe I needed to take the time to give him more care, sharpen the natural weapons, tend to his shell…
I blinked a few times. I was tired, and my lack of focus was dangerous. Time was short.
“Are your dogs well enough to run?” I asked Rachel.
She was still in the truck, sitting on one of the benches that were built into the side. She hopped down to the street, the dogs milling around her. “Probably.”
“Then let’s go,” I said. I stepped onto Altas’ back, but I didn’t take a seat. I let him rise into the air, and I drew all the bugs in the area to me. I didn’t settle into a sitting position until I was obscured from view.
I couldn’t move too far away from Scapegoat. I was tethered to him by an invisible, intangible cord, about one hundred and fifty feet long; about half a city block.
Still, provided I was directly above him, it let me fly about eight or nine stories above the ground. I wasn’t untouchable, but I was safer.
“…Hear me,” Wanton spoke.
My bugs spelled out the word ‘yes’.
“Creepy,” he said. “I need …rections.”
There were two possibilities that sprung to mind as far as what that last word might be. I guessed it was ‘directions’ and pointed him back to Lord street. I wanted as many of the good bugs as I could bring, but I was limited in how many Atlas could carry and I doubted the others would be keen to see them packed into the back of the truck.
Instead, I drew out lines of thread, ferried the slower moving bugs onto my back, and loosely bound them. Bugs strung out on silk cords, like kindergarteners did with popcorn on thread. The rest found shelter in the folds, compartments and creases of my costume.
I kept close to the ground as I followed. Had to stay close to Scapegoat and I couldn’t trust that Atlas had enough energy to carry me until we’d flown a bit and I could see how his stamina was.
My hair and the tatters of my costume flapped behind me as we flew, clumped together in parts with the fluid that I’d been soaked with while inside Noelle. I had bugs crawl over both to devour and separate the worst of it. The ones on the threads that trailed behind me with the faster flying insects were surviving, which was key.
The little tasks kept me awake, if not entirely focused. I was caught off guard when I let the van miss a turn. If a good shot of adrenaline didn’t wake me up, I might be at a disadvantage in the coming fight.
I got that kick of adrenaline sooner than I’d wanted. We reached the clearing where the others had been and found it empty. The Travelers, Tattletale, Regent, Scrub and the heroes were gone.
I landed, and the van doors opened. Bitch stopped just beside me, Bentley at full size and the other dogs standing maybe three feet tall at the shoulder.
“Gully, you have an armband. Have the heroes communicated anything?” I asked.
“Can you do me a favor and see if anyone has answers on where Tattletale and the others are. For now, we should head back to the perimeter.”
“You’re giving orders?” Wanton asked.
“Consider it a suggestion,” I said. Gully had been pleased at the semi-promotion, with being put in charge. I could concede to let her call or confirm the shots if it kept her happy. “It’s Gully’s choice.”
She glanced at me. “It’s sound. I’ll use the armband while Wanton drives.”
We reached the perimeter around the destroyed building before she got a reply, and we found Tattletale in the company of some of the major heroes. Legend, Alexandria and Eidolon weren’t present, but that wasn’t a huge surprise. They apparently had secrets to keep.
More than one cape turned their attention to me as I approached. They didn’t shoot, though. I was relieved at that. It would be a bad way to go, getting gunned down out of the air by heroes with twitchy trigger fingers.
I had to pause while the van stopped to pass through a contingent of heroes. Rachel sort of strode through without really asking for permission.
It wouldn’t be winning us any points with the good guys, ignoring courtesy, but the fact that Tattletale and Regent had disappeared from our rendezvous spot and that they were now in the midst of a group of twenty-seven heroes. They weren’t at gunpoint, not really, but the implied threat was apparent.
I waited until Scapegoat was out of the van and hobbling toward the crowd before bringing Atlas in for a landing. I rose to a standing position so I wouldn’t be sitting down when the bugs parted to reveal me.
“What’s going on?” I asked. My bugs passed through the crowd, not getting in anyone’s way, not touching on faces or bare skin where I could help it, but giving me a way to track everyone nearby.
It was Tecton who answered me. “Tattletale wasn’t willing to drop her idea. I suggested taking it to our superiors, and she agreed.”
“It’s too dangerous,” Myrddin said. He stood by with Miss Militia and Chevalier beside him.
“It’s our best option,” Tattletale said.
“It’s a plan that puts everyone involved at an immense degree of risk, and it costs us time we don’t have.”
“We have a little time,” Tattletale retorted. “I don’t see any movement there, do you?”
“We can’t even guarantee it’ll work,” Myrddin replied.
“Are you saying that because you consider yourself the resident dimension manipulator or because you’re afraid it’ll lead to a big revelation about Cauldron?”
I could have imagined it, but I could have sworn my bugs were aware of a collective intake of breath. Not everyone present, not even one in five… but people did react.
How far did this reach?
“What are you talking about?” Myrddin asked.
“No? I’m not seeing anything from you. Guess you’re in the clear,” Tattletale replied.
“Tattletale,” Miss Militia cut in, “This isn’t the time for games, making accusations in the hopes of finding information.”
“I agree,” I said. “Stick to the topic at hand.”
“It’s not a game,” Tattletale said. She looked at me, and she wasn’t smiling. “And I don’t see how we can discuss it if we ignore the elephant in the room.”
“Try,” I told her.
“What’s going on?” Chevalier asked. Of everyone in the immediate area, he had the most presence. He wore gleaming gold and silver armor, but it was the massive, ornate cannonblade that made him so imposing, with a blade that was twelve feet long, three feet wide and capable of growing larger, resting against his shoulder as though it were as light as a feather.
“Rest assured, Chevalier, this is a discussion for another day,” Miss Militia said. “One I’m definitely interested in continuing, but not when it threatens to distract us.”
“If you’re sure,” Myrddin said.
“Trust me. Please,” Miss Militia replied.
“Cauldron is led or backed up by the Tr-”
Miss Militia struck Tattletale, cutting her off before she could finish the sentence. It was only as Miss Militia dropped to her knees, setting one knee on Tattletale’s throat, that I saw she’d had a gun in her hand. She gripped Tattletale by the cheeks, pinching her mouth open, and slid the gun into her mouth.
I could sense Rachel striding forward, saw Regent moving to raise one hand in Miss Militia’s direction. My arms went out to either side of me: one to bar Rachel’s advance, another to catch Regent’s wrist.
“Don’t be foolish, Tattletale,” Miss Militia said. “Why would you risk everything like this?”
Tattletale glanced at me, then mumbled something incomprehensible around the gun barrel. Her cheekbone was bleeding where she’d been struck.
Miss Militia looked up at me. A gun materialized in her other hand, identical to the one that was jammed between Tattletale’s teeth, but she didn’t point it at me. “Do we have a problem, Skitter?”
“Not unless you pull the trigger,” I said. “We aren’t going to start a fight with this many people around. It would be suicidal.”
I looked Tattletale in the eye as I said that last word.
“Is she a clone?” Myrddin asked.
“I almost wish she was,” I replied. “No. It’s the real her.”
“Can you tell me why she’s doing this?” Miss Militia asked.
“I don’t know,” I said. “Yes, but not in entirety.” We were tired, but that wasn’t it, it wasn’t all of it. Couldn’t be. It wouldn’t account for the almost suicidal edge to her actions in just the last half hour. There was something else going on.
“Tattletale,” Miss Militia said, “I’m going to remove the gun. Think very carefully about what you say. Deliberately attempting to divide our ranks could be seen as a violation of the truce, and I will push for the kill order if it goes that far.”
Tattletale nodded. She winced as the gun was removed. “You can’t put a kill order on the other Undersiders. They aren’t responsible for anything I’m saying. Heck, two of them aren’t even here. You’d be killing innocents.”
“I don’t think anyone here thinks any of you are innocent,” Miss Militia said.
“They’re relative innocents?” Tattletale tried.
“Quiet,” Miss Militia said, her voice tight.
“I’ll be quiet when you tell me you won’t punish others because of me.”
“Just be quiet,” Miss Militia said.
“M.M.,” Chevalier said, his voice low, “I won’t gainsay any of your decisions, and with this being your city, you have the say unless one of the Triumvirate supercedes your order… but you’re attacking a girl when she was only talking, and there are a lot of eyes and ears here.”
“You’re saying it doesn’t look good,” Miss Militia said. Her eyes were fixed on Tattletale.
“Not for your career.”
“I don’t give a flying fuck about my career,” she replied. “I care about all of us getting out of here in one piece.”
“And you think she’ll put all of us in danger if she opens her mouth?” Chevalier asked.
“Yes. I think Tattletale can do a catastrophic amount of damage if she opens her mouth,” Miss Militia said. “You’ve read her file.”
“I have,” Myrddin said.
“Is the information she wants to share pertinent to this crisis?” Chevalier asked.
“Not immediately,” Miss Militia said. Tattletale cleared her throat, apparently asking for permission to speak, but Miss Militia gave her a tight shake of the head in response. “Not as far as I’m aware. I’ve discussed much of it with Skitter.”
“If I may,” I spoke up. Innumerable sets of eyes turned my way. I let go of Regent’s hand and dropped the hand that was still held up in front of Rachel.
“What is it?” Myrddin asked.
“I can try to explain. You can send away the rest of the capes, I explain to you three, and you decide if and how much information to disseminate to your underlings. I’ll try to be more delicate than Tattletale was, avoid the more sensitive parts. I don’t agree with Tattletale’s plan, but it’s too dangerous to make calls without knowing the key details, and some of this stuff is need-to-know, if we’re to have any chance of getting the Travelers or Noelle to cooperate.”
Myrddin looked at Miss Militia, and she nodded.
Myrddin raised his voice. “I’d like everyone who isn’t immediately involved in this discussion to find something else to do.”
Some people started shuffling away. Aside from heading straight towards the site where helicopters were still laying down containment foam or walking face first into the containment van Wanton had parked, there were only two directions to walk, and one group of people weren’t moving.
Gully. One of the twins was tugging on her arm, but she wasn’t budging.
“Gully,” a cape I didn’t recognize spoke, “Get a move on.”
“I want answers,” she said. “The Undersiders have them.”
“And Chevalier will contact me with what he feels we need to know, and I’ll pass that on to you and your squad,” the cape said.
“That’s not enough,” she said. “I don’t want the condensed version. I want to hear why I’m like this.”
A murmur ran through the crowd, and I noted that some of the capes who had reacted before were standing out more. One was breathing harder, another was fidgeting where she’d been calm before.
“This kind of insubordination is what goes on your file and costs you promotions,” the cape said.
“I’ve been passed up for promotion so many times I’ve already gotten the message. Monsters don’t get to be team captain. Your argument doesn’t have any weight to it, Lono.”
Weld approached her. Their eyes met, and Weld came to a stop, turning around so that he stood just to her right. He didn’t say a word.
Miss Militia stared at him, and he didn’t even flinch.
“This is a critical situation,” Myrddin said. “We’re on the brink of another potential conflict with an S-class threat. If the Undersiders have information we can use, information that could be sensitive, we need you to clear out.”
“I’ve spent years like this,” Gully said. “It’s not just me, either. There’re others. Weld…”
“Hunch,” Weld added. “Gentle Giant, Sanguine.”
“Weld and Hunch, Gentle Giant and Sanguine,” Gully said. “And the others who weren’t even lucky enough to find the Wards or the Protectorate before they found themselves in trouble. It’s not just for me. We need to know for them.”
“This isn’t the time or place.”
“With all due respect, spend a day in my shoes, Myrddin. Just one, and then tell me again, that I have to wait one day, one hour, even one minute longer for an explanation.”
The ground shuddered, and I thought at first that it was her, but she looked surprised.
It was Noelle. Echidna. She was active and fighting her way free.
“We’re out of time. Enough of this,” Myrddin said. “Gully, Weld, join your teams.”
Gully planted her shovel in the ground, put one foot on top of the blade, and folded her hands on the handle.
“We could share with them,” Miss Militia said. “I know Weld is an exemplary hero, and we could trust him to keep necessary information to himself.”
“I might agree,” Chevalier said, “If it weren’t for the dramatic flair Gully was displaying. I don’t trust that she will stay quiet on the subject.”
Another shudder. Heroes were running to adopt battle lines, forming a circle around the construction lot with the ruined building. The invincible, the power immune, masters with durable pets and forcefield makers were positioning themselves at even intervals around the circle.
“We don’t have time. Myrddin,” I said. “You and I can both fly. If we go to a nearby rooftop-”
“Fuck me,” Tattletale said. “So much wasted time.”
She grabbed for Miss Militia’s gun. When Miss Militia didn’t let go, Tattletale took one step closer and pressed her forehead against the gun barrel. “Do it. Kill me. You’ve seen a lot of people die in your lifetime. People important to you, dying because of an idea. So kill me because I believe this idea should be heard by people who care. Close the damn circle.”
Why? I thought.
“The Triumvirate,” Tattletale said.
Miss Militia stared at her, but didn’t pull the trigger.
“The… Triumvirate?” Gully asked.
“I’m in deep shit anyways,” Tattletale said. “For saying what I already have. We all are. Sad fact is, I have better chance of surviving if it’s all out in the open. The Triumvirate is Cauldron. Eidolon, Legend, Alexandria. They started it, or they’re so involved in it that it’s incestuous.”
“Fuck me,” Regent muttered.
I couldn’t even breathe. I was waiting for Miss Militia to pull the trigger.
“They made me like this?” Gully asked. “Why?”
“Not sure. A warning, maybe, to people who didn’t pay their bills. Or they figured that while they were brainwashing you, they’d implant you with a built-in weakness, something a paying customer could exploit.”
“That’s it? That’s your answer?”
“I’m sorry,” I said. I wasn’t sure if I was apologizing because it was insufficient or because I’d let Tattletale take things this far.
The ground shook, more violently than before. The air was filled with the thrum of the helicopters that were flying overhead.
By contrast, he flew so silently that I almost missed him setting down. I didn’t have bugs in the area, and my eyes were trained in the general direction of Gully and the wreckage of Coil’s collapsed base.
Legend, landing in the midst of us.
“You heard,” Tattletale said. She didn’t sound surprised.
“Lipreading,” he murmured. “I can see very long distances. Put the gun down, Miss Militia. The cat’s out of the bag.”
“You’re admitting it,” Chevalier said.
There was another rumble, shaking the ground so hard that most of us lost our balance. Legend stayed perfectly upright, no doubt using his flight to hold himself a hair above the ground. He turned to check the fighting hadn’t started.
“It’s true?” Gully asked.
“We started Cauldron in the early days,” he said. “They had a way to give people powers, and each of us were desperate for our own reasons. We should have had trigger events, but we weren’t lucky enough to have the potential. Nobody deluded themselves about the risks. We knew that it was all too possible to die or become a monster.”
“But you did. You made monsters,” Gully said.
“Everyone who took a dose went into it with their eyes open,” he said. “They refined the process, and we reduced the chance to a single digit of a percent. Two, three percent, if that. And at the same time the numbers were decreasing, we were realizing how badly we needed the heroes that Cauldron could provide. Capes without traumas to drive them toward villainy. Cauldron turned it into a business, producing heroes and acquiring funds from the wealthy to redirect to Endbringer recovery and further research into powers. We knew it wasn’t ideal, that some would turn to villainy, but with the appearance of the Slaughterhouse Nine and the damage the Endbringers were doing, we had to do something.”
“How do the Travelers factor in?” Miss Militia asked.
“They got ahold of a dose meant for another group of people. They weren’t screened, they didn’t follow the necessary procedures, didn’t get the psychological or physical checkups… and even with that, we had no idea that the formulae could produce anything like this Echidna.”
“But the Travelers are from another world,” I said. “Aren’t they?”
“The Simurgh,” he said, simply. “Madison, Wisconsin, one and a half years ago. She opened a dimensional gate. You were there, Myrddin. You met Trickster and Echidna.”
Myrddin’s eyes widened. “The hospital room.”
The ground rumbled again. A burned husk of a building at the far end of the street toppled with a crash.
“But… if Cauldron’s not taking people from other worlds,” Gully said. “What-”
“It’s not Cauldron,” Legend said. His voice was flat, without affect. He met her eyes. “Manton worked for Cauldron, before an incident with his daughter led to a psychotic break and a break with the organization. He left with samples that he passed on to others. One of those people sold them for personal profit before Cauldron found him. Another was responsible for the case fifty-threes. We thought it was Manton, but it wasn’t.”
He glanced at Tattletale, and she cocked her head a little to one side.
“Why?” Gully asked. “Why do that? Why make us like this?”
“I’d give you answers if I could. Some people abuse others for the sense of power it gives them,” Legend told her. His voice sounded hollow. “To change someone’s body and mind completely and irrevocably? It could be the same impulse. The appearance of the case fifty-threes has stopped or slowed dramatically. It’s little consolation, but we think the person who did this to you is be dead or completely out of formula.”
“That’s no consolation at all,” Gully replied. The ground shuddered.
“It’s worth noting,” Legend said, “That we tracked Manton down. He and Siberian’s master are the same person. Dragon and Defiant have a bead on the Nine. They expect a confrontation to start soon.”
But I could only think of when Legend and I had been looking down at the Nine from above. He’d recognized the Siberian’s master then, and he hadn’t told me.
Was he omitting facts now, in the same way? Was he lying like he had then?
“The Siberian is Manton?” Myrddin asked.
Legend nodded. “And Manton is ultimately responsible for the case fifty-threes. I know it’s not the explanation you each hoped for, but it’s the reality. Understood?”
There were nods all around. I wasn’t sure if anyone else saw, or if they knew her well enough to say, but Tattletale was smiling, and it wasn’t the one she wore when she was being friendly and easygoing. It was the one she’d had before she’d unloaded on Panacea, back at the bank. The one she’d had before she revealed to Coil just how she’d screwed him over.
I directed a bug to fly across her face, brushing the skin. She flinched and looked at me.
I only stared at her, willed her to be quiet. Saying anything would be disastrous here. I wasn’t sure how much of what he was saying was truth, but Legend had just stepped in here, pacified the situation.
Tattletale shrugged with one shoulder, a fractional movement that only my swarm really noticed. The smile disappeared from her face.
“Sure,” she said, a little belatedly.
The rumbling continued, steadier now.
“Is that the essence of what you wanted to tell us?” Myrddin asked me. “What Legend said about Cauldron?”
“Only thing I’d have to add is that the Travelers came from another Earth. Except for Trickster, they’re more or less on our side here. Tell Ballistic, Sundancer and Genesis that we can get them home, and they’ll help. They have the kind of firepower we need.”
“We’ll-”
My bugs sensed Echidna clawing her way to the surface.
“Armband!” I interrupted Chevalier.
“Warn them. She’s here!”
It was too late. The Grue that was accompanying Echidna emerged from the hole she’d dug. He raised his hands, and I could see the wave of darkness rolling out from the entrance to a parking garage to sweep over the assembled heroes.
She wasn’t beneath the fallen base. With her shapeshifting and the teleporting Grue’s help, she’d found her way through a side tunnel, clawed or punched her way up into a nearby parking garage, a place where she could stage her attack.
Echidna materialized out of the darkness the Grue had created. She was nearly twice the height she’d been before, to the point that the human body on the top was miniscule, a speck by comparison. A human figure atop a broad three-story building.
Her legs were more robust, now. There weren’t any feeble limbs like the ones my bugs had glimpsed or touched. Her lower body was plated in a crust of bone, and two more heads were just emerging from her front, one with the beginnings of a mouth, the other with two large eyes and a lump that would become a snout. She’d developed.
There were no less than ten capes within range of her claws as she appeared. Ten capes that were caught in her flesh the very instant the fighting began.
I’d placed bugs on Legend to track his movements, and they went with him as he took to the air and fell into formation with Alexandria and Eidolon. Those same bugs allowed me to sense the smallest movement of his head, as he directed a slight nod toward his longtime comrades.
If I’d been suspecting that he’d been lying before, that clinched it for me.
In his shoes, I wasn’t sure I wouldn’t have done the same.
This entry was posted in 19.04 and tagged Bastard, Bentley, Bitch, Chevalier, Gully, Legend, Miss Militia, Myrddin, Regent, Scapegoat, Tattletale, Taylor, Tecton, Wanton, Weld by wildbow. Bookmark the permalink.
157 thoughts on “Scourge 19.4”
soulpelt on March 2, 2013 at 00:14 said:
Fuckin awesome Wildbow! 😀
Why couldn’t they have just listened to Lisa?! Heroes Y U SO STUPID?!?!?! Soulpelt is going to sleep now to think on these developments….
endochrom on March 2, 2013 at 00:14 said:
Once again Tt comes incredibly close to getting a kill order put on all of them. Is it a hobby of hers or something?
Probably. Knowing her she’s probably using her power to get as close as possible to getting one without crossing the line on purpose.
I don’t know. Something seems to have changed in the last arc or two. She is pushing things a lot further a lot faster than before. Maybe she is getting suicidal though I can’t see why since before Echidna they pretty much had things in the bag.
Jim from BC. on May 2, 2015 at 17:36 said:
I suspect her passenger is influencing her decision making. Her power is for finding people’s secrets, it wants her to expose them.
hopefwlyanonymous on March 31, 2017 at 11:41 said:
She’d just revealed to the Triumvirate that she knew about them and Cauldron. If she didn’t let more people know that she had accused them for it, she and her team would /definitely/ be killed by Cauldron. C very interested in keeping its secrets.
Skitter should trust TT more. She has these moments of brilliant battle tactics, but she also has these moments where she doesn’t see the obvious.
peter o on March 2, 2013 at 00:19 said:
Oh shit….
Someguy on March 2, 2013 at 00:24 said:
And once again everything that comes out of the Triumvirate’s mouths are lies. There are no heroes here look elsewhere.
Reozul on March 2, 2013 at 08:26 said:
Actually, I think Legend is telling what he thinks is the truth. Remember that he had Kid Win make the lie detector for him for a reason. I’m guessing he is telling things he was told by Alexandria, only that he is the most innocent of them all.
Number27 on April 25, 2014 at 00:08 said:
The things he says here are exactly the things Doctor, Eidolon and Alexandria told him that he confirmed were lies using Kid Win’s detector. I don’t think he knows the truth about the case 53s but he knows the story he told isn’t it (and so does Tattletale, hence the smile.)
He really doesn’t seem to believe it anymore though. Nobody rattles off facts like that in a monotone unless they are repeating lies they see as lies. I like Legend but and I do think that he succeeded at calming things down for the moment but if he doesn’t explain the real truth soon I’m worried about the repercussions both for him and the rest of the group.
Pinkhair on March 2, 2013 at 00:26 said:
Ah, Legend, this is a dangerous step to take… And the inside of Tattletale’s head is looking terribly interesting right now.
“relatively smooth sailing” Missing period.
“but the but you’re” Chevalier is trying to rap! …Or there’s a typo.
wildbow on March 2, 2013 at 00:29 said:
eduardo on March 2, 2013 at 00:33 said:
Legend can`t fall in formation with Legend and Eidolon, unless he replicated himself.
Tatletale must learn to stop when it is needed.
Quite right. D’oh. Fixed.
Random Lurker on March 2, 2013 at 00:34 said:
” bare skin where I could hep it” – should be “hel”
“but the but you’re attacking a girl” – extra “but the”
So we finally see Tattletale get called out on her mouthing off. Why she’s doing so is still a mystery, and may continue to be if she doesn’t survive this ordeal, whether by accident or design.
As for Legend, I had hopes for him, but it seems like he’s converted to the dark side. Dammit. At least we can put our hopes in Dragon; the Triumvirate don’t seem to suspect her plans against them, yet.
Once again, less of a plot-oriented chapter and more of a characterization chapter, with reiterations of plans. The reaction from Gully got the most visceral reaction from me, and it really shows her priorities, how she handles things, especially in contrast with Weld’s Lawful Good tendencies. What’s scary is that Skitter actually considered sacrificing someone for the greater good. I hope she realizes she needs to watch herself, now.
The opening lines from Scapegoat was wonderful. It hit the right note of humor, darkness, and “back from commercial break” summary of what happened so far. This, to me, opened the most like a chapter would from a novel rather than a web serial. If you make any modifications for publishing, Wildblow, please leave that in.
Quick question, though, how could Skitter compare Echidna’s legs before and after? When she used bugs for sight on Noelle, they immediately got absorbed. Shouldn’t she not really know how they looked?
Dammit. “should be help”
Funny how easy it is to make typos while pointing out those of others.
Change made, of course. Thanks.
Yeaaaah, today’s a bad day for typos. Came right down to the wire in finishing the chapter, had other stuff to do (and wasn’t feeling 100% after lunch didn’t sit well with me yesterday). But excuses are excuses.
Re: the legs, She had a sense of the shape of them from her more accurate bugsight-while-inside-Echidna flashes of reality.
Feels like there’s a sentence missing here
“is be dead or”
Don’t think I need to point out the issue
Reveen on March 2, 2013 at 00:38 said:
I don’t think Legend is lying so much as bending the truth to prevent an immediate confrontation. Remember that he’s being kept in the dark about alot of stuff himself as we saw in his interlude.
Or I might be missing something? Is there something here that he said that flat out contradicts what we know he knows?
Scrambles on March 2, 2013 at 00:47 said:
Yeah, keep in mind that although Legend knows that the case 53’s aren’t Manton’s fault, Eidolon and Alexandria think he thinks that it’s true. He’s keeping up the facade of believing it because he’s not ready to make his move yet.
Packbat on March 2, 2013 at 00:57 said:
Yeah, hoping that’s the case. Really hoping.
On the bright side, if it is, his play is freaking brilliant – as far as the other Diumvirate are concerned, he simply told the fake-up story that they’ve always had on the back burner in case Cauldron got outed, but the fact that he told the story where *Tattletale* could hear means that TT can give the full brief on all the bits he was lying about to all the people who can be trusted to oppose Cauldron.
Kim on March 4, 2013 at 09:19 said:
Yeah. This assumes a moderate degree of intelligence on Legend’s part. But I think it’s likely. He ought to know how wicked Tattletale’s ears are.
Unfortunately, Alexandria and Cauldron (possibly Eidolon, can’t remember if he was there for that part) also already know he suspects or knows that they’re lying. Wow, that is a surprisingly tough sentence to put into words. Shown at the end of his interlude when it cuts to Alexandria explaining he knows/suspects, which she presumably found out using her knowledge of kinesics (I think that’s the word?).
TheAnt on March 2, 2013 at 00:47 said:
His interlude shows that he found out that Manton is NOT the source of the case 53’s, and that they have probably done their fair share of atrocities.
I agree the Scapegoat lines are fantastic and need to stay in in any final edit of the story.
I also liked Weld’s move towards more of the Neutral Good rather than Lawful. Lawful would’ve stepped back but Weld seems to be edging more and more towards doing what is right over what is ordered. Poor Gully.
It is scary how ready Skitter was to sacrifice someone without even a second thought. She has progressed so far from her origins it’s scary. Badass but scary. I’m interested to slip into Regent’s head for a moment there to see how he feels about Skitter becoming a ruthless pragmatist even more than before.
Is it time to open a hole in the universe?
Shit yeah!
That was some intense shit right there. I’m not even worried much about Echidna now that this eggs has been cracked.
Sorry Noelle, the Cauldron plot coming to fruition means you’re going to get your shit thoroughly ruined.
hahaahahahaha. Great chapter, and all the past speculation by commenters was right. Tattletale IS the single most dangerous being to the heroes by simply figuring out all their dirty little secrets. So any bets on how long before the surviving heros agree to try TT’s plan? I’m guessing after either Legend or Alexandria gets taken. I wonder if Legend has fully committed to Cauldron’s side or he intends to spill the beans about how Alexandria, and Eidolon are lying about Manton being the source of the 53’s after this fight. Either way, nothing is ever gonna be the same for the heroes. Option One: Cauldron’s activities become public. How much gets out into the open is debatable, but at the very least the public loses trust in the Big three, and there will be even less trust for the heroes. The government might make a change in the PRT, make an investigation, something. How this will affect the truce against the Endbringers and the Case 53’s remains to be seen. Option Two: Cauldron’s activities don’t become public. This would only work if quite a few heroes are killed or convinced not to spill the beans for fear of losing the public’s trust. But this will severely weaken the heroes, probably backfire, and there will be a huge loss of trust/heroes now being aware of Cauldron now. I have a feeling the Undersiders reputation is somehow going to change after this. Can’t wait to see what happens. I’m hoping for Karma to kick a few heroes teeth in.
You talk like she needs their consent. Hell all she has to do is convince Skitter and then we have our awesome hole between universes! The heroes are too busy now to try and stop the master evil plan.
Saintsant on March 2, 2013 at 00:51 said:
“Legend to track his movements, and they went with him as he took to the air and fell into formation with Legend and Eidolon.”
Two Legends
“I could hep it,”
Already changed, but thank you.
Damn, already fixed. Sorry.
Ignore absolutely everything I said about being disappointed by the previous update. This is awesome.
Also: fuck.
Previous update being Thursday or Tuesday’s chapter?
Tuesday’s chapter, I meant.
WyldCard4 on March 2, 2013 at 00:55 said:
I think Tattletale has to know something WORSE than what we know for her behavior to make sense. Even knowing everything we know about Caldron and the Triumvirate wouldn’t justify her sudden shift towards lunacy.
Alternatively, she has guessed very, very wrong about something really important.
It might simply be guilt and horror. Dragon thinks Cauldron are as bad as the Endbringers. My guess she starts to figure out/realize the scale of the crimes against humanity they have perpetrated, how long they have been doing it, and how they have largely gotten away with it. We still do not know Tattletale’s backstory, and considering what she witnessed with the 9, she may simply refuse to let another monster get away. In other words she decided to stop them however she could and to hell with the consequences.
Alathon on March 2, 2013 at 02:30 said:
Well, almost everything Legend said was half-truths designed to massage the message. Blaming Manton, whom he likely knows is already dead and makes a perfect scapegoat. Blaming unnamed third parties like the Dealer who were probably responsible for a few atrocities but nothing on the scale of Cauldron. Saying that they founded Cauldron, rather than that Cauldron founded the PRT. All backed by an emotional appeal that the heroes are likely to be sympathetic to, “we had to do SOMETHING!”
Tattletale gets the real story while Legend spins shit so fast Karl Rove would be left spinning. And then Skitter shuts her down, after all that shit about doing the right thing and not letting vile, disgusting things pass because it’s inconvenient. Probably an unpleasant moment for TT, when she realizes that she’s not only pulled Skitter down to her level, but that Skitter’s sliding in the same general direction that the Triumvirate and Cauldron occupy.
Anzer'ke on March 2, 2013 at 06:34 said:
Yeah, Skitter was the person who disappointed me most in this chapter. She finally did something wrong without even good motivations to salvage it.
leinadrengaw on March 2, 2013 at 11:28 said:
Seriously? Packbat has it right, Alexandria would have flown over and pulled Tattletale’s head off just like this: http://www.smbc-comics.com/index.php?db=comics&id=977
if she contradicted Legend.
I’m pretty sure Skitter shut her down because she remembers the *last* time Tattletale blew the whistle on a conspiracy *in front of the conspirators*. A whistleblowing which, if you remember correctly, got Tattletale’s face cut in freaking half.
If anyone here ever reads the webcomic “Dicebox” by Jenn Manley Lee, they’ll know what I mean when I say Tattletale has the same problem Griffin Stoyka has. To quote Griffin’s wife: “You always over-clever it, go more than enough. Gotta make *sure* people know you’re clever and not miss it. Even when they need to.”
STH on March 2, 2013 at 15:08 said:
Might be a compulsion due to her power, like Rachel’s dog-like brain. She calls herself Tattletale after all, maybe she just hasn’t realized yet that her power is making her into more and more of one even if revealing secrets will get her in trouble.
All that information coming in when the walls are down needs a release valve.
Guile on March 3, 2013 at 13:15 said:
*shrug* How do we know her lying to us isn’t for our own good?
Fucking precogs, man.
You could be right, it could be the right call.. for a lot of reasons. I’ve heard it suggested that Tattletale is [i]compelled[/i] to unearth dirty secrets and air laundry, and that’s perfectly plausible. And maybe hushing up about Cauldron and letting Legend tell his lies is the only [i]survivable[/i] move, the only one that lets everyone think the matter is settled, and leaves the Undersiders in a position where liquidating them would look bad.
Hard to go against Tattletale when she, by definition, knows more than you.
How can you be sure she’s wrong?
How can you be sure that the person you always assume knows more than you isn’t lying because she knows you’ll believe her?
Patrick Reitz (@dreamfarer) on March 3, 2013 at 19:07 said:
Same way you can be sure anyone who’s telling you something isn’t lying. Trust and verification. The fact that Tattletale knows more than you indicates that you may have a harder time finding counter-verification to her claims, but ultimately it still boils down to those two things, same as with anyone else.
Mr. Walaa on March 2, 2013 at 00:56 said:
Man when I wildbow can’t top the suspense “BAM” It gets pushed up another notch.
Psycho Gecko on March 2, 2013 at 01:06 said:
There were nods all around. Then Legend continued, “And just to be completely honest, yes this means we were responsible for a band of supervillains that took over half this city, as well as their S-class friend there. We’ve been acting as super drug dealers to the rich and powerful. But only when we had thoroughly tested the serum on humans. I don’t want you to think there was anything immoral there, just lots of testing on people.”
“Also, my name isn’t really Legend. It’s Guerrero Hart Von Erich, former Olympic gold medalist in the wrestling, 100 meter dash, diving, weightlifting, and freestyle gymnastics. Also, I was on the team that got a bronze in the Men’s Gangnam Polo. This isn’t my real hair. Neither is my pubic hair. I bought it off a kid from Colorado named Scott Tennerman.”
“Legend-” started Miss Miltia as the ground rumbled. He waved her off.
“Not now, I’m on a roll. Let’s see, I was born a poor black kid in Mississippi before discovering I was actually adopted. My dad once started a fight club and my mom wanted to abort me. I once masturbated to a picture of Larry King just to prove it could be done. Oh, and if anyone around me is eating any soup or cereal or anything really in a bowl and then gets up to leave, I have this OCD that makes me teabag it while they’re gone.”
“Legend!” yelled Miss Militia.
“Sorry for ruining your pudding, MM.”
“Not that. Giant monster coming out of the ground to skewer our hearts with her tongue and feat on our hopes and dreams.”
“It was just so refreshing to get it all off my chest.”
“I’m sure it was, and we all felt the first revelation was real important, but there might be a better time to discuss such critical information than in the middle of a fight where it has no bearing!”
Legend nodded and flew to join his comrades in the Triumvirate. He didn’t get far before he felt a sharp, searing pain in his butt cheek.
“And that’s for ruining my pudding!”
Bobby on March 2, 2013 at 01:07 said:
I love how Skitter just called a bunch of heroes “underlings” to their face.
Yeah, she really is interacting right on a level with the big boys. She’s on the way to becoming Sarah Kerrigan.
I’m finally starting to think that Skitter might actually turn evil. I didn’t think it was possible until this chapter.
I’m pretty sure she’s been evil for a while now. Or at least I think so.
Yeah she has REASONS for doing all the villainous things she’s done and the world isn’t completely black and white, but justifying your actions by saying you did “what needed to be done” only goes so far.
Skitter’s been evil for a while. She has good intentions and all, but it’s more like social justice is her thing the way mistreating dogs is Bitch’s thing. At heart, she’s internalized the idea that she’ll take what she wants from society by force, and mold it to the shape she feels it ought to have taken in the first place. Not that she’ll be a dick about it, or kill more people than she has to, but ya know.. for an omellete you break eggs.
Ah yes…justice. Truly one of the evil concepts, that one. Just like that lady associated with our courts, Skitter was also blind. Yes, it all goes to show just how evil justice truly is.
PsychoGecko,
indeed. justice is one of the most evil of impulses. Just ask the Mossad.
Syroc on March 2, 2013 at 23:10 said:
Eh? Skitter evil? I’m not seeing it.
About the most evil thing she’s done so far is murder… and I think it’s pretty safe to say that it was warranted if not just.
Keeping quiet about Cauldron while people are pointing out that Echidna will be free again soon isn’t bad: it’s the practical thing to do. Distracting everyone from trying to find a way to deal with her with something that you probably shouldn’t be broadcasting to everyone? That’s a bad idea. It’s probably even worse than pressing for answers, since without a plan of attack people will likely get killed.
Evil is more than just doing bad things. It’s about doing bad things for bad reasons: seflishness, spite, greed, and so and so forth. They hurt, steal and kill than that they want to.
Lung is evil. Bakuda is evil. The Nine are evil. Shadowstalker is evil.
Skitter is not evil. I think that if she really believed that going all hero would help people more, and if she honestly believed she could turn (possibly by convincing the Undersiders to turn with her,) she would.
She’s certainly not good, of course, but that really shouldn’t be enough to qualify someone as evil.
What was it about hell and good intentions? Forgetting about Skitter for the moment, I do not think that evilness requires cruelty or otherwise enjoying what you do. The villain who arrogantly believes he can decide on the best choice even if it goes against society’s rules and uses the greater good to justify his actions is a classic. An evil person can genuinely be trying to help, they do not have to be selfish.
Of course, the wise revolutionary who can see through corrupt social mores is also a classic. What was it about winners and the writing of History…
@Bobby: The whole “history is written by the winners” meme is provably false. Just look at the American Civil War – there were and are entire libraries of histories written by Southerners about that conflict, and a lot of people’s beliefs about that war derive from their propaganda.
History is written by the people who are around who can write. That’s about the limit of what you can say.
As to whether Skitter is evil, I don’t think it’s a productive argument. Like the tagline says, she’s done the wrong things for the right reasons.
Ah, but was it the *right* wrong thing to do? Often it was.
With regard to the ‘history is written by the victors’ thing, it’s a shorthand: Yes, history is written by a variety of people from a variety of perspectives, but it’s the history that agrees with the power of the day that tends to survive and be taught as fact.
I’d also suspect that a modern democracy with a constitutional right to free speech might not be the most universal example.
packbat on May 13, 2014 at 12:46 said:
She’s done a lot of right things – fighting Mannequin on the docks is an obvious example – but that doesn’t really change the fact that Clockblocker’s criticism in the van in 18.3 is true: she doesn’t give due consideration to all the consequences of her maneuvers. He might be wrong on a lot of the specifics – she’s not responsible for Panacea, Glory Girl, Shadow Stalker, or Battery – but she deserves part of the blame for Armsmaster’s fall (her recklessness with Lung and her effectiveness at the gallery made two of the setbacks that drove him to his desperate plot with Leviathan), a lot of blame for the many, many innocent people (including Clockblocker) with nightmares about being violated by bugs, a significant share of the ‘credit’ for the Undersiders becoming the terrifying supervillain team that they are (starting as far back as the bank job at least, when she not only provided a lot of firepower, but also a lot of aggressiveness) … whether you describe it as failing to exercise the necessary degree of caution, demonstrating reckless character, or acting shortsightedly, she’s done much harm in the course of attempting good. That she’s done much good in the same way doesn’t change that.
That said, you’re right that ‘history is written by the victors’ is the applicable rule of thumb regarding Skitter’s reputation.
Eh, not true. History is written by historians. And they heavily Edit it. You as an individual can write anything, it does not matter if historians do not endorse it.
Aharon on January 22, 2014 at 15:26 said:
I’m amused to no end by the start of your comment:
Eh? Skitter evil? I’m not seeing it. About the most evil thing she’s done so far is murder…
Maybe if things go right, the hole in reality will somehow allow the ‘passangers’ that were forced into human hosts by power-juice to withdraw, de-powering the 53’s as well as nearby “heroes” with store bought powers and crash a huge chunk of Culdron’s plans.
What am I talking about? This is Worm, even if that somehow happens things will always get worse.
Indigo on March 2, 2013 at 02:35 said:
TT’s smile is almost as scary as an Endbrigner showing up.
Loki-L on March 2, 2013 at 04:15 said:
I think Regent is right Skitter does need to act more like a leader and reign in Tattletale when necessary. She needs to put a foot down when it comes to suggesting engaging in human sacrifice or antagonising some of the most powerful people on this Earth. She needs to do stuff and be seen doing stuff by others.
One thing in this chapter that I didn’t quite get is the continued reference to Gully not getting promoted because of her status as a case 53 when form what I can tell Weld is in the same boat and leader of the Wards.
fnich on March 2, 2013 at 04:29 said:
The buff guy made of metal you can sell action figures of. Cro-magnon girl? Not so much.
Weld was also described as being attractive, and photogenic despite being made of metal. Gully is not.
Weld is attractive. Gully is not. Being a hideous monster is a completely different experience to just looking inhuman, compare Newter to Gregor for that one.
As such I am inclined to agree with Gully here. Myrddin has no idea what it’s like for her and the Triumvirate are despicable in the extreme to be act like they do with the Case 53s. I get the feeling that there’s some serious promotion bias in the Protectorate. Armsmaster got ripped apart by all their bureacracy and continually screwed over when we know he’s easily one of the most powerful heros in the US. I’m willing to wager that Dauntless was a Cauldron cape. We know that Case 53s get screwed unless they’re telegenic and I’ll just bet they still get glass ceilinged to make sure the Triumvirate don’t have to look at them too much.
Another dirty secret of the PRT. How many does that make now?
To be fair, Amrsmaster was completely unfit to take on a leadership role. Tactically? Sure, he’s smart and good at his job. But as the Captain Kirk of his team and mentor to the next gen of heroes? FUCK THAT.
“Weld is attractive. Gully is not.”
Speak for yourself. Rippling muscles and long dark hair? I love a girl that can kick my ass with her hair billowing in the breeze.
If Gregor the Snail can hook up with Shamrock then anything is possible.
Our next match is scheduled for one fall. Now making her way to the ring, STH’s opponent, the Eighth Wonder of the World, Chyna! And her tag team partner, Awesome Kong!
Form a line ladies, there’s more than enough of me to go ar-OHGODMYSPINE!
Weld was, in his introductory chapter and interlude, mentioned as being the forerunner and point man for the next phase of the PRT’s overarching plan to blend parahumans into society. The test case, if you will.
Skitter was acting like a leader. She reigned in Regent and Bitch immediately. She sorta shut up Tattletale though it took a while and she’s been speaking one on one as the de facto spokesman for a while now. Getting Tattletale to shut up is a feat that is essentially impossible from all prior interactions so getting it to simply stay on track is really all anyone can hope for.
Sage on March 2, 2013 at 04:17 said:
And then everyone died except Scion and the Endbringers, thus leaving every single plot hook unresolved and every reader screaming in mad frustration until the end of time.
Hydrargentium on March 5, 2013 at 12:23 said:
Well, technically if everyone dies, then just about every plot line is actually resolved, with only Scion and the Endbringers tale untold. And really, that’s just Jesus vs the demons. (Wait, if the Endbringers are just demons, then what the hell does the Devil himself look like?)
(Of course, as we now may speculate, the Endbringers aren’t quite demons — they’re more like golems.)
And hey, does anyone else think that “Scion and the Endbringers” would be a great name for a band? 🙂
tieshaunn on March 2, 2013 at 05:47 said:
This chapter adds fuel to the fire of my theory that Tattletale is probably addicted to taking risks. It is very likely that a mental power as potent as hers would change her brain chemistry.
Also, remember that powers get stronger/more efficient as one approaches the emotional state in which they gained powers in the first place – and that they sometimes push people to reach the same state again in order to grow stronger. it might be that Tattletale got her power while pushing herself into a suicidal situation – and right now, she is getting more and more of a high as she pushes herself further into it!
JN on March 2, 2013 at 06:38 said:
I’ll see your suicidal tendencies and raise you a “walked in on a loved one that had suicided.” Having known people who have survived a loved one’s suicide, I know that the one thing people always think is that they should have known — that they could have saved them … *if only they had figured it out sooner.*
I’m not seeing it. Tattletale doesn’t give me that sense of being haunted by failure.
This chapter made me think that Tattletale knows (either through experience or association) about worse stuff done by Cauldron. Or possible another group or a related one. She seems determined to get them at any cost, which makes her reckless about doing so.
Miss Militia meanwhile is just stupid and violence inclined. This isn’t the first time she’s made a soldier’s move and made herself look like the villain. It’s just way worse then the last one. I would wager she did worse things to the other heroes morale then Tattletale could have, if only because what she was saying was so hard to believe.
Miss Militia doesn’t have the luxury of the reader’s eye view. From where she stands, Tattletale really is that dangerous, and they’re already fighting a S-rank threat besides. I don’t think Miss MIlitia’s response was disproportionate to the threat Tattletale can reasonably be believed to represent, even if it made for ugly scene.
Good catch. Plus, MM doesn’t actually *know* TT’s power.
You may well be right, however that doesn’t affect my point.
Which is that MM’s actions just made it worse. I very much doubt this is the first time wild accusations have been thrown at the heroes. But now she’s added a seed of genuine doubt to what they’d probably have laughed off otherwise.
Also good guys generally don’t like seeing a young girl with a gun in her mouth.
Fans on March 2, 2013 at 06:55 said:
I can’t help but feel that Tattletale got her powers from a Cauldron formula rather than a Trigger Event. She’s always been cagey about revealing her origins and she does seem very keen to reveal more about them, way more than anything else.
Nice chapter! Noelle is looking pretty angry there. Good luck with that everyone.
Plus, you know, her family was loaded. Probably as easy for them to buy it as for the Christners.
I’m thinking that Tattletale might have known about them all along and wants revenge on Cauldron for giving her powers that made her reveal secrets that tore apart her family.
Far fetched, but it would explain alot.
I could definitely buy that.
Just double-checking: Scapegoat is still feeling all of Skitter’s injuries, right? Shouldn’t he be rasping, maybe coughing a little, speaking so much, here?
(Also, it might be a little tricky to point at someone you can’t see.)
agreyworld on March 2, 2013 at 08:56 said:
I wonder what happens if someone who has their powers from Cauldron gets cloned?
The clones have variations on the original powers, ones that could have arisen under different trigger event scenarios… People who have taken the formula though? They just get what the formula gives them, a clone would inherit what their natural powers would have been – most likely nothing.
So the big heros getting clones might not be so disastrous, except to their reputation.
Same thing that happens to any other hero. Remember Perdition? The dickhead traveler who hit Noelle and got spat out three times, causing Trickster to have to leave his meeting with Accord to deal with it?
The heroic answer, of course, is “yes, of course you want to veto that”. Were I in Taylor’s position though? Much tougher call. Whether being open to making sacrifices of that magnitude is right or wrong though, I think this paints a very believable picture of how the stresses that Taylor is under can reshape your moral center.
That in turn opens the question of what this really looks like from Tattletale’s point of view. The realities that Taylor is being forced to confront that would allow her to consider human sacrifice a viable option may have been in front of Tattletale for a long time now.
I always love it when the innocent ones get corrupted. Poor little wannabe hero became a monster who thinks killing a random person is alright if it saves the day, but no one had better lay a finger on her father. Hypocrite. Every person is someone’s daughter or son, or brother, sister, spouse, lover, friend. Would she kill her own father to save everyone else?
Taylor is going to need to take a long hard look in the mirror and decide if she wants to be what she’s become.
She has made no move to run off and save him and him alone except for the Shatterbird thing. Hell, she was told by the heroes that they think a clone of hers is still out there. She also knows that one of Vista’s clones went after Vista’s own family.
When exactly did Skitter go to protect only her family despite being powerless against Noelle?
Fair enough. Doesn’t mean she’s any less of a monster though. Maybe even makes her more of one as she’s completely forgotten about the one person from her civilian life who cares about her.
Monster? If she we’re a monster both Triumph and Piggot would be half eaten maggot filled corpses by now. She’s no saint, but the authorities are remarkably lucky considering how they’ve been trying to throw their weight around the last couple arcs. I’m not counting Calvert in her morality scale since I consider his death both an inevitability and a public service. Fuck that guy. I’d save words like “monster” for the neo-Nazis and the guys who kill babies for kicks.
And Taylor’s dad? She’s kind of preoccupied with being in Protectorate semi-custody right now. Plus trying to go find Danny at this point would both A. Expose her secret identity and B. Lead Echidna right to him. It hasn’t even been that long since we saw him anyway. He’s probably still at the hospital, AKA a Police/PRT priority zone.
There’s all sorts of monsters. Only the Grendel types kill everyone they fight just because they can. Taylor’s more of an unintentional monster. She’s gained the power to profoundly change the world around her and she started out wanting to help people. And escape from her mundane problems. Thinking she had a better chance as a new cape she infiltrated a criminal organization intending to be a mole. But she had no backup, no one knew what she was doing when she started, and ultimately she began hurting people more and more. Whose money did she steal from the bank just to give it all away to Sierra and doll girl’s friends? How much damage did she do to the bank’s and insurance companies’ integrity when they had to cover a portion of those millions of dollars and documents that were stolen? Calmly carving an unconscious man’s eyes out isn’t particularly monstrous?
Certainly we can understand why Taylor’s done all the horrible things she’s done and still see her as sympathetic. But Worm is just one big showcase of how the villain is always the hero of their own story. Reasons don’t make an action morally right. Anything can be justified if we try hard enough, and Taylor went a hell of a long way to justify herself: it was all to save Dinah. She felt guilty so she HAD to save the life of that one little girl. Never mind breaking a girl’s leg, dragging Triumph to death’s door just to strongarm his father, kidnapping the director of the local PRT (who turned out to be the one normal person she couldn’t hope to bully) and finally killing a man.
Coil deserved to die you say? Who are we to make that decision? Was it really the right thing or the best thing that could have happened? One little girl got saved yes but how many heroes and regular people are dying from Noelle’s rampage? If Coil were alive perhaps the Undersiders would all be dead and Dinah still under his control but if we take the oh so common justification that saving more lives is worth sacrificing a few then perhaps Coil should have lived. There would be no Echidna spewing mutant capes out of her grotesque mouths right now. Order would have returned to Brockton Bay and Cauldron’s plan to bring about the deaths of the Endbringers, vague as it is, would be right on scedule. Two chances of stopping Jack from causing the end of the world thrown away.
Taylor is in way over her head. The decisions she makes for personal, easily understood reasons have implications far beyond her ken. We the readers tend to think that she is in the right because for the most part we are dealing with her viewpoint and wildbow has done a magnificent job of keeping the supervillainess sympathetic. But no matter her reasons or justifications Taylor as Skitter has done bad things, TERRIBLE things, and even if I can go through the entire story sympathizing with her at this point I cannot say that she is a good person. No one likes to really think of themselves as evil. What would you call the unquestionable hive queen of the city’s underworld though?
(This rambling rant brought to you by Shark Tuna Halibut.)
Triumph wasn’t to strongarm his father. Triumph was unintended, in fact. If she wasn’t distracted by Prism, it wouldn’t have happened at all.
The money she stole was covered under the FDIC. Everybody in the U.S. who deposits money in a bank has it covered by the federal government up to $250,000. Aside from that, the banks have insurance, which they pay.
The unconcious man was Lung, a very tough supercriminal who everyone was looking to arrest. Problem is, the villains didn’t have a way to arrest him. Oh, and in his case she knew they’d grow back. Probably made it a whole lot easier to capture him for good too.
Killing Coil was not an immoral action. Considering his plan, it counts as a moral one. And considering the setup, it was self defense and defense of others. Remember, he tried to kill Taylor instead of upholding his end of the bargain? Teleported her to a building, set it on fire, had guards with grenades, that kind of thing? He even stuck around and used his power to try and make it happen. Then he set up her friends to kill them or at least frame her. Oh, and he had Tattletale and Regent kidnapped. Remember, Regent was still captured when that went down. So that puts Taylor pretty firmly in the moral high ground.
Also, he had no damn clue on how to cure Noelle. That’s pretty obvious. Tattletale was his best shot and she didn’t know. Noelle’s rampage would have happened anyway. If you’ll remember, the base there was empty. No more personnel for feeding. The Travelers were basically shit out of luck with Coil’s death faked.
This response brought to you by Ikea Horsemeat Furniture. Ikea, rest your buns on us.
Don on March 4, 2013 at 17:16 said:
STH – any action, no matter how noble, can be condemned and villainized if you try hard enough.
Use the right words, and Simo Hayha goes from national hero to a vile, reprehensible murder machine who needed to be put down for the good of mankind. I mean, the man did kill a whole lot of sons, husbands and fathers, with no regard to their individual circumstances – only that they wore the wrong uniform on the wrong side of an arbitrary political border.
It’s human nature to find fault with others, create problems and throw up roadblocks. Sometimes I wish I did it more often – or at least more skillfully. But when that happens, I stop feeling sad and be awesome instead.
An americentric example would be differing perceptions of the North and South in the Civil War. War of Northern Aggression, or saving the Union from unlawful rebellion.
There’s another angle.. Taylor’s the one currently affected by Scapegoat’s power, so the context is “would I be willing to sacrifice myself to make this end?” Could almost be foreshadowing.
Yeah, I was thinking that the only person we know who Taylor would be willing to sacrifice is herself.
At one point Legend says the person making case 53’s ” do be dead or out of formula”, which is either a typo or a new interpretation of his character. Chapter amazing as always!
razorsmile on March 2, 2013 at 12:03 said:
– Tattletale, I’m sure you’ve, like, totally never heard this before but: shut the fuck up.
– Whoa, Skitter! You know you’ve really lubed up the slippery slope when Regent is the voice of moral conscience.
– Ironically, the best people to take down Noelle are members of her team. Hypersonically-thrown cars and not-so-miniature suns would come in real handy right about now.
Miss Militia deserves to be the woman wearing the American flag scarf. Don’t like what someone is saying? Smack the bitch hold her down and shove a gun in ‘er mouth. AMERICAAA! FUCK YEAH!
But seriously where can I buy an MM t-shirt?
Bah, that flag’s gonna burn. If it is not true to its ideals, then America will burn the same as any other country. Its corpse will be unrecognizable from the others that abandoned their greatness when faced with the pyre. If it is not that great nation it set out to be in the face of any danger, then it is just like any other country that falls. Without its ideals, what is there for America to fight for? What is there left to give one’s life for?
Onward, Endbringers.
Just makes America like any other country in the world.
Do anything in the shadows to keep power and prestige.
Assault is all racked with guilt and angst over his beloved Battery dying. I’m thinking (and pardon me if this is obvious to everyone else) that this is a result of him and her having been together (as usual) when the Miasma hit.
Then Paranoia leads to him knocking her out and leaving her, she dies horribly. Oh the self-loathing. Oh the ‘taking it out on anyone nearby’!
It was pretty well established in Legend’s interlude that she died from injuries acquired in pursuit of the Nine during the Miasma attack. She was the dark shape Skitter saw moving rapidly then stopping to recharge. Got overrun by Bonesaw’s mecha spiders.
This a little belated buuut… creepy? Really Wanton? You’re calling bug powers creepy in a pitched battle against a walking meat mountain that spits out insane deformed clones of people, one of which bushwhacked you with rads? It’s a little too late for creepy.
Then I recall one of the wards calling Atlas creepy. Dude, it’s a giant hercules beetle you can fly around on, that’s not creepy, That’s cool!
And the dimension hole business? Come on! For the X-Men that kind of shit is step one! Don’t start wetting your pants until we get to the tangent universes and time paradoxes.
Between that and the Protectorates general approach to fighting and tactics I think my problem with the heroes isn’t that they’re dicks. It’s that they’re a pack of goddamn pansies!
AVR on March 2, 2013 at 23:00 said:
“It wouldn’t be winning us any points with the good guys, ignoring courtesy, but the fact that Tattletale and Regent had disappeared from our rendezvous spot and that they were now in the midst of a group of twenty-seven heroes. ”
I think that might be missing a “for” before “the fact”.
Tattletale needs to work on making her revelations in less exciting surroundings. Less fun maybe but being shot in the face is no fun either.
Don’t knock it ’til you try it.
It’s one way of keeping an open mind.
I’ve never cared for the attitude that someone’s actions can be judged based on the later unforseen consequences and that they can be held directly responsible for those consequences. Can you blame a Willy for shooting a man? Yes, that’s his fault. Can you blame Willy for the man’s wife going into poverty because of the lost income? Sure, I guess. Can you blame Willy for the wife having the crap beaten out of her by her new shithead boyfriend a year later? No. Screw that, those are different people making different decisions. Holding one person to the indirect outcomes of their actions puts too much stock on the actions of one person in a situation where there are dozens to hundreds of folks making their own decisions and contributing in different ways. If we’re going to be calling Skitter a monster for indirect reasons are we going to start calling Amrsmaster a monster for the consequences of his breaking of the truce and helping drive Skitter to stick with the Undersiders?
As for all those direct examples, you seem to be ignoring a lot of context and extenuating circumstances. Sure, you could call those excuses. But if we don’t context into account we start doing crazy shit like calling breaking a guy’s nose in a boxing match equivalent to a breaking a guy’s nose during a mugging. First, a lot of Skitter’s decisions we’re made under some sort of dangerous or time sensitive situation. Someone wants her dead, or someone wants something from her and ain’t gonna take no for an answer. if there’s a point in the story where Skitter does something reprehensible in a pre-meditated manner please let me know because I probably forgot about it. We have different degrees of murder for a reason.
Second let’s go over some of these circumstances.
Lung: Sure, caring out some guy’s eyes is monstrous. If the guy isn’t an unstoppable fire spewing dragon-man who wants you dead and can regenerate his eyes anyway. Is carving out Lungs eye’s screwed up? Totally! But monstrous? Nah. Context.
Triumph: The whole mission was more morally wrong than the fight honestly, which Skitter didn’t even start. Yeah, Triumph almost died. But y’know what? Shit like that happens in combat, you go into it with the possibility of taking a bad hit, or falling out of a window or something. I don’t think specific injuries and near misses shouldn’t be held against people, and Triumph himself agreed with that. Also, yeah, Skitter was using Rory to strongarm the mayor. Strongarm him into not blowing her away with a shotgun.
Kidnapping Piggot: Again, this was action taken in the middle of combat, with a slightly different scope. It was the PRT that decided to reopen hostilities with giant robots. Don’t start none, won’t be none. Piggot started some, and she happened to pay the price directly. Granted, it was in retaliation for the mayor attack, I’ll give you that. But their methods backed the Travelsiders too far into a corner, of course they’re going to try something desperate, you need to leave someone an out in a tactical situation or that’s going to happen.
Coil: I’m going to ignore the spurious implication that someone who employs child soldiers doesn’t deserve a bullet to the face and instead talk about the “if the Undersiders died, x wouldn’t happen”. Come on. Are we really going to do that? Act like they’re in the wrong for trying to preserve their own lives? Very few people on this earth are going to sit there and let someone kill them with a firing squad for the sake of some lofty greater good that might not even work and nor should they. Not to mention that we don’t even know if Cauldron’s plans would have worked, whether they wouldn’t make things worse, or even if Cauldron is responsible for the Endbringers in the first place. Also, Echidna’s escape was a premeditated “fuck you” gambit in case of his death with no reason except spite. If he hadn’t done that, they could have gotten Noelle on board with the plan Tattle already has in motion to try to help her.
As for Skitter justifying her actions with saving Dinah? That’s kind of overstating how Skitter feels about it, she said herself that she doesn’t quite buy it. Whatever, what’s done is done.
In short, Skitter has been the bad guy in a lot of ways, she’s hurt a lot of people. But calling her a monster seems very melodramatic and puts too much responsibility on her shoulders for things that she can’t directly control or forsee. Judging someone morally by hindsight seems dangerous and can lead to a lot of insane bullshit.
Christ, that was a lot of words. I hope the formatting doesn’t fuck up.
Uhhhh… that was in response to STH waaaaaaay up there. Now this is embarrassing
This typo brought to you by Smith & Wesson. Smith & Wesson: Let’s shoot the shit sometime.
People down here in the comments have been treating Armsmaster like a monster for a long time. Or at least a Grade-A Douchebag.
I don’t believe that there is anything like absolute morality. There is no boundary between right and wrong imposed from above. The only moral systems in effect are the ones we make. Problem is that those are extremely fragile and prone to breaking under stress. Plenty of fiction is dedicated to how regular morality gets thrown out the window when what’s at stake is survival. You could even get away with killing a man and eating his corpse if that’s the only option you had to keep from starving (helps if the other guy was also going to try the same).
But whatever. Let’s go down that nice list.
Lung: No reason to carVe his eyes out while he’s doped out of his mind. He only gets more powerful when fighting, which Taylor knew, and it would be pretty easy to restrain even a brute like Lung so he couldn’t start changing for a while. The argument she gives is that she’s worried Lung’s regeneration will overcome Newter’s drug which doesn’t hold water when Armsmaster already told her that his genitalia rotted off from her bugs’ poison from their first encounter since his powers work at a much lower level when normal and he returns to normal when unconscious. Newter’s sweat basically rendered Lung a non-threat and Taylor had all the information needed to know that he wouldn’t be getting up again anytime soon, so plucking out his eyeballs is horribly excessive and unnecessary even in context.
Triumph: Taylor let someone without regenerative powers go into anaphylactic shock from a huge amount of venom and still shoved her insects down his throat. As his son lying creeping toward death on the ground a few feet away she blackmailed the mayor into moving to keep Brockton Bay from being condemned, holding onto the one hope he had to save his son. Even then she couldn’t know that Triumph already hadn’t passed the point of no return and yet she kept waiting until she had her guarantee. Triumph and Skitter may have been in direct conflict with each other but holding a loved one more or less hostage, their life in your hands until the wealthier party capitulates is monstrous regardless of context.
Piggot: … Actually this wasn’t Taylor’s call. I don’t feel like going back right now to see if there’s a sentence or two I can nitpick. It was probably Tattletale who said that torture wouldn’t work anyway.
As for the point about how the PRT “started it,” of course. What are they supposed to do, sit on their hands as some of the last great villain threats in the city are allowed free reign? If you take over a city there WILL be people gunning for your head. That’s politics.
Coil: Why kill Coil in the first place? They had him at their complete mercy and Taylor chose not to show any. It would have been simple to turn him over to the authorities and explain his dual identity as Calvert. His power only works on himself and he was in no position to change the situation. Call out Miss Militia and a few Wards to a meeting so they can explain without the possibility of a big shootout between the mercenaries and PRT. “He could have tried something later if he was left alive.” That’s the same pointless conjecturing as “If the Undersiders died x wouldn’t have happened.” What gives a sixteen year old girl the right to decide that a man deserves to die? Coil was a dangerous man, and certainly an evil one, but Taylor had him soundly beaten. She chose to act as judge, jury and executioner because of the threat she thought he could pose if left alive.
“Also, Echidna’s escape was a premeditated ‘fuck you’ gambit in case of his death with no reason except spite.” That’s interesting given your earlier statement. “Very few people on this earth are going to sit there and let someone kill them with a firing squad for the sake of some lofty greater good that might not even work and nor should they.” I’d say Coil unleashing Echidna’s wrath is pretty good revenge against his killers. No reason for him not too just because it would save more lives and be better for everyone right?
I think we’re having a disconnect on the word “monster” specifically. What does the word “cat” bring to mind? Calico? One of those kittens with “socks?” For me “cat” conjures an image of my aunt’s Siamese, the one feline I’ve had the most experience with in my life. Monster isn’t an inherently negative term. To me at least. It’s more of a basic, unrestrained thing. Monsters don’t act on conventional morals for a variety of reasons. Madness, savagery, or here simply because they think that morals don’t apply. Of course, how can they apply if people choose not to abide by them?
“Judging someone morally by hindsight seems dangerous and can lead to a lot of insane bullshit.” If you’re still in school, remember that when it comes to history courses. People do it a lot anyways. Characters in the story even do it. Scapegoat begins this chapter talking about how the news is already painting Brockton Bay as a Hellhole ruled over by devious, nigh unstoppable supervillains. Not kids who should be getting really tired of all these attempts on their lives by now.
On that note it’s time to close this friggin’ thesis.
Not just yet. You forgot Taylor would have saved Triumph anyway and that Lung had such trouble with Lung because your buddy Armsmaster hit him with a power suppressant. If not for that, he’d have had no trouble apparently.
And then Armsmaster got pissed at Taylor because he doped Lung and Lung nearly died from it. Dick move, Armsmaster.
And what would have happened if they turned in. Coil is the heroes would have attacked the Undersiders in force for kidnapping and holding the Director of the PRT at gunpoint. That’s just obvious. Loom how little the Undersiders are believd
You OK? Writing seems a bit rushed. Or iphoned in.
Not an Iphone, but a phone nonetheless. Still, I figured people could reasonably figure out the last sentence, “Look how little the Undersiders are believed by Miss Militia now.” So I’ll just keep on talking OOC for now.
You’re not keeping helots are you? Your response seemed laconic.
No matter the society, slavery is wrong. As are honor killings, tossing acid into people’s faces, and female circumcision. Doesn’t matter how many societies practice those.
We are rational beings who can comprehend the effects of our actions on other people. You can have a morality that recognizes extenuating circumstances like self defense against a person who wants to eat you to survive and then having to eat them to survive because, believe it or not, they are pretty darn universal. If anyone in society was in such a situation, it would apply, but most people are simply not in that situation. It’s not like one missed grocery trip is going to lead to cannibalism.
Objectively, live your life without harming others. If someone tries to harm people, keep them from doing so. And no, I’m not talking about thought control or censorship either. I’m talking actual harm. No one ever had a trigger event from watching George fucking Carlin fucking cuss all the fucking time, the cocksuckers.
Kidnapping Piggot was Taylor’s plan, given to Imp before the battle.
And speaking of pieces of paper, now Taylor can read what Dinah wrote to her…
Oh, and a minor typo in the tags, unless we have a new amalgamated villain named Bitch Regent.
Fiona on March 3, 2013 at 19:33 said:
Oh no, Bonesaw’s at it again! A villain who can puppeteer dogs!
Senalishia on December 9, 2013 at 19:35 said:
… Can Regent already puppeteer dogs? Or is he limited to humans?
A big thank-you goes out to Mike for his generous donation.
Hey, if you’re in an answering sort of mood Wildbow, I’m curious about Miss Militia’s power. Is it strictly ‘make types of guns you’ve seen’ or is it ‘make any gun you’ve seen’, i.e. could she recreate Skitter’s gun in the state it was when it was handed to her, and have Dragon scan it or run ballistics on it? And.. if she [i]can[/i] make specific instances of guns, if she sleeps with someone else’s gun under her pillow, might she dream of what it’s seen?
Also.. as absurd as it might seem, this chapter makes me want to ship Tattletale and Weld. Because damn, seeing her stand up to Miss Militia must have been something. She’s broken the ice when it comes to Capulet/Montegue relationships after all, and god knows they could both use something fun and good after a month of everything going to hell.
Types of guns she’s seen. She doesn’t dream of what her guns see.
*pulls out a rocket shotgun and a SMG with incendiary ammo.* Mwahahaaha, TIME TO COMPENSATE!
Yeah, this is her gun- there are many like it, but this one is hers.
Thanks for the reply; I guess Skitter’s carefully managed plausible deniability hasn’t been blown out of the water just yet.
FarFromUnique on March 4, 2013 at 20:32 said:
“There’s no way Brockton Bay is as scary as they’re making it out to me.” … maybe a typo? “…making it out to be.”
Heads-up: post is tagged with “Bitch Regent” instead of “Bitch” and “Regent”.
“the person who did this to you is be dead or completely out of formula”
“you is be dead” –> “you is dead”
Nix on March 9, 2014 at 17:18 said:
Typo: “Altas”.
anKLJ on March 22, 2014 at 08:43 said:
“It was the appearance of Atlas that brought me back to my senses.”
Since he didn’t zoom up, and in fact only Skitter ‘senses’ him, I think the use of ‘appearance’ is awkward. The bit later about the “closed and unlocked” door seems a bit awkward, too.
But –YEA! Atlas is back in action! (Is she standing on him, or next to him, through most of the ‘hero convo’? She needs a dismount action.)
oliverwashere on May 6, 2014 at 10:37 said:
I wonder what alternative to ‘directions’ Skitter had. Corrections? Erections?
thenamestsam on May 6, 2014 at 18:38 said:
” It’s little consolation, but we think the person who did this to you is be dead or completely out of formula.”
is either dead or completely out of formula
Typo: “Altas’”
quintopia1 on August 18, 2014 at 05:15 said:
“It wouldn’t be winning us any points with the good guys, ignoring courtesy, but the fact that Tattletale and Regent had disappeared from our rendezvous spot and that they were now in the midst of a group of twenty-seven heroes.”
This sentence accidentally a verb, likely a “was”.
I sure hope wildbow takes some time someday in the far future and makes these tiny corrections that keep popping up years later! FOR THE GLORY OF THE MOTHERLAND!
MisterTeatime on November 6, 2014 at 14:36 said:
Scapegoat is excellent.
Tattletale is very smart. The fact that she isn’t connecting “solve ALL the problems” and “change the world” is an excellent hint of something we don’t know about her.
Hmm. Ignoring all the big bombshells in the conversation… Alexandria is here.
Alexandria doesn’t have any ranged attacks except maybe throwing heavy things.
Throwing heavy things really hasn’t worked on Echidna so far. And non-ranged attacks on Echidna are extremely dangerous to the attacker and the overall objective.
Alexandria is smart enough to have figured those things out already.
So either she’s power-immune and can risk touching Echidna, or she’s aware that she can’t engage directly and is only here for strategic contributions, like Bitch. That’s interesting. I’m curious how she’ll play that role.
Thanatos on December 27, 2014 at 23:16 said:
A lot of typos this chapter. Too late to point them all out on my phone though, it’s past four o’clock here.
quilly on June 15, 2015 at 10:10 said:
Clearly the power to make deductions doesn’t let you deduce when you need to keep your mouth shut…But I can’t help it, I adore Tattletale and how much trouble she gets herself into.
gigaramieldrill on September 6, 2016 at 18:18 said:
“I need …rections.”
There were two possibilities that sprung to mind as far as what that last word might be.
Oh… OH. Skitter, please. Get your mind out of the gutter.
Tim McCormack on December 3, 2017 at 04:02 said:
I was expecting a Psycho Gecko reaction to that bit and was disappointed.
Gwudendion Bwowo Rostenquil on November 4, 2016 at 10:15 said:
“the person who did this to you is be dead or completely out of formula.”
Is be dead.
dbdatvic on January 13, 2017 at 23:02 said:
Is be really most sincerely dead!
–Dave, ding dong, candygram
Neisus on March 10, 2017 at 01:51 said:
Tattletale’s immediate plan:
Ah yes let us banish the raging hell beast using a goat themed human sacrifice procedure that is in no way a satanic ritual.
«She gripped Tattletale by the cheeks, pinching her mouth open, and slid the gun into her mouth.» how do you do that without three hands?
flumppod on August 1, 2018 at 11:59 said:
By placing your palm roughly on their chin and using your thumb on one cheek and fingers on the other. From there you force your digits against their teeth through their cheeks. Pops the mouth open pretty well, assuming you have strong hands. Pinching might be better replaced by squeezing.
Lord Khurush on July 7, 2017 at 10:57 said:
think the person who did this to you is -be- dead or completely
need to take off the be wildbow
also you are amazing 😁
Please, please keep your eye sight.
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Crushed 24.3
Posted on June 15, 2013 by wildbow
Eidolon and Alexandria had settled into something of a rhythm. Though his powerset was similar to Alexandria’s on the surface, the eerie noises and the dimming of the light around the areas his punches landed suggested he was transmuting the kinetic energy of his punches into something else altogether. Between Eidolon’s strikes and Alexandria’s, Behemoth couldn’t quite adapt to the point where he was redirecting every strike, let alone the barrage of ranged attacks that the other capes in the area were directing his way.
The Endbringer staggered under the onslaught, but he was slowly adapting. They’d managed to pin him for a minute, even costing him some ground by driving him back once or twice, but each successive minute saw him rolling with the punches more, advancing further when he found a second or two of mild reprieve.
His target: the command center. Our flying capes weren’t working fast enough to clear the entire rooftop, and every shaker we had -every cape capable of putting up a forcefield or creating a portal, raising a barrier- was busy trying to slow down the brute. The Chicago Wards, or most of the Chicago Wards were among them.
I tensed, but I couldn’t move without exposing myself to one of the lances of electricity that were crashing down around us. The capes on the rooftop were protected by an arrangement of tinker-made forcefields, it seemed, but those wouldn’t hold. Fuck, hanging around on rooftops was dumb. I’d learned my lesson on my first night out on costume, had avoided being put in that position since, excepting the fundraiser, where we’d been on the attack, and the time Defiant and Dragon had dragged me up to one, just a bit ago.
The guys up there were tinkers and thinkers. They were our communications, supporting roles, strategists and healers. A few of them were long-ranged capes. Not really people who could hop or fly down five stories to the ground and walk away unscathed. Not without help.
I waited and watched as Behemoth engaged the other capes, tracking what powers he was using and when. He was presently staggering forward when he could, otherwise holding his ground, deflecting and redirecting attacks. When he was free to do so, he reached out with his claws, and lightning lanced out to tear through the assembled capes.
Golem, to his credit, was going all out. Hands of stone and metal rose from the ground to shield defending capes and balk Behemoth’s progress. I could make out Hoyden, leader or second in command of the Austin Wards. She wasn’t on the front lines, but was defending the mid-line capes. It made sense with how her power worked, as her defensive powers provided more cover from attacks at greater ranges. She threw herself in the way of lightning bolts and stood between Behemoth and the wounded. When lightning struck her, detonations ripped out from the point of impact, seeming almost to short out the currents.
“Come on, come on,” I muttered.
I could see Tecton creating fissures in the ground, no doubt intended to reduce the reach and effects of Behemoth’s stomps. Annex was creating bridges so heroes wouldn’t fall into the gaps.
Dispatch, vice-captain of the Houston Protectorate team, zipped over to a group of wounded with accelerated speed, only to seem to pause, as though he and his immediate surroundings were only video footage. Color and space distorted violently in an irregular area around him as he hung there, just an inch over the ground, one hand at his belt and another reaching for someone with intense burns.
A half-second later, the effect dissipated, and they were all moving. Dispatch was carrying one of the most wounded, gloves off and the sleeves of his costume pulled up, dried blood up to his elbows. Others were bandaged and sutured. His name, I knew, came from his ability to pick out targets in a fight, closing the distance to them and catching them in his temporal distortion effect. He’d have minutes or hours, however long it took the air within the effect to run out, to end the fight with his super strength, durability and the close confines of the bubble. To any observers, it appeared as though he’d won the fight in a heartbeat. Apparently the idea extended to medical care.
Revel, leader of the Chicago Protectorate and official overseer of Tecton’s Ward team, was stepping up to the plate. Floating up to it, whatever. She rose into the air, and caught one full current of lightning inside her lantern. The sheer force of the blast knocked her back, and she struck a wall, pressed against it with her lantern held in front of her.
She began releasing spheres of light from the lantern, each larger than a human head, slow-moving but numerous. Their trajectories were unpredictable, some striking friendlies, others carrying forward towards Behemoth. Where they struck friendlies, they only exploded in brilliant showers of sparks. When they touched Behemoth, they sheared right into him, cutting two or three feet deep before flickering out.
When she saw it was working, she only intensified the assault, spending the charge she’d accumulated to create fifty more orbs, before hurrying forward to intercept another stream of lightning that was flowing from Behemoth’s claw-tip. It was impossible to actually get in front before the lightning appeared, to save the lives that Behemoth was taking with the initial moments the lightning appeared, but she was stopping the lightning from flickering to the fourth, fifth or sixth target.
That was what I was waiting for. My limited experience with Endbringers had taught me one thing. When someone actually found a way to respond, to cancel out the attacks or to deliver a measure of real damage, they changed tactics.
Some capes were already responding. Captains and leaders were giving orders, and various barriers were being reinforced or thrown back up. Some were trying to give the warning, but their voices disappeared in the midst of the chaos around us.
“Take cover!” I hollered, and my swarm carried my voice.
It was only two or three seconds later, as the second wave of spheres drifted to Behemoth and began to cut into his torso and groin area, that he responded. His ‘mouth’ opened, the craggy spikes of obsidian ‘teeth’ parting.
And he roared. A sound that was slow at first, growing steadily more powerful.
Sound was a bitch of a thing. It could be muffled, but blocking it entirely? We didn’t have Grue.
I fled, cranking my antigrav to ‘high’ and risking unfolding my wings to use the propulsion systems as I made my way to for cover, putting as many buildings between Behemoth and I as I could.
My swarm responded to my call, assisting the capes who weren’t fleeing fast enough. They rose as a singular mass, a wall of tens of thousands, and absorbed the worst of the scream. I wasn’t sure it was enough. Even with some distance and a dozen buildings between Behemoth and I, I had no defenses as it reached a crescendo. My sense of balance went out the window, my very bones hurt.
Closer to Behemoth, capes were bleeding from their ears, vomiting, passing out. Organs and brains would be reduced to jelly as he continued. My bugs weren’t doing much to muffle the noise or soften the damage, if they were helping at all.
But my focus was on the rooftop. I’d been waiting until he stopped using his lightning. There was nothing saying he wouldn’t use it now. He could use multiple attack forms at the same time. Still, he was more focused on picking off the defending capes, the ones who were suppressing the noise. Was Citrine among them? I could see the golden glow of her power in the distance.
Director Tagg had given me an effective ranking of two for every single power classification. Ostensibly, it had been because he hadn’t wanted to underestimate me. Was there a note of truth to that, though? I wasn’t sure about the ‘brute’ or ‘mover’ classifications, but did my power over bugs afford me a versatility that let me cover the bases on other fronts?
They still hadn’t completely evacuated the roof. The people who might have helped them down were disabled or otherwise occupied. Getting them down was key, here. The flying capes were more focused on assisting the capes near the front lines, helping the ones who could deal damage escape Behemoth’s implacable advance and avoid the kill aura that accompanied him.
The roaring made it impossible to hear. Even seeing was difficult, as my vision distorted and lost focus. I very nearly tipped over, until I turned to my swarm sense. Not perfect. Even they were suffering, scattered and dying, at close range to the roar. But it gave me an orientation, a plane to compare the tilt and angle of my body with.
I looped to one side to intercept some of my bugs, collecting the strands of silk they’d woven in one hand, then made my way around to the back of the building the heroes were clustered on. Flying capes were settled on the ground, pausing to recuperate from the roar. I took a second, myself, to get my bearings. My back against the concrete, I could feel the building shuddering in response to the roar. But at least there was a small degree of reprieve, here.
When I’d caught my breath and reassured myself my insides hadn’t been vibrated to pieces, I flew to the rooftop. My bugs swept over the crowd. No Tattletale that I could see. No Accord, either, for that matter.
Two capes approached me, not quite Caucasian but lighter-skinned than the Indian capes. One had a costume with a spiral to it, the other wore armor with tiny faces that looked like baby’s heads. Was he a villain? They were rattling off something in French or Spanish as they reached out to take my hands. Their eyes were wide with fear and alarm.
“I can’t carry you!” I shouted, raising my voice to be heard over the perpetual roar. “My flight pack isn’t strong enough!”
They clutched at me, and one even pushed at another cape who’d gotten too close.
A little too much. Too intense, here, too forceful. I just want to find Tattletale. I’ll find a way to help you once I’ve done that.
“Back off!” I said, raising my voice.
The guy with the faces on his armor shouted so forcefully that spit flew from his mouth, as he pointed to the ground beyond the building. He approached me, trying to hug himself tight to my body. I pushed him away and backed up, trusting the antigrav to hold me aloft.
One of the capes on the rooftop approached me, pushing her way through the crowd. She wore a golden mask with a woman’s face, the mouth parted a fraction, with a black bodysuit. It was softened a touch by the loose black cloth that draped down from her golden shoulderpads and breastplate. The black didn’t look so dramatic as it might have, mottled a brown-gray by the loose dust that had accumulated on it.
“Weaver,” she said, her voice melodic.
“Arbiter,” I responded. One of Rime’s underlings. The one with the social danger sense, forcefield and sonic beam. I supposed her forcefield wasn’t quite large enough or versatile enough to offer a bridge down to the ground. “I’ve got other stuff I need to pay attention to. Don’t suppose you speak French? Or Spanish?”
“Portuguese,” she said. “And no, but give me a moment.”
She turned to the capes, but a heavy crash interrupted her before she could speak.
A building had fallen, toppling, and Behemoth hadn’t done anything to precipitate it. Nothing except the roaring.
Was that enough? Was this building coming apart beneath us?
Where the hell was Tattletale? My bugs flowed into cracks in the building, checking rooms only to find them empty.
“Hurry!” I said. I turned my attention to my swarm. They extended out beneath me, forming into neat lines. My bugs were slow to move through the structure. I had to use the cracks that already existed in the walls, ducts and vents that just happened to be open.
“Speak to me,” Arbiter said to the Portuguese capes.
The one with the spiral costume chattered out something I couldn’t even guess at. Arbiter nodded. In very broken Portuguese, she asked a question. The spiral man looked at the one with him, gesturing.
In less broken Portuguese, she spoke again.
That prompted another burst of explanation, or what I took to be exclamation. They sounded desperate, afraid.
When she responded, she spoke just as quickly and flawlessly as the two native speakers. She’d picked up the language in a matter of three exchanges.
I bit my tongue as the roar abruptly intensified, jarring me enough that my jaw was slammed shut. It wasn’t that he was roaring louder; one of the capes who’d been keeping the worst of the noise at bay had fallen.
Focus. My bugs extended lines of silk to the ground, while others held it aloft and kept it more or less straight, allowing the lengths to be carefully measured, the amount of slack controlled.
“Weaver!” Arbiter said, raising her voice so I could hear her.
I turned around.
“I don’t quite understand, there’s a gap in translation, but he says he’s pregnant with his dead teammates,” she said. Her voice cut through the noise, “They’re asking for him to be rescued next.”
Pregnant with dead teammates?
Suddenly the little faces on his armor seemed twice as creepy. I really hoped that was a tragically bad translation. Parahumans could be so fucked up sometimes.
“He gets rescued with everyone else,” I said. “There’s no way to prioritize.”
“Right,” Arbiter said.
I secured the lines of silk on the roof’s edge and on the ground. I then pulled off a shoulderpad and retrieved the strip of silk that had held it in place. I folded it over the cord and stepped over the edge, letting myself slide down the length of the cord. Both ends were tied, and the slack was enough that it should ease people to the ground. I was okay with doing the test run, as my flight pack could handle the fall.
It didn’t break. Good. Better than nothing. I flew back to the rooftop, and I could feel the roar rattling me as I made my way up past the more solid cover.
“Should be fairly safe,” I said, “Silk cord got warm, from what my bugs are feeling, but I’ve got six arranged. One person at a time, delay by about… twenty seconds, at least, between trips, so the heat and friction doesn’t wear through the silk. It’s not the strongest thread I’ve ever made.”
Arbiter glanced over the roof’s edge. I followed her gaze. The silk was barely even visible.
“You’re sure they’ll hold?”
“No,” I said. I glanced over at Behemoth, “But I’m less sure this building’ll be standing in five minutes. If a cape falls and dies, I’ll take the blame. Better than having everyone up here die.”
“You’re not convincing me,” she said, but she said something to the cape with the spirals on his costume. With gestures and careful explanation, she got him to step up to the front, pulling his glove free of his fingers, using the excess fabric to slide down the silk line.
My bugs checked it after he’d passed. Warm, but not so much that I was worried it’d split.
“Go! Go!” Arbiter said, grabbing the attention of the capes who’d been standing back and watching.
In seconds, we had capes sliding down the lines. Arbiter was careful to keep them from overloading or applying too much friction too fast to the makeshift ziplines.
Behemoth had stopped his endless roaring. He was using fire, now. There was none of the uncanny precision the lightning had, but the fire moved with intelligence, spread easily, burned hotter than it should have, and it was virtually impossible to stop all of it. It slipped between force fields, between the fingers of Golem’s stone hands, and it ignited any fabric and wood it touched, set grass alight.
I had to pull back my bugs. I’d managed to keep the vast majority from dying, some fires and casualties from the roaring excepted, but this wasn’t a place where they’d help.
Six more capes made their way down the line. Arbiter used her forcefield to block some more agitated capes from making their way down before it was time. She spoke in one of the local languages to the group.
“Thank you,” I told her. “For helping keep this sane. If it comes down to it, and the cords don’t hold, I’ll lend you my flight pack. I can control it remotely.”
“Give it to someone else before you give it to me,” she said, without looking at me.
“Right,” I answered. “Listen, I’m-”
A cape gripped the cord for his turn, only to turn out to be far heavier than he looked. Arbiter placed a forcefield under him, but it didn’t do much more than slow his descent as he crashed through it.
Five cords remained, and there were too many capes here.
“Fuck,” I said.
“He’s okay,” Arbiter observed.
But the others seemed more reticient now.
“What the hell is going on downstairs? Are stairs too difficult?”
Arbiter shook her head. “Government building, it’s set up to lock down in a crisis, which it did. A rogue cape turned on the people inside, so the metal doors closed to protect others. We’ve been reeling since. Command structure’s down, our battle lines collapsed-”
“You’re talking about Chevalier.”
“Then where’s Tattletale?”
“I don’t know who that is.”
“Teenage girl, dirty blond, costume of black and light purple. She would’ve been with a short man wearing a suit.”
“I saw them. They went downstairs with Chevalier.”
I could feel my heart in my throat. “Where are they now?”
“With other wounded. We’re relaying them a half-mile that way,” Arbiter pointed. “Far enough away that Behemoth won’t be endangering them anytime soon.”
Behemoth generated a shockwave, and one forcefield at the front of the roof flickered and died. A tinker moved forward to try to restart it, and was struck down by a bolt of lightning before she could.
A wave of capes mustered the courage and slid down. There were only eleven of us on the rooftop now, myself and Arbiter included.
I checked the lines, then cut one that was too frayed. Four left.
“Four lines left,” I reported, before someone reached for one that wasn’t there. My thoughts, though, were on Tattletale. Injured or dead.
“Go,” Arbiter said. “To your friend, your teammate, your partner, whatever she is to you, she’s important.”
I shook my head. “You need me. I can use my bugs to check the lines are okay.”
“There won’t be any major difference if you’re here or not. Three more trips-”
A flying cape touched the rooftop only long enough to take hold of one of the people on top, then took off again.
“Maybe two trips, and we’re clear. I’ll go last. Go.”
Another shockwave knocked out another forcefield panel. A tinker was working on the generator, best as she could while hunkering down behind the sole remaining panel. She said something frantic. I couldn’t understand her, whatever her language, but I could guess. It wasn’t her tech.
I hesitated, wanting to take the offer to escape. Then I shook my head. “I’ll stay. Tattletale’s important to me, but so is doing what I can here. I can check the lines in a way nobody else here can.”
Arbiter only nodded, her eyes on the ongoing fight.
I drew up decoy-swarms, placing them across the rooftop, and stepped off the rooftop, hovering and using the building for cover. Arbiter raised her forcefield to fill some of the gap in the tinker-created field, crouching in the crowd of swarm-people. Others followed suit. I covered them as much as I could without obscuring their vision.
Seconds passed before Arbiter gave the go-ahead. Capes evacuated the rooftop.
Behemoth’s lightning strike flashed through our ranks, right over Arbiter’s squatter forcefield, through two decoys and striking a cape.
The crash of thunder seemed almost delayed, synced more to the cape going limp than the flash itself. The body struck the roofop, dead before it touched ground.
Had the decoys spared two people from being hit, or was it chance that the bolt had made contact with them? Fuck. Having more information would be key, here.
Behemoth was continuing to suffer blows. His progress had all but stalled, but he wasn’t changing tactics. Why?
Did he have a strategy? The Simurgh was supposed to be the tactician, Leviathan had the brute cunning. Was Behemoth harboring a certain degree of intelligence?
I didn’t like that idea, but I couldn’t think of a good way to explain just why he was willing to stand there and take abuse.
Flying capes evacuated two more. Arbiter gave the go-ahead for more to use the ziplines.
That left only the two of us here, and I had cover, at the least.
Lightning lanced past us, burning much of its initial charge on the forcefield. It danced through the ranks of my decoy bugs. Arbiter was left untouched.
“Damn,” she muttered. “Damn, damn, damn.”
“Fuck waiting for heat to dissipate, just use the zipline,” I said. “Hurry. Second one, it’s least worn, coolest.”
She half-crawled, half-ran to me. I handed her the strap that I’d used for the test run, and she looped it over the line.
I followed her to the ground, my hand on the armor at her collar. I probably didn’t have the lift to keep her from falling, but I might have been able to soften the blow.
Not that it mattered. The zipline remained intact, and she touched ground with a grunt.
I found Rime, casting wave after wave of crystals at Behemoth. He was using shockwaves and fire to prematurely detonate or push away Revel’s spheres, and Rime’s attacks were suffering from a similar angle.
Rime was second in command, wasn’t she? Or was it Prism?
Rime would be more receptive to listening, either way. I used my bugs to speak to her. “Command center evacuated. Can relax front line if you need to.”
She didn’t respond to me, but I could make out her orders as she shouted the words, “Fall back! Stagger the retreat!”
I exhaled slowly.
“You’ve done your duty. Go to your friend. Figure out what’s going on,” Arbiter said.
I nodded and took off.
Through my bugs, I spoke to Tecton, “Back shortly.”
He mumbled something I couldn’t make out. It might have been ‘okay’.
As I got more distance, I felt safe to withdraw the wings again. I picked up in speed, putting Behemoth and the fighting behind me.
I found a temple with wounded inside. The exterior was opulent, the interior doubly so. Now it was a triage area. There were more burns here, crushed limbs, people coughing violently. It wasn’t damage suffered from direct confrontation with Behemoth. It was secondary damage, taken from the fires and smoke of burning buildings.
And inside one curtained area, there were the wounded capes. I approached, folding the wings away and moving forward with antigrav and the occasional touch of foot against ground to propel myself forward further.
I stopped by Tattletale’s bedside. I’d found her within instants of the temple falling in my range. Her lips moved as she recognized me, but no sound came out. My eyes moved to the tube sticking out of her throat.
“You really gotta stop doing this,” I said.
She only grinned. She reached over to the bedside table and retrieved a pen and notepad. Her grin fell from her face as she wrote something, then tore the page free, handing it to me.
he’s going easy on us. all Endbringers are. but Behemoth holding back, even from moment he arrive. taking more hits than he should.
“We already knew that they’re holding back for some reason,” I said. “The way they space out attacks, they could accelerate the timetable or coordinate their strikes if they wanted to fuck us over.”
Another note:
they want to lose I think. set themselves up to fail. but not fail so bad they risk dying. levi was after something, noelle I think. but why didn’t he show up closer to downtown?
“I don’t know,” I said. I felt a little chilled at the idea that this was the Endbringers pulling their punches.
big b wants something. not at india gate. somewhere past it. why not come up right underneath it?
“I don’t know,” I repeated myself. “It doesn’t matter.”
matters. looked at past attacks. pattern. small pattern. behe attacks nuclear reactor, appears some distance away. attacks birdcage, appears in rockies, no sign he was close or beneath cage. pattern says he wouldn’t emerge this close if he just wanted to attack india gate. He attacking something north of it.
“Just tell me, is there anything I can do?”
I was trying to find his target. accord was trying to find way to stop him, coordinate counteroffense. accord dead, I useless. get me computer? maybe I can help still. Ppl here not helping. scared of me.
Accord was dead? What did that spell for the Undersider-Ambassador alliance?
No. I couldn’t let myself get distracted. There were more immediate concerns.
“Computers are probably down,” I said. “I think there’s too much electromagnetic energy, no cell towers, no radio, no internet. Armbands aren’t working, and I’d expect them to be the last thing to stop working.”
She spent an inordinate amount of time writing the next message.
I shifted my weight from one foot to the other while I waited for her to finish, then accepted the note and read it.
Each letter had been traced over several times, and the entire thing had been underlined twice.
I glanced at her, and she was scowling, already writing the next message.
“I’ll see what I can do,” I said. “You’re a distance away from the fighting, maybe a phone works.”
But she was already handing me the next piece of paper.
you go. find it. find his objective.
“There’s other capes better for that than me.”
get help then. but you can use swarm. search. we win this by denying him his target.
I frowned, but I didn’t refuse her. I started to leave, then hesitated, turning back to her. I opened my mouth to speak, then saw the note.
go already. I ok. I get healer another day. not worried.
And I was gone, flying over the heads of the wounded as I made my way to the front door.
The availability of healing made for an interesting, if ugly, dynamic. Capes like Tattletale, capes like me could be reckless, we’d get our faces slashed open, our backs broken, our throats severed, blinded and burned, and we’d get mended back to a near-pristine condition. Tattletale still had faint scars at the corners of her mouth, regenerated by Brian after his second trigger event, but she’d mended almost to full. I’d had injuries of a much more life-altering scale undone by Panacea and Scapegoat.
If we died, we were dead, no question, unless I gave consideration to Alexandria’s apparent resurrection. But an injury, no matter how grave? That was something that could be remedied, it lent a feeling of invulnerability, an image of invulnerability. So we continued being reckless, and we would continue to be reckless until something finally killed us off.
Was there a way to break that pattern? Could I afford to? My ability to throw myself headlong into a dangerous situation was part of the reason for my success.
I looped back towards the main confrontation, finding the thinkers I’d helped off the rooftop. Some were moving to assist allies, others were fleeing. One pocket, at a glance, seemed to be trying to form a second command center.
I moved towards the cluster of them.
Two Indian capes, one Caucasian.
“English?” I asked.
“Yes,” the Caucasian said. “Just me.”
“Trying to enlist help. Names and powers?”
“Kismet, balance thinker,” the Caucasian said. He wore a white robe with a hard, faceless mask that had only slits for the eyes.
“And the other two?”
“As far as I can tell, Fathom and Particulate. Best translations I can give. My Punjabi isn’t strong.”
“Their powers?” I asked, with a restrained patience.
“Displaces people or things to another dimension, filled with water, brings them back. Particulate’s a dust tinker.”
What the fuck is a dust tinker? Or a balance thinker, for that matter?
“Okay, I’m going to find others,” I said.
“Wait, what’s the project?”
“A mission. Finding whatever it is that Behemoth wants.”
“We’ve got others on that already.”
“Nobody’s reported back,” I said, “Or at least, nobody’s formed a defensive line or put safeguards in place.”
“You’re sure he’s after something? They’ve attacked cities just to kill people before, and this is a dense population center.”
“He’s after something,” I said. “He’s got a direction, and a friend told me he’s targeting a point beyond where the heroes are searching.”
“We’ll help look,” he said. He rattled off a few lines of Punjabi to the capes in his company. One of them, Particulate, I took it, removed what looked like a fat smart phone from one pocket. He peered at it. Some sort of scanning instrument.
“Hey, either of you have a phone?” I asked.
Kismet nodded, then handed me the phone.
“Can I keep it?” I asked. “I can get it back to you later, probably.”
He made an exasperated noise. “I thought you wanted to make a call, not keep it.”
“It’d be for a good cause,” I promised.
He sighed, “Take it, then.”
I wound silk around it and then had bugs carry it off in Tattletale’s direction.
“You think it’s a cache of nuclear weapons, or what?” Kismet asked me.
“I don’t know,” I said. “Go look, towards India Gate. I’m going to round up others.”
“On it,” he said, before speaking another line of Punjabi. “And kid?”
I hesitated in mid-air.
“Thanks, for the escape route from that rooftop.”
I didn’t respond, taking off. Rude, maybe, but taking the time to respond was stupid, when there was this much going on. Making me wait while he thanked me was similarly dumb.
I waited until the phone reached Tattletale’s hands, then drew closer to the fighting, and the capes who were closer to the battlefront. When Rime was in my power’s reach, I contacted her.
“Tattletale thinks she has a lead on Behemoth’s objective. Mobilizing thinkers to find it.“
I was nearly drowned out by the chaos of the fighting. Behemoth was standing partially inside a building, and it was blazing, pieces of it falling down with every heavy impact the heroes delivered.
“Say again,” she said.
I repeated myself, speaking the words aloud under my breath, to gauge the proper way to form the sounds with my swarm.
“Good,” she said. And that was all. She was fighting again, trying to freeze the building so Behemoth was encased.
I found two more thinkers and gave them directions. We’d search the area beyond the Rajpath.
Behemoth generated a shockwave, and I could sense the heroes reacting to it. The only cover here was cover heroes like Golem were creating, and the concussive shock traveled through the air, knocking capes off their feet or out of the air.
I grit my teeth and pressed my back to a building as it rolled past me, fell over at the impact.
The Endbringer strode forward, using the momentary break in the attack to cover more ground. Unfortunate capes who’d been pushing their luck were left trying to run for cover, only to be caught within his kill aura.
Rachel rescued one or two, though the heroes might have debated the nature of the rescue. Her dogs seized people in their mouths, running, dropping them at a safe distance, before moving in to retrieve more people. Some of the rescued individuals were left slowly climbing to their feet, no doubt bruised from the dog’s teeth and dripping with drool.
One dog, a person in its mouth, was struck by a bolt of lightning. It fell, sprawling, then slowly climbed to its feet. I could tell with my bugs, that the person in its mouth was no longer alive. Still, it dutifully carried the body to safety and deposited it on the ground, before limping back towards the battle.
I belatedly remembered to pay attention to my team. Tecton was busy erecting barriers, raising the earth in shelves with his piledrivers. Annex was reinforcing everything, fixing other people’s work, providing loose cover for ranged heroes to hide behind, and delaying collapses. Powerful.
Grace, using her strength to carry the wounded. Wanton was venturing into more dangerous ground with the safety of his telekinetic body, returning to human form to help the wounded and trapped, then retreating with the same form, moving on to the next person. Cuff was helping a tinker.
Golem was forming barriers, limiting the movements of Behemoth’s legs, and shoring up the building the Endbringer was wading through.
The constructions weren’t doing enough. We needed to change tactics now that this wasn’t working, sort of like the Endbringers did. If not constructions, then maybe destructions.
“Tecton, pits. Have Annex cover them,” I ordered. “Think controlled collapses.”
I couldn’t make out his response. I hoped that didn’t mean he couldn’t make out my statements.
“You’re in charge until I get back. I have other orders,” I added.
I returned to collecting thinkers and other stray capes, taking only a minute before heading for our destination.
There were heroes and PRT officials at India Gate, and lined up across the Rajpath. A handful of thinkers and tinkers were here. Not ones I’d sent, but official ones, directed to scan and search for whatever Behemoth might be after.
“Search north,” I communicated, sending moths and butterflies to pass on the message. I didn’t wait to see if they’d listen. I kept moving.
I zig-zagged across the landscape, scanning every surface with my bugs, as the fighting continued in the distance. Behemoth wasn’t quite visible from this vantage point, but the cloud of smoke and the lightning suggested it wouldn’t be long.
How many capes had he killed? How many more would die?
I crossed paths with Particulate, who had apparently been filled in by Kismet. He handed me one of the scanning devices, and I took off.
Damn tinkers. Their stuff was making life so complicated, now. Too many things to keep track of. Antigrav, propulsion, sensing things with my bugs, paying attention to what I was sensing with my bugs, coordinating people, with sectors for them to cover, and now tracking the stuff with the scanner.
Not that it was impossible. I was managing everything but the bugspeak without a problem.
The scanner showed me only gibberish at first, with sixteen bars divided into eight individual pieces, each of which could be any number of colors. Each rose and fell as I moved and as I turned the scanner. Moving past Particulate, I noted that the rise and fall of the bars was linked to my relation to his scanner.
We were triangulating. Or did we not have a third? Kismet was somewhere out of my range, at present, as was Fathom, so I couldn’t be sure.
The bars rose as I pointed in Behemoth’s direction, a mix of blues, greens, yellows and reds. Was it tracking energy?
I turned away, and found another bump, almost all white, the rest yellow. Nothing tracked in any significant quantity at Behemoth’s location.
It was something. I circled around until the bars reached a peak, every single one of them topping the charts.
Nothing. I used my power, but I couldn’t find anything more complex than a desktop computer.
Then it adjusted. The bars each dropped until they were only four or five high.
Was Particulate doing something on his end?
It dawned on me, as I tried to narrow down our target, that this was big. Something that topped the basic readings just by being within a mile of it.
And I found it. My bugs could sense an underground chamber. Concrete walls, impenetrable to earthworms, and no obvious entrance. I looped back to communicate to the others. The English-speakers, anyways.
Then, as the faster and the closer thinkers caught up with me, I approached the site.
Particulate and Kismet joined me.
This underground chamber was different from the one I’d seen closer to Behemoth. There was no ramp leading up, nothing to suggest an elevator.
“Not sure how to get through,” I said.
“Smart of them,” Kismet said.
“I know, but it doesn’t help us.”
Kismet said something to Particulate, and the tinker drew a gun from a holster with an excess of care.
Then he fired. There was no beam, no projectile. There was only a corridor, three feet across, carved into the earth, and plumes of dust.
We backed away, Kismet coughing as he caught some of it. Particulate, a tinker with a narrow, overlong bald head, said something in his language, almost musical, humorous. He glanced at me, his eyes covered by goggles, his mouth covered by a fabric that hugged every wrinkle of his lower face, as though it were a micron thick, and smiled. I could see the contours of his teeth and gums behind the strange fabric.
“Battery,” Kismet said, stopping to cough, “is dead. Three shots. Tried two on Behemoth, didn’t work. He likes that it was useful.”
“Damn,” I said. If they had worked…
I didn’t waste any more time. I handed them a length of cord, then disappeared down the hole. My feet skidded on the smooth, almost glassy surface, but my flight pack gave me some lift.
Now that I was lower, I was free to feel out the surroundings, and mentally map out the entire complex. It took time, but the others were slow to descend to the lower corridor.
Was there a whole undercity beneath New Delhi? Some kind of subterranean realm of corridors and rooms, large and small? Did the good and bad ‘cold’ capes accidentally dig into each other’s corridors at any point? Collapse sections of each other’s undercity?
Geez, it wasn’t like the city wasn’t large enough already.
I was drawing a mental picture as my bugs spread out. There were people here, but they weren’t doing anything special. Sleeping, cooking, fucking, smoking some sort of pipes… no.
And in the midst of it, as Particulate adjusted his tracking device to further narrow the sensitivity, we closed in on a void. A part of the underground chamber my bugs couldn’t touch.
Particulate said something, arching his eyebrows as he looked down at the scanner.
“A lot of energy,” Kismet translated.
“How much is a lot?” I asked.
Particulate spoke without Kismet translating for him.
“More than Behemoth has given off during his entire stay in New Delhi,” Kismet said.
I stared at the little scanner and the white bars. “There’s no way in, as far as I can tell.”
“There wasn’t a way into this base either,” Kismet said. “Maybe they have a way to enter and leave.”
“Okay,” I said. “We know where Behemoth’s target is, even if we don’t know what it is. Let’s retreat, communicate with-”
But Particulate was already moving, tampering with the gun that had created the corridor.
“Stop him!” I said.
Kismet reached over, but Particulate was already tossing the gun to the point where the floor met the wall.
It started flashing rapidly, increasingly bright, and Particulate bolted. It was almost comical, as though he’d been taught to run by a textbook. His hands were out flat at his sides, his arms and legs bent at rigid right angles as he sprinted away, almost robotic in the movements. He shouted something in Punjabi.
Almost comical. When you saw a bomb disposal team running, as the joke went, you ran to keep up. The same applied to any tinker and a device that flashed like that. Kismet and I ran after him.
The gun exploded, silently, without fire or light or electricity. There was only a roughly spherical opening carved into the area. It was wide enough to lead into the tunnel above and below us, and had sheared through the five or six feet of solid earth that separated each floor. At the far end, I could see where it had cut into a corner of the previously inaccessible room.
We approached, and I could see a cape inside, or a parahuman, if ‘cape’ applied. He was disheveled, with dark circles under his eyes, his skin pale, his beard and hair bedraggled. His clothing, by contrast, was opulent, clean: a rich indigo robe, a sapphire set in a gold chain, a gold chain for a belt, and a golden sash.
And above him, the energy. There were two golden discs, and something almost alive seemed to crackle between them.
“It’s Phir Sē,” Kismet said, backing away.
“The glowing thing in the air or the person?” I asked.
“The person.”
“Who’s Phir See?” I asked.
“Sē. He’s one of the reasons the American girl’s PRT can exist,” Kismet said. “When they talk about disbanding it, the PRT only reminds them that monsters like this lurk elsewhere.”
The man slowly turned to face us. He wasn’t an old man, but he moved like one.
“Monsters?” I asked. “I’ve fought monsters. Just tell me what kind of monster he is.”
“The kind that is too smart for all of our good,” Kismet said. He’d frozen the moment the man set eyes on him.
Phir Sē spoke, “That is compliment? Yes?”
“Yes,” Kismet said.
“Then I thank you. Girl? I recognize you from American television.”
“I go by Weaver, now.”
“I do remember. You had much power. You turned it down.”
“It wasn’t for me,” I said.
“You are more comfortable where you are now?” he asked.
“Now as in here, in this fight, or as a hero?”
“Either. Both,” he stated.
“Honestly? No on both counts. I’m still figuring it out.”
He inclined his head. “This is to be respected. Making hard choice. The challenge of the young adult. To find identity.”
“Thank you,” I said, still wary. Everything about Kismet’s reaction was telling me this guy was to be feared, so I had to step carefully. “Can I ask what that thing is?”
“A weapon,” he said. “A… how do you Americans say it? Time bomb? Only this is joke.”
“He makes portals,” Kismet said. “Using them, he can send things back in time. Something goes in portal B, comes out of portal A a few minutes earlier. Or the other way around.”
“Or, as I discover, I make loop,” Phir Sē said. “Weaponize. Simple light, captured in one moment, redoubled many times over. I move gate, and that light will pour forth and clean.”
I could remember what Particulate had said. More energy than Behemoth had created since arriving in this city. Only this would be directed at a single target.
“Clean isn’t the word you want,” I said. “Scour?”
“Scour,” Phir Sē said, he inclined his head again. “I thank you.”
“Behemoth wants his hands on it,” I said. “On that energy.”
“I want this on Behemoth. Do great harm. Even kill.”
“Shit,” Kismet said. He backed away a step. “This is-”
“Stay,” Phir Sē said. His voice was quiet, but it was clear he expected to be heeded.
Kismet glanced up at the glow, then turned to run.
He wasn’t even turned all the way around when there was a flicker. A man appeared just in front of Kismet. A teleporter.
And his forearm extended through Kismet’s chest.
Then he flickered, like a bad lightbulb, and he was gone, leaving only a gaping hole where the arm had been. Kismet collapsed, dead.
A teleporter who can bypass the Manton effect.
“Stay,” Phir Sē told us, again. He hadn’t even flinched, but the space between his bushy eyebrows furrowed as he stared down at Kismet.
My heart thudded in my throat as I glanced down at the body.
Particulate said something, spitting the word.
Phir Sē said something in Punjabi, then turned to me, “Is rude, to speak in language you cannot understand. He call me evil, so I not speak to him further. But you understand, do you not? You know what form this war take? The danger we all face, from monsters like that, from others?”
“I don’t think many top the Endbringers,” I said.
“Maybe not so. Maybe. But you have tried being cold. Killing the enemy, yes? Because ruthless is only way to win this war.”
“I met some people. I think they were your adversaries,” I said. “Glowing eyes? Reflective? Like mirrors?”
“Yes. Enemy. They petty evils that walk this city. Organize crime. Slave, prostitute, murder, mercenary. My side, we root out corrupt. Ruthless. Government prefer them to us. Paint us as evil, pay them to carry on. But you know what this is like, yes?”
“More or less,” I said, not breaking eye contact. “And those guys, they’re ruthless in the same way you described, I guess?”
“More, less,” he said, as if he were trying on the phrase, “Yes.”
“You want to hit Behemoth with this… time bomb,” I said. “But… I think that’s what he wants. He’s holding back. My thinker friend, she said so. He’s taking more hits than he should, and I’m just now realizing he might be doing it because he wants to be ready for when you hit him with this. He’ll push it out into the ground, or into the air.”
“Yes. This is likely,” Phir Sē said. “This is what he may want. I hoped for the Second or Third. This will have to do.”
“They’ve tried this stuff before,” I said. “Nukes, gigantic railguns, tricks with teleportation and portals. It doesn’t work. You won’t do anything except get a lot of people killed as collateral damage.”
“We time this. Strategic,” Phir Sē said, calm, as if he were talking to a panicked animal. “Come. Step in.”
Right, I thought. Approach the temporal bomb.
But I did. No use ticking off the guy with the murder-teleporter on call. Particulate followed me as I navigated the way to the room’s interior.
There were television screens all across the wall. Five showed the ongoing destruction from distant cameras. Two showed grainy camera footage. The last showed what looked to be an Indian soap opera.
“Thirsty,” Phir Sē commented.
The teleporter flickered into existence, then disappeared. Phir Sē had a bottle of water in his hands that he hadn’t held before. He turned our way, bushy eyebrows raised as a faint smile touched his face. “Might I offer you anything?”
I shook my head. My stomach was a knot, my heart was pounding.
Particulate said something, but Phir Sē ignored him.
“We watch the First,” Phir Sē said. “He let his guard down, I strike.”
“I’ve seen an Endbringer fool another brilliant man who thought he had a surefire way to win,” I said. “They’re cleverer than we think. What if Behemoth fools you?”
“Then New Delhi pay for my mistake,” Phir Sē answered me. “I have daughter there. She join bright heroes, popular ones. She pay for my mistake, if she still lives. I live, down here, spend life mourning.”
He looked genuinely upset at the idea.
“You want to win?” I asked. “You take that thing, aim it for the sky. Deplete it, so Behemoth’s entire goal for coming here is gone.”
“Is a chance,” Phir Sē told me. “To strike them harder than anything yet. You tell me, is that not worth it?”
“Worth risking this city? Your daughter? The lives of the heroes here?”
“Yes. Is worth.”
“No,” I retorted.
He looked at me, and I could read the unhappiness in his expression. Not a condemnation or even him being upset with me. Disappointment in general.
The woman in the suit told me there were people with their own agendas. Monsters. This is one of them, and he thinks we’re kindred spirits.
“I tell you because you are ruthless, Weaver. Do not stop me,” he said. “I die, focus waver, time bomb explode. Aimless, no direction.”
“Indiscriminate,” I supplied a better word.
“Indiscriminate,” Phir Sē echoed me. “India gone. You die, even down here.”
I raised my head, staring up at the two golden discs and the current that seemed to run between them. I would have thought it would be brighter.
“Hero fall. We wait,” he said. “When fight cannot be won, I strike.”
I tensed as I watched the fighting on the screens. They flickered intermittently in a delayed reaction to Behemoth’s lightning strikes.
“Very soon,” he said, his eyes fixed on the monitor. “You stay.”
This entry was posted in 24.03 and tagged Alexandria, Annex, Arbiter, Behemoth, Bitch, Citrine, Cuff, Dispatch, Eidolon, Golem, Grace, Hoyden, Phir Sē, Revel, Rime, Tattletale, Taylor, Tecton, Wanton by wildbow. Bookmark the permalink.
355 thoughts on “Crushed 24.3”
Rika Covenant on June 15, 2013 at 00:04 said:
First! typo thread.
randomsoul2 on June 15, 2013 at 00:17 said:
“I’ve seen an Endbringer fool another brilliant man who thought he had a surefire way to win,” I said. “They’re clever than we think. What if Behemoth fools you?”
Cleverer?
Pandemonious Ivy on June 15, 2013 at 04:40 said:
more clever would be correct
zebra on June 15, 2013 at 13:53 said:
People do use cleverer in conversation its just the people who write the dictionaries have not got the message yet.
Both are correct, more clever is just more correct. 😉
En on June 16, 2013 at 12:26 said:
but cleverer is more clever 😀
Psycho Gecko on June 17, 2013 at 02:23 said:
And more cleverer is more clever than cleverer.
And… umh… oh, I give up 😛
Geko, just in case you read this, mind going over to the “glass” fanficion and leave a review? I managed only an extremely lame one and I need some awesomness on that page to counterbalance.
Or explosions, whatever you’d like more.
Thanks. And explosions (mine was really really lame, like “going around with a kid win tshirt on” lame)
hitherbydragons on June 15, 2013 at 00:20 said:
> “Kismet, balance thinker,” the Caucasian said. …
> What the fuck is a dust tinker? Or a ratio thinker, for that matter?
Should “ratio thinker” be “balance thinker”?
wildbow on June 15, 2013 at 00:24 said:
Thank you, hither. Fixed.
Fake Name on June 15, 2013 at 00:22 said:
>What the fuck is a dust tinker? Or a ratio thinker, for that matter?
Should be “balance thinker” going by the previous line. Or the previous line should be ratio thinker.
Charles Borner on June 15, 2013 at 00:22 said:
It should be First! Typo thread.
Adam on June 15, 2013 at 00:23 said:
“There were more burns here, crushed limbs, people co.”
Quite right. Fixed, thank you.
Someguy on June 15, 2013 at 00:25 said:
“Revel, leader of the Chicago Wards”
I thought Revel was the leader of the Chicago Protectorate and Tecton is the leader of the Chicago Wards.
Undead-Spaceman on June 15, 2013 at 00:30 said:
>”The guy with the faces on his armor.shouted so forcefully that spit flew from his mouth, as he pointed to the ground beyond the building.”
Random period between ‘armor’ and ‘shouted’.
saintsant on June 15, 2013 at 02:15 said:
and I I’m just
Should just be I’m
Cal on June 15, 2013 at 16:55 said:
strode forwards
forward*
manitou on June 16, 2013 at 05:19 said:
~Arbiter,” I responded. One of Rime’s underlings. The one with the social danger sense, forcefield and laser.~
^CRUSHED24.3^
~She leaped down, holding August Prince’s hand, and Arbiter took action. The heroine directed a sonic blast at Bambina with one hand,~
^DRONE23.2^
Acid or laser?
continuity error: Kismet cannot make a pained face with a hard featurless mask.
Well ok, he can, but it’s not much useful and Weaver should not be able to tell, unless the mask was quite small.
“It had been, ostensibly because he hadn’t wanted to underestimate me.”
Extra comma.
Maybe one less comma?
“It had been, ostensibly, because…”
That would imply to me that Taylor thought Tagg was making excuses when he told his officers to promote her two in every category — that’s not how I interpret the situation.
Umh, I thought Tagg was definitely making stuff up just because he’s a dick and wanted maxiumum security and/or emergency means/weapons against the Undersiders.
Don’t know if Taylor thinks like me however, since she’s such a sunny and trusting personality 🙂
Sorry, what I meant to say was that I thought the two-comma version was misleading and the no-comma version more akin to how we interpreted Tagg’s whole thing.
Ha! I fear we’ve bumped into some kind of regional language barrier here. I do interpret the two-comma version as the “Tagg is a jerk” one, and the no commas as a much lighter one.
Wait, when you say “Tagg is a jerk” you mean “the whole ‘two points higher’ bit was BS and the real reason was to make her uncomfortable by putting her in solitary with heavy restraints”? In that case, yeah, extra commas is more Tagg-is-a-jerk-ish.
Gopher on February 15, 2014 at 15:41 said:
“safe to withdraw the wings again”
Should probably be extend, or something else meaning the opposite of withdraw.
BillC on December 31, 2014 at 22:41 said:
I’d learned my lesson on my first night out on costume
in costume?
Shay on September 5, 2016 at 09:29 said:
I think wildblow meant *reticent*
The Sandman on June 15, 2013 at 00:22 said:
Portal cape guy… fuck it, I’ll just call him Wheatley.
Anyway, Wheatley is a moron, but not for the obvious reason.
Why in the hell is he targeting the Endbringer whose entire thing is manipulating all forms of energy with the Laser to End All Lasers when he could point it at the one that hangs out in orbit instead?
theant87 on June 15, 2013 at 00:25 said:
He wanted to use it on the other two and it was bad luck, or the Smurf, that caused him to show up.
Isn’t he basically just going with Erishkigala’s suggestion?
And it turns out that Behemoth wants him to.
Erishkigala??
Am I getting the name wrong or saying the wrong person? Used to go by another name, I believe. Advocated nuking Leviathan, hitting Leviathan with a massive Rod from God to drive him into the ground, then activating a nuke on it, and then was talk about how massive lasers are capable using 70s technology and would be a good thing to hit the energy manipulator walking through the middle of the city with. And people mentioned joining spacebattles or stardestroyer or something.
And now, lo and behold, we have a powerful cape trying to use some sort of temporal laser bomb on Behemoth who may take out New Delhi too.
We tend to go back and forth when it comes to WMDs. I supported use of blood agents, like Arsine, against Leviathan, but I think it’s safe to say it wouldn’t do shit against him. Still, some nerve agents (Sarin, Soman, that kind of thing) would be good to hit Contessa with. At the end of the day, I can no longer recommend the use of chemical warfare against the Endbringers.
Unless..hmm…well, it is worth a try. We’re going to need to dump as much weed as we can get on Behemoth. Just bury him under the stuff and hope he sets it on fire.
Who knows? It might mellow him out a little. Just make sure there’s a Cheetos factory nearby.
That’s actually a pretty good idea. I mean, I doubt conventional narcotics work on crystalline entities, but fogging the Endbringers’ purpose is potentially a more effective idea than killin’ ’em. Plus, even if it doesn’t fog Behemoth’s head up *much*, anything you addict him to here will almost certainly act as an India Gateway drug.
Alexander The So So on June 16, 2013 at 11:31 said:
Next up on the list, leviathon floods the poppy fields of afghanistan, getting the ocean high.
Zach on June 8, 2017 at 20:04 said:
I believe that part of Contessa’s power involves her never entering a situation against an opponent she can’t defeat to begin with. Like, there are a number of parahumans she wouldn’t be able to damage or escape from in a direct confrontation (really strong Brutes like Alexandria or flying parahumans with strong ranged attacks, for example), but she’s always following a “path to victory” towards a particular goal, which presumably entails never encountering the unbeatable threats.
I don’t know that her precognition goes that far forward. She can probably tell a fight is unwinnable and she’ll need to retreat, but Lung and his gang busted in on her and Doctor Mother while they were in the middle of a deal. If Contessa had known that was coming, she could have waited outside the room and intercepted them, preventing the interruption (unless of course Contessa/Doctor Mother wanted to display a show of force as a negotiating tactic).
Flaminghair on October 10, 2019 at 12:41 said:
Lung triggered then and he is able to go toe to toe with leviathan so it would make sense if contessa’s true aim of the meeting was to get one more cape to fight against endbringers
Admiral Skippy on June 15, 2013 at 13:15 said:
To be fair to Erish, there must exist upper limits to the amount of energy that Behemoth can redirect per second, or the speed of energy transferral it can react to, or the Yangban’s lasers would not have been capable of hurting it.
I think Beheomoth’s plan with the laser is probably more subtle than outright redirecting it like a punch from Alexandria. I imagine it may take advantage of it’s dynakinesis, but this will probably be as part of a clever mechanism rather than outright tanking the blast and throwing it elsewhere.
As for what he’s planning with it, a popular theory on SB atm is using it to kill Scion when he shows up. An interesting one, though I’m not quite so sure…
comickry on June 15, 2013 at 14:30 said:
So, what would be worse: Eradicating Scion or detonating the moon?
Detonating the moon, because that level of energy output would be a certain extinction event for humanity on Earth Bet, within seconds.
Scion’s death would be awful, but it doesn’t make humanity’s total demise certain, and certainly wouldn’t do it within seconds.
I really doubt that the laser has the energy output needed to blow up the moon, but I assume you were joking? A big whack at the dividing line between the dark and light sides, which is called the terminator, would still have some pretty terrifying effects though.
Half joking, actually. By detonating I was more thinking in the lines of large energy expenditure in the centre of the moon, leading to a… hiccup, so to speak. Some expansion and then gravitational pull reforms the moon. The most graphically dramatic scenario with only a moderate impact on mankind. Unless the expansion was big enough to haul significant amounts of debris to Earth, of course.
But I’m wondering, what you’re referring two, since the terminator wanders around the Moon and isn’t connected to any special features. Or did you think of the dividing lines between dark volcanic maria and light highlands?
Oh, a nice thought now… if the time bomb is kind of an annihilator beam, it might blast a small hole through the Moon. Unless it vaporizes the material, in which case… there’d be a giant plume of gaseous moon rock plus moon rocks hurling towards Earth.
Unless the portal is getting opened directly into the centre of the moon (which I suppose is not impossible if Phir See’s range and accuracy are crazy enough) I can’t visualise any way you’d actually create this hiccup. From my reading the thing we’re talking about is a very powerful single-direction laser, so the closest thing to what you describe would be aiming at the moon and then “drilling” through to the centre, at which point it will either have attenuated (assuming it even gets there), or keep going for some arbitrary distance. But the main factor in the outcome that will have is the plume of all vaporised material from the massive hole you’ve drilled through the moon, not it’s passage through the center! You referenced this the last passage of your reply.
No, I’m referring to the actual terminator, because a decent hit there could actually blot out the sun, as any plume created would be between the earth and moon. Look up Project A119, the discontinued american plan to nuke it as a stunt. Admittedly the effect might be mostly psychological unless you got a really good plume- I suppose hitting the closest point between the moon and earth might be strictly more practical in terms of getting the largest bodycount. Might depend on the yield and the dynamics of what a plume of a given size will do once it’s been made. Actually, thinking about it further, if the only places you can open at output portal are on earth, and thus you could only kinda skim the terminator with the beam, or hit it obliquely, then a straight on hit would definitely be more practical.
I’m pretty sure it’s just a really powerful laser, so I’d go for option B, see my reply above.
Well, I’m at least assuming it doesn’t work like a relativistic kinetic vehicle, which could have the same effect as shooting a watermelon – small hole in front with the back side looking decidedly worse. On the plus side, the moon nazis will be definitely gone.
Depending on the power output, if it basically works like a laser, the first plume will largely mitigate the effects, obscuring the target, scattering the light. Of course the gaseous rock would soon break down to its elements and then plasma, but there’s some fun in that, right?
Reading on A119 confirms my suspicion: you don’t need to hit the terminator. This side of the moon suffices, and hitting anywhere else would require some trickery. The terminator was just for visibility.
As for hitting the terminator: If you can hit the Moon accurately, then hitting the terminator is almost definitely an option, though as mentioned above not necessary.
The blotting out the sun part, though… no. Not feasible, unless you somehow damage the moon in such a way a few hundreds (at least) km^3 of dust settle in high atmosphere. The point of A119 was to make a visible plume, which would have been achieved by generating lots of dust being shone upon by the sun with a dark backdrop to make it actually visible.
Incidentally, if Phir Se can open portals anywhere… pointing the laser at the dark side would be possible. Though I see no reason for him to do that.
That’s assuming that, unlike noted in the chapter, Behemoth doesn’t want to portray the heroes’ attacks as actually being ineffective. He’s taken far more hits than he could have was specifically/explicitly noted.
That’s certainly not impossible. However, if he could easily redirect that level of energy upon being hit with it straight on, then he wouldn’t just be holding back by not using all of his abilities simultaneously, or emerging further away from his targets, or allowing himself to get hit more than he needs to, he’d be a god.
It wouldn’t just have been going easy on humanity due to in it’s fights, as we already know- it’d quite possibly be able to nearly completely wipe Earth Bet humanity out as a species, on it’s own, within days, if it decided to. It’s entire history within the wormverse would have been a total charade on a far greater level than it having held back a bit, a far greater level than we have concrete evidence for. That doesn’t fit with my image of the Endbringers, and there’s little direct evidence for them being that much more powerful then they act.
But I respect that you may feel differently, and it’s not impossible I suppose.
David Johnston on June 16, 2013 at 16:41 said:
I believe the limit on Behemoth’s redirection power is not how much energy he can redirect but how many sources of energy he can redirect at one time.
Possibly a limit on the number of sources; definitely a limit on the number of types of energy. That’s how the Triumvirate hammers him: Alexandria with kinetic, Legend with light/heat, and Eidolon with [something else]. While Behemoth can render himself immune to one or more at a time, he can’t stop all of them at once (or even back to back if I remember correctly, suggesting it takes time to switch).
Jerden on June 17, 2013 at 07:33 said:
Even if he doesn’t redirect it, it will still cause more damage than Behemoth can, and its not like it’s going to kill him! They’re the freaking Endbringers, they’re basically unkillable by defination!
I reckon that the plan is to get hit by the death laser then escape, leaving a collosal crater where half of India used to be. At most, it’ll drive Behemoth off like Scion does, only with more collateral damage.
Still, creative use of time travel. I always liked the idea of looping energy to get insane levels of power.
We have no reason to believe that the EB’s are actually unkillable, though. Indeed Tt mentioned that they try to avoid dying in battle, even when they’re trying to lose, which is reasonable evidence for their mortality. They’re just ludicrously difficult to kill, and I suspect they might be reformed in the places they go to heal if they were killed. But if the sun suddenly went nova, I wouldn’t expect the Endbringers to survive any more than the Earth.
I mean, the core of leviathan’s body is apparently only as dense as boron- which is pretty dense and probably ridiculously tough, but not like physics-breaking tough or anything.
IIRC, it’s only boron-dense a certain few percentages deep. Get a little deeper and it’s twice as tough as that. A little deeper and it’s twice as tough as -that-.
Oh, woops, misremembered, thanks for clarifying.
I have to admit I was wondering on that one, because Boron’s not really that dense!
Talk about breaking physics. How is that even remotely fair in the eyes of the multiverse? How the fuck are you supposed to kill something that sounds like it is denser than a blackhole at it’s core? Best we can hope for is for Doormaker to open a door into the Sun and send Levi and his siblings through then hope to god they don’t figure out how to use that energy source to rip a way back to home.
Jim Lee on June 15, 2013 at 00:29 said:
He’d need some serious Thinker and Blaster support for that. To work out a full firing solution, on Her, would be tricksy as fuck.
On the other hand, he probably HAS serious Thinker support.
Of all three, I reckon the one Endbringer that this weapon would really be useful against would be Leviathan.
A theory I have on getting around the Simurgh’s precognition to actually hit her: time your shots based on what Scion is doing. She can predict whatever you do, but can’t predict Scion. Fire whenever he moves his left arm or something, and not even you will know when you’re going to fire until you do. The second you do she’ll know, and know where it’s going to land, but that only gives her a few seconds at most to react instead of [as much time as she goddamn wants]. Obviously this depends on Zion actually being present at the time, but if you can get your sights on one any precog should work.
Phira Sē really should save that shot for the Smurf, when in battle, the side which screws up least wins, kill the enemy saboteur first instead of the guy who can most likely use it against you.
You know what though? According to Dragon, the Simurgh seems to absorb sunlight and use that as energy. I’m thinking if Phira Se hit her with his beam, she might eat it all up.
Anyways, when he says “I hoped for the Second or Third” he’s talking about Leviathan and the Simurgh. But knowing that the Simurgh is a precog, I don’t understand why he’d hope for her, cause I would think she would simply dodge. But yeah, I imagine he didn’t want it to be Behemoth because he has a good chance of manipulating it.
If Simurgh absorbs sunlight, does that make her Captain Planet or Birdman?
Stephen Marsh (Ethesis) on June 15, 2013 at 13:01 said:
He is a time traveler, his power probably messes with pre-cog powers. Makes me wonder what the Simurgh’s top load is, what forms of energy she can absorb and redirect.
The entire thing is fascinating. Takes the entire Endbringer game up to another level with the additional details.
This one does not ever strike at the direct target initially, they all want to be driven off and to fail, but only after causing damage (though not as much as they could).
I can’t wait to hear the story of what happened with the giant rail guns.
The arc tightens. Makes sense, knowing when the series ends.
But I’m back to reading and wondering, especially wondering what others have done in the way of analysis. It seems as if what Tattletale is intuiting is not common knowledge. But I wonder what Cauldron knows. Who else they are fighting. What else is going on. What probability are the passengers trying to evoke as the final one.
Going to be a heck of a ride.
Stephen M (Ethesis) on June 15, 2013 at 08:08 said:
underwhelmingforce on June 15, 2013 at 00:24 said:
Interesting thing I noticed: the “next chapter” link appears about 30 seconds before the chapter itself does- it’s a bit frustrating, actually, because it tricks me into thinking the new chapter is up when it’s not.
That said, whoooo boy. India has some scary capes. Not surprised, but still.
And Behemoth is pulling a bit of a Batman gambit here. He’s counting on Phira Sē to blast him with his time-loop light bomb so he can power up with it or something (generally using something like that on an energy manipulator is NOT a good idea). Great. This is going to work out well for everyone.
At least Tattletale is still alive! For now!
That’s because I manually update the link in question.
Oh! That would explain it.
It got worse the series. Observations: Damn, Rachel’s dogs can walk off a fucking lighting bolt. No wonder she survived for two years on the street on her own against heroes and other villains. When the cape said Battery is dead, I thought he was talking about Battery and briefly thought she came back to life. So we have another monster who has a bomb that may destroy the city. Hell, he might freaking destroy India, and this is the reason BEHEMOTH came to town. With enough bugs, she could flood the chamber and make it hard for the teleporter to find her while using the same tactics she used against Lee. Then she can try either escape to warn everyone or try to kill him now and detonate it underground/deny BEHEMOTH what he came for. We also have some new stuff to add for crapsack world. Nukes, plural have been used and the world probably has less living space.
Don’t worry about it, theant. Always look on the bright side of life. Always look on the light side of life.
Silver lining of Endbringer attacks:
1. Less chance of wars since the world has a common enemy to focus against.
2. Less human presence means the environment is healthier/better off.
3. No global warming since BEHEMOTH is taking out oil fields.
4. Gives governments/parahumans/organizations perfect excuse for terrible actions because they figure its worth it if an Endbringer is offed.
Gnarker on June 15, 2013 at 00:58 said:
Point 3 is invalid: He’s taking out oil fields by burning them. If anything, he accelerates global warming.
Well it might push the wormvers into alternative energy sources. For all we know every car we’ve seen so far is actually electric and Taylor never commented on it because she thinks it’s normal.
Starry Sky on June 15, 2013 at 02:43 said:
Yeah, I don’t think a world economy that suffers periodic catastrophes as city after city gets knocked off the face of the earth is going to be able to afford expensive alternative energy sources. Nuclear’s a possibility, the price is usually right, and I might be able to see wind if there were large subsidies to help it stay competitive with coal and natural gas. Barring parahuman intervention though, I doubt anyone has seriously begun developing solar.
You’re still missing the major point: No arab oil fields. That means the oil prices skyrocketed, probably beyond our current level, and only might have dropped if other fields, for instance off-shore or arctic, had been explored. On the other hand, fracking is only now financially feasible due to the high oil price. Bet might have started developing this technology earlier.
Furthermore, you got tinkers. If you approach solar power as an engineering problem you gain a wholly different perspective. Have some companies buy tinkers, have them discover and develop the underlying principles of efficient energy transportation and storage and gear the industrial infrastructure to the appropriate tech and you could cover half the Sahara desert in photovoltaic panels in a decade or two. Or any other desert with sufficient sunshine for that matter.
On the plus side, energy generation is largely decentralized, making it less of an attack vector for the Endbringers. For that same reason you may want to avoid damming big gorges and limit yourself to smaller ones not immediately killing hundreds of thousands of people in case of attack.
There’s a few documentaries, some better than others, that gives a what if scenario where events cause oil prices to go up skyhigh and the consequences of it. The average person can’t afford to drive, there are more deaths in the winter because alot more people can’t heat their homes, and industry will take a dive. The wormverse probably already went through something similar and was forced to look for alternative sources much earlier. I don’t buy the Tinker possibilities though. Tinkers can change the rules but Mannequin proved that anyone who could really help the world is a target for the Smurf. With the oil fields gone, I figure everyone is forced to start making super efficient electric cars. The US still has the strategic oil reserve which is supposed to be able to last for a few decades though. Nuclear power plants are big targets and the Smurf caused a leak in one during her first appearance. So I think people are more reliant on coil in the wormverse thanks to the Endbringers.
Alathon on June 15, 2013 at 01:56 said:
I wouldn’t expect burning oil fields to do more damage to the environment than we do by pumping the oil out and burning it. He’d only get the oil near the surface and the stuff coming up until the machinery is slagged, whereas we extract as much as we can from subterranean deposits and burn it on the surface.
Really? I’d have expected an oil field to behave similar to a coal vein in that respect. Meaning, it burns underground and incompletely under oxygen deprivation, not only producing a lot of dangerous gases (Carbon Monoxide, for example), but due to it’s inaccessibility it’s near impossible to put out. But I could be wrong.
IIRC an oil field (as opposed to a coal mine or coal seam) should not be able to burn for long, unless it’s tapped and burning at the wells’ ends. (which is easily fixable with explosives or parahumas, myrddin would have excelled at it)
Mazzon on June 15, 2013 at 04:15 said:
I reckon point 2 is invalid, too. I’m pretty sure Behemoth disaster areas were earlier described as “radioactive wasteland”, that’s not particularly great for environment.
I forgot about that. Depends on the radiation levels BEHEMOTH is throwing around though. Chernobyl still has vegetation I think.
It has. Radiation is generally more of a selective pressure kind of thing, I think. Unless you get roasted or some equally killing dosis of it, you’ll just be likely to have grossly missformed or dead offspring, unless your error correcting parts of cell biology are top notch.
Forum Explorer on June 15, 2013 at 13:00 said:
It also has radioactive eating bacteria if I remember correctly. So life finds a way.
To shed some light on it:
D. radiodurans can survive radioactivity like it’s nothing.
This article implies some radiothrophic metabolism between the lines, but a quick check of the article itself goes more in the direction of using radiolytic generated H2.
Geobacter metallireducens actually can metabolise uranium dioxide. There are other microbes of course which do just the same and more.
As for directly using radioactivity in some kind of high energy phototrophic reaction… none I’m aware of.
Gonna have to disagree with point two as well. Behemoth leaves county sized chunks of land radioactive wastes, and Leviathan sinks ISLANDS. Smurf, admittedly, probably doesn’t do much to harm Mother Earth.
RazorSmile on June 15, 2013 at 02:24 said:
Of course. What’s brighter than nuclear detonations?
Bigger nuclear detonations.
A beautiful woman smiling in true happiness from across the room? ::texts wife a cheesey pick up line from across the room.: Yup, thats brighter!
johnwedd on June 16, 2013 at 22:38 said:
blinded by SCIENCE!
taliesinskye on June 15, 2013 at 12:19 said:
Many hundreds of nukes have been detonated over the years in the real world, thanks mostly to nuclear testing programs by the U.S., Russia, France, and the U.K. before the test ban treaty. I think the net result was to increase cancer rates by one or two percent for a generation while the radioisotopes gradually fell out of the upper atmosphere. A few nukes aren’t an environmental catastrophe, really. Hiroshima and Nagasaki are perfectly inhabitable now, for instance. Nuclear reactor disasters are actually much worse, since the reaction isn’t over all at once, but continues for many years.
Funnily enough a recent study garnered some interesting results in brain cells only possible due to the terran surface tests of nukes.
In short: It was assumed/theorized the brain cells in humans were all set at birth, with no further post natal cell division. Since at the height of (non subterranean) nuclear testing C-14 levels in the atmosphere had doubled, proving appropriate C-14 levels in human brains (via consumption of plants grown during that testing, the resources of which were metabolised) shed new light on that. Namely there’s some cell division… though not much and not equally distributed or anything.
Don’t know how much this matters in the scheme of things, but the nukes dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were small fry. The first hydrogen bomb ever dropped was three hundred times as powerful, and they’ve only gotten stronger since.
Hydrargentium on June 17, 2013 at 16:50 said:
Yeah, theant87, my moment of awesome in this chapter was one of the dogs shrugging off a lightning bolt. Saaa-weeett!
Yog on June 15, 2013 at 00:25 said:
So… Predictions:
1) Time bomb misses, Scion dead.
2) Skitter has second trigger impact (very strong feeling of being trapped, very strong feeling of failing, very strong feeling of helplessness).
Comments: This weapon is terrifying. More of a laser than a bomb though. Still terrifying.
Great Greedy Guts on June 15, 2013 at 01:00 said:
Oh, hell. I think you’re right. Big B is going to try and kill Scion. Fffffff-
Also, at that point, a laser is a bomb, more or less, I think, just one delivered efficiently.
IF Scion bites it then the wormverse is screwed and I think people will start evacuating through the portal.
Veloren on June 15, 2013 at 16:37 said:
Alternatively, the bomb works perfectly. Behemoth is dead. The world rejoices.
And the other two Endbringers stop going easy on everyone.
Frankly, I still have my suspicions that if you “killed” an Endbringer via conventional means then it’s body would just reform over time in the places they go to heal the damage they sustain in battle. This is linked with my theory that the Endbringers seen on the Earth Bet end of things may be projections or appendages, rather than the full creatures themselves. Another scenario is that the force behind them could relatively easily make and send more.
frozen chicken on June 16, 2013 at 05:37 said:
I don’t think you’re even considering the full range of options.
-Behemoth is there to tank the weapon because it actually could kill either Simurgh or Leviathan.
-Behemoth absorbs (enough of) the blast, uses it to kill various indestructibles (Alexandria, Scion, etc).
-Behemoth manages to make the laser fire downwards, and blow a hole through the earth. The world is slowly doomed.
-Behemoth is working in concert with Simurgh on this, which indicates any number of other possible consequences.
AMR on June 16, 2013 at 05:46 said:
>Behemoth is working in concert with Simurgh on this, which indicates any number of other possible consequences.
Well, we know that the Simurgh has already made a move via Cody, IMO to neutralize Tattletale so she couldn’t identify Behemoth’s real target ( and incapacitating/killing the defenders’ field commander and chief tactician surely was a bonus), what would be interesting to know is wether Behemoth knows of Simuyrch actions or if she also uses her fellow Endbringers as pawns in her scheme.
*Simurgh, not Simuyrch. Seriously how the hell did I spell THAT typo
Maybe it wasn’t to stop Tattletale. Maybe it was to ensure that Taylor would be the one to be there.
Perhaps Taylor has been the Simurgh’s favoured pawn all along.
Dun Dun DUN.
Fortunately, that’s pretty much impossible. All the Undersiders have had extensive contact with Dinah (or at least her predictions) which means the Simurgh couldn’t of known where they’d be now back when she was setting up her Rube Goldberg machines of doom.
Well at least the guy about to destroy India is polite, I’ll give him that.
Interesting. The Endbringers want people to unleash nukes and Rods from God and giant lasers on them. They turn the weapons of humanity back on them.
Jessie Laurent on June 15, 2013 at 09:02 said:
Possibly. There is an alternate possiblity, albeit one that is unlikely. What if the Endbringers WANT to lose for some reason. Wish to cease to be, and thus, well, at least two of them seem to be targeting someone who at least MIGHT have done some serious damage to them. This could be a strategy to take out the only things to stop them, or it could be some elaborate attempt at suicide-by-cop. Unlikely, yes, but just thought I’d throw that out.
Luke Licens on June 17, 2013 at 12:19 said:
The Smurf is a precog with a grand plan. The Endbingers have a purpose, and ‘victory’ is not necessarily part of that purpose. Tattletale says that they’re holding back, even though we can’t beat them while they do. Correct me if I’m wrong, but, while fighting Leviathan she deduced that they were getting stronger with each confrontation. Maybe they’re drawing it out to become strong enough for…SOMETHING…down the line.
I don’t recall stating that. You may be thinking of Taylor’s thoughts, about how dangerous Endbringers became as a battle progressed.
negadarkwing on June 15, 2013 at 09:03 said:
They are trying to teach people the horrors of weapons of mass destruction and war, but no body has figured it out yet.
irrevenant on June 21, 2014 at 00:40 said:
I think they’ve figured out that message. They just think mass destruction and war are so horrible that there’s no option but to blow up the people using them. So… yeah. -_-
metalshop on June 15, 2013 at 00:28 said:
Hey Wildbow,
Long time lurker, first time poster here. I’m breaking radio silence to let you know how in awe I am of your ability to escalate a situation.
Hello metalshop. Yep, here in the comments, we enjoy Wildbow escalating things. Like this time Wildbow went out for coffee. And then the coffeeshop was being robbed. By European criminals who were just pretending to rob it because they were actually going to blow it up because they were mercenary terrorists. From space. Who hate caffeine and all caffeine users because of an intergalactic space religion referring to caffeine as “the space devil’s stimulant”. Whose actions aren’t approved by the space pope, who is reptilian. Who only finds out about the attack 100 years in the future, at which point he sends a robot back in time. A nude robot. That looks exactly like Steven Seagal. Who doesn’t bother to steal clothes, he just jumps through a window and starts kicking ass until it’s found out he’s somehow the father of the lead terrorist who was also sent back in time to try and kill his mother, who is himself from further in the future but with a sex change and another time machine.
Welcome to the comments, metalshop.
A typical Saturday for Wildbow.
Eldan on June 15, 2013 at 09:25 said:
It was probably dinner time.
chrnno on June 15, 2013 at 01:33 said:
Oh Psycho Gecko never change. 😀
I find it highly unlikely Geko. With russian criminals maybe, or japanese ones, but with europeans ones you’re pushing it too far.
You’re right. That is the weak point in that scenario’s believability.
Totally crushed my suspension of disbelief.
Maybe that’s why he lets the Cauldron capes live. They’re nukes and giant lasers as well.
Since when have the Endbringers let Cauldron capes live?
Maybe not live, but I need to add to the WMG page that I think the Smurf took steps to allow Cauldron to remain secret/never attack because their existence gives them more tools for her to use and they do alot of damage for all their greater good crap. Noelle, the 9/Greyboy, Siberian, Shatterbird are just the ones we know about.
It’s been hard to pay attention, but have we ever seen an Endbringer kill a confirmed Cauldron cape?
Not to my knowledge, but I think people would have noticed if a certain segment of the cape population wasn’t getting autokilled by Behemoth or drowned by Leviathan.
They didn’t even know about that segment of the population until very recently.
Yeah, but if someone got within range of Behemoth and didn’t instantly die, it would have been commented on even if everyone else didn’t know anything about Cauldron. So unless the Cauldron capes are conspiring with the Endbringers somehow to avoid getting killed, or no Cauldron cape has been in an Endbringer fight at all (which we know isn’t true), it seems unlikely that the Endbringers afford them any more consideration than they give everyone else.
Alexandria did note how often she’s gone up against the Endbringers and survived, even though they tried to drown her. That’s what made me suspicious. Doesn’t hurt that we find out how much they’re holding back.
Alexandria did seem pretty surprised in her interlude when BEHEMOTH appeared, and Leviathan would have drowned her without someone coming to her rescue. I figure Cauldron knows more than anybody else, but they might be still be in the dark as well.
Cauldron isn’t working for the Endbringers. At first my thought was that somehow the Cauldron formula screwed up the Endbringer’s IFF.
Now, with how they supposedly use powerful attacks and nuclear bombs and so on back against humanity, it’s possible they’re letting Cauldron capes survive for the same reason. Human-made weapons that more often do more harm against humanity than the Endbringers themselves.
It even accounts for why they haven’t shown up while the Slaughterhouse 9 was causing all kinds of conflict. They want the Slaughterhouse 9 to survive because humanity is its own worst enemy more than even unkillable giant monsters can be.
acediamonds on June 15, 2013 at 01:01 said:
Is Accord a Cauldron cape or just a cape that is involved with Cauldron?
The latter. He’s a legit trigger-effect cape. Coil was a Cauldron enhancile.
Wait, I thought Coil triggered when fighting Nilbog. Cauldron had a plan for him but like Skitter, Coil was unaware of the plan. Or so I thought.
Coil mentioned during his interlude he owed a week of his time (implied to be to Cauldron), so this is the supporting argument for Coil being a Cauldron cape.
And I’m also pretty sure that Calvert told Piggot that he hoped to trigger when facing Nilbog and the fact that it didn’t happen then was proof he’d never get powers. Hence later purchasing “an expensive ability”, his own words, from Cauldron
Is it time for me to mention my theory that the Endbringers are here specifically to kill the symbionts, and if you don’t have one, even if you do have superpowers, you are incidental to their purpose?
By symbionts, do you mean Passengers? Or was there a DS9 crossover episode that I missed?
It’s been explicitly stated that the bulk of all cape deaths within a given Endbringer fight are Cauldron capes.
Did you derive this from the likelihood of hero capes goind against Endbringers and the higher (presumed) percentage and supposed goal of Cauldron to produce heroes, or was it stated by Mother or someone?
Do you remember where you read that?
I think the Endbringers have been screwing Cauldron’s primary & secondary means and strategic strongholds to force them to using their tertiary means in such a way that when they move into the engame to execute their final plan to achieve their goal, it will backfire spectacularly.
The Simurgh did empty a Cauldron prison during the Migration arc, apparently seriously inconveniencing them.
Loving Tattletale. Guessing Weaver got her that cell phone — couldn’t read it clearly.
Busy right now, so comments later.
Rascal on June 16, 2013 at 05:16 said:
Yah yah yah, it was explicitly stated that Taylor didn’t leave until she was sure the phone was in Tattletale’s hands.
I can’t think of anything interesting the Tatt’s lotto could do once she can send texts again though – any speculation?
Tinker-made Smartphone + 4G = Happy Tattletale.
Hmm… Another way this could go wrong. “When fight cannot be won, I strike”.
Scion arrives, Behemoth either dies or flees immensely sensing the intent to kill. Pihra Se has no one to attack with his bomb and no way to dissipate it.
He can just fire it into the sky if he wants.
Radiation bloom would still be pretty f*cking bad.
That’s the problem with energy weapons – they discharge continuously as they travel to their target.
Barring a dimensional door, I think Scion is the only one who could diffuse something like this.
And even then it’s arguable. Scion biting it here should produce… interesting effects.
Robert on June 15, 2013 at 05:19 said:
And the energy doesn’t go away once it hits your target. If his weapon is strong enough that an undirected attack will destroy New Delhi … a successful directed attack will destroy New Delhi. The only difference is the energy will radiate from wherever Behemoth is/was instead of from the underground bunker. So you might get a slightly different pattern from a semi-buried explosion as compared to a ground-level explosion, and it might take a little longer as Behemoth cools and radiates whatever energy he absorbed, but it’ll still be very bad for anyone nearby.
That’s assuming it is a directed energy attack and not black-hole shenanigans as other people have been theorizing.
>>Pregnant with dead teammates?
>>Suddenly the little faces on his armor seemed twice as creepy. I really hoped that was a tragically bad translation. Parahumans could be so fucked up sometimes.
This made me laugh, hard. I mean, sure it’s not funny if you’re that guy, but the sheer fucked-up-ness of being at a Behemoth hid and having a guy scream at you in a foreign language that he’s mpregnated with his team, it’s worth something.
Here’s hoping Chroniton Torpedo owns the shit out of Behemoth, ‘cuz if it doesn’t, that’s gonna be two very circumstantial strikes against Weaver. She brings all the wounded capes to the Cauldron boogeyman, who softballs her team in a way she’s never been known to before, tells her “we have no business anymore”… sounds almost like she’s completed the last of her assigned tasks, ya know? And now this, conning good capes into breaking a supposed monster out of prison to nuke everyone except Behemoth? Of course, that’s not quite how it happened, but everyone who could vouch will be dead.
Glassware on June 15, 2013 at 01:14 said:
He wasn’t imprisoned. He was in his secret underground Bond-villain base preparing a weapon that can destroy cities.
Maybe Countries?
Naeddyr on June 15, 2013 at 03:19 said:
Continents.
Planets.
soulpelt on June 15, 2013 at 06:34 said:
Quadrants.
FarFromUnique on June 17, 2013 at 17:58 said:
You missed Sectors and Sector blocks…
Hmm, yup, you’re right. I’d figured secret government containment vessel but that doesn’t match with the teleporter, for some reason when I saw that scene I assumed he’d done the arm-through-chest thing with one of his own portals in the future.
I have the impression they entered a part of New Delhi’s cape-created underworld. This area is for the “anti-hero” capes (cold “good guys”). Phīr Se is a monster, but an anti-hero monster who deals with corruption and the cold bad guys, and then gets branded something like, oh, terrorist or similar.
Sometimes what determines if someone is a hero or a villian isn’t their goals. Rather it’s how far they are willing to go to achieve those goals. Phir Se has a good goal. Get rid of an Endbringer. Even if it takes a city off the map it probably would save more people than not, as BEHEMOTH won’t ever attack again. The problem is that he is still willing to use it when there are a lot of surviviors. Not to mention taking out a lot of key capes for dealing with the other Endbringers and S class threats. And Taylor is probably right and it won’t work.
Nurse, get this man in the armor to a hospital, ASAP! Now hang in there, I need you to breath. Come on, you’re doing good. Now when we get to the hospital, remember to push. Everything’s going to be fine. By the way, do we need to make a new hole, or are they coming out the anus?
No he’ll vomit them up, clown car style.
I’m thinking he rolls like Zeus, takes a chisel to his head, cracks it open, and bam! Out they come.
axe, it was an axe.
Loki-L on June 15, 2013 at 00:55 said:
I am not sure what to make of the fact that the Endbringers are officially holding back in some ways. It makes it appear that they have a purpose other than simply trying to kill everyone.
Maybe they are just pruning the weak branches away in an effort to encourage growth. That which does not kill them makes them stronger? A gigantic cosmic training exercise full of tough love to prepare Earth and its capes for the real danger…
I liked the bit where Taylor reflected on her own power classification, but I don’t think she really thought it through. Wondering how she could count as a mover while flying around with a jet-pack seems a bit slow.
At the very least she has accomplished her objective of finding the thing that Behemoth wants and can communicate her findings back with her bugs. I am not sure though that it is really the energy from the shot that Behemoth wants and not something else about it.
My bet is that the Endbringers are forcing trigger events in noncapes, and forcing already existing capes to get closer to their trigger event frame of mind and use their powers more and more.
If you go by that route, I would argue they’re pruning the population of people lacking the potential to trigger. Have everyone be a parahuman and the trigger requirement will be pretty mellow.
Or they are cultivating the fields, shaping humanity in the way they want it.
Damn it we got another piece of the puzzle, but not the one that makes you go “Oh it’s a sailboat!”
Brian on June 15, 2013 at 12:21 said:
My working theory is that the Endbringers are a response to Cauldron, that either their artificial power creation or dimension-traveling triggered a response. The Endbringers show up and threaten some target that capes will protect; actually destroying the target is almost an incidental goal (just to show the need to take the threat seriously), the real purpose is to kill Cauldron capes.
I’m not sure I really want this to be true. Cauldron works better for me as sociopaths with good-ish intentions than the ultimate source of all misery; they’re already indirectly or directly responsible for a lot of evil, I’m not sure I want to be able to trace most of everything wrong with the world back to them.
I suppose one way to disprove this would be the geographic distribution of the attacks. If the Endbringers attack, say, China as often as they do the U.S., that would be mild evidence that Cauldron isn’t their focus. (Not entirely conclusive, since we have no idea what areas Cauldron is surreptitiously active in, but it tells us something.)
My theory is that the Endbringers are a response to the power-givers (we really need an official name for them. I’ve always preferred ‘dancing gods’).
I though the semi-official term was Passenger.
Paggenger is Bonesaw’s designation. The official one is “agent” iirc.
Bah, hit send too fast.
Frozen chicken is asking about the two (three?) big things that shed passengers. We do not have any designation in-story so far, save from Tattletale’s virus-god-child.
Personally I vote for “crystal space slug whale”
Hmm … big things than shed passengers … how about “busses”? 😛
eduardo on June 15, 2013 at 00:57 said:
Can a swarm be multiplied by this power? By the power of making gates in time?
If he multiplies light by making it rebound … it is weird. I am still trying to understand how it works.
Landis963 on June 15, 2013 at 01:10 said:
You know how lasers are made by reflecting light back and forth between two mirrors, with the business end of the laser being a polarized mirror instead of a normal opaque mirror? It’s like that, but the two mirrors are two halves of a time portal. He points the past end of the mirror at the present end, and the light between them grows exponentially. And anything that can go through a time portal unharmed (assuming, of course, that Manton effect applies) could be multiplied like that.
If you use a photon it can`t go back in time and appear right here right now again. Paradox.
Same for insects, if they got into the portal to come back before this moment in time they didn`t hit anyone before entering. Paradox and breaking of casualty if this happens.
But a laser is possible: a photon excites a gas in a process that results in the liberation of two other photons that come back in time and create other photons …
I can`t remember the exact process, will read it again and try to figure how powerful this laser can really be.
Of course, if this guy can break the casualty principle … he really could multiply anything and, for instance, hit a guy with a knife before throwing it than simply keep the knife and not throw it.
I think it’s more likely to be the closed loop variety of paradox. A leads to B leads to C leads to A. Time is a dimesion like any other, except most people can only move along it one way. His portals are 4 dimensional. I think it’s neat.
The way I understand it laser emits light A which hits portal and gets sent back to the start; you now have light A plus the newly emitted light B which go through the portal, then light A + B + C, etc. Basically the same effect you get with a laser but much more perfect and with no upper limit because the portal replaces the mirror(s).
Alternatively, if time shenanigans are involved and the light is being sent back in time to or close to its original emission you could end up with A, then A1+A2+B, then A1+A2+A3+B1+B2+C, then A1+A2+A3+A4+B1+B2+B3+C1+C2+D. Much more exponential, but I have a harder time visualizing how the light makes it to the present time.
Finally, @Eduardo. “Paradox”? Really? In a world where matter can get several times denser than physically possible, people can see the future, and Legend can fire lasers that BEND?
He’s taking an awful risk with that. As Grand Moff Tarkin would say, this had better work. (And if it doesn’t, it’s really going to be spectacular. I just hope he can target it right.)
This is a . . . genuinely hard problem. I’m assuming Taylor will stick to her conviction that he’s playing into Behemoth’s hands and try to stop him or the weapon without killing him. Futzing with his aim or something risks making the exact same mistake he’s making (“assuming that the Endbringer hasn’t anticipated something like this”) — it’s a safer call than letting him fire it, I guess, but only *sort* of. I wouldn’t *think* she could use his power against him at the moment, since I’d guess any bugs that tried to go into the portal would incinerate before they even got through. (It’s a pity, since I’d like to know whether Taylor’s perceptions and cognition would start being trans-temporal if she managed to get some of her bugs back in time.)
The only options I can *think* of are persuading Phira Sē to back down, which is plausible given that Taylor is turning into quite the social/psychological hacker but seems unlikely across cultural barriers without any real shared experiences, or pulling something out of her hat using another cape, which seems hard since Kismet is down, Particulate is a relative unknown, and Fathom is . . . off somewhere?
I wonder if Theo can stick his hands in light and make light hands elsewhere.
So her spare resources are herself, flight, a weak pair of extra hands, whatever swarm she has with her at the moment, Particulate, Fathom if Fathom shows up or comes in range of bug communication, and arguably the teleporter. (She can probably leverage the teleporter somehow, being Taylor, though I’m not immediately sure how. It is notionally possible, anyway.)
Fathom seems like she might have some potential, but it’d take a LOT of water to make even the slightest difference, wouldn’t it? Hrm.
Leviathan and Simurgh are still dormant, right? Assuming that Phira’s gun is still on the proverbial mantlepiece by the end of the Behemoth fight, he can fire it essentially anywhere. Why doesn’t he fire it at Leviathan, while it’s dormant? Boil it alive?
Leviathan is VERY deep underwater. It might cause the ocean to boil before getting close to him.
Leviathan is definitely the best target for it but it seems like that would take an awfully accurate sniper scope.
Perhaps not, actually. That much energy would flash boil a lot of water. And you don’t need to kill the lobster before you cook it…
Especially with teleportation. I suspect he has a distance limit.
Otherwise he could be teleporting his weapon to the targets.
Losing an ocean would be so much worse for humanity then killing Leviathan would be. The steam would block out the sun causing an ice age, massive floods and storms, huge tidal waves in every other ocean, insane ecological damage, burning entire islands to death, and depriving us of one of our greatest food sources in an ice age.
I don’t think the laser has THAT much energy, or it wouldn’t be able to be fired anywhere on earth. Behemoth throwing it off target to use against the city would not really be a worry- it would kill everyone in the city and most of northern India within seconds just as well whether it was on-target or off-target, if it was that powerful.
You’re also underestimating the effects of an energy release that flash boiled an ocean, rather a great deal. It would be an extinction-level event within the scale of minutes or hours, not days.
It would only take minutes or hours but the results would last for years. But yeah I doubt it would have that much power. More likely it would just cause a ton of steam and do nothing.
If she fuzzes his aim and the shot goes wide, what are the chances of it hitting the moon? I mean, mathematically speaking not so big, especially if they shoot somewhat southish, but narratively?
It’s really hard to shoot the moon when playing against Contessa.
Yeah, good then Weaver isn’t engaging Contessa but B. My point was more, if somehow the moon is impacted on the visible side, putting the nice pyrotechnics and message and stuff aside, there’s some likelihood of orbital impacts. A nice side effect so to speak to killing an Endbringer. Instead of a single big disaster every few months it’s just one more (medium) strain on the parahumans and humankind on a global scale.
Hobbes on June 15, 2013 at 14:07 said:
Really? Nobody else got that hearts pun? Well, I appreciated it. “Shooting the moon” is a gambit in hearts where one deliberately acquires all the penalty cards in the game, i.e., every heart and the queen of spades. If you succeed, you get no points and everyone else gets 26. If you fail, though, you get up to 25 points and everyone else gets off scot-free.
And since either Contessa or Doctor Mother would be “the queen of spades,” it’s impossible to “get” (defeat, in the Wormverse) either of them. You try to shoot the moon and you end up dead.
I just don’t think Fathom’s power is all that useless on Behemoth. Behemoth is *slips on sunglasses* unfathomable.
useful*
Yep…one typo away from funny.
The Autobiography
Psycho Gecko: An Autobiology of Mischief.
Autobiology: Sapient Vehicles 101.
Two capes that come to mind are Tattletale (presumably via text message or video chat) and Arbiter. How much time does Weaver have, and does she have a cell phone (or operable wristband)?
We know there are a number of thinkers and other capes who Taylor asked to search north, who may be close on her heels. The next move in this game might come from one of them, rather than a previously named character, or have a previously named character working in concert with them.
I’m going to be optimistic here. Assuming Tattletale’s right, the Endbringers want to lose. I think Taylor might be able to talk PS down, he seems to have a lot of respect for her. The Simurgh was obviously trying to stop Tattletale from doing something by using Cody to try and kill her.
So maybe Tattletale getting Taylor to go search for what Behemoth was aiming for, wrecks the Endbringers’ plan by stopping PS.
I almost wonder if Phir Se’s success is Behemoth’s goal.. not to die, but to sell the attack, because Phir Se’s success would come with all sorts of baggage. It’d demonstrate that industrial scale ruthlessness is what’s needed to win these fights, demonstrate it visually, in a way that would be very hard to argue against. Humanity doesn’t do so hot when it cranks the ruthlessness up to 11, it’d be like an alley-oop to the Simurgh.
Though I’m still thinking that Behemoth wants all those parahumans there. It seems like his methods (given the broad powerset he has) are chosen to ensure opposition, to draw it in like moths to the flame. Still partial to the idea that they’re farming parahumans/powers.
But, Taylor did promise Bitch that she’d find a way to strike back.
And the hits just keep on coming.
– man, Tecton’s team is the shit. Golem in particular is representing like a boss.
– interesting discovery Tattletale made there. If the Endbringers are playing to lose, does this mean they are slaves to some other party?
– alternatively, are they acting as a gom jabbar for humanity, a proving ground for some greater threat? Trying to turn humanity into parahumanity? Trouble with that theory is look at the number of paras they kill.
– On the other hand, it works if both of the above theories are simultaneously true
– Dust tinker, huh? Specializes in tech that can turn things into dust. Guns, bombs, perhaps forcefields.
– Phir Sē is Hindu/Sanskrit for “repeat.” Nice one, Wildbow.
– of course, given that it is possible to occupy BEHEMOTH’s redirection abilities in such a way that some attacks actually connect, theoretically the time-looped laser could do some real damage.
– That said, there is absolutely zero chance that he’ll actually penetrate the exponential Matryoshka density of an Endbringer’s body deep enough to matter. It might have done some damage to Leviathan but for the other two, it’s a wasted effort. His plan is a bad plan and he should feel bad. Too bad he’s so busy having fun being a Bond villain with his own mini-Cauldron and mini-Gatemaker/Contessa pet assassin to realize it.
– which raises the question of what Skitter will do, especially given that she can’t hurt him much because breaking his concentration will save BEHEMOTH the inconvenience of personally destroying India
“- Dust tinker, huh? Specializes in tech that can turn things into dust. Guns, bombs, perhaps forcefields.”
Tell it to the cleaning lady on Monday. Because the cleaning lady? She cleans up dust. She dusts.
“But why Monday?”
Because she has the weekend off, so Monday, right?
I love that movie, this reference, and the fact that you didnt typo it up
Actually, he may well do so, only for it to be worse than the original Endbringer. Because with the portal trick, he could have generated a black hole. Which would be ideal against superdense matter.
Also, my personal hypothesis is that Endbringers are Scion’s psychic projections (like Syberian was Manton’s). They are also fighting evil / destroying dangers to humanity. Just in the most aggressive way.
Once the black hole consumes (if it indeed does) BEHEMOTH it should evaporate relatively quickly with lack of containment, right? I mean, I don’t know the size of the black hole, and if it’s small enough its consumption rate < radiation rate. It might even be safely dropped. If consumption rate ≥ radiation rate… don't drop it.
Well, yes, it probably should. It’ll produce sh*ttons of radiation (including EMP pulse that would likely destroy India’s, Chinese and probably Russian electronics) and will act as a multi-gigaton (likely) nuke, but it is likely to dissipate. The blackhole itself should be very, very small as it is, otherwise Taylor would have felt the gravitational pull.
The point is – superdense matter that the Endbringers are made of is the ideal target for such a weapon. The denser the more effective the attack would be.
What strikes me as odd was how most were kind of surprised at the superdensity. Shouldn’t they have already known that and not needed Tt to tell’em that? If we take Big B for instance, he’s 45 feet (about 14 metres) tall and if he had a humanoid density he would have weighed what, a few tons at most(1)? But if he’s super dense (let’s go with gold or something as an average) he ought to weigh 90+ tons. And in regards to how the underground would react to such different weights, well… the footsteps alone should’ve been some indicator as to something being amiss. Unless the Endbringers are a bit self conscious about their weight.
Human density: 1.055 g/cm^3; Human volume: 75 litres; Human height: 175 cm
Based on this with somewhat quadratic expansion an 8 times size is 64 times volume. Density unchanged brings it to 5 tons
Well Behemoth is the guy that not only won the Superpower Lottery but also emptied the slot machines on his way out of the casino. He can manipulate pretty much ANYTHING. The heroes probably assumed he had some sort of control over weight/gravity. Eidolon can do it why not Behemoth.
Because the same still goes for Leviathan and Simurgh as well. Take Leviathan: Super dense. Five times human height, thus 25 times volume, thus about 40% weight of Behemoth or 36 tons. Significantly different to two tones if they had regular human density.
The gravity assist doesn’t count in my book since, if you had a power and was/were an Endbringer, would you only use it passively? If they have gravity manipulation generally, they’d throw it around.
Though it could always be they push themselves up with their powers, respectively – Simmy with her telekinesis, Levi with his hydrokinesis and B with his dynakinesis. Pretty distant method, though.
Actually, no. Behemoth can control Energy. Gravitation/Weight is a Force, which he can’t control.
Unless perhaps he controls potential Energy, but frankly I’m having trouble imagining how he’d do that, apart from indirectly by flinging things up.
Furthermore, any application of his Power requires concentration, so even if he could float, he could do nothing else during that.
Ugh, how did I make this mistake? It was supposed to be cubed, not squared.
So 8 times size is 512 times volume, which makes it about 40 tons. Or 7900 tons when density of gold. Pretty hefty, if you ask me.
lol, you forgot the squared cube law.
I’m quite aware of that, hence my correction. Thank you for reminding me of my blunder, though, I’m not sure I would have caught it without your pointer. I’m also chronologically challenged and move continuously back in time, so I have no idea why I will commit this blunder but for causality.
Hypothesis: the deep tissues aren’t actually denser, just stronger. Diamond is less than twice the mass density of graphite, but a hell of a lot harder to crack.
Well, yes. It’s also a crystalline structure, I agree. But ostensibly the nanotech could crack those bonds. If we take heavier elements, or somehow reduce the distance between the elements forming the crystals, they ought to be harder to crack. At the same time you also increase the density, i.e. number of atoms/molecules per volume. You simply can’t avoid getting denser than advertised.
Unless you propose new elements that top current crystal bond strength by significant magnitude with them being so far apart the structure will be less dense than it seems to be.
@comickry: Hmm.
Alternate hypothesis: the innermost core is hollow.
Sorry to crush your alternate hypothesis: This again clashes with the comment of Tattletale and affirmation by Wildbow of them turning denser and denser the closer you get to the core.
Hm… I don’t have the time now to calculate it (need to get up early tomorrow) but if I’m correct we can approximate the density of the Endbringers to a certain degree. To quickly circumscribe what I’m thinking: Endbringers get denser the deeper you cut them. If we know their weight to a certain degree and by guessing at their volume based on roughly humanoid shape and scquare-cube law applying to the respective size compared to standard humans we can get a rough overall density of them. Let’s just randomly put that at 3 g/cm^3 (three times the density of water, a tad above of that of aluminium) or something. For ease of calculation the Endbringers are spheres of determinate volume and weight, and get denser the closer your are to the middle. The median density is 3 g/cm^3. You can calculate the actual density depending on Depth (= Radius – X) with… something. My Google Fu gave me:
Rho(Radius(HFS)) = Rho(Overall) * (1 – [ (Alpha * Radius(HFS) ) / Radius(Overall) ] )
Alpha = 0.13 for some obscure reason. I’ll put it at 1, since I don’t know what it is for and hence ignore this factor.
Rho(Overall) = 3 g/cm^3
Radius(Overall) = sqrt(75000 cm^3 * 8^3 * 0.75 / Pi) = 3027.75 cm
but the Integrals scare me.
So… How dense can we get? At 10cm from the core… Okay, that’s 2.99. Obviously the formula is BS, since what I assumed to be Rho(Overall) is Rho(Center).
Probably some integrals necessary to get that done. And then we can calculate how many licks it takes to get to the centre of tootsie pops.
So far I kinda read it as “they are able to manipulate weak forces and/or molecular bonds to make them stronger as long as it’s their own body” otherwise something that separates stuff at the molecular level is going to make some kind of effect. The Siberian too.
@Packbat: alternate alternate hypotesis: the innermost core is filled with chocolate cream.
R’lyeh brand.
Let’s also not forget that Behomoth at least can control kinetic energy. He probably uses that almost constantly to help himself move.
Note to self: read all replies before replying.
Dust tinker actually made me think of nanotech specialisation…
Sun Dog on June 15, 2013 at 08:53 said:
Pretty sure that’s Colin’s gig, or would be if he thought it through. Man who makes technology smaller and more efficient.
It might be a side dish of his specialisation, yes. Pretty convenient if this is the case.
If Taylor doesn’t think she can stop it, I imagine her next step would be to minimize the damage and maximize the gain. Maybe try to convince Phir Se to get other capes in the loop, to coordinate the way Alexandria and Citrine were? That and put herself on guard duty, there’s a juicy window of opportunity here for someone to snuff Phir Se and screw everyone over but good.
So… I tried doing science to this thing. It resisted. in the end I don’t think I nailed it, but here are my guesses:
Let’s assume that the portal’s exit point is stabilized at “one meter away, dt time units before”. So, this would work like this probably, maybe:
You set up the portal. For the first dt interval of time, the light that goes into it, will come out from the exit portal and dissipate. Let’s say that the light’s intensity is I(t). So, I_exit(t-dt)=I_entry(t). Let’s say that he has some sort of reflective containment, so the light coming outside doesn’t go fully to waste, but is, instead, contained to be later reused. I_entry(t)=I_outside(t)+integral(I_exit(T)*exp(-(t-T)/t0)){from -dt to t-dt by dT}, where t0 is the time needed for the exit’s light intensity to decrease e times. Let’s say that I_outside(t)=C0, i.e. a constant. So, we have the integral equation of
I_exit(t-dt)=C0+integral(I_exit(T)*exp(-(t-T)/t0)){from -dt to t-dt by dT}
I’m pretty sure, from a purely physical standpoint, that this is a divergent function, that’s basically infinity at all points.
However! We have to include screening functions. Light ionizes the air it passes through. It creates plasma. Plus, the air also passes through the portal, increasing the pressure and density of the matter between two portals. Again, assuming some sort of containment (because otherwise it won’t make any sense at all, really), what we have there is a very dense (as dense as a solid or a liquid at least) optically dense (i.e. fully screening all light coming through it) fully ionized plasma.
So, instead of increasing the intensity of light past some point, it’s going to be heating up the medium between the portals. To what degree? That’s a hard question, very much so. Well past fusion at least. Plus, there’s a light pressure further condensing the plasma…
Basically, it may well be that what Taylor is seeing there is a small black hole, and the light she sees is Hawking Radiation generated by it. The black hole would be kept stable by its radiation being fed back into itself.
As to to the yield… Gigatons at the very least would be my guess. Probably more.
Well keep in mind that parahuman powers run on their own physics. His power might have a built in breaker effect to, hopefully, minimize some of the side effects if India suddenly disappears.
nope on June 15, 2013 at 04:55 said:
The fact that Weaver can see the portals means there is no such reflective surface (A surface that only reflects light coming from one side but not the other is fundamentally impossible anyway). From the fact that Weaver isn’t blasted away, we can assume that dissipation is negligible (i.e. the entry portal parallelizes the light’s momentum, making it laserlike). this means that if dt is the time needed to traverse the distance between the portals, any short pulse of light will double in intensity after dt of it’s proper time. However, since the portals are looped, this can happen infinitely often before any time passes for Weaver. So yeah, theoretically the energy would be divergent (maybe a black hole would form and destroy the portals “before” the energy reached infinity?)
not sure about it being divergent. if it is a plasma based singularity then the hawking radiation will be the only thing that can escape it’s own generated gravitation feild. It would be akin to a macro-sized molecule with the energy regulated by einstien-newtonian principals. the blast would be the chunk of light normalizing into a correct path all at once. i guess it would be like a small chunk of a neutron star rather than a black hole. or the light could fold into a meta/dark matter chunk depending on how light handles being constantly collided with itself. It wouldn’t be a gigaton effect. it wouldn’t be explosive in any real effect i can see, it would be canceling effect i think. but i’m really just spit balling. I loose coherence once we push into obscure space warping forces and energies
“I loose [sic] coherence once we push into obscure space warping forces and energies.” — Yeah, you and just about everyone else, johnwedd.
Everyone except Psycho Gecko, really. He’s already incoherent.
Quoth Delirium: ” His madness keeps him safe”.
> Everyone except Psycho Gecko, really. He’s already incoherent.
Of course, for a given system of quantities and for a chosen set of base units, he definitely is NOT a product of powers of base units with no other proportionality factor than one.
Wait, I’m not sure I am either…
“big b” reminded me of something, the idea that Cauldron was the “big c” that Marquis lost his lover/wife/? to. The Doctor’s power is supposed to be terrifyingly powerful, at least the Number Man thinks it such, and it’s likely associated with the creation of the formula. Amelia’s power could be something she inherited more from her mom than her dad.. and wouldn’t it be rich for her to end up with not one but two supervillain parents?
Wait wait when did Number Man comment on the Doctor’s powers?
I though the consensus was that, since she didn’t react to Lung’s trigger event and had to support Contessa as she staggered, the Doctor was a perfectly normal human.
My takeaway from the scene with Lung triggering was that the Doctor had the capacity to deal with it. She wasn’t called out as having a terrifying power by the Number Man per se, that’s an inference on my part. The Number Man groups the Doctor with himself and Contessa as people that their test subjects only try to attack once. It could be there’s other countermeasures than their personal combat ability, but it’s explicitly called out that many of the cells had no wall or forcefield to restrain the prisoners, and that the prisoners try to warn each other not to make the mistake of attacking the Number Man, Contessa, or the Doctor.
Also, the Doctor is the only one who handles the 5th floor and below, if there is a below. Which is probably crazy shit like people who are made out of sin, or terror, or who otherwise embody concepts like that. If the Number Man and Contessa think the Doctor is on another level than them, I’m willing to trust their judgement.. though I’ll admit that doesn’t prove that she’s parahuman.
Just because she didn’t trigger then doesn’t mean she hasn’t triggered since.
She is either a normal(ish) human or something much weirder than a parahuman (my personal theory).
“The Big C” is a colloquialism for cancer.
Yeah, that’s part of why I think it’s such an apt euphemism, the sort that Marquis would employ if he wanted to give an honest answer to a question that he couldn’t answer without endangering his daughter’s life.
Fun idea:
Behemoth is moving towards the Loop Laser because that is an *actual threat* to him.
The fact that the Endbringers don’t do surgical strikes on their targets is because they’re not allowed to, either by some controlling agent or by some sort of systematic weakness, something similar to the Manton effect.
ereshkigala on June 15, 2013 at 04:54 said:
What an odd way of building a dimensional-warp warhead. Using it as a potential energy accumulator would have been way simpler. I.e. have the two portals in a vacuum tube with a weight perpetually free-falling between them to accumulate practically infinite relativistic momentum and kinetic energy. I’ve done this in DnD before – the DM did not like it.
Doing it with light actually does not work at all, even with pulling the light back in time to start again. Why? The Rayleigh criterion dictates that any radio wave, microwave or laser beam will spread and become weaker and diffuse over distance; put it through effectively infinite distance and it will effectively dissipate entirely. Simply put, beams of light slowly widen over time. Put one beam in perpetual trajectory through 2 portals like this and you’ll have losses unless you can fully contain it. Your “time-bomb” thingy will start glowing as light escapes and if it glows more than its surroundings (i.e. energy output is more than energy input) then it is losing energy regardless of any temporal shenanigans.
The second reason this doesn’t work at all is that light cancels itself with destructive interference. Put nearly-identical light through the same space with small phase differences and you won’t have more light – you’ll have less. For example, emitting two identical waves at half-wavelength difference and the two of them will precisely cancel eachother, resulting in perfect darkness. This phenomenon appears in real life when you try to transmit beamed power from multiple emitters at the same receiver. Regardless of how many emitters you have turned towards your receiver, the power input caps very early due to destructive interference and any additional power is lost; you could have an infinite amount of transmitters only managing to beam the same power total as a dozen transmitters or less.
In this case, thanks to temporal shenanigans, you have exactly the same light, looping over the same distance perpetually. Due to destructive interference ANY amount of light you put in would perfectly cancel itself. You don’t have a bomb but a hole you can waste energy on.
See my calculations above. The point is – even if one photon from the exit portal reaches the entry portal, you still end up with infinite amount of photons momentarily. Because of temporal shenanigans.
Also, destructive interference doesn’t work like this – it only cancels out the interfering waves locally (both spatially and temporally). Not globally. Otherwise conservation of energy would be broken.
A finite rate of power acquisition makes sense if he has to consciously act on a portal to allow more energy through—like, he starts by saying, “OK, sending that beam of light back in time,” and now as long as he does that there are effectively two beams of light, and then he says, “Wait, upgrade, let’s send both beams back.”
There are still some information theoretical issues, granted.
It would depend on both how time travel works and how acasual he himself is.
If we assume that he can control what passes through his portals, then he would still end up with singularity (though not super-dense plasma). If he sets it to “incoming light” or something like that, due to the nature of time-loop, the amount of incoming photons will be infinite / maximum physically possible “from the beginning”. Because the “time-cloned” photons would be there hen he opens the entry portal.
It’s all very mind and universe bending.
Right. I’m proposing that he can’t set it to “incoming light”; he can look at a beam of intensity X and say, “OK, I want to loop that intensity X beam for a while.” And then later say, “OK, I’ve been looping an intensity X beam, but I can see an intensity 2X beam, I want to loop that.”
Basically, I’m proposing that he can’t *start* by looping the beam infinitely because when he starts, there’s just a single beam, and all he can do is turn it into two beams.
(T=-5s: he shines a flashlight beam past point A to B.
T=-2s: he looks away.
T=0s: the flashlight beam doubles to 2x intensity.
T=180s: he sends the flashlight beam back in time from B to A.
T=190s: he looks over. He sees a 2x intensity beam. He looks away.
T=200s: the beam doubles to 4x intensity.
T=380s: he sends a 2x intensity beam back in time.
T=400s: the beam doubles again.
T=580s: he sends a 4x intensity beam back in time.)
There’s still some issues, since it doesn’t seem like he actually has to look away, and “I can send a continuous beam into the past but I have to know how much I’m sending” is a weird limitation. But if his power works like that, then it’s actually a finite effect.
Stereo on June 15, 2013 at 06:22 said:
If they’re all the same photon, I would expect that when the first one hits a target, the rest wink out of existence. My thought is that this is just an effective way to capture and store the output of some source of energy, to deliver it all in a focused burst.
Entanglement? Now, this is an interesting idea.
Yep, destructive interference is limited under natural situations. But if that one photon is run through a given volume an infinite amount of times, it will cancel itself perfectly because the chance of it coexisting with itself at any given point in time or space becomes 1. And if a single photon will cancel itself perfectly, any amount of photons will cancel themselves perfectly. The way to deal with infinities is to solve against a limit, mathematically or theoretically. In this case, doing that should result in perfect cancellation within the volume of the bomb itself.
If you don’t have a perfect destructive interference then the system will collapse long before the energy actually becomes infinite. Energy = mass = gravity = bent spacetime. As energy contained arbitrarily increases, the curvature of spacetime follows. Before we reach singularity levels, there will be enough bending for the photons to no longer be aimed at the portal and escape.
In fact, given the dimensions of the system, we can calculate how many times a photon of a certain energy (say, the average for visible light) has to coexist with itself at most until it escapes. That will be the maximum number of photons the system could hold in ideal conditions regardless of their source and it is non-infinite.
The problem lies with whether “non-infinite mass/energy” equals “enough mass/energy for its gravity to shatter the planet due to tidal stress”
See why I’m advocating the destructive interference theory over the arbitrarily-high-but-not-infinite theory? 🙂
PS: the space inside the system is actually a vacuum. At that kind of energy levels, bound matter cannot exist – plasma or otherwise.
Quark-gluon plasma? And yes, there will be plasma. If only generated by photons ionizing the air between the portals.
Also, I don’t agree. Destructive interference doesn’t violate energy conservation. So it doesn’t resolve the problem of the time-loop. Even if it “perfect”, the problem is that it still doesn’t violate energy conservation. The energy has to be regained somewhere. And you are still dealing with increase in energy after each loop.
The problem with the stiuation is that there is no “first” loop. It is a loop.
Also, don’t forget photon pressure. Any particle that will randomly go in the area between the portals will be both ionized and accelerated immediately. Potentially to relativistic speeds. Which would create a current (because electrons will be accelerated more due to their lesser mass, thus creating difference is speed and the current), which will in turn create plasma self-confinement (due to magnetic field ala Z-pinch).
So yes, I think that “super-dense plasma with optically screening effects” is what will result from this.
Assuming the energy levels are low enough for quark-gluon plasma. Infinite or even just arbitrarily high energy levels say otherwise IMHO. If you have a temperature higher than about 10.000 yottakelvin, you don’t get any sort of matter because there’s no strong/electroweak separation.
PS: there’s no “first” loop for an outside observer. For an inside observer time is still linear (for a given meaning of linear) and the loops are ordered. Subjective causality is the solution to any paradox.
Well, I didn’t really expect to have to look up any SI-approved scientific prefixes on Worm based on the assumption of “10^±18 ought to suffice” yet here I am.
True. But I don’t think (hope) it’ll go quite that high. There is one assumption that needs to be made – that portals are two-way. I.e. that the matter from the “next loop” can interact with the matter from the past loop. I.e. if you open such a portal into a solid body, you won’t be able to enter such a portal (instead of entering it and getting insta-pressurized at the exit).
I think what ill happen will be something like this (from the linear loop-to-loop viewpoint):
1) N photons and M gas molecules enter the entry portal
2) N+dN photons (where dN is an additional part produced as a result of the first loop, either directly or through secondary re-emitted photons absorved by gas molecules) and M+dM air molecules (moving slightly faster due to a little bigger light pressure) enter the entry portal.
3…large iteration) More and more photons and gas particles enter the entry portal. Gas particle move a little bit faster with each iteration (due to higher pressure and being pushed by light pressure)
Gas molecules start to get exited and ionized both by collisions with each other and by photons they interact with
4 (just as a development stage, not an iteration number)) Plasma is ignited. Collective effects start appearing. Volume charge starts playing a role. The number of photons entering the entry portal stabilizes from iteration to iteration due to all photons either being lost outside the portal or being screened by dense plasma. Plasma is a particle beam, with both nuclei and electrons moving in one direction, but with different speeds due to photonic pressure. This (the difference between creates current inside the plasma which makes it into something like Z-pinch, serving to self-confine it. With each iteration the density of the plasma becomes more and more.
Primary method of adding new energy becomes by particles, not by photons, whose number is stable. The density and the termperature of the plasma increases more and more.
At some point the density becomes high enough that new particles become unable to enter the portal and start getting bounced back.
5) The number of particles becomes stable from loop to loop. The particles start the loop at the exit portal with a very high speed. They decelerate as they come closer to the entry portal, but the density slightly increases (very roughly think of it like a waterfall falling on a rock). This produces bremsstrahlung which is located outwards (in R direction perpendicular to the portal axis of the symmetry mostly). With each new iteration the initial speed is higher and higher (due to kinetic energy transported from the previous loop).
Backscatter will appear, with particles moving in the opposite direction after being bounced away from the entry portal (this is assuming, for simplicity, that the particles can’t enter the exit portal and come into the “previous” loop).
I expect somewhere here the fusion will start occurring.
6) relativistic effects will start becoming relevant
7) Heavier and heavier elements will start to be generated through fusion.
The system will be heavily relativistic at this point, with the exit stream of particles likely being something like 0.999c. It is likely that we’ll be dealing with quark-gluon plasma by now.
Quite possibly (almost certainly) somewhere between 5 and 7 you’ll see spontaneous pair generation.
Possibly, this is just a speculation here, because frankly physics would cry rape long before this, the things will proceed like this:
8) Backscattered flux will start screening more and more of the incoming flux, with the energy being dissipated near the entry portal but not in it. At some point all energy will be lost during the loop.
Black hole may or may not form.
The result will, by necessity be a situation in which no particle or photon exiting from the exit portal enter the entry portal, at all, in any way. Because even if one does, it increases the sum total energy of the system due to temporal cloning.
So, what we should see, is a white hole around the entry portal.
Or, if particles and photons can move in both directions, which actually may be true from the description given, then the situation becomes much more interesting and would probably indeed result in a “ball of energy between two portal” being fed from both.
The whole situation really hurts my brain.
dracayr on June 15, 2013 at 05:49 said:
>”The Rayleigh criterion dictates that any radio wave, microwave or laser beam will spread and become weaker and diffuse over distance; put it through effectively infinite distance and it will effectively dissipate entirely”
I’m assuming you mean the redshift; the Rayleigh criterion is about resolution in optical apertures. Redshift does mean that any photon will dissipate; However since it also multiplies exponentially (a lot faster than it dissipates), the energy still diverges.
>”if it glows more than its surroundings (i.e. energy output is more than energy input) then it is losing energy regardless of any temporal shenanigans.”
Energy conservation is derived from temporal displacement invariance via Noether’s theorem. Temporal displacement invariance is violated here, and so energy conservation does not hold (It’s also why redshift can cause light to lose energy without it going anywhere).
>”The second reason this doesn’t work at all is that light cancels itself with destructive interference”
No. wherever there is destructive interference, there must also be constructive interference. Specifically, no matter how much unpolarized light you focus on one point, the power input does not cap. Admittedly, while it is not possible to circumvent this with a real experimental setup, the two temporal portals might be able to. If they are at such a distance that a given photon’s wavelength fits between them n+1/2 times, they would perfectly cancel. given white light, however it is not possible to do this for all wavelengths. The end result would be that some wavelengths are completely filtered out, while other (very specific) wavelengths are intensified to infinity. The redshift also causes any photon to not completely destroy itself, even if the distance between the portals is n+1/2 wavelengths.
There’s another interesting question – are portals two-way or one-way? If two way, situation becomes even more convoluted. if one way, we invariably come to the singularity problem.
The whole discussion was extremely entertaining, seriously. It’s almost a pity Wildbow does not do sci-fi, even if he sucked at it (which I find unlikely) I’d read it only because of discussion like this one.
And ultimately I’ll have to go with Yog’s last remark. Once you pass a certain speed and/or energy the universe is probably making it up as it goes.
Storywise I’m kinda hoping the guy who’s been chargin’ his lazor for who knows how much gets to actually fire it.
Because if the passengers themselves are non-holographic it could possibly inconvenience them.
Also, PG is probably squeeing at the thought of a weapon like that.
Agreed, the discussion was very entertaining, even though I couldn’t follow the integral parts. (I hate integrals with a passion!)
The current scenario has a few outcomes, though, all of which interesting and occur in combinations:
1) Time bomb fired (Y/N)
2) Behemoth defeated (Y/N)
3) Destruction of various scales (S/M/L)
4) Collateral of various scales (S/M/L)
The worst case is YNLL – all for naught and half of India destroyed. Funnily enough the best case is Big B’s defeat without the time bomb and only small scale destruction and collateral deaths.
Usually I would have included a Zero setting for destruction and collateral, but let us be honest here, Worms minimum is 2 on a scale of 0-10 in how bad it can turn out. There’s no way it will turn out fine.
And Scion’s Death would fit under collateral.
According to the FAQ page, one of his potential later stories is sci-fi.
It’s not bad, but even if it destroys the world, I’m disappointed it won’t get the Slaughterhouse 9. Very important it kills them. Because if it doesn’t, they’d come out of the portal to find all resistance to their actions gone and a clear shot to the portal to another earth.
I will say this, though, time must be doing some interesting things. It’s already going to be acting a bit different for light, going as fast as it does, then you add in the temporal portals.
Nope, just make a distance between portals = integer number times lambda and the beans of light will always be exactly on phase. Problem solved.
The worst is the breaking of casuality.
To really work not breaking casuality and with the light not dissipating it must be a laser created by the excitation of the atoms in air and the light does not disperse because the portals focus it every time it passes through.
But, if this is true, it is really an infinite energy laser. And the plasma all around it would be dangerous.
This was fascinating. Validates my confidence in Wildbow. I am very impressed.
Primemountain on June 15, 2013 at 09:39 said:
I have read the purposed explanation of the time bomb above. As well as the one in story. I notice I am still confused.
Suppose the portals came into existence simultaneously.
Let that moment be marked t=0
Let the moment Weaver walks in be t=t1
Suppose that while t=(0,t1) anything at B gets moved -∆t on the t axis, and to A in space(x,y,z), and is directed at B.(so no diffusion)
Suppose the distance between A and B is L.
If ∆t>L/c, where c is the speed of light, then anything that makes contact with B while t=(0,t1), will be sent back and back again until it reaches t<0. At which point it will escape the loop. Notice no multiplication, only gathering across the t axis.
If ∆t≥L/c, the same happens, except that all the energy moves forward trough time. Gathered across t and released at t=t2(some future point when the loop breaks) Still no multiplication, only gathering.
So no, this does not work without
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willing_suspension_of_disbelief
and http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ArtisticLicensePhysics
gp on June 15, 2013 at 11:37 said:
say ∆t=L/c; then a photon at A moving towards B at t=t1 will take ∆t to traverse the distance and then pop up at the exact same spot (in space and time) where it started (Multiplication: there are now two photons moving towards B). If ∆t=L/c, the photon gets multiplied by an infinite amount before anything else happens. This seems to be the case discussed in the other comments, and it leads to an infinite amount of energy. If ∆t < L/c then the photon only gets multiplied finitely often. The amount of energy the bomb accrues could probably be adjusted by increasing/decreasing the difference between ∆t and L/c.
If there were fewer physicists in the comments section, it wouldn’t need a lot of willing suspension of disbelief.
Amelie on February 19, 2018 at 17:54 said:
I’m okay with believing that maybe the light only adds to itself with each cycle rather than doubling. It’s still cycling back in time ~300 million times per second over. . .how many days?
So maybe the bomb only has destructive energy on like a national scale instead of galactic. Hey, that fits with what he says too.
Brains shouldn’t start to hurt until you try to solve both for internal causality and the external temporal paradox. 🙂
It isn’t impossible once you accept causality is a very human idea and only bears a passing acquaintance with the truth. How many times have we reloaded a saved game in a PC or console and ran the same sequence of events differently? If the computer game doesn’t “crash” when you revert time then why should the laws of the physical universe?
Maybe real life’s Random Number Generator is broken.
Mr Walaaa on June 15, 2013 at 09:57 said:
Wild when I think you can’t throw a sucker punch, bam !!!!!! I get hit I really did not see this coming. I’m going to start calling this “My Sucker Punch Donation”. 🙂
Freak King on June 15, 2013 at 11:43 said:
Can there be capes formed from events other than triggers and cauldron in this series? For example, if Phir Se ray gives off gamma radiation when it hits Behemoth, is he gonna go Hulk?
No. The source of powers is some sort of extradimensional Lovecraftian entities (one, perhaps two entities per cape). They attach themselves to humans, changing their brains and thus granting them powers.
btw, I do not think that’s what’s actually happening, but even if I’m right the only non-passenger way to obtain superpowers would be to run afoul of a tinker and get modified.
This chapter was awesome, both delivering emotionally and completely changing the tempo. I love wildbow’s ability to hit me with new twists I didn’t see coming!
I wonder if Brian is dead or merely injured.
So, Kid Win.
Last chapter the only time Weaver was near a lot of capes was with the indian ones and the dead tinkers, and we had a kid win tag.
This chapter she’s near fighting or injured (but still alive) ones and no kid win tag.
I bet it’s because Kid Win has built a sub-orbital plane and he fled away looking for scion, to bring him to the fight in the nick of time, save everyone, and get his moment under the spotlight.
Any other theories on where Kid Win is (and doing what)?
One ongoing thesis is him being dead. And your idea reads to me like wishful thinking…
Sorry, that wasn’t meant to sound hurtful. I wish everyone would survive, but this world doesn’t care for that. I much rather want to go with your hypothesis, but the other seems more realistic, narratively speaking.
I think he was joking, to highlight how unlikely a scenario you have to concoct in order to keep KW alive?
Ah yes, it was a joke, bordering on sarcasm. And maybe an exercise to make up a good ending for a change with all the wild speculation that always flies around.
Comickry, despite having “comic” as part of your handle, I hereby present you with the title of “no fun guy”. Density warping powers optional, and likely to come with unforeseen consequences.
Erm, don’t you think that might be a little harsh to Comickry? We all have different senses of humour you know. Some people might find that title a little hurtful.
(If you were about to reply telling me you were only joking, consider what we’ve just discovered about the aforementioned commenter’s ability to detect that kind of humour, as opposed to taking it seriously, and possibly in this case hurtfully.)
umh, I did end the sentence with a smiley to indicate that I was indeed joking. Isn’t that usually enough? (In case it was not: my apologies, I do try not to be too caustic, despite my natural inclinations, really)
And I suppose the reference was a bit too obscure, even if it’s from a superheroic web serial.
A winking smiley at that. It clearly falls under Article 1 of Poe’s Law.
I prefer caution in these kind of situations, and a winking smiley is probably more ambiguous than a generic one, for someone who finds it hard to detect humour.
In any case, we should get back on topic.
It’s not hard for me to detect humour per se, but lacking visual or acoustic cues makes it harder. Especially since most jokes are rather concise. I recognized the jovial undertone in En’s original statement, but wasn’t sure if he was actually joking or only half joking, half hoping. Not wanting to entirely disregard his idea or accidentally crush his spirits, I chose to amend my initial comment.
Incidentally, Comickry: Mimicry of comical.
*Droops*… 😉
Tired of having a drooping sense of humor? Then you need new Pieagra! When the time is right, just rely on the little blue cream pie to the face.
*πcks the blue pill* ;D
On a side note: The pies thrown in those old time movies contained plaster to make them more aerodynamically predictable. Allegedly, being hit in the face with plaster hurts.
Kid Lose, until he actually wins a single fight he can’t be called Kid Win, was probably part of a line of defense with giant lazer batteries. With them destroyed he is a Tinker without any tech. I’d have him doing search and rescue if he still had his hoverboard.
He’s going to come in with a device that will bottle Pire Se’s laser and shoot in single precise beam that only kills the target, and thus really earn the Win part of his name. I mean he can’t be planning on calling himself Kid Win when he’s 35 now can he?
sarah penguin on June 15, 2013 at 15:10 said:
Oh wow he’s going to chuck a home-grown Eye of Harmony at Behemoth? On *my* planet? *bleeeeep*
I lost a lot of nerd cred for having to look that up to my shame. Ereshkigala proposed doing something similar to the eye of harmony. As discussed up above with the changes in energy policy due to oil fields burning, the world needs new energy sources. His power essentially grants an enormous amount of free energy to use. Using his power to power India if not the world is a much better use of it then this stupid plan to attack BEHEMOTH. I so want to know what country built giant rail guns and used nukes and where they were used. Could the wormverse have a shattered moon in it’s future?
Don’t worry, a lot of people are selective about their doctors. I’ts like with Enterprises or James Bonds.
You still can have full geek points if you only consider a subset… you probably gain geek points if you limit yourself to one.
I like to put it this way. You can tell who the real fans are because they are the ones who don’t consider any part of a franchise good despite always talking about it.
Oh as for Doctors, 3 and 9. Not as picky about Bonds or Enterprises.
If I had to pick a Doctor..well, I love them all, but: 4 (my first), 3 (so dapper on-screen and kind when I met him) and 11, because he channels 4 sometimes to my delight.
Also…I’m happy to say the show is the best thing in entertainment 🙂
mc2rpg on June 16, 2013 at 04:05 said:
I’m sorry, but you are very wrong. Clearly the best doctor is not from that show, it is actually Doctor Mother.
Jean-Luc Picard and Sean Connery, of course.
I like the fan theory that James Bond is a codename that goes along with the designation of 007. It helps to explain the changing actors and the franchise continuing so long with different focuses and varying amounts of comedy and camera perving of the male body. It worked so well until Skyfall went and fucked things up on that account, too.
As for Doctors, Doc Brown is pretty good, but I like the potential of Dr. Acula. And that guy Dr. Doctor is a trustworthy news source about people infected with diseases that cause attraction to Chinese people named Yu.
I’m the only one who likes Kathryn Janeway the most?
(Sean Connery is, of course, unbeatable. And I agree with the LegacyCharacter interpretation.)
She’s probably more popular than Commander Sisko, if anyone even wants to count the head of a space station in a franchise with trek in the title. He also had the misfortune of going up against Bablyon 5.
That’s okay, my friend, there’s so much out there to be a fan of you can’t cover *all* the bases 🙂
As for the giant railguns, I’m guessing the US, given that, I’m pretty sure we’re currently the real-world leaders in deploying said technology.
If the Simurgh *did* point Cody at Tattletale, is Taylor already screwed or do we think that Contessa (or someone else who interacted with Taylor or TT after Cody’s actions) counts as enough of a precog to shake up the course of events?
He did keep Tattletale from directing anyone in the right direction to find this guy before he started chargin’ his lazer.
The big question in my mind is by whose will it was that Cody un-broke the pen Tattletale needed to trache herself? It could have been a result of Tattletale pushing her power to the limits, coming up with the one thing that would resonate in Cody’s mind at the moment where his actions would decide if she lived or died. It could have been the Simurgh going for a bonus round with Phir Se’s Chronoportal Surprise.
Fun note: I was playing a game of Supreme Commander 2 the other day, and almost lost to the computer. I built a nuke, but launched it untimely, with a handful of hostile gunships near the silo. One of them manage to tag the nuke, and poof, half my base went up, including my entire wall of shield generators and laser/SAM turrets.
Come to think of it, that dust tinker just up and deciding to bomb a hole in a structure with a massive power source inside it was kinda off.
Does the teleporter have a name? I’d guess Telefrag if it was an American.
Unmaker on June 16, 2013 at 17:08 said:
Second time poster – my first guess as to what would happen in a previous chapter was ridiculously off the mark, so I will mostly content myself with pointing out things that I think other posters have missed. But heh, speculation is still fun.
1. Fusion – someone pointed out fusion effects within the looped beam, but once it is released it will fuse lighter elements it hits, until it is dispersed enough. Fusion bomb in Delhi, anyone? If the beam is so powerful that it initially breaks down nuclei instead of fusing them, it still causes fusion once it is dispersed enough. Unless Phir Sē can bring the targeting portal directly in contact with Behemoth’s skin, the intervening air will fuse. There is simply no way that a strike of that magnitude hitting anything material, even Behemoth, leaves Delhi with less damage than a major nuclear weapon. (Unless a cape with an unusual power steps in, and deus ex machina is not Wildbow’s style.)
2. Skitter (OK, Weaver, but she wins by thinking like Skitter) is the absolute master of creating options and unusual solutions and she has been placed at the heart of the problem. Obvious first step: she knows the problem, has bugs in the facility, and can communicate the problem outward (she has before using bugs and phones). Can she contact TT and work on a solution using TT’s enhanced intuition? Other options: Skitter can track the teleporter the way she tracked Oni Lee. Which is somewhat useless unless she or another cape can disable him. Fathom is near, which means Skitter should be able to reach him. He can displace “people or things to another dimension” – what happens if he attempts to displace the portals, or what is between them? Can Fathom react faster than the teleporter and displace him? My bet is that Skitter will do something that is reasonably possible given the circumstances but that none of the commenters have thought of, because that is what she does continuously (which is awesome to read – thank you Wildbow).
3. Speculation on the Endbringers: Assuming TT is correct and they are pulling their punches and telegraphing their attacks, the one thing that their delaying tactics are guaranteed to do is pull in more capes. Now, according to Bonesaw (I think, maybe someone else said it), humans aren’t supposed to have powers. I think the Endbringers and Scion are supposed to have powers. Perhaps the Endbringers and Scion are part of the super-entities’ scout team, and part of the scouting is to identify threats. Perhaps the Endbringers are from one entity and Scion is from the other, given their major differences in appearance and actions.
4. Scion is said to have precog. Unless Behemoth has precog to counter Scion’s, it seems unlikely that Behemoth could actually catch Scion with the redirected time-looped light.
5. Has no-one mentioned that Scion has been told to destroy the Endbringers? The “Crush” title could refer to what Scion will do to Behemoth, although I think it works on multiple levels. Crush could also refer to the fact that Phir Sē is waiting for the heros to be crushed to unleash his weapon. The Endbringer pact is crushed, the leadership is crushed, Delhi is crushed, …
6. If Phir Sē waits until the heroes are crushed (his stated intention) but moves the output back in time, that means he doesn’t wait until the heroes are crushed … paradox or alternate timeline result. Similar problems occur any time he breaks self-consistency. In other words, what happens if he moves something back 10 minutes, sees the results 10 minutes ago, decides he doesn’t like it, and declines to perform the move at the end of the 10 minutes. For a version of this, see http://falsepositivecomic.com/2011/10/31/newtons-apple-page-1-2/.
Worse, kill a guy with a knife that you still didn`t throw, then decide to keep the knife and not throw it.
headasplode.gif
Fucking time travelers. They make my head hurt.
Clearly that’s because time travelers went back in time and took your headache pills. And then went back in time and stopped themselves from taking your headache pills, and then stopped themselves from stopping themselves from taking your headache pills.
I don’t think Scion has been said to be precog. He’s just immune to the Simurgh’s precognition. Precogs interfere with most other precogs, but aren’t the only things to do so.
Can Fathom react faster than the teleporter and displace him?
The teleporter arrived with his arm already inside Kismet — by the time you react, it’s already too late.
Again with the causality.
You see a fight with a video game “Boss” is going badly so you quit and reload a previous save. Then you proceed to beat the “Boss” and go on without any more reloads. Is causality violated in the video-game world since you effectively performed time travel for that world? Yes for an observer outside the “reload” but not for your internal point of view – and the rules of the game themselves work just fine, causality or no causality.
Now, substitute “boss” with “Behemoth”, and both the player and their character with some guy doing time-travel, and the game with a world where time-travel can be done. For the world itself, causality is violated and you have Paradox. For the time-traveler itself there is no interrupted causality for his point-of-view is internal… and only his point of view matters. And the world itself? If something as flawed as a computer game can have laws that ignore causality, why can’t a world?
Ultimately, time-travel is no more “unnatural” and “paradoxical” than violating the laws of thermodynamics. You find actions whose cause is altered by the actions themselves hard to accept? It should be no harder than matter, energy or force suddenly appearing without a source.
If you are replying to my post, there is a significant difference between causality and internal consistency. One well-known example of non-causal but internally consistent time travel is in JK Rowling’s work. Her world violates causality (time turners) but not internal consistency (you can’t change what happens). For a more thoughtful exploration of that, see hpmor.com, around chapter 13, but start at the beginning or you will be lost. In your example, both the game world and the gamer world are internally consistent with their own rules and their own causality. When the time traveler is actually embedded in the world in question, they have the possibility of negating their own actions, i.e. breaking internal consistency. Breaking internal consistency is also a big no-no for authors, and I haven’t caught Wildbow with an obvious example of it yet. Therefore, I strongly suspect that Phir Sē’s power is internally (and world) consistent, but I don’t know how yet. I was merely pointing out the problem (physical and authorial) of such powers.
As far as the laws of physics, as soon as you introduce inter-universal travel the laws are now breakable locally, i.e. within one universe, and there is solid evidence that all cape powers are based on inter-universal abilities. This comes from the various insights into the Passengers we have gotten from the story. So, no I have no quibble with breaking the laws of physics locally – at best, there are conservation laws that apply if you take all of the universes together, and there are some physicists speculating that, even within our universe, universal “constants” aren’t.
I’m curious what you think of Looper then. It had time travel and (some) causality and consistency.
Never saw it.
With all the things they’ve tried to kill Endbringers with I wonder if they’ve ever tried the Bubbles approach to giant monsters. Asking them politly to leave.
Yep, they tried to communicate with the Simurgh. Lausanne happened.
Mind you, it could be possible to communicate with them and strike a deal. (Whether their conditions could be met or not is another thing entirely however)
Thanks go out to Derick for his donation.
guessswho on June 17, 2013 at 04:18 said:
Same problem here as the problem of time travelers escaping the end of the universe–as soon as it’s possible you have infinite refugees.
You meant to say: Time Colonists!
Unless your “time travel” allows you to travel to alternate universes as well, in which case there’s a larger infinity of virgin young universes than the infinity of refugees, and they can do this indefinitely, a la the dancers at the end of time in the Moorcock legendarium.
Actually, you can’t escape the end of the universe with time-travel, only the end of a given planet, star system or even galaxy. That’s because the universe itself is a spacetime paradox; time and space are side-effects of the existence and interaction of mass and energy. Get rid of those and time and space cease to exist.
In fact, new time and space is continuously created in the universe via Cosmic Inflation. Get any two reference points in the universe. Measure the distance between them and how it increases. Then measure their relative velocity. You will notice that their relative velocity is often less than the rate the distance increases, however paradoxical that may be. For reference points sufficiently distant -such as in different galaxies- you will probably notice that their relative velocity is under the speed of light (duh) but the rate their distance increases is 3-4 times faster than the speed of light.
See? Spacetime is not internally consistent in the universe. Why should it be in fantasy?
Thank you to Daniel for the donation. 🙂
And thank you to Richard.
Your comment made me think of another interpretation:
Coil’s power proves that the multidimensional shenanigans through which powers work include duplicating Earth Bet and discarding unwanted copies. What if the portal doesn’t link to the actual this-timeline future or past, but timelines which are similar but temporally displaced? Most of the time the difference would not be noticed, because if I jump into alternate-future through the portal then an sufficiently similar alternate-past me will jump out at the time I aimed for, but in this case presumably the similarity is broken (but not so much that the light will not accumulate over time).
Let me try to work this out: suppose portal A points towards the future and portal B towards the past. When you see an object come out of portal A, you expect an identical object to enter portal B one time increment in the future; when you see an object enter portal A, you expect an identical object leave portal B one time increment in the future. In my interpretation, portal A connects to portal B+, which exists in a universe similar to the future of our universe, and portal B connects to portal A-, which exists in a universe similar to the past of our universe.
Let’s suppose we make a nice gas-discharge lamp in a clear tube. Set up B to face the lamp. Then set up A to shine the light from B+ through the lamp into B. The universe, not wanting to calculate an infinite regress, picks a universe where the light emitted by B+ is similar to the light that, a moment ago, was entering B. Then it notes that twice as much light is entering B as was coming out of B+, and starts adjusting the B+ universe to have more light come through A. Which, of course, increases the light coming through B. The intensity of the light through B+ begins increasing at an increasing rate, trying to catch up to the light anticipated to be entering through B in the future … until that rate of increase is sufficient that the removal of the gas-discharge lamp doesn’t stop the positive feedback loop. (Presumably Phir Sē iterated the duration of the initial light input until the positive feedback was kicked off.)
Acceptable?
Director Tagg had given me an effective ranking of two for every single power classification. It had been ostensibly because he hadn’t wanted to underestimate me. Was there a note of truth to that, though? I wasn’t sure about the ‘brute’ or ‘mover’ classifications, but did my power over bugs afford me a versatility that let me cover the bases on other fronts?
I’m pretty sure there’s a Chuck Norris Fact in that … something like: Once, a PRT Director told his officers to act as though Skitter’s superpower could imitate the battlefield utility of every other superpower, just so she couldn’t catch them off guard. After she was done catching them off guard, Skitter decided to prove there was no “as though” about it.
Peter O on June 17, 2013 at 21:45 said:
To be honest, her pain resistance could be considered a Brute aspect. It makes he able to take more damage/injuries than normal humans.
She might rate a Brute 1, at that. Going down the list, her bug decoys and bug eavesdropping would justify a Stranger classification, and being able to attack with bugs makes Blaster reasonable as well.
Most of them don’t fit, though.
What pain resistance?
Packbat on August 6, 2013 at 10:39 said:
Taylor has a demonstrated ability to continue to operate at high functionality through severe pain. Just flipping through the table of contents, I come up with:
– Cutting Bakuda’s toes at the end of their fight in Shell.
– Most of the Leviathan fight in Extermination.
– The Mannequin fight in Plague.
– The administrative work and the fight with Triumph and Prism after being Fletchette-stabbed in Colony.
– The fight against Coil after being bombed at the debate in Monarch.
– …and against Noelle, immediately after, in Queen.
The connection to her power is the way she concentrates on her insects to block discomfort.
Ah. I see what…you? I forget who said what I replied to. I see what that person means now. I don’t know if that really qualifies her as a Brute unless the PRT does fractional classifications. It doesn’t let her function at higher levels of injury than normal (if perhaps somewhat highly-trained) people; if you can achieve it with meditation, it probably doesn’t qualify as a power.
She’s got her bullet-resistant armored costume, too, which is actually a product of her superpower. Between that and her insanely high pain threshold, I think she probably does qualify as a low-rank Brute.
Her shiny new flight pack (or Atlas, previously) gives her low-end Mover capability, too.
This could be the end of Behemoth or the end of New Dehli. Either way, there are two words which will be able to describe the resulting kaboom: Holy carp.
I find it kinda odd that Accord and Tattletale are the best thinkers (hence the ones in the command centre). Given the hundreds of thousands of capes in the world you’d think there would be some very interesting strategic level precog and thinker powers who would be there too.
I find it VERY odd that the light has not (and is not) being scattered by the air (potentially frying everyone).
Also, depending on how his time portals work there is either an infinite amount of energy in there (which there can’t be or the Earth would have collapsed into a black hole) or a quantity substantially less than that of the fuel of a mid-sized airliner or a quantity that is maximum (and probably huge) when the portal is first created and next to zero when finally used.
Regardless of which possibility applies, the weapon does not work.
And even if it did, I can see no particular reason it’s order of magnitude release would be nuclear weapon level instead of light bulb (ineffective) or supernova level (world destroying).
Now I am sure you do not read the comments,or you would have noticed the huge discussion about “how the crap does this work?”
Demonic Spoon on September 20, 2013 at 15:08 said:
Quote: We were triangulating. Or did we not have a third?
Maybe I’m understanding this phrase incorrectly but if I’m remembering my hazy memories of high school classes correctly triangulation is using two points to determine the location of a third. They’re two points, why would they need a third? It doesn’t make sense I’m afraid.
And in today’s chapter, even more xenophobia and racism yay!
Okay so apparently 27% of people in Portugal speak English, of all of those don’t you fucking think capes who have to be on a world wide scene might be able to speak English.
AND IF THEY CAN’T FUCKING SPEAK ENGLISH WHAT THE FUCK ARE THEY DOING IN THE FUCKING COMMAND CENTRE? What the fuck is the point of two people who are incapable of communicating?
“and it ignited any fabric and wood it touched, set grass alight.”
AWW YEAH ALL THE GRASS IN NEW DELHI. SO MUCH WOOD!
1,484 km² (16 mil)
Delhi, Area
1,213 km² (8 mil)
New York City, Area
Those numbers according to Google.
Also I have to repeat how fucking short sighted and stupid Weaver is “oh no people will die oh dear good thing Behemoth won’t kill anyone else if we let him live :):):):) i am so smrt people should listen 2 me”
For our next example of racism, the Indian who SPEAKS NO ENGLISH is named in ENGLISH.
And the supervillain who is trapped under ground in a major city (fucking retarded) who was broken out after like 2 shots (very easy to break out) speaks broken English, of course he does!
greatwyrmgold on December 6, 2013 at 14:55 said:
He chooses to live there, like the rest of the thanda. Besides, those shots were from an (attempted) Endbringer-level weapon. And as to the broken English…well, how well do you speak Punjab? Or Spanish?
First point: How many languages do you think Armsmaster and Eidolon speak? And presumably they have translators. It’s not ideal, but you take what you can get.
Second point: …?
Third point: “Large” is presumably not referring to mere land area. And while it is only a little (better than 10%) bigger tan New York in size and population, New York is a frikkin’ big city, more than 25 times the size of Taylor’s hometown. New Dehli is more than 30 times the size of Brockton Bay. I think Taylor is justified in calling it “big,” especially since she was saying there might well be another whole city underneath it.
Fourth point: It’s less that and more “This guy is doing what Armsmaster was, if Armsmaster’s halberd would have given Leviathan a shot of power when it failed.” She doesn’t think there is any chance the time bomb will work, and if it is does fail to destroy Behemoth, Behemoth will have a huge source of energy, which is an even worse idea than throwing water at Leviathan or sending extra people in for longer to deal with the Simurgh.
Final point: Translations. Kismet was providing a convenient translation for Taylor, who would be able to remember and pronounce English better.
I wasn’t sure about the ‘brute’ or ‘mover’ classifications, but did my power over bugs afford me a versatility that let me cover the bases on other fronts?
Let’s see. Mover, shaker, brute, breaker, master, tinker, blaster, thinker, trump, changer, striker, stranger.
Mover and Brute are out, as Taylor noted. Shaker, arguably Tinker, Blaster, maybe Striker, and Stranger are covered, and of course she has Master and Thinker as her actual ratings. Breaker, Trump, and Changer, though?
“…he says he’s pregnant with his dead teammates,”
Like Glaistig Uaine, kinda. I wonder how his power works…
I wonder how that teleporter struck with such accuracy. Does he have a camera he watches? Is there some sort of tinker-made demi-transparent rock? Does he have access to clairvoyance?
Frack, I just realized–and this has probably been pointed out in the comments already and I missed it–Theo named himself after a Jewish folk tale. Way to stick it to the old man, Theo! Never change your name!
ReallyNotACape on January 30, 2014 at 13:28 said:
Hilariously, “Big B” is a nickname for a big-name Bollywood superstar: Amitabh Bachchan.
Nix on March 16, 2014 at 11:22 said:
Typo: ‘roofop’.
pallab on October 8, 2014 at 10:15 said:
A lot of the spellings for Indian words are wrong, and some of them loke “phir se” are legit words but sound lame as a name. Also, English is rather common in India, and I’d expect anyone who is educated to understand and speak in the language.
Hmm, the Endbringers WANT to lose? And purposely set themselves up to lose but look superbadass and dangerous/deadly while doing so? The implications of that are…very, very, very, VERY scary. Are they training/testing humanity for something even worse? What is worse? The multidimensional world killing entities? I guess that would qualify but I’m still at a loss on how we can beat either group and if the Endbringers are training us to beat those two then they aren’t doing a very good job by killing half the people who could possibly be useful. And possibly an even worse thought, what if they are simply holding back because it prolongs the suffering they cause? Because then when they get tired of playing with their food humanity is fucked. No matter how I look at it, it is very disturbing that the Endbringers want to be beaten.
Go Weaver, yet again finding the needle in the haystack that has the potential to turn things around! Now all she has to do is figure out how to talk the polite extremist down from a very bad idea. Or distract BEHEMOTH long enough that said bad idea becomes useful. Hell Alexandria managed to hit him a few times. I imagine it would be a lot harder to actually hit him with this bomb though since he will probably be able to see it coming.
And now my exuberance that I have been holding back…TATTLETALE LIVES!!!! YAY!!!!
“A sound that was slow at first, growing steadily more powerful.”
I don’t quite understand this bit. Maybe it’s a typo, but I can *almost* imagine a “slow” sound, just… not really.
“As I got more distance, I felt safe to withdraw the wings again.”
Might be better to use the word “extend” or something similar, since withdraw, even though it’s accurate here, generally has a connotation of pulling in toward to yourself.
Gettin real good. I’m not huge on Behemoth’s powerset, but Phir Sē seems crazy interesting.
This is great.
Fuck me sideways.
jmdlugosz on May 1, 2017 at 03:50 said:
«between Behemoth and I» use “me” not “I” for object of the preposition.
« could tell with my bugs, that the person in its mouth was no longer alive.» remove the comma (or add a second one before “with”)
«Grace, using her strength to carry the wounded.» should be “Grace was using…”
«The antigrav on the flight pack kicked in, I waited…» comma splice
«The antigrav on the flight pack kicked in, I waited until it started to drag me, then let it go.» she took her pack off at some point?
Aana on February 24, 2018 at 05:04 said:
I guess it sounds cool when you translate it into English, but as a local superhero nickname, “Phir Se”… it’s a good thing he’s underground 😉 The romanisation here could do a bit of work too!
Sean on April 12, 2018 at 14:25 said:
He didn’t really bypass it, he just killed a guy
MisterTeatime on May 25, 2018 at 15:42 said:
My limited experience with Endbringers had taught me one thing. When someone actually found a way to respond, to cancel out the attacks or to deliver a measure of real damage, they changed tactics.
This ties in nicely with the revelation in 27.y. Spoilers in ROT13: Vg bcgvzvmrf gurz gb jbex ntnvafg Rvqbyba’f cbjrefrg. Ur pna punatr cbjref, ohg ur pna’g pbageby gur punatrf, naq guvf orunivbe znxrf vg vasrnfvoyr gb svaq fbzrguvat gung jbexf naq yrna ba vg.
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Venom 29.1
Posted on September 19, 2013 by wildbow
Tattletale stirred. I could see the usual confusion that went with waking up in unfamiliar surroundings. She adjusted faster than most. There was no flailing about for a point of reference so everything could start to make sense again. Her power supplied it.
“Hey,” she said.
“Hey,” I replied.
“Think the world’s going to end today?” she asked, as she stretched, still lying down.
“World already ended, if we’re talking about our world. Too much damage done.”
“Maybe,” she said. “Humans are resourceful. Resourceful and stubborn. But you kind of live that, don’t you?”
I nodded. “Guess so.”
Tattletale picked a bit of grit out of the corner of her eye with a fingernail. “You didn’t sleep.”
“I’ve learned to deal. Pulled enough stakeouts to adapt.”
“Idiot,” Tattletale said again. She raised herself to a sitting position. “You need to be in top fighting shape.”
“I slept for three days after getting cut in half,” I protested.
“Only shows how much you needed the sleep,” she said.
“The Simurgh was being eerie, singing you a lullaby. You really expect me to sleep after that?”
“The lullaby wasn’t for me,” Tattletale said. “And I didn’t sense any hostile intent.”
I turned my head. My expression was hidden, but she read my confusion anyways.
“I mean, I think some of it was for my benefit, but it didn’t fit like that was the be-all and end-all of the singing. She was doing something else.”
“Neither do I. But she’s not exactly an easy one to get. Who knows what she sees? Maybe she’s singing for a reason that isn’t apparent yet?”
That was unsettling. I thought of what the Simurgh had said.
It didn’t serve to keep secrets right now. It’d be disastrous in the worst case scenario, and Tattletale was the best person to go to when I needed answers. “She apologized.”
“The Simurgh?” Tattletale asked. She gave me a funny look.
“Believe it or not. She said ‘I’m sorry’.”
“She doesn’t talk,” Tattletale said.
“I know. But I heard it.”
“Anyways, she isn’t sorry,” Tattletale said. “I’d put money on it. I’ve got a lot of money to put on it, if anyone’s willing to take the bet. Couple million in liquid assets.”
I shook my head. “I won’t take that bet. Look, just keep it in mind.”
“Filed away,” Tattletale promised.
“For now though, we should mobilize,” I said, as if I could distract myself. “Get everyone on the same page, start putting heads and powers together.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Tattletale responded. She pulled off a glove, then reached into her belt to get a small tin from one pouch. “Two minutes to get myself presentable. Could do with a shower, but I think people are a little past that right now.”
I nodded. Most of the capes I’d seen were just a little rougher around the edges. The shine gone from their costumes, a little dustier, their hair greasier, chins unshaven. Psychologically, it was much the same.
This had hit all of us hard. I liked to think I was rolling with it better than some, if only because I’d had two years to anticipate it. Then again, I was good at self-delusion.
I thought about Clockblocker, his optimism. When I’d been talking about expecting the worst, he’d argued for the opposite. I didn’t want to diminish what I felt about him being dead in the general sense by thinking about something so petty, but a part of me was disappointed I couldn’t talk to him now, after the fact, and see how he was doing. If he was coping better than I had.
It wasn’t that I was coping, exactly. I wasn’t happy, confident or unafraid. The only thing I could say was that I’d been able to brace myself. I’d bought into Dinah’s prophecy more than just about anyone else. I’d braced myself and I’d nearly broken, regardless. I could tell myself that the point where I’d been floating over the ocean by New Brockton Bay had only been a desire to get away, nothing darker, but I wasn’t sure I was telling myself the truth. I could think back to the point where I’d snapped after being cut in half by Scion and tell myself I was lucid, but I wasn’t sure that was true either.
Hard to say I’d held my own when I wasn’t sure how much of it was me and how much was the adrenaline at work. Or other things.
Any opinion, passenger? I asked. We’re going up against your maker. You going to hold back or are you going to go all-out?
No response, of course.
Tattletale was smearing black greasepaint around her eyes. She’d finished the hardest part, around the eyelashes, and spoke up as she filled the rest in, “You get in touch with everyone you wanted to talk to?”
“Almost everyone.”
“Ah. I can guess who you didn’t actively look for. This denial worries me.”
“No use dwelling on it. Your decision in the end. Let’s move on to a happier topic. You ever think we’d make it this far?”
“To the end of the world?” That’s a happier topic?
“To the top of the heap. As far up there as we could hope to be.”
“We’re not big leaguers, Tattletale. Not the most powerful capes out there.”
“But we’re talked about around the world. We’re on speaking terms with some of the biggest and scariest motherfuckers out there.” Tattletale gestured towards the window. Towards the Simurgh. “We’d be front page news, if the news still existed.”
“I’m not sure being news would be a good thing,” I said. “Which isn’t to say word isn’t getting around, you know. Charlotte knew.”
“Charlotte’s connected to Sierra and the rest of our infrastructure in Gimel. That doesn’t really surprise me,” Tattletale said. She pulled her hair out of the loose ponytail she’d had it in, then combed her fingers through it to get it more or less straight. It still had kinks and waves where it had been braided. Something she would have fixed before going out in costume in more ordinary circumstances, for caution’s sake.
“Mm,” I acknowledged her. Maybe I was tired. My thoughts were wandering some.
“I tried to set things up so we’d have some way of maintaining communications and getting some information in, getting information out. Like, I told people about what you said about Scion hating duplication powers. Anyways, only the very high tech and very low tech have really survived. Satellites and hard copies.” She lifted one of the files I’d stacked on the floor, as if to give evidence to the point. “Reading up?”
I picked up a file as well, leafing through it. “I wasn’t sleeping, so while you were out, I got in touch with Defiant and one of your minions, arranged for only the most essential status updates to come in on paper. I figured I could update you after you got up. The deliveries stopped a good bit ago, but one of the last status updates was about Dragon, so I guess she’s handling her old duties while Defiant recuperates from the last few days.”
“Guess so,” Tattletale said. I turned my head to see what she was doing, but she was already crossing the room.
“Doormaker is napping as well, I guess,” I said. “He just decided to leave one open, and he hasn’t been responding. I double checked the portal, making sure he wasn’t trying to tip us off to anything important, but it opens to a pretty remote area of Earth Bet.”
Tattletale went still, “Doormaker doesn’t sleep.”
I raised my eyebrows, realized Tattletale couldn’t see them, and cocked my head quizzically instead.
“There’re lots of capes who don’t sleep. About a year ago, I started digging into the PRT files. Hired the Red Hands to steal a more up to date set, even. I was looking into clues for understanding this whole thing, y’know? Best leads at the time were memories and dreams. Clues popping up here and there, relating to people’s dreams, or gaps in memories. Dreaming differently, seeing things instead of dreaming, case fifty-threes suffering from their amnesia… Well, there are a number of ‘Noctis’ cases. Named after a vigilante hero that was up at all hours. The opposite of what I was looking for, but a good data point anyways: capes who don’t dream because they don’t sleep. PRT confirmed a few members of their own, Miss Militia included, as examples. Others have only been marked down as guesses. Doormaker and Contessa were among them, they said, going by the times the ‘bogeyman’ was showing up.”
“So if he doesn’t sleep, why leave a door open and ignore us?” Tattletale asked.
I shook my head a little.
“Doorway,” Tattletale tried.
There was no response. No portal, no door.
“Door? Portal? Open sesame?” I tried.
“That’s worrisome,” Tattletale said, keeping her voice low. She clipped on her belt, tapping each of the pockets, as if to check the contents were still there. She drew her gun and checked it for bullets.
“We should go,” I said.
“We’re definitely going,” Tattletale said, but she didn’t budge as she double-checked her gun, pulling the slide back. I resisted the urge to comment on just how useless a gun was, considering what we were up against; I could remember how she’d fared when the assassin targeted her, Accord and Chevalier.
There were other threats.
“Right,” Tattletale said, finally finishing, grabbing her laptop and tucking it under one arm.
That was our go signal. We broke into stride.
We passed a soldier, and Tattletale signaled him, raising a finger. He stopped and wheeled around, following.
“We’re going,” Tattletale said. “Ship up, move out. If we come back and settle in here, then so be it, but let’s not plan on it.”
“Get someone to collect my things. All the files, the computers, the food. Everything. Get it all to the far side of the little doorway…” Tattletale looked at me. “Where’s the doorway?”
“A bit outside the front doors,” I said.
“What she said,” Tattletale told her mercenary. “If we’re gone, just hold position. If we’re still gone after twenty four hours, assume we’re dead. Get my data and the backups of my notes to someone who matters, then consider the job done, collect your payment, go on your merry way.”
“I’ll make sure everyone’s informed.”
“Do,” she said. Then, as if to offset the curt command, she added, “Thanks, Tug.”
He gave us a sloppy salute as he broke away, turning down a different corridor.
I had my phone out before I was outside. My bugs let me navigate the stairs without taking my eyes from the screen, as I input commands. It was cold out, almost cold enough it would impair my bugs, and a heavy fog hung in the open clearing. The stout military building stood in an open, overgrown grassland, encircled by evergreen trees.
No reception. Not a surprise, but inconvenient. I watched as we got closer to the portal Doormaker had left open.
Tattletale, for her part, turned around, walking backwards as we reached the bottom of the steps. With the phone still dark, I took a moment to look in the same direction. I was treated to the intimidating image of the Simurgh passing over the building. She moved as if she were as light as a feather, but I knew that wasn’t true. She was heavier than she looked, by a considerable margin. Had she set her full weight on the roof, she would plunge through.
Like someone playing hopscotch on the moon, the Simurgh set one foot down on the roof, hopping forward, set another foot on the very edge and pushed herself off. She floated down to the space beside the portal, then unfolded her wings, drawing the halo out to its full breadth. The movements sent swirls of dust and fog rippling across the edges of the clearing, stopping only as they crashed into the line of trees.
“She changed the guns?” I observed.
“She did,” Tattletale observed, “Cosmetic changes.”
Each of the Simurgh’s guns had been streamlined, the outer casings, barrels and handles reworked into wings. Three concentric circles of interconnected guns, all redesigned to appear like an extension of her own wings, behind her.
“Why cosmetic?”
“Way I understand it, she needs to have a tinker in her sphere of influence to borrow their schematics, or a specific device, if she wants to copy it. Thinkers, too, I think she borrows their perception powers as long as she’s tapped into them. Might be why she’s attached to me. Either way, she didn’t have schematics or anything she’d need to modify the guns.”
“Or she can modify them, and it’s a card she’s been keeping up her sleeve for the last while. I mean, it was only three years ago or whatever that she really showed off her ability to copy a tinker’s work wholesale.”
Tattletale nodded. She frowned. “I don’t like being in the dark. But that’s the gist of it. She made cosmetic changes because she couldn’t make concrete ones.”
“Well, it’s unnerving to think about, but anything about the Simurgh is,” I commented. “When I asked about the aesthetics, though, I wasn’t asking about the why so much as the…”
“So much as the why?” Tattletale asked, emphasizing the word.
“Yeah,” I said, lamely. “Why does she care?”
“Why does she have feathers and wings? For all intents and purposes, she could be a crystal that floats here and there. The end result is pretty much the same. A few less weapons. Behemoth? I mean, you saw what he was, when we reduced him to a bare skeleton. All the extra flesh, it’s decorative. He doesn’t really need any particular parts, except legs to move around.”
“It’s there to dress them up so they make better terror weapons,” I said.
“Basically,” Tattletale said.
“That’s not a good omen,” I said. “Because Scion doesn’t feel fear. I’m pretty sure.”
“Maybe he doesn’t, and this is a little embellishment for our sake, for when she turns on us,” Tattletale said.
“Can you not spell that out when she’s standing twenty feet away?” I asked. My pulse picked up a little at the idea, my heart kicking a little in my chest as it switched to a different gear.
“She knows we’re thinking it,” Tattletale said. “And she knows there’s another explanation we could make. Maybe it’s a clue. A hint.”
“About what?” I asked. “About Scion?”
“About Scion,” she said.
A hint that he can feel fear? It didn’t ring true, but I preferred it to the alternative.
“Let’s go through and…” I said. I couldn’t bring myself to say I hoped. “…Maybe the Simurgh can make her way through the portal, and maybe we’ll find out.”
“Yep,” Tattletale said, smiling a little. She probably knew the reasoning behind my word choice.
For that matter, it was very possible the Simurgh did too.
Which left me with the question of why I’d even bothered.
Going through, I thought. Hopefully there’s people on the other side that can’t read me like a book.
My phone lit up as a connection was established to a satellite.
A moment later, the connection was secured.
The clock changed, followed by a time zone and a symbol. Four forty-six, Eastern standard time, Earth Bet.
I stared at the world that stretched out before us, and it was wrong. Perspective was skewed. Lines bent where they should have been straight, and the expanse to our left was somehow more extensive than the space to our right.
The horizon should have been straight, or at least a gentle curve to accomodate the planet’s natural curvature, but it was almost a wavy line.
“The fuck?” I muttered.
“Vista,” Tattletale said, very matter-of-factly.
The Simurgh reached the portal. I was reminded of Leviathan breaking into the shelter beneath the library as I saw her put one hand on each side of the portal. She wasn’t quite as large as he was, until you added up the wings and wingspan. Put all the wings together, and her mass was probably equivalent to her older brother’s.
She passed through with little effort, dropping almost to her knees to get her head through. The wings followed, each wing stretched all the way behind her. The feathers rasped against the boundaries of the portal as she floated forward.
The outer edges wavered a fraction, as if the stress threatened to bring the portal down entirely.
Then she was through. She flexed her wings, then folded them around herself. The halo came through in pieces.
“That answers that,” Tattletale said. She added a very unenthusiastic, “Yay.”
The Dragonfly made its way to us, stopping no less than four times. With each stop, it descended to the ground and refused all incoming commands. A minute would pass, and then it would take off again.
It took me a bit to realize why.
Vista. The autopilot didn’t seem to like her power.
“Just how much area is she manipulating?” I asked.
“She was only ever held back by the Manton effect,” Tattletale said. “Number of people in the area.”
“And there’s not many people left in Bet,” I spoke my thoughts aloud, as I made the connection.
“Consider it a bonus,” Tattletale said, raising her head as the Dragonfly came into view, “In a sad, not-really-a-bonus sort of way. Empty earth makes for a convenient battleground. If we’re able to fight here, that is.”
The Dragonfly set down, the ramp opening before it was even on terra firma.
It took a minute to plot out the route the Dragonfly should take, looking at what the cameras had tracked, seeing where the distortions were.
“Something’s really wrong,” Tattletale said.
“With the distortions?”
“The distortions are a band-aid. Vista’s trying to fix something that’s gotten fucked up,” she said. “How do you plot the course?”
I mapped out a course to take us to the Gimel portal.
Tattletale changed the course, adjusting it to match the distortions we’d mapped and some we hadn’t.
It took several minutes, all in all, but the resulting trip was fast. The Dragonfly’s onboard system kept trying to calculating the remaining time for the trip based on our location, only to get tripped up by the folded and pinched space.
Then we hit Silkroad’s power, and accelerated to nearly three times the speed. Tattletale was caught off guard, standing beside my chair, and fell, dropping her laptop onto the hard floor.
Both the distortion and Silkroad’s power stopped when we were a distance from the portal. The effect was disorienting.
Corridors of folded space with the dim pink corridors of Silkroad’s power stretched out in every direction. Connecting points.
Towers surrounded Brockton Bay, set on mountaintops and high ground within the city itself. It necessitated a careful approach. As we passed between two, I saw that they were communication towers, crafted to put satellite dishes at high points rather than provide shelter.
The craft settled down, and we climbed out. They’d finished the ramp leading up to the portal, and it was easy enough to make our way up. I opted to walk beside Tattletale instead of use up my jetpack’s fuel.
Twelve percent capacity remaining. An hour or two of flight.
Vista stood at the top of the platform, on our side of the portal. A Chinese woman in an elaborate Sari-style dress stood beside her, as did a man I recognized as the Knave of Hearts from the Suits. Others were nearby, but seemed less like part of the group and more like bystanders. Kid Win was sitting at the edge of the platform, tools and a gun in his lap, abandoned as he stared at the Simurgh.
The Knave of Hearts muttered something in what I was guessing was Dutch. Louder, he commented, “They weren’t joking.”
“What happened?” I asked, the second we had their attention.
“Cauldron’s running with their tail between their legs,” Vista said. “Big promises, excuses about having all the power and being the only ones who can really put the screws to Scion, and then they run at the last minute.”
“Let us not be hasty,” the Knave of Hearts said. “It is possible Scion hit their headquarters. We won’t know until we have more information.”
“We can’t get information,” Vista said. “Because they never gave us a better way of getting in contact, and they never told us where their headquarters are.”
“Yes,” Knave said. He looked at me. “We have no portals but the ones that were left open. We cannot communicate by opening a door and talking to the other person. Vista, Silk Road and I are attempting to patch together an answer.”
“A workaround,” Vista said.
“Fast transportation between key areas,” Tattletale observed. “Your power and Silk Road’s to make the corridors…”
“I am handling communication and pinpointing the other portal locations,” Knave said. “The Hearts of the Suits have good relations with other teams and places.”
“I can give you the coordinates,” Tattletale said.
“We have the coordinates,” Knave said, sounding annoyed. “All but the concealed portals.”
“I think I know where those are,” Tattletale said.
Knave looked even more annoyed at that, but he nodded. “Step through, talk to the guys at the station, they’ll get you set up. We’ll handle the ones we know about while we wait.”
The station was on the other side of the portal. A way to keep the civilians from trying to go back to Bet to loot and getting themselves killed or stranded, and a place where they could organize things.
Tattletale and I both gave up our phones. The technicians on the other end changed settings to bring them on board with the hodgepodge arrays they’d put up on both Bet and Gimel.
Tattletale reclaimed her phone, then paged through the contents, checking settings. When she was satisfied, she looked at me. “I don’t expect you to hang around while I’m doing the geek thing and pointing those guys to the right places.”
I nodded. “I’ll see how the others are doing and get back to you.”
Getting the Endbringers on board had marked the point we’d stopped reeling and started preparing again. I could see the results. The Gimel settlement was swiftly transforming from a sprawling refugee camp to a standing ground. Refugees were being escorted or transported to other locations, packing up tents and possessions and climbing into trucks and helicopters. It made room for the capes that were here.
Miss Militia was at the center of it, giving orders, managing the capes and the civilians in charge.
Squads were organized, many from the Protectorate, not in rank and file, but clustering according to their respective teams or organization. Here and there, they’d gathered in more specialized groups.
I could see Rachel, Imp, Foil and Parian with the Chicago Wards, sitting or lying on the closed bins that held supplies for the settlement. Only Golem was absent.
I felt a moment’s trepidation. I had doubts, regrets, even a kind of shame, when it came to the Chicago teams.
I’d said it out loud, but I’d never really faced the decision I’d made: giving up on being a hero.
Still, I found myself walking up to them.
“Here she is,” Grace said. “Make your way here okay, Weaver?”
“Doormaker left a door open for us,” I said.
“He left doors open for everyone,” Tecton said. “But navigation’s a little tricky. Can’t always make it from point A to point B.”
“We did okay,” I said. “Vista was saying this is a cut and run on Cauldron’s part, but I can’t imagine this as something malicious or cowardly. They wouldn’t have left the portals here if it was.”
“I agree,” Tecton said.
“Who’s looking into it?” I asked.
“Satyr and the other ex-Vegas capes,” Grace replied.
“Isn’t that like sending the fucking fox to guard the henhouse?” Romp asked. “Except it’s sending the confusing mind-game head-fuckers to answer the confusing, fucked-up riddle?”
“Yes,” Imp said. “Totally. God, it’s nice to finally have someone who can explain situations clearly.”
“More like,” Foil said, “sending a group that’s very well versed in conspiracy and subterfuge to deal with the sort of thing they’re very good at handling.”
“Now you’re being confusing,” Imp said.
“Where’s Tattletale?” Rachel asked.
“Outside. Helping Vista and Silk Road to put together new rapid-travel routes.”
“Okay,” she said.
“Do you miss her?” Imp asked, turning around. “Like, actually?”
“She’s a member of the team.”
“But you miss her! That’s awesome!”
“I don’t,” Rachel said. Then, after a moment’s thought, she added, “And that means it isn’t awesome.”
“I thought you couldn’t stand her.”
“I can stand her, and it took a long time to get that far. That’s all it is,” Rachel said.
“But you asked. Like, for the first time ever.”
“I have a question for her. That’s all.”
Romp looked at her teammates, turning to Grace, then Tecton. “Am I the only one who hears these guys talk and wonders how the fuck they ever got to be in charge of a city?”
“Don’t fucking swear,” Grace said, saying the line as if it were reflexive by now. Romp looked annoyed, but Cuff smiled, and I could see Tecton looking away, as if he was forgetting that people couldn’t see his face while he had the helmet on. I, too, smiled. Romp was completely unware about why it was funny that Grace was admonishing her on the swearing.
I turned to Rachel, “What’s the question? Something I can help with?”
She shrugged. “This dork with Miss Militia was telling me some tinker was wanting to try something with my power. Give my dog some drug shit a rat made? I didn’t follow, and he kept talking to me like I have brain damage, which I don’t, so I didn’t listen.”
“Which made the guy step it up even more,” Imp commented. “Until it sounded like he was talking to a five year old.”
“I walked away,” Rachel said.
“Stuff a rat made?” I asked.
“Lab Rat,” Imp said.
“Wouldn’t work,” I said. “Her power burns up toxins and chemicals in the dog’s systems.”
“I said that when they said they wanted to use drugs,” Rachel said.
“They know that already,” Imp said. “They wanted to try anyways. Have some things left over from the previous fight.
Dosing mutated dogs with Lab Rat’s leftover transformation serums?
Would the gains be additive?
“The drugs they’re talking about are the only reason I’m still here,” I said. “Honestly, I’m seeing only two outcomes. Three, maybe: the effects stack up and Rachel’s dog gets even tougher or more versatile; the dog ceases to be a dog while the serum’s active and Rachel’s power stops working; or it’s made for humans and not dogs, and we get a negative reaction.”
“Two out of three odds,” Romp said.
“Actually,” Tecton said, “Nothing’s guaranteeing that the odds of any result are even. Could be a ten percent chance of the first, five percent chance of the second and an eighty-five percent chance of the last one.”
“And a five percent chance it’s something else entirely,” Imp said, sagely.
Tecton shook his head. “That doesn’t add up.”
“Ignore her,” Parian said.
“The numbers don’t mean anything to me,” Rachel said. She frowned, making eye contact with me. “You think I should?”
“I do. Anything and everything we can think of to mix things up or combine powers is good. I really like that there are people out there thinking outside the box. It’s exactly what we need right now.”
“Right,” Rachel said. She hopped down from the lid of the supply container. “Going to go talk to her then. If that guy tries baby-talking to me again, I’m going to make Bastard bite him.”
“No way. You gotta fuck with his head,” Imp said.
“Biting people is more satisfying,” Rachel responded.
“No, look… uh… Tecton. You gotta give me something really smart and scientific sounding. Like, say what Taylor said, but in smart-guy words.”
“Critical mistake here: you’re implying Tecton is smart,” Romp said.
Tecton sat up straighter. “Hey. Just because I’m not your team leader anymore-”
“-You’re totally not the one who gets to order me around,” Romp replied. “Deal with it.”
“Run a lap,” Grace said, her voice quiet.
Romp turned around, eyebrows raised.
“A lap?”
“Two laps,” Grace said, her voice quiet, cold and dangerous. “For not moving the second I gave the order.”
“What am I supposed to fucking run around?”
“Three laps for swearing, four because you’re still here. We can do five if you don’t move now. Start running, and if you don’t pick a big enough area to run around, I can give you another few laps.”
“This is balls,” Romp said, hopping down from the bin’s lid.
“Five laps, then,” Grace said.
“I know I’m getting more laps by talking, but I needed to state the truth for the record.” She kept talking, speaking with each footfall. “Balls, balls, balls.”
The moment she was out of earshot, Grace and the others broke into laughter. Foil was the only member of the Undersiders who seemed to get it, her shoulders shaking in silent laughter.
“I can’t believe she actually went,” Cuff said.
“Don’t let her exhaust herself,” Tecton said.
Grace shook her head, still smiling. “I’ll stop her after she finishes the first lap.”
“Okay, I need something to write on,” Imp said. “Anyone?”
“Here,” I said, getting a notepad from my belt. I handed it to her. “Why?”
She handed the notepad to Tecton. “So Tecton can write something down. And I hold it up, like a cue card, and Rachel recites it, sounding like a genius, and we blow dr. baby-talk’s mind. And if he turns around, I use my power, so he’s never the wiser.”
Tecton nodded, “I can do that.”
I winced. “There’s a flaw in that.”
“It’s brilliant,” Imp said. She looked around, turning to Parian and Foil.
Parian only extended a hand towards Rachel.
“What?” Imp asked.
Parian gestured again, pointing.
“I don’t get it… Rachel… oh.”
“I don’t read much,” Rachel said, blunt.
“Annnd now I feel like a dick,” Imp said.
“I don’t care,” Rachel said.
She probably doesn’t.
“That doesn’t make me any less of a dick. How often do I get reminders about the reading thing?”
“It doesn’t matter,” Rachel said. She looked annoyed. “This is why I don’t talk to people. Why are we still talking about this?”
She was more irritated at the fact that Imp wasn’t dropping it than the fact that her illiteracy had been brought up.
“Maybe if I come with?” Tecton offered. “I’ll distract whoever Dr. baby-talk is, and you can talk to Miss Militia about dosing your dogs.”
“Or you can tell me what you were going to write down and I memorize it,” Rachel said.
A few people in the group exchanged glances.
“Really simple solution,” Rachel said. Except now she was talking to us like we were the idiots.
“I’m not sure I could memorize it,” Tecton confessed.
“The kid that’s running the lap said you weren’t that smart,” Rachel answered. “Try me.”
“Okay, uh. ‘I see three possible outcomes’…”
Rachel repeated what he’d said.
They continued, Imp leaning forward and kicking her legs where they dangled from the edge of the bin.
Grace interrupted my observations. “You’re wearing black.”
I felt a bit of guilt welling. No, guilt wasn’t the right word. I was at peace with my decision.
I just felt a little ashamed that I hadn’t been more upfront about it, with the people I’d spent years working with.
“I suppose you’re not going to get around to having that meeting with the PRT guys, getting yourself moved up from the Wards to the Protectorate? Unless I’m reading too much into the costume choice.”
“You’re not,” I said. “No, I suppose I’m not going to have that meeting.”
“Is it that we failed with the Jack thing?”
“That’s not the entirety of it,” I said.
“But it’s part of it, right? Isn’t that unfair? We had, like, a four percent chance of success going in, and we didn’t stop it from coming to pass, so you bail?”
“I said it’s only part of it,” I repeated myself.
“I know,” she said. I could see Tecton and Rachel pause, catching something in Grace’s tone.
When Grace and I remained silent, they resumed. “…the cross species interactions…”
“…the cross species interactions.”
“I know,” Grace said, after a pause. “I get that. I get that there’s other reasons. Like the fact that you love those guys and you never loved us. Cool. Makes sense.”
“I liked you guys.”
“But you didn’t love us.”
“No,” I said.
“I get all that. But Golem’s pulling away too, and I know that’s because that we had only that fucking four percent chance and we failed. So I draw a connection, think maybe you’re more bothered about that than you let on.”
I looked at Cuff, who was watching me intently. She looked even more intent and focused than Grace did.
Then again, she was a little more invested in how Golem was doing than most.
“Yeah,” I said. “Probably.”
“It’s shitty,” she said. “Both Golem and you, drifting away.”
“I know, and it feels shitty,” I said.
“Then that’s consolation enough, for me,” Grace said. She relaxed a little, then glanced at Cuff.
“I’m not really the type to nurse grudges,” Cuff said. “I just want Golem thinking straight again. He took it hard. So you’ll get my forgiveness if you go talk to him.”
“I think that’s something I can do,” I answered her.
She smiled. “He’s at the phone bank, near the station, if you want to find him.”
But Cuff was smiling, looking so intent.
Weaponized niceness.
“Right,” I said. I turned to go.
And I could see people moving, running.
I felt a pit swell in my stomach.
“No,” Imp said, following my line of sight. She could see squads getting into formation. In the distance, the aircraft that had been moving refugees were turning around, coming back to us. “No, no. We had such a good joke going, don’t you dare ruin it.”
Romp returned to us, breaking into a run to close the remainder of the distance. “Someone’s saying he’s hitting Samech. It’s one of the Earths Cauldron was going to watch over. There’s only Dragon, the Guild and some Protectorate guys there.”
“Let’s move,” I said. “Through the portal. We’ll use the Dragonfly. Faster than waiting for another ship. Rachel, look for doctor baby-talk, if we can grab something from him before we leave, great, but let’s not dawdle.”
There were nods all around.
I could see the other heroes. Miss Militia and Glaistig Uaine. Revel and Exalt. Protectorate teams, sub-teams of the Suits, including the non-combat teams of the Hearts and Cups.
People hurried to organize, pulling on costume pieces they’d left off and checking weapons, clearing out of the open spaces where shadows grew as the aircraft descended.
One by one, the ships began to take off, flying through the tall, narrow portal.
Three ships, then four.
But the fifth didn’t take off. I reached out with my swarm, trying to catch what people were talking about, to make sense of the situation, but everyone important was already on a ship.
King of Hearts was the only person of any meaningful rank who spoke the same language I did and who wasn’t mobilizing to leave. The leader of the Meisters, Vornehm, was giving orders in German. A scary-looking Master class cape with an army of clay men carrying tinker weapons was ordering other people around with the same harsh voice he was commanding his own troops.
But there was no explanation of why more ships weren’t taking off.
Had the fight already ended?
“Keep moving,” I said, ordering the teams forward. Tattletale will know.
As confusion descended, people started falling back into their previous state, gathering in clusters of familiar people. It almost seemed like we were the only group with direction, pushing against a milling crowd. We weren’t, but the illusion was there.
And that same effect made it possible to see when the crowd did find direction, a common, mutual interest. Heads turned, chins raised. People found postures where their feet were set apart, as if ready to move at a moment’s notice.
Scion. Here. Floating above the bay like he’d floated above the ocean in his first appearance.
He’s targeting us, I realized. Two of our organized settlements in as many minutes?
His hands hung at his sides. The golden light that radiated from him cleaned his clothes and hair, but there was enough blood on his costume that the light wasn’t rendering it as pristine as it should. His eye sockets were dark, with the way his forehead blocked the sun’s light. That same sunlight made the edges of his hair and body glow with the light that wasn’t completely blocked.
He didn’t even raise his hand before he fired. Lights no bigger than basketballs streaked forward, leaving trails glittering behind them.
Two of Dragon’s ships detonated violently. Occupants dead or grievously injured, people in the area of the craft wounded by the fallout.
By the time I’d turned my head to see his follow-up, Scion had closed the distance, moving right into our midst.
Capes with reflexes better than mine were already reacting, throwing a multitude of effects in his way. He plunged through the defenses like they weren’t even there.
Something got in his way, but he flew around it without a second thought. He stopped right in front of a cape. Quite possibly the cape that had stalled him momentarily. A dark-skinned man in gray.
A swirling gray effect swelled between him and the target. He struck it with a glowing hand, and the effect distorted, growing thin. Another strike, and the effect dissipated.
Other capes were hurling effects at him. Most glanced off.
He caught his target around the throat. Didn’t squeeze.
But the golden light began to eat into the target’s body and costume. Scion let the man drop.
Not a scream. Only twitching, frantic thrashing as the golden light continued to consume.
Foil raised her arbalest. I could see our entire group tense as she raised it, Parian’s hands going to her mouth.
A moment later, Parian’s cloth was unfurling from behind her back. Rachel was making her dogs grow, while Cuff was manipulating a shotput into a blade like the one from a circular saw.
For my part, I began drawing the bugs into decoys, sending them into the air.
Oblivious to it all, Foil took aim, then ran her hand along the bolt she’d loaded in place.
I could see her draw in a breath. I’d taken marksmanship classes. Squeeze the trigger as you exhale.
The shot flew through the air.
Scion wheeled around and caught it.
It wasn’t just his costume, I could see. All the lines of his body, his hands, lines that made it so he didn’t look wholly artificial, they were filled with the detritus of smoke and blood and other grit, and the golden light had only washed the surface clean. The deepest cracks held the remainder. It made fine lines look more like crags.
I was almost glad that it took away from his human appearance.
He let the arbalest’s bolt drop to the ground.
His eyes were on Foil.
A golden light swelled in his hand.
We spread out, but Foil didn’t even flinch. Even as Cuff backed away, Foil reached out to touch the sawblade, imbuing it with power.
Scion reached out, and Parian used her power, encircling Foil with the end of a length of cloth. Not an animal, only an arm.
In the instant Scion loosed the bolt of light, Parian flung Foil away. Not a simple throw, but a reckless, inhumanly strong one.
Foil was removed from the battle. Sent beyond what would have been the outskirts of the city, if we were in Bet, cast out in the direction of the Bay itself, until she was only a speck.
The bolt hit ground, fifty or sixty feet behind us. Other people died instead. People I didn’t know.
No longer interested in Foil, Scion turned to the nearest cape, lunging.
Cuff threw her circular blade. Without even looking, Scion batted it aside, striking an unaffected part towards the middle. His attention was on a cape, and he swiped a glowing hand through the cape’s abdomen.
What didn’t burn spilled forth. His screams were joined by that of a friend, another cape who screamed in horror over what had happened to him. Scion very deliberately walked past this other cape to attack someone else.
Picking us off, choosing targets.
Maximizing pain and suffering over raw destruction.
Experimenting.
And there was precious little we could do about it.
Precious little I could do about it. My bugs formed into more decoys. Other bugs searched for the key players. Where was the man Rachel had described? The one with the serums? Where was Miss Milita?
The Simurgh was passing through the portal, and people who’d been trying to flee to Earth Bet were now scattering, trying to flee both the Endbringer and Scion at the same time.
Horribly timed, as entrances went. Our best hope was that he’d keep toying with us, that enough time would pass that capes stationed at the other major portals could use the fast-travel routes to get to us.
Something like an Endbringer was all too likely to change his mind.
It’s the beginning of the end.
This entry was posted in 29.01 and tagged Bitch, Cuff, Dragon, Foil, Grace, Imp, Miss Militia, Mockshow, Parian, Simurgh, Tattletale, Taylor, Tecton by wildbow. Bookmark the permalink.
273 thoughts on “Venom 29.1”
wildbow on September 19, 2013 at 00:01 said:
Among the least fun chapters to get done, panic inducing from a purely IRL perspective.
Apparently some phone tech was working on the phone box to fix someone else’s problem, and cut both my phone and internet line.
So my ‘net wasn’t available through all of yesterday until six this afternoon. I was very unsure if I’d be able to get it live. Was considering going to the university to use their library, but that’s travel time & I’m not sure when it closes – I can’t call or google to find out the hours, can I?
But I got it done anyways, woohoo!
And in the 30 hours my ‘net was down, I got record views! Woohoo! 20k views in one day, 22k today, and I broke 4k unique views in one day (that is, 4k unique addresses, or 4k people, who viewed a total of 22k pages between them). So happy. So nice to see after the mingled anger, frustration, horror and despair that any self respecting nerd knows is part and parcel with any internet outage. Thank you to everyone who’s spreading the word.
And thanks to the rest of you for reading. See you Saturday.
Pinkhair on September 19, 2013 at 00:08 said:
Vote on Top Web Fiction.
Naeddyr on September 19, 2013 at 01:27 said:
The views might be thanks to someone posting about Worm on Metafilter: http://www.metafilter.com/132055/Doing-the-wrong-things-for-the-right-reasons
alexanderthesoso on September 19, 2013 at 16:15 said:
GAHHH! waiting for saturday… well, friday night! update will be waiting when I get off work!
Tom_D on September 19, 2013 at 18:50 said:
Very happy to get the update on time. (Read it and crashed.)
Double glad that you got through the time of no net. You’re a survivor!
Can’t wait for the Saturday update!
irrevenant on August 12, 2014 at 02:23 said:
So around five and a half page views per person, per day?
Firstly that confirms that, yup, I’m slow. D:
Secondly it implies a lot of new readers (or, I guess, re-readers). Pretty cool that interest is still growing at such a late stage of the story…
Charles Borner on September 19, 2013 at 00:05 said:
Greeting gentle folk…
This is the thread to deposit messages to the author regarding typographical errors and awkward usage.
Please use it at your convenience.
notes on September 19, 2013 at 00:23 said:
Where was Miss MilitIa – missing an I.
Cerberi on September 19, 2013 at 00:25 said:
“Your power and Silk Road’s to make the cor/ridors…”
like someone PLAYING hopscotch on the moon.
Undead-Spaceman on September 19, 2013 at 01:02 said:
{“I know it’s five laps, but I needed to state the truth for the record. She kept talking, speaking with each footfall. “Balls, balls, balls.”}
Missing quotation mark.
{and we blow dr. baby-talk’s mind. And if he turns around, I use my power, so he’s never the wiser.”}
Dr. should be capitalized.
{“I’ll distract whoever Dr. baby-talk is, andyou can talk to Miss Militia about dosing your dogs.”}
Missing space between ‘and’ and ‘you’.
AMR on September 19, 2013 at 01:05 said:
You use her in reference to Lab Rat.
“today?” she asked, ” Extra space.
“An Chinese woman” A.
“baby-talk is, andyou can ” missing space.
Philippe Saner on September 19, 2013 at 02:01 said:
“Had she set her full weight on the roof, she would plunge through.”
That mixes the hypothetical and the actual. Which sounds wrong to me. Pretty sure it should be something like “would have plunged” or “If she set”.
“Like someone hopscotch on the moon, the Simurgh set one foot down on the roof, hopping forward, set another foot on the very edge and pushed herself off.”
I think that should be “playing hopscotch” or something like that.
TapiocaTalks on September 19, 2013 at 04:45 said:
one of the last status updates was about Dragon, so I guess she’s handling her old duties
–> from Dragon?
“We can’t get information, Vista said.
–> quotation mark
technicans
–> technicians
andyou can talk to Miss Militia
–> and you
over what had happened to him Scion very
–> him. Scion
Lobo on September 19, 2013 at 04:48 said:
““Fast transportation between key areas,” Tattletale observed. “Your power and Silk Road’s to make the cor/ridors…””
Corridors!
Still going awesomely…
greatwyrmgold on September 21, 2013 at 15:13 said:
“The Gimel settlement was swiftly transforming from a sprawling refugee camp to a standing ground.”
Should that be staging ground?
“The Dragonfly’s onboard system kept trying to calculating the remaining time”
“calculating” should be “calculate”.
Thanatos on January 17, 2015 at 14:19 said:
Romp was completely unware about why it was funny that Grace was admonishing her on the swearing. –> unaware
I should just reread this, I had no idea why that was funny First gonna finish it tho
Willy (@Willy591) on September 19, 2013 at 00:10 said:
Great chapter except for the interactions between the Wards and Taylor. Literally skipped that part, I found it pretty boring.
Alathon on September 19, 2013 at 00:35 said:
Why would you do such a thing?
El_Sock on September 19, 2013 at 00:46 said:
BOOOO!!! BOO FROM THE PEANUT GALLERY!
(Just kidding. But you’re definitely missing out on the full experience. 😉
Psycho Gecko on September 19, 2013 at 04:54 said:
At least we know Golem has a chance with Cuff after all.
Patrick Reitz (@dreamfarer) on September 19, 2013 at 08:56 said:
With Scion on the scene? I’d be careful with the present tense there.
Well Scion seems to have killed only people Taylor doesn’t know. Which apparently makes it all ok.
He killed her Dad, I’d say that counts as killing someone she knows.
I was referring to what happened here. Parian throws Foil away and Scion hit some unnamed extras instead. Taylor doesn’t care because she doesn’t know them. Common human reaction but still rather callous.
I think it’s a mischaracterization to say “Which apparently makes it all ok.”
There’s nothing in Scion’s rampage that’s depicted as being “ok” or even “no big deal”.
It WAS meant to be a bit tongue in cheek. :p .
But checking it again, what reason did Taylor have to specify that she didn’t know the people that got hit by the shot intended for Foil, if not to stress that those guys aren’t as important as Foil, whom she knows personally?
ReallyNotAJAPH on February 21, 2014 at 14:21 said:
I believe it was to emphasize the “common human reaction” that people you know are deemed more important than (unnamed) people you don’t know by your silly primate brain.
Taylor is acknowledging that she *should* feel bad about the numerous unknown-to-her capes that just got killed, but the badness is overshadowed by relief that known-to-her Foil is (probably and relatively) okay.
dpara on September 19, 2013 at 11:44 said:
Dunno, if I would call it boring. But I really expected that someone would/should call on Taylor about the “So where is your endbringer?” thingy. Dunno that seemed kinda forgotten.
Suitably grim, but the Endbringers haven’t tried anything yet either, and the assembled capes haven’t tried anything organized yet either.
Foil is probably somewhere between crippled and dead without intervention – you don’t get hurled until you’re a speck on the horizon and land softly – and it being water won’t help at that speed. Plausible intervention candidates – Legend, Simurgh, Leviathan. Scion does seem to respect Foil’s power, but unless he can be held in place, it’s not likely to hit him.
The beats with the Chicago Wards and Undersiders were solid.
Grue is palpable in his absence.
Kid Win’s modular systems affinity is probably being put to use by the Simurgh. Subtle, but there.
Flipnash on September 19, 2013 at 12:37 said:
kid win also has an affinity for signals and frequencies.
scoti on September 19, 2013 at 22:24 said:
I thought that was Hero?
If Tattletale’s right that there’s a hint in the Simurgh’s cosmetic modifications, it’s about Scion’s perceptions. He may not feel fear, but he can be misled by appearances.
theant87 on September 19, 2013 at 00:45 said:
Well the Traveler’s arc showed that Scion was fooled by the Simurgh making a copy of snow, so he can’t feel them like he can with parahumans.
negadarkwing on September 19, 2013 at 08:13 said:
God damn, you torment me. Dragon and Defiant were on an earth targeted by Scion, so we don’t know what happened to them. And both Foil and Parian’s fates are unclear. I’m not sure if Parian got hit by the shot, and as stated above, things could be bad for Foil. Next chapter we can get started on the Chicago Wards and the rest of the Undersiders.
Aname on September 19, 2013 at 10:58 said:
Of course Scion respects Foil’s power. Didn’t his interlude mention that hers was the stinger power his species used to kill each other?
farmerbob1 on September 19, 2013 at 11:18 said:
Ah, You remember that Foil’s partner is Parian, right? There’s a pretty damn good chance that this was something planned between Parian, Foil, and Cuff. Direct attack, evasion, and secondary unexpected attack. My guess is that Foil is wearing a Parian-made parachute.
What we need now is a non-cape lawn darts player with some skill to pick up Foil’s discarded bolt and throw it at Scion. Hopefully Scion pays as little attention to non-capes as Jack did.
I’m hoping that Foil and others might have considered that approach and prepared a few humans with foil-imbued weapons.
Reveen on September 19, 2013 at 17:09 said:
Yeah. I’m pretty sure after the first two times Foil nearly got killed they would have worked something out by now. Besides, with Foils reflexes she might even be able to get a non bone crushing landing as long as she hits some treetops.
JN on September 19, 2013 at 23:57 said:
Just wondering if that would then be a Pariachute…
tiffuh on March 26, 2018 at 03:15 said:
Get out.
Does the Foil effect last indefinitely? I’m figuring if they could’ve done that, they would’ve…
Foil can also use her power on herself, though that takes more time than is viable in combat (but probably works while falling). Don’t know if that would help, but I think her interlude said it made her frictionless.
Love the Imp/Rachel interactions, here.
I love that Rachel was willing to go along with Imp’s plan. They’re not exactly prank buddies the way Regent and Imp were but they can be on the same page sometimes.
I like to imagine that Rachel doesn’t really understand she’s involved in a prank. Imp says, “We should do this! It would be cool.” and Rachel’s just like, “I don’t understand why we would do that… but I don’t understand why would do like 80% of what you guys say we should do, and it tends to work out better when I just go along with it. So… sure, we’ll do this thing. I’m sure you have a good reason.”
Rachel may be somewhat ignorant, as well as mentally handicapped by not comprehending human interactions normally, but she is NOT stupid
ShawnMorgan on September 19, 2013 at 23:15 said:
“why don’t I memorise it?” Rachel is cunning and has savvy. and awww, she cares about TT. she wouldn’t have bothered learning to tolerate her if she didn’t care a tad…
Kytin on September 19, 2013 at 00:29 said:
Taylor is worried that bringing in an endbringer might cause Scion to escalate too quickly for them to bring everything else they have to bear. But if there’s one endbringer that can think tactically, it’s the Simurgh. She has to know that other capes (and probably endbringers) will be arriving in the future. And I rather doubt that she will consider saving the lives of people here to be worth putting herself at risk.
Unless he goes after Tattletale pehaps.
Well, she’s presumably got a few baseballs on ballistic trajectory — given that Scion is a bit of a difficulty for her, I can see why she might opt to take a quick look and make sure the key ones aren’t knocked off course.
Except that she is ‘present-blind’, and depending on how her ‘past viewing’ works she may not even need to be nearby to know what is going on.
But she may need to be nearby to protect her assets.
Are they assets? We still know nothing about the Smurf and last chapter showed that she has been manipulating Tattletale in small ways so she doesn’t notice her glass cylinder. She may just be doing what she always has. Control the Endbringers to be in right place and the right time with the right people to get the outcome she wants. For all we know she knows killing Scion rids other parahumans of their powers.
Mmmm…dat asset.
The Smurf may be blind to Scion, but she can see his effects, and I would imagine can do that in the past. Hell if she just sees what happened a split second ago, she’s pretty well set.
Man does anyone remember when we were hoping Scion would kill the Endbringers?
Landis963 on September 19, 2013 at 17:52 said:
Yeah, I remember. XD Of course, none of us caught the fact that Scion would go off the deep end, so it all balances out.
Isn’t that a problem Tattletales power pretty much solves?
Point A in the past is like that Point C in the future like this, therefore B is now between.
Robert on September 20, 2013 at 08:26 said:
Pretty sure this is why she’s hanging around Tattletale. Might be that she can’t even do it herself normally, or it might be that tapping Tattletale’s power just lets her do it better or quicker. Filling in the gaps, extrapolating from known information … perfect for overcoming a blind spot in your omniscience.
So Rachel didn’t become friends with Tattletale, and Taylor has decided to never become a “hero” but to remain with the Undersiders. Curious about the Suit’s chain of command. Does every suit have a king/queen who is in charge or is an Ace in charge? Who leads? Okay I admit to not getting the joke with Romp. Still curious about what else happened to the Chicago wards during the timeskip and just what happened between them and Taylor. Anyone else predicting Grue making like Han Solo and coming in for a quick rescue with his darkness?
Re: the joke with Romp: Grace said “Don’t fucking swear.” What’s wrong with this picture?
That’s the joke.
DasNiveau on September 19, 2013 at 02:01 said:
*ba* *dum* *tish*
I got that, I just thought that was a way for Grace to illustrate who was in charge. She can swear all she likes, but Romp can’t just because Grace told her she can’t. Sort of like telling a recruit to give you 50 pushups in the hot sun, while casually relaxing in the shade with a glass of water next to them. I read too much into things.
For example I just read interviewing Trey and how the Jack of Knaves organizes his henchman with a card theme. He doesn’t use face cards or Aces. Shouldn’t the suits be led by an Ace since it is technically the highest card?
throwaawy on September 19, 2013 at 01:01 said:
psssh, ace’s mean (1)
Yeah as in Number One in charge. Jack, Queen, King, than Ace to start the cycle over again. I always thought of the Ace card as both the highest and lowest card at the same time. If I’m ever a supervillain with a card theme the Aces would be the leaders. Now I’m curious about how Psycho Gecko would organize his henchmen. By number like the Monarch with the lower the number the higher the status, by committee like AIM, or like the joker where only the most insane, bloodthirsty, or obedient would be in charge. Tattletale has her mercenaries into squads with team leaders that report to her, Rachel has her few minions who basically operate like a pack with her in charge, Taylor had a second in command but didn’t have an organization, and who knows how the Heartbroken follow Imp. Just stupid thoughts in my head.
Ace is often interchangeably the highest card of a suit and the lowest, like in poker and in blackjack. Some people stick with the lowest interpretation.
They are European and in a lot of our card games the Knave/Jack/Bube/Under is the most valuable card. Not from points but from special features.
If I were a card themed villian Ace would be the best field agent, not the leader. The ace is the trump card, but being the best at kicking ass does not make you the best at leading.
I’d put the King in charge, with the Ace as the heaviest hitter or otherwise most useful power that isn’t necessarily suited for leadership.
acediamonds on September 19, 2013 at 21:30 said:
I thought that was the joke. Grace getting Romp to run laps and showing her whose the boss here is something they do in the Wards, which is why only the only people who laughed were/are in the Wards.
I read it as swearing being so incredibly casual to Romp that she doesn’t even notice if someone’s doing it or not…
Tagg on September 19, 2013 at 00:39 said:
Looks like Foil is blasting off again.
somewhere, foil is making use of her superhuman timing so that her arbalest catches the sun and reflects a ‘ping’
And I think it’s gonna be a long long time, ’til touchdown brings her once again to find, she’s not the cape they think she is at home, no no. She’s a rocket Foil! Burning out her fuse up there alone.
Earth Beta ain’t the kind of place to raise your kids. In fact, Scion’s made it hell. And there’s no one there to raise them… if you did.
Cephalo the Pod on September 19, 2013 at 22:33 said:
Has she blasted off before?
razorsmile on September 19, 2013 at 00:40 said:
– Scion, you asshole! You ruined the joke!
– there is anecdotal evidence that the advent of literacy reduced our mnemonic capabilities. Nice touch, what you did with Rachel there.
– holy shit, Foil’s power can actually hurt him! Holy shit!
– I wonder if Ms. Militia’s can too if she replicates the right tinker weapon (G-Driver, anyone?). She got her power from the dying entity’s castoffs before Scion could start nerfing them. Her power is unnerfed. This means something.
– they really need to get Operation Talk To Scion off the ground. Preferably before he puts them all *in* said ground.
– why is he using such scaled down attacks? Either he’s being experimentally sadistic as Taylor theorized or he’s running low on juice. Notice how his golden light didn’t clean up the blood and dirt as quickly as normal
– save us, Simurgh!
… dear God they’re fucked.
krustacean on September 19, 2013 at 01:09 said:
“She got her power from the dying entity’s castoffs before Scion could start nerfing them. Her power is unnerfed.”
Where’d you get that from? I don’t doubt it, I’m probably just not remembering.
Razor’s trying to pass speculation off as fact!
No mercy. Draw him!
But, but, it makes SO MUCH sense.Unlike others MM vision has sickly, dying entities. Despite Scion putting mental blocks her power gives her eidetic memory that allows her to remember her trigger event.
Can’t we just chop off his right hand?
Ah, I had wondered about that at the time but never really thought about it again after we got the new info in Scion’s interlude. That does make a good deal of sense.
Now, back to the matter at… hand. We must have justice after all.
Scolopendra on September 20, 2013 at 15:11 said:
Krustacean, can you do us a favor and close your sketchbook and tell us what’s on the cover? Does it by chance say “Death Note” on it?
No, nonono. He’s an artist, “Death Note” makes little sense.
He’s clearly using a Death-A-Sketch.
It’s almost exactly like its predecessor the Etch-a-Sketch, but with one crucial difference.
That being better battery life, of course.
Well, at least it had that until he drew her…
Still open to speculation. We don’t know if MM got her powers from Scion or his mate after all nor the timeline. Scion is responsible for half of the world’s superpowers but is he technically responsible for all of them after his mate’s death?
How do you know he isn’t a southpaw?
Fine, fine, let’s chop his DOMINANT hand. You bloodthirsty savages.
Now excuse me, all this talk of blood has made me hungry.
Blood sausage! Get your blood sausage here!
Larks’ tongues. Wrens’ livers. Chaffinch brains. Jaguars’ earlobes. Wolf nipple chips. Get ’em while they’re hot. They’re lovely. Dromedary pretzels, only half a denar. Tuscany fried bats.
…it’s priest. Have a little priest.
Is it really good?
Sir, it’s too good, at least. Then again, they don’t commit sins of the flesh, so it’s pretty fresh.
Awful lot of fat.
Only where it sat.
Haven’t you got poet, or something like that?
No you see the trouble with poet is how do you know it’s deceased? Stick to priest.
Heavenly! Not as hearty as bishop, perhaps, but then again, not as bland as curate either.
Half? Even as an estimation, isn’t there a third entity in okay here? Re: Scion’s interlude.
Bah, you trying to scare me? Bet you never ate the kidneys and testicles of a lamb.
Ehm, wrong comment. It was meant in response to DasNiveau’s above.n Sorry.
That was just a Monty Python quote (Life of Brian) 😉
And no, i don’t have eaten that.
En on September 19, 2013 at 05:23 said:
methinks the boar doth protests too much… razorsmile might be on to something there 😉
It’s speculation but it’s supportable speculation.
– Her particular trigger event showed an entity shedding shards, one of which connected to her. Scion’s interlude talked about Counterpart dropping shards before pre-Scion figured out there was a problem.
– She remembers her trigger event when most capes don’t because a Stranger effect is in place on the memories. Scion tells us that said memory suppression is, along with the Manton Effect, calculated to prevent the hosts from ever challenging the Passengers.
A case could be made but I freely admit it is speculation. Don’t draw me, thank you very much. I’d like to live to see the end of this story 🙂
Very very interesting, now I must go reread her interlude. I think I like this theory.
“Don’t draw me, thank you very much. I’d like to live to see the end of this story 🙂 ”
This pleased me immensely, so you survive. Now I feel like I’m slacking… If school weren’t eating my time and soul I’d totally have killed off all the villains by now 😛
First you’d have to elaborate on at least a half dozen whacky rules to using your Death Sketchpad though.
Hyperdramatic Potato Chip not included.
You could be one hell of a police sketch artist.
Yeah but only for Wanted: Dead or Alive posters. And who gets the bounty then? These are important questions, and I must know.
Razorsmile, the idea seems to be that, as the need to memorize information has become less important, we’ve simply stopped making use of our ability to memorize quite so much. Some see this is a bad thing, but it’s merely an adaption to a world that became increasingly literate and then capable of storing information on computers.
Yes, it’s true we are unlikely to remember the oral history of a particular tribe for the last 500 years. However, we have the ability at our fingertips to call up the unbiased history of hundreds of tribes all over the world for the past 1,000 years.
On the other hand not bieng able to remember our grocery list without checking our cellphones is sorta a bad thing.
Yes, we are evolving into a dependency on technology. Nature abhors a vacuum, so as we develop tools that allow us to be less dependent on memory for survival, it’s more likely that those with lesser ability to memorize will reproduce. Just like people with deadly allergies now survive childhood when they could never have survived to adulthood before modern medicine. And children born with crippling physical defects that are surgically correctable with modern medicine, but would have resulted in death before modern technology.
My grandfather learned the periodic table in the sixth grade. He recited it to me once when he was around 80 years old. All 90 of them… When I looked confused because he left out some that I knew he had missed, he chuckled and said that was all there were when he was in school. Me, however, I have terrible rote memory, but I am very good when you throw a bunch of pieces of a problem in front of me and let me sort through the pieces and clues to determine what happened and why. My grandfather was not very imaginative, but even very late in life, you didn’t challenge his memory without a very strong chance of being proven wrong.
It makes me chuckle when I hear people try to explain that evolution no longer shapes humanity.
imsomeone on September 19, 2013 at 15:46 said:
I think memory is more learned then genetic to be honest.
What I find funny is an evolutionists view on homosexuals. If society discriminates them, more homosexuals deny their tendencies and live a heterosexual lifestyle. And reproduce.
I don’t know what this evolutionism is, as I’m not aware of some sort of religious group based around the Theory of Evolution. It’s like calling someone a gravitist or an atomist or a germist.
As it stands, though, heterosexual couples have homosexual children as well. It may simply be one of those strategies like birds that never leave the nest and find a mate of their own and instead help pass on their genes via helping parents raise their siblings and giving them a better chance of surviving and reproducing. Or like the Mosuo, who don’t marry. Instead, a man helps raise his sister’s children because he can’t necessarily be sure the kids his girlfriend has will be his, but he knows for a fact that his sister’s children are his relatives.
And it’s not really a laughing matter to suggest that a part of someone’s identity be violently repressed to reproduce more, especially when it suggests that the person suggesting this lacks a complete understanding of what the hell they’re talking about.
I assume that an evolutionist is to evolution as a physicist is to physics – a scientist who focusses on that particular area of we’ll-established scientific knowledge.
I… really don’t get how that’s funny? Is it that when bigoted, closed-minded people try to repress homosexuality they only serve to increase their numbers?
I guess that *is* funny in a bitter irony sort of way.
Though personally I question the assumption. If society discriminated against you for wanting to sleep with members of the opposite sex, would you just go “Oh well” and start sleeping with members of the same sex instead? I kinda doubt it. So why would the reverse be true?
There was an interesting TED talk about how it’s shaping people nowadays, mentioning a couple of feats only accomplished by humans with certain genes. Like no one had been an Olympic gold medalist in weightlifting without this gene and nobody had ever climbed up this mountain without additional oxygen without this other gene.
Of course, a lot of blindness to the idea that it no longer shapes humanity is because so many people don’t think it’s happening at all. You know, people who think that if it were real, then their grandpa would have been a different species, because they don’t actually understand the amounts of time involved in it all.
As I said. Nature abhors a vacuum. If the Grandpa thing was aimed at me, you completely understood what I intended.
My grandfather expressed high retention memory because it was a survival requirement for him. I probably have (or had when I was a child) the capability to develop a memory nearly as good as his was, but I didn’t need it, so I didn’t develop it.
For younger generations, pattern matching and analysis is being expressed more than memory retention. My grandfather, certainly could have been raised in such a way that they depended less on memorization and more on problem analysis, which would probably led to him having a less good memory and a better ability to solve complex problems. But he was a farmer. Memory served him well. He didn’t have a big enough picture of the world for his experiences to get better answers from problem solving than from memory.
Now move forward 1000 generations of people needing problem solving more than they need memory. Yes, there will be changes in how the human brain is optimized, especially if there is a statistically greater chance that good pattern matchers will have more kids than good memorizers.
As for the other examples I gave, that IS fast track evolution. When you allow deadly genetics to propagate by using medical tools to prevent death long enough for another generation to be born, you will very quickly (in an evolutionary sense) become dependent on said medical tools. We’re GOING to do it. Those are our kids. It’s the price we pay for being intelligent tool users – we become dependent on them for survival.
I wasn’t referring to your grandpa right then and there. I was referring to real life people who think that evolution means someone really close in their family tree would have been a chimp or something like that. I’m not sure where you’re from, but I’ve seen my fair share of people who are clueless about evolution.
Thing is, civilization is generally user-friendly, so even if his memory hadn’t been as good back then, he’d have likely still survived to pass on his genes. For a couple hundred, anyone can find a mate for at least a short amount of time.
Still, I think that same TED talk also discussed autism cases seen as being on the rise in the middle of a time when we’re exposed to more information than ever before. It’s certainly a lot to consider, but I’m wary of people who might confuse it with a mindset similar to Jack’s or Shadow Stalker’s.
And nature may abhor a vacuum, but space hates mops, so there.
I keep referring to it but I can’t even remember if that’s the same talk I considered far too optimistic about the development of body modification. One of them made it seem like immortality would be achievable in our lifetimes. Way too optimistic of a guy.
To reply to PG below –
(*sigh* If someone could delete the posted early version of this above, that would be awesome, please.).
In reply to PG, immortality *may* well be available in our lifetimes (though I doubt the average person would benefit from it in our lifetimes). The thing about breakthroughs is that they’re really hard to predict. In 1900 we had no idea that we’d have viable heavier-than-air aircraft within our lifetimes. There are still people alive today to whom the idea of computers would’ve seemed magic. And now we may or may not have invented the reaction less drive.
We’re discovering new things at an ever-increasing rate. And we don’t know if the key discovery which leads to immortality (if there is one) is a billion discoveries away or a dozen.
Penicillin wasn’t even on the radar until the *day* it was discovered. So who knows…
Evolution definitely still shapes humanity, but it tends to be a much longer term thing. What you’re describing is really just the difference between someone investing effort to develop an inherent potential vs not.
And there’s really no reason that potential should atrophy in humanity over time. Nature is full of species with features that are no longer strictly necessary, but haven’t been lost because there’s no evolutionary advantage to losing them.
Though honestly, the ability to remember stuff is so useful that I suspect it will still be selected for, no matter how technological we get. In fact it’s probably *more* useful now than ever, since we have so much technology to wrap our heads around! :O
I can’t see that change short of direct brain-internet interfaces.
Personally, I suspect that what has changed in the last few generations is not that our memories are poorer, but that we spread our focus a lot thinner. I bet if we stopped focussing on a dozen things at once and dedicated our concentration solely to memorising a table, we’d be just as good at it as your grandparents was. But we almost never want to nowadays.
There’s no such thing as “unbiased.”
@PG and a muscle fibre that is appears to be predominant in West Africans thereby enhancing speed. If I can find the article again, I will gladly link it.
Jack would be so proud of Scion right now. No more impersonal city-wide destruction but actual evisceration (or burning or other slow deaths) while looking at his victims in the eyes. He probably would frown at the all caked in blood thing. Jack was always well groomed when he participated in mass murder. Also, Scion showed up just as they were deciding to inject Bitch’s dogs with potentially dangerous formulas. He’s still saving the dogs!
So, it seems that Foil is an actual threat to Scion ( the entity is another part) and Parian saved her from certain death by,hmm, sending her to almost certain death. That’s love, folks!
Knave of Hearts is Dutch? Then the Suits are a European organisation not just an UK one. Or maybe Taylor just confused British English with Dutch? 🙂 .
Liked that moment of bitterest companionship between Taylor, the Wards and the Undersiders.
Silkroad is a great name for a Chinese cape with the power to make fast corridors. And I’m saying this because after finally deciding to start writing about my own superhero-world I realised how difficult it is to come with names that don’t sound corny or lame or even damn cliché. And yet, with the possible exception of Raymancer , who was even ribbed in-universe about it, wildbow manages to pull it off. It’s a small thing, but it’s another thing i want to congratulate him for.
*it’s bittersweet not bitterest there before companionship. Bitterest would give that a completely different meaning.
Bitter! Bitter!
Yeah, I’m sure that’s a reference LOTS of people will get.
The naming of capes in Worm has always majorly impressed me. Seriously, we’ve got things like Eidolon, Regent and Othello (my personal favorite names in Worm) in a genre dominated by “______-Man”.
The naming is great.
But Vornehm ticks me of Wrong … thats not a name a german cape would give itself.
The Meisters – “Die Meister” is great as a groups name.
but Vornehm (genteel, elegant, refined) … germans don’t name themselfs so.
Der Vornehme or Vornehmer would do but not just an adjective alone.
Epsilon Rose on September 19, 2013 at 03:26 said:
It could be Taylor or the English press that are getting it wrong. Maybe his actual name is Der Vornehme and non-germans who are looking to shorten it just lop of the Der (which is sad, because it sounds much better that way). Or, alternatively, Vornehme himself isn’t a native speaker and he’s had the name too long to correct it.
Likely the first. Taylor is calling them “Meisters” instead of “Die Meister” too.
You know I like all these Watsonian explanation for the rather boring Doylist answer that wildbow, while all kinds of awesome, probably isn’t a polyglot. I believe some South Africans readers pointed out he made some mistakes with the Afrikaans back when Moord Nag was introduced.
Oh and since I’m here and I don’t want to sound like a spoilsport, maybe Vornehm realised that being grammatically correct was a bother when people were calling his name in the middle of a fight. Die Vornehme is sort of a mouthful. 🙂 .
“Die Vornehme” which would be female 😉
wildbow don’t have to be a polyglot. He has a lot of fans that would help him, >>later<< on. (Thats actually a offer, Mr. Writer) English names are as abstract to me than german names are to him.
Ouch. That should teach me not to butt in when i don’t know anything about the language.
Anyway since DasNiveau already volunteered, I also offer my expertise if you ever need help with Italian names for capes. Seriously, you can’t have just the Brits and the Germans saving the day. Unless the European community sees us as a joke even in the Wormverse.
And since I’m already rambling, I always wanted to ask: does the European Union exist in the Wormverse?
inventorfrog on March 5, 2016 at 00:38 said:
It did just occur to me that Vornehm’s gender wasn’t specified. So if it is an error in translation, it could just as easily be Vornehmerin or Die Vornehme.
Possible explanation: he ended up like Taylor and was given a name by the local organization of asshole hero capes. She didn’t exactly choose the name Skitter, but she accepted it for a while nonetheless.
will408914 on September 20, 2013 at 19:44 said:
Exalt is an verb. I don’t see a lot of difference there, besides the grammatical usage.
inventorfrog on February 27, 2016 at 22:43 said:
Why wouldn’t it work? There are American capes with names like Gallant and Brandish. Capes have a habit of giving themselves clever names that aren’t always nouns.
If it’s actually a difference between German and English I’m interested to hear it — I’m learning German, but I’m not at the point where I can make native-level judgements on things like the quality of names.
Presumably Jack’s out there in the chaos somewhere still looking. I wonder if Scion will come back for him eventually, and what he’ll do to him when/if he does…
No One in Particular on September 19, 2013 at 02:40 said:
Y’know, I keep thinking things can’t get any worse. But they keep getting exponentially worse. Things have gotten so bad, I kinda wanna make a chart measuring how much worse things have gotten. Five “oh hell’s”? Thirty “wham’s”? Fifteen “well at least things can’t get any worse oh shoot it’s lunchtime’s”?
In other news, it just hit me that, after the whole Endbringer thing and crossing the Godzilla Threshold, the long wait for the Birdcage to opened seems like not too big a deal anymore.
Yeah, it’s a case of “we were dreading World War III for decades, but then the sun swelled up and swallowed the Earth and those worries seemed kinda quaint.”
LoL, yeah, remember when everyone was freaking out ‘cos they had to deal with Bakuda? Now they’re all “Remember when we only had super-powered mad bombers to worry about? Boy we had it good…” xD
Nourjan on September 19, 2013 at 02:46 said:
Screw those Case 53 !!(excluding Weld and those that that hold to him,and tried to stop them).When it comes to it they shown that they are even less noble than Cauldron,Saint or even Tagg,at least those guys were doing bad and wrong things for GOOD reasons(revenge isn’t one of them).
veekie on September 19, 2013 at 04:33 said:
Not really. The Case 53s are just being very human. They have no great agenda in mind, just revenge, because doom is certain anyway. They’ve given up, that’s all.
The only reason why the decide to off her now instead of after the final battle was because they were worried that they won’t be the ones the finish her .They were driven by their personal need for vengeance.
“Personal isn’t the same as important”.You know who else put their personal needs above everyone else?Cody and Krouse, and like these guys they ending up screwing people big time.
I would put those Case 53 in the same category as the Yangban,the Elites and the rest of the idiots that Taylor is wiling to sic and Endbringer on(in this case they deserve it).
Defiant is willing to work with Saint(he had every reason to pummel him to mush,hope he does his eventually) who unlike Teacher have no safeguard against him ,but of course the fate of the human race took greater importance.
So yeah, these Case 53s are worse than anyone misguided sods who thought they were trying to do the right thing(Cauldron, Saint,Tagg,The Triumvirate etc).
Saint killed Defiant’s girlfriend.
Cauldron stole people from their lives and families, turned them into monsters, tortured them until they agreed to let themselves be experimented upon to study their powers and then got brainwashed so they forgot about their previous life.
Perspective is important, sometimes. And always thinking about the greater good is what turned Doctor Mother (and Alexandria) into what she is now.
As I said in the previous chapter, had the Irregulars limited themselves in killing Doctor I wouldn’t have batted an eyelid. Smashing Doormaker’s head against a wall, however, was morally wrong (he’s as much a victim of Cauldron as the Case 53), stupid (the cohordination of the anti-Scion league just went to shambles) and unnecesary (they are 50 parahumans capable of taking out Contessa and the Custodian against a normal human, two brainwashed capes and two hired goons with no aggressive powers ).
Saint didn’t just “killed” his girlfriend , he causes untold amount of death and destruction in his mishandling of the”Dragon Threat” both by taking her out at that particular moment and his fumbling with the control of the Dragon network afterwards.Cauldron took people who are destined to certain death in a crapsack world/circumstances and gave them at least some chance of survival(arguably many of them would prefer death had they knew what was coming).Both these people thought they were doing what was necessary for the greater good,both were wrong(although until we find out the Cauldron’s full game plan, the jury is till out on them)
I’m not saying they should be absolved , they all need to answer for they crimes but there a time and place for that. What those Case 53s did was unnecessary.The only way this could turned out good is if Weld manage to take back control of the situation and restore the support that Cauldron was providing to the Scionic defence.
Saint didn’t kill Dragon – she’s still around.
And yeah, the Case 53s kinda *did* need to take out Doormaker. Unless they wanted to kill Doctor Mother instantly (and were confident of doing so flawlessly before she could speak) they needed to cut off her means of escape first. That goes double if they wanted to hold and interrogate her. Hard to do that with someone who could just say “Paris” and be teleport to… well, probably a smoking crater in the ground, but you get the point…
You reap what you sow though. Cauldron laid the seeds of very very ugly payback long long ago. In a sense this outcome is Contessa and Doctor Mother’s fault, they made Cauldron the lynchpin of everything, so that they can control the maximum factors and direct the fight. They operated with a plan based on precognition, directed against an opponent immune to precognition.
Arguably, without Cauldron acting to scatter and crush independent operatives that threaten to take control of their plan, the more decentralized parahuman world would be less vulnerable to a decapitation strike. The Case 53s seeking payback was inevitable and entirely predictable. That they’d succeed was not.
Cauldron stopped trying to take out people interfering with their plans for quite a while(they believe it was hardly a point that matters any more)now .They wouldn’t be any decapitating strike as there is nothing to decapitate, these Case 53s already have that head in a bag. What Cauldron was providing(which these dolts took out) was essentially the only thing that made humanity last this long against Scion.
If you’re talking about the portals then Doctor Mother isn’t necessary. Doormaker is a vegetable that opens doors whenever someone tells him to. As I said bashing his head in was wrong both on the moral and the utilitarian level.
The Irregulars killing Doctor is, IMO, opinion far more understandable than,say, Tagg telling a surrendering 16 years old that if he could get away with it he’d put a bullet in her head then and there.
Until we knew what her endgame is,we don’t know how essential she is to the equation.We both could agree that taking out Doormaker is extremely unnecessary.
I could actually understand both Tagg and these Case 53s reasoning behind their action and I find Tagg to a lot less reprehensible of the lot (to the uninitiated ,Taylor could seems just be as bad as Jack Slash).Besides both Jack Slash and Grey Boy were pretty much children when they casually stroll past the moral event horizon.
Except, the ENTIRE scenario was their doing in the first place. Large numbers of vengeance seeking Case 53s. Lack of organization and information in the resistance groups.They took the whole world in their hands on the assumption that they can handle what comes.
And they can’t.
Absolutely none of those justify betraying humanity for personal vengeance or else Cody would be completely in the right (Accord is asshole, he deserve it right?Oh wait,he also sabotage the Delhi defence too).Now thanks to the Case 53s selfserving idiocy,the resistance is in a far worse shape.
Not that their care though,they seems to believe the fight against Scion is already lost any way.
Exactly. Hell, even the people going to the fight think it’s impossible. Taylor and co want to go down struggling even if all hope seems lost. The Case 53s decided their revenge was more important than a largely symbolic attempt to spit in Scion’s face before they go.
Ironically, this would never have happened if Cauldron had been the ice cold monsters everyone credits them as and just killed the Case 53s to start with instead of the much more cumbersome and risky business of wiping their memories and setting them free.
They didn’t *have* to have the Nemesis program. They were never needing cash.
The only rationale I can see is that Cauldron felt bad for the Case 53s and wanted to at least let them have some chance at a life.
This uncharacteristic empathy came back to bite them on the butt…
storryeater on May 2, 2015 at 08:48 said:
#irreverant,Cauldron was cold,but they believed in their purpose,they wanted more capes out there,which is why they were reluctant to kill capes.
Yup. And there’s little so dangerous as people with an apparently noble purpose and a willingness to do absolutely anything to achieve it.
Cauldron’s pigheaded unwillingness to even *consider* that they were headed down the wrong path was their undoing. Given that their entire plan was based on one very shaky assumption – that the way to defeat Scion was by amassing a large enough army, they really did have more confidence in it than they had any right to. See my later comments on this issue though, when you get to that point. 🙂
Good point about why they let the Case 53s live – I hadn’t thought of it that way.
And BTW, it’s “Irrevenant”. The base word is “revenant” as in undead. 🙂
irrevenant,irreverant,its irrelevant as long as no revenant becomes soon relevant,due to there being more irreverent ways to talk about undead or ghost things,it is irrelevant to be reverent about a renevant,lest you wish to turn renegade by your reverent feelings for undead,and once you go renegate,you never go irrenegade,so be irreverent on your feelings about revenants,irrevenant but not irreverant.On second thought how could I,a reverent person,call you irreverant instead of irrevenant,irrevenant,when there is no meaning to the word reverant,but a clear one for the word revenant,from which you,irrevenant,take your name,while being reverent to beings the likes of which you should not be reverent,if you wish to stay relevant,and not become irrelevant,irreverant.
Meh,the renegade one was bad,and I should have used irrelevant more
Elias N Vasylenko on September 19, 2013 at 06:41 said:
Their selfishness and pettiness may literally kill all remaining humans. Who gives a shit what their agenda is? It’s the fact that they’re apparently *not* giving any sort of a shit about the consequences of their actions which is a problem!
The problem with Revenge is how it creates new victims. Kill the man who killed your family before your eyes? Well too bad you did it in front of his son, who will come back in 15 years to kill you or your family for revenge. Decide to get revenge on the man your wife ran off with by raising the daughter said wife returned with and gave to you right before dying, by making her grow up to be a drug addicted prostitue? Well you’ve just revealed all this to him, and why is he laughing? What does he mean it’s not his daughter? Then who’s is… Oh Shit! You want justice you get another party to administer it. You want revenge, you’d better make damn sure you don’t cause others to seek it on you.
“Make damn sure you don’t cause others to seek it on you.” is what a lot of characters *think* they’re accomplishing. Few (if any) pull it off.
Better advice: “Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves.”
Or as David Xanatos said “Revenge is a losers game.”
“Right, one for the big chick, one for the little chick.” -Tallahassee
The solution? Kill everyone.
You see what Scion is doing here? That is duuuuuuumb.
“Dorian had forgotten the first rule about killing innocents. One always survives.”
Eh, if Cauldron really had something that powerful to use against Scion, do you think they’d have easily fallen to the Case 53s in the first place? Anything they can do, he can do better, it’s just a matter of when he gets around to doing it.
They even had to buy an Endbringer from Teacher. For a group that’s been planning for all this, they aren’t making a good showing of themselves.
Vista is… seriously badass here. I wonder how much of the Earth is she warping.
I also found interesting the part where Taylor likes the wards, but loves the undersiders… Leaving aside the shipping, at least for now, it’s telling that she loves the people who she met before “hardening”. And before her shard matured.
And finally, the chapter went from relaxed to extremely chaotic and disorganized in a heartbeat. The general feeling of “wtf is happening” and disorganization was very well done.
In order: Defiant, Chevalier, Legend, Weld.
Are there any other interesting male capes remaining?
No, wait, let me rephrase that: Are there any other interesting male characters remaining? That are not canis lupus?
Forrest has too little screentime, but maybe counts. I’m not even considering Grue, Krouse is braindead, #36 is missing, Saint is only interesting because he’s Dragon’s foil, Aidan is nowhere to be found… is Leviathan a he?
Lung has Chechov’s Gunman written on him in giant white letters. Marquis may also have his chance to shine (again he was built up as this uber-badass). I won’t exclude Grue pulling a “he’s back!” moment but I admit it’s unlikely. Tecton is still there.
If we’re counting villains, then Teacher just jumped to number one threat after Scion and nobody mentioned the Number Man during the raid on Cauldron. And now I’m picturing Number Man in a (completely out of character) Roaring Rampage of Revenge, mowing down the Irregulars with a giant tinker-made (seriously Cauldron must have some tinkers somewhere) machine gun.
You’re right, both Marquis and Lung are interesting, despite the small screentime.
Teacher and Saint, while threats (present and past), are not interesting at all imho.
Number man is… an odd duck out. The cape is interesting, but the character is boring, if it makes some sense.
You find Number Man boring, really?
This is the guy who was best pals with Jack Slash, helped him kill King (whose power is essentially to be unkillable), walked out of the S9 as if he were walking out of a basketball team, was recruited by Doctor Mother and helped found Cauldron. All of this while he was still a TEENAGER (Taylor doesn’t sound so impressive anymore, huh?). He’s the secret mastermind behind pretty much any financial transaction made by capes, villains and heroes alike, worldwide. He outwitted one of Richter’s AIs. When one of Cauldron’s experiments tries to escape he beats them up with the power of super-maths and threatens to shatter their skulls with a pen. All the while musing such charming thoughts on how morality, ethic and friendship are lies and embellishments civilisation tells itself to avoid facing the truth. Only numbers are real. Oh and he beats his clones (the ones that curbstomped the best the Protectorate could offer) by purposefully giving them an opening for a lethal shot, knowing that if they take it Contessa will kill them all. COME ON!
By the way I also think he’s one of the most chilling and creepy “bad guy” to appear in Worm. I like the CHARACTER, I don’t admire the person.
Sorry for the double post but just wanted to add that, while I agree that Saint is there only for his connection to Dragon, teacher is, IMO, an interesting villain that may have suffered a little because of a too-late introduction/day in the limelight. He’s a more civilised version of Jack: screwing everyone just to show he can.
Another Number Man, fan, eh? 🙂 .
langer101 on September 19, 2013 at 07:08 said:
…after your summary +1 🙂
I think he makes for an interesting character, though I have to mentally edit him to have at least a little bit of superhuman physiology too since “Super Maths” automatically equaling “Bad Ass Fighter” have grated on my nerves ever since “The Clock King” episode of the Batman Animated Series.
To be fair, Clock King was a middle-aged man who somehow could evade Batman’s punches because he was obsessed with being on time, whereas Number Man has a bonafide superhuman ability to see the numbers in…well everything. I can see why it can be annoying, though, hence why I like that wildbow had him acknowledge that he prefers shooting people from a distance rather than engage in melee.
Haven’t seen the Clock King’s appearance in Batman, but he was badass in both Arrow and JLU.
Totally agree about the hand-to-hand thing, though: being able to get a feel for an opponent’s rhythm is one thing. Being able to respond fast enough with enough force to do something with that information is another.
There’s a character called Speed-0 (yes, deliberate pun. :P) in the Dasien webcomic who riffs off this idea. He has the ability to perceive things at superhuman speed and has spent his life honing his body to be fast and strong enough to take at least *some* advantage of it…
I think it’s also mentioned that it’s suspected he has perfect control over his own body movements.
Number Man fans unite!
I hope he was conveniently not at Cauldron HQ when the Irregulars stormed the place. They didn’t mention him as being taken care of so there’s hope.
I just really want him to arrive at this Scion fight in a sweater vest and dorky glasses with some hidden Cauldron super weapon.
taliesinskye on September 19, 2013 at 07:26 said:
Tecton comes to mind as interesting.
Nobody has mentioned Golem? I mean he spent the last two years with the wieght of the world on his shoulders. He knew that if the end of the world was going to be averted, he was going to be one of the key people for doing it. And he failed. His little sister, who was one of his anchors was killed. And he knows it was probably a friend that did it.
Seems there are tons of interesting male characters. Somewhere else.
Thank you! I was beginning to wonder if Theo had died and I missed it! O_O
To answer everyone at once:
First of all, I’m happy for Wildbow that other people find all the characters mentioned interesting. It means he’s doing things right.
Personally, however, I find theacher, golem, tecton, the number man extremely flat characters.
The last one has some depth only in relation to Jack, by himself I do not find him interesting at all. His gimmick is nice, but Harbinger’s backstory was maybe a bit rushed for my tastes, dunno.
If I manage to find out exactly why I find him flat I’ll post.
Ok, after this I’ll stop because I don’t want to sound like Number Man’s greatest fan (I like him but there’s people I like more, say Chevalier, Lung, Marquis, Eidolon just to mention some male characters) or, God forbid, his apologist.
Just wanted to say this: you think his backstory was rushed, I think it was done on purpose. We know he was Harbinger, he left after killing King, joined Caulron and disappeared from the face of the Earth. It’s supposed to be a mystery, one that probably won’t ever be answered, even after getting an entire chapter in his head. And i think it’s even lampshades in-story. Remember what Riley was doing before meeting Contessa? Going to the library to do some research on Harbinger because she wanted to give all the clones personalities matching the originals but not even Jack could help her in that regard. And then when Golem fights the Harbingers clones, what does he think? That the reason they’re so dangerous it’s because nobody even managed to start guessing what Harbinger’s power was before he disappeared leaving no trace.
But as I said, I rest my case. Worm as lots of characters, i wouldn’t be surprised if everyone had a different favourite. 🙂 .
It occurs to me that Vista could easily end the world if she wanted to do so. She showed during the S9K arc that she could warp holes through solid objects, and here she showed that she can act over a huge area. I imagine she could fairly easily warp a hole straight down into the Earth’s mantle and cause a supervolcanic eruption that could end all life.
PORTAL TO CAULDRON. Still think Taylor suffered brain damage after Scion first attacked them and, even if Panacea can restore neurons and the brain, Taylor seemed to be better at making connections before. If they really need to get to Cauldron, hunt down Faultline’s crew. I think Cauldron’s headquarters was the first connection they made to another Earth (when Alexandria tensed before they found the Travelers’ dimension).
Yeah, except she has no idea where Labyrinth and Scrub are because they have been relying too much on simply having to say “To Faultline” to go and have a chat.
Er, wrong post!
Allan on November 5, 2019 at 13:45 said:
Or…you know, Taylor is an actual character here! She is an actual person living on this world.
Characters don’t have every single piece of information given to them like you do.
Tattletale: “Taylor didn’t sleep a wink last night.”
Imp: “Oh?”
Tattletale: “Yeah, Simurgh kept her awake all night.”
You know, a part of me worries about what it says about the inherent sexism in constantly shipping female characters together. It could be argued we do so less frequently because the cast’s focus is predominantly on the women now, but in the interest of fairness:
Miss Militia: “How’s working with Leviathan going?”
Hoyden: “Ugh, total sea-sausage fest. Do you know how hard it is to keep him from hosing down Rawhide?”
Miss Militia: “That bad, huh?”
Hoyden: “Worse. All sorts of things wash up from Leviathan now. Turns out the Japanese were wrong about all the naughty sea creatures wanting girls. I now know for a fact that octopi prefer a macho man to cling to. And to cling inside of.”
Don’t blame Leviathan. He’s just lonely since Behemoth died. They used to meet up near those oceanic volcanoes, and pour all that heat into that watery abyss.
Dude ,this picture is so wrong!!
Those guys were like siblings.
BTW, is Hoyden still alive?I thought the Harbinger clones got her.
They were going after her, but I don’t think her death was confirmed.
There’s a really perverted joke in “I thought the Harbinger clones got her.”
They covered all the angles.
She’s Possessed. HARBINGER ASSUMED DIRECT CNTROL
WyldCard4 on September 19, 2013 at 06:00 said:
“You know, a part of me worries about what it says about the inherent sexism in constantly shipping female characters together.”
I do find this interesting.
I do think there is a problematic and sexist element to lesbian shipping. There is something objectifying about it. Still, I have known real lesbians who frequently ship lesbian couples in works of media, up to writing lemon fanfics, though whether or not this implies the behavior is less sexist is up for debate.
Personally, I do tend to see more relationship chemistry among female characters than male ones, but it’s not an absolute thing. I suspect part of it is just that women are socialized with more intimacy in their friendships. There’s also something to be said for seeing both members of a couple as attractive and hence seeing how they would see each other as attractive?
I think there are valid feminist objections to lesbian shipping, but I don’t think it’s an especially problematic one as long as it’s done with respect towards the agency of the characters involved.
pidgey on September 19, 2013 at 14:05 said:
Shipping in general is objectifying. It’s pretty ridiculous to say that one arbitrary kind of shipping is worse or more gratuitous than another kind when all ships start off with the intention to be gratuitous objectification.
But please remember that this is a work of fiction. People are allowed to do things to fictional characters that they would never consider doing in real life, and it’s totally okay. How many people have been shot to death in video games by people who would be horrified at the thought of actually murdering someone? Fictional torture and fictional sex and fictionally breaking the law and fictional objectification has little to no correlation with a person’s tendency to do those things to actual people, so who cares? Being judgmental for the sake of being judgmental does no one any favors.
There’s also a bit of self projection I think with Shipping. Or maybe it’s like bieng someones meddeling mother. The one who keeps setting you up with her friends daughters for dates because “She’s such a nice girl, and you’ll be so happy together.” You tend to want happiness for characters you like, and a happy relationship is something that can be part of that.
Ack on September 19, 2013 at 08:43 said:
And the awesome just keeps on coming.
Well Scion has moved from “wiping out the anthill to build a house” to “Kicking over the anthill because he’s upset” and is now at “Using a magnifying glass and pulling off the legs”. In short he’s gotten crueler and more evil.
Sadly, given what he was before, that probably still counts as “growth” for him.
That makes Scion and Jack Slash the only truly irredeemable bad guys still alive a this point.
Psh, Jack’s still trapped in that time loop. I’d hesitate to call that state “alive.” Besides, Scion hit New York, dead-on, with a beam whose shockwaves devastated Brockton Bay. Depending on how close the final S9x9 showdown was to New York, he may be actually dead by this point.
Err, Jack’s Groups were in LA. Bonesaw’s team were fighting in New York.
Derp. :C Well he’s been entirely forgotten about, and good riddance. So it amounts to the same thing.
It’s weird to suggest this but I can see a story thread where Scion growing crueler and more evil winds up leading to his ‘redemption’.
Jack’s irredeemable in the sense that he already knows why what he’s doing is wrong and that’s why he loves doing it. He’s actively choosing to be evil.
Scion though? He’s “innocent” in the the definition of the word which reads “free from guilt or sin especially through lack of knowledge of evil”. Previously, Scion didn’t seem to be much more than a blob of power with a fuzzy set of directions on it. “Good” was “fulfilling the worm lifecycle”. Then his mate died and “Good” as he understood it became impossible. Kevin Norton railed at him and he shrugged and tried accepting another set of external criteria as a definition of “Good”. Time passed though and being “Good” wasn’t doing anything for him.
Now he’s trying a new set of behavior and it’s being directed from within. It’s ridiculously, unforgivably evil behavior but it’s his own behavior. That’s a very tiny peg to hang a redemption off but it is something. Where before he didn’t really have a “self” to be good or evil, he’s at least started to grow a bit beyond his initial programming and if he can change himself to be “evil”, that opens the door to him discovering concepts like “Empathy” and being able to change himself to someone who’s actually good.
Ya, I can see that.
Anger Is destructive and ultimately negative, but it’s a step up the ladder from apathy and depression because at least it’s *motivation*. It’s an attempt to change things.
The pendulum always swings too far one way then the other before we find balance. Must of us don’t have the capacity to destroy entire planets while adjusting, though…
Kessler on September 19, 2013 at 13:39 said:
But is Scion different from Endbringers only in scope of the destruction?
Hrm. How about this idea. Jack Slash saves what’s left of the world. After he learns a bit from killing 90% of the populations of all worlds, Scion pays a visit to Jack, who tells him that there’s a better way to do it. Now that he can understand terror and fear in others, he needs to cultivate it. Allow humans to rebuild and repopulate. Strike silently and from hiding, rarely, but for maximum psychological effect. Create a multiverse of worlds where all humans are in constant terror that they might be one of a few Scion victims each year on each world, and over the next couple thousand years, he would develop into an artist.
How about it Scion? Free Jack, heal him, and let him teach you to be a truly scary boogeyman, rather than just an unstoppable force of nature.
Jack saves the world by making the Wormverse even MORE dark.
Aww Cuff and Golem ended up dating after all.
There’s a high chance both of them are going to die horribly very soon but still.
Hey there’s a high chance of everyone dying horribly soon. Well okay, somebody is going to live because Wildbow did state he was going to do charecter epilouge interludes.
Hrm. I wonder. Chevalier is going to try to wear some sort of Endbringer-material gear.
Maybe Golem could also use Endbringer bits? He grows materials independent of available mass, so give him Endbringer bits and he can make huge arms and legs out of them, stacked and positioned around a large area.
But I’m still in favor of Jack Slash saving the rest of humanity so he can teach Scion how to better terrorize humans and grow as a monster. That’s pretty high up the list of “Doing the right things for the wrong reasons.”
He seems to only be able to work with non-living material, so he could only use cut-off Endbringer bits. That’s one limitation. Also, he has to have a like surface to extrude his hand out of, so he couldn’t just grow Endbringer bits willy-nilly: another limitation.
Aside from that, though, I think he’s good to go, probably. He sticks his hand into one end of Leviathan’s severed leg or whatever Chevy got, and a huge hand made of Leviathan bone comes out of it. Repeat, and another huge hand comes out of that one. He can generate an unlimited amount of said material, limited only by his endurance. For all we know, that’s where he is right now, making a mountain of the stuff for Chevy to stick in his armor.
On the other hand, there’s a decent chance that the nature of the material puts it outside the ability of his power to replicate. He may only be able to create material that follows Euclidean geometry and/or the laws of physics.
Endbringers technically aren’t alive. I forget, did we ever find out one way or the other if they’re covered by the Manton Effect?
Didn’t realize this before, but man Foil is a fucking badass. Scion is staring her down, right after she saw him give another cape a painful death, and she calmly stands her ground.
That takes balls so big they warp space.
Too bad they aren’t quite big enough to warp Scion’s attacks away from her.
I can at least hope they’re big enough to help cushion her fall a little.
Enough weed will take the edge off bouncing on them: youtube.com/watch?v=gCHQzk2okoc
sarah penguin on September 19, 2013 at 16:02 said:
Another excellent update.
It’s telling they lose all contact to Cauldron and think they’ve ditched them instead of Cauldron got killed of, is under attack or otherwise occupied.
Comes with constantly ditching the heroes, leaving no call back adress, almost always seeming under control, getting the last word and Contessa.
Takin’ all bets! Takin’ all bets! Spooky feathered fiend versus the golden skinned master of disaster! Heavyweight match for the fate of the multiverse!
This may just be my inability to take a hint that everything goes wrong in Worm, but I got a good feeling about this. Scion just comes swaggering in like he owns the place, killing people like he don’t give a fuck. Even in Worm something like this is a sign that someone’s gonna get their ass handed to them.
Of course, that won’t exactly comfort the schmucks that get killed in the crossfire.
Also, I bet you anything Foil’s getaway was less a desperation move by Parian and more a crazy-ass flying squirrel escape strategy. Maybe, depends if Foil took some of the cloth with her.
Veloren on September 19, 2013 at 17:54 said:
I got a pack of milkduds and a squirrel on The Admin-bringer team. Scion’s tough, but he’s new to the Heel biz. GIVE ‘EM THE CHAIR, SMURFY!
BEST. TEAM NAME. EVER!
Estimated end of story is the next arc. Which means Scion either gets taken down this arc, the end-of-chapter interlude, or something got fouled up in the planning and it takes a few more arcs. Assuming of course that Taylor and co. are allowed a chance to breathe and rebuild at the end, instead of just dying.
Also, I noticed that you may have weasel-worded your way around saying the magic phrase that gets all of Taylor’s enemies killed. (I’m not going to say it either, if only because Taylor’s power is kind of undermatched vs. Scion)
Completely by accident!
Actually, here it’s more like “Meh, I can take her, and him, and him, and them, that guy too, aaaand all of you…”
So basically he’s the guy playing blackjack who just keeps hitting.
Makes sense. There’s only one person at the blackjack table with that kind of luck. Remember that as far as shards go, he’s the dealer.
Except in this case, if we don’t bet against the house, we die slower.
dragonus45 on September 20, 2013 at 06:01 said:
wait? what magic word?
“Meh, I can take her”, I believe.
The one Worm meme that survived the story and even ascended to canon hood what with Jack actually saying it to Taylor.
SOooo… The capes need to hold off scion long enough and survive until an Endrbinger can show up to reinforce them…
“We need more Endbringers!!!”
Well, if GU has Eidolon’s shard, maybe she can make more…
After seeing inside Ziz’s mind I’m very certain that Eidolon never made them in the first place.
I don’t see compelling evidence one way or the other. She thinks in an alien way. But she has an alien brain to think with and a set of goals that are alien as well.
I don’t see how she’s fundamentally something Eidolon’s passenger couldn’t have spun up for him to play with – especially since the discussion was never that he consciously designed them.
I’m going with the theory that they were just a part of the system, independent shards who were supposed to create more conflict but broken in some way by the death of the second entity, which is why they don’t know about scion. Perhaps the issues with them would be linked to the third entity, that would still fulfill the truth of the need for worthy opponents.
I was thinking the internet outage really threw me for a loop, but holy crap, I’ve not updated the donation tracker in ten days. That’s really falling behind.
Thank you to Andres, Jeremiah, Siddarth, Mark, Nicholas, Stephen, Jeff, David R, David B, Simon and Vladimir for their donations.
An especially big thank-you going out to Mike G for his.
I’ve queued another chapter.
You guys are fuckin’ awesome. Thanks. 😀
And so are you. I fact you are so awesome that your words have reached critical mass and taken on a life of their own and you may actually doomed our very own home reality!
I mean there I was in this Manchester and I see a warning about Zion! Apparently he turned up because of the smurfs’ (sic) attack. It;s a good jb the Birdcage was already empty…
What? you guys want proof? Alright then… coming soon once I can figure out how to attach photographto these emails…
I think you’ll need to host it somewhere and then link to the hosting site.
Don’t beat yourself up about it. Cross-dimensional blogging is hard enough.
On the other hand, Mr. Neil Patrick Harris, I am not getting stopped by heroes reading my blog.
But, as Wildbow needs to be reminded, Wildbow is indeed awesome. This work is “da bomb”. It’s like hella ill, son. Word to your homeboy. Lookie here. I can dig grease’n chompin’ on some buns and draggin’ through the garden.
But let’s save the rest of the jive turkey for Thanksgiving. Must have been a good donation to get Wildbow cussing and smiling. That or he’s been imbibing alcohol.
Makes me wish I had donations enabled. Of course, one of the reasons it works out so much better for Wildbow aside from the larger audience is also the donation incentives. I don’t know whether our porcine overlord has set the bar too high or too low. It depends on if we’re talking Olympic pole vault or Olympic limbo.
One way or another I shall manage this.
1) http://shawnmorgan.deviantart.com/art/Image-Zion-401648028?ga_submit_new=10%253A1379730683
2) http://shawnmorgan.deviantart.com/art/Image-Birdcage-401649139?ga_submit_new=10%253A1379730973
Zion is shorter than I always pictured him.
Mike G. on September 21, 2013 at 17:25 said:
Now if only there was an official Kindle version available, it would be easier to get my friends hooked^H^H^H^H^H^Hstarted 🙂
nohat on September 20, 2013 at 04:57 said:
The irregulars have just lapped saint on my seriously annoyed at list. Taking out Contessa (killed?) and the door maker? Wow way to screw humanity over. Cauldron is annoying, but having a bunch of super powerful precogs working for you takes away almost all of the criticisms you can level against extreme methods. If you are willing to accept even a little consequentialism, Cauldron is right. The irregulars are just petty – way worse than the elite or even the yangban. I hope Weaver sics Simurg on them for breaking the truce. In contrast I appreciated that Saint was legitimately afraid of what dragon could do. He showed that he had a big bias and against her and AI’s in general (all the machines can’t love talk). Sad considering a self improving AI might be the only thing to save them (disregarding the meta perspective for the moment). So he might be wrong, but at least he wasn’t purely selfish.
I’m going to put some thoughts I had on the series as a whole here since this is where I got current.
I really enjoyed the whole story. Great, interesting characters. I love that she fights much more powerful things and comes out ahead (or at least not dead) by being smart. The praise section really ought to be much longer than the criticism section, but criticisms are what niggle, even if there’s a hundred great things to each little niggle.
So these aren’t exactly criticisms, just things that bothered me a little or which I was expectant of throughout the story and haven’t yet seen.
The timing strikes me as too fast. She’s only with the Undersiders for 2-3 months IIRC. It strikes me as unnecessary. I love a fast pace, but if you look at how many serious fights she has in such a short time… she’s fighting an all out war. It also means that she has ‘owned’ the city for a ridiculously short time to start bragging about it – or even treat it as a meaningful part of her life. Furthermore I think she develops her combat skills and mindset too fast. She jumps straight into combat veteran – in something like 2 weeks. I think it would be more realistic to have a few more months with the Undersiders, maybe even a year and take that out of the time in the wards that’s skipped. I don’t mean insert filler, just let it be clear that occasionally a week goes by where she does her ‘mundane’ work without three life threatening events.
It’s noticeable when several different characters use copacetic and headspace. These are unusual words. I like having Taylor use headspace and Lisa use copacetic, it says something about how they think. But the shrink using headspace? Doesn’t jibe – headspace is a rare, unprofessional, internet specific word. Frame of mind would be more appropriate.
The bullying is kinda annoying (she writes it all down but doesn’t record it)? Teachers offer help that she doesn’t accept? I get that passive victims are realistic – they don’t fight back because they’re afraid the bullies will escalate. The bullies will pick on the people who let themselves get picked on. However stories with pathetic protagonists are irritating. Taylor is far from pathetic except in this one instance. I would expect her to research it some. It just seems a bit ridiculous that for years she’s trained herself not to fight back ( or even talk back), and then with minimal transition she starts fighting freaking Lung in hand to hand. Obviously the story developed past this issue, and the resolution acted as good character development. Still was irritating enough in the early chapters that I felt I should mention it.
I’m surprised she hasn’t tried to develop control of more complicated brains – or at least picked at that definition. As a complex and difficult to define restriction I suspect she could have found a loophole or at least realized the artificial nature of the limitation. For a morally questionable option: could she control severely brain damaged people or creatures? I was expecting a moment with giant crabs or some other small brained but intimidating underwater creature marching out in a miniature godzilla attack.
The first three things I thought of when I learned her power was controlling bugs: poison (nerve gas?) delivery, camera/microphone carriers, explosives, and miniature tools made for bugs. She did capacin delivery so I’ll assume she considers other artificial venoms too dangerous. She did cameras. She hasn’t done explosives or miniature tools. I was excited when we learn about Bakuda’s mini bombs because I was sure she would use them for suicide bomber beetles. Simply piling up the plastic explosive a bit at a time would be pretty effective too. Her multitasking realization made miniature tools even more viable (why chew when you can use your razor sharp mandible saw)!
A couple of other points:
1. Tohu missing is a potential clue. Her powers seemed very similar to Eidolon’s. Maybe she’s on a covert mission for Simurg? I strongly suspect that this is an alliance of convenience for Simurg, but it depends whether her programming included ‘scare humanity, but don’t wipe it out.’ Possibly it’s just that she’s supposed to provoke non-lethal fights with powerful enemies (so doesn’t kill Eidilon, but when scion starts killing they back off).
2. Why do Bonesaw’s clones have the same passenger? They shouldn’t from what we know. Why would her cloning technique clone the shards? Is it somehow forcing the shard to fragment? We thought that was a natural process when the shard had lots of info, but maybe the S9 have enough conflict info to fragment a lot. Regardless it seems kinda odd that they aren’t replicating Bonesaw’s experiments to get a hundred legends or something.
2. Because it wasn’t Bonesaw’s work. It was mostly Blasto with a touch of Cranial. Once Defiant torched the labs down, all their notes and instruments were lost forever.
Pretty sure it was explained somewhere that the clones were similar enough to the originals that the passengers of the originals decided to bond with the clones. It’s the reason how Dragon’s passenger connects to her every time she comes back.
Quick question, did they say that the Travelers dimension had zero super heroes or just very very few. I was rereading the scion interlude and i noticed that the first plan had the worms going to separate dimensions first. The plan was to have shards fight each other first, then fight each other.
I’m starting to wonder if perhaps cauldron is from the world the dead worm landed. That would explain quite a bit.
Aleph (Travelers’ world) started to get parahumans (few and rather weak) after the first contact with Bet (Taylor’s world). the common theory is that the shards spread from one world to the other thanks to the same portals that allowed communication (and ONLY communication) between them.
We haven’t heard anything from Bonesaw recently. I wonder if she’s off in a corner sewing Lung and the Number Man together.
I’m betting Bonesaw isn’t being mentioned much as a way to misdirect from what the Simurgh was doing with that glass tube. Bonesaw is known to steal the work from other tinkers to incorporate into her projects. Bonesaw is a bio-tinker who was known to have made a great many superbugs. I think the Simurgh has made some sort of plague cannon there. It almost certainly wouldn’t affect Scion, but everyone pretty much feels that it’s not a matter of if the Endbringers will turn on humanity, but when.
Panacea’s acting as her watchdog.
You know, I don’t know how to feel about “surprise” (non-Tues/Sat) updates. On one hand, more Worm! On the other hand, I typically miss them until the next Saturday or so.
Great wyrmgold, since I notice this is not the first time you have missed a bonus Thursday I wanted to tell you that if you click on the “Donate” button at the top of the page it will tell you when the next bonus update will be. For example, the next one will be on the 26th, next Thursday. Hope it helps.
Or just drop by on Thursdays and see if there’s a new chapter 🙂
I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again:
” Like the fact that you love those guys and you never loved us.”
This really really really needs to be explained when you go over this story with your editor.
Schumi23 on November 24, 2013 at 00:15 said:
Well, I just started playing around with text mining software (specifically KH Coder) and have been using this chapter to play around.
Using only the frequency, before I have read the chapter, I am guessing this about it:
Something bad happened, probably with Scion, possibly with the Simurgh, though she could just be important in another area, and Tattletale discusses the effect will have on people. It is bad.
(TattleTale is the most used Proper Noun, 42 times, Scion is third at 17 times. Simurgh is at 13 times; People is the most used noun at 23 utterances, way has 16 uses, effect and guy has 9; Portal was used 16 times. Adjectives used are little, good, better, annoyed, golden, possible, second, and best (Among the most used of relevance); Adverbs used are really, just, probably, maybe, fast. Most used verbs are say, make, look, think, know, in that order.)
Now to read and see how correct I was.
But first some more data analysis with a graph of word co-occurence, suggests Tattletale and Rachel discuss something, not certain, probably pertaining to an action;
Something happens with Grace and Tecton, non-aggresive.
Imp is up to her usual deviousness,
Scion uses his power and they want to make him stop. Reinforces what I thought earlier. He will do something bad.
The Simurgh tries something with the portal. NOW I read.
Interesting. I was right about Tt and Rachel.
And Grace and Tecton, but for the wrong reason (Graph connected Grace tecton and Romp together, Grace was connected to “Lap” – I interpreted it as a physical lap of a person.
Simurgh I was sorta right, but less than I thought.
I was right on Scion. Also I just noticed Scion was slightly connected to Hand and Light which would make me sure he would be present attacking.
I think I did fairly well.
greatwyrmgold on January 3, 2014 at 12:13 said:
Simurgh? Horribly timed? It’s possible, since Scion blocks her sight, but I doubt it…
Okay, it could well be horribly-timed for some people, but whatever Simurgh’s goal is, she wants her toys. Probably. She won’t let the big golden bully break them all.
Averus on October 1, 2014 at 08:29 said:
Guessing “live” should be “love”?
irrevenant on January 2, 2015 at 07:30 said:
I’m guessing it’s right as is. “You kind of live that, don’t you?” indicates that Taylor’s life recently is the perfect example of resourceful and stubborn – she lives that.
srave on January 2, 2015 at 07:27 said:
“unware about why it was funny that Grace was admonishing her on the swearing.”
Should be ‘unaware’.
Jonah on October 7, 2016 at 12:45 said:
“They wanted to try anyways. Have some things left over from the previous fight.
Missing the ending quotation mark.
Anonymous on December 13, 2016 at 15:33 said:
“we blow dr. baby-talk’s mind”
Wildbow, did you proofread these later chapters at all? There should be capitalization in here. Also, you WAY overuse the word “sagely” when talking about Imp. It gets very grating. You seemed like a fantastic writer for the first 2/3 or so of this story, but toward the end you’ve gotten pretty lazy.
If you want to publish this in book format, you will need to brush up on these things.
Kanigami on May 23, 2018 at 16:32 said:
“I opted to walk beside Tattletale instead of use up my jetpack’s fuel.” –> using
Blub on November 26, 2018 at 20:47 said:
Miss Milita does not sleep? I am pretty sure that we saw her sleep in her chapter.
Who is Romp?
Why are they laughing about Grace mimicing Bonesaw?
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Purchase a T-Shirt
People Are Talking About Submission
[Jan 14, 2020] The Man in Tights Buzz, December 2019/January 2020 [Dec 19, 2019] Christmas Dinner Out December 2019/January 2020, Do [Dec 3, 2019] The Beautiful Balance December 2019/January 2020, Eat [Nov 27, 2019] The Spectacular Spacemaker December 2019/January 2020, Stuff [Nov 27, 2019] Scents of the City December 2019/January 2020, Stuff
In Feature Stories, September 2017 by Mandy Howard Sep 1, 2017
In an online world, are private investigators a dying breed?
The sign on the door was peeling and the blinds were crooked, I raised my hand to knock when the door flew open.
“I knew you were coming, I heard you need a source for a story,” said the stranger. His fedora tilted just over his left eye; the faint smell of scotch lingered on his breath. Thunder crashed and the sound of a saxophone drifted through the window from the alley below…
OK, OK, so, I might be exaggerating a little. Clearly, the world of private investigation has come a long way from the Dick Tracy, Eddie Valiant movie gumshoe depictions of the past; but how far has it come? In this information age, where we can find out anything about anyone—from my potential babysitter to the guy I saw on Tinder—online, who hires P.I.’s?
We sat down with local private investigators from different worlds within the same industry and did some sleuthing to find out where gumshoes have gone and figure out what exactly private investigation is today in the Triangle.
From an almost accidental start to investigative work, Derek Ellington has built Ellington Digital Forensics, one of the most respected digital forensics firms on the east coast. Ellington is a certified fraud examiner, certified forensic examiner, certified E-discovery specialist and a licensed private investigator, who has been working with digital forensics and in IT for over 20 years.
Ellington’s background is in IT. In that role he was often doing investigative work for companies before he actually saw himself as an investigator. For example, he could track claims of employee misconduct from their digital footprint. But as people moved from having just a computer to having a computer, a smartphone, a tablet and several online accounts, the demand for digital forensics grew quickly and Ellington seized an opportunity.
Ellington Digital Forensics has worked nationally investigating corporate fraud, theft of trade secrets and criminal and wrongful death cases. Locally, he is known primarily for work on domestic law disputes where he will investigate for different aspects of spousal misconduct.
“In Raleigh, we’re known as the infidelity and porn people, but luckily that’s just a part of what we do,” he says.
Hired primarily by lawyers, businesses or on a recommendation from a lawyer, Ellington often works in conjunction with ‘traditional’ private investigators who follow people and get first person photographic and video footage of wrong doing. “They will be our eye in the sky,” he says.
Keeping Cover
These detectives, classic P.I.s in a sense, rely so strongly on their anonymity for professional purposes that we are respecting this next detective’s request to not mention his, or his business’ name. For clarity, we’ll call him Mr. Smith.
Mr. Smith has been a private investigator for 22 years and prides himself on the traditional methods of investigation based on intuition, knowledge, observation and experience. Mostly hired by insurance companies, Mr. Smith has a reputation for building solid cases for companies when there are red flags that claimants are greatly exaggerating or lying about injuries.
“We can get a bad reputation for following ‘hurt people’ but by the time they hire me, usually there are so many red flags that they are just looking for confirmation,” Mr. Smith says.
To do this work he often has to follow people, which is the hardest part of the job. There is an incredible amount of expertise needed to be able to be far enough away so people do not suspect they are being followed, but he has to be close enough to take photos or video, that can be used in court if needed, that shows, without doubt, evidence of wrongdoing.
Mr. Smith says that though movies may show mad car chases and exciting plot twists that come with following people, it is really determination and discipline that make the best investigators. Years of experience have taught him that subtle clues can be the most helpful: like for instance knowing when birds fly from a driveway is an indicator that someone is coming out of the house. He can also read the gravel indentations on a dirt driveway to know which direction someone is most likely to turn out of their driveway. There are several tricks, but just like his identity, he keeps quiet to do his job well.
Other instances don’t require special knowledge as much as a thick skin and putting him in awkward scenarios. In one case regarding worker’s compensation, Mr. Smith had to position himself on a hip adduction/abduction machine because it was right behind the treadmill where an insurance claimant, who was supposedly greatly injured, was running and training for over twenty minutes. Each time a trainer came by Mr. Smith told a story of a groin injury that needed lots of rehab. Mr. Smith says that one of the downsides of the job is knowing that when you are doing your job well, to others, you often look or drive like an ‘idiot.’
In the name of evidence though, that kind of thoroughness is necessary which is precisely the reason that private investigators are hired.
You could go on Intelius or PeopleWise or any of the numbers of online background record checks for information from credit records to sex offender checks, and you can walk into any court and get a public criminal record. You can try to track your spouse’s car or put spyware on your home computer or attempt to follow them in person. Do you know, though, which of these things are legal? And whether you could use any of this information in court?
“A lot of what we can do, what we find is the same as what our client could find, the difference is we can stand behind it, we can explain it, we can testify about it in court,” Ellington says. “Often when we are hired, people will come to us with evidence they have already gathered. What they need us to do is replicate their results in a way that can go to court and be used as evidence.”
Ellington has testified over 150 times and knows firsthand the many ways that evidence, not handled properly, can quickly become meaningless. In this, again, the movies give us an inaccurate depiction. “People think that the technical challenge is the hardest part, when often, that’s the easiest part. The real expertise comes in understanding court orders, the rules of discovery and how to move evidence,” he says.
Who’s Right for Me?
In addition to there being different investigative specialties, there are also different styles, focuses and personalities.
Paula Hayes, a private investigator and member of the North Carolina Association of Private Investigators (NCAPI), advises that there are many important things to look for when hiring a P.I.
First, ensure the P.I. is licensed through the state. Private Investigators are licensed through the Private Protective Services Board, a department of the NC Department of Public Safety, and you can search for licenses on the PPSB website. You should also ensure they are insured.
Last, Hayes says to take into account the relationship aspect: “Make sure they are suitable for you. You need to be able to trust this person. Can they give references? Do they subcontract? You just want to make sure you know exactly who you are working with,” she says.
Private Investigators know that if you’re coming to them, it’s generally not under happy circumstances, so discretion and mutual respect is as important as expertise. In any case, it’s easy to see why the job is so dramatically depicted, from the shroud of secrecy to the dire circumstances that bring you to their door; sad saxophone music, dark alleys and scotch seem only natural.
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Kadid
Al Bookshelf
Copper Shade
Brass Bookshelf
Brass Table III
Brass Table I
Brass Lamp XI
Brass Lamp X
Brass Lamp IX
Brass Lamp VIII
Brass Lamp VI
Brass Lamp V
Brass Lamp III
Brass Lamp II
Brass Lamp I
Raphael Kadid is a Switzerland based French designer, specialising in the creation and design of lamps; the designs of which teeter between experimental artefacts and contemporary objects, redefining and re-examining the boundaries of the lamps themselves as household items.
Dorrell Merritt.
Raphael Kadid—
Conducted April 2019.
Edited May 2019.
Moon, Raphael Kadid. ©
The design works of Basel-based Raphael Kadid are sculptures in their own right; beautiful objects that exist as examples of accumulative, eclectic inspiration lineages that span across offerings from the past century. With a focus predominantly on lamps in particular, his creations— futuristic, uncanny and beautifully strange, remain a bastion of hope for independent craft, creation and their respective cultures.
DM—Tell me a little about your journey as a designer/architect thus far. How big a role has education played in it, and what was the turning point in focusing nearly exclusively on lamps?
RK— I began studying architecture in 2007, after two years of technical drawing studies in Paris. Following an exchange in Berlin and my graduation in 2012, I came to Basel to work for an architecture office. Seeing how the constraints of the architectural program, the context, the internal hierarchy, were leading to strong design compromises, I started to work for myself on small objects, to achieve the wish of an independent process. To experiment with forms and materials, not only by drawing shapes but also by the act of building them, is something I found missing. An architect spends most of his time in front of a computer, and a large part of the work only remains on paper. As I see it today, design is a simple way to focus on the pursuit of an idea, to its physical transcription. A lamp is a good example. It is a simple object with a simple function. Unlike a chair or a table, it is not limited by a specific height or measurements corresponding to specific usages. The only user-interface is the switch, the rest is free of interpretation. The clear purpose, bringing light in a room, is also comforting. I am interested in compositions, impressions, atmospheres. The thought of doing sculptures for themselves always made me sceptical.
DM— Many of your works, if not all, seem to be created with an air of Swiss-German aesthetic; almost ‘Bauhaus-esque’, if you like. Functional, simple and focused on the interaction between respective materials. What is it about such an approach that is so important to you?
RK— I guess the first reason is that I like to give myself constraints. I don’t pursue the idea of something I can’t build myself, and I always look for processes that could be easily repeated. Even if until now I didn’t reach the point because of the small quantities I produce, I never built an object without thinking of a simple way of doing a series. I also work with limited tools and machines, which in a way has been a help in making design decisions. I like to assemble prefabricated parts together, simple industrial elements, something one could link to an affection for the modernist movement.
The second reason is that a lot of contemporary design lacks honesty, because good materials cost more. The first time I went to a warehouse to choose profiles, I was amazed by the weight of a thick brass rod, the smell of copper or the thickness of massive aluminum. I prefer to use simple industrial profiles because I know they will last forever— because somehow they are true. Like aluminum, brass is easy to work by hand, and it doesn’t need any protection. With the years the surface change, patina leaves traces. I always say that my products have a lifetime guarantee; it is kind of a joke, but well, who knows.
DM— What is your design process like, and how has it changed since you began?
RK— I always start with a detail. Finding specific assemblies for structural-formal purposes are most of the time the beginning of an object. I do quick sketches to bring the idea to life, it helps myself to better visualise it and give it a scale. Then I look at profiles, thinking on what will become the body of the object. I also spend some time doing a 3D model, to set proportions and verify the measurements. My lamp, Signal, was a big turn in my work because of the use of computer manufacturing. Until this point, all the lamps were only made by hand, adjusted, drilled, filed and polished. But to go further with the production, I needed to find a way to prefabricate. It started by concentrating the design on assembly parts, having the body of the object remaining as free as possible of interventions. This also allows to keep low prices and so make the objects affordable to everyone. The BLX2 for example, is made of a single bended brass rod and a specific aluminum head design. Of course the freedom 2D water-jet cutting makes possible any kind of drawing. Complex shapes, precise cutouts are not a problem anymore. Today I am trying to use it as an opportunity to draw new types of assemblies, where aesthetic meets functionality.
Signal, Raphael Kadid. ©
DM— I’m intrigued the most about your project ‘Signal’ — what was the starting point for such a concept? How complex was it to create in comparison to your other works?
RK— The idea was to create a standing blade, a very thin lamp, so thin the image of a lamp would disappear. I was taking pictures outside recently, and people passing stopped and asked me “what is it”? This was exactly the question I wanted to hear.
It became my most complex project probably because all the parts of the lamp are specific, and need a lot of precision during assembly. My previous objects are for most the result of an experimentation on standard profiles, finding a way to join them, to assemble them. Here, the pieces had to be drawn from scratch, with the question being regarding how they will react structurally. But the real starting point of the lamp came with the width of the leds, 5 millimeters, also what made the idea of the lamp come to my mind. To stay as close as possible to this dimension, the central core is made of a single hollow element, surrounded by two thin polished brass plates. The light bounces from the inside of the plates, as well as on the outside, producing different shades of light. Giving the lamp the impression of being suspended was also important, and so the base had to remain very simple and compact. It is an aluminum tripod made of two elements, one black one red, the only details visible, like the signal light on the tail of a plane. The need to lower the gravity center to enhance the stability of the lamp came with the first prototype, and three steel weights were added within the thickness of the blade. As a result the lamp is 6.3mm wide, in a dark room only a thin black line remains visible on a stripe of light.
DM— Aside from design, what other sources do you draw inspiration from for your works?
RK— I guess it is like for almost everyone, inspiration comes from many places, other people’s stories, exchanging ideas, what we see everyday. I am a visual person— photography has always been a way to collect what touches me. I also spend some time collecting images for an art and architecture newsletter every morning. I imagine that looking for references from various sources, is consciously or not, a way I get inspired.
Autumn, Raphael Kadid. ©
dorrellmerritt.co.uk
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In Defense of Globalism
Dalibor Rohac
Countering our divisive times, this innovative book makes the conservative case in favor of international organizations and cooperation. Dalibor Rohac persuasively argues that far from undermining national sovereignty, the mechanisms of international cooperation have been instrumental to humankind’s freedom, prosperity, and peace. Moreover, he shows that unlike the caricature of international cooperation as a top-down imposition, in reality it is characterized by extreme institutional diversity. Its structures have typically emerged from the bottom up, in response to concrete challenges transcending national borders. Moving beyond empty political rhetoric, Rohac's meticulous research and clear analysis assess and explains the strengths, flaws, and relevant trade-offs of different forms of global governance. A powerful rebuttal to the temptations of nationalist populism, his work is a call to arms for thoughtful people on the center right to defend the central tenets of the post-WWII international order.
Pages: 170 • Trim: 6¼ x 9½
978-1-5381-2079-8 • Hardback • September 2019 • $75.00 • (£49.95)
978-1-5381-2080-4 • Paperback • September 2019 • $29.00 • (£19.95)
978-1-5381-2081-1 • eBook • September 2019 • $27.50 • (£18.95)
Subjects: Political Science / Globalization, Political Science / General, Political Science / World / European
Dalibor Rohac is a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, where he studies political economy of the European Union and transatlantic relations. He is concurrently a research associate at the Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies in Brussels.
1 Every Country for Itself?
2 What Slippery Slope?
3 The Anatomy of Globalism
4 The West’s Globalist History
5 Free Trade and Its Discontents
6 The Mirage of Sovereignty
7 Citizens of Nowhere, Unite!
8 A Globalism for the People
Conservative intellectuals in the Trump era have taken to lambasting free trade and international institutions. Dalibor Rohac’s In Defense of Globalism could not, therefore, have come at a more opportune time. . . . Prosperity, openness, and peace are not invariable facts of life. As In Defense of Globalism makes plain, at a moment when global institutions are under assault, they require nurturing and the sustained attention of an informed public. Rohac has made an important contribution toward that end.
— The American Interest
Dalibor Rohac offers conservatives a warning: their ‘marriage of convenience’ with nationalists will end in disaster. He also offers them a way out. An alternative, cosmopolitan, internationalist, conservative tradition has long been dormant on the political right, and his new book is an important attempt at reviving it.
— Anne Applebaum, Pulitzer Prize–winning historian and journalist, London School of Economics and Political Science
It has become fashionable lately to decry ‘globalists’ and ‘globalism’ for all manner of ills. With facts and logic, Dalibor Rohac argues the benefits of free trade, open societies, and democratic alliances, courageously taking on his fellow conservatives, who, whether out of opportunism or a misplaced deference to ‘the people,’ have abandoned all three.
— James Kirchick, Brookings Institution; author of The End of Europe: Dictators, Demagogues, and the Coming Dark Age
I greatly benefited from reading In Defense of Globalism. It is unusual, perhaps unique, for a traditional supporter of a liberal world order to agree in almost every respect with a more conservative supporter of a liberal world order. Beyond agreement, however, Rohac’s effective presentation of pertinent information and his original insights are particularly instructive.
— Charles Gati, Senior Research Professor of European and Eurasian Studies, Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies
This is a timely book. In an increasingly fragile age when the liberal order is under siege from the left and from the right, the globalist project needs precisely such a defense—conducted with radical depth in diagnosis and therapy and articulated with the powerful rhetoric of a moderate.
— Stefan Kolev, Wilhelm Röpke Institute
Although ‘globalism’ is a dirty word in political circles these days, Dalibor Rohac pushes back against unilateralism and ‘America First’ nationalism, and, in so doing, offers a thoughtful case for modern cosmopolitanism, collective action, and structured international cooperation. Herein you will find a compelling blueprint for a reformed and reinvigorated liberal international order and the vocabulary for giving it political life.
— Jerry Taylor, Niskanen Center
10/25/19 - The Washington Post published an op-ed by author Dalibor Rohac, entitled “Enough is enough. Europe needs to show Britain the door.” Link: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/10/25/enough-is-enough-europe-needs-show-britain-door/
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281 Genetics, Epigenetics, Architects of Our Own Destiny, Optimizing Human Potential, Lifestyle Modifications to Optimize Genetic Expressions, Dr. Daniel Stickler, Ashley James, Learn True Health: "To create a new paradigm of health & well-being that is focused on optimizing the human state. "
автор: Scribd Podcasts
www.apeironcenter.com www.Apeiron.academy Genetic Expressions http://learntruehealth.com/genetic-expressions Genetic expressions significantly tell us if we are in optimal health. It takes more than diet to improve our genetic expressions and unfortunately, not many people know that. To provide us with a better understanding of genetic expressions, our guest, Dr. Daniel Stickler will thoroughly explain how our body functions as a whole. Idealistic Thoughts When Dr. Daniel Stickler was going to medical school, he had this idea of what he thought medicine was about. Although he didn’t have a family member who was in medicine, he recalled that he looked forward to going to his pediatrician appointments. “I saw medicine as enhancing the human experience. When I got to medical school, I realized it was more about disease models and about the postponement of death than it was really about optimizing the experience itself,” said Dr. Daniel Stickler. He adds, “I was disenchanted and found surgery to be a happy medium. I felt it allowed me to do what I enjoyed doing. But I wasn’t doing the standard of trying to postpone death.” Moving On A couple of years later, Dr. Daniel Stickler discovered a process called age management. He pursued some affiliations with a company called Synergenics at that time and realized there were some limitations to that as well. “It was more about enhancement using hormones, not quite the full extent of what I had envisioned. We developed our process with that over time and then added genetics to that,” Dr. Daniel Stickler said. Changing The Game Eventually, Dr. Daniel Stickler and his team developed an entire program around systems-based precision lifestyle. But this time around, it was taking the human system as a whole. “The health care system and even health and wellness are not a fixable system. It’s great when you’re sick,” said Dr. Daniel Stickler. “But for people who aren’t sick and even some people who are sick, they need a systems-based approach that is looking at their sleep, nutrition, movement, hormones, cognitive function, relationships, passions. Looking at all of that to bring the entire system into balance again.” He adds, “So what we did, we created from scratch a new human model of health and wellness. Even in functional medicine, there is an approach in functional medicine that is not quite holistic either.” Understanding The Human System To understand the concept of genetic expressions, you have to look at the human system as a whole is a complex system. Dr. Daniel Stickler says complex means that the outcomes based on inputs are highly variable. According to Dr. Daniel Stickler, medicine, health, and wellness have looked at the human model as a complicated system. And complicated systems have predictable outcomes. That’s why we have all these algorithms and medicine that we try to follow, but they don’t work at a lot of times. Useful Tools One primary tool that Dr. Daniel Stickler uses on his patients is coaching. He says coaching helps people get healthy again. “We take as much biometrics as we possibly can. It’s a matter of bringing it all together. You start to see patterns of things. And those patterns help guide interventions in moving forward,” said Dr. Daniel Stickler. Generally, Dr. Daniel Stickler does a two-day intake with clients. And in the 16 hours that he allows for patients, Dr. Daniel Stickler usually spends three to four hours with patients when they first arrive. He comes up with a personalized plan for them and guides them. But ultimately, his clients make the decisions. After the program, Dr. Daniel Stickler makes 30 to 40-minute coaching calls once a month. This next step involves taking the parameters, boosting lifestyle factors, supplementation, etc. “Enhancements are beyond lifestyle factors that can take that human state to a new level of function. People usually want anti-aging, or they want cognitive enhancement. Unfortunately, they like to bypass steps,
Издатель: Scribd PodcastsИздано: Aug 7, 2018ISBN: Формат: podcast_episode
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Studio 10 March 2
March 1, 2015 RynoLeave a comment
Tomorrow Studio 10 has a must see interview.
Katie Little, daughter of television legend Jeanne Little, talks exclusively with Studio 10 , about the ailing health of one of Australia’s most treasured entertainment icons her mother Jeanne Little.
Jeanne Little first came on to our screens as a guest on The Mike Walsh Show in 1974, showcasing designer maternity clothing. Her larger-than-life character made her an instant hit with audiences and she went on to become an Australian television fixture for the next 30 years, taking out two Silver Logies and the Gold Logie in 1976. Her television credits include appearances on The Mike Walsh Show, Midday with Ray Martin and the panel chat show,Beauty and the Beast.
Having been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease in 2009, Jeanne is completely bedridden and sadly has also lost her power of speech.
Studio 10. airs weekdays, 8.30am.on Ten .
ProgrammingStudio 10
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Sept. 6, 1997 (22 years)
6′4″ / 196 cm
12-0, 12 КО
Heavyweight (Unlimited)
Debut:
Next fight of Daniel Dubois is not determined yet.
Last fight
12/21/2019 Kyotaro Fujimoto 21-2, 13 КО London, Copper Box Arena, United Kingdom W KO
Fights list
09/27/2019 Ebenezer Tetteh 19-1, 16 КО London, Royal Albert Hall, United Kingdom W TKO
07/13/2019 Nathan Gorman 16-1, 11 КО London, O2 Arena, United Kingdom W TKO
04/27/2019 Richard Lartey 14-2, 11 КО London, Wembley Arena, United Kingdom W TKO
03/08/2019 Razvan Cojanu 16-5, 9 КО London, Royal Albert Hall, United Kingdom W KO
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In the boxing evening of the British promoter Frank Warren in London, 22-year-old Daniel Dubois (13-0, 12 KOs) scored a TKO win in the first round over Ebenezer Tetteh (19-0, 16 KOs).
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India Rivers Week
India Rivers Week Day 2 roots strongly for Flowing Rivers!
November 25, 2014 November 25, 2014 SANDRPLeave a comment
INDIA RIVERS WEEK _ November 25, 2014
“A river is an ecological system that flows and performs many functions” says Ramaswamy R Iyer, former Secretary to the Government of India, at the India Rivers Week 2014
Over 125 river experts, planners, researchers, artists, enthusiasts and activists from different parts of the country that have congregated at first ever India Rivers Week being held in Delhi, discussed and debated on how to define a river. Ramaswamy R Iyer, former Secretary to the Government of India, defined the river as “A natural organic hydrological ecological system that flows & performs many functions.” The attempt was to pen an aspirational, visionary and implementable definition of rivers to underpin an India Rivers Charter”, to be prepared at the end of these deliberations.
Manoj Misra of PEACE Institute, New Delhi, speaking at the India Rivers Week-2014, said the working group he convened defined river as a, “Hydrological, ecological, geomorphic living entity containing other life forms, landscape level ecosystem in dynamic equilibrium between rainwater, snow, glaciers surface water, groundwater, sea, estuary and providing a large number of social, cultural, ecological and economic services to people and ecosystems all along its basins.”
The event is being organized between 24-27 November, 2014 by a consortium of NGOs including WWF India, INTACH, SANDRP, Toxics Link and PEACE Institute Charitable Trust, with additional support from Arghyam (Bengaluru), International Rivers (Mumbai), and Peoples Science Institute (Dehradun) to discuss, deliberate and exchange their experiences and ideas aimed at the conserving, rejuvenation, restoration of rivers in the country.
Can we think in terms of ‘rights of the river’ and then make it part of some legal system, questioned different groups. The groups were discussing the rivers right to unfettered flow, space for flood plains, flood, breathe, perform ecosystem functions, lateral connectivity and natural water.
Manu Bhatnagar, INTACH, representing the deliberations of another group said, “River is a living commons that drains a catchment along a natural course with natural and dynamic flow and providing ecological goods and services necessary for the development and sustenance of human civilizations under challenging social, economic, political and climatic drivers.” Speaking on the issue Professor Brij Gopal noted that, “River regulation is the root of all problems. We need to regulate human activities”.
“We are not obliging the rivers by editing her flow, we in fact are obliged by the rivers due to their life-giving flows”, said Mallika Bhanot, representing another group.
The conference also deliberated on what a river is not. Manshi Aasher said that a river is not static, an artificial drain, lifeless, embanked/ obstructed, without sand and sediments, carrier of wastewater or just a channel of water.
A living, wide, water course which has natural fresh, flow of water above and under the surface, in its course, nurturing life forms, ecosystems, culture, conserving biodiversity in it and is inclusive of small and big tributaries in its catchment area.
Shashank Shekhar explaining about river flows, clarified, “The flow with its natural variability includes natural water, nutrients, sediments and biota and is the defining characteristic of river systems.” Dinesh Mishra, Barh Mukti Abhiyan, said, “Rivers are self cleansing, flooding is purifying and rivers become pure after floods.” Pranab Choudhary discussed the issue of conservation of biodiversity as against utility and noted the importance of defining and protecting rights of riparian communities especially the poor, including from downstream areas, today these are neither assessed, nor compensated.
Paritosh Tyagi summed up the discussion by saying that the older concept of River Action Plan that focused on river flow should be replaced with focus on the complete basin.
2015 Rivers Calendar The organizers have brought out the 2015 desk calendar featuring the photos of 12 different rivers and highlighting the sacrifice tribals have made during the famous struggle against the Koel Karo project in Jharkhand.
From Sabita Kaushal, India Water Portal
Lessons from Farakka as we plan more barrages on Ganga
November 25, 2014 March 13, 2015 SANDRP9 Comments
“When Farakka barrage was built, the engineers did not plan for such massive silt. But it has become one of the biggest problems of the barrage now” said Dr. P.K. Parua[1]. And he should know as he has been associated with the barrage for nearly 38 years and retired as the General Manager of Farakka Barrage Project (FBP). I remembered the vast island of silt in the middle of the river barely a kilometer upstream of the Barrage and the people who told us their homes were devastated by the swinging river.
Silt Islands just upstream the Barrage. Photo: Parineeta Dandekar, SANDRP
Though called a barrage, Farakka Barrage is a large dam as per ICOLD, WCD and CWC definitions, with associated large dimensions and impacts. To call it a Barrage is misleading.
Commissioned in 1975[i] across Ganga in Murshidabad District of West Bengal and just 16 kms upstream of the Bangladesh Border, Farakka Barrage has been mired in controversies from the very beginning. Its role is singular: to transfer 40,000 cusecs water from Ganga to its distributary Bhagirathi-Hooghly (hence forth referred as Hooghly). And to make Hoogly river navigable from Kolkata port upstream till Farakka barrage. It was thought that this water will push the silt that is eating up the Kolkata Port and will protect the Port for navigation and economy. In reality, Kolkata Port continues to decay and the barrage has had such severe and unforeseen impacts on the people of India and Bangladesh that the call to review Farakka Barrage entirely is getting louder by the day.
A lot has been written about Farakka Barrage by Indian (and many times by Bangladeshi) authors, so why are we discussing Farakka again? Because Political leaders like Shri. Nitin Gadkari have stated that there are plans of building a barrage after every 100 kms in Ganga from Haldia to Allahabad, a 1600 kms stretch. So we are looking at possibly 15 more barrages on Ganga. But before taking decision about building any other such structure, we need to understand the range of impacts a single barrage has had on the lives of millions of people and how inadequate has been our response in addressing these impacts. Farakka holds critical lessons for Indian politicians, policy-makers, international groups and financial institutions like World Bank dreaming of making a string of barrages across a river which has one of the highest silt loads, densest population and the largest deltas in the world.
Ganga as a “Waterway” Government of India is planning to aggressively develop 1620 kilometers of National River Ganga as “National Waterway 1” (NW1). There is a profound difference between a Highway and Waterway. A highway is simply a road while NW1 is actually River Ganga, performing several other functions, it is important to recognise how the NW1 would affect these functions and the river itself. NW 1 spans from Haldia, near the mouth of Ganga Estuary in West Bengal, to Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh, passing through four states and cities of Haldia, Howrah, Kolkata, Bhagalpur, Buxar, Patna, Ghazipur, Varanasi and Allahabad.
The Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI)[ii] plans to use this waterway for the transport of “coal, fly-ash, food grains, cement, stone chips, oil and over dimensional cargo.” Not surprisingly, companies keenly interested in using this waterway include “thermal power plants, cement companies, fertilizer companies, oil companies” etc. In order to make this stretch navigable, IWAI plans initiatives like “river training and conservancy, structural improvement, dredging, and Construction of terminals at Allahabad, Varansai, Gazipur in Uttar Pradesh, Sahibganj in Bihar and Katwa in West Bengal.”
Although this plan was on paper for some years, the new government has approached the World Bank for support of nearly Rs 4200 Crores (700 million dollar) for its implementation. In July 2014, the World Bank agreed to fund initial 50 million dollars including technical support (thus creating work for its own experts!). World Bank Team has already visited Patna for this project and joint meeting of IWAI and World Bank has taken place at Varanasi[iii]. No public consultation has been held thus far.
Although River Navigation has nothing to do with River Rejuvenation, Shri. Nitin Gadkari, Union Surface Transport & Shipping Minister with additional portfolio of Rural Development, who played an active role in the Ganga Manthan, announced this navigation plan as a part of ‘Ganga Rejuvenation’.[iv]
He also announced that the plan entails erecting barrages (dams) on the Ganga at every 100 kilometer interval from Haldia to Allahabad. This would mean damming the Ganga rough about 15-16 times, to maintain water levels and navigability.[v]
If the plan moves ahead, it may escape environmental clearance as the very limited EIA Notification 2006, being actively amended for dilution by the Modi government, includes only irrigation and hydropower dams in its ambit. This does not mean that these barrages will not have severe impacts on the river, its people and its ecosystems. Far from it. SANDRP has written about the impacts of Upper Ganga Barrage at Bhimgouda, the Lower Ganga Barrage at Narora and the Farakka Barrage in Murshidabad, West Bengal (SANDRP’s Report on Farakka, 1999: https://sandrp.in/dams/impct_frka_wcd.pdf).
The analysis at hand is based on official documents and research, site visit, interviews and discussions with experts and local people.
Farakka Barrage, in the backdrop of proposed Barrages
Farakka Barrage, 2.62 kms long, commissioned in 1975 has a unique purpose. The barrage was built for diverting waters of Ganga into its distributary The Hooghly/ Bhagirtahi, for flushing sediments and maintaining the navigability of Kolkata Port (& Hooghly River) which lies at the mouth of Hooghly. Records about high sedimentation in Hooghly can be traced back to 17th Century, but is known to increase following building of Damodar Dams in post independent India. Construction of a barrage on Ganga and diverting its waters into Hooghly was suggested in the 19th Century by Sir Arthur Cotton. After independence, the historic Kolkata port was becoming hugely silted due to sluggish freshwater from upstream on the one hand and and strong saline intrusion from the sea on the other. At that time, Farakka Barrage was thought to be an answer to these problems.
The Farakka Barrage. Photo: Author
Even then, some lone voices highlighted the possible impacts of Farakka Barrage. Notably Mr. Kapil Bhattacharya, Engineer-in-Chief of West Bengal had warned about absence of sufficient water, catastrophic floods and sedimentation in the upstream back in 70s. When Pakistan (current Bangladesh was part of Pakistan during 1947-1971) upheld his views, he was branded as a traitor and lost his job. He had highlighted that one of the main reasons why Hooghly was desiccating was Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) dams on Damodar and Roopnarayan Rivers.
The Farakka Barrage completed in 1975 has 109 gates, and a feeder canal of 38.1 kms emanating from the right bank, carrying water from Ganga to Hooghly. There is one more barrage at Jangipur in the downstream and afflux bunds in the upstream of Farakka, diverting waters of all smaller rivers like Pagla and Choto Bhagirathi into Farakka, effectively drying them in the downstream.
The Feeder canal is supposed to divert 40,000 cusecs water continuously from Ganga into Bhagirathi/ Hooghly. Hooghly-Bhagirathi itself is not a small river. It is a system drained by 7 tributaries like Pagla, Bansloi, Mayurakshi, Ajoy, Damodar, Rupnarayan, Haldi and the two offshoots of Ganga – Jalangi and Churni.
Location of Farakka Barrage Depiction From : Rudra, Encroaching Ganga and Social Conflicts
Impacts and performance of Farakka Barrage
Several grave questions are being posed on the utility of the barrage itself and its impacts. Some of the main points are illustrated below:
Hooghly estuary cannot be made silt-free by 40,000 cusecs from Farakka only
River Expert Dr. Kalyan Rudra, an authority on rivers in Bengal, especially their interactions with sediment, says that the initial objective of Farakka of flushing silt from the mouth of Hooghly has been “frustrated”[vi]. This assessment has been supported by many, including the past Superintending Engineer of Farakka Dr. P.K. Parua (Pers. Comm.) According to Kolkata Port Trust, the dredging of silt at Kolkata Port has been rising from 6.40 million cubic meters (MCM) annually from Pre-Farakka days to four time increase at 21.88 MCM annually during 1999-2003.
The answer, according to Dr. Rudra, lies in the fact that freshwater flow brought by the Hooghly Estuary, even with 40,000 cusecs from Farakka is just too meagre to flush sediments deep down the estuary. The difference between volumes of freshwater brought by Hooghly, as against the tide bringing saline water from south to north is as much as 1:78, making any deep flushing due to freshwater nearly impossible. Dams in the Hooghly Bhagirathi Basin by Damodar Valley Corporation have further arrested freshwater which could have naturally replenished Hooghly estuary. At the same time the stated aims of Damodar Valley Corporation, fashioned on the lines of Tennessee Valley Authority have not been fulfilled.
Currently, the functioning of Kolkata Port and Haldia port is entirely at the mercy of Dredging Corporation of India (DCI) to desilt the river to maintain sufficient draft (allowable depth of a ship’s keel under water). DCI gets about Rs 300-350 Crores per year for dredging the channel, although several problems have been unearthed like dumping the excavated silt back in the estuary from where it is washed back in the channel. In 2009, the Government of India had actually written to the Kolkata Port Trust, saying that it has become a “liability” and it should explain why it should continue to receive dredging subsidies. A PIL has been filed[vii] in 2013 in Kolkata High Court to save Kolkata and Haldia ports by intensive dredging.
Dredging the National Waterway I Photo: WRIS
It is clear that 40,000 cusecs water from Farakka is not able to help the Kolkata Port much as was envisaged earlier. SANDRP tried to talk with officials at the Kolkata Port Trust, but they declined answering any questions saying that Farakka is a bilateral issue.
This has led to a situation where we have the barrage and the impacts of two countries and millions of people, without even achieving objective for which the project was developed.
2. Sedimentation in the upstream of Farakka Barrage and its massive implications for India and Bangladesh
It is estimated that Ganga carries a silt load of 736 Million Tonnes (MT) annually, out of which about 328 MT of sediment gets deposited in the upstream of Farakka Barrage ANNUALLY[viii]. This annual addition of enormous sediment in the upstream of the barrage has made the river extremely shallow and any ship transport past Farakka has become nearly impossible. As we saw during our visit, islands/chars have formed barely a kilometer upstream the barrage, where animals graze, making any transport nearly impossible.
This massive retention of sediments has resulted in a two-pronged problem:
3. Contribution to delta subsidence and rising sea level in Bangladesh and India
Water released below Farakka barrage has significantly less silt load as about 328 MT silt gets deposited at Farakka. This water has a higher eroding capacity and erodes downstream riverbed. But there is an additional problem: World Heritage site of Sunderbans at the mouth of the Ganga-Brahmaputra-Meghna delta, shared between India and Bangladesh is witnessing possibly the first and highest numbers of Climate Change refugees in the world due to Ingressing Sea which is eating away at smaller islands and the delta. Part reason for this delta subsidence is sea level rise due to global warming and related changes, but the driving reason for encroaching seas is not only sea level rise, but the sinking river delta due to trapping sediment in the upstream dams and barrages like Farakka. The role of river sediments in building deltas is crucial. Ganga-Brahmaputra-Meghana Delta is subsiding rapidly and is categorized as a ‘Delta in Peril’ by experts like Syvitski et al, due to reduction in sediments reaching the delta and compaction of delta, furthering sea level rise. According to recent studies, the rate of relative sea level rise per year in the Ganga Brahmaputra delta is in the range of 8-18 mm per year, one the highest in the world. The related sediment reduction has been a whopping 30% in the twentieth century. (SANDRPs report on Delta Subsidence and Effective Sea Level Rise due to sediment trapping by dams: https://sandrp.wordpress.com/2014/05/07/sinking-and-shrinking-deltas-major-role-of-dams-in-abetting-delta-subsidence-and-effective-sea-level-rise/)
Farakka Barrage has been highlighted as one of the causes for this blocking of sediments at an important juncture. Any role played by Farakka in delta subsidence of GBM Delta has a massive impact on millions of people residing in this delta. According to Prof. Md. Khallequzamman (Pers Comm.), the amount of sediment influx flowing into Bangladesh from upper reaches in India has dropped from 2 billion tons per year in the 1960s to less than 1 billion tons per year in recent years, which is not enough to keep pace with rising sea.[ix]
4. Erosion in the Upstream of the barrage due to Sedimentation
Farakka Barrage is getting silted up due to millions of tonnes of sediment being deposited in the upstream annually. Ganga has been a meandering river, changing courses over centuries, forming paleo channel and ox bows. This deposition of sediment in the upstream is accelerating swinging of Ganga alarmingly to the left bank of the river. This is leading to tremendous erosion in Malda and surrounding regions. More than 4000 hectares of land in Malda has been eroded by the Ganga since 1970s. The river has also breached 8 embankments. Although a number of authors have conclusively written about this and even Legislative Assembly of West Bengal has been unequivocal in saying that “It is accepted all levels that the construction of Farakka Barrage is solely responsible behind the erosion of river Ganges in Malda district”, Central Water Commission trivializes this fact and does not accept any responsibility of Farakka.The only issue CWC seems to be bothered about is the health of the barrage itself which is compromised by erosion on the left bank. In official correspondences of CWC and MoWR scrutinized by SANDRP, the agencies do not mention anything about plight of thousands of people, who are refugees of a swinging river, but are only concerned about the strength of the barrage.[x]
According to Audit Report on Farakka Barrage by Indian Audit and Accounts Departments, between 2006-2012, the “Unintended Consequences” of Farakka include:
Induced water through feeder canal raised water level of Bhagirathi by about 5 meters near Jangipur and does not allow Bansloi and Pagla to join Bhagirtahi freely. A new wetland due to congestion formed Ahiron Beel which has submerged fertile land.
The barrage has trapped substantial sediment and hence river in changing course. In homogenous situation the oscillation of river is secular but it gets aggravated due to Farakka Barrage. On account of Rajmahal hills on right bank and Farakka barrage on the channel, the river erodes the left bank.
The 10 day cycle of increased and decreased release of water from the Barrage has resulted in a complex phenomenon of recharging ground water by river and then receiving base flow from groundwater ( when river is low). The frequent change in water level on account of 10 day altered flow adversely affects the rivers hydro geomorphology leading to escalating bank erosion.
River bed height in Farakka pondage has increased and the river is compensating this reduction by expanding its cross section sideways
Bank Erosion and Embakment breach at Hiranandpur Phot with thanks: Soumya Desarkar
5. Erosion Downstream of the barrage, leading to loss of life and property:
Sedimentation upstream the barrage, coupled with natural swing of Ganga has meant that the river is swinging to the left, encroaching the left bank, leading to erosion in thousands of villages, roads, fields in the downstream of the Barrage in India as well as Bangladesh, causing annual floods. The Irrigation Department West Bengal (Report of the Irrigation Dept for 1997-2001) itself has agreed not only about this erosion due to Farakka Barrage, but has also cautioned about the possibility of outflanking of the Farakka Barrage itself. Many experts maintain the eminent possibility of Ganga outflanking the barrage to flow through its old course of the 15th century, which will reduce the barrage to just a bridge.
On our visit to Farakka, Kedarnath Mandal, a veteran activist working on issued of Ganga and Farakka accompanied us to see extensive erosion in the left bank of the river in the upstream at Simultola as well as downstream in Chauk Bahadurpur. In both these regions, the eroding river has paid little heed to the erosion control measures on the banks. Huge boulders have been swept with the current, destabilizing land in their wake.
Washing away erosion control measures at Chow Bahadurpur downstream FBP Photo: Author
We saw extensive bank erosion in the left bank on the downstream where all measures like bull headed spurs, dip trees, porcupines, gunny bags, geo-synthetic covers, boulders bars, boulder crates with nets, etc. have been eroded.
In all this din, the people residing in the chars, their leaders like Kedarnath Mandal, River experts and even the Legislative Council of West Bengal maintain that though erosion and changing courses is a character of Ganga, it has worsened and accelerated hugely since Farakka Barrage. In fact the 13th Legislative Assembly Committee (2004) in its 7th Report notes “It is accepted at all levels that the construction of Farakka Barrage is solely responsible behind the erosion of river Ganges in Malda district”.
6. Near Impossibility of desilting Farakka Barrage
To say that the challenge of desilting Farakka Barrage is Herculean, will be an understatement. The irreversible circle of events is highlighted by the fact that in order to have any appreciable impact, the amount of sediment lifted from the barrage should be at least twice the amount deposited per year, if the project is to be completed even in thirty years. But that seems impossible. According to Dr. Rudra, “Doing so will require a fourteen lane dedicated highway from Malda to Gangasagar” and the transport cost alone “would be nearly twice the revenue earned by Government of India in a year.” Dr. P.K. Parua also accepts that desilting the barrage will be next to impossible.
Such is the scale of sedimentation at Farakka.
7. Source of conflict with Bangladesh
Experts and authorities from Bangladesh have been raising the issue of impact of Farakka for several years now. Farakka Barrage not only obstructs the flow of sediments in Bangladesh, but also diverts waters of Ganga away from Bangladesh delta, depriving millions of fisherfolk and farmers from their livelihood. Water sharing from Farakka, particularly in lean season is now governed by Ganges Water Treaty of 1996. The Treaty holds force between 1 January to 31st May each year and water sharing calculations are based on 10 day flows. Some experts from Bangladesh have maintained that Ganges Water Treaty is not being implemented properly and Bangladesh is receiving less water than its due.[xi] There are issues raised by the Indian side as well of dwindling water availability. All in all, the barrage and the resultant Treaty continues to be a source of impacts for the river and people of the two nations.
Meeting officials at Farakka Barrage
SANDRP met with the Authorities at the Farakka Barrage Project office, which is under the Ministry of Water Resources (MoWR), at New Farakka. After meeting the officials, it was clear that they have no program for silt management at all. They do not even see this as an area of concern and are only concerned with anti-erosion works, which are failing miserably, and releasing water to Kolkata Port, which is not improving its navigability.
While some may argue, rather irrelevantly (considering the warnings of Kapil Bhattacharyya), that Engineers in 1950s, 60s and 70s were not equipped or aware of the issues related to sediment and its far-reaching impacts like erosion, deposition, floods, even sea level rise, the same in any case cannot be said about the current water management. They have the privilege of better knowledge, better resources and also lessons from past experiences. But despite having clear evidence that silt of Ganga is playing havoc with millions in India as well as Bangladesh, the Farakka Barrage Authorities tell us that they have no plan for silt management the barrage except annual erosion control measures.
The mandate of the barrage authorities is also 120 kms of bank erosion works, 40kms in the upstream and 80kms in the downstream. We were told on the condition of anonymity that this extensive work leaves little time even for maintaining the barrage. The bank protection work is also not permanent and is eroded with flood waves. The bureaucratic set up at Farakka makes it impossible to take proactive decisions about Barrage maintenance. The gates of the barrage need replacement, but there is hardly any agency interested in working for Farakka Barrage due to bureaucratic delays.
The officials told SANDRP that the only desilting measure that can be adopted is opening all gates of the Barrage, but that will not be possible unless all gates are replaced as many gates are faulty. Replacing all gates of Farakka will take at least two more years and we do not know even after that whether silt can be flushed. Such a flushing will need a major flood event and the impact of such sudden flushing of billions of tonnes of silt in the downstream will be unprecedented & huge.
Meeting with Farakka Barrage Authorities leaves one with more questions than answers.
Interview with past official of Farakka
SANDRP discussed the multiple issues of Farakka with one of the senior retired official from the Farakka Barrage Authority who has seen the work of the FBPA closely over several years. Some excerpts from these discussions.
SANDRP: Sir, do you think Farakka is fulfilling its functions?
Answer: Farakka was not only designed for diverting water for Hooghly, it was foreseen that there may be an Irrigation component and even a hydropower component. But the inflow at the barrage was over calculated. We never had that sort of inflow in the project. Add to this Treaty with Bangladesh in 1996 and India was left with little water. I would say objectives of Farakka were only partially fulfilled. The barrage has a designed discharge of 27,00,000 cusecs and we have been able to achieve that discharge only twice since commissioning the barrage. In the recent years, water flow has been declining sharply at the barrage. This further handicaps all its functions.
SANDRP: There are several problems associated with silt deposited in the upstream of the barrage like floods, change in course of the river, erosion, etc. Is there any way to tackle this deposited silt?
Answer: Yes, that is a serious problem. This is being faced by ports and barrages the world over and also across India. There are so many players responsible for the increasing silt load and reduced water in the river, right from Nepal.
We can say that the scale of the sediment issue was not understood when the barrage was designed, the engineers then did not have the knowledge or tools for this. Even now, there is no easy way this issue can be tackled. Desilting the barrage would be very costly, and what would be do with the collected silt? Malda and Murshidabad region is densely populated, we cannot dump it anywhere. If we dump it in the river, there will be other problems. It is possibly an evil we have to live with now.
SANDRP: There are plans to erect about 16 more such barrages on the Ganga main stem. What would be the lessons from Farakka for these barrages?
Answer: I think this is a horrible plan. In addition to the challenge of silt, I wonder where will the water come from? Supplies from Upper Ganga Canals are increasing, reducing water flow in the river. Uttar Pradesh is increasing the capacity of Lower Ganga Canals. More and more abstraction will happen. Such a plan does not seem feasible and will be harmful for the river as well.
Ecological Impacts
There’s no Hilsa here
Farakka Barrage has stopped migration of economically important species like the Hilsa (Tenualosa ilsha) and Macrobrachium prawns, both Ilish (Hilsa) and Chingri (Macrobrachium) hold a special significance to people in West Bengal and Bangladesh. A lot has been written about the Barrage’s disastrous impact on Hilsa production and impoverishment of fisherfolk in India and Bangladesh[xii]. About 2 lakh fisherfolk in Malda district alone depend on riverine fisheries and Hilsa here was the backbone of the fishing economy.
Although Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute (CIFRI) has a lab to work on Hilsa, the institute is not working on Fish passes or Hilsa Hatcheries at the Barrage itself!
Fishermen upstream Farakka are a worried lot Photo: Author
Prior to com missioning Farakka Barrage in 1975, there are records of the Hilsa migrating from Bay of Bengal right upto Agra, Kanpur and even Delhi covering a distance of more than 1600 kms. Maximum abundance was observed at Buxar (Bihar), at a distance of about 650 kms from river mouth. Post Farraka, Hilsa is unheard of in Yamuna in Delhi and its yield has dropped to zero in Allahabad, from 91 kg/km in 1960s. Studies as old as those conducted in mid-seventies single out Farakka’s disastrous impacts on Hilsa, illustrating a near 100% decline of Hilsa above the barrage post construction.[xiii]
We met fishermen who have not caught a single Hilsa in the upstream of the barrage despite fishing for three days. In the downstream too, size and recruitment (population) of Hilsa is affected due to arrested migration at Farakka. Some 2 million fisherfolk in Bangladesh depend on Hilsa fishing. Hilsa in Padma river (Ganga in India) downstream Farakka has also declined sharply due to decreasing water and blockage of migration routes.[xiv]
Lone Hilsa caught by a fishermen after three days of effort, sold for a pittance to local fish dealer. Photo: Author
These fisherfolk have never been compensated for the losses they suffered. They were not even counted as affected people when the barrage was designed and they are not counted even now.
Fable of Farakka Fish Lock
The tale of Farakka Barrage Fish Lock is another tragic story. Fish Lock is a gated structure in a Barrage that needs to be operated specifically to facilitate migration of fish from the downstream to the upstream or vice versa to breed, feed or complete their lifecycles.
According to Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute (CIFRI), Farakka Barrage has two Fish Locks between gates 24 and 25. The locks need to be operated to aid fish migration and transport fish. We talked with the Engineers at Farakka Barrage Authority, local villagers, fishermen and even the Barrage Control Room officials who operate the gates of the barrage about the functioning of the Fish Lock. No one had heard about a Fish Lock. There is some information that there is one more lock further upstream in the river, but the FBP Authorities did not seem aware of this.
The control room officials kept showing us the ship lock at the Barrage (which is also rarely used due to turbulence and sedimentation) and told us categorically that “There is nothing called as fish lock here”. The locks have not been operated for a minimum of a decade, possibly much longer.
Who is responsible for the loss of fisherfolk income in the meantime? Will the Farakka Barrage Authority or the MoWR or the CWC or the Kolkata Port Trust or Inland Waterways Authority of India compensate them?
Fisherman upstream Farakka Barrage. He says Hilsa is nearly wiped out from here and there is intense conflict for a meager catch. Photo: Author
According to Dr. Parua, fish locks were operated for some time when he was posted at Farakka, but they never worked as planned. He believes that a bare 60 feet fish lock for a barrage that is more than 2.6 kms long is of little use. There should have been more fish locks planned. He also lamented about the non-functionality of Hilsa Fish Hatchery set up at the banks of the barrage. (We were not even told about the presence of this structure by any of the officials or other concerned persons we met and possibly it has now fallen to complete disrepair now.) He said despite Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute (CIFRI) is based in West Bengal and has a special cell to study Hilsa, they or the Fisheries Department have taken no interest in the functioning of the hatchery or the Fish Locks.
2. Vikramshila Dolhin Sanctuary, Bhagalpur
Bhagalpur is barely 150 kms upriver from Farakka and Dr. Sunil Chaudhary, a past Member of the Sate Wildlife Board of Bihar has been working relentlessly on conservation of Gangetic Dolphins, as well as rights of traditional fisherfolk in Bihar and around Vikramshila region.[xv] SANDRP discussed the issue of Farakka and additional barrages with him. Dr. Chaudhary states that not only barrages, but the dredging itself will have serious impacts on Dolphins. Impacts of Farakka Barrage on fish and fisherfolk in Bihar is still being felt. No Hilsa reach here from Farakka and a generation of fisherfolk has suffered due to this. Forget more barrages on the Ganga, we need a review of Farakka Barrage itself as Ganga Mukti Andolan has been asking for years now.
Any work affecting Vikramshila Dolphin Sanctuary will require clearance from State Wildlife Board, State Wildlife Warden and National Board for Wildlife. We hope that such permissions are not given without due diligence and independent application of mind and at least whatever remains of Ganga is maintained.
The issues arising out of Farakka are extremely serious. Our planners and decision makers may claim that many of the impacts were not foreseen (Not entirely true). But the issue cannot be ignored any longer. We need a credible independent review of the development effectiveness of Farakka Barrage, including costs, benefits and impacts.
What we seem to be doing now is to repeat the mistakes of the past with new barrages planned on the Ganga.
The existing Upper Ganga Barrage (Bhimgouda Barrage) has dried up the river in the downstream. The river is diverted in a canal, where people take ritual baths, while the original riverbed is used as a parking lot.
Dry Ganga downstream Upper Ganga, Bhimgouda Barrage in Haridwar Photo: Author
The Lower Ganga (Narora Barrage) has severely affected fish migration & dried up the river in the downstream at least in lean season. The Barrage has a fish ladder, but there is no monitoring or concern as to whether it is working or not. In its report to the World Bank, Uttar Pradesh Government has said that the “condition of the barrage is poor” and has lamented about increased siltation in the upstream of the barrage and the inability to flush the sediments due to poor condition of its gates.[xvi].
Beyond doubt, the existing barrages, especially the Farakka Barrage have had massive impacts on the river, its ecosystems and its people. We have many critical lessons to learn from these experiences. In stead, we are pushing for more barrages on a river which will only compound existing problems.
Ganga is much more than a waterway or a powerhouse. It is a river, supporting not only urban areas and industries, but rural communities, the basin, the ecosystem and myriad organisms in its wake and it needs to be respected as an ecosystem first, rather than for sentimental reasons like mother or goddess.
The Ganga is being fettered at its origin in the Uttarakhand by over 300 hydropower dams. In addition, if it is again dammed many times over times in its main channel, then the government will not have to worry about River Rejuvenation Plan. There will be no river left for rejuvenation.
-Parineeta Dandekar, SANDRP (parineeta.dandekar@gmail.com)
Dr. Sutapa Mukhopadhyay et al, Bank Erosion of River Ganga, Eastern India –A Threat to Environmental Systems Management
G Verghese, Waters of Hope: Facing New Challenges in Himalaya-Ganga Corporation, India Research Press, 2007
Milliman et al, Environmental and economic implications of rising sea level and subsiding deltas: the Nile and Bengal examples, JSTOR, 1989
Syvitski et al Sinking deltas due to human activities Nature Geoscience, September 2009
Thakkar, Dandekar, Shrinking and Sinking Deltas, Major role of dams in delta subsidence and Effective Sea Level Rise, SANDRP, 2014
A Photo Feature on Farakka Barrage: https://sandrp.wordpress.com/2014/09/29/world-rivers-day-and-ganga-a-look-at-farakka-barrage-and-other-such-calamities/
[1] Pers. Comm.
[i] For a earlier SANDRP report on Farakka, see: https://sandrp.in/dams/impct_frka_wcd.pdf
[ii] http://iwai.nic.in/index1.php?lang=1&level=0&linkid=115&lid=781
[iii] http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/varanasi/No-environmental-clearance-for-Haldia-Allahabad-Waterway/articleshow/39827972.cms
[iv] https://sandrp.wordpress.com/2014/07/08/will-this-ganga-manthan-help-the-river/
[v] http://www.toxicswatch.org/2014/08/work-commencing-on-ganga-waterway.html
[vi] Dr. Rudra, Kalyan, The Encroaching Ganga and Social Conflicts: The Case of West Bengal, India, 2008
[vii] http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/PIL-to-save-Kolkata-and-Haldia-ports-filed/articleshow/20526985.cms
[viii] Dr. Rudra, Kalyan, The Encroaching Ganga and Social Conflicts: The Case of West Bengal, India, 2008
[ix] For more details see: https://sandrp.in/Shrinking_and_sinking_delta_major_role_of_Dams_May_2014.pdf
[x] http://www.environmentportal.in/files/Farakka%20Barrage.pdf
[xi] Khalequzzaman, Md., and Islam. Z., 2012, ‘Success and Failure of the Ganges Water-sharing Treaty’ on WRE Forum http://wreforum.org/khaleq/blog/5689
[xii] https://sandrp.wordpress.com/2014/09/01/collapsing-hilsa-can-the-dams-compensate-for-the-loss/
http://wwf.panda.org/wwf_news/?186621/Climate-change-could-drown-out-Sundarbans-tigers—study
http://www.the-south-asian.com/april-june2009/Climate-refugees-of-Sunderbans.htm
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/092181819190118G
[xiii] Ghosh, 1976 quoted in Review of the biology and fisheries of Hilsa, Upper Bengal Estuary, FAO, 1985
[xiv] http://www.downtoearth.org.in/node/2071
[xv] https://sandrp.in/rivers/Dolphins_of_the_Ganga-few_fading_fewer_frolicking.pdf
[xvi] World Bank, Uttar Pradesh Water Restructuring Project Phase II, 2013
[xvii] https://sandrp.in/dams/impct_frka_wcd.pdf
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History Of The SCPOA
About The SCPOA
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History of the SCPOA pg.2
The Police Department's first known location was in the 100 block of Church Street. It is not known precisely how many locations the department occupied over time.
In 1932-33, the department moved to City Hall. City Hall, at that time, was located in the Victorian-era Hihn mansion, which occupied the present City Hall grounds.
In 1938, the Hihn mansion was torn down and a new Spanish-style City Hall was completed. The Police Department occupied the north wing. Its facilities included a firing range in the basement and a city jail.
In 1989, the Loma Prieta earthquake severely damaged the north wing of City Hall, and half of the department moved to rented offices at 212 Locust Street. The new Police Building reunites all police functions under one roof, with contemporary facilities and room for future growth through the year 2015.
In the early years, the Police Department did not patrol 24 hours a day. As the city grew, so did the need for 24 hour police services.
Early communications were accomplished through the use of call boxes and a system of blue lights. Police call boxes were placed at locations throughout the city and the officer would call in periodically to see if there was a need for police services in the city.
The blue lights were placed across major intersections. The beat officer was expected to check the blue light periodically and if it was lit, to call into the station.
Radios later allowed for direct communication between the department and the patrol officer in his car. For many years, during the 1930's - 1950's, the Santa Cruz Police Department provided dispatch services for a number of police agencies. Communication between an officer on foot patrol and the office was not possible by radio until 1963, when the first handheld radios in the county were introduced. The portable radios were receivers only, and the officer still had to go to a phone to call the office.
Present day communications are handled from a modern consolidated computer-aided dispatch center which opened in 1996 in DeLaveaga Park.
Our Police Chiefs
Robet Liddell 1867-1882
S.J. Taintor 1882
Myron Sacket Paterson 1882-1884
Joseph W. Scott 1884-1886
W.W. "Will" Clark 1886-1888
Amos Lunt 1888-1889
J.E. Armstrong 1889-1890
Matt Rawle 1890-1904
Hugh Daugherty 1910-1912
M.C. Jones 1912-1914
Frank K. Hannah 1914-1925
E.B. Kaler 1925-1929
William Walker 1929-1930
Ora Dunlop 1932-1933
Al Hunstman 1933-1956
Gino Pini 1957-1982
Jack Bassett 1982-1994
Steve Belcher 1994-2003
Howard Skerry 2003-2010
Kevin Vogel 2010-
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Music/Popular Culture
Aretha and Elvis: the burden of being authentic
By Jim Booth on August 16, 2018 • ( 2 Comments )
Aretha was authentic – like Elvis. That scared the hell out of people. The truth always does….
“…we want to talk right down to earth in a language that everybody here can easily understand.” – Malcolm X.
At the end of Soul Train, his long-running music program, the late Don Cornelius always ended his program with this reminder of three of life’s important elements:
Aretha Franklin 1968 (courtesy Wikimedia)
No one epitomized that Don Cornelius reminder of those important elements more than Aretha Franklin, who died today and whose passing takes from us one who was undoubtedly the greatest singer of her generation and whose talent influenced singers ranging from Janis Joplin to Adele.
Aretha, like the iconic music figure with whom she, sadly, shares a death date, Elvis Presley, now belongs to the ages. But it’s important to consider what Elvis and Aretha share beyond the date of their passing into history. Both figures, enormously talented singers, achieved iconic status for bringing to a larger world music and cultural considerations that had long been ignored because racism and sexism dominated the worlds they were born into in ways that made their music carry more powerful messages – and greater burdens – than either of them would ever have intentionally pursued. Both of them, after all, wanted to be what they were – musicians and artists. Both of them strove to be authentic. At reaching that lofty (and perhaps Utopian) goal of authenticity, ultimately Elvis failed and Aretha succeeded.
The struggles of both have made for many volumes on Presley and will make for many on Franklin. Elvis, the King of Rock ‘n Roll. Aretha, the Queen of Soul. “Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown,” the guy who could be called the King of Literature reminds us. But on this sad day, it’s important to remember why those volumes have been or will be written.
Presley brought the power of both black Southern blues and gospel music to white audiences who had been “protected” from them by – oh, what’s the right terminology – yeah, right, racists. Nowhere is that better presented in his oeuvre than in this ditty from 1954 that set him on his path to world domination:
Unlike Elvis, Aretha didn’t find her voice right away. She struggled for a few years, misunderstood by a record company who saw her more as Ella Fitzgerald/Sarah Vaughan than as the dynamo of feminism and racial equality she became when turned loose by Jerry Wexler. Once she found her voice and message, though, she became both a civil rights and women’s rights spokesperson of the highest order, as this anthem attests:
After bringing rock ‘n roll to the masses with a series of brilliant songs (almost exclusively written by others, one must admit), Elvis, always a far more obedient fellow than his image suggested, retreated into making shitty movies and recording shittier pop songs written for those movies at the behest of arguably the worst manager in the history of the music business. There was another brief shining moment in 1968-69 when he made a “comeback,” but that degenerated into endless Vegas puffery and endless touring to bring that Vegas puffery to the masses. He died, an “old” young man at 42, worn out with being “the King.”
Aretha endured bad marriages, career ups and downs, and health problems. She reinvented herself, sometimes, brilliantly, sometimes, disastrously (have you listened to “Who’s Zoomin’ Who” lately?). Eventually, though it seems fairer to say inevitably, she became a legend, the diva among divas, as evidenced here where she takes a song written by one of pop music’s greatest songwriters and shows how it should be sung with the songwriter standing three feet to her left:
What should we conclude?
Elvis lost Elvis and never found him again – and, in a way, that killed him as surely as the pharmacopoeia he ingested. One can infer that the bad jokes and the myths (Elvis is alive!) that his memory has endured for the last 40+ years are a reflection of the deep cultural question and have asked not “Where is Elvis?” but “Who is Elvis?” Perhaps those who love him in spite of his failings find themselves remembering more lines from Shakespeare:
For God’s sake, let us sit upon the ground
And tell sad stories of the death of kings;
Aretha fought plenty of demons of her own – but she never lost Aretha. Another thing: she never lost her deep religious faith – like Elvis, Aretha was a remarkable singer of gospel as well as secular music. Unlike Elvis, Aretha’s relationship with that music reflected a deep spirituality that Elvis yearned and strove for but ultimately failed to realize. Elvis loved gospel music as music; Aretha loved it as a statement of her trust in a higher power that succored and sustained her – and allowed her to hold on to an authenticity throughout her life and career that Elvis had and lost and found again and lost again.
It’s how she got over.
Categories: Music/Popular Culture
Your Daily Devotional for August 16, 2018
That nosy journalist is defending you …
sasstt0401 says:
-Love, STeph
mjs says:
You put it simply and correctly, there will never be another queen of soul, never..Elvis was a hot mess when he died of ingesting drugs, many lived off of him, he strived to please everyone and could not please himself~~~~~~~ !!!!!!!!!! Aretha had her God in her heart and soul, deeply religious and worked like no other artist ever..She mentioned in an interview with a reporter on NBC she wanted to go out singing, well she certainly did..all hail the Queen of Soul..rest in peace you deserve it~~~~!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Dead Mule School of Southern Literature
The Weekly List
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American Association of University Professors, College of William and Mary Chapter Records
Identifier: UA 16
Scope and Contents Records pertaining to the beginning of an AAUP chapter at the College of William and Mary including minutes, notes, and drafts. Also included is information about the national, regional and local AAUP. The collection includes: minutes; constitution and by-laws with amendments; correspondence; publications; treasurer's reports; press releases; and interviews. This material deals with fringe benefits and compensation; higher education; academic policy; faculty participation in university...
Department of Art and Art History Records
Scope and Contents This collection consists of fliers and newsletters from the Department of Art and Art History at the College of William and Mary. Included in the collection are fliers for exhibits at the Andrews Gallery.
Associate Provost for Academic Affairs Records
Scope and Contents Acc. 1991.086 contains office files from the Associate Provost for Academic Affairs. Acc. 1994.044 contains office files from the Associate Provost for Academic Affairs, mostly from the 1980s. Acc. 1994.046 contains confidential files removed from Acc. 1994.044, including search materials, evaluations, salary information, and adjunct faculty vitas. Acc. 1996.019 contains the records of the Office of the Associate Provost, including evaluations, search...
Carol Ballingall Papers
Identifier: 00/06/UA 6.003
Scope and Contents The bulk of this collection (Acc. 1990.16) includes student papers and assignments (1967-1986) and anthropology class materials (1968-1986) from classes taught by Dr. Carol Ballingall at the College of William and Mary. There is also one folder of biographical information.
Leslie Cheek, Jr. College Papers
Identifier: UA 6.007
Scope and Contents This collection contains awards, publicity material, songs, articles, speeches, and photographs that once belonged to College of William and Mary professor Leslie Cheek. The bulk of the material is from 1936 to 1938, and most of the material relates to the various exhibits put on by the Department of Fine Arts. The photographs are from theatre productions, dances, and exhibits at William and Mary.
College Women's Club Records
Scope and Contents This collections includes bylaws and constitution, minutes, financial records, clippings, correspondence, and other material related to the College Women's Club, a faculty organization at the College of William and Mary.
Office of the Dean of the College Records
Scope and Contents Acc. 1979.031: This accession contains office files from 1920-1942. Acc. 1983.085: This accession contains office files from the 1940s and 1950s. These include reports of the Curriculum Committee, correspondence with the President and others, materials from the faculty protest of 1951, letters of faculty appointments and salaries, and selective service classifications of faculty members. Acc. 1998.091: Records of Kremer Jacob Hoke, 1920s-1930s. This accession contains...
Office of the Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences Records
Identifier: 00/02/01/UA 22
Scope and Contents Acc. 1979.037: Records of W. Melville Jones, 1954-1967. This accession contains ten boxes of subject files arranged alphabetically. The inventory for this accession is available in the box list section of this finding aid. Acc. 1979.038: Records of James Wilkinson Miller, 1940s. This accession contains faculty inactive files and office files. Part of the correspondence was removed to Acc. 1979.037. Acc. 1982.070: Office files, 1961-1979. This accession includes faculty...
Carl R. Dolmetsch Papers
Scope and Contents This collection contains correspondence, publications, and other material kept by Carl R. Dolmetsch, a professor in the Department of English at the College of William and Mary. Included in the collection are publications, a drawing, and a poster related to author H.L. Mencken; correspondence concerning potential visiting lecturers to events in the Department of Engllish; and letters written to Carl R. Dolmetsch by persons who had contributed material to Smart...
Adam Empie Papers
Identifier: Mss. 65 Em7
Scope and Contents Papers, 1821-1979, of and concerning Adam Empie, the president of the College of William and Mary and his family. Includes account book, 1829-1831, of Adam Empie and copy of his will as well as four letters, undated, from Sarah Moore Grimke to Anna Eliza (Wright) Empie as well as a commonplace book, undated; poems; engravings; flower illustrations, sketches and silhouettes; and prayers.The addition, Mss. 1979.13, includes papers of the Rev. Dr. Adam Empie’s descendants, most...
Subject: Universities and Colleges--Virginia--Faculty X
College of William and Mary--Alumni and alumnae 4
College of William and Mary. Dean of the College 2
Colonial Williamsburg Foundation 2
Hoke, Kremer Jacob, 1878-1944 2
Hughes, Robert M. (Robert Morton), b. 1855 2
Jones, W. Melville, 1901-1992 2
Marsh, Charles F. (Charles Franklin), 1903-1984 2
Marshall-Wythe School of Law 2
Miller, James Wilkinson, 1902- 2
Tyler, Lyon Gardiner, 1853-1935 2
Adams, John, 1735-1826 1
American Association of University Professors 1
American Historical Association 1
Andrews Gallery 1
Associate Provost for Academic Affairs 1
Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities 1
Ballingall, Carol 1
Blankenship family 1
Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching 1
Chaffee, Sarah Lamb 1
Cheek, Leslie, 1908-1992 1
College of William and Mary. Board of Visitors 1
College of William and Mary. College Women's Club 1
College of William and Mary. Committee on Research Funds 1
College of William and Mary. Dean of the Faculty 1
College of William and Mary. Dept. of Art and Art History 1
College of William and Mary. Dept. of English 1
College of William and Mary. Faculty Research Committee 1
College of William and Mary. Office of Grants and Research Administration 1
College of William and Mary. Office of the President 1
College of William and Mary. Office of the Provost 1
Dean of Students. 1
Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences 1
Dept. of Art and Art History 1
Dept. of Fine Arts 1
Dept. of Geology 1
Deptartment of English 1
Dolmetsch, Carl (Carl Richard), 1924- 1
Eastern State Hospital (Va.) 1
Empie, Adam, 1785-1860 1
Equal Suffrage League of Virginia 1
Faculty Assembly 1
Faculty Women's Caucus 1
Galfo, Armand J., 1926- 1
Galfo, Mary 1
Hall, J. Lesslie (John Lesslie), 1856- 1
Hampton Roads-Peninsula War Studies Committee 1
Harcum, E. Rae (Eugene Rae), 1927 1
Jefferson, Thomas, 1743-1826 1
Lamb, Sarah Anne Chaffee, b. 1837 1
Lamb, William, 1838-1909 1
Marshall, Nelson 1
Memphis Medical College, Memphis, Tenn 1
Mencken, H. L. (Henry Louis), 1880-1956 1
Millington family 1
Millington, John, 1779-1868 1
New York Southern Society 1
North Atlantic Treaty Organization 1
Office of the Provost 1
Self Study 1
Sindt, Tobey Mark 1
Swinburne, Algernon Charles, 1837-1909 1
Tyler, Anne Baker Tucker, 1860-1921 1
Tyler, Sue Ruffin 1
Umbeck, Sharvy 1
Virginia Historical Society 1
Virginia House of Delegates 1
Virginia. High Court of Chancery 1
Wakefield National Memorial Association 1
Woodbridge, Dudley Warner, 1896-1969 1
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Gann Valley
Gann Valley, South Dakota
Recent News About Gann Valley View More
One business in 57341 had fewer than five employees in 2016
There was one business in South Dakota zip code 57341 that had fewer than five employees in 2016, according to County Business Patterns (CBP) statistics provided by the United States Census Bureau.
100% unemployed in Gann Valley in 2017
100 percent of Gann Valley residents between 16 and 65 years old were unemployed in 2017, according to data obtained from the U.S. Census Bureau.
Total OASDI retired beneficiaries in South Dakota zip 57341 unchanged in 2018
There were 25 total OASDI retired beneficiaries in South Dakota zip code 57341 in 2018, unchanged from 2017, which had 25 total retired beneficiaries, according to the official Social Security Administration website.
Gann Valley Upcoming Events View More
5 Inventories in communication equipment industry climb 0.4 percent in July
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An injury to the team captain forces lineup changes for the Knights.
San Diego City College Beach Volleyball team played two matches at Grossmont on Friday. By Sonny Garibay
Sonny Garibat
The San Diego City College beach volleyball team played a double header on Friday when it took on both Grossmont College and Palomar College at Grossmont.
The Knights (10-9) split their matches. They suffered a 5-0 loss against the conference-leading Griffins (17-2) in the day’s first contest.
City College followed up the defeat with a 3-2 victory over the last-place Comets (2-11).
The Knights had to readjust the teams that took the court due to an injury to team captain Alina Fletes.
“Having to shift players at the last minute … hurt us a bit,” Fletes said after the Knights match against Palomar ended. “Considering what happened I think they did pretty good.”
Fletes was most impressed with her squad’s ability to adapt in its win against the Comets.
“I think they did well sticking to what they know how to play,” she explained. “Even if they weren’t playing with who they always play with, they were able to bond as new teams.”
Added coach Dede Bodnar: “You don’t usually switch your starting lineup the second week before the season is over. These are teams that have been playing together all year and now they’re playing separate … and we still won one match.”
Bodnar also noted that the two teams who lost their matches against Palomar were players who normally play together.
Fletes hopes to be healthy in time for the regular season finale next Friday.
The Knights are too far behind in the Pacific Coast Athletic Conference standings to secure a team playoff spot, but will still compete in the individual playoffs after their campaign ends.
The beach volleyball team will conclude the regular season when they host San Diego Mesa and Grossmont at Coast Volleyball Club on April 19.
City College Knights
Knights Volleyball
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SubTopic Migration and Planning
SQL Server Insider
Azure Cloud testing tips for SQL Server shops
NewsFor SQL Server shops testing Azure cloud, it’s all about integrating data
NewsCost, proliferation power rise of SQL Server data warehousing
TipSQL Server stored procedures supercharged in recent, upcoming versions
iSTOCK/GETTY IMAGES
For SQL Server shops testing Azure cloud, it’s all about integrating data
With tool sets still evolving, developers face stiff challenges in integrating data in hybrid SQL Server-SQL Azure environments.
Beth Stackpole
Despite all the hoopla around cloud computing, Microsoft's SQL Azure cloud platform will likely co-exist with on-premises SQL Server installations for some time. The hybrid deployment scenario means integrating data will present challenges to developers, especially since much of the technology is still in flux.
Rather than flip the switch on a wholesale conversion to the cloud, most companies will move applications over to SQL Azure at a more measured pace, initially spinning up applications best positioned to reap the benefits of the cloud's scalability and lower costs. Companies may choose to work through some of their cloud security and performance concerns by using SQL Azure to experiment with new applications or by adding features and data sets that live in the cloud to existing SQL Server systems. Both approaches demand a robust level of integration between the platforms.
"Larger companies and ISVs [independent software vendors] already have SQL Server, so they're looking at SQL Azure as an extension for their existing set of capabilities," said Herve Roggero, managing partner at Boca Raton, Fla.-based Blue Syntax Consulting, a company that focuses on SQL Azure deployments. "They're going to need integration so they can use the best of both worlds. The new [cloud] services are going to have to work seamlessly with the existing infrastructure."
For more on integrating data
Learn about integrating data in SQL Server-Oracle environments
Get the lowdown on data merges for integrating data
Want more on integrating data between SQL Server and MySQL?
In this new hybrid world, there are two likely integration scenarios: Companies will store the same data sets on both SQL Azure and on-premises SQL Server, or they’ll maintain different data on the separate platforms, with the capability to readily exchange information between the two. For example, using SQL Azure as a backup resource for an essential on-site SQL Server application, such as financials, would require hosting the same data on both platforms.
In comparison, companies in industries like health care or finance, which deal with regulatory restrictions, might want a hybrid system on which they can maintain sensitive data on-premises in SQL Server, yet interact with applications and different data sets and applications in the SQL Azure cloud.
"I see co-existence as a real possibility," said Jeff Mlakar, head database architect in Ernst & Young's internal applications department. "There are a lot of reasons people will have a hybrid solution because of regulatory restrictions like PCI [Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard] and HIPAA [Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act]. I don't think Ernst & Young will ever go completely to the cloud because of the restrictions of where data has to reside in particular country borders."
Workarounds and integration tools
How can developers address this robust level of integration between on-premises SQL Server and SQL Azure? While there are several options, the technologies are evolving. On one hand, SQL Server developers can create workarounds so the transactional work is handled in the application, instructing data to be written to both on-premises SQL Server instances and to SQL Azure in the cloud.
It’s certainly effective, but this approach puts a lot of extra work on the developers’ shoulders, requiring them to double up on programming. It also raises performance concerns related to moving much more data over Internet connections, which are not always up to snuff in terms of transmission speeds.
Microsoft, for its part, isn't letting developers grapple with the integration issue on their own. SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS), a platform for building enterprise-level data integration and extract, transform and load services could be used to create data flows between on-premises SQL Server and SQL Azure. However, there are limitations with SSIS: It's not well-suited for synchronization, because it doesn't support two-way data flow, and it isn't prepared to handle conflict detection and resolution in the event the data exchange is interrupted because of a cloud failure.
The Microsoft offering better positioned to address the integration issue is SQL Azure Data Sync, a tool specifically designed for sharing data between on-premises locations and one or more SQL Azure databases (see “Microsoft gets SQL Server, Azure in sync”). While developers have high hopes for Data Sync's ability to address their integration needs, the tool is still only available as a community technical preview, which means it's in beta testing; thus questions remain over pricing and the final feature set.
"It's like making a decision in the dark right now," said Ike Ellis, a SQL consultant and trainer who carries Microsoft’s Most Valued Professional distinction.
Ellis also cautioned that you don't just deploy Data Sync and call it a day. "It does solve the challenge, but you still have to manage it," he said. "It's not fire and forget—you still have to think about whether it's running, did it break, does it support fast enough links so it can do the job. Also, if there are schema changes, you may have to set it up again."
Looking ahead, Ellis said integrating data will be far less an issue as the cloud gains traction and companies get over any lingering security and compliance concerns. "Eventually, companies will resolve their concerns about the cloud and everything will be on the cloud," he said. "It's just inevitable."
Microsoft gets SQL Server, Azure in sync
Microsoft has two primary tools for integrating its on-premises SQL Server platform and its cloud-based SQL Azure. Here's how company officials differentiate between them:
SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS): Microsoft positions this tool as a platform for building enterprise-level data integration and extract, transform and load (ETL) systems. The primary audience for SSIS is developers, so the onus is on them to continuously update the system to support ongoing incremental changes and track and extract updated data sources. As a result, Microsoft said SSIS is better situated for use in ETL scenarios as opposed to being the go-to tool for cloud and on-premises synchronization.
SQL Azure Data Sync: Still in beta testing, this technology synchronizes data movement between SQL Azure and SQL Server databases. While Data Sync doesn't offer the same breadth of functionality and flexibility as the developer-focused SSIS, it is optimized for full two-way sync between multiple databases and as such, includes capabilities for conflict detection and resolution. Data Sync's main use case scenarios are for enabling hybrid on-premises and cloud applications to share data and for aggregating data in SQL Azure.
Beth Stackpole is a freelance writer who has been covering the intersection of technology and business for 25-plus years for a variety of trade and business publications and websites.
Dig Deeper on SQL Server Migration Strategies and Planning
Microsoft technology refresh touches SQL Server, integration tooling
Microsoft SSIS (SQL Server Integration Services)
SQL Server 2016 Integration Services boosted by Linux support
By: Brien Posey
Microsoft SSIS addresses data integration and data migration functions
By: Rick Sherman
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Hansard – National Theater Live
« The Natural World in Pastel Workshop with James R. Reynolds
Permaculture Skills Center Site Tour »
Adults and teens, Entertainment/Culture, Film, History/Culture, Theater
Rialto Cinemas
6868 McKinley St
sebastopol@rialtocinemas.com
Buy Tickets URL
https://rialtocinemas.tix.com/Schedule.aspx?OrgNum=1374
Hansard; noun
The official report of all parliamentary debates.
See two-time Olivier Award winners, Lindsay Duncan (Birdman, About Time) and Alex Jennings (The Lady in the Van, The Queen), in this brand-new play by Simon Wood, broadcast live from the National Theatre in London.
It’s a summer’s morning in 1988 and Tory politician Robin Hesketh has returned home to the idyllic Cotswold house he shares with his wife of 30 years, Diana. But all is not as blissful as it seems. Diana has a stinking hangover, a fox is destroying the garden, and secrets are being dug up all over the place. As the day draws on, what starts as gentle ribbing and the familiar rhythms of marital scrapping quickly turns to blood-sport.
Don’t miss this witty and devastating portrait of the governing class, directed by Simon Godwin (NT Live: Antony & Cleopatra, Twelfth Night) and part of National Theatre Live’s 10th birthday season.
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Home Internet Security News Organizations Facebook’s European Union woes remain, FB’s privacy settings under scrutiny of watchdogs
Facebook’s European Union woes remain, FB’s privacy settings under scrutiny of watchdogs
The social media giant Facebook has turn out to be an old-timer of the fights battled over data security, net neutrality and internet privacy, and it doesn’t look similar social platforms will be able to escape from inspection anytime shortly.
US companies have turn out to be a target of watchdogs in the EU (European Union) quite frequently. Previously, Google was suspected of unfairly promoting specific products utilizing its search engine ranking. And now, Facebook joins the list of US firms to come under the European Union’s regulatory inspection. The Giant (Facebook) is just below the scanner of 5 data security regulators in area on the security settings.
The firm’s quick expansion and massive database of consumer information has raised important questions about the validity of Facebook’s practices, specifically when it comes to closing out competition. The European Union is growing progressively skeptical, as the Social Giant tries to keep its consumers in its network with the addition of extra features to its system, from chatting, promotion and to the payments.
The head of Facebook’s policy team, Richard Allan, said that with obvious certainty. “The primary regulation should come from where a company’s headquarters is located,” Richard Allan mentioned. “It doesn’t make sense that 28 regulators should make different interpretations of the same law.”
A former commissioner for federal data security from Germany, Peter Schaar, mentioned that Facebook couldn’t have selected a more slack country to establish the shop. “Of course Facebook would go to a country with the lowest levels of data protection,” said by Schaar. “It’s natural they would choose Ireland.”
Max Schrems a law student from Europe told the NYT (The New York Times), “This is about limiting what Facebook can do with Europeans’ data. How much should they be allowed to dig into the souls of their users? That’s what we’re fighting for.”
In the past 3 years, Facebook’s existence in Europe has almost twice, and as stated by eMarketer, the Facebook currently has more consumers in the area than in the American. With Facebook’s new acquisition of messaging service WhatsApp, several European regulatory companies are calling foul play. The WhatsApp and Facebook messenger combination seemed to make an online monopoly on internet and smartphone messaging, they said.
The Social Giant won that specific war, however it seems that the battle is still steeping.
Ali is a freelance journalist, having 5 years of experience in web journalism and marketing. He contributes to various online publications. With a Master degree, now he combines his passions for writing about internet security and technology for SecurityGladiators. When he is not working, he loves traveling and playing games.
Categories Organizations Tags Data Protection, eMarketer, EU, Europe, Facebook, Google, Net Neutrality, New York Times, Online Privacy, Security Practices, WhatsApp Post navigation
IRS hacked, Hackers dive and collect information of 100000 taxpayers
Apache Cordova vulnerability puts Android apps in danger
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Form:Media Batoche National Historic Site Work Honored and Published
On June 23, 2017, winners and finalists flew in from as far away as Poland and China to attend the celebration at Toronto’s iconic Evergreen Brick Works, where the results of Azure Magazine’s seventh annual AZ Awards competition were announced in the presence of top talents from the local and international architecture and design communities. Form:Media's work for Batoche National Historic Sitereceived a People’s Choice award in the Experiential Graphic Design category. This was the inaugural year for the Experiential Graphic Design category of the 7th annual AZ Awards. The submissions were narrowed down to three selections by the jury for the category. The Annual Awards Issue is on newsstands in Canada now.
Form:Media's work is also being published in the July issue of Applied Arts magazine’s annual Design Awards edition. In addition to featuring over 100 pages of winning work by designers from Canada and abroad in packaging, graphics, editorial, typography, the issue has themed section to reflect on Canada’s sesquicentennial, including an exclusive feature article looking at two projects Form:Media developed. The article attempts to answer the question: "how does landscape inform architecture and brand?," looks at the strategy behind navigating stakeholder relationships and design to bridge the past and future at Batoche National Historic Site and also explores the proposed architectural developments to Labrador's Red Bay Basque Whaling Station.
More on Azure Magazine,Applied Arts Magazineand Form:Media
Form:Media
John deWolf
Ekistics Planning & Design
Batoche National Historic Site
Fathom Studio
CEO & Partner
AJ Goehle
Principal/Founder
Peter Andrusko
Jeffrey Padia
Experiential Graphic Designer
Amanda Eggleston
Senior Environmental Graphic Designer
Terry Campbell
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Geoffry Fried
Geoffry Fried (Geoff) is a Professor of Design whose academic focus and expertise include typography, design methods and strategies, and the language of design. Geoffry Fried was the Chair of the Design department from 1994 to 2007. He has also taught at Boston University, Rhode Island School of Design, and Northeastern University. Geoffry Fried earned his MFA in Graphic Design from Yale University (1982) and his BA in English from Carnegie-Mellon (1973).
"New Contexts/New Practices," coauthor (panelist) at AIGA National Design Education Conference; North Carolina State University, Raleigh (2010)
Chasing Infinity,” presentation to the International Association of Societies of Design Research; Seoul, Korea (2009)
“Craft to Concept: Thoughts on the Scholarship of Teaching,” keynote presentation at Intent/Content, an AIGA National Design Education Conference; Nashville, TN (2007)
“What About the ‘Design’ in ‘Graphic Design?’ A Cognitive Evolutionary Approach,” presentation at Schools of Thought 3, an AIGA National Design Education Conference, Pasadena (2007)
Geoffry Fried earned his Masters of Fine Arts (MFA) from the Yale University School of Art and his Bachelor of Arts (English) from Carnegie Mellon University.
Connect with Geoffry Fried on LinkedIn.
Member, Geoffrey Fried, Lesley University, Cambridge, Boston, Graphic Design, Education, Educator
Karin Shaver
Marketing and PR Manager
Hind Alghanim
Dermot MacCormack
Associate Vice President, Senior Environmental Graphics Designer
Heather Novak-Peterson
Director of Media + Marketing
Joe Lawton
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September 2019 CNA newsletter
October 1, 2019 October 1, 2019 Karen Ingle
ALGERIAN UNREST: FUELED BY A HISTORY OF CONFLICT
Following three weeks spent ministering on the ground in Algeria, Ali shares his take on current events there.
The city of Algiers
After gaining independence from France on June 1, 1962, Algeria struggled into nationhood under several short-lived presidents. When army chief of staff Houari Boumediene seized control for over 13 years, his Stalin-esque brand of socialism offered little freedom. All the aspirations of this young nation of 2 million people, newly freed from the French yoke, were buried under that ruthless system.
Several democratic demonstrations sparked revolts but these were soon crushed. A series of military-backed leaders oversaw the next two turbulent decades, which included a horrible civil war. After Abdelaziz Bouteflika became president in 1999, he amended the constitution to allow himself as many terms as he wanted.
A Cry for Change
It was Bouteflika’s bid for a fifth presidential term that sparked the latest round of protests. On February 16, 2019, people took over the streets of every city. Their peaceful nationwide demonstrations forced Bouteflika to resign on April 2. Next they brought about the arrest of most of Bouteflika’s family and friends for corruption. Still seeking removal of all the ruling elite, the protest, now dubbed “Al Heerak” (the Movement), continues with massive demonstrations every Friday.
These marches increase the pressure on de facto leader Ahmed Gaid Salah, the army chief of staff. Salah, watching the nation’s economy and its entire infrastructure suffer, has pushed for the election of a new president soon. But Al Heerak, wanting no more military influence in politics, is demanding a transition process toward civilian presidential elections. Recently the group has threatened insurrection if its conditions are not met.
Repercussions on the Church
Further aggravating these tensions is the current government’s intimidation of Christians in Algeria. Two years of mounting persecution have led to the closures of at least five more churches in the last few months alone.
As Christians continue meeting outside their closed buildings, it is fully possible that hatred and retaliation may erupt. Already, each mention of Christians in the media seeks to alarm the populace and to urge authorities to take action against them.
Algerian believers take one of two views of their troubles. Some oppose the closure of churches, and would do anything to recover use of their buildings. Others hold that church closures will serve to purge the Church of its craving for buildings and resources for ministry; thus the persecution is necessary and inevitable.
How will these events play out? Will the current government be completely removed and replaced by a civil society which might allow the church to exist under a new charter of the constitution? Or will it stay on to prosecute church leaders and ban Christian activity?
The Algerian people’s exposure to the gospel is no longer a secret. This has led thousands to seek the Lord, and thousands to discuss matters of faith. The message of Christ has spread far!
Second church and school being closed in Boudjimaa
At the same time the government is pressing an agenda of arabization and islamization for Algeria. In recent weeks this has intensified as governors ordered all shop owners to write their front signs solely in Arabic. New textbooks for Islamic education in schools will be widely used. At the same time, some speculate that the Quran may soon be used in Berber languages, even the call to prayer.
Further, the country’s obscure relationships with the Gulf nations raise fears that foreign influence could turn Algeria into an experimental bastion of islamization, as happened in Libya. Geopolitics are driving the MENA Region and Africa into a future that doesn’t yet have a name. Certainly islamization is one tool being used to destabilize nations. Will more of creation groan like Syria and Iraq?
Islam adamantly opposes Christianity. So our Christian brothers and sisters need courage and unswerving faith to face the persecution that lies ahead. This fight must begin on their knees. Meanwhile, the raging upheaval and effective grassroots protesting reveals how desperately the people long for a change!
CNA is There
No man-made political solution can ever truly satisfy these longing hearts. So we will keep showing them the way to ultimate peace: the Prince of Peace himself. Your prayers and support make this possible!
Reading the Bible
Previous postSpring 2019 newsletter
Next postCNA changes name to SENA
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Nintendo SWITCH Super Mario Party
Jump into the Mushroom Kingdom and play board games with Nintendo Switch Super Mario Party. Roll the dice and travel across loads of different boards to beat your family and friends, and compete in minigames to boost your score.
With 20 playable characters, 80 minigames and completely unique boards, no game will be the same. Want to mix it up even more? You can go head to head with up to four players, or team up in 2 v 2 or 1 v 3.
And if your friends have a Switch too, you can play unique minigames in Toad's Rec Room – which lets four people play the same game on two consoles.
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Gas Bag – Giant Loop Fuel Safe Bladder
Ben Branch September 4, 2018
The Gas Bag by Giant Loop is a fuel bladder designed to allow you to pack away some gasoline for off-road adventures, or for those motorcycle road trips with long gaps between gas stations. Giant Loop make the Gas Bag in the USA, each bag has a fuel-safe welded-film bladder with a black ballistic nylon reinforced…
Alain Prost’s Ferrari 641 Formula 1 Steering Wheel
This is Alain Prost’s Ferrari 641 Formula 1 steering wheel from 1990, it was his first season at Ferrari after the reigning World Champion was lured away from McLaren to partner Nigel Mansell – creating one of the greatest driver line-ups of the period. Prost would take 5 victories during the 1990 season with Mansell…
Crow’s Nest Two-Person Rooftop Tent by Feldon Shelter Co.
The Feldon Shelter Co. is a New Zealand based company that designs and builds some of the best rooftop tents in the world. The Crow’s Nest is their most affordable offering, it’s a two-person rooftop tent designed to be exceedingly tough, and exceptionally user-friendly. Each Crow’s Nest tent can sleep two adults up to 7…
Northern Lights Optic NL 24 Sunglasses
The NL 24 Sunglasses by Northern Lights Optic feature a hand-laid acetate teardrop aviator frame with removable leather side shields – the shields are useful when out in the snow or in high-glare areas. All of the glasses and sunglasses made by Northern Lights Optic are designed in the mountains of British Columbia in the…
The Huckberry Essential EDC Kit
At $35.98 the Huckberry Essential EDC Kit is one of the best value propositions in the crowded everyday carry marketplace. It includes a length of 550 pound paracord woven around a wire saw, a stainless steel striker, and a fire steel rod for starting fires in just about any weather conditions you’re likely to encounter….
Beeline Moto GPS Unit – Motorcycle GPS For The 21st Century
The Beeline Moto is a GPS unit designed to do away with bulky touchscreens and strip navigation down to its core functions – which way should I go, and how far till the next turn. The team behind the device have already designed and mass produced what is considered by many to be the best…
You Can Now Buy A Functioning HAL 9000
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The Ka-Bar Tactical Military Spork
Every now and then I like to feature something slightly ridiculous, and the Ka-Bar Tactical Military Spork definitely fits the bill. Although there’s clearly humor to be had with anything called a tactical spork, it does actually look kind of useful as a cheap ($13~), lightweight cutlery option for when you’re out in the wild….
The DemerBox – A Waterproof Pelican Case Stereo
Ben Branch August 4, 2018
The DemerBox is a waterproof stereo built into a Pelican Case, it offers 50+ hours of battery life, Bluetooth pairing with a wireless range of up to 100 feet, and a handy USB port for charging your smartphone, tablet, GPS, etc. Pelican Cases are renowned for their toughness, they’re used by photographers, videographers, scientists, and…
Keith Richards’ Pocket Knife – The Okapi Keyring Lock Knife
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Keith Richards doubtless has pockets full of all sort of nefarious things, the least harmful of which is an Okapi folding knife. He’s been carrying the knife for decades, and once famously pulled it out and stabbed it into a table to get rid of a casino owner named Trump. Okapi is an African company…
The Southern Lights Electric Original Bell Jar Table Lamp
The Original Bell Jar Table Lamp by Southern Lights Electric uses a large Edison bulb to give the same warm light that lit the workshops, factories, garages, and speakeasies of the 20th century. The lamp measures in at 8.5″ high by 5″ wide, with a 48″ white cloth covered cord, an antique-style brass socket, and…
Airfix Combustion Engine Kit – A Transparent Working Engine Model
The Airfix Combustion Engine Kit is a model engine powered by batteries that has red lights in the spark plugs to show firing order. It works mechanically just like a real engine, with a crankshaft and cam, conrods and pistons, rocker arms and valves. It’s driven by a small electric motor that requires 3 x…
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Will Canada Ever End its Demonization of China?
December 26, 2014 by James Miller 0 comments on "Will Canada Ever End its Demonization of China?"
The demonization of China – as shown by refusal to accept Confucius Institutes – is a toxic flaw that runs deep in Canadian history and culture.
Protestors supporting the China-based Confucius Institute protest in front of the Toronto District School Board on Oct. 1, 2014. CARLOS OSORIO / TORONTO STAR
As Premier Kathleen Wynne returns from China and as Prime Minister Stephen Harper visits Beijing for the APEC summit, the partnership and goodwill between China and Canada that brought Confucius Institutes to Toronto schoolchildren lies in ruins.
The reason is simple: China, and Chinese people, have long been demonized in the Canadian imagination. Only recently Torontonians were appalled by a Toronto Sun cartoon of Olivia Chow with exaggerated Chinese features in a Mao suit. The subtext was clear: Chinese people look different from “real” Canadians, and their politics are not to be trusted.
It is time to end this racist demonization once and for all.
China and Chinese people are part of the fabric of the world, and part of the fabric of our own city.
Of course, no country is perfect. America launched the second Gulf War on a false pretext, and brought about 100,000 or more civilian deaths. But Canadians view America as a flawed big brother whose power we must respect and whose flaws we must, from time to time, accept. It would be absurd to imagine that we should boycott the American Fulbright scholarship program as a result of America’s foreign policy.
China, too, has its flaws and its differences. It thinks about religion in a very different way from Canada, because it has for two millennia been a multi-religious country and has struggled to contain and manage the powerful religious forces that have toppled dynasties and caused widespread social unrest.
This year marks the 150th anniversary of the ending of the Taiping rebellion, a religious movement led by a charismatic prophet who declared himself the younger brother of Jesus and set about establishing the kingdom of heaven on earth. The Taiping rebellion was eventually put down with French and British help, and a death toll estimated at 20 to 30 million. Imagine, within the space of a generation, the population of Canada wiped out by war resulting from a quasi-Christian ideology.
This is by no way to excuse or condone China’s current policies. It is to say that China’s decisions, just like America’s, emerge from a particular history and a particular perspective. They deserve understanding and challenging. But they do not deserve demonization.
By demonization I mean the belief that a way of thinking or acting is so beyond the pale that we cannot touch it. China’s Confucius Institutes have become so demonized that North American partner institutions feel they must dissociate themselves from them lest they somehow contaminate the minds of our young people with Chinese ideas.
Often the touchstone issue is China’s treatment of religion.
The Chinese state’s policies towards religion are difficult for Canadians to understand and accept. Our religious institutions are largely docile, declining in authority and generally encourage people to respect Canadian values. Our civic institutions and our state education system follow the studied agnosticism of tolerance and multiculturalism.
But in China religion is a growing, powerful and dynamic force that is frequently at odds with the values and norms of the state. More Christians go to church in China than in the whole of Europe. Nowadays there are more Christians in China than members of the Communist Party. Religion is problematic social issue that intersects with issues of culture, politics and identity in ways that are hard for us to fathom in Canada.
China’s Confucius Institutes provide money and personnel to enable people across the world to learn Chinese and to learn about the Chinese world. Their astonishing success proves that Canadians have an immense hunger to learn about China.
But the demonization of China is a shameful, toxic flaw that runs deep in Canadian history and culture. It prevents rational discussion about Chinese culture, religion and politics. It prevents sensible engagement with the Confucius Institute program. It shamefully hinders the engagement of Chinese Canadians in our civic life, for who would dare subject themselves to the same treatment that Olivia Chow received?
In the end the only victims will be our children who will simply learn to repeat the same flaws and failures of their parents.
James Miller is a Professor of Chinese Religions at Queen’s University in Kingston. @james_miller
Published in The Star Online, November 5, 2014.
Posted in: Media, Print
Tagged: China, Confucius Institutes, Race, religion
Previous Previous post: China’s Green Religion? Daoism and the Quest for a Sustainable Future
Next Next post: Turning Students into Citizens, Religious Studies Edition
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Snoop's Theatre Thoughts
A longtime fan's look at theatre in St. Louis, MO and Beyond
« WEPG Tells a Quirky, Heartwarming, Thoroughly Dickens Holiday Tale in “Cricket on the Hearth”
Princesses Tell Their Own Tales in Funny “Disenchanted” at Stray Dog Theatre »
STLAS’s “Life in the Theatre” Is a Reflection for Theatre Lovers
December 14, 2019 by Michelle Kenyon ("Snoop")
A Life in the Theatre
Directed by John Contini
St. Louis Actors’ Studio
William Roth, Ryan Lawson-Maeske
Photo by Patrick Huber
If you’ve ever been involved in theatre at any level, St. Louis Actors’ Studio’s latest production will have something to which you can relate. A Life in the Theatre is David Mamet’s two-hander focusing on two actors at different stages in their careers, continuing STLAS’s season of two person plays. Here, with two excellent performers in the leading roles, this is a show that serves as an insightful glimpse at the theatrical life, for actors and for anyone who loves this art form.
This isn’t a long play, running at roughly 85 minutes and with no intermission, but makes its point well in that short running time. Its a series of vignettes, essentially, following the interactions of two actors who frequently work together. Robert (William Roth) is the older, more seasoned performer and John (Ryan Lawson-Maeske) is the younger actor whose career is on the way up. Through the course of the evening, we get to see their backstage interactions as well as portions of some of their plays, including a World War I drama, an office drama, and others. As the show goes on, there are successes and mishaps, including several that many who have worked on a play will recognize. There are missed technical cues, forgotten lines, mistimed entrances, and more. Also, we see the changing dynamics of the relationship between the two characters, as John experiences new successes and Robert is reminded of the swift passage of time and deals with jealousy as well as mortality. Mamet’s script is insightful and frequently humorous in a knowing sort of way, demonstrating the timelessness of theatre and the acting profession, and how the art goes on even as the performers age and change. It’s a witty show with moments of cynicism and poignancy, but ultimately it reinforces the old adage that “the show must go on”.
It’s an intriguing character study in which the characters are “types” as much as they are individuals. The two are played with flair by STLAS veterans Roth and Lawson-Maeske. Roth gets to make the most of his range as Robert starts out with a sense of projected overconfidence and then gradually loses that and grows more and more unsure and unstable. Lawson-Maeske is also winning as the young performer gaining experience and learning to deal with success as well as managing his relationship with his colleague. The two share a strong on-stage rapport as well, that turns into something of a “frenemies” situation, occasionally crossing the line into combative, and both performers excel in these moments, and in the more comic moments as well.
The staging by director John Contini is well paced, and Patrick Huber’s set is versatile and well-realized, allowing for various easy scene changes that change the perspective from backstage to on stage. There’s also a range of appropriately suited costumes by Andrea Robb, and excellent sound design by Contini and lighting by Huber. Even in its staging, this is an excellent glimpse of the life of a performer in its various aspects.
This is a show for theatre lovers, and especially for anyone who has worked on a production. If you know theatre, you should know a lot of what’s portrayed here. A Life in the Theatre is an apt title, since even though it depicts particular characters, there is something universal about this art, and the life of a performer. It’s well worth seeing, and remembering.
Ryan Lawson-Maeske, William Roth
St. Louis Actors’ Studio is presenting A Life in the Theatre at the Gaslight Theater until December 22, 2019
Posted in St Louis Theatre | Tagged a life in the theatre, david mamet, john contini, review, st louis, st. louis actors studio |
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With over 15 years of experience in the culinary world, Thanawat Bates is the Restaurant Executive Chef at 1 Hotel South Beach’s signature restaurant, Habitat. Born and raised in Thailand, Bates arrived in the United States at the age of 13 to live in Lander, Wyoming. At an early age, Bates’ grandmother and mother taught him that food brings people together and feeds the soul. Since then, Bates has made sure that the food he prepares for guests brings them comfort and makes them feel at home.
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Stellar Occultation Video
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