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UK Government Goes Full Orwellian, Building Biometric Database On Every Single Citizen
November 13, 2018 in News by RBN Staff
Source: Technocracy.news
WRITTEN BY: TRUE PUBLICA NOVEMBER 13, 2018
When Theresa May became UK Prime Minister in 2016. She had once fought against the National Identity Card and national database program, but it has now reappeared in a worse form. ⁃ TN Editor
We’ve been warning about this moment since the first day TruePublica went online. We said that the government would eventually take the biometric data of every single citizen living in Britain and use it for nefarious reasons. DNA, fingerprint, face, and even voice data will be included. But that’s not all.
The excuse to be used, as ever, will be national security or terrorism, despite the huge fall in fatalities from terrorism and terror-related incidents since the 1970s.
Apart from crime-fighting, the Home Office also proposes in its long-awaited report that it will use the centralized database for vetting migrants on the streets and borders of Britain.
Not for the first time, civil rights groups argue that systems such as face recognition is faulty, dubiously legal, and collected without public consent. The outcry over Facebook, Cambridge Analytica and the EU referendum should, if nothing else, confirm that bulk data collection, used without either public debate or a legal basis is emphatically against our civil liberties.
However, the legality of the creation of a centralised biometric database will not stop a government who have been repeatedly caught breaking the law when it comes to privacy and data collection. Police, immigration, and passport agencies already collect DNA, face, and fingerprint data. On the latter, police forces across Britain now have fingerprint scanners on the streets of Britain with officers providing no more than a promise that fingerprint data taken will be erased if the person stopped is innocent of any crime.
The government’s face database already has 12.5 million people – or so it has admitted to. The Home Office, embroiled in all sorts of privacy and surveillance legal cases caused a scandal last April when an official said it would simply be too expensive to remove innocent people from its criminal face databases of mugshots.
Without proper, enforcible regulation that can be fully scrutinised by civil society, there are many opportunities for the misuse of biometric data. It means nothing when the Home Office says its collection of biometric data will be “lawful,” when it is found by the highest courts in both Britain and the EU of breaking basic surveillance and data protection laws. And what laws there are, remain deliberately ambiguous on how they will ethically collect, store, or share biometric data.
Without any obstacles put in its way, the Home Office has essentially granted itself the right to end anonymity of any type to all the people of Britain.
Big Brother Watch recently released a report detailing a staggering 90% false positive rate for its face recognition systems and then went on to describe the Home Office defence of these systems – “misleading, incompetent and authoritarian.”
The fact that on Remembrance Sunday 2017, the Metropolitan Police used automated facial recognition to find so-called ‘fixated individuals’ – people not suspected of any crime, but who might be suffering mental health issues, should be a wake-up call for us all.
TruePublica has just reported on one local authority in Thurrock using databases and algorithms to deliver public services. More particularly it is surveilling its own systems and citizens to pinpoint and target certain families, vulnerable people, the homeless and anti-social behaviour. The system is called a “predictive modelling platform” and was only revealed through a freedom of information request by a local journalist.
Council data from housing, education, social care, benefits and debt all contribute to the creation of a profile that is used to predict whether a person is at risk or what services is provided. The profiles then assign people a score that indicates whether they need attention from social services. That risk score is stored in a centre where identifiable details are replaced with artificial ones, a process known as pseudonymised data.
The warning we gave was that it wouldn’t be that long when all citizens will be given such scores by local councils, local authorities, the police and various other government agencies. The speed of implementation has surprised even us though. One should not forget that there are 78 high profile government agencies and a further 401 public bodies closely associated with them.
To be fair to Thurrock council the system has become so embedded within their social services system that it is responsible for 100 per cent of referrals to the Troubled Family programme, a government-led scheme aimed at early social work intervention. The council also claims it has an 80 per cent success rate in predicting children who are at risk and should enter safeguarding. It does not say how the system failed the other 20 per cent or how it affected them.
However, there is a dark side to this. TruePublica warned two years ago that social scoring systems were on the way. We wrote in 2016 and then again in early 2017 as a result of an in-depth report by Civil Society Futures regarding a new wave of surveillance: “Citizens are increasingly categorised and profiled according to data assemblages, for example through data scores or by social credit scores, as developed in China. The purpose of such scores is to predict future behaviour and allocate resources and eligibility for services (or punishment) accordingly. In other words, rules will be set for citizens to live by through data and algorithms.”
The government is now building, without debate such a system for all of its agencies to access and input. Once complete the next step will be to ‘manage’ population behaviour through social credit scores.
Current common forms of biometric data collection include – fingerprint templates, iris and retina templates, voiceprint, 2D or 3D facial structure map, hand and/or finger geometry map, vein recognition template, gait analysis map, blood DNA profiles, behavioural biometric profiles and others.
Tags: 2D facial structure map, 3D facial structure map, behavioral biometric profiles, BIOMETRICS, blood DNA profiles, Britain, EU, Facebook, facial recognition, finger geometry map, fingerprint templates, gait analysis map, identification, iris and retina templates, national ID card, personal data, social credit, UK, vein recognition template, voiceprint
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The Most Popular Spindle Biology
8 Aug by Jamar Costin
Though this is the difference between meiosis and mitosis, in brief, the differences between both can be quite subtle and very complicated. So anaphase-I includes the decrease in chromosome number, this is known as disjunction. These sequences are located in areas of the chromosome like heterochromatin, centromeres and telomeres and have a tendency to get arranged as a tandem repeats. Each separated chromatid is called a daughter chromosome.
Before division can happen, the genomic information stored in chromosomes have to be replicated, and the duplicated genome has to be separated cleanly between cells. Colchicine is utilized to study chromosomes, as it paralyzes mitosis when chromosomes https://grademiners.com/ are condensed, making them simpler to view beneath a microscope. This is the reason why it is important to bring a good look at the differences between meiosis and mitosis. During mitosis, they’re utilised to position the chromosomes at a particular position inside the cell. Homologous chromosomes will gradually wind up in individual cells. The homologous chromosomes which make up tetrads aren’t genetically identical because they came from two distinct parents.
What You Don’t Know About Spindle Biology
Spindle fibers move chromosomes to each pole. Microtubules are the important part of the mitotic spindle. The spindle contains microtubules that reach from every centriole pair throughout the cell toward the other pair.
The diplotene stage is distinguished by a high degree of gene transcription. The entire procedure is almost the same among most eukaryotes, with just minor variations. Their function can either be to move a whole organism or maybe to move material inside an organism. What follows is a short overview of the majority of the key organelles and other structures found in cells and a brief description for each. Prior to a cell will divide, it is going to replicate all its DNA so the two new daughter cells are going to have its own set of DNA. When you have a look at a cell in telophase beneath a microscope, you will realize the DNA at either pole.
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The Importance of Spindle Biology
This is sometimes shown experimentally. They aren’t related to one another. This is known as terminalization.
Spindle Biology Secrets That No One Else Knows About
Interestingly, in several sorts of cancer, the standard relationship between cell dimensions and organelle size has gone awry. Spindle cell sarcoma can develop for an assortment of reasons, including genetic predisposition. however, it also may be due to a mixture of different aspects including injury and inflammation in patients which are already considered to be predisposed to such tumors. It is a type of cancer which usually originates in the connective tissues of the body.
Paramecium have parallel rows of cilia all aligned so that they’ll beat in the very same direction. Because of this, just a single, well-fortified egg is created by every round of meiosis. Within the main constriction there’s a very clear zone named Centromere.
Meiosis is the process of producing gametes. This is accomplished by the procedure called pollination. In human males, for instance, the procedure that produces mature sperm cells is known as spermatogenesis.
How to Get Started with Spindle Biology?
Generally, a cell will follow normal checkpoints because of the release of CDK in the setup that regulate the cell procedure. It is the normal type of cell division. Hence, it’s also called the somatic division.
If you’re interested in a career in the area of biopsychology, then you’ve quite a few of unique choices. However, it is not the only way. There is admittedly this paper will have a huge influence on the area, Oakey states. They are liable for keeping up the internal form of the cell, acting as a framework for several of the other pieces. This figure indicates these steps. We’re ever looking for the unexpected, and that’s been really exciting for all of us.
The Upside to Spindle Biology
Three are described in these sections. The G2 checkpoint is extremely critical in it has the responsible’ function of supplying a good assurance check before the cell enters mitosis. Refer to the primary text for details.
Reproduction in plants occurs sexually and asexually also. 1 readership is going to be yeast scientists like myself who like to appear back. This refers to its hardiness and capacity to survive in unfavorable problems.
The Key to Successful Spindle Biology
Two centrosomes are away from the nucleus. The fundamental structure of chromatineither heterochromatin or euchromatinis known as the nucleosome. Moreover, the mechanism depends on dynein localized along astral microtubules. Both growth phases and the synthesis stage of the cell cycle are often known as interphase of mitosis.
How to Choose Spindle Biology
Some pollination mutualisms are obligatory, while some are somewhat more flexible. If chromosomes aren’t correctly connected to the spindle apparatus, the metaphase checkpoint will halt the cell cycle. Hydrolysis is completely vital for movement.
A different application for merit-based aid isn’t required. This overview outlines the function of mass spectrometry in the discipline of proteomics and reviews MS methodology and instrumentation. There are lots of other excellent study strategies.
On occasion a small quantity of residue is left. It appears to be working but it’s expensive and must be administered by intravenous infusion. 1 version of that extends to you the capability to roll your tongue. The protein part of the kinetochore is simply now being characterized. Since you may see, the volume increases at a bigger rate then surface area. It could quickly spread from 1 tissue system to another, making it more challenging to take care of.
This is especially important in developing fruits. It might also be encouraged to keep on growing. Every one of these cell cycles plays a critical part in the bigger life cycle of an organism. But some scenarios show recurrence several years later.
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Home Newswire TSA flags ‘privacy risks’ in new airport scanners — RT USA News
TSA flags ‘privacy risks’ in new airport scanners — RT USA News
Apr 24, 2019: 1:57 am
The TSA is demanding modifications of a new airport security system because it poses “privacy risks” to passengers by showing too much of them on display, a newly published document has revealed.
Following a demonstration, the Transportation Security Administration has requested changes to the contract because the scanner they received “has privacy risks associated with the Graphical User Interface,” says the document dated March 26 and made public by Quartz on Monday.
While the document provides no further details on the exact nature of the privacy risks, the TSA required the scanner’s manufacturer to add additional security features before it would consider using the device in a “live environment.”
Using another government database, Quartz identified the contractor – whose name is redacted in the document – as Virginia security firm ThruVision. The document refers to ThruVision’s TAC scanner, which the company describes as a “proven people-screening camera that sees any type of item.”
Also on rt.com
‘Shameful & disgusting!’ TSA slammed for ‘invasive groping’ of triple-amputee US veteran (VIDEO)
The device is supposed to be part of TSA’s “Future Lane Experience” (FLEx), an effort to speed up security checks that have become a major headache for passengers in many airports.
The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority partnered with the TSA last year to deploy ThruVision’s portable TS4 scanner, which the TSA claims to have vetted “extensively” prior to using it on LA commuters. It is unclear whether the TSA had similar concerns about the TS4 before the device was used in the field.
Revelations about the TSA concerns over the new scanner come after last week’s report by ProPublica that accused the agency’s current hardware of “discriminating” against African-Americans by misreading their hair, requiring a disproportionate number of pat-downs.
Airport body scanners were designed with racial bias and new data shows that the technology contributes to discriminatory searches against black women and people who wear head coveringshttps://t.co/SyTPbW5QKq
— flesh-colored (@haitreason) April 23, 2019
The ACLU slammed the TSA in 2009 for using scanning technology to conduct “virtual strip searches” that provided TSA employees with photos of passengers’ genitals, breasts and buttocks. More was revealed in 2010, when the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) published TSA documents which further detail the scanners’ invasiveness.
Via RT. This piece was reprinted by RINF Alternative News with permission or license.
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HomeAdvanced Search13296 VERMEER DR
13296 Vermeer Dr
This well-cared "Master on the Main" floorplan home, backs to a private green space & is located in a highly rated school district! Home features: a cozy front porch for relaxing, vaulted living & family rooms, & easy access to Mt. Park walking trails. Spacious Master bedroom w/WI closet & Dbl sinks. The private backyard w/patio offers a peaceful setting. See it soon this home will not last long.
$44.00 / Annually
Keller Williams Realty Portland Premiere
Main Floor Bedroom w/Bath
Free-Standing Range
Board & Batten Siding
With its serene setting and pristine grounds, it’s hard to believe that Lake Oswego is located just eight miles from Portland. Until its establishment in 1847, the city was a small collection of farms and homesteads on land rich with iron ore. Oregon Iron Company was founded with the goal to make Lake Oswego a major industrial center. Following the fall of the iron industry, the land was sold to some of Oregon’s original land developers and a residential district was established.
Exceptional schools, beautiful homes and strong civic pride make Lake Oswego one of Oregon’s most exclusive and sophisticated neighborhoods. Residents are highly involved in community events and issues whether it’s volunteering at the city library, restoring outdoor habitats in parks and green spaces or attending an exhibit of a local artist.
Many of the homes along the shores of Oswego Lake are as impressive as the natural beauty around them. Original homes reflect the classic architectural style of the area’s history, including English cottage, Tudor revival, Victorian and Craftsman. Newer estates are modern and contemporary, constructed of high quality materials consistent with the area’s luxurious atmosphere.
The area’s downtown business district is a popular destination for high-end shopping, dining and art galleries surrounded by breathtaking views of the lake. Outdoor art decorates downtown blocks while hanging flower baskets, carefully-chosen plantings and green trees enhance the city’s appeal.
Lake Oswego is host to a thriving art scene and a popular destination is the Lakewood Center for the Arts. Dedicated to education and programming in the visual arts and theater, the center provides a schedule of classic and modern plays as well as classes for students aspiring to become actors and playwrights.
Lake Oswego’s proximity to Oswego Lake and the Willamette River allow residents the opportunity to experience a variety of water activities close to home. At the city-owned water sports center, rowing, kayaking and canoeing lessons are offered for kids and adults. Choose from two swimming facilities conveniently located on the river, or head to Waluga Park with its 53 acres of beautifully-maintained hiking trails and sport fields.
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The content relating to real estate for sale on this web site comes in part from the IDX program of the RMLS™ of Portland, Oregon. Real estate listings held by brokerage firms other than Hasson Company, Realtors® are marked with the IDX logo, and detailed information about these properties includes the names of the listing brokers. Listing content is copyright © 2015 RMLS™, Portland, Oregon.This property was last updated: August 2, 2017 2:51 PM
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BS Shockman (SNES)
Mega Man meets Mario meets Street Fighter?
Technically known as BS Kaizou Choujin Shubibinman Zero, this franchise (known as Shockman in the US) had a one-off entry for the 16-bit SNES. Sadly, it never came out officially. It was released only through the Satellaview in Japan. But now thanks to time and technology, back in 2010 I was able to get this on an actual cart. Some call it Schbibinman or Tyoujin — not Choujin. However you want to spell the title, what matters is the game itself. And thankfully, Kaizou offers more than enough to make itself noteworthy.
GOOD LOOKING OUT, EGM!
I first spotted this game back in 1994
Back in the day, EGM had a sweet import section they called International Outlook. Each month they would highlight a select small handful of Japanese games. It was in issue #61 that I first found out about this game — way back in summer of 1994. Right away I was intrigued and wanted to play it badly. I figured it would only be a matter of time before it came out to the US. Sadly, that never happened. Time went on and I forgot all about it. Fast forward to January 2006. I got back into all things SNES and did so with a vengeance. Buying games left and right, crossing want after want off the ole, er, want list… and basically reclaiming bits and pieces of my childhood. I remember searching for Shubibinman on the Super Famicom scene to see whether or not it slipped under the radar. Imagine my horror when I realized it never came out. But thank God for repros, eh? It’s a great opportunity for us to play the ‘lost titles’ of our youth! Nothing’s sweeter.
Like Bonk, from the PC-Engine to the SNES
TWO IS BETTER THAN ONE
Raita channels Ryu while Azuki channels Star Wars
Perhaps the coolest thing about BS Shockman is its 2-player mode. Unlike most other 16-bit 2-player games, this one added in a little twist. You can pull off techniques that you cannot otherwise do when playing alone. Our heroes, Raita and Azuki, can charge up for a super blast. If one of them hits the other with their super blast, then that gives the other player a split second to launch an all-out attack of epic melee proportions. It’s quite awesome! Best of all, the charging only takes about a second, much less than Mega Man. Nice.
Raita’s super special turns him into Sonic
Azuki unleashes a barrage of deadly energy orbs
BS SHOCKMAN IS NO BS
“Aren’t you guys the putties from the Power Rangers?”
I would have loved to seen this as an actual stage in the game, but sadly it is only used as a set piece for the intro.
Looking forward to the 2017 movie
“You uh… you compensating for something there?”
There is quite a bit of platforming to do which gives the game a nice mix between a platformer and a good ol’ beat ‘em up. Lots of tiers for you to jump on or down from. NCS did an excellent job splicing these two genres because neither aspects ever feel out of place. The putty variant with the gun presents much more of a challenge and later stages like this one even have obstacles in the playing field. At times it almost feels like you’re playing Super Mario Bros. with a little Mega Man and even a dash of Street Fighter thrown in for good measure.
Its funky Japanese wackiness is undeniable
I really enjoy the different bosses this game throws your way. Some are just people, like you’d see in a beat ‘em up, while others are massive mechanical monstrosities, like the sort you’d find in a platformer. It all goes back to NCS mixing in the two classic genres seamlessly. This strange and compelling octopus boss fight, complete with snakes for tentacles, comes to mind. Jumping from different platforms, avoiding the snakes’ red bullets and smashing the octopus’ head in is nothing short of sweet and satisfying.
Not mind-blowing but gets the job done
The stages are somewhat short and there are only about 8 of them, but they vary in locale and look. Most BS Satellaview games didn’t have the most elaborate of graphics (as compared to traditional SNES releases of its time) and it’s the same case here. However, I still like it. It’s bright and colorful enough to present me with a real gaming world, yet not so souped up that it destroys the illusion of playing a video game.
This vile boss would make Konami mighty proud
Wait, is that an alien pe… nevermind. You start out with four life bars and four continues. As you progress, you can level up and gain more life bars. The game starts out in the city before going underground and then finally to outer space. It’s all quite a wild, fun-filled ride. It’s not too difficult and can be beaten in well under an hour. But hey, not every game needs to be super long. Games like this, which only require 45 minutes or so, are a great break from the RPG norm. For my money, the SNES did it best!
LEFT FOR DEAD IN 1994
But not left for dead today!
It’s a shame this game was never released to US shores back in ’94. Still to this day, not too many people know about it except for the most diehard of fans. It’s not a blockbuster title or anything, but it’s most certainly a fun addition to any Super Nintendo library. Scenes like this only point to the oddity and charm of the game. I love all the different tiers you can jump on or off, and the putty looking bad guys are endearing in their own right. I love charging up for Raita’s Hadoken-esque blast, letting it rip and seeing the baddies fly back in dramatic slow motion (the game does that on purpose for dramatic effect). Unfortunately, the game does slow down in the 2-player mode during some of the more intense portions, but who cares when it’s so much fun? It’s too bad this one isn’t coming out officially anytime soon, if ever. Luckily, savvy fans don’t have to sit idly by
Note: It’s an official release as of summer 2017!
This is gonna sting you JUST a little bit…
With its fun gameplay mechanics and bizarre sights, BS Shockman is a winner. It never wears out its welcome and I find myself coming back to it randomly for the odd go-through. Each time I have a blast. There’s something simple and very charming about it that I really enjoy. The boss fights are varied and it helps to keep the flow moving along. One boss launches needle rockets at varying heights, forcing you to ascend to the top in order to knock some health off. Being able to duck, run and jump at will with no control issues is part of what makes it so fun. Another boss fight has you dodging explosions while hitching rides on precarious floating balloons. It’s not all mindless button mashing. The platforming aspect of this game really suits it well and makes it a cut above the norm, since there is some actual thinking and plotting to be done here!
ARE YOU CHO ANIKI!
BS Shockman uniquely blends different aspects from a variety of classic franchise games. There’s some Mario spliced in with a little Mega Man, some Street Fighter, even some Castlevania. It’s all mixed in with a spot of humor (i.e. see the Super Aniki background which refers to NCS’ Cho Aniki series) and some rocking tunes, not unlike what you might hear from a Mega Man title. I highly recommend this game to all SNES fans. It’s obscure, it’s fun, it’s wacky and it’s a blast with a friend. It’s a true shame when drivel like Rise of the Robots gets put out and fun little games like this are lost to time and politics. Thankfully though, technology allows us to restore and experience otherwise lost gems. While this isn’t a OMG-you-gotta-drop-everything-and-play-this-now!! kind of game, it’s definitely something Super Nintendo fans will want to seek out if they haven’t before. It’s not perfect, but it’s the perfect kind of game to play when you’re hankering to get back to the basics. BS Kaizou Choujin Shubibinman Zero, or BS Shockman, or whatever you want to call it, is a quality 2-player affair. And that, my friends, is no BS.
Graphics: 7
Sound: 8
Gameplay: 7.5
Longevity: 6.5
Bronze Award
I’m a sucker for night time city backdrops
Posted on October 9, 2016 July 18, 2018 Author SteveCategories SNES ReviewsTags BS Kaizou Choujin Shubibinman Zero, Satellaview, Shockman, SNES review, Super Famicom, Super Nintendo
2 thoughts on “BS Shockman (SNES)”
Texas Mack says:
This game just got announced for an official SFC cartridge release in 2017.
It’s up on Amazon Japan for pre-order.
Wow, I didn’t know about this. Thanks for spreading the word! It’s a solid game definitely worth picking up, but not sure I’d drop $60+ on it, which it’s currently at. Then again, I’m kind of a tightwad, lol.
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Опубликованный May 2, 2017 administrator
Since 2013, the Russian Collective Chto Delat (www.chtodelat.org) has conceptualized and implemented an experimental educational platform – the School for Engaged Art in St. Petersburg, supported by Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung (Moscow). The project has gained serious recognition in the Russian public sphere and among young professionals who use the school as a tool of political and civic empowerment. The school has also gained significant attention among the international scene as a unique attempt to reclaim and reconsider new forms of emancipatory education through art practice.
Chto Delat is well known for its utopian questioning and promoting the communist imaginary and desires. With the project of our School, we want to focus on a more pragmatic approach to the arts and scrutinize different artistic practices, which operate today in a hostile world of commodity fetishism but are structured in a fundamentally different way. We think that today it has become more urgent than ever, since we, the cultural workers, are challenged by developments of the new European left popular movements and parties which demonstrate the courage to claim the power and thus have to restructure not just urgent economic issues and fight against austerity but also to provide a new vision of cultural politics (as the case of Syriza or Podemos) providing a possibility of true socialist political change for a future.
There are a certain numbers of artistic positions in contemporary art which do not subjugate to the logic of capital and profit but try to establish a viable alternative to the current system. These practices will be discussed in the School with a team of tutors (4 artists from collective Chto Delat) and guest teachers who will help us to gain an overview of urgencies and traps of these issues. Among the guest teachers will be: Boris Buden, Alice Creischer and Andreas Siekman, Marina Naprushkina, Vincent van Gerven Oei, and Konstanze Schmitt.
At the end of the School the participants will present the results to a Berlin public in the form of a collective performance: a learning play.
a project initiated by Chto Delat collective and supported by Rosa Luxemburg Foundation, Berlin
Posted in Initiatives school
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The research by the group Chto Delat (f. 2003, St. Petersburg) traces the genealogy of
A film by Chto Delat | It hasn’t happened with us yet. Safe Haven | 2016
A film by the collective Chto Delat (web version based on the 2 channel
First of May Demonstration – the Column of Cultural Workers
First of May Demonstration – the Column of Cultural Workers (2014-) Начиная с 2014 года
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Dateme Tubotamuno
Dateme Tubotamuno in Non Technical | May 24, 2019
From keyword research to topic modelling and then concept modelling
Keywords are very powerful in today’s digital landscape. We all love us some keywords, right? The monthly search volume and competitiveness of keywords guide our product, brand, content and advertising strategy. Several blogs have been written on keyword research strategy. In connection with these strategies are tools such as Google Keyword Planner, Ahrefs, Answer the public, Moz Keyword Explorer, Google Keyword Trends and other leading tools.
Google Trends is a great tool from Google to help gauge the search volume of keywords, topics and entities over time. A quick search for London Marathon reveals London Marathon as a search term and a topic. Whilst the search term focuses more on the ‘London Marathon’ searches carried out by users. London marathon as a topic is a collection of London Marathon related search terms and engagement with London Marathon related publications. Whilst Google Trends fails to provide an exact or bucketed search volume data, its scaling system of 1-10 indicates the popularity of a search term over a time range.
Google’s keyword planner provides an indication of the monthly search volume of the London Marathon and a charity looking at possibly targeting runners exploring fundraising places can plan their advertising campaign accordingly.
The screenshot below highlights the search volume for the London Marathon as a keyword
Topic Modelling:
Topic modelling as a technique is often used in the field of natural language processing to discover or extract hidden topics from a large corpus. Gensim a Python library is quite popular in topic modeling.
Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) is a popular generative statistical model used to explain similarities in some parts of data. It emphasizes that documents are a composition of different topics. Words are then allocated to the relevant topics. LDA is also considered important in document classification, sentimental analysis and bio-information analysis. It is a bag of words model and has Hyper Parameters divided into Alpha and Beta
Alpha: Per topic document distribution
Beta: Per topic word distribution
High Alpha: Document contains most of the topic
Low Alpha: Document contains some of the topics
High Beta: Topic contains most of the words
Low Beta; Topic contains some of the words
Based on the above scenarios one can suffice that:
High Alpha: Documents will appear to be similar
High Beta: Topics appear more similar
Google Trends is a great platform for discovering topics across several industries. A quick search below for the term London Marathon reveal trends for the search term and topic.
Whilst the ‘London Marathon’ search term reveals the popularity for that keyword. London Marathon as a topic includes the search term, synonyms, volume of people reading about the marathon. It clearly indicates the interest of people on the London Marathon. We can also analyse a London Marathon related article for related topics or subtopics within the given article.
A great article about the London Marathon 2019 was written by the New York Times.
Concept Modelling:
Concepts are important aspects of human cognition and previous work have revealed that concepts are products of relational thinking and relational reasoning. The first category of concepts is conceived to require lower-order cognitive ability while the more advanced form are viewed to be higher-order. As we’ve covered in a previous article, relational thinking generates lower order-concepts that tends to be limited to the inherent relations of an entity. The Schema markup scheme highlights the inherent relations that are apparent in most entities.
A quick look at Google’s Knowledge Graph for London Marathon reveals inherent relations of this event to consist of a location (London), date (April), course record holders and established the date. This relationship below aids us to better comprehend the concept of a marathon.
I used the AllenNLP fine-grained named entity recognition tool to visualise the properties in the London Marathon article. It clearly highlights that the concept of London Marathon usually embodies properties such as London (GPE), Sunday (Date), Eliud Kipchoge (person and winner), Kenya (country of origin of the winner), 2hrs, 2 minutes 37 seconds (finish time), 43,000 (total number of participants) and Tower Bridge (located at mile 12). This sample text gives us a great understanding of the London Marathon. Indicating that there is a relationship between Kenya and London Marathon or Marathon in general. It also establishes the competitive nature of a marathon as it uses cardinals such as second fastest time and some 43,000 as a portrayal of the sporting nature of a marathon.
Surprisingly, a search for London Marathon on Google Trends also produced the below-related topics and breakout queries. I was wondering about the correlation between the London Marathon with Lauren London. On a literal note, Lauren London was Nipsey’s partner and the name of his store was Marathon store.
This article establishes a connection between the London marathon and Nipsey Hustle. As it states London shares three numbers with Nipsey in the base cyphers. Without going into the numerological connection between London Marathon and Nipsey Hustle, Lauren London and The Marathon Store. On a conceptual level, the London Marathon adventure could be inspired by the loss of a relative and Nipsey’s Marathon Store sales skyrocketed to about $10 million after his passing. The entities of London Marathon (event) and The Marathon Store (Organisation) are fuelled by goodwill. One can classify both in the same semantic space on the literal and conceptual level.
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Becki Newton and Greg Grunberg talk Love Bites
By: Jessica Rae | June 8, 2010 at 12:54 PM EST
I’ve made no secret of being excited about the new NBC series Love Bites. Read on to see if you can get just as excited about the potential in this series.
These are the latest Love Bites clips, and they feature Becki Newton (Ugly Betty) and Greg Grunberg (Heroes). These behind-the-scenes clips from Love Bites will show you a tour of the Love Bites set, and some exclusive interviews. You can’t deny it, this show has swagger!
You can get updates from the official profiles on Facebook: Love Bites Facebook and Twitter: Love Bites Twitter for even more Love Bites. You can also check out the official NBC.com page for more updates over the summer: Love Bites Official Site.
Behind-the-Scenes with Becki Newton: Becki Newton introduces you to NBC’s new fall comedy, “Love Bites.”
Behind-the-Scenes of “Love Bites”: Greg Grunberg takes you behind-the-scenes of his new fall show, “Love Bites.”
Greg Grunberg on “Love Bites”: Greg Grunberg introduces his sexy, sexy character on “Love Bites.”
Becki Newton Talks “Love Bites”: Becki Newton introduces her virginal character on “Love Bites.”
Previously: Chris Colfer interview about the Glee season finale and his awesomeness
Tagged: becki newton, becki newton love bites, Greg Grunberg, Heroes, heroes canceled, heroes cancelled, love bites, love bites clips
SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS! LEAVE A COMMENT NOW:
Commenting Rules: Keep the conversation civil and on topic. If your comment does not add to the conversation or is insulting to others, it will be removed. Debate intelligently. No ALL-CAPS.
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Sports / The Prairie Fire / May 28, 2014
White says farewell to his Knox career
When it comes to baseball, my college career did not end the way I wanted it to. I missed 22 games this season due to injury and I was unable to play a role in any conference games that mattered toward qualifying for the conference tournament.
There, that’s all the negativity that I am willing to put in my final piece for TKS.
Senior Jackson White playing for the Prairie Fire Baseball team. (Courtesy of Office of Communications)
The fact of the matter remains that I avoided significant surgical procedures and finished with a career that I am in no way shape or form disappointed by. For the long list of accomplishments Knox baseball achieved in my four seasons here, I will direct you to previous editions of TKS as well as the Knox athletic website. For me the satisfaction comes from things that go beyond the numbers.
I came to Knox for two reasons: I was given an opportunity to play the sport that I love for four more years, and I got enough scholarship money that my parents were willing to sign off on sending me here. A Knox education is certainly worthwhile — I absolutely value everything the institution stands for academically — but without baseball I’m not here and it’s that simple.
As a result I am extremely honored to have had so much fun playing with the guys that I called teammates over the years. Sarcastically using Boston accents when playing against New England teams in Florida, “putting it on ‘em” (trying to destroy the opposing team) when up by a wide margin early in the game, “feeding the kids” (the act of pretending to toss food over your shoulder) after every double, these are all the really dumb yet completely necessary kinds of things that make playing on a baseball team so great.
In regards to the other elephant in the room, my role here at TKS, I had an equally incredible experience covering Knox athletics. Watching sporting events and talking about them publicly is something I would have already been doing, and I got paid for it. I can’t ask for anything more than that.
I wish good luck to all Knox athletes moving forward, as well as to the sports staff that will cover these individuals. It’s a little bittersweet, but I have no problem being a fan again.
Tags: baseball jackson white knox baseball tks
The mystery of Manny Ramirez
Lawrence has high hopes for women’s soccer
Jackson White is a senior double majoring in political science and secondary education. This is his third year as a sports editor for TKS. Over the course of the 2010-2011 academic year, Jackson worked for cornbeltbaseball.com, writing feature stories and columns about high school and college baseball in central Illinois. Outside of the Publications Office, he is an information assistant for the Knox College Sports Information Department and a two-time all-Midwest Conference baseball player. Jackson is the recipient of five awards from the Illinois College Press Association, including two first place awards for sports game coverage and sports page design.
Satirical news revamps modern journalism January 15, 2015
George Moore knows baseball October 29, 2014
Critics welcome, hold TKS accountable October 29, 2014
Growth through discourse May 29, 2014
Prairie Fire news briefs April 30, 2014
Dominant weekend for Knox April 23, 2014
Baseball stuck in reverse April 16, 2014
Winter weather Knox’s first hurdle March 5, 2014
The State of Knox Athletics | Part 3 | The financial hurdle May 30, 2013
Manny Ramirez did a lot of damage to a lot of people over the course of his MLB career. Ramirez once did something so offensive...
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Services We OfferDue DiligenceBank Of Canada - Search & File
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No. 5 (Spring 1953)
Fire Destroys
but vigilance protects our exotic forest wealth…
Our forests of pines and other exotic conifers are imflammable, but fire prevention and fire precautions can keep the risk of fire loss down to the level of an ordinary, legitimate business risk.
The fire hazards are known and the protection of individual forests from fire has been developed on sound, practical lines by the Forest Service and other forest owners. Aerial patrols and look-outs make for early detection of outbreaks of fire, and well-equipped, highly-trained fire crews can be mobilised immediately. If necessary, the full strength of the national fire-control organisation can be brought to bear.
With forest fires, as with human ills, prevention is better than cure. The Forest Service and other forest owners can deal directly with risks from forest operations such as logging. But by and large, only you can prevent forest fires — farmers, motorists and all who live near or pass by the exotic forests.
Prevent Forest and Country Fires
Keep New Zealand Green
new zealand forest service ? soil conservation council F553-24-3
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Notes From a Weekend of Cross-Country Civic Hacking
BY Jessica McKenzie | Tuesday, February 24 2015
Civic hackers gather at Civic Hall for CodeAcross NYC (Photo: Civic Hall)
Code for America's fourth annual CodeAcross civic hacking event took place this past weekend, February 20 – 22, bringing together civically-minded technologists, designers, activists, organizers, and city government in roughly 60 communities around the world. The organizing theme for all events was “Principles for 21st Century Government,” although events varied in terms of duration and content. From Civic Hall in New York City to the National Science Foundation in Arlington, Virginia, to the University of Washington in Seattle, people gathered for data jams, hackathons, unconferences and collaboration.
“CodeAcross isn't just 60 one-off events,” Hannah Young emphasizes in an email to techPresident. “It's the kickoff to an entire year of action for each local group. The projects and activities worked on over the weekend reflect that.”
“For example,” Young continues, “one of Code for Miami's goals for the year is to get an open data policy passed for Miami-Dade County. At CodeAcross the Brigade worked with the County to launch an open data portal with three datasets on it. Over the weekend, Code for Miami built prototypes on top of the newly released data.”
Young elaborates on the significance of this beyond this weekend:
This would be great on its own but in the context of Code for Miami's goals for the year, it's even more exciting. By showing government that there are civic hackers ready and excited about working with open data, Code for Miami is helping to pave the way for an open data policy in the future.
At some CodeAcross events, people were competing for bragging rights. At the CodeAcross NYC event, organized by BetaNYC, which took place here at Civic Hall, the Microsoft NY team—Ken Chan, Fatimah Khalid, Ady Sevy, Jenny Shore, Matt Stempeck and John Paul Farmer—took home three awards, including best in show, for their work on Athena, a open-source visualization of civic tech associations, investments and other connections between for-profits, non-profits, government entities and individuals.
"Athena is an open source, open API network graph providing insights into who's who and what's what in civic tech," Stempeck writes in an email to techPresident. "The underlying data is crowdsourced, the code is open to contributors on Github, and there's an API to support other applications and visualizations being built on top of the same database.
Proud of the whole #AthenaCivic team for their work & being named "Best in Show" at #CodeAcross NYC (photo: @mheadd) pic.twitter.com/5HEFpkYNgi
— John Paul Farmer (@johnpaulfarmer) February 23, 2015
The Steel City Codefest in Pittsburgh had two winners. A team of three, Amy DePalma, Matthew Cipperly and Robert Collini, built a sign-in app to help organizations easily manage and follow up with volunteers. A team of five, Jenny Liu, Geoff Misek, Nate Cochran, Jessie Schalles, and Shawn Rancatore, created an app that streamlines food donation from grocery stores and warehouses for Food Rescue.
1 of 2 winners of #SteelCityCodefest, they built an end-to-end MVP solution to help @412FoodRescue today! Congrats!!! pic.twitter.com/Nfd1rkg68t
— Ariadna Font (@quicola) February 22, 2015
The CodeAcross Northern Virginia (NoVA) event in Arlington was one of many CodeAcross events that opted not to introduce a competitive element into the mix. However, Michelle Koeth, one of the Code for NoVA brigade organizers, writes in an email to techPresident that one project in particular received a lot of attention from fellow CodeAcross participants. One team, she says “
created a concept solution for tackling a crippling UX issue facing non-profit The Women's Center of Vienna, VA.”
“Their concept,” Koeth adds, “was to translate the current paper/book based scheduling method in use at The Women's Center with a custom Google Apps based online workflow using Google calendar and Google forms.”
CodeAcross Boston was similarly noncompetitive, but one app called MBTA Ninja or “Waze for the T” got “quite a bit of attention considering the current state of our public transportation system here in Boston,” writes Kristen Weber, one of the organizers, in an email to techPresident.
I built Waze for the T w/ @dave_lago and @radhika1990 -- live now @ http://t.co/s68cGQsO7d #mbta #redline #CodeAcross pic.twitter.com/QMzem6vyMA
— Geoffrey Litt (@geoffreylitt) February 22, 2015
The local brigade that organized a CodeAcross event in Norfolk, Virginia, invited journalists and health and human services professionals to join their members for a discussion about opportunities and needs. “One promising idea,” Kevin Curry writes in an email to techPresident, “is link analysis of Governor of Virginia emails.”
Curry elaborates:
We know that Library of VA archives them and that reporters are interested in them. I know that link analysis of To/From can be both insightful and beautiful. One famous example, it played a key role in the Enron case many years ago. It could be very interesting when it comes to former Governor McDonnell's email.
Curry adds:
We did hack at our CodeAcross but on projects that were started many months and even years ago. One such project is our Virginia Businesses API...Virginia SCC data are abundant and public but horribly inaccessible to people and machines. Our hope is the the API will enable better analysis and apps by multiple third parties.
In Burlington, Vermont, local civic hackers presented the apps and tools they are currently developing, which ranged from an app that helps people determine whether their leftover food can be donated for human consumption, to a virtual Lake Champlain modeled in the computer game Minecraft using open data.
Finally, Hannah Young points to the Local Digital Services Census, in which residents of eighteen US cities evaluated the quality and usability of 175 city services. “This collective action helps us all understand the state of digital government across the country and identify the biggest areas to make a difference in 2015,” Young writes. “Brigades, community groups, and local government all participated in this challenge. In West Sacramento, the mayor completed the Census.”
Code for America Brigade
CodeAcross
data jam
tools for collaboration
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Some published articles and blog posts from Tommy Sheppard MP
Syria Debate
I wasn't called to speak in Wednesday's debate on whether to engage in air strikes in Syria so I recorded some of what I would have liked to say.
For the most part this has been a sincere debate with people who hold strong and passionate views being prepared to listen to those who hold equally strong but divergent views with respect.
The Scotland Bill
Earlier this evening I spoke in the House of Commons on the third reading of the Scotland Bill. Complex bills can be given several days of debate in the chamber but today, the highly technical and complex Scotland Bill was allowed a total of around six hours. When you take out the time for voting, realistically that only left about four hours to discuss and debate over 200 motions and amendments.
I recognised that many who voted no last year, did so because they are happy with the status quo and wanted to remain in the United Kingdom as it stands. However, there is another group of people who voted no because they believed what they were told by the leaders of the unionist parties, that a no vote on the 18th September was not a vote for the status quo but was a vote for a new relationship within the union where additional powers would be transferred. Undoubtedly this group were decisive in swinging the No vote.
Smith Agreement Scotland Bill
Guest — Colin Gilchrist
Thanks for the update Tommy; frustrating as it is, it's good to know you've got our interests at heart. For me the biggest questio... Read More
Guest — Stuart Campbell's
A very sad but unexpected result, the electorate must be fully informed of the Scotland bill and the areas where the powers have b... Read More
Guest — Karen Jamieson
Tommy, you and the rest of the SNP, must tell the public the real truth about how the Scotland bill affects them. You must also te... Read More
Made Some History - Not in a Good Way
Just made the 6pm train to Edinburgh after a mad dash from the House of Commons. The debate of the day was EVEL (English votes for English laws). This was the third – or was it the fourth – attempt by the government to force through this shoddy procedure. And they won – predictably.
History was made today - and not in a good way. For the first time ever the rights of Scottish MPs have been curtailed in the Westminster Parliament. There will now be two classes of MP – those that can vote on everything and those that can’t.
EVEL
Guest — Emily Bryce
Tommy, your speech today was inspirational, " you cannot throw pearls before swine'" they will rue this day. Hopefully the openin... Read More
Guest — Caroline Grant
I watched the debate and I was very proud of the SNP and in particular your speech. It was glaringly obvious how the vote was goin... Read More
Guest — john macmillan
Thanks for standing up for Scotland.
Reflections on Annual Conference
I'm writing this on the train back to Edinburgh from the SNP conference in Aberdeen. We have just had our biggest conference ever - indeed probably the biggest political conference in Scottish history.
And by any measure it was a huge success. The SNP is a big organisation now - over 114,000 members - and many people have speculated that size would bring division. Indeed, there are some sections of the press so desperate for an "SNP split" story that they will make one up. Yet the party seems more united and focussed than ever.
Guest — sandy thomson
Is a fracking ban, a leagal mine field?
Guest — Tony McCandless
Tommy, absolutely spot on. As one of the folk pushing for a change of wording on the fracking resolution I had absolutely no issue... Read More
Reflections on Assisted Dying Bill Debate
After a weekend’s rest and refection I’d like to record some thoughts about the debate on the assisted dying bill which has been a concern for many, many people. I received a lot of letters from people in Edinburgh East asking me to either oppose or support the bill. There were passionate views held on both sides with the majority favouring a change in the law.
Assisted Dying
Guest — Polly
I appreciate that it is a bit of a mind field , and with two disabled daughters myself , I am concerned that society would judge t... Read More
Guest — Mrs Isobel Waller
My husband died recently from Pancreatic Cancer --It is a terrible disease where the sufferer loses their appetite and eventually ... Read More
Guest — John Böttcher
When one has seen a dear relative in the late stages of stomach cancer which has spread to the bowel, seeing that person in great ... Read More
Play From Gaza
This was a genuine fringe first: a play from Gaza in the heart of Edinburgh despite all of the obstacles in the way.
Palestine Gaza Fringe
Labour have left the building...
It’s been quite a week to finish the first term of the new parliament. On Monday the Tories’ welfare bill passed its second reading by 308 votes to 124, the majority exactly equal to the number of Labour MPs who didn’t vote against it. This is an odious package of measures. Choice highlights include reducing the work allowance people on benefit can claim so that their payments are reduced, removing housing benefit for anyone under 25, and the two child policy which will deny benefits to larger families
The bill also reduces the benefits cap which any one household can claim to £380 a week. Not many people get this level of benefits and where they do you can bet most of it will be to cover the cost of high private rents. The effect of the cap will be to force people to move into poorer areas where rents are lower, cleansing nice middle class Tory areas of claimants and creating ghettos of poverty where the chances of getting a decent job are even more remote than before. This is a restructuring of welfare to achieve social engineering on a grand scale.
Recent comment in this post
Guest — Fed_Up_Taxpayer
Stop subsidising lazy scheme goblins who do nothing to help themselves. Why should I pay for someone to have sprogg after sprog... Read More
Friday, 24 July 2015 21:00
My take on the budget
I can’t be the only one who finds the Conservatives attempts to portray themselves as the workers’ party risible and ridiculous. I’ve sat opposite them in the House of Commons for the last two months and I can safely say I’ve never seen so much wealth and privilege in the one place. The only working people many of the Tories know are the ones who work for them.
It’s all a PR exercise and like any other brand you can’t sell it if it’s crap. So let’s take a look at what the workers’ party has planned. This week’s budget is nothing other than an all-out attack on working people. Millions of police officers, nurses, teachers and local government workers throughout the UK will have their pay pegged to a one percent increase for the next four years. On top of wage freezes and paltry rises over the past five years, this will drive down the standard of living for many, many people.
Poverty Conservatives Budget
Guest — darren mcdonald
Well done tommy on getting your website up and running ive had a look through and enjoyed reading every part. I dont know if you h... Read More
Guest — Willie Belford
Has the SNP forgotten its raison d'etre is independence and that with securing over 50% of the votes cast in the GE and an overall... Read More
Guest — Elaine Hindle
I agree with every word you are saying and I know you will fight for justice but we cannot wait another five years while people di... Read More
We are finally getting down to business at Westminster. Two major bills are now in Committee stage and we have been putting down multiple amendments for each.
The EU referendum
The SNP were the only party to vote against having a referendum on the EU. We said in our manifesto that we didn’t see any need for one and, as Alex Salmond pointed out
in the debate usually (with PR, independence, etc) you only have a referendum
when asking people to agree to a change. More than 80% of Scotland voted for
parties opposed to having a referendum and polls consistently show that Sots as
quite content with being part of Europe. In spite of our opposition the bill
passed its second reading with the support of the Labour "opposition" and so we
now move on to look at the detail.
Westminster Smith Commission Scotland Bill General Election EU Referendum
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At 03:25 PM 3/19/97 -0500, you wrote:
Dear all: We just finished the following piece and would appreciate wide
circulation through newsletters, your email lists, snailmail, websites, etc.
Need groups to sign on in support and write letters. Let me know if you
need edited version for your publication and will happily rewrite to your
word count. Best, Teresa Platt, tplatt1070@aol.com, 619-575-4664
Conservation and Local Control: The Front Lines Move to Africa
by Teresa Platt, Patti Strand and Bruce Vincent
Animal rights groups have mounted an all-out campaign to end U.S. funding for
Africa's leading development and conservation program. Their aim is to
discredit the philosophy of sustainable use and to keep control of natural
resources out of the hands of rural communities.
Why should Americans be concerned about this? Because it is the same war we
are fighting here in the U.S. as we battle animal rightists and
preservationists eliminating local custom, culture and control under the
banner of "saving the Earth."
The Communal Areas Management Program for Indigenous Resources, or CAMPFIRE,
is a program of the Zimbabwean government which currently receives most of
its funding from the United States Agency for International Development
(USAID). CAMPFIRE is carrying the concept of liberty, what once was simply
the "American Way," to development and conservation in Africa.
CAMPFIRE replaces centralized control over the use of natural resources -
primarily wildlife - with local control. Communities sharing the land with
the resources are granted property and resource rights making them the legal
stewards of those resources. They can manage them for their own benefit, but
they must also assume responsibility for conserving them. So eager have rural
communities been to accept this challenge that programs based on the CAMPFIRE
model are now springing up across southern Africa. A revolution has begun in
the way Africans use their land and relate to wildlife, an African/American
revolution.
Animal rights and preservationist groups are working overtime to kill this
revolution. They don't want the world to know that conservation works better
in the hands of local, vested interests, than when "experts" from the cities,
or even other countries, dictate what should be done.
CAMPFIRE demonstrates that when people are legally empowered to manage the
natural resources with which they live, both human development and
conservation are beneficiaries. And with Zimbabwe the site in June of the
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), the
preservationists are committed to discrediting and destroying CAMPFIRE.
And so, the front lines over conservation and control move to Africa.
Another battle over conservation versus preservation. Another battle in the
same war for self determination and local control that we resource providers
are fighting here on U.S. soil as we fight a host of regulations designed to
"save the Earth."
Sharing Your Space With Dangerous Critters
Living alongside elephants, buffalo, lions and leopards, as with grizzly
bears, cougars, wolves in the U.S., is a perilous existence. Every year,
hundreds of Africans are trampled or mauled to death. As in the U.S., there
are loses to crops and livestock, a situation worsened in Africa with its
minimal welfare support.
After colonization, the Africans lost local control completely. Human needs,
they were told, were secondary to the need to conserve Africa's
"biodiversity." Under colonial rule, wildlife was off-limits to rural
Africans, and hence had no economic value for them. But at the same time they
were expected to endure the constant menace posed to human life and crops.
The consequences were predictable: poaching coupled with shrinking wildlife
habitat as hungry people put more and more land under the plough.
Sound familiar? Removing the steward from the land has long been official
African policy as it is fast becoming official U.S. policy. But the CAMPFIRE
program successfully broke through the barriers and proved in the
international arena that by giving communities the right to manage THEIR
wildlife. People can co-exist with, and benefit from, wildlife. Once a
liability, wildlife becomes an economic asset. People, animals and the land
thrives.
New wells, grinding mills, schools, roads are the benefits of CAMPFIRE to the
human communities. Natural wildlife habitat, which once covered 12% of
Zimbabwe's land area, now covers a staggering 30% as people coexist in
productive harmony with nature. Animal populations are increasing, with
Zimbabwe elephant herds, for example, growing from 47,000 in 1980 to nearly
70,000 today.
Stop Doing That!
But preservationists and animal rights groups want what they always want.
"Stop doing that!" they shout. Led by the Humane Society of the United
States (HSUS), a massive public relations campaign is being waged to
discredit and destroy CAMPFIRE, and eliminate USAID funding.
The preservationists recognize that their power as global green overlords is
under threat. For most of this century, the trend in wildlife management in
Africa, and now in the U.S., has been for centralized institutions to assume
ever more control. Above all, this has meant control by governments, but in
recent years there has been a rise in power exercised by international
conventions such as the Convention on International Trade in Endangered
Species (CITES).
Preservationist and animal rights groups have been successful in influencing
such institutions to assume a preservationist approach to wildlife, limiting
or banning economic exploitation. This approach is as alien to rural Africans
as it is to rural Americans, as we all watch our land turned into preserves
for eco-tourists.
By decentralizing the power, CAMPFIRE threatens the power base of the
preservationists, animal rightists and global green overlords.
As Mike McCloskey, chairman of the Sierra Club explained to his board of
directors, "This re-distribution of power is designed to disempower our
constituency, which is heavily urban. ...It is curious that these ideas would
have the effect of transferring influence to the very communities where we
are least organized and potent....It is also most troubling that such
processes tend to de-legitimate conflict as a way of dealing with issues and
of mobilizing support. It is psychologically difficult to simultaneously
negotiate and publicly attack bad proposals from the other side. This tends
to be seen as acting in bad faith. Too much time spent in stakeholder
processes may produce the result of demobilizing and disarming our side."
Compounding the issue, animal rights and preservationist groups are ethically
opposed to hunting and trade in wildlife products. In line with their "no
use/preservationist" philosophy, they decree, incorrectly, that trade in
wildlife products is inevitably bad for conservation.
CAMPFIRE and similar programs involve killing wildlife for the meat, hide and
other uses. U.S. purchases of products made from African wildlife products
will help build healthy human communities operating within healthy ecosystems
on the other side of the globe.
CAMPFIRE demonstrates that managed harvesting of small quotas of wildlife
benefits conservation. For example, before CAMPFIRE managed elephant hunts,
more elephants were killed in Zimbabwe - either as part of culling programs
or as crop-raiders - than are killed today. The reason is simple: hunting
fees are an incentive to tolerate, and therefore conserve, wildlife.
Animal rights groups are now distorting this reality. A recent HSUS
advertisement in the National Enquirer, of all places, is entitled "Innocent
Elephants Slaughtered for Sport - and You're Paying for It!" An inhumane
illegal elephant hunt was portrayed, backed by fiction about where hunting
fees go. Readers were urged to complain about use of USAID dollars to Senator
Wayne Allard (R - CO), who is heading the campaign to restore the
centralization of resource management.
In seeking to protect the "rights" of individual animals, animal rights
groups ignore the realities of life for people sharing the land with
magnificent but dangerous creatures. And in so doing, they also fail to
support the best option for conserving wildlife and biodiversity.
Support of CAMPFIRE and similar programs by USAID is completely compatible
with the American ideals of the wise use of resources, local control and
property rights. By supporting such programs overseas, we U.S. citizens can
confirm our support for own right to control OUR land and wildlife resources.
CAMPFIRE will be center stage at CITES this June, coincidentally at the same
time as the Alliance for America Fly-In for Freedom in DC. Let's help the
Africans of CAMPFIRE teach the world how local resource management, coupled
with property rights and economic incentives, is good policy for both human
development and conservation. The alternative - preservationism, animal
rights, and centralized command and control over natural resources - is rural
genocide.
Save CAMPFIRE
U.S. assistance to CAMPFIRE is vital if the program is to succeed. CAMPFIRE
is revolutionizing colonial African land use policies, addressing the needs
of development and conservation at the same time, an enormous task. CAMPFIRE
will need funding until it becomes self-sustaining. People are being
trained, new management institutions established, and infrastructure built.
But if the CAMPFIRE approach is allowed to succeed, it will not be
aid-dependent for long. Within a few years, a whole new class of rural
Africans will be looking for trade, not aid.
To help millions of impoverished Africans build a better life, to hold up a
success story of conservation as opposed to preservation, to educate the
world about how to maintain abundance in animal populations by connecting
people to THEIR wildlife, fax us to add your group's name to a growing list
of supporters of CAMPFIRE. We also urge you to write your Senators and
Congressman and request that the Zimbabwe CAMPFIRE program be saved.
Yes, we recognize the importance of the CAMPFIRE program. Please add our
group's name to your list of CAMPFIRE supporters. I will contact my
Congressional representatives today urging them to continue USAID funding for
Zimbabwe and programs such as CAMPFIRE.
Your name Group Name
Address, City, State, Zip
Thank you and your neighbors in Africa thank you.
Return this completed form to:
Teresa Platt, Alliance for America, 826 Orange Avenue, #504, Coronado, CA
92118 USA,
Tel: 619-575-4664, Fax: 619-575-5578, email: tplatt1070@aol.com
Teresa Platt is a founder of The Fishermen's Coalition based in San Diego and
serves on the boards of National Animal Interest Alliance and Alliance for
Patti Strand is executive director of National Animal Interest Alliance
(NAIA) which forges active links among those involved with animals in
education, companionship, recreation, entertainment and food production.
Bruce Vincent serves as president of the Alliance for America, a national
grassroots organization dedicated to restoring people and common sense to the
environmental equation.
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Optimus Prime #16 - Generations - IDW Comic Book
Soundwave has spent his life either struggling against overpowering voices all around him - especially those of Primes. Now that a full quarter of the twelve original Primes stand on Cybertron, Soundwave isn't happy - nor is he sure who he can trust. The Falling, Part 2: Another Mine is written by John Barber with artwork by Kei Zama and colors by Josh Burcham.
Until I re-read this page for inclusion as the sample here, I hadn't caught the fish-eye lens effect going on with the background. What a great page.
Soundwave is this issue's focus, detailing more of his history and showing his perspective on Onyx Prime's return. He's unsure about Optimus, who continues to make small and large compromises in the name of maintaining the peace, and is torn between fighting for that peace and the misgivings instilled in him by both his Decepticon history and his Decepticon friends. Soundwave's personal confusion and general unease with Primes drive the story, and there are places in the issue where events become somewhat unclear - but this is done intentionally. Soundwave himself is unclear about it, because of his unique sensory abilities. It first happens during a flashback on page one, so that we can be extra clear of what we're seeing at the key moment in the issue. It's very well set up and staged.
Kei Zama stages all of it perfectly to create maximum symmetry and disorientation. It's beautiful work, as always. I also want to take a minute to talk about her interpretation of Liege Maximo - who (just as others have said) it is taking all my mental effort not to call The Liege Maximo. His current design was created by Sara Pitre-Durocher for his appearance in the late, lamented, and celebrated Transformers: Till All Are One. There was a smoothness and attractiveness to him, a certain amount of the Marvel Cinematic Universe Loki. (I mean, he's always been green and had horns since his very first appearance, and he's currently known as the Prime of Lies. How could you not?) Kei Zama takes that design and those horns and truly takes a turn for the metal with it. Sara has said before that she thinks comparative discussions of artists that worry about who is "better" are counterproductive, and I agree. Speaking as someone who appreciates both artists, I think the very different design choices are fascinating, equally valid approaches to the character. Both artists knew exactly what they were doing and went in different directions, and both are really neat in very different ways.
But as always, Zama isn't the only artist delivering excellent work here. It's difficult sometimes to find good specific examples of how a colorist enhances a book, but sometimes the overall look is so apparent and so striking you don't really need to either. Josh Burcham and the vivid palette he's chosen for this series continue to be a major part of its visual success and character. Burcham has worked on so many books and brings something different to each of them; you'll be able to put a page of Requiem of the Wreckers next to a page of this and I'm sure they will look completely different.
Zama and Burcham's cover shows Soundwave and his animal friends, along with a series of overlapping pulses - soundwaves, of course - that give a sense of what Soundwave finds himself surrounded by at all times. Casey Coller and John-Paul Bove go with a stylized cover, second of a series, that puts pretty much the entire cast of the book inside Soundwave's silhouette. It's a great movie poster calibre design; can't wait to see the rest. Frequent Hasbro artist Marcelo Matere puts Onyx Prime menacing Optimus, who appears to be on his knees. I don't think I've seen Matere color himself often, and the results are great. I find it interesting that Onyx's colors look softer and more nuanced than Optimus'. A difference between his beast form and Optimus' maybe? Regardless, that's a neat contrast.
This issue is effectively the tipping point that will drive the rest of The Falling, and it looks like it's going to be interesting. A prelude to the chaos we know is coming later in the year. But there's one very interesting thing hinted at here that I hope we get a follow up on next time. Considering how much emphasis is put on deception in this issue, there's something that's implied on one page near the end that could explain a lot. I definitely want to see what's up next time.
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On Point: Council may cap housing on North Housing parcel
Updated at 1:15 p.m. Friday, May 1
CORRECTION: The Alamedan misstated key elements of a proposal to restrict housing development on the Navy's North Housing property. Corrections have been inserted in BOLD. The Alamedan regrets the errors.
A few months ago we polled City Council members in an effort to determine whether a proposal to redevelop 68 acres of Alameda Point into homes, retail outlets, parks and a transit hub had enough council votes to pass. While most of the council appeared open to the proposal, one member, Vice Mayor Frank Matarrese, said he’d only sign off under one condition: That the city take 800 homes off the table elsewhere to offset the traffic and other impacts of the ones proposed to be built at the Point.
During the final moments of this past Monday’s Planning Board meeting, City Planner Andrew Thomas announced a plan that would do just that. He’s proposing the city cap the number of homes that can be built on 37 acres of the North Housing parcel – Navy land that sits just north of the housing now occupied by members of the Coast Guard.
Thomas said Friday that city staff is proposing a change to the zoning for the property so that development there is capped at the 435 homes permitted in the Community Reuse Plan for Alameda Point. The change would address concerns that the current zoning for the property would allow a developer to construct more than 1,400 homes on the North Housing property.
The cap would still include 90 homes Alameda's Housing Authority plans to construct for homeless people and another 30 homes to be constructed by Habitat for Humanity.
The Planning Board is expected to offer its thoughts on the proposed change on May 11, the same night it considers plans for Site A. The zoning change reducing housing for the North Housing parcel and approvals for the Site A development is expected to go to the council on June 16.
“We’re going to bring (them) forward at the same time,” Thomas told the Planning Board on Monday.
In January, Matarrese asked city staffers to clarify the city’s density bonus ordinance, which allows developers to request permission to build up to 35 percent more homes than they’d normally be allowed to build on a site if they agree to build more affordable housing than required – and also, a moratorium on applications for the bonuses while the changes were being made. The request came after the prior council approved more homes for the Del Monte warehouse site than city planners said it could realistically hold.
Matarrese has said he wants to make sure housing sites aren’t crammed with more homes than they can realistically hold, and also that the city doesn’t build more homes over the next eight years than the city’s general plan requires.
He didn't comment specifically on whether the change would address his concerns.
"I’m prepping for our next update because there are other things that must be addressed such as getting more details and accelerating the commercial (non-retail) component of the mixed use and an approved (project labor agreement)," Matarrese wrote in response to a reporter's e-mail.
Proponents of the Site A development project need to win assent from four members of the council to move the project forward; both Matarrese and Mayor Trish Spencer ran on promises to slow growth.
The housing element of the city's general plan - basically, its housing development blueprint - contains a list of "housing opportunity" sites where homes could be built that includes the North Housing sites at Singleton Avenue and Main Street, both of which are zoned to allow multifamily housing; state law requires cities to show they have land available to accommodate development that meets their housing needs. Alameda's list includes enough sites to accommodate 2,245 new homes, though the number of homes developers can vary - and have varied - from the number the city's planners listed in the general plan.
Thomas said Friday that even with the reduction, the plan will offer show that the city has enough land available to accommodate the housing state officials want the city to plan for.
The federal government declared the North Housing parcels surplus in 2007, prompting the city to update its base reuse plan to include it.
Submitted by 2wheelsmith (not verified) on Fri, May 1, 2015
The housing element commits the City to provide sites for 800 affordable housing units in the North Housing area at Singleton Avenue and Main Street. Only 200 units of affordable housing units are planned for Site A. Where does the City plan to move the other 600 units to?
Submitted by Richard Bangert on Fri, May 1, 2015
I'm not seeing the Planning Board agenda, which would include a staff report, posted for the May 11 meeting. Based only on the thumbnail comments by Andrew Thomas, I would say that removing all 37 acres as a housing site would be a) difficult, and b) unfortunate.
A very long process was completed a few years ago for the eventual transfer of 13 acres of the North Housing site to the Housing Authority for a jointly-run housing project with the Alameda Point Collaborative. Two acres are supposed to go to Habitat for Humanity. How the Navy would dispose of the remaining 19 acres was undetermined at that point. They originally were going to auction the property, but have since left the disposal process vague.
I think it would be an understatement to say the Navy will be upset if the Housing Authority deal is trashed. I would think the Housing Authority staff and the Alameda Point Collaborative would be none too happy either.
I wrote a post in 2013 covering this area https://alamedapointenvironmentalreport.wordpress.com/2013/10/10/parklan... . What has changed in the interim is that the Estuary Park parcel has been transferred, and the housing overlay number was ramped up. Related to this is the future of the parcels right across the street - between North Housing and Coast Guard Housing - the sites of the Child Development Center and the old high school. As reported on The Alamedan, the school board has changed its mind about those properties, and is submitting a request to the Navy for conveyance of those parcels in order to put them back in service. What happens across the street if the Navy auctions North Housing property would be of interest to the school board.
(Note that the math for the acreage does not always square up right to the acre from story to story. I believe it is because the street is included in the total acreage number.)
Submitted by JKW (not verified) on Fri, May 1, 2015
Hey Michele,
Would it be possible for you to clarify in your article what “realistic capacity” means? Unfortunately, writers in our city papers have misrepresented this state-planning term of art to mean “the amount of housing that a specific site can realistically accommodate.” When in fact, it’s a calculation based on a city’s past performance in building housing and has nothing to do with what a site can reasonably accommodate. I think that in citing the language from the housing element, which is required by state law for the city to use, you may inadvertently be continuing this misunderstanding.
While many people can have many different opinions about how much housing is appropriate for a place, nowhere does the city, the county or the state calculate an amount that is the realistic maximum. Planning efforts are more nuanced and complex than that.
Submitted by Michele Ellson on Fri, May 1, 2015
Hi JKW: Thanks for your comment. I will follow up with the city planner when City Hall reopens next week.
And Richard: Thanks for the additional info. (I actually wrote this for Friday anticipating the staff report would be up Thursday night.) I am eager to learn more about this too and will be following up.
Submitted by Julie Conner (not verified) on Sun, May 3, 2015
Hi Michelle, When you speak with City Hall, can you help us understand how many units are slated for the entire area, rather than just the North Housing Portion? I had understood that the Community Reuse Plan was already limited to 1,400, so it was a surprise to learn from this piece that a change in the zoning was also necessary. It's tough as a lay person to get the big picture and I so appreciate the Alamedan's role in keeping us informed.
If I understand Richard's blog posting (referenced above), in addition to understanding the entire picture for the number of units under consideration for Alameda Point as a whole (not just the North Housing site), he's raising the issue of how the City Planner's commitment to limit additional development to an additional 435 units will interact with the commitment to provide affordable options. In trying to get my hands around this, I'm not sure if I am correct in understanding that the existing tenants of the former Navy base housing will be displaced by the North Housing Plan or if those rental units are considered to be a separate site.
Again, thanks for educating us!
Submitted by Dorie Guess Beh... (not verified) on Mon, May 4, 2015
Was the reference to homeless housing, housing for the formerly homeless?? There are formerly homeless people now resident in various Alameda Point Collaborative housing units (and not now homeless). If it's new housing for currently homeless persons, that's important to know, too.
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[[Image:Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! - NES - USA.jpg|thumb|256x256px|North American box art.]] '''''Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!''''' and later re-released in America as '''''Punch-Out!!''''', is a boxing game developed and published by [[Nintendo]] on the [[NES]] in 1987. It is based off Nintendo's earlier arcade game, [[Punch-Out!!]]. The original game features Mike Tyson as the final boxer, but after Nintendo's license expired, Tyson was replaced by Mr. Dream in subsequent releases. I first played this game at a friend's house in the late 1980s. Having no idea what I was doing, I believe I beat Glass Joe, but lost to Von Kaiser. After being taught how to dodge an opponent's punch and counter attack, I did much better. As my friends and I progressed, I remember us getting stuck on Great Tiger. I had my brother's [[The Official Nintendo Player's Guide]], which gives explanations for how to beat the boxers, but I couldn't interpret how to block his Tiger Punches. After we beat Great Tiger, I remember my friend's older brother calling me asking how to defeat Bald Bull's Bull Charge and reading him the hints over the phone. Later, we got to the second Bald Bull, and were amazed that he couldn't be knocked down, though we later found his secret. We had more difficulties with the second Don Flamenco, and his damn taunts. Mr. Sandman was terrifying the first time we saw his ring intro where he does his super-fast punches. I saw Mike Tyson even before Super Macho Man thanks to a password from Nintendo Power. The first time I fought him I was blown away at how hard he was and was TKO'ed by his first three punches! I've played the game a lot since then and have analyzed the boxers patterns and discovered how to get stars on most of them. Now, I can routinely get to Mr. Sandman. I can usually beat him, but I have difficulties with Super Macho Man, and I have a very hard time with Mike Tyson. ==Status== I own both Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! and Punch-Out!!. I finally beat Mike Tyson with a TKO on 2017-06-26. ==Review== * '''Overall:''' 6/10 * '''Best Version:''' NES ===Good=== * The boxing mechanic of dodging punches and counter-punching is a great system. * The game gives you very flexible control over Little Mac and allows you to react faster as you become more comfortable with the moves. * The stamina stat was a clever way to prevent the player from just mashing buttons. * Hidden uppercut stars is a good mechanic that rewards exploratory play styles. * While the boxing mechanic is relatively the same throughout the game, each boxer introduces a new element keeping the game fresh all the way to the end. * The large flicker-free character sprites were very impressive for video games at the time. * The dialog between rounds gives the game more character, and the injured look on both you and your opponents was a nice touch. * Although they're quite stereotypical, the fact that the opponents show a great deal of diversity is refreshing. Also, that the composers gave each boxer a theme song that fit their nationality was a good touch. ===Bad=== * The game is pretty racist in the way it depicts boxers. The Russian is a drunk, the Pacific Islander is fat with beady little eyes, the French man is weak, etc. * Continuing after losing a match is inconsistent. Sometimes you get a rematch, sometimes you're demoted, sometimes you get a game over. This probably should have used a system more like: first loss, rematch; second loss, demotion; third loss, game over. * The dodge, counter-punch mechanic becomes very strict later in the game, and there are few opportunities to just punch away, making the game feel less and less like a boxing game. * Though each boxer has their own theme, the background music during the boxing match that you hear for most of the game is quite uninspired. * A large percent of Doc's dialogue is useless, even the lines that are supposed to be hints. ===Ugly=== * Mike Tyson is too hard. Very few players have reflexes fast enough to beat him fairly, and it hurts the game. ==Media== ===Box Art=== <gallery> Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! - NES - USA.jpg|The original North American box art is pretty good, but Tyson's punch is obviously staged. Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! - NES - Japan.jpg|The Japanese release, which came out a week later, uses the same picture, just a little more focused on Tyson. I prefer the lettering on this box. Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! - NES - USA - Revision.jpg|The re-release with the new title features a painting instead of a photo. While I like the artist's style, Mr. Dream looks like a serial killer, and the ref looks like a drug addict porn star. </gallery> ===Documentation=== <gallery> Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! - NES - Manual.pdf|Game manual. Punch-Out!! - NES - Manual.pdf|Game manual revision. Official Nintendo Player's Guide - 015.jpg|[[The Official Nintendo Player's Guide]], part 1. Official Nintendo Player's Guide - 016.jpg|The Official Nintendo Player's Guide, part 2. Official Nintendo Player's Guide - 017.jpg|The Official Nintendo Player's Guide, part 3. Official Nintendo Player's Guide - 018.jpg|The Official Nintendo Player's Guide, part 4. Official Nintendo Player's Guide - 019.jpg|The Official Nintendo Player's Guide, part 5. Official Nintendo Player's Guide - 020.jpg|The Official Nintendo Player's Guide, part 6. Official Nintendo Player's Guide - 021.jpg|The Official Nintendo Player's Guide, part 7. Official Nintendo Player's Guide - 022.jpg|The Official Nintendo Player's Guide, part 8. Official Nintendo Player's Guide - 130.jpg|The Official Nintendo Player's Guide, blurb. Nintendo Power - 1988-06 - 054-055.jpg|[[Nintendo Power]], hints for beating Tyson. Nintendo Power - 1988-06 - 058-059.jpg|Nintendo Power, another world circuit. Nintendo Fun Club - 1988-06-01 - 16-17.jpg|[[Nintendo Fun Club]], 1988-06 - Tricks. Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! - NES - Ad.jpg|UK advert. </gallery> ===Screenshots=== <gallery> Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! - NES - Screenshot - Join the Nintendo Fun Club Today.png|Shameless promotion. Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! - NES - Ending.png|Charlie Sheen eyes in the ending. </gallery> ===Graphics=== <gallery> Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! - NES - Sprites - Little Mac.png|Little Mac sprite sheet. Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! - NES - Sprites - Glass Joe.png|Glass Joe sprite sheet. Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! - NES - Sprites - Von Kaiser.png|Von Kaiser sprite sheet. Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! - NES - Sprites - Piston Honda.png|Piston Honda sprite sheet. Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! - NES - Sprites - Don Flamenco.png|Don Flamenco sprite sheet. Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! - NES - Sprites - King Hippo.png|King Hippo sprite sheet. Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! - NES - Sprites - Great Tiger.png|Great Tiger sprite sheet. Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! - NES - Sprites - Bald Bull.png|Bald Bull sprite sheet. Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! - NES - Sprites - Soda Popinski.png|Soda Popinski sprite sheet. Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! - NES - Sprites - Mr. Sandman.png|Mr. Sandman sprite sheet. Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! - NES - Sprites - Super Macho Man.png|Super Macho Man sprite sheet. Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! - NES - Sprites - Mike Tyson.png|Mike Tyson sprite sheet. Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! - NES - Sprites - Mr. Dream.png|Mr. Dream sprite sheet. Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! - NES - Sprites - Mario.png|Mario sprite sheet. Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! - NES - Sprites - Training.png|Training layout. Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! - NES - Sprites - Backgrounds.png|Detailed backgrounds. Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! - NES - Sprites - Rings.png|Rings backgrounds. Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! - NES - Sprites - Font.png|Font. </gallery> ===Fan Art=== <gallery> Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! - Fan Art.jpg|Fan art. Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! - Fan Art 2.jpg|Fan art. Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! - Fan Art 3.png|Fan art. Zac Gorman - Little Mac Didn't Join the Nintendo Fun Club.gif|Comic by Zac Gorman. Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! - Fan Art 4.jpg|Fan art. Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! - Fan Art 5.jpg|Fan art. Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! - Fan Art 6.jpg|Fan art. Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! - NES - CGA Mockup.png|[[Color Graphics Adapter|CGA]] mockup. </gallery> ===Videos=== * [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQl12l4TgtA youtube.com/watch?v=rQl12l4TgtA] - Tool assist, beating the game in under 18 minutes. * [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bt1DFNSNbRk youtube.com/watch?v=bt1DFNSNbRk] - World record progression defeating Mike Tyson. * [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81u1tkeA7EI youtube.com/watch?v=81u1tkeA7EI] - Longplay, Mr. Dream. ==Game Design== This is my commentary about the game's design for each boxer. The Rank column is the order of how difficult I think the boxers are. {| class="wikitable sortable" | ! Order !! Boxer !! Difficulty !! Commentary |- | 0 || Intro / Menus / Controls || 0 || The game's introduction is pretty great. The unlicensed music is reminiscent of sports commentary, and introduction to the opponent boxers is nice, and the animation of the boxing glove punching through the menu is pretty cool. I like how the player gets to see the bio of each boxer before the game with a larger mug shot and the between round dialogue (and occasional hint from Doc). The menu system while boxing concisely shows the power, stamina, and uppercuts and is clear and unobtrusive. Dodging, punching, body-blows, and blocking are all easy to perform. The only thing I don't care for is ducking, which I've always found to be an inferior defense. I like that you can temporarily accelerate the speed of your punches by dodging and then quickly pushing the return direction. |- | 1 || Glass Joe || 2 || This is a nice introductory fight. Joe is slow, his punches are obviously telegraphed, and he lets through a lot of retaliatory punches. Joe introduces the player to hooks and jabs and awards a lot of exploratory punches with stars so it's likely a first-time player will get to use an uppercut early on (a good design decision). The one thing I don't like about Joe is that he just stands there for the first minute of the fight, which is rather annoying for an veteran player because there isn't enough time to knock him down before he does his "special move" of backing up and then doing a regular punch (punch him here and he'll fall), so the first part of the round is just a waste. In fact, Joe's punches are so slow, I often find myself dodging too soon and taking a hit. It's almost like having to watch a tutorial before playing a game. I rank him harder than Von Kaiser, not because I think he's tougher to beat--they're both really easy--but because I can beat Kaiser so much faster than Joe. If you're bad enough to see Joe between rounds, he has some pretty funny dialogue. |- | 2 || Von Kaiser || 1 || Despite claiming to be a boxing teacher in Germany, Kaiser is painfully easy. You get a star pretty much every time you hit him while he's winding up for a punch, and he's so slow, it's very easy to pull off. If you hit him with an uppercut while he's stunned, it's a guaranteed knock down. Because of this, I can beat him insanely fast. For early players, Kaiser is a great teaching opponent. He introduces the player to his uppercut which will become the most devastating regular punch opponents will use throughout the game. He's also faster than Glass Joe, so he forces the player to increase their reflexes. |- | 3 || Piston Honda || 5 || The first title bout is a pretty cool fight when you're a beginner seeing the animation for the first time. Honda is not only faster than Kaiser, but his taller and more muscular-looking sprite is far more intimidating to look at. Honda also introduces the first impressive special attack, his Piston Punches. By now, players have learned how to dodge punches, but the Piston Punches must be blocked to be successfully avoided. This teaches the player both how to effectively block, and that blocking incurs minor damage so it should be avoided when possible. This is good training for when you have to face Great Tiger. |- | 4 || Don Flamenco || 3 || In addition to annoyingly blocking every non-reactive punch, and forcing you to drain your stamina, Don Flamenco just has a face that demands punching, and his between-round dialogue makes you hate him even more. Flamenco is a pretty demoralizing foe, but he teaches you the importance of dodging an assault even while exhausted. Unfortunately, the developers made an incredibly easy way to defeat him which takes him from frustrating to boring. If you alternate between left and right hooks (as hinted by Doc), he will remain stunned until you knock him down. If you can do that twice in under a minute, he'll be knocked out on the second fall. I would prefer that the trick would only give you a few extra hits rather than pretty much guarantee victory, but I would also prefer a less obnoxious fight. |- | 5 || King Hippo || 4 || Because he dodges all counter and preemptive punches, King Hippo is often a stopping point for players who didn't have access to spoilers, and the hints at his weakness between rounds aren't quite useful enough to illuminate the proper strategy. The nice thing about Hippo is, even when you know his weakness, he's still no slouch. Reacting to his charged punch requires good reflexes, his other jabs are pretty fast, and both of his punches do a lot of damage. He has a pretty nice special move too where he hops around before delivering a volley of punches that must be blocked. A good match, I just wish I didn't need a hint book to defeat him. |- | 6 || Great Tiger || 6 || Great Tiger is another good opponent. His attacks are varied, he awards a lot of stars to exploratory punches, and his special attack is wonderful. Again, you have to know to block his special attack rather than try to dodge it. Each round sees Tiger entering the ring in a different way, and if he defeats you, he disappears from the ring. However, once you know what you're doing, you can defeat Great Tiger so quickly, he won't even have a chance to do his Tiger punches in the first round. |- | 7 || Bald Bull || 8 || |- | 8 || Piston Honda 2 || 7 || |- | 9 || Soda Popinski || 11 || |- | 10 || Bald Bull 2 || 10 || |- | 11 || Don Flamenco 2 || 9 || |- | 12 || Mr. Sandman || 12 || |- | 13 || Super Macho Man || 13 || |- | 14 || Mike Tyson || 14 || |- | 15 || Ending || 15 || |} ==Passwords== The game's password system keeps track of your current title, wins, and losses. The first four passwords in this list will take you to a specific boxer with all wins. However, the developers also added a couple Easter egg passwords that have more interesting results. {| class="wikitable" | ! Password !! Result |- | 005 737 5423 || Minor Circuit Champ, Don Flamenco. |- | 777 807 3454 || Major Circuit Champ, Piston Honda (2nd Fight). |- | 267 812 7538 || World Circuit Champ, Super Macho Man. |- | 007 373 5963 || Mike Tyson / Mr. Dream |- | 135 792 4680 || Press A+B+Select: Another World Circuit, alternate boxer order. |- | 106 113 0120 || Press A+B+Select: runs the end-game credits. |- | 800 422 2602 || This is the old phone number of Nintendo of America's hotline. It plays a busy signal as a joke because their line was always being called. |} ==Credits== Zelda II has credits, but they leave out some people and are mostly aliases. Thankfully, dedicated fans have determined the majority of their real names. {| class="wikitable" | ! Roles !! Name |- | Producer || [[Minoru Arakawa]] |- | Director || [[Genyo Takeda]] |- | Designers || [[K. Yoneyama]], [[M. Hirota]] |- | Character Designer || [[Makoto Wada]] |- | Programmers || [[Masato Hatakeyama]] |- | Music, Sound Effects || [[Yukio Kaneoka]], [[Akito Nakatsuka]], [[Kenji Yamamoto]] |- | Electrical Engineers || [[M. Taya]], [[S. Funakoshi]] |- | Secretary || [[Y. Kuriyama]] |} ==Titles== {| class="wikitable" ! Language !! Native !! Transliteration !! Translation |- | English || Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! || || |- | English (Re-Release) || Punch-Out!! || || |- | Japanese || パンチアウト!! || Panchiauto!! || Punch-Out!! |} ==Links== * [http://www.mobygames.com/game/mike-tysons-punch-out mobygames.com/game/mike-tysons-punch-out] - MobyGames. * [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punch-Out!!_(NES) en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punch-Out!!_(NES)] - Wikipedia. * [https://www.gamefaqs.com/nes/525246-mike-tysons-punch-out gamefaqs.com/nes/525246-mike-tysons-punch-out] - GameFAQs. * [http://www.vgmpf.com/Wiki/index.php/Mike_Tyson%27s_Punch-Out!!_(NES) vgmpf.com/Wiki/index.php/Mike_Tyson%27s_Punch-Out!!_(NES)] - Music. * [http://www.thealmightyguru.com/Games/Hacking/Wiki/index.php/Mike_Tyson%27s_Punch-Out!! thealmightyguru.com/Games/Hacking/Wiki/index.php/Mike_Tyson%27s_Punch-Out!!] - NES Hacker Database. * [https://tcrf.net/Mike_Tyson%27s_Punch-Out!! tcrf.net/Mike_Tyson%27s_Punch-Out!!] - The Cutting Room Floor. [[Category: Games]] [[Category: Video Games]] [[Category: Arcade Games]] [[Category: NES Games]] [[Category: Action]] [[Category: Sports]] [[Category: Fighting]] [[Category: Single-Screen]] [[Category: Games I've Beaten]]
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FAMILY EQUALITY COUNCIL DENOUNCES UTAH SUPREME COURT FOR HALTING ADOPTIONS BY SAME-SEX COUPLES
Contact: Cindi Creager, CreagerCole Communications
646-279-4559, cindi@creagercole.com
Washington, DC- Family Equality Council® today condemned the Utah Supreme Court for halting adoptions by same-sex couples as it weighs whether several step-parent/second-parent adoptions can be approved while the state’s marriage ban case is on appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit.
The high court made the decision late Friday night, leaving LGBTQ parents and their families as vulnerable as they had been prior to the landmark marriage equality decision last December, when a federal judge ruled Utah’s ban on marriage for same-sex couples unconstitutional.
Only married couples can jointly petition to adopt in the state and Utah bans second-parent and step-parent adoptions by same-sex couples. 1,300 same-sex couples were legally married before the overturned marriage ban was stayed, pending appeal, and several have applied for and been approved by district court judges for adoptions of their children who they are raising together. But the state has refused to recognize these adoptions and in one case, a judge ordered Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes and two state health department officials to appear in court and “show why they should not be held in contempt for their willful disregard and refusal to obey the Decree of Step-Parent Adoption.” That’s when Reyes pleaded to the Utah Supreme Court to stop the adoptions for now while it makes a determination on this issue. The court agreed.
“What the Herbert Administration and the State Supreme Court have done in this instance is not only ignored the law and refused to recognize validly married couples in the state of Utah, but also targeted innocent children and prevented them from having the legal protections and security of both of their parents,” said Executive Director, Gabriel Blau. “Prior to the marriage equality decision, Utah already prohibited joint adoption, second-parent adoption, and step-parent adoptions by same-sex couples. It also restricted foster parenting by LGBTQ people. These policies have continued to harm children and done nothing to strengthen families. In these latest moves, the only thing the Governor and the State Supreme Court have accomplished is denying children who are already being raised by same-sex parents the protections they deserve.”
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MINISTER: TREND IN EXPORT GROWTH UP
Trade Minister Mari Elka Pangestu said the trend in export growth is rising in line with increasing export demand from countries in Asia.
"I saw until May the trend is still around 30 percent compared to that of the same period last year," she said after the launching of Care Coins Movement here on Saturday.
She believed the annual rate of export growth was still around 13 percent. "So the upward trend is still strong. We have not seen much impact from the crisis in Europe.
What we must maintain is demand from Asia as they have all started reducing their stimulus," she said.
The minister hoped with the good trend exports in 2010 would grow 7.0 to 8.5 percent. The average non-oil/gas exports in 2010 is recorded at around UD$10 billion a month.
Regarding rupiah appreciation the minister said that it would increase the cost to be borne by exporters.
Therefore "we must strive to reduce the exporters` cost of production. We must lower high cost economy by cutting cost of processing, restitutions and others." she said.`
She said the government would strive to maintain the rupiah stability against the US dollar. "We will keep it balanced. What is important is stability and that is the task of Bank Indonesia," she said.
Source: Antara News, 31 July 2010
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Nepal MDGs Acceleration Framework Improving Access To Sanitation 2013 Over the past 11 years (2000-2011), the sanitation coverage has increased from 30 percent to 62 percent in Nepal. This figure states that the average annual growth rate of access to toilet is around three percent. The Government of Nepal has aimed to...
GoN, UN, (2013)
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Global Sanitation Fund Programme In Nepal Government of Nepal formulated the National Sanitation and Hygiene Master Plan in 2011 to set up appropriate systems and institutional mechanisms for accelerating sanitation coverage in a planned and coordinated manner. As a result, ODF campaigns are...
GoN, UNHABITAT, GSF, WSSCC, (2015)
Nepal MDGs acceleration Framework Improving Access to Sanitation A few years away from the deadline of 2015, the MDG Acceleration Framework (MAF), as conceived and endorsed by the United Nations (UN), aims at accelerating and sustaining progress towards the MDGs’ achievement at the national level. The strategic ap...
UNDP, GON, (2012)
Water, Environmental Sanitation and Hygiene Programme for Urban Poor The current global trend of urbanisation is putting pressure on our eco-system and is linked to poverty. Nepal is struggling with the most rapid urbanisation trend in the South Asian Sub-continent with approximately 15% of its total population living...
UNHABITAT, (2007)
Methodology For Mapping Urban Poor: The Tool To Reach Inclusive Democracy All national development plans and policies in Nepal were aiming to reduce poverty from the beginning. However, the reality is very different. Even after the endeavour of last five decades, the achievement is nominal. Most of these endeavours to serv...
CIUD, UNHABITAT, (2009)
Assignment Report on Radiation Protection in Nepal Reference: Dr Edsmyr F., (1972). Assignment Report on Radiation Protection in Nepal, Nepal (WHO Project: SEARO 0042), WHO. URL-http://apps.who.int/iris/ The purpose of this assignment was to assist the Government in Nepal in the establishment of a ra...
WHO, (1972)
Global Sanitation Fund ( 2015 Mid - Year Update ) In the first half of 2015 , Global Sanitation Fund (GSF)- supported programmes reported significant progress in helping large numbers of people improve their sanitation and adopt good hygiene practices. Over 9.9 million people in more than 36,500 com...
GSF, WSSCC/UN, (2015)
Air Quality in Nepal - Ram Singh Yadav, State Minister of Health, Nepal [YouTube] Air Quality in Nepal - Interview with Ram Singh Yadav, State Minister of Health, Nepal.This interview was recorded during the Seventieth Session of the Regional Committee, 6-10 September 2017, Maldives. URL: https://youtu.be/IB7HvWQCNo0 Duration:...
WHO SEARO, (2017)
H E Mr. Deepak Dhital on why UNEA2 is important [YouTube] H.E. Mr. Deepak Dhital, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Nepal to the United Nations in Geneva, speaks about the importance of environment to UNEA2 and the 2030 Agenda. URL: https://youtu.be/-_25dYUmdrQ Duration: 00:15 sec Location: Ge...
UN ENVIRONMENT, (2016)
Radiation Protection in Kathmandu (Nepal) Reference: Mr Rao I.S. Sundara, (1977). Radiation Protection in Kathmandu (Nepal),(WHO Project: NEP HSD 001), WHO. URL-http://apps.who.int/iris/ The term of reference of the assignment were; To assess the current situation with regard to the nature o...
2012 Annual Report: Water Sanitation and Hygiene Sector Developments:The 2012 update report of the Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply and Sanitation (JMP) contained both good and bad news: the MDG drinking water target has been achieved globally, but the sanitation target is so far off tra...
UNICEF, (2012)
2014 Annual Results Report: Water Sanitation And Hygiene Significant progress has been made in improving access to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) for children and their families. Between 1990 and 2012, 2.3 billion people gained access to improved drinking water, and almost 2 billion people gained acc...
SDGs in Nepal Goal 6 : Info-graphics Where do Nepal’s seven provinces stand in terms of each of the Sustainable Development Goals? This series of infographics developed by United Nations Nepal in partnership with Nepal in Data and published in the Republica national daily, illustrates h...
UNDP, (2018)
Sani News: Vol. 2 Issue 2 (April-June 2013) Chris Williams, Executive Director (ED) of Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC) and Mark Willis, Global Sanitation Fund (GSF) Program Manager (PM) visited Sindhupalchowk on May 15 2013 to observe the sanitation movement and...
Confronting the Open Defecation Practice in Flat Lands of Nepal: Creating New Social Norms The world remains off track to meet the MDG sanitation target of 75% and if current trends continue, it is set to miss the target by more than half a billion people. By the end of 2011, there were 2.5 billion people who still did not use an improved ...
Field Notes: UNICEF Policy and Programming in Practice - Community Approaches to Total Sanitation - Based On Case Studies From India, Nepal, Sierra Leone, Zambia - (2009) Community Approaches to Total Sanitation (CATS) is an umbrella term used by UNICEF sanitation practitioners to encompass a wide range of community-based sanitation programming. Catsshare the goal of eliminating open defecation; they are rooted in com...
1 Issue 1 SANI NEWS A PROGRAMME OF WSSCC A Quaterly e-bulletin of Global Sanitation Fund (GSF) Programme Nepal April to June 2012 Vol. 1 Issue 1 GSF spreads its wings in Mid & Far Western Nepal After more than a year of planning, coordination and preparatory work, Global Sanitation Fund (GSF) programme finally spread its wings to the field in Mid and Far Western Development Region Nepal and launched sanitation campaigns in Bajura and Bar...
GSF/UNHABITAT, (2012)
SANI NEWS A Quaterly e-bulletin of Global Sanitation Fund (GSF) Programme Nepal October-December 2012 Vol. 1 Issue 3 FIVE VDCs ARE DECLARED AS ODF WITH GSF SUPPORT With full ownership of the government and development partners, five Village Development Committees (VDCs) have been declared ODF with facilitation of the Global Sanitation Fund Programme (GSF) intervention in the past three months. Of those ODF d...
SANI NEWS A Quaterly e-bulletin of Global Sanitation Fund (GSF) Programme Nepal July-December 2013 Vol.2 Issue 3 Bhaktapur declared first ODF district in Kathmandu Valley President Ram Baran Yadav declared Bhaktapur as the first Open Defecation Free (ODF) district in Kathmandu Valley and the 10th in the country during the public opening of the Fifth South Asian Conference on Sanitation (SACOSAN-V) held in Kathmandu...
Struvite Recovery from Urine at Community Scale in Nepal: Final Project Report Phase I (March 2009) The concept of ecological sanitation (further referred to as EcoSan) and its worldwide promotion to ameliorate the sanitary situation of people and communities in developing countries has been a success story in many aspects. For the people who could...
UNHABITAT, Eawag, SANDEC, ING, (2009)
Ghachok VDC: Towards Total Sanitation The Ghachok village development committee, which has scattered settlements and limited service providers, comprises a total of 550 households. Reaching the village especially in the rainy season is difficult because of the sloppy landscape and poor r...
Sani News - Vol. 4 Issue 2 (July-December 2015) With support from Central Emergency Relief Fund (CERF)/UNICEF, UN-Habitat assisted in the revival of more than 5000 toilets in the earthquake affected districts of Dolakha, Sindhupalchowk, Nuwakot and Bhaktapur. This has paved the way for reviving th...
ग्लोबल स्यानीटेसन फण्ड ग्लोबल स्यानीटेसन फण्ड कार्यक्रम सरसफाइ क्षेत्रमा लगानी बृद्धि गरी अधिकतम गरिब जनताहरुलाई सुरक्षित सरसफाइ सेवा प्रदान गर्न र स्वच्छता सम्बन्धी उपयुत्त बानी व्यहोरा अनुसरण गर्न सहयोग प्रदान गर्नको लागि खडा गरिएको विश्वव्यापी कोष हो । ग्लोबल स्यानीटेसन...
UNHABITAT, GoN, GSF/UN, (2011)
Equity in School Water and Sanitation Overcoming Exclusion and Discrimination in South Asia This report presents a study on water, sanitation and education in Nepal conducted by CERID for UNICEF Regional Office for South Asia. In 2008 UNICEF ROSA commissioned a desk study into water and sanitation related exclusion at school in South Asia (...
GoN, UNICEF, (2009)
School-Led Total Sanitation (SLTS): A Successful Model To Promote School And Community Sanitation And Hygiene In Nepal A history of inadequate intervention in sanitation and hygiene and the resultant low coverage level has left Nepal with much to do to reach the national target of 100 per cent latrine coverage by 2017. The recognition that children can act as change ...
Global Sanitation Fund Programme Nepal The Global Sanitation Fund (GSF) is a pooled global fund to boost expenditure on sanitation and hygiene to help large number of poor people to attain safe sanitation services and adopt good hygiene practices. It is estimated that 2.5 billion people, ...
Light Review of UNICEF Nepal Sanitation Marketing Program UNICEF Nepal partnered with iDE Nepal in support of the Sanitation and Hygiene Master Plan (SHMP) to develop a market-based approach for sanitation, in order to strengthen the sanitation supply chain and market improved toilets at competitive rates. ...
Addressing Arsenic Problem in Nepal Access to safe drinking water is one of the key targets of the United Nations’ millennium development goals and is a crucial foundation for sustainable poverty reduction. However, the natural occurrence of arsenic in groundwater has proven to be a se...
A Value for Money Case Study: UNICEF ONE WASH Programme,Nepal The UNICEF ONE WASH programme in Nepal volunteered to be the first IPME VFM assessment and case-study, and co-authors this study with the VFM specialist for internal learning and WASH Programme management purposes. The data used in this VFM study has...
Aligning for Action- Sanitation and Water for All in the Context of Climate Change in Nepal (Third Annual Report - 2013) 2013 saw a coming together of UNICEF, the Nepal government, donors, and other partners to work towards the national goal of ‘water and sanitation for all by 2017’. Collaborations set in motion in 2012 were further leveraged in 2013 in national level ...
Chronic respiratory diseases: Kanchhi's daily routine with breathing difficulties [YouTube] Kanchhi Maya Jimma, 46 year old mother of four from Nepal, talks about the breathlessness, wheezing, sleeplessness and other side-effects of chronic respiratory disease. 64 million people around the world suffer from chronic respiratory disease. Prod...
UNDP Support to the Implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 6: Sustainable Management of Water and Sanitation The world has achieved remarkable gains in human development over the past two decades. Extreme poverty has significantly reduced, access to primary education and health outcomes has improved, and substantial inroads have been made in promoting gende...
Sani News - Vol. 1, Issue 3 (October-December 2012) With full ownership of the government and development partners, five Village Development Committees (VDCs) have been declared ODF with facilitation of the Global Sanitation Fund Programme (GSF) intervention in the past three months. Of those ODF ...
Global Sanitation Fund - Progress Report (August 2014) National programs funded by GSF show consistent strong growth and have made significant progress in eradicating the practice of open defecation. Almost six million people now live in open-defecation free(ODF) communes, villages and districts. This is...
WSSCC-UNHABITAT, (2014)
Global Sanitation Fund Programme In Nepal ( December 2014) The latest Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) report lists Nepal as one of the countries that is making remarkable progress in reducing open defecation. In 1990, only 6% of the households in Nepal had toilets but according to the Department of Water Su...
UNHABITAT, GoN, GSF, WSSCC/UN, (2014)
Nepal’s Sanitation Movement Realizing the potential of the GSF in contributing towards the meeting Nepal’s Millennium Development Goals (MDG) targets as well as the national target of achieving 100 percent sanitation coverage by 2017, the Government of Nepal initiated the proce...
GoN,UNHABITAT, (2013)
Sani News - Vol. 1 Issue 2 (July-September 2012) July-September 2012 Vol. 1 .Issue 2 The Global Sanitation Fund Programme started its intervention in Bajura District from December 2011 with the target of benefitting 13,172 unserved households. The implementing partners were SEBAC Nepal, ECARDS...
One WASH Annual Report 2016 This is the third One WASH Annual Report produced by WASH Section, UNICEF Nepal. It captures progress, challenges and lessons learnt during 2016 during implementation of WASH Programme. Significant progress was achieved by the UNICEF-assisted WASH Pr...
Nepal's Sanitation Campaign - UN Stories [YouTube Video] UN Stories - Estimates indicate that globally some two and a half billion people have no access to a clean toilet – that’s one in every three people. In rural Nepal that number can be much higher according to the UN’s Global Sanitation Fund managed b...
UN, (2014)
UNICEF WASH RESPONSE Earthquake April 25 2015 Update as of Dec , 2015 UNICEF’s response in WASH was targeting 840,000 people ( both camps and communities) including children and women, in the 14 most severely affected districts with critical WASH interventions and information that will prevent child illness, especially...
Global Sanitation Fund Programme in Nepal: ANNUAL REPORT 2018 This document is the Annual progress report 2018 of Global Sanitation Fund Programme in Nepal. This report indicates the achievement of the project in 2018. The acceleration of sanitation coverage from 6% in 1990 to 99% by December 2018 indicates...
UN HABITAT/ GON/ WSSCC, (2018)
विपदको अवस्थामा किशोरकिशोरीको लागि यौन तथा पज्नन स्वस्थय सेवा सहयोगी सामग्री नेपाल बादी, पहिरो भूकम्प जस्ता पकृतिक प्रकोपको अत्यधिक सम्भावना रहेको मुलक हो । पकृतिक प्रकोप र मानवजन्य विपदका कारण मनिसहरु आन्तरिक तथा बाह्य्ररूपमा बिस्थापित हुन पुग्दछ । यसरी बिस्थापित भयका जनसमुयमा बिसेस गरेर महिला , किशोरकिशोरीको र बालबालि...
UNFPA, (2015)
Evaluation of the Effects of Climatic Factors on the Occurrence of Diarrhoeal Diseases and Malaria: A Pilot Retrospective Study in Jhapa District, Nepal - Techincal report Human-induced climate change significantly amplifies the likelihood of heat waves, increasing the possibility of heat strokes, cardiovascular and respiratory disorders. More variable precipitation patterns are likely to compromise the supply of fresh...
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Film Synopsis & Trailer
The Scientific Studies in the FIlm
The People in Trace Amounts
2015 U.S. Tour Locations & Dates
Attend a Screening at a Theater
Host Your Own Theatrical Screening
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Book
Dr. Joseph Mercola
Digital Rentals, Downloads, & DVDs
Buy Theater Tickets
Go Mercury Free
Sign a Petition
Trace Amounts Featured in Examiner.com
As Seen In..., News from the Tour, What People Are Saying
Karen Hansen, writing for Examiner.com, presented one of the best articles so far on Trace Amounts and its filmmakers. Here is an excerpt:
Robert Kennedy Jr. was here in Sacramento last Tuesday evening April 7th, 2015 to address a sold out screening of “Trace Amounts” and a signing of his most recent book “Let the Science Speak” at the Crest Theatre sponsored by the California Grange. The event took place on the eve of the introduction of SB 277, State Senator Pan’s controversial vaccination bill that would eliminate the exemption from immunization based upon personal beliefs. Laura Hayes, co-founder of the UC Davis Mind Institute in Sacramento, spoke out against the bill as an active member on behalf of Families for Early Autism Treatment the next day referring to the intent of the bill here as playing medical Russian roulette.
Pan’s SB 277 just passed the house committee yesterday, April 10, 2015. Pan rebuked Kennedy over Twitter and Facebook accounts: “It’s sad to see Robert F. Kennedy Jr. attach his great name to dangerous nonsense.” Yet both Kennedy and Eric Gladen make it clear neither are anti-vaccine. Kennedy has said that, “Although I am fiercely pro-vaccine, and had all six of my children vaccinated, I oppose current efforts to remove or restrict existing exemptions. We can’t solve a credibility problem by forcing immunizations without informed consent.” Gladen’s documentary reiterates the same upon opening, “It is important to emphasize the focus of the film is not on vaccines…..it is focused on the mercury-based antiseptic preservative thimerosal which plays no role in making vaccines effective….and contrary to popular belief it remains in vaccines given to children and pregnant women.”
News & Feature Articles
[…] Examiner. Trace amounts […]
Scientific Papers Showing Linking Thimerosal Exposure to Autism
Take Another Look : An Interview with ‘Trace Amounts’ co-director Shiloh Levine
Anna Almendrala attacks Jim Carrey for demanding the removal of the mercury based preservative, Thimerosal from vaccines
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and Trace Amounts Featured on Real Time with Bill Maher on HBO
The Mercury Tipping Point: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — Epoch Times
Reach the Filmmakers
info@traceamounts.com
Stories from TRACE AMOUNTS
Trace Amounts Goes to Washington, D.C.
Shiloh Levine, Director of Trace Amounts, Interviewed on Autism Live
Copyright 2015, Trace Amounts / FAZE Films. All Rights Reserved. Legal Information & Disclaimer. CAST & CREDITS PRESS / MEDIA QUESTIONS
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Super Typhoon Hits Japan; India and Pakistan`s Kashmir Dispute; Afghanistan: A Challenge to Next U.S. President
Aired October 4, 2016 - 04:00:00 ET
CARL AZUZ, CNN STUDENT NEWS ANCHOR: A tail of two storms is where we begin today`s edition of CNN STUDENT NEWS. I`m Carl Azuz.
When we produce today`s show, the Japanese island of Okinawa was getting hit with a super typhoon. It`s name is Chaba. Its maximum sustained winds
were about 165 miles per hour. That made it the equivalent of a category five hurricane, the strongest type. Several islands were in Chaba`s
expected path, which was expected to turn east near South Korea and roar across the northern Japanese mainland.
And in the Caribbean, Hurricane Matthew, a category four storm last night, was expected to brush by Jamaica and hit Haiti overnight before moving over
Eastern Cuba. Matthew was traveling slowly, with 140-mile-per-hour winds, the longer it hovers over an island, the more rain it can bring and the
bigger its threat of causing flash floods and mudslides.
Throughout the Caribbean, airports have been closed. Storm shelters open and cruises rerouted to avoid the hurricane.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: This is what we`re expecting the storm to do as it gets into the Bahamas. This is what concerns me. You can see the
left turn as it gets east of Cuba and then it gets into Turks and Caicos, it turns left, it turns back toward the U.S. And then it has turned right
to miss us.
Now, that`s the forecast. But that still concerns me although that`s going to happen or not. Here are the models, see how they turn left.
See this little left? This what really concerns me. That part right there will -- will they actually turn right again or will they just keep going to
the left? Those are so many days away.
I know and we talk about this all the time, that the first 24 to 48 hours of a model is very good. After that, not so good. So, if this is a good
part and this might not be the good part, where does it go from there, you need to keep watching if you live in the East Coast, anywhere.
AZUZ: Once again, international tensions have flared up over a place named Kashmir. It`s not an independent country. Kashmir is a highly disputed
region of Asia that both India and Pakistan claimed as their own. They each control part of it, so does China. But it was in the section of
Kashmir that`s controlled by India where an attack was launched late Sunday night.
India blames terrorists for shooting at an Indian army camp there. This was after troops from India and Pakistan exchanged fire with each country
accusing the other of provoking it. As the anger has risen and the relationship has worsened between India and Pakistan, India relocated
10,000 people who were living near a disputed border area of Kashmir. These are only the latest incidents in a decades-long dispute over the
region.
SUBTITLE: Kashmir: A bitter dispute.
RAVI AGRAWAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kashmir today looks and sounds on edge, armed and ready to go off. Its lands are carved up in an easy truce
between an easy truce between India, Pakistan and China, too. But before all that, Kashmir known not as a flash point, but Asia`s Switzerland, with
beautiful snowcapped peaks and lush valleys.
So, how did we get here?
The troubles began around 1947 when India and Pakistan gained their independence from Britain. Pakistan was created out of Muslim-dominated
areas. Kashmir was a sticking point. It was Muslim majority but its leader at the time decided to accede to India.
Now, fighting over Kashmir has led to wars in 1947 and again 1965. Evan after both India and Pakistan became nuclear, they attack each other in
1999, stopping short of a full scale war. Today, tensions are ratcheting up once again.
AZUZ: Updating you now on an unexpected vote in the South American nation of Colombia. We reported yesterday that polls showed that a peace
agreement negotiated by the nation`s government and the FARC rebels who`ve been fighting it for 52 years had a good chance of passing. But by a very
thin margin, voters rejected the agreement on Sunday, 50.22 percent voted against it, 49.78 percent voted for it. One major criticism of the
agreement was that it didn`t do enough to punish the rebels for these past crimes.
Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos says he doesn`t have a plan B, but that a ceasefire between the government and the rebels would stay in place
while negotiations between the two sides would continue in Havana, Cuba. FARC leader Rodrigo Londono who also goes by Timoleon Jimenez also says
he`s committed to peace. The United Nations is sending its Colombia envoy to Cuba to join the discussions.
A lot of uncertainty now hangs over Colombia. And the same can be said for the Middle Eastern nation of Afghanistan. Its government controls about
two-thirds of the country, but the Taliban, Afghanistan`s former rulers who allowed terrorists to live and train there control about 10 percent, and
they`ve increased their attacks recently, despite hundreds of airstrikes this year by the U.S., which supports the Afghan government.
These events plus the fact that more than 8,000 U.S. forces remain in the country contribute to the challenges it presents for the next American
leader.
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Here are three reasons Afghanistan could be the biggest global program for the next U.S.
Afghanistan is nearing a failed state. The Taliban controlled more territory there than any time since the war started in 2001. That means
Afghanistan could become a haven for terror groups, including rivals al Qaeda and ISIS.
There are no good policy options for the next White House. You can`t abandon a country at the heart of America`s longest war with thousands of
lives that are being lost. But at the same time, there`s no realistic public appetite for a substantial rise in troop numbers.
Afghanistan is both Pakistan and India`s problem and they are both nuclear powers. Afghanistan accuses Pakistan of assisting the Taliban. Pakistan
accuses India of interfering in Afghanistan. Either way, Afghanistan suffers and remains a regional headache for the U.S.
AZUZ: The 2016 Nobel Peace Prize for medicine has been awarded to a Japanese biologist. Yoshinori Ohsumi made discoveries in the area of
autophagy. That`s the process that a cell uses to recycle some of its own components. Scientists have known about autophagy since the 1960s, but
Ohsumi`s work, which included experiments with baker`s yeast led to a deeper understanding of how cells stay healthy.
He`ll receive more than $900,000 in prize money. As advances in medicine are made around the world, there`s a U.S.-based biotechnology company
that`s raised record funds, even though its method is so far unproven and hasn`t worked before, and its human trials which could take years are just
RACHEL CRANE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: For years, incurable diseases like cancer and HIV have stumped scientists. But if there`s a cure for those diseases
right under our noses, literally?
At biotech startup Moderna, they believe the key to treating rare diseases is to trigger the body to heal itself, to make its own medicine. And how
does that work? It all comes down to proteins.
STEPHANE BANCEL, CEO, MODERNA: So, sometimes when you`re sick, what you`re just missing is one protein. If we could just give you that protein back,
then you`ll be healthier again.
CRANE: So, how do you get that one missing protein back into your body?
For years, we`ve relied on pharmaceutical companies to make expensive protein-based drugs for treatment. But protein based drugs aren`t as
effective as they could be and can degrade in the bloodstream or digestive tract.
That`s where Moderna comes in. By injecting your body with messenger RNA molecules, they`ve discovered a way to naturally trigger your body cells
into making their own healing proteins. The body makes its own medicine.
In theory, messenger RNA or MRNA could deliver the genetic instructions to your cells to make any type of protein that your body needs to heal itself.
But until recently, scientists believe our immune systems would reject MRNA from outside sources.
BANCEL: Evolution has taught all of our cells to ignore messenger RNA when it comes from the outside. That`s what a virus looks like. What we`ve
been able to do at Moderna is actually change the properties of that MRNA so that to the cell, it looks likes its own.
CRANE: And that breakthrough has led to potential treatments for a wide range of conditions, from heart disease to cancer. Over the last four
years, Moderna has raised $1.5 billion, partnering with pharmaceutical companies, the government, and recently, the Gates Foundation, who
committed $20 million to tackle HIV.
But research is still in its early stages. Moderna recently started their first two human clinical trials and has plans for at least four more.
AZUZ: Before we go, a desert kaleidoscope. That`s the theme for this year`s Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta. It got off the ground
over the weekend in New Mexico and runs through the week. More than 500 hot air balloons are taking part in one of the oldest forms of aviation.
And, of course, that looks amazing in this time-lapse video.
There have been some crashes here and there. No serious injuries have been reported.
Of course, some people get an over-inflated sense of confidence. You can call them basket cases. But that kind of thing tends to balloon with each
rise of each successful launch. You got to both know the ropes and let them go especially if you expect to get around the world in 80 days.
I`m Carl Azuz and I`m all out of hot air. We`ll take off with more news tomorrow.
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Trump Vaping Meeting; Drug Pricing Stalemate; DC Sues Juul
By Chris Pirschel, Staff Writer, and Alec Stone, ONS Public Affairs Director
Trump Holds White House Vaping Meeting
The vaping conversation has drawn the attention of everyone on Capitol Hill, and it’s been a contentious debate so far. Tensions were high at the White House during a meeting with smoking cessation advocates after the Trump administration decided to step back from promises to ban flavored vaping products.
The health policy community is pushing hard to educate and convince the president that letting up would be a fatal mistake in the fight for smoking cessation, but the president was skeptical and pointed to alcohol prohibition and its boomerang effect on regulation in the 1920s. However, congressional representatives don’t share the same opinion, and the bipartisan effort to control marketing, sales, and distribution—especially to underage users—of flavored e-cigarettes may win out in an election year.
Dems, GOP at Stalemate on Drug Pricing
For many Americans, the soaring costs of prescription medications is a key health policy issue evident in their daily lives. Both the Trump administration and Democrats have been vocal about finding ways to lower drug prices for Americans. But bipartisan cooperation came to a halt after President Trump decried House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s recent drug pricing legislation. Neither the GOP nor the Trump Administration has put forth a competing plan, drawing ire from voters and the health policy community alike.
In a contentious election year, successful drug pricing legislation is not likely to pass, but it will remain a top issue for presidential candidates. In the interim, oncology nurses must ensure that policymakers understand financial toxicity and its impact on patient care.
DC Sues Juul for Underage Marketing Tactics
Washington, DC, like many other local and state jurisdictions, is joining the fight against the youth smoking epidemic by suing Juul—the industry’s leading vaping manufacturer—for focusing its marketing tactics on underage users. The states in litigation with Juul are not questioning the company’s right to produce the product but rather claiming that it intentionally deployed a marketing campaign designed to entice underage smoking, including selling flavors that appealed to children.
Without any legislation from Congress, the court system is just another route smoking cessation advocates can take to effect change for public health. Advocacy groups are hoping the law will be on their side to see a dramatic shift in how tobacco and vaping products are marketed and sold, with considerable new regulations on targeting children.
CMS Proposes Changes to Medicare and Doctor-Patient Relationships
America’s Old Tobacco Business Reignites as a New Industry
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BBBP Week: Programme in memory of Late Atiqa Bano held at Sopore
“I Have Been Detained At Home”, Says Mehbooba Mufti’s Daughter, Cops Deny
10 Killed, 36 Injured As Bus Falls Into Gorge In Jammu And Kashmir’s Rajouri
Broadband services restored in 80 Govt hospitals
2 PDP leaders released, 2 more to follow
Bad loans to rise in 2020, says RBI
Central banks’ gold buy highest since 1970s
Kiwis sweat on Kane Williamson, Henry Nicholls, Mitchell Santner as bug hits team
PM Modi tells Congress to protest against Pakistan
Trump ordered killing of Iran Guards commander: Pentagon
MEA rejects reports of OIC meet on Kashmir
State Scan
Added on May 11, 2019 VoV Web Desk
US sends Patriot missiles, war ship to Middle East to deter Iran
The US government has approved the deployment of a Patriot missile defence battery and another warship to the Middle East amid increasing tensions between the US and Iran.
The USS Arlington, which transports marines, amphibious vehicles, and rotary aircraft, as well as the Patriot missiles, will join the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group, which already passed through Egypt’s Suez Canal on Thursday, and is currently sailing in the Red Sea, according to CNN.
The US says the deployments of military hardware to the region comes in response to “heightened Iranian readiness to conduct offensive operations”.
The Patriot missile system is a defence mechanism against aircraft, drones, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles, and is currently deployed in Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
“The Acting Secretary of Defense has approved the movement of USS Arlington (LPD-24) and a Patriot battery to US Central Command (CENTCOM) as part of the command’s original request for forces from earlier this week,” a Pentagon statement said.
USS Arlington is an amphibious transport dock carrying hundreds of Marines [Bebeto Matthews/AP]
Manufactured by Raytheon, the Patriot is used by the US and several allied nations [File: EPA]
Earlier in the week, a US air force bomber task force, including B-52 bombers, also arrived at the US airbase Al Udeid in Qatar, US Central Command said.
“The Department of Defense continues to closely monitor the activities of the Iranian regime, their military and proxies. Due to operational security, we will not discuss timelines or location of forces. The United States does not seek conflict with Iran, but we are postured and ready to defend US forces and interests in the region,” the statement added.
The B-52 is a long-range bomber designed and built by Boeing [File: Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters]
Iran has dismissed the moves as “psychological warfare” designed to intimidate it.
In an advisory posted on Thursday, the US Maritime Administration (MARAD) said that since early May there had been an increased possibility of Iran or its regional proxies taking action against US and partner interests.
These included, MARAD said, oil production infrastructure, after Tehran threatened to close the vital Strait of Hormuz chokepoint in the Arabian Gulf through which about a fifth of oil consumed globally passes.
“Iran or its proxies could respond by targeting commercial vessels, including oil tankers, or US military vessels in the Red Sea or the Persian Gulf,” MARAD said.
“Reporting indicates heightened Iranian readiness to conduct offensive operations against US forces and interests.”
Tensions between Iran and the US have escalated sharply in recent weeks.
The US unilaterally backed out of a 2015 nuclear pact in May 2018, effectively giving countries worldwide a year to stop buying Iranian oil or face US sanctions, which Washington says are aimed at completely choking off Iranian crude exports.
Washington last month blacklisted Iran’s Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist group.
US officials say they have detected indications that Iran could be preparing a military response.
Speaking on condition of anonymity to Reuters news agency, officials say one of the pieces of intelligence indicated Iran had moved missiles on boats, with giving details of the claim.
One of the officials said the particular missile observed was perhaps capable of launching from a small ship.
The officials also noted growing concerns about the threat from Iran-backed militia in Iraq, which have long avoided any confrontation with US troops under the shared goal of defeating the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, or ISIS).
Rhetoric has grown heated on both sides.
Iranian news agency ISNA quoted Ayatollah Tabatabai-Nejad in the city of Isfahan as saying: “Their billion dollar fleet can be destroyed with one missile.
“If they attempt any move, they will … (face) dozens of missiles because at that time (government) officials won’t be in charge to act cautiously, but instead things will be in the hands of our beloved leader (Ayatollah Ali Khamenei),” he said on Friday.
Thousands of Iranians took part in marches on Friday to support the government’s decision to reduce limits on its nuclear programme. Iran has threatened to go further if other parties to the 2015 deal – Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia – fail to shield it from US sanctions.
Iranian TV channels showed protesters marching after Friday prayers in Tehran and said similar marches had been held across Iran.
by VoV Web Desk
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Lyon agree deal to sign former Arsenal attacker Reine-Adelaide
Lyon have agreed a deal in principle to sign attacking midfielder Jeff Reine-Adelaide from Ligue 1 rivals Angers.
The 21-year-old will undergo a medical before finalising a move reportedly worth around €30million.
Arsenal, Reine-Adelaide's former club, have the opportunity to hijack the deal by submitting an equivalent bid.
The Gunners inserted the clause as part of the France Under-21 international's departure in 2018 but are not expected to match Lyon's offer.
Reine-Adelaide made 35 top-flight appearances last season, scoring three times, and could make his Les Gones debut against Angers on Friday.
Elsewhere in France, Montpellier have acquired goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli on a season-long loan from Real Sociedad.
The deal includes an option for Montpellier to sign the Argentinian on a permanent basis.
Lovren lifts leaders Liverpool as defender returns to training
Art attack! Everton's first team, as you've never seen them before
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Ms-120,55v
CC BY-NC 4.0. Original at the Wren Library, Trinity College, Cambridge, where in 2014-15, on the request of the Wittgenstein Archives at the University of Bergen (WAB) and with the generous financial support of the Stanhill Foundation, London, this scan was produced. The image was post-processed at WAB and is reproduced here by permission of The Master and Fellows of Trinity College, Cambridge, and the University of Bergen, Bergen. The sale, further reproduction or use of this image for commercial purposes without prior permission from the copyright holder is prohibited. © 2015 The Master and Fellows of Trinity College, Cambridge; The University of Bergen, Bergen
(2015-) Wittgenstein Source Bergen Nachlass Edition (WS- BNE). Edited by the Wittgenstein Archives at the University of Bergen under the direction of Alois Pichler. In: Wittgenstein Source (2009-). (N) Bergen: WAB.
To cite this element you can use the following URL:
BOXVIEW: http://wittgensteinsource.org/BFE/Ms-120,56r_f
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PROGRAM ČITAJ MEDIJA FAJLOVI BAZA LINKOVA
o nama · press · partneri i sponzori · kontakt
WIO > ČITAJ > WORLD-INFO FLASH > INDUSTRY GROUP ...
DIGITAL ECOLOGY
DIGITAL HUMAN RIGHTS
WORLD-INFO FLASH
23 03 2001 WORLD-INFO FLASH
Industry Group Campaigns Against Internet-Privacy Legislation
by World-Information.Org
++ Privacy is too Expensive ++ Links ++
A group of companies and industry organizations has quietly started a campaign against Internet-privacy legislation. Led by the Online Privacy Alliance in Washington, whose members include corporations such as Disney, Equifax, Microsoft and DoubleClick Inc., they aim at halting the advance of dozens of privacy bills in U.S. Congress and in state legislatures across the country. Working together closely with the Direct Marketing Association (DMA), the largest trade association for direct-mail and marketing companies, the group recently went public with four industry funded studies that attack legislative proposals on three fronts: identifying expensive regulatory burdens, raising questions about how any U.S. Internet law would apply to non-Internet industries, and assuring lawmakers that privacy is best guarded by new technology, not new laws.
One of the studies, pursued by Ernst & Young LLP, concludes that significant restrictions on information sharing would cost 90 of the largest financial institutions up to US$ 17 billion a year of added expenses. Another study by Fred H. Cate and Michael E. Staten argues that limitations on the free flow of personal information would boost the risk of fraud and identity theft. Their argument: if an Internet retailer can’t verify address information with a credit card company, fraud becomes harder to police. Although the studies – one of them done by the DMA - deliver different findings, their arguments are aimed at the same direction: the legitimization of the collection and storage of personal data. Yet supporters of privacy protection measures contend that lawmakers face enormous public pressure to move ahead, noting that some high-tech companies – including Intel, Hewlett Packard and AOL – now favor modest protections. “It’s hard to imagine that Congress is not going to act on the privacy issue … [but] I don’t think anyone expected a bill to be flying on the floor at this point.” said Marc Rotenberg, president of the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) in Washington.
++ LINKS ++
Privacy Foundation
>>> http://www.privacyfoundation.org/
Online Privacy Alliance
>>> http://www.privacyalliance.org/
The Privacy Coalition
>>> http://www.privacypledge.org
European Commission, DG Internal Market – Data Protection
>>> http://europa.eu.int/comm/internal_market/en/media/dataprot/
Privacy & Human Rights 2000 (EPIC/PI)
>>> http://www.privacyinternational.org/survey/
polisa sigurnosti
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- Adventure & outdoors
- Arts & theatre
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> Suggested Itineraries
- 3, 5 Days or more
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Welcome to Cape Town - South Africa
Welcome to Cape Town - a city with a diverse range of attractions, sights and activities to offer. From lavish and luxurious to back-packing on a budget, Cape Town has something for everyone. From the landmark beaches of Clifton and Camps Bay to the vibrant V&A Waterfront and Cape Town city centre and the award winning wine farms of Stellenbosch and Franschhoek - time spent in CapeTown will not be forgotten. Watch a video of Cape Town
Short video of Cape Town
Watch videos of Cape Town
For a quick overview of what Cape Town has to offer, watch our introductory video. For more, see our other videos of Cape Town.
NEW - Green Point Biodiversity Park
Although it has been open for some months now, the new Green Point Biodiversity Park is still relatively unknown but it is definitely worth a visit. The park, situated alongside the Cape Town Stadium, was created from the land which was essentially a building site during the construction of the stadium for the World Cup. Now it has been transformed into a wonderful open green space representing the diversity of flora found in the Western Cape - over 300 species are present. Walkways, water features, interactive displays and information as well as picnic spots, shaded benches and a truly wonderful childrens play area are just a few of the hightlights. The park is open from 7am-7pm daily and entrance is free. There are two entrances, one in Bay Road near the Green Point lighthouse, and another near the 'fan walk' on the Virgin Active gym side.
Planning your stay in CapeTown South Africa
With its wide variety of activities one could easily spend a week or more in Cape Town. It is a good idea to have a rough idea of what you would like to see and do while in Cape Town and plan a rough itinerary. Take a look at some suggestions on how to spend a 3-day or 5-day visit to Cape Town or join one of the many organised day tours from wine route tours to guided walks.
Enjoy the great outdoors Shop at the Waterfront Visit Kirstenbosch Gardens
Arriving in Cape Town, South Africa
Cape Town airport offers an excellent entry point to South Africa. The airport has recently undergone extensive renovations to bring it into line with international standards. When in South Africa it is advisable to hire a car as many destinations are not easily accessible by public transport. Although there are public transport systems in Cape Town, they are not entirely suited to the holiday maker and are not always reliable after hours. A self-drive tour starting in Cape Town and traveling through South Africa is a popular holiday choice. More on Cape Town International Airport.
Detailed pages
Top 6 attractions
> Table Mountain & Cableway
> Cape Point & Table Mountain National Park
> Robben Island
> Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens
> V&A Waterfront
> Cape Winelands
> Boulders Penguin Colony
> Castle of Good Hope
> Two Oceans Aquarium
> World of Birds
> Rhodes Memorial
> Township Tours
> Beaches
> City Bowl
> Atlantic Seaboard
> Southern Suburbs
> Constantia
> False Bay
> Hout Bay
> Blouberg
> Winelands
> Walking & Hiking
> Watersports
> Boats & Charters
> Air Activities
For Kirstenbosch Summer Concerts Programme click here
Pay a visit to one of the towns nearby Cape Town, explore the Breede River Valley, Overberg Region or West Coast. Take a scenic drive and take in the sights, or stay for a night or two.
©2000 - 2007 About Cape Town. All rights reserved.
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Home » Archives by category » SOUTHERN AFRICA » South Africa
JOHANNESBURG – South Africa’s Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba on Sunday apologised to his family that a “video containing material of a sexual nature, meant for our eyes only” had leaked and been used in an attempt to blackmail him. He stated on Twitter that the video had been “stolen when my communication got illegally […]
No Connection Between Myself and VBS – Brian Shivambu
The younger brother of EFF deputy president Floyd Shivambu has denied that he received money from collapsed VBS Mutual Bank and has threatened to go after those who “defamed” him. According to a damning forensic report by advocate Terry Motau and law firm Werksmans Attorneys, Brian Shivambu, owner of Sgameka projects, received R16m. The report, […]
Transnet tests the world’s longest train to help miners of manganese
Transnet Freight Rail (TFR) successfully tested the world’s longest train with the intention of serving growing demand from SA’s manganese miners for access to export markets for the key steel ingredient. SA has the world’s largest manganese deposits and is a leading player in supplying the mineral to steel mills, but mining companies have long […]
South Africa decriminalises marijuana
JOHANNESBURG – The Constitutional Court has handed down its judgement on the private use of marijuana. Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo has upheld earlier high court judgment. The judgment decriminalises the use of dagga at home. The Dagga Party has for many years been fighting for the decriminalisation of marijuana. But the state argues psycho-active […]
September 19, 2018No CommentRead More
Donald Trump Govt issues travel warning…. SA now murder capital of the world
The US state department warned its citizens to “exercise increased caution” in South Africa due to crime‚ civil unrest and drought – a day after police revealed the latest crime statistics. “Violent crime‚ such as armed robbery‚ rape‚ carjacking‚ mugging‚ and ‘smash-and-grab’ attacks on vehicles‚ is common‚” a travel advisory warned on September 12. “There […]
CIA alerted South Africa about Guptas in 2009 – report
The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in 2009 alerted South African state intelligence structures to the potential threat of the Gupta family, a Sunday newspaper has reported. Former intelligence officials Gibson Njenje and Moe Shaik told the Sunday Times that they had been involved in a probe into the Guptas. Njenje told the newspaper he […]
September 2, 2018No CommentRead More
Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa Receives Safety Permit
The Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) has received a one year safety permit, dated the 31stof August 2018, through to 31 July 2019, allowing them to continue operations. However, the United National Transport Union (UNTU) is disturbed as to how the Railway Safety Regulator (RSR) could have provided PRASA with a safety permit […]
August 31, 2018No CommentRead More
WATCH: Security guard shot dead trying to help a man being robbed in Rosebank
A security guard was shot dead in Rosebank on Friday afternoon. This is after he saw four suspects attempting to rob a man who was walking on the side of the road, police spokesperson Lungelo Dlamini told News24. “A man was walking on the street when he was approached by four suspects who wanted to […]
Two dead in White City as residents clash with foreign shop owners
JOHANNESBURG – Foreign shop owners in White City are packing up what’s left of their stock after widespread looting and violence in the Soweto community that has left two people dead. The pair was shot dead on Wednesday when crowds of people moved from one shop to the next, stealing what they could carry. It’s […]
Theresa May welcomes Ramaphosa’s assurances on land reform
CAPE TOWN – British Prime Minister Theresa May says she welcomes President Cyril Ramaphosa’s assurances that land reform won’t involve smash and grabs. She was speaking after announcing in Cape Town plans for billions of pounds of investment in Africa over the next four years, more UK trade missions on the continent and a new […]
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interview@avimeter.com
Emirates Flight Training Academy selects TRU Simulation + Training for industry-first simulators
GA Telesis Acts as Structuring Agent for the Acquisition and Financing of Ten Boeing Aircraft for a Major US Airline
SWISS now flying with a fully-refurbished Airbus A340 fleet
SAA Consolidates Selected Domestic Flights And International Services To Munich
Six West announces the promotion of Matthew Gee to Chief Operating Officer
ALAS Group considers establishing an ATO in Nepal
Magnetic MRO Training received Airbus A320 NEO LEAP 1a and PW1100G type training approval
An "augmented" training experience at AFI KLM E&M
Volotea selects Airbus Services as its exclusive long-term partner for A319 Family pilot training
Avion Express to launch Type Rating training program with BAA Training aviation academy
Airbus launches ab initio Pilot Cadet Training Programme
15 11,2017
Dubai, UAE, 15 November 2017- Emirates Flight Training Academy, the state of the art training facility developed by Emirates to train cadet pilots has signed an agreement with TRU Simulation + Training Inc., a Textron Inc. (NYSE:TXT) company, to supply six new Flight Simulation Training Devices (FSTDs) with mini-motion systems for the Academy. The agreement was signed during the Dubai Air Show in the presence of His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive of Emirates Airline and Group, by Adel Al Redha, Emirates’ Executive Vice President and Chief Operations Officer and James Takats, Senior Vice President, Global Simulation and Training Strategy, Textron Inc.,
As launch customer, the Emirates Flight Training Academy will receive these six mini-motion flight simulation training devices, which are the first of their kind in the global aviation industry and mark a new product line and class of simulators for TRU. Three of the devices will be configured as Cirrus SR22 G6 FNPT2 and three as Embraer Phenom 100EV FTD Level II/MCC.
“The Emirates Flight Training Academy is committed to harnessing the latest in aviation technology to provide an immersive, engaging and more realistic training experience for our cadets,” said Adel Al Redha, Emirates’ Executive Vice President and Chief Operations Officer. “We’ve invested in some of the most advanced flight training aircraft for our cadets, and investing in an innovative and robust training platform for flight simulation is the next logical step,” he added.
Ian Walsh, TRU President & CEO, commented that, “From ab initio devices to simulators for their larger aircraft that serve the air transport market, TRU looks forward to a long-term partnership in providing a total training solution to the Emirates Flight Training Academy. We’re confident that the fidelity of our SR-22 and P100EV devices will provide a superior training environment for the students.”
The Emirates Flight Training Academy is designed to be one of the most advanced ab initio pilot training facilities in the world. The Academy features cutting edge classroom technology combined with a modern fleet of 27 training aircraft to deliver effective training to cadets. With the new mini full motion simulators provided by TRU, the Academy will be able to provide the most realistic training platform to cadets allowing them to consolidate and reinforce their learning. The training will also surpass typical qualification levels of lower level devices before the cadets earn their wings on the Academy’s fleet of 22 Cirrus SR22 G6 single-engine piston and five Embraer Phenom 100EV very light jet aircraft.
The Academy worked closely with TRU, the aircraft and the avionics manufacturers during the development of the mini-motion FSTDs to create and qualify a hybrid device that uniquely serves the training needs of aspiring airline cadets. The simulators are built on TRU’s ODYSSEY 7 technology which brings a new level of realism to fixed wing aircraft through a state-of-the-art mini-motion system. The fidelity demonstrated by this new technology allows cadets to experience flight cues, which are vital as they develop their sense-based knowledge foundation on how to respond to real life scenarios. The simulators will be installed at the Academy in 2018.
ALAS Group considers establish
Magnetic MRO Training received
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Home › Forum › OFF-TOPIC THREAD 666: THE RAPTURE THAT WASN'T (18+)
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OFF-TOPIC THREAD 666: THE RAPTURE THAT WASN'T (18+)
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Deathdrop
And here's why:
http://www.alienvspredator2.com/forum/6008.html
EDIT: There are loads of potentially offensive things in this thread, so please keep out if you're under 18 years old.
-Bloo-
NO, YOUR FACE IS THE RAPTURE THAT WASN'T, I HAVE PROOF THAT IT HAPPENED IN AN ALTERNATE UNIVERSE:
MODERATOR / LEADER OF THE SHADOW SERPENTS
No, no, no no no. You don't know who you're fucking with.
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Not only is Randy Savage the TRUE King of Kings (as signified by his sweet crown), but he's also got a god (Zeus) on his side. Rapture Jesus cannot possibly prevail.
Snap into a Slim Jim... BITCH.
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Nobody messes with the macho man randy savage! Oooh Yeah!
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He died preventing the rapture, yes. May 21st will from this day forth be known as Macho Madness.
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This is too important not to widen the page.
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"No, no, no no no. You don't know who you're fucking with.
Snap into a Slim Jim... BITCH."
Hey kids! It's time for...
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oooooo good rule
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The watch will be available in two sizes; 49mm and 45mm, and three colors; gold, silver and gunmetal. There's an option of either a rubber, leather or stainless steel band. Any traditional watch strap will also work as long as it's 22mm in size. If you're the type that wants to show off, there's also a Swarovski crystal-studded leather strap. The watch is powered by a quad-core Snapdragon 400 processor, the same chip used in virtually every other Android Wear device, and is equipped with 512MB of RAM and 4GB of internal storage. It carriers a water-resistant rating of IP67. That means you can wear in the shower and while doing the dishes, but swimming is out of the question.
The larger model sports a 1.63-inch rectangular AMOLED display with a 320x320-pixel resolution, while the smaller models features a 1.45-inch rectangular AMOLED display with a resolution of 280x280, Both of those work out to about 278 pixels per inch (ppi) and 273 ppi, respectively -- the higher the number of pixels, the sharper the screen looks, I have the same complaint with the ZenWatch 2 that I had with the original, The bezel around the display is simply too big, and it takes away from an otherwise nice-looking watch, The ZenWatch 2 also doesn't do anything special (aside from a few preloaded apps Asus that are included), In fact, it lacks some of the standard features we iphone xs / x clear sheer crystal case and balloon dog have seen in other Android Wear watches, There's a six-axis sensor for tracking steps, but the ZenWatch is one of the few smartwatches that doesn't include an optical heart-rate sensor..
The larger of the two models has a 400mAh battery (compared to 300mAh on the smaller model), which is said to get up to two days of use on a single charge. It's unclear how long the battery on the smaller model lasts, although I suspect it would last around a day and a half. This is far off from the Pebble Time Steel, which can last almost a week. The ZenWatch 2 features an all-new magnetic charger that is said to provided 35 percent faster battery recharge times than the original. It should take only 36 minutes to charge the watch from zero to 50 percent capacity, which is pretty nice.
Catch all the electronics news from this week's show in Berlin, Editors' note, September 2, 2015: The ZenWatch 2 was originally announced at the Computex trade show in June, This article has been updated with additional hardware and release information from the company's IFA announcement, The Apple Watch Series 3 offers built-in cellular for data and even phone calls, It works., After a month with the Fitbit Versa, we're looking past its limitations and finding there's., Weeks-long iphone xs / x clear sheer crystal case and balloon dog battery, always-on screen, and yeah, $80..
This slim "smart" activity tracker features GPS, a heart-rate monitor, color touch-screen.. It’s got everything you’d expect from a smartwatch, including cellular connectivity --.. The new Android Wear-powered ZenWatch 2 will come in two sizes -- 49mm and 45mm -- and work on both iPhone and Android smartphones. We have seen an influx of premium smartwatches this summer from Apple, LG and Huawei, among others, but Asus believes a nice smartwatch doesn't have to cost you an arm and a leg. The company's new ZenWatch 2 is both stylish and affordable. Asus on Wednesday announced at the IFA trade show in Berlin that the Android Wear-powered watch will arrive in October with a starting price of €149 (converted to £110 for the UK) in Europe.
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The Drowning of Money Island
A Forgotten Community’s Fight Against the Rising Seas Forever Changing Coastal America
Author: Andrew S. Lewis
Offers a glimpse of the future of vanishing shorelines in America in the age of climate change, where the wealthy will be able to remain the longest while the poor will be forced to leave.
Journalist Andrew Lewis chronicles the struggle of his New Jersey hometown to rebuild their ravaged homes in the face of the same environmental stresses and governmental neglect that are endangering coastal areas throughout the United States. Lewis grew up on the Bayshore, a 40-mile stretch of Delaware Bay beaches, marshland, and fishing hamlets at the southern end of New Jersey, whose working-class community is fighting to retain their place in a country that has left them behind. The Bayshore, like so many rural places in the US, is under immense pressure from a combination of severe economic decline, industry loss, and regulation. But it is also contending with one of the fastest rates of sea level rise on the planet and the aftereffects of one of the most destructive hurricanes in American history, Superstorm Sandy. If in the years prior to Sandy the Bayshore had already been slowly disappearing, its beaches eroding and lowland cedar woods hollowing out into saltwater-bleached ghost forests, after the hurricane, the community was decimated. Today, homes and roads and memories are crumbling into the rising bay.
Cumberland, the poor, rural county where the Bayshore is located, had been left out of the bulk of the initial federal disaster relief package post-Sandy. Instead of money to rebuild, the Bayshore got the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s Superstorm Sandy Blue Acres Program, which identified and purchased flood-prone neighborhoods where working-class citizens lived, then demolished them to be converted to open space.
The Drowning of Money Island is an intimate yet unbiased, lyrical yet investigative portrait of a rural community ravaged by sea level rise and economic hardship, as well as the increasingly divisive politics those factors have helped spawn. It invites us to confront how climate change is already intensifying preexisting inequality.
“New Jersey coast native Lewis provides valuable perspective, utilizing his own experiences growing up in the area to relate to how the current residents feel. While by no means a one-sided polemic on doomsday scenarios, this excellent read does serve as a clarion call for those who question climate change.”
“[A] thoughtful, probing study.”
“This book humanizes the experience in ways that others have not.”
“A must-read for anyone interested in how climate change is already deepening preexisting inequality. Meticulously and empathetically reported, The Drowning of Money Island invites readers to confront the difficult decisions that come with storm recovery in our era of higher tides and supercharged hurricanes. Stay or go, rebuild or retreat? The way we answer these questions will define who we become.”
—Elizabeth Rush, author of Rising: Dispatches from the New American Shore
“Elizabeth Kolbert’s The Sixth Extinction revealed the unnatural history of life’s struggle across Earth’s ice ages and water worlds. Andrew Lewis’s The Drowning of Money Island tells that story as it is happening, now, to the Delaware Bay neighbors of his rural hometown, where entire communities have been forced to abandon their homes and their American dreams. Lewis limns the region’s history to explain how rising waters threaten the watermen’s homes, their jobs, their children’s future, and their way of life.”
—Craig Nelson, best-selling author of Rocket Men and The Age of Radiance
“A deeply insightful narrative of both cultural and ecological migrations, The Drowning of Money Island shows us that while government agencies use cost-benefit equations to decide which neighborhoods should stay or go, the true cost of displacing people, disrupting cultural identity, is largely unrealized and undervalued. If this book were in the hands of our leadership today, they would understand the true cost of climate change and the moral obligation to move quickly to prevent harm to future generations.”
—Marcus Eriksen, author of Junk Raft and cofounder of the 5 Gyres Institute
“The Drowning of Money Island is a heartbreaking chronicle of the evolution of one coastal community in the age of climate disruption. Lewis writes lucidly of the tension between retreat and resilience and portrays a seaside landscape—its marshes, waterways, and fishes, and the kind of people drawn to them—with bracing honesty. This is a remarkable book.”
—Amy Seidl, author of Finding Higher Ground: Adaptation in the Age of Warming
“Climate change is wrecking peoples’ lives today. Even Americans’. Lewis’s lyrical homage to a community all too literally on the edge, warns of a million tragedies to come. The guardians of our coasts talk of ‘managed retreat’ in the face of rising tides. For the people of Bayshore, Superstorm Sandy proved to be the tipping point to managed demolition of their community.”
—Fred Pearce, author of Fallout: Disasters, Lies, and the Legacy of the Nuclear Age
“Both insider and journalist, reporter and member of the vanishing world he describes, Andrew Lewis delivers a resonant story of rising seas, grit, and loss on a working-class stretch of New Jersey coast known as the Bayshore. Lewis is a keen-eyed observer of mores, gesture, landscape, and sky, but The Drowning of Money Island sings most beautifully because he grew up on this shore. Climate change has struck, and he enables us to experience this singular community’s fight for survival as if it were our own. One of the many reasons to read this book is that before long, it might be.”
—Michael Greenberg, author of Beg, Borrow, Steal: A Writer’s Life
PART I: THE STORM
“Our American Dream”
“Where poor people came to get away”
“Thus far, and no farther shalt thou go”
“The next least liked”
“We know not what a Day may bring forth.”
PART II: NO RETREAT
“Hey man, that’s cool.”
“The window is getting smaller.”
“Save the bay.”
PART THREE: RESILIENCE
“I know where it is and will always return.”
“Aren’t we a part of this?”
“I’m just a dumb fisherman.”
“I think it’s the bugs.”
“We have gobs of plans.”
“This view, we shall see, persists.”
“Build your wings on the way down.”
“A Forgotten Community’s Fight Against The Rising Seas Threatening Coastal America,” Rising Up with Sonali/KPFK Pacifica Radio, interview
“NJ Policy on Managed Retreat Must Become Equitable as Sea Levels Rise,” New Jersey Spotlight, op-ed
“When a Hurricane Hits the Delaware Bay,” Literary Hub, excerpt
“The cost of rising seas in N.J.” WHYY/Radio Times, interview with author and Gilbert Gaul
“As sea levels rise, one Delaware Bay community is vanishing,” The Press of Atlantic City, author quoted and book mentioned
Publication Date: 10/1/2019
Size:6 x 9 Inches (US)
Format: Cloth
American Society > Law and Society
Environment and Conservation > Energy and Climate
Environment and Conservation > Nature and Environment > General
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oa Authors’ Response
Barry A. Finette1, Megan McLaughlin2, Samuel V. Scarpino3, John Canning4, Michelle Grunauer5, Enrique Teran5, Marisol Bahamonde5, Edy Quizhpe6, Rashed Shah7, Eric Swedberg7, Kazi Asadur Rahman8, Hosenera Khondker8, Ituki Chakma8, Denis Muhoza9, Awa Seck9, Assiatta Kabore9, Salvator Nibitanga9, Barry Heath10
Affiliations: 1 University of Vermont Robert Larner College of Medicine and University of Vermont Children’s HospitalBurlington, VermontTHINKMD, Inc.Burlington, Vermont 2 THINKMD, Inc.Burlington, Vermont 3 Northeastern UniversityBoston, Massachusetts 4 Physicians Computer CompanyWinooski, Vermont 5 Universidad San Francisco de QuitoQuito, Ecuador 6 University of San Francisco de Quito–Ecuador Ministry of Health-AffiliateQuito, Ecuador 7 Save the Children–USFairfield, Connecticut 8 Save the Children–International BangladeshDhaka, Bangladesh 9 UNICEF-Burkina FasoOuagadougou, Burkina Faso 10 University of Vermont Robert Larner College of Medicine and University of Vermont Children’s HospitalBurlington, VermontTHINKMD, Inc.Burlington, Vermont
Source: The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, Volume 101, Issue 4, 2 Oct 2019, p. 949 - 950
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4269/ajtmh.19-0411b
[open-access] This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
/content/journals/10.4269/ajtmh.19-0411b
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Ansermino JM, Wiens MO, Kissoon , 2019. Evidence and transparency are needed to develop a frontline health worker mHealth Assessment Platform. Am J Trop Med Hyg 101: 948. [Google Scholar]
Finette B, 2019. Development and initial validation of a frontline health worker mHealth assessment platform (MEDSINC®) for children 2–60 months of age. Am J Trop Med Hyg 100: 1556–1565. [Google Scholar]
FDA, 2017. Software as a Medical Device (SAMD): Clinical Evaluation–Guidance for Industry and Food and Drug Administration Staff. FDA Office for Digital Health Program. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Food and Drug Administration, Center for Devices and Radiological Health. pp. 1–30. Available at: https://www.fda.gov/media/100714/download. [Google Scholar]
Digital Development Working Group, 2017. Principles of Digital Development. Community Forum. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA), the UN’s Children’s Fund (UNICEF), UN Development Program (UNDP), the World Bank, and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and the World Health Organization (WHO). Available at: https://digitalprinciples.org/principles/. Accessed August 3, 2016. [Google Scholar]
Vermont General Assembly. Title 11A: Vermont Business Corporations, chapter 21. Benefit Corporations. Available at: https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/fullchapter/11A/021. Accessed August 5, 2014. [Google Scholar]
Department of Reproductive Health and Research, World Health Organization (WHO), 2018. Technical Working Group on Computable Guidelines and Machine Learning for Improving Population Service Delivery and Accountability for SRMNCAH. Geneva, Switzerland: Department of Reproductive Health and Research. World Health Organization. [Google Scholar]
World Health Organization (WHO), Foundation for Innovative New Devices (FIND), 2018. Standardized Electronic Clinical Decision-Support Algorithms: Linking Diagnostics and Appropriate Treatment to Improve Patient Outcome in the Context of Universal Healthcare. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization (WHO) and Foundation for Innovative New Devices (FIND). [Google Scholar]
http://instance.metastore.ingenta.com/content/journals/10.4269/ajtmh.19-0411b
Published online : 02 Oct 2019
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Efficacy of Antivenom Therapy for Neutralizing Circulating Venom Antigens in Patients Stung by Tityus Serrulatus Scorpions
Nilton Alves de Rezende, Mariana Borges Dias, Delio Campolina, Carlos Chavez-Olortegui, Carlos Ribeiro Diniz, Carlos Faria Santos Amaral
Affiliations: 1 Departamento de Clinica Medica, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil; Servico de Toxicologia do Hospital Joao XXIII, Fundacao Hospitalar do Estado de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil; Fundacao Ezequiel Dias (FUNED), Belo Horizonte, Brazil
Source: The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, Volume 52, Issue 3, 1 Mar 1995, p. 277 - 280
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4269/ajtmh.1995.52.277
Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays for detection of Tityus serrulatus venom antigen and of horse anti-T. serrulatus venom antibodies were carried out before antivenom treatment and at 1, 6, 12, and 24 hr after antivenom therapy in 18 patients with systemic manifestations following T. serrulatus scorpion sting. Increased levels of circulating venom antigens were detected in the patients before antivenom treatment, but were no longer detected 1 hr after specific antivenom therapy. High titers of antivenom persisted for at least 24 hr after treatment with antivenom. The evolution of clinical and laboratory manifestations of envenoming showed that vomiting and local pain decreased within 1 hr and hyperglycemia was no longer detected 12 hr after antivenom therapy. The cardiorespiratory manifestations disappeared 6–24 hr after the administration of antivenom and all patients recovered completely. This study demonstrates the efficacy of antivenom therapy in neutralizing circulating venom antigens and supports the prompt administration of a potent antivenom to patients with systemic manifestations of envenoming.
/content/journals/10.4269/ajtmh.1995.52.277
http://instance.metastore.ingenta.com/content/journals/10.4269/ajtmh.1995.52.277
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Beneficial and adverse effects of cannabidiol in a Parkinson patient with sinemet-induced dystonic dyskinesia.
Snider SR, Consroe P.
Neurology 1985;35(Suppl):201.
Improvement of dyskinesia
(Fulltext)
In idiopathic dystonia, the terapeutic effect of marijuana smoking is reported to be comparable to diazepam (C.D. Marsden, in Disorders of Movement, 1981,81). The non-psychoactive cannabis derivative, cannabidiol (CBD), also improves dystonia (Consroe and Snider, in Cannbinoids as Therapeutic Agents, in press). We report the effect of CBD on dystonia secondary to Sinemet in parkinsonism, a disorder thought to be a relative contraindication for cannabinoids (D.Moss et al, Pharmacol Biochem Behav 1981, 1984). The patient, a 42-year- old man with an 8-year history of parkinsonism, developed peak-dose dyskinesia about 4 years ago and action dystonia affecting all limbs more recently. Trihexyphenidyl and bromocriptine each produced only slight improvement. To stable optimal dosages of the three drugs, CBD was added, starting with 100 mg/d and increasing by 100 mg weekly. At 100 to 200 mg/d, there was a decrease in clinical fluctuations and in dyskinesia scores (by 30%) without a significant worsening of the parkinsonism. At 300 to 400 mg/d, there was no further improvement in the dyskinesia, and adverse effects (dizziness, drowsiness, increased Parkinson symptoms) appeared. CBD withdrawal resulted in 3 days of severe generalized dystonia and several weeks of increased sensitivity to Sinemet, suggestive of a “drug holiday” effect.
1 patient with parkinsonism and secondary dystonia.
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Home » News » 2014
» Vital Ministry Journey helps congregations and relationships
Vital Ministry Journey helps congregations and relationships
Church of the Brethren Newsline
By Lucas Kauffman
The Church of the Brethren Congregational Life Ministries started the Vital Ministry Journey in 2011. According to Jonathan Shively, executive director of Congregational Life Ministries, the initiative started with a conversation between Congregational Life staff and Middle Pennsylvania District executive David Steele. Shively and Stan Dueck, director of Transforming Practices, had conversations with Steele about how to find a way to work with different congregations to solve problems proactively.
For the latest Brethren news go to the main Newsline page
Vital Ministry Journey is designed to uniquely fit each congregation. It begins with a 60-day, 6-session Bible study for small groups within a congregation, for everyone from youth to adults. Congregational Life provides the Bible sessions in a lectio divina format, with a series of study questions and time for sharing and prayer. Each small group agrees to covenants and guidelines for respectful communication. Communication is carried out through a style of mutual invitation, in which everyone is invited to participate.
Every small group has a facilitator. Every congregation is coached by a district coach or staff of Congregational Life Ministries. The Vital Ministry Journey experience for each congregation begins with a kick-off event, and ends with a celebration. The celebration also is a way to hear feedback from each small group.
The Vital Ministry Journey helps support congregations in a more identifiable way in their respective districts. It helps people within congregations strengthen relationships, and also helps congregations think about their life and mission both within the congregation and in the community. The Vital Ministry Journey may, in addition, help a congregation identify members’ passions, interests, and energy.
More than 60 congregations have completed, or have started the first step of the journey.
“We wanted to find a process that fit all kinds of congregations,” said Shively. “Each congregation will have its own different outcomes.”
Resources developing out of Vital Ministry Journey
There are several things that the Vital Ministry can be used for, including looking at a congregation’s mission, discovery, and affirmation. The process also takes a look at the question of what God is doing in the congregation, and in the world. Several resources are planned by Congregational Life staff, to be developed as part of the Vital Ministry Journey. “There are stewardship and evangelical resources, as well as worship resources being planned,” said Shively.
A related resource is the new spiritual gifts resource Congregational Life is now offering to congregations, see www.brethren.org/news/2014/congregational-life-offers-spiritual-gifts-resource.html . The spiritual gifts resource can be used as a next step in the Vital Ministry Journey, or as another alternative to the Vital Ministry Journey. It is one of a “tool kit of resources,” said Shively. “Congregations can pick different resources. The resources are not dependent on each other.”
A congregational survey is a part of that tool kit. “The survey helps look at marks of vital congregations,” said Shively. “It helps congregations take a more intentional look at their life together, and look at strengths, as well as areas that they could improve.”
Response from congregations and districts
More than 60 congregations have completed, or have started the first step of the journey. Five districts have partnered with Congregational Life Ministries to offer the Vital Ministry Journey to congregations, and individual congregations in three other districts have participated.
“The response to the Vital Ministry Journey has mostly been positive,” said Shively. “Creating a focus on relationships has been positive, and having a focus on scripture is powerful for people. There is also a sense of energy that comes from congregations that have been through this. Congregations want to do something further, like continue Bible studies, some churches want to have more of a presence within their own community, churches want to continue building relationships with people, they look at their structures and worship and some churches look at their visioning processes.”
Highland Avenue Church of the Brethren in Elgin, Ill., is one congregation that recently started on the Vital Ministry Journey. The congregation went through the small group study in the fall of 2013.
Jeanne Davies, associate pastor, said that the Highland Avenue Church went through the process because it wanted to look at the mission of the congregation. “There was a new program available from the Congregational Life Office, and we wanted to give it a try,’ she said.
According to Davies, people at Highland Avenue loved it. “People have said that they want to continue the small group Bible study,” she said. “We tried to form groups of people who really did not know each other, and that helped people get to know each other better.”
Right now, Highland Avenue is still in the process of putting together all the feedback from the Vital Ministry Journey. “We had a big celebration in December with discussion, and some groups gave their own reports,” said Davies. “Everything is being put together in a document, which is being reviewed by the church board.”
Davies recommends the Vital Ministry Journey to other congregations as “both a scripture-centered process and a discernment process, which is great. It helps invite the Holy Spirit in, and it helps the community to have a voice, with the small group format. It definitely helped strengthen relationships among people.
“I am excited to see where this process leads, and to see the next step in the process,” she said.
One reason that the Vital Ministry Journey has been so well received, according to Shively, is because of the partnership with the districts. “We listen well to both districts and congregations,” said Shively. ”I am pleasantly surprised at how well this has turned out,” he said. “I did not know how it would go in the beginning.”
For more information and resources
The Vital Ministry Journey resources are provided by Congregational Life Ministries and available to order from Brethren Press. For more information about the Vital Ministry Journey, go to www.brethren.org/congregationallife/vmj/about.html . To purchase materials from Brethren Press, go to www.brethrenpress.com or call 800-441-3712.
-- Lucas Kauffman in a student at Manchester University and recently completed a January term internship with the Church of the Brethren News Services.
Go to www.brethren.org/Newsline to subscribe to the Church of the Brethren Newsline free e-mail news service and receive church news every week.
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Bringing You New Business
Category Archives: Musical
Category Archives: "Musical"
QUEENS OF HIP HOP
QUEENS OF HIP HOP -- Mins | Music Documentary | 2011 Cast: Rah Digga, Salt-N-Pepa Director: Dandaly Prekins Synopsis Although the rap scene has been ruled by men for 20 years, this documentary shows how and which women are making big moves in the industry. See how Salt "N" Pepa, Lady Luck, Rah Digga and…
BANGIN
BANGIN -- Mins | Documentary | 2011 Cast: Various Artist Director: Ray Newman Synopsis Bangin takes you deep into the neighborhoods of some of Los Angeles' most deadly Latino street gangs including the 18th Street, Florence Boys, and San Pedro Loco's. Listen to the stories that they tell and the deadly lives they lead. This…
YOUNG JEEZY – THUG MOTIVATION
YOUNG JEEZY - THUG MOTIVATION 60 Mins | Music Biography | 2009 Cast: Young Jeezy Synopsis Hip Hop introduces its new phenomenon to the rap game... Meet Jay Jenkins aka Young Jeezy, known on the street as "The Snow Man". As one of the fastest rising Hip Hop stars to date, Jeezy sold over a…
WIZ KHALIFA & AMBER ROSE – DESTINATION FOREVER AFTER
WIZ KHALIFA & AMBER ROSE - DESTINATION FOREVER AFTER 60 Mins | Music Biography | 2013 Cast: Wiz Khalifa, Amber Rose Synopsis One of America's most unlikely couples, Wiz Kahlifa & Amber Rose began their careers on opposite paths in two different Pennsylvania towns. Today they have taken their place among Hip Hop Royalty and…
WHITNEY HOUSTON – GREATEST LOVE OF ALL
WHITNEY HOUSTON - GREATEST LOVE OF ALL 60 Mins | Music Biography | 2007 Cast: Whitney Houston Synopsis On Saturday February 18th 2012 there was a memorial service at the tiny New Hope Baptist Church in Newark N.J. It was by no means an end but a new beginning for millions of little girls who…
WEST, KANYE – UNAUTHORIZED
WEST, KANYE – UNAUTHORIZED 60 Mins | Music Biography | 2005 Cast: Kanye West Synopsis Follow the journey of one of Hip Hops most talented and influential Grammy winning producers turned double platinum artist. Witness how this Chicago native made his mark in Hip Hop, in just a few short years. He has produced for…
USHER – UNAUTHORIZED
USHER – UNAUTHORIZED 60 Mins | Music Biography | 2000 Cast: Usher Synopsis Usher was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee and moved to Atlanta with his family when he was 12. Ushers singing career began at the age of six when he joined the church choir. By the age of fourteen he was discovered by LA…
TYLER PERRY – FILM MAKER, BUSINESS ENTREPRENEUR, ENTERTAINMENT MOGUL
TYLER PERRY - FILM MAKER, BUSINESS ENTREPRENEUR, ENTERTAINMENT MOGUL 60 Mins | Music Biography | 2014 Cast: Tyler Perry Synopsis He was born Emmitt Perry Jr. but you know him as Tyler Perry, the often maligned but never underestimated iconic film producer, actor, writer and director who will forever be known as his female grandma…
THREE 6 MAFIA – KINGZ OF MEMPHIS
THREE 6 MAFIA - KINGZ OF MEMPHIS 60 Mins | Music Biography | 2008 Cast: Three 6 Mafia Synopsis With a string of platinum songs, their own MTV reality TV show, and the first rap group to win an Oscar and to perform at the prestigious Academy Awards ceremony, Three 6 Mafia has always been…
T.I. – U DON’T KNOW ME
T.I. - U DON’T KNOW ME 60 Mins | Music Biography | 2007 Cast: T.I Synopsis Experience the fortune, fame, tragedy and love affair of T.I. The rap industry has crowned its newest King of the south: T.I. His heart-warming story will move just about anyone. He stays far from being your norm rapper by…
T- PAIN – DIGITAL COLLABORATIONS
T- PAIN - DIGITAL COLLABORATIONS 60 Mins | Music Biography | 2010 Cast: T-Pain Synopsis Everything you need to know about this stellar performer is given in this full featured documentary. T-Pain is freakin' crowds from Mexico to London, Australia to Peru.
SNOOP DOGG – UNAUTHORIZED
SNOOP DOGG – UNAUTHORIZED 60 Mins | Music Biography | 2005 Cast: Snoop Dogg Synopsis See how Snoop Dogg, A.K.A. the Dogg Father, created his own niche in Hip Hop with his unique sound that keeps all his fans wanting more. He is one of the most loved Hip Hop artists in the world.
SISQO – TWENTY FOUR HOURS
SISQO - TWENTY FOUR HOURS 60 Mins | Music Biography | 1999 Cast: SISQO Synopsis Music Video Distributors presents this in-depth, behind-the-scenes look at a day in the life of pop sensation Sisqó. Released in 2001, Sisqó: Twenty Four Hours With Sisqó follows the award-winning artist and Dru Hill member to see what his life…
RUN DMC – FOREVER KINGS
RUN DMC - FOREVER KINGS 60 Mins | Music Biography | 2004 Cast: Run DMC Synopsis Innovators & originators, Run DMC's influence on the music of the new millenium goes every bit as deep of Elvis or the Beatles. The successes of Run DMC resounded through rap, rock, R&B, and eventually international pop of every…
RIHANNA – BARBADIAN SUPERSTARDOM
RIHANNA - BARBADIAN SUPERSTARDOM 60 Mins | Music Biography | 2012 Cast: Rihanna Synopsis This is a look at the life of the singer from the view of the fans, the industry, and the singer herself as she talks about the heartaches and celebration of being one of the most influential individuals in the music…
RICK ROSS – KING OF HUSTLIN: RICK ROSS
RICK ROSS - KING OF HUSTLIN: RICK ROSS 60 Mins | Music Biography | 2013 Cast: Rick Ross Synopsis This profile of hip-hop mogul Rick Ross, also known as William Leonard Roberts II, charts the star's story from obscurity to the height of fame, founding the label Maybach Music Group, on which he released his…
RHYMES, BUSTA – UNAUTHORIZED
RHYMES, BUSTA – UNAUTHORIZED 60 Mins | Music Biography | 2002 Cast: Busta Rhymes Synopsis In 1991 the world was introduced to Brooklyn's own Trevor Smith. Busta Rhymes, as he came to be know, always had a dynamic personality and an outlandish style. This 60 minute musical documentary follows Busta Rhymes, Rah Digga and the…
QUEENS OF HIP HOP 60 Mins | Music Biography | 2003 Cast: Lady Luck, Salt 'n' Pepa, Rah Digga Synopsis Although the rap scene has been ruled by men for 20 years, this documentary shows how and which women are making big moves in the industry. See how Salt "N" Pepa, Lady Luck, Rah Digga…
QUEEN LATIFAH – UNAUTHORIZED
QUEEN LATIFAH – UNAUTHORIZED 60 Mins | Music Biography | 2005 Cast: Queen Latifah Synopsis Follow the journey of how a little girl from the projects of Newark, New Jersey became a Queen in Hip Hop, jazz and on the silver screen. She has worked with the likes of Denzel Washington, Steve Martin, Danny Devito,…
PUSSY RIOT – DEATH TO PRISON, FREEDOM TO PROTEST
PUSSY RIOT - DEATH TO PRISON, FREEDOM TO PROTEST 60 Mins | Music Biography | 2014 Cast: Pussy Riot Synopsis In less than three years, Pussy Riot has morphed from a little-known feminist protest band to an international cause celebre. As its two jailed members are freed from prison under an amnesty, we chronicle the…
PRINCE – THE REIGN OF THE PRINCE OF AGES
PRINCE - THE REIGN OF THE PRINCE OF AGES 60 Mins | Music Biography | 2005 Cast: Prince Synopsis Prince is a true pop legend and an inspiring success story, and his rise to icon status is charted here in this revealing documentary. Beginning with his troubled Minneapolis origins, we see how this talented multi-instrumentalist…
POETS IN HIP HOP
POETS IN HIP HOP 60 Mins | Music Biography | 2005 Cast: Bridget Gray, Joy Jones, Miss Kimm, Gaknew, Gina Loring Synopsis Live from the Ivar Theater in Hollywood. Touchstar Media Presents the POETS IN HIP HOP. Featuring some of todays hottest spoken word artists, including Bidget Gray (2001 Grand Slam Champion), Gaknew, Miss Kimm,…
PLAYERS TOAST
PLAYERS TOAST 60 Mins | Music Biography | 2008 Cast: Ice T Synopsis Ice T hosts a one-of-a-kind event toasting the men who define the "Game" in America today. Learn how the legendary rapper got his start in the streets before going prime-time on TV's Law & Order, and meet the men who came up…
PHARRELL – NO BEATS UNKNOWN
PHARRELL - NO BEATS UNKNOWN 60 Mins | Music Biography | 2007 Cast: Pharrell Synopsis This full feature documentary examines everything Pharrell. Back in the day, Lee jeans reigned supreme in every hood. High top fades and gumbies ruled the rap game. Pharrell was six years old when the Sugar Hill Gang introduced the hit…
OUTKAST – DARE TO BE DIFFERENT
OUTKAST - DARE TO BE DIFFERENT 60 Mins | Music Biography | 2005 Cast: Outkast Synopsis OUTKAST went beyond Hip-Hop and hypnotized the whole world with their new style of music. A couple of Outkasts from Hotlanta (Atlanta), Big Boi and Dre, whose taste and style stand apart from everyone else. Their name speaks for…
Life at the Resort
Life at the Resort (2011) 1h 30min | Comedy | 21 November 2011 (USA) Cast: Marc Singer, Marisa...
PRINCE: The Reign of the Prince of Ages
The True Story behind one of the great musical performers of all time...
LOS DOS DE MICHOACAN
Action | 2004 Stars: Luis Barba, Bernabé Melendrez, Ramiro Sierra...
ARRIEROS SOMOS
1h 30min | Action | Video Director: Alejandro Chilpa Writer: Silvia Becerril Stars: Rodolfo de Anda Jr.,...
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FM Discusses Budget Proposals With Financial Sector Regulators
The Council also held consultations to obtain inputs and suggestions of the financial sector regulators for the Budget.
1469616646_AXcgBE_Nirmala-Sitharaman-new.jpg
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman reviewed the state of the economy and discussed various budget-related suggestions and proposals at a meeting with financial sector regulators here on Wednesday.
Sitharaman will present the first budget of Modi 2.0 government on July 5 against the backdrop of India's economy hitting a five-year low growth of 6.8 per cent in 2018-19.
Financial sector regulators, including RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das, Sebi Chairman Ajay Tyagi, and IRDAI chief Subhash Chandra Khuntia, and top finance ministry officials were present in the meeting of the Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC) headed by the finance minister, an official release said.
"As discussed in the other FSDC meetings, there was a general review of the current state of the economy, of the overall macro-economic situation, global developments, and there was a discussion on the forthcoming budget and various budget-related suggestions and proposals," the RBI governor said after the meeting.
The regulators and the concerned secretaries of the government were present in the meeting, he said. The FSDC is the apex body of sectoral regulators.
Finance Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg, Financial Services Secretary Rajiv Kumar, Revenue Secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey and Expenditure Secretary G C Murmu attended the meeting along with IBBI chairman M S Sahoo, and Corporate Affairs Secretary Injeti Srinivas.
Asked about the outlook for the economy, Das said current situation has already been spelt out after the Monetary Policy Committee meeting earlier this month.
"In the post MPC press conference, I have personally elaborated on the risks to global growth. On the outlook for India, for the current year, we have projected 7 per cent. We have also flagged the other issues in the MPC resolution, and in the statement which I made after the MPC. Beyond that I have nothing to add," he said.
Concerns with regard to focus on financial stability have been the underlying theme of all monetary policy decisions, he said.
"It is not explicitly stated. Should it be explicitly stated, the jury is still out, and a view has to be taken," he said.
Asked if any stimulus is required to prop up the economy, the governor said, "It is for the government to decide, and its the finance minister's prerogative to take a call on such matters."
The RBI governor further said that the Bimal Jalan committee, which is looking into the size of capital reserves that the RBI should hold, is likely to submit its final report by June-end.
The 20th meeting of the FSDC reviewed the current global and domestic economic situation and financial stability issues including, inter-alia, those concerning Banking and NBFCs, an official statement said.
The Council was also apprised of the progress made towards setting up of the Financial Data Management Centre (FDMC) to facilitate integrated data aggregation and analysis as also a Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-Fin) towards strengthening the cybersecurity framework for the financial sector, it said.
The Council also held consultations to obtain inputs and suggestions of the financial sector regulators for the Budget, it said, adding, all the regulators presented their proposals for the Union Budget 2019-20.
The Council also took note of the activities undertaken by the FSDC Sub-Committee Chaired by Governor, RBI and the action taken by members on the decisions taken in earlier Meetings of the Council.
Others who attended the meeting included Chief Economic Adviser Krishnamurthy V Subramanian, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India chairman Subhash Chandra Khuntia and Ravi Mital, Additional Secretary, Department of Financial Services & in charge, Chairperson, Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority.
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CIBJO, the World Jewellery Confederation, has successfully concluded its annual congress in Bangkok, Thailand
The three-day event, running from November 5 through 7, brought from around the world some 150 official delegates and a total about 300 participants, and covered a wide range of issues on the agenda of the international gemstone and jewellery industry. There was a strong focus on responsible sourcing, Corporate Social Responsibility and sustainability, particularly in the coloured gemstone sector. It was preceded by the three days of pre-congress steering committee meetings and the first World Ruby Forum.
Opened by General Prayut Chan-o-cha, the Prime Minister of Thailand, the 2017 CIBJO Congress was hosted at the Shangri-La Hotel in Bangkok by the Department of International Trade Promotion (DITP) and the Gem and Jewellery Institute of Thailand (GIT), both of which fall under the jurisdiction of the Thai Ministry of Commerce.
CIBJO General Assembly elects CIBJO officers for next two years, concludes 2017 congress
Dr. Gaetano Cavalieri was elected to another two-year term as President, and for the first time three Vice Presidents were elected: Roland Naftule of the United States, Eli Avidar of Israel, and Corrado Facco of Italy. Marc-Alain Christen of Switzerland was reconfirmed as the organisation’s Chief Financial Officer and a new Board of Directors was elected, also for a two-year term.
Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha officially opens CIBJO’s 2017 congress
General Prayut Chan-o-cha, the country’s head of government, was accompanied by Mrs. Apiradi Tantraporn, Thailand’s Minister of Commerce, and Mr. Sontirat Sontijirawong, the Deputy Minister of Commerce.
In presence of Thai prime minister, CIBJO President endorses Thailand’s central role in jewellery and gemstone industry
‘For members of the jewellery industry, the undisputed entry point into the ASEAN Economic Community is Bangkok, and that puts Thailand into a very powerful place, on condition that it is able to defend its market position in the region,’ said Dr. Cavalieri.
Sector A told changes to Blue Books only to take place every three years
It was agreed that the Coloured Gemstone Book and the Diamond Book will not be changed for the next three years, while the Coral Book along with the Pearl Book will be up for revision in two years, and then every three years thereafter. The Gemmological Book will be changed next year.
CIBJO Coral Commission reports on creation of Coral Guide for the Italian Customs organisation
The customs guide may be too complicated for members of the retail trade, for it is designed to serve the specific needs of government customs agents. It is currently available in English, Italian and Thai, and translations into German, French and Japanese are also possible.
Free online course and Fiji Pearl Development Plan focus of Pearl Commission
The Fiji Pearl Association plans to enhance the effectiveness of locally managed marine areas, and integrate coastal management and land and sea management programmes to bring about meaningful income for local island residents.
Precious Metals Commission focuses on compliance with EU and U.S. legislation
CIBJO’s Precious Metals Commission looked at the new regulations ratified this past year in the European Union and their potential impact, comparing them to legislation passed in the United States seven years ago, as part of the Dodd Frank Act.
Ethics Commission provides update on industry forum initiating grass-roots sustainability projects
The commission received a report on the Jewellery Industry Summit in the United States, of which one outcome was the creation of the Jewellery Development Index, which is being developed by students in a programme with the U.S. State Department, to assess the comparative impact of the jewellery industry on people’s lives in different countries.
IDC Book to be harmonised with CIBJO Blue Book as single international diamond guide
The decision that was authorised by the Diamond Commission means that the CIBJO Diamond Book will serve the whole diamond industry and be the only book for the trade, the body’s president, Udi Sheintal told the meeting.
CIBJO Marketing & Education Commission releases jewellery industry employee recruitment and retention guide
The 60-page publication contains self-contained guides and templates for applications to businesses, as well as insights from industry figures from around the world. It will shortly be made available for downloading on the CIBJO website.
Special session searches for solutions to coloured stone supply chain integrity
‘You have to start with: first, don’t do any harm. Don’t harm the people you want to regulate. If you are going to ban child labour or other bad practices, then you have to find alternative work for them. Perhaps we can help as an industry to provide Africans with wells for clean drinking water,’ said gem expert Richard Hughes, in a session co-organised with the Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC).
Coloured Gemstone Commission appoints group to simplify Blue Book for jewellery industry
‘Retailers in touch with consumers are finding it too detailed and complex. The idea is to create a simplified book,’ said Charles Abouchar, Vice President of the Coloured Stone Commission, referring to the Gemtone Blue Book.
Gemmological Commission discusses harmonisation of colour nomenclature and undeterminable treatments
A document was discussed that compared standards for terms such as royal blue and pigeon’s blood red that are currently in use at various labs. The question is not whether CIBJO accepts the use of such terms, but rather that it intends to provide factual information and creating more transparency regarding what is currently going on.
CIBJO Congress kicks off with debate on CSR challenges and opportunities
CIBJO President Gaetano proposed developing a structure for rough coloured gemstones, involving a combination of government monitoring and self-administered due diligence, which will enable the industry to demonstrate the integrity of its chain of distribution.
CIBJO President discuss CSR in coloured gemstone sector at inaugural World Ruby Forum
‘The fact that it is more difficult to monitor the origins and flow of coloured gemstones in the pipeline does not mean that the trade will get a special pass from NGOs, the media or socially-aware millennial consumers,’ said the CIBJO President.
Coloured Gemstone Steering Committee hears case for CIBJO Opal Guide
Meeting on November 3, the Coloured Gemstone Steering Committee heard a presentation made by Andrew Cody of Australia, who argued the case for a possible Opal Guide that would be separate from CIBJO Gemstone Blue Book.
CONGRESS PHOTO GALLERIES
SHANGRI-LA BANGKOK HOTEL
CONGRESS REGISTRATION
LOY KRATHONG FESTIVAL
CIBJO BOARD OF DIRECTORS
SPECIAL CSR SESSION
GEMMOLOGICAL COMMISSION
COLOURED STONE COMMISSION
PEARL COMMISSION
GALA DINNER CRUISE
PRIME MINISTER OPENS CONGRESS
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MARKETING & EDUCATION COMMISSION
PRECIOUS METALS COMMISSION
CORAL COMMISSION
CONGRESS VIDEOS
VIDEO SCREENED AT OPENING OF
2017 CIBJO CONGRESS
2017 CIBJO CONGRESS PROMO
CONGRESS PRESENTATIONS
DR. GAETANO CAVALIERI
President, CIBJO
Opening Ceremony Address
CSR Session Address
CSR Session Presentation
World Ruby Forum Address
World Ruby Forum Presentation
CORRADO FACCO
Vice President, CIBJO
Managing Director, IEG
ERIK JENS
CEO, ABN AMRO International Diamond & Jewelry Group
SAKHILA MIRZA
Executive Board Director and General Counsel of the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA)
JONATHAN KENDALL
President, CIBJO Marketing & Education Commission
President, IIDGR
ELIZABETH ORLANDO
Economic/Commercial Affairs Officer, U.S. Department of State
Presentation to have been delivered at CSR Session
Ms. Orlando, who at the last moment was unable to attend the 2017 CIBJO Congress, was to have presented the Jeweller’s Development Impact Index, which currently is under development. The presentation was prepared with Patricia Syvrud, CEO of Joia Consulting.
PRE-CONGRESS SPECIAL REPORTS
Ministry of Commerce of Thailand
Department of International Trade Promotion (DITP)
The Gem and Jewelry Institute of Thailand (GIT)
Steven Benson2019-12-05T07:12:28+00:00
Retailer’s Guide to Trust
PEOPLE: OUR GREATEST ASSET
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Monday Night Team Trivia at Carolina Tap House
Monday Jan 27, 2020
Carolina Tap House
1528 Zoo Pkwy ste R
http://www.carolinataphouse.com
Sam 336-203-7687
Just another standard trivia night, right?
No, and no. Most so-called “trivia nights” consist of either an MP3J reading Trivial Pursuit cards in between bad music, or a bunch of people staring at TVs with buzzers in hand. Our quiz burns through nearly 70 multimedia questions in two exciting hours. The quizmaster gets to know the players, and smack talk flying around in all directions is pretty much par for the course.
Here's the lowdown: The quiz consists of eight rounds of six questions each, played by teams of up to six people. Questions are read aloud by the quizmaster and teams write down the answers, turning them in at the end of each round.
The team with the most points after six rounds is the winner. Prizes will be awarded all game long! And there's no need to worry about buying a ticket or reserving a seat as this is a FREE event!
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The Indy Endorsement: The Carne Asada Tacos at Baja Springs
What: The carne asada tacos
Where: Baja Springs, 1800 N. Sunrise Way, Palm Springs
How much: $1.69 separately; $8.99 combo plate (as shown)
Why: They’re packed with yummy meat.
Tacos … is there a more popular food in the United States today? When you have the best basketball player on the planet, LeBron James, making “Taco Tuesday” a social-media sensation—to the point where he actually tried to trademark the term, but the application was denied because the phrase is too ubiquitous—that says something.
Did you know, however, that tacos were not the first Mexican food to become popular in the United States? Friend of the Independent Gustavo Arellano, now a staff writer for the Los Angeles Times, literally wrote the book on the subject: Taco USA: How Mexican Food Conquered America. In 2012, he spoke with KCRW about how tacos became popular thanks largely to the food scene in Los Angeles—especially the birth of the taquito at Cielito Lindo on Olvera Street in 1934. This happened, however, well after chili became huge in San Antonio, and tamales were a craze in San Francisco.
While the Coachella Valley’s restaurant scene has its pluses and minuses, we’re blessed with a lot of good Mexican food—especially tacos. It’s often said that the best tacos can be found in unexpected, hole-in-the-wall places, and while this is not always correct, it is in the case of Baja Springs: This small market, tucked away on Sunrise Way just north of Vista Chino in Palm Springs, has been churning out great tacos (and other Mexican fare) for years—but I only recently discovered it when the place came up on a food-delivery app.
Pretty much every imaginable meat is stuffed into corn tortillas at Baja Springs, from chicken to fish to tripe to cabeza. While I haven’t been able to try all 12 of the tacos on offer, I can vouch for the fantastic carne asada tacos. They’re delicious—and only $1.69 each.
All hail the great taco!
Published in The Indy Endorsement
baja springs
palm springs food
taco usa: how mexican food conquered america
The Indy Endorsement: The Taca Tacos at The Sandbox Kitchen
What: The Taca tacos
Where: The Sandbox Kitchen, 72301 Country Club Drive, No. 110, Rancho Mirage
How much: $3.50 each
Contact: 760-565-6044; www.facebook.com/TheSandboxKitchen
Why: Perfect meats.
At first, there was Taca Tacos, run by a young couple named Daniel and Aimie.
Taca Tacos catered various parties and events—and began earning rave reviews. “Our food quality is something that we pay close attention to, and we serve nothing but the best!” Daniel wrote on Facebook. “Even our meats are cut by hand (by me!) to reduce as much fat as possible and ensure top quality. Our salsas are made with the freshest ingredients, and our tortillas are made the day of the event.”
Then, in mid-2019, came The Sandbox Kitchen, a brick-and-mortar restaurant owned by Daniel and Aimee, in the strangest of spots—at the back of a medical/office building near the Eisenhower Medical Center campus. The Sandbox Kitchen offers breakfast items, salads, sandwiches—and those acclaimed tacos.
I love a good taco, so I decided I needed to check out The Sandbox Kitchen. After one failed attempt (I tried to go on a day the restaurant was closed for a private party), I finally managed to make it for a post-holidays lunch.
I ordered three tacos, Taca-style (which means they come with minced cabbage, crema fresca and chipotle aioli, and quesito)—one each with carne asada, chicken and al pastor. (Cauliflower tacos are available, too.)
After a 20-minute wait—I arrived just after several other parties had ordered, apparently—I had my tacos … and I instantly understood what the Taca Tacos buzz was all about: The chicken was juicy and delicious; the carne asada was flavorful with a variety of textures; and the al pastor was fantastic—with a hint of a spicy kick.
In summary … all three meats were perfectly prepared—and The Sandbox Kitchen has a new fan.
the sandbox kitchen
rancho mirage food
taca tacos
carne asada tacos
A Note From the Editor: Check Out the New Writers; Gear Up for Craft Cocktail Week
A few notes as we kick off Volume 8 here at the Independent:
• Am I the only one having a hard time grasping the fact that it’s almost 2020? When I first saw Beth Allen’s design for the new print-issue cover, and I saw the date “January 2020,” I just stopped and stared at it for a while.
Yeah, I know I’ll get used to it soon enough. But for now, it really seems weird.
• We’ve recently published pieces by two new-to-the-Independent scribes: You’ll find Carlynne McDonnell’s inaugural pets column here, and here, you’ll find Andrea Gomez’s first piece for us—an interview with the Palm Springs International Film Festival’s new artistic director, Coachella Valley native Liliana Rodriguez.
Welcome, Carlynne and Andrea! If you want to join them in the pages of the Independent, email me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. We’re still looking for people to write (paid!) freelance pieces focused on marijuana, hiking/the outdoors, event previews, and more.
• Our signature event, Palm Springs Craft Cocktail Week, is back for its fourth year! The week starts Friday, Jan. 31, and goes through Saturday, Feb. 8. During those nine days, bars and restaurants valley-wide will highlight special craft cocktails—and give a portion of the proceeds from the sales of those cocktails to our beneficiaries, the Desert AIDS Project and the LGBT Community Center of the Desert.
The highlight of the week is the Palm Springs Craft Cocktail Championship, taking place at 6 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 5, at Moxie Palm Springs. Up to 10 of the valley’s best bartenders will battle for the coveted Audience Choice Award and the Craft Cocktail Championship—and, yes, attendees get to taste all of the competing cocktails! Presale tickets, through Jan. 10, are $35; they’ll be $40 after that, and $45 at the door if we don’t sell out (and we probably will).
Pick up next month’s issue for our special Cocktail Week program—and head to PSCraftCocktails.com for updates and/or to buy championship tickets!
• Finally, I’d like to kick off 2020 by offering my sincere appreciation to everyone who has supported the Independent—readers, advertisers and members of our Supporters program—as we enter our eighth full year.
This is not a great time for most newspapers, as you know. In fact, one of my favorite alternative publications, the OC Weekly, was shuttered by its (lazy, non-innovative) owners just before Thanksgiving.
That same week, we were putting the finishing touches on our December issue—which, revenue-wise, was our best ever.
Do we still need to do better here at the Independent, in terms of bringing in revenue? Yes, we do; I am dying to add more writers/reporters so we can better tell the valley’s stories—and we have some things in the works that will hopefully help us do just that. (And I’d like, one day, to be able to pay myself a living wage … but that’s a discussion for another time.) Watch this space for details in the upcoming months … and again, thank you for your support. Please, please keep it up.
As always, thank you for reading. Happy New Year, and be sure to pick up a copy of the January 2020—yep, still seems weird—print edition, hitting the streets this week.
Published in Editor's Note
coachella valley independent
coachella valley independent january 2020
palm springs craft cocktail week
Mizell Takes Off: Wes Winter, the Mizell Senior Center's Executive Director, Talks About the Annual Stars Among Us Gala
Wes Winter started his new job as the executive director of the Mizell Senior Center last March—but before he officially began, he got a taste of what he was getting himself into at the 2019 Stars Among Us gala.
“It was my first exposure to Mizell. It was my introduction to the community. My eyes were spinning in opposite directions at that point,” Winter said with a laugh. “I really didn’t know much about what was going on … so I’m really looking at this year as my first year.”
This year’s gala will take place on Saturday, Feb. 1, at the Palm Springs Air Museum. We recently spoke with Winter about his first year on the job, Mizell’s future—and, of course, what people can expect at this year’s Stars Among Us.
It’s fascinating that your first exposure to Mizell was at Stars Among Us last year. What impressions did the gala leave with you?
There were a couple of things. One was the breadth of support that Mizell has in the community. There were folks at that gala—now I them well, but at that point, I didn’t have a clue who they were—and they represented just about every niche you can imagine throughout the Coachella Valley. That was incredibly impressive to me. Another was the sense of philanthropy that folks here in the valley seem to have. There has been so much support, not just for Mizell, but for all of the social-service organizations that exist here in the valley.
How have your first 10 months gone at Mizell?
Well, it’s been a whirlwind—but it’s been pretty wonderful. I have a very supportive board of directors, and they are, each one in their own way, very plugged into the community. So they’ve been just a wonderful asset. … Then we have so many people who come in the door here at Mizell. We receive somewhere in the neighborhood of 60,000 visits a year—and those folks who come in that door are not the slightest bit shy about coming into my office and introducing themselves. So that’s been really helpful.
Let’s talk about Stars Among Us. What can attendees expect this year?
Well, I can’t tell you what it is, but we’re rolling out a new initiative that is sort of reframing the community’s look at Mizell. I’m profoundly excited, and we’re going to talk a little bit about that at the event. We won’t spend a lot of time talking from the stage, but we will put it out there, and I think folks are going to be pleasantly surprised. So that’s exciting.
Then we have two awardees that we’re recognizing. One is BIGHORN Cares; we’ll be recognizing all of the philanthropic work that they do here in the valley. They are just amazing. They not only help Mizell out; they help the whole community of organizations. We’ll also be honoring Tim Jochen and Lee Erwin, from Contour Dermatology. They’ve been wonderful to Mizell, but they also are so plugged into all of the community-service organizations that are here.
Tell me about the fun part of the gala.
We’re going to have a pretty incredible dance band there called The Zippers. There’s going to be an auction. This year, we’re not having a silent auction, because we really wanted to put that energy into the live auction. Those, for me, are always fun. People really seem to enjoy getting into it and bringing the money in. For the program, like I said, we’re going to keep people talking onstage to a minimum, because I know people’s eyes start to glaze over if you talk too much. I think it’s going to be really interesting to folks when we roll out our new initiative.
You’re sure you can’t tell me just a little bit more about it? Give me a hint, maybe?
Well, our theme for the evening is “Take Off With Mizell.” We’re holding the event once again at the Air Museum. This year, we’re moving it to the new hangar, which we haven’t been in before, so that’ll be interesting in and of itself. With the theme, we wanted to really play both on the idea of being at the Air Museum, and this idea of our new initiative, and how we’re moving into the new decade, and what’s going to look new and different.
Tell me about how important Stars Among Us is, in terms of the fundraising aspect, and also the attention that it brings to Mizell.
The dollars we’ll be bringing in that evening, from sponsorships and ticket sales and auctions, all of that goes to help us with our Meals on Wheels program. Meals on Wheels is funded (by the government) at the 80 percent level, so we need to raise that additional 20 percent to make the program whole. Because of that program, working with the County of Riverside Office on Aging, we’re able to ensure that a little over 200,000 meals are served to valley residents in an average fiscal year.
Every one of those meals is made in Mizell’s kitchen, correct?
Every one of them … and (our kitchen) is absolutely tiny. One of the things that we’re looking at doing, hopefully sooner rather than later, is remodeling that kitchen to make it a little more state-of-the-art, more energy-efficient, and better for the folks who actually produce the meals that come out of the kitchen. We’ve actually received a significant gift from a donor who is also a participant here in Mizell activities. We’re going to be looking for other funds to match with that gift so we can redo that whole kitchen.
The 15th Annual Stars Among Us Gala will take place at 5:30 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 1, at the Palm Springs Air Museum, 745 N. Gene Autry Trail, in Palm Springs. Tickets are $350. For tickets or more information, call 760-323-5689, or visit mizell.org.
Published in Local Fun
wes winter
mizell senior center
stars among us
Restaurant News Bites: Wildest Restaurant + Bar Opening; Get Ready for the PS Pinot Noir Fest; and More!
New to El Paseo: Chef Eric Wadlund’s Wildest Restaurant + Bar
Wildest Restaurant + Bar, the latest project from chef Eric Wadlund, was slated to celebrate its grand opening on Dec. 26 at 72990 El Paseo, No. 3, in the space that used to house the late Denise DuBarry Hay’s Wildest Greens.
An announcement, posted on Nov. 30 at the Wildest Restaurant + Bar website, compared the effort to the restaurants of the great Joel Robuchon, who passed away in 2018. (The announcement didn’t quite spell Robuchon’s name right, but, hey, mistakes happen.)
“Following in the footsteps of French ‘Chef of the Century’ and restaurateur Joel Rubichon (sic), who believed healthy food was the future of fine dining, one of the most celebrated chefs in the desert, Eric Wadlund, with his partners Bill Hay and Charissa Farley, are introducing the first restaurant in the valley committed to continuing this vision,” the announcement said. “Old World style fine dining upon which Robuchon built his legacy and trained the likes of Gordon Ramsay and Eric Ripert with caviar and truffle-studded cuisine is facing the difficult challenge of taste versus health: adapt or die.”
Wildest’s Facebook page includes photos of some downright-delicious-looking dishes, including turmeric-glazed roasted cauliflower, water melon “ahi” poke, and pan-roasted wild white bass.
“Wildest’s dynamic food originates in wild-caught fish, (and) local pasture-raised and grass-fed poultry and beef, as well as plant-based meals that promise to be flavorful options to those who choose to eat meat-free,” the website explains. “There are zero hormones and steroids in their proteins, as the restaurant strives to be cruelty-free and supports local organic, biodynamic and sustainable farms. Provisions not made in house will be sourced from the coolest epicureans.”
Given the restaurant’s pedigree, we’re looking forward to checking it out. We’re also happy to see the tribute to Denise DuBarry Hay in the name, as well as her husband’s involvement.
For more information, call 760-636-0441; head to WildestRestaurant.com; or visit www.facebook.com/wildestrestaurant.
Coming on Jan. 18: The Palm Springs Pinot Noir Festival
It seems like every other month or so, there’s a new wine festival popping up in the Coachella Valley … and this is a very good thing.
The latest: The Palm Springs Pinot Noir Festival, which will take place on Saturday, Jan. 18, at the Ritz-Carlton (which is in Rancho Mirage, not Palm Springs, but whatever). It’s a project of David Fraschetti, who for two years has put on the Rancho Mirage Wine and Food Festival (which will return for year No. 3 on Feb. 28 and 29—yep, it’s a leap year!), and for many years has produced the VinDiego Wine and Food Festival.
Of course, at this new fest, pinot noir is the star. On Friday, Jan. 17, the Ritz-Carlton will host two seminars—“Exploring the Neighborhoods of the Russian River Valley” and “Anderson Valley Pinot Noir: Under the Radar and a Cut Above.” Those cost $55 each, or $90 for both. As for the main event, the “A Passion 4 Pinot” festival: Doors open at 2:30 p.m. for general admission, and tickets are $95; if you want to get in at 1:30, you can pay $125. The festivities go until 5 p.m.
The Ritz-Carlton, Rancho Mirage, is located at 68900 Frank Sinatra Drive. For tickets and more information, visit palmspringspinotfest.com.
Congrats to La Perlita Mexican Food, at 901 Crossley Road, in Palm Springs, on the restaurant’s expansion! The good folks there are expanding into the space next door; watch the restaurant’s Facebook page for updates. … New to La Quinta: RD RNNR Libations, Pints and Plates (you can pronounce that “roadrunner”), at 78075 Main St. What is RD RNNR? It’s “a craft American restaurant using local farm-to-table ingredients, (offering) refreshing craft cocktails and a well-balanced selection of hops and rotating craft taps, all set in a casual and hip vibe right in the heart of Old Town La Quinta,” so says the website. As if that’s not cool enough, the restaurant also features the work of local artists! RD RNNR is open for lunch and dinner daily; visit roadrunnerlq.com for more info, including the menu and a look at those aforementioned artists. … New to Cathedral City: Barrel District Pizza, Bar and Kitchen, at 35939 Date Palm Drive, in Cathedral City. The menu includes tasty-sounding starters (like house-made hummus), salads, tacos, a handful of entrées and, of course, intriguing pizza choices. To check out the menu and learn more, visit barreldistrictpizza.com.
Published in Restaurant & Food News
wildest restaurant + bar
eric wadlund
bill hay
charissa farley
denise dubarry hay
palm springs pinot noir festival
david fraschetti
rancho mirage wine and food festival
la perlita mexican food
la perlita
rd rnnr libations, pints and plates
barrel district pizza, bar and kitchen
Snapshot: The Best of Coachella Valley 2019-2020 Awards Show and Party, Dec. 18, Copa Nightclub
A crowd of more than 80 people battled cold weather and a baffling lack of parking on Wednesday, Dec. 18, to head to Copa Nightclub to celebrate the winners of the sixth annual Best of Coachella Valley, as voted on by the readers of the Coachella Valley Independent.
It was the third time in four years that Copa has hosted the event—an honor bestowed upon Copa due to its win in the Best Nightclub category. The event honors the winners of the Independent's yearly readers' poll, which features almost 130 categories, ranging from Best Chiropractor, to Best Vegan/Vegetarian Cuisine, to Best Marijuana Dispensary.
The biggest contingents at the party—hosted by Independent editor/publisher Jimmy Boegle—came to celebrate Augustine Casino, which took the top spot in a whopping eight categories; Paul Zapala's win as Best Real Estate Agent; and KGAY 106.5's victory as Best Radio Station.
Below is a gallery of photos from the event, taken by Kevin Fitzgerald.
Best Local Band: Giselle Woo and the Night Owls Best Local Band: Giselle Woo and the Night Owls
Best Marijuana Dispensary: Joy of Life Best Marijuana Dispensary: Joy of Life
Best Real Estate Agent: Paul Zapala Best Real Estate Agent: Paul Zapala
Best Theater Company: Palm Canyon Theatre Best Theater Company: Palm Canyon Theatre
Best Resort Spa: Sunstone Spa at Agua Caliente Best Resort Spa: Sunstone Spa at Agua Caliente
Best in Eight Categories: Augustine Casino Best in Eight Categories: Augustine Casino
Best Yoga: Urban Yoga Best Yoga: Urban Yoga
Best Car Wash: Quick Quack Car Wash Best Car Wash: Quick Quack Car Wash
Best Local Charity: Palm Springs Animal Shelter Best Local Charity: Palm Springs Animal Shelter
Paul Zapala and Fans Paul Zapala and Fans
Bryan Gallo and Fans Bryan Gallo and Fans
Best TV Personality: Bryan Gallo Best TV Personality: Bryan Gallo
Best Dive Bar, Billiards: The Hood Best Dive Bar, Billiards: The Hood
Best Hidden Pastry Palace: Carousel Bakery Best Hidden Pastry Palace: Carousel Bakery
Best Vegan/Vegetarian: Chef Tanya's Kitchen Best Vegan/Vegetarian: Chef Tanya's Kitchen
Best Local DJ: DJ Galaxy Best Local DJ: DJ Galaxy
Best Indoor Venue: McCallum Theatre Best Indoor Venue: McCallum Theatre
Best Radio Station: KGAY 106.5 Best Radio Station: KGAY 106.5
Best Charity Event: Palm Springs Pride Best Charity Event: Palm Springs Pride
Best Nightclub: Copa Nightclub Best Nightclub: Copa Nightclub
Best Sushi: Dragon Sushi Best Sushi: Dragon Sushi
Best Martini, Outdoor Seating, Ambiance: Tropicale Best Martini, Outdoor Seating, Ambiance: Tropicale
http://www.cvindependent.com/index.php/en-US/arts-and-culture/theater/itemlist/user/844-jimmyboegle#sigProId61f78f876d
Published in Snapshot
best of coachella valley 20192020
best of coachella valley party 20192020
augustine casino
sunstone spa at agua caliente
kgay 1065
bryan gallo
paul zapala
ron deharte
palm springs pride
mccallum theatre
carousel bakery
palm springs animal shelter
quick quack car wash
chef tanya's kitchen
dragon sushi
the hood bar and pizza
joy of life wellness center
dj galaxy
palm canyon theatre
giselle woo and the night owls
The Indy Endorsement: The Machaca con Verduras at Asadero Los Corrales
What: The machaca con verduras
Where: Asadero Los Corrales, 425 S. Sunrise Way, Palm Springs; also locations in La Quinta and Coachella
How much: $13.80
Why: It brought up delicious memories.
Food can be an intimate, emotional thing. We experience food with all five of our senses, and many of life’s important moments are focused around, or at least include, meals. As a result, we’ve all had the experience of taking a bite of food and being flooded with memories—sometimes good, sometimes bad—of an event or time from our past.
This happened to me during a recent breakfast at Asadero Los Corrales, which opened in Palm Springs not long ago inside the old Maxcy’s Grill space in the Ralph’s shopping center at Sunrise Drive and Ramon Road. I ordered the machaca con verudas—dried, shredded beef with sautéed tomatoes, onions and peppers.
The plate came; I placed the meat inside a fresh corn tortilla; I took a bite—and memories of Tucson, Ariz., came rushing forth.
I spent 10 years of my life in Tucson, and one of my favorite dishes in that city is the carne seca at El Charro Café, a restaurant which has been in business since 1922. The dish has some degree of fame, both because of its unique preparation—it is shredded beef, dried in the sun on El Charro’s roof, as it has been for close to a century now—and because it’s quite delicious.
Well, the machaca con verduras at Asadero Los Corrales looks, feels, smells and tastes a lot like El Charro’s famous carne seca. (Four of the five senses ain’t bad!) While I can’t say that Los Corrales’ machaca is as good as El Charro’s carne seca, I can say that it is fantastic.
The machaca con verudas may not lead to an emotional experience for you like it did for me—but it will make your taste buds very happy.
asadero los corrales
machaca con verduras
coachella food
la quinta food
food and emotion
el charro cafe
The Indy Endorsement: The Giant Cinnamon Roll at Rick's Restaurant
What: The giant cinnamon roll
Where: Rick’s Restaurant, 1973 N. Palm Canyon Drive, Palm Springs
How much: $5.99
Contact: 760-416-0090; ricksrestaurant.biz
Why: It’s sweet comfort.
Sometimes, you just need comfort food.
It had been a rough couple days for my friend. His father was recovering from emergency surgery at Desert Regional Medical Center, and my friend wanted to meet somewhere not too far from the hospital for breakfast and a nice chat. I was having a stressful workday, and I was more than happy to take a break and oblige.
I knew exactly where to go: Rick’s Restaurant. It’s long been one of my favorite places to go for a nice, chill breakfast or lunch. It’s not fancy; instead, it’s comfortable and appealing, with friendly service and a menu full of Americana (plus some Cuban favorites as well).
This wasn’t a meal where calorie counts and carb intakes were concerns; we just wanted good, filling, comfort food. We both ordered the chicken-fried steak and eggs … and, of course, we had to split one of Rick’s fresh, house-made cinnamon rolls.
The chicken-fried steak was good. The cinnamon roll was out of this world. It was everything a classic, fresh cinnamon roll should be: sugary, warm and oh-so-pillowy. It was the perfect starter to pick at and enjoy while chatting—with occasional pauses to say “Yum!” or “Wow” in reference to the cinnamon roll.
The breakfast at Rick’s didn’t solve any problems; afterward, my friend needed to go back to the hospital to spend time with and advocate on behalf of his father. I had to go back to the pile of work and annoyances I faced. But for that hour or so … life, genuinely, was good—thanks to a great friendship, a welcoming and unpretentious atmosphere, and the type of delicious, down-home food that only fantastic places like Rick’s Restaurant can offer.
rick's restaurant
giant cinnamon roll
A Night of Wintry Bliss: Coachella Valley Sexual Assault Services Throws a Big Party to Raise Both Awareness and Much-Needed Funds
On Dec. 7, the folks with Coachella Valley Sexual Assault Services will transform the Pacific Hangar of the Palm Springs Air Museum into a “winter wonderland.” The goals: Raise money for the organization’s vital services—and have one heck of a good time while doing so.
CVSAS’ Inaugural Winter Wonderland Gala will feature hosted drinks from Tito’s Vodka—drinks with other spirits will be available for purchase—and food from the chef at the Arrive Hotel. Entertainment will include music by Lisa and the Gents.
“Our goal is to keep all our services free of charge,” said Winette Brenner, the program director at CVSAS. “We usually do mini-fundraisers and stuff. … We do free events; we just had our Anti Human-Trafficking Conference, and we’ve made that free, because we want to educate the public. But at some point, we had to do something to have a bigger fundraiser, so we can continue to do those free services.”
The event is being held on Dec. 7—which is National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day, marking the anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941—and the event is being held in the Air Museum’s Pacific Hangar, which includes exhibits and items from the war in the Pacific during World War II. Therefore, CVSAS is honoring all veterans during the event, and offering them free admission, as well as $50 guest tickets.
“We reached out to the Riverside County Education Academy, and their students are going to come and do a salute in honor of Pearl Harbor Day. We’re very excited about that,” Brenner said.
While the event is happening in December, it’s also happening in Palm Springs, where we really don’t have “winter.” So I had to ask: How will the Air Museum be transformed into a “winter wonderland” of sorts?
“One of our sponsors is Enchanted Memories, and they are going to be giving us a winter-wonderland feeling with decorations and with balloon displays and snow effects,” Brenner said. “We’ll have a picture booth, and we’re going to have a wonderful dessert table. The hangar is going to be open, and it’ll be in the evening—so hopefully, we can have kind of a winter feeling.”
The larger-scale fundraiser is just the latest move by CVSAS to have more of a public presence. The organization operates the local portion of a national 24-hour hotline (800-656-4673) for victims of sexual assault and human trafficking, and offers counseling, advocacy, referrals and other help to both victims and their families. CVSAS is working hard to spread the word about its services, and raise awareness.
“We are talking to anyone who will listen. It’s just so important,” Brenner said. “We’re trying to really educate our community and spread the word about what’s going on in our backyards and in our surroundings. We want to educate parents. It’s important that parents are educated and know what’s going on, so they can protect their children and look for red-flag warning signs as well.
“That also goes with school educators. … This affects all ages. Unfortunately, sexual assault, human trafficking and domestic violence—at this point, it has no color. It has no age. It can affect all of us.”
The Inaugural Winter Wonderland Gala, a fundraiser for Coachella Valley Sexual Assault Services, will take place at 7 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 7, at the Palm Springs Air Museum, 745 N. Gene Autry Trail, in Palm Springs. Tickets start at $100; veterans are admitted for free, with $50 guest tickets. For tickets or more information, call 760-568-9071, or visit www.eventbrite.com/e/inaugural-winter-wonderland-gala-tickets-76283055673.
coachella valley sexual assault services
palm springs air museum
winter wonderland gala
winette brenner
A Note From the Editor: It's Been a Crazy Month Here—Capped Off by Our Best of Coachella Valley Issue
I’ll be honest: As I write this column, I am exhausted. November has been one hell of a month here at the Coachella Valley Independent. Here are a few highlights:
• We were again fortunate enough to have a booth at the Greater Palm Springs Pride festival, this year on Nov. 2 and 3. During the two-day fest, we gave out 500 magnetic chip clips with the Independent’s logo, as well as many hundreds of newspapers. Thanks to all of you who stopped by and shared a kind word or three. Also, a personal thank you to Kevin Fitzgerald and Matt King, who helped me out at the booth.
• The following weekend, the Independent hosted the Association of Alternative Newsmedia’s annual Publishers’ Retreat at the Colony Palms Hotel. Our group of publishers—from newspapers in locales ranging from Santa Barbara to Milwaukee, and from Boston to Little Rock—gathered for two days to discuss the media landscape, share ideas, and commiserate over great meals and a cocktail or two. Thanks to all of my fellow publishers who came to Palm Springs; to all of the wonderful people at the Colony Palms; to Willie Rhine and Lucy Kent at Eight4Nine Restaurant and Lounge, which hosted our Friday happy hour; and to our friends at Palm Springs Speaks, who provided tickets to Robert Reich’s speech.
• Finally … we put together our Best of Coachella Valley issue. While I could thank many, many people who helped us produce the fun and informative issue, I have limited space here, so I’ll limit my expressions of gratitude to just two.
First: Beth Allen, our fantastic graphic designer, is the true Best of Coachella Valley MVP. Not only did she design this year’s excellent Best of Coachella Valley logo; she laid out the entire BOCV package for the print edition (which is NOT easy, given the number of moving parts), and she even designed a few late-arriving advertisements. Heck, she wrote three of our staff picks, too. Thanks, Beth; we couldn’t have done this issue without you. Literally.
Second: We also couldn’t do the BOCV issue without you, our amazingly astute and community-minded readers. Thank you for taking the time to head to CVIndependent.com and vote in the two rounds of balloting; I know it can be daunting to face down a slate of almost 130 categories. But you did—and the result is, by far, the valley’s best “Best Of” slate of winners and finalists. Your support is why, as the Independent enters its eighth full year of existence, we do what we do.
Happy holidays, and as always, thanks for reading. If you have any questions or comments, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.—and be sure to pick up our December/Best of Coachella Valley print edition, hitting the streets this week.
coachella valley independent december 2019
association of alternative newsmedia
eight4nine restaurant and lounge
palm springs speaks
colony palms hotel
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NATO´s Denmark summit canceled following U.S. pressure
Published : 08 Dec 2019, 21:27
DF-Xinhua Report
File Photo Xinhua.
A NATO 70th anniversary event in Denmark's capital Copenhagen has been abruptly canceled by the organizer of Danish Atlantic Treaty Association (DATA) after the US embassy in Denmark communicated its displeasure.
According to a press release from the DATA, a security policy think tank, on Sunday, U.S. Ambassador to Denmark Carla Sands demanded that political scientist Stanley Sloan, a former CIA analyst who is critical of current U.S. policy, be removed from the speakers' list before the start of the conference.
"We never doubted that Stanley Sloan would deliver an unpolitical and objective speech at our conference...That's why we kept Stanley Sloan as speaker until the U.S. ambassador demanded that Stanley Sloan's participation be canceled," wrote DATA Secretary General Lars Bangert Struwe in the press release.
After canceling the speaker, the DATA subsequently decided in favor of canceling the entire event.
NATO's 70th anniversary event at Frederiksberg Castle was organized by the DATA in collaboration with the U.S. Embassy in Denmark and was scheduled to start on December 10.
Europe | More News
Bulgaria seizes 50 tons of salmonella-contaminated chicken meat
Storm Gloria kills 4, causes severe damage across Spain
Fake German doctor gets 11-year prison sentence
Malta minister quits over husband's links to murder suspect
French police arrest 7 suspected of preparing attack
Berlin Conference participants agree to respect arms embargo in Libya
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Election Analysis
EU Referendum 2016
Section 1: Media Reporting
Section 2: Voters, Polls and Results
Section 3: Political Communication and Image Management
Section 4: The Nations
Section 5: Campaigning and Civil Society
Section 6: Social Media
Section 7: Popular Culture
Section 8: Media Influence and Interventions
Section 1: Context
Section 3: News and Journalism
Section 4: Parties and the Campaign
Section 5: The Digital Campaign
Section 7: Brexit and European Perspectives
Section 8: Personality politics and popular culture
Sounding Off: music and musicians’ interventions in the 2019 election campaign
Dr Adam Behr
Lecturer in Contemporary and Popular Music at Newcastle University
Email: Adam.Behr@newcastle.ac.uk
Section 8: Personality politics and Pop Culture
Tune in, turn away, drop out: emotionality and the decision not to stand
Linguistic style in the Johnson vs Corbyn televised debates of the 2019 General Election campaign
Order! Order! The Speaker, celebrity politics and ritual performance
Last fan standing: Jeremy Corbyn supporters in the 2019 General Election
What is Boris Johnson?
Creating Boris: Nigel Farage and the 2019 election
Boris the clown: the effective performance of incompetence
Political humour and the problem of taking Boris seriously
Joking: uses and abuses of humour in the Election campaign
The problem with satirising the election
Stormzy, status, and the serious business of social media spats
When Tony Blair’s former constituency of Sedgefield fell to the Conservatives for the first time since 1935, the Tory campaign headquarters blasted out ‘Things Can Only Get Better’, the theme song of his 1997 landslide victory. It harked back not only to a bygone electoral terrain, but a musical landscape long-gone.
2019’s fragmented media landscape compared to Blair’s musical and electoral heyday continued the trajectory away from keynote ‘campaign songs’. But music was abundant even if, for much of the campaign, as a secondary feature in the messaging from the parties themselves. With a gamut of source genres and instrumental palettes – from plangent piano and strings, through guitar infused rock, to electronica – Party Election Broadcast music was largely relegated to underscore that could have easily sat within adverts, film trailers or corporate training videos.
This seemed partly related to the plethora of content, election broadcasts co-mingling with dozens of social media videos produced by parties, individual candidates and activist organisations. The increasing emphasis on social media meant a hunger for content – Momentum’s production staff were supplemented by hundreds of volunteers – and the number of backing tracks required would always militate towards loops and small-scale production on a quick turnaround.
The online, referential, meme-aesthetic also drew from other media. Some of the more familiar musical interludes harked back to television – as in the SNPs use of music from Tony Hart’s art programmes and Countdown – or Labour’s sardonic underscoring of Boris Johnson interviews with snippets of Heinz Keissling’s light entertainment music (better known now from the sitcom It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia). Copyright being a factor, library and public domain music were also features. Indeed, when Momentum spoofed a 1990s Coca Cola advert, they were subject to a cease and desist letter in short order. Inevitably, the December timing of the election played into its soundtrack. The culture of cross-references inflected ‘Christmas themed’ outputs, like the twinkles and bells of the SNP’s take on A Christmas Carol, and the ostensibly diegetic sound of a portable stereo playing ‘Silent Night’ in the Conservatives’ parody of Love Actually. Exemplifying the fast-moving, interconnected web of content across different types of producer, this was an idea lifted from Labour candidate Rosena Allin-Khan’s video for her campaign in Tooting, and images of Johnson from the Tory advert were quickly repurposed to critique him.
But popular music culture beyond the fluidity of internet remixing loomed large via musicians’ interventions. There were different levels of endorsement, such as Liam Gallagher’s and Chris Martin’s support in passing for the Greens and Liberal Democrats, respectively. The large majority of artists who weighed in enthusiastically, however, did so for Labour or at least against the Conservatives, – as with Madness’s dig at ‘The Bullingdon Boys’ – and from across the generic spectrum, up to and including the heart of the pop mainstream, in Little Mix. This added pop firepower to the closing stages of Labour’s campaign. Emeli Sandé permitted the use of her song ‘You Are Not Alone’, while Clean Bandit released an emotive Radiohead cover, and Brian Eno an uncharacteristic comedy number, backing Labour.
Several parties promised support for music venues – tax cuts from the Conservatives, an examination of funding from the Liberal Democrats and a community-oriented pledge in Labour’s ‘Charter for the Arts’. This also drew on pop luminaries, its launch featuring Lily Allen, Sandé, MIA and Clean Bandit. If Ken Loach’s role at the launch, given his previous controversial remarks on the history of the Holocaust being ‘for all to discuss’, was hardly likely to assuage Labour’s tensions with the Jewish community, that fraught aspect of the campaign also highlighted the broader popular musical leaning towards Labour. A stark critique of Labour’s record on anti-Semitism from literary and interfaith figures in The Guardian drew a response in the music press as the NME ran a letter with a host of both British and American musicians in addition to longstanding, habitual signatories of pro-Corbyn missives.
Shorn of household-name musical endorsements, the Conservatives tried to burnish their pop-cultural credentials. Boris Johnson cited the Rolling Stones and, somewhat oddly given their political emphasis, The Clash as his preferred listening while Michael Gove’s attempt to parry Stormzy’s support for Labour by tweeting the rapper’s lyrics almost inevitably backfired and left him at the centre of a social media storm.
Labour’s musical campaign emerged from an early glut of unremarkable background sound, woven through the now characteristic mixture of official and activist generated content, as the clear leader in terms of pop presence. Momentum’s national co-ordinator claimed 70 million views for their videos, but the result revealed limitations to the rush of social media likes and stardust of popular musical acclaim. Musical culture and electoral culture are increasingly entangled, but the reliably effective deployment of the former in service of the latter seems some way off.
Election Analysis All rights reserved. Theme by Colorlib Powered by WordPress
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Very occasional quote of the day: figuring things out
Elvin Jones on Haskell Harr and learning the rudiments:
“I did go through [Harr's snare drum book] as a matter of fact. I went to public school in Pontiac, Michigan, so I didn't do anything extra. [...] I didn't have that advantage of being able to take private lessons, so I had to get everything that I had, at least up to that point, for myself. [...] So I got that book and that night I went home and sat over it and pored over it and read it from cover to cover, trying to make some sense out of it. Finally, all of a sudden I understood what it was. I knew exactly what it meant, what all of it (meant) from page one to the back cover. I pondered over that the next day, and so I learned how to do it. In two days, I mastered that book, and the rudiments.”
From an old interview in Percussive Notes— it now appears that you must be a member of PAS to access the archives, and I've let my membership lapse. What an excellent time to renew or join!
Labels: Elvin Jones, Haskell Harr, PAS, Percussive Arts Society, Percussive Notes, very occasional quote of the day
Survival chops: triplets and 16th notes, accented
Here's a page of stuff that should be handy, with some accented 8th note triplets and 16th notes in 3/4 time. Playing 16th notes at the end of a run of triplets is something I do a lot; it's rather an Elvin Jones thing, and it gives you a lot of forward motion into the next phrase. It's like a little accelerando.
Putting them at the end of a three-beat phrase of mostly-triplets, as we have them here, is also helpful because it lets you start and end with the right hand. On the Internet it's an article of faith that you “have” to be proficient enough that it doesn't matter which hand you use, but in real playing it takes mental energy to end with the left hand, or to start with the left hand so you can end on the right.
Use an alternating sticking, starting with either hand. On the drum set, you'll use them most starting and ending with the right hand. I've also given some optional stickings; or you can pencil in your own.
Playing the patterns on the drums, you can put the accents on the cymbal, plus bass drum:
You can also stick the 16th notes either of these ways, with bass drum on the end:
Labels: 3/4, downloads, exercises, snare, snare drum, Survival Chops
Erskine on Whiplash!
If you don't know your subject well enough
to convey the real emotion of it, there's always this.
This is fun— they've interviewed Peter Erskine in re: the new smash sensation amazingly great jazz drumming education movie which is sweeping the nation, Whiplash:
Have you ever encountered an educator like JK Simmons's band director character before?
I've played under the baton of stern and demanding conductors, as well as the critical ears of some pretty tough bandleaders. I've always experienced equal amounts of praise and criticism from the toughest of them.
That's been my experience as well, more or less— the toughness is often balanced with something else, not necessarily praise. This comment from Erskine is very significant:
I'm disappointed that any viewer of the film will not see the joy of music-making that's almost always a part of large-ensemble rehearsals and performances. Musicians make music because they LOVE music. None of that is really apparent in the film, in my opinion.
He has some similar complaints to the ones I made about the movies early promo stuff:
What did you think of Teller's performance as a drummer?
It's a movie, and the actor did a good job. The drummer(s) who did the pre-record did a very fine job. Teller is a good actor. He's a so-so drummer: his hands are a mess in terms of technique, holding the sticks, etc., and no true fan of Buddy Rich would ever set up his or her drums in the manner that Teller's character does in the film. A 10" tom? Highly-angled? With a crash cymbal at that angle? Nope, doesn't wash. Besides, that "winning" drum solo performance at the end of the film is a very passé sort of thing. If the film takes place "now," any drummer playing like that at a competitive jazz festival --especially one in New York City -- would get a cymbal thrown at their feet by the ghost of Papa Jo Jones, or I'd do it for him. Now I know how professional photographers must feel when they see an actor portraying a scene like a photo shoot where the photographer never bothers to focus any of the shots he or she is taking.
Do go read the entire interview. H/T to Mike Prigodich for the link.
Labels: Peter Erskine, Whiplash the movie
DBMITW: Portland song
New video by my partner Casey Scott!
Labels: Casey Scott, daily best music in the world
Philly Joe plays an entrance: Oleo
Lots of action here this week, but here's a little something for you... the new Book of Intros is still on its way... finishing is always the hard part, and there's always more to do than you think...
Here's a very targeted transcription, to get one important piece of information: how someone comes in, and sets up a chorus of horn soloing. This is Philly Joe Jones's entrance with sticks on the second chorus of Coltrane's solo on Oleo, from the Miles Davis Quintet album Relaxin'. He plays a fill on the snare drum on the last measure of the first chorus, and plays some big accents with the cymbal and bass drum when the time starts:
The punches on 1 and 4 at the top of a chorus are kind of a universal thing in jazz, but they also seem very Philly Joe. He makes a big impression here, but he's not playing extremely loud; the accents in the last measures are lighter than the ones at the beginning. At this tempo, he plays the 8th notes completely straight on the lead-in on the snare drum, and swings them slightly when he's playing time. He does play the hihat, but sporadically, and it's not really important for our purposes here, so I left it out.
You own the record, but here's the audio anyway. The transcribed measures are after 1:50:
Labels: comping, Miles Davis, Oleo, Philly Joe Jones, Philly Joe plays..., transcription, transcriptions
Things I learned at a Billy Mintz concert and clinic, and hanging at Revival Drums
I already knew this, but I was reminded of how great is the distance between things we can talk about and write about with drumming, and the actual music itself. The actual music is a living, instant process, and practicing it, and studying it, is just sort of nipping around the edges of understanding it. It's like science is to the natural world; it doesn't claim to be able to tell the whole truth about everything, just about things it can say kind of for sure based on its own method. So we talk about the things we can, given the limitations of our media— language, the Internet, the software, and an imperfect user, me— and we don't talk about the things we can't. And what we can't talk about is a lot of stuff. It's almost the whole real thing.
So I won't try to say a lot about the concert, except that there was significant music happening. The players' patience was striking. They were not always in a hurry to get to the next note, and certainly not to get to some big, obvious, emotional payoff; but the music was never boring, or especially long-winded. The tunes, I think all by Mintz, were beautiful— something Monk-like about them, which was reinforced by the playing of Roberta Piket, the pianist, without anyone being overly referential or obvious about it.
It made me realize that some other music which I had been immersing myself in for another post, is total f__ing jive bullshit. Suddenly it's about as admirable to me as someone delivering a truly impressive time-share sales pitch. I can't have the music be just about the players' talent, and how much stuff they know.
Billy had a funny cymbal set up with two 70s-vintage Paiste 2002 20" sizzle cymbals— maybe one was a ride and the other a “medium”, a crash-ride. I thought he picked them out of Revival's stock, but they were his. They're not light cymbals, and the sound is a little different than you normally hear in a jazz context, but they had a nice tonal thing going on between them.
Everyone needs to buy more CDs. Can we all agree to make it a habit? Go to a show > buy a CD. Here, go order a Billy record.
I finally found a budget (well, mid-range) cymbal that not only doesn't suck, but that is actually really good: Istanbul's Xist line. The quality of the sound is somewhere between an A and a K. Jose at Revival informs me that they're actually consistently good— unlike the Dream brand, which is in the same approximate price range, and is sometimes great, but mostly not.
Revival Drums is another reason why Portland rocks. Going there really makes me feel like I need to add about $1500 per annum to my gear budget. Highlights: the cymbals below, a really perfect early-80s Yamaha Recording Custom set for $1800, a yellow-sparkle Rogers double-bass set from the 60s, a rare Yamaha floor tom with a tensioning pedal for doing talking drum-like effects. Really surprised no one has snapped that up...
Another reason Portland rocks is the company Cymbal & Gong— Revival was carrying several of their— or his, I think the company is one guy— hand-hammered, K-type cymbals. I believe the cymbals are manufactured in Turkey, and C&G hand selects the ones that get their brand, and patinas them. They also have seconds that don't get patina-ed, and are cheaper. It sounds almost like a miniature version of the old Gretsch warehouse in New York here. Jose says Matt Chamberlain, the guy from Tortoise, and a bunch of other big rock people are buying these. I smell a CSD! feature here...
Anyone in Portland who missed the show can see John Gross and Mintz play a duo concert at Revival on Wednesday night, the 19th.
Labels: Billy Mintz, Istanbul cymbals, Paiste, Revival Drums
Daily best music in the world: earlyish Steve Gadd
Here's some really great funk drumming by Steve Gadd, from 1975, on a fairly obscure album: Mobius, by Cedar Walton. Gadd invented or perfected much of the drumming language that is now usually just called “funk”, which has come to permeate all of pop music, and his playing is so familiar it's become too easy to think of him almost as a stylist. Then you hear this and you hear how great he is, and everything that is missing from everything else in the world that came after him.
These two tracks really cover about 90% of what you need to know about funk drumming:
Another one after the break:
Labels: Cedar Walton, daily best music in the world, funk, Steve Gadd
Billy Mintz clinic and concert in Portland TOMORROW
I don't know how many local readers I have, but if you're in Portland, you should go see Billy Mintz give a drum clinic, followed by a concert with his quartet tomorrow evening— follow the links for details. Billy is an amazing drummer somewhat in the Paul Motian vein, if there is such a thing: very free, very... painterly is a word you could use. He will often play like he doesn't know how to play the drums, but his stuff is actually very together. He's also the author of the drum book Different Drummers, which is an out-of-print legend, like Bob Moses's Drum Wisdom.
Labels: Billy Mintz
Dahlgren & Fine workout in 3/4
Here's a triplet workout in 3/4, using 4-Way Coordination by Marvin Dahlgren and Elliot Fine. The idea is fairly obvious, and has certainly occurred to a lot of people, but it might help for me to suggest some parameters.
The complete workout may not be immediately attainable for everyone, and you certainly won't be able to do it exhaustively in one session, but any part of it you complete— even just a warm-up— at any tempo, will be an accomplishment.
Using 4WC, play each four-8th note pattern by itself, repeated, from these lines:
p. 4, lines 7 and 8.
p. 5, lines 3, 4, and 9.
p. 6, lines 1, 9 and 10.
These are the lines that work the best for me with this exercise. But you can use any set of two lines of your choice: 1-2, 3-4, 5-6, or 7-8, and so on. Doing the exercises this way covers all of the inversions, so there's no need to do all of the exercises in each section. And don't work yourself to death covering every last variation I suggest here— if you just make a reasonable-length workout out of it, and do it consistently for a reasonable period of days or weeks, you'll get what you need out of it.
The exercise:
Play each four-note pattern in a triplet rhythm, in 3/4 time. This pattern from page 4:
When you can play one exercise this way 2-4 times perfectly at your chosen tempo, move on to the next pattern.
There are a whole raft of warmups and practice suggestions after the break:
Labels: 4-Way Coordination, coordination, Dahlgren and Fine, Todd's Methods, Todd's routines
NAKED CLICKBAIT: ten pieces of drumming equipment you should throw away TODAY!
I don't know, I just felt like writing an inane Buzzfeed-style listicle a few weeks ago, and I'm tired of looking at this in my drafts folder. Please don't be offended if one of your favorite things is listed here:
Don't do this.
Budget/student quality cymbals
I've pointed out many times that old, filthy, pro-quality A. Zildjians and early Sabian AAs are now dirt cheap. The only excuses for buying student cymbals are embarrassingly horrible: you like the metal to be shiny, you like for all the logos to be the same, or you are a disturbing virginity fetishist, and cannot use products that have been touched by human hands.
Double-bass pedal
Nobody wants to hear that noise, unless you're in a Metal band. Which you should quit if you're in. Go join a Buddhist monastery, find a shaman to lead you in an ayahuasca session, exorcise whatever demons are causing your pain, and learn to love. Especially, learn to love music the sole purpose of which is not to arouse feelings of intense negativity. It all starts with the pedal. Get rid of the pedal and you break the spell. And Cruise Ship Drummer! becomes a little more openly anti-Metal...
Third, fourth, fifth tom tom
Once the band is playing, people just hear a high sound and a low sound. This isn't the 70s— nobody is leaving spaces in their arrangements for big melodic tom fills. So let's end this charade. Special note: Wanted: 13" Sonor Phonic tom tom, or 16" floor tom, black wrap.
10" tom tom
Steve Gadd called, and he wants his personal thing back. Gadd is, of course, wonderful, and his distinctive, punchy little 10" tom tom won everyone's hearts back in the late 70s, but it really is a specialty sound. And the way you set up the drums, the 10 is always right there, so you're always playing this extra-high, bongo sound; and I am not adopting some weird-looking set up just to keep me from playing that drum too much. Just lose the thing. Special note: Wanted: 10" Sonor Phonic tom tom, black wrap.
See, yeah... no.
Second, third China-type
It's extremely rare that anyone remarks on the absence of a Chinese cymbal on a gig. So what are you doing with three of them? See the above thing about the double-bass pedal.
Vic Firth SD-4 Combo drum sticks
Every jazz drummer in the world uses these, but for my taste they deliver a thin tone, and they're too short— playing above mf, they make you wave your arms around, and use more force than I would like. Try larger maple sticks— you can still play quietly with them.
Piccolo or “popcorn” snare drums
The sound of your snare drum should not send your recording engineer lunging to figure out which piece of outboard gear has just begun spewing random digital artifacts. Play a 14". Or a deep 13". And tune it normally. When in doubt, go to your record library, listen to your Police albums, and if your drum sounds significantly higher and lacking-in-substance than Stewart Copeland's, and you are not making a Reggae album, you are way out of line. Special note re: piccolos: the year 1990 called, and it wants etc etc... Special note re: popcorn snares: the year 2005 called, blah blah blah...
Drum rack
What are you still doing with that thing? Racks went out with mullets, wine coolers, and Winger. Call the dump and have them tow away that IROC Z-28 Camaro while you're at it.
Goofy, specialty hardware in general
If it's not covered by the cheapest end of the Yamaha line, you don't need it. With very few exceptions. They don't make a flat base cymbal stand, so, OK, if it's not also covered by the next-to-cheapest Gibraltar line (their dead-cheapest stuff is real swill), you don't need it. And no building clever things with multi-clamps! What matters is what you're going to play, and how.
Just get something
reasonably-priced
that looks like this.
That goes for extra-ridiculous bass drum pedals, too
Aside from a few new gimmicky things for playing Metal, which you should not own— or play— all pedals are the same today. Two posts, vertical spring on the side, little swinging cam, possibly chain drive? Sometime in the early 90s, everyone just said eff it, people, we're all going to sell slight variations on the Frank Ippolito/Al Duffy Gretsch Floating Action pedal from the 40s— that's the pedal that became the Camco, which became the DW 5000, and then everything else. For years all companies used a variation of that design for their crappiest pedal, until customers realized that their fancier, proprietary designs totally ate, and stopped buying them, which led to the great, late-80s fancy, proprietary bass drum pedal design die-off, after which the only thing left standing was the Floating Action design. Now everything from First Act to Axis uses the same mechanism. Pass on the Axis, or whatever is the boutique pedal du jour, and just buy the cheapest Yamaha pedal.
Bonus for drum corps people: Kevlar heads
They sound like garbage, and have stolen your balls. Break into the Ludwig warehouse and steal their remaining stock of Silver Dot heads. Tenors, get Remo Pinstripes. You will instantly have triple the power of every other drum line in the world.
Labels: gear, humor
VOQOTD: rudiments just made up by a couple of guys
Well, not exactly: many or most of them have been in use for a couple of hundred years at least, but the 26 Standard Drum Rudiments as a thing... read this letter to Percussive Notes by William F. Ludwig, Sr. (1879-1973), written a few months before his death, 41 years ago— he's writing in response to an opinion on updating the rudiments, but that's not important:
When I[!!!] established the 26 Rudiments as a standard system of drumming for the American school drummers in 1923, with Sanford A. Moeller[!!!], I did not imagine that they would last forever. But the system has held up very well all these 48[!!!] years, and it has proven itself by building the world's best drummers. I believe this is quite a record and naturally would like to see it continued. In the early 1920's no one was around who was even interested in establishing a uniform system of drumming and I felt it my duty, knowing what rudiments had done for me. It took many years to establish the 26 Standard American Rudiments and it was expensive[!!!] but the leading percussionists of that day stood by me.
The exclamation points are mine. As with a lot of things that seem carved in stone by God, with the beard, robes, and everything, it was really just a couple of guys deciding on an idea, and then marketing it to the point that everyone accepted it. I'm also always amazed at how compressed the history of American drumming is; in the 48 year span he mentions, we go from Baby Dodds to Jack Dejohnette— about the first decade of either of their careers.
Labels: Moeller, Percussive Notes, rudiments, very occasional quote of the day, William F. Ludwig Sr
A Reed method for 16th notes in jazz— reading 8th notes
Continuing our previous Reed interpretation for comping with 16th notes in jazz, this time using the 8th note section of Syncopation— pp. 10-11, or “Lesson 4” in the new edition.
The written rhythms on those pages are 8th notes and quarter notes; we'll be giving the 8th notes a dotted 8th/16th interpretation:
Just so we're clear, that is not a normal way of playing swing 8th notes; as a rule they should have a more rounded, triplety feel most often. If a horn player played a Charlie Parker tune interpreting the 8th notes with that dotted 8th/16th feel, he would sound unbelievably hokey, and you would fire him. So we're really using this interpretation only to generate drum ideas to go with the swing cymbal pattern, which may have that 16th note feel, at certain tempos, or where a certain vibe is called for; or for accompanying soloists using 16th notes. It's a fairly fine distinction. I just don't want you going into your next lesson with Joe Chambers and saying “Cruise Ship Drummer! told me to play swing 8th notes as a dotted 8th and 16th!”
We will be using that cymbal rhythm, more or less strictly. Play it accurately, but try to keep a legato feel:
To walk through the steps of the first interpretation, then: when reading the first exercise in Reed, p. 10:
We'll ignore the bass drum line, and play that main rhythm as follows:
In fact, the exercises are written in this form on pp. 12-13 of Syncopation, so you can use those pages if you want. But the next step of this method will require you to translate the 8th notes that way, so you may as well get used to it now, while the reading is easy.
We'll be orchestrating that on the drums as follows: play the exercise rhythm on the bass drum, and fill in the inside notes of the dotted 8th/16th rhythm— the e-&— on the snare drum. Fill out the written quarter notes as we did in the previous entry— in this example, the es and as:
Add the cymbal pattern, and hihat, as above [There is a typo here— there is a missing snare note on the a of 2.]:
More examples and another exercise after the break:
Labels: 16th notes, comping, jazz, Reed interpretations, syncopation, Ted Reed, Todd's Methods
“Whiplash“ reviews coming in
The Keanu firing his gun up in the
air and going AHHH scene of the movie.
Well, the sensational jazz education/drumming melodrama Whiplash is now in theaters at last. You'll recall I abused it pretty severely before its general release, based on what most people would consider to be thin evidence— the howler-laden advance clips and photos, and the things people were writing about it. The reviews are starting to come in, and if Rotten Tomatoes's “Tomato-meter” is to be trusted, the thing is a SMASH HIT with the critics. In how it actually handles its subject matter, it is, to all appearances, living up to my expectations.
In case you haven't heard, it's a movie about a young drummer with the modest artistic vision of being as big as Buddy Rich, a jazz drummer the filmmakers have heard of. He spends most of the movie on the losing side of a battle of egos with an abusive jazz studies professor.
People have sent me a couple of reviews which are worth reading. First, from Richard Brody at the New Yorker (h/t to Ed Pierce for the link):
The movie’s very idea of jazz is a grotesque and ludicrous caricature.
That's... not a good start.
In “Whiplash,” the young musicians don’t play much music. Andrew isn’t in a band or a combo, doesn’t get together with his fellow-students and jam—not in a park, not in a subway station, not in a café, not even in a basement. He doesn’t study music theory, not alone and not [...] with his peers. There’s no obsessive comparing of recordings and styles, no sense of a wide-ranging appreciation of jazz history—no Elvin Jones, no Tony Williams, no Max Roach, no Ed Blackwell. In short, the musician’s life is about pure competitive ambition—the concert band and the exposure it provides—and nothing else. The movie has no music in its soul...
Like, I'm pretty that firing his gun up in the air
to express raw emotion is one thing a highly-
trained FBI agent would never do. It's pretty much
the last thing he would ever do with his weapon.
Brody addresses a scene I commented on before:
The core of the movie is the emotional and physical brutality that Fletcher metes out to Andrew, in the interest (he claims) of driving him out of self-satisfaction and into hard work. Fletcher levels an ethnic slur at Andrew, who’s Jewish; he insults his father, smacks him in the face repeatedly to teach him rhythm, hazes him with petty rules that are meant to teach military-style obedience rather than musical intelligence. [...]
To justify his methods, [the abusive professor] Fletcher tells [our young egomaniac drummer] Andrew that the worst thing you can tell a young artist is “Good job,” because self-satisfaction and complacency are the enemies of artistic progress. It’s the moment where [the director] Chazelle gives the diabolical character his due, and it’s utter, despicable nonsense. There’s nothing wrong with “Good job,” because a real artist won’t be gulled or lulled into self-satisfaction by it: real artists are hard on themselves, curious to learn what they don’t know and to push themselves ahead.
Do follow the link and read the full review.
After the break, Brooklyn drummer John Colpitts, aka Kid Millions, has some things to say about it:
Labels: Whiplash the movie
The useful from the useless
Here's something I've been meaning to get to. This question— edited slightly— came up on the Drummerworld discussion forum today:
I keep finding tons of new material on line, YouTube in particular, and am constantly practicing different things that I almost always forget (is it just me being thick?). How can I organize everything? Do people really assimilate all that amount of material and move on? Most of it seems to be— or is presented as— fundamental for your drumming. How can I discern useful from useless?
Great question: what are we supposed to do with all this drum crap, with which the Internet is literally teeming? Let's take this in parts:
A) Be working on your basic thing.
This is your foundation for judging if materials are any good for you, and for making sure you can get through them.
1. Learn some fundamentals. For novices, understand basic rhythm— like, be able to count and play pp. 4-31 of Syncopation on the snare drum. Be able to play moderate-speed alternating singles, doubles, and paradiddles. Be able to read basic things in 4/4, 3/4, and 6/8. Get a few lessons, and buy a beginning snare drum book, and a beginning rock book, and try to figure them out. You may be able to find similar things on line, but with a published book at least you know the author was compelled to give you some kind of coherent, progressive vision. No online product is a substitute for an in-person lesson with a competent teacher.
2. Be playing music. If you are already playing, it's easier to tell if certain given practice materials are going to help you with that. If you can play a rock beat without falling off the drum throne, you are ready to play music with people.
3. Also be watching music in person. Fifty guys on YouTube showing you the couple of flashy things they are actually good at is not a realistic picture of being a drummer. Hell, neither is a video of a good or great drummer showing you whatever. Going to a show and seeing how the drummer— any drummer— plays all the music in a 60-minute set is a realistic picture of being a drummer. Then you can judge better what materials are going to help you do that thing.
Labels: practice, practicing
VOQOTD: Dejohnette on chops
The first of many valuable things I'm sure we'll be mining from the Percussive Notes archives. Here Jack Dejohnette, interviewed by Charlie Perry, says something we hopefully already knew, but which bears repeating:
P: You have an excellent technique. Did you devote a lot of time to developing it?
D: Let me put it this way: When I practiced, or played a gig, I tried for musical ideas. I wasn't out to be just a good technician but a whole drummer, a musician. My technique grew along with everything else.
P: In other words, you developed the appropriate technique and drumistic skills that were necessary to execute your ideas and function as a musician.
D: That was the idea.
P: Too bad more drummers don't follow that line of reasoning. Some of them, particularly the younger drummers, the students, become so involved with technique that they lose sight of the music. They function as technicians rather than musicians.
D: Yeah. Well, some cats use technique for an ego trip. You know, they play a lot of freaky things just to stand out. That's because a lot of people (audiences) are floored by “flash.” They say, “Wow, ain’t that something!” But sometimes it’s really nothing.
P: Just a bunch of notes played fast without rhyme or reason.
D: That’s about it! Another thing is that some drummers think the faster they play, the more they say. It’s like a cat who talks real fast and uses a lot of fancy words but talks nonsense. What the drummer, or any musician, has to say, should fit into the musical conversation. If it doesn’t, it shouldn't be said.
Labels: Jack Dejohnette, musicianship, technique, very occasional quote of the day
Percussive Notes archives online, and FREE
Well, the Internet just got a whole lot smarter about the drums, and percussion in general. I'm very excited to see that the Percussive Arts Society is now posting the archives of their quarterly publication Percussive Notes free online— you can download pdfs of their old articles. For many years, Percussive Notes and Modern Drummer were basically the only periodicals with any serious information about actually playing the drums, PN coming from a professional/academic perspective, and MD being geared towards amateurs and students, as well as pros. This is a sizable chunk of the total available literature of drumming, and it's now a) available, and b) free.
All professionals and serious students should be eating this up. In just a few minutes of browsing I found a bunch of great stuff:
An interview with Kenny Clarke, and discussion of his career by Norbert Goldberg
Developing Snare Drum Rolls by Sherman Hong
Max Roach's drum solo on Jordu, transcribed by Paul Garretson
Interview with Elvin Jones by Anthony George Bravos
Polyrhythms: Triplets in 4/4 Jazz Time by Peter Donald
...and much, much more— we'll be seeing a whole lot more of them in the future...
Labels: Percussive Arts Society, Percussive Notes
A Reed method for 16th notes in jazz — reading the quarter note sections
Over the course of a few posts I'll break down my method for developing jazz comping with 16th notes, using Syncopation by Ted Reed. 16th notes are used a lot in jazz, and drummers neglecting them can lead to fairly one-dimensional playing. In jazz this rhythm needs to be legato; if you articulate your 16ths the way you do in other kinds of music, they will sound quite bad. Play them the way the horn does on Confirmation:
First we'll look at some things you can do with the quarter note sections of Reed. We'll be ignoring the written bass drum part— the stems-down part— so any of the three two-page quarter note lessons will do. We will play the ride pattern with a dotted-8th/16th rhythm; again, don't play it too staccato. Try to make it flow. It looks funny when you see it written; this used to be a standard way to write and play the pattern, but you don't see it much any more:
The first two interpretations are straightforward: play the above time pattern along with the written melody line (the stems-up part in Reed) on the bass drum, while filling in a couple of different 16th note rhythms on the snare drum. For the examples, we'll use this written exercise in Reed:
In the book that's one measure of page 4 (Lesson One, in the new edition), line 7. Reading that exercise without playing the left hand, the time feel plus our bass drum part would look like this:
First, fill in the &-as on with the snare:
Then fill in the es and as:
Much more after the break:
Very occasional quote of the day: figuring things ...
Things I learned at a Billy Mintz concert and clin...
Daily best music in the world: earlyish Steve Gadd...
Billy Mintz clinic and concert in Portland TOMORRO...
NAKED CLICKBAIT: ten pieces of drumming equipment ...
VOQOTD: rudiments just made up by a couple of guys...
A Reed method for 16th notes in jazz— reading 8th ...
A Reed method for 16th notes in jazz — reading the...
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Topic: The little known movie review depot
Author Topic: The little known movie review depot (Read 216819 times)
Yes this is me...
The little known movie review depot
This is not really a marathon, but I've decided to start this topic to place my review.
Here you will find many genre of movie, but all of them will have one point in common : they are not well known. I will try my best in each of those review to find the original poster and the trailer.
The focus is more on the film than the DVD, but everytime it will be possible I will add the DVD distributor (if it is not OOP) and some comment on the DVD extra (if the DVD countains just one movie).
My rating system will be simple :
= perfect
= Not so bad
= Not bad but not good either
= Boring
= A waste of time
I hope that you will like it and, as always, your comments and sugestions are welcome.
www.facebook.com/jimmy.simard.336
Re: The little known movie review depot
MOVIE / DVD INFO:
Original DVD cover My DVD cover Theatrical poster
Title: The Undertaker and His Pals
Genre: Horror Comedy
Director: T.L.P. Swicegood
Length: 1h03
Video: Full Frame
Audio: English(Mono)
Subtitles: No subtitles
Warrene Ott
James Westmoreland (credited as Rad Fulton)
Sally Frei
Rick Cooper
Talk about killing your appetite! Two small town restaurant owners cook up a macabre scheme with the local undertaker to make a fortune. Their new menu is a hit - people are literally dying to get into the joint. However, two detectives soon suspect that the main ingredient isnt FDA approved.
For my fist review in this new topic I wanted to talk about a good little known movie and after some research in my collection I've found one that I've not seen for ages. This is a movie who was used as a second and third films features at the drive-in by Ted V. Mikels (The Corpse Grinders) at the end of the sixties. So this certainly not the most popular and known movie.
This was one the first movie to used a mix of gore and humor (it was made 3 years after « Blood Feast » the first gore movie). It's evident that for appreciate this genre of film the expectation must be low, since this is not Citizen Kane. The beginning of the movie is in B/W (more brown and grey, but I've no idea what is the english expression for that) and the colour appear only after the first murder, I find that this idea is brilliant. Like I've said this is comedy and there are a lot of funny moments. By exemple : the restaurant menu who change everytime the trio had a new victim (leg of lamb after they had killed Sally Lamb, chicken breast after Ann Poultry,...), a poursuit who look like an old silent movie (piano and fast speed for the victim and organ and slow speed for the killer) and many more. Two actors are far more better than the rest of the cast : James Westmoreland (Don't Answer the Phone!) and Ray Dannis (The Corpse Grinders).
Evidently the movie is far from perfect since this is a low budget production. Some member of the cast are awfull (the actor playing the first victim dad is the worst) and we have the precense of the usual continuity time shifting (one poursuit at the end start at night and everything became sunny and bright very rapidly). The movie is cut too and it's evident, but those cuts has been made by Mikels before the film was released so it's impossible to see it complete.
This is a good little film, but the original DVD is OOP and cost 40$ and more for a new copy. It doesn't worth that so don't buy it for this price, but with some research it's possible to find it in some budget collection. My copy was released in 2002 by one Canadian label and this one too is curently impossible to find. Sorry I really feel like I tease you too much.
Movie Trailer : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkHX9DODXwg
lyonsden5
Quote from: AESP_pres on January 30, 2008, 08:07:43 AM
I love this rating system
Quote from: lyonsden5 on January 30, 2008, 04:37:45 PM
Me too! I'll be using it in the next marathon, unless Jimmy claims copyright
I was searching for a clearer system than the usual one with number. It's sometimes difficult to really see the diiference between 3 or 3.5
The smileys is a simple way to show my reaction.
Quote from: ya_shin on January 30, 2008, 04:52:22 PM
Feel free to use it as you wish
m.cellophane
Ooh, very nice!
Title: Cataclysm
Director: Phillip Marshak (Dracula Sucks)
Tom McGowan (Wilbur and the Baby Factory)
Greg Tallas (Espionage in Tangiers)
Cameron Mitchell (Knives of the Avenger)
Marc Lawrence (Marathon Man)
Faith Clift (Horror Express)
Richard Moll (House)
Robert Bristol (Hangar 18)
Charles Moll (A.K.A. Richard Moll), star of the hit 80's "Night Court," plays acclaimed author James Hanson who is trying to uncover the truth behind the belief in God and the Devil. Will James' effrontery to defy superstition put him and his devout Catholic wife in danger of losing their souls to one of the Devil's own henchmen?
This title probably told you nothing and for a good reason, it was only used for the theatrical release. This movie was released on VHS and DVD with those two titles : The Nightmare Never Ends and Satan's Supper, but it was also include in an horror anthology (Night Train to Terror) in a re-edited form. The version that I've used for my review is « The Nightmare Never Ends ».
The first thing that we can see before without starting the movie is the fact that 3 directors work on this, usually this is not a good sign. The three directors are not unknown if you have listen some genre films. Marshak has directed 2 good adult films (Blue Ice and Dracula Sucks), McGowan has directed « Wilbur and the Baby Factory » and produced « Cherry, Harry & Raquel! » and, finally Tallas is the director of « Prehistoric Women » and « Espionage in Tangiers ». The other important crew member is the writter, Philip Yordan who received an Oscar in 1955 for the script of « Broken Lance ».
But all that didn't make a perfect movie. The big problem with it is that it has too many pointless subplot unresolved and a lot of characters who appear to die just 2 minutes after their introduction. The actor are not really good : Faith Clift always use the same tone of voice (like if she was reading all her line and has some difficulty with the language), Mark Lawrence (who was a veteran actor) is very anoying as an old Jewish man, Cameron Mitchell over-act like he always do and the others minor characters are not better. The special effect are not really good and usually I don't have a problem with that, but please a red light who kill someone is not really impressive (even more if this light is a demon attack).
But not everything is bad. The concept of the movie is good : The Devil is a person who exist just like us and he was and will be always there (he is not a red demon with one fork). The end is good too
The doctor and another girl remove the heart of the man who is the Devil, but he change is place with the assistant just before the removal and he survive. He walk out of the hospital and the doctor lost all her control (not greatly since the doctor is played by Faith Clift). In a simple way the bad guy win!
Richard Moll give a good performance as a Nobel prize winer author who has written a book about the death of God (does the nobel fondation give their "trophy" for those genre of books? I don't think so!).
Movie Trailer : None Available,but...
I've found the complete version of « Night Train to Terror », but I don't know if the quality is good or if the anthology worth it. I have only a modem conection and the idea of listen one film on the net with 56K speed is not really a good one. But if the film is good let me know, maybe I will try to find it.
You could see it there : http://flickbyflick.com/showflick.asp?moid=598
« Last Edit: January 31, 2008, 01:13:41 AM by AESP_pres »
Touti
What a smart idea, that's a 2 pointer.
Dvd cover Theatrical poster
Title: The Horror of Party Beach
Genre: Monster Movie
Director: Del Tenney (Zombies)
Video: Widescreen
John Scott (No other credit)
Alice Lyon (No other credit)
Allan Laurel (No other credit)
Eulabelle Moore (Brenner – TV series)
Marilyn Clarke (Kolchak: The Night Stalker – TV series)
A drag race between hot rodders and bikers winds up at a swinging rock-and-roll beach party where the Del-Aires perform some rockin' tunes. Nearby, a barrel containing radioactive waste is unloaded from a passing ship, and plunged to the bottom of the sea, splitting against a jagged rock. When a peculiar black liquid oozes out covering a human skull, a vicious monster slowly twitches into life, and "The Horror Beach Party" is born!
The teens beach movie (Beach Blanket Bingo, Beach Party,...) were successfull in the sixties and the monster movie was always popular (and they continue to be). Del Tenney has decided with this movie to mix this two genres together. Before that he has directed 2 serious horror movie : Zombies (64) and The Curse of the Living Corpse (64).
The best things in this films (everyone who have seen it will agree with me) is the music and the party at the beach. The band in the movie was called the Del-Aires and they were a local New Jersey club band. They did release some single and they were popular in the club scene untill 1964 when the group split after a seven years career. The beach party got all the good ingredients : teenagers (older looking, but that's usual), good looking girl, a biker gang and a fight between the hero & the biker leader. Everyone in the cast perform corectly, no one is really bad and it's surprising since they are not really professional actors (many of them are just local habitants of Stamford, Connecticut). The story is not really original (toxic waste are dump in the sea and create a monster who will go on a rampage), but the script goes on a straight line and doesn't add any useless sub-plot.
On the less good side. The monster is a member of the silly and awfull monster club and since I can find a good way to describe it, I give you a picture. The first time you see it you could do nothing but laugh.
The only black character in the movie is a servant woman and she's a running sterotype (her name Eulabelle, she only exist to serve her boss and her reaction when she hear about the monster attack is to call it voodoo).
This is good little movie, not really an horror films but certainly a fun one. The DVD release by « Dark Sky Films » in 2006 countain a good commentary track by Del Tenney.
« Last Edit: February 04, 2009, 07:40:47 PM by Jimmy »
Title: Guyana: Crime of the Century
Genre: True story
Director: René Cardona Jr. (The Bermuda Triangle)
Length: 1h47 (the time on the cover is not good)
Stuart Whitman (Night of the Lepus)
Gene Barry (Turn Back the Clock)
John Ireland (Salon Kitty)
Joseph Cotten (Citizen Kane)
Bradford Dillman (Piranha)
Nearly thousand people – even tiny babies and children – lay dead and rotting in the morning sun in the South American country of Guyana, all victims of cult leader Jim Jones, who had ordered the mass execution of his followers in the 1978 incident called by many « The Crime of the Century ».
November 18, 1978. Almost everyone know what happen at this date, I remember to have heard about it on the news even if I was only eight years old at this time. This day is the day where the bigger Cult massacre happen, maybe I'm wrong but I'm sure that nothing have been worst to this day. 913 members of the cult, 3 members of the media, 1 defector from Jonestown and the Congressman Leo J. Ryan had been killed this day in Guyana. This movie was made very rapidly after the event (february 1979). Enough of that you don't read that for receiving an history lesson.
Contrary to what we may think this film is respecfull and tastefull (remember that this not the U.S. version who use the real photography of the dead people). Stuart Whitman gave a great performance as James Johnson (Jim Jones), it's very easy to understand is power and control on his people and he is always credible. Gene Barry is also good in the rôle of Leo Ryan. The film is made in Guyana and they had used the real photography of Jonestown to recreate it for the movie, these 2 facts add a lot to the production value. They present some fact who didn't happen as they show in the film (no proof that Jones was killed, the mass suicide happen more calmly and some others), but it's understandable since the film was made very shortly after the event.
The only negative point is the fact that the movie start too rapidly. By this I mean that the story start when the congregation is on the move to Guyana. I know about the story of this cult, but I think that an introduction of its history who had made the film clearer for an average viewer.
My second experience with Cardona and like my precedent (Bermuda Triangle) it was a good one. I can't wait to receive my next one « Supervivientes de los Andes » based on the 1972 crash of an Uruguayan rugby team on the Andes Mountains.
The DVD is OOP but it's easy to find it on Amazon marketplace for a low price.
Movie Trailer : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwmbzrPepqk
For more information about this event and the cult
http://www.crimelibrary.com/notorious_murders/mass/jonestown/index_1.html
Note : the 1980 American teleseries « Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones » is available too on DVD.
Title: Who Wants to Kill Jessie?
Original Title: Kdo chce zabít Jessii?
Director: Václav Vorlícek (Tri orísky pro Popelku)
Audio: Czech
Dana Medrická (Tag der Idioten)
Jirí Sovák (Marecku, podejte mi pero!)
Olga Schoberová (Limonádový Joe aneb Konská opera)
Juraj Visny (Objídzdka)
Karel Effa (Perinbaba)
In this zany Czechoslovakian comedy, a scientist invents a machine that projects a sleeping person's dream on a screen. The trouble begins when she tries the contraption out on her husband and discovers his dreams are filled with cartoon-like characters doing outrageous things. Naturally, the scientist is quite shocked. Believing that such frivolous fantasies just won't do, she tries to manipulate his dreams. Disaster soon follows when the machine malfunctions and the dream characters become very real.
I like this film and it's one of my best luck buying. This is a good comedy, in fact it is more amusing than any comedy produce now. Just to watch a cow dreaming that it was relaxing in an hammock and listening a band who played classical music for her at the beginning sell it for me. But the fun start really when the dreams of the Professor become real. 3 characters get out of his dream : 2 bad guys and the heroine. The bad guys are one cowboy and one superhero (they represent the capitalist world, it's my interpretation) and the heroine is a sexy blond (a little bit like Barbarella). The bad guys create one big mess (they destroy an apartment, start a fight in a school, ...) and the girl will try to retrieve the professor (this create a jealousy problem with his wife). They will be arrest and trying in a court of Justice (why the court had 3 judges?). I don't tell the rest but it continue like it for the rest of the film. Now, the more important, the professor dream about a comic book so the 3 characters are not really human and that make the funiest part. They don't talk! Everything they say appear in a bubble and they have written sound effect too (like the old Batman teleseries). That doesn't seem to have many sense, but this film is really good. I can evaluate the talent of the actors since I, obviously, don't understand the czech language, but miss Schoberová (the dream heroine) is certainly pleasing for the eyes.
Thats what is good with the DVD, we can see and try every genre of movie that were never release in the North American market. I recommand this one, It isn't that expensive (25-30$) and it's really an original concept.
Movie Trailer : No Trailer
Title: Invasion USA
Genre: Cold War exploitation
Director: Alfred Green (The Jackie Robinson Story)
Gerald Mohr (The Black Rebels)
Peggie Castle (Beginning of the End)
Dan O'Herlihy (Halloween III: Season of the Witch)
Robert Bice (It! The Terror from Beyond Space)
Phyllis Coates (The Incredible Petrified World)
A handful of strangers are suddenly thrown together as America goes face-to-face against the Communist threat in this curious example of Cold War exploitation.
In the fifties the nuclear scare film genre was a popular one and the anti-communist propaganda was at a high level. So it was a natural to combine all this and create the first « Russian invasion of the USA with nuclear bomb propaganda scare film ».
This film is known for is use of stock footage, a normal thing at that time. But, when your movie use more than 75% of footage this is problematic. This footage doesn't fit : we see naval combat from the WW2 Pacific combat zone, air bombing against European country, paratroopers with American army uniform,... The fact is that all the attack are against the United States and not one single frame of the battle footage happen on the country. When the attack against Washington happen the air defence is set on a big plain, not a single city is on sight. To contourn the fact that the military uniform are all American the film use this trick : The Russian soldiers are dress up as American soldier and have learn english (this lead to a little funny scene when an American soldier find a Russian because he doesn't know who are the Cubs, so if you know anything about baseball take care if an invasion happen). The rest of the story (the not stock part) is not that great either : the Russian are walking stereotype (drunk, violent, comic accent,...), a love story who appear from nowhere... The end is so cliché that it is stupid, usually I don't spoil the ending but I will do an exception with this one because it was already a cliché in 1952 : The event didn't happen, that was an illusion create by one man who had hypnotize the others.
The good point is not really on the film but on the DVD release by Synapse Films. One of the extra is the short movie (29 minutes) « Red Nightmare » made in 1962 who is a perfect exemple of a good American propaganda film. You have 2 audio to listen with the film in suplement of the movie track : « If the Bomb Fall » (an audio disc from 1961 who teach you how to be prepare and live in a fallout shelter in case of a nuclear attack) and « The Complacent American » (an audio disc released in 1961 by the civil defense to teach you how to survive from a nuclear attack).
So even if the movie is bad as hell, I recommand the DVD because of the quality of the extra material in it. But my rating reflect only my view on the film.
Movie Trailer : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNZaMm5q_BA
If you want to watch « Red Nightmare » you can see it there :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wexMivQi3k
Super Heavy Poster
Kathy's Collection
Quote from: Kathy on February 03, 2008, 01:14:26 AM
Try the French territory
Maybe it's too easy now
Title: Grapes of Death
Original Title: Les Raisins de la mort
Director: Jean Rollin (Requiem for a Vampire)
Audio: French
Marie George Pascal (Les Petites filles modèles)
Félix Marten (Le Tueur)
Serge Marquand (Frankenstein 90)
Brigitte Lahaie (Je suis à prendre)
Mirella Rancelot (Les Bronzés)
A vacation with a friend turns into a horrifying nightmare when a young woman flees from a train, only to stumble into a remote village overtaken by its zombie-like inhabitants. One by one, the townspeople are slowly turning into violent, deformed killers. The local winery may hold the key to the hellish transformers. Perhaps the pesticide used on the grapes does more than just kill insects…
The french cinema is more known for the author movie, the quality of its adult movie and the not really funny comedy (Les Bronzé, everything with Louis de Funès,...) than the horror genre. In fact this genre is not very popular with the Frenchman, they like foreign horror but not their home product. That's why there are not a lot of good French horror director (I don't consider Alexandre Aja a good one, Haute tension had one of the more stupid ending that I've never seen). Jean Rollin is one of the best French genre director, his vampire movies are a good exemple of sensual horror (I will certainly review some of them later).
First thing first, this is not a zombie gore fest this is more an epidemy movie a little bit like in « The Crazies » by Romero. The film foundation is the isolation feeling that is palpable almost at the beginning at the film in a great train scene and throughout almost the runing time because of the location (I've made some screen capture to show what I want to say). The fact that the film doesn't need a lot of blood or jump scare are the sign of its quality, this is a movie where you must immerse yourself in to appreciate it. Marie George Pascal is extraordinary in this film, all the emotion pass completly nothing seems forced when she's anxious, affraid or relieved that looks natural. The ending is great too
This not an happy ending, nobody came to save the day and nothing is resolsed.
The only little negative aspect is the developpement of the rest of the cast member. They appear but we don't know very much about them, but this isn't really something that much important since the focus is more on the story of the principal actress.
This is one movie that I recommand, even if you don't usually appreciate the horror genre I think that you could like it. The movie is in french, but the english subtitles are easy to read.
Movie Trailer : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajeVz2mJ2UQ
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Ethiopia is endowed with diverse ecosystems in which diverse flora and fauna as well as microbial resources are found. The major ecosystems include: Afroalpine and subafroalpine, Montane dry forest and scrub, Montane moist forest, Acacia-Comiphora woodland, Combretum-Terminalia woodland, Lowland humid forest, Aquatic, wetland, Montane grassland, and Desert and semidesert ecosystems.
1. Afroalpine and Subafroalpine Ecosystem
The areas which on the average higher than 3200 meters above sea level (m.a.s.l) are generally referred to as the Afroalpine and Subafroalpine (Hedberg, 1957). The lower limit of the afroalpine belt falls at about 3500 m, while the upper limit of vascular plants lies around 5000 m (Hedberg, 1964), and subafroalpine areas ranges between 3200- 3500 m. These areas include chains of mountains, mountain slopes and tops of highest mountains in the country. The highest peak in Ethiopia is Ras Dashen (4533 m a.s.l), where an alpine climate near 0°C persists all year round, sometimes even with a snow cover lasting a couple of days (Hurni and Ludi, 1998). However, dry lowland savannas and deserts surround this moist highland area. Ethiopia has the largest extent of afroalpine habitats in Africa (Yalden, 1983). More Afroalpine…
2. Montane Grassland Ecosystem
The montane grassland ecosystem is distinguished from other types of ecosystems by its physiognomy, floristic composition and ecology. It consists of herbaceous stratum usually not higher than 30 – 80 cm, very rich in perennial grasses and species of Cyperaceae, but also with sub-shrubs and perennial herbs, among which bulbous and rhizomatous plants occur (Pichi-Sermolli, 1957). The original climax vegetation on the montane grassland of Ethiopia was supposed to be a dry evergreen montane forest intermingled with small areas of grassland (Zerihun Woldu, 1988). According to White (1983), the montane grassland of Ethiopia is a derived vegetation type, although small areas of the grassland may have existed before human settlement. More on Montane Grassland…
3. Dry Evergreen Montane Forest and Evergreen Scrub Ecosystem
The Ethiopian highlands contribute to more than 50 % of the land area with Afromontane vegetation, of which dry montane forests form the largest part (Yalden, 1983; Tamrat Bekele, 1994). The evergreen scrubland vegetation occurs in the highlands of Ethiopia either as an intact scrub, i.e. in association with the dry evergreen montane forest or usually as secondary growth after deforestation of the dry evergreen montane forest. The Dry Evergreen Montane Forest and Evergreen Scrubland vegetations are the chjarachteristic vegetation types of this ecostem. More on Dry-evergreen…
4. Montane Moist Forest Ecosystem
The montane moist forest ecosystem comprises high forests of the country mainly the southwest forests, which are the wettest, and also the humid forest on the southeastern plateau known as the Harenna forest.The montane moist forest ecosystem is distiguished by supporting luxuriant growing epiphytes Canarina, Orchids, Scadoxus and fern plants such as Platycerium and Drynaria. Mosses also occur in the wettest porton of forests associated to major branches and barks of trees. More on Montane Moist Forest…
5. Acacia-Commiphora Woodland Ecosystem
The Acacia-Commiphora ecosystem is known for its varying soils, topography, and diverse biotic and ecological elements. These plant species are with either small deciduous leaves or leathery persistent ones. The density of trees varies from ‘high’, in which they form a closed canopy to scattered individuals to none at all forming open grasslands. The grasses do not exceed more than one meter, thus, no true savannah is formed. More on Acacia-Comiphora…
6. Combretum-Terminalia Ecosystem
This ecosystem is characterized by Cmbretum spp., Terminalia spp., Oxytenanthera abyssinica, Boswellia papyrifera, Anogeissus lieocarpa, Sterospermem kuntianum, Pterocarpus lucens, Lonchocarpus laxiflorus, Lannea spp. Albizia malacophylla and Enatada africana. These are small trees with fairly large deciduous leaves, which often occur with the lowland bamboo- Oxytenanthera abyssinica. The understory is a combination of herbs and grasses. The herbs include Justecia spp., Barleria spp., Eulophia, chlorophytum, Hossolunda opposita and Ledeburia spp. The grasses include Cymbopogon, Hyparrhenia, Echinochla, Sorghum, Pennisetum, etc. Usually the herbs dominate the ground layer at the beginning of the rainy season while grasses dominate toward the end of the rainy season. More on Combretum…
7. Lowland Tropical Forest Ecosystem
The characteristic species of this forest are Baphia abyssinica and Tapura fischeri (Chaffey 1979, Friis, 1992, Tesfaye Awas et al., 2001). The common species in the upper canopy include Celtis gomphophylla, Celtis toka, Lecaniodiscus fraxinifolius, Zanha golungensis, Trichilia prieureana, Alistonia boonei, Antiaris toxicaria, Malacantha alnifolia, Zanthoxylum lepreurii, Diospyros abyssinica, Milicia excelsa, Baphia abyssinica, Vepris dainellii and Celtis zenkeri. More on Lowland…
8. Desert amd Semi-desert Ecosystem
It is a very dry zone vulnerable to wind and water erosion even with little or no pressure on the vegetation from grazing. The vegetation consists of deciduous shrubs, dominated by Acacia sp. interspersed with less frequent evergreen shrubs and succulents. It has very variable grass vegetation. The people of the area are pastoral and agro-pastoral. Large scale irrigated agriculture is gaining importance in some areas of the ecosystem. This ecosystem is the extreme lowland region of the country. The flora has developed an advanced xeromorphic adaptation. Shrubs and trees have developed dwarf growth and have small, sclerenchymatic or pubescent leaves. More on Desert…
9. Wetland Ecosystem
Ethiopia possesses a great diversity of wetland ecosystem (swamps, marshes, flood plains, natural or artificial ponds, high mountains lake and micro-dams) as a result of formation of diverse landscape subjected to various tectonic movements, a continuous process of erosion, and human activities. The different geological formation and climatic conditions have endowed Ethiopia with a vast water resources and wetland ecosystem including 12 river basins, 8 major lakes and many swamps, floodplains, and man made reservoirs with a total annual surface runoff about 110 billion cubic meter. More on Wetlands…
10. Aquatic Ecosystem
Aquatic in literal meaning refers to water. As an ecosystem, widely taken, it includes freshwater (rivers, reservoirs and lakes), marine (oceans and seas) and estuarine (coastal, bays, tidal) ecosystems. The Ethiopian aquatic ecosystem has high diversity areas such as major rivers and lakes that are of great national and international importance. The country is well known for its richness in water potential. There are about 30 major lakes that are located in different ecological zones. These lakes are situated at altitudes ranging from about 150 m below sea level high up to 4000 m. The surface area of the lakes vary considerably from less than 1 km² to over 3600 km² and mean depths range from few meters to over 260 meters. However, the major lakes that are of economic importance are concentrated in the Rift Valley. More on Aquatic…
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After Wayne Rooney's strike for DC United, which of Rooney's three career goals from the halfway line is the best?
Jump to: Real Madrid 'bring the noise' with new away kit | The curious case of Sarri and Koulibaly | Rio Ferdinand's fiancee can't escape him on hen party
D.C. United pipped Orlando City 1-0 in MLS on Wednesday, with Wayne Rooney once again scoring the pivotal goal that will live long in the memory.
With just 10 minutes played, Rooney picked the ball up deep inside his own half, looked up, spotted Orlando goalkeeper Brian Rowe had temporarily vacated his goal and proceeded to thump a monstrous shot in from where he stood.
You've got to give it to Rooney, the guy certainly knows how to score a bona fide banger, even at the ripe old age of 33.
- Glastonbury to screen World Cup game after England plea
- Suarez appeals for handball in penalty area... by goalkeeper
Real Madrid 'bring the noise' with new away kit
Let the world know we're ready. Raise the volume 🔊
The new @adidasfootball @realmadrid away kit out now.
Shop here: https://t.co/4sYIrimX3P#HalaMadrid | #DareToCreate pic.twitter.com/lm8gv5kPn9
— Real Madrid C.F. 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadriden) June 27, 2019
After shocking precisely nobody by opting for a primarily white home kit for next season, Real Madrid have now unveiled the away strip that will be worn alongside it.
The Spanish giants have revealed a dark blue, black and gold shirt will be worn on their travels in 2019-20.
The shirt also features a "soundwave" graphic across the chest which apparently symbolises the "noise generated by the fans in the historic season in which Real Madrid conquered La Decima."
Maybe this will start a new trend in new kits, with fans moved to ask every summer: "Never mind how it looks... How does it sound?"
The curious case of Sarri and Koulibaly
Bear with us here, you'll be glad you did. Maurizio Sarri is back in Italian football with Juventus and it would appear, after a somewhat rocky season with Chelsea, he's starting to open up again.
Indeed, this week we've been given a glimpse into the private ways of a man who seemed reluctant to share much during his brief tenure at Stamford Bridge.
Back at home and settled in San Benedetto del Tronto, Sarri revealed to local newspaper La Nuovo Riviera the full extent of his infamous smoking habit.
"[I smoke] 60 a day -- it's a bit too many. I don't feel the need to smoke during matches -- I feel the necessity more than anything after," the Juve coach said.
We have also been offered a glimpse into Sarri's managerial psyche by Kalidou Koulibaly, who played under the chain-smoking coach for three years at the Stadio San Paolo.
Regaled in a piece for The Players' Tribune, the tale centres around the birth of Koulibaly's first son in 2016.
It begins with Koulibaly receiving the call that his wife is going into labour and the player asking his manager (Sarri) for permission to leave training early to be with her and, eventually, his first-born child.
"Sarri looks at me and says, "No, no, no. I need you tonight, Kouli. I really need you. You can't go," the Senegalese centre-back wrote.
"I say, "This is the birth of my son, Mister. You can do whatever you want to me. Fine me, suspend me, I don't care. I am going.'
"Sarri looks so stressed, and he is smoking his cigarette. Smoking, smoking, thinking ... then finally he says, 'Okay, you can go to the clinic. But you have to be back for the match tonight. I need you, Kouli!'"
Thankfully, Koulibaly makes it to the clinic in time to see his new son, Seni, being born into the world at 1:30pm, which he fondly remembers as "the happiest day of his life" and makes it back to the stadium in time for the game.
Koulibaly says he's ready to play, and Sarri comes into the dressing room and puts up the team sheet, but his number isn't on it..
He says to Sarri: "Mister! Are you kidding me?"
He said, "What? It is my choice."
I said, "Mister! My son! My wife! I left them! You said you needed me!"
He said, "Yes, we need you on the bench."
Koulibaly stressed he doesn't view the actions of Sarri in a negative light, but we have to wonder if player and coach are ever in the same club again how the Senegalese might react if the fickle Italian ever tells him he "needs" him again.
Rio Ferdinand's fiancee can't escape him on hen party
With a wedding on the cards, Rio Ferdinand's fiancee Kate Wright flew out with a group of her closest friends to Mykonos to celebrate her hen party in style.
Before flying out to the Greek island, "Mrs Ferdy-To-Be" posed for an ensemble photo with guests at the airport while perched atop a rather fetching custom suitcase bearing her future husband's grinning face.
Me & the girls ready for my hen🥂👰🏼💍 #MrsFerdytobe ... we decided to have a social media detox to actually enjoy ourselves rather than be on our phones checking Instagram 24/7.... be prepared for a LOT of piks 🙊🙊 thank you @itluggage for our cases 🖤 ✈️ #ferdinandputaringonherhand #gifted
A post shared by Kate Wright (@xkatiewright) on Jun 25, 2019 at 4:46am PDT
According to the Daily Mirror, Wright put a social media ban on the holiday while the party was in progress but she certainly made up for it after the blackout was lifted.
Indeed, we were treated to the truly harrowing sight of 16 expressionless, chanting Rio Ferdinands marching at us from out of the darkness.
Now .... excuse my witch cackle 🧙♀️ BUT i could not breathe with laughter🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 LOVE YOU GIRLS 💖💖 #ferdinandputaringonherhand
A post shared by Kate Wright (@xkatiewright) on Jun 26, 2019 at 12:17pm PDT
Now there's an experience we're keen to never repeat.
If you're wondering what Ferdinand himself was doing in the meantime, he was out in Vietnam where he met up with an old work colleague.
Good to spend last few days with Mr Ji Unit... one of @premierleague's & @manchesterunited best value for money signing in years, £4mill 😳🔴 🏆🏴 4 Premier League 🏆🏴 4 Community Shield 🏆🏴 3 League Cup 🏆🇪🇺 1 UCL 🏆🌍 1 Club World Cup #ParkJiSung #MUFC
A post shared by Rio Ferdinand (@rioferdy5) on Jun 24, 2019 at 12:36pm PDT
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Guestbook comments
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World War 2 Eighty Years On - January 1940
Bitterly cold weather during the last days of December continued into the New Year. It was the coldest winter since 1894/95, with a recorded eleven degrees of frost in the Windsor area and snow, freezing rain and ice brought transport to a standstill. The intense cold and freezing conditions brought suffering to the wild life with swans becoming trapped in the ice as the River Thames froze over in many places. Reports of the frozen river brought day trippers from London in their hundreds for the pleasure of skating on the broad expanse of ice. These icy conditions were a joy to the skaters, but for many in Eton Wick it was distress and hardship. Householders had problems with frozen water pipes whilst farmers encountered difficulties tending their livestock. There was clamp down on the reporting of these bleak conditions for fear it may be of use to the German military. January had mainly mild weather but a snowstorm during the last week once more brought havoc.
Poster courtesy of The Imperial War Museum.
By Royal Proclamation men aged twenty to twenty seven years were required to register for military service, those of 26 years registering on April 27th. This rapid expansion of the Armed Forces demanded even more output of munitions and equipment from the factories. To meet the ever increasing production requirement local engineering companies had to expand. Advertisements were placed in the local papers over a wide area for workers in non-essential jobs to go into the factories with the offer of training and good rates of pay. Many of those working in shops and offices were attracted by the prospect of higher earnings. To replace the lost staff, shop keepers and other service industry employers also advertised in the Windsor Express and Slough Observer for school leavers and for women who were willing to work part-time.
Monday January 8th.
Ration Book courtesy of the Imperial war Museum.
The early introduction of food rationing to avoid the chaotic food distribution that occurred in the 1914 -18 war allowed a ration of 4oz of bacon or ham, 4oz of butter and 12oz of sugar for each person per week. Ration books, which had been distributed in November of 1939, were brought into use with maximum food prices being set by the Ministry of Food. Grocers were required to furnish weekly returns of sales and stock of rationed foods. The system ensured a regular supply of rationed goods. Other supplies to the grocer also depended upon his number of registered customers to ensure a fair distribution. Some commodities came pre-packed in set amounts, such as sugar distributed in 1 and 2 lb. bags. Mr Chantler recalled the need to open a pre-packed bag for a single 12ozs ration was inconvenient and was not readily acceptable by some customers whom often tried to purchase the 2lb bag. At first coupons were cut out from the ration book but later the appropriate sections were just marked off on the book with indelible pencil or similar.
This is an extract from Round and About Eton Wick: 1939 - 1945. The book was researched, written and published in 2001 by John Denham.
Posted by Steve Denham at 06:00 No comments:
Labels: 1940, John Denham, Round and About Eton Wick 1939 - 1945, Wartime memories
The Eton Wick Newsletter - December 2015 - `Our Village' Magazine
Our Village First School of 1840
Some months ago I attended St. John the Baptist Church for the funeral of a young villager, and was pleasantly surprised when a man approached me and asked if I was Mr Bond, and did I recognise him. My responses were 'yes' and 'no'. He then explained that he was Mr Hampshire, a name I readily recalled as a former Headmaster of our village school. He was apparently living in Wokingham. In truth I regretted not having recognised him, but could not remember having had much contact with him during his Eton Wick tenure. Even so I was much impressed that after thirty years he came back to attend the funeral of this forty one years old man, who I presumed had been a pupil of his so long ago. At this point I can well imagine Eton Wick's late author and historian, Dr Judith Hunter's oft quoted advice -"Frank, in history we must never presume!' - Sorry Judith -.
This incident had me thinking about my own school years of 1927 - 36 which started in the village school until I was seven years old; and then on leaving the infants came the long tramps to Eton Porny School until I was fourteen. This was normal for all the Eton Wick boys, but girls had the option of doing all their schooling in Eton Wick. There were of course no school buses, no school canteen or school meals, which effectively necessitated returning to our village homes for the midday meal, and then a return to Eton and school. Classes were known as 'standards' and we had the same teacher for most subjects for the year. The exception was for woodwork, gardening, swimming and occasional sport. Gardening and singing were the subjects that Mr Frampton, the Porny Headmaster, took charge of. The school had its own site of allotments; situated on the 'Sleds' and just outside the Eton recreation ground west boundary. Even on really hot days the 'head' would not allow drinking at the water pump because in his opinion men never worked as well when they had taken a drink; after 3pm it was acceptable. Rudyard Kipling's famous 'IF' poem could well have added a two line sequel - "If you can't sing, or strive away in your allotment you are never going to be a man my Son".
Other Eton Porny teachers of the early 1930s included Mr Hoare, a firm disciplinarian, which in those days meant use of a cane, either by necessity or perhaps mood. He often had the lads chanting - "Old Conn Hoare is a very good man, he tries to teach us all he can, Reading, Writing and Arithmetic, and never forgets to give us the stick". In todays' world talk of corporal punishment is an abhorrence, but it also did much to deter the big boy bully. Perhaps a price that some tormented youngsters of today would consider worth paying.
Every age has its beliefs until technology makes them outdated. Mr Hoare told us that skyscraper buildings would never be a feature in England, because unlike New York we lacked the rocky ground on which to support them. I am sure there are Londoners who would now wish that was so. Also, that men were hoping to land on the moon, but of course that would never be, due to lack of air. Again, man wanted to split the atom, but fortunately he could not, because if he did there would be such a chain reaction that the world would not survive. In little more than ten years Nagasaki and Hiroshima knew otherwise.
Probably Mr Hoare was well regarded by pupils on account of his having served and been wounded in the Great War of 1914 - 18. Colin had a silver plate inside his forehead where he had suffered a shrapnel injury. I conclude - must not presume again - that he had volunteered to join the army in the early months of the war. With little more than perhaps heads above the trench parapets there were many such head wounds; until in late 1915 when the steel helmet came into general use. All those serving before this date were volunteers, as conscription was first introduced in the spring of 1916. As a teacher he had several unusual methods. This was a time of much unemployment and like many others he advocated the slogan of 'Buy British'. He would say "My shoes are British made of British leather" - "my pocket knife was Sheffield made", and so he went on. Occasionally he would say "That will do for lessons today boys, you may now ask any question you choose. This was always popular, although on one such session a lad said "Sir, when I go on the common I sometimes see a cow jump on the back of another, why is that?" The quick reply 1 do not want that sort of question."
Other teachers in the early years of 1930 included a young Welshman; Mr Hughes, whose favourite subject was natural history. Beyond any doubt, an enthusiastic teacher quickly imparts his knowledge to willing pupils and we were soon observing the plants and birds around us. Regrettably ho only stayed at Eton a few years before moving on to South Africa. A very unusual move, and certainly at that time when working class just did not travel either for work or holiday. Another young teacher was Mr Birmingham. I think this could have been his first school as he certainly had much difficulty in controlling the boys. I do hope in time he acquired whatever it takes to apply discipline. He was kindness itself, even buying prizes for particular achievement. Most boys wore short trousers until they left school at fourteen years of age. There was no school uniform, although the 'Porny' football team played in chocolate brown and blue, the school colours. Eton always had a good football side, and Mr Frampton was known to say 'all the best footballers came from Eton Wick' - the long walks every day to and from school gave the village lads better leg muscles. He certainly had no cause to include me.
These were turbulent years, as Europe was bubbling over yet again, despite there being only seventeen years since the Great War had ended. Mussolini had sent an Italian invading force into Abyssinia - now Ethiopia - and were reported to have used gas against the natives. Maybe they did, but news reporters have been known to exaggerate or distort facts. In Spain General Franco had opposed the establishment and the country was struck by civil war.
To some extent this resulted in Spanish pupils evacuating to Britain, although I never knew of any living locally. On one occasion Mr Frampton, the 'Porny head, announced that a football match had been arranged between the Eton School and a Spanish boys team. He expressed sadness at their plight and asked for every consideration toward the Spanish visitors. I think he stopped short of asking 'Porny' to throw the match but I got the impression he would be pleased to think the opposition won.
I had left school four years before changes really had an impact. After the third year the country was at war and then came tho change in school status, with newly opened Ragstone Road School drawing all the pupils over eleven years of age. Both Eton Wick and Eton were Church of England schools and of course still are: but I do wonder if present day respects of other creeds results in less imposed influence of our traditional faiths. Apart from a small Dame School in the early nineteenth century there was no school in Eton Wick until 1840 when thanks largely to the enthusiasm of a young Eton College tutor, Henry J Chitty Harper, who was also a Conduct (Priest) and of the Eton Provost (also Vicar of Eton Parish) a site was found, and money raised by donations and subscription for the villagers' first school. It was not large, having just one classroom 29 x 21 feel; brick built and situated at what we today know as the junction of the 'Walk' with the main road. In 1840 there was no 'Walk' road; at best just a track leading to the Greyhound public house, approximately 130 metres north. The pub had only been licenced about seven years earlier, and the village population was less than four hundred.
The site was leased from William Goddard of Bell Farm for the generous sum of ten shillings a year rent; roughly equal to a labourers weekly wage at that time. The building cost £259. Education was not compulsory, but pupils were expected to pay a penny or two where possible. It may not seem much to pay, but with a family of several at school it would have been difficult. Although unwittingly at the time, William Goddard was responsible for the later development of Boveney New Town. In 1870 he sold Bell Farm to Eton Council for their town sewage. As we have seen previously, within a few years the Council sold nine acres of their acquisition as being surplus to their needs, and in only a short while Alma, Inkerrnan and Northfield Roads were created and duly lined with late nineteenth century homes, effectively doubling the population, which soon made the first school of 1840 inadequate, and in 1888 a second larger school was built in Sheepcote, adjacent to the church which was built twenty two years earlier.
Rev. Harper later became the Bishop of Christchurch in New Zealand, superseding Bishop George Selwyn, who had in fact been the Bishop of all New Zealand. Previously both men had been Conducts at Eton together, and both had worked beyond their College remit. Selwyn preached from Boveney Church and in Windsor before going 'down under'. He also rowed for Cambridge in the first varsity boat race of 1829 before going to Eton as a tutor. Both men were larger than life.
Submitted by Frank Bond
Click here to read Our Village December 2015.
This article was originally published in the Eton Wick Newsletter - Our Village and is republished with the kind permission of the Eton Wick Village Hall Committee. Click here to go to the Collection page.
Labels: 20th century, Childhood, Frank Bond, Local history, Local memories, Our Village, School
Characters and Families - The village 'Bobby'
P.C. Stanton pictured in front of his home, the village police house at the north end of Moores Lane, Eton Wick, around the turn of the 20th century. P.C. Stanton appears in another archive photograph of 1897 at the Queen Victoria Diamond Jubilee celebrations in Eton. There was a village policeman until 1976, when P.C. Tweddle retired and the Eton Police Station closed. The last time a resident policeman used this house was in 1960, by which time new police houses just off the Eton Wick Road had been built. Undoubtedly the old style village 'bobby' made it his business to observe and hear what went on in his community, and could often check crime before it became more serious or repetitive.
This article was first published in A Pictorial History of Eton Wick & Eton.
Labels: 1900's, Characters and Families, Local history, Local memories, Photograph Collection
The next meeting is on
‘Windsor Castle during the English Civil War’
with Mr Elias Kupfermann
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The Eton Wick History Group members have undertaken many research projects since 1992. As part of our website project we will be publishing many of the papers that have been produced as e-books with Smashwords.
How Town Gas came to Eton Wick by Dick Harding
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The Eton Wick Newsletter - December 2015 - `Our Vi...
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Home News Moment bungling Amazon driver caught “writing-off” customer’s car before driving away
Moment bungling Amazon driver caught “writing-off” customer’s car before driving away
By Raja Sharma -
AN Amazon driver has been sacked after he was caught on video reversing his van into a customer’s car, shunting it down the road – and then driving off.
The clip catches the moment the bungling driver pushes the car backwards several feet before driving away as if nothing had happened.
Amazon customer Jane Johnston-Guest took to social media with the footage as well as pictures of her Ford Ka, which she reckons is a write-off.
Jane, 35, from Selly Oak, Birmingham, complained: “Super early Christmas present from Amazon tonight as their driver smashes into my car and then just drives off.”
The clip shows the van driving reversing into the car
The footage, taken at 9pm on Sunday, opens as the male driver, in high-vis clothing, gets out of his van.
Carrying a package, he walks past the neighbour’s lawn and past Jane’s parked car.
Off camera he delivers the package and then walks back into shot, approaching the van.
He steps back into the van, and shuts the door, where he can be seen sitting inside.
The amazon driver was then seen driving off shortly after
The other part of the footage, filmed from Jane’s neighbour’s door, shows the van reversing hard into Jane’s car.
There is an audible crash with the Ford Ka being shoved back four to five feet.
The driver can be seen swiveling his head round to see what has happened, appearing to briefly survey the damage.
He then drives the van to the end of the lane before reversing all the way back down and out of the street.
Amazon commented on Jane’s posting of the video on their Facebook page, thanking her for bringing the incident to their attention and asking for more details so that they could investigate.
Jane replied to the post, saying: “I have submitted the information. I am sure you can appreciate this is a very disruptive thing to happen the week before Christmas.
“I am very unhappy with Amazon. I know you have procedures in place for a reason but the way I see it is that your employee has committed a crime and you are withholding information that we need to pass to the police.”
Jane said she was “very unhappy” with the incident
Speaking today, Jane said: “I am appalled that somebody would just drive off after clearly causing a lot of damage.”
“We haven’t had the car assessed yet but I am anticipating they will write it off. It is currently not drivable.”
Facebook friends commented below Jane’s post, relaying their shock and disbelief at the action’s of the driver.
Lucy Jenks wrote: “He actually looks at the damage first before he drives off as well so he knows he’s done proper damage.”
Ann Kelly Taylor said: “Oh Jane, that’s dreadful.”
Kelly Taylor McNeil commented: “That sucks. Some guy in our neighbourhood drove into a bunch of cars the other night then hit a pole and took off. What is wrong with people?”
Debbie Morley wrote: “Total crap Jane. Hope they get it sorted promptly.”
Rosanna Blight remarked: “You poor thing Jane. Hope you get it all sorted soon.”
A spokesman for Amazon said: “This does not reflect the standards we have delivery service partners.
“This individual is no longer delivering Amazon packages, and we are working with the customer directly to resolve this matter.”
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Raja Sharma
http://www.deadlinenews.co.uk/2018/12/18/moment-bungling-amazon-driver-caught-writing-off-customers-car-before-driving-away/
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WNY STEM HUB - Take Flight Space Program
TAKE FLIGHT SPACE PROGRAM
PS #198 International Preparatory School wins regional competition!
For the second year in a row, students from PS #198 International Preparatory School, under the leadership of teacher Andrew Franz, have won the regional competition. BPS Students were regional winners in 3 of the 4 WNY competitions.
The students’ research for Mission 14 is: The Effects of Microgravity on The Mating Habits of Hypsibius Dujardini. The students will travel to Cape Canaveral for the launch of their experiment during the spring/summer of 2020, engage with researchers from D’Youville College and The University of Modena and Reggio Emilia during post-flight testing of specimens returned to Earth and share their findings during a national convening at the Smithsonian.
WNY STEM Hub coordinated the project with more than 300 students from 6 local schools in grades 5-12 to design and test authentic experiments investigating diverse topics like seed germination, crystal growth, food studies, cell biology, and physiology and life cycles of micro-organisms.This is the fourth mission to the International Space Station that WNY STEM Hub has offered in collaboration with the Student Spaceflight Experiments Program, designed and operated by the National Center for Earth and Space Science Education (NCESSE).
Local participation is made possible by significant grants from Praxair/Linde and First Niagara Foundation. Broad supplemental support comes from: Moog, Olin, Otis Eastern, Siemens, Trautman Associates, Hoot Mechanical & Electrical, Integer and InfoTech WNY.
New Gerard Place Center Offers Host of Neighborhood Services
A Real Lifesave at ECMC
First Niagara Foundation | 726 Exchange Street, Suite 700, Buffalo, NY 14210
Copyright © 2016-2020 First Niagara Foundation.
Buffalo Web Design by 360PSG | Powered by 360CMS
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The Gibbon Network
Gibbon-Related Research Projects: Archive Year 2007
This list of publications is presented in alphabetical order. Formatting of references largely follows that used in the International Journal of Primatology. If you know any gibbon-related research projects which should be included in this list, please send an e-mail to the webmaster.
Barelli, C. (2007). Female reproductive strategy and behavioural endocrinology in white-handed gibbons (Hylobates lar). PhD thesis, University of Leipzig.
Brown, J. (2007). Conservation of the western black crested gibbon, Nomascus concolor, through ecotourism development in the Nam Ha National Protected Area, Lao PDR. MSc thesis, Department of Environmental Studies, Antioch University New England, Keene, NH, USA, 61 pp.
Eberl, E. M. (2007). Speech sounds, manual gestures, and tool manipulation: The effect of differential motor interference on vowel formants. Ph.D. thesis, Institut für Anglistik, Geisteswissenschaftliche Fakultät, Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz, Austria, iv+273 pp.
Fan, P.-F. (2007). The ecology and behavior of black crested gibbon (Nomascus concolor jingdongensis) at Dazhaizi, Wuliang Mountain, Central Yunnan, China. PhD thesis, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, vi+162 pp.
Farrand, A. (2007). The effect of zoo visitors on the behaviour and welfare of zoo mammals. Ph.D. thesis, Department of Psychology, University of Sterling, xiv+378 pp.
Haag, L. (2007). Responses to food scarcity. A comparative study of white-bearded gibbons (Hylobates albibarbis) and Bornean orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus wurmbii) at Tuanan, Central Kalimantan, Indonesia. Master's thesis, Anthropological Instiute and Museum, University of Zurich, iv+118 pp. pp.
Harmono, S. (2007). Analisis dampak degradasi habitat pada populasi owa owa Jawa (Hylobates moloch) (Suafu analisis dengan menggunakan System Dynamics dengan studi kasus di koridor Taman National Gunung Halimun Salak) [Impact analysis of habitat degradation to population of Java Gibbon (Hylobates moloch). (An application of System Dynamics Analysis: A case study in corridor of Halimun Salak National Park)]. xii+95 pp. (Indonesian language, English summary).
Heufelder, S. (2007). Eltern-Kind Beziehung und juveniles Spielverhalten von Hylobates moloch im Tierpark Hellabrunn, München. Praktikumsarbeit zur Vorlesung Verhaltensbiologie, betreut durch Prof. Dr. R. Gerstmeier, Lehrstuhl für Zoologie, Technische Universität München, Sommersemester 2007, 37 pp.
Hodgkiss, S. (2007). Characterising the physical and hormonal correlates of the ovarian cycle in female Javan gibbons (Hylobates moloch). MSc thesis in Primate Conservation, Oxford Brookes University, x+66 pp.
Kenyon, M. A. (2007). The ecology of the golden-cheeked gibbon (Nomascus gabriellae) in Cat Tien National Park, Vietnam. Ph.D. thesis, Department of Anatomy, University of Cambridge, xix+352 pp.
Louys, J. C. A. (2007). Ecology and extinction of Southeast Asiaís megafauna. Ph.D. thesis, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia, xii+293 pp.
Malone, N. M. (2007). The socioecology of the critically endangered Javan gibbon (Hylobates moloch): Assessing the impact of anthropogenic disturbance on primate social systems. PhD thesis, Department of Anthropology, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, xv+180 pp.
Pearson, E. L. (2007). Mixed-species exhibits: The need for research and an empirical study of the orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus abelii) and siamangs (Hylobates syndactylus) at Adelaide Zoo. Honour's thesis, School of Psychology, University of South Australia, 62 pp.
Ruppell, J. (2007). Vocal diversity and taxonomy of Nomascus in central Vietnam and southern Laos. Master's thesis, Anthropology, Portland State University, vi+81 pp.
Thompson, C. J. H. (2007). Gibbon locomotion in disturbed peat-Swamp forest, sebangau, central Kalimantan. Master's thesis, Anatomy School, University of Cambridge, U.K., 137 pp.
Yatbantoong, N. (2007). Reintroduction of pileated gibbons (Hylobates pileatus): A study in southeast Thailand. MSc thesis, Environmental Biology, Faculty of Graduate Studies, Mahidol University, Bangkok, xv+111 pp.
Yosi, E. (2007). Studi keanekaragaman tumbuhan yang dimakan siamang (Hylobates syndactylus) di Pulau Marak Pesisir Selatan [Study on the diversity of plants eaten by siamangs (Hylobates syndactylus) on Marak Island in South Pesisir]. Bachelor's thesis, Jurusan Biologi, Fakultas Matematika dan Ilmu Pengetahuan Alam, Universitas Andalas, Padang, iii+5? pp. (Indonesian language).
Site by Thomas Geissmann.
For comments & suggestions, please email to
webmaster@gibbons.de
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World News and Issues
U.S. Politics and Issues
James Comey & the Giant Impeach:The eternal saga of 45 the Cheeto Christ Stupid Czar
Page 83 of 125 First ... 337379808182838485868793 ... Last
Thread: James Comey & the Giant Impeach:The eternal saga of 45 the Cheeto Christ Stupid Czar
December 2nd, 2019, 05:19 PM #1231
MohandasKGanja
Wherever my kids are
Originally Posted by dolem
I don't even understand how they are married. Do they even talk to each other at home. Does she really hate Trump and he just pays her really really well? I'd love to be a fly on the wall in their house.
They are really just James Carville and Mary Matalin (who are still married by the way), but with Twitter technology.
tulip likes this.
Originally Posted by MohandasKGanja
Exactly who I always think of. Don't know how those two stayed together -- even putting politics aside, they are both freaking annoying!
MohandasKGanja likes this.
left coast
the difference is that carville and matalin weren't bim.
can we say the same thing about kellyanne?
Originally Posted by czb
bim?
The Southern Oracle
Speaking Of Melania she unveiled her White Aryan Christmas theme for the WH. So WHITE. Lots of patriotic ornaments too. I guess one of them has to seem like they care about our forefathers and the constitution since Trump takes a massive dump on it on the daily.
She does this bizarre snow/cocaine sprinkle on the tree at the end?????
Her “Be Best” ornament is on the tree. Btw, is Be Best even proper English? Isn’t it like saying “Be Gooder?” Ugh. I wish they would stop using that stupid slogan.
ShimmeringGlow, Nevan, Kittylady and 1 others like this.
Until the end of time. I'll be there for you. You own my heart and mind. I truly adore you
-Prince Rogers Nelson
ShimmeringGlow
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https://mobile.twitter.com/ddale8/st...72815696588800
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https://twitter.com/ddale8/status/1201673914914619392?s=20
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December 3rd, 2019, 12:22 AM #1237
Originally Posted by tulip
Boris Johnson won't be seen with Trump and with good reason if he's talking like this.
"Good morning from London, where Trump’s visit is off to a hot start. He chided French President Macron for his “very, very nasty” critique of NATO, and got much more off his chest in 52 mins with press."
Brookie likes this.
Thank you! And, yes, agree... Kellyanne is a complete bimbo.
czb likes this.
“Whoop-whoop that’s the sound of the police, whoop whoop!”
Ha ha ha. What a loser. At least he’s now admitting guilt. This Trump apologist scum from my district, when he was first charged with using RNC campaign funds to fund his lifestyle, blamed his KID. Saying he grabbed the wrong credit card to charge video games. Lowlife like his idol. He then blamed his wife too and called this a witch hunt, sound familiar? Sounds like his wife now plead guilty too. Good riddance bad rubbish
Jeff Tiedrich
@itsJeffTiedrichFollow @itsJeffTiedri
Duncan Hunter: guilty plea
Cohen: 3 yrs in prison
Manafort: 4 yrs in prison
Stone: GUILTY AS FUCK
Flynn: awaiting sentencing
Individual-1: getting his dipshit ass impeached
Hillary: enjoying a nice walk in the woods,
probably me: laughing at all you "lock her up" morons
Orin KerrVerified account @OrinKerr 19h19
Some are saying that Duncan Hunter, who will be pleading guilty to criminal charges tomorrow, was the first Congressman to endorse Trump. Not so. The first was Chris Collins, who pled guilty to his criminal charges two months ago. Hunter was second.
https://www.cnn.com/2019/12/02/polit...lea/index.html
Mivvi21 and Trixie like this.
December 3rd, 2019, 02:55 PM #1241
What the hell kinda colors is Melania wearing? She looks like a Banana Runts candy. Has Boris dodged his ass all day? I hear he doesn’t want to be caught dead seen with him. +46
All smiles! The First Lady beams as she is greeted at Buckingham Palace while her husband stands by his side and grins (left). They walk hand in hand as they arrive (right) +46
First lady Melania Trump, US President Donald Trump, Prince Charles, Prince of Wales and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall attend Tea at Clarence House
Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) Tweeted:
Trump on the Kurds: "We have taken the oil. I've taken the oil. We should have done it in other locations, frankly, where we were. I can name four of them right now, but we've taken the oil ... our great soldiers are right around the oil where we've got the oil." https://t.co/GS6uNGUkQV https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1...324149760?s=20
Trump on Adam Schiff: "I think he's a maniac. I think Adam Schiff is a deranged human being. I think he grew up with a complex for lots of reasons that are obvious. I think he's a very sick man." https://t.co/Ta591vESgj https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1...457841156?s=20
TRUMP: "A friend of mine called up. A top person in New York called up. Great friend of mine, very successful. 'Gee, I didn't like what was said.' I said, 'where'd you see it? Did you read it?' 'No, I didn't read it, I heard Schiff give it.' I said, 'well that's not what I said'" https://t.co/hZJfsKmyv8 https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1...465620995?s=20
TRUMP: "Hopefully in the very long distant future you'll have a Democrat president. You'll have a Republican House. They’ll do the same thing. Because somebody picked an orange out of a refrigerator and you don’t like it, so let’s go and impeach him.” #wut https://t.co/6ZTn7aptIn https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1...417359361?s=20
December 4th, 2019, 01:46 AM #1243
Omg can someone please file a SLAPP lawsuit against this pile of cow manure? First he sues a twitter account called Devin Nunes cow for 25 mil, now CNN for 435 mil? Kick this bovine to the curb please. He's the biggest most annoying snowflake in Washington, and he needs his ass kicked.
Devin Nunes sues CNN for $435M over ‘false and defamatory’ Ukraine story
Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., sued CNN for defamation on Tuesday, accusing the cable network of publishing a “demonstrably false hit piece” about him amid his high-profile opposition to the Trump impeachment inquiry.
The 47-page lawsuit, filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, accuses the liberal network of publishing “numerous egregiously false and defamatory” statements about Nunes on Nov. 22, 2019 when journalist Vicky Ward reported claims that Nunes met with Ukranian prosecutor, Viktor Shokin, in Vienna in 2018 to dig "up dirt" on Hunter and Joe Biden.
Nunes, who has been leading GOP opposition to the House Democratic impeachment inquiry in the House Intelligence Committee, says he “did not go to Vienna or anywhere else in Austria in 2018” and “has never met” Shokin.
“CNN is the mother of fake news. It is the least trusted name. CNN is eroding the fabric of America, proselytizing, sowing distrust and disharmony. It must be held accountable,” the lawsuit, obtained by Fox News, states.
Nunes is seeking at least $435,350,000 in compensatory and punitive damages.
CNN did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“CNN is the mother of fake news. It is the least trusted name. CNN is eroding the fabric of America, proselytizing, sowing distrust and disharmony. It must be held accountable."
— Rep. Devin Nunes' lawsuit
The lawsuit mocks the “trusted” source of CNN’s story, Lev Parnas, a man recently indicted by the U.S. government and charged with multiple federal crimes. The CNN story said Parnas’ attorney told them his client was willing to tell Congress about Nunes’ travels. The suit includes a tweet sent by MSNBC justice and security analyst Matthew Miller, who publicly questioned Parnas’ credibility.
“It was obvious to everyone – including disgraceful CNN – that Parnas was a fraudster and a hustler,” the suit said. “It was obvious that his lies were part of a thinly-veiled attempt to obstruct justice and to trick either the United States Attorney or House Intelligence Committee Chairman, Adam Schiff into offering ‘immunity’ in return for information’ about [Nunes].”
The suit also named Ward, the reporter who penned the piece in question, and “Cuomo Prime Time” namesake Chris Cuomo, who promoted the article.
THIS IS CNN? PRIMETIME SHOWS FILLED WITH LIBERAL OPINION, NOT STRAIGHT NEWS AS NETWORK CLAIMS
“The ulterior purpose of the CNN Article is to advance the impeachment inquiry, to seed doubt in the minds of Americans, and to influence the outcome of the 2020 election,” the lawsuit says.
The suit mocks Cuomo for “having recently threatened to assault a man who referred to him as ‘Fredo,’ who Nunes claims also helped “disseminate the false and defamatory statements at issue in this case as part of a scheme to boost CNN’s ratings and further the House Democrats’ impeachment 'inquiry.'”
“CNN reviewed, approved and ratified the fake news prior to publication,” the lawsuit states. “Prior to November 22, 2019, CNN knew that Parnas and his attorneys or other political operatives were shopping a story to the press that made claims about the Plaintiff, implicating him in efforts to get ‘dirt’ on Joe Biden and his son, Hunter Biden. CNN knew that no other news outlet would touch the salacious story because none of the ‘facts’ provided could be verified.”
The lawsuit indicates that Nunes feels “CNN’s goal was to inflict maximum damage” to his reputation so that he would be removed from the impeachment inquiry against Trump. CNN Worldwide president Jeff Zucker has a longstanding feud with Trump, and the network is often criticized for focus solely on impeachment even at the expense of other important news.
‘HANNITY,’ 'TUCKER' HAVE BEST MONTHS EVER AS FOX NEWS TOPS MSNBC, CNN FOR 215TH STRAIGHT MONTH
Zucker, who began his career at NBC, rose from researcher all the way to president and CEO of NBC Universal. Along the way, he was responsible for increasing Trump’s fame when he greenlighted “The Apprentice.” The duo has famously feuded since Trump’s foray into politics, with the president attacking the liberal network on a regular basis and accusing CNN of unfair coverage.
“CNN harbors an institutional hatred, extreme bias, spite and ill-will towards Plaintiff, the GOP and President Trump, going back many years."
“CNN harbors an institutional hatred, extreme bias, spite and ill-will towards Plaintiff, the GOP and President Trump, going back many years. CNN is notorious for making false claims about Republicans and publishing fake news that later has to be retracted,” the suit said.
The lawsuit references other high-profile CNN personalities who shared the damning article, including Jake Tapper and Vaughn Sterling, a senior broadcast producer for the network.
“The breadth of CNN’s publication is staggering,” the suit says. “CNN acted with actual malice and reckless disregard for the truth.”
The suit continues: “The CNN Article was nothing less than opposition research. CNN rushed to get the story out in order to blunt the disastrous spectacle of the House Democrats’ impeachment inquiry, and to hurt the leader of the Republican opposition. CNN misrepresented facts and oversimplified issues in promoting the fake news story.”
Nunes is seeking damages for “insult, pain, embarrassment, humiliation, mental suffering, injury to his reputation, special damages, costs, and other out-of-pocket expenses” totaling almost half a billion dollars."
Nunes promised to take legal action last month on "Sunday Morning Futures," saying the only way to hold the "corrupt" media accountable is to challenge them in federal court. He told host Maria Bartiromo it was inappropriate for a news organization to take the word of someone who is attempting to smear a congressman, while still under federal indictment.
"It is not OK to work with someone who has been indicted on [a] serious federal crime, to build a media narrative and dirty up a member of Congress," he said. "You’ve seen it, the American people have seen it over the last three years. We out them, and then they come out with a media narrative to try to dirty up the people who are doing the work on behalf of the American people.
Beyond Caring, then hang a left.
@PnPCBC
.@JustinTrudeau
, @EmmanuelMacron
, @BorisJohnson
and other VIPs shared a few words at a Buckingham Palace reception Tuesday. No one mentions @realDonaldTrump
by name, but they seem to be discussing his lengthy impromptu press conferences from earlier in the day. (Video: Host Pool)
@JustinTrudeau
not sure how to post the video....
https://mobile.twitter.com/PnPCBC/st...08162997538817
https://pbs.twimg.com/amplify_video_...p;name=900x900
Brookie, twitchy2.0 and C_is_for_Cookie like this.
witchcurlgirl
Giant Chunk Of Human Garbage Jesse James Vomits About Sex and Babies, Being Valuable
By baked_tater in forum Latest Gossip
Anthem Blue Cross to hike rates 39% in California in giant spasm of stupid
By Grimmlok in forum U.S. Politics and Issues
Last Post: March 4th, 2010, 11:48 AM
Christ.. Megan Fox was a giant banana that dressed like a whore
By Grimmlok in forum Latest Gossip
Last Post: October 6th, 2009, 02:00 AM
Passion of the Christ actor James Caviezel injured in bike crash
By buttmunch in forum Latest Gossip
James Cameron (Titanic) apparently finds Jesus Christ's tomb. Religion blinks.
By Grimmlok in forum Faith and Religion
Last Post: March 23rd, 2007, 10:52 PM
democracy, potus, trump, us politics
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BMW becomes Official Transportation Partner for 2019 FIA Prize Giving, alongside Official Partners Rolex and Michelin
10-12-2019 Formula 1 FIA 18
Sport news International brands Rolex and Michelin have been partners of the FIA Prize Giving since 2013, and the FIA is delighted to have their support for the upcoming celebrations in the heart of Paris, France, on 6 December.
Rolex, a pioneer in sports sponsorship, has been the Official Timepiece of both the FIA Formula One World Championship and the FIA World Endurance Championship for many years.
Michelin, one of the leading tyre manufacturers in the world, continues to be a partner of the FIA World Rally Championship, the FIA World Endurance Championship and the ABB FIA Formula E Championship.
BMW becomes the Official Transportation Partner of the FIA Prize Giving for a second time, having previously supported the 2016 FIA Prize Giving held in Vienna, Austria.
FIA President Jean Todt said: “ The FIA Prize Giving at the Carrousel du Louvre in Paris will end a great year of motor sport. We are grateful for the continued support of our partners, Rolex and Michelin, and pleased to welcome back BMW to our celebrations .”
About the FIA Prize Giving
The FIA Prize Giving ceremony is one of the year’s most anticipated events within the motor sport community. The FIA Prize Giving sees champions from every major branch of motor sport gather together to receive their official FIA awards. This year’s event is hosted on the evening of 6 December at 6 p.m. in Paris for what is certain to be another memorable celebration.
Prize Giving FIA Sport 1SportFIAPrize Giving00 Friday, December 6, 2019 - 10:23am Friday, December 6, 2019 - 10:23am
Read more on: FIA
Norris ‘playing the long game’ alongside Sainz at McLaren
Williams confident of avoiding repeat of 2019 F1 car delays
Pirelli: No hard feelings over Haas 2019 criticisms
Pat Symonds concedes F1 2019 aero changes fell short of...
F1 technical boss Symonds admits 2019 aero rules were a...
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关于粮农组织
在行动
全球粮食安全与营养论坛 · FSN论坛
提交内容：45
Pulses: Innovations from the field to the cooking pot
To promote the important role of pulses, the International Year of Pulses (IYP2016) has carried out activities on a national, regional and global scale to help raise awareness on the benefits of pulses for food security, nutrition, soils and sustainable agriculture, and their contribution to climate change mitigation.
FAO has recently published a series of fact sheets providing an overview of the positive features of pulses from a global perspective, which can be accessed on the International Year of Pulses website (available at http://www.fao.org/pulses-2016/communications-toolkit/fact-sheets/en).
Although many benefits of pulses have been identified in different fields of research related to agriculture, health, nutrition, and environmental sciences, their full potential still remains untapped among producers and consumers.
Participants in the earlier online discussion (www.fao.org/fsnforum/activities/discussions/pulses) pointed out the decreasing consumption trends in some areas where pulses are part of traditional meals but carry a stigma of being a “poor person’s food”, and are then replaced by meat once people can afford it. In this context, innovation in both preparation methods (including cooking time) and in recipes and the way pulses are presented can play a role in reversing this trend.
On the production side, the earlier online discussion brought up the following issues: competition with cereals, which have traditionally received the most policy attention; low yields; low market value; lack of knowledge on the part of farmers on how to improve productivity; and limited access to quality inputs. Further, it was highlighted that often the production of pulses in developing countries is done in marginal areas and by marginalized groups.
With the conclusion of IPY2016 approaching, and building on the earlier FSN Forum discussion, we would like to invite you to look ahead and explore innovations that may help address some of the challenges still facing these important crops.
What can be done concretely to increase the consumption of pulses? How can we introduce them into the diets of countries where they aren’t traditionally consumed, and also encourage their continued consumption in those countries where pulses are already part of the diet?
Cultivating pulses in multiple cropping systems enriches agrobiodiversity, increases resilience to climate change, and improves ecosystem services. Do modern varieties of legumes provide smallholder farmers with an attractive alternative to other crops? What are the roles that legumes can play in sustainable intensification of agriculture in Africa?
What is needed to strengthen pulse value chains, from input supply to consumption? What is the situation in your country?
Do you know any examples of countries mainstreaming pulses into national and regional food security policies? Do you think that a policy approach could be beneficial to increasing the role of this crop?
We also invite you to keep sharing your recipes of pulse dishes – we published a few in our summary – and to check out other recipes on the International Year of Pulses website.
The outcomes of this consultation are important for the legacy of the International Year of Pulses; they will help to gain a better understanding on how to move forward and identify possible next steps to take once IYP2016 is over.
We thank you very much for your time and look forward to your comments.
Sieg Snapp and Karen Cichy
专题:
市场及贸易
本活动现已结束。请联系 fsn-moderator@fao.org 获取进一步信息。
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Jorge Alatorre CobosMexico
English translation below
Las legumbres deben ser parte dispensables de las dietas en cualquier gastronomía, ya que son fuentes vegetales saludables porque aportan Fibras, Grasas, Hidratos de Carbono, Minerales, Proteínas, Vitaminas.
Algunas instituciones recomiendan que las legumbres deban consumirse de dos o tres veces por semana. Muchas veces no se tiene el hábito de consumirlas en guisos, pero se pueden ingerir en ensaladas, en guarniciones o como aderezos la salsa de soja o leche (Glycine max) – carne de soja, germinados, harinas, aceites, o dulces y bebidas como el tamarindo, cremas (crema de cacahuate). Es una de las maneras de radicar el hambre, de balancear la dieta que se ingiere, y buscar o mitigar los problemas de obesidad en muchos países con el sumo rápido de las dieta basura.
En muchos países, su dieta es particular ya que solo se basan en los alimentos muy regionales, ya que no pueden comprar o importar otras fuentes de alimentos, y la basan solo en la carne o en las grasas. Es importante ofrecer alternativas para mitigar la escasez de algún alimento. En este pequeño ensayo desde mi humilde aportación hablare sobre algunas leguminosas que son alternativas para muchos pueblos de México con algunos pinceles desde el enfoque etnobotánico,
La cultura mexicana es muy rica en la gastronomía, ya que ha sido privilegiada por la naturaleza ya que en el país azteca hábitat mas de 38 000 especies vegetales, y es el centro de origen de muchas especies cultivadas como el Maíz, Cacao, el chile, el tomate, etc. La familia de las legumbres que son las leguminosas o fabaceae, en México es muy abundante como la gran diversidad de especies de frijoles. Sus cultivos se han adaptados a diferentes climas, suelos, orografía, altitudes. Desde el mismo modo que la diversidad de las leguminosas es majestuosa, así es sus biotipos que se pueden presentar en árboles, arbustos, herbáceas, lianas o bejucos. O por su longevidad de vidas anuales, bianuales y perennes.
Las especies que tiene gran potencial comestible en México son:
Pachyrhizus erosus (jimama) es un tubérculo que consume fresco o para ensaladas, su semilla es empleada para uso de control biológico y herbicida natural;
Laeucaena leucocephala (el guaje) es un árbol que sus semillas son comestibles en fresco o para en salas o en el guacamole tradicional, es una especie forrajera para el ganado mayor y menos (piscicultura) – entomoforestería (apicultura), fijadora de nitrógeno, leña etc ;
Eritrina folkersii sus flores son apreciadas son usadas para el consumo humano;
Prosopis laevigata (mezquite) sus vainas son empleadas para el consumo humano y para el forraje del ganado (Entomoforestaría);
Pithecellobium dulce (el arilo de sus semillas se consume en fresco);
Dialium guisanse el fruto se consume en fresco, y para preparar bebidas en Tabasco – Chiapas;
Inga jinicuil - Inga vera su arilo de estas semillas se consume en fresco;
Lupinus sp ( sereporta como comestible revisar la especie);
Calliandra grandiflora (uso medicinal, y forrajera – fijadora de nitrógeno);
Enterolobium cyclocarpum (sus semillas son para consumo humano, en harinas o como sustituto del café);
Tamarindos indica especie naturalizada en México su arilo de la semilla es consumido en diferentes maneras para hacer dulces, bebidas etc;
Haematoxylum campechianum (para la obtención de tintes);
Acacia farnesiana- Ebanopsis ebano (producción de leña y carbón);
Mucuna pruriens (medicinal y fijadora de nitrógeno);
Gliricidía sepium (medicinal y leña, en África hay muchos ensayos con esta especie porque tiene gran potencial en la AGROFORESTERÍA.
Las especies mencionadas no solo tienen este uso o servicio medio ambiental, si no múltiples. Al introducir una especie exótica hay que tomar medidas de manejo como Acacia cornigera (Introducida en Asia India – Pakistán), ya que pueden repercutir efectos negativos para la flora oriunda de una región o país.
Pulses must be an essential part of any diet, as they are healthy vegetable sources providing fibres, fats, carbohydrates, minerals, proteins and vitamins
Some institutions recommend eating pulses two or three times per week. Many people do not use pulses for cooking, but they can be included in salads, garnishes or dressings, in the form of soy sauce/milk (Glycine max), soy meat, sprouts, flours, oils, sweets, drinks like tamarind, or creams like peanut butter. It is one a way of eradicating hunger, balancing our diets, and contributing to the mitigation of obesity problems in many countries affected by the fast consumption of junk food.
In many countries that cannot buy or import certain food products, diets are special: they are based on specific regional products, sometimes only meat or fats. Offering alternatives to alleviate food shortage is important. In this modest contribution, I will list some legumes that are an alternative for many Mexicans and I will include some ethnobotanical references.
Mexican gastronomy is very rich, as it has been privileged by nature with more than 38 000 plant species, and is the original source of many cultivated species like maize, cocoa, chili, tomato, etc. There are many different legumes in Mexico, as well as a wide variety of beans. Their crops have been adapted to different climates, soils, orographic characteristics and altitudes. Just as the diversity of legumes is magnificent, their biotypes are also extremely varied and can be found in trees, shrubs, herbaceous plants and lianas. They are also characterized by their longevity: they can last up to one or two years or even be perennial.
The following species found in Mexico have a great nutritional potential:
Pachyrhizus erosus (yam bean): A tuber which is eaten fresh or in salads. The seed is used for biological monitoring and as a natural herbicide;
Laeucaena leucocephala (guaje): The seeds of this tree can be eaten fresh, in salads or in the traditional guacamole. A forage species for livestock but also for fish culture and forest entomology (beekeeping). It fixes nitrogen and can be used as firewood;
Erythrina folkersii: Its flowers are highly valued and used for human consumption;
Prosopis laevigata (mesquite): Its pods are used for human consumption and livestock forage (forest entomology);
Pithecellobium dulce: The aril of its seeds is eaten fresh;
Dialium guisanse: Its fruit is eaten fresh, and is used to prepare drinks in Tabasco and Chiapas;
Inga jinicuil and Inga vera: The aril of this seeds is eaten fresh;
Lupinus spp (lupine): Edible;
Calliandra grandiflora: Medicinal and forage use, nitrogen fixation;
Enterolobium cyclocarpum: Its seeds are used for human consumption, in flours or as a substitute for coffee;
Tamarind: Naturalized in Mexico, the aril of this seed is used to prepare cakes and pastries, drinks, etc.;
Haematoxylum campechianum: Used to produce dyes;
Acacia farnesiana and Ebenopsis ebano: Used to produce firewood and cool;
Mucuna pruriens: Medicinal use and nitrogen fixation;
Gliricidia sepium: Medicinal use and firewood production. In Africa, many tests are being conducted with this species due to its great potential in AGROFORESTRY.
The above-mentioned species can be used in many other fields aside from the environmental. When introducing an exotic species, management measures must be adopted as it may adversely affect the specific flora of a region/country. This has been the case of the Acacia cornigera, introduced in Asia (India and Pakistan).
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Sarah NajeraFAOItaly
Please find below two recipes using pulses.
Vegan Beany Brownies
Brownies, who does not know what they are? They are originally from the USA, however, this recipe is a variation from the usual brownie recipe to offer a healthier sweet dessert. This delicious combination of beans with chocolate is low fat, loaded with fiber, and with some other rich nutritents that allows you to eat them with no guilt! Everything you know about brownies will change after trying this recipe!
- 2 cups of beans (red kidney beans or black beans - Can or freshly cooked)
- 2 tbsp Flaxseeds
- 4 tbsp water, boiled
- 1/2 cup peanut butter
- 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 cup quick oats (flakes or pulverized, either work great)
- 2/3 cup coconut sugar
- 1/4 cup coconut oil
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp baking powder
- Dash of salt
* If the dough is too dry add 1/4 cup of bean water
*Optional for Frosting:
- 1/3 cup unsweetened chocolate, chopped
- 1/4 cup almond milk
- 1/2 tsp Margarine
- 1 tbsp powder sugar
Method/directions
Preheat oven at 350° C and let the magic begin.
Mix together the flaxseeds and water. Set aside.
For this step, using a food processor is optional but highly recomended since it helps the dough become creamier. Combine all the ingredients in the food processor: beans, peanut butter, cocoa powder, quick oats, coconut sugar, coconut oil, vanilla, baking powder and salt. Pulse until smooth and creamy (if your food processor is too small, make sure you divide the ingredientes to mix them up equally).
Add into the dough, the flaxseed mixture. Pulse the food processor again until everything is well mixed.
Grease a 8-inch cake pan and pour in the beany dough.
Bake for about 15-20 min until set.
* Optional directions for Frosting:
1. Mix together all the ingredients: chocolate, almond milk, margarine, powder sugar.
2. Microwave for 40 seconds. Stop every 10 seconds to stir the mixture until you complete the 40 seconds (If prefered, you may melt the chocolate and butter over a hot-water bath; and then add the rest of ingredients)
3. Cover your beany brownies with the chocolate frosting.
Total cook time: 30 minutes
Servings: Serves 6 or 8
Type of dish: dessert
Tools and equipment: Food processor
Cevichochos
Cevichochos is a typical dish prepared in the Ecuadorian Andean highlands. This dish can be found either in parks or restaurants, and it is consumed by locals as a snack or main dish during lunch time. The name of this dish (cevichochos) stands for 'cevi' from ceviche and 'chocho' for its main ingredient: the andean lupine, known as Chocho in the region.
To complete the dish it is combined with lemon juice, together with tomatoes, onions and cilantro. Once it is prepared, people can decide to acompany it with chifles (fried plantains), toastado or chulpi (fried maize), avocado and/or ají (spicy sauce).
- 1 ½ cup chochos* (with seed-hull: all the important minerals are here)
-2 Medium tomatoes: 1 chopped in squares; 1 to make juice
-6-8 lemons, juice
-1 medium red onion, chopped thin slices
-1/3 cup cilantro, chopped
-1 Teaspoon Olive oil
-1 cup water, boiled
-1 Tablespoon Salt
-Salt and pepper to taste
Wash chochos throughtly and set aside.
Combine onions, boiled water and salt; set aside for at least 10 min. This process will remove the strong flavour of onion.
In a blender, add one tomatoe with the juice of 3 lemons. Blend until a juice consistency.
Strain onions and wash them throughly.
In a separate bowl, combine the remaining lemon juice, tomatoe juice, chopped tomatoes, strained onions, olive oil, cilantro and chochos.
Add salt and peper to taste. Set aside for 15 min either in the fridge or a fresh area.
You may serve this dish with chulpi, tostado, chifles, avocado and/or ají.
Servings: Serves 4
Type of dish: Starter or Soup
Tools and equipment: Blender, Strainer
Dhanya PraveenEnvironment Protection Training and Research Institute, HyderabadIndia
I would like to add a few points to my contribution
Cultivating pulses requires a mission mode initiatives not only on Climate Smart Crops but Climate Smart Soils which is more sustainable and is the need for increases resilience to climate change, and improves ecosystem services.
Byomkesh TalukderMcGill UniversityCanada
McGill Centre for the Convergence of Health and Economics (MCCHE) (https://www.mcgill.ca/desautels/mcche) introduced Pulse Innovation Platform (https://www.mcgill.ca/desautels/mcche/research/pip/what-pip) as an open invitation forum where members network and connect to identify bottlenecks hindering innovation, and develop solutions beyond what individual members can achieve alone. PIP takes a convergent innovation approach for a game-changing multistakeholder partnerships (MSPs) model, targets the behavioral change and ecosystem transformation required in both the industrialized world and emerging economies and targets a sweet spot, considering agriculture, health, and wealth outcomes together and leveraging them in a holistic manner to better harness the power of business and jointly target economic growth and human development. This PIP model has the potentiality to develop policy approaches that could be beneficial to increasing the role of this crop in different regions.
查看附件:
PIP.pdf
Karen CichyUSDA-ARSUnited States of America
I reiterate Sieg's thanks for everyone's participation and comments. It was a very interesting discussion that hit upon many research needs and extension/outreach opportunities with pulse crops.
Sieg SnappMichigan State UniversityUnited States of America
Dear FSN Forum members,
The perspectives from many parts of the world shared during this discussion has been very informative.
I found deeply inspiring the experiences from sustained efforts to support pulse value chains, such as from Australia, and the case studies from several sites around the world of nutritional and recipe education, including, among others, from Tanzania, South Africa, Turkey, and Georgia.
I sincerely hope these efforts continue and that we find ways to continue to learn from each other.
I believe that interdisciplinary initiatives particularly in the area of agriculture and nutrition education working together are particularly important for a more sustainable future.
Sieg Snapp
Stella KimamboFAOUnited Republic of Tanzania
Tanzanian production and exports of pulses have both increased rapidly in the last decade. However, the country faces serious challenges in this sector. The lack of innovative recipes, seeds, poor agricultural practices, and the presence of pests and diseases, poor marketing strictures, all end up affecting yields, quality and consumptions.
Iron deficiency anemia is one of the most serious significant public health problems among children of 6 to 59 months and women of child bearing age (15 to 49 years) in Tanzania. According to available data, the national prevalence of anemia is at 59% for children under five years of age and 41% for women of reproductive age (TDHS, 2016). There have been various remarkable nutrition interventions in the country since 1999 aimed at decreasing the prevalence of (Iron deficiency anemia) IDA; however the problem in the country has persisted and remaining as a public health problem. Iron deficiency anemia impairs the growth and learning ability of children, lowers resistance to infectious diseases and reduces the physical work capacity and productivity of adults. Severe anemia during pregnancy increases the risk of maternal death and of having a low birth weight infant.
The average per capital consumption in 2007 was only 6.8 gm/day/household while the recommended intake is at least 30 gm/day/household (TNBS, 2010). Moreover, the consumption trend has been declining over time. Statistics show that between 2000 and 2009 per capita consumption decreased by 1.4% and the decrease was almost two folds (3.5%) after two years (FAOSTAT, 2014). This trend reflects changes in consumer preferences and failures by suppliers to align pulses attributes to consumer preferences.
Global demand is growing for pulses as a heart-healthy food, however in many cultures, pulses are considered as ‘protein for the poor’. There are a number of reasons why they are underestimated. The most common ones are: they can cause bloating, flatulence, and; unless they are soaked for hours, pulses take a long time to cook.
Despite its nutritional importance, pulse consumption trends in Tanzania has been decreasing from time to time and the factors underlying these could be the household characteristics such as food habits, household size and access to resources among other factors, which can potentially lead to their low consumption. For this reasons above we need to promote interventions to increase intake of pulse rich foods to reduce micronutrient malnutrition and NCDs.
What can be done concretely to increase the consumption of pulses?
Pulses contain some anti-nutrients, which are substances that reduce the body’s ability to absorb the various minerals that pulses contain. Fortunately, many of these issues (bloating, flatulence, anti-nutrients and length of cooking time) can be overcome using traditional cooking techniques, such as soaking, germination (sprouting), fermentation and pounding. Traditional methods can also help to reduce the content of the anti-nutrients. When other foods are combined with pulses, the nutritional value of pulses is further enhanced, as other foods help to ensure that the body is able to better absorb all the nutrients found in pulses; for examples, when beans are eaten with other foods such as grains, the nutritional value of pulses is even greater as the body is better able to absorb iron and other minerals found in pulses.
Increase knowledge on pulses utilization for example combine pulses with vitamin C rich foods (a good example is to sprinkle some lemon juice on lentil curry) to increase absorb iron
Design cooking techniques to reduce time of cooking
Promote foods which when eaten with pulses can complements in nutrients
Promote skills building along the value chain development sector
Develop a network of institutions to improve sector coordination
Strengthen market development capacities of the sector
Capacity-building of key institutions in the “pulses network” to provide support services and
Promote pulses as a viable and growing agricultural sector also improve products quality
Involve PPP from production processing, finance, technology transfer, farmer support services, trade and seed development.
Unleash the power of pulses by publishing recipes based on pulses and innovative complementary food recipes for children of underfive years old (Greens, Soyee milk, seeds)
Develop an efficient storage, warehousing and logistics system as a trading platforms
Develop an efficient input distribution network for higher-yielding varieties
Improve access to finance along the value chain
How can we make pulses an attractive option for farmers?
Consider different models of production along the pulses value chain such as smallholder subsistence agriculture and commercial agriculture. Each of these models have their specificities. Smallholder famers normally are less efficient and relies on intercropping based on lower-yielding seed varieties, produce only for household consumption, rely on rainfall for production, and faces volume consistency challenges. In addition to that, they face a lot of challenges in productivity, postharvest losses, inadequate access to finance, and difficulties in commercialization. Nevertheless, it is an important means of food security in numerous rural regions where almost half of the production is used for household consumption and nutrition security (protein). For, medium-to-large-scale producers generate larger volume of pulses due to more efficient production techniques and easier access to inputs and finance. Large-scale producers focus on the export market. These two models are currently both essential and actually complementary for the development of the pulses sector in the United Republic of Tanzania.
What is needed to strengthen pulses value chains?
The future value chain need to be characterized by improved input distribution, improved overall coordination and governance, enhanced forward planning and trading capacities, and increased market development and investment attraction
Improved seed quality and availability by improve provision of quality seeds, ensure the availability of seeds for increased production, stimulate PPPs and investment in higher-yielding seed development; promote research, develop a number of demonstration plots; and ensure a more accessible knowledge base for pulse cultivation. Moreover, provide a concessional loan scheme for farmers to procure high quality inputs.
Improved input distribution network– linked with access to finance, ensure that farmers and farmers’ associations have easy access to relevant inputs to maximize production. Increasing local distribution and production of seeds
Development of large-scale agribusiness and contract farming –enable and stimulate the development of agribusiness services to support smallholder farmers to increase their production area, volumes and quality. This is a priority area for investment attraction in the pulses value chain. This will need to be achieved by providing agribusiness services with the status of a strategic investment area. The development of partnerships with agribusiness services in the pulses sector will be essential to ensure easier access to mobile units, mechanization, hermetic cocoons, silos and threshers. Examples such as Quality Food Products for farm mechanization services will contribute to growing the agricultural sector in sophistication.
Development of storage, warehouses and logistics-A key success factor of the future value chain is to ensure adequate storage to handle the increasing production of pulses. These storage units of different sizes, most probably connected to structured trading platforms, will act as reserve stocks for supplying large orders or as collateral with the commodity exchange. The development of these storage units will be achieved by proposing the refurbishment of local and regional warehouses through the establishment of rehabilitate, operate and transfer; or rehabilitate, own and operate PPPs
An effective pulses network to plan the sector development-The primary objective of the network will be to develop partnerships with other key associations such as the Indian Pulses and Grain Association, Pulse Growers. The network is also foreseen to act as an easy entry point for traders and investors interested in the pulses sector.
What successful policies do we know about?
United Republic of Tanzania is the result of the union between the Republic of Tanganyika and the People’s Republic of Zanzibar, every part has its own policies on area agricultural, food security and nutrition, for that reason, there are many designed policies in a country, which when in counted by poor coordination and multi-sector strategies and interventions, confusing implementation process.
The development policies policy framework which are related to agricultural priorities are;-
The Tanzania Development Vision (TDV) 2025
National Strategy for Growth and Reduction (MKUKUTA & MKUZA 1&2)
Five Year Development Plan 2016-2020
Zanzibar Strategy for Growth and Reduction of Poverty (ZSGRP)
BIG RESULTS NOW (BRN)
Sector Plan
The Agriculture Sector Development Strategy (ASDS) contribute to medium-term and long term objectives as outlined in Vision 2025.
Private Investment Framework; Agriculture Sector Development Strategy Kilimo Kwanza (Transforming Agriculture) 2009 National Irrigation Development Plan TAFSIP National Agriculture Policy
District Agriculture Sector Investment Project (DASIP)
Agriculture Market System Development Program (AMSDP)
Rural Financial Service Programme (RFSP)
Marine and Costal Environment Management Project (MACEMP)
Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP)
Tanzania Agriculture Food Security Investment Plan TAFSIP 2011/12-2020/21
Nutrition policies and strategies
National Multisectoral Nutrition Action Plan (2016-21)
National Food and Nutrition Policy
Zanzibar Food Security and Nutrition policy
The Zanzibar Food Security and Nutrition Situational Analysis (ZFSNSA)
Zanzibar Agricultural Transformation for Sustainable Development (2010-2020)
Tanzania’s National Food Fortification Programme.
Jane SHERMANNutrition education consultant, ex-FAOItaly
“Innovations from the field to the cooking pot” What does the second FSN forum on pulses tell us about consumer education for better diets?
From the field to the cooking pot … The forum title was right. The shaping questions in this second FNS Forum discussion on pulses (http://www.fao.org/fsnforum/activities/discussions/pulses2) did indeed have an eye on consumers and consumption as well as on production. They brought the two ends of the food system together and closed the circle. This is joy to food educators.[1] We know from both research and experience that consumers’ practices and attitudes, the influences on their food choices, and the interaction between their environments and their outlooks are generally crucial in impacting diet. But we are also very aware that until recently the international focus has been far more on supply and access than on consumer behaviour, expectations and attitudes: they have concentrated on field and market and not on the path to the cooking pot.[2]
The Year of Pulses is a unique phenomenon in many ways, perhaps unprecedented. It integrates nutrition and agriculture; it takes a step towards sustainable diets; it confronts a problem common to many societies, yet different in all of them; it has the single (though complex) task of promoting just one food group with a rich nutrition profile; it brings together a diverse body of professionals (economists, agronomists, nutritionists, extension workers, policy-makers, not educators unfortunately), and it aims to improve food consumption in the general public, not only in one needy segment. For food educators, a special feature is that it has the explicit purpose of improving consumption as well as access.
The forum opened up the question of how this is done. With its consumption-oriented questions and its call for responses grounded in experience, it opened a window on dietary promotion where contributors involved in the program across the sectors were drawn to analyse the situation on the ground empirically and call on their working experience to propose strategies which they saw as necessary and appropriate. The resulting picture was complex but coherent.
What influences people’s consumption of pulses?
Several posts discussed this basic question. Influences were seen as culture and habit, knowledge and understanding, time and convenience, but above all food status and taste. Existing food cultures determine what people are ready to accept – for example red “silk” beans are popular in El Salvador, while in Nigeria the only pulses seen as normal food are cowpeas. Hence simple lack of familiarity with the foods available may be a barrier, as may “inadequate information on the advantages of pulses”, i.e. ignorance of nutritional value or value for money. More frequently mentioned, however, was the move away from consuming traditional pulses, sometimes because of time-consuming preparation, but more often because of their perceived status as “the protein of the poor” or “desperation food”. Lupines in rural areas of Ecuador, for example, were seen as the food of rural poverty. City dwellers or the educated middle class would not “stoop so low” as to eat dishes made with pulses. If incomes rose, or food choices widened as people moved to cities, these traditional foods tended to be abandoned in favour of more prestigious foreign foods, meats, or highly processed fast foods. Poverty, it seems, also has a taste. Traditional pulse dishes were often unvarying and unvaried. “Being a poor man’s food, there are only a few traditional recipes, which have not evolved over time.”
What strategies are needed?
Ideas for tackling these barriers grew out of these observations. They converged on two strategies: one was to make pulses attractive (delicious, convenient, healthy, modern/trendy, valued); the other was to get a lot of people into the act. A top priority was to update recipes, widen the range, add vegetables and flavourings and develop new products, give value to “heritage foods”, “create excitement around traditional recipes” and promote them on the media. Contributors proposed ways to make preparation easier and quicker, for example by introducing low-cost pulse processing machines in villages and developing “easy-to-cook high-quality branded products” and ready-to-eat meals. Information would be available on packaging and labeling, and through government campaigns, backed by the media (testimonials from soccer champions and video rap music, to be evaluated for impact). A new image was felt to be essential “to make the humble legumes modern or desirable”: “social media together with gastronomical innovation” could help pulses become “the next quinoa”.
Society, it seemed, had to be taken by storm – but slowly. Many groups would interact with or influence consumers: chefs, restaurants, food services in public institutions; producers, markets and the food industry; policy-makers in agriculture, trade, health and education; and “influencers who are reaching consumers to help change their dietary behavior”, such as nutritionists, dieticians, health professionals, health workers and food industry representatives, who would “make sure that pulses are accepted as a normal household food”.
What does this say about consumer food education?
The ideas about the process of dietary change are not new, but neither are they widespread in food security discussions. What is interesting is that
they all accept that consumers are main actors in the process
their coherence springs from confronting the same question in many different contexts and cultures
they come from several sectors which do not generally meet to discuss consumer capacity in food.
They therefore carry a certain conviction born of direct observation and experience. Underlying them there is also some consensus on a cluster of guiding principles in food education. They recognize for example that:
responses to dietary needs should be shaped by analysing what matters to consumers;
attitudes and established habit (as well as poverty and ignorance) are forces to be reckoned with;
convenience, appetite and social food status are strong incentives;
change often has to contend with competing values (e.g. red meat or junk food);
how-to (where to buy, what to cook) is as important as why (good low-cost nutrition);
shared food cultures mean that change also has to be socially shared, and at many levels;
policy and regulation, quality food supply and consumer behaviour must interact;
health and nutrition professionals are key and also need educating;
(implicitly) this is a long-term process.
Many of these principles are not recognized in “nutrition-sensitive” initiatives which rely only on improving supply or regulation and do not see the need for consumer capacity to respond to the supply. The Year of Pulses seems to be in a position to blaze the trail to the pot. It should trumpet its conclusions.
[1] In “nutrition education” we include SBCC, health promotion for good diets, nutrition counseling, social marketing and behavioural economics aiming at healthy eating.
[2] Most major International papers on nutrition and food security have focused on the supply side – examples are (see second blog). The latest of these was the GLOPAN brief on food systems and nutrition (link), an exemplary paper except for the total neglect of consumer behaviour. After the launch Lawrence Haddad commented in his blog: "Perhaps the most glaring omission in the report is the treatment of consumers as shapers of food systems. It is true that we don’t spend much time in the report on nutrition education and behaviour change of consumers. This is definitely an important area and one where we need more answers."
Kadambot SiddiqueUN FAO Special Ambassador, International Year of the Pulses, The University of Western AustraliaAustralia
Pulses are usually grown as secondary components of cereal-dominated cropping systems. Consequently, but understandably, pulses receive less research attention than the cereals they share land with. This is despite pulses generally being exposed to a plethora of biotic and abiotic stresses. Further, their cultivation must adjust to the primary requirements of the cereal crop, as well as other components of the farming system (e.g. animal husbandry), often displacing pulses from their optimum growing environment. Nevertheless, there is a considerable bank of component knowledge on how to maximize pulse productivity, but not enough of this knowledge is translated to farmers, especially resource-poor ones.
Improvement in pulse production necessarily requires a holistic approach, not only to tackle the multiple stresses directly affecting the crop but also to integrate external factors ultimately affecting production, like competition with other crops, input availability and market opportunities. These factors can interact in ways ranging from synergism to antagonism. For example, application of a limiting nutrient may induce better root growth that would enhance soil water extraction, but the resultant improved vegetative growth may attract pests and diseases. Thus an integrated crop management (ICM) approach is required, which the National Resources Institute of the University of Greenwich, UK, usefully defines as “a system of crop production which conserves and enhances natural resources while producing food on an economically viable and sustainable foundation”. This necessitates “a good understanding of the interactions between biology, environment and land management systems” and “is particularly appropriate for small farmers because it aims to minimize dependence on expensive inputs and to make the fullest possible use of indigenous technical knowledge and land use practices”.
Human population growth—and the subsequent increased demand for food and declining area of agricultural land which is often degrading in soil health—puts even more pressure on pulses. There is ever-growing pressure to increase the production of staple cereal crops thereby further threatening the area that can be allocated to pulses. Another factor of growing importance is climate change, which modifies local plant growth conditions, disrupts traditional cropping patterns and increases the riskiness of cropping. This presents further constraints but also some opportunities for pulses.
A top-down approach to disseminating the potential solutions for increasing pulse cultivation and yields has had limited success, especially for resource-poor farmers in rainfed environments. Therefore, a more enhanced farmer-participatory approach than has so far been implemented is advocated. An understanding of yield gaps, the difference between the yields realized by farmers and the potential yield under “ideal” cultural conditions, is necessary to assess the scope for improving on-farm yields. The potential yield of rainfed crops is usually limited by sub-optimal soil moisture, mostly deficit but sometimes excess, at some time during the growing period. Therefore, knowledge of soil water content through the growing season is crucial as this sets the yield ceiling for that season. It is therefore evident that potential rainfed yield is a year-to-year moving target, depending on pre-season and growing season rainfall. An important aspect of the on-farm approach to agronomic improvement is to focus on feasible solutions within the resource limitations of the farmer. This requires the inclusion of farmers throughout the experimental process. The testing of identified solutions requires comparison with controls on multiple farmers’ fields, under farmer management but with researcher guidance in layout and data collection. There are existing and evolving ways of statistically analysing these types of multi-location trials, to provide more information about the usefulness of an improved technology than could be obtained from traditional, multi-replicate randomized block trials at a few locations. The involvement of farmers in all stages of the process creates a sense of their ownership of any improvements identified and therefore increases the likelihood of widespread adoption.
Much more needs to be done in moving from an on-station to an on-farm focus for pulse production technology research. This could be best achieved under the framework of Farmer Research Networks. These would be, essentially, groupings of farmers and researchers using emerging developments in ICT to scale up on-farm participatory practices that have so far evolved. This would facilitate more widespread collection of data at the farm level, including that from iterative on-farm trials, its more rigorous analysis and interpretation, and effective communication of outcomes back to farmers. It would permit more rigorous analysis of ‘option x context’ interactions, which ultimately determine whether or not a new technology is adopted. ‘Option’ refers to features such as technological innovation and resource requirements and ‘context’ to biophysical conditions, farming system and social, policy and market aspects.
Implementation of the above approach proposed by would require a massive reorientation of current agricultural R, D & E focus for resource-poor agriculture. This is now still biased towards replication of simple, comprehensive recommendations rather than confronting the realities of local adaptation in diverse environments and investigating this complexity. Roles of agricultural researchers and agronomists in particular would need to change, from being assessed primarily according to their academic publication record to their contribution to effective outcomes for farmer groups. Funding amounts and project lengths would need to be increased to permit adequate baseline characterization, multi-location and multi-year on-farm trials and built-in outcome and impact analysis. More enduring partnerships need to be established between national and international research bodies, non-government organizations, community-based organizations and commercial entities interacting with farmers. Only then can we expect that smallholder farmers will practically implement the extensive knowledge we have so far to increase the production of pulses.
Themba PhiriZimbabwe
The role of pulses cannot be underestimated across the globe, with climate change effects threatening the world food security it is time for development workers/experts and farmers to work together hand in a glove and come up with the best drought resistant cultivars of pigeon peas, cow peas, dolichos lab lab, as these take a very short period to mature.
A case in point was witnessed in Mozambique, where an International organization Joint Aid Management in 2010-2014 introduced cow pea leaves and beans in children's diet in schools and the innovation was adopted by farmers in the vicinity of the schools. I was one of the pioneers by that time who witnessed school children growing cow peas and consuming them with other grains.
The benefit was immense both in protein and calorific intake. In a nutshell that's my comment.
Themba Phiri
Livelihoods Advisor
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Hayabusa Returns
Hayabusa (Falcon), the little engine that could in space, is on the way back from the asteroid belt.
Japan’s Hayabusa Closes in on Asteroid Landing Site – [space.com]
Stunning imagery is being returned by Japan’s Hayabusa space probe as it draws closer to its celestial target: asteroid Itokawa.
Now just a few miles distant from the space rock, the spacecraft is poised for an historic attempt to collect and return a specimen to Earth from such an object. Imagery from Hayabusa is being used by Japanese scientists to target potential touchdown sites on the rocky world.
‘Frankenstein’ fix lets asteroid mission cheat death – [newscientist.com
Now that Hayabusa in effect has two working ion engines again, it is back on track to return to Earth in June 2010, as had been planned before the 4 November glitch, JAXA says. If all goes well, it will drop its sample capsule in the Australian outback.
Asteroid probe ‘did touch down’ – [bbc.com.uk]
The Hayabusa space probe landed successfully on its asteroid target despite the initial announcement of a failure, Japan’s space agency says.
It apparently failed to drop equipment to collect material from the surface of asteroid Itokawa.
The Japanese spacecraft is on a mission to return surface samples to Earth.
Hayabusa Asteroid Probe Stuck In Space Until 2010, Possibly Forever – [spacedaily.com]
A Japanese spacecraft which failed on its landmark mission to collect asteroid samples suffered a new setback Wednesday with its return to Earth delayed by three years until 2010.
The Hayabusa spacecraft, which last month approached the asteroid 290 million kilometers (180 million miles) from Earth, has been out of control since Friday because of a gas burst caused by leaking fuel.
Falcon Bringing Home an Asteroid Sample – [spacetoday.org]
Falcon, the interplanetary probe from the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), will be bringing home it’s sample of dust from an asteroid three years later than planned.
The spacecraft was to have departed by December 10, 2005, from Asteroid Itokawa for a return to Earth in June 2007. Unfortunately, a problem with a control thruster threw the vehicle into an unexpected spin as it loitered near the asteroid. Its operators in Japan were unable to control the spacecraft.
The probe is hovering a few miles above the surface of the asteroid 186 million miles across the Solar System from Earth.
Unsure of how long it will take to stop the erratic spinning, JAXA delayed the start of the return flight to early 2007. That would bring Falcon home to Earth in June 2010.
Daring asteroid probe on course to reach Earth in June – [spaceflightnow.com]
Japan’s gritty Hayabusa probe isn’t the first mission to be called the little spacecraft that could, but the small robot is on the verge of concluding a remarkable journey through the cosmos.
Running three years late after a harrowing fuel leak and cascading system failures, Hayabusa is on the home stretch of a remarkable seven-year journey through the solar system.
Bringing Back a Piece of Heaven – [ieee.org]
Between 5 and 12 March, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) controllers turned off the ion drive to refine the craft’s navigation. The engine was then restarted for a final six-week burn to shift its Earth flyby path into a ”near miss” flyby. Early in May, the vehicle is supposed to ignite its hydrazine thruster to refine the course still further. No one knows whether the thruster, which had a major breakdown several years ago, will work at all.
The craft is supposed to aim itself at a corridor above the Indian Ocean and trend southeast into the Australian desert. It will briefly endure acceleration forces equal to 25 times the force of gravity; the heating loads will be much higher than the Apollo space capsules faced. If Hayabusa survives, it will pop a parachute, activate radio beacons, and land.
Asteroid Explorer “HAYABUSA” (MUSES-C) – [jaxa.jp]
Hayabusa Project – [jaxa.jp]
Categories: Asteroid Belt
Tags: asteroid, Hayabusa, ion propulsion, Itokawa, JAXA, probe, Science, Space Exploration
By Omar Fink on January 12th, 2010
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“The best way to predict the future is to create it yourself.”
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Special Fitness Programs
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The following is the basis for this visitation restriction. Children with asthma and very young children might be more seriously affected by enterovirus infections, which are currently more common in the community. Children, patients with a variety of underlying diseases and elderly patients can be more seriously affected by influenza infection, during the upcoming flu season.
If you visit Gottlieb Memorial Hospital, the Ronald McDonald Children's Hospital, Loyola University Medical Center or one of our other health centers, you will be asked questions about where you have traveled recently and whether you have a fever, to determine whether you might be at risk for Ebola virus infection. We appreciate your understanding, and we want you to know that your health and the health of our patients, staff and visitors is our greatest concern.
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From Loyola University Medical Center to Loyola Gottlieb Memorial Hospital Travel north (turn left) on First Ave. to North Ave. (Route 64). Go west (turn left) onto North Ave. and proceed to Gottlieb Memorial Hospital, which will be on the north side of the street.
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NovaGold board opposes Barrick offer, solicits other merger deals
Submitted by cpowell on Mon, 2006-08-14 14:11. Section: Daily Dispatches
NovaGold Board Recommends Shareholders
Reject Hostile Bid by Barrick Gold
Company Press Release via Market Wire
http://biz.yahoo.com/iw/060814/0153653.html
VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- NovaGold Resources Inc. shareholders
are advised that the Barrick bid:
-- Significantly undervalues NovaGold's world-class mineral projects and growth potential.
-- Fails to reflect the value of NovaGold's 70% ownership of the
Donlin Creek project.
-- Ignores approaching development milestones that will demonstrate
further value.
NovaGold Resources Inc. today announced that its Board of Directors, based on the recommendation of its special committee of independent directors, unanimously recommends that NovaGold shareholders reject the unsolicited offer by Barrick Gold Corp. to acquire all the outstanding shares of NovaGold for US$14.50 per share in cash.
After careful consideration, including consultation with its financial and legal advisers, NovaGold's Board concluded that the Barrick Offer significantly undervalues NovaGold and is not in the best interests of its shareholders.
In its directors' circular, filed today with securities regulators, NovaGold's board strongly recommends that all NovaGold shareholders reject the Barrick offer and not tender their shares.
"The Barrick offer falls significantly short of providing fair value to NovaGold's shareholders and would deprive them of significant upside potential," said Gerald McConnell, chairman of the Special Committee of NovaGold's Board of Directors. "Our Special Committee and the full Board of Directors unanimously determined that the Barrick Offer is inadequate and significantly undervalues NovaGold's world-class gold and copper projects and the Company's growth potential. There is no rationale for accepting the Barrick bid and many reasons to reject it."
The board believes:
-- Barrick's offer does not reflect the value of NovaGold's 70% ownership of the Donlin Creek project, one of the largest gold deposits in the world, and the likelihood that Barrick will fail to meet the conditions that would allow it to earn an additional 40% interest in the project.
-- The low value of Barrick's hostile bid represents a significant discount on a number of key valuation metrics. Mr. McConnell said: "For example, based on current estimates and excluding any value for NovaGold's substantial copper esources, Barrick is offering only US$33 per ounce of gold resource, which is significantly below the average of more than US$100 per ounce paid in the four most recent comparable gold transactions. NovaGold expects to provide updated estimates of its gold resources shortly."
-- The Barrick bid is also far below the average control premium paid in similar mining transactions globally, within Canada, and by Barrick itself. At US$14.50 per share, the Barrick bid represents a premium of only 13.9% above the share price of NovaGold 20 trading days prior to the announcement of the Offer. On the same basis, the average premium paid in unsolicited global metals and mining transactions since 2000 has been 60% and, within Canada, 56%. Barrick has paid an average premium of 58% in six transactions since 2000, including its proposed acquisition of Pioneer Metals Corporation
-- The Barrick bid also fails to recognize NovaGold's proven track record of resource growth, its 70% compound annual increase in share value over the past seven years, and that NovaGold is approaching project milestones in the months ahead that have the potential to deliver significant additional value to shareholders of NovaGold as an independent company. Shareholders who accept an undervalued cash
bid now will not have the opportunity to participate in any future value generated by NovaGold.
The NovaGold board believes that Barrick's bid is motivated by Barrick's concern that it will not be able to meet the conditions
that would allow it to increase its interest in the Donlin Creek project from 30% to 70% by November 2007.
"The offer is an attempt by Barrick to salvage its ability to earn an
additional 40% interest in the Donlin Creek project at the expense of NovaGold's current shareholders," Mr. McConnell said.
"We were surprised that Barrick launched its hostile offer for NovaGold, given that our management team had been in active discussions with Barrick for several months in an effort to find an amicable solution to Barrick's concern with the conditions in the Donlin Creek Joint Venture Agreement, and to negotiate a possible joint venture for the Galore Creek project," Mr. McConnell said. "NovaGold shared with Barrick confidential information about the Galore Creek project including non-public exploration information and plans."
After providing the confidential information to Barrick, NovaGold
announced its offer for Pioneer Metals Corp., which owns the subsurface rights to the Grace property adjacent to the Galore Creek project. Subsequently, Barrick announced its own competing offer for Pioneer on the same day it announced its hostile bid for NovaGold. As a result of Barrick's actions, NovaGold is also announcing today that it has commenced a lawsuit against Barrick in which the Company is seeking a court order that any shares Barrick acquires under its bid for Pioneer will be held under a constructive trust for the benefit of NovaGold.
NovaGold's management and Board of Directors does not consider Barrick's competing bid for Pioneer Metals Corp. as an impediment to the development of the Galore Creek project. NovaGold has applied to the British Columbia government for a surface lease over a portion of the Grace property and other permits to start construction at Galore Creek. The British Columbia government, as owner of the surface rights, has the power to grant NovaGold a surface lease with or without Pioneer's approval.
Mr. McConnell added: "It is clear that the market agrees that the Barrick offer is inadequate. Since July 24, 2006, when Barrick announced its intention to make its hostile offer, NovaGold's shares have consistently traded above Barrick's US$14.50 per share offer price. In fact, NovaGold shares recently closed at US$17.28, or 19.2 % above the Barrick offer."
"With a pipeline of world-class mining projects, a proven track record of resource growth and a strong and experienced management team, we believe NovaGold is poised to deliver superior shareholder
returns. For the reasons outlined in its Circular, NovaGold's Board strongly recommends that all NovaGold shareholders reject the Barrick Offer and not tender their shares," Mr. McConnell said.
The circular notes that NovaGold's directors, executive officers and
management, who collectively hold approximately 10% of NovaGold's
outstanding common shares on a fully diluted basis, have indicated that they do not intend to tender their shares to the Barrick offer.
In making its recommendation that shareholders reject the hostile Barrick Offer, NovaGold's Special Committee and Board of Directors considered a number of factors including, among others:
-- The Barrick offer significantly undervalues NovaGold's world-class
mineral projects and its growth potential.
-- The Board of Directors believes that the Barrick offer fails to adequately compensate shareholders for the significant strategic and scarcity value of NovaGold's world-class assets. NovaGold's two most
important deposits, the Donlin Creek gold deposit and the Galore Creek copper-gold deposit, rank among the largest undeveloped
deposits of their kind in the world and are located in geopolitically stable countries. Such assets are highly strategic and marketable because they are difficult to discover or acquire.
-- The Barrick offer places an enterprise value on NovaGold of US$33 per ounce of gold resource or US$19 per ounce of gold equivalent resource (assuming 70% ownership of Donlin Creek), which represents a
significant discount to the enterprise value per ounce of resource paid in other recent transactions. (Enterprise value is defined as the equity price paid plus debt and less cash.)
-- The Barrick offer does not provide an adequate premium for control of NovaGold.
-- The Barrick offer is significantly below premiums paid in recent transactions for other mining assets that do not have the same strategic, world-class potential and low geopolitical risk as NovaGold's Donlin Creek and Galore Creek projects.
-- Barrick's offer does not reflect NovaGold's current 70% ownership in the Donlin Creek project and the likelihood Barrick will fail to meet the milestones that would allow it to earn an additional 40% interest in that project.
-- Despite Barrick's efforts to convince the market otherwise, NovaGold's board strongly believes that NovaGold will retain its 70% ownership in the Donlin Creek project and take back management of the project.
-- The timing of Barrick's offer is highly opportunistic and disadvantageous to NovaGold shareholders since, if successful, the bid would deprive them of the potential for significant near-term value enhancement of their shares.
-- While NovaGold has already delivered compound annual share price appreciation of 70% over the past seven years, it is approaching significant milestones that will demonstrate additional value. For
example, NovaGold expects permits shortly to allow construction to begin at its Rock Creek project, with production expected within nine months. Permits for Galore Creek are anticipated in the first half of
2007, to be followed immediately by a construction decision.
-- When all current projects reach their production targets, and with its 70% ownership of Donlin Creek, NovaGold is expected to be producing more than a million ounces of gold, two million ounces of silver, and 370 million pounds of copper.
-- Market valuations typically increase significantly as companies move toward production.
-- The Barrick offer was timed to coincide with a general decline in share prices of gold companies. The Barrick offer is only 9.7% above the lowest price for NovaGold shares in the six months prior to the
offer, and is 29.1% below the high for the shares over the same period. As recently as May 2, 2006, prior to the Barrick offer, the shares traded as high as US$16.47, 13.6% above the Barrick offer.
-- The Barrick offer represents a substantial discount to the current trading price of NovaGold shares.
-- Since Barrick announced its intention to make a hostile offer on July 24, 2006, NovaGold shares have consistently traded above the Barrick offer price.
-- On August 11, 2006, the closing price of NovaGold shares was US$16.61, or 14.6% higher than the consideration offered under the Barrick offer.
-- Opinions of the financial advisers.
-- RBC Capital Markets and Citigroup Global Markets Inc. have each provided a written opinion that, as of August 12, 2006, the
consideration under the Barrick offer was inadequate from a financial point of view to NovaGold's shareholders.
-- Alternative transactions are being pursued by NovaGold with some of the world's largest mining companies to generate greater value for NovaGold's shareholders.
-- Immediately following Barrick's July 24, 2006 announcement, NovaGold formed a Special Committee of independent directors to consider a range of strategic alternatives, including any competing offers it may receive.
-- NovaGold has been solicited by, and has initiated contact with, a number of third parties, including some of the world's largest mining companies, who have expressed an interest in considering alternative transactions. Discussions are being pursued with these third parties
to generate value-enhancing alternatives.
-- NovaGold's board believes that tendering shares to the Barrick offer before the Board of Directors and its advisors have had an opportunity to fully explore all available alternatives may preclude the possibility of a financially superior transaction emerging.
RBC Dominion Securities Inc., a member company of RBC Capital Markets, and Citigroup Global Markets Inc. are serving as financial advisors to the Special Committee, and Borden Ladner Gervais LLP and Dorsey & Whitney LLP are serving as legal advisers.
NovaGold is mailing to its shareholders its Directors' Circular setting forth the formal recommendation of the Board of Directors to reject the Barrick offer.
NovaGold sues Barrick over misuse of confid... Don't let Barrick acquire NovaGold before c...
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Printers & Graphic Art Stainless Steel Hook Rulers, Inch 1/16", 6 & 12 point, pica, point, agate - 12", 18" & 24" Lengths - Model 1111A
Home > RULERS > Hook Rulers - Printers
The ‘hook’ on the end of these stainless steel rulers enables accurate measurements to be made by grabbing the end of an object, piece of paper, art board, etc. in a similar fashion to the way one would use a tape measure. The rulers are manufactured from a single piece of stainless steel, the hook will always be in alignment with the scale to provide accurate measurements.
The hook style rulers are commonly known as printers line gauges or pica poles and were originally developed for setting metal type. Over the years this style of ruler has become very popular for a multitude of uses in all industries. A standard hook style ruler with no graphic scales, GEI Model 1126A is available with only inch to 1/32" and metric to mm scales on both sides.
These two sided hook rulers have scales on both edges of both sides. The front features an Inch scale in 1/16" numbered vertically every inch and an Agate Line scale numbered vertically every 5 Agates. The back features a 6 & 12 Point (Pica) scale in 6 Point (1/2 Pica) numbered vertically in Picas and a Point scale numbered vertically every 6 Points in Points.
The rulers are 0.030” (0.8mm) thick with a ¼” diameter hang hole at one end.
Available in 12”, 18” and 24" scale lengths.
Historical Model #s: 1111, 1111A, 1111R, 1111A-12, 1111A-12A, 1111R-12, 1111A-18, 1111A-18A, 1111R-18, 1111A-24, 1111A-24A, 1111R-24
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Intel conducts the world’s first successful over-the-air test of new 5G
Google Earth shows alien proof in Australia, lighted triangular UFO triggers frenzy
Facebook working on feature similar to Snapchat's 'Streaks'
Honor 8 Lite Receives a Price Cut in India, Now Costs Rs. 15,999
Best Gmail Add-Ons For Easier Inbox Usability
UC Browser dismisses data breach claims, says app will be back on Play Store next week
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Tech News By Admin - November 21, 2017
Gmail has a user base of over 1.2 billion users and, let’s face it, every single user has a different need when they’re using their e-mail. If you’re all about work, you will definitely need a lot more add-ons to improve your productivity.
OnePlus 5T: Know Price, Features and Specifications
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What is Keylogger, its uses and how to protect your computer from Keylogger?
Nokia 3310 Gets a 3G Upgrade
The Best Tips And Tricks For Using Google Home
By Admin - January 26, 2018
In September 2017, Intel launched it's Intel® 5G Mobile Trial Platform to aid the ever-growing communications industry in meeting its multitudinous targets of ambitious goals. This was the first equi...
A new image taken from Google Earth has triggered wild imaginations among alien buffs, and these theorists are claiming that this figure is a solid example of the presence of UFO and extra-terrestrial...
In yet another attempt to take on photo-sharing platform Snapchat, Facebook is working on a feature similar to Snapchat's "Streaks" which is an addictive game that encourages friends...
Chinese company Huawei has cut its smartphone Honor 8 Light Price. Launched in May this year, the price of this smartphone was Rs 17,999 which can now be bought at Rs 15,999. The company has cut its p...
Gmail has a user base of over 1.2 billion users and, let’s face it, every single user has a different need when they’re using their e-mail. If you’re all about work, you will definitely need a l...
Dismissing reports that Google removed its app from its Play Store over data security concerns, Alibaba-owned UCWeb said on Thursday a certain setting of the app was not in line with Google’s policy...
OnePlus 5's full-screen upgrade OnePlus5T will be launched in America's New York City on November 16th. This Chinese company has also given information about the availability of its flagship smartphon...
Instagram is finally running basic support for Hebrew, Arabic and Persian - three popular languages that are all right-to-left.
Qualcomm employee unveils world's first 5G smartphone
These days about the 5G network is coming in a lot of listening. Many smartphone manufacturers and their companies are also working on the development of this technology. While this development is und...
How to Lower the Ping To Improve the Online Gaming Experience
Do you suffer from a constant delay caused by high ping and packet loss? If it's not possible for you to have a better connection, do not give up for the moment! This guide is written for people like ...
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Spanish wines featured in Thursday charity tasting
l’Eté du Vin and Nashville Sister Cities have partnered to create "A Taste of Spain", a wine tasting featuring Spanish wines. One of Nashville's sister cities is Girona, Spain.
The beneficiaries of l’Eté du Vin charity events include the American Cancer Society, Camp Horizon for Children with Cancer, Nashville Memorial Foundation Hope Lodge, Gilda's Club, Make-A-Wish Foundation, Minnie Pearl Cancer Foundation, and Vanderbilt Ingram Cancer Center.
The event is this Thursday, and the cost is $50. Recommendations are required.
Get out the castanets, put on the flamenco music, and celebrate the many Spanish wines that have burst onto the scene in recent years.
Together with the Sister City Program of Nashville, l’Eté du Vin will host.
A Taste of Spain features some of the many and varied wines produced in the more than 50 recognized wine regions of Spain. Special Guests for the event will be producers from the Costa Brava region near Nashville’s Sister City of Girona, Spain.
Vanderbilt Stadium Club
$ 50 per person
($25 of which is a tax-deductible
contribution to l’Ete du Vin)
Story by John Lamb published 1/31/2006 05:09:00 AM 0 comments
This weekend: Dora the Explorer at TPAC
The Tennessean reports in this story that a live-action version of the popular "Dora the Explorer" children's television show will come to Nashville's Tennessee Performing Arts Center this weekend. The starring role is played by Danay Ferrer, a 30-year-old Cuban actress from Miami.
According to the Nick Jr. web site, the Dora the Explorer television show "is a half-hour animated children's television series starring a 7-year-old Latina girl and her friends. The show is designed to actively engage preschoolers in a play-along, computer-style adventure. Along the way, kids learn basic Spanish words and phrases, as well as math skills, music, and physical coordination."
Spanish is used in the show because "[e]ducators believe that introducing a second language to a child before the age of 6 or 7 is an important factor in his/her ability to achieve fluency. For many of our preschool viewers, Dora is their first encounter with a foreign language. As such, the show might teach them a little Spanish and make them curious and interested in learning more, or simply make them aware of and comfortable with foreign languages. For our Spanish-speaking preschool viewers, seeing Dora use Spanish might encourage them to take pride in being bilingual."
Labels: arts, spanish
Barriers to driving documents fuel corruption; federal sting continues
The Tennessean reports in this article that the difficulty of getting driving documents in Tennessee has spawned a system of bribery tied to the Tennessee Department of Motor Vehicles. This week, six people were charged in a criminal sting operation called "Crooked Highway" that targeted a Franklin County driving school that hawked fake documents to ineligible applicants and bribed DMV employees to issue them licenses. Many of the school's victims were immigrants.
"The investigation, dubbed Operation Crooked Highway, has been under way by federal and state agencies for 18 months, Vines said yesterday."
"Federal officials say two immigrants directed people, many immigrants themselves, to Winchester Driving School in Franklin County and paid for fraudulent third-party certification. In turn, the driving school allegedly paid two Department of Motor Vehicle clerks to provide licenses to those certificate holders."
The Nashville City Paper reported on the operation in this article
This same investigation led to charges against two other people in 2005, as mentioned by the Tennessean here.
update: The Associated Press has also published this article which hints that the requirements for obtaining driving documents are strict but that the requirements are easily bypassed. According to this article in the Chattanoogan, some Tennessee state senators are calling for stricter requirements.
Nashville public schools name Hispanic liaison
The Nashville City Paper reports in this article that Nashville's public school system has hired a Hispanic family outreach coordinator. His name is Ruben DePena, and his title is Language Translation Coordinator, but he says, "It's more than a language issue."
"DePena also sees himself as a liaison Nashville's Hispanic community can trust and approach with concerns."
"He is living up to that role by being present at community meetings to answer questions from Spanish-speaking families, according to Metro Foreign Language Coordinator Beckie Gibson."
The article cites some interesting statistics:
Number of languages spoken by Metro students: 75
Number of translation paraprofessionals employed by Metro for parents, staff and students: 29
Hispanic students as a percentage of the total Metro student population: 11%
Hispanic English language learners ("ELL") as a percentage of the total Metro ELL population: 78%
Hispanic student graduation rate: 40% (lowest in Metro)
Achievement gap between white and Hispanic elementary students in math and language arts: over 10%
"'If we get the parents and the community as a whole to work in unison, I believe we will see better results,' DePena said. 'I would like our students to be able to bridge the achievement gap to unprecedented levels.'"
update: Metro is also producing a new Spanish-language TV spot called "Metro Minutes", according to this article in the Tennessean. “These public service announcements address a range of topics to help parents learn about our schools and the programs (and) services we provide," said DePena.
Labels: education, english, spanish
Hispanic insurance agent Al Cadenas hangs a shingle
The Nashville Business Journal reports in this article that Al Cadenas, a former State Farm agent who focused on the Hispanic community in Nashville, has opened his own insurance agency on Nolensville Road.
Nashville t-shirt line inspires Cuban nostalgia
Author Chantel Acevedo, a first-generation Cuban-American woman, noted in a touching recent blog entry that Nashville entrepreneur Carrie Weir's clothing line Los Pollitos Dicen is a welcome reminder of her Cuban roots, which she wonders how she will pass on to her daughter.
The Los Pollitos Dicen children's clothes feature pictures of baby chicks and phrases borrowed from Spanish-language rhymes and phrases.
Next Thursday: Tango returns
Tango Nashville announced its first Milonga of the new year, next Thursday, January 26:
"Milonga"
(Argentine Tango Dance/Social Gathering)
7:00 to 9:00 pm
Ibiza Night Club
15128 Old Hickory Blvd., Nashville, TN 37211
(almost corner with Nolensville Pike, in the Hickory Trace Village strip mall where the Sherwin Williams store is).
http://ibizanc.com
Kick off 2006 one more time! Celebrate with us and connect with others! Featuring a 30-minute essentials Argentine Tango class for everyone - newcomers, beginners, intermediate and advanced dancers and students, a great dance floor and atmosphere AND a great selection of Tango music.
Tickets are:
$12 per person for non-Tango Nashville members
$8 per person for Tango Nashville members
Labels: arts
Metro Police Department calls for Spanish-speaking clergy volunteers
Channel 4 reports in this storyt that the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department needs Spanish-speaking clergy to volunteer to assist the community at crime scenes. The clergy do not do police work, but they comfort the public and free up investigators.
Vanderbilt Kennedy Center needs Spanish-speaking child volunteers for autism video
The Vanderbilt Kennedy Center is creating a video tutorial that will be used to teach clinicians how to screen for autism, and a Spanish-language version will be funded by the National Institute of Mental Health. The idea is to promote early recognition and diagnosis of autism in Hispanic communities.
The Center is recruiting young, typically developing Spanish-speaking children to be filmed. Families will be asked to come to one 30-45 minute appointment at Vanderbilt, and they will be reimbursed $100 at the time of appointment.
Here is the text of the announcement:
Does your child look great in front of the camera?
We are making videotape recordings of children that will be used to teach clinicians and other service providers how to screen for autism using the STAT (Screening Tool for Autism in Two-Year-Olds).
The STAT was developed by Dr. Wendy Stone as an interactive, play-based measure looking at dimensions of play, motor imitation, and communication. We are looking for children with and without autism so that we can demonstrate a variety of responses to the STAT. These video recordings will be used on a training CD-ROM and on a secure website that will be available only to qualified trainees. Your child’s identity will be protected, though in some clips his or her first name may be audible. Parents are welcome to observe their child’s filming.
Children who participate in the 45-minute filmed play session will receive a check for $100 as our way of saying thank you.
· Have Autism or PDDNOS and are between the ages of 24 and 36 months
· Have a Developmental Delay and are between the ages of 24 and 36 months
· Have Typical Development and are between the ages of 15 and 30 months.
We particularly invite children from minority backgrounds.
When is the filming?
Date: Monday, February 6, 2006
Time: 45-minute appointments in the morning or afternoon
Location: Vanderbilt University Village at Vanderbilt, 1500 Pierce Avenue
For additional information, or to schedule your child’s visit, please contact
Amy Swanson, Project Manager, at (615) 322-6533 or amy.r.swanson@vanderbilt.edu
Martin Luther King, Jr.: a voice for 2006
from Letter from Birmingham Jail, April 16, 1963:
I am in Birmingham because injustice is here. Just as the prophets of the eighth century B.C. left their villages and carried their "thus saith the Lord" far beyond the boundaries of their home towns, and just as the Apostle Paul left his village of Tarsus and carried the gospel of Jesus Christ to the far corners of the Greco Roman world, so am I compelled to carry the gospel of freedom beyond my own home town. Like Paul, I must constantly respond to the Macedonian call for aid.
Moreover, I am cognizant of the interrelatedness of all communities and states. I cannot sit idly by in Atlanta and not be concerned about what happens in Birmingham. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. Never again can we afford to live with the narrow, provincial "outside agitator" idea. Anyone who lives inside the United States can never be considered an outsider anywhere within its bounds.
You deplore the demonstrations taking place in Birmingham. But your statement, I am sorry to say, fails to express a similar concern for the conditions that brought about the demonstrations. I am sure that none of you would want to rest content with the superficial kind of social analysis that deals merely with effects and does not grapple with underlying causes. It is unfortunate that demonstrations are taking place in Birmingham, but it is even more unfortunate that the city's white power structure left the Negro community with no alternative.
Lamentably, it is an historical fact that privileged groups seldom give up their privileges voluntarily. Individuals may see the moral light and voluntarily give up their unjust posture; but, as Reinhold Niebuhr has reminded us, groups tend to be more immoral than individuals.
We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed. Frankly, I have yet to engage in a direct action campaign that was "well timed" in the view of those who have not suffered unduly from the disease of segregation. For years now I have heard the word "Wait!" It rings in the ear of every Negro with piercing familiarity. This "Wait" has almost always meant “Never." We must come to see, with one of our distinguished jurists, that "justice too long delayed is justice denied."
We have waited for more than 340 years for our constitutional and God given rights. The nations of Asia and Africa are moving with jetlike speed toward gaining political independence, but we still creep at horse and buggy pace toward gaining a cup of coffee at a lunch counter. Perhaps it is easy for those who have never felt the stinging darts of segregation to say, "Wait." But when you have seen vicious mobs lynch your mothers and fathers at will and drown your sisters and brothers at whim; when you have seen hate filled policemen curse, kick and even kill your black brothers and sisters; when you see the vast majority of your twenty million Negro brothers smothering in an airtight cage of poverty in the midst of an affluent society; when you suddenly find your tongue twisted and your speech stammering as you seek to explain to your six year old daughter why she can't go to the public amusement park that has just been advertised on television, and see tears welling up in her eyes when she is told that Funtown is closed to colored children, and see ominous clouds of inferiority beginning to form in her little mental sky, and see her beginning to distort her personality by developing an unconscious bitterness toward white people; when you have to concoct an answer for a five year old son who is asking: "Daddy, why do white people treat colored people so mean?"; when you take a cross county drive and find it necessary to sleep night after night in the uncomfortable corners of your automobile because no motel will accept you; when you are humiliated day in and day out by nagging signs reading "white" and "colored"; when your first name becomes "nigger," your middle name becomes "boy" (however old you are) and your last name becomes "John," and your wife and mother are never given the respected title "Mrs."; when you are harried by day and haunted by night by the fact that you are a Negro, living constantly at tiptoe stance, never quite knowing what to expect next, and are plagued with inner fears and outer resentments; when you are forever fighting a degenerating sense of "nobodiness"--then you will understand why we find it difficult to wait. There comes a time when the cup of endurance runs over, and men are no longer willing to be plunged into the abyss of despair. I hope, sirs, you can understand our legitimate and unavoidable impatience.
You express a great deal of anxiety over our willingness to break laws. This is certainly a legitimate concern. Since we so diligently urge people to obey the Supreme Court's decision of 1954 outlawing segregation in the public schools, at first glance it may seem rather paradoxical for us consciously to break laws. One may well ask: "How can you advocate breaking some laws and obeying others?" The answer lies in the fact that there are two types of laws: just and unjust. I would be the first to advocate obeying just laws. One has not only a legal but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws. I would agree with St. Augustine that "an unjust law is no law at all." Now, what is the difference between the two? How does one determine whether a law is just or unjust? A just law is a man made code that squares with the moral law or the law of God. An unjust law is a code that is out of harmony with the moral law. To put it in the terms of St. Thomas Aquinas: An unjust law is a human law that is not rooted in eternal law and natural law. Any law that uplifts human personality is just. Any law that degrades human personality is unjust. All segregation statutes are unjust because segregation distorts the soul and damages the personality. It gives the segregator a false sense of superiority and the segregated a false sense of inferiority. Segregation, to use the terminology of the Jewish philosopher Martin Buber, substitutes an "I it" relationship for an "I thou" relationship and ends up relegating persons to the status of things. Hence segregation is not only politically, economically and sociologically unsound, it is morally wrong and sinful. Paul Tillich has said that sin is separation. Is not segregation an existential expression of man's tragic separation, his awful estrangement, his terrible sinfulness? Thus it is that I can urge men to obey the 1954 decision of the Supreme Court, for it is morally right; and I can urge them to disobey segregation ordinances, for they are morally wrong.
Let us consider a more concrete example of just and unjust laws. An unjust law is a code that a numerical or power majority group compels a minority group to obey but does not make binding on itself. This is difference made legal. By the same token, a just law is a code that a majority compels a minority to follow and that it is willing to follow itself. This is sameness made legal.
Let me give another explanation. A law is unjust if it is inflicted on a minority that, as a result of being denied the right to vote, had no part in enacting or devising the law. Who can say that the legislature of Alabama which set up that state's segregation laws was democratically elected?
In deep disappointment I have wept over the laxity of the church. But be assured that my tears have been tears of love. There can be no deep disappointment where there is not deep love. Yes, I love the church. How could I do otherwise? I am in the rather unique position of being the son, the grandson and the great grandson of preachers. Yes, I see the church as the body of Christ. But, oh! How we have blemished and scarred that body through social neglect and through fear of being nonconformists.
There was a time when the church was very powerful--in the time when the early Christians rejoiced at being deemed worthy to suffer for what they believed. In those days the church was not merely a thermometer that recorded the ideas and principles of popular opinion; it was a thermostat that transformed the mores of society. Whenever the early Christians entered a town, the people in power became disturbed and immediately sought to convict the Christians for being "disturbers of the peace" and "outside agitators."' But the Christians pressed on, in the conviction that they were "a colony of heaven," called to obey God rather than man. Small in number, they were big in commitment. They were too God-intoxicated to be "astronomically intimidated." By their effort and example they brought an end to such ancient evils as infanticide and gladiatorial contests.
Things are different now. So often the contemporary church is a weak, ineffectual voice with an uncertain sound. So often it is an archdefender of the status quo. Far from being disturbed by the presence of the church, the power structure of the average community is consoled by the church's silent--and often even vocal--sanction of things as they are.
But the judgment of God is upon the church as never before. If today's church does not recapture the sacrificial spirit of the early church, it will lose its authenticity, forfeit the loyalty of millions, and be dismissed as an irrelevant social club with no meaning for the twentieth century. Every day I meet young people whose disappointment with the church has turned into outright disgust.
Perhaps I have once again been too optimistic. Is organized religion too inextricably bound to the status quo to save our nation and the world? Perhaps I must turn my faith to the inner spiritual church, the church within the church, as the true ekklesia and the hope of the world. But again I am thankful to God that some noble souls from the ranks of organized religion have broken loose from the paralyzing chains of conformity and joined us as active partners in the struggle for freedom. They have left their secure congregations and walked the streets of Albany, Georgia, with us. They have gone down the highways of the South on tortuous rides for freedom. Yes, they have gone to jail with us. Some have been dismissed from their churches, have lost the support of their bishops and fellow ministers. But they have acted in the faith that right defeated is stronger than evil triumphant. Their witness has been the spiritual salt that has preserved the true meaning of the gospel in these troubled times. They have carved a tunnel of hope through the dark mountain of disappointment.
One day the South will recognize its real heroes. They will be the James Merediths, with the noble sense of purpose that enables them to face jeering and hostile mobs, and with the agonizing loneliness that characterizes the life of the pioneer. They will be old, oppressed, battered Negro women, symbolized in a seventy two year old woman in Montgomery, Alabama, who rose up with a sense of dignity and with her people decided not to ride segregated buses, and who responded with ungrammatical profundity to one who inquired about her weariness: "My feets is tired, but my soul is at rest." They will be the young high school and college students, the young ministers of the gospel and a host of their elders, courageously and nonviolently sitting in at lunch counters and willingly going to jail for conscience' sake. One day the South will know that when these disinherited children of God sat down at lunch counters, they were in reality standing up for what is best in the American dream and for the most sacred values in our Judaeo Christian heritage, thereby bringing our nation back to those great wells of democracy which were dug deep by the founding fathers in their formulation of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence.
I hope this letter finds you strong in the faith. I also hope that circumstances will soon make it possible for me to meet each of you, not as an integrationist or a civil-rights leader but as a fellow clergyman and a Christian brother. Let us all hope that the dark clouds of racial prejudice will soon pass away and the deep fog of misunderstanding will be lifted from our fear drenched communities, and in some not too distant tomorrow the radiant stars of love and brotherhood will shine over our great nation with all their scintillating beauty.
Labels: education, history, Martin Luther King Jr.
Unbeaten Cumberland U. women's basketball team has Brazilian flair
The Tennessean reports in this article that the women's basketball team of Cumberland University has a few international students, including three from Brazil. The team plays Trevecca Nazarene tonight in Lebanon.
"The mishmash of international players, combined with mostly players from the Midstate, has proven to be a winning blend. Cumberland is 14-0 and ranked 10th nationally in the NAIA."
"The postgame, when teams typical exchange courtesies, ought to be interesting. Fernandes is from Brazil, where hugging's as common as shaking hands."
"'I am always trying to hug everybody, even people I've just met because that's the way it is in my culture,' [player Juliana] Fernandes said. 'People look at me like I'm crazy. Now I'm learning how to approach people. I know who I can hug and who I should just shake hands with.'"
"Being forced to learn English ... has turned out to be beneficial ... for all of the international players, according to Kari Maddux, a sophomore from Hendersonville (Tennessee, that is)."
"'At first, we were like, 'Oh no, how are we going to communicate with each other?'' Maddux said. 'But now they communicate more in English than we do on the court. The players from the other countries do a better job of actually talking on the court. I think it's because once they learn the language, they consider it something that can help them, whereas we just take it for granted.'"
Brazil is not included in some definitions of "hispanic," which focuses on Spain and Spanish-speaking countries, because Brazilians speak Portuguese and trace their colonial roots to Portugal. Brazil is the largest of all the South American countries, and its population represents half of South America.
Labels: english, spanish
Hospitality study: labor supply is greatest concern, immigration is part of solution
Jeff Coy of the International Society of Hospitality Consultants writes in this article that the tight labor supply is the greatest threat facing the hospitality industry, and that net immigration levels serve as a buffer to protect the U.S. from other factors which would otherwise constrict supply. Coy also cites an anecdote about tough competition for hospitality employees in Nashville.
“'In Nashville, a new general manager of major chain hotel sent a truck to a competitor’s property. On the side of the truck was a sign offering cash bonuses to employees willing to come to work for him. On the inside of the truck was a man handing out applications. At the Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs, the average housekeeper accumulated almost 500 hours of overtime last year. When Disney Hotels was recruiting workers for its hotels and restaurants in Orlando, company representatives traveled to Pittsburgh, Rochester NY and San Juan, Puerto Rico offering $1500 relocation bonuses and a $100 airline ticket to anyone who would work for Disney for at least one year,' according to Valerie Ferguson, former chairman of AH&LA, the trade association of the nation’s $93 billion dollar lodging industry in her testimony to US House Committee on Education and the Workforce."
"In the 21st century, the world economy is a service-economy. Services require people. Therefore, any worker shortages have a greater impact on the service industries, such as hospitality, leisure, recreation, childcare, healthcare, assisted living, long term care and other personal services. The number of available jobs in the USA is projected to increase by 22 million by 2010. Yet the labor force is projected to increase by only 17 million, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The US hospitality and leisure industry is expected to grow by 2.1 million jobs between 2002 and 2012 (17.8 percent) which represents a faster increase than the 14.8 percent job growth for all industries."
"When you first delve into the Shrinking Labor Force issue, you quickly realize it is not the problem of just one occupation or one industry or even one country. It is not the problem of just the advanced nations, but rather it is a global problem that affects almost all of the major countries of the world. Why is this? What are the causes of a shrinking labor supply in so many countries?
* Fewer babies born
* People living longer
* Slowing population growth rate
* Aging of the population
* Fewer persons in the working-age group
* Fewer working-age persons participating in the labor force
* Geographical separation of jobs and workers
* Net immigration"
"The United States can maintain a fairly brisk growth in its labor supply over the next 50 years without any change in its current levels of fertility, immigration and labor force participation. Even if the United States fertility rate were to fall from 2.1 to 1.8, the USA labor force would continue to grow, although at a considerably slower rate after 2015. If this relatively favorable future is cause for concern, other countries face a more serious situation."
Labels: statistics
Farm Bureau declares from Nashville: immigration proposals threaten billions in losses
The American Farm Bureau has convened 6,000 members in Nashville for its national convention this weekend, and a flurry of press releases are being sent out of the Music City gathering. This one warns that the recent crop of tightened immigration proposals in Washington D.C. would cause billions of dollars of losses annually in the agricultural industry.
Anti-immigrant climate stigmatizes and radicalizes in Denmark
The new year 2006 is expected to be filled with hot political talk on immigration. The hot talk itself may backfire and throw the U.S. into turmoil, if Denmark is any guide. The New York Times reports in this article of Denmark's "intensifying anti-immigrant climate that is stigmatizing minorities and radicalizing young Muslims."
Three Kings Day brings sweets and reminders of the continuing Christmas story
At a time when most Nashville businesses have taken down their Christmas decorations and wrapped up the holiday sales season, the Tennessean reports in this article that the holiday season is not over for some Hispanic businesses. Pastry and party sales are up in anticipation of the Christian holiday Three Kings Day, which is popular in Mexico and across Latin America and also celebrated here in Middle Tennessee.
"This morning, many children in Mexico and Mexican immigrants in the United States will awake hoping they received gifts overnight."
"To them, this is the El Dia de Reyes, the Day of the Three Kings celebration, a joyous cultural and religious observance that commemorates the biblical story of the Magi, or wise men, who traveled from different nations to Bethlehem bearing gifts for the newborn Jesus."
"As part of the festivities, family and friends will eat Rosca de Reyes, a traditional ring-shaped bread, and tamales with hot chocolate."
"By Wednesday afternoon, orders for the ring-shaped bread had picked up at Aurora Bakery, an international bakery on Nolensville Road."
"Ivette Miranda, whose father owns Variedades Latinas, a party shop on Nolensville Road, said in El Salvador families have a special meal together on Jan. 6 but usually exchange fewer gifts than other families."
"But there is a cultural sway in the United States among Mexican children toward Dec. 25 being the time for gift exchanges, said Maricruz Figueroa, who works for Hispanic ministry at St. Edward Catholic Church on Thompson Lane in Nashville."
"'In the Southwest, it is big and I know families celebrate as a way to hold on to traditions they had in Mexico. I do not think children complain about getting gifts in December and in January.'"
Labels: el salvador, faith
Nashville company debuts Hispanic employee benefit enrollment service
Nashville-based Cornerstone Enrollment Services announced in this press release the debut of Hispanic Enrollment Service, designed to more successfully enroll Hispanic employees in employee benefit programs.
Until now, a “Hispanic enrollment” meant simply hiring some bilingual enrollers. But the actual enrollment is the result of a benefit communications process that determines employee interest and participation in the enrollment.
A study of barriers to health coverage for Hispanic workers concludes, “The benefit materials are many times not written in Spanish, making it very difficult for non-English speaking employees to have access to this information, which affects the number of new hires that enroll and participate in such programs.” (Snapshot in Time Close-Up, State Public Policy Group, 2000)
In response to this pressing need, Cornerstone Enrollment Services announces its comprehensive, turnkey Hispanic Enrollment Service.
Cornerstone provides a turnkey Spanish-language enrollment, providing all the materials and services — not just bilingual enrollers — necessary for a successful enrollment:
-- Customized pre-enrollment communication materials in Spanish, including paycheck inserts, product brochures & information, flyers & posters, personalized benefit statements, group presentation materials, and one-on-one marketing materials;
-- Bilingual presentations for group meetings;
-- Bilingual career benefit counselors;
-- Insurance policies in Spanish (certain carriers only).
"In order for many Hispanic employees to understand the benefits being offered during an enrollment, pre-communication materials in Spanish are essential," said Sylvia Tellez, the bilingual Director of Hispanic Enrollment Services for Cornerstone. "Unless they know what benefits the enrollment is providing, Hispanics tend not to participate, even when bilingual benefit counselors are provided."
New Year's Resolution for Hispanic businesses: break into Music City Future 50
In September, the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce announced its list of 2005's fastest-growing private companies in Middle Tennessee. None of the owners or chief decision-makers were Hispanic.
According to this article in the Tennessean, nominations for 2006 will be solicited this summer.
Spanish wines featured in Thursday charity tasting...
Barriers to driving documents fuel corruption; fed...
Hispanic insurance agent Al Cadenas hangs a shingl...
Metro Police Department calls for Spanish-speaking...
Vanderbilt Kennedy Center needs Spanish-speaking c...
Unbeaten Cumberland U. women's basketball team has...
Hospitality study: labor supply is greatest concer...
Farm Bureau declares from Nashville: immigration p...
Anti-immigrant climate stigmatizes and radicalizes...
Three Kings Day brings sweets and reminders of the...
Nashville company debuts Hispanic employee benefit...
New Year's Resolution for Hispanic businesses: bre...
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His "Two Treatises of Government" influenced the Declaration of Independence with all its talk of rights
Janet Michael Molley
Show #3562 - Tuesday, February 15, 2000
2000-A College Championship semifinal game 2.
Molley Jesse, a senior at the University of Virginia from Columbia, South Carolina
Michael LaMasse, a sophomore at Eastern Michigan from Canton, Michigan
Janet Wong, a senior at Drew University from Eatontown, New Jersey
TRICKY QUESTIONS
CASPIAN, THE FRIENDLY SEA
COLLEGE TEAM NICKNAMES
"MED" SCHOOL
Nagle Jackson's 1999 comedy "A Hotel on Marvin Gardens" centers on this classic board game
Title of the person who handles mail to a website; the U.S. has a "General" one
The number of 4-cent stamps in a dozen
The USGS estimates the reserves of this in the Caspian are equal to those of the North Sea
UCLA features these creatures
It's the playing of a series of songs, one right after the other
Edward Albee's adaptation of this Nabokov novel starred Donald Sutherland as Humbert Humbert
SYSADMIN, one who maintains a computer network, is short for this
Total cubic feet of earth in a hole 1 yard wide, 1 yard long & 1 yard deep
Botanists believe this fruit, Vitis vinifera, originated in the area of the Caspian Sea
The Longhorns play for the main campus of the university of this state
Some "transcend" with this type of deep thinking & concentration
David Henry Hwang wrote his first play, "F.O.B.", while studying at this school near Palo Alto, California
This 4-letter word from Sanskrit means someone who is a computer knowledge resource
If the vice president & the speaker of the House were to die, the person in this post would be president
In addition to carp & herring, the sea is a major source of this caviar fish
Penn's peaceable players
This monstrous mythological maiden's equally monstrous sisters were Stheno & Euryale
NYC's Alvin Theatre was renamed in his honor while his hit "Brighton Beach Memoirs" was playing there
A stupid or inept internet user can be called this 3-digit number that means "File Not Found"
The number of eggs left in a carton if a boy eats all but 5
This longest river in Europe enters the Caspian by way of Astrakhan
The University of Maryland's reptilian representatives
The prophet Muhammad's escape to this city in 622 A.D. marks the beginning of the Islamic calendar
DD: $600 11
He worked as a stagehand in Prague before writing plays such as "Temptation" & before becoming a president
Like a villain in darkness, one who reads others' words in a newsgroup but won't contribute is doing this
The brother-in-law of your mother's unmarried only sister is this relative to you
In the 1980s the zebra species of these "strong" bivalves native to the Caspian invaded the Great Lakes
(Hi, I'm wide receiver Antonio Freeman) In 1999 the Hokies of this school, my alma mater, had one of their greatest seasons, going undefeated
In vertebrates, it's the lowermost part of the brain
$1,200 $1,200 $200
THE MIDDLE AGES
TV LAW
THOSE AMAZING MAMMALS
OOH, A WISE GUY
(Alex: All about courses you might take if you were in pre-med.)
He was elected to Parliament in 1386 & began writing "The Canterbury Tales" about a year later
In 1999 this show spun off a "Special Victims Unit"
This title character's sister Gretel wins the silver skates (so why isn't the book named for her?)
Guinness reports a specimen of this land mammal at over 13 feet in height & over 13 tons in weight
This Greek taught the theorem of hypotenuses of right triangles & said that all things are numbers
Comparative Anatomy:
The male fiddler crab's small one is used for feeding; the large for signaling
In 1208 in Assisi he gathered 12 disciples who became the original brothers of his religious order
In 1999 Fox tried a 1/2-hour version of this hour show about the law firm of Richard Fish
In stories by J.D. Salinger, Franny Glass' brother Zachary is better known by this nickname
Pandas have an enlarged wristbone that functions like this digit in humans
Plato compared the unenlightened to people chained up in one of these looking at shadows
Latin:
If your Latin class seems to go on ad infinitum, it goes on this way
In 1232 A.D. the Mongols were repulsed by "arrows of flying fire", or rockets, at Kaifeng-Fu in this country
It features Ms. Brenneman on the bench
4-letter name shared by a character in Dickens' "Bleak House" & a Jules Verne captain
Discovered in 1901, a single colony of these "canines" of the Western U.S. contained about 400 million individuals
He wrote that "Knowledge is power" -- & rumor has it he also wrote Shakespeare's plays
General Chemistry:
It's the main branch of chemistry that deals with carbon compounds
In 814 Louis the Pious succeeded this "Magne" man, his father, as Holy Roman Emperor
Series seen here:
(starring Dixie Carter)
In a Dostoyevsky novel, it's the "silly" title nickname of Prince Myshkin, whose love for 2 women leads to tragedy
Newly born calves of this "colorful" mammal can measure 28 feet in length & weigh up to 3 tons
This Danish thinker known for his "Leap of Faith" was a precursor of existentialism
Basket Weaving:
Materials used include reed & rush, which is used to make these Japanese mats
"Dark" nickname of Edward, the hero of the Battle of Crecy
Ed Koch made him a criminal court judge; now he's replaced Koch on "The People's Court"
In "Absalom! Absalom!", it's the "mythological" name of Thomas Stupen's daughter, known as Clytie for short
Known for its mass migrations, this rodent of Scandinavia can become pregnant at the age of 14 days
Helmholtz formulated the first law of this, a statement on the conservation of energy
$8,900 $15,300 $1,600
The 2 U.S. presidents who served as governors of states west of the Mississippi River
$17,794 $12,799 $0
Finalist 2nd place: $5,000 3rd place: $5,000
20 R,
2 W 22 R
(including 2 DDs),
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Panel Proposal- Interest Group on International Environmental Law
ESIL Annual Conference
The growing complexity and specialisation of international law has given rise to calls for the constitution of courts, tribunals, and chambers operating in specific issue areas. International environmental law is a prominent example of this phenomenon; indeed, that call seemed to have been heeded with the creation of the ICJ’s Environmental Chamber, which seems to be a failed experiment. While there has been a small number of environmental disputes submitted to international courts and tribunals in the last couple of decades, this may not be evidence of a trend, particularly when one notes that environmental cases considered on their merits remain rare.
This panel will address the relevance, actual and potential, of adjudicatory bodies for international environmental norms. Papers may address the following issues:
What can realistically be expected of courts and tribunals hearing environmental disputes?
What contributions could adjudicatory bodies, whether specialised or not, make to this body of law?
Does the highly specialised nature of international environmental law require highly specialised adjudicatory bodies? Is environmental law still too broad – must adjudicatory bodies be even more highly specialised than this?
What is the role of general courts and tribunals such as the ICJ?
What factors contribute to state reluctance to submit environmental disputes to adjudication?
Where are disputes in this area being addressed? Are other adjudicatory bodies, or other approaches to dispute resolution altogether, adequate, or perhaps even better adapted?
What role does fragmentation of international law play in this context? Is it counterbalanced by dialogue among international courts and circulation of principles?
Do “pure” environmental disputes actually exist or are they always intertwined with other aspects?
Are judges well equipped to deal with environmental disputes? Could this affect the attitude of States towards international adjudication?
What role for amicus curiae submissions in relation to environmental disputes?
Should the ICJ’s environment chamber be reinvigorated, and if so, how? Are there certain incentives which could enhance state submissions to the court / the chamber?
What can be learned from other bodies of law, notably areas such as law of the sea or international criminal law for which specialised adjudicatory bodies have been created?
Submission of paper proposals
ESIL members are invited to submit proposals for papers to be included in a panel proposal for the 2015 ESIL conference in Oslo. Abstracts should be no more than 500 words and be accompanied by a short CV. Proposals must be submitted by 25 January to Jaye Ellis (jaye.ellis@mcgill.ca) or to Birgit Lode (birgit.lode@iass.potsdam.de).
From International Law Reporter
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CHANGING CIRCUMSTANCES OF DISABLED SOUTH AFRICANS
Learnerships seek to change the circumstances of disabled South Africans
Tags: south africans, jobs, disabled, people, learning
Around 2.9 million South Africans are living with disabilities yet only one percent have jobs - the key to reducing this lies in proper skills development.
Richard Rayne, CEO of iLearn, a leading South African learning solutions business, which offers a range of Learnerships and short courses, says the institution has made it its mission to help reverse the “staggering figure” and help afford disabled people equal opportunities in the workplace.
“We need to find a solution to this rather dire problem. And the answer to empowering people with disabilities lies with training and up-skilling them through Learnership programmes, in order for them to succeed and make a positive contribution to the economy and society as a whole,” Rayne says.
To demonstrate iLearn’s commitment to boosting the amount of employed disabled South Africans, the organisation has partnered with Air Traffic & Navigation Services (ATNS) for the next 12 months to ensure learners obtain the necessary scarce skills training through vocational programmes and help secure a job in the field. ATNS provides air traffic control services, training and associated services within South Africa and a large part of the Southern Indian and Atlantic Oceans. Candidates selected for this Learnership present with a range of disabilities, including cognitive and physical disabilities.
“This partnership aims to make a difference through training in areas of national significance and produce individuals who are highly skilled and ready to enter the workforce,” Rayne says.
A Learnership is a vocational and educational programme that links structured learning and work experience in order to obtain a registered qualification. It combines theory and workplace practice into a qualification registered by the National Qualifications Framework (NQF).
What are the benefits for the learner:
A fixed-term employment contract and generous allowance for the duration of the programme.
An opportunity to enter the job market and appeal to current and future employers.
A nationally-recognised qualification.
According to Rayne, iLearn offers a hyper-personalised approach to Learnerships that supports interactive learning. “We help companies to identify skills gaps and create learning pathways that encourage continuous employee learning, which aids both career development and business growth.”
The partnership with ATNS has afforded Elizabeth Nzima the opportunity to complete a Learnership and possibly secure a job with ATNS. Nzima was born with a physical disability on her right leg, which has resulted in a permanent limp.
“Through this vocational training programme, Elizabeth Nzima has already achieved so much. She is a shining example of a learner who comes from very little, but who has excelled and done exceptionally well despite the odds. We are incredibly proud of what she has achieved,” says ATNS CEO, Thabani Mthiyane
Watch Elizabeth Nzima’s story here.
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Australia’s number 1 DJ, MaRLo has become synonymous with a sound and a feeling that has electrified crowds worldwide. Dutch-born and Australian raised, the globally in-demand DJ and producer has constantly evolved his own “MaRLo sound”, cementing his reputation as a genuine musical powerhouse. As well as his number 1 ranking in Australia’s Inthemix voting competition, He was also ranked #49 in the DJ Mag 2016 poll.
Over the last few years MaRLo has really stepped it up a notch, He started his own concert style events named “Altitude” which have sold out in all 9 cities he has brought the shows to. Every year around 15000 people attend the Altitude events, and plans are in the works to expand them to bigger venues and in more cities around the globe. In combination with the massively popular events, He also launched his own label “Reaching Altitude”, a sub label of the legendary Armada Music, and is dedicated to recognising and nurturing the next generation of talent.
For a superstar who has done it all, the future holds the most excitement and it’s that drive to always progress that has made MaRLo a global name. He has one of the busiest touring schedules of any artist, playing extensively throughout the world at events likeTomorrowland , A State Of Trance, Ultra Music Festival, EDC, Creamfields, Transmission, Waterzonic, Springwave, Summersonic, Electronic Family and Beyond Wonderland.
Ranked as the #1 Australian DJ by InTheMix, now effectively holding the title in perpetuity, MaRLo is also ranked in the top 50 DJs globally by DJ Mag, an accolade that recognises the one-of-a-kind energy that characterises a MaRLo show. His remixes are also in high demand with global trance heavyweights like Armin Van Buuren, Ferry Corsten, Dash Berlin, W&W, Gareth Emery, Emma Hewitt and many more having been remixed with the MaRLo sound.
With a year ahead headlining some of the world’s biggest events, and a full release schedule. MaRLo is a musical juggernaut that can’t be stopped.
www.marlomusic.com
Facebook: @marlomusic
Instagram: @marlomusic
Snapchat: @marlomusic
Twitter: @marlo_music
Soundcloud: @marlomusic
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The Power of Brevity
Never underestimate the power of brevity. Keeping your message short and sweet increases the odds your audience will stick around to hear everything you have to say. As demonstrated in this article and others, many readers don’t make it past the headline of an online article-- let alone if they have to scroll down the page.
Offline, too, brevity can grant you an air of confidence and competence-- whether in a presentation, press conference, or interview. The trick is knowing when you do need to go into detail: some complex issues or crisis events may require more than 140 characters on Twitter.
Find the sweet spot between rambling and a paucity of information, and your message will come across loud and clear.
2016 Bloopers and Blunders
Although it makes us cringe to see publicity go bad, we find that sticky situations can lead to lessons learned. After mulling it over, here’s what we think were a few of the top public relations/communications bloopers and blunders of 2016. Let's hope for fewer in 2017!
Ryan Lochte gets rowdy in Rio:
Olympic medalist and swimmer Ryan Lochte made headlines during this summer’s Rio Olympics after sharing a dramatic account of being robbed at gunpoint after a night out partying. However, once the press realized a few of his details didn’t quite add up, the Brazilian police conducted an investigation and revealed a different story: Surveillance footage had Lochte and posse drunkenly vandalizing a gas station. National embarrassment, a public apology, and a 10-month suspension from swimming ensued.
Mack assessment: As we’ve said before, honesty is the best policy. Lochte might have been able to prevent the situation spiraling into an international spectacle if he had copped to his mistake right away, and done damage control from there.
Flint, Michigan's water woes:
After switching water sources in 2014, residents of Flint, Michigan began to complain about dirty, discolored water, rashes and bad aromas. By 2015, water testing done by Virginia Tech revealed elevated lead levels, and the Michigan EPA began sounding the alarm over water quality. Yet even as evidence of the toxicity of Flint’s water continued to mount, officials at the Michigan statehouse downplayed the concerns of residents. By 2016, Obama declared a state of emergency in the city. The state government was pilloried over their handling of the situation, which put tens of thousands of people--including children--at risk.
Mack assessment: This is a classic case of a mismanaged crisis. When things go south, the first step is to acknowledge the crisis and speak to the concerns of the people affected. Too often companies and governments bury their collective heads in the sand, hoping the problem will go away. Ignoring the problem only exacerbates the crisis.
Brain cramp takes down Gary Johnson:
During an interview with MSNBC in September, a commentator asked Libertarian presidential nominee Gary Johnson how he would address the refugee crisis in Aleppo, Syria. Johnson’s response-- “What is Aleppo?”-- was like the shot heard around the (Twitter) world. In what would later turn out to be an accurate prediction, the New York Times speculated that “the stumble could be a serious blow to Mr. Johnson’s campaign.”
Mack assessment: For TV interviews, it’s crucial to prepare beforehand to avoid being caught off guard. Sometimes, though, journalists may throw you a curve ball. Johnson would have benefited from learning how to block a question in order to respond only on topics you’re ready for.
[Photos via CNN]
Handling Big Announcements
The internet and social media make it easier than ever to spread information (factual or not) like wildfire. If your company or organization has big news to share, choosing to make a big announcement gives you more control over the message and tone of your news (rather than waiting for the media to find out on its own).
Here are three things to consider before making big announcements:
Timing: would you deem your announcement good news or bad news? If the latter, consider making your announcement Friday afternoon, when people are starting to check out from work and into the weekend. Conversely, if you’re looking to make a big splash, aim for earlier in the week.
Platform: certain politicians lately have a tendency to make big announcements on Twitter. While Twitter certainly allows for a certain amount of control, consider whether 140 characters can convey enough context and detail for your situation. Other platforms have their advantages as well: A TV interview puts a human face on an issue, while a press conference or press release allows reporters time to analyze quotes and information to produce perhaps more thoughtful articles.
Prepare! By making an announcement, you are taking control-- don’t forget it! Write down your talking points, rehearse, and stick to them.
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Home » Online » News » Mandriva Linux...
Mandriva Linux 2008 Beta 1 Released
Mandriva "Cassini" includes kernel 2.6.22 and new versions of various applications, and it supports a whole bunch of new hardware. Compiz Fusion replaces Beryl.
Anika Kehrer
Mandriva 2008 Beta 1 includes the following versions of major packages: Kernel 2.6.22, X.org 7.2, KDE 3.5.7 / Gnome 2.19.6, Firefox 2.0.0.6, and Open Office 2.2. 3D desktop effects are provided by the Compiz Fusion compositing manager, which now incorporates developments from Beryl.
GPL drivers are available to support a whole bunch of new hardware, including NVIDIA Geforce 8400 through 8600 graphics cards and the Intel 4965AGN WLAN chipset. This version does not include a number of proprietary components that will be available in the second beta.
The Ntfs-3g module makes NTFS partitions writable. The fact that the installation routine does not allow users to create more than 15 partitions is also new. This is due to the fact that IDE controller drivers are no longer built into the kernel but loaded as modules
A list of changes in the beta version is available on the project's website. The changes planned for the final release of the Mandriva distribution are listed on another wiki site, however, not all of them have been implemented.
The Beta 1 is available as a three CD or single DVD image as a 32 bit version for the x86 architecture only. According to the developers a mini ISO is also available. It simply installs the basic system, but users can install remaining packages from the online repositories.
Mandriva Linux 2008 Beta 1 can be downloaded from any of the mirrors. Testers are invited to provide feedback via the Bugzilla or various Mandriva forums.
Mandriva 2008 is due for release September 27: a further beta and two release candidates are planned in the interim period.
LINUX MAGAZINE DVD
Mandriva Linux 2008 Online
French Linux distributor Mandriva releases new downloadable Mandriva 2008 version.
First Mandriva 2008 Release Candidate
Mandriva Copernic features a reworked menu structure, a new tool for setting up and monitoring the network. The kernel packages have been renamed and now include a laptop package with power saving capabilities.
Mandriva 2008 Spring Ready
French distributor Mandriva has released its latest Linux offering, 2008.1 Spring.
Mandriva 2009 Released
The French Linux distributor Mandriva has released its Linux edition of the same name in Version 2009.
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Specials: Born into Brothels exhibit in NY.
|In Blog, Looking Elsewhere
Today’s specials:
The New York Times reports on the Kids with Cameras exhibit. If you’ve seen Born Into Brothels, you’ll want to see this…
Peter T. Chattaway groans over The Great Raid. (But Phil Boatwright at Crosswalk calls it the best film he’s seen all year. Hmmm.)
Todd Hertz swallows The Skeleton Key and chokes.
Carolyn Arends honors Saint Ralph.
A priest decides to use The Matrix to make faith appealing… about five years behind the trend.
Arcade Fire will open for U2.
jasdye
I’ve gotten puke-sick of people using the Matrix as a Christian allegory. It was cute the first six years…
And, Gooooooo, ArcFire!!
(Five Iron Frenzy has a song called “Handbook for the Sellout” about a band losing its base of fans simply because it’s becoming popular. Obviously AF has been super-hyped the last 1/2 year. Waiting for that backlash…)
I’m still quite upset that Halle Berry was allowed to run all over (and kill) Rosamund in the last James Bond film. She was far more interesting…and I like her.
Adam Walter
I haven’t seen this one yet (I did enjoy the book when I read it in college). I’ll probably see the BBC miniseries before this film, but I found this interesting:
Sighs Matter
http://tinyurl.com/dna6h
Peter T Chattaway
Rosamund is one of the reasons I actually kinda liked Doom. >:)
And your remark about Winona Ryder is interesting, since Mark Steyn made a similar comparison: “. . . even in our present-tense culture, the latest Pride and Prejudice seems to have turned up a little sooner than anybody needed it. It’s a full decade since Colin Firth emerged from the lake in the BBC adaptation and I suppose to the young person his name may evoke only the prematurely middle-aged dull stick from recent Richard Curtis offerings. And presumably Keira Knightley was available and her spirited coltishness won’t last for ever. She reminds me here of Winona Ryder’s Jo in the ’94 Little Women, a film that captured a young actress’s girlish spirit at its peak. Aside from her shoplifting trial, Miss Ryder has given few memorable performances since, and one hopes Miss Knightley is more fortunate.”
J. Caution
I enjoyed the film up until the last half-hour, where the scenes between the two leads began to look like the cover of some trashy romance paperback, with Mr. Darcy’s unbuttoned shirt, walking through the mist, etc. It became obvious to me at that point that the film was made with a certain sex clearly in mind.
Jeffrey Overstreet
Well, I’ll forgive them that because Mr. Darcy is one of the most virtuous and admirable romantic heroes in literature, and if they want to equate that with sexiness for young ladies, well… we could use a lot more of that rather than what USUALLY passes as “sexy” these days. (I’m looking at you, Matthew McCounaughey, Colin Farrell, Ashton Kutcher, and, dear heavens, Usher.)
FWIW, the North American version has an extra eight minutes at the end that were not in the original British version, precisely because the British test audiences found that part of the film too “mushy” and “sweet”. Rumour has it that the longer version will soon be released over there, though, following the success of that version over here.
I’ve read about those eight minutes, but watching the film I was amazed. Where did they find EIGHT MINUTES to cut? I can think of only a minute or two I’d excise.
Catholic Fire
Nice review! It won me over, too. Check out my review at Catholic Fire.
Duma (2005) - guest review
Looking Closer... in Portland, Oregon!
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The Undies
Crossover Appeal
RECAP: Game of Thrones 5x08 - Ice Zombies Are Scariest Zombies
Man, that was some Game of Thrones finale last night, wasn't it? I mean, I assume it was some finale. I haven't actually seen it yet because as you may recall, we're a little behind on Game of Thrones recaps. So while you all discuss that finale around your watercoolers and what have you, here's a quick take on an episode from three weeks ago. You're welcome.
Last time on Game of Thrones, we finally got to see Cersei reap the religious fanaticism she's sown, enjoyed a blissful moment of Daenerys and Tyrion staring each other down, and discovered that Theon Greyjoy is way way way too brainwashed to be useful to our poor embattled Sansa. Also Melisandre told Stannis that the only way to save the world was to sacrifice his only daughter to the Red God. So, you know, a pretty normal week by Game of Thrones standards.
This week our story jumps ahead a little bit and shows those plotlines carrying out. Well, most of them. Stannis and Melisandre and potential child-sacrifice will have to wait, but otherwise we catch right up on all of our favorite delinquents and degenerates to find out who's advanced a space on the "game of thrones" (get it?) and who is going to have to go back to start. I'm not sure what kind of boardgame this is, but clearly no one on the show is particularly good at it.
Our stories here revolved around the really central plots - King's Landing, Meereen, and Jon Snow's adventures with the Wildlings - as well as some less central but still engaging stuff. Sam and Gilly's domestic soap opera, Sansa's continuing woes, Jorah's very bad day, and Arya's pyramid scheme. So as per usual, we'll start with the least important/smallest plotline and work our way up.
Sam and Gilly! It's not that Sam and Gilly aren't important characters, it's just that their contributions to this episode were pretty minimal. And, well, they aren't important characters, at least not yet. I like them purely because they're not super important, actually. They're the rare set of characters who we see who aren't out to move mountains or change the world. They're just two nice kids who love each other and are trying to make a go of it, weird circumstances aside.
Sam and Gilly are important for the narrative if only because they remind us that not all battles in life are giant sprawling tales of epicness. Sometimes the biggest fight in your life is to be respected by your coworkers, and that doesn't make you less of a person. It's okay.
Anyway, we catch these crazy kids as they're continuing to deal with the aftermath of last episode. Gilly is treating Sam's wounds and they're both pretty jumpy when there's a knock at the door. But it's just Olly, Jon's protege kid, with a question for Sam. So Gilly begs off and Sam gets to play wise elder to the child. What's your question, young Olly?
Basically, Olly has issues with what Jon is doing. Jon is, as you may recall, going up North to rescue the Wildlings before they can be turned into more fodder for the White Walkers, and that decision has been a teensy bit controversial with the men of the Night's Watch. Not least of all with Olly, who watched his whole family slaughtered and then had to see the man who saved him turn around and team up with the guy who stuck an axe through his mum's skull. Olly has feelings about this. Bad feelings.
Sam, for what it's worth, is completely not getting where Olly is going with this. He thinks Olly is worried about Jon's safety, so he gives a nice speech about how a man has to do what a man is going to do, whether he thinks others will understand or not, and then he assures Olly that Jon will come back. "He always does."
Which is not what Olly wanted to hear, I think.
A little further south in Winterfell, Sansa gets just one scene to tell Theon/Reek exactly how displeased she is that he told Ramsay she wanted to escape. And, unfortunately, the scene quickly becomes all about him and not at all about her, which isn't fair. She wants to know why he did it, and while his reasons are understandable, they still blow. He took what little agency she had left and shredded it. So, no, your choice to "do it to protect her" is not noble, okay?
And while Theon/Reek's recounting of what happened when he tried to escape and how Ramsay ultimately broke him is sad, it's also not enough. Sansa is a damn survivor, while Theon was always a little close to breaking. We saw it in him before, that he would bend for whoever was in front of him, but he had little iron of his own. Sansa has iron. She has iron and steel and winter in her veins. I'm not worried about her. Unless the writers screw it up...
At any rate, her interrogation does yield some fruit. While Sansa yells and rages at Theon/Reek for betraying her, she uncovers a surprising secret: Theon did not kill her brothers. He killed two little boys, yes, but not Bran and Rickon Stark. So Sansa gets the first taste of hope she's had in a long time that, far from being the last Stark left alive, she has a family out there somewhere.*
Meanwhile, Roose Bolton and Ramsay plot for war. Roose is happy to hole up in Winterfell and wait out the "Southern king" knocking at their gates. After all, Stannis and his men are mired in snow and short on supplies. Winterfell is made for winters, they'll be fine.
But Ramsay has a counter-argument. The North will follow a strong leader, not just one who sits behind and waits for nature to do their work for them. There's no sense in sending out soldiers to battle the Baratheon army, instead he can just send Ramsay and twenty good men. They're Northerners who know the land and can move more quickly through snow. They'll do some damage for sure.
In King's Landing this week we actually got just a bare taste of story. Cersei, having been locked up at the end of last episode, is understandably not doing great in prison. She's all hissing and yelling and spitting at people, reminding the septa who comes in to check on her that she's rich and powerful and would make a terrible enemy. The septa does not care, and we are treated to a very entertaining scene of interrogation by water. As in, the septa holds out a ladle full of water and asks Cersei to confess. Cersei refuses, usually with insults. The septa pours the water out on the floor. Repeat.
Which of course ends with the septa going away without a confession and Cersei having to lap water up off the floor. Not even a visit from a member of the Small Council can cheer her up. It seems that King Tommen has taken this final indignity - the loss of his mother after the arrests of his wife and brother-in-law - as the last straw and is locked up in his room refusing to eat. He won't visit his mother, and neither will her uncle. Said uncle has returned to King's Landing and is taking control of the Small Council, but that's basically just one big screw you to Cersei, because he did tell her at the beginning of the season that she was going to mess everything up...
No news on Margaery and Loras, but I think we can safely assume that they're still miserable and bored, if being treated slightly more kindly than Cersei is. I mean, Margaery's great crime is basically perjury, and Loras' crime is sodomy. Cersei, on the other hand, is accused of incest and regicide, so I feel like the pressure is off our Tyrell kids for the moment. The faith has bigger fish to fry than two weird nobles in their twenties.
Over in Braavos, Arya is finally getting to play her "game of faces". As in, Jaqen is helping her build a new identity as a carapace over who she really is. He sticks to what he said, that she's not ready to be no one, but she is ready to be someone else. That someone else is Lana, an orphan from Braavos, who has saved up enough money to have her own oyster cart. She sells oysters every day, and she's even picked up some regular customers.
There's a really funny comic online about how this is actually the House of White and Black's pyramid scam, but the reality of this storyline is a little more complex. Arya is learning how to lie about her identity, but she's also scouting a mark. Jaqen tells her that her mission is to go down to the docks and tell him what she sees there. That's all.
What she sees is a man, a thin, hungry-faced man, who buys some oysters from her. The man, she sees, does business with the ship captains who come through, and as Jaqen explains it, he's basically an insurance broker. The captains pay him some money so that, if they die at sea, he will give their wives and children money to live on. If they don't die at sea, the man gets to keep the money. The problem is that apparently the hungry-faced man keeps the money either way. A poor woman and child? Who will they go to for help? Who can they turn to who will believe their plight?
So I guess the House of White and Black is a form of social justice in the incredibly unjust world of Westeros. And this is Arya's first assignment. She will watch the hungry-faced man, she will sell him oysters and she will smile. When the time comes, she will kill him. This is her test. The waif doesn't think she's ready, but it's time to see if she can become ready.
Okay. We're down to the big stuff.
In Meereen, Daenerys is still reeling from the reveal at the fighting pits. She legitimately never expected to see Jorah again, and certainly not dragging Tyrion Lannister behind him. She's also got kind of a problem on her hands, because when she banished Jorah she told him that if he ever came back she would have him killed. She doesn't want to have him killed, but he's rather forced her hand.
Tyrion takes a minute to stand up for Jorah here, inserting himself already as Daenerys' advisor. She shouldn't kill Jorah because he's devoted to her. She wants people to be devoted to her, and if they figure that the reward for that is death, then it's not apt to happen. Also, she probably doesn't want to emulate her super crazy father.**
But she can't just let him wander freely around Meereen either. So Daenerys has no real other choice than to gently banish Jorah a second time, escorting him out of the city and basically gently putting him down on the other side of the gates. It's as kind as Daenerys is able to be, really, but Jorah doesn't think it's enough. He marches himself right back to the guy who bought him at slave auction and demands to be put back in the fighting pits. He won his round, so he should get to fight for the Queen in the grand arena, right?
Jorah, let me stop you right here. This is neither healthy nor sane. it's getting kind of weird, really. You need to move on, or at least accept that continuing to chase after Daenerys is only going to put her in more and more precarious positions. Come on, dude.
Meanwhile, Daenerys and Tyrion have a nice lunch in her study and size each other up. It's a fantastically written scene, and I can't do it justice here, but suffice it to say that they're both auditioning here, really. Tyrion wants to know if Daenerys is a queen worth following and serving. Daenerys wants to know if Tyrion is an advisor worth listening to. In the end, they are both satisfied with each other and decide to work together. Yay! At least something has gone right this episode.
And it's basically the last thing to go right in the episode, because our final plotline is epic, but a total downer. Jon Snow and his boats reach the Wildlings at Hardhome and are greeted by a particularly frosty reception. Get it? Frosty? Nevermind.
For some reason the Wildlings aren't super stoked about trusting a bunch of Crows with boats. Who's to say that the Brothers of the Night's Watch won't just wait until they're all on the boats and then torch the damn things? Well, nothing is to say that, except that Jon says it won't happen and Torvald says he's trustworthy. Things take a dive even further when Jon lets slip that he's the one who killed Mance Rayder, but Torvald continues to vouch for him and that sways a few of the clans. Not enough, though.
Five thousand wildlings board the ships and are ready to sail out of Hardhome, but that still leaves too many behind. Torvald is sure the rest will follow once they realize there's no other way out, but there might not be time for that. With twenty minutes to go in the episode, suddenly we find ourselves flung into the middle of a particularly good zombie movie. The White Walkers attack Hardhome and it does not go well.
Jon brought a supply of dragonglass - the only thing known to kill White Walkers - with him, but it's trapped in a burning building. So we essentially get twenty minutes of really cool setpiece, and I'm not going to torture you all by describing it here. The end gist is that White Walkers are terrifying and apparently have differing levels of intelligence and power, that you can also kill Walkers with a sword made from Valyrian steel, and that the White Walkers can make more White Walkers if their king raises his arms a little. Also that the the one new female character introduced here turns into a zombie, so there goes that dream of having more female leads.
The upshot ends up being that most of the Wildlings get away, and Jon of course survives because he's got plot armor, but the dragon glass is left behind and the White Walkers have a couple thousand more troops to add to their zombie horde. So that's not good.
All in all, this episode was more buildup than anything else. I mean, it had the requisite set piece that I guess all Game of Thrones seasons must have in the eighth episode, but other than that it was really just laying groundwork. Arya's plot trudges along. Stuff is happening at Winterfell, but not super quickly. Cersei is in jail. Daenerys continues to be mired in Meereen, which is logical for her and boring for us. And Jon continues to show that he's a great military commander and positively crap with people.
And I know it's funny recapping this now that the season is over, but I think it's worth it all the same. Game of Thrones is beautiful and artistic and represents some of the best acting in television, but it's also a show that really needs analysis and lots of it. I like it, but it's incredibly problematic. We all know that. It's a show that desperately wants to prove how edgy it is and how much people who aren't nerds should feel good for liking it. It's a show that insists on "proving itself" and has rather turned into some dude at the bar doing shots just to say he can, even though no one cares.
But that's just me, and maybe I'm bitter. Who knows. All I can say is that we have two more episodes left, two more recaps left, and things had better get a lot more interesting for the women of Westeros or I'm out of here.
More of this, less of everything else, please. Thanks.
*Which is interesting, because she actually has a fair bit of family. I mean, Bran and Rickon are still alive, but so too is Arya. And Jon, whichever side of the family he gets it from, is half Stark. So really the only ones missing are her parents and Robb. This is not to say that Sansa's pain is illegitimate, just that things aren't so dire for the Starks as they sometimes seem.
**Or, as I like to think of it, their super crazy father, because I subscribe to the theory that Tyrion is a secret Targaryen.
Labels: actor: kit harrington, actor: peter dinklage, actress: emilia clark, actress: lena headey, actress: maisie williams, title: game of thrones, topic: adaptation, type: recap
We catch right up on all of our favorite delinquents and degenerates to find out who's advanced a space on the "game of thrones" (get it?) and who is going to have to go back to start. I'm not sure what kind of boardgame this is, but clearly no one on the show is particularly good at it.
I think it was the Wire that had the line about how the players come and go but the game is always the game, and so the game is the only winner. It seems applicable here too.
And, unfortunately, the scene quickly becomes all about him and not at all about her, which isn't fair. She wants to know why he did it, and while his reasons are understandable, they still blow.
One of the most frustrating things about this storyline is that while I'm not all that interested Theon, after what Ramsey's done to him he's due some "all about him" time. But it's like he's got Sansa's instead of his own.
There's a really funny comic online about how this is actually the House of White and Black's pyramid scam, but the reality of this storyline is a little more complex.
It could be both - waste not want not.
So I guess the House of White and Black is a form of social justice in the incredibly unjust world of Westeros.
That is something I did not expect. I wonder how often they take cases like that. And if one of the hungry faced man's victims asked them to or they chose it themselves. And if so whether it's his face or that victim's or both that'll end up in their collection.
With twenty minutes to go in the episode, suddenly we find ourselves flung into the middle of a particularly good zombie movie. The White Walkers attack Hardhome and it does not go well.
Team Fangsforthefantasy favourably compared Game of Thrones zombies with Walking Dead zombies, to which I replied that it's amazing how much better zombies and zombie stories get when the zombies are treated as something that matters instead of hungry scenery.*
* Though actual hungry scenery would be bloody terrifying.
It's a show that insists on "proving itself" and has rather turned into some dude at the bar doing shots just to say he can, even though no one cares.
What a very good description.
Dude, great line. Yes, I think that's a very accurate assessment. Which makes Daenerys' declaration that she wants to "break the wheel of the world" even more compelling.
I agree. I would be totally down with having Sansa time AND Theon time. That would be cool. But they're treating it like it's either or. And that's not at all okay.
I really just want more information about the House of White and Black in general. I want to sit down and just read a huge explanation of how that place works, how many people there are there, how many faces there are, etc. WHAT DO THE PEOPLE OF BRAAVOS THINK OF THEM? I need to know these things.
Hungry scenery sounds like something out of my nightmares, but yes. Having the zombies actually be characters does make a big difference.
Ankita Tiwari January 18, 2020 at 3:08 AM
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Home > Categories > Music > CDs > Fallen review
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Score: 9.5/10 [5 reviews]
ProdID: 219 - Fallen
Performed by Evanescence
At all good music stores
Fallen product reviews
Their debut album, Fallen, contains the following tracks:
• Going Under
• Bring Me To Life
• Everybody's Fool
• My Immortal
• Haunted
• Tourniquet
• Imaginary
• Taking Over Me
• Hello
• My Last Breath
• Whisper
Check out SonyBMG online
Rating: 8.8 Good News for People who Love Bad News
Rating: 9.0 rearviewmirror
Rating: 9.9 Lads: alive in concert
Rating: 8.8 The Beekeeper
Rating: 5.3 Soundtrack: Star Wars III - Revenge of the Sith
Rating: 9.5 Classic Jack LIVE!
Rating: 7.3 Shostakovich - Chamber Music
Rating: 9.8 Le Voyage De Sahar
Rating: 8.5 Winter Rose - music inspired by the holidays
Rating: 8.5 Whatever We Wanna
Rating: 8.0 Villainy
Rating: 9.0 Idol Frets
Dated: 1st of June, 2014
Amy Lee if you read this, you have a beautiful voice, and I really enjoy listening to your music. Of course, the chances of the lead singer of a hugely successful band reading this is incredibly slim. But it is worth a try.
Amy Lee is the lead singer of the band Evanescence, and is the focus of the album cover art. Amy Lee is one of the world's top powerful female singers, and that is something that is so rare that I will always support her work. People like Christina Aguilera, Anastasia, Whitney Houston, and Amy Lee have strong melodic voices, that despite their wide range of styles, and genres, are all enjoyable to listen to.
Evanescence is a rock band that refreshes the goth, punk, and emo scenes. It proves that the dark, and soulful sounds can still emanate with energy and enthusiasm. Being able to switch from a haunting melody, to a piercing rock vocal scream, Amy Lee has the variety that makes this album a beautiful listen.
Their debut album, 'Fallen', is full of hits, such as 'Bring Me to Life', 'Going Under', 'My Immortal', and my personal favourite, 'Tourniquet'. I recommend you buy this album, and then every other album that Amy Lee has been involved with.
Review by: random-dude1130 (Isaac)
Dated: 3rd of June, 2010
i love evanescence so much , i havnt got this CD but it is a must buy, for i have heard all these songs, and they are all amazing with awesome vocals. so altogether you would be lost with out this cd.
Review by: gizmo (Lisa)
Dated: 21st of February, 2007
I love Evanescence so it is no surprise that I really love this album. The music and the vocals are superb. Really great CD. You should definately add this one to your collection.
Review by: dirrty (Dali)
When I first heard "Bring Me To Life" I was taken away by the uniqueness of their distinctive sound. It was something very different and fresh that definitely got me wanting more and made me buy the album as soon as it came out.
Of course this album would not only apply to you if you like a bit of a rock sound. I know some people who aren't into rock at all, yet they like Evanescence, because it's not hard-core, but yet it still portrays the "dark" image of music. The rest of the album is pretty much on the same par as the hit singles "Bring me to life" and "Going under".
Of course there's the ballad "My Immortal" and this genre is carried onto to track "Hello" - with a beautiful sounding Amy Lee giving us powerful vocals. The standout tracks would definitely be "Haunted" and "Tourniquet".
Just the amazing beats and bass sound, along with the outstanding vocals of Amy Lee makes it a definite favourite. Definitely a recommended album.
Many years ago, in my experimental youth, I was introduced to Gothic Rock, in the form of The Sisters of Mercy. They had a powerful yet haunting feel to their music. It called to me, to a place deep inside me that I had forgotten about. A dark place, warm and safe, yet full of power. Then the music faded, and I lost that place again.
A year ago, I found the way back, while watching a music video on TV... 'Bring Me To Life' by a band I hadn't heard of before, Evanescence. I was hooked within 60 seconds. Since then I have been trying to find the time, money and opportunity to buy the album... I always seem to have 2 of the three at any given moment, so finally having this CD is a wonderous thing indeed.
As if having the hit singles Bring Me to Life (still my favourite), My Immortal and Going Under isn't enough, this album also has a bonus track, the Band Version of My Immortal, seriously good sounds. I am overwhelmed.
I also enjoyed Tourniquet and Taking Over Me. Two fine tracks, I am sure would go well launched as singles. One album, *5* Hit Singles, now that would be a good sign indeed, but 3 is a fine start too.
Overall... well, you'll know if this album will appeal to you. If you are not sure, just pop into any good music retailer that has a set of headphones, and check it out. You'll either love it or hate it... I'm betting Love It.
Random listing from 'Music'...
Product reviews for listing 939: Ultimate Collection
Performed by Eurythmics
What do you do if you're the most successful UK duo EVER? You put together your 'Ultimate Collection'! New wave synth pop maestros Eurythmics return with an album featuring 17 of their tracks digitally re-mastered, plus two new tracks - the fabulous 'I've Got A Life' and 'Was It Just Another Love Affair?' The 'Ultimate Collection' is full of the ... more...
"I like to pick up hitchhikers. When they get in the car I say, "Put on your seat belt. I want to try something. I saw it once in a cartoon, but I think I can do it."
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Green fury at Lords Springer verdict
March 4th, 2008 by Monitor
A bit of light entertainment for a Tuesday afternoon: Stephen Green raging at the House of Lords, who dared defy his will by rejecting his blasphemy appeal against Jerry Springer: The Opera because it “does not raise an arguable point of law of general public importance which ought to be considered by the House at this time”.
Apparently Jesus Christ, Mary, the mother of the Lord, and Almighty God may now be ridiculed and insulted on stage and by broadcasters free from the sanctions of the law.
And quite right, too.
It means there is no redress in British law against those who portrayed Jesus Christ on stage and on the BBC as an infantile coprophiliac, told by the character of Jerry Springer in the show to ‘Grow up, for Christ’s sake’.
That should be, “Grow up, for Christ’s sake, and put some fucking clothes on,” actually.
Contrary to the finding of these Law Lords, it is indeed a matter of great general public importance at this very time that the Almighty Creator of the universe and the Saviour of mankind have been insulted and vilified
And Stephen should know. He is in regular and direct communication with the Almighty Creator of the universe and Saviour of mankind, after all. He lives in Carmarthen.
It brings down the judgement of God on us all. I love my neighbour and I do not want that to happen… Christians will now have to take matters into their own hands when Christ is insulted on stage and on screen.
Ooh! “Take matters into their own hands,” eh? That will be such fun to watch!
A spokeswoman for the BBC declined to say much about the verdict, but what she did say was succinct enough:
We don’t intend to indulge Christian Voice any further.
Don’t worry, Stephen. MWW will continue to indulge you as long as you keep providing us with entertainment of this calibre.
UPDATE: (5th March) IC Wales has more quotes from the man desperately trying to come to terms with reality:
To be frank, the decision of their Lordships Bingham, Hoffman and Hope is a blatant, shameless political manoeuvre by a God-defying elite intent on looking after their own.
Lord Hoffman in particular has voted in the House of Lords for no-fault divorce and for gay rights. A judge like that would always be prejudiced against those seeking to uphold righteousness.
Furthermore, and in retrospect, it seems there was no way the establishment could countenance the Director-General of the BBC appearing in the dock accused of blasphemy.
UPDATE: Michael Phillips, Stephen Green’s solicitor, has a whiny letter in The Times.
The law which is in place to protect that which is central to millions of people in Britain (15 per cent of whom regularly go to church) will offer no redress against gratuitous offence against God and their faith. With only three prosecutions in 100 years, it can hardly be said that the law has a chilling effect on free speech. Indeed, Richard Dawkins has never been threatened with a blasphemy prosecution. The law is there to stop only the most outrageous, spiteful, gratuitous acts which serve no legitimate aim in a democratic society, other than to insult the Christian faith.
Look at it this way, Michael Phillips: you believe in shit, we take the piss. Piss-taking discourages shit-believing. And that can only be a good thing for society as a whole.
MWW – taking the piss out of shit since 2005.
8 Responses to “Green fury at Lords Springer verdict”
04/Mar/2008 at 3:51 pm
It means there is no redress in British law against those who portrayed Jesus Christ on stage and on the BBC as an infantile coprophiliac
Which, of course, is simply not true. While his apparent inability to take on board the fact that he’s not going to win this one clearly does not bode well for his intelligence, I cannot imagine that he is so crapulently imbecilic that he doesn’t understand that the same actor who plays an infantile coprophiliac in the first half, plays Jesus in the second half.
I can’t shift the image of Green sitting through “Escape From Alcatraz” and constantly screaming “WHERE’S HIS ORANG-UTAN?”, or yelling “SHAAAAAARK! SHAAAAAARK!” all through “Marathon Man”. And I dread to think what he makes of top BBC afternoon soap “Doctors”, starring Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, Mr Robert Powell.
Ian Charles says:
Brilliant, just brilliant!
I noticed earlier this week that the front page of the Christian Voice(sorry, HIS) wbesite has a diatribe entitled: ‘BLASPHEMY: IT’S ALL ABOUT INSULTING JESUS’ on it.
I got half way through it and thought to myself: Stephen you really do need to get yourself a woman.
Also, blasphemy is particularly about ‘dissing’ any ‘Big G’ not one particular bastard off-spring of His.
Christians do seem to have this problem about putting Jesus before their god.
A bit like worhsipping the monkey rather than the organ grinder.
Andy Armitage says:
05/Mar/2008 at 9:42 am
It really does belittle the Christian faith and if something like this was produced about the Prophet Muhammad there would be a riot.
Thus spake Barry someone or other, the Archbishop of Wales. Can we clear this up – not that it requires it for MWW readers, but I’ll have a try anyway. Is this what’s known as a category error? He argues one thing for one thing and something else for another? I mean, yes, there would be a riot if it were about that old paedophile from the seventh century, but that doesn’t diminish our right to criticise, analyse, ridicule or pastiche that religion. The fact that Christians are less likely (virtually unlikely) to act in similar fashion doesn’t, equally, mean we have a greater reason to ridicule etc. that religion. That, Barry, Your Grace, old chum, me old mucker, doesn’t hang together. People don’t criticise the turbaned one because they fear the possible (likely) violent repercussions, and their feelings against the religion have nothing to do with it.
Oi, Monitor, watch it! I live near Carmarthen, and it’s an OK place. But Stevie baby has not been in touch with me, no – regular and direct or not! Mind you, it’s the sort of place where people do get into communication with the Almighty. Must be the excellent quality of the sheep shit that makes the manure that fertilises the ground that grows the pot that West Wales is somewhat famous for – or was.
05/Mar/2008 at 10:10 am
Or it could be the mushrooms.
Stuart H. says:
10/Mar/2008 at 12:12 pm
Where does he get that 15% figure from? The most ambitious figure the C of E claims these days when begging public money is around 7% – and even that’s after twiddling their annual survey format since 1990 to take in weekday attendance (scout troops,youth clubs etc.)rather than Sunday worship.
mediawatchwatch.org.uk » Green to open “sexual healing” school says:
[…] that as a Defender of the Precious Name of Our Almighty Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ he has been worse than useless, Stephen Green has intimated that he is thinking about getting into the sexual therapy […]
PeterG says:
I have never quite understood why an omnipotent omniscient and omnipresent god, who can create entire universes or end them at a nod of the head or incarnate at will, needs to be protected by the likes of Stephen Green and a solicitor.
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Events, Hot Topics, Presenting Season
Custom portraits painted by young artists
Thu, Dec 5th, 4:30-6:30pm, 2019
On Thurs, Dec 5th, 4:30-6:30pm – swing by Methow Arts at 204 North Glover Street in Twisp and get your portrait painted by a Methow Valley Kindergartner. What could be better?
It all happens during Mistletoe Madness: Your Holiday Shopping Night in Twisp!
When: Thu, Nov 5, 2019 from 4:30-6:30pm. Where: Methow Arts Alliance, 204 North Glover St, Twisp. Cost: suggested donation to benefit arts education. Contact: info@methowartsalliance.org, 509.997.4004
Events, Hot Topics
Mistletoe Madness
Thurs, Dec 5, 4-7pm, 2019
Brought to you by the Twisp Chamber of Commerce
Jingle all the way down to the heart of the Methow Valley for Twisp’s Annual Holiday Shopping Night! On Thursday, December 5th from 4-7pm, businesses all throughout Twisp will offer discounts, drawings, cookies, cider and plain ol’ holiday cheer. There’s no better place to find local fare, from wine to chocolates to pottery to paintings (and so much more.) You’ll find everything you need on your wishlist while listening to the cheerful sounds of merry sidewalk carolers.
From 4-5pm, follow Santa and his belly full of joy down Twisp’s main street, throughout participating businesses. At 5pm, Santa will hop on a real horse and carriage to fly down to Hank’s Harvest Foods, where the community can enjoy food and holiday photos – leaving that horse-drawn carriage all ready for you to hop on! Large candy cane poles and hotspot fire pits mark stops for the carriage, which will take you on a free and festive ride throughout downtown Twisp.
PS: Don’t forget to Fa-La-La-La-La-Low along to the TwispWorks campus at the south end of Twisp’s main street for even more music, food and holiday cheer.
We hope you’ll come Rockin’ Around our Christmas Street for some Holiday shopping on December 5th. Merry Twispmas!
To plan your next visit, or to learn more about the local goings-on this fall, contact TwispWashington@gmail.com or call Twisp’s Visitor Information Center: 509-997-2020.
California valley oak finds new home at Methow Arts
by Ashley Lodato
A striking new reception desk at the Methow Arts office on Glover Street is more than just an eye-catching piece of office equipment; it’s also an artisan functional furnishing with a notable history. The live-edge oak slab comes from a California valley oak (Quercus lobata) that was damaged in a 2015 wildfire in northern California. The owners wanted “something more meaningful than firewood” to come from their beloved 300+-year-old tree and now, like the Phoenix from the ashes, the felled oak has a new incarnation at the Methow Valley’s flagship arts organization. A series of serendipitous connections brought the oak slab—and several other pieces from the same tree—to the Methow Valley, thanks to the aesthetic vision and creative collaboration of wood aficionado Jacques Peschon, woodworker Rick Swanson, and Methow Arts board president Don Ashford.
Part-time Methow Valley resident Jacques Peschon salvaged the valley oak from his family home in Middletown, a tiny town in Lake County with underpinnings in the 19th century quicksilver mining industry. On September 12, 2015, the Valley Fire decimated half the town and 75,000 acres. Peschon’s parents’ home was one of 1300 residences lost to the fire. At the time, it was the most destructive wildfire in California history.
Peschon’s parents’ property, on which they had built a house in the 1970s, was home to the largest of the North American oaks: the valley oak, or Quercus lobata. Three of these majestic trees, estimated to be between 300 and 400 years old, surrounded the Peschons’ home, and all were damaged in the fire.
When Peschon went to the family home to view the damage, he looked at the charred trees and immediately thought, “Something good has to come out of these trees, something more meaningful than firewood.” He didn’t know what that would be, but he had the trees slabbed into 4” thick pieces 13-15’ long and 3-5’ wide, beginning with the two most damaged trees in 2015, followed by the third tree—which eventually would make its way to the Methow Valley— in 2017. “Twenty thousand pounds of wood,” Peschon notes, putting the scale of the destruction in perspective.
“My plan at that point was to get the wood slabbed and then figure out the next steps,” Peschon says. Peschon knew that each member of his family would appreciate having a piece of furniture made from the oak in memory of the family home, so he arranged for a woodworker to build his mother a dining table and a bench, as well as a table for his sister. Peschon and his wife, Tracey, have a coffee table. “Eventually,” says Peschon, “everyone in the family will get a piece of the tree to remember the family home.”
The remainder of the wood sat drying in the Napa Valley, awaiting its future use. And then two years ago, Peschon and Tracey were at their vacation home in the Rendezvous, when they came upon a man whose car was stuck in a snowbank. The Peschons stopped to help the man, as did Methow Valley woodworker Rick Swanson. The car could not be freed, but Swanson and the Peschons waited for the tow truck with the car’s owner.
“While we waited, we got to talking,” says Peschon. “I learned that Rick was a woodworker, and I said ‘This wood might interest you,’ and showed him my photos of the slabbed wood.” Peschon told Swanson of his desire to create something meaningful out of the wood, perhaps to donate it to a non-profit organization to be used in a significant way.
Even on the tiny screen of a smart phone, Swanson knew a treasure when he saw one. “You need to get that up here!” Swanson said. Like Peschon, Swanson didn’t have a concrete plan for the wood, but recognized it as uniquely gorgeous. Swanson also knew well the Methow Valley’s preponderance of non-profit organizations, and figured that someone would eventually devise a use worthy of the wood. Peschon sums up the collective attitude as “Do now, think later.”
Arranging for transportation from CA to the Methow Valley was trickier than Peschon would have thought, given 21st century widespread use of trucking. “I kept hitting roadblocks with the trucking,” Peschon says, with no pun intended. “The big trucking companies I tried wouldn’t touch it. One guy referred to Middletown and Winthrop as ‘goat roads.’” Peschon finally found a trucker in Middletown who did hauling for vineyards. “It was right before the harvest,” Peschon says, “and people had time on their hands. He did the drive from Napa and back in three days.”
Larry Walsh of Methow Valley Lumber offered the lumberyard as a staging area for the giant slabs and Roger Rowatt helped with additional milling, as well as providing advice on length of drying time. “It was more wood than we knew what to do with,” says Peschon, “but we knew we could do something good with it.” Do now, think later.
The wood eventually found its purpose through what Swanson refers to as “a confluence of magical events,” beginning with the Rendezvous snowbank encounter and furthered by a chance conversation between Swanson and Methow Arts board president Don Ashford. “I was chatting with Don one day,” says Swanson, “and he started talking about a reception desk he envisioned for the new Methow Arts office on Glover Street. He wanted something dramatic, something functional but extraordinary, unique.”
Swanson pulled out his phone and scrolled to some photos. Showing Ashford the pictures of the slabbed oak, he said “This wood might interest you.” Indeed, it did.
Of the oak slabs, Swanson says almost reverentially, “This is some of the most beautiful wood I’ve ever seen.” Swanson finds working with the oak fascinating. “I haven’t done a lot of work with recently-dried, live edge lumber,” he says. “It’s really freeing. You start hacking away and see what you uncover, start to envision what you can do with it.”
Swanson took Ashford and his son Clay to look at the slabs and cut off a 5’ length to make into the Methow Arts desk. “It took three of us to get it into the truck and then into my shop,” he says. “I started hand-planing it immediately.”
As with any reception desk in an office space, the oak piece serves a functional purpose at Methow Arts. It holds mailing list sign-ups, fliers, and promotional information. Staff and visitors use it as a writing surface; people lean against it to talk.
Jacques & Tracey Peschon
But it is also a conversation piece—an entry into a story. It gives the Peschon family satisfaction to know that at least part of their beloved wood is used and appreciated by a non-profit organization that has been serving the Methow Valley since 1987. And, either by sheer coincidence or through some divine artistic force, a piece of wood that comes from a place devastated by fire has a new home in a valley that is itself still in the process of fire recovery. As Peschon says, “That’s what we meant by meaningful.”
The public is invited to drop in to the Methow Arts office at 204 North Glover Street in Twisp between 10am-2pm on Tue-Sat to see the beautiful old valley oak slab repurposed into a reception desk.
The Merc Playhouse Presents, Rope
Fri-Sun, Nov 15-17 & Thurs-Sun 21-24, 2019
By Patrick Hamilton
Directed by Don Nelson
Fri-Sun, November 15-17 & Thurs-Sun, November 21-24
Thur-Sat @7:00pm • Sun @2:00pm
(Doors open 30 minutes before showtime)
ABOUT ROPE
For the mere sake of adventure, danger, and the “fun of the thing,” Wyndham Brandon persuades his weak-minded friend, Charles Granillo, to assist him in the murder of a fellow undergraduate, a perfectly harmless man named Ronald Raglan. Tensions rise as the newly-nerved assassins invite a few acquaintances, including the dead youth’s father, to a dinner party — with a peculiar chest and its gruesome contents serving as the supper table…
Online Adult General Admission: $18
Online Adult Reserved Seats: $20
At-The-Door Adult General Admission: $20
Youth Reserved Seats: $7
Youth General Admission: $5
Thursday, 11/21’s Performance is Admission by Donation
(Doors open 30 minutes prior to showtime.)
For more information, visit www.MercPlayhouse.org
Programming supported by the Moccasin Lake Foundation.
Additional funding by Okanogan County Lodging Tax & Tourism.
Arts Partners: The Merc Playhouse
2019 Christmas Bazaar
Sat, Nov 23 & Dec 7, 9-3pm, 2019
Enjoy over 65 vendors of fine arts and crafts at this year’s annual Christmas Bazaar.
Photography, jewelry, quilts, honey, pottery, handmade vinegar, chocolates, clothing, wreaths, mittens, books, paintings are just a few of the items to be featured.
The event is free to the public. Lunch will be available from local non-profits.
INFO/CONTACT: methowcommunity.org LOCATION: Methow Valley Community Center 201 South Hwy 20, Twisp
Artist Resources, Hot Topics
Curating the Winthrop Gallery
Winter 2019.20
Article by Susan Donahue of Winthrop Gallery
Every six weeks, the three members of Winthrop Gallery’s curatorial team: Laura Karcher, Tamera Abaté, and Teri Pieper along with Paula Christen, who arranges the front window hang a new show and refresh the gallery. Any or all of the 23 artist members of the gallery bring their new work in on the day before the curators get to work. On “hanging day”, the curators remove all the art from the front room of the gallery and place it on the floor in the second and third rooms to be absorbed into the rest of the gallery. Then, they arrange the new art on the floor of the front room and make their curatorial decisions. Out of this chaos, they decide what art should be hung where. They work as a team.
There are only a few rules. Teri believes that the walls should not be too full or too empty. They aim to make the gallery cohesive throughout by distributing the various mediums in specific arrangements. The gallery displays paintings (acrylic and oil), watercolors, mixed media, photographs, hand woven baskets, wood working (both small items and hand-made furniture), blown glass, and pottery. The curators don’t know what will sell, so they apportion the art being shown fairly among the artist-members. They are exacting about this and count each artist’s displayed work to even it out. Artists, on the other hand, cannot touch their works once the curators place them in the gallery. Artists set their own prices. If a work sells, that artist can fill in that empty space with another of his or her art works. There is a back stock in the back room to replace sold art. Curators can reject art, but they rarely do.
There are a couple of tricks. According to Teri, they use a formula for hanging that is consistent throughout the gallery and helps achieve the cohesive look they want. They establish an eye-level center line that is 60″ from the floor, then place a singular piece so that it straddles that line equally, or if there are two paintings, each is equally on either side of the line. Tamera points out that they won’t hang a bird or horse heading into a corner, and they wouldn’t hang a hot pink abstract photo next to a still life tomato. In other words, they want the pieces to complement one another. To Laura, curating the gallery is like a puzzle. She thinks about compatible styles, colors, textures, patterns and mediums. They all step back and consider how the rooms “flow”. As a viewer, is it comfortable to move your eye from one area to another and from one work to another?
Once the front room is set, they move on to the rest of the gallery. Almost every gallery space, almost every two-dimensional work is relocated to a new spot with new neighbors so that the whole gallery feels fresh and new. The curators each take a wall or an alcove and then, in consultation with the other curators, select from the art that has been laid out on the floor to hang in that particular space. They attempt to present a professional art gallery space that has professional artists displaying their art. They prefer this model to other co-op models in which each artist has a specific amount of square feet all in one location. To these curators, this model produces a “chopped up” feel. The curators want a well-integrated experience for the customers where transitions from one piece of art to another are pleasing. They believe sales are better when the customers feel like they are in a professional gallery setting. They must be right about this because the Winthrop Gallery has been a successful co-op gallery for the last twenty years.
It isn’t an easy job. It takes the three of them working from about 8:30 in the morning to 5:00 in the evening to do all the hanging. They do the 3-D work after lunch. Paula comes in at noon to curate and arrange the front window. She wants to attract attention from the street so that someone walking by will come in out of curiosity and look further. She likes to make the front window look like a scene akin to a retail scene. She doesn’t want to have that “stark” gallery feel. She wants to give energy and even fun and to respond to the season. When she comes in at noon, she can pick what she wants for the window. She is given free rein in her choices. The art in the window needs to tie in to the theme of that show and to alert customers that new art has arrived. She uses props: a large canvas splattered with paint as a kind of table cloth for the window’s shelf, or milk cans, corn stalks, fall leaves, wrapped packages hanging from the ceiling or lights in the winter. She can’t block the view of the gallery from the street, but wants to give a taste of what’s inside. The window has to look good from the front on the street and from the back once you are in the gallery. It takes her 3 to 4 hours to do the job, including hunting in various basements and garages and the Dollar Store for props.
All the curators like to observe the reactions of the customers to the display. They often get positive reactions from customers with smiles and soft conversations when friends view the works together. The curators observe laughs when something amuses the viewers or gasps because someone thinks something is beautiful. Often people will ask questions about technique or process. The gallery attracts many visitors to the Valley. Some customers are invested in the gallery and return often to see their favorite artists’ new work. The curators want to make the gallery look as good as they can make it look. They want to honor every artist’s work.
Education, Events, Hot Topics
Wed, Dec 11, 6pm, 2019
Cymone Van Marter, 2019 Regional Contestant
The eighth annual Poetry Out Loud competition for Liberty Bell High School and Independent Learning Center students will be at 6 p.m, Wednesday, December 11, 2019 at The Merc Playhouse in Twisp. Admission is by donation.
For the past seven years, the Methow Valley has sponsored a robust Poetry Out Loud competition through a collaboration between Methow Arts, the Public School Funding Alliance, and the Methow Valley School District.
Poetry Out Loud (POL) is a national memorization and recitation contest that helps students master public speaking skills, build self-confidence, and learn about literary history and contemporary life. Each December, local high school students compete for slots at local, regional, and state POL competitions.
Created in 2006 by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation, Poetry Out Loud gives students an opportunity to work with recitation coaches such as Thome George and Rod Molzahn, who help students select poems from the anthology of allowed poems, provide them with structure for memorization, and coach them on performance skills such as projection, pacing, emphasis, and movement. If funding allows, the poetry coaches continue to tutor students throughout the duration of the competitions, as long as students are advancing to the next level.
Beginning with Tom Zbyszewski in 2013, five times a Liberty Bell student has won one of two top slots at the regional competition and advanced to the state event; regional winners after Zbyszewski were Liam Daily (2014), Claire Waichler (2015), Lilly Cooley (2016), Mia Stratman (2017), and Mackenzie Woodworth (2018).
The winner of the local competition will advance to the Eastern Washington Regional Poetry Out Loud contest in Spokane, and have a chance to make it to the state championship. The Washington state champion will advance to the Poetry Out Loud National Finals in Washington, D.C.
The 2017 finalists from the classroom competitions, after the Merc recitation.
DATE: Wednesday, December 11, 2019 6pm LOCATION: The Merc Playhouse, Twisp COST: By donation CONTACT: kgrayum@methow.org
Hot Topics, Presenting Season
Artist mini-profile: Jennifer Molesworth
As a child and young adult, Jennifer Molesworth was always doodling. “I loved to draw,” she says. “I was always sketching and painting. At some point I wondered if I should major in art in college.” But Molesworth’s love of the backcountry, of the streams and rivers, of wild places and her desire to work in them—all this drove her educational path, and she ended up focusing on biology, physics, and chemistry, emerging from college as a biologist.
Drawing, however, says Molesworth, “is a huge complement to science.” Molesworth found that not only did drawing and painting offer balance in her life and academics, but they also provided complementary support between her creative brain and her scientific brain. “Art helps open all these doors,” she says, “and the creative brain feeds back into the scientific brain, while science helps with perspective.”
Born in England, Molesworth immigrated to the US with her family as a 10-year-old in 1969. She was raised in New York and New Jersey, but always knew she wanted to live in a rural place, with easy access to the mountains. She found all that—and more—in the Methow Valley, where she has lived since 1992, working as a fisheries biologist with the US Forest Service from 1992-2007, and then as a biologist doing salmon habitat restoration for the Bureau of Reclamation until her retirement in early 2019, where, among other things, she championed the popular Methow Valley Kids Free Fishing Day Block Print Art residency that integrates art and biology. Read more here.
Given that Molesworth heads to the backcountry every chance she gets—hiking, backpacking, skiing—it’s no surprise that she draws her artistic inspiration from nature. “Landscapes, wildlife, birds, the sky,” she says, “they are what motivate me to paint.” Indeed, to view a collection of Molesworth’s paintings is to catch a glimpse into the Pasayten and Sawtooth Wilderness areas, into high mountain lakes, and into the wide open spaces and alpine basins that surround the Methow Valley.
Molesworth’s preferred medium is watercolors. “They’re light and portable,” she says, referring to the ultralight watercolor set she has devised for carrying into the backcountry. “I’ve got a tiny palette with a lot of colors,” she says, “and a few nice brushes. I use a piece of a political sign with layers of watercolor paper taped to it, so I can make multiple paintings on a trip.”
Molesworth and her husband, Paul Salladay, often hike deep into the backcountry and set up camp. If the weather is good, Molesworth says, “I can produce one or two paintings a day. It’s very meditative. Paul explores while I paint. I’m surrounded by endless things to paint. Not just the big things like the mountains, but also the bugs, the fish, the frogs. I love to watch how the sky changes as the weather moves through.”
The plein air approach works well for most of Molesworth’s paintings, but with animals she needs to paint at home, using photographs she took on trips into the mountains. “I dive into my studio,” she says, “and work with my photos and my memories.”
Molesworth sees her art and the art of others who paint backcountry places as an avenue for people to experience the unique value of wild and scenic places. “The critters, the undeveloped areas—these are all things we need to appreciate and protect,” she says. “We can’t take them for granted.”
Social media, Molesworth fears, is no friend to wild places. “Instagram is killing the wilderness,” she says. “These little pockets, the best kept secrets—we all used to share our favorite trip locations with each other, and a few people would take the suggestion and hike in. But now they’re being broadcast so widely, to thousands and thousands of people. They’re coming in droves. It seems like for many people, these places are just items to check off on their bucket list. ”
Molesworth appreciates how important art is to Methow Valley residents. “We are a community where art belongs,” she says. “There have been artists working here forever; they bring so much color and vibrancy to our area. It’s starting to be possible for artists to thrive here.”
“I think we need to ensure that we continue to have creative opportunities for artists, and for kids,” Molesworth adds, referring to the drama, music, and visual arts opportunities her daughter had when she grew up in the valley.
Now that she’s retired, Molesworth says, she plans to really dedicate herself to her painting. “I’ve been trying to paint weekly,” she says, “but now I’m going to do it daily.” Molesworth also intends to begin promoting her work as an artist, updating her website, getting more public with her art, participating in gallery exhibits. Molesworth loves working with watercolors, but in this next phase of her journey as an artist she is committing herself to working with oils. “I want to paint more, learn more, create more,” she says. “It’s for my own fulfillment; I’m not going after a whole new career.”
A whole new career? Certainly not! Because there are still mountain trails to explore, powder to be skied, gardens to be planted, and grandchildren to be cherished. “We are so lucky,” says Molesworth of herself and Paul, and the life they have cultivated in the Methow Valley, “we just savor every moment.”
Learn more about Jennifer Molesworth on her Methow Arts webpage.
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watch THE ACTORS – THE ROLEX WATCHES OF THIS YEAR’S HIGHEST PAID
THE ACTORS – THE ROLEX WATCHES OF THIS YEAR’S HIGHEST PAID
At present, we’ve looked at the Rolex watches of the athletes and musicians who made it on to the new Forbes’ 100 World’s Highest-Paid Entertainers 2017 list. We now check out what treasures are in the watch boxes of these highly paid actors in our third installment. From Sofia Vergara to Marky Mark, cast your eyes on some of their favorite replica Rolex watches. Lights, camera, action!
Tom Cruise is a summer blockbuster staple with franchises like Mission Impossible., which is still one of the biggest movie stars in the world. He’s also a fan of luxury watches with pieces from big brands along with lesser known ones. While Cruise famously wore a yellow gold fake Rolex Day-Date President in the 1988 film, Rain Man, in real life he’s been seen wearing a classic stainless steel Datejust replica watch.
Sofia Vergara supplements her day job at ABC’s hit sitcom, Modern Family, with endorsement deals and celebrity fragrances. As the industry’s top earning television actress, she can certainly afford to spend on beautiful things including a couple of Rolex watches, so forget it would be replicas. We’ve spotted her wearing a 36mm stainless steel Datejust with a diamond bezel, as well as, a 40mm yellow gold Daytona chronograph with a black dial.
When Robert Downey Jr. isn’t playing a superhero and raking in millions doing it, he’s also starring in hilarious videos for GQ magazine showing off his personal watch collection. Among his assortment of very cool timepieces are a couple of Rolex watches.
The highest earning actor on the list, Mark Wahlberg took home some fat paychecks for the films Transformers: The Last Knight and the soon-to-be-released Daddy’s Home 2. Apart from collecting movie credits, Wahlberg also accumulates awesome Rolex watches. His Rolex collection includes the very large yellow gold Yacht-Master II with the bright blue ceramic bezel. Besides, he also wears a yellow gold Submariner with the black dial and black ceramic bezel. To draw a conclusion, when Wahlberg graced the cover of Men’s Health, on his wrist was none other than the highly popular steel Daytona with the black ceramic bezel and white Panda dial. These three watches are indeed some of the replica Rolex’s greatest hits!
It’s very clear that Rolex watches are at the top of must-haves for wealthy celebrities as we run through the Forbes list. Given Rolex’s status, prestige, and excellence, it doesn’t come as a surprise to us.
The Awesome Replica Breitling Superocean Chronograph Steelfish Watch
Replica u-boat u 1001 limited edition
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Outlandish Observations
News, commentary, random musings, and occasional Deep Thoughts about Diana Gabaldon's books.
Interview with Diana Gabaldon
Friday Fun Facts
Outlandish Observations is 7 years old!
Diana Gabaldon talks about writing her OUTLANDER s...
OUTLANDISH COMPANION Volumes 1 and 2
7,000 followers on Facebook!
OUTLANDER and online clicking contests
OUTLANDER Soundtrack Vol. 2 coming Sept. 25!
Best of the Friday Fun Facts: DRAGONFLY IN AMBER
One year later!
OUTLANDER marks a full year on the NY Times Bestse...
Diana Gabaldon is writing a new novella!
Diana Gabaldon explains the book production proces...
Notable Dates This Month
Mid-January 1744 - Jamie comes to Claire at the Abbey; Faith is conceived (OUTLANDER)
January 3, 1745 - Hal and Minnie are married in Amsterdam (A FUGITIVE GREEN)
January, 1758 - William is born (VOYAGER)
January, 1758 - Lord John and Percy meet for the first time (BOTB)
January 1, 1765 - Jamie and Laoghaire dance at Hogmanay celebration (VOYAGER)
January, 1770 - Jamie, Claire, and Ian leave River Run to search for Roger (DRUMS)
January 1, 1771 - Hogmanay celebration; the Beardsley twins arrive on the Ridge (FIERY CROSS)
January 21, 1776 - The house on Fraser's Ridge fails to burn down as predicted (ABOSAA)
January 1, 1777 - Ian accidentally kills Mrs. Bug (ECHO)
Late January, 1777 - Tom Christie is told of the fire on Fraser's Ridge (ECHO)
January, 1778 - General Simon Fraser is buried in Corrimony, Scotland (ECHO)
January, 1966 - Frank Randall dies in a car accident (VOYAGER)
The latest OUTLANDER voting frenzy (the RadioTimes "SciFi Champion" contest) reached new heights of absurdity in recent days, with a round pitting Sam Heughan against Caitriona Balfe (!)
#SciFiChampion: Amazingly, still *almost* level! #Outlander @caitrionambalfe vs @SamHeughan http://t.co/WdGOMm9Za5 pic.twitter.com/4DoPky5Lxd
— Radio Times (@RadioTimes) August 16, 2015
Asking fans to choose between Sam and Caitriona is sort of like asking which of your children is your favorite, and it just seems like a waste of time and effort to me. (For what it's worth, it appears Sam won that round.)
I can think of several reasons why these contests keep popping up:
1) It's good publicity for the show and the actors.
2) They help keep up the fans' interest and excitement during #Droughtlander.
3) They might help STARZ attract more subscribers.
4) They generate massive numbers of clicks (and presumably advertising revenue) for the sponsoring site.
I'm cynical enough to think that the last reason outweighs all the others, but I could be wrong.
Some of you may remember Audible's 2012 Tournament of Audiobooks, where FIERY CROSS made it to the final round, but then it turned into such a frenzy of clicking (on both sides) that Diana Gabaldon very graciously conceded the race, rather than have her fans waste hours and hours of their time in a futile effort to catch up.
Do you participate in these OUTLANDER-related online contests, like the Radio Times contest or the Ewwys? If not, why not? If a contest allows unlimited repeat voting, how many times do you personally vote? (Just once, or a handful of times, or hundreds of times?) Do you encourage other fans to vote? I'd like to hear what you think (pro or con). Please leave a comment here or on my Outlandish Observations Facebook page.
Personally, I don't participate in these online "click-fests". It's OK with me if others enjoy them, but I have better things to do with my time.
Posted by Karen Henry at 8:02 AM
I participated for a while, but as time has gone on I've stopped, mainly for two reasons: 1) as much as I love the books and show and always want them to get the recognition they deserve, I can't spend my time this way, and 2) the frequency and lengthy time span for each contest (I'm talking to you, E Online!) have crossed over the line into absurdity and made me realize that these are mostly ploys by the sites to increase their web traffic. I like the solidarity it brings to the fan groups, and I appreciate the folks who are so dedicated and help to motivate others. For myself, I decided to engage as a fan in other ways, e.g. encouraging as many of the uninitiated to read the books and watch the show as I can!
Pat Rasmussen said...
I don't participate in these contests for all of the reasons you stated and especially the last one. It's like one of those "the one with the most toys at the end wins" thing. It's not for the fans at all; it's about the money generated because of the contest. UGH. p.s. love your blog!!!
Lisa W. said...
Great question, Karen! In general, I just can't be bothered. On the one hand, it's nice to see the devotion of Outlander fans, but there are so many of these and they just come down to a popularity contest.
Did do the Radio Times one a couple of times but the only ones of these which are really worth doing are the odd ones which end in an actual award. eg the UK National Television Awards - the public vote for people and shows to be nominated and then for the shortlisted nominees. The final awards are shown on TV and are great publicity. Not sure what the criteria are to be nominated - it's possible that Sam and Cait might be eligible, although they'd be up against hugely popular and more well known actors, bearing in mind hardly anyone in the UK can watch the series!
Cybergram said...
Yes I do vote in these so called "contests." I do agree that it is publicity for Outlander & I love the show enough that I want them to get the word out in any way & succeed in continuing the series for as long as possible!! I probably an not going to vote in these kind of contests anymore, no matter who puts them out!!!
I did find the RadioTimes "SciFi Champion" contest to be a bit (or lot... depending on you view) absurd, because as I found when I was voting; EVERY TIME I clicked to vote for MY favorite it also clicked up the votes for the opponent! Now I understand that there were votes being given for the actor/actress opposite whomever I was clicking for, but it just seemed strange that the other one toted up as well as mine when I voted.
AND, finally that they put Sam & Cait up against each other, ridicules! The vote continually said 50%/50% for them, so in my mind it should be/have been a tie! Well I've had my say! Too long winded that for sure, but I got it off my chest!
Thanks for that opportunity Karen!!! Cybergram (aka myrnama)
Meg @ Adventures in Verdance said...
I *love* your take on this and that you see right through the "this is just to get clicks on a sponsoring website". Thank you.
#4! I appreciate that fans want their favorite show to get recognition, but the frequency of these contests is completely absurd. Twitter is so full of "Vote! Vote!" posts thats it is nearly unbearable. I think Cait said it best when she recently urged fans to spend their time on more worthy endeavors.
January Poll
Have you ever been to Scotland?
Looking for OUTLANDER discussions? Check out TheLitForum.com!
My interview with Diana Gabaldon!
THE MAKING OF OUTLANDER: The Official Guide to Seasons 3 & 4
Season 4 Blu-ray/DVD is now available!
Trip to Scotland 2012
OUTLANDER book trailer!
This site is intended to be an "excerpt-free zone". It's fine if you want to speculate, but please DO NOT discuss excerpts from Diana Gabaldon's unpublished books or stories. I don't read excerpts or #DailyLines myself, and I would prefer not to see any discussion of them here.
All quotes, characters, and events from the OUTLANDER and Lord John books are copyright (c) Diana Gabaldon. This site is not intended to infringe on the author's copyright in any way.
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4Jan/11Off
The Catch-22 of NFU
In the wake of a conference I attended a couple of months ago on nuclear deterrence and nuclear disarmament, I ended up having dinner and a glass of wine with a couple of friends of mine, and we ended up spending a fair amount of time arguing over the issue of nuclear weapons declaratory policy.
My two friends disagreed vehemently about the issue, but the discussion was a good deal more interesting and thought-provoking one than most of the fairly sterile discussions of “no first use” (NFU) declaratory policy I used to hear during my U.S. Government service doing nonproliferation diplomacy. In particular, one of my friends offered an argument for NFU that it seems worth exploring here on New Paradigms Forum. I don’t agree with his position, but it deserves consideration because it’s the analytically sharpest NFU pitch I’ve yet heard.
I. Debating the “Sole Purpose” Thesis
Our dinner conversation was sparked by a comment we had heard earlier that day from a senior U.S. official that he could think of no circumstances under which the United States would want or need to use nuclear weapons. Perhaps one should not read too much into this, for this remark could have signified merely that the official had been caught off guard by an unexpected question and couldn’t – when put on the spot – quite remember the odd and complicated formula that constitutes the Obama Administration’s new nuclear declaratory policy as spelled out in the 2010 Nuclear Posture Review Report. (After all, not being able to think of such circumstances at the moment is not necessarily the same thing as there existing none.) As one might expect, however, his comment had set off a flurry of predictable discussion among conference attendees along the lines of “well, if you wouldn’t ever use them why do you have them?”
One of my friends at dinner started from this point too, but with an interesting variation. In most discussions of NFU, including the points at which this issue had come up during our conference, proponents of NFU argue the “sole purpose” thesis – namely, that the only purpose nuclear weaponry has is to deter the use of other nuclear weapons. Advanced as a blanket statement about all nuclear weaponry, this argument is important to the disarmament narrative, because if one accepts it, what usually follows is an argument that all nuclear weapons possession is entirely self-canceling, making nuclear weapons abolition analytically indistinguishable, from a deterrence perspective, from our present situation. From this, it is often reasoned that there is thus no reason for all possessors not to move quickly to “zero.”
When stated in general categorical form, the “sole purpose” thesis sounds like nonsense to me. Clearly, nuclear weapons possessors do feel that there are potential uses for nuclear weapons beyond just deterring the use of other such weapons. Even the Obama Administration took the trouble to draw attention to the possibility that it might need to threaten or use nuclear weapons in response to biological weapons (BW) threats – a position quite consistent, by the way, with Nixon-era reassurances that we didn’t need to worry about deterring BW use by others as we scrapped our own BW program, because it would still be possible to rely upon our nuclear weapons to deter adversary states’ use of BW. Several other possessors have, at various points, taken the view that nuclear weapons can in effect “cross-deter” against other types of weapons of mass destruction.
More importantly, many nuclear weapons possessors have taken the position – at one point or another, if not in all cases today – that nuclear weapons have utility in deterring large-scale conventional attack. We and our NATO allies relied upon that notion for years during the Cold War, and the Russians believe so today. India began its weapons program after a large-scale conventional invasion by China, South Africa feared revolutionary onslaught from its post-colonial neighbors, and the UK and France feared Warsaw Pact occupation as much as (or more than) Soviet nuclear weaponry. Pakistan feels it needs nuclear weaponry to ensure against an Indian invasion, while the presumed possessor state of Israel is believed to have nuclear weapons for fear of the non-nuclear numerical superiority of its many hostile neighbors. Russian and Chinese officials sometimes claim to fear – or that they might come to fear – a disarming first-strike by U.S. conventional weapons, and North Korea is generally thought to fear conventionally-armed “regime change” more than it fears U.S. nuclear weapons. And even the International Court of Justice left a notable loophole in its 1996 advisory opinion on nuclear weapons with respect to “an extreme circumstance of self-defence, in which the very survival of a State would be at stake.” (The Court certainly did not tie the legality of nuclear weapons use exclusively to nuclear threats.)
So while it’s marvelous that we in the United States presently have to think so hard in order to come up with plausible nuclear use scenarios for our own weapons, we shouldn’t pretend that this is not, in historical terms, quite a luxury. The “sole purpose” thesis, if it says anything truthful at all (and I doubt it is true even for us), seems only to be a statement about nuclear weapons in the United States under the present set of geopolitical circumstances.
But, to its credit, that’s where my friend’s argument began: he advanced the “sole purpose” thesis, but posited that it applied only to the United States at this time. Because of this, however, the argumentative logic of “zero” did not necessarily flow automatically from his assumption. (The idea that one can radically scale back and then eliminate nuclear weapons because they only deter other nuclear weapons is a coherent thought only when “sole purpose” thinking applies to all such weapons. If some country wants or keeps nuclear weapons in existence for a different reason, then others may have to keep them in order to deter that country’s use ... and so forth, as the cycle begins again.) Instead, my friend used his U.S.-focused “sole purpose” conclusion as a jumping-off point for proposing only that we adopt an NFU policy.
II. Crisis Stability and NFU
I’ve certainly heard many disarmament activists argue for an American NFU pledge before, but this suggestion was more novel in that it relied heavily upon the argument that a U.S. NFU pledge would contribute to crisis stability. (Crisis stability arguments are ordinarily more common from opponents of NFU, who tend to think that there is deterrent value in ambiguity – to keep a potential aggressor guessing – and worry that NFU, if believed, could tempt non-nuclear aggression of some sort. Admirably, my friend was trying to “speak disarmament in the language of security” by supporting an element of the disarmament community’s agenda with an argument that made sense to people who think in national security terms.) As he saw it, an American NFU pledge would help remove any fears other nuclear weapons possessors might still entertain of a U.S. nuclear first strike, thus reducing their temptations to adopt stability-endangering positions such as launch-on-warning or even nuclear preemption. Our nuclear forces are large and competent enough, he suggested, that fear of our undertaking a disarming first strike could contribute to unwanted escalation in a crisis. An NFU promise, however, would help keep others from worrying about this. This crisis stability idea, he argued, was the “most important” reason to adopt an NFU declaratory policy.
My friend argued that an American NFU pledge would be believed, moreover, because in a legalistic democracy such as ours, such a promise would create powerful “audience costs” – to use a sociologists’ term – constraining our ability to break it. In our democratic system, he contended, violating an NFU promise would entail severe enough domestic political costs, not to mention international diplomatic ones, to make a violation unlikely.
His argument is as good a bit of NFU advocacy as I’ve seen, but I think it still comes up short. Leaving aside my skepticism that “sole purpose” thesis applies even for the United States – a position which I share with the Obama Administration, which in its Nuclear Posture Review explicitly declined to adopt this formulation – I think the alleged strategic benefits of NFU are illusory. Recall that my friend bases his “most important” argument for NFU on the supposition that an American pledge would be believed with such certainty that our potential adversaries will place reliance upon its sanctity even in the throes of a crisis so severe that they might otherwise be tempted to contemplate nuclear preemption. I would be the first to agree that we Americans are people of our word, but I see no way that a mere NFU declaration could carry this extraordinary persuasive burden.
III. The Unbelievability of No-First-Use
My general critique of NFU has for years been simply that such promises are not particularly credible. I have never fully trusted anyone else’s NFU, and I’m hard pressed to explain why they should be particularly confident in ours. The Soviet Union constantly beat the NFU drum in its nuclear disarmament diplomacy after making a much-publicized pledge in 1982, but after this position was formally abandoned in 1993 – by a post-communist Russia that had become very weak in conventional military terms and decided that it needed nuclear weapons to make up for this – it was admitted that Moscow’s NFU pledge had been propagandistic hooey all along.
China has maintained an NFU position since first acquiring nuclear weapons in 1964, but many experts wonder what this actually means, coming as it does from a regime that in the past has been quite good at linguistic and definitional contortions in order to paint its own behavior as virtuous and non-self-interested no matter what that behavior actually is. (Maybe they mean it; maybe they don’t. Or maybe “first use” doesn’t really mean what we think it does – or they wish us to think it does – in the first place.) The literature is divided, and with good reason. For decades, China has prized ambiguity, secrecy, and deception in its nuclear force posture, feeling that these contribute to deterrence by sowing uncertainty in a potential adversary. Might it be too much to see Beijing’s NFU pledge as being a deliberate contribution to such uncertainties? If so, the whole point is that we don’t know whether to believe it or not. That make may NFU useful from a Chinese perspective, but it certainly doesn’t help my friend’s case for a notion of crisis stability grounded in the de facto inviolability of an American NFU declaration.
For its part, India also makes much of its NFU policy. As suggested above, however, it’s hard to forget that New Delhi began its nuclear program in response to a large-scale Chinese invasion in 1962, before either China or Pakistan had nuclear weaponry.
The more important problem, however, isn’t possible insincerity ab initio. It’s simply that it seems inherently unbelievable that an NFU pledge would be followed in all imaginable circumstances. Even if the promise had been sincerely offered and resolutely intended, one might wonder whether a country with nuclear weapons would be willing to place such stock in NFU that it would choose to lose a major war or countenance the emergence of a dramatic new threat without employing the one tool that might be able to turn things around.
I thus tend to think that all NFU promises have implicit caveats that kick in when things really get bad. “Audience costs” are not nothing, especially for a legalistic democracy like our own, but they are unlikely to trump the danger of impending national catastrophe. I’m willing to believe that the U.S. political system would help make us very scrupulous in sticking to an NFU pledge in most circumstances, but most of those cases would not really present serious “use” incentives for us anyway. As we have already seen, America is in the enviable position of having non-nuclear options for handling all but the gravest of crises.
Since there is little reason for others to fear our nuclear weapons in anything but the most outlandishly calamitous of situations, and no persuasive reason to trust in our self-sacrificial restraint in an extreme case, I’m unpersuaded that an American NFU would add anything meaningful to anyone else’s strategic equation. One might call this the “Catch-22 of NFU”: when others could most trust it, we wouldn’t need it – and when we might most need it, they wouldn’t trust it.
IV. NFU as Propaganda?
To be sure, even with all these believability problems, an NFU pledge might have considerable propaganda value. (My friend’s argument also notes the considerable diplomatic benefits we would gain in disarmament circles from such a promise, though he stresses that these are secondary to its presumed impact upon crisis stability.) I could imagine an argument for making an NFU promise without actually meaning it, so that the United States might be able, as the saying goes, to “have our cake and eat it too.”
By this logic, anyone who fundamentally dislikes and distrusts us might still be relied upon usefully to fear our nuclear weaponry, because they would never believe our NFU sincerity in the first place. At the same time, however, the fact that an American NFU pledge might be believed by at least some other countries could win us diplomatic kudos and improve our nuclear disarmament “street cred.” This argument, in effect, seeks to put us in the position of the Soviet Union in the days when it sought to reap diplomatic benefits by merely pretending to have an NFU policy – or, arguably, in the position of China or India today.
Yet even if one were willing to endorse an approach of such cynical dishonesty when it comes to grave matters of public policy concerning the potential incineration of millions of persons – which I am not – I worry that such a too-clever-by-half approach could have undesirable side effects. The propagandistic approach to NFU already presumes that potential adversaries wouldn’t credit a declaratory policy of unqualified restraint in the first place. But how credulous would third parties really be, or remain? How long could we maintain the fiction that one were truly serious about NFU? And what might it do to deterrence, in a more general sense, to adopt a policy built on the implicit assumption that what we say cannot always be trusted?
There is a role for signaling in deterrence, and in fact, most of deterrence could be thought of as an exercise in signaling intentions and capabilities in such as way as to convince a potential adversary that aggression would be unprofitable and dangerous. Deliberate ambiguity can play a role in this, as can efforts to convey clarity and resolution. Indeed, dishonesty can even be an important part of the process, in the sense that one might claim to be – and want an opponent to believe one is – more resolute than one actually feels. But dishonest positions, in this regard, are useful only to the extent that they are in fact given credence.
This is one danger of a blatantly propagandistic NFU strategy: being seen to be duplicitous may undermine one’s ability to use signaling (including sending false signals!) in other respects when one really needs to. What if, for instance, one wanted to send a truthful signal of one’s own likely restraint – e.g., as part of an effort to tamp down the escalatory dynamics of an action-response cycle in a crisis – but had become known for sending false signals of likely restraint in the past, pursuant to NFU propaganda games?
I don’t want to overplay this “distrust” objection, for I think the strongest reason to eschew the disingenuous “have our cake and eat it too” approach to NFU is instead a moral one. Potential nuclear war is too serious a business for us to make propagandistic gamesmanship the basis of our declaratory policy.
With regard to practical consequences, the sky doubtless would not immediately fall if we took such an approach. The Soviets had a propaganda-based NFU posture for years, after all, and some observers today question the foundations of the Chinese and Indian pledges. Deterrence did not fail for them just because they advanced a NFU policy that others only half believed. (If we worried about NFU undercutting the “extended” nuclear deterrence we offer our allies in the face of regional and sometimes non-nuclear threats, I suppose we could privately reassure our allies that we didn’t really mean it in the first place – and that we don’t think their adversaries believe us either. If one has the stomach for such things, cynical NFU pronouncements no doubt provide endless opportunities for deviousness.) Nevertheless, acquiring a reputation for dishonesty in deterrent signaling games could at some point be perilous, and I’m not sure one would get enough propaganda benefit from a duplicitous NFU posture to outweigh the potential risk from entering some future nuclear crisis with a credibility problem.
But let’s return to my friend’s proposal for an American NFU policy. Make no mistake: he does not advance NFU as the kind of cynical ploy I discuss above. (Quite to the contrary, his scheme needs NFU to be believed by a potential adversary in a crisis if it is to make any sense. He needs NFU to take any possibility of a U.S. first strike “off the table” in an adversary’s eyes.) To some extent, I fear that his NFU approach could be mistaken for just such disingenuity. But this is secondary. The main reason for my skepticism of his NFU proposal, however, simply goes back to believability. I am not convinced that his plan would in fact provide the advertised crisis stability benefits, because those countries whose behavior we might most wish to shape in a crisis (e.g., in dissuading launch-on-warning or preemption) would be those the least likely to believe our NFU promise in the first place.
This is, in a sense, the flip side of the cynics’ argument in favor of NFU duplicity. The cynic argues that we could still implicitly threaten rogues with nuclear weapons even if we had an NFU declaratory policy. I suggest that we cannot disabuse potential nuclear adversaries of their distrust in our intentions by a mere declaratory posture that we can revoke at will and that, in an extreme case, would ask them to believe that we will elevate promise-keeping over national survival. In both cases, one sees the inherent unbelievably of NFU promises “in a crunch.” The cynic’s approach depends on this unbelievability, but my friend’s approach is undermined by it.
So I don’t buy my friend’s argument on NFU. It is nonetheless a valuable debate to have. Readers interested in learning more about his position should consult the recent article he wrote on the subject: Michael S. Gerson, “No First Use: The Next Step for U.S. Nuclear Policy,” International Security, vol. 35, no. 2 (Fall 2010), at 7. I have only briefly summarized his points here, and may have done him some injustice in the abbreviation, so I’d encourage you to read it. New Paradigms Forum would be interested in any comments and feedback you might have, so I invite you to send any to me via e-mail at ford@hudson.org.
Tagged as: Bush, China, chris ford, christopher ford, crisis stability, gerson, india, nfu, no first use, nuclear posture review, Nuclear Weapons, obama, russia, United States Comments Off
« Haves and Have-Nots: “Unfairness” in Nuclear Weapons Possession Law and the Worm »
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AFRICAN TRAVEL POST ABDULMUTALLAB
Air travel has transformed the world over the last few decades. The ability to be get from continent to continent in a matter of hours has meant an increase in transatlantic commerce, tourism and much more. Despite the access that air travel has created, travel to the African continent has always been much more difficult than travel to other regions. Flights to African airports continue to be expensive, cumbersome (due to a lack of direct flights) and sometimes, dangerous as evidenced by the recent near crashes at Lagos' Murtala Mohammed Airport when new radar equipment shut down unexpectedly. Furthermore, African travelers typically complain of bad customer service, older airplanes, and outright disrespect as was the case with the 2008 Brutish Airways incident when 130 Nigerians were unceremoniously thrown off a flight at Heathrow Airport. But, now, with the recent revelations that Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab (now deemed the 'Nigerian Terrorist') attempted to blow up a plane, it is likely that travel to and from the continent could get more complicated.
DISAPPOINTMENT FOR KENYANS & LIBERIANS
Direct flights to African airports are often hard to find, so when in June 2009, the United States decided on whether direct flights would be possible from certain African destinations, there were strong reactions. These flight routes were significant because they would ease the access of expatriates, tourists, and business people to specific regions of the continent. Kenyans, in particular, were expecting a new flight route from Atlanta, GA to Kenya's capital, Nairobi, a first between both countries in over 10 years. Kenyan officials planned to welcome the flight and the Minister of Transport bought a ticket on the sold out Delta Airlines flight just to commemorate the event. Not too long before takeoff, however, the U.S. government indefinitely suspended the Atlanta-Nairobi route, citing safety concerns. Kenyans, and others depending on the accessibility of that flight route, were left disappointed. Liberians were equally disappointed when the US government refused to permit direct flights to that West African nation's capital, Monrovia.
THE NIGERIAN FLIGHT ROUTE
Unlike Kenya, Delta Airlines received permission to fly directly to Abuja, Nigeria, thus expanding its reach in the country and region, in general. Nigeria's airports had to satisfy strict inspections and requirements and , were deemed safe. In fact, on December 2nd, 2009, Nigeria's national carrier, Nigeria Eagle, entered into a contract with Delta Airline to expand benefits to customers. The contract has a potential to increase business ties between both airlines.
However, given the recent incident with Abdulmutallab, one can only assume that travel to and from the African continent might become more cumbersome. It can be expected that the introduction of additional flight routes to the continent from the U.S. will be harder to come by, a reality that will affect millions. Travelers going to and leaving from certain African airports will likely be required to endure longer searches and security checks. Not to mention that the already difficult process of acquiring travel visas will become even more problematic for many. Nonetheless, one good thing that has already come out of this situation is that Nigeria announced it will implement full body scanners at airports. When challenged as to whether that announcement was a "vague promise", Harold Demuren of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, reacted forcefully, defending the Nigerian government's intentions to ensure that no terrorists could pass through a Nigerian airport ever again. It is quite possible that other African countries will equally invest in such technology, but most importantly, the focus on the need for better airport security is crucial, particularly in Nigeria which suffers from power outages even at airports.
One can only hope that this push for better airport security will have exponential benefits and in time will result in less difficult air travel to and from the African continent.The reality of Nigeria's economic importance will require that there be some level of accessibility and the growing number of African expatriates across the world will likely guarantee that travel increases, not diminishes between African airports and various international destinations. The only question remaining is how long will it take for the heightened security alerts to calm down. Unfortunately, the answer to that question depends on too many unknowns, but it will reveal itself eventually.
- A Nigerian Terrorist & A People's Passivity
- Electricity Problems At Nigerian Airport
- N4.6BN For Electricity At Nigerian Airport
- How to Shoot Yourself in the Foot With Al Qaeda
- 'Is Nigeria A Breeding Ground For Terrorism'(May 2007).
Labels: airport, british airways, brutish airways, delta airlines, kenya, liberia, Nigeria, terror, umar farouk abdulmutallab
"The reality of Nigeria's economic importance will require that there be some level of accessibility and the growing number of African expatriates across the world will likely guarantee that travel increases". Is that what we really need? Who are the travelers anyway? On the one hand, a confrontation in Copenhagen at the climate change conference led by Nigeria and others, said that rich countries were trying to collapse the Kyoto protocol and "Africa is on death row" due to global warming. Rich from Nigeria that flares the second largest volume of gas of any producer, behind Russia. Yet we want more air travel.
Our home grown bomber has opened up more debates but "vague promises" to implement full body scanners at airports in our country that suffers from power outages even at airports should be taken with a pinch of salt. Again, the good news is the debate. Lets talk some more and out of those talks will come doable agreements. The end game perhaps is to go get it done. Enough of empty promises. Just do it!
NigeriaPolitricks.com said...
This was a perfect opportuinity for these idiotic leaders to rebrand Nigeria, and yet again they dropped the ball and kept everything within their local Nigeria confines of being “local champions” for something that has such a huge international magnitude with damaging repercussions to all Nigerians! I wonder what the Foreign Affairs Minister, Chief Ojo Madueke is doing...couldn't he come in front of the world news media and lay out all the facts on what the Nigeria Airport Authority and the father did and do damage control?...I guess not, but he was busy negotiating for an increase in travel allowance after having expended 2.7 billion Naira for his supposedly international travel just in 2009 for practically doing NOTHING. According to Madueke claims :“Diplomacy is all about visibility; even technology has not helped in reducing international travels in diplomacy…”
The audacity of this dufus Foreign Minister Madueke to claim that diplomacy is all about visibility; yet he couldn’t show up in any of the world news media to defend Nigeria at this critical time, but could engage in undertaking frivolous and bogus trips for the purpose of cashing estacodes worth more than N2.7 billion for international travels alone, and even worth more than the whole budget of the Ministry of Commerce - N2 billion and that of the Ministry of Police Affairs - N1 billion, is downright galling and despicable!!!
The aftermath of this AbdulMutallab disastrous incidence would have far-reaching consequences beyond air travel…and may even include visas denial & restrictions, coupled with more sordid treatment being meted out to Nigerians in all international airports…But for the Maduekes and his ruling ilks….they don’t care about Nigerians; they are more interested in what they can steal for themselves and their family and breed more Umar Farouk to tarnish Nigeria's image...Ofcourse what would one expect from a supposedly “giant of Africa”; when you have a sitting president Yardua lying comatose in a foreign hospital, refusing to resign or temporarily transfer power to his surbodinate…Nigerians will practical end up with a country that’s lacking leadership all on fronts!
Senate slams Maduekwe over N2.7bn travel expenses:
http://www.vanguardngr.com/2009/12/24/senate-slams-maduekwe-over-n2-7bn-travel-expenses/comment-page-3/#comment-116053
as with most good things, if not handled properly, they cause problems. yes, full body scanners will be implemented in Europe and more of American airports but at the same time, they are including technology to address the issues of privacy - such as blurring passenger's face and the body image, ensuring that the peeople viewing the scans are in a different room from the passengers being scanned and so can not recognize the passengers, and also not storing the images.
Nigeria has said they will implement full body scanners but nothing has been said about how they will make sure that some lascivious people do not spend time oodling over 'practically naked' pictures of folks or using those pictures for other nefarious activities.
Wow. I feel a bit sorry for the Kenyans, I bet now they are cursing under their breaths or even aloud, on "Nigerians" have ruined it for them. But oh well. Don't know what to clearly say, but I know that Nigeria should have had more scanners. Matter of fact, I believe they do! This summer I went through the process of them checking my bags, and then me going through the whole process of being scanned. I wonder how that man could have gotten away with it.
hmmm... D truth is nigeria should not b seen as a terrorist state... Farouk didnt become a terrorist when he lived in nigera.he was prolytesized when he travelled abroad! These terrorist groups also work with scientist n weapon experts who are not altogether arabs and yet they do not call the countries of these non-arab terrorist allies 'terrorist states'
- Wellsbaba (from Facebook)
@Wellsbaba...thank you very much! I've been trying to get people to understand that.
- S.A. (from Facebook)
Harold Demuren, are or anyone else aware that The U.S. gave Nigeria four full-body scanners for its international airports in 2008?
Ayodeji said...
This is the danger of a single story - Nigeria is no evil state. Based on an American action movie, we can't say Americans are violent.
[G@ttoGiallo] said...
Eventually, Umar Faruk is responsible of a budget embezzlement from generators to scanners - shame on him.
Best wishes for a better tomorrow to all NC's followers !
I honestly don't know where to start but i do believe that there is plenty of blame to go around ,unfortunately that would not solve the crisis going on in Nigeria or that of the u.s, i pray that Nigerians someday will rise(revolt of some sort) and claim back her destiny and respect in the world.
A NIGERIAN TERRORIST & A PEOPLE'S PASSIVITY
NIGERIA'S 10MN CHILD BEGGARS
N4.6BN FOR ELECTRICITY AT NIGERIAN AIRPORT
MUSIC XVII: OMO NAIJA
EFCC WANTS DEATH PENALTY FOR CORRUPT
OF PILGRIMAGES, HAJJ & NIGERIANS
"NO NEED FOR GENERATORS IN 2010" - V.P.
YAR'ADUA HEALTH, RESIGNATION & NIGERIAN COST
GRAMMY NOMINATION FOR FEMI KUTI
NIGERIA TO BUILD NUCLEAR POWER PLANT
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[Episode Recap] THE MANDALORIAN EP 6
Angie Coronado
*RECAP INCLUDES SPOILERS*
The Episode
Episode 6 of THE MANDALORIAN treated us to a good ol’ fashioned heist. Mando meets up with an old contact, Ran (Mark Boone Jr.) in order to complete a new found job. The job is to break a prisoner out of a new republic ship. In addition to Mando, the rest of the team is comprised of Burg (Clancy Brown) a Devaronian, Mayfeld (Bill Burr), Twi’lek Zi’an (Natalia Tena), and the droid Zero (voiced by Richard Ayoade). The entire team is pretty much what you’d expect from a ragtag troupe put together to accomplish said heist, and throughout the episode, they take turns exchanging sassy remarks at the expense of how much they all seem to hate Mando. From the get-go, it’s not hard to see that this will not go well for them.
Tensions run high as the group makes their way to the target and just when things hit a boiling point between Mando and Burg, Baby Yoda is discovered in the storage closet where Mando has hidden him and Mayfeld is quick to swoop him up and taunt Mando. After a quick drop out of hyperspace, Mayfeld fumbles and drops the baby, which I’m sure was harrowing for all involved, especially us watching.
Clancy Brown, Pedro Pascal, Bill Burr, and Natalie Tena in THE MANDALORIAN | Image courtesy of IMDB
Once aboard the ship, Mando shows off some of his sweet moves to quickly deal with a band of security droids and the group makes their way to the holding cell to retrieve the package. With the prisoner in hand, Mando quickly realizes (as we all did at the beginning of the episode) that he’s being double-crossed and its Mando shut it down time. This was probably my favorite part of the episode as it had a very 80s horror Alienesque feel to it. The power goes out and the backup generator provides a deep red glow to the ship corridors. The mercenaries have been split up and each walks a corridor alone on the lookout for Mando who is inevitably coming for them all.
Back on the Razor Crest, with the communication link out, Zero discovers the Baby Yoda and proceeds to play a hide and seek of sorts as he tries to capture him. Once he does find him and with nowhere else to go, Baby Yoda is swift to try and use his force powers to end Zero and for a minute it does seem like he manages to blow his head off. We soon realize that it was Mando that dealt the blow in a sweet moment between reluctant father and son.
Still from THE MANDALORIAN | Image courtesy of IMDB
Once he delivers the prisoner to Ran and with the rest of the team stuck back on the new republic ship, Mando peaces out with Baby Yoda towards the next adventure but not before leaving Ran and the Prisoner Qin with a parting gift: A tracking beacon for rebel pilots to hone in on and blow them to bits. Here we get a fun little easter egg as the three X-wing pilots are directors of previous MANDALORIAN episodes: Dave Filoni, Deborah Chow and Rick Famuyiwa.
There really wasn’t a whole lot in terms of deep Star Wars lore going on in this episode. If I’m being honest, this was my least favorite episode of the series and there seemed to be a lot going on and yet nothing going on at the same time.
We did see some familiar species, Xi-an and her brother Qin are both Twi’leks and Burg is a Devaronian who we first see in the cantina scene in Episode IV: A New Hope.
Also as I mentioned earlier there were plenty of cameos; The trio of directors, Dave Filoni, Deborah Chow and Rick Famuyiwa as the X-wing pilots towards the end of the episode, as well as comedian Bill Burr in the role of Mayfeld.
Pedro Pascal, Mark Boone Junior, and Bill Burr in THE MANDALORIAN | Image courtesy of IMDB
This episode mostly left me wondering if any of the bigger plot points and questions I had in the first few episodes are going to be answered at the conclusion of this season, or left up in the air to be answered in Season 2. What of Mando’s signet? What about the flashbacks where we see his childhood? What is the end game with Baby Yoda? So far it’s been the adventures of Mando and Baby Yoda and that’s been fun but we’ll hopefully get more solid mythos in the concluding two episodes of the season. Each episode of THE MANDALORIAN will be released weekly each Friday on Disney+ with the exception of this week, which will be released on Wednesday. Also, to catch up for the last two episodes, make sure to read Angie’s earlier recaps here
Angie has been writing about film and horror since her days in college. A self-proclaimed cinephile, she can always tell you who that one person was in that one scene in that movie with that one guy. She counts The Exorcist, Zodiac, The Shining and Trick R Treat among her favorites in the horror genre, and you can usually find her binging her favorite guilty pleasure, Supernatural. She has a knack for trivia of all kinds and has always had an obsession with true crime (what’s up, murderinos)
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Data Base Services
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Our services avail themselves of Atlante Sanità and WelfareLink but not only...!
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Highway Guides: Listed by Number | Listed by State
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Bayfront Parkway
Bayfront Parkway provides a connection between the northern terminus of Interstate 79, the Port of Erie, and Interstate 90 via its connection to Pennsylvania 430 near the interstate. The final section of the parkway between Pennsylvania 5 (12th Street) and U.S. 20 (Broad Street) was completed in June 2005. Not long after its completion, we had the opportunity to drive the parkway in its entirety. This page also includes Pennsylvania 430 between the Bayfront Parkway and Interstate 90.
Bayfront Parkway Eastbound
Bayfront Parkway eastbound at 8th Street. (Photo taken 7/8/05)
View of a local marina and Presque Isle Bay from the eastbound Bayfront Parkway. For the next two miles, Bayfront Parkway is actually on the bay front. The parkway turns to the south near the Port of Erie. (Photo taken 7/8/05)
Bayfront Parkway east approaching a stoplight that according to this sign is zero feet ahead. This is near downtown Erie. (Photo taken 7/8/05)
Use the right lane ahead to Hamot Medical Center and the campus of Gannon University. (Photo taken 7/8/05)
Bayfront Parkway turns to the south as East Bay Drive takes over the mainline ahead. (Photo taken 7/8/05)
Bayfront Parkway eastbound, which is at this point going due south, meets Pennsylvania 5 and 12th Street in this view. This was once the eastern end of the parkway. (Photo taken 7/8/05)
Bayfront Parkway follows railroad right-of-way for its newest section between Pennsylvania 5 and U.S. 20. The parkway is four lanes wide with a concrete and brick median barrier. In this view, Bayfront Parkway is about to go underneath a railroad bridge. (Photo taken 7/8/05)
Bayfront Parkway east approaching Broad Street - 1/2 mile. Broad Street carries U.S. 20 between 26th Street and Buffalo Road. U.S. 20 is not mentioned at all from the parkway. (Photo taken 7/8/05)
Make a left turn ahead onto a short connector between U.S. 20 (Broad Street) and the Bayfront Parkway. (Photo taken 7/8/05)
Bayfront Parkway east approaching 38th Street. The east-west arterial is the southernmost major arterial in Erie city limits. (Photo taken 7/8/05)
Bayfront Parkway east at 38th Street. The Interstate 90 trailblazer is for 38th Street traffic, as there is no road in the direction the sign is pointing to from the parkway. (Photo taken 7/8/05)
Just past the bridge ahead is a turn to Penn State Erie and its Behrend College. (Photo taken 7/8/05)
Bayfront Parkway east nears its end as it approaches a connector road to Pennsylvania 430 west. The two meet at an odd angle which prevents left turns from being made easily. (Photo taken 7/8/05)
Bayfront Parkway east at the connector road to Pennsylvania 430 West. (Photo taken 7/8/05)
A look at the last several feet of the Bayfront Parkway as it prepares to meet Pennsylvania 430 at the traffic light in the distance. (Photo taken 7/8/05)
Pennsylvania 430 East
Pennsylvania 430 East approaching Interstate 90. Motorists must go through two more stoplights before reaching the cross-country interstate. (Photo taken 7/8/05)
After passing by the signal at Hannon Road, Interstate 90 is just around the bend. (Photo taken 7/8/05)
Continue on Pennsylvania 430 East to Interstate 90 East to Buffalo, New York. The city is 90 miles to the northeast. (Photo taken 7/8/05)
Pennsylvania 430 East at Interstate 90 West. (Photo taken 7/8/05)
Pennsylvania 430 East at Interstate 90 East - Buffalo. A loop ramp provides access to the eastbound interstate. (Photo taken 7/8/05)
Pennsylvania 430 West
Pennsylvania 430 West at Interstate 90 East - Buffalo. A separate ramp carries those going from westbound Pennsylvania 430 to eastbound Interstate 90. (Photo taken 7/8/05)
Page created: January 01, 2006
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King Lear: Novel Summary: Act 1, Scene 1-Act 1, Scene 2
King Lear: Character Profiles
King Lear: Metaphor Analysis
King Lear: Theme Analysis
King Lear: Top Ten Quotes
King Lear: Biography: William Shakespeare
Act 3, Scene 6: When the men in the storm arrive at the house that Gloucester has prepared for them, the king decides to put his daughters to a mock trial. Kent urges him to sleep, but in his madness he can only think about punishing his children. Gloucester has left them to go back to his castle, but promises to be back soon. When their trial is over, Lear decides to finally sleep. Gloucester returns and tells Kent that he overheard a plot to kill the king. He urges the men to take him to Dover and meet up with the French forces where he will be safe.
Act 3, Scene 7: Cornwall gives a copy of the incriminating French letter to Goneril and instructs her to take it to her husband, the Duke of Albany. He sends men to find the traitor Duke of Gloucester and sends Edmund with Goneril so he will not have to witness his father's demise. Word comes in that the king is being taken to Dover to meet up with the French forces. Cornwall issues more orders and Gloucester enters no knowing he is considered a traitor. They bind him and torture him by forcing out his eyes. One of the servants tries to stop Cornwall but is killed. Gloucester calls for Edmund, but the Duchess tells him that his son was their informant. The Earl realizes that Edgar was innocent and it was his brother who betrayed him. The Duke was hurt in the skirmish however, and they have to retreat into the castle to take care of his wounds releasing the eyeless Earl.
Book traversal links for King Lear: Novel Summary: Act 3, Scene 6-Act 3, Scene 7
‹ King Lear: Novel Summary: Act 3, Scene 4-Act 3, Scene 5
King Lear: Novel Summary: Act 4, Scene 1-Act 4, Scene 2 ›
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Visual Quotes
Image Quotes about Visual
Usually complete darkness is a visual metaphor; being crunched down is a visual of a mental state.
More Michael Gallagher Quotes
The prevailing method is to warn skiers with visual warnings, the bright orange, and they're supposed to slow down. This is the first time there has been any incident there.
More Michael Gross Quotes
I have a visual that always makes me smile during my prayer. It is of Jill sitting with a cat in her lap, home at last, reading through these many e-mails. Won't that be lovely?
More Nancy Martin Quotes
In my day the library was a wonderful place... We didn't have visual aids and didn't have various programs...it was a sanctuary... So I tend to think the library should remain a center of knowledge.
More Norman Mailer Quotes
Certainly it's not just a visual experience - it's an emotional one. In an informal way I have often seen quite demented patients recognize and respond vividly to paintings and delight in painting at a time when they are scarcely responsive to words and disoriented and out of it. I think that recognition of visual art can be very deep.
More Oliver Sacks Quotes
Movies like that aren't about the visual effects and explosions, ... They're human stories about family, about life, about death.
Orlando Bloom English Actor
More Orlando Bloom Quotes
I have met almost all of my friends through the Village Art League and the Visual Arts Association.
Patty Krueger
More Patty Krueger Quotes
Fifteen percent of the students are visual learners. Those are the dropouts.
Rachel Kirby
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It's a visual feast. The colors, the materials, the intricate designs featured in these costumes are all works of art.
Ric Ambrose
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It shows a visual, graphic alternative to thirsty turf grass.
Rob Cline
More Rob Cline Quotes
I think until there's a visual connection the impact isn't really the same. Once you have that visual impact you'll never forget.
Robert Siegel
More Robert Siegel Quotes
Think about visual IM (instant messaging).
Ron Garriques
More Ron Garriques Quotes
For us the most important thing is to be visual, and for the cats watching us to have fun. This is all we want. We get very upset if people get bored when we're only half way through smashing the second set. Then all of a sudden they hear Arnold Layne and they flip all over again.
More Roger Waters Quotes
I believe education in music, theater, dance, and the visual arts is one of the most I believe that as a part of the educational process, each child should have access to a music education program. That is part of a well-rounded education and can provide so much joy, now and in the future.
Rudolph W. Giuliani
More Rudolph W. Giuliani Quotes
By doing this, the golf master used the most visual, interesting and breathtaking parcels for his course. Each hole deserves recognition as an exotic beauty of the Caribbean, especially number 17. It will not only be enjoyable to play but also a postcard to send home.
Sam Logan
More Sam Logan Quotes
Historically, we focused on the independent developer. We wanted to make such developers highly productive. Visual Studio 2005 is no different.
Soma Somasegar
More Soma Somasegar Quotes
By providing tighter integration with BizTalk Server 2006, SQL Server 2005 and Visual Studio ® 2005, Commerce Server 2006 enables customers to reduce costs and accelerate revenue growth through automated delivery of online services and products. Commerce Server 2006 enables new and existing customers to use the latest Microsoft technologies and thereby enjoy all the benefits of the latest generation of the Microsoft application platform.
Steven Martin
More Steven Martin Quotes
Through the visual arts, the performing arts, the art of music, the art of dance, the art of celebration of life, all of us are dedicated to making this Olympic opening and closing ceremonies the most emotional everyone has ever seen.
Steven Spielberg American Actor
More Steven Spielberg Quotes
Our one goal is to give the world a taste of peace, friendship and understanding. Through the visual arts, the art of celebration of life, we are dedicated to making this the most emotional opening ceremony ever.
There are definitely visual limitations. You have to be able to tell a quick story. You can't really make it character-based.
Sudhanshu Saria
More Sudhanshu Saria Quotes
In the visual spectrum of light, insects, dogs and cats don't see red, so it's not an attractant to them.
Terry Feinberg
More Terry Feinberg Quotes
For young people, life is very visual. There are few things as visual as the twin towers falling.
Thomas Kelly
More Thomas Kelly Quotes
Hands, the perfect metaphor for Barry Avrich's visual masturbation.
Tom Hall
More Tom Hall Quotes
'Laguna' was sort of told in the visual language of a lush teen drama. The idea here was to be a little grittier, more voyeuristic.
Tony DiSanto
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The visual vocabulary and aesthetics of the cartoon have influenced graphic artists and advertising style since the 1940s. An example of this in advertising would be Pop Art, and more recently [seen] in the feature film 'Sin City'.
Will Hipps
More Will Hipps Quotes
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SB 5321: Concerning parental rights and responsibilities of sexual assault perpetrators and survivors
Status Summary
Referred to Law & Justice, but never had a hearing. This bill did not move out of its committee before the Policy Committee Cutoff date.
More about this bill
SB 5321 would amend the uniform parentage act, already in statute, to establish a process where a survivor, who becomes pregnant as a result of a sexual assault and who elects to raise the child, can seek the court's assistance in avoiding continued forced interactions with the rapist which eliminates another barrier to healing from the assault. The bill outlines the proposed process and necessary evidence to prove the person seeking parental rights or presumed to be a legal parent committed sexual assault crime.
HB 1543: Concerning parental rights and responsibilities of sexual assault perpetrators and survivors
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Eric R. Braverman
Board Certified Anti-Aging Medicine, affiliated with the University of Florida School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry and the Brian McKnight School of Medicine at Gainesville Florida.
Learn More About PATH Medical
At PATH Medical, the brain guides us. We know that every illness ages the brain, and that imbalances in the brain can also lead to illness elsewhere in the body
Meet the Medical Professionals that make up PATH Medical, hand picked by Dr. Eric Braverman to provide the best in Total Health
Meet the Patients of PATH Medical and hear what they had to say about their experience.
Renee B / She Said No to Brainless Dieting
Last year, Renee came to see me in tears. She was a 32-year-old executive who said, “I can’t lose weight and I don’t know why. I’m 160 pounds, yet I exercise all the time. I eat less than my skinniest friends but I can’t lose weight. I limit my carbs and salty foods but even when I eat just a little of them I blow up like a balloon. I’ve strictly followed most of the popular diets, but I’m still 20 pounds heavier than I want to be. I’m exhausted, depressed, and angry with myself all the time. I just want to be thin.”
I realized immediately that Renee was a woman with a young, vibrant mind trapped in an old body. I explained that her brain metabolism must be low if she is restricting her food intake but not losing weight. I told her that together we were going to figure out which brain chemicals she was deficient in, and then build a personalized program for success.
After some simple testing, I recognized Renee was low in serotonin and dopamine. I clearly explained that even with all her best intentions, she would never lose weight without addressing her brain chemistry. In fact, every diet she has ever been on has been a failure because they never addressed the brain chemistry component. So I assured Renee it wasn’t her fault she couldn’t lose weight, she just needed to learn how to address her personal brain chemical deficiencies.
I put Renee on the Younger You diet, focusing on her dopamine and serotonin deficiencies. Once her sleep was restored and her metabolism kicked in, Renee lost ten pounds almost instantly. Now Renee continues to lose weight, and she looks amazing.
Sarah M. / Young Body, Old Brain
Sarah first came to me when she was 33 and miserable. She weighed 155 pounds, which was a lot of weight for her to carry on a 5’5 frame. She told me, “I’m so unhappy with how I look. I get anxious every time I walk into a room, because I know people are staring at me. I feel old, even though I should be in the prime of my life. I need to make a change, fast.”
Sarah told me that for years she’d been counting on the rush from carbohydrates, salt and sugar when she felt she wasn’t as sharp as she should be. Sarah’s BMI was an unhealthy 34% — which is considered obese. Her girth and her complaints made me think she probably had a brain metabolism imbalance, so I suggested a BEAM mapping. The BEAM results proved me correct. I showed Sarah her test results: her sluggishness and weight gain was due to a dopamine deficiency. What’s more, Sarah’s GABA was unbalanced which was why she felt lethargic and anxious.
Sarah’s personal prescription was easy to determine: we needed to increase her metabolism and decrease her appetite. I started Sarah on the Younger You Rainbow Diet, heavily emphasizing to her the importance of drinking as much as 5 cups of tea throughout the day. She also started taking dopamine-enhancing supplements, including thiamine, tyrosine, phenylalanine, and chromium. I also instructed her to take my Brain Calm supplements, which would help balance her GABA and keep her on an even keel.
Months later, Sarah came back to my office. She has gone from 34% body fat to 21%, and maintains a healthy weight of 135 pounds. She has a new lease on life. Today Sarah is healthy and active, and feels like she should: 33 and thriving!
Lauren T. / Diary of a Food Addict
Some people can become addicted to foods the way others become addicted to drugs, alcohol, and nicotine. Food addiction is a compulsive craving for food, and the desire to fulfill that craving. It results in poor eating patterns and binging, (the over-consumption of food), and choosing foods that are detrimental to health, such as those that are high in processed sugars and fat.
For example, Lauren T. was 28 when she first came to my office. She stood 5’7 and weighed close to 270 pounds. Lauren’s body scan showed she had a 42% body fat, which is considered morbidly obese. Her blood pressure was elevated, and blood sugars showed she was pre-diabetic. She was clearly in denial about her food addiction, but that began to change when I asked her to keep a food diary for a week before she came to see me for our next appointment.
Initially she said to me, “I’ve tried every diet imaginable. I exercise, though not as much as I should. I have a small appetite but I can’t seem to lose any weight.” When I asked her what a typical day’s food was like, she shrugged. “I usually skip breakfast. Lunch is maybe a light salad from the deli.”
That “salad” turned out to be anything but light. Lauren wrote down in her food diary that her “salad” often consisted of a plate spilling over with pasta salads loaded with mayonnaise, and hot foods like fried chicken and barbecued ribs. Even when she filled her plate with greens, she often doused them with salad dressings that were loaded with fat and sugar. Her daily salad was weighing her down. Lauren discovered that she was creating a vicious cycle every time she sat down for lunch. Her excessive carb-laden meals often led to overeating at lunch and the desire to continuously consume even more unhealthy carbs throughout the day. When I pointed this out to her, Lauren realized she was really addicted to food.
I started her on the YOUNGER YOU DIET, and taught Lauren how to increase her dopamine so she could break her food addition. By focusing on high protein meals and restricting her carb intake to vegetables and limited whole grains (initially, until the addiction is overcome, avoiding most carbs is best), Lauren was able to finally control her eating. I also taught Laura how to eat slowly, savoring every bite. I explained to her that as she gained weight of the year, the brain allocates the sensations to eating greater and greater importance and slows the time that food signals reach the hypothalamus. Eating slowly allows the brain to receive the message that we are full, and we will learn to eat less.
Lauren also incorporated spices and herbs into her recipes, and started drinking tea. She was surprised she enjoyed the changes as much as she did, and she loved my suggestion of creating tea cocktails: combining several tea flavors. Within two weeks, Lauren started dropping weight. Adding breakfast to her day gave her the nutrients and energy she needed to start right. Eating protein at breakfast filled her until lunch, so she was able to avoid sugary mid morning indulgences. Within a month, Lauren no longer had food cravings, and the pounds continued to melt away.
Tara F. / Tired of Weighing too Much
Tara, a 45-year-old overweight mother of two first came to see me in 2005. She told me she was having difficulty losing weight. At 5’5, Tara weighed 150 pounds. Her body composition showed her body fat was 25%. Her BEAM testing confirmed a 68% decline in dopamine. The reason why Tara couldn’t lose weight was because low dopamine levels had slowed her metabolism.
I started Tara on the Younger You Diet to increase her metabolism. Luckily for me Tara had a great disposition, and she took to the plan with much enthusiasm and determination. When she checked in a few weeks later, I could see she was being compliant with my recommendations.
By the following year, Tara showed a 28 pound weight loss, and her body fat composition had dropped to 20.5%. She also reported she was able to have deeper, more consistent sleep, as well as an increase in energy and self-confidence throughout the day. Best of all, a childhood friend remarked that she looked just as beautiful and even more radiant at 46 than she did on her wedding day.
Anita H. / Stopped Type 2 Diabetes in its Tracks and Lost 45 Pounds
Anita was a gentle, sweet-faced woman who arrived at my office in dangerous shape. At 47 years old and 5’5, Anita weighed 198 pounds and had been diagnosed with diabetes. With a BMI of 33, she was severely overweight. Her son was the one who prompted her to seek help. He’d just graduated from college and told her he wanted her around to dance at his wedding — and babysit her future grand kids.
Anita wiped away her tears as she told me how difficult it was living with her excess weight. “I can barely climb a flight of stairs. My ankles and knees hurt. I feel more like 90 than 47!”
After a complete assessment, including BEAM testing as well as taking the Younger You Diet Quiz, I determined Anita had an acetylcholine imbalance. Her blood sugar levels were also too high. I told Anita that her elevated blood sugar can have a deadly impact on her health. But I reassured her that health problems caused by diabetes — even the diabetes itself — can be treated and even reversed.
I started by boosting her acetylcholine through the Younger You Diet, which increased her metabolism and decreased her appetite. I recommended additional spices, like cinnamon, garlic and turmeric, which are terrific at decreasing insulin resistance, improving blood sugar levels, and have anti-inflammatory properties. In Anita’s case, because her blood sugars were dangerously high, we changed her current diabetes medication to one that would more effectively lower her sugars to a normal level. I assured Anita that when she took off the excess weight chances were excellent she would no longer need the medication at all.
Anita lost 45 pounds in the first six months of the program, which she continues to follow. She lowered her cholesterol from 221 to 186, and as I had predicted, was able to stop taking diabetes medication. Today, Anita is fitter, healthier and younger than she was when she first walked in my door. Better still, she has a new outlook on life.
Jessica W. / She’s Got the Gift of GABA
Jessica is 50 years old, stands 5’3 and weighs 185 pounds. About a year ago, she’d had enough. When she came into my office, she complained about her weight, but she also told me she was having trouble concentrating at work. She was upset because she had held the same high power job for more than 20 years, but suddenly she felt she wasn’t good at it. This loyal, giving soul was finding every day she had less energy to accomplish the demands of her job. She heard, saw and understood what her tasks and duties needed to be but lacked the resources to complete them. She was desperate to keep up with her genius memory, but found her lack of energy impossible as well as frustrating. When she found herself feeling out of control she ate bagels, cookies and other junk food in large quantities in an attempt to feel some sort of energy rush. But all Jessica got was more, not less: now she was heavier than ever before.
Every doctor Jessica saw had a different opinion, yet none were able to help. One was sure she was hypothyroid; another tested to see if her leptin levels were elevated. She was prescribed medication for depression, uric acid crystals, and chronic inflammation from elevated homocysteine and other markers of stress.
While some of these issues might have been real, resolving them did not allow her to lose weight or regain her concentration. Instead, I decided to work with Jessica using my head-first approach. I gave her a complete physical, including BEAM testing, and found that while she had a 99-percentile memory, her ability to concentrate had deteriorated to 50%. I told Jessica her weight was driving her into perimenopause and if she didn’t take control of her eating, she was looking at a further increase of 40 more pounds over the next decade.
I had Jessica start the Younger You Diet, with an emphasis on dopamine and GABA producing foods and nutrients. I made sure she drank lots of tea, which contains theanine to help enhance her attention and focus. The results were instant and long-lasting. Her dopamine brain chemistry was boosted, her GABA chemistry was stabilized, and her weight began to peel off, like the skin of an orange, strip by strip. Now when Jessica comes in she’s got a determined look on her face and a spring in her step. This is not only because she’s lighter, but because her internal energy has returned so she knows where she’s headed.
Meet Melissa D.: She Found that Living Younger Meant Living Happier
Melissa D was 59-years-old, 5’6 and 205 pounds when she came to see me. This divorced mother of three was extremely unhappy with her life. With nearly 65 pounds to lose, she thought she was locked in a hopeless situation. “I don’t understand what’s wrong with me,” she said. “It’s like I have no self-control. I eat constantly. I eat when I’m happy, when I’m sad, when I’m anxious. Afterwards I feel numb.”
Melissa also had trouble sleeping, was feeling more depressed each day, and said she cried at the silliest things — including TV commercials. She would plant herself in front of the TV and blindly eat whatever she’d set in front of her: popcorn, potato chips, a pint of ice cream, Chinese take-out. It didn’t matter what she ate, Melissa no longer found enjoyment in life. She was unproductive at work, and she avoided her family. Food had become her closest friend.
I tested Melissa for a range of obesity-related symptoms and conditions. I found that she was pre-diabetic, and suffered from a mild case of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). I immediately recognized her serotonin deficiency and started her on the Younger You Diet, paying attention to her serotonin needs. I also started her on a unique serotonin-enhancing supplement formula that I have developed called Brain Rest. This formula contains thiamin, niacinamide, folic acid, Vitamin B-12, Pantothenic acid, 5-hydroxy tryptophan, and St. John’s Wort. I also asked Melissa to keep a food, exercise, and sleep diary so she could see what she was doing — and eating — throughout the day.
These journals proved to be invaluable. Once Melissa realized the quantity and frequency of her binges, she was able to tackle them head on, as well as confront the emotions that she had been burying under all that food. She is also trying to improve her sleep routine, so that she does not get up at night and eat. Eight months later, Melissa is 60 pounds lighter, with only five pounds left until she reaches her goal weight. She is much happier at work and spends time with her friends and family, often visiting her son and daughter-in-law. She feels better than she has in years, now that her eating is under control.
Sophia R.
Sophia, a 57-year-old mother and grandmother, came into my office complaining of annoying aches and pains. A bone density scan revealed significantly low bone density for a woman her age. This was surprising, given that she exercised frequently and maintained an active lifestyle taking care of her very active grandchildren. According to her DEXA scan, she was at a healthy weight and had relatively low body fat. Sophia was doing all the right things to keep her body healthy. Yet for some reason, her bones were failing her.
I wrote Sophia a prescription for bioidentical hormonal supplements, but when she left my office, she chose not to fill it. Instead, Sophia chose to alter her lifestyle. She began to step more softly, and she stopped caring for her grandchildren. Soon she noticed she was leaving her home less frequently, and gave up her daily walks. In a few weeks Sophia noticed that her aches and pains were dissipating, but so was her quality of life.
Sophia came back to see me a few months later, and I tested her bone density again. The results were the same. But what had changed was her weight. Sophia had gained the equivalent of 7% of her overall body weight and increased her body fat by 3%. After this startling news, Sophia decided that limiting her activity wasn’t working, even though she was feeling better. This time, she agreed to medical treatment for her bones. I recommended that she start parathyroid treatment to lower her slightly elevated parathyroid hormone levels and to increase her calcium absorption. She also started taking Forteo, a bone-building medication I frequently prescribe to prevent osteoporosis.
After one year on the Forteo, Sophia had her bone density rescanned and there was significant improvement. And Sophia told me that she was once again walking daily and enjoying her grandchildren. The weight she gained came right off, and she told me that she felt younger than she had in years!
Remember, virtually all bone density loss can be reversed, though you won’t regain the height you lost. In the most successful examples, we can reverse the first stages of osteopenia and first stages of osteoporosis.
Larry / Tested Early and Fixed a Bigger Problem Before it Started
Larry came to see me when he was 50. He was recently divorced, and while he said his body was feeling fine, he told me he was beginning to gain some weight and was complaining of anxiety, tension and lack of sexual activity.
His AgePrint and routine physical examination revealed he was worse off than he believed: Larry’s cardiopause was at 60 with mild hypertension. He was slightly overweight, but his EKG and pulmonary function test (PFT) were within the normal range. Larry’s prostate was mildly enlarged; his Penile Brachial Index was within normal parameters, with the penis exhibiting normal circulation.
By any standards, Larry’s health was borderline. Many doctors would send him home with just a pat on the back and a “wait and see” approach. But I knew that when overall health even minimally declines — especially with symptoms such as hypertension and obesity — sexual function may also be impaired. I also knew tension and anxiety are symptoms of overall brain deterioration. So I had Larry go for further testing.
A full body Doppler ultrasound was performed to detect blockages of the arteries and veins. It turned out to be the best thing to happen to Larry, including his divorce. The ultrasound indicated a significant loss of circulation to the brain, originating in the left carotid artery. His BEAM revealed severe voltage suppression; his memory testing showed loss of verbal skills; and his personality profile indicated extremely high levels of anxiety. Blood testing revealed low testosterone, with normal levels of DHEA and IGF-1.
Larry was treated with the Androgel testosterone patch; the antidepressant Paxil to address the anxiety, verbal memory loss, and overall brain function decline; DHEA, and nitroglycerine cream. I put him on the Younger You Diet and monitored his vasculopause carefully. A few months into his treatment, Larry reported that he had started dating and had improved sexual functions. Additionally, he lost ten pounds and felt as if he had calmed down. His AgePrint was down to 40 in every aspect of his health. He was ten years younger than when he first walked in my door.
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Indie Lens Pop-Up
Telling the Incredible True Story of a Dogsledding Legend
December 9, 2019 | BY Craig Phillips
POSTED IN Race & Ethnicity
MORE ABOUT ATTLA
Filmmaker Catharine Axley seeks stories of empowerment through subjects that defy expectations, and the lesser-known but remarkable story of George Attla certainly qualifies. Axley’s film ATTLA, which won Best Feature Documentary at the American Indian Film Festival, looks at the charismatic Alaska Native dogsled racer who, with one good leg and fierce determination, became a legendary sports hero in Northern communities around the world.
The award-winning filmmaker, who is currently a Filmmaker-in-Residence at the University of Kentucky, talked to us about what drew her to Attla’s story, how she got to know George and his family in order to make this film so intimately, and the most unforgettable moment from the film.
Why did you want to make a film about George Attla?
I first learned about George Attla while reading an Alaskan newspaper, and was immediately intrigued. Here was this 80-year-old who had dominated his sport for decades, was considered a rock star-like, living Alaskan legend, and yet was just beginning a new chapter of life. After years in the spotlight, Attla had returned to his village of Huslia, Alaska, and had founded a program in his late son’s name to introduce a new generation to dog mushing. This was a unique form of cultural revitalization and I wanted to know more.
What I found out soon after was a filmmaker’s dream: That very year, George would be training his young grandnephew, Joe Bifelt, to compete in the same race where George’s career had begun. Their time together over the next few months was touching – it was an honor to document such a unique intergenerational relationship.
Director Catharine Axley filming ATTLA
When George passed away, Joe, George’s partner, Kathy, George’s family, and the entire team supporting George and Joe’s dream of racing came together to ensure that Joe would make it to the championship race. And he did!
Though the film touches on loss and hardship, ultimately ATTLA is about finding one’s identity; from a young George, returning to his village in 1951 as a TB survivor and discovering dogsled racing as a way to realize his ambitions; to a young Joe in contemporary Alaska, exploring the same sport as a means to forge a closer relationship with his elders and their shared cultural traditions.
Throughout, I’ve been struck with how the economic and cultural forces of colonization in Alaska that have occurred in the span of George’s life are reflected in every stage of his career. Working with state archives, launching a community campaign for archival footage, and conducting extensive interviews with family members and colleagues has been central to exploring these themes in a way only film can.
What do you hope audiences take away from ATTLA after they see it? What kind of conversations would you like the film to inspire?
I hope the film allows audiences across the country to recognize a sports hero from a community and sport that isn’t often covered in popular media.
I hope that the film encourages dialogue and excitement around unique forms of cultural revitalization, expanding our understanding of what cultural revitalization can be and why it’s significant – and ideally encourages other communities that aspire to reinvigorate their own cultural identities and practices to embark on projects of their own.
I hope the film can also be a way to promote the incorporation of Indigenous histories, culture, and practices into k12 curricula across the country. And in Alaska, that some young viewers may be inspired by Joe’s journey, and consider becoming future educators.
George Attla (right) and his grand-nephew Joe
What were some of the biggest challenges you faced in making this film?
George’s passing was undoubtedly the most difficult chapter in making this film. I am so grateful that I did get to know George during his last months, and the last time I saw him, I promised to see this film through in order to share his commitment of passing on the tradition to a new generation. I know he would be so excited that the film will be seen nationwide by a public television audience, and he would be so proud to see that his grandnephew is now sharing his legacy in the classroom with his own students.
There were many other challenges throughout the production of the film, but one of the most critical challenges we faced was distilling George’s story to chapters that were in dialogue with the present-day story of George mentoring Joe. Our Editing Consultant Lawrence Lerew brought his knack for story, structure, and emotional editing in order to streamline our material into a film that could connect with audiences and do our film participants justice.
How did you ingratiate yourself, and gain the trust of Attla and his family?
I first contacted George Attla and his partner, Kathy Turco, in July, 2014, and knew that for them to agree to be part of this film project, I’d have to do everything I could to gain their trust. I read George’s biography, read his very technical mushing book (fascinating, even for someone who knows nothing about mushing!), found archival newspapers, and watched as many archival film clips of George as I could find. I traveled to Fairbanks in August, 2014 to meet George and Kathy in person at a screening of the 1979 narrative feature, Spirit of the Wind, that is about George’s childhood up until his 1958 Fur Rendezvous win (Rose Ambrose, George’s sister, plays George’s mom).
(From the fictionalized film about George Attla, Spirit of the Wind)
By that point, I was so immersed in George’s life and career, that not only was I starstruck in meeting George in person for the first time, I had the incredible privilege to sit next to him as he provided live commentary to the film! Though George himself was not seeking the spotlight, he was open to participating in a film because of the attention it could bring to his mission of re-introducing dog mushing into his village and other communities as a form of cultural revitalization.
He and Kathy agreed to work on this film together, and in the weeks and months that followed, I checked in frequently to learn more about their day-to-day life in Huslia and to make plans for a first shoot. We then learned that George would actually be training his grandnephew, Joe, to train for a race, and that’s when it felt like the stars had aligned. Not only could we film George at his home in racing retirement, working to introduce kids to dog mushing, but we could also film his one-on-one mentorship of a young novice who would race George’s team in an open-class race.
Receiving a green light to film does not mean that you can neglect trust building once the camera comes out. During our first shoot, we all had to find a rhythm and way of communicating to make everyone comfortable – that involved putting the camera down for long stretches of time, and helping in the dog yard, or visiting at a birthday.
Staying tuned in to everyone’s tolerance of the camera, and finding ways to immediately share footage that we could all be excited about, like the drone aerial shots in Huslia, were key to creating a respectful and collaborative environment.
Joe Bifelt and friends
Was there anything, in particular, you wish you could have included in ATTLA but had to leave out?
Yes. When George’s health declined, he asked his brother, Alfred, Joe’s grandfather, to take over coaching Joe if George was unable to continue. Alfred appears in the film in his interview, but for the film’s structure and length, we made the hard decision to not include Alfred’s emergence as Joe’s coach. Sadly, Alfred passed away last year, a great loss for his community, friends and family. We hope to share some of this material in additional video clips on our website in the near future, for interested viewers to see Alfred carry on George’s coaching, exemplifying their community’s commitment to passing on tradition.
What’s a scene in ATTLA that is especially a favorite or made the most impact on you?
When Joe finished the Huslia New Year’s race, he returns to the cabin, not knowing for sure whether he came in first or second (Sprint races are often 1-3 heats, occurring over 1-3 days, with the winner having the lowest total time). The scene that followed has stuck with me. Joe and George find out that Joe has lost by 5 seconds and Joe is clearly crushed, though measured. George’s reaction is unexpected: he is lighthearted, joking, allowing Joe a moment to process the loss.
With the tension of the loss abated, George shifts and becomes serious, telling Joe that he needs to race like he’s hungry, as George had done when he was young, and that he should always keep those 5 seconds in mind. I remember that while filming, I could literally feel shivers, as we all kind of sat in awe of George as the quintessential mentor figure – wise and loving, but firm. Joe for months afterwards mentioned those five seconds.
Do you have any updates on the main characters in your film you can share with our audience, or will you be willing to do so closer to broadcast?
Yes! You will get a glimpse in the credits that Joe graduated from the University of Alaska Fairbanks’ School of Education with a degree in Elementary Education in May, 2019. He’s now a fourth-grade teacher, working in Fairbanks, and has been involved in the last couple of years with A-CHILL, a program that works to introduce k12 students to dog mushing.
What are your three favorite/most influential documentaries or feature films?
The Agronomist by Jonathan Demme: I had been studying Haitian history in college and when I watched this film, I was hooked. It was the first time I considered using this medium to explore the past and its relationship to the present. Senna by Asif Kampadia. Lumumba: La mort du prophète by Raoul Peck.
What film/project(s) are you working on next?
I’ve started a short that uses toll bridges as its starting and ending points, taking viewers across the country in a meditative journey on automation and manufacturing in America. I’ve also begun development on a feature around tourism – I’ll leave it at that for now!
Behind-the-scenes: ATTLA
1 week until our PBS Broadcast!Check out some behind-the-scenes shots of making ATTLA! And a special shout-out to our production and post-production team, some of whom make brief appearances here :)producers Melissa Langer & Kristine Rose; executive producers Jamie Meltzer, Sally Jo Fifer, Shirley Kay Sneve, Lois Vossen; supervising producer Shana Swanson; associate producer & cultural advisor Evon Peter; consulting editor & additional editing Lawrence Lerew; original music William Ryan Fritch; sound mix Bijan Sharifi; colorist Robert Arnold; aerial footage & sound Andrew Axley; archival footage courtesy of Alaska Moving Image Preservation Association (AMIPA) and Alaska Film Archives at the University of Alaska Fairbanks Rasmuson Library; and co-producers ITVS and Vision Maker Media<3
Posted by ATTLA documentary film on Sunday, December 8, 2019
alaska attla behind the films catharine axley dogs dogsled racing filmmaker filmmaker interview george attla native american
Craig Phillips
Craig is the digital content producer for Independent Lens, based in San Francisco. He is a film nerd, cartoonist, classic film poster collector, wannabe screenwriter, and owner of/owned by cats.
VIEW ALL POSTS BY Craig Phillips
Mush! One Day in the Life of a Dogsledder
9 Lights for Hanukkah: Finding Light in Dark Times
Acclaimed adventurer, dogsled racer, author, and nonfiction writer Blair Braverman recaps a long day training her sled dogs in Wisconsin.
Dog Docs
For National Dog Day here are some documentaries on the lives of city dogs, whether pampered or roaming the streets.
In Opulent Hamptons Filmmaker Asks, Whose Land Is it Anyway?
Treva Wurmfeld returned to a childhood vacation spot with a very different mindset to tell the story of a battle over sacred land in the Hamptons.
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Fiction #471
(published January 28, 2010)
I'll Take Care of You
by Richard Lee Ives
One day after Mary had a dream about being burned at the stake by her immediate family, she was eating bacon for breakfast and something unexpected began to happen in her mouth. Her tongue swelled up and she felt as if it wasn't the bacon she was eating but her own tongue. It tasted burnt.
Then everything tasted burnt and Mary stopped eating. Her parents noticed, but when they tried to talk to her, she said, "Don't worry about it. I'm dead."
That night while her parents were eating little white flowers in their salads and drinking imported water as transparent as their misguided intentions, Mary dreamed about some other parents who were not hers. One was a true chestnut father of light and one was a stuffed pretender in a red stuffed chair. And one was a mother with a tickly little moustache to keep her brisk and jolly.
One of the fathers was insisting, "We cannot move the earth closer to the sun." And one of the mothers with an addiction to cautious little Marthas and self-deprecating behavior was saying, "Only a flea among elephants. Only a flea among elephants."
One father, who was painting his face the color of the sidewalk, said, "I hope you won't mind if I want to lessen a bit."
Just then Mary's real father was giving away one of those handshakes that leave you convinced you will never need another automobile and thinking, "I am the boy back home who has never grown up." Mary's grandmother was poking her cane between the bars of his cage and he hadn't even noticed.
Chump Chump the Roly-poly Little Hedgehog was visiting Mary's neglected rock garden when a piece of overcooked bacon flew out the window and landed smack on the end of his nose. He gobbled it up like a fat green caterpillar and waddled on out to the meadow for his low impact aerobics class.
Mary grew despondent. Mary did not understand why her chin was so flat. Mary welcomed a pause in which a saddened world seemed to offer condolences between each of her sluggish, self-referential movements.
Another one of the fathers said, "Did you hear the one about the American who couldn't stop spilling out words because speech was free? Oh how quickly he learned to say nothing and keep right on talking."
Just then Mary was imagining herself as a man and thinking, "I am the kind of man who meets the gaze of women and holds it to the moment of desire or embarrassment. I stir interest. I stir anxiety. I achieve. I am noticed."
Mary's real father continued outlining his uselessness and put the pages in a bright red box marked "Priest Fodder." Finally he turned away, looking for some reluctant heaven in the clouds, and that was the moment when something might have killed him.
Mary's mother said, "The weaker one always loves without reserve," and Mary's father, who endured despite himself, said, "Because he does nothing, the follower is mistaken for God." Tiny voices kept floating across his tongue. One of them sounded like Mary's childhood.
Mary listened carefully this time and thought, "It sounds like death, but I'm ever so sure it means love."
The flames climbed her robe. It had been such an honor to light the cautious fire.
Richard Lee Ives lives on the Pacific Coast of North America.
The Next Fiction piece (from Issue #472):
The Problem with Tats
by Eric Bennett
The Last few Fiction pieces (from Issues #470 thru #466):
Blackberry Winter
by Ann Hite
Friday Morning 3 AM
by Michael Pelc
by Stuart Sharp
The Favorite Pastime
by Lewis Manalo
A Christmas Carol for Jim W.
by Ray Sikes
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Deacon Conveners
Convener Court
Dr William Guilds Managers
Clerk and Assessors
Trades Funds
Trades Introduction
Trinity Hall
Hammermen
Wrights and Coopers
Shoemakers
Fleshers
Historical Request?
Battle of Harlaw
The King George VI Bridge
New exhibition to open at the Tolbooth Museum
10 Feb New exhibition to open at the Tolbooth Museum
Posted at 10:01h in News by 7trades
On Saturday 7th February a new exhibition opened in Aberdeen’s Tolbooth Museum celebrating the Seven Incorporated Trades of Aberdeen. The seven trades are Hammermen, Bakers, Wrights and Coopers, Tailors, Shoemakers, Weavers and Fleshers.
The Seven Incorporated Trades of Aberdeen is one of the most important institutions in the city of Aberdeen and it houses a collection of artefacts of international importance. The history of the individual Trades dates back to the medieval period when groups of craftsmen came together to protect their own interests, to create rules to regulate and manage their trade, elect a leader (Deacon), control quality of output, maintain their reputation and seek to look after the elderly and infirm of their trade.
Today the Trades are based in Trinity Hall, the third building of that name. Over the centuries they have amassed one of the most impressive collections of art, artefacts and furniture in Aberdeen. Many of these pieces were created as ‘essays’, or pieces of work, by individual craftsmen to show their eligibility to join their trade.
This exhibition, which runs until 1st May 2015, features some of their chairs which date back to the 16th century as well as coats of arms and crests of individual trades and documents from the city archives showing the role of the trades in the history and development of Aberdeen.
The Incorporated Trades have in the past been accused of being a very confidential and private organisation with limited contact with the general public. Over the last two decades the Trades have introduced an Outreach Scheme which is designed to have a more open relationship with the residents of Aberdeen so we welcome this opportunity to further display some of the treasures contained in Trinity Hall. Ex Deacon of the Wrights & Coopers Tom Ironside and the Artefacts committee have been instrumental in assisting Chris Croly of Aberdeen Council history department in the setting up of this exhibition.
Chris Croly said: ‘It is such an honour to host this exhibition. The Trades and their collections are one of the real jewels in Aberdeen’s crown. We have borrowed a small selection of their significant and rich collection but it goes someway to revealing the importance of the institution which has always played such an important role in Aberdeen.’
The Tolbooth Museum is open Monday to Saturday 10am-5pm and is closed on Sunday. Admission is free.
Seven Trades
Scottish Trade Halls
Dundee Trades
Edinburgh Trades
Glasgow Trades
Irvine Trades
Kirkcudbright Trades
Historical Associations
Aberdeen City Council
North East Scotland College
Assessors Cup – Golf
The Gorrod Trophy – Bowling
The Littlejohn Trophy – Golf
 Copyright 2016 Seven Trades of Aberdeen
Members Area | Logout
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UPDATED: Man who went missing in Azusa found safe
Posted on January 31, 2015 by Brian Day
AZUSA >> An 18-year-old mentally disabled man who went missing in Azusa Saturday was found safe Sunday, police said.
Christian Jackson was reported missing after he disappeared about 11:15 a.m. from the 300 block of South Enid Avenue, Azusa police officials said in a written statement.
After reaching out to the public for help, police announced Sunday that Jackson had been found safe and sound.
Posted in Azusa, missing
Montebello man killed in alleged street racing crash identified
MONTEBELLO >> Coroner’s officials have released the name of a 20-year-old Montebello man who died in a suspect street racing crash in Montebello Wednesday.
Luis Manuel Oliveras died at the scene of the crash after the 2004 Honda Accord he was driving struck a light pole about about 11:15 p.m. on San Gabriel Boulevard, just north of Plaza Drive, in an unincorporated county area near Montebello, according to California Highway Patrol and Los Angeles County Department of Coroner officials.
A 19-year-old woman riding as a passenger in the Honda suffered injuries in the crash, CHP officials said. An update on her condition was not available.
Investigators believe the Honda was involved in a street race when the crash occurred, CHP Sgt. Cesar Murillo said. The car that was racing the Honda fled the scene and has not been found. No description was released.
Oliveras lost control of the car as he was driving south on San Gabriel Boulevard at high speed, CHP officials said in a written statement.
The car crossed the center median and struck a light pole along the northbound traffic lanes, officials said.
Anyone with information about the crash was asked to call theCHP’s East Los Angeles office at 323-980-4600.
Posted in Montebello
Man sought in Alhambra carjacking
ALHAMBRA >> Police are seeking a man armed with either a rifle or shotgun who carjacked a man in a residential Alhambra neighborhood earlier this week.
The victim arrived home in the 1800 block of South Stoneman Avenue about 11:30 p.m. Tuesday, according to Alhambra police Sgt. Jerry Johnson. He parked along the street and began removing items from the passenger side of the 2013 Nissan Altima when the carjacker approached on foot, brandishing a rifle or a shotgun.
After making a statement the victim didn’t understand, “The suspect entered the the car and started it using the ‘push to start’ button,” Johnson said.
The victim still had the car keys, so the car was only capable of driving for a short time before shutting off automatically, Johnson said. The car was found abandoned several hours later in East Los Angeles.
Police said the victim was not hurt. A detailed suspect description was not available.
Posted in Alhambra | Tagged carjack, carkacking
SWAT team searches for wanted parolee in South Whittier
SOUTH WHITTIER >> A SWAT team forced their way into a South Whittier apartment in search of a wanted parolee late Friday, but did not find the man, officials said.
Deputies patrolling about 7 p.m. in the 11900 block of Inez Avenue in the unincorporated county area of South Whittier spotted a man in his mid-30s who was wanted for violating his parole, Los Angeles County sheriff’s officials said. The man bolted from deputies as they approached him, running into a nearby apartment.
The deputies followed and got the resident’s permission to search the apartment, Lt. Daniel Gillespie said. The deputies cleared all but one room of the apartment, in which the suspect was believed to be hiding.
The Sheriff’s Special Enforcement Bureau, or SWAT team, responded to deal with the possibly holed-up suspect, the lieutenant said.
The SWAT deputies deployed a flash-bang grenade and forced their way into the room about 11 p.m., he said. But the suspect was not inside.
PHOTO: Courtesy, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department
Posted in SWAT, Whittier
Whittier man killed in Colima Road crash identified
WHITTIER >> Authorities Sunday identified Whittier man who died in a solo-vehicle crash on Colima Road Friday afternoon.
Peter Alan Wright, 62, of Whittier died at the scene of the 5:15 p.m. crash on southbound Colima Road, just north of Mar Vista Street, Los Angeles County Department of Coroner Lt. David Smith said.
He was behind the wheel of an SUV that swerved off the roadway for unknown reasons and struck a tree, Whittier police Officer John Scoggins said. The cause of the crash remained under investigation.
Following the fatal collision, a Whittier police officer on foot directing traffic at Colima Road and Carretera Avenue was struck by a northbound motorist, according to police and fire officials.
The officer suffered minor injuries, Lt. Aaron Ruiz said. He had been treated and released from a local hospital Saturday morning.
California Highway Patrol officers were investigating the collision involving the police officer, officials said. The driver remained at the scene and cooperated with investigators.
Posted in Whittier | Tagged crash
2nd UPDATE: Man killed in Whittier crash; police officer struck by car while directing traffic
WHITTIER >> A man died in a solo-vehicle crash and a Whittier police officer directing traffic around the scene was struck an injured by a passing vehicle Friday afternoon along Colima Road in Whittier, authorities said.
The series of events began about 5:15 p.m., when an SUV heading south on Colima Road struck a tree just north of Mar Vista Street, Los Angeles County Fire Department Capt. Randall Atanay said.
“According to early reports, the driver, for unknown reasons, veered off the roadway and collided with a tree,” Whittier police Officer John Scoggins said. “As a result of the impact, he was trapped inside the vehicle and fire had to extricate him.”
Once freed from the wreckage, paramedics pronounced the driver of the SUV dead at the scene, Atanay said. He was initially described as 60 years old.
A Whittier police officer who was on foot directing traffic around the crash scene about half an hour later was struck by a passing vehicle at Colima Road and Carretera Drive, just south of the original crash, Scoggins said.
Firefighters took the officer to a hospital with injuries considered to be minor, Los Angeles County Fire Department Capt. Todd Emrick said.
Both crashes remained under investigation, Scoggins said. Whittier police were investigating the fatal crash, while California Highway Patrol officers took charge of the investigation into the police officer being struck.
The driver who struck the officer remained and the scene, officials said.
Officials shut down both the northbound and southbound lanes of Colima Road between Whittier Boulevard and Mar Vista Street for several hours following the crashes, Scoggins said.
Traffic was expected to be affected into late Friday night, and possible into early Saturday.
UPDATED: Police search Pasadena neighborhood for gunman
PASADENA >> Police searched a Pasadena neighborhood Thursday for an armed man who ran from officers responding to reports of gunfire, but ultimately came up empty-handed, authorities said.
Officers responded about 6 p.m. after receiving calls reporting an armed man, and at least one call reporting shots fired, in the area of Washington and Raymond avenues, Pasadena police Lt. Vasken Gourdikian said.
Officers spotted the armed man, who ran from them, the lieutenant said. Officials briefly chased after the man, but turned their efforts to a search perimeter after he escaped their view in the 1400 block of north Summit Avenue.
Police conducted yard-to-yard searches, Gourdikian said. Officers were confident the armed suspect was pinned down within the search perimeter.
About four hours later, “after an extensive and systematic search,” the search was called off, police said in a written statement. The suspect was not found.
There were no initial signs of anyone or anything being struck by the reported gunfire, Gourdikian said.
Posted in Pasadena, shooting
Police still seeking West Covina hit-and-run driver
WEST COVINA >> Police are continuing their hunt for an SUV and driver that struck and badly injured a pedestrian last week before fleeing the scene, officials said.
Emilio Simon, 50, of West Covina, has remained hospitalized in critical condition since he was struck by the SUV about 8:10 p.m. Friday in the 1200 block of West Francisquito Avenue, just west of California Avenue, West Covina police spokesman Rudy Lopez said. He has not regained consciousness since the incident.
He was pushing a bicycle across the street when he was struck by the westbound SUV, West Covina police Lt. Pat Cirrito said.
The SUV that struck him was described as a silver, 1997 to 2001 Jeep Grand Cherokee, police said. It likely sustained damage to the front, driver side.
Following the collision, the hit-and-run SUV continued west on Francisquito and drove through a parking lot before heading south on Sunset Avenue and out of sight, Lopez said.
Police have released a photo of the involved SUV taken from a nearby surveillance camera in hopes of generating leads.
Anyone with information was asked to contact West Covina police at 626-939-8500, or the department’s 24-hour tip hotline at 626-939-8688.
PHOTO: (top) Emilio Simon, 50 , of West Covina – courtesy of the West Covina Police Department; (below) West Covina police are seeking the Jeep Grand Cherokee pictured in this surveillance photo after it struck a pedestrian on Francisquito Avenue just west of California Avenue and fled the scene on Friday, Jan. 23, 2015.
(Courtesy of the West Covina Police Department)
Posted in West Covina
Man convicted of 1981 rape, killing of Whittier woman
WHITTIER >> A man arrested more than 30 years after the 1981 rape and killing of a woman inside her Whittier home pleaded “no contest” to four felony charges Tuesday, on what would have been his victim’s 55th birthday, authorities said.
Joseph Allen Thornton, 53, immediately received a sentence of 24 years to life in state prison after entering his pleas in Norwalk Superior Court, Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office spokeswoman Sarah Ardalani said.
Initially charged with murder, Thornton pleaded “no contest” to voluntary manslaughter, rape, sodomy by force and digital penetration by force, district attorney’s officials said.
For more than 30 years, Thornton had gotten away with the June 27, 1981, slaying of 21-year-old Blanca Negrete in her home in the 7900 block of Washington Avenue.
“At the time of the slaying, detectives had exhausted all leads and the case eventually went cold,” Ardalani said in a written statement.
But Whittier Police Department investigators reopened the cold case in 2010, and identified Thornton as a suspect in the crime in January of 2011 via previously unusable DNA evidence, police officials said at the time.
DNA evidence had been collected by investigators after the slaying occurred, however the technology of the time did not allow investigators to match it to a suspect, police said in a written statement. Thornton’s DNA had been entered into a law enforcement database as the result of a domestic violence conviction, Whittier police Lt. Kent Miller said at the time.
Once identified as a suspect, police turned their attention to locating and capturing Thornton, Miller said.
The trail led them as far away as Topeka, Kansas, where Thornton had stayed for many years after the killing, he said. Detectives ultimately tracked him down and arrested him in April, 2012, at his home in Auburn.
Negrete worked at what eventually became PIH Health Hospital at the time of her slaying, police said. What, if any, relationship that existed between her and her killer was unclear.
The conviction occurred on what would have been Negrete’s 55th birthday, Whittier police Officer John Scoggins said.
In addition to his prison sentence, Norwalk Superior Court Judge Yvonne T. Sanchez ordered Thornton to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life, Ardalani said.
PHOTOS of convicted killer and rapist Joseph Thornton (above) and his victim, Blanca Negrete (below) courtesy of the Whittier Police Department.
Posted in 187, Rape, Whittier
Man accused of series of arson fires in Whittier, Santa Fe Springs
SANTA FE SPRINGS >> A homeless man accused of setting at least four fires in Whittier and Santa Fe Springs over the weekend
pleaded not guilty Wednesday to four counts of arson, authorities said.
Police arrested Jesse Jesus Provencio, 27, Monday in connection with an arson fire reported the previous day in front of a Santa Fe Springs business, according to Whittier police officials and Los Angeles County booking records. He was described as a transient known to frequent the Santa Fe Springs area.
He’s accused with igniting four arson fires in all Sunday, scorching trees and brush but no structures, according to police and Los Angeles County District Attorney’s officials.
Police and firefighters responded shortly before 11:15 a.m. Sunday to a report of a palm tree on fire in the 11900 block of Burke Street, Whittier police said in a written statement.
“Upon arrival, officers found a palm tree to the front of a local business fully engulfed in flames,” according to the police statement. Santa Fe Springs firefighters quickly doused the flames.
“The business was closed at the time and there were no injuries reported,” according to the statement. The fire caused an estimated $300 worth of damage.
The suspect was gone when officials arrived, police said. But detectives obtained surveillance camera footage which had captured the image of the alleged arsonist. The description was distributed to patrol officers.
Officers spotted a man matching the description near the scene of the Burke Street fire just before 11 a.m. Monday and arrested him, police said. The suspect, later identified as Provencio, was arrested on suspicion of arson.
Investigators soon linked Provencio to at least three additional fires that occurred the same day.
In addition to the fire in the 11900 block of Burke Avenue, prosecutors also charged Provencio with lighting another small arson fire in the 11800 block of Burke Street in Santa Fe Springs, and two in the 11800 block of Grande Vista Avenue in Whittier, according to a felony complaint filed against him.
Investigators continued working to try to connect Provencio to other recent suspected arson fired, including one Saturday in the 11800 block of Washington Boulevard, near the 605 Freeway, in which eight palm trees were scorches, Scoggins said.
The officer added that is was fortunate the suspect was captured before the series of fires resulted in more serious property damage or injury.
While a motive for the alleged arsons was unclear, Scoggins said there was no indication Provencio harbored an particular animosity toward the business in front of which he lit the fire.
According to county booking records, Provencio was being held in lieu of $50,000 bail. He was scheduled to appear in Norwalk Superior Court Feb. 4 for a preliminary hearing setting, district attorney’s office spokeswoman Sarah Ardalani said.
Posted in arson, Santa Fe Springs, Whittier
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50+ More Unusual Buildings Architecture
Posted in Inspiration, Photography February 26th, 2009 By Daniel Adams 96 Comments
After getting so many quality feedback on one of our past post over 80+ Strange and Fantastic Buildings Architecture It’s necessary to write this post about More Unusual Buildings Architecture as a quality addition to respective topic.
As it’s very transparent that Architectural works are perceived as cultural and political symbols and works of art. Historical civilizations are often known primarily through their architectural achievements. Cities, regions and cultures continue to identify themselves with (and are known by) their architectural monuments.
We are lucky to exist in a revolutionary generation where we have a chance to see pattern braking Architectural achievements by modern blood.
The Architecture expressed by the dreams, spirit and aspirations of a nation or a whole community stand as an expression of its core unique values in matter and the multiplicity of different styles and typologies found in modern Art reflect the socio-economic, cultural, ideological, ecological and climatic factors that have shaped us over 3 decades.
When Modern architecture was first practiced, it was an avant-garde movement with moral, philosophical, and aesthetic underpinnings. Immediately after World War I, pioneering modernist architects sought to develop a completely new style appropriate for a new post-war social and economic order, focused on meeting the needs of the middle and working classes. They rejected the architectural practice of the academic refinement of historical styles which served the rapidly declining aristocratic order.
The approach of the Modernist architects was to reduce buildings to pure forms, removing historical references and ornament in favor of functionalist details. Many architects resisted Modernism, finding it devoid of the decorative richness of ornamented styles.
As the complexity of buildings began to increase (in terms of structural systems, services, energy and technologies), architecture started becoming more multi-disciplinary. Architecture today usually requires a team of specialist professionals, with the architect being one of many, although usually the team leader.
Please Amaze yourself by go through with all the Buildings Architecture photographs below which are linked and lead to the source photographers. Also do not forget to explore further works of these talented photographers.
80+ Strange and Fantastic Buildings Architecture
80+ Incredible Designs with Bird’s-eye View
125+ Incredible Twitter Themes
Unusual Buildings Architecture
01. The Pyramids (Indianapolis, USA)
02. Gehry Building (Dusseldorf, Germany)
03. The Mushroom House (La Jolla, California)
04. Klein Bottle House (Rye, Victoria, Australia)
05. Castel Meur (Near Plougrescant, Bretagne, France)
06. Robert Bruno’s steel house (Lubbock, Texas)
07. Interesting architecture (Macau, China)
08. MGM Grand Macau (Macau, China)
09. AT&T Tower (Minneapolis – Downtown)
10. IAC Blues (New York, NY)
11. Hotel Marques De Riscal (Elciego, Spain)
12. National Museum of American Indian (Washington, USA)
13. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum (Ohio, USA)
14. The Agbar Tower (Barcelona, Catalonia)
15. Elephant Building or Chang Building (Thailand)
16. Frank Lloyd Wright’s Falling Water (Mill Run, Pennsylvania)
17. Bolwoningen (’s-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands)
18. Seattle Central Library (Seattle)
19. Akron Art Museum (Akron, Ohio, USA)
20. Malin (“Chemosphere”) Residence (Los Angeles, USA)
21. SANAA, New Museum (New York, USA)
22. Coop Himmelb(l)au High School (Central Los Angeles, USA)
23. Lake Point Tower (Chicago, Illinois, USA)
24. Asahi Beer Tower (Asakusa, Tokyo)
25. Infosys Building (Hinjewadi, Pune, India)
26. High school Sesto San Giovanni (Ananas)
27. Azadi(Ex Shahyad) Tower (Tehran, Iran)
28. School of Design OCAD Building (Toronto, Canada)
29. City Hall, San Jose
30. Agora Theather (Lelystad, Netherlands)
31. The museum of modern art (Luxembourg)
32. Bodegas Ysios (Álava, Spain)
33. porsche museum (Stuttgart, Germany)
34. Hotel Unique (Sao Paulo, Brazil)
35. Multi sportscomplex (Luxemburg)
36. European Parliament building (Strasbourg, France)
37. Philharmonie (Luxembourg)
38. Opera House (Sydney, Australia)
39. Edificio Torres Blancas (Madrid)
40. Oriente Station (Lisbon, Portugal)
41. Futuroscope (Poitiers, France)
42. Frederick R. Weisman Art Museum (Minnesota)
43. Aqua Building (Chicago, Illinois)
44. Oakley Corporate Headquarters (Lake Forest, California)
45. Crazy Hotel (Bratislava, Slovakia)
46. Mushroom House (Cincinnati, Ohio, USA)
47. Houses on the Old Bridge (Vernon, France)
48. fortress storage (Boston, Massachusetts)
49. Thin House (London)
50. Dar Al Hajar (Yemen)
51. House in the Clouds (Thorpeness, Suffolk)
52. Dallas Cowboys New Stadium (Texas)
53. Scottish Parliament building (Edinburgh)
54. Banknote Building (Kaunas, Lithuania)
55. City Hall (London)
56. Temple Sagrada Familia (Barcelona, Spain)
Main Post Image Source
Wikipedia – The free encyclopedia
While compiling this list, it’s always a possibility that we missed some other great Architecture. Feel free to share it with us.
me myself and I February 26, 2009
Awesome. I especially liked #41. Keep finding these buildings, they are really interesting.
David Thompson February 26, 2009
What a fantastic collection of unusual buildings. Thanks.
Gustaf Jarnling (gjarnling) February 26, 2009
Great article, pure love! I would love to see an article about contemporary — or modern — Dutch architecture. Keep up the good work!
behailu gezahegne May 10, 2013
this is amazing i love all
Robert February 26, 2009
Great buildings. 🙂
I wish I personally see few of them.
deonplayground February 27, 2009
Those are great, but…what about Casa da Música in Oporto, Portugal?!
By the architect Rem Koolhaas:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/89707735@N00/90788331/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jcseixas/3216456668/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/7278450@N07/3244006754/
Hugs, (,”)
Timothy February 26, 2009
I love Frank Lloyd Wright’s house. When I was little my mother had a picture of it as a fridge magnet. So, consequently I would see it just about every day. To live over a waterfall would be amazing.
shafierin March 2, 2009
really good.hope i can visit some of this building
Frank Norman March 22, 2009
Selfridges in Birmingham, UK:
http://www.contemporist.com/photos/selfridges_birmingham_01.jpg
francisa April 21, 2009
erika June 4, 2009
casa batllo in gaudi barcelona should def be on here somewhere. it is absolutely AMAZING!!!
Angus June 4, 2009
The number 14 (Agbar Tower has a mistake. Barcelona is a Spanish city. “Catalonia” is not a country.
Jaspal Singh June 14, 2009
Excellent list of buildings with great Architecture.
Hans July 12, 2009
Here’s a few more:
Crazy house for children in Germany
http://decojournal.com/200906/pop-art-happy-rizzi-house-germany/
Flying saucer in the Netherlands
http://www.evoluon.org
aa September 3, 2009
wykop kurrrrrrrrrrrwa
LKay September 3, 2009
I think you should add Mode-Gakuen Spiral Towers which are in Nagoya, Japan. The style fits here really good. 🙂
Cristiano September 21, 2009
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mimundo/256204571/
Museum Oscar Niemeyer
http://www.flickr.com/photos/thedelllounge/3530569305/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/cesarnascimento/3705492055/
Catedral de Brasília
http://www.usp.br/fau/cursos/graduacao/arq_urbanismo/disciplinas/aup0179/Bases_-_Aup0179/Nk_Quadra_Copan.jpg
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bjurman/2097559222/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/leandrosmoreira/1586480904/
Cathedral de São Sebastião
*Architecture of Oscar Niemeyer – Brazil
Dominik H. September 21, 2009
I suggest the Wiesmann Manufactory in Duelmen (Germany):
http://www.wiesmann.com/en/manufactury/manufactory#/_my_media/1/1/Manufaktur/Bildergalerie_Manufaktur/_tn/743_2112_0_manufaktur_galerie_02.jpg
The building looks like a Gecko. 🙂
dennis September 21, 2009
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groninger_Museum
Melanie Rimmer September 21, 2009
Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King
http://easydaysnight.com/custom/Liverpool_Metropolitan_Cathedral.jpg
dj September 21, 2009
Great stuff. Here’s another one. El Paso Convention Center. Supposedly looks like a sombrero. I always thought it looked like a roller coaster.
http://pics4.city-data.com/cpicv/vfiles33510.jpg
Cassandra September 22, 2009
Don’t forget the Sage in Gateshead, uk!
Marvin September 22, 2009
Another one: http://www.gymnasium-gerlingen.de/Kunst_DB_Museum_1.jpg
Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart, Germany!
Wolf September 26, 2009
http://www.onedigitallife.com/images/rmf-radio.jpg
House of Poland’s largest radio station, RMF FM
tarek taha November 30, 2009
I really enjoyed this buildings so much , and I WISH TO SHOW EVERYONE MY BUILDING WHICH I DESIGNED IN MY LAST YEAR COLLEGE IN ALEXANDRIA UNIVERSITY,DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE WITH GRADE EXCELLENT .IT WAS AQURIUM IN RAS MOHAMED , SOUTH SINI , EGYPT
name January 21, 2010
You forgot Hundertwasserhaus in Vienna, Austria.:)
AlMubdi February 21, 2010
alejandro March 11, 2010
Definitivamente la arquitectura es maravillosa unida con la ingenieria civil eestan muy bonitas las imagenes…
Amy Kelinda March 18, 2010
These are amazing! I just spent an hour looking through them and looking up information on the ones I found the most fascinating. Thanks for the compilation!
FRED FARJADPOUR May 25, 2010
Great work of art,but there are much more of selection in tis series like Gugenhime musum in new york or George pompideu centre in Paris also
Habitat in Montreal.
Homayoun Yazdani May 27, 2010
Nice list. Thank you for sharing. I can think of at least one amazing structure that was missing from the list. Baha’i temple in India.
please see the image in the following link
http://www.redbridgerenet.co.uk/gallery/bahai.jpg
Javi July 1, 2010
about #14: Catalonia is not a country, it belongs to Spain. Thanks.
By the way, amazing photos!
Fred July 6, 2010
Art and Architecture is matter of harmony and personal choice
there are many other attractive architecture around the world,
what is logic behind those selections
onisuryana July 16, 2010
great building and thank for good informations…. and give me a inspiration… for build something new….
M.O.H.S.E.N July 17, 2010
Excellent list of MODERN buildings
KHORRAMABAD LORESTAN IRAN
With good luck
SuzySushi September 29, 2010
You might want to add a whole village of unusual architecture: La Grande Motte, a seaside resort in the South of France.
http://www.ot-lagrandemotte.fr/anglais/index.php
Here’s a link to a photo that epitomizes La Grande Motte’s architecture:
http://www.picturefrance.com/architecture/arch_grande_motte2163.html
has October 14, 2010
Pictures are great!
Suggestion: can you add some info?
some more January 4, 2011
very nice collection! i’ve seen quite a number of them in real life, without looking for them specifically and yes they stunned me! just two maybe lesser known buildings i just had to think of that should join this collection
rolex learning centre, epfl, lausanne switzerland
http://www.rolexlearningcenter.ch/the_building/
chichu art museum, naoshima japan (difficult to appreciate how special it is becuase it’s mostly in a hill
http://www.google.de/images?q=chichu+art+museum
http://theartblog.org/blog/wp-content/uploaded/Chichu-Art-Museum1.jpg
Francisca January 17, 2011
You should add the “Canadian National War Museum” from Ottawa, Canada
Bill February 11, 2011
Loved #5. Beautiful
benett February 24, 2011
the thin house is so thin ??? loved 27,28,32,33, and many .. always wanted to be an architect but things dint work out so for some days ive been reading
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/architecture/
also.. i had read this quote one time.. don’t remember by whom 😛
the best thing about architecture is that you can walk into your dreams…
Ong Hoang March 25, 2011
The quality of pics above is quite high.
All of that, i know more places with “impressive” architectures via your pics.
I will choose one of this to set my desktop background.
humberto April 27, 2011
Gran parte de los edificios son espectaculares pero feos se olvidan de lo humano y solo piensan en llamar la atencion, me gustan mucho el estilo de francia (muy artisticos), españa y brasil. y los de EU parecen que son para esenografia. Existen gran ingenio en cosas tan bellas y espectaculares como la casa de Frank loyd Write
[Translation: Many of the ugly buildings are spectacular but they forget the human and the only think to call attention, I really like the style of France (very artistic), Spain and Brazil. and the U.S. look like they are for esenografia. There is great talent in things as beautiful and spectacular as the home of Frank Loyd Write
Greetings from Mexico]
Tony June 9, 2011
Nice Collection. Could you add Canada Place in Vancouver?
brittney June 23, 2011
These are awesome! It’s amazing what people can build.
Here are some more similar ones…
James August 21, 2011
Broadcasting Tower in Leeds – Voted world’s best tall building. I don’t think it’s the best but its still great!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-11606949
Adnan September 20, 2011
Its really awesome…
Jennifer October 27, 2011
Some of these are really amazing, I would to see them in person. I was surprised the Experience Music Project building in Seattle didn’t make the list.
brandon January 2, 2012
making it a goal to view and get inside of at least 6 of these buildings! the outside just makes me want to see the inside that much more..
miran February 25, 2012
I’ve read several good stuff here. Certainly worth bookmarking for revisiting. I wonder how much effort you put to create such a great site.
Nicole April 17, 2012
Inspiring buildings. i plan to be a legendary architect when i am older, although i would be lucky to even come close to one of these masterpieces!
Bruce June 19, 2012
Canadian Museum of Civilization, Ottawa, Canada
(in the foreground of this picture)
http://www.cityprofile.com/forum/attachments/canada/2747-gatineau-canadian-museum-of-civilization-ottawa-river-and-parliament-hill-credit-ottawa-tourism-small.jpg
Debbie Polosky July 25, 2012
You forgot about the Longaberger Basket building in Newark, Ohio. =)
http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/10658
helmi December 10, 2012
hello what name of first building not the The Pyramids (Indianapolis, USA) but the another one please… thank for helping
Sami Soloh January 9, 2013
It s wanderfull
OK August 18, 2013
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Belgrade-avio-museum.jpg
Robert Vincelette August 3, 2014
Please consider the Futuro house. If you need help I live in one. There are about 50 surviving out of some 100 built in the 1960’s and 1970’s.
arsitek rumahan October 13, 2015
Nice list and to add more, some of Zaha Hadid design are really strange also.
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The Scientists Who Died In The Ethiopian Crash
By Andrew Lewin Ocean Leaders You Know No Comments
Telemetry Tags Can Be A Tool To Detect Illegal Fisheries
Small Island Pays The Price During Latest Oil Spill
The Sidestepping Of Regulations Around
Canadian Oil Spills Needed Better Reporting During Spills
Husky Oil Company was responsible for an Oil Spill of 250,000 Litres off the Coast of St. John’s, Newfoundland last November (2018). The slick was 21 km long and 8 km wide; however, the media relations people for the company did not make the dimensions of the slick available for the public. Why didn’t they make it available? Perhaps it was because the public has difficulty picturing how much Ocean a 250,000 Litre oil spill would cover.
Academics from Memorial University would like to see more research by Husky and the Provincial/Federal governments to understand how an oil spill will behave in a cold water ocean environment.
Share your thoughts on this episode in the Speak Up For Blue Facebook Group: http://www.speakpuforblue.com/group.
Want to get started on living for a better Ocean? Sign up for the Grove Collaborative and get a free gift: http://www.speakupforblue.com/goocean.
BC Sea Lion Populations Are Not Out Of Control
By Andrew Lewin Sea Lions No Comments
A video of a fisherman throwing a bear bomb into a pod of sea lions out in the ocean went viral on the web recently. The fisherman laughed about the incident confirming his distaste for the pinnipeds. He’s not the only fisherman who finds the sea lions pests. Others have been complaining about sea lions eating their herring catch right out of their nets often damaging their fishing gear.
There seems to be a notion that the sea lion and seal population is out of control; however, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, as well as other experts from the Vancouver Aquarium, disagree. The population hovers around 105,000 individuals and has been stable since 1999. The sea lion population is one-third of that of the seal population. The experts say the population is in line with the historical population before the Europeans came to North America and began hunting them to near decimation.
So there is no validity to the perception that the population is growing out of control. The question that needs to be answered is who has the priority for eating the fish, humans or pinnipeds (seals, sea lions)?
Share your thoughts in the Speak Up For Blue Facebook Group: http://www.speakupforblue.com/group.
Law Enforcement Disrupting Trade That Is Killing The Vaquita
By Andrew Lewin Endangered Species No Comments
We all know that the Vaquita, a small porpoise endemic to the Sea of Cortez, is nearly extinct; however, there are many organizations that are still fighting to keep the Vaquita from going extinct.
The Vaquita population is in trouble because they keep getting killed from illegal fishing practices in the Sea of Cortez by fishers who are trying to catch another endangered species called Totoaba. Asian countries are seeking out these fish for their swim bladders in which they think has healing properties (it has never been medically proven).
The people working to protect the Totoaba and the Vaquita are having a hard time stopping the fishers from catching an illegal, but high priced fish. Some organizations have moved to stop the middle people from arranging the shipments of Totoaba swim bladders to China from Mexico. And it’s working!
A new commentary on Mongabay news by Andrea Crosta, Executive Director and Co-Founder of the international illegal trade watchdog group, Elephant Action League, describes how her organization and partners have infiltrated some operations that conduct illegal operations to provide information to the proper authorities to make arrests.
Check out the rest of the details by listening to the podcast.
Do you think organizations should help provide intelligence on illegal operations that could lead to an arrest? Share your thoughts in the Facebook Group: http://www.speakupforblue.com/group.
How To Shop For Used Clothing With Jackie Lang
A number of episodes ago, I discussed an article that showed an increase in sales at thrift stores in the UK. I admitted to you that I had never bought 2nd hand clothes before and I couldn’t even tell you how the process works.
I received a number of messages after that episode from the audience telling me about their experiences in shopping 2nd hand and how they did it almost exclusively.
Jackie Lang was one of those people who reached out, so I asked her to be on the show to discuss her experience with buying clothes from thrift stores.
Enjoy the episode and let me know whether you shop at thrift stores. Share your experiences in the Facebook Group: http://www.speakupforblue.com/group.
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Stairwell Books
Young Adult & Children
Know thy Wordprocessor
Stairwell Books is a small publisher with limited resources. We like to publish high quality poetry and prose and would be interested in speaking to authors who have compelling projects in mind. Any book published under the Stairwell Books imprint will be actively promoted by Stairwell Books.
The majority of our current list is made up of writers whose work we are familiar with or who have been referred to us by poets and writers we know well. That is not to say that we are not interested in publishing good writing: it is just that we would like to get to know you and your work before committing to publication.
One way of getting to know us is to submit work for one of our Anthologies. Once or twice a year we publish a themed anthology and launch it with an open mike in York. We do ask that you pre purchase one or more copies of the anthology which is always offered at a very reduced rate.
Please note that it can take up to 2 years from when a project is submitted to its appearing in print. In 2020 we are focussing mainly on female writers.
If you do have a project you think we might be interested in please contact us by email at
rose@stairwellbooks.com
Submissions to the international arts journal, Dream Catcher, are managed by the Editor. Visit the Dream Catcher submissions page for more information.
Stairwell Books advertisement airs on MyTV9 in Connecticut
Stairwell Books first TV advertisement will air on MyTV9 on November 15th. The new campaign is airing to support Stairwell Books arrangement with the Ingram Book Group and features books with strong links to the North American market. The ad focuses om Abernathy, by Claire Patel-Campbell which is set in Wisconsin and Tales from a Prairie Journal by Rita Jerram featuring her great grandmother Edith.
The showing on Nov 15th will be on the 11 am showing of Lauren’s Crazy Pet Show airing on MyTV9, a sister station to WTNH Channel 8.
Also available to US and Canadian Bookshops via the Ingram iBook service will be Tom Dixon’s On Suicide Bridge and Sammy Blue Eyes by Frank Beill, an imagining of an orphan boy being caught up with the Buffalo Bill Wild West Show when it reembarks for the USA in Hull.
Further books will be gradually added to the Ingram iBook catalogue and will include the DI Ambrose series, beginning with Close Disharmony; and Alwyn Marriage’s Rapeseed.
To keep up to date with our internationally available catalogue please bookmark this page: http://www.stairwellbooks.co.uk/books/international/.
Gary Allen’s Glass King features amoungst Forward Prize Finalists
Gary Allen’s poem “Technically Speaking” from his book The Glass King, published by Stairwell Books, was highly commended by the panel of judges for the 2019 Forward Prizes for Poetry. This year’s judging panel was chaired by writer and broadcaster Shahidha Bari, alongside poets Tara Bergin, Andrew McMillan, and Carol Rumens, and Jamie Andrews, Head of Culture and Learning at the British Library. The jury read 204 new collections and 183 single poems.
“Technically Speaking” will be incorporated in the 2020 Forward Book of Poetry which will be on sale at the Forward Prizes ceremony at the London South Bank Centre on October 20th.
Stairwell Books would like to congratulate Gary on his success and wishes him well.
Margaret Clitherow launched at new Christian Heritage Centre at Stonyhurst
Margaret Clitherow window at the Stonyhurst Christian Heritage Centre
John and Wendy Rayne-Davis introduced a wrapt audience to their new biography of Margaret Clitherow at the new Stonyhurst Christian Heritage Centre. Wendy gave a historical overview of the politics in England during the reins of Henry VIII, Mary and Elizabeth providing the context for Margaret Clitherow’s martyrdom. John then explored Margaret’s life and how she got into the predicament that led to her arrest and subsequent execution.
John explained why the historical chroniclers accounts of Margaret’s family life differed from the reality of a loving and supportive husband: these chronicles led to Margaret’s husband John’s role in her life being completely misconstrued and unfairly misrepresented.
The evening was hosted by the Director, Stefan Kaminski, and supported by the Lord David Alton who provided a preface to John and Wendy’s book reinforcing the importance of Margaret Clitherow as British Catholic Saint.
The Christian Heritage Centre is located in the grounds of Stonyhurst College in a newly restored old building. The centre has accommodation available as well as a large meeting and seminar space.
2020 Femme Vision
2020 Vision: All-Femme Authors for 2020.
Over the years, Rose has wearied of receiving manuscript after manuscript, the protagonist almost always a male. When she protests, the writer is likely to exclaim, “But his best friend is a woman! She’s the smart one!” Yeh, and the world you’ve created is seen from the male POV. If the female side characters are so crucial, so integral to the story, why not tell the tale from their point of view?
Stairwell already publishes books from LGBTQ writers, from male, female and we have some non-binary writers in the pipeline, but this is our first foray into focusing on the work of female and female-identifying authors for a whole year. Due to previous commitments 2020 was the first year this scheme could most easily come together.
2020 is also an anniversary year: the centennial of American women achieving suffrage. 1920 was the year that enough (not all!) US States finally ratified the 19th Amendment, allowing women the vote. The Amendment guarantees “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.” It was signed by President Teddy Roosevelt on the 19th of May, 1919.
It would take 15 months to convince the final necessary state, Tennessee, to ratify the Amendment, thus surpassing the required hurdle of being approved by “the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States.” Fortunately, Alan was more readily convinced we needed a femme-only year.
We have: a poetry collection co-authored by the amazing Izzy Jones, Alice Tomlinson and Becca Miles; a scary new novel (with that all-important dash of hope) on climate change, by Eliza Mood; a Young Adult novel by Yvonne Hendrie set in Scotland, where fae folk and humans interact; and the second part of The Blood Gift Trilogy by Susie Williamson. Susie’s first instalment, The Return of the Mantra, has received praise, reviews and orders from the US as well as across the UK. We have poetry from Rosemary Palmeira, and others. Plus of course, we can cheekily include Dream Catcher in this mission since the editor is the brilliant Wendy Pratt.
More later! Stay tuned!
Rose Drew, Alan Gillott, Declan Minskip, Emily Drew, and editorial assistant Grace Cooper
Image of the 19 Amendment
“This work is in the public domain in the United States because it is a work prepared by an officer or employee of the United States Government as part of that person’s official duties under the terms of Title 17, Chapter 1, Section 105 of the US Code.”
Stairwell makes it to the Guardian
Well, almost. In his review of the National Theatre’s production of Rutherford and Son Michael Billington includes fulsome praise for Pat Riley’s Looking for Githa. This is a production YOU must see and while you are there pick up a copy of Looking for Githa at the NT bookshop: beware, this is a very dangerous shop as it generates a strong desire to buy every book in it.
The Guardian review is here and if you want to know more about Githa Sowerby click here to get a copy of her biography by Pat Riley.
Northern Lights tops Newcastle Libraries Lending List
The January Non-fiction list of borrowed books list our very own Harry Gallagher and his Northern Lights collection right there as Number One. Northern Lights continues its success and is popular with those who care about the economic and social deprivation in the Tyne Tees area.
Yorkshire Times’ review of Looking for Githa
On the 22nd of January the Yorkshire Times’ Literary correspondent, Steve Whittaker, wrote:
“A ‘go-to’ source for theatre directors and historians alike, Looking for Githa, is as much an invaluable piece of historical research into the industrial north east at the turn of the last century, as an examination of an embryonic feminist whose life was a self-imposed enigma.
Riley’s forensic investigation has unearthed many fascinating familial connections. Alongside Githa, the Sowerby line has produced children’s author and landscape painter John George Sowerby, Antarctic explorer Murray Levick, award-winning sculptor Ruby Levick, children’s book illustrator Millicent Sowerby, and Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Leo Sowerby.”
You can access the full text of the review from the Yorkshire Post website – Looking For Githa: A Book And A Play At The Crucible Theatre
Steve also points out that “Sowerby’s dissection of social structures through observation has been compared to that of Ibsen. And the power of so-called Realist dramas to point up, and thereby help to redress, social iniquity, is still pressing, which is why Rutherford & Son remains cutting edge in any era”
And reminds us…
In conjunction with the play’s opening at the Crucible, publisher Stairwell Books will be launching Looking for Githa in a pre-performance event at the theatre on Saturday 9th February. Introductions by Stairwell’s Rose Drew and Alan Gillott will be followed by a presentation by the author, Patricia Riley.
Pat Riley at the National Theatre
Stairwell author Pat Riley joined by Sowerby scholar-editor J. Ellen Gainor have been invited to talk at the National Theatre in London about the social and family background of Githa Sowerby and that of women in general during the early 20th century.
The talk will take place in the Clore Learning Centre’s Cottesloe Room at 6pm on Friday 24th May, 2019. It will last for an hour and copies of Looking for Githa will be available after the talk. Further details of this talk can be found on this link, and of the Rutherford and Son performance at the Lyttleton
Tickets for this talk are £7 (Concessions £5) and may be purchased from the National Theatre web site.
Secure a discount for Rutherford and Son at the Crucible Theatre for the 9th February performance
In association with The Crucible Theatre and Stairwell Books, on the afternoon of Saturday, 9 February, Patricia Riley launches LOOKING FOR GITHA (expanded and updated). To help us celebrate Githa’s life and her work, The Crucible is offering all launch attendees £5 off of a theatre ticket for that evening’s performance of RUTHERFORD & SON. This is Githa’s most famous play, designated one of the 100 best plays of the Twentieth century by the National Theatre.
To secure your £5 per ticket discount, pre-order LOOKING FOR GITHA directly from Stairwell Books at a special price of £10, and receive the Crucible discount code. Then, join us at 4.30pm for a 5pm start, and pick up your book at that time.
Or, just take a chance and show up for the launch on the 9th: but this play has sold out audiences in runs in York and Newcastle, so that might backfire! If you do just show up and hope for the best, the Crucible will honour the £5 discount until the night is sold out.
Doors for Patricia Riley’s launch open at 4.30pm for a 5.00pm start, and the launch event ends at 6.30pm. That evening’s show of Rutherford & Son begins at 7.30pm. The Crucible bar will be open for this event.
5 Star Review for Return of the Mantra
Dan Stubbings placed The Return of the Mantra as number thirteen of his top 20 fantasy reads on his blog The Dimension Between Worlds.
“This book has everything I look for within fantasy. Strong protagonists and antagonists, an equal split of genders, diversity, and story-lines that at times reflected a modern day Africa. This is a highly satisfying read with a well developed world, and magic system. I cannot wait to see how it continues. Well done Susie 5 Stars.”
Stairwell Authors nominated to the 2018 York Culture Awards
Pauline Kirk, who with her daughter Jo Summers wrote the successful DI Ambrose series of mysteries, and is the author of Border 7 and The Keepers, along with Oz Hardwick who edited New Crops from Old Fields have both been nominated for the 2018 York Culture Awards #YorkCA18 Excellence in Writing categories. By an amazing coincidence the third finalist, Robert Powell, is also a regular contributor to Dream Catcher, our Literary Arts Journal. All three of these nominations are well deserved and Stairwell Books wishes them well.
The winners will be announced on November 19th at the York Theatre Royal.
Fantasy Con 2018
Stairwell Books is attending fantasycon, the essential annual destination for readers, writers, artists, editors, and publishers of all things Fantasy, Horror and Science Fiction.
Here we will be introducing Susie Williamson, the author of the recently published Return of the Mantra, who will be joining Pauline Kirk (Border 7, The Keepers) and Clint Wastling (Tyrants Rex) at our bookstall in the dealers room.
Stairwell Books and our authors will be playing a full role in the events programme throughout the con. We will have copies of other Stairwell novels to hand, especially those by our featured authors.
We will also have copies of Something I Need to Tell You by the up and coming short story writer William Thirsk-Gaskill who is featured in the Best British Short Stories 2018 anthology.
A L Michaels’ Wine Dark, Sea Blue reviewed in the Yorkshire Times
Steve Whitaker, the Literary Correspondent of the Yorkshire Times has reviewed Andrea Michael’s book, Wine Dark Sea Blue in September 5th issue of the newspaper. The review begins “This bitterly sardonic, but ironically warm, interior examination of a fractured life in a bonded but mutually destructive family yields a compelling microcosmic picture of a dysfunctional metropolitan landscape.”
Whitaker notices that although the book is cantered around a Greek London family the message about growing up in an expatriate family is more generally applicable:
“The first-person narration gives the novel impetus – we experience the details of a katabatic descent as though just lived. That Ellie’s family are of Greek origin adds flesh to a sense of cultural dislocation which hardens, further, her cynicism as to the coloratura dynamics of family relationships. The Greek perspective is significant, here, and Michael appears to be talking from first-hand experience: kicking against the easy adoption of stereotypical roles – at least one of Ellie’s ongoing bêtes noire is an insidious, controlling paternalism – Michael finds a platform for making a wider point about the tenacity of diasporic culture, even at generational distance.”
Steve later says:
“Michael returns to the amorphous sea instinctively, and it is in the dark waters of Greek myth that one of this finely-observed novel’s defining moments is situated. The capricious figure of Persephone, who occasions a lacerating and destructive sense of loss in the mother she leaves behind as she marries Hades and becomes a goddess of the Underworld, is thereafter obliged to wander a liminal space between earth and the realm of Death, as an emollient to both husband and mother, Demeter. The chiaroscuro interplay of worlds of life and death, of relentless seasonal changes, becomes a metaphor for the ache of Ellie’s unease, for her wandering purposelessness.”
See the full review here…
Wine Dark Sea Blue is available for the month of September for £10.00 free of postage and packaging. See here to purchase.
New York City Poetry Festival, Governor’s Island, July 28-29
Stairwell Books’ Author David Lee Morgan and Fighting Cock Press’ Rose Drew are featured at the Now York City Poetry Festival on Governor’s Island on July 28th and 29th. David, author, Edinburgh Fringe performer and BBC Slam champion will be featuring The River was a God as part of the show. US buyers can purchase it from our US distributor by following this link. Stairwell US Bookshop
Rose will be showcasing her earlier book, Temporary Safety, and featuring poems scheduled to appear in her next book due early next year.
They will be on ‘Chumley’s’ stage at 6.30 on Saturday. Look out for them on Sunday too.
Follycon
Stairwell books is at Follycon, the 69th British National Science Fiction Convention held at The Majestic Hotel in Harrogate, from 30 March – 2 April 2018. We will be announcing the Advance Order list for our New Science fiction fantasy novel, Return of the Mantra, by Susie Williamson and the Audio Book version of Pauline Kirk‘s Border 7, presciently accurate science fiction book predicting Brexit and the inevitable consequences of Corporate rule. Pauline’s earlier novel, the very well received The Keepers is available as a Kindle eBook.
Also present will be Clint Wastling with Tyrants Rex, another prophetic fantasy novel but with a further stretch in time.
Other books by our featured authors will be available at the table as well as a small selection of Stairwell’s other publications.
Clint will be talking about putting science into science fiction on Saturday at 10am.
Dream Catcher 36 Reprinted
Dream Catcher 36 has been reprinted after running through the initial print run. Dream Catcher, a literary arts journal edited by John Gilham, has been steadily growing in popularity. Dream Catcher’s circulation dropped dramatically after the failure of Border’s Bookshop and is beginning to recover its position as a premiere collection of eclectic poems, short stories and reviews. Dream Catcher 36 also features the art of Elaine Thomas, CBE. Issue 36 is available from the Dream Catcher bookshop. To ensure your copy subscription is recommended.
21st March 2018 / Previous News
The Martyrdoms at Clifford’s Tower 1190 and 1537
This important book by John Rayne-Davis linking Jewish and Catholic martyrdoms in York was launched at The Bar Convent on Wed March 14th at 7.30 pm, on the eve of the annual Clifford’s Tower Commemoration. The event was supported by the Lord Mayor of York, the CEO of the Liberal Jews in the UK and a representative of the Catholic Bishop of Middlesbrough. John Rayne-Davis gave a short talk outlining the background of both Martyrdoms which was followed by a broad discussion off bigotry and its growth in the 21st Centaury. The Martyrdoms at Clifford’s Tower 1190 and 1537 is available from the website and from The Bar Convent gift shop.
The Go-to Guy comes from Kardomah
Crime Noir was the order of the day at Hull’s Kardomah94 as Neal Hardin, a lifelong resident of Hull, introduced his novel, The Go-to Guy. In spite of it being Mother’s Day Neal was well supported as friends and colleagues read portions of the novel, each imparting their own characterisations to the work. Unlike the hired killer’s victim, the show was not at all dead, and a police raid was not required to enliven the proceedings.
Abernathy brings Wisconsin to York
York writer Claire Patel-Campbell brought to life her novel Abernathy at the New Schoolhouse Gallery in Peasholme Green. Abernathy explores how a single, albeit violent, event can have a devastating event through a whole community. Claire, accompanied by mulled wine to keep out the chill and supported by her writers group, read extracts, bringing to life the isolation of rural Wisconsin.
Noteworthy Launches for The River Was a God
David Lee Morgan’s remarkable trilogy of plays published in one volume as The River Was a God has been well received at events in London at the Horse Hospital, his 70th Birthday extravaganza; and in Leeds, at the Moortown Methodist Church. These plays, developed over time on the London Poetry circuit and performed at the Edinburgh Fringe have attracted major critical acclaim and are now available from Stairwell Books. David can be booked to perform any of these plays.
29th December 2017 / Previous News
Thing of Beauty
This amazing man is still creating brilliant new poetry. A Thing of Beauty is a Joy Forever is the musings of a brilliant poet and humanitarian at the end of his life. It is Don’s last gift, filled with snippets of the wonderful, the strange, the heartbreaking parts of being human. Buy it now from our bookshop. All royalties go to the St. Leonard’s Hospice.
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STDF at a glance
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Six developing country experts from different regions worldwide are part of the STDF and they rotate every two years. Developing country experts take part in STDF Working Group meetings, share experiences on SPS technical cooperation, provide guidance to review funding applications, and promote the STDF in relevant regional and international events.
Sanjay Dave
Sanjay Dave is currently the Chairperson of the Codex Coordinating Committee for Asia and a member of the Scientific Committee of Food Safety and Standards Authority of India. He has over three decades of experience working in agriculture, food safety and supporting the work of standard setting bodies. Previously, he was the Chairperson of Codex Alimentarius Commission, has served as the Agriculture Adviser in the Mission of India to the EU at Brussels and Director of Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority in the Ministry of Commerce in India.
G. J. Benoit Gnonlonfin
Gbemenou Joselin Benoit Gnonlonfin is currently ECOWAS-USAID Senior SPS standards advisor. Previously, he worked as a research scientist at Benin’s National Agricultural Research Institute for 10 years. He has been a consultant/expert in the African Union Inter-Bureau on Animal Resources (AU/IBAR) and on AU food safety and Codex projects. His experience includes capacity building, risk assessment and project development. He is a member of the Joint FAO/WHO Experts on Food Additives and Contaminants. He has a Masters in microbiology from the University of Botswana, and a PhD in food safety from the University of Copenhagen.
Rogério Pereira da Silva
Rogério Pereira da Silva has held several key positions, including Deputy General Negotiation Coordinator for WTO matters and Coordinator of Codex matters in the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food Supply of Brazil. He has participated in numerous Codex Committees, the WTO SPS Committees and FAO/WHO Coordinating Committees. He holds a Masters in Agronomy and a Specialization in food safety surveillance from University of Brasília, Brazil.
Merriam Toalak
Merriam Toalak worked for Biosecurity Vanuatu for 17 years as a Plant Pathology technician under Plant Health. She was acting Director of Biosecurity for two years before leaving for PhD studies in New Zealand, where she is currently doing her PhD program at Lincoln University. She spent half a year working with the Secretariat of the Pacific Community with Biosecurity and Trade, and Plant Health. She is a member of the Australasian Plant Pathology Society and she holds a Masters in Plant Health and Biosecurity from Adelaide University, South Australia.
Sanniel Wilson
Sanniel Wilson is Jamaica’s Chief Plant Quarantine Officer/Head of Jamaica’s National Plant Protection Organization (NPPO), the Plant Quarantine Produce Inspection Branch. Previously, she was Acting Pest Risk Manager and a Pest Risk Analyst with the NPPO for seven years and a Global Gap Implementation Officer. Her experience includes risk assessment for food safety systems and training in GMPs, GAPs and HACCP. She is Jamaica’s IPPC representative at the Caribbean Agricultural Health Food Safety Agency and country representative on the Caribbean Plant Health Director’s Forum. She holds a Masters in Food Safety and Quality.
Ameha Sebsibe Woldemariam
Ameha Sebsibe Woldemariam is currently Head of the Livestock Development Program at the regional centre of the Inter-governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), based in Nairobi, covering seven countries in East Africa. He worked in the Ethiopian agricultural system as a researcher and national coordinator of the small ruminant program and as the Director of a research centre for over 15 years. Ameha was also Director General of the Ethiopian Meat and Dairy Technology Institute. He has a PhD on Meat Science from the University of Pretoria and has authored journals, papers, and other publications.
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Prison Talk > U.S. REGIONAL FORUMS > LOUISIANA > Louisiana Prison & Criminal Justice News & Events
Louisiana - Get the word out that Felons can register to VOTE
Louisiana Prison & Criminal Justice News & Events Current news items and information on events related to the Louisiana prison & criminal justice systems.
Louisiana voting rights change not causing surge in signups
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — A Louisiana law change earlier this year restored voting rights to thousands of convicted felons, but at most, only a few hundred have registered to vote so far.
Data from the secretary of state’s office shows modest upticks in the number of felons who have registered to vote since the law loosened March 1.
Louisiana legislators agreed to allow people on probation or parole for a felony to register to vote if they haven’t been incarcerated for at least five years, a change estimated to make 36,000 felons eligible for voter registration.
But since the law took effect, 581 felons have had their voting rights restored. The secretary of state’s office has said it cannot determine which were able to register specifically because of the law change.
Read entire article below:
https://www.apnews.com/69e942748f294121bc78b5e5c15a784f
Get out the vote: Inform others that felons may be able to vote. Its painless to have your Rights restored - I did it! I also I registered to vote as soon as I received my paperwork from the Gov (Kentucky) and have voted, will continue voting.
The Following 3 Users Say Thank You to patchouli For This Useful Post:
GaReform (09-12-2019), HisQueenKD (09-16-2019), miamac (09-11-2019)
miamac
Location: ORnativeAZresCAtied
Terrific news. Should never have taken this long and the rest of the country needs to catch up.
The Following User Says Thank You to miamac For This Useful Post:
Find all posts by miamac
GaReform
There is a great advocacy group in the New Orleans area that is making sure the word is spread. Their name is V.O.T.E. It stands for Voice Of The Experienced.They have been holding voter registration drives all over the state & are working with other groups to get people signed up. Here is a link to their voting rights page. It lists a lot of info about who can vote & where to go. https://www.vote-nola.org/voting-rights.html
We need to start electing DAs & Judges that are fair minded & willing to give 2nd chances to those who want to prove themselves. That's the best place to make change. Laws take time & effort to change but having people in place that work with the accused is often the fastest way to make a difference.
The Following 3 Users Say Thank You to GaReform For This Useful Post:
HisQueenKD (09-16-2019), miamac (09-12-2019), patchouli (09-12-2019)
Find all posts by GaReform
From Louisiana DOC FAQ:
How do I apply for the restoration of voting rights? In Louisiana, the right to vote is automatically restored upon completion of your sentence of imprisonment, probation, or parole. Once an offender has completed a sentence of imprisonment or supervision, they will receive documentation from the facility where they were incarcerated or from the probation officer stating that they have completed the sentence (if this document is lost, an offender will need to contact the P&P District Office where they were supervised or the Clerk of Courts Office). They will take this documentation to the Registrar of voters’ office with a completed voter registration form, where their name will be restored to the voting rolls.
If convicted before the current state constitution took effect, which was January 1, 1975, an offender must apply for and receive a pardon from the governor to regain your right to vote.
Voters must register to vote at least 30 days prior to an election. If a voter registration application is mailed to the elections office, it must be postmarked at least 30 days prior to the election in which the voter intends to vote.
https://www.doc.louisiana.gov/freque...ked-questions/
Shoot, they don't have to apply for their voting rights! Just register to vote!
Last edited by patchouli; 09-12-2019 at 10:19 PM.. Reason: add link
HisQueenKD (09-21-2019)
No longer ‘voiceless,’ Louisiana felons regain the right to vote Nickel Timer World Prison News 0 06-01-2018 02:13 PM
Thousands of Alabama felons register to vote in last-minute push Nickel Timer World Prison News 8 12-13-2017 02:29 PM
Crist executive order makes it easier for felons to register to vote whisky 23 Florida News & Events 2 09-02-2008 10:31 PM
Register to VOTE! Zelda50 Oregon General Prison Talk, Introductions & Chit Chat 5 04-28-2008 08:22 PM
Vote Smart in November! (And register to vote) Zelda50 Federal General Prison Talk, Introductions & Chit Chat 14 11-13-2006 12:21 PM
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ROCKET ENGINE THEORY
artwork by Paul Calle
Propellant is the crap you chuck out the exhaust pipe to make rocket thrust. It's Newton's Law of Action and Reaction, savvy? Fuel is what you burn to get the energy to chuck crap out the exhaust pipe. As I told you before they ain't the same. And any show-oaf who asks me "what about reactionless drives" is gonna get an instant RocketCat Atomic Wedgie.
ROCKET ENGINES 101
If you already know about Newton's three laws of motion and how rockets work, you can skip ahead to the next section.
Spaceships have it hard because space does not have all the advantages we take for granted on Terra. Things like friction.
You want to make your automobile move? No problemo, just make sure all the wheels touch the ground. The wheels spin, they push against the friction of the road, the auto moves forwards. Easy peasy.
There ain't no road in space. There ain't no nothing in space, that's why they call it space. There is nothing with friction to push against. In space your auto will literally spin its wheels while going nowhere. As will your motor-boat and airplane uselessly spinning their propellers.
So how are you going to get your poor spaceship to move? Newton's third law, that's how.
Newton's third law in ... er, ah ... Action.
In a physics textbook Newton's third law says for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. In English this means things will recoil. If you fire a .577 Nitro Express bullet out of your rifle, the rifle's recoil is going to kick like a mule and dislocate your shoulder. You can see this even better if you are standing on something with little friction, like on a piece of glare ice or in a raft on the water. You will go sliding backwards on the ice or overboard the edge of the raft, with your dislocated shoulder.
But you will really move backwards fast if you are in a place with no friction. Like, say, in space.
So a rocket engine is just a way to fire some "reaction mass" (propellant) out the exhaust nozzle, so the recoil kicks the spaceship forwards. Because conventional propulsion won't work in space.
Video Clip "Destination Moon"
fast forward to the Woody Woodpecker tutorial at 1:40
Now the action and the equal but opposite reaction are not measured in speed, they are measured in momentum. But don't panic, it is reasonably simple. Momentum is the object's mass times the velocity. Which is a fancy way of saying that an object with a tiny mass but an enormous velocity can have the same momentum as an object with a huge mass but a tiny velocity.
The practical effect is even if the mass of the propellant shooting out the engine is tiny compared to the spaceship, if the propellant is moving really fast the recoil will give the heavy space ship a substantial velocity in the other direction.
Say the good ship Polaris has a mass of 181,000 kilograms (181 metric tons). It has super powerful Nuclear Salt Water Rockets with an exhaust velocity of 182,000 meters per second (because it is using 22% enriched uranium) and a remass flow of 71 kilograms per second. If the Polaris is floating in space with a speed of zero, how fast will it be moving if it burns its engine for ten seconds?
In ten seconds it will spit out 71 × 10 = 710 kilograms of reaction mass.
The exhaust velocity is 182,000 m/s, so the momentum of the action is 182,000 × 710 = 129,220,000 kg⋅m/s
The Polaris gets an equal but opposite reaction of 129,220,000 kg⋅m/s. The mass of the Polaris is 181,000 kg. So the velocity is 129,220,000 / 181,000 = 714 m/s, which is about 1,597 miles per hour (in the opposite direction the remass is traveling). Not bad for a ten-second burn.
THE MARTIAN WAY
(ed note: Long and Rioz are Scavengers: citizens of Mars whose job is to intercept cast-off propellant tanks, brand them, and send them to Deimos. They are listening to a broadcast from Terra. It is a propaganda piece from a nastly little politician named "Hilder" {Asimov's thinly disguised stand in for you-know-who}. Hilder is making a fake controversy about Mars wasting water as rocket propellant, which is nonsense. But Hilder needs an issue if he is going to be elected as global co-ordinator)
Rioz took a hesitant step forward. Space was clear, so to hell with sitting and looking at a blank, green, pipless line. He said, “What's the Grounder been talking about?”
“History of space travel mostly. Old stuff, but he's doing it well. He's giving the whole works—color cartoons, trick photography, stills from old films, everything.”
As if to illustrate Long's remarks, the bearded figure faded out of view, and a cross-sectional view of a spaceship flitted onto the screen. Hilder's voice continued, pointing out features of interest that appeared in schematic color. The communications system of the ship outlined itself in red as he talked about it, the storerooms, the proton micropile drive, the cybernetic circuits…
Then Hilder was back on the screen. “But this is only the travel-head of the ship. What moves it? What gets it off the Earth?”
Everyone knew what moved a spaceship, but Hilder's voice was like a drug. He made spaceship propulsion sound like the secret of the ages, like an ultimate revelation. Even Rioz felt a slight tingling of suspense, though he had spent the greater part of his life aboard ship.
Hilder went on. ”Scientists call it different names. They call it the Law of Action and Reaction. Sometimes they call it Newton's Third Law. Sometimes they call it Conservation of Momentum. But we don't have to call it any name. We can just use our common sense. When we swim, we push water backward and move forward ourselves. When we walk, we push back against the ground and move forward. When we fly a gyro-flivver, we push air backward and move forward.
“Nothing can move forward unless something else moves backward. It's the old principle of ‘You can't get something for nothing.'
“Now imagine a spaceship that weighs a hundred thousand tons lifting off Earth. To do that, something else must be moved downward. Since a spaceship is extremely heavy, a great deal of material must be moved downwards. So much material, in fact, that there is no place to keep it all aboard ship. A special compartment must be built behind the ship to hold it.”
Again Hilder faded out and the ship returned. It shrank and a truncated cone appeared behind it. In bright yellow, words appeared within it: MATERIAL TO BE THROWN AWAY.
“But now,” said Hilder, “the total weight of the ship is much greater. You need still more propulsion and still more.”
The ship shrank enormously to add on another larger shell and still another immense one. The ship proper, the travel-head, was a little dot on the screen, a glowing red dot.
(ed note: i.e., The Tyranny of the Rocket Equation)
Rioz said, “Hell, this is kindergarten stuff.”
“Not to the people he's speaking to, Mario,” replied Long “Earth isn't Mars. There must be billions of Earth people who've never even seen a spaceship; don't know the first thing about it.”
Hilder was saying, “When the material inside the biggest shell is used up, the shell is detached. It's thrown away, too.”
The outermost shell came loose, wobbled about the screen.
“Then the second one goes,” said Hilder, “and then, if the trip is a long one, the last is ejected.”
The ship was just a red dot now, with three shells shifting and moving, lost in space.
Hilder said, “These shells represent a hundred thousand tons of tungsten, magnesium, aluminum, and steel. They are gone forever from Earth. Mars is ringed by Scavengers, waiting along the routes of space travel, waiting for the cast-off shells, netting and branding them, saving them for Mars. Not one cent of payment reaches Earth for them. They are salvage. They belong to the ship that finds them.”
Rioz said, “We risk our investment and our lives. If we don't pick them up, no one gets them. What loss is that to Earth?”
“Look,” said Long, “he's been talking about nothing but the drain that Mars, Venus, and the Moon put on Earth. This is just another item of loss.”
“They'll get their return. We're mining more iron every year.”
“And most of it goes right back into Mars. If you can believe his figures, Earth has invested two hundred billion dollars in Mars and received back about five billion dollars' worth of iron. It's put five hundred billion dollars into the Moon and gotten back a little over twenty-five billion dollars of magnesium, titanium, and assorted light metals. It's put fifty billion dollars into Venus and gotten back nothing. And that's what the taxpayers of Earth are really interested in—tax money out; nothing in”.
The screen was filled, as he spoke, with diagrams of the Scavengers on the route to Mars; little, grinning caricatures of ships, reaching out wiry, tenuous arms that groped for the tumbling, empty shells, seizing and snaking them in, branding them MARS PROPERTY in glowing letters, then scaling them down to Phobos.
Then it was Hilder again. ”They tell us eventually they will return it all to us. Eventually! Once they are a going concern! We don't know when that will be. A century from now? A thousand years? A million? 'Eventually.' Let's take them at their word. Someday they will give us back all our metals. Someday they will grow their own food, use their own power, live their own lives.
“But one thing they can never return. Not in a hundred million years. Water!
“Mars has only a trickle of water because it is too small. Venus has no water at all because it is too hot. The Moon has none because it is too hot and too small. So Earth must supply not only drinking water and washing water for the Spacers, water to run their industries, water for the hydroponic factories they claim to be setting up—but even water to throw away by the millions of tons.
“What is the propulsive force that spaceships use? What is it they throw out behind so that they can accelerate forward? Once it was the gasses generated from explosives. That was very expensive. Then the proton micropile was invented—a cheap power source that could heat up any liquid until it was a gas under tremendous pressure. What is the cheapest and most plentiful liquid available? Why, water, of course.
“Each spaceship leaves Earth carrying nearly a million tons—not pounds, tons—of water, for the sole purpose of driving it into space so that it may speed up or slow down.
“Our ancestors burned the oil of Earth madly and wilfully. They destroyed its coal recklessly. We despise and condemn, them for that, but at least they had this excuse—they thought that when the need arose, substitutes would be found. And they were right. We have our plankton farms and our proton micro-piles.
“But there is no substitute for water. None! There never can be. And when our descendants view the desert we will have made of Earth, what excuse will they find for us? When the droughts come and grow—.”
Long leaned forward and turned off the set. He said, “That bothers me. The damn fool is deliberately—”
From THE MARTIAN WAY by Isaac Asimov (1952)
In reality, they would probably ride on top of the rocket instead of riding it like a horse. Remember that "down" is in the direction the exhaust goes. But you are not paying any attention at all to what I'm saying right now, are you? Your eyes braked to a halt on the picture, you're not even reading this caption. They are wearing Skintight suits, OK?
Artwork by Clyde Caldwell (2007)
(ed note: Keven, Glenda, and Jacob have been stranded on a tiny asteroid orbiting Ceres by the Bad Guys. They are in a mostly stripped base, trying to figure out how to get down to Ceres using only what is available)
Kevin prowled through the corridors of their prison. There has to be some way, he told himself. Ceres mocked him from below, less than three hundred kilometers down. It hung huge in the night sky.
Three hundred kilometers down, and we're moving about half a kilometer a second relative to Ceres, Kevin thought. That's not very much velocity. Under a thousand miles an hour. It doesn't take much energy to get to that speed. How much gasoline does it take to accelerate a car on Earth up to a hundred miles an hour—a gallon or so? We only need ten times that, not even that much.
There's plenty of hydrogen and oxygen. Marvelous rocket fuels if we only had a rocket. More than enough to get us down, except that the temperature of hydrogen burning in oxygen is a lot hotter than anything we have to contain in it—
No. That's not right. The fuel cells do it. But they do it by slowing down the reaction, and they can't be turned into rocket engines.
He remembered the early German Rocket Society experiments described by Willy Ley. The Berliners had blown up more rockets than they flew, and they were only using gasoline, not hydrogen. Liquid-fuel rockets need big hairy pumps, and Kevin didn't have any pumps.
What did he have? Fuel cells, plenty of them, and so what? An electric-powered rocket was theoretically possible, but Kevin didn't have the faintest idea of how to build one, even if there was enough equipment around to do it with. He wasn't sure anyone had ever built one—certainly he couldn't.
Back to first principles, he thought. The only way to change velocity in space is with a rocket. What is a rocket? A machine for throwing mass overboard. The faster the mass thrown away goes in one direction, the faster the rocket will go in the other, and the less you have to throw. All rockets are no more than a means of spewing out mass in a narrow direction. A rocket could consist of a man sitting in a bucket and throwing rocks backward.
That might get a few feet per second velocity change, but so what? There simply wasn't enough power in human muscles—even if he did have a lot of rocks. Was there any other way to throw them? Not fast; and unless the thrown-away mass had a high velocity, the rocket wouldn't be any use. He went on through the tunnels, looking at each piece of equipment he found, trying to think of how it might be used.
You can throw anything overboard to make a rocket. Hydrogen, for example. That's all Wayfarer's engines did, heat up hydrogen and let it go out through the rocket nozzle. We have hydrogen under pressure— Not enough. Nowhere near enough hydrogen and nowhere near enough pressure, not to get velocity changes of hundreds of miles an hour. Ditto for oxygen. Gas under compression just can't furnish enough energy. What would? Chemical energy; burning hydrogen in oxygen would do it, but it gave off too much; there was nothing to contain that reaction except the fuel cells and they did it by slowing the reaction way down and—
And I'm back where I started, Kevin thought. Plenty of energy in the fuel cells if I could find a way to use it. Could I heat a gas with electricity? Certainly, only how—
His eye fell on the hot-water tank in the crew quarters. An electric hot-water tank. There was a pressure gauge: forty pounds per square inch. Forty p.s.i.—He looked at the tank as if seeing it for the first time, then went running back to the others.
"Glenda, Jacob, I've got it."
"Sure it works." Kevin grinned. "Steam at forty p.s.i. will come out fast. About a kilometer a second."
"I believe you," Glenda said. "But it sounds silly. Steam rockets?"
Kevin shrugged. "It is silly. There are a lot more efficient systems. But this will work—"
"In a low g field," Jacob said. "You will not have much thrust. Of course you won't need much."
"I'm sure it works," Kevin said. "Now all we have to do is build it." He made himself sound confident; he knew how much room for error there was in his figures. "Look, it takes nine hundred and eighty calories to turn a gram of water into steam. We heat that steam up another thirty or forty degrees and let it out. The energy is moving molecules. We know the molecular weight of water, so we can figure the number of molecules in a gram and—"
They disconnected the hot-water tank and drilled holes in it. Several turns of heating wire went through the holes, then they sealed them in epoxy. At one end of the tank they drilled a large hole and threaded a pipe into it, threaded a large valve onto the pipe, and welded a makeshift rocket nozzle beyond that.
When it was done they tethered the tank and filled it with water, then connected a fuel cell to the heating leads. "Here goes," Kevin said. He threw the switch to start the heaters.
Slowly the water inside heated, then began to boil. The pressure shown on the gauge began to rise. In half an hour they had forty-five pounds of pressure. "All right, let's try it," Kevin said.
Glenda turned the valve to let out steam. A jet of steam and water shot out across the surface of the moonlet. Ice crystals formed in space and slowly settled to the rocket surface. The jet reached far away from them, well off the moonlet itself. The tank pulled against its tether lines, stretching the rope.
"It works!" Kevin shouted. "Damn it, we're going to make it!" He shut off the electricity. "Let's get her finished."
It didn't look like a spaceship. It didn't even resemble a scooter, crude as those were. It looked like a hot-water tank with fuel cells bolted onto it. For controls it had vanes set crosswise in the exhaust stream, spring-loaded to center, with two tillers, one for each vane; a valve to control steam flow; and switches to connect the fuel cells to the heaters. Nothing else.
The tank itself was fuzzy: They'd sprayed it with Styrofoam, building it up in layers until they had nearly a foot of insulation. There were straps on opposite sides of the tank to hold two passengers on.
The tank held nearly a hundred gallons of water. Kevin calculated that they had more than enough energy to boil it all in their two fuel cells, and they would only need sixty gallons to get to Ceres. The number was so small that he ran it four times, but it was correct.
The strangest part was the stability system: a pair of wheels taken from a mining cart and set up in front of the water tank. Electric motors rotated the wheels in opposite directions.
The total mass of Galahad with full water tank was just under 550 kilograms.
It took only a gentle effort to push the steam rocket away from the moonlet, but the cartwheel-gyros resisted any effort to turn it. Finally they got it oriented properly in space. Then they climbed aboard.
"Full head of steam," Kevin said. "Almost fifty pounds. Ready?"
"Ready—"
He twisted the steam valve. At first both steam and water were expelled from the tank, but as they began to accelerate, the water settled and the exhaust valve let out only steam. C-2 dropped away. They missed it. It was a prison, but a safe one; now they had only their makeshift steam rocket.
Galahad showed a tendency to tumble, but with the gyros resisting, they were able to control it with the steering vanes. A plume of steam shot from the tank, rapidly crystallizing into ice fog that engulfed them.
"Damn. That's going to make it hard to see," Kevin said. "Nothing we can do about it." He peered down toward Ceres. It didn't seem any closer. Jacob's farewell faded in their headsets.
Norsedal's calculations had shown that twenty minutes' thrust should be enough to cancel all their orbital velocity. It would use up just about half their fuel. Once Galahad was stopped dead in orbit above Ceres, they would fall toward the asteroid, and they would have half their steam left to counteract that.
The trouble was that Jacob couldn't calculate how high above Ceres they would be when the twenty minutes were finished. As they lost velocity, they would lose altitude, and their orbit would no longer be a smooth circle, but an ellipse intersecting Ceres—somewhere. At the end of twenty minutes Kevin cut the power off. He was pleased that they still had thirty pounds of steam pressure.
"Yes, but that's what the numbers say."
"All right."
And a year ago I was working equations in school, Kevin thought. Numbers to crunch and write down for examinations. Now they're something to stake your life on.
From EXILES TO GLORY by Jerry Pournelle (1977).
CANDLES 4
(ed note: In the future people use handwavium paragravity to terraform asteroids. They also use them as torchships. Some royal morons want to move an inhabited asteroid from one cluster to another, an action that will spark a localized war. Our heroes Captain Dhan Gopal Radhakrishnan and Engineer Knud Axel Syrup arrive in the Mercury Girl, and are captured by the royal morons. All radios have been confiscated, so no warning can be broadcast. But our heroes figure out how to make a makeshift rocket out of local materials in order to travel to another asteroid to spread the alarm. They are forced to use only locally available materials.)
The first beer-powered spaceship in history rested beneath a derrick by the main cargo hatch.
It was not as impressive as Herr Syrup could have wished. Using a small traveling lift for the heavy work, he had joined four ten-ton casks of Nashornbräu end to end with a light framework. The taps had been removed from the kegs and their bungholes plugged, simple electrically-controlled Venturi valves in the plumb center being substituted. Jutting an orthogonal axes from each barrel there were also L-shaped exhaust pipes, by which it was hoped to control rotation and sideways motion. Various wires and shafts, their points of entry sealed with gunk, plunged into the barrels, ending in electric beaters (to agitate the beer. Much like shaking up a bottle of beer before opening the lid). A set of relays was intended to release each container as it was exhausted. The power for all this— it did not amount to much—came from a system of heavy-duty EXW batteries at the front end.
Ahead of those batteries was fastened a box, some two meters square and three meters long. Sheets of plastic were set in its black-painted sides by way of windows. The torso and helmet of a spacesuit jutted from the roof, removably fastened in a screw-threaded hatch cover which could be turned around. Beside it was a small stovepipe valve holding two self-closing elastic diaphragms through which tools could be pushed without undue air loss. The box had been put together out of cardboard beer cases, bolted to a light metal frame and carefully sized and gunked.
"You see,’’ Herr Syrup had explained grandly, "in dis situation, vat do ve need to go to New Vinshester? Not an atomic motor, for sure, because dere is almost neglishible gravity to overcome. Not a nice streamlined shape, because ve have no air hereabouts. Not great structural strengt’, for dere is no strain odder dan a very easy acceleration; so beer cardboard is strong enough for two, free men to sit on a box of it under Eart’ gravity. Not a fancy t’ermostatic system for so short a hop, for de sun is far avay, our own bodies make heat and losing dat heat by radiation is a slow process. If it does get too hot inside, ve can let a little vater evaporate into space though de stovepipe valve to cool us; if ve get shilly, ve can tap a little heat though a coil off de batteries.
"All ve need is air. Not even mush air, since I is sitting most of de time and you ban a Martian. A pair of oxygen cylinders should make more dan enough; ja, and ve vill need a chemical, carbon-dioxide absorber, and some desiccating stuffs so you do not get a vater vapor drunk. For comfort ve vill take along a few bottles beer and some pretzels to nibble on.
"As for de minimal boat itself, I have tested de exhaust velocity of hot, agitated beer against vacuum, and it is enough to accelerate us to a few hundred kilometers per hour, maybe t'ree hundred, if ve use a high enough mass ratio. And ve vill need a few simple navigating instruments, an ephemeris, slide rule, and so on. As a precaution, I install my bicycle in de cabin, hooked to a simple homemade g’enerator, yust a little electric motor yuggled around to be run in reverse, vit’ a rectifier. Dat vay, if de batteries get too veak ve can resharshe dem. And also a small, primitive oscillator ve can make, short range, ja, but able to run a gamut of freqvencies vit’ out exhausting de batteries, so ve can send an SOS ven ve ban qvite close to New Vinshester. Dey hear it and send a spaceship out to pick us up, and dat is dat.”
The execution of this theory had been somewhat more difficult, but Herr Syrup’s ears aboard the Mercury Girl had made him a highly skilled improviser and jackleg inventor. Now, tired, greasy, and content, he smoked a well-earned pipe as he stood admiring his creation. Partly, he waited for the electric coils which surrounded the boat and tapped the ship’s power lines, to heat the beer sufficiently; but that was very nearly complete, to the point of unsafeness. And partly he waited for the ship to reach that orbital point which would give his boat full tangential velocity toward the goal; that would be in a couple of hours.
Er … are you sure we had better not test it first?” asked Sarmishkidu uneasily.
"No, I t’ink not,” said Herr Syrup. "First, it vould take too long to fix up an extra barrel. Ve been up here a veek or more vit’out a vord to Grendel. If O’Toole gets suspicious and looks t’ rough a telescope and sees us scooting around, right avay he sends up a lifeboat full of soldiers; vich is a second reason for not making a test flight.”
"But, well, that is, suppose something goes wrong?”
"Den de spacesuit keeps me alive for several hours and you can stand vacuum about de same lengt’ of time. Emily vill be vatching us t’rough de ship’s telescope, so she can let McConnell out and he can come rescue us.”
"And what if he can’t find us? Or if we have an accident out of telescopic range from here? Space is a large volume.”
“I prefer you vould not mention dat possibility,” said Herr Syrup with a touch of hauteur.
From A BICYCLE BUILT FOR BREW by Poul Anderson (1958)
Using an oxygen tank as an improvised rocket to rescue a crewman
From Destination Moon
The intelligent lady uses her brains and utilizes a soda siphon as a soda water rocket
From BEYOND MARS (1952)
The Star Spear from Tom Swift and his Rocket Ship by Victor Appleton II, 1954
So the good ship Polaris has to have engine(s) and enough propellant to manage a total deltaV of 39,528 m/s. We have to make a trial spacecraft design, calculate its total deltaV capacity, and see if it equals or exceeds 39,528 m/s. If not, its time to go back to the drawing board to tweak the design a bit.
Here's how to calculate a spacecraft's total deltaV capacity. (You can find a more in-depth explanation of the following process here). In order to calculate the spacecraft's total deltaV capacity, you need to know two things: the spacecraft's Mass Ratio, and the exhaust velocity of the engine. Surprisingly, you don't need to know anything else, not even the ship's mass. I will lead you through the steps in the sections below.
Rick Robinson's Rocketpunk Manifesto blog has some important points to make. The performance of available rocket engines will affect the rate of exploration, what destinations can be reached, and the travel time.
Eric Rozier has an on-line calculator that will assist with some of these equations.
ACCELERATION GENERAL RULE
5 milligee (0.05 m/s2) : General rule practical minimum for ion drive, laser sail or other low thrust / long duration drive. Otherwise the poor spacecraft will take years to change orbits. Unfortunately pure solar sails are lucky to do 3 milligees.
0.6 gee (5.88 m/s2) : General rule average for high thrust / short duration drive. Useful for Hohmann transfer orbits, or crossing the Van Allen radiation belts before they fry the astronauts.
3.0 gee (29.43 m/s2) : General rule minimum to lift off from Terra's surface into LEO.
From Ken Burnside
THRUST REGIMES AND ISP FOR INTERPLANETARY TRAVEL
Ken Burnside: Ignoring the ground to orbit issue for the moment, I see list consensus has found three thrust regimes.
EKLUNDIAN — thrusts are greater than solar gravitation, but not by much. Isps (specific impulse) are low enough that conserving delta v is the paramount concern. Travel time is known more or less in advance, and everyone has launch windows to observe.
HEINLEINIAN — thrusts are so significantly greater than local gravitation that orbital mechanics is meaningless. Isps are high enough in concert with these thrusts that Heinlein style "burn-flip-burn" moves are the norm; travel time reduction becomes the paramount concern.
THE FUZZY MIDDLE — thrusts are higher than local gravitation, but usually within an order of magnitude of it. When local gravitation as a function of range exceeds some percentage of thrust, it turns things into an Eklundian model. Isps are low enough that total delta v doesn't permit Heinlein-style brachistochrone orbits.
Now the questions:
1) Have I categorized this properly? Or is there a category I'm missing? Does category three need a better name, or further subdivision?
2) At what percentage of thrust does local gravitation force Eklundian style "slow spiral orbits"?
3) At what range of ISps do we get to "It's better to just burn more gas to save time" assuming point 2 is met?
GIGAWATT THRUSTER
Mini-Mag Orion Z-Pinch Fission
from boardgame High Frontier
TERAWATT THRUSTER
Colliding FRC 3He-D Fusion
RICK ROBINSON'S RESPONSE:
Ken Burnside:
Ignoring the ground to orbit issue for the moment, I see list consensus has found three thrust regimes.
EKLUNDIAN — thrusts are greater than solar gravitation, but not by much. Isps are low enough that conserving delta v is the paramount concern. Travel time is known more or less in advance, and everyone has launch windows to observe.
Thrust hardly really matters in the limited Isp regime, so long as it is an appreciable fraction of a milligee — it can probably even be less than solar gravitation, so long as it isn't too much less.
Thrust above about 0.1 g allows more efficient planetary departures, saving a few km/s, but this is nearly irrelevant to interplanetary transfer orbits, so the Eklundian conditions apply.
I don't like the term Heinleinian, because Heinlein also (and more often) described Eklundian or fuzzy-middle travel. Call it torchship, or torchlike.
Note that acceleration of about 5-10 milligees is enough for torchlike performance, if you have the delta v. You'll still have to spiral out from planets, but once clear of them, 10 milligees gives you 8.5 km/s per day, solar escape speed in a week (with displacement in the frame of reference less than 0.1 AU).
Note also a relationship between the inner and outer Solar System (roughly, inside and outside Jupiter). Ships that are Eklundian in the inner system can barely reach the outer system at all. Ships that are fuzzy-middle in the inner system behave nearly like torchships in the outer system — they have to coast most of the way, but nearly in a straight line.
No, these sound about right. I'd call the fuzzy middle "transitional."
My impressionistic description. The Solar System is a vast, slowly revolving whirlpool. Eklund ships are galleys caught in it; by hard rowing they can shift themselves inward or outward to visit the whirlpool's floating, revolving islands.
Torchships are hydrofoils that zip from island to island, so fast they can effectively ignore the motion of the whirlpool, except for the movement of their destination.
In the transition are steamboats, which are able to cut steeply across the vortex, but cannot ignore it.
Less than perhaps 5-10 milligees.
In terms of whether you have to spiral out from individual planets, or can make the more efficient slingshot burn from low orbit, I would say that the threshold is about 0.1 g.
I am going to swag this as a ship delta v of about 50-100 km/s — assuming roughly a 65 percent fuel fraction, your exhaust velocity is the same, so Isp about 5000-10,000 seconds. For fast commercial travel you probably want a lower fuel fraction, so you need a drive with upwards of 10,000 seconds of Isp.
Ignore specifics of rockets - we've seen enough arguments over people's favorite propulsion systems for the last 5 weeks. :) I'm just looking to establish the categories for now, so we can use them to organize discussions in the future.
Keeping it general, chemfuel is strictly Eklundian in spite of its high thrust.
Nuclear-thermal (even Orion) is largely Eklundian, struggling to get ship delta v above 20 km/s or so. The advantage over chemfuel is that it does Hohmann and near-Hohmann orbits with a considerably lower fuel fraction, allowing perhaps 2x to 5x the payload.
Nuclear-electric drives like VASIMR live in the transition zone — they have supra-Eklund delta v, but sluggish acceleration around 1 milligee. In practice, commercial ships at least may still live in Eklundian space, using the higher specific impulse to further reduce fuel fraction, allowing more cargo, rather than for higher speed.
The threshold of torchlike performance is roughly Isp of 10,000 seconds combined with thrust around 5 milligees. For a 1000-ton ship this requires 2.5 gigawatts of thrust power. If the drive engine itself is 250 tons, that requires a drive power density of 10 kw/kg, comparable to a jet engine.
So, very roughly 1 gigawatt (GW, 109W) thrust power for a moderate size ship marks the minimum torchship threshold. But "classical" torchships are about 1000x more powerful, approaching the terawatt (TW, 1012W) range, allowing acceleration near 1 g or exhaust velocity near 1000 km/s.
From THRUST REGIMES AND ISP FOR INTERPLANETARY TRAVEL
by Rick Robinson (2007)
Since almost all rockets are giant propellant tanks with an engine on the bottom and the pilot's chair at the top, most of the rocket is propellant. A titanic metal foil balloon with tiny rocket bits stuck on with vacuum tape.
"Mass Ratio" is just a fancy way to measure how much mass is the propellant and how much is the rest of the blasted rocket.
Propellant is the crap you chuck out the exhaust pipe to make rocket thrust. Fuel is what you burn to get the energy to chuck propellant out the exhaust pipe. As I told you before they ain't the same.
Mass Ratio tells the percentage of the spacecraft's mass that is propellant. You generally try different values for the mass ratio until you get a deltaV that is sufficient. You want a mass ratio that is low, but you'll probably be forced to settle for a high one. As a general rule, a mass ratio greater than 4 is not economical for a merchant cargo spacecraft, mass ratio 15 is at the limits of the possible, and a mass ratio greater than 20 is probably impossible (At least without staging. But we won't go into that because no self-respecting Space Cadet wants to go into space atop a disintegrating totem pole. For purposes of illustration, the Apollo Saturn V uses staging, and had a monstrous mass ratio of 22).
As a side note, propellant is also called "reaction mass" or "remass". Please note, there is a difference between propellant and fuel. Fuel is the material used by the propulsion system to generate energy. Propellant is "reaction mass", i.e., what comes shooting out the exhaust nozzle to work the magic of Newton's law of action and reaction. Only in rare cases (like chemical propulsion) are propellant and fuel the same thing. For most of these propulsion systems the fuel is uranium or plutonium and the propellant is hydrogen.
You probably won't use this equation, but the definition of mass ratio is:
R = M / Me
R = (Mpt / Me) + 1
R = mass ratio (dimensionless number)
M = mass of rocket with full propellant tanks, the Wet Mass (kg)
Mpt = mass of propellant, the Propellant Mass (kg)
Me = mass of rocket with empty propellant tanks, the Dry Mass. Me=M-Mpt (kg)
If the Star Spear carries 70 metric tons of propellant, and the rocket masses 40 metric tons with dry tanks, its mass ratio is (70 / 40) + 1 = 2.75. This means that for every ton of rocket and payload there is 2.75 tons of propellant. Alternatively, if the Star Spear masses 110 metric tons full of propellant and 40 metric tons empty, the mass ratio is still 110 / 40 = 2.75. Note that mass ratios are generally always much higher than 1.0.
The equation you will actually use (later) is:
Pf = 1 - (1/R)
R = 1 / (1-Pf)
Pf = propellant fraction, that is, percent of total rocket mass M that is propellant: 1.0 = 100% , 0.25 = 25%, etc.
The Star Spear's propellant fraction is 1 - (1 / 2.75) = 0.63 or 63%
If you happen to have the rocket's delta V (or you are designing for a target delta V) and exhaust velocity, there is an equation that will allow you to calculate the required mass ratio:
R = e(Δv/Ve)
This section is intended to address some gaps in available information about spacecraft design in the Plausible Mid-Future (PMF), with an eye towards space warfare. It is not a summary of such information, most of which can be found at Atomic Rockets.
The largest gap in current practice comes in the preliminary design phase. A normal method used is to specify the fully-loaded mass of a vessel, and then work out the amounts required for remass (propellant), tanks, engine, and so on, and then figure out the payload (habitat, weapons, sensors, cargo, and so on) from there.
While there are times this is appropriate engineering practice (notably if you’re launching the spacecraft from Earth and have a fixed launch mass), in the majority of cases the payload mass should be the starting point. The following equation can be used for such calculations:
M = R * ( Mpl / (1 - (Pf * (R-1)) - (Pi * R)) )
Mpl = Payload Mass (kg)
Pi = inert fraction, that is, percent of total rocket mass M that is Inert Mass: 1.0 = 100% , 0.25 = 25%, etc.
(ed note: Pf is actually any mass that "scales" with the propellant mass, such as the mass of the tank. "Scale" means if the propellant mass is increased, the tank mass will also increase since you need more tankage to hold more propellant.
Pi is actually any mass that "scales" with the size of the spacecraft, such as such as engines or structure.
Mpl is actually any mass that is of fixed mass (does not scale) regardless of size of spacecraft, such as habitats, weapons, or sensors.)
by Byron Coffey
To find the engine's exhaust velocity, look it up in the table. Now you can skip the rest of this section.
If you ony have the engine's specific impulse, mulitiply it by 9.81 to get exhaust velocity. You can do multiplication, can't you?
Rocket scientists like to use specific impulse instead of exhaust velocity because then they can use any other units they want for the rest of the equations. I know you are not a rocket scientist or you would have hurt yourself laughing by now reading this site. Therefore I'm giving you all the equations with fixed units, because otherwise it is just one more thing that will cause math mistakes.
Oh, and the use of 9.81 m/s2 in the equation does NOT mean that the exhaust velocity changes under a different gravity.
It is because those idiot scientists back at the dawn of history mistakenly thought it would be a splendid idea to use the term "pound" as both a unit of force and a unit of mass. Morons. It has been causing confusion ever since.
If you must know, technical reason is that specific impulse in seconds is really "pounds-force seconds per pound-mass" which has the same dimensionality as N·s/kg. Don't worry about it, just use 9.81 m/s2 and everything will be fine.
The Aldebaran designed by Dandridge Cole, 1960. The best place to watch lift-off is from an adjacent continent.
The engine and its type determine Exhaust velocity.
Often instead of exhaust velocity your source will give you an engine's "specific impulse". This can be converted into exhaust velocity by
Ve = Isp * 9.81
Isp = specific impulse (seconds)
Ve = exhaust velocity (m/s)
9.81 = acceleration due to gravity (m/s2)
Generally you will find the exhaust velocity (or specific impulse) of a given propulsion system listed in some reference work. I have a table of them here.
WHAT EXACTLY DOES SPECIFIC IMPULSE MEAN?
MaturinTheTurtle
When a physicist tells you something is "specific" he means that quantity is per something else. Specific impulse is impulse per unit weight of propellant.
Impulse, in a rocketry context, is thrust applied over time. One newton of thrust (metric system) applied for one second results in one newton-second of impulse.
The importance of impulse in rocketry should be pretty obvious: thrust alone is not a meaningful quantity if you're talking about get-up-and-go. Thrust tells you how hard an engine can push, but it's not until that engine pushes for some time that you get anywhere.
But how long an engine can push for depends on how much propellant you have. If you have infinite propellant then you can keep any engine going for infinite time; that's obvious. But if you have a finite amount of propellant, then how long can you make an engine go? Well, that depends on the engine.
Which is where specific impulse comes in. Specific impulse is how much impulse — thrust over time — you get out of a given weight of propellant. If you have a thousand pounds of propellant and that results in your engine giving you a kilonewton of thrust for three seconds, then your engine has a specific impulse of 3000 newton-seconds per thousand pounds, or 3 newton-seconds per pound.
Except these days people tend to measure everything in the metric system, which results in a bit of confusion. See, both thrust and weight, in the metric system, are measured in newtons or multiples thereof. So you end up quantifying specific impulse in units of newton-seconds per newton, and then people cancel out the newtons … even though they really shouldn't, because they're different kinds of newtons. Specific impulse really has units of newton (thrust)-seconds per newton (weight), but it's become traditional to just drop the newtons and call it seconds instead.
DrScrubbington
TL;DR, specific impulse is how long an engine can hover for, while carrying its own fuel and neglecting the mass of the engine.
People keep saying that, but it's not right. Thrust is constant under given conditions but weight falls continuously, so your "the engine is hovering" thing is only true for a single instant. After that, it's accelerating steadily upward at an increasing rate (the third derivative of altitude is positive).
If you want to explain it succinctly to somebody, say that specific impulse is the amount of time it takes for a given engine to burn a weight of propellant equal to its thrust. Then tell them what it really means — thrust time per unit weight of propellant — once they point out to you that that succinct explanation is useless.
Dimensional analysis: a newton is a unit of weight or force (same thing, different points of view). Weight and force are both mass accelerated, so a newton is mass times acceleration. Integrate that over time and you have mass times acceleration times time … but acceleration is length per unit time per unit time. So that become mass-length-per-time, which is how you quantify impulse. (You will recognize these as the units of momentum; impulse and momentum are two sides of the same coin. Momentum is mass moving with a certain velocity, and impulse is thrust applied for a given time. Tomayto, tomahto.)
But if you then divide that out by mass, you end up with mass-length-per-time-per-mass, and the masses cancel leaving you just with length-per-time. That looks like a velocity, which turns out to be a very inconvenient way to quantify the specific impulse of a motor.
If you multiply the specific impulse of a motor times the conversion factor between units of weight and units of mass (which in the metric system is 9.80665 m/s/s exactly by definition; it is NOT local g) you get a quantity called the "effective exhaust velocity" which shows up in a few equations, but in practice nobody uses that quantity. Everybody just writes "Isp g0" instead.
From What exactly does specific impulse mean? comment by MaturinTheTurtle (2015)
It is possible to calculate the theoretical maximum of a given propulsion system, but it is a bit involved. I have a few notes for those who are interested, those who are not can skip to the next section. I'm only going to mention thermal type propulsion systems, non-thermal types like ion drives are even more involved.
EXHAUST VELOCITY OF THERMAL TYPE ROCKETS
Ve = sqrt( ((2 * k) / (k - 1)) * ((R' * Tc) / M) * ( 1 - (Pe/Pc)^((k-1)/k) ) )
Ve = ideal exhaust velocity (m/s)
k = specific heat ratio (hydrogen = 1.41, water = 1.33, methane = 1.32, ammonia = 1.32, carbon dioxide = 1.28, carbon monoxide = 1.40, nitrogen = 1.40, chemical rocket = 1.2)
R' = Universal gas constant (8,314.51 N-m/kmol-K)
M = exhaust gas average molecular weight (atomic hydrogen = 1, molecular hydrogen = 2, water = 18)
Tc = Combustion chamber temperature (Kelvin)
Pc = Combustion chamber pressure (standard for comparison is 68 atm)
Pe = Pressure at nozzle exit (standard for comparison is 1 atm)
The main thing to notice is that for thermal engines, the lower the molecular weight of the propellant, the better. When you are dividing by M, you want the number you are dividing by to be as small as possible.
For combustion chamber temperatures below 5000K with hydrogen propellant, for M use the value for molecular hydrogen (2). Above 5000K the hydrogen atoms dissociate into atomic hydrogen, for M use 1.
In Robert Heinlein's novels, he postulated a magic way (which he never explains) of storing stabilized atomic hydrogen in propellant tanks in order to have the ultimate propellant boost. He called it "Single-H". In reality, a tankfull of atomic hydrogen would explosively recombine into molecular hydrogen quicker than you can say "Stephen Hawking". The least unreasonable way of preventing this is to make a solid mass of frozen hydrogen (H2) at liquid helium temperatures which contains 15% single-H by weight.
As an example: the chemical engines on the Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME) have a much higher temperature than a solid core nuclear thermal rocket (NTR) (4,000K as opposed to 2,000K). But the NTR has a higher exhaust velocity because it uses low molecular weight hydrogen as propellant, instead of that high molecular weight water that comes out of the SSME. So the NTR has a theoretical maximum exhaust velocity of around 8,000 m/s while the SSME is lucky to get 4,400 m/s. Behold the power of low molecular weight propellant: the higher temperature of the SSME is no match for the NTR's lower weight propellant.
Why can't chemical engines use low molecular weight propellant? Because in chemical engines, the fuel and the propellant are one and the same, but in an NTR the fuel is the uranium and the propellant is whatever you want to use. With chemical you are stuck with whatever chemical reaction products are left over after the fuel has finished burning.
(ed note: engineer Rob Davidoff gently points out that I don't know what I am talking about. It is possible to use low molecular weight propellant, at least a little bit)
It's worth noting you can actually "spice up" the propellants with low mass exhaust products. This is how a lot of tripropellant chemical works, by adding hydrogen as much to have lower average molecular mass in the exhaust as to actually burn it for its energy release.
It's also among two or three reasons why you see a lot of hydrolox engines run fuel-rich, so there's unburnt excess H2 in the exhaust.
EXHAUST VELOCITY OF FUSION ROCKETS
Nuclear rocket fuel
(unified atomic
mass units)
n (Neutron)
p (Proton)
D (Deuteron)
T (Tritium)
3He (Helium-3)
11B (Boron)
Pure fusion rockets use the reaction products themselves as reaction mass. Fusion afterburners and fusion dual-mode engines use the fusion energy (plasma thermal energy, neutron energy, and bremsstrahlung radiation energy) to heat separate reaction mass. So afterburners and dual-mode reduce the exhaust velocity in order to increase thrust.
For pure fusion rockets calculating the exhaust velocity is as follows (for afterburners or dual mode see the fusion engine entry).
Remember Einstein's famous e = mc2? For our thermal calculations, we will use the percentage of the fuel mass that is transformed into energy for E. This will make m into 1, and turn the equation into:
Vel = sqrt(2 * Ep)
Ep = fraction of fuel that is transformed into energy
Vel = exhaust velocity (percentage of the speed of light)
Multiply Vel 299,792,458 to convert it into meters per second.
To see more about this check out the page about Fusion Fuels.
Nuclear fission thermal rocket
The higher the temperature, the higher the exhaust velocity. Unfortunately, at some point the temperature is so high that the reactor would melt. That is why the nominal temperature for the solid core reactor is only 2,750K.
Liquid core and gas core nuclear thermal rockets are where the reactor is normally molten or gaseous in order to have a higher exhaust velocity.
Nuclear Thermal Rocket
2,750K Molecular Hydrogen 8,300 m/s 850 s
5,250K Atomic Hydrogen 16,200 m/s 1,650 s
21,000K Atomic Hydrogen 32,400 m/s 3,300 s
Deuterium-tritium fusion rocket
Deuterium-Tritium Fusion rockets use the fusion reaction D + T ⇒ 4He + n. If you add up the mass of the particles you start with, and subtract the mass of the particles you end with, you can easily calculate the mass that was converted into energy. In this case, we start with one Deuteron with a mass of 2.013553 and one atom of Tritium with a mass of 3.015500, giving us a starting mass of 5.029053. We end with one atom of Helium-4 with a mass of 4.001506 and one neutron with a mass of 1.008665, giving us an ending mass of 5.010171. Subtracting the two, we discover that a mass of 0.018882 has been coverted into energy. We convert that into the fraction of fuel that is transformed into energy by dividing it by the starting mass: Ep = 0.018882 / 5.029053 = 0.00375.
Plugging that into our equation Ve = sqrt(2 * 0.00375) = 0.0866 = 8.7% c.
Deuterium-helium 3 fusion rocket
Deuterium-helium3 fusion rocket
Deuterium-Helium3 Fusion rockets use the fusion reaction D + 3He ⇒ 4He + p. Start with one Deuteron with a mass of 2.013553 and one atom of Helium 3 with a mass of 3.014932, giving us a starting mass of 5.028485. We end with one atom of Helium-4 with a mass of 4.001506 and one proton with a mass of 1.007276, giving us an ending mass of 5.008782. Subtracting the two, we discover that a mass of 0.019703 has been coverted into energy. Ep = 0.019703 / 5.028485 = 0.00392.
The D + 3He reaction is of particular interest for rocket propulsion, since all the products are charged particles. This means the they can be directed by a magnetic field exhaust nozzle, instead of spraying everywhere as deadly radiation.
Unfortunately, if you want to minimize the amount of x-rays emitted, you have to choke the reaction down to 100 keV per particle, resulting in a pathetic exhaust velocity of 2.5% c (7,600,000 m/s).
Deuterium-deuterium fusion rocket
Deuterium-deuterium Fusion rockets use the fusion reaction D + D ⇒ T + p or 3He + n. Start with two Deuteron with a mass of 2.013553 for a starting mass of 4.027106.
We end with either
a Triton and a proton: 3.015500 + 1.007276 = 4.022776. 0.00433 converted into energy. Ep = 0.00108
a Helium-3 and a neutron: 3.014932 + 1.008665 = 4.023597. 0.003509 converted into energy. Ep = 0.000871
Plugging that into our equation
Ve = sqrt(2 * 0.00108) = 0.0465 = 4.7% c
Ve = sqrt(2 * 0.000871) = 0.0418 = 4.2% c
Hydrogen-boron thermonuclear fission rocket
Hydrogen - Boron Thermonuclear Fission rockets use the reaction p + 11B ⇒ 3 × 4He. Start with one Proton with a mass of 1.007276 and one atom of Boron with a mass of 11.00931, giving us a starting mass of 12.016586. We end with three atoms of Helium-4, each with a mass of 4.001506, giving us an ending mass of 12.004518. Subtracting the two, we discover that a mass of 0.012068 has been coverted into energy. Ep = 0.012068 / 12.016586 = 0.001.
Plugging that into our equation Ve = sqrt(2 * 0.001) = 0.045 = 4.5% c.
Chart from "The Atomic Rocket" by L. R. Shepherd, Ph.D., B.Sc., A.Inst.P., & A. V. Cleaver, F.R.Ae.S., 1948. Collected in Realities of Space Travel
Painting by Vincent Di Fate for the novel Starfire by Paul Preuss
From my limited understanding, the basic problem with increasing exhaust velocity is how to keep the engine from vaporizing.
Fp = (F * Ve ) / 2
Fp = thrust power (watts)
F = thrust (newtons)
The problem is that at high enough values for exhaust velocity and thrust, the amount of watts in the jet is too much. "Too much" is defined as: if only a fractional percentage of those watts are lost as waste heat, the spacecraft glows blue-white and evaporates. The size of the dangerous fractional percent depends on heat protection technology. There is a limit to how much heat that current technology can deal with, without a technological break-through.
Jerry Pournelle says (in his classic A STEP FARTHER OUT) that an exhaust velocity of 288,000 m/s corresponds to a temperature of 5 million Kelvin.
As an exceedingly rough approximation:
Ae = (0.5 * Am * Av2) / B
Ae = particle energy (Kelvin)
Am = mass of particle (g) (1.6733e-24 grams for monatomic hydrogen)
Av = exhaust velocity (cm/s)
B = Boltzmann's constant: 1.38e-16 (erg K-1)
x2: square of x, that is x * x
(note that the above equation is using centimeters per second, not meters per second)
A slightly less rough approximation:
Qe = (Ve / (Z * 129))2 * Pw
Qe = engine reaction chamber temperature (Kelvin)
Z = heat-pressure factor, varies by engine design, roughly from 1.4 to 2.4 or so.
Pw = mean molecular weight of propellant, 1 for atomic hydrogen, 2 for molecular hydrogen
The interiors of stars are 5 million Kelvin, but few other things are. How do you contain temperatures of that magnitude? If the gadget is something that can be mounted on a ship smaller than the Queen Mary, it has other implications. It is an obvious defense against hydrogen bombs, for starters.
Larry Niven postulates something like this in his "Known Space" series, the crystal-zinc tube makes a science-fictional force field which reflects all energy. Niven does not explore the implications of this. However, Niven and Pournelle do explore the implications in THE MOTE IN GOD'S EYE. The Langston Field is used in the ship's drive, and as a force screen defense. The Langston field absorbs energy, and can re-radiate it. As a defense it sucks up hostile laser beams and nuclear detonations. As a drive, it sucks up and contains the energy of a fusion reaction, and re-radiates the energy as the equivalent of a photon drive exhaust.
(And please remember the difference between "temperature" and "heat". A spark from the fire has a much higher temperature than a pot of boiling water, yet a spark won't hurt your hand at all while the boiling water can give you second degree burns. The spark has less heat, which in this context is the thrust power in watts.)
Reaction Chamber Size
If one has no science-fictional force fields, as a general rule the maximum heat load allowed on the drive assembly is around 5 MW/m2. This is the theoretical ultimate, for an actual propulsion system it will probably be quite a bit less. For a back of the envelope calculation:
Af = sqrt[(1/El) * (1 / (4 * π))]
Rc = sqrt[H] * Af
Af = Attunation factor. Anthony Jackson says 0.126, Luke Campbell says 0.133
El = Maximum heat load (MW/m2). Anthony Jackson says 5.0, Luke Campbell says 4.5
π = pi = 3.141592...
H = reaction chamber waste heat (megawatts)
Rc = reaction chamber radius (meters)
sqrt[x] = square root of x
As a first approximation, for most propulsion systems one can get away with using the thrust power for H. But see magnetic nozzle waste heat below.
Science-fictional technologies can cut the value of H to a percentage of thrust power by somehow preventing the waste heat from getting to the chamber walls (e.g., Larry Niven's technobabble crystal-zinc tubes lined with magic force fields).
Only use this equation if H is above 4,000 MW (4 GW) or so, and if the propulsion system is a thermal type (i.e., fission, fusion, or antimatter). It does not work on electrostatic or electromagnetic propulsion systems.
(this equation courtesy of Anthony Jackson and Luke Campbell)
Say your propulsion system has an exhaust velocity of 5.4e6 m/s and a thrust of 2.5e6 N. Now Fp=(F*Ve)/2 so the thrust power is 6.7e12 W. So, 6.7e12 watts divided by 1.0e6 watts per megawatt gives us 6.7e6 megawatts.
Assuming Anthony Jackson's more liberal 5.0 MW/m2, this means Af = 0.126
Plugging this into the equation results in sqrt[6.7e6 MW] * 0.126 = drive chamber radius of 326 meters or a diameter of almost half a mile. Ouch.
Equation Derivation
Here is how the above equation was derived. If you couldn't care less, skip over this box.
It is based on the good old Inverse-square law.
The reaction chamber is assumed to be spherical. Obviously the larger the radius of the chamber, the more surface area it has, and the given amount of waste heat has to be spread thinner in order to cover the entire area. If you only have one pat of butter, the more slices of toast means the lesser amount of butter each slice gets.
El is the Maximum heat load, or how many megawatts per square meter the engine can take before the blasted thing starts melting. Anthony Jackson says 5.0 MW/m2.
The idea is to expand the radius of the reaction chamber such that the inverse-square law attenuates the waste heat to the point where it is below the maximum heat load. Then we are golden.
The attenuation due to the inverse square law is:
ISLA = (4 * π * Rc2)
ISLA = attenuation due to the inverse square law
The heat load on the reaction chamber walls is:
Cl = H / ISLA
H = waste heat (megawatts)
Cl = heat load on chamber wall (MW/m2)
Merging the equations:
Cl = H / (4 * π * Rc2)
Solve for Rc:
4 * π * Rc2 = H / Cl
4 * π * Rc2 = H * (1/Cl)
Rc2 = (H * (1/Cl)) / (4 * π)
Rc2 = H * (1/Cl) * (1 / (4 * π))
Rc = sqrt[H] * sqrt[(1/Cl) * (1 / (4 * π))]
Looking at the last equation, take the right half and swap Cl for El to get:
and the entire equation is where we get:
which is what we were trying to derive. QED.
Playing with these figures will show that enclosing a thermal torch drive inside a reaction chamber made of matter appears to be a dead end. Unless you think a drive chamber a half mile in diameter is reasonable.
Therefore, the main strategy is to try and direct the drive energy with magnetic fields instead of metal walls. The magnetic field is created by an open metal framework ("magnetic nozzle"). The metal framework lets the heat escape instead of trying to stop the heat to the detriment of the metal reaction chamber. The magnetic field cannot be vaporized since it is composed of energy instead of matter. Note this is different from an ion drive, where the exhaust is being accelerated by electromagnetic or electrostatic fields. In this case, the exhaust is being accelerated by thermal, fusion, or antimatter reactions; the magnetic fields are being used to contain and direct the exhaust.
Magnetic nozzles are used in some fusion and antimatter propulsion systems.
With these propulsion systems, H is not equal to thrust power. It is instead equal to the fraction of thrust power that is being wasted. In other words the reaction energy that cannot be contained and directed by the magnetic nozzle. Which usually boils down to neutrons, x-rays, and any other reaction products that are not charged particles.
For instance, D-T (deuterium-tritium) fusion produces 80% of its energy in the form of uncharged neutrons and 20% in the form of charged particles. The charged particles are directed as thrust by the magnetic nozzle, so they are not counted as wasted energy. The pesky neutrons cannot be so directed, so they do count as wasted energy. Therefore in this case H is equal to 0.8 * thrust power.
Magnetic nozzles are gone into with more detail here in the Torchship section.
And don't forget the Kzinti Lesson.
Chart from "To The Stars" by Gordon Woodcock, (1983). Collected in Islands In The Sky, edited by Stanley Schmidt and Robert Zubrin (1996). Most of the engines on this chart are torchships.
Calculating the performance of a spaceship can be complicated. But if the ship is powerful enough, we can ignore gravity fields. It is then fairly easy. The ship will accelerate to a maximum speed and then turn around and slow down at its destination. Fusion or annihilation-drive ships will probably do this. They will apply power all the time, speeding up and slowing down.(ed note: a "brachistochrone" trajectory)
In this simple case, all the important performance parameters can be expressed on a single graph. This one is drawn for the case when 90% of the starting mass is propellant. (ed note: a mass ratio of 10) Jet velocity (exhaust velocity) and starting acceleration are the graph scales. Distance for several bodies are shown. Mars varies greatly; I used 150 million kilometers. Trip times and specific power levels are also shown. "Specific power" expresses how much power the ship generates for each kilogram of its mass, that is, its total power divided by its mass. The propellant the ship will carry is not included in the mass value.
An example: Suppose your ship can produce 100 kW/kg of jet power. You wish to fly to Jupiter. Where the 100 kW/kg and Jupiter lines cross on the graph, read a jet velocity of 300,000 m/s (Isp = 30,000) and an initial acceleration of nearly 0.01g. Your trip will take about two months.
The upper area of the graph shows that high performance is needed to reach the nearest stars. Even generation ships will need, in addition to very high jet velocities, power on the order of 100 kW/kg. The space shuttle orbiter produces about 100 kW/kg with its three engines. The high power needed for starflight precludes its attainment with means such as electric propulsion.
Gordon Woodcock
Delta-V
Konstantin Tsiolkovsky is The Man and don't you forget it! Every single time you design a rocket, you will be using his brilliant rocket equation. It is the sine qua non of rocketry, without it this entire freaking website would not exist. If you are a serious rocket geek, you should have Tsiolkovsky's portrait hanging on your wall and the rocket equation on your T-shirt.
I love the smell of delta-V in the morning. Smelled like ... trajectory.
Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, the father of modern rocketry. "The Earth is the cradle of humanity, but mankind cannot stay in the cradle forever."
Finally it is time to calculate the spacecraft's total DeltaV. For this, you can thank Konstantin Tsiolkovsky and the awsome Tsiolkovsky rocket equation. Sir Arthur C. Clarke called the most important equation in the whole of rocketry.
View from the International Space Station. Notice whose picture they have on the wall. The other photo is Yuri Gagarin, first man in space.
Anyway, the equation is:
Δv = Ve * ln[ M / Me ]
Δv = Ve * ln[R]
Ve = exhaust velocity of propulsion system (m/s)
M = mass of rocket with full propellant tanks (kg)
Me = mass of rocket with empty propellant tanks (kg)
Suppose that the Polaris has a 1st generation Gaseous Core Fission drive. Exhaust velocity of 35,000 m/s (see table in engine list).
Let's try a mass ratio of 2 (50% propellant). 35,000 * ln[2] = 24,260 m/s. Not good enough, we need 39,528 m/s.
Let's try a mass ratio of 3.1 (68% propellant). 35,000 * ln[3.1] = 39,600 m/s. That'll do.
The inverse of the deltaV equation sometimes comes in handy.
In rocket design, you generally start with the deltaV needed for a given mission. The above equation will then tell you the mass ratio required, which gives you the mass budget your rocket design has to fit into.
As a matter of interest, if the mass ratio R equals e (that is, 2.71828...) the ship's total deltaV is exactly equal to the exhaust velocity. Depressingly, increasing the deltaV makes the mass ratios go up exponentially. If the deltaV is twice the exhaust velocity, the mass ratio has to be 7.4 or e2. If the deltaV is three times the exhaust velocity, the mass ratio has to be 20 or e3.
In the real world, multi-stage rockets use a low exhaust velocity/high thrust engine for the lower stages and high exhaust velocity/low thrust engines in the upper stages.
THE TYRANNY OF THE ROCKET EQUATION
Tyranny is a human trait that we sometimes project onto Nature. This projection is a form of rationalization, perhaps a means to cope with matters that we cannot control. Such is the case when we invent machines to free us from the bounds of Earth, affecting our escape into space. If we want to expand into the solar system, this tyranny must somehow be deposed.
Rockets are momentum machines. They spew gas out of a nozzle at high velocity causing the nozzle and the rocket attached to it to move in the opposite direction. Isaac Newton correctly defined the mathematics for this exchange of momentum in 1687. Conservation of momentum applied to a rocket was first done by Russian visionary and scientist Konstantin Tsiolkovsky in 1903. All our rockets are governed by Tsiolkovsky’s rocket equation.
The rocket equation contains three variables. Given any two of these, the third becomes cast in stone. Hope, wishing, or tantrums cannot alter this result. Although a momentum balance, these variables can be cast as energies. They are the energy expenditure against gravity (often called delta V or the change in rocket velocity), the energy available in your rocket propellant (often called exhaust velocity or specific impulse), and the propellant mass fraction (how much propellant you need compared to the total rocket mass).
The energy expenditure against gravity is specified by where you want to go. For human exploration, there are only a handful places we can realistically consider at this time. The most likely candidates are: from the surface of Earth to Earth orbit, Earth orbit to surface of the Moon, Earth orbit to surface of Mars, Earth orbit to cis-lunar space (the region between the Earth and the Moon, including a variety of locations such as Lagrange points, geostationary orbit, and more). Of course there are permutations to these routes but they are the most likely ones considering our current state of technology.
In planning an expedition into space, we first must select where we want to go. The energy expenditure against gravity is then specified by the starting and ending points of our journey. As humans, we are powerless to change this number. We simply have to accept its consequences. I like to think of this as the travel cost.
Next we need to choose the type of rocket propellant, thus specifying the available energy. Currently, all our human rated rocket engines use chemical reactions (combustion of a fuel and oxidizer) to produce the energy. There are limits to the quantity of energy that can be extracted from chemistry and thus bounds placed outside of human control on the energy we can pack into a rocket. Some of the most energetic chemical reactions known are chosen for rocket propulsion (e.g. like hydrogen-oxygen combustion) and thus, the second variable is now specified. Again, we simply have to accept the limit to what chemistry can offer (unless we choose other energy sources, such as nuclear). I like to think of this selection as what you have to pay for the travel cost.
With these two variables set, the rocket mass fraction is now dictated by the rocket equation. We must build our rocket within this mass fraction or it will not reach its destination. This also applies to existing rockets when new uses are contemplated. There is very little we can do to alter this result. With some clever engineering we might be able to shave a few percentage points off the fraction, but the basic result is set by the gravitational environment of our solar system (choice of where we want to go) and the chemistry of the energetic bonds of our selected chemical components (choice of propellant).
It is constructive to put a few numbers together to illustrate the grip that simple momentum balance places upon our rockets. Here the approximate cost in energy has been given in terms of velocity (kilometers per second, km/s), a common ploy engineers use to simplify the discussion. These numbers assume ideal conditions such as no losses for atmospheric drag or combustion but are close enough for the sake of this illustration.
Energy Cost
Surface of Earth to Earth orbit
Earth orbit to cis-lunar locations: Lagrange points
Earth orbit to cis-lunar locations: Low Lunar orbit
Earth orbit to near-Earth asteroids
Earth orbit to surface Moon
Earth orbit to surface Mars
From this simple table, a few conclusions can be drawn. Travelling from the surface of Earth to Earth orbit is one of the most energy intensive steps of going anywhere else. This first step, about 400 kilometers away from Earth, requires half of the total energy needed to go to the surface of Mars ("halfway to anywhere"). Destinations between the Earth and the Moon are only a fraction of that required to simply get into Earth orbit. The cost of this first step is due to the magnitude of Earth’s gravity. And physics dictates that paying a penny less than the full cost will result in Earth repossessing your spacecraft in a not so gentle way. The giant leap for mankind is not the first step on the Moon, but in attaining Earth orbit.
Listed next are the major categories for our chemical rocket propellants and their energy content used for payment of the gravitational cost of travel. These are selected from propellants with an operational history in manned spacecraft. “Hypergols” are contact-ignited propellants, used in the Lunar Module ascent stage to simplify the engine design and methane-oxygen has not been used in space to date, but is under consideration for future human missions to the Moon and Mars. The first law of thermodynamics was used to convert the energy of combustion into an equivalent exhaust velocity so that these units of payment are consistent with the costs shown above.
Payment Energy
Kerosene-Oxygen
Hypergols
Earth orbit to near-Earth asteroids:
Hydrogen-oxygen is the most energetic chemical reaction known for use in a human rated rocket. Chemistry is unable to give us any more. In the 1970’s, an experimental nuclear thermal rocket engine gave an energy equivalent of 8.3 km/s. This engine used a nuclear reactor as the source of energy and hydrogen as the propellant.
Since the giant leap for mankind is the first step off of Earth, our illustration of the rocket equation uses earth orbit as the destination with the cost of 8 kilometers per second. To pay for this cost, each of the chemical propellants above are used with the rocket equation which results in the following mass fractions (given as percent of the total rocket mass):
Rocket Percent Propellant
for Earth Orbit
These are ideal numbers free from losses due to atmospheric drag, incomplete combustion, and other factors that reduce the efficiencies of a rocket. Such losses make these numbers even worse (moving the mass fraction closer to a rocket being 100% propellant). However, clever engineering constructs such as rocket staging, multiple kinds of propellants (1st stage solids or kerosene, upper stages hydrogen), and gravitational lean (converts radial velocity into tangential) can help compensate. When making a rocket that is near 90% propellant (which means it is only 10% rocket), small gains through engineering are literally worth more than their equivalent weight in gold.
Real mass fractions from real rockets include the effect of many engineering details. However, these machines at root are the result of the simple application of Tsiolkovsky’s rocket equation. The ideal results presented here are not far removed from actual rockets. The Saturn V rocket on the launch pad was 85% propellant by mass. It had three stages; the first using kerosene-oxygen and the second and third stages using hydrogen-oxygen. The Space Shuttle was also 85% propellant by mass, using a blend of solids and hydrogen-oxygen for the first stage and hydrogen-oxygen for second. The Soyuz rocket is 91% propellant by mass and uses kerosene-oxygen in all of its three stages. There is an advantage to using hydrogen-oxygen as a high performance propellant; however, it is technically more complex. Kerosene offers less performance but gives a simpler, robust, and easier to fabricate rocket. These numbers represent the best that our engineering can do when working against Earth’s gravity and the energy from chemical bonds.
What are the engineering implications of fabricating a rocket that is 85% propellant and 15% rocket? The rocket must have engines, tanks, and plumbing. It needs a structure, a backbone to support all this and it must survive the highly dynamic environment of launch (there is fire, shake, and force at work.) The rocket must be able to fly in the atmosphere as well as the vacuum of space. Wings are of no use in space; small rocket thrusters are used to control attitude. Then there are people with their pinky flesh and their required life support machinery. Life support equipment is complex, problematic, and heavy. You can’t roll down the windows if the cabin gets a bit stale. If you want to return to Earth (and most crews do), there has to be structure to protect the crew through a fiery entry and then provide a soft landing. Wings are heavy but allow soft landings at well equipped airfields. Parachutes are light, giving a big splash finale. The Soyuz goes thump, roll, roll, roll; aptly described by one of my colleagues as a series of explosions followed by a car wreck. And finally, you want to bring some payload – equipment with which to do something other than just be in space. “Because it is there” (or possibly because it is not there, depending on your definition of a vacuum) is fitting for the first time but subsequent missions need a stronger justification. Missions into space to do meaningful exploration require bringing significant payload.
Real payload fractions from real rockets are rather disappointing. The Saturn V payload to Earth orbit was about 4% of its total mass at liftoff. The Space Shuttle was only about 1%. Both the Saturn V and Space Shuttle placed about 120 metric tons into Earth orbit. However, the reusable part of the Space Shuttle was 100 metric tons, so its deliverable payload was reduced to about 20 tons.
It is instructive to compare rocket mass fractions to those of other everyday Earth vehicles. Here, the approximate numbers for propellant (or fuel when air is used as the oxidizer) are given to illustrate the general categories of mass fractions:
Percent Propellant
(fuel)
Large Ship
Cargo Jet
The percent propellant has huge implications on the ease of fabrication and robustness in achieving the engineering design (and cost). If a vehicle is less than 10% propellant, it is typically made from billets of steel. Changes to its structure are readily done without engineering analysis; you simple weld on another hunk of steel to reinforce the frame according to what your intuition might say. I can easily overload my ¾ ton pickup by a factor of two. It might be moving slowly but it is hauling the load.
Once the vehicles become airborne, the engineering becomes more serious. Light weight structures made of aluminum, magnesium, titanium, epoxy-graphite composites are the norm. To alter the structure takes significant engineering; one does not simply weld on another chunk to your airframe if you want to live (or drill a hole through some convenient section). These vehicles cannot operate far from their designed limits; overloading an airplane by a factor of two results in disaster. Even though these vehicles are 30 to 40% propellant (60 to 70% structure and payload), there is room for engineering to comfortably operate thus there is a robust, safe, and cost effective aviation industry.
Rockets at 85% propellant and 15% structure and payload are on the extreme edge of our engineering ability to even fabricate (and to pay for!). They require constant engineering to keep flying. The seemingly smallest modifications require monumental analysis and testing of prototypes in vacuum chambers, shaker tables, and sometimes test launches in desert regions. Typical margins in structural design are 40%. Often, testing and analysis are only taken to 10% above the designed limit. For a Space Shuttle launch, 3 g’s are the designed limit of acceleration. The stack has been certified (meaning tested to the point that we know it will keep working) to 3.3 g’s. This operation has a 10% envelope for error. Imagine driving your car at 60 mph and then drifting to 66 mph, only to have your car self-destruct. This is life riding rockets, compliments of the rocket equation.
Here are a few other interesting examples from container engineering to further illustrate the extreme nature of rocket design:
Other Containers
Percent Useful Contents
Shuttle External Tank
The common soda can, a marvel of mass production, is 94% soda and 6% can by mass. Compare that to the external tank for the Space Shuttle at 96% propellant and thus, 4% structure. The external tank, big enough inside to hold a barn dance, contains cryogenic fluids at 20 degrees above absolute zero (0 Kelvin), pressurized to 60 pounds per square inch, (for a tank this size, such pressure represents a huge amount of stored energy) and can withstand 3gs while pumping out propellant at 1.5 metric tons per second. The level of engineering knowledge behind such a device in our time is every bit as amazing and cutting-edge as the construction of the pyramids was for their time.
A veteran astronaut who has been to the Moon once told me, “Sitting on top of a rocket is like sitting on top of a Molotov cocktail”. I took his comment to heart by first weighing a bottle of wine, emptying the bottle, and weighing it again. Simple engineering analysis allowed me to estimate and compensate for the density difference between wine and gasoline (which, for this particular vintage, I am sure was not much different). A Molotov cocktail was measured to be 52% propellant. So sitting on top of a rocket is more dangerous than sitting on a bottle of gasoline!
Another less recognized side effect of the rocket equation is the sensitivity of completing the rocket burn to obtaining your goal. To illustrate this, I will use some numbers from my Shuttle flight, STS 126 in November 2008. Our target velocity at main engine cut off was 7824 m/s (25819 ft/s). If our engines shut down at 7806 m/s (25760 ft/s), only 18 m/s (59 ft/s) shy of the target value, we would make an orbit but not our designated target orbit. We would not be able to rendezvous with space station and would lose our mission objective. Like being two pennies short of a ten dollar purchase, this is only 0.2% less than the price of admission into space. In this case, we do have some options. We could burn our orbital maneuvering propellant and make up this difference. If we were 3% shy of our target, 7596 (25067 ft/s) we would not have sufficient orbital maneuvering propellant and we would not make any orbit. We would be forced into a trans-Atlantic abort, falling back to Earth and landing in Spain. This final 3% of our required velocity comes during the last 8 seconds of our burn. For astronauts and bull riders, 8 seconds is a long time.
If the radius of our planet were larger, there could be a point at which an Earth escaping rocket could not be built. Let us assume that building a rocket at 96% propellant (4% rocket), currently the limit for just the Shuttle External Tank, is the practical limit for launch vehicle engineering. Let us also choose hydrogen-oxygen, the most energetic chemical propellant known and currently capable of use in a human rated rocket engine. By plugging these numbers into the rocket equation, we can transform the calculated escape velocity into its equivalent planetary radius. That radius would be about 9680 kilometers (Earth is 6670 km). If our planet was 50% larger in diameter, we would not be able to venture into space, at least using rockets for transport.
Revolting against tyranny is a recurring human trait and perhaps we will figure some way to depose the rocket equation and venture away from our planet in a significant way. I am referring to exploration with continuous human presence with the first step like Antarctic-type bases (which support several thousand people) and eventually leading to colonization, a template comparable to the expansion of western civilization across the globe during the 17th and 18th centuries. To call yourself a sea-faring nation in that time meant that you could set sail on a variety of missions in a number of different types of vessels to a myriad of destinations whenever you wanted. We have a long way to go before anyone can claim to be a space-faring nation.
The giant leap for mankind is not the first step on the Moon but attaining Earth orbit. If we want to break the tyranny of the rocket equation, new paradigms of operating and new technology will be needed. If we keep to our rockets, they must become as routine, safe, and affordable as airplanes. One of the most rudimentary and basic skills to master is to learn how to use raw materials from sources outside the Earth. Our nearest planetary neighbor, the Moon is close, useful, and interesting. Extracting and producing useful products from the raw materials of the Moon would relieve us from the need to drag everything required in space from the bottom of Earth’s deep gravity well, significantly altering the consequences of the rocket equation more in our favor. The discovery of some new physical principle could break the tyranny and allow Earth escape outside the governance of the rocket paradigm.
The need for new places to live and resources to use will eventually beckon humanity off this planet. Having access to space removes the lid from the Petri dish of Earth. And we all know what eventually happens if the lid is not removed.
From THE TYRANNY OF THE ROCKET EQUATION by Expedition 30/31 Flight Engineer Don Pettit (2012)
Delta-V Implications
There is a very important consequence of the delta V equation that might not be obvious at first glance. What it boils down to is that if the delta V requirements for the mission is less than or about equal to the exhaust velocity, the mass ratio is modest and large payloads are possible. But if the delta V requirements are larger than the exhaust velocity, the mass ratio rapidly becomes ridiculously expensive and only tiny payloads are allowed. Most of the ship will be propellant tanks.
If the engine has a variable exhaust velocity (if it can shift gears) the general rule is the maximum economic mass ratio is about 4.0. If the engine has a fixed exhaust velocity, the maximum economic mass ratio is about 4.95.
The implication is that for a mass ratio of 4.0 (variable exhaust velocity), the delta V requirement for the mission cannot be larger than about 1.39 times the engine's exhaust velocity (i.e., ln[4.0]). This is because Δv / Ve = ln[R]
For a mass ratio of 4.95 (fixed exhaust velocity), the delta V requirement for the mission cannot be larger than about 1.5 times the engine's exhaust velocity (i.e., ln[4.95]).
High mass ratios mean ridiculously high propellant loads.
Refer to the chart above to see how quickly the mass ratio can spiral out of control. Divide delta V by exhaust velocity and find the result on the bottom scale. Move up to the green line. Move to the left to see the required mass ratio. For instance, if the delta V requirement is 105,000 m/s, and you are using Gas Core rockets with an exhaust velocity of 35,000 m/s, the ratio is 3. Find 3 on the bottom scale, move up to the green line, then move to the left to discover that the required mass ratio is a whopping 20!
I personally did not notice the above implication until I read about it in Jon Zeigler and James Cambias' book GURPS: Space.
Turning it around, this means for a once you choose a variable exhaust velocity propulsion system, you will know that it will not be able to do a mission with a delta V requirement over Ve * 1.39, not if you want to keep the mass ratio below 4.0
And once you choose a fixed exhaust velocity propulsion system, you will know that it will not be able to do a mission with a delta V requirement over Ve * 1.5, not if you want to keep the mass ratio below 4.0
Turning it around again, if you have chosen the mission, once you know the mission delta V you can calculate the optimal exhaust velocity for your variable exhaust velocity propulsion system: Ve = Δv * 0.72 (where 0.72 = 1/ln[4.0]).
And once you know the mission delta V you can calculate the optimal exhaust velocity for your fixed exhaust velocity propulsion system: Ve = Δv * 0.63.
Why is there an optimum value? If the exhaust velocity is too high, you are wasting energy in the form of high-velocity exhaust. If the exhaust velocity is too low, you are wasting energy by accelerating vast amounts of as-yet unused propellent. Dr. Geoffrey A. Landis says that this optimization is somewhat tedious to prove mathematically, you have to use calculus to maximize the value of kinetic energy of payload as a function of exhaust velocity. You have to iteratively solve the equation 0.5 = x * (1 - e-1/x). If you are interested WolframAlpha has a calculator for that function here.
EXPLAINING OPTIMAL EXHAUST VELOCITY
On ProjectRho, there are a few nebulous statements about "optimal" exhaust velocities existing for a fixed, given mission Δv. In-particular, regarding the optimization, there is this:
"Dr. Geoffrey A. Landis says that this optimization is somewhat tedious to prove mathematically, you have to use calculus to maximize the value of kinetic energy of [the] payload as a function of exhaust velocity. You have to iteratively solve the equation 0.5 = x * (1 - exp(-1/x))."
This confused me. For one thing, if we take "optimal" in the usual sense taken by armchair rocket scientists—that is, lowest propellant mass—we see that the statement is completely bogus. Recall the Tsiolkovsky rocket equation:
Δv = Vₑ ln( m₀ / m₁ )
Given a mission Δv, increasing Vₑ will make m₀ closer to m₁ (that is, reduce the propellant expended). There is, in-fact, no optimal value! Vₑ should be increased as far as you possibly can given the limits of your technology (in-practice, the speed of light; the rocket equation is a Newtonian approximation).
But there is another sense of "optimal": the lowest total energy used to accelerate all propellant for the mission, and this time it turns out there is an optimal value. The way to think of this is that, while accelerating your propellant to a ludicrous speed allows you to use as little of it as you like, you'll use more energy to do so (kinetic energy is, to first order, quadratic in speed). Conversely, accelerating your propellant to a low speed requires little energy, but the loss of specific impulse drives the mass ratio up higher, requiring a bigger rocket, more propellant, and more energy in the end. The optimal (lowest-energy) solution is somewhere in the middle.
Finding this optimum value is somewhat tricky. Here's my derivation. Note that it breaks down (in several ways) for relativistic speeds.
First, you rearrange the rocket equation for initial mass m₀:
m₀ = m₁ exp( Δv / Vₑ )
Then, you figure out how much energy you spend accelerating the exhaust. This is just the total mass of the propellant and the exit velocity subbed into the standard kinetic energy equation (it's this simple because the energy required is expended in an instantaneously co-moving reference frame):
E = ½ (m₀ - m₁) Vₑ²
Then you substitute the first into the second to get a formula for the energy required to accelerate the payload mass m₁ as a function of (fixed) Δv and (variable) Vₑ:
E(Vₑ) = ½ m₁ ( exp(Δv/Vₑ) - 1 ) Vₑ²
If you plot this function for Vₑ>0 (choose some sensible value for Δv), you'll see a curve that swoops down from infinity, then back up to infinity more-slowly. The lowest point of this chart is the lowest energy we can expend for that Δv. To find that minimum mathematically, we apply a basic calculus trick, first differentiating:
d E(Vₑ) / d x = m₁ Vₑ ( exp(Δv/Vₑ) - 1 ) - ½ Δv m₁ exp(Δv/Vₑ)
Then setting to zero and solving for Vₑ:
½ Δv m₁ exp(Δv/Vₑ) = m₁ Vₑ ( exp(Δv/Vₑ) - 1 )
½ Δv exp(Δv/Vₑ) = Vₑ exp(Δv/Vₑ) - Vₑ
½ Δv = Vₑ - Vₑ / exp(Δv/Vₑ)
½ Δv = Vₑ (1 - exp(-Δv/Vₑ))
We're kindof stuck here because of the form the equation takes. Note that this is very nearly the equation that Landis presents (his formula is probably intended to
express the form of the equation, rather than the exact instance thereof). Landis suggests solving it iteratively, but using the (admittedly less-common) productlog function W, we get:
Vₑ = Δv / (2 + W(-2/e²))
≈ 0.627500 Δv
So, in the idealized, Newtonian case, the least energy is used when the exit velocity is about 63% the total mission Δv.
Getting back to the question of "optimal", how useful is this?
The energy expended by chemical rockets to accelerate their propellant comes from the reaction of the fuels that form the propellant in the first place. It may not even be possible to produce a Vₑ as high as desired, given the comparatively poor ISPs of chemical fuels. Therefore, energy doesn't really enter into the calculation except as the fuel choice (which was probably already pre-specified, particularly if the rocket is already built, and is often limited by available technology anyway). Mass is what matters for a chemical rocket, because lower mass means less fuel is required, and given the high mass ratios, this is a major expense.
For interstellar drives, again the formula is not super-useful. The travel time is ridiculous, and a major design constraint is reducing it, even at a hefty cost in mass and especially energy. Of the two, mass tends to be the limiting factor, with mass ratios becoming enormous to satiate long burns at high ISPs and/or high thrust. Power, meanwhile, can be stored efficiently in nuclear materials, or beamed remotely, as in some concepts.
Probably the most-useful application is near-future variable-ISP drives, such as ion or MPD engines. Due to sociopolitical issues, nuclear power in space is for now a hard sell, severely constraining power budgets. At the same time, the ISP is adjustable while still high enough that, regardless, the mass ratio ends up reasonable.
Ian Mallett (2018)
If you are using gas-core or plasma core antimatter engines (or other engine where the fuel mass is microscopic compared to the propellant mass) there are some unexpected implications.
ANTIMATTER ROCKET EQUATION
To those rocket engineers inured to the inevitable rise in vehicle mass ratio with increasing mission difficulty, antimatter rockets provide relief. The mass ratio of an antimatter rocket for any mission is always less than 4.9:1 [Shepherd, 1952], and cost-optimized mass ratios are as low as 2:1 [Forward, 1985]. In an antimatter rocket, the source of the propulsion energy is separate from the reaction fluid. Thus, the rocket's total initial mass consists of the vehicle's empty mass, the reaction fluid's mass, and the energy source's mass, half of which is the mass of the antimatter. According to the standard rocket equation, the mass ratio is now (assuming mr » me)
equation 11.13
Δv = change in vehicle velocity (m/s)
ve = rocket exhaust velocity (m/s)
mi = initial mass of the vehicle (kg)
mf = final mass of the vehicle (kg)
mv = empty mass of the vehicle (kg)
mr = mass of the reaction fluid (kg)
me = mass of the energy source (kg)
The kinetic energy (K.E.) in the expellant at exhaust velocity (ve) comes from converting the fuel's rest-mass energy into thrust with an energy efficiency (ηe):
K.E. = kinetic energy (kg·m2/s2)
c = speed of light (3 × 108 m/s)
Solving Eq. (11.14) for the reaction mass (mr), substituting into Eq. (11.13), and solving for the energy source's mass (me) produces
We can find the minimum antimatter required to do a mission with a given Δv. We set the derivative of Eq. (11.15) with respect to the exhaust velocity ve equal to zero, and solving (numerically) for the exhaust velocity:
Substituting Eq. (11.16) into Eq. (11.13), we find that, because the optimal exhaust velocity is proportional to the mission Δv, the vehicle mass ratio is a constant:
The reaction mass (mr) is 3.9 times the vehicle mass (mv), while the antimatter fuel mass is negligible. Amazingly enough, this constant mass ratio is independent of the efficiency (ηe) with which the antimatter energy is converted into kinetic energy of the exhaust. (If the antimatter engine has low efficiency, we will need more antimatter to heat the reaction mass to the best exhaust velocity. The amount of reaction mass needed remains constant.) If we can develop antimatter engines that can handle jets with the very high exhaust velocities Eq. (11.16) implies, this constant mass ratio holds for all conceivable missions in the solar system. It starts to deviate significantly only for interstellar missions in which the mission Δv approaches the speed of light [Cassenti, 1984].
(ed note: Translation: to compensate for poor efficiency of antimatter energy converted into kinetic energy you do not need more reaction mass, you just need a few more milligrams of antimatter. Assuming the engine can resist being vaporized by the higher temperatures that come with the higher exhaust velocities.)
We can obtain the amount of antimatter needed for a specific mission by substituting Eq. (11.16) into Eq. (11.15) to get the mass of the energy source (me). The antimatter needed is just half of this mass. We find it to be a function of the square of the mission velocity (Δv) (essentially the mission energy), the empty vehicle's mass (mv), and the conversion efficiency (ηe):
The amount of antimatter calculated from Eq. (11.18) is typically measured in milligrams. Thus, no matter what the mission, the vehicle uses 3.9 tons of reaction mass for every ton of vehicle and an insignificant amount (by mass, not cost) of antimatter. Depending on the relative cost of antimatter and reaction mass after they have been boosted into space, missions trying to lower costs may use more antimatter than that given by Eq. (11.18) to heat the reaction mass to a higher exhaust velocity. If so, they would need less reaction mass to reach the same mission velocity. Such cost-optimized vehicles could have mass ratios closer to 2 than 4.9 [Forward, 1985].
The low mass ratio of antimatter rockets enables missions which are impossible using any other propulsion technique. For example, a reusable antimatter-powered vehicle using a single-stage-to-orbit has been designed [Pecchioli, 1988] with a dry mass of 11.3 tons, payload of 2.2 tons, and 22.5 tons of propellant, for a lift-off mass of 36 tons (mass ratio 2.7:1). This vehicle can put 2.2 tons of payload into GEO and bring back a similar 2.2 tons while using 10 milligrams of antimatter. Moving 5 tons of payload from low-Earth orbit to low Martian orbit with an 18-ton vehicle (mass ratio 3.6:1) requires only 4 milligrams of antimatter.
Antimatter rockets are a form of nuclear rocket. Although they do not emit many neutrons, they do emit large numbers of gamma rays and so require precautions concerning proper shielding and stand-off distance.
[Forward, 1985] Forward, Robert L., Brice N. Cassenti, and David Miller. 1985. Cost Comparison of Chemical and Antihydrogen Propulsion Systems for High AV Missions. AIAA Paper 85-1455, AIAA/SAE/ASME/ASEE 21st Joint Propulsion Conference, 8-10 July 1985, Monterey, California.
[Pecchioli, 1988] Pecchioli, M. and G. Vulpetti. 1988. A Multi-Megawatt Antimatter Engine Design Concept for Earth-Space and Interplanetary Unmanned Flights. Paper 88-264 presented at the 39th Congress of the International Astronautical Federation, Bangalore, India 8-15 October 1988.
[Shepherd, 1952] Shepherd, L. R. 1952. Interstellar Flight. Journal of the British Interplanetary Society. 11:149-167.
From SPACE PROPULSION ANALYSIS AND DESIGN
artwork by Vincent Di Fate
“Of course the parry isn't necessary," he said. “It represents a tradition from the earliest days of planetary exploration. The ships at that time all used chemical rockets—”
“Not nuclear?” Jan asked. “They had nuclear energy, you know, even back then.”
“They did, but they’d had bad experiences with it and a lot of people were still scared. So they used chemical rockets.”
“But the effects of chemical rockets on the atmosphere and ionosphere are a lot worse than nuclear. Didn’t they know—"
“The ships used chemical rockets. That’s not totally true, because there were already a few ion drives; but they provided such low accelerations that they were useless for passenger shipping. You can guess what it was like. Everybody was short of delta-vee for everything. They would scrounge, beg, or borrow as much momentum transfer as they could lay their hands on, but space travel was still marginal, all touch-and-go. The first ships to reach Jupiter didn’t have enough fuel to slow into orbit around the planet. If they didn’t do something different, they would arrive, swing past, and shoot away in some other direction. The answer—the only possible answer at the time—was to skim through Jupiter's upper atmosphere and use air-braking for velocity-shedding.
“The theory was simple and fully understood for more than a century. Doing it, and getting it exactly right, was another matter. The Arbkenazy went in too deep and never came out. The Celandine erred in the other direction. It skipped in, skipped out, and left the Jovian system completely."
His voice had gradually slowed and deepened. Jan squeezed the little roll of fat at his waist. “You’re supposed to be telling me about some big patty we’ll be having, not zoning out on me. Are you drifting off?"
“I am not. I'm thinking how much easier we have it than the original explorers. The Celandine crew members were tough, and braver than you can believe. I've heard their recordings. They sent back data on the Jupiter magnetosphere until they were on the last drips of oxygen, then they all signed off as casually as if they were going out together for an early dinner. A dip into the Jovian atmosphere used to be a life-or-death proposition. Now it's just a game. Jupiter's atmospheric depth profile is mapped to six figures. The atmospheric swingby is a tradition and a good excuse for a party, but it is absolutely and totally unnecessary.”
"Like crossing the line.” She saw Paul’s forehead wrinkle. “In the old days of Earth-sailing ships, crossing the equator was a bit dodgy. The region around the equator was called the Doldrums, where the winds would fall away to nothing for days or weeks at a time. The ship would sit becalmed, in extreme heat, with no one aboard knowing if they would live long enough to catch a saving wind. Then steamships came along, and crossing the equator offered no special danger. But a ceremony called ‘Crossing the Line’ lived on. There were high jinks on board the cruise ships; parties and, ritual shaving—not just of people's heads, either—and silly ceremonies involving King Neptune.”
“It’s King Jove on the Jupiter flyby, but the rest of it sounds much the same." Paul turned to look at Jan. “Look, I know it sounds stupid and it really is stupid, but as first officer I’m stuck with it. You don't have to go along.”
“Are you kidding? Paul, there's no way I'd miss this. If I had been there in the old days crossing the equator, I’d have been whooping it up like nobody's business. My question is, can you as first officer take part in all the fun, or is it considered too undignified?"
“Define ‘too undignified.' I suppose there are limits, but they're pretty broad. On the last Jupiter atmospheric flyby, two months ago, the chief engineer dressed himself in a baboon suit. He had cut a piece out of the back. His a** was bare, and painted blue, and he said he was selling kisses. But I didn’t hear of any takers."
“Captain Kondo permitted this?" Jan had trouble imagining the captain, short, stocky, and immensely dignified, participating in the brawl that Paul was describing—or even allowing it.
“Captain Kondo remained in his quarters throughout the party. He does that on every Jupiter swingby. His view is that what he does not see, he is not obliged to report."
From DARK AS DAY by Charles Sheffield (2002)
Alternate Delta-V Equations
If you are using a Laser Thermal engine or a Solar Moth engine the equation is slightly different.
Basically the exhaust velocity Ve is equal to sqrt((2 * Bp * Bε) / mDot)
If you are using a beam-core antimatter engine the equation is hideously different. Just the beam-core antimatter, the standard delta V equation does apply to solid-core, gas-core, and plasma-core antimatter engines.
First off the whole matter-into-energy process invalidates the assumption that the matter in the system at the start is the same as the matter in the system at the end. Secondly the exhaust particles are commonly moving near the speed of light, so relativistic effects changes the particle's rest mass.
This increases the mass ratio required for a given delta V. It also forces the simple delta V equation to turn into a monster:
I'm not even going to try and explain it, much less try to use it. If you want more details, refer to the Wikipedia article.
5,800,000 w
Medium Gear
NERVA mode
LOX mode
Certain propulsion systems can "shift gears" much like an automobile. Basically they can trade thrust for exhaust velocity (specific impulse) and vice versa. There are four main reasons this can be a useful feature.
What does this mean? Thrust affects acceleration, or how fast the ship can increase speed or reduce speed. Exhaust velocity (specific impulse) affects the ship's gas mileage, or how fast it uses propellant. So you can shift the rocket into low gear if you want to burn rubber, but at the cost of the rocket guzzling propellant. Or shift it to high gear when you want to make the propellant last as long as possible, and you can live with the rocket accelerating at a snail-like pace.
Shifting gears is analogous to an aircraft activating an afterburner, or a drag racing car turning on their nitro injector.
Example spacecraft and engines include:
Afterburner Fission-Fragment Mars DRA Ship
Bimodal Hybrid NTR NEP
Ehricke Fusion Ship
LANTR LTV
Pulsed Fission Fusion engine
Santarius Fusion Rocket
Many engines (such as LANTR) can change gears by simply injecting a heavy cold propellant into the hot exhaust (LANTR uses hydrogen for propellant and oxygen for gear-shifting propellant). Usually the cold propellant is a different compound than the hot propellant. The addition of a new tank of gear-shifting propellant does increase the total propellant mass, the ship's mass ratio, and the ship's delta V (but cuts into your payload mass).
Other engines such as VASIMR can change gears by altering internal operations (the amount electromagnetic propellant heating and levels of propellant mass flow). VASIMR engines do not need a second type of propellant, so there is no change to mass ratio or delta V. But the propellant mass flow (propellant consumption) rises to ugly levels.
A crude form is the Santarius Fusion Rocket. It is a fusion engine with three different operating modes. All three modes share the fusion reactor as the power source, but use the power in three different ways. I guess a given fusion rocket design can be built with one, two, or all three modes. Those with more than one can change gears.
Another crude form is the Hybrid BNTR/EP. This is a bimodal nuclear thermal rocket with the electrical power output hooked up to an ion thruster. Meaning the nuclear engine can produce either thrust or electrical power for the bolted-on ion drive. In this case changing gears is more like turning off one engine and turning on another. Naturally the electical power produced has less energy than the nuclear rocket thrust power, since the power conversion equipment is nowhere near 100% efficient.
Remember that the thrust power is equal to the exhaust velocity times thrust, divided by two. Usually when a drive changes gears the thrust and velocity change, but the thrust power stays the same. But not always (e.g., LANTR).
The point is if the thrust power stays the same, you can use that equation to calculate the changes in thrust and exhaust velocity.
The side effect is the propellant consumption (or "mDot") kilograms of propellant expended per second of engine burn. mDot is equal to thrust divide by exhaust velocity. In other words, if you shift gears so that the thrust increases, your propellant consumption will increase as well.
Fp = ( Ve * F) / 2
F = (Fp * 2) / Ve
Ve = (Fp * 2) / F
mDot = F / Ve
(you won't need these following equations unless you are reverse-engineering)
F = mDot * Ve
Ve = F / mDot
Ve = sqrt[(Fp *2) / mDot]
mDot = (Fp *2) / Ve2
Fp = Thrust Power (watts) should be a constant for a given engine
Ve = Exhaust Velocity (m/sec) = specific impulse * 9.81
mDot = Propellant Mass Flow (kg/sec) sum of both kinds of propellant
The current figure for the VASIMR's thrust power is 5.8 megawatts (5,800,000 watts). If its exhaust velocity is set to 294,000 m/s (specific impulse of 30,000 seconds), what would the thrust be?
F = (5,800,000 * 2) / 294,000
F = 11,600,000 / 294,000
F = 40 Newtons
What if you set the thrust to 400 Newtons, what would the exhaust velocity be? Remember for a given engine the thrust power is a constant, it is still 5,800,000 watts
Ve = (5,800,000 * 2) / 400
Ve = 11,600,000 / 400
Ve = 29,000 m/s
High and Low Gear
By analogy with the terminology for automobile gear ratios, low thrust/high exhaust velocity is called high gear, and high thrust/low exhaust velocity is called low gear. You put your automobile into low gear when you are trying to pull something heavy, trading speed for pulling force. You put your automobile into high gear when you are flying down the highway, trading pulling force for speed.
Dr. Stuhlinger notes that low gear mode allows fast human transport vessels with short trip times while high gear mode allows cargo vessels with large payload ratios. He compares these to sports cars and trucks, respectively.
Why would you want to change gears? Four main reasons are:
Optimizing the exhaust velocity to the mission delta V
Engine has super-fantastic exhaust velocity but thrust is ludicrously tiny
Using the same engine for lift-off and interplanetary flight
Using the same engine for interplanetary flight and dodging hostile weapons fire
[1] Remember that given the delta V requirements for a mission, the optimal exhaust velocity is Ve = Δv * 0.72. By changing gears, you can throttle the exhaust velocity to the optimal value.
[2] Engines like fission-fragment rockets have ultra-fantastic exhaust velocity / specific impulse but the thrust is so low as to be worthless. As a general rule the acceleration should be at least 5 milligees (0.05 m/s2) or the ship will take years to change orbits. By shifting to low gear the exhaust velocity drops from ultra-fantastic to just fantastic, but the thrust rises to something worthwhile.
[3] Interplanetary flight is mostly indifferent to thrust, but lift-off and landing have to deal with the gravity tax. When sitting on the launch pad at Terra, Terran gravity imposes 9.81 m/s of delta V downward, per second (1 g). This is the gravity tax. If a spacecraft on the pad does not have enough thrust to accelerate more than the gravity tax, it is going nowhere. Every second the ship needs enough thrust to make enough acceleration to pay the tax plus the acceleration needed to lift into orbit.
Rick Robinson had a sample torchship with a high gear acceleration of 0.3 g (ship mass 1,000 metric tons, thrust of 3,000 kN, exhaust velocity of 300 km/s). This was not enough to pay the gravity tax. So in order to lift off, it would shift to low gear. This had an acceleration of 1.5 g (thrust 14,700 kN, exhaust velocity 50 km/s) which is enough to pay the tax and get into orbit. The drawback is that in low gear the torchship has a total delta V of only 40 km/s, but in high gear it has 200 km/s.
[4] The first rule of spacecraft combat is: Don't get hit. By dodging around with evasive maneuvers you complicate the enemy's targeting solution (i.e., make yourself much harder to hit). And the higher the thrust the better you can dodge.
LOW GEAR / HIGH GEAR
Rick Robinson:
Those performance stats (for the Project Daedalus) are certainly torchlike, and in fact an exhaust velocity of 10,000 km/s is wasteful for nearly all Solar System travel — on most routes you just don't have time to reach more than a few hundred km/s.
Using STL starship technology on interplanetary routes is like using a jet plane to get around town.
Jean Remy:
There's no such thing as going somewhere "too fast". At least in terms of military strategy you'll want the ability to get somewhere faster than anyone else can, and damn the price at the pump. It is more costly to arrive at a battle late (and for want of a horse)
Oh, I have nothing against speed! A better way to put it is that STL starships are geared all wrong for insystem travel, like driving city streets in 5th gear.
Luke Campbell:
Consider a 1,000 ton spacecraft with a 10,000 km/s exhaust velocity and an acceleration of 0.722 m/s/s. For a 1 AU trip at constant acceleration, flipping at the midpoint, it will take 10.5 days and consume 66 tons of propellant/fuel.
Now let's add extra mass into the exhaust stream, so that the spacecraft uses propellant at 16 times the rate but expells it at 1/4 the exhaust velocity (thus keeping the same power). This brings the acceleration up to 2.89 m/s/s. We will accelerate for 1/10 the distance, drift for 8/10 the distance, and then decelerate for 1/10 the distance. The trip now takes 7 days and uses 240 tons of propellant, of which only 14 tons is fuel.
Bulk inert (non-fuel) propellant is probably cheap (water or hydrogen). Fuel is probably expensive (He-3 and D). The second option gets you there faster and cheaper.
(ed note: see the mathematical details of Luke Campbell's example below)
In Rick's analogy, high exhaust velocity, low thrust, low propellant flow corresponds to high gear. Low exhaust velocity, high thrust, high propellant flow is low gear. In this case, a lower gear than the default "interstellar" Daedelus thrust parameters is preferable.
'Gearing' is highly desirable even if the drive won't produce surface lift thrust from any significant body. Each deep space mission also has its own optimum balance of acceleration and delta v, favoring an adjustable drive.
(ed note: given the mission delta V, the optimal exhaust velocity is Δv * 0.72.)
From ON TORCHSHIPS comments (2010)
THE MATH BEHIND LUKE CAMPBELL'S EXAMPLE
Luke Campbell: Consider a 1,000 ton spacecraft with a 10,000 km/s exhaust velocity and an acceleration of 0.722 m/s/s.
M (spacecraft wet mass) = 1×106 kg (1,000 tons)
Ve (exhaust velocity) = 1×107 m/s (10,000 km/s)
A (instantaneous acceleration) 0.722 m/s2
IMPLIED:
Isp (specific impulse) = Ve / g0 = 1×106 sec
F (thrust) = F = M * A = 722,000 N
Fp (thrust power) = (F * Ve ) / 2 = 3.61×1012 watts (3.61 terawatts)
mDot (propellant mass flow) = F / Ve = 0.0722 kg/s
mDotf (fusion fuel mass flow) = mDot = 0.0722 kg/s (because with pure fusion engines the fuel is also the mass)
Luke Campbell: For a 1 AU trip at constant acceleration, flipping at the midpoint, it will take 10.5 days and consume 66 tons of propellant/fuel.
D (trip distance) = 1.496×1011 m (1 AU)
Trajectory = Brachistochrone (constant acceleration flipping at endpoint)
T (transit time) = 2 * sqrt[ D/A ] = 910,389 seconds (10.5 days)
Tb (duration of burn) = T (because brachistochrone) = 910,389 seconds
Mpb (mass of propellant burnt in current burn) = mDot * Tb = 65,500 kg (66 tons)
Luke Campbell: Now let's add extra mass into the exhaust stream (implying that above is specifying a pure fusion ship), so that the spacecraft uses propellant at 16 times the rate but expells it at 1/4 the exhaust velocity. This brings the acceleration up to 2.89 m/s/s.
Veg (gearshifted exhaust velocity) = Ve / 4 = 2,500,000 m/s
Fg (gearshifted thrust) = (Fp * 2) / Veg = 2,888,000 N (1/4 exhaust velocity, note Fp is still 3.61×1012 watts!)
mDotg (gearshifted propellant mass flow) = Fg / Veg = 1.1552 kg/s (propellant at 16 times the rate)
Ag (gearshifted acceleration) = Fg / M = 2.89 m/s2
Luke Campbell: We will accelerate for 1/10 the distance, drift for 8/10 the distance, and then decelerate for 1/10 the distance. The trip now takes 7 days and uses 240 tons of propellant, of which only 14 tons is fuel.
D0.1 = D * 0.1 = 1.5×1010 m (1/10 the distance)
Ta0.1 (time to accelerate 1/10 distance) = sqrt[(D0.1 * 2) / Ag] = 101,885 seconds (1.2 days)
Td0.1 (time to deccelerate 1/10 distance) = Ta0.1 = 101,885 seconds (1.2 days, takes just as long to slow down to stop as to speed up)
Mpba0.1 (mass of propellant burnt accelerating 1/10 distance) = mDotg * T0.1 = 120,000 kg (120 tons)
Mpbd0.1 (mass of propellant burnt decelerating 1/10 distance) = Mpba0.1 = 120,000 kg (120 tons)
R0.8 (rate of speed during drift) = Ag * Ta0.1 = 294,000 m/s (ship speed at end of acceleration period)
T0.8 (duration of drift) = D0.8 / R0.8 = 408,000 seconds (4.7 days)
Tg (Total gearshifted time) = Ta0.1 + T0.8 + Td0.1 = 611,770 seconds (7 days)
Mpbg (total mass gearshifted propellant burnt) = Mpba0.1 + Mpbd0.1 = 240,000 kg (240 tons)
Mfbg (total mass fuel burnt) = mDotf * (Ta0.1 + Td0.1) = 14,000 kg (14 tons)
artwork by Frank Tinsley
Many rocket engines are what we call "power limited". It would be great if their power could be increased, which generally increases the thrust and/or the specific impulse. But all to often there comes a point where the waste energy from the reaction will destroy the engine.
The classic example is the nuclear thermal rocket. Feed propellant into a hot nuclear reactor, then send the now-hot propellant out the exhaust nozzle to create thrust. The hotter the reactor, the higher the specific impulse. Problem is that if the reactor gets hotter than 3200° K or so, the poor reactor melts. The molten core goes shooting out the exhaust like radioactive lava diarrhea and things go downhill from there. Just below the disaster point the rocket can crank out a specific impulse of 1,200 seconds or so. Admittedly this is better than the 450 seconds that chemical engines max out at. But still disappointing.
Engineers try to do an end run around this by designing nuclear thermal engines where the reactor is already molten or even gaseous. But these compound the problem of engine design something horrible.
Then some rocket designers had an idea.
What if you pulsed the nuclear reaction?
That is, you could run the reaction at a temperature far over the melting point of the reactor, but only for a fraction of a second. Not long enough for the engine to actually start melting. Then you let the engine cool off. After that it is time for the next pulse. The idea is to make sure that the average power never overloads the system. The technical term is something like "transient overpower".
By cleverly choosing the pulse parameters, one could get spurts of propellant emerging at a specific impulse far greater than a mere 1,200 seconds but without the engine melting. The result was the Pulsed Solid-core NTR.
Because engineers cannot leave well enough alone, they tried pulsing a gas-core reactor as well. Pulsing was supposed to avoid a gaseous reactor altogether, but in this case they were more pulsing the neutron flux than they were the temperature in an attempt to burn up all the uranium before it escaped out the exhaust.
Engines that use the pulsing trick include:
Pulsed Gas Core Closed Cycle NTR
Pulsed Fission Fusion (PuFF)
Pulsed Inductive Thruster (PIT)
Pulsed Plasma Thruster PPT
LaPointe Antiproton Plasma Engine
You can find automatic pulsing in the TRIGA reactor. It has what is known as a prompt negative fuel temperature coefficient of reactivity. Which means as the temperature of the reactor core rises, the nuclear reaction level rapidly decreases.
Sometimes in science fiction they take this to extremes. Instead of a pulse which allows the machine to run intermittently a bit overpower, instead they feed the machine several orders of magnitude as much power as it is rated for. In the split second before the machine explodes, it hopefully produces an output pulse which is several orders of magnitude larger than usual.
EXPLOSIVE OVERCLOCKING
Sometimes "normal" Over Drive is not enough. Almost any piece of Applied Phlebotinum can be made to work a little harder, at the cost of an increased risk (or certainty) that it will eventually explode. A Necessary Drawback to show why it shouldn't be used this way very often.
Your chief engineer will technobabble some stuff about "bypassing the safety protocols", but this will not require laying new cables or replacing clock chips — it just requires a few pokes at the control console. This is often achieved by applying more power.
It's even possible to do it by accident: give a computer a sufficiently hard math problem, and it will grind out an answer just before it overheats and expires from the effort. Also, being overclocked causes a system to work at increased efficiency and then stop dead.
This does have some base in reality. In Real Life, an overclocked computer will run faster, although noticeably hotter (so the hardware can very well literally melt from overheating. More modern VLSIs are likely to have safeguards against overheating, but this isn't the case with standalone circuit components like power capacitors), and will have an increased chance of making (typically small) mathematical errors. Pushed too far, though, clocked hardware components will exert a rapidly increasing level of general malfunction (if not outright refuse to work thanks to safeguards). And even small computational errors in critical parts of software will eventually cause it to crash. A normally-clocked system can overheat and crash from high load (and thus increased heat output), too, if it has inadequate cooling.
In general, overclocked phlebotinum will last exactly long enough to solve your problem, exploding right after you've shot the big gun. Alternatively, it may solve or delay your immediate problem, then break down, leaving you stranded in space with a seized engine.
Overclocking an Energy Weapon (sometimes called "hotshotting") is a good way to create the equivalent of a One Bullet Left scenario: "I can boost the power of your weapon, but it'll only last long enough to give you one shot."
The idea probably comes from the notion of red-lining a car engine, which will give you extra speed, but puts so much strain on the engine and produces so much heat that its weaker parts are liable to break. But in Science Fiction, this ability is available to just about everything, without making massive time-consuming modifications to the equipment. (Go ahead, try to make your tablesaw run faster.)
One popular use of Explosive Overclocking is as a subversion of Tim Taylor Technology.
It may also cause Explosive Instrumentation, although enemy attack or Percussive Maintenance will usually do the same thing. Especially if your vessel is not properly grounded. It's usually safer to Reverse Polarities, but that wouldn't result in a pretty fireball from your automatic Self-Destruct Mechanism, would it? Especially with No Plans, No Prototype, No Backup.
Applied to The Hero himself, Heroic RRoD may be an organic counterpart to this trope (usually due to excessive use of a Dangerous Forbidden Technique or Super Mode).
Compare Overclocking Attack (you do this because you want something to explode), Forbidden Chekhov's Gun, Flawed Prototype (which usually can be overclocked to match a "perfect" model), Cast from Hit Points (instead of a chance of complete self-destruction there is a guarantee of partial self-destruction), Pent-Up Power Peril (when your power builds up in your body by itself and will overclock your body if you don't use it regularly), Awesomeness Is Volatile, and Deadly Upgrade. An organic equivalent is Uninhibited Muscle Power.
Not to be confused with Ramping Slo-mo in explosive action scenes.
From TV TROPES: EXPLOSIVE OVERCLOCKING
OVERPOWER 1
While they were waiting for the Captain to arrive with tackle from the ship to haul them out, Mercer and Davies began a close examination of their surroundings. They were in a circular room of roughly five yards diameter which had been hollowed out of the original rock outcropping, then covered by a thin, plastic shell treated to simulate rock on the outside.
In the centre of the room stood a tall, enigmatic piece of apparatus which they had narrowly missed in falling. Several of the heavy power lines about which Mercer had been so curious sprouted from the floor and disappeared into this imposing mechanism—which Mercer, after much peering and nosing around it, had guessed to be some form of communicator. Pointing to a silvery rod near its top he said that this was probably the antenna. However, as the rod was totally enclosed by a sphere of copper mesh it was obvious that the signal produced could not go out into the normal either. Also, the equipment was apparently activated by an impulse which should reach it via the metal bird’s-nest they had seen just before their fall.
"… Another thing which puzzles me,” Mercer said as they stared at the device, “is the amount of power the thing uses. It must operate for a split second at tremendous overload, then burn out—those power lines go right into it without fuses or safety cut-offs of any kind.”
From FALSE ALARM by James White (1957)
Artwork by Hubert Rogers, 1939
(ed note: The valiant warfleet of the Galactic Patrol has utterly destroyed the grand base of the dastardly Boskonians. Now the Patrol lightheartedly move to mop up the eighteen relatively tiny outlying Boskone orbital fortresses. The patrol thinks this will be a pushover.)
While von Hohendorff and Kinnison had been talking, Haynes had issued orders and the Grand Fleet, divided roughly and with difficulty into eighteen parts, went raggedly outward to surround the eighteen outlying fortresses. But, and surprisingly enough to the Patrol forces, the reduction of those hulking monsters was to prove no easy task.
The Boskonians had witnessed the destruction of Helmuth's Grand Base. Their master plates were dead. Try as they would, they could get in touch with no one with authority to give them orders, with no one to whom they could report their present plight. Nor could they escape: the slowest mauler in the Patrol Fleet could have caught any one of them in five minutes.
To surrender was not even thought of—better far to die a clean death in the blazing holocaust of space-battle than to be thrown ignominiously into the lethal chambers of the Patrol.
There was not, there could not be, any question of pardon or of sentence to any mere imprisonment, for the strife between Civilization and Boskonia in no respect resembled the wars between two fundamentally similar and friendly nations which small, green Terra knew so frequently of old. It was a galaxy-wide struggle for survival between two diametrically opposed, mutually exclusive, and absolutely incompatible cultures; a duel to the death in which quarter was neither asked nor given; a conflict which, except for the single instance which Kinnison himself had engineered, was and of stern necessity had to be one of ruthless, complete, and utter extinction.
Die, then, the pirates must; and, although adherents to a scheme of existence monstrous indeed to our way of thinking, they were in no sense cowards. Not like cornered rats did they conduct themselves, but fought like what they were; courageous beings hopelessly outnumbered and outpowered, unable either to escape or to choose the field of operations, grimly resolved that in their passing they would take full toll of the minions of that detested and despised Galactic Civilization. Therefore, in suicidal glee, Boskonian engineers rigged up a fantastically potent weapon of offense, tuned in their defensive screens, and hung poised in space, awaiting calmly the massed attack so sure to come.
Up flashed the heavy cruisers of the Patrol, serenely confident. Although of little offensive strength, these vessels mounted tractors and pressors of prodigious power, as well as defensive screens which—theoretically—no projector-driven beam of force could puncture.
They had engaged mauler after mauler of Boskonia's mightiest, and never yet had one of those screens gone down. Theirs the task of immobilizing the opponent; since, as is of course well known, it is under any ordinary conditions impossible to wreak any hurt upon an object which is both inertialess and at liberty to move in space. It simply darts away from the touch of the harmful agent, whether it be immaterial beam or material substance.
Formerly the attachment of two or three tractors was all that was necessary to insure immobility, and thus vulnerability; but with the Velantian development of a shear-plane to cut tractor beams, a new technique became necessary. This was englobement, in which a dozen or more vessels surrounded the proposed victim in space and held it motionless at the center of a sphere by means of pressors, which could not be cut or evaded. Serene, then, and confident, the heavy cruisers rushed out to englobe the Boskonian fortress.
Flash! Flash! Flash! Three points of light, as unbearably brilliant as atomic vortices, sprang into being upon the fortress' side. Three needle-rays of inconceivable energy lashed out, hurtling through the cruisers' outer screens as though they had been so much inactive webbing.
Through the second and through the first. Through the wall-shield, even that ultra-powerful field scarcely flashing as it went down. Through the armor, violating the prime tenet then held and which has just been referred to, that no object free in space can be damaged—in this case, so unthinkably vehement was the thrust, the few atoms of substance in the space surrounding the doomed cruisers afforded resistance enough. Through the ship itself, a ravening cylinder of annihilation.
For perhaps a second—certainly no longer—those incredible, those undreamed-of beams persisted before winking out into blackness; but that second had been long enough.
Three riddled hulks lay dead in space, and as the three original projectors went black three more flared out.
Then three more. Nine of the mightiest of Civilization's ships of war were riddled before the others could hurl themselves backward out of range!
Most of the officers of the flagship were stunned into temporary inactivity by that shocking development, but two reacted almost instantly.
"Thorndyke!" the admiral snapped. "What did they do, and how?"
And Kinnison, not speaking at all, leaped to a certain panel, to read for himself the analysis of those incredible beams of force.
"They made super-needle-rays out of their main projectors," Master Technician LaVerne Thorndyke reported, crisply. "They must have shorted everything they've got onto them to burn them out that fast."
"Those beams were hot—plenty hot," Kinnison corroborated the findings.
"These recorders go to five billion and have a factor of safety of ten. Even that wasn't anywhere nearly enough—everything in the recorder circuits blew."
"But how could they handle them..." von Hohendorff began to ask.
"They didn't—they pointed them and died," Thorndyke explained, grimly.
"They traded one projector and its crew for one cruiser and its crew—a good trade from their viewpoint."
"There will be no more such trades," Haynes declared.
"We are equipped to energize simultaneously eight of the new, replaceable-unit primary projectors," the C.F.O. stated, crisply. "There are twenty-one vessels englobing us, and no others within detection. With a discharge period of point six zero and a switching interval of point zero nine, the entire action should occupy one point nine eight seconds."
The underlying principle of the destructive beam produced by overloading a regulation projector had, it is true, been discovered by a Boskonian technician. Insofar as Boskonia was concerned, however, the secret had died with its inventor; since the pirates had at that time no headquarters in the First Galaxy. And the Patrol had had months of time in which to perfect it, for that work was begun before the last of Helmuth's guardian fortresses had been destroyed.
The projector was not now fatal to its crew, since they were protected from the lethal back-radiation, not only by shields of force, but also by foot after impenetrable foot of lead, osmium, carbon, cadmium, and paraffin. The refractories were of neo-carballoy, backed and permeated by MKR fields; the radiators were constructed of the most ultimately resistant materials known to the science of the age. But even so the unit had a useful life of but little over half a second, so frightful was the overload at which it was used. Like a rifle cartridge, it was good for only one shot. Then it was thrown away, to be replaced by a new unit.
Those problems were relatively simple of solution. Switching those enormous energies was the great stumbling block. The old Kimmerling block-dispersion circuit-breaker was prone to arc-over under loads much in excess of a hundred billion KVA, hence could not even be considered in this new application. However, the Patrol force finally succeeded in working out a combination of the immersed-antenna and the semipermeable-condenser types, which they called the Thorndyke heavy-duty switch. It was cumbersome, of course—any device to interrupt voltages and amperages of the really astronomical magnitudes in question could not at that time be small—but it was positive, fast-acting, and reliable.
At Kinnison's word of command eight of those indescribable primary beams lashed out; stilettoes of irresistibly penetrant energy which not even a Q-type helix could withstand. Through screens, through wall-shields, and through metal they hurtled in a space of time almost too brief to be measured. Then, before each beam expired, it was swung a little, so that the victim was literally split apart or carved into sections. Performance exceeded by far that of the hastily-improvised weapon which had so easily destroyed the heavy cruisers of the Patrol; in fact, it checked almost exactly with the theoretical figure of the designers.
As the first eight beams winked out eight more came into being, then five more; and meanwhile the mighty secondaries were sweeping the heavens with full-aperture cones of destruction. Metal meant no more to those rays than did organic material; everything solid or liquid whiffed into vapor and disappeared. The Dauntless lay alone in the sky of that new world.
From GRAY LENSMAN by E.E. "Doc" Smith (1951)
Certain propulsion systems (particularly inertial confinement fusion) require electricity in "jolts"; that is, very very powerful but mercifully brief in duration.
Electronic flash units on cameras had a similar problem. The flashtube requires a flash pulse of 250 to 5,000 volts but of brief duration.
Since AA batteries can only manage a few volts, you can see they are woefully inadequate to the task. The solution is to use a photoflash capacitor. The AA batteries can take a few seconds to fill the capacitor to the brim with electrical power. Then the capacitor can shoot all the stored power through the flashtube in a fraction of a second.
This is why after your camera's flash has gone off, you'll hear a whine for a few seconds while the batteries charge up the capacitor. When the capacitor is loaded, the orange "ready light" comes on to indicate another flash is ready to fire.
Anyway, IC fusion and related engines also use huge capacitor banks for the same reason as camera electronic flash units.
Typically the capacitor banks get their initial charge from a little one-lung fission nuclear reactor. A few days before a scheduled engine burn in the ship's mission, the nuclear reactor will chug away and gradually fill up the capacitor banks. This takes a day or two.
At the start of the burn, the capacitor banks dump all their power into the fusion engine in a single brief pulse. The engine will use this to ignite a pellet of fusion fuel, creating a small fusion explosion. Most of the fusion energy is used for thrust. But cleverly, some of the energy is skimmed off and used to instantly re-charge the capacitor banks. The nuclear reactor is shut down since it should not be needed for the remaining duration of the engine burn. The fusion engine will continue zapping pellets of fusion fuel at a rate of about one to one-hundred fusion explosions per second, recharging the capacitors by skimming the energy. This stops once the required amount of delta-V is imparted to the spacecraft.
At least one of the engine designs use belt-and-suspenders logic, that is, redundancy.
What if the engine misfires? If you drain the capacitor into the engines but it fails to produce a fusion explosion, there will be no fusion energy to skim off for capacitor recharge. It will take two days to charge up the capacitor banks with the one-lung nuclear reactor, which will throw off the ship's trajectory. Scheduled engine burns have to be precisely timed or you might miss your destination altogether, dooming the crew.
The belt-and-suspender engines have not one but two capacitor banks. If the engine misfires, you still have a spare charged bank. Hopefully the engine does not misfire again. You can temporarily skim off double the amount of fusion energy to recharge both banks.
Hyde Fusion Rocket
HOPE magnetized target fusion
HOPE z-pinch fusion
Second bullet point
D - Recharge System
Pulse generation and onboard power storage/generation
Propellant-less Rockets
There are a couple of utterly bizarre propulsion systems that do not use propellant, at least not propellant that is composed of matter. The problem is with these weirdos is the mass ratio and delta-V equations don't work with them.
More to the point, these propulsion systems are not subject to The Tyranny of the Rocket Equation.
Please understand I am not talking about engines like the Laser Thermal or Solar Moth. They use matter propellant, it is just that their power source is located at some distance from the actual spacecraft.
And I am most certainly not talking about Reactionless Drives (keep your voice down! If RocketCat hears you it is Atomic Wedgie time). Those crack-pot drives allegedly do not use Newton's Third Law at all, and are only taken seriously by those who think the law of conservation of momentum is more what you'd call a 'guideline' than actual law.
Propellant-less rockets include:
Photon Sails and Laser Sails: which create thrust by bouncing photons (which are energy, not matter) off a mirrored sail. The photons typically come from the Sun or a remote laser station. Do not confuse them with solar moth or laser thermal. Both are powered by the Sun or a remote laser station, but the sails bounce photons with mirrors while the others use photons to heat up material propellant.
Photon Drives: the propellant is a beam of photons. Basically the engine is a honking huge laser.
Tachyon Drive: the exhaust is a beam of tachyons, which are technically matter. The point is that the engine does not have a tank full of tachyons at the start, the tachyons are created out of energy as needed. So the mass ratio equation does not work since the propellant mass at the start of the mission is zero.
Rocket Engine Components
Rocket engines use Newton's Third Law to generate thrust. The action of sending propellant out the rocket nozzle causes the reaction we call thrust.
As RocketCat so brusquely put it: "Propellant is the crap you chuck out the exhaust pipe to make rocket thrust. Fuel is what you burn to get the energy to chuck crap out the exhaust pipe."
The first component of the engine is the fuel that is burnt to generate energy
The second component is the generator which burns the fuel.
The third component is the propellant or reaction mass.
The fourth component, the energy conversion system uses the energy from the burnt fuel to make the propellant move at high velocity.
The high speed propellant stream is sent through the fifth component the exhaust deflection system in order to direct the stream in the appropriate direction
There are some cases where the fuel and the propellant are one and the same. Examples include chemical rockets and fusion drives that use the fusion products as reaction mass.
After going through the list of existing and experimental rocket propulsion systems, I've compiled lists of the various components. These lists are not complete, I'm not a rocket scientist so I might have forgotten a few. And some of the classifications might be incorrect.
But again, until a real rocket scientist decides to do it right, I'll be forced to do the best I can.
This is the fuel that is burnt in order to generate energy. Remember that fuel and propellant are two different things.
Antiprotons
Antihydrogen
Chemical Liquid
CH4/O2
Liquid Methane / Liquid Oxygen Poor performance, but the stuff can be stored almost indefinitely in space, unlike other liquid fuels. It is also available on some outer moons.
H2/F2
Liquid Hydrogen / Liquid Fluorine Pretty close to the maximum possible performance out of a chemical rocket. A pity that fluorine is insanely dangerous and will burn up pretty much anything. Let's just say that on Dr. Derek Lowe's list of things he will not work with Fluorine is near the top of the chart.
H1/O2
Single-H / Liquid Oxygen Free Radical Hydrogen (atomic hydrogen) has about five times the performance of molecular hydrogen. It is a pity the stuff wants to implode back into molecular hydrogen at the slightest provocation.
Liquid Hydrogen / Liquid Oxygen Almost as good performance as H2/F2, but without the nasty fluorine.
RP-1/O2
RP-1 / Liquid Oxygen RP-1 is highly refined kerosene. This is NASA's favorite fuel. Almost as good performance as H2/O2, but without liquid hydrogen's strict cryogenic requirements and lamentable lack of density.
UDMH/NTO
Dimethylhydrazine
+ Nitrogen Tetroxide
MMH/NTO
Monomethylhydrazine
+ Nitrogen Textroide
Chemical Solid
Al/AP
Aluminum / Ammonium Perchlorate Solid ammonium perchlorate composite propellant (APCP). Powdered aluminum fuel is mixed with ammonium perchlorate oxidizer in a rubbery binder. Burn rate catalysts are also added to control the burn rate. APCP was used in the Space Shuttle solid-rocket boosters.
Chemical Hybrid
Al/O2
Aluminum / Liquid Oxygen Finely sintered aluminum dust is sprayed with liquid oxygen. The aluminum has the storability advantage shared by chemical solid fuel rockets, and the liquid oxygen gives the throttle and turn-off capabilities of chemical liquid rockets. The specific impulse is poor, but the raw materials are availabled by in-situ resource utilization (i.e., on Luna and the asteroids, the raw material is in the dirt!).
Met-H
Metallic Hydrogen Hydrogen squeezed until it turns into a metallic soid, then somehow convinced not to explode into gas until needed.
He*
Metastable He* Helium in a long-lived excited state
He IV-A
Metastable He IV-A Helium in a long-lived excited state
10 MWe
Ten megawatts of electrical input Many drives are "fueled" by electricity. They typically use solar photovoltaic array or fission reactors. Example: Ion drive.
Ext Plas-Beam
External Plasma Beam A fixed installation such as space station sends a beam of plasma to the spacecraft. Example: MagBeam.
Ext Laser
External Laser A fixed installation such as space station sends a laser beam to the spacecraft. Example: Laser Thermal and Laser Sail.
Ext Kinetic
Kinetic Pellets A fixed installation such as space station sends a stream of kinetic pellets to the spacecraft. Some use the kinetic energy of the pellets, but many us the momentum of the pellets. Also includes concepts like Kare's Sailbeam.
Sol Mag
Solar Magnetism Spacecraft utilizes the environmental solar magnetic field for propulsion. Example: M2P2.
Sol Photon
Solar Photons Spacecraft utilizes the environmental sunlight for propulsion. Example: Photon Sail.
Sol Wind
Solar Wind Spacecraft utilizes the environmental solar wind for propulsion. Example: E-Sail.
Curium-245
Lithium-6
239Pu
Plutonium-239
Uranium-233
Uranium-235 Tetrabromide
Uranium-235 Hexafluoride
Generic Fissionable
4xH
Proton - Proton
Deuterium - Deuterium
D-T
Deuterium - Tritium
H-B
Hydrogen - Boron
H-Fe
Hydrogen - Iron
H-6Li
Hydrogen - Lithium-6
3He-D
Helium-3 - Deuterium
3He-3He
Helium-3 - Helium-3
Generic Fusion Fuel
D-T + 6Li-n
Deuterium - Tritium fusion
+ Lithium-6 fission
This is the generator that consumes the fuel and burns it into energy. The energy output can be thermal, electric, high-speed subatomic particles, or other forms. The energy will be used to accelerate the propellant.
output is thermal energy
Thermal-Fission
Fission or antimatter powered device to thermally heat propellant.
Upper limit of temperature is where the core melts.
Upper limit of temperature is where the core changes from molten into vapor.
This is generally a worthless design with the performance of a liquid core, but which gives vital experience in designing a gas core reactor.
Gas Core Closed-Cycle
Upper limit of temperature is where the core changes from vapor into ionized plasma. Fissionables are in a second loop to prevent them from escaping into the exhaust plume.
Gas Core Vortex Confined
Upper limit of temperature is where the core changes from vapor into ionized plasma. An attempt is made to prevent fissionables from escaping into the exhaust by tailoring a vortex in the chamber.
Gas Core MHD Choke
Upper limit of temperature is where the core changes from vapor into ionized plasma. An attempt is made to prevent fissionables from escaping into the exhaust by MHD fields.
Gas Core Open-Cycle
Upper limit of temperature is where the core changes from vapor into ionized plasma. Fissionables escape into the exhaust with no constraint.
Fission, fusion or antimatter powered device to thermally heat propellant.
Upper limit of temperature is where the core changes from ionized plasma to subatomic particles.
Pulse Unit
Basically a tiny self-contained bomb. It does not require external energy such as zeta-pinch fields nor beams of antiprotons to explode. Generally it is a sort of shaped charge designed to vaporize a slab of propellant and direct it at a pusher plate. Usually either a fission or fusion device.
Ultracold Neutron Catalyzed
Ultracold neutrons are a way to induce tiny sub-critical masses of fissionable fuel to explode with nuclear fission without needing a critical mass or neutron reflectors.
This technique uses beams of antiprotons to catalyze tiny bits of fusion fuel or tiny sub-critical masses of fission fuel to undergo nuclear reactions without requiring huge magnetic fields, banks of laser beams, critical masses or neutron reflectors.
Zeta-Pinch is a technique to use large electrical currents to generate large crushing magnetic fields. Said fields can be use to squeeze tiny subcritical masses of fission fuel into criticality, or fusion fuel plasmas into fusion reactions.
Fission-fragment Heating
Fission fragments from fissionables undergoing nuclear decay heat the propellant, typically liquid hydrogen.
Thermal-Fusion
Electrostatic Confinement
Fusion fuel is squeezed into reacting by electrostatic fields. Example Polywell Fusor.
Inertial Confinement Laser
Fusion fuel is squeezed into reacting by an encircling barrage of laser beams. Reaction products can be the propellant, or the reaction can heat separate propellant thermally.
Inertial Confinement Particle Beam
Fusion fuel is squeezed into reacting by an encircling barrage of particle beams. Reaction products can be the propellant, or the reaction can heat separate propellant thermally.
Open-field Magnetic Confinement (linear mirror)
Fusion fuel is squeezed into reacting by a linear magnetic bottle. Reaction products can be the propellant, or the reaction can heat separate propellant thermally.
Closed-field Magnetic Confinement (toroidal)
Fusion fuel is squeezed into reacting by a toroidal magnetic tokamak. Reaction products can be the propellant, or the reaction can heat separate propellant thermally.
Magneto-Inertial Confinement
Fusion fuel is squeezed into reacting by a magnetically crushed metal propellant foil ring. Propellant foil is heated thermally.
Muon Catalyzed
This technique uses beams of muons to catalyze induce tiny bits of fusion fuel to undergo nuclear fusion without requiring huge magnetic fields or banks of laser beams.
Thermal-Antimatter
REACTION PRODUCTS
output is reaction products accelerated by chemical, fission, fusion, or antimatter reaction
For chemical fuels, a chamber where the chemicals react or "burn."
Fission-fragment Propellant
Fission fragments from fissionables undergoing nuclear are used as the propellant
Antimatter powered device where the reaction products are the propellant.
No upper limit to temperature.
output is electricity
Nuclear Power Reactor (electric)
Fission powered device used to supply electrical energy to the propellant accelerator.
Fusion Power Reactor (electric)
Fusion powered device used to supply electrical energy to the propellant accelerator.
Solar powered device used to supply electrical energy to the propellant accelerator.
A device for gathering external energy, such as external plasma beams, external laser beams, and solar photons.
Some designs have no "reactor", most external fuels (such as laser beams) fall into this category.
The propellant or reaction mass is what is expelled from the rocket engine at high velocity in order to create thrust via Newton's Third Law.
Single-H Free radical hydrogen. For thermal acceleration single-H has superior performance to molecular hydrogen. A pity that the stuff explosively converts back to molecular hydrogen with no provocation.
Liquid Hydrogen Molecular hydrogen. The thermal propellant of choice.
Seeded-H
Seeded Hydrogen Transparent hydrogen is poor at intercepting thermal radiation and heating up. It will heat up much more readily if you seed it with something opaque like tungsten dust.
Liquid Oxygen
Cadmium Easy to ionize, but erodes the grid. Popular until they figured out how to efficiently ionize Xenon.
Colloid Sometimes used in ion and other electrostatic drives.
Cesium Easy to ionize, but erodes the grid. Popular until they figured out how to efficiently ionize Xenon.
Mercury Easy to ionize, but erodes the grid. Popular until they figured out how to efficiently ionize Xenon.
Xenon Currently popular in ion drives, since it does not erode the grid. It took a while to figure out how to efficiently ionize the stuff.
Graphite For ablative laser drives and fusion pulse ablative nozzles.
Reaction Products Where the propellant is the product of the chemical, fission, fusion, or antimatter reaction; instead a separate propellant heated by the reaction.
Regolith General term for dirt readily available on the surface of moons and asteroids. Usually if the accelerator can use regolith, it can use anything made out of matter that can be chopped up small enough to fit into the buckets. Raw sewage, worn-out clothing, dead bodies, belly-button lint, used kitty-litter, whatever.
Silicon Carbide Popular in ablative nozzles.
Tungsten For Orion drive pulse units
Photons Rays of light. Generally only used in photon drives.
Energy Conversion System
The Energy Conversion System is the mechanism that consumes energy from the generator and uses it to accelerate the propellant to high velocities.
Input: Electricity. Propellant is accelerated electrothermally by an electrical arc.
Collector Mirror Heater
Input: External Power. Propellant is thermally accelerated by heat from sunlight or laser beams focused by a collector mirror type reactor.
Input: Electricity. Propellant is accelerated electrothermally by an electrical resistance heater.
Input: Electricity. Propellant is accelerated electrothermally by microwaves.
Reaction Heater
Input: Thermal. Propellant is thermally accelerated by heat from the chemical, fission, fusion, or antimatter reaction.
Input: Electricity. Propellant is accelerated electromagnetically (plasma drives)
Input: Electricity. Propellant is accelerated electrostatically (ion drives).
Input: Antimatter Reaction. Propellant is the subatomic particles formed by a matter-antimatter reaction.
Fission-Fragment
Input: Nuclear Fission. Propellant is split atoms flying from a nuclear fission event. May be antimatter catalyzed.
Includes Reaction Product type generators.
Exhaust Deflection System
The Exhaust Deflection System directs the stream of high speed propellant in order to move the spacecraft in the desired direction. They are mostly classified by what sort of propellant they act upon, and whether or not it focuses the exhaust.
Note that while there are magnetic nozzles there are no electrostatic nozzles. These would be used strictly by Ion drives. Ion (electrostatic energy conversion system) do not have any nozzles at all. More precisely, the "nozzle" is part of the energy conversion system that accelerates the ions.
Nozzle Thermally Hard
Standard garden variety rocket nozzle. It acts on gas pressure and focuses the exhaust. Nozzle resists exhaust heat by being constructed of high-temperature alloys.
Nozzle Regeneratively Cooled
Standard garden variety rocket nozzle. It acts on gas pressure and focuses the exhaust. Nozzle resists exhaust heat by a coolant system, generally using cold propellant.
Nozzle Magnetic
Rocket nozzle that is a magnetic field, since the exhaust is far to hot to be handled by a physical nozzle composed of matter. It acts magnetically on charged particles and plasma, and focuses the exhaust. Note that most ion (electrostatic energy conversion system) and plasma (Electromagnetic energy conversion system) do not have a magnetic nozzle, or any nozzle at all.
Nozzle Ablative
The nozzle is a hemisphere with a thick layer of solid propellant. Tiny fission, fusion, or animatter explosions detonated at hemisphere center vaporize a layer of propellant which rushes out the open mouth. Examples: ACMF, Positron Ablative, D-D Fusion Inertial.
Pusher Plate Ablative
A large plate of solid propellant is impacted by kinetic pellets, ablative laser beams and ablative electron beams. Impacts create shallow craters with propellant being ejected perpendicular to the plate's surface. Propellant flow is more directional than a conventional pusher plate, but less than a nozzle.
Pusher Plate
A huge armored plate attached to the spacecraft by shock absorbers. Generally used with Orion nuclear pulse drives or Medusa nuclear pulse. It acts on gas pressure but does not focus the exhaust.
a large sail that acts magnetically on charged particles and plasma. Does not focus the exhaust. Basically the magnetic equivalent of a conventional pusher plate.
Reflective Light Sail
a large sail that reflects photons. Can focust the exhaust if desired.
Grey Sail
a large sail that absorbs or scatters photons or other particles. Typically glows hot due to absorbed power.
E-Sail
a large sail that acts on charged particles via electrostatic force, does not focus the exhaust.
Payload is the load that the spacecraft owner is being paid to haul. Yeah, kind of like the cargo. Except the blasted cargo can be a crew of astronauts, a warship's weapon turrets, a pre-fab lunar colony, the spacecraft's built-in crew quarters, or anything else that is not propellant or ship structure.
With the Polaris, our payload is Tom Corbett and his buddies, the Polaris habitat module, the life-support system, the avionics, the command deck, the astrogation deck, the engineering deck, the space boats, and the atomic missile armaments.
"Payload" is the the mass of the valuable stuff the rocket is transporting. Basically it is the reason the rocket exists. The Apollo programs Saturn V's payload was the Apollo mission: the Command module, the Service module, and the Lunar module. The payload of a cargo transport rocket is the cargo. The payload of a rocket warship is the weapons, the crew, and the habitat module.
The "payload fraction" is the fraction of the entire wet mass of the rocket which is the payload. Typically this is depressingly small, especially if you are using chemical propulsion. NASA's Saturn V had a payload fraction of 3.9%. NASA's retired space shuttle had a payload fraction of 1.4%. SpaceX's Falcon 9 has a payload fraction of 2.6%. Arianespace's Ariane 5 has a payload fraction of 2.1%.
These numbers are absolute, Mother Nature doesn't allow fudging. If your ship has a mass ratio of X and an exhaust velocity of Y, it will have a deltaV of Z. If the mass ratio is decreased due to the extra mass of, say, a stowaway, the deltaV goes down. If it goes down below what is needed for the mission, this signs the death warrant for everybody on board. Period. For details see the movie Destination Moon, or the short story "The Cold Equations" by Tom Godwin.
In Destination Moon, they expended too much propellant while landing...
...and had to frantically reduce the structural mass of the ship.
Now, remember that the percentage of the rocket mass that is taken up by propellant is:
This means that the percentage of the rocket mass that is not taken up by propellant is:
Pe = 1 / R
Pe = percentage of rocket mass not take up by propellant
In other words, the rocket's dry mass expressed as a percentage of the rocket's wet mass. Substituting the equation for R we get:
Pe = 1 / e(Δv/Ve)
Pe is for the percentage of mass taken up by the propulsion system, the ship's structure, the payload, and anything else (like the crew). But hopefully most of Pe is payload, at least if this is a cargo ship. So given the ship's Δv capacity and the propulsion systems Ve, you can get a ballpark estimate of the ship's payload capacity.
This graph is the same as the previous one, only the vertical axis has be re-labeled to show how rapidly your payload shrinks (the other graph was labeled to show how rapidly the amount of propellant grows, which is more or less the same thing). See how steep the curve is? That is an example of what they call "rising exponentially", which is science-speak for "gets expensive real quick". The graph was drawn with the equation R = e(Δv/Ve). See how (Δv/Ve) is raised next to the e? That's what is called an exponent, its what makes the curve rise exponentially. This is why you want the delta-V to be as low as possible and the exhaust velocity to be as high as possible.
So what it is saying in English is that as the delta-V cost for the mission rises, the amount of allowed payload rapidly dwindles to zero. And using a rocket engine with a higher exhaust velocity will help. You lower delta-V by choosing more modest missions and/or using orbital propellant depots. You raise the exhaust velocity by using a more sophisticated engine.
SPACESHIP MEDIC
artwork by Alan Magee
(ed note: The good ship Johannes Kepler is about midway on a 92 day journey to Mars colony when a meteor punctures the ship. Unfortunately the idiot captain was holding a meeting of all the officers in the control room, so they are all dead now. The only officer left is Lieutenant Donald Chase, who is actually the ship's medic. However, by the chain of command he is officially the captain.
They struggle through a variety of disasters, most recent of which was a solar proton storm. Now they have to somehow contact Mars Central because they are off-course, the astrogator is in the morgue, and a passenger named Ugalde who is a mathematician is not quite up to calculating a correction. Eventually they make radio contact with Mars through the solar interference by using morse code.)
It took time, a lot of time, because the communication was so complex. Don typed a message into the computer, explaining what had happened, and this was recorded on tape as a series of dots and dashes. Another tape was prepared of up-to-date stellar observations which were recorded along with the earlier data. The computer on Mars would process these and determine the course corrections that would be needed. Time passed, and with each second they moved further from their proper course.
They waited again and, instead of the course corrections, they received a request for the amount of reaction mass that remained in their tanks. This was sent back as quickly as possible and there were minutes of silence as they waited for the answer, for the corrections that would get them back into the proper orbit for Mars. The message finally came.
‘Hello Big Joe,’ the voice rasped and, although the man speaking tried to sound happy, there was an undertone of worry in his voice. ‘We are not saying that this is the final answer, the figures are being re-run, and something will be done. But the truth is … well … you have been in an incorrect orbit for too long a time. It appears that, with the reaction mass you have remaining … there is not enough to make a course correction for Mars. Your ship is on an unchangeable orbit into outer space.’
‘What is this reaction mass that Mars Central is so worried about?’ he asked. ‘I hate to act stupid, but medical studies leave little time for reading about anything else. I thought this ship was powered by atomic engines?’
‘It is, sir, but we still need reaction mass. A rocket moves not by pushing against anything, but by throwing something away. Whatever is thrown away is called reaction mass. In chemical rockets it is burning gas. The gas goes in one direction, the rocket goes in the other. The more you throw away, the more reaction you get and the faster you go. You also get more reaction by throwing something away faster. That is what we do. Our reaction mass is made up of finely divided particles of silicon. It’s made from steel plant slag, vaporized in a vacuum, so the particles are microscopic. These particles are accelerated by the engines to an incredible speed. That’s what gives us our push.’ (nowadays we know that liquid hydrogen is a superior reaction mass to finely-divided silicon)
Don nodded. ‘Seems simple enough — at least in theory. So, although we have unlimited power from the atomic engines, we don’t have enough reaction mass for the course change required?’
‘Right, sir. Normally we carry more than enough mass for our needs, because the course corrections are made as early as possible. The more the ship gets away from the right orbit, the more mass is needed to get us back. We’ve waited a little too long this time.’
Don refused to give in to the feeling of gloom that swept the control-room.
‘Can’t we use something else for reaction mass?’ he asked.
Kurikka shook his head. ‘I’m afraid not. Nothing is small enough to get through the injectors. And the engines are designed to run with this kind of reaction mass only.’ He turned away and, for the very first time, Don saw that the rock-like chief petty officer was feeling defeat. ‘I’m afraid there is nothing we can do.’
‘We can’t give up!’ Don insisted. ‘If we can’t change the orbit to the correct one, we can certainly alter it as much as possible, get it closer to the correct one.’
‘Maybe we can, Captain, but it won’t help. With all our mass used to change course we won’t have enough for deceleration.’
‘Well at least we’ll be closer to Mars. There must be other ships there that can match orbits with us and take everyone off. Let’s ask Mars Central about it.’
The answer was infuriatingly slow in coming, and not very hopeful.
‘We are running all the possibilities through the computer here, but there is nothing positive yet. There are no deepspacers here who can aid you, and the surface to satellite ferries don’t have the range to reach you, even with your correct orbit. Don’t give up hope, we are still working on the problem.’
‘Great lot of good that does us,’ Sparks muttered. ‘You’re not in our shoes.’
‘I am afraid I must disagree with Chief Kurikka and say that his last statement is wrong,’ Ugalde said. He had been standing in a daze of concentration for a long time, and did not realize that the Chief’s ‘last’ statement had been spoken almost fifteen minutes earlier. ‘There is something we can do. I have examined the situation from all sides and, if you will permit me to point out, you are looking at only part of the problem. This is because you have stated the question wrong.’ He began to pace back and forth.
‘The problem is to alter our orbit to the correct one, not to find more mass. Stated this way the problem becomes clear and the answer is obvious.’
‘Not to me,’ Kurikka said, speaking for all of them.
Ugalde smiled. ‘If we cannot get more reaction mass, then we must get less mass for our present quantity of reaction mass to work against.’
Don smiled back. ‘Of course! That’s it! We will just have to lighten ship.’
‘It is important that everything that is jettisoned be weighed first,’ Ugalde warned. ‘This will be needed in the computations. And the faster it is done the better our chances will be ! ’
‘We start right now,’ Don said, pulling over a notepad and electric stylo. ‘I want to list everything that is not essential to the operation of the ship and the lives of everyone aboard. Suggestions?’
‘The passengers’ luggage of course,’ Ugalde said. ‘They should keep what they are wearing and the rest will be discarded.’
The purser moaned. ‘I can see the lawsuits already.’
‘I’m sure that the company is insured,’ Don said, making a note. ‘Their luggage or their lives — that is really not much of a choice. They can keep their valuables and personal items, but anything that can be replaced has to go. You’d better have them all assembled in the main dining-hall in fifteen minutes. I’ll come up and tell them myself.’
Jonquet nodded and left. Don turned to the others.
‘The dining—tables, chairs, dishes, most of the kitchen equipment,’ Kurikka said, counting oif the items on his fingers. ‘All the frozen meat and refrigerated food. We can live off the dehydrated emergency rations which use recycled water.’
‘Good thinking. Who’s next?’
Once they began to concentrate on it, it was amazing the number of items that they found. Carpets and decorations and banisters on the stairs, furniture, fittings and spare parts. The list grew and Don checked off the items. There was one obvious — and heavy — item missing. ‘The cargo,’ he said, ‘what about that?’
Kurikka shook his head. ‘I only wish we could. There is heavy machinery, bales of clothing, a lot of items that we could do without. But all the cargo is container loaded for the most part, and sealed into place against the G stresses. The shuttle rockets have the special extensible power sockets to reach down past the containers to free them, but we don’t have the equipment. I suppose we could jury-rig something to get the containers out, but it would take a couple of days at least.’
‘Which is far too long for us. The cargo stays — but everything else that can go, goes! ’
From SPACESHIP MEDIC by Harry Harrison (1970)
Handy Aids
Everything old is new again. AFAIK there ain't a smartphone app for this, and doing it longhand is a drag. So check out this 1900's tech called a Nomogram. Sneer at it if you like, it actually has some advantages over spreadsheets and online calculators. Consider it to be steampunk, because it is. I'm sure Robert Heinlein used nomograms.
Nomogram for the Solar System. Download here.
Example of nomogram use.
Rocket Performance Calculator
To get some rough ballpark estimates, you can use my handy-dandy DeltaV nomogram (more about nomograms). Download it, print it out, and grab a ruler or straightedge. You can also purchase an 11" x 17" poster of this nomogram at . Standard disclaimer: I constructed this nomogram but I am not a rocket scientist. There may be errors. Use at your own risk.
Say we needed a deltaV of 36,584 m/s for the Polaris, that's in between the 30 km/s and the 40 km/s tick marks on the DeltaV scale, just a bit above the mark for 35 km/s. The 1st gen Gas Core drive has an exhaust velocity of 35,000 m/s, this is at the 35 km/s tick mark on the Exhaust Velocity scale (thoughtfully labeled "NTR-GAS-Open (H2)"). Now, lay the straightedge between the NTR-GAS-Open tick mark on the Exhaust Velocity scale and the "2" tick mark on the Mass Ratio scale. Note that it crosses the DeltaV scale at about 24 km/s, which is way below the target deltaV of 36,584 m/s.
But if you lay the straightedge between the NTR-GAS-Open tick mark and the "3" tick mark, you see it crosses the DeltaV scale above the target deltaV, so you know that a mass ratio of 3 will suffice.
The scale is a bit crude, so you cannot really read it with more accuracy than the closest 5 km/s. You'll have to do the math to get the exact figure. But the power of the nomogram is that it allows one to play with various parameters just by moving the straightedge. Once you find the parameters you like, then you actually do the math once. Without the nomogram you have to do the math every single time you make a guess.
As with all nomograms of this type, given any two known parameters, it will tell you the value of the unknown parameter (for example, if you had the mass ratio and the deltaV, it would tell you the required exhaust velocity).
Note that the Exhaust Velocity scale is ruled in meters per second on one side and in Specific Impulse on the other, because they are two ways of measuring the same thing. In the same way, the Mass Ratio scale is ruled in mass ratio on one side, and in "percentage of ship mass which is propellant" on the other.
Arthur Harrill has made a nifty Excel Spreadsheet that calculates the total deltaV and other parameters of your rocket.
For fun, you can spend $15 and get the RAND Rocket Performance Calculator, which is a circular slide rule for deltaV calculations. Its a pity it doesn't do metric, and the upper limit of Isp that it will handle is disappointing. But it does give one an intuitive feel for these calculations. (Alas, it appears that this is now out of print)
GENERAL ELECTRIC SPACE PROPULSION CALCULATOR
The General Electric Space Propulsion Calculator was manufactured by the GE Flight propulsion Laboratory. Front side calculates Thrust, Thrust Power, Propellant Mass Flow, Specific Impulse, and Exhaust Velocity. The flip side calculates Escape velocity, Orbital velocity, Period of revolution, and Gravitational pull for the major planets and moons of the solar system. Images are from the Slide Rule Museum. If anybody has any more information about this slide rule, please contact the webmaster.
Front and back.
These illustrations are from a 1963 Russian magazine called "Техника молодежи" magazine ("Technology Youth"), as shown in Pavel Popelskii's Science Illustration blog. They are more a popularization for children than they are a rigorous technical document, but they are interesting. I do not speak or read Russian, but I discovered that Google Translate is my friend. Any awkward phrasing is the fault of Google translate.
The radioactive isotope - a source of alpha particles
Absorber of alpha particles, which protects the equipment from the particles emitted in a random direction
Alpha particles.
Vacuum diode - a source of electrical current, working on the principle of thermionic emission
Neutron reflector to their concentration in the reaction zone
Solenoid to produce a magnetic field
Capacitor divider that separates the uranium from the hydrogen
Hydrogen plasma, fed into accelerators
Electrodes for the removal of the electric current created by the movement of plasma through a magnetic field
The direction of electric current
Zone of fission
Uranium-graphite reactor core
Openings for supply of hydrogen in the tangential and the walls of the cylindrical chamber
Molten uranium carbide
Porous wall through which the hydrogen leak
Heat exchanger, where sodium, heated in the reactor, transfers its heat to mercury
Radiator cooler for removal of excess heat and condensation of mercury vapor
Turbogenerator to generate electricity
"Isotopic motor"
"Isotopic motor" (a.k.a. fission sail.)
1. The radioactive isotope - a source of alpha particles.
2. Absorber of alpha particles, which protects the equipment from the particles emitted in a random direction.
3. Alpha particles.
This engine is labeled an "isotopic motor", but nowadays is called a fission sail. Radioactive material has its radiation absorbed on all sides except in the desired thrust direction. Great specific impulse, but the thrust is microscopic.
Nuclear-electric rocket
"Reactor", possibly a radioisotope thermoelectric generator.
4. Reactor.
5. Vacuum diode - a source of electrical current, working on the principle of thermionic emission.
6. Neutron reflector to their concentration in the reaction zone.
As near as I can figure, the spherical object labeled "reactor" is actually a type Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator. I say this because the section labeled "5" appears to be a thermocouple. The spacecraft appears to be a generalized Nuclear-Electric rocket. The unspecified engine would be some kind of electrical propulsion, like ion or plasma.
Magnetohydrodynamic power
Fission reactor and magnetohydrodynamic generator.
7. Solenoid to produce a magnetic field.
8. Capacitor divider that separates the uranium from the hydrogen.
9. Hydrogen plasma, fed into accelerators.
10. Electrodes for the removal of the electric current created by the movement of plasma through a magnetic field.
11. The direction of electric current.
12. Zone of fission.
This uses a magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) generator to harvest electricity from the uranium-hydrogen plasma. The fissioning uranium ionizes the hydrogen. The ionized stream can conduct electricity. It is shot through a magnetic field (created by a solenoid), where it induces an electrical current in the side plates. The stream then enters the "divider" where the uranium is separated from the hydrogen. The unspent uranium is sent back to the reaction chamber. The hydrogen is sent to some kind of Electromagnetic accelerator which is powered by the electricity from the MHD generator.
I have no idea if this will acually work, or if it was discredited decades ago. Up until now I had only seen MHD harvesting of electricity associated with nuclear fusion reactions, not nuclear fission.
The "reactor" is actually the reaction chamber (12). The "motor" is the Electromagnetic accelerator. "Working mass" is another name for "reaction mass", "working fluid", or "propellant". The shadow shield is up near the nose, though generally it is more efficient to put it right on top of the reactor. The "vernier motor" is an attitude jet.
These are the atomic rockets, as tipped off by the Russian word for "uranium". All of these are nuclear thermal rockets or NTR. As near as I can figure:
A. Solid-core NTR
13. Nozzle.
14. Uranium-graphite reactor core.
Looks like every NERVA diagram I've ever seen. A nuclear reactor where the coolant flows directly to the exhaust.
B. Gas-core Open-Cycle NTR
Uranium is just spraying into the reaction chamber along with the propellant. Easiest to engineer, but lots of expensive un-burnt uranium escapes out the exhaust. This angers the owner's accountants and the picketing anti-nuclear activists.
C. Gas-core Open-Cycle Coaxial-flow NTR
15. Openings for supply of hydrogen in the tangential and the walls of the cylindrical chamber.
Uranium is injected tanjentally, to make a spiral flow around the long axis. Hopefully this forces the uranium to loiter in the reaction chamber longer, reducing the amount of un-burnt uranium that escapes.
D. Gas-core Open-Cycle NTR with Recirculation
I have never seen this one before.
By doing some research I stumbled over a paper on Russian gas-core design. There is a "recirculation intake" just before the exhaust nozzle that tries to catch the uranium before it escapes. The uranium is liquifed then pumped back to the top of the reaction chamber. Frankly I do not understand why the hot fissioning uranium does not instantly vaporize the intake scoop.
But that is not this design. In this one, the fissioning uranium is jetted in the contrary direction to the hydrogen propellant. It is captured at the top, the hydrogen is filtered out, and sent back to the bottom to be injected again. The author calls it a "coaxial gas reactor", but this is not the same thing as the coaxial-flow NTR.
E. Liquid-core NTR
16. Molten uranium carbide.
17. Porous wall through which the hydrogen leak.
The uranium is liquid, and the reaction chamber is spun on the long axis to keep the uranium in the chamber by centrifugal force. Note the tiny arrow indicating the spin, it's a dead giveaway.
This is from a 1960 issue of Technology Youth magazine.
Solid-core NTR
Gas-core Open-Cycle NTR (note lead shielding around exhaust nozzle)
Nuclear Electric Ion Drive
Shock Tubes (first time I ever heard of this, outside of a V-1 Buzz Bomb)
Nuclear Power Reactor
Propellant Tank
Exhaust Nozzle
Uranium Tank
Steam Turbine
Heat Radiator
Ion Acceleration Grids
High-pressure tank for accumulation of reactor-heated propellant
Shock tube injector
Valve exhaust
Valves of the cooling system
Anode Arc
Ring electrode (the cathode of the arc)
Fourth rocket engine (Fig. IV) works in a peculiar thermo-mechanical cycle. Part of the energy of the reactor is used to drive the pump, which feeds into the reactor core liquid working medium, where it vaporizes and heated at high pressure.
The resulting hot gas is pumped into a separate high-pressure chamber, which, through valve 11 communicates with tube shocks. At the other end of the shock tube we find structed diffuser serves to concentrate the energy of the shock wave, and the valve 12, connecting tube with a nozzle rocket. Duty cycle engine is as follows: pump 5 takes the working fluid from the reservoir and high-pressure pumps it through a reactor, where it evaporates and is heated to about 2500° C — and then injected into the high-pressure chamber. Shock tube at this point is still filled with gas of low pressure left over from the previous cycle. Then the valve 11 to quickly open, compressed gas, bursting into the pipe instantaneously compresses and heats the gas in the tube, causing the appearance in it of a strong shock wave.
The highest compression is achieved in the lower stream of the diffuser. Then, valve 11 closes and valve 12 opens and gas at high speed coming out of the nozzle. When the temperature of exhaust gas will decrease by 3-4 times compared with the maximum temperature reached in the shock tube, valve 12 closes and valve 13 opens, and by a pump 5 remains a shock tube fed into a radiator where it cools. This cycle is continuously repeated, creating "clusters" of high-temperature gas flowing from a nozzle at high speed.
NUCLEAR ROCKET by M. Viskova. Technology Youth magazine Jan. 1960
The rocket marked IV appears to be using a system of 'shock tubes', heating a working fluid then pulsing it out underpressure. However, this seems like it would be less efficient then simply operating the engine directly as an NTR, so i have my doubts. As Rob Davidoff pointed out, there is no addition of further "work" after the propellant is heated in the reactor.
Engines: Blast-off▶
◀Slower Than Light
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EA ‘Entertainment Pack’ lands later this month
11. Aug, 2011
SCEA have announced a new bundle for the soon-to-be-redundant PlayStation Portable.
The pack, which will retail for $159.99, includes a PSP-3000, a 2GB memory card, Madden NFL 12 and… a two year-old racing game. Yes, Need For Speed: Shift will be in the package, but I guess we can’t be too hard on EA as technically it is the latest NFS game on the platform, after they elected to not release ‘Hot Pursuit‘, ‘Shift 2‘ or ‘The Run‘.
Out on August 30th, it’ll launch day and date alongside the standalone version of Madden. With the PS Vita to launch in only a few months time, this’ll be one of the last opportunities for Sony to shift (sorry, couldn’t resist!) some units.
Personally, I think this could sell quite well at Christmas, with parents looking to buy their kids a console with sports and racing games at a reasonable price. In Europe, I could definitely see a similar package but with FIFA.
Posted by: Raj Mahil on August 11, 2011.
News, Playstation, PSP
More PSN down-time in Europe today
Sony warehouse set on fire in London riots
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Why Batman Can’t Kill People, Part 2
By Shamus Posted Thursday Jul 9, 2015
Filed under: Batman 167 comments
Why Batman Can't Kill People, Part 1Previous Post
Next PostThe Elephant in the Room
Remember that for simplicity I’m just talking about Arkham videogame Batman. Also, when I say things like “Batman is all about…” I’m not trying to make a definitive statement about what THE BATMAN means to all people, in some final and authoritative way. I’m not saying you’re enjoying Batman wrong if you like it for other reasons. Don’t make me cover this in footnotes and disclaimers. You know how this works. I’m just talking about my personal perception of Batman, under the assumption that if I feel this way, there’s a good chance a lot of you do too.
The World of Gotham
Assuming that you’re like me, then you want your Batman stories to deliver your escapist fiction on a very particular wavelength. Twilight is contrived and engineered for a particular type of gratification, and Batman is aimed at another.
Yes, it’s a power fantasy. But power fantasies come in many forms. Some power fantasies are about saving one person, or about a super-being that has the power to stop natural disasters. Or a spy that can unravel plans that threaten the world. Or the galaxy. This particular work is a power fantasy about bringing criminals to justice.
The Batman power fantasy has silly costumes, absurdly on-the-nose character names, and a hero in a rubber suit with pointy ears. It’s outlandish and fun, but it’s also grounded in some very pedestrian fears and frustrations. It has a lot of appeal for the sort of person that might watch the news, hear about some horrible monster that committed a crime, and wish there was someone out there who could bring them to justice – preferably in a way that lets us vicariously enjoy smashing them in the face. His foes aren’t so much criminals as the embodiment of crime itself, a punching bag with the face of today’s horrendous criminal-of-the-week taped to it.
So we want a hero that can bring down the bad guys that – in the real world – get away with it. Maybe they cover their tracks too well. Maybe they bought off the cops. Or they’re hard to apprehend. Or they’re just really slippery in court. Whatever.
Our Punching Bags
Batman’s rogue’s gallery does a really good job of giving us a large collection of criminal effigies to punch.
Penguin represents organized crime: The Al Capone and John Gotti types of the world. Guys who want to “rule the city” in a practical sense, oversee large criminal enterprises, and are difficult for the police to catch because they do everything through intermediaries. In the real world these guys are frustrating because “everyone knows they’re guilty” but it takes so long for their crimes to catch up with them. And even when they do end up in jail, it’s frustrating to know this guy who killed so many people is spending his time in a soft, low-security prison for “wire fraud” or somesuch. (And probably still running his empire while he’s at it.) We’d really love it if some costumed badass could show up and give this guy a dose of the pain and terror he’s dished out.
Zsasz represents your garden-variety serial killer. He kills because of some gross compulsion that none of us can understand.
Riddler represents the kind of guy who is trying to pull a crime just to prove he can. Maybe he wants attention, or maybe he just wants to make a move big enough that it shows up on the news and gets people talking on the internet. He’s willing to do harm to further his goals, but doesn’t see the harm as an end in itself. He enjoys the chase more than the crime. Frank Abagnale and LulzSec are good examples of this sort of criminal.
Scarecrow and Poison Ivy are always trying to terrify or control the populace with chemical / biological attacks, which makes them a really good analogue for terrorist-style attacks without the story needing to explore the complex politics behind real, ideology-driven terrorism.
Joker is the wildcardEr. You know what I mean.. He can work in any of the roles above, or work in multiple roles at once. He can be a serial killer, a crime boss, a trickster, or a terrorist.
I’m not saying all of Batman’s foes can map to real-world criminals. (I have no idea how you’d classify Mr. Freeze, for example.) And I’m certainly not saying that these characters were designed with these specific classifications in mind. These guys were cooked up by writers who needed to sell comic books and wanted colorful villains to put on the cover. But over the years they’ve slipped into these rolesAgain, particularly in the videogames. I have no idea what the comics are doing these days., and I think it’s part of why they work so well as foils for today’s gritty “Dark Knight” Batman storiesIn a way that (say) Mad Hatter and Calendar Man don’t..
The Bent Knight
Like Twilight, Batman stories have a few parameters that make them more satisfying while at the same time bending the world into this awkward position where things don’t always make sense:
1) Our hero is a master detective, master infiltrator, and a master at non-lethal takedowns. He can’t be bought, can’t be frightened, and never takes a day off. He’s always competent and the bad guys can’t evade him forever.
2) Now that we’ve created this avatar of vigilante justice, we want him to oppose a foe worthy of his skills, so we’re not interested in taking down pickpockets and purse snatchers. We want villains that are vibrant, interesting, and represent powerful criminal forces that terrify common folk. We’re here to deliver a beat-down on cruel brutes who enjoy hurting innocent people. We want Batman to be as terrifying and daunting to them as those thugs are to us.
3) Because of the way that stories usually work, we need to establish our villain as a threat by showing them doing Bad Stuff. But we don’t want Batman to just go around mopping up after atrocities, so he needs to thwart something Even Worse. So our villains need to kill N people, and then Batman stops them before they kill N×10 people.
4) Crime never goes away, so the demand for crime-fighting stories never goes away. We need our hero to keep fighting crime. ForeverAssuming I live a full life, I will eventually see Batman turn 100..
So Batman is a way to enjoy the cathartic release of seeing criminals get their due. And maybe – if you’re feeling a little vindictive – a little more than their due, in the hopes that others will think twice before launching their own campaigns of terror.
This gives us a world where we can enjoy watching our hero punch crime in the face, but it also gives us a bent setting. Yes, it would be totally understandable for Batman to just LET Joker die at some point, and I think Batman could easily do it without worrying that he’d crossed some line into open villainy. Once someone is guilty of thousands of counts of premeditated murder, the expectations of due process begin to look like a luxury.
And yes, even if we accept that Batman doesn’t kill, it makes no sense that a guy with a bodycount like Joker’s wouldn’t come down with a case of “Shot fifty times at point-blank range while trying To escape” as soon as Batman dropped him off at jail.
A Batman Who Kills
The problem is that if Batman – or anyone else – hauled off and killed the Joker, it would just move the problem from one part of the story to another. We’d need to cook up a replacement character. If the replacement is less dangerous, then we have a story where the stakes have gone down and there’s less crime for him to fight. If the new guy is just as bad, then Batman would need to kill him, and so on.
This is how the Punisher works, and I think it’s one of the reasons the Punisher is overall a less satisfying story, even for people looking to see criminals punished, vigilante-style. Frank Castle has to monologue to explain who the current bad guy is and why we’re after him. Then he kills the bad guy. Then we need to build up a new bad guy. It’s still bent: How many untouchable crime bosses can one city possibly have? Instead of “Why doesn’t he kill these guys” the problem becomes, “Where do these guys keep coming from?” And as a matter of simple storytelling, it’s probably more exciting and interesting to see Batman face off against a villain we know and understand than to watch Frank Castle brutally murder a generic bad guy we met 10 pages ago. Proper villains take time and skill to construct, and writers aren’t going to be able to create new ones fast enough to feed the Punisher’s tireless engine of vengeance.
The Bad Guys need to kill people in order to seem like a credible threat and justify the extreme measures Batman is taking to stop them. We can’t kill them off without turning this into a Punisher-style “Mob Boss of the week snuff film”. The bad guys have to keep escaping so Batman has crime to stop. The bad guys have to be too much for the police to handle to show why this problem needs a vigilante. The bad guys have to kill some people to affirm that they’re a genuine threat and Batman isn’t just beating up harmless delusional nutjobs. You need all of these things for a Batman story to work, but once you have these things you have a world where Batman stupidly allows mass murderers to kill again because [insert current in-world justification for not killing or maiming supervillains].
But it doesn’t make sense!
Why doesn’t Batman kill these guys? How do they keep escaping? Since the Gotham Police Department apparently has a survival rate worse than D-Day on the beaches of Normandy, why would normal men and women continue to work there? And given the attrition they experience, why don’t any of the police haul off and kill Joker once he’s captured? Given the sheer frequency and severity of terroristic attacks on the populace, why would anyone live in Gotham? Shouldn’t this entire city have collapsed by now? Why doesn’t Bruce Wayne use his billions to fight the poverty, lack of education, corruption, or whatever else we might assume is at the root of this prolonged, intense, and far-reaching crime spree?
These are all valid questions, but they can’t be answered because they stem from our inherently bent world: We need a hero to punch famously dangerous and unrepentant criminals in the face, and we need him to do it basically forever.
What’s interesting is that a lot of people just refuse to “go with it”. I can sympathize. While the bent nature of Batman doesn’t bug me, I‘ve got a few stories in my nerd diet that drive me crazy because I can’t resolve or make peace with their internal contradictions.
But what’s most interesting to me is how people continually try to impose order on the chaos. There are two ways you can look at the bent nature of Batman:
This is stupid. I’m done.
This doesn’t make total sense, but I’m on board because I really dig this detective-and-brawling stuff.
But some people try to forge a third way: They try to say the inherent nonsense is saying something. They look for a message in the madness. A reason for the eternal struggle.
“This is a story about one man staying true to his principles.”
“Did you notice that crime went UP in Gotham when Joker was temporarily dead? Batman understands that killing would only make things worse, which is way he’s trying to save everybody.”
“You notice that no matter how long Batman fights, Gotham never gets any better? Batman’s own story shows that his methods don’t work, and that he creates the problem he’s trying to solve!”
“You notice how often Batman is always getting saved by his allies? That’s because Batman is all about how he can’t actually do it on his own.”
“Poison Ivy. Catwoman. Talia. Batman stories are about how this sex-starved nutjob who goes around beating people up because he needs to get laid.”
“Batman is a story where there are no good guys. Ever notice how Batman breaks just as many laws and is just as crazy as the guys he’s fighting?”
But the funny thing is that some of these people end up becoming writers of Batman stories, and so all of these ideas become true at various times in Bat-lore. I realize this point strays away from the videogames, but I like the idea that we create Batman out of a hunger for justice. Then his stories fall apart because they don’t end. So then we try to impose meaning on the story, looking for a message that wasn’t there originally. But then that message ends up in the story, added by frustrated writers who are looking for deeper meaning in a story about a guy who dresses like a bat to fight crime.
That search for understanding and applicability might not explain why the Dark Knight doesn’t kill people, but I think it does explain why his stories have endured for so long.
[1] Er. You know what I mean.
[2] Again, particularly in the videogames. I have no idea what the comics are doing these days.
[3] In a way that (say) Mad Hatter and Calendar Man don’t.
[4] Assuming I live a full life, I will eventually see Batman turn 100.
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167 thoughts on “Why Batman Can’t Kill People, Part 2”
Thursday Jul 9, 2015 at 4:34 am
I'm not saying you're enjoying Batman wrong if you like it for other reasons(but you totally are).
I have no idea how you'd classify Mr. Freeze, for example
The sympathetic villain that turned to crime for a noble cause.Road to hell and all that.
And you know,he and catwoman are great polar opposites.He is usually portrayed as a bad guy with a good goal,while she is usually portrayed as a good gal with a bad goal.
Nicholas Hayes says:
Polar. I see what you did there!
Zeta Kai says:
Mr. Freeze, oddly-enough, has come to represent what the average law-abiding citizen could become if the System fails them. What happened to Victor Fries was tragic set of circumstances (abusive father, sick wife, uncaring company, freak accident) that drove him into a life of crime, a life where he has no choice but to be a criminal. In fact, being a criminal is the only time he has ever displayed any personal agency; prior to that, he was being acted upon by outside forces, & afterward, he can either rot in a freezer or go out & do something with himself.
Mr. Freeze is now the Everyman, pushed into becoming a criminal because the System couldn’t protect him. In another, more just world, he would be a normal guy, a researcher at a tech firm, with a loving, living wife & an unremarkable life. Everything normal was taken from him, & he is left alone, in the cold, forever. And now he acts like a criminal because there’s nothing left for him to do. Thus, he’s a cautionary tale for Batman’s world, an example of what happens to the victims of Crime, & the stakes of failing to stop it in all its forms.
sudowned says:
Thursday Jul 9, 2015 at 11:12 am
This is the best analysis of Freeze I’ve ever heard. It squares less in the New 52 version of the character, where he comes across as a psychotic whackjob (and IIRC it’s revealed that he murdered a girl before becoming Freeze) but for earlier, better versions… yeah, bang-on.
Thursday Jul 9, 2015 at 2:59 pm
That works as an analysis of the Mr. Freeze from BTAS, the Arkham games, and maybe the pre-New 52 comics (I understand he’s been reinvented since). But TAS did a pretty major overhaul on his character, actually, which informed later iterations. The earlier comic version of Mr. Freeze was more a version of the classic mad scientist trope – he had few if any redeeming, human qualities. I don’t think he even had a tragically dead wife.
He didnt.But lets face it:what best fits the character is not what the character was early on.Early on,batman didnt care if he used guns,and superman was just jumping really high.
MadTinkerer says:
Friday Jul 10, 2015 at 12:04 am
There was a black & white Superman film serial where he used a gatling gun on his enemies. Some early Superman stories remind me more of Axe Cop than Superman.
Ledel says:
Sunday Jul 12, 2015 at 12:12 pm
This is also represented by his freeze suit. From all that has happened to him he can no longer touch the normal world. If he were to try be a part of the world it would kill him. He’s smart enough that if he really wanted to, he could find a cure for himself, but his trauma leaves him feeling like he can’t fix himself until he saves his wife.
MugaSofer says:
Wednesday Jan 4, 2017 at 8:48 pm
I think it represents it in a more direct manner. Freeze is literally physically incapable of surviving without his crime/gimmick, because of a medical condition that isn’t his fault (but also kind of is, because it happened while trying to save his wife and he could have chosen to walk away.)
Similarly, he’s trapped as a supervillain, incapable of not committing literal crimes because he’s made to by forces “outside his control” (although logically he could walk away at any time.)
Freeze is both literally and figuratively trapped inside a Mr Freeze costume.
(And interestingly, in the episode of Batman Beyond featuring him where he was temporarily cured, he instantly reforms and then returns to villainy when the cure wears off. There’s no causal connection, in-universe it’s a complete coincidence. But thematically…)
Steve C says:
Friday Jul 10, 2015 at 6:13 am
I see Mr. Freeze as profoundly selfish and completely lacking empathy. He could be a fully functioning member of society if his needs were met. With his needs not met he’d dispassionately throw a baby into a wood chipper. He believes the ends always justify the means when they serve him.
I do not agree with Zeta Kai that Freeze was a victim of circumstance and failed by the system. Freeze is much like Brainiac- an uncaring robot. He will see his goals realized and he does not care who he hurts in the process. Unlike Brainiac, Freeze’s personal end goals are mundane and small in scope.
Roland Jones says:
Saturday Jul 11, 2015 at 3:32 am
An uncaring robot… Whose goal is to save his dying wife, who he loves and cares about so much that he’s been driven to desperation and madness by her circumstances? His whole thing is based on how much he cares, and he tends to by far be one of the least murderous of Batman’s enemies besides that. (At least, depending on how realistic the particular work is about the whole “getting frozen” thing that tends to happen to people in his way.) I am legitimately baffled here; it seems almost like you’re talking about an entirely different character.
Sunday Jul 12, 2015 at 12:18 am
Caring about his wife isn’t about his wife. It is about Freeze. Freeze’s goal is not to save his dying wife. It is to save his dying wife so he can be with her again. Freeze cares about his wife but that is the only thing he cares about. He isn’t putting his wife first. He is putting his need for his wife first. Freeze is like Sandman who only cares about his daughter and justifies everything he does in her name.
Nimas says:
Friday Nov 3, 2017 at 1:46 pm
Very late, but it depends on which one you look at. In the comics based on TAS when his wife gets a cure and leaves him (can’t remember why, I think it was because he was in Arkham as just a head at the time) he never tries to be with her again, beyond writing letters (some of which boil down to, I just want you to be happy, so if this new guy makes you happy, be with him) and then he basically leaves Gotham and goes to the Arctic because he basically has no more goal, so he sees no point in crime.
@Footnote 3
I dont know.Mad hatter and calendar man can work quite well as gritty batman villains with just a touch of change.I mean,look how easy alice can turn into serious stuff of nightmares,and calendar man can be seamlessly replaced with the zodiac killer.
Ingvar M says:
Also, the Alice presented in Warehouse 13 (“killer” is only the beginning).
MaxieJZeus says:
And BTAS’s Mad Hatter is actually very similar to BTAS’s Mr. Freeze: lonely guy fixated on unobtainable girl. The difference is that Hatter’s girl isn’t dead and Freeze’s girl practically is. You’d think the guy chasing the warm-and-living girl wouldn’t be creepier than one chasing a popsicle; as usual, BTAS is more perceptive, and more perverse.
MichaelG says:
“some of these people and up becoming writers…” should be “end up”?
Confanity says:
And some people end up becoming copy editors. Keep it up, friend. 8^D
Incunabulum says:
(I have no idea how you'd classify Mr. Freeze, for example.)
Mr Freeze is the sort of guy who got into crime because he had an overriding goal (to save his wife) and, over time, he put aside all other moral considerations in the pursuit of that goal.
And then he found out that he *liked* being a criminal mastermind.
I don’t know of any particular *real world* examples, but Mr. Freeze is basically Walter White.
EwgB says:
I think he also has a dash of mad scientist added to the mix. Not really a criminal template, but “overreach of science” is also something a subset of population is afraid of.
Honestly he’s more a Shakespearean villain, someone who fell from grace not entirely of his own volition, but is eternally damned because of it.
As an aside, I really love his episode in Batman Beyond, as it shows how much of a tragedy the loss of his wife and accident robbed the world of a truly great man.
I wouldn’t say he’s Walter White. White was the kind of person who let his pride get the better of him. He had good qualities, but he always was a dark person inside, and as soon as he acquired power, he showed his true colors. Note that White uses the excuse that he does all this for his family, but deep down he knows very well he’d doing it for himself.
Freeze, on the other hand, unlike White, doesn’t enjoy the power or the crimes he does, he just sees them as a means to an end. He has problems, yes. He has no interest in the rest of the human race, all he cares about is his wife. But he’s still not doing things for personal satisfaction, he does it all for his wife.
So did Fries – and like White, Fries, for most of his adult life, had little personal agency.
Its as Heisenberg that White truly feels *macho* – with all the good and bad that comes with that.
Both chose to enter the criminal world because of necessity – White to take care of his family after his death and Fries to save his wife – and, once inside, found out that they were *good* at it and *liked* it.
And in both cases, high on their success, they made decisions that made it basically impossible to leave. Even if Fries saves his wife, well now he’s Mr. Freeze – he’s not the same person he was before.
I don’t think he really wants to save her. Recognizing that he’s a monster now, savnig her means either she leaves or she likes the new him more. Either would destroy him.
No, again, White used the “providing for his family” as an excuse. If you remember the first episode, he had a very good job opportunity handed to him and he turned it down because of his ego. His interest wasn’t providing for his family, it was doing it on his own terms. Had his family been his real reason, he would have taken the job.
In the case of Freeze, he has actually saved his wife. Twice, once in the comics and once in the animated series. Both times he was really happy of seeing her alive. In the animated series, he simply retired to a hermit life. In the comics, he was forced to come out again due to her suffering from an accident that turned into a supervillain, so he had to freeze her again and return to his status quo of finding a new cure.
SL128 says:
Saturday Jul 11, 2015 at 10:26 pm
Walter was offered help from Gretchen and Elliot numerous times and turned it down. There were also several points where he had enough money to stop, but continued anyway. When he actually did get out around season 2, Gus tried to lure him in with multiple attempts, but he went back when Jesse was using ‘his’ formula and getting credit.
Fries, however, has acted fairly consistent with his purported motive.
Wide And Nerdy says:
Top Ten Reasons Batman can’t kill.
1) Because he doesn’t punch hard enough.
2) Because his stand up material is weak.
3) Because Bill Finger swore on Bob Kane’s grave.
4) Because villain season ended.
5) Because he’s not a British spy.
6) Because he uses rubber bullets and rubber Batmissiles
7) Because he doesn’t believe in himself
8) Because its against the law.
9) Because kids would start killing each other to be like Batman.
10) Because Batmen don’t kill people, people kill people.
In retrospect I wish I’d written.
6) Because he uses rubber bullets and Nerf Batmissiles
Mad Hatter could stand in for a stalker. At least in the cartoon Jervis Tetch was obsessed with Alice.
And you closed it out beautifully. Yes this is why we shouldn’t take Batman quite so seriously. Yes, these attempts to assign greater meaning to superheroes fall apart. They aren’t popular because they became the new Greek myths, or they’re archetypal paragons of ideals or whatever. They’re simple power fantasies that are either fun or visceral or whatever. Wish comic book writers throughout my comic book reading years had gotten that (Ok, well some did).
“Stalker” is putting it mildly, I think “date rapist” fits him better.
Metal C0Mmander says:
Friday Jul 10, 2015 at 4:30 pm
Yeah I think you said it best. Really that’s all Batman should be. A vigilante style hero that punch people while “being the night”. Whether he achieve to do so properly can be left for the author of the time to decide.
I dont think the answer you are using here works with the premise of “Im just looking at the video games”.Its a separate continuity than the comics,and (as was shown by the joker actually dying) it doesnt have to keep the status quo.In fact,that is precisely the reason why Burton batman killed people,and why in begins he lets ra’s die on that train.
My assumption here is that:
* The videogames will continue to be made as long as they are profitable.
* Villain death will not prevent them from using whoever they think will sell videogames. (Given the fact that you-know-who died two games ago and he’s still appearing in these dang things.)
I suppose a more apt title would have been “Why Batman Villains Can’t Die Permanently” but… meh. You know how it is.
The videogames will continue to be made as long as they are profitable.
Not every company has to follow ubisoft and ea in their “milk it until it runs dry,then milk it even more” model.Some of them can still stop at the peak of profitability in order to pursue other projects.I mean chances are small,but it could happen.
MrBTongue did a pretty good episode about this (one that was surprisingly sympathetic). The short of it is, yes they pretty much do. They’re a giant corporation with responsibility to tons of employees and shareholders, they have to do things that will keep the company in the black. And that means selling Batman as long as the public is buying. Reboot if necessary, but don’t you dare stop selling Batman. Its not just greed, its responsibility. Obligation even.
Milking your property dry is counter productive however.You need to innovate in order to constantly gain profit.Verbatim repeating of the same thing that was lucrative once will give diminishing returns.
Yes, but they’ll stop once the diminishing returns actually catch up to them.
Peter H. Coffin says:
Tell that to EA Sports… (;
I think in that case, EA benefits from a century or more (depending on the sport) of game design before they even got involved.
stratigo says:
that and a franchise monopoly on several
While that’s fair, I *really* didn’t like the whole “I don’t have to save you” line. You’re Batman damnit, yes, you do have to save him! (or at least try) :D
Arkady says:
I’ve always thought Batman’s rogues gallery is what makes him so interesting. The actual man himself is, well, a bit flat. There’s not a lot of personality besides his tragic backstory, pure cause (in the sense that he doesn’t allow anything else to dilute his quest for “justice”), and hyper-competence – great for an audience insert, though!
But if you look at the most interesting members of the rogues gallery they all reflect or contrast (as in: go the opposite way) a part of Batman:
– Riddler is his detective abilities turned bad
– Two-Face is a reflection of his dual identity, as well as contrasting pure “for justice” cause (Studied in The Dark Knight)
– Catwoman reflects his skills at infiltration while contrasting his repressed sexuality
– Poison Ivy also contrasts his sexuality, while being an opposite to his reliance on gadgets and technology (studied in Batman and Robin)
– Bane reflects Batman’s physical strength
– Ra’s al Ghul reflects Batman’s desire to purge the world of crime, but contrasts on the “no killing” rule and – crucially – believes himself to be above the law. (Studied in Batman Begins) Arguably his immortality is a reflection on Batman’s refusal to kill.
– Scarecrow reflects Batman’s idea of instilling fear in his enemies. (Studied in Batman Begins)
– Deadshot contrasts Batman’s attitude towards guns
– Mr Freeze reflects Batman’s pure motivation as well as his reliance on intellect and technology. Also a reflection on Batman’s highly suppressed emotions.
– Joker arguably is a reflection of Batman’s insanity. For all that he can hold himself together and focus, there’s no doubt in my mind that Batman isn’t all there, from his casual approach to violence to his unnatural devotion to a cause. Joker reflects the casual approach to violence, while contrasting the devotion to a cause. Either that, or Batman is incredibly sane for the things he’s seen and done, and Joker contrasts this by being the madman that Bruce Wayne could have become. (Not finished Arkham Knight yet, but it seems to study this.)
– Penguin … erm… I’m not sure about this one actually. He’s also quite heavy on the gadgets, but also has the “respectable” public persona thing going on, sometimes.
– Killer Croc … okay, I’ve got nothing on this one. They can’t all be winners.
Anyway – I know I’m not the think about this idea, but it is certainly fun to think about what the villains represent about him.
As far as Penguin goes, he’s a different direction that a scion of a wealthy family of Gotham could take their life. Same goes for Hush – though as with Two-Face he’s got some of the dual identity stuff going on as well
Also Poison Ivy is made of plants to contrast Batman who is made of meat.
On a more serious note, Bane matches Batman on every level as seen in his introduction (when he hunted and broke the Batman, even deducing his secret identity.)
The way he contrasts Batman most is he was born in prison (I guess criminals learn in prison to reproduce asexually because the prison seemed to be filled with men). And perhaps his use of drugs to do his thing, something associated with lower classes and the streets (unfairly) contrasts Batman’s use of gadgets, a rich man’s implements.
It would be interesting to explore Bane’s addiction to Venom a bit more, & how his addiction to drugs forces him to become/remain a criminal. Kinda like how Clayface in the animated series became a de facto addict to the RenuYou drug, which directly led to his initial downfall. Illegal drugs often lead addicts to commit other crimes in the real world, so it would make sense for a Gothamite criminal to have drugs as a more central theme, but from what I’ve read, Bane has mostly left the Venom kick behind him.
Bane and Clayface’s respective drug addictions are a reflection of Batman’s own overriding obsession to avenge the death of his parents by ridding the city of crime all by himself – it’s an overpowering compulsion he has no hope of truly mastering, but it drives and informs all of his behavior, and ultimately will prove his ruin (except, because Batman will go on forever, it won’t ever quite do that to him).
In Bane’s case, at least in the comics, he was also a reference to an earlier storyline when he was first introduced. Bane was what would have happened to Batman if he himself had not managed to kick himself of his own addiction to Venom (which he had previously used, though nowhere near to the extent Bane did, and become hooked on for a time).
Vect says:
Bane’s comic backstory was that his father let his pregnant wife serve his prison sentence for him and ditched them.
TheLurkerAbove says:
Bane reflects Batman’s quest for perfection and the ability to dominate any situation.
Great examination of Bane
Blue_Pie_Ninja says:
Sunday Jul 12, 2015 at 7:56 am
I guess a link to miracle of sounds joker and batman songs would be a good thing to listen too, as the songs do show batman to be mad
So if the appeal of the fantasy is primarily punching faces that need to be punched, then its funny that more recently, especially in the games, we’re encouraged to salivate over the gadgets and the car. I wonder if thats execs seeing the appeal of Iron Man and thinking “wait, we have a young rich guy with cool gadgets too. Do you . . . do you think we could sneak some power armor into his Batsuit?”
The sexy women in Batman’s life are easier to explain but in light of Shamus’ explanation of the character, its a clashing appeal. Our incorruptible force for justice is letting at least two villains run around because he thinks they’re hot (this is exactly why I don’t like Catwoman. Talia is more complicated.)
Robyrt says:
To be fair, Catwoman is usually willing to help Batman out against the other, even more villainous villains, so she has some practical value as well. If a super-thief is the worst problem your city has, it’s a good day in Gotham.
Its less the using her as an informant that bothers me (another of my favorite fictional lawmen, Odo, does that as well), and more the times Batman has let either his desire for her or need to protect her distract him long enough to let her get away. We can’t have one guy that doesn’t fall prone to that trope?
On the other hand, dressing up the appeal of the fantasy with other things like the cars, the gadgets and the sexy women does give it some interesting flavor and variety. Most of the criminals are in some way fighting for what is given freely to Batman.
You’ve got a point. Catwoman adds to the variety. And I shouldn’t be so quick to take down one of Batman’s few sane villains.
Khizan says:
Catwoman is a superthief who only really steals from the rich, because only the rich have things worth superstealing, and as a villain she’s really kind of small potatoes, you know? Let Catwoman get away, maybe she steals a painting from a museum or diamonds from some millionaire’s trophy wife, no big deal. Anybody rich enough to be worth her time can probably absorb the loss.
In real life, Catwoman is not a supervillain at all.
Stealing is wrong no matter how rich the guy you’re stealing from is.
Thursday Jul 9, 2015 at 10:55 pm
No matter how ill-gotten his gains?
Two wrongs don’t make a right. Besides, politicians are people too (technically seen, anyway).
The new Batsuit struck me as being VERY power-armor-ish. It’s got some sort of super-strength, and it’s made of moving, interlocking metal plates instead of rubber. You actually switch into the new Batsuit about an hour or so in, and it did indeed feel like a little “Too Iron Man” for my taste.
On the other hand, it’s attached to a fantastic gameplay mechanic. The suits internal kinetic systems take incoming force and [cough cough mumble nonsense] back at your foes. Which means if you hold the stick TOWARDS an enemy for a split second before you counter them, you’re able to launch them away from you. It gives you the option to clear some space or keep your foes close according to your needs. It’s hard to go back to Arkham City now, because I really miss that.
I love the gameplay aspect too. Now that I think of it if we’re looking for a justification, this is supposedly pretty late in Batman’s career. Its long been a part of the mythos that in the future Batman dons some kind of power armor once his body can’t keep up anymore and/or his injuries catch up with him. I can let this slide as some kind of intermediate step on that path.
There, now we can enjoy our gameplay upgrade guilt free.
Izicata says:
That would certainly be an interesting way to take the Batman series. As Batman becomes old and decrepit, he uses more and more powered armor and gadgetry to fight crime. Eventually not even that is enough for Batman to keep up, and he starts to augment his body with cybernetics and artificial limbs, culminating in the upload of his mind to a computer. The ideal Batman strives for, the tireless, unstoppable, one-man crusade on crime, drives him to literally become a robot that does not sleep, does not eat, does not get distracted by Catwoman’s breasts, and does not ever stop.
The Baterminator.
Muspel says:
“Power armor Batman” is actually pretty common in storylines that involve an older Bruce Wayne. Off the top of my head, it happens in Dark Knight Returns, Kingdom Come, and Batman Beyond.
Yeah but I haven’t seen anyone suggest Izicata’s cyborg Batman and quite frankly, the tech is pretty much here for that. It would make sense for him to augment so that he could keep fighting.
Richard H says:
I don’t know if this is what you were thinking of, but the Batsuit in Batman Beyond is definitely over on the power armor end of things. (I’d say it’s less armored than what you’re describing, but it has strength enhancement and rocket boots…) Bruce Wayne also retires in the pilot because we need to put a teenager in the Batsuit, I mean he’s getting too old for it.
Yes, the Batman Beyond suit, along with the prototypes we see Bruce wear in the pilot. Then there’s Dark Knight Returns though I guess he only wore it to battle Superman.
Kingdom Come he had both powered armor and robot drones (and was running a police state). Batman Beyond, he had a cool looking flying wheel chair that could turn into powered armor.
Trix2000 says:
I think it’ll be fine so long as it doesn’t actually TRY to be Iron Man. I’m actually not entirely sure what that would entail (similar gadgets? similar theme?), but I don’t feel like it’s gone that far. Might just be how much focus is on the gadgets – as much as Batman relies on them, they still don’t feel like the main attraction… they spice things up.
Yes, the problem with full blown power armor is that it limits the way Batman can fight. It amplifies certain modes of attack but limits reflexes (at least traditionally) range of motion, speed and manual dexterity. Plus it has blasters which just aren’t Batman’s thing. Batman’s kinetic armor is more about assisting him in the way he is used to operating.
And in light of Batman’s philosophy about what types of help/gadgets/improvements are example, I actually like Izicata’s idea that Batman should eventually go cyborg. Its a frontier we’re already crossing into so why not let our rich ultimate human superhero lead the way?
That’s what Batman Beyond did. The Batsuit in that series had jet boosters and could actually fly.
psivamp says:
Some of these themes are totally explored in the comics. I’m not an aficionado, but the Batman is just as crazy as the villians is basically the premise of Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth graphic novel by Grant Morrison — it’s the only Batman graphic novel I’ve read.
It takes Batman as a severely damaged individual and forces him to confront some of his crazy.
The author in the afterword or whatever actually says that he doesn’t like Batman like this, that he much prefers 70’s Batman sitting in his mansion looking at a bureau covered in pictures of supervillian women he’s slept with.
Forgive me if my memory is way off on either of these — that thing is buried in the attic somewhere and I haven’t read it in ages.
I like the Arkham Asylum graphic novel too! I seem to (very hazily) recall that Grant Morrison’s point about Batman and supervillainesses is more along the line of him moaning at Robin about his bad luck with women (oblivious to the fact that the problem with his love life is very clearly himself)
That does sound more correct.
He might also have more luck if that version of Batman had tried to date athletes instead of supervillianesses.
New side-tangent: how freaking amazing are Olympic athletes in comic-book worlds?
Matt Downie says:
Batman did have a line in one of the RIP-era Grant Morrison comics about how he knew deep down that his new girlfriend was a villain – because it’s only the badness in these girls that attracts him.
I’d say that Mr. Freeze and many other Batman villains–Two-Face and the Ventriloquist (some versions) being other prime examples–represent those individuals who we understand arrive at a life of crime for reasons that aren’t fully their fault. We get to nod sympathetically at their plight while still decrying their crimes, and they alone are given the hope of rehabilitation. In real life sympathy for criminals is complicated, to say the least, but these fictional characters give opportunities where the lines are relatively clear-cut.
I’d like to say that I like that you bring up the various interpretations of the character at the end there. The on-going nature of comic books is necessary to produce those multiple takes, but those takes are what make self-contained arcs and/or entire continuities so viable and so effective. The Arkham universe and Nolan universe are distinct and each have a unique take on the character that is satisfying while still being true to the character.
Ventriloquist is a mix of two forces: organized crime & mental illness. The mafia thing is better handled by less cliche examples, namely Black Mask & the Penguin. But the mental illness thing is very interesting. Like Two-Face, the Ventriloquist could be given treatment, & perhaps one days cured of the sickness that forces them to turn to crime. But the constraints of the never-ending story cannot abide a criminal eventually getting better & reforming, so we are stuck with an embodiment of how the mentally ill turn to crime because the System failed them.
I’ve always figured it has something to do with Dunbar’s number – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunbar's_number
Basically, humans evolved to live in groups of about 150 people and our instincts haven’t caught up with the world we live in now. In a group that size, the Batman solution to crime (just have one really strong guy beat up any criminals) probably works fine. It’s only when you get to cities that you have to start thinking about socio-economic factors and more sophisticated crime prevention techniques… and our brains didn’t evolve to find that satisfying.
We see a report of something horrible on the news and our first thought isn’t something like: “if only we had an evidence-based approach to lowering crime through preventative measures” or “if only our prisons were more focused on rehabilitation and reintegration into society” or even “If only the economy was stronger and people weren’t so desperate”, it’s: “The person who did that is evil! I hope they get punished!”.
The actual solutions to crime are unsatisfying to us, but one really strong guy punching crime right in its stupid face? That makes us feel good. Just like how sugar tastes really good despite being bad for us, because we evolved to want easily digestible high-calorie foods.
Nidokoenig says:
This is also a reason for Batman to not kill: The Joker, the Riddler and so on are all named people we know and identify as part of the Bat tribe, whereas the people the villains kill are distant statistics that are basically more visceral versions of a scouter’s power level reading. Joker crippling Barbara Gordon was a big thing precisely because it was serious violence within the tribe, without even getting into the other super fun discussion that can be had there.
I love this interpretation so much.
Slothfulcobra says:
That’s the thing that has always really bugged me about the prominence of ludicrous amounts of murder in the Batman setting. It’s narratively irresponsible, and it ends up turning into this horrible Randian thing where anyone not directly at the center of the story is nothing but a piece of driftwood being buffeted about by the waves that Great Men make. Their lives are worthless, they don’t exist beyond one or two panels, and nothing is gained or lost from their puny demise. They don’t have families to grieve or responsibilities to go unfulfilled, they’re just there for shock value.
And then you get all these horrible holes in the setting staring you straight in the face like more people than could ever live in a city dying in Gotham just because writers love to get their murder on.
Never read the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, it will do your nut in. Tens or even hundreds of mooks will die in battle just so two supermen can meet and ask what the hell each other are thinking. It’s a cheap method of raising the tension and raising the stakes, Joker killed several dozen, Zhang Fei wiped out an army before his wine got cold, it’s an efficient method of making clear what stakes the fight has in a work of power fantasy-based fiction.
The comments on death rates make me wonder, has anyone totted up the carnage over however long the stories are supposed to have run in-world and compared them to, say, Colombia or Iraq?
Same with The Iliad. But those are both products of old, pre-industrial societies with different values. Batman is the product of a supposed egalitarian liberal democracy. The main difference is Batman has inherited wealth instead of inherited title.
Being in a modern society doesn’t really change the number of characters we can care about or keep track of, if anything Rot3K expects far more of its readers in that regard, to the point where the named characters should be enough to make up a Dunbar number-sized group without focusing too much on the tens and hundreds of thousands of soldiers. Keeping real people in the dozens and treating everyone else as a statistic and human resources is just better story telling from a point of view of having it read and understood. Though a story that followed a couple of days in the life of a few dozen individuals before the Joker kills them would be pretty chilling.
Something only very loosely related. One of the things Arkham Knight got right that I don’t think I’ve ever seen in a PC Port before. The XBox Controller support is completely seamless.
Its so seamless that I can be playing on keyboard and mouse, pickup my XBox Controller midplay and just keep playing. Furthermore, the button prompts will immediately switch to reflect the controller. Same if I switch back to keyboard. If I like, say, the Batman play on the keyboard and the Batmobile play on the XBox Controller, that playstyle is completely and fluidly supported.
Granted, I don’t always try to use both control schemes in the same game but I’ve seen worse. Some games I have to pop the batteries out of the controller if I want to use KBM.
I’ve actually seen this on quite a few games (e.g. most recently the Witcher 2 and iirc the Tomb Raider reboot). But it may be different for me since I have a wired Xbox controller and I have got the impression that (for reasons completely incomprehensible to me) the wireless controller has problems with some games that the wired one doesn’t.
Maybe its programmed to tolerate periods of unresponsiveness and the method of tolerating it gets in the way of switching.
I wanted to add, a lot of games make you shut down the game and relaunch it if you want to switch.
Glad that Tomb Raider does it. I’m really looking forward to that one once the exclusivity window expires.
All of the Arkham game did this. As did Saints Row 3 as I loved driving with the controller but everything else with the keyboard. Alot of games, especially AAA tend to support this.
Mechaninja says:
“Poison Ivy. Catwoman. Talia. Batman … needs to get laid.”
I’m almost certain this comes from the same well as the current Ivy X Harley thing that I’ve been told is happening in the comics.
I.e. from the 14 year old in all of us.
I wouldn’t have a problem with this as they’ve been building up to it for so long but Harley is thematically so tied into the Joker (granted, I’ve not seen even one page of the New 52 incarnations of Joker, Harley, or Ivy). I wonder how all of this makes Green Goblin feel. He couldn’t get Harley to leave the Joker for him.
Uh, Green Goblin? The Spiderman villain from Marvel? What are you talking about?
The JustSomeRandomGuy YouTube channel. Features the heroes of Marvel and DC as action figures. They all interact like they’re in the same universe and Green Goblin for a long time had a crush on Harley Quinn. Goblin was the least like his comic book version, much more human. Had a vlog called “Goblin Bloggin”
“Building up to it for so long?” The entire thing had already been happening for years, but DC likes to pretend they’re doing fresh things when they recycle old ideas after their reboot.
Originally, Harley simply outgrew her love for Joker, and even agreed to it when Ivy said they should kill him. Which is fine, because as interesting as her original characterization is, characters have to evolve at some point, or they become stagnant.
Septyn says:
Shamus, you made me realize that Mystery Men is what you get when you take Batman and throw him into a semi-logical world where the bad guys stay locked up or dead. Aside from the comedy bits, the main Batman-clone that Greg Kinnear plays has spent a career outsmarting and defeating the supervillains, and now there aren’t any serious ones left. He’s losing his corporate sponsorship because he’s just not needed any more.
That would be an interesting story to me — how does Batman turn back into Bruce Wayne once the job is done and the city’s clean? What happens after you’ve accomplished what you set out to do? (And for Pete’s sake don’t just have another villain show up. Feh.)
The Dark Knight Rises dealt with the “what comes after” question: their answer was Bruce holes himself up in his mansion and turns into Howard Hughes-lite. And then, yeah, they brought in another villain.
Veylon says:
I don’t see Batman as someone willing to admit victory. He’d chase smaller and smaller crimes, but since that’s not what he signed himself up for, it’d feel off and wrong, like his life is incomplete somehow. The natural instinct when that happens is to try harder in hopes of better results.
He’d spy obsessively on everyone and everything. He’d set the bar higher and higher for himself, becoming less and less tolerant of minor or even trivial crimes. But nobody can really thwart every petty thief, spray can vandal, and pickpocket in a city; it’s a bottomless ocean. He’s a relentless guy, but relentlessness only means that he’d burn himself out faster. Once he does, he’s going to feel like a failure. Maybe he could come to terms with his own limits and find some peace and maybe not. I imagine he’d have a lot of trouble letting go.
Starkos says:
To me Batman isn’t as cool as Gotham City is. It’s dark, moody, overcast and/or raining all the time. It’s also why I enjoy Deus Ex and Blade Runner. Cities that have a noir or cyberpunk feel to them give me a chance to wind down and get introspective in my gloomy apartment with the only light lancing through the window blinds and reflecting off of my whiskey.
newplan says:
This is why Nolan-verse Batman works so well.
Guy sees a problem does what it takes to solve it. Encounters difficulties and set backs but he’s not Sisyphus – when he pushes the boulder it stays up. He wears down from the difficulty but he actually makes a difference in Gotham. (The movies still have to disregard reason for the story in some parts – the Joker wasn’t a criminal he was the commander of a paramilitary army.)
The idea of comic book Batman is horrifying – a nightmare Gotham where insane criminals continually escape and murder thousands.
Yeah. And Shamus brought up how ridiculous it is that anybody continues to live in Gotham. All I can figure is property values must be extremely low and regulations are lax because Batman and the GCPD are too busy with the crazies and the mob to worry about corporations.
But after Arkham Knight, my suspension of disbelief on this point is shattered. They need to reboot. I can forgive the status quo Batman of the comics about never lowering the crime rate. But in the Arkham series its been getting worse at an exponential rate. Arkham Batman really is a failure especially after this game.
silver Harloe says:
In the comics, people don’t leave Gotham because every major city is pummeled by a non-stop stream of villains come to take on the local hero or hero-group. If Gotham is any worse, it’s not by enough to matter. In fact, Gotham may be *safer* because all the *really* hard-hitting baddies queue up for Metropolis.
Wednesday Jul 22, 2015 at 10:10 am
I’d still generally prefer to live in Metropolis. I could die in either city but I’m much more likely to be subjected to sadistically designed psychoactive drugs, mind control, torture, and bizarre murder rituals in Gotham.
Plus, Superman is a better first responder.
But living in the DC universe is a nightmare anyway. I’d stay the hell away from heroes or any place interesting. Then again, sometimes the smaller towns just up and vanish.
The feeling i get from Ivy is she isn’t inherently bad or evil. she doesn’t impose terror because she likes to kill or cause terror like Scarecrow does, but she has goals to her Plants and Natural life are more important then people. and she truly hates Gotham.
In some people eyes Ivy is a freedom fighter and a martyr, where as Scarecrow is a Terrorist.
But that’s just my 2pence
Poison Ivy is an ecoterrorist. She does what she does because her love of plant life and her misandry. She’s not “evil” in the usual sense of the word, but she’s not necessarily a well-intentioned extremist like Mr. Freeze is. Unfortunately, this is a character that has suffered a lot from lack of focus in her writing. I like her depiction in the old Harley Quinn comics much better.
Also she’s nuts. She’s PETA for plant life.
ChristopherT says:
I don’t know, I think some of those explanations are a little too reliant on other material. Looking at only the Arkham games, I find it hard to say that Batman cannot kill because then we wouldn’t have established returning enemies. When, looking at City a number of villains show up, I don’t think there was much of any ground work for Penguin, Two-Face, Clayface, Mr. Freeze, or Grundy. And there was only very little done with Bane in Asylum that his appearance in City almost contradicts what little character he had. Then, the big Arkham Knight character coming, from game world, out of nowhere, without any previous build up. (?)
And as for the badguys needing to kill people, in game, does Penguin kill anyone who is not within the walls of Arkham City? I don’t think Mr. Freeze did much killing within game. Nor Bane(?), Did Two-Face messed with Catwoman, I think Harley ordered people to do things but did she herself do much killing?, I can’t think of too many villains in Arkham Asylum and City that killed much – Zsasz, I’m sure Joker was reported to have killed people, Poison Ivy I think, and Mooks many mooks killed many guards. I don’t know, could be wrong, could be forgetting parts of the games, and maybe is Knight they all go on drawn out murder sprees.
Bit of a nitpick, are there many officers dieing in the Asylum games? I know Asylum has many guards dieing, but that’s a slightly different profession. And in City I think there were some small groups of officers, firefighters and or paramedics(?), but I don’t remember too many officers dieing left and right. The little I’ve seen of Knight seems like officers are in danger there a lot. But I don’t remember there being that many police officer deaths in Asylum and City.
I can accept most points made, Batman is too perfect, he’s too smart, too strong, too capable, and if you cannot accept that then Batman might not work for you. I just don’t think so of the points work in regards to the limit of the Arkham games.
Personally I’ve liked the idea that Batman doesn’t kill because it’s that one saving grace that can keep him out of Arkham.
Neil D says:
I think the point about the Bad Guy needing to kill people to establish his threat-level is primarily about the main bad guy. In fact, the secondary ones actually need to keep a low body-count so that the Big Bad stands out in contrast.
The bad guy doesn’t need to kill people to establish his threat level. He kills people to make the setting seem darker and grittier, and to establish that it’s not acceptable to maybe just let the bad guys win this one, but if a bad guy kidnapped the Mayor and turned him into a bomb or something, it would establish the stakes just as well without any casualties.
Friday Jul 10, 2015 at 11:40 pm
Kidnapping and threatening to blow up the mayor sounds to me a lot like a secondary villain kind of thing: still very bad and villainous, but minor compared to, say, poisoning the entire city. In fact, this is exactly what the Riddler does in Arkham Knight, except that it wasn’t the mayor.
I have no doubt that you could come up with some scenario that would be an equivalent atrocity doesn’t, but I think this is all outside the point Shamus was trying to make when he talked about “So our villains need to kill N people, and then Batman stops them before they kill Nà—10 people.” Substitute whatever you come up with for ‘kill N people’, and whatever worse thing will happen if he doesn’t stop them for “kill Nx10 people”.
The point is about the need to establish the threat more than the method. And whatever method the major villain uses, the secondary villains need to come in somewhat under that otherwise they overshadow the main villain, which is all I was saying in response to ChristopherT. The secondary villains are deliberately kept at a lower level to make the main villain seem more threatening by contrast.
Maybe in a future game Two-Face becomes the main villain and puts Gotham City into yet another city-wide panic while Scarecrow goes back to being an occasional nuisance. Eventually they’ll all get their turn in the spotlight. (Unless Joker doesn’t stay dead, in which case get ready for more all-singing, all-dancing, all-Joker time, because Joker.)
Something that just came to me.
A Batman who uses his intelligence and wealth to try and eradicate the underlining problems sounds a lot like Ozymadias (Adrian Veidt), though in the Watchman universe things are darker and the underlining issue is less about poverty leading to crime and more about fear leading to world war 3.
Vorpal Kitten says:
I’m pretty sure each of the ‘heroes’ in Watchmen are meant to be a reflection on Batman.
Well, not Dr Manhattan, I meant the vigilantes.
“I’m pretty sure each of the heroes in Watchmen are meant to be a reflection on Batman.”
Neh. Only insofar as heroes without powers are bound to have some overlap with batman at some points in his career, since he’s like 78 by this point. More directly, the Watchmen characters were adaptations of the old “Charlton” characters from the sixties that had been bought by DC. Nite Owl is Blue Beetle, Rorschach is The Question, Dr. Manhattan is Captain Atom, The Comedian is Peacemaker, etc. As Moore originally drafted it, Watchmen used those characters.
Really, it’s a general exploration of the flaws and foibles of the idea of “superheroes,” which only overlaps with Batman because he’s such a core character to what we define a superhero as being.
Edit: Also consider that, when Watchmen was written, super-broody-violent batman was still super new to the character, being really thrust into the public eye with “Dark Knight Returns” earlier the same year. At the time, Batman was mostly considered the Neal Adams Detective in the blue costume. Comedian and Rorschach only parallel Batman from the 90’s onward, unless we’re just talking about vigilantism in general.
DGM says:
This is completely off-topic, but you guys should see this: http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/comicsandcosplay/comics/full-frontal-nerdity/14278-Full-Frontal-Nerdity-Releasing-The-Patch-For-Space-Travel
Notice who discovered the star system in question.
Supahewok says:
I think the cartoonist of that strip is a regular around here. At least, one of the regular commentor’s names links back to the cartoonist’s site.
Melfina the Blue says:
Yup, he is here. He’s actually how I first found this blog. Met him at Dragon once, nice guy. Nodwick, PS238, and Full Frontal Nerdity are all his.
Great post shamus. I’ve got three separate points to make from your post, so I’ll be posting them separately to better facilitate discussion.
1: On message. I’ve been reading this site long enough to know the bit about you calling Batman stories nonsense and that forging a message out of it isn’t something you actually mean, but is more poking fun. I definitely think individual batman stories have a narrative message behind them. It is very clear to me that Arkham Knight has Something to Say regarding batman based on how it ends. All works have a “message” to them. It doesn’t mean that society is going to agree on that message, that its the message the author intended, or that the message is any good. But everything does have a theme. And you are right, it is impossible to look at the collective whole of Batman and assign a particular message to all of it, beyond dead parents are bad I guess? (but maybe not even then). But I don’t think that saying that invalidates talking about the message/theme in individual batman works.
For example, in my opinion, the theme of Arkham Knight is (Spoilers, including the 100% teaser) That batman does not work. Scarecrow wins, and he maybe wins right when the game starts by getting Gotham to evacuate period. Its almost unimaginable that a real world city would ever evacuate entirely in the wake of a terror attack, and Gotham folds like a house of cards. The city is exactly what Scarecrow wants, afraid. And at the end, by revealing Bruce’s identity, succeeds in striking down the symbol that is supposed to protect Gotham. Even though Scarecrow is captured, by initiating knightfall Batman himself is admitting that Batman does not work, and that he needs to become (presumably) the “bat-demon” thing from the 100% teaser. Whether Bruce’s new form actually kills, or merely is even more violent without killing is unclear (I do think he’s using some variant of Scarecrow’s fear gas). The question then becomes, “Is this more dark/violent batman the solution?” I would think not, but I would guess that if a real sequel ever happens, that is what would be explored.
2: On the Punisher. Almost every time I talk on here, its about Marvel Comics, something I enjoy greatly. And, truthfully, everything Shamus lists as a weakness about the Punisher is completely true. The Punisher never really works as a main character, in all honesty. He works best as an antagonist to a more idealistic hero, like Spider-Man, or best Daredevil, who is unwilling to cross the line that the Punisher crosses but goes right up to it. Punisher series tend to get really self-indulgent, either becoming empty power fantasies, or worse, boring empty power fantasies. Not that a good Punisher series cannot be written, but they need to be about another character reacting to the Punisher, rather than about the Punisher. I believe the 2011 Punisher series is this, where the main character is a female ex-marine whose to be husband and family get massacred in a mob hit, and we follow her efforts to get revenge alongside the punisher as she becomes a darker and darker character.
The Punisher MAX miniseries is probably the best one of his comics, but that’s probably because he doesn’t take the central role, the story is mostly told from the perspective of others. Yet, when he does take the spotlight, he shines.
If I recall ( I have not read any of the MAX imprint, its not on Marvel Unlimited), Punisher MAX is in its own universe, thus freeing him from the conventions of the Marvel Universe and its need to obey the rules Shamus applies. Which in itself helps.
I don’t know about that. There are no other superheroes in sight, but Nick Fury makes a couple of plot-important appereances. I don’t actually recall if there’s any other Marvel character mentioned in them (besides those in Punisher’s “family”), it’s been a while.
The Punisher MAX takes place in it’s own universe, but figures such as Nick Fury and Wilson Fisk exist. No actual superheroes/villains, and there’s no way you could write characters like Barracuda into the main Marvel setting without pissing a lot of people off. Also, Punisher MAX deals with way darker stuff like human trafficking and sex slavery that they would never touch in a mainstream comic.
3: On the “endless” nature of comic book stories: You touch on this with the mention of imposing order on the chaos of continuity. I think some people just cannot do the mental gymnastics that are necessary to look at a comic universe the “right” way (sorry if that sounds condescending, its not meant to). What I mean is, with a comic book, there are so many ways to approach and analyse each one. You can view each issue in a vacuum, each arc in a vacuum, each creators run in a vacuum, each creators run in comparison with previous creators series and runs, each story as part of a greater whole including only some parts, or including all parts. Some people say that comic books are stories with no end, and that makes them worse. I’d say that they are stories with many ends, each arc being the end of one part, which might lead into the next part, or might have nothing to do with it. Trying to make it all “one” story forces all the bad continuity or plot points to constantly reappear. It makes the best creators slaves to the worst. And there is nothing wrong with being unable to do that, or unwilling. But I think the rewards are worth it.
JAB says:
Hmm. This makes me think of Marvel’s New Universe in the 80s, which tried to do away with a lot of those conventions. Which may be why it died a horrible painful death.
Interestingly, Jonathan Hickman’s avengers/new avengers series takes elements from the New Universe and puts them in the main continuity. It’s minor stuff when taken as a whole, but it’s certainly there.
Roger HÃ¥gensen says:
The question: “Why doesn’t Batman…”
Can simply be answered with: “Because he’s broken!”
Same with most of the villains Batman fights too, something just ain’t right in their membrane.
Sometimes this has been pointed out to Batman as well, but Batman even if he knows can’t stop, because this is what he is, he does not know what else to be. (maybe he’s afraid to be happy?)
The most daring Batman story would be one where Batman just say “screw it” and tops being Batman. Just be Bruce, and live the way he wants (and not as Playboy Bruce).
Obviously somebody else would have to if not pick up the mantle of Batman the at least fill in the gap.
But it would be awesome to see Batman go “I’ve had enough of this shit!”.
(and without any end twist where he grudgingly puts on his suit again)
That’s what he did at the end of The Dark Knight Rises and people protested.
Bruce “died” too so that doesn’t count.
TheALchemist64 says:
The protest wasn’t that Batman went “I’ve had enough of this shit,” it was that the movie had Batman sacrifice himself, giving it thematic closure, then went “Surprise! he’s still alive,” then had Gordon-Levitt drop a lazy and awkward reference before transitioning the Batman mantle.
The most daring Batman story would be one where Batman just says “screw it” and stops being Batman.
They did that; it was called Atlas Shrugged.
I’ve never heard of that batman story before.
Also by “they” do you mean DC Comics or?
I was being sarcastic.
Also I fail to see how a woman that cheats on her husbands brother as revenge for him cheating on her has anything to do with Batman.
Also there is no masked vigilante in that story either so I don’t see how that relates to Batman.
He’s referring to John Gault (and the other geniuses and industrial visionaries of the world) basically saying “screw it” and let the world collapse on itself. Which is pretty much exactly the same as Batman saying “screw it” and letting Gotham tear itself apart.
Also, I don’t think you have that “romance” plot quite straight. (Edit: I’d forgotten that Rearden had a brother. Although I don’t remember if Rearden’s wife cheated on him with his brother) And its a really shallow examination of the book if that’s all you take away from it, although to be fair the book is pretty terribly written and what it has to say about sex and romantic relationships is simultaneously ludicrous and disturbing. Which is just as common a theme in Rand’s works as her philosophy.
Saturday Jul 11, 2015 at 7:28 pm
I’ve never read or looked at that book nor any other works by that author.
Just did a cursory glance at wikipedia and saw nothing connecting with Batman.
Also “geniuses and industrial visionaries” do not actually run the world. Whomever has all the money does.
BTW! Even kindly Superman just said eff it and left earth since the humans became too dependent on him.
I’d classify Mr. Freeze as a well-intentioned extremist. He’s doing what he does for a good reason, but he doesn’t mind the consequences as long as they don’t directly affect his goal, which is saving his wife. This, of course, talking about classic Freeze (after the Batman animated series came up with this storyline). The old one was just a regular criminal with a cool freeze gun, and the New 52 reboot turned him into an asshole, like it did with every other DC character.
“Why doesn't Bruce Wayne use his billions to fight the poverty, lack of education, corruption, or whatever else we might assume is at the root of this prolonged, intense, and far-reaching crime spree?”
To be fair, he does. All the time. But for some reason people simply assume that’s not the case.
Anyway, all of these problems stem, of course, from the periodic nature of the comic book format. These things would fly better in a TV series and they generally don’t form part of film adaptations, since once a villain gets killed, he stays dead. In Tim Burton’s Batman, for instance, Joker died just a few days after he was “born”.
But, as you say it, it’s damned if you do and damned if you don’t. What are they to do? Publish stories yearly instead of monthly? They’d bankrupt. Should they only publish Batman stories untill all the villains are dead and the city is saved? Then what? Reboot the universe and publish the same stories again with small variations, then rinse, repeat? I don’t see that going well for long. Do they replace him with an entirely different character that has the same problems and risk being called derivative or do they constantly try to invent new situations? That’s ridiculously hard to do even for films, so in this format it’d all go down very quickly.
In any case, as long as it’s enjoyable, I don’t feel the need to look too deep into it. Every piece of escapism fiction will crumble at some point when put to scrutiny. As long as it’s stable enough for me to enjoy it, I will happily lampshade its flaws.
But seriously, F**K Kai Leng.
To be fair, he does. All the time. But for some reason people simply assume that's not the case.
This is what I dont understand about movies:Bruce is always portrayed as a womanizer who likes to party a lot and doesnt care about anyone,because otherwise he might cause suspicion.Um,why?Why not be a guy who disappears to do missionary work in africa for a year,be photographed once or twice there,while in actuality he is back in gotham being batman 24/7.This whole “he seems like a douche,but truth is he is a superhero” is baffling,and not just for bruce.
Otters34 says:
Bruce Wayne is weak, petty, well-meaning but hopelessly naive and ignorant about the city he lives in. Bruce Wayne doesn’t help anyone directly except through using his company as a personal candy-store for pet causes while leaving the Real Issues untouched. Bruce Wayne, the character Batman plays for society, is an indictment on the class he comes from.
Shamus makes a great point – you can explain why Batman doesn’t kill Joker if you want, but there’s no way to explain why somebody in the setting doesn’t kill him – a city like Gotham sure isn’t filled to the brim with idealists. The only thing that would really work is taking a cue from Superman: Red Son and have ‘the Joker’ become a sort of meme, and it becomes a thing where every time you stop the Joker it’s not too long before some other crazy has a bad day and puts on some clown makeup.
Like everyone else, presumably Batman is there to save him. I remember reading a comic I think was called Hitman during which the main, antihero character does shoot the Joker and Batman stops chasing him to save the Joker from bleeding to death.
TL;DR of Why Batman Can’t Kill: “It’s a genre convention necessitated by economic factors.”
Slightly longer: “The genre requires that the hero defeat the criminals; DC wants to sell future issues; readers want something new but familiar. Thus, DC sells new adventures featuring old villains, and for the old villains to be available they cannot die. If Batman killed them, they couldn’t return; they must return; therefore, etc.”
Sorry, but if this is the game we’re playing then the correct answer is, “Dopamine. It’s all about the dopamine hit we get when Batman socks the Joker. If he ever killed the Joker, he could never sock him again, and we wouldn’t get that sweet, sweet hit of dopamine [Homer drool].”
Also: Why did Luke blow up the Death Star? “Genre conventions and dopamine hits.” Why did Ilsa walk off with Victor at the end of “Casablanca”? “Genre conventions and dopamine hits.” Why does Hamlet feign madness and contemplate suicide? “Genre conventions and dopamine hits.”
See how easy it is to play? Every question of every work of literature in every form and genre can get the same five word answer. [As was basically asserted in Part 1 by dragging “Twilight” in at the start to show how this style of analysis is not restricted to Batman but applies outside it as well.] Anything else, apparently, is just “imposing meaning on the story, looking for a message that wasn’t there originally.” Because, really, all of fiction and all of literature, from Homer to Dante to Dostoyevsky to Stephenie Meyers is just genre conventions exploited by business enterprises selling dopamine hits at a profit.
This kind of answer is so bad it isn’t even wrong. It’s as wrong when applied to pulp comics and paranormal romances as when applied to Shakespeare.
“Mommy, why did Goldilocks eat the little bear’s porridge and break his chair? Didn’t she know it would make him sad?” “She ate it because of genre conventions, dear. You’ll understand when you get that juicy hit of dopamine at the end.”
Certainly it’s noteworthy that the commenters are ignoring the essay’s arch-reductionist thesis, and instead treating the characters and story on their own terms, as is proper.
It’s like you forgot the reason this question comes up.
The thing with your examples involving Luke or Goldilocks is that those questions aren’t problems people have with the story. People aren’t constantly noticing these questions, objecting to the story, and trying to contrive answers to those questions to make the story work.
I have no idea what you wanted or expected from the series, but declaring it, “Not even wrong” when you clearly didn’t understand the point of the exercise isn’t terribly persuasive.
I expected an explanation for why Batman can’t kill, not an explanation why killer-Batman books would sell relatively poorly. I expected a discussion of moral, narrative, or psychological points, not economic ones. A discussion whose subject was the motives and beliefs of Batman, not the motives and beliefs of DC Comics. I expected that because the series was titled “Why Batman Can’t Kill People”, not “Why DC Comics Can’t Let Batman Kill People.” For the record, I think your series gives a fine answer to the latter question; but I am still mystified why you think the latter question has the same meaning as the former question, and should get the same answer.
I hope my error is now at least explicable. If you asked me “What time is it?” and I answered “A hamburger and fries,” I think you’d be astonished too, and might accuse me of giving an answer “so bad it isn’t even wrong.”
In your reply you write: “Those questions aren't problems people have with the story.” This actually goes a long way toward clarifying things. Thank you.
If I now understand you correctly, your argument is similar to a side comment you made about AC’s Freeze [there’s that dumb pun again] boss fight: “It doesn't help that the fight is really poorly justified from a character perspective.” The subtext of this comment appears to be: “Why do we have this fight? It makes no sense from a character or narrative point of view; therefore its presence can only be explained by appealing outside the story, to the motives of the game designers. They wanted a fight here, and that’s the real reason Freeze fights Batman.” At any rate, that would be my analysis of the Freeze boss fight; certainly I agree that it is “poorly justified from a character perspective” and that fact bothers me as it appears to bother you.
Important: Note how such a comment is implicitly a criticism of the fight. A story element is NOT working if we have to appeal to the author’s motives in order to make sense of it. If we’re forced to do that, we then either have to acquiesce in it (“I’m on board because I really dig this”) or we check out (“This is stupid. I’m done”); in both cases, we are exiting the story to some extent.
So, if I am now interpreting you right, you are making a similar point about Batman’s lack of a killer instinct: You cannot come up with any in-universe explanation for why Batman doesn’t kill (just as you can’t come up with an in-story explanation for Freeze fighting Batman); therefore, the only explanation has to be an extra-narrative one, such as DC Comics’ desire to keep a franchise going. After that, you are stuck either tepidly buying it, or checking out entirely.
I certainly don’t think THIS kind of analysis is bad. Explaining that an individual element only makes sense as an authorial insertion is fine; it is different from what I took you to be doing (a global claim that ALL narrative elements can only be explained as authorial insertions). But I still think it goes wrong.
Notice how the Freeze analysis proceeds in three stages from the question “Why does Freeze fight Batman?” (1) Is there an in-story motive? No, say I, and I think so say you. (2) Am still I on board because I dig it? Meh, say I, and I think so say you. (3) Do I think this is dumb, it’s just the publisher jerking the characters around so we can have a fight? Pretty much, say I; I don’t know if you’d go that far. The sequence of stages is really important. Stories are supposed to be internally coherent, so one must always start by trying to justify things in terms of the story and characters. Only when you can’t do that do you look outside the story to explain why a certain element is present; and when you do that you are implicitly asserting that the story has failed at this point.
But this is the exact opposite of what you’ve done when talking about Batman’s ethics. Instead of entertaining the many, many theories to account for Batman’s actions, you leaped directly from “Why doesn’t Batman kill?” to “Do I buy this or is this stupid?” Further, you dismissed theories about Batman as “impositions” of meaning from the outside. No good ever comes from this kind of leap, for it short-circuits reflection and speculation. In any half-way decent literature class, the sentence “Because the publisher wanted to sell copies” is the answer of last resort, never the first. So why did you make it the first here?
One of the reasons Batman resonates is that his stories raise questions about the difference between vigilantism and justice; the tension between individual and social responsibilities; the universality or particularity of moral imperatives; the nature of character formation; the relationship between psychological and moral development. Most of these issues only become visible or salient because Batman refuses to kill. They become invisible when his character is dismissed as a publisher’s trick. That enough, I think, is reason to never make the leap to “because that’s what sells.”
As other people have mentioned, there are a lot of reasons you can have for Batman not killing, but there’s basically none for the rest of Gotham not killing. If you came up with an answer for that, you would have a question about why these criminals keep getting out of prison. If you have an answer for that, you have to ask why Batman keeps fighting the same villains in the same way when clearly it hasn’t worked. If you have an answer for that, you need one for why Gotham’s residents stay here. And in answering all the setting’s questions you’ll either end up with a story in which everyone is severely mentally disturbed, or you’ll accept the premise is narratively flawed. I think the first one is going to drive away as many people as the second.
I think you have the last bit backward; Batman raises those questions because he resonates enough with people to get them invested in his world. It’s a symptom of the broader appeal, like KOTOR 2 is a symptom of the popularity of Star Wars. It’s not a level of scrutiny the setting was designed to handle.
Of course, it’s still pretty fun to try.
(Batman doesn’t kill for the same reason he doesn’t use guns; he associates it with his parents. Gotham doesn’t kill or defend itself very well because it’s secretly Amish. Their beliefs mean they don’t believe in imprisonment, so only the least competent people take work as prison guards. They stay in Gotham because it’s the one city in the country where they control the vote. Batman fights the same people the same way because he thinks keeping Gotham’s belief structure intact is more important than taking out the bad guys for good, and feels he’s already doing enough to preserve that way of life.)
You might be addressing my post below; I’m not sure. (Short version: Gotham looks screwed up because we are looking at all the stories, the vast majority of which may be safely regarded as not being in continuity with each other. Each micro-universe is in bad shape, but is not nearly as bad as the entire set suggests each individual one must be.) If this is so, then the same reply about Batman applies to Gotham as a whole; do not assume each micro-universe is as hellish as the collective Batman “multiverse” is.
Separately: Nerds are weirdly inconsistent about when they’ll accept something as an expedient exaggeration (Batman landing hard w/o broken bones after dropping several hundred feet onto asphalt) and what they’ll insist must be treated as literally true (no one presses for Joker’s execution? Crazy!). If Gotham is an exaggeration of the real world to make a dramatic point, then complaining that Gotham is unrealistic is like complaining about a Roadrunner cartoon’s exaggerations to make a comic point: “No way the Coyote would fold up like an accordion if sandwiched between a boulder and the valley floor! This is stupid!” [Disclaimer: I myself as a tot thought Roadrunner cartoons remarkably stupid because unrealistic. Now I think them sublime.]
Gotham as Amish? I like it, though I’d hypothesize based on the civic miasma that a theological substitution got made somewhere along the way, and that Cthulhu is the reigning deity.
And as long as I’m aping my betters, here’s a suggestion for why Batman doesn’t kill. Like Shamus’s, it’s an explanation that talks about genre conventions; but it doesn’t dismiss Batman’s ethics in terms of the publisher’s desire to sell books.
Start where Shamus does, by restricting discussion to the Arkham cycle of AA-AC-AK games. Stipulate that we are only talking about those games, events in those games, and what can be inferred from those games. This is a little bubble universe, one cut off from comics, movies, animation, TV series, Underoos, etc.
We notice that Batman doesn’t kill any of the villains; neither do the authorities seem inclined to. For the sake of space, restrict this observation to the question “Why doesn’t Batman just kill the Joker?”
But before you answer this question, answer another: Why should he? Why should he (or anyone else) give serious thought to taking Joker out in the woods and putting him out of everyone’s misery?
You say: “Because he’s killed tons of people and always escapes to kill lots more. It’s just going to keep going until he dies, of old age if nothing else.”
Well, is that true? Remember, we’re talking about the Arkham bubble. You’re not allowed to appeal to general lore about the Joker of the kind drawn from comic, cartoon, TV continuities. What evidence is there that Joker has the reputation in this bubble universe that he has among us?
You say: “There are lots of references to his killing lots of people and constantly escaping. Batman even says as much at the end of AC.”
True. We also have serial killers in the real world, and sometimes lunatic killers escape and go on terror sprees. (Thankfully it’s rare, but it does happen.) But do real world authorities typically take serial killers and escaped prisoners in back of the precinct and accidentally run them over half a dozen times with a couple of squad cars? Do we expect them to, and demand an explanation for why they didn’t? In fact, we’re shocked when they do engage in a little extra-judicial roughhousing. (Cf. Ferguson, Baltimore, etc.)
You say: “It’s Joker! Everyone knows he’s unstoppable and irredeemable!”
I remind you that the characters in the Arkham games don’t necessarily know all that we know from the other Batman lore. They know that he is mad, bad, and dangerous to be around. That doesn’t mean they have made the same extrapolations we have.
Perhaps they have not made those extrapolations because Joker has not (yet) done enough to warrant them.
Hang on tight, because I’m about to do a double back-flip.
Shamus says: “Joker is bad enough to deserve immediate, extra-judicial extinction. So why haven’t they killed him?” I turn it around: “They haven’t killed Joker. So why ought they to think he deserves immediate, extra-judicial extinction?”
If you have evidence that, within the Arkham games, Joker absolutely and unequivocally deserves a fast whack””if you are saying that even nuns, rabbis, ACLU lawyers and Supreme Court justices should be lining, up like the passengers in “Airplane!”, to take turns putting a bullet in his corpse””then you are entitled to ask why he hasn’t gotten it. But if you don’t have that evidence, then the fact that the authorities (including Batman) haven’t considered whacking him is itself evidence he hasn’t done the kind of stuff that would merit introducing him to a dark corner and a lot of fast-moving bullets.
Restraint is not necessarily evidence of trope-driven stupidity. Absent other evidence, restraint is itself evidence that the monster hasn’t behaved as monstrously as we assume he has.
Note: I’m not saying Joker isn’t a monster in the Arkham games; I’m only suggesting that he is not as transparent to the game characters as he is to us, who know him from other places and know exactly how little good will come from keeping him around. Don’t impute your own relative omniscience of Joker as a franchise concept onto the Batman, et al, of the Arkham games.
Of course, this argument only works if Arkham is a bubble universe sealed off from the others; but remember, that’s what Shamus said he meant to do in these posts.
So why doesn’t Batman kill the Joker? Maybe because it hasn’t occurred to him (yet) as a serious thought that the Joker needs it, and maybe it hasn’t occurred to him because this Joker hasn’t killed those thousands of people across multiple franchise platforms that are not part of this bubble universe.
The point is generalizable: No one thinks that Burton movies, Nolan movies, various animated series, Adam West series, 1940s serials, and the immense and contradictory catalogs of comic books belong in a single continuity. Some Batman stories are clearly in continuity with others; for most, though, there is only the nebulous sense that one story is part of an indeterminate set of other stories. The Batman universe does not consist of well-defined threads intersecting at determinate points; it consists of vaporous clouds drifting in and out of each other.
To ask Why doesn’t Batman kill people? given the blurry lines that join or separate stories is like asking why Sherlock Holmes has never run into Oliver Twist. Sure, they both live in a place called “England” but that doesn’t mean they share the same reality.
So if these stories exist as a set of micro-universes with limited boundaries, then if Batman doesn’t execute a criminal at the end of a story, maybe it’s because in that micro-universe, not enough has happened to tempt him to.**
I could say more on many of these points, but this post is already about 14x longer than is tolerable.
** Yes, there are stories where this explanation isn’t available; see anything Frank Miller ever touched. There the question still needs an answer. But the question will be “Why doesn’t THIS Batman kill?” and the answer won’t be applicable outside that particular story.
Cinebeast says:
When you first posted you sounded a little snotty and I thought Shamus might ban you, but you’ve got some cool things to say. Thanks for posting.
I likewise thought the same thing. I think it’s the use of “you” which tends to be confrontational and which makes the tone seem worse than it is. Interesting posts though.
Personally, I like the tone – it’s intelligent, well-written, and feisty & energetic. But the original criticisms are basically nonsense, so there the tone seems jarring and undeserved. As soon as criticism is set aside, though, the strong rhetoric lends itself really well to the (many many more) separate, positive statements being made. (‘Positive’ in the ‘this is wot I think and am proposing’ sense rather than the ‘everything is awesome’ sense.)
About words: “reductionist” is a property of theories; “pithy” is a characteristic of expressions.
Reductionist theories are “nothing but” kinds of theories, as in “Love is nothing but a chemical reaction in the body”; “the Mona Lisa is nothing but a conglomeration of molecules spread over another conglomeration of molecules”; “your arguments are nothing but a bunch of pixels smeared across a monitor.” Reductionist theories are often objectionable because they “reduce” an interesting phenomenon to an uninteresting phenomenon””like turning a beautiful oak into charcoal. “Batman’s ethics are nothing but a consequence of DC Comic’s desire for profits” is, in this sense, a reductionist account: It turns an interesting question about a character into an uninteresting claim about corporate marketing strategies.
I gave this reductionist account a pithy expression; I condensed a reductionist theory into a bite-sized packet.
I’m only clarifying my use of terms, by the way. I don’t think there is any disagreement between us. ;)
Were my original criticisms nonsense? The weird thing is: I was actually trying to give Shamus the benefit of the doubt. Really. He asked why Batman can’t kill, and answered by saying (pithy paraphrase): “Because then they couldn’t make money selling Batman vs. Joker stories.” Now, I’m a year older than Shamus, and I remember kicking this idea around in high school, and it wasn’t a new idea back then in the days of daguerreotypes and the Reagan Administration. I’ve always thought Shamus much too clever to say something as simplistic as that, so I thought he must””he HAD to be!””saying something more interesting and complex than a bit of bong-water-saturated cynicism, especially since he thought his answer big enough that he could also use it to analyze a book like “Twilight” without even reading it. (Neat trick, that: It beats even reviewing a book based on its cover.) The best I could come up with was that he was offering a general theory about how to analyze and critique any and all stories, and using Twilight and Batman as case studies. Yes, I got real shirty with him, because I thought even that theory wasn’t very good. But if he’s only saying the sort of thing that bored and irritated me when I was 15, I guess I can only shrug.
Funnily enough, you can take most everything Shamus says, and with a little re-emphasis and rearranging, make what I would consider interesting points. There is much food for thought in what he says.
A story is a contract between the author and the reader. The author agrees to tell a believable tale; the reader agrees to pretend to believe it. This contract is violated when the author fails to deliver a plausible story; the reader is then allowed to chuck it in the trash. By the same token, the contract is violated when the reader approaches a story skeptically, but that’s a separate topic.
The author tries to sustain credibility, but he can strain his story to greater or lesser degrees in various ways. A plot point may be too convenient; a detail may be jarringly wrong; a character may behave illogically. When this happens, readers have a couple of choices. They can accept the in-story explanation; they may infer facts not stated but which would explain the anomaly; they may reject the explanations but continue to accept the story because they are enjoying it; or they can exit the story with a chuckle (if they are in a forgiving mood) or by hurling it against the wall (if they are not).
Sometimes an anomaly is so striking that a reader can learn about it even before reading the story. I’ve never read “Twilight,” for instance, but I understand it’s a romance story where the sex act exists at the center of a black hole: the petting is always approaching, but never arriving at, coitus. This makes me a bad target reader, because even before picking up the book, I’m deeply skeptical of such a plot point, and that means I really can’t enter the contract that the author is offering.
So why would an author tempt fate this way, by building a non-credible premise into the story? Obviously, to set up and motivate other pleasurable plot elements. I suspect””though I do not know for sure, and am open to correction””that readers of “Twilight” find their loins stirred longer and harder in direct proportion to how long those deep-thrusting yearnings go unconsummated; a “no sex” rule (however badly motivated) keeps things going without ever coming.
Here we find another interesting aspect of the author-reader contract: the willingness of one party (the reader) to forgive a contractual violation in return for considerations of another sort: Some readers (again, I only speculate) are willing to trade the credibility of the “no sex” rule for long, loving strokes in those areas not covered by the chastity belt.
There are other ways the contract can be modified in mid-read. There is, for instance, the story about a woman who became convinced the house she was living in was haunted. No one else saw the ghosts, not even when the woman shouted “There they are!” and pointed. But everyone else went along with her, and soon everyone was convinced the place was riddled with spooks. They all went slightly nuts, and things ended badly with the death of a child. All this, as I say, even though no one except this one girl ever saw the ghosts.
This seems incredible””and most readers I’ve talked to confess they got more than a little angry at the characters for being so credulous and dumb. Many readers come close to checking out of the story because it strains their disbelief. But there usually comes a point””it varies from reader to reader, and from page to page””where they suddenly “get” it. They realize it’s not really a ghost story, it’s a story about social contagion. The girl who sees the ghosts has a high social standing and great influence in the house; that is why everyone follows her lead, with disastrous results. In the end, it doesn’t matter whether the ghosts are real or the woman is crazy; the wrong person has started seeing things, and tragedy has ensued.
This is interesting because this seems a case where the author has intentionally broken the contract in order to force the reader to understand the story at a deeper level. The author starts by saying “I’m going to tell you a story about ghosts,” and the credulous reader goes along with him, because that’s what the implicit contract says he should do. But the story becomes less and less believable as it proceeds, until the reader finally shouts, “The girl’s not seeing ghosts, she’s just bonkers! Why is everyone too stupid to see that?” The author never tips his hands, but the reader, groping for an explanation for why he should continue to believe this story about people acting foolishly, typically hits on it: The other characters have trusted exactly the wrong person (a crazy person of high influence) and what that person is telling them. And at this point the reader might reflect, ruefully, that he himself has been the victim of a wicked practical joke: He similarly trusted the author, and similarly had the rug pulled out from under him. The reader might go farther still, and reflect that he himself ought to be careful in the future about going along with his social betters just because they “see things” (ghosts, moral depravity, Communists, structural racism; take your pick of potential bugaboos) that he worries he is too stupid to see with his own eyes.
This kind of complex storytelling game is sometimes called “art”, and it sometimes deserves to be.
Here’s another case, not in the field of art, but in the field of pulp: Why doesn’t Batman kill any of the villains?
I won’t rehearse the reasons he’d be tempted to; most readers have wondered at one time or another why Batman doesn’t take the Joker to a very high place and “accidentally” lose his grip. But the sheer scope and intensity of Gotham’s crime problem sometimes challenges our credulity: Is it really believable that all these psychos have a semi-permanent lease of freedom?
Of course, lots of reasons have been given for Batman’s “no kill” policy. As with “The Turn of the Screw” (the ghost story described above), the stories and authors are relatively mum on why Batman doesn’t kill; it’s the readers who invent and supply them. On the other hand, it seems likely that Henry James intended his readers to suss out the theme of his novella, but I doubt very much that DC is making any kind of thematic point with Batman. They seem content with churning out credulity-straining stories about a vigilante who practices catch-and-release with psychos, and to let the fans invent reasons for why he does this. (Nice work if you can get it, DC editors; how do I get a cushy job like that?)
[Parenthetically, there is one other difference between Batman and the earlier examples. With “Twilight” and “The Turn of the Screw” the author intentionally tells the reader “Believe the incredible, and I’ll make it up to you elsewhere.” With Batman it is, at best, a case of DC saying “Wait, what? We were asking you to believe the incredible? Oops.” The explanation for the difference is not hard to see. A novel is a complete thing, and the author in control from start to end before releasing it to the public. Batman is a continuing franchise, and invention accumulates. Nor is it hard to understand why DC fell into this hole: The Joker was popular, and you don’t kill a cash cow. (I believe Sax Rohmer had the same problem with Fu Manchu.) The difference, then, lies in the way Batman stories never stop coming [in marked contrast to “Twilight” ba-dum-CHING!], which leads to patterns unintentionally developing.]
There’s an old joke: Owe the bank a hundred dollars, and the bank owns you; owe the bank a million dollars, and you own the bank. Batman fans are so invested in the character now that they will probably never stop inventing reasons for believing the unbelievable, lest the whole thing fall down around their ears. We have thus arrived at the other end of what turns out to be a continuum: We have gone from “Twilight,” a franchise whose premises repulse potential readers even before they pick up the book, to “Batman,” a franchise whose premises are desperately propped up at every turn by countless ingenious fans.
I just said that Batman fans strain to believe the unbelievable. I should withdraw a remark made only to emphasize a point. What we should understand is that, in literature, at least, there is no thing as “the believable” or “the unbelievable.” “Literary reality” has no reality outside what the author and the reader jointly agree to believe; canons of credulity that apply to the real world have no relevance to the literary.
It also shows that literary reality is not entirely in the hands of the author. What the author writes and intends it to mean may constrain the reality in his invented world, but he still depends upon the acquiescence of the reader; in some cases (as with Batman) he may even depend upon the readers’ active ingenuity in order to make his lies credible.
Finally: Any discussion of what a story means, or why certain things happen in it, or what characters mean by their actions, does not end””as physical theories attempt””in a final statement of the single, univocal, “true” reason. Rather, literary discussions never end, and they only expand as readers join, debate, invent, expand, and modify their own credulity-enhancing contributions to the sustained illusion. A living literary universe is an expanding universe.
It’s not “bong-water cynicism” to point out that making the story go on forever causes a build-up of problems. It’s the truth. More importantly, it’s a truth that often gets lost in the discussion as people obsess over body counts and culpability. I can appreciate that you’ve heard this one before, but not every Bat-fan is in their mid-40’s. Some of them are young people – or new fans – who haven’t considered this angle, and even if it is old hat to you, it’s still an interesting discussion.
Do long-running stories acquiring problems? Yes, and that’s a fair point. It’s just not the one I decried. It was the corollary that followed””that “Batman can’t kill because DC would lose out on sweet, sweet Joker money if he did”””that makes me tired. And that seemed to be the conclusion that this series was designed to lead up to.
At best it seems like a minor point, nothing that needs a build up about “bent stories” or Twilight. A few years ago you had a lot of fun with Arkham Batman, who was stuck cleaning up the asylum while the guards just shot inmates and went home early to watch TV (IIRC). Your joke did not intend a serious criticism of the Bat universe, but it did genuinely reflect something people have noticed: that the Caped Crusader makes his job harder than it ought to be. But Batman’s not going to change his methods, and he’s not going to change his methods for the same reason Arkham Origins couldn’t leave the Joker dead but brought him back in a flashback story. Fact is, the villains sell. If you put them in the graveyard, the series would follow shortly thereafter.
So when DC created the Joker, they created a monster, in several senses of the word. If I were Batman, I’d swing by whatever offices DC Comics keeps in Gotham, and punch the editors in the face.
At least one of my double posts really needs to be nuked. (I thought I requested a deletion?) I already blow like a hurricane, and someone could probably use the catharsis.
I would say that in the Arkham games it’s clear that the Joker has escaped and gone on killing sprees on several occasions in the past. During the opening, Batman and Gordon are apparently very familiar with how he operates. Granted, it’s quite possible that it’s only happened two or three times, and the asylum has been extensively retrofitted in the recent past.
There’s nothing wrong as-such with reducing a long argument/discussion to five words, but it does mean one is no longer able to complain about arch-reductionism! :D
Also, boiling an argument down and eliminating any nuance in order to apply it more generally to similar things is totally fine. However, you can’t then rely on particular nuances of those similar things in order to criticise the argument in its original form.
Agree about the vaporous clouds, though!
The way that Marvel comics normally plays this sort of thing is to spin out the heroes’ personal stories more, so things end up being more about various interrelationships, and half the reason you keep following is for those old soap opera reasons, but that doesn’t really work with DC, since every couple years the slate will be wiped clean and started again.
So instead you get these archetypes, these platonic ideals of characters, that have to reincarnate again and again. If they ever change or grow as a character it sort of retroactively unwrites who they once were and replaces it with a new archetype of what always was. You can get nifty stories within those constraints, but you always can see the edges of the screen, the borders past which nothing matters, the broken premise of the world staring you right in the face.
Great point. One of the reasons DCs characters are so iconic is their nature as a somewhat static “pantheon” of gods. And these characters then aren’t given much room to change and grow because the ideal they represent or embody prevents them. Batman can’t kill in part because by doing so he ceases to be Batman. The marvel characters have more fluidity. As each hero can actually grow and change (and often times revert) over time. I love what marvel is doing right now with what I call the endless shifting status quo. At any point someone’s status quo has changed. Yes, at some point the “default” status quo will come back. Steve Rogers will become captain America again. But at no point will everyone’s status quo be the same.
The flipside of that is, so much of Marvel’s stories revolve around the heroes relationships and inner struggles, most of their villains are uninteresting. Other than Magneto, Doctor Doom, Loki, some of Spidey’s rogue’s gallery, and maybe a few others, most of them are one-dimensional badguys built around a single gimmick. The few who end up showing depth often end up as heroes, or at least antiheroes (Deadpool, Emma Frost, Scarlet Witch, etc.).
Hell, even Venom is a hero now.
Venom has gone back and forth from villain to hero so many times I lost count.
Venom is interesting, as the man inside the symbiote is now flash Thompson, spider-man’s high school bully. Flash lost his legs in the war in Afghanistan (the regular war). Flash as venom is the story of a good man without any power using a bad thing to gain power to help people. This gets muddled when he joined the guardians of the galaxy for some reason. Constrasted against Eddie Brock, who is not a great guy that the symbiote pushes the edge, and It actually has a lot of depth.
Trevel says:
Sunday Jul 12, 2015 at 4:32 pm
As far as my understanding of Marvel goes, the dichotomy of hero/villain doesn’t really work. There are villains, certainly, but mostly there’s complicated people trying to accomplish mutually exclusive goals. People can switch sides without even needing to change, because sometimes their goals align and sometimes they don’t. Doctor Doom is kind to the people of Latveria. Reed Richards is a sociopath. Complicated.
“I believe you find life such a problem because you think there are good people and bad people. You’re wrong, of course. There are, always and only, the bad people, but some of them are on opposite sides.“
“• Terry Pratchett, Guards! Guards!
That’s a core difference between the two big comic publishers. Marvel’s focus is the heroes, DC is the villains. Not that marvel doesn’t have interesting villains or that DC has interesting heroes.
My two cents on Batman:
It’s more than just catharsis; it’s the old fantasy that one man, with enough intellect and determination, can singlehandedly overthrow an established ideology. The bad guys may be various versions of Crime, but Batman is the embodiment of Justice. He fights the fight that no one else can, and he wins it because he wants to.
There are several factors to make this fantasy work:
The established ideology must be ugly. With Crime, that’s no problem, nobody likes crime. This is why Batman is pretty universally popular and similar fantasies like Atlas Shrugged are highly polarizing.
The hero’s ideology must be pure. This is why Batman doesn’t kill; he’s the representation of Justice, and if you bring killing into it you get into ugly, murky territory about what Justice is. Shamus mentioned the Punisher is less popular than Batman; part of that is because the Punisher splits the fantasy into people who agree with killing and people who don’t.
For the hero to win singlehandedly, there must be no one else to do so. With Crime, this means the police must be ineffective and there must not be other vigilantes running around. This is why no one else can kill the Joker; Batman wouldn’t be Batman if they could.
The villains should be numerous enough and nuanced enough to represent the way things are. Usually there will be one particular villain at the top of the hierarchy that is the representation of the system, the Joker in this case. Generally they will be more interesting than the hero, because the story demands more subtlety from them than it does from the good guy. The reason criminals never stay locked up in Gotham is simply because it’s much easier to keep using established characters than it is to try to constantly replace them with sufficiently nuanced new guys.
The hero should win, no matter what gets thrown at them. This is the one comic books are worst at; they keep going, and going, and going, until people realize the bad guys aren’t really losing and the good guys aren’t really winning. This is why people ask why Batman can’t kill his enemies; they want the story to wrap up, with the good guy really winning.
This is how the Punisher works, and I think it's one of the reasons the Punisher is overall a less satisfying story, even for people looking to see criminals punished, vigilante-style. Frank Castle has to monologue to explain who the current bad guy is and why we're after him. Then he kills the bad guy. Then we need to build up a new bad guy. It's still bent: How many untouchable crime bosses can one city possibly have? Instead of “Why doesn't he kill these guys” the problem becomes, “Where do these guys keep coming from?”
I don’t know, why does organized crime continue to exist in the real-world despite all the heavily-armed and trained government-funded agencies that exist to fight it? Why does the War on Terror continue despite the “#2 leader of Al-Qaeda” continually being killed? Maybe because these things aren’t actually the real problem, but the symptoms of much larger and more complex societal problems that can’t just be solved by killing?
If crime and terrorism continue to exist in the real world, there’s going to be a audience of people who like revenge-power-fantasies about one-man army characters successfully fighting them. That’s why The Punisher’s remained relatively popular for 40 years, and why the exploits of his biggest inspiration, Mack Bolan: The Executioner, filled the pages of almost 600 novels for almost 35 years. They have much less appeal than Batman, who’s easily adjusted for a wide range of ages and views of the world, but the basis for the appeal’s still there.
MaxEd says:
That’s why I don’t like comics, or MMORPGs: I need my stories to have a conclusion. I hate it when author repeats himself eternally, never changing his world.
The stories I love the best is the ones where we are explicitly shown how the world changed after heroes’ victory (or whatever else the main story ends in).
For example, that’s why I prefer Glen Cook’s Garret to the original Nero Wolfe stories, even though they written just as solidly, or maybe even more so: the world in Cook’s books changes, the old characters sometimes go away (for good), character development happens and isn’t reverted (Morley Dots comes to mind).
Saturday Jul 11, 2015 at 12:40 am
I still think the series could have done without Angry Lead Skies.
Zaxares says:
Heh. You actually stated why I DO like the Punisher more than Batman, Shamus. The question isn’t “where are all these mob bosses and serial killers coming from?”, because as you mentioned earlier, “crime is eternal.”
There will ALWAYS be criminals who, through power or wealth or familial connections, are untouchable by justice. The Punisher is the power fantasy we cherish as the one person who WILL see that justice gets done, even if his fight is never-ending.
Decius says:
The Adam West Batman avoided most of those problems, except maybe that the villains didn’t make themselves credible enough threats because they didn’t kill anybody.
In the 60’s TV show, villains killed folks all the time. It still didn’t stop being silly, though. Like all decades, the 60’s were weird.
What's interesting is that a lot of people just refuse to “go with it”. – Shamus
Actually, I would argue that your blog attracts people that refuse to just go with it. Only on this site have I run into people that have such a hard time accepting a story’s premise. Sure, there are some on other sites, but this site has a clear majority of people that are extremely picky as to what premise they’ll accept.
Iunnrais says:
TAS has always been the “true” Batman for me, and I’ve found that the problem doesn’t really come up there. The primary reason is that, in the vast majority of cases, Batman isn’t the main character. The main character is the villain, the story is the classic tragedy, and Batman is the driving antagonist who forces the main character’s self-created downfall to come to a conclusion.
When viewed from the point of view OF THE VILLAIN, being confined to Arkham Asylum is often worse than death. They lose everything they’ve been striving for, everything they ever wanted– in the context of the current story, the current tragedy.
It helps a lot that TAS rarely reused villains. But when it did, each story was generally still a new tragedy, so it worked. Rarely Batman would actually be the main character and the story wouldn’t be a tragedy, but I always found those to be the weaker stories anyway.
DJ Doena says:
Wednesday Jan 11, 2017 at 1:45 am
Another explanation you have hinted a but – IMHO – then didn’t follow through is the following:
You said that these characters like Penguin represent crime. Poison Ivy represents terrorists.
Right there you have your explanation why Batman can’t kill them. You can’t kill an idea.
Just because Batman put away one Riddler doesn’t mean there will be no more criminals trying to prove how clever they are. There will always be another Riddler and another Szasz.
Jabberwok says:
Sunday Feb 25, 2018 at 6:07 pm
This might sound odd, but I think my personal enjoyment of the Arkham games and Batman lore comes from a much different place than the ‘bring criminals to justice’ fantasy, and instead may stem from a side effect of what you’re talking about.
I think Gotham itself is what draws my interest, not the costumed crime fighter fantasy; a setting so twisted (yet recognizable as our world) that the rules of modern society barely apply, and apply not at all to a hero who spends much of his time watching it from the rooftops or the shadows. I’m not even sure that it matters to me (in the Arkham games) that the villains are bad people and Batman is good. It’s the physical and emotional power that he holds over them that appeals to me. This goes for both Batman and the villains of the series, characters who inspire fear in others. The emotion that informs much of the aesthetic, compared to many of the brighter DC characters.
Now, the vigilante side of the equation is certainly part of that. Like a lot of superheroes, Batman isn’t subject to normal societal conventions. The Joker is appealing in a similar way. Ultimately, my lizard brain may not particularly care that one uses that freedom for good and the other for evil.
Gregory Bogosian says:
Tuesday Jan 29, 2019 at 5:35 am
“Scarecrow and Poison Ivy are always trying to terrify or control the populace with chemical / biological attacks, which makes them a really good analogue for terrorist-style attacks without the story needing to explore the complex politics behind real, ideology-driven terrorism.” Poison Ivy is driven by ideology. She is an eco-terrorist. So is Ra’s al Ghul.
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Busy times on and off the baize...
Just wanted to touch base with you all and keep you up to date with what's been going on at
Murphy towers on and off the table.
Since my last blog, my little boy Harry has gone from strength to strength and is now five months old! Where has that gone? For a very brief spell we thought he was an extremely lucky charm as the first match he came to I made a 147 break - what a start to his career.
But then he came to the semi-finals at the UK Championships in York and unfortunately that didn't work out too well. More on that later. We're so thankful for such a wonderful little boy and he's changed our lives forever. Not least because we no longer sleep, haha...!.
In autumn I made my annual daily pilgrimage to Coventry for the Champion of Champions, this time against John Higgins, who unfortunately for team Murphy was in devastating form having just won the new China Championship and put me away easily too.
That was a really strange game for me as I didn't think I played that badly but didn't feel like I'd been involved in a game at all. I felt like I'd been completely shut out and spent most of the game getting out of trouble. I can’t wait for John to retire, sometimes he's just too good.
My trip to York for the UK Championship was a good one and one that I was really looking forward to. I'd been working hard on my game and knew I was hitting it pure. Over the ten days I played some really nice snooker in parts and was supported by my team mates from the Stapleford Golf Club scratch team.
I progressed nicely through to the semi finals where I faced my old adversary Mark Selby. I think Mark's now well into over 100 weeks as world number 1 and he played like it against me that day. He's extremely solid and very similarly to John Higgins, makes very few errors.
Even though I started well, it didn't matter and I eventually lost 2-6. Mark went on to lift the title for a second time and add another major to what is now becoming a very impressive haul.
After the UK we had the German Masters qualifiers in Barnsley and then the Scottish Open in Glasgow. Unfortunately I lost in the qualifiers to Yan Bingtao 4-5 after making two centuries and three breaks over 60 - tough school. The Scottish Open continued that trend of playing quite well but getting back and I lost again. So the Christmas tree went up and the cue went down.
Fast forward into 2017 and the Masters via Coventry for the newly homed Championship League where I finally managed to break the Coventry curse.
I was feeling very good about things. Having won the 2015 Masters and completing the Triple Crown, going back to Ally Pally always gets the juices flowing. The problem was I ran into an inspired Barry Hawkins who played some amazing snooker potting long reds from all over the table and scoring very heavily - so it was another early bath for me.
Couple that with missing out on the recent German Masters in Berlin and it’s been a quiet
few weeks for me; the silver lining being that I've finally found the time to take my cue back to John Parris and have some alterations carried out that I've wanted for some time. Since then I've been practising every day working to get used to it.
For those of you wondering, I've had it shortened to 57.5 inches from 58. This has subsequently made the tip 9mm, up from 8.7. Doesn't sound much but snooker as we know is a game of fractions. I’m hoping these fractions will give me the extra cue ball deflection or "throw" that I'm looking for.
This week see's my title defence of the World Grand Prix in Preston. It's always good fun going back to an event as defending champion and I cannot wait to get going. After the WGP it’s straight to Cardiff for the Welsh Open before the next rounds of Championship League snooker in Coventry and then the Shootout, where as you may or may not know, the players will be wearing microphones while playing. Can't wait to see how that plays out...............
Finally. many of you mayhave seen recently that I'm now the chair of the newly-formed WPBSA Players Commission. This Commission replaces the old players forum and will become the sounding board for the membership as a whole. We will be striving to represent the concerns and ideas of the players to the governing bodies of WPBSA and World Snooker Limited. It's an honour to be involved and together with the eight other members of the Commission we're hoping to make a real difference.
All that's left for to say is thank you for reading, and I'll be back in touch soon.
Until then, all the best
http://www.shaunmurphy.net/BlogRetrieve.aspx?BlogID=12392&PostID=753538&A=Trackback
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MULTIMODE CONTROL SYSTEM FOR MAGNETORHEOLOGICAL FLUID ACTUATOR UNIT
A control system is provided for controlling movements of an end effector connected to a clutch output of at least one magnetorheological (MR) fluid clutch apparatus. A clutch driver is configured to drive the at least one MR fluid clutch apparatus between a controlled slippage mode, in which slippage between a clutch input and the clutch output of the MR fluid clutch apparatus varies, and a lock mode, in which said slippage between the clutch input and the clutch output is maintained below a given threshold, the clutch output transmitting movement to the end effector. A motor driver is configured to control a motor output of at least one motor, the motor output coupled to the clutch input. A mode selector module is configured to receive signals representative of at least one movement parameter of the end effector, the mode selector module selecting a mode between the controlled slippage mode and the lock mode of the clutch driver based on the signals, and switching the selected mode based on the signals. A movement controller controls the clutch driver and the motor driver to displace the end effector based on at least one of the selected mode and on commanded movements of the end effector for the end effector to achieve the commanded movements. A method for controlling movements of an end effector connected to the MR fluid clutch apparatus is also provided.
DENNINGER, Marc (1095 rue Falaise, Sherbrooke, Québec J1N 2M9, J1N 2M9, CA)
JULIÓ, Guifré (197 de la Magog, Sherbrooke, Québec J1H 3T8, J1H 3T8, CA)
PLANTE, Jean-sebastien (318 rue Moore, Sherbrooke, Québec J1H 1B9, J1H 1B9, CA)
LAROSE, Pascal (925 Musset, SHerbrooke, Québec J1J 4J3, J1J 4J3, CA)
CA2017/050506
EXONETIK INC. (400 Marquette, Sherbrooke, Québec J1H 1M4, J1H 1M4, CA)
F16D27/10; B25J9/10; F16D7/02; F16D37/02; F16D48/06
US20150083868A1 2015-03-26
CA2937498A1 2015-08-06
NORTON ROSE FULBRIGHT CANADA LLP, S.E.N.C.R.L., S.R.L. (Suite 2500, 1 Place Ville-MarieMontreal, Québec H3B 1R1, H3B 1R1, CA)
1 . A control system for controlling movements of an end effector connected to a clutch output of at least one magnetorheological (MR) fluid clutch apparatus, the control system comprising:
a clutch driver configured to drive the at least one MR fluid clutch apparatus between a controlled slippage mode, in which slippage between a clutch input and the clutch output of the MR fluid clutch apparatus varies, and a lock mode, in which said slippage between the clutch input and the clutch output is maintained below a given threshold, the clutch output transmitting movement to the end effector;
a motor driver configured to control a motor output of at least one motor, the motor output coupled to the clutch input;
a mode selector module configured to receive signals representative of at least one movement parameter of the end effector, the mode selector module selecting a mode between the controlled slippage mode and the lock mode of the clutch driver based on the signals, and switching the selected mode based on the signals; and
a movement controller to control the clutch driver and the motor driver to displace the end effector based on at least one of the selected mode and on commanded movements of the end effector for the end effector to achieve the commanded movements.
2. The control system according to claim 1 , wherein the mode selector module receives data on the commanded movements and selects the mode according to the commanded movements and on the at least one movement parameter.
3. The control system according to any one of claims 1 and 2, wherein the clutch driver supplies current to the at least one MR fluid clutch apparatus to reduce the slippage.
4. The control system according to any one of claims 1 and 2, wherein the clutch driver supplies current to the at least one MR fluid clutch apparatus to increase the slippage.
5. The control system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the motor driver is configured to a vary an intensity of a motor output of the at least one motor, and wherein the movement controller determining the intensity of the motor output in the locked mode.
6. The control system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the mode selector module receives signals indicative of a manual contact with the end effector, and selects the controlled slippage mode throughout the manual contact.
7. The control system according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the mode selector module receives signals indicative of a position of the end effector in a working envelope thereof, and selects the mode based on the position.
8. The control system according to claim 7, wherein the mode selector module determines that the position of the end effector is in a high controllability portion of the working envelope and selects the controlled slippage mode for the high controllability portion.
9. The control system according to claim 7, wherein the mode selector module determines that the position of the end effector is in a low controllability portion of the working envelope and selects the lock mode for the low controllability portion.
10. The control system according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the mode selector module receives signals indicative of at least one of a speed and acceleration of the end effector, the mode selector module selecting the controlled slippage mode when the speed and/or acceleration is beyond a programmed threshold.
1 1 . The control system according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the mode selector module determines from the commanded movements a change of direction of the end effector, the mode selector module selecting the controlled slippage mode for the change of direction of the end effector.
12. The control system according to any one of claims 1 to 1 1 , wherein the mode selector module selects and maintains the lock mode for 75%-98% of an operation of the end effector.
13. An assembly of a control system and MR fluid actuator unit controlling movements of an end effector, the assembly comprising:
the control system according to any one of claims 1 to 12,
at least one MR fluid actuator unit including at least one MR fluid clutch apparatus and at least one motor, each of the at least one MR fluid clutch apparatus having a clutch output transmitting movement to the end effector, and having a clutch input coupled to an output of at least one motor.
14. The assembly according to claim 13, wherein the at least one MR fluid actuator unit has two of the MR fluid clutch apparatus for a single one of the motor.
15. A method for controlling movements of an end effector connected to at least one magnetorheological (MR) fluid clutch apparatus, the method comprising:
continuously sensing at least one movement parameter of the end effector;
selecting a mode of operation of the MR fluid clutch apparatus based on at least one movement parameter and a commanded movement;
driving a motor output of at least one motor coupled to the MR fluid clutch apparatus, while keeping a slippage of the MR fluid clutch apparatus below a given threshold to cause a displacement of the end effector in a commanded movement in a lock mode; and
varying the slippage of the MR fluid clutch apparatus beyond the given threshold to continue a displacement of the end effector in the commanded movement in a controlled slippage mode.
16. The method according to claim 15, wherein driving the motor output in the lock mode comprises maintaining an intensity of the motor output fixed.
17. The method according to any one of claims 15 and 16, wherein varying the slippage of the MR fluid clutch apparatus includes supplying current to the at least one MR fluid clutch apparatus to reduce the slippage.
18. The method according to any one of claims 15 and 16, wherein varying the slippage of the MR fluid clutch apparatus includes supplying current to the at least one MR fluid clutch apparatus to increase the slippage.
19. The method according to any one of claims 15 to 18, wherein driving the motor output in the lock mode comprises varying an intensity of the motor output based on at least one movement parameter and a commanded movement.
20. The method according to any one of claims 15 to 19, wherein continuously sensing includes sensing a manual contact with the end effector, and wherein selecting the mode of operation includes selecting the controlled slippage mode throughout the manual contact.
21 . The method according to any one of claims 15 to 20, wherein continuously sensing includes sensing a position of the end effector in a working envelope thereof, and wherein selecting the mode of operation includes selecting the mode based on the position.
22. The method according to claim 21 , wherein sensing a position of the end effector in the working envelope includes determining that the position of the end effector is in a high controllability portion of the working envelope, and wherein selecting the mode of operation includes selecting the controlled slippage mode for the high controllability portion.
23. The method according to claim 21 , wherein sensing a position of the end effector in the working envelope includes determining that the position of the end effector is in a low controllability portion of the working envelope, and wherein selecting the mode of operation includes selecting the lock mode for the low controllability portion.
24. The method according to any one of claims 15 to 23, wherein continuously sensing includes sensing at least one of a speed and acceleration of the end effector, and wherein selecting the mode of operation includes selecting the controlled slippage mode when the speed and/or acceleration is beyond a programmed threshold.
25. The method according to any one of claims 15 to 24, wherein selecting the mode of operation includes determining from the commanded movements a change of direction of the end effector, and selecting the controlled slippage mode for the change of direction of the end effector.
26. The method according to any one of claims 15 to 25, wherein selecting the mode of operation includes selecting and maintaining the lock mode for 75%-98% of an operation of the end effector.
MULTIMODE CONTROL SYSTEM FOR
MAGNETORHEOLOGICAL FLUID ACTUATOR UNIT
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] The present application claims priority on United States Patent Application
No. 62/327,102, filed on April 25, 2016 and incorporated herein by reference.
FIELD OF THE APPLICATION
[0002] The present application relates generally to magnetorheological (MR) fluid clutch apparatuses, and more particularly, to antagonist systems using such apparatuses.
BACKGROUND OF THE ART
[0003] State-of-the-art distributed power devices rely on hydraulics or electromagnetic actuation. Hydraulic actuation is reliable towards mechanical jam, but has fundamentally limited dynamic response and efficiency. Furthermore, implementation of hydraulic systems into commercial applications may be problematic as hydraulics are prone to leakage, leading to increased maintenance costs. Moreover, hydraulic actuation is hardware intensive.
[0004] Electromagnetic actuation offers a clean alternative to hydraulic actuation.
For high dynamic applications, the most common form of electromechanical actuation is found in direct-drive motors, which are prohibitively heavy. Device weight can be considerably reduced by providing a reduction ratio between the motor and the end-effector. Indeed, when coupled to reduction gearboxes, electromechanical actuators are lighter and less expensive than direct drive solutions, but their high output inertia, friction and backlash may diminish their dynamic performance.
[0005] MR fluid clutch apparatuses are known as useful apparatuses for transmitting motion from a drive shaft with precision and accuracy, among other advantages, which could enhance the performance of electromechanical actuation systems.
[0006] MR fluid is known to permanently change properties over time. These changes may include, non-exhaustively, a change in viscosity, a change in the ability to transmit a shear stress in function of the magnetic flux density in the MR fluid, and a change of magnetic permeability. One factor contributing to the change of properties is the energy dissipated in the fluid when the fluid is solicited in a shear situation. A shear situation of the fluid occurs when torque is transmitted by the MR fluid clutch apparatus while an angular speed difference is present between the input and the output of the MR fluid clutch apparatus. In this condition, the apparent yield shear stress of the MR fluid in the interface between the input and the output of the MR fluid clutch apparatus controls the torque transmitted from the input of the MR fluid clutch apparatus to its output. In such a shear situation, the MR fluid absorbs energy that may be proportional to the speed difference and the torque transmitted from the input to the output. The higher the transmitted torque of the MR fluid clutch apparatus and the higher the angular speed between the input rotor and the output rotor, the more energy may be dissipated in the MR fluid and the greater the properties of the MR fluid may change over time.
SUMMARY OF THE APPLICATION
[0007] It is therefore an aim of the present disclosure to provide a novel antagonistic system using a MR fluid for torque transmission.
[0008] It is a further an aim of the present disclosure to provide a control system for a magnetorheological fluid apparatus or apparatuses that addresses issues related to the prior art.
[0009] It is a still further aim of the present disclosure to provide method for controlling movements of an end effector connected to one or more magnetorheological (MR) fluid clutch apparatuses, addressing issues related to the prior art.
[0010] Therefore, in accordance with a first embodiment of the present application, there is provided a control system for controlling movements of an end effector connected to a clutch output of at least one magnetorheological (MR) fluid clutch apparatus, the control system comprising: a clutch driver configured to drive the at least one MR fluid clutch apparatus between a controlled slippage mode, in which slippage between a clutch input and the clutch output of the MR fluid clutch apparatus varies, and a lock mode, in which said slippage between the clutch input and the clutch output is maintained below a given threshold, the clutch output transmitting movement to the end effector; a motor driver configured to control a motor output of at least one motor, the motor output coupled to the clutch input; a mode selector module configured to receive signals representative of at least one movement parameter of the end effector, the mode selector module selecting a mode between the controlled slippage mode and the lock mode of the clutch driver based on the signals, and switching the selected mode based on the signals; and a movement controller to control the clutch driver and the motor driver to displace the end effector based on at least one of the selected mode and on commanded movements of the end effector for the end effector to achieve the commanded movements.
[0011] Further in accordance with the first embodiment, the mode selector module in an instance receives data on the commanded movements and selects the mode according to the commanded movements and on the at least one movement parameter.
[0012] Still further in accordance with the first embodiment, the clutch driver supplies current in an instance to the at least one MR fluid clutch apparatus to reduce the slippage.
[0013] Still further in accordance with the first embodiment, the clutch driver supplies current in an instance to the at least one MR fluid clutch apparatus to increase the slippage.
[0014] Still further in accordance with the first embodiment, the motor driver is in an instance configured to a vary an intensity of a motor output of the at least one motor, and wherein the movement controller determining the intensity of the motor output in the locked mode.
[0015] Still further in accordance with the first embodiment, the mode selector module receives in an instance signals indicative of a manual contact with the end effector, and selects the controlled slippage mode throughout the manual contact.
[0016] Still further in accordance with the first embodiment, the mode selector module receives in an instance signals indicative of a position of the end effector in a working envelope thereof, and selects the mode based on the position.
[0017] Still further in accordance with the first embodiment, the mode selector module determines in an instance that the position of the end effector is in a high controllability portion of the working envelope and selects the controlled slippage mode for the high controllability portion.
[0018] Still further in accordance with the first embodiment, the mode selector module determines in an instance that the position of the end effector is in a low controllability portion of the working envelope and selects the lock mode for the low controllability portion.
[0019] Still further in accordance with the first embodiment, the mode selector module receives in an instance signals indicative of at least one of a speed and acceleration of the end effector, the mode selector module selecting the controlled slippage mode when the speed and/or acceleration is beyond a programmed threshold.
[0020] Still further in accordance with the first embodiment, the mode selector module determines in an instance from the commanded movements a change of direction of the end effector, the mode selector module selecting the controlled slippage mode for the change of direction of the end effector.
[0021] Still further in accordance with the first embodiment, the mode selector module in an instance selects and maintains the lock mode for 75%-98% of an operation of the end effector.
[0022] In accordance with a second embodiment of the present disclosure, there is provided an assembly of a control system and MR fluid actuator unit controlling movements of an end effector, the assembly comprising: the control system as described above, at least one MR fluid actuator unit including at least one MR fluid clutch apparatus and at least one motor, each of the at least one MR fluid clutch apparatus having a clutch output transmitting movement to the end effector, and having a clutch input coupled to an output of at least one motor.
[0023] Further in accordance with the second embodiment, the at least one MR fluid actuator unit has in an instance two of the MR fluid clutch apparatus for a single one of the motor.
[0024] In accordance with a third embodiment of the present disclosure, there is provided a method for controlling movements of an end effector connected to at least one magnetorheological (MR) fluid clutch apparatus, the method comprising: continuously sensing at least one movement parameter of the end effector; selecting a mode of operation of the MR fluid clutch apparatus based on at least one movement parameter and a commanded movement; driving a motor output of at least one motor coupled to the MR fluid clutch apparatus, while keeping a slippage of the MR fluid clutch apparatus below a given threshold to cause a displacement of the end effector in a commanded movement in a lock mode; and varying the slippage of the MR fluid clutch apparatus beyond the given threshold to continue a displacement of the end effector in the commanded movement in a controlled slippage mode.
[0025] Further in accordance with the third embodiment, driving the motor output in the lock mode comprises in an instance maintaining an intensity of the motor output fixed.
[0026] Still further in accordance with the third embodiment, varying the slippage of the MR fluid clutch apparatus includes in an instance supplying current to the at least one MR fluid clutch apparatus to reduce the slippage.
[0027] Still further in accordance with the third embodiment, varying the slippage of the MR fluid clutch apparatus includes in an instance supplying current to the at least one MR fluid clutch apparatus to increase the slippage. [0028] Still further in accordance with the third embodiment, driving the motor output in the lock mode comprises in an instance varying an intensity of the motor output based on at least one movement parameter and a commanded movement.
[0029] Still further in accordance with the third embodiment, continuously sensing includes in an instance sensing a manual contact with the end effector, and wherein selecting the mode of operation includes selecting the controlled slippage mode throughout the manual contact.
[0030] Still further in accordance with the third embodiment, continuously sensing includes sensing in an instance a position of the end effector in a working envelope thereof, and wherein selecting the mode of operation includes selecting the mode based on the position.
[0031] Still further in accordance with the third embodiment, sensing a position of the end effector in the working envelope includes in an instance determining that the position of the end effector is in a high controllability portion of the working envelope, and wherein selecting the mode of operation includes selecting the controlled slippage mode for the high controllability portion.
[0032] Still further in accordance with the third embodiment, sensing a position of the end effector in the working envelope includes in an instance determining that the position of the end effector is in a low controllability portion of the working envelope, and wherein selecting the mode of operation includes selecting the lock mode for the low controllability portion.
[0033] Still further in accordance with the third embodiment, continuously sensing includes in an instance sensing at least one of a speed and acceleration of the end effector, and wherein selecting the mode of operation includes selecting the controlled slippage mode when the speed and/or acceleration is beyond a programmed threshold.
[0034] Still further in accordance with the third embodiment, selecting the mode of operation includes in an instance determining from the commanded movements a change of direction of the end effector, and selecting the controlled slippage mode for the change of direction of the end effector.
[0035] Still further in accordance with the third embodiment, selecting the mode of operation includes in an instance selecting and maintaining the lock mode for 75%-98% of an operation of the end effector. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0036] Fig. 1 is a schematic view of a MR fluid clutch apparatus used in systems of the present disclosure;
[0037] Fig. 2A is a partly sectioned view of the MR fluid clutch apparatus with a permanent magnet with a coil in an unpowered state, in accordance with the present disclosure;
[0038] Fig. 2B is a partly sectioned view of the MR fluid clutch apparatus of Fig. 10, with the coil in a powered state;
[0039] Fig. 2C is a schematic graph of torque as a function of current, for the MR fluid clutch apparatus of Fig. 2A;
[0040] Fig. 3 is a schematic view of a cable-driven system using a common power source with a pair of MR fluid clutch apparatuses for antagonistic displacement of an end effector;
[0041] Fig. 4 is a schematic view of an MR fluid actuator unit using one or more of the MR fluid clutch apparatus of Fig. 1 , both MR fluid actuators connected to the speed reducer and turning in opposite direction;
[0042] Fig. 5 is a schematic view of an MR fluid actuator unit using one of the MR fluid clutch apparatus of Fig. 1 , the MR fluid actuator used to decouple the motor and speed reducer from the Rotary-to-Rotary or Rotary-to-Linear converter;
[0043] Fig 6 is a schematic view of an MR fluid actuator unit using one or more of the MR fluid clutch apparatus of Fig. 1 , all MR fluid actuators connected to the same speed reducer and actuating different Rotary-to-Rotary or Rotary-to-Linear converters;
[0044] Fig. 7 is a schematic view of an MR fluid actuator unit using one or more of the MR fluid clutch apparatus of Fig. 1 , one of the MR fluid clutch connected to a fixed part and one MR fluid clutch connected to the speed reducer ;
[0045] Fig. 8 is an illustration of a multimode controlled antagonist MR fluid clutch apparatus; and
[0046] Fig. 9 is a block diagram of a control system used in an embodiment to control the MR fluid clutch apparatuses of the present disclosure.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0047] Referring to the drawings and more particularly to Fig. 1 , there is illustrated a generic magnetorheological (MR) fluid clutch apparatus 10 configured to provide a mechanical output force based on a received input current. The MR fluid clutch apparatus 10 of Fig. 1 is a simplified representation of a MR fluid clutch apparatus that may be used in the systems described hereinafter. The MR fluid clutch apparatus that is used in the systems described hereinafter may have additional components and features, such as plates, redundant electromagnets, MR fluid expansion systems, etc.
[0048] The MR fluid clutch apparatus 10 has a driving member 12 with radial drums
13, this assembly also known as input rotor. The MR fluid clutch apparatus 10 also has a driven member 14 with drums 15 intertwined with the drums 13 to define one or more cylindrical chamber(s) filled with an MR fluid 16, the cylindrical chamber(s) being delimited by a casing 17 that is integral to the driven member 14. The assembly of the driven member 14 and drums 15 is also known as the output rotor. In the example of Fig. 1 , the driving member 12 may be an input shaft in mechanical communication with a power input, and the driven member 14 may be in mechanical communication with a power output (i.e., force output, torque output). MR fluid 16 is a type of smart fluid that is composed of magnetisable particles disposed in a carrier fluid, usually a type of oil. When subjected to a magnetic field, the fluid may increase its apparent viscosity, potentially to the point of becoming a viscoplastic solid. The apparent viscosity is defined by the ratio between the operating shear stress and the operating shear rate of the MR fluid comprised between opposite shear surfaces - i.e., that of the drums 13 on the drive side, and that of the drums 15 and of the walls of the casing 17 in the cylindrical chamber 17. The magnetic field intensity mainly affects the yield shear stress of the MR fluid. The yield shear stress of the fluid (a.k.a., the yield stress) when in its active ("on") state may be controlled by varying the magnetic field intensity produced by electromagnet 18 integrated in the casing 17, i.e., the input current, via the use of a controller. Accordingly, the MR fluid's ability to transmit force can be controlled with the electromagnet 18, thereby acting as a clutch between the members 12 and 14. The electromagnet 18 is configured to vary the strength of the magnetic field such that the friction between the members 12 and 14 may be low enough to allow the driving member 12 to freely rotate relative to the driven member 14 and vice versa. When the torque supplied to the driving member 12 is inferior to the one the yield stress of the MR fluid 16 is able to produce, the speed of the output member 14 is the same as the input member 12 and the amount of power that the fluid has to dissipate may be reduced. In a shear situation, some torque is transmitted, but there is a relative speed between the input member 12 and the output member 14. The MR fluid allows slippage of the input member 12 relative to the output member 14, that may affect the properties of the MR fluid over time. [0049] Referring to Figs. 2A-2B, the MR fluid clutch apparatus 10 is shown in yet another schematic embodiment. The MR fluid clutch apparatus 10 of Figs. 2A and 2B has numerous similar components with the MR fluid clutch apparatus 10 of Fig. 1 whereby like elements will bear like numeral references, and their description is not duplicated unnecessarily herein. A distinction lies in the presence of a permanent magnet 25 connected to the outer annular wall 28 of casing 17, in addition to the coil 18.
[0050] As shown in Fig. 2A, the permanent magnet 25 is used to generate a magnetic field F1 in the MR fluid clutch apparatus 10 so that the apparatus 10 can transfer torque without the need to apply a current via the coil 18, in contrast to the MR fluid clutch apparatus 10 of Fig. 1 in which the reduction in slippage requires an increase in current powering the coil 18. The permanent magnet 25 is radially magnetized and may be a full solid annular part or an assembly of individual magnets (such as cylindrical magnets). Gap 26, also known as a redirection gap, separates the part of the outer annular wall 28 of casing 17, i.e., the outer magnetic core, from the inner magnetic core 27.
[0051] When no current is applied to the coil 18 (power-off), as in Fig. 2A, magnetic field F1 is present in the MR fluid according to the described magnetic flux path shown. Some magnetic flux circulates in the redirection gap 26. The width of the redirection gap 26 controls the amount of magnetic flux desired in the MR fluid, a.k.a. the desired power-off torque. If the redirection gap 26 is sufficiently wide, almost all the magnetic flux induced by the permanent magnet 25 goes through the MR fluid, leading to a high power-off torque. If the redirection gap 26 is radially narrower, the magnetic flux is shared between the MR fluid and the redirection gaps 26, leading to a lower power-off torque.
[0052] As shown in Fig. 2B, when a current is applied in the coil 18 in order for the magnetic field generated to oppose to the indicated polarity of the permanent magnet 25, the magnetic flux induced by the permanent magnet 25 is redirected in the redirection gap 26 as shown by F2, which leads in a decrease of the magnetic flux in the MR fluid 16, hence a decrease of the torque transmittable by the MR fluid clutch apparatus 10 and consequently an increase in the slippage between the input member 12 and output member 14. At a given intensity of the coil current, the magnetic flux F1 in the MR fluid can nearly be cancelled or non-negligibly reduced and beyond this intensity, it will increase again (as seen in Fig. 2C). The width of the redirection radial gap 26 may also have an impact on the size of the winding of the coil 18. If the width is larger, a bigger winding is required to redirect the magnetic flux. [0053] If the current is applied in the reverse direction, the coil 18 assists the permanent magnet 25 in the generation of magnetic flux in the MR fluid, leading to the increase of the transmittable torque of the MR clutch apparatus 10, again as shown in Fig. 2C.
[0054] Accordingly, the MR fluid clutch apparatus 10 has a normally "power-off state of transmittable torque, because of the magnetic field induced by the permanent magnet 25. In this "power-off state, also referred to as a lock mode, the slippage between the input member 12 and the output member 14 is below a given threshold, if not negligible or absent, for maximum rated torque transmission as long as the torque supplied on the input member 12 is below the torque transmittable by the MR fluid 16. The coil 18 is then powered to cause the MR fluid clutch apparatus 10 to vary the slippage and thus reduce torque transmission and eventually be in a controlled slippage mode. This arrangement is useful, for example when the MR fluid clutch apparatus 10 must maintain torque transmission in spite of a power outage. The magnetic field of the permanent magnet 25 would be of sufficient magnitude for the MR fluid clutch apparatus 10 to support a load without being powered. It bears mentioning that, although the lock mode is described with the use of a permanent magnet, it is contemplated to operate the lock mode with the MR fluid clutch apparatus 10 of Fig. 1 or equivalent, the coil 18 actuated to produce a magnetic field of sufficient magnitude to remove substantially or completely any slippage between the input member 12 and output member 14.
[0055] Although multimode systems may be composed of a single MR fluid clutch apparatus, there are benefits of having them working antagonistically with a biasing member or fully active and minimally composed of two MR fluid clutch apparatuses 10 getting their torque from a motor (such as an electric motor, hydraulic motor, or any other type of motor, geared or not), that operates at variable speed and thus at variable intensity. The multimode systems use different operational modes for the MR fluid clutch apparatuses 10. One of the modes is the "Controlled Slippage Mode" (CSA), obtained when the output torque of the system is controlled by varying the torque transmitted through MR fluid clutch apparatuses 10. For example, a multimode system may have two counter-rotating MR fluid clutch apparatuses 10. In such a case, the CSA mode has the output rotors 14 of the two MR fluid clutch apparatuses 10 turn at speed different than that of the input rotor 12 of the clutch apparatuses 10 so slippage occurs in both MR fluid clutch apparatuses. In the CSA mode, the output torque may be controlled by adjusting the torque transmitted by the MR clutch apparatuses 10, by controlling the current in the electromagnets 18 as explained above. The transmitted torque of a MR clutch apparatus 10 is adjusted by varying the yield stress of the MR fluid 16. The variation of the yield stress of the MR fluid 16 may be obtained by adjusting the magnetic field strength present in the MR fluid 16. The CSA mode combines the advantages of lightweight, high-speed electric geared motors, with the high dynamic performances enabled by the slippage of the MR fluid clutch apparatuses 10. When maintained in slippage, the MR fluid clutch apparatuses 10 decouple the dynamic behavior of motors from the outputs, resulting in low output inertia and high control quality since the high output inertia of the geared motors is not reflected at the system output. This may also result in increased force accuracy as the non-linear behaviors induced by the use of geared elements (e.g. cogging, gear backlash, friction) are filtered by the clutch apparatuses 10. This may also result in low mass and a reduced number of components since loads generated by the main geared motors can be shared between a plurality of outputs, and/or in some applications, high reliability as faulty geared motors can be disconnected from the output following clutch disengagement.
[0056] Another mode is the "lock mode", according to which the transmitted torque of at least one MR fluid clutch apparatus 10 corresponds to less than the yield stress of the MR fluid 16, the output of the system being controlled by varying the torque and speed generated by the motor A ( shown in Figs. 4 to 8). In lock mode, the input rotor 12 turns at substantially the same speed as that of the output rotor 14 in at least one MR fluid clutch apparatus 10. In a contemplated embodiment, a pair of the MR fluid clutch apparatus 10 is used in multimode. When high dynamic performances are required, the MR fluid clutch apparatus 10 may be used in CSA mode and when lower dynamic performances are required, the MR fluid clutches apparatus 10 may be used in lock mode. A typical application of this would be in a robot where most of the motion may be controlled in lock mode of one MR fluid clutch apparatus 10, switching to CSA mode only for limited or short periods of time when providing fine movement with high bandwidth controllability (i.e.: contact with a human or objects, haptic teaching to the robot, smoothing the acceleration or the deceleration, rapid directional changes). By using the MR fluid clutch apparatus 10 in multimode, the amount of energy dissipated in the fluid may be reduced in comparison to non-multimode arrangements, hence lessening exposure of the fluid to property change conditions over time.
[0057] Referring to Fig. 3, a cable-driven system in accordance with the present disclosure is generally shown at 30, to control the reciprocating motion of an end effector 31 . The end effector 31 is illustrated as being a pivoting arm, mounted to a base 32 by pivot 32A. Accordingly, the end effector 31 is movable in one rotational degree of freedom (DOF). Although the end effector 31 is shown as being movable in one rotational DOF, the end effector 31 could be connected to the base 32 by a translation joint, whereby the system 30 would provide a translational DOF. The cable-driven system 30 may have n MR fluid clutch apparatuses 10 receiving a torque input from a single power source (not shown) via a common power shaft (not shown) driven by the power source. For example, the power source may be an electric motor, although other types of power sources may be used, such as hydraulic motors to name one among numerous other examples.
[0058] The MR fluid clutch apparatuses 10 are each equipped with an output member 33 upon which is mounted a cable 34, to form a tensioning set, illustrated as 33A and 34A when coupled to the MR fluid clutch apparatuses 10A, and illustrated as 33B and 34B when coupled to the MR fluid clutch apparatuses 10B (this nomenclature used elsewhere for system 30). The output member may practically be connected to the driven member 14 (Fig. 1 ) of the MR fluid clutch apparatuses 10 so as to rotate therewith. However, the output member may also have mechanisms between the driven member 14 and the output member 33 instead of being a direct drive. For example, the output member 33 may incorporate a reduction gearbox. The expression "output wheel" is used as an encompassing expression for equivalent parts, such as a pulley, a chainring, a sprocket, a nut, a screw, lever arm, etc. Likewise, the expression "cable" is used as an encompassing expression for equivalent parts, such as a tendon, rope, belt, chain, and like tensioning members. The selection of the type of cable is based on the type of output wheel. The cable 34 has an end attached to the output wheel 33, a free end 35 attached to an output component, with a length of the cable being wound about the output wheel 33. A rotation of the output wheel 33, for instance as driven by the driven member 14 (Fig. 1), may wind additional cable length onto the output wheel 33, resulting in a pulling action at the free end of the cable 34. A pulling action on the free end 35 may alternatively result in an unwinding of the cable 34 from the output wheel 33, for instance when the MR fluid clutch apparatus 10 is in a slippage condition, i.e., when the pulling action on the free end 35 exceeds the force produced by the driven member 14. The cable-driven system 30 has a pair of the MR fluid clutch apparatuses 10 (although n MR fluid clutch apparatuses 10 could be present), one of which is shown at 10A and the other of which is shown as 10B, the apparatuses 10A and 10B being connected to a common power source A (not shown) The MR fluid clutch apparatuses 10A and 10B are connected via cables 34 to the common end effector 31 . In spite of being driven directly by the common power source, the MR fluid clutch apparatuses 10A and 10B provide antagonistic pulling actions on the common end effector 31 , to enable reciprocating movement. It is also considered to provide a single MR fluid clutch apparatus 10 and thus a single cable 34 connected to the end effector 31 , with an antagonistic force provided by a biasing member such as a linkage, spring, gravity, other type of actuators, etc (not shown). The biasing member may also include more complex mechanisms, such as a servo system, linear actuators, etc. In other words, any mechanism capable of opposing an antagonistic force to the end effector 31 may be used. The source of power of the biasing member may also come from a human. This is applicable for given embodiments provided below as well.
[0059] In typical antagonistic actuation systems, one actuator per degree-of-freedom
(DOF) is generally used. Each actuator must therefore be designed to satisfy the maximum load for the degree-of-freedom it is driving. The DOF is actuated by two actuators because of the cables' inability to transmit compressive loads. Each DOF is hence actuated by two antagonistic actuators and generally only one is being activated at a time because of their opposing effect. For example, if a load is required to be produced in the clockwise direction, a clockwise actuator (CWA) is powered and the counter-clockwise actuator (CCWA) is unpowered and vice-versa if the load is required to be produced in the other direction.
[0060] In contrast, when centralizing the power source in the system 30 of Fig. 3, the resulting system may lead to a compact and lightweight design. Moreover, since the controlled-slippage MR fluid clutch apparatuses 10 may uncouple the inertia of the power source from the end effector 31 , a lightweight power source, such as a high-speed electric motor coupled with a high-ratio reduction gearbox can be used without impacting the system's dynamic performance. Furthermore, the required load for the power source A can be tailored according to the application, leading to further weight reduction. For example, as the system 30 utilizes a purely antagonistic actuation arrangement, the power source is not required to produce the sum of the load capacity of both MR fluid clutch apparatuses 10 it is driving, since only one of the pair can be active at the same time. The power source A can therefore be designed for only approximately one half of the total load requirement (i.e., the "offstate or free state" power of the clutch apparatus in slippage being greater than zero).
[0061] When used in CSA mode and used with a geared motor as power source, the MR fluid clutch apparatuses 10 in the cable-driven system 30 decouples the dynamic behavior of the motor from the outputs resulting in a low output inertia and high control quality since the high output inertia of the geared motor is not reflected at the system output. The cable-driven system 30 may also provide an increased force accuracy as the non-linear behaviors of the geared motor (e.g. cogging, gear backlash, friction) are filtered by the MR fluid clutch apparatuses 10. The cable-driven system 30 also has a relatively low mass and a reduced number of components since loads generated by a common geared motor can be shared between a plurality of outputs. In some applications, the cable-driven system 30 may be reliable as a faulty geared motor can be disconnected from the output following clutch disengagement, when a redundant motor is available as back-up.
[0062] The cable-driven system 30 may be used in lock mode as well. When used in lock mode, only one of an antagonistic pair of the MR fluid clutch apparatuses 10 may be locked at a time, otherwise an opposing force would result on the end effector 31 . When one MR fluid clutch apparatus 10 is locked, the locked MR fluid clutch apparatus 10 couples the cable-driven system 30 to the dynamic behavior of the motor resulting in a high output inertia and low control quality since the geared motor is reflected at the end effector 31 . The locked MR fluid clutch apparatus 10 does not shear the MR fluid 16 (there is little or no slippage), which results in less energy dissipation in the MR fluid 16, with a view to limit the exposure of the MR fluid clutch apparatus 10 to property change conditions. In an antagonist system such as 30, the motor is often configured to turn in a single direction. This is due to the inability of the cable to transmit a compressive load. In lock mode, the cable system 30 may operate such that one MR fluid clutch apparatus (e.g., 10A) is locked while the other one (e.g., 10B) is unlocked, the motor being controlled to provide torque to the pulley 33A of the locked MR fluid clutch apparatus 10A, such that the end effector 31 is pulled by the cable 34A of the locked MR fluid clutch apparatus 10A. During the movement, the unlocked MR fluid clutch apparatus 10B will allow slippage to happen between its output 14B and its input, hence resulting in cable 34B unwinding from its pulley 33B. When a direction change is desired at the end effector 31 , the motor may slow down to reach a stop condition and then the MR fluid clutch apparatus 10A may go in unlock mode (i.e., CSA mode) while the MR fluid clutch apparatus 10B may go in lock mode. When the motor turns again, the MR fluid clutch apparatus 10B will pull on cable 34B while the cable 34A connected to the unlocked MR fluid clutch apparatus 10A unwinds from the pulley 33A, and vice versa. According to an embodiment, the system 30 has a working envelope illustrated schematically as W. The working envelope W is illustrated as rectangular to facilitate understanding and as applicable to robots or systems having more than one rotational degree of freedom of movement. The working envelope W may have a low controllability portion W1 and high controllability portions W2. In portion W1 , the system 30 may be in lock mode by default as the end effector 31 is not close to its movement boundaries. On the other hand, in portions W2, the system 30 may be switched to CSA mode automatically, as the end effector 31 nears its movement boundaries and may therefore come into contact with its environment, for example, or must perform a task with an adjacent device or apparatus. It is observed that the low controllability portion W1 occupies a substantial portion of the working envelope W, for example, between 85% to 98% of the working envelope W, while the high controllability portions W2 define a remainder of the working envelope W. Accordingly, throughout a substantial portion of the displacements of the end effector 31 , the system 30 operates in lock mode, so as to reduce the operation in CSA mode. This being said, the system 30 may override the default settings, and switch to CSA mode in the low controllability portion W1 . This may occur for example when a change of direction of the end effector 31 is required in the low controllability portion W1 . This may also occur when a sensor detects a condition in which the end effector 31 must decelerate or come to a stop. The condition may be that of a manual intervention on the end effector 31 in the low controllability portion W1 .
[0063] Referring to Fig. 4, a MR fluid actuator unit 40 is generally shown as being constituted of a power source A (e.g., a motor), a speed reducer B, at least one of the MR fluid clutch apparatuses 10 and an output device C or mechanism. The output device C may be a rota ry-to- rotary device, or a rotary-to-linear device. In Fig. 4, the MR fluid actuator unit 40 has two MR fluid clutch apparatuses 10 turning in opposite directions. The MR fluid actuator unit 40 may operate both in the lock mode and the CSA mode.
[0064] Referring to Fig. 5, the MR fluid actuator unit 50 shown is similar to MR fluid actuator unit 40 of Fig. 4 with the difference that it is constituted of a single MR fluid clutch apparatus 10. In this configuration, the viscous torque may be transmitted to the rotary-to- rotary device or a rotary-to-linear device in a single direction, slightly reducing the controllability of the system but decreasing the number of components required. The MR fluid actuator unit 50 may operate both in the lock mode and the CSA mode. To change the direction of the viscous torque transmitted to the rota ry-to- rotary device or a rotary-to-linear device, the differential speed between driving member 12 and the driven member 14 must be reversed by either a change of the motor direction or a back-driving torque coming from the rota ry-to- rotary device or a rotary-to-linear device.
[0065] Referring to Fig. 6, the MR fluid actuator unit 60 shown is similar to the MR fluid actuator unit 40 of Fig. 4, with the difference that two or more MR fluid clutch apparatuses 10 are connected to individual rota ry-to- rotary device C, or a rotary-to-linear device. This arrangement may be useful to control antagonist systems as in Fig. 3 where one of the rotary-to-rotary or rotary-to-linear converter is connected to a device that can only transmit force in tension (i.e. cable) or compression (i.e. hydraulic system). The MR fluid actuator unit 60 may operate both in the lock mode and the CSA mode.
[0066] Referring to Fig. 7, an alternative construction of MR fluid actuator unit is shown at 70 where a single MR fluid clutch apparatus 10 is connected to the speed reducer and where a second MR fluid clutch apparatus 10 is connected to another component (not shown). This construction may be useful for the second clutch to reduce the effect on the output of the viscous torque generated by the first MR fluid clutch apparatus 10 that is connected to the speed reducer, increasing the controllability of the system. The MR fluid actuator unit 70 may operate both in the lock mode and the CSA mode.
[0067] Referring to Fig. 8, a typical MR fluid actuator unit 80 is shown with a rigid output link 81 . The output member 81 of the MR fluid actuator unit 80 may transmit loads in two directions. In the MR fluid actuator unit 80, the clutch apparatus 10A turns in the same direction as the motor A while the clutch apparatus 10B, using the rotation reversal system 82, turns in the opposite direction. When operated in lock mode, the motor A may control the position and the movement of the output link 81 by transmitting torque using only one MR fluid clutch apparatus 10. The other clutch apparatus 10 may not transmit torque to the output. In this operation mode, in order to make a more efficient system, one of the MR fluid clutch apparatuses 10 may stay in lock mode by the use of a permanent magnet as described in Fig. 2 and the other MR fluid clutch apparatus 10 may stay in CSA mode may be of the type of Fig. 1 . In the MR fluid actuator unit 80, the direction of the output link 81 may be controlled by the direction of rotation of the motor A or the MR fluid clutch apparatus 10 that is in lock mode. For example, in order to have the output turn in the clockwise (CW) direction, the motor A may turn CW and the MR fluid clutch apparatus 10A, turning in the same direction, may be used in lock mode, while the MR fluid clutch apparatus 10B turning in the other direction (CCW) may be used in open mode (i.e., CSA mode). Alternatively, the motor A may turn CCW and the MR fluid clutch apparatus 10A turning CCW may be used in open mode (i.e., CSA mode), while the MR fluid clutch apparatus 10B turning in the opposite direction (CW) may be used in lock mode. When operated in CSA mode, the output link 81 may move in opposite directions by controlling the slippage in both MR fluid clutch apparatuses 10. Control may be obtained similarly to the system 30 of Fig. 3 with the difference that the CSA may be obtained with the motor A turning either CW or CCW. The benefit of working in lock mode may be lower dissipated energy in the MR fluid 16 while decreasing the dynamics performance of the actuator unit 80. The benefit of working in CSA mode is a better dynamic performance of the actuator unit 80. The combination of both modes lessens the exposure of the MR fluid clutch apparatuses 10 to property changing conditions, in comparison to operation in CSA mode only.
[0068] Referring to Fig. 9, there is illustrated a schematic of a control system 100 that may be used in conjunction with the various MR fluid actuator units to control the MR fluid actuator and determine which mode, CSA mode or lock mode, the system may be used in. In Fig. 9, the control system 100 is of the type used with one or more MR fluid actuator units 101 , n (n = 1 , 2, 3, +), which may be any of the MR fluid actuator unit described above. For simplicity, the MR fluid actuator unit 101 is shown with a single MR fluid clutch apparatus 10 and motor A, although any combination is possible. This includes the use of the control system 100 with one or more of the MR fluid actuator units of Figs. 4 to 7, or any combination thereof, in addition to the use of the control system 100 with the arrangements of Figs. 3 and 8. Moreover, the MR fluid actuator unit 101 is shown as being connected to an end effector 31 , which may be of any appropriate kind as described above. The control system 100 may use information coming from a sensor 102 or multiple sensors in order to determine if the system should be used in CSA mode or lock mode. The command to determine if the system should be used in CSA mode or lock mode may also come from a user interface (not shown) or other source. The signals produced by the sensors 102 may be representative of one or more movement parameters of the end effector 31 . For example, the movement parameters may be one or more of an external force or pressure on the end effector 31 , a distance travelled, proximity to a boundary or to an object, etc. The boundary may be programmed as a virtual working range of a robot, and may rely on many various types of sensors (e.g., proximity switch, optical sensor, etc,)
[0069] Therefore, the control system 100 has a clutch driver 103 configured to drive the MR fluid clutch apparatus(es) 10 between the controlled slippage mode and the lock mode. As detailed above, in the controlled slippage mode, slippage between the clutch input 12 and the clutch output 14 (Fig. 1 ) of the MR fluid clutch apparatus 10 varies and thus the torque transmitted to the end effector 31 varies as well. In the lock mode, the slippage between the clutch input 12 and the clutch output 14 (Fig. 1 ) is below a given threshold, if not negligible or absent. The clutch driver 103 controls the current sent to the electromagnet coil (e.g., 18 in Fig. 1 , or Figs. 2A and 2B) as a function of the specifications of the MR fluid clutch apparatus 10, for example the size of the gap 26, the magnetic force of the permanent magnet 25, etc, as a function of parameters of movement of the end effector 31 that may be monitored by the sensor 102, as provided by a movement controller 106. A motor driver 104 may be configured to vary an intensity of a motor output (whether in terms of velocity or torque) of the motor A, if the motor A is not configured to operate at constant velocity or constant torque, for example (i.e., no variation). A mode selector module 105 may be configured to receive the signals from sensor(s) 102 representative of the movement parameter(s) (including force or pressure) of the end effector 31 , or of other parts of the MR fluid actuator unit 101 or mechanism, such as the motor A (e.g., stress sensor, hydraulic pressure sensor, force sensor) or the fluid clutch apparatus 10. The mode selector module 105 selects a mode between the controlled slippage mode and the lock mode of the clutch driver 103 based on the signals, and switches the selected mode based on the signals. The mode selector module 105 may have a database 107 in which mode selection is programmed, as a function of the monitored signals. Just by way of example, if an external pressure beyond a given value is sensed at the end effector 31 , the mode selection program may require that the control system 100 automatically go in the controlled slippage mode. Based on the selection of mode, the movement controller 106 controls the clutch driver 103 and the motor driver 104 to displace the end effector 31 based on the selected mode and on commanded movements of the end effector 31 . In terms of commanded movements, the end effector 31 may be part of a robot or automated system performing given tasks (such as operating system OS), in which case the control system 100 may be commanded, controlled or programmed to execute specific movements. The movement controller 106 determines the intensity (e.g., speed or torque) of the motor output in the locked mode if not at constant torque or constant speed, with the MR fluid clutch apparatus 10 providing limited or negligible slippage. The movement controller 106 also determines the parameters of movements of the end effector 31 (e.g., distance to move, acceleration, deceleration, stop, release) for the MR fluid clutch apparatus 10 to adapt the controlled slippage mode such that the end effector 31 may achieve the commanded movements. According to an embodiment, the movement controller 106 receives the commanded movements from a user, a program, an external system, and forwards the commanded movements to the mode selector module 105 such that the mode selector module 105 selects the mode based on movements constraints of the end effector 31 (e.g., working envelope).
[0070] The control system 100 may therefore control independently the motor driver
104 that may command motor torque or speed, and the clutch driver 103 that may control the amount of torque that the MR fluid clutch apparatuses 10 may transfer in CSA mode or lock mode. A good example of this may be a robot arm using a MR fluid actuator unit of the types that are proposed above. The MR fluid actuator units may work in lock mode most of the time (e.g., between 75% and 98% of the time of movement of the end effector 31) in order to reduce the exposure of the MR fluid to property variation conditions. The lock mode operation may be in the low controllability portion of the working envelope as in Fig. 3, for a substantial portion of the movement (e.g., between 85%-98%). In the lock mode, the speed and force of the robot arm may be proportional to the speed and the force generated by the motor. The MR fluid actuator units may be actuated in CSA mode in numerous circumstances, such as when the end effector is in the high controllability portion of the working envelope, or when the end effector must come to a stop, deceleration and/or change of direction. As another possibility, when a force sensor 102 senses that the robot arm or end effector is contacting an obstacle (i.e. human or material) or a safety brake condition has been detected, the control system 100 may be programmed to perform a rapid stop of arm movement and consequently switch the operation in CSA mode or even full slippage in order to improve the dynamic performance of the robot arm. Because the dynamic performance of the actuator unit is improved in CSA mode, the robot arm may be stopped faster than in lock mode. The faster action may be obtained by allowing slippage in the MR fluid clutch apparatus 10. The movement controller 106 determines the parameters of operation to drive the MR fluid clutch apparatus 10. If a counter-rotating MR fluid clutch apparatus 10 is present, it may provide a reversing force on the robot arm. This action does not require to stop the motor so it may happen faster than a normal servo motor with a gearbox transmitting its full torque via a MR fluid actuator unit operating in lock mode.
[0071] The control system 100 may be operated according to a method in which it is continuously (e.g., regularly or periodically) sensing at least one movement parameter of the end effector. The control system 100 may repeatedly switch between modes, whereby the continuous sensing provides the information for dynamic operation. The mode of operation of the MR fluid clutch apparatus(es) 10 is selected based on sensed movement parameter(s) and a commanded movement. A motor output of motor A coupled to the MR fluid clutch apparatus may be varied or kept constant (e.g., constant speed, constant torque) in a first selected mode (lock mode), while a slippage of the MR fluid clutch apparatus is kept below a given threshold (negligible) to cause a displacement of the end effector 31 in a commanded movement. In a second selected mode (CSA mode), the slippage of the MR fluid clutch apparatus 10 is varied beyond the given threshold to continue a displacement of the end effector 31 in the commanded movement, but with adjustable slippage. [0072] There may be numerous sensors 102 used in complementary fashion to detect different parameters. As yet another possibility, the sensors 102 include accelerometers or speed sensors, and the mode selector 105 is configured to switch to CSA mode when the acceleration of the end effector 31 is beyond a given acceleration or velocity/speed threshold. A user of the control system 100 may also command the control system 100 to override the automatic mode selection to perform haptic teaching in CSA mode, in which the end effector 31 is manipulated by a user while the movements of the end effector 31 are recorded to be replicated subsequently by automation. In haptic teaching in CSA mode, the end effector 31 or like robot arm needs to be displaceable with low impedance in order to be easily manipulated by the user. The control system 100 may therefore communicate with an operating system OS associated to the end effector 31 , operating system OS giving commands such as movement parameters, desired modes of operation, safety conditions, etc.
[0073] Therefore, when the end effector 31 or like robot arm performs tasks requiring force control as opposed to position control, the control system 100 may select the CSA mode. Such tasks may vary depending on the use of the end effector 31 , and may include as non-exhaustive examples the manipulating of fragile objects, the actuation of a device that needs force control, such as a surface polisher, a wiping device, pressing parts together. Robots featuring the control system 100 may benefit from the use of CSA mode for instance in directional changes, as the change of direction may be done without having to change the direction of the motor, such that cheaper motors may be used instead of expensive servo motor. By way of the control system 100, a robot may perform rapid directional changes that are beyond the bandwidth of servo motors. As a result, the end effector 31 may offer faster adjustments and more precise manipulations in the CSA mode, yet with the lock mode reducing the operation of the MR fluid clutch apparatuses 10 in slippage.
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Indiana Jones / The Complete Adventures Limited Edition
November 9, 2012 by admintags: 1908s, Franchise, Harrison Ford, Speilberg
This limited edition set released last month includes all four Indiana Jones films – Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, and 2008′s Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.
Raiders has benefitted from meticulously restored video and audio (the original negative of Raiders was scanned at 4K and then examined frame-by-frame) and this collection of behind-the-scenes bonus features seven hours of documentaries, featurettes and interviews and a brand new two-part documentary entitled On Set with Raiders of the Lost Ark – From Jungle to Desert and From Adventure to Legend. This contains nearly an hour of rarely seen footage from the set of the film and archival interviews.
This limited edition collector’s set includes a reproduction of the Holy Grail prop (complete with segments of Indy’s personal account of the adventures from all four films), rarely seen behind-the-scenes stills, a film cell with newly produced artwork and a special collectable package resembling Indiana Jones’ journal.
Reproduction Holy Grail prop (144 pages)
Film cell
Grail rubbing
Menu from Pankot Palace
Four rare film stills
Club Obi-Wan matchbook
Two photos
• UK Order: Indiana Jones The Complete Adventures (Limited Edition Collector’s Set) [Blu-ray] [Region Free]
• USA Order: Indiana Jones The Complete Adventures (Limited Edition Collectors Set) Blu-ray
CANADA Order: Indiana Jones The Complete Adventures (Limited Edition Collector’s Set) (Region Free)
Full details:
Disc 1–Raiders of the Lost Ark
Audio: English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio / French Dolby Digital 5.1 / German Dolby Digital 5.1 / German Surround
Video: 2.35:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
Subtitles: English, English for the deaf and hard of hearing, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Norwegian, Swedish
Running Time: 115 mins approx.
• Teaser Trailer (HD)
• Theatrical Trailer (HD)
• Re-Issue Trailer (HD)
Disc 2–Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
Audio: English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio / French Dolby Digital 5.1 / German Dolby Digital 5.1
Disc 3–Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Running Time: 127mins approx.
Disc 4–Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Audio: English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio / French Dolby Digital 5.1 / German Dolby Digital 5.1 / Italian Dolby Digital 5.1 / Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 / Audio Descriptive Track English Dolby Digital 5.1 (feature only)
Subtitles: English, English for the deaf and hard of hearing, Catalan, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Norwegian, Spanish, Swedish
• Theatrical Trailer #2 (HD)
Disc 5–Bonus Features
Audio: English Stereo
Subtitles: English, Cantonese, Catalan, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Mandarin, Norwegian, Polish, Russian, Spanish, Swedish
• New–On Set with Raiders of the Lost Ark
o From Jungle to Desert
o From Adventure to Legend
• Making the Films
o The Making of Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981 documentary previously unavailable on DVD)
o The Making of Raiders of the Lost Ark
o The Making of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
o The Making of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
o The Making of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (HD)
• Behind the Scenes
o The Stunts of Indiana Jones
o The Sound of Indiana Jones
o The Music of Indiana Jones
o The Light and Magic of Indiana Jones
o Raiders: The Melting Face!
o Indiana Jones and the Creepy Crawlies (with optional pop-ups)
o Travel with Indiana Jones: Locations (with optional pop-ups)
o Indy’s Women: The American Film Institute Tribute
o Indy’s Friends and Enemies
o Iconic Props (Crystal Skull) (HD)
o The Effects of Indy (Crystal Skull) (HD)
o Adventures in Post Production (Crystal Skull) (HD)
The Dark Knight Rises / Limited Edition Bat Cowl
Robbie Williams / Live At Knebworth debuts on blu-ray
3 responses to Indiana Jones / The Complete Adventures Limited Edition
Pingback:Indiana Jones / Complete Adventures exclusive German steelbook with zippo | Super Deluxe Bluray
Your tag is misspelt: it’s “Spielberg” not “Speilberg”.
lace plastic tablecloths says:
Sunita’s husband brought me an low-cost plastic red tableclofh
and asked me to put a star on it. Abrilliant concept for a red carpet isn’t it?!
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