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FreeGameDev Forums < Off-topic
Do an off topic forum they said. It will stick the community together they said. Consider #freegamer first.
Moderator: Community Moderators
Board index ‹ Community ‹ Off-topic
[split]P2P chat, tor etc
by Lyberta » 08 Aug 2019, 01:19
Moderator notice: split from here: https://forum.freegamedev.net/viewtopic ... 81&p=86932
Well, I'm also using Tox and it has voice and video but it is p2p.
Lyberta
Re: POLL: Which chat system would you like FGD to have?
by fluffrabbit » 08 Aug 2019, 01:46
I tried TRIfA, the only Tox client currently on F-Droid. It made my phone heat up, the echo service can't do more than 7 FPS, it seems to be stuck in vertical mode, and when I exit the app it crashes rather than closing gracefully. I also don't think the long hexadecimal IDs are so great. They could make them shorter and more memorable by using base32 and less entropy. It's pretty janky overall, but I guess it works.
Jami has a much nicer interface, though it's not pure SIP; some other shit seems to be added onto the protocol. It's also changed names a couple times now. Probably less secure than Tox, but it doesn't turn your phone into a toaster and the developers respect material design. Not a pure protocol though, so technically it's disqualified. I'm merely using it as an example of how to make a communication app more user-friendly.
fluffrabbit
Here's an idea: Store usernames in a distributed hash table.
Much like generating an onion URL, the first few characters of your chosen username go at the beginning of the hash, and the protocol would specify that those characters must match the associated username in the DHT or it's invalid. The computational cost of generating vanity hashes would deter spammers from eating up all the desirable usernames. If you don't care what your username is, one can be generated based on the first few characters of a random hash so that it matches and there is very little computational cost.
With this system, you could address people by username. It checks the DHT for the username, there can be only one, and the entropy of usernames could be very low to start with and grow with the size of the network, like with the transition from IPv4 to IPv6. Then you would only have to type something like 5 characters rather than 20.
More off-topic: A serverless SIP/XMPP type infrastructure would be ideal. Read about DHTs, I2P, and Freenet. The tech is in place, it's just a matter of somebody making an app.
by Julius » 08 Aug 2019, 20:17
fluffrabbit {l Wrote}: More off-topic: A serverless SIP/XMPP type infrastructure would be ideal. Read about DHTs, I2P, and Freenet. The tech is in place, it's just a matter of somebody making an app.
Isn't that what Jami (formerly called Ring) does: https://jami.net/ ?
Follow me on Hubzilla :)
I thought so, but
a) Jami, formerly Ring, formerly SFLPhone, is not a protocol and stands alone as an implementation. May not be the best for security and interop.
b) There must be some kind of Tor-like server layer, else my carrier would block it. Not pure P2P.
I just installed Jami and I don't see a SOCKS proxy option to run it via Tor, wth?
Tor isn't the only anonymity solution in the world. Personally, I think it's over-hyped and constructed in a more dangerous fashion than alternatives. It may be worthwhile to read Jami's source code, but in general, I don't think we need Tor.
fluffrabbit {l Wrote}: Tor isn't the only anonymity solution in the world. Personally, I think it's over-hyped and constructed in a more dangerous fashion than alternatives. It may be worthwhile to read Jami's source code, but in general, I don't think we need Tor.
Well except Tor I know VPN and I2P. But getting anonymous VPN is extremely hard because you have to switch exit nodes manually and I2P is slow. With Tor I can watch 1080p@60fps videos on YouTube, maybe not always but it is still fast enough. I2P seems to be much slower.
EDIT: Wait, I installed i2pd, set Firefox proxy to 127.0.0.1:4444 and I can't connect to clearnet websites, wth????
EDIT2: Oh, I2P nodes don't allow clearnet access by default which means I2P is 99% useless.
Re: [split]P2P chat, tor etc
99% of the time when people say "clearnet" they are referring to the web, which we're trying to move beyond. You have to approach this from a forward-looking perspective. A completely decentralized Internet means moving away from the client-server model entirely. That's how the best of communication software already works, with document retrieval systems close behind and e-commerce soon to follow.
I don't appreciate Julius splitting every thread. In this particular case, since he wants to DevOp it up and explore cutting-edge tech, this type of communication software might be of interest for FGD's chat system. Not that this site is lacking in interested parties or anything. Maybe I should look to these systems to drive traffic bring people to my own forum.
fluffrabbit {l Wrote}: I don't appreciate Julius splitting every thread. In this particular case, since he wants to DevOp it up and explore cutting-edge tech, this type of communication software might be of interest for FGD's chat system. Not that this site is lacking in interested parties or anything. Maybe I should look to these systems to drive traffic bring people to my own forum.
this was clearly getting totally off topic in the original topic...
If you want to discuss decentralized systems like this, I don't mind at all, but I really don't see the relevance to the question of having a chat system for FGD. Don't get me wrong, it is cool tech, but FGD is more or less a public space... and these primarily non-discoverable and e2e encrypted services (while nice from a privacy perspective) are the opposite of a public space. If it wasn't for a lack of features and convenient moderation options I would definitely prefer IRC as the public chat as anyone can easily join and participate.
Why do you see secure chat and public spaces as mutually exclusive? The best public "chats" are done anonymously, whichever medium they assume. With many of these systems, granted, you have an ID which separates your messages from those of others, but that's no different from IRC, Mattermost, or any other chat system in that regard. Anyways, the only thing that Mattermost does that IRC don't seems to be the newsfeed, but I'm not fond of that anyhow.
Maybe I haven't used these systems sufficiently, but those that I tried only had encrypted 1 on 1 chats and closed group chats that would not scale well beyond maybe 10 users or so. There is also a discoverability problem in general. I think these systems have their use-cases but public spaces isn't it.
The news feed isn't even a core feature of Mattermost, but just an addon with an RSS feed bot. That could be easily done in IRC as well. I don't even know where to start explaining how much more really useful features for group collaboration Mattermost has compared to IRC... did you even look at it? It's probably closer in functionality to a modern forum system than a pure IRC chat. But we are getting off-topic in an off-topic tread
Edit: RTFM https://docs.mattermost.com/guides/user.html
While discoverability is an issue, I would call that a design flaw that has yet to be addressed as opposed to a diametric antithesis of secure chat. I can't speak for that scalability of 10 users you mention; what would the limiting factor be? Also, how is any of this different from Mumble, which is hosted here?
As for Mattermost, I have not bothered with it beyond the shitty Android app, and from what I've seen, it sucks.
EDIT: Okay, I'll RTFM.
EDIT 2: Okay, I still don't get it. It seems like the kind of thing that a controlling boss would set up to organize a team of engineers. That's great if you want to get stuff done, but what the hell is anybody getting done on FGD? This is a place for lazy open source gamers and floundering game developers. There is no need for (((enterprise collaboration solutions))) but there is need for lulz.
Last edited by fluffrabbit on 09 Aug 2019, 20:59, edited 1 time in total.
AFAIK they are not scalable to public group chats due to two issues, 1. a general problem with too many p2p connections versus a central node to relay messages 2. an encryption issue with having to have 1 on 1 keys for every user and device. (2. also seems to effect some other e2ee but centralized messenger, but in my experience it is less noticeable).
The Android App of Mattermost, especially the "classic" one found on Fdroid is sadly a weak point. It is really all in the web-client for now. The new react native mobile app is slowly catching up though.
edit: I think the future lies in federated messengers with nomadic identities, not fully decentralized p2p ones.
You could do massively scalable text chat using a system similar to ZeroNet. For A/V chat of course you would be limited to a number of users, and you wouldn't want to hear that many voices at once anyways.
Sure, A/V chat is even more problematic. But text chat needs to be more or less real-time (I am already getting annoyed by the laggy [Matrix] chats all the time)... I doubt it can be done without federated relay nodes or centralized servers. But to be honest, I have very little expertise in this topic, so take my opinion with the needed skepticism
With a 1-on-1 connection through several hops, expect 500 ms latency at worst. That's pretty good IMHO. ZeroNet is more like a blockchain so I suppose the latency would be longer, but nobody has problems with high latency in email or forums.
fluffrabbit {l Wrote}: EDIT 2: Okay, I still don't get it. It seems like the kind of thing that a controlling boss would set up to organize a team of engineers. That's great if you want to get stuff done, but what the hell is anybody getting done on FGD? This is a place for lazy open source gamers and floundering game developers. There is no need for (((enterprise collaboration solutions))) but there is need for lulz.
heh , you might be right about that impression... so what can we do to get more lulz into it?
Julius {l Wrote}:
Okay, I guess since you're fixed on Mattermost, I might as well throw some ideas out to that end, though I don't know how feasible these things are.
* Allow posting under the name "Anonymous" without registration
* More memes in the standard emoticon set, especially GIFs with lots of motion
* Reverse the direction of scrolling such that newer posts appear at the top rather than the bottom
* Any post to a thread bumps it
EDIT: Since this is a FLOSS site, meme licensing might be an issue. Here is a public domain meme for starters. There are probably more on OGA. Why do I feel weird about this? I remember when the word "meme" used to imply something more organic, but now it's something one has to work for.
newguineameme1.png (13.5 KiB) Viewed 1984 times
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Ray Nance
Ray Nance in Duke Ellington's orchestra (1943)
Ray Willis Nance
January 28, 1976(1976-01-28) (aged 62)
Trumpeter, vocalist, violinist
Trumpet, vocals, violin
Ray Willis Nance (December 10, 1913, in Chicago – January 28, 1976, in New York City) was a jazz trumpeter, violinist and singer. He is best remembered for his long association with Duke Ellington and his orchestra.
2 Ellington tenure
3 Post-Ellington years
4.1 As leader
4.2 As sideman
Nance was the leader of his own band in Chicago from 1932 to 1937. Then, he worked with Earl Hines from 1937 to 1939; and from 1939 to 1940 he worked with Horace Henderson.
Ellington tenure
Ellington hired Nance to replace trumpeter Cootie Williams, who had joined Benny Goodman, in 1940. Nance's first recorded performance with Ellington was at the Fargo, North Dakota ballroom dance.[1] Shortly after joining the band, Nance was given the trumpet solo on the earliest recorded version of "Take the "A" Train", which became the Ellington theme. Nance's "A Train" solo is one of the most copied and admired trumpet solos in jazz history. Indeed, when Cootie Williams returned to the band more than twenty years later, he would play Nance's solo on "A Train" almost exactly as the original.
Nance was often featured on violin and was the only violin soloist ever featured in Ellington's orchestra (especially noteworthy is his violin contribution to the original 1942 version of "The 'C' Jam Blues"). He is also one of the better known male vocalists associated with Ellington's orchestra. On later recordings of "It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)", Nance took the previously instrumental horn riff into the lead vocal, which constitute the line "Doo wha, doo wha, doo wha, doo wha, yeah!" He was often featured as vocalist on "Jump for Joy," "Just A-Sittin' and A-Rockin'" and "Just Squeeze Me (But Please Don't Tease Me)". His multiple talents (trumpet, violin, vocals and also dancing) earned him the nickname "Floorshow".
Nance was absent from the Duke Ellington Orchestra for around 3–4 months in 1946, including the date of that year's Carnegie Hall concert. In 1949, Ray showed up, along with Ellington sidemen Russell Procope, Johnny Hodges and Sonny Greer on several Ivory Joe Hunter sessions for King Records of Cincinnati.
Post-Ellington years
He left Ellington in 1963 during their Middle East tour after having played alongside his returned predecessor Cootie Williams for a year. He continued to make several guest appearances in the orchestra over the years and later toured and recorded in England in 1974.[1]
Nance made a few recordings as a bandleader, and also recorded or performed with Earl Hines, Rosemary Clooney, Jaki Byard, Chico Hamilton and others.[1]
As leader
Ellingtonia (Wynne, 1959)
Body and Soul (Solid State, 1970)
Huffin' 'n' Puffin' (MPS, 1974)
As sideman
With Ahmed Abdul-Malik
Spellbound (Status, 1964)
With Jaki Byard
Jaki Byard with Strings! (Prestige, 1968)
With Duke Ellington
The Duke at Fargo, 1940: Special 60th Anniversary Edition (Storyville, 1940 performance)
Duke Ellington and His Great Vocalists (Sony, c. 1940s)
Cabin in the Sky Soundtrack (Rhino, 1942 performance)
Indispensable Duke Ellington, Vol. 11–12 (1944–1946) (RCA, 1944–1946 performances) or The Best of the Complete Duke Ellington RCA Recordings, 1944–1946) (RCA, 1944–1946 performances)
Ellington Uptown (includes Harlem Suite, Controversial Suite, Liberian Suite) (Columbia, 1947, 1951, 1952 performances)
Masterpieces by Ellington (Columbia, 1950, 1951 performances)
Ellington '55 (Capitol, 1955) or Jazz Profile (Blue Note, 1950s, 1960s performances)
A Drum Is a Woman (Columbia, 1956)
Blue Rose (With Rosemary Clooney) (1956)
Historically Speaking (1956)
Ellington at Newport (Columbia, 1956)
Such Sweet Thunder (Columbia, 1957)
All Star Road Band (Doctor Jazz, 1957 [1983])
Black, Brown and Beige (Columbia, 1958)
Live at the Blue Note (1958)
Newport 1958 (Columbia, 1958)
Festival Session (Coilumbia, 1959)
Blues in Orbit (Columbia, 1959)
Anatomy of a Murder (Columbia, 1959)
Jazz Party (Columbia, 1959)
Piano in the Background (Columbia, 1960)
Hot Summer Dance (Red Baron, 1960 [1991])
The Nutcracker Suite (Columbia, 1960)
Swinging Suites by Edward E. and Edward G. (1960) (Peer Gynt Suite/Suite Thursday)
First Time! The Count Meets the Duke (Columbia, 1961)
All American in Jazz (Columbia, 1962)
Midnight in Paris (Columbia, 1962)
Duke Ellington Meets Coleman Hawkins (Impulse!, 1962)
The Great Paris Concert (Atlantic, 1963)
Duke Ellington's Jazz Violin Session (Atlantic, 1963)
My People (1963)
Afro-Bossa (Reprise, 1963)
The Symphonic Ellington (1963)
Ellington '66 (1965)
Concert in the Virgin Islands (1966)
In the Uncommon Market (1966)
With Horace Henderson
Horace Henderson 1940, Fletcher Henderson 1941 (Classics, 1992)
With Earl Hines
Rosetta (Jazz Archives, 1937–1939 selections)
1937–1939 (Classics, 1937–1939 performances)
Harlem Lament (Sony, 1937–1938 selections featuring Nance)
Piano Man! (ASV, includes c. 1937–1939 RCA selections)
Earl Hines and the Duke's Men (Delmark, 1944–1947 performances)
1942–1945 (Classics, 1942–1945)
With Johnny Hodges
Ellingtonia '56 (Norgran, 1956)
Duke's in Bed (Verve, 1956)
The Big Sound (Verve, 1957)
Not So Dukish (Verve, 1958)
Triple Play (RCA Victor, 1967)
With Budd Johnson
Budd Johnson and the Four Brass Giants (Riverside, 1960)
With Joya Sherrill
Joya Sherrill Sings Duke (20th Century Fox, 1965)
^ a b c "Ray Nance | Biography, Albums, & Streaming Radio". AllMusic. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
Lambert, Eddie (1998), Duke Ellington: A Listener's Guide, Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, ISBN 978-0-8108-3161-2 .
allmusic.com biography
Duke Ellington (discography)
Harlem Jazz, 1930
Ellingtonia, Vol. One
Ellingtonia, Vol. Two
The Blanton–Webster Band
Never No Lament: The Blanton-Webster Band
Braggin' in Brass: The Immortal 1938 Year
Liberian Suite
Great Times!
Masterpieces by Ellington
Ellington Uptown
The Duke Plays Ellington
Ellington '55
Dance to the Duke!
Ellington Showcase
Duke Ellington Presents...
The Complete Porgy and Bess
A Drum Is a Woman
Studio Sessions, Chicago 1956
Such Sweet Thunder
Ellington Indigos
Black, Brown and Beige
Duke Ellington at the Bal Masque
The Cosmic Scene
Happy Reunion
Jazz Party
Anatomy of a Murder
Festival Session
Blues in Orbit
Piano in the Background
Swinging Suites by Edward E. and Edward G.
Unknown Session
Piano in the Foreground
The Great Summit: The Master Takes
First Time! The Count Meets the Duke
Duke Ellington & John Coltrane
Featuring Paul Gonsalves
Studio Sessions 1957 & 1962
Duke Ellington Meets Coleman Hawkins
Studio Sessions, New York 1962
Money Jungle
Afro-Bossa
The Symphonic Ellington
Duke Ellington's Jazz Violin Session
Studio Sessions New York 1963
Duke Ellington Plays Mary Poppins
Concert in the Virgin Islands
The Popular Duke Ellington
The Far East Suite
The Jaywalker
Studio Sessions, 1957, 1965, 1966, 1967, San Francisco, Chicago, New York
...And His Mother Called Him Bill
Second Sacred Concert
Studio Sessions New York, 1968
Latin American Suite
New Orleans Suite
The Suites, New York 1968 & 1970
The Intimacy of the Blues
The Afro-Eurasian Eclipse
Studio Sessions New York & Chicago, 1965, 1966 & 1971
The Intimate Ellington
The Ellington Suites
This One's for Blanton!
Up in Duke's Workshop
Duke's Big 4
Mood Ellington
Duke Ellington at Fargo, 1940 Live
Black, Brown, and Beige
The Carnegie Hall Concerts: January 1943
The Carnegie Hall Concerts: December 1944
Ellington at Newport
Dance Concerts, California 1958
Dance Dates, California 1958
Jazz at the Plaza Vol. II
Duke Ellington at the Alhambra
Live at the Blue Note
Hot Summer Dance
The Great Paris Concert
A Concert of Sacred Music
In the Uncommon Market
Soul Call
Yale Concert
70th Birthday Concert
Togo Brava Suite
Live at the Whitney
Third Sacred Concert
Eastbourne Performance
Serenade to Sweden
It Don't Mean a Thing If It Ain't Got That Swing
Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Duke Ellington Song Book
Ella at Duke's Place
The Stockholm Concert, 1966
Ella and Duke at the Cote D'Azur
Francis A. & Edward K.
"African Flower"
"All Too Soon"
"Azure"
"Black and Tan Fantasy"
"Black, Brown and Beige"
"Cotton Tail"
"Creole Love Call"
"Day Dream"
"Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue"
"Do Nothing Till You Hear from Me"
"Don't Get Around Much Anymore"
"Drop Me Off in Harlem"
"East St. Louis Toodle-Oo"
"Echoes of Harlem"
"Everything but You"
"I Ain't Got Nothin' but the Blues"
"I Didn't Know About You"
"I Got It Bad (and That Ain't Good)"
"I Let a Song Go Out of My Heart"
"I'm Beginning to See the Light"
"I'm Just a Lucky So-and-So"
"In a Mellow Tone"
"In a Sentimental Mood"
"It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)"
"Just A-Sittin' and A-Rockin'"
"Just Squeeze Me (But Please Don't Tease Me)"
"The Mooche"
"Mood Indigo"
" Prelude to a Kiss"
"Rocks in My Bed"
"(In My) Solitude"
"Sophisticated Lady"
by Billy Strayhorn
"Take the "A" Train"
"Lush Life"
"Chelsea Bridge"
"Something to Live For"
"Satin Doll"
"Blood Count"
by Juan Tizol
"Perdido"
Hayes Alvis
Cat Anderson
Ivie Anderson
Harold Ashby
Alice Babs
Butch Ballard
Art Baron
Aaron Bell
Louie Bellson
Barney Bigard
Lou Blackburn
Jimmy Blanton
Wellman Braud
Lawrence Brown
Harry Carney
Willie Cook
Buster Cooper
Kay Davis
Wild Bill Davis
Wilbur de Paris
Bobby Durham
Mercer Ellington
Rolf Ericson
Jimmy Forrest
Victor Gaskin
Peter Giger
Tyree Glenn
Paul Gonsalves
Fred Guy
Otto Hardwick
Rick Henderson
Al Hibbler
Major Holley
Charlie Irvis
Quentin Jackson
Hilton Jefferson
Herb Jeffries
Freddie Jenkins
Money Johnson
Herbie Jones
Taft Jordan
Al Killian
Queen Esther Marrow
Wendell Marshall
Murray McEachern
Louis Metcalf
James "Bubber" Miley
Harold "Geezil" Minerve
Tricky Sam Nanton
Oscar Pettiford
Eddie Preston
Russell Procope
Junior Raglin
Betty Roché
Ernie Royal
Al Sears
Joya Sherrill
Elmer Snowden
Rex Stewart
Juan Tizol
Norris Turney
Arthur Whetsol
Cootie Williams
Nelson Williams
Skippy Williams
Booty Wood
Jimmy Woode
Britt Woodman
Mercer Ellington (son)
Duke Ellington Bridge
Duke Ellington Circle
Duke Ellington House
Luther Henderson
Sophisticated Ladies
Play On!
Sacred Concerts
BIBSYS: 61804
MusicBrainz: a765d3e6-0a39-4910-b0d8-f80557be846d
SNAC: w6kh1jr4
source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Nance
Billy Ecksteine
Bob Haggart
Carl Jefferson
Earl Fatha’ Hines
Jimmy Witherspoon
Mel Powel
Nat Pierce
Stéphane Grappelli
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Forums General Users’ Forum
Wesnoth2, Wesnoth, Inc, and other things
General feedback and discussion of the game.
Founding Developer
Post by Dave » August 17th, 2016, 5:24 am
For some time now, myself and a few other developers have been working off-and-on on a project we are calling "wesnoth2". Normally I don't like to discuss projects I work on when they are still in a fairly speculative phase, because many projects in this phase end up not working out, and I do not like to get people excited about something which may or may not pan out.
However, I have received some questions about wesnoth2 -- specifically what it is, what direction it is going in, and perhaps most importantly what it means for Wesnoth. So I am going to talk about it a little here.
Wesnoth has been a very successful project. It has allowed many people to come together and collaborate on a fun Open Source game. Wesnoth2 is an effort to see if we can do that all over again -- make a fun Open Source strategy game which is driven by a wonderful community. It would use modern technology, opening us up to many new possibilities, be much more flexible, and use some lessons learned from Wesnoth to tweak its approach slightly.
I want to begin by saying the name "wesnoth2" is simply a name we are currently using for it. It might end up being a true successor to Wesnoth and earn the title "Wesnoth2". It might end up being a different game that uses many of the principles we learned on Wesnoth, and end up with a different name. Currently we are experimenting with possibilities.
So what are we working on, more specifically? We are importing many of Wesnoth's assets -- terrain graphics, unit art, sounds, etc, to be used in Anura, the engine that has been developed by myself and some others, and on which Frogatto, Argentum Age, and several other games have used.
We are working on making a game prototype for a strategy game. Rather than re-implement Wesnoth's rules directly, we thought it would be more exciting and fresher to build a new game with new and different mechanics. It will still be a hex-based fantasy strategy game with much of the feel of Wesnoth, but the mechanics and rules will be different.
We want to progress in a similar manner to the way Wesnoth did. Distribute the game. People who enjoy it can improve it. Build a community around it. Allow for user created content. And we want the engine to be powerful and flexible enough so that Wesnoth1 can be fully reimplemented in it. As long as we are successful and there is interest that is something we definitely would like to do.
There are some things we would do a little differently, a few lessons we have learned from Wesnoth. I will list some things here:
- wesnoth2 is being developed on the Anura engine which is available under the zlib/libpng license which is GPL compatible. It is more permissive than the GPL.
- The actual gameplay code for wesnoth2 will most likely be made available under the GPL though we haven't made a final decision on this.
- We would like to move art and music and other content to a different license, such as a creative commons license. A code license such as the GPL makes no sense for content.
- Importantly, we want to clarify that while wesnoth2 is committed to being a community-driven open source effort we see the benefit of being able to have monetized distribution in some markets. The App Store, for instance, has been highly beneficial for Wesnoth. To allow for this, we will ask contributors of core code and content to license their code and content to Wesnoth, Inc in a way that ensures we can do this.
- We want to drive more experimentation and rewarding of new ideas in Wesnoth2. We want to try new game mechanics. New approaches to presenting storyline. New graphical effects. In Wesnoth1 there has been a problem where the amount of prestige associated with a developer is how long they have been with the project (seniority/tenure) and how many commits they have. Newer contributors have struggled with not feeling like they are "core developers" or can effect change. I want to change this with Wesnoth2. I'm not sure we have all the answers on how to change this, but one component is building it using a technology where contributors can try things out without having to rely on a C++ developer to implement things for them, and where things can be modularized better.
- In reference to the previous point we want to have a culture of "If You Implement It, We'll Try It". What does that mean? Suppose someone comes along and says "hey guys the randomness in Wesnoth is really frustrating. I can implement a system with less randomness that I think will make the game more fun." Rather than reacting with disdain and contempt and an explanation of why our amount of randomness is good. This person could implement their scheme -- protecting it with a flag so the old way can still be used -- and then we can turn their feature on by default for at least one development patch. People can try it out, see if they like it. Give feedback. That way the idea gets a fair shot rather than people just immediately rushing to reject it.
What does all this mean for Wesnoth1? I would say at this point, nothing. Wesnoth2 is still an experiment, nothing more. Hopefully it will grow to something one day, but that day isn't here yet and I don't have a time frame for when it will occur.
Now perhaps one day Wesnoth2 will grow to subsume Wesnoth1. But if it does so it will only do so because it deserves to -- if all the experiences that you can get with Wesnoth1 are made available with Wesnoth2. Otherwise they may just remain as different games, both standing in their own right.
If anyone is interested in seeing what we have for wesnoth2 at this time they are welcome to do so. Here is the Wesnoth2 design document, describing the current ruleset: https://github.com/anura-engine/wesnoth ... n-Document
Wesnoth2 code is available on github: https://github.com/anura-engine/wesnoth2/
You will need the Anura engine to run it: https://github.com/anura-engine/anura
If anybody wants to get involved in a game project at this early stage (noting that it's quite a different experience to developing on a mature project like Wesnoth1) we certainly welcome help. Let me know and we can help you get set up.
Finally, I recognize that there has been a good deal of misunderstanding, lack of transparency, and general anxiety in the community around the development of Wesnoth and its relationship to our corporate setup, Wesnoth, Inc.
When we first started Wesnoth, Inc, it was designed to manage the revenue from the App Store, and we had a board, consisting of myself, Turuk, and Noy. However, Turuk and Noy are barely around anymore.
So, I want to re-establish a board of three members, with me as president. These three members would be nominated by the community with a recommendation vote from which I will select the three board members.
Wesnoth, Inc will establish a charter, describing its goals -- which will largely be to further the interests of Wesnoth, and other open source games we may develop (such as Wesnoth2).
Board members will be up for re-election once per year, but as long as they are fulfilling their duties well and want to continue I would expect to keep the same board members.
The board will make any decisions such as where to spend Wesnoth Inc's finances, and any markets (such as the app store) to distribute our games on (free markets such as Linux/OSX/Windows/etc would not require the board's approval, only markets which require signed agreements etc).
I hope this clarifies things for people. I am happy to answer any questions.
“At Gambling, the deadly sin is to mistake bad play for bad luck.” -- Ian Fleming
Re: Wesnoth2, Wesnoth, Inc, and other things
Post by Pentarctagon » August 17th, 2016, 6:34 am
Neat, thanks for posting this. The default gameplay sounds like it would be somewhat more interesting than current wesnoth, with the extra mechanics, though assuming modding (or a setting) allows it the first thing I do will be disabling critical chance. Getting unlucky misses or an enemy getting lucky hits is one thing, but an enemy getting a string of lucky crits would be even worse
Andrettin
Joined: September 2nd, 2013, 5:40 pm
Post by Andrettin » August 17th, 2016, 6:36 am
Looking at the GitHub repository, one thing which immediately caught my attention was a data file for elvish buildings. Are buildings going to be taggable or buildable (apparently the latter since it has a hitpoints variable)?
Wyrmsun (RTS Game)
ForestDragon
Post by ForestDragon » August 17th, 2016, 6:45 am
neat idea! btw, is making addons going to be still in WML (but with the ability to create new mechanics like you said)?
My active add-ons: [WIP] Ogres Era
My inactive add-ons: Tale of Alan (1.12),The Golden Age (1.12/1.13),XP Bank (1.14),Alliances Mod(1.14) (all add-ons no longer supported)
Co-creator of Era of Magic
Pentarctagon wrote: Neat, thanks for posting this. The default gameplay sounds like it would be somewhat more interesting than current wesnoth, with the extra mechanics, though assuming modding (or a setting) allows it the first thing I do will be disabling critical chance. Getting unlucky misses or an enemy getting lucky hits is one thing, but an enemy getting a string of lucky crits would be even worse
So, I don't really want to get into a discussion of what will/won't work before people have had a chance to try things out. I think a big thing with Wesnoth2 is asking people to keep an open mind and try gameplay mechanics.
However I want to note that the idea of the critical chance system is to have some randomness with much less than in Wesnoth1. The idea is that in Wesnoth you might have 60% chance to hit. A string of misses feels really bad. In Wesnoth2 you might end up with 100% chance to hit and a 10% chance to deal a critical hit (double damage). This will provide a much more consistent outcome than Wesnoth1 while still allowing the winds of fate to shift a battle a little and the unpredictable to happen.
Andrettin wrote: Looking at the GitHub repository, one thing which immediately caught my attention was a data file for elvish buildings. Are buildings going to be taggable or buildable (apparently the latter since it has a hitpoints variable)?
Buildings are covered in the design doc I linked.
some of the current rules remind me of Era of High Sorcery, but most of them seem like ripoff-over-complicated-ness (guard mode for example), well, buildings can easily be implemented in wesnoth-1 too using WML, so i don't see much new in this
ForestDragon wrote: neat idea! btw, is making addons going to be still in WML (but with the ability to create new mechanics like you said)?
We will have add-ons but with a new language/system for implementing them, which will be more flexible than WML.
Post by Dugi » August 17th, 2016, 7:20 am
Dave wrote: However I want to note that the idea of the critical chance system is to have some randomness with much less than in Wesnoth1.
These criticals are a great idea. Adds a lot of surprises into the game. In Wesnoth1, if your unit was to be attacked by a unit with a 7-3, you could be sure that the unit shall take no more than 21 damage. In Wesnoth2, a series of criticals can happen, causing the unit can take up to 42 damage with a low probability. Makes protecting your critical units a great challenge. Amazing. [/sarcasm]
Dave wrote: We will have add-ons but with a new language/system for implementing them, which will be more flexible than WML.
Hm, to add some constructive criticism, maybe this could be a place to use something that would allow large add-ons to be developed comfortably, something object-oriented like LLVM, Julia or Java.
Also, why are you re-implementing a game that was sometimes criticised for having 2D graphics like games in the '90s again in 2D? Why don't you stick with Blender Game Engine or something? Without 2D graphics, units can share animations, gear parts and weapons easily, saving tons of time on spritework and allowing units to have large numbers of high quality animations.
Dave wrote: Buildings are covered in the design doc I linked.
Oops, I missed that, sorry.
Dugi wrote: Also, why are you re-implementing a game that was sometimes criticised for having 2D graphics like games in the '90s again in 2D? Why don't you stick with Blender Game Engine or something? Without 2D graphics, units can share animations, gear parts and weapons easily, saving tons of time on spritework and allowing units to have large numbers of high quality animations.
But 3D art doesn't look as good as pixel art
i kinda agree on that
Aldarisvet
Joined: February 23rd, 2015, 2:39 pm
Post by Aldarisvet » August 17th, 2016, 8:17 am
Dugi wrote: Without 2D graphics, units can share animations, gear parts and weapons easily, saving tons of time on spritework and allowing units to have large numbers of high quality animations.
Tons of work with sprites was already made for Wesnoth, you cant just put it into trash.
Also I pesonally do not like 3D in general, it is to complex to my eyes. The game where I liked 3D the first and only time was Deus Ex HR, but that is totally another game genre, for the turn based strategy you neednt 3D.
facebook.com/wesnothian/ - everyday something new about Wesnoth
My campaign:A Whim of Fate, also see Zombies:Introduction single map campaign
Art thread:Mostly frankenstains
Aldarisvet wrote:
Yes, and also; animations and equipment can be made reusable by multiple units by using layers (to make efficient use of them would require i.e. all dwarves to have the same size regardless of level though).
Joined: October 6th, 2011, 5:42 pm
Post by taptap » August 17th, 2016, 9:10 am
Kind of sad to see the creator of BfW undo a lot of the game design decisions that made Battle for Wesnoth the game it is. The anxiety regarding Wesnoth is due to pitching a completely different game as potential successor.
I am a Saurian Skirmisher: I'm a real pest, especially at night.
Andrettin wrote: But 3D art doesn't look as good as pixel art
Very few people can draw it well. The others have to rely on frankensteining, recolouring and small touches. This means that many art contributions are rejected for being low quality, add-ons are bashed for having lots of 'bad frankensteins', many units don't get animated because the people who've made them only made the baseframes, ignoring the problem that they're the only ones with the ability to create an animation Jetrel would not reject. Wesnoth's percentage of animated units is going down on the long term. 3D could be a redemption.
Also, 3D art can also look very artistic, not all games have low polygon fixed function shaded models.
Andrettin wrote: animations and equipment can be made reusable by multiple units by using layers (to make efficient use of them would require i.e. all dwarves to have the same size regardless of level though).
And also have all poses identical. That's ridiculous.
taptap wrote: Kind of sad to see the creator of BfW undo a lot of the game design decisions that made Battle for Wesnoth the game it is. The anxiety regarding Wesnoth is due to pitching a completely different game as potential successor.
Yeah, this has the potential to remove the game's variety in order to make a few things simpler. Like the Diablo 2 to Diablo 3 transition which made all characters have identical gear requirements.
i guess this so called 'Wesnoth2' could rather be a spinoff than a sequel, since yeah, i agree with taptap, a sequel must not be an entirely different game with just some same art
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Shareholders are important stakeholders of companies. In recent times the position of shareholders has become more and more scrutinized, partly as a result of activist measures they have taken, sometimes resulting in the breaking up of large corporations. At the other hand of the spectrum we see minority shareholders being marginalised and even forced to transfer their shares.
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About ‘Explaining Sex and Gender Differences’
Explaining Sex and Gender Differences
the online companion to GNDR 335 Fall 2011
« Caster Semenya & Abel Barbin: The Medical Construction of Their “True” Sex
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“If a doula were a drug, it would be unethical not to use it.” -Dr. John H. Kennell
Throughout the past week our class has discussed hermaphrodites, or what are now known as intersexed people their origins and growth within the social understanding of sex. In one of our discussion, the issue of the medicalization of birth was addressed.
In the 1900’s 50% of babies were still being delivered by midwives. Though the middle and upper-class had accepted that the intervention of a physician was necessary, the lower half of society didn’t have that luxury. They relied on midwives to help with birth, or ran the risk of loosing their if there were complications. Midwives were prepared to live with a mother from the onset of labor until the mother was fully recovered, and some stayed until the mother and child were situated into their new life within a family. Usually there was one midwife for every village or small town that assisted with every birth possible. Doctors saw midwives as “hopelessly dirty, ignorant, and incompetent, relics of a barbaric past” (78). The funny this is, if midwives had not been around at the time, the infant mortality rate would have been much greater. There were not enough doctors at the time to help deliver children being born across the country. (From Exorcising The Midwives, Ehrenreich and English)
Currently, 35 of the 50 states allow non-nurse midwives while the other 15 prohibit them. “Today, the likelihood that midwife-assisted home-births can occur without surgical intervention, with low infant mortality rate and at much lower coast is as good or better as in hospitals. $13 billion to $20 billion can be saved every year in health care costs by developing midwifery care, making childbirth less of a medical procedure. (From Efforts Continue to Legalize Midwifery Nationwide).
Presently though midwives are still apparent, doulas have become a much more popular mode of assistance for pregnant mothers of the 21st century.
“If a doula were a drug, it would be unethical not to use it.”
Dr. John H. Kennell
This quote comes from a wonderful website called A Blissful Transition. Doulas have become the present day midwife. They are there not only to assist in emotional support for a mother while she is in labor, but also with things like breast feeding and a less likely chance of postpartum depression. My girlfriend’s older sister had a doula for both of her births. Rachel chose to have a doula because she wanted to have a home birth initially. Her first child was an emergency c-section so that was not possible. Rachel wanted it to be as natural as possible, she wanted it to be personal; no drugs, no people that don’t know her. She wanted to make it through what most people called a nasty ugly process as calmly as possible. Rachel’s best friend Laura was her doula for all three births. Laura was there more for emotional support and helping for adjustment into the family than help with the actual births. Rachel’s second birth also had to be in the hospital because it was a v-bac. Rachel went to Le Leche League, a national breast feeding and support group organization to be more oriented as a mother in addition to having her doula. If you are looking to have childbirth be as natural as possible, having a doula is the best way to go. There is more support than you would ever receive from a doctor or hospital nurse.
For those that have never considered a home birth, or a less medicalized childbirth a doula can be a wonderful alternative. Here is the link for A Blissful Transition (www.ablissfultransition.org) if people are interested in more information.
-Sarah Klapperich
Tags a blissful transition, doula, hermaphrodite, intersex, Le Leche League, midwife
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About FC
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A two-way defender in the Ryan McDonagh mold…this big wing-spanned blueliner is just scratching the surface of his ability…the big Texan is a minute-muncher who can contribute at both ends of the ice…a steadying presence in his own zone…strong and physical, not afraid to flex his muscle and willing to play it nasty if required…pins his man and does not let him back into the play…generates decent speed and keeps his gaps tight because of his reach and skating…handles the puck well, although not overly flashy or very creative offensively…can play in all situations…plays a strong transition game, moving the puck quickly and accurately up to his forwards…does not back down from a battle…his point shot is improving with added strength…has loads of room to grow, but also the potential to be a difference-maker at the NHL level.
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A Fox’s Larder
On August 25, 2016 By gallowayfarmIn UncategorizedLeave a comment
A piece of rotting meat lies beneath
Interesting to note a fox “caching” surplus food on the back hill. Unable to eat an entire dead sheep in a single sitting, the wily beast had been stashing bits and pieces all across the surrounding countryside. The old sheep’s skeleton had been tidied up and cleared away by the shepherd, but a mattress of wool showed where she had turned up her toes. And in a radius of three hundred yards, every little tussock and tump had a little nosed dent full of rotting meat, plugged with a gobbet of moss.
I know this because I own a labrador which lingers permanently on the verge of starvation and is pathologically incapable of ignoring protein. With steely determination, she found as many of these little stashes as she could before I finally realised what she was doing and managed to stop her.
Rather than let the carrion vanish into some buzzard, the fox had the presence of mind to hide its meal. I found evidence of crows doing the same several years ago (May 2010), and while this is not necessarily mind-blowingly novel, it’s one of the few situations when the otherwise awful American adjective “neat” is appropriate.
Developing Trees
Hawthorn and birches growing nicely
Very satisfying to spend the afternoon visiting one of my little half-acre plantations which I scattered around some of the lower ground in 2010 and 2011. I’ve been trickling trees into these patches for the last five years and some of the first are now really getting away, with several aspens and birches well over fifteen feet tall. Ironically, one of the best birch trees was self-sown – I don’t know where it came from, but it has been racing far ahead of all competition for the last three years. I can no longer get both hands around the base of the stump, and the summit is now a stringy whip over twenty feet high.
I found extensive evidence that roe have been using my little woods, and a few of the aspens have been frayed into non-existence. I’m not bothered by this in the slightest – I want these trees to grow ragged and patchy, and I hope one day to establish a steady population of roe on the hill. As it is, the ubiquitous sheep deter most prospective roe, and any deer willing to explore the hill are usually mopped up by forestry stalkers on neighbouring ground who mistake annihilation for management and see march fences as no obstacle.
Long-term readers of this blog will remember my fixation with planting hedges a few years ago. This was partly to encourage grey partridges by lowland methods and also to find a way of introducing corridors over open ground to break up wide-open vistas and provide wildlife with some safety and cover. These hedges have all done really well, and while some plug hawthorn plants have grown to six feet tall, the bare-rooters have been superb slow-burners, creeping outwards into huge, straggling spiders which now stand at belt-buckle height. I also inherited a sack full of iris tubers and these have gone from strength to strength in the wetter areas – altogether, these little patches look much better than they did. Paying for their improvement ourselves without grants or funding also adds a fresh degree of freedom, experimentation and flexibility.
While all of this work was carried out to provide additional feeding and cover for black grouse, it’s important not to see the job as done. There is a school of thought which views little copses and spinneys as the very pinnacle of habitat work for black grouse. I’ve seen thousands of pounds spent on black grouse conservation over the past seven or eight years, and almost all of it has gone on planting native woodland, as if trees were the sole panacea for black grouse declines.
Having been brought up in one of the most staggeringly afforested counties in Britain, I am generally cynical about the value of planting trees for black grouse, particularly since this planting usually comes at the expense of open ground that is often a far more crucial habitat type. I’ve still never seen a conservation project where simply planting trees produced a sustainable improvement in black grouse numbers, and I don’t think I ever will. The small, experimental plantings on the Chayne are part of a wider approach which also balances the value of predator control and the management of open ground, farmland and moorland. Unfortunately, money and the impetus lies entirely with the tree-planters, and thousands of pounds will continue to pour into woodland creation when the answer is clearly so much more complex.
Snipe Chick
Interesting to have a snipe chick brought to me last night by the dog. We flushed an adult snipe as we walked through the long grass, and it raised suspicions by fluttering only forty yards before dropping back in again. My first reaction was that it was a jack snipe, as this reluctance to fly long distances when pressed is one of the best ways of spotting a jack, but on reflection, August is way too soon to have these cracking little birds back in Galloway. It never occurred to me that it could be an adult snipe with young, as we’re now approaching the end of August and I thought that the prospect of chicks had surely passed.
As it was, the dog showed extreme interest in the spot where the snipe had flushed, and when I next turned round to see her, she was bringing me an unhappy bundle of down and gangling limbs. The chick was well feathered on its wings and breast, but it totally lacked a tail and still had the attractive chick down markings on its face and neck. It was in the process of growing proper adult feathers on its head, but these were restricted to a thin stripe of quills down the middle of its head like a mohican. It really was a remarkable and stunning little bird, and I gave it a quick MOT to be sure the dog hadn’t hurt it.
Its legs were absurdly spindly, and I was relieved that it was unharmed by the experience. It managed to fill my hand with crap, and then I placed it gently on the ground. With a little shake, it found its bearings and began to walk off briskly into the rushes as if the experience had been little more than a slight inconvenience. It walked with a very upright, slightly unsteady posture, with its head tipped forward and its stubby wings folded as neatly as the situation would allow over its back. It passed behind a patch of scabious and bog star and I never saw it again – extraordinary camouflage swallowed it up.
My book on waders (Nethersole-Thompson) suggests that this little bird was probably only around six weeks old (although I’m happy to be disabused). Wader chicks develop very quickly on a high protein diet, and looking at its wings, this chick could easily have flown away (or at least fluttered away) from us. As it was, it banked on remaining hidden and was simply unlucky to be found. But if this chick was six weeks old, it must have hatched in early/mid July. Snipe eggs take 19 days to hatch, so the clutch must have been laid in late June. This dramatically increases my understanding of snipe breeding seasons, having noted the discovery of eggs in March and chicks in early April on this blog over the last few years. It now implies that eggs can be laid any time from mid March to mid June, and the success of this chick (although still far from guaranteed) suggests that this flexibility is a useful asset.
Snipe are markedly more determined (and successful) in their breeding on the Chayne than any other wader – a fact upheld by the constant (and possibly rising) numbers of breeding pairs, which is in stark contrast to the vanished lapwing and oystercatchers and the steady decline of the curlew. Snipe nests are harder to find than many of their peers and their breeding efforts are tenacious and flexible – in a crumbling countryside, they are one of the few stalwarts. This discovery was particularly rewarding because I’ve now seen young snipe at every stage of development, from still-wet chick to idle adolescent. This middle-stage of downy teenager was the only one I had never found.
Reverting to Type
On August 15, 2016 August 15, 2016 By gallowayfarmIn UncategorizedLeave a comment
A view of the enclosure after 7 growing seasons – heather patchy inside, microscopic without, but now uneaten grasses inside are start to swamp new growth
One of my first experiments on beginning Working for Grouse was to fence off a small area of heavily overgrazed heather on the hill. I called this my “heather laboratory” – it was less than half an acre and initially taught me more about fencing than it did about botany, but with benefit of six years (seven growing seasons) of hindsight, there have been some really useful lessons to come from this little project.
Cottongrass bounced back within weeks. The show of cottongrass fruits (white bobbles) was exceptional in year one and has been declining ever after. This was an indication that i) the sheep were exerting a serious pressure on cottongrass flowers in March and ii) in common with many other grasses, cottongrass seems to be invigorated by grazing and becomes less productive without livestock.
Flowering plants like bog asphodel, bedstraw and tormentil did very well until choked out by grasses which really came into their own in year 5 and 6. Several species of lichen prospered in the early days, and some of these have been able to sustain dominance.
After decades of overgrazing, the heather showed almost no improvement in year 1. It’s almost as if it needed an entire growing season to “catch its breath” and regroup. When it did begin to grow, it picked up pace which accelerated inconsistently within the margins of successive good and bad growing seasons.
Moss (not sphagnum species, but dry mosses) prospered and grew at a surprisingly brisk rate. As the heather grew, it provided a scaffolding for moss which climbed up beneath the heather canopy until heather plants simply became large tussocks of moss decorated with a few growing sprigs of heather. After 7 growing seasons, some of these tussocks are now twelve inches deep or more, almost totally burying the heather plants. This moss was a revelation because it does not prosper in any meaningful way outside the enclosure because i) the heather is not big enough to provide scaffolding for growth and domination, ii) moss is repeatedly trampled and kept in check by sheep and cows, and iii) some of these mosses are eaten by sheep in the worst days of winter.
Sitka spruce scrub began to appear in year 2. Some trees are now almost a foot high.
Heather beetle struck the heather in year 4 and 5, killing many of the resurging heather plants. It is likely that heather beetle has been part of this property’s story for many years, and almost immediately the uniform carpet of heather was broken into patches. Deep moss growth beneath heather plants meant that there has been almost no regeneration from roots. Beetle grumbled on in years 6 and 7, scarring the heather and making it tufty. Recovery was not great, and much of the heather looks tatty in the “lollipop” style.
It is now apparent in year 7 that grasses are beginning to dominate. The patch actively requires livestock to maintain a healthy balance of grass and heather. Even deer grass is building into mats which will soon be too thick to allow growth from seed. Molinia (purple moor grass) is beginning to get a hold here and there, posing a threat to the future viability of heather coverage.
In the grand scheme of things, heather moorland is an unnatural ecosystem. In many (but not all) cases, heather fills the gap during a transitional phase as habitats revert into woodland. Humans keep moorland in this early phase because it provides us with all kinds of benefits, including biodiversity and agricultural potential. I am watching these first stirrings of change in this little enclosure, and the results are fascinating as various species rise and fall in their ability to dominate the natural resources.
Most compelling of all, the experience is teaching me that moorland is not an easily defined habitat. On the East coast, moors are defined by wall-to-wall heather – the kind of ground which riles up anti-grouse shooting enthusiasts with accusations of “monoculture!” In reality, this is just a kind of dry, heather-friendly moorland which lends itself particularly to the production of grouse. This ground also owes part of its success in productivity to a meteorological quirk which has rendered the East coast better suited to the production of small, rain-sensitive chicks.
It seems that moorland in Galloway (at least in the early 21st Century) is a grassier, more varied blend of species with heather on the back foot, fighting to stand still in a world of grass. This much is obvious in the Galloway hills a few miles further West, most of which run very green in summer and then white in winter. This boggier, peatier kind of ground is less ideally suited to grouse, but because it is grassier it tends to be very popular with voles and pipits, which then encourage specialized predators like harriers, short eared owls – all fine by me.
From a black grouse perspective, the grassy blend is ideal – some of the best black grouse habitat (and particularly breeding habitat) I’ve seen is made up of this kind of scruffy, rushy, heathery blend. Perhaps one of the major changes in the 20th Century is that Galloway (which once described itself as the “land of birch and rowan tree”) now fails to produce much native broadleaf scrub when grazing pressure is relieved. Instead, idle ground soon finds itself with a thin stubble of self-sown sitka spruce. For every birch that has grown on the big hill since our fires in 2012, twenty spruces are now coming through, and this is a serious issue for the long term preservation of open ground.
Moorland is a many-faceted habitat, with wide variation even within Scotland. I look forward to the future of this little enclosure, which has repaid in knowledge the effort of building it many times over.
Inglorious Conflict
On August 9, 2016 August 9, 2016 By gallowayfarmIn Uncategorized3 Comments
I always wonder whether or not it’s worth writing about the politics of grouse shooting. It’s usually not. Over the past few years, the birds have become a rallying point for all kinds of opposition to shooting, and it feels like my contribution (although based on practical experience) would be meaningless in a world of glib hashtags and demonstrations.
In an effort to gain mass support for a ban on grouse shooting, it has been necessary to simplify the main arguments to make them easily digestible to as many people as possible. That’s why we’ve been seeing preposterous headlines like “grouse shooting makes your village flood”, or “Gamekeepers burn peat to speed up global warming”. Delicate, complex arguments have been polarised into tub-thumping absurdity; Facebook-friendly soundbites which make it easy to garner a sense of injury and injustice. More than anything, I’m disappointed by how ready some people are to dive in and condemn upland management without pausing to consider that they might only have half (or less than half) of the story.
So I’d been trying to stay out of it. That was until a recent drive on social media tried to suggest that harriers would be “one of our most common birds of prey” without the spectre of gamekeepers. This is taking a nuanced, interpretative point beyond the realm of reason. As it happens, I think that there are some things about grouse moor management that I would like to change. There are some strong arguments to make in the name of reform and refinement, but these are not advanced by the clamorous recital of half-truths and craziness.
As the campaign to tackle grouse shooting gathers momentum, there is a feeling that “anything goes”. You can make any accusation you like against gamekeepers because everyone knows how difficult it is to secure convictions for wildlife crime, and in a world where proof is hard to come by, why not cut it out of the loop altogether? Earlier in the year, there was a photograph of a peregrine with blood on its legs. This was circulated with the caption “peregrine shot by gamekeepers”. Last year, a photograph of a buzzard missing a few wing feathers was captioned “buzzard displays bullet wounds”. Neither of these incidents were ever confirmed or elaborated upon, but they were well publicised regardless.
Alongside some of this subjective, baseless mud-slinging, there are basic, fundamental errors which sometimes suggest that the campaign is snowballing beyond reason. People routinely scream about tame grouse reared in pens and released onto the moor, despite the fact that this is categorically untrue. Police are called to investigate piles of poison left on the moor only to find that it was just flint grit. Animal Aid released an outrageous document which informed readers that Scotland is home to a spurious fifth species of grouse known as “willow ptarmigan” (I’m amazed they still haven’t changed this). This level of misinformation seems to have no brake; in recent weeks, it seems to have grown exponentially to incorporate a more general and ambiguous dissatisfaction with the world which has little or no bearing on the subject in hand. In this environment, a “top five reasons to ban grouse shooting” might one day read:
Posh people are the worst.
Grouse abduct children.
Flooding and stuff.
Er, horse meat scandal?
I have to get up in the night to pee.
An Autumnal Wink
On August 5, 2016 By gallowayfarmIn UncategorizedLeave a comment
Ripening
Walking the new pup this morning, it suddenly felt like Autumn. Just as you sometimes get a wink of spring in February, the hills had a still, dusty tiredness which felt like change. A brood of young buzzards were stretching their wings and mewling to one another above the bog myrtle and the ripening bramble fruit. Whitethroats clashed their tiny gears in warning as we ambled by, and the hedges twitched to the parcour passage of young wrens. The ditches are full of vetch, the best summer for this little pea I can ever remember, even in Devon where I spent the weekend at a friend’s wedding. In the South, the downs were full of gatekeeper butterflies, while here the buddleia is alive with stunning admirals, fresh out of the mint with paint still wet.
The roe rut runs on, and a heavy-fronted bruiser smashed the bracken as I passed this morning, yapping as he went. The pup sat down in curiosity at this din, and the hard, sporey bracken reeked across the track. As I came in, a peregrine passed high overhead, mobbed by a score of swallow hooligans. These teenage gangs have nothing better to do than cause trouble while the living is easy, and although there are other youngsters still in the nest, these gatherings have a joyful, adolescent feel. The grouse season is now a week away, and this to me is always the first of many downward steps into autumn. I generally dislike the expression “harvest” in its sporting context, but there is no better word to describe the gathering of a summer’s crop of young birds from beneath the flowering heather.
The swifts are already trickling away through our fingers, and while summer still has a trick or two to play, the slide has undoubtedly begun.
Hedge-Grow
On August 5, 2016 By gallowayfarmIn Uncategorized1 Comment
Before (December 2012) and After (August 2016)
Nice to check in last night on the progress of one of my small hedges which was planted in December 2012. These hedges were strategically positioned to improve connectivity between areas of good wildlife ground and also to provide cover for my grey partridge project. The benefits of a good, well-mixed hedge are hard to overstate, and I’ve written in huge detail on this blog about hedgerow planting over the past few years.
Suffice it to say for now that the hedge has made excellent progress over the past four growing seasons, and many of the thorn trees are now seven feet tall and more. The tallest of these will be lopped off this winter to encourage thicker growth, but the diversity of species at ground level suggests that these little projects were well worth the work. Three quarters of the hedge is made up of an even mix of hawthorn and blackthorn, but the rest is a hotchpotch mix of guelder rose, rugosa rose, dog rose, elder, field maple and crab apple. To get things really going, I also dug in some bramble stumps and tussocks of nettle which would almost certainly have colonised anyway but which provide such value at such small cost of energy and effort that it seemed worth a punt. A few stray raspberry canes were also thrown in, and these have provided a mass of fruit for the little birds this year.
Longer term readers might remember that this field was also home to a bee-friendly game crop for two years, and it’s surprising how much has lived on inside the new fence since the sheep were allowed to return. Oxeye daisies run riot, and there are sprigs of borage and essex red clover throughout the whole strip.
Like every other habitat work on this blog, we paid for these hedges ourselves without grant or subsidy, hence why we only plant small stretches when money allows. Paying for this particular 200 yard stretch gave us a freedom to experiment with all kinds of different species and techniques which would not have been formally endorsed by the box-tickers. Most importantly, we didn’t rabbit-proof the fence, preferring to use individual tree guards for every sapling and young plant. This was a crucial advantage, allowing game and rabbits to get in and out of the thick grass cover from day one.
It sometimes seems extraordinary how many hedges which are nominally planted for wildlife are then hermetically sealed in walls of rabbit netting. Rabbits and hares are a crucial part of my conservation project on the hill, and they need all the access to deep cover they can get on an area of the farm that is so heavily hammered by sheep that they are sitting ducks. Similarly, it makes no sense to create grassy margins which are ideal for partridges, then fence them out of it. Blackgame are less put-off by having to flutter over fences and in to low scrub, and I hope that the berry-bearing bushes will provide them with some value in a year or two.
Of course there are advantages to rabbit netting and the cost and effort of tubes is often off-putting, but it’s surprising how little thought goes into the planning and delivery of these conservation measures to achieve maximum bang for the buck.
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A Field Guide To The North American Communications Tower
Kristina Panos
The need for clear and reliable communication has driven technology forward for centuries. The longer communication’s reach, the smaller the world becomes. When it comes to cell phones, seamless network coverage and low power draw are the ideals that continually spawn R&D and the eventual deployment of new equipment.
Almost all of us carry a cell phone these days. It takes a lot of infrastructure to support them, whether or not we use them as phones. The most recognizable part of that infrastructure is the communications tower. But what do you know about them?
What Is a Communications Tower?
Communication towers are all around us in various shapes and forms. Some towers serve several kinds of signals. They transmit one-way broadcasts like AM/FM radio and television signals while also handling two-way cellular traffic using various protocols.
Most towers simply elevate and support communication antennas, but there are some called mast radiators that actually act as the antenna themselves. AM radio and other low-frequency towers fall into this category. In this article, I’m going to focus on a particular species of communications tower — the cellular kind.
Cellular antennas on a lattice tower.
A cell site is mainly two things: arrays of two-way antennas that operate on cellular frequencies, and the equipment that makes that possible. Technically speaking, they are called Base Transmitter Stations (BTS). You might see ‘cell site’ and ‘cell tower’ used interchangeably, but these terms are not synonymous. A cell site or BTS encompasses all the equipment needed to transmit and process cellular signals between devices. This includes the antennas that cover different cellular frequency bands, the signal amplifiers, the on-site processing equipment, and the backhaul connection to the core network. A cell tower is just the structure that elevates the antennas and supports equipment.
The tower itself may be shared by one or more carriers that each has their own cell site. This arrangement is called collocation. Whatever carrier got there first takes the highest elevation for their antennas. Each one that comes after takes the next highest slot. The tower may not be owned by any cell carrier, however. Many of them are owned by companies like American Tower who lease out the space.
Not all cell sites are on towers. Many of them are built on rooftops, and some are perched atop streetlights. Some are designed to go unnoticed, lurking behind facades. They pose as indigenous trees, cacti, steeples, or even art installations. Click to embiggen the disguised sites below.
Masts, Cell Towers, and Cell Sites
There are several types of towers and sites out there. The way that towers look and the heights they reach are determined by the area they occupy and the needs of subscribers on the ground.
A guyed mast in the suburbs
A guyed mast is technically not a tower at all. It’s a narrow latticed structure that is held upright and centered with guy wires that are anchored to the ground. Guyed masts are fairly cheap to construct, but they have a broad footprint and require a lot of land. Because of the way they’re built, guyed masts can reach 2,000 feet tall. Masts over a certain height are usually painted in alternating bands of aircraft orange and white for increased visibility.
A lattice tower with four cell sites.
Lattice towers are self-supporting structures that have three or four sides. These are easy to build, easy to climb, and provide a lot of space for mounting equipment.
A monopole planted in the back of a shopping center.
Suburban tower cell site installations are often found on monopole towers. These are sleek poles that look like soaring streetlights with foot pegs. Monopoles are more expensive to build than lattice towers and guyed masts, and they are more difficult for workers to climb. Some of the monopoles in my town have the antennas mounted directly to the pole, which seems like a waste of space.
A Nextel COW parked outside the 2005 Rose Bowl. Image via Wikipedia
Temporary sites called cells on wheels (COW) are used to handle short-term increases in network traffic. They are often wheeled out for heavy attendance at events like the Super Bowl. COWs are also used in remote rescue and coordinated operations in low or no-coverage locations. These sites are built into vehicles or towed on trailers and come in several shades of functionality.
Street light cell site above a major thoroughfare.
If an area has spotty coverage but the gaps don’t warrant a full-blown cell site, you might spot some street light cell sites. These are part of something called a distributed antenna system, but they are often referred to as small cells. Distributed antenna systems take the power and coverage of a regular cell site and distribute it among several small ones. If a cell site is a cake, a distributed antenna system is a batch of cupcakes. Distributed antenna systems and small cells are also used indoors, usually in busy places like offices, hospitals, and sports arenas.
Bass Drums in the Sky
Bass drum in the sky, courtesy of CommScope
Tower components will vary based on the location and needs of the area’s subscribers, but there are a few things you will see pretty consistently from tower to tower. Most obviously, a cell tower has several types of antennas that handle different frequencies and cellular technologies. These are the thin, vertical bars that are mounted parallel to the tower. Generally speaking, the longer the antenna, the lower the frequency it’s built for. But the physical size of a single antenna says nothing about the traffic capacity of the tower. It’s the number of antennas that determines the amount of traffic a cell site can handle.
Each antenna is connected to the base station by several cables. Monopole towers have a conduit down the center to house the cables, but on a lattice tower, the cables run down the outside. Depending on the installation, they will run over an ice bridge so they are elevated. Base stations can range in size from simple all-weather cabinets to equipment bunkers the size of a small house.
Ice bridge or waveguide bridge. Image via Wireless Estimator
You will often see a parabolic dish or two on a cell tower. It will likely be a grid style or a solid dish, but you might see something that looks like a big bass drum. These are all species of microwave antennas, and they are being used to backhaul traffic to the mobile switch sitting in the central office. If you don’t see any dishes, the backhaul is routing over fiber or copper.
Microwave backhaul antennas come in a couple of flavors. Some are simple, unshielded parabolic dishes like those dark gray ones that receive television signals. Others are shielded with a round radome that protects the antenna from dirt and snow and reduces wind loading. My personal favorites are the ones that look like a bass drum. These are high-capacity, high-performance antennas that can reach 15 feet or more in diameter and weigh hundreds of pounds. Without the drum skin and the rim, they would look like solid parabolic antennas. Those extra things are just a different kind of radome that’s usually made out of fiberglass or Teflon.
Small Boxes, Big Impact
Remote Radio Head unit. Image via CommScope
On newer cell site systems, you’ll see a piece of equipment called a Remote Radio Head (RRH). These are used to distribute the base station equipment between the tower and the ground. The RRH itself is a small rectangular box on the tower that is connected to the base station by a fiber optic link. These remote radio heads increase efficiency and free up space on the ground, but there are tradeoffs. They are complex pieces of equipment and they must be built to withstand the elements.
Tower Mounted Amplifier. Image via Foresite Group
In order to improve the uplink gain, carriers will often mount another small rectangular box called a Tower Mounted Amplifier (TMA). Uplink gain is the transmission of the signal from a subscriber’s handset to the base station. TMAs are great for you and me because our phones are able to communicate with the tower using less battery power and less data. They also give us greater coverage.
Static dissipation brushes. Image via Tower Beacon
Last but not least is the lightning arrester. You can probably guess what this does — it absorbs lightning strikes and offloads them safely to an earth ground. Static dissipative brushes are just one type of lightning protection.
Ground-Level Components
The stuff you see on the tower only makes up half the story. A lot of equipment is necessary to actually route calls and provide the signal in the first place, not to mention the power supply and line rectification. All of this is on the ground at the foot of the tower in cabinets and shelters.
The main components on the ground are the base station transceivers. These are the counterparts for the remote radio heads. Older technologies like 2G and 3G will have their own transceiver, separate from 4G/LTE. A cell site router manages the traffic between the base station transceivers and the mobile switches at the central office. If the backhaul is done over microwave, the shelter will have a baseband microwave processor to handle the signaling.
The rest of the ground equipment is power related—rectifiers that provide either -48VDC or +24VDC and generators to keep things going in times of trouble. Many sites also have battery backup that can last for a couple of hours.
Inspection footage from a drone. Image via YouTube
Installation, Maintenance, and Removal
There are hundreds of thousands of cell towers in the United States, and they all have to be inspected regularly. In the past few years, firms have been using drones to take video and high-resolution pictures that can be used to audit the state of the equipment. Installing and maintaining towers is a dangerous job that is both mentally and physically demanding. It’s not uncommon for a technician to start the day on one tower and then drive for several hours to work on another one.
Removing a 6′ microwave dish. Image via YouTube
Once a tower is built, the antennas and other equipment are raised up slowly on a rope and pulley system as you can see in this video. If a dish needs to be replaced on a guyed mast, it can’t just be unbolted and dropped. If the dish were to snag a guy wire on the way down, the whole mast could collapse. Here’s a video that shows just how tedious it can be to remove one of those bass drum antennas.
Communications towers are often erected on hills and mountaintops, especially for long-range microwave relay. This height helps ensure that there is a clear path for the line-of-sight propagation required by microwave transmission. If a cell site is already on a mountain or hill, it may not have to be very tall. Unfortunately, this makes the antennas and equipment more vulnerable to the whims of wildlife. Here’s a video showing the damage that an industrious acorn woodpecker or two can cause to a shielded antenna.
The Future of Cell Sites
One way that cell technology is changing is the advent of Device to Device (D2D) technology, also known as LTE Direct. This turns every D2D-enabled device into a part of the transmission network. Essentially, if two D2D-enabled devices are within ~500 line-of-sight meters of each other, they can communicate directly without the need for a base station.
This technology basically turns phones into walkie-talkies that can operate in full-duplex mode. This is great for disaster recovery situations when coverage is crowded or completely compromised. It’s also useful for geofencing, augmented reality, and beacons in retail stores that invite your targeted patronage.
D2D is less battery-intensive than discovery over Bluetooth or WiFi because it takes place at the service layer. And D2D’s privacy is better than cloud-based methods because it’s not continuously tracking your device’s location. In that case, the future looks pretty good.
Posted in Featured, SliderTagged 3g, 4g, AM/FM, antenna, cdma, Field Guide, lattice tower, LTE, mast, microwave, monopalm, parabolic, radome, remote radio head, RF, tower, tv, wildlife
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91 thoughts on “A Field Guide To The North American Communications Tower”
Timothy Gray says:
Your information about the typical guyed lattice tower max height is a little off, There are many of them that are over 2000 feet tall. Currently the Burj Khalifa Tower is just shy of 2800 feet tall.
Snarkle McSnarkleston says:
What the heck? Burj Khalifa isn’t an antenna tower. It’s a building.
AKA the A says:
With a big antenna atop of it ;-)
T0x1c says:
UMmm no dude, the Burj Khalifa Tower is a building. The Warsaw Radio Tower is the highest guyed lattice tower at 2119.42 foot(according to G00gl3). So the article is spot on. “OVER 2000 feet tall”
Buildings can be towers too yah know. “A tower is a tall structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant margin.”
AskingSeriousQuestion says:
The name is not Burj Khalifa building, but tower ;)
DaMonsta says:
The clue is in the word ‘guyed’. Guy wires are the wires/cables stopping the mast from falling over or buckling.The Burj Khalifa is not guyed.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guyed_mast
Blue Footed Booby says:
Whenever I see this kind of conversation with multiple people completely failing to notice or interpret a qualifier I wonder whether their reading comprehension is just that bad, or if they literally ignore words they don’t know.
wakkawakka says:
Some people suffer from Actualitis. When the opportunity to correct someone on a technicality occurs it causes some people to stop reading the rest of the article and begin typing a comment, often starting with “Actually, …”.
Ignorance is simultaneously incapable of noticing itself and unable to refrain from alerting others of its existence. It’s a potent combination of failure and ridicule that, in some cases, can be mercifully self-pruning.
Kalo says:
The operative word here is ‘guyed’. The Burj Khalifa tower does not have guy wires for support and therefore is disqualified from this grouping.
This makes me think of the crazy conspiracy theories about these “mysterious towers” and mind control.. oh and also chem trails for some reason.
A very good example of Dunning-Kruger effect ?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
Whoa, I didn’t know there was a name for this but this very accurately describes this behavior. Just listen to the way she talks so confidently
I think that most engineers suffer from the corollary “highly skilled individuals may underestimate their relative competence and may erroneously assume that tasks which are easy for them are also easy for others”.
eas says:
I think many engineers suffer from “highly skilled individuals (in one area), may overestimate their relative competence outside their area of expertise.”
Also: “I can’t understand why you do what you do, therefore the most likely explanation is that you are stupid/irrational, not that I am missing something.”
Nope. Just paranoia and delusion. It’s sad to see, really. She needs mental help.
On the plus side, it looks like she should have good cell coverage.
Dunning-Krueger is like how I think I could probably fly a commercial airliner. How hard can it be?
Alan Hightower says:
Obviously a Trump supporter! But it’s ok, because no one is a bigger friend to silent weapon system victims than Donald J. Trump. Believe you him. He will be tougher on silent weapon system conspirators, aka the Democratic Party, than anyone in the history of being tough on silent weapon system conspirators…. He will make smart meters great again. He will abolish the Federal Chem Trail Program along with the EPA. And balance the deficit by making cell phone tower disguisers pay for it all. DJT in 2016!
JohnReason says:
He never said any of those things. He is a man of accomplishments, of which you know nothing.
xorpunk says:
Yeah all these loose and fast facts compared to Clinton who practically created ISIS by meddling in middle-east intelligence, mostly illegally, and represents the ‘less free speech’ and ‘more government regulation’ millennial movement..
Mbc says:
And she leaves people to die instead of answering the phone at 3am…
And blatently disregards federal law and wipes an email server in the middle of an investigation…
Lies about being shot at…etc etc. The list is endless.
I agree that Trump may not be the best choice, but let’s not ignore the facts to pretend Hillary is better.
That’s something you don’t usually see in elections. Typically they pander to a specific class (Middle, High, etc), or race (White, Black, etc), or religion/belief system (Christian, Racist, etc), but I’ve never seen a politician seek out the untapped “Conspiracy Theorist” demographic. Maybe that could pay off?
voyagesofanengineer says:
Its too bad she said August 1st. Her ramblings would fit a lot better on April 1st.
Noirwhal says:
Those theories are rubbish.
The real conspiracy is that these towers are put up by government, sometimes in the form of LEO with stingray, but also actual full scale towers, in order to spy on citizens and visitors.
Look into it, it isn’t a conspiracy theory, it is another conspiracy fact. One well known sign you have been logged on to one of these spying towers is a degraded signal (to 3G). Another sign is that you are on federal property, where this seems most common.
It is known once you are paired with a tower in this way, your phone is essentially open for automated data collection – but they really want your contact list, call history, location history.. Well heck, they apparently take it all.
I think I;ve been doing to much radio work. I was thinking “Why the hell would someone build a cell tower in Low Earth Orbit?”
likewise… might tough to steer that sucker!
Seems to me that she should be immune to mind control, because it appears she has no mind to control.
Ramv36 says:
Complains about being irradiated…is out at noon in California sun.
RoboMonkey says:
Don’t forget the plastic owls we put on the towers to frighten off woodpeckers and other birds that damage equipment.
http://www.hamradio.com/detail.cfm?pid=H0-000126
Wow, you learn something new every day.
Woodpeckers were famous for making nests in the feedhorns of our C-Band and Ku-Band satellite uplinks.
You have any idea how gross it is to clean out the feedhorn of cooked woodpecker?
TERRA Operative says:
Free lunch!
I bet it tastes like chicken only a little more gamey.
So this silly animals did not know, that they would taste much better properly fried than just microwaved? :-)
Don’t forget squirrels!
BobbyMac says:
I see that and all I can think of is Chip and Dale swearing.
Hell I’m sure I heard them swearing.
My experience is they rarely work for more than a short period of time.
I’ve found them knocked off towers with a big Osprey or similar nest at the top.
Seem them, tried them. They still loose effectiveness after a while. And like I said, I’ve seen them knocked down with an Osprey or similar bird’s nest at the top.
Once that happens, there aren’t many anythings that will try to populate the tower lest they be turned into food… but then we can’t climb if there are birds in the nest.
Carl Smith says:
http://media.gettyimages.com/photos/brazen-seagulls-pigeons-and-starlings-bask-in-the-afternoon-sun-by-a-picture-id136942837
Interesting article, thanks for publishing it!
I never quite understood why companies go through so much trouble to “hide” radio towers. They’re not fooling anyone, and to me a metal lattice tower looks far better than a stupid fake pine tree (common around here). Of course, as a ham I may be a bit biased when it comes to antennas.
fucakface says:
Usually because the local homeowners group (aka bunch of power hungry busybodies) demand it to keep *their* neighborhood free of ‘eyesores’
Good point. Too bad we can’t remove the power-hungry busy-bodies instead of the antennas…
poose says:
They can effectively be dislodged with explosives. Sadly, archaic federal and state regulations prohibit this.
It is THEIR neighborhood where they live, and they ARE eyesores.
Yup, I disagree completely. Your rights to have a pretty back yard end at your property line. Antennas aren’t eyesores, they are functional structures that benefit the whole community, unlike your pretty back yard and assumption of property values (based on anything but actual reality) which benefit only the very selfish owner of said pretty back yard.
I agree they find them to be eyesores, but eyesores aren’t harmful to one’s health. No need to stare at them raiding ones blood pressure, an eyesore is more preferable to a constant odor or noise that there is no escape from.
Some big corporation operating at 0% tax and run by men born rich wants to put huge ugly public paid but private profiteering infrastructure up, sometimes literally ‘in your back yard’…
Of course citizens resist. You think they put these in expensive hoods? No. You are complaining about people trying to maintain their very average property values.
So, in your sick view of humanity, having money and using it to create jobs is somehow evil? Who’s your employer? Are they evil too? Or do they get a pass because they sign your paycheck?
Property values are a myth. Your property rights end at your property line. You have no right to dictate what happens beyond that line unless it poses a safety or health risk to the entire community. Antennas do neither.
Busybodies, on the other hand, pose a mental health risk to the surrounding communities…
As for which “hoods” get cell towers, poke around on Google Earth a bit. I’ve seen cell towers behind $5M homes in Southern California, and a large number of the cell towers here in the northeast are smack in the middle of expensive hillside properties.
Get over yourself already.
Oh, and enjoy your excellent cell phone coverage, courtesy of these “eyesores” in your neighborhood.
The most ridiculous one in this area is there is a section of Highway 18 in the angeles mountains that was hit by a forest fire some years ago, clearing the entire area of pine trees.
Seems the cell tower company didn’t get the memo, so their “disguised” Pine treetenna is the biggest, most visible thing for at least 500 meters in any direction.
Perhaps these people still think that when playing peek-a-boo the person actually vanishes?
Zane says:
Hey, never know. Schroedinger’s cat might still be kicking around in its quarters. :D
So a tower costing some many hundreds of thousands of dollars to build is just supposed to burn away like the trees surrounding it… just in case someone might complain it’s the only thing still standing?
Or are you just saying that no one knew it was there until it survived the fire?
Reality is perception, no?
They have no cogent point. They only have vapid indignation – like disliking the color of the emperors coat.
They didnt even condemn the appearance of the antenna itself so much as make a nonsensical tirade!
I enjoyed both reading and discussing it. Thx.
mr_ty says:
my guess is that it burned and they put the same design back there
NIMBY
Not In My Back Yard
Mostly it’s the liberal Democrats that use the majority of the services but don’t want any of the accountability responsibility regarding what has to occur in order to make them happy.
They bitch about not having cell coverage but won’t let you build a site anywhere near them.
Reminds me of a house I walked by once it had a big sign on the lawn that said “Leave Fossil Fuels in the Ground” and an Escalade in the driveway!
You actually think only ‘liberals’ are opposed to private corporations putting up high-profit infrastructure in their residential areas, thereby directly lowering the visual appeal of the area?
OK man.
In general, cell sites aren’t put up in residential areas unless the usage within the area warrants it. Then, most every attempt is made to conceal the site, visually at least. It might be set back at the center of the roof of a local market, or hidden within the local 7-11 or Circle-K sign; maybe hidden in the scoreboard of the local school’s playfield.
Regardless, you might see it going up, but after a bit you’ll only see it when you’re looking for it. If you don’t know it’s there, you’d be hard pressed to find it… if the jurisdiction pushes “stealthing” for the install.
A while back, the company I worked for installed a site at a parking garage directly under the approach to Lindberg Field / San Diego. We pulled a few of the residents over and asked them to find the antennae and they couldn’t do so until we pointed directly at the antennae. Funny thing is one of the walls was an Ansel Adams mural and the antennae were mounted on it- we blended the antennae into the mural so that unless you had a very off-angle view you’d have to study hard to find them.
Done similar at the Beverly Hill Police station too. ;)
Just last month I watched a neighborhood near me show up at city hall with torches and pitch forks when they town announced it had already been working with a tower company for 2 years to install a Verizon tower at the edge of a secluded wooded park near the neighborhood. The comments in our online paper were pretty much worthless “think of the kids, you’re exposing them to RF”, but most comments there are worthless anyway. It’s easy to see why camoflage is practically required even in the suburbs now. Honestly it’s not a bad idea anyway to camoflage cell sites, you don’t need weirdo’s show up and burrying “tower busters” under them: http://www.metatech.org/danger_of_cell_phone_tower.html
That’s an ignorant use og broad brush. I live in Brownbackastan (KANSAS) Those complaining most about visual aesthetics and their affects on property value most likely vote republican an think of themselves as conservatives.
My favorite is when they don’t use their brain when designing such things.. On I10 in Southern California, most of the cell towers are disguised as palm trees.. But there’s one, out there in the desert that’s disguised as a pine tree…
I live in SoCal, and I do know what you’re saying, but most aren’t palms, though there are many of them. Many are pines, redwoods and such.
For every palm you see, there are 3-6 other sites you don’t.
macwhiz says:
I think the real problem is that the companies often don’t go to very MUCH trouble to “hide” them. The fake trees look really fake… but considering how good some of the fake Christmas trees are nowadays, it’s not because it’s impossible to make a decent looking fake tree. It’s just that the tower companies don’t actually want a good-looking fake tree, they just want one that plausibly looks like they tried to disguise it but costs as little as possible, with the key metric being “will we get away with this when someone complains to the planning and zoning commission?” The end result looks worse than just dropping a naked tower down on the site.
A much better hidden cell tower design I’ve seen in a city is a monopole with internal antennas that has a massive U.S. flag attached, appropriately scaled to the diameter of the monopole. That last part is the genius of it; from a distance, it doesn’t seem that big, because it looks “right” compared to the “pole.” Up close, you realize it’s big enough that you could spread it on the ground and build a decent two-story house on its footprint.
The problem with the flagpoles is their RF footprint. Having the antennas inside of the tower makes the distance and distance of the signal degrade. Not the case on a regular monopole, lattice or guy wire tower. So while the flagpole looks better, you’re actually ending up with more towers that way.
Also, hard to believe earlier comments come from people that don’t know a building can be called a “tower” without being a tower. There are tons of condos here in FL with names like Gulfstream Towers, but they’re just condos full of rich elderly people.
The most hidden cell tower I have ever seen was inside an bell tower, the cell company removed the metal stairs, shaved the bricks (to reduce attenuation). And technically because the façade structure existed already they did not need to apply for planning permission, in that particular district.
This has become a significant source of income for some inner city churches facing shrinking congregations.
I lived in a very pro-military community (pretty much everyone was employed by the Navy or the plethora of companies that supported the Naval facilities in the area, so understandable). So a lot of the towers were disguised as giant mono-poles with no external equipment except for a pulley and rope to hang massive American flags on them (The flags were at least 2.5-3 meters tall).
After a few years, you could see where the antennas were since they had plastic covers attached that discolored at a different rate than the painted metal pole.
Yeah, that’s a problem since the paint has to have a very low metallic pigment concentration.
The rest of the pole’s usually painted with something high in zinc to retard corrosion.
aloishis89 says:
Most cell towers also have a GPS antenna for clock discipline which is really important in getting connecting phones locked to the carrier and correcting their local TCXO drift.
andarb says:
We use individual GPS antennas for each AP serving wireless internet customers. I’d like to see us investigate the use of local HD radio signals for clock, but that’s just a weird thought brought on by a previous HaD post.
wouldn’t the other side of those APs be connected to the internet and thus be able to ntp? or ptp if you needed that level of precision?
Louis Brown says:
They need usec precision for TDMA; i.e synchronizing many AP.
Dan Julio says:
I love these articles. Thanks. You mention that most cell sites have battery backup that will last for a couple of hours. Do they also usually have a generator to handle longer outages? It seems to me that those systems need to be able to run for as along as possible during emergencies as people rely more and more on cellular communication for everything.
CJ Rose says:
All the towers I’ve seen and worked with have large fuel tanks and generators attached to the base building/box to keep the power on for the equipment, which is always plugged into a battery backup (UPS), and to run the air conditioning constantly. This is for wireless shots for commercial broadband net fed by fiber. The AT&T colocations are the same way, so It’s safe to bet that the rest of the cell sites are similar.
The “reasonable” norm is that a particular site will run 4-8 hours on back-up batteries, depending on the technology involved and usage.
Realistically, cell access won’t be any better than POTS / land line access in case of a wide-spread situation. Previously hardened terrestrial MW relays have been or will be decommissioned leaving no redundancy.
Depending on the actual fault, entire segments of the cell networks could be rendered inaccessible if not for power interruption, backhaul interruption could be just as critical.
I’ve seen some cells designed were only a small percentage of towers will be given generators, and when they are switched to generator power, they’ll shut off everything except 2G and crank the power way up to cover the area the other towers would cover. Or they’d switch to voice-only and only allow calls to a small list of numbers (Emergency numbers, public utility’s reporting numbers, other public services, etc) in order to conserve energy.
The unspoken fact is the general public should NOT expect to have normal cell phone seric in the event of a major disaster. if they live near a large population center. Government and responders get priority use of the cell phone network. In fact the plan is to build first responder needs atop the cell phone infrastructure. Look up first net. While first net is about a broad band network, protocols for standard cell phone use have been in place for years again. Government and first responders have priority. When the general public get access it wil be limited to time slots. The bad thing id that emergency management is telling the public this so the public cab prepare to make the best use of their time to inform distant family of their status and keep track of family within their area.
BTS = Base Transceiver Station
What you’re calling “DAS” are what I know as either “repeater” or “micro cells”, or “string” sites. They are typically low power, well under 25W and sometimes under 5W, and may or may not be extensions of another site known as a “macro cell” or “donor” cell.
Some of the early ones like those found along popular winding roads simply repeated the signal from one sector of a donor cell up and down the route. Typically, the donor site BTS was configured for 4 sectors, with the 4th sector being converted from RF to digital then distributed out to the repeaters over copper or fiber where it was converted back to RF and broadcast. There were no provisions for pole-to-pole hand-off since each pole broadcast the exact same signal; the only hand-offs possible were either from the repeater closest to the donor BTS or the repeater furthest from the BTS to the nearest adjacent cell.
Later ones became micro cells of one or more sectors and acted like mini sites that could hand off calls from one to the next instead of simply broadcasting one signal from every location along the route. This increased the call traffic capacity on these roads since one pole only served the distance necessary to pick up or hand off a call to the next. These micro cells may be controlled by switching / routing equipment in a macro cell, or may route back to the network control center.
Other variants include “relay” or “extender” sites which are removed from the donor site. These work more in line with what you might call a repeater, but there is channel conversion going on. The extender might pick up a phone on one channel then relay the call to the distant donor over another channel, in effect a “man in the middle”. Common uses are to provide service to a small area where it’s not practical to install a full BTS, like to service a small valley or to provide “over the hill” coverage along an otherwise well covered route in order to fill a small hole in coverage.
Now, when I hear DAS, I think of an antenna network in a high-rise building or such, where serving the building from external cell sites is impractical because of the size of the building or its construction. Since many antenna have a very limited vertical beam, it would take many antennae at multiple elevations to service the building from outside. Also, some buildings’ construction isn’t conducive to external coverage either: thick concrete floors and support structures, metallized window coatings, metal framed walls, tons of EMI from lighting and so on.
DAS, in many ways, are similar to the micro cell concept: multiple sectors distributed around the building. It also is typically carrier agnostic, though a carrier might initiate a build at a location. The equipment permits multiple carriers to share the same antenna system so whomever gets there first can lease the system to others.
trons says:
Yes! Scrolled down to see if anyone else caught the BTS. +1 for you!
Dan S says:
Her voice is a very effective human eradication mechanism. 10 more minutes and I may kills myself.
Doc Pedersen says:
“But what do you know about them?”
Uh, quite a bit actually. Was a broadcast engineer for roughly half of my four decade career.
Was surprised you didn’t mention much about ice. Best sheild for roof tops is a layer of sidewall sllt tires (to prevent water buildup) covered with chain link fencing. Still gets your attention when a fifty pound hunk of ice falls 280 feet and hits sheild.
Russ C. says:
And all of these towers, guyed lattice or other has a huge design fault, THE light bulb at the TOP that requires replacing every so often ! If the guy that designed the bulb at the top had to change one or two the bulb would be much easier to maintain and most likely would be at ground level and a light pipe would take the photons to the towers top! (my opinion, which comes from a fear of FALLING from heights, NOT the height itself!),
You may have a business idea here. How expensive is it to run someone up a tower like that? Times how many such towers? I see dollar-signs.
LordGarak (@LordGarak) says:
When praticing 100% tie off climbing the tower is perfectly safe. The towers need to be inspected anyway so going up to change the bulb isn’t a big deal. A quadcopter can only do so much, it’s only a visual check. A full inspection requires checking for loose bolts or cables.
I bet an advocate of it would tell you all these problems will be solved by the Internet of Things.
Smart bolts that tell you their torque in realtime, light bulbs that notify you when they’re going out, cables that…tell you other things. I’m sure that will be along once they finally figure out how to get your fridge to re-order milk properly.
squirrelbutts (@keisisqrl) says:
Don’t forget the old WeCo microwave horns used in the AT&T Long Lines network http://www.engineeringradio.us/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/western-electric-microwave-antennas.jpg
I recognize many of those towers; many are in Johnson County, KS.
The street light microcell is at 112th and Metcalf in Overland Park, KS. The tower with the glass recycling dumpster is 95th and Mission. The AM tower is 75th and Mission, and is an unwanted signal in my HF radios.
Now if my wife re-arraigned the furniture in my house, I would not recognize it.
Dr. Moire says:
I see not even HaD is free from the mindless bickering that typically inhabits comment sections on other sites anymore.
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Head and Neck Cancer Alliance Award
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HPV & Head and Neck Cancer
The Human Papillomavirus Connection
A rise in oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (cancers found in the back of the tongue and throat) are being found in a much younger population. Young men and women without the traditional risk factors, like smoking and drinking, are part of a growing trend of patients thought to have contracted the disease from exposure to the human papillomavirus, or HPV.
More than half of all sexually active people contract one or more types of this virus at one time, making it the most common sexually transmitted disease in the U.S. In fact, oral, head and neck cancers associated with HPV are on pace to overtake the incidence of cervical cancer by the year 2020.
What is Human Papilloma Virus (HPV)?
The human papillomaviruses or HPVs are a group of more than 150 related viruses. The most common types are found on the skin and appear as warts seen on the hand. More than 40 of these viruses can be easily spread through direct skin-to-skin contact during vaginal, anal, and oral sex. HPV can also infect the genital areas of males and females. According to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), genital HPV is the most common sexually transmitted infection. There are at least 40 HPV types that can affect the genital areas. Some of these are low-risk and cause genital warts while high-risk types can cause cervical or other types of genital cancer. The high-risk HPV types may also cause head and neck cancer, also called oropharyngeal cancer, which is becoming more prevalent.
How is throat cancer linked to HPV?
There are high risk and low risk types of HPV. The low risk types can cause genital warts or no symptoms and do not typically cause cancer. High risk types, especially types 16 and 18, are associated with oropharyngeal cancers (or cancers of the tonsils, base of tongue and throat). Unfortunately, oropharyngeal cancer associated with HPV infection has increased dramatically over the past 20 years in young men and women without traditional risk factors, like smoking and drinking.
Why is HPV-derived head and neck cancer becoming more prevalent?
The epidemiology of oral HPV infection is not well understood. However, HPV has long been known to be present in the genital area and to be a significant cause of cervical, vulvar, penile, and anogenital carcinoma. It is believed that an increased number of people are engaging in oral sex practices and as a result are contracting HPV in the head and neck region, resulting in a higher rate of head and neck cancers.
A lump in the neck
Lump or sore in mouth or throat
Hoarseness or change in voice
Swallowing problems or pain
An earache that doesn’t go away
Bleeding: nose, mouth or throat
Who is at risk for HPV infection and head and neck cancer?
HPV is a sexually transmitted infection and the number of lifetime sexual partners is an important risk factor for the development of HPV-associated head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. Research has shown that:
The odds of HPV-positive head and neck cancer doubled in individuals who reported between one and five lifetime oral sexual partners.
The risk increased five-fold in those patients with six or more oral sexual partners compared with those who have not had oral sex.
It is important to know that HPV-positive head and neck squamous cell carcinoma has also been reported in individuals who report few or no sexual partners. Other traditional risk factors include history of tobacco or alcohol use, history of oral lesions, family history of thyroid cancer, and history of radiation therapy.
What are the symptoms of HPV-related head and neck cancer?
Symptoms include hoarseness, pain or difficulty swallowing, pain while chewing, a lump in the neck, or non-healing sores on the neck. If you have any of these symptoms, speak with your doctor.
If HPV is a sexually transmitted infection, are there other ways to contract the virus?
Recent research could explain the increase of oral cancer incidence in young adults, a group traditionally at low risk. This phenomenon has been at least partly attributed to the rise of the human-papillomavirus (HPV), a cancer-causing virus that can be transmitted through oral sex.
How should I protect myself?
Consistent and correct use of condoms can reduce the transmission of HPVs between sexual partners, but because there are areas not covered by a condom, infection may still occur. It is recommended that girls and women between 9 and 26, and boys and men between 9 and 21 years of age should be vaccinated for HPV. Currently, there are three vaccines approved for the prevention of HPV: Gardasil® VIS*, Gardasil®9 and Cervarix®(exclusively for girls). The vaccines are safe and highly effective in preventing infections with HPV types 16 and 18. Gardasil® VIS* and Gardasil®9 also prevent infection with HPV types 6 and 11, which may cause genital warts, benign tumors or no symptoms at all. Gardasil®9 also prevents infection with HPV types 19, 31,33, 45, 52 and 58, which cause anal, cervical, vulvar and vaginal cancers. These vaccines are one of the best ways parents can prevent cancer in their children. Regularly visit your dentist or physician. Ask that they perform an oral, head and neck exam at each visit.
HPV-induced head and neck cancer has been well demonstrated to respond to almost all forms of therapy, including surgery, external beam radiotherapy, and chemotherapy. New technologies have been developed that greatly improve treatment response. The use of robotic surgery followed by a course of radiation treatment has had positive outcomes. At Mount Sinai, the use of robotic surgery and radiation, with no chemotherapy required, resulted in three-year survival rates of 90 percent, and significantly improve patient quality of life.
How does the robotic procedure work? What are the benefits?
Mount Sinai is one of very few centers in the country that use a robot to safely remove tumors, especially those growing in challenging locations. Robotic surgery is far less invasive than non-robotic tumor surgeries, greatly minimizing complications and recovery time—and maximizing quality of life after surgery. Quality of life data and the data produced by others demonstrates that patients treated with transoral robotic surgery and deescalated adjuvant therapy have a significantly improved quality of life, oral function, diet, and less long-term toxicity. As a result, Mount Sinai is dedicated to treating patients with HPV-induced carcinoma using this protocol in an effort to improve survival outcomes and decrease short-term and long-term toxicity.
How prevalent is HPV-derived head and neck cancer?
What is the long-term prognosis for people with HPV-derived head and neck cancer?
While the prevalence of head and neck cancer derived from HPV is steadily increasing, data suggest that it is easily treated. Patients with HPV-induced oropharyngeal cancer have a disease-free survival rate of 85-90 percent over five years. This is in contrast to the traditional patient population of excessive smokers and drinkers with advanced disease who have a five- year survival rate of approximately 25- 40 percent.
My significant other is genital HPV positive yet has no history of cervical cancer, can I get oropharyngeal cancer by kissing her or having oral sex with her?
Yes. Transmission occurs through sexual contact and partners have routinely exchanged virus early in their relationship.
Do men or women get this more frequently?
Cases of this cancer are much more frequent in men. At Mount Sinai the ratio between men with this and women is roughly six or seven to one. The average age of a patient with this is 40-55, a decade younger than the traditional “smoker/drinker” patient with head and neck cancer.
Why are men at higher risk for this cancer?
The prevalence and manifestation of this virus is much higher in the genitalia of women because of their anatomical make-up.
Is there a way to determine if I am oral HPV positive?
Not yet. Scientists are working on a diagnostic test, but there is nothing commercially available.
Who should get screened?
People with a history of tobacco or alcohol use, a history of oral lesions or exposure to radiation therapy, and those with 5 or more sexual partners should be screened. Symptoms to be aware of include hoarseness, pain on swallowing, difficulty swallowing, pain on chewing, a lump in the neck, or non-healing sores.
How do I get screened for HPV- related throat cancer?
People who have a persistent sore throat or enlarged lymphnodes should be examined. Getting screened is quick and painless. Doctors place a very thin, flexible telescope, the size of a piece of spaghetti, with a miniature camera on its tip, into the nose to examine the throat structures, including the vocal cords.
Where did I get HPV from?
It is difficult without specific DNA viral typing to determine who transmitted the virus or where the virus was acquired.
Can the vaccine be used as treatment if I already have HPV-induced oropharyngeal cancer?
No. Patients with known HPV-induced oropharyngeal cancer do not appear to benefit from vaccination as the vaccination is used for prevention, not treatment.
What new research is ongoing to better understand and prevent HPV-derived head and neck cancer?
The Mount Sinai Medical Center will initiate one of the first HPV vaccines for patients who have been diagnosed with HPV-induced head and neck cancer. Also, specialists are currently evaluating the relationship between women with HPV and their sexual partners who develop oral cancer to determine ways to screen patients, treat patients, and educate the public.
Where should I go if I want to learn more about HPV-derived head and neck cancer?
If you would like to learn more, please refer to the many resources below. If you think you or a loved one may be at risk, please consult your doctor.
HPV-related Oral, Head and Neck Cancer Resources
Oral Cancer Word of Mouth
Cancer Treatment of America
Americal Cancer Society
(CDC) Resources
Johns Hopkins General HPV Information
How Oral Sex Can Give You Cancer
HPV Vaccinations Can Help Prevent Oral, Head and Neck Cancers
Dr. Cherie-Ann Nathan
HNCA Board Member and Head and Neck Surgeon
Frank Summers
Survivor of HPV-derived squamous cell carcinoma tonsil cancer
Scott Vetter
Survivor of HPV-related tongue cancer
Scott Vetter And Dr. Nathan
Discuss HPV-related head and neck cancers
Oral Cancer Foundation
HPV and Me
National AHEC
National HPV Vaccination Roundtable
(CDC) Center for Disease Control and Prevention
Cancer Centers
NCI-Designated Cancer Centers
Providence Oral, Head and Neck Cancer Clinic
UC San Diego Health
University of Virgina Health Center
Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women’s Cancer Center
NYU Oral Cancer Center
NCI-Supported Clinical Trials
Dr. Cherie-Ann Nathan, MD, FACS (HNCA Board Member)
Knowledge of HPV-Related Oropharyngeal Cancer and Use of Human Papillomavirus Vaccines by Pediatricians in Louisiana
Dr. Wendell Yarbrough, MD, FACS, MMHC (HNCA Board Member)
Genetic Alterations in TRAF3 and CYLD That Regulate Nuclear Factor jB and Interferon Signaling Define Head and Neck Cancer Subsets Harboring Human Papillomavirus
HPV Associated Head and Neck Cancer
Counseling the Patient with Potentially HPV-Related Newly Diagnosed Head and Neck Cancer
Human Papillomavirus and Head and Neck Cancer: Psychosocial Impact in Patients and Knowledge of the Link – A Systematic Review
Summary of A National Cancer Institute State Of The Science Meeting, 2008
The New Face of Head and Neck Cancer: The HPV Epidemic
NCHS Data Brief: Prevalence of HPV in Adults Aged 18–69: United States, 2011–2014
Research Focus Newsletter – Spring 2016
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2.2 Sexualities and Politics in the Americas
Outlaws and Intimates
Anurima Banerji | New York University
The focus on same-sex marriage as a public issue in the United States is a recent phenomenon which reached its apotheosis during the last election year in 2004. The centrality of this issue proves that a major shift has occurred in the queer movement, as the question of acquiring legal rights in the juridical sphere (and acquiring the corollary benefits of full citizenship) has decentered previous concerns dominating the queer agenda, such as local grassroots-level struggle, ACT-UP style activism, and gaining positive representation in political forums, the media, and other institutions linked to the civic sphere. The right to matrimony first became a serious concern in the 1970s here, following the ascent of queer liberation movements and the Stonewall rebellion, and the delisting of homosexuality as a psychiatric disorder. The fact that marriage dominates the national queer agenda today is all the more striking, given that there is no consensus within queer communities about same-sex unions. Discussions of marriage within the communities have been limited to polarized positions that delineate the institution's status as fundamentally conservative or automatically progressive—queer marriage as an agent of conformity or transgression.
With its interdisciplinary approach, and its twin concerns with the performative articulation as well as the embodied action or event, performance studies can offer a more complex analysis and appraisal of the queer marriage debate taking place in the contemporary United States. This is especially possible by invoking the discourses of minoritarian subjects involved in the contest for gay marriage, and by mobilizing the productive concept of "disidentification," delineated by José Muñoz in his book of the same name (Disidentifications: Queers of Color and the Performance of Politics, 1999). The framework of performance allows for queer marriage to be considered in terms of a racialized event, and for the discourses surrounding it to be contextualized as political utterances that actively construct cultural and sexual identities, ultimately producing contesting models of ideal citizenship and subjecthood.
One of the earliest legal battles for queer marriage in the United States was staged by Asian and Pacific Islander American plaintiffs in the state of Hawaii. Advocates in this case (Baehr vs. Lewin, 1993, and Baehr vs. Miike, 1996) presented a range of evidence to support their demand for legal recognition of their relationships, including proof of pre-existing traditions of same-sex wedding rites in native Hawaiian communities—practices which predated U.S. annexation of the island in 1887, but which were outlawed due to the colonial government's subjugation of what they considered non-normative sexualities. In effect, within the limits of this case, the claim made for sexual sovereignty intersected with the claim for cultural sovereignty in Hawaii, complicating the relations between marriage, identity, and citizenship, as conceived in both prevailing queer discourses and mainstream opinion. (The pro-queer marriage briefly won the case, until an amendment to the state constitution precluded the judgment from being implemented). This case serves as both a precedent and anomaly for the current debates on queer marital relations. The arguments subtending the case offer a way of reconceptualizing the terms of contest, offering a way out of the impasse as to whether marriage is "good" or "bad," and recentering the politics of colonialism as a central component of dialogue. In addition, queer marriage in Hawaii has the possibility of being deployed as a mode of decolonization and disidentification from the U.S. state.
Hawaii's inhabitants include multiracial groups subsumed under the nomenclature "Asian Pacific American," including the Kanaka Maoli, an indigenous group that lived on the island prior to U.S. annexation in the late nineteenth century. Kanaka Maoli cosmologies accept opposite and same-sex unions, both monogamous and polygamous, and which recognize a third gender, which cannot be understood within a Western binary that reduces gender identity to the taxonomies of male and female. Groups demanding cultural and sexual sovereignty have asserted that the U.S. state's "attempt to deny same-gender couples the civil rights and responsibilities associated with marriage is contrary to the Hawaiian tradition of recognizing and tolerating same-gender relationships" (Na Mamo O Hwaii, Amicus Curiae Brief, 1997). Viewing same-sex marriage as a cultural ethic and right takes us out of the bind of theorizing it in terms of a progressive or conservative construct. It invites us to reflect on the function that differential marriage and gender systems serve in specific, localized social contexts, without labeling them as negative or positive in advance.
The reference to a pre-existing system and spectrum of marriage acts that included queer matrimony not only affirms contemporary expressions of queer desire in the native Hawaiian context, but also acts a rejection of the mythical association of "the West" with practices of sexual freedom. The sexual genealogies offer a distinct history that is capable simultaneously of offering a specific and localized narrative of sexuality, and of repudiating the universalism inherent in Western discourses which claim to speak for a global queer constituency. And these histories show that embracing a queer ethic or politic is not contingent upon claiming "Stonewall' as the originary site of queer identification and struggle; for many minoritarian subjects, contentions around sexuality can be dated back to the inauguration of colonial regimes, and their subjugating practices.
The historical recognition underscores an alternative analysis of marriage that challenges mainstream, colonial definitions of queer liaisons. Privileging the Kanaka Maoli worldview, as expressed in Baehr vs. Miike, proves that marriage cannot be positioned as inherently positive or negative, normative or radical. Rather, a position supportive of the Kanaka Maoli vision illuminates marriage not as a natural, transhistorical, universally heterosexualized institution, but as a culturally and temporally bound performance (or, more precisely, a set of performances) that normalize(s) fluid sexual identities and relations. In this paradigm, there is no single, dominant, normative marriage ideal; instead, there is a wide and flexible range of gender identities and possibilities for union among consenting parties. This argument should not be interpreted as an idealization of some golden sexual past, but can be strategically recognized as a complication of the claim that queerness is an exclusively modern, Western phenomenon that is owned by contemporary white agents.
Further, establishing an indigenous queer genealogy is significant because it recasts the very notions of "tradition" and "modernity." Classically, these categories are organized dichotomously and hierarchically, with antagonistic conceptual affiliates: "tradition" is generally viewed as a transhistorical container of meaning, tied to notions of cultural continuity, unchanging essence, the eternity of customs which, in extreme form, are read as retrograde and repressive; "modernity" is the ideational repository of the contrasting concepts of progress, innovation, liberation. In colonial economies of culture, the negative association of tradition is imputed almost exclusively to racialized bodies, and used as justification for the interventions of imperial power.
However, the work performed by contemporary queer Hawaiian activists forces a reconsideration of these absolute categories, demanding an exchange between each signifier and the set of ideals it purports to represent. For in the domain of Hawaiian sexuality, modernity—as represented by the colonial U.S. government—fails to usher in greater freedoms, instead imposing limits and constraints on sexual expression through the instrument of law. Tradition here appears as the truly transformative force, presenting queer desire as a disruptive power in the constitution of the ideal subject imagined at the center of the American nation. The queer past is reinterpreted and resituated within the present political moment, acting doubly as critique and counter-memory. In this sense, the aura of tradition is not only progressive, but transgressive, in redefining the sexual order of things.
Finally, the framing of matrimony proposed in Baehr vs. Miike allows an interrogation of marriage as a mode of assimilation into the nation, and articulates marriage as a productive mode of delinking from the imperial state. Several of the arguments in favor of queer marriage enunciate a position of disidentification with the U.S. governing apparatus and its discursive stance. They demonstrate how marriage is not immediately oppressive per se, but can serve a purpose in dislodging cultural imperialism. By reclaiming and reanimating precolonial conceptions of marriage, indigenous sovereignty groups are able to keep alive a cultural view oppositional to the colonizer's. Here, queer marriage does not validate an assimilative or conformist gesture, but is framed in terms of an explicitly anti-colonial and counter-hegemonic ethic.
It is perhaps for these complex reasons that the Hawaii case cannot be fully or easily reconciled within the mainstream queer and/or racialized communities that prize marriage as an index of belonging and citizenship, within the bounds of the imperialist U.S. nation-state. In the end, it is especially because of the special convergence of race, cultural rights, and queer sexuality that the Hawaii case holds great import. It cannot be fully appropriated by a pure queer rights agenda that elides the effects of colonialism in its analysis, nor can it be situated comfortably as evidence of a pristine Asian Pacific American past that is morally attached to heterosexual institutions. It illumines the politics of difference within the construct of "Asian Pacific America," the politics of racialization in the category "queer," and the politics of decolonization and disidentification that take place through the performance of "marriage."
Anurima Banerji is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Performance Studies at NYU. This essay is a revised version of a talk delivered at PSi in April 2005. Anurima's previous articles have been published in the journals EPW, Manushi, and Montreal Serai. Her performance texts and creative writing have appeared in the anthologies Brazen Femme, Red Light, and Bent on Writing. She is also the author of the poetry collection, Night Artillery.
American Friends Service Committee. "AFSC Hawaii Gay Liberation Program: Activist Materials Addressing Tourism," GLQ: A Journal of Gay and Lesbian Studies, 8, 1-2 (2002): 207-225.Balisdell, Kekuni. "Kanaka Maoli Self-Determination and Reinscription of KaPae'Aina (Hawaii) on the U.N. List of Non-Self-Governing Territories," In Motion Magazine (November 22, 1998). URL: http://www.inmotionmagazine.com/ngo2.html.
Duggan, Lisa. "Holy Matrimony!" The Nation (March 15, 2004). URL:http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i20040315&s=duggan.
Hawaii First Circuit Court. Baehr vs. Miike [now called Baehr vs. Anderson].Decision by Judge Kevic S.C. Chang. December 3, 1996. Text of ruling: http://www.lambdalegal.org/cgi-bin/iowa/documents/record?record=541.
Hawaii Supreme Court. Baehr vs. Lewin [now called Baehr vs. Anderson]. Decision by Justices Levin, Moon, Burns, and Hayashi, with Heen dissenting. May 5, 1993. Text of ruling: https://www.lambdalegal.org/cgi-bin/iowa/documents/record?record=107.
Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Special online resources on same-sex marriage in Hawaii. December 1996.URL: http://starbulletin.com/specials/samesex.html.
Na Mamo O Hawaii. "Na Mamo O Hawai'i's Amicus Brief," in support of plaintiffsin Baehr vs. Miike, filed by Paul Aslton and Lea O. Hong, attorneys for Amicus Curiae Na Mamo O Hawai'i, inHonolulu, Hawai'i, May 13, 1997.
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Home › What's Hot
Will Smith Found Out His Father Had Six Weeks To Live While Filming ‘Collateral Beauty’
Will Smith exclusively opens up about filming "Collateral Beauty" while finding out his father had six weeks to live.
Shamika Sanders
Source: Jason LaVeris / Getty
Will Smith’s latest role isn’t one with many lines. In fact, he rarely speaks. Each word is carefully chosen, poetic and therapeutic. Instead, his character Howard displays complex emotions captured in quiet scenes. We recognized Smith as a masterful actor with many accolades to prove it, but there was something deeper driving his performance this time around. The actor was simultaneously dealing with his father’s death.
Smith transforms into Howard, a high-brow New York advertising executive, for the David Frankel-directed film “Collateral Beauty.” The once exuberant Howard retreats from life after the death of his six-year-old daughter, whose name he cannot speak. He pens three letters to life, death and love.
Set in NYC during the holidays, Howard’s co-workers (Kate Winslet, Edward Norton) attempt to reach him before their company faces irreparable damage. Their plan: hire three actors (Keira Knightley, Helen Mirren, Jacob Latimore) to trick Howard into thinking they are the abstracts in living form.
“I love that this was a guy who had the world on the string,” Smith revealed during an NYC press conference. “Everything was perfect. He had it. He had life figured out. Then suffered a loss and had to make his way to even believe there was a possibility to have joy again.”
Smith’s father Willard Carroll Smith was given six weeks to live while Smith was filming.
“It was a truly beautiful time for he and I was in Howard’s mind studying and reading all of the different religious bases for being able to find an answer for how we recover from this kind of loss. I was sharing that with my father through the experience.”
“The idea of that loss and that type of pain and this type of movie and this film and these ideas have changed me forever. It’s the ultimate human difficulty: how do you deal with death and loss and it was the perfect life, art confluence,” he added.
Smith revealed he chose to work on the film after reading the script.
“When I first read the screenplay, it spoke to that Christmas flavor I remember growing up […]The types of film that are right on the edge of fantasy with that Christmas magic.”
Smith’s co-star Jacob Latimore told us exclusively, “The concept of time I related to the most. What am I doing with my time? Am I being productive? What am I doing in this time to become smarter, or to learn more?”
The young musician-turned-actor, who released his album today, praised his co-star Will for being so “incredible.” “He has such a great heart and spirit. Just being with him last night. His father passed away two weeks ago and I’m sure he was amazed because Will is incredible. He is very positive, strong genuine and kind-hearted guy. One of a kind.”
Source: Raymond Hall / Getty
“Moonlight” star Naomie Harris
also stars in “Collateral Beauty” as the optimistic Madeleine, who helps Howard on his road to recovery. Madeleine’s fateful encounter with death exemplifies the film’s underlying theme, to see the collateral beauty in even the most painful of tragedies.
“Collateral Beauty” hits theaters on December 16.
Will Smith Opens Up About Attending Intense Couples Therapy To Save Marriage To Jada Pinkett Smith
Will Smith’s Father Passes Away
Will Smith Found Out His Father Had Six Weeks To Live While Filming ‘Collateral Beauty’ was originally published on hellobeautiful.com
Jacob Latimore , Naomie Harris , Will Smith
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redeye1
Freddie Mercury, Gianni Versace and the Queen Mum arrive at the Pearly gates, St Peter explains that only one can get through and that they each have to put forward their case for entry.
Freddie says, "I know I haven't led a perfect life and I've
made some mistakes along the way, but I've made some of the most beautiful music in the world. I'll stand at the back of heaven, and serenade everybody with my wondrous songs, making heaven a far happier place to
be"
"Pretty good, Fred" said St Peter, "what about you Gianni?"
Versace says, "I make the most beautiful clothes in the
world. I will completely redesign the fashions up here, from the archangels to the cherub to the choirboys. As you well know Pete if you look good you will feel good and that will make heaven a much happier place"
"Not bad" says St Peter. "What about you Queen Mum?"
The Queen Mum does not say a word, instead she lifts up her skirt and pulls down her knickers, inserts a full bottle of Evian water into her fanny, lets the water shoot up inside her and then gush out all over the floor.
"Excellent, you're in" says St Peter
"Hold on a f*cking minute" says Freddie "She didn't even say anything"
"Fred you know the rules," says St Peter, "A royal flush
beats a pair of Queens every time."
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Browsing: Phuket Events
Asian Yachting Championship Kicks off in Phuket
Over 450 sailors, families and friends from more than 20 countries made Cape Panwa Hotel their home as they participated in the Cape Panwa Hotel Phuket Raceweek, 17 – 21 July. Raceweek welcomed top sailors from around Asia and beyond, and charterers from as far-a-field as Australia, China and the…
Phuket Events
Thailand Yacht Show & Rendezvous Takes Place In Phuket
Yachting enthusiasts and wealthy lifestyle-seekers from around the region lined up at the fourth Thailand Yacht Show and Rendezvous last month in Phuket. The event provided a perfect platform for the best of Thailand’s yachting and luxury hospitality industries, cementing Thailand as a world-class holiday destination. Boasting a lineup of…
Another Outstanding Regatta At The 32nd Phuket King’s Cup
Asia’s biggest and most prestigious sailing regatta was held at the Beyond Resort Kata, Phuket in early December for the 32nd time. The Phuket King’s Cup Regatta is organized by the Phuket King’s Cup Regatta Organizing Committee under the auspices of the Royal Varuna Yacht Club, in conjunction with the…
Cape Panwa Hotel Phuket Race Week
The 15th anniversary Cape Panwa Hotel Phuket Raceweek took place July 18th thru the 22nd headquartered at the 5-star Cape Panwa Hotel, the racing takes place around the islands of Phuket’s southeast coast. Having grown in popularity, the award-winning regatta welcomed 38 boats and more than 500 sailors and families…
The SIS Kata Resort Launches in Phuket
Within a few minutes of the golden sands of Kata Beach is the new SIS Kata Phuket Resort offering amazing views across the Andaman Sea. The Resort recently threw a grand opening party where Ms Kanokkorn Phatharaworanee, Deputy Managing Director, Ms Anchisa Phatharaworanee, Assistant Deputy Managing Director and Miss Phanwara…
Phuket International Boat Show Returns for its 14th Year
‘Asia’s favourite boat show’, the Phuket International Boat Show presented by Thailand Elite, took place from the 5th to 8th January at the award-winning Royal Phuket Marina. Held during Phuket’s peak season when villa owners, jet-setters and the wealthy elite are enjoying the island’s famed luxury lifestyle, more than 120…
Phuket International Boat Show 2015 Re-writes the record books
The 12th Phuket International Boat Show (PIMEX) presented by Thailand Elite once again took place at the Royal Phuket Marina.
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Howard J. Bennett – Pediatrician and Author in Washington, D.C.
Kids' Doctor and Author in Washington, D.C.
Why Authors Get Gross
By Howard J. Bennett
If you’ve ever read a Captain Underpants book, you know that some books exist just to be gross. If you started reading chapter books because Captain Underpants made you giggle, that’s great. But what about authors whose primary mission is not to gross out their readers? Is there a place for icky stuff in regular novels?
The answer to this question is a resounding yes! Some of our best-loved writers have been known to dabble in grossology from time to time. They do it for a variety of reasons. Sometimes, they are just trying to be as creative as they can be, coming up with outrageous ideas. Other times, they may be trying to break up an intense or serious part of a book with a bit of humor—gross humor that is!
Roald Dahl is the author of lots of terrific books including James and the Giant Peach, Matilda and Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.
My favorite Roald Dahl book is The BFG. (The letters stands for the “big, friendly giant.”) In the book, a girl named Sophie is kidnapped by the BFG. Once the BFG gets Sophie to his home in giant country, she learns about lots of unusual things such a snozzcumbers, a disgusting vegetable that the BFG eats and frobscottle, a “delumptious” drink that the BFG loves. It turns out that frobscottle is no ordinary drink. It is fizzy like soda, but the bubbles travel down instead of up. As a result, the bubbles come out a person’s other end producing a whizzpopper, which is a fart that’s so powerful it launches the person into the air.
JK Rowling populated Harry Potter’s world with lots of gross things.
In Harry and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were trapped in a bathroom with a huge, evil troll who wanted to pound them into mincemeat. When it looks like they’ll never escape, Harry jumps on the troll from behind and jams his wand up the troll’s nose. When Harry pulls the wand out of the troll’s nose, it’s covered with disgusting snot that looks like lumpy gray glue.
In Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Ron became furious when Draco Malfoy calls Hermione a Mudblood. Unfortunately, when Ron tries to zap Malfoy his wand misfires and a jet of green light shoots out the back end and hits him in the stomach. When Ron tries to speak, he repeatedly throws up mouthfuls of slugs.
You may find this hard to believe, but Shrek! was a book before it was a movie. It was written by William Steig, who wrote a number of wonderful stories for kids. In the book, Shrek smells so bad flowers and trees move out of his way as he walks by. When Shrek comes upon a dragon as he is searching for his hideous princess, he lets out a whiff of blue flame and the dragon goes down like a ton of bricks.
The original Shrek! was published in 1990, eleven years before the movie. Although the movie Shrek had a few redeeming qualities, the Shrek of the book was an ogre through and through.
© 2012 Howard J. Bennett. All Rights Reserved.
(First published in the Washington Post 11/15/10.)
For more KidsPost articles and lots of other cool stuff,
please visit Dr. B’s website at www.howardjbennett.com.
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The complete history of the Universe -- from the Big Bang to 200 my into the future
Follow @WykenSeagrave
History of the Universe eBook. 398 pages, 300 illustrations only £5.99
Continental Drift - Evidence
The evidence which gave rise to the theory of continental drift -- more correctly called plate tectonics -- includes the following:
► The coasts of the continents surrounding the Atlantic ocean could, if the continents were moved closer, fit together like a jigsaw puzzle.
Reconstruction of previous position continents created with TimeTrek
► Living animals in widely separated lands are similar. For example India and Madagascar have similar mammals, which are quite different from those in Africa, even though it is now near to Madagascar.
► Fossil plants in India, South Africa, Australia, Antarctica and South America are similar to each other. This so-called Glossopteris flora is quite different from plants found in other parts of the world at the same time.
► The same applies to fossil animals.
► There are numerous geological similarities between eastern South America and western Africa.
► Apparent Polar Wandering: Paleomagnetism tells us how far from the poles rocks were when they formed, by looking at the angle of their magnetic field. The story told by different continents is contradictory, and can only be explained if we assume the continents have moved over time.
There are ridges in the floors of the main oceans.
Paleomagnetism shows that the sea floor has spread away from these ridges. Distinct patterns of stripes can be seen in the magnetism of rocks on either side of the ridges.
Magnetic stripes provide evidence of sea floor spreading
Copyright © 2020 Wyken Seagrave | Published by Penny Press Ltd
eBook only £5.99
398 pages, 300 images
"I find the science fabulous...an extremely useful teaching tool."
Professor David Christian.
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FROZEN -- DVD review by porfle
"Predicament" movies are weird. If they're done badly, they're boring, but if they're done well, they can be torture to endure. So the only way to judge a movie about stranded people struggling to survive the elements, or trying not to get devoured by man-eating sharks or giant crocodiles, is by how unpleasant it is to watch. FROZEN (2010) is unpleasant all right, though perhaps not quite the ultimate ordeal the filmmakers were aiming for.
The set-up is about as simple as it gets--three college kids go skiing for the weekend, get stuck on the ski-lift as the lodge closes for the week, and must either figure out a way to get down or slowly freeze to death. Dan (Kevin Zegers, IT'S A BOY GIRL THING, Zack Snyder's DAWN OF THE DEAD) and Lynch (Shawn Ashmore, "Iceman" in the X-MEN movies) are childhood buddies who have grudgingly invited Dan's girlfriend Parker (newcomer Emma Bell), a novice skier, along on what is usually a "guy" outing.
Like your typical teen movie, FROZEN begins with the three friends frolicking on the slopes to jaunty rock music and engaging in insubstantial dialogue back at the lodge, with the hint of romantic complications cropping up amongst them. It's only when the ski-lift suddenly stops as they head up the mountain for one last late-night run that the harsh reality of the "predicament" flick hits our now totally helpless trio with a sickening thud. While at first it seems like the set-up for an episode of "Seinfeld", they gradually realize that they're in big trouble and the viewer settles in for the ordeal to come.
To the movie's credit, the formerly lighthearted tone turns dark pretty quick as the hopeless situation goes shockingly wrong. We've only had a brief time to get to know the characters, who aren't all that deep to begin with, but we've been made to care about them just enough to cringe during their increasingly desperate attempts to save themselves. Meanwhile, they're buffeted by icy cold sleet and stricken with frostbite, and--wouldn't you know it--the bolts holding their ski-lift chair in place are coming loose.
With only three characters, you know something bad's going to happen to somebody sooner or later. It proves to be sooner when one of them decides to jump, hoping the snow will break the fall. It doesn't. At that point, the film offers its equivalent to those man-eating sharks and giant crocodiles when a pack of ravenous wolves emerges from the forest. This leaves only one remaining course of action--climbing up to the razor-sharp cable overhead and dangling hand-over-hand to the nearest support tower, where a ladder awaits. Again, the suspense is painfully nerve-wracking.
Performances by the leads are as good as they need to be, with Emma Bell ably supplying most of the histrionics (especially when she starts worrying about what will happen to her dog if she dies). Writer-director Adam Green (HATCHET, GRACE) wrings a good deal of tension from his simple premise and uses the camera well, with most or all of the outdoor scenes shot on location to establish a realistic sense of windswept isolation. The stuntwork is coordinated by Jason Voorhees himself, Kane Hodder, who plays a bit part in the film.
The DVD from Anchor Bay is in 2.40:1 anamorphic widescreen with English Dolby Surround 5.1 and Spanish Mono. Subtitles are in English and Spanish. Extras include a commentary track with director Green and the three lead actors, plus four "making of" featurettes, altered and deleted scenes, a trailer, and an Easter egg.
Not quite as gruelingly suspenseful as BLACK WATER or some other films of its ilk, FROZEN is still one of the most nail-biting flicks I've seen in recent years. I doubt if it will have much rewatch value for me, but it's just the thing to get the old adrenaline going.
Labels: Anchor Bay, Blu-Ray, DVD, Horror, Movies, Porfle, review, thriller
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Home Food & Drink Bars This bar’s all star whiskey selection includes some of the rarest (and...
This bar’s all star whiskey selection includes some of the rarest (and oldest) in Manchester
Get your name engraved on the whiskey hall of fame at All Star Lanes
Chris Greenhalgh
You’ll be bowled over by the wide collection of whiskey at All Star Lanes Manchester.
All Star Lanes Manchester recently relaunched with a brand new look featuring stunning new karaoke booths, a private room with its own cocktail bar, and a summery new menu.
Taking centre stage of the Great Northern, this classy all-American bowling joint has a retro atmosphere that makes it a natural fit for an impressive line-up of American whiskies behind the bar.
In addition to the bar hostring over 80 whiskies, you’ll find a small whiskey room featuring a glass case filled with an encyclopaedic range of fine Bourbon, Rye Whiskey and other rare American spirits.
Some of the bourbons, such as Old Rip Van Winkle, are worth four figures.
In fact, one of the whiskies is so old and rare has its own hall of fame wall in the lobby of All Star Lanes. The Hannisville Rye Whiskey, 1863, is over 150 years old and will cost you £100 per measure at All Star Lanes.
Part of the legendary ‘Hannisville Cache,’ this Hannisville Rye is believed to have been distilled by a thriving distillery that opened in Philadelphia until the ban of alcohol during the US Prohibition.
According to a letter from the original owner, the rye was held in oak barrels for 50 years before being transferred into two glass carboys. It was purchased by US Ambassador of Great Britain, John Welsh and was passed down in his family for generations until being auctioned off. One of these carboys was purchased and rebottled by The Auld Alliance, a liquor company based in Singapore where it was sold by the bottle and by the glass.
All Star Lanes offers die hard whiskey drinkers the opportunity to be ‘immortalised’ by purchasing a measure for £100. They’ll even engrave your name on the whiskey hall of fame and gift you an All Star Lanes whiskey tumbler as a keepsake. It’s so rare that each ASL venue – from Manchester to London – holds only 24 measures of this rare Rye and when it’s gone it will be gone forever. So here’s your chance to become part of its legacy.
Cocktails fit the American diner and bowling scene here and they naturally celebrate the old fashioned. Their Classic Old Fashioned (£8.50) is patiently stirred with Woodford Reserve bourbon, soft brown sugar, Angostura bitters, orange bitters. Or, if you’re feeling rock and roll, order The Billionaire’s Old Fashioned (£15) stirred with Eagle Rare 10yr bourbon, Luxardo Maraschino liqueur, soft dark sugar, creole bitters, cherry preserve and special ingredient; truffle oil.
All Star Lanes
Great Northern Warehouse
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Al Capone’s Cell At ESP Keeps Conservators On Their Toes
At Eastern State Penitentiary, layers of history reveal more mysteries inside a famous gangster’s old prison cell. Kimberly Haas has the details
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The former First Presbyterian Church of the Northern Liberties knows the business of conversion. This low-key brick structure built in the early 1800’s on Fairmount Avenue spent decades as a theater, a hall for German singing societies, a Polish community house, and now lives out its days as a children’s learning center. The Shadow tallies up the building’s long list of reuse
Mysterious Major Development Proposal For 1300 Fairmount Avenue
Elusive real estate partners and scant details of a large-scale proposal for residential development and a supermarket on the 1300 block of Fairmount Avenue raises more questions than answers. Contributor Stephen Stofka takes a look
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1930s-era Art Deco auto showroom at 15th and Fairmount Avenue is bound for the Philadelphia Register after Historical Commission approves nomination
Prison Urges You To Bring Them Toys
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Sustainable mixed-use project at Broad and Ridge to offer 53 affordable units, retail, and office space–and great views of the monument across the street
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Helping Asian Wealth Management Communities interact
Xen Aims to Boost Asian HNWIs Access to the World of Alternative Investments
Katrina Cokeng of XEN
Some of the best returns globally are being attained in the rather private world of private investments. But how can Asia’s accredited investors – the typical HNWIs - access this heavyweight USD18 trillion-plus universe of opportunities? Well, lightweight amateur weightlifter Katrina Cokeng, a highly accomplished financial sector entrepreneur who is now on her second fintech creation, formed Xen in late 2018 to realise her vision of a future of alternative asset management powered by technology for the optimal transparency, liquidity and cost-efficiency. Hubbis recently met with the dynamic Cokeng, Xen’s co-founder and CEO.
There are plenty of barriers to entry for Asian investors who are not big enough to buy directly into the many alternative investment opportunities around the globe, the deals that span the spheres of private equity, venture capital, real estate, infrastructure, private debt and hedge funds.
Aside from often requiring single commitments of USD20 million or more, they are illiquid and not especially transparent. They are also long-term commitments, often of 10 years, perhaps more.
Xen’s solution
But fintech start-up Xen, co-founded by Cokeng in late 2018, has created a solution which allows fractionalized access and tradability in these alternative investments. Xen is therefore opening up a world of opportunity for such investments to accredited investors in Asia. And as the market is estimated to be worth more than USD18 trillion, the potential for pooling these sources of private wealth in Asia is immense.
Xen’s creators believe this is the first-of-its-kind digital securitization platform that provides a one-stop solution for access and liquidity in alternative investments.
Utilising blockchain
The endgame is to issue blockchain-enabled digital securities for private investments that turn the illiquid to liquid assets, and partnering with licensed exchanges for trading of digital securities in a compliant environment.
“What we do is provide access and tradability and top tier alternative investment opportunities, private equity funds, venture capital funds, and hedge funds to accredited investors in Asia,” Cokeng explains.
She started Xen in Singapore in November last year, and right now the firm is in final proof of concept stage, with about 16 staff globally, 13 in Singapore, two in Hong Kong, one in New York.
Rapid progress
Cokeng is nothing if not focused and dynamic. Within two months of launching Xen with her co-founder and COO, Manish Sansi, they had developed and launched the initial beta, then securing a strategic investor to fund the first year of operations, and obtaining initial commitments of USD1.8 million from VC investors in a seed round in early 2019.
“We are currently in the process of closing the first USD100 million of investments from accredited investors and family offices in Asia, who are investing in about five top tier funds within private equity, venture and hedge funds,” she reports.
Democratising the alternative space
With a vision of unlocking quality, global alternative investments for a more democratised cross-section of wealthy Asian investors, Xen’s premise is that it is transforming the asset management industry by empowering licensed, high-performing alternative investment managers to raise capital with improved scalability, efficiency, transparency, security, compliance and credibility. And all achieved through a user-friendly, compliant onboarding platform.
Matching supply and demand
Cokeng sees Xen as a platform to serve both the supply and demand sides. “For the supply side, we approach it as a fund of funds,” she elucidates, “with no demands on the private equity firm or the hedge fund to change the way they do things. Our value to them is that we come in as a single counterparty, as we aggregate money from different accredited investor sources in Asia, so we can meet their minimum cheque size.”
And for the investors, she maintains that Xen is helping them adapt to new market dynamics. “Private is becoming the new public,” she observes, “because a lot of companies are taking longer and longer to go to IPO, and then many unicorns underperform on the listing, so our investors want to get in earlier to this fascinating world of private investments.”
Asia’s wealth dynamics
Add to this the rapid growth in wealth in Asia and intergenerational transfer of that wealth, and Xen is deeply engaged with family offices, mostly single-family offices, which represent an accredited investor community which is increasingly sophisticated, but of a size that also needs to aggregate with other sources of money in order to access the large-ticket investments in some of the stellar, brand name alternative investment vehicles around the globe.
Cokeng notes, for example, that to buy into a top tier private equity fund might require a minimum commitment of perhaps USD20 million. “We create a feeder vehicle like a Cayman SPV to buy in, and we feed in accredited investors who might want to put in anywhere from USD100,000 each,” she reports. “Our mission is to enable investors to access institutional-quality opportunities that have a proven track record of at least five years, and a strong investment thesis,” she explains. “We have an investment process, we conduct due diligence, we have an investment committee.”
Making the illiquid tradable
But the vision does not end there. “Once they are in,” Cokeng reports, “we can open up a market for investors to buy and sell the LP interests in our own feeder vehicles. For the LP, they get the USD20 million for the lifetime of the fund, such as 10 or 12 years, but our investors can trade in and out. In short, we create a secondary market for these illiquid LP interests.”
Xen is adopting blockchain technology to facilitate this. “Because we are new,” Cokeng explains, “we have the luxury of building our platform using all the latest technologies and blockchain is a way to create essentially digital shares out of illiquid assets. That will ultimately make the buying and selling of these illiquid limited partnership (LP) investments more accessible in a secondary marketplace.”
Xen is already licensed as an asset manager with a Cayman-domiciled fund of funds and is also in the process of acquiring a company that holds a full Monetary Authority of Singapore Capital Markets Service (CMS) Licence.
Regulatory rectitude
“All the underlying products are still funds, in other words collective investment schemes or securities, which means Xen has to be regulated as a distributor of securities,” Cokeng reports. “We follow all the fund administration, custody, and KYC compliance protocols as if we are marketing securities, which is exactly what we are doing.”
The Xen investors have real, part ownership through the Cayman SPV. “We only use blockchain and smart contracts as a way to effectively codify the terms of the fund, the lockup period, the margin fees and the carry and any marketing or investor restrictions,” Cokeng elucidates. “For example, if there are certain funds that don’t want to take US investors, we encode that into the terms of the security in order to make it easier for buyers and sellers to transact on our platform, but the underlying is still exactly the LP interest, so any holder of the security is listed as holder of that particular vehicle.”
Cokeng explains that the type of funds that Xen targets are professionally organised and report a quarterly or monthly NAV, depending on whether they are PE/VC fund or a hedge fund investment.
Bringing it to light
“We then publish these NAVs on our dashboard,” she reports, “just as in the institutional markets, and investors might then want to buy in at discounts or premiums to NAV during the lives of those investments. For the most popular funds, I must admit we seldom actually see discounts, because there is constant demand, but for closed-end vehicles, such as private equity and venture capital, we sometimes see some slight discount to NAV when sellers dispose to new buyers.”
Cokeng notes that there are many issues with private investments and the potential lack of transparency. “By improving transparency in the space, especially if we offer fractionalised access, tradability and liquidity, these investments can become more suitable for accredited investors, and maybe even retail investors down the line,” she comments. “The ecosystem needs to some extent to reflect some of the strengths of the public markets, in terms of safeguards, research, investor protection, and liquidity.”
They will never be as volatile as public securities because of the lack of daily NAVs and massive market makers (like the huge hedge funds for the public markets) – for example just look at how closed end funds trade on the markets, these are often quite illiquid and trade at big discounts to NAV.
Cokeng adds that there are wider efforts in the industry to apply these concepts to very illiquid assets like art, wine, and some single asset real estate, but Xen prefers to stick to its core market.
Strict focus on target markets
“We are highly focused on our target segment, we are not a fund-raising platform,” she reports, “so we want to stick to institutional opportunities that can be opened up for accredited investors. The reason we are starting with funds with collective investment schemes is that there are a lot of ecosystem measures in place, there are fund administrators, there are custodians, there is a way to assess NAV and essentially the price to value of these assets. With art, for example, there are many other factors in play, for example storage, valuation, verification of ownership, insurance and so forth.”
Cokeng says that there are platforms similar to Xen in North America that enable accredited investors to access funds, but they are more focused on B2B, meaning they tend to serve the private banks who want to aggregate their customers.
“But we want to look beyond the private banks to a broader market in Asia, where wealth expansion is so dynamic, especially from the entrepreneurs and business owners who are more price sensitive, and at the same time are looking to generate alpha in various ways.”
She says that the major global private banks do use a similar type of technology and platform to help aggregate their smaller investors into specific investments that require scale.
The competitive comfort zone
“That is how they aggregate their private banking customers into the USD100 million to even USD300 million single commitments into some of these mega buyout funds or hedge funds,” she explains. “But we don’t see ourselves as being in competition there, as we are targeting a different segment of customers. And for those banks, the way compliance requirements are today and given their cost structures, it is difficult for them to target the lower high net worth and affluent accredited investors we deal with, which is really our key target segment. The banks are taking USD10 million and above per private investor. They won’t come into our market segment, as the economics really won’t work for them.”
Cokeng’s first priority from here is to fully confirm proof of concept. “We are targeting to reach the first USD100 million of customer assets,” she reports, “and successful onboarding to our platform and getting them into the top tier type of oversubscribed funds. We must prove that we are able to generate enough demand from clients in Asia, and then we can build out in the middle a scalable platform that will eventually yield more transparency, fractionalised access and eventually a secondary trading marketplace for our investors. Those are the three things - high-quality products, enough investor demand and then an easy to use kind of platform marketplace.”
Bringing on the heavy hitters
Looking to the future, Xen has also been hiring some heavyweight supporters to help authenticate and drive the business forward.
The former Managing Director of Singapore’s Government Investment Corporation (GIC), Bernard Phang, joined the Board of Advisors in May this year, lending his deep experience in alternative investments globally. Phang is a veteran of the investment industry, having worked for GIC in USA, Asia and Europe for over 25 years, investing in real estate and private equity.
Phang will focus on advising and providing feedback on Xen’s business and growth strategy, as well as their portfolio design. At GIC he played an instrumental role in setting the strategic direction of GIC’s real estate portfolio and was responsible for the portfolio design, market research, benchmarks and risk management framework, according to a release in May.
“He brings with him an impressive wealth of experience and a unique perspective on the global alternative investment landscape,” says Cokeng. “His deep understanding of the industry, particularly in real estate investing, will serve us well as we partner with more high-performing alternative investment managers and connect a wider group of investors with quality opportunities.”
Phang had said on joining Xen: “Currently, most accredited investors in Asia are shut out of attractive alternative investment opportunities due to high minimum investment levels, illiquidity and a lack of transparency. Xen’s aim is to curate a portfolio of high-quality opportunities from the alternative investment space, including private equity, hedge funds, real estate and venture capital, and make them readily available to accredited investors. Xen’s unique business proposition has the potential to fill the gap between the needs of a big segment of the investor market and the opportunities offered by attractive private market investments. This is a very interesting and exciting opportunity.”
Phang joined another leading light on the Xen Advisory Board for Asia. Xen had already attracted Yong Hak Huh, former CIO of Private Markets and Direct Investment at Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), who joined as an Advisor in January 2019.
The operational team is also being built out. In late July, Tim Janke joined Xen as Chief Financial Officer. Based in New York, Janke is now responsible for the firm’s overall financial strategy, including financial planning and analysis, financial reporting, accounting, tax and regulatory reporting matters. Janke joined Xen from State Street Corporation where he was a Senior Vice President and brings to Xen more than 20 years of finance expertise, a broad knowledge of the global asset management industry, and a decade of leadership roles in Asia, including having been Blackstone’s first Asia CFO.
“Xen is at the forefront of a revolution in the asset management industry, providing accredited investors in Asia access to alternative asset classes and managers that have historically been the province of large institutional investors,” Janke commented in July. “I am excited to be joining Xen at this pivotal time as the business continues scaling for growth.”
A market ripe for change
“The successful launch of Xen underscores how the alternative asset management industry was ripe for change,” says Cokeng in closing the discussion. “Accredited investors in Asia demand increasing access to alternative opportunities to diversify their portfolios, especially as they prepare for the late-cycle.”
Katrina Cokeng
Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer at XEN
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Shaping The View Manchester School of Art
Shaping the View - was the title of the Illustration Research Conference held at Edinburgh College of Art (ECA) in November 2016. As part of the conference an exhibition was held at the the ECA sculpture courtyard space showcasing speakers and contributors work at the event.
An idea to tour this show was floated with the hosts and it subsequently travelled down to Manchester School of Art and was there re-curated for the Benzie Building vertical gallery by Ian Whadcock and Desdemona McCannon. The work was on public display from 20th January - 28th February 2017.
This show has subsequently toured to Hereford College of Art and the University of Derby in 2017.
All Images remain the copyright of Ian Whadcock. For image reuse licensing please see the contact page. Powered by Adobe Portfolio
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qwertyman 0 Sun Dec 08, 2013 2:21 am
qjohnnyp 7 Sun Dec 08, 2013 6:55 pm
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Qaziklegend 0 Tue Jan 28, 2014 5:51 pm
quvipp 0 Sat Feb 01, 2014 7:57 pm
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Quantumplex 0 Fri Feb 14, 2014 11:15 pm
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qzpmal 0 Mon Mar 10, 2014 12:33 am
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Boeing 787 Dreamliner makes its first official visit to Ireland ©
“The all-new 787 Dreamliner continues to generate tremendous enthusiasm everywhere it flies’-Scott Fancher GM & VP 787 Program
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner made its first official visit to Ireland when N787BX Boeing 787-86Q c/n 40692 Boeing Company using call sign ‘Boeing 787’ touched down at Dublin Airport at 2030 hours on the 25th of January as part of the second segment of the Dream Tour.
The tremendous enthusiasm was witnessed at Dublin Airport as many people made the trip to the airport to witness the arrival and the departure, many airport staff toured the aircraft in the hangar.
The aircraft was parked on stand 86R on the North West end of Pier D on arrival before being towed to Hangar 6 where it would remain for the duration of its stay, show casing the aircraft to delegates from the Air Finance Conference.
The Dream Tour saw the aircraft visit Wichita on the 20-23rd to visit Boeing 787 partner Spirit AeroSystems and Boeing employees and on the 23rd to the 25th to visit Hamilton Sunstrand, then to Dublin in visit airline customers, financiers, leasing companies and other stakeholders to coincide with the 14th Annual Air Finance Conference in the Four Seasons Hotel. The next stop on the tour after Dublin was Huntsville ,Alabama to visit a Boeing plant.
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner has been a regular visit to Ireland having made transit stops in Shannon en route from Air Shows in Europe returning to its Seattle base, with the first visit having taken place on the 28th of July 2010.
Boeing 787 Dreamliner IrelandVisits:
N787BA Boeing 787-86Q c/n 40690 Shannon Airport 19th August 2011(Farnborough).
N787BX Boeing 787-86Q c/n 40692 Shannon Airport 28th July 2010 (MAKS Moscow).
N787BX Boeing 787-86Q c/n 40692 Shannon Airport 17th November 2011 (Dream Tour
N787BX Boeing 787-86Q c/n 40692 Dublin Airport 25-27th January 2012 (Air Finance Conference).
On the 12th of December Etihad Airways who operate 10 weekly services on the Abu Dhabi to Dublin route using Airbus A330-200s announced it placed an order for 10 additional Boeing 787-9s plus 25 purchase rights for a total of 41 aircraft making them the largest operator of the type in due course, as they take delivery of the aircraft between 2014-2019. The airline announced that Dublin would be one of the initial destinations for the new aircraft.
The Dublin visit coincided with a number of major developments in the Dreamliner Programme on the 21st of January as the aircraft embarked on the Dream Tour ANA Airlines introduced the type on its first long-haul commercial service between Tokyo Haneda and Frankfurt operating three times weekly.
ANA stated the customer satisfaction has been high with the aircraft having entered service in November on two routes with 96.3% reliability operating with a load factor of 88%, which is 12% above the average compared to other aircraft carrying 100,000 passengers since they have entered service.
On the 25th of January the aircraft made its debut in insurance programmes also with its 2011 Financial results Boeing announced that it planned to increase production of the Boeing 787 from 2.5 per month to 3.5 by Q2 and five per month by the end of the year with the new assembly line at Charlestown to be on stream for deliveries from Q2. The company stated it planned to deliver 35 to 43 Boeing 787s in 2012.
On the 27th of January the day of departure from Dublin it was announced the Dreamliner was honoured with the ‘Aircraft of Legend’ award by the Living Legends of Aviation Organization.
The Boeing VP Chief Project Engineer 787 Program Mike Sinnett stated ‘It is recognition of the expertise, skill and dedication that has gone into the creation of this airplane and an inspiration we’ll always keep in front of us-it’s something to continue to live up to’
The European 787 Dreamliner Order Book:
Air Berlin: 10 Boeing 787-9s
Air France: 25 Boeing 787-9s + 25 Options
British Airways: 24 Boeing 787-8/9s+ 18 Options + 10 Purchase Rights
Icelandair: 1 Boeing 787-8
Norwegian Air Shuttle: 6 Boeing 787-8s +2 leased from ILFC due for delivery in 2012
LOT Polish Airlines: 8 Boeing 787-8s
Thomsonfly: 8 Boeing 787-8s + 13 Options
Virgin Atlantic: 15 Boeing 787-9s + 8 Options
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner has a very healthy backlog with 870 firm orders from 59 customers valued at $170 Billion, with five aircraft delivered to ANA. The year has started strong for the Dreamliner with Air France confirming an order for 25 Boeing 787-9s on the 10th of January and on the 12th of January a un-identified customer ordered 10 Boeing 787s.
The Boeing connection with Ireland is strong with Ryanair currently operating 275 Boeing 737-800s with a further 30 deliveries outstanding to complete its order, also Aer Lingus operated many Boeing types from the Boeing 707/720/747-100/737-200/300/400/500 from the 1970s through to 2005 when it phased out the Boeing 737-500 from service having opted for the A320 family for its short-haul operation.
Aer Lingus and Ryanair are not customers for the Boeing Dreamliner, both are currently evaluating the Boeing 737 Max which will adapt features of the Dreamliner, as fleet replacements for their A320 Family and Boeing 737-800s.
I enclose links of interest on 787:
All Things 787
HTTP://NYC787.BLOGSPOT.COM/
HTTP://WWW.BOEING.COM/COMMERCIAL/787FAMILY/
Boeing's New Airplane-787 Dreamliner
HTTP://WWW.NEWAIRPLANE.COM/787/
I am looking forward to the return of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner to the skies over Dublin hopefully the wait won't be too long!.
Irish Aviation Research Institute © 30th January 2012 All Rights Reserved.
Labels: Air Berlin, Air France, ANA, B787, Boeing, British Airways, Dream Tour, Dreamliner, Dublin Airport, Etihad Airways, Icelandair, LOT Polish Airlines, Norwegian Air Shuttle, Thomsonfly, Virgin Atlantic
Round Up of Dublin Boeing 787 Dreamliner Coverage ©
A Round up of the coverage of the first offical visit of N787BX Boeing 787-86Q Dreamliner c/n 40692 Boeing Company to Dublin Airport 25-27th January 2012, touching down in Dublin at 2030 on the 25th of January from Rockford and departing at 1453 on the 27th of January to Hunstville on the 2nd leg of its Dream Tour.
Boeing Announces Second Segment of 787 Dream Tour
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/boeing-announces-second-segment-of-787-dream-tour-2012-01-12
23rd January:
Boeing Dreamliner to Visit Dublin Airport
http://www.dublinairport.com/gns/at-the-airport/latest-news/12-01-23/Boeing_Dreamliner_to_Visit_Dublin_Airport.aspx
Boeing Dreamliner comes to Dublin
http://www.newstalk.ie/2012/news/boeing-dreamliner-comes-to-dublin/
Boeing 787 Dreamliner to visit Ireland
http://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/boeing-787-dreamliner-to-visit-ireland-537005.html
Boeing Dreamliner to swoop in on Dublin Airport tonight
http://www.siliconrepublic.com/innovation/item/25490-boeing-dreamliner-to-swoop
Boeing on ‘Dreamliner’ Tour to Dublin
http://98fm.com/2012/category-news-sport/boeing-dream/
Boeing 787-800 Boeing Co Dublin 25/1/2012 1st visit of B787 to Dublin
http://www.flickr.com/photos/namcys11/6762272117/
Boeing 787 Dreamliner first ever landing in Dublin Airport
Six One News: Boeing 787 'Dreamliner' on display in Dublin Airport
http://www.rte.ie/news/av/2012/0126/media-3180161.html
To Ireland! My symbolic first 787 flight
http://boeingblogs.com/dream_tour/archives/2012/01/to_ireland_my_symbolic_first_7.html
Already legendary
http://boeingblogs.com/randy/archives/2012/01/already_legendary.html
Dream machine: Boeing 787 Dreamliner makes Irish debut
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2012/0127/1224310810388.html
You're really flying now . . . jet brings travel into 21st century
http://www.independent.ie/travel/travel-news/youre-really-flying-now-jet-brings-travel-into-21st-century-3001815.html
Boeing 787 Dreamliner Named ‘Aircraft of Legend’
http://www.4-traders.com/THE-BOEING-COMPANY-4816/news/THE-BOEING-COMPANY-Boeing-787-Dreamliner-Named-Aircraft-of-Legend-13990775/
Boeing 787 Dreamliner at Dublin
Labels: Boeing, Dream Tour, Dreamliner, Dublin Airport Authority
European Airlines Cost Pressures grows ©
The year has begun with enormous cost pressures in the airline sector as legacy carriers continue to evolve their business models to ensure competitiveness and long-term viability, the transformation phase is far from over, in fact it is only has just beginning as personnel costs increasingly coming into focus to close the cost gap with LCC’s and Middle East competitors, in an uncertain economic environment, as recession looms.
Air France announced on the 13th of January a new transformational plan which will freeze pay and cut personnel costs by €1 Billion and it plans to increase productivity, as the carrier aims to return its short and medium haul network to break-even within three years (Bloomberg 13th January). The carrier has yet to outline the shape of its short-haul network where it has indicated routes will be axed, but has responded to the LCC threat with a new production platform using A320s at regional bases in Bordeaux and Marseille.
Since Mid-December unions at Iberia Airlines have been protesting over the IAG plan to set up a new in-house Low Cost Carrier Iberia Express to enable the carrier compete effectively against LCC’s Easyjet and Ryanair in the Spanish market. The Iberia Airlines Chairman Chairman Antonio Vazquez stated the new division is crucial to end losses on the short-haul network, as crews will be on similar conditions to those in Vueling Airlines, while the unions want to extend their employment guarantees until the end of 2015 (Bloomberg 13th January).
Lufthansa is set to announce its new cost reduction program in the first quarter to follow its 2011 Climb program; however the carrier has already had a skirmish with its unions over the crewing arrangements using its subsidiary AviationPower GmbH for its New Berlin Brandenburg Airport Base which will open on the 3rd of July (Bloomberg 5th January), while it has transferred its EU flights at its Stuttgart Base to its low cost subsidiary Germanwings.
SAS Airlines has announced it is to lay off 300 indirect administration staff as part of its ‘4Excellence Plan’ aimed to reduce unit costs by 3-5% annually, also the carrier has re-positioned Blue1 to become a feeder carrier into its Copenhagen and Stockholm Hubs (CAPA 4th January), while it is to strengthen co-operation with Star Alliance Singapore Airlines at Copenhagen after signing an MOU on the 12th of January for joint code-sharing flights (Airline and Destinations 12th January).
The end game of the evolution of the short and medium haul which will be adversely impacted by the response of the unions and the fallout from the recession and the lingering effects of the sovereign-debt crisis will zap any prospects for growth curbing demand for air travel. Therefore it is essential for carriers to protect their competitive position.
Labels: Air France, Blue1, Germanwings, Iberia Airlines, Iberia Express, SAS Airlines, Vueling Airlines
2012 The Year of European Airline Consolidation ©
This year is certain to be one of consolidation in the European airline sector as the industry is continually being buffeted by events as the European debt crisis continues with record unemployment levels and austerity depressing demand across the EU, the new EU ETS Scheme took effect from the 1st of January, and the evolving situation in the Middle East over the Iran nuclear program. These events are likely to accelerate the pace of the consolidation in the sector, as airlines grapple with rising costs and slowing demand.
The cornerstone of the re-structuring of the European airline industry begun with the winter schedule, as many airlines adopted their strategies to evolve with the rapidly changing market conditions, to focus on their core market strength, which is creating new market opportunities for LCC carriers, to fill the gaps.
Ryanair has first mover advantage to seize the market gaps having announced new bases in Billund as Cimber Sterling re-focuses on the domestic and regional market, and in Paphos taking advantage of the new Cyprus government route incentive scheme and the re-structuring of Cyprus Airways.
On the 22nd of December Air Baltic announced it was re-focusing its Riga Hub to focus on Eastern Europe and the Nordic market with a reducing its fleet from 33 to 24 aircraft, announcing plans to phase out its 2 Boeing 757-200s and 5 Fokker F50s, the Boeing 737 Classic fleet to be replaced by A320s or B737NG’s (Aviation Week 22nd December)
Its Nordic neighbour Danish carrier Cimber Sterling announced on the 14th of December it would be adopting a new strategy to focus on domestic and regional traffic within Scandinavia deepening co-operation with its sister company Skyways to operate Regional Jets (CRJ/ERJs), while disposing its fleet of Boeing 737-700s (Reuters 14th December).
CSA Czech Airline announced that it was transferring flying from the parent company to its CSA Holidays Airlines subsidiary with 11 ATR72/A320s in order to reduce costs (ATW 8th December), while Malev Airlines was given a loan of $21 million by the Hungarian government pending the sale of the airline to a strategic investor, while the Serbian government announced it will be downsizing JAT Airways after being unable to attract an strategic investor, interestingly Adria Airways and Croatia Airlines signed a co-operation agreement to share aircraft and routes on the 19th of September.
In the Med Cyprus Airways announced it was returning its two A330-200s to ILFC replacing them with A321s while enhancing co-operation with Olympic Airways and Virgin Atlantic Airways, Air Malta announced a re-structuring plan on the 18th of December.
The turbulent market conditions have impacted on major EU Carriers with Air France-KLM after reporting a small Q3 profit of €95 million down 95% year on year the carrier is expected to announce a new cost reduction strategy in early 2012 to follow the ‘Challenge 12’ program. The Air France-KLM subsidiary Martinair exited the passenger market after 60 years at the end of October phasing out its Boeing 767-300s to focus on cargo operations, also Lufthansa is expected to announce a new cost reduction plan in early 2012 which the Lufthansa CEO Christoph Franz described as ‘The new and constantly changing environment’ (CAPA 19th December).
The European Consolidation process began in earnest on the 19th of December when Etihad Airways announced that it would be increasing its stake in Air Berlin from 3.3% to 29%, strengthening the position of the carrier in the market, this was followed on the 22nd of December with the announcement Lufthansa reached agreement to sell BMI Airlines to the IAG Group which will strengthen the position of the IAG Group amongst the three European mega-carriers enabling the carrier to grow its long-haul network.
It will be an interesting year as Etihad Airways looks for further acquisition opportunities in the EU, recently media reports suggested Qatar Airways is interested in acquiring up to 49% of Spanair, while SAS Airlines denied it was in talks with the airline. As part of the EU/IMF plans in Ireland and Portugal the government shares have been earmarked for disposal to raise cash, also CSA Czech Airlines and Malev Airlines are seeking strategic investors, while Alitalia Airlines may yet merge with Air France-KLM.
The market place stress is further evidenced by Flybe announcing a profit warning yesterday stating UK domestic demand is weak and it is unable to increase fares (Bloomberg 10th January), to reduce dependence on its home market, it continues to seek opportunities for M&A in the EU to build on the launch of Flybe Nordic.
The question that has to be asked is who will be next in line to consolidate?
Labels: Air Baltic, Air Berlin, Air France-KLM, Cimber Sterling, CSA Czech Airlines, Cyprus Airways, Lufthansa, Malev Airlines, SAS Airlines
Irish Airlines Report December Traffic ©
Aer Lingus announced that it carried 638,000 passengers in December up 13% with a load factor of 68.4% down 6.2%. The airline carried 64,000 long-haul passengers down 5.9% with a load factor of 69.5% down 7.1% on capacity up 5.6%, and it carried 574,000 short-haul passengers up 14% with a load factor of 67.7% down 5.5% on a 22.8% increase in capacity.
Aer Lingus Regional carried 64,000 passengers up 30.6% and in 2011 it carried a total of 790,000 passengers up 84.1%.
The Aer Lingus traffic stats where impacted by year-year on comparison due to December 2010 Snow impact which adversely impacted operations, and exclude traffic carried on the United Airlines Joint-Venture route Washington Dulles to Madrid.
Interestingly Aer Lingus carried a total of 9.755 million passengers in 2011 up 0.5% which is a positive development given the extremely difficult conditions in its home market.
Ryanair announced that it carried 4.8 million passengers in December down 5% with a load factor of 79% down 1% and it carried a total of 76.4 million passengers in 2011.
Irish Aviation Research Institute © 9th January 2012 All Rights Reserved.
Labels: Aer Lingus, Aer Lingus Regional, Ryanair
Boeing 787 Dreamliner makes its first official vis...
Round Up of Dublin Boeing 787 Dreamliner Coverage ...
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The effects of hypogonadism on quality of life in survivors of germ cell tumors treated with surgery alone versus surgery plus platinum-based chemotherapy
N. Khanal, S. S. Ahmed, M. Kalra, T. J. Miller, M. J. Brames, T. E. Stump, P. Monahan, N. H. Hanna, Lawrence H. Einhorn
Background: It is important to assess the prevalence of hypogonadism and to identify the correlation between hypogonadism and cancer treatment with quality of life (QoL) in germ cell tumor (GCT) survivors. Methods: This is a single-center, non-randomized, prospective observational study in GCT survivors 18–50 years of age previously treated with surgery and chemotherapy (S+C) or surgery alone (S). Patients completed a validated QoL questionnaire at baseline, 3, and 6 months. Patients received supplemental testosterone as clinically indicated. Mean QoL scores were compared between two treatment groups (S+C vs. S) and within each group between survivors with hypogonadism (serum testosterone level < 300 ng/dL) versus without. A two-sided independent-groups t test was used to compare means. Results: We evaluated 199 GCT survivors. At baseline, the prevalence of biochemical hypogonadism was 48% overall, 51% in S+C group, and 45% in S group (p =.4). Overall, there was no statistically significant difference in QoL scores between S+C and C groups, except the S+C group exhibited greater modified Aging Male Symptoms (AMS) at baseline and 6 months. Patients with hypogonadism reported more fatigue, poor sleep quality, and worse general health at baseline. There were no statistical differences in mean QOL scores between patients with testosterone < 300 ng/dL who received testosterone supplementation and who did not. Conclusion: A significant proportion of GCT survivors have low testosterone levels after platinum-based chemotherapy and surgery as well as with just surgery alone. GCT survivors treated with platinum-based chemotherapy exhibited more symptoms related to male aging compared with survivors treated with surgery alone.
Supportive Care in Cancer
Accepted/In press - Jan 1 2019
Germ Cell and Embryonal Neoplasms
Germ cell tumor survivorship
Platinum-based chemotherapy
Testosterone replacement
Khanal, N., Ahmed, S. S., Kalra, M., Miller, T. J., Brames, M. J., Stump, T. E., ... Einhorn, L. H. (Accepted/In press). The effects of hypogonadism on quality of life in survivors of germ cell tumors treated with surgery alone versus surgery plus platinum-based chemotherapy. Supportive Care in Cancer. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-019-05117-0
The effects of hypogonadism on quality of life in survivors of germ cell tumors treated with surgery alone versus surgery plus platinum-based chemotherapy. / Khanal, N.; Ahmed, S. S.; Kalra, M.; Miller, T. J.; Brames, M. J.; Stump, T. E.; Monahan, P.; Hanna, N. H.; Einhorn, Lawrence H.
In: Supportive Care in Cancer, 01.01.2019.
Khanal, N, Ahmed, SS, Kalra, M, Miller, TJ, Brames, MJ, Stump, TE, Monahan, P, Hanna, NH & Einhorn, LH 2019, 'The effects of hypogonadism on quality of life in survivors of germ cell tumors treated with surgery alone versus surgery plus platinum-based chemotherapy', Supportive Care in Cancer. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-019-05117-0
Khanal N, Ahmed SS, Kalra M, Miller TJ, Brames MJ, Stump TE et al. The effects of hypogonadism on quality of life in survivors of germ cell tumors treated with surgery alone versus surgery plus platinum-based chemotherapy. Supportive Care in Cancer. 2019 Jan 1. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-019-05117-0
Khanal, N. ; Ahmed, S. S. ; Kalra, M. ; Miller, T. J. ; Brames, M. J. ; Stump, T. E. ; Monahan, P. ; Hanna, N. H. ; Einhorn, Lawrence H. / The effects of hypogonadism on quality of life in survivors of germ cell tumors treated with surgery alone versus surgery plus platinum-based chemotherapy. In: Supportive Care in Cancer. 2019.
@article{13b233c02ff641b0b348fa3d91e0084e,
title = "The effects of hypogonadism on quality of life in survivors of germ cell tumors treated with surgery alone versus surgery plus platinum-based chemotherapy",
abstract = "Background: It is important to assess the prevalence of hypogonadism and to identify the correlation between hypogonadism and cancer treatment with quality of life (QoL) in germ cell tumor (GCT) survivors. Methods: This is a single-center, non-randomized, prospective observational study in GCT survivors 18–50 years of age previously treated with surgery and chemotherapy (S+C) or surgery alone (S). Patients completed a validated QoL questionnaire at baseline, 3, and 6 months. Patients received supplemental testosterone as clinically indicated. Mean QoL scores were compared between two treatment groups (S+C vs. S) and within each group between survivors with hypogonadism (serum testosterone level < 300 ng/dL) versus without. A two-sided independent-groups t test was used to compare means. Results: We evaluated 199 GCT survivors. At baseline, the prevalence of biochemical hypogonadism was 48{\%} overall, 51{\%} in S+C group, and 45{\%} in S group (p =.4). Overall, there was no statistically significant difference in QoL scores between S+C and C groups, except the S+C group exhibited greater modified Aging Male Symptoms (AMS) at baseline and 6 months. Patients with hypogonadism reported more fatigue, poor sleep quality, and worse general health at baseline. There were no statistical differences in mean QOL scores between patients with testosterone < 300 ng/dL who received testosterone supplementation and who did not. Conclusion: A significant proportion of GCT survivors have low testosterone levels after platinum-based chemotherapy and surgery as well as with just surgery alone. GCT survivors treated with platinum-based chemotherapy exhibited more symptoms related to male aging compared with survivors treated with surgery alone.",
keywords = "Germ cell tumor survivorship, Hypogonadism, Platinum-based chemotherapy, Quality of life, Testosterone replacement",
author = "N. Khanal and Ahmed, {S. S.} and M. Kalra and Miller, {T. J.} and Brames, {M. J.} and Stump, {T. E.} and P. Monahan and Hanna, {N. H.} and Einhorn, {Lawrence H.}",
doi = "10.1007/s00520-019-05117-0",
journal = "Supportive Care in Cancer",
T1 - The effects of hypogonadism on quality of life in survivors of germ cell tumors treated with surgery alone versus surgery plus platinum-based chemotherapy
AU - Khanal, N.
AU - Ahmed, S. S.
AU - Kalra, M.
AU - Miller, T. J.
AU - Brames, M. J.
AU - Stump, T. E.
AU - Monahan, P.
AU - Hanna, N. H.
AU - Einhorn, Lawrence H.
N2 - Background: It is important to assess the prevalence of hypogonadism and to identify the correlation between hypogonadism and cancer treatment with quality of life (QoL) in germ cell tumor (GCT) survivors. Methods: This is a single-center, non-randomized, prospective observational study in GCT survivors 18–50 years of age previously treated with surgery and chemotherapy (S+C) or surgery alone (S). Patients completed a validated QoL questionnaire at baseline, 3, and 6 months. Patients received supplemental testosterone as clinically indicated. Mean QoL scores were compared between two treatment groups (S+C vs. S) and within each group between survivors with hypogonadism (serum testosterone level < 300 ng/dL) versus without. A two-sided independent-groups t test was used to compare means. Results: We evaluated 199 GCT survivors. At baseline, the prevalence of biochemical hypogonadism was 48% overall, 51% in S+C group, and 45% in S group (p =.4). Overall, there was no statistically significant difference in QoL scores between S+C and C groups, except the S+C group exhibited greater modified Aging Male Symptoms (AMS) at baseline and 6 months. Patients with hypogonadism reported more fatigue, poor sleep quality, and worse general health at baseline. There were no statistical differences in mean QOL scores between patients with testosterone < 300 ng/dL who received testosterone supplementation and who did not. Conclusion: A significant proportion of GCT survivors have low testosterone levels after platinum-based chemotherapy and surgery as well as with just surgery alone. GCT survivors treated with platinum-based chemotherapy exhibited more symptoms related to male aging compared with survivors treated with surgery alone.
AB - Background: It is important to assess the prevalence of hypogonadism and to identify the correlation between hypogonadism and cancer treatment with quality of life (QoL) in germ cell tumor (GCT) survivors. Methods: This is a single-center, non-randomized, prospective observational study in GCT survivors 18–50 years of age previously treated with surgery and chemotherapy (S+C) or surgery alone (S). Patients completed a validated QoL questionnaire at baseline, 3, and 6 months. Patients received supplemental testosterone as clinically indicated. Mean QoL scores were compared between two treatment groups (S+C vs. S) and within each group between survivors with hypogonadism (serum testosterone level < 300 ng/dL) versus without. A two-sided independent-groups t test was used to compare means. Results: We evaluated 199 GCT survivors. At baseline, the prevalence of biochemical hypogonadism was 48% overall, 51% in S+C group, and 45% in S group (p =.4). Overall, there was no statistically significant difference in QoL scores between S+C and C groups, except the S+C group exhibited greater modified Aging Male Symptoms (AMS) at baseline and 6 months. Patients with hypogonadism reported more fatigue, poor sleep quality, and worse general health at baseline. There were no statistical differences in mean QOL scores between patients with testosterone < 300 ng/dL who received testosterone supplementation and who did not. Conclusion: A significant proportion of GCT survivors have low testosterone levels after platinum-based chemotherapy and surgery as well as with just surgery alone. GCT survivors treated with platinum-based chemotherapy exhibited more symptoms related to male aging compared with survivors treated with surgery alone.
KW - Germ cell tumor survivorship
KW - Hypogonadism
KW - Platinum-based chemotherapy
KW - Quality of life
KW - Testosterone replacement
U2 - 10.1007/s00520-019-05117-0
DO - 10.1007/s00520-019-05117-0
JO - Supportive Care in Cancer
JF - Supportive Care in Cancer
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Magnitude of the Age-Advancement Effect of Comorbidities in Colorectal Cancer Prognosis
Daniel Boakye, Viola Walter, Lina Jansen, Uwe M. Martens, Jenny Chang-Claude, Michael Hoffmeister and Hermann Brenner
Background: Comorbidities and old age independently compromise prognosis of patients with colorectal cancer (CRC). The impact of comorbidities could thus be considered as conveying worse prognosis already at younger ages, but evidence is lacking on how much worsening of prognosis with age is advanced to younger ages in comorbid versus noncomorbid patients. We aimed to quantify, for the first time, the impact of comorbidities on CRC prognosis in “age advancement” of worse prognosis. Methods: A total of 4,602 patients aged ≥30 years who were diagnosed with CRC in 2003 through 2014 were recruited into a population-based study in the Rhine-Neckar region of Germany and observed over a median period of 5.1 years. Overall comorbidity was quantified using the Charlson comorbidity index (CCI). Hazard ratios and age advancement periods (AAPs) for comorbidities were calculated from multivariable Cox proportional hazards models for relevant survival outcomes. Results: Hazard ratios for CCI scores 1, 2, and ≥3 compared with CCI 0 were 1.25, 1.53, and 2.30 (P<.001) for overall survival and 1.20, 1.48, and 2.03 (P<.001) for disease-free survival, respectively. Corresponding AAP estimates for CCI scores 1, 2, and ≥3 were 5.0 (95% CI, 1.9–8.1), 9.7 (95% CI, 6.1–13.3), and 18.9 years (95% CI, 14.4–23.3) for overall survival and 5.5 (95% CI, 1.5–9.5), 11.7 (95% CI, 7.0–16.4), and 21.0 years (95% CI, 15.1–26.9) for disease-free survival. Particularly pronounced effects of comorbidity on CRC prognosis were observed in patients with stage I–III CRC. Conclusions: Comorbidities advance the commonly observed deterioration of prognosis with age by many years, meaning that at substantially younger ages, comorbid patients with CRC experience survival rates comparable to those of older patients without comorbidity. This first derivation of AAPs may enhance the empirical basis for treatment decisions in patients with comorbidities and highlight the need to incorporate comorbidities into prognostic nomograms for CRC.
In Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network Volume 18 (2020): Issue 1 (Jan 2020)
Decreasing Use of Chemotherapy in Older Patients With Stage III Colon Cancer Irrespective of Comorbidities
Viola Walter, Daniel Boakye, Janick Weberpals, Lina Jansen, Walter E. Haefeli, Uwe M. Martens, Phillip Knebel, Jenny Chang-Claude, Michael Hoffmeister and Hermann Brenner
Background: Chemotherapy underuse in elderly patients (aged ≥75 years) with colon cancer has been reported in previous studies. However, these studies were mostly registry-based and limited in their potential to consider underlying reasons of such undertreatment. This study aimed to evaluate patient and hospital determinants of chemotherapeutic treatment in patients with stage III colon cancer, with a particular focus on age and underlying reasons for nontreatment of elderly patients. Methods: A total of 629 patients with stage III colon cancer who were diagnosed in 2003 through 2012 and recruited into a population-based study in the Rhine-Neckar region of Germany were included. Information on sociodemographic and lifestyle factors, comorbidities, and treatment was collected from patient interviews and physicians. Patient (with an emphasis on age) and hospital factors were evaluated for their associations with administration of adjuvant chemotherapy overall and of oxaliplatin specifically using multivariable logistic regression. Results: Administration of chemotherapy decreased from 94% in patients aged 30 to 64 years to 51% in those aged ≥75 years. A very strong decline in chemotherapy use with age persisted even after comprehensive adjustment for multiple patient factors—including comorbidities—and hospital factors and was also seen among patients without any major comorbidities. Between 2005 and 2008, and 2009 and 2012, chemotherapy administration in patients aged ≥75 years decreased from 60% to 41%. Among chemotherapy recipients, old age was also strongly associated with higher odds of nonadministration of oxaliplatin. The 2 most commonly reported reasons for chemotherapy nonreceipt among the study population were patient refusal (30%) and old age (24%). Conclusions: Age was the strongest predictor of chemotherapy underuse, irrespective of comorbidities and even in patients without comorbidities. Such underuse due just to older age in otherwise healthy patients deserves increased attention in clinical practice to ensure that elderly patients also get the best possible care. Patients’ refusal as the most frequent reason for chemotherapy nonreceipt also warrants further investigation to exclude misinformation as underlying cause.
In Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network Volume 17 (2019): Issue 9 (Sep 2019)
© 2019 National Comprehensive Cancer Network
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Category: Monument Valley Gathering 2011
Day One Wed. Oct.12
Dawn and I puttered around most of the morning, packing the galley, loading the truck and deciding exactly which clothing was appropriate for the uncertain weather of Monument Valley Utah. We finally got on the road at 11:00AM and before I was out of the neighborhood I noticed that the “check engine” light was flashing at me. Last week I had replaced the clutch and brakes, changed the oil and checked all the necessary fluids and pressures. What could have gone wrong? When I got on the highway I noticed a lack of power, it was feeling like a problem with the coil, the same problem I had last year on the way to the Salton Sea. We searched the Internet for a Ford dealership but there were none in the area so I asked Dawn to look for a service center. We were in luck, the shop wasn’t busy and he got us right in. I was expecting another $400 repair and was delighted when it turned out to be the bolt securing the #7 coil was loose causing it to miss. One Hundred bucks and an hour later we were back on the road. The first crisis had passed without pain.
It was a beautiful Fall morning and I was thinking back 45 years when I used to make this drive with my father hunting elk. We used to stop at the Denver Hotel and “Fire up a Salute” to the hunt. I remember my Dad lifting that shot glass to his nose taking a sniff and then raising his hand to toast our good fortune. I’ll never forget the old bar it had a model of the California Zephyr complete with the airstream skin and “Vista Dome Cars” riding along the top of the bar. I remember him telling me that he had done the same thing with his father and his father before him, same town, same bar, 4 generations, over a century of time. Some traditions … like memories, are just to good to let go.
We made good time and were were approaching Moab by 6 where I made a command decision, which was happily agreed to by my first mate, to spend the night in a nice hotel rather than set up camp in the dark. We checked into the Hampden where Dawn was gracefully recognised for her travel status and comped a deluxe room. Then we spent the rest of the evening wandering around town where I showed her, The Rim Bicycle Shop. The Rim is arguably the place where the Mountain Bike Boom started. Rob and Bill Groff Road that horse like champions and Moab’s economy blossomed into International Fame. There are probably 15 bike shops in town now but “Rob em and Bill em” were the first. I was proud to be working with them back then and delighted to meet Bill’s son who was working the shop. Later we had a light dinner and went to bed early.
Day Two Thursday Oct. 13
We didn’t get out of town as early as planned. Business got in the way and so Dawn spent the morning working out on some medical sales reps instead of the treadmill she had planned on. I kept myself busy playing with the hotel TV and enjoying their free breakfast spread. We were on our way by noon and at the campsite by 3:00. We quickly set up camp and went down to the airstrip for the first flight of the trip.
Several pilots had also arrived early and were lounging around waiting for the air to mellow. At 5:00 it was declared good and people started launching. The winds were light and coming from all the wrong places. On the Airport apron the wind was coming directly from the west face of a 900 foot wall of rock. It was hard to figure, I could see that it must have been a north wind that was being deflected but it was disconcerting to launch toward the rock and I didn’t like the fact that the terrain dropped 30 feet into rough country and detention ponds. It was not going to be pretty if someone had problems right after launch and … the go-no-go point was far too close to the start for my taste.
My launch was not without drama. The wing came up fine, I had committed to launch, and was just beginning to feel some lift when the wing collapsed about 30% on the right side. I stayed on the power and it popped out just before I would have had to abort. Two seconds later I was 50 feet over a detention pond and checking my wing to make sure everything was good. Later talked to Robert about the launch and he affirmed that I had done everything right. He couldn’t tell what caused the collapse other than a pocket of bad air caused by the wind deflecting off the wall.
It wasn’t a long flight; I stayed 500 feet above the flats just east and north of the patch. The air was warm and smooth, the monuments were bright orange contrasting hugely with the area around Gouldings that was already darkened by the shadow of Oljeto Mesa towering 900 feet above the airstrip. When I decided to land I flew to the far end of the 3700 foot runway and floated the entire length at 10 feet or less. I told myself I should to do more of this type of flying, 1/3 power and using the brakes to fine tune altitude.
IT WAS NICE! It’s possible I’ve been blaming the Falcon for the bus like performance when the real issue is the wing. Next time I’m at Vance Brand I’m going to have to fly the Eden and see.
That evening we shared hotdogs with Robert Kittila and Andy McGavin. After dinner I fired up the campfire where we sat and watched a nearly full moon rise over the monuments. Later, Scott Richie his wife Tamera and a couple of other pilots joined us where the discussion was primarily about the care and feeding of two stroke motors. Occasionally we slipped into metaphysics lead by our resident “guru” Andy but no matter how hard we tried to keep it meaningful the talk always came back to paraflying and powerplants.
Day 3 Friday Oct. 14th
It was another warm morning … Dawn and I had no trouble getting out of bed and down to the field in time for the pilot briefing. I had been working on it for several days, Mo had reviewed it and I practiced the delivery while driving from Denver. Cleverly, I loaded it into the I Phone so I would have a mini teleprompter . If I had remembered to bring my glasses I would have been able to read it …. Opps…Squinting and blinking I stood on the bed of Tom’s pick-up and managed to cover the high points. Basically “Use your heads … Be Safe and DON’T PISS OF THE NAVAJO.
The wind was light with occasional puffs coming from the cut between Oljeto and Rock Door Mesa. Yesterday I had been amazed at the way the PPCs could disregard the wind direction. They would just lay out the wing, pop it overhead and taxi to the runway. I knew my wing required more input to keep it overhead but …”I could do that too … Couldn’t I?”. Seeing them motor over to the runway and roll down that beautiful long strip was very tempting. It would have been easier with the Eden III but I still needed to adjust the brake lines. So… I compromised, instead of trying to taxi downwind across the apron and turn 90 degrees I set-up at the top of the apron, facing into the wind but 45 degrees off the runway. The wing came up clean and quickly stabilized. I turned down the runway and made a nice crosswind.launch. The POWERPLAY is sluggish and turns like a bus but it doesn’t need much speed to fly and it doesn’t dance overhead like the Eden. Its all good.
I climbed to 7500 ft msl and toured the Navajo Park for the first time in several years. I crossed over on the south side of Mitchell Mesa and passed the Three Sisters then I turned to the right rounding Rain God Mesa. In the center of the flats is a single mound that is a sacred spot for the Navajo. It was too early for the tour vehicles so I didn’t think I would be spotted but just to be sure I stayed at least 2000 ft up. Words fail me … its majestic … massive … awesome. I could fly here every day and never see it all. Go low and the detail is everywhere Go high and 1000 foot monoliths become the detail, micro or macro its all amazing. This was my EPIC flight of the trip! East of the sacred mound is Thunderbird Mesa, I flew between it and Saddle Rock and then over to the lava chimneys called the Totem Poles.
When I was past the backside of Spearhead Mesa I crossed the park border and descended to fly close to the Mittens. I did a couple of laps around the West Mitten, took a few pictures of it and Sentinel Mesa then began the long passage back to Gouldings.
What a flight! It was perfect in every way, warm smooth air, not a soul around me and one of the most spectacular views in the world. Thank You God.
When I landed things were wrapping up for the morning. A few guys were doing acro around the airstrip but most were packing their wings and loading up. Robert, Andy, Dawn and I went up to the lodge and had a celebratory breakfast. I checked in with Barb who assured me that everything was good for our dinner on Sat. night. EXCEPT…. SURPRISE SURPRISE… We were not going to be allowed to bring beer or wine into the Banquet. It’s not really a big deal because most of us curb the booze in favor of flying but this is the third year that they have said yes you can then no you can’t. I’m going to stop asking.
After breakfast we lounged around the campsite and took a nap. I was delighted to get the same site. It is at the top of the campground and looks through the cut toward the Big Indian Monument. It was easy to sit in the sunshine and relax while a light breeze came up the cut and played with the windsock. A guy could get used to this. An additional bonus was, that this year, the fly in fell during a full moon and so during our campfires we watched the moon rise over the park..
After our nap and showers Dawn and I checked in with Bob who said he would be happy to take her on a flight. At 5:00p we went down to the field and Dawn caught her first flight of the trip with Ken. He took her around the backside of Oljeto Mesa over the campground and alongside Rock Door Mesa. As soon as she landed Bob was ready so she hustled over to his machine and was up again. This was a much longer flight and she got to see the backside of King on his Throne and Saddleback.
Kings on his Throne, Stagecoach, Bear & Rabbit, Castle Rock
I flew North East to Eagle Mesa and did a lap around Eagle Rock and the Sitting Hen. I was going to go for a trophy shot on Stagecoach Rock but the winds were kicking up some rotor and I couldn’t get low enough to put my shadow on the face.
After swinging around Castle Rock and the Big Indian I climbed to 4000 feet AGL and took in the big picture. There were wings below me that looked like topical fish in a giant aquarium. Colorful little spirits playing in the rocks. I watched them moving in groups of two or three, some were flying nap of the earth and others were at 500 and 1000 feet. One group was playing follow the leader in tight circles and another was climbing to approach the West Mitten. Excellent flight …. mostly smooth with a few bumps near the rocks.
That night we teamed up with the Richies and to cook at their fire. Both of us brought ribs, there was plenty to go around. Dawn also prepared one of our Zucchinis and some sweet potatoes for a side. The campfire was made complete when we made samores with giant marshmallows.
Day 4 Sat. Oct. 15th
The wind was blowing just hard enough for me to pause. None of the PPCs were flying but several of the foot launch guys were having a great time. Dawn and I hung around the field and watched the show. Once again we were launching across the apron but this morning there were a lot of vehicles at the field and Dell and Russ had parked their trailers at the far north end. The veterans didn’t have a problem with it but some of the newbies were dealing with the short launch area by jumping into their seats a little early. There were three crashes in less than 5 minutes WAC …WAC… Crunch. Nobody was hurt but there were some damaged Flat Top cages and props. The wind was still a little strong for my taste at 9:30 so we bagged it and retired to the campsite.
During the afternoon several of us made up a small convoy and drove through the Navajo Tribal Park. Mo and Tom bounced along in the bed and Dawn road shotgun. Seeing the monuments from the ground gives a very different perspective.
Its magnificent from the air but to really appreciate how big they are try it from the ground looking up as well. It was a great opportunity to take some pictures and play tourist. The View Hotel is finished and even at $200+ a night its fully booked … . Before leaving the Park we wandered around the visitor center and gift shop where they traditionally have some of the most expensive T-shirts in the world … this year everything was 30 to 50% off. We would have probably gone into the new hotel but Mo had his dog with him and the management frowns on that. 🙂
PM Flight
This was most excellent! Randy took me up in his weight shift Delta. It was just too easy. He lined up at the top of the runway and did a down wind launch. Wow! For an hour and twenty minutes we flew and covered pretty much the entire area. First we went to the North and did some ridge soaring on Train Rock. The delta flys at a little over 60mph and could turn on a dime. However, it was not tight enough for Randy who complained that he wasn’t able to stay in the thermals. I was impressed …. the way he would drop a wingtip and seemingly pivot over one point of the desert floor. Randy apologised for not bringing training bars so that I could try my hand at the controls but he needn’t have. It was a pleasure not having to fly the plane, I was free to sit take pictures and enjoy the ride.
The Mittens
After Train Rock we headed over to Eagle Rock and the Sitting Hen and did some close Fly-Byes. I would have been worried about rotor flying all the way around but it is not the same issue with the Delta. After exploring the entire group of “North East Monoliths” we entered the park and explored area containing the Mittens, Three Sisters and Elephant Butte. When we left the park Randy went along the backside of Oljeto Mesa and flew the crack between Oljeto and Rock Door. It is always fun to see my tent and the windsock from above. The landing was as easy as the take off … smooth and clean. Thanks Randy!
That evening we all met up at the Lodge for a “non-banquet” banquet. Mo and I were sitting with a relatively new PPC pilot who told us all about his experience of being lifted to 16,000 ft and how he pulled an enormous stall falling over 15,000 feet before he recovered only to be lifted to 16,000 again. It had to be the greatest fish story of the event. Mo and I refrained from quizzing the fellow. I didn’t write up a speech and Paul Anthem wasn’t there too entertain us … so it was just friends and new friends sharing a meal. Later we met back at the campfire and continued the festivities. One thing … As in years past they told me we could bring adult beverages into the lodge and at the last minutes changed their mind. Barb was embarrassed but it was really … no big deal.
Day 5 Sunday Oct. 16th
This was a fun flight! The wind was blowing 5 to 8 from the south. When this happens the wind swirls around Rock Door Mesa and is generally confused air. South West along Oljeto’s face it smooths out and once up, its fine, but the launches can be dicey, with people taking off on all points of the compass all over the apron. I chose to go to the far end of the runway and launch up wind and up hill. At the north end it was blowing a little harder. Bob was having a hard time setting up because the wing getting caught by the wind and filling behind his PPC. I had thought these guys could handle much harder wind than us but Bob was uncomfortable and decided to pack it in.
The View Hotel and Visitor Center
I set up on the far right corner facing the wind, I would have the full width of the runway to get it overhead, stable and pointing slightly cross wind, (up) the runway. I bent the wing into an exaggerated chevron hoping to slow down the inflation. It came up fast! And… before I had rolled 5 feet so did the front wheel! It didn’t feel good because as the front wheel came up, the trike started to yaw to the left. So, I cut power, got the wheel back down and tried gain, same thing… on the third attempt I layed on the power and let the trike come around as it lifted. It wasn’t clean but it wasn’t like at Bubba’s where I came back down crooked at 25 mph. I wasn’t moving forward very fast and if I did hit some sink and come back down, I figured that I could handle the trike . The rest of the flight much like the first one of the trip. I stayed over the flats and played in the current of air coming from the south. Then I climbed high enough to get out of any turbulence over Rock Door and took a last look around. The landing was a good high wind landing, I approached from the North and set down soft and slow on the helicopter pad.
About half of us were availble for this shot
We met up with Andy and Robert for breakfast and spent the rest of the morning packing up and saying our goodbyes. It was, by all measures, a good Fly-In. The weather was great with every morning and evening flyable. There were a few minor incidence but no major carnage. We had a great campsite with wonderful neighbors to share the food and fire. The Gathering 2011 is in the BAG.
The Photo album is a work in process …Here is the link….
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2425167995819.133691.1450086143&type=1&l=878b9aadcc
Author JoeOPosted on October 13, 2011 March 28, 2017 Categories Monument Valley Gathering 2011Leave a comment on The Gathering at Monument Valley 2011
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A Dark Path to Recovery
by Staff | Dec 30, 2013 | Reviews
The Loss and Recovery of Truth: Selected Writings by Gerhart Niemeyer. Edited by Michael Henry. St. Augustine’s Press, 2013. Hardcover, 648 pages, $60. Gerhart Niemeyer (1907–1997) brought to the study of political science a philosophical sensitivity born of his...
These Marks of Remembrance
by Staff | Dec 30, 2013 | Best of the Bookman
Collected Letters of John Randolph of Roanoke to Dr. John Brockenbrough, 1812–1833. Edited by Kenneth Shorey, with a foreword by Russell Kirk. Transaction Books, 1988. Hardcover, 192 pages [e-text]. John Randolph of Roanoke was—even for his warmest admirers—a most...
‘As You Wish’
by Staff | Dec 23, 2013 | Essays
True (Self-)Love and The Princess BrideThe early Christian theologian Augustine, in The City of God, relates a story of an encounter between Alexander the Great, emperor of the known world, and a common pirate. When Alexander confronts the pirate about his...
Reading Recommendations for 2014
by Staff | Dec 19, 2013 | Symposia
Contributors and friends of the Bookman share books of note from the past year’s reading in many different genres.Matthew Boudway, Commonweal Julian Barnes’s Levels of Life is a kind of sequel to his 2008 book Nothing to Be Frighted Of, which was about the...
Russell Kirk as Historian
Much has been said and written this year about the sixtieth anniversary of publication of Russell Kirk’s Conservative Mind. The well deserved attention has, however, generally overlooked a critical facet of the public role of the book and, as important, of Kirk...
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Analysis of Defects on Chemically-Treated CdZnTe Surfaces
A. Hossain, A. E. Bolotnikov, G. S. Camarda, Y. Cui, R. Gul, Kihyun Kim, U. N. Roy, X. Tong, G. Yang, R. B. James
School of Health and Environmental Science
In this work, we focused on investigating the various defects that extend into the near-surface region of CdZnTe (CZT) crystals, and on exploring processing techniques for producing a smooth, non-conductive surface that is ideal for growing thin films and depositing contacts. We determined the surface’s features and the chemical species present using atomic-force microscopy, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), coupled with energy-dispersive spectroscopy. We revealed crystallographic defects, e.g., sub-grains and dislocations on the CZT crystals’ surfaces, after employing selected chemical etchants, and then characterized them using optical microscopy, SEM and optical profilometer. Our experimental data imply that the surface defects and chemical species induced by chemical processing may alter the material’s interfacial behavior, and ultimately significantly influence the performance of radiation detectors.
Published - 2015 Sep 26
profilometers
surface defects
crystal surfaces
atomic force microscopy
Optical microscopy
CdZnTe
chemo-mechanical polishing
metal–semiconductor interface
substrate and radiation detector
Hossain, A., Bolotnikov, A. E., Camarda, G. S., Cui, Y., Gul, R., Kim, K., ... James, R. B. (2015). Analysis of Defects on Chemically-Treated CdZnTe Surfaces. Journal of Electronic Materials, 44(9), 3018-3022. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-015-3742-4
Analysis of Defects on Chemically-Treated CdZnTe Surfaces. / Hossain, A.; Bolotnikov, A. E.; Camarda, G. S.; Cui, Y.; Gul, R.; Kim, Kihyun; Roy, U. N.; Tong, X.; Yang, G.; James, R. B.
In: Journal of Electronic Materials, Vol. 44, No. 9, 26.09.2015, p. 3018-3022.
Hossain, A, Bolotnikov, AE, Camarda, GS, Cui, Y, Gul, R, Kim, K, Roy, UN, Tong, X, Yang, G & James, RB 2015, 'Analysis of Defects on Chemically-Treated CdZnTe Surfaces', Journal of Electronic Materials, vol. 44, no. 9, pp. 3018-3022. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-015-3742-4
Hossain A, Bolotnikov AE, Camarda GS, Cui Y, Gul R, Kim K et al. Analysis of Defects on Chemically-Treated CdZnTe Surfaces. Journal of Electronic Materials. 2015 Sep 26;44(9):3018-3022. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-015-3742-4
Hossain, A. ; Bolotnikov, A. E. ; Camarda, G. S. ; Cui, Y. ; Gul, R. ; Kim, Kihyun ; Roy, U. N. ; Tong, X. ; Yang, G. ; James, R. B. / Analysis of Defects on Chemically-Treated CdZnTe Surfaces. In: Journal of Electronic Materials. 2015 ; Vol. 44, No. 9. pp. 3018-3022.
@article{d4b95b9dc05e4975a0a80bd101b1f8cf,
title = "Analysis of Defects on Chemically-Treated CdZnTe Surfaces",
abstract = "In this work, we focused on investigating the various defects that extend into the near-surface region of CdZnTe (CZT) crystals, and on exploring processing techniques for producing a smooth, non-conductive surface that is ideal for growing thin films and depositing contacts. We determined the surface’s features and the chemical species present using atomic-force microscopy, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), coupled with energy-dispersive spectroscopy. We revealed crystallographic defects, e.g., sub-grains and dislocations on the CZT crystals’ surfaces, after employing selected chemical etchants, and then characterized them using optical microscopy, SEM and optical profilometer. Our experimental data imply that the surface defects and chemical species induced by chemical processing may alter the material’s interfacial behavior, and ultimately significantly influence the performance of radiation detectors.",
keywords = "CdZnTe, chemo-mechanical polishing, dislocations, metal–semiconductor interface, substrate and radiation detector",
author = "A. Hossain and Bolotnikov, {A. E.} and Camarda, {G. S.} and Y. Cui and R. Gul and Kihyun Kim and Roy, {U. N.} and X. Tong and G. Yang and James, {R. B.}",
journal = "Journal of Electronic Materials",
T1 - Analysis of Defects on Chemically-Treated CdZnTe Surfaces
AU - Hossain, A.
AU - Bolotnikov, A. E.
AU - Camarda, G. S.
AU - Cui, Y.
AU - Gul, R.
AU - Kim, Kihyun
AU - Roy, U. N.
AU - Tong, X.
AU - Yang, G.
AU - James, R. B.
N2 - In this work, we focused on investigating the various defects that extend into the near-surface region of CdZnTe (CZT) crystals, and on exploring processing techniques for producing a smooth, non-conductive surface that is ideal for growing thin films and depositing contacts. We determined the surface’s features and the chemical species present using atomic-force microscopy, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), coupled with energy-dispersive spectroscopy. We revealed crystallographic defects, e.g., sub-grains and dislocations on the CZT crystals’ surfaces, after employing selected chemical etchants, and then characterized them using optical microscopy, SEM and optical profilometer. Our experimental data imply that the surface defects and chemical species induced by chemical processing may alter the material’s interfacial behavior, and ultimately significantly influence the performance of radiation detectors.
AB - In this work, we focused on investigating the various defects that extend into the near-surface region of CdZnTe (CZT) crystals, and on exploring processing techniques for producing a smooth, non-conductive surface that is ideal for growing thin films and depositing contacts. We determined the surface’s features and the chemical species present using atomic-force microscopy, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), coupled with energy-dispersive spectroscopy. We revealed crystallographic defects, e.g., sub-grains and dislocations on the CZT crystals’ surfaces, after employing selected chemical etchants, and then characterized them using optical microscopy, SEM and optical profilometer. Our experimental data imply that the surface defects and chemical species induced by chemical processing may alter the material’s interfacial behavior, and ultimately significantly influence the performance of radiation detectors.
KW - CdZnTe
KW - chemo-mechanical polishing
KW - dislocations
KW - metal–semiconductor interface
KW - substrate and radiation detector
JO - Journal of Electronic Materials
JF - Journal of Electronic Materials
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Help Nunn Center Term of Use
Interview with Oscar Peterson, August 3, 1984
Project: Goin' North: Tales of the Great Migration Oral History Project
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2014oh179_gn031
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Charles Hardy, III
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Trending People, Places, Breaking News
Home » NEWS » Sandy Mahl Brooks death: Garth Brooks ex-wife NOT dead – where she is now
Sandy Mahl Brooks death: Garth Brooks ex-wife NOT dead – where she is now
Posted on: December 2, 2019 | By: Laila Ijeoma – Leave a Comment
Sandy Mahl Brooks death: Garth Brooks ex-wife is NOT dead.
Sandy Mahl Brooks survived breast cancer after being diagnosed in 2006, a year after ex-husband wedding.
Sandy Mahl Brooks death hoax surfaced as Garth Brooks’ life story gets set to be told in a two-part A&E special, The Road I’m On, airing on Dec. 2 and Dec. 3.
The story includes the not-so-pretty times of Garth’s life — including his first marriage to and divorce from Sandy Mahl Brooks.
Sandy Mahl Brooks death rumours: Garth Brooks ex-wife is NOT dead
Garth and Sandy were married for 15 years from 1986 to 2001 before he released his debut album in 1989 and became one of the hottest names in country music.
Sandy and Garth met while Garth was working as a bouncer at a bar during his time at Oklahoma State University. He had broken up a fight that Sandy was involved in. They got married in 1986, were together for 13 years, separated in 1999, officially filed divorce paperwork in Nov. 2000 and the split was finalized in December 2001.
Together, Garth and Sandy have three children – daughters Taylor (1992), August (1994) and Allie (1996).
Sandy never re-married after her divorce from Garth nearly 20 years ago while Garth has been married to Trisha since 2005. Garth had been married to Sandy for 13 months when he met Trisha.
After Sandy and Garth split, he started dating fellow country star, Trisha Yearwood, and they have been married since 2005.
Sandy is a breast cancer survivor after being diagnosed with the disease in 2006.
Sandy worked as a songwriter while she was with Garth, but now resides in Oklahoma, where she helped start the Wild Heart Ranch, an animal rehabilitation center. Her official title is Wildlife Rehabilitator, Vice President & Co-Founder.
Emily Havranek obituary, death: Emily Havranek Hudson Ohio
Travis Parker obituary, death: Travis Parker Charleston
Brent Gordon obituary, death: Brent Gordon Woodland Hills
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Our doors are always open.
Each year, The Salvation Army provides over 10 million nights of shelter to those in need.
About 15% of the homeless population in the U.S. is comprised of 'chronically homeless' individuals.
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As long as there's The Salvation Army, there's no such thing as 'no place to go.'
Our group homes, emergency shelters and transitional living centers provide housing, food and overnight lodging for varying amounts of time to destitute families, the homeless, the displaced and to youth where family care is undesirable or unavailable. In addition, we supplement every shelter service with emotional and spiritual support.
The Salvation Army provides safe shelter to nearly 30,000 people every night through a variety of programs.
Emergency Shelters
For families and individuals looking to escape extreme weather or just wanting a safe, quiet place to spend the night, emergency shelters provide a nutritious meal, a warm bed and a clean shower to those in need.
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Along with meeting immediate physical needs such as food and shelter, these establishments provide educational, counseling and vocational services to help individuals develop vital life skills and independence for re-entry into society.
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The Salvation Army assists families in need by providing food, housing and utility assistance. Best of all, these programs enable parents to stay with their children, even when placed in emergency shelters.
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Form and Content
Iron Man 3: Meh!
by letusgotothemovies 9th Apr 2019
Day 7, dud 2. Iron Man 3 was such a disappointment. I wish I wasn’t saying this because I was so excited about it when the film started. But it got me thinking, ‘Why didn’t this movie work? What makes a good Iron Man movie?’ Here’s what I didn’t like about this movie: The film was extremely dull because none of it is believable. This sucked the joy out of the film. It may have even been a halfway decent movie, but after The Avengers, it came up short.
Before we get into the specifics of this movie, let us turn to the first question. What makes a good Iron Man movie? Iron Man is a superhero who is a product of his suit that gives him the information he needs to stay on top of his enemies during battles, ability to survive any and all circumstances (even going to outer space through a wormhole) and the ability to fight even the toughest enemies. The suit is best suited to fight enemies with powers to match: people with enhanced abilities or advanced technology. But the films are also a product of the man behind the suits. Its Tony Stark that leads Iron Man into conflict. So, the movie must also be sufficiently challenging for Stark.
On paper, this movie has all these elements. The film challenges Tony Stark by separating him (albeit briefly) from his suit. It challenges Iron Man by making his suit vulnerable to the powers of the antagonists – extreme heat that can penetrate the suit. The antagonist is formidable because he creates an army of people who can generate extreme heat. What it lacks, which is perhaps the most crucial element in an Iron Man story, is a cohesive, engaging story to tie these elements together. This is because of a dearth of a fresh plot and well written characters, and because of the way in which the conflicts in the film are resolved.
In the end, the film is about saving the US from terrorist attacks and rescuing the President and Stark’s girlfriend, Pepper Potts, from captivity. The stakes are high, but the bar for stakes has raised even higher by the last few films. Think about it. At this point we have seen two intergalactic conflicts and battles over an energy source that can create a wormhole to the other end of space. Compared to that, these stakes look stale. Regardless, this could have been a good film had it not been for poor execution. Rather using action sequences to let the tension linger and engage audiences, the film tried too hard to tie up all loose ends. For instance, when the President is attacked on Air Force One, the plane has been damaged and people are falling to their deaths. This was a moment of high tension, but the director chose to resolve it quickly by having Iron Man catch all of them mid-air by forming a human pyramid. This had me rolling my eyes as far back as I could. Similarly, the final action sequence Stark summoned an army of robotised suits back him up. This came out of nowhere and made me wonder why he didn’t do so before when he needed a suit desperately.
Additionally, the characters in the film lacked conviction about what they were doing. This is most apparent with Maya Hansen, Stark’s ex-girlfriend. The film starts to establish her as one of the antagonists before abruptly giving her a change of heart. Similarly, the film goes to great lengths to establish a terrorist organisation and its head, ‘the Mandarin,’ but later shows the audience that the organisation is a farce, a coverup for the real antagonist. But what this person’s motivations are, what he plans to do with his power, are all questions that remain underexplored. Because of poorly written characters, the film is held weakly together by the power of Iron Man’s suits.
I wish the third instalment in the series had tried to build on everything the universe had established and tried to take it a step further. Or in the very least been a well-written standalone film. Anyhoo. Tomorrow is another day.
Superheroesaction drama film films Iron man iron man 3 marvel marvelmovies mcu movie moviereview movies robert downey jr superhero usa writing
Iron Man 2: Solving the Villain Problem
by letusgotothemovies 5th Apr 2019 5th Apr 2019
Day 3, Iron Man 2. Overall, a fun, slightly cheesy movie. Honestly, all I could think of while watching this film was how they had managed to solve the villain problem from the first film. From the very outset, the villain, Ivan Vanko (played by Mickey Rourke), is introduced as formidable and having a stake in dethroning Iron Man. He understands the Stark Industries’ arc reactor and has the knowledge to make the miniaturised version that Iron Man uses to power his suit. More importantly, he has nothing to lose. This makes for a gripping story, but the writers, director and editor have gone a step further to also make it a good cinematic experience.
They have done this in two ways. First, the writing has made sure that the antagonist is the protagonist’s equal. If Stark developed the miniaturised arc reactor while in captivity in Afghanistan, Vanko did so while living in poverty in Russia. Stark may have a suit, but Vanko wreaked havoc on Iron Man even without one. Both Stark and Vanko inherited the knowledge required to build the arc reactor from their fathers (who worked together on the project). Stark has a legacy to protect. His motivations are driven by what has name represents. While Vanko isn’t acting out of the desire to protect the Vanko name, he too wants to honour his father’s legacy by taking forward the work he did. Vanko’s vitriolic hatred for Stark translates into him developing sophisticated technology that can challenge the latter. The film couples that with shattering the myth of invincibility around Iron Man. Iron Man has a powerful suit that can help him fly around the world and dodge attacks from powerful weapons. But the suit can’t prevent palladium poisoning and unless Iron Man can replace palladium in the arc reactor keeping him alive with another metal (hello Vibranium), he is going to die. This raises the challenge for the protagonist and keeps the audience from getting comfortable in the movie.
The second device the director and editor use to engage the audience is to intersperse the protagonist’s and antagonist’s actions. So, as we are watching Iron Man indulge in silly antics or worry about palladium poisoning, we see Vanko becoming stronger. Unlike in Iron Man, the antagonist’s gradually increasing power and Iron Man’s vulnerability reach a crescendo. Now the protagonist can only win if rises to the antagonist’s challenge. Iron Man proves himself to the audience which keeps them invested in him as the film ends. Even though Iron Man 2 isn’t as highly rated as the first part in the series, I personally enjoyed it more because of these storytelling techniques.
Aside from techniques, what also impressed me about Iron Man 2 was that it gave Stark’s character more layers. In the first film, Stark was arrogant, pompous and erratic. You don’t learn anything more about the character. In this film, confronted with the enormity of his creation and his own impending mortality, we see the character have questions about his work, where he is heading and what he wants. His descent into debauchery is out of frustration at not arriving at straightforward conclusions to existential questions rather than carelessness. Even though I still find Stark’s character insufferable, I understand him a bit better and have more empathy for him. This makes the character richer, more relatable and sets him up for the role he will play in subsequent movies. And that is a real win for writing.
Here goes Day 3. Tomorrow it’s time for Thor, a film that has been on my list for weeks. I cannot wait!
Superheroesaction direction editing Iron man iron man 2 marvel mcu movie review movies robert downey jr superhero villain writing
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Personal & Family Living
Home / Sports / Sports Guides / A Guide To The Rugby World Cup
A Guide To The Rugby World Cup
The rugby world cup is an amazing spectacle , but how does it work and what should we be aware of?
England clinched the 2003 Rugby World Cup when a drop goal from flyhalf Jonny Wilkinson in the last minute of extra time sealed a 20-17 final victory over Australia at the Telstra Stadium in Sydney.
England coach Clive Woodward was jubilant following his side's historic triumph while Australia coach Eddie Jones praised his team's fighting spirit.
Clive Woodward's side become the first northern hemisphere side to claim the game's ultimate prize in what was arguably the greatest finale to the best ever World Cup.
In the end, after 100 minutes of bruising and breath-taking rugby it was Jonny Wilkinson, England's No.10, that once again proved the key, slotting the close range effort to snuff out a brave defence of their World Cup crown by Australia. But the question still remains, when will a winning team manage to defend their crown successfully? And when will a Northern Hemisphere team again win the biggest prize in Rugby Union?
Previous finalists:
1987 New Zealand v France 29-9
1991 Australia v England 12-6
1995 South Africa v New Zealand 15-12
1999 Australia v France 35-12
Scotland's Gavin Hastings remains the tournament's leading points scorer with 227 points scored in his 13 matches while New Zealand's Jonah Lomu is the record try scorer with 15 in 11 games.
The next World Cup takes place in 2007 with most fixtures, including the final, taking place in France.
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Show Related Q&As What Skills Will I Learn in Computer Programming Courses? Where in Vermont Can I Receive Computer Programming Training? What's the Curriculum of a Computer Programming Bachelor's Degree? Which Schools Offer Classes in Computer Programming Online?
Which New Mexico...
Computer Technology...
New Mexico Colleges
Colleges By State and...
Find out which New Mexico schools offer computer programming courses and computer science degrees. See requirements, prerequisites and school information, and learn about the enrollment and tuition in New Mexico. Schools offering Computer Programming degrees can also be found in these popular choices.
Computer programming degrees are available at the undergraduate and graduate level in New Mexico. Learn about the public institutions that offer these degree programs, and read an overview of each one.
You can prepare for a career as a computer programmer through associate's, bachelor's and master's degree programs offered by public colleges and universities in New Mexico. Master's degree applicants need to have a bachelor's degree with certain math and science classes already completed. At one school, you'll also need to submit transcripts, GRE scores and recommendations for graduate study.
At the undergraduate level, you can expect to take general education requirements and major coursework in computer programming. If a double major would help advance your goals, you can apply to a B.A. in Computer Science program and choose a double major. A senior thesis or project may be required to graduate from a bachelor's degree program. Master's degree students can choose a thesis or non-thesis track; the non-thesis track requires additional classes and a project. You can participate in teaching and research assistantships, too. Read on to see if one of these programs is right for you.
Computer Programming Associate's Degree Program in New Mexico
San Juan College
Your core requirements at this school, situated in northwestern New Mexico, include courses in C++ computer programming fundamentals/data structures, Java programming, UNIX systems Web programming and Windows GUI programming, in addition to calculus and discrete mathematics. You also complete general education courses in communications, math, physics, social/behavioral sciences and humanities/fine arts. This school additionally offers an object-oriented computer programming certificate and a Web programming certificate in procedural, structured and object-oriented languages.
Program Name: Associate of Science in Computer Science
Program Length: 2 years, including summers, full-time
Tuition and Fees: In-state $1,546 per year, out-of-state $4,330 per year (2018-2019)
School Type: 2-year, public; 6,679 students (all undergraduate)
Computer Programming Bachelor's Degree Programs in New Mexico
New Mexico State University - Las Cruces
A B.S. in Computer Science can prepare you to work in such technical fields as networking, operating systems and software infrastructure. Alternatively, a B.A. may be of interest in order to tailor the program to your needs; for example, if you intend to use computer science and software in conjunction with a specialty like business or publishing. Your programming course options at this school include object-oriented programming, machine programming/organization, programming language structure, functional programming, logic programming, visual programming and parallel programming. You also complete either a senior project or thesis in these degree programs. In addition, this school offers several computer minors that include programming courses. They provide training in algorithm theory, bioinformatics, computer systems and software development.
Program Name: Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Computer Science or Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in Computer Science
Field of Study Options: BA students may choose an additional major in another discipline
Program Length: 4 years, full-time
Tuition and Fees: In-state $6,686 per year, out-of-state $21,770 per year (2018-2019)
School Type: 4-year, public; 14,289 students (11,687 undergraduate)
This school is centrally located in New Mexico. Potential courses include object-oriented programming, systems programming, programming languages and formal languages. Along with the required courses in this program, you complete technical electives in other areas of computer applications and general education requirements.
Program Name: Bachelor of Science in Computer Science
School Type: 4-year, public; 1,895 students (1,412 undergraduate)
Some courses at this school include intermediate programming, large programs design, declarative programming and numerical programming. You also choose technical electives, on top of the required computer science and general education courses. Your options for a minor area of study are comprised of computer engineering, mathematics, statistics and management information systems.
Tuition and Fees: In-state $7,633 per year, out-of-state $22,586 per year (2018-2019
Computer Programming Master's Degree Programs in New Mexico
In the master's degree option comprised of only coursework, you complete 36 graduate credits of computer science courses. Near the end of your program, you take the final written examination consisting of 4 exams lasting 1 hour each. Your other master's degree option requires completion of 33 graduate credits, a 2-part final exam based on your graduate courses and a thesis or master's research project. The exam includes an oral presentation discussing your work in the thesis or project. This school offers research and teaching assistantships for which you may apply.
Program Name: Master of Science in Computer Science
Program Length: 33-36 credits, depending on thesis option
Prerequisites: Bachelor's degree
The required course categories for this graduate degree include empirical methods, mathematical methods and methods in engineering/system building. Your master's examination consists of a defense of your thesis or an oral mastery exam of your core areas of study, depending on which degree plan you have chosen. Teaching or research assistantships may be available.
Program Length: 32 semester hours
Prerequisites: Bachelor's degree, including specific computer science and math courses
Admission Requirements: Transcripts, 3 letters of recommendation, recent Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores, letter of intent
Public schools throughout New Mexico have programs in computer programming at the associate, bachelor's, and master's degree levels.
How to Become a Computer Programmer in 5 Steps
Computer Programming and Web Development Associate Degree
Computer Programming and Applications Associate's Degree
Bachelor - Software Development
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DBA with an Emphasis in Data Analytics
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BS in IT - Supply Chain Management
Bachelor of Science in Information Technology
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Associate of Applied Science in Information Technology: Multiplatform Software Development
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Northcentral University responds quickly to information requests through this website.
Popular programs at Northcentral University:
PhD - Technology & Innovation Management: Computer Science
PhD - Computer Science
Doctor - Business Administration: Applied Computer Science
PhD - Business Administration: Applied Computer Science
Doctor - Business Administration: Computer & Information Security
PhD - Business Administration: Computer & Information Security
Master - Business Administration: Applied Computer Science
Master - Computer Science
Master - Business Administration: Computer & Information Security
Master - Technology & Innovation Management: Information Systems
Master - Information Technology
MPA - Management of Engineering and Technology
Vista College
Vista College responds quickly to information requests through this website.
Popular programs at Vista College:
Information Technology (IT), AAS
Information Technology (IT), Diploma
New Mexico: Las Cruces
Bachelor - Software Development: Computer Programming
Bachelor - Information Systems: IT Project Management
Bachelor - Information Systems: Technology Management
Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice: Computer Forensics
Associate in Information Technology
Associate in Information Systems
BS Information Technologies with concentration in Software Development
BS in Computer Science
BS in Accounting - Forensic Accounting & Fraud Examination
BS Information Technologies with concentration in Web Design and Development
BS Information Technologies
BS Information Technologies with concentration in Information Technology Management
AS Information Technologies
Capella University responds quickly to information requests through this website.
Popular programs at Capella University:
Doctorate - IT Mgmt (ACBSP-accredited)
Doctorate - Information Technology
Doctorate - Information Assurance and Security
Master's - Network Defense
MS IT - Analytics
MS IT - Information Technology General
Master's - Analytics
Master's - Health Care Security
MS IT - Cybersecurity
Bachelor's - Data Management
Bachelor's- Information Technology (ABET-accredited)
Bachelor's - Data Analytics
Software and Mobile Applications Development (BS)
Web Design and Development (BS)
Cybersecurity and Networking (BS)
5. Vista College
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Masters in Computer Programming: Career and Salary Facts Find out about possible careers with a master's degree in computer programming. Examine typical...
What Colleges Have Computer Programming Degrees in Washington, DC? Learn about computer programming degree programs in Washington, DC. See degree and specialization...
Computer Programming Technology Associate Degree Degree programs are available at the associate degree level in computer programming. Learn what...
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What are Computer Programming Languages? Computer programming languages are used to create operating systems, applications software and...
Computer Programming Schools and Training Programs Survey the computer programming curriculum of undergraduate and graduate certificates and...
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Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service is considering shutting off access to the Noosa National Park carpark at night due to people illegal camping. Alistair Brightman
'Epidemic of hipsters': Carpark campers in firing line
by Stuart Cumming
29th Nov 2017 5:00 AM
NOOSA surfer Andre Marsaus wants transparency from the State Government on how it plans to manage overnight campers at a busy carpark.
His call comes as Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service considers shutting off access to the Noosa National Park carpark at night.
"Implementing regulated night time parking restrictions is one of a number of options Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service is considering to manage overnight stays by transient vehicle-based travellers and park visitors," a spokeswoman said.
But she declined to detail what else might be in store for regular users of the 64-bay carpark.
"No decision has been made with regard to regulating parking at Noosa Heads National Park car park."
Mr Marsaus, who owns Underground Surf in Noosa, said he regularly encountered campers when he went out for early surfs.
"I believe there is an epidemic of hipsters in their vans sleeping in the national park at night," Mr Marsaus said.
"It is a very popular park-up spot for certain people in this town who have got the van life."
What do you think of hipsters?
This poll ended on 29 December 2017.
Urgh, where do I start
Go back to Woodstock
Sorry, I can't hear you over my tumeric latte
This is not a scientific poll. The results reflect only the opinions of those who chose to participate.
He said there had been rumours circulating in the past week that something was going to be done to manage the issue.
"It would just be good to know where we all stand."
He hoped if changes were coming, the decision-making process would open to some constructive criticism.
The Noosa National Park Team leader Dennis Massoud said the campers he saw were mainly backpackers.
Mr Massoud had concerns about the effect their presence was having on the area and suggested re-introduction of locking the carpark at night as a solution.
"It used to be managed very well years ago," Mr Massoud said.
"The carpark was closed at 6pm and they had gates on it."
The Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service spokeswoman said signs were in place to advise visitors not to camp in the national park and rangers also provided advice to visitors.
"Although the carpark has 24-hour access, camping is prohibited within Noosa National Park, including the car park," she said.
She said rangers had not issued any infringement notices in relation to illegal camping in the carpark in the past year.
"However, rangers have been active in moving on people who were camping in the carpark over the past 12 months."
camping carpark national park noosa queensland parks and wildlife service sunshine coast
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Going Beyond Predictions
By Jason Brownlee on August 18, 2014 in Machine Learning Process
Last Updated on June 7, 2016
The predictions you make with a predictive model do not matter, it is the use of those predictions that matters.
Jeremy Howard was the President and Chief Scientist of Kaggle, the competitive machine learning platform. In 2012 he presented at the O’reilly Strata conference on what he called the Drivetrain Approach for building “data products” that go beyond just predictions.
In this post you will discover Howard’s Drivetrain Approach and how you can use it to structure the development of systems rather than make predictions.
The Drivetrain Approach
Image from O’Reilly, all rights reserved
Motivating the Approach
Jeremy Howard was a top Kaggle participant before investing in and joining the company. In talks like Getting In Shape For The Sport Of Data Science you get deep insight into Howard’s keen ability at diving into data and building effective models.
By the 2012 Strata talk, Howard had been at Kaggle for a year or two and had see a lot of competitions and a lot of competitive data scientists. You can’t help but think that his pitch of a more rounded methodology was born out of his frustration of the focus on just predictions and their accuracy.
The predictions are the accessible piece and it makes sense that they are the focus of competitions. I see his Drivetrain Approach as him throwing down the gauntlet and challenging the community to strive for more.
Howard delivered a 35 minute talk at Strata 2012 on the approach titled “From Predictive Modelling to Optimization: The Next Frontier“.
The approach is also described in a blog post “Designing great data products: The Drivetrain Approach: A four-step process for building data products“, which is also available as a standalone free ebook (exactly the same content from what I can tell).
In the talk he presents a four step process for his Drivetrain Approach:
Define Objectives: What outcome am I trying to achieve?
Levers: What inputs can we control?
Data: What data can we collect?
Models: How do the levers influence the objectives?
He describes collecting data because what he is really referring to is the need for causality data, which most organizations do not collect. This data must be collected through by performing a large number of random experiments.
This is key. It goes beyond mealy A/B testing a new page title, it involves the evaluation of unbiased behaviour, such as the response to randomly selected recommendations.
The forth step of Modeling is a pipeline comprising of the following sub-processes:
Objective: What outcome am I trying to achieve.
Raw data: Unbiased causal data
Modeller: Statistical model of the causal relationships in the data.
Simulator: The ability to plug in ad hoc inputs (move the levers) and evaluate the effects on the objective.
Optimizer: The search of inputs (leaver values) using the simulator toward maximizing (or minimizing) a desired outcome.
Actionable outcome: Achieving the objective with the result
The approach is a little abstract, and needs clarification with some examples.
In the presentation, Howard uses Google search as an example:
Objective: What webpage do you want to read?
Levers: The ordering of the sites you could visit on the SERP.
Data: The link network between pages.
Model: Not discussed, but one would assume the ongoing experimentation on and refinement of the authority indicators for pages.
Extending this example, Google is very likely performing random experience in the SERP by injecting other results and seeing how users behave. This would permit a predictive model to be constructed based on the likelihood of clicking, the simulation of user clicks and the optimization of the most clickable entries in the SERP for a given user. Now, I expect an approach just like this is used for Google’s advertising, which would have been a clearer example.
Howard also gives Marketing as a suggested area for improvement. He comments that the objective is the maximization of CLTV. Levers include the recommendation of products, offers, discounts and customer care calls. The causal relationships that could be collected as raw data would be the probability or purchase and the probability of liking the product, but not know about the product.
He also gives the example of a prior start-up in the Optimal Decisions Group for maximizing profit in insurance. He also touches on the Google Self-Driving Car as another example, instead of mealy route finding as in current GPS displays.
I feel like there is greater opportunity to elaborate on these ideas. I think that if the methodology was presented in a clearer way with a step-by-step example, that there would have been greater response to these ideas.
The notions of going beyond the predictions needs to be repeated often. It is easy to get caught up in a given problem. We talk a lot about defining the problem up front as an attempt to reduce such effects.
Howard’s Drivetrain Approach is a tool that you can use to design a system to solve a complex problem that uses machine learning, rather than use machine learning to make predictions and call it a day.
There is a lot of overlap in these ideas with Response Surface Methodology (RSM). Although not explicitly spelled out, the link is hinted at in a related post at the same time by Irfan Ahmad in his Taxonomy of Predictive Modeling, required to clarify some of Howard’s terms.
How to Kick Ass in Competitive Machine Learning
Master Kaggle By Competing Consistently
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WRITTEN BY DIANA MAZZELLA
PHOTOGRAPHED BY RAYMOND THOMPSON JR.
When parents have feuding kids move to separate sides of a shared bedroom, it’s supposed to be more peaceful. But it’s also much less fun. For 12 years, West Virginia University and Virginia Tech have stayed on their separate sides, with fans mingling at Thanksgiving, weddings and birthdays but never on the field with the other’s team as the opponent. At Sunday’s (Sept. 3) football game at FedEx Field in Landover, Md., the teams and the fans reunited.
There was the game, which didn’t end so happily for Mountaineers. Virginia Tech won 31-24.
There were still the glorious moments that had Mountaineer fans rising to their feet and shaking the stadium, like when Gary Jennings caught Will Grier’s pass and ran 60 yards to a touchdown.
But most of the day was in appreciation of the meeting, of one more chance to even the score. The nudging from father-in-law to son-in-law. The teasing of that one family member who chose the other team. The fan shirts worn by siblings though they didn’t go to either school. Old friendships — and new ones — across state lines. The sassy comebacks. The alumni from opposing teams who traveled to the game with each other, and we think had bonds strong enough to make the return journey together, too.
The alumni and fans we talked to from either team showed that what they want is more of the same. It’s a long wait until 2021 when the teams meet up again, this time in Morgantown. But we made it 12 years. What’s four more?
Landon Wallace, 10, of Las Vegas, Nev., and Benjamin Payne, 12, of Mechanicsville, Va., discuss strategy in a pickup football game.
Out in the WVU Alumni Association tailgate field, the ground damp from recent rain and the tramping feet of fans, three WVU young fans were playing football with a new VT friend. Benjamin Payne, 12, and Landon Wallace, 10, stop playing to talk strategy outside their makeshift unmarked football field in between parked cars and tailgate tents.
Landon, from Las Vegas, Nev., is a Mountaineer fan because his grandfather is an alumnus who is invested in the WVU-VT rivalry. He said he’s been a fan for about three years, and what he wanted to see that night was his team “kill Virginia Tech.”
Benjamin, from Mechanicsville, Va., has been a Hokies fan for as long as he can remember. And for as long as he can remember, there has been no WVU-VT game.
“It’s been fun,” Benjamin said, “because you’re the only guy at a West Virginia tailgate wearing a Virginia Tech jersey.”
He wasn’t the only Tech fan at a WVU tailgate. There were clusters of fans, some with their WVU friends, and a few Hokies tents around the edge of the field. But he may have had more riding on it than most. If the Hokies won, a teammate who is a Mountaineer had to wear a VT jersey to football practice. If WVU won, he had to wear that jersey to practice. He wanted everyone to have fun that night. But he also needed a win.
“I’m not hoping that West Virginia wins,” Benjamin said. “No offense, guys.”
Fans at the WVU Alumni Association tailgate get pumped before the game.
Blake Nelson, a member of the board of directors of the WVU Alumni National Capital Area Chapter in Washington, D.C., planned the alumni tailgate, with food and drink provided by Mountaineer businesses.
Earlier in the weekend, he had driven to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport to pick up a buddy.
He would shout “Let’s go, Mountaineers!” out the car window at the clusters of WVU and VT fans. He says everyone waved and smiled.
“I wish we could do this every year,” he says.
Being from Northern Virginia, he’s got family who support and attended each school. They’ve all been discussing this for six months. And they will be discussing it long after the game. But maybe not right away.
“If we lose, I’m going to shut my phone off,” Nelson said.
But in the event of a Mountaineer win, he planned on texting his family and gloating.
“We talk crap but everyone’s very, very friendly,” Nelson said.
His life has been caught up in the relationship between two Virginias recently. He enjoys the Big 12 matchups, of course.
“That’s fun,” he says, “but nothing’s like Virginia Tech, right?”
(LEFT) Longtime fans Barb Slone, Jaci Slone and Leslie German brought some of Morgantown to the VT game. (RIGHT) A self-styled “bipartisan band,” 1060 West Addison has alumni and fans of both teams. From left: Steve McKnight, Sam Murray and Patrick Burns.
He’s not the only resident of the Virginias that feels that way. Barb Slone, of Beckley, W.Va., and her daughter, Jaci Slone, saw the local high school split with some students going to Virginia Tech and others going to WVU.
“I would love to have it back permanently,” Jaci said of the rivalry series.
She runs the Charlotte, N.C., alumni chapter, where she says her tagline is “I’m Jaci, the West Virginia girl.”
Her mom, Barb, started the tradition of flying a Halloween skeleton up high with the WVU flag in the blue lot outside of Mountaineer Field. If you don’t have an identifier, trying to find your friends in a sea of cars is “like looking for a needle in a haystack,” Barb said. Their friends, Ryan and Leslie German, brought “Bones” as it is affectionately known to the Alumni Association tailgate outside FedEx Field.
As Sean Frisbee, president and CEO of the WVU Alumni Association, served Mountaineers from the association’s mobile tailgate trailer, he talked about just how big this event is for the Alumni Association. There were at least 1,500 people at the tailgate, and more were showing up every minute. It’s the biggest crowd at a pregame Alumni Association event since he started working there in 2015.
“It really renews those old traditional feelings of great Mountaineer football,” Frisbee said.
Over in the Orange Lot at FedEx Field, there were some fans who spoke of their devotion in song. Sam Murray, Mountaineer frontman of the band 1060 West Addison, introduced his group as “a bipartisan band” from Fairfax, Va. Some members wore VT clothes and some wore WVU clothes. Their first song was “Take Me Home, Country Roads.”
WVU and VT fans mingled before the game began.
About an hour and a half before kickoff, several Mountaineers reminisced about the highlights leading up to a matchup that began in 1912. It’s a series that the Mountaineers lead 28-23-1.
“I lived through some of the greatest moments in the rivalry,” said WVU alumnus Adam Prather. He and fellow Mountaineer Craig Sharman listed those highlights.
There was that time that Michael Vick led the Hokies to victory in 1999, with the long-remembered 26-yard scramble along the sideline. Then in 2001, though the Mountaineers lost to Tech 35-0, Grant Wiley made an interception during that game that is still talked about.
In 2003, Rasheed Marshall made a 93-yard pass during a game in which the Hokies, then ranked No. 3, were beaten 28-7 in Morgantown. Prather’s friend Colin Tobias remembers that last game in 2005 when Virginia Tech, led by Marcus Vick, defeated the Mountaineers 34-17.
“I’m still mad at Marcus Vick,” Tobias said.
(LEFT) Danielle and Danny Smith look on as their son, Barrett, 2, cheers on his teams.
If there was a theme for the day, it was cracking wise.
Walter and Linda Gaich were in the tailgate lot with their daughter, Tammy, and niece and nephew Robin and Larry Riley. The Gaiches are Mountaineers and the Rileys are Hokies.
What was going to happen that night as they made their way home?
Walter had an idea. “The van we borrowed has a roof rack, so they’ll be riding home on it,” he joked. “It’s always been a great game. It’s the whole experience: having fun tailgating.”
There may be no more honest, and brutal, critic than a toddler. Barrett Smith, 2, might be destined to disappoint one of his parents when it comes to his sports choices.
Danielle Smith, his mother, who is wearing Mountaineer gold, asks him, “Who’s going to win the game?”
There’s a pause.
“Hokies!” he chirps in a soft voice.
His dad asks for a high five.
Barrett and his dad, Danny Smith, are the only two people at the family tailgate wearing Hokies maroon and burnt orange.
His grandma, Cindy Riggins, says that he will cheer for both teams and you hear them walk him through “Go Hokies!” and “Go Mountaineers!”
Danielle’s brother Nick Riggins, a Mountaineer fan, says the divided family, spread out in Elkins, W.Va., Kingwood, W.Va. and Portsmouth, Va., knew this was a game they needed to make.
“We’re glad to see the old rivalries renewed again,” Nick said.
He says he hopes the Mountaineers will come out on top. Danny says he doesn’t hope; he knows VT will win.
So how did a Virginia Tech guy get in the family?
Danielle’s dad is pragmatic.
“You can’t pick your relatives,” Rich Riggins says.
The family agrees that it could have been worse.
Danielle says, “He could have been Pitt.”
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आकृति:Lang-sd
सिन्धी: {{{1}}}
This template should not be used in citation templates such as Citation Style 1 and Citation Style 2, because it includes markup that will pollute the COinS metadata they produce; see COinS in Wikipedia.
Usage[सम्पादन करी]
Template {{lang-sd}} indicates to readers the original form of a term or phrase in सिन्धी language. The term or phrase is the only mandatory parameter. The text is formatted according to recommendations in Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Text formatting#Foreign terms (italics for Latin-script languages, regular for others).
The template should generally be placed after the English translation of the foreign term or phrase.
The parameter |links=no prevents the language name from being linked.
The parameter |translit= enables a transliteration (of the original text with the Latin alphabet) to be given. The templates that have this param are listed here. (This parameter is not supported by lang-x templates for languages that are already written in Latin script.)
The parameter |lit= enables a literal translation (in English) to be given. It is being rolled out to these templates and so may be available for {{lang-sd}}.
Examples[सम्पादन करी]
The following examples show translations from German.
Weimar is located in the federal state of Thuringia ({{lang-de|Thüringen}}).
The Seafarers of Catan ({{lang-de|Die Seefahrer von Catan}}) is an expansion of the board game The Settlers of Catan.
Albert the Bear ({{lang-de|Albrecht der Bär|links=no}})
All Quiet on the Western Front ({{lang-de|Im Westen nichts Neues|lit=In the West Nothing New}}) is a novel by Erich Maria Remarque.
Resulting text
Weimar is located in the federal state of Thuringia (German: Thüringen).
The Seafarers of Catan (German: Die Seefahrer von Catan) is an expansion of the board game The Settlers of Catan.
Albert the Bear (German: Albrecht der Bär)
All Quiet on the Western Front (German: Im Westen nichts Neues, शा. 'In the West Nothing New') is a novel by Erich Maria Remarque.
{{lang}}, and its opposite, {{Language with name/for}}
{{link language}}
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Home » Elise A. Chong, MD
Researcher Spotlight: Elise A. Chong, MD
University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine
Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy has been an effective treatment for any patients with B-cell lymphomas who don’t respond to other therapies, producing remissions in 30 to 40 percent of patients. Dr. Chong and her collaborators are seeking a way to better predict which patients will respond well to CAR T-cells before patients undergo the therapy. “To understand why CAR T-cells succeed or fail, we are studying patients’ blood samples and tumor biopsies collected before and during treatment with CAR T-cells,” Dr. Chong says. In the course of her LRF Postdoctoral Fellowship grant, Dr. Chong will study T-cell functional states (processes which occur inside the cell) in response to treatment and seek to identify ways in which patients’ tumors may suppress their immune system or prevent immunotherapies from killing lymphoma cells. “This research will guide further approaches to improving immunotherapy for patients with lymphoma.”
Dr. Chong is the inaugural Bruce D. Cheson, MD Postdoctoral Fellow, a named fellowship honoring Dr. Cheson, current LRF Scientific Advisory board member and former SAB Chair, for his commitment to supporting the Foundation and lymphoma research. She first became interested in lymphoma after working as a research assistant in the lymphoma program at Abramson Cancer Center at the University of Pennsylvania. “The ability of research to improve patients’ lives, the long-term relationships that patients and physicians develop, and the scientific questions being explored all were the impetus for my interest in lymphoma research,” Dr. Chong says, adding that this experience prompted her to change her career path from laboratory research and apply to medical school. She received her MD from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, where she has subsequently completed her residency and is now a third-year hematology/oncology fellow.
Dr. Chong is excited for the opportunity LRF funding gives her, both in being able to address research questions and advance her career as a researcher. “After years of clinical training, I am finally able to study the types of questions I envisioned over ten years ago prior to medical school,” she says. “The LRF Award will allow me sufficient time to dive deeply into this translational research and provide essential support for both this current project as well as my future career aspirations and development.”
To learn more about CAR T, visit the CAR T-Cell Therapy Learning Center.
Impact on Research
Topic-Specific Information Video
Video: Maintenance Therapy in Lymphoma
New Research Could Bring Individualized Therapies to DLBCL Patients
Gabriele Varano, PhD
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Lisa Cugnetto August 19, 2019 Image Design, Published work
Homes of the Hunter: Scandi-style meets classic Carrington
This article was published in The Newcastle Herald ‘Weekender’ print edition and online on July 14, 2019. Images by Joshua Hogan.
Adam and Katrina came across this house almost by accident.
A real estate agent forgot the keys to an open house in Adamstown they had earmarked as a potential renovation project.
He referred them to another inspection in Carrington.
Not impressed by the house the agent suggested, the couple drove around the suburb using the Domain app to look for other properties that might fit the bill. It’s then they found themselves in front of 79 Bourke Street.
“We thought it was pretty cute and it was open for inspection a few hours later,” Adam says.
“We came back, I walked in and thought straight away: This is it.”
Keen to make an offer, there was one last deciding factor they wanted to check out before they did, their not-so-average neighbour, The Criterion Hotel.
“We loved the idea of being next door to a pub,” Adam says.
“We stopped in there for lunch while deliberating if we were going to try and buy the cottage.
“The new owners had renovated it and had taken the pokie machines out.
“It’s a family-oriented pub. There were even kids drawing on the footpath outside with chalk.
“So, for us, the pub is a positive.
“I love the vibe of the community around here.”
Adam and Katrina bought the three-bedroom house in January and spent four months renovating it “non stop”.
Their plan was to fix it up and turn it into short-term Airbnb accommodation.
They also thought it might be a place their teenage daughters would stay in the future.
“Parts of the building were in a pretty bad state, in terms of structural stability,” Adam explains.
“We reconstructed the back half of the home within the existing structure. We basically kept the original external claddings and frame, put a new frame in adjoining the old, and then relined it internally and went from there.”
They also added an awning and deck area to the backyard.
“We wanted to have an external space if people wanted to have a barbecue or a drink. It has really nice sun in the morning, so it’s a good coffee spot too,” Katrina says.
Katrina and Adam looked into the history of the house without success, but estimate it to be over 100 years old.
During the renovations they found some indicators of the house’s age, including weatherboards, which were rough sawn straight out of the mill, and house foundations made of dry stacked bricks (not the concrete footings used today).
“Even the bricks outside in the courtyard,” Katrina says, “You can tell they are handmade because they’re hand stamped with numbers.”
While Katrina and Adam have renovated several modern-style properties together over the years – including their family home in Redhead – this is the first older-style home they’ve worked on.
“We wanted to honour the history of the house because that’s its initial appeal,” Katrina says.
They maintained some of the cottage’s original features, like the old cast iron wood stove in the kitchen. But overhauled other parts, such as the bathroom and kitchen.
Inside, the house feels comfortable and modern. Blonde wood tones and Scandinavian-style furnishings are complemented by a calming colour palette of soft greys, pinks and greens.
Knick-knacks and collectibles sourced from local markets and second-hand stores dot the space, among them, a ceramic bowl Adam made when he was nine. Artworks painted by Katrina’s uncle hang throughout the house, while a shelf full of books and games in the living room encourage guests to stay in and enjoy the space.
It’s evident a lot of time and consideration has gone into the renovation.
The pair has spent more than a few nights at the house over the four months they spent renovating it.
“It’s a really great little spot. Carrington has a good food scene,” says Katrina. “We stayed here a couple of weeks ago and got up in the morning and walked to Honeysuckle. You go past the harbour and the marina, it’s a beautiful walk.”
Katrina and Adam say they’d consider downsizing to the cottage in the future once their three children are older. But for now, they’re happy for guests to enjoy it.
Posted in Design, Published work and tagged Carrington, Homes, Lifestyle, Newcastle. Bookmark the permalink.
Get your hands dirty and learn something
Exploring Sydney’s social enterprises
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Blue Racer Midstream: Keeping a Sharp Eye on the Bottom Line
February 1, 2016 Blue Racer Midstream, Energy Services
Blue Racer Midstream is a joint venture between Caiman Energy II and Dominion. It is a privately-held company, so we don’t have SEC reports and public statements about the company from which to gage how it’s doing. However, every now again Blue Racer’s upper management shows up at an industry conference. Last week Blue Racer’s relatively new CEO, Stephen Arata, spoke at the Hart Energy Marcellus-Utica Midstream event in Pittsburgh. It’s no surprise that Arata said the company has had to curb spending and growth, giving the downturn in oil and natgas prices…
Why Can’t We be Friends: Can Coal & NatGas Get Along in WV?
The Truth About “Green” Electric Cars & What Really Powers Them
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Metal Odyssey > Heavy Metal Music Blog
Welcome to Metal Odyssey, it will be quite the Metal trip!
Archive for the 1970’s rock bands Category
HAPPY EASTER FROM METAL ODYSSEY!
Posted in 1970's classic rock songs, 1970's rock bands, 1970's rock music, classic rock, classic rock albums, classic rock bands, classic rock music, classic rock songs, family, holidays, life, living, metal odyssey, Music, rock & roll, rock and roll, rock music with tags 1970's classic rock music, classic rock, classic rock bands, classic rock music, classic rock songs, easter holiday, electric light orchestra, happy easter, metal odyssey, Music, positive songs, rock & roll, rock and roll, rock music, springtime, springtime songs on April 4, 2010 by Metal Odyssey
Happy Easter to all who celebrate this holiday, which represents a renewed inspiration and spirit for life, love, peace and happiness! Spring is the season where all the trees, shrubs, plants, weeds and the grass becomes green once again, (if you live in the cold parts of the world that is). Spring is a time to start anew and put into action every detail and/or project I’ve been wanting to accomplish. The best part of Spring is the warmer weather… for us folks who live in the “Winter States” and/or cold regions of the world, it’s an unreal reprieve!
* An extra special Happy Easter goes out to all of my family and friends… you all know who you are!
One of my favorite bands of my entire living life has been: The Electric Light Orchestra. Mr. Blue Sky from their Out Of The Blue album, (released in 1977), makes for a perfect song to applaud Spring’s arrival and this Easter weekend… with the weather where I live being gem perfect!
If you like to hear this ELO classic, Mr. Blue Sky, just click that magic box below!
LONG LIVE THE MUSIC OF ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA!
Spring reminds me of all the good that is in my life. (Hello family, friends and Rock and Roll). It also reminds me not to sweat the small and ridiculous stuff. ELO has always grounded me, giving my musical soul that positive jump start it needs from time to time.
Stone.
JOURNEY “DEPARTURE” ALBUM FROM 1980 – A CLASSIC ROCK FLASHBACK
Posted in 1970's classic rock music, 1970's rock bands, 1980's classic rock bands, 1980's hard rock albums, 1980's rock music, 1980's classic rock albums, 1980's classic rock music, 1980's hard rock bands, album covers, classic rock, classic rock albums, classic rock music, hard rock albums, hard rock bands, metal odyssey, Music, rock & roll, rock and roll, rock music, rock music history with tags 1970's hard rock bands, 1970's classic rock music, 1980's hard rock albums, 1980's rock albums, 1980's classic rock music, 1980's hard rock bands, classic rock, classic rock bands, classic rock music, classic rock songs, hard rock bands, hard rock music, journey departure album, journey hard rock band, journey rock band, metal odyssey, Music, rock album covers, rock and roll, rock music, rock music 1980, rock music history on March 31, 2010 by Metal Odyssey
JOURNEY – released their sixth studio album, Departure, on March 23, 1980, on Columbia Records. This was my very first Journey album that I ever bought, sometime around 1980. Between this Journey album and Queen – The Game, I was becoming quite a Rock Music fanatic at the age of fourteen. Departure falls into the first dozen or so albums that I ever owned. As with Queen’s The Game album, this Journey album is an exquisite blend of Rock and Hard Rock songs. The FM radio favorite back in the day was Any Way You Want It, this song was the motivation for my buying this album to begin with. A genuine Hard Rock song, Any Way You Want It flowed through my veins like psyche-out serum. Aw, heck, it still does to this very day.
Walks Like A Lady is the mellow Rock song that FM radio caught onto as well, it’s chorus coupled with the simplicity and innocence in it’s lyrics, gives this song it’s appeal, almost spotlighting it amongst the other songs on Departure. Where Were You is one of my favorite Journey songs… ever. If a song can Rock me at age fourteen, then Rock me the same way three decades later… then it ‘s an impact song that did it’s deed in imbedding itself into my Rock and Roll psyche. Where Were You, as with Any Way You Want It, just brings back memories of my discovering what Rock and Hard Rock Music was really all about. Back in 1980, I found myself gravitating towards much more up-tempo and harder edged songs. Departure became another tile, on the Hard Rock ground floor that I was setting foot upon.
I’m Cryin’ for all intents and purposes, is Steve Perry at his very finest, unleashing his never to be duplicated vocals, with a spill-over of believable emotion. Line Of Fire has the saturated sound of Classic Rock boogie, pulsating with every imaginable vibration of 1970’s Hard Rock as well. Neal Schon’s guitar actually sounds like a backup singer on Line Of Fire, his signature tone is that expressive… to my ears. When I listen to Good Morning Girl in 2010, I can safely point to this song as the direction as to where Journey would go musically, on future albums. Steve Perry’s vocals being the focal point in a soft ballad, is a key part of the puzzle to Journey’s mainstream success and popularity explosion of the 1980’s. Good Morning Girl was the hint of more incredible things to come, from this legendary band and lead vocalist… only I did not have a clue of Journey’s future back in 1980.
Whenever I can reach into my music collection and pull out an album that resonates the roots of Rock and Hard Rock of my young adult life, it surely is an impeccable album for me indeed. Rock and Roll is more than an aging slab of vinyl or a hardened plastic disc referred to as a CD. Rock and Roll encompasses dozens upon dozens of genres, while these same genres are represented by bands that are iconic as well as lesser known. What comes out of all this are the emotions, vibrations and memories that the music instills in one. Journey – Departure is an album I look upon as an integral reason as to why I decided to take a Hard Rock trek in my early teens. Journey, as with many other Hard Rock bands of the late 1970’s and early 1980’s, aided in my transition to Heavy Metal… and I never considered for one second of abandoning Journey or any other influential band from my youth… Metal be thy name.
Journey, as they appeared on Departure:
Steve Perry – lead vocals
Neal Schon – guitar & backing vocals
Ross Valory – bass & backing vocals
Gregg Rolie – keyboards, harmonica & backing vocals
Steve Smith – drums & percussion
* Gregg Rolie is the lead vocalist on Someday Soon.
* Neal Schon is the lead vocalist on People And Places.
* Check out the Official Journey website: JOURNEY
Track Listing for Departure:
Any Way You Want It
Walks Like A Lady
Precious Time
I’m Cryin’
Good Morning Girl
Homemade Love
* Bonus Tracks From 2006 Reissue:
Natural Thing
MY FAVORITE HARD ROCK ALBUM COVER IS…
Posted in 1970's classic rock albums, 1970's classic rock bands, 1970's hard rock, 1970's rock bands, 1970's rock music, classic rock albums, classic rock bands, classic rock music, Hard Rock, hard rock albums, hard rock bands, hard rock music, rock & roll, rock and roll, rock music with tags 1970's classic rock albums, 1970's classic rock bands, 1970's hard rock bands, 1970's classic rock music, classic rock, Hard Rock, hard rock album covers, hard rock history, hard rock music, hard rock songs, heavy metal music, metal odyssey, Music, rock & roll, rock and roll, rock music on March 28, 2010 by Metal Odyssey
Well, I posted what my favorite Heavy Metal album cover, (ever), is on March 25, just a few days ago. Iron Maiden’s debut album – Iron Maiden was/is my choice. Now, for my favorite Hard Rock album cover, (ever), that I would like to share to all, on the planet we call… Earth. Nazareth – No Mean City. This incredibly underrated Rock meets Hard Rock album was released back in January of 1979. May The Sunshine has it’s unique style – from a folk chorus to it’s overlay of genuine Nazareth Rock, it’s a fun filled listen for me always. The ballad Star is another tremendous listen, showing just how Nazareth could diversify their sound with the upmost credibility. Just To Get Into It is indicative of Nazareth Hard Rock, with Dan McCafferty’s vocals spilling out in all of his raspy splendor.
This unreal great cover art on No Mean City just screams Heavy Metal… only this is seriously a Rock colliding with Hard Rock album, in my Metal opinion. Rodney Matthews is the artist/illustrator for this incredible No Mean City album cover. In doing my Metal research, Rodney Matthews has quite the illustrious career in illustrating album covers for many bands of notoriety: Scorpions, Magnum, Thin Lizzy, Tygers of Pan Tang and Diamond Head… just to name a few. I applaud this fantastically talented artist, he gets a Metal Odyssey nod of Metal approval – multi-tenfold!
A long time ago, in a Metal year far, far, away, I bought this No Mean City album from a “cut-out” bin at a record store called Strawberries Records & Tapes. If you like, you can check out the post I did on this legendary album, with a more detailed review, by clicking on the header below:
NAZARETH “NO MEAN CITY” – 1979 HARD ROCK ALBUM IS A DIAMOND IN THE ROUGH
What is your favorite Hard Rock album cover? No Mean City just takes the Hard Rock cake for me.
QUEEN – “THE GAME” MADE 1980 A YEAR I’LL ALWAYS REMEMBER
Posted in 1970's classic rock bands, 1970's hard rock bands, 1970's rock bands, 1980's classic rock bands, 1980's hard rock albums, 1980's rock albums, 1980's rock music, 1980's classic rock, 1980's classic rock albums, 1980's classic rock music, 1980's classic rock songs, 1980's hard rock bands, 1980's hard rock songs, 1980's rock bands, 1990's rock bands, 1990's hard rock bands, classic rock, classic rock albums, classic rock bands, classic rock music, classic rock songs, classic rock vocalists, family, feel good stories, hard rock bands, hard rock music, holidays, metal odyssey, Music, people, personal stories, real life experiences, Rock, rock & roll, rock and roll, rock music, rock music history with tags #1 rock songs of the 1980's, 1970's classic rock music, 1980's classic rock music, another one bites the dust, brian may guitarist, classic rock, classic rock albums, classic rock bands, classic rock music, classic rock songs, classic rock vocalists, freddie mercury vocalist, hard rock music, metal odyssey, Music, queen, queen hard rock band, queen rock band, queen the game album, rock and roll, rock and roll history, rock legends, rock music, rock n' roll, rockabilly, the game album 1980 on March 22, 2010 by Metal Odyssey
QUEEN – I can remember like it was yesterday, it was 1980 and I wanted so badly, as a Christmas gift from my Mom and Dad, Queen’s The Game album. I can recite what and how many albums I received as gifts from my parents when I was young, due to the fact that I so deeply appreciated each one. While growing up, my family may not have been “rich” with money, instead we were pretty “rich” with love. As a young dude, I never expected more than one album as a gift from my parents, with each passing Christmas and birthday. Receiving an album a few times during the year, as a thank you for helping out around the house and yard, was reality as well. Therefore, that “one” album at Christmas held some weight… and each album gift was always one of my choices that I made known to anyone who would listen.
1980 came upon me as a breakout year in my life… for I finally broke out of eight years of parochial school. (A Catholic School). I was now an official high school student… enrolled as a freshman. My Rock and Roll taste buds were changing by the week it seemed… so many bands I was hearing on the FM dial, still, so little funds to buy them.
When Christmas of 1980 finally rolled around, I was anxious as to whether or not an album would be under the tree at all. If there was an album, which one would it be? I had jotted down just about every KISS album on that wish list back in 1980, save for Double Platinum and Dynasty, which I already owned. I remember putting Queen’s The Game down on my wish list, I needed a real Queen album and this one would be as good as any. All I did own of Queen at this time in my life was the 45 rpm of We Will Rock You/We Are The Champions. Crazy Little Thing Called Love and Another One Bites The Dust were enormous hits for Queen on the FM dial in 1980. Each time I heard these two songs back then, it felt like Rock and Roll magic in my brain.
Once I heard these next two songs from this powerful Queen album, I was literally covered in ostrich bumps: Play The Game and Need Your Loving Tonight. The Hartford, Connecticut FM stations were very cool back in the late ’70’s on through the ’80’s, their spinning these deeper album cuts from The Game only made it more clear to me, that I absolutely needed this album! Listening to the song Play The Game made me feel like I was walking on air. It still does have that affect on me. Sure, Another One Bites The Dust has been overused commercially over the decades, I do understand. This entire Queen album still makes me feel more powerful than I really am… it’s as if it lifts me up and puts the troubles of the day below my feet.
I did see a wrapped album under the Christmas tree, that Christmas morning back in 1980 and it had my name on the tag. It was from Mom and Dad. Once the wrapping was taken off, (gently I might add, as not to damage a cool album), my eyes widened as big as Pennsylvania Dutch pancakes on a Saturday morning. Queen. The Game. In my hands, the entire album. Yes, I played it on my turntable every day during my freshman year in high school. Back in 1980, hearing the song Dragon Attack was a quick study in Hard Rock 101 for me.
This Queen album, single handedly inspired me as a high school freshman, in ways that I cannot even explain. The operatic and prolific vocals of the late and ultra legendary Freddie Mercury, the ever distinguishable guitar tone of Brian May and the rhythm being solidly accented by John Deacon on bass and Roger Taylor on drums. A Rock album for the ages was and still is – The Game.
LONG LIVE QUEEN. REST PEACEFULLY, FREDDIE MERCURY.
RUSH – “WORKING MEN” ROCKS LIVE WITH VINTAGE CUTS
Posted in 1970's classic rock bands, 1970's classic rock songs, 1970's classic rock vocalists, 1970's classic rock music, 1970's hard rock, 1970's progressive rock bands, 1970's Rock, 1970's rock bands, 1970's rock music, 1980's classic rock bands, 1980's rock music, 1980's classic rock music, 1980's hard rock bands, 1980's hard rock songs, 1980's progressive rock bands, 1990's hard rock music, 1990's rock music, 1990's hard rock bands, 1990's progressive rock bands, classic rock, classic rock albums, classic rock bands, classic rock music, classic rock songs, current rock bands, hard rock bands, hard rock music, heavy metal history, heavy metal legends, heavy metal music, metal odyssey, Music, progressive hard rock albums, progressive hard rock music, rock music with tags 1970's classic rock music, 1970's progressive rock bands, 1980's classic rock, 1980's progressive rock bands, 1990's progressive rock bands, alex lifeson guitarist, classic rock, classic rock music, current progressive rock music, geddy lee bass guitarist, geddy lee vocalist, hard rock music, live rush albums, metal odyssey, Music, neil peart drummer, progressive hard rock music, progressive rock bands, progressive rock music, rock music, Rush, rush 2009, rush live dvd's, rush progressive hard rock band, rush progressive rock band, rush songs, rush tom sawyer song, rush working men live album, working men live album 2009 on February 26, 2010 by Metal Odyssey
RUSH is a band that lures me into their progressive Hard Rock world, like an insect flying into a backyard bug lamp. The main difference between me and an insect, (besides my being a human being), is that once I get zapped by the electrifying sound of Rush, I don’t turn crispy and bite the dust. Rush could very well release an album every year and I would buy it. This ultra iconic band’s albums brings back memories and makes new memories for me, on a consistent basis. Metal truth be told, the older I get, the more I have taken a stronger liking to the music of Rush. (I cannot figure this out, therefore, I won’t try to). Rush has released a total of nine live albums over their brilliant career, (counting Working Men), with All The World’s A Stage from 1976 starting this chain. Working Men will never go down as being the greatest live Rush album ever… yet it will not be considered sub standard either. This legendary band can’t compete with themselves, each live album they release, is a signature of where they are as elite musicians. What Rush does best, is give their fans consistency over the decades, while not sacrificing integrity in their musical product. Working Men exemplifies this integrity, with songs that are the most popular from their extensive album catalog.
Geddy Lee, (lead vocals, bass guitar & keyboards), Alex Lifeson, (guitar & vocals) and Neil Peart on drums, possess the uncanny abilities to keep their songs relevant and vibrant. It’s refreshing reality to know that Rush continues onward, entering their fourth decade of creating Progressive Hard Rock, in which they laboriously and consistently helped catapult into a beyond legitimate genre.
All 12 songs are taken from previously released live DVD’s, with the exception of One Little Victory, which is stated as previously unreleased. I come to the conclusion, that this “particular” live version of One Little Victory has never been released, it has appeared on Rush In Rio Live. The studio version of One Little Victory is the opening track for the 2002 Rush album – Vapor Trails. (A tad confusing as to the exactness of the previously unreleased meaning).
Working Men does meld the classics of Rush past, embarking on decades of gems… this live album opens with Limelight, (1981’s Moving Pictures) and Far Cry, (2007’s Snakes & Arrows), is track number six. Having Far Cry in the mix, is a standing true reminder, that Rush is ever the creative trio in recent years. The Snakes & Arrows studio album is an exemplary offering of modern day, Rush Progressive Hard Rock. To acknowledge such a recent Rush song like Far Cry, amidst this vintage lineup of live tracks, was the right move. How can any fan of Rush or such songs as Limelight, Tom Sawyer, Freewill, Working Man or Closer To The Heart resist such a classic compilation of live and Progressive Hard Rock excellence? I can’t resist, no matter how many live go rounds Rush gives these songs.
* The live DVD’s from which these Rush songs were taken from, to compile Working Men: Rush In Rio (2003), R30 (2005) and Snakes & Arrows Live (2008).
The Spirit of Radio, 2112, Dreamline, Subdivisions, and YYZ are the remaining tracks heard on Working Men.
Rush – Working Men was released on November 17, 2009, on Anthem/Atlantic Records.
ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME – TRULY IS A HALL OF SHAME.
Posted in 1970's hard rock bands, 1970's hard rock, 1970's heavy metal bands, 1970's heavy metal music, 1970's rock bands, 1980's hard rock bands, 1980's heavy metal bands, 1980's heavy metal music, 1990's heavy metal bands, 1990's hard rock bands, classic rock, classic rock bands, classic rock music, current heavy metal bands, hard rock bands, hard rock music, heavy metal bands, heavy metal history, heavy metal legends, heavy metal music, heavy metal music 2010, heavy metal news, metal odyssey, Music, old school heavy metal, old school heavy metal bands, rock & roll, rock and roll hall of fame complaints, rock and roll hall of fame inductees, rock and roll hall of fame members, rock and roll news, rock music with tags 1970's heavy metal bands, 1980's heavy metal bands, 1990's heavy metal bands, 2010 rock and roll hall of fame inductees, abba, ace frehley, current heavy metal bands, Gene Simmons, genesis progressive rock band, hard rock history, hard rock music, Heavy Metal, heavy metal bands 2010, heavy metal history, heavy metal music, heavy metal news, jimmy cliff, kiss, kiss army, kiss hard rock band, kiss heavy metal band, metal odyssey, Music, Paul Stanley, peter criss, rock and roll, rock and roll hall of fame, rock and roll hall of fame inductees, rock and roll hall of shame, rock and roll news, rock history, rock music, rock music news, the hollies, the stooges on February 22, 2010 by Metal Odyssey
Well, another year has gone by and the “astute” historians and archive keepers of Rock and Roll History – The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, has bumbled another induction. WHERE IS… KISS? You know, the four guys known as GENE SIMMONS, PAUL STANLEY, ACE FREHLEY and PETER CRISS? Oh, god forbid if I dare mention the extended family of musicians that are/were members of KISS as well. I guess ABBA contributed so much more, to the “history” of Rock and Roll. I forgot, that ABBA is so damn hot right now in 2010 as well. Hey, disco needs it’s just due in The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame too… of course. While these Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation dorks were at it, why didn’t they just induct The Wiggles right now, alongside ABBA? Get it over with. At this point, Bananarama and The Partridge Family will get inducted well before KISS ever gets their rightful induction into this snobby, uneducated in Heavy Metal, white collar, Pop Music is king… cheap excuse of a building.
Genesis, Jimmy Cliff, The Stooges and The Hollies deserve their rightful and historic recognition. Arguably, it is not ABBA’s fault they are recognized either… but give me a Metal break here. ABBA over KISS? That’s like choosing a glass of warm milk over a cold draft beer.
As quoted directly from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame website:
“The 2010 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame performer inductees were chosen by more than 500 voters of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation. Artists are eligible for inclusion in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twenty-five years after their first recording is released.”
* Uh, yeah… what about… anything other than 25 years after their first album is released? Is that the only damn criteria? Crap, I’ll make a record then and wait 25 years to see if I get inducted.
* Who really is… this mysterious… 500 voters of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation? Are they all scholars, who are afraid of Hard Rock and Heavy Metal? Do any of these voters listen to Rock Music in the first place?
* It’s almost as if, these 500 voters of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation receive a copy of Rolling Stone Magazine, a few times a year, read about bands that get the good ol’ Rolling Stone Magazine seal of approval… and then… these voters decide, these are the bands! They must be good if Rolling Stone Magazine says so!
* Apparently, these 500 voters of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation get more psyched out by listening to Dancing Queen and Waterloo instead of Rock and Roll All Nite and Detroit Rock City.
* I’m not going to blab about how many Gold and Platinum Records KISS has achieved, chart singles, concert tickets sold, their impact on American Pop Culture, nor how many total albums they have put out… what’s the use? The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame doesn’t give a crap. ABBA is Back! ABBA = Rock Legends.
* Man, what would Elvis think and say of this mess they call The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?
Some “important” dude, named Joel Peresman, (who thinks he knows about Rock and Roll by the way), gives this lackluster and embarrassing statement on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame website:
“We are very happy to present this year’s inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as they represent a great cross-section of artists that define the broad spectrum and history of rock and roll and people that have contributed immeasurably to our business” says Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation President & CEO Joel Peresman.
* HEY JOEL: I guess KISS are not considered to be part of the people that have “contributed immeasurably to our business”… huh?
* HEY JOEL: Go slap down some vintage opera vinyl and eat your caviar. Then light up a $10,000 stogie and make a wet fart in your imported silk pajamas.
* HEY JOEL: You really, really, um, really, need to change your sign outside that building in Cleveland, Ohio, to read: ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF SHAME AND EXPENSIVE MUSEUM
LONG LIVE KISS!
KISS – IS HEREBY, THE FIRST BAND EVER, INDUCTED INTO THE METAL ODYSSEY ROCK AND ROLL AND HEAVY MUSIC HALL OF FAME!
I SHALL INDUCT BANDS AND MUSICIANS, WHENEVER I DAMN WELL FEEL LIKE IT, AND HAVE THIS LIST POSTED ON THE METAL ODYSSEY HOME PAGE FOR THE WORLD TO SEE AND ENJOY. A REAL ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME. A REAL HEAVY MUSIC HALL OF FAME.
ON FEBRUARY 21, 2010, KISS HAS BEEN INDUCTED INTO THE METAL ODYSSEY ROCK AND ROLL AND HEAVY MUSIC HALL OF FAME.
CONGRATULATIONS KISS, ON BEING THE FIRST INDUCTEE INTO METAL ODYSSEY’S ROCK AND ROLL AND HEAVY MUSIC HALL OF FAME!
DOUG FIEGER – REST PEACEFULLY AND THANK YOU FOR THE MUSIC
Posted in 1970's #1 rock songs, 1970's classic rock albums, 1970's classic rock bands, 1970's classic rock songs, 1970's Rock, 1970's rock bands, 1970's rock music, 1979 rock albums, 1980's rock bands, classic rock, classic rock albums, classic rock bands, classic rock cover songs, classic rock music, classic rock music 1979, classic rock songs, classic rock vocalists, metal odyssey, Music, Rock, rock & roll, rock and roll, rock and roll news, rock guitarists, rock music, rock music history, rock vocalists with tags #1 rock songs, #1 rock songs 1979, 1970's classic rock albums, 1970's classic rock songs, 1970's new wave music, 1970's rock bands, 1979 rock albums, classic rock, doug fieger, doug fieger guitarist, doug fieger songwriter, doug fieger vocalist, get the knack album, good girls don't song, metal odyssey, Music, my sharona song, new wave music, rock and roll, rock music, rock music 1979, the knack, the knack 1979, the knack my sharona song on February 16, 2010 by Metal Odyssey
I remember buying this debut album from The Knack, Get The Knack brings back some fond memories for me. My late sister and I made a beeline to the Caldor department store to buy this album, sometime during the Summer of ’79. We got the biggest kick out of this album, especially the hit My Sharona. I recall listening to the song Good Girls Don’t and feeling really cool about it too. Doug Fieger and The Knack made a fun and good old fashioned Rock and Roll album with Get The Knack. Just a classic album period. I had sold this album years ago… and truly regretted it afterwards, for vinyl was no longer on store shelves. On one of my journey’s last year for Heavy Metal finds, I found a beautiful copy of Get The Knack at a thrift store for 50 cents. This new found copy is for keeps.
Thank you for the music Doug Fieger, rest in peace.
Doug Fieger – 1952 – 2010
Singer, Guitarist, Songwriter
In 2009, HammerFall covered The Knack classic – My Sharona. This cover song is found on the HammerFall album – No Sacrifice, No Victory. This is an excellent example of how Doug Fieger and The Knack are an influence in respective Heavy Metal circles. When I first heard this cover of My Sharona by HammerFall, I was reminded of just how great this song really is. HammerFall paid an incredible tribute to this song and The Knack, in my Metal opinion. Of course, no band can top The Knack in covering My Sharona, this is a Heavy Metal salute to a legendary Rock and Roll Band and musician, whose music shall live on. So, crank up this My Sharona cover by HammerFall below, sing along if you will, let’s all give a Heavy Metal tribute and thank you to Doug Fieger and his Rock and Roll legacy!
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ALBUM REVIEWS ARCHIVES
*Want your music reviewed or to be interviewed by Stone?
AIRBOURNE – RUNNIN’ WILD
ALICE COOPER – ALONG CAME A SPIDER
ALL THAT REMAINS – OVERCOME
AMON AMARTH – TWILIGHT OF THE THUNDER GOD
ARSENAL OF MEGADETH – DVD
AUSTRIAN DEATH MACHINE – A VERY BRUTAL CHRISTMAS
BAD COMPANY – Desolation Angels
BLACK SABBATH – DEHUMANIZER
BLACK SABBATH – SABBATH BLOODY SABBATH
BLACK TIDE – LIGHT FROM ABOVE
BLACK VEIL BRIDES – Set The World On Fire
BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE – SCREAM AIM FIRE
CANNIBAL CORPSE – EVISCERATION PLAGUE
CAVALERA CONSPIRACY – INFLIKTED
CHEAP TRICK – ROCKFORD
CHILDREN OF BODOM – BLOODDRUNK
CHILDREN OF BODOM – TRASHED, LOST & STRUNG OUT – EP
DANZIG – THRALL: DEMONSWEATLIVE
DANZIG III: HOW THE GODS KILL
DEATH ANGEL – KILLING SEASON
DEEP PURPLE – PERFECT STRANGERS
DEF LEPPARD – EUPHORIA
DIO – LOCK UP THE WOLVES
DIO – MASTER OF THE MOON
DISTURBED – INDESTRUCTIBLE
DOKKEN – FROM CONCEPTION: LIVE 1981
DOKKEN – LIGHTNING STRIKES AGAIN
DOKKEN – UNCHAIN THE NIGHT DVD
EDGUY – KING OF FOOLS EP
EDGUY – MANDRAKE
EDGUY – SUPERHEROES EP
EDGUY – TINNITUS SANCTUS
EXODUS – SHOVEL HEADED KILL MACHINE
EXTREME – SAUDADES DE ROCK
GAMMARAY – LAND OF THE FREE II
HELLOWEEN – GAMBLING WITH THE DEVIL
HELLOWEEN – KEEPER OF THE SEVEN KEYS, PART I
HELLOWEEN – WALLS OF JERICHO
IN THIS MOMENT – THE DREAM
IRON MAIDEN – DIFFERENT WORLD MAXI SINGLE
JUDAS PRIEST – NOSTRADAMUS
KISS – LOVE GUN
KREATOR – HORDES OF CHAOS
KROKUS – HELLRAISER
LIZZY BORDEN – APPOINTMENT WITH DEATH
LYNCH MOB – WICKED SENSATION
METAL CHURCH – THE DARK
METAL CHURCH – THIS PRESENT WASTELAND
MISFITS – EVILIVE
MOTORHEAD – HAMMERED
MOTORHEAD – KISS OF DEATH
NAZARETH: FROM THE BEGINNING DVD
NIGHT RANGER – HOLE IN THE SUN
OSAKA POPSTAR – ROCK ‘EM O-SOCK ‘EM LIVE
OVERKILL – COVERKILL
OVERKILL – FEEL THE FIRE
OVERKILL – IMMORTALIS
OVERKILL – NECROSHINE
OVERKILL – TAKING OVER
OVERKILL – WRECKING EVERYTHING:LIVE FROM ASBURY PARK
OVERKILL – WRECKING YOUR NECK – LIVE
QUEENSRYCHE – MINDCRIME AT THE MOORE
QUEENSRYCHE – TAKE COVER
RAINBOW – STRAIGHT BETWEEN THE EYES
ROB ZOMBIE – LIVE
RUSH – SNAKES & ARROWS
RUSH IN RIO – DVD
SAINTS OF THE UNDERGROUND – LOVE THE SIN, HATE THE SINNER
SALIVA – BACK INTO YOUR SYSTEM
SLAYER – HAUNTING THE CHAPEL
SLAYER – SOUTH OF HEAVEN
SLIPKNOT – ALL HOPE IS GONE
TED NUGENT – LOVE GRENADE
TESLA – PSYCHOTIC SUPPER
TESTAMENT – LIVE IN LONDON
TESTAMENT – THE FORMATION OF DAMNATION
THE ANSWER – NEVER TOO LATE
THE CULT – BORN INTO THIS
THE SWORD – GODS OF THE EARTH
UNEARTH – THE MARCH
VAN HALEN – DIVER DOWN
W.A.S.P. – DYING FOR THE WORLD
W.A.S.P. – HELLDORADO
W.A.S.P. – STILL NOT BLACK ENOUGH
W.A.S.P. – THE CRIMSON IDOL
WHITESNAKE – GOOD TO BE BAD
CHARITABLE SITES THAT ARE VERY COOL!
Bikers Against Child Abuse of Lehigh Valley Inc.
THE PINKBURST PROJECT
Cool ROCK Blogs
Celebrating The Song Blog
FOLLOW THIS GAMING BLOG!
POWER PAK – Classic Gaming Blog
Heavy Metal & Rock 'N' Roll Related Websites!
Earsplit Compound
METALITALIA.COM
MIKI'S ENCHANTED WORLD
The Independent Music Awards
METAL & HARD ROCK BLOG-SITE WARRIORS!
80smetalman's Blog
APOCH'S METAL REVIEW
MIKELADANO.COM
MOORE: MUSIC
MUSIC JUNKIE PRESS
THE METAL FILES
Metal Odyssey Interview Archives!
BEAK – JASON GOLDBERG
BiG DAD RITCH – Texas Hippie Coalition
CRYSTAL VIPER – Marta Gabriel
EARTH – Adrienne Davies
Faithsedge – Giancarlo Floridia
GREAT WHITE – MARK KENDALL
GREAT WHITE – TERRY ILOUS
Greg Hampton – The New Czars
HEMOPTYSIS – Masaki Murashita
IGLOO WARFARE
IRON CLAW – Jimmy Ronnie
KEV MOORE
KOPEK
MASS – Louis St. August (Part 2)
MORPHINE KILLER
RUSS DWARF
SAMOTH – THE WRETCHED END
SERGEANT STEEL
SINISTER REALM
THE TREWS – Colin MacDonald
TRILLION RED
Metal Odyssey's Rock, Hard Rock and Heavy Metal Hall of Fame! These Are The Rock And METAL Legends Wrongfully Ignored By "The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame"
Some Band Websites To Check Out:
Ace Frehley – Official Website
AMON AMARTH – Official Website
BRUTALLY DECEASED – Bandcamp
CAVALERA CONSPIRACY – Official Website
CRYSTAL VIPER – Official Website
DANZIG – VEROTIK – Official Website
DEAN CASCIONE – Official Website
DEATH ANGEL – Official Website
DESTRUCTION – Official Website
DORO PESCH – Official Website
Edguy – Official Website
GAMMA RAY – Official Website
Gene Hoglan – Hoglan Industries.com
Great White – Official Website
HATEBREED – Official Website
HELLOWEEN – Official Website
HEMOPTYSIS – Official Website
ICED EARTH – Official Website
KROKUS – Official Website
LIZZY BORDEN – Official Website
MAELSTROM – bandcamp
MAELSTROM – facebook
Masaki Murashita – Official facebook
MASS – MASS ROCKS.COM
MISFITS – facebook
MISFITS – Official Website
Osaka Popstar – Official Website
PRIMAL FEAR – Official Website
Ronnie James Dio.com
SATYRICON – Official Website
SINISTER REALM – facebook
SLIPKNOT – Official Website
SOULFLY – facebook
SPEEDPIG.net
SPIDER ROCKETS – Official Website
THE RITCHIE BLACKMORE & BLACKMORE'S NIGHT – Official Website
TOBIAS SAMMET'S AVANTASIA – Official Website
VENOM – Official Website
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Brown promises more bobbies on beat
metrowebukmetroThursday 17 Jul 2008 9:41 am
Gordon Brown talks with Chairman of ACPO Ken Jones
Gordon Brown has promised that more people will see a return of beat bobbies to their streets under new police reforms.
The Prime Minister said the new policing Green Paper would “clear the decks” and cut down on bureaucracy so officers could spend more time tackling crime instead of filling out forms.
He also repeated a warning that young people carrying knives would be prosecuted as new figures reportedly showed police recorded about 20,000 serious offences involving knives last year.
Speaking at 10 Downing Street alongside Association of Chief Police Officers president Ken Jones, Mr Brown said visible policing on the streets had cut violent crime.
He added: “We are clearing the decks, cutting the red tape, cutting back on bureaucracy, making it possible for policemen and women to spend far more time on the beat answering people’s inquiries, in touch with local communities – a visible presence on the beat so that more and more people will see a policeman or woman there and able to help them.”
Mr Jones, who is chief constable of Sussex Police, said senior officers were “very happy that they had been listened to in the creation of the Green Paper”.
He went on: “These are significant changes to reduce bureaucracy. No targets are going to be set from the centre, other than those on confidence, although we will be setting targets locally according to what’s happening in your neighbourhood, your street.”
Responding to annual crime figures revealing the true extent of knife crime across England and Wales, Mr Brown said he wanted to make carrying a blade as unacceptable as having a gun on the streets.
He said: “It is because we have identified the problem of knife crime, and particularly in some hotspots of the country, that we have stepped up our action dramatically.
“More stop and search, more visible policing, more metal detectors trying to spot where knives exist, and stepping up our action with tougher sentences and a determination to say to people: if you are caught with a knife, you will be prosecuted, if you have a knife you will be punished, and we will do everything in our power to prevent people having knives.”
Association of Chief Police OfficersGordon BrownKen JonesSussex Police
Leadership favourite Keir Starmer says Labour has 'mountain to climb' before next election
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Britain’s Got Talent: The Champions’ Paul Potts still suffers crippling nerves 12 years after his win
Tilly PearceFriday 30 Aug 2019 8:57 am
Paul Potts has admitted that despite winning Britain’s Got Talent 12 years ago, he still suffers crippling anxiety before going on stage that could ruin his performance.
The opera star became an overnight sensation back on 2007, and was in demand after taking home the win, but despite his schedule becoming packed, his nerves would always get the better of him.
Now he’s heading back to where it all began and trying out for Britain’s Got Talent: The Champions, as it returns next week, and is just as nervous as ever.
Speaking on Good Morning Britain, he said: ‘It’s always nerve-wracking, that’s never changed. You try and find a way of managing that, but the nerves never really go away.’
He added: ‘If I’m ready too soon I actually walk backwards and forwards quite a lot.
‘I annoy my wife by getting ready for stage as late as I possibly can to stop myself thinking, because if I think about what I’m going to do, it’s actually very possible for me to lose my way.’
Paul is reappearing on BGT Champions for another shot at glory (Picture: GMB)
Regardless, his love of singing ultimately wins over and he continues to belt out opera classics – not least of which his hauntingly beautiful audition song, Nessum Dorma.
But despite heading on BGT: Champions, Paul said that he didn’t actually mind about whether or not he won.
He explained: ‘For me it was kind of a way of paying back Britain’s Got Talent, for the opportunities that it’s given me, and also to represent Britain’s Got Talent.
‘I’m very proud of my association with the programme, and I always will be.’
Will Paul be able to take home the win? (Picture: Syco/Thames)
Paul is now going head-to-head with a host of previous winners and fan favourites to be crowned the ultimate Got Talent contestant on Britain’s Got Talent: The Champions.
Winners get to take home a £100,000 prize pot.
More: Britain's Got Talent
Ant and Dec kick off first day of Britain's Got Talent 2020 auditions with mirror snap
Simon Cowell keeps up his exercise with topless beach stroll, is he ever coming back?
Paige Turley's BGT performances - from Skinny Love to It Will Rain
Other acts he’ll be facing off against include MerseyGirls, Boogie Storm, Connie Talbot, Stavros Flatley and Ashleigh and Sully.
Stars who have taken part in the show in Asia, Ukraine, India and Australia are also taking their chance on the BGT stage as well.
Britain’s Got Talent: The Champions starts Saturday at 8pm on ITV.
MORE: Simon Cowell genuinely emotional as Boogie Storm slay comeback on Britain’s Got Talent: The Champions… with Eric Cowell?
MORE: Amanda Holden left visibly shaken by The Sacred Riana on Britain’s Got Talent: The Champions in ‘scariest performance’ ever
Britain's Got TalentPaul Potts
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Miami University Oxford, Ohio est. 1809 Office of Liberal Education
Bachelor Degree (2015 and forward)
Bachelor Degree (Prior to 2015)
Foundation III Designation for International Students
Petition to Modify MP Requirements
Self-Designed Senior Capstone
Self-Designed Thematic Sequence
Senior Capstone Final Project
Chief Departmental Advisors
College of Arts and Science Advising Office
College of Creative Arts Advising Office
College of Education, Health and Society Advising Office
College of Engineering and Computing Advising Office
College of Liberal Arts and Applied Sciences Advising Office
Farmer School of Business Advising Office
Howe Center for Writing Excellence
Designing a Thematic Sequence
Liberal Education Office
The purpose of the self-designed Thematic Sequence is to provide students with the opportunity to design a specialized Thematic Sequence beyond those that are currently offered. Providing this opportunity, the university invites students to create a course of study reflective of requirements and goals represented by the Global Miami Plan and relevant to students' specific academic, professional, social, and political concerns.
Students may complete self-designed Thematic Sequence online proposals.. Proposals are reviewed by the University Director of Liberal Education. All components of the proposal must be completed before it will be reviewed.
Approval Criteria
The review of your petition will consider how critical thinking and understanding context will likely be fostered in the sequence, the degree to which the sequence will allow you to interact with other learners, and the ways the course work is likely to offer opportunities for you to reflect on your learning and act upon it. In this regard, any discussion you might supply as to how the sequence will help you to develop your personal moral commitments, ethical understanding, and abilities for civic engagement can be helpful. In addition, the review will also take into consideration the significance of the proposal in regard to your intellectual and academic pursuits (and, as the case may be, your career aspirations).
You must obtain the following to be uploaded as part of the proposal packet:
Statement of Explanation—Upload a statement of explanation detailing the courses in your proposed sequence. Describe your goals and objectives for the sequence, what you expect to learn, and how this sequence will enable you to accomplish your academic and intellectual goals and objectives. Be sure to include any additional information that you feel would be helpful, such as the uniqueness of the opportunity. Statements are typically around 1000 words in length.
Degree Audit Report—Upload a current DAR with your proposal. Please be sure to print the detailed version of your DAR that lists which courses are meeting requirements.
Contact information for Thematic Sequence Faculty Advisor—You must select a faculty advisor for your thematic sequence. The faculty advisor is often a member of the department that houses the majority of the coursework for your sequence. If you are proposing an interdisciplinary sequence, select an advisor who is familiar with the overarching theme. He/she must sign an authorization and may include a letter of support. We will send the authorization to your advisor after you submit the proposal. You must provide the faculty advisor's name, department, and Miami email address.
All components of the proposal must be turned in before it will be reviewed by the Director of Liberal Education.
Submit your Self-Designed Thematic Sequence Proposal
Office of Liberal Education
Miami University was founded on the belief that a liberal education provides the best possible framework for life in a changing world. The Office of Liberal Education helps students and faculty to understand and creatively transform human culture and society by giving them the tools to ask questions, examine assumptions, exchange views with others, and become a better global citizen.
315 A, B Laws Hall
miamiplan@MiamiOH.edu
Miami Plan Foundation
Petition FAQ
Course Inventory Management System (CIM)
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SAM L11 TrustZone® Implementation
ARM® TrustZone® for ARMv8-M Introduction
The central security element for the Microchip SAM L11 microcontroller (MCU) is the implementation of the TrustZone for an ARMv8-M device. The TrustZone technology is a System-on-Chip (SoC) and MCU system-wide approach to security that enables Secure and Non-Secure application code to run on a single MCU. TrustZone for an ARMv8-M device is based on specific hardware that is implemented in the Cortex-M23 core, which is combined with a dedicated secure instruction set. It enables the creation of multiple software security domains that restrict access to selected memory, peripherals, and I/O to trusted software without compromising the system performances. The main goal of the TrustZone for an ARMv8-M device is to simplify security assessment of a deeply embedded device.
The principle behind the TrustZone for an ARMv8-M embedded software application is illustrated in the figure below.
In the SAM L11 Cortex-M23 Core implementation, security management is done using the Implementation Defined Attribution Unit (IDAU). The IDAU interface controls the access to the execution of specific instructions which are based on the current core security state and the address of the instruction. The figure below illustrates the Core/Debugger access verification, performed by the system prior to allowing access to a specific memory region.
Thanks to this implementation, a simple function call or an interrupt process results in a branch to a specific security state as illustrated in the figure below. This allows for efficient calling by avoiding any code and execution overhead.
Memory Security Attribution
To differentiate and isolate the Secure code from the Non-Secure code, the SAM L11 memory is divided into ten memory regions as shown in the figure below. Each region size can be configured using dedicated NVM fuses, such as:
Boot Secure (BS)
Boot Non-Secure Callable (BNSC)
Boot Protection (BOOTPROT)
Application Secure (AS)
Application Non-Secure Callable (ANSC)
Data Flash Secure (DS)
RS (SRAM Secure)
Each memory region is preconfigured in the hardware with one of the following attributes:
Non-Secure (NS): Non-Secure addresses are used for memory and peripherals, which are accessible by all software running on the device.
Secure (S): Secure addresses are used for memory and peripherals, which are accessible only by Secure software.
Non-Secure Callable (NSC): NSC is a special type of Secure memory location. It enables software transition from a Non-Secure to a Secure state.
The security attribute of each region will define the security state of the code stored in this region.
Secure and Non-Secure Function Call Mechanism
To prevent Secure code and data from being accessed from a Non-Secure state, the Secure code must meet several requirements. The responsibility for meeting these requirements is shared between the MCU architecture, software architecture, and the toolchain configuration. At the core level, a set of Secure instructions dedicated to ARMv8-M devices are used to preserve and protect the secure register values during the CPU security state transition.
Secure Gateway (SG): Used for switching from a Non-Secure to a Secure state at the first instruction of a Secure entry point.
Branch with exchange to Non-Secure state (BXNS): Used by the Secure software to branch, or return to the Non-Secure program.
Branch with link and exchange to Non-Secure state (BLXNS): Used by the Secure software to call the Non-Secure functions.
At the toolchain level, a ‘C’ language Extension (CMSE) provided by ARM must be used to ensure the use of ARMv8-M Secure instruction at the software architecture level. Specific Secure and Non-Secure function call mechanisms must be used to ensure security.
Non-Secure Callable APIs
When working with TrustZone for ARMv8-M, the application developer can define a set of Non-Secure callable APIs which can be used to access the Secure code from the Non-Secure world. These APIs, known as Secure Gateways (SG) or veneers are in charge of the CPU Security state switch and allow the decoupling of Secure entry points from the rest of the Secure code. Therefore, limiting the amount of code that can potentially be accessed by the Non-Secure state. SG is expected to be placed in NSC memory regions, which are executable only when the CPU is in Non-Secure state. The rest of the Secure code is expected to be placed in the Secure memory regions which are not accessible when the CPU is in Non-Secure state, see figure below.
Using Non-Secure callable APIs require the use of specific Cortex-M23 instructions that ensure security during the core security state switching. A direct API function call from the Non-Secure to the Secure software entry points is allowed only if the first instruction of the entry point is an SG and is in a Non-Secure callable memory location. The use of the special instructions (BXNS and BLXNS) are also required to branch to Non-Secure code.
The following code illustrates Secure function and its SG APIs declaration and definition using ARM GCC toolchain with a C language Extension (CMSE).
Veneer.h:
Veneer.c (linked in the NSC memory region of the device):
Secure_function.c (linked in the secure memory region of the device):
Non-Secure Software Callbacks
The Secure code can define and use software callbacks to execute functions from the Non-Secure world. This is a consequence of separating Secure and Non-Secure code into separate executable files. The following figure shows the software callback approach.
The management of callback functions can be performed using BLXNS instruction. The following figure illustrates the Non-Secure callback mechanism
The definition of Non-Secure software callback is done through a pointer to Non-Secure code location. If not correctly checked in the Secure application, wrong use of pointers can lead to a security weakness that enables execution of any Secure functions by the Non-Secure code. To overcome this disadvantage, a set of CMSE functions based on the new Cortex-M23 Test Target (TT) instructions is provided.
Security State and Call Mismatch
Any attempts to access Secure regions from the Non-Secure code or a mismatch between the code that is executed and the security state of the system results in a HardFault exception as shown in the following figure:
Secure and Non-Secure Interrupt Handling
The Cortex-M23 (ARMv8-M architecture) uses the same exception stacking mechanism as the ARMv7-M architecture, where a subset of core registers is stored automatically into the stack (hardware context saving). This permits immediate execution of the interrupt handler without the need to perform a context save in the software. ARMv8-M extends this mechanism to provide enhanced security based on two different stack pointers (a Secure stack pointer and a Non-Secure stack pointer). According to the priority settings configured in the Nested Vector Interrupt Controller (NVIC), Secure code execution can interrupt Non-Secure code execution, and Non-Secure code can interrupt Secure code execution.
The NVIC registers at the core level are duplicated. This allows two vector table definitions, one for Secure and another for Non-Secure. At a product start-up, all interrupts are mapped by default to the Secure world (Secure vector table). Specific CMSIS functions accessible in the Secure world, allocate each interrupt vector to a Non-Secure handler (declared in Non-Secure vector table). As illustrated in the figure below, if the Secure code is running when a higher priority Non-Secure interrupt arrives, the core pushes all its register content into a dedicated Secure stack. Registers are then zeroed automatically to prevent any information being read, and the core executes the Non-Secure exception handler. When the Non-Secure handler execution is finished, the hardware recovers all the registers from the Secure stack automatically.
This mechanism is managed in hardware and does not require any software intervention. This allows a Secure handover from running Secure code to a Non-Secure interrupt handler and returning to running Secure code.
SAM L11 Security Reference Guide Application Note
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Related Bios Jamie Karraker Cuong Nguyen David Bender Paul Dawson Arni Lehto Will Tashman Daniel McCue Nicholas Prus Matt Redfield Dennis Levene Billy Bender Will Dickson Noel Hollingsworth Andrew Acker Yeremia Nakhaima
4 - Mitchell Kates
Hometown: Colts Neck, N.J.
High School: Phillips Exeter Academy
2011-12: Played in and started all 31 games as a junior, averaging 14.2 points, 5.4 assists and 2.3 steals per game with .509 FG%, .300 3PT%, .718 FT% … D3Hoops All-America fourth team … NEWMAC All-Conference first team … NEWMAC tournament Most Outstanding Player … D3Hoops All-Northeast region third team … ECAC All-New England first team … led team and NEWMAC in steals and assists … second on team and fourth in NEWMAC in scoring … career-high 11 assists in NCAA tournament second round win over Farmingdale St. (3/3/12) … career-high 11 rebounds in NCAA tournament opening round win over Skidmore (3/2/12) … season-high 29 points in NCAA tournament third round vs. Staten Island (3/9/12) … finished two assists shy of triple-double vs. Skidmore (3/2/12) … third in the NEWMAC in minutes per game, played all 40 minutes in two games … averaged 19.4 points, 7.2 assists, 5.0 rebounds and 2.4 steals per game, with .538 FG% during MIT’s NCAA tournament run to the national semifinals … led team in scoring on 11 occasions, including five of seven postseason games … led or tied for team lead in assists in all but six games during the season
2010-11: Played in and started all 29 games as a sophomore, averaging 15.6 points, 3.2 rebounds and 5.0 assists with .471 FG%, .340 3PT% and .766 FT% … second team NEWMAC All-Conference for second year in a row … led team in scoring, assists and steals … fifth in NEWMAC in scoring, sixth in FG%, second in steals … led the team in scoring in 14 games … scored career high 34 points, on 11-of-15 shooting with five assists vs. Wheaton (1/22/11) … scored 25 points in NCAA tournament win over Ithaca (3/4/11) … scored 23 points with a season-high eight assists vs. Gordon (12/4/10) … scored in double figures in 22 games, including eight games of at least 20 points
2009-2010: Played and started all 27 games as a sophomore, averaging 33 minutes per game, 13.2 ppg with .480 FG% and .700 FT% … averaged 4.1 apg, 3.3 rpg, and 2.11 steals per game … D3Hoops Northeast Region Rookie of the Year … NEWMAC Rookie of the Year … second team NEWMAC All-Conference … 1st in NEWMAC in steals (2.11) and assists (4.15) … 8th in NEWMAC in FG% (48.0), A/TO (1.18), and Scoring (13.2) … 9th in NEWMAC in FT% (70.8) … tied Bradley Gampel ’09 for most steals in a game with 8 in just fourth game as an Engineer vs. Curry College on Nov. 24th … joined Danny Kanamori ’06 and Jimmy Bartollota’09 for 4th all-time in steals in a season with 57 … tied Mark Branch ‘83 for 9th all time in assists in a season with 112 … scored in double figures in 20 games and had at least 20 points in four games … in first collegiate game, scored 14 points on 4-of-6 shooting and 6-of-8 from free-throw line, adding 3 rebounds, 4 assists, and 4 steals at Emmanuel … dropped 22 points on 10-of-19 shooting and 3 steals in championship game of RPI Engineers Classic vs. RPI … after returning from tournament in New York, had career night at Curry, scoring career-highs of 28 points, 9 rebounds, and 8 steals, tying Bradley Gampel’s Institute record for most steals in a game … dished out 7 assists in both of next two games vs. Suffolk and at Emerson … put up 15 points, 5 assists, and 2 steals in OT win vs. Gordon the following game … netted 22 points on 10-of-15 shooting, 4 assists, 3 rebounds, and 2 steals in OT win vs. Salem State … against Division I Harvard on December 28th, put up 14 points, 5 assists, 3 rebounds, and 2 steals in 35 minutes of action … would score in double-digits for next eleven games, including career-high 8 assists vs. Lesley on Dec. 12th and a 5-steal performance at Babson on January 9th … before final game of ] regular season, scored 24 points, brought down 6 rebounds, and tied career-mark of 8 assists at Wheaton … put up 16 points and 8 rebounds in 1st Round of NCAA Tournament vs. Desales in New Jersey
Off the Court: Majoring in computer science … internship with XL Hybrids and Planga
High School: Attended Colts Neck High School … broke single season assists record at Colts Neck as a junior (6.5 apg)... averaged 16.4 pts, 7.6 assists, 5.0 steals per game as a senior... led team to CJ Group IV and Shore Conference semifinals; finished with 19-8 record Selected as Coaches Poll First Team All Shore Conference... selected as Asbury Park Press First Team All Shore Conference Awarded the Kerwin Award, given to the best basketball player in the shore conference... Digital Sports Shore Conference Player of the Year... broke career assists record at Colts Neck... received gold medal on National U-16 United States Maccabi Basketball Team in Israel 2005... attended Phillips Exeter Academy as a post graduate, averaging 13 points and 5 assists per game … NCCJA Anytown Delegate … NJSIAA Scholar Athlete … National Honors Society … Colts Neck High School Youth of the Year
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WoW, National AIA, WoW
January 8, 2008 July 11, 2008 | mjneal
[We (Oooooohhhhhhhhh)Won]
Can you BELIEVE it???
M. J. Neal Architects just won the 2008 Institute Honor Award for Interior Architecture from the American Institute of Architects (AIA).
It’s a great day, it’s a great, big, fat, new…. year!!!!
This project had already won an Austin AIA Design Award and the Texas Society of Architects (TSA) Honor Design Award, and let’s not forget the International IIDA Award (my favorite, see previous post)
The anecdote? We almost didn’t submit the project! Farley Studio was doing so well at competitions that when we were done submitting it, MJ, who was hungry and tired, said, “ah, let’s blow it off and go to Asti to eat… I was hungry and tired too…but something told me to submit Anthony Nak, so I stayed on and BAM! You never know, do you?:-)
Yey for being dogheaded when I’m hungry and tired and double yey for MJ’s design excellence!!!!
Here’s the video the TSA made for the 2005 State Design Honor Award.
Scott Randall Productions by Scott Randall. emailto:sr@scottrandall.com.
Copyright 2005 by the Texas Society of Architects.
June 4, 2007 July 11, 2008 | mjneal
If the picasa slideshow is not working use this:
Pilates studio by MJ Neal, AIA
Check the Pilates studio out! It’s open for business. Ann Arnoult is an excellent Pilates instructor and a former dancer at Ballet Austin. This project was built by Living Art, Austin. John and Mike’s building outfit.
Update April 22, 2008
Foda Studio created the three illustrations for the project, I think they are our good luck charm:
We are proud to announce that this project has won the 2008 AIA Austin top Design Honor Award! This makes us the winners of the top local design award for two consecutive years! Stand by for celebration party:-)
Awards the Interior Designers Way
August 28, 2006 July 11, 2008 | mjneal
I get bored stiff at some of the award parties that we’ve had to go to. But Chicago was fun, fast, and furious. The Interior Designers kicked some butt. This was the IIDA awards party last year… And we got to sit at the same table with Her Highness Eva Maddox. I’ve been dying to post these, but we didn’t have a blog then, so here they are. M. J. in a tux, was almost too much for me, and all the quasi-naked boys and girls didn’t cool things down any.
Interior Design Magazine Publishes us! So Much More is Happening
June 5, 2006 June 30, 2012 | mjneal
JUNE 2005 /LOOK FOR INTERIOR DESIGN MAGAZINE
Interior Design Magazine features M. J. Neal Architects in their current (June) issue, now in the stands. You can read the article online
But buy the magazine to look at the incredible pictures by Jett Butler and Kenny Braun and peruse all five winners of the 2005 IIDA award.
JUNE 2005 / TOP INTERIOR DESIGN AWARD
M. J. Neal Architects has been awarded the prestigious International Interior Design Association (IIDA) Award for 2005 for its Anthony Nak project. This competition is held annually by the International Interior Design Association. This is their 32nd edition.
From hundreds of projects submitted from around the world, only five awards were given this year. The winners will be featured at the COOL 2005 IIDA’S NEOCON GALA in Chicago in June 2005 and the projects will be published in Interior Design Magazine. IIDA’s press release.
“The selected winners represent a wide range of project types. The common thread lies in their clarity of idea and the designers ability to develop that concept through the details in a clear and consistent way,” stated John Mack, IIDA, AIA, IIDAs Vice President of Communications.
Also, keep an eye out for the next issue of Residential Architect featuring M. J. Neal and his take on the materials he prefers to use in his projects.
June 2005 / THE ANTHONY NAK STORE WINS TOP JEWELER RETAIL DESIGN AWARD
The Anthony Nak project, designed by M. J. Neal Architects, receives first place in the 2005 Couture International Jeweler Retail Design Award by the National Jeweler and Couture International Jeweler publications. The award was presented to Anthony Camargo and David Nakard, the famed jewelry designers and owners of Anthony Nak, at the jewelery convention in Las Vegas. The Anthony Nak flagship store was chosen by an independent panel of design professionals as demonstrating excellence in design, inventive use of space, and overall quality of concept execution.
This is an elegant, subtle, space created to show exquisite designer jewelry.
Existing non-structural arches and windows were removed. These openings were altered to form new rectilinear windows and entry, enabling a dynamic street presence.
The palette is white surfaces with very subtle changes in texture. Venetian plaster on a complex curved wall, smooth gypsum board on the remaining walls and ceiling, and a Lonseal floor. A sandblasted glass wall acts as a screen for rear-projected movies of the client’s jewelry that run 24 hrs a day.
All case-work was designed by the architect: window cases are of stainless steel and glass. Free-standing floor cases, “pods,” are cherry wood, stainless steel, and glass. When open, the glass top of the pod becomes a surface to rest the jewelry on. Adjacent to the front door, a bench flows out of the ceiling.
From design work to end of construction, including case work , this 800 sq. ft. project was completed in twelve weeks.
This project also received the 2004 Citation of Honor from the American Institute of Architects, Austin and the prestigious IIDA Design award for 2005.
06 peeking at us
We are grateful for the year peeking at us with a kind eye.
1. New Featured Project, Szeto/Shum Residence renderings at mjneal.com
2. New Curra’s Restaurant starts construction
3. Challenging Remodel in Rollingwood
4. Steep-site Remodel in Balcones Drive
5. University of Texas Arlington Revisited
6. Exhibition in Mexico
7. Books and Magazines: Japan, Mexico and Bulgaria publish work by M. J. Neal, AIA
8. Sponsorship. M.J. Neal Architects and Barcelona Films support Sri Atmananda Memorial School
1. Check the “Featured Project” on our website for the new renderings for the Szeto/Shum Residence! This project is nearing its final construction documents phase and is on an “lean and mean” budget.
mjneal.com
2. Curra’s North has started construction.
We are pleased to announce that the new Curra’s Restaurant – North, designed by M. J. Neal, has started construction. The new Curra’s will feature perforated plywood, a big ass fan and polished concrete floors. We are very excited about a new system for finishing concrete floors. They look incredible and you never have to redo them again!
Curra’s new location is at Parmer and McNeill in Austin. If you’ve never tried their delicious interior Mexican food, well, most likely, you just moved to Austin!
3. Remodel project in Rollingwood, a complete remodel and addition of a house with dramatic views of downtown. Bringing it up to date, adapting it to the needs of the new owners, and connecting the house back to the land makes this a challenging and exciting project.
4. Another remodel of a 50’s house, this one on Balcones Dr, that presents interesting opportunities as we are dealing with a steep site, an old house, and a landscape that has gone back to a semi-wild state. Volume will be added to the house to create a library and a new master bedroom. All the other rooms will be opened up to the new private, and semi-private, gardens that will be created by taking advantage of the overgrowth.
5. M. J. Neal, AIA returns to the University of Texas, Arlington to teach a graduate design studio. There may be more news on the universities front, come next winter… check back for updates. In December, M. J. was invited to the University of Texas, Austin, to UTA, and to Texas Tech for final student critiques. He was also one of the jurors for the 2005 AIA, Lubbock awards.
6. M. J. Neal, AIA invited to the Third International Exhibition of Contemporary Interior Design – Bienal Mexico
M. J. Neal, AIA has been invited to exhibit boards of the Ramp House residence and the Anthony Nak flagship store at this prestigious exhibition in Mexico city and other cities, as a traveling exhibition. The Ramp House previously won the Miami Bienal 2003 Silver Medal for Interior Design, the Texas Society of Architects Honor Design Award and the AIA, Austin Citation of Honor Award. Anthony Nak was the IIDA 2005 winner, a TSA Honor Design Award, an AIA, Austin Citation of Honor Award and the Store Concept of the year by Couture International, Jeweler. (This last award was presented to store owners Anthony Camargo and David Nakard)
The Third International Exhibition of Contemporary Interior Design will open on April 2006 at the Claustro Betlemitas, Mexico, DF, the leading museum of contemporary design in Mexico City. This event is organized by the IIDA México City Chapter, Plazola Editores and the Colegio de Arquitectos, Ciudad de México.
The first and second events had more than 33,000 visitors in Mexico City during 5 weeks, with the principal works of architects, interior designers and industrial designers from all over the world (Mexico, USA, Spain, Ireland, Brasil, Corea, South Africa, Canada, Germany, etc). Some other firms exhibiting this year are Karim Rashid, Jorge Penzi, Legorreta Legorreta, KMD, and Cini Boeri.
7. More international publishing for M. J. Neal, AIA. Last year was an intense one of publications for our work, and the beginning of 2006 seems equally poised.
Upcoming Magazines and Books:
– SPA-DE, Space-Design,is a newly established Japanese magazine for interior architecture and design focusing on commercial and office spaces. SPA-DE presents an international selection of distinctive restaurants, bars, cafés, boutiques, shops, hotels, beauty salons, museums, as well as shopping centers, space installations, display design, furniture design, etc. by the world’s hottest designers and architects. M. J. Neal’s Anthony Nak Flagship Jewelry Store will appear in the fifth issue, which will be published both in Japanese and English in the Spring.
– Ambientes, by Editorial Expansion is one of the leading interior design Magazines in Mexico. The anthony Nak store will be featured on the February-March issue.
– The Home Today and Tomorrow magazine – a Bulgarian print venue for furniture, interiors, design, and new trends has requested the Edmonds residence.
– Libro de la Exposicion de la Tercera Muestra Internacional de Interiorismo. A book with a selection of the works exhibited in Mexico (see number 6) will be published by Plazola Editores, S.A. in 2006.
8. Sri Atmananda Memorial School
Many of you know that our son attends Sri Atmananda Memorial school. After much thought, we decided to pull him out of the traditional schooling environment, that most of us went through, and try the KPM Institute approach to Children. SAMS is a non-sectarian, private school where every child is unconditionally valued and acknowledged. The teacher-student relationship is at the center of the approach with a ratio of 4:1. I’ve never seen so many children and so many teachers having so much fun, every single, blessedly full, day.
Sri Atmananda School is a daily source of inspiration, hope, and just plain happiness for the three of us; it has brought to our family profound positive changes. To us, this way of schooling is critical to self-discovery, by supporting honesty and clarity in learning and in life.
M.J. and I strive to contribute to a honorable way of life, not only with our architecture and film work, but through big and small daily actions; we try our best to breathe life into our core principles as we endeavor to create a milieu of freedom, honesty, and love.
If you are curious about this education approach, and the school, attend their open houses, Child Worl Workshops,and coffee sessions. And see these websites:
Sri Atmananda Memorial School (SAMS for short!)
kpm approach to children
More Awards and Publications
September 15, 2005 July 11, 2008 | mjneal
M. J. Neal has received another TSA Award this year, his third consecutive design excellence recognition by the Texas Society of Architects. He will pick it up at the Awards luncheon on Saturday, Sept. 17th at the TSA San Antonio Convention. We will also be attending the President’s Gala on Friday.
Chris Hill, our wonderful collaborator in Dallas, received one of the only two Studio Awards. Congratulations Chris! See you there!
Austin Monthly
MJ Neal’s Edmonds Residence is one of the “5 Homes We Would Move into Tomorrow” inside the current Austin Monthly, Design Issue. The team at Austin Monthly are a joy to work with. The editor, Evelyn Sher, the art director Torquil Dewar, and the super-talented writer, Becca Hensley gave us one of the best times we’ve had with publishing. Paul Bardagjy and Jordi Miralles were the photographers
“… What can we give back to the land?” is the question Neal likes to ask. So when Neal’s clients marveled that the Horseshoe Bay house he designed for them seemed “to grow from the land” he was pleased. It seems he had given something back.”
“He picks colors, he says, for their complexity and life. He could be talking about himself, for it’s the complexity and life of his vision that surely draws clients to him.”
Texas Architect
Another of our local favorites publishes MJ Neal’s work again, as a result of the TSA award to the Anthony Nak Flagship store. Lawrence Connolly, AIA writes on the design challenges posed by the existing building, the schedule, size of the space, and the client needs. The client’s perspective into the article is interesting, informative, and precise.
“Camargo credits his store’s ethereal spirit and minimalist casework as the catalysts for putting shoppers in a buying mood, and says the soft-sell approach has resulted in Anthony Nak exceeding even its most optimistic sales projections ”
M. J. Neal’s “Designer Profile” inside the current issue.
Nside
The new issue will carry an extensive article on M.J. Neal
Display and Design Ideas
“Aesthetic Showcase.”
“Anthony Nak’s Debut Store places jewelry in a clean, contemporary setting.”
Retail Design and Visual Presentation
In the past few months this magazine has featured Tsum and Byblos in Moscow, Hermes in Tokyo and Singapore, Armani in Edinburgh and Shanghai, House of Fraser in UK, assorted Moschino boutiques, etc. It will feature Anthony Nak’s store soon!
Links International publishing will include “Ramp House” in a Residential Architecture upcoming book, November 2005.
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The O’s Have Continuously Dropped The Ball This Winter – The Latest Is The Grant Balfour Fiasco:
Grant Balfour has been throwing verbal jabs to the Orioles on XM Radio concerning the club bowing out of his 2 YRs/$15 MIL deal – and justifiably so. The Orioles are losing credibility around the league for this bow out maneuver. So, good luck on signing a Free Agent Pitcher in the future. The O’s are also reeling on the Free Agency Market, having not signed anyone of real value, while Brian Roberts, Scott Feldman and Nate McLouth have left the city. 2013 saw the club win 85 games, and that was part of a superhuman effort from Chris Davis. The team is completely missing the ball in their chance to rundown a World Series Title by playing conservatively with their money.
Follow The MLB Reports On Twiter Follow @mlbreports
‘Stoking The Fire’ – Week 10
The Orioles have continued to stumble along in the offseason – meanwhile pissing off their fanbase. The latest Grant Balfour fiasco is going to set the franchise back.
it is not just the future Free Agent players that will think twice about setting foot in Maryland for the sake of landing a deal, but this kind of move could definitely deflate attendance next campaign.
Up until the Buck Showalter era, this kind of move was vindictive of the 1999 – 2009 regime of the Baltimore brass.
Grant Balfour Deal with the O’s Negated.
Posted in MLB Teams: Articles and Analysis, The Rest: Everything Baseball
Comments Off on The O’s Have Continuously Dropped The Ball This Winter – The Latest Is The Grant Balfour Fiasco:
Tags: 2012 ALDS, @MLBreports on twitter, a.j. burnett, adam jones, baltimore orioles, boston red sox, buck showalter, chris tillman, dan duquette, fernando rodney, grant balfour, jemile weeks, jim johnson, JJ Hardy, koji uehara, matt garza, matt wieters, nate mclouth, new york yankees, oakland athletics, orioles park at camden yards, scott feldman, tampa bay rays, tommy hunter, toronto blue jays, tsuyoshi wada
Tigers Acquire Astros Closer Veras To Address Anemic Bullpen Woes – And Are Not Done Yet
Mondday, July.29/2013
Jose Veras was acquired by the Tigers today, While clearly not the big name out their among Closers, he should add depth to a Bullpen that has had monumental struggles this season. This could also lead to the Tigers picking up yet another Closer in the next 48 – 60 hours like a Joe Nathan or Luke Gregerson. All of a sudden, a negative attribute could be a positive one for the team. Veras makes $1.85 MIL for 2013, and has a Team Option of $3.25 MIL for 2014 – or a Buyout of 150K. It is an inexpensive risk for Motown.
By Matthew Lafave (Tigers Correspondent) Follow @MatthewLafave
The Detroit Tigers have finally got there much needed bullpen help in the form of Astros closer Jose Veras. They sent outfielder Danry Vasquez and a player to be named later to the Astros.
Vasquez, 19-years-old, was batting .281 with Low-A West Michigan before the trade. The Tigers signed him as an international free agent out of Venezuela in 2010.
Comments Off on Tigers Acquire Astros Closer Veras To Address Anemic Bullpen Woes – And Are Not Done Yet
Tags: 2011 ALCS, 2012 ALCS, 2012 ALDS, 2012 world series, @matthewlafave on twitter, al alburquerque, bruce rondon, Danry Vasquez, darin downs, dave dombrowski, houston astros, jhonny peralta, Jim Leyland, joe nathan, jose valverde, lakeland tigers, luke gregerson, matthew lafave, phil coke, www.detroitexaminer.com
Tigers Are Rumored To Be Searching For A Closer: Papelbon Is High On The Hit List
Friday, June.21/2013
It is starting to like familiar to the baseball world when it comes down to late Tigers Pitching in 2013. Dave Dombrowski simply can’t go into the Post Season with what he has on his current Roster – based on recent track record. This team needs to find a Premiere Closer via Trade – and be willing to mortgage some of the future – and take on even more salary if needed to accomplish this…otherwise the ramifications of a Bullpen Backfire would tarnish any success the club has had. It is paramount to have a shutdown Game Finisher at the end of a Pitching Staff. The Relief Core is a huge reason why Detroit has not run away with the AL Central already. They possess a 5 – 13 Record (Have also blown 9 Saves in 25 Chances) – while carrying a 3.99 ERA (22nd in MLB).
During the off-season Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski prematurely appointed rookie Bruce Rondon as the closer. It’s a lot of weight on a pitcher who has never thrown a pitch in the majors before that.
No surprise to anyone, it did not pan out and Rondon started the season with Triple-A affiliate Toledo Mud Hens.
The ‘closer by committee’ began the season but after 3 blown saves and Octavio Dotel to the disabled list, it was time for a certified closer to come to Detroit.
So in an act of desperation the Tigers signed Jose Valverde to a major league deal on April 23rd.
Shocking to most fans he was still cheered when he made his first appearance of the season and actually got the close. But his success came to an abrupt end and currently has 3 blown saves, a 5.59 ERA, and has given up 6 home runs.
Jose Valverde Blows A Save
Posted in The Rest: Everything Baseball
Comments Off on Tigers Are Rumored To Be Searching For A Closer: Papelbon Is High On The Hit List
Tags: 2012 ALCS, 2012 ALDS, 2012 world series, @matthewlafave on twitter, Bobby Parnell, bruce rondon, dave dombrowski, Detroit Tigers pitching staff, Drew Smyly, huston street, Jim Leyland, jonathan papelbon, matthew lafave, octavio dotel, phil coke, philadelphia phillies, rafael betancourt, steve cishek, toledo mudhens, tom wilhelmsen, www.detroitexaminer.com
Oakland A’s Player Roster in 2013: State Of The Union Part 2: The Pitchers
Sunday, Mar.24/2013
A.J Griffin was 7-1 with a 3.06 ERA in 15 Games Started for the A’s in his 2012 Rookie Season. The A’s will look for the 24 Year old for some Quality Starts in 2013. The former University of San Diego Pitcher yielded a 1.13 WHIP during his time last year. As the teams #4 Starting Pitcher on the depth chart, Griffin should be able to see some favorable matchups in 2013. If he throws like 2012 again in 2013, he might very pole vault to being the ace of the rotation. We may have another 3 – 4 staff that contend for the AL Cy Young like the days of Hudson, Mulder and Zito.
Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Analyst/Website Owner): Follow @chuckbooth3024
Billy Beane has always recycled his great starting pitchers once they hit the experience level that he could not pay them for. His new crop of pitchers include Jarrod Parker, Brett Anderson, Tommy Milone and new Starter A.J. Griffin.
They also are bringing back Bartolo Colon for the 2013 season, despite taking a 50 game suspension for PED use last year. Billy Beane is a master tactician on assessing a players worth and especially pitchers. Just like the hitters, the pitchers are all mostly in the 25-30 Age bracket. He has a quality set of controllable relief pitchers in the barn to close out games too.
A.J. Griffin at University of San Diego:
Posted in MLB Payroll and Contracts, MLB Teams: Articles and Analysis, The Rest: Everything Baseball
Comments Off on Oakland A’s Player Roster in 2013: State Of The Union Part 2: The Pitchers
Tags: 2012 ALDS, @chuckbooth3024, A.J cole, A.J. Griffin, a.j. Kirby-Jones, aaron cunningham, American league, andrew werner, andy parrino, arizona diamondbacks, barry zito, bartolo colon, billy beane, boston, brad peacock, brad ziegler, brandon mccarthy, brett anderson, brett wallace, carlos gonzalez, chris carter, Chuck Booth, collin cowgill, colorado rockies, connor robertson, craig breslow, dan haren, dan straily, dana eveland, daric barton, derek norris, detroit tigers, eric sogard, evan scribner, george kottaras, gio gonzalez, graham godfrey, grant balfour, greg smith, jarrod parker, jason kendall, jerry blevins, jesse chavez, josh reddick, Marco scutaro, mark Mulder, matt albers, michael taylor, Miguel Tejada, minnesota twins, MLB Amateur Draft, money ball the movie, national league, o.co coliseum, oakland athletics, orioles, pat neshek, pedro figueroa, pirates, rob bowen, robert gillam, ryan cook, san diego padres, san francisco giants, sean doolittle, st louis cardinals, the fastest 30 ballgames, tommy milone, toronto blue jays, Travis Blackley, travis buck, trevor cahill, tyson ross
Baltimore Orioles Player Roster In 2013: State Of The Union Updated Mar.15
Posted by kholland13
The Orioles defied the odds with a 29 – 9 One run games record and a record streak of Extra Innings Wins that reached the teens. In a vaunted AL East – Vegas has only predicted them as about a 77 win team this year. They used 12 Starting Pitchers and none of them are clear – cut Aces. Might they call Dylan Bundy up in May? Will the management pull the trigger on a proven #1 Starting Pitcher to help them out? Will Brian Roberts be able to stay healthy?
By Kyle Holland (MLB Reports Writer): Follow @TheKHolland13
2012 was a breakout year for the Baltimore Orioles and the start of something new. They finished the season with a 93-69 record, a record good enough to land themselves a spot in the Wild Card playoff game. This marked the first time since 1997 they were playing October baseball.
The Orioles took down the Rangers in that very game to advance to the ALDS against AL East foe, the New York Yankees. They gave the Yankees a run for their money sending the series to 5 games, only to lose a heart-breaker 3-1 finale of the matchup. All of this happening with the Orioles having the 18th largest payroll in the MLB.
Orioles Wild Card Celebration:
Posted in MLB Player Profiles, The Rest: Everything Baseball
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Tags: 2012 ALDS, 2012 playoffs, @thekholland13, @TheKholland13 on twitter, adam jones, AL East, al mvp, baltimore orioles, boston red sox, brian roberts, chris davis, chris tillman, cy young award, darren o'day, dylan bundy, gold glove, j.j. hardy, jair jurrjens, jason hammel, jim johnson, Kyle Holland, luis ayala, manny machado, matt wieters, miguel gonzalez, nate mclouth, new york yankees, nick markakis, pedro strop, ryan flaherty, tampa bay rays, texas rangers, toronto blue jays, troy patton, wbc, wei-yin chen, wilson betemit
Why The Orioles And Lohse Make Sense
Lohse has had an up-and-down career since making his debut in 2001. He has bounced around cities and has experienced some good seasons, also with some less than impressive seasons. He was a big part in the middle of the Cardinals rotation during their 2011 World Series run – finishing 14-8 while posting a 3.39 ERA.
2012 was a career year for the Cardinals’ RHP Kyle Lohse. At Age 34, Lohse has become one of the most inconsistent pitchers in the game of baseball. Since making his debut in 2001 at 21 years old with the Minnesota Twins, Lohse has had some stellar years, and some not-so-great years. This includes a 2008 season – where he went 15-6 with a 3.78 ERA. He followed that great season with ugly 2009 finishing 6-10 while posting a 4.74 ERA.
In 2012, Lohse turned back to his ace pitching ways. Coming off a solid 2011 season – with a 14-8 record, it didn’t look like Lohse could improve too much. He proved everyone wrong and pitched his way to a 16-3 record. His .842 W-L% lead the National League – while his 2.86 ERA wound up eighth in all of the Majors.
Why the Cardinals will not sign Kyle Lohse:
Tags: 2011 World Series, 2012 ALDS, 2012 Cy Young Award, 2012 nlcs, 2012-13 offseason, AL East, anaheim angels, baltimore orioles, boston red sox, cc sabathia, chicago cubs, chicago white sox, chris sale, chris tillman, cleveland indians, david price, detroit tigers, dylan bundy, felix hernandez, joel hanrahan, john farrell, jon lester, jose reyes, josh johnson, justin verlander, kyle lohse, melky cabrera, milwaukee brewers, Minnesota, minnesota twins, national league win percentage leader pitching 2012, new york yankees, nl batting champions, oakland athletics, r.a. dickey, remaining free agents, san diego padres, scott boras, seattle mariners, st louis cardinals, tampa bay rays, toronto blue jays, washington nationals, wei-yin chen
Its A Big Year For Yankees SP Phil Hughes And RP Joba Chamberlain
Tuesday, February.04/2013
Heading into 2013, Hughes has a Career Record of 52-36 (.591) – with a 4.39 ERA. He is projected to be the #4 starter for the Yankees in 2013. He is 46-34, with a 4.68 ERA for his Career as a Starter opposed to a Reliever – where he was 5-1, with a 1.40 ERA during 2009.
By Chuck Booth (Yankees Correspondent/Website Owner): Follow @chuckbooth3024
Phil Hughes represents a nice #3 or #4 starter for the New York Yankees – and Joba Chamberlain will be counted on more than ever with Rafael Soriano not being back in the bullpen for 2013. This will be his 7th season in the ‘Bronx for both Pitchers. The 6 Foot 5 native (Hughes) of California, is coming off a decent season in 2012 – after he struggled with arm fatigue in 2011. Chamberlain has had a litany of injuries pile up on his 6 Foot 2, 250 LBS frame over the last several years. Yankees fans all know too well how this man and Joba Chamberlain have been bounced to and from the Starting Rotation to the Relief Corps. I think it is safe to say the Yankees finally have it right. Joba is a reliever and Hughes is a Starting Pitcher.
The Yankees have them both locked up on one year deals for 2013. Chamberlain will make 1.88 Million Dollars – while Hughes will make 7.15 Million Dollars. With an aging offense this year, the Yankees will be counting on several internal improvements amongst their pitching staffs. These two veterans will need to take it to the next level based on their projections of talent.
Joba Chamberlain – How To Be Awesome
Tags: 2009 World Series, 2012 ALCS, 2012 ALDS, @chuckbooth3024 on twitter, a.j. burnett, AL ALL-Star Appearances, AL East, Al rookie of the year, American league, andy pettitte, brian cashman, carl pavano, cc sabathia, chien-ming wang, Chuck Booth. fastest 30 ballgames, david robertson, ed whitson, hideki irabu, hiroki kuroda, ian kennedy, ivan nova, joba chamberlain, JOBA Rules, mariano rivera, matt wieters, mike mussina, phil hughes, stephen strasburg, Tommy John Surgery, yankee stadium, yankees relievers, Yankees starters
Detroit Tigers Prepare For Spring Training: Invite 17 Players
Thursday, January.17/2013
Pitchers and Catcher have less than 4 weeks to report in FLA.
By Matthew LaFave (Tigers Correspondent): Follow @MatthewLaFave
The Detroit Tigers announced on Wednesday that they have invited 17 players to Major League camp in Lakeland, Florida.
The names include some familiar faces like Don Kelly, Shawn Hill, and Nick Castellanos.
Kelly, who will turn 33 at the start of spring training, reportedly turned down a National League team to remain with the Tigers. After struggling at the plate last season, his contract was out righted to Triple-A affiliate Toledo. He is the only active MLB player to play all 9 positions in his career.
Don Kelly – Post Game after Game #2 of the 2012 ALDS (Walk off Sac Fly)
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Tags: 2012 ALDS, @matthewlafave on twitter, argenis diaz, brad davis, bruce fields, curt casali, daniel fields, detroit tigers, don kelly, erie, eugenio suarez, grapefruit league, james mccann, Jim Leyland, jose alavarez, kenny faulk, kevin russo, lakeland florida, lakeland tigers, matt tuiasosopo, matthew lafave, michael morrison, montreal expos, nick castellanos, ryan robowski, shawn hill, toledo, Tommy John Surgery, toronto blue jays, trevor bell, tyler collins
The Oakland A’s 2013 Roster Tree Part 2: The Pitchers And Analyzing Mulder, Hudson and Zito Post Oakland
Sunday, Dec.02/2012
A.J Griffin was 7-1 with a 3.06 ERA in 15 Games Started for the A’s in his 2012 Rookie Season. The A’s will look to the 24 Year old for some Quality Starts in 2013.
Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Writer/Website Owner): Follow @chuckbooth3024
Yesterday we talked about the hitters of the Oakland Athletics current roster and today we will talk about their pitching. This has been an organization that has thrived on brilliant drafting of young arms. In the early 2000’s, the team featured three ace pitchers in Barry Zito, Tim Hudson and Mark Mulder. Billy Beane had to let each of them leave Oakland because they couldn’t pay them the kind of dollars needed to secure them long term. With the exception of this year, Barry Zito has not lived up to his 7 Years and 126 Million Dollar contract he signed with the San Francisco Giants since leaving the Athletics. Despite a 15-8 year for the SF club this past year, he holds a 58-69 (.447) record for San Francisco lifetime with a 4.47 ERA. He was 102-63 (.618) and a 3.55 ERA with the A’s before leaving at the age of 29. The guy made 18.25 Million in his Oakland days and has already pocketed 99 Million with SF.
Mark Mulder never was the same pitcher in the NL and was out of baseball four years after being traded to St. Louis. His A’s career had netted him an 81-42 (.659) record with a 3.92 ERA. He was only 22-18 (.550) and a 5.04 ERA with the Cardinals before retiring. As you will read in this article below, the franchise made a worthy trade in returns for this man. Mulder made 25.3 Million in his contract with the Cardinals after making only 8.4 Million with the A’s.
Tim Hudson on the other hand, has been one of the better pitchers in the NL for the last decade, still towing the hill for the Braves at the age of 38. He was 92-39 (.702) with a 3.30 ERA for the A’s. He has since gone 105-65 with a 3.52 ERA for the Braves in in 8 years. He definitely has been worth the $ invested (84.5 Million plus another 9.0 Million in 2013.) He only made 4.5 Million in his 6 years with Oakland. The sandwich pick they landed for Hudson’s Free Agent signing was Travis Buck. Unfortunately Buck only played 170 games for the franchise, hitting .250 with 18 HRs and 71 RBI in 571 AB.
Total Record for 3 other teams is 185-152 (.549) and they have made 208.8 Million away from Oakland, whereas they were 275-144 (.656) and made a total 33.15 Million Dollars with the Athletics. I would say, Beane made the right decision in not signing them.
The Future of the Oakland A’s: The Mustache Gang Meets the Bash Brothers: Revealing Billy Beane’s Master Plan click here.
For The Oakland A’s 2013 Roster Tree Part 1: The Hitters Click Here
Tags: 2012 ALDS, @chuckbooth3024, A.J cole, A.J. Griffin, a.j. Kirby-Jones, aaron cunningham, American league, andrew werner, andy parrino, arizona diamondbacks, barry zito, bartolo colon, billy beane, boston, brad peacock, brad ziegler, brandon mccarthy, brett anderson, brett wallace, carlos gonzalez, chris carter, Chuck Booth, collin cowgill, colorado rockies, connor robertson, craig breslow, dan haren, dan straily, dana eveland, daric barton, derek norris, detroit tigers, eric sogard, evan scribner, george kottaras, gio gonzalez, graham godfrey, grant balfour, greg smith, jarrod parker, jason kendall, jerry blevins, jesse chavez, josh reddick, Marco scutaro, mark Mulder, matt albers, michael taylor, Miguel Tejada, minnesota twins, MLB Amateur Draft, national league, o.co coliseum, oakland athletics, orioles, pat neshek, pedro figueroa, pirates, rob bowen, robert gillam, ryan cook, san diego padres, san francisco giants, sean doolittle, st louis cardinals, the fastest 30 ballgames, tommy milone, toronto blue jays, Travis Blackley, travis buck, trevor cahill, tyson ross
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QUARITUR: Should I allow my child to celebrate Halloween?
Should I allow my child to celebrate Halloween?
Yes, though maybe by next year I might change my mind.
When I was a child Halloween in England might have had a few cut out witches and string spiderwebs, and that was it oh, plus a ghost story or two and for some reason 'apple bobbing'.
I am sure Halloween was connected to the bonfires and effigy burning of November 5th.
Halloween is a strange festival, an anti festival really, All Hallows we celebrate the absolute certainty of the Saints enjoying the blessed of Heaven and on All Souls we remember and pray for the dead, who suffer, having to wait for Heaven, being purified by the burning love of God, and by their yearning for that which they might have lost.
Halloween is about being lost, cut off from God. Once in a year we play at what it must be like; the terror of the darkness and being lost in it. It seems very healthy to play at devils and spooks, axe murderers and the living dead and then to wash of the make-up, put away the costume and celebrate All Saints. It seems very healthy to wander in darkness like some lost thing for a few hours, then to return to warmth of the Father's house.
If I were a parent, my possible children would thank God I am not, it strikes me that Halloween is a good time to teach children about Hell, about the real possibility of losing Heaven, about the disorder of sin and its consequences.
Benedict, Dominic John-Vianney Blake along with their sisters Immaculata-Maria and Maria-Mediatrix-Gratia would celebrate the most gruesome and horrific of Halloweens, of course after singing 1st Vespers of All Saints with their loving Papa. With their friends they would be cast out into the darkness, the door closed behind them and sent to beg from the unresponsive neighbours some of whom might be persuaded to cry from their Christian homes, 'Begone foul Hell-fiend, return to the place from whence thou came', some might even throw buckets of (play) Holy Water at them. How eager would be their return home after a night of play, how instructive the conversations of the world where Grace is unknown, how acute the attendance at Compline, how their little faces would be turned to the crucifix at the words of Compline, "Fratres: Sóbrii estóte, et vigiláte: quia adversárius vester diábolus, tamquam leo rúgiens círcuit, quaerens quem dévoret: cui resístite fortes in fide." How intense and heartfelt their Te Lucis ante terminum. How lovingly they would clasp their cuddly toy miraculous medals in their warm Christian beds and how reverently would they recite their pre-somnial Paters and Aves. I suspect they might even say, "Papa rather than our normal reading of Aquinas as our bed time story would it possible to hear Blessed Augustine Civitatis Dei".
Missa Cantata for All Saints and some Old/New Rite thoughts
Tomorrow, All Saints day, there is an EF Missa Cantata at 12 noon, and if you want you can join the choir for a shared lunch (bring something to share), they are quite nice people, they will be singing Victoria's Mass: O Quam gloriosum est regnum.
On Monday, All Souls Day there is Mass in the morning (OF) at 10 am and a said EF Mass at 6.30pm, my third (the 2nd Mass of the day will be private) Mass on that day.
I was having a conversation with a blog reader who I hadn't met previously, he happened to drop by yesterday. He was complaining about his parish priest, saying he wasn't sure what or even whether he believed. I think here lies the key difference between the two forms of the Mass.
The 'Old Rite' is an ancient clunky machine for prayer, it is simple, it is workmanlike, it has stood the test of time. It has been said down the ages by saints or the most wicked of sinners. Providing the instructions are followed, it actually doesn't matter whether the priest is a saint or a sinner, a great orthodox theologian or a raving heretic. Who the priest is doesn't matter.
The 'New Rite' in comparison is a finely tuned instrument that depends so much on the skill of the celebrant, if he doesn't believe, his disbelief becomes immediately apparent, every facial expression or action, every ad lib depends on the ability or wit of the celebrant. Who the priest is matters a great deal.
As a priest, I suppose, that is why I find the 'Old Rite' so much more restful to say. I was going to use 'less demanding' which is partly true, except the demands are different, they are more about an interior conforming of one's being to the mind of the Church, communicating with God rather than in the 'New Rite' trying to interpret the mind of the Church or communicating God to his people. Even celebrating the 'New Rite' facing East, demands more skill than celebrating the 'Old Rite'.
In the 'Old Rite' there was no talk of the Ars Celebrandi, just rubrics or doing things correctly but with the 'New Rite' Ars Celebrandi it is absolutely necessary.
An anecdote
A priest described a celebration of the Mass by a bishop, 'at the elevation he raised the consecrated host with one hand to just below his shoulder and seemed to look at it with utter contempt'. I knew then that we had absolutely nothing in common.
Fellay given permission for Mass in Lourdes Basilica
I keep hearing, and reporting about fractures within the Church, one little bit of good news about healing, is that the SSPX were given permission to celebrate Mass in the underground Basilica of St Pius X, yesterday during their Lourdes Pilgrimage, Bishop Fellay was the celebrant.
The obvious suggestion is that the Bishop of Tarbes-et-Lourdes was advised this was acceptable to His Holiness Pope Francis. Perhaps there is a pastoral solution in the wind.
source: Eponymous Flower
And just now (after the first few comments were added here) Fr Z has published this about an Italian bishop, Secretary to the Council of Nine, threatening those who receive sacraments from the Lefebvrists with excommunication.
We live at the end of a pendulum, or is it a sign of 'Rome Wars'?
Be good: that was really the theme of my sermon yesterday.
Jesus sums up the Law as first, loving God with one's whole being, the second part is almost a way of checking that out because if we truly love God we will love neighbour as ourselves. If the there is something flawed or 'idolatrous' in our love of God then it is going to be impossible to love our neighbour.
What is deeply rooted in Christian Tradition and in the bible is that our love is expected to bring forth fruit: abundant fruit. The scattered seed brings forth a harvest 30, 40, a hundredfold, the net cast into sea brings about an abundant catch, the sound tree brings forth not bad fruit but good fruit, the pruned vine is fruitful, the tiny seed grows into a place where the birds of the air find a home.
Christians too are expected to produce, 'good fruit', if we don't then there is something wrong. The Gospel expects goodness. The fruit of a correct love of God is what we might describe as saintliness or holiness..
The summary of the Law and the Prophets in Jesus' two commandments can be checked out by the 10 Commandments. If we are covetous, adulterous, lying, murderous which are easy things to judge then there is something seriously wrong.
Always, well, until recently, we Catholics have expected contact with God to produce holiness, first of all holiness in us as individuals and consequently holiness that acts like leaven or light in our society. We believe that the goodness of God changes us and through that change in us we change society. We are not supposed to be busy-bodies imposing an social justice ethic on others without ourselves being just and holy.
we belong with the angels and saints
As Christians we have a right to expect to find holiness and goodness in the leaders of the Church, it is one of the reasons I find the 'Kasper affair' so shocking, and we should all be shocked if a bishop is shown to be a liar, to bear false witness, or simply not to be good, or as in my own former bishop, to be unfaithful. God's grace is always fruitful, we should never lose the expectation of its plentiful fruit either in ourselves or in others or in His Body the Church. We should demand goodness in the Church and in its members. 'By their fruits you shall know them', we shouldn't allow the Church to be starved we should demand that fruit which Christ promises! Demand nothing less than saintliness from your Pastors.
God's grace is sufficient for us, St Paul tells us. God's grace enables us to be holy, to produce the necessary fruit, to live good and holy lives, to tell the truth even if we have been or said stupid things, to live as faithful bishops or priests, to be faithful husbands and wives, to be good parents, to be faithful members of the Church, to live well and to die well, and if necessary, as we see so often today in Africa and the Middle East to die for him.
The great triumph of Satan is to give us us the sense that our sinfulness is stronger than God's grace, to make us think we are trapped in the hopeless downward spiral of sin but faith is always linked to hope, to Resurrection and the expectation of the victory of Christ. The message of the Gospel is always that the Grace perfects nature, that the Risen Lord Triumphs. The shenanigans of the Synod has shocked me and many others, it seemed to demonstrate the Church is a very worldly corporation rather than something which sought neither God or the sanctification of his people.
We must indeed welcome sinners but it is un-Christian to expect them to remain in their sin, certainly we must 'meet them where they are at' but we are called to lead them through the gate of the sheepfold, to carry their Cross, along the narrow road, to put on the wedding garment and to be ready to meet the King on His return in the wedding hall, with lamps brightly lit, at the Marriage feast of the Lamb.
Our faith is indeed a journey, a journey into holiness. Again and again scripture tells us to judge: to judge a tree by its fruit, to judge a disciple by his works, to judge the times by the signs, to judge whether a place will receive the Gospel or not. We are called to make judgements about our lives and about actions and about those who we trust and those who lead us. The criteria for our judgement is simple, it is: what will get me to Heaven.
If our actions, our lifestyle, our friends or anything else is likely to lead to the loss of Heaven, get rid of them. Do the things that bring you close to God, live good lives according to God's Commandments, be moral, pray, go to the Sacraments frequently in a worthy state.
Be Holy even as your Heavenly Father is Holy!
Our End!
The Bad Breath of Corruption
So tightly did things appear to be controlled, so lacking in clarity during the Synod, I had a dream that chained and dressed in their blue-grey habits emaciated and pale from their months in prison would be brought into the Synod Hall singing Nebucco a coffle of Franciscan Friars and Sisters of the Immaculate. They were an example of justice in the Church to anyone who might have the temerity to go against the predetermined plan. Their crime after all these months has not been disclosed, either to the the Church at large or to them themselves. Their suffering appear to be that they have simply 'displeased'. The refusal to disclose the 'how' and 'who' of the Friars offense is one of the looming injustices of the Church today.
Justice and Truth cannot be separated, they are objective realities and there is a connection between Justice and Truth, and Transparency. Justice must not only be done but be seen to be done, and it must be done honestly and by men who are themselves Just. The Holy Father recently in an address to representatives of the International Association of Criminal Law said 'The corrupt person is a person who takes the “short-cuts of opportunism” that lead him to think of himself as a “winner” who insults and persecutes whoever contradicts him. “Corruption is a greater evil than sin”, and more than “be forgiven, must be cured”. For myself I had always thought corruption was the result of sinful men who like the 'unjust judge had neither fear of God, nor regard for men' Lk 18:2.
Canonists like Suarez liked to define the Church as a 'just society', I presume he presumed that its leaders believed in the Just God who they would eventually face on the Last Day, and that they prized honesty and forthrightness before everything. If that was so then, it is far from the impression given nowadays. The world simply sees the Church and Churchmen as dishonest and therefore untruthful, we are mistrusted in small things, like finances or telling the truth about ourselves, and consequently untrustworthy in the big things, like speaking of God and Salvation, of Sin and Virtue. Cardinal Kasper's denial of the Pentin interview, seems to have been ignored by the Holy See, there has been no suggestion that any action will be taken against him, or even any excuse, that he has for example, 'gone senile' and is receiving medical or psychological help. It's just ignored, shrugged off, as if such an exalted Cardinal's very public fault, lying, is just part of the cut and thrust of Church life. And yet we follow a Master who said, "Let your 'yes' mean yes and your 'no' mean no!" Yet, he lied and threatened a journalists career and good name: he bore false witness and broke a commandment.
Throughout the world the Church is seen as lacking integrity, covering up sins, denying and adding to the sufferings of victims of its institution from Dublin to Sydney, from Los Angeles to Poltz. Millions of pounds are spent on protecting the very fragile and as far as the world is concerned already tarnished reputations of some not very nice but very powerful men.
The removal of Cardinal Burke, 'the Incorruptible', as one Italian journalist has described him, does little for the Church which in so many ways is being seen as really very corrupt. The Pope described corruption as 'bad breath', well the smell of bad breath is very much to the fore. The Synod highlighted the power of the wealthy German bishops, guarding their share of Church tax and using it to bully or buy the support of other bishops, whilst their Churches though economically wealthy are spiritually amongst the poorest in the world. At the same time as their attempted manipulation of the Synod it was revealed that the German car manufacture Porsche was able to buy its way into the Vatican to use the Sistine Chapel for corporate entertainment. Then of course this isn't just a German problem, during the canonisation of the two Popes there was that party arranged by the powerful Immacolata Chaouqui, the woman who tweeted against Pope Benedict, for certain wealthy invited guests on the Vatican roof with Mgr Lucio Angel Vallejo Balda distributing Holy Communion from a whiskey tumbler. Maybe it is not corruption but it sure has the foul breath of it. Then again its interesting to see so many of the favourites of those who once favoured Marcel Maciel are now in strategic positions, even one or two of his personal favourites are now back in favour and influence.
It has been put forward that there has been clamp-down on corruption, some notable dismissals like the 'Bishop of Bling', Bishop Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst. Yes, but the expenditure of Cdl Reinhard Marx has gone unnoted, there has been no investigation but he is spending 51 million euros for the beautification of the Archdiocesan Campus and not an eyebrow is raised in the Holy See. In Italy the reputation of the Bishop Albenga-Imperia, Bishop Mario Oliveri is being trashed. In part it appears he has welcomed some FFIs and also because some of his priests have been 'moon-lighting as barmen, stealing parish funds and getting tattooed'. I don't know if his response might be, 'Who am I to judge' but their behaviour seems no worst than members of the Papal circle, lifts and Swiss army officers come to mind or some of the clergy of the diocese of Rome who reputed spend time in cities gay enclaves. Indeed, who will investigate Rome where so much seems to be swept under the carpet. Remember the 'Vatileaks', what has happened to that? What about the diocese of Linz or the Archdiocese of Vienna where according to reports from We are the Church type groups, a considerable number of the clergy are living in either homosexual or heterosexual relationships.
The impression that is given is that Justice in the Church is itself corrupted, indeed, that it is actually about settling scores and has nothing to do with truthfulness which was once considered a Christian virtue. Rather than being consoled by accounts of these investigations I become increasingly alarmed, it seems as if some religious orders or diocese that seem to produce fruit and are orthodox are subject to investigation whilst others which are barren and often highly unorthodox carry on in their own sweet way, especially if the have powerful or wealthy friends at court. The problem is that Justice appears to used as a robber baron or some New World dictator might use it, as a means of intimidation and threat, not to bring the Salvific Light of Christ to bear on dark and hidden corners. It is as if some are above the Law and others crushed by it.
Graduality and the Terror of the Field Hospital
"Graduality" was one of the controversial ideas introduced in the Synod. I must admit I am a 'gradualist', I believe conversion is a gradual process, getting to Heaven is a gradual process. My thinking is based on such VII ideas as 'the pilgrim people of God', I believe we are a 'becoming' people. I even think we are 'becoming' Catholic.
It is interesting that the name of God can be understood both as 'I am who I am' but also 'I am becoming who I am becoming'. I like Newman's "To live is to change, and to be perfect is to have changed often." Being a Catholic is about growth, like the Holy Vine, it grows and it is pruned and grows and bears fruit. The problem is avoiding the sense that progress is always about positive, sometimes growth can be in the wrong direction, sometimes it can be fruitless.
With 'Graduality' the problem is that we set the bar too low, similarly when we rule out 'Graduality' we can end up in process where there is no growth.
A layman told me story about a friend of his who was daily communicant, who was addicted to using prostitutes, having spent the night in his vice, he used go around London churches for Confession, having confessed and done his penance, he would receive Holy Communion and that evening return to his habitual vice. This continued for years. Confessors took his stated sorrow as a 'firm purpose of amendment', which it might well have been but he lacked the will to change. Even if he willed it, he didn't do it. Indeed he might well have desired it, he might well have detested his sin, been cover in guilt and anxiety, been torn in two for his genuine love for and desire for Christ, often with sexual sins there is loathing both of self and of the sin, but for all of that this man was making no progress but returning like a dog to his vomit. In fact those priests who handed out absolution, often because it is easier to do so than to confront someone with their sin, did this man more harm than good, and compounded his sacrilege and re-enforced his weakness. Yes, in strictly canonical terms he fulfilled what is required for absolution, he expressed sorrow for his sin but there was no growth, instead a hardening of irresolution.
Though personally I fear it because I am such a poor confessor, what I hope the pro-Graduality Synod Fathers were calling for wasn't about simply saying, 'It is alright come to Holy Communion' but what Pope Francis himself has used in the metaphor of a field hospital, indicating that a priest has to be like a doctor in a field hospital. It is easy to be sentimental about such a place, I think one of the good things about the Holy Father he is not sentimental but quite realistic. Sometimes a doctor in a field hospital must amputate a diseased limb, must operate without anesthetic or cause pain in order to reset fractured bones, have to sometimes apply a burning ointment to a festering wound or to give a bitter medicine, and sometimes force those who would prefer to lay in bed to get up and walk on tender stumps. A field hospital is a terrible place for both patients and doctors, it is full of smells and screams and often disorder. Sometimes one has decide a patient is too sick to be treated, or simply there is isn't space or time or medicine for a particular patient, or even that they are so diseased, so contagious they will infect other patients and even the staff that their very presence is a danger.
I think that today we have lost a sense of 'Graduality', I admit I am part of the 'Church of Nice', I like to say 'yes', I bend-over backwards to look for the good, like most modern priests, in fact all the priests I know. Yet this is something new. Constantine was baptised only on his death bed, not at the first sign of faith. In the days when the Church had to make it a rule that people received Holy Communion once a year (at Easter or thereabouts) it was only after a strict period of penance; -prayer, fasting and almsgiving, and meditation on the Passion, and of course Confession, and indeed a penitent rather than skipping from Confessor to Confessor was expected to go to their parish priest, who knew them and there own situation and was expected to 'examine' them, like a doctor in a field hospital and to prescribe, as the Council of Trent demanded, 'suitable medicine'.
'Gradualism' is about 'process', one of the great faults of the Church before VII was a loss of a sense of process, and of progress in the spiritual life, sacraments were given almost on demand, without any sense of the Church interacting with the recipient or expectation of growth. We do indeed need to welcome everyone, whatever their condition but we can't leave them in the same condition they entered the field hospital. The Pope used that metaphor, not that of a hospice, where we simply care for the dying, making them as comfortable as possible with increased doses of morphine until they eventually die!
Pray for Pastors to be courageous, especially in the Confessional.
In Praise of Pedantry
After Pope S John Paul and Pope Benedict I was hoping for a pope who really resembled Captain Mainwaring, Dad's Army's bean-counting bank manager of Walmington-on-Sea, someone with absolutely no imagination, its what I think a pope should be: as dull as possible.
It is this that is being described by that wise old, he would love the adjective, pedant of the Ordinariate Fr Hunwicke, he quotes Professor Roberto de Mattei, "perhaps the greatest Church historian of our time". De Mattei points out that no Bishop of Rome was a innovator, "[I]t is one of the reproaches urged against the Church of Rome, that it has originated nothing, and has only served as a sort of remora or break in the development of doctrine. And it is an objection which I embrace as a truth; for such I conceive to be the main purpose of its extraordinary gift. ".
Fr Hunwicke goes on to point out: This is the selfsame Papacy, acting in precisely the same way, which gave Marcion the brush-off when he turned up in Rome in the 140s with his proto-Nazi claptrap. The condemnation of Marcionism is not weakened by the fact that it rested on no "Conciliar Mandate", or by the complete absence of any brilliant teaching document issued by some wonderfully clever Roman Pontiff.
He ends up saying, "Very occasionally, a Pope is, in addition to being Pope, also an important Teacher. One thinks of Innocent III, Benedict XIV, Benedict XVI. Thank God for such rare and glorious exceptions, such uncovenanted coincidences. But they are not what the Papacy is about. At base, the Pope is just the man who goes around sticking into the ground the notices which say BEWARE OF MINES."
Enjoy! but the apposite section starts at 25:00
Pope Benedict speaks: on that which is "lethal to faith"
In the light of the movement of the Church to a position of dialogue, or maybe chatter, in the last 18 months these words of the Pope Emeritus have particularly poignant relevance.
They were made on Tuesday to faculty members and students at Rome's Pontifical Urbanian University, which belongs to the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples. Archbishop Georg Ganswein, prefect of the papal household and personal secretary to retired Pope Benedict, read the 1,800-word message aloud at a ceremony dedicating the university's renovated main lecture hall to the retired pope.
The risen Lord instructed his apostles, and through them his disciples in all ages, to take his word to the ends of the earth and to make disciples of all people," retired Pope Benedict wrote. " 'But does that still apply?' many inside and outside the church ask themselves today. 'Is mission still something for today? Would it not be more appropriate to meet in dialogue among religions and serve together the cause of world peace?' The counter-question is: 'Can dialogue substitute for mission?'
"In fact, many today think religions should respect each other and, in their dialogue, become a common force for peace. According to this way of thinking, it is usually taken for granted that different religions are variants of one and the same reality," the retired pope wrote. "The question of truth, that which originally motivated Christians more than any other, is here put inside parentheses. It is assumed that the authentic truth about God is in the last analysis unreachable and that at best one can represent the ineffable with a variety of symbols. This renunciation of truth seems realistic and useful for peace among religions in the world.
"It is nevertheless lethal to faith. In fact, faith loses its binding character and its seriousness, everything is reduced to interchangeable symbols, capable of referring only distantly to the inaccessible mystery of the divine," he wrote.
Pope Benedict wrote that some religions, particularly "tribal religions," are "waiting for the encounter with Jesus Christ," but that this "encounter is always reciprocal. Christ is waiting for their history, their wisdom, their vision of the things." This encounter can also give new life to Christianity, which has grown tired in its historical heartlands, he wrote.
"We proclaim Jesus Christ not to procure as many members as possible for our community, and still less in order to gain power," the retired pope wrote. "We speak of him because we feel the duty to transmit that joy which has been given to us."
Unfortunatelt the whole speech has not yet appeared anywhere on-line.
Oh, for the days of clear thought and clear words!
Kasper makes more threats
There are wicked journalists who for a few pence will lie there heads off and distort the truth, who like the unscrupulous Bill Gardner, who after his time in Brighton got a job working for the Daily Telegraph - though I did hear he might be sacked. Fortunately there are also brave courageous journalists like Edward Pentin who hearing a Cardinal make statements which are horrendous publishes them. If journalism is not to be left to the plain wicked, journalist like theologians, and bishops and priests have to be on the side of truth. Sometimes reporting the truth they have to embrace the Cross.
In the Kasper affair it is a Cardinal lies his head off and distorts the truth, then goes on to utter threats and menaces, There is that bit in the Gospels about rotten trees producing rotten fruit, grace after all works on nature, or doesn't. Catholics have a right to good and holy Bishops, who tell the truth.
Pentin heard something incredibly important from Kasper's own lips that revealed how the Synod was being manipulated. He did his duty, he reported it. Kaspar revealed himself as unscrupulous scoundrel and denied it accusing, Pentin of having made it up, in fact of having lied and invented the story. Pentin then released the recording. Kasper was forced to admit they were his words and apologized, not to Pentin but in one one of those meaningless apologies. not for the offense, but only IF people took offense at his words about African Bishops. His meaning that obviously it was their fault if they were offended.
Now he talks about a “deliberate dirty trick”, presumably on Pentin's part. He goes on, "The fact that Catholic media (and unfortunately a cardinal in person) should participate in it, in order to tear down another position morally, is shameful,” Kasper opined. When Kath.net asked as a follow-up question who that cardinal was, Kasper unfortunately gave no answer. The retired Curial Cardinal announced, however, that “other journalists” are going to take action against such “undignified machinations”.
It is the "other journalists" who are going to take action that sounds truly worrying. Are these the same two journalists who were happy to listen to Kasper's "the only good African is silent African" soliloquy but did not themselves think it worth publicising, or are they other house-trained journalists of his party, remember the German Bishops don't just publish pornography, the are major holders in other publishing ventures. Whoever these journalists are Kasper's tone is meant to be menacing.
There is a very dark side to the present Papal Court, which was so evident in the Synod, some are calling it the 'Robber Synod', one of my parishioners referred to it as the 'Dark Synod' because of the way in the Bishops and the outcome were manipulated. We were promised transparency and we got opaiquism, light but received darkness: bread but instead stones.
The previous Papacy treated journalists with great reserve, in this one there is a great reliance on them; all those odd interviews with elderly atheists, allowing private phone calls to trickle out, the giving of Synod documents to journalist before the Bishops. Many people even journalists themselves can be forgiven for assuming that this is a Papacy, like the Blair or Obama administrations, that is primarily aimed at the media and like Blair and Obama will come crashing down leaving many disillusioned, and as my old gran used to say, "you can tell a man by the company he keeps.
Was that why he was elected?
I must admit I still don't understand Francis. Is he the greatest thing since unsliced bread, a cunning old Jesuit, a conservative, a trad, a prophet, a fool or even the anti-Christ; a breath of fresh-air or the stench from the tomb of those rather detestable men who surrounded the Blessed Paul VI and added to his suffering?
I have never done the Benedict through Francis thing at least, but neither am I convinced of the Francis against Benedict thing entirely. I am still perplexed and confused by him. Perhaps it is in Francis who rather than being an Emperor who is wearing no clothes we actually have clothes with no Emperor. I mean those morning homilies that come out of the marble halls of Sta Martha that are full of barbs but actually teach nothing. Perhaps we should expect nothing!
It is worth remembering that what many of the Cardinals were calling for before the Conclave was a de-centralised Church and greater Collegiality. The BBC, foolish people, have been talking about progressive Francis against the conservative Synod and how he failed to move the Church forward, as if the Synod was solely about the divorced and remarried, or practicing homosexuals. What seems to go under the radar is that for the first time in modern times Cardinals and Bishops have stood up to the Pope and very publicly defied him, some like the Raymond Lion of the Synod Burke have even dared to demand he do his job and defend the faith, like Paul rebuking Peter.
What has happened is that in Synod those of us who would hope that the successor of the Apostle Peter should defend the faith from other Bishops, have turned our gaze from the successor of Peter to the successors of other the Apostles. This I think was the defining action of the Synod, for the first time most Catholics looked to Bishops not the Pope to defend the Faith.
A priest friend of mine said, 'I have no problem with collegiality only with those who might exercise it'. For many Catholics the really problem in the Church has not been Rome but their local bishops, in England we complain about the 'magic circle' nut actually compared to France or Germany or Ireland or the US until the the last decade or so our bishops on the whole have been paradigms of Apostolic zeal and faithful bearers of the Tradition. French bishops until recently have done their best to empty their Churches and seem to have more in common with deconstructionalists and existentialist than Christ, German's are really concerned with nothing but holding on to their Church tax (anything goes providing you pay), the Irish exemplify total failure and America has brought forth such luminaries as Bernardin, Weakland and Mahoney, and one coulde come up with at least a score of other names who ruled the Church like some Wild West bandit chieftain.
The failure of the Church has been a failure of leadership at least on a local level. It is worth remembering that we are in Communion with Rome because we are in Communion first of all with our local Bishop who is Communion with Rome and the entire Church. In England and elsewhere we have looked to Rome to protect us from our Bishops. The problem is most Catholics simply do not trust their own Bishop, and look at him as being of little importance, as if between them and the Pope there is no intermediary, especially if one doesn't like one's Parish Priest or simply doesn't want to be involved with him and his community. In a way the internet has exacerbated this to the point where the 'e-church' is more real than the actual Church, everyone looks to the Pope but no-one to their Bishop.
The great concern of Francis has been that so many Bishops are actually of poor quality, if there is one thing that is clear in Francis' confusing teaching, it is that many Bishops are simply not up to their role defined in the documents of VII. At the Synod it was the Bishops who shone not the Pope. Does the Pope intend this? I don't know, but was that why he was elected?
Maybe I'm clinging at straws.
Britain's best source of Catholic commentary has a good summary of some the most exciting things some of the Bishops came up with.
Roman Breakfast
I don't know what the conversation around the Apostolic breakfast table in Sta Marta was about this morning, probably relief that the Synod is more or less over and had gone more or less the Pope's way, a memo to someone to get out Edward Pentin's file, relief that Burke is off to the Knights of Malta, maybe a sense that it will be regrettable if he has too much spare time on his hands. There might even be some wondering about the best disguise for Kasper if ever he is to visit Sta Marta again, perhaps a burqa? But perhaps he has become too toxic, ever to be seen in the Pope's company again, Lord Patton and Greg Burke will have to advise.
Cardinal Burke will be contemplating what to do with all that free time and wondering who will avoid his gaze or pretend not to know him, and who greets him emphatically once the Pope has left the room. He might also be thinking about setting up 'Leo TV' or writing, or how best to develop those moribund but frightfully well connected Knights of Malta, or just gently thinking that his skill as a lawyer might have some useful focus; maybe defending the FFIs, or deposed Bishops?
Elsewhere in Rome I suppose bishops are either congratulating themselves or licking their wounds, some are presumably just glad it is over, some might even be vowing never to come to another Synod ever again, others are plotting. In fact most are probably looking to the future, to the year between the two Synods but beyond. Some will be reflecting on the Synod, on the divisions between the two factions, on who spoke well, who had courage, who captured the mood, who might be capable of uniting the two factions.
What will be very apparent is that there are definitely two factions, let's not be over dramatic, there is not a schism but there is a very visible split. And splits tend to multiply. The highly significant Kasper interview identifies it as a North South, black white split but there is also, significantly, a demographic split. Burke will be voting in the next Conclave or two after Francis is laid to rest, and possibly on his way to Beatification. There is recognition too that Francis is partisan and really against collegiality, as much as any renaissance pope. I suspect that many Cardinals who voted for him are being forced to have serious second thoughts. His high-handed approach is more reminiscent of Vatican I, than Vatican II.
I think the big hitters will be thinking long term, possibly many African bishops are indeed looking to the next Conclave, to a Pope of non-European origins, thanks to Kasper, they might well be joined by Eastern Europeans, by those living alongside Muslims in the Middle East. Some of the Eastern Rite Catholics might well be thinking that Rome is actually not as effective a centre of unity as Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch or Moscow, especially in times of persecution, especially with a Papacy that has so little sense of 'the Tradition' and that is so Eurocentric and so Liberal. I know of one Eastern Rite priest who has been thinking along these lines ever since the first 'Bona Serra'.
One of the troubles with Rome is that everyone who works in the Vatican considers themselves a 'courtier', 'leprous' or otherwise. I think it is worth remembering it was a servant, a valet, who was a prime player in bringing down Benedict, just by making public a few secret documents. There is a surprising amount of power held in the Vatican, which like any court or tiny state is a trust based society, by people who overhear, who dispose of paper, who serve lunch, who connect telephones, service computers or even do the dusting. Each one of them by now has a partisan position on the Synod, each one has allegiances to a particular party or person. The tendency is they tend to be of a conservative disposition, the Synod I suspect has given many of them a scent of blood, highlighting that internal Vatican tittle-tattle is actually global. Journalist too have shown their colours. So if I were Pope I would want to ensure I had on my side the cleaning woman, with the silicone polish spray when walking on those shiny marble floors in Sta Marta.
Guarding the Guards, a duty
Blue Thursday?
Yesterday's events in the aula of the Synod were certainly remarkable, the bishops rose up cried 'No' to their manipulation, Kasper disappeared as in a puff of smoke, and the Pope appoints an African.
The triumph of orthodoxy? No, just one battle won, the first maybe in a long war.
What gave me joy was that the media, both Catholic and secular, followed the Kasper line that very few of the Bishops favoured 'Tradition' and yet yesterday's events showed that most Bishop are actually orthodox. I mistrusted the Synod and I was right to do so, yesterday's events show that the majority of the Synod Fathers, including some of the Cardinals shared my mistrust.
Yesterday I asked, 'who will guard the guardians' and in a way yesterday's events gave an answer: Truth and openness will guard the guards. I have a friend who worked in the Balkans who talks of saintly bishops who are constantly challenged by crotchety parish priests, he has also worked in southern Italy where he says it is not unusual for Parish Priests to be challenged by irate parishioners, sometimes even whilst preaching. I think this what we should mean by collegiality.
I am the son of Liberalism and of the 1980's but I find the 'Via Traddie' incredibly attractive, it is not just liturgy but the 'style'. I mean the egalitarianism of it all. Nothing is hidden, a child or an elderly woman can challenge my preaching simply by saying, 'How does that square with the Catechism which says, .....?', I was quite delighted when a child after the Traditional Mass asked if my sermon was 'a bit Patriapassionist' (obviously it wasn't, I was right she was wrong, but it made me think), in the same way that someone can say after Mass, 'Father, the rubrics say quite specifically that ..., why didn't you do it, can't you read, are you a fool?' Traddiness has none of the arcana of Liberalism, the type of thing which led Kasper to suggest that poor Africans just don't understand. If you pressed Kasper about what they don't understand I suspect that he would have come some 'spirit of ...' nonsense, or they hadn't read some fashionable theologian or they hadn't grasped the meaning of 'mercy' or 'love' or 'the human condition'; basically what he would have been talking about would have been some Gnostic kind of secret language known only to the elite. It is the same in a parish, question what a priest says in sermon or why he does something odd at Mass and you get a lot of obscure b... ...t, which simply places the priest beyond question.
Who will guard the guardians? It should be all of us. If a Bishop (or a priest or even a Pope) is unclear in his teaching, we have a duty to demand clarity. If he is not preaching the Gospel, if he never mentions sex, or marriage, or seems unconcerned about pro-life issues, or Eternity, if he rarely mentions God in his Pastoral Letters, if his views on the family or homosexuality, or money or whatever are singular or odd, he ought to be asked to explain himself. If he invites into his diocese speakers or groups who are obviously destructive of the faith, his priests or his people should ask, 'Why?'. In the same way if at a Confirmation or First Communion he suggests that it is acceptable for those who have just received the sacrament to lapse, he needs to be questioned by the clergy and the faithful. If he decides to sell his predecessors' house and get rid of the community that lived with him and live on his own, he needs to be questioned about his motives or similarly if he decides to cancel every Mass in his diocese on a particular day.
The Presbyterate of a diocese really do have a function not just towards their parishioners but towards their Father in God, and to one another, ultimately to get their Bishop to heaven but more immediately to ensure he has acts in a Christlike way, if the Bishop turns out to be sinful or falls, it is not merely his failure but the failure of his priests too, in the same way if a priest isn't saintly, it is failure of his people as well as his own. The sheep have a duty to make known their needs, this is surely what our obscurantist Pope means by' 'smelling of the sheep'.
The real problem is the Liberal gnosticism that was introduced following the Council removed the plain clear sense of the faith from ordinary men women, to the point where 'the Council' seemed to have more weight than the Gospels or the creed. How many of the faithful called to study those turgid documents have a grasp of the Gospels or the Creeds? Liberal gnosticism placed a liberal elite above the masses and gave a sense that they were not to be questioned, not to be held to account, which is exactly what happened until yesterday in the Synod. I remember an old PP after reading the 1983 Code of Canon Law and regretting that it failed to hold bishops to account as former Code did, his description 'between the anvil of Rome and the hammer of the diocesan Chapter'. This is precisely why Cdl Mueller was so right in deploring the anonymity of the Synod, the people (and most especially the clergy) of a diocese have a right to know what their Bishop has said. I would say they have a duty to question what their Bishop has to say, if they don't they fail him and Christ!
Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? Bishop revolt!
I don't know what the outcome of the Synod will be, I don't know if the Holy Father is playing a subtle hand allowing those who have moved beyond Jesus and the the Church's teaching to reveal themselves and then confronting with the full clarity of the Gospel, I like to hope but I don't think my hope is based on much, more wishful thinking than hope.
What is apparent is the divergence between the failing contaminated Churches with nothing but, as in Germany, money in the bank, and other parts of the world and where the Churches are rich in martyrs, young people, vocations and committed lay people and zealous pastors. In fact the fault-lines are precisely those that Kasper identified, the strong Churches are those of Africa and the East, those he doesn't want to listen to.
What fills me with dread is the feeling that really what Pope Francis wants is for the Church to get into a civil partnership with contemporary society to the point where it looses sight of the one to whom it supposed to be 'the bride'. It is adultery in its broadest sense that worries me.
Rather than the Gospel challenging 'this adulterous generation' the leaders of the Church seem to be dancing the tango with Salome and calling out for John the Baptist's head with Herodias.
Coming from a diocese where, rather than being thought a hypocrite, the ex-bishop tailored his preaching and teaching, and ultimately the direction of the diocese to fit his own flawed 'life-style choices'. I am wary of the Church's leadership, if it isn't deeply rooted in what the Second Vatican Council demanded: Scripture and Tradition. The 'gay lobby' appears to have taken control of the Church and until the Pope himself comes out with clear teaching, as Cdl Burke demands, to all appearances he seems to be at the very centre of that lobby.
I was speaking to a convert recently who said, 'this isn't the Church I joined', I had to tell her she was wrong, this is the Church as it has always been, the only difference is that for the first time in her history the Pope has allowed himself to be seen to be on the side of those who wish to dismantle everything we have known to be true. Apparently Cdl Marx has been going round the Synod expressing regret that the Synod Fathers appear to be too attached to Tradition than the will of the Pope but then someone else said but this is exactly as it was in the time of Paul VI, who was deceived by Abp Buginini, who went into the aula crying, Papa vult!
The revelations that Cdl Erdo didn't write the relatio, to which he signed his name, which Cdl Mueller had described as 'unworthy, scandalous and totally false' and that actually the 'gay lobbyist' Abp Forte did write the most controversial portion or at least he inserted it for a friend, show that the very secrecy means that the guardians of the guards have no part to play. Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? Bishops are indeed accountable to God, even if they don't believe in him (which I suspect could be true in not a few instance), they are also supposed to be accountable to the Apostolic See more immediately but more importantly to their people and clergy. A Synod before the modern era was always a prayerful 'liturgical' gathering, and consequently was public, as Cdl Mueller says people have a right to hear or read what their Bishop has said and they have a grave duty to hold them to account.
As I finish writing this, the Bishops, God bless them, have revolted, Marco Tosatti:
Erdo took the floor, implicitly distancing himself from the report that bore his name, and saying that if that “disceptatio” had been made public, then the others of the Circulo Minores ought to be made public.
His speech was followed by an avalanche from many others along the same line, underscored by thunderous applause.
The Secretary of the Synod, Card. Balidisseri, was watching the Pope, as if in search of advice and lights, and the Pope remained silent and very serious.
Kasper, A German of the 1940s?
Fr Z has this up, an interview with Cardinal Kasper, it is shocking, worthy of a German of the 1940's!
It has been said that [Pope Francis] added five special rapporteurs on Friday to help the general rapporteur, Cardinal Peter Erdo. Is that because he’s trying to push things through according to his wishes?
I do not see this going on in the Pope’s head. But I think the majority of these five people are open people who want to go on with this. The problem, as well, is that there are different problems of different continents and different cultures. Africa is totally different from the West. Also Asian and Muslim countries, they’re very different, especially about gays. You can’t speak about this with Africans and people of Muslim countries. It’s not possible. It’s a taboo. For us, we say we ought not to discriminate, we don’t want to discriminate in certain respects.
But are African participants listened to in this regard?
No, the majority of them [who hold these views won’t speak about them].
They’re not listened to?
In Africa of course [their views are listened to], where it’s a taboo.
What has changed for you, regarding the methodology of this synod?
I think in the end there must be a general line in the Church, general criteria, but then the questions of Africa we cannot solve. There must be space also for the local bishops’ conferences to solve their problems but I’d say with Africa it’s impossible [for us to solve]. But they should not tell us too much what we have to do.
Kasper has been, or at least claims to be the Pope's mouthpiece, does this reflect the Holy Father's thoughts? Let us pray it doesn't. If it does, we have very serious problems.
I am really am quite disgusted. It seems to indicate two Churches, not One that Christ established.
Its not me, its the 'System"
Trying to follow the 'secret' Synod through Vatican press releases is not too easy but it strikes me that those Bishops from failing Churches want change or rupture, those Bishops from strong vigorous Churches want continuity.
Could it perhaps be that the Bishops themselves are the fault, and rather like young students of the 1970s many of them once were they are blaming the 'system' rather than themselves for their failure to teach the faith.
The German Bishops, the leaders of the putsch and those who seem to be following them to change pastoral practice are hardly shining beacons of evangelical zeal, whereas the African Bishops and those from Easter Europe, the Middle and Far East are often are.
...and if you haven't watched Cardinal Burke's recent interview you can do so now.
Wobbly Church: what does it mean to be Catholic today?
I suspect Paul VI was the last Italian Pope, if we discount the short reign of JPI; it strikes me he had Italian virtues and vices, a touch of 'Futurism" and a bit too prone to trust those who would betray him and not a very good organiser.
St John Paul II was Polish philosopher, so Polish in fact some suggest his encyclical are in part only decipherable to someone with an understanding of his brand of philosophy.
Benedict XVI was a German, a Bavarian, so anxious to avoid dictatorship that he appointed his enemies to key positions, to the point that his Papacy fell apart.
Francis is an Argentinian who has witnessed so much bad government, he is conscious of the dangers and seems to want to avoid the failure of his predecessor with a neuralgic fervour .
I am sure this poor summary but my point is that the Church in the last 50 years has wobbled from one point to another reflecting particular the concerns of Popes. Presumably when we have an African or an Asian Pope it going to wobble even more. Nowadays I meet priests who supported Benedict's liturgical initiatives and now have no time for them. They were Benedictines, they have become Franciscans. In a sense they are 'loyal Catholics', but with each Papacy they change, and will continue to change. Under Benedict they fought Relativism, under Francis they tolerate it. We see that in parishes, a change of priest, often a drastic change of direction, the result is rarely growth, and often serious confusion, a loss of faith that results in lapsation. In the past the Pope was distant figure, who had no impact on the lives of the faithful but when the Papacy is writ large, in fact huge as this Papacy seems to be, and if the next Pope and the one after that are equally huge, and if the contrast between Popes is so great, can merely being 'in Communion' with Pope be the guarantor of Catholicism? For some already being in Communion with Francis means no longer being in Communion with Benedict, or Pius or Leo. The Petrine ministry belongs to the See of Peter, presumably, rather than to the individual who occupies that See. Teaching might not change but its presentation seems to be moving with revolutionary violence, that risks shaking the Church to pieces. The most affected are those who could be termed 'Conservative Catholics'. Trads hold on to Tradition, Liberals to Liberalism but when the tree is shaken so violently what do the Conservatives hold onto, are they going to be swept away in the tsunami?
Even for Liberals there is problem, what holds them in the Church? Is it that the Church somehow does good, gives aid and education, produces an environment where 'human flourishing'', to use a catch phrase, takes place? We are really talking about 'cultural Catholics', united to the Church by 'works' rather than faith in Jesus Christ and his teaching? That might work for a generation or two, but in the Church there aren't many young liberals, they have all joined Greenpeace or become Feminists or are campaigning against fracking or for LGBTetc rights. The cultural ties and folk memory that bound their grandparents to the Church do not bind them.
I really am beginning to think that the Papacy, which Vatican II saw as the unitative, if it becomes innovative becomes self-destructive. The very purpose of the Papacy is to conserve that which was handed on to it. In the first millennium the faith of the City of the Two Apostles stood still whilst the world revolved, its lack of innovation made it the touchstone of orthodoxy during the Arian and Iconoclastic crisis and enabled it to be the memory of the Tradition of the whole Church. If the Church of Rome becomes the source of innovation can it also be the touchstone of unity? If not where can we find that unity, which after all was promised us by Christ? Can it exist outside of unity with Rome? The answer Orthodoxy and 'ultra-Catholics' come up with is that it exists within the Tradition itself, are ordinary Catholics going to come up with the same answer?
Obsessed by clarity?
One Eastern, Orthodox friend wrote to me recently and said, "You Latins are so obsessed with clarity you lose sight of God". It is what I feel about the Synod, we are trying to clarify what might be best left unclear. Providing we have clarity about what we believe, how we put that into practice is best left to local pastors, adapting practice to local needs. It is our scholastic Aristotelian heritage that draws us to carefully categorise everything we do.
Yes, it is important we address the great gulf between the Magisterium and what is actually taught in diocese and believed and practiced by the people. Reflecting on the words of the Australian couple who spoke of welcoming their homosexual son and his companion for Christmas dinner, I am sure Pope Francis would be proud of me, I've never turned anyone away, nor actually do I know any priest who would, I think this is one of those straw-priests 'Fr Nasty' who the Pope so often presents who doesn't baptise some one who doesn't fit certain rigid categories. In fact the only place I know where this happens is Germany, where if you don't pay Church tax, your children are not baptised and your body is left unburied. What I find difficult is warning a son that certain sexual practices might endanger not only his and his friend's spiritual health but their physical health too. Like many parents today we want to avoid conflict, even if in a real loving family, truth and frankness is necessary and welcome.
The more I hear from the Synod, the more anxious I become, I was interested in what Father Hunwicke had to say about secrecy and the Synod. Are we in the midst of a great act of Romanisation? I do fear we are stoking up two opposing factions that will never be reconciled. Are we heading to a civil war?
Every act of the Church is though not necessarily 'a sacrament' it is 'sacramental'. The old priest who taught Church history at my seminary, occassionally would say things like, "for all his brilliance St Thomas was the great curse of the Western Church", what he meant, I think, was that by defining and clarifying St Thomas moved the focus of the Church. In that sense he marks the separation of East and West. By tightly defining the sacraments, limiting them to seven we lost sense of other sacramental acts, for example we focus on the sacrament of Marriage and ignore the once sacramental acts leading to it and following from it, for example the rites that once surrounded betrothal, or the exchange of dowry and marriage contract, the blessing of the newly married or yet to be married's bed or hearth, or the grace said at the wedding breakfast or the blessing of the cake. St Thomas focused us on the moon and made us forget the stars.
The Church today stresses Mass and Communion, rather than Liturgy as a whole. The 1972 Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults in a way was an attempt to redress the balance, and to move the Church to regaining a sense of mission rather than simply serving it existing members. I am not overly fond of 1970's arguements, they are tedious and 'churchy' but one that possibly we should return to is the question of Mission and/or Maintainence. If you are going to evangelise, processions, devotions, discussions, eating and drinking, or education might well preceed any thought of Mass, in the same way in most countries building a school often preceeded building a Church.
RCIA, which I never tire of arguing is a series of Rites, not a course, reflects the situation of the first half of the first millennium where the Church consisted of people who belonged to it by degree, from those who are friendly towards it or receive help, to those who actively sought membership and were enquirers, hearers and catechumens, who were the majority, to those were actually communicating members, through to those who had a ministerial role or hieratic role through to the bishop who is the locus of Communion. Significantly it also contained penitents, who had lost and hoped to regain their place within the community. It was a Church of 'gradualism', a Church of those who gradually approached Communion with Christ, expressed in Holy Communion but ultimately expressed in the Communion of Saints and the Communion of the Church throughout the world, the Communion of Bishops.
ADDED LATER
I have just had a lady ring my door bell and ask, if her memorial service could take place here, She wants to write her will. She has not been baptised, she doesn't want anything contrary to the faith, quite what her relatives might want I don't know. She has goodwill but her real reason is her mother had her Requiem here thirteen years ago.
I wasn't quite sure what to say to her, especially as she reads this blog!
Immigration/Emigration
I was reading Tim Stanley writing about the Clacton by-election, I was struck by his comments on immigration. I hope both immigration and emigration are are discussed by the Synod, I am sure both issues are close to the Pope's heart, both touch on Catholic social teaching, both go back to the ancient stories of the Bible. The ancient creed of Israel begins, 'My father was a wandering Aramean, and he went down into Egypt with a few people and lived there...'.
One of our present day truths is that without immigration Europe will collapse. I welcome the kind generous support I see from Filipinos and eastern Europeans who work in our geriatric wards and nursing homes, most have faith and their faith brings a humanity to what can be a barren environment. More than half of those who come to Mass here are Polish immigrants and there is a large proportion of Slovakians and of the Europeans as well. If ever we implement 'devolution max' and Brighton becomes a city-state I suspect we will be be a Muslim controlled city, rather than a Gay city, as most of the immigrants are from the middle east, not a few are Coptic Christians, and we beginning to see Syrians and the other victims of ISIS beginning to arrive. I am pleased that Brighton Voices In Exile, operates out of my house and uses our parish premises. Incidentally they need money!
Am I pro-immigration? Well I am pro-immigrant but every story of immigration is also one of emigration, of the break up of families, of the search for work and in many cases the age old search for food and peace. One of the consequences in Europe of contraception is that we simply aren't reproducing ourselves, we are dependent on immigration. An Italian or Spanish child will inevitably end up by having to pay taxes to support at least six elderly relatives: his two parents and his two grandparents children, if he doesn't someone else will, often the immigrant who is willing to take the job he is unable or unwilling to take. Immigrants are a comparatively flexible workforce, having left their homeland they are willing to move to wherever work can be found. If they are poor enough or desperate enough, they have left spouses and children behind, like so many Filipino immigrants, in order to send money home. Here, often is another story of broken families, or at least of families without mother and father.
One of the other factors about an immigrant workforce is that we can choose the best from those educated in the first place by a struggling societies, we can harvest a third world country for their graduates and leave without. I remember being told that in one African country there were less than 20 psychiatric professional, at funeral a few days later, I met several working in this country for the NHS. Obviously here they had the facilities to work effectively, and here they received the training they wanted and needed but there is sense in which we mine the third world and poorer European countries for the brightest and best educated, as some multi-national corporation might mine them for bauxite or iron ore, consequently these countries are left the poorer.
Catholic social teaching reminds us that we are our brother's keeper, that our common humanity is actually more important than our national borders, that we have a duty to come to the aid of all our brothers and sisters. The bodies of those floating in the sea off of Lampedusa or immigrants flooding into Southern Europe is something that has to be dealt with. National governments might well be tempted to increase border security or to deal harshly with immigrants in order to discourage others but the Christian response has always been to improve the environment from which they come, to educate, to deepen justice, to strengthen the family. Document like Populorum Progressio or Gaudium et Spes, though in some senses problematic and often treated with contempt by those of a certain political hue nevertheless are an authentic part of the Church's Magisterium.
Not Cowards but English
I was asked to take part in a radio programme which was broadcast on Thursday night on Radio 4 about the Synod. I spent a pleasant quarter of an hour talking to the producer/researcher (?) 'off the record'. I think he said he had spoken to thirty or so clergy who like me had misgivings about the whole thing, as well trends within the Church but none of us were willing to speak 'on the record'.
My initial reaction was, 'aren't we a lot of cowards' but on reflection I think we are just English. We are used to muddling through, we like muddling through, it iis a cultural thing, that is why we don't even have something as vulgar as a Constitution. The only cleric who did speak, not that I actually listened that closely, was that quintessential Irish Cardinal, Cormac Murphy O'Connor, who I love but who like the horse trader he is set out his usual string of elderly windy nags.
What I really am beginning to resent are men with 'ideas' (Francis' ideologues?) but who never seem concerned about Christ or the Gospel or holiness or ultimately Eternal Life, who turn the Church into a debating chamber. I hate their squabbles, I detest their clever solutions. The spiritual life is about muddling through, the muddle is the wound of concupiscence, I just wish we had men who recognise the muddle for what it is and point to Christ as our hope but no, it is about clever schemes to deal with the previous clever schemes that have got us into the mess we are already in. Why do so many of our Bishops and senior clergy sound like Enda Kenny or Nick Clegg rather than Christ? Why the strong reek of the politician?
Naturally I am jaded by the recent events in my own diocese but after only a week I detect attitudes have changed, hurt has moved from our ex-bishop, let me simply say he should not have been appointed, pray for him. I blame the good old magic circle, which in reality is more like a web and it is the spider in the middle who will I suspect will be the ultimate recipient of anger. What stinks is that it is about all power, and factions and so very little about Christ. In future I hope the Nuncio actually makes sure he asks such simple questions as: do you believe? and, are you willing to follow the discipline of the Church? A question I suspect which was of little concern in the Venerable English College and other seminaries, and amongst senior prelates for decades. The preferred question was: do you belong to my faction? As Pope Francis might say it is about 'careerism', that is on the days on which he doesn't show favour to yet another careerist, but it is so endemic in the Church, the poor man can't avoid it. Incidentally, yes, we all knew about the rumours but consoled ourselves that they were only rumours. We trusted those who appointed him, we trusted Cormac our former bishop, the then Nuncio, Archbishop Puente and Rome.
I think we English actually find politics, including Church politics, rather distasteful - which is why we have had so many foreign (Scottish) Prime Ministers: Cameron, Brown, Blair, Hume, MacMillan, even why we have tended to import foreign monarchs Germans, Scots, Welsh. Yes, yes I am being frivolous, my tongue is definitely in my cheek but I think there is something very English in despising public controversy and thinking those who take part in it as being just short of beneath contempt, which is why we eventually dismiss and despise our Prime Ministers like inept servants.
The politicking and partisanship of the Synod seems distasteful to my sensibilities, public squabbles are for foreigners not for the English. South Americans might well have revolutions, North Americans their powerful capitalit barons with unlimited political influence, Germans their putsches, Italians vendettas, but we English just like to muddle through.There is something grossly unpleasant about dirty washing being seen in public or Cardinals behaving like fish wives and washer women or worse still, bragging about their influence and whose ear they have in their back pocket - that is the ultimate crime for us English which some have never learnt - but that is the nature of a Synod and of most clerical gatherings.
Standby for a great deal more of wrangling, daftness, and horse dealing but ultimately in the final document the Kasperite and anti-Kasperite faction will have reach some kind of agreed statement in the final Synod document. In some cases the medicine can be worse than cure and the big question is can the Church's leadership hold it together or will unity be so damaged that we end up as some kind of federated Church, much like it looks as the once United Kingdom will become under the Cameroons or the Milibanders.
Fragmentation is in the air!
And while mud wrestling goes on in public what really matters is going on in back rooms with sleight of hand by worldly men.
Eucharistic Elephant
Just a passing thought: there is a gulf between pastoral practice and Church teaching. There always has been; remember St Augustine commenting on people reverencing the sun before entering the Church? He was willing to tolerate it, believing that it was his responsibility to persuade them to turn to Christ.
Well I suppose, I suspect I do not know, that many of those who come to Holy Communion are receiving unworthily, it is priests and the Christian community's responsibility to change behaviour, to 'sell' holiness to those disinclined to it. "I teach men to be good but still they are bad", is an ageless cry of any pedagogue. In most parishes men and women are receiving Holy Communion who are contracepting, or living in civil partnerships, concubinage, committing acts of sodomy, oppressing the poor, stealing from their employers, ignoring or mistreating their aging parents, addicted to pornography, dealing or using drugs, leaving their neighbour bleeding and beaten by the roadside, or simply denying Christ.
The big difference between our age and that of St Augustine is that most people receive Holy Communion without any thought, bishops and priests celebrate as if it is merely part of the job, some of us even dare to offer it daily or even more often, whether we are in state of Grace or not, unknown of until the modern era! And all really because of the personal Eucharistic piety of Popes since Pius X and since the Council we have lost the sense of conversion, and frankly of calling a spade a spade, a sin a sin.
One of things that makes me anxious about the Synod is that some might be inclined to reduce the gap between practice and teaching, and attempt to square the circle, without addressing the huge elephant in the room which is the Eucharist itself.
Pray for Mary Byrne
I have just come back from the hospital, after Anointing and given the Apostolic Indulgence to Mary one of our parishioners.
Mary is both deaf and dumb, she is dying and I am not quite sure is able to see much, or focus at the moment. She has her carer with her, who is a lovely women but it must be a terribly confusing time.
Pray for her and invoke the Holy Guardian Angels to pray for her and comfort her.
I was told this morning Mary died a few hours after being fortified by the Sacraments of Our holy Mother the Church.
Eternal grant to her O Lord
And let perpetual light shine upon her.
May her Soul and the Souls of all the Faithful Departed rest in peace.
Investigatons
I have nothing to say about events in my own diocese at the moment, what is interesting in the Church is what John Allen calls a zero tolerance of child abuse in the Church. The problem that Pope Francis seems to be launching investigations into bishops who tend to go against the "spirit of collegiality" using covering up abuse as of minors as an excuse. In the US Bishop Finn is in the firing line but as Nueva Primavera points out there are even better candidates in the US, and he hasn't even touched on Ireland or Belgium or the UK.
It seems as if these inquisitions are being used to strengthen, rather than diminish the various 'magic circles' and careerism in the Episcopate, and unless Pope Francis has a hit list, which I doubt, this is being used by various senior clergy to settle old scores.
Very dangerous and damaging!
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An item Oct. 19 in the People column erroneously reported that actor Matt Damon became involved with H2OAfrica while scouting movie locations in Africa. Damon joined the organization after a charitable trip to the continent with ONE, an American anti-poverty organization.
A press release about the Running the Sahara project and other updates on the film is available at the official website.
Another Oscar bait article for The Departed is at USA Today.
The public service announcement and other videos for one.org is available at numerous sites, including youtube. Stills from the PSA and the B roll (1) are provided thanks to Clooney Project. Also below is the pop-up from the one.org site.
", "url": "https://mattdamoncolumn.livejournal.com/119536.html", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "http://img175.imageshack.us/img175/9459/oneongstillkg1.gif" }, "author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Matt Damon News Column", "image": "https://l-userpic.livejournal.com/45882972/5305146" }, "publisher": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "Journal mattdamoncolumn", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://mattdamoncolumn.livejournal.com", "contentUrl": "https://l-userpic.livejournal.com/45883606/5305146" } } }
one.org
It took almost a week, but one paper has corrected the erroneous AP story about Matt's visit to Africa (it certainly wasn't for scouting film locations) - from the Mercury News.
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The 2017 WTA Finals in Singapore will start on Sunday with round robin action. The focus of the first day is the white group, aka the big hitters group, featuring Garbiñe Muguruza, Karolina Pliskova, Venus Williams and Jelena Ostapenko. The two winners of these match-ups will play each other on Tuesday. Let’s take a look at the best matches on day 1…
1. Karolina Pliskova vs. Venus Williams (Sunday, 5pm local time)
The 2017 WTA Finals in Singapore will open with the number three seed, Karolina Pliskova taking on the number five seed, Venus Williams – this is one of the potential match-ups that I really wanted to see! The pair last met at the US Open in 2016 in one of the matches of the year.
Since reaching the latter stages of the US Open, neither player has been in great form – Pliskova remained reasonably consistent with quarter-final showings in Tokyo and Wuhan, but came up short in both and then lost out in the third round of Beijing to Sorana Cirstea where her serve evaded her in a 1-6 5-7 loss. Williams played just one tournament through the Asian swing in Hong Kong where she struggled on serve in a 5-7 2-6 second round loss to Naomi Osaka.
It was a great evening! See you on sunday on the court at 5pm 🎾❤️👗 @WTAFinalsSG pic.twitter.com/5LRpNka9kU
— Karolina Pliskova (@KaPliskova) October 20, 2017
.@Venuseswilliams and the @WTAFinalsSG TROPHY pic.twitter.com/sjabNon0ZS
— Jimmie48 Photography (@JJlovesTennis) October 21, 2017
Head-to-head record: The pair are split at 1-1 in their head-to-head – Williams won their first encounter in the final of Zhuhai in 2015, 7-5 7-6(6), a high quality affair. Their most recent match at last year’s US Open saw Pliskova save a match point to win, 4-6 6-4 7-6(3) en route to reaching her first Slam final. As I wrote in my review of that match, the first two sets were so-so and the final set was sensational. More of that third set please…
Interesting stat/news: There are some interesting developments on the coaching front for Karolina Pliskova (😬) yet for this tournament, the Czech player will be supported by Rennae Stubbs. Williams is returning to the WTA Finals line-up for the first time since 2009. The American last triumphed at this event in 2008 in Doha when she beat Vera Zvonareva in the final.
Final thoughts: You’re going to hear this a lot during the course of the week… I could see this one going either way. Going on instinct – Venus? 🤷😂. Pliskova has been super consistent of late at getting through the early rounds of tournaments but hasn’t always found her A-game in the big matches at the top tournaments. Williams has been tremendous at the Slams this year and Singapore is the next best thing so i’d guess she is relishing the prospect of playing against the top eight.
2. Garbiñe Muguruza vs. Jelena Ostapenko (Sunday, NB 7:30pm local time)
Just two of the four 2017 Slam champs are in Singapore and they will meet on the first evening in a blockbuster match-up – the first of many this week!
Garbiñe Muguruza will play her first match since retiring due to illness in Beijing. The Spaniard had also been playing with heavy strapping on her leg through Asia. Muguruza had built a superb 23-6 W-L record since the start of Wimby – the losses she took during this period were not bad ones. During the second half of the season, Muguruza has been focused and consistent, driving forward with her brand of aggressive baseline hitting and becoming a really difficult player to break down and ultimately beat.
Jelena Ostapenko had her first wobble post-French Open during the summer hard court season where she lost her first matches in Toronto and Cincy. However, the Latvian player has rallied in Asia with a series of consistent results including a second title in Seoul. The serve remains an area for concern and has broken down in many matches, yet she has managed to power through on return and with her baseline game which both remain lethal.
Queen of the purple carpet poses was definitely @GarbiMuguruza tonight…#werk pic.twitter.com/L0FgV9u1GL
It’s Alona Ostapenko’s first time in Singapore, she’ll kick off her @WTAFinalsSG tomorrow night pic.twitter.com/0fLasvu2GJ
Head-to-head record: Muguruza leads Ostapenko, 2-1 in their head-to-head. Both of their matches this year have gone the distance with the winner coming from a set down. Ostapenko won during this year’s Asian Swing in Wuhan, 1-6 6-3 6-2 in the quarter-finals.
Interesting stat: Both players have built stunning records in three set matches through the course of 2017 – Muguruza is 17-6 and Ostapenko is 22-7. Since Charleston, Ostapenko has 21 of 24 three setters!
Final thoughts: Key to this match will be whether Muguruza has managed to recover from injury/illness after she looked a little broken towards the end of the Asian Swing. I’m fascinated to see whether experience plays a part in this match. This will be Ostapenko’s first showing in Singapore and at the WTA Finals. Based on how she tore through the latter stages of the French Open, i’d guess not. The slower court (based on previous years) may be more of an issue for Ostapenko although if anyone can hit through it, it will be Ostapenko.
I could see this one going either way 😂😂😂.
White Group Poll – who will qualify?
Feature photo for this post by Omar Boraby
October 21, 2017 in Ka. Pliskova, Muguruza, Ostapenko, Singapore, Venus, WTA, WTA Finals.
WTA Finals, Singapore 2017: Profiles of the Eight Finalists
← Friday’s Set Points, WTA Moscow & Luxembourg: Puig’s 1st final since Rio, Singapore draw day
WTA Finals Singapore 2017, Day 2 Preview: Halep vs. Garcia, Svitolina vs. Wozniacki →
9 thoughts on “WTA Finals Singapore 2017, Day 1 Preview: Pliskova vs. V.Williams, Muguruza vs. Ostapenko”
Pliskova became unlikable to say the least. Hope Williams will play her A game just like at the Slams this year.
Muguruza has to be smart to outplay Ostapenko. Ostapenko can outhit her but I think for Muguruza it will be more important to pound on if an opportunity come and to break Ostapenko spirit.
Garbine’s got a more complete game than Jelana so I expect she’ll prevail if she’s fit. I also hope Venus wins; I’ve never really warmed to Karolina though I know she has her fans.
Yeah I am more than a bit disappointed with the shady way that Pliskova stole Babz coach! I never thought she should have split with Jiri Vanek, if I’m honest. They seemed to have a terrific relationship and they had such great results together.
I’m going for Muguruza and Pliskova. I think Garbine will be able to dismantle Jelena’s serve on this surface, same with Karolina and Venus.
Surefire doesn’t know how this round robin deal works, but Surefire is 100% sure Plis and Ost will win the White Group.( Surefire pick record to date–1 in 793)
Pieman says:
Ohhh man this is hard but I’ll go for Venus and ostapenko!!!!
The slow surface favors Alona more than Muguruza. It gives her time to position her shots. If she is not crazy under control emotionally since this is her first WTA finale, she will take this one.
I don’t think Karo will like this slow surface in Singapore. Again, this is a 50/50 match but slightly favors Venus.
I bet against some of the critical predictions here and I win. Haaaaa!
I personally can’t see why people thought Venus would win on a slow court like this but hey!
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CHRISTIE'S BISTRO
HISTORY OF THE MORWELL CLUB
Did you know that the Morwell Club was once called The Oyster Club?!
The Morwell Club's premises in Helen Street were opened on Thursday 13th September 1956. Mr. R. R. Davey, a trustee of the club, unveiled the foundation stone. The cost of construction came to £6,000.
Like to know more? Click on the Download button below.
History (pdf)Download
Copyright © 2020 The Morwell Club - All Rights Reserved.
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Translation of Acción piece
[ETA: I’ve been informed that this translation is illegal. I’m indexing this post and leaving it here for now, but if I am asked directly to remove it, I will. A .pdf of this part, along with the bio that accompanied the original article, which is not included here, is currently available at RichardArmitageNet.com, so if it’s important to you to save a copy, download it there. In that translation, “ensayo rodado” is translated as “filmed rehearsal” on the recommendation of Antonia Romera; below, Violet suggests “extended take.”]
Hi, here’s my translation. I made it for RA Net, and when it posts there, I will take it down from here. Enjoy. Corrections welcome. I have a BA in Spanish, but I’m not a native speaker.
Exclusive: Richard Armitage
Interviewer: Jesús Usero
Perhaps in in our country he may be more known for his television roles in series like Robin Hood or Strike Back, but we have also seen him in Captain America. All of this remains tiny in comparison with his most recent job, Thorin, the dwarf leader in Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit. An experience that the actor himself says that, if it were the last one of his life, it would make him happy. And he tells us all this in an exclusive interview he gave to Acción.
The first thing we’d like to do is thank you for your time and ask what you can tell us about The Hobbit, one of the most anticipated films of the year.
Well, I think that the reason that it might be one of the most anticipated films of the year is that it’s going to be a cinematographic event like no one has seen before, which has to do mainly with the return to Middle Earth and the way that Peter has created this work, in 3D, filming at 48 frames per second … I think it will be a very special event.
And how did you get a role in such a special project?
I got to do an audition for two roles: one for Bard and the other for Thorin, and then I met Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens, and I didn’t prepare anything from the film, but rather a mixture of everything in which Thorin believes and all of his characteristics, I read this and we talked about the character, about Middle Earth, about how the film would be. … And we talked about Thorin’s quest, his dignity, his mission to recover his homeland … and it seemed that we had similar ideas and they offered me the role. When I met them, I had just injured my shoulder in a television role, and it hurt quite a bit, I had taken some relaxants, but they didn’t have much effect (laughs) … but I believe that they noticed a certain pain in my voice and my eyes that somehow helped me to personify Thorin.
Was there any point at which you thought you would pass up the role, say no to this film?
No, on the contrary, I don’t know how I would have been able not to do it. I remember when they were making the first films, and I would have liked to have been part of them. And when this appeared on the path … Obviously I knew they were going to film The Hobbit, but all the while it was delayed, and delayed, and I couldn’t believe that in the end we would be making the film, delayed, and I told Peter, I would have given my arm to work on it, and although I don’t think it will happen, if this were my last job, I would still be very, very happy.
And with all these delays that you mention, was there any moment in which you were afraid for the film, at which you thought to yourself that The Hobbit was a project that would never be filmed?
Yes, and I remember that a moment came when they were saying to me that they had to make a decision, because I had already turned down one project in order to be in The Hobbit, but the film was not getting a green light to be filmed. But I knew that it was going to be made, I knew that Peter was going to get to finish making it. And when you have the chance to do this role … you don’t think about other options. I remember saying to myself, if I make this act of faith, if I decide to stick with it, then the film will be made. And here we are, talking about a film that will be screened this Christmastime.
Definitely. And what do you like best about Thorin? What attracts you most about this character?
I think that what I like best about him is the idea that Thorin develops in a very unexpected way, the way in which he changes over the length of his life. It is a very interesting path that he travels. There’s a piece of guilt in him, but also a big piece of ferocity, a big internal struggle with himself, with which he begins the adventure, and all the catastrophic events that happen over the length of the story create an interesting drama, inside the character and at the same time, in the story. But at the same time, around the end of the film, there’s a feeling that the character achieves what he deserves, and that his relationship with Bilbo, which goes from the beginning to the end of the film, is a relationship that helps him to understand who he is. That this relationship in constant development makes Thorin who he is.
And how was your arrival in this very special universe? How was it to arrive in New Zealand and see the sets and the whole operation?
I think that this is part of what made of this a different experience for everyone. You go to the other side of the world, and coming from the UK I can’t think of many places much further away to go, unless it would be the South Pole. Basically, this experience makes you think that you’re taking a long trip to do it, that you’re going to Middle Earth, because I think that a lot of people see New Zealand as Middle Earth, and you’re going to see these places, the ones that appear in the first films, and you’re going to travel to this magical land. And from the moment in which we got on the plane, we were going on creating this sort of mystique in which our characters were going to exist. One of the most memorable moments for me was, the first day of filming, the ceremony on the set that the Kiwis [as they lovingly call the inhabitants of New Zealand] did, and it was right before we started to film for the first time, even though it was at night, we were in the entry to the studio and the sun was starting to set, while they were singing a song, the song of blessing. It was such an emotional moment, I thought, that we would all be blessed filming this film in this so special place.
And I assume that it will have been an extended filming period, more than a year. How did you live there?
It was about 18 months, because we got there at the beginning of 2011 and we left in August of 2012, so that probably it was about 18 months. And part of what made the experience so special was spending all this time with the people you are working with there, to feel yourself part of a long journey that isn’t even over yet. But it is something that unites people. You can talk with anyone who worked on The Lord of the Rings, and the feeling is the same. It’s a time that you spend together, you work in such unity … that it is something that I will never forget.
As well as Peter Jackson, who is one of the most important directors of our age. How was it to work with him?
From the first moment I was with him in a room, and he told me about the character, and the way in which he shaped it, I knew that Peter was a person very similar to me. He doesn’t like to lose time, he likes the camera to be filming constantly, and he does this thing he calls ensayo rodado [there’s probably a jargon word for this – possibly “one- take”?], where there’s no cut between takes, and then he ends up using it, I call this masterwork. I give the best of myself when I am working and working in the character without many cuts. But also at moments of doubt, when you feel like you’re not inhabiting your character, and you turn to him and you know, because you’ve seen it in the Lord of the Rings films, that he has all the characters in mind, that they will all appear, each with his own individual delight, because there’s not one single weak character in The Lord of the Rings. So that even when you plunge in, when you know that you are in deep waters, he is going to get you to the other side perfectly.
~ by Servetus on November 23, 2012.
Posted in acting, Armitage as mirror, Armitage as victim, Armitage on Armitage, Armitage's body, Armitageworld dogmas, capitalism, Captain America, career, dwarves, fans, fantasy, fear, filmmaking, flow, gratitude, gravitas, Guy of Gisborne, Heinz Kruger, humility, if I could interview Mr. Armitage, interiority, John Porter, joy, loss, me, morality / ethics / norms, Peter Jackson, reality, Richard Armitage, RichardArmitageNet.com, Robin Hood, silliness, Strike Back, The Hobbit, the hype, the shoulders, thinking / feeling, Thorin Oakenshield, why Armitage?, Why me?, work
95 Responses to “Translation of Acción piece”
Love it! I had my daughter working on it, but she was doing as a favor and will be relieved it’s already done. LOL!
RAFrenzy said this on November 23, 2012 at 10:22 pm | Reply
a liberal arts degree oughta get ya something, no? 🙂 even if it’s quick translations of frivolous news 🙂
Servetus said this on November 23, 2012 at 10:26 pm | Reply
[…] edit: Servetus now has a translation for the […]
Richard, International « RAFrenzy said this on November 23, 2012 at 10:27 pm | Reply
I’m just going to skate right past the fact that you have a BA in Spanish and just thank you for the translation! 🙂
AgzyM said this on November 23, 2012 at 10:28 pm | Reply
youthful folly. Think of that way.
Sure, came after Rocket science and before Maths 😉
By the way, I was just thinking that an RA fan has the edge when translating an interview like this. I mean we all know how he ‘sounds’ when answering such questions and you’ve certainly read your fair share of them. Just a thought, as it’s really RAish to read!
To quote RA, “I am horrid at maths.” Which shuts out rocket science.
I translated this *very* literally. So if there’s a place where a verb tense sequence didn’t make sense to me, as if he got lost in his thoughts, that’s reflected in the interview. It read to me like someone had taped the interview and then translated the tape into English, very stream of consciousness.
Thanks for the translation. I like this Q&A style much better than those article that are heavily edited and filtered through the lens of the interviewer.
Jane said this on November 23, 2012 at 11:00 pm | Reply
You’re welcome. Totally agree.
Thanks, Servetus. I was going to cancel an appointment so I could charge out and go into town tomorrow morning on the early train, then hunt at the newsagents. I still want to get a copy of the magazine, and of course, I speak, read, and write Iberian Spanish. It sounds like you didn’t miss a trick.
Leigh said this on November 23, 2012 at 10:37 pm | Reply
You should be obscura’s interpreter — I’ll put you guys in touch.
Muchas gracias, Servetus. I will be reblogging. 😀
fedoralady said this on November 23, 2012 at 10:38 pm | Reply
Reblogged this on the armitage effect and commented:
Dr. Servetus kindly translated the Accion article that went with that divine pic. Muchas gracias!
Thank you very much for the translation, Servetus!
Ania said this on November 23, 2012 at 10:44 pm | Reply
You’re welcome. And on notice that I cannot read Polish, so you will have to step up.
Fantastic!! You’re a gem.
Fanny/iz4blue said this on November 23, 2012 at 10:44 pm | Reply
anything for you.
I wish I had beer import connections 😉
Fanny/iz4blue said this on November 24, 2012 at 5:02 am | Reply
So do I. I wish Westvleteren made some beer for export, too 🙂
Funny, I heard about that beer from you first! Might ask someone to bring back a bottle 🙂
Fanny/iz4blue said this on November 25, 2012 at 6:23 pm | Reply
I adore this part: “we were in the entry to the studio and the sun was starting to set, while they were singing a song, the song of blessing. It was such an emotional moment, I thought, that we would all be blessed filming this film in this so special place.”
Wow! I think most of us felt what he described as we watched that ceremony. Can this get any better?!!
Thanks for the “youthful” translation. My 1yr of Jr. high, 1 yr of high school and 1 yr of college Spanish didn’t get me very far. 🙂
The Queen said this on November 23, 2012 at 10:46 pm | Reply
me 2, I loved that bit.
I noticed he didn’t mention that he played an important part in that ceremony.
would it be any other way? 🙂
That unshakable modesty is one of the most attractive things about him IMO – I don’t think it is something that anyone could manufacture so constantly.
obscura said this on November 24, 2012 at 12:07 am | Reply
I live in awe! Is there anything you don’t do? I need an interpreter for a tour group to Spain in 2014 – interested? (seriously?) Thanks!
obscura said this on November 23, 2012 at 10:47 pm | Reply
My spoken Spanish isn’t that great anymore because I almost only ever speak German, and on top of that my Spanish sounds very Mexican. I sort of fell asleep when we were supposed to learn those Iberian verb forms. But you should get together with Leigh. Hers is probably great!
Yeah – she is Andalucia yes? I’m doing Roman/Islamic Spain (lots of stuff in that area) I have 18 months to learn at least a little Spanish (it seems so rude not to) I’ve done Italian, French, Greek and Latin, but no Spanish.
I’ve never learned Italian but Spanish easier than all the others, IMO. And all those romance languages you’ve had, can’t be too hard.
I haven’t used anything but Greek in a very long time 🙂 Even there, the Greeks usually answer me in German. (from there hilarity ensues)
Yes, I’m in Andalucia , in a tiny pueblo blanco– the closest city is Ronda. There is a ruined Roman theatre nearby at Acinipo, Arab baths that have been excavated and restored somewhat so you can visit them, The remnant of a mihrab marks the church of Santa Maria Mayor as the mosque it was before King Ferdinand and his knights took the city and made it into a church. The Moorish murallas have been restored (not entirely faithfully). There used to be part of a Roman aqueduct near the Sevilla road, but I’m not sure if it’s still there. As you say, there’s lots of stuff all through here.
Managing Spanish if you know other Romance languages is not difficult. The key words you need, however, are idiomatic, e.g., “servicios?” means “where’s the restroom?” I’d be happy to help.
Agree about the Romance languages. I took quite a few years of Latin and have had no problem with French, Spanish and Italian. I also took some Greek in college. But I’ve never spoken it. Well, not much anyway.
I found that Greek, like Russian, is a fantastic language in which to curse. Still, after more than 30 years, I remember next to nothing.
I agree…Romance language cursing still sounds pretty to my American ear…Greek cursing has a kind of staccato harshness that reinforces the point. (Although, as a woman, I don’t think I’m supposed to appreciated that 🙂 )
The really bad stuff in Iberian Spanish has a tone as if you are scolding a pet and often the translation does not seem as appalling as the meaning really is. The hand gestures that women use among themselves are silent but particularly expressive (e.g., the extended pinky droops).
Funny I was taught Russian for 8 long years but we never learned a single curse word. Not one! I can still recite poems about Comrade Lenin though. 😀
Judit said this on November 24, 2012 at 12:10 am | Reply
Joanna said this on November 24, 2012 at 1:31 am | Reply
I feel like “buen provecho” is very useful.
I don’t have the full itinerary mapped out – a colleague and I are coming over next summer – in August (she says will be I quote “hot as balls”) but it’s the only time we can both go- to map things out and get a feel for how things work. I used a tour company in Greece, but I’m not sure what we’re doing in Spain yet. It just sort of came up – along with the funding to pay for faculty participation (thanks to some creative budgeting)
I definitely want to include some time in Madrid with a side trip to Segovia. I suspect that I will be in an area moving between Seville, Cordoba and Valencia…she’ll be up around Barcelona focusing on the Spanish Civil War. The idea is to book the airfare as one group and then split up based on which students want which courses – I’m running to concurrently to maximize our draw.
That could be a little awkward. The best way IMO to get around Spain is by rail. Madrid connects to Sevilla by Ave, a very fast train. There’s a decent Sevilla to Cordoba run, but Valencia is probably easier to get to if you go back through Madrid, which is the country’s rail hub. You can get an idea of routes, types of trains, and prices at renfe.es. I recommend not only the side trip to Segovia, but also a day trip to Toledo. Depending on the makeup and disposition of your group, you may want to look into staying at one of the convents that offers accommodations.
Leigh said this on November 24, 2012 at 12:05 am | Reply
That is the very info that I need to work out – OK if I email you periodically?
Claro que si! (= yes, of course)
Gracias (that’s pretty much it 😉 )
With all those languages under your belt you probably already speak Spanish without even realising it! Son is reading Latin, French and Italian at uni: he tells me that if he reads a newspaper article in Spanish he can get the gist of it at the very least.
wydville said this on November 24, 2012 at 8:09 am | Reply
yeah, it’s not just the vocab but the grammatical structures are similar as well. The only thing that gets confusing is keeping the false cognates straight.
One smart son you ahve!
When I was prepping Italian in grad school, I had a prof who advised me to remember my Latin and squint – think that will work for Spanish?
obscura said this on November 25, 2012 at 1:55 am | Reply
Spanish is *way* easier than Latin. I had Spanish first.
Servetus said this on November 25, 2012 at 2:29 am | Reply
Fantastic service, Servetus! I was so disappointed that I couldn’t read it, but just trust the Armitage Army that someone is kimd enough to do this.
Nice interview, quite to the point, very little about non-related Armitage. Clever, clever man!
guylty said this on November 23, 2012 at 10:48 pm | Reply
The reason the bio isn’t here is because Ali and I both think there’s an error in it, and she’s querying the interviewer before we publish it. But that’s where the “non-related” stuff is.
You seem to have a few spare degrees that you might not need, could I have one please? As agzy said its just so casually mentioned!
It’s a good article, thoughtful questions with RA answering them thoroughly. I look forward to reading more of them. I think there are some coming from Outer Mongolia and Latvia so I am assuming you will be doing the translation for those as well.
Rosiepig said this on November 23, 2012 at 11:00 pm | Reply
I think I only have one “extra,” but I’d be happy to give it to you. It’s not very useful, though.
There are readers on this site from some Baltic countries, not sure about Latvia, so we can rope them into it if it comes out.
Outer Mongolia?? I shall look out for very obscure ones!
Where *is* outer Mongolia, exactly? (I see a graph of page views based on a world map with the basic political lines drawn on it). It’s not a state, is it?
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outer_Mongolia
Rosiepig said this on November 24, 2012 at 12:23 am | Reply
OK — thanks for the clarification! No, I don’t get hits from there (neither from the state of Mongolia, nor, apparently from China — although I suspect that maybe this site is not visible in China). Also, I can’t read any of those scripts except I can pronounce the Cyrillic (another youthful folly — ah, the language courses we will take a semester of for love). So, Rosiepig, I am pretty sure you will have to take this over when it arises. I’ll be in touch.
Servetus said this on November 24, 2012 at 12:37 am | Reply
Maybe I should start doing a Mongolian A Level? Who needs English Literature!
Rosiepig said this on November 24, 2012 at 2:12 pm | Reply
Anything to do with China is useful these days 🙂
I keep telling my son that…he has an interest in the east anyway – might as well make himself marketable 🙂
Thanks for this Serv.. didn’t know about your BA in Spanish sandwiched between Maths and Nuclear Engineering LOL (sorry! Joking!) Anyway YOU ROCK!!! Should there be an Italian article I’ll have a go at that. 🙂
Judit said this on November 23, 2012 at 11:01 pm | Reply
nuclear engineering would Mr. Armitage’s father (also joking).
I mean I’ll have a go at translating it. I’m completely knackered should be in bed really.
if we put our heads together, we can do almost anything.
Yes, Judit, you should be in bed; you need to beat this infection so you’ll be strong for the London premiere. And if you think I nag, wait ’til you hear what Guy will have to say…
All right Mom, I’m going, I’m going! 🙂
Thank you Servetus
khandy30 said this on November 23, 2012 at 11:29 pm | Reply
Oh, terrific! Thanks so much for translating this article, Servetus–I saw a small picture of it online and loved the photo but the words were too blurry to read when I enlarged it.
I loved hearing more about his audition! That description was the best yet. I knew all the candidates had read for Thorin, but I wondered what else went into the decisionmaking process. So he was injured in the shoulder during that Spooks stunt…I wonder when all that happened.
Wow, a BA in Spanish, too? Lovely.
saraleee said this on November 23, 2012 at 11:34 pm | Reply
he hurt his shoulder during Robin Hood as well (ask Jane for reference), so it seems like a vulnerable point.
I thought it was interesting that he read for Bard. That piece of information will make mulubinba very happy, as she was regularly lobbying all over the place on the Internet on behalf of that.
Thanks for the translation. I was also thinking of Mulibinba when I read about him auditioning for Bard. All her early work may well have contributed to get him the audition. I miss her blog and hope that she gets to enjoy all the hobbity madness that are now escalating by the minute
L said this on November 24, 2012 at 6:12 am | Reply
She may come back. She’s hidden her blog before and come back. I hope so, too. I think she was going to Wellington for this.
LOL, I used to be a much better walking RA archive than I am now! I think he mentioned should and neck problems, thought I don’t recall an injury. During RH the press always said he was responsible for injuries Keith Allen and Jonas Armstrong got during filming, though at least in the first case that isn’t necessarily true.
Jane said this on November 24, 2012 at 8:14 am | Reply
I thought *you* told me he had had physical therapy for an injured shoulder.
Ensayo rodado… to translate as ‘extended take’?
Thank you for your swift translation, Servetus.
VioletsTFB
violetsframework said this on November 24, 2012 at 12:05 am | Reply
Super — thanks for the suggestion. I don’t know anything about filmmaking but I guess I am about to learn.
You. Rock.
Simplegirl said this on November 24, 2012 at 12:11 am | Reply
Thank you, this was really interesting. And so he did audition for Bard as well, this was a role that many RA fangirls wanted him to get – and they were much closer to the mark than many gave them credit for a the time it seems!!
kaprekar said this on November 24, 2012 at 12:19 am | Reply
Yes. It’s interesting (note above), isn’t it?
I freely admit that I did put down anyone who mentioned a hope that RA could be cast as Bard because I was convinced it would be totally out of his league. I also freely admit that I was wrong and apologize.
My feeling is always that these fan campaigns don’t influence anything — they merely serve to get fans excited about spending money. However, it looks like in this case they were paying more attention than we realized.
Servetus, thank you!
Snoozie said this on November 24, 2012 at 1:37 am | Reply
Many thanks,Servetus! 🙂
It’s amazing how fast any RA news is made accessible worldwide! Thank you so much Servetus! 😊
Suse (@suseng3) said this on November 24, 2012 at 2:09 am | Reply
Yes, thank you for the translation and for being so giving. RA is such an eloquent and expressive person. I especially liked that he talked about acts of faith and being blessed. Oh well, back to the Pride and Prejudice marathon — Darcy’s just about to dive into the lake.
sloan said this on November 24, 2012 at 6:05 am | Reply
Thank you very much for the translation! Thank you also for your great blog!
mariana said this on November 24, 2012 at 3:02 pm | Reply
Thanks for all the kind comments!
[…] 2) Richard Armitage’s interview with Jesus Usero is in Accion Cine at http://www.accioncine.net/contenidos-revista/1745-revista-accion-no-1212-mes-diciembre-de-2012.html; the RANet link for the English translation provided by Me + Richard Armitage blogger Michaela Servetus was found at http://www.richardarmitagenet.com/images/articlescans/Hobbit/AccionCine-23Nov2012.pdf, the pdf starts with an RA biography which Servetus says she translated falthfully, but she has a question or two about the facts contained in that bio. For my money it is, RA wanted to be an architect? Here is Servetus’ blog post with the translation in it, https://meandrichard.wordpress.com/2012/11/23/translation-of-accion-piece/ […]
Fun Day Sunday: I had Richard Armitage for my Birthday! 11/25/12 Gratiana Lovelace (Post #312) | Something About Love (A) said this on November 25, 2012 at 7:06 am | Reply
Thank you so much for doing this, it was a great read. 🙂
Traxy said this on November 26, 2012 at 3:36 pm | Reply
Many thanks for the translation Servetus. 🙂
april73 said this on November 27, 2012 at 2:33 pm | Reply
A reblogué ceci sur April's violet and commented:
Translation in English of Richard Armitage’s interview published in the Spanish magazine “Accion Cine” by Servetus. 🙂
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Handy guide for recognizing trolls in the Richard Armitage fandom
[This was my original planned topic for today, but I’ve modified it somewhat to deal with today’s events.]
The Beta XII-A entity from ST: TOS: The Day of the Dove. You can read the story here if you don’t know it already.
We had another incident of fan-directed trolling in our fandom on Friday evening. Trolling usually escalates in frequency when Richard Armitage is doing something fans are excited about, because a troll loves nothing more than sucking up our energy. (For Star Trek fans, think of the energy creature who splits the Klingons and the Enterprise crew in ST:TOS The Day of the Dove). Since I personally find reading the drama around trolling exhausting, I thought I’d drop a few suggestions about the topic here. Your mileage may vary, and of course, you may have good reasons for responding to a troll. I have done so from time to time myself. However, one must always keep in mind that doing so means giving a malicious total stranger who is laughing at you a chunk of your positive energy for free.
In my opinion, there are two key principles in understanding how to respond to problematic fandom content on the Internet.
First, ask (a) to whom am I speaking? and (b) is that a person I really want to speak to? and (c) are they listening?
Second, ask (a) what am I accomplishing by speaking here? What is at stake? and (b) what really needs defending?
I’m not telling anyone not to respond to a troll, even though I wish we wouldn’t, but here are some things I try to keep in mind when I’m debating a response.
What a troll is (and isn’t) and how to recognize one
A troll prepares to cook Bombur in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. Screencap.
[I’m using “they” as a neutral pronoun in this post, incidentally, even though it bugs me grammatically.]
Here’s a definition. Paraphrasing that article, a troll is someone who intentionally puts something down in a discussion stream that they know will be highly controversial or inflammatory, solely for the purpose of provoking an emotional response from the normal audience for that topic in that medium. A troll in Armitageworld is usually either an outsider to the superfan community, or if not, uses a sockpuppet. These features are important because there’s a difference between trolling and controversy in discussion between known entities (intense controversy in fan discussion can causing flaming, but flaming usually has an object of contention — it doesn’t happen solely for the purpose of upsetting people), and a fan who says something controversial with their normal pseudonym is typically not a troll. Although some of us enjoy drama, there’s a different pattern to that behavior than that of a troll. (The lady in your church who is always the first to cry wolf about bomb threats is different from the person who calls your church phone anonymously with a bomb threat.) Similarly, and I can’t emphasize this enough, a fellow fan who disagrees with you about something or says something you find troubling and does not change their position even after you raise the issue with them about it is not a troll (or, as I read all too often these days, a bully). Reasoned disagreement, even if it doesn’t result in agreement, is a normal and acceptable part of fan discourse.
In contrast to controversial discussion, trolling is a specific behavior conducted for the purpose of the uproar it generates, which the troll enjoys. Its only goal is the fostering of bad feeling. The troll doesn’t care about the topic they are trolling about — they count on the fan to do that. Indeed, trolling only works because the fan cares about whatever the issue is more than the troll does. This frees the troll to say whatever they like, in order to see the fan squirm in response. The point of trolling is to make fans look silly, crazy, prejudiced, or worse. The troll enjoys seeing this reaction and knows that fans are regularly ready to provide it, which reinforces the troll’s feeling that fans are silly, crazy, prejudiced or worse.
Today we saw the manifestation of something which is not technically trolling, but many tweeps find disturbing — the penetration of non-fans into the stream of responses to Armitage’s tweets because he used the hashtag #Orlando. Some of this disagreement is legitimate. However, some of it is also conducted for the purpose of creating bad feeling. Such tweeps concentrate on specific issues and assemble to discipline people who are tweeting things they don’t like. While some fans were disagreeing with Armitage, non-fan accounts are generally recognizable as such. Whenever we’re talking about a political opinion (guns, immigration, whatever) there are people organized on Twitter to jump on tweets they disagree with and challenge the tweeter. Nothing can be done about this other than making one’s own tweets private, or blocking the people in question when they appear. If their words are particularly abusive, they can and should be reported to Twitter.
Trolls discuss their dinner in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. Screencap.
But back to the fandom. While every principle about recognizing a troll is a generalization to which there will be exceptions, most casual trolls on Twitter are not very well constructed. A little clicking around makes it easy to identify a likely troll simply by their Internet trail.
For instance, a frequent feature of a troll account is that it is often not very old. In the troll incident we experienced this weekend, the account was created in June 2016. I noticed its appearance on June 2. Additionally, a troll account is usually not well-integrated in the fandom. Most Armitage tweeps follow one or more friends who are also fans, or they follow a fan-related account. They like or retweet pictures or tweets about Armitage. In contrast, a troll is typically not following many other fans or fan-related accounts, if at all, and they are not followed by other fans. They may follow Armitage, but they don’t have a trail of content related to him among their tweets. So it’s always important to check the tweets a troll has made, as well as the following and followed — including not only how many followers, but who they are, because it’s easy to follow fake accounts on Twitter and make oneself look larger than one is. Another way you can check on a troll is to google the handle or pseudonym they are using. Although it’s not a hard-and-fast rule, most fans use variations on their pseuds all over the place on different platforms and social media (I use “Servetus,” “Michaela Servetus,” “@ServetusRA,” “Servetus_Armitage,” and so on. A troll, in contrast, doesn’t want to reveal their real identity or put such poisonous comments on well-established social media accounts, so they tend to use either a very nondescript pseudonym (increases anonymity) or one that appears practically nowhere else.
Another good way to recognize a troll is by the shape of their comments, which often seek to triangulate. Loosely understood. Triangulation is the attempt to bring other people into conflict who are not central to it for the purpose of redirecting emotion in ways that suit the triangulator. (Example: I ask my mom for ice cream. She says “no.” So I ask my dad, who says “yes.” If my mom sees me eating, I tell her “dad said yes,” ensuring that I get what I want, appear innocent, and deflecting her negative response to my father and away from me.) The effectiveness of triangulation relies on a very exact knowledge of the matter that is likely to disturb the person who is being targeted to provide the emotional response. This is not difficult with celebrity fans, who tend to get exercised about a series of not-very-well-hidden matters, no matter the celebrity. In the case of the troll, triangulation allows trolls themselves to magnify the conflict, without ever feeling the brunt of the negative emotion they generate and enjoy.
The triangular role can be played by other fans. So, for example, a troll might say something about a controversial issue in the fandom that will making differing segments of fans fight with each other in order to enjoy the spectacle. The conflict is between the fan and the troll, but other groups of fans are drawn into the fray as rescuers. A typical axis for this is any issue that relates to Armitage’s personal life. One group of fans will disagree with the content of the troll’s statement; a second will disagree that the matter should be discussed at all; soon the fans are fighting with each other as the troll — the actual source of the conflict — watches with pleasure. This effect relies on the fact that fans almost always identify more with their individual pictures of Richard Armitage than we do with each other.
Most often, though, the triangular role in our fandom is played by the notional Richard Armitage. The troll says something I don’t like about Armitage — not to me directly. These comments are often phrased in a way that makes the need to respond appear necessary in order to defend myself against the allegation that I am bigoted or that Armitage is not worthy of fan admiration. As a result, I confront the troll on behalf of Armitage but also on behalf of my own good name, rescuing both him and myself (victims). We saw this this morning when fans began defending Armitage for the way he treats his fans. Or, a classic case of this occurred in the summer of 2014, when a well organized group of three twitter accounts started tweeting that they wanted refunds on their Crucible tickets because they claimed to have learned something they didn’t like about him. (I say well organized, because although the attack was clearly coordinated by a troll or trolls, they had taken care to organize it far enough ahead of time that it took more digging than usual to discover the evidence.) Naturally, fans jumped in to defend Armitage. This defense had the effect of amplifying the matter that the fans didn’t want to discuss. The triangulation here provokes the response from the non-involved party, i.e., the troll attacks Armitage, and that is where the conflict should lie, between persecutor and victim. However, the technically non-involved fan defender of Armitage is drawn in as the rescuer and provides the predictable emotional thrill for the troll. This strategy is most effective if the issue gets lots of play and lots of fans pile on for the defense, which proves to the troll that they are crazy defenders of their crush. If the first effect above also occurs (fans fight with each other), that is an added bonus.
What to do about this? The only one I can change is me
Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage) prepares to engage with a troll, in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. Screencap.
I said above that I think there are two key issues in contemplating a response to a troll. The first — who am I speaking to? — is important for behavior; the second — what is at stake / what needs defending? — is important for one’s state of mind.
First, the question of who is speaking to one, and to whom one is speaking. To me, this is one of the most pernicious problems of social media and it’s taken me years of facebooking to understand it. My college bestie posts an article on Facebook, and I respond. I don’t have to — she’s just throwing it out there and not directly asking for my comment. A total stranger who is friends with her in some other context foreign to me responds to me charging me with being a homophobe. The first question is: am I actually being spoken to? Maybe or maybe not. Then: who is this person to me? No one. So why do I care what she thinks about me? The second is: am I a homophobe? I would say on the whole, no, although no doubt I have prejudices that might be examined, my life shows that I am not. She has no way of knowing this because she has no information about me beyond her interpretation of a single comment. The correct response is clearly not to get into it with her, because why do I care at all about what an uninformed stranger thinks of me?
Applying this to trolls, a troll is a total stranger who knows only one thing about me — that I’m crushed on Richard Armitage and likely to react negatively on certain issues related to him. That’s enough to provoke me, certainly. A total stranger says something to me about something I’ve said something about that could be a vulnerable point. I check them out and they are not identifiable as a fellow fan and I don’t know them from any other context. Why would they be speaking to me if not to provoke? This is someone I need not to respond to. Block or mute if necessary. I would argue this also goes for people who join on a discussion on the basis of a popular tag. No one is required to speak to total strangers who say mean things. Why would I? This essentially constitutes a refusal to respond to manipulated attempts to triangulate.
Bilbo (Martin Freeman) decides to intervene to defend Thorin against the wargs, in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. Screencap.
Which gets me to the second issue: the defense of Armitage.
This has been an issue in the fandom as long as I’ve been a fan and probably longer — the need we feel to defend Richard Armitage. In fact, I read an hour or so ago that Armitage’s reason for deleting his tweets was to keep fans who were defending him from being bullied by trolls. I don’t see everything, so I didn’t see any evidence of this, and I find that explanation implausible, but if it’s true, it would be a bit disturbing. Years ago we coined the term Armitage Protection Mode (APM) to delineate a behavior that all of us fall into from time to time. Because the thing is — the man has been living independently for three decades and he doesn’t need us to defend his words, his career, his actions, his role choices, his relationships, or anything about his life. He makes his own decisions about deleting tweets and they should not be about us. If Richard Armitage needs me to defend anything about him, he’s really in much worse shape than I think. And the odds that he has time to defend me rhetorically against against Internet trolls are really low. In short, he’s a grown up guy with a life in which his fandom is not central and he doesn’t have time any longer to be concerned with individual fans. He has a mum and doesn’t need thousands of mothers; he has an agent and a successful career and friends who actually know what is happening in his life (as opposed to us; we’re just guessing), and I don’t know how many professionals watching out for his interests. In that light, this is one of my all-time favorite blog posts in the fandom, ever, one that has grown more valuable in retrospect. So I’d ask myself, before deciding to respond to a troll — if I think I have to respond to a total stranger who is provoking me on purpose in order defend Richard Armitage, why do I think that?
There was a classic case of this last summer when someone who felt spurned for an autograph in the Vancouver airport began a malicious twitter campaign and, although the actual conflict was between the tweep and Armitage, successfully triangulated fans rose to the bait. My position on that: Richard Armitage knew what he was doing, he was in enough contact with the person to be able to speak to her, if he had wanted to say anything more than he did publicly, he certainly could have. If he didn’t think he needed to justify himself — so why did we? Instead, and predictably, fans jumped up to defend him and gave that troll all the attention and emotion she needed to feed off for weeks. I think the answer to that was not that we needed to prove that Richard Armitage is a good person to someone who claimed to have had an unsatisfactory experience (he is who he is, however that is, and my argumentation won’t change that), but rather we needed to bolster our own beliefs that Richard Armitage is a good person.
And if it’s down to that — if my defense of Armitage is down to having to state what I need to believe about him and thus providing the outrage that makes a total stranger happy — then I can go back to point one. Why do I need to justify my attitude to a complete stranger who knows nothing about me? Especially if the point of their attack is to get me to respond for their pleasure?
Please feel free to share your own experiences with dealing with Internet trolls.
Tags: fandom, Richard Armitage, trolls, Twitter
58 Responses to “Handy guide for recognizing trolls in the Richard Armitage fandom”
In German we use the phrase “troll dich” which means “shove off”. Nothing more to say.
CraMERRY said this on June 13, 2016 at 6:04 am | Reply
Interesting — some more German slang to add to my vocabulary!
Awesome essay. Clearly well thought through and brilliantly executed. I am sorry for whoever was on the end of any vitriol or mischief making. I realise I am naive and am always hopeful for a world where we can all just get on, despite our differences. I would hate to think I had upset anyone so to do it for kicks is just very sad and something I really struggle to understand. Thanks for speaking out and giving some tips. I’m just so sorry that you had to.
Evie Arl said this on June 13, 2016 at 6:56 am | Reply
I think this is what is insidious about a lot of trolling — the person who is being attacked is implied and that drives troll targets crazy.
I wasn’t hassled this time — and the level of direct hassle to me has dropped quite a bit recently. I think trolls think the tweeps are a better target.
Thank you for this. I have always been somewhat in the dark about trolls, because my presence on social media is very minuscule to say the least.
As a novice – still – to twitter, I have come across something odd very recently; not only yesterday when it apparently peaked, although I wasn’t aware at the time, but in the past week or so.
I have a twitter account which I opened some five years ago, but never really began using until a certain gentleman began tweeting.
My twitter account is a compilation of many things that interest me, a sort of archive if you like, and it isn’t apparent that I follow RA. I have tweeted him directly only a few times (twice), when something was entertaining, and that’s it.
My twitter account hasn’t got many followers; I don’t seek to have many followers, but I follow quite a number of accounts, primarily news, food and travel related. In the course of the years, a few RA-fans have followed me, and I’ve followed them back.
The past week – the time span eludes me, but it’s not longer than that – I have gained seven(7) followers. Actually, it’s more than seven, because I’ve already blocked about five accounts, all of a sexual nature (then I changed my profile picture ;-)) One account is clearly related to an illness that I’m interested in. Another account is seemingly interested in photography. The last four ‘arrived’ on the same day or night, somewhere in between Saturday and yesterday, Sunday. I find this odd, highly unusual, and apparently their accounts show no signs of being interested in RA or anything I’m interested in. Their accounts hold real names and pictures, but that could just fake. Could they be trolls? Are they on my account for a certain purpose? Can trolls hide behind others’ accounts? Perhaps I should block them, just to be on the safe side.
I know I shouldn’t conjure up conspiratorial theories, but is some ‘attack’ under way? You can’t possible know the answer to this. Needless to say, I’m highly suspicious at this point.
Mermaid said this on June 13, 2016 at 7:17 am | Reply
Hello Mermaid, don’t worry. Twitter suggests who you should follow. Those suggestions often don’t make sense but people who are just interested in collecting new followers often act on those suggestions. I also think there is software out there which “collects and suggests”twitter accounts for others to follow automatically.
If you feel uncomfortable with an account: block and immediately unblock. This makes the account disappear. Trust your instincts 😊
suse3 said this on June 13, 2016 at 8:16 am | Reply
I am sorry to hear that you have been harassed by some losers.
I don’t follow or have too many followers, too. Nor, do I care. I like to just creep on people and see what they are up to. Sometimes I’ll engage, but most of the time I just read and have a chuckle at what might be happening on Twitter.
When it comes to trolls, I like to have a little fun with them until they end up blocking me. In the past, I noticed some annoyingly mean tweets to me and some people I followed. Instead of blocking them, I just started tweeting back at them about what I thought of them. lol I guess that makes me a troll.
I personally don’t believe in blocking people, because it make them win in my book. It’s only words and they can’t really hurt me. Besides, I like seeing if they’ll block me after what I say and do to them.😈
The last psychological pain I had to endure was going to concert with my horrible sister to listen to Mahler’s Symphony No. 6 ( “Tragic” ). Unfortunately, the only thing tragic about it was that I had endure the emotional torture of being told how underdressed I was and how uncouth I was. I could even crack a joke after the concert because she was my only ride home.
Duke said this on June 13, 2016 at 8:25 am | Reply
Don’t worry about that, Mermaid. Those are bots that automatically follow accounts in the hope that you will follow them back. It’s related to marketing rather than trolling. If they annoy you, block and mute. But I don’t think you will receive any hassle from them. They do not engage.
Guylty said this on June 13, 2016 at 8:36 am | Reply
Thanks for your advice, Guylty, Duke, suse3. I have blocked the four of them (their profiles were very similar). Hopefully, that’s the end to that.
Mermaid said this on June 13, 2016 at 12:33 pm | Reply
There are also accounts that “sell follows” that might follow you. These can be blocked as well.
hm , interesting i might need to look into the followers since i don’t really notice the ones who never talk to me… do they have to be blocked or do they drop off when you don’t interact? Or do they gather information by following and it is safer to block? (sheesh… as if cleaning the flat was not enough of a pain now i better worry about who follows borin’ ol’ me on twitter and what they want if they never say a thing)
Hariclea said this on June 14, 2016 at 2:30 am | Reply
As long as you don’t follow them back, you’re pretty safe. If you follow them back they can DM you which may set you up to be at risk of phishing, viruses, etc. Usually they are trying to get you to follow to generate a statistic that can be sold (here’s an account with so and so many followers, etc.) rather than gathering information.
Servetus said this on June 14, 2016 at 4:43 am | Reply
thanks v much that’s very helpful, will have a look at the lot and do a bit of long overdue clean up
Hariclea said this on June 14, 2016 at 10:42 am | Reply
Thanks to everyone who explained this feature of Twitter.
Did you ever have anon memes in Richard Armitage fandom?
Trolling experience – not too long ago in the Richlee fandom there was an incident where a well known Richlee blogger kinda went haywire. First, passively aggressively saying they no longer will ship Richlee because they their heart broke with the whole Robsten debacle but that will keep their tumblr up for their Richlee posts. Of course, everybody asked why. Then apparently they went off on Twitter against Lee. Then they deleted their tumblr. But throughout all this you could feel a palpable sense of sadness going through the fandom. I felt it too. There were posts actually defending Lee against these accusations as if Lee somehow owed an explanation to some kid in China (where apparently these rumours originated). While recognizing the absurdity of the situation, it actually felt good to see the posts because they did reinforce my ship, and all the reasons I shipped it. Yes, it fed into the troll but it also felt that those posts needed to be made to address the larger feeling of uncertainty within that fandom. Sightings of the two together had been rare. No obvious clothes sharing incidents. Really somestimes it had come down to looking at the timing of their tweets to justify a reason to keep shipping them beyond the obvious reason of them being hot together.
In my experience, trolling always picks up on some undercurrent in fandom. The good trolls (yes, I do believe some trolling is good) take the piss out of the issue. The bad trolls sow discord for the sake of discord but they are picking up on a larger issue.
Maybe the troll did enjoy feeding off the responses for a couple of days, but after a while it ceased to be about them, but more a meditation of the ship which in some ways backfired on the troll.
mimreckoner said this on June 13, 2016 at 7:38 am | Reply
I still ship them together.
It was funny that they tweeted about #Orlando around the same time as Servetus had mention in an earlier blog. This just makes one wonder more about those two.😉
anon memes: not yet; everything hits us eventually, just later and in smaller proportion.
RichLee rumors are older than Pace’s visit to China.
I do think combatting a troll does enhance certain kinds of group solidarity because there is a common enemy.
I don’t think there are good trolls. I am not centrally involved with the RichLee shippers but my observation of the phenomenon of trolling them suggests that they have malicious motivation, they say mean things, and then enjoy the blowups afterward. I have frequently been exposed to the argument that it is good for these fandoms to be trolled because it supposedly corrects the craziness, but I am skeptical of that argument.
that is a strange argument indeed, especially since it starts with the prejudice that something is ‘wrong’/’off’ in being a fan and then justifies negative/aggressive action against fans on that basis.
As a fan i find it infinitely more satisfying to join with others in talking about the work, forever puzzling (up/down/up/down) about the person/personality of the person than fighting some nasty external commentator.
Probably not the best place for this discussion but I do not like it when people refer to Richard and Lee together as “shipping” or a “ship”. I feel like it’s dehumanizing somehow. They are real people, not fictional characters. I think the world “ship” belonges to fiction. At this point the majority of us knows (or strongly suspects) that Armitage and Pace are an actual, real life couple. (Or were. I have no idea if they are still together.)
Alice said this on June 13, 2016 at 5:50 pm | Reply
I think the word is used in a lot of senses. I have trouble with the insistence that the word not be used to apply to talking about whatever their real life relationship is, because all fans involved in this particular discussion are speculating based on how we apply our fantasies to any evidence that appears. As far as I know, none of us has decisive evidence. The fantasy about real life persons is also a fantasy.
I agree to some extent, Alice. But I like fictional Richlee, too. Sometimes I almost like them better than their RL counterparts! One of my favourite Lee’s is tattoo artist Lee. Fictional Richard tends still to be an actor or high powered business man. But somehow people feel more free reimagining Lee – which I love.
I think you can like the fictional version of each man while still respecting the RL Richard and Lee, together and also separate.
There’s some RichLee fanfic that I have just adored.
“In short, he’s a grown up guy with a life in which his fandom is not central and he doesn’t have time any longer to be concerned with individual fans. He has a mum and doesn’t need thousands of mothers; he has an agent and a successful career and friends who actually know what is happening in his life (as opposed to us; we’re just guessing), and I don’t know how many professionals watching out for his interests.”
Thanks Servetus for explaining things the way you did. I could not have said it any better. It is kind of annoying seeing people fawn all over him like a baby or small child, which he is not.
Yes, I am an admirer of the man’s work, but it doesn’t mean I think he’s a god or ethereal being that some people in his fandom think. He is fallible like any other human being.
On aside note, I think it’s stupid when some fans decide to jump the gun at getting tickets for a play he may or may not actually be doing and booking plane tickets before RA has actually confirmed it. This scenario reminds me of the story of Henny Penny or Chicken Little. Could you imagine how many people with egg on their faces if RA is not in this play?
Please be aware of the comments policy regarding remarks about fans who are not present here / policing. Your comment is on the line, although I will let it stay.
Duke said this on June 13, 2016 at 4:47 pm | Reply
I have not attracted trolls because I am not a force to be reckoned with. Not a blip on a troll’s radar. However, when I think of trolling, I think of trailing a lure behind a boat to catch a big fish. In a way, Serv, you should be flattered that your lure (blog) has attracted some mighty big mouthed fish from time to time. Sometimes they provide a good fish dinner. And they never sink the boat.
Yeah, I actually assumed that was the origin of the word when I started being a fan. Too much time spent around fishermen? The word origin is apparently disputed.
This is a brilliant and really helpful post – thank you for explaining so well some of the weird things going on. It leaves me quite bewildered as to what motivates trolls, though. I guess they genuinely have nothing better to do, which must mean they are very sad and inadequate people.
Love the commentary on RA (as quoted above by Duke), too. Spot on.
Helen said this on June 13, 2016 at 9:01 am | Reply
There are emotional constellations in real life that create this need to suck up other people’s negative emotions or simply to live on other people’s feelings. I can’t venture to say what they might be in individual cases. I tend to experience a metaphorical allergy to passive aggression myself — this is a known bug of being an ACOA. I try to tamp down on it but am rarely successful.
Very interesting article with some wonderful explanations of what goes around and around, and the only thing I can think of is so many need to get a life, thank goodness the only trolls I have to worry about are the ones that live under the bridge near my house 🙂
Irish Witch said this on June 13, 2016 at 9:54 am | Reply
Yes, watch out for the ones closest to you. It’s a good policy 🙂
I’ve had a few nasty anon asks, but none I’ve given the time of day to. I think being in the RA and RichLee fandoms has thickened my skin considerably. I used to be so bothered (and I do still get riled up now and then), but my tolerance for BS has had a massive overhaul in the past few years. Really different experience from all my past other fandoms, which I find pretty interesting.
Fruity said this on June 13, 2016 at 12:09 pm | Reply
This brings up a great issue (that is not typically a situation one encounters on WP because it doesn’t have the anon ask feature). I feel like if one is very vulnerable to this problem, one should turn off anon asks. I regularly read people saying that their anon asks are so upsetting and my response is usually, well, then turn them off. It will cut way down on the number of people who are poking you to see if they can get a response.
This is still my only fandom but my response to certain behaviors has also changed. I feel like it’s a consequence of mid-life. I have much less time for nonsense.
Terrific article, Serv. It really is a good guide for recognizing trolls and determining what one’s response should be, if any.
Experiences with Internet trolls … ahhhh, memories! (Please note the heavy sarcasm.) In a fandom far, far away, a million years ago (at least in Internet terms), I used to moderate an email list dedicated to news and discussion about a certain musician. Let’s call him George. The name of the list was The George List. It had about 200 subscribers who were a bit of a crossover — most started out as fans of one artist (we’ll call him Zeb) who was actually quite famous. These folks became fans of George because the two of them had performed together quite often back then. I was one of them. I should state here that a few of the subscribers were hard-core Zeb fans. (I was not.) In fact, George was a subscriber and loved to join the discussions with us. There were only two rules I asked folks to follow, both stated in the welcome letter: 1) no flaming and 2) limit discussion about Zeb to stuff that George and Zeb did together.
On this one occasion, George had told the group the previous day that he was headed out on a brief road trip doing a few solo gigs and he’d be back on a certain date. The next morning, a new “fan” subscribed, someone none of us recognized from previous fandom interactions,and their very first post was, “Zeb is going to be performing blah blah blah.” Being ListMom, I privately emailed this person, off list, welcoming them and asking them politely to follow the rules stated in their welcome letter. Instead of responding to me privately, they took it to the list, saying things like how I had told them they weren’t allowed to talk about Zeb and asking if they all agreed with that and calling me names I won’t repeat here.
Several of the long-time subscribers tried to explain the intent of the list to the new person, which fell on deaf ears. They continued spouting off about how they should be able to post whatever and whenever they wanted about Zeb. And calling me more names (some of which I had to look up). The first person to agree with this troll (and sock puppet, as I later found out) was the fiercest hard-core Zeb fan on list. She started in and rallied the other hard-core Zebophiles … and voila, flame war.
Over the next 8 hours or so, each time a solution to end the fighting was suggested, the troll/sock puppet would fire back with more vitriol. Enough was enough, and I decided to desubscribe and ban this entity. As I was doing so, they unsubscribed. Oh, and so did Fierce Hard-Core Fan.
While I had gone into mediator/firefighter mode, a few of my assistant mods and friends went into investigator mode. They found out that the email account had been set up that morning. And the account was deactivated immediately after the address had unsubscribed from the list. It seemed as though it had been set up for the sole purpose starting the flame war. But why?
The list quieted down and went about its course. We did lose a few other subscribers over the following week or so. But we added far more in the coming months. George came back and was appalled at what had transpired. He wrote a glorious piece about respect and caring directed at the troll, even though they were long gone. There didn’t seem to be any other huge fights after that, just the usual family squabbles. The list continued in full swing for another 10 good years.
About that why? Good things come to those who wait. That Fierce Hard-Core Fan? She outed herself as the troll/sock puppet when she tried to start another attack against me on another media, where I wasn’t even subscribed, but one of my friends was. Friend sent me the exchange. It was gratifying to see the troll put in her place by the other posters. Karma …
zan said this on June 13, 2016 at 2:21 pm | Reply
Great story, Zan! (or at least it ended well). Glad you survived this!
i started to write about sockpuppets here (because we have had as many of them over the years as trolls) but decided it would complicate the issue too much. I think it’s a really interesting phenomenon, but in my experience it frequently falls apart because (as you say) either is a tell somewhere or the fan / sockpuppet feels a need to be recognized on some level. The only really successful sockpuppets are those who rigorously control clues about their identity and it’s very hard to do that.
it took me awhile to realize that when I defend Richard it’s not really about Richard, it’s about me. in defending his character, I’m also defending my own character, justifying my judgment for choosing him. I identify with Richard in various ways, so when I’m defending him, I’m also defending myself in the process. he doesn’t need me to defend him, I need to defend me. it’s still hard to differentiate that sometimes but it makes it much easier for me to not take things that are said about him so personally.
as for trolls, I think the biggest problem fans have is that they feel they must correct the inaccuracies for others who may be following along, they don’t want misinformation to influence newbies or non-fans and give them the wrong impression about Richard. but that is what the trolls are counting on, they give us a good length of rope and just sit back and watch us hang ourselves. we’re so passionate about the way we feel, what a good actor/person we think Richard is and how that makes us want to shout it from the rooftops, which makes it so easy for them to tap into that passion and then make fun of it, our fanaticism. so for me, I’ve put aside the need to be right. if someone who is just passing through is going to believe the petty lies the trolls spread about Richard, so be it, they’re not the type of fan that would have stuck around that long anyway. I feel that when it comes to crushes, you either get struck by lightening or it comes to you softly. if it’s the first, nothing anyone says is going to influence you into seeing your new crush in a negative way, nothing. if it’s the second, then you’ll scope out the lay of the land, investigate the claims and the character of the crush thoroughly, which will eventually bring you back. but the real question I had to ask myself was, why did I care? what’s it to me if Richard loses fans or gains them? why did it matter what fans said about him on public message boards/blogs? was I afraid he was going to see it and it would influence the way he felt about fans, about me? and that question slapped me in the face. this whole thing was supposed to be one-sided, it was supposed to be about me watching Richard, not Richard watching me. I don’t mean that I shouldn’t take responsibility for the way I act, but rather I shouldn’t be modifying my actions to suit Richard. it’s something I’m still digesting.
KellyDS said this on June 13, 2016 at 2:52 pm | Reply
Well said. I am glad you realized that.
He is an actor and not a personal acquaintance nor boyfriend to any of his fans. It’s simple to get easily to swept up in the fandom with accessibility his fans have of him through social media. Plus, stories of fan meetings of him after The Crucible at Stage Door where he took the time to sign autographs and take pictures don’t help.
With the speculation of RA being in a new play, some fans who have booked tickets. They will be shocked and have the same reaction you have experienced if this play doesn’t actual happen or if this play actual happens and there are no Stage Door meetings to be had.
I think people have to step away from their perfect imagine RA and realize that version of him does not exist. He is human, you know. I think being an admirer of his work is enough for me.
Duke, I’m not sure why you are so focused on this issue of fans buying tickets, but I think you should consider, since their activities have no bearing on you, why you feel the need to raise the issue. In any case it’s not the topic here and I have just warned you about policing fans. This is the last warning.
That’s an excellent point (fans needing to correct inaccuracies) and it was something that I did a fair amount of when I was a a new fan, although not with trolls. There probably should have been a paragraph about that in the original post. In my case, as my knowledge of the actor, his career, and his fandom has grown, I’ve felt the need to correct mistakes when others make them less and less (although I will still write about them here).
The second point is a really great question — why do I need Armitage to have fans, why do I care about the numbers beyond the certain good will that one has for someone one wants to do well? and the whole question of me seeing him vs him seeing me is one that has really bedeviled this fandom over the years. Everyone’s switch on that issue is set differently and it causes a lot of conflict.
I’ve been on Twitter a long time. I used it rarely – it was my mean girl place. (Mean, nasty, gun-loving Conservative that I am) however that seems to have become a bit more diversified since He began to post. Don’t ask me why. I still don’t use it very often.
Over the 15 years I’ve been involved in online fandom, I’ve seen so much drama and while most times I’m willing to sit on the side, eat cheetos and drink cokes and just watch, (and yes, point and snicker at) on occasion, I’ve been sucked into it – whether it be my writing being flamed or mocked (why do people hate hetters so much?) or me not writing what someone thought I should write (go write your own stuff!) or the fact I speak my mind and some people don’t like that. If you don’t want my opinion, don’t ask me, k? I especially hate when tragedy occurs and people use it to push their political agenda. There is a time and place and taking it to someone else’s abode or garden ain’t it. If you’re on your soapbox in your own arena, that’s fine. If you bring your hateful plants and ugly weeds into my garden, you best believe, I’m going to soak you with weed b gone.
Trolls are attention seeking and the internet makes it easier for people to hide. Richard is welcome to his opinion, even if it’s different from mine. I’ve not walked in his shoes and he’s not walked in mine.
What was the question? I think I’ve wandered…
zeesmuse said this on June 13, 2016 at 5:12 pm | Reply
I disagree strongly that moments of tragedy are not opportunities for talking about political issues. In the US in particular, we are told that we can’t talk about these things when the issues are acute, but no one cares about them when they aren’t. In my opinion, saying “don’t use this moment to talk about the actual issue” is a way of suppressing discourse and insuring that nothing will ever change. That means, of course, that we have to tolerate opinions we don’t like, but that is pretty standard.
I respect that. There is a time and a place for everything, and i’m such a passionate (hot-head) that for me, it’s best to step back. (hence why I decided to address something elsewhere a day late)
The issue here is already a hot topic. It’s really a push-button topic and is currently being beat to death in our political arena. The weapon wasn’t the cause, in my minuscule, personal opinion. We’ve suffered a tragedy and it’s easy to say things and insinuate things and blame things and issues in the heat of the moment. I recall vividly 9/11 when it FIRST happened and 2 radio personalities were angrily blaming someone whose fault it wasn’t. And when it came down they were wrong…
But now I’m so far off topic. Sigh.
Trolls are still attention seekers. Most times I think it’s someone simply creating and manufacturing imaginary support and friendships they lack in real life. It gives them a sense of importance, I guess.
It’s not much of a hot topic, if this keeps happening and we continue not to act, I’m afraid. I think it’s pretty much business as usual and our leadership showed us that this weekend.
re: trolls — I think the trolls I’m talking about don’t use the troll identity for friendships (although they may make friendships in other ways). I think it’s different with tumblr and anon asks — anon asks allow anyone to become a troll instantly. The other thing is that I am starting to see that function used for a different kind of trolling, e.g., to express sympathy with the blogger in order to see what kind of potentially ridiculous thing they will say.
To Morgana: thanks for your kind words about the blog and thank you for reading it for so long. I am declining to publish your comment because everything except the first sentence violates the comments policy. You are welcome to leave a comment that falls within the rules. Thanks.
Servetus said this on June 14, 2016 at 12:10 am | Reply
I think these are very good questions to ask and not only before interacting with a suspected troll, but generally. It would probably often to good to the discussion in general to think about who we are talking to and what we are talking about and what point we really want to make and why? I find it is a constant exercise in patience to count to 10 before i jump 😉 It’s easiest when i am least in APM mode 😉 Sometimes i actually find it harder to resist the case of ‘defense of another fan’ than APM. Because he is sort of remote and can remove himself easier from the debate or isn’t there to begin with whereas the fans are more exposed in certain ways.
I still often doubt if it was a good idea to say what i said but i do try to ponder a bit before i jump. I think in time and through repeated ‘fires’ one learns what one’s triggers are. Sometimes maybe we absolutely feel we must say something, for our own sanity and then we just stop there.
I know i’ve jumped in total fan reaction at times but i just had to say it and i don’t have to engage further. But that’s probably true more for press or public figure statements about fans in derogatory terms than trolls. The ones you clearly categorized above are easier to ignore i find. Media and public figure derogatory statements about fans are my downfall, so far even against my better judgment i’ve not been able to keep stumm to that:-)
The one thing that i am conflicted about is the tone of responses to non-fans… do i try to keep a cool head to make a better argument? Do i try to disprove their argument about the ‘crazy’ fan by appearing/being rational? is a passionate response necessarily a bad thing or am i embarrassed about being so passionate? I always wonder where the truth lies, i’d like to think i can combine passion and reason, but i’m sure it is all those answers at the same time although i wish it were not.
I am totally with you on the trigger regarding celebrities criticizing their fans. Obviously it’s not an either / or situation, but Cumberbatch’s statements about fans in the fall two years ago were a serious turnoff for me. One of the things that I’ve appreciated about Armitage is that until relatively recently (November/December 2014) he never said anything at all negative about fans.
re: tone of response — I try to stay cool / superior / detached. But that’s me.
You always get to the point! Thanks. I wish I could follow you more often and read all the comments here, but my eyes and lack of time don’t allow that frequently! I know too a lot about trolls and I think you painted the whole frightful scene perfectly! I had years of experience but in other places and for other issues. And I must say that they actually existed in real life, too, they were not born on social media — whenever I was in a public place speaking about things I was campaigning for, there was always someone in the audience or stopping by wherever my group and I were speaking who would just throw a word and try to inflame the audience or us. They were less, they had probably less chances to remain anonymous, but they did exist. I fought a lot against them even on social media, but for the same issues as in RL. This is probably the reason why I try to stay away from all this concerning Richard Armitage. I’ll openly confess: he’s my safe place in the world. When RL is really bad, RA is my healthy thought, my nice escape. So, I voluntarily stay away from any debate and don’t read responses to his tweets – except from those I already follow or know personally – and only write in some selected forums. Of course, sometimes it is impossible not to get wind of the fact that something is going on among the fans and that some issue is inflaming people or that trolls are doing their job as usual. But I try to just skip quickly and go on. As you perfectly say in your article: the real Mr. Armitage needs no defending and I certainly don’t need to defend myself, either. Thanks Servetus, though, because this article is important beyond RA’s question and has a lot to do with how we human beings use that feral weapon which is communication!
P.S.: it’s nice to see that my profile is fully int he “no-troll” zone 😀 My nick name has always been Lookaround or Lookie ever since I got in the first forum about RA and still is in anything RA-related 😀
Sara Lookaround said this on June 14, 2016 at 8:13 am | Reply
I think a lot of people feel that way (avoid controversy to enhance sanity) and I have nothing but respect for it. For whatever reason, it hasn’t worked out that way for me — although one of my most serious priorities in fandom has been to avoid most political discussion, because I have a lot of it in other settings.
Weighing in a little late on this one – I searched late Sunday pm on his @ tag for bullying tweets toward fans who had commented, and only found 1 that could even be considered borderline. And that one actually had a short convo which appeared basically cordial.
Has anyone found or experienced any that were “off-tag” bullying on twitter?
I think possible chivalry on his part to “defend” us as fans creates a nice warm feeling for a lot of us, but 1) I’d like to see actual evidence of bullying tweets toward fans (not just him, I saw the one that called him an idiot but did not see that person bully those who defended him) and 2) I’m actually a little concerned about him if he’s going to delete in order to defend his followers. That seems unsustainable and over-responsible to me. Lots of heart, but unsustainable. His active tweeps should know his statements about not feeding trolls unless you’re prepared for the risk. And I think those active tweeps also know to block/report as needed. So I’m skeptical without further evidence of need for it- anyone got? DM to me on twitter if you’d prefer.
SHeRA said this on June 14, 2016 at 3:58 pm | Reply
Yeah, I watch that tag fairly closely and I didn’t see any, which is why I find that article implausible. I always feel like it’s a game of percentages anyway. I hear someone say “Richard Armitage got bullied after such and such a post” and I see that there are 90 positive comments, 8 critical ones and 2 cranks. To me, that is a pretty good result. You won’t get that response in a classroom, that’s for sure 🙂
Absolutely! I find it surprising that anyone would expect to never see a negative response directed toward him, that’s part of public life, really! Or to your point, anything where you receive formal evaluation.
SHeRA said this on June 19, 2016 at 1:58 am | Reply
I’m coming out of lurker-mode again to say “Thank you, Servetus.” I really appreciate the way you explain complex matters with such clarity and patience and without ever condescending to your readers. I’ve learned so much about modern communication and the online world by reading your blog these past few years. You even deepened my understanding of myself!
Shalini said this on June 16, 2016 at 8:16 pm | Reply
Wow, thanks for the very kind words! I’m learning too as this goes along, just trying to distill the results.
Thanks for this, Serv! Excellently explained!
Methinks Cybersmile could use you as an ambassador, you have more insights and experience than some people on Twitter we know… 😉
Esther said this on June 16, 2016 at 9:35 pm | Reply
ah, but I don’t look so sexy in a leather jacket as some people, either 🙂
[…] is that it sparks healthy, critical discussion but that it does not turn to vitriol and trolling (so brilliantly explained by Servetus in her recent post). I expect his message to be empathicalist (yay! I’ve connected Richard Armitage to Audrey […]
Empathicalism | The Book of Esther said this on June 17, 2016 at 4:13 pm | Reply
[…] my own rule about dealing with potential trolls to this situation, I’d suggest first trying to learn something about the speaker whose speech is bothering me […]
Homophobia in the Richard Armitage fandom, or: what I’d like to say on #SCD2016 | Me + Richard Armitage said this on June 17, 2016 at 5:59 pm | Reply
[…] shouldn’t amplify this, if I were following my own rules, but this is an example of me being concern trolled. This account was created in order to RT […]
Concern trolling in the Richard Armitage fandom #SCD2016 | Me + Richard Armitage said this on June 17, 2016 at 6:23 pm | Reply
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August 20, 2015 by Brian Krasman - 0 comments
Funerary, Ooze bring their new doom-demolished, abrasive split album to 7th annual Skull Fest
“Your summer is dying, but for you the worst is yet to come.” That’s the statement that smacks you in the face on the flyer for one of tonight’s kickoff events for the seventh annual Skull Fest. If you’re in Pittsburgh tonight or this weekend, you have myriad shows to blow your face off and tons of ways to get a slew of cuts and bruises you’ll have to explain away at work come Monday.
Yes, there are four days of activities yet to come, but for someone who revels in doom and weirdness, tonight’s show at Gooski’s is the main event. Starting at around 10 p.m. (it’s always kind of a loose start time), you can witness Pittsburgh doom/Tom Atkins apostles CANT, fellow city dwellers and noise mongers Night Vapor, as well as the headliners we discuss today, funeral doom crushers Funerary and Italian sludge fiends Ooze. It just so happens those two bands have a new split album out (on Midnite Collective), and there’s a good chance if you’re in attendance tonight, they’ll treat you to the hammering new creations. It’s going to be loud, probably really hot inside, and a damn good night for those of us who like things metallic and even a little bizarre around the edges.
We’ll start off with Funerary, who likely won’t be phased by the heat considering they hail from moderately warm Phoenix. The band has been crushing souls since their formation just two years ago, and they delivered their first record “Starless Aeon” last year. The five-headed beast is comprised of J.A. on vocals, I.L. on guitars and vocals, E.G. on guitars, P.B. on bass, and S.M. on drums, and their deranged, drubbingly heavy style makes for the more grinding half of this split effort. The band is scary, slithering, and delivers two crushing songs that might leave you concussed.
Funerary get started with “Ascent,” an 8:08-long bruiser that has a grim opening and plods along from there in violent fashion. Terrifying shrieks are traded off for gut-wrenching growls, as pure menace is injected into the space this song inhabits, and the body just keeps lurching along. As you follow the trail of smeared blood it leaves behind, don’t be shocked to find more horrifying screams ripping out of each corner, a merciless drubbing, and a conclusion that lands in piles of ash. “Descent” begins with a harrowing doom riff that blows into Sabbath territory. The track devastates completely, with the shrieks raining down like razors, the band pounding heavily, and a brief cold reprieve followed by smothering anguish. From here, they drop tonnage on you, smashing and bashing in place while the vocals tear at your face and sickness is allowed to permeate. The song bleeds out in smoking fashion, leaving everyone in its wake choking teary-eyed.
On the other end come Ooze, an Italian quartet who have been in existence a couple years longer than their split counterparts and provide something a little bit different. The band debuted in 2012 with their EP “Sister Tank,” and they responded last year with their debut self-titled full-length on Totalrust. The single-named ghouls who make up this band are vocalist Andrea, guitarist Sino, bassist Ans, and drummer Stefano, and their approach is a little faster, just as dirty, and satisfyingly thashy. The band kicks in four songs that are a little longer combined than Funerary’s two cuts, and they should be a blast of fun to hear live as they rob you of your hearing.
Ooze bust out of the gate with some swagger, with grimy vocals leading the way, and killer riffs lighting fires. The atmosphere is thick and smothering, as the band comes at you with bursts of speed and monstrous intent. “Necrotopya” enters in a feedback hiss, with burly riffs breaking out of that and the band chugging heavily toward you. The vocals maim and encircle, while the band kicks up the savagery for good measure, slamming you face first into “Bridges Burned.” Here, they catch onto a muddy groove, with the vocals again coming off as abrasive (in a good way), and the rest of the group even howling back. Eventually a slow-driving tempo takes over, letting the punishment be dealt slowly, and it all ends in a skull-crushing fit and swarm of wild howls. Closer “Satanchia’s Will” lets noise spit like sparks rushing from an over-ripe socket, with the band at first taking calculated steps before letting the gurgly growls take over and the guitars to quiver hellishly. The music boils and lets off steam as it goes, punching and ramming its way toward its final moments, where feedback screeches rise to threatening levels before finally letting go.
This split album from Funerary and Ooze is a damn explosive document, and it’s great material to plaster all over their Skull Fest appearance tonight. Both bands do doom just right, each coming at it from a different approach. This record also is a fine way to introduce yourself to each band if you’re not familiar, or just a way to put yourself in a demented amount of pain. Enjoy Skull Fest, and try not to cry that your fun sunny days are dissolving before your eyes.
For more information on Skull Fest 7, including lineup, times, ticket info, go here: https://www.facebook.com/events/881990855223362/
For more on Funerary, go here: https://www.facebook.com/funerarydoom
For more on Ooze, go here: https://www.facebook.com/oozeband
To buy the album, go here: http://midniteclv.storenvy.com/
For more on the label, go here: https://www.facebook.com/midnitecollective
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EURCZK: the distortions of the market may fade away now
About two weeks ago, my broker (similarly to at least some others) increased the margin requirements for CZK-based pairs by a factor of 20 – the justifiable reasons seem non-existent to me. (Update: They warned by a factor up to 20 to make the clients close the position, but then they increased it 5-fold "only", still too high for me.) It was the 4th annoying shocking change of the rules (and the most far-reaching one) so I decided that it was no longer usable and closed my position – and extracted all the money – with a nontrivial but modest 50% return on the money I reserved for that account. The plan was at least 300% – and even by this point, I could have easily achieved 200% if I were a little bit less cowardly.
I am not rich but I am more impartial now which is a more precious value. ;-)
You may still make big profits if your broker is more well-behaved. This is the chart of EURCZK since Fall 2004. Click to magnify the graph. You see that at the end of 2004, one euro was some 31 crowns (CZK). It was strengthening by some 4% i.e. one crown per year and reached the low of 23 crowns per euro in mid 2008. The Lehman Brothers-like events weakened the crown almost up to 29 in 2009. CZK strengthened back towards 24 or so by 2011 and was expected to return to the 4% strengthening per year.
But in late 2013, when CZK was already unnaturally weak at 25.5 per euro, the inflation was near zero and officially because of the deflation fears (which I find largely irrational), the Czech National Bank switched to the side "majority of the board supports the interventions". Big currencies' banks have to buy bonds and do other quantitative easing exercises – a smaller nation like Czechia may simply weaken its currency to achieve a similar positive pressure on inflation. By printing CZK (about 1/6 of the crowns are actually printed physically, I recently learned, finally), they weakened CZK from 25.5 to 27, the new floor. Due to the risk that they're obsessed with it, the market actually decided that the fair rate was 27.5 where it was throughout 2014. But since some point in 2015, people were regaining common sense and they knew that these policies had to end. The crown returned very close to the strict floor, around 27 per euro, and it was sitting there throughout second half of 2015 and all of 2016.
The biggest excursion in 2016 from this rate 27.02 CZK per EUR occurred for 2 days after the Brexit referendum – the weakening went to 27.16, i.e. at most half a percent weakening. Fine. Inflation returned, was supported by higher food and fuel prices, accelerating economy, and EET the Big Brother cash registers. In early 2017, it became clear that the removal of the cap was just a matter of months.
If you look at the recent two months, different events are highlighted:
You see that EURCZK was sitting at the cap plateau 27.02 in March (the buy/sell prices were typically 27.01 and 27.03, so the spread is 2 hellers per euro), oscillated to 27.06 on March 17th, and according to the graph, even to 27.15 on March 30th. Actually the intraday high was around 27.25, almost one-percent weakening. That was caused by the disappointment of those who expected – without too many reasons – the cap to be lifted already on March 30th, one day before the official pledge (the rate was guaranteed above 27 up to the end of March 2017 – most people agree that this prolongation from the previous commitment, end of 2016, was a mistake). Everyone whose stoploss level was between 27 and 27.25 got burned.
The exit actually took place on April 6th, another Thursday. The crown oscillated a little bit afterwards – but never weakened past 27.11 after the exit – and it went to 26.6 in three hours, less than 2% strengthening during the afternoon. The motion was clear but modest and relaxed relatively to the experience with the Swiss franc - much like the Prague International Airport feels relaxed and rural relatively to the largest Western European airports. However, that was the strongest point for some time and during the following month, CZK even visited the region around 27.02-27.05 twice, on two Thursdays. It has spent a lot of time near 26.95 and 26.8 and other places.
Since the beginning of May, it finally looks like a strengthening trend. CZK has seen new record annual strengths, perhaps 26.38, and is currently sitting around 26.48, after the Wednesday impeachment weakening to 26.7 or so.
Czechia has the 18th largest absolute Forex reserves in the world and it's said that a half of this, some EUR 60 billion, corresponds to the crowns held by the speculators. You may see the graph to assure yourself that most of those bought the crowns in the recent year or so, especially the two months before the exit, at a rate that is very close to the plauteau level of 27.02.
They bought it because they "know" that the fair rate is substantially stronger for CZK, perhaps near 24-26 per euro. In spite of that, these people allowed the crown to sit near 26.9 and similarly ludicrously near-27 levels without interventions simply because these crowns were leaking and the speculators were satisfied with a very modest profit. The crown should strengthen 10% or so, they know, but if it strengthens just 0.5%, you may make the same profit if you have had bought a 20 times greater amount of CZK at 27.02.
To make a model of the market, you must appreciate that there are different kinds or strategies of the speculators:
There are the long-term, and I believe generally large and institutional, speculators who see the crown's getting some sustainable values at which the trade surpluses are near zero, perhaps 22-26 per euro. Those are generally expected to buy the crowns whenever the crown is weaker than 26 per euro. But they're not in a hurry – they still want to buy them as close to 27 as possible.
Speculators who may be aware of these future predictions but whose psychology is still attached to the past, to how they bought the crowns. They bought it at 27.02 so this gives them a "benchmark" helping them to decide whether they should buy or sell the crown. So they're not willing to sell the CZK when it's weaker than 27.05 – that was indeed the upper bound – but they're rather willing to sell CZK at 26.9 etc. because it still means a positive profit.
Regular traders who buy the dips and sell the upticks and try to make profit out of some mostly short-term oscillations, paying no attention to the long-term trends and predictions.
Regular momentum traders who may decide that there's already a trend that will continue, probably a strengthening one for CZK, and that's why they will buy CZK.
Now, the people in the group "2" are the reason why CZK was able to sit in the 26.9-like territory (away from any agreed fair price) for a month or so. But the people with this background, thinking, and strategy are gradually selling their CZK so their ability to sell extra CZK is going down. I think that the amount of money held by the people who are "almost unambiguously" in the group "2" must already be very low at this point, perhaps smaller than one billion euros worth of long crown positions.
It was the group "2" that could have made the crown "hugely weaken" (perhaps to 30 per euro, which the national bank could still tolerate for some time) because they may have needed to close the position but wouldn't find counter-parties. I have always been convinced that this wouldn't happen and I was right. The speculators are not complete idiots, they know the tale about the investment tourist (who ends up buying when things are expensive and selling when they're cheap) and most of them know that if things turn sour and CZK is worth 27.05 per Euro, they just wait. Indeed, that's what happened. Closing your long CZK positions at these points would be a textbook mistake and almost no one did it.
So the groups "1", "3", and "4" are increasingly deciding about the rate. For weeks, there have been many traders who are actually short CZK. It's been a relatively balanced market. These people who short CZK may hit stoploss levels which may accelerate the strengthening of CZK. The long-term trend seems obviously bullish for CZK (bearish for EURCZK) but most traders probably don't give a damn about such trends. And the EURCZK sentiment at a website actually says 100% bullish right now!
I find it unavoidable that the crown will be stronger than 26 per euro or so in one year, and maybe much stronger, while the probability that it will be weaker than 27 again seems negligible. The unemployment in Czechia is the lowest one in the EU. The crown is clearly underpriced according to lots of criteria, trade surpluses, shortage of employers, the ratio of PPP and nominal GDP which is a stunning 1.8, and the inflation in Czechia is generally faster than that in the Eurozone, having been – and expected to stay – at or above 2% for months and in the following months.
To protect CZK from the 3% upper bound of the "inflation tolerance band", the Czech National Bank is expected to raise the interest rates for the first time before the ECB does so. Right now, ČNB itself expects to raise the rates in the 3rd quarter of 2017 (July, August, September). Some traders "read in between lines" that ČNB could hike the rates in Q2, too. It may be earlier or later. It will generally be earlier if the CZK fails to substantially strengthen. It will be later if CZK will strengthen more than ČNB expects.
The result basically means that ČNB will change or not change the interest rates so that it will support some expected strengthening, anyway. If the crown fails to strengthen sufficiently without the help of a hike, ČNB will apply a hike, and that will attract new people to buy CZK. On the other hand, the probability of weakening back above 27 – or at least back above 27.1 – seems tiny now. It's a relatively safe bet.
You should use dips to buy CZK now. And because the swap points are almost zero – and may make a profit once ČNB increases the interest rates – it shouldn't be a problem for you to hold the CZK long position for an extended period of time. You actually could be holding CZK for years and CZK could strengthen by those 4% per year – or 200% if you enjoy some 50-to-1 leverage (and if your broker isn't making these things impossible by annoyingly playing with the margins, like mine did).
The reserves of the Czech National Bank, some 136 billion dollars right now, are huge relatively to almost all comparable countries (or according to the reserves per capita or even per GDP) but they're still 5 times smaller than the Swiss ones. So despite the differences in how the cap exit was communicated and other things, it's obvious that the long-term character of the Czech currency is bound to be analogous to the Swiss franc. There are just lots of them, traders bought them (CHF and CZK) because they thought it was a good investment at some point, the market became relatively liquid – but dominated by foreign owners – and CZK is therefore a minor but not negligible "reserve currency" (at least for big banks).
The only thing that the market needs to train itself to the notion that CZK may and should be held for longer periods of time is to wait. ;-) Time (as a gadget that flies) increases the time (the quantity) automatically. ;-) So whether you knew or respected the currency and the surrounding nation or not, CZK is automatically turning into an important enough international currency whose value seems rather stable and where you can park your money. The Bitcoin is famous and its owners are happy that they doubled their wealth in a year or so. But it's still true that the speculators hold about 3 times greater amount of wealth in CZK than they do in the Bitcoin. CZK is expected to strengthen much less quickly than the Bitcoin but it also seems to have much better reasons to be sure that it won't weaken much.
If you have a Forex account, I recommend you to gradually increase your long CZK position. You may want to buy it when it's weaker at least by 0.5% than the average of recent 2 days – this happens sufficiently frequently – and your stoploss should better tolerate a 2% weakening from every point – and weakening to 27.15 minus [the time since April 6th, 2017 in years]. With some of these reasonable insurances, the strengthening CZK may bring you profits for a year or years.
It may be that the Czech National Bank will intervene again and protect CZK to remain weaker than 25.5. But I think that this new level isn't at or above 26.00. And after some time, it may turn out to be obvious that stronger crowns than 25.5 must be allowed to prevent too high an inflation rate.
American traders may think about the USDCZK pair, currently at 23.63. It was at 26 in early 2017, 42 sometime in 2000, and 14.5 in mid 2008. Especially if you bet on EUR strengthening relatively to USD, it may be a good idea for you to short USDCZK instead which is expected to behave as a "somewhat amplified" (reverse) EURUSD.
Luboš Motl v 9:58 AM
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Skip to main content Skip to main site menu
Biomedical Graduate Education
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The Master of Science in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Program requires an online application to be submitted to the Biomedical Graduate Education through the Georgetown Graduate School of Arts and Sciences application portal.
Admission into the program is highly selective. Applicants to the MS in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology program must be in the last semester of undergraduate study or hold a bachelor’s degree in biology, chemistry or related science from an accredited college or university. Applicants with business, law, or other degrees will also be considered. Around 40 students from various academic and professional backgrounds matriculate into the program each year. Special consideration is given to applicants with work experience.
Students can be admitted for full-time or part-time studies. All required credentials and supporting documentation have to be submitted by the application deadlines listed below. The program admissions committee reviews applications on a rolling, space-based basis and makes all admission recommendations case-by-case. The Dean of the Graduate School makes all final decisions.
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mirna database
An Online Database for MicroRNA Target Prediction and Functional Studies
The quantitative and spatially explicit results of this study may
The quantitative and spatially explicit results of this study may serve as a base layer within which those more intricate relations will play their role. Our results suggest, however, that this basic model explains a significant proportion of the global land cover, and provides insights about what may be expected over the coming decades. We also demonstrated that interventions
for reducing deforestation without complementary policies addressing the agricultural drivers of forest loss and demand for land, may have limited effectiveness in climate change mitigation. If national REDD + policies are to be effective, they must be accompanied by complementary international measures, such as trade regulation beyond the borders of individual countries to avoid leakage. Scientific Akt activity and policy approaches should therefore encompass both forests and other natural ecosystems, as well as agricultural land, along with the links among them. This perspective incorporates the interdependencies and synergies involved in land-cover LY3039478 price change and adopt the whole-landscape approach (DeFries and Rosenzweig 2010). If the global population stabilizes
at about 9 billion people, the coming 50 years may be the final episode of rapid global agricultural expansion and land-cover change. During this period, Salubrinal research buy fuelled by increasing economic and demographic pressure, agriculture and other human subsistence practices have the potential to have irreversible impacts on the environment. Despite this gloomy prognosis there is evidence from a few countries, such as Costa Rica and Bhutan, that appropriate policies may allow an increase in food production without conversion of all available land (Ewers et al. 2009; Lambin and Tideglusib Meyfroidt 2011; Rudel et al. 2009). Understanding land-cover change trajectories presents a unique opportunity to estimate the size of possible displacement of land-cover, and to test the effects of policies
to limit this problem. In doing so, it may aid in focusing and prioritising conservation efforts, and facilitate environmental management and planning in the context of a continued pursuit of economic development. Acknowledgments This study was supported by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, The Planetary Skin Institute and the UN-REDD Programme. Open AccessThis article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits any use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author(s) and the source are credited. References Baillie JEM, Hilton-Taylor C, Stuart SN (2004) A Global Species Assessment IUCN. Gland, SwitzerlandCrossRef Bouwman AF, Kram T, Klein Goldewijk K (eds) 2006 Integrated modeling of global environmental change. An overview of IMAGE 2.4.
chk1 inhibitor
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Dr. Robert Wittenmyer Team discovers Gliese 832 c – Supersize my Exoplanet Please with a Serving of Super-Venus
“It will be interesting to know if any additional objects in the Gliese 832 system follow this familiar Solar System configuration, but this architecture remains rare among the known exoplanet systems,”
Dr Wittenmyer, Prof Tinney and their colleagues commenting on the discovery of Gliese 832 c is located 16.1 Light years orbiting a Red Dwarf Star Gliese 832 located in the Constellation Grus
Finding exoplanets never gets old for me. Especially when they hold the potential for life by virtue of possessing the same characteristics as our planet Earth!
That's just the case with the recent discovery of yet another exoplanet, a Gliese 832 c by a team led by Dr. Robert Wittenmyer of the University of New South Wales as reported in “Nearby Exoplanet Is Best Candidate For Supporting Life”, published June 26, 2014 by Lisa Winter, I Fucking Love Science and “Gliese 832c: Potentially Habitable Super-Earth Discovered 16 Light-Years Away”, published Jun 29, 2014 by Sci-News.com.
Dr Wittenmyer, Prof Tinney and their colleagues used the Anglo-Australian Telescope, the 6.5-m Magellan Telescope and the European Southern Observatory 3.6-m telescope to find this potential Earth-like analog. The Team's discovery, which was published in The Astrophysical Journal, was curiously also made open to the public via the website ArXiV.org.
Curious that he's choose to make this discovery public, as normally discoveries of this magnitude are usually published privately in hard-to-access Journals. Unless you're able to hack their databases, they're a veritable Fort Knox of academic paper waiting to be leaked.....which the team led by Dr. Robert Wittenmyer of the University of New South Wales did of course!
And what a leak it was!
Gliese 832 c is located 16.1 Light years away, well within the limits of our current Space based and Land based Telescopes. It’s somewhat similar, at least in name to Earth-like habitable planet called Gliese 581g, located some 20.4 Light Years away orbiting a Star named Gliese 581 in the Constellation of Libra.
That exoplanet was discovered by astronomers Steve Vogt of the University of California at Santa Cruz and co-discoverer Paul Butler of the Carnegie Institution of Washington back in 2010 and was the subject of my space travel blog article entitled “Alternative Energy and Daedelus - Avatar and Planet Gliese 581g Next Door”
In this case, Gliese 832 c orbits a Red Dwarf Star Gliese 832 located in the Constellation Grus and based on its name, it's the second exoplanet out from the Sun. Curiously this Red Dwarf only has 2 planets, possibly because the Red Dwarf Star Gliese 832 gravitational pull may not have been enough to hold them. They may have been knocked off orbit or worse, destroyed by asteroids.
Dr. Robert Wittenmyer’s Gliese 832 c – Supersize me Please with a Serving of Super-Venus
However, the differences between our Earth and this exoplanet are significant. First, it's 5.4 times more massive than Earth. That means it’s got a massive gravity and possibly dense atmosphere. Gliese 832 c is so close to its Red Dwarf Star Gliese 832 that it revolves around its Sun once every 36 Earth Days. That's a very short year in its semi-elliptical orbit and makes for incredibly quick seasonal variations.
But thanks to fact that it's orbiting a Red Dwarf Star, it gets a reddish-hue instead of a Yellow Glow in the sky, which means less heat energy in the UV (Ultraviolet) Spectrum to heat up the atmosphere. Dr. Robert Wittenmyer Team may have used IR Spectrophotometry to determine the Star's surface Temperature and based on Gliese 832 c, it should be receiving the same level of heating as the Earth. It should be very hot on the planet, probably equivalent to a sweltering Summer Equatorial Climate on Earth from the Poles to its Equator.
All this combines to give Gliese 832 c a ESI (Earth Similarity Index) of 0.81, 1.00 of course suggesting that it's exactly like Earth, most likely an unattainable standard. Still, Gliese 832 c does rank quit high on this ESI Chart of exoplanets found thus far:
1. ESI 0.81 for Gliese 832 c at 16.1 Light Years away
2. ESI 0.84 for Gliese 667 Cc at 22 Light Years away
3. ESI 0.83 for Kepler-62e at 1,200 Light Years away
If anything lives on this planet, they're very muscular creatures that are capable of breathing in a very dense atmosphere warmed by a Reddish Sun. This is somewhat like Kepler-186 f, which is some 500 Light Years away orbiting the M dwarf Star Kepler-186 in the Constellation Cygnus as described in my blog article entitled “NASA discovers earth-like exoplanet Kepler-186f in the Constellation Cygnus - 500 light years is awfully far distance to buy beachfront property”.
I await more information from Dr. Robert Wittenmyer. Even better when the Kepler Space Telescope is back online to continue the search for life on Distant Worlds.
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knotfest
CANTO: Knotfest, Full of Hell, Currents, and More
December 2, 2019 December 2, 2019 CoreyLeave a comment
I hope gluttony treated everyone well last week.
Let’s begin with a tour. Those are always fun and easy. Exist have announced that they will be joining Monotheist and Replacire for a brief tour this coming February. Mostly east coast dates, which is good news for me.
In a huge development from this past weekend, Knotfest Mexico didn’t go so well. Slipknot had to cancel their headlining appearance because fans had broken the barricade directly in front of the stage. In response? Said fans lit stuff on fire. Yay! (And by yay I mean boooo.)
Bummer news. Full of Hell had their van stolen. And with it tons of gear and clothing, obviously. The good news is that they received a ton of support, financial and otherwise. Hopefully 2020 brings these guys good things, because they rule.
Currents dropped a new music video for “Poverty of Self” a couple days ago. Their second studio album will be out sometime next spring, but you can catch them on a few more European dates through the 7th. Anyway, enjoy the vid.
“Ein Bier… bitte.”
– cmb
Cantocurrents, exist, full of hell, knotfest, monotheist, replacire, slipknot
CANTO: Tool, Slipknot, Hyaena, and More
July 29, 2019 July 29, 2019 CoreyLeave a comment
It’s hawt out.
Hey look, we have the title of the next Tool album. It’s going be called Fear Inoculum. August 30th is the release date, and that graphic is super trippy. Moving on.
So for those unaware, the Knotfest Roadshow is officially underway. Slipknot always bring out the adrenaline in their audiences, and the show in San Bernardino last Saturday was no exception. In fact, Corey Taylor stopped midway through a song because the pits were getting particularly dangerous.
If you are in the UK, you might be interested the first wave of bands announced for the Chaos Theory Festival. The event takes place February 29th, 2020 and so far we know Vodun, Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard, and Gold will be there.
Would you like to djent away the rest of the day? If so, here’s a new video from Hyaena for a track called “Stolen Hero”. They have a new album called Poison Pen dropping later this fall.
Cantochaos theory festival, corey taylor, gold, hyaena, knotfest, mammoth weed wizard bastard, slipknot, tool, vodun
CANTO: Ozzfest meets Knotfest, Misfits reunion, and more
May 12, 2016 May 12, 2016 CoreyLeave a comment
“When it’d appear, the dawn of twilight, I felt my rightful way. I was so cold, the blood in me, the dawn, the crystal glow of night. High above, the crystal glow.”
This was teased for a few days, and now we get our big news. Ozzfest Meets Knotfest. This is going to be a MASSIVE back to back festival weekend. The headliners? Equally as massive. Black Sabbath will be headlining day 1.
More big festival news as Danzig has announced his plans to reunite with Jerry Only. This means that the original Misfits will be playing Riot Fest. Neaaaaaaaat.
Ghost is staying busy. Those clever men in masks have announced they will be releasing a new EP later this year.
Meshuggah news is always exciting. A new album (yet to be named) will be coming this fall. They are also touring Europe, which doesn’t help me at all.
Apocalyptica have released a video for their cover of Metallica’s “Battery” and ya know what? The strings make it kinda cool.
– Corey
Cantoapocalyptica, black sabbath, ghost, knotfest, meshuggah, misfits, ozzfest
CANTO: Knotfest expansion, Sony buys Century Media, and much more! Kinda!
August 24, 2015 August 24, 2015 CoreyLeave a comment
Hello, everyone! Welcome to another week of apathy and resentment! Let us begin…
To kick things off, it was reported that Century Media has been sold to Sony Music for about $17 million. This is clearly part of a growing trend, the real question is… How will the bands we all know and love under this label be impacted?
Here is an interesting list of the 250 best selling musicians of all time. Not a bad showing for metal, with AC/DC, Metallica, and Ozzy Osbourne all making solid showings.
It was only just brought to our attention that Corey Taylor was looking to expand Knotfest to additional locations. Well, in a quick turnaround, the festival has announced a December 5th date in Toluca.
This is kinda funny, Vinnie Paul was denied entry into a bar in New Zealand because he wouldn’t remove his bandana. I lied, this isn’t funny at all. Moving on…
I don’t like Skindred, but here’s a new track called “Under Attack” that definitely brings some energy. Enjoy.
Or don’t. Because I don’t like it at all. But hey, it’s a slow video day.
-Corey
Cantoac/dc, century media, corey taylor, knotfest, metallica, ozzy osbourne, skindred, sony music, vinnie paul
Quickies: Some stuff and things. With an Icelandic music video. Cuz why not.
October 15, 2014 CoreyLeave a comment
Another Monday… third one this week. Two more days!
I’m more or less over talking about Russia, but here are some disturbing photos of a Cannibal Corpse show getting shut down. Fucking Russia.
Alright. So apparently Slipknot will no longer be burning camel shit at Knotfest. What a tragedy.
According to Scott Ian, Lars was almost fired from Metallica some 30 years ago. What could have been… better.
If you ever had any concerns about GWAR calling it quits, rest assured, that will apparently never happen. Ever. Thanks, Sleazy P. Martini.
There are no new videos that I feel like sharing today, so here is the previously unshared ‘Lágnætti’ by Solstafir:
Because Iceland. Slow fucking news day.
Live. Love. Plow. Horns Up.
Cantocannibal corpse, gwar, knotfest, lars ulrich, metallica, scott ian, slipknot, solstafir
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Bionic Commando in the Faxanadu Mission
by Carmine Red - February 21, 2012, 2:48 pm
This batch of virtual console games contains two Game Boy classics now available on the 3DS, and an NES title that bears a striking resemblance to Zelda II.
Didn't own a Game Boy growing up? Looking for a NES retro classic but don't know where to start? The NWR staff continues to pick through Nintendo's Virtual Console library, finding the diamonds in the rough... or maybe just the rough.
This time around both Neal and J. P. had to sacrifice a dimension on their 3DS systems to play Game Boy Virtual Console releases. Will both Maru the Ninja and the Bionic Commando emerge unscathed? Then Andy digs deep and returns to the World tree in Faxanadu, a game that he reports has a lot in common with Nintendo's own Zelda II.
System Virtual Console - Game Boy
Controllers NULL
ESRB Rating Everyone 10+
Released Sep 1992
In Bionic Commando's version of action platform gameplay, you traverse levels using your character's grappling hook, without the ability to jump. The GameBoy version of the classic features a total of 15 levels, although some are simple combat-free "neutral" areas where your only goal is to find and acquire an item. You can move between all the levels on the map freely, but a lot of the levels require a specific item which forces you into a pretty linear path.
This is a pretty difficult game, especially early on. Better weapons and a larger health meter you get from collecting components of defeated enemies make the game more manageable later on. Even so, the save state feature of the Virtual Console can come in very handy. If you don't want to use that, the game is very generous about handing out continues. In addition to the difficulty, the game is pretty complex for a Game Boy game of its era, with three action buttons and a somewhat obtuse interface. I had to consult the manual several times to figure out some of its eccentricities.
Despite all that, the levels are very well-designed, and contain a variety of enemies and boss fights. The grapple-only mechanic provides for a gameplay experience you won't really find outside of this series, and it feels great to string together a series of grapples and then take out a bunch of enemies. If you enjoy classic action platformers, this is a must-own on the 3DS Virtual Console.
- J.P. Corbran
Maru's Mission
ESRB Rating Everyone
Released Mar 1991
Maru's Mission is a deliciously weird game. You star as Maru, who seems to be a ninja but I'm not entirely sure, and you have to go find his girlfriend Cori who has been captured by monsters. From there you proceed to go through a variety of locations, ranging from the absurd (Romania with Wolfman and Dracula bosses) to the ridiculous (Brazil, where you fight Hydra and Cerberus for some reason). The gameplay is also odd, as your character has an absurdly floaty jump and a projectile attack. Occasionally, you pick up power-ups that give you bombs and other attacks. It never really feels right, as it doesn't even seem to be tuned to the flow of the game.
The way the game flows is just preposterous, as you finish a level and are then treated to an interstitial scene saying "Let's Go To Egypt" (or wherever the next level is set). Sometimes you have to cross a river to get to next area, but these are just short segments where you shoot sharks. The final boss even urges you to write Jaleco USA.
Maru's Mission is just an odd game. If you're curious about a weird Jaleco-developed curiosity on the Game Boy, it's worth checking out. However, it's definitely not a diamond in the rough. Only check this out if you're ready to laugh at a game's goofiness more than you admire the quality of its design.
- Neal Ronaghan
Faxanadu
System Virtual Console - Nintendo Entertainment System
Cost 500 Points
Controllers Wii Remote,Wii Classic,GameCube
The first thing that you would have noticed about Faxanadu, had you played it on the NES all those years ago, was that the game was clearly marketed at Zelda fans. The cartridge label was very Zelda-esque, containing a shield and words that read "Daggers and wingboots, mantras and monsters await you." The rest of the similarities to the Zelda series can be noticed by anyone playing the game on the Virtual Console; the game has much in common with Zelda II, including detailed side-scrolling stages, weapon power-ups, and an epic soundtrack.
The game takes place in the World Tree, which has been overrun by evil monsters (referred to as Dwarves). You start as a wandering traveler coming home from a long journey to the trunk of the tree. After being informed of the dangers about, you are implored by the king to do something about it. Aside from some gold to buy supplies with, the game sends you off with little direction or guidance. Most of the passage to new areas can be purchased from "key shops" but not before specific items are obtained or goals are completed.
The game is certainly very challenging, partly because you need to interpret poorly translated hints from townsfolk for guidance, but also because the combat itself can feel very stiff. Your hero only has one sword attack (forward slash) and cannot duck or aim upward, though the presence of projectile magic helps keep the combat interesting to a certain extent. Also, the game will have you desperately seeking better gear and magic as you get further into the adventure.
Although the game is not perfect, it's a game that many people have never experienced, and definitely worth checking out. If you're a fan of side-scrolling adventure games, especially ones with an open-world element, give Faxanadu a try.
- Andy Goergen
MagicCow64February 22, 2012
I would add that Faxanadu has a really addictive leveling up system for a 2D NES game, and further emphasize that the music is great.
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Tennessee Company Adds a "Green" Solution to the Fight to Rid South Florida of Giant Snail Problem
As the giant African land snail invades southern Florida, the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) has done extensive research on the eradication of this pest and has identified a number of ways to eliminate it. (See http://www.freshfromflorida.com/)
One product that pest control companies and residents can use is Niban® Granular Bait, an environmentally friendly productalready heavily relied upon in the professional Pest Control industry for the control of slugs and snails as well as other common pests.
Eighteen months after a Miami-Dade County outbreak, the giant pest is spreading rapidly; one giant snail can produce 100 eggs per month, live more than eight years and grow to more than six inches in shell size. The snails can carry disease and are a danger to crops, as they consume at least 500 different kinds of plants. They even threaten structures while munching on stucco and concrete in their search for dietary calcium.
Snails, including the giant African land snail, love Niban, manufactured by Rockford, Tennessee-based Nisus Corporation. Niban features a borate mineral salt as its active ingredient combined with an irresistible bait made from corn cob granules mixed with oils, sugars and other food grade attractants. Once the snails consume the bait, the borate acts by interfering with their metabolic ability to break down sugars to extract energy from their food; as a result, their cells “starve” and they die.
Baits are popular with the professional Pest Control industry because they can be formulated to be attractive only to the target pest, avoiding harm to beneficial insects such as honeybees. Furthermore, a borate-based bait is especially “green” as the mechanism that affects the target pests doesn’t act the same way on people, pets and wildlife. As an added plus, pests cannot develop a resistance to borates because of their unique action.
Niban is a weatherized bait that remains effective in heat, sunlight and four inches of rain, so it keeps working even in Florida’s climate. When FDACS’ applicators that are trained in controlling the giant African Land Snail use Niban, they apply it at an “application rate of 3.2 ounces (2/3 cup) to 6 ounces of granules per 100 square feet. The bait can be reapplied every four to six weeks, as needed.”
Nisus Corporation was founded in 1990 in Knoxville, TN and is the originator of Green Pest Management®. Nisus manufactures and distributes green products for professional pest management, wood preservation, mold control, disinfecting & sanitizing, odor control, plumbing maintenance and pool and spa management. For more information, visit http://www.nisuscorp.com.
If you would like more information about this topic, please contact Linde Mills at 800-264-0870 or or by email at lindem@nisuscorp.com.
Nisus increases territory management efficiency with strategic team member placement
Nisus Corporation, known for its sustainable pest control and wood preservative products, is sh...
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HomeNLIPW NewsroomAnti-CounterfeitingU.S. News | Friends of the Creators Artistic Foundation Admitted by WIPO As Permanent Observer
U.S. News | Friends of the Creators Artistic Foundation Admitted by WIPO As Permanent Observer
October 3, 2019 Nathaniel Adebayo
We reported earlier on the intention of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), an organ of the United Nations to admit a Nigerian NGO, Friends of the Creators Artistic Foundation (FCF) as a permanent observer.
Amazingly, the WIPO has admitted Friends of the Creators Artistic Foundation (FCF) as a permanent observer.
The decision was reached on Wednesday, 2nd November, 2019 by 10:38am at the ongoing WIPO meeting taking place in Geneva with over 1,000 delegates from its 192 member-states in attendance.
Other NGOs admitted alongside FCF as Permanent Observers include the following international organizations: Consortium for Common Food Names (CCFN) – America; International Generic and Biosimilar medicine Association (IGBA) – Switzerland and Knowman Institute – Germany.
Others are the following national organizations: Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society Ltd (ALCS) – London, UK; Brand Protection Group (BPG) – Lebanon; Myanmar Intellectual Property Proprietors’ Association (MIPPA) – Myanmar; Native American Rights Fund (NARF) – USA; and Professional Union of Broadcasting Organizations (RATEM) – Turkey.
Reacting to the development, the Secretary Board of Trustees and Co-founder of FCF, Barr. Rockson Igelige expresses delight, stating that the admission will not just make FCF stronger but also inspire the foundation to work harder in a bid to fulfill its core mandate. He thank the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nigerian Permanent Representative in Geneva and the Director General of Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) for the critical role they played in ensuring the application of FCF is given due consideration.
Intellectual Property Nigeria
IP News Center
NLIPW Newsroom
Permanent Observer in 59th Series of Meetings
The friends of the Creator Foundation
About Nathaniel Adebayo 400 Articles
Nathaniel is a News Reporting Intern at Nigerian Law Intellectual Property Watch (NLIPW). He has a passion for writing, capacity building and social media marketing. He is a graduate of Federal University of Technology, Minna, where he graduated with BTECHAGRIC. He is a member of Soil Science Society of Nigeria (SSSN) and the National Union of Campus Journalist (NUCJ). Nathaniel has served as Editor-in-Chief for a number of magazines and as a contributor to various online repositories. Email: anathaniel@nlipw.com
U.S. News | Energizer Sues Duracell of False Advertising and Trademark Infringement
Cancellation of a Registered Trademark in Nigeria | Two-Minutes Lesson
July 14, 2018 Ufuoma Akpotaire
1. What is a trademark cancellation proceeding? In Nigeria, a trademark cancellation proceeding takes place when a party believes it is being damaged by a registered trademark and seeks to remove the mark from the […]
WTO, WHO, WIPO Symposium to Examine How Innovative Technologies Can Promote Health-Related SDGs
February 18, 2018 Ufuoma Akpotaire
The World Trade Organization (WTO), World Health Organization (WHO) and World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) will on February 26, 2018, convene a symposium to discuss challenges and opportunities to ensure that innovative technologies are developed in order […]
‘Why we must encourage creativity’ by Akintayo Abodunrin
Users of intellectual property have again been called upon to ensure fair use and adequate compensation to producers of these works. This call featured in the course of an international conference by African Rights Organizations […]
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‘Fun While It Lasted’
‘Old Folks at Home’
/9 , May June 1961
Back to NLR I/9, May June 1961
Frewen Martin
After the Budget
selwyn lloyd’s hour of glory must have seemed sadly brief. The Monday evening was his alright, with press and TV too bemused by detail to venture criticism at such short notice. Messrs. Carron and Woodcock tried weakly—they had clearly not done their homework. By next morning the professionals had. Not only were the popular papers heavily against him. The Financial Times had serious reservations on all points except the surtax relief and, over the next few days, these reservations hardened.
The Chancellor is left with two dusty consolations: The casual gratitude of the rich—casual because swamped by hungry anticipation of January 1963—and the general relief that Bank Rate is discredited as the fundamental instrument of economic policy. There can be little in this to please a member of the party which abandoned its fanatical orthodoxy only after years of wanton obstinacy.
His two new “economic regulators” are unhappy hybrids and predictably sterile. A flexible system of purchase tax could have advantages as a substitute for existing methods of restricting demand, but there is no indication that the present squeeze, still virtually in full force is to be relaxed. The 10 per cent addition to PT seems to have been introduced as an extra weapon rather than a substitute, for the time being at least.
A payroll tax had several advocates prior to the Budget. All of them meant it to be intimately connected with payrolls. The idea was not just a levy based on the number of people employed by a firm, but a tax which would actively influence that number. The notion was prompted by the serious and increasing shortage of manpower and anxiety to prevent its wastage. This would have been a long-term instrument discriminating between unnecessarily large and unavoidably large labour forces. Commonsense as well as social justice would have demanded a rehabilitation scheme for displaced workers, to satisfy the unions and avoid industrial unrest. Existing location of industries legislation could have been co-ordinated with this.
Carefully avoiding the complications of this entire issue, Whitehall gratefully accepted the suggestion of a new tax and persuaded itself that a non-discriminating levy could be used to lower the economic temperature if needed. The problem of labour hoarding has been left severely alone, and we now have a deflationary weapon of such flexibility that a mere three months will suffice to set it in motion.
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Charles Marowitz, ‘The Connection and Beyond’
Michael Rustin, ‘Young Socialists’
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Marriott cuts size on estimate of scale of hack
Hackers accessed the passport numbers of 5.25 million people during its major data breach last year, Marriott has revealed.
In an update on Friday, the world’s biggest hotel company said that around 383 million customers were affected by a data breach in November, lower than the 500 million initially reported.
The vast number of people affected still places the Marriott data breach among the biggest hacks of personal data ever to affect one company.
The data stolen included passport numbers, emails, dates of birth, gender and mailing addresses.
Marriott now believes that 8.6 million encrypted payment cards were involved in the hack on its Starwood room reservation network.
The US hotel chain said that cyber attackers were also able to access the encrypted passport numbers of 20.3 million customers, but has no evidence that they were able to bypass the code and access the confidential information.
The US hotels giant, which operates about 6500 hotels in 127 countries, has not said how many Britons were among the victims of the data breach.
Reservations at all its Starwood properties – which include the Park Lane Sheraton Grand, Westbury Mayfair and Le Meridien Piccadilly in London – were affected.
Arne Sorenson, chief executive of Marriott, said: “We want to provide our customers and partners with updates based on our ongoing work to address this incident as we try to understand as much as we possibly can about what happened.
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CSBS&C E-News
2006 Grad Plants Churches in Alaska
The Boyd family at Portage Glacier, Portage Alaska.
(right to left: Hannah, Grant, James, Jim, Stephanie, Ethan, Joshua.)
By Karen L. Willoughby
A burly bear hunter who works in the oil fields on Alaska’s North Slope is one of four church planters Jim Boyd mentors as he was mentored during his time from 2002 to ’06 at the Canadian Southern Baptist Seminary.
Boyd also has planted three churches in the last three years, each of which initially met in his home in Soldotna on south-central Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula.
The team he’s gathered also ministers in two remote Native villages, and Boyd is building trust with Native Alaskans in his additional role as a radio personality on Voice for Christ ministries, part of the I Am radio network.
“We are a product of the Canadian Southern Baptist Seminary,” Boyd said, including his vocalist wife Stephanie, a gifted musician, and their five now nearly-grown children in his statement. “We were trained for tough places and that is exactly where God has us.
“I am so thankful for the professors who discipled me at the seminary,” the church planter continued. “They taught me to love like Jesus, that lost sheep mattered, and to give my life away so others might know Christ.”
Life can be tenuous in Alaska, Boyd said.
“Multiple ministry colleagues striving to make disciples here in Alaska have died trying,” Boyd continued. “Earlier this fall a missionary pilot crashed into the Yukon River and died after getting disoriented in heavy fog. Last winter a ministry partner and his family crashed into a lake when ice formed on the wing of their small plane.”
Nonetheless, God keeps calling people to minister on the far side of the continent, west of Canada’s Yukon Territory, Boyd said.
“What I intentionally do is pray that God will bring to us entrepreneurs for God,” acknowledged the man who is in his third stint as a church planting missionary with the North American Mission Board. He started Tapestry, a church in Calgary, two churches in Southern California when he went there to care for aging parents, and an additional three so far in Alaska.
Men with “a heart for the lost and an entrepreneurial bent,” seem to find their way to him, Boyd said. Men like this enjoy the challenge of starting something from nothing. “They come alive doing it.”
Alaska is a land of untamed beauty and its people – Native Alaskans and others drawn to a frontier land – have learned to rely on their own strength and endurance, Boyd said. They live in isolated communities, scattered fishing villages, and small towns. Soldotna is one of the largest, with a little over 4,000 residents. The entire Kenai Peninsula has an estimated 55,000 people, recent census records show.
Another number is 41. That’s the number of people on the Kenai Peninsula who have been baptized by Boyd during the last three years.
“One computer programmer and his family were living in a camper,” Boyd said. “We led them to Christ; their kids too. That family is now fully integrated into their church family.”
Boyd’s skill set is that of a catalyst, the church planter said. He works with an apprentice lay-leader to establish the new work, until the “apprentice” becomes the pastor.
“Everywhere Jim goes, he or one of his kids lead people to the Lord,” said Butch Strickland, a NAMB church planting catalyst in Chugach Baptist Association on the Kenai Peninsula. “Evangelism, discipleship and church planting, that’s all they ever think.”
One of the ways Boyd has made inroads to Native communities is by partnering with Child Evangelism Fellowship and coaching their Good News Clubs. He and his family recently were invited by village elders in Quinhagak to lead a club in their village four times a year.
“The Lord opened a door from that,” Boyd said. Native Alaskan communities gather each year for communal “sings.” Boyd and his family – four teenage sons and a daughter – were asked to provide Good News Clubs during those events.
Boyd described the “great tension” he has seen in tribal villages, which at first glance appear to be “a third world country.” Barefoot kids will be talking on a cell phone. Next to a broken-down building will be a satellite dish that brings glimpses of a world villagers might otherwise never imagine.
“Village elders don’t want to lose their culture,” Boyd said. “But their youth … want the future. There is great tension because technology gives them aspirations that can’t be met.
“The key to reaching the villages is reaching the youth,” Boyd continued. “And through Good News Clubs and the multi-community sings, God is giving us a platform with the youth.”
Boyd’s professors and others he met at the Canadian Southern Baptist Seminary helped develop Boyd and his passion for growing God’s kingdom, said Jim Hamilton, executive director of Barnabas Ministries, a parachurch organization that spans Alaska and northwest Canada.
Boyd’s skill in reaching others, then discipling them as they become leaders in their own right, is how “Jim’s just getting the job done,” Hamilton said. “He’s a quiet leader who has impact.”
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KEM STUDIO introduces aperture, helping individuals focus in an open office
KANSAS CITY, Mo., April 11, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- KEM STUDIO, a design firm fusing architecture and industrial design, is excited to launch aperture™ – a new office furniture solution designed to help people focus and collaborate better in an open office.
KEM STUDIO started designing aperture five years ago as a response to frustrations with the open office. The design team traveled from coast to coast - to companies large and small, progressive and conservative - to research and understand how people work better together and as individuals. Through that research, KEM STUDIO developed a simple product line that supports each individual user. Highlights of aperture are:
Open + Focused - aperture creates the balance of visual separation from distraction without losing a connection to the immediate environment. This makes it easy to focus at one moment and collaborate in another.
Organic + Intuitive - aperture is an individual-based solution that can be configured organically and intuitively – tailored to the interactions and circumstances of each person and team. It liberates workspace planning to think about work environments more like neighborhoods in a city – each with unique layouts and personalities.
KEM STUDIO believes, modern offices are ecosystems made up of three ingredients – space allocation, productivity and well-being. With aperture, all three were used to create a solution that fosters greater connection, creativity and productivity. The 120° application of aperture gives designers the freedom to create linear or organic layouts. This orientation also helps to manage wireless devices, curate video chats and provide individual privacy when sitting next to a co-worker. The canopy minimizes distractions, making interactions purposeful, and provides a sense of place, while the planter explores biophilia as a screen and helps distribute power and data. The High and Low Pose elements of aperture curate the surrounding space for quick meetings and postural change. All of these things contribute to the overall well-being of the individual user and workplace.
Adobe’s new campus at 100 Hooper in San Francisco showcases the first installation of aperture. Nicholas Ruiz, Adobe global workplace design manager, said, “We want to provide the best experience possible for our employees, to do the best work of their career. That takes exploration, it takes research and partnering with really great people like KEM STUDIO.”
The aperture product line was engineered and manufactured by MASHstudios is now available for sale. To find out more information or to purchase aperture, visit www.aperture.furniture
About KEM STUDIO
KEM STUDIO believes the fusion of architecture and industrial design is a natural extension of their underlying design philosophy – Better Design Better Living™ – making design more approachable, livable and necessary in our lives. KEM STUDIO works with a variety of clients on diverse projects. These include residential, commercial, and cultural architecture with public and private entities and industrial design projects with companies like Airstream, Martin Logan, Shred Ready, Adobe, Landscape Forms, and Herman Miller. The firm has received numerous awards, including the Good Design Award, the Core77 Design Award, the Interior Design Magazine Best of Year, Best of NeoCon, HiP honors, IDEA and AIA awards. KEM STUDIO is based in Kansas City, MO.
Visit KEM STUDIO at www.kemstudio.com; follow on Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn or Facebook.
Maria Doyle
Doyle Strategic Communication (for KEM STUDIO)
maria@doylestratcomm.com
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/b83ada71-219d-42c7-a52c-53c097d71193
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VU News
Vanderbilt Research
Office of the Vice Provost for Research
VUMC Office of Research
A-Z Research
Virtual reality world offers drug addicts low-risk place to just say ‘no’
by Amy Wolf Mar. 19, 2018, 8:00 AM
Opioid addicts and others battling compulsion around drugs or alcohol are using a new high-tech, low-risk method to practice saying no—through virtual reality.
Clinical psychology graduate student Noah Robinson
Their virtual reality avatars, accompanied by Vanderbilt University clinical psychology graduate student Noah Robinson, walk into a virtual bar, turn down alcoholic drinks offered by a stranger, and ask for water instead. A different VR world allows them the drug-free relaxation of interacting with colorful, free-floating spheres while listening to uplifting music.
“If you design the virtual environment to be therapeutic, you can allow them to escape a real environment, which has tons of cues that are encouraging addicts to use drugs or alcohol,” said Robinson. “We can use virtual reality as a way to immerse people into therapy and have them be able to be connected with social support.”
Robinson’s research is under the direction of Steve Hollon, Gertrude Conaway Vanderbilt Professor of Psychology.
Partnering with patients
A partnership between Robinson and a Nashville-area rehabilitation center promises to expand the use of VR in addiction therapy, from initial intake through post-treatment.
During his practicum at Journey Pure, Robinson said he’s noticed that new patients often arrive in an agitated state. He suggested trying VR to help calm them.
“VR can help regulate their emotions as a substance might, but it’s not physically addictive,” Robinson said. “It releases neurotransmitters to counteract negative emotions. If they wake up at 3 a.m. and want to use, they can put on a headset instead.”
Promising early results
Steven Hollon, the Gertrude Conaway Vanderbilt Professor of Psychology, is directing the study.
Of the 30 patients who initially tried the system, 29 reported it improved their mental outlook, Robinson said.
“What we’re seeing is that if you deliver therapy when someone is in a state of relief, the therapy seems to be sinking in more effectively than if you were trying to do therapy with someone while they’re experiencing all these negative emotions,” said Robinson.
Brian Wind, Journey Pure’s chief of clinical operations and an adjunct instructor in Vanderbilt’s psychology department, said it’s difficult to hypothesize why VR works on a neurological level, but its potential is clear.
“You can literally pluck patients from the environment where they’re feeling upset or dysregulation and place them into a soothing and calming environment away from all the chaos,” he said. “Unearthing all the old adverse experiences and trauma can cause the upset. Put them into VR seems to regulate that.”
Robinson is seeking Institutional Review Board approval for a formal experiment with detox patients. He stresses that this is all experimental and it’s not an established therapy.
Future goal
Robinson says the long-term goal is to get these headsets in the homes of patients or have VR therapy centers easily available.
“If you can create an intervention that is as accessible for the addict as the drug, perhaps they can choose the intervention over the drug,” said Robinson. “So instead of having to wait until the next day to go to a meeting or wait until the next week to see their therapist, they can immediately put on the headset be removed from all the cues related to what’s prompting them to want to use the drug and get some of the support that they’re seeking.”
Robinson notes that people with addiction also generally lack healthy relationships in the real world.
“What if we could develop healthy relationships in the virtual world, and teach people in a safe environment how to develop the skills they need to regulate their emotions without drugs?”
Mood research
This semester Robinson also launched a research study at Journey Pure to quantify the effects of VR on mood. He recruited eight undergraduate research assistants, who are spending a total of 52 hours per week running patients in virtual reality games and applications.
“These are all self-contained environments, as opposed to the social ones I use for therapy, as it’s a preliminary study to show how VR can increase positive affect and decrease negative affect,” said Robinson.
Computer engineering help
Two computer science undergraduates are also teaming with Robinson at Vanderbilt’s innovation center, The Wond’ry, to build a virtual room where patients learn about cognitive behavioral therapy and another with a game where they sort emotions into boxes.
The team uses a platform called VRChat, co-founded by Vanderbilt alumnus Graham Gaylor, BS’14.
Watch a TED-type talk with Noah Robinson explaining his research and how his own struggles with videogame addiction led to his research. >>
Gift supports addiction medicine training program
What’s On My Mind: Changing the discussion around mental health and wellbeing
VUMC drug repurposing initiative gaining momentum
Faculty meeting recognizes excellence in education, research and clinical service
TweetWatch: Addicts just say no in a virtual reality world first, then in real life. #addiction #opioids
TweetWatch how virtual reality may help fight drug & alcohol #addiction #opioids
Amy Wolf · (615) 322-NEWS ·
Education and Psychology Engineering and Technology myVU myVU News releases Research addiction Brian Wind featured research video Nashville Noah Robinson opioid addiction rehabilitation treatment Vanderbilt Research Trending Vanderbilt University virtual reality Wond'ry
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Chancellor’s Letter: What Comes Next
Chancellor Nicholas S. Zeppos presided over his final Commencement exercises May 10. (Vanderbilt University/ Joe Howell)
We have been talking a lot about trailblazers for the past year at Vanderbilt. The topic pertains not only to our university’s most established and courageous pioneers—many of whom are now memorialized in our Trailblazers portrait series, commissioned from renowned artist Simmie Knox—but also to the younger members of our community who are fighting to overcome adversity, the researchers who are advancing connections between American history and DNA, and the determined students whose impact is just starting to take shape.
For me, the word trailblazer is also synonymous with David Williams II, Vanderbilt’s beloved athletics director and vice chancellor for athletics and university affairs, whom we lost in February, far too soon. The many individual tributes to Williams reveal how David’s greatest impact is less about his own trajectory as a compassionate leader, and more about how he furthered the aspirations of those around him.
From Olympic medalist and gender equality advocate Venus Williams, who spoke to our senior class the day before Commencement, to Susan R. Wente, Vanderbilt’s first female provost and soon-to-be interim chancellor, to retired Lt. Gen. Gary Cheek, the leader of the Vanderbilt Bass Military Scholars Program, there are countless trailblazers to admire. And yet, our mission must go beyond paying tribute; we must continue to look forward, to actively foster an environment where mindsets can expand, where goals can become increasingly ambitious, where new ideas can flourish.
Chancellor Nicholas S. Zeppos (Vanderbilt University/Daniel Dubois)
If the Class of 2019 is any indication, we are doing something right. We spotlight just a few of the recent graduates who have already made real-world impact. From an aspiring physician with a love of dance and women’s studies, to a Peabody student inspired by her siblings with special needs, Vanderbilt graduates are thinking beyond themselves, working hard to drive results and inspiring others to do the same.
These are the strides that, while ever present at Vanderbilt, tend to ring a little louder this time of year. Commencement, after all, is a moment of transition—hovering between the past and the future, between completed achievements and expanded goals, between absorbing and applying knowledge. It’s the moment when hard work has built up toward a payoff that, though palpable, has yet to be fully defined.
It’s a moment I find myself in, too, as I write what will be my last letter to you all as chancellor of Vanderbilt University. It has been an honor to serve you during these past 11 years, and to devote more than three decades of my life to an institution so capable of driving enormous change. As we look toward the future, I am excited to see what’s next for all of us: as a collective force, as a leading American research university and, not least, as human beings—perpetually shaping and exploring our own trails.
—NICHOLAS S. ZEPPOS, CHANCELLOR
@Nick_Zeppos
Tags: Bass Military Scholars, David Williams, Gary Cheek, Nicholas Zeppos, Susan Wente
More in Chancellor's Letter
Chancellor’s Letter: Vanderbilt for Life
Chancellor’s Letter: Shaping the Course of Things
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NCRSOL
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Damaging justice to make a point about rape
April 2, 2018 August 2, 2019 Admin 186 Views 0 Comments gender, rape, registered sex offender, sexual justice, sexual predators
By DR. MARTY KLEIN . . . There’s currently a campaign to recall a Superior Court judge in my county.
Judge Aaron Persky presided over the 2016 trial of Stanford student Brock Turner, who was ultimately convicted of digitally penetrating an unconscious woman on campus.
With Turner a young first-timer with no previous police record, the Probation Department recommended a sentence of six months in jail and three years’ probation, focused on rehabilitation. As is typical, the judge followed this recommendation. California law also requires that Turner register as a sex offender for the rest of his life—an absolutely crucial factor that Recall proponents don’t discuss.
Many people are very upset about the sentence, thinking it way too light. Six months in jail for raping an unconscious young woman! (Again, ignoring the lifetime sex offender registration.) Outraged, hundreds of thousands of people—most of whom know nothing about the case beyond sensational headlines—want to punish the judge by revoking his job.
That is, they want to undermine judicial independence. Perhaps they misunderstand a judge’s actual mandate. It is NOT to reflect community values, and it is NOT to satisfy the bloodlust OR the sympathy of the community in a given case. No, that’s how it works in places like Russia, Iran, and Egypt, where judges implement community values (as dictated by the government) rather than the law.
A judge’s sworn job is to understand the law and apply it impartially, using the accepted tools of the judicial profession—including knowing and applying precedents, managing conflicting interests in the courtroom, being sensitive to ethical issues, and sifting through the recommendations of various officials within the justice system.
Regardless of how one feels about Judge Persky’s sentencing decision in this case, revoking his job (and destroying his career) undermines the effectiveness and impartiality of every judge in every case. Judges are human; after this recall election, which judge will NOT look over her or his shoulder when making complicated judicial decisions?
As dean of the law school at University of California Berkeley Erwin Chemerinsky says, “Justice, and all of us, will suffer when judges base their decisions on what will satisfy the voters.”
The California Commission on Judicial Performance has cleared Judge Persky of misconduct or bias. Open letters supporting Persky have been signed by 20 retired judges and almost 100 law professors across California. And several County Bar Associations (those are lawyers, not judges) have voted to defend Persky, saying that his removal would be a “threat to judicial independence.”
This Recall election isn’t about whether Aaron Persky deserves to be a judge. It’s about whether the community deserves judges who are independent. The separation of the judiciary from both government and popular opinion is a brilliant innovation of our American system, and we must protect it no matter how painful it feels on a given day.
Even legal system professionals who disagree with Turner’s sentence are against the recall campaign. “Most of the judges in California would have done the same thing as Judge Persky,” says District Attorney Jeffrey Rosen—whose office prosecuted Turner and recommended a six-year prison sentence after his conviction. “I do not believe he should be removed from his judgeship.
In addition to his jail sentence, Brock Turner is now required to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life—some 40, 50, 60, or 70 years.
People dissatisfied with Turner’s “light” punishment apparently know very little about what lifetime sex offender registration means. These convicts face rampant, LEGAL discrimination in jobs, housing, education, and healthcare. They can’t own homes, get school loans, enter most professions, get a basic security clearance, or get police protection. With their passports stamped “registered sex offender,” they’ll be denied entry into virtually any other country on earth.
With their name and address public information—FOR LIFE—there is no such thing as paying a debt to society and living quietly. If a registered sex offender lives with his mother and a church is built next door, he has to move. Murderers literally face fewer obstacles once they leave jail.
As a lifetime registered sex offender, Brock Turner’s life is pretty much over. Months in jail, years in jail—as awful as that is, it’s most certainly LESS awful than being a registered sex offender for life. Do those criticizing Judge Persky’s decision understand or even care about this? Or do they just want a pound of flesh? That’s an ugly and dangerous position from which to sanctimoniously demand public policy.
The Recall election campaign is underway, with rallies, legal maneuvering, and dueling letters to newspapers and websites.
Of course, that’s how democracy works. But there’s a disturbing note to it: people who oppose the recall are being painted as pro-rape. That is, Recall supporters are making this election a referendum on rape, sexual harassment, domestic violence, and women’s rights in general. They see the actual judge and this actual situation as a convenient archetype rather than parts of real life.
For example, Recall campaign leader (and victim family friend) Professor Michele Dauber, says “This historic [Recall] campaign is part of a national social movement to end impunity for athletes and other privileged perpetrators of sexual assault and violence against women.” She stresses the recall campaign is focused specifically on ensuring that “white, privileged men” are held accountable.
According to The New York Times, the case is being described as “symbolizing the barriers to justice often faced by women and assault victims in the courts.” But this case is more accurately described as a triumph for the justice system: even though unconscious, the woman was rescued by passersby, and the perpetrator was quickly arrested, quickly tried, quickly convicted, and quickly sentenced. And is now required to register as a sex offender for life.
Hanging Brock Turner—or making sure he rots in jail until he dies—will not make our planet safer. Getting rid of Judge Aaron Persky will not make anyone safer. (In fact, by eliminating judicial discretion, it will disproportionately harm poor people and people of color.)
Oversimplifying this situation as black and white—either you’re for hanging Turner or you trivialize rape—will not make anyone safer. It will instead keep the progressive movement divided, and discourage men and women from working together to change society.
Recall supporters who can’t make a decent argument call anyone with whom they disagree a rape apologist, or accuse others of being brainwashed by the patriarchy, or say their privilege prevents them from thinking clearly. This doesn’t make a Recall supporter right, or even smart. It just makes him or her a bully.
And by pretending that lifetime sex offender registration is a light sentence or a trivial detail, we continue to dehumanize those whose lives are ruined by it. While three years in prison may feel like a lifetime, it’s absolutely nothing in comparison to spending an actual lifetime as a registered sex offender.
← Federal judge lifts ban on sex-offender’s calls to daughter
Law Enforcement Predators →
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Give me your cold and homeless — but not your sex offenders
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My “one day”. . .
The lasting and irrational impact of 1980s horror movies
Deep-Fried Everythings . . .
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JohnDoeNC on My “one day”. . .
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“It’s an anti-discrimination bill that discriminates,” says NARSOL’s Connecticut advocate
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With sexual crime, current system is often “vengeful but ineffective”
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Pregnancy and Worker Status
by Dave | 20 Jun, 2014 | Benefits, Homeless, Housing law - All
Saint Prix v SSWP Case C-507/12 must be one of the more obvious decisions of the CJEU in the sense that the outcome should have been apparent (although the rationale less so), but no less important because of that. The question on reference from...
What’s the Din?*
by Dave | 16 Jun, 2014 | Homeless
In Haile v Waltham Forest LBC [2014] EWCA Civ 792, the question for the Court of Appeal was the relevant date for determining whether an applicant is intentionally homeless. On the facts, this was a significant question: Ms Haile had left her room...
Not a Good Idea
by Giles Peaker | 23 Apr, 2014 | Homeless, Housing law - All
One to be filed under 'Do not do this, ever'. R (Grimshaw) v LB Southwark [2013] EWHC 4504 (Admin) [Not on Bailii, I've seen a transcript] This started out well enough, as a judicial review claim of Southwark's decision to terminate temporary...
Not adding up
As the number of people becoming homeless from private sector accommodation continues to rise, and as private sector accommodation is used for discharge of duty and temporary accommodation by Councils, the issue of affordability becomes more and...
Let’s all talk about Wales
by Giles Peaker | 3 Apr, 2014 | Assured Shorthold tenancy, assured-tenancy, Homeless, Housing law - All, Licences and occupiers, secure-tenancy, Various (non-housing)
We don't often publicise events here, but given that this one involves at least couple of the NL team, we are damn well going to. Housing Law: The Welsh Devolution Effect 1st May 2014 Cardiff Law School, Museum Avenue, Cardiff, CF10 3AX A...
I don’t like reg.8, no no… I love it
by chief | 13 Mar, 2014 | Homeless, Housing law - All
Mohamoud v Birmingham CC [2014] EWCA Civ 227 As all of our readers doubtless know, the way that decision making in homelessness cases works is something like this: a first decision is made by someone on behalf of a local housing authority; if that...
Discharge of duty by helping eviction.
by Giles Peaker | 17 Feb, 2014 | Homeless, Housing law - All
This sounds like a rather odd case, noted on the Garden Court bulletin. It is a refusal to grant permission for Judicial Review of a Council's refusal to carry out a review of the method it had decided upon to discharge its full housing duty. Still...
Deciding without a decision
by Giles Peaker | 9 Feb, 2014 | Community care, Homeless, Housing law - All
R (on the application of PK) v Harrow LBC (2014) QBD Admin 30 January 2014 [Lawtel note, no transcript yet] This judicial review is possibly one for the 'what were they thinking?' pile. The Claimants were the children of M. The family was street...
Homeless Counties
by Giles Peaker | 4 Feb, 2014 | Homeless, Housing law - All
A brief note on what I think was a homelessness s.204 appeal, but have only a local newspaper report to go on. The issue was the status of the review officer, and specifically, whether St Albans District Council had, as it purported to do,...
No reason for reasons redux
Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council v Khan [2014] EWCA Civ 41 A rather odd second appeal from a s.204 appeal decision. At issue was whether the Council's review officer should take into account "the homeless person's state of knowledge about the...
HB and Exempt accommodation: unreasonably high rent
by Dave | 23 Jan, 2014 | Benefits, Homeless, Housing law - All
I admit that SS v Birmingham CC [2013] UKUT 418 (AAC) has been on my to do list for a while and that, possibly, the main reason for finding the time to write it up is because I'm on a two hour strike (#fairpayinHE). But, it is a really quite...
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Midnight Cowboy (1969) – John Schlesinger
Posted: June 22, 2012 in American, Drama, English-Language
Tags: bob balaban, cuba gooding jr., dustin hoffman, jared leto, john schlesinger, jon voigt, kevin spacey, midnight cowboy, movie, movies, outbreak, prostitution, requiem for a dream, rick moranis
Midnight Cowboy (1969) – John Schlesinger (Dir.), Jon Voigt, Dustin Hoffman
I demand movie poster’s this cool to be made again! Have you seen the one for The Avengers? C’mon!
Ah. Back in the game. And it feels good, people. My good friend and resident dragon, Ryan, picked this bad boy out of the hat. And believe me, it’s a bad boy. More specifically Jon Voigt getting all kinds of naked up on old ladies/young boys/his mother/Bob Balaban (WTF?) for money…while failing miserably. This is one of the movies that inspired the whole game, one of those classics swirling about in the ever undulating cloud that precipitates the Flix of Net. I have never seen Midnight Cowboy. I know! What the hell? This movie is iconic. From Dustin Hoffman looking like he went through a Danny-Zuko-turd-juicer to “Everyone’s Talking At Me” playing at me every fucking thirty seconds of film. This is the movie that popularized the infamous “HEY! I’M WALKING HERE!” that is heard by nobody in New York ever because it is never said, you stereotyping jerk. Well, people say it a little.
So, story. This is a dandy little film about a dandy little cowboy from Texas who, instead of cleaning dishes, decides to go to New York and sell his body for money. He makes this decision in the first thirty seconds of the movie. You’d think other people take time to weigh the moral and medicinal implications of such a career move. But not Jon “You Used to Want to Bang My Daughter” Voigt. He pulls on his boots, gets on a coach and heads to the Big Apple, where he wanders around generally looking charming and idiotic, hitting on ladies until one of them (who I suspect is a Phyllis Diller impersonator) invites him up. But he forgets to discuss money. I mean, come on, we all know that Pimpin’ Ain’t Easy, especially when E’ryday He’s Hustlin’ (a different kind of hustle, I feel, than is intended in that song). Anyhoo, after failing miserably at mankind’s oldest profession, he meets up with Dustin Hoffman doing an impression of either a rat or Martin Scorcesse. I can’t tell. Either way, it’s horrifying. What we’re given is a fucking dark descent into the lives of two people who are really not very good at what they do and yet they’re always fantasizing about how great everything will be.
Look how happy he is to sell his body!
More than anything, I kept finding myself comparing this flick to Darren Aronofsky’s heroin-addled laugh-fest of the century Requiem for a Dream. If you haven’t seen that movie, get any children under the age of thirteen and watch it in a single sitting. Do you remember that part in Oedipus Rex where Oedipus rips out his own eyes because he fucked his mom? You’ll do something similar, just replace your mom with the phrase “Ass to Ass”. *Shudder*. Both movies depict people taking up a line of work that is certainly on the other side of questionably moral. Both movies depict these people as being totally in over their heads. Both movies depict them dreaming of some final goal that will obviously never be achieved. While one has Dustin Hoffman dying of the consumption, the other has electro-shock therapy, Jared Leto getting mutilated (that isn’t a spoiler, he gets mutilated in every movie he has ever been in. That’s science. Look it up) and the phrase ‘Ass to Ass’. *Shudder*.
Specifically what I loved about both films was the use of fantastical imagery and breaks from reality interwoven into each scene. While Dream kinda shows off it’s technical dong, waving about fancy new-fangled camera techniques, Schlesinger goes with the age old: “here’s a non sequitor. And something weird. And a five year old giving his mother/aunt/make-it-stop an orgasm by way of a back rub.” I loved it. As the movie progresses we get to chip away under the skin of this prostitute-with-a-heart-of-gold-and-a-head-filled-with-stupid and see what’s really going on. That sunny disposition and flippant disregard for his sexual safety come from a dark place. And then, just as I’m getting into the film, our old pal ‘Random Gang Rape’ makes an appearance. That guy always shows up in these ‘good’ movies to harsh my vibe. It makes sense. It doesn’t come out of nowhere and it is sad as hell. This isn’t intensity on an American History X level, but it sure isn’t Yo-Gabba-Gabba. Wow…what if Yo-Gabba-Gabba had a special guest: ‘Random Gang-‘. Never mind. Stop there.
Dustin Hoffman in the Bravo series: “Stars When They Were Meth-heads!”
The team behind this movie has fucking pedigree. Well, at the time they didn’t, but we all know them. We’ve got Jon Voigt before he birthed super-star Brad Pitt and played every villain in everything ever and we have Dustin Hoffman pre-Outbreak. I know people would probably say Rain Man is his defining role, but those people haven’t seen the cinematic bliss/divinity/perfection that is Outbreak. Kevin Spacey bleeds out of his eyes! Cuba Gooding Jr. is…well, in it! Made of win. Sorry, back to the point. This movie is also from John Schlesinger, who directed one of my favorite movies of all time: Marathon Man. Where else can you have Sir Laurence “Sir Laurence Olivier” Olivier slitting people’s throats with a hidden retractable wrist-blade? It took the video game community thirty more years to come up with something comparable! Unfortunately, this guy doesn’t have much else on his filmography that stands out except for maybe the awesomely British made-for-TV movie Cold Comfort Farm. Unfortunately, that knowledge alone infringed upon my enjoyment of this film as I was constantly hoping Voigt would suddenly reveal he was an escaped Nazi and then slit some old broad’s throat. Alas, he did not. Hoffman got seriously fucked up though. So at least that’s a common theme.
The directing is fantastic. The script is fantastic. The acting is fantastic. Basically, if this movie were a tall Joe Buck standing outside a movie theater, I’d be a mousey Bob Balaban (again…what the fuck?) doing his best to be Rick Moranis before Rick Moranis even existed, approaching him asking him if I could suck his manhood. That got graphic. But hey! This is about prostitution. I have no qualms. If there is anything to take away from this movie, it would be 1) I think Angelina Jolie cut off her father’s face Hannibal Lecter-style and wears it to this day, 2) ALWAYS get the money first. No kissing on the lips. Gets complicated. And 3) New York used to be a shit hole. I lived there for a hot second. It’s a nice city, especially now CEO and Evil-Overlord Bloomberg has turned Broadway into a fucking cafe. Even Times Square isn’t as nauseating as it used to be. Well, it is. Just in a different way. Back then, New York could give you a staff infection if you were just speeding by it on the New Jersey Turnpike, it was that nasty.
TOO…MUCH…NEBBISHNESS…SYSTEM OVERLOAD…
So, kids. Remember. Watch Requiem for a Dream and ALWAYS get the money first. That’s a message directly from your Uncle Andrew.
SUMMER: Moonrise Kingdom (2012) – Wes Anderson
A Harbinger of Things to Come…
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Home > Resource Center > Case Studies > EBU has selected Nimbra platform for the Eurovision fiber network
EBU has selected Nimbra platform for the Eurovision fiber network
Evolution of one of the world’s largest Nimbra networks to HD, enabled by JPEG2000 and Ethernet
Since 2004, when the EBU selected Net Insight’s Nimbra platform, the EUROVISION Fibre Network (FiNE) has evolved with Net Insight’s latest products and features and has constantly been adapted to new broadcaster requirements and infrastructure possibilities.
The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) is the world’s largest alliance of public service media organizations, with members in 56 countries. The EBU operates EUROVISION, the premier distributor and producer of top-quality TV that provides broadcasters a wide array of content spanning from live sports and news events to entertainment, culture and music.
The EUROVISION satellite and fibre network is one of the largest and most rock solid in the world. It delivers more than 80,000 hours of programming every year, the majority of which is live sports. Its undisputed reputation for flexibility and reliability is reflected in the prestigious events it regularly carries on the EUROVISION network.
Premium service quality for live TV transmissions is key for EBU, but now in combination with additional services for file transfers and data traffic. Equally important is ensuring the highest possible utilization of cable capacity and easy network management in order to achieve the lowest possible operational cost. In 2004, when fiber capacity was becoming more widely available, the EBU decided to complement its satellite network with a terrestrial portion, to maintain its position as the world’s premier provider of international transmission services for major sports and news events. The aim was to find the ideal combination for seamless transmission of live broadcast video over a new, secure, high-performance terrestrial network, together with EUROVISION’s existing worldwide satellite network.
Before implementing the new network the EBU invested considerable time in testing many different platforms and technologies, including MPLS and ATM, and it became clear that Net Insight’s Nimbra™ would meet EBU’s requirements. The Nimbra platform was the most cost-efficient option, with very high service quality, high bandwidth utilization and an expected low total cost of ownership.
Broadcasters have since moved from standard- definition television (SDTV) to highdefinition television (HDTV) with JPEG2000 compression for more efficient use of bandwidth capacity. The transition to IP interfaces from legacy video interfaces has been accelerating. The increased need for network capacity has been met with cheaper IP connectivity compared to synchronous digital hierarchy (SDH) links. However, the main customer requirements have remained the same.
Since 2004, when the EBU selected Net Insight’s Nimbra platform, the EUROVISION Fibre Network (FiNE) has evolved with Net Insight’s latest Nimbra products and features and has constantly been adapted to new broadcaster requirements and infrastructure possibilities. The network is now fully adapted both to the use of HD, JPEG2000 and to the transition to IP now taking place in the media industry.
A key benefit of transition to Ethernet capacity is that the EBU now can order from the fiber provider exactly the bandwidth that is required for the customer traffic on a link. In other words, the EBU only pays for what it uses, whereas overspending was previously necessary due to the large incremental steps between available SDH capacities.
The flexibility also extends to special events of shorter duration, where the EBU can surge or “burst” capacity for the event, which results in lower cost and simplified capacity planning. These benefits have been achieved without changing the Nimbra hardware that manages and switches the circuits, making the transition straightforward and cost effective.
With the Nimbra platform, the EBU has been able to continuously evolve its EUROVISION network while keeping it suited to its media customers’ requirements.
Whether it is HD transmissions from the FIFA World Cup™ in South Africa or centralized productions abroad using JPEG2000 compressed feeds from the London Olympic Games, EUROVISION’s network is always meeting the latest demands of the media industry.
Decisive factors in the EBU’s selection of Net Insight’s Nimbra solution were lowest Capex and Opex, guaranteed quality of service (QoS) for real-time video and highest bandwidth efficiency. Today these factors remain, along with additional advantages including:
Smooth continuous growth of the network, now with more than 100 nodes on five continents, connecting more than 50 broadcasters.
The easy implementation of new technology, e.g. for IP/Ethernet and HDTV, with or without JPEG2000 compression.
The ease of transition to the use of IP trunks to decrease costs.
Low latency, maintained below 50ms for intra-Europe connections.
Error-free connections relieving EUROVISION in most cases from the use of FEC to compensate packet loss.
“We continue our solid relationship with Net Insight for the development of our network since we aim to be the standardbearer for QoS and reliability around the world.”
Writer2020-01-02T15:51:44+00:00July 3rd, 2019|Categories: Case Studies, Resource Center|Tags: Nimbra, Nimbra 600, Service providers|
Nimbra, Nimbra 600, Service providers
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Zadokite Document
The ‘ZADOKITE’ DOCUMENT
The Damascus Document (CD) (the Cairo Damascus document) or Damascus Rule is one of the most interesting texts of the Dead Sea Scrolls because it is the only Qumran sectarian work that was known before the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls. It is a composite text edited together from different sections of a larger source, and scholars have attempted to place the different sections in a chronological order to generate a more complete work of the original using evidence from the Dead Sea Scrolls.[1]
There were a number of fragments from the scroll found in the Cairo Geniza before the Qumran discoveries. The Cairo Geniza was located in a room adjoining The Ben Ezra Synagogue in Old Cairo, which was gradually stuffed full of papers until it was discovered by European scholar Dr Solomon Schechter in 1897. He found over 190,000 manuscripts and fragments that were written in mainly Hebrew and Judaeo-Arabic. [2]The fragments were quite large, and a number of them matched documents found later in Qumran. They were divided into two separate sections, CDa, and CDb. Schechter dated CDa to the 10th century C.E and CDb to 11th or 12th century C.E. [3] In contrast to the fragments found at Qumran, the CD documents are largely complete, and therefore are vital for reconstructing the text.The fragments found by Solomon Schechter in the Ben Ezra Synagogue were originally called the Zadokite Fragments, but after the work was found at Qumran, the name was changed because the document had numerous references to Damascus.[1] The way this Damascus is treated in the document makes it possible that it was not a literal reference to Damascus in Syria, but to be understood either geographically for Babylon or Qumran itself. If symbolic, it is probably taking up the Biblical language found in Amos 5:27, “therefore I shall take you into exile beyond Damascus”; Damascus was part of Israel under King David, and the Damascus Document expresses an eschatological hope of the restoration of a Davidic monarchy.
from ExtraBiblicalWritings Website
I [II]
Of God’s vengeance and providence
Now listen, all right-minded men, and take note how God acts: He has a case against all flesh and exacts satisfaction from all who spurn Him.
Whenever Israel broke faith and renounced Him, He hid His face both from it and from His sanctuary and con-signed them to the sword. But whenever He called to mind the covenant which He had made with their forbears, He spared them a remnant and did not consign them to utter extinction.
So, in the Era of Anger, that era of the three hundred and ninety years,1 when He delivered them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, He took care of them and brought to blossom alike out of the priesthood and out of the laity that root which had been planted of old, allowing it once more to possess the land and to grow fat in the richness of its soil. Then they realized their iniquity
* From earlier copies found at Qumran it is now known that when this document was first published, in 1910, from medieval copies discovered in the Cairo Genaaah, the pages were arranged in the wrong order. The correct sequence is here added in square brackets after the numeration of each major part. Parts I, III and V of the original text are missing from the Cairo manuscripts, but are preserved in fragments from Qumran These, however, have not yet been fully published.
and knew that they had been at fault. For twenty years, however, they remained like blind men groping their way,2 until at last God took note of their deeds, how that they were seeking Him sincerely, and He raised up for them one who would teach the Law correctly,8 to guide them in the way of His heart and to demonstrate to future ages what He does to a generation that incurs His anger, that is, to the congregation of those that betray Him and turn aside from His way.
The period in question was that whereof it is written, like a stubborn heifer, Israel was stubborn’ [Hos. 4.16J. It was the time when a certain scoffer arose to distil upon Israel the waters deceptive4 and to lead them astray in a trackless waste, bringing low whatsoever had once been high, diverting them from the proper paths and removing the landmarks which their forbears had set up, to the end that through his efforts those curses cleaved to them which had been prescribed when the Covenant was concluded, and they were delivered to the sword. Thus was avenged that breach of the Covenant which they had committed in seeking smooth things and in preferring delusion and in being constantly on the watch to breach the faith and in choosing to walk proudly and in justifying the wicked and condemning the righteous, and in abrogating the Covenant and annulling the pact, and in assailing the life of the righteous and abhorring all whose conduct was blameless, and in pursuing them with the sword, and in raising a general clamor against them. God then grew angry with their horde and utterly destroyed all their throng and treated all their works as an abominable thing unclean.
Of God’s judgment on the wicked and His clemency to the righteous (ii, 2-13)
And now, listen to me, all who have entered the Covenant, and I will open your ears to the fate which attends the wicked.
God loves knowledge. Wisdom and sound sense has He posted before Him. Prudence and knowledge minister to Him.5 Patience attends on him and abundant forgiveness, so that He may shrive the repentant But also with Him are might and power and great wrath, along with flames of fire and all the angels of destruction8-appointed for them that turn aside from His way and treat His ordinance as a thing to be shunned, to the end that they shall be left without remnant or survival.
Never, from the very beginning of the world, has God approved such men. He has always known what their actions would be, even before the foundations of them were laid. He has anathematized whole generations on account of bloodshed, hiding His face from the land. Their end has always been pre-determined. He has always foreknown how long they would endure and the exact and precise extent of their continuance; yea, all that has happened in their several epochs throughout history, and likewise all that was to befall them.
Nevertheless, in all of their generations He has ever raised up for Himself duly designated men, so that He might provide survival for the earth and fill the face of the world with their seed. And to these has He ever revealed His holy spirit at the hands of His anointed7 and has ever disclosed the truth; and He has clearly specified who they were. But those whom He hated He has always left to wander astray.
Of ancient sinners (ii, l4-iii, 12)
And now, children, listen to me, and I will open your eyes to see and understand how God acts, so that you may choose what He has desired and reject what He has hated, walking blamelessly in all His ways and not straying after thoughts of guilty lust or after whoring eyes. For many there be that have strayed thereby from olden times until now, and even strong heroes have stumbled thereby.
Because they walked in the stubbornness of their hearts, the Watchers of heaven fell;8 yea, they were caught thereby because they kept not the commandments of God.
So too their sons, whose height was like the lofty cedars and whose bodies were as mountains.9 They also fell.
So too ‘all flesh that was upon the dry land’.10 They also perished These became as though they had never been, because they did their own pleasure and kept not the commandments of their Maker. In the end His anger was kindled against them In the same way, too, the sons of Noah went astray,11 and thereby they and their families were cut off.
Abraham, however, did not walk in this way. Therefore, because he kept the commandments of God and did not prefer the desires of his own spirit, he was accounted the Friend of God12 and transmitted this status in turn to Isaac and Jacob. They too kept the commandments, and they too were recorded as Friends of God and as partners in His everlasting Covenant
But the sons of Jacob strayed in that way and they were punished for their aberration.
Their sons, too, when they were in Egypt, walked in the stubbornness of their hearts, plotting against the commandments of God and doing each what was right in his own eyes. Because they ate blood all their males were cut off in the wilderness. God said to them at Kadesh: ‘Go up and possess the land’ [Deut. 9.23), (but they followed the desire of] their own spirits and hearkened not to the voice of their Maker neither to the orders of their leader, but kept murmuring in their tents. So the anger of God was kindled against their horde.13
Their sons too perished by such conduct. Their kings were cut off through it, and their heroes perished through it, and their land was laid waste through it.
Thus, whenever in ancient times those who had entered the Covenant became guilty on this account, forsaking that Covenant of God, preferring their own pleasure and going astray after the stubbornness of their hearts, doing each man as he pleased, they were invariably delivered to the sword.
Of the righteous remnant (iii, 12-iv, 6)
Howbeit, with the rest of them-that is, with those that held fast to His commandments-God ever made good His everlasting Covenant with Israel, revealing to them the hidden things concerning which Israel in general had gone astray-even His holy sabbaths and His glorious festivals, His righteous ordinances, the ways of His truth and the purposes of His will, ‘the which, if a man do, he shall live’ [Lev. 18.5]. He opened for them a well with water abounding,14 which they might dig. But them that spurned those waters He did not permit to live. And though they kept sullying themselves with human transgression and with filthy ways, and kept saying, “Tis our own concern’, yet did God with His mysterious power shrive their iniquity and forgive their transgression and build for them in Israel a firmly established House the like of which has not existed from ancient times until this day.
They that hold fast unto Him are destined for life eternal, and theirs is all mortal glory, even as God has sworn unto them by the hand of the prophet Ezekiel, saying: vibe priests and the levites and the sons of Zadok that kept the charge of My sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from Me, these it is that shall offer unto Me the fat and the blood’ [Ezek. 44.15]. By ‘priests’ is meant those in Israel that repented and departed from the land of Judah. [By ‘levites’] is meant those that associated themselves15 with them. By ‘sons of Zadok’ is meant those elect of Israel that have been designated by name and that shall go on functioning in the last days. Behold, their names have been specified, the families into which they are to be born, the epochs in which they are to function, the full tale of their tribulations, the length of their sojourn in exile, and the precise nature of their deeds.
Of the reward of the faithful (iv, 612)
These were the ‘holy men’16 of former times-the men whose sins God pardoned, who knew right for right and wrong for wrong. But all who up to the present time have succeeded them in carrying out explicitly the Law from which those ancients drew their lessons, them too will God forgive, in accordance with the Covenant which He made with those ancients to forgive their iniquities. And when the present era is completed, there will be no more express affiliation with the house of Judah; every man will ‘mount guard’ for himself. ‘The fence will be rebuilt, and the bounds be far-flung’ [cf. Mic. 7.11]17 .
Of the works of Belial (iv, 12-v, 17)
Meanwhile, however, Belial will be rampant in Israel, even as God has said through the prophet Isaiah, the son of Amoz: ‘Terror and the pit and the trap shall be upon thee, 0 inhabitant of the land!’ [Isa. 24.17]. The reference is to those three snares, viz. (a) whoredom, (b) lucre, and (c) desecration, concerning which Levi the son of Jacob sald18 that by making them look like three kinds of righteousness Belial ensnares Israel in them. He who escapes the one gets caught in the other, and he who escapes the other gets caught in the third.
Such men may be described as ‘builders of a rickety wall’ [Ezek. 13.10], or as persons that have ‘walked after filth’ [Hos. 5.11]. The ‘filth’ in question is the babbling preacher of whom God said, ‘Babble-babble shall they preach’ [Mic. 2.6]; while the fact that two words [viz. ‘pit’ and ‘trap’] are used to describe the net in which they will be caught alludes to the whorish practice of taking two wives at the same time, the true basis of nature being the pairing of one male with one female, even as it is said (of Adam and Eve), ‘A male and a female created He them’ [Gen. 1.27], and of those that went into the ark, ‘In pairs they entered’ [Gen. 7.9]. Similarly, too, it is said concerning a prince: ‘He shall not take more than one wife’ [Deut 17.17].* 19.
* David, however, had never read the Book of Law, for it was sealed up in the ark and remained unopened in Israel from the day when Eleazar and Joshua and the Elders were gathered to their rest. The people worshiped Ashtoreth, while the ark remained hidden and unopened until indeed a Zadokite entered into office [in the person of Hilkiah the priest]. Accordingly, David’s actions were not punished, save the spilling of the blood of Urian, but God remitted the penalty for them.
This is part of the original text, but is here relegated to a footnote, as it would have been in a modern work, in order not to interrupt the sequence of thought.
Such persons commit [desecration] inasmuch as they lie with women in their periods and do not put them aside, as enjoined in the Law.20 Moreover, they marry the daughters of their brothers and sisters, whereas Moses has said:
‘Thou shalt not enter into intimate relations with the sister of thy mother; she is thy mother’s kin’ [cf. Lev. 18.13]. (The laws of forbidden degrees are written, to be sure, with reference to males, but they hold good equally for females. A niece, for instance, who indulges in carnal intercourse with her paternal uncle is equally to be regarded as his kin.)
Furthermore, such men have desecrated the holy spirit within them, and with mocking tongue have opened their mouths against the statutes of God’s Covenant, declaring, ‘They have no foundation’. They have spoken disgracefully about them.
All such men may be described as persons that ‘kindle a fire and set firebrands alight’ [Isa. 50.11]. Of them it may be said that ‘their webs are spiders’ webs and their eggs basilisks’ eggs’ [Isa. 59.5]. None that have contact with them shall go unscathed; the more one does so, the more guilty he becomes-unless, of course, he does so under compulsion.
Throughout antiquity, however, God has always taken note of the deeds of such men, and His anger has always been kindled against their acts. Always, in fact, they have proved to be ‘a witless folk’ [Isa. 27.11), ‘a nation void of sense’ [Deut. 32.28] in that they lacked discernment.
Of the Remnant (v, 17-vi, 11)
When, in antiquity, Israel was first delivered, Moses and Aaron still continued in their charge, through the help of the Angel of Lights *, even though Belial in his cunning had set up Jannes and his brother in opposition to them.21
Similarly, at the time when the land was destroyed, men arose who removed the ancient landmarks and led Israel
* Heb. Urim. See Manual of Discipline, iii.20.
astray; and it was, indeed, because they uttered sedition against the commandments of God which He had given through Moses and through His holy anointed priest Aaron, and because they gave forth false prophecies in order to subvert Israel from God, that the land was laid utterly waste. Nevertheless, God still remembered the Covenant which He had made with their forbears and raised from the priesthood men of discernment and from the laity men of wisdom, and He made them hearken to Him. And these men ‘dug the well’-that well whereof it is written, ‘Princes digged it, nobles of the people delved it, with the aid of amehoqeq’ [Num. 21.18]. The ‘well’ in question is the Law. They that ‘digged’ are those of Israel who repented and departed from the land of Judah to sojourn in the land of Damascus’. * God called them all ‘princes’ because they went in search of Him, and their glory was never gainsaid (?) by any man’s mouth.22 The termmehoqeq [which can mean ‘lawgiver’ as well as ‘stave’) refers to the man who expounds the Law. Isaiah has employed an analogous piece of imagery when in allusion to the Law he has spoken of God’s ‘producing a tool for His work’ [cf. ISL 54.16). As for the ‘nobles of the people’, these are the men that come, throughout the Era of Wickedness, to delve the well, using as their staves [Heb. mehoqeq) the statutes [Heb. huq4m) which the Law-giver prescribed [Heb. haqaq ha-mehoqeq) for them to walk in. Without such ‘implements’, they would, indeed, never achieve their goal until such time as the true Expositor arises at the end of days.
Of the obligation of the Covenant (vi, 1 1-vii, 6a)
All that enter the covenant with no intention of going into the sanctuary to keep the flame alive on the altar do so in vain. They have as good as shut the door. Of them God has said: ‘Who is there among you that would shut
* Scarcely to be taken literally. See above, pp.5, 27.
the door, and who of you would not keep alive the flame upon Mine altar?’ In vain [Mal. 1.10] [are all their deeds] if, in an era of wickedness, they do not take heed to act in accordance with the explicit injunctions of tile Law;
to keep away from men of rn-repute; to hold themselves aloof from rn-gotten gain;
not to defile themselves by laying hands on that which has been vowed or devoted to God or on the property of the sanctuary;
not to rob the poor of God’s people;
not to make widows their prey or murder the fatherless; to distinguish between unclean and clean and to recognize holy from profane;
to keep the sabbath in its every detail, and the festivals and fasts in accordance with the practice laid down originally by the men who entered the new covenant in ‘the land of Damascus’;23
to pay their required dues in conformity with the detailed rules thereof;
to love each man his neighbor like himself; to grasp the hand of the poor, the needy and the stranger; to seek each man the welfare of his fellow; to cheat not his own kin;
to abstain from whoredom, as is meet;
to bring no charge against his neighbor except by due process, and not to nurse grudges from day to day; to keep away from all unclean things, in accordance with what has been prescribed in each case and with the distinctions which God Himself has drawn for them; not to sully any man the holy spirit within him. 24
Howbeit, for all that perform these rules in holiness unimpaired, according to all the instruction that has been given them-for them will God’s Covenant be made good, that they shall be preserved for a thousand generations, even as it is written: ‘He keepeth Covenant and loyalty with them that love Him and keep His commandments, even unto a thousand generations’ [Deut. 7.9].
Of family life (vii, 6a-9)
if members of the community happen to be living in encampments,25 in accordance with a usage which obtains in this country, and if they marry and beget children,26 they are [in such matters] to follow the precepts of the Law [Torah] and the disciplinary regulations therein prescribed for the relationship of husband to wife and of father to child.*
Of the future requital of the disobedient (vil, 9-vili, 21)
All that reject these things shall be doomed to extinction when God visits the world to requite the wicked-that is, when that ensues which is described by the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz in the words: ‘He will bring upon thee and upon thy kindred and upon thy father’s house days the like of which have not come since the time that Ephraim departed from Judah’ [Isa. 7.17]. In other words, the same situation will then obtain as obtained at the time of the great schism between the two houses of Israel, when Ephraim departed from Judah. At that time all who turned back were delivered to the sword, whereas all who stood fast were vouchsafed escape to ‘the land of the north’.27 .
It is to this that allusion is also made in the statement: ‘I will exile Sikkuth your king and Kiyyun your image, the star of your God. . . beyond Damascus’ [cf. Amos 5.26).
The expression ‘Sikkuth your king’ refers to the Books of the Law, [for the word ‘Sikkuth’ is to be explained from the like-sounding sukkah, ‘tabernacle’)** as in the passage of Scripture which says: ‘I will raise up the fallen sukkah [tabernacle] of David’ [Amos 9.11].
* Heb. even as God has said: ‘Between a man and his wife and between a father and his son’-a loose quotation from Num. 30.17.
** These words have here been inserted in order to bring out the word-play in the Hebrew original.
The expression ‘king’ denotes the congregation;28 and the expression ‘Kiyyun your image’ refers to the books of the prophets29 whose words the House of Israel has de-spised.80
As for the ‘star’, that refers to every such interpreter of the Law as indeed repairs to ‘Damascus’,31 even as it is written: ‘There shall step forth a star out of Jacob, and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel’ [Num. 24.17].82 The ‘sceptre’, it may be added, is the leader of the community, for in the exercise of his office he shall ‘batter all the sons of pride’,88 as the Scripture says.
In the former visitation, these faithful men escaped, while those that turned back were delivered to the sword. Such will be the fate also of those who in the latter days will have entered God’s Covenant but not held fast to these things. Them will God punish unto extinction by the hand of Belial.
The day on which God will carry out the punishment will be that to which the prophet alluded when he said: ‘The princes of Judah have become like them that remove landmarks; I will pour out My wrath upon them like water’ [Hos. 5.10]. They shall hope for healing, but the blem<ish> shall cl<i>ng to them. They are all of them apostates in that they have not turned from the way of the treacherous but have sullied themselves with wantonness and with wicked lucre and with the nursing of grudges against their fellows and with hatred of their neighbors. They have cheated their own kin and have had contact with lewdness and have been overbearing by virtue of wealth and possession and have done every man of them what was right in his own eyes, and have preferred the stubbornness of their own hearts, and have not kept aloof from the rabble, but have behaved lawlessly and highhandedly, walking in the way of the wicked.
Concerning them has God said: ‘Their wine shall prove the poison of serpents and the cruel venom of asps’ [Deut 32.33]. The wine’ in question is their conduct; the ‘serpents’ are the kings of the nations; and the ‘venom [Heb. ro’sh] of asps’ is the chief [Heb. ro’sh] of the Grecian kings who will come to wreak vengeance upon them.
Those that have been ‘builders of the rickety wall’ and ‘daubers of veneer upon it’34 have never considered all this, because the man who walks in wind, who raises whirl-winds, who spouts lies-the kind of man against all of whose ilk God’s wrath has always been kindled-has kept spouting at them.
Howbeit, what Moses said of old, ‘Not for thy righteousness nor for the uprightness of thy heart art thou going in to possess these nations but because of His love wherewith He loved thy forefathers and because He would keep the oath’ [cf. Deut. 9.5],85 applies equally to those in Israel who in those latter days show repentance and eschew the way of the rabble. The same love which God showed to the men of old who pledged themselves to follow Him will He show also to their successors. The ancestral Covenant shall stand good for them.
But inasmuch as He hates and abominates all that ‘build a rickety wall’, His anger has been kindled against them; and all who reject His commandments and forsake them and go on walking in the stubbornness of their own hearts will be visited with such judgment as has been described. It is to this that Jeremiah was referring when he spoke to Baruch the son of Neriah,36 and Elisha when he spoke to his servant Gehazi.87
All those that entered into the new covenant in ‘the land of Damascus’ but subsequently relapsed and played false and turned away from the well of living waters shall not be reckoned as of the communion of the people nor inscribed in the roster of it throughout the period from the time the teacher of the community is gathered to his rest until that in which the lay and the priestly messiah [anointed] assume their office.88
The same applies also to all that entered the company of the ‘specially holy and blameless’39 but were loath to carry out the rules imposed upon the upright Every such man is, as it were, like ‘one molten in the furnace’ [Ezek. 22.22]. When his deeds come clearly to light, he shall be cast out of that company as being one who has no share
among the disciples of God. Men of knowledge shall reprove him according to his perfidy until he repent and thereby resume his place among the specially holy and blameless-that is, until it become clear that his actions are again in accordance with the interpretation of the Law adopted by the specially holy and blameless. Meanwhile, no man shall have commerce with him in matters either of property or of employment, for he has been cursed by all the holy ones of God on high.
The same applies again-in the future as it did in the past-to all who commit their hearts to idolatry and walk in the stubbornness of their hearts. All such have no portion in the household of the Law [Torah].
The same applies, once again, to all of their fellows that relapse in the company of scoffers. These too shall be judged; for they will have spoken error against the righteous ordinances and have rejected the Covenant of God and the pledge which they swore in ‘the land of Damascus’
-that is, the new covenant.40 Neither they nor their families shall have a portion in the household of the Law [Torah].
About forty years will elapse from the death of the teacher of the community until all the men who take up arms and relapse in the company of the Man of Falsehood are brought to an end.41 At that time, the wrath of God will be kindled against Israel, and that will ensue which is described by the prophet when he says: ‘No king shall there be nor priest nor judge nor any that reproves aright’ [cf. Hos. 3.4].
But they of Jacob that have repented, that have kept the Covenant of God, shall then speak each to his neighbor to bring him to righteousness, to direct his steps upon the way. And God will pay heed to their words and hearken, and He will draw up a record of those that fear Him and esteem His name,42 to the end that salvation shall be revealed for all God-fearing men. Then ye shall again distinguish the righteous from the wicked, him that serves God from him that serves Him not. And God will ‘show mercy unto thousands, unto them that love Him and keep His commandments’-yea, even unto a thousand generations.
As for those schismatics43 who, during the era when Israel was behaving perfidiously and defiling the sanctuary, indeed departed from the Holy City, relying (solely) on God, but who subsequently, without much [ad]o,* reverted to the popular [tre]nd-all of those shall be subjected to judgment by the sacred council,44each according to his character.
Those too who indeed entered the Covenant but subsequently broke through the bounds of the Law-all of those shall be ‘cut off from the midst of the camp’ at the time when God’s glory is made manifest to Israel. And along with them shall go those that sought to turn Judah to wickedness in the days when it was being put to the test.
Of the future reward of the faithful (B. xx, 27-34)
Howbeit, all that hold fast to these enactment’s, going and coming in accordance with the Law; that hearken to the voice of the Teacher; that make confession before God, saying: Just and truthful are Thy judgments against us, for we have done wickedly, both we and our fathers, in that we have gone contrary to the statutes of the Covenant; all who raise not their hands against His holy statutes or His righteous judgments or His truthful ordinances; all who learn the lessons of the former judgments wherewith the men of the community were adjudged in time past; all who give ear to him who imparts the true interpretation of the Law and who do not controvert the right ordinances when they hear them-all of these shall rejoice and their hearts shall be strong, and they shall prevail over all that dwell in the world. And God will accept their atonement, and because they took refuge in His holy name they shall indeed see salvation at His hand.
* Literally, with fe[w] words.
II [IV cont.]
A. CODE FOR URBAN COMMUNITIES
Of laying capital charges (ix, 1)
The law which says that no person under doom from men shall be bought off, but must be put to death [cf. Lev. 27.29], is to be understood in the sense that any man who, as the result of a private vow, gets a fellow human being doomed to death under the laws of the Gentiles is himself to be put to death.45
Of grudges (ix, 2-8)
And as to the law which says, Thou shalt not take vengeance nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people’ [Lev. 19.18]-if any of those that have entered the Covenant bring charges against his neighbor without proving them by witnesses, or if he bring such charges merely through temper, or if he tell tales to his superiors simply to bring his neighbor into contempt, he ranks as one who takes vengeance and bears a grudge. Scripture says of God Himself that it is only upon His adversaries that He takes vengeance, and only against His enemies that He bears a grudge [Nah. 1.2]. Accordingly, if a man keep silent from day to day and then bring a charge against his neighbor in the heat of anger, it is as if he were laying capital charges against him, for he has not carried out the commandment of God Who said to him, ‘Thou shalt surely reprove thy neighbor lest thou incur sin on his account’ [Lev. 19.17].
Of involuntary oaths (ix, 810)
Now regarding oaths. The principle that ‘thou art not to take the law into thine own hands’46 implies that a man
who compels another to take an oath in the open field and not in the presence of judges or at their order has taken the law into his own hands.
Of lost property (ix, 1~15)
In the case of a loss, if it is not known who stole the particular article from the property of the camp in which the theft occurs, the owner is to be required to make a solemn deposition on oath. Anyone who hears it, knows the culprit and does not tell, is then to be considered culpable.
If a man makes restitution for expropriated property and brings the required guilt~ffering, but there are no claimants to that property, he is to make his confession to the priest, and everything except the actual ram of the sin-offering is to go to the latter.
Lost property that is found but unclaimed is to be en-trusted to the priests, because the man who retrieved it may not know the law about it. If the owners cannot be discovered [at the time], the priests are to take it into custody.
Of testimony (ix, 16x, 3)
In the case of offenses against the Torah, if a man sees such an offense committed but is alone at the time, and if the matter be one of a capital nature, he is to disclose it to the overseer by bringing a charge in the presence of the alleged culprit. The overseer is then to make a record of it If the man repeat the offense, this time also in the presence of one man only, and if the latter come in turn and inform the overseer-in that case, i.e., if the offender do it again and be again caught by only one person-the case against him is to be regarded as complete.
However, if there be two witnesses, and they concur in their statements, the culprit is to be excluded from his customary degree of purity only if those witnesses are trust-
worthy and if they lay information before the overseer on the very day when they saw the man [committing the offense].
In cases involving property, two trustworthy witnesses are required.47 In those, however, that involve [no question of restitution but simply of] exclusion from the degree of purity, one alone is sufficient.
No man who has not yet completed his probationary period with the community and has not yet passed the statutory examination as a truly God-fearing person48is to be permitted as a witness before its judges in a capita’ case.
No man who has flagrantly transgressed the commandment is to be deemed a trustworthy witness against his neighbor until he has succeeded in winning re-acceptance into the community.
Of judges (x, 4-1O)
This is the rule concerning the judges of the community.
Periodically, a complement of ten men shall be selected from the community. Four of them shall belong to the tribe of Levi and Aaron, and six shall be laymen.49They shall be men versed in the Book of Study50 and in the fundamentals of the Covenant. Their minimum age shall be twenty-five, and their maximum sixty. No man over sixty shall occupy judicial office in the community; for through the perfidy of man the potential span of human life has been reduced, and in the heat of His anger against the inhabitants of the earth, God decreed of old that their mental powers should recede before they complete their days.
Of ritual ablutions (x, 10-13)
Now concerning purification by water. No one is to bathe in dirty water or in water which is too scant to fill a pail (?).51
No man is to purify himself with water drawn in a vessel or in a rock-pool where there is insufficient to fill a pail (?). If an unclean person come in contact with such water, he merely renders it unclean; and the same is true of water drawn in a vessel.
Of the Sabbath (x, 1~xi, 18)
Now concerning the proper observance of the Sabbath.
No one is to do any work on Friday from the moment that the sun’s disk stands distant from the gate by the length of its own diameter; for this is what Scripture implies when it says explicitly, Observe the Sabbath day to keep it holy.52
On the Sabbath day, no one is to indulge in ribald or empty talk. No one is to claim repayment of debts. No one is to engage in lawsuits concerning property and gain. No one is to talk about labor or work to be done the next day. No one is to go out into the field while it is still Sabbath with the intention of resuming his work immediately the Sabbath ends. No one is to walk more than a thousand cubits outside his city.58 No one is to eat on the Sabbath day anything that has not been prepared in advance. He is not to eat anything that happens to be lying about in the field, neither is he to drink of anything that was not [previously) in the camp. If, however, he is travelling, he may go down to bathe and may drink wherever he happens to be.
No one is to commission a Gentile to transact business for him on the Sabbath day. No one is to wear soiled clothes or clothes that have been put in storage unless they first be laundered and rubbed with frankincense. No one is to observe a voluntary fast on the Sabbath. No one is to follow his beast to pasture for a distance of more than two thousand cubits from his city. No one is to raise his hand to strike it with his fist. If the beast be stubborn, he is not to take it outdoors. No one is to take anything out of his house, or bring anything in from outside. If he is [lodging] in a booth, he is likewise to take nothing out nor bring anything in. No one is to break open a pitch-sealed vessel on the Sabbath. No one is to carry ointments upon his person or walk around with them* on the Sabbath. No one is to pick up rock or dust in a dwelling place. Nurses are not to carry babies around on the Sabbath. No one is to put pressure on his male or female servant or on his hired help on the Sabbath. No one is to foal a beast on the Sabbath day. Even if it drop its young into a cistern or a pit, he is not to lift it out on the Sabbath.
No one is to stop for the Sabbath in a place near the heathen. No one is to desecrate the Sabbath for the sake of wealth or gain.
If a human being falls into a place where there is water or fire,54 one may bring him up by means of a ladder or a rope or some other instrument. No one is to present any offering upon the altar on the Sabbath except the statutory Sabbath burnt offering-as the Scripture puts it, your Sabbath-offerings exclusively’ [Lev. 23.38].55
Of the defilement of holy places (xi, 1~xii, 2)
No one is to send to the altar either burnt~ffering or meal-offering or frankincense or wood by the hand of one suffering from any of the proscribed impurities, thus permitting him to render the altar impure; for Scripture says, ‘The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination, but the mere prayer of the righteous is like an acceptable offering’ [Prov. 15.8].
As for those who come to the house of worship, no one is to come in a state of uncleanness requiring ablution Such a man is either to anticipate the sounding of the trumpets of assembly or else to stay behind, so that [the rest] will not have to stop the entire service.
[ ]; it is holy.
* Literally, ‘go or come’.
No one is to lie with a woman in the city of the sanctuary, thereby defiling the city of the sanctuary with their impurity’
Of demoniacal possession (xii, 2-6)
Any man who is dominated by demonic spirits to the extent that he gives voice to apostasy is to be subject to the judgment upon sorcerers and wizards. If, however, a man desecrate the Sabbath or the festivals through (mental) aberration, he is not to be put to death. In that case, it is the duty of men to keep him under observation. If he recovers, they are to watch him for seven years, and only thereafter may he be readmitted to public assemblies.
Of relations with the heathen (xii, 6-11)
No one is to put forth his hand to shed the blood of a heathen for the sake of wealth or gain. Moreover, to prevent the levelling of defamatory charges, no one is to expropriate any of their goods except by the decision of an Israelite court.
No one is to sell clean beasts or fowl to the heathen, lest they use them for sacrifices. No one is to sell them any of the produce of his threshing-floor or winepress or any of his possessions. Nor is he to sell to them any of his male or female servants that may have joined him in the Covenant of Abraham.56
Of food (xii, 11-15)
No one is to defile his person by eating any unclean animal or reptile. This rule includes the larvae of bees and any living entity that creeps in water.
Fish are not to be eaten unless they are ripped open while still alive and their blood poured out.57
As for the various kinds of locust, these are to be put in fire or water while they are still alive; for that is what their nature demands.
Of contagious impurity (xii, 15-18)
When wood, stone or dust is contaminated by human uncleanness, the degree of the contamination is to be determined by the rules governing that particular form of uncleanness; and it is by this standard that all contact with them is to be gauged.
When a dead body lies in a house, every utensil-even a nail or a peg in the wall-is to be regarded as deified, just as much as implements of work.
Epilogue (xii, 19-22)
The foregoing is the rule concerning the various regulations for distinguishing clean from unclean and for recognizing holy from profane, such as it is to obtain in the urban communities of IsraeL It is by these ordinances that the enlightened man may correctly determine his human relations on this or that particular occasion; and it is in this manner that the progeny of Israel is to conduct itself in order to avoid damnation.58
B. CODE FOR CAMP-COMMUNITIES
Prologue (xii, 22-xiii, 7)
Here, however, is the rule for such camp-communities as may come into existence throughout the Era of Wickedness-that is, until the priestly and the lay ‘messiah’ again assume office.59 The people who follow these rules must consist in any given instance of a minimum of ten,60 and beyond that must be grouped by thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens.
In any place where there are ten, a priest versed in the Book of Study is not to be absent; ‘by his word shall they all be ruled’ [Gen. 41.40]. If, however, he is not experienced in all these matters, the members of the camp may elect by vote one of the levites, ‘by whose orders they may come and go’.61 Nevertheless, whenever a decision has to
be rendered involving the law of bodily blemishes, the priest is to come and officiate in the camp, the overseer instructing him in the detailed interpretation of the Law. Moreover, if the priest be feeble-minded, that official must simply keep him under lock and key at all other times; or it is nonetheless by the priests that the decision in such maUers must be rendered.62
Of the overseer (xiii, 7-19)
This is the rule for the overseer of the camp.
It is his duty to enlighten the masses about the works of God, and to make them understand His wondrous powers. He is to tell them in detail the story of things that happened in the past He is to show them the same compassion as a father shows for his children. He is to bring back all of them that stray, as does a shepherd his flock.64 He is to loose all the bonds that constrain them, so that there be no one in his community who is oppressed or crushed.
He is also to examine every new adherent to his community regarding his conduct, intelligence, strength, valor and wealth, and to register him in his due status, according to his stake in the portion of Truth. No member of the camp is to have authority to introduce anyone into the community in defiance of the camp’s overseer.
No one who has entered the Covenant is to have any traffic with the ‘men of corruption’ [i.e., outsiders] except in spot cash transactions. No one is to enter into any sort of commercial partnership without informing the camp’s overseer. Moreover, if he has made an agreement, but does not . . . [Four fragmentary lines.]
Epilogue (xiii, 20xiv, 2)
Such, then, is to be the disposition of the camps throughout the Era of Wickedness. Those who do not adhere to these things shall not succeed in reoccupying their native soil [ ]. These, in fact, are the regulations for the social conduct of the ‘enlightened’ until God eventually
visits the earth, even as He has said: ‘There shall come upon thee and upon thy people and upon thy kinsfolk days the like of which have not been since Ephraim departed from Judah’ [Isa. 7.17]. With those that follow them God’s covenant will be confirmed; they will be delivered from all the snares of corruption. The foolish, however, will [ ] and be punished.
Of rank and precedence (xiv, 3-12)
This is the rule for the disposition of all camp settlements.
Everyone is to be registered by name in a census; first, the priests; second, the levites; third, the laymen; and fourth, the proselytes. Each individual is to be registered by name, one after another; first, the priests; second, the levites; third, the laymen; and fourth, the proselytes. It is in this order that they are to be seated at public sessions, and in this order that their opinions are to be invited on all matters.
The priest who holds office over the masses is to be from thirty to sixty years old, versed in the Book of Study and in all the regulations of the Torah, so as to be able to declare them on each appropriate occasion.
As for the overseer of all the camps, he is to be from thirty to fifty years old, adept in human relations and in all the varied languages of men.65 It is as he determines that those who enter the community are to be admitted, each in his assigned order. Anything that any one has to say in a matter of dispute or litigation, he is to say to the overseer.
Of the communal economy (xiv, 12-18)
This is the rule for regulating public needs.
Their wages for at least two days per month are to be handed over to the overseer. The judges are then to take thereof and give it away for the benefit of orphans. They are also to support therefrom the poor and needy, the
aged who are dying, the [ ] persons captured by foreign peoples, unprotected girls, unmarriageable virgins, general communal officials [ ].
This, in specific form, is the way [ ] is to be disposed [ ] [com]munally.
Of personal morality (xiv, 18-22)
And these, in specific form, are the regulations which they are to follow throughout the Era of Wickedness, until the priestly and lay ‘messiahs’ enter upon their office and expiate their iniquities.
No one is to practice conscious falsehood in matters of money [ ]; he is to be mulcted [of his rations] for six days.
If a man utter [ ], [or harbor an] unjustified [grudge against his neighbor, he is to be mulcted for one] year [ ].
III [IV, init.]
Of oaths (xv, 1-xvi, 20)
No one is to take the oath by EL-* or by AD-,** but only by a formula of assent which invokes the curses prescribed in the Covenant [cf. Lev. 26.14-45].66 Nor is he to make mention in this connection of the Law of Moses, for (the name of God is spelled out in that Law); so that if he swears by it and then transgresses, he commits profanation of the Holy Name; whereas if he swears before the judges by the curses of the Covenant-then, if he transgresses, he becomes liable only for a guilt-offering, confession and restitution, but does not have to pay the penalty of death.60a
It is to be a perpetual ordinance for the whole of Israel that whoever enters into the Covenant is to impose the
* The initial letters of Elohim, the Hebrew word for ‘God’.
** The initial letters of Adonai, the Hebrew word for ‘Lord’.
oath of the Covenant also upon his sons when they reach the age for the preliminary examination.
Similarly, it is to be the rule throughout the Epoch of Wickedness that anyone who repents his corrupt conduct is to be enrolled, on the day when he speaks of it to the general overseer, with an oath binding him to the Covenant which Moses made with Israel-that is, with a covenanted obligation that [in all] the varied activities of his life he will return to the Law of Moses with all his heart and soul. No one, however, is to acquaint him with the regulations of the community prior to his actually standing in the presence of the overseer, lest, when the latter examines him, he turn out to be a dolt. But once the overseer has sworn him by oath to return to the Law of Moses with all his heart and soul, he is to be liable to punishment for any breach of faith. If he fail to understand anything in the Law which is patently revealed to the normal mind, the overseer is to […..] and then issue an order concerning him that he be kept in confinement for a full year on the grounds of its having been ascertained that he is feeble-minded and deranged.
In the case of one who is a chronic imbecile or is in-sane, the judge is to come and [ ]. Such a man is not to appear in public. . . . [The next two lines are fragmentary, and four more have been lost.]
There is an ancient text which says: ‘It was by the Law of Moses that God made the covenant with you and with all Israel’.67 It is for this reason that the man [who enters the Covenant] must pledge himself ‘to return to the Law of Moses’. Therein is everything explicitly spelled out, while an exact specification of the time when Israel will be blind to all these things is spelled out with equal exactness in the Book of the Divisions of the Times into their Jubilees and Weeks.68
On the day that a man pledges himself to return to the Law of Moses, the Angel of Obstruction69 will start receding from him-that is, if he keep his word. It is in line with this that Abraham underwent circumcision on the day that he attained true knowledge.
In all cases where a man pledges himself by a binding oath to perform any precept of the Law, he is not to free himself therefrom even at the price of death. For this is what Scripture means when it says, ‘That which is gone out of thy lips thou shalt observe’, ie., ‘to make good’ (Deut 23.23). On the other hand, in all cases where a man pledges himself by a binding oath to depart from the Law, he is not to confirm it even at the price of death.
Now, concerning a woman’s oath. Scripture says that it is her husband’s duty in certain cases to void her oath [cf. Num. 30.14]. He is not to do so, however, if he does not know whether it is one that ought to be made good or voided. If it involves transgression of the Covenant, he is to void it and not make it good. The same rule applies also to her father.
Now, concerning the rules for free-will offerings. No one is to vow for the altar anything acquired by violence; nor, indeed, are the priests to accept from a layman anything so acquired No one is to offer polluted food for sacred purposes. That is what Scripture means when it says, ‘They trap each man his neighbor in respect to the consecrated thing’ [Mic. 7.2]…. [Five fragmentary lines.]
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Home / Filer's Files / Filer’s Files 16 – 2019 Starcruiser MUFON Case # 93242
Filer’s Files 16 – 2019 Starcruiser MUFON Case # 93242
in Filer's Files April 15, 2019 Comments Off on Filer’s Files 16 – 2019 Starcruiser MUFON Case # 93242 872 Views
In specital reports, this week’s files cover: Skg Starcruiser MUFON Case # 93242, Modification of Maxwell’s classical level Unification of Light, Electricity and Magnetism?, Black Hole First Photograph, and Strange Craft.
Unidentified Aerial Phenomena sightings were reported over Arizona, California, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Rhode Island, South Dakota, and Texas.
Unidentified Aerial Phenomena sightings were reported over Australia, Canada, China, Columbia, France, Germany, Japan, Netherlands, Puerto Rico, Russia, and England in the United Kingdom.
The Filer Research Institute feels the scientific study of UFOs is for the benefit of humankind and is an important endeavor. The US Air Force investigated UFOs publicly for more than twenty years under Project Blue Book; and I continue this advanced research. I believe the God of the universe has spread life throughout the cosmos and UFO’s are visiting us in ever-increasing numbers.
George A. Filer III
New Jersey State Director
MUFON Eastern Region Director
Forward these files to your friends and neighbors.
CONTACT IN THE DESERT 2019: AN EPIC UFO CONFERENCE
SKG STARCRUISER MUFON CASE # 93242
Written by Glenn Green Star team, ERT, CAG Antarctica
When I first spoke to Kevin the New Jersey witness, I looked at and absorbed what he sent into MUFON. He was a good pilot and comes from a family of military pilots. I was looking at another classic red dot. I always like adventure and this one was happening really quickly. As a kid I would love to take apart toys and then put them back together. Sometimes I would look over and see my Dad actually timing me. I knew the testing I was going to put that red dot through as I continued to talk with Kevin. His only UFO sighting; he emphasized the observable handling characteristics were not something he had ever seen.
Kevin also manages a small plane airport and has a degree in Intelligence. He served our country as a Navy engineer aboard various ships. He’s from a family steeped in military tradition. One of the most knowledgeable witnesses I’ve ever spoken to. The story was Rock Solid. We checked all the planets and specific stars in our astrometric survey. It all checked out. The adventure was picking up speed! We both lived this case for weeks checking and ruling everything out we could. We spoke late into the night on more than one occasion. We wanted to know.
So many of my cases had them, and I know of other Field Investigators that had them in their own cases; these reddish dots just keep on coming in. I knew there had to be a better way for me to see what’s really going on with this subcategory of pictures that I know everybody gets all the time. I know a lot of the new data points many times to the camera phones themselves having little built-in idiosyncrasies that could easily show picture artifacts. Artifacts that are not alien related. Add Nature’s environmental conditions that constantly change to a cheap camera lens and we have problems with camera accuracy. Kevin was very believable. When he spoke about the structure that we found you could tell he would get excited, you would hear it in his voice. Kevin is very knowledgeable about the ET subject and has been around many different aircraft his whole life.
This is a case where the event parameters tell an important story even before we analyzed Kevin’s pictures and subsequently found ET structure. I’d like to share them with you here to give you an FI perspective of the case.
The parameters in this three-minute event:
The parameters in this 3 Minute event the red dot first seen at a 30 degree angle and last seen at a 30 degree angle to the witness had no sounds. Possibly egg shaped at times according to the witness. At other times Amber and red in color and a slightly long appearance with size unknown. The witness said the object moved at 150 MPH when it wasn’t stationary. Maneuvering under intelligent control it was first seen at 1 mile away and last seen blinking out at 3 miles away from the witness. The object flew at 650 feet above the ground. First seen going north, last seen going North West. No FAA lights present. (24 Event parameters) [24 EP]
When Kevin showed the 3 pictures and the subsequent enlargements of the extreme structure to a serving F-18 pilot he said, “Wow that is really interesting”. Other military people he knew couldn’t come up with a good counter explanation. Kevin, our witness, upon revealing the structural evidence and the original pictures to his Vietnam era Air Force Dad (127 combat missions over Vietnam) said he always knew “we are not alone”. How do you argue with a special Dad with over 60 years of Aviation experience? Our witness likes to fly many types of small planes. Coupled with his ability to convey his experience he makes an ideal Witness. 2 years before I got Kevin’s pictures my sister Sondra and I started working on a way to get through the reddish veil. We wanted to see what was on the other side of the usually bright reddish hues that were keeping us outside the fence. We wanted in!
So many of my cases had these reddish dots that just keep on being reported. I knew there had to be a better way for me to see what’s really going on with this subcategory of pictures that I know everybody gets all the time. This is a case where the event parameters tell an important story even before we analyzed Kevin’s pictures and subsequently found ET structure.
So for two years we used a computer to look beyond the reddish curtain. We limited our research to red hues but believe now we might be able to handle other colors. We could have tried researching something easier with a more positive feedback. What I mean by that is we tried our method and failed the first 40 times we tried it. Most people would have stopped. I kept reminding myself that most pictures (if not almost all!) would not be of real UFOs: so no structures are to be found.
It’s a baby. I call it the Green Faye Symbolic Resonance Projection or (GFSRP) for short.
An emerging tool for finding signs of Alien Structure has been on my mind constantly for a couple of years now. Using my MUFON training and a computer I hunted for Structure. Any good hunter will tell you many times he has come home empty handed. We were frustrated with a lot of the pictures and videos that were coming in. Often I was presented with seemingly just a red dot (an orb) in open black space. We used all the analysis strategies we could think of. This quizzical program of similar steps yielding more and more frustration wore us down. We felt there had to be at least 1 other way to see deeper into our researched images. I often hear Stanton’s voice telling me to keep going, “Progress comes from doing things differently”. It took every bit of 2 years plus and then we got lucky as research investigators.
In one case we exposed an anomalous layered structure surrounding a high probability UFO. And in Kevin’s case we were astonished to reveal structure that left us speechless. I knew I had to ask the right questions. They had to be exact. To get great answers it helps if you ask well-thought-out questions. Nothing is easy. Realizing early on that my process was turning into a formula was mind-blowing.
When my chief investigator, Ken Pfeifer called me back, he gave me an alien craft rating. I couldn’t sleep for two nights. I was ecstatic. I called Kevin to tell him. He didn’t sleep for two nights either. When I told my sister we knew we hit a homerun! She slept like a log; I wish I could do that. We all knew we had found something out of this world!
Kevin wanted to give a statement for this article. “I am absolutely dumbfounded and shocked that I took such a good photo that might prove the possibility of an actual alien craft. You hear people that say they have seen a UFO, but to actually capture evidence is beautiful, and wildly rare. I would personally like to thank both MUFON and Star team member Glenn Green for taking the time and expertise to thoroughly research my pictures. It was great working with Glenn.”
I want you to know I looked for Tool marks to see if it were set into the image, we saw none. We saw no Photoshop techniques used. We looked real good. In fact we checked Kevin’s picture for originality also. It’s original all right. Then we even started from scratch and ran the formula (GFSRP) on the key shot and got the same results 3 more times. We even ran it twice on a MAC computer.
GROUNDING PERSPECTIVE & FIELD OF VIEW
Kevin’s Photo Closeup
After going through our reseach we believe without the solid criteria of grounding perspective it is very easy after a photograph is taken for it to be composited via various software’s. Compositing may make for a nice artistic rendering, but it will never be pristine data and should be quickly determined to be a hoax void of any useful scientific information in determining structure. Most photos we get don’t have a good (FOV), but Kevin’s photo did, some of the trees in this shot serve this purpose. The (FOV) or field of view could be described as almost any object on the ground including but not limited to: treetops, houses, electrical or telephone poles, water towers, cars, mountains, and bodies of water such as lakes, rivers, and oceans. Although astrometrics hold the possibility of an alternate method, that data is rarely obtainable. If the object is less than 2 miles from the witness the formula can be used to determine if there is structure present in the object we are investigating.
In regards to photography and field of view (FOV) it relates to what is visible through the camera lens. Different cameras have different (FOV). Most Witnesses are utilizing Smartphone cameras. Smartphone camera technology improves every year. Getting a quality image that can determine if structure can be decoded might possibly be affected by using a combination of better cameras. A twin pack of thermal and non-thermal cameras might yield better results. Some that have thermal energy filters for aerial photography include HD DUAL Sensor Thermal camera for Drones, or the FLIR Duo PROR Model; DUO PROR 640 x 512, 25 degrees FOV, 30 Hz.
Along with a valid witness testimony; a clear photograph that has not been tampered with is very important. We have had good luck with oval and circular shaped object photos, especially within a 2-mile or less range. These characteristics taken as a whole, lend themselves to an excellent possibility of being decoded. In order to reveal possible structure what is utilized is a combination of software programs and mathematical formulation. The result is a (GFSRP). There has to be structure in the photo for us to find it.
Before the symbolic resonance projection can be used a lot of behaviors, technology, and steps have to happen in an orderly and systematic way. Usually almost all 16 Markers have to go your way. Structure has to be there for a chance at finding it.
Dirac’s Theorem
With Dirac’s Theorem he showed in 1952 that if we:
Let G be a graph of n vertices, n ≥ 3. If the degree of every vertex of G is greater than or equal to n/2, then G is Hamiltonian. And a Hamiltonian cycle is a cycle that traverses every vertex of a graph exactly once. If there is an open path that traverses each vertex only once, it is referred to as a Hamiltonian path. Also every graph G with n ≥ 3 vertices and minimum degree δ (G) ≥ n/2 has a Hamilton cycle.
This result has played an important role in extremal Hamiltonian Graph Theory. Determining Hamiltonian Cycles are fundamental to Graph Theory. Generalizations of Cycles including pancylic, cyclability, dominating cycles, and circumferences are all part of our everyday lives but most of us don’t realize it. Part of our research was to find a suitable algorithm yielding a path to find a Hamiltonian Cycle. And that’s where the computer steps up. Dirac used mathematical graphs, I’m using actual witness pictures in time. In a way it’s not only how it looks, it’s what’s next to what in the visual in front of us. The computer turns paths into cycles and that’s a big part of my research. Keying in on the data yields Hamiltonian Cycles very accurately. The Chromatic number is the fewest number of colors (structure components) that I can assign to the vertices so that the adjacent vertices never get the same color. I am able to find Hamiltonian Cycles using chromatic numbers that reflect the data given to me.
What the (GFSRP) might tell us
Zeroing in on …
The spacecraft propulsion that could quite possibly be surrounded by an unknown atmospheric material. Interestingly in Major George Filers hard to put down new book titled “Strange Craft” he states, “The Air Force will only classify the sightings as unknown or attribute the craft to atmospheric weather anomalies, weather balloons, meteors, birds, or regular aircraft.” By looking at the (GFSRP) in Kevin’s photo we can see layered anomalous ring-like structure. Perhaps there is an inhibitor that causes it to rapidly change its spatial distribution. Inhibitors can rapidly change the pattern and growth rate of that structure. Spatial distribution happens when the pixilation of an image becomes apparent. What looks like a multi-layered energy field might actually be organic in nature and this is where the inhibitors come in big time! The morphogenic basis of inhibitors may play a big part in the camouflaging of these alien crafts. Morphogenesis provides form changes of a part, parts, or the whole organism. That might be especially possible with the alien species responsible for this projection. In our effort to decode we possibly caught true alien structure. What we caught could be the result of some fantastic metamorphosis of an alien craft. The possibility exists that in a rare short time interval the structure was captured photographically.
“As soon as you had visual predators, there were organisms that were either trying to distract, avoid, or communicate with those predators using structural coloration” says Yale University evolutionary ornithologist Richard Prum. “Structural colors in contrast to those produced by pigments or dyes, arise from the physical interaction of light with biological nanostructures” according to Professor Prum. … Simply put, their cloaking device may not have been operational at the time!
FUTURE RESEARCH
The possibility of finding structural biomarkers already exists. Methane gas inferring life can now be detected surrounding distant planets in solar systems light years away from us right now. As the technology for seeing chemical and biological material advances so will the knowledge that comes with those discoveries. As humans, we are rapidly categorizing thousands of distant planets looking for any structure we can identify. It’s through scientific advancement in lens technology that they get unique pictures to detect these and other indicators for possible alien life. Some of the pictures submitted to MUFON might show bio-structure. Many Experiencers report and believe that of all things the center cylindrical column in some species of ETS craft could be a type of alien organism that actually has to do with the piloting of the craft itself.
So we have a 20-foot column of what amounts to some of the best navigators in a galaxy! This column is an example of a biomarker that has the possibility of being detected. We might be able to see the organic based column among the other alien architectural structure. We would almost expect to find it nice and vertical in the middle of an otherworldly ship environment. Other species of aliens are probably using bio – integrated technology in ways man can only begin to imagine. If 1 ET likes to be encased in a large tubular housing and has a super specialty in navigation around galaxies, what about all the other species? These and other probable super specialties are out there for us to find out about. Each specialty might be associated with unique to usage detectable detailed shape. Shape often follows ergonomic function, at least in humans. A biostructural marker for ET crafts?
Life as Aliens
Anyone remember the Babylon 5 series? The Incredible organic ship that stayed mostly docked ended up being one of the most mysterious and radically different vessels of the whole series. Studying alien architecture might help us reveal ET’s true intentions grounded in their symbolism. The likelihood that at least certain aliens can project anything they want leads us to even heavier questions.
Let me refresh your memory. Remember Star Trek, when in almost every episode their Enterprise Starship would break down. You could bet on it. And when Enterprise was working they inevitably would be answering a ship distress call from known and unknown aliens! Many times the crew would beam over and start repairing the often high strangeness alien transport. Universal AAA! Various levels of emergency repairs happen and are probably responsible for the majority of UFO crashes on Earth and elsewhere. Maybe they should have kept their Universal AAA membership active? And yes in the NASA space program there were a bunch of missions where our incredible astronauts improvised or fixed vital mission components. But we also know of missions which did not end well. These men beyond brave, icons of space travel, averted space catastrophes on an almost regular basis. Sometimes they did it with duct tape and writing pens!
Did Kevin’s ship breakdown for a short time?
Experiencers Report
The possibility of interdimensional structural markers for symbolic resonance projection to pick up might someday be realized. Right now that day is very far into the future. One theory floated of what we caught is for some high strangeness reason we are seeing between dimensions. Many Experiencers report that they were not only onboard ET ships but also felt strongly for many believable reasons they were in other space-time dimensions. Many have said this. How many times as UFO Hunters have we heard the end of the event being a total disappearance, blink out, and gone. In terms of physics and sometimes more appropriately Paraphysics these types of endings to UFO events infer a lot.
I’m paying close attention to emerging theories of a holographic universe. Many high level scientists are getting on board because the holographic paradigm answers a lot of questions. Symbolism, real Holograms, and Interdimensionality when mixed fantastically yields an endless myriad of resulting combinations. For us who study UFOs the merging of these Concepts catapults us onto a super highway where there are no speed limits. That at least 1 alien species has a firm working knowledge of holographic dimensionality quite possibly exist. If true that might start to explain many sightings past and present. It may even begin to answer this articles’ event.
Sometimes what’s hidden is worth finding.
Some questions about aliens and their crafts are being theorized and valuable insights are surfacing. While tangible insights into other more enigmatic ET mysteries are tougher to grasp. Asking the right questions, assessing the massive data, and the hyper-advancement of technology advances into the future. As I look up at the clock I’m already working on a new red dot. Another adventure begins. Always ready, the MUFON team motivates, educates, and trains members in many areas. Together we will find answers. Stanton Friedman says “there’s a lot of work to be done to move forward in a new direction to gather more evidence to get people more aware of the evidence we do have.”
Wait do you hear something? Oh yeah my skimobile is warming up outside, time to go check out a really big piece of ice!
To my sister Sondra a true explorer! A special shout-out to Major George Filer and Ken Pfeiffer who are always there for me every time. Thanks to Chase Klotzky and Steve Hudgeons for always presenting new adventures. To the other Star team members who are all involved in fascinating research projects, good luck to all!
To the MUFON Experiencer Research Team a group of extraordinary individuals with unmatched skill sets, and to my extended family. And with Antarctica the excitement grows.
Modification of Maxwell’s classical level Unification of Light, Electricity and Magnetism?
Herbert Dorsey writes, Those are some interesting equations there, I will study them. Did you know that the Alpha Institute for Advanced Studies has developed a unified field theory that unified electromagnetic, quantum mechanics and relativity? It is called the Einstein, Cartan, Evans (ECE) theory: http://aias.us
Aias – Alpha Institute for Advanced Studies – Home
The AIAS is an institute of theoretical physics, and is intellectually independent and not affiliated with any political view. The Alpha Institute for Advanced Studies (AIAS) was founded in 1998 and is among the leading theoretical physics institutes worldwide. aias.us
In my book “Secret Science and the Secret Space Program“, after much
research, I wrote that the German Vril flying saucers created their own space time by counter rotating torsion fields of sufficient strength and that these fields were created with counter rotating disks with magnets attached in the correct orientation. This bubble of space time would not be affected by outside gravity or inertia
It was only several years later that I discovered the work over at AIAS. And to my surprise, they, using their corrected ECE theory, had theoretically come to a similar conclusion about counter rotating magnetic fields! Sincerely, Herb Dorsey
Black Hole First Photograph
The Event Horizon Telescope, a planet-scale array of eight ground-based radio telescopes forged through international collaboration, captured this image of the supermassive black hole in the center of the galaxy M87 and its shadow.
(Image: © EHT Collaboration)
Black holes have finally been dragged out of the shadows.
For the first time ever, humanity has photographed one of these elusive cosmic beasts, shining light on an exotic space-time realm that had long been beyond our ken.
“We have seen what we thought was unseeable,” Sheperd Doeleman, of Harvard University and the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, said today (April 10) during a press conference at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.
Related: What Exactly Is a Black Hole Event Horizon (and What Happens There)?
Doeleman directs the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) project, which captured the epic imagery. These four photos, which were unveiled today at press events around the world and in a series of published papers, outline the contours of the monster black hole lurking at the heart of the elliptical galaxy M87.
The imagery is mind-blowing enough in its own right. But even more significant is the trail the new results will likely blaze, researchers said.
“There’s really a new field to explore,” Peter Galison, a professor of physics and the history of science at Harvard, said in an EHT talk last month at the South by Southwest (SXSW) festival in Austin, Texas. “And that’s ultimately what’s so exciting about this.”
Galison, who co-founded Harvard’s interdisciplinary Black Hole Initiative (BHI), compared the imagery’s potential impact to that of the drawings made by English scientist Robert Hooke in the 1600s. These illustrations showed people what insects and plants look like through a microscope.
Dr. Katherine Bowman while at MIT led a team developing the algorithms needed to help make the black hole image a reality developed.
Strange Craft
The True Story of an Air Force Intelligence Officer’s Life with UFOs
U.S. Air Force Major George Filer belongs to the generation of pilots and airmen who first became aware of the strange aircraft showing up in the Earth’s atmosphere after World War II. These men – military professionals who flew planes, commanded ships, served as radar operators and air traffic controllers at air fields around the world – began to whisper amongst themselves about encounters with suspected extraterrestrial aircraft.
During secret debriefings at U.S. bases, pilots and air crew told their commanders of seeing strange lights at night and in the daylight, groups of saucer- or cigar-shaped craft that easily paced them just a few yards off their plane’s wingtip. Award-winning investigative reporter John Guerra spent four years interviewing Filer, a decorated intelligence officer.
From objects in the skies over Cold War Europe to a UFO over flight during the Cuban Missile Crisis to strange lights over the DMZ during the Tet Offensive, Filer leaves nothing out about his Air Force UFO encounters, providing Guerra all the amazing details of his six decades investigating extraterrestrials and their craft.
Filer’s most memorable case – the shooting of an alien at Fort Dix Army Base in 1978 – is fully recounted for the first time in this book. Filer – who readers have seen on countless UFO documentaries – is also a member of the Disclosure Project, the famous panel of military experts, astronauts, and scientists that urges the U.S. government to release all it knows about UFOs to the public. Then, in the fall of 2017, the Pentagon released the F-18 gun camera footage of what can only be described as an extraterrestrial vehicle outperforming U.S. Navy fighters off San Diego. For the first time, after decades of denying what its intelligence officers, pilots, base commanders and air traffic control personnel know to be true, the military finally admitted to what Filer describes in this incredible book. By John L. Guerra (Author) New from $14.95 click on this link: https://amzn.to/2SmCKMy
UFO Sightings in the United States
Most Sighting reports are from MUFON CMS.
Arizona Light
San Tan Valley – I saw a black speck in the sky above plane contrails. From the camera image on zoom the shape was a dome like 1/2 of a ball. There were appendages from the sides and the bottom of the rim of the structure.Video taken on April 2, 2019
California Orbs
Madison — I saw three lights hovering over the town of Madison as I was driving southbound on I-505. They disappeared after 5 minutes. I pulled up to my house and got out my car and looked up at the sky to see if I could find them again and they formed a triangle Video taken on April 3, 2019
Montana Lights
The photographs were taken on November 8, 2014 at 9:37 PM between Wolf Creek, and Lincoln, MT. The size was about the size of a quarter. The objects approached at a closer distance and were about the size of a silver dollar before leaving. This is a few of the images that I captured.
I feel all life in one way is all connected, because without that life at the beginning I feel none of us would be here now. Note: The photos above show a variety of shapes. I don’t have an explanation for the content of these photos. The lights are actually more of a “shape changing” mass. There is no evidence of a hoax. The area where the photos were taken is quite remote. Thanks to Will Pucket/www.ufosnw.com/newsite/
Nebraska Object
Scottsbluff — I w as outside on April 9. 2019, and I happened to notice something dark hovering in the sky. Took out my cell phone to record it and also to be able to zoom in on it to try and figure out what it was.
New Jersey UFO
Video of UFO materializing over Delaware Bay
https://youtu.be/3jpkwYuJu44Villas — In the beginning of the video you will see one UFO by itself on March 17, 2019 at 18:48. After about 10 seconds or so you will see another one materialize to the right of the first one. There is glare in the video which moves when I move, these never move. Please contact me for the full video as it is too big to upload here
New York Orb
Central NY — On April 1, 2019, UFO orbs appear over city and the UFO breaks apart over Central NY. In the second sighting the colors are not showing correctly in different location.
Ohio Triangle
Alliance — A friend and I were standing outside and I pointed out a weird object in the sky low enough to make out on March 14, 2019, at 9 PM. The craft was perfectly triangular shaped and had three white circular lights that blinked with a red one in the center. The craft looked dark like it was black. We witnessed it and then it quickly vanished. The object was silent as it flew by us. Thanks to Will Pucket/www.ufosnw.com/newsite/
Kingston — I was looking outside of my window at night when all of a sudden I saw this bright light way in the distance. I thought it was a plane at first but it was just hovering. I got my phone and started recording a video. It hovered in the same area for about five minutes and I saw that it looked like a disc that was a reddish orange color. Then it started going towards another building on campus that lights up blue. And then it disappeared. About five minutes later another one or the same one came and hovered in the same place again.
South Dakota Light
Oglala — Several lights observed every night for over a month with different colors floating near the ground. Others observed were in the sky like stars that move occasionally. Photo was taken on March 20, 2019.
Texas Lights
Glasscock County — I was at Diamondback H&P 468 taking invoices. As I drove up I noticed a cloud coming from the NW. I hollered at the company men to look at this cloud. We are standing under the porch taking pictures of this cloud. Men climbed down from the drilling rig,
I took 3 pictures as the black cloud moved towards the rig. It started lightning, no thunder and it headed toward Garden City. We did not notice the lights until the next morning. A couple of rough necks were standing 60 yards from me and got the same 3 blue/green triangle in photos too!!
San Antonio — My fiancé told me to turn around and look at this craft in the sky. I stood there in shock until I thought to reach for my phone. When I first saw it, it was moving slowly and seemed very close as it was huge. They seemed to rotate slowly as it rose higher and the lights went out one by one. I never saw a definitive shape and it looked as if it literally disappeared as the craft blended in the sky. There was no sound at all. The sighting lasted t 2 minutes. Afterward, I saw two helicopters going toward the sighting…
Worldwide UFO Sightings
Australia Lights
I was driving west roughly 3KM away from the beach. There was a massive storm out at sea that night and clouds were scattered across the sky. My girlfriend was in the passenger and her 16 year old sister in the back. There was no large source of light around as Yamba is a small coastal town.
As I drive, I see some light against the clouds on April 9, 2019. It looked like a spotlight shining up into the clouds, similar to Batman’s signal in a circular shape but with no bat. The clouds surrounding the light were still pitch black. It caught my attention immediately. After 2-3 seconds the light on the clouds got stronger and larger.
A ball of cold, pure white light seemed to glide into the sky. It was twice the size of a standard international aircraft. It streaked in a WNW direction and glowed extremely bright and lit up all the surrounding clouds. I watched it move across the sky for 2 seconds before completely disappearing.
The object was unique compared to anything I’ve ever seen flying faster and silent than a plane. Powerful but concentrated white light emitted from it. Then, it flew underneath the clouds so I could see it. Mia in the front also witnessed the light craft.” She described the light on the clouds before the orb as “like the clouds shine when they are backlit by a full moon but only in a small patch.” I am certain I saw an Alien Spacecraft.
China Lights
Shanghai — The sightings were captured using my iPhone XR upon exiting Shanghai Lujiazui MRT station Exit 6 while the focus was mainly on the renowned Shanghai TV Station Tower. I didn’t take notice of the sighting until returning to the hotel to review photos taken for the night.
I was wondering what those white lights emitted from the two objects next to the right side of the tower. Further realized another one tiny shinny object joined in on the left of the tower in the second photo. Subsequent photos only showed the circular object path away where the other two objects were nowhere to be seen.
I would like MUFON to investigate what these objects really are. One thing for sure, this series of photos were taken less than 5 minutes and then moved on to destination Shanghai Tower right after.
Columbia Disk
Bogotá Calera — My name is Andrés Romero, the object was seen in the. Mirador “La Paloma” on the way to La Calera, a simple view was not seen, it was captured in a photo, with the camera of a cell phone, whose capture speed is 30FPS. The distortion of the object shows a high speed. The angle of incidence of the light on the object corresponds well with the time of day. Additionally a shadow is observed in the lower part, which corresponds to a saucer shape. The height corresponds to the height of the Bacata building with a dome on top of the object.
Germany Disc
Berlin –While on a weekend break to Berlin as a surprise 70th birthday present for my dad on June 5, 2017. I took this photo in Pariser Platz at 10:46am local time facing east of the Fernsehturm as it’s an iconic landmark of Berlin, at the time. I noticed nothing, heard nothing, there were plenty of people and tourists around at the time none pointing to the sky just getting on with the day as myself and my dad were. It wasn’t until we were at a coffee shop by Checkpoint Charlie and reviewing the photos that I noticed the anomaly and showed my father. The image was taken on an IPhone SE and is uploaded exactly as it was taken, no filters used etc.
Japan Glowing Ocean
Pacific Ocean — I saw this outside the airplane widow. In the same spot over the pacific Ocean as the pilot who took this photo. Photo was taken on August 20, 2018. Note: This is a possible nuclear radiation glow.
Netherlands Triangle
Venray — Since I saw some documents about UFOs and crop circles I wanted to tell you my story as well. It was a few years ago on April 10, 2015, I finished work and came out of the shower and looked out of my window. Suddenly I saw a big triangle shaped object that had 3 orange glowing lights. After y 20 seconds it disappears. However 30 minutes later a friend of mine was calling me, and says to me “Bro”… you never going to believe what I recently saw. Secret Science and the Secret Space Program Secret Science and the Secret Space Program and told me the exact same things as I saw a couple of minutes before.” Attached an picture (not mine, but this is nearly the same)
Puerto Rico Triangle
Caguas — At the time I was upstairs with my camera on April 2, 2019, I heard a noise, I looked through one of the windows and in the distance I could see this yellow stationary planet like appearance. I thought to myself: “There is no way Jupiter is in that sky location at this hour” so I decided to zoom-in with my camera to find out that it was two yellow lights that made one. I realized that I was seeing a UFO. I started filming it hovering and after a couple of seconds it decided to come closer by descending and coming very smoothly in one second to closer to me. It came all the way to my left at medium speed fixed at convenient altitude so I needed to switch windows and when I did I heard a noise similar to an airplane. Plus I saw all this colorful pulsing lights. I was baffled and excited because this the first time in my life a UFO has gotten this close. I leave a video and pictures to further admire the engineers of this craft. **NOTE: the video shows only the closest moment that I could film the UFO**
Russia Disc
Krasnodar — I dint see anything until I looked at my picture of the apartment on the river. **The object appears to be a cylinder or a disc. The photo was taken on April 8, 2019.
UK/England Objects
Preston — I was travelling eastward on the 4th of April 2019, in a taxi, the driver and I noticed a halo above the sun.
I then took a photo of the halo. It was when I viewed the photo I became aware of two objects just to the right of the sun, when I scrolled to the left I noticed another two objects and possibly another further in the background, the first object to the right appears to be making another halo, I took a photo with my phone camera, This photo shows the two objects left of the sun. If I can I’ll attach the photo, Nigel
Billericay — I was on a flight to Heathrow airport in England and I saw a shiner disk shaped object outside the plane window on April 10, 2019.
Many other people saw it through different windows, so it couldn’t have been a crack or light reflecting off of the window. It then moved up and down/ side to side so I could tell that it wasn’t an aircraft.
Zoom into the original photo and you can see it. I also edited the other two photos to be clearer in showing the shape of the UFO.
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Our research is uncovering amazing truths by solving challenging projects deemed too difficult by other firms. We have had some success in finding missing persons. We could use your help in getting more results from our research. I have put together a DVD of the last seventeen years of Filer’s Files for you with hundreds of great photographs and UFO sightings. Additionally, I have decided to include my book within the DVD that includes George Ritter’s exciting abduction story told by Linda Moulton Howe. Broadcaster David E. Twichell joined me to write the book. We are asking for a donation of only $50 that includes next year’s subscription and our book. Please include your e-mail address and mailing address.
Have been digging through the giant DVD you sent recently. As a relatively recent joiner, I was unaware of the years’ worth of consistent reports of the same types of objects all over. This has been very educational. Just wanted to thank you for all you’ve done.
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Filer’s Files salutes our fighting men and women; God Bless Our Troops, and Georgie, Elizabeth, and Victoria Filer, and Eddie Pedrick. May the Angels be your guide and take you to paradise.
Put another way, a young person in the U.S. is nearly 11 times as likely to die in a swimming pool than in a school shooting. Few public officials would say pools are doing a poor job protecting swimmers, but the statistics suggest that we need “more lifeguards at pools, as opposed to guards at schools,” Fox said
The Filer Research Institute feels the scientific study of UFOs is for the benefit of humankind and is an important endeavor. The US Air Force investigated UFOs publicly for more than twenty years under Project Blue Book; and I continue this advanced research. I believe the God of the universe has spread life throughout the cosmos and UFO’s are visiting us in ever-inceasing numbers.
I will be in Mt Shasta this summer and wish to encourage people to come and see this conference.
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Filer’s Files salutes our fighting men and women Georgie Filer and Eddie Pedrick my grandsons who both drowned. We pray that God will bless those who read these files spiritually.
George Filer
MUFON New Jersey State Director
Chief Editor National UFO Center
Major USAF ret.
Graduated BS from Bradley U and Masters's Degree from CentralMichigan University
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Filer’s Files 3, 2020 Science Catches Up to the Bible - January 13, 2020
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Hints and Symbols
Opulence and obliviousness
By: Kay Rivera - @inquirerdotnet
04:02 AM November 04, 2019
It was only a few weeks ago when presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo took on the public’s “challenge” to commute to work in the middle of what is undeniably a real and distressing transport crisis. Painfully ignorant aphorisms to “just leave earlier” and “be creative” were said. The incident was just one of a continuous stream of insensitive, tone deaf moves on the part of government officials who are hopelessly out of touch with the daily realities of living in the Philippines.
Private presidential jets worth billions. Cynthia Villar’s ignorance on farmers’ incomes and how funded agricultural research benefits the common Filipino. A senator who plays at personal assistant and selfie-taker, and who chronicles the daily life of a President who seems more concerned with trading insults with other politicians than working toward the health, prosperity and independence of his own people. Planned imposition of taxes on dried and salted food, which makes up a significant part of most Filipinos’ diet due to their affordability. The reemergence of previously vaccinated diseases, and the powers that be wasting time playing the blame game. All of this is at play in the middle of what, in any other country, would constitute a humanitarian crisis; in the Philippines, it’s merely the way of things.
It is, then, terribly unfunny that local celebrities should follow this tradition of insensitivity and tone-deafness and host a Marie Antoinette-themed party, called “Opulence: Let Them Eat Cake,” in a Third World country experiencing such a crisis. Let history majors quibble over the attribution, because the symbolic significance of the phrase is clear: It reflects the frivolousness and ignorance of a queen who, being told the peasants were starving and had no bread, said, “Then let them eat brioche.” It unironically subverts the image of a self-absorbed, privileged ruler and turns her into an icon of fashion and opulence, referencing the Sofia Coppola film about the unhappy royal.
The significant point isn’t whether one should, or shouldn’t, sympathize with Marie Antoinette as a figure in history, but whether those benefiting from power and privilege are able to sympathize with the Filipino everyman of today. If such a clumsily named party is any indication, perhaps not. It makes the unwitting partygoers seem shallow and indifferent, and washes off whatever gloss these individuals may have gained with any previous humanitarian work. The fashion magazines congratulate the stylings of their costumes, while the rest of us look numbly on, unable to relate to this level of obliviousness.
We’re not immune to reading celebrity news and looking admiringly at their outfits from previous parties; they are, after all, pretty and pleasing distractions from daily drudgery. This incident just takes the cake — pun intended — as its extravagance and theme seem to thumb noses at those suffering from no access to water, from recent natural disasters, from the ache of poverty. One doesn’t get to reference a historical figure while omitting the context of starvation and unrest that surrounded her.
There’s a fine line between cheeky irreverence and sheer insensitivity. If we praise our local artists for their ability to inspire and uplift, then there should be words for when they do the opposite. We’ve already come to expect the worst of insensitivity from our local politicians, so it’s disappointing when our media darlings self-indulgently follow suit.
In being offended, are we taking things too seriously? Is our “woke” culture looking for yet another target, shooting down harmless celebrities having harmless fun? Maybe. But maybe it’s also time for a reminder that those at the top should be taking the plight of the Filipino citizen more seriously instead. Let’s do better. Let’s read the room.
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TAGS: Cynthia Villar, Hints and Symbols, insensitivity, kay rivera, Salvador Panelo
DILG to lock shops in Tagaytay City, other areas near Taal
Gamboa officially assumes post as new PNP chief
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chapter/middle grade
a jumble of fiction favorites
orangemarmaladebooks October 21, 2019 3 Comments
Today’s fiction list jumps all over the place: fantasy, sci fi, historical, contemporary and multicultural titles; graphic novels, imported novels, books in translation.
Reading a variety of genres is refreshing and full of surprises. Some books usher me into the difficult realities of others’ lives, while others rocket me right out of this world. If you or your kids are stuck in a literary rut, maybe something here will spark an interest.
The Steam Whistle Theatre Company, by Vivian French
published in the UK in 2019 by Walker Books
This delightful, lighthearted, Victorian-era adventure follows the Pringles, a family theatre-troupe down on their luck, determined to bolster their fortunes by removing to the north of England.
Its rousing pace will keep readers fully engaged and could serve as a jolly enticement to delving into a bit of Shakespeare. It’s certainly chock full of as many dastardly villains and spoiled brats to boo and hiss, and plucky, colorful characters to cheer, as any Shakespearean production.
Great fun for ages 9 and up. It has not been brought to the U.S. yet, but you can order it online.
Queen of the Sea, written and illustrated by Dylan Meconis
published in 2019 by Walker Books US
Ah! I loved this gorgeous, intriguing graphic novel and tore through it in record time!
Loosely based on the early years of Elizabeth I of England, this account is peppered with fascinating historical details about something entirely unusual in children’s literature — 16th century convent life!
Young Margaret has lived since her infancy on a remote island. It’s a most unusual home, this convent of the Elysian sisters, yet it’s a home she loves. Two new arrivals, one an imperious woman who makes life difficult for everyone on the island, bring news and dramatic changes beyond anything Margaret could dream.
Absolutely fabulous for a wide age range, 10 to adult.
What Elephants Know, by Eric Dinerstein
published in 2016 by Disney Hyperion
Join Nandu, age 11, and his beloved elephant, Devi Kali, in this richly-woven story studded with authentic details of the Nepalese Borderlands region with its tigers and rhinos, exotic birdlife, dense jungle, ice-cold rivers plunging from the Himalayas, and every color of dappled-green light.
The King of Nepal has decided to shut down the elephant stable that is the only home orphaned Nandu knows. Nandu and his compatriots strive for some means to save the stable in this intriguing, stirring, gorgeously-written account.
It’s rife with unusual elements, which is exactly what I look for in middle-grade fiction. Magnificent elephants and their intelligent relationships with their drivers and caretakers, the dangers and glories of this jungle region, violent bandits, a Catholic scholar, Hindu holy man, and Muslim friend, all anchor this story pulsing with adventure, courage, heart, and respect for the wonders of the natural world. I thoroughly enjoyed it. There’s a sequel out this year as well. Ages 10 and up.
Lampie and the Children of the Sea, by Annet Schaap
first published in Amsterdam in 2017; English edition by Laura Watkinson 2019, published by Pushkin Press
My ears always perk up when I hear about a book in translation; I love reading children’s literature coming from other cultures. Here’s a book that won high awards in the Netherlands brought to us by our great friends at Pushkin Press.
It’s the story of a lighthouse keeper’s daughter, Lampie, whose life takes a disastrous turn one wickedly stormy night. As punishment for a shipwreck on her watch, she is sent to live at a strange mansion which houses, it is rumored, a monster. What Lampie discovers, however, is quite curious!
This novel courses with the strange darkness of a Grimm’s fairy tale as well as bearing a lovely resemblance in places to The Secret Garden. I also felt a similarity of cadence and matter-of-fact voice to that renowned Dutch author Meindert de Jong. It’s a magical story that mesmerizes, draws us into a world of pirates and mermaids, lonely and hurting children, and the sea.
Fair warning: the story includes one quite violent scene, a terribly neglectful father, and an old-fashioned freak show. The “freaks,” who are denigrated by the adult villains, are loved by both child and adult heroes. Nevertheless, it is painful to read the abusive insults.
It’s a great, fantastical yarn with ample fodder for discussion in a book club, for ages 10 and up.
Beverly, Right Here, by Kate DiCamillo
published in 2019 by Candlewick Press
This is the third novel in DiCamillo’s series about the Three Rancheros: Raymie Clarke, Louisiana Elefante, and Beverly Tapinski. The girls are 10 years old when we meet them in the first installment, Raymie Nightingale, fierce friends who begin as competitors and wind up as family.
Now they are 14. Louisiana has left town with her grandmother (Louisiana’s Way Home), Beverly’s beloved dog, Buddy, has died, and she’s decided to also leave. For good. Put some miles between herself and her neglectful, alcoholic mother and make her own life.
As in the previous novels, DiCamillo’s prose is as gentle as the ocean breeze even as she unfolds layers and layers of hurt and grief. And as in the previous novels, she illuminates the power for healing that the most ordinary, homely persons can have in another’s life, shines a light on true community, earthy kindness, muscular caring. I found this to be the most melancholy of the books, probably because Beverly has grown up to the point that she’s more aware of the brokenness surrounding her. Yet it is not a depressing book. The realistic hope is measured and a bit frayed around the edges, but it is hope, indeed.
I think reading these books in order is essential. Best for ages 12 and up. I loved this series and recommend it for adults looking for short, profound, beautifully-written stories.
Mighty Jack and Zita the Spacegirl, written and illustrated by Ben Hatke
published in 2019 by First Second
If your kids haven’t read Ben Hatke’s sci fi/fantasy graphic novels, they should go directly to the shelf, do not pass go, do not collect $200, and get started.
Hatke has written a trio of books about Zita the Spacegirl and a pair of books about Mighty Jack. Epic, action-crammed adventures, super-sized heroics, goblins and screeds and intergalactic robots of every shape and size, make all these sizzling tales extremely popular.
In his latest offering, Hatke merges the characters from both series, setting the kids and their alien pals on a blazing mission to save the earth from an army of vicious giants. It has been awhile since I’ve read the Zita books in particular so I was grateful for Hatke’s brief summaries of both series at the outset. If you haven’t read the other books, though, start with them first. All of them are an absolute blast for ages 9 and up.
Mr. Penguin and the Fortress of Secrets, written and illustrated by Alex T. Smith
first published in Great Britain in 2018; first U.S. edition 2019 by Peachtree Publishing
This is the second of the Mr. Penguin titles to make its way across the pond to us. These lighthearted, heavily and jauntily- illustrated, high-octane stories are great fun and of particular note for older, reluctant readers.
Mr. Penguin advertises as “Adventurer and Penguin,” available for hire to solve any mysteries one might have. He thus finds himself embroiled in Indiana Jones type affairs, that is if Indiana was a somewhat reluctant adventurer with a weakness for fish fingers whose compatriots, including his sidekick Colin, a kung fu wielding spider in a bowler hat, exhibit the lion’s share of moxie and brains required for success.
This episode finds him colliding with impossible mountain fortresses, surviving airplane crashes on jagged, frozen mountainsides, foiling a diabolical mad scientist, and — like Indy — confronting a roomful of snakes. “Why did it have to be snakes?” Humorous, dangerous, action for ages 8 and up.
Bernard Pepperlin, written by Cara Hoffman, illustrated by Olga Demidova
published in 2019 by Harper Collins Children’s Books
The drowsy dormouse from the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party escapes from one Wonderland and lands in another — New York City — in this trippy little novel that taps into the spirit of resistance and stouthearted friendship.
Bernard the dormouse lands in the middle of a dark plot by a band of weasels known as The Pork Pie Gang to hypnotize New York into a stand still and take over the city. He teams up with Mittens, a streetwise Brooklyn cat, Ivy, an intrepid and strategic lizard, Leon, a hospitable community-activist rat, and a plethora of other small animals to stymie their dastardly plan.
The human and animal worlds of NYC run as parallel universes here. Mice in business suits, Broadway-bound cockroaches, and taxi-hailing chinchillas scamper along the sidewalks and ride the subway alongside their mostly-oblivious human counterparts. For kids who are unfamiliar with New York, much of the assumed knowledge of its sites will be lost on them, though it shouldn’t derail the story too much.
To me the cover image, title, and trim size of this book all exude a charming aura; it appears to be a very gentle read-aloud for 5 year olds. Indeed, both of the blurbs on the back jacket mention, “charming.” This, however, is a clever middle-grade read that would earn a PG rating on film for Scary Moments, and I’m just sorry that some older readers will shy away from it due to the “cuteness” of the package. Ages 8 and up.
Categorieschapter/middle grade, graphic novels
Tagsadventure stories, children's books, conservation, fantasy, graphic novels, middle grade fiction, science-fiction
popping with pictures!… graphic-novel style books for beginning readers
laughter is good medicine…forty funny finds
Krista Brock October 21, 2019 at 8:44 am
This is a great list. A lot of these books are new to me. Thanks for sharing them!
Orange Marmalade Books-for-Giving 2019 – orange marmalade November 29, 2019 at 7:44 am
[…] Mr Penguin and the Fortress of Secrets, Alex T. Smith, 2018, Hodder Children’s Books The second in a zesty adventure series starring an Indiana Jones-esque penguin and his trusty sidekick, Colin, a spider. Brilliant, jauntily-illustrated, and humorous. […]
The 2020 Orange Marmalade Juicy Book Awards – orange marmalade January 6, 2020 at 6:01 am
[…] Queen of the Sea Dylan Meconis/Walker Books […]
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"Childbirth"
"McQueen, Nicolle"
Airplanes 1
Amateur films 1
Beaches 1
Cheerleading 1
Civil rights movements 1
Commencement ceremonies 1
Africa, West 1
Washington (D. C.) 1
Bonds, Antonia 1
Brittany Walters 1
Buffalo, Donita 1
Carla Brown 1
Davis, Donna 1
Evans, Dan 1
Evita Colon 1
Graham Family 1
Hill, Marrin 1
Hood, Tisha 1
Ifill, Adrena 1
Jordan, Pia 1
Kelly Family 1
Kittrell, Marco 1
LeBouef, Clayton 1
Mackins, Ayanna 1
Mangum, Lateef 1
Great Migration Home Movie Study Collection
smithsonian online virtual archive
National Museum of African American History and Culture (U.S.)
WHUT Howard University Television
Mid-Atlantic Regional Moving Image Archive (MARMIA)
Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of District of Columbia
inclusive dates
2 sound recordings
The Great Migration is a unique, ongoing digitization service program that partners the National Museum of African American History and Culture with individuals and organizations across the United States to preserve their important analog audiovisual media. While major motion picture film and television historically lacked diverse representation, black history was instinctively being preserved in everyday home movies. Today, these personal narratives serve as an invaluable tool for understanding and re-framing black moving image history, and provide a much needed visualization of African American history and culture.
Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. Supported by the Robert Frederick Smith Fund of the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Collection is available online for open research.
The collection contains 39 digitized home movies, 41 digitized home videos, and 2 digitized audiotape recordings. However, as an ongoing project the scope of the collection will continue to increase over time. The scope will be updated as is appropriate.
The content of the collection consists predominantly of amateur recordings created by families to document their lives. This includes major life events, such as birthdays, as well as family vacations and holidays. Additionally, the collection includes footage produced by professionals for broadcast on television. This particular footage entered the collection through partnerships with other memory institutions.
41 video recordings
39 motion picture films
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Hyperbole and how it detracts from credibility
April 10, 2018 Noel Turnbull
Unlike Donald Trump the people who ran the British Empire realised very early that understatement was a more effective communication tactic than hyperbole.
Certainly there was racism and awful exploitation (see Shashi Tharoor’s Inglorious Empire – or just watch the YouTube version of his contribution to the Oxford Union debate which preceded the book) but lots of aristocratic mumbling was a good way of hiding massacres, mass famines and contempt for the lesser breed and colonials. Indeed, the Brits did a good job of convincing many people (eg Tony Abbott and the historian Niall Ferguson) of the virtues of Empire.
But in one colonial outpost – Melbourne – the mumbled understatement approach has never permeated the thinking of those who support, fund or organise the Formula One Grand Prix at Albert Park. Indeed, the Grand Prix hyperbolic approach was exemplified by the late Ron Walker who successively claimed the Grand Prix television audience was greater than that of the Soccer World Cup, the Olympics and the total global population. Or former Premier, Jeff Kennett, who said in 1993 that “Victorian taxpayers would not be asked to meet the cost of the event, with the State Government only prepared to act as guarantor for loans required to establish the race.” Estimated annual losses are now around $60 million.
Sadly the Grand Prix is still getting away with the hyperbole even though the Save Albert Park organisation continues to expose it and provide the evidence of just how much genuine fake news the organisers churn out. A few journalists bell the cat such as Greg Baum’s wonderful article – All hail the grandiose Grand Prix in The Age (23 March 2018). The article, step by step, exposes every one of the dodgy hyperbolic claims the Grand Prix organisers make each year – from attendance figures to financial benefit.
As Baum wrote: “The Grand Prix is the acme of political brainwashing. When it comes to fake news, the Grand Prix Corporation makes Donald Trump look like an apprentice. Take this single statement in a story on its website acclaiming the success of last year’s staging: ‘An estimated 296,600 fans attended the 2017 Australian Grand Prix, with an additional 7.314 million viewers nationally and 390 million viewers worldwide.’ Let’s work back down that grid … 390 million viewers worldwide? Formula One itself claims only that many for its entire 21-race season. When Liberty Media took over operations from Bernie Ecclestone last year, it revised the figure down to around 350 million. So Melbourne’s grand prix out-rates all the other 20 combined, according to the Melbourne grand prix. Taking into account time zones, resistance group Save Albert Park say the true figure is probably no more than 15 million.
“Then there’s the gate, nudging 300,000. Here, the Grand Prix Corporation is at its Goebbel-esque best. The figure, you will note, is round, jolly and estimated. That is because the grand prix does not count numbers through the gate. It says that the cost of putting electronic turnstiles at seven gates, or even to issue a few hand-held scanners, is prohibitive.”
The Save Albert Park group has exposed yet another problem with the attendance and the possibility of counting numbers through the gate – the ticketing company has offered to provide hand-held scanners free. While this might be the only benefit taxpayers will ever get, it’s beyond remarkable that the Grand Prix organisers declined the generous offer to establish categorically what the attendances (even with freebees) are.
Save Albert Park website provides example after example of misleading and deceptive claims about the event; misleading ‘economic impact’ studies; the struggle to attract high level sponsors; Press Council adjudications on specific newspaper reports on the dodgy attendance figures; the number of overseas visitors to the event; and the extent of Grand Prix losses. It also contrasts them with embarrassingly accurate Auditor-General cost benefit analyses.
Yet the Government is apparently drawing up a Master Plan for Albert Park which will lock in the Grand Prix for years; reduce the much-used and loved Albert Park Golf Course to nine holes (hopefully by getting rid of the holes on which the blog has sliced or hooked balls into either the lake or the road); and increasing the development density.
What makes it all worse is that the Labor Government has known the event is a dud for many years but is frightened to can it because research suggests that could be seen as favouring inner urban people over the knuckle-dragging section of outer urban voters in marginal seats.
But there is a fundamental lesson in all of this- not only for politicians but also for PR people – credibility is in inverse proportion to the hyperbole employed.
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In this Nov. 20, 2019 file photo, Elizabeth Banks poses for photographers upon arrival at the UK premiere of 'Charlie's Angels', at a central London cinema. Harvard University's famed Hasty Pudding theater troupe has named Banks as the group's 2020 Woman of the Year. The troupe's leaders made the announcement Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2020 saying Banks was chosen because of her impact in Hollywood as a female director, producer and writer.
Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP
Elizabeth Banks to be honored by Harvard’s Hasty Pudding
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) — Harvard University’s famed Hasty Pudding theater troupe has named actor and director Elizabeth Banks as the group’s 2020 Woman of the Year.
The troupe’s leaders made the announcement Tuesday, saying Banks was chosen because of her impact in Hollywood as a female director, producer and writer.
“Elizabeth is a role model to all of the young women in the Theatricals, especially in a year with a female writer, female producers, and a majority female cast — we all cannot wait to celebrate and meet her,” Natalie Needle, the troupe’s co-producer, said in a statement.
Banks will be honored with a parade through Cambridge on Jan. 31, followed by a celebratory roast where she will be awarded her pudding pot. After the roast, the troupe will perform a preview of “Mean Ghouls,” the group’s second show with a cast that includes women.
Banks is an executive producer on “Shrill,” a Hulu series featuring Aidy Bryant that’s scheduled to begin its second season this month. She made her feature directorial debut in 2015 with “Pitch Perfect 2,” and last year produced, wrote, directed and appeared in a reboot of “Charlie’s Angels.”
She has received three Emmy nominations for roles on “Modern Family” and “30 Rock.”
Born in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, Banks graduated from the University of Pennsylvania and received a graduate degree at the American Conservatory Theater. A longtime advocate for women’s rights, Banks in October was named chair of the new Creative Council for the Center for Reproductive Rights.
Hasty Pudding Theatricals dates to the late 18th century. One of its first mandates was “members in alphabetical order shall provide a pot of hasty pudding for every meeting.”
It has honored a Woman of the Year since 1951, and previous winners include Ella Fitzgerald, Meryl Streep and Halle Berry. Bryce Dallas Howard was last year’s honoree.
This year’s Man of the Year has not yet been announced.
Hasty Pudding
LONDON (AP) — Goodbye, your royal highnesses. Hello, life as — almost — ordinary civilians.
Witherspoon, Washington team in front of and behind camera
PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — Tired of others influencing her career choices, Reese Witherspoon launched her own production company eight years ago. She has been calling the shots on both sides of the camera ever since, often in collaboration with other high-profile actresses.
Meryl Streep to lend her voice to Apple animated short film
NEW YORK (AP) — Meryl Streep is getting animated: The Oscar-winner will lend her voice to a short illustrated film celebrating the Earth.
Steve Martin and Martin Short to star in Hulu comedy series
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Designing a touch-screen TV remote control on a smartphone
Posted on May 5, 2010 by vickybuser
Our first demo for “Internet TV in the Social Web” includes an iPhone app that works as both a TV remote control and a ‘companion device’ for viewing programme recommendations and programme guides, managing programme playlists, and reading background information about a programme from the Web.
From a user experience perspective, there are two particularly interesting aspects to this:
Usability issues relating to using a touch-screen remote for controlling a TV
The idea that merging the Web with TV doesn’t have to mean showing the Web on a TV screen: instead, the Web can be integrated into the viewing experience using a ‘second screen’ companion device, leaving the TV screen free of clutter.
The second issue is worthy of a blog post of its own. In the meantime, we’re starting to explore the first issue in more detail.
Our iPhone app includes an interface for a basic TV remote that allows the user to select and browse their programme guide (EPG) on the TV screen, and to select and play programmes. Whilst anecdotal evidence suggests that people want to use their smartphones as TV remotes, the touch-screen interface poses a major design challenge. With traditional remotes we’ve all become used to changing channels or adjusting the volume without necessarily taking our eyes off the TV screen – by feeling for the desired buttons under our fingers. However, without these physical buttons, the touch-screen requires us to take our eyes off the TV screen and pay visual attention to the remote.
When we mocked-up the interfaces for our prototypes, we played around with various designs for the remote screen. However, none of these deviated much from standard remote designs, and we didn’t have time to try out anything new or to do any rigorous analysis of the usability effects of the screen layout and positioning of the controls.
We also wondered whether, and how, various input and output methods could be used to improve the user experience. These include:
Gesture control: for example, the Boxee Remote iPhone app offers a ‘gesture’ mode whereby users drag the Boxee logo around to the TV screen, and tap the logo to perform an action (select/play/pause). Similarly, Apple added swipe and tap finger gesture control functionality to its Remote app to control what’s seen on Apple TV. Via its ‘Control’ interface, users can tap to select, play and pause, and flick left or right, or drag and hold, to rewind or fast-forward.
Sound effects, such as clicks or voiceover
‘Haptics’ (tactile feedback such as vibration)
Accelerometer control (tilts and shakes)
Finally, could there be certain situations in which specific combinations of these ‘modes’ could be optimal, depending on the user’s individual preferences and needs? If so, how much would users want to control these modes?
We thought that this was an interesting area of research, and it also complements the work our colleagues in BBC Research and Development are doing in investigating how multi-touch software could support television viewing in the future.
The challenge of proposing some solutions to this design issue has been taken up by the some of the students attending Lora Aroyo’s HCI course at VU University Amsterdam. The students are currently mid-way through their assignment, and we’re really looking forward to seeing what they come up with.
This entry was posted in Second screens, Thinking Out Loud, User Experience. Bookmark the permalink.
5 Responses to Designing a touch-screen TV remote control on a smartphone
Mike Atherton says:
Hi Vicky – good post. My experience of various touch-screen remotes (including the Harmon Kardon Take Control and the Logitech Harmony) is that they’re unfortunately mostly crap. While the idea of an adaptive remote is interesting, in practice devices have failed because:
– they’ve used resistive touch screens, which aren’t nearly sensitive enough. Perhaps the iphone’s capacitative screen will aid this issue
– in order to be usable, the button sizes have to be far larger than on a physical remote. This leads to real-estate issues.
– and as you mention, the lack of haptic feedback make them impossible to use without looking at the screen constantly. I imagine this would be worse on a non-dedicated device (like the iphone) where it would be all too easy to quit the remote app.
And as you mention in your other point, web-enhanced TV certainly doesn’t have to mean web on a TV screen. In the bad old days of OpenTV/Liberate apps (hmm – are we still there?) it was briefly popular in the US to create somewhat synchronised websites that extended a programme-brand and offered in-programme interactivity (such as answering quiz questions) in a way that overcame the backchannel limitations of the time. Reference point here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two-Screen_Solutions
Personally I’d love to see some kind of synchronised smart programme extension on my iphone – real-time tweets, IMDB trivia, Test The Nation style interactivity – far more than I’d want to use the phone to control the TV itself.
1)’Tilt and shakes’ as well as voice commands are nice but there are some inherent costs within (the phone is not normally used as a remote so there is an extra learning curve for the user)
2)Could you enable the “full content” RSS feed, please?
Partial feeds tend to get overlooked.
vickybuser says:
Thank you both for your comments.
Karl – the settings have now been changed in WordPress and http://blog.notu.be/feed/ now carries full posts.
Pingback: Second screen usability « NoTube blog
TimS says:
Big advantage of gestures: you can do them without looking at your device’s screen. Tap to play/pause would be a good start.
Perhaps you’d consider some novel EPG designs. Navigating TV EPGs seems very clumsy, by comparison to, say, browsing content on an iPod. That’s partly because iPods make excellent use of scrolling (and have done for the best part of a decade, now), and respond instantly, and maybe partly because you have a better idea what music is on your iPod than what programmes are on an EPG.
An iPad would be a really good form factor for an EPG. (An iPhone-sized smartphone is probably a little small).
A brief discussion just now suggested browsing by length (“I want a 30 minute programme to watch over dinner” vs. “I want a feature film”).
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My (Xbox) Kingdom for a Power Supply
March 2, 2012 March 2, 2012 Chief Oddball Tech
(Credit goes to Pooch for the title of this post.)
After deliberating and collecting funds for some weeks, I finally ordered a new Xbox 360 on my birthday. I’d like to state upfront that this wouldn’t have been possible without the generous gift(card)s I received from my family and friends, so huge thanks and shout-outs go out to all of you! After deliberating at some length about exactly which Xbox to buy, I settled on the Gears of War Limited Edition bundle — and thanks to Amazon Prime, I had it in my hands less than 18 hours later.
I documented the process of setting it up, intending to write a follow-up (or a sequel?) to the entry I posted in 2010 when I bought my last Xbox. The point was to compare the old “Fat” Xbox to the new “Slim” one, and highlight the software differences that make playing games on more than one Xbox console a lot easier than it used to be. However, before I can get to that point, I have to deal with a small…problem.
You’ve probably heard Microsoft tout the redesigned Xbox 360 Slim as being “whisper quiet”. If not, you’ve almost certainly heard everyone under the sun blasting the older Xboxes for being loud as hell. So I was a little surprised when I powered up my new Slim console and discovered that it sounds not unlike my Jasper-based Final Fantasy XIII Super Elite. If anything, the fan noise on the new Xbox is more annoying! Although it’s a little bit quieter, the frequency of the motor whine is far more annoying to my ears. It was honestly kind of a let-down, but I figured I just had sensitive ears. Everything else seemed to be working OK, so I registered the console’s warranty and transferred my content licenses to it. (This process has changed too, and definitely for the better. I’ll have news on that in my upcoming review.)
A few days later, I was in the game room at around 2:00 in the morning trying to figure out why our Internet connection had been sucking lately. This had me back behind the console table where my new Xbox sits, dorking around with the router that I keep there to see if it was the source of our connectivity woes. (Hint: it was.) I accidentally started up the Xbox while I was doing this, thanks to its new touch-capacitive power button, and much to my surprise I realized that the fan noise I’d been getting used to wasn’t coming from the Xbox console. What the shit? So what is that noise, then? I started hunting around and received quite a shock when I discovered the source of the noise was the Xbox’s power supply brick!
Now I’ve owned a fair few Xbox 360s, several of which have had their problems. None of them has ever had a screwy power supply brick. In fact, I still have every Xbox power supply brick I’ve ever owned because they all did their jobs: they effectively and SILENTLY supplied power to each and every console until that console’s dying day. Why is this brand new Xbox 360, bastion of whisper quiet, equipped with a power supply that’s whining and droning like an old 286? Even more baffling is the fact that the new Slim consoles come with an equally slim-ified power supply, which uses less power than any of the models that came before it. Why does this thing have an audible fan when the huge honking 203W power supply that came with my 2005 Xbox never made a peep?
At this point, the whining fan noise that I’d been trying to learn to live with became completely unacceptable. Somehow, it would have seemed feasible for the console itself to make such a noise, annoying as it would have been. But a power brick? No way. I won’t put up with it. So I immediately got on my phone and started researching. Was this normal? Please say no. But a lot of people were reporting noisy power supplies with their Xbox Slims…a whole lot. Although there was definitely enough evidence from the other side to suggest that not all of the power supplies were noisy, it was clear that a large number of them were. In the end, though, what constitutes “noisy” or “annoying” is so subjective, it’s impossible to quantify how big of a problem this is.
I decided to test for myself whether my power supply’s noise output was typical or not. One of my friends has three Xboxes, two of them Slims, so I asked if he’d let me borrow both of his Slim power supplies for an evening of testing. After getting them home, I hooked up each of the three power supplies one after the other — two belonging to my friend, plus my own — and the results were clear. Both of his power supplies were much quieter, and in fact could not even be heard from my place on the couch, even though if you put your ear to them you could tell they definitely had fans running inside. My power supply, on the other hand, developed a whine/drone as its fan ramped up about 30 seconds after booting the console, and the more you played games, the louder and more annoying it got. Now that I had a taste of what a Slim power supply was supposed to sound like, I had even less tolerance for the crappy one I’d apparently been stuck with.
Having already registered and transferred licenses to the new console, I was not in much of a mood to package it all back up and return it to Amazon, even though I could have done it. Instead I decided to go through the Microsoft warranty process to return the power supply by itself and get a replacement. The phone support guys (who have clearly been outsourced away from North America since the last time I talked to them) were perfectly helpful and set up the RMA right away. Unfortunately, though, they wouldn’t cross-ship me a free replacement — they had to wait for me to send in my faulty one first. Even more grating, I had to pay to ship it to them. But the thing’s pretty small and Priority Mail is pretty cheap, so I went ahead and did it, sending it off just this morning.
So now my new Xbox must sit dormant and unplayable for a couple of weeks, at least, while I wait for the new power brick to get here. This is naturally inconvenient, especially since Mass Effect 3 comes out next Tuesday. At least it’s not like the last two times I dealt with Xbox failures; this time I have a functioning backup console. However, my Mass Effect collector’s edition is going to come with some DLC and other unlockable stuff to redeem, and I don’t want to redeem it on the old console because it will then be tied to that hardware. And I also realized that there are still some savegames stuck on my new console’s hard drive that I hadn’t yet moved to the Cloud Saves area (which I’ll also discuss in my upcoming review).
To alleviate these problems, I went online and ordered a separate replacement power supply for the new Xbox. At $22, it’s clearly a Chinese knockoff and not an authentic Microsoft part, but according to the specs and reviews, it ought to do the job until my OEM replacement arrives. If the interim replacement happens to be pretty decent, I may even keep it around as a backup, given the cheap price I paid — but if it’s loud and cheaply built, I’ll probably return it after I’ve finished using it as a stop-gap.
In the next few days, I’ll be posting my full review of the new Xbox, the new Cloud Save system and the portability of gamer profiles across multiple consoles (which honestly works far better than I had dared hope). But until then, I must grudgingly tell you that it looks like Microsoft’s Xbox division won’t be shedding their reputation for lackluster engineering and build quality anytime soon — not if the fact that they can’t even get a power brick right is any indication. I hope my new console itself enjoys a far better service record, but only time will tell.
Rants video games Xbox
My Kingdom for a Visor
Search for $A, Find $B: The Resurrection
Oddball Review: Sony Reader Wi-Fi (PRS-T1) 8 years ago
A Weekend in Koh Samui 11 years ago
My Next-Gen Game Plan (Or: How GameStop Bought Me an Xbox One) 6 years ago
If You’re Gonna Buy an Xbox, Buy an Xbox 10 years ago
A Grab Bag of Game Impressions 7 years ago
My son just won his first chess game against me. Proud Papa moment. about 2 hours ago from Twitter for Android ReplyRetweetFavorite
Why, Oh Why Do I Click On High-Traffic, Politically Charged Twitter Threads: The Movie about 6 hours ago from Twitter Web App ReplyRetweetFavorite
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Tag Archives: changing names
Some thoughts on name-changing after immigration
(Note: I’ll be further discussing some of these issues on my main blog in upcoming posts, “A Primer on Anglicizing Names” and “A Primer on De-Judaizing Names.” I also previously discussed the issue of Hebraizing names on my main blog.)
Though most immigrants in the modern era proudly retain their birth names, that wasn’t always the case. Many people felt they had to change their names (first, last, or both) to become “real” Americans, Canadians, Brits, Australians, Israelis, French, etc. By and large, no one questioned this.
Now we know there’s no one “right” way to be a proud, patriotic member of one’s adopted homeland. By trying to whitewash themselves and pretend they never had any other names and ways of life, people lost vital parts of their heritage and identity.
Changing spelling to reflect pronunciation:
I understand why people would want to do this. Certain letters make different sounds in, e.g., English than they do in the native language. For example, the Hungarian surname Kovács might become Kovach, or the Polish surname Adamczak became Adamchak.
Many Hungarian women named Sára (nickname Sári) have likewise changed their names to Shara or Shari, since most non-Magyarphiles don’t know the Hungarian S is pronounced SH.
Many people gave up the idea of anyone properly pronouncing, e.g., W as V, and accepted a linguistically incorrect pronunciation of a name like Janowski or Korošec.
Removing diacritical marks:
This was extraordinarily common, esp. since many people would’ve had no idea how to pronounce characters like Ń, Ž, Č, Ł, Ę, Ñ, Ü, Ø, or Ő. Even if the diacritical mark makes the difference in correct vs. incorrect pronunciation, most people even now see them as a hindrance or annoyance.
Pedant I am, I like seeing diacritical marks in names of foreign origin. It sets the bearer apart, sends the message that s/he cares about his or her ethnic heritage and doesn’t believe in taking the easy way out. A name like Ramón, Yaël, Léa, Gwenaël, Kálmán, or Irène looks so distinctive.
Changing spelling to conform to host nation’s “norms”:
Examples would include the Hungarian Jakab becoming Jacob, Izabella becoming Isabella, the Estonian Eliisabet becoming Elizabeth, or the Polish Zofia becoming Sophia. Before people were used to seeing certain letters or sounds in names, they would’ve stood out like a sore thumb. But today, those native spellings really stand out beautifully from the crowd.
Many Russians and Ukrainians with -skiy names also changed that suffix to -sky, to simplify the spelling. Sometimes, Poles changed -ski to -sky. If they lived in a region with a lot of people of Russian, Ukrainian, Czech, or Slovak descent, it helped them to blend in better.
Dropping sex-based endings of surnames:
Many names in the Slavic languages denote the sex of the bearer. Russian women’s names end in -a after -ov, -(y)ev, or -in, and -skiy becomes -skaya. Likewise, Polish women’s names end in -ska instead of -ski, and Czech women’s names tack on -ová. In Slovak and Czech, -ský becomes -ská.
It just looks wrong to me to see a beautiful Russian or Polish surname without the feminine ending when the bearer is a woman. It’s grammatically incorrect for a woman to have a name like Jaskolski, Kuznetsov, or Borodin.
“Translating” names to that of the host culture:
It wasn’t uncommon for, e.g., Pavlos or Pavel to become Paul, Katarina or Katarzyna to become Catherine, or Ryszard to become Richard. Even a name like Caterina or Nikolay was considered “too foreign” once upon a time.
Surnames could be “translated” too, such as Schmidt becoming Smith or Molnár becoming Miller. Anything suggesting foreign origin was seen as undesirable and suspect.
This frequently happened when people made aliyah (moved to Israel), as discussed in the above-hyperlinked “A Primer on Hebraizing Names.” Many common Jewish surnames were translated into Hebrew, such as Bergman becoming Harari and Rosen becoming Vardi. Those birth surnames smacked of a people without their own country and language.
Choosing entirely new names:
The name Irving was once quite popular among the Jewish community, as an “American” substitute for Isaac, Israel, and Isaiah. Many of the new names chosen have dated rather poorly, though at the time, they were seen as “all-American” and a part of the mainstream onomastic culture.
Shortening names or putting Anglo twists on them:
This happened both for Anglicization in general and de-Judaization in particular. For example, Garfinkel became Garfield, Rosenkrantz became Rose, Nielsen became Nelson, Feuerstein became Firestone, de Jong became DeYoung, Eisenhauer became Eisenhower.
I’m glad more people now see the beauty in names from a wide variety of cultures, instead of seeing them as an ugly, embarrassing, foreign burden to be shed. Not everyone needs to have names like John and Mary Smith, just as not everyone has to abandon native cuisine, culture, language (as long as one learns the host language), and religion.
General name issues Anglicizing nameschanging namesCzech namesde-Judaizing namesgeneral naming issuesHebrew namesHungarian namesPolish namesRussian namesSlavic namessurnamesUkrainian names 1 Comment
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Tag Archives: S names
Happy Halloween!—Orange names
Happy Halloween! Here’s a list of names whose meanings relate to the word “orange” (the colour). In some languages, the word for the fruit and colour are identical, while in others they’re different. As always, some of these names might sound much better on pets, stuffed animals, dolls, or fictional characters. I obviously wouldn’t recommend using some of these word names on real people in countries where that language is spoken.
Alani is Hawaiian, and refers to the colour, fruit, and flower.
Arancia is Italian.
Aranciu is Corsican.
Kamala is Bengali.
Karaka is Maori.
Kesari is Marathi.
Lalanje is Nyanja, a Bantu language primarily spoken in Zimbabwe and Malawi.
Laranja is Basque and Portuguese.
Laranxa is Galician.
Namunu is Southern Sotho.
Naranja is Spanish.
Narıncı is Azeri.
Narinja is Telugu.
Oren is Malaysian and Welsh. This has a completely different etymology from the Hebrew name meaning “pine tree.”
Orenji is Japanese. I’m 99% sure this is a very modern, unusual name inspired by the English word, not a historic, native Japanese name.
Porteqalî is Kurdish.
Portokalea, or Portokali, is Greek.
Portokhali is Georgian.
Santara is Hindi.
Satara is Punjabi.
Sienna is a modern English name meaning “orange-red,” derived from the Italian city Siena. The city’s clay is sienna in colour.
Suntala is Nepali.
Taronja is Catalan.
A names K names L names N names O names P names S names A namesAfrican namesAzeri namesBasque namescolor namescolour namesCorsican namesEnglish namesfood namesGalician namesGeorgian namesGreek namesHalloween namesHawaiian namesItalian namesJapanese namesK namesKurdish namesL namesMaori namesN namesO namesorange namesP namesPortuguese namesS namesSpanish namesWelsh names 1 Comment
Masked names
Continuing the Halloween theme for October, here are some names related to the word “mask.” Almost all of them are Ancient Germanic or Old Norse in origin, and thus not so realistic for a modern, real person. Unless otherwise specified, all these names are male.
Adalgrim means “noble mask,” from Old High German adal (noble) and Old Norse grîma (mask).
Aldgrim means “old mask,” from Gothic alds and Old High German alt (old) and Old Norse grîma. This name may also be an alternate form of Adalgrim.
Alfgrim is a Middle English and German name meaning “elf mask,” from roots alf and grim.
Arngrímr comes from Old Norse ǫrn (eagle) and grímr (person wearing a mask).
Ásgrímr comes from Old Norse áss (god) and grímr.
Aurgrímnir comes from Old Norse aur (clay, sand) and grímr or grimmr (grim). This is the name of a jötunn, a type of otherworldly creature in Norse mythology.
Auðgrímr comes from Old Norse auðr (riches, fortune, prosperity) and grímr.
Biligrim comes from Ancient Germanic bili (gentleness) and Old Norse grímr.
Ebergrim comes from Old High German ebur (wild boar) and Old Norse gríma (mask).
Edlgrímr comes from Old Norse eldr (fire) and gríma.
Frotgrim comes from Old High German frôd (cautious, prudent) and Old Norse gríma.
Grímr is the Anglo–Saxon, Old Swedish, Old Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish form of Grímr (mask, helmet), which was popular till the 12th century. This is also another name for the god Odin.
Grimbald comes from Old Norse grîma and Old High German bald (brave, bold).
Grimbert comes from Old Norse grîma and Old High German beraht (bright).
Grimburg comes from Old Norse grîma and Old High German burg (fortress), or Gothic bairgan and Old High German bergan (to preserve, save, keep).
Grimfrid comes from Old Norse grîma and Old High German fridu (peace).
Grimhard comes from Old Norse grîma, and Gothic hardus and Old High German hart (hardy, brave).
Grímheiður is Icelandic, derived from roots grímr (person wearing a mask) and heiðr (bright, cloudless, clear).
Grimland comes from Old Norse grîma and land (land).
Grímr means “masked person” or “shape-changer” in Old Norse, from gríma (mask, helmet). Since this was also a name for Odin, it may have been given to human boys in the hopes they’d walk through life with Odin’s protection.
Grimulf comes from Old Norse grîma and Gothic vulfs (wolf).
Grímúlfur is an Icelandic name derived from Old Norse grim (mask, helmet) and ulfr (wolf).
Grimward comes from Old Norse grîma and Old High German wart (guard).
Grimwald derives from Ancient Germanic grim (mask) and walk (power, ruler, leader).
Hadegrim comes from Old High German hadu (battle) and Old Norse grîma.
Hafgrímr comes from Old Norse haf (ocean, sea) and grímr (person wearing a mask).
Hallgrímr comes from Old Norse elements hallr (rock) and grîma.
Hardgrim comes from Gothic hardus and Old High German hart (brave, hardy), and Old Norse grîma.
Hildegrim comes from Old Norse hildr (battle) and grîma.
Hildigrímr comes from Old Norse hildr and grímr (person wearing a mask).
Hólmgrímr is an Icelandic name formed from holmr (small island) and grímr.
Hrafngrímur is an Icelandic name derived from Old Norse hrafn (raven) and grim (mask, helmet).
Isangrim comes from Ancient Germanic isan (iron) and Old Norse grîma.
Isgrim comes from Ancient Germanic îs (ice) and Old Norse grîma.
Járngrímur is an Icelandic name formed from jarn (iron) and grímr.
Jógrímr comes from Old Norse iór (horse) and grímr.
Kolgrímur is Icelandic and Faroese, derived from Old Norse kolr (black, coal, dark) and grim (mask, helmet).
Kriemhild (F) derives from Ancient Germanic grim and hild (battle). This name is famous as a character in the Nibelungenleid saga.
Landgrim comes from Ancient Germanic land and Old Norse grîma.
Liutgrim comes from Old High German liut (people) and Old Norse grîma.
Madalgrim comes from Gothic mathi (meeting place) and Old Norse grîma.
Margrímur is an Icelandic name derived from marr (ocean, sea, lake) and grímr (person wearing a mask).
Menkao (F) can be derived from Japanese elements men (mask) and kao (face).
Moye derives from Chinese elements mo (mask) and ye (deed, job, occupation, karma).
Radgrim comes from Old High German rât (counsel) and Old Norse grîma.
Rotgrim comes from Ancient Germanic hróthi (fame) and Old Norse grîma.
Sigurgrímur is an Icelandic name formed from sigr (victory) and grímr.
Skallagrímr comes from Old Norse skalli (bald head) and grímr.
Stafngrímr derives from Ancient Germanic stafn (stern/prow of a ship) and grímr.
Steingrímur is an Icelandic name derived from Old Norse steinn (stone) and grímr.
Tegrimo may be a nickname for Teudegrimo, the Italian form of an Ancient Germanic name derived from þeud (people) and grim.
Thancgrim comes from Ancient Germanic thanc and Old High German dankjan (to think) or dank (thanks), and Old Norse grîma.
Theudegrim comes from Ancient Germanic þeud and Old Norse grîma.
Þórgrímr comes from Thor/Þórr (thunder) and grímr. The modern Norwegian form is Torgrim.
Víggrímur is a Faroese name derived from víg (battle, fight) and grímr.
Walagrim comes from Old High German walah (traveller, wanderer, foreigner) and Old Norse grîma.
Waldgrim derives from Gothic valdan (to reign) and Old Norse grîma.
Wilgrim comes from Gothic vilja (desire, will) and Old Norse grîma.
A names Ancient Germanic names G names German names H names Icelandic names J names L names M names Old Norse names R names S names Scandinavian names T names W names A namesChinese namesFaroese namesG namesGermanic namesH namesIcelandic namesItalian namesJ namesJapanese namesL namesM namesmask namesOld Norse namesR namesS namesScandinavian namesT namesW names Leave a comment
Witchy names, Part II
October 7, 2019 by Carrie-Anne
I’ve put together a list of words meaning “witch” which could work as personal names. As always, these don’t have to be used as human names. Some might work better on pets, fictional characters, dolls, or stuffed animals.
Amoosu is Igbo.
Boksi is Nepali.
Brucia is Corsican.
Bruixa is Catalan. See note below.
Bruja is Spanish. I obviously would NOT recommend using this in a Spanish-speaking country or place with many Spanish-speakers, but I rather like the sound of it. Perhaps it could work on a pet or stuffed animal.
Bruxa is Portuguese and Galician. Same caveat.
Daayan is Hindi.
Daina is Punjabi.
Dakana is Gujarati.
Jadokari is Georgian.
Jodugar is Uzbek.
Magissa is Greek.
Makutu is Maori.
Mantragatte is Telugu.
Mantravadi is Malayalam.
Matagati is Kannada, a language spoken in India.
Mayakariya is Sinhalese.
Mayya is Hausa, a Chadic language spoken in Africa.
Muroyi is Shona.
Noita is Finnish.
Polofiti is Samoan.
Ragana is Latvian and Lithuanian.
Saħħara is Maltese. To the best of my understanding, ħ seems to be like the guttural CH in loch and Chanukah.
Shulam is Mongolian.
Sorgina is Basque.
Strega is Italian feminine. The male form is Stregone.
Witika is Hawaiian.
Uncategorized B namesD namesHalloween namesJ namesM namesS nameswitch names Leave a comment
Witchy names, Part I
Since the wonderful month of October has begun, I’m featuring Halloween-themed names for the next four weeks. I’ve showcased quite a few Halloweeny names in years past, with meanings related to words like “dust,” “skeleton,” “ghost,” “spider,” and “bat,” but there are some name meanings I didn’t yet spotlight.
Let’s get started with the names of witches from literature and mythology. As always, these names can also be used for pets, dolls, stuffed animals, or fictional characters. Unless otherwise noted, all these names are female.
Acanthis is the Latinized form of the Greek Akanthis (prickly). It’s the name of the thistle finch bird, after a character in Greek mythology. She and her family were turned into animals by Zeus after her brother was eaten by a horse. This name was also used for an old witch by first century BCE Roman poet Propertius.
Aradia may be a Tuscan form of Erodiade, the Italian feminine form of Greek name Heroides (i.e., Herod), which probably means “song of the hero.” In American folklorist Charles Leland’s 1899 book Aradia, or the Gospel of the Witches, she’s a regional Italian goddess who gives women the gift of witchcraft.
Brisen is an Arthurian witch. The name may be derived from Old Norse brisinga (glowing, twinkling), which in turn relates to goddess Freya’s famous brísingamen necklace.
Carline means “witch, old woman” in Lowland Scots.
Duessa was created by English poet Edmund Spenser for his 1590 epic poem The Faerie Queene. It may mean “disunity,” “second,” or “duplicitous,” from Latin duo (two) and a feminine suffix. Duessa is an ugly, evil witch allegorically representing Mary, Queen of Scots and the Roman Catholic Church. Not exactly the most positive of these names!
Eidyia means “to know” or “to see” in Greek, from eidos. She’s the mother of sorceress Medea, and may personify the eye’s magical power. In Greek superstition, the eye was the source of a witch’s supernatural powers, and strengthened by the sun’s beams.
Elphaba is the protagonist of Gregory Maguire’s 1995 novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West. It’s derived from LFB, the initials of L. Frank Baum (author of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz).
Endora probably derives from the Witch of Endor, whom King Saul consults in the First Book of Samuel. It was used for a character on popular U.S. TV show Bewitched (1964-1972).
Errafaila is a Medieval Basque witch.
Glinda is the Good Witch in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. It may be based on modern Welsh name Glenda, composed of elements glân (pure, clean) and da (good).
Heiðr is a unisex name in Norse mythology. Its uses include that of an epithet for good witches.
Jadis is the White Witch in CS. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia series. It may be based on Persian jadu (witch) or French jadis (of old, long ago).
Meroë is a witch in Roman poet Lucius Apuleius’s second century novel The Golden Ass. It’s probably based on the name of an ancient city along the Nile.
Morgause is an Arthurian witch, Queen of the Orkneys, and King Arthur’s halfsister. The earliest form of her name is Orcades, which probably derives from Celtic *forko– (piglet). It may have mutated into Morcades and Morgause through confusion with Morgan.
Nessarose is the Wicked Witch of the East in Wicked.
Pamphile is the feminine form of Greek name Pamphilos (friend of all). Bearers include a legendary woman who invented silk weaving, a respected first century historian, and a witch in The Golden Ass.
Pieta means “witch of the moon” in Old Karelian Finnish.
Proselenos is an elderly witch in Roman writer Petronius’s first century novel The Satyricon. It means “before the Moon” or “older than the Moon” in Greek.
Spīdola is a witch in Latvian national epic Lāčplēsis. She’s enslaved by the Devil, but eventually rescued by hero Koknesis, who becomes her husband.
Sycorax is a powerful witch in Shakespeare’s 1611 play The Tempest. There are several theories about its etymology, including “Scythian raven,” “heartbreaker,” and “pig crow.”
Rokapi (M) is the leader of the kudiani, a mythological Georgian group of witches. Supreme god Ghmerti punished him by chaining him to an underground column, where he ate human hearts brought to him by other kudiani. Rokapi tried to escape every year, but always failed.
Zinta means “witchcraft, magic, charms” in Latvian.
mythological names A namesB namesBasque namesC namesD namesE namesEnglish namesFinnish namesG namesGeorgian namesGreek namesH namesHalloween namesItalian namesJ namesLatin namesLatvian namesliterary namesM namesmythological namesN namesP namesR namesS namesScottish namesWelsh nameswitch namesZ names 1 Comment
Male names of literary origin, N–Z
September 12, 2019 by Carrie-Anne
American aviation pioneer Orville Wright, 1871–1948
Nemo means “nobody” in Latin. Jules Verne created it for the captain of Nautilus in his 1870 novel Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea.
Nerle is a character in L. Frank Baum’s 1903 novel The Enchanted Island of Yew. It may be based on Merle, a variant of Merrill or Muriel (“pleasant hill” or “bright sea”).
Oberon is the King of the Fairies in Shakespeare’s 1595 play A Midsummer Night’s Dream. It’s based on Norman French name Auberon, which in turn derives from Ancient Germanic Alberich (elf power).
Orville was coined by 18th century writer Fanny Burney, who may have meant it to mean “golden city” in French.
Othello may be a diminutive of Italian name Otho, of unknown etymology. Shakespeare famously used it as the title character of his 1603 tragedy.
Pantagruel is one of the title characters of 16th century French writer François Rabelais’s The Life of Gargantua and of Pantagruel series. It derives from Greek pantes (all) and Hagarene gruel (thirsty). Pantagruel was born during a great drought. Rabelais invented hundreds of new words in these novels, based on Ancient Greek. Some of them became part of the French language.
Percival was created by 12th century French poet Chrétien de Troyes for Perceval, the Story of the Grail, which follows a Knight of the Round Table. It was probably based on Welsh name Peredur, which may mean “hard spears.” The spelling was possibly changed to resemble Old French percer val (to pierce the valley).
Pirkka was created by Finnish poet Eino Leino for “Orjan Poka.“ It derives from pirkkalaiset (a Medieval Finnish group who controlled taxation in Lapland).
Radames is a character in the 1871 opera Aida. Since it’s set in Ancient Egypt, librettist Antonio Ghislanzoni may have included the element Ra (Sun) to sound plausibly Egyptian.
Radúz is a rare Czech name which was created by writer Julius Zeyer for his 1898 play Radúz and Mahulena. It derives from rád (glad, happy).
Ruslan is Russian, Chechen, Ingush, Avar, Tatar, Circassian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Bashkir, Kyrgyz, Kazakh, Uzbek, Armenian, and Ossetian. It was used by great Russian poet Aleksandr Sergeyevich Pushkin for his 1820 work Ruslan and Lyudmila, based on the name of Tatar and Russian folk hero Yeruslan Lazarevich. Its ultimate origin is Tatar name Uruslan, possibly from Turkic arslan (lion).
1887 illustration of Ruslan and Lyudmila
Saridan is a king in the 12th century Georgian epic poem The Knight in the Panther’s Skin, by Shota Rustaveli. It’s unclear which Persian root he based it off of, but possible candidates include srudan (to sing, to recite) and srayidan (to protect). Unlike many other names in the poem, Saridan has never been very common.
Sémaphore means “semaphore” (a visual signalling system) in French, ultimately derived from Ancient Greek roots sema (sign, token, mark) and phero (to carry, to bear). Thus, it roughly means “sign-bearer.” This is the name of a character in Franco–Belgian comic Cubitus. Sémaphore owns canine protagonist Cubitus.
Siyavash is a prince in 11th century Persian epic The Shahnameh. The name means “possessing black stallions” in Avestan.
Tuovi (a unisex name) was invented by Finnish writer Yrjö Sakari Yrjö-Koskinen for his 1859 novel Pohjan-Piltti. It derives from village Tuovila (village of Tove).
Urizen was created by English poet William Blake for the personification of conventional reason and law. It’s a play on “your reason,” and possibly also derived from Greek horizein (horizon).
Vahur means “brave” in Estonian. The name was invented by writer Edward Börnhohe for his 1880 novel Tasuja. I have a character by this name.
Vambola is the title character of a novel by Estonian writer Andres Saal. It may be derived from Varbola Castle or the Old Estonian word vambas (mace).
Siyavash, Copyright Aryzad at Wiki Commons
Winnetou is an Apache chief in several of German novelist Karl May’s books. It may mean “burning water.”
Ylermi is another name created by Eino Leino, for the protagonist of his poem Helkavirsiä I.
Yorick is derived from Danish and Norwegian nickname Jørg (i.e., George). Shakespeare used it for a dead court jester in Hamlet (1600).
Yvain is another creation of Chrétien de Troyes, based on Welsh name Owain (possibly a form of Eugene, “well-born”).
Zalán was created by Hungarian writer Mihály Vörösmarty for his 1823 epic Zalán Futása. The name may come from Hungary’s Zala region, which in turn takes its name from the Zala River.
Zorro means “fox” in Spanish, and became famous as the name of a character created by Johnston McCulley.
N names O names P names R names S names T names U names V names W names Y names Z names Czech namesEnglish namesEstonian namesFinnish namesFrench namesGeorgian namesHungarian namesinvented namesItalian namesLatin namesliterary namesN namesnames from literatureO namesP namesPersian namesR namesRussian namesS namesScandinavian namesSlavic namesSpanish namesT namesTatar namesU namesV namesW namesWelsh namesY namesZ names 1 Comment
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Notification of Data Privacy Breach. Supplier shall notify Seagate in writing of a known or suspected Data Privacy Breach immediately, and in any event within 24 hours after first learning of the potential Data Privacy Breach, and shall immediately:
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Notice of Any Retention. If Supplier has a legal obligation to retain Seagate Personal Information beyond the period otherwise permitted by this DPA, Supplier shall notify Seagate in writing of its obligation, shall not further Process the Seagate Personal Information beyond retaining such information to fulfill Supplier’s legal obligation, and shall return or destroy the Seagate Personal Information as soon as possible after the legally-required retention period ends. This DPA will remain in effect until Supplier has ceased to have custody or control of or access to any Seagate Personal Information.
Documentation. Supplier shall document its retention and disposal of Seagate Personal Information pursuant to this DPA. Upon Seagate’s request, Supplier shall provide documentation of retention and a written certification that Seagate Personal Information has been securely destroyed in accordance with this DPA.
Term. This DPA will remain in effect until (i) there is no other active agreement(s) between the parties and (ii) Supplier has ceased to have custody or control of or access to any Seagate Personal Information.
Order of Precedence. In case of discrepancies between this DPA and any agreement(s) between the parties and/or their Affiliates, the provisions of this DPA will prevail except for any discrepancies involving Schedule 2 (Security Standards), in which case the other agreement(s) will prevail. This DPA shall not limit or restrict, but shall only be deemed to supplement the Standard Clauses.
Updates. The parties will reasonably cooperate to update this DPA by mutual written agreement as needed to ensure compliance with applicable laws and regulations.
Third Party Beneficiaries. Seagate’s Affiliates are intended third-party beneficiaries of this DPA; and may enforce the terms of this DPA as if each was a signatory to this DPA. Seagate also may enforce the provisions of this DPA on behalf of its Affiliates, instead of its Affiliates separately bringing a cause of action against Supplier.
Disclosure of DPA to Supervisory Authority. Seagate may provide a summary or a copy of this DPA to any Supervisory Authority.
Severance. If any provision in this DPA is ineffective or void, this will not affect the remaining provisions. The parties shall replace the ineffective or void provision with a lawful provision that reflects the purpose of the ineffective or void provision. In case a necessary provision is missing, the parties shall add an appropriate one in good faith.
Counterparts.This DPA may be signed by electronic signature, and such electronic signature shall be treated as an original, including for evidentiary purposes. This DPA may be signed in two or more counterparts, none of which needs to contain the signatures of both of the parties, and each of which will be deemed to be an original, and all of which taken together will constitute one and the same instrument.
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internal procedures for secure handling of Personal Information;
technical safeguards such as firewalls, anti-virus and anti-malware software;
physical access restrictions, such as locks;
measures to prevent alteration or falsification of access logs or records of Processing;
measures to securely store and transmit Personal Information, such as encryption of Personal Information where required by the Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA), the Enforcement Regulations of PIPA, the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Protection of Information (PICNU), the Enforcement Regulations of PICNU (“PICNU Regulations”), the Utilization and Protection of Credit Information Act (UPCIA) or other Korean law, as applicable.
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stored on portable storage media or peripherals;
stored on any external computer network, or in a demilitarized zone, or on any personal computer or mobile device; or
stored on Supplier’s internal network if Supplier’s systems fail to meet Seagate-specified risk criteria.
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Ensure that persons entitled to use a Seagate Personal Information processing system can only gain access to such Seagate Personal Information as they are entitled to access in accordance with their approved access rights and that, in the course of processing or use and after storage Seagate Personal Information cannot be read, copied, modified or deleted without authorization (data access control);
Ensure that Seagate Personal Information cannot be read, copied, modified or deleted without authorization during electronic transmission, transport or storage, and that the target entities for any transfer of Seagate Personal Information by means of data transmission facilities can be established and verified (data transfer control);
Ensure the establishment of an audit trail to document whether and by whom Seagate Personal Information have been entered into, modified in, transferred or removed from Seagate Personal Information processing (entry control);
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Ensure that Seagate Personal Information collected for different purposes can be processed separately (separation control).
Supplier will conduct periodic risk assessments and review and, as appropriate, revise its information security practices at least annually or whenever there is a material change in Supplier’s business practices that may reasonably affect the security, confidentiality or integrity of Seagate Personal Information, provided that Supplier will not modify its information security practices in a manner that will weaken or compromise the confidentiality, availability or integrity of Seagate Personal Information.
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When media are to be disposed of or reused, procedures must be implemented to prevent any subsequent retrieval of any Seagate Personal Information stored on them before they are withdrawn from the inventory. When media are to leave the premises at which the files are located as a result of maintenance operations, procedures must be implemented to prevent undue retrieval of Seagate Personal Information stored on them.
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All Seagate Personal Information security incidents must be managed in accordance with appropriate incident response procedures.
Supplier must encrypt, using industry-standard encryption tools, all Sensitive Information in transit and at rest.
Network Security. Supplier must maintain network security using commercially available equipment and industry‑standard techniques, including firewalls, intrusion detection and prevention systems, access control lists and routing protocols.
Access Control.
Supplier must maintain appropriate access controls, including, but not limited to, restricting access to Seagate Personal Information to the minimum number of Supplier Personnel who require such access.
Only authorized staff may grant, modify or revoke access to an information system that uses or houses Seagate Personal Information. Supplier must maintain proper access records, which will be presented to Seagate upon Seagate’s request.
User administration procedures must define user roles and their privileges and how access is granted, changed and terminated; address appropriate segregation of duties and define the logging/monitoring requirements and mechanisms.
All employees of Supplier must be assigned unique user-IDs.
Access rights must be implemented adhering to the “least privilege” approach.
Supplier must implement commercially reasonable physical and electronic security to create and protect passwords.
Virus and Malware Controls. Supplier must install and maintain the latest anti-virus and malware protection software on the system and have in place scheduled malware monitoring and system scanning to protect Seagate Personal Information from anticipated threats or hazards and protect against unauthorized access to or use of Seagate Personal Information.
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Audit. Seagate reserves the right to audit Supplier commitments as stated in this Schedule 2, in accordance with section 4.4 “Audit” of this DPA.
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The Data Privacy Agreement is effective from November 20, 2019 onward.
For agreements completed prior to March 31, 2019, please see the PDF attached here:
Data Protection Requirements prior to March 31, 2019
For agreements completed from March 31, 2019, to November 20, 2019, please see the PDF attached here:
Data Protection Requirements from March 31, 2019, to November 20, 2019
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Difference between revisions of "Aftimios Ofiesh"
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[[Image:Aftimios Ofiesh.gif|right|frame|Aftimios Ofiesh]]
{{orthodoxyinamerica}}
'''Aftimios Ofiesh''' (1880-1966, né Abdullah Aftimios Ofiesh, names sometimes spelled variously as "Oftimios," "Ofeish," or "Ofiesch") was an early 20th century Orthodox [[bishop]] in America, serving under the auspices of the [[Church of Russia]]. He held the title ''Bishop of Brooklyn'' from 1917 until April of 1933, when he married, thus deposing himself from the episcopacy. He is perhaps best known in our day as being the source of numerous lines of succession of ''[[episcopi vagantes]]'' and led the [[American Orthodox Catholic Church]] for most of its existence. He died in 1966.
'''Aftimios Ofiesh''' (1880-1966, né Abdullah Aftimios Ofiesh, names sometimes spelled variously as "Oftimios," "Ofeish," or "Ofiesch") was an early 20th century Orthodox [[bishop]] in America, serving under the auspices of the [[Church of Russia]]. He held the title ''Bishop of Brooklyn'' from 1917 until April of 1933, when he married, thus [[deposition|deposing]] himself from the episcopacy. He is perhaps best known in our day as being the source of numerous lines of succession of ''[[episcopi vagantes]]'' and led the [[American Orthodox Catholic Church]] for most of its existence. He died in 1966.
==Life==
Revision as of 13:48, July 17, 2006
Aftimios Ofiesh
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Aftimios Ofiesh (1880-1966, né Abdullah Aftimios Ofiesh, names sometimes spelled variously as "Oftimios," "Ofeish," or "Ofiesch") was an early 20th century Orthodox bishop in America, serving under the auspices of the Church of Russia. He held the title Bishop of Brooklyn from 1917 until April of 1933, when he married, thus deposing himself from the episcopacy. He is perhaps best known in our day as being the source of numerous lines of succession of episcopi vagantes and led the American Orthodox Catholic Church for most of its existence. He died in 1966.
4.1 Writings
4.2 Groups claiming succession from Aftimios Ofiesh
Following the untimely death of St. Raphael of Brooklyn in 1915, Archimandrite Aftimios (Ofiesh) was elected to serve as his replacement in caring for the Arab Orthodox faithful in America under the Church of Russia's canonical authority. He was consecrated by Archbishop Evdokim (Meschersky) as an auxiliary bishop in 1917 with the title of Bishop of Brooklyn. In 1923, in recognition for his work in America, he was elevated by Metropolitan Platon (Rozhdestvensky) of New York to the rank of archbishop.
In 1924, in the canonical chaos of American Orthodoxy following the onset of the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia, the Arab Orthodox faithful split into two factions, one which wished to go under the canonical authority of the Church of Antioch and another which wished to stay faithful to the Church of Russia. The former group was organized by Bishop Victor (Abu Assaly) of New York, thus beginning the official presence of the Church of Antioch on American soil.
In 1927, Aftimios was commissioned by the Russian diocese in America to form an English-speaking "American Orthodox Catholic Church," which, despite Aftimios' leadership and vision, only lasted for six years. During this time, however, Aftimios consecrated three bishops for his new jurisdiction, Sophronios (Beshara) of Los Angeles, Joseph (Zuk) for the Ukrainians[1], and Ignatius (William Albert) Nichols in September of 1932 as his auxiliary bishop of Washington.[2] Additionally, in 1931 the Society of Clerks Secular of St. Basil, a Western Rite group, was established under the auspices of this diocese and subsequently led by Nichols.[3]
In 1932, Archbishop Aftimios was invited to come to St. Mary's Syrian Orthodox Church in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, to arbitrate a dispute regarding the transfer of its priest, Fr. Constantine Abou-Adal. When Fr. Constantine left St. Mary's in November of 1932, the parish was without a pastor, and so Archbishop Aftimios served in that capacity until February of 1933, organizing a choir and Sunday School at the parish. During this time, he met and became involved with one of St. Mary's parishioners, Mariam Namey, then subsequently married her in a civil ceremony in April of 1933.[4]
Aftimios in mantiya
Reports vary at this point as to what happened regarding Aftimios' episcopacy. According to the parish records of St. Mary's, he "was retired" and lived in nearby Kingston until his death in 1966. With the withdrawal of support for the American Orthodox Catholic Church, it lost its canonical status. According to the book Orthodox Christians in North America (1794-1994), however, Aftimios "resigned his episcopacy and married."[5]
One of the groups which now traces itself to Aftimios characterizes the situation differently: "We are not under and do not have a patriarch as head of this Church since the ethnic patriarchal orthodox bodies all turned their backs on this Church and use the marriage of Abp. Aftimios as the reason, although most had already refused to recognize this Church and its authority in the New World."[6]
The biography by Ofiesh's widow Mariam claims that Aftimios fully intended to function as a married bishop, having that intent even before he met Mariam.
Whatever the case, relations between the small jurisdiction created by Aftimios and the mainstream Orthodox Church were not regularized following his marriage and de facto deposition from the episcopacy. Since that time, numerous and still multiplying lines of succession of episcopi vagantes continue to persist which all trace their roots to Aftimios (mainly through Ignatius Nichols), many of whom regard him as a saint.[7][8] Some of those bishops are married men, as well, which is a continual stumbling block to their unity with the mainstream Church, which has for centuries maintained a celibate episcopacy.
The grave of Aftimios Ofiesh
Following his death in 1966 at age 85, Aftimios was buried in Maple Hill Cemetery across from St. Mary's Orthodox Cemetery in Wilkes-Barre. His widow Mariam subsequently wrote his biography, published in 1999.
Succession box:
St. Raphael of Brooklyn Archbishop of Brooklyn
(Metropolia)
1917-1933 Succeeded by:
Emmanuel (Abo-Hatab)
— Primate of the
American Orthodox Catholic Church
Sophronios (Beshara)
Help with box
Orthodox Christians in North America (1794-1994), chapters 4 and 5
History of St. Mary Orthodox Church (Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania)
History of the American Orthodox Church (one of the groups which traces its roots to Aftimios)
The Quest for Orthodox Church Unity in America, by Archim. Serafim (Surrency)
The grave of Mariam Namey Ofiesh
Ofiesh, Mariam Namey. Archbishop Aftimios Ofiesh (1880-1966): A Biography Revealing His Contribution to Orthodoxy and Christendom. Sun City West, AZ: Abihider Co., 1999. (ISBN 0966090810)
The book by Aftimios's widow, while including a great deal of historical information, is not mainly a scholarly work but is rather a biography aimed toward the exoneration of her late husband. One of its primary themes throughout is that Aftimios's marriage to Mariam was justified and that the canonical tradition of celibacy for Orthodox bishops is "man-made" and should be abolished.
Archbishop Aftimios Ofiesh, from THEOCACNA (see below)
The Life of Archbishop Aftimios Ofiesh, from THEOCACNA
A Basis for Orthodox Consideration of Unity, from the Orthodox Catholic Review, 1927 (PDF also includes header and footer information from one of the below groups, as well as numerous bracketed insertions)
Groups claiming succession from Aftimios Ofiesh
Note: Though many of these groups use names which are very similar to mainstream groups, they are usually not affiliated with them in any way.
American Orthodox Catholic Church, a.k.a. "The Holy Eastern Orthodox Catholic and Apostolic Church in North America (THEOCACNA)" "American Orthodox Patriarchate" (other websites: theocacna.org,theocacna.us)
American Orthodox Church, a.k.a. "North American Orthodox Church," "Western Orthodox Church of America," "Orthodox Catholic Church of the Americas," "American Orthodox Catholic Church" (not affiliated with THEOCACNA)
The American Orthodox Church affiliated with the Athonite Benedictine Monks
The Athonite Benedictine Fathers
Athonite Benedictine Monks of Deming, NM
The Ancient Apostolic Communion (TAAC), formerly The Coptic Orthodox Catholic Church (COCC)[9][10]
The Anglican Independent Communion in the British Isles & Europe (AICUK)
AnteNicene Episcopal Church of Christ (AECC), a.k.a. "The Primitive Episcopal Church"
Belarus Autocephalous Orthodox National Church
Byzantine Catholic Church, Inc. (Independent Jursidiction)
Celtic Anabaptist Communion (CAC)
The Continuing Episcopal Church (CEC)
l'Eglise Gnostique Catholique Apostolique (EGCA)
The Evangelical Catholic Church (ECC)
The Grail Church (Apostolic Church of Jesus Christ)
Holy Byzantine Catholic Orthodox Church
Holy Orthodox Catholic Patriarchate of America (HOCPA), a.k.a. "Orthodox Church of America," "Standing Episcopal Conference of Orthodox Bishops"
Iglesia Ortodoxa Bieolorrusa Eslava (Argentina)
Igreja Ortodoxa Bielorrussa Eslava (Brazil)
International Free Catholic Communion
Mision Ortodoxa en Chile (Chile)
Old Catholic Church of North America (OCCNA)
Orthodox Church of the Far Isles (OCFI)
Orthodox Order of the Missionaries of Mercy, a.k.a. "The St. Mary Institute," "Catholic Weddings Without The Hassle"
The Pilgrims Guardianship
Roman Orthodox Church (ROC), "Roman Orthodox Benedictine Congregation" (ROBC)
Russian Orthodox Church in America (ROCIA)
Spiritis Church, "The True Original Church"
The International Free Protestant Episcopal Church (TIFPEC)
Tridentine Catholic Church (TCC)
United American Orthodox Catholic Church (UAO)
See also Episcopi vagantes.
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MYITKYINA, Myanmar: The streets of Myanmar’s capital Nay Pyi Taw were festooned with banners celebrating 70 years of Myanmar-China relations ahead of the arrival of President Xi Jinping on Friday for his first visit to the Southeast Asian nation as China’s leader.
Swerving pickup kills couple, their 2 children in Buri Ram
BURI RAM: A couple and their two young children were killed when a pickup truck crossed the centre-line and hit the family’s pickup head-on in Muang district early on Thursday night.
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Python: Find Length of a List With "Len()"
Katy Medium
Katy shares her tech knowledge and research with anyone who wants to learn the smartest way to use technology.
Length of List in Python
Lists are a data structure commonly used in Python. It's handy to be able to get their lengths.
The function len will return the length of a list. Here's how to use it:
len(list)
It's that easy! The len function will return the number of elements in that list. Set it equal to another variable to use later in your code.
If you have a multi-dimensional array you can also use len to find the size of a multi-dimensional array, read more on that down below.
First, let's look at an example for a one-dimensional list:
Find Length of a List Example
>>> stooges = ('moe', 'curly', 'larry')
>>> len(stooges)
The above example with the Three Stooges shows the basics of finding the length of a list.
The list "stooges" is defined with three string elements. The function len is called by passing in the "stooges" list. The result is the length of that list: 3.
"List" or "Array"?
If you're new to Python from another language you might not be familiar with lists. Lists are Python's version of an array. They are 1D arrays of any data type and can even be made up of mixed data types.
Lists are indexed in Python just like arrays in other languages. So you can reference a single element in a list by calling out the element number in brackets [ ].
The terms "list" and "array" are often used interchangeably for programmers outside of Python. So when we refer to finding the length of a list or an array, the meaning is the same.
Lists are Python's version of arrays
Python | Source
2D Array or Matrix
The function len acts differently with a 2D array or matrix. Calling len on a multi-dimension matrix will return the number of rows in that matrix.
Multi-Dimensional Array Example
>>> A = ([1,1], [2,2], [3,3], [4, 4])
>>> len(A)
>>> len(A[0])
In the above example we build a 2D array of values. The array A has 4 rows and 2 columns.
The function len returns a value of 4 when passed the whole array A because that's the number of rows.
To get the number of columns you can pass A[0] (the first row in A) to the function len, so the result will be 2 columns. Note that this will only look at the number of columns in the first row so if you have an uneven array with changing numbers of columns you will need a different approach.
Nested Lists
Python allows you to used nested lists, which are lists within lists. Nested lists are another interesting area for using length.
You can index the parent list to specify one list. Call the len function on that list and you will get the number of elements on just that one list.
>>> playerA = [3,5,7]
>>> playerB = [4,9]
>>> playerC = [10,6]
>>> all_scores = [playerA,playerB,playerC]
>>> len(all_scores[0])
In the example above we declare a list of scores for 3 players. Those lists are concatenated (or joined) into a single list called "all_scores".
Calling for the length of the 0 index of all_scores gets you the number of elements in playerA's list, which is 3.
The 1 index of all_scores refers to the number of elements in playerB's list, which is just 2.
Remember that Python lists start indexing at 0. So the first row is 0 and the second is 1, etc.
Learn More About Python Lists
© 2019 Katy Medium
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Posted on January 14, 2015 January 14, 2015 by CMKL
As we remember the terror attacks in Paris last week, we must open our hearts wider, much wider to include the victims of an almost simultaneous attack by the Al-Qaida affiliated terror organization Boko Haram in Nigeria. After their latest massacre in Baga, we know the terrorists will not stop in their drive to destroy humanity and our basic human rights, don’t we? So with the promise to never forget, we must hold up two signs.
#NousSommesCharlie and #BagaTogether
Malek, the brother of slain police officer Ahmed Merabet in Paris, said
“One must not confuse extremists with Muslims. Mad people have neither color nor religion.”
The murdered Citizens of Borno Province, Nigeria
Philippe BRAHAM – Yohan COHEN – Yoav HATTAB – Clarissa JEAN-PHILIPPE – François-Michel SAADA
Have you, like me, wondered about the name ‘Charlie Hebdo’? Hebdo is simply short for hebdomadaire, weekly, based on the Greek word for seven, hepta, as opposed to a monthly journal, a ‘mensuel’, which borrows from the Latin, as female readers know only too well. And ‘Charlie’, you ask, is that also taken from antiquity? Not quite, even though the tradition of satire is part of history itself.
In 1960, a new monthly magazine named Hara-Kiri began publishing political satire for the next quarter century or so. It spawned another satirical magazine, which appeared every other week to be able to address current political issues in a more timely and direct fashion. It was called Hara-Kiri Hebdo after its parent, but it got itself into deep trouble straight out of the starting gate, by mocking His Majesty Le Général de Gaulle after his death in 1970. Immediately Hara-Kiri Hebdo received a crippling interdict. Henceforth, for the protection of minors, it was no longer allowed to sell the irreverent pages on newsstands. A week later, Charlie Hebdo made its first appearance on the satirical horizon of political publications. According to Wolinski, Charlie refers to de Gaulle.
The post-WWII period, with the Indochina War and the Algerian War of Independence, followed by the social unrest of ’68, produced many big names in French journalism and the arts, who evolved into satirists and in turn inspired their younger colleagues. Men like Georges Bernier, Maurice Siné, Georges David Wolinski, Jean-Marc Reiser, François Cavanna, Fred Aristidès, Jean-Jacques Loup, Roland Topor, Gébé Blondeaux, Jean Cabut and so many more. These men didn’t make ‘becoming offensive’ their career goal, nor does satire exist for the purpose of hurting and upsetting the general public. These creative minds were and still are translating their own life experiences and all they observe in our society into fingerposts of conscience. Some of them use extreme images to do so. Most of the founders and editors-in-chief of those offending magazines have come through the ranks of mainstream publications, realizing that only by turning their pens into fierce instruments of ridicule, only by skirting the finest line allowed by law, will they be able to rattle the cages of our complacency. The main themes of 20th-century satire have focused on anti-colonialism, anti-clericalism, and anti-capitalism, with a bit of anarchy thrown in for good measure. But in recent years another theme became the predominant feature in French political satire: Laïcité (secularism). Many French consider the laws and practices of a strict separation of State & Church a fundamental right and most important part of the constitution. Charlie Hebdo considers it essential.
I’m not French, but in my own country, political satire and political caricature have been alive and well for ages too. I grew up reading much milder satire and, admittedly, I do cringe and avert my eyes at many hardcore images shown by some artists, including a number of those published by Charlie Hebdo. However, that is my problem, not theirs. Satire isn’t about sensibilities, it’s about vigorously wagging crayons at wrongdoing at every level and against any institution. Especially all those institutions, which we have been indoctrinated to respect simply because their members comport themselves with great importance or even claim divine rights. Those leaders of finance, commerce, government, and the world’s religions with clay feet, who expected respect, even deference are exposed without mercy. This sort of outrageous behavior doesn’t make you popular. It doesn’t gain you respect either, but satirists revel in being despised, which proves their point of being suspicious of respect and adoration extended to anyone in a position of power over others.
Yesterday I came across two editorials written in reflection of the terrorist attacks in Paris. One article, The Charlie Hebdo I Know, written by Scott Sayare, was published in The Atlantic. It brings forth, among other important points, the interesting view that the Charlie Hebdo guys would have been aghast at its current approval rating. The other article made me mad though. In his NYT editorial titled I Am Not Charlie Hebdo, David Brook assigns certain members of the political media places at either a table for ‘adults’ or for ‘kids’. In his mature wisdom, Mr. Brook puts jesters and “other holy fools”, who stick “a finger in the eye of authority” at the kid’s table, while he himself converses with grown-ups, who read Le Monde and other serious publications. In an earlier paragraph, he writes that satirists “puncture the self-puffery of the successful”. Well David, stick a finger in your own eye, will you! I can’t believe his arrogance and stupidity of dismissing satire as mere adolescent hilarity after his colleagues have just been murdered for his, and everyone’s, freedom of speech.
In Saintes people spontaneously congregated in silence on the main bridge on Wednesday evening, lighting candles, followed by several quiet demonstrations of solidarity and grief over the next couple of days. On Sunday, people started as early as 9 AM to walk toward Place Bassompierre, our usual site for gatherings.
Firefighter units patrolled the river, while people congregated in a quiet and orderly fashion. I have no idea how many joined the assembly for unity here in Saintes, but it was quite a crowd, standing respectfully to honor the memory of the slain.
Another assembly took place later in the afternoon, equally quiet and peaceful.
I tried to buy the new edition of Charlie Hebdo today, but it hasn’t quite reached the provinces yet. I’ll try again tomorrow.
Tags: #BagaTogether, #NousSommesCharlie, Baga, Boko Haram, Charlie Hebdo, David Brook, Grief, Media, Scott Sayare, Terrorism, The Atlantic, The New York TimesCategories: Nous Sommes Charlie
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Sauvage Iroquois
Indian holding tomahawk and club.
Colored engraving by J. Laroque after drawing by Jaques Grasset de Saint-Sauveur.
Illus. in: Encyclopédie des Voyages... / Jacques Grosset de Saint-Sauveur. Paris: Delroy, 1796, pl. 29.
Ref. copy may be in LOT 4391 H.
This record contains unverified, old data from caption card.
Caption card tracings: Sources checked: Laroque, J: MUMS; Th-B, Benezit. Grasset: PREM : Grasset de Saint-Sauveur, Jacques, 1757-1810.; MUMS, LCNA.
http://www.loc.gov/
No known restrictions on publication.
Explore: sauvage
Visit of Secretary Gale Norton to Louisiana to tour Bayou Sauvage National Wildlife Refuge and Big Branch Marsh National Wildlife Refuge near New Orleans, and to discuss wetlands preservation and shoreline erosion control efforts with Fish and Wildlife Service staff and other officials
Sauvage to Thomas Jefferson, October 25, 1788, in French
Photograph, from coverage of Secretary Gale Norton's visit to Louisiana to tour the Bayou Sauvage National Wildlife Refuge and the Big Branch Marsh National Wildlife Refuge near New Orleans, selected for use in preparation of Department of Interior video on the Norton tenure
Wildlife viewed during visit of Secretary Gale Norton to Louisiana to tour Bayou Sauvage National Wildlife Refuge and Big Branch Marsh National Wildlife Refuge near New Orleans, and to discuss wetlands preservation and shoreline erosion control efforts with Fish and Wildlife Service staff and other officials
Explore: 1796
Robert Hays to Tennessee General Assembley
Tatum & Waggin to Andrew Jackson, November 4, 1796
Thomas Pinckney to Thomas Jefferson, March 16, 1796
James Madison to Thomas Jefferson, April 23, 1796.
Thomas Jefferson to Thomas Mann Randolph, Jr., January 31, 1796
Propis, pokazyvaiushchaia rossiiskago pisma
Philip Tabb to John Willis, August 30, 1796
November 11, 1796, Frederick, Opposed to exempting Quakers and Menonists from militia duty. [10 identical petitions]
Explore: iroquois
A USMC UH-1N Huey helicopter from Marine Helicopter Squadron Medium (HMM 262) makes a landing approach on the flight deck of the USS Essex (LHD 2), during the Special Operations Capable Exercise (SOCEX). The Marines from the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit spent two months participating with various training operations on and off the coast of Okinawa, Japan, Sasebo, Japan, Pohang, Korea, and Hong Kong, China
Hotel Iroquois
An air-to-air left side view of a UH-1N Iroquois helicopter of the 1ST Helicopter Squadron with Mount Vernon in the background
US Navy (USN) Search and Rescue (SAR) team member and Hospitalman Second Class (HM2) Scott Heintschel, exits a USN HH-1N Huey helicopter, Base Flight (7H), Naval Air Station (NAS) Fallon, Nevada (NV), onto a rock face in preparation for an in-flight Hoist Recovery maneuver during a SAR exercise
The life of Father Isaac Jogues, missionary priest of the Society of Jesus, slain by the Mohawk Iroquois, in the present State of New York, Oct. 18, 1646.
A view of an UH-1N Iroquois helicopter in flight during maneuver training. The helicopter is assigned to the 20th Special Operations Squadron, 1ST Special Operations Wing
6TH ANNUAL BANQUET [held by] NATIONAL LEAGUE OF COMMISSION MERCHANTS [at] "HOTEL IROQUOIS, BUFFALO, NY" (HOTEL)
AH-1 Sea Cobra helicopters and a UH-1 Iroquois helicopter stand on the flight deck of the amphibious transport dock USS NASHVILLE (LPD-13) as the vessel is underway during maritime interdiction operations
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“Violence” in medicine: necessary and unnecessary, intentional and unintentional
Johanna Shapiro ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-8736-84271
We are more used to thinking of medicine in relation to the ways that it alleviates the effects of violence. Yet an important thread in the academic literature acknowledges that medicine can also be responsible for perpetuating violence, albeit unintentionally, against the very individuals it intends to help. In this essay, I discuss definitions of violence, emphasizing the importance of understanding the term not only as a physical perpetration but as an act of power of one person over another. I next explore the paradox of a healing profession that is permeated with violence sometimes necessary, often unintentional, and almost always unrecognized. Identifying the construct of “physician arrogance” as contributory to violence, I go on to identify different manifestations of violence in a medical context, including violence to the body; structural violence; metaphoric violence; and the practice of speaking to or about patients (and others in the healthcare system in ways that minimize or disrespect their full humanity. I further suggest possible explanations for the origins of these kinds of violence in physicians, including the fear of suffering and death in relation to vicarious trauma and the consequent concept of “killing suffering”; as well as why patients might be willing to accept such violence directed toward them. I conclude with brief recommendations for attending to root causes of violence, both within societal and institutional structures, and within ourselves, offering the model of the wounded healer.
What constitutes violence? The World Health Organization defines violence as “the intentional use of physical force or power, threatened or actual, against oneself, another person, or against a group or community, which either results in or has a high likelihood of resulting in injury, death, psychological harm, maldevelopment, or deprivation.” [1]. This definition is broader than that of the Oxford English Dictionary (“Behaviour involving physical force intended to hurt, damage, or kill someone or something”)., Its advantage is that by including the phrase use of… “power” it acknowledges that violence can be not only a physical act but an act of power of one person over another. The definition goes on to state that “intentionality” refers to the intent to employ physical force or exert power, but does not speak to motive, which may even, according to the perception of the perpetrator, be regarded as benevolent. Thus, WHO argues that while the action exercised (whether involving force or more generally “power”) must be consciously chosen, regardless of intent, anything that is injurious to another is an act of violence. In this case harm is not necessarily the intention, but the byproduct of action. Thus violence can occur without conscious intent and is not necessarily confined to physical harm.
We can find several examples in the literature of this kind of violence absent a conscious intention to harm. The nursing literature examines the concept of vertical violence, defined as “any act of violence, such as yelling, snide comments, withholding pertinent information, and rude, ignoring, and humiliating behaviors, which occur between two or more persons on different levels of the hierarchical system….” [2]. For decades, this same literature has also highlighted the problem of horizontal or lateral violence [3] in which “nurses covertly or overtly direct their dissatisfaction inward toward each other, toward themselves, and toward those less powerful than themselves.” [4].
Importantly, in both vertical and horizontal violence, such behaviors are not necessarily viewed punitively by their perpetrators, but rather as a rite of passage that builds “resilience” in young nurses [5]. In other cases, “the perpetrator of violence may be unaware that his/her actions are perceived adversely.” [2]. While lateral violence is usually attributed to the oppressed status of a particular group (such as nurses in the historically hierarchical structure of the healthcare system), it has also been argued that such violence is in part the result of the nursing profession’s preponderance of “walking wounded,” [6] individuals who have suffered secondary trauma as a result of their highly stressful work [7]. Increasingly, we have come to realize that, despite their privileged status in the healthcare hierarchy, physicians also suffer from secondary trauma and resultant burn-out, [8, 9], making them vulnerable to committing acts of vertical (medical student) or horizontal (collegial) violence, regardless of how unintended.
A related concept, again using the term “violence” and again stressing its unintended nature, is organizational violence. In this case, researchers have discovered that bureaucracy, including that of healthcare institutions, can have unintended negative consequences that are morally problematic. Organizational violence derives from Bourdieu’s theorizing of symbolic violence, defined as “…the kind of gentle, invisible, pervasive violence that is exercised through cognition and misrecognition, knowledge and sentiment, often with the unwitting consent or complicity of the dominated…. [and] embedded in the very modes of action and structures of cognition of individuals.” [10]. This definition, notable for the apparently paradoxical pairing of “gentle” and “violence,” emphasizes the role of such “violent” acts as a tool of social control.
More recently, the term symbolic violence has been refined to refer to the misuse or abuse of symbolic power, i.e., power that is used to dominate rather than emancipate. This parsing of symbolic violence stresses that the exercise of power in clinical situations is not in and of itself wrong, harmful, or “violent.” “The structural and symbolic power wielded by doctors is legitimate, socially conferred and indispensable for help and healing to occur.” [11]. Thus, organizational violence is a special case of the exercise of symbolic power in which “rather than being responsive to patients, professionals are increasingly required to respond to the imperatives of the evaluative bureaucracy.” [12].
Other uses of the term violence have been linked to gentrification [13], cultural appropriation [14], and various forms of speech [15]. It is possible to worry that casting such a wide net to identify forms of violence runs the risk of the word becoming irrelevant [16]. While legal definitions of terminology must be narrow and precise, in larger discourse there may be important purposes to expanding definitional terms. One reason for calling unintended harms a kind of “violence” is to overcome the relative ease with which such events are ignored, dismissed, or trivialized [16]. Employing the word “violence” is a conscious way of highlighting a continuum of violence that we would prefer to ignore. Certain harms not traditionally labeled as violence may produce similarly devastating effects as acts of physical violence. Given the implications of social control implicit in the theories of Boudrieu and others, it is reasonable to argue that calling attention to these issues in a bold way is justified as a reminder that significant harm to others, especially vulnerable others, can occur in many forms.
In the light of the above discussion, it can be illuminating to examine various forms of violence in medicine and speculate about the functions such violence serve.
Acts of violence in medicine
It is a great irony that medicine, the epitome of a healing profession, is often filled with forms of violence, sometimes necessary, sometimes unintentional, almost always unrecognized or minimized. In these instances, the patient becomes a kind of victim, treated differently and damagingly by a physician who (usually unwittingly) has set aside the patient’s humanity. In one formulation, “Medical violence is a curious product of the physician’s arrogance, trappings of technique, and the laity’s faith that medicine can solve all problems” [17]. This early article acknowledges the sometimes dysfunctional dynamic at play between doctors and patients that can produce violent exchange. To more deeply understand violence in medicine, we must seek the roots of “physician arrogance;” why physicians utilize their “techniques” in certain ways; how the public can inadvertently collude with these processes out of its own largely unrecognized emotional and psychological needs; and how social and cultural capital inequalities make it difficult for patients to protest violent treatment.
Although little scholarly writing has been devoted to this topic, there are multiple examples of violence in medicine. From the dismembering of the human body that occurs in the first year of medical school during the anatomy course, to amputations, surgeries, and diagnostic or interventional procedures that cause pain, including the numerous uncomfortable and sometimes dangerous side effects of drugs intended to heal, there is a brutal dimension to medicine. Medicine often inflicts pain to avoid even greater pain or death; sometimes it succeeds in this goal and sometimes it does not. It could be argued that keeping people technically alive while prolonging a meaningless existence is in itself a type of violence. Most of these instances are clearly not designed to impose violence; indeed the intention is usually beneficent. Sometimes the violent act is necessary for the wellbeing of the patient; nevertheless, sometimes the violent act is unnecessary, and sometimes it results in harm.
Some of the more obvious examples of violence in medicine are violence to the body, represented in procedures and interventions that produce pain and sometimes long-lasting harm; structural violence, encompassing the systemic forces that especially disadvantage vulnerable and marginalized patients; metaphoric violence, the use of warlike, militaristic language in explaining disease and treatment; and the habit of speaking to or about patients (and others in the healthcare system, including medical students, nurses, and colleagues) in ways that minimize or disrespect their full humanity.
Violence to the body
“Aegrescit medendo,” wrote Virgil. “The remedy is worse than the disease” [18]. Many patients have experienced this feeling as they endure assessment procedures and therapeutic interventions that produce transitory or chronic pain or dangerous, even life threatening side effects. Physicians obviously do not take pleasure in causing this pain. But because they must, their brains actually change in the way they regard suffering. Studies conclude that the brains of physicians react to viewing pain in others much less strongly than the brains of laypersons [19]. While this is in some way an adaptive response so that physicians are able to function effectively in the face of another’s suffering, it may also lead to a general tendency to dismiss, ignore, or trivialize patients’ negative experiences. This in turn may result in language and interactions that are insensitive at best, and confrontational, harsh, and intimidating at worst.
The cognitive dissonance that results from physicians simultaneously knowing that they are practitioners of a healing profession, yet must often impose considerable pain on their patients, can result in defensive coping strategies that minimize, sanitize, or fail to acknowledge the suffering that results, of course to their patients, but also to themselves. Consider the pediatrician who reassures her little patient, “The injection is only a pinch,” only to be met with disbelieving howls. More seriously, the oncologist who encourages a patient into yet another round of chemotherapy in the absence of therapeutic response may be doing more harm than good. The consequence is a fundamental dishonesty that can contribute to patient mistrust and despair; [20, 21] and to physician burn-out and cynicism [22].
It is worth asking whether intervention is always appropriate. Just because we can, should we? Is Virgil sometimes right? Over-diagnosis and overtreatment are growing concerns in medical practice [23]. If intervention is judged to be both necessary and beneficial, then should we look for a more honest balance in physician disclosures between unduly alarming the patient and preparing the patient for suffering? These issues obviously come into play in end of life scenarios, and present a telling example of how physicians’ conscious intention not to do harm by destroying hope can instead impose unintended violence on the patient [24].
Structural violence refers to social structures that impede individuals, groups and societies from reaching their full potential [25]. In medicine, it means institutions and established societal modes of functioning that lead to impairment and limitations in human life [26]. Their existence is so normalized and established that they are almost invisible and therefore either willfully or naively overlooked or ignored [27]. Structural violence is based on the idea that certain societal patterns (of social relations and roles, economic arrangements, institutional practices, laws etc.) are so firmly entrenched that they are perceived as a “given,” just the way things are. Sources of suffering are deeply embedded in these ordinary, taken-for-granted patterns, including ill health and the inability to adequately access remedies.
The concept of structural violence encourages us to recognize that dimensions of life we might regard as disconnected are actually interrelated. The existence of structural violence makes it easier for privileged physicians to see themselves as distinct and separate from their patients, rather than implicated in the institutions they serve and the jobs they benefit from. When illness is perceived through an exclusively biomedical, molecular lens, it is unlikely physicians will emphasize the social determinants of illness [24]. These limits in perspective often result in physicians seeing under-resourced patients as responsible for their own problems, not “caring” about their health, or not choosing health as their highest priority. Structural violence results in harm to patients both directly, through disadvantaging them in terms of health and access to healthcare; and indirectly, by allowing physicians to adopt simplistic patient-blaming attitudes that ignore the larger structural issues.
Violence in language
We also find examples of linguistic violence in medicine, which take two forms: violent metaphors and punishing, bullying language.
Metaphors are commonly employed by physicians in clinical care [28] and research suggests patients like physicians who use metaphor better than those who do not. So it is important to ask, how do metaphors in medicine and violence intersect? A recent issue of the American Journal of Bioethics [29] was devoted to a discussion of the prevalence of military, warlike metaphors in medicine, and what this might mean for the practice of medicine. For example, in the metaphor “illness is war,” illness is what linguists refer to as the target conceptual domain and war is the source conceptual domain [30]. This means that insights about illness will come from what we know about war, thus fundamentally influencing our understanding of illness in a violent, combative direction. Similarly, as Fuks [31] points out, military metaphors may give undue emphasis to physical, biological aspects while ignoring psychological, spiritual, social dimensions of illness and healing. This imbalance may have the effect of silencing patients’ voices about subjective experiences of illness [32]. It has been argued that the reliance on war metaphors in medicine in medicine may contribute to patient anxiety and fear [33] as well as over-diagnosis and overtreatment [34].
Violent metaphors in cancer have been criticized because they imply that succumbing to the illness is a defeat and a failure [35, 36]. Patients who view disease as an “enemy” have higher levels of depression and anxiety; patients encouraged to “fight” may feel they have to suppress their emotional distress and maintain a positive attitude to avoid upsetting family members and physicians [37]. A corpus analysis of physician writing and speech identifies the most prevalent violence metaphor as one of fighting and protecting [38]. Such metaphors put the physician in a heroic light, while the patient is reduced to a foot soldier, or worse, a battleground. More complex analyses, however, highlighting agency, point to the conclusion that physicians often employ violent metaphors as an acknowledgment of “institutional barriers to good care and …how current systems and practices do not always benefit patients” [39].
Bleakley et al. [40] offer some alternative metaphors, seeking to shift the way physicians think, the way they speak, and the way they behave by urging language of collaboration, exploration, and journey. These authors argue that collaboration metaphors may beneficially affect clinical practice by “turning attention away from an disembodied agent of illness that must be eradicated to an embodied person in need of care.” Nie et al. [32] also contribute the metaphor of a journey as one that emphasizes humanizing and personal growth dimensions of healing, while placing the patient rather than the physician at the center of the narrative.
Some scholars have made a case for the value of militaristic metaphors, observing that they can empower patients; [41] and might have special utility in emergent situations [42]. Perrault and O’Keefe [43] advocate for plural or mixed metaphors tailored to the needs of particular patients. These authors argue that metaphors are not inherently good or bad, but must be judged in the context of the particular patient and situation [44].
Demeaning interactions
Demeaning interactions with patients or disparaging comments about patients to learners, colleagues, or other health professionals fit the WHO definition of “use of power” resulting in psychological harm and deprivation of dignity, respect, and humanity. Familiar examples of such linguistic rationalizations include: “Patient is noncompliant,” “Patient does not appear to care about her health.” “Patient is demanding, uncooperative, hostile etc.” Other language may be considered violent, angry, confrontational, or bullying: [40] “Patient failed the chemotherapeutic regimen.” “Patient is a poor historian.”
Bleakley et al. [40] emphasize the link between metaphor and performance. When our thought patterns and verbalizations are grounded in combative, warlike metaphors, it is more likely that these will influence our interactions and behavior. These linguistic forms of discourse may result in patients feeling blamed for their lack of success in regaining health or intimidated by the physician [45]. This is a permutation of violence that demeans and belittles the other. Other targets of such bullying or intimidating interactions are medical students, [46] nurses, staff, and even colleagues [47].
Origins of violence in medicine
In this section, I try to look beneath the surface of the decision-making, actions, language, and even structures in medicine that can be conceptualized as violent or as having violent implications for patients, or certain categories of patients. These thoughts are not meant to replace sophisticated and complex analyses of structural violence or linguistic usage rooted in webs of economic and societal privilege; rather they are intended merely to add a further dimension for consideration and investigation. While I consider physicians and patients separately, my ultimate contention is that both groups share a common underlying fear of suffering and death related to the trauma of serious medical illness. This existential fear may predispose physicians to violent actions and patients to tolerance of such actions.
The role of vicarious trauma
Vicarious traumatization is a term that describes the undesirable outcomes of working directly with traumatized populations, including negative interactions with patients and colleagues, and deleterious personal consequences [48, 49]. Although the literature tends to refer to specific types of traumatized patients, such as victims of physical/sexual abuse or natural/human-caused disasters, I maintain that simply by their very nature, suffering, pain, and dying can be traumatic events for many patients, regardless of the specific context in which they occur. By extension, healthcare itself, especially when provided by overworked, pressured, stressed care-givers, may produce vicarious trauma. Such secondary traumatic stress results in failures of empathy [50] which ultimately prepare the way for the above forms of medically-related violence.
Although physicians are professionally intimate with suffering and death, this does not mean that they necessarily become able to compassionately witness suffering or have resolved the fundamental dilemma in medicine that death will always be the final outcome for every patient. Indeed, some scholars have asserted that physicians enter medicine because of a particular fear of death [51]. Thus a deep-seated psychological cause of violence in medicine paradoxically may be inextricably tangled with the original raison d’etre for medicine – i.e., the alleviation of suffering and the resistance to death. The fear of suffering and death, as well as repeated exposure to the inevitability of these phenomena and the limits of medicine to forestall them, may lead some physicians to attitudes of defense and denial. The result is often callousness or even brutality, motivated by a need to “kill” or vanquish suffering, but which can all too easily become confused with the patient who is enduring (and thus confronting the physician with) said suffering.
To “kill” suffering, it is understandable that one might have to think of oneself as fundamentally different and separate from ordinary and vulnerable patients. By keeping a firm boundary between the roles of physician and patient, the physician may unconsciously attempt to insulate him or herself from the trauma of suffering and death. This may have to do with a deep fear of contamination [52] by the very person the physician is consciously trying to aid. Keeping the “other” carefully demarcated, even while attempting to assist them, can confer a sense of safety for the physician; but can also produce an objectification and diminution of the humanity of the patient. This understandable desire to avoid suffering may also be relevant in physicians’ resistance to structural interpretations of health and illness. As has been noted, structural violence injures some, but protects and benefits others. Acknowledging that one is implicated in the suffering of others is a painful realization. To safeguard themselves, many physicians might prefer to avoid it.
Aggressive action in medicine is aimed at “killing” suffering and vanquishing death. Violent metaphors support waging this battle. Bullying language pushes away the weak, undoctor-like patient who has succumbed to disease and vulnerability, Structural violence reinforces and protects physician privilege. These are all mechanisms for defending against physician existential vulnerability emanating from the experience of vicarious trauma while at the same time affirming their control and power.
Why patients sometimes tolerate medical violence
Physicians are not alone in their fear and subsequent denial of suffering and ultimately death. As a result of the inherent traumatic nature of experiencing illness, these anxieties are intensified in patients as well [53]. Although patients are the victims of violence in medicine, nevertheless their persistent beliefs about the power of medicine to eliminate suffering and postpone death may have the unintended consequence of allowing or enabling this violence. As an intrinsically vulnerable population, patients are susceptible to multiple forms of violence. Faced with the ordeal of ongoing distress and perhaps impending death, the willingness to make a trade-off between acceptance of a certain amount of violence for the potential reduction of such misery becomes understandable, even appealing.
Despite the fact that the god-like status of physicians so prominent in the second half of the twentieth century has become considerably qualified through concepts such as patient-centered medicine [54] and shared decision-making, [55] in extremis many patients and families want to believe that the physician is in control and can accomplish miracles that are beyond mere mortals. Thus they still sometimes reflexively enjoin physicians to do “everything possible” [56]. This understandable desire for life at times may result in problematic and ultimately futile treatments. It may also encourage the use of warlike metaphors on the part of patients and families, as well as physicians. It may even indirectly intimidate patients and families into accepting “violent” (in the sense of dehumanizing) interactions because of the need to perceive physicians as all-powerful and all-knowing. Thus patients, families, and physicians may collude in acts of unintentional violence with the goal of eliminating suffering and preserving life.
Further, the unequal distribution of power, entrenched throughout history in the relationship between physicians and their patients and exacerbated by issues of race, gender, and class, reinforces this tendency to tolerate rather than question medical violence. Social inequalities and differences in cultural health capital [57] disadvantage many patients. Patients and their families often feel at the mercy of their doctors and medical teams. Protesting a racially biased remark or a rough handling may pale in comparison to the perception that their life or the life of their loved one hangs in the balance.
The writer Daniel Jose Older argues that “the central act of violence is erasure.” The forms of violence described above often result in the erasure of the autonomy and dignity of those targeted intentionally or otherwise. Patients, family members, trainees and colleagues suffer the traumatic consequences of their illnesses and their caregiving, only to be burdened further by the thoughtless and insensitive exercise of power. What can be done to ameliorate these harmful outcomes?
I have noted that violence in medicine can comprise necessary and intentional acts consciously designed to increase patient well-being as well as unnecessary and accidental consequences of structural, linguistic, and behavioral physician practices.. Both are problematic and require modification in terms of how we manage them. Regarding the former, not all violence in medicine can be avoided – physicians work with the tools they have. But there is something fundamentally dishonest about the way this sort of violence is not acknowledged by physicians. It is a kind of foundational lie that contaminates much of doctor-patient interactions. If physicians were better able to honestly witness suffering, and own the pain they must at times cause, they might be better able to speak more openly about necessary pain and risk as well as hoped-for outcomes. This point is especially relevant to the whole notion of informed consent and medical decision-making, whose purpose is to provide patients with a realistic and accurate understanding of risks and benefits, yet is sometimes honored more in the breach than in the observance [58]. Even as medicine works hard to minimize suffering, perhaps it also needs to accept when suffering is unavoidable, and help patients address this suffering with the strength of compassion rather than of violence.
Regarding the latter category of inadvertent harm, once we recognize that the inevitable violence of medicine should not be compounded by unnecessary violence, we should encourage physicians to seek out alternative ways of speaking, interacting, and being. We can work to change the acts, structures, and language that physicians currently often rely on. For example, we can consider the costs and benefits of medical acts within the context of patients’ values and lives. We can work to dismantle societal and institutional structures that benefit some while significantly harming others and change the way we educate future physicians to recognize how larger social forces negatively impinge on the possibilities of the health and wellbeing of so many [25]. We can change our metaphors and reject as unacceptable and unprofessional language that demeans or insults patients, or that bullies and intimidates subordinates. All of this involves changing the culture of medicine.
Ultimately, however, in order to effectively change actions, structures, and language, we must also reconsider underlying attitudes that contribute to the persistent endurance of these patterns. One place to start is to help physicians develop an awareness of the capacity for suffering they share with their patients; even as they help patients accept the limits of medicine. This means blurring some of the boundaries between physicians and patients, recognizing their common humanity and therefore their collective vulnerability, fragility, and woundedness. It means helping patients realize that doctors are always their witnesses, guides, advisors, partners and consolers, but not always their saviors. It means helping physicians come to terms with the suffering and death they have witnessed so that they can help contain their patients’ anxiety and dread, while at the same time honestly acknowledging the pain they must sometimes inflict and sometimes feel. Recognizing solidarity, as well as difference, with patients might also predispose physicians to being more receptive to the insights of structural analyses and working toward changing social systems in recognition of the injustices they impose on patients.
Drawing on the nursing literature, medicine might benefit from incorporating the theory of the wounded healer into training and practice. In this formulation, physicians, like nurses, must acknowledge both personal and professional traumas that over the years have turned them into “walking wounded” who attempt to cope with their own pain by depersonalizing and/or lashing out (often unconsciously) at others. Those who have theorized this concept offer the hope that, while perfection is not possible, healing can arise from the very woundedness of the healthcare provider [7]. Conti-O’Hare has posited a mechanism for transforming personal and professional pain into growth and development, thus moving healthcare providers from “walking wounded” to wounded healer [59]. Komisar and McFarland note that when resident-physicians are able to find meaning in traumatic patient care situations, it contributes to a positive transformation of their vicarious trauma [50].
When physicians are unable to honestly confront and acknowledge suffering; when out of fear they deny their privilege and the way in which healthcare systems often disenfranchise the patients they are trying to serve; when they inappropriately indulge in violent language out of self-protection and a desire to establish a heroic, invincible image – all these result in harm to patients, families, staff, and colleagues. Acknowledging the multifactorial nature of instances of structural, linguistic, and behavioral acts of violence in healthcare and then intervening to address societal and individual root causes represent first steps in mitigating their deleterious effects. Healing woundedness by cultivating attitudes of compassion, solidarity, humility, and social justice may provide the foundation for an alternative vision of medical practice.
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Farmer P. An anthropology of structural violence. Curr Anthropol. 2004;45:305–25.
Casarett D, Pickard A, Fishman JM, Alexander SC, Arnold RM, Pollak KI, Tulsky JA. Can metaphors and analogies improve communication with seriously ill patients? J Palliat Med. 2010;13(3):255–60.
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Malm H. Military metaphors and their contribution to the problems of overdiagnosis and overtreatment in the “war” against cancer. Am J Bioeth. 2016;16(10):19–21.
Granger K. Having cancer is not a fight or a battle. The Guardian. 2014. http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/apr/25/having-cancer-not-fight-or-battle. Accessed 4 June 2018.
Miller RS. Speak up: 8 words & phrases to ban in oncology! Oncol Times. 2010;32(12):20.
Khullar D. The trouble with medicine’s metaphors: The Atlantic Monthly; 2014. https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/08/the-trouble-with-medicines-metaphors/374982/. Accessed 4 June 2018.
Demmen J, Semino E, Demjen Z, Koller V, Hardie A, Rayson P, Payne S. A computer-assisted study of the use of violence metaphors for cancer and end of life by patients, family carers and health professionals. Int J Corpus Linguist. 2015;20(2):205–31.
Potts A, Semino E. Healthcare professionals’ online use of violence metaphors for care at the end of life in the US: a corpus-based comparison with the UK. Corpora. 2017;12(1):55–84.
Bleakley A, Marshall R, Levine D. He drove forward with a yell: anger in medicine and Homer. Med Humanit. 2014;2014.40(1):22–30.
Nie JB, Rennie S, Gilbertson A, Tucker JD. No more militaristic and violent language in medicine: response to open peer commentaries on “healing without waging war: beyond military metaphors in medicine and HIV cure research”. Am J Bioeth. 2016;16(12):W9–W11.
Tate TP, Pearlman RA. Military metaphors in health care: who are we actually trying to help? Am J Bioeth. 2016;16(10):15–7.
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Chambers T. Metaphors as equipment for living. Am J Bioeth. 2016;16(10):12–3.
Stone L. Blame, shame and hopelessness: medically unexplained symptoms and the ‘heartsink’ experience. Aust Fam Physician. 2014;43(4):191.
Timm A. ‘It would not be tolerated in any other profession except medicine’: survey reporting on undergraduates’ exposure to bullying and harassment in their first placement year. BMJ. 2014;4(7):e005140.
Volz NB, Fringer R, Walters B, Kowalenko T. Prevalence of horizontal violence among emergency attending physicians, residents, and physician assistants. West J Emerg Med. 2017;18(2):213.
Figley CR. Compassion fatigue: Psychotherapists’ chronic lack of self care. J Clin Psychol. 2002;58(11):1433–41.
Nimmo A, Huggard P. A systematic review of the measurement of compassion fatigue, vicarious trauma, and secondary traumatic stress in physicians. Australas J Disaster Trauma Stud. 2013;2013(1):37–44.
Komisar J, McFarland DC. Is empathy associated with a self-ascribed sense of meaning among resident physicians working with patients nearing the end of life on a hematology-oncology ward? Psycho-Oncology. 2017;26(9):1403–6.
Silberner J. Doctors and death: death in America. NPR All Things Considered. Transcript. 1998. https://www.npr.org/programs/death/980104.death.html. Accessed 4 June 2018.
Lifton RJ. Nazi doctors: medical killing and the psychology of genocide. 2nd ed. New York: Basic Books; 2017.
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Becker D. Denial of death. New York: Free Press; 1997.
Bardes CL. Defining ‘patient-centered medicine. N Engl J Med. 2012;366(9):782–3.
Elwyn G, Tilburt J, Montori V. The ethical imperative for shared decision-making. Eur J Pers Cent Health. 2013;1:129–31.
Cipolletta S, Oprandi N. What is a good death?: health care professionals’ narrations on end of life care. Death Stud. 2014;38(1):20–7.
Dubbin LA, Chang JS, Shim JK. Cultural health capital and the interactional dynamics of patient-centered care. Soc Sci Med. 2013;93:113–20.
Conti-O’Hare M. The theory of the nurse as a wounded healer: From trauma to transcendence. Sudbury: Jones and Bartlett Publishers;2002.
I would like to express my deep appreciation to Dr. Guy Micco for encouraging the development of this paper; and including it in the UCSF UC Berkeley Program for the Medical Humanities “Violence and Medicine Conference,” September 7-8, 2017, Berkeley, CA.
I (JS) am the sole author and I am responsible for the final manuscript. The author read and approved the final manuscript.
Department of Family Medicine, UC Irvine School of Medicine, Rte 81, Bldg 200, Ste 835; 101 City Dr. South, Orange, CA, 92651, USA
Johanna Shapiro
Search for Johanna Shapiro in:
Correspondence to Johanna Shapiro.
The author declares that she has no competing interests.
Shapiro, J. “Violence” in medicine: necessary and unnecessary, intentional and unintentional. Philos Ethics Humanit Med 13, 7 (2018) doi:10.1186/s13010-018-0059-y
Violence and medicine
Metaphorical violence
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Television and Culture
What are the effects of DVR on advertising?
by William Harris
Fast-forwarding That Ad May Not Be That Bad
People who do watch recorded programs don't necessarily skip the ads. Studies have shown that DVR users only fast-forward through about half of all ads during playback [source: Carter]. In other words, even though they can bypass commercials, DVR users don't always do it -- they schlep through the ads out of laziness or because it's become an almost ingrained behavior after decades of passive TV watching. When experts combine these stats with DVR adoption projections, they estimate that consumers will fast-forward through 5 to 8 percent of all ads and 13 percent of prime-time ads in the future [source: Neff].
If this doesn't make executives and agencies feel somewhat relieved, there's another silver lining in the dark clouds of DVR: Even fast-forwarded ads can make an impression on viewers. This finding comes out of 2008 research conducted by Boston College scientists who studied the impact of fast-forwarded ads with images centered on the screen. They discovered that candy-bar ads with information placed in the center of the screen still create brand memory and generate demand in consumers even with a loss of audio and a 95-percent reduction in frames viewed [source: Durfee].
It's one thing to change buying behavior in a controlled experiment -- what about the real world? Duke University researchers may have answered this question in a recent study. For three years, they compared shopping patterns in households with a TiVo to shopping patterns in households without DVRs. Guess what they found? Regardless of the technology configuration, people's shopping behaviors didn't change [source: Gallagher].
So what's the takeaway for company and ad agency executives? A majority of people, at least in the foreseeable future, may never own a DVR. Those that do will continue to watch a healthy portion of their programming "live." Some ads will be fast-forward victims, but if they're designed correctly, with images placed in the center of the screen, they will still influence buying behavior. It should also be noted that DVRs actually increase the amount of television being watched because they allow consumers to record and watch shows that they may have been forced to miss before they owned a DVR. Any way you slice it, the bottom line seems clear: TV advertising won't be on a deathbed anytime soon.
Recent statistics published in Ad Age bear this out. In 2009, U.S. ad spending fell almost 12 percent, the biggest drop since the Great Depression. Much of this falloff, however, was due to the general recession, not DVR use. In 2010, ad spending experienced 5.9 percent growth. That growth should continue in the near future, with broadcast ad spending, in particular, growing steadily between now and 2015 [source: Johnson].
All of this is good news for TV ad execs and the icons they create. We can expect to have the smooth-talking GEICO gecko in our living rooms for the next several years.
Best Buds: DVR and Super Bowl
Advertisers fret over the negative "DVR effect" -- viewers fast-forwarding through commercials -- but on Super Bowl Sunday, they gloat. That's because we all watch the Super Bowl as much for the commercials as for the game itself. In fact, TiVo, one of the leading DVR manufacturers, analyzes DVR use during the big game to determine how many times people rewind and replay ads. The company then publishes a top-10 list of ads that receive the highest viewership. In 2011, TiVo judged the Snickers commercial featuring Richard Lewis and Roseanne Barr to be the telecast's top-rated commercial. TiVo also reported that the average Super Bowl viewer with a DVR either paused, rewound or fast-forwarded 145 times during the game [source: Seeking Alpha].
10 Ways to Make Your Home Theater More Like a Real Theater
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5 Ways TV Has Influenced Presidential Elections
5 Accessories to Get for Your HDTV
How DVR Works
How TiVo Works
Are big-screen TVs killing the film industry?
How did the advent of television impact politics?
How is digital 3-D different from old 3-D movies?
When do TV commercials need to use disclaimers?
Do courtroom dramas change people's understanding of the law?
Carter, Bill. "DVR, Once TV's Mortal Foe, Helps Ratings." Nov. 2, 2009. (March 19, 2011)http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/02/business/media/02ratings.html
Dolliver, Mark. "Watching Television, With or Without a TV." AdWeek. Feb. 8, 2010. (March 19, 2011) http://www.adweek.com/aw/content_display/news/digital/e3i3a15dfaab86484fb053116829bd4b2f6?pn=1
Durfee, Rachel. "Was That A Burger That Just Flashed By? ... Mmm, I'm Hungry." Nov. 7, 2008. (March 19, 2011) http://www.popsci.com/entertainment-amp-gaming/article/2008-11/was-burger-just-flashed-bymmm-im-hungry
Gallagher, James. "Duke study: TiVo doesn't hurt TV advertising." Triangle Business Journal. May 3, 2010. (March 19, 2011) http://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/stories/2010/05/03/daily6.html
Johnson, Bradley. "Ad Spending Is on the Rise, but Growth Rate May Slow." Advertising Age. Dec. 20, 2010. (March 19, 2011) http://adage.com/article/news/ad-spending-rise-growth-rate-slow/147744/
Moyer, Michael. "The Everything TV." Scientific American. November 2009.
Neff, Jack. "DVR Threat to TV Ad Model Looks Increasingly Manageable." Advertising Age. Dec. 15, 2010. (March 19, 2011) http://adage.com/article/mediaworks/advertising-dvr-threat-tv-ad-model-slowing/147661/
ScienceDaily. "DVR Fast-Forwarding May Not Be Fatal To TV Advertising." Nov. 21, 2008. (March 19, 2011) http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/11/081103102314.htm
Seeking Alpha. "Snickers Satisfies Super Bowl Viewers Once Again, Takes the Top Spot on TiVo's Top-Ten Ad List." Feb. 7, 2011. (March 30, 2011) http://seekingalpha.com/news-article/551092-snickers-satisfies-super-bowl-viewers-once-again-takes-the-top-spot-on-tivo-s-top-ten-ad-list
There's a Healthier Way to Consume Your Media
We Love What John Oliver Just Said About Science
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Breast Milky
RoIO CD: Breast Milky
Bookmark as: http://www.pf-roio.de/roio/roio-cd/breast_milky.cd.html
Catalog: Highland 174/75
Misc.: <no info>
Produced: <no info>
Matrix: Disc 1:
Cover: <no info>
Sources: 29 Apr 1970, 10Jun69
Disc: 1
1. Grantchester Meadows
2. Astronomy Domine
4. Cymbaline
5. Atom Heart Mother (small band version)
6. Embryo
1. Green is the Colour
2. Careful with that Axe, Eugene
3. Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun
4. A Saucerful of Secrets
Xref: <no info>
Quality: <no info>
Comments: All but the last four tracks are listed as 29 Apr 70, evening show, Fillmore West The last four tracks (on Disc two) are listed as Ulster hall, Belfast, County Antrim, Northern Ireland, June 10, 1969.
This one is okay, but don't cross the street for it unless they're charging $20 for the double-disc set (I paid $45 with shipping and handling). It will pad your collection, but you can do without it (hey, if nothing else, the packaging is quite nice!). BARELY "listenable" for more than one or two plays little historical significance and audio quality is four to five to six (when you're lucky!).
The disc is on the Highland "label." Highland is a bit of an enigma; they have some good, good stuff, but they also have some "question marks" this CD is a very good example of both. First, the bad news: "Breast Milky" contains two songs - "Saucerful of Secrets" and "Set the Controls" that appear to me to have been lifted directly from Ummagumma and "muffled down" to sound like RoIO's. I'm fairly certain this is the case, as Ummagumma is my second-favorite Floyd album (since you're wondering, "More" is the very favorite!) and I have listened to it easily thousands of times since its release.
On the "good news" side of things, I own other RoIO's released by Highland, and they are quite good, especially "Pepperland in the West" and to a lesser degree, "The Journey Through the Past."
But anyway, here are my notes on "Breast Milky." Overall, the discs are quite "hissy" and given that they are "regular" CDs (not CD-R's) I'm, I guess, surprised that some form of noise reduction wasn't used, along with some audio tricks such as a BBE maximizer or equivalent to pump the life back into the songs
"Grantchester Meadows" - sounds very close to the "no audience" version from the public television taping, although at the conclusion you can hear audience applause and Rick Wright pulls off a very nice segue using his Farfisa organ bringing the Floyd into an excellent version of "Astronomy Domine." A typically solid "Cymbaline" follows.
The small band version of "AHM" performance is also well-done, featuring some ambitious drumming by Nick, perhaps the most aggressive I've heard amongst the various RoIO's. The rest of the band seems to follow Nick's lead, providing what appears IMHO to be a most inspired rendition of one of my favorites, AHM sans brass and choir. Also apparent are Rick's left-hand organ lines; I couldn't help but notice that on this piece he seems to favor chording with his right hand and playing lines with his left.
"The Embryo" starts off with some funny remarks which sound as though the come from Nick: "All together now (laughter), one, two, three, four!" and they launch this mid-70's staple. A weak version, however, due to a very poor harmony vocal - can't tell who it is. Gilmour is solid as always on lead.
Disc Two begins with "Green is the Colour" and Dave screws up badly, he skips a verse and goes into the chorus prematurely, then goes to the second verse, all this whilst his voice cracks in a couple places no wonder bands hate certain RoIO's! In all, he seems quite lost the tune segues into "Eugene" which is a typical version.
"Set the Controls" follows, and is very faint in volume, extremely low in relation to the tape hiss and for that reason immediately disposable.
Tracks 5 and 6 appear to have been lifted directly from "Ummagumma" and muffled to sound as though they are RoIO's. Why?
Track 7 is a decent version of "Set the Controls" although the sound is quite tinny (ah, I'm so jaded by awesome quality of the "Montreux Casino" CD!).
Finally, another version of "Green is the Colour" ends this disc. This version contains the seagull cries and the audio quality starts off at about a 5+ and finishes at about 3+ with a clipped ending as the tune was segueing into "Eugene". Dave sounds tired on this one, which is how the tune itself is rendered here both in performance and audio quality. - Z-MAN
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Attalea speciosa - Mart.
Common Name Babassu, American Oil Palm, Motacu, Motacuchi
Family Arecaceae
USDA hardiness 10-12
Known Hazards The fine silicate crystals falling off the fruit can cause serious eye damage to the collectors[ 324 ].
Habitats Primary rainforest, usually becoming the dominant species[ 419 ]. Lowland areas, sometimes forming thickets of thousands of plants in warm and damp areas[ 314 ]. The plant also regenerates vigorously in open areas[ 419 ].
Range Northern and western S. America - Brazil, Bolivia, Guyana, Surinam.
Weed Potential Yes
https://botanicimage.com/
An important crop in Northern Brazil for its wide range of uses, Babassu or Attalea speciosa is a monoecious, evergreen feather palm of up to 15-20 m tall with a trunk diameter of 40-50 cm. It has a dense crown composed of 15-20 large leaves. Babassu seed kernel is used as treatment for rheumatism and fever. Oil obtained from the seeds is used as cooking oil and for making butter. It is also used in making soap and candle. The seeds itself can also be eaten either raw or cooked; the endosperm of immature seeds is consumed as a drink. The stem yields a sap which is fermented into palm wine. The apical bud is edible as well. The leaves are used as thatch. As for the fruit, the epicarp is a primary source of fuel; the mesocarp is a potential source of industrial starch, glucose, or alcohol; and the endocarp is used as charcoal and as a substrate for hydroponics. The wood is used as construction material. Though babassu is relatively a slow-growing palm, it can still be used as a pioneer species when restoring native woodland and establishing a woodland garden. It also functions as an ornamental tree. Other names: Babacu palm, Cusi, Guaguazu, Cusino, Iba.
Attalea speciosa is an evergreen Tree growing to 30 m (98ft) by 20 m (65ft) at a slow rate.
It is hardy to zone (UK) 10 and is not frost tender. The flowers are pollinated by Bees, insects.
Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and prefers well-drained soil. Suitable pH: acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It prefers moist soil and can tolerate drought.
Attalea glassmanii Zona Attalea lydiae (Drude) Barb.Rodr. Heptantra phalerata (Mart.) O.F.Cook Orbig
Edible Parts: Fruit Oil Sap Seed
Edible Uses: Oil
Edible portion: Oil, Fruit, Nuts, Palm heart, Cabbage, Sap. A good quality cooking oil is extracted from the seeds [ 301 , 419 ]. It can be used to make a butter[ 419 ]. Seeds - raw or cooked. They can be eaten as a snack or made into a nut milk[ 301 ]. The ellipsoid seeds are up to 6cm long by 1 - 2cm wide, there are usually 3 - 6 seeds in each fruit[ 324 ]. The nuts are extremely hard and difficult to crack[ 324 ]. The watery endosperm from immature seeds is consumed as a drink[ 301 , 419 ]. Very nourishing[ 419 ]. A sap obtained from the stem is fermented to make palm wine[ 301 ]. The apical bud is used as a food[ 301 , 324 ]. Harvesting this bud will effectively lead to the death of the trunk because it is unable to make side branches[ 301 ]. Ashes from the burnt stem are used as a salt substitute[ 301 ]. Babassu flour, mixed with milk and sugar, makes a chocolate-like drink[ 301 ].
The leaves and liquid endosperm are used in local medicine[ 324 ]. The seed kernel is used in liniments as a treatment for rheumatism[ 739 ]. Ground into a powder and combined with sugar and water, it makes a refreshing and febrifuge emulsion[ 739 ].
Other uses rating: Very High (5/5). Agroforestry Uses: Although somewhat slow growing, the plant can regenerate very vigorously in open areas, to the extent that it is considered to be a weed of pastures. This makes it an excellent species for restoring native woodland and, with its wide range of uses, it is also a very good species to use when establishing a woodland garden[ 303 , 419 , K ]. Other Uses The leaves are commonly used for thatch and basketry[ 324 , 454 ]. Young plants produce very large leaves before the stem is formed, and it is in this state that they are generally used for thatching. The unopened leaves from the centre are preferred since, though they require some preparation, they produce a more uniform thatch. The leaf is shaken until it falls partially open, and then each leaflet is torn at the base so as to remain hanging by its midrib only, which is, however, quite sufficient to secure it firmly. They thus hang all at right angles to the midrib of the leaf, which allows them to be laid in a very regular manner on the rafters[ 454 ]. The leaf petioles are used for laths for windows and adobe walls[ 324 ]. Decayed stems and leaves are used for mulch[ 324 ]. The oil from the seed is excellent for soap production because of its high (45%) lauric acid content[ 324 ]. It is also used for making candles[ 419 ]. The epicarp (ca. 15% of the fruit) is a primary fuel source[ 324 ]. The mesocarp (ca. 20% of the fruit) is a potential source of industrial starch, glucose or alcohol[ 324 ]. The endocarp (ca. 59% of the fruit) is an important source of high grade charcoal for the steel industry as well as source of distillation by-products such as tar, acetic acid, methane, etc[ 324 ]. It also has a potential use as a substrate for hydroponics[ 324 ]. Nut waste is also used locally as a fuel for cooking and to repel insects[ 324 ]. The wood is moderately heavy, soft and of low durability if exposed to the elements[ 419 ]. It is used for construction purposes in rustic buildings[ 324 , 419 ].
Industrial Crop: Oil Management: Standard Regional Crop Staple Crop: Oil
A plant of the lowland humid tropics, where it is found at elevations up to 500 metres[ 200 ], though it also succeeds in the subtropics and has some resistance to frost[ 314 ]. It grows in areas where the annual rainfall is 1,200 - 2,500 mm with a 4 - 6 months dry season[ 324 ]. Requires a sunny position[ 324 ]. Soils range from well-drained upland soils to gallery forest, although in severely flooded areas it occurs in elevated, non-flooded areas[ 324 ]. Prefers a deep well drained fertile soil[ 303 ]. Plants can tolerate some drought[ 419 ]. In a primary forest, seedlings require up to seven years to produce the first compound leaf and up to 42 years for other leaves. When cultivated without shade and in more favorable conditions, the plants can take just 10 years to mature[ 303 ].. The plant can regenerate very vigorously in open areas, so much so that it is considered to be an invasive weed in land that has been cleared for pasture[ 419 ]. The palms begin to bear when 8 - 12 years old[ 324 ]. The plant produces bunches of fruit that can be up to 1 metre long, weighing 14 - 90 kg[ 324 ]. Each bunch contains from 100 - 600 fruits, with 200 fruits being the average[ 324 ]. Wild groves can yield 1.5 - 2.5 tonnes per ha but, where the groves are thinned, yields range from 7 - 30 tonnes per ha with an average of 16 tonnes[ 324 ]. Individual trees with 7 bunches, each bunch of 600 nuts and weighing up to 90 kg are known[ 324 ].
Industrial Crop: Oil Materials, chemicals and energy include bioplastics, biomass, glycerin, soaps, lubricants, paints, biodiesel. Oilseed crop types.
Management: Standard Plants grow to their standard height. Harvest fruit, seeds, or other products. Non-Destructive management systems.
Regional Crop These crops have been domesticated and cultivated regionally but have not been adopted elsewhere and are typically not traded globally, Examples in this broad category include perennial cottons and many nuts and staple fruits.
Staple Crop: Oil (0-15 percent protein, 16+ percent oil). Some of these are consumed whole while others are exclusively pressed for oil. Annuals include canola, poppyseed, maize, cottonseed, sunflower, peanut. Perennials include high-oil fruits, seeds, and nuts, such as olive, coconut, avocado, oil palm, shea, pecan, and macadamia. Some perennial oil crops are consumed whole as fruits and nuts, while others are exclusively pressed for oil (and some are used fresh and for oil).
Seed - when stored in the shell, the seed can have a long viability of several years[ 324 ]. Fire or heat may be necessary to break dormancy[ 324 ]. Separate kernels may germinate within a few months[ 324 ]. Early growth is slow, concentrating initially on an extensive root system and consequently requiring large bags if grown in a nursery[ 324 ].
Babacu palm, Cusi, Guaguazu, Cusino, Iba.
Found In: Amazon, Australia, Bolivia, Brazil, Guiana, Guyana, South America, Suriname, USA. It is a very important crop in Northern Brazil.
May be weedy
IUCN Red List of Threatened Plants Status : This taxon has not yet been assessed.
Attalea butyracea Wine Palm Tree 20.0 10-12 M LMH N DM 4 0 5
Attalea colenda Palma real, Chivila Tree 25.0 10-12 M LMH N M 4 0 3
Attalea funifera Bahia Piassava, Conquilla Nut, Piassaba Palm Tree 15.0 10-12 M LMH N DM 1 0 4
Attalea maripa Inaja, Maripa Palm Tree 15.0 10-12 M LMH SN M 3 2 5
Mart.
A special thanks to Ken Fern for some of the information used on this page.
Subject : Attalea speciosa
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Senate Democrats threaten to sue for info on Supreme Court nominee
0 0 Thursday, August 16, 2018 Edit this post
© REUTERS/Carlos Barria
U.S. Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh leaves after a meeting with Senator Joe Donnelly at Donnelly's office on Capitol Hill in Washington D.C., U.S.
Democrats in the U.S. Senate said on Thursday they were prepared to sue the National Archives if it does not honor their request for information on Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.
The threat ratcheted up the Democrats' fight with Republicans over documents on the conservative federal judge nominated by President Donald Trump. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer told reporters he plans to meet with Kavanaugh next week.
[post_ads]Democrats are seeking documents from Kavanaugh’s service while working in the White House under Republican former President George W. Bush. Last week, several Democratic senators filed requests under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to try and compel the government to release the records.
"Today we are announcing that we stand ready to sue the National Archives for Judge Kavanaugh's full records if necessary, if the FOIA request isn't granted," Schumer told reporters in the Capitol. "The American people deserve a methodical and thorough examination of a nominee to the Supreme Court, who will yield immense influence on their lives."
Democrats have charged that Republicans are dragging their feet on producing the documents needed to properly vet Kavanaugh, but Republicans say the Democratic demands are designed to delay a Senate vote.
Democrats want to know about any involvement Kavanaugh may have had on controversial issues before the Bush White House such as policy toward torture, the Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, detention facility and other matters.
Some documents from Kavanaugh's lengthy career have been released, but Democrats complain that a former deputy to Kavanaugh has been allowed to selectively release the papers.
"I am going to meet with him (Kavanaugh) next week and I'll ask him all about these documents and what he intends to do about it. "He should have said already, he wants them released ..." said Schumer, who has vowed to fight Kavanaugh's nomination.
[post_ads_2]
Trump nominated Kavanaugh, 53, on July 9 to replace retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy. Before he can assume the lifetime job on the nine-member court, the Republican-controlled Senate must vote to confirm him.
Confirmation hearings are set to begin Sept. 4, and Republicans are hoping to have Kavanaugh confirmed by the time the court starts its next term on Oct. 1.
Kavanaugh has amassed a solidly conservative judicial record as an appeals court judge for 12 years. His confirmation will require a simple majority in the 100-seat Senate, where Republicans hold a 51-49 edge over Democrats and independents.
(Reporting by Lisa Lambert and Susan Cornwell; Editing by David Gregorio and Tom Brown)
Politics - U.S. Daily News: Senate Democrats threaten to sue for info on Supreme Court nominee
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https://politics.dailynews.us.com/2018/08/senate-democrats-threaten-to-sue-for.html
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Analysis: Brett Kavanaugh has no good choices anymore
0 0 Thursday, September 27, 2018 Edit this post
© REUTERS/Jim Bourg The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee hearing room where Dr. Christine Blasey Ford and U.S. Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh will testify is seen on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., September 26, 2018.
By Deanna Paul, The Washington Post
Allegations of decades-old sexual misconduct resurfaced days before Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh was all but set to sail through his confirmation to the U.S. Supreme Court. Kavanaugh categorically denied each claim of misconduct in a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee and in an interview with Fox News on Monday, vowing to fight the accusations and defend himself.
Then, on Wednesday, a third woman came forward with accusations of sexual misconduct. The woman, Julie Swetnick, said in a declaration that Kavanaugh was physically abusive toward girls in high school and present at a house party in 1982 where she says she was the victim of a “gang” rape. The Post has not independently verified her allegations, which were made public on Twitter by lawyer Michael Avenatti.
Kavanaugh is faced with two unattractive options: withdraw or testify at a high-profile hearing Thursday. He has pledged to do the latter, though either leaves his name tarnished.
“It’s difficult to imagine an exit strategy that’s not personally and professionally devastating for Kavanaugh,” Jonathan Turley, a George Washington University Law School professor, told The Washington Post on Tuesday.
Those encouraging the federal judge to withdraw are telling him to cut his losses, Turley said. But the losses are quite considerable.
“He’s been accused of being an attempted rapist. There’s not a viable option for Kavanaugh beyond appearing at this hearing and defending his actions and reputation,” he said. At this stage, many lawyers think a withdrawal would cement the allegations into his record.
Entertaining a hearing presents a more appealing end: If he falls short on confirmation votes, Kavanaugh returns to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, as others have before him; after a failed nomination related to marijuana use, Douglas H. Ginsburg went on to serve with distinction. A hearing also preserves the possibility of a lifetime appointment to the high court.
Skeptics have compared a Kavanaugh confirmation to that of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, whose nomination was sliding through before Anita Hill made claims of sexual harassment, suggesting Kavanaugh would take the bench with an asterisk beside his name.
"The Supreme Court has a tremendous bias toward institutional comity. They place a great premium on getting along with each other,” Jeffrey Toobin, a New Yorker writer and CNN legal analyst, told The Post.
Thomas came trailing as much if not greater controversy. Still, he was welcomed and treated as a peer, according to Toobin. If Kavanaugh is confirmed after this tumultuous process, Toobin said that “this stain on his public reputation won’t disappear, but he will be treated like an equal from day one.”
There is also great contrast to be drawn with Thomas:
Even after Hill testified, Thomas was confirmed by a Democratic-controlled Senate. The vote was in his favor: Forty-one Republicans and 11 Democrats voted yes; two Republicans and 46 Democrats voted no.
“That’s inconceivable today. The almost-complete disappearance of moderate Republicans and blue-dog Democrats has locked in a polarization that you see in virtually every issue in politics. I think that’s especially true when it comes to the courts and the justices,” Toobin said.
Despite reasons to forge forward, Kavanaugh must realize the brutal proceeding he will face Thursday.
Accusations against him appear to be piling up, and the hearing promises a slew of personal questions, casting a shadow over his reputation and painting him as a possible sexual predator.
“I don’t think the questioning is going to be particularly hard on [Christine Blasey Ford] because the optics would be too dangerous for Republicans before the election,” Turley said.
The opposite is true for Kavanaugh, who will necessarily endure far more aggressive questioning.
In this forum, Turley said, “he can only play defense, never even appearing to be on the offense. That’s not the best way to score more points.”
The justice system guarantees the presumption of innocence. Still, the political reality is that Kavanaugh will bear the burden at Thursday’s hearing. He must sway the marginal senator; he’s the only person in the room who must persuade 50 senators to vote in his favor.
The hearing is unlikely to change many minds, according to Turley, and a presumption will not help him with a jury of politicians.
“There’s a disconnect where the senators on each party line decry the absence of an impartial hearing for ‘their’ witness, while publicly picking which side is credible before hearing any testimony,” he said, which is not a vindication but could start a new legacy for Kavanaugh.
That’s not without consequence, though.
“These hearings create lasting emotional injuries for nominees. We forget there are human beings at the center of this,” said Turley, comparing Ford and Kavanaugh to “props” being used in a “political play.”
It’s symptomatic of broader political problems and the changing nature of how people communicate with their constituency, said a former judiciary staffer for then-Sen. Joe Biden, granted anonymity because commenting could affect their current employment. “It’s a shame that judicial nominations have become a political football. Worse, that who you blame depends on where you sit. Once you go in this direction it’s very hard to go back.”
Others, such as Michael Waldman, president of the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law, justify the last-minute dramatics by pointing out that inflammatory accusations need to be investigated. Waldman also blamed the Trump administration, “who seem to want to treat this as a campaign where speed and brute political force are the key factors.”
At times when Congress or the presidency has fallen in public repute, Waldman said that the Supreme Court has largely hovered above, remaining rooted in legal principle. Justices, he said, take seriously that it still is one of the more respected institutions in American life.
And though that may be true, this confirmation has broken down along political lines in an unprecedented way.
“Every day it becomes more bizarre or more grotesque. Even [Kavanaugh high school friend] Mark Judge is hiding out like he’s a mob informant,” Turley said. A possible U.S. Supreme Court justice has announced on national television that he was a virgin through high school.
Avenatti was waving around allegations involving an alleged third victim, before going public hours ahead of the scheduled hearing.
As The Post’s John Wagner reported Wednesday, Swetnick said she observed Kavanaugh drinking excessively at house parties and engaging “in abusive and physically aggressive behavior toward girls.”
Swetnick said she witnessed efforts by Kavanaugh and others to get girls inebriated so they could be “gang raped” in side rooms at house parties by a “train” of numerous boys.
“I have a firm recollection of seeing boys lined up outside rooms at many of these parties waiting for their ‘turn’ with a girl inside the room. These boys included Mark Judge and Brett Kavanaugh.”
“This is ridiculous and from the Twilight Zone,” Kavanaugh said in a statement through the White House on Wednesday. “I don’t know who this is and this never happened.”
Said Turley, a day earlier: “This confirmation hearing reached a new low. A Slurpee has more nutritional value than the Kavanaugh confirmation hearing.”
John Wagner contributed to this report.
Politics - U.S. Daily News: Analysis: Brett Kavanaugh has no good choices anymore
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https://politics.dailynews.us.com/2018/09/analysis-brett-kavanaugh-has-no-good.html
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