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The Heartbeat of The Remnant
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Items where Research Area is "A. > School of Science and Technology > London Sport Institute > Sports Psychology at the London Sport Institute"
Middlesex University Schools, Centres and Partners (19396)
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Sports Psychology at the London Sport Institute (17)
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Longstaff, Fran and Gervis, Misia (2016) The use of counselling principles and skills to develop practitioner-athlete relationships by practitioners who provide sport psychology support. The Sport Psychologist, 30 (3) . pp. 276-289. ISSN 0888-4781 (doi:10.1123/tsp.2015-0029)
Horsley, Dan, Cockburn, Emma and James, Ian A. (2015) An exploration of participation football coaches' philosophies from development to expression. Sport and Exercise Psychology Review, 11 (2) . pp. 22-36. ISSN 1745-4980
Longstaff, Fran, Heather, Nick, Allsop, Susan, Partington, Elizabeth, Jankowski, Mark, Wareham, Helen, St Clair Gibson, Alan and Partington, Sarah (2015) Drinking outcome expectancies and normative perceptions of students engaged in university sport in England. Journal of Clinical Sport Psychology, 9 (1) . pp. 59-75. ISSN 1932-9261 (doi:10.1123/jcsp.2015-0005)
Cohen, Rhonda (2014) Psychology - performance enhancement. In: Key Clinical Topics in Sports and Exercise Medicine. Narvani, Ali, Thomas, Panos and Lynn, Bruce, eds. JP Medical Ltd., London, UK, pp. 239-241. ISBN 9781907816635.
Cohen, Rhonda (2014) Psychology - sports injuries. In: Key Clinical Topics in Sports and Exercise Medicine. Narvani, Ali, Thomas, Panos and Lynn, Bruce, eds. JP Medical Ltd., London, UK, pp. 242-244. ISBN 9781907816635.
Longstaff, Fran, Heather, Nick, Jankowski, Mark, Allsop, Susan, Wareham, Helen, Partington, Sarah, Partington, Elizabeth and St Clair Gibson, Alan (2014) Readiness to change drinking behaviour among heavy-drinking university students in England. Education and Health, 32 (2) . pp. 60-65. ISSN 0265-1602
Partington, Sarah, Partington, Elizabeth, Heather, Nick, Longstaff, Fran, Allsop, Susan, Jankowski, Mark, Wareham, Helen, Stephens, Richard and Gibson, Alan St. Clair (2013) The relationship between membership of a university sports group and drinking behaviour among students at English Universities. Addiction Research & Theory, 21 (4) . pp. 339-347. ISSN 1606-6359 (doi:10.3109/16066359.2012.727508)
Spray, Christopher M., Warburton, Victoria E. and Stebbings, Juliette (2013) Change in physical self-perceptions across the transition to secondary school: relationships with perceived teacher-emphasised achievement goals in physical education. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 14 (5) . pp. 662-669. ISSN 1469-0292 (doi:10.1016/j.psychsport.2013.05.001)
Cohen, Rhonda (2012) Personality and sensation seeking in extreme sport. In: The 7th INSHS International Christmas Sport Scientific Conference "Qualitative and Quantitative Research in Sport Science”, 9th -11th December 2012, University of West – Hungary, Savaria Campus, Institute of Sport Science and INSHS (International Network on Sport and Health Science) Szombathely – Hungary. .
Cohen, Rhonda (2012) The relationship between personality, sensation seeking, reaction time and sport participation: evidence from drag racers, sport science students and archers. PhD thesis, Middlesex University.
Stebbings, Juliette, Taylor, Ian M., Spray, Christopher M. and Ntoumanis, Nikos (2012) Antecedents of perceived coach interpersonal behaviors: the coaching environment and coach psychological well- and ill-being. Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, 34 (4) . pp. 481-502. ISSN 0895-2779
Taylor, Ian M. and Stebbings, Juliette (2012) Disentangling within-person changes and individual differences among fundamental need satisfaction, attainment of acquisitive desires, and psychological health. Journal of Research in Personality, 46 (5) . pp. 623-626. ISSN 0092-6566 (doi:10.1016/j.jrp.2012.06.002)
Heather, Nick, Partington, Sarah, Partington, Elizabeth, Longstaff, Fran, Allsop, Susan, Jankowski, Mark, Wareham, Helen and St Clair Gibson, Alan (2011) Alcohol use disorders and hazardous drinking among undergraduates at English universities. Alcohol and Alcoholism, 46 (3) . pp. 270-277. ISSN 0735-0414 (doi:10.1093/alcalc/agr024)
Stebbings, Juliette, Taylor, Ian M. and Spray, Christopher M. (2011) Antecedents of perceived coach autonomy supportive and controlling behaviors: coach psychological need satisfaction and well-being. Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, 33 (2) . pp. 255-272. ISSN 0895-2779
Cohen, Rhonda, Nordin, Sanna and Abrahamson, Earle (2010) Psychology and sport rehabilitation. In: Sports Rehabilitation and Injury Prevention. Comfort, Paul and Abrahamson, Earle, eds. Wiley-Blackwell, pp. 275-296. ISBN 978-0-470-98563-2.
Cohen, Rhonda, Nordin, Sanna and Abrahamson, Earle (2010) Psychology and sports rehabilitation. In: Sport Rehabilitation and Injury Prevention. Comfort, Paul and Abrahamson, Earle, eds. Wiley-Blackwell. ISBN 9780470985632, e-ISBN 9780470975893.
Lazarus, Jeremy and Cohen, Rhonda (2009) Sport psychology and use of neuro linguistic programming (NLP) in sport. Journal of Health, Social and Environmental Issues, 10 (1) . pp. 5-12. ISSN 1478-5692
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The Quetta district was held in turns by the Ghaznivids, Ghorids and Mongols and towards the end of the Fifteenth century was conferred by the ruler of Heart on Shah Brg Arghun, who, however, has shortly to give way before the rising power of the Mughals. The Ain-i-Akabri mentions shah as supplying Military service and revenue to Akbar. From the Mughals, Quetta passed with Qandahar to the safavids. On the rise of the ghilizai power in Qandhar at the beginning of the 18th century, simultaneously with that of the Brohuis in kalat, Quetta became the battle ground between Afghans and Brohuis, until Nadir Shah handed Quetta over to the Brohuis about 1740.
The Durranis and their successors continued to hold possession of Pishin and Shal (Quetta) till the final transfer of these placesto the british in 1879. On the advance of the army of the Indus in 1839, Captain Bean was appointed the first Political Agent in Shal and the country was managed by him on behalf of Shah Shuja -ul - Mulk.
Quetta was temporarily occupied by the British during the First Afghan War of 1839-42 but was later abandoned.
Its strategic importance, being at the head of Bolan Pass, was first recognized by General Jhon Jacob who urged the Governer-General of India, Lord Canning, in 1856 to garrison this important point of Vantage. But the proposal was rejected on the ground that quetta was an isolated place and surrounded by tribes.
In 1866, Sir Henry Green, political superintendent of Upper Sind again proposed that Quetta should be garrisoned and connected by rail with Karachi. The suggestion was again rejected. However, when the Russians occupied Khiva in Centeral Asia and were drawing nearer to the Afghan border, the Brirish made Quetta a military station. Under increased subsidy to the Khan of Kalat, railway and telegraphic lines were run through his territory and Quetta was connected with the cities of Sind.
During the second Afghan War of 1878-80 Quetta was freely used by British troops. After Sir Robert Sandeman's mission to Kalat in1876, the fort of Quetta was occupied by his escort and this region was managed on Behalf of the khan up to 1883, when it was leased to the British Government for an Annual rent of Rs. 25000.
When the arsenal at Quetta was being excavated in 1886,a bronze or copper statuette of Hercules was unearthed, which was 2 ¼ feet high and held in his left hand the skin of the Nemean Lion.
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January & February Bank Profit? AIG/ Taxpayer Money Responsible…
I knew something was up the second I heard the bank CEO's claim to be profitable. Here it is… We already knew that AIG funneled bailout money to the likes of Goldman Sachs, but according to this trader, it was all the banks and it’s been going on for awhile; long enough that the claimed January and February “profits” came from the taxpayer via AIG. Please keep the source in mind, this is via a blogger and his source, not the mainstream media. In other words, it’s probably closer to the truth!
Exclusive: AIG Was Responsible For The Banks' January & February Profitability
Posted by Tyler Durden at 6:35 PM
Zero Hedge is rarely speechless, but after receiving this email from a correlation desk trader, we simply had to hold a moment of silence for the phenomenal scam that continues unabated in the financial markets, and now has the full oversight and blessing of the U.S. government, which in turns keeps on duping U.S. taxpayers into believing everything is good.
I present the insider perspective of trader Lou (who wishes to remain anonymous) in its entirety:
"AIG-FP accumulated thousands of trades over the years, all essentially consisted of selling default protection. This was done via a number of structures with really only one criteria - rated at least AA- (if it fit these criteria all OK - as far as I could tell credit assessment was completely outsourced to the rating agencies).
Main products they took on were always levered credit risk, credit-linked notes (collateral and CDS both had to be at least AA-, no joint probability stuff) and AAA or super senior portfolio swaps. Portfolio swaps were either corporate synthetic CDO or asset backed, effectively sub-prime wraps (as per news stories regarding GS and DB).
Credit linked notes are done through single-name CDS desks and a cash desk (for the note collateral) and the portfolio swaps are done through the correlation desk. These trades were done is almost every jurisdiction - wherever AIG had an office they had IB salespeople covering them.
Correlation desks just back their risk out via the single names desks - the correlation desk manages the delta/gamma according to their correlation model. So correlation desks carry model risk but very little market risk.
I was mostly involved in the corporate synthetic CDO side.
During Jan/Feb AIG would call up and just ask for complete unwind prices from the credit desk in the relevant jurisdiction. These were not single deal unwinds as are typically more price transparent - these were whole portfolio unwinds. The size of these unwinds were enormous, the quotes I have heard were "we have never done as big or as profitable trades - ever".
As these trades are unwound, the correlation desk needs to unwind the single name risk through the single name desks - effectively the AIG-FP unwinds caused massive single name protection buying. This caused single name credit to massively underperform equities - run a chart from say last September to current of say S&P 500 and Itraxx - credit has underperformed massively. This is largely due to AIG-FP unwinds.
I can only guess/extrapolate what sort of PnL this put into the major global banks (both correlation and single names desks) during this period. Allowing for significant reserve release and trade PnL, I think for the big correlation players this could have easily been US$1-2bn per bank in this period."
For those to whom this is merely a lot of mumbo-jumbo, let me explain in layman's terms:
AIG, knowing it would need to ask for much more capital from the Treasury imminently, decided to throw in the towel, and gifted major bank counter-parties with trades which were egregiously profitable to the banks, and even more egregiously money losing to the U.S. taxpayers, who had to dump more and more cash into AIG, without having the U.S. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner disclose the real extent of this, for lack of a better word, fraudulent scam.
In simple terms think of it as an auto dealer, which knows that U.S. taxpayers will provide for an infinite amount of money to fund its ongoing sales of horrendous vehicles (think Pontiac Azteks): the company decides to sell all the cars currently in contract, to lessors at far below the amortized market value, thereby generating huge profits for these lessors, as these turn around and sell the cars at a major profit, funded exclusively by U.S. taxpayers (readers should feel free to provide more gripping allegories).
What this all means is that the statements by major banks, i.e. JPM, Citi, and BofA, regarding abnormal profitability in January and February were true, however these profits were a) one-time in nature due to wholesale unwinds of AIG portfolios, b) entirely at the expense of AIG, and thus taxpayers, c) executed with Tim Geithner's (and thus the administration's) full knowledge and intent, d) were basically a transfer of money from taxpayers to banks (in yet another form) using AIG as an intermediary.
For banks to proclaim their profitability in January and February is about as close to criminal hypocrisy as is possible. And again, the taxpayers fund this "one time profit", which causes a market rally, thus allowing the banks to promptly turn around and start selling more expensive equity (soon coming to a prospectus near you), also funded by taxpayers' money flows into the market. If the administration is truly aware of all these events (and if Zero Hedge knows about it, it is safe to say Tim Geithner also got the memo), then the potential fallout would be staggering once this information makes the light of day.
And here I didn’t think anyone could be worse than Hank Paulson, but Tim Geithner is definitely trying to out Pigman Paulson which is saying a ton. Geither was flat out lying this morning during an interview with George Stephanopoulos, it was so flagrant and disgusting that I had to just walk away from the computer this morning when I read it:
'This Week' Transcript: Timothy Geithner
STEPHANOPOULOS: And some are saying you should go back and recoup on another, much bigger issue having to do with AIG, and that’s all the payments they made to their so-called counterparties. Let me show our viewers who got the money from AIG after they got a government bailout -- $13 billion to Goldman Sachs; $12 billion to Bank of America; more than $30 billion to a series of foreign banks. That has upset a lot of members of Congress. Elijah Cummings and 26 other members of Congress have written a letter saying they want to know why an attempt wasn’t made to renegotiate.
Let me read exactly what they said. “Was any attempt made to renegotiate and close out these contracts with haircuts? If not, why not? What was the benefit of the decision to pay 100 percent of face value to the American taxpayers who provided the bailout funds, and how did it support the goal of ensuring the stability of the economic system?”
Now, Goldman Sachs, for example. Their chief financial officer said he had no material economic exposure to AIG. So why weren’t they forced to take a discount?
GEITHNER: George, we came into this crisis as a country without the tools necessary to contain the damage of a financial crisis like this. In a case of a large, complex institution like AIG, the government has no ability, had no meaningful ability to come in early to help contain the fire, contain the damage, prevent the spread of that fire. Restructure the firm, change contracts where necessary, and helped make sure that the financial system gets through this...
STEPHANOPOULOS: But it would have been the right thing to do, right?
GEITHNER: If we had the legal authority, that’s what we would have done. But without that legal authority, we had no good choices. We were caught between these terrible choices of letting Lehman fail -- and you saw the catastrophic damage that caused to the financial system -- or coming in and putting huge amounts of taxpayer dollars at risk, like we did at AIG, to keep the thing going, unwind it slowly at less damage to the ultimate economy and taxpayer.
STEPHANOPOULOS: So how about now, Goldman Sachs is taking other government money. They got this $13 billion whole from AIG. Congressman Brad Sherman and others have said, they should give that $13 billion back.
GEITHNER: George, the important thing is, we have no legal ability now. That’s why I went to Congress last week, to propose a broad change in resolution authority so that we have the capacity to do what we do with banks now.
STEPHANOPOULOS: But wouldn’t it be the right thing for Goldman?
GEITHNER: To give that money back?
STEPHANOPOULOS: Uh-huh.
GEITHNER: Look, again, the government of the United States in a situation like this has to make sure that we’re containing the damage that might come from default by a major complex financial institution. We need better legal authority to do that, did not have that authority coming into this crisis. It’s a tragic...
STEPHANOPOULOS: So nothing to be done looking back, but going forward, that’s exactly the authority you would want.
GEITHNER: Absolutely. Our obligation now, again, is to defuse and help unwind this deeply complicated problem that AIG presents. But we want to work with the Congress to put in place stronger tools, stronger resolution authority, so the government can come in more quickly, earlier, before things have passed the point of no return, contain the damage, prevent the fire from spreading, restructure the firm, have it emerge stronger, at less risk to the taxpayer. That’s what we need. We should have had this before this crisis, but we didn’t. But we need to move quickly now.
I can’t believe what I’m seeing. Prison would be too good for all these TRAITORS. They better start showing American Idol seven days a week or else the people are going to wake up soon…
Weekend Update 4/4
Bill Moyer’s Journal – William K. Black…
Summers Earned Millions From Hedge Funds and Other...
Employment Revisions Egregious…
The Bear in Percentage Terms…
G20 Cheerleading - A One World Paradise...
Q&A: IAN GORDON – A Bear’s Bear…
“Honest Man” quits FHLB Refusing to Sign Financial...
G20 To Call For Doubling of IMF Budget…
Ken Lewis on Retaining Talent...
Global Derivatives - $1.4 QUADRILLION, Up 22% Worl...
Potential FASB Accounting Changes Tomorrow…
Derivatives Becoming “Unmanageable…”
End of Day, End of Month/Quarter 3/31
Jim Rogers Today on CNBC...
Dylan Ratigan GoldSeek Radio Interview...
Consumer Confidence & Chicago PMI (Purchasing Mana...
Taleb’s Latest – Black Swans a Swimming…
Roubini’s Latest…
Rep. Michele Bachman – Bill to Block One World Cur...
OCC 4th Quarter Derivatives Report…
January & February Bank Profit? AIG/ Taxpayer Mon...
How Geithner's Latest Plan Will Really Work...
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Fulham Supporters Group EST. 2004
Fulham USA: US Supporters club of Fulham FC
Home Forums > Miscellaneous >
Discussion in 'Miscellaneous' started by JohnnyCash, Aug 29, 2005.
JohnnyCash New Member
I've got to admit that I got addicted to the coverage this morning.
I was hoping Anderson Cooper was going to get blown off that Bridge he was standing on. And then there were Fox News' computer graphics showing models of New Orleans getting flooded every few minutes.
It seems like its not as bad as it could have been though which is good.
JohnnyCash, Aug 29, 2005
ChicagoTom Administrator
I heard there are a few 6-foot holes in the Superdome roof. I am not sure how all the people are coping inside the Superdome, but these hurricanes are for the birds!
I was disappointed in MSNBC yesterday. I usually like to enjoy my Sunday afternoon's with four back-to-back episodes of "Headliners and Legends," but because of the Hurrican coverage I was not able to watch them.
ChicagoTom, Aug 29, 2005
I was watching last night and apparently its a lot worse than they were originally reporting yesterday. A CNN reporter was going out with rescuers and she said that hte water level was rising quickly, and people fled to their attics, but were trapped there and were trying to chop through the roof. She said that the water continued to rise and they could not get to some in time.
and more bad news, a levee broke this morning releasing more water into New Orleans.
yeah, New Orleans and the surrounding area down there is in a world of hurt. The water is continuing to rise and things are just in shambles down there. I feel bad for those people.
Oddly enough, about two months ago I was watching a special on the effects of hurricanes on the city of New Orleans. Experts said in that show it is not a matter of if, but a matter of when New Orleans will eventually be overcome with water and the city will be no more.
The coastline along the Gulf of Mexico has receded like Claus Jensen's hairline in the last 50 years and it is getting dangerously close to New Orleans. This obviously hurricane obviously did not help matters at all. It is very sad.
I think the freakiest thing is that all the animals are running from it as well. This guy said that he fell asleep on his roof last night and woke up this mornign and there were squirrels and lizzards and snakes and rodents sitting on top of his porch with him trying to escape the flood as well. When our building flooded during Isabel, they found 8 snakes in our building that got washed in with the tide, also a beaver or groundhog or something.
I was reading somewhere that the fire ant colonies roll themselves into a ball and float out the flood
Chris Duhon of the Chicago Bulls today already started a relief fund for the victims down there. He is originally from Slidell, Louisiana and has family and friends that were effected. It is nice to see the athletes doing something to help out the relief efforts.
Seriously, can we shoot the looters? It'd be one thing if they were stealing water, food or something that they needed, but they're stealing TVs, and there was video last night of people "shopping" at a wal-mart and walking out with carts full of stuff. The shelves were empty.
they're marking buildings with fatalities with paint slashes because the police and rescuers don't have time to deal with them as they're trying to rescue as many as possible...and these a-holes are looting.
dcheather Administrator
It looks very bad in the Gulf States that were hit by Katrina...I guess I would like to point out that www.amazon.com has an american red cross link on their front page, so with a few clicks of button you can make a donation.
dcheather, Sep 1, 2005
Can anyone exlpain the rationale behind shooting at emergency workers? What do you gain by that? I hope the guardsmen that was shot recovers fully.
Its chaos right now. The police are starting to tell reporters that they're going to need to evacuate as well because its getting too dangerous for even the reporters to stay. Someone shot at a military helicopter this morning as they were trying to airlift people out.
the city is overwhelmed with refugees and has really lost control in the last day or two.
JohnnyCash, Sep 1, 2005
americanmike Administrator
Re: RE: Hurricane Katrina
DCHeather said:
Nope, but I get angry just thinking about it. I don't want to read about it as its unbelievable that people are stooped to a new low.
americanmike, Sep 1, 2005
BostonDan New Member
RE: Re: RE: Hurricane Katrina
It's disgusting how a few violent, stupid punks can put thousands of people in even more danger than they already face. Four days in though I have to ask - why hasn't New Orleans been secured? There is only one organization that can do it - the US Military. Why haven't we sent in an adequate force to stop the violence, keep the peace, provide basic food and water, and evacuate the people who are trying to get out? We have the best-trained and equipped military in the world and yes, while much of it is in Iraq, there are more than adequate resources remaining here to have the job done by now. Why hasn't it happened?
BostonDan, Sep 1, 2005
Re: RE: Re: RE: Hurricane Katrina
BostonDan said:
I'm not an expert, but I have some knowledge of military matters. The logistics of moving a military force doesn't happen overnight, the best we can hope for in that area is the Coast Guard rescue missions, which they doing with great skill and effect. It takes weeks to mobilise a military force...we didn't invade Iraq or Afganistan overnight. I know that those countries are on the otherside of the world, but you have to set-up logistics (food, water, shelter, communications, etc) for your military force. And that takes more than few hours to set-up, especially in an area that doesn't have anything and is submerged underwater. I think we will see a lot more military personnel moving in over next couple of days.
nowayjeff New Member
RE: Re: RE: Re: RE: Hurricane Katrina
Being here in Dallas, I know that they have been transporting people from New Orleans and Mississippi to the Houston Astrodome and Dallas' Reunion Arena, the semi abandoned arena once home to the Mavericks and Stars. So I guess it has become a migrating thing now. I can't imagine these poor people shacking up at the arena for over a month or more until New Orleans becomes liveable again. But there is locker room showers and restrooms and tons of overpriced Nachos and Beer...... I feel very bad for all the victims of Katrina, And as far as looting big screen tv's, Thats just ridiculous. Those people looting and shooting are making everyone else look really bad.
nowayjeff, Sep 1, 2005
pettyfog Well-Known Member
I was in Naval Air transport when a hurricane ripped through Haiti and I recall it took three days before we flew there, even though I was assigned as crew on the flight late in the first day.
And that was all standard relief stuff out of the Red Cross Warehouse somewhere near DC.
I think this caught everyone by surprise and they were all numbed the first day of the flooding. And think about what might have been if that dike hadnt broken.
This situation is actually WORSE than if it had happened in a third world country... in THAT case, those affected by flooding would have walked out soon after it began. In this case, those who couldnt evacuate, did what they THOUGHT they were supposed to do. Stay put and wait for help.
In hindsight a lot of this death and misery would have been a voided if everyone who was able just had started walking west when the dike burst.
pettyfog, Sep 1, 2005
I don't buy the excuses. The forecast two days ahead was for a direct hit on New Orleans by a Category 5 hurricane. There should have been a mobilization plan in place for a large military presence and they could have been able to move as soon as the storm blew through. We're not talking about Iraq or Afghanistan 5000 miles away. There are dozens of military installations within 500 miles of the impacted area - in fact probably the densest concentration in the country. I suspect some turf battles between FEMA, Homeland Security and DOD got in the way.
Pettyfog's point is a good one that people walking out of town would have solved a lot of the problem. But I see a lot people on TV who can't walk very far and had no resources to begin with. That's why they were stuck there.
Re: RE: Re: RE: Re: RE: Hurricane Katrina
So what forces would you have mobilized before a hurricane? Which changes its pattern every few hours and then you risk having the miliatry force taking the brunt of the impact and then having to rescue the force. Plus, Katrina didn't just hit New Orleans, it wiped out the coastal areas of three states, and passsed through others. Those military installations within 500 miles probably have their own damage. The surrounding areas are probably are probably barely passable by vehicles. The ports can't handle any ships, and the airports and railways are flooded. If you helicopter people or food in, you risk the armed gangs meeting helicopters and the food will not go to those in need, I'm thinking of Somalia. Also, I know of Coast Guard members who live in Pascaguala, MS--and I'm sure there are other military families that are struck by this. I haven't heard anything from them yet. Could have there been better planning? I certainly think so. The police on the ground are having to loot for food and medicine. There is no command center that has yet to be mentioned. They knew days in advance that a hurricane was coming yet they didn't stock up on basic essentials in the shelters or hospitals to last them at least week? That's pathetic. Plus, there was no plan to get the disabled out when the call was made to evacuate. This situation is horrible. Yes, more should have been done and probably could have been done.
RE: Re: RE: Re: RE: Re: RE: Hurricane Katrina
There's plenty of blame to pass around... this is a display of what happens when everything goes wrong.
BTW; Dubya has no business setting his boots on the ground anywhere near Biloxi or NO... the situation is bad enough; disrupting what order there is, even on the fringe is lunacy, he knows all he needs to know just turning on tv.
For once I fully agree with you Fog.
Heather - They had a pretty good idea where the hurricane was going to hit two days before. Yes it can move but at that point probably not that much. It was obvious that a direct hit by a Cat 5 would overwhelm the resources of any State and local government particularly those of one of the poorest cities in the US. The military is clearly the only organization with the training and resources to handle the situation. The military and disaster planners know what a reasonable radius is that would provide quick access to the site. Within that radius some installations will be impacted and some won't be but you have them all mobilized and ready to go after the storm blows through. Start with food, water and medical supply drops and when you can get adequate force in to keep the peace. You underestimate our military capabilities and I don't blame the military - I think it's the bureucrats and FEMA and homeland security who didn't plan properly. The Mayor said it this morning - "they think small". Given the fact that millions of dollars that have spent since 9/11 on disaster planning things should have gone better. Affixing blame is not a worthwhile activity - reviewing what went wrong so we do better next time definitely is.
Sorry, BostonDan. I'm former military brat and have worked with military personnel in some of my previous jobs--I'm little sensitive when I feel people are critizing the military. You may feel I'm underestimating the military, I well aware of what they are capable of. I got a chance to participate in Coast Guard rescue mission and search&seizure drills and I am in awe of their professionalism and skill. But they can't be everywhere and still have to deal with what resources they have--that's when I feel people overestimate what the military can do.
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Aug. 12 New Release: Chocobo Racing
Living History Project
The great thing about the PlayStation era is that many companies have been having fun with their properties – taking chances on crossing over genres and the like. While many of Square’s games have stayed in Japan, seeing Chocobo Racing come home to the states was a wonderful surprise. It’s Mario Kart but with Final Fantasy mascots. Check it out!
Jewel Case Release
This article is part of the Living History Project Celebration, which is living the PlayStation’s library release schedule in real time. Started during the 20th Anniversary on 9-9-2015, the project will last all the way till 2024! Follow us on Twitter for all the updates and additions!
Chocobo Racing.
Aug. 11 New Releases: GameDay and GameBreaker 2000
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Showdown Bandit Guide
Showdown Bandit is a creepy western puppet themed point-n-click adventure. Every area in the game is created as if it were on a stage controlled by a mysterious puppeteer. Sneak around the west, snatching money, finding NPCs and avoiding evil no-string-puppets... in specific areas you can change to 3rd Person and shoot your pop-gun to open doors and take-out enemies.
Follow my step-by-step guide on installing, configuring and optimizing Showdown Bandit demo in...
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Dead Lab is a short indie project by Fractured Games Inc where you play as Sam in an experimental lab where everything has gone wrong. You are awakened in a lab dormitory by a voice on the radio. You must reach the top level at all cost, find weapons, use physics and keep your cool.
Follow my step-by-step guide on installing, configuring and optimizing Dead Lab 2.0 in Linux with PlayOnLinux.
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Follow my step-by-step guide on installing, configuring and optimizing runk Fu: Wasted Masters demo in Linux with PlayOnLinux.
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Elite Force is a sci-fi wave-based First Person Shooter. Upgrade your weapons, abilities and protect your based from waves of enemies and a boss. Developed by Fractured Games, but as far as I can tell it is no longer under development.
Follow my step-by-step guide on installing, configuring and optimizing Elite Force in Linux with PlayOnLinux.
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Follow my step-by-step guide on installing, configuring and optimizing Shipping Out in Linux with PlayOnLinux.
Note: This guide applies to the itch.io version of Shipping Out. Other versions may require additional...
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Dragon Quest thread : DQXI on PS4, 3DS & Switch
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Thread: Dragon Quest thread : DQXI on PS4, 3DS & Switch
September 17th, 2019 01:45 PM #1341
Green_vs_Red
Re: Dragon Quest thread : DQXI on PS4, 3DS & Switch
7 is great but you really need to take it slow and enjoy the NPC dialogue. Each island has its own unique culture, religion and dialect and they're all fleshed out surprisingly well.
Too bad like 20% of the NPC's are unlikable to the point they make Maribelle "almost" "almost" come off likable..
Originally Posted by Ubiq
I've often wondered about that myself; seems like being supported by people who only want you there so the world can end in fire (with you going to Hell in the process) would be somewhat off-putting
3DS Friend Code 0044-2806-5284
October 8th, 2019 08:27 AM #1342
Finally playing Dragon Quest I, my first ever Dragon Quest game. I'm playing the port was recently released on the Switch. I'm about an hour in and, so far, not bad. It's pretty standard RPG fare, but that's about what I expected. Unfortunately, the port is kinda weak, mainly in that the character sprites are really distracting and clearly do not match the backgrounds. Also, don't know if this is unique to the port or not, but the "thud" sound whenever you walk into a wall is pretty annoying.
November 15th, 2019 01:15 PM #1343
Alright, first three Dragon Quest games played and beaten. Here are my thoughts (bear in my mind, these are the iOS versions that were released on the Switch):
Dragon Quest 1: Pretty basic as far as RPGs go. A relatively small world map, only one playable character, the bare minimum of narrative guidance, and only 1 or 2 bosses in the whole game. But hey, we all have to start somewhere. And for what this is, this is actually pretty good. One of my favorite things about this game is, once you've beaten the Dragon Lord, all the overworld enemies disappear and you're free to explore the entire world and check in on all the towns and villages (see, Earthbound? You didn't invent that!) There's just something so cathartic about traversing the overworld without fear of enemy encounters and I'm so glad they continued this in the other games.
Dragon Quest 2: From what I understand, this is apparently the black sheep of DQ (typical, the second installment of a series), but...I dunno. I thought this was a fine natural evolution of the game. With this game, DQ reaches the milestones of having multiple playable characters, multiple monsters in combat, a boat for exploration, and they did away with that silly Magic Key system. Not to mention, we have a much bigger overworld with the continent from the last game only taking up maybe a tenth of this overworld (granted, it's been scaled down, but whatever). Speaking of which, I do enjoy the callbacks to the first DQ, like with the Dragon Lord's descendant still living at the bottom of this castle and actually helping you this time around. That said, the game could've provided a bit more guidance once the world opened up with the boat, since it's pretty much a crapshoot whether you're going to land in a place with monsters you can handle or that will utterly destroy you. Otherwise, good game. I was happy to play it.
Dragon Quest 3: The most acclaimed of the first three and the most fleshed out and fully realized one to be sure. And HOLY BALLS IS IT HARD! Like, for real, basically every stage of this game is an endless challenge of overpowered monsters. I think it was only towards the end when I was doing all the side quests and collectible stuff that I could traverse the world without fear of dying from some bullshit. Well, regardless, this is still a good game. In fact, one of the coolest things about it that I don't think I've seen in any other RPG is the option of creating your own playable characters. And you can create as many as you want! It's a customizers dream come true! But, that said, it does kind of shoot itself in the foot with the additional feature of being able to change your players' class to a new one, while also remembering the spells and skills they learned from the previous class. So, in effect, it basically makes creating new characters pretty much pointless, since you can always just customize our already established characters. They do put in the condition that a character can only change class after reaching level 20, but, at some point, getting a character back to level 20 is pretty simple. Oh, and I never once bothered with the personality changing stuff since I had no idea what they would even do. Anywho, the story follows pretty much the same beats as the previous game. Linear travel for the first half, but then once you get the bot the entire world opens up and you have to track down a bunch of collectibles. Not bad, but I guess I wish they hadn't made the repetitive plotting so darn obvious. The overworld, of course, is vast, but, geographically, it's just a slight variation on Earth (I'm starting to notice some cut corners here). One thing I really liked about the port, however, was their portrayal of flight once you get the bird. Showing flight and the world at an angle is just a really pleasing and dynamic visual effect. In the end, the game throws you for a curve by revealing the "real" final boss and returning you to Alefgard, though I already had this spoiled for me. Oh, and the port has a bonus dungeon and an extra super boss, which I...haven't beaten yet. Sorry, but I'm just not ready to commit to that much grinding, especially when I've got other games to play. Maybe I'll do it at a later date. Anyway, I know I've made a number of complaints, but this is still a good game that I a lot of fun playing. And it's easily the most expansive of the first three games, so much so that it's hard for me to believe they were all released on the same system. It's just...for all the goods about it, it can also be a frustrating play. If they had fine-tuned a few things, this could have been a truly great game. But as it is, it's still very good and technically the best of the first three.
So with three DQ games under my belt, I'm pleased to say I'm really enjoying series. It's rough around the edges, sure, but most RPGs were back in the day. Perhaps the biggest thing that sticks out to me though is it's brutal and punishing difficulty, forcing you to give up half your money every time your party wipes out, and half the time it's due to some bullcrap that no reasonable player could possibly have counteracted. If it wasn't for the quick save feature on the ports, this would have been quite a chore to get through. So...okay, yeah, not exactly praise, but the series does have a certain charm to it, due in no small part to Toriyama's character designs. Next up for me, I'm jumping all way the way up to DQXI so I'll just how much the series has evolved over years.
Also, on a general note, I'd like to comment on how interesting it is that Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest (and possibly other RPGs) used to put out, like, one game a year, sometimes having 3 or 4 installments on a single console. And nowadays it takes them, like, 10 years to make one and it's a big event when it's released and we're lucky if we get even a single one on a console (and in FF's case, they always suck).
POE WUN BGR
Originally Posted by Nobodyman
, I'd like to comment on how interesting it is that Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest (and possibly other RPGs) used to put out, like, one game a year, sometimes having 3 or 4 installments on a single console. And nowadays it takes them, like, 10 years to make one and it's a big event when it's released and we're lucky if we get even a single one on a console (and in FF's case, they always suck).
DQ puts out a mainline every five years, but that's thrown off by 10 being an MMO that never went outside of Japan, and 9 being a 3DS game.
Its had a ton of spinoffs tho. Monsters, Slime games, the musou games...
Final Fantasy similarly had its pacing thrown off by the MMOs, and also has tons of spin offs.
But yeah, they used to be annual or semi-annual releases whn the hardware was simpler.
To support Viz hosting all Jump manga for FREE and day of release, Arlong Park will now support the official release.
https://www.viz.com/shonenjump
Official chapter discussions now start Sundays at Noon, EST.
Please do not post threads when scan sites release their version, and just discuss those releases in the spoiler thread.
November 16th, 2019 08:25 AM #1345
You'll be happy to hear that every future Dragon Quest game is a massive step up from the original trilogy.
For me it's really shocking that Dragon Quest 4 is on the same system as the first three.
Graphically yes, presentation wise yes, writing wise.......don't know about that where VII is concerned, even VIII was shaky at points.
Originally Posted by Green_vs_Red
7 and 8 were both fine aside from being... too damn long. I only played the "streamlined" version of 7 and it was still ridiculous how many times it made you run back and forth through the same areas instead of just doing fade to black cuts.
I loved 8 a ton but I also played it 15 years ago when I had a lot more free time and open worlds weren't quite as prominent as they are now. I'll get around to the DS revisit eventually with different party members.
Originally Posted by Robby
8 wasn't really that long by Dragon Quest standards, about 40 hours.
It's just that the early game is very slow.
How Long To Beat pegs the average time at 60-80 hours, and 120 for completionists, which was closer to my time. Even if you're really gunning it its 50.
I don't know that I'd be nearly as completionist today though, but I still wouldn't rush.
The 3DS remake might be a bit faster though, its times look to be consistently shorter, not sure where the trim would be. Maybe subtlety in the loading times or being able to see monsters to pick what you farm when metal slime hunting?.
Last edited by Robby; November 18th, 2019 at 10:11 AM.
According to How Long To Beat the 3DS version shaves off 20 hours.
It took me about 40 hours to beat personally.
Most of that is probably because of the rebalanced level curve, new fast mode for battles, automated battles and the elimination of random encounters.
Ah, yeah, thats a lot of features that would certainly speed things up.
Honestly the length of VII didn't bother me eventhough I spent and ungodly amount of time fiddling around with the job system which probably maybe should've been introduced much earlier in the game. My issues with the game largely centered on how certain characters like Maribelle or Autonymus were written or certain subplots like Lavender-Carraway or the Vovograd where handled.
I very rarely play a game that makes me hate it's playable or non playable cast or makes me question the writing process for it's subplots or storyline enough to make me hate almost the entire game as a consequence. DQVII pulled that one off hard. And I think I mentioned this before but the whole time travel gimmick that serves as the basis of the game's story doesn't Chrono Trigger use it better?
December 19th, 2019 02:59 PM #1353
BattleFranky69
Cali-4-Nye-Eh.
Snagged Builders 2 for Black Friday at an unbeatable price, super stoked about it and been playing it almost exclusively despite also having gotten 3 or 4 other games too. Exceeds the first game in virtually every way, I'd have probably gone a few steps further personally but they make resources plentiful enough that restoring hunger isn't an issue; cooking, however, should have been more streamlined from early on, it's aggravating waiting for an item to cook one at a time, or forging ore into metal with a time bar until they're completed. That just felt tacked on and unnecessary. But I'm relatively early on, maybe better ones with less waiting will eventually be offered.
Coookie
Chocolate or raisins?
Originally Posted by BattleFranky69
Yeah, I feel the same. Played the demo to the first one until the end, decided to buy it but ended up never playing it for a variety of reasons. The sequel is better in pretty much all aspects. Just finished the story a few days ago and started tying loose ends together, but then Ori was discounted which I haven't played since its inital release, and I'm itching for a good Metroidvania...
Since you're already forging ore into metal, I assume you are at Khrumbul-Dun? Then I can tell you that it doesn't get better from there, the only upgrade in that regard is that you can have your villagers handle the cooking and forging if you build the right rooms for them. Maybe you missed the tutorial in Furrowfield?
My main issues are only three, really: The Transform-o-Trowel cannot build horizontal planes to quickly fill the ground before you, it would have been nice if the Bottomless Pot could hold different liquids at once and certain disembodied voices take way too long to get to their next part, no option to skip as far as I could see.
3DS Friendcode: 1547 - 5175 - 1342
December 20th, 2019 08:11 AM #1355
Dragon Quest 1-3 on Switch are on sale this week.
December 23rd, 2019 01:44 PM #1356
Originally Posted by Coookie
The villagers aren't efficient enough to overcome the cumbersome waiting so that's rather disappointing, if it's just going to stay as bad as it is. If I knew in advance what things I would need, or if I could cook multiple items at once just like with forging lots of metal in one go despite it still having to take that time bar for each one, that would be one thing. That's pretty much the only thing the first one did better, no waiting and doing multiples at once. And yeah, those long pauses when being spoken to by the celestial orator are reminiscent of other Square-Enix library titles like parts of Final Fantasy Tactics and Xenogears.
At long last, I'm finally starting my playthrough of Dragon Quest XI, the Definitive Edition on Switch. Thus far it's pretty standard JRPG fare as far as the story and the gameplay, but still fun.
-That opening cut scene with the Dragon Quest theme is cool as hell
-Man, I can't get over the hero's Android 17 haircut
-It's a small thing, but one thing I really appreciate is them taking the time to animate the hero take a book off the shelf and reading it. I'm not sure I've seen that before.
-I recently finished Dragon Quest III and I'm quite pleased at how many of the iconic songs and jingles have persisted up to this game.
Small animations can make a big difference in immersion, I've found. I just started Breath of the Wild for the first time about a week ago, and have been consistently pleased and amazed by the small levels of detail literally everywhere and with everything, or at least enough things that I don't notice what's lacking. It's the exact opposite of another game that released recently which I will not name. As for Dragon Quest, I played it on PS4 and freaking loved it. I can hardly resist a good classic RPG, and 11 definitely brings it and delivers.
January 2nd, 2020 10:36 AM #1359
KageKageKing
Just Chilling.
Dragon Quest Your Story was announced for Netflix.
January 10th, 2020 07:14 PM #1360
Still making my way through DQXI
My god, did this game just pull a FFVI?
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Shop Newsletter Deutsch
form Archive 1957–2011
form Archive
Nº 284. Region of Design
Interview with Luke George
and Daniel Kok:
Knots as a Medium
Text: Susanne Heinlein
Knots are conceivably the simplest means of creating connections, points of attachment or structures between, with, and within pliant materials. In many cultures they are deeply rooted in traditional craftsmanship and may carry symbolic significance. Contemporary design has also found a use for knotted ropes and is now making them serve a range of purposes both aesthetic and practical.
The two dancers Luke George and Daniel Kok first met in 2014 at a workshop at Campbelltown Arts Centre in Sydney and decided to create a performance together with knot and bondage techniques at the centre of it. The premiere of “Bunny” took place in Sydney at the beginning of 2016. Since then, it has been performed in Singapore, Norway and Japan among other places. We spoke to them about the ideas and development process behind the piece.
(1/3) Luke George, Daniel Kok, Bunny, performance, photo: Bernie Ng
How did the idea to make ropes and knot techniques an important part of a performance come about?
Luke George: Upon meeting and in our early discussions, we found that we clearly share similar interests in looking at the power dynamics between the artist and the audience respectively the public. The idea of working with ropes came up because as material, it can make visible the relationship between people and bodies – between us as collaborators as well as between performers and spectators. We were also drawn to the many metaphorical languages available from ropes and tying when we talk about relationships: bonds, entanglement, tension, unwind, twist, suspend, etc.
The decision to test and work with rope as our material came intuitively through our discussion around spectatorship, collectivity and participation in performance. We shared with each other our personal experiences in love, sex and dating, as well as dancing in clubs over the years. Somehow in all of this, rope came up. We both got a spark in our eye and said, “I’d like to try that”. So we immediately found a rope dojo (editor’s note: studio for bondage classes), in Sydney at the time, and started learning.
Other relevant interests included Daniel’s training in pole dance and my practice in massage. All of these interests converge at the question of the dancer and the crowd’s or audience’s desire for each other.
What aesthetical and interactive qualities do these components offer?
Luke George: We looked at different bodies of knowledge that come with ropes: macramé, camping, sailing and rock climbing, survival paracords, bondage and Chinese knots. We made sure that we spent some time studying these different skills and crafts; bondage in particular of course. Bondage was most influential because of the role play on power dynamics between people. It is also already extremely full of performative potential.
Over the process of our research, we collected and worked with different kinds of rope. They ranged from natural fibre ropes preferred in bondage, to colourful parachute cords that are now often used to make bracelets, to ropes for household use, and to ropes used by professional mountain climbers. We were even at one point curious about working with industrial ropes used for giant ships. But that became too big a logistical challenge for us and we aborted that plan.
A rope carries both aesthetic and energetic qualities. It is a line in space, around a body, between bodies. It draws attention to both spatial and dynamic relationships. To put rope on a body is to not only restrain it but also to adorn it; tying rope in lines and knots in a way that gives value to the body’s strength and vulnerability – the rope and the body are in communication and communion. The degrees of tension the rope at play contain tone – something that is both very visible and felt by the people in contact with the rope and the people watching.
(1/9) Luke George, Daniel Kok, Bunny, performance, photo: Chris Frape
What role does the audience play in the performance “Bunny”?
Luke George: The audience has multiple roles: active observer, voyeur at a distance, physically involved. These aren’t set roles, nor are they necessarily played out in a didactic way. The roles are operating at various degrees of awareness, behaviour and choices. We hope that these roles and perspectives become visible throughout the performance.
Bunny is a nickname given to the person being tied in rope bondage. For this piece, we pose the question, “what if everyone (in the theatre) is a bunny?” At first this sounds like we are going to tie everyone up, and early in our creative process we attempted this, but later realised that you can be a Bunny without necessarily even having any rope on your body. We talk a lot about desire, both individual and collective; the desire to be tied or to watch someone being tied and wonder if you’d like it to be you, for tension, to be teased, to please, to do what is asked, to be rewarded, empathy and intimacy, trust and acquiescence.
Throughout the piece we gradually “tie” up the room; physically, psychologically and metaphorically. We involve the audience, requesting their assistance to keep the show going and unfolding – because at first we ourselves are tied up and restrained – by doing simple tasks; playing music on a phone, spinning a suspended performer, tying us, untying us. The level and intensity of involvement increases over two hours to quite demanding things which are only possible because of the incremental development of trust and asking for more. By the end of the piece it often seems quite amazing that we take it as far as it does go.
Daniel Kok: At one point in our creation process, we also realised that we’ve set ourselves a massive challenge: to call the audience and everyone in the theatre a bunny is to be tying up and assuming the role of dominance over everyone. This came with great responsibilities. We couldn’t simply be playful about this notion anymore. We’ve made our bed, and we’ve got to lay in it. The audience of “Bunny” is to a large extent putting themselves into our care and expecting us to take them somewhere; somewhere challenging and surprising.
We asked ourselves if we have bitten off more than we could chew. Yet, isn’t this the ultimate wish of a performer? To be entrusted by the audience to give them what they didn’t know they wanted? As soon as we realised that this was what was demanded of us because of the question we’ve asked, the sense of risk-taking and duty of care heightened. We might have to put aside the ethics of the everyday and step into some kind of role play. To assume the role of someone worthy of trust, capable of holding the centre.
Eventually, I can say that there have been times when “Bunny” became for both of us valuable life-changing experiences. It is rare that I find the intellectual aspects of my work converges with the emotional and personal.
(1/4) Luke George, Daniel Kok, Bunny, performance, photo: Hideto Maezawa
How do you define respectively manipulate the role of humans versus objects?
Luke George: The set design of “Bunny” is a aqua blue carpet and a series of objects laid out on it, like a showroom floor. The whole space is brightly lit using LED lights which heighten the bright colour palette of ropes, objects, costumes and make-up. The objects are everyday items: vacuum cleaner, table fan, CD player, fire extinguisher, cushions, etc. Each object is tied in colourful rope designs that access macramé, Shibari (editor's note: Japanese bondage), and netting techniques. We regard the objects like bodies, and tie them as such, wrap them in rope, making them beautiful valued things. Throughout the piece Daniel comes into contact with each object, has an intimate and sensual connection with it, activating it, turning it on. The rotating fan clicks because it is restrained by rope and can’t move. Parallel to Daniel’s relationship to the objects, I am in direct contact with people, addressing them and gradually bringing them into the piece, tying them into rope designs and restraints. We have the objects here to also propose that the body – our bodies and the audience’s bodies – are also objects, to be tied and moulded into something beautiful.
Daniel Kok: One discovery that I found intriguing is how rope can endow a bound object – be this a vacuum cleaner or a chicken from the supermarket – with greater subjectivity. The reverse is also true: a human subject tied up is transformed into an object, yet this objecthood does not seem to reduce humanness. As people and things are bound, oscillating between subjectivity and objecthood and gazed upon in “Bunny”, I’d like to think that a sense of empathy, as well as desire, is heightened; especially when the gazing is performed collectively. Witnessing someone or something get tied up together seems to arouse these feelings.
What are your plans for the future? Will you continue to work with this theme?
Luke George: Themes of intersubjectivity, interactivity and the power dynamics between artist and audience or public, are all ongoing areas of focus for Daniel and me in our individual works and practice. Our collaboration has gone so well that we will most likely do another project together sometime soon, not sure yet when and what it will be. In our works, we both tend to become interested in new ideas for working with particular materials and physicalities, so whether rope will continue to be the material we focus on is yet to be determined. “Bunny” is generating a lot of interest, so far we have already had seven international presentations of the work, and there are quite a few more being planned for 2017. As for our personal relationship to rope work, it has definitely had and continues to have its “way” with us. We are a little addicted to it, to tying and being tied.
Daniel Kok: I don’t know what we could be dealing with next. Wrestling? A fashion show? Whatever it is, maybe we could go one step further: deal with the same kind of questions for example relational politics and intersubjectivity with or without touching the audience or getting them to participate. I get a headache when I think about how that might work, but I hope we will try.
Region of Design
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Gert's Royals
An Encyclopedia of Royal Knowledge
Cambridges
Sussexs
Foreign Royals
King Harald of Norway New Years Address - English Translation (2017)
"Det går ein stor vilje gjennom verden/There is a great will through the world," wrote Åse-Marie Nesse in one of her poems. (Åse-Marie Nesse is a famous Norwegein Poet)
This will get all living to stretch toward the light. It means that we will preferably help when we see someone needing it. It makes most of us wake up to a new day no matter what will meet us.
We live in a time when good will is not always the most visible. We get the impression that the world is marked by conflict, turmoil and contradictions. There are many stories of human cruelty and the suffering it causes to others. It may be easier to feel cold and fear than the warmth and strength.
But precisely becuase of that we need to remind ourselves and each other in the great power that going through the world, living in every human being.
For we encounter it everywhere. We meet this power in the form of people who make an effort for others. We meet it in every single story of a person who ask for help in a difficult situation - and all those who come and helped. We meet it in the personal strength among those who manage to rise and begin a new life. And we meet it in the volunteer spirit on which our country is founded.
Every little community in Norway consists of waffle makers, coffee makers, football coaches, visiting friends, willing hands and big hearts that we could not do without. An elderly lady from Vegårshei I met, put it this way: "Volunteering gives a good feeling - It is one you can not measure."
The core of volunteering is that we do something because we think it is right and important, not for personal or financial gain. With community spirit we have for generations created the foundation we stand on together today. And our strength lies precisely in that we have created it together - with our own hands, we have given of our time, shared our knowledge and commitment.
In Norway, we are fortunate to have a relatively stable economy, solid governance and a society based on a high level of trust. Nevertheless - at this time last year was highly uncertain. The decline in oil industry meant that many were unemployed. For the individual who still lack a job to go to, the situation is still difficult. But as a nation we are seeing a renewed optimism. (Oil is a big export of Norway. In fact, Norway is the 10th biggest Oil Exporter in the world. King Harald touch breifly on the job loss in the oil industry in last years speech.)
It stems from the fact that we were forced to think again.
We have done countless times before in Norway. We have an adaptability that we enjoy in difficult times. Over the past year, I have once again seen great determination and the impressive power of individuals and communities to create new jobs.
I am both happy and optimistic by what I see. It is a useful reminder that in the long term there may also be some good results from the difficult periods.
Of all the resources this country has, people are the greatest wealth. In particular, our children and young people are precious to us. We have great youth - with both knowledge, social responsibility and resilience - who are fully capable of bringing our country into a new era.
At the same time it makes me sad to hear about all the young people who are struggling mentally - and that someone eventually can not bear to live any longer.
The summer, when the Queen and I attended garden party in Maihaugen, a young woman who was working on youth mental health issues. She said, among other things: "I wish for a society where we dare to look each other in the eye and say: Here I am, and I care about you."
I could not agree more. In this simple way, we can actually save lives. Our single most important skill as human beings is the ability to understand how another human being has it.
I've talked a lot about bullying over the years, and I'm not going to give up. Think what it could mean if we just decided that in Norway we will not bully each other!
Everyone has something good in themselves. Even those who bully and harass others - whether through word or deed. The strong will that carries us can also be used for this: deciding to stop bullying. To behave properly with each other. In the same way as those who are bullied choose to stand up to face every a new day - in spite of is to come.
Our country is from ancient times built on strong will for survival and independence. I think nature and history have shaped us as a people. We have had to live with the forces of nature and create life and livelihoods in spite. For several periods we have experienced being under foreign rule - and have had to fight for our freedom. Among other things, it has taught us to protect equality and human rights - at home and abroad. (For more on the several periods of foriegn rule, see note at bottom of page)
We must not forget our story-otherwise we can throw away the freedoms and progress we have meticulously worked for. And we can forget about solidarity with others who are still in the midst of the struggle for fundamental rights.
This also applies to the struggle for equality and for the best interests of the future. This work has been driven by the individual's strong will and perserverance. Eventually, the whole community has supported this work and follows - so together we have come a step further as a nation. But society is constantly changing. And our work is not done. We must be alert so no groups fall behind or is left out. We need both boys and girls, women and men with all backgrounds, experience and personality with us to create a good society where everyone can contribute.
In the poem of Åse-Marie Ness, the great will that goes through the world continues:
"Den lokkar fram vindruer i lavastein
Den let tørstande palmar bere frukt
Den sår solsikkefrø mellom tistlar"
"It lures the grapes in lava stone (Various Wines are produced in Volcanic soil)
The light thirsty hand makes fruit
It sows sunflower seed between thistles"
Creation is full of life that we humans have been given to manage. Knowledge is the key to acting wisely. For the will is there!
The will, among other things, turns into a green technology explosion that is currently under way. Almost no one creates anything anymore without thinking about environmental impact. This is a big advance from a few years back.
We must protect what we hold high in Norwegian society. We must be wary of backlash in areas where men and women have worked for generations to get us where we are today - whether in the struggle for human rights, women's freedom or child safety. Or in terms of the protection of nature or the unity of virtue.
Every human being sees the world and the society we are part of from his own point of view. When we discuss what is to be "Norwegian", it opens for over 5 million different interperetations about who we are. Therefore, it is not surprising that the stories are different and that we emphasize different values.
When you live abroad, your eyesight in Norway becomes extra clear. I will especially greet all those who are in service in other countries this evening.
One of the most important things about Norwegian society may be that for us it is so natural that we almost take it for granted:
That we have peace and freedom,
That everyone has the opportunity,
That we can get another chance when we fail.
It is a hallmark of a society that we are allowed to try and mistake. That we may fall - but still be given new chances by people who want everyone to suceed.
Therefore, on this last day of this year, I will remind all of us that: "Det går ein stor vilje gjennom verden/ There is a great will through the world"
It gives us the courage to fight for what we hold dear.
It means that we stand up again and again.
It gives us strength and wisdom to give each other a chance.
Note: The "serveral periods of foreign rule" King Harald was talking about are
Kalmar Union (1397-1523)
which combined Denmark, Sweden, & Norway under one monarch, which often favored Denmarks intrests over Sweden & Norway
Denmark–Norway Kingdom (1523-1814)
After Sweden left the Kalmar Union, Norway was ruled by Denmark
United Kingdoms of Sweden and Norway (1814-1905)
Following Napoleonic Wars & the Swedish–Norwegian War, Norway was ceded to the King of Sweden
German Occupation (1940-1945)
After a period of indpendance Norway was occupied by German Forces during WWII.)
Back to Christmas 2017 - Main Page
at Sunday, December 31, 2017 No comments: Links to this post
King Carl Gustaf Christmas Speech - English Translation (2017)
**Added notes are in Bold**
Dear Swedes, at home and abroad, & everyone in Sweden!
"Ett barn är fött på denna dag/ A child is born on this day." So begins one of our most well-known Christmas carols, with lyrics by reformer Martin Luther.
("Ett barn är fött på denna dag" is a Swedish Christmas song partly based on Luther's "Vom Himmel hoch" hymn.)
Christmas is a Christian feast. We celebrate it in memory of Jesus' birth. But the message of Christmas - of peace, joy and community - it is universal and can be embraced by all, no matter where you come from or what you believe in.
It also applies to the invitation that the Bible directs to us: carry each other's burdens! Do not weary in doing good.
I know there are many in our country who devote a lot of time and effort to this: to bear the burdens of others, to help the best you can.
We see it again and again in various crises in our society. After the terrorist attack on Drottninggatan There were many who showed what it means to be a human being. They acted with courage, consideration and action.
(The "Drottninggatan" or "Stockholm terror attack" took place in April on Drottninggatan shopping street in Stockholm. A truck was rammed into shoppers and crashed into the Åhlens department store. 5 were killed, 15 injured.)
This desire to help is also in everyday life. The hand that is stretched out to support, knocking on the door of a sick neighbor, inviting the lonely to join your community; The helping hand carries a tremendous power, far stronger than hatred, violence and mistrust.
The year 2017 will inevitably be associated with the terrorist attack in Stockholm in April. Five people lost their lives. To their families and close relatives, my family and I want to send our deepest sympathy this difficult first Christmas.
This year has also meant the beginning of an important conversation between us all. How do we treat each other with respect? How do we view each other? How do we strengthen accountability and civil courage? These are issues that have always been important. But that became particularly relevant after the autumn's many testimony of unacceptable violations.
How we answer these questions will shape the society in which our children and young people grow up. Therefore, I hope this is something we continue to talk about now and in the future
When I look back the year gone, there are some events that I will remember in particular:
In September, Aurora, the largest defense exercises in our country since the early 1990s, conducted more than 20,000 participants from eight countries and about 40 civilian authorities.
I had the privilege of going with Prince Carl Philip to visit both Gotland and Sörmland to see the exercises on site. In the field, in the air, and at sea I met defense workers and volunteers. Men and women with different backgrounds prepared to defend Sweden, our freedom and our democracy. For their dedication, I feel respect and gratitude.
The Bonn Climate Change Conference (in Bonn, Germany) in November was a confirmation about how important the 2015 Paris Agreement is. Rising global emissions are a big concern. But there are constructive forces that are prepared to take responsibility for the future.
Sweden is a relatively small country, but has large forests. For a long time, we have built up valuable knowledge on how the forest can be managed in a long-term sustainable manner. I am convinced that, with the help of these skills, we can make important contributions to meet the world's climate challenges.
In the evening of December 6th, Finnish Independence Day, blue & white lights were lit in many windows in our neighboring eastern country. A tradition that was given extra significance as Finland celebrated one hundred years as an independent nation.
In June, I participated with the other Nordic Heads of State in a nice ceremony at Hanaholmen Cultural Center, outside of Helsinki, to celebrate this 100th Anniversary. Many Swedes have their roots in Finland. Others are connected through personal ties. The Nordic community is strong, not just historically. We are neighbors and colleagues. We collaborate and share values of democracy and equality for all people. In business and sports, we are sometimes competitors. But above all, we are family and friends.
Sweden's relations with the Nordic countries are important. Like the relations with other countries in our world. We shall continue to care for these relationships.
2017 has been an eventful year. Even in my family: Crown Princess Victoria celebrated her 40th birthday with a joyful celebration in both Stockholm and in Öland.
The Crown Princess has also launched a series of hikes that will go through all of Sweden's landscape. To me, who always had a strong commitment to nature and the environment, it is gratifying to share this interest with my children. It is my hope that the scenic hikes will help more people become aware of the amazing nature that we all in Sweden have access to.
During the year, our family gained a new member: Prince Gabriel (Prince Carl Philip & Princess Sofia's 2nd Son). He was baptized just a few weeks ago in the winter adorned Royal Chapel at Drottningholm, with baptism water from our own source in Oland. And now we are looking forward to welcoming another baby next spring. (Princess Madeliene & Chris O'Neill's 3rd Child, due in March.)
I would like to thank you for all the good wishes that we have received during the year and for the warm reception that we get on our travels and visits to various places. My family and I greatly appreciate the thoughtfulness.
I began the Christmas greetings talking about carrying each other's burdens. We, humans, are reluctant to intrude. We do not want to burden others. It may require courage, both to offer help and to receive it. My wish for the coming year is that we will all find this courage. Being not only people but also human beings.
With this, my family and I wish everyone in our country a Merry Christmas with peace, joy and fellowship - and a happy New Year in 2018.
at Tuesday, December 26, 2017 No comments: Links to this post
King Willem-Alexander Christmas Speech - English Translation (2017)
Turning fifty and being able to celebrate with many people together is a fantastic gift. I am grateful that I have been able to experience this, this year.
Like most people, at the end of the year, I look back on the many beautiful moments. And at times moments of sadness and loss. And there were certainly moments like that for my wife and me too.
I also think back to the upheaval that I saw on Sint Maarten, Saba and St. Eustatius, where a hurricane literally thwarted the lives of tens of thousands of inhabitants of our Kingdom. And to the courageous beginnings of reconstruction.
These images and stories will not leave me.
The small and personal touches with the big and the common at Christmas. These are days in which we seek shelter, at home or with family and friends, for the moment out of the uncertain world. Nothing else in our mind than Silent Night or the Top 2000. (Top 2000 is an annual marathon radio program, that plays the 2000 most popular songs of all time, from Christmas through New Year's Eve.)
But no matter how much we retreat comfortably in our own circle, the outside world stirs itself behind the windows. The big world behind the curtains is always audible and tangible and imposes itself on us, sometimes frightening, sometimes inviting.
"I proclaim to you great joy that will come to all the people," says the angel to the shepherds. A proclamation to 'all the people' ... Christmas unites us strongly together.
That encourages us to think about our role in life. Is it: every man for himself and God for us all? Or do we ourselves have an active role in a larger whole? And if so, which one?
It is not always easy to keep believing in the community that we form together, not in a country with so much diversity as ours. A country of free people in which the answer to the question 'who am I?' never completely coincides with the answer to the question 'who are we?'
How can we live with those differences without indifference? Not attractive is a society in which more and more people retreat to their homes, with no sense of that community we share together.
It seems increasingly difficult to meet each other in daily life. The places where very different people have traditionally encountered each other - church, office, café, sports club, school - lose that connecting function more and more. Perhaps only the hospital is still a place where you come into contact with people with a different background and lifestyle.
Our communication via internet offers fantastic possibilities but does not automatically offer an open window to the world. It is often difficult to distinguish facts and fabrications from each other.
Nuance and empathy seem to suffer as well, and Twitter sometimes makes the debate bitter. More and more people keep their digital door close and take look for ideas that confirm their group feeling and opinion.
With all this, something essential is lost.
Three months ago my wife and I attended a dance performance by one of the greatest artists of our country: Hans van Manen. He turned 85 years old this year. He said 'curiosity is extremely important to mankind'.
Curiosity about the outside world. It is something I also hear a lot in conversations with people who are active in volunteering. They see their world grow when they contact with strangers. Often they find they have a lot in common.
Perhaps this is the beginning of an answer. Not looking for a wider Me, but to a greater We.
That search for a bigger one has always been a driving force in the history of our country and our democracy. It is not simple. It often comes in spurts and it requires diehards who continue against all odds.
A hundred years ago, in 1917, there was a breakthrough in a battle that had kept our country divided for a long time. Special education was given an equal position and the right to vote was extended to all men.
Women had to wait another two years before they could vote, thanks inpart thanks to Aletta Jacobs. She had been fighting for more than 35 years - half a human life. She celebrated the victory with conciliatory words.
"Just won by persuasion, we are inching ground, until finally, the fear of the new has to surrender."
Inch by Inch. This is how improvements are made. This way a larger one can arise. Not only in the world and in our country, but also very close in our own neighborhood.
The old Christmas song leaves no doubt that we belong together and are connected to each other.
(A little child is born on earth)
't Kwam op de aarde voor ons allemaal.
(It came to the earth for us all.)
At Christmas, something very big appears to us as something very small. A Child is born. A child, without words, without guilt, without anger and without distrust. It offers us a new beginning. Our own lives are included in a larger context of hope and peace, in which we ourselves have a role - however small - to play.
I wish you all - wherever you are and how your personal circumstances are - a blessed Christmas.
at Monday, December 25, 2017 No comments: Links to this post
King Philippe of Belgium - Christmas Eve Speech (2017)
Earlier this month, a group of children visited me the palace with me. They were curious to discover and understand what a is the job of the King. When we talked about writing my Christmas speech, one of the children said, "How lucky we are to live in a country as beautiful as Belgium." Despite the personal difficulties we face, despite the insecurity in the world and the threat to global equilibrium, we must dare to look at things differently. With a look that sees more than what is missing, then what is not there. With wonder.
How we look at things determines our actions. If you marvel at nature, you will treat it more respectfully. And what is true for nature applies even more to the people around us. Behind each of our weaknesses and faults lives in each of us a rich inner beauty that deserves to be cultivated. Recently I visited a nursing home in Holsbeek. The care team there helps the residents to rediscover all the beautiful things that lie within them, beyond what old age or disease has taken away from them. As a result, they have succeeded in coming up with new ways to forge even closer ties with the neighborhood. We met happy people there. Such a look at old age brings hope. Marveling at the beauty of life gives us a thousand opportunities to live it better and to help others to live it well.
Wonder stimulates our creativity. I was very impressed by a project in Namur that stimulates ingenuity by bringing together technicians, entrepreneurs and artists. They learn together to wonder again about simple objects of our everyday life, tools or technologies that they believed to understand. This inspires their own ingenuity and awakens innovative ideas. It is also how we must grasp the great challenges of our time, such as the future of our planet. Only with the help of our creativity will we find solutions.
Finally, let us once again marvel at everything that we have built together, our common good, the result of a long history of connectedness, anchored in solidarity and compromises. From this we can draw strength, not to yield to sterile cynicism and indifference. The future of our democracies depends first and foremost on the way we look at them. It begins with connection to each other. I am thinking very concretely of a beautiful project in St. Gilles, which was set up by young people, who call themselves 'the factory of connectedness'. A visit to them is a real asset. And then there are those young people with a migrant background, whom the Queen and I recently met in Vilvoorde. They work together on social integration projects that build on finding self-respect. The beauty in her eyes spoke volumes.
There is a lot of unrest in our world. Tensions and trouble spots are multiplying. We need more than ever wonder. We need it for our children and their future. Let's make this choice together.
The Queen and I, as well as our whole family, wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Prince Andrew's Christmas Reply (2017)
My first Christmas reply of the season arrived today! It is from the UK.
I had written to Prince Andrew, Duke of York earlier this month to wish him and his family a very merry Christmas. Like usual, Prince Andrew's office replied with a letter, written by Andrew's Private Secretary, Amanda Thirsk.
In my Christmas letter, I had mentioned Prince Andrew taking over the position of Colonel of the Grenadier Guards from his father, Prince Philip. It is always very heartwarming to get a reply that references what I wrote about. It makes it very personal and you know someone took the time to read your letter. Of the 4 Christmases I've written to Prince Andrew, this reply is definitely the most personal of the 3 replies, given the little reference to something specific from my letter. (Sadly no reply to my 2015 Christmas letter to Prince Andrew.)
My letter this year to Prince Andrew was one of the last Christmas letters I sent, and as I said the 1st reply. It came about 2.5 weeks after I wrote, which is a great response time for the British Royals.
Other Replies
Christmas 2017 Replies
Writing to the Royals
at Thursday, December 21, 2017 No comments: Links to this post
Nobel Prize Banquet - Detailed Schedule (2017)
Detailed Schedule for 2017 Nobel Prize Banquet in the Blue Hall at Stockholm City Hall. All times are Local Stockholm.
(7 PM Stockholm = 6 PM London, 1 PM New York, 10 AM Los Angeles, 5 AM Thurs Sydney)
** Link to Live Stream **
Guests begin to arrive at the Banquet and take their seats
Guests at the Table of Honor process in
These are the Laureates, Royals, Nobel Prize Officials, etc.
King Carl Gustaf give his speech
1st Entertainment performance
1st Course is served
2nd Entertainment performance
Main course is served
Dessert Wine is served
3rd & 4th Entertainment performance
Desert is served with coffee and liqueur
Student of Sweden parade their University Flags
Speeches from Nobel Laureates
1 speech from each category
Banquet Ends and Table of Honor processes out
After Party Begins
Back to 2017 Nobel Prize - Schedule
at Wednesday, December 06, 2017 No comments: Links to this post
King Michael of Romania's funeral
Guest List at bottom of the Page
Schedule of Events (All Times: Romania/London)
King Michael of Romania passes away at age 96 (1 PM / 11AM)
Crown Princess Margareta is declared the new head of the Romanian Royal Family
Prayer Service at King Michael's Private residence in Switzerland
(Will happen every night until Dec 10th)
Book of Condolence is available for the public to sign at Pelesh Castle, the Royal Palace of Budapest, and Elisabeta Palace until January 15th
40 Days of Heavy Mourning Begins
3 Months of Mourning Begins
Wednesday, Dec 13th
King Michael in Coffin will arrive in Romania, being flown in from Switzerland.
King Michael will Lie in State in the Hall of Honors at Pelesh Castle
Members of the Romanian Government, Official Romania, Diplomatic Corps, Romanian Church, etc will pay their respects.
Dec 13th-15th
King Michael will Lie in State in the Royal Throne Room at the Royal Palace of Bucharest
Members of the public will be able to pay their respects.
Saturday, Dec 16th (All Times: Romania/London)
10:25 AM / 8:25 AM
Short religious service will be held in the Throne Hall of the Royal Palace
Military and religious ceremony will be held in Royal Palace Square, in front of the Palace
11:30 AM to 12:45 / 9:30 AM to 10:45 AM
Funeral Procession: Royal Palace Square – Calea Victoriei – Unirii Square –Patriarchal Cathedral.
12:50 to 2:00 PM / 10:50 AM - 12:00
Funeral Mass at Patriarchal Cathedral in Bucharest
2:00 to 2:40 PM / 12:00 - 12:40
Funeral Procession throughout the capital: Unirii Square – University Square – Romana Square – Charles de Gaulle Square – The Triumphant Arch – Kiseleff Av. – Bucureşti – Ploieşti Av. - Băneasa Royal Railway Station
2:40 - 5:30 PM / 12:40 - 3:30 PM
Train Ride from Băneasa Royal Railway Station in Bucharest to Curtea de Argeş Railway Station
Romanian Royal Family will join the Train Ride
5:30 - 5:50 PM / 3:30 - 3:50 PM
Arrive at Curtea de Argeş Railway Station. Funeral Procession to New Royal and Episcopal Cathedral
6:20 - 6:40 PM / 4:20-4:40 PM
Burial service at the New Royal and Episcopal Cathedral in Curtea de Argeș.
Attended by just Romanian Royal Family and Foreign Royals
Royals attending:
Current Monarchies:
Sheikh Rashid bin Khalifa al Khalifa of Bahrein
Princess Astrid & Prince Lorenz of Belgium
Princess Muna & Princess Rym of Jordan
Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg
King Juan Carlos & Queen Sofia of Spain
King Carl Gustaf & Queen Silvia of Sweden
Prince Charles of United Kingdom
For those current European monarchies not attending, I would expect they sent a representative (i.e. Ambassador) to the funeral.
Former Monarchies:
Nicholas Medforth-Mills with Fiancee, Alina Maria Binder
Prince Leka & Princess Elia Albania
Austria (Habsburg)
Archduke Karl
Archduke Dominic & Archduchess Emmanuella
Archduchess Maria Magdalena
Archduke Georg
Archduke Martin & Archduchess Katharina
Grand Duke & Grand Duchess of Baden
King Simeon of Bulgaria
Prince Jean of France, Duke de Vendome
Charles de Fabribeckers
Princess Chantal of France
Queen Anne-Marie & Prince Nikolaos of Greece
Princess Irina of Greece
Baron Hanns & Baroness Alexander von Holzhausen
Princess Anne de Ligne
Duke of Braganza (Portugal)
Prince Georg of Prussia
Princess Tatiana Radzivill & Dr John Fruchaud
Great Duchess of Russia
Prince Emmanuel Philibert de Savoia
Crown Prince Alexander & Crown Princess Katherine of Serbia
Baron Francois-Xavier of Sambucy de Sorgue
Prince Eberhard of Wurttemberg
at Wednesday, December 06, 2017 1 comment: Links to this post
Life of King Michael of Romania (1921-2017)
HM King Michael, the former King of Romania passed away today at age 96. He had been in poor health for a long time, having been diagnosed with chronic leukemia last year.
Micheal's parents Crown Prince Carol of Romania and Princess Helen of Greece and Denmark are married in Romania.
Crown Prince Carol had previously been married to Zizi Lambrino. They had eloped in secret in Ukraine in 1918. Carol's parents, the King and Queen were furious and the marriage was annulled shortly after in 1919. After the annulment, the couple continued to live together for a while and had a son in 1920.
Micheal is born on 25 October in Romania, during his grandfather, King Ferdinand I's reign.
Micheal's father, Crown Prince Carol, runs off with his new mistress Magda Lupescu and renounces his rights to the throne.
Carol is exiled from Romania, and Micheal is made the new Crown Prince.
King Ferdinand passes away. Micheal became King just before his 6th Birthday, and the country is ruled by regents.
Micheal's parents finally divorce after being separated for many years.
Micheal's father, Carol returns to Romania and is proclaimed King by parliament.
Micheal once again becomes Crown Prince, at age 8.
World War II begins.
King Carol is forced to abdicate and is once again forced into exile. Micheal becomes King for the 2nd time, a month before his 19th Birthday.
World War II ends.
King Micheal meets his would-be-wife, Princess Anne of Bourbon-Parma, in London. They get engaged.
King Micheal is forced to abdicate at age 26 and is exiled from Romania.
The government tries to used King Micheal engagement as an explanation of why he abdicated.
King Carol finally marries his mistress Magda Lupesc.
King Micheal marries Princess Anne of Bourbon-Parma in Athens, Greece at the Royal Palace.
Greece was still a monarchy at this time. King Micheal's uncle Paul, is King of Greece.
King Carol is not invited to his son's wedding.
King Micheal & Queen Anne's 1st child is born, Princess Margareta is born in Switzerland. She is the first of four daughters.
King Carol dies in exile.
King Micheal does not attend his funeral, having refused to meet with his father since Carol's exile in 1940.
King Micheal's mother dies and is buried in Switzerland.
King Micheal and his family return to Romania for the 1st time. They land in the country, but on their way to Curtea de Argeș Cathedral are stopped by the police and taken back to the airport.
The Romanian government allows King Micheal & Royal Family to return to Romania for the Easter celebrations.
This was Queen Anne's 1st ever visit to Romania.
Later, King Micheal is banned from the country again and is turned away in 1994 and 1995 during his attempt to return.
King Micheal's Romanian citizenship is restored. And assists and property that had belonged to the royal family are returned to them.
The Royal Family is allowed to use Elisabeta Palace.
King Micheal's designated his eldest daughter Princess Margareta as his Heir, instead of his grandson Prince Nicholas. And allows women in the line of succession.
When Romania was a monarchy, the succession was limited to males only. Prince Nicholas was the 1st male in the succession.
Micheal is diagnosed with Leukemia and retires from public life.
Micheal's wife, Queen Anne passes away at age 92. She is buried in Romania.
Micheal passes away at age 96.
Princess Sophie Birthday Reply (2017)
I had written in October for Hereditary Princess Sophie's 50th birthday. Hereditary Prince/ss means the same thing as Crown Prince/ss; different countries use the different titles. Some countries use a special title for the heir instead (e.g. Prince of Wales, Princess of Asturias, etc.).
The envelope has a simple front, with a postmark and actual stamps.
This letter marks the 1 year anniversary of me writing to the Liechtenstein Royals. This is my 5th reply from them. All the previous replies featured the same Butterfly stamp from 2009.
Butterfly Stamp from previous replies
So, it is really great to see a new 2017 stamp being used & it's even more wonderful that it is Winter Themed. The stamp is called "Winterwald/Winter Forest" and was released on November 13th as part of their 2017 Christmas collection.
On the back of the envelope is the royal's address.
The card is their standard pre-made thank you card, with "Many thanks for your kind wishes" pre-printed on it. They then added the mention of her birthday, before Princess Sophie signed it.
I really like how they have this basic card they can use for anything, that they were then able to personalize for the event. I really love the rough edges and the embossed coat of arms. (You see a lot of embossed coat of arms on royal mail, but Liechtenstein has the nicest. The paper is really nice and thick, so the coat of armed is raised quite a bit.)
Princess Sophie signed her name, "Sophie Liechtenstein."
This is the same reply I got last year, except last year's had "Dear Miss Daly," handwritten as well.
It is a very lovely reply, made extra special by the signature. I would have loved a mention that it was her 50th Birthday. I think it is important to denote the milestones.
Tuesday is our recommended Send By Date for Christmas Cards/Letters to the Royals. If you haven't gotten yours out yet, don't worry. It's not a big deal. It just means your card/letter may not arrive by Christmas. (Depending on your Country, some of you living closer to the Royals, have some extra time to send out your cards.) But I would get them ours as soon as possible.
Possible Dukedoms for Prince Harry & Meghan Markle
This list includes previous Royal Dukedoms, Non-royal dukedoms, things people suggested, etc. The Dukedoms in each section are alphabetized. This isn't a complete list of options, but I think it has all the likely titles. If you have anything you want to suggest, see a mistake, want to voice your preference, etc. leave a comment below.
Of the "Possible Titles," the two sections are both pretty equal in terms of likelihood. I just wanted to give a little commentary about my thoughts and preference. Harry & Meghan's title could very likely be from the list of "Possible Titles - I don't like."
In addition to a Dukedom, Prince Harry will likely be made an Earl and Baron. This list just covers possible dukedoms.
Dukedoms that would be created for the 1st time are marked with a *
Possible Titles - I don't have a problem with
Duke of Ancaster and Kesteven
Duke of Kendal
Duke of Leeds
Duke of Newcastle
Duke of Ross
There is currently an Earl of Rosse, it a different title, but obviously very similar.
Create a new Dukedom*
Elevate an open Earldom*
Possible Titles - I don't like
Easily confused with Buckingham Palace, which is both the name of a Royal Residence and Queen's Household
Duke of Clarence/ Duke of Clarence and St Andrews/ Duke of Clarence and Avondale
Easily confused with Clarence House, which is both the name of a Royal Residence and Charles & Camilla's office.
The Dukedom of Albany has a subsidiary title, Earl of Clarence. The title Duke of Albany was suspended during WWI when the family sided with Germany, but could be reclaimed by the descendants.
Duke of Cleveland
There is a famous USA city called Cleveland, in Ohio. As well as less famous Clevelands in 21 other USA States. I don't think a title with a strong association to the USA would be good.
Duke of London*
Never created, it was proposed for Winston Churchill
Duke of Montagu
Spain has it's own Duke of Montagu.
Too similar to the Montague family in Romeo and Juliet, who were Italian.
A press favourite, but too similar to Wessex, easily confused.
Was created for King Edward VIII (Queen's Uncle), after he abdicated.
The Royal Family is already called Windsor.
Not Possible/ Not likely
Duke of Albany
Suspended during WWI, when the family sided with Germany but could be reclaimed by the descendants
Duke of Albemarle/ Aumale
Named after an area of Normandy, France, which was once controlled by the British
There is already an Earl of Albemarle
Duke of Bolton
There is currently a Baron Bolton
Duke of Connaught/ Duke of Connaught and Strathearn
Connaught is part of the Republic of Ireland
Prince William is the Earl of Strathearn
Duke of Cumberland and Teviotdal
Duke of Exeter
There is already an Earl of Exeter
Duke of Hereford
There is already an Earl of Hereford
Duke of Inverness
Prince Andrew is the Earl of Inverness
Duke of Ireland
This title is from a time when Ireland was under English rule, before the Kingdom of Ireland, and before the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland split.
Duke of Kensington*
Never created. There is a Baron of Kensington.
Easily confused with Kensington Palace, which is the name of a Royal Residence (Cambs, Harry, Queen's cousins, etc), Cambs+Harry+Meghan's office, a Royal Museum, etc.
Plus Harry & Meghan may not always live or have their office at Kensington Palace.
Duke of Kintyre and Lorne
There is already a Marquess of Kintyre and Lorne
Duke of Lancaster
Informally used by the Queen, who owns the Duchy of Lancaster
Duke of Monmouth
The 1st & only Duke of Monmouth was an illegitimate son of Charles II and tried to overthrow the King James II
Duke of Mountbatten*
Mountbatten was Prince Philip's family name from his mother's side. The name is the English translation of Battenburg in Germany.
There is already an Earl Mountbatten of Burma (extended family on Prince Philip's side)
Duke of Normandy
Britain gave up its claim to Normandy, but the title is still informally used on the British Channel Islands, which were formerly apart of the Duchy of Normandy
There is currently an Earl of Portland
Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha*
Never a British title, although the British Royal Family is related to the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
Saxe-Coburg and Gotha was a Dutchy in Germany
Duke of St. Andrew*
The Duke of Kent is the Earl of St. Andrews
*Never a solo Dukedom, previously Duke of Clarence and St Andrews
Duke of Strathearn*
*Never a solo Dukedom, previously:
Duke of Cumberland and Strathearn
Duke of Kent and Strathearn
Duke of Connaught and Strathearn
Duke of Surrey
There is already an Earl of Surrey
Dukedoms Currently Taken
Duke of Abercorn
Duke of Atholl
Duke of Beaufort
Duke of Bedford
Duke of Brandon
Duke of Buccleuch and Queensberry
Duke of Cambridge
Duke of Cornwall
Title belongs to the heir to the throne
Duke of Devonshire
Is expected to be passed down to Prince Edward upon Prince Philip's passing
Duke of Fife
Duke of Gloucester
Duke of Grafton
Duke of Hamilton
Duke of Kent
Duke of Leinster
Duke of Lennox
Duke of Manchester
Duke of Marlborough
Duke of Montrose
Duke of Richmond
Duke of Rothesay
Duke of Roxburghe
Duke of Rutland
Duke of St Albans
Duke of Sutherland
Duke of Westminster
Duke of York
The title is reserved to the 2nd son of the Monarch. (Although could be given to 2nd child in the future, because of the succession change, if they start giving women Dukedoms.)
Only one Duke of York allowed at a time and the title doesn't go away when the monarchy passes and you are no longer the 2nd son. It is not automatic. So even if Andrew passed away during Charles's reign, the title would likely be kept for William's kids.
Back to Royal Wedding 2018 - Main Page
at Thursday, November 30, 2017 1 comment: Links to this post
Meghan's 2017 "Official" Engagements
Meghan's current count is 8 engagements for 2017.
Attend Audi Polo Challenge Match, in support of Sentebale and WellChild
Sunday 7th
Attend Audi Polo Challenge Match, in support of the Royal Marsden and Tusk Trust
Saturday 23rd
Attend Invictus Games Toronto 2017 Opening Ceremony
Attend Invictus Games Toronto 2017
Sunday 30th
Attend Invictus Games Toronto 2017 Closing Ceremony
(Monday 27th: Announce engagement, Photocall, Interview)
Friday 1st
Civic welcome at National Justice Museum
Visit Nottingham Contemporary which will be hosting a Terrence Higgins Trust World AIDS Day charity fair.
Visit Nottingham Academy where they will meet head teachers from the Academy and local primary schools as well Full Effect staff and mentors. (Royal Foundation)
Back to Harry & Meghan - Main Page
at Monday, November 27, 2017 4 comments: Links to this post
Duchess Meghan - Official Engagements (2018)
Meghan's current count is 126 engagements for 2018.
(25 of those were Pre-wedding)
(74 + Tour of AUS, NZ, Fiji & Tonga (52))
(Unconfirmed) - Not officially confirmed/ announced, yet, but expected
(Possible) - Not confirmed or 100% expected, but possible due to past appearances or reports of their attendance
Tuesday 9th
Visit Reprezent 107.3FM in Brixton, to see their work supporting young people through creative training in radio and broadcasting
With Harry
Joined the Endeavour Fund Awards Ceremony Judging Panel at Kensington Palace
Thursday 18th - Cardiff, Wales
Visit Cardiff Castle for Welsh Culture festival
Visit Star Hub, a community and leisure centre in the Tremorfa to see how sport is being used to engage young people and aid social development.
Hear about the work of StreetGames which helping to make sport accessible to all young people, regardless of their social circumstances
Thursday 1st
Attend the annual Endeavour Fund Awards
Thursday 8th
Visited Transition Intervention and Liaison Service at the Lakes Mental Health Hospital in Colchester
Tuesday 13th - Edinburgh, Scotland
Visit Edinburgh Castle
Visit Social Bite, a social business and café
Attend a reception at the Palace of Holyroodhouse to celebrate youth achievements, marking Scotland’s Year of Young People 2018
Take part in the first annual Royal Foundation Forum showcasing the programmes run or initiated by The Royal Foundation
with William, Harry & Meghan
Visit Millennium Point to celebrate International Women's Day, which aims to inspire the next generation of young women to pursue careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM)
Visit Nechells Wellbeing Centre to join Birmingham's Coach Core apprentices as they take part in a training masterclass led by Create Development
Attend Commonwealth Day Observance service at Westminster Abbey
With Queen and Royal Family
Friday 23rd - Belfast, Northern Ireland
Visit Eikon Centre and attend an event for ‘Amazing the Space’, a youth-led peace-building initiative
Visit The Crown Liquor Saloon, one of Belfast's oldest buildings, and learn about it's history from the National Trust
Private Lunch
Walkabout on Great Victoria Street
Visit Catalyst Inc., a next-generation science park, to meet some of Northern Ireland's brightest young entrepreneurs and innovators
Visit Titanic Belfast, and tour the galleries
Friday 6th
Attend the UK team trials for Sydney Invictus Games at the University of Bath Sports Training Village
Attend Reception and closing session for the Commonwealth Youth Forum
Attend CHOGM Women's Empowerment reception at the Royal Aeronautical Society
Saturday 21st
Attend a reception celebrating the forthcoming Invictus Games Sydney 2018
"Queen's Birthday Party" Concert at Royal Albert Hall
With Queen, Harry & Royal Family
Monday 23rd
Attend the 25th Anniversary Memorial Service to celebrate the life and legacy of Stephen Lawrence (18 yr old black man murdered in racially motivated attack)
Attend Anzac Day Celebrations
Dawn Service at Wellington Arch
Service of Commemoration at Westminster Abbey
With Harry & William
(19th: Prince Harry's wedding to Meghan Markle at St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle!!!!!)
Tuesday 22nd
Garden Party for Prince Charles' patronages in honor of the Prince's 70th birthday
With Charles, Camilla & Harry
Trooping the Colours - Queen's Official Birthday
The 1st. Battalion Irish Guards will be trooping
Thursday 14th - Cheshire
Open the Mersey Gateway Bridge, at Catalyst Science Discovery Centre
with the Queen
Open the Storyhouse Theatre
Attend a lunch at Chester Town Hall
Attend Royal Ascot
Present St. James’ Palace Stakes
Attend a Reception for The Queen's Young Leaders at Buckingham Palace
Attend Board meeting with the Royal Foundation
Attend the ‘Your Commonwealth’ Youth Challenge Reception at Marlborough House in London
(9th: Attend Prince Louis' christening at St. James Palace)
Attend 100th Anniversary celebration at Westminister Abbey for Royal Air Force
View Flypast from Buckingham Palace Balcony, before attending a reception.
Called upon Mr. Leo Varadkar (Taoiseach) at Government Buildings in Ireland
Attended a Reception given by Her Majesty's Ambassador to Ireland at the Residence in Dublin
Received by The President of Ireland and Mrs. Higgins at Aras an Uachtarain.
Visited a Gaelic sports festival at Croke Park Stadium.
Viewed the Book of Kells at Trinity College Dublin, the University of Dublin.
Visited the Famine Memorial by the Liffey River.
Visited EPIC the Irish Emigration Museum, Custom House Quay.
Attended demonstrations of computer programming projects at Dogpatch Labs, Custom House Quay.
Attend the Championships, Wimbledon at All England Club
Visit the Nelson Mandela Centenary Exhibition at South Bank Centre's Queen Elizabeth Hall
Received Mr. Edward Lane Fox & Harry invested him with the Insignia of a Lieutenant of the Royal Victorian Order
Attend Sentebale ISPS Handa Polo Cup at the Berkshire Polo Club in support of Sentebale
(4th: 37th Birthday)
Attended gala performance of Hamilton in support of Sentebale at the Victoria Palace Theatre
Attend WellChild Awards at The Royal Lancaster Hotel
Attended the 100 Days to Peace Concert, a concert to mark the centenary of the First World War, at the Central Hall Westminster
Received Mr Edward Lane Fox upon relinquishing his appointment as Private Secretary to Their Royal Highnesses.
Host a reception to mark the launch of the "Together: Our Community Cookbook” which supports a community kitchen for Grenfell victims
With Harry, and Mum, Doria Ragland
Join more than 200 young Coach Core apprentices for the Coach Core Awards at Loughborough University
Attended the opening of the Oceania Exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts
October (5 + Tour)
Wednesday 3rd - Sussex
Visited Edes House
Officially opened the University of Chichester Engineering and Digital Technology Park
Visited the Royal Pavilion
Visited Survivors' Network
Visited Peacehaven Youth Centre
(12th: Princess Eugenie's wedding to Jack Brooksbank)
16th -31st (50 Joint + 2 solo)
Overseas Tour to Australia, Fiji, the Kingdom of Tonga, and New Zealand
See Tour Schedule for list of engagements
Attend Festival of Remembrance at Royal Albert Hall
With Royal Family
Remembrance Sunday at Cenotaph in Whitehall, London
Attended a Service to mark the Centenary of the Signing of the Armistice at Westminster Abbey
Attended a Commemorative Dinner at Kensington Palace for African Parks
Attended a Mental Health Innovation volunteers' workshop at BBC Studioworks
Attended the Autumn Dinner for the Royal Foundation at Victoria House
With Harry, William & Kate
Attend Royal Variety Performance
Wednesday 21st
Opened the Hubb Community Kitchen
Attend the Henry Van Straubenzee Memorial Fund annual carol service
Attended a Meeting of the Association of Commonwealth Universities at King’s College London
Attended a Christmas Reception at 5 St Mary Abbots Place for the Royal Foundation
Attended the British Fashion Council Awards at the Royal Albert Hall
Attended a Board Meeting for The Commonwealth Trust
Received Mr Rufus Norris (Artistic Director of the National Theatre)
Visit the Royal Variety residential care home Brinsworth House
Visit The Hubb Community Kitchen
Labels: Duchess of Sussex, Harry, Markle, Markle Sparkle, Meghan, meghan markle, Ms. Markle, Prince Harry
Mourning of Sultan Qaboos
State Opening of Parliment
World Holocaust Forum
75th Anniv of Liberation of Auschwitz Concentration Camp
Queen Margrethe's 80th Birthday
Royals in Hospital
Instagram Shout Outs
Gert's Royal Replies
Sarah, Duchess of York - Christmas Reply (2019) - Another Christmas reply arrived this week, this time from the UK. I had written to Duchess Sarah to wish her a Merry Christmas. The envelope is usual for S...
The Royal Novelist
A Death in the Royal Family - Writing Prompt (August 2019) - Flowers outside Kensington Palace following the death of Diana, Princess of Wales Photo Credit: Maxwell Hamilton from United Kingdom [CC BY 2.0], via Wiki...
Long Term Events
Recent hospitzlizations
Royal Wedding Review
The Sussexes (Main Page)
Prince Harry Patronages List of Official Engagements: 2015 2016 Tour of Nepal Tour of Caribbean 2017 Tour of Denmark 2018 ...
The Cambridges (Main Page)
Prince William Official Patronages Honorary Military Appointments List of Official Engagements: 2015 Tour of Japan + China 2016 ...
Prince Harry - Official Engagements (2019)
Prince Harry's current count is 152 engagements for 2019. 121 + Autumn Tour (31) = 152 (Unconfirmed) - Not Officially Confirme...
UK Royal Attendance at State Banquets during Incoming State Visits (2010- Present)
The UK usually holds two incoming state visit each year, one in the spring and one in the autumn. With each State Visit, the Queen hosts a S...
NOTE: As the Sussexes are stepping down from being senior royals, we are going to have to reassess how we handle things, and if we will ev...
Prince William - Official Engagements (2020)
William's current count is 9 engagements for 2020 (Unconfirmed) - Not Officially Confirmed/ Announced, Yet, but Expected (Possible...
Queen Margrethe of Denmark's 80th Birthday Celebrations (2020)
The Palace has stated that "Foreign guests" have been invited to the dinners on April 15th & 16th. That very likely means we w...
Royals Attending World Economic Forum 2020 (January 21st-24th)
The 2020 World Economic Forum will be held January 21st-24th in Davos, Switzerland Royals Attending: Confirmed: Belgium King Philipe...
A photo posted by Gert's Royals (@gertsroyals) on Nov 9, 2016 at 4:51am PST
Tweets by @Gertsroyals
King Harald of Norway New Years Address - English ...
King Carl Gustaf Christmas Speech - English Transl...
King Willem-Alexander Christmas Speech - English T...
King Philippe of Belgium - Christmas Eve Speech (2...
Possible Dukedoms for Prince Harry & Meghan Markle...
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Guild Events
Awards 2019 Winners
Fellowship Fund
Sue Style
It is with great sadness that we have to share the news of the death of our colleague and Guild member Sue Style, the wonderful food and wine writer living in Alsace.
We are very grateful to fellow Guild member Carla Capalbo who with the help of Sue's husband Monty has put together a short biography of Sue’s life.
For those who might be able to get to her thanksgiving service, it will be held in Basel, Switzerland, on Friday 10 January 2020 at 2.30pm in the Pauluskirche. You can rsvp here.
Sue Wrightson was born in North Yorkshire in 1948. She loved country life, was educated in the north and by friendly nuns in the south, and fell in love with Spain as a young girl. She learned to cook from her gifted mother and practised on London business directors.
Sue was working on the Latin American edition of The Economist when she met and, aged 21, married Montague Style, known to all as Monty. They spent an MBA year in Fontainebleau, where she gave cooking classes, before moving to Switzerland, followed by 6 years in Mexico. They travelled widely throughout the country. Sue’s favourite province, gastronomically, was Oaxaca. Her careful jottings from every meal and market found their way into her cooķing classes, as well as into the menus at the Cuernavaca country club where she was culinary adviser and ultimately into her first book, The Mexican Cookbook.
Back in Europe she made up for lost academic time and earned an Open University degree with distinction in Renaissance studies. Sue busied herself with little known Swiss food and wine. Her practical research is beautifully summarized in A Taste of Switzerland which sold steadily over 20 years.
In 1991 Sue and Monty moved over the border to France, to the southern Alsace village of Bettlach. From her big kitchen here Sue led culinary workshops. Two books on Alsace food and wine were complemented by Fruits of the Forest – about foraged foods – and by a small book on bees and honey.
Sue created a lovely English-style garden and a well stocked herb garden here in her beloved Sundgau, the area of rolling Jura foothills which divide France and Switzerland. A talented linguist (she spoke 6 languages), she contributed articles and recipes to numerous publications including the Financial Times, Decanter and ZesterDaily, and was active on social media, always eager to help with a recipe or culinary advice.
Her last book, The Landscape of Swiss Wine, came out in spring 2019. It was researched and written over 2 years of cellar visits to large cooperatives and tiny start-ups throughout the country, and it highlights the quality of the modern Swiss wines Sue loved and championed.
Sue had long battled breast cancer, and she finished the book shortly before being hospitalised with triple negative non-curable cancer. She died in November 2019. As well as Monty, with whom she lived for over 50 years, Sue leaves their children, Sophie and Oliver, and their families. She will be much missed by all.
We extend our deepest sympathy to all Sue's family and friends.
Carla Capalbo
Subscribe Terms & Conditions
Jonathan Woods
The Guild of Food Writers Administrator
255 Kent House Road
Beckenham, Kent, BR3 IJQ
guild@gfw.co.uk
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How do I find maps?
Finding Maps Online
Resources for using maps in research
Finding Maps @ UChicago
Map libraries and collections
Chicago, Illinois, & Great Lakes area maps
Geologic & environmental maps
Global & foreign country maps
Chicago Census Maps
Map Collection Hours
Mon.-Fri. 12-5 p.m.
Sat.-Sun. Closed
Regenstein Library, Room 370 (third floor)
1100 E 57th St, Chicago, IL 60637
Many map collections and organizations have maps available to search, view, and download. The resources on this page are a starting point for anyone wanting to find maps outside of UChicago.
Other institutions can send high-quality scans of maps through Interlibrary Loan. Search World Cat, a global catalog of library collections, to find maps not available at UChicago.
Request books, journals, articles, dissertations, and other circulating material from libraries worldwide.
The freely available version of the OCLC online catalog that contains over 43 million records. Search WorldCat.org to find resources in a library near you.
History of Cartography's guide to map collections
Newberry Library Maps, Travel, and Exploration
A collection for the history of travel, with strong coverage of Europe and the Americas from the 16th to the 20th century.
Library of Congress Geography and Map Division
The largest and most comprehensive map collection in the world.
David Rumsey collection
Large collection of early maps available to view and download.
Maps available for viewing online and aerial photography available by request. Based out of the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee.
Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection
A comprehensive guides to maps online and in other collections.
Illinois Secretary of State: Maps
The Illinois State Library is the 5th largest in the U.S. and has more than 5 million items, including geographical books and journals, gazetteers and atlases, reference books and carto-bibliographies, and more than 190,000 maps and 80,000 aerial photos.
Illinois Geologic Survey Maps
ISGS produces a variety of maps including coal maps, a variety of geologic maps, and an Open File Series.
Illinois air photos
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; includes air photos of Cook and Will Counties in the 1930s.
Chicago Dept. of Transportation Maps
Air photos, plat maps, and structure base maps.
Historical maps of Illinois and the Old Northwest
University of Illinois; includes older Illinois topos.
Chicago Zoning Ordinance
Interactive map for zoning and land development in Chicago.
A great resource for finding Illinois and Chicago maps that UChicago may not own.
Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps
1867-1970. Access to thousands of large-scale maps of American towns and cities, searchable by address and GPS coordinates. Database requires UChicago login.
Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps (Library of Congress)
This resource is not comprehensive but helpful for viewing and using Sanborn maps in research.
A Library of Congress Collection of 2,240 Civil War maps and charts and 76 atlases and sketchbooks depicting battles, troop positions and movements, engagements, and fortifications.
New York Public Library: Charting America
A great resource for early American maps available for free download.
Zoom into or search for an area to find old maps available online.
Fire Insurance Maps Online (FIMo)
Welcome to Fire Insurance Maps online (FIMo), a research portal to find and view high-definition, color Fire Insurance Maps, Real Estate Atlases, Plat Books, and other historical maps showing building structures, building construction details, property ownership, property uses, and other useful information. This subscription includes the following areas: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming
USGS National Geologic Map Database
Find geologic and historic topographic maps for the U.S. Also includes a catalog of more than 100,000 maps and stratigraphy information.
Best for finding current U.S. topographic maps.
USGS TopoView
Access historical topographic maps of the United States from 1880 to 2010.
National Park maps
Includes maps of the U.S. National Parks System, trail maps, and the American Revolution.
Chizu
Old Chinese maps from the Document and Information Center for Chinese Studies, University of Kyoto [requires DjVu plug-in].
Dept. of Geography, University of Jerusalem, and Jewish National and University Library; many early urban views.
UrbanRail.net
Urban Rail Maps for major cities around the world.
Interim Map Collection manager and GIS assistant
JRL 370
sbb@uchicago.edu
GIS & Maps Librarian
Cecilia Smith
Map Collection, Regenstein Library 370
John Crerar Library 153
Subjects:Geography, Social Sciences
Doing Research in Other Libraries & Archives
by Ask a Librarian Updated Dec 5, 2019 1 views this year
<< Previous: Finding Maps @ UChicago
Next: Chicago Census Maps >>
Tags: atlas, census, geography, map, map collection, maps, scanned maps
Updated: Dec 12, 2019 12:41 PM
URL: https://guides.lib.uchicago.edu/maps
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The future of retail is full of opportunities, and we are excited to be shaping it. From July 3rd to 7th, Westfield London is hosting the Trending Store, an AI-powered boutique stocking fashion-forward looks based on what’s trending across social media in real time.
As the worlds of online and offline retail blend and inspire each other further, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield is thinking ahead with a one-of-a-kind concept. The Trending Store brings together the smart trending intel of online shopping and fashion influence with the “IRL” human interaction of traditional shopping, for the very first time.
We have partnered with AI trend experts NextAtlas to create this unique store. Via the power of machine learning, NextAtlas is able to predict the biggest breaking trends before they happen by monitoring over three billion data points from over 400,000 “trend innovators” globally by analysing both visual and text content from social media sources. This trend data is then fed to a team of stylists, who will be sourcing items on demand from a mix of Westfield London retailers, including Topshop, Reiss, Whistles, Lindex and Stuart Weitzman, to feature in the Trending Store. Upon entering the hi-tech store customers will be greeted by Ultra HD screens showcasing live trend data and visual inspiration, from the colours to shop in that trend to the hashtags that accompany the trend on social media.
“At Westfield centres we aim to bring the newest concepts, first to the market brands and best experiences to our customers. Through our How We Shop research platform we know that shoppers increasingly want to experience both online and offline retail in a seamless journey. Online, shoppers are inspired by influencers and used to being guided by AI, with products served to them based on their behaviour. Usually this guidance does not translate to a physical retail space. However, working with NextAtlas data analysts, we are able to bring our shoppers products that are trending in real time - a true reflection of social conversation brought to life in a physical space.”
Myf Ryan, CMO Europe and Group Director of Brand and Strategic Marketing,
Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield
All proceeds from the store will be going to Save the Children, Westfield London’s charity partner. The store also features a “Trending Vending Prize Machine” where customers can tap to donate £5/£10/£20 to Save the Children in return for a top trending prize valued up to £100.
As part of our CSR strategy Better Places 2030 100% of our shopping centres worldwide work in collaboration with local charities and public partners to promote their social and environmental activities. This new initiative marks the 10th anniversary of Westfield London’s long-standing relationship with Save The Children.
A new decade of experience retail dawns across Europe
An exclusive Star Wars experience in France
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COPYRIGHT © 2018 UNIBAIL-RODAMCO-WESTFIELD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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The Cruelty
Posted on April 17, 2017 by Sidney • 18 Comments
So back in 2014, I had heard about a book, The Cruelty, by new writer Scott Bergstrom. I figured, why not yanno….new writers don’t become old writers unless we read their stuff. And the title intrigued me, so I figured I would give it a try.
The Cruelty – an intriguing novel that introduces us to Gwendolyn Bloom. When her father vanishes, she sets off on a journey she never bargained for. Traveling under a new identity in a world of assassins, spies, and criminal masterminds, she uncovers a disturbing truth. To bring her father back alive, she must become every bit as cruel as the men holding him captive.
I am so very glad that I took a chance on a new author. This book held my attention which is not the easiest thing to do. My mind is always racing, so I have a tendency to read 2 books at once, so that there is always something to switch to; not this time. I read this book, alone, and surprised myself.
Fast forward to 2017. Mr. Bergstrom was going to be in Naperville and I was super excited to meet him. Well, some life happened and I wasn’t able to attend the reading and book signing. However, Mr. Bergstrom agreed to answer a few questions for me about being a writer. Can I tell you how super stoked I was? Man listen…..you could have knocked me over with a noodle. I was seriously fan-girling. Anyways, I’d like to share with you a few pieces of our conversation…..
Scott Bergstrom
HM: When/how did you know you wanted to write for a living?
SB: When I was in seventh grade, I was failing almost every class, even English–an awkward situation for the son of an English teacher. Then I received a class assignment to write an eight-page story. To me, it seemed impossible. But as soon as I started writing, I fell in love with it. Creating characters, inventing a plot, all of it woke up something inside me. My teacher, Fred Marfell, became a mentor, and later, a close friend. He altered the lives of many, many students over the years, and he’s missed by all of us.
HM: Does you family have a writing background? A parent, a sibling, etc?
SB: My father was an English teacher, and both my parents were avid readers. There were always books around the house–classics, mystery novels, spy stories, science fiction–every kind of book imaginable. All of us always had a book handy. I was very privileged to have both my parents encourage my love of writing, which began as a love of reading.
HM: How did this book come together for you? What was your inspiration for the topic?
SB: I was taking a train from Berlin to Prague, and found myself standing in the corridor, staring at a handle for the emergency brake. I wondered, what would happen if someone pulled it? Suddenly, the specifics of the plot started coming together. Why would someone pull it? What would happen afterward? That scene–Gwen pulling the emergency brake–is still right in the middle of the book. Everything before it and after it started there.
HM: I would like to know your thoughts on handling negative responses to your writing from the writers standpoint. What do you do to not let it stop you from moving forward with your craft?
SB: Criticism is always tough, but it is also constructive. Sometimes we agree with the criticism, but even when we don’t, it nevertheless provides an author with a reader’s perspective. Peoples’ opinions are always valid, and it’s something we can take account of in the future.
HM: What tips do you have for aspiring writers who want their own words on paper, i.e. choosing/trusting an editor; who to submit to for review?
SB: The best tip I can give is: keep going, no matter what. Many writers I know, myself included, received countless rejections before their first “yes.” Sometimes, a book just isn’t ready yet. Other times, it’s because it’s just not the right fit for a particular agent or publisher. Workshops and trusted readers who will critique your work honestly were indispensable for me in improving my writing. Though it can be very, very hard, there’s no substitute for perseverance. Not only in researching agents and sending queries, but getting your manuscript in the best shape you can make it.
This interview was a HUGE deal for me, and I am forever grateful for Mr. Bergstrom agreeing to it. As I said, I LOVED The Cruelty, and I think you will too.
Now, with that being said, I have a question for you – as a teen, could you endure traveling the globe to save your parent?
2 lucky commenters will receive a signed copy of The Cruelty. Winners will be announced on Sunday, April 23rd.
Disclosure: I received the 2 books in exchange for this post. All opinions are my own.
Filed Under: Featured, Giveaways, Reviews
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18 Responses to The Cruelty
Kari Wagner says:
LOOK AT YOU GO!
By the way, it’s REALLY hard for a book to hold my attention too so maybe I should check this out.
Sarah Parisi says:
Sounds interesting! I’m adding this to my “to read” list. Great interview!
Penny Snyder says:
I absolutely would travel the globe to save my parent!!~
i would love to travel when i was a teen. my family didn’t get to travel much but it does sound amazing.
Debbi Wellenstein says:
Sure, I would have traveled the world to save my parent!
Thomas Gibson says:
I wish I would of traveled internationally when I was younger. Now I get to enjoy traveling in my mind by reading great authors such as yourself about their travels even if it is fiction.
Cynthia Steyer says:
As a teen, I don’t know that I could endure traveling the globe to save your parent? As someone who at 40 still gets very nervous when travelling to new places, I just don’t know that I could have coped as a teen with world travel. It sounds like a great book, though, where the teen is much, much braver than me lol!! Thanks for the great info!
Jo Brock says:
It would have been beneficial for me as a teen to travel around the world. We really only took vacations around the U.S., but also one time to Canada – Niagara Falls.
Donna L says:
I would love to travel the globe.
Laurie Emerson says:
If it meant saving my parent I could see myself enduring traveling the globe even as a teen.
accontests6 says:
I would have, absolutely.
Daniel M says:
sure as a teen, now that i’m older nope
Dynal Roberson says:
I think I could have. I know I would have loved to travel at least.
Sammantha D. says:
Most definitely! I did a lot of traveling as a teenager and would have loved to do more.
Tim Moss says:
I’ve never flown so I can’t really say. As a teen, probably. World seemed less dangerous then.
Denise S says:
Yes, I think I would do that to save my parent.
James coyne says:
I never liked to travel
Loretta Thomas says:
I’m not a teen but would have traveled the globe to save my parents. This books sounds like an awesome read and my teen granchildren would enjoy as well.
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Me for a Campbell Award? Huh?
It has come to my attention that the Evil League of Evil is attempting to get me shortlisted for the John W. Campbell award.
For those of you not in the know, this is an annual award intended to go to the most promising new writer in SF. It is taken pretty seriously. And my reaction to hearing that I’m being promoted for this is…consternation.
OK, I will stipulate that I think my one published work of SF, the short story Sucker Punch , isn’t bad. If it were someone else’s and I was wearing my reviewer hat, I’d probably say something encouraging about it being a solid, craftsmanlike first effort that delivers what its opening promises and suggests the author might be able to deliver quality work in the future.
But, Campbell Award material? A brilliant comet in the SF firmament I am not. I don’t really feel like I belong on that shortlist – and if I’m wrong and I actually do, I fear for the health of the field.
What bothers me more is the suspicion that my name has been put forward for what amount to political reasons. So here’s what I have to say about that…
I’m not going to object to anyone voting for me. But by the Great God Ghu and the shade of Robert Heinlein, please don’t do it because you think I have the right politics, or to get up the nose of people you think have the wrong politics. Vote for me only if you think the actual work merits it.
It’s not that I necessarily object to politically-focused awards in principle. If I were to write an excellent libertarian SF novel and get nominated for a Prometheus partly because libertarians liked the politics, that would be OK. It won’t happen, because I’m one of the judges for that award, but in an alternate universe I wouldn’t mind.
But I didn’t write Sucker Punch as a political argument. I wrote it as a way of beginning to give something back to the SF field for all it has given me, and I want it to be judged on its merits as part of that tradition, not as a counter in a tribal political scrum.
To push the point further…I have, as it happens, an unfinished SF novel set in a libertarian future in my trunk. But, supposing I finish and publish Shadows and Stars , I won’t want to have it judged more by its politics than by its quality as a work of SF in the classic style. S&S isn’t a political argument, and I would therefore be disappointed if it were received as one.
If you vote for a Campbell award nominee, or a Hugo, or any other award, this is my plea: screw the partisanship. Vote on merit. And if I get any votes I promise to be pleasantly shocked.
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614 thoughts on “Me for a Campbell Award? Huh?”
Dgarsys on 2015-02-03 at 00:07:06 said:
Eric, I assure you that most of us considering voting for you – at least the ones I’ve talked to – are doing it because your story impressed us.
It certainly stuck with me.
if I end up voting for it, it will be that, and not politics.
DMcCunney on 2015-02-03 at 00:21:30 said:
Speaking personally, were I you, I would flatly and publicly refuse the nomination.
This is the Evil League of Evil attempting to use your name and reputation for their own purposes, and make you a card they are playing in their game. You do not need this. You want to be nominated for the quality of your work, not the recognition of your name and the baggage that comes with it.
The Campbell Award is for best new writer, but every nominee and winner I can think of offhand has a larger body of work than a single short story going in. Should the unfinished novel you have sitting around see the light of day as a professional publication, it will be a different matter.
“S&S isn’t a political argument, and I would therefore be disappointed if it were received as one.”
Prepare to be disappointed. Because of who you are and your stated political opinions, it *will* be perceived as one should it get published. Writing is a dialog, not a monologue, and the book will be informed by what the reader brings to it as much as or more than what the writer put in. How many times have you read a review of a book you read and you wondered whether the reviewer had actually read the same book you did? (Arguably, they didn’t, because their perspective was so different from yours.)
You are a self-identified Libertarian, and a source of controversy in consequence. Your politics will dominate literary merit in the eyes of many readers, and anything you write will be seen as a Libertarian screed and a political argument by those who disagree with you. (And likely by a fair number who agree, as well.) It goes with the territory you’re in.
Sad Puppies isn’t about having the correct politics, its about _not_ having the “correct” politics.
MP on 2015-02-03 at 01:01:32 said:
This is for the nominations, not the final vote. If “Dinosaur” can *win* the Nebula, you’re certainly worth a nomination. I enjoyed your story more than that one by a long shot.
Milhouse on 2015-02-03 at 01:01:46 said:
Sorry, Eric, but whatever the Campbell Award was meant to be, what it seems to have become is a political game, in which it matters much more whom someone knows than how good their writing is. Lots of fans vote on the Campbell without having read much or any of the candidates’ work. So I think voting for you “to get up the nose of people you think have the wrong politics” is a valid response. Certainly nominating you for such a reason is valid, and that’s really what Correia’s Sad Puppies project is about — getting works on the ballot that would never be there if only the Wiscon set send in their nominations, and then letting those works compete on their merits. Last year Correia wrote very clearly that once the nominations were on the ballot, people should read them and make up their own minds, and vote for what they like.
Personally, I like a lot of the lefty stuff that wins nowadays; I liked Ancillary Justice (though not enough to vote for it), I like Scalzi’s and Jo Walton’s stuff, I may well like whatever the lefties push this year. But we should have a choice, and the nomination process is how we get it, so I’m all for making some puppies sad.
To quote Correia: “We want people to vote based on what they loved and enjoyed, not on what sends the approved message or checks the right box.”
“the book will be informed by”
Am I the only one whose teeth this usage sets on edge? Being informed is a quality of sentient beings, not inanimate objects. People are informed, not books.
Anyway, Eric… I don’t read as much SF as you do. (My library doesn’t take up a thousand-square-foot basement!) How much of a body of work does the average first-year author have? Put another way, judged by the standards of Campbell nominees, are you really that far out of line? Sucker Punch certainly failed to suck! Of how many Campbell nominees, especially in their first year of eligibility, can that be said?
Pissing off the usual SJW culprits is just a bonus.
Jay, a definition of inform is “3. to give evident substance, character, or distinction to; pervade or permeate with manifest effect: A love of nature informed his writing. Also, “4. to animate or inspire.”
The solution to not have your politics associated with your literary work is to use a non-de-plume. Have you considered that option?
>The solution to not have your politics associated with your literary work is to use a non-de-plume. Have you considered that option?
No. And now that I have…I’ll pass. My pre-existing fame will be a good way to get over the “why should I bother looking at this?” hump for a significant cohort of SF fans; if I want my stuff to be read and enjoyed this is an advantage not to be lightly sacrificed.
Milhouse: that’s a neologism, and an odious one. It wasn’t used that way till just a few years ago.
Jay, that’s bulldust. Check any dictionary you like, from as long ago as you like, and you’ll find it there.
Meanwhile, online we find:
M-W has:
2 a : to give character or essence to the principles which inform modern teaching
b : to be the characteristic quality of : animate the compassion that informs her work
Collins has:
5. to impart some essential or formative characteristic to
6. (transitive) to animate or inspire
or, if you prefer:
1. a. (obsolete) to give form to
b. to give character to; be the formative principle of
c. to give or inspire with some specific quality or character
Macquarie (30-day trial available to get past the paywall) has:
3. to give character to; pervade (the mind, character, etc.) with determining effect.
4. to give rise to or inspire.
PS: I plan to nominate A Darkling Sea by James Cambias, which I read on ESR’s recommendation.
>PS: I plan to nominate A Darkling Sea by James Cambias, which I read on ESR’s recommendation.
Ahhh. Now that is Campbell-award quality from a new writer.
Milhouse: that’s a neologism, and an odious one. It wasn’t used that way till just a few years ago
That formulation has been in academia for eons. It was certainly well entrenched a good 8 to 10 years ago.
JIm Richardson on 2015-02-03 at 03:21:26 said:
It’s an award for *new* authors, thus, you qualify for nomination. Then, let the voting begin, and note that Larry Correia has stated numerous times that the voting should be based on what story you liked/thought was worthy. *Not* the politics of the writer (or for that matter, the story)
Voting on the politics is what the SJW do, not what thinking people do.
I am seconding DMcCunney here. Becoming VD’s political figurehead is highly problematic, primarily not because of the content of his ideas (although, evolution denial WTF) but because of the horribly ungentlemanly style in which they are expressed on his blog. VD’s blog treatment of SJWs forgets the basic rule to never wrestle with pigs in the mud because they will enjoy it and you will get dirty. I think he got too dirty. I don’t really think you really want to mix your reputation with that kind of one. As far as I know your reputation is spotless as far as engaging in debates with good polite manners goes, and this is a great asset to keep, and keep clean even from dirt by association. IMHO.
On a more objective note, if you want to vote for the most promising SF writer, you need to define what is SF and what is not SF. Laugh at me if you want to, but to me Sucker Punch and in fact most essays in Riding The Red Horse did not come accross as SF because they were not cast into the far future with spaceships and lasers, but in the present or near future. I understand that the principles of SF (future prediction based on a good understanding of science and technology and similar stuff) are better fulfilled by these works than by space opera fantasies with hyperspace ships and lightsabres, still, it comes accross as unusual.
Especially weird: Riding The Red Horse has a cover depicting a quite futuristic soldier, actually more space-fantasy than sci-fi (there is no real scientific reason behind glowing red helmet visors and eery blue lights on the ship) while inside Chris Kennedy’s Thieves In The Night is a good here-and-now military story, something that could be in the news tomorrow, not something futuristic and thus most likely not sci-fi.
I think while fantastic futurism is not the essence of the Campbellian tradition, it is still a fairly traditional part of it. After all Cambell edited a magazine where the stories were supposed to be Astounding, not ordinary here-and-now ones.
I wonder how present-time and “ordinary” story is allowed to be to be still called sci-fi. I was born a year after Star Wars was released, so for me sci-fi started from a fairly high “astoundingness” level. Pournelle CoDominium saga lowered the bar for me – got spaceships all right, but very ordinary rifles and artillery, no laser guns… very regular present-time sounding military stories placed into the future. After reading Riding The Red Horse, I know hardly see a clear barrier between here-and-now stories and SF.
(OTOH most of VD’s own works like A Throne Of Bones are fantasy, which genre has always been a cousin of SF but nobody can really tell how closely related. After all the primary idea of researching science and technology and figuring out how it could work out in the future is not there.)
You should write a work from a highly liberal perspective and watch everyone go WTF? (would also help with ideological turing test)
Morgan Greywolf on 2015-02-03 at 05:39:26 said:
@Jay, that version of informed was well-entrenched 30 years ago.
SBP on 2015-02-03 at 05:50:01 said:
“Laugh at me if you want to, but to me Sucker Punch and in fact most essays in Riding The Red Horse did not come accross as SF because they were not cast into the far future with spaceships and lasers, but in the present or near future. ”
Go read ” If You Were A Dinosaur, My Love” and get back to us.
“I think while fantastic futurism is not the essence of the Campbellian tradition, it is still a fairly traditional part of it.”
Have you actually read any of the recent Campbell Award winners? Let’s just say that I’m skeptical that most of them would have prompted ol’ John W. to cut the author a check.
@SBP
>Go read ” If You Were A Dinosaur, My Love” and get back to us.
Found it online. I find it bad, somewhat deranged/unhinged, and uncomfortably personal, as if the author jumping her personal grieving (and revenge fantasies) on the unsuspecting reader from a dark corner. Instead of the author entertaining the readers, it reads more like the readers invited to feel pity for the author. That comes across as too ego-centric for me – it is writing with the focus not being on the story, not on the the readers, but it is all about the author, the egotistical “self-expression” crap I always loathed. In other words, it reads like the school essay of a 13 year old who has not grown yet beyond the adolescent egocentrism phase, although with way better vocabulary. How is it relevant to the present/future issue I brought up, aside from being a textbook example of how NOT to write?
“How is it relevant to the present/future issue I brought up, aside from being a textbook example of how NOT to write?”
It won the Nebula and was nominated for the Hugo.
Nancy Lebovitz on 2015-02-03 at 07:23:06 said:
Eric, your attitude does you credit.
I’ve read about half of Red Horse, and I was disappointed at the lack of what I think of as science fiction– the opening essay was about advances in science which would affect war, but I wasn’t seeing much of that in the stories. Even assuming no big breakthroughs, there should be a lot of incremental improvements in material science, medicine, and computing.
Playing “you’re another” with the recent award-winning science fiction that’s lacked speculative content isn’t what I’d call a solution. Are there any new science fiction authors who’ve been standing out lately?
>It won the Nebula and was nominated for the Hugo.
Shudder. Okay. I now have a better appreciation why to fight tooth and nail against the SJWification of the SF genre. It is inverting the usual relationship, it is not the author serving readers but readers are invited to extend sympathy to the author, and that comes accross as incredibly narcissistic. But it is STILL not relevant to the far future vs. present-time issue!
Steven Ehrbar on 2015-02-03 at 08:35:34 said:
Jay, you’ve found a problem, but misdiagnosed it.
There is usage going back to the 14th century where inanimate objects are being informed, and similarly old uses of the word in (approximately) the meanings given as #3 and #4 above, at least if we are to trust the Oxford English Dictionary and its citations. And if we do not trust the OED, what hope have we?
On the other hand, there’s a specific usage mostly confined (thankfully) to academic jargon which rejects objective reality.
Which is to say, in English as it’s been spoken for the last six hundred years, a book can be “informed” by something – if something influenced how the book was created (formed, see?), it is perfectly fair to say the book was indeed informed by that. So saying a book was informed by something is perfectly fine English.
The problem is what’s being communicated by the English in this case. A reader’s beliefs and experiences cannot inform an existing book, as it cannot be part of the causal process that put words on the page; these beliefs and experiences can only inform the reader’s mental model of the book.
Conflating the book and the reader’s mental model of the book is either a failure to distinguish between map and territory, or a deliberate rejection of it (and so objective reality itself – as in postmodernism, which is rife in academia). It’s not a mere English mis-usage that can be ratified by time and popular use, but a case of a failure of rational thought, which stands as an anathema no matter how long or popularly repeated.
Keith Glass on 2015-02-03 at 08:39:47 said:
Mind you, ESR was nominated on the “Sad Puppies” slate, run by Brad Torgersen, BEFORE Vox’s “Rabid Puppies” slate came out.
I thought it was an excellent debut, and worthy of nomination. As for the actual award. . . let’s see who gets the nominations, first.
THEN, it will be time to decide, on the merits of the writing of each of the final nominees. . .
Admission: I **am** a minion of the Evil League of Evil. I’ve known Larry and Sarah for years, and have recently started reading both John C. Wright (who I thoroughly recommend for some truly mind-blowing stuff) and Vox (who writes some damned good stories). . .
This would make a great subject for a Downfall parody: Hitler gets angry when told about this nomination, and goes on to rant about the politicization of SF awards.
Not sure that would work as a litmus test.
Let’s face it, many people following Correaia’s lead (and it was Correaia who did Sad Puppies one and two) wouldn’t WANT to read an SJW story – and we’re already perfectly happy to go back and re-read out copies of 1632/etc.
So yeah, we’re already perfectly happy to read stuff by liberals, communists even.
@Steven, @Jay
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_history#History_of_the_word_and_concept_.22information.22
I am especially amused that originally “to inform” meant “giving a substantial form to matter”. We may not be Aristoteleans anymore, but there are wonderful Aristotelean traps lurking in every language that was sufficiently influenced by Medieval Latin.
Challenge: write a short sci-fi/fantasy novel set in a universe where Aristotelean causation is true. Not Aristotelean physics, just causation (hylomorphic dualism). Note: it cannot be that hard, given that most medieval Thomist texts were set in that universe :-)
I’ll happily give Eric Flint the benefit of the doubt. The only thing I’ll give a new John Scalzi book is a free trip by air to the recycle bin. The difference is that Flint knows how to tell a story without letting his politics get in the way; Scalzi’s succumbed to the SJW idea that art should serve the ends of the radicals.
@Dgarsys
IMHO every half-decent communist sci-fi simply assumes that the utopia has already happened and now there is something else interesting going on. It is a largely a tool for making the social background simple and uninteresting, in order to make a setting for something interesting happening somewhere else, without background complications. Star Trek and Culture as the obvious examples. TL;DR everything fine at home, the trouble is with the aliens. It’s okay, ish, not everybody likes this kind of thing but it in and of itself does not tend to cause a lot of ire.
Way, way OT, but apparently this is a thing:
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/feb/02/iceland-temple-norse-gods-1000-years
Hail Odin!
Joel C. Salomon on 2015-02-03 at 10:14:55 said:
Sucker Punch —that’s the story chosen to start Riding the Red Horse , right? It was put there because the editors thought it was a really good story; and it’s being suggested for a Campbell nomination for the same reason.
(Libertarian, huh? I have it on excellent authority that all those put forward by Sad Puppies are fascists. You must be one of those libertarian fascists who intend to ruthlessly not take anything over or tell anyone what to do. ;) )
I say, go on the attack. If they give you a breach, run through it and sack the sons of bitches.
Mark on 2015-02-03 at 11:22:37 said:
If I were to nominate your story for anything, it would be best short story. I’m not that familiar with the Campbell, but I get the impression that you would be a sporadic author, which doesn’t seem in the spirit of the award (I would probably want to base the award on more than a short story as well as a notion that the author will be publishing much more in the future). I would love to read more of your fiction, but it seems like this would be a secondary priority (at best) for you.
Cambias will definitely make my slate (he also had a great short story in Hieroglyph).
I think the puppy slates will be significantly less successful this year, if only because they include so many stories. Last year, votes concentrated around a handful of recommendations. This year, they’ll spread out amongst much more numerous recommendations. Doesn’t matter much to me in any case, I have a decent idea of what I’ll nominate and a few things I want to catch up with.
>Way, way OT, but apparently this is a thing:
>http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/feb/02/iceland-temple-norse-gods-1000-years
>Hail Odin!
(Sorry in advance, couldn’t help it.)
This probably isn’t what anybody meant meant:
Sucker punch wouldn’t have looked out of place in a Campbell Analog issue. He might have insisted on a bit more detail about how the lasers were killing the planes, but the overall story would have fit pretty well.
I understand the hesitancy of being anyone’s “political bludgeon.”
As this is the “make sure these titles get on the WorldCon ballot” phase, the odds of you getting a Campbell, or me getting a Hugo for “The Hot Equations” is slim. I doubt that anyone can read much of a political context into Hot Equations; if anything you can argue that it’s a fairly thorough evisceration and deconstruction of some SFnal tropes.
This seems to be the “in thing” in some circles, though it doesn’t delve into the tone-poems of existential angst informing the reader of the hopeless oppression of nonseptunary polyphase-fluidic gendered androids. And their love of dinosaurs. (You only recognize four genders? You sexist fascist, you.)
Cambias on 2015-02-03 at 12:43:23 said:
The Campbell Award has acquired a reputation as the “kiss of death” for aspiring writers. People win it and then are never heard of again. (Not entirely true, but true enough for some nervous joking about it.) Maybe your fans should do you the favor of not voting for you . . .
>People win it and then are never heard of again.
James, I would be nothing less than delighted if you won it and then issued work of similar quality for the next 50 years.
VD on 2015-02-03 at 13:04:41 said:
As Supreme Dark Lord of the Evil Legion of Evil, I can assure you that we are not. We have absolutely no need of ESR’s name recognition. I invite you to go to my blog and see what Castalia’s newest SF series will be, and who is editing it, before you conclude that we are attempting to use ESR in the way you are suggesting.
ESR and I disagree on many things. But I like him, I respect him, and as the Lead Editor of Castalia House, I correctly ascertained that he had a talent for writing SF. We chose his story to lead the anthology because it was the second-best one in the lot; we closed it with the best one, Steve Rzasa’s “Turncoat”. Both stories were a genuine surprise to Tom Kratman and me, and it took us about thirty seconds to decide on them.
Eric was actually my second choice for the Campbell after Tom Mays, whose very good A Sword into Darkness has sold extraordinarily well. But since Commander Mays has a single sale in 2009, he is not eligible. In my opinion, Eric has shown that he merits a nomination by writing a better story than a dozen more experienced writers, including me, although we shall have to see who else is out there before I can say definitively that he merits the award.
Furthermore, since he has professionally published “Sucker Punch”, this will be his only opportunity to be nominated. And I’d bet on ESR becoming an SF author of note over every Campbell winner since 2008, with the exception of Lev Grossman.
>But since Commander Mays has a single sale in 2009, he is not eligible.
That’s a shame. A Sword into Darkness would be as worthy a nomination as Cambias’s A Darkling Sea; I’d vote for either in a heartbeat.
>The Campbell Award has acquired a reputation as the “kiss of death” for aspiring writers. People win it and then are never heard of again. (Not entirely true, but true enough for some nervous joking about it.) Maybe your fans should do you the favor of not voting for you . . .
Is that related to the Campbell’s Chunky Soup Curse?
Milhouse, I’m recommending against doing anything that has annoying the other side as a major motivation. I think the short term rewards (even if you aren’t actually all that annoying, you start with imagining annoying the other side) are so strong they’re a distraction from truth and effectiveness.
William O. B'Livion on 2015-02-03 at 14:51:31 said:
The notion of anyone actually oppressing Vikings is…amusing. There just isn’t enough popcorn in the world.
OTOH the notion of some lard ass “neo-pagan” whining about oppression? Yeah, well, unless they’re doing it from a jail cell or can point to a beheading in the last 20 years, piss off.
>The notion of anyone actually oppressing Vikings is…amusing. There just isn’t enough popcorn in the world.
There was no shortage of violence involved in the Christianization of Scandinavia. Vikings didn’t always win, and intramural fights were not rare. (Nobody oppresses Vikings like Vikings….) Oh and course there was always non-violent cultural interchange involved when Norse actually settled elsewhere
But the song was simply, to me, a very amusing counterpoint to the ridiculous New Age-y (perhaps I got the wrong impression?) Norse-flavored neo-Paganism that was linked.
>But the song was simply, to me, a very amusing counterpoint to the ridiculous New Age-y (perhaps I got the wrong impression?) Norse-flavored neo-Paganism that was linked.
I doubt you think of me as “New-Agey”, but I’ve participated in Asatru rituals and have little doubt that the style of the new temple’s observances would be very familiar to me. Heck, with a little coaching I could probably officiate at one competently (as in, assist the participants in achieving the desired altered states).
By the same token, you’re on to something when you say “Norse-flavored neo-paganism” as opposed to some kind of native Norse reconstructionism uninfluenced by Wicca and other modern paganisms. The clue to that is that they make such a point of not being supernaturalists that the reporter picked it up. That’s good: it’s how I know that (a) they’re not foaming loons, and (b) they participate in pretty much the same meta-theology I do.
Odds are good, actually, that their ritual forms are basically generic Wicca with lingonberry flavoring and the barbarous names in Old Norse. Those of little understanding will sneer at this; those with more will shrug and observe “That’s good, field-tested technique. Why not adapt it?” We’re all programming the same wetware; therefore living ritual induction methods all look much alike. Besides, we have basically zero information on Norse paleo-pagan ritual.
>OTOH the notion of some lard ass “neo-pagan” whining about oppression? Yeah, well, unless they’re doing it from a jail cell or can point to a beheading in the last 20 years, piss off.
Actually, you should talk to a Scandinavian who is genuinely skeptical of the ruling Socialist orthodoxy.
> PS: I plan to nominate “A Darkling Sea” by James Cambias, which I read on ESR’s recommendation.
OT: @ESR, do you plan on continuing reviewing SF and military stories? There was very nice and quite long series of reviews… then silence on this front.
>OT: @ESR, do you plan on continuing reviewing SF and military stories? There was very nice and quite long series of reviews… then silence on this front.
I do, but I’ve been swamped with work lately.
The Campbell Award has acquired a reputation as the “kiss of death” for aspiring writers. People win it and then are never heard of again. (Not entirely true, but true enough for some nervous joking about it.)
Counterexample: Seanan McGuire/Mira Grant, a damn fine writer who deserved the Campbell, and has gone on to win greater awards.
> Challenge: write a short sci-fi/fantasy novel set in a universe where Aristotelean causation is true. Not Aristotelean physics, just causation (hylomorphic dualism). Note: it cannot be that hard, given that most medieval Thomist texts were set in that universe :-)
Heh, there is actually a novel by Polish SF author Jacek Dukaj, namely “Inne piesni” (the title can be translated as “Different Chants” or “Other Songs”), which uses Aristotelean physics for worldbuilding. Unfortunately there is, as far as I know, no English translation of this novel, so you are probably out of luck… :-(
The novel received the prime Polish award for sci-fi literature, Janusz A. Zajdel Award.
>PS: I plan to nominate A Darkling Sea by James Cambias,
> which I read on ESR’s recommendation.
Not new, and thus not eligible. He was nominated for the Campbell in 2001.
@Greg there was no shortage of violence in the Christianization of anything, in fact, there was no shortage of violance in the Anythingization of anything. Humans gonna human.
Spreading any idea into near-total acceptance in a larger swath of land without a heavy dose of violence are welcome and inspiring exceptions, but exceptions nevertheless. The trick part is, of course, the “near total acceptance”, e.g. Buddhism has a better track record (with some ugly cases of its own, like the yellow-hats crushing the red-hats with Mongol help in Tibet), but largely because in most of the places it spread, it didn’t really get close to near-total acceptance.
It’s like the opposite of wealth. Once upon a time a rich guy said: don’t ask me about the first million dollars, I can account for the rest. Ideas and religions and suchlike are more like: don’t ask me about the last one million of people in a given place who really did not want to accept it, I can account for the rest.
>Actually, you should talk to a Scandinavian who is genuinely skeptical of the ruling Socialist orthodoxy.
Actually, Carl Bildt was praised by Thatcher as a perfect Thatcherite and his political career is still not over like 20 years later. In fact, much of his reforms were kept and even continued, like voucher schools. Let’s not oversimplify them, they are less stupid and more flexible than they are made out to be by people who want to force them into the two-dimensional cardboard-cutout role of Best/Worst Examples Of My Favorite/Hated Idelogy.
@ESR isn’t Ásatru something sort of an ultra-masculine-warrior reaction to largely-feminine Wicca, coupled with fairly strong ethnic overtones and association with death metal, that kind of stuff? I mean this kind of stuff: http://www.jack-donovan.com/axis/2014/06/a-time-for-wolves/
>@ESR isn’t Ásatru something sort of an ultra-masculine-warrior reaction to largely-feminine Wicca, coupled with fairly strong ethnic overtones and association with death metal, that kind of stuff?
I’ve heard rumors of that kind of Asatru, but it’s not the kind I’ve encountered myself.
I think you may be right about identifying as “heathen” rather than “pagan” being a differentiating signal.
I think it is likely the Wolves would recognize me as a mystic of an allied tradition; I know enough Norse mythology, and can improvise poetry from it in a heroic mode they would certainly recognize. What I wonder is if I’d have anything to teach them about hand-to-hand fighting.
>I’ve heard rumors of that kind of Asatru, but it’s not the kind I’ve encountered myself.
I should add that I have also heard rumors of “folkish” Norse pagans that were outright racist, allied with neo-Nazis. I haven’t encountered those either. I’ve seen some history indicating that the Asatru Free Assembly (a now defunct umbrella organization for Norse revivalists in the U.S.) had to purge white supremacists out of its ranks at one point.
@Nancy Leibowitz:
He who fights monsters?
I forgot to add that the keyword is using “heathen” instead of “pagan”. That kind of self-identification overlaps a lot with what I wrote. This also overlaps a lot with Ásatru but I am less sure about this.
@Nancy
I think I agree with you, but let’s see if I get you right. The core issue is the misunderstanding of the word “fighting”. It should be defined as willing to dish out and take real damage, often with the connotation that the loser of it will have to give up something dear and important, this we may call “the loot” or “the military objectives” or something along those lines. Online nicknames or even with IRL names hurling insults at each other does not constitute as fighting, because there is no real damage dished out, and nothing to really conquer or loot. It just gives the participants an illusion of fighting and an illusion of bravery while risking nothing. Sometimes, some folks get intimidated or their employers get to be, and this has real world consequences, but this is ultimately still just illusions that happen to be working, it is just people getting scared of being hit wit nerf swords. This is no real fight and largely it exists to serve the narcissists who want a low-risk simulation of bravery. Verbal paintball.
@ ESR: I admire your no-bullshit approach to Neopaganism, as explained in your Neopaganism FAQ and in “Dancing with the Gods” (even though I won’t abandon my comfortable run-of-the-mill atheism for the foreseeable future); but there’s something that bugs me about the latter: how could the leaves possibly be following you? There must be some non-mystical explanation, right? (Maybe the girl had been on drugs after all? :P)
>how could the leaves possibly be following you?
I dunno. Perception can play strange tricks on people.
All manifestations of religious practice started out as social mutations. Some died out rather quickly (did not confer an evolutionary advantage) and others took root because the memes proved advantageous enough to persist. Of the ones that have persisted over time, competition has played out in Darwinian fashion and the strongest have thrived. It’s interesting to study the underlying traits of a religion and explore what parts may have conferred advantage. At the very least, they have to be a mechanism for passing wisdom onto future generations.
Shenpen, thank you for checking in, and I’m fascinated that you came up with something that’s the opposite of what I had in mind.
From my point of view, all interactions that happen between people, including what’s online, are real because they affect people emotionally. I realize there’s a theory that people should be tougher and not affected, but that’s about as silly as wishing that iron to not be heavy and gold to not be soft. People can get something resembling PTSD from sufficiently thorough online attacks.
What does this have to do with not teasing the opposition? I believe that if you permit yourself much of that sort of fun, you weaken your ability to see what they might be right about, and increase the odds that you’ll talk nonsense just because it will anger people you don’t like.
Also, emphasizing divisions makes useful coalitions more difficult.
“Seanan McGuire/Mira Grant, a damn fine writer who deserved the Campbell, and has gone on to win greater awards.”
The “damn fine writer” part may or may not be true (winning major awards is a negative signal to me, if anything). I’ll never know.
There is no shortage of excellent writers, especially now that they don’t have to pass a political litmus test to make it out of the slush pile. My money will go to those who don’t actively hate me or, if they do, at least have the common courtesy to conceal it in social situations, particularly when I am the customer for something they’re selling.
Hell, if we met in person she might call me an old white guy and hurt my feelings. That I am actually a (sort of) old (sort of) white guy doesn’t enter into it, any more than the fact that McGuire is apparently fat enters into it.
If potential (not even actual, but *potential*) hurt feelings are cause to boot Jonathan Ross out of the Hugo gig, they’re cause to never spend any money on McGuire’s books. Welcome to the world you made, Seanan.
The fact that the Asatru Association is taking an eyes-open, neopagan, “wetware-hacking” approach is precisely why I thought that link would be of interest here. Had they been typical new-age fluffbunnies or tried to revive literal belief in the Norse pantheon, I wouldn’t have said anything.
As for that metal song… Lol. Masturbation material for teenage proto-white-nationalists — tomorrow’s Andrew Auernheimers.
My money will go to those who don’t actively hate me or, if they do, at least have the common courtesy to conceal it in social situations […] Hell, if we met in person she might call me an old white guy and hurt my feelings […]. Welcome to the world you made, Seanan.
I’ll admit I’ve never discussed politics with her, so I can’t dispute your characterisation, except to say that she has always struck me as a really nice person, so I find it hard to believe she would be that mean to anyone. Do you have positive information indicating otherwise, and if so can you please give me a link to it?
“Do you have positive information indicating otherwise, and if so can you please give me a link to it?”
Here’s her meltdown over Ross:
https://storify.com/tinytempest/seanan-mcguire-on-why-jonathan-ross-should-not-hos
Note the multiple digs against “White Dudes”.
Googling “Seanan McGuire” “white dudes” (using the quoted phrases) will turn up many more.
And yes, I’ve seen the attempted excuse that Ross had already resigned from the con by the time she went off on him. That’s like saying that it’s okay to yell “Burn the witch/Throw the Jew down the well/lynch the N____r” as long as the victim has already been burned/precipitated/lynched.
She thinks people should lose paid gigs because they might insult her. As I said before: welcome to the world you made, Seanan.
Walking in tailwind? People in a relaxed meditative state may feel like walking in the direction the wind is pushing them.
I see :) Actually, if you want to find out what could people you dislike be right about, and those people are generally upset and their argumentation is emotional, you have largely three choices.
Either try to calm them down and invite them into objective discussion. This does not sound very possible in this type of thing. While humans are in general more rationalizing animals than rational animals, this is not really something like global warming that can be discussed with facts and figures, it is more like feeling upset because they feel they are treated badly. In that kind of stuff everything objective sounding is a rationalization. Because the basic fact is the emotional fact itself that they feel upset and hurt.
Or you try to figure out where do their strong feelings, strong emotions come from. There are two, opposite ways to that.
Either be super nice and act like a psychotherapist and gently and nicely you can coach out stuff like traumatic childhood experiences.
Or you can antagonize them until they lose frame and blurt out something. This is actually also used by psychiatrists although probably not in the US, I suppose it would not be allowed there. We have a TV show over here about a psychiatrist who confronts people about their drug addictions in an aggressive, antagonizing, asshole way, and the interesting thing is that it seems to be working. Plows through rationalizations and excuses, and people blurt out the real issues. Quite ugly actually but apparently efficient.
Hm, the second fat female writer in the thread. I wonder if I see a trend here.
Interesting how SJWhood is more a type of person, rather than a position. Fat woman tweeting “what the fucking fuck” instead of actual arguments, this fits into the SJW personality stereotype so well, that you could as well predict her positions on a lot of stuff just about that.
I think tweeting obscenities fits into my model of being self-adsorbed and narcissistic: actual arguments are focused on the other person, the reader, attempts to change the readers mind which also means a certain empathy exercise, trying to find out how the other person thinks. Tweeting obscenities is or more of a way to express and vent personal feelings, here the reader, the other person is merely a prop, the focus and attention is on the self.
This is why I think tweeting obscenities is a good SJW predictor, because it is a predictor of narcissism. It is the kind of thing people do who don’t stop an think “what am I actually giving or offering my audience here?”
How does obesity play into the picture? It’s complicated. Interestingly obesity seems to work differently in men and women. Perhaps because women are more judged by looks, I don’t know why, but you usually see more attempts to convince other people / herself that it is OK, and other people making fun of it is the only thing not OK. At any rate, obesity in women tends to work as a predictor of psychological issues, although a fairly weak predictor (Maybe, 20-30% of the cases? But boy, those cases are LOUD.) Less so in men, it is usually just a predictor of really like beer and TV and not giving much of a shit about health but usually not really trying to rationalize it away.
When my wife was pregnant she told me it is really weird that eating does not really feel like her own choice anymore but a duty, a service she owes to the baby growing in her. It is a quite unusual idea to see something as personal as eating to be a service done for the sake of another, but true for pregnancy.
Weird idea, but is it then possible that female over-eating and obesity is a form of _simulated motherhood_ ? If eating, feeding that baby through the placenta is a core aspect of what is the biologically-traditionally most feminine job, it suggests that eating could boost the self-esteem of women who have issues with that, because it sounds like doing one aspect of a core job right. Sort of how things like simulated combat like punching a sandbag may boost the self-esteem of men (at least for me boxing training works better than weight lifting: lifting makes me feel fake: looking like a warrior but not actually being a warrior).
If there is something in this hypothesis, it would fit female obesity into the narcissism and self-esteem issues psychological profile of SJWhood. (For male SJWs, my first guess would be the association with the absolute lack of any kind of fighting ability.)
>The fact that the Asatru Association is taking an eyes-open, neopagan, “wetware-hacking” approach is precisely why I thought that link would be of interest here. Had they been typical new-age fluffbunnies or tried to revive literal belief in the Norse pantheon, I wouldn’t have said anything.
Not the impression I got, sorry.
>As for that metal song… Lol. Masturbation material for teenage proto-white-nationalists — tomorrow’s Andrew Auernheimers.
To a certain extent it really yes, it really is. (Pandora often suggests things that aren’t exactly my cup of tea.) But there wouldn’t be much appeal if those dreaded ‘white people’ weren’t actively being marginalized in their own country. Interesting and odd and a little scary that people are so desperately looking for…. something, that neopaganism (of some stripe) or Amon Amarth music are conjured to satisfy the craving.
Similarly, there seems to be some pent-up demand for new SF/F voices who aren’t literary or SJW types. After all, there is exactly one remaining traditional publishing house dealing with the SF/F market that hasn’t been successfully infiltrated by SJW’s. But we’ve been over this.
Anyway, how else to explain the excitement over a single short story from a part-time (at best) writer?
I just finished reading The Martian by Andy Weir. WOW. I couldn’t put it down, and read it practically nonstop until complete. I want to see more from Weir!
It is classic Campbell. The enemy is the Universe, the weapons are human technology and ingenuity, and the characters (though amusing) are cardboard. Having them be more than cardboard would just have gotten in the way of the problem-solving at the center of this first novel.
If you read the reviews on Amazon, they are very polarized. Most loved it. Those who didn’t come across as Rabbits whining about the characters, wanted the story to follow the engineers home into their personal lives, and therefore missed the point.
If you’ve read Zubrin’s victim First Landing, you are familiar with this kind of story. I could sum it up as “Macgyver is abandoned on Mars and must survive.”
Re: Sucker Punch, I liked it and thought it was very well written. Liked it, not loved it, and don’t think it’s award-worthy. What it does do is make me want to read future novels written by ESR.
Thanks for everyone’s kind words, but I am definitely NOT eligible for a Campbell Award. I got nominated back in 2001 for some of my short fiction.
However, I’m pretty sure Andy (“The Martian”) Weir is eligible this year.
@Greg the 1 star reviews of The Martian on Amazon are super funny, they are like “What! Fiction written for nerds!”, I don’t really know what really the term “rabbits” mean or whether it is typical for them, but it is about as hilarious as “I bought this porn movie. It is horrible! It’s got genitals in it! And not much deep character acting!” :DDD
@ Cathy re: The Martian by Andy Weir
I read it last year and also loved it. Same experience, couldn’t put it down. I understand that a movie version is also in the works.
The Mars locale and NASA technology are a fun backdrop, but the story is really about problem solving and persistence. These are two core traits that epitomize our species’ primary strength in the face of hardships and unknowns. This is SF at it’s best; pointing the way toward evolutionary advancement in the real world as opposed to the PC/SJW world of contrived hardship and oppression.
The litmus test of like/dislike is perhaps a good proxy for productive versus parasitic bias. The hero of The Martian takes personal responsibility for his fate and perseveres; whereas the PC SJWs are always looking to blame someone else for their fate in life. The former is evolutionary and the latter is anti-evolutionary.
Actually SJWism is being increasingly taken up by thin good-looking women; Anita Sarkeesian and Shanley Kane come to mind. It’s a posture of mind. In fact, attractive women have considerable skin in the game: part of feminism is about raising awareness about rape and sexual assault, to which more attractive women are more vulnerable.
That said, I took one look at Seanan MacGuire and thought “she looks just like Sonicrocksmysocks”. (Don’t look that name up unless you are prepared for epic levels of crazy.) Replete with fan art depicting her as thinner and prettier than she really is.
Actually SJWism is being increasingly taken up by thin good-looking women; Anita Sarkeesian
Highly questionable whether Sarkeesian “taken it up” by any particular definition. She appears to be a mouthpiece for hire.
rape and sexual assault, to which more attractive women are more vulnerable
But of course they’re not about sex.
I have read “The Martian” in Polish translation… and liked it. I’m not sure if it were translation at fault, or in some places tropperific plot, which prevented me from loving it.
>I doubt you think of me as “New-Agey”, but I’ve participated in Asatru rituals and have little doubt that the style of the new temple’s observances would be very familiar to me. Heck, with a little coaching I could probably officiate at one competently (as in, assist the participants in achieving the desired altered states).
No, I don’t. But I do think of you as highly anomalous. I must admit, when I read through accounts of your ritual experiments/experiences, I was *extremely* skeptical. But with careful consideration, I’m convinced that you approach it all in a very hard-headed manner with deep understanding of the scientific method. I’m not so sure about anyone else.
John C Wright on 2015-02-04 at 11:33:16 said:
As the founding member of the Evil League of Evil, and the one who coined the term, I can speak with authority: we stand for the principle that readers should vote for you if and only if they think the actual work merits it.
We are not political; we are openly, obviously, obnoxiously, vocally, outrageously, screamingly non-political.
Our battlecry is that science fiction should be about science fiction and not about political correctness.
We are sick and tired of science fiction awards being given to politically correct mascots for politically correct reasons and not based on the merit of the work.
We are sick and tired of buying award winning books, thinking we will get a science fiction story, and get a moping lecture on social awareness instead. It is like promising a child a slice of cake and giving him boiled cabbage instead.
The people who are telling you publicly to repudiate the nominations are the only ones here being political or trying to politicize the Hugo.
We are trying to depoliticize the Hugo. That is the goal; that has been the effort from the first; that was the theme of the very first essay by Larry Correia which started this whole thing. (http://monsterhunternation.com/2014/01/28/ending-binary-gender-in-fiction-or-how-to-murder-your-writing-career/) For those of you lacking the time to click through the link, the point of this particular column is that story should come first, and message is optional.
The point was not to put in conservative messages to argue against leftwing messages. The point was to tell a story, to get back to story telling.
We are ‘political’ in the exact same way atheism is a church.
” part of feminism is about raising awareness about rape and sexual assault, to which more attractive women are more vulnerable.”
I doubt that. The statistics as they are available tend to point to a risk that correlates with the (in-)ability to protect one self.
For instance, women who are (mentally) handicapped or otherwise dependent are more at risk. The old joke about some rural areas is “A virgin is a woman who can run faster than her [pick male relatives of choice]”.
I do not see any relation with “looks”, only with “availability” (can the man get away with it).
Hm. Eric, is it possible you’re suffering from Dunning-Krueger under-confidence, and that your story is seriously that good?
@TomA
>The litmus test of like/dislike is perhaps a good proxy for productive versus parasitic bias. The hero of The Martian takes personal responsibility for his fate and perseveres; whereas the PC SJWs are always looking to blame someone else for their fate in life. The former is evolutionary and the latter is anti-evolutionary.
And obviously if you raised this to them, 99% would scream but 1% would make the interesting argument that you are using the Just World Fallacy, because only in a just world have people only to blame themselves for their fate. And of course you could counter that they have Unjust World Fallacy – this is not really a thing yet, but should be, it is basically the illusion that people are agency-less non-actors, pawns in the hands of Fate (Fate=society in this regard, but it does overlap with some aspects of “oriental” fatalism.)
Which brings us back to what I raised before, namely that instead of everybody just pushing their own opinion regarding this, it would be useful to try to find heuristics to measure how just or how unjust are settings in a given circumstance.
It would be also interesting to figure out the cost, the opportunity cost of error both ways, over-and underestimating the justness of the world.
I think a man believing in a just world but living in an unjust one would make a too good slave. The opportunity cost is failing to overthrow the tyrant. If everybody was like that, it would be a rich world, everybody working their ass off, but maybe some necessary social changes not made. Maybe, still absolute kings and serfs.
The man believing in an unjust world but living in a just world would largely screw up his own life. Not putting in the effort, thinking it does not worth it. If everybody was like that, basically productivity would drop like a stone and would be replaced with endless political argument.
Finally, it just occured to me that fatalism is not only an oriental thing, but Fate was actually prominent in Ancient Greek culture was well, which created the West. However, the idea was that while your future is determined by Fate, you still work and fight hard, basically just because of pride. Go down if Fate says so, but go down fighting. I wonder if this is actually a useful way to handle it: assume unjust outcomes, then ignore it and work as hard as you can anyway.
tz on 2015-02-04 at 12:30:19 said:
You were asked to review “Awake in the Night Lands”, and said you were waiting until you could read the original books, but I’m not sure it is necessary. It is apparently a benchmark work of your publisher, so I think reading it and reviewing it might be helpful.
Personally I enjoyed your story more than anything else in the anthology, and may have been the only reason I got the book (your nonfiction would be the second best – but I think I already have a countermeasure on my desk since I’ve been playing for a while, see http://www.dragonlasers.com/), you write well – and being concise and consistent and getting the right level of detail are virtues even in fiction. Most of other works were either republished or were contemporary instead of futuristic, and the aspect of wonder in SF is missing.
Chuck on 2015-02-04 at 12:34:04 said:
VD’s own works like A Throne Of Bones are fantasy
Most Science Fiction is fantasy, especially the galaxy spanning space opera stuff where ships magically go from star to star “instantaneously”. As if “instantaneous” actually meant something without specifying the reference frame. Not to mention plain old physics and the energy levels needed to reach the relevant speeds being pretty much swept under the rug.
OTOH, I’ll admit that the writing style and central focus tends to differ between the two genres. When the aliens are elves, orcs, and dwarves, the science amounts to incantations and the waving of wands, and the MacGuffin is some object of power, then it is probably traditional fantasy.
Jeff Read: “Actually SJWism is being increasingly taken up by thin good-looking women”
Well, they’re thin. I don’t find glassy fanatic eyes attractive, personally (or excessive thinness either, when it comes to that).
Shenpen: “I wonder if this is actually a useful way to handle it: assume unjust outcomes, then ignore it and work as hard as you can anyway.”
That’s likely the optimal strategy, from a purely pragmatic point of view.
>Shenpen: “I wonder if this is actually a useful way to handle it: assume unjust outcomes, then ignore it and work as hard as you can anyway.”
Here’s where we unify with the other thread: this sounds very Norse.
You know how the world will end – the Fimbulwinter, the Raganarok. There is no justice, only the certainty of doom. For yourself, you believe no man can escape his wyrd. What matters is the courage and cunning with which you meet the struggle. The Havamal: Cattle die, kindred die / Every man is mortal / But the good name never dies / Of one who has done well.
That basic toughness of spirit survived Christianization and became an essential part of the cultural DNA of the modern West. Six hundred years after the Codex Regius committed the Havamal to parchment, Henley’s “Invictus”:
I am the master of my fate,
Connected to Greco-Roman stoicism, yes, but the tone – it is very Viking.
Now that I’ve thought about it a bit more, maybe “ignoring it” isn’t quite right. You should still always count your change. “Accept that it might happen” would be better phrasing.
@ Shenpen
I very much enjoy your inquisitiveness and creative insight into our species’ underlying motivations and interactions. And there is scientific research going on to help explore this in an objective and mathematical fashion. However, a key problem is that laymen (with unsavory agendas) love to grab onto preliminary findings and then us them as cudgels to bludgeon others into submission with memetic brainwashing. This a problem that is generally unique to the investigation of social evolutionary theory. No one has yet decided to start a political movement based upon the discovery of the Higgs particle; but who knows, maybe the SJWs will soon latch onto that idea and find hidden oppression in the Higgs Field.
The Earth is a crucible of energy that is continually in conversion and exchange. Within human affairs, this dynamism results in endless challenges to our species’ viability. Some may perceive this hardship as unjust (a human mental construct), but nature cares not for our opinion of it.
Joshua on 2015-02-04 at 16:58:15 said:
@ESR > What I wonder is if I’d have anything to teach them about hand-to-hand fighting.
Unless you’ve actually applied the martial arts you’ve practiced against non practitioners in fully live sparring or competition, probably not. Outside of that, martial arts are good mental and physical exercise, but of minimal application to the battleground. The Vikings practiced live often in deadly situations.
” maybe the SJWs will soon latch onto that idea and find hidden oppression in the Higgs Field”
Well, given that they’ve managed to find sexism and oppression in classical mechanics (one of them refers to the Principia as “Newton’s rape manual”, I believe) it’s only a matter of time until quantum physics takes its turn in the barrel, if it hasn’t already.
Roger Phillips on 2015-02-04 at 18:02:05 said:
This is exactly how slave morality works.. poison the strong individual against itself.
Clark E Myers on 2015-02-04 at 20:43:10 said:
” I wonder if this is actually a useful way to handle it: assume unjust outcomes, then ignore it and work as hard as you can anyway.”
Not a bad way to handle it surely. See e.g. Mr. Heinlein: “Certainly the game is rigged. Don’t let that stop you; if you don’t bet, you can’t win. ”
There is a certain body of research that suggests pessimists are in general more often right than optimists but also that every once in a while an optimist pulls it off when a pessimist would have failed.
For myself I have no useful definition for just and unjust – “though I tremble for my country when I reflect that G-d is just; that his justice cannot sleep forever.” Nor do I believe in any arc of history.
My own null hypothesis which I cannot refute is that life be neither just nor unjust but haphazard. That a person can by effort join a pool of eligibles to be rewarded or punished haphazardly and that surely the road ad astra goes per aspera.
I’m recommending against doing anything that has annoying the other side as a major motivation. I think the short term rewards (even if you aren’t actually all that annoying, you start with imagining annoying the other side) are so strong they’re a distraction from truth and effectiveness.
Starting with the but in the yes but, but I think the major motivation is an appeal to the lurkers – cue: the lurkers support me (on RecArtsSFW) – but preaching to the remnant can be effectively indistinguishable from mocking the opposition. Preaching to the opposition I see as somewhere between lacking amusement value for anybody and a total waste of time. Some of the Baen crowd do have an internalized mechanism for crying slash and awarding points that exceeds my understanding.
@Shenpen
“…because only in a just world have people only to blame themselves for their fate.”
Did you read Candide, ou l’optimisme by Voltaire?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Candide
In the 18th century the vogue was that we live in the “best of all possible worlds” (Leibniz) and Voltaire was ridiculing this philosophy. It often seems to me that the message of Candide has been taken to literally and that people now believe we live in the “worst of all possible worlds”.
Rich Rostrom on 2015-02-05 at 04:49:20 said:
If I voted on these awards, which I don’t, I wouldn’t vote for ESR for the Campbell, because I don’t see any promise of him becoming more than a very occasional writer of SF for a relatively short time.
He doesn’t have a lot of interest in writing and publishing SF, compared to the field which is his chief vocation. And he’s already pretty old (58 this year). That also limits his as an SF writer.
The chance of his producing a substantial body of high-quality work is IMHO small.
>The chance of his producing a substantial body of high-quality work is IMHO small.
Clever person, taunting me like that. Way to increase the odds!
Just thinking it further: isn’t there a significant overlap between being thrown in a just world an being a succesful, efficient self-made entrepreneur (or anything really), and being thrown into an unjust world and being a succesful, efficient revolutionary? “stop whining, start working hard” would be an entirely valid thing to say in a perfectly unjust world, except that in that case “working hard” would mean “working hard on organizing a revolution”.
In other words, Just World Fallacy accusations could be demonstrated to be empty, but I don’t know how to formulate that in a good way. Something along the lines not working very hard on overthrowing things means either you are indeed lazy or your world is not actually very unjust.
Having said that… if I was organizing a revolution, the whiners would be useful, but not in the leader circle, not even as foot soldiers, but as donation magnets. Don’t write them off entirely. It is quite possible that SJWs are used by way smarter and more dedicated people, use them as the outer circle of a prospiracy.
@Winter we took that at school, and I could not make head or tails of it… didn’t get what possible means in this context, whether just logically non-contradictory, or under the known laws of nature, or what… and Voltaire was something sort of a witty troll anyway, not sure if the whole thing is even meant entirely seriously.
>It is quite possible that SJWs are used by way smarter and more dedicated people, use them as the outer circle of a prospiracy.
It’s well beyond ‘possible’. SJW’s are Ghazis.
>>And he’s already pretty old (58 this year). That also limits his as an SF writer
Note that Rex Stout what 48 when he wrote the first Nero Wolfe story, and turned out about one a year for the next 41 years. I think the eric has time to write a bit yet.
Indeed. Eric? Too old? Pfui!
@ Shenpen:
http://slatestarcodex.com/2013/04/11/read-history-of-philosophy-backwards/
Presumably, back then many did believe that ‘all’s for the best in the best of all possible worlds’ and that voltaire felt a need to knock some sense into them.
> Did you read Candide, ou l’optimisme by Voltaire?
Otto West: Apes don’t read philosophy.
Wanda: Yes they do, Otto. They just don’t understand it. Now let me correct you on a couple of things, OK? Aristotle was not Belgian. The central message of Buddhism is not “Every man for himself.” And the London Underground is not a political movement. Those are all mistakes, Otto. I looked them up.
Greg:
> It’s well beyond ‘possible’. SJW’s are Ghazis.
Funny way to spell Chump.
>Funny way to spell Chump.
Who’s to say? The SJW’s seem to manage to carve out livings for themselves, where one would think they were otherwise unemployable.
Of course what they mainly do is create a path of destruction into what used to be productive-but-enemy-held territory. And live off the plunder.
That they won’t be the ones deriving the real benefits, once that territory is finally pacified and brought into the Dar al-Sinister seems to be a bargain they’re willing to make. Because for the most part wrecking shit is all they’re good at, and there’s always someplace new for them to move on to and wreck.
Of course Ghazis and SJW’s are both a product of systems that create more hungry parasites than wealth. And if they didn’t turn to doing what they do, they’d starve.
You don’t want to allow either to set up shop anywhere near you.
D. G. D. Davidson on 2015-02-05 at 23:01:08 said:
The purpose of the Sad Puppies campaign is not to push a political agenda. Its original intent, when Correia started it, was to call out certain persons who were pushing a political agenda, and he got exactly what he wanted: when he produced the first Sad Puppies slate, certain authors, bloggers, and publishers went ballistic and insisted his suggestions should be excluded for reasons of politics rather than quality.
Since then, Sad Puppies has morphed into an attempt to reclaim the Hugo and make it a serious award again rather than a way for the in-group to hand out prizes to those who think as they do.
In other words, the Sad Puppies slate is about the quality of the work rather than the politics of the writers. Those involved in the campaign, of course, are not monolithic. I’ve of course seen a few commenters here and there who’ve suggested works on account of conservative message, but that is not the core intent of the campaign.
@Lambert
Read history backwards.
Indeed, what is important to philosophy are not the answers, but the questions. Deep down, philosophy is a technology of thinking. This is not about the thoughts, but about the gears that make the thoughts possible.
For example, “The Republic” of Plato contains completely outdated answers to the question who should rule and how they should do it. However, the question itself, “Who should rule and how should they do it?” is still at the center of our attention, e.g., this blog (“No one”, and “Whomever, as long as we can get rid of them when we want to” are just two answers).
Philosophy is just a generic category to put all the things into that haven’t been worked out properly yet. I don’t mean it in a bad way – it is a very exciting bucket, you can fish out half-done ideas and mold them and make a significant contribution and change some minds there, it is much more exciting than a field where everything is nailed down with a million evidence and proof.
Once things are better worked out, they get a differetn name, for example parts of political philosophy that are worked out became legal theory. Or the philosophy of music evolved into music theory. Although I don’t like it much, still, much of Foucault’s stuff graduated from being philosophy to part of the toolkit of historians. (For example, a recent and popular book, The Making of a Roman India, focuses not so much on how India really was but how Romans saw them. Because, ultimately, that is what Latin sources will reveal.)
But perhaps the best example is economics. In fact, it is still in the limbo. The mainstream became an empirical science, but for example the Misesian stuff stayed quite close to being a philosophy. And of course their arch-enemy, the Marxian school too.
Plato’s answers to rulership are not completely outdated IMHO because it is a good example of something that has not been worked out yet. This is actually one of the few books that age very well. The criticism of democracy in The Republic, namely that it largely results in rule by unreliable emotions and not careful analysis, is something we see every day, it held up well. Plato’s criticism of tyranny predicted the ego-trips of modern dictators very well. The idea that the lack of moderation in democracies tends to create tyrannies was one of the best predictions, most dictators from Caesar to Hitler wore the “man of the people, against the elites” mantle. As for the constructive ideas, the philosopher-kings stuff was never a plan, just a thought experiment, if you read it it full it is in the later chapters dismissed. The later chapters basically invent the idea of liberalism, namely, given that good philosopher-kings are impossible to find, the best thing is if everybody cares about their own business and does not involve himself in the business of others ( 4.433a). This does not come accross as dated at all. The precise reason it is not dated is that these things have not been worked out much better yet.
>Philosophy is just a generic category to put all the things into that haven’t been worked out properly yet.
This is a popular position, and one with considerable historical support. Certainly many things which used to be considered philosophy are no longer, and there are areas now considered philosophy which may not long remain in it. Much of what is now philosophy of mind, for example, seems to me about to be drawn into the domain of empirical science by neuroscience and AI research.
But I disagree; I think philosophy has a proper domain of its own, and that is the theory of theory-building. Epistemology, ontology, language analysis, confirmation theory.
Quoting myself from an old Less Wrong thread:
There are no specifically philosophical truths, only specifically philosophical questions. Philosophy is the precursor to science; its job is to help us state our hypotheses clearly enough that we can test them scientifically. If you want to determine how many angels can dance on the head of a pin, it’s philosophy’s job to either clarify or reject as nonsensical the concept of an angel, and then in the former case to hand off to science the problem of tracking down some angels to participate in a pin-dancing study.
>If you want to determine how many angels can dance on the head of a pin, it’s philosophy’s job to either clarify or reject as nonsensical the concept of an angel, and then in the former case to hand off to science the problem of tracking down some angels to participate in a pin-dancing study.
I think this is essentially my position stated in a less formal and more concrete way. Do you agree?
For a billion years, life on Earth evolved based upon natural phenomena and mechanisms. Then along came homo sapiens, sentience, cognition, complex language, intelligence, and memetics. And for the last few thousands years, our evolutionary path has been dramatically influenced by idea mutation, reasoned analysis, social affairs experimentation, and Darwinian feedback.
In part, philosophy is man’s organized pursuit of an ideal form of knowledge and models that are aimed at (and expected to) enhance our species. However, this pursuit is not like particle physics where we can bash inanimate bosons together in sealed particle accelerator. The social laboratory is a dynamic open space of living beings that interact in a myriad of ways. Writing about philosophy is a non-destructive form of testing. Politics is often times the destructive form.
I think we agree, but I’m currently debating with myself whether ethics, or at least meta-ethics, ought to be included in the list of central topics. As a non-cognitivist, I don’t think there’s any content there that can’t eventually be reduced to problems in ontology or language analysis. However, this position requires considerable philosophical argumentation to defend, and I don’t see it becoming an academic consensus any time in the foreseeable future. So perhaps it deserves to stand as a field in its own right.
cyr on 2015-02-06 at 13:55:20 said:
As others have reiterated, Sad Puppies is about NOT having politics inserted into the awards, and rather, judging stories on their merit as SF/F. Frankly IMO Sucker Punch was the standout in ‘Riding’ and I will be voting accordingly. Also, please write more of it. ;-)
>>Sad Puppies is about NOT having politics inserted into the awards,
Which is politics from a different angle. Unfortunately, like the turtles, it’s politics all the way down.
Not that I disagree with their stance in any way, it should be all about the story, not the author.
I’m currently debating with myself whether ethics, or at least meta-ethics, ought to be included in the list of central topics.
On further consideration, no, it shouldn’t. Questions about ethics should be preprocessed using the same ontology and language analysis toolkit as any others, and then resolved by applying some combination of psychology, sociology, and economics. I think this continues to hold up even if you believe in some flavor of moral realism.
@Jim Hurlburt If you’d have read the entire sentence you’ll see that’s exactly what I wrote the point was: judge stories on their merit, not on the politics of the writer, which is explicitly apolitical, unlike the current situation.
I always thought the angels on a pin quesrion was from theology. But as the final answer was infinite (angels are not made of matter), it could have been philosophy too.
I think the important point was to clarify whether angels are part of our world and subject to its rules. Which sounds to me a question of theology.
@cyr
I probably wasn’t clear enough.
What I said is —
The attempt to divorce the Campbell award from the political correctness score of the author.
Or the political correctness score of the story
Instead —
award it on the merits of the story (as a story, not the issues)
Damn lack of prevew. I wasn’t ready to post the above yet.
The campbell award should be awarded on the merits of the story as a story
The above is still politics. Politics that I approve of, but political maneuvering to get the focus back on the story instead on the political suitability of the (gender, color, age, … of the author)
It’s still politics. And if you wish to claim that all politics are evil, you may. I merely claim that politics are inevitable and that you *will* have to play the politic game if you are going to play at all.
That the evil lord of evil is playing politics is a given. It appears to me as if he is attempting to play a cleaner game, and is pushing in a direction that I prefer is (for me) a good thing. Just don’t try to pretend that you can play the game at all and totally avoid politics. Kind of like perpetual motion, it just ain’t gonna work.
> But I disagree; I think philosophy has a proper domain of its own, and that is the theory of theory-building. Epistemology, ontology, language analysis, confirmation theory.
Once upon a time, formal logic was considered to be in that domain, then it was taken by mathematics and further refined into category theory. You don’t think the others might follow?
Category theory isn’t a logic. It was originally formulated as an ordinary mathematical theory, i.e. within set theory, and that’s still how its usually studied. Topos theorists later went on to give it an axiomitization independent of set theory so that it could be used for metamathematical study, but the axioms continue to be stated in terms of conventional logic.
I don’t think logic is any more or less a part of philosophy today than it was before analytic philosophy came along. Study of the philosophy of mathematics, and specifically the role and metaphysical status of formal logic, continues to belong to ontology.
No! This is all fucking nonsense! Philosophy is not a “branch”, it covers EVERYTHING. All the stuff Eric is talking about is logic and/or linguistics! Wittgenstein, Quine etc are not philosophers!! Daniel Franke is also wrong – questions start in philosophy not because it is a “precursor”, but because it consists in the GENERAL, and as questions – and answers – become more specific and specialized they are refined into sub-branches.
>Wittgenstein, Quine etc are not philosophers!!
Eh? I think you need to adjust your meds, Roger.
This is some of the most blockheaded shit you have come up with yet. First, knowing which questions to ask is itself an answer. Second, anything you know about the gears that make the thoughts possible is itself a thought. Perhaps you are one of these people who is incapable of mentally coping with circularity. You’re right about one thing: the “gears that make the thoughts possible” (a stupid way of saying “psychology”) is KEY to philosophy.
At NO POINT have the questions you answered not been under heavy dispute. The ENTIRE STAGE OF HISTORY consists of men trying to settle this question. You’re essentially pissing into Plato’s dead mouth by implying that his work is totally unnecessary.
In the most general sense, philosophy is the study of the fundamental nature of existence, reality, and knowledge. There is ample reason to believe that the universe existed before homo sapiens evolved (and therefore is not dream fantasy of some unspecified entity). And apprehension and interaction with reality is both ubiquitous and a necessary feature of staying alive so I suspect that our species would have become extinct long ago had not that skill set evolved. The fundamentals of knowledge is the playground that most philosophers play in, and there is no shortage of analysis on that topic. Most of the controversy in philosophy occurs when someone claims the high ground of superiority based upon some preferred criteria. My dog is better than your dog.
ITYM “Put down the poker Rodger”.
Sorry, Roger.
@ ESR
>>Wittgenstein, Quine etc are not philosophers!!
>Eh? I think you need to adjust your meds, Roger.
Which provides an opportunity to ask: what’s your take on those two thinkers? I’ve searched A&D for your comments on them, but found only tangential mentions.
>Which provides an opportunity to ask: what’s your take on those two thinkers?
I view them both as significant contributors with whom, if they were still alive, I could have interesting technical arguments. I would probably be more impressed with them if so many of their well-known contributions had not been reached sooner (or at least implied) by Alfred Korzybski and C.S. Peirce.
“First, knowing which questions to ask is itself an answer. Second, anything you know about the gears that make the thoughts possible is itself a thought. ….. You’re right about one thing: the “gears that make the thoughts possible” (a stupid way of saying “psychology”) is KEY to philosophy.”
I fear to write it. But it seems you misinterpreted my remarks. I think we actually agree in this point.
(Unless I again did not understand this remark of you)
@Roger&Jorge
I am too curious. I m no fan of Witgenstein, but he is generally considered to be a philosopher. What disqualifies his works?
James A. Donald on 2015-02-07 at 05:09:50 said:
Challenge: write a short sci-fi/fantasy novel set in a universe where Aristotelean causation is true. Not Aristotelean physics, just causation (hylomorphic dualism).
I don’t think any two people agree on what hylomorphic dualism is.
I rather think that hylomorphic dualism was pre alchemy, as alchemy was pre chemistry, but clearly other people mean something completely different.
Aristotlean causation is teleological. Teleology makes sense in the Darwinian worldview, in that the telos of the heart is to pump blood, the telos of the sexual act in most mammals is primarily conception, the telos of the sexual act in humans is not merely the sexual act, but the uniting of a man and a woman to form a family whereby children may not only be conceived, but successfully raised, and so on and so forth.
I think I know where he’s coming from on this one: he’s applying a weird notion, no doubt influenced by Nietzche and maybe others of the continental school, of which questions are sufficiently significant to the human condition to be worthy of the crown of Philosophy. Political philosophy makes the cut but philosophy of language doesn’t. Roger doesn’t need to adjust his meds; he just needs to set his avatar to Carroll’s Humpty Dumpty.
The most abstract (and non falsifiable) conceptions in philosophy are tedious and ultimately time wasting; e.g. is the universe and our awareness of it just a dream state of some unknowable consciousness floating around somewhere? If so, then anything is possible and thought is just mental masturbation. I regard this type of outlier branch of philosophy as unintelligent and not worthy of extensive investigation.
A better application of philosophy IMHO is as a potential tool for advancement of the species. Through a fuller and more accurate understanding of the fundamentals of thought and knowledge, we should be able to enhance our ability to survive, thrive, and persist. My guess is that this process has been ongoing anyway throughout our evolution, but we now have formalized the pursuit.
Foo Quuxman on 2015-02-07 at 10:47:52 said:
questions start in philosophy not because it is a “precursor”, but because it consists in the GENERAL, and as questions – and answers – become more specific and specialized they are refined into sub-branches.
You are correct, as soon as something becomes useful it is no longer called philosophy.
/me ducks
>I am too curious. I m no fan of Witgenstein, but he is generally considered to be a philosopher. What disqualifies his works?
I didn’t say that. I merely seized a perceived opportunity to find out ESR’s opinions about him and Quine.
Thanks for your reply. :)
>I would probably be more impressed with them if so many of their well-known contributions had not been reached sooner (or at least implied) by Alfred Korzybski and C.S. Peirce.
My father told me that, in “On What There Is”, Quine objects to the verb “to be”. That would be an example of the unoriginality you mention, eh? ;)
In the past, you’ve also observed that some of Popper’s ideas had been foreshadowed by Peirce. Which leads me to my final question for this thread: Popper’s notion of the three worlds, AFAICT, is original; do you see any value, predictive or otherwise, in it?
>My father told me that, in “On What There Is”, Quine objects to the verb “to be”. That would be an example of the unoriginality you mention, eh? ;)
Quite. Quine was generally a sound thinker but not a very groundbreaking one. Most of his work seems to me to have only added a bit more rigor and academic polish to ideas that predated him. Like many academic philosophers he had a tendency to get overexcited about trivial questions; the one I’m thinking of in his case is the ontological status of nonexistent objects like pegasi.
>Popper’s notion of the three worlds, AFAICT, is original; do you see any value, predictive or otherwise, in it?
I think it’s best understood as a pedagogical device. It doesn’t add much if anything to our understanding of ontology, but is useful for dispelling certain kinds of elementary confusion.
Thanks again. Your philosophical insights are always a pleasure, and I appreciate your willingness to engage in philosophical discussions with a newbie like me. I wish I could repay your kindness and patience; but since I can’t, I’ll strive to at least honor you and your teachings, possibly by learning Python (which I’ve been unduly postponing)… in addition to reading works of analytic philosophy, of course. ;)
>in addition to reading works of analytic philosophy, of course. ;)
Before reading analytic philosophy, I advise reading at least one introductory test on General Semantics. Language in Thought and Action , The Tyranny of Words , or People In Quandaries would do nicely.
>>And he’s already pretty old (58 this year). That also limits his [future] as an SF writer.
>Note that Rex Stout what 48 when he wrote the first Nero Wolfe story, and turned out
>about one a year for the next 41 years. I think the eric has time to write a bit yet.
58 is a lot older than 48. And Wolfe had been a professional writer for over 15 years at that time, a full-time writer for seven years.
I’m not saying ESR cannot possibly produce a substantial body of high-quality work. I only say that it is unlikely, and that for that reason I don’t think he can be considered particularly promising, the Campbell Award’s criterion of merit.
Also, of course, the fact that he has already found a very demanding vocation, which means he is unlikely to devote lots of time to fiction-writing instead of FOSS development. People of his age (and mine) rarely make radical changes in the focus of their lives.
Maybe he’ll prove me wrong.
>I’m not saying ESR cannot possibly produce a substantial body of high-quality work. I only say that it is unlikely, and that for that reason I don’t think he can be considered particularly promising, the Campbell Award’s criterion of merit.
For whatever it’s worth, I admit that the odds favor your skepticism.
The fulfillment of my highest ambition as a writer would be to produce a major work of hard SF at the level of Neil Stephenson’s Anathem or Greg Egan’s Diaspora . If were to drop everything else I was doing with my life and concentrate on this goal, I would like my odds of actually achieving this.
The reason for my optimism is that I already have the most difficult prerequisite – the ability to do high-quality SFnal worldbuiding from a very broad base of scientific, historical, and general knowledge – in my pocket. I am deeply, intimately familiar with the SF genre’s history and idioms. I am an accomplished prose stylist with a demonstrated ability to write in a way that engages people and sells. By comparison to these already-achieved qualifications, developing the specific skill of writing salable fiction does not seem at all insuperable, especially given that I have now accomplished it once.
The thing is, this is not anything likely to happen overnight. To get to where I want to be I’d almost certainly need to learn by doing – several novels and a bushel of short stories. That’s a lot of time investment in a life that is already busy and oversubscribed doing things that are pretty important. Your doubt that I will ever be able to stump up that investment is perfectly reasonable; I’m in doubt of it myself.
Still…stranger things have happened. If I were to get seized by the right premise tomorrow and spend three weeks writing in a white heat of creativity I don’t think the idea that I could produce Hugo-quality work is in any way crazy. Unlikely, yes; crazy, no. It only took me six hours from a standing start to write Sucker Punch , after all.
minrich on 2015-02-07 at 20:07:48 said:
I think you meant ‘Diaspora’ rather than ‘Disapora’.
>I think you meant ‘Diaspora’ rather than ‘Disapora’.
Right you are. Fixed.
I didn’t misinterpret you.. I lambasted your wording for containing a bunch of confusions. Like “it’s not the answers that matter, it’s the questions”, which is plainly contradictory.
Because he dealt with a specialized sub-field (logic), not philosophy. So he was a “mini-philosopher”, i.e. a specialist, not a philosopher. He’s considered a philosopher because the scholars who formulate the curriculums etc don’t understand this distinction, precisely for resentment reasons (the scholar is a “tool” in the hands of the philosopher).
@Foo Quuxman
lol.. well there is a lot of truth in this statement, possibly unintended. Philosophy is useful only to the greatest people, precisely because it subsumes all the lesser fields – and only the greatest people have any use for this. So yes, it is useless to 95% of people on the planet (maybe more), and it’s only once thought becomes crudified down to the level of mathematics, science, engineering… that there’s any significant audience. And even that’s a minority.
@Daniel Franke
Philosophy is THOUGHT. Everything else is subcategories within that. So yes, Quine and Wittgenstein are “philosophers”, in the smallest, crudest sense. I’m sure the man who packs your groceries has his own little “philosophy of grocery packing” too. Naturally, we don’t call this a “philosophy” , or “science” or even a real “trade”! In other words, this is not a “weird” notion but exactly how categories of knowledge work everywhere else. It’s just that philosophy is so high up in the sky that the vast majority of brains have no idea of its shape, size, what is contained within it, etc.
Christopher Columbus. The luckiest crackpot in history.
Wow. I just did, and I had no idea. I assure you, she’s a perfectly nice person, and her storytelling is wonderful too, but we’ve never talked politics and I had no idea she was that rabid on the subject.
I have talked politics with Jo Walton, and I know we agree on almost nothing there, but she’s still a nice person and we stay friends. But I guess that makes her not a SJW, since the definition seems to be someone who thinks that not agreeing with the “social justice” agenda (let alone not believing there’s such a thing as “social justice”) makes one a bad person.
@Roger Philips
“I lambasted your wording for containing a bunch of confusions.”
No, you were obliging me when I tested what excuse you would find to insult me. But I must say, this excuse was rather weak. I have seen better.
Was Anathem really that good?
I liked it myself, but it pissed a lot of people off.
>Was Anathem really that good?
Oh hell yes. The reason this is not more widely understood is that the breadth of knowledge base required to fully appreciate it is rare. You need to be fluent in foundational mathematics, philosophy and its history, physics, and general history at minimum. It includes jokes that you have to know philosophy of mathematics to grasp!
>No, you were obliging me when I tested what excuse you would find to insult me. But I must say, this excuse was rather weak. I have seen better.
I believe we’ve already established that Roger, his virtues that I guess I haven’t been around long enough to have seen aside, has issues that render him not fit for polite company.
Trolling him to get him to put extra stamps on your victim card is, at this point, a questionable activity. At best it’s useless. Just tell him to fuck off like a man, and then don’t engage.
I’d argue YES on Anathem.
I’ve already re-read it twice for the sheer enjoyment of it, keep finding new things in it, and would put it up there with Mote in Gods Eye
Anathem: Great execution, weak ending.
Anathem is one of those books where at about page 150 you realise that you have completely misunderstood what the book is about. Then at about page 300 you realise the same thing, and again at about page 450, etc. It starts out on a very small and local scale, and ends up very much not so.
Ian Argent on 2015-02-08 at 12:47:49 said:
Anathem was a very Neal Stephenson novel in style and substance. Everything but the actual plot is foreshadowed in his previous works
>Anathem was a very Neal Stephenson novel in style and substance. Everything but the actual plot is foreshadowed in his previous works
The style of conceptual play, yes. But the play reaches an intellectual level well above Cryptonomicon or the Baroque Cycle , comparable at times to Greg Egan.
>Before reading analytic philosophy, I advise reading at least one introductory test on General Semantics. Language in Thought and Action, The Tyranny of Words, or People In Quandaries would do nicely.
I recently read the first chapter of People in Quandaries, since it’s available online. I found it promising. Alas, it appears that all three books are unattainable over here (except for a copy of Hayakawa’s book I saw at an online marketplace, but it’s too expensive for me). If nothing else, I could read Korzybski’s own Science and Sanity, which–fortunately–is available online (as a series of PDFs).
> > Was Anathem really that good?
> I liked it myself, but it pissed a lot of people off.
Damn, two things I agree with Jeff on.
> No! This is all fucking nonsense! Philosophy is not a “branch”, it covers EVERYTHING.
I think most people think of philosophy as standing apart from science, and only covering disciplines that have not yet been sufficiently formalized or are otherwise insufficiently mature to be considered scientific. This has support in the number of things that were once e.g. “natural philosophy” and that no-one considers their modern descendants to be philosophy.
@Random832
I think most people think all sorts of stupid things (mostly, whatever is fashionable in their corner of the world). And you can of course stick the label “philosophy” on all sorts of dumb shit if you really want to. None of this has any bearing on this thing Heraclitus, Plato, Schopenhauer etc were banging on about. “Philosophy” as “shitty science” is popular precisely because actual philosophy is so far out of reach for “most people”.
Consider it this way: as you go up into the higher reaches of knowledge, there is always LESS room for disagreement – among people who are capable of ascending to that level. Because “higher” really means “bigger”, and naturally the more of the universe your knowledge covers, the less room there is for fighting. This is why there can be tremendous disagreement on all sorts of petty personal matters, or politics, but much less room for disagreement on physics, and even less in mathematics (which is higher up). And there is NO room for disagreement in philosophy, because it contains the entire universe. There is simply no room for competing philosophies.
But by the same token, the higher the subject, the MORE disagreement there is among LOW/SMALL creatures, because they are so small, so low down that they can barely see the fucking thing. So what some African thinks about basic “physical laws” may indeed deviate wildly from what the higher European man thinks about the same topic. Nonetheless, his views have nothing to do with the FUTURE, which is created by the higher men. Likewise, there is the appearance of “huge variance” in opinion in philosophy from the point of view of Englishmen and Americans, because the ceiling of their understanding lies below philosophy.
I’ve spoken on this blog about Americans before. The comments apply to Eric as much as anybody, but he is a highly advanced American. So, for example, rather than just inventing some bullshit based on television sitcoms, he reads history. But it is the same fundamental “DIY” attitude, just done at thousands of times the intensity with a lot more raw data. And when he does bother to look for a general theory, it’s highly specific, “mechanistic” stuff of the kind produced by logicians and linguists. For regurgitates values with new labels on them, precisely because the generation of values, ends, GOALS, is higher than logic, and out of reach for his type. So they wallow around MINDLESSLY in the outermost layer of thought, because they are INCAPABLE of dealing with this layer consciously.
Further, the problem has already been solved. Heaven was the old goal – God considered as something that was found man and told him what to do. The modern Englishman or American lives in the wretched zone that is next along, where God is considered nonexistent, and worse, a MISTAKE. What Nietzsche did is prove that God could be CREATED (i.e. the overman), and that this was the best goal for humanity’s future.
“Consider it this way: as you go up into the higher reaches of knowledge, there is always LESS room for disagreement – among people who are capable of ascending to that level. Because “higher” really means “bigger”, and naturally the more of the universe your knowledge covers, the less room there is for fighting.”
Empirically, I would say the amount of fighting among all branches of human endeavors is constant and mainly determined by the personalities of the participants.
Roger, you go right ahead and feel superior to the rest of us who think philosophy is merely formalized mental masturbation. We’re going to go ahead and keep getting shit done.
>Roger, you go right ahead and feel superior to the rest of us who think philosophy is merely formalized mental masturbation.
Jay, that supposed “rest of us” does not include me. Sound philosophy, applied properly, is a means of dispelling confusion and bullshit. I’ve extracted a great deal of value out of it.
Of course, there’s a lot of unsound philosophy out there…
>What I wonder is if I’d have anything to teach them about hand-to-hand fighting.
I recently started boxing and it is my first martial art, and it was pounded into me that footwork is everything. I love this vid: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PamtxhzwVM (this guy seems to know everything my trainer doesn’t, his channel and blog is highly recommended for other beginner boxers)
Now what little I know about you suggests footwork is probably not one of your strengths – sorry if it is a misunderstanding. From that on I simply have no idea what else you are doing: my experience is still too limited to figure out how other, not-footwork-based fighting styles could function. To me the whole thing is an essentially solving as set of 3D geometry problems visually, and I have no idea what would I get if I would take this kind of footwork out of the equation.
Empirically, I would say you are incapable of accurately assessing reality. You think mathematicians disagree no less than politicians? lol! One day, I will finish unraveling the psychological problems that lead you to constantly post inane dogshit on this forum.
@Jay Maynard
The fact that you think these two goals are in conflict is exactly your problem. As if, in order to “get shit done” you have to be willfully ignorant. Of course, in your case you DO, because if you ever tried to think about the biggest problems you would be so bewildered that you indeed would not be able to get anything done. Just as if you are a NASCAR-loving tradesman you probably shouldn’t spend your nights studying advanced mathematics.
What’s quaint about Jay’s comment is that he doesn’t consider creating the next evolutionary step that will look back on man as man looks at the other apes as “getting shit done”. Essentially, if you’re not unclogging the turds in some dude’s toilet or packing someone’s groceries, or doing something that directly makes those things easier with technology, Jay will not recognise it as “getting shit done”.
“One day, I will finish unraveling the psychological problems that lead you to constantly post inane dogshit on this forum.”
Oh, that is easy. Just a sense for conversations and a feeling for Socratic inquiry. Did you know that many people, experts included, will correct you free of charge when you tell them any of your false believes? Of course, only if they feel you are making a real effort.
Come to think of it, Socrates is famed for putting up with interacting with lesser minds and trying to improve their thinking. He was even officially condemned to death for it (in reality, that was a pretext, but never mind).
But you have made it perfectly clear you would never stoop down to as low a level as Socrates did.
And to end with some more Classical Greek:
Ahh, no Greek for this blog:
gn?thi seafton
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gnothi_seauton
Eric, how are the rest of us who don’t have time to spend surveying the large, amorphous field of philosophy through the ages supposed to separate the sound philosophy from the navel-gazing bullshit, when it all looks like navel-gazing bullshit? How do we avoid falling down Roger’s Nietzschean rabbit hole, for example?
>Eric, how are the rest of us who don’t have time to spend surveying the large, amorphous field of philosophy through the ages supposed to separate the sound philosophy from the navel-gazing bullshit, when it all looks like navel-gazing bullshit? How do we avoid falling down Roger’s Nietzschean rabbit hole, for example?
There may be other ways to do it. I can only tell you what worked for me.
First, study General Semantics. While this is generally extremely useful, the specific skill you want to acquire for reading philosophy is the ability to tell when (a) the parties in a philosophical argument are victims of map-territory confusion, and (b) when the terms in the argument are ungrounded abstractions – that is, cannot be eventually referred to predictions about sense data.
Then read a decent synoptic history of the field. Mine was Bertrand Russell’s History of Western Philosophy . That is at least fifty years old now and may be dated, but I don’t know of a better one.
Now check your comprehension by reading Ayn Rand’s attempt to construct an Objectivist epistemology. If you can spot at least three major errors, you have learned enough to do effective critiques of bad philosophy.
Did anyone else notice the truly epic No True Scotsman he just set up?
But yes, some general guides along these lines would probably be worthwhile.
First, about finding the time. It helps if you stop watching TV (and movies), or at least be very picky about what you watch. Remember, when it is at all worth watching, the book is better. ;-)
Betrand Russel is always good. Also, look at the Problems of Philosophy
http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/355
If you want to learn more about Russel (and logic and Witgenstein), the graphic novel Logicomix is a fun way to start (I enjoyed it tremendously):
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logicomix
I don’t watch TV or movies. We haven’t had a usable TV signal at the house since 2009, and we dropped cable because we weren’t watching it to begin with. (We live in a place where there is exactly one TV station that supposedly covers the area, and that claim is theoretical; the coverage maps say we can get a usable signal with rabbit ears inside, but the actual facts say we can’t.) The last movie I sat down to watch was TRON: Legacy.
I haven’t studied General Semantics, but I have picked up the thought process of it from your writings (and a smattering of LessWrong). However, even with the little I have picked up reading “great” philosophy is painful from the incessantly flagrant map/territory confusion.
How do people not see this crap for what it is?
>However, even with the little I have picked up reading “great” philosophy is painful from the incessantly flagrant map/territory confusion.
Can’t say you’re wrong about that!
Because they see it isn’t?
When you read the early works of Plato, you can feel their struggle to get it right. Also, they can be read as a sort of novels set in classical Athens. I found them quite entertaining (look for good translations that also give you the background stories). The same for Seneca and Cicero in Rome.
And, seriously, you can hardly claim people like Russel and Hobbes were writing “crap”.
(now, if you would mention Hegel or Heidegger, we could argue ;-) )
Look in the Gutenberg project. They have lots of these books.
Bill McAlister on 2015-02-09 at 10:42:32 said:
Would “And Then There Were None” by Eric Frank Russell be the first Libertarian science fiction short story?
You really need to read Anathem
“And there is NO room for disagreement in philosophy, because it contains the entire universe. There is simply no room for competing philosophies.”
I missed this the first time through.
Roger, if there is simply no room for competing philosophies, how come there are plenty of philosophers who disagree with each other?
This is the most arrogant sentence I have ever read. In one swift stroke of the pen, you dismiss everyone who disagrees with your particular philosophy, as well as those of us who don’t bother with it at all, as subhuman idiots who can’t think their way out of a paper bag.
Arrogant assholes like you give philosophy a bad name. If learning about philosophy turns people into rabid, raving lunatics like you, then I want no part of it.
>I missed this the first time through.
I certainly didn’t. I have a comment stuck in moderation describing it.
>Roger, if there is simply no room for competing philosophies, how come there are plenty of philosophers who disagree with each other?
Because none of them have reached the very *highest* level, of the One True Philosophy. There’s room for disagreement on the lower levels. Therefore the existence of disagreement means those who disagree are on a lower level. Naturally. Lovely, self-contained.
Of course it makes one question what ‘lower’ and ‘higher’ level refer to, exactly. Exactly how high a level of abstraction you have to attain before you are vague to the point of meaninglessness is one that an American such as myself is likely to never know.
>This is the most arrogant sentence I have ever read. In one swift stroke of the pen, you dismiss everyone who disagrees with your particular philosophy, as well as those of us who don’t bother with it at all, as subhuman idiots who can’t think their way out of a paper bag.
Perhaps this variation should be called the ‘No True Philosopher’.
However, even with the little I have picked up reading “great” philosophy is painful from the incessantly flagrant map/territory confusion.
Demonstrative: The confusion is so bad that I can extract more useful philosophy from the frikin’ Star Wars EU than the average philosopher.
I guess that is yet more proof that I am an ingnurnt ‘murcin……
Philosophy tends to be inaccessible without a large investment of time and effort (reading, cogitating, and discussion with other minds); hence it is of little use to most people with real world demands on their time. However, it can be a good vehicle for mental exercise and general improvement in reasoning power. This benefit is independent of the higher calling that some people regard as the primary purpose of philosophy. Of those that pursue this latter path, the end of the road is typically a huge ego and sense of superiority; e.g Roger Philips as archetype.
“The confusion is so bad that I can extract more useful philosophy from the frikin’ Star Wars EU than the average philosopher.”
While this sentence is ambiguous, the ambiguity does not impact its truth value.
Alas, philosophy has a thing in common with swimming, martial arts and bicycle riding: You cannot really lesrn it out of a book.
You would best start to discuss things with other people. Say, on a blog that discusses matters of interest, eg, philosophy ;-).
Just like Socrates did, btw. But he did it in the market place. There is a nice little argument in Plato that shows that you would need philosophy to show that philosophy is useless.
Why not, you have to start somewhere. But as always, you can better read the master in the original.
I think folks here could have a good bit of fun with Jo Walton’s The Just City— Athena and Apollo (mostly Athena) attempt to create a real-world version of Plato’s republic. First of a trilogy.
>First, study General Semantics. While this is generally extremely useful, the specific skill you want to acquire for reading philosophy is the ability to tell when (a) the parties in a philosophical argument are victims of map-territory confusion, and (b) when the terms in the argument are ungrounded abstractions – that is, cannot be eventually referred to predictions about sense data.
I started reading Science and Sanity this morning. I’ve heard GS referred to enough times. So far it seems, aside from some obtuse vocabulary, fairly intuitive. (In art history class in HS, Magritte’s ‘Treachery of Images’ seemed to cause people – and this was at a school for the gifted, mind you – to act like they’d just had a religious experience, where I was just “yeah so? that’s trivially obvious”.)
Is there going to be a problem from the fact that Korzybski seems to be a Marxist? As early as Chapter 2 he’s got things like:
However, there is an important difference. The newer systems, as, for instance, the E, N, and the present corresponding ^-system, are more general: which means that the newer systems include the older as particular cases, so that the younger generation has s.r which are more flexible, more conditional, with a broader outlook., semantic conditions absent in the older systems.
And I start thinking ‘marching forward into the glorious future, Comrade’.
>Is there going to be a problem from the fact that Korzybski seems to be a Marxist?
Korzybski never to my knowledge identified as a Marxist. His early work (notably The Manhood of Humanity ) occasionally exhibited vaguely socialist political ideas of a Wellsian/utopian kind, but these vanished from view later on – they don’t appear in Science & Sanity .
>First, study General Semantics
More generalized: first, study some anti-philosophy. GS did it for you, Nagarjuna did it for me, that branch of Buddhist philosophy is openly aimed at being an anti-philosophy, destroying any notions of reifing concepts or terrainifying maps, showing how ideas are “empty”.
In fact, for an empiricist like yourself, it may err towards the other extreme and may be bordering on nihilism although of course it is too smart to ever really get there! “Emptiness” here is not nihilism but the idea to look for utility in ideas, not inherent truth – utility precisely like truth as prediction. This is commonly understood as absolute truth (which does not exist) and relative truth (which is understood as utility, like prediction or other ones).
This anti-philosophical essay published on the web 21 years ago had a profound impact on me, I dare to say this is an online “classic”: http://bahai-library.com/winters_nagarjuna
My next stage was getting acquianted with the classics. And here – I had a profound shock. I have read Plato’s Republic, largely expecting to find bullshit. And I a found a treasure. Namely, the idea that value judgements are not entirely arbitrary because the very term “good” means “suitability for a purpose” also a good knife means a knife that cuts well.
I cannot over-emphasize what an effect it had on me. Plato (or maybe Aristotle?) made me a sudden _armor against idle intellectualism_ . Anyone could ask “is X good?” and I could ask back “what is the purpose of X? what purpose you want to make X suitable for?”
Often people would be upset and say with Nietzsche that utility is a lower level of goodness. But since I had Plato and Aristotle, the most respect old guys on my side, who said a good knife is one that cuts well, I could resist.
And this was really shocking. This “practical” outlook has always been a part of Anglo-American cultures but here in Eastern Europe not, we always had ideas like “the spiritual is superior, better than the bodily” without really defining any purpose, any goal, simply thinking things are higher and lower, but without any sense of purpose. Western Europe too was traditionally similar (see Julius Evola, Titus Burckhardt etc.) we did not have this get-things-done, get-problems-solved view! This practical view was English and later American. But they inherited it from Ancient Greece. We somehow missed it. And it shocked me a profound way to discover it.
It is at some level social. You may accept an idea because it gets things done for your or because a higher authiority revealed it as a secret revelation. I was simply used to the latter. Greek philosophy fixed it for me.
>More generalized: first, study some anti-philosophy. GS did it for you, Nagarjuna did it for me, that branch of Buddhist philosophy is openly aimed at being an anti-philosophy, destroying any notions of reifing concepts or terrainifying maps, showing how ideas are “empty”.
As a long-time student of both GS and Zen, I say the similarities between them are way, way more than coincidental. Well, they’d almost have to be, wouldn’t they? Hacking the same wetware and all that…
Korzybski himself seems to have been aware of this. He was writing during the first wave of the discovery of Buddhism by Western intellectuals. His formulation of of “silence on the objective level” seems like a deliberate nod in the direction of meditation practice, though the emphasis and concerns are somewhat different.
When this comes up I’m fond of telling people that the kernel of both Zen and General Semantics is implied by the following koan:
The mind is like a dog;
his master points at the moon, but he barks at the hand
Occasionally I think about writing an introduction to GS for 21st-century readers. If I do so, the chapter-head quotes will all be Zen koans.
>We haven’t had a usable TV signal at the house since 2009
Without trying to be nosy about your privacy, are you living in those parts of America we high-population density country people tend to fantasize about? Where land to build a barn on is somewhere between extremely cheap and free, there is no excuse for not putting your car into a garage because the land for the garage and wooden building materials are really cheap so only laziness can stand in your way of building one with your two hands, and you get to see wild animals like foxes and rabbits taking a couple of miles of walking from your house? This, low-density living, has always been something fascinatingly alien and very romantic to me. Where your quality of living would have a more DIY character and less dependent on playing the social and career status signaling game… it certainly has an appeal for introverts.
Because most “philosophers” are FRAUDS.
First of all, I thought I’d gone out of my way to paint you as a subhuman idiot who can’t think well before this particular sentence. LOL, I guess chemists are “arrogant” for forwarding “their particular” theories over alchemy. Meanwhile, your own total dismissal of THE GREATEST THINKERS IN HISTORY isn’t arrogant at all, is it? LOL. Further, I don’t really “dismiss” you at all, I just classify you appropriately as someone who is better off watching NASCAR than trying to study history’s greatest problems.
Good! Then we’re agreed! You will have no part of philosophy. I trust this will entail you not attempting to cast judgment on it.
Ugh.. don’t talk about philosophy if you can’t even get basic fallacies correct. The “No True Scotsman” refers to using an ad hoc alteration of your argument to continually avoid admitting error. But I made no such error, nor did I alter my argument – I simply clarified my meaning. Further, what exactly my philosophy constitutes is not “slippery” in the same way as in the NTS fallacy, so your “variation” is completely bogus. Sorry, but you don’t have the brain for this. That’s okay – just stop talking.
This benefit is independent of the higher calling that some people regard as the primary purpose of philosophy. Of those that pursue this latter path, the end of the road is typically a huge ego and sense of superiority; e.g Roger Philips as archetype.
lol.. the “end of the road”? I think the Jews and the kulaks would disagree that the “end of the road” of philosophy is the “huge ego” and “sense of superiority” of the reader. In fact.. it BEGINS with a huge ego and a sense of superiority, since you need to be intellectually audacious to even STUDY this stuff, whereas with your kind the journey ENDS with a tiny ego and a massive sense of inferiority, with stupid and completely untenable “egalitarian” ideas, because you are so insecure you can’t talk about anything without mountains of moral veneer.
“I think folks here could have a good bit of fun with Jo Walton’s The Just City– ”
Here, there and everywhere.
As Dr. Pournelle says fair disclosure I first read an early version – may fairly be taken as bragging. An example of dealing with eternal, for some values of eternal, questions in an SF framework. A story well told with an Overton Window that’s wide enough to see much of the universe of discourse.
Is “a positively-charged conducting sphere suspended in a magnetic field” an ungrounded abstraction?
>Is “a positively-charged conducting sphere suspended in a magnetic field” an ungrounded abstraction?
Consider yourself slapped with a large mackerel.
>Because most “philosophers” are FRAUDS.
OK, ‘Slippery Roger’.
Roger: “Meanwhile, your own total dismissal of THE GREATEST THINKERS IN HISTORY isn’t arrogant at all, is it?”
And what makes philosophers the greatest thinkers in history? Aside from your own arrogance in declaring them so, that is. (Do philosophers think of themselves as the greatest thinkers in history?)
“I just classify you appropriately as someone who is better off watching NASCAR than trying to study history’s greatest problems.”
I have no interest in watching NASCAR. I believe that auto racing, like sex, is much better in the first person than the third. I do have far better things to do than engage in navel-gazing.
“You will have no part of philosophy. I trust this will entail you not attempting to cast judgment on it.”
I will have no part of philosophy precisely because of the judgment I have cast upon it: that it’s an inherently useless waste of brain power that soaks up resources, both human and material, that could be put to better use solving problems in the real world than discussing what the meaning of “is” is. (Bill Clinton, philosopher?)
“Sorry, but you don’t have the brain for this. That’s okay – just stop talking.”
It must be lonely as hell on that rarefied plateau that no living human is fit to share with you…
Save yourself, and us, all some angst. Just fuck off.
The fact that they tackle the grandest, hardest problems. And yes, good philosophers have huge egos.
I guess that’s why you spend so much time on the Internet arguing about things you say are useless. lol. You are such a transparent twonk. You RESENT philosophy for being beyond your grasp. It’s as simple as that.
PURE ignorance. Like Nietzsche wasn’t solving problems “in the real world”. It’s AMAZING that you can cast judgment on something you don’t have even the slightest grasp of. Well, not really – this is exactly how resentful people react to smart people and their fancy book learnin.
To the contrary, I feel the same way about you as I do about animals. You’re like a cute but imbecilic little pet. You even have a cute little costume you wear to amuse people. I feel the same way toward you as I do about old people, children etc – I love you but it’s impossible to take you seriously.
The only one with angst here is you – angst over the existence of something so HUGE that you sense that it might very well crush you.
Without trying to be nosy about your privacy, are you living in those parts of America we high-population density country people tend to fantasize about?
I think I understand better why British musicians tend to romanticize the American south unto near Middle-earth status…
Shenpen, there’s no place in the US that I know of where farmland is free or very cheap. Aside from that, while I don’t live out in the country, I’m not that far from it, either. Fairmont, Minnesota is a town of just over 11000 people in rural southern Minnesota, about 10 miles north of the Iowa border. It’s the largest town for 50 miles in any direction. I have a more-or-less normal (for most of the US) single-family house, 1450 square feet of living area not counting the half-finished/half-unfinished basement, two stories, three bedrooms, 1-1/2 baths, 2-car garage on a corner lot. (Though I wish it was a 3-car garage, now, or at least had more than 9 feet of driveway…have my third car in storage over the winter because I have no other place to put it but parking on the street, and that would be a Bad Idea.)
The next larger town is Mankato/North Mankato, about 60K people worth of college town. (The Geek Code was originated and originally hosted at Minnesota State University-Mankato.) The one TV station serves that market from a transmitter about 20 miles to its southwest, in the general direction of Fairmont (but shielded from us by a ridge just large enough to get in the way). The Twin Cities and Sioux Falls, South Dakota, are both two hours’ drive away, and Des Moines is three hours.
So no, not exactly what you had in mind, but not the big city, either.
Reading the Institute of General Semantics FAQ, I was struck by their claim that GS was a significant influence in the writings of Heinlein and van Vogt. Really?
>Reading the Institute of General Semantics FAQ, I was struck by their claim that GS was a significant influence in the writings of Heinlein and van Vogt. Really?
Absolutely positively true. Not a small influence, either. Van Vogt wasn’t much of a thinker and only played with GS in a relatively superficial, showy way. In Heinlein it’s less obvious but pervasive, important, and well integrated with the rest of his thinking.
I could write an essay on this. Maybe I will.
It’s not that “utility” is lower, it’s that NARROW utility is lower – which is a boring tautology, since narrow = LOWER. Nietzsche has never set himself against “utility” in the general sense. It’s only “the greatest good to the greatest number” that he is against. If that’s our goal we should just turn into cockroaches and bacteria, since they already do this vastly better than us. He is also against utilitarianism in _moral analysis_, i.e. the view that morality and utility were originally identical. Utility is a function of RANK.
>As a long-time student of both GS and Zen…
I understand Nagarjuna belongs to the Madhyamaka school, rather that Zen. But you know Buddhism much better than I do, so I assume you know that and are implying Madhyamaka influenced Zen.
>Occasionally I think about writing an introduction to GS for 21st-century readers. If I do so, the chapter-head quotes will all be Zen koans.
That would be awesome. ^_^
>I understand Nagarjuna belongs to the Madhyamaka school, rather that Zen. But you know Buddhism much better than I do, so I assume you know that and are implying Madhyamaka influenced Zen.
Madhyamaka influenced a lot of later variants of Buddhism. Nagarjuna tends to be taken most seriously by variants that exhibit what scholars of Buddhism call “ultimatist” tendencies, of which the Dhyana/Ch’an/Zen line is an important example. These correspond to what in a Christian context would be called fundamentalists, except that in a Buddhist context the fundamentalists are the sane people…
>Madhyamaka influenced a lot of later variants of Buddhism.
I see. I might read more about it, then–probably the essay Shenpen linked to.
Say, I just recalled something I’d read at Wikipedia regarding the link between Zen and General Semantics. From the article on Alan Watts:
In 1957 Watts, then 42, published one of his best known books, The Way of Zen, which focused on philosophical explication and history. Besides drawing on the lifestyle and philosophical background of Zen, in India and China, Watts introduced ideas drawn from general semantics (directly from the writings of Alfred Korzybski) and also from Norbert Wiener’s early work on cybernetics, which had recently been published. Watts offered analogies from cybernetic principles possibly applicable to the Zen life. The book sold well, eventually becoming a modern classic, and helped widen his lecture circuit.
It’s interesting how he noticed the GS-Zen connection, but I’m skeptical about the alleged parallel with cybernetics; after all, Watts’ later work appears to be New Age nonsense. Not exactly what I’d call trustworthy! ¬_¬
Heinlein certainly referred to it often enough.
…there are insane Buddhists?
>…there are insane Buddhists?
Yes. Occasionally there even have been religiously murderous ones. It’s very rare compared to the analogues in other world religions, but it does happen. Pure Land Buddhism in Japan is the most notorious for it.
I should have clarified that I was using the term “sane” in the technical way GS people often do, what I have called on this blog “epistemic sanity”.
…religiously murderous Buddhists. *boggle*
>…religiously murderous Buddhists. *boggle*
As I said, it happens rarely but it does happen. There’s some nasty sectarianism going on in Burma right now against a Muslim minority called the Rohingya that might qualify. One of the major agitators on the majority-Burmese side represents himself as a monk and religious leader. The Burmese Buddhist establishment has, quite properly, disavowed him.
@ Winter – “Alas, philosophy has a thing in common with swimming, martial arts and bicycle riding: You cannot really learn it out of a book.”
The history of philosophy is the book part. Lots of ground has been covered by other thinkers over the years. No sense in reinventing the wheel.
Navel gazing and bull sessions are often times the active part of philosophical investigation and analysis. I find mountainbiking to be more rewarding as exercise (both physical and mental).
In my experience, most people use their pet philosophy as an intellectual cudgel with which to beat others over the head and establish an alpha-male superiority. That may be feasible as an internet exercise. Come to Colorado and try it in person.
No, but a little conversation with another reader will show you that the “meaning” of a text is never unambiguous nor complete. Plato lamented that you cannot interrogate a text. He was wrong.
Philosophy is a social activity, just like science.
What I find borderline embarrassing is the term “Continental Philosophy”. It suggests that it is something everybody from Europe is interested in. In fact I know nobody who cares about Deleuze or Derrida. They were popular only certain radical circles in the seventies, and their popularity waned after 1990 even there. Today they feel like a very 20th century fashion that simply wasn’t good enough to survive being more than a fashion. Like the neon-orange and UV-glowing “raver” clothes of the 1990’s or the Neuromancer type silly cyberpunk stuff. Done, forgotten. Slavoj Zizek comes accross as very dated too, his Lacanism is thinly veiled Freudism, very old, dusty feeling stuff.
Generally the most interesting European deep-thinkers of the 20th century were the ones who brought experiences from some other field into philosophy. Konrad Lorenz brought ethology, Mircea Eliade brought comparative religion, Johan Huizinga brought history. Eliade is well-known enough in the English-speaking world, Huizinga used to be but went out of fashion (sadly, The Autumn Of The Middle Ages is an excellent description of what modernity came from), Lorenz not yet, IMHO should be. I really liked Lorenz’s critique of nothing-buttery, namely that claims lke man is nothing but an animal or life is nothing but chemical processes ignores the whole point that man is a special kind of animal different from most others, life is a special kind of chemical process different from most others, nothing-buttery dismisses precisely those distinctive, unique features that are the most interesting to study and analyze. Lorenz didn’t mention it, but it made me suspicious about “consciousness is nothing but computation” – perhaps it is is computation, but surely a very special and distinctive one!
“What I find borderline embarrassing is the term “Continental Philosophy”. ”
It is an Anglosaxon term (British, acutally) as in: Fog in Channel: Continent cut off.
https://freeglot.wordpress.com/2013/04/21/fog-in-channel-continent-cut-off/
The term is only used to contrast with Anglosaxon philosophy. Just like Lorenz was a founder of Ethology in contrast to the US/Anglosaxon Behaviorism. To us “continentals”, Derrida is more a French philosopher.
>The term [“continental”] is only used to contrast with Anglosaxon philosophy.
Not quite. The Vienna Circle and other empiricists like Hans Reichenbach associated with philosophy of science are often excluded from “continental” by English-speaking writers, so the term really means something more like “non-analytic”. Alfred Korzybski wouldn’t be called “continental” either, if academic philosophers deigned to notice him.
@ Winter – “a little conversation with another reader will show you that the “meaning” of a text is never unambiguous nor complete. . . Philosophy is a social activity, just like science.”
These comments beautifully encapsulate my main objections to the arrogance of philosophical elitism. As practiced by many dilettantes, philosophical learning is a debating society without end; a place for venting, and indoctrination, and group metamorphosis. A form of getting high on thought, as if any sufficiently obtuse thought was a step on the path to on-high and elite status.
For these people, the philosophical Olympus is not supreme intelligence, but supreme vanity.
“As practiced by many dilettantes, philosophical learning is a debating society without end; a place for venting, and indoctrination, and group metamorphosis.”
I am not sure what you mean here (no pun intended).
Indeed, philosophy is a lot of debating. It also never ends. But so are mathematics and science. There is “progress” in philosophy, as there is in mathematics. This has very little to do with “indoctrination” etc.
I do not see why this is something “negative”? It also has little to do with elitism. Plato might have been an elitist, but that was his political conviction. But you can hardly say that of Socrates. The same for every other philosopher. E.g., Foucault (a “Continental” philosopher?) might have be a little opaque, but he was no elitists.
@ Winter – “I am not sure what you mean”
Had not the species homo sapiens evolved, there would be no philosophy. Conversely, the universe and it’s laws of nature would still be operative regardless of whether a sentient species came into existence and correctly understood these phenomena. The former is solely a construct of the human mind (and it’s limitations). Whereas the latter is an endemic feature of the universe.
Mathematics can have proofs as the Holy Grail of understanding abstractions, and science is essentially about hypothesis, prediction, experimentation, analysis and the resultant improved understanding of reality. Philosophy aspires to be irreducibly fundamental and therefore de facto unfalsifiable. Good for mental exercise, misleading as a pursuit-of-truth mechanism.
“Philosophy aspires to be irreducibly fundamental and therefore de facto unfalsifiable. Good for mental exercise, misleading as a pursuit-of-truth mechanism.”
Sorry, but I think your ideas about philosophy are wrong. I will gloss over the fact that your statement is “philosophical” and that it contains errors.
I am not a philosopher, just a newby amateur. However, I think you are confusing the map with the terrain. Philosophy is not (anymore) about the eternal truth, but about mental hygiene.
I think logic is a good example. It still is in philosophy (as in mathematics). Logic is not about truth-about-the-world, but about how to combine statements we know for some reason to be true in such a way that we can obtain new statements that are still true. Without logic, a lot of our decision making becomes haphazard.
In many other areas, philosophers are doing the same thing, creating clean ways to think about the world. Be it Grice about meaning, Foucault about the history of ideas, or Popper about science, they all advanced our understanding of ourselves. Recognizing the reification fallacy and the fact that you cannot prove a negative are all the result of philosophical thinking.
Rejecting everything because there are some philosophers you do not like is rather shortsighted.
> Mathematics can have proofs as the Holy Grail of understanding abstractions, and science is essentially about hypothesis, prediction, experimentation, analysis and the resultant improved understanding of reality. Philosophy aspires to be irreducibly fundamental and therefore de facto unfalsifiable. Good for mental exercise, misleading as a pursuit-of-truth mechanism.
I’m not clear on what you mean by this paragraph and thus not clear on whether I agree. My view: in order for a statement to have a logical truth value, it has to be something you can test empirically. Philosophy consists of the work that has to be done before you can ever get around to making an empirically-testable statement. Purely philosophical claims, therefore, do not have truth values. They should be judged not as “true” or “false”, but as “clarifying” or “confusing”.
@Roger @Jay
>As if, in order to “get shit done” you have to be willfully ignorant. Of course, in your case you DO, because if you ever tried to think about the biggest problems you would be so bewildered that you indeed would not be able to get anything done.
Right, I know “this must be a parody” is a fairly inane response to opinion published online, but in this case my parody-spidey-sense is seriously tingling.
Roger, are you at least aware that to people like me your comments come accross as parody? If you are aware of it and chalk it up to lesser minds not understanding superior ones, you are still full of it but at least you are fundamentally sane. Not even being aware of it would mean being really far down the autism spectrum, lacking the ability to predict reactions.
If you are aware of it, then the second consideration would be what kind of utility you derive from entertaining “lesser minds” by what comes accross as as making a clown of yourself. I personally would not write for people whom I feel have nothing to teach me. Would be a waste of time. I don’t trade information, not even half-informed opinon for nothing. Any audience who could not intelligently reflect on my views would be incapable of using them so this is a mutually beneficial filter. But I think your attitude predicts you don’t really expect to learn anything here. So what do you gain, in your eyes? Narcissistic gains from having an audience? Or the equivalent to a visit to the zoo? (that would be a fair mutual trade, to me you too are an interestingly unusual member of the human species to watch)
@ Daniel Franke
Perhaps this will help.
The history of philosophy is rife with ideas, principles, axioms, thought experiments, inductions/deductions, etc. Even larger than this diversity of ideas is the endless dispute over which philosophical archetype is better/best by some standard of measure. And that’s the rub.
In the beginning, pursuit of truth was considered to be the measuring stick. Winter says that contemporary philosophy is directed at enhancing mental hygiene in our species. Roger Philips would have you believe that it is proof of the existence of the “overman.” And you seem to see it primarily as a efficiency precursor to scientific inquiry.
As time goes on, philosophical argument has expanded and confusion/clarity is often an eye-of-the-beholder perspective. What will be the objective measuring stick that validates one philosophical idea vis-a-vis all the others?
>My view: in order for a statement to have a logical truth value, it has to be something you can test empirically.
I think you mixed up something here. It is not logical truth value. The Pythagoras Theorem has logical truth value without empirical testing. I think you are looking for pragmatic utility, not logical truth. PT can be logically true and practically useless if you are not working in Euclidian planes. In that case, “true, just not for my universe” is a valid response.
That is my issue with Austrian Economics, I know it is true, just I don’t know in which universe, not sure at all if it is ours :)
OK it is not actually universes, but subsets of them. Still.
I think you mixed up something here. It is not logical truth value. The Pythagoras Theorem has logical truth value without empirical testing. I think you are looking for pragmatic utility, not logical truth.
I’m not mixing anything up. The view you’re asserting is essentially a Platonist one, and I don’t buy it. Mathematical truths are empirical truths, albeit of a queer sort. They have two distinguishing characteristics:
1. They’re stated in a particular jargon which is far simpler, more precise, and easier to teach to a computer than the language that we use to express most other truths.
2. “Experiments” consist of presenting an argument to a group of experts and testing whether they find it persuasive. Sometimes some of the “experts” are the verification kernel of a computer proof assistant.
PT can be logically true and practically useless if you are not working in Euclidian planes. In that case, “true, just not for my universe” is a valid response.
The Pythagorean theorem is “true” despite our living in a non-Euclidean universe, because you can still convince a mathematician or a verification kernel that it is a consequence of the axioms of Euclidean geometry. This is unrelated to whether or not Euclidean geometry is an accurate model for making predictions about the outcome of physical experiments.
To clarify that last sentence: this is unrelated to whether or not Euclidean geometry, taken as a model of physics, will enable you to make accurate predictions about the outcome of an experiment which measures the side-lengths of a triangular object.
You are all utterly incoherent, including Daniel Franke, who is worse because he knows just enough jargon to confuse everybody. “Logical truth value” is a MATHEMATICAL TERM. Verbal statements don’t have “truth values”. Scientific propositions don’t have “truth values”. Only LOGICAL SENTENCES have truth values, and some logical sentences have other kinds of values, e.g. PROOF values. To state otherwise is a gross abuse of terminology, an idiotic coining of new and entirely useless MONKEY SOUNDS. “Logical truth” exactly ZERO to do with “empirical testing”. What about true sentences that are constructed rather than tested? Do these not have “truth values”? lol! Formulated in this general way, a statement being “empirical” need nothing more than to be a valid input to some yes/no process. And then what about stupid or vacuous processes? What if my yes/no process is “does this statement exist in the text of the Bible?” FUCKING STUPID.
Mathematics is intended to be “HOMOMORPHIC” to other parts of the universe. That is the only “truth” in mathematics, just as it is EVERYWHERE ELSE. In other words, to what extent does one part of the universe mimic the structure of another part? Since you are all blithering monkey idiots, you think of “truth” is being this thing that fucking floats around transcendentally describing the “real world”. WRONG. “Truth” is a RELATIONSHIP between different areas of the universe (and that relationship itself exists in the universe). That is how it is possible for the contents of the Bible to contain ‘truth”: because it is homomorphic with the minds of religious people. That is does so in large part by DETERMINING the contents of their brains is irrelevant.
The only question is: how HIGH is the truth? In other words, how BIG? That’s why we laugh at the beliefs of old-timey religions – because our truth CONTAINS their truth. In other words, my structure contains a substructure that is homomorphic to theirs. See how that works? And likewise, my beliefs CONTAIN the idiotic beliefs of people like Daniel Franke and Winter. This is why Winter never understands me – not because he’s “wrong”, but because his mind is very SMALL.
This is the SOLE intelligent thing you have said in this thread. Which is why, if you ignore the rest of your stupid shit, you can interpret it to mean exactly what I just said in my previous post.
Roger, what, exactly, are you hoping to accomplish by wasting time on us small people? Or are you just engaging in an intellectual dick-size war?
I’ll continue to ignore Roger’s abuse and just address his latest Humpty-Dumptyisms:
“Logical truth value” is a MATHEMATICAL TERM. Verbal statements don’t have “truth values”. Scientific propositions don’t have “truth values”. Only LOGICAL SENTENCES have truth values, and some logical sentences have other kinds of values, e.g. PROOF values.
My use of the word “truth” so far in this thread is defensible according to pretty much any correspondence theory of truth, as advocated by a bare majority and substantial plurality of philosophers who replied to the PhilPapers Survey. So I think I’m solid ground here and not “coining new and entirely useless MONKEY SOUNDS”.
The less popular view that I’m advocating (with influence from Imra Lakatos) is my interpretation of the formalist notion of mathematical truth in terms of the observable behavior of people or computers presented with a mathematical argument. This view completely rejects Platonist attempts to handwave a metaphysical idealization of mathematics into existence, and subsumes mathematical truth into empirical truth regardless of whether the mathematical formalism at hand is motivated by the desire to model real-world phenomena. The reason I emphasize this last bit is that it tends to be an Achilles heel for attempts to construct empiricist philosophies of mathematics. John Stuart Mill is its most famous victim.
>My use of the word “truth” so far in this thread is defensible according to pretty much any correspondence theory of truth
This is a good reply when arguing about commonly accepted definitions of “truth”, because if you do Socratic dialogue with any reasonably intelligent philosophical illiterate you will usually find they have a poorly-realized correspondence theory of truth.
However, as I have explained at least twice before on this blog, the “correspondence” theory of truth has fatal technical flaws. Examined too closely, it lands you in an ontological quagmire about the nature of the “what is” that your truth claims are supposed to correspond to. This is, broadly speaking, the mistake that sank the Vienna Circle’s program.
Straight-up predictivism a la Peirce works better because you get to do ontology later in the game – you build your ontology as a set of persistent terms in your predictive theories and don’t fall into circularity about what terms are “real”.
I’m a little amazed any serious philosopher still takes “correspondence” theory seriously; its flaws were already apparent seventy years ago. I think a lot of otherwise intelligent non-philosophers are unable to get past it because it appeals to both natural-language-driven prejudices and instinctive realism.
Theoretical mathematics falls within the domain of the theory of coherent truth, and applied mathematics derives it’s form of truth from correspondence to reality. The former is refereed by human peer review (or coherence demonstration by computer). The latter is empirical.
The above is relatively straightforward; however, put three philosophers in a room and you will get erudite confusion as explanation.
>applied mathematics derives it’s form of truth from correspondence to reality.
Having this as an early premise lands you in trouble. See my previous comment.
Also see my essay The Utility of Mathematics
> [theories of truth]
Correspondence theories of truth are bubble sorts; simple and obvious methods that work well enough for small cases so that it is easy to not notice the problems, but woe be to he who uses it on a Large Problem.
Religious theories of truth (What God sayth be what is true) are the bogo-sort; theoretically perfect if they work, worse than useless if they don’t.
I don’t disagree with you per se, but I think you’re arguing a minor pedantic point rather than dealing a knock-down to correspondence theory. You’re right that you end up falling into circularity if you try to treat truth as a foundational concept. But when you start from predictivism and use your observations to build theories and ontologies, correspondence theory ought to pop out early on. The only prerequisite for correspondence theory to make sense is noticing that all your successful theories include an assumption that there’s a physical universe which determines your sensory inputs and with which you can interact; thus you cast solipsism into the same rubbish bin as claims that God created dinosaur fossils as a test of faith.
>But when you start from predictivism and use your observations to build theories and ontologies, correspondence theory ought to pop out early on.
I agree, that is true. If you do it right, you do get to a realist ontology relatively early, and can thereafter use naive correspondence theory as an approximation.
But I disagree that this is a minor pedantic point, because if you habitually think in correspondence terms rather than predictivist ones there are edge cases you will not handle well. Better, I think, to stick with predictivism entire than to get caught hopping.
Besides, straight predictivism is simpler and more elegant. Occam’s razor…
@ ESR – “Having this as an early premise lands you in trouble.”
Yes, there is the unusual case where a non-coherent mathematical theory just happens to be predictive of a real phenomenon, and would consequently violate the “truth” criteria. However, this is an outlier case and such exceptions have no lasting impact on the evolutionary progress of intelligence in our species. Pursuit of philosophical purity is edifying to the (human) egotist, but irrelevant to nature.
We know a lot of things that we cannot explain or justify, for example we know that a table is a table, and we know good from evil, and we can tell a rabbit from a fox.
Bad philosophy says that if we cannot explain how we know something, it is invalid, we do not really know it. Hume after explaining that we could not know good from evil, found himself explaining that we could not know that fire burns. That is bad philosophy.
Good philosophy explains how we know what we know.
Epistemology is philosophy, because it is a hard problem with lots of bad answers and few known good answers.
>Also see my essay The Utility of Mathematics
I recently read that one. Can’t say I understood everything, but I sure as hell enjoyed it. :-) Maybe someday I’ll be able to grasp it in full; I trust Gödel, Escher, Bach, which is next in my reading queue, will put me on the right path.
@Jorge
It will also disabuse you of the dichotomy between “Nature” and “Nurture” forever
Those who tell us that the only truths worth persuing are those that have empirical/predictive correspondences with observable reality should not denounce philosophers. Because that idea was itself the result of millenia of strugles between philosophers and “common sense”.
@JAD
“Hume after explaining that we could not know good from evil, found himself explaining that we could not know that fire burns. That is bad philosophy.”
This is the kind of common sense philosophy has to fight against.
To clarify, Hume did not say we cannot learn from observation. He just pointed out that you need (much) more than a blank slate that you fill with observation like a camera with picture.
That is easy to us, we know you need a theory to make sense of observations. But the original empiricists thought you could do with only observations.
@Shenpen I don’t write _for_ anyone on this forum. It’s not even writing, more like wanton cruelty, watching the imbeciles fumbling 400 pound concepts with their noodle brains.
So I can see this is going to go the same way conversations with Winter go: I quote “logical truth value”, you quote “truth”, in either an attempt to misrepresent me or just plain mental fucking sloppiness. So please, do try to REREAD the fucking thing without TOTALLY CHANGING THE WORDING IN YOUR OWN DERANGED LITTLE HEAD. Your approach of collecting lots of terminology you barely understand and blurting them out on the Internet half-randomly meets my criteria for “monkey sounds”.
This paragraph appears in a way that suggests that I disagreed with this part of your post. And yet, this part of the post is exactly the part I expressed agreement with! Can you even sort out which things I’m responding to? You’d think my precise and deliberate quoting of words would be clear enough, but as we’ve seen just now you’ll flub even this basic exercise in comprehension. Actually, I _wouldn’t_ think that, because I know full well the way animals such as yourself respond to written text is to read every fifth word and then make up some bullshit to fill in the gaps. But it’s fun to PRETEND that you’re capable of human-level communication and then feel the aggravation when you inevitably get everything totally wrong.
Now that you’ve provided more detail it’s obvious that your ideas on mathematical truth are COMPLETELY RETARDED. Mathematics is not the study of what people who happen to call themselves mathematicians think. That is simply how the LAYMAN thinks about mathematics. “Logical truth value” is a technical term that is defined within mathematics that has no direct connection to “truth” in the general sense.
And @Eric’s “ontological” objections are all stupid. Believing that ontological problems are in any way important is the sign of a horribly defective “verbalistic” brain type, and is the EPITOME of language-motivated, language-confused idiocy. The whole idea of ontologies comes STRAIGHT OUT OF LANGUAGE. It is precisely the verbal thinkers who can’t grasp Heraclitus’ FLUX, or the concept of EVERYTHING (a true “universe”). Plato flubbed the shit out of this, so don’t feel too bad. It’s not clear whether you (Eric) are referring to me with “correspondence theory”; an intelligent reader would recognise that what I’ve said has absolutely nothing to do with it.
>And @Eric’s “ontological” objections are all stupid. Believing that ontological problems are in any way important is the sign of a horribly defective “verbalistic” brain type, and is the EPITOME of language-motivated, language-confused idiocy.
This is one of the few things you’ve said that I more or less agree with (as would Alfred Korzybski) though both he and I tend to put it a little more gently because we’ve found that people are more likely to come to this understanding if we don’t CLUB THEM OVER THE HEAD WITH IT. It goes over better if you use phrases like “premature reification” rather than grumbling, as I used to do in my stroppier moods, that ontology is all bullshit.
>It’s not clear whether you (Eric) are referring to me with “correspondence theory”; an intelligent reader would recognise that what I’ve said has absolutely nothing to do with it.
I agree that is one error you have avoided.
You are, however, deeply wrong about the confirmation status of mathematics. I was in training to be a foundational mathematician at one point and retain some specialist knowledge of these issues. Daniel Franke has it about right there.
Wrong. The “theory laden” view is completely stupid. I can form a belief simply by evolving to believe it. The organisms that don’t think a certain way are simply eliminated from the environment. So much for that stupid bullshit.
@Winter To wit, “observation” or even “making sense of observations” doesn’t have any necessary connection to thought. Our distant ancestors observed many things, which they eventually made sense of by evolving into us. It is entirely the other way round – that once you are capable of forming theories, you can’t stop theorizing about everything you see.
What on Earth is the “confirmation status” of mathematics, and what does it have to do with our conversation? A “logical truth value” means something very specific, and Daniel Franke is either abusing terminology or flat out wrong. No “empirical testing” is required to construct true logical statements. The fact that it’s subject to empirical study, or that it happens that you can feed it into a yes/no process is totally irrelevant.
Further, his idea that “jazz is what people who call themselves jazz musicians play” is both correct and COMPLETELY STUPID as a theory of jazz, because jazz is just a word, used because the actual thing the listeners are interested in is so complex that it can’t be repeated faithfully every single time they speak. All you and I need is a shared interest (read: a homomorphism between our minds) in the same complex thing; no transcendental “metajazz” is necessary, and neither of us need care what anybody else calls “jazz”. The fact that there’s a developed jazz tradition, and that, in the end, the LABEL “jazz” belongs to them, is no cause for us to wed the focus of our interest to it.
>No “empirical testing” is required to construct true logical statements.
Would that it were so. To understand why it isn’t, it helps to think hard about the confirmation status of very large, complex proofs like the classification theorem for finite groups or the proof of the Four-Color theorem. These are so complex that no single mathematician understands them as a whole, or include complex case reductions made by computers, or both.
When proofs were small compared to the complexity-handling capacity of an individual human brain – and thus relatively easily and repeatably checked – we could maintain the belief that formal mathematics was the sort of system in which “logical truth value” is a timeless perfect abstraction and all proved theorems follow from axioms in a way that has no empirical contingency.
But…what if Appel and Haken’s computer program for the Four Color Theorem case reduction was subtly buggy? How do we know it was not buggy? Proving the correctness of computer programs is very hard. Similarly, we have what one might call ‘classical’ proof confidence in the individual pieces of the finite-group classification theorem, but there is a kind of non-classical uncertainty about the whole because no individual human mind can check that whole. There might be an error at the joins that is not detectable.
It is conceivable that we could build an automated theorem-prover more powerful than a human mathematician, powerful enough to check these proofs in their entirety, but then we would face the question of how we know that prover never performs mistaken inferences.
You may be asking, then, why we don’t apply this kind of skepticism to proofs generated by human brains. The answer is that by having a proof repeatedly checked by different human brains we can reduce the probability of joint error to as low as we like. With super-large proofs this is no longer possible; empirical contingency blows up on us, no longer a dismissable problem at the margins.
You might retort, if you’re a Platonist or some such, that I’m describing a defective approximation of “real” mathematics, in which “logical truth value” is a non-contingent property preserved by correct transformations from axioms to theorems. The problem is that the defective approximation is the only mathematics we have access to with actual brains and actual computers.
None of this means we believe that (say) the Central Limit Theorem is going to stop being true tomorrow. Applied mathematics has not, so far, relied on super-large proofs. But an honest philosophy of mathematics has to grapple with their implications nevertheless.
Hume argues by flattery. Instead of giving you sound reasons to believe in X and disbelieve in Y, he assures you that believing in X and disbelieving in Y makes you so much smarter than the ignorant and vulgar hoi polloi
Thus, when Hume says something exceptionally stupid, his readers try to force an intelligent meaning on it, so that they can be smart by agreeing with Hume.
“I can form a belief simply by evolving to believe it. The organisms that don’t think a certain way are simply eliminated from the environment. So much for that stupid bullshit.”
Yes you can. And the only way you can have any “confidence” that you know the “truth” (whatever you want to call it) is that in the distant past, there was a correspondence between that believe and fitness. It was widely known that bad air lead to malaria. Observation confirmed this believe time and again. This believe increased your fitness, as staying away from bad air protected you from malaria. QED.
As Hume explained so nicely, what was true in the past does not have to be true now or in the future. In the past, all swans were white. A truth as unshakable as the law of gravity. But now we know that there are also black swans.
If you really believe in theory free facts, you still have a lot of learning to do.
“Hume argues by flattery. ”
And you argue by innuendo.
When Hume used a very stupid example, “The sun might not rise tomorrow”, he used a rhetorical device to show his readers that they have no way of disproving what he wrote. Just to point out that the conventional interpretation of “empiricism” was build on sand. Hume is the reason we have a better concept of empirical proof.
If you really think he did not know the sun would rise tomorrow or believed he could get his readers to think so, you have not understood a word he has written.
Excuse me, but didn’t Quine killed correspondence theory in Two Dogmas and more or less demonstrated that coherentism is right i.e. you can only empirically test the whole set of science, but not a given statement, and your best bet of checking if a statement is true is whether it is coherent with everything else we consider true, which comes from both empirical observations and accepted theories?
@ESR I think I have seen you using coherence-theory for dismissing the least likely hypotheses for explaining something, and this what we all do intuitively when we dismiss reports of supernatural events that seem to transcend the laws of physics: they are not fully impossible, but being incoherent with the rest of sciene gives them a very low Bayesian prior, which means only extraordinarily strong evidence would elevate them into anything remotely likely.
Quick Quine summary for those who unfamiliar with the argument: if you want to test a statement, you need to match experiences with definitions. You can’t. You cannot really strip down a sentence to the level where it can have its 100% own, isolated, single-parameter, confounding-free observational consequence, because terms, definitions in it rest on other parts of the language or theory-set.
One consequence of Quine’s coherentism is that the broader is an idea (and thus the more vague), the more empirical it gets. Broader areas of science like evolution or relativity are much more empirical than individual statements in them, because these broader areas have much more isolated observational consequences and less resting on definitions outside from themselves. Individual statements in them are largely true in a coherentist way only, because the definitions in them rest too closely on other statements inside the field of study, so we hardly ever get to test the isolated observational consequence of a single statement.
Quine is not exactly famous for being easy to understand. The general idea in more relatable terms is “how broad a set of statements you need so that its total set of observational consequences are isolated enough and do not rest much on definitions imported from elsewhere?”
>Excuse me, but didn’t Quine killed correspondence theory in Two Dogmas and more or less demonstrated that coherentism is right i.e. you can only empirically test the whole set of science, but not a given statement, and your best bet of checking if a statement is true is whether it is coherent with everything else we consider true, which comes from both empirical observations and accepted theories?
I read Quine’s coherentism as a heuristic for winnowing out bad theories (as you would say, adjusting Bayesian priors) rather than as a hard rule about confirmation of individual claims. But you are right when you say Quine is difficult to read on these matters; he might have meant it as you suppose.
“You cannot really strip down a sentence to the level where it can have its 100% own, isolated, single-parameter, confounding-free observational consequence, because terms, definitions in it rest on other parts of the language or theory-set.”
If I understand this well, this is what is done in science.
Say, relativity. You generate a statement that is fully coherent within the theory. That is, if the theory in its current formulation is a valid description of reality, then this single statement must be true, or rather, the prediction must match new observations. Then, if the statement is falsified by observation, not just this statement, but the whole theory must be reconsidered.
The difficulty is that in most cases it is not clear cut, there are many other parts, statements, and observations to be reconsidered. For instance, “Evolution” is to a large extend a science of the history of life on earth. And history is more holes than cheese. It is therefore difficult to say with specificity why a certain species evolved the way it did.
In the past, all swans were white. A truth as unshakable as the law of gravity
In the past, all swans in the known world were white. But people knew that when the known world expanded, they might well see dragons, or black swans.
Yeah, exactly as Hume told them: Past empirical evidence is no guarantee for the future.
No it doesn’t, because we weren’t talking about the “confirmation status” of anything. We were talking about “logical truth values”, a technical term that instantly draws you into the rules of mathematics.
The conversation you’re intervening in has nothing to do with any of this. The original claim by Daniel Franke was that a statement can’t have a “logical truth value” independently of empirical testing. The counter-claim is that there exist statements to which a logical truth value can be assigned without empirical testing. Shenpen was correct. E.g. any idiot can write a program to piss out millions of true logical sentences. This goofy excursion of yours about mathematics being generally “empirical” has nothing to do with that.
But…what if Appel and Haken’s computer program for the Four Color Theorem case reduction was subtly buggy? How do we know it was not buggy? Proving the correctness of computer programs is very hard.
This is an “if my mother walks out of the room, does she still exist?” type waste of time. Like it or not, true/false only is how this particular structure is formed in the mind. That you have some extra structure in your mind addressing this existing structure empirically is irrelevant, because we’re talking about truth-valued logic, not some random bullshit that happens to be nearby. Your objection over possible mistakes in proof checking relates to this outer structure, which is not what we are talking about w.r.t. “logical truth values”.
What on Earth are you on about? A prover and a checker are two different things. It’s the strength of the prover that is related to size and complexity of the proof, not the checker. The checker doesn’t trust the prover in any way, so bugs in the prover are irrelevant. And we check the work of the checker in any number of ways, just as we check human work.
Using the word real in quotation marks. ONTOLOGY – ugh. What SHOULD be taken for granted here is that there is this thing in your mind called truth-valued logic which follows non-contingent rules. If you can’t agree on that, well then you don’t have the right structure in your mind and nobody cares what you think about truth-valued logic, since you are clearly talking about something completely different. It is perfectly “real”, as you put it, because it (or the idea of it or however else you want to muddle it) exists in our minds. There’s nothing Platonistic or transcendental or meta about it at all. If you wanted to be really pedantic, you’d say no person holds the entirety of the logic in his mind, which is true. But there’s more than there enough to settle this idiotic business of the “logical truth-value”. The fact that you want to analyze the structure in an extra-logical empirical framework (and this is in fact the way it is usually grown!) is irrelevant.
No it doesn’t, because everyone already knows proofs need extensive checking, and consequently proof checking techniques are extremely reliable. The idea that mathematics requires experimentation and testing against evidence is in no way controversial. This also has exactly nothing to do with “logical proof values”, which are a distinct concept of their own.
What Daniel Franke is suggesting is that what matters is being able to get some mathematicians or computers to sign off on some theorem. This is simply LAUGHABLE, like we were under the thrall of proof checking devices. Mathematics IS empirical, but the observations are made on the structures built inside OUR brain and the rest of the universe. Only as a SHORTCUT, because we don’t all have time to be specialists in everything, do we treat the mathematician himself, or the proof checker itself as the object of our “empiricism”. If you’d bothered to read my post you’d have seen that I wasn’t railing against empiricism of mathematics at all, but rather explicitly arguing FOR it, but AGAINST Daniel Franke’s layman’s approach.
Further, your way of thinking is depressing, because you’re eager to eliminate “limits” and “ideals” from the mind. Yes, it is equally depressing to see people treat Platonism as “true ontology” or whatever (the only true ontology: FLUX), but the concept of an ideal – which is a natural consequence of the idea that the mind is going in a particular direction, is EXTREMELY useful. I believe in the “ideal” mathematics as much as anybody, but I also don’t believe in it. Just as I don’t believe objects exist, but I also believe they exist. The trick is to never believe both simultaneously. Anything less leads to retardation.
>The original claim by Daniel Franke was that a statement can’t have a “logical truth value” independently of empirical testing.
I wish Daniel were wrong about this, but he isn’t. Mathematical proof is an empirical procedure – you shuffle marks on paper according to given proof rules to see if you can get from premises to theorem.
For small proofs we can generally agree to ignore the empirical contingency of the process and pretend that the marks on paper and the shuffling faithfully and necessarily track some kind of numinous abstract perfection, and thus speak of absolute logical truth value. We can continue to be gut Platonists even if a little voice whispers “Maybe I screwed up…” But sufficiently large proofs lay bare the contingency of the process.
When you speak of “outer structure”, I can only read this as an attempt to smuggle a special ontological status for mathematical truth back into the conversation. That won’t work; it’s the last gasp of gut Platonism.
>What Daniel Franke is suggesting is that what matters is being able to get some mathematicians or computers to sign off on some theorem. This is simply LAUGHABLE, like we were under the thrall of proof checking devices.
But he’s right. We are under such thrall. Normally we get to elide that fact because the proof checkers are our own brains. (This is very old ground; have you not studied the 19th-century debates around the axiomatization of mathematics?)
I fully realize this way of thinking is depressing. I was training to be a theoretical mathematician; you don’t do that without having a hell of an emotional attraction to timeless eternal mathematical super-reality. I am far from the first person to observe that mathematicians have Formalist thoughts but Platonist feelings.
Having to abandon gut Platonism probably depressed me rather more than it would affect you. But it is not the purpose of philosophical inquiry to make us comfortable.
You suffer from the problem mentioned in my previous post (currently in the mod queue): not being able to hold contradictory ideas in your head. So you think there’s such a thing as “THE truth”. Technically speaking I don’t even really believe in falsehoods, only SMALL truths and BIG truths.
This has exactly nothing to do with what I said. lol
Says the person who slowly emulates me more and more as time goes on. Which came first, the chicken or the theory laden fact?
Big EGO?
> > “In the past, all swans in the known world were white. But people knew that when the known world expanded, they might well see dragons, or black swans.”
> Yeah, exactly as Hume told them: Past empirical evidence is no guarantee for the future.
But Hume was wrong, indeed stupid. All swans in that part of the world were white, and continued to be white.
Just as Newtonian physics remains a very accurate account of bodies moving slowly compared to light, Aristotlean physics remains a reasonably accurate account of Greek oxcarts moving along Greek dirt roads, and Aristotlean causality continues to give a good account of causation in living creatures.
Hume’s argument was the classical nihilistic all purpose philosopher’s argument: We cannot know everything with complete certainty, therefore, cannot know anything at all.
All facts are theory laden – yet a fox manages to know many true things without being aware he has any theories at all.
>All facts are theory laden – yet a fox manages to know many true things without being aware he has any theories at all.
A theory is a prediction generator. The fox has lots of theories. The difference from a human is that the fox’s theories are mostly encoded in his DNA rather than learned – the fox is not good at updating them.
A human has lots of theories that are wired in as well. Ordinary perception depends on them. Optical illusions show the limitations of one kind of theory we have wired into our retinas and visual cortices.
One task of philosophy is to show us how our wired-in theories are less than optimal.
@Hume
Which again shows you have no idea what Hume was saying. You are using a modern view of the empirical sciences which was build by, among others, Hume himself. You seem to have no idea how people at the time were using empirical evidence. Because, at the time there was no “relative” notion to the concept of “truth”.
“yet a fox manages to know many true things without being aware he has any theories at all.”
That is because a fox does not deal with facts, just with “correspondences” (or correlations). By its very nation, a fact is a thing that can be communicated in symbolic form. Foxes do not communicate using symbols. There are many “true things”, but “facts” are just a very small subset of these (if they are even true).
Winter: “Big EGO?”
No, big intellectual dick which Roger insists on waving in all of our faces.
I am not sure I understand all the ramifications of that expression, but I think I can agree with the gist of it.
Yes, I think it roughly means that.
Thanks for the notion that philosophy is about the mind, not about the world. This helps me put my former statement namely that it is the set of things not sufficiently worked out yet in a clearer way. Basically, our understanding of the world and our understanding of the mind are quite entangled. We don’t know on one hand how a truly neutral observer would see the world, on the other hand, other people’s minds are part of our world. This entanglement one may called the experienced and interpreted world, or life-world, the kind of world we live and interpret and interact with, not just observe from afar. And back in the age of classical philosophy this was pretty entangled, it was a reflection on the life-world.
Later on we got a clarification process, a process of trying to disentangle the life-world to studying the world and studying the mind. Natural philosophy and later on natural science was gradually disentangled as a way to study the world, not the mind, and ignore as much as possible all the confounding factors coming from the mind i.e. trying to act as much as possible neutral. We may think Descartes’ ghost in the machine was ducking fumb, but one way to see it is to really wall off the mind from the world, so that we can study the world via science as much as possible.
What remains in philosophy is both more or less pure studies of the mind, and those aspects of the life-world where our understanding of the world and of the mind are still really entangled.
For example, the classical question “what is justice”. A scientific approach would be simply surveying and recording what different people in different ages thought about justice, and from this generate hypotheses about how the mind i.e. moral sentiments work, and how social relations work in generating opinions of justice. This would be a very valid thing to do, but it would ignore that there is a normative aspect of the original question as well: it ask how _should_ we think about justice, or why are some ways of thinking about it wrong. Not factually wrong, since it is not about empirical facts, but still a wrong way. Of course this normativity in turn requires that we learn something else about the world, since almost every norm about how to think about a thing requires that, but it also requires a certain introspection into how our own mind creates ideas and interprets the world. This introspective way of understanding the mind is philosophy + every aspect of understanding the world that is not sufficiently walled off from it.
So, when I said when you work out your legal theory or music theory or economic theory it stops being philosophy, I basically meant when you manage to disentangle the world and the mind with regard to a certain topic and arrive to a world-only model. That is called working it out.
Alex K. on 2015-02-11 at 10:50:24 said:
@Roger:
Philosophy is not a “branch”, it covers EVERYTHING.
I’m attempting to understand your position, and I’m finding an enormous blank area in my model. Especially in light of the arguments regarding “truth”, I wonder if your definition of philosophy also includes all unfalsifiable and “semantically null” nonsensical statements (such as Chomsky’s famous “Colorless green ideas sleep furiously”). In your definition, does philosophy include when I frumptiously gorshap cromulent ankwot? If not, what is the proper boundary of “everything” (and thus philosophy)?
Finally, because you seem to demand respect from others on this blog, let me show you the highest respect I know: the only acceptable—which is to say, “accurate” and “complete”—answers are ones which allow independent construction of the same generative theory in light of all of your previous posts.
> The difference from a human is that the fox’s theories are mostly encoded in his DNA rather than learned – the fpx is not good at updating them.
When you spent decades programming and come up with a model of animal cognition that maps _perfectly_ to the hardware vs. software divide, you should be suspicious about your intuitions. This is just too convenient, right? And I see this approach being already too widespread, pop evo-psy talks about “hardwired” instincts all the time vs. learned behaviors, using basically the hardware-software metaphor, I always find it suspiciously too convenient for people who use hardware and software all the time. This is very much likely just a stage in the progress of technology, maybe 100 years later this will be very outdated, which also means the metaphor will not be used to describe animal life.
Of course it is also possible that the hardware-software divide is here to stay and is a useful metaphor for understanding animal cognition because it is an efficient way of dealing with resources or somehow follows from the laws of nature. But I have not seen any arguments for this yet.
If I had sufficient resoures to design systems, I would often keep my hardware soft and my software hard. I.e. I would try to make things so that nothing is hardcoded that it is too costly to change it when the need arises. I would also find ways to cast software is stone, such as generally accepted standards and interface definitions, so that it does not mutate so much as to cause coordination problems.
I am just not convinced if nature deals in really hardwired hardware and really easily rewritable software. I am just suspicious about the convenience of these metaphors. Maybe our learned behavior is more hardwired than we think it is, or maybe animal behavior is more trainable than we think it is. Maybe we should forget nature vs. nurture as a model.
Coherence Theory is essentially about creating a game, codifying rules, and then playing by those rules. Deviation from the rules is error. To the extent that Coherence Theory is helpful in understanding the Universe, then it is a useful driver in the evolution of our species’ intelligence. Coherence Theory can also be abstract and need not have any additional application.
Correspondence Theory is at the heart of our evolutionary success as a species, and we would not be here to think of it otherwise. We innately absorb information about the world around us (including interaction causation/effect), make predictions based upon this (however imperfect) knowledge, and then either live to reproduce or become extinct.
That we are still here is evidence that something is working pretty well. Life is robust.
“The difference from a human is that the fox’s theories are mostly encoded in his DNA rather than learned – the fpx is not good at updating them.”
I would not state that with too much confidence. “Higher” animals are very good at learning. And even the “lower” animals can amaze. There have been done experiments with ants that are pure SF:
http://www.reznikova.net/Publications.html
Go to the paper Ants and Bits. Plenary talk presented at the 2011 IEEE International Symposium of Information Theory. (with videos) and the papers written together with Boris Ryabko.
I am still not sure whether I can believe these.
are really cheap so only laziness can stand in your way of building one with your two hands, and you get to see wild animals like foxes and rabbits taking a couple of miles of walking from your house?
I live in Aurora, CO not at the edge of Civilization, and the only reason we can’t put our cars in the garage is we have too much stuff (well, and the land cruiser is too tall with the rack on the roof).
I routinely see animals like fox, geese, rabbits (sometimes in the back yard), ground hogs and the (very occasional) deer *within walking distance*. I look out the window in my office and see one of Colorado’s 14s close enough that I can drive there in the morning, hike from 11k feet to 14k feet, and be home for dinner. Well, not this time of year because snow.
And if you’re of the mind you can move up in those hills, sometimes at a high price, and sometimes not so high:
http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/3460-Welch-Ave-Kittredge-CO/13759194_zpid/
J. Read:
Huh? The “American South” is crowded and close compared with things out west (except coastal CA, Portland OR and Seattle, WA).
You want open, get west and north of Denver.
I was driving through Nevada once and we’d see another car every 30 minutes or so.
Of course, when driving through NT, AU we’d see one every hour or so during the day. Wasn’t safe to drive at night. THAT was some empty sh*t.
> Shenpen, there’s no place in the US that I know of where farmland is free or very cheap.
Western Nebraska & Kansas, eastern Colorado. Not really farmland, but there are smaller towns practically begging for people to move there. You won’t generally find it on Zillow, but here’s one place that isn’t farmland, but crissakes it’s cheap. Of course you better be able to telecommute because there ain’t no work there:
http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/603-N-Carrie-Ave-Sharon-Springs-KS-67758/91301600_zpid/
@Jay Maynard on 2015-02-09 at 20:57:59 said:
> …religiously murderous Buddhists. *boggle*
From Air America:
Buddha says… Stop it!
A real Buddhist wouldn’t be running guns.
You’re a hustler. Call it Religion, but you’re a hustler.
I never said I was a good Buddhist.
cdb on 2015-02-11 at 14:43:29 said:
Depends on what cheap means to you, of course. You can find very good farm land within 3 hours of Washington, D.C. for under $3K per acre. There’s good deals to be found most everywhere if you know how and where to look.
> I wish Daniel were wrong about this, but he isn’t. Mathematical proof is an empirical procedure – you shuffle marks on paper according to given proof rules to see if you can get from premises to theorem.
> For small proofs we can generally agree to ignore the empirical contingency of the process and pretend that the marks on paper and the shuffling faithfully and necessarily track some kind of numinous abstract perfection, and thus speak of absolute logical truth value. We can continue to be gut Platonists even if a little voice whispers “Maybe I screwed up…”
But if you screwed up, then you haven’t actually been “shuffle marks on paper according to given proof rules” since your shuffling deviated from the rules.
>But if you screwed up, then you haven’t actually been “shuffle marks on paper according to given proof rules” since your shuffling deviated from the rules.
Yes? So what?
The point I’m driving at here is that provers are fallible, and that matters a lot. Philosophically, a human misapplying the proof rules is no different in its implications than an automated theorem prover emitting a bad result because RAM flipped a bit.
Michael Brazier on 2015-02-11 at 15:30:59 said:
Daniel Franke’s position doesn’t make mathematics empirical; instead it reduces mathematics to social convention. “A mathematical proof is valid only because the society of practicing mathematicians believes it to be valid” is analogous to “a sequence of sounds/letters forms a sentence of English only because societies of English speakers all understand it the same way”.
This is a problem, because it doesn’t exclude coherent nonsense from the class of truths. To take an example unlikely to offend anyone here, as long as there is still a community of convinced Marxists who study and believe the economic and political theories of Marx and Engels, Marxism could not be considered false. Marxism certainly passes the test of internal coherence; Marxist arguments can be constructed and presented to the community of Marxists, to be accepted or rejected. Yet Marxism is certainly false, and any theory of truth which leaves that open to doubt must be defective.
>Daniel Franke’s position doesn’t make mathematics empirical; instead it reduces mathematics to social convention.
Only in the same trivial and uninteresting sense that it reduces any empirical science to “social convention”. Experiments have to be performed by human beings, too, but this does not cause us to doubt (say) that planets have elliptical orbits. With enough replications we trust – and what I am saying is that this is also the case with mathematical demonstrations.
>This is a problem, because it doesn’t exclude coherent nonsense from the class of truths.
As with empirical science, we have to consider “truth” over a sufficiently long timescale of repeated confirmations. You understand Bayesian reasoning; that kind of decision theory applies here as well.
And about formalism in mathematics. Nearly all the key theorems of calculus, and analysis generally, were first stated and proven with unsound methods. Reasoning about infinitesimals in the 17th and 18th centuries was quite sloppy and rife with paradox, and 19th century mathematicians spent much time and labor reworking the foundations of their subject. If formalism is true, how did the mathematicians between Newton and Weierstrass discover theorems of analysis which we still recognize as true today?
>If formalism is true, how did the mathematicians between Newton and Weierstrass discover theorems of analysis which we still recognize as true today?
See my essay “The Utility of Mathematics”, cited upthread, for what I think the crucial clue for this question is.
> > “yet a fox manages to know many true things without being aware he has any theories at all.”
> That is because a fox does not deal with facts, just with “correspondences” (or correlations).
In order to know that a rabbit is good to eat, and a hunter is dangerous, the fox has to know that the rabbit is a rabbit, and the hunter is a hunter.
Hume persuades himself and his readers that he is very smart to know nothing, but the fox knows many things, even though he cannot explain how he knows them.
>>Daniel Franke’s position doesn’t make mathematics empirical; instead it reduces mathematics to social convention.
>Only in the same trivial and uninteresting sense that it reduces any empirical science to “social convention”.
No, not quite. Empirical sciences make assertions of the form “if you do A, you will observe B”. Such assertions can be checked independently of any community of human beings; all that’s needed is to do A and observe either B or the absence of B. If you have to ask a lot of other people whether they agree with an assertion to know if it’s true, it can’t be empirical.
>See my essay “The Utility of Mathematics”, cited upthread, for what I think the crucial clue for this question is.
I’ve just read it. While it’s a valid observation, it’s off the point I was making – it’s addressed to the different question “why is mathematics useful in the study of nature”. My question stayed within mathematics, without regard to its applications in empirical study.
To restate: if the formalists are correct about what mathematics is, how did mathematicians in the 17th and 18th centuries discover and prove theorems in analysis which are both true and important, when their methods of proof were unsound, and even admitted at the time to be unsound? That is, since the “shufflings of marks on paper” during that period was done wrongly, and according to formalism that’s all there is to mathematics, why do we say the mathematics of that period is mathematics? If those mathematicians weren’t trying to understand pure abstractions that existed before them, and did not depend on them or on anything physical … how did they get so many things right?
>No, not quite. Empirical sciences make assertions of the form “if you do A, you will observe B”. Such assertions can be checked independently of any community of human beings; all that’s needed is to do A and observe either B or the absence of B. If you have to ask a lot of other people whether they agree with an assertion to know if it’s true, it can’t be empirical.
The distinction you’re presuming is illusory. Who is going to “do A and observe either B or the absence of B” but another human? How are you going to get that report of confirmation or disconfirmation except from another human?
Unless you can perform the experiment yourself – and we started out by discussing superlarge proofs that no individual can do – you can only get your confirmation by querying the belief states of other humans.
I’m not advocating social construction or subjectivism here, I’m just pointing out that at scale all scientific confirmation is “social” in exactly the way you think mathematics shouldn’t be. Trust one process, trust the other. Distrust one, distrust the other. The difference isn’t in the processes, it’s in your presuppositions about mathematics.
>If those mathematicians weren’t trying to understand pure abstractions that existed before them, and did not depend on them or on anything physical … how did they get so many things right?
Human intuition approximates formalist results because human intuition is not arbitrary – it’s an evolved facility selected under pressure to make snap judgments about the phenomenal world. Formalism, where it isn’t constructed with the exact aim of reflecting and improving human intuitions (which makes your mysterious correspondence easy), also launches from models grounded in phenomenal experience.
(At this point you should be starting to recognize some of the arrows in the diagram included with my essay.)
@Alex K
Yes, philosophy includes nonsense – but it doesn’t rank nonsense on the same level as everything else. “Everything” has no boundary, that makes no sense.
lol, this is blockheaded nonsense. It’s obvious to me now that you have a serious mental defect – namely that you’re not capable of holding complex, contradictory structures in your brain. I don’t give a shit about ontology, it is a (USEFUL) error inherited from language. Again, you reveal yourself to be an extremely shallow, VERBAL thinker. lol “PLATONISM PLATONISM” is the best you can do, which reveals that you haven’t understood a fucking thing I’ve said. This is an incredibly disappointing, shallow response. After claiming to be above ontological bullshit, you spout endless ontological bullshit. Talk to me about FLUX.
lol don’t patronize me – you don’t know the FIRST THING about how proofs work, and that is abundantly clear from reading your comprehensively flubbed attempts to talk about it. And you’re so bamboozled with all this ontological bullshit about Platonism etc that you can’t even absorb my viewpoint. Interesting that you should elide most of what I wrote when it exposes you as someone who in fact knows nothing about proofs either on a practical or a theoretical level.
Again, you haven’t not understood what I’ve said at all. I don’t “believe” in Platonism, nor have I ever “believed” in it. Discovering that Platonism is bogus isn’t depressing to me at all – I didn’t need to open a SINGLE BOOK, or read ANYTHING to know this. But I CAN believe in it WHEN I WANT TO. This is a completely flubbed attempt to read me.
It’s noted that you haven’t responded to any of the actual substance of what I said. That you didn’t comprehend anything that was written. You don’t know anything about the topic you’re speaking about, just trying to fit what little tidbits you do understand to your preferred reality, while pretending to do the opposite. Please, do me a kindness and go back to not replying to me – I prefer the illusion that you’re better than Winter etc.
>It’s noted that you haven’t responded to any of the actual substance of what I said. That you didn’t comprehend anything that was written. You don’t know anything about the topic you’re speaking about, just trying to fit what little tidbits you do understand to your preferred reality, while pretending to do the opposite.
I’m beginning to recognize this as the standard Roger response meaning “I don’t have a counterargument”. Disappointing.
I’m content for you to go right on believing I know nothing about proof or axiomatic systems, because I find the value of your opinions of anything to be rapidly decreasing. Which is a damn shame. You taught me a few things in the past, when you wrote less like a mental patient who’s skipped a dose of Haldol. That’s bought you a lot of slack. It’s running out now.
“Please, do me a kindness and go back to not replying to me – I prefer the illusion that you’re better than Winter etc.”
So, who’s left that you will deign to talk with? And are any of us worthy of other than contemptuous sneering?
If not, then why the hell are you here other than your intellectual dick-waving?
@ Michael Brazier
As mentioned previously, theoretical mathematics falls within the domain of Coherence Theory. It is a formalized system with rules, and all players are expected to follow the rules, and all players are expected to enforce the requirement of rule compliance. It’s not so much a social convention (not everyone is a player) as it is a self-selected society. Furthermore, the game is not static; it evolves as necessary in order to accommodate new information and processes that improve fidelity to the fundamental ideals of the game. As yes, this evolution is substantially Darwinian.
None of the above invalidates the usefulness of mathematics, which is ultimately measured by results (which amounts to consistency and repeatability in the realm of abstractions).
I think that you may be trying to suggest that since mathematics is a human invention, and because humans can be imperfect thinkers, them mathematics may also be imperfect. Welcome to the world as it exists, not as we idealize it.
>Unless you can perform the experiment yourself – and we started out by discussing superlarge proofs that no individual can do – you can only get your confirmation by querying the belief states of other humans.
The distinction between a social convention and an empirical science is that, with the former, there is no possible experiment to perform; a convention just is an aggregate of beliefs of other humans. That in practice scientific enquiry is a social process similar to the development of languages or cultures doesn’t change the fact that unlike many social processes, science is aimed at something outside of human belief states, namely the physical world.
The formalist/Platonist debate is about whether mathematics is aimed at something outside human mental states. Contrary to certain remarks in “The Utility of Mathematics” the Platonist side doesn’t have to maintain that mathematical concepts are fundamental to the physical world; only that mathematical concepts exist independently of the physical world and of human beliefs.
>Formalism, where it isn’t constructed with the exact aim of reflecting and improving human intuitions (which makes your mysterious correspondence easy), also launches from models grounded in phenomenal experience.
So your answer is that early calculus was kept on the path of truth by being applied to physics problems?
Then on which side of your dichotomy do mathematical innovations of the 20th century fall? Cantor’s transfinite numbers? The classification of finite simple groups? It’s hard to see how those could be inspired by phenomenal experience, or by reflecting on and improving intuitions.
>The distinction between a social convention and an empirical science is that, with the former, there is no possible experiment to perform; a convention just is an aggregate of beliefs of other humans.
Right. I’m OK with you making that distinction as long as you recognize that mathematical demonstrations belong in the “possible experiment” category, where we – in effect – experiment with the results of formal production systems. That is the position I understood Daniel Franke to be arguing and which I am supporting.
>So your answer is that early calculus was kept on the path of truth by being applied to physics problems
Yes. And this generalizes. It is worth remembering that until the early 20th century it “pure” mathematics barely existed; mathematicians were also normally scientists or “natural philosophers”. Calculus itself was invented so Newton could do what is now called ballistics or orbital mechanics.
>Then on which side of your dichotomy do mathematical innovations of the 20th century fall? Cantor’s transfinite numbers? The classification of finite simple groups? It’s hard to see how those could be inspired by phenomenal experience, or by reflecting on and improving intuitions.
Actually, finite simple groups are a very thin formalization, quite close to phenomenal experience; you can get there easily from several kinds of science, and even art (there’s even a semi-famous story about a bright mathematical illiterate who reinvented finite Galois groups while doing cryptography on rotor-wheel encryption devices).
Transfinite arithmetic raises any question you might be trying to ask about metamathematics in a much more interesting way. But I can’t address yours until you remind me what dichotomy you think is involved here; sorry, I’ve lost track.
> The point I’m driving at here is that provers are fallible, and that matters a lot. Philosophically, a human misapplying the proof rules is no different in its implications than an automated theorem prover emitting a bad result because RAM flipped a bit.
I don’t understand why either of those has any implications for whether a theorem can be considered to be objectively true.
>I don’t understand why either of those has any implications for whether a theorem can be considered to be objectively true.
I think I need to understand what you think you mean by “objective truth” before I can answer that.
I’m beginning to recognize this as the standard Roger response maning “I don’t have a counterargument”. Disappointing.
I ALREADY GAVE MY COUNTER-ARGUMENT AND YOU FUCKING WELL IGNORED IT. The INSOLENCE here is astounding. A stupid MONG who doesn’t understand the difference between proof construction and proof checking, whose argument was SHOT TO FUCKING PIECES, BLATANTLY FUCKING IGNORES EVERYTHING I SAY, THEN EXPECTS ME TO REPLY TO A USELESS, IRRELEVANT STRAWMAN. FUCKING KILL YOURSELF YOU DERANGED IDIOT
>I think that you may be trying to suggest that since mathematics is a human invention, and because humans can be imperfect thinkers, them mathematics may also be imperfect.
No, not at all. Quite the opposite; if anything, I’m trying to suggest that mathematics is not a human invention but a discovery.
Continuing with the history of calculus as an example, riddle me this: since Cauchy and Weierstrass used formal methods unknown to Newton or Leibniz, in what sense is it true that all four mathematicians were writing about the same subject? Is it merely that all four were part of the same self-selected society, or is there something more? For that matter, in what sense is it true that Newton’s “fluxions” and Leibniz’s “calculus” were equivalent?
>Continuing with the history of calculus as an example, riddle me this: since Cauchy and Weierstrass used formal methods unknown to Newton or Leibniz, in what sense is it true that all four mathematicians were writing about the same subject?
Any metamathematician knows the answer to that. They used different formal foundations but could prove mostly the same theorems, for any reasonable predication of “same”.
@ Michael Brazier – “I’m trying to suggest that mathematics is not a human invention but a discovery.”
An abstraction cannot be discovered. It’s creation first requires the existence of a sentient reasoning entity that possesses the facility of thought and abstract thinking.
As to the history of the evolution of calculus (a mathematical tool), such messiness is quite common. I imagine that the first wheel was also crudely and somewhat serendipitously invented.
Now I think that you are trying to pigeonhole mathematics into an ideal realm of absolute and eternal “truth”; but in the context of Coherence Theory, truth means fidelity to the rules, and the rules will change if the math does work.
Sorry for the late edit. Last sentence should read . . .
Now I think that you are trying to pigeonhole mathematics into an ideal realm of absolute and eternal “truth”; but in the context of Coherence Theory, truth means fidelity to the rules, and the rules will change if the math does not work.
>but in the context of Coherence Theory, truth means fidelity to the rules, and the rules will change if the math does not work
Do you understand that that last word “work” contradicts your stated coherentist position? It refers to some validation criterion outside the “game”, probably an empirical one.
Pure coherentism is ultimately circular for exactly the same reasons the correspondence theory of truth, and in exactly the same way. Both are at best heuristic approximations to predictivism.
“FUCKING KILL YOURSELF YOU DERANGED IDIOT”
…as we watch the slack-o-meter drop to zero faster than the gas gauge in a 1973 Cadillac Fleetwood limousine on a NASCAR track…
>…as we watch the slack-o-meter drop to zero faster than the gas gauge in a 1973 Cadillac Fleetwood limousine on a NASCAR track…
Sigh. It’s like Roger wanted to be banned.
It’s done. He can’t say he didn’t get plenty of warning and chances to straighten out.
Poor bastard. I think he needs psychological help. I hope he gets it.
I’m actually going to miss him a little.
Re: Roger’s exit
In tribute to Jay Maynard’s characterization, we should all take out our dicks and wave goodby to Roger and his psychosis (ladies excluded of course).
@ ESR – “Do you understand that that last word “work” contradicts your stated coherentist position?”
You are correct. I meant work in the sense of “the math cannot be made to comport with the existing rules, so either the math is flawed or the rules need to change.”
But the eighteenth and seventeenth century mathematicians got the right results, not the wrong results.
If formalism is all there is to maths, how could they get the right results? Your theorem prover that flips a bit is going to get the wrong results.
>But the eighteenth and seventeenth century mathematicians got the right results, not the wrong results.
Of course they did. They were using flawed proof methods to justify mathematicizing their intuitions about the phenomenal world. This had exactly the results you would expect if their intuitions were sound but their proof methods not. What’s the mystery here?
I’m not advocating social construction or subjectivism here, I’m just pointing out that at scale all scientific confirmation is “social” in exactly the way you think mathematics shouldn’t be.
No it is not. Part of my education was that I personally did all the necessary physical experiments necessary to deduce modern macroscopic physics up to and including special relativity. I did not do all the experiments necessary to derive quantum physics, but I did what was necessary to indicate that stuff is quantized and that quantum mechanics is seriously weird.
In first year at university, my special relativity class consisted of working through “On the electrodynamics of moving bodies” to deduce special relativity from the same evidence that Einstein did.
>Right. I’m OK with you making that distinction as long as you recognize that mathematical demonstrations belong in the “possible experiment” category, where we – in effect – experiment with the results of formal production systems. That is the position I understood Daniel Franke to be arguing and which I am supporting.
I don’t think that’s what Franke said, but never mind that; I’ve a quarrel with this position too. As I see it, it takes the axioms and inference rules of a formal system as the basic objects of mathematics, and the things they refer to or model as derived from them. Euclid’s postulates are more fundamental than Euclidean space; Peano’s axioms are logically prior to the natural numbers. And this is backwards – in the vast majority of cases the concept comes first, and the formal system is codified to describe it and help one reason about it. Moreover, the concept is logically prior to all axiomatizations of it. Anyone who doesn’t know about the natural numbers won’t see the point of Peano’s axioms, or learn what the numbers are from them.
A parallel mistake (which you are, naturally, not guilty of) is to speak of theories of physics as more fundamental than the actual events they describe, and even to assign causal force to a set of differential equations. (I seem to recall some physicists claiming that the laws of physics explained why the universe exists – they were making just this mistake.)
>They used different formal foundations but could prove mostly the same theorems, for any reasonable predication of “same”.
What a reasonable predication of “same” might be for a formalist is what I was asking for. What makes theorems generated from different formal systems “the same”? Two physical objects made in different ways out of different materials aren’t the same …
>Transfinite arithmetic raises any question you might be trying to ask about metamathematics in a much more interesting way. But I can’t address yours until you remind me what dichotomy you think is involved here; sorry, I’ve lost track.
I meant the specific sentence I quoted; paraphrasing, that formal systems are created with the intent either of refining intuitions, or of building models for some part of the physical world.
>As I see it, it takes the axioms and inference rules of a formal system as the basic objects of mathematics, and the things they refer to or model as derived from them.
Doesn’t seem that way to me. Or possibly I misunderstand what you mean by “basic” and “derived”.
A lot of mathematics is motivated by intuitions about phenomenal models, then axiomatized, then the axiomatized and more rigorous form is productive of insights which may be useful for modeling phenomena, which then feeds back into new mathematics, and away we go again. (See again the diagram in my essay.) The continuing dialogue between calculus/analysis and physics is the most obvious example but not the only one at all.
Does it make any sense to pick one point in that cycle, freeze it, and claim that either the formalization is prior to the model-driven thinking or vice-versa? I don’t think it does.
>What a reasonable predication of “same” might be for a formalist is what I was asking for. What makes theorems generated from different formal systems “the same”?
Extended answer begins here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Model_theory
>I meant the specific sentence I quoted; paraphrasing, that formal systems are created with the intent either of refining intuitions, or of building models for some part of the physical world.
I judge transfinite arithmetic is mostly the former and finite-group theory mostly the latter, but would listen respectfully to a person arguing for a different classification.
I don’t think that’s what Franke said, but never mind that; I’ve a quarrel with this position too.
It’s close enough that I have no objection to it.
In your criticism of Hume (what did he say that you hate him so much?) you are playing with words. Hume did not use the words “know” and “theory” in a way that applies to animals like you apply them. (btw, the correct words here are “recognize” and “associate”)
To get back to humans. All native speakers of English can easily distinguish the words bad, bat, bet, and bed in running speech and they can pronounce them unambiguously. Non native speakers have big troubles doing so (I am a case in point).
So, in your parlance, native speakers of English “know” the distinctions and they have a “theory” how to make it. Still, until the 1970s, not a single speaker of English could save his life explaining how s/he did it. They did not know what constitutes the difference nor how they do it. Even now, the people who investigate this will tell you that there are many unknowns on how this ability works and develops.
Now I am in the curious position that I know (and can explain) how the distinction between these four words are made, but I cannot apply it to my own language use.
Trying to pin down Hume on this metaphorical use of words that was unheard of in his days is, dubious, to say the least. It does show you still have to learn a lot on philosophy. Maybe less in rhetoric (in a bad way).
> In your criticism of Hume (what did he say that you hate him so much?)
Told you already: Instead of providing evidence and argument that X is true and Y is not true, he tells us that believing that X is true and Y is not true makes you a terribly smart person, much superior to the ordinary hoi polloi.
you are playing with words. Hume did not use the words “know” and “theory” in a way that applies to animals like you apply them. (btw, the correct words here are “recognize” and “associate”)
Everyone, most of the time, and most people, all of the time, know things the way a fox knows things. Every time a philosopher sits down on a chair or puts on his shoe, he knows that the shoe is a shoe, and the chair will hold him up, the way any creature knows this sort of thing.
As I said earlier, it is hard to explain how we know things, how we can know things. The correct response is to struggle to explain how we can know things, rather than to conclude that we do not know things.
Shenpen on 2015-02-09 at 15:06:13 said: Without trying to be nosy about your privacy, are you living in those parts of America we high-population density country people tend to fantasize about? Where land to build a barn on is somewhere between extremely cheap and free… and you get to see wild animals like foxes and rabbits taking a couple of miles of walking from your house?
This suggests that even relatively high-density areas of the U.S. are still very different from Europe.
I live in a fairly dense area of Chicago (~8,000/sq km), but there is visible wildlife literally outside the window. Rabbits, at least. I see them frequently, and when a thaw melted snow of a few weeks age, I found piles of rabbit pellets in the small lawns around my building. I’ve encountered skunks and raccoons within 100 meters of my doorstep. I’ve encountered white-tailed deer inside the city limits, and they are common around my mother’s house, five km away. I’ve never seen foxes, but coyotes are known in parts of the city.
“As I said earlier, it is hard to explain how we know things, how we can know things.”
Remains the fact that there is a difference between “scientific” knowledge, which is what philosophers in Hume era were writing about, and being able to perform a task correctly without knowing how you do it. The latter was most definitely not what Hume and his contemporaries were talking about. And you know that.
It is customary to try to interpret a writer using the language that was used by his/her audience. The fact that you refuse to interpret Hume’s writings using the language of his readers tells me you are playing games with us.
@Rich
Yes, it is quite different. Nature in the old world was too abused for a too long time and basically hanging on with teeth and nail. It is not even the industrial age, cutting down the forests began in the Roman period. I live in Vienna and it is probably better than most, many national parks, circled by a forest called the Wienerwald, yet even that is largely devoid of larger mammals, don’t really see tracks or anything, which is not surprising, there are so many people picknicking etc. the noise chases them away. I have a book that describes the 30-something taverns in that forest near the city, which is too much noise for animals.
Not trying to get too political here, but that is the major reason for socialistic policies in Europe, it is the overcrowded rat cage feeling, every square meter used by someone for something and there is just no room to do your own thing. The wineyards in the Grinzing have plaques boasting hundreds of years of history, read, the good land for wineyards was taken hundreds of years ago, so being a wine-maker is not a career or business you choose to start: it is something to inherit or not. Quite literally a privilege. With this level of crowding everything becomes a privilege and not merit, it is very hard to keep an individualist mindset in such circumstances. I think that was part of what used to drive colonialism back them. Breathing room! The idea back that if you are unsuccesful at home, it does not necessarily mean you suck, it can be just the circumstances and quite possible that if you move out to a colony and become a sheep farmer or make kangaroo leather wallets or whatever the heck, you can be quite succesful. I think that is why these socialistic stuff was not too popular back then. It wasn’t like you live in this city or that and just take the jobs other people offer or not, there was more choice, more room to make something of your own initative.
I certainly intend to escape it at one point, before my mindset settles too much into ant-hill mode. I just need to wait a bit for telecommuting becoming more accepted and none of this “I as a boss believe in the power of face to face interaction” and we can go live somewhere rural.
But I guess it would mean 30 min drive to get the kids to school, 40 to dentist, 50 to a hospital… so it would have its own drawbacks. When you cannot even drink a few beers in the evening because your child feels a bit unwell and perhaps you are driving her to a doctor at midnight.
> experiment with the results of formal production systems
To examine something empirically, that thing should exist. It should be part of reality. I can’t just be something I made up. Reformulating your debate into Penrose’s terminology, are these formal systems discovered or invented? Do this formal systems exist solely in the minds that generate them from nothing, or existed before in some magic dimension and were just discovered? If they are invented, how it is possible that e.g. Mandelbrot and Julia found (discovered) entirely new features of complex numbers centuries after they were invented, made as a mere tool for solving cubic equations? If they are discovered, just where were they before?
Your solution is an intermediate one, one between invention and discovery. First we take the phenomenal world, then we extract a sloppy verbal model from it, then we extract a formal model from that. We don’t really invent it out of nothing: it is taken out from phenomenal reality, however it is turned into a different form phenomenal reality contains it in. A good metaphor of your model and basically your answer to Penrose (TENM) would be that these formal systems are like extracting juice from oranges, we don’t discover the juice the same way we can discover, find the oranges on a tree, and we don’t invent it entirely out of nothing, but we extract it from the discovered thing, we work the discovered thing into a different shape or form.
If I got you right, your intermediate solution is very close to hylomorphic dualism, you practically a Thomist :) Because if math can be extracted out of the phenomenal reality, it is not far to say things consist of matter and information. And we extract the information via math.
I don’t really know what else could you say. The last part of the essay seems to reject this juice extraction and go back to considering math an invention: we just make a lot of models and some just happen to have predictive power. But this contradicts that new and new features of these tools are discovered, such as the case with complex numbers. If you make something ex nihilo, if you literally just make it up, you cannot discover more features of that thing, centuries later, by a different person, that just does not work that way. It must be in some way rooted in reality, not just _modelling_ reality by happenstance, but somehow _being_ part of it.
Thus if you don’t want to go Plato, you don’t have much other choice than to go Aristotle and Thomas: information has real existence, but not in a shiny higher realm of pureness, but here in the muddy world, mixed with matter, in every phenomenal thing. A juice press can extract the juice from oranges, a mathemathical mind can extract the information from them.
>Thus if you don’t want to go Plato, you don’t have much other choice than to go Aristotle and Thomas: information has real existence, but not in a shiny higher realm of pureness, but here in the muddy world, mixed with matter, in every phenomenal thing.
I think you’re getting way too hung up on words here, and reifying “information” in a way that just mires you in a lot of unnecessary confusion. The “contradiction” you think you see is nothing of the sort. You say:
But this contradicts that new and new features of these tools are discovered, such as the case with complex numbers. If you make something ex nihilo, if you literally just make it up, you cannot discover more features of that thing, centuries later, by a different person, that just does not work that way.
but this is obviously false. As an easily accessible counterexample, consider the study of the game of chess.
> Remains the fact that there is a difference between “scientific” knowledge, which is what philosophers in Hume era were writing about, and being able to perform a task correctly without knowing how you do it.
Hume does not know the scientific method from a can of beans.
If you want to know the scientific method, read Feynman, Galileo, and Roger Bacon.
The essence of the Scientific Method is summarized by the slogan “Nullius in Verba”, which is that we should avoid the fallacy of scientific consensus. Equivalently, Feynman: “Science is the belief in the ignorance of experts.”
See also my own post http://blog.jim.com/economics/stultum-facit-fortuna/
@James A. Donald
Galileo? Read The Sleepwalkers from Arthur Koestler. He used so many knowingly dishonest arguments, it is not even funny. The proper hero of that age was Newton, the rest largely buffoons who accidentally found some half-truths while furiously wanking about Neo-Platonic symmetry in the heavens.
> Galileo? Read The Sleepwalkers from Arthur Koestler. He used so many knowingly dishonest arguments,
When non scientists discuss how science works, as Arther Koestler did in “the sleepwalkers”, they are, unsurprisingly, usually full of shit.
Still, Hume was right about the limitations of the empiricists of his time. Which is the point here.
And you do not clear this up by using 20th century metaphorical language to misinterpret the writings of an 18th century philosopher. It is very clear what type of knowledge Hume is writing about. And there he was perfectly on target.
>>Without trying to be nosy about your privacy, are you living in those parts of America we high-population density >>country people tend to fantasize about? Where land to build a barn on is somewhere between extremely cheap and free, >>there is no excuse for not putting your car into a garage because the land for the garage and wooden building >>materials are really cheap so only laziness can stand in your way of building one with your two hands, and you get >>to see wild animals like foxes and rabbits taking a couple of miles of walking from your house? This, low-density >>living, has always been something fascinatingly alien and very romantic to me. Where your quality of living would >>have a more DIY character and less dependent on playing the social and career status signaling game… it certainly >>has an appeal for introverts.
It has an appeal for more than just introverts. Though maybe the appeal is a little stronger for introverts. ;)
>I routinely see animals like fox, geese, rabbits (sometimes in the back yard), ground hogs and the (very occasional) >deer *within walking distance*. I look out the window in my office and see one of Colorado’s 14s close enough that I >can drive there in the morning, hike from 11k feet to 14k feet, and be home for dinner. Well, not this time of year >because snow.
FYI, in the US you more or less just need to get out of a city to experience stuff like this. I live in a suburb, and not a particularly distant outer one, of NYC, that is in the most densely populated state in the US. And my town would, to you no doubt, be a nature paradise. From my living room window I can regularly watch deer, squirrels, chipmunks, raccoons, the occasional groundhog (the geography of my immediate area doesn’t favor them), wild turkeys…
On the roads of my town, I have had to stop my car to avoid the following animals:
wild turkeys
(the rabbits stay off the road, in my experience)
This has been a bad winter and the deer are hungry. They regularly come to eat the bushes next to my front door, and once I opened the door and startled a deer that was close enough for us to each kick the other. (Noone was harmed.)
Having a little *space* really does make room for more freedom. There’s a reason our suburbs are so popular, and why they are also so hated (by the kind of person who wants to control others, of course).
Oh, and right now the skunk and raccoon populations are in the collapsed stage. Rabies is endemic, and population of certain animals peaks and then, thanks to rabies, collapses.
In the building containing our town offices, there’s a wall with a big map that has pushpins in it representing confirmed cases of rabid animals.
It’s things like that (and there are many other examples) that keep anyone who pays attention from developing many of the delusions wrt nature common in city dwellers.
@ESR but they did not discover new features of chess if you mean discovering tactics like Sicilian Defense, the it was perfectly clear from the beginning that the game allows gigantic number of moves and combinations, and some of them will be more useful for a black opening than some others. It was just sorting through them until it was found. It is something a powerful computer could brute-force rather simply. Chess, as such, stayed the same since the stopped changing the rules, what changed is what legal moves are used more often in given situations. Even when Sicilian Defence did not have a name, sometimes black still opened with e4 c5.
In other words, chess “discoveries” are parallels to _applied_ math. To using a well know formula to solve a new construction problem. They are new, creative applications, not discoveries.
Don’t judge so fast. Koestler studied the matter so seriously that some of letters G. wrote were translated the first time by him. And pulling stuff like “I don’t need to prove the Copernican hypothesis, those who disagree with it should disprove it because it is always easier to disprove than to prove.” is precisely not how science works, Koestler was right to call these moves out.
It is perfectly clear from the beginning of any mathematical axiomatic system that the game allows gigantic numbers of moves and combinations, and some of them will yield more interesting theorems than others.
Indeed, “interesting” may be because the theorem has an application in modeling phenomena. But your notion that this equates chess tactics to applied mathematics is mistaken. Because…
It might be because the theorem is productive of insight about the system itself, or about some rather distant mathematical object provably related to the system (for example, the Riemann conjecture about the zeros of the zeta function having implications for the distribution of primes). The second and third possibilities exist only weakly if at all in chess.
Sorry, but your notion that you cannot have interesting discoveries spread over centuries in a formal system that was “just made up” is plain silly. If the formal system has sufficient internal complexity it will have more interesting features and productive mappings to other formal systems than a single human brain can explore in a lifetime.
>A lot of mathematics is motivated by intuitions about phenomenal models, then axiomatized, then the axiomatized and more rigorous form is productive of insights which may be useful for modeling phenomena, which then feeds back into new mathematics, and away we go again. […] Does it make any sense to pick one point in that cycle, freeze it, and claim that either the formalization is prior to the model-driven thinking or vice-versa? I don’t think it does.
The cycle can’t run forever into the past, if only because mathematicians haven’t been around forever. (Unless you are willing to entertain the suggestion that the first mathematician had a revelation from God? that’s a joke) So yes, it must be possible to pick one end or the other as coming first – the first of all mathematicians must have had either a formal system without a concept of what its theories were about, or else a concept of an abstract entity without the formal tools to reason about its properties. I think it’s obvious that the former is impossible.
On the history of calculus: I’m afraid that model theory doesn’t answer the question I asked. To use the terms of that subject, the theories in analysis before the late 19th century were not consistent, and an inconsistent theory has no model. It’s all well and good to call two theories “the same” if they have the same set of models; but analysis after Weierstrass has a model and analysis before him didn’t, so they aren’t “the same” in that sense. And formalism admits no other way to define equivalence of theories.
For the Platonist this is no problem – models are real entities, theories are statements about those entities, and inconsistent theories simply include false statements about the model.
On transfinite numbers: I fail to see how transfinite arithmetic was aimed at “reflecting and improving human intuition”. Transfinite ordinals, especially, are so remote from the ordinary process of human reasoning that it’s astonishing Cantor ever thought of them.
>So yes, it must be possible to pick one end or the other as coming first
Historically, yes. I wasn’t clear if you were speaking of “basic” and “derived” in a historical sense or in some analysis of how we do think or should think about the kinds of things there are in the philosophy of mathematics.
>For the Platonist this is no problem – models are real entities, theories are statements about those entities, and inconsistent theories simply include false statements about the model.
This is also no problem for a Formalist who considers the modeling of phenomenal systems a motive for mathematics to be philosophically important as well as pragmatically useful. It seems to me to be perfectly reasonable to say that a poorly axiomatized, formally inconsistent calculus and a well-axiomatized calculus are talking about the same thing if they’re both motivated by the same phenomenal problems and express many of the same theorems in the same notation.
>On transfinite numbers: I fail to see how transfinite arithmetic was aimed at “reflecting and improving human intuition”. Transfinite ordinals, especially, are so remote from the ordinary process of human reasoning that it’s astonishing Cantor ever thought of them.
But the whole enterprise was motivated by human intuitions about cardinality and ordinality derived from finite sets. When it became clear these at least partly broke down on infinite sets, Cantor quite reasonably wanted to know why and whether he could develop a theory that was productive of intuitions about infinite sets.
Eric is right. Much of the confusion in philosophy derives from the incessant reductionism that is it’s mandate. In any debate, you eventually bog down in semantics, nature of thought, and ontology.
What is the meaning of creation versus discovery? Does thought have an antecedent in reality? What if we imagine a world with different physical laws, is that just as “real” as the Universe we live in?
In an ideal conception of the world, answers to the above may be made hard and fast (as in agreed-upon rules). In the world as we experience it, there is endless messiness. Definitions are often soft (and misunderstanding is common). Thoughts are often erroneous and certainly pliable. Imagination is a valuable mental tool, but the Universe does not bend to it.
Just to clarify (to Winter), I am not against philosophy, nor disparage it’s practice. But it’s like owing a handgun, you should handle it carefully and know what your doing.
>To get back to humans. All native speakers of English can easily distinguish the words bad, bat, bet, and bed in running speech and they can pronounce them unambiguously. Non native speakers have big troubles doing so (I am a case in point).
What is your native language? I thought all the Indo-European languages had /t/ and /d/ as separate phonemes.
@Michael Brazier
My native language is Dutch, which has word (syllable) final devoicing which erases this specific d/t contrast.
The /ae/ /E/ contrast in these words mixes with a long/short vowel contrast in the same vowels. In between, there is the way English encodes voice in the length of the preceding vowel.
But I vaguely remember some regions in the US are losing some of these contrasts. And it will be different for Scottish ;-)
It makes for facinating experiments.
>Historically, yes. I wasn’t clear if you were speaking of “basic” and “derived” in a historical sense or in some analysis of how we do think or should think about the kinds of things there are in the philosophy of mathematics.
Not just historical. Going back to the first mathematician just makes the point obvious, because he (whoever he was) couldn’t learn either a formal system or a concept from any other human. Even today, no sensible person would teach a child arithmetic by telling them Peano’s axioms; the proper way is to get the concepts of “number”, “plus” and “times” across, usually with the help of a handful of pebbles.
>It seems to me to be perfectly reasonable to say that a poorly axiomatized, formally inconsistent calculus and a well-axiomatized calculus are talking about the same thing if they’re both motivated by the same phenomenal problems and express many of the same theorems in the same notation.
Reasonable? Certainly, on any common-sense view. But does formalism, as a philosophy of mathematics, allow common sense to have authority?
The main thesis in your “The Utility of Mathematics” could be rephrased as a claim that we can only discover abstract entities which are instantiated within the things our senses can perceive … which is not, after all, very surprising. There is just one small difficulty: you need an ontology in which abstract entities can be instantiated within physical objects, or the claim becomes vacuous.
>But does formalism, as a philosophy of mathematics, allow common sense to have authority?
Show me a Formalist who denies that calculus describes lots of important phenomena and I’ll show you one who thinks empirical phenomena have no bearing on the meaning and justification of mathematical discovery. Good luck finding such a rarefied creature; I’ve certainly never met one.
>The main thesis in your “The Utility of Mathematics”could be rephrased as a claim that we can only discover abstract entities which are instantiated within the things our senses can perceive
What? No, that’s not just a misreading, it’s a completely silly one. For starters, nothing infinite is instantiated in our perceptions. Infinite entities like the natural numbers appear as terms in our theories because simple rules including them have predictive value, but that’s not at all the same thing as claiming they’re lurking inside what we perceive.
What could it even mean to claim that an abstract entity is “instantiated within a physical object”? I realize this kind of nonsensical talk (cue Shenpen and his hylomorphic dualism) has a long history, but it’s still nonsense.
>Certainly, on any common-sense view. But does formalism, as a philosophy of mathematics, allow common sense to have authority?
On further reflection, I have realized this is a more interesting question than I first realized.
On the one hand, you have the likes of David Hilbert saying things like “Mathematics is a game played according to certain simple rules with meaningless marks on paper.”, which pretty much everybody takes as the classic statement of Formalism.
On the other hand, no Formalist ever behaves as though he actually believes this. All mathematics, without exception, is motivated by semantic attachments that the mathematician ascribes to the “meaningless” symbols.
I suppose the lesson is that we need to treat Hilbert’s dictum as a kind of naive rhetorical excess rather than a description of what Formalists actually do.
>On the other hand, no Formalist ever behaves as though he actually believes this. All mathematics, without exception, is motivated by semantic attachments that the mathematician ascribes to the “meaningless” symbols.
That is one of the things I wanted to say, yes.
>I suppose the lesson is that we need to treat Hilbert’s dictum as a kind of naive rhetorical excess rather than a description of what Formalists actually do.
Except that there isn’t any Formalist position short of that “rhetorical excess” which differs in any interesting way from the moderate versions of Platonism …
>What? No, that’s not just a misreading, it’s a completely silly one. For starters, nothing infinite is instantiated in our perceptions. Infinite entities like the natural numbers appear as terms in our theories because simple rules including them have predictive value, but that’s not at all the same thing as claiming they’re lurking inside what we perceive.
That was a slight misstatement on my part – I should have said “at least partly instantiated”. The set of natural numbers can’t exist in physical reality, but members of that set can and do – count the things in the room you’re sitting in. We extrapolate the existence of the natural numbers that we haven’t observed from those we do observe, after we have understood the concept of addition.
>What could it even mean to claim that an abstract entity is “instantiated within a physical object”? I realize this kind of nonsensical talk (cue Shenpen and his hylomorphic dualism) has a long history, but it’s still nonsense.
But every theory of the natural sciences actually makes such claims – not for specific objects, perhaps, but certainly for reality as a whole, and for processes within it. What else is meant by the expression “laws of physics”, if not the claim that a specific pattern of events must exist? And what is a pattern of events, if not an abstraction?
>Except that there isn’t any Formalist position short of that “rhetorical excess” which differs in any interesting way from the moderate versions of Platonism …
Er…I consider myself a non-extreme Formalist (albeit with strong New Empiricist leanings) and I uncategorically deny that my position has any Platonism at all in it – the reason being that I will have no truck with “ideal forms”. They are, as the departed Roger would have said, ontological bullshit.
It is also possible (even probable) that what you take for a mild Formalist position is actually what a mathematical philosopher would call Psychologism or Structuralism (too complicated to explain here). Those are readily distinguishable from even mild Platonism.
>We extrapolate the existence of the natural numbers that we haven’t observed from those we do observe, after we have understood the concept of addition.
Right. And then in order to lower the Kolmgorov complexity of our theories we include unobservable infinities.
>But every theory of the natural sciences actually makes such claims – not for specific objects, perhaps, but certainly for reality as a whole, and for processes within it. What else is meant by the expression “laws of physics”, if not the claim that a specific pattern of events must exist? And what is a pattern of events, if not an abstraction?
A pattern of events is an abstraction, but it’s a serious mistake – a kind of language-driven essentialism that will make you very stupid if you let it – to think that abstraction is a kind of substance that can underly or be prior to the reality you observe. You pointed out this earlier yourself, and it’s not a mistake I needed any warning against.
“Mathematics is a game played according to certain simple rules with meaningless marks on paper.”,
I think 19th century number theory comes close to your description of Hilbert’s program of meaningless marks on paper. IIRC Euler was mightily proud of the fact that it was complete devoid of any taint of usefulness.
Paul Brinkley on 2015-02-12 at 18:34:18 said:
This feels like an oddly quasi-Kafkatrappy thing to assert about Formalists. Which is to say, any Formalist who attempted to prove the existence of attachment-free mathematical analysis would necessarily be doing so because of a semantic attachment to the existence of such analysis.
(Heh heh heh.)
Simple math can be (and often is) done in your head, and if you don’t tell anyone about it, no one will know that it happened (e.g. checking out the amount of change received at the store). This is a mental exercise in abstraction space.
As problems get bigger and harder, you might grab a pencil and paper and write out the symbology in long form in order to stay organized and decrease the likelihood of errors. This is demonstrative formalism learned in the Third Grade.
In theory, some formalist exercises in mathematics can be purely abstract and have no intended purpose other than “look what I can do.”
In practice, all forms of mathematics have advanced our species intelligence and knowledge evolution. It exists because it makes us more robust.
Some of the “look what I can do” mathematics is found lying around and put to use when a new application warrants it. For example, the use of complex numbers in AC circuit analysis.
>I uncategorically deny that my position has any Platonism at all in it
I realize this is nitpicking, and that I’m hardly an authority on the English language, but… isn’t “uncategorically” a malapropism?
>I realize this is nitpicking, and that I’m hardly an authority on the English language, but… isn’t “uncategorically” a malapropism?
No. It means “unconditionally”, pretty much. The opposite is a “categorical denial”, which is qualified in some way, but that term is often misused by people who think it means “uncategorical” :-(.
> Er…I consider myself a Formalist (albeit with strong New Empiricist leanings) and I uncategorically deny that my position has any Platonism at all in it – the reason being that I will have no truck with “ideal forms”.
You would agree that Euclid’s lines are based on actual physical lines of sight, and euclid’s angles are based on the apparent distance between two lines of sight, are based on real things, that every mathematician drawing a diagram to prove a theorem of Euclid thinks of the lines as depictions of real things, even if he denies that they are depictions of real things.
And is not a euclidean line the ideal form of a line of sight?
>And is not a euclidean line the ideal form of a line of sight?
Without getting into the 40 jillion kinds of non-Platonist interpretation of “ideal”, the Platonist position is that there is a pure noumenal form of Lineness that exists as a thing that is more real than any of the imperfect reflections of it that we see in the phenomenal world as lines. I utterly reject this position.
My own position is moderate realism: That color red exists, but only in that the characteristic that all particular red objects have in common exists, that the number three similarly exists in what all collections of three objects have in common, and that a Euclidean line exists, but only in what all good real world approximations to a Euclidean line, such as a line of sight, have in common.
If you say the color red does not exist, I show you an apple.
To which you reply “That is not the color red, that is an apple”
To which I reply, “it is an apple, and also a particular example, one of a great many, of the color red.”
>A pattern of events is an abstraction, but it’s a serious mistake – a kind of language-driven essentialism that will make you very stupid if you let it – to think that abstraction is a kind of substance that can underly or be prior to the reality you observe. You pointed out this earlier yourself
So I did. But denying that abstractions are more real than the physical entities instantiating them is not the same thing as denying that abstractions exist in physical entities. The second denial – the position that concepts exist only in human minds – generates insuperable paradoxes that are quite as bad as, or worse than, what Plato’s theory of the Forms led to.
Just in passing, since you hold C. S. Pierce in high regard, it’s worth mentioning that he firmly believed in the reality of abstractions, though not in their supremacy over the concrete.
>I consider myself a non-extreme Formalist (albeit with strong New Empiricist leanings) and I uncategorically deny that my position has any Platonism at all in it – the reason being that I will have no truck with “ideal forms”.
Remember upthread when Shenpen said your position on mathematical theories is Aristotelian? He wasn’t wrong about that. I have seen very similar statements to “The Utility of Mathematics” written by a practicing Thomist philosopher.
>The second denial – the position that concepts exist only in human minds – generates insuperable paradoxes that are quite as bad as, or worse than, what Plato’s theory of the Forms led to.
I have not encountered any such difficulty. Can you exhibit such a paradox?
> >The second denial – the position that concepts exist only in human minds – generates insuperable paradoxes that are quite as bad as, or worse than, what Plato’s theory of the Forms led to.
> I have not encountered any such difficulty. Can you exhibit such a paradox?
Moss and lichen are different kinds. Were they any the less different kinds before thinking creatures arose to notice that they are different kinds?
>Moss and lichen are different kinds. Were they any the less different kinds before thinking creatures arose to notice that they are different kinds?
The question supposes an impossibility. Without a thinking creature to observe, there are no “kinds”. Kinds are not a feature of the universe but of cognition, of the observing mind’s requirement to chunk information so that it can make predictive generalizations.
You can ask, slightly more sensibly, this question: suppose we knew of a date before which no thinking creatures existed. Then we sent a thinking creature through a Tipler machine to before that date. Then, moss and lichen might have different kinds because the thinking creature took his kind-making apparatus with him.
(The above analysis is basic General Semantics, though expressed in the jargon of academic philosophy rather than GS itself.)
Another way to answer this question is to ask a counter-question: what are the consequences of supposing moss and lichen to be of different kinds if no entity can observe a consequence of the distinction?
James A. Donald:
> > Moss and lichen are different kinds. Were they any the less different kinds before thinking creatures arose to notice that they are different kinds?
> The question supposes an impossibility. Without a thinking creature to observe, there are no “kinds”
For example, if there are no kinds, what stops lichen from crossbreeding with moss?
>For example, if there are no kinds, what stops lichen from crossbreeding with moss?
They don’t have compatible DNA, of course. But being different in consequential ways is different from being a “kind”. Two random organisms that you would classify as “both moss” or “both lichen” might be unable to breed because one or both got a little too much UV.
Whenever you speak of “kind”, you are smuggling in a hypothetical observer who you suppose would make the kind of distinctions you would make.
Reading this discussion, it looks like there’s nothing here but rabbit holes down which it’s entirely possible to lose oneself forever while contemplating the meaning of what “is” is. Enjoyable intellectual exercises, perhaps, but with what applicability to the real world?
“Enjoyable intellectual exercises, perhaps, but with what applicability to the real world?”
Then I will give you something that might be applicable to the real world:
When can we say that the statement “Lichens cannot interbreed with mosses” is True, and when that is it False?
There are many levels. One is, when is a statement considered True and when False? What are the “intuitive” meanings of these words, and when does intuition fails you?
How do we identify a lichen and moss, and how are these distinct?
Combine these, and investigate a statement whether Lichens can interbreed with Mosses.
At each level, there are hard won answers to these philosophical questions and together we got something like the “Scientific Method”, which was very successful in the real world.
Obviously, you can change the type of creatures and the type of actions at will.
Jay, I would put it a bit differently.
Science is about how to find answers. Philosophy is about how to find good questions. Like science, philosophy has many fuzzy edges and blind rabbit holes. But I agree with Winter on this one, some of those rabbit holes have yielded useful tools for posing questions that have the potential to yield interesting answers.
And, yes, there is a *lot* of noise and nonsense out there — but this is true out on the bleeding fuzzy edges of science as well.
The march of intelligence evolution in our species has been aided by many things, and I would agree that both philosophy and mathematics have been big accelerators (especially as they have fostered and improved the scientific method). This benefit exists regardless of the arcane arguments over idea supremacy that have played out over time. In an odd sense, these endless battles have perpetuated a Darwinian intellectual warfare in which we continue to struggle. As a species, we can get stronger because the battle is never over.
In the social realm, our affluence has reduced the Darwinian battlefield to argumentation over petty verbal offenses and artificially-perceived oppression. We grow fat and lazy and whiny.
Which is the bigger problem for us?
[Moss and lichen don’t interbreed because] they don’t have compatible DNA, of course. But being different in consequential ways is different from being a “kind”. Two random organisms that you would classify as “both moss” or “both lichen” might be unable to breed because one or both got a little too much UV.
The way that conversation was going, I expected the response to be “what is this ‘interbreed’ notion you speak of?”. Actions are themselves classified into “kinds” – we call this action “running”, that one “investing”, and so on. “Interbreeding” is a kind of action that evokes a certain set of exemplars in our minds, with a set of expected results – two organisms enter, three (or more) leave, etc. We know what we mean by it.
Torture the concept(!) of that action kind enough, though, and you get weird corner cases. Two people walk into a room, have a little fun, walk out; they do this several times. No baby. Were they interbreeding? Two ladies walk in, have a little fun, they walk out nine months later with a newborn. Were they interbreeding? A man and a woman walk into a machine shop, you hear a lot of drilling and boring and welding for nine months (they “had a little fun”), they come out with something that looks and acts like a human, about 18 inches tall. Were they interbreeding?
Meanwhile, you ask (in the metaphorical sense – you do this by performing more experiments) the universe what it’s doing in these cases, and you’ll get a strong indication that the universe doesn’t give a whit what you call any of this, it’s just letting mesons, baryons, and leptons do their thing.
For all we know, the universe might not even care about these notions of “meson” and “baryon” and “lepton” either. And I’m not saying that it doesn’t care that we called them that; I’m saying that it might not even have these three notions plus something we call a “strong force” and a “weak force”, each of which influences only some of them, and not the others. We don’t know; this is just what we observe; we agreed to make up labels for them so we could talk about how to “ask” the universe further.
In other words, I think I understand what Eric is getting at with this “concepts are all in our minds” notion. And at the same time, I think it makes Jay’s question perfectly valid…
> We don’t know; this is just what we observe; we agreed to make up labels for them so we could talk about how to “ask” the universe further.
Exactly. Bingo. You’ve got it. Eliezer Yudkowsky covered this angle on the question in Disguised Queries
People who persist in thinking that “Were moss and lichen different kinds before thinking creatures arose?” is a sensible question might be enlightened as to why it is not if they considered instead “Were bleggs and rubes different kinds before thinking creatures arose?” in the terms of Eliezer’s parable.
Which I read, and thought: some progress does get made. Alfred Korzybski got there first, but Eliezer is a much better explainer.
>Reading this discussion, it looks like there’s nothing here but rabbit holes down which it’s entirely possible to lose oneself forever while contemplating the meaning of what “is” is. Enjoyable intellectual exercises, perhaps, but with what applicability to the real world?
To help you not be baffled by bullshit. Including, in extreme cases, bullshit created exclusively by the chaos of one’s own disordered thought processes.
>[The function of philosophy is to help] you not be baffled by bullshit. Including, in extreme cases, bullshit created exclusively by the chaos of one’s own disordered thought processes.
Exactly. One of the reason General Semantics is excellent is that it makes this goal explicit, describing itself as a system of mental hygiene rather than a philosophical school.
@Shenpen: “and some of them will be more useful for a black opening than some others”
I don’t know much about chess, but is this objectively (as much as such a thing can be objective) true, or does it depend very much on what kind of moves the white player can be expected to make? In some games (I think the term was invented for Magic: the Gathering), there is something called “the metagame”, where you have to design your plans around what sort of tactics you can expect to be commonly used by your opponents, which is something that evolves over time.
…to refresh (myself and others), I mean Jay’s question about what applicability to the real world exists by thinking about where concepts come from (along with kinds, actions, properties, relationships, and the rest).
For me, the reason to know where anything comes from is to know its criteria, in order to know what else I can deduce about it, including where it will go next. If I know what makes a molecule of sodium bicarbonate, for example, then I know what reactions it can take part in. If I know what makes a Green Party candidate, then I know about what positions that person is likely to take. If I know what makes a cat, then I know… okay, bad example. But hopefully you get the idea.
So, if I know whether a concept comes from the universe itself, or just out of our heads, that will tell me what the rules are for how that concept will apply to new entities. It will tell me whether I can say this new thing is an instance of “sodium bicarbonate molecule”, or “hadron”, or “person”, or “interbreeding”, or “torture”, or anything else.
If concepts come from us, then I know they’re true by definition. I can say a hadron is a hadron because that’s what we call it, and I don’t have to get hung up on whether it was contingent on something else. Then, if someone wants to say something is true of hadrons that wasn’t in the original arbitrary definition, I now know that I need to ask them whether they intend to change the arbitrary definition into a more formal set of contingencies (e.g. a particle is a hadron only if this thing we call the strong force acts on it). Also, we would then have a sense of what particles we expect to be hadrons, and so if the universe tosses something our way we didn’t expect, we now know whether we need to add more contingencies to the list for something to qualify to be a hadron, or if it’s the case that our original list is fine, and what we’re really after is a split within our arbitrary hadron category, and – and this is the big money question – what that implies for all the previous things we claimed were true about hadrons.
That make sense, Jay?
This inquiry into concepts and their identity criteria is something I think people don’t do nearly enough. I’m actually sure particle physicists do it for things like hadrons all the time – no one’s religiously committed to one sense of hadron or another – but people in general don’t do enough of this for more mundane concepts like “torture” or “person” or “right”. They go to the dictionary for these definitions. (To paraphrase Ann Althouse: dictionary writers don’t even go to the dictionary to write the next version.) Those definitions are arbitrary for all but the driest, technical terms. They don’t easily lend themselves to further deduction.
(I sure hope Roger isn’t reading all this and suffering a stroke…)
>For me, the reason to know where anything comes from is to know its criteria, in order to know what else I can deduce about it, including where it will go next.
That’s right. Eliezer says every descriptive predicate is a disguised query, but he doesn’t go quite far enough. Every descriptive predicate is a disguised bundle of predictions. This was Charles Sanders Peirce’s big insight.
(I really should have used “criterion” everywhere I used “contingency” above, to minimize confusion. Apologies.)
> But being different in consequential ways is different from being a “kind”.
That an entire set of particular things differ in consequential ways from other entire sets of particular things is exactly what being a kind is.
No human observer is required. And human observers exist, and have a social consensus, and if the social consensus gets it wrong, so much the worse for social consensus.
If you claim that observers must exist for a kind to exist, you come to the conclusion that consensus about kinds cannot be wrong, which is silly.
>If you claim that observers must exist for a kind to exist, you come to the conclusion that consensus about kinds cannot be wrong, which is silly.
You missed the part where every predication is a prediction. That’s what makes semantic sanity different from consensus.
Now go read “Disguised Queries”.
Speaking of rabbit holes:
In Yudkowsky’s defense, I think he chose to spend his essay driving the first point (descriptive predicates are queries in disguise) to make sure it took root in the reader’s mind. It’s distinct corollary about predictions requires an extra step, and therefore another essay. I don’t know whether he wrote such an essay (I’ve read some of LW, but not all). I highly suspect he was quite aware of it, given that it occurred naturally enough to me. So now I wonder if he did, and if he didn’t, why he didn’t think to do it.
And now I’m wondering what other philosophically profound truths I may have stumbled upon in the shower or on the farm that I need only to write about in order to generate both Pierce’s renown and perhaps his salary(!), and consequently, what the identity criteria for those suckers would be.
Perception is primarily the first act of brain activity upon receiving input via the body’s senses. Conception is generally a volitional secondary act of brain activity that may incorporate sensory input, memory, and some marginally-understood processes known as cognition and imagination. Reasoning is a potential tertiary act in which an overlay of rationality is applied in the expectation that subsequent decisions and actions will enhance survival, fitness, reproduction, and persistence. Evolution did this to us because it worked.
> Enjoyable intellectual exercises, perhaps, but with what applicability to the real world?
We are arguing various kinds of realism versus nominalism. Esr seems to be a nominalist, though since nominalism these days has a reputation for villainy similar to that of Nazism and Stalinism, would probably deny it.
Nominalism winds up saying that people, in some sense, create reality. Whereupon it becomes important to create a nice reality that makes people feel good, so you wind up hanging people who create a bad reality with piano wire.
Nominalists tend to pretty rapidly go all the way to piano wire, so there are lots of “I am not a nominalist but …” people who want to go most of the way with nominalism, but stop short before the piano wire, people who agree with everything other nominalists say, except whatever it is that makes people hate those other nominalists.
Much as there are lots of leftists who are in favor of driving over the cliff and not coming to a sudden stop at the bottom.
>Nominalism winds up saying that people, in some sense, create reality.
Any nominalism of which that is true is bullshit. But that is not how I understand the term.
People create concepts. Concepts are not reality. That’s the point.
(I should really have read more about Peirce the person before expressing a hankering for his salary. That said, my affinity for his renown still stands.)
> what applicability to the real world?
Whenever someone says “races do not exist, therefore profiling is wrong, but affirmative action is right, and also affirmative action does not exist”, that contortion is made possible by nominalism.
And I have had arguments with esr where he denied that races exist, though not in a manner quite as blatantly self refuting and nonsensical as the leftist I just parodied.
>And I have had arguments with esr where he denied that races exist
You’re confusing me with someone else. I affirm that races exist. I make you unhappy by denying that the mass is the individual.
If nominalism true, then humans, to some extent, create reality. Whereupon certain observations of reality are deemed evil, since the nominalist would prefer a different reality to be created.
And esr has in fact demonized me and demonized the people of the past for reporting observations about the real world.
>And esr has in fact demonized me and demonized the people of the past for reporting observations about the real world.
I will not permit you to hijack this thread into being about your diseased racist fantasies. If you comment in that vein, I will delete it. Stick to epistemology and everyone will be happier.
Whether numbers are a social construct, or a real property of any collection, or a real thing in an abstract realm accessible to reason, has few practical consequences.
When, however, we start talking about kinds of people, people suddenly care a great deal whether kinds exist in the real world independently of human knowledge and belief, or kinds are merely a social construct.
You do not have to make the claim that “people create reality” to say that categories are sophont made. But to deny that they are the product of mind is to claim that they are fundamental elements of the universe. Oh hello Mr. Plato, do you never stop showing up at these things?
To put it another way: the universe doesn’t give a shit what your intended purpose for that exothermic chemical reaction was, it followed the rules of the universe period. You on the other hand can categorize it as a failure that the engine blew up instead of running smoothly.
His electron identity example using Gliders was similarly enlightening.
>To put it another way: the universe doesn’t give a shit what your intended purpose for that exothermic chemical reaction was, it followed the rules of the universe period. You on the other hand can categorize it as a failure that the engine blew up instead of running smoothly.
Thinking about Korzybski has put me in a mood to coin pithy aphorisms. To “The map is not the territory; the word is not the thing defined.” I now add add “No kinds without minds; no predication without prediction.”
JAD’s belief that nominalism implies “human create reality” is map-territory confusion.
Nominalist to realist: “If you believe that kinds are real, you are going to gas the Jews”
Realist to nominalist: “If you doubt that kinds are real, you are going to hang the dissenters”.
>>The second denial – the position that concepts exist only in human minds – generates insuperable paradoxes that are quite as bad as, or worse than, what Plato’s theory of the Forms led to.
>I have not encountered any such difficulty. Can you exhibit such a paradox?
The problem of personal identity – or, more generally, the persistence of living things. The process of digestion and excretion exchanges some of the atoms that make up a living being with atoms in its environment. (I understand that with humans, this continual exchange replaces every atom in the body after seven years.) Thus a living being cannot be considered “the same” over time because it’s made of the same materials. What makes the acorn the same thing as the oak, the puppy the same as the grown dog, the child the same as the man, is an abstraction. Denying that abstractions exist in the world, if done consistently, makes biology incoherent.
These are not new issues – you’ll find them discussed in any commentary on Locke. Indeed, Locke’s attack on natural kinds, and his attempts to find a replacement for them, are the starting point of the school of thought you subscribe to.
>Indeed, Locke’s attack on natural kinds, and his attempts to find a replacement for them, are the starting point of the school of thought you subscribe to.
Oh, hell no. Some unusually intelligent mystics had already gotten almost to where I am two thousand years ago. Alas, they didn’t have all the tools they needed. Nor did Locke. This is nobody’s fault.
I agree completely with Paul Brinkley’s reply to you on this. You think there is a “problem of identity” only because you have a language-driven confusion about “identity”.
Shuzan should whack you a good one with his shippe.
If nominalism [is] true, then humans, to some extent, create reality.
This is only true (in the manner in which I think you claim) if kinds dictate reality. Eric is evidently claiming that kinds do not dictate reality. (I can’t point to where he’s said this explicitly, but I think my mental model of his mind is accurate enough for me to claim this.)
Corollaries:
– kinds may be incorrect
– James has a notion of “kind” that is not the same as Eric’s notion of “kind”
– James’ “kind” is something that exists independently of people’s cognitive tools for accessing them
– “kinds may be incorrect” should be clarified to mean “instances of Eric’s ‘kind’ may bear a failure to correspond to reality”
– Eric has been aware of James’ “kind” for a while (humor not intended)
– Eric would claim that James’ sense of “kind” may exist or not, but may as well not, given that the only access people have to it is through Eric’s sense of “kind”
– Eric’s sense of “kind” succeeds in explaining all of the concerns James has voiced here, such as unjustified claims of evil observations, unjustified legitimization of profiling, Eric’s claim that races do not exist (did this happen?), and unjustified legitimization of affirmative action.
I think I got most of the latest stuff correct here.
>Eric is evidently claiming that kinds do not dictate reality.
Right. Kinds only exist in the map, not the territory.
>– Eric would claim that James’ sense of “kind” may exist or not, but may as well not, given that the only access people have to it is through Eric’s sense of “kind”
That is also correct.
>Kinds only exist in the map, not the territory.
You’re hinting at the essence of Discordianism, right? From what I’ve read at Wikipedia, Discordians claim external reality is basically messy, a realm of pure chaos; and they use the word “grid” for what Korzybski called “map”.
I’ll read the online version of the Principia Discordia today. It’s long overdue.
>You’re hinting at the essence of Discordianism, right?
Only incidentally. The essence of Discordianism is the essence of General Semantics is the essence of Zen: “The mind is like a dog; his master points at the moon, but he barks at the hand.”
I’ve seen this description numerous times – it’s an instance of the Ship of Theseus Problem.
Michael, I take your paradox to boil down as follows: biology is coherent; for it to be so, abstractions must exist in the world; for that to be so, abstractions cannot exist solely within the mind.
But this Ship of Theseus problem was long known to be addressable by pointing out a confusion in the definition of “same”. An organism does not have to be defined in some set-theoretic notion of the atoms it contains inside its boundary (the boundary itself is a conceptual notion). Indeed, no biologist would claim this. So, “same organism” is not the same as “same bits of matter”.
And yet, biologists are able to present testable predictions involving things they all call “organism”. The existence of these predictions justifies the notion of “organism”. This justification is in line with Eric’s claim that concepts are all in the mind.
In fact, to me, it appears to affirm that kinds are all in the mind. Namely: if “organism” is defined in terms of the matter, its definition becomes inconsistent with the claims biologists wish to make about organisms.
If this “organism kind” is understood as existing in the universe, then the universe itself is incoherent.
If, on the other hand, this “organism kind” is understood as having been defined and agreed upon by biologists in order to try to construct subsequent predictions, then the only incoherence is in the definition, which simply needs to be altered, and all previous deductions now need to be revisited. A great deal of work, to be sure, but it at least still permits us to work as if the universe is coherent… and it still permits biology to sail forward as an endeavor.
>But this Ship of Theseus problem was long known to be addressable by pointing out a confusion in the definition of “same”. An organism does not have to be defined in some set-theoretic notion of the atoms it contains inside its boundary (the boundary itself is a conceptual notion). Indeed, no biologist would claim this. So, “same organism” is not the same as “same bits of matter”.
Right. To a General Semanticist, or a Zen Buddhist, none of this is perplexing. There are no “things”, only processes. Nagarjuna called it “dependent arising”. When we insist on creating static noun-like categories, we do it for our short-term convenience, not because the universe is really like that.
>In fact, to me, it appears to affirm that kinds are all in the mind. Namely: if “organism” is defined in terms of the matter, its definition becomes inconsistent with the claims biologists wish to make about organism.
That’s exactly right, and is an instance of “No kinds without mind; no predication without prediction.”
I have found it useful to model the universe as a simulation despite not believing that it is: it clears away a large swath of common errors that have been on virulent display in this thread. Related to that and things that ESR has said:
You can never be quite certain that the top really fell over and wasn’t just part of the sim, the demon will always have the last laugh. So ignore him.
So here’s a thing.
All this while, Eric has been making claims about the nature of kinds, and claiming that those claims are objective truth. After a while, I start thinking, well, that’s a lot of what James McDonald was doing, too. So why are they at odds?
Eric’s claims about kinds presuppose an existence of kinds. However, by the claims themselves, they don’t exist in the universe, outside of minds. Furthermore, this implies that the minds’ shared claims about kinds might be mistaken – that is, there might be a failure of some proposed claim about kinds to correspond to reality. But in this case, reality would be the set of shared claims about kinds. In other words, one of those claims could fail to correspond with the others.
That’s not hard to imagine in itself. (I swear, I can feel Roger breathing down my neck…) But what *is* troubling is that there’s no criterion I’ve put forth here that distinguishes any of those claims from the one Eric made.
To put it another way: imagine there are two buckets, “true” and “false”, and a big pile of claims that start out on the floor, and our self-imposed job is to sort claims into the true and false buckets, and the more we’ve sorted, the more we’ve succeeded. We’re all scrupulously honest and loyal to straight up logic, no chaser, and so, many of the claims we pick up off the floor go right back down on the floor because we can’t tell whether they go in one bucket or the other. After a while, though, we naturally notice that certain claims fit together – if one of them goes into one bucket, then the other has to go there, too. And some are “anti-fit” – if one of the goes in one bucket, the other has to go into the opposite bucket.
And certain claims have this queer feature in that they’re about what we claim sorters believe. If we believe them, they go in the true bucket; if not, the false bucket; we just have to decide. The only catch is that some of them are fitted and anti-fitted with other claims. If we’re lucky, some of them fit or anti-fit with the rules of straight-up logic no chaser, and so we don’t have to choose.
I can’t find the fit or anti-fit between “no kinds without minds” and anything in straight-up logic no chaser.
However, I think I sort of stumbled on a fit between NoKWoM and “the universe is knowable”, earlier. So there’s something.
Meanwhile, I can’t help but notice all this reference of mine to straight up logic no chaser presupposes certain kinds of things – namely, claims, and logical equivalence. And correspondence to observation, I guess.
But if we take NoKWoM as necessarily being in the true bucket (if for no other reason than so we can keep “knowable universe” there too and avoid having the buckets disappear), then what happens to the legitimacy of the kind of all claims? And the kind of all logical equivalence relations?
Maybe these two kinds (and perhaps a couple others) are the magical ideal kinds James was getting at. I’m not sure at this point. (If they are, it sure woulda been better for James to have brought these up, rather than the race stuff.)
>But in this case, reality would be the set of shared claims about kinds. In other words, one of those claims could fail to correspond with the others.
Right. This is where W.V.O. Quine landed; it’s why “coherentism” almost works. The way I’d put it is that “reality” is the set of terms that persistently show up in the theories with the best predictive bang for the presuppositional buck.
>But if we take NoKWoM as necessarily being in the true bucket (if for no other reason than so we can keep “knowable universe” there too and avoid having the buckets disappear), then what happens to the legitimacy of the kind of all claims? And the kind of all logical equivalence relations?
I don’t see a particular problem with either of these. You may not be able to enumerate all instances of these kinds, but do you have recognition rules for them. What do you want to use them for?
Paul Brinkley wrote: “…the only incoherence is in the definition, which simply needs to be altered…”. And you, ESR, mentioned a “language-driven confusion about ‘identity'”.
So we’re dealing with philosophical problems that stem from misuse of language; it follows that a proper use of language will make those problems vanish.
(From your account, Korzybski endeavored to expose that confusion; so did Carnap [Pseudoproblems in Philosophy] and possibly others, and so does Yudkowsky nowadays.)
Now, you once talked about making seemingly-intractable philosophical problems vanish by acknowledging the insights of evolutionary psychology (“What Do You Believe That You Cannot Prove?”), which suggests you endorse some version of naturalized epistemology.
So, unless I’m misconstruing your position, you believe the combination of Korzybskian/Wittgensteinian language analysis and evolutionary psychology would amount to a fundamental reformulation of philosophy, an unprecedented paradigm shift (not that I’m fond of Kuhn, mind you =P). Am I going too far, or is there really a useful compatibility between those two fields?
(BTW, thanks for correcting my previous comment. You saved me some embarrassment, to say the least! ;-))
>(From your account, Korzybski endeavored to expose that confusion; so did Carnap [Pseudoproblems in Philosophy] and possibly others, and so does Yudkowsky nowadays.)
Yes. Carnap, alas, wasn’t very good at the job; Korzybski was better, and Yudkowsky built on Korzybski and explains him very well (though it is often not obvious that this is what he is doing).
>Now, you once talked about making seemingly-intractable philosophical problems vanish by acknowledging the insights of evolutionary psychology (“What Do You Believe That You Cannot Prove?”), which suggests you endorse some version of naturalized epistemology.
I’ve never encountered the term before (or possibly it was long enough ago that I’ve forgotten) but yes, I think I fall within the intended scope.
>So, unless I’m misconstruing your position, you believe the combination of Korzybskian/Wittgensteinian language analysis and evolutionary psychology would amount to a fundamental reformulation of philosophy, an unprecedented paradigm shift
Yes, I do believe roughly that, and have said so. If I live long enough to have the time I am likely to write a book about this.
I would not quite say “unprecedented”; you can find precedents for it in C.S. Peirce and some exceptional forms of introspective mysticism. And Heidegger’s notion of “thrownness” needs to be in the mix, too.
>And yet, biologists are able to present testable predictions involving things they all call “organism”. The existence of these predictions justifies the notion of “organism”. This justification is in line with Eric’s claim that concepts are all in the mind.
A more perfect example of fallacy arising from verbal confusion could not be found anywhere. It cannot be the mere existence of predictions that justifies a scientific theory – if it were psuedosciences would be justified. (Phrenologists made testable predictions of human behavior from the shapes of their skulls; was phrenology valid just because they did so?) It’s confirmation of testable predictions that justifies a scientific theory as an account of reality; but confirming a prediction necessarily involves entities which are not in the mind, but part of the world.
The point is a simple one: all successful scientific theories do in fact assert the existence of abstract entities (e.g. “laws of physics”, “organisms”, “species”) in the world. If abstractions cannot exist in the world, only in the mind, scientific theories are simply false and all the scientists are deluding themselves.
>In fact, to me, it appears to affirm that kinds are all in the mind. Namely: if “organism” is defined in terms of the matter, its definition becomes inconsistent with the claims biologists wish to make about organisms. If this “organism kind” is understood as existing in the universe, then the universe itself is incoherent. If, on the other hand, this “organism kind” is understood as having been defined and agreed upon by biologists in order to try to construct subsequent predictions, then the only incoherence is in the definition, which simply needs to be altered, and all previous deductions now need to be revisited.
This is equally confused. You are saying, in effect, that because it can be shown that one specific abstract entity does not exist in the world (“organism” conceived as a bundle of atoms) therefore no abstract entity can exist there. Which is much like saying that, because a specific map of New York City was drawn by an incompetent cartographer and is full of mistakes, therefore no map of New York can be accurate even in parts.
And none of this addresses what the “ship of Theseus” problem is really about: that what persists in the ship, the reason why it’s still the same ship after every piece has been replaced, is a pure abstraction. I didn’t cite the ship because ships are human-made artifacts and Theseus’ desire for a ship is the only reason it exists at all – the ship can be seen as a mental construct projected into reality without patent absurdity. That can’t be said for living things, since those exist and reproduce themselves with no help from any human.
>It cannot be the mere existence of predictions that justifies a scientific theory – if it were psuedosciences would be justified.
Of course not, But it’s a bit tendentious to read Paul that way; I’m sure he meant confirmed predictions.
>The point is a simple one: all successful scientific theories do in fact assert the existence of abstract entities (e.g. “laws of physics”, “organisms”, “species”) in the world. If abstractions cannot exist in the world, only in the mind, scientific theories are simply false and all the scientists are deluding themselves.
Doesn’t follow. You’re confusing “asserting existence” in some substantive quasi-Platonic sense with “using as a term in a predictive theory”. In fact, science does not rely on the claim that (say) “electron” as an abstraction exists, at all. What it says is “there’s this bundle of implications and predictions in our minds we tag as an electron, and if we predict using it we can do cool things like making a computer boot up”.
And here is where your position reaches absurdity: by your logic, “luminiferous ether” used to exist, but stopped existing when atomic physics became a better predictive theory, at which point “electron” popped into existence. You’re making exactly the mistake JAD accused me of!
@ Michael Brazier:
Scientific theories need n.t contain abstraction. A law need only predict what measurements will be made in which setup. (ie, you could formulate it as a big lookup table of all setups and results.
At the risk of starting a shit tempest, what are your thoughts on SSC’s ‘The Categories were made for Man not Man for the Categories’? ( ttp://slatestarcodex.com/2014/11/21/the-categories-were-made-for-man-not-man-for-the-categories/)
>At the risk of starting a shit tempest, what are your thoughts on SSC’s ‘The Categories were made for Man not Man for the Categories’?
An excellent essay which, indirectly, makes my point about concepts being terms in predictive theories and having no use or meaning otherwise.
>However, I think I sort of stumbled on a fit between NoKWoM and “the universe is knowable”, earlier. So there’s something.
No, you didn’t. Those two notions are an anti-fit. “No kinds without minds” actually leads to Kant-style idealism, with the Categories of Thought constraining and distorting apprehension of the true, ineffable, indivisible, ultimate reality that lies above and beyond all concepts. In all such philosophies the truth of the universe is known only through revelation or mystical contemplation; trying to study reality through perceptual experience is futile. That’s a flat rejection of anything like the scientific method.
I repeat that Charles Pierce, on whose philosophy of science you all think you are relying, emphatically rejected the position you espouse, and maintained the reality of “natural kinds” or abstract entities in the world of experience. This was not an accident or an aberration; it was the inevitable result of taking the scientific method seriously.
>No, you didn’t. Those two notions are an anti-fit. “No kinds without minds” actually leads to Kant-style idealism, with the Categories of Thought constraining and distorting apprehension of the true, ineffable, indivisible, ultimate reality that lies above and beyond all concepts.
You appear to have been listening to some very confused people.
Let’s try to make this simpler.
We have two competing hypotheses about kinds. One is “no kinds without minds”, in which abstractions like “electron” exist only withing the minds of scientists as persistent terms in predictive theories. These abstractions have referents in observed phenomena, but are not themselves phenomena.
The other is that abstractions like ‘electron’ exist in some way outside minds. They’re, I don’t know, Platonic noumena or ripples in the noosphere or something. You’ll have to explain it to me.
Show me a consequence of abstractions like ‘electron’, or the number 3, existing outside minds. What observable consequence should I expect this ‘existence’ to have? What experiment can I perform?
And what about the concept ‘luminiferous ether’? Does it exist, in any sense, outside the minds of scientists?
> I’m only committed to saying that something like the luminiferous ether is a real feature of the physical world – similar in the sense that said real feature supports the predictions made from Maxwell’s equations at least as well as the luminiferous ether would, if it actually existed.
I missed this the first time through. Having read it, I believe I understand more exactly both where your metaphysics has gone off the trolley and how it can be fixed without violating your causal intuitions.
I’m going to avoid talking about the luminiferous ether because it introduces some unneeded confusion by being a term in a falsified theory. Instead I’m going to attribute to you the following position, which I will call proposition A:
“I’m only committed to saying that something like the electron is a real feature of the physical world – similar in the sense that said real feature supports the predictions made by electrodynamics and quantum theory.”
Fair enough?
Now I’ll show you the strictly analogous position a General Semanticist would take within a “no kinds without minds” account. This proposition B looks like this:
“I’m only committed to saying that the concept ‘electron’ has referents which are real features of the physical world, where ‘reference’ implies that those features (which we name as electrons) behave consistently with the predictions of electrodynamics and quantum theory.”
I’d like you to think carefully about the difference between proposition A and proposition B before you respond.
http://slatestarcodex.com/2014/11/21/the-categories-were-made-for-man-not-man-for-the-categories/
these touchscreen keyboards are truly abysmal.
This seems to be going a little overboard with the reification.
>Of course not, But it’s a bit tendentious to read Paul that way; I’m sure he meant confirmed predictions.
Perhaps, but if he did his conclusion is a non sequitur. You can get from “predictions justify concepts” to “concepts are purely mental” only by forgetting that confirming a prediction isn’t purely mental – by, that is, equivocating on the word “prediction”. And if equivocation isn’t a language-driven fallacy, I’d like to know what “language-driven essentialism” could possibly mean, beyond a mere term of abuse.
>by your logic, “luminiferous ether” used to exist, but stopped existing when atomic physics became a better predictive theory, at which point “electron” popped into existence.
Not at all. I’m only committed to saying that something like the luminiferous ether is a real feature of the physical world – similar in the sense that said real feature supports the predictions made from Maxwell’s equations at least as well as the luminiferous ether would, if it actually existed. And in point of fact there is such a thing; in quantum field theory virtual particles serve exactly the same function that the ether did for Maxwell, namely the medium in which the electromagnetic force travels.
I’m sure it sounds odd to say that Maxwell’s equations describe the behavior of virtual photons, or that Newton’s equations describe the curvature of space – but people do still use classical physics to make predictions, so on the pragmatic account those statements are perfectly true.
An abstraction is a thought. Any number of people can think a similar thought and discuss an abstraction as if it was common ground. In this way, common ground abstractions can be very similar and allow for effective communication. Or, there can be some amount of misunderstanding in which each person’s thought is slightly different. As such, the abstraction is not an objective thing outside the process of sharing thoughts. It is also ephemeral because it is a thought, but can reemerge whenever summoned by the mind.
Paul: But if we take NoKWoM as necessarily being in the true bucket (if for no other reason than so we can keep “knowable universe” there too and avoid having the *buckets* disappear), then what happens to the legitimacy of the kind of all claims? And the kind of all logical equivalence relations?
Eric: I don’t see a particular problem with either of these. You may not be able to enumerate all instances of these kinds, but do you have recognition rules for them. What do you want to use them for?
So: I *do* have recognition rules – that is, rules that I consider sufficient to qualify entities for the label “claim” and the label “logically equivalent”. And this in turn presupposes that I have rules for “recognition rule”. And so on, if I care to go down that regress. (I think it’s actually not infinite. At least, not for the purposes I have in mind. I’m not intent on sorting every possible thing that looks like a claim, so that should keep Godel from complaining too loudly.)
So if I consider this pile of things I call rules for qualifying certain things as claims, and as logical equivalences (and as rules), I make what I call a claim about the behavior of these claims and rules and logical equivalences, and… everything appears to hang together, I suppose.
At this point, I’m led to wonder if this is the only way I could have organized things. For example, I could have set forth a different system populated by things other than claims and rules and equivalences, and also replace the true and false buckets, and my self-imposed mission as well – and I find that it would take me more time and effort to contemplate the existence of alternatives to “rules” than I’m willing to expend here right now. But at the same time, I can’t prove that that wouldn’t be time well spent. Indeed, I wouldn’t be able to prove anything at all, since I’ve just cast aside logic as well.
But then all this means back on the ol’ farm is that the system of claims and rules is all in my head, sure, but it still lets me create the things I call claims that permit me to… keep making more of those claims. Or in more mundane terms, I’m doing logic, because logic puts enough food on my table to let me keep doing it. But it’s not the only thing that would put food on my table. Lizards don’t have logic, but they’re doing fine. Except that they don’t have tables.
I keep coming back to this. Logic, claims, rules, kinds… we construct these things, because they give us tables and other pleasant things, and that’s all there is to it. If we hadn’t constructed them, we wouldn’t have pleasure. But it’s not yet proven, given all this, that there exists no alternative system, by which we might have even *more* pleasure. However, we can’t demonstrate either such an alternative or its non-existence, without presupposing the current system for which the alternative could be an alternative.
All of which says to me that these “ideal kinds” – claims, rules, and logical equivalences – don’t have to be ideal to still be all we have access to. The only other known alternative is a lizard’s existence. There may be a better existence out there, but we cannot grasp it, except in terms of claims and rules, and in that case, it would be part of our existence anyway.
Metaphorically speaking: the lizard deals in positive integers; we not only access them as well, but have constructed the notion of there being a kind which includes them, and therefore led ourselves to the kinds for negative integers, rationals, reals, surreals, complex numbers, quaternions, octinions, and ordinals, and jumped even further and noticed that if we can’t construct it, we can’t experience it, but that’s okay, because we can construct a kind for anything we can observe. Everything else cannot affect us by definition.
>Perhaps, but if he did his conclusion is a non sequitur. You can get from “predictions justify concepts” to “concepts are purely mental” only by forgetting that confirming a prediction isn’t purely mental – by, that is, equivocating on the word “prediction”. And if equivocation isn’t a language-driven fallacy, I’d like to know what “language-driven essentialism” could possibly mean, beyond a mere term of abuse.
The confirmation is not the prediction is not the concept.
Addendum: my point in speaking in terms of positive integers is that we could speak in terms of our having mapped our civilization and quality of life to one of them, such that tomorrow it’ll map to a bigger one, and perhaps years later, a smaller one, but we can still contemplate civilization at one of the very large ones without yet experiencing them. And we could even jump the track into civilizations that map to complex numbers or ordinals, but if so, we’d still be using logic to make that jump.
Logic, in this sense, to me, is the map we can’t get away from, no matter how hard we try to focus on the territory. Which suggests it’s neither map nor territory.
Eugine Nier on 2015-02-13 at 20:02:59 said:
> Eliezer Yudkowsky covered this angle on the question in Disguised Queries
> People who persist in thinking that “Were moss and lichen different kinds before thinking creatures arose?” is a sensible question might be enlightened as to why it is not if they considered instead “Were bleggs and rubes different kinds before thinking creatures arose?” in the terms of Eliezer’s parable.
While your citing Eliezer, you may also whant to check out his post about The Cluster Structure of Thing Space. It may help mitigate the confusion that causes you to proclaim nonsense like “no kinds without minds”.
>While your citing Eliezer, you may also whant to check out his post about The Cluster Structure of Thing Space. It may help mitigate the confusion that causes you to proclaim nonsense like “no kinds without minds”.
I’m not the confused person here. That essay, which is quite good, has nothing to say about the ontological status of abstractions at all. If you believe otherwise, quote and explain.
Michael Brazier: The point is a simple one: all successful scientific theories do in fact assert the existence of abstract entities (e.g. “laws of physics”, “organisms”, “species”) in the world. If abstractions cannot exist in the world, only in the mind, scientific theories are simply false and all the scientists are deluding themselves.
I believe that, according to this NoKWoM account, scientific theories do *not* assert the existence of abstract kinds. Rather, they merely assert that if we observe that entities exemplify certain criteria, then we will observe them exemplifying other criteria as well.
I also believe that this account presupposes ur-kinds such as “criteria” and “exemplify” (and “ur-kind”, for that matter), but we’ll never get away from ur-kinds even though we can get away from more mundane kinds such as “chair” or “organism”. I don’t know offhand whether Eric, or Peirce, or anyone else affirms or rejects the quasi-objective existence of ur-kinds as I’m describing here, but I could
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What I do for Wesnoth
Several of my regular commenters have expressed interest in Battle For Wesnoth and my role in it. I’ll give a narrative summary of my role in the project, expanding on a comment I uttered a while back.
For the narrative to make sense, you need to know that Wesnoth is a turn-based strategy game with a fantasy setting. It has elements of both traditional hex wargame and role-playing game in it; a “campaign” is a collection of tactical puzzles knit together by a prose plot. There is also support for multiplayer-networked battles, but I’m mainly interested in the campaign game.
Campaigns are written in a domain-specific language called WML, Wesnoth Markup Language. The game engine is, essentially, a WML interpreter. WML supports designing maps, setting up army lists, and connecting the battles with a prose narrative (which need not be strictly linear — it’s common for campaigns to have multiple narrative paths dependent on player choices). Additional flavor is provided by animated sprite graphics for combat and background music of remarkably high quality, neo-classical orchestral pieces that will remind you of the better grade of movie soundtrack rather than the mediocre electronica you usually get in games.
It’s all open source., with ports for OS X and Windows as well as Linux.
I’ve been a dev for a bit less than two years. My first project was helping prepare the “Northern Rebirth” campaign to be mainlined (e.g shipped with the game as opposed to unofficial user-maintained content). I did a lot of prose-doctoring on NR, enough that I was declared a co-author by its originator. He’s retired from Wesnoth stuff and I maintain it now.
A major focus of my early work on the project was mainlining more campaigns. When I joined we shipped only six, and I went through them pretty rapidly – I felt like the amount of content Wesnoth had was really underutilizing the game engine. I quickly discovered that the other devs were resistent to mainlining more campaigns mainly because each one imposed continuing maintenance overhead, if only because the WML they’re written in evolves gradually as the devs extend it to do more things.
Consequently, I got heavily into writing tools to mechanize routine WML maintenance tasks. A cross-referencer, to check for dangling reference (nonexistent graphics and other resource files referred to in WML). An indenter — there was a confusion of different indenting styles in mainline, making the code harder to read. Most importantly, I wrote a lint-like tool that could both perform extensive semantic sanity checks on WML and lift constructs from older dialects of it into newer versions.
The effect of these tools was pretty dramatic. They reduced WML maintenance overhead by an order of magnitude or so, making it easy for us to ship a lot more campaigns – I successfully mainlined no fewer than seven written by other people and eventually wrote and mainlined an original one of my own, The Hammer of Thursagan. They also made it possible to evolve WML more rapidly, because I could be counted on to write lifting logic in my lint tool that would carry forward old campaigns mechanically, rather than requiring painful and error-prone hand-work .when the language or the layout of the game data tree changed.
As my original surge of work on these tools trailed off, I took on a very different task – improving the prose quality in the game. Though the working language of the project is English, most of the devs and campaign designs are not native speakers and the quality of their prose is highly variable. Then, too, the appropriate style for a game like this is not all that easy to generate even for literate native speakers.
I felt strongly that playing a Wesnoth campaign ought to be like reading an epic-fantasy novel in miniature. I say “miniature” because the campaign format doesn’t really allow paragraph upon paragraph of voluminous scene-setting and character development – you have to do a lot with a really low word-count, rather like building a ship in a bottle. It’s even more of a challenge if you think (as I do) that the prose ought to have a preceptible flavor of Tolkien, Eddison, and Dunsany about it. Or, if one can’t manage that, at least Robert E. Howard…
Revising the mainline prose content to meet my standards was an immense amount of work and isn’t quite finished yet even for the older content. Fortunately, the other devs and our campaign designers quickly noticed that this project was a Good Thing and were, in general, actively helpful and not at all territorial about having their prose rewritten. As a side-effect, I became the project’s go-to guy for all English-related issues — I help non-native speakers with vocabulary and have been asked to write the announcement for the upcoming major 1.6 release.
Along the way I’ve done some writing I’m rather proud of. Kalenz’s and Cleodil’s love scene in Legend of Wesmere; the final confrontation between the mage Delfador and arch-villain Ihiah-Malal, also in LoW; the Elven lady Ethiliel’s horrifying reunion with her former mentor, the mad undead sage Mal M’Brin, in The South Guard; the death of Mal-Ravanal in Eastern Invasion and the Epilogue that follows; Mal Keshar’s monologue about how he got expelled from the Academy on Alduin in Descent Into Darkness; and, most recently the scene at the tomb of An-Usrukhar from the not-yet-mainlined Delfador’s Memoirs.
(I am, however, only the second-best writer the project has had available. The best was the author of The Rise of Wesnoth. He actually made successful, fluid transitions between archaized high-fantasy prose and humorous snarkiness expressed in modern slang, something I’m not at all sure I could do gracefully and have been too chicken to try. He also wrote what I think is the single creepiest line in the entire corpus, in A Final Spring, from the undead Fool Prince: “”Fath-er! Join… us…” Brrr….)
A third hat I eventually took on was bug triage. While all the senior devs do a bit of this, I’m the person who does most of the filtering and dispatching of tracker issues to developers. I’ve also organized at least three major bug-stomping runs and personally nailed a count of bugs running well into three digits. I did the forensic analysis and organized the recovery a few month ago when now-vanished developer seriously broke the game’s AI.
At one point I overhauled the game’s visible UI pretty seriously. The translucent dialogue windows with lightweight click-to-next behavior were my doing. I’m also responsible for the review mode you enter when you finish a battle, which lets you review the end state and change settings before committing to go to the next scenario.
More recently I’ve been more or less dubbed the keeper of the history and geography of the Wesnoth setting. Some of this is because I’m unusually willing to sweat the details of getting an imaginary setting consistent, but a surprisingly large part of it is that I’m good at generating plausible names — the Estmarks, the Forest of Lintanir, the Heart Mountains, Bitterhold, and the River Listra were among mine. Campaign designers have learned to use me as a name generator for their characters and places.
Now for the things I don’t do:
Though I’ve my share of coding in the C++ core (I have to in order to chase bugs, and there was the UI overhaul, and then there was refactoring the map editor…), I avoid it as much as possible because I’ve grown to violently dislike C++ during my time on this project. Wesnoth has many virtues, but the core codebase is a pile of OO scar tissue with way too many deeply intertwingled classes. I know the developers and I blame the language; it seems as difficult to avoid this kind of excess in C++ as it is to write readable code in Perl.
Though I’ve contributed one terrain-tile graphic (the snow-covered stone hut) following an enjoyable frankensteining session with the GIMP, I’m not skilled enough as a visual artist or composer to contribute that stuff regularly.
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92 thoughts on “What I do for Wesnoth”
Don’t hold back. Tell us what you really think about C++.
Ralph Steadman on 2009-02-06 at 13:54:11 said:
C++? Be a man and code in assembly.
Tom O on 2009-02-06 at 14:19:50 said:
Speaking about scripting languages like Perl, I don’t get the love with Python. I think Ruby’s a nicer (and more lisp-like) language.
Rob K on 2009-02-06 at 14:21:58 said:
Kick C++; kick Perl; Would you like to kick my cat too? Deeply intertwingled classes are not the languages fault. You can spell spaghetti in any language. I’ve avoided that sort of excess for my entire career without any difficulty.
David Delony on 2009-02-06 at 14:38:43 said:
Why is C++ still the language of game development? Like its predecessor, C, it’s still portable assembler. I think they would be better served by moving to a higher-level language like Python. Game developers should spend their time on the gameplay rather than managing memory.
David, you should read the past couple months’ archives of wesnoth-dev :-)
“I think they would be better served by moving to a higher-level language like Python.”
It’s not that easy as it sounds. Core Wesnoth developers, except Eric, are in love with this “pile of scar tissue” and don’t want to hear about any non-trivial changes. I actually tried to initiate this move and created working proof of concept, but without strong support from project lead this idea is doomed.
They need some kind of competition (another better open-source game in the same genre) to start moving.
Marshal on 2009-02-06 at 16:06:23 said:
Why is C++ still the language of game development? Like its predecessor, C, it’s still portable assembler. I think they would be better served by moving to a higher-level language like Python. Game developers should spend their time on the gameplay rather than managing memory.
While this may be true for a resource-unintensive game like Wesnoth, let’s just say if you build a viable engine for bleeding edge games in pure Python then you will be famous. In any case, C++’s primarily failing is descending from C. The reason people like C++ is that it is possible to conveniently build abstractions with zero unnecessary overhead. C, on the other hand, can descend into a hive of pointers that the compiler can’t optimise. I agree that OOP is unnecessary, however, and most solutions can be encoded in pretty much any paradigm. Why not write it in ML?
There’s a group of crazy Danish coders who actually did write a game engine in ML. They compiled it with MLton, for blistering fast performance.
Myself, I prefer Lisp. Before having C++ foisted on them by parent company Sony, GOAL — a Lisp dialect intended for games — was a crucial part of Naughty Dog’s toolkit. They did things like using a form of continuation passing style to implement lightweight cooperative multithreading (akin to Win32 “fibers”) for game objects. This led to various visibly cool effects, like doing memory card IO while the game engine ran, a rarity on the PS2 platform.
What was the point in creating a custom markup language? For example, if it would be standard markup like XML, SGML or http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yaml (which I consider the best for manual editing/viewing, very human-friendly), then it would be trivial to convert them by a routine to S-expressions.
And if you do that, then the engine is just a bunch of LISP or SCHEME functions and some macros that transform the syntax of those S-exps to the syntax of function calls. I mean f.e. an XML (using [] now as WordPress catches lesser and greater signs) like, say, [unit name=”Ork”] [HP] 12 [/HP] [/unit] can be transformed by XML2SEXP and macros to a function call to the Unit function with the parameter “Ork” and another parameter, which, if I understand this kind of (PaulGrahamian) design method correctly, would be a closure of the HP function. That would sound like a very elegant solution to me.
“Speaking about scripting languages like Perl, I don’t get the love with Python. I think Ruby’s a nicer (and more lisp-like) language.”
Ruby is one of the closest things a modern infix-notation OO language can get to the power of LISP, so it certainly has a lot of merits. However, there was something that always rubbed me the wrong way of Ruby as a culture, expressed in the language itself too: I somehow felt it wants to radiate an air of coolness, creativity, awesomeness, “See mom what I can do!”. Python for me feels like radiating an air of sobriety, grown-upness.
Actually the difference is very, very small at the level of the overall elegance or succintness of the code (even though their design philosophy is very different, the result looks very similar), so it may be that I’m just making this up.
The story I’m told is that Sirp considered XML but at the time the open-source tools weren’t quite good enough to convince him against writing a markup from scratch. This would have been around 2003.
Shenpen, I find I agree with every word of your comment about Ruby vs. Python, both praise and condemnation. You’re right, Python feels more sober and adult somehow and I can’t really pin down why either. That said, I’ll learn Ruby if I ever need to and not mind doing it.
Python for me feels like radiating an air of sobriety, grown-upness.
This is only true if you equate sobriety and maturity with a focus on getting the job done. Not all languages are designed solely for this purpose.
Python feels more sober and adult somehow and I can’t really pin down why either.
I have to wonder what kind of hacking you can do in an “adult” language.
> “Fath-er! Join… us…”
Funny, this line never moved me at all. Maybe it would if the Prince of Southbay had gotten some earlier development, but this scenario is the first where we ever meet either him or Addoran, making it hard to care.
I think the very best line in the campaign, and in the game, is from “Cursed Isle”: “All soldiers of darkness will meet the same fate by my hand”. It’s particularly striking because it’s Minister Edmond’s first line of dialogue since introducing him 13 scenarios earlier. It’s a shame the author didn’t do more with his character; you never even get to meet him if you happen to choose the Midlands branch.
Phil R. on 2009-02-07 at 07:15:14 said:
Speaking of spaghetti, how is “Why C++ is Not Our Favorite Programming Language” coming along (and where do y’all expect to publish it)?
Miles on 2009-02-07 at 07:32:36 said:
David Deloney:
> Why is C++ still the language of game development?
I believe there’s a largeish amateur Windows/XBox games dev community that uses C#. Make of that what you will…
There’s also a first-person shooter written in Haskell, called Frag (short for Functional ReActive Gaming). I downloaded it once, but was put off by the number of Cabal libraries it needed and the clunky procedure needed to install them. But I understand that Cabal installations have since been greatly streamlined, so don’t let that put you off trying it.
Eric: I don’t want to start a language pissing match, but when did you last use Perl? My understanding is that it’s become much more suitable for programming in the large in recent versions (say, v5.6 or greater). I’ve been using it happily since about 2001. I only rarely have problems reading my old code or code downloaded from CPAN: unreadable code is usually a result of (a) deliberately writing obfuscated or “golfed” Perl, (b) sending a regular expression to do a parser’s job, or (c) using a style appropriate to one-liners in bigger programs. Or simply writing code with convoluted logic, overlong and incoherent functions, poor separation of concerns, etc; but Perl is no worse in this regard than any other Algol-derivative, and better than many.
Actually, I did once have great difficulty deciphering a CGI script that had come from Matt’s Script Archive or some similar horror, written by someone who knew about dynamic scoping but not about function arguments. But MSA is pretty much the canonical example of how not to write Perl :-)
On a related note, has there been any progress on your C++ rant? I for one would love to read it.
>Eric: I don’t want to start a language pissing match, but when did you last use Perl?
There’s a Perl CGI in my gpsd project — our hosting site wouldn’t do Python CGIs. So, yes, I still have to deal with it.
>On a related note, has there been any progress on your C++ rant? I for one would love to read it.
My collaborator’s flying up here so we can work on it, in about two weeks.
steven Ray on 2009-02-07 at 15:49:07 said:
Eric, I am eagerly anticipating your upcoming C++ evaluation paper [AFAIK, it’s yet to be published, …or have I missed it?]
Given your resentment of this language and it’s apparent shortcomings [as you partially tried to point them out in one of your recent blog posts], curiosity prod me to ask: Why did you have to use that “crappy” implementation language?
P.S. I think it’s a good idea to hand a copy of that to Stroustrop. He seems to sternly defend it against criticisms [Checked the FAQ on his web page]
Eric, I am eagerly anticipating your upcoming C++ evaluation paper
Ditto. Unfortunately, I fear it will fall into the category of evaluations written by people who don’t actually use C++, or even write things in the spaces that it is useful. When you hear someone make unfounded and/or subjective statemens such as it being ‘hard’ to write good code in Perl, or C being a model of ‘austere elegance’ it doesn’t bode well.
Given your resentment of this language and it’s apparent shortcomings [as you partially tried to point them out in one of your recent blog posts], curiosity prod me to ask: Why did you have to use that “crappy†implementation language?
Because, like it or hate it, it’s the only language up for the job.
Because, like it or hate it, it’s the only language up for the job.
I disagree. I see no reason Wesnoth couldn’t be implemented in ML, for example. That C++ is the only competent language for resource-intensive applications is just the opposite side of the anti-C++ coin.
>‘hard’ to write good code in Perl
That’s “hard to write readable” code. As usual, you need to work on your reading comprehension.
Ditto. Unfortunately, I fear it will fall into the category of evaluations written by people who don’t actually use C++, or even write things in the spaces that it is useful.
Marshal, I don’t think that one should necessarily be a highly skilled C++ coder to qualify for evaluation of the language. Indeed, Eric has done a lot of hacking with that in the course of Wesnoth’s development. He claims to have [gradually] started to resent the language over the years.
When you hear someone make unfounded and/or subjective statements such as it being ‘hard’ to write good code in Perl, or C being a model of ‘austere elegance’ it doesn’t bode well.
Spot on, and I wish that “technical parts” will dominate the whole paper, so that those [potential] subjective parts can be overlooked. “Why Pascal is not my favorite programming language” can be a good example to what I mean.
That C++ is the only competent language for resource-intensive applications is just the opposite side of the anti-C++ coin.
I think Eric had to code in C++ just because the decision had been made earlier by the project’s initial programmers and core development team [David White, the chief designer I guess] before Eric joined the project. Of course this is just a hypothesis and he can correct me if I’m wrong.
That’s “hard to write readable†code. As usual, you need to work on your reading comprehension.
My apologies; that is what I meant to write, and it is equally true. In any case, as someone who has been ‘hacking’ Unix for decades but are unable to figure out how ptrace works (even after ‘testing’ your bizarre theory), you are hardly in a position to criticise others about the clarity of their comprehension.
Marshal, I don’t think that one should necessarily be a highly skilled C++ coder to qualify for evaluation of the language. Indeed, Eric has done a lot of hacking with that in the course of Wesnoth’s development. He claims to have [gradually] started to resent the language over the years.
Would you accept a critique of C from someone who knew only BASIC and Python, that claimed C was too complicated because it was memory-unsafe? Of course not – C is widely used with great success. It’s just not the language for all people or all tasks. All attempts to generalise about the usefulness of particular general purpose programming languages are doomed to failure. Someone will always find a way to leverage the syntax and semantics of a given language while someone else shoots themselves in the foot with them. The ability to shoot one’s self in the foot is a function of the author and the language.
I think Eric had to code in C++ just because the decision had been made earlier by the project’s initial programmers and core development team [David White, the chief designer I guess] before Eric joined the project. Of course this is just a hypothesis and he can correct me if I’m wrong.
I had meant to address Jeff Read with that comment. I was attempting to comment that the notion that C++ is the only industrial strength programming language out there is unfounded, and that there are numerous examples of interesting ‘real-world’ projects using other languages.
Would you accept a critique of C from someone who knew only BASIC and Python
Sorry to disappoint you dear Marshal, but I’m afraid to say YES. Some of the things that matters to me while reading a programming language critique are the following:
1- Whether I can learn something from it.
2- Whether it’s a well-researched work or a simple close-minded piece of rant which stems from a preconceived opinion.
3- Whether the author is not trapped in emotional illusions/detachment from reality and maintains a relatively neutral stance while criticizing the language.
4- Whether it’s inclusive [i.e covers most of the language’s aspects]
5- Its scientific credibility [Can be referred to later or not]
6- Whether the author thinks (criticism == bashing)
I actually don’t care the alleged limited hands-on experience of the author, because if he chooses a scientific approach and be able to rigorously analyze different facets of the language in depth, then who gives any slightest attention whether he himself is much of a C++ programmer or not!?
The ability to shoot one’s self in the foot is a function of the author and the language.
Correct. But when it comes to two given programmers with evenly balanced mental adroitness and hacking skills choosing two distinct languages with unequal strengths to accomplish a similar task; that who prospers is needless to say. This is one good reason to seek after the better one.
Oh, and I am aware that “shooting yourself in the foot” also depends on the task. Writing some forms of apps are painfully error-prone and languages like C++ intensify the pain in the arse. I’ve heard that the famous array indexing problem nearly caused a disaster in one of the NASA’s space shuttles a few years ago.
I had meant to address Jeff Read with that comment. I was attempting to comment that the notion that C++ is the only industrial strength programming language out there is unfounded, and that there are numerous examples of interesting ‘real-world’ projects using other languages.
I agree, but please read carefully. I knew what you meant and who you were addressing to. I actually confirmed your idea by suggesting that ESR engaged in C++ coding because he had to [he wasn’t the project initiator and joined later] not simply because like it or hate it, it’s the only language up for the job.
All attempts to generalise about the usefulness of particular general purpose programming languages are doomed to failure.
Pragmatically speaking that’s right, but your word here is itself a generalization that IMHO, is not necessarily correct.
As Dijkstra once said, teaching some of those brain-damaging languages to innocent kids should be considered a criminal offense :)
Some of them are not only “not so useful” but also cripple the mind and lots of self-discipline is needed to reverse the brain-damage.
Hard to write readable code in Perl – I think it’s like this: you can drive a Ferrrari on the motorway without exceeding the speed limit if you really want to. Nothing stops you from doing so. But it’s just too tempting to drive it fast because that’s what a Ferrari is for, the whole design is just begging you: please, pretty please, drive me fast! Of course, with enough self-control you can restrain yourself and keep to the best practices and all, but I figure it’s better to use tools that were explicitly designed for your preferred way of doing things.
“I don’t think that one should necessarily be a highly skilled C++ coder to qualify for evaluation of the language. ”
I agree with that, with one condition. Just like you have to know macros in and out in order to evaluate LISP on any non-trivial level, in the case of C++, I think it’s the level of knowledge about templates and exactly what can and what cannot be achieved with them that makes the difference between a good and a bad evaluation. That the STL sucks everybody knows, but to what extent is it fixable with a better set of templates? That’s the really big question.
Focus on templates, that’d be my advice, if you are willing to take one.
I actually don’t care the alleged limited hands-on experience of the author, because if he chooses a scientific approach and be able to rigorously analyze different facets of the language in depth, then who gives any slightest attention whether he himself is much of a C++ programmer or not!?
Because unless he’s using a statistical approach, it must be qualitative. I’m not suggesting that an experienced C++ programmer knows best. If anything, he is biased toward C++. I’m suggesting that one must at least ‘get it’. The BASIC programmer in question doesn’t get it. Maybe other BASIC programmers do. But suggesting that pointers are a problem in C is to miss the purpose of the language.
Oh, and I am aware that “shooting yourself in the foot†also depends on the task. Writing some forms of apps are painfully error-prone and languages like C++ intensify the pain in the arse. I’ve heard that the famous array indexing problem nearly caused a disaster in one of the NASA’s space shuttles a few years ago.
What are you suggesting? Static checking of array bounds? I hope you like writing proofs. C++ can do things like dynamic checking of ‘arrays’, you just have to avoid its built-in array type.
Pragmatically speaking that’s right, but your word here is itself a generalization that IMHO, is not necessarily correct.
Some of them are not only “not so useful†but also cripple the mind and lots of self-discipline is needed to reverse the brain-damage.
Dijkstra is a notorious generaliser, so it is ironic that you would quote him. He also thinks that all programming should be taught as formal mathematics. Anyone who has actually done any formal verification work (think machine-checkable proofs) knows that this is intractable in general.
That the STL sucks everybody knows, but to what extent is it fixable with a better set of templates? That’s the really big question.
What an insightful analysis. Everybody knows dynamically typed languages suck too, depending upon who ‘everybody’ is.
Dijkstra is a notorious generaliser, so it is ironic that you would quote him.
I suppose ‘ironic’ is the wrong word. I guess I had meant to say that invoking Dijkstra to put lie to the idea that generalisations about programming as a practise are usually not well founded, given that he has made so many overzealous generalisations over the years.
What an insightful analysis. Everybody knows dynamically typed languages suck too, depending upon who ‘everybody’ is.
What have templates got to do with dynamic typing? c.f. Common Lisp, as Shenpen originally mentioned. C++ has optional dynamic typing as well.
What are you suggesting? Static checking of array bounds? I hope you like writing proofs.
All I’m saying is that because out-of-bounds index [unless too big which causes an unhandled exception] is valid, some stupid errors may happen:
const int SIZE;
float a[] = {1, 2, 3};
float x = 14;
cout<<“x= “<<x<<endl;
a[3]= 17; //Index out of bounds
output —-> x= 14
In the above (silly) code, we have unintentionally changed x’s value. These types of errors which stems from recognition of invalid index is some times really hard to detect.
I guess I had meant to say that invoking Dijkstra to put lie to the idea that generalisations about programming as a practise are usually not well founded
Well dear Marshal, there’s a BIG difference between lying and simply holding a different idea. I hope you understand it. Anyhow, I wasn’t aware of his notoriety, thanks for the pointer.
@Marshal: Indeed, I didn’t say this is an unsolvable problem. I said it’s trivial but hard to detect in times. Sure it has clear solutions.
Nothing. Insert any language category in place of ‘dynamically typed languages’. Merely asserting that the STL sucks is a poor argument, and at odds with the fact that people use it fruitfully all the time. I do not like the STL either personally, but I cannot construe my personal taste as universally accepted fact. Many people would say that everyone knows that BASIC sucks. Maybe it does (I don’t like it much), but there are many people who would disagree.
Well dear Marshal, there’s a BIG difference between lying and simply holding a different idea. I hope you understand it. Anyhow, I wasn’t aware of his notoriety, thanks for the pointer.
I guess I have expressed myself poorly again. Actually, I appreciate the correction. I think you know what I mean though. In any case, the memory-safety thing is either a bug or a feature depending upon your purpose.
I am bored of trolling you people. Have fun not understanding Unix/programming.
Have fun not understanding Unix/programming.
I don’t know who you are referring to or what made you frustrated, but personally I never claimed that I am a programmer/Unix guru. I am simply a computer enthusiast and eager to deepen my grasp of CS through healthy debate.
I think you know what I mean though.
O.K. I will revisit the idea. I grew up believing that some languages teach us bad habits and/or [as Paul Graham] says are not worth learning because they don’t suggest a new pattern of thinking about problems. So with that premise, it’s not abnormal to believe that some languages are just “not useful”. It’s quite probable that in the case of C++, [maybe] I have overstretched myself. After all I don’t use it much.Dunno
>Have fun not understanding Unix/programming
Heh. Meanwhile, unless my publisher is lying to me, my book on the Art of Unix Programming is in routine use as a textbook in programming and software engineering courses. Of course, all those professors have actually been hypnotized by my orbital mind-control lasers, and Marshal is the brave lone voice exposing me as a fool and a fraud. His book on how to think like a Unix expert is much better. In some universe.
>I am bored of trolling you people.
Immediately after posting this, Marshal attempted to forge a hostile comment, ending with the line “Please give generously to the Eric Raymond college fund. With your help, we can get Eric the computer science schooling he so desperately needs.” as though it came from Jay Maynard. The actual source was revealed by the IP address.
Fortunately, my spam-blocker caught it before it would have put my friend Jay in the position of protesting that he would never have uttered such a ridiculous slur. Jay, I have retained this message in my spam queue on the off-chance that you might want to see it and take some sort of legal action or whatever.
Insulting me is acceptable on this blog, as long as the attacker keeps his signal-to-noise ratio high enough that I think he is worth the trouble. Fraudulent impersonation of another guest, in an obvious and deliberate attempt to make trouble between myself and that person, is a crash landing. Utterly unacceptable.
Marshal is henceforth banned.
I’ve long thought trolls should be taken out back and shot, at least figuratively. Trolling has no place in adult discourse.
Eric, I’m not going to bother: it didn’t cause me any damage, and my status as a public figure raises the bar as to what it takes before I can succeed in such an action.
The comment is laughable in any event, as anyone who knows Eric’s history will attest. The carping about Eric’s supposed lack of Unix knowledge is especially laughable. The Art of Unix Programming is a fantastic resource, and would be even without my minor contributions. Eric knows this, and knows that I know it. Attempts to cause friction between us on this basis are highly likely to fail.
Brent Michael Krupp on 2009-02-09 at 13:03:04 said:
Wow Eric, thanks for mentioning Wesnoth. Somehow I managed to miss its existence and yet it’s exactly the sort of game I used to love (Warlords, et al.). Now I’m hooked.
Also, darn you for mentioning it! Now I’m hooked!
“my status as a public figure”
Don’t be so modest: you’re a celebrity:
http://blogs.sun.com/josephgeorge/entry/real_problem_with_linux
;-DDD
ESR says: Ironically, Jay is a Mac fan…
“Warlords, et al.”
Well in Warlords you could put 8 (?) units into a stack (army) and move them together. That made things much faster. What makes Wesnoth a bit boring for me is the long time spent moving units around one-by-one, without any action, I don’t have any suggestions what to do with it, though, any kind of stacking would mean a total redesign as the whole game balance would need to be rethinked then. And Steel Panthers-style “move in platoon” is just lame, no reason to copy that. I figure it has to stay that way and therefore will only attract serious gamers with a chess-like mindset.
Wesnoth works fine as long as scenario designers manage to refrain from throwing thousands of gold at every side. Unfortunately this is more than can be said of several mainline scenarios.
>Unfortunately this is more than can be said of several mainline scenarios.
Specifics? I’m one of the general campaign maintainers; I might well be able to fix this.
>(Warlords, et al.).
Ah, there was a fine game.
I can’t remember how they handled the UI for stacking in it, though. It might be applicable to Wesnoth.
> There’s a Perl CGI in my gpsd project — our hosting site wouldn’t do Python CGIs. So, yes, I still have to deal with it.
Hmmm. Is this all your own code, or did other people contribute? If it’s your code, I guess you wouldn’t get the advantages of using modern Perl idioms, but writing readable code still shouldn’t be that hard. Are there any specific problems that make your code hard to read, or do you just have a low tolerance for punctuation? Can you point me at some gnarly bits?
It occurs to me that there’s another common readability failure-mode in Perl, to which you (as a Lisper) may be especially prone: overuse of nested anonymous data-structures, and the resultant need to put reference syntax everywhere. This is usually a warning sign that you’re trying to be too clever for your own good, and that you should use real objects. Did I mention the new object system? :-)
> Hard to write readable code in Perl – I think it’s like this: you can drive a Ferrrari on the motorway without exceeding the speed limit if you really want to. Nothing stops you from doing so. But it’s just too tempting to drive it fast because that’s what a Ferrari is for, the whole design is just begging you: please, pretty please, drive me fast! Of course, with enough self-control you can restrain yourself and keep to the best practices and all, but I figure it’s better to use tools that were explicitly designed for your preferred way of doing things.
There may well be something in what you say. I’ve certainly noticed that good Perl programmers (in whose ranks I don’t count myself) are fanatical about documentation, testing and coding for readability to an extent that I haven’t encountered elsewhere.
‘Clearing the Mines’ from Northern Rebirth is the first that comes to mind. Guiding 50 dwarves down an empty corridor isn’t fun. The second and final scenarios of Northern Rebirth are borderline as well.
‘Northern Winter’ from HttT has armies which would be a reasonable size for most maps, but becomes a tedious trudge due to the terrain. Far worse for similar reasons is ‘Breaking the Siege’ from Legend of Wesmere; I think this is the worst-designed scenario in all of mainline.
At one time I would have put the final scenario of SotBE on this list, but then I realized there’s a faster way to win it: just recruit two castles of saurian skirmishers and make a dash for the enemy leader.
>Hmmm. Is this all your own code, or did other people contribute?
I wrote it, but I used a modern Perl CGI as a model, and it was then polished by my chief GPSD lieutenant Chris Kuethe, who likes Perl and keeps current with it. So I think the dialect of Perl is pretty up-to-date.
>have a low tolerance for punctuation?
That’s part of it. I find Perl syntax cluttered and spiky. The friction cost this imposes is acceptable for small scripts (< 100 lines) but starts to become serious in larger ones. >overuse of nested anonymous data-structures
>There may well be something in what you say.
I think Shenpen’s critique is spot-on. I too have noticed that the best Perl programmers are fanatical in the way you describe. The trouble is that in Perl, they have to be.
>Kalenz’s and Cleodil’s love scene in Legend of Wesmere; the final confrontation between the mage Delfador and arch-villain Ihiah-Malal, also in LoW; the Elven lady Ethiliel’s horrifying reunion with her former mentor, the mad undead sage Mal M’Brin, in The South Guard; the death of Mal-Ravanal in Eastern Invasion and the Epilogue that follows; Mal Keshar’s monologue about how he got expelled from the Academy on Alduin in Descent Into Darkness; and, most recently the scene at the tomb of An-Usrukhar from the not-yet-mainlined Delfador’s Memoirs.
hmm! ok, (a) quite different from what i expected from a quick glance at the wesnoth site’s frontpage, and (b) evocative, intriguing. wesnoth is now on my list of things to check out (and possibly lose way too much time to).
ta.
>the [C++] core codebase is a pile of OO scar tissue
similarly evocative and beautifully succinct summary of most nontrivial multi-developer C++ codebases
>The carping about Eric’s supposed lack of Unix knowledge is especially laughable.
eric uses unix?!?!
why weren’t we told?! and why isn’t there some sort of public record, of say skilled unix programming, that anybody could look at?!
i feel grievously betrayed by eric’s secretiveness and deception.
thing for me, python v. ruby, is that python always reads almost like a mind-map, whereas ruby requires syntax-knowledge and paradigm-knowledge. python remains grokkable even when you’re so rusty a shellscript you type cold for someone has syntax errors. *cough*
that for me is the key USP for python.
and is why i view python3 with sadness and regret for what-was
??? IMHO it became more “pythonic”. But I think this topic worths something more than a bunch of short comments in a hijacked thread – do you want to blog about it in detail and perhaps link that here and continue that discussion there?
alluded to previously in which regard, i think a simple quote suffices:
>>[Saltation]
eg python 3, which appears at a glance to have thrown away key aspects of its novice-user friendliness, eg loose print now tight and print() )
>[Adrian Smith]
[looks]
Euwwww…
[sticks with 2.5]
John Chapman on 2009-02-10 at 01:04:19 said:
> Heh. Meanwhile, unless my publisher is lying to me, my book on the Art of Unix Programming is in routine
> use as a textbook in programming and software engineering courses.
Evidence for this statement seems lacking:
http://www.google.com/search?q=%22Art+of+Unix+Programming%22+site%3A*.edu
> Insulting me is acceptable on this blog
You’ve recently stated otherwise.
> I find Perl syntax cluttered and spiky. The friction cost this imposes is acceptable for small scripts ( I too have noticed that the best Perl programmers are fanatical in the way you describe. The trouble is that in Perl, they have to be.
Or more precisely, in Perl they have to be right from the start, rather than discovering too late that they should have been :-)
John, looks like quite a few relevant hits to me. They just start at page 3 because the first two pages are flooded by someone’s mirror of the text.
As we are already in offtopic territory, talking about programming languages etc., may I get a bit more OT and ask you y’all to help me formulate Shenpen’s First Law? Which in it’s current, informal, sloppy state is like this: “Deriving a formal system from one simple rule is a WIN. Deriving an informal system from one simple rule is a FAIL.”
1) Formal systems: programming languages:
“There is one simple rule: everything’s a list” -> LISP -> WIN
“There is one simple rule: everything’s a object” -> Smalltalk -> WIN
“There is one simple rule: everything’s a function” -> Haskell, ML -> WIN
2) Informal systems:
“There is one simple rule to managing a software project” -> INSTANT FAIL
“There is one simple rule to manage a team of developers” -> INSTANT FAIL
“There is one simple rule to sell something” -> INSTANT FAIL
“There is one simple rule to run an economy” -> INSTANT FAIL
(Sorry for the OT but this discussion was getting very OT anyway.)
“There is one simple rule to run an economy†-> INSTANT FAIL
If only the libertarian ultracapitalists would realize this… sigh…
>If only the libertarian ultracapitalists would realize this… sigh…
We do better…we know that economies can’t be “run” at all. Basic Hayek.
Tom Dickson-Hunt on 2009-02-10 at 23:34:30 said:
To ‘run’ an economy, you leave it alone. That’s one simple rule, but it’s a special case. I mean, you might as well say, ‘There’s one simple rule to maintain mostly functional organs, and that’s to not cut yourself open and forcibly rearrange them’, and then assert that that is trying to derive an informal system from one simple rule.
Well put, Tom.
Darrencardinal on 2009-02-11 at 00:01:51 said:
Remember that this current mess we are in is because of government, not the private sector.
The government, under the community reinvestment act, pressured banks to lend money to people who were not truly creditworthy. They had studies showing that blacks were turned down for credit more often than whites, and they assumed the reason had to be racism. This is why so many of these mortgages were defaulted on.
Also remember that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were not private enterprise but were GSEs: government sponsored entities. Some have tried to claim that the problem we are in now is because of unrestrained capitalism, when nothing could be further from the truth.
Yes to run an economy, we should leave it alone. But we don’t, and haven’t sinnce Roosevelt. And Obama is seems determined to have a new new deal possibly leading to national health care. God help us.
Jeff Read you seem like a very smart guy. Educate yourself on basic politcal economy. Read Hayek, Milton Friedman, Thomas Sowell. We are a free people and we do not need bureaucrats micromanaging our lives for us.
And yes I know this is getting far off-topic from Wesnoth, but comment threads have a mind of their own.
Let’s pull this back on topic, now. Wesnoth, people, Wesnoth.
So, Eric – when is The Fury of Hayek being turned into a Wesnoth campaign, with a LISP-like spell interpreter available to players? :)
(Trying hard to get all of the threads put back into one mesh that’s nominally ON topic…)
Okay. Suggestions for getting the tedium out of Wesnoth:
1. Reduce the number of clicks required to move units by _half_ by letting the player cycle between Prev/Next units with the keyboard, f.e. V and N. Don’t center the screen on the Prev/Next unit: do nothing if it’s already on the screen, just highlight it. Compromise: if it’s not on the screen just scroll it the barest minimum amount in order to make it show up on one of the edges. This way, moving units long distance is like alternating N – click, N – click and as the screen stays largely at the same place, you don’t even have to move the mouse around much to move many units to the same area. Alternative: don’t scroll the screen at all, if the unit is outside the screen just pop up some hovering bubble at the edge of the screen in the general direction of the unit.
2. Group/Formation move. You know when you drag and drop multiple icons in any better window manager from one folder to another? Exactly the same idea. Select them by dragging a box, upon starting dragging mouse cursor changes into a transparent version of the icons in the same formation/layout, drag and drop them to somewhere. Movements points = the slowest unit of the formation, it would be very useful if moving the mouse around in this drag mode it would “snap” to tiles as you have a big cursor consisting of a formation of units to move around that’s hard to position exactly. It will be a bit tricky to calculate which fields to highlight as being in range as the shape of the formation will have to be taken into account (the idea is that with this movement they always keep formation i.e. their relative direction and distance from each other does not change). Also perhaps no need to drag-and-drop, perhaps just drag a selection box around them and the cursor changes instantly to a transparent formation, and just click on the target.
3. Another kind of group/formation move: follow leader. It’d be cool because it’ d be a bit RPG-like, I can imagine making it a bit RPG-ish by that the leader pops up a usual conversation box like “Follow me, lads!” or stuff like that. The leader would usually be a hero, I think. So, select a group by dragging box, and somehow designate one unit in it as the leader. Move the leader. Everybody automatically moves to a tile that relates to the tile the leader is moving towards the same way as his current position relates to the leaders i.e. two tiles north from the leader or something like that. Toggleable option: everybody moving at full speed, or everybody moving at the speed of the smallest unit (i.e. preserve formation during moving), or everybody moving at the leader’s speed if he can.
4. Fast Mode. All animations off, everything happening ASAP. Alternatively, attack animations are on but not stopping the player from choosing another unit, and also displaying the attack result at the beginning of the animation. Automatically use best weapon (the one the AI would use). Um, the later is a bit of cheating. OK, automatically use _primary_ weapon i.e. bow for archer.
5. Produce and get reinforcements automatically into battle, so that you can focus on the battle. Set up a build queue at the keep f.e. 10 archers, 5 pikers. Units pop up at earliest empty castle cell, or don’t get produced if there is no empty cell. Autoproduced units automatically move towards a flag that the player can set anywhere, probably will set it slightly behind the frontline. Result: fresh troops keep arriving automatically near to the front.
what’s with all this crazy On-Topic stuff?? have people forgotten which blog this is??
libertatian leftists are micromanaging the economy by misguided gun-control of unix programming terrorists!
(Trying hard to get all of the threads put back into one mesh that’s more in keeping with standard…)
Shenpen, most of (4) is already implemented.
(2) and (3) would need some tweaks to avoid becoming suicidal to use. In any battle it’s essential to micromanage the position of all your frontline units. Maybe it would work if follow orders were performed at the end of your turn and only by units that you haven’t moved manually, and the movement code were smart enough to keep injured units shielded.
I can’t imagine (5) ever being useful. If you’re just cranking out troops as quickly as your income permits, ur doin it wrong.
As I’ve said before, the right way to counteract tedium is simply for scenario authors to refrain from creating enormous battles.
(2) and (3) would be moving troops into the frontlines, not waging the battle into the frontlines. The maps I played (the introductory campaign) are just too big. (5) well it depends on what you are playing, I just played the introductory campaign and it quite resembled a war of attrition, trying to produce troops faster than losing them. I may be doing it wrong.
But actually I consider (1) my most useful and most important suggestion. Cutting the no. of clicks in half without causing any problems, that cannot be a bad thing.
>Cutting the no. of clicks in half without causing any problems, that cannot be a bad thing.
And it’s a good idea. File the feature request here: https://gna.org/bugs/?group=wesnoth
I think I know who to assign it to.
OK. I’m logged in (as Shenpen) but I just cannot see any button that would say “new” or “submit”. http://img26.imageshack.us/img26/7415/gnauishenpennc8.png
Do I have to apply for group membership in order to submit it?
>Do I have to apply for group membership in order to submit it?
Nope. Should be in the “Bugs” pulldown.
KTHX. https://gna.org/bugs/index.php?12981
rrenaud on 2009-02-12 at 15:37:50 said:
The boring “move large army” problem has been brought up before. See http://www.wesnoth.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=16161&view=previous
Tom: you’re forgetting “embed them in a functioning host system, and carefully satisfy all the non-trivial requirements for feeding it, cleaning it, watering it, exercising it, and generally keeping it healthy” :-)
Shenpen: I think that “do one thing” becomes misguided quite rapidly as the system has to interface with the real world. Consider Scheme: very pure, and very elegant, but all the Scheme implementations that aim at doing Real Work have extended it quite a bit. Apposite Larry Wall quote: “Of course Perl’s a mess. That means it maps well onto the problem domain, which is also a mess.” BTW, not everything in Haskell is a function: some things are types. The comparative clunkiness of Haskell’s facilities for type-level programming has caused me quite a bit of frustration over the years.
So, um, Wesnoth. Yeah. I ought to give that a try sometime :-)
So, I’ve been playing through Delfador’s Memoirs now that it’s up-to-date on the campaign server. Nice writing, but I think the power of the Staff of An-Usrukhar is maybe a tad too great… I submit to you Exhibit A in support of this claim.
>I think the power of the Staff of An-Usrukhar is maybe a tad too great
Um, I didn’t invent the lightning staff — that’s been one of Delf’s attributes since day one. These scene just gives it a backstory.
Yeah, but it’s a lot more powerful in DM than it is in HttT. As the replay shows, he can destroy an entire army singlehandedly because his melee and ranged attacks are both so strong that the AI won’t attack him even with its most powerful units.
“There is one simple rule: everything’s a list†-> LISP -> WIN
“There is one simple rule: everything’s a object†-> Smalltalk -> WIN
“There is one simple rule: everything’s a function†-> Haskell, ML -> WIN
Except these are not wins in the commercial world; these are all EPIC FAILs.
It took me a while to get around to realizing it but you have to think in a postmodern fashion. Postmodernism is much more about local pragmatics than it is about bad art or Berkeley scrotum-inflation demonstrators. It’s about abandoning your grand narrative (one simple rule in your lingo) and adapting your actions to the situation on the ground. Let’s look at a few (admittedly handpicked) examples of programming languages which were designed by accretion, addressing specific problems real programmers have, without a grand narrative dictating their design:
Perl – Win
PHP – Win
Visual Basic – Win
C – Win
C++ – Win
COBOL – Win
Hell, if you like you can add your favorite, Clipper, to the pile in its more generic form as XBase. (There are probably still Visual FoxPro applications being maintained out there, despite the product being EOLed a few years ago.)
I love Lisp as much as the next guy, but a) it’ll never win and b) even Lisp abandoned “everything is a list” as soon as somebody wanted to crunch numbers with it. (For that sort of work the only data structure that matters, as any Real Programmer can tell you, is the Array.)
actually, Lisp is a great example of the machinery catching up and the previous Accepted Wisdom being turned on its head.
nowadays, Lisp is an EPIC Win.
the lay-down misere unarguable example is airline booking systems. one of the hardest pounders of hardware on the planet, an optimisation problem of awesome magnitude (“travelling salesman” being delightfully apt in this case): “A standard search for a trip from New York to L.A. could have two billion possibilities”.
the previous market Winners (eg Sabre, Galileo) were attacked late 2000 by a system written entirely in Lisp, and thrashed. market dominance within 2 years of start (AI devel group first approached by industry members in Spring 2000) (AWESOME speed of adaption). that system is now THE global market standard, runs like shit off a shovel, adapts in ~0 time to new requirements, and is entirely Lisp (except the data structures and some GUI).
not a bad tech summary by an insider here. (Paul Graham’s blog)
>That means that the search space for this simple trip is of the order 5000 x 5000 x 10000, and a naive program would need to do a _lot_ of computation just to validate each of these possibilities. Suitably formalized, its not even clear that the problem of finding the cheapest flight is NP-complete, since it is difficult to put a bound on the size of the solution that will result in the cheapest price. If you’re willing to dispense with restrictions on the energy in the universe, then it is actually possible to formalize the cheapest-price problem in a not-too-unreasonable way that leads to a proof of undecidability by reduction to the Post correspondance problem :-).
only seeing occasional refs to Smalltalk (but you could argue Ruby’s “everything’s an object/method” approach is just another instance of the same concept), but am seeing growing references to Haskell in real-world environments.
possibly they too are stepping out of academic-purity’s obscurity into commercial viability.
^an optimisation problem of awesome magnitude ^a real-time optimisation problem of awesome magnitude
“Postmodernism is much more about local pragmatics than it is about bad art or Berkeley scrotum-inflation demonstrators. It’s about abandoning your grand narrative (one simple rule in your lingo) and adapting your actions to the situation on the ground.”
Well, I call that Pre-Modernism or Skeptical-Pluralistic Conservatism but let’s not argue terminology :)
The amount of win a formal system contains does not depend on the commercial success, because commercial success comes from solving informal, ill-specified problems. And no one with any sense would use a formal system to solve those, it’s more than obvious that we use informal systems to solve those – like PHP or Perl.
The amount of win a formal system contains is simply how useful it is to solve formal i.e. academic problems. And for that a one-simple-rule approach seems to work very well.
BTW, highly informal (read: ugly, messy, bad) languages like VB(script) or PHP solve an important problem badly, and I think a good solution could and should be found for that: you don’t always know when does a given task escalate into a programming task, therefore, you don’t always have a programmer around to do it, and at the first stages of escalation, it’s not even really clear it should need a programmer, and at later stages, you have a too big thing to throw out and start over.
In different words: programming isn’t a clearly distinct class of activity it itself but rather one end of a continous graph where the other end is configuration. (If you disagree, explain how comes that sendmail.cf evolved into being Turing-complete.)
Example: you are an IT-savvy salesman, you set up a product price configurator in Excel with lots of SUMIF’s and using other built-in functions. It’s not considered programming. (Well, declarative programming… but it’s not consider something you need a programmer to do.) And then they find they want to do just one more thing which no built-in function does. Said salesman is no programmer, but he remembers playing with BASIC on a Commodore 64 when he was 12 years old, so he generates a VBScript macro by example and tries to make it into a new function by generalizing it, replacing hardcoded values by variables… etc. etc. He can do it, because VB is very close to English…
Example 2: you are a sysadmin, you installed PHPBB. You realize you need a little change in functionality. You are not a programmer, but no one seems to want to do it, so you go to a forum and ask how to do it, luckily, someone points out that one of the 3000-something built-in functions of PHP does exactly that, so you can just trivially modify an example in that function’s documentation and it will work, without real programming…
Example 3: you are a Linux sysadmin, you are not a programmer, but you have to analyze some long logs and awk and sed just don’t seem to cut it right. A friend tells you about the while() … structure of Perl…
I think these are valid scenarios and there should be better ways to solve it…
BTW Jeff I’m glad you remember my little perversion of loving CA-Clipper… my excuse is that a programming language with higher-order lambda functions (“code blocks”) looked like a miracle on an MS-DOS PC in 1988 and a tightly, closely integrated database model with a GUI without duplications, with a succint, get-things-done structure where you can get the basic CRUD done at the speed of about 1 hour per table – the web I think only achieved that first with Rails, around 2006 and we had them on “desktop” with Clipper in 1988… was quite an achievement.
BTW such evolution from non-programming to programming happens not only with regard to a task, but in personal development too… I had my fair share of TurboPascal stuff when I was a teenager, but generally didn’t want to become a progammer. I was a manufacturing-oriented application consultant (read: configuration, training etc.) in Navision in 2002 when we realized we have to customize it and I started to write code… amazingly horrible code at first. Little control structures, just cut and paste… then I got better. And better. And better. Those old memories about nested function calls in TurboPascal came back. Then I started to take a look at general-purpose programming languages because I wanted tool to massage text files into sane formats before importing them to Navision. A friend introduced me to CCC, the Clipper-to-C++-Compiler, this is how I started to like Clipper. Then I picked up Euphoria: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euphoria_(programming_language) Then Perl. Now, that was a great tool for these text file things. Then I downloaded (ActiveState Active)Python from the same site I downloaded Perl from, just out of curiosity. Then somehow I heard about Ruby. Then about LISP. I’m still not a hacker, but I think by now I grok the essence of well, if not elegant, at least “smart” programming, this is what I’m currently playing with: http://pastebin.com/f201d8052
The point is that such evolution doesn’t always follow the line of learn the theory, do in practice, it often goes in an Oakeshottian way: theory is something you learn as you go from non-programming to programming…
>Postmodernism is much more about local pragmatics than it is about bad art or Berkeley scrotum-inflation demonstrators.
I am not at all convinced this is true.
No ontopic comments for a while, so I hope you don’t mind if I go OFF:
Your recent remark on EconTalk, “Love doesn’t scale”, got a bit famous around the Net, InstaPundit and Samizdata saw to that.
Question: does it mean that in theory you could agree to what this guy keeps saying: http://burkescorner.blogspot.com/ and I find myself agreeing more and more: that big-gov’t on one hand and that ugly “get of my lawn” kind of individualist egoism on the other aren’t the only two possible choices? That we indeed often do need to have our egos a bit supressed and cut down to size, that a good life isn’t about the inflating of the ego to as a big size as possible, but instead of a big-gov’t, a self-governing small community can do that job, which does it more by commonly accepted customs rather than bureaucratic procedures: exactly because love _does_ scale up to a local small-community level (but not much further) ?
>big-gov’t on one hand and that ugly “get of my lawn†kind of individualist egoism on the other aren’t the only two possible choices
Hard for me to disagree, since I don’t think I’ve made either choice. But I don’t follow Burke’s argument to the conclusions he wants, since I read it as a not-very-well-disguised version of “bend over so we can ram conservative paternalism up your ass”. I don’t like it any better than the left-wing version, thank you.
And yes, this is off-topic here. Please wait for a relevant politics thread to pursue it.
Regarding the suckingness of C++, how hard a sell would C# be to the Wesnoth team? With modern JIT compiler technology C# code can be fast; and with .NET on Windows and Mono ascending to dominance on Linux it is as cross-platform as you could ask for.
>Regarding the suckingness of C++, how hard a sell would C# be to the Wesnoth team?
I have no idea. It’s never come up.
George on 2009-03-16 at 04:08:00 said:
Which programming language would you use for a game like Wesnoth?
>Which programming language would you use for a game like Wesnoth?
Pardon the delay in responding. Until recently I would have said “Python” with no hesitation, but it turns out Python has a technical limitation that’s serious for this kind of design – it can’t be sandboxed. We had to remove our facility for custom AIs written in Python from 1.6 because of this; it can allow security bugs from maliciously-crafted campaign downloads.
So, today I’d respond Scheme or lua; what qualifies both is that they have first-class environments and can be sandboxed.
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Online: Open House 75
Online: HIST75H
Houghton 75 > Artworks > Open House 75: Houghton Library Staff Select > John Overholt
Return to Open House 75: Houghton Library Staff Select
John Overholt
Samuel Johnson (1709-1784)
A Short Scheme for a New Dictionary
In 2004 I came to Houghton Library as a cataloger working on the newly arrived Donald and Mary Hyde Collection of Dr. Samuel Johnson, and today I have the honor to serve as the curator of that collection. Working with these materials for more than a decade has been both an education and a great pleasure. This fragile document written in Johnson’s hand represents the origin of his great and enduring intellectual achievement, A Dictionary of the English Language. It is an awesome responsibility, in all senses of the word, to be its temporary caretaker.
MS Hyde 50 (38), Bequest of Mary Hyde Eccles, 2003
About Houghton Library
Houghton Library is Harvard University’s principal repository for rare books and manuscripts, literary and performing arts archives, and more. The library’s holdings of primary source material are managed by an expert staff and shared with scholars, students and the public in the reading room, and through exhibitions, lectures, seminars, publications and courses.
Harvard Library Policy on Digital Reproductions
© 2017 The President and Fellows of Harvard College
Your ticket for the: John Overholt
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TOXICITY 2013
December 7, 2013 to February 8, 2014
Plug In Institute of Contemporary Art, Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Co-presented by Video Pool Media Arts Centre, INCUBATOR Lab at the University of Windsor Co-curated by Melentie Pandilovski and Jennifer Willet
http://www.toxicitywinnipeg.com/
http://plugin.org/exhibitions/2013/toxicity
Trish Adams (Brisbane, Australia)
Alana Bartol (Windsor, Ontario)
Critical Art Ensemble (Buffalo, USA)
Joe Davis (Cambridge, MA, USA)
Tagny Duff (Montreal, Quebec)
Aganetha Dyck (Winnipeg, Manitoba)
Ted Heibert (Seattle, USA)
Natalie Jeremijenko (NYC, USA)
David Khang (Vancouver, British Columbia)
Andrew E Pelling (Ottawa, Ontario)
Niki Sperou (Adelaide, Australia)
Reva Stone (Winnipeg, Manitoba)
Amanda White (Toronto, Ontario)
Elaine Whittaker (Toronto, Ontario)
Jennifer Willet (Windsor, Ontario)
with Jeanette Groenendaal and Zoot Derks (Amsterdam, Holland).
TOXICITY 2013 is the inaugural exhibition, conference and workshop of a series of international exhibitions and conferences surrounding the notion of toxicities in the contemporary world. This premier exhibition, co-curated by Dr. Melentie Pandilovski (Director of Video Pool, Winnipeg) and Dr. Jennifer Willet (Director, INCUBATOR Lab, The University of Windsor) will highlight the growing Canadian biotech arts community within an international context. To that end, TOXICITY will present artworks by twelve emerging and established Canadian and international artists utilizing biological media to explore real and perceived toxic byproducts and outcomes affiliated with biotechnology, biosecurity, biomedicine, and biopolitics.
In addition to the exhibition, the works will be further contextualized for Canadian audiences through a hands-on bioart workshop held by the Australian artist Niki Sperou and a public symposium including a variety of artists from the exhibition and significant Canadian and international theorists in the art/science domain.
Sponsors include: Canada Council for the Arts, Government of South Australia, and the Ontario Arts Council.
TOXICITY Press
Together, science and art address our planetary psychopathology
Winnipeg hosts the inaugural bioart exhibition of Toxicity
The Manitoban – November 25, 2013
Art imitating nature
Toxicity explores human relationships with threatened environments
The Projector – December 2, 2013
Akimbo Review
3 Shows Offer New Ways of Experiencing Art
CBC – December 12, 2013
International group of artists explores the frontier between avant-garde art and cutting-edge biotech
Winnipeg Free Press – January 9, 2014
01 Trish Adams artwork in Toxicity Exhibition, Plug In Institute of Contemporary Art, 2013.
02 Aganetha Dyck artwork in Toxicity Exhibition, Plug In Institute of Contemporary Art, 2013.
04 Amanda White and Natalie Jeremijenko artworks in Toxicity Exhibition, Plug In Institute of Contemporary Art, 2013.
05 Natalie Jeremijenko artwork in Toxicity Exhibition, Plug In Institute of Contemporary Art, 2013.
06 Amanda White artwork in Toxicity Exhibition, Plug In Institute of Contemporary Art, 2013.
08 Alana Bartol artwork in Toxicity Exhibition, Plug In Institute of Contemporary Art, 2013.
09 Tagny Duff artwork in Toxicity Exhibition, Plug In Institute of Contemporary Art, 2013.
10 Joe Davis artwork in Toxicity Exhibition, Plug In Institute of Contemporary Art, 2013.
11 David Khang artwork in Toxicity Exhibition, Plug In Institute of Contemporary Art, 2013.
12 Niki Sperou artwork in Toxicity Exhibition, Plug In Institute of Contemporary Art, 2013.
13 Jennifer Willet artwork in Toxicity Exhibition, Plug In Institute of Contemporary Art, 2013.
15 Andrew Pelling artwork in Toxicity Exhibition, Plug In Institute of Contemporary Art, 2013.
17 Ted Hiebert artwork in Toxicity Exhibition, Plug In Institute of Contemporary Art, 2013.
18 Reva Stone artwork in Toxicity Exhibition, Plug In Institute of Contemporary Art, 2013.
19 Reva Stone and Elaine Whittaker artworks in Toxicity Exhibition, Plug In Institute of Contemporary Art, 2013.
20 Elaine Whittaker artwork in Toxicity Exhibition, Plug In Institute of Contemporary Art, 2013.
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Superwave Update with Dr. Paul A. LaViolette, December 6, 2013
Labels Dr. Paul Laviolette, Kerry Cassidy
Source: projectcamelotportal.com, etheric.com, starburstfound.org
Dr. LaViolette has been president of the Starburst Foundation since 1984, where he has conducted interdisciplinary research in physics, astronomy, geology, climatology, psychology, and cultural anthropology. He received his BA in physics from Johns Hopkins, his MBA from the University of Chicago, and his Ph.D. in systems science from Portland State University.
He has conducted occupational safety research at Harvard University, and served as a solar energy consultant to the Club of Rome and Greek government. He has also consulted Hughes Aircraft on ways to improve company innovation. In 1993 he reverse engineered the B-2 bomber's classified propulsion technology and more recently has disclosed and explained the microwave beam technology used to propel vehicles developed in the super secret Skyvault Project.
He is the originator of the subquantum kinetics physics paradigm and also discoverer of the galactic superwave phenomenon, the notion that cosmic ray outbursts from the galactic core periodically trigger major shifts in the Earth's climate. In testing this theory he became the first to discover high concentrations of cosmic dust and gold in ice age polar ice. He is author of six books, which include Secrets of Antigravity Propulsion, Genesis of the Cosmos, Subquantum Kinetics, Earth Under Fire, Galactic Superwaves, and Decoding the Message of the Pulsar.
Max Igan | The Energetic Universe, December 6, 201...
Superwave Update with Dr. Paul A. LaViolette, Dece...
1984: Warning or Conditioning? | Questions For Cor...
Johan Oldenkamp | Creation of Man & Understanding ...
Clif High | Web Bot Trends 2014, Veritas Radio | S...
Democracy Now! U.S. and World News Headlines for T...
Risk Expert: "High risk" of Nuclear Holocaust at F...
ISON UPDATE/Large Debris Moving Fast, December 4, ...
China's ADIZ, Thai Protests, AP Updates - Asia-Pac...
Secret Projects at McDonnell Douglas - Dr. Robert ...
The Eyeopener Report | Genetic Fallacy: How Monsan...
Robert Morningstar | Headshot: The Death of Americ...
Lynne McTaggart | What Doctors Don't Tell You, San...
DIA Secrecy on UFOs - John Maynard, Defense Intell...
The Nike Ajax UFO Crash - Harland Bentley, US Army...
Joseph P. Farrell & Scott D. de Hart | Alchemical ...
Democracy Now! U.S. and World News Headlines for M...
Carol & Don Croft | Orgone Energy and Transmutatio...
Britain's Best Alien Contact Case - Real UFO Flyin...
Judy Byington | Jenny Hill: The Story of a Ritual ...
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Intervention Directory
A Fan's Guide to the Episodes and People of A&E's Intervention
Post-Intervention Deaths
Intervention Success Rate
Intervention Articles
About Dizzy
// category
This category contains 77 posts
The Heroin Hub: Chapter 6
By Dizzy ⋅ September 11, 2019 ⋅ 12 comments
Location: Kensington area of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Official Synopsis: EJ’s lies and deceptions cause a rift in his family, as some continue to enable him while others holds a firm bottom line. Interventionist Ken Seeley intervenes on EJ, who must finally decide if he is ready to accept help and go to treatment. Janine, Nicole, Bill, Alana, Amanda and EJ give final updates about their recoveries and hopes for the future.
My thoughts: This show, man. Damn. It’s not an exaggeration to say it saves lives because it does. Frequently. Five of them this season. Janine, Alana, Bill, Nicole (OMG NICOLE!), and EJ. Incredible. But not everyone can be saved by an intervention and quality treatment. Amanda’s followup was beyond heartbreaking. She was so defeated, so resigned to suffer what she thinks is her fate, what she deserves. That “spiritual awakening” she says she’s waiting for isn’t actually anything more than acknowledging to yourself that you’ve suffered enough and that you want to live a better life. It’s not that complicated and it’s not that mystical. I think it might be one of the simplest and most profoundly human things that we experience. Amanda walking the streets with a black eye, thinking only some big sign from God will get her to quit, as if losing everyone and everything wasn’t enough of a sign, was such a tragic way to end an otherwise heartwarming and inspiring episode of television.
Date aired: September 10, 2019
Interventionist: Ken
By Dizzy ⋅ September 4, 2019 ⋅ 6 comments
Official Synopsis: Amanda is torn between her addict boyfriend who’s in jail, and her ex-boyfriend, an EMT who is still in love with her. 31-year-old EJ’s heroin use has escalated since his mother’s unexpected death. While in treatment, Nicole and Janine reveal dramatic updates about where they are in their recoveries. Interventionist Heather Hayes leads an emotional intervention on Amanda.
My thoughts: Another great episode. I totally didn’t recognize Nicole at first, she looks really healthy and happy and her being giddy about her recovery was so moving to me. Such a huge difference from when we met her on the street in the first episode. Amanda’s story got a whole other level of intensity with the addition of Conner and holy cow, that intervention was a tearjerker. EJ’s story is tragic but he seems like a decent guy who respects his family and I have high hopes for him. Bummed we didn’t get to see how Bill and Alana are doing, and also sad that there’s only one more episode left in this fantastic season.
Date aired: September 3, 2019
Interventionist: Heather
By Dizzy ⋅ August 29, 2019 ⋅ 3 comments
Official Synopsis: After Bill’s arrest, Interventionist Michael Gonzales strategizes with his family on ways to intervene once he’s released from jail. Alana’s mother suspects that Alana may have relapsed and kicks her out of her home. Janine is released from jail and must decide if she’s ready to get clean. Bill’s family intervenes on him outside the courthouse the moment he is released from jail.
What’s Memorable: Alana and Bill going to treatment, Janine 60 days clean recognizing that she still needs more help and hoping she’ll make it through the next week, Amanda’s emotions when talking about signing over rights to her son. I am really rooting for all of these people, they’re all worth it.
Date aired: August 27, 2019
Interventionist: Michael
Official Synopsis: Alana is a recovering heroin addict who’s trying to stay sober while maintaining a relationship with her addict boyfriend. Nicole’s fianc ‘s reaction to Nicole getting help throws her whole intervention into question. 28-year-old heroin addict Amanda risks losing custody of her 2-year-old son for good if she can’t get clean. On the eve of Bill’s intervention, his family receives shocking news about Bill.
My Thoughts: This episode really kicked things into high gear didn’t it? Loved the unexpected plot twist that Bill is Alana’s boyfriend. Those two deserve such good things, they’re both really self-aware and caring and you can tell how much they love each other. I so hope it works out for them. Nicole going to treatment on her own was a surprise, I thought for sure she’d hold out for her boyfriend. So happy she went. Amanda’s story looks interesting, but I hope they give us a little more backstory before the intervention. That’s the one thing about these kinds of seasons – they tend to sacrifice the individual histories in favor of community stuff and family dynamics. Which is ok, still a lot to learn, I just want it all.
Official Synopsis: Interventionist Donna Chavous must re-think Janine’s intervention now that she’s in jail. Interventionist Jim Reidy meets with Nicole’s family and learns how she ended up on the streets. 38-year-old heroin addict Bill finances his addiction by selling clean needles to other addicts. The city of Philadelphia organizes a mass eviction in Kensington to remove addicts from the neighborhood.
My Thoughts: This season is moving pretty slow so far in terms of the addicts, families, and their interventions but I’m okay with it. In fact I appreciate the time they’re spending on the street evictions and even wish there was a little more time devoted to that, maybe some more perspectives from the residents and community leaders about what they think some potential solutions are. It’s a pretty nuanced and balanced discussion they’re presenting here, very documentary like, but I’m guessing there are even more sides to this that could be represented by more voices.
Interventionist: Donna
By Dizzy ⋅ August 7, 2019 ⋅ 14 comments
Official Synopsis: The interventionists arrive to Philadelphia’s Heroin Hub and meet Nicole, a 39-year-old heroin addict and prostitute, who’s lived in the area for five years. Also featured is Janine, a 22-year-old addict whose father just died from a fatal overdose weeks earlier.
My Thoughts: I feel like they’re definitely trying to go for being a gritty 6-part documentary instead of an episodic reality TV show, and I think the way they produced this episode was quite successful at that. This felt way more like a documentary than any other episode of Intervention, even more so than the Heroin Triangle season. There was much more time spent on the community and the bigger context and a lot less on individual addicts. That might be the case only for this first episode, but even so, if they continue on with the theme as it was presented here, then I imagine the whole season will be about treating the community by treating the individual, and I for one am looking forward to that. It really gets across how much of an epidemic we’re dealing with in America right now, and how hard it is to save people from it when they live in places that are as deeply sick as Kensington is. The individuals they did focus on, especially Nicole who they met on the street (although I leave open the possibility that the meeting was planned and not impromptu), felt more like documentary subjects than they usually do. Of course we’re still gonna go through the emotional process of seeing these addicts and their families struggle and then hopefully get clean with the help of our beloved Interventionists, so that’s good. All in all, a great start to Season 20 and I’m stoked about what they’re doing here. Truly trying to save lives. Much respect to Intervention.
Episode 250: Morgan (Young and Addicted)
By Dizzy ⋅ May 22, 2019 ⋅ 26 comments
Season 19. Episode 8
Addiction: Heroin
What’s Memorable: The fact that Morgan became a heroin addict because she didn’t want her boyfriend to lose interest in her. The phone call during the pre-intervention from the little girl crying – and Morgan threatening to take the kid with her to find drugs – was the saddest thing ever. What a waste of potential. It was such a relief to see where she was at 3 months later, but mom should’ve let her stay longer as the doctors suggested and not had her come home because she missed her. That could have gone terribly wrong.
Official Synopsis: Morgan is married, has a one-year-old daughter, and is addicted to the only drug she ever tried – heroin. Without an intervention, the once picture-perfect child may now be in danger of leaving her own child motherless.
Date Aired: May 2019
Interventionist: Ken, looking amazing. So good to see him again, it’s been a while.
Episode 250: Brett (Young and Addicted)
Location: Fairdale, Kentucky
Addiction: Heroin and Meth
What’s Memorable: Well that was one of the more dramatic interventions. Yay for cousin Kayla getting straight in his face and speaking some hard truths to him. And how many times have we seen someone shooting up during the intervention? Not a lot. It seemed to all come down to the family telling him they wouldn’t support him any more, he wouldn’t have a place to live etc., that did the trick on this one. He was so far gone, and put up such a fight, I honestly didn’t think he was gonna go. He didn’t make it long but hopefully it’ll turn out to be the wake up call he needed to get his shit together because Heather was right, this kid was on the fast track to death or jail.
Official Synopsis: Brett was an only child when his alcoholic father abandoned him. Raised by his mother in her parents’ home, Brett was on his way to success despite their struggles. But when his mom moved them into a new home with her violent boyfriend, Brett’s addiction spiraled.
Interventionist: Heather (Where have we seen her before? Was it the Heroin Triangle?)
Episode 249: Tom and John (Family of Addicts)
Tom and John
Age: 23 and 21
Location: Paterson, New Jersey
What’s Memorable: Wow. That was freaking intense. This was about so much more than the brothers. 6 people went to treatment! It’s definitely one of the most complicated episodes of the show ever, and I would like to that say it’s also one of the best episodes ever because it almost is, but I can’t get over the fact that the producers didn’t step in when cousin Sean shot up his uncle. They knew that he was asking for a rig earlier after a year of shaky sobriety, why did they let him do that without saying anything? I don’t like that, not at all. The camera was right there in the room, did the operator not see that John gave him a bag and rig? Why didn’t they tell Donna what they heard him say so they could try to prevent the inevitable relapse? I mean I’m sure there’s stuff we don’t know here, but it sure seemed like the producers were almost willing Sean to relapse on camera and that makes me really uncomfortable. I feel like there are some instances where the producers of this show have some level of responsibility beyond just documentation, and this is one of those situations. Saying something would have been the right thing to do. It’s possible Sean would have relapsed even if he wasn’t involved in this intervention, but I don’t know, it sure seemed to be what triggered him right back into using. To be honest, Sean’s craving and relapse makes me sadder than anything else I saw on this episode, and there was plenty to be sad about here. All that said, Donna was amazing yet again, there were so many shocking reveals and suspenseful cliffhangers, so many people in pain desperate for help who were visibly relieved to finally get it, and holy crap, Paterson New Jersey needs treatment. I was hoping to hear that at the end they all uprooted and moved to some other place because going back to that city isn’t gonna be good for anyone. Damn, that was one crazy episode.
Official Synopsis: John and Tom are brothers who spent their formative years working with their parents and grandparents in a successful business. While they appeared to be a close knit, hard-working family, a dark family history of drug abuse entrapped the brothers. Their mother realizes that without help, all could be lost.
Episode 248: Mallory (Addicted Moms)
By Dizzy ⋅ May 7, 2019 ⋅ 9 comments
Addiction: Heroin, Meth
What’s Memorable: Mallory’s story is pretty heartbreaking, all the trauma she suffered while still doing her best to be a good mom to 6 kids, it’s not shocking that she turned to drugs to escape. But that conversation with her daughters where she tells them that calling out her crappy behavior and telling her how they feel makes her want to use, because she’s been trying SO HARD to be sober, and her daughter saying “that’s not something you say to your children.” She’s right, it’s not, it’s so deeply manipulative, and also such a common thing for addicts to do to the people who love them. It’s taking the care and love that people show and turning it around, giving themselves permission to get high and feel justified about it, and making their loved ones feel like it’s their fault. It’s one of the uglier things that addiction does to cause family members such intense pain and frustration.
Official Synopsis: Escaping an abusive marriage, Mallory turns to drugs to cope with the fallout, becomes withdrawn, and loses interest in her children.
Interventionist: Candy
Episode 248: Sandra (Addicted Moms)
What’s Memorable: What a beautiful family they are! Sandra’s story is so unbelievably common- everything was great until she started taking opioids for pain and eventually moved to heroin when her prescriptions ended. I know there’s controversy around whether the root of the opioid crisis is doctors over-prescribing, but it’s hard to deny that it’s at least a major contributor when these kinds of stories are so prevalent now. What’s memorable – seeing this amazing, gorgeous mother leaving a skeevy motel room in the morning with a ‘better plan’ for scoring today.
Official Synopsis: As a fully committed mom, Sandra was involved in her kids’ school activities as well as after school sports. But in 2015, her abuse of prescription pills after an injury led to an opioid and heroin addiction. Within 2 years, this incredible mom has truly fallen from grace. Her family is desperate to get their loving mother back before it’s too late.
Interventionist: Sylvia
Episode 72: Jenny
Location: Twin Falls, Idaho
(Guest Post by Stefan) What’s Memorable: This episode illustrated the concept of Patriarchal Blessing in the Mormon Church, which was something I was unfamiliar with. It was a breath of fresh air to have such a religious family be as supportive/understanding of an addicted family member as Jenny’s was (it’s something I feel like isn’t so common on this show). Also, her shooting up and nodding off while giving a haircut was disturbing.
Official Synopsis: Jenny, 32, is a talented hairstylist from a close-knit Mormon family. When a diagnosis of endometriosis crushes her dreams of having a family, she turns to prescription drugs. Her addiction quickly escalates to IV heroin and meth use.
Date Aired: September 2008
Episode 243: Sam & Brad K.
By Dizzy ⋅ June 5, 2018 ⋅ 13 comments
Sam & Brad K.
Age: 30 (Sam) and 28 (Brad)
Location: Indianapolis, Indiana
What’s Memorable: 2 Hours! The intervention that started terribly but ended up being really effective, largely because of Jeff’s skill and experience. The fact that they kept their word to visit the sister in the hospital AND they showed up for their 8:00 am trip to the airport to go to treatment – this couple was very sick but not hopeless, they still had so much love & goodness in them, and their desire to be better and live better was really apparent.
Official Synopsis: Sam and Brad’s families have known each other since Sam and Brad were kids. Brad’s sister was Sam’s best friend growing up, and Brad’s father coached Sam’s softball team. Although Sam and Brad always had a crush on each other, it wasn’t until they were adults that they finally connected. But when Brad introduced Sam to heroin and the two quickly got married, their drug-fueled codependency became the basis of their relationship. Sam lost custody of her son from a previous relationship and her career as a dental assistant, and recently contracted Hepatitis C. Brad has had multiple overdoses, lost his career, and his daughter from an earlier marriage. Their families are desperate for Sam and Brad to get clean, but are unable to work together as a united front, leaving Brad and Sam to continue on a downward spiral. Now they fear that rock bottom will mean both of their deaths.
Date Aired: June 2018
Interventionist: Jeff
Season 18 – The Heroin Triangle
By Dizzy ⋅ January 2, 2018 ⋅ 108 comments
Official Synopsis: In a collection of affluent suburban communities north of Atlanta called “The Heroin Triangle” the rise of the nation’s opioid crisis, from prescription pills to full-blown heroin epidemic, is documented through city officials, community leaders, and addicts themselves. Tiffany and Billy, a volatile couple living out of their car, receive a sizable tax return that sets them up to score a large of amount of heroin. Their addiction threatens to destroy the family they’re building. As a homeless and gay man, Tracey faces unique challenges as he spends his days hopping busses and hiding out in bathrooms stalls shooting heroin. Zac’s a free-spirit but his musical gifts are undermined by his crippling heroin addiction. Interventionist Heather Hayes enlists the help of her colleague Donna Chavous to further investigate the city’s handling of the epidemic.
Note: Because this season isn’t structured the same at all – episodes follow several different people, there’s no real back story on the addicts, and there won’t necessarily be an intervention each episode – I’m just posting this and y’all can comment on the episodes (there are only 6 episodes anyway) or the season as a whole here. I’m interested to know what you guys think of what they’re doing this season. It’s an interesting departure for sure.
Austin (Intervention Canada)
By Dizzy ⋅ September 11, 2017 ⋅ 7 comments
Location: Kitchener, Ontario, Canada
Addiction: Heroin, Fentanyl
What’s Memorable: The family did this intervention just in time, right after he started using needles. Once that’s the norm it seems like it’s harder to imagine getting clean and being sick feels a lot worse. The whole running away from the intervention and then him calling up mom a few weeks later and her reading the letters from the planned intervention, I think that might be a first for the show. Good job mom! Jesse’s approach to interventions is really interesting. In the two I’ve seen, he always gets straight to the heart of what the family does NOT want to talk about and basically asks them “what did you to him to make him like this?” In a gentle way, of course, but it’s effective. Both times the family had to address head-on what their role was and what the addicts’ triggers are. Seems like that’s a pretty good way to get the family to a place where they have a deeper understanding of the addict’s behaviors and know better how they’ll be able to help him during recovery.
Official Synopsis: Austin had everything he could have wanted growing up: the love and support of a close-knit family and an invitation to go to a school for gifted teens. But not wanting to be separated from his pals, Austin turned the offer down in favor of the local high school, a decision that led to a life of partying, and ultimately down the rabbit hole of heroin and fentanyl addiction. Now his family can only watch in horror as Austin wastes his considerable gifts on the relentless pursuit of his addiction.
Interventionist: Jesse
Episode 193: Olivia
Location: Bellevue, Washington
What’s memorable: What a tremendous amount of guilt and shame she carries with her everyday, mostly due it seems to her beloved grandmother facing her own imminent death from cancer head-on while Olivia escapes with drugs and avoids seeing her. I wonder how much that heavy shame started with the multiple instances of sexual abuse she suffered when she was a child, once by a chaplain at her church. She even feels the need to say “I didn’t do anything to lead him on” as if she’s had to convince herself of that. It’s all very sad, and she’s such a sweet and caring person, so full of love that the drugs are stopping her from expressing. It was such a relief to see her sober and doing well in treatment.
Official Synopsis: Olivia’s life was changed forever when she was repeatedly molested by a relative at age 11. Successive traumas into adulthood have led her to mask her emotional pain by injecting a dangerous combination of heroin and meth. Meanwhile, her grandmother is ill with stage 4 cancer–and the family worries they’ll lose both their loved ones.
Original Air Date: July 2015
Episode 226: Tanisha
What’s Memorable: “When I think about myself being a drug addict, I hate myself… The thing I’m most afraid of is that I’m not gonna get clean. Ever. And completely ruin my life and never go back to a normal life.” Those are sentiments I think every addict can relate to. Tanisha came off here as a really sweet, honest person caught up in something she just couldn’t control. Her intervention is one (much like Courtney’s) of very close female family members coming together to say “Enough. We love you but enough.” And Donna was the perfect interventionist for this one. Being a black woman maybe helped her relate and establish trust with the family but she had a really perfect balance of empathy and realness about this particular situation. The more interventions I see her do the more I’m convinced Donna is very good at this.
Official Synopsis: Tanisha was living the dream life as an assistant to rap icon, Snoop Dogg. But when her fiance was brutally killed in front of her, grief-stricken, Tanisha turned to her mother, who introduced her to heroin. Tanisha has become a full-time junkie, and her family is terrified that without help, they will lose her.
Date Aired: August 2017
Episode 220: Tiffany
By Dizzy ⋅ December 7, 2016 ⋅ 84 comments
Official Synopsis: Tiffany had the talent to be a successful graphic designer, but severe complications from the birth of her first child led to an addiction to prescribed pain pills. Then post-partum depression after her second and third pregnancies, resulted in an opiate addiction. After her husband took their three kids and filed for divorce, Tiffany became a full time heroin addict. Today, she has a new husband and baby, but her addiction is threatening to end the marriage, and if she doesn’t get help–her life.
Date Aired: Dec 2016
Episode 224: Katie S.
By Dizzy ⋅ November 29, 2016 ⋅ 135 comments
Katie S.
Official Synopsis: Katie was a beautiful and successful mortgage broker and drug & alcohol counselor whose pride and joy were her two kids. But a devastating breakup resulting in losing custody, and sent Katie into a downward spiral of heroin and meth addiction. Her face is now ravaged from use, and her veins are so damaged that she resorts to injecting anally, aka booty bumping. Katie supports her habit by webcam stripping and prostitution, and her family fears that if she doesn’t get help, the next step will be an OD.
Date Aired: Nov 2016
Episode 217: Brittany
By Dizzy ⋅ August 7, 2016 ⋅ 122 comments
Location: Derby, Kansas
What’s Memorable: Brittany’s relationship with her dad is really moving. The guy seems so damn cool and a really good father, despite his addiction. I had a lot of respect for his willingness to go to treatment to help get his daughter clean. If that’s what he needs to motivate himself, fine, as long as it keeps him clean and keeps Brittany feeling supported.
Update: Brittany Christine Howard died on August 20th, 2016 of an overdose, 2 days after completing treatment. Her family has a GoFundMe to raise money for funeral expenses. And here is Brittany’s obituary
Official Synopsis: Brittany was part of the all-American family. But rape, drugs, and divorce have caused this family unit to crumble. At the center, Brittany’s heroin and meth abuse has created a tornado that has divided the family and now threatens her life..and worse yet, Brittany may not be the only active user in the house.
Date Aired: Aug 2016
Episode 213: Alicia
By Dizzy ⋅ July 10, 2016 ⋅ 18 comments
Location: I missed the location. Accents sound like New York City though. Staten Island maybe?
What’s Memorable: The nodding off, the going to work pretending to read papers that were blank, answering the phone with eyes pretty much closed, the family dinner. I’ve seen and experienced this before but it really hit home for me in this episode: addicts understand that they’re affecting their families, they just prefer not to think about it and when they do, it makes them want to be high. Addiction is a sick self-perpetuating cycle. The more addicted you are the more shitty you get, the more shitty you get the more guilty you feel, the more guilty you feel the more drugs you think you need to do. Repeat Repeat. Also Jeff nailed co-dependency with this simple line: “She’s being protected from the negative consequences of her actions.” And that followup, it’s one of the best I’ve ever seen.
Official Synopsis: With a booming family business that could one day be hers, Alicia’s future looked bright. But reconnecting with her biological father sent Alicia down a path of pain and self-destruction that has led to a full-blown addiction to heroin and Xanax.
Date Aired: July 2016
Episode 210: Daniel & Robert
By Dizzy ⋅ April 17, 2016 ⋅ 27 comments
Daniel and Robert
Location: Westfield, Massachusetts
What’s Memorable: Oof. This is a tough one but also hugely satisfying. The ugly situation at their dad’s house, the bedroom Daniel & Renee live in, the heated custody fight between the grandparents in the intervention room, Renee refusing to admit to using drugs but still going to treatment (no surprise that she had to address an eating disorder, she was scary skinny). These three people were all so damn sick, and all of them went to treatment and got healthy. Intervention saves lives.
Legacy Update: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0mQumAHzLM
Official Synopsis: Brothers Daniel and Robert were on the road to success. Daniel was headed for a career with the NY Yankees and Robert was an aspiring civil engineer. Injury ended a once bright career for Daniel who slid into using pain pills and then heroin to cope. The constant insecurity of living in his younger brother’s shadow lead Robert down the same path. Now the brothers spend their days injecting up to 21 bags of heroin per day–each. It is only a matter of time before this family loses both boys. Jeff Van Vondernen is the Interventionist.
Date Aired: April 2016
Episode 209: Karissa
Location: Central Square, New York
UPDATE: Karissa Hilts was killed in a hit-and-run crash in Florida on March 8, 2017. By all accounts she was sober at the time. Here is her obituary.
What’s Memorable: Despite her intimidating and manipulative behavior, Karissa is still somehow very likable. It’s not a mystery why she became an addict given her childhood traumas, but it’s clear that if she wasn’t addicted she would be such a cool person to be around. Also: That family diner has such personality, but it was disturbing to me what the non-family employees had to deal with everyday. I mean that’s a borderline abusive working environment, having to be witness to all that and pretend to not be affected. The idea that Karissa thinks she’s a ‘functional junkie’ because she gets up in the morning to go to work shows how deluded she is about what “functional’ means. Leaving work to go lie to the doctor in order to get Suboxone and immediately selling it for 10 bags of heroin and then needing people to stay up watching you all night with an overdose kit at hand because they’re afraid you’ve taken too many benzos with your heroin and you might die – that is not functional. I’m so glad Karissa made it and as of February 2016 is still sober. She deserves such a better life.
Official Synopsis: Karissa was always a talented cook – so much so, that her mother had one day hoped to pass the family diner down to her as a legacy. But Karissa’s life took a drastic turn when a close family friend fed her Oxycodone, and then ultimately made her a drug courier. From there Karissa was lost. Now, years of self-abuse, self-medication, and a severe addiction to heroin have left her volatile and desperate. Her family fears that if she does not heal from her violent past and the childhood she lost, she will never have the future she deserves.
Interventionist: Sylvia (who rocked this one)
Episode 207: Anne and Digger
By Dizzy ⋅ March 27, 2016 ⋅ 37 comments
Digger & Anne
Location: Weaverville, California
What’s Memorable: Their toxic relationship and what they show to their children – it’s just very, very ugly. There is so much addiction in and surrounding this family and the impact it’s all had on Blaze is remarkable. She’s a truly incredible, unbelievably perceptive person who knows way too much about how fucked up adults are.
Official Synopsis: Digger and Anne are husband and wife–and both are addicted to heroin. Intervening on addicted couples is incredibly difficult; and Digger and Anne’s situation is complicated further by other addicts in the family. Their three young children are in danger of losing both parents if the couple does not get help soon.
Date Aired: March 2016
Episode 203: Kayne
By Dizzy ⋅ August 30, 2015 ⋅ 17 comments
Location: Aberdeen, Ohio
Addiction: Heroin, Xanax
Official Synopsis: After his mother died, Kayne turned to drugs to cope, which eventually cost him his marriage and the custody of his children. This drove him further into his addition and now he spends each day getting high on a deadly combination of heroin and Xanax.
Original Air Date: August 2015
Episode 203: Justin
Addiction: Heroin, Methadone
Legacy Update: As of the June 20, 2018 episode (Abbie), Justin has been sober a little over 2 years and looks AMAZING. Here’s the video
Official Synopsis: The black sheep of a successful family, Justin got hooked in prescription opiates after he was run over by a truck. Now he begs, borrows, and steals from family and friends to maintain his methadone and heroin habit.
Epsidoe 202: Carrie
Location: Arlington, Washington
What’s Memorable: The room she squats in, how she started doing drugs because she lost a boxing match.
Official Synopsis: Carrie was a yong boxer with a shot at going pro, but losing an important fight triggered the trauma of being deserted by her father and she turned to drugs to cope. Now Carrie’s boxing career is on hold, she’s living on the streets and hustling for her next fix.
Episode 201: Joshua
Location: Rocklin, California
Addiction: Heroin, alcohol
Official Synopsis: At the age of 14, Joshua was badly beaten by his girlfriend’s father – two years later he was molested by the leader of his youth group. He turned to heroin to cope with his traumas.
Update: Joshua Lee Turek passed away on March 23rd, 2017. It was reported to me that he died of a heroin overdose. Condolences to all the people who loved him, of which there were obviously many.
Note: Joshua commented below that he was not molested by his youth group leader and resents A&E’s inaccurate depiction of him in this episode.
Episode 197: Amanda
Location: Festus, Missouri
What’s memorable: “I want extreme numbness. I want to get as far away from myself as I possibly can.”
Official Synopsis: Amanda’s world was thrown into a tailspin when her husband went missing for months. When his body was finally found, the victim of a high profile murder, she went off the deep end and found escape in drugs. Now her children are in state custody and she’s shooting heroin to cope.
Episode 195: Samantha
Age: Late 20’s?
Location: Randolph, New York
What’s memorable: The crazy webs of lies she gets herself into to get money for drugs, the “friend” Rich who is definitely NOT a friend, the horrific rape she suffered as a young teenager, the dad saying “I wish you’d die” and her responding with “me too.” So glad she made it through treatment, she looked awesome.
Legacy Update: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZgP6UHe2Wg
Synopsis: When Sam was 6 her life took a drastic turn when her parents divorced and her father moved away. At 14, Sam’s life changed forever when she was sexually assaulted. She turned to a life of partying, fueled by alcohol and Ecstasy. A fast downward spiral into heroin followed and today Sam is a full blown addict.
Original Air Date: April 2015
Cross-Category Search
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By Interventionist
POLL: What Did You Think of The Heroin Hub?
POLL: What is the saddest episode of Intervention?
POLL: Should wealthy families be given Intervention’s offer of free treatment?
POLL FINAL ROUND: Who Do You Most Want To See A Followup On?
Poll: The Heroin Triangle Season – Yay or Nay?
jacinda green on The Heroin Hub: Chapter 3
Andy on Episode 68: Allison
Luna on Episode 2: Vanessa
Loremrn on Episode 104: Amy W
© 2020 Intervention Directory. All Rights Reserved.
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Versione delle 03:43, 8 nov 2009 (visualizza wikitesto)
NBBot (Discussione | contributi)
(Bernardo Colombo, ed. 1959)
Versione delle 13:04, 24 feb 2010 (visualizza wikitesto)
Nicolas Brouard (Discussione | contributi)
(Local now)
[[en-ii:Demopædia:About]]
[[it-ii:Demopædia:Informazioni]]
{{:en-ii:Demopædia:About}}
{{:it-ii:Demopædia:Informazioni}}
{{SummaryShort}}
Versione delle 13:04, 24 feb 2010
This page will be translated from the Demopædia:About page of the English second edition site en-ii:Demopædia:About
Demopædia A multi-lingual wiki-based demographic encyclopedia
2 Why on-line?
3 Functionalities
4 What is next
5 How to use Demopædia
5.1 By searching for a term or demographic expression
5.2 By reading the book
5.3 By reading just a paragraph describing the searched term
5.3.1 Easy access to other translated text terms
5.3.2 How to pronounce a term in another language
5.3.3 Index of all named pages
5.4 Accessing the Multilingual Demographic Dictionary directly by its URL
5.4.1 Accessing a numbered paragraph of the second edition ...
5.4.2 ... and of the first edition ...
5.4.3 ... and of another language
5.4.3.1 List of language abbreviations
5.4.4 Accessing directly to a term or expression
5.5 Accessing the Open Encyclopedia on Population
5.6 When will the site be open?
6 For a Unified second edition of the dictionaries as an intermediate step
Developing the series of multilingual encyclopedic demographic dictionaries is one of the most enduring projects in the history of our discipline. And one of the most fruitful. In the early late 1960s, the United Nations Population Division has assembled a brilliant team of specialists to produce the then state of the art dictionaries in the official languages of the Organization. Two decades later the Division joined efforts with IUSSP to update these reference tools. The researchers and trainers of many countries have joined the project, albeit informally, by tailoring their national modules on the UN/IUSSP standard. As a result the international community might have at its disposal a standardized series of 14 encyclopedic demographic dictionaries. But in practice it does not because all language module are out of print and hardly a couple of libraries in the entire world may be expected to possess all of them.
Why on-line?
The multilingual encyclopedic demographic dictionary on the Internet became widely accessible. Demographic terms, their meaning and cross-references are now two clicks away for students, professors, researchers, government experts, journalists and NGO activists. You can elucidate the understanding of the term in the language of your work. Also, the multilingual dictionary assists you in grasping the subject of specialized texts in other languages.
You can consult the Dictionary's language modules, read them or download and print them: all copyright owners have authorized us to provide you these options. You can search for a demographic term, surf to linked terms and expressions or move to another language or edition. As the Dictionary is structured in thematic chapters, you can locate a term within its contextual environment. The language modules have built-in indexes which makes possible easy navigation and cross-referencing. The Wiki platform provides powerful tools for further development. The specialists could post their additions and corrections on-line and discuss them collectively.
What is next
Demographic knowledge made huge advances since the last editions of the Dictionary have been published. There is a clear sense that the structure and texts need updating. Doing it in a traditional format of 'live' panels and working groups would be hardly feasible. Developing on-line a renewed edition of multilingual encyclopedic demographic dictionary should be efficient and will unleash the potential of wide cooperation of professionals. Demopædia will host this project.
Demopædia also has the potential to become a platform for sharing and building a wider knowledge base in demography and population studies. Our vision is an extensive and constantly evolving encyclopedia on population, serving the world community and benefiting from influxes of ideas and texts.
How to use Demopædia
By searching for a term or demographic expression
The main URL (Internet address) of Demopædia is http://demopaedia.org. From this main page, you can enter in the search area for a term or expression and choose the language: it will search within the full text of the second (last edition) edition of the Multilingual Demographic Dictionary of this particular language. For Arabic, it will search within the ar-ii.demopaedia.org wiki site.
At least two kinds of link can be retrieved:
either a numbered page, like 101, 112 etc., which corresponds to a section of the Multilingual Demographic Dictionary. Former users of the printed old books are very familiar with this special but efficient method ;
either a link to a named page (like Demography for example) which contains the searched expression (read below).
By reading the book
Starting with the first numbered page or section 10, you will read the first paragraph (101) of the first chapter entitled General concepts.
Each paragraph (about 5 to 10 paragraphs) per section (Internet page) describes a demographical concept by using other similar terms. The terms in bold face are supposed to be main terms (called TextTerm) which have to be translated in any language. A TextTerm is uniquely defined by its footnote number. This unique definition (paragraph number - footnote number), for example 101-1 for Demography, permits an easy link between languages. Sometimes, the footnote is also used to give details specific to a peculiar language or country but most of times it is just used for cross-language navigation. Please read the preface of the original printed books in order to better understand how the dictionaries were originally built.
On the top and bottom of each page, a navigation bar helps you to read the next numbered page. When the first digit of a numbered page changes, you are accessing a newer chapter. Nine chapters were available for the second edition.
If you need or want to read the page in another available language, you just have to click on the link.
You can also access to the text of the first edition.
And from another edition you can access to any available language of the same edition.
By reading just a paragraph describing the searched term
If your Internet search originates from a search crawler, you will probably not be linked to a meaningless numbered (10, 20 etc.) page but to a named page, like fertility rate for example. In that case, you will be able to read the paragraph where fertility rate was defined in the Multilingual Demographic Dictionary of the corresponding page.
Easy access to other translated text terms
If you want to directly see how to translate any TextTerm of the same paragraph, you can click on the dynamic rolling box link and you will access to the table of all terms. From any language specific table column, you can jump to the numbered page of a chosen language.
How to pronounce a term in another language
At the bottom of a named page (not a numbered page) you will access to the audio file corresponding to the correct pronunciation recorded by demographers. This is an ongoing project and many links are still empty (red link).
Index of all named pages
At the very bottom of the page you will have access to the list of all named pages similar to the Index of the printed book.
Accessing the Multilingual Demographic Dictionary directly by its URL
Accessing a numbered paragraph of the second edition ...
If you want to access to the numbered paragraph 632 of the Arabic second edition just type the URL of the numbered page (section) by entering 63 (first two digits) after the wiki/ address: http://ar-ii.demopaedia.org/wiki/63
... and of the first edition ...
If you want to access to the same paragraph but of the first edition , just enter -i instead of -ii: http://ar-i.demopaedia/wiki/63 . Many of the sections have kept the same numbering between the first two editions and it might be interesting to consider the evolution of the language as well as of the concept.
... and of another language
In order to access the same paragraph in another language, just change the two letters using the international English abbreviation of languages (ISO 639):
List of language abbreviations
Abbreviation Language
ar Arabic
cs Czech
de German
es Spanish
et Estonian
it Italian
ja Japanese
fi Finnish
fr French
pl Polish
pt Portuguese
sv Swedish
zh Chinese
Accessing directly to a term or expression
If you want to access the named page directly because you know that this term or expression belongs to the second edition of the English dictionary, just type http://en-ii.demopaedia.org/wiki/Age-specific fertility rates. Please note that you can enter space and they will be replaced by underscore. If the expressions contains also accents or cyrillic or Chinese or Arabic etc. characters, please enter them into the URL, they will be replaced by their Unicode values on the returned URL (making them ugly but functional). Please send these URLs using Unicoded (utf-8) e-mails in order to keep them exchangeable and always readable.
Accessing the Open Encyclopedia on Population
Each text term, defined as a demographic term or demographical expression of the Multilingual Demographic Dictionary which must be translated into any language, will have its own named page in the Open Encyclopedia on Population.
The original definition expressed in one of the two Multilingual Demographic Dictionary editions is (or was if the paragraph has been overwritten by the second edition) a first start for a multimedia Encyclopedia on Populations.
The Multilingual Demographic Dictionary offers the advantage of large consensus (United Nations commission on terminology of the early 50's) and having been translated into various languages (about 15 languages). But it has the disadvantage of being old (1981 for the second edition in French): some sections or even chapters have to written or rewritten.
Also Encyclopedia have always used graphs or pictures which were missing in the printed Multilingual Demographic Dictionary and modern Encyclopedia can be multimedia and can offer animated drawings or audio files.
Using the free software of the Wikimedia foundation (called MediaWiki), Demopædia will offer the same possibilities with the same rules and constraints as Wikipedia.
Thus the syntax of the various URLS is similar to any Wikipedia site, i.e by suppressing any mention of the edition, just keeping the two letters of the abbreviated language: http://en.demopaedia.org/wiki/Age-specific fertility rates
Also the wiki syntax of Demopædia is exactly the same as the Wikipedia syntax.
When will the site be open?
The Demopædia site will be first opened for the International Conference on Population in Marrakesh in early October 2009, and the Open Encyclopedia will be opened only to the members of the [http//iussp.org IUSSP association] (a first training has been proposed to participants in Marrakech).
Once the various tools in order to fight against spammers and vandalism will be installed, the site will, hopefully, be opened to any specialist in Population Studies.
For a Unified second edition of the dictionaries as an intermediate step
Since the training in Marrakech, a lot of work has been done to improve the quality of the scanned texts. Specific computer programs using parsers have cross check the texts of the first and second editions in about 12 to 13 languages in order to detect the missing text terms in one or another language.
The first analysis of this work reveals that the second edition is not as rigorous as the first was. The first edition was the result of the Commission on terminology during the mid 50's, but the second was first revised in French in 1981 and translated and adapted to English in 1982 and in Spanish in 1985, German in 1987 etc. up to Czech in 2005.
Some terms, expressions and even complete paragraphs have not been translated into English, but in Spanish, Arabic, German etc.. And a few sentences and paragraphs have been added into the English second edition but never translated into the French second edition which was already published. Also the Spanish second edition added a few new text terms which are not translated into any other language but Arabic.
The German second edition (1987) defined a lot of more modern text terms which haven't been translated in any other language.
The current proposition (February 2010) to the Demopædia team is to discuss the opportunity of an harmonized or unified second edition before opening the Open Encyclopedia.
Editions, published after 1987, did not add any new term and thus a natural limit is 1987 (German) but harmonization between the three languages of the IUSSP could be an important step.
In many language specific editions, the numbering of the text terms differed (even between French and English) most of times due to errors but sometimes because a text term was not translated. The advantage of the technical work is to highlight the missing text terms in order to decide if the word is not used in this language or if it is an omission.
One advantage of such a short term project, will be that all the useful but out of print versions (English, French, Spanish, German, Arabic, Japanese etc.) as well as the four recently translated versions (Russian, Chinese, Italian) would be available in their unified second edition as printed book which could be ordered on the Demopaedia site. Such nice samples were on display at the UN booth of the Marrakech conference. It will also be a good exercise for the third edition...
Italiano (sec. edizione armonizzata)
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One of the traits I value most about myself is my ability to change my mind about something as more data becomes available.
Well, the data is in. And I'm reversing one of my long-held beliefs about writing.
For many years, I said DO NOT SELF-PUBLISH.
I had many good reasons to support this belief.
1. Self-publishing was expensive
2. The final product was over priced and inferior
3. Self-pubbed were impossible to distribute
4. Most self-pubbed books weren't returnable
5. Chances were, the reason you had to self pub was because your writing wasn't good enough
6. Most POD houses were scams
I had ample evidence to support my opinion. Writer Beware and Preditors & Editors and Absolute Write all had detailed tales of authors being screwed. I'd done enough local signings with self-pubbed authors to see how epic their failures were. I was a judge for several self-pub contests for Writer's Digest, and saw firsthand the dreck being released.
Yep, I was pretty confident that traditional publishing was the only game in town.
Then, in 2009, I became aware of the Kindle.
Even though I began to experience some success self-publishing my ebooks, I still believed in traditional publishing. For all of its flaws, signing with a Big 6 house was still the best way to make the most money and reach the most readers.
So now it's December 2010, and I'm selling 1000 ebooks a day, and I'm ready to change my mind on the matter.
Two close friends of mine have books on submission, waiting for the Big 6 to make offers. They've been waiting for a few months, and will probably have to wait a few months more.
Even being conservative in my estimates, these writers have lost thousands of dollars, and will continue to lose money every single day their books are on submission, rather than on Amazon.
Selling 1000 ebooks a month equals $24,000 a year. Being on submission for 6 months is a loss of $12,000, and then waiting 18 more months for the book to be published is a loss of another $36,000.
Even if they got a nice advance, say $100,000, they'd still be losing money hand over fist.
Let's compare:
Self-Pubbing
Two years of extra sales (the submission time and the time to publication) = $48,000
Three years of sales beyond that @ $24k per year = $72,000
Total five year earnings for self pubbing = $120,000
Traditional Pubbing
Advance = $100,000. But the agent takes $15k, and the advance is broken up into three payments of $57,000 each over three years
Five years of sales = $0 (a $100,000 advance, in today's market, with bookstores closing all around and ebook royalties at 17.5%, will never earn out)
Total five year earnings = $85,000
1000 ebook sales a month for a $2.99 self-pubbed ebook is a very conservative number--I have ebooks regularly selling 2000 or 3000 a month.
But I've NEVER had a $5.99 ebook sell 1000 copies a month, and that's what a traditional publisher will price their ebooks at. Each $5.99 ebook that sells will earn the author $1.05, and they'll sell considerably fewer (as many as ten times fewer, according to my numbers) than the $2.99 ebook earning them $2.04.
Yes, there will be paper sales, but my best selling paper book, Afraid, didn't even earn me $25k in print royalties, and it has a hardcover, trade paper, and two mass market releases on three continents.
I'm also very concerned that many print publishers, in the next few years, are going to go bankrupt. I'd hate to wait 18 months for my book to come out, then have it canceled. And if it is canceled, what happens to the rights? Do they get tangled up in some lengthy court battle? Do I ever get my erights back?
And how about after the five year period? Chances are high, five years from now, that ebooks will be the dominant format. Do I want to be locked into a contract making 17.5% on every sale when I could have been making 70%?
Let's say publishers wise up and begin selling ebooks for $2.99. That would mean authors only get 52 cents from each sale, or 1/4 of what they could make on their own. That's $6k a year in royalties, rather than $24k.
If that went on for ten years, an author who signed with a publisher would make $60,000. An author who self-pubbed and sold the same amount of ebooks would make $240,000.
Yes, traditional publishers offer editing and cover art. But is editing and cover art worth you losing $18,000 a year, every year, forever?
Even if we assume print will remain competitive, I can trot out the royalties I've earned on my Jack Daniels books over the last seven years. With six JD books, including ebook sales, I've made over $300,000.
I'm on track to make over $200,000 on ebook sales in 2011, and have made over $100,000 this year. So I can earn more in two years on my own than I could in seven years with a traditional publisher. Hell, I earned more this month than I got as an advance for Afraid ($20k for Afraid, $22k for this December self-pubbing.)
If I look at the poor royalty rates publishers offer, the changing, volatile marketplace, the long time to publication, and then add in the multitude of mistakes publishers continue to make (like high ebook prices), I'd be hard pressed to think of ANY reason to sign a book deal.
Unless it's for a huge sum of money. If that happens, take the money and assume you'll never get your rights back or make another cent off of that book.
Years ago, publishers used to grow authors. When authors reached a certain number of books in print, the publisher would have a huge marketing campaign to break the author out into the mainstream and hit the bestseller lists. That's how a lot of NYT bestsellers got there.
These days, you can grow yourself. You can put out books quicker than the Big 6, earn more money, reach more readers, and have more control over the entire process.
But don't take my word for it. Go to Kindleboards.com and look at all the self-pubbed authors selling like crazy. Go to Amazon.com and look at the bestseller lists, which are full of indie authors (who are competing with huge bestselling authors, and in many cases making more money than those bestsellers.) Crunch the numbers yourself, and try to find a scenario where you'd actually do better in the long term by signing with the Big 6.
I'll now take some questions.
Q: But Joe, I've got a self-pubbed ebook on Kindle, and I've only sold 6 copies. Wouldn't I sell more through a publisher?
A: I've seen evidence that the return rates on print books are over 70%. If your book is selling poorly on Kindle, what makes you think you'll sell well having two copies, spine out, in a bookstore that will soon go out of business?
And do you think you'll sell more ebooks through a publisher when they list it at $9.99 and only pay you 17.5%?
If your sales are poor, change the cover art, change the description, rewrite the book, write more books, change genres, etc. There are a lot of ways to improve sales, because you have control.
You have no control once you sign over your rights to a publisher.
Q: Print is still the dominant form of media. Don't you think you're putting all your eggs in the ebook basket?
A: Not at all. Most of my self-pubbed ebooks are available in print, through Createspace. This December, I've earned over $2300 on them.
Q: You're such a hypocrite. You've got several print deals.
A: I signed those deals before I came to this conclusion. I highly doubt I'll ever sign another print deal.
Q: But I need the traditional publishing gatekeepers in order to know my book is good enough. Aren't you concerned a whole bunch of wannabes will flood the Kindle with self-pubbed crapola?
A: Decades ago, pulp writers learned to write while on the job. Early books by many of the greatest mystery, fantasy, sci-fi, and romance writers, weren't very good. But getting paid allow those writers to improve, and become the masters we now revere.
If you write crap, it probably won't sell very well. But you can learn from it and get better. You can rewrite and revise your early work to improve it. With self-publishing, readers become the gatekeepers, and if you work hard, keep an open mind, and learn from your mistakes, you'll improve as a writer.
Q: But what about editing and formatting and cover art?
A: See my sidebar for the folks I use to make my cover art and format my ebooks and print books.
As for editing, I'll be candid here. My last four print releases, all done my major houses, required very little editing. That's because I have writing peers who help me vet my manuscripts.
Join a writers group, or make friends with a writer in your genre and trade manuscripts.
Q: But I want to be traditionally published so my books are in bookstores, and so I can join professional writer organizations like HWA, SFWA, RWA, MWA, ITW, NinC, the Author's Guild, so I can get nominated for awards, and so I can get professional reviews in newspapers and Kirkus, PW, Booklist, and so my books get into libraries, and so I can sell to foreign countries and sell audio rights and get movie deals.
A: Years ago, self-pubbing was called "vanity publishing" because it existed to appeal to the writer's ego.
Joining organizations, winning awards, getting into newspapers, and seeing your books in bookstores and libraries all seems like it caters directly to a writer's vanity.
As a writer, I could give a shit what the New York Times thinks of my latest, or if MWA gives me an Edgar award, or if I'm on a shelf in the Podunk Public Library. Those are all ego strokes.
I care about money, and reaching readers, and none of these things are necessary to make money or reach readers.
As for foreign, audio, and movie rights, watch what happens over the next few years. Print is no longer a prerequisite.
Q: You're doing well because you have a platform in traditional publishing.
A: Will this assumption ever die? I'm not saying every self-pubbed writer will sell as well as I do. But there are many writers selling just as well, or better, and many of them never had a print deal. I'm sure my backlist helps. I'm also sure a backlist isn't needed to succeed.
Q: You're a bitter, angry man, your mediocre success has turned you into an insufferable egomaniac, and your bashing the publishing industry is petty and misguided.
A: I'm guessing you work for the publishing industry. Better get that resume up on Monster.com ASAP.
Q: But what if your ebook predictions are wrong? What if the bubble bursts? Do you think any publisher in the world would ever offer you another contract? I'd much rather stick with a multi-million dollar company who has had a hundred years of experience. Publishers are too smart, and there is too much money involved, for them to fail.
A: I'm sure a lot of people felt the same way about Enron, Delta, Chrysler, General Motors, Northwest Airlines, Montgomery Wards, Kmart, Delta, the Tribune Group, Pacific Gas and Electric, etc.
Bankruptcy happens to big companies all the time. And technology changes how media is distributed and sold.
I wouldn't want to be associated with any company who still supported Betamax, VHS, 8 tracks, cassette tapes, vinyl records, 35mm film, analog televisions, CRT monitors, dot matrix printers, etc.
I don't doubt that print will always exist.
I also don't doubt that digital will dominate print, just as it has dominated music, TV, film, communications, etc.
If you want to stick with the old guard, that's up to you. I wish you much success.
In the meantime, I'll be self-pubbing, making money.
Kent Conrad said...
Your experience has been an inspiration to me, Joe, as I've noted on my own blog. I've always believed that self-publishing was the mark of permanent amateurism. Now, I've self-published my own book, Dead Furst. I've sold... next to nothing. But I'm obscure, and patient, and have a lovely Carl Graves cover. So thanks, Joe, for providing a model, and some hope.
I just bought your book, Kent. The cover is indeed fantastic, and the description is right up my alley.
Moses Siregar III said...
You know I've been back and forth on this a lot, but my thinking now is that even if I want to picked up by a big publisher (and I do, if I get a good offer), the best way to get a good publishing contract is probably to self-publish my work first and hopefully (knock on wood) have success that I can leverage into better support from a publishing house.
However, I've also been studying the "indie" movement for almost a year now (seeing how people do it well) and I think I have the entrepreneurial temperament to at least have a fighting chance on my own. If I wasn't made out for running my own business and doing some kind of marketing on my own, I wouldn't want to self-publish right now.
So unless something drastically changes, I'll release my first novel in May and then go from there.
Joe, I've been following your blog for a long while now, and this last semester in school decided to do a number of reports on the publishing industry at large, and more specifically with the e-publishing boom. Each class needed a slightly different focus, but it gave me a much more widespread view of the game as I mined various publishing resources as well as self-pubbed authors, agents, and publishers blogs for information. It's very hard, even from the outside looking in, to come to a conclusion that isn't the complete change of the market.
Publishers, though they don't say it out right, are scared. The market is changing faster than ever to the point where most of my research was from 2010, and by the time I turned in my papers, some of it was out of date, with e-book predictions growing exponentially with each new report and news from more and more authors moving to self-publishing, or fighting for the e-book rights in a few cases.
It's a fascinating time to be involved in publishing, and I'm enjoying researching it.
And to tie this all to the current blog, my biggest paper of the term asserted that at this point in time, it was absolutely worth it to attempt self-publishing works. Glad to have an expert voice to back up my own ideas.
I've called traditional publishing "the new vanity publishing" because some writers see only the illusion of legitimacy. And major writing organizations are actively supporting the structure of their own demise, not serving writers. Under the definitions, it's more "professional" to give away up to 96 percent of your income than to keep 70 percent of it. Good luck with that.
I find this to be inspirational in many ways, but I can't swallow it all without a caveat. You cannot deny that, through traditional publishing, you were able to reach readers and grow at least a seedling of a fan base that you were at least able to take with you when you jumped ship. The vast majority of aspiring authors reading this blog will not have that kind of running start. They will have to grow it from scratch. Their books and their names will be floating in a vast sea of starving artists trying to make a minute fraction of what you made this year.
Would it be that we could all cut our teeth on the traditional market before striking it out on our own with an established following of sorts. Even getting a small advance from a traditional publisher that doesn't earn out would earn most of those trying to self-publish more money than they would if their works sat in the Kindle store getting a download or two a month (if that).
Your math is tantalizing and I congratulate your success and am grateful for you telling us what is possible in the best-case-scenario of self-publishing, but I dare not think for even a moment that your case is applicable to even the most competent of otherwise unknown self-publishers.
Breaking out is hard to do. Isn't that a song? ;)
I'm playing it safe and pursuing trad and indie pubbing together.
Easier said than done, of course, I'm on my third literary agent and still waiting for that initial offer from a major house ...
What do you think, Joe, about asking my agent to approach Amazon Encore with my thriller? He's with Dystel so I know there's a history there...
My devious scheme worked! Months of planning, and it culminated in success! Joe bought my book!
Seriously, Joe, I deeply appreciate the sale, but even more so the constant stream of advice and encouragement you’ve been giving out for free over the last six months of my life. I’m super excited about electronically self-publishing, and I’m trying to get my mother, who has been writing category romance for the last 30 years, to jump into the electron-pool as well. I’ve seen the royalties in her contracts, and without giving away specifics (she can still disown me) they’re just criminal.
Hope you enjoy the book.
Joe Flynn said...
I've written four mainstream published novels: one with Signet Books, two with Bantam Books, one with Variance Publishing. But over the same period that those books were published, I wrote another nine novels that were equally as good or better that never sold.
I love the idea of self-pubbing these titles. I have eight titles up as e-books. I haven't hit a home run first time out, but in the four months that I've been at this sales have increased every month. I changed the cover on one ebook — Hot Type — and saw the sales shoot up dramatically. This month between e-books and PODs, which spiked when the e-books went up, sales will approach 150 books sold.
Next month as I add new titles, I expect to sell more. After that, as I improve at marketing my work, I'll do better still. The whole process is tremendously exciting.
It sure as hell beats letting good stories sit on a shelf or waiting for someone else to give your work his or her blessing.
OMG you rock! I read your blog all the time at work. I love you man!
wayob said...
Joe I am also convinced that ebooks will rule and the traditional publishing industry is in the edge of a very profound precipice. They will change, but they will not be the ruler of the industry. And for a pretty good example, and sorry to say the same that I have said yesterday, Black Friday's Kindle sales rose up to 13.7 million in just one day. So you have 13.7 million more readers, that should help to boost ebook sales.
So to those all sceptic out there, this is not the future, this is not a wannabe technology, this is Now, this is trend, and as Financial Markets say, Trend is your friend...
Also, have anybody saw PW where Random House sales of the 24th and 25th of December rose to 300% of its ebooks. Think that the trend is clear.
So, next month in the CES show in Las Vegas we will see a lot of companies jumping in the Tablet world, and 2011 will be the consolidation year of ebook markets, but not its best, this is escalating and this business will grow at double digits for at least the next five to ten years.
Who wants to be left behind your friend: Trend.
Great post, Joe! I just blogged about the same issue: There's a new career in town: self-pub authors. My post comes to the same conclusion as yours, but from the viewpoint of a neophyte self-pub author who just had my first 100-copies-sold month in December.
Frank Marcopolos said...
I've been thinking a lot about this lately, too, and I appreciate your insights on the topic, Joe. I'll be dipping my toe in the water in 2011, and seeing where it leads.
Thank you for being a leader in the field!
"1000 ebook sales a month for a $2.99 self-pubbed ebook is a very conservative number--I have ebooks regularly selling 2000 or 3000 a month."
Hmmm, I'd say that's stretching it a bit at this point, frankly. I don't see a ton of indie authors selling a thousand copies of one book a month. Most of those of us who are hitting the thousand-a-month mark seem to have quite a few books available. I will agree that more and more people are hitting higher figures, but I still wouldn't call that a conservative figure.
Not saying your conclusion is wrong, but it's really hard to assign concrete figures to calculations like these, because the figures vary so wildly from author to author. It's a gamble either way, but I think the loss of two years' sales up front very likely makes up for any benefits one might obtain from traditional publishing at this point.
I was a judge for several self-pub contests for Writer's Digest, and saw firsthand the dreck being released.
As long as there are vanity publishers, there will always be dreck. Dreck sucks, but it's part of this business, just like transvestite hookers and great sushi-- you've got to take the good with the bad.
Nice to see you've changed your mind. I always knew that fat paychecks had a positive effect on men, but it looks like the Kindle is going to be thsource of endless happy endings for authors.
You had me convinced a long time ago.
Do Tampons Take Your Virginity?
EC,
The book you have on submission is a good example of why it might be better to get a traditional deal before self-publishing. I happen to know that it's a great book and that you self-published it for a while with mediocre sales results. With some publishing cred and the national exposure that goes along with it, subsequent self-pubbed titles would probably do much better. That's my theory, anyway.
Joe's numbers are amazing; but, like Allison said, without an established following most writers aren't going to see sales anywhere near his.
And, you know, I have to somehow rationalize my decision to sign with a traditional publisher for my first novel. ;)
Karly Kirkpatrick said...
Joe, I'm totally drinking the kool aid and passing it on to my friends. I'm posting modest numbers (an ebook a day) but I've only been selling for 2 months. It's getting better and better every day as word gets around. My book is doing great in reviews and I'm so excited to be doing what I've always wanted to do.
I'm a published author...and am making more money than my trad pubbed friends who are still waiting for that first big sale.
Thanks to Joe, Rob, and Carl for giving me the tools, the formatting, and the wicked awesome cover that gets compliments all the time.
www.karlykirkpatrick.com
I don't see a ton of indie authors selling a thousand copies of one book a month.
Yet. :)
Watching Amanda Hocking's star rise so quickly and dramatically, I see it is possible to sell hundreds of ebooks a day. And we're still in the infancy of this medium.
When 200 million people have ereaders, 1000 ebook sales a month will be considered entry-level and sucky.
All day, my wife and I have been shaking our heads and repeating "We made $22,000 this month." It's unbelievable.
And yet, looking at the trends, looking at Amanda, I think that it is entirely possible, some time in the future, for indie authors to make $100,000 a month.
And if you believe that print will fall by the wayside, and assume that ebooks will take up the slack, then an ebook bestseller might actually sell a million copies.
It blows my mind. It also makes me realize 1000 a month is a really low estimate.
Jamie D. said...
Allison, there are many authors self-publishing now without any sort of previous pub. experience who are doing great right off the bat (thousands of copies in the first 6 months). I'm an unknown, and published my first novella last fall - sold 5-6 copies per month at $1.99, I dropped the price to .99, and now it's selling over 30 copies a month (which, quite frankly, is far better than I expected for a first book). I have a novel to release next month, and another next summer, and expect a bump from each of those. I'm on my way, and optimistic about the future.
All that to say - I don't think you need an established fan base to do well self-publishing these days. Sure, it takes time to build a readership...but it would with trad pub. too - longer, since I'd have to wait for my book to be *published*. Like Joe says, you need a good book, a good cover, and a good blurb...after that, it's all about spreading the word.
Times are changing...it's a fabulous time to be a writer, IMO.
Thanks Joe. Your story has really helped me decide how to shape my career.
Oh, and by the way, this week I'll have an interview up on the blog with Tess Oliver, an author you mentioned in your list the other day, and I've also got one coming soon with Amanda Hocking! Hopefully they can shed some light on their successes as well. It should be interesting!
"It also makes me realize 1000 a month is a really low estimate."
Maybe. I'm just saying that in my experience, sales can vary so widely that trying to assign future estimates is a pretty iffy business. I have one book that's sold thirteen copies this month, and that's a pretty typical figure for it, sadly. I have another (written under a pen name) that's sold around 1600 copies since I put it up for sale this month. The difference is presumably genre. There are a whole lot of variables involved.
Stacey Cochran said...
I count this as a personal victory. It only took 8 years of my telling you self publishing is the way to go.
Now, if I can only get you to believe in internet advertising revenue. I am making very good money via howtopublishabook.org.
As much as you're making with eBooks, you could be making ten times as much with Adsense.
I know you don't believe me, Joe. You used not to believe me with self publishing either.
You used not to believe me with self publishing either.
That's because you were wrong, Stacey. ;)
Self-pubbing wasn't a good route to take eight years ago, or even last year. But the industry has changed so much recently that self-pubbing isn't just viable, I think it's the only way to go.
As for advertising, I've always believed it is the future of ebooks. But there would be a conflict of interest if I monetized my blog, even if I made some money doing it. I don't want ads for AuthorHouse and PublishAmerica on my sidebar when I've told folks for years to avoid AuthorHouse and PublishAmerica. It would seem too much like an endorsement.
I happen to know that it's a great book and that you self-published it for a while with mediocre sales results. With some publishing cred and the national exposure that goes along with it, subsequent self-pubbed titles would probably do much better. That's my theory, anyway.
Thanks, Jude. We're thinking alike.
There are a whole lot of variables involved.
Indeed. Those variables also apply to print.
You can get a $2000 advance, sell 800 copies, and then have your rights tied up for three years while making no more money on the property.
Even with variables, and taking low sales into account, I believe the average writer can do better self-pubbing than searching for a print deal.
Zoe Winters said...
I really appreciate how your viewpoint on all this has evolved over time. My views on all this mirror a lot of yours. I remember back when we were debating how I knew I was "good enough" without a traditional publisher vetting me. And I was thinking... "Dude. Screw it... that vetting process takes too long. Even if I sucked, I can learn faster just getting out there and growing my audience on my own than standing in someone else's line waiting for permission to publish."
Everybody has different goals, so for people who are just writing for "the love of the art" or because they want the prestige of a big publisher or opportunities only available to "real authors", then their goals are going to be different and maybe traditional publishing is right for them. I'm not going to judge other people's wants an needs.
But Joe is right, if your goal is money and readers, you really can certainly get that in self-publishing while keeping creative control. It takes work, commitment, and different amounts of time for each author (hey, just like in traditional publishing.)
One thing I find interesting is that in all other forms of artistic expression if one can make money AND keep creative control, artist jump on that. In writing, we've all been brainwashed into believing somehow a megacorp knows our vision better than we do and that they are the only ones who can help us realize it. Writers as a group have always been very submissive.
Incidentally, the "ten times" is not hyberbole. I have no doubt that you could be making 200 grand a month. Literally. Probably more.
Advertising on the internet is in its infancy, but understanding and mastering principles of good, high-quality advertising can literally make you a millionaire.
You're gonna force me to start posting my ad revenue income aren't you, just to prove to you how much money you're missing out on? ;)
I remember back when we were debating how I knew I was "good enough" without a traditional publisher vetting me.
You did wind up being vetted after all. The readers deemed you good enough, hence your terrific sales. :)
hehe, Thanks Joe.
But you know, I DID tell you the readers would vet and validate me and that I didn't need anyone else. You seemed to think that was bizarre troll logic at the time. :P
Vicki Hopkins said...
Fantastic article. Thanks to successful authors such as yourself, it helps me solidify my decision to be an indie rather than going the traditional route. I'd still be sitting at home waiting for my dreams to come true while agents and publishing houses putter around trying to decide if I'm good enough. In the meantime, I'm moving toward book #4, making money, touching readers, and maintaining control over my craft.
@Vicki, I'm glad you didn't. I loved "The Price of Innocence"... when is the next book in that series coming out?
You seemed to think that was bizarre troll logic at the time.
I always knew readers could be gatekeepers, but in your case I feared that if your books were lousy, you'd lose any chance at getting a print deal.
It turned out your books were good, and print deals aren't what they used to be.
And while you've been a bit intense from time to time, I never thought you were a troll. ;P
Joe said: " I don't want ads for AuthorHouse and PublishAmerica on my sidebar"
Joe, you should check in to Project Wonderful. It's an advertising service that gives you complete control over who advertises on your site. You keep 75% of the bid amounts.
C E said...
You're having entirely too much fun, Joe !
hehe, Joe. That's true, but if my writing was lousy, I would never have made it traditionally either.
Either way I would have had to learn through rejection from editors or rejection from readers and practice, to get better. And of course I hope every book I write is stronger than the one before it. Because we're all hopefully always growing as writers.
Joe, thx for post - question for you. I'm a first time author who is self publishing. The price of my ebook has been priced at 9.99 by the publisher. There will be print versions available as well, but since I write erotic fiction, I expect the majority of sales will be online. Are you saying this is over-priced? Should I have it reduced to attract more buyers? Eden
"1000 ebook sales a month for a $2.99 self-pubbed ebook is a very conservative number."
Based on all I've observed at places like KindleBoards.com, I'd say that's only true for authors who do one or more of the following:
1. Write paranormal romance
2. Write a huge number of good books
3. Write a moderate number of good books along with good marketing/promotion
4. Write a small number of books (let's say 1 or 2) along with excellent marketing/promotion
5. Get lucky (for example, some people have lucked into getting Amazon to reduce one of their books to free, which produces a huge swell of sales after the book is no longer free).
For everyone selling 1,000 books a month, there seem to be many, many more selling less than that.
HOWEVER, those who do one of the things I listed above probably should feel good about their chances. I think "very conserative" is still too strong, but 1,000 sales a month seems very possible for those who fit one of the categories I mentioned. This also assumes they have good books with good covers and good book descriptions.
But I would say that, 1000 ebook sales a month for a $2.99 self-pubbed ebook is a very attainable number if you take the business of writing very seriously.
Cathryn Grant said...
Crunch the numbers yourself, and try to find a scenario where you'd actually do better in the long term by signing with the Big 6.
I did ... and I couldn't. Now I'm ready to pull the trigger before the new year.
Thanks for all your info and inspiration.
Oh, and btw I'm a member of MWA via short story publications ;)
Something to add to my last post: Also be prepared to wait a while before expecting to sell at that level, assuming you ever do. Maybe a year or two. Some people have pulled off numbers like that within a few months, but those are exceptional cases. Then again, maybe you're exceptional ;-)
You feeling lucky?
KevinMc said...
Eden, if you're self-publishing, why is someone else setting your prices?
Maybe this is a good time to talk about some of the dark side of self-publishing... I think a week does not go by where I don't hear about someone being taken by a "self pub company" that for the low, low, price of $1000 and half your profit forever will format your book to e and print, slap a cheap cover on it, and get it up for sale.
A good article on some of the scams here:
http://www.deanwesleysmith.com/?p=2656
Don't be taken in. Part of the point here is the freedom to control things yourself, and the right to earn your money from this, not to hand it to some third party for a few hours of their labor.
Your post is definitely worth a read.
For most newbie authors, the market has changed. Too many ereaders were sold this holiday season. (Almost 50% better than I hoped.) Too many now know they can read a book on their IPod touch (#2 after Kindle at Amazon electronics), laptop, etc.
We're now past early adopters. Ebooks are still in their childhood, but the infancy is behind.
Prepare for a minirant:
I am sick of people saying that Joe did this because he had already been published and already had a following. Yes, that may have helped Joe, but I think even if he hadn't been previously published, he would still be selling well now because he understand how to write and sell books.
Prior to April 15th, I'd never sold a book in my life. Not one. Not to anybody. Then I self-pubbed, and I haven't sold less than 2000 books a month since May.
I'm not saying that every author will be successful with self-publishing. But I am saying that it evens the playing the field. We all get the same shelf space and we all get a chance.
" We all get the same shelf space and we all get a chance."
The "Tyranny of shelf space" is over. As a reader (and only a reader) that is the most exciting aspect of e-books. No limits on selection. No artificial 'windowing' of titles, etc.
And unlimited backlists... :)
@Amanda
You fall under the "magical elf" clause. :P There is always going to be someone who wants to make excuses for why someone else succeeded but it won't work for them. With Joe the cross he has to bear is: "previously NY published". For you it is "magical elf". It's always going to be something.
Oh and I'm not sure if you've got a NY print deal or if you're looking for one, but if you get one, be prepared for folks to rewrite history and talk about how "Amanda Hocking wouldn't be where she is now if she hadn't gotten a big NY pub to splash her name everywhere" blah blah blah.
It's always going to be something.
What it might require, though, is for J.A. Konrath with a magical portal in this world to travel to a parallel world to tell the Joe Konrath who was never traditionally published how good the ebook thing is.
Because without J.A. Konrath's blog to tell the other Joe Konrath about the great self-publishing craze of 2010, Joe might still be sending query letters.
Though perhaps the other Joe would've discovered Zoe Winters anyway, and Zoe would've berated him about how he shouldn't need the traditional publishing world for validation (Joe would still be friends with Jude, you see).
@Moses
Yeah, but what if alternate world Zoe was all rah rah traditional publishing? It could happen! :P
It's human nature to automatically reject things that don't mesh with preconceived notions. We're all guilty of this, me included.
It's much safer to defend your beliefs than change your mind. Change is scary. Admitting you're wrong hurts. Insisting your way is the right way, even in the face of evidence that shows otherwise, is the kind of ignorance that has been around since the dawn of humanity.
So we'll never hear the end of "Konrath is successful because he has a backlist."
The doubters need to be able to pigeonhole and label things in order to feel better about themselves. They have to make excuses for things that don't fit inside the world order they've created for themselves.
Of course, these arguments are easy to pick apart. If my backlist is the key to my success, why weren't my print books hugely successful? Why aren't other authors with backlists like mine selling as well as I am?
There will always be naysayers. Non illegitimi carborundum.
"And, you know, I have to somehow rationalize my decision to sign with a traditional publisher for my first novel. ;)"
Except that you didn't sign with a traditional publisher, you signed with an independent publisher who prints an average of 1000 copies of each book.
I'll let you do the math from there.
Another quick point. It's very easy to be a Monday morning quarterback, and ascribe significance to things after they have happened.
For you to be right, you have to be able to predict what is going to happen, and why.
One of the hurdles publishers have had to face is that they can't predict hits. They can guess. They can hope. But when the day is done, after the vetting and hard work and years of experience, only 1 out of 5 books they publish make a profit, and a 50% sell through is acceptable.
It's the same with ebooks. No one knows why some succeed, and others don't. But it is finally an even playing field.
Write good books that people want to read. That's what we need to focus on.
Sorry, but Oceanview is most definitely a traditional publisher, in every sense of the word. The fact that they're independent is irrelevent. They pay advances and royalties and their books are distributed nationally. And, while their print runs are relatively small, they are well over 1000. They get over 150 submissions a week and publish 12 titles a year. I'll let you do the math from there.
joe said:
> My last four print releases,
> all done my major houses,
> required very little editing.
i can't help but note the irony.
Michael Allen said...
Thank you for taking the time out from what must be a hideously busy schedule to write such an informative and helpful post.
@allison You cannot deny that, through traditional publishing, you were able to reach readers and grow at least a seedling of a fan base that you were at least able to take with you when you jumped ship. The vast majority of aspiring authors reading this blog will not have that kind of running start.
I've said and thought eactly what you expressed here...but then I started some research. There are MANY people doing similar to Joe that don't have his traditional publishing background:
Michael Sullivan Amanda Hocking
Chris Graham
D.B. Henson
Cort Malone
Are all doing it as well.
Just to clarify - there was not 13.7 Million Kindles sold on Black Friday there were 13.7 Million Amazon items sold on Cyber Monday. Amazon sells all kinds of things many of which are not books at all.
click here for details on 13.7 Sales
Writers, you have nothing to lose but your chains.
Some people are not constitutionally bold nor are they early adopters. Joe obviously is. Some of us follow in his wake. Others want guarantees and predictability. That's fine, come here and be gloomy. Be reluctant. I sold 700 books this month with no platform, no name recognition, no tradpub books out at the same time and in a very ignored category. You're not changing my mind. If it makes you feel good, keep finding the reasons this won't work for you.
Edie Ramer said...
I'm selling more since I put Cattitude on sale for 99 cents. I was reluctant to do it, but though I was getting a lot of great reviews, I wasn't getting a lot of sales. I have another book out and plan to put up another one within the next few weeks.
My start has been slower than I'd like, but I have faith that I will be successful. At least I'm making progress and not waiting to hear from an agent or an editor. I'm making money and people tell me they love my books. It's all good.
"We all get the same shelf space"
That's true, but not all shelf space is at the front of the store. Get your book in at least one TOP 100 category list, otherwise your book doesn't exist.
The lists are your advertising. For my last book, I had rave reviews from Library Journal, Booklist and others. They meant nothing.
Getting the book onto the first page of a TOP 100 category was the advertising that potential buyers consulted and what drove my sales royalties to more than $9K this month.
So, how do you get on a list? Like JA said, basically via good cover and good description. That's your hook.
Another great post, Joe! My favorite part?
Q: You're a bitter, angry man, your mediocre success has turned you into an insufferable egomanicac, and your bashing the publishing industry is petty and misguided.
Ha! I suspect some of those publishing industry people are also leaving bad reviews on Amazon, just for spite.
For what it's worth, I'm one of those who self-published and sold tens of thousands of e-books (and counting) without having been previously published. And believe me, I'm the ultimate nobody. My neighbors and many of my relatives didn't even know I was writing novels.
And those of us who are doing it successfully are not flukes. There are just too many (and more are coming up the ranks all the time), and in all different genres.
I have a friend, Jon Olson, who just put his novel The Petoskey Stone on e-book and I'm having fun watching the book's progress. This is a novel which had some close calls with NY publishing, but didn't sell, probably because as a mystery it didn't fit into the box. Before e-books that would be the end of it--a terrific book never seeing the light of day. Now we have options.
You made me spit up my mornign tea I was laughing so hard at this. Yes, you are so right. And yes, more people need to get with the program.
It's been a really exciting thing to switch over to the indie movement. I see friends still stuck on the hamster wheel of traditional publishing, waiting to hear back on queries from agents, waiting for the monolith of the Big 6 to actually get the book out, and it's so stressful for them. I, meanwhile, just put out my second title. I'm not selling 1,000 books a month yet (about halfway there), but I am making modest progress and slowly building a following. In it's not quite first week out, my latest release, a short novella called Devil's Eye, has already outsold the first 2 and a half months of my debut from back in March. It's not rocket science or an explosion, but it's steady progress.
I do think backlist is really important to visibility and really growing a readership. Certainly most of the successful indies I know of have built one and have multiple titles out. There's a multiplicative effect, seemingly, and certainly sales seem to grow exponentially the more you have out.
I can't imagine going the traditional route anymore and losing all control over the pricing, the covers (mine are done by the fabulous Robin Ludwig. I can make a living wage a LOT faster on my own than waiting around for the slowpokes in New York.
Jude - I think it's awesome that you're releasing your first novel with Oceanview and huge congrats on that. A major accomplishment, and you will accumulate some pubbing cred. For sure. But...there will come a time, trust me, when you pray that Pocket-47 goes out of print and you get your rights back so you can reap the full benefit of what's happening. The way I figure, a conservative estimate is that I'm currently losing $2,000/month on Abandon (09) and Snowbound (10), my last two books which St. Martin's published and I don't have the rights to. It may be several years before I get those back. It's KILLING me to consider the $$ I'm losing. I didn't know when I signed those deals that all this would happen, but I would not take anything less than major money ever again to tie up rights to my books for 5-7 years. It simply doesn't make sense anymore.
William J. Thomas said...
"Q: You're such a hypocrite. You've got several print deals.
A: I signed those deals before I came to this conclusion. I highly doubt I'll ever sign another print deal."
I love Sci-Fi, so am really looking forward to TIMECASTER...while being frustrated I can't read it now as an ebook. If only you'd known it would be much more financially beneficial to hold off and e-pub instead...
I remember the blog post where you said SHOT OF TEQUILA was the slowest selling of your non-pubbed backlist e-books. Ironic now that it's currently your top selling title. Does that surprise you too Joe? Is it all because you tweaked the cover/description over and over?
It's always so difficult to tell where you stand on an issue...
Robert Burton Robinson said...
@Joe: "No one knows why some succeed, and others don't."
So true. The second book of my suspense series took off a few months ago and has stayed on the Kindle bestseller list for Romantic Suspense. I didn't even intend to write a romantic suspense, but the book does have enough elements of the genre to be included in that category.
How could I have known that going a bit off-course into a related genre would be the key to my success? It's crazy.
So, I'm selling 1,500+ books per month, half of which are the second book in the series. Who could have predicted this?
Get your book in at least one TOP 100 category list, otherwise your book doesn't exist.
That helps, for sure, but the "Customers who bought this also bought..." feature, and Amazon reviews, and forums, and lists, all can lead people to you as well.
Lots of folks lost their ranking after Xmas, but sales doubled anyway.
Mike Cane said...
>>>For many years, I said DO NOT SELF-PUBLISH.
Yes, and the way you went about shitting on people who did will always be remembered by us.
Will Entrekin said...
You know, Joe, I've watched this blog from afar for a while. I've vacillated between agreement and disagreement with your points.
I like that you're pushing things, though. I like your outspokenness.
I think it's an exciting time for writers.
This? Good, thought-out, cogent post. That I'll stand behind, definitely. I may not agree with all of it, but who's supposed to, right? Especially great points about business and finances.
Terrific post, Joe. I've been lurking on your blog for some time as I've dipped a toe into this indie-self-publishing water, and I love the inspiration and advice you give.
Here's my question, and Moses Siregar III suggested it as well: Does genre or subgenre make a difference? PNR, UF, romance, YA seem to sell really well, really fast on Kindle. I write pretty traditional epic fantasy. I think speculative fiction readers are early adoters, so I think they probably read a lot of e-books, but do you think it's a slower climb for writers of certain genres over some of those that are "hot?"
I know there are some big indie successes in fantasy (Brian S. Pratt), but I'm just curious about a newbie like me. I think my writing is pretty good, and not just because my mom says so... I'm not shy about promoting, although I'm a bit overwhelmed by my options. I don't have a lot of titles/backlist, but I have an ambitious plan to improve that in 2011, starting with a full-length novel release on Feb 1 (I already have a novella online--just published it about 2 weeks ago). Are my chances great, pretty good, crappy??
And does genre make a difference?
Another gr8 post, Joe!
One thing I've finally learned is that for all these years (ten for me) when my family and friends have made what seemed at the time to be incredulous and hurtful comments like "what do you mean that's just normal for the publishing business...that's just bad business", and I've simply shrugged my shoulders and said "well, that's just the way it is", they were right!
The traditional publishing world is "bad business" for writers...there's just no other way to say it.
We've finally come to the time, thanks to Epublishing, that we can take back the control we'd amazingly, but willingly, forfeited. And at the same time, begin to line our pockets based on our skill versus lining corporate America's pockets...corporate pockets that seem to have big ass holes lately!
The Best to All of Us on our Epublishing Journeys --- D. D. Scott
Since your memory is so good, please point out an instance where I shit on you.
Oh... wait. You can't.
Burritoclock said...
My favorite lines (because I almost typed something similar in the comments yesterday)
"As a writer, I could give a shit what the New York Times thinks of my latest, or if MWA gives me an Edgar award, or if I'm on a shelf in the Podunk Public Library. Those are all ego strokes."
and "I'm guessing you work for the publishing industry. Better get that resume up on Monster.com ASAP."
One of the best arguments you make here is that you might as well get the story out to the reader instead of on the desk of some editor in some high-rise that may or may not take it on. And the anecdotes in the comments support that.
As author blogs become more and more transparent on the struggles and successes of both tradition and self pub, its clear that the length of time it takes - the hurdles that must be jumped - to get the book into the hands of a paying customer and potential fan is just ridiculous. So you land that agent, so what? That agent then has to go through his or her own Gatekeepers to even try to get it published. Landing an agent is hard enough... I'm leery of the wait that comes after that as my novel shifts through house after house, editor after editor.
I wanna tell a STORY that people can enjoy. I don't want to waste my time convincing suits that its marketable and profitable enough for their attention.
Keep kickin ass Joe.
It's funny, because I have seven self-pubbed novels on Kindle, and six of them have all taken turns being the bestselling title.
First it was The List. Then Endurance. Then Origin. Then Draculas. Then Shot of Tequila. Currently, Trapped is ranked at #363, which is my highest. This just happened over the last few days.
I have no idea why some ebooks outsell others. I wish I knew, because I'd be able to cash in on it.
I don't want to waste my time convincing suits that its marketable and profitable enough for their attention.
Especially when, after you're finally published, the suits screw it up. Which they do.
I know hundreds of authors. 99.9% of them have stories about stupid things their publishers have done. Things that hurt their careers. Things that fly in the face of common sense.
Does genre or subgenre make a difference?
I dunno. Certainly some genres are more popular than others.
But Amazon has infinite shelf space, which means even niche books have a chance to find an audience. And the less popular the genre, the fewer titles.
I seem to be doing a bit better with horror than with mystery. Novels far outsell short stories or story collections. But no one can predict what the Next Big Thing is. If they could, every book would be a bestseller.
Better stick to writing what you love. You can keep an eye on trends, but chasing them seems ineffective.
A huge difference, mon frere. Traditional fantasy seems to be somewhere in the middle of the pack from what I've seen. It's not paranormal romance, romance, or thrillers. But it's a lot better than limbo genres.
I've seen some indies in tough or unusual genres say they wish they were writing something like fantasy. I say, I wish I was writing about sexy vampires!
One thing we know about epic fantasy is that there is potentially a HUGE readership, but I haven't seen many indies tapping into that potential yet.
Here are a few names that are coming close, though: Michael J Sullivan, Ty Johnston, and David Dalglish. You also mentioned Pratt.
Michael J Sullivan is doing really, really well, so he's probably the closest thing to it. But what I'm looking at as the ceiling are the big boys: Robert Jordan/Brandon Sanderson, George RR Martin, Patrick Rothfuss.
My feeling is that if you aspire to that level it's going to take patience to do it in fantasy. A good PNR writer like Amanda Hocking, Zoe Winters, or HP Mallory can shoot up the charts in a relatively short time.
An epic fantasy writer can take off fairly quickly too, but not on the same scale as the above names. So my strategy is more like this:
Put out the very best book I can about once a year, hopefully books that people will call "special." Do that for 5-10 years and then see if you start climbing to lofty places. I think that's a better plan with epic fantasy, because if you do reach the larger audience in that category, the potential is enormous. But it probably requires more patience than with the hottest genres.
I want to write books that people will want to read while they're waiting for the next installments from Martin, Sanderson, and Rothfuss. Wish me luck.
Yeah right! And in this alternate world I'm not a hot vampire with six-pack abs, madly in love with an average-looking, insecure teenage girl.
Sure, that could happen.
p.s. I didn't see Joe's post on genre before I wrote mine.
Careful not to assume that self-published means kindle-only. You can self-publish books and have them show up on Amazon just like any other book.
My self-published book ("Cracking the Coding Interview") is actually only available in paperback on Amazon and is usually ranked between #1000 and #3000 on Amazon over ALL BOOKS.
And I sell it at a premium ($30 per copy) whereas its professionally published competitor (which is quite well known) sells for $20 per copy. So there you have a self-published book, priced HIGHER than its competitors, yet outselling them.
I totally agree with this post. If you can take the time and effort to do self-publishing right (get it edited, get a good cover, etc), you can make far more money. The royalties from professional publishing just don't compare.
Allan R. Wallace said...
When I started my book a basic premise was: Authors write for agents, rewrite for publishers. Writers craft for themselves, rewrite to include a larger audience.
I want to be a writer. I now have a decent rough manuscript. This year I will publish online. Kindle, Nook, Apple, e-book distributors; they all give me access to potential readers.
My platform will broaden.
This is fun.
Randy Noble said...
Thanks Joe. Excellent information and a beacon of inspiration and hope for someone like myself just starting out. The mindset of having to go the traditional route is changing. It reinforces what I am doing now.
Randy Noble
I assume you left Nathan Lowell off due to his prior audio books? ;)
You are 100% correct in that more and more authors will succeed. f
A thought related related to you post. So many ereaders were sold this year that it changes the pbook business case. In one month, perhaps six weeks, the book market changed more than it has in two years. I'm impressed how well the ePub readers sold (Kobo, Sony).
Authors, get your works ready and out on Kindle, B&N, and smashwords. Getting 'legs' is tough. It takes time. I'm not surprised Robert 'stumbled' upon his niche. There is some randomness in finding your customers.
But now, your work doesn't have a 'shelf life.' Once you 'break out,' than readers can find your other works.
Good luck to all,
Joe and Moses, thanks for your comments and input.
Moses, I think you have a point--where am I aiming? I'd love to be as successful as the big boys, but as Joe pointed out, it's not necessarily about being a "big name." It's more about reaching readers and making some money doing what I love.
I'll keep writing what I love and put it out there. And maybe the climb will be slower, but I'll keep improving, keep writing, and keep publishing. I always said I really just wanted to be a healthy midlist writer. A good midlist writer who is self-pubbing can certainly make a decent living.
Does it sound like I'm aiming low? I'm not. I'm just trying to balance realism with goals. And patience is not my strong suit... I'll keep trying to take the "long haul" perspective.... :)
I do know some of the indie fantasy names you mentioned, Moses. They're doing it, so I guess there's hope for me, too. :)
When I self-published my anthology Conmergence I still had my novel out on submission with several publishers. I had a lukewarm "we're interested but need to think about it some more" response from one. Even if they had given me an acceptance right away, I knew I would be looking at two more years, probably, before publication. If they turned me down, I'd be in even worse shape, and have to start the tedious process of query and submission all over again.
My experience with the anthology convinced me that I would be better off self-publishing my fantasy series NOW rather than waiting for a publishing company. Rather than put my energy into writing query letters, I focused on getting cover art and editing for my book, The Unfinished Song: Initiate.
The build-up is slow. I put the book out while I was also trying to be a full-time mom to three kids under five and attend grad school. I don't have as much time as I'd like for publicity. But I am happy with my decision, and I plan to just keep working as hard as I can. Knowing it is up to me to p.ut the books out there is tremendously inspiring to write more.
mike cane said:
> Yes, and the way you
> went about shitting on
> people who did will always
> be remembered by us.
oh, poor little mikey...
Joe-- please comnsider a guest blog post from Rob Siders about formatting for e-books. His services sound great, but homnestly, for John Q Novelist out here, the idea of formatting is a black hole. Amazon doesn;t format? Is the author involved? Does it include cover art? Some screenshots of poorly formatted ebooks would be helpful. I'd appreciate Rob's thoughts and expertise about formatting. Thanks.
I wish you the best of luck going Indie. If the writing is as good as your painted worlds... It will sell well.
You were wise to publish NOW. I'm still in 'pleasant shock' as to how well ereaders sold this holiday season. My entire attitude has changed as the seeds are no longer shoots, but are now a viable, albeit small, forest.
I look at how empty the three chain bookstores are and wonder how long we'll have them. Two are Borders...
jude said:
> Oceanview is most definitely
> a traditional publisher,
> in every sense of the word.
well, that really depends on
how you define the word...
i think most people here mean
"big" when they say "traditional".
or at least old.
oceanview was started in 2006.
and it's definitely not big...
it's a boutique publisher.
which is fine.
but it's not what most people
are talking about here when
they contrast self-publishing
with "traditional" publishing...
> The fact that they're
> independent is irrelevent.
um... not really. the fact that
they do not have deep pockets,
or a large catalog, means that
they don't have a lot of power
when it comes to moving books.
> They pay advances and
> royalties and their books
> are distributed nationally.
given the average press-run that
one can expect from a boutique,
i'm guessing your advance was
well under $10,000, and that
very few bookstores will have
your book up on their shelves,
which means that you probably
won't earn out your advance,
let alone receive royalties...
you can feel proud that you ran
the oceanview gantlet and got
their "stamp of legitimacy", but
in the new world of publishing,
the _readers_and_profit_ count.
and you will not obtain either...
what you _will_ have is a stamp.
Thanks for the inspiration, Joe! I've been doing other people's writing for years and have just started doing my own. What you have shown me is that it is possible to self-publish and it is worth it.
Here's an interesting tidbit, and good news for indies. All Romance Ebooks used to have a policy meant to keep out indie publishers, which they've now changed.
Lori James explained the reason: “Some of our hottest selling books are coming from indies. More importantly, the change in policy is in response to author and reader requests.”
I wrote more on my blogTara Maya's Tales.
Coolkayaker1,
I have a blog post that gives step by step instructions on how to format your ebook for Kindle. Check it out here:
Step-by-by step Kindle ebook HTML formatting instructions
Karen Cantwell said...
I love it when you interview yourself, Joe.
Thanks for the great post - I'll be sending this one around.
Jude - I think it's awesome that you're releasing your first novel with Oceanview and huge congrats on that. A major accomplishment, and you will accumulate some pubbing cred. For sure.
Thanks, Blake!
But...there will come a time, trust me, when you pray that Pocket-47 goes out of print and you get your rights back so you can reap the full benefit of what's happening.
So maybe there's an up-side to having a small print run. ;)
The way I figure, a conservative estimate is that I'm currently losing $2,000/month on Abandon (09) and Snowbound (10), my last two books which St. Martin's published and I don't have the rights to. It may be several years before I get those back. It's KILLING me to consider the $$ I'm losing. I didn't know when I signed those deals that all this would happen, but I would not take anything less than major money ever again to tie up rights to my books for 5-7 years. It simply doesn't make sense anymore.
I prefer to think about what I've gained by signing with Oceanview instead of what I might be losing. At this point it's the best I can do. And, who knows? Lightning might strike and I might do well with subsidiary rights. At any rate, what I've learned (and continue to learn) by going the traditional route first is priceless. And, I'm looking forward to seeing my book in stores and libraries and to the signings and launch parties and everything else that goes along with being connected to a publisher. Ego? Maybe. I don't know. But it sure felt good when I finally got that call of acceptance and when my editor spent hours and hours helping me shape the manuscript into the best it could be and when I first saw the cover and then got the first ARC in the mail...
And won't it feel good when that first box of hardcovers finally arrive?
If I had the chance to shred the contract with impunity today and publish the book myself, would I?
John Ling said...
"you can feel proud that you ran
what you _will_ have is a stamp."
This is essentially what author Michael Stevens encountered when he signed on with Oceanview Publishing. Check out his blog here, if you haven't already: http://fortunathebook.com/blog/
"I prefer to think about what I've gained by signing with Oceanview instead of what I might be losing. At this point it's the best I can do. And, who knows? Lightning might strike and I might do well with subsidiary rights. At any rate, what I've learned (and continue to learn) by going the traditional route first is priceless. And, I'm looking forward to seeing my book in stores and libraries and to the signings and launch parties and everything else that goes along with being connected to a publisher. Ego? Maybe. I don't know. But it sure felt good when I finally got that call of acceptance and when my editor spent hours and hours helping me shape the manuscript into the best it could be and when I first saw the cover and then got the first ARC in the mail..."
Yes, it's worthwhile to go down that route, if only to see what it's all about. Especially if you're a first-timer in the woods and the magic of it is still new and shiny. =)
"I'm looking forward to seeing my book in stores and libraries"
Jude,nothing personal but very small publishers with small print runs almost never get stocked on the shelves or BN or Borders. The buyers for those stores are very particular. In fact, a good percentage of books published by even the big 6 never get picked up by the stores for shelf space.
Indie stores are even more particular than the chains. They're fighting even harder to survive.
A few libraries might pick it up IF it gets a good review by Kirkus, PW, LJ or Booklist. Those journals end up reviewing about 10% of the submissions prsented to them. Even if the book gets one or more favoable reviews, library budgets are way down. Most libraries are shying away from HC except for bestselling authors.
I don't want to be the rain, I'm just telling you how it really works.
Blake Nyquist said...
Blogger cut me off on word limit, I guess, so here's a chunk I ripped out of my post just above...
I've actually been working on hashing out some ideas along the lines of low-cost book translation, so would be very interested any author's (accomplished, aspiring or otherwise) feedback on this. Some questions include:
** Does anyone have experience with translating a book being a worthwhile venture? It seemed to work well for Stieg Larsson... RIP.
** Are there services that already do this well, fast and affordably?
** What is needed to translate a book well? What could best help streamline the process, similar to what self-pubbing as experienced?
Again, I'd love to hear/read any feedback anyone might have. Thanks!
My first two books were published by a traditional but small publisher, and I don't regret that. It was a great learning experience. It's true that I might be making more money on the books now if I had control of them, but I don't know. They were in another genre and under another pen name, which I don't do anything to promote. I'm willing to just let them go.
On the other hand, I'm very glad I didn't sell my fantasy through a small publisher. I thought I was holding out for one of the Big Six, and it says a lot about how much my opinion of self-publishing has changed that I now consider self-publishing to be the equivalent -- or better.
But I'm very sympathetic to all those authors who want the hardcover and the ARCs and the traditional label. There are still many reviewers who turn up their nose at self-published books. If I'd had an offer on the table from a Big Pub, I would have been very tempted, even AFTER I decided I wanted to self-pub.
Old thought habits die hard.
scott neumyer said...
What I do, in fact, love about the indie movement is that you CAN make it a success if you work hard enough. I never imagined how well my book, Jimmy Stone's Ghost Town, would do in its first month, let alone its first three weeks available. It's been overwhelming and it's all due to how much work an author wants to put into making it a success over there. Empowerment, man. Kudos!
Stephen Prosapio said...
Uptick in sales anyone???
I'm sure others have much more detailed information on this, but I just got back from a 6 day trip to my (and Joe's) hometown of Chicago. During those 6 days (Dec 22-28) I sold nearly as many copies of my novel DREAM WAR as I did the first 21 days of the month...and while my sales ranking rose, it didn't skyrocket to crazy high catagories that prior sales of that amount would have risen it to. My hunch is that *everyone* is experiencing similar upticks post holiday?
Yes? No? Maybe? Hold onto your socks kids, 2011 is gonna be a barn burner!
Karl said...
What a well compelling and well researched post. With so many still apprehensive about self-publishing, it's hard to argue with the numbers. Self-publishing is an increasingly viable and even preferred option for authors for a number of reasons, as you point out.
I have a fairly lengthy TradPub track record. I've been published by Simon & Schuster, Random House, Macmillan and St. Martin's press in hard cover. By Ballantine, Fawcett, NAL and St Martin's in mass market. My experiences have been encouraging (NYTimes bestseller list) and crazy-making (In one case, a new publisher came in just as my book was being prepped for publication and decided "meh." The publishing effort was "meh," too. Big surprise. In another, the entire publicity dept walked out just as my book hit the stores. Do I really need to give the gory details?)
I've just started making my backlist available in e-versions, will follow up with new, never-before-published fiction. I understand completely where Joe is coming from. The process of going from 100% control (when writing) to just about 0% control standard in TradPub is very, very difficult for any creative person to deal with.
"Delusional writers take short cuts, like self-publishing, yet persist in believing their work is indeed good enough for worldwide acclaim and big money even though industry professionals (editors, agents, publishers) haven’t agreed."
-Joe Konrath, 2009
I heart numbers. In and of themselves, there is no ambiguity. Interpreting the numbers is where objectivity leaves the room and subjectivity struts the dais. Joe, you routinely provides more numbers, with analysis, than anyone else in the world of publishing. Many thanks!
Two years of extra sales ... $48,000.
The run rate of 1000/month is tough to hit out of the gate. I've hit double-digits with my novel, 3 LIES. It was released earlier this month on Kindle and went up on Pubit and ibooks this week. The sales are paltry by any measure, but I'm excited about the possibilities.
However, by the end of two years, earning 48,000 for a single title is a reasonable goal. A mega-trad deal would be lovely, if I could get one. Searching for that particular truffle requires a sustained effort. But what do I lose in the interim? Accountants call it Opportunity Cost.
The number that I find unlikely:
Advance = $100,000.
How many times, during all of 2010, did publishers make advances of this size or greater?
What percentage of all publishing deals involve advances of this size or greater?
If any anonymous reps from trad-pub houses have these stats, I'd sure like to see them.
Joe is like the investment guy telling you what's going up. Either you believe him, and put your words out there, or you don't. It's certainly worked for him. Unlike many writers, he doesn't have an other day job . . .
Congrats on the 22K! Huzzah!
"There are always exceptions. Don’t base your career on an exception."
- Joe Konrath, 2009
There's an easy way for Joe to prove the "it's because of the NY print deal he had first" wrong:
Write a couple of books under a pseudonym and publish them as eBooks.
Course as a marketing move it's likely complete idiocy, but it _would_ likely answer the accusation.
"Is self-pubbing bad? Hell no. I’m doing it myself, on Kindle, and doing pretty well. But I don’t consider those books published, and I only have confidence they are any good because they were vetted by my agent and fellow professional authors."
"If we agree that it’s very hard to be objective when it comes to your own writing, then who can decide if our writing is indeed worthy of publication? I say, those who get paid to decide. That’s why they get paid."
"I’ve said (again and again) that validation from the traditional publishing gatekeepers is a good indicator that your writing meets a certain minimum standard."
I find it interesting how your opinions have changed in the last 18 months, Mr. Konrath. I've followed your blog for 3 years. I've followed your arguments and respected your opinions. I was even aware of this conversation last year, where you spent a great deal of time arguing for the Gatekeepers you are now telling fairy tales about.
You are lucky. You were lucky to get published originally, and you are lucky to be at the forefront of the self publishing movement. However, you are not deserving. These commenters who idolize you and your "ra ra self publishing" speeches should look into your history.
But hey, as you've said, authors who self publish are delusional, right? They won't bother to look at how your opinions changed when your latest book was rejected and your Kindle books started selling. Before, you didn't believe in self publishing and you were condescension itself to those who did. Now the shoe's on the other foot.
Do the real self-pub community a favor and stop pretending to be a visionary. The true visionaries are those who started the movement, who saw the potential before they made thousands of dollars.
Tell your audience to Google Mike Cane, Henry Baum, or Andrew Kent. Remember them? The true visionaries that you insulted?
I don't idolize anyone. I read this blog because Joe has a blunt opinion, he's funny, he provides great info, and sparks good discussions.
From my perspective, he started writing a blog to help other authors with what he learned along the publishing journey, just as he's doing now.
I don't think he was "lucky" to be published, he learned the craft, found his voice, persisted, and busted his ass.
He had a view of publishing based on his experience to-date and now his view has evolved.
As I said, I don't idolize him and I doubt many other commenters do either, it kind of goes against the nature of someone who has the vision and drive to work hard at becoming a successful author -- not the hero-worshiping type.
As I said, he freely offers details that have helped me focus on what's required as I pursue the indie author route. He provides a forum for writers, and he can be very motivational with his "work hard" messages.
And he's hilarious. I, for one, need to laugh from time to time about something I take very seriously.
Anon, the fact that Joe required financial proof that self-publishing was profitable is not a bad thing. It is a good thing. He was cautious, just as we all should be.
Anonymous: Did you actually read Joe's post before you commented? If you haven't, let me reproduce the key points for you:
If that's not humility and realism, then I don't know what is. It's certainly a darn sight better than slinging mud anonymously.
I've been reading this blog long enough to remember those same comments made by Joe. It doesn't change the fact that his blog offers an insight into e-publishing unlike any other. He consistently provides hard data from which I can inform my opinion. That's why I'm here. Conclusion-making, however, is an individual sport. I step off the cliff for no one.
Anon, John Ling already made the point I wanted to (that you don't seem to understand the conversation). So instead of repeating what he said, I'll just ask -
Did something bad happen to you that prevents you from publishing a book because of this blog? Did Konrath kill you dog? What's the problem?
James Harden said...
Joe, you are my effing hero. Basically you are the wind beneath my wings.
(Am I allowed to say effing? Am I allowed to quote Bette Midler songs?)
@John Ling et al.
No, you miss my point. The point is not that he said those things. The point is that he insulted the entire self-publishing industry in the process. He consistently and continually put down everyone involved. Of course, now that he is self-publishing, not everything self-published is bad. But he made a hobby of tracking down self-published authors on their own blogs, engaging them in insult matches veiled as "debates," and publicly undervalued everything self-published.
I have an issue with him standing up and proclaiming he is ready to "change his mind" and thus all his past behavior is supposed to disappear. Perhaps he sees himself as the self-appointed voice of self-publishing, but this member of the self-publishing community at least doesn't want him. I remember his derision, his insults, and his arrogance. And so do others. Nothing has changed except his target. And he is using the arguments of those leaders he disparaged to push his own popularity and sales.
Know your heroes, folks. They may be funny and friendly on the outside, but if they make it their hobby to keep people in their place and crush others dreams, perhaps they aren't worthy of the adulation.
P.S. I find it amusing that people think quoting Konrad's own words is slinging mud at him. Nicely done.
This blog has changed my life. Seriously. In the last couple weeks, after reading some of Joe's posts on the matter, I finally self-published 5 of my "drawer novels" on Amazon.
I'm still working with an agent on my most recent YA book but no longer counting on that elusive NY publishing deal to save me.
You can follow my adventures here: http://epubmanifesto.blogspot.com/
Thanks again Joe for the encouragement!
@modicumoftalent.com said...
I write pretty traditional epic fantasy. I think speculative fiction readers are early adoters, so I think they probably read a lot of e-books, but do you think it's a slower climb for writers of certain genres over some of those that are "hot?"
My husband has an epic fantasy series The Riyria Revelations book 5: Wintertide just came out in October. He sold 1,000 books in Sept, 2,500 books in Oct, 7,500 books in November and 10,000 books in December - Yeah I think that genre you can "make it"
@wannabuy said...
Actually I left him off because he's not craked the magic 100 - I think the best he's come is 340ish - but he will trust me. All the ones I listed cracked 100 except for Michael who hit 102 and I called that "close enough"
"P.S. I find it amusing that people think quoting Konrad's own words is slinging mud at him. Nicely done."
I think the point is that you are quoting words out of context that were perfectly true at the time they were spoken. That's why everything your saying comes across as petty at best, with a chance of moving into downright odd and hiding-in-Konrath's-shower-with-scissors, later on.
And I can't speak for everyone, but I don't think there is a lot of hero worship going in here. There is gratitude about the guy posting so many facts, figures, and opinions that help shed a lot of light on the situation, sure. I think this is another area where that bitterness you're feeling over... still not sure what (blog traffic, maybe?)... is skewing your read of the situation.
It's called an opinion, Anon, and opinions are always fluid and evolving. Observe, for instance, how Japan and Germany were once reviled as enemies by your country and mine, but these days, they are considered our bosom buddies.
At any rate, the year is ending, and we are now moving into 2011. There is little sense in rehashing what Joe said in 2009. So much has changed in the self-publishing landscape since then. If anything, you should treat what Joe said as part of a healthy, rigorous debate instead of taking things so personally.
Congrats to your husband! If you can tell, how long ago did the first book in his series go live? It's nice to get barometers about how different authors reach those September numbers you mentioned. Thanks!
> This is essentially what
> author Michael Stevens
> encountered when he
> signed on with Oceanview
oh man, i read that blog...
it was heart-wrenching how
uninformed and delusional
mr. stevens was. really sad.
not atypical. just depressing.
and once his book came out,
it's been nothing but silence.
but i suspect that jude has
a bit more spunk than that.
now that he's got a "stamp",
he can self-publish proudly,
secure in his superiority...
I think one thing people should remember...when Joe was traditionally publishing it was a "different time" it made sense then because for the most part - it was the only game in town.
New opportunities have arisen and now writers have a choice. More choices is always a good thing - Your own goals will decide which path you take - going traditional isn't ALWAYS bad. And going indepenedent isn't ALWAYS good.
@STH said...
@Robin,Congrats to your husband! If you can tell, how long ago did the first book in his series go live? It's nice to get barometers about how different authors reach those September numbers you mentioned. Thanks!
The Crown Conspiracy hit the street Oct 2008, Avempartha April 2009, Nyphron Rising Oct 2009, The Emerald Storm April 2010, Wintertide Oct 2010. - So one book every 6 months like clock work - final book of series Percepliquis is due April 2011.
Michael Stevens' blog highlights a very important point: if you want total control over the publication process, if you absolutely refuse to accept the judgement of others, then, yes, you are better off self-publishing.
The prevailing argument seems to be that self-publishing is not for everyone. Well, the same could be said of traditional publishing. It's certainly not for the choosy and nitpicky and those who refuse to compromise.
Thanks Robin. Very interesting. It sounds like he hit some kind of critical mass/tipping point in September. Maybe a combination of building a fan base, adding books and the steady increase in e-readership across the board in 2010? Great story. Thank you. - Steve
"anonymous" said:
> Tell your audience
> to Google
> Mike Cane,
> Henry Baum,
> or Andrew Kent.
> Remember them?
> The true visionaries
> that you insulted?
what a load of smelly rubbish.
mike cane is not a "visionary"...
he's merely a hyperactive clock,
which means that he's correct
about five moments a day, and
dead-wrong all the other time.
30,000 tweets; noise, no signal.
and henry baum? full of himself.
did you hear he won an award?
i don't even know andrew kent,
which probably means he's the
slasher hiding behind the mask.
add up the sales for all 3 of 'em,
for all of 2010, and you will find
they don't even match joe's take
for the first half of december...
go back to twitter, and do your
snow-job on your "followers"...
David Ebright said...
Depends who you use - I did okay
Print version (POD) is too expensive, especially for kids books, which is what I write. Haven't had an issue with inferior product.
Not easy - Luckily I found a niche market for print & now I'm jumping into ebooks.
Okay with me. Never understood that business model anyway.
Dunno - Readers can decide that. Never submitted. Seemed like the process was a crap shoot with loaded dice. Willingly admit that my 2nd book is much tighter. (But I've been selling & making money, so #1 couldn't have sucked THAT bad.)
Did a lot of homework in advance. No regrets & I'm using the same POD company for my new book.
Bottom line - I have a great day job, like to write & didn't want to go thru the traditional publishing crap. Got nothin' to prove to anyone & sure as hell don't want to turn writing into a job. So I self pubbed. Call it whatever - I'm havin' a blast.
Wow. Great job stirring it up.
Love your blog! Love the comments!
This is Indiana Jones in a rattlesnake pit that's rapidly flooding and there's no anti-venom. You're the only one who can swim and all you're doing is calmly talking about swimming.
Sink or swim people, sink or swim.
@STH
Mm hmm. Implying that I was hiding the context when I provided link in my comment. And then implying that I'm going to harm Mr. Konrath. Hang your head in shame...you shouldn't have slept through debate class. If you can't reply to the content of my comment, perhaps you shouldn't reply at all, mmkay?
Feel free to brush everything under the rug, if it makes you feel better. After all, they're only words, right? What a thoughtful post from a "writer."
I do hope that more of Mr. Konrath's visitors are more open-minded and less frightened than his regulars. Don't take my word for it. Google is friend. Don't believe me...find the truth for yourselves.
As opposed to someone who hides under the rug and opts to remain anonymous? Well, if you have a beef with Joe, get over it. Because Joe has quite clearly gotten over his beef with self-publishing. He's evolved since 2009. I invite you to be mature and do the same.
bold predictions for publishers and their employees, but it's probably spot on, unfortunately.
Educational institutions are slowly but surely switching over to ereaders, and laptops and dumping printed books. Traditional Publishers need to make a move, and quickly change their business model before ereaders become mainstream.
www.authoragency.com
Michael is also someone that benefited from getting a book listed for free at Amazon. That takes nothing whatsoever away from what he's accomplished, but we'd agree that his numbers would not have spiked so dramatically in November if it hadn't been for that.
He would still be selling more and more books every month, but that gave him a very big boost.
Again, his books were very much finding an audience before the Amazon freebie happened and they were destined for greatness all along. I know I really enjoyed his first book (I plan to read the rest of them once they're all out). I also interviewed him earlier this year if anyone is interested.
Conda Douglas said...
Joe, thank you for this post. I've got a couple of questions as I'm a newbie to all this. What about e-publishers? I have a short story in e-book form out now with Damnation Books and I was very impressed with the editing, the great cover art, and perhaps most important, the promotion they do for all their titles. Should someone who is fairly new to all this, and not technical at all, start with e-publishers? I'm thinking especially with establishing a niche, platform, whatever.
Any advice/opinion you give I know will be knowledgeable and greatly appreciated. Thanks!
Only 340? Wow... Well, I want him to do better. ;)
Everyone: I'm highly amused as how one upset anon is 'stirring the pot.' Let's face it, what shelf publishing became in 2010 is not what self publishing was years ago.
A follow up question to my previous comment: I find that I'm spending lots of time promoting and too little time writing--when it's writing I want to do! So, isn't it useful to have a publishing company doing part of the work of promoting? And I don't mean the big 6, I mean the new hungry e-publishers.
That's a nice slip. Shelf publishing really changed in 2010.
Everyone: I'm highly amused as how one upset anon is 'stirring the pot.'
Yes, it is rather interesting to have an Anon is accusing others of dishonesty while he is being dishonest about his own identity. It would be far better for him to step out into the light so we can better examine his credentials... or sanity.
Angela Perry said...
I thought Chuck Wendig had a great post today on balancing traditional publication and self-publication. Don't read it if you are offended by language, but it's funny and right on. His opinion: do both! Why not take advantage of the pluses and minuses of both systems?
Another of my favorite authors, Randy Ingermanson, suggested that self-publication might become the filter for large publishing houses. They will see which books do the best and pick up the authors for international distribution, etc.
Personally, I'm excited about the time we live in. We as authors have so many options! I don't think we should limit ourselves to just one. Each publishing route (self, small press, and large publisher) has it's own benefits, depending on the project and subject matter. We should objectively evaluate our options and choose the best one.
Just my two cents ;)
And invite retribution from Konrath's brainwashed minions? No thanks. I'm just as afraid of someone in my shower with scissors.
The only reason you want to know who I am is so you can attack me personally, since you can't address any of my points.
@Robin, thank you so much for posting that information in response to my question. I really appreciate it. And it's good to have a benchmark/starting point for how your husband grew his backlist and built his audience.
I'm just starting. I have little audience, one title, and a lot of ambition. I hope in two years I'm posting numbers like you just posted. :)
Amy Rose Davis
I read Joe's ebook version of A Newbie's Guide to Publishing over a weekend a few months ago, right when I myself was in the midst of re-thinking my (previously very negative) views on self-publishing. It was interesting to see the slow change in attitude.
Frankly, one of the things that convinced me about Joe's arguments *was* that he knew both sides of the game, and was willing to follow the money, and do WHATEVER WORKED BEST. I had known a few blow-hard self-publishers before that who were so bitter, I considered them as a good reason *not* to self-publish. When people who were pragmatic, not with an ax to grind, started proving it could be professional and profitable, that's when I became interested.
That, and Joe backed up his arguments with $$$ facts and figures.
A decade ago, the only ones I saw who did well self-publishing were non-fiction and very niche writers. Now it's very different. I don't understand why anyone would be bitter about someone realizing that.
Moses,
ROTFL. 'Nice slip' as you put it. However, 'Shelf publishing' has further change ahead. ;)
Interesting tidbit:
Kindle and Ipad production at the same rate!
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Amazon-Now-Making-As-Many-siliconalley-1282091575.html?x=0&.v=3
1.6 million Kindles per month... Gee, that won't accelerate the change in the publishing game.
No. It's because you're the only one here who is anonymous.
Secondly, what exactly is it that you want addressed? The facts are clear as crystal -- Joe has converted from traditional publishing to self-publishing, and he's outlined his reasons for doing so. What more do you want?
@moses the numbers I posted for November had the "freebies" backed out. Total books "moved" in November was ineed 26,807. Taking book 2 free for 3 weeks was a great marketing coup for me. I won't price Michael's books at $0.99 but free did what it was suppose to. Sales for book #1 were 5x the previous month. But sales in December (when no freebies) was even higher.
Glad you liked the first book - the others just get better from there!
Robin, Only 340? Wow... Well, I want him to do better. ;)
You and me both - he deserves much success. Keep in mind that is 340 in "rank" not number of books a day - I don't want to "out" Nathan's sales without nis permission but he has sold over a thousand every month since his release in May.
Book 2 of his Half Share - is just out (live on Kindle - just got final proof on DTB version) and already has more than 1,000 copies sold in just 7 days!!
You are most welcome - in the fantasy genre - series work well - it is part of Michael's success so try to think along those lines and get them out close to one another. Michael's came out one every 6 months which was a very good rate for him.
I know, but it's clear that getting nearly 20,000 free Amazon downloads in one month helped you guys to sell a lot of books in both November and December (and forevermore due to momentum). For anyone who doesn't know, as an indie you CANNOT list one of your books for free at Amazon (yet?), but a small number of indies stumbled onto this good fortune in October and November (long story short: Smashwords ported their stuff for free to sites like BN.com, then Amazon matched the price).
You already sold 2,500 in October when the fifth book in your series came out and I have no doubt you would've kept selling more and more books without the Amazon freebie. But the freebie had to have boosted your numbers by a lot.
The only reason I pointed that out is because people reading this shouldn't think that it's normal to shoot up to 10,000 traditional fantasy ebooks sold in one month after working at it for a couple of years. And you and Michael are some of the smartest and best promoters around, too.
I see you two as the perfect storm. Great, fun books in a series. Great covers. Great marketing. While Michael writes, you work full-time promoting his works. And then a TON of free Amazon downloads just prior to the 2010 holiday shopping season. You couldn't have drawn that up better than it worked out, and you guys deserve full credit for all of that. You're treating this like a business and you are kicking serious ass.
Another reason this worked is because Amazon made the second book in the series free. This meant that a lot of people downloaded the second book for free, then went and bought book 1.
I think all of that is awesome and you know I'm really happy for you guys. It couldn't have happened to a more deserving author, IMO. And like I mentioned to you earlier today on KB, if you're ever available, I'd also like to marry you (maybe we could become Mormons?). You help Michael out a ton, and I think that's beautiful.
Since we've talked about ebook prices before around these parts, Robin mentioned something interesting earlier today on KB. She said that when they lowered the price of one of Michael's books to $2.99 from $4.95, they actually got fewer sales. Not just less money, but fewer actual sales, too.
bowerbird had asked me for examples of that sort of thing and I didn't have any off the top of my head, but I knew I'd heard multiple examples of that sort of thing at Kindleboards. Granted, most of the big indie success stories are using prices like $2.99 and $0.99, but Michael J Sullivan is an example of someone who isn't. Lower prices DO seem to be the safer bet if you want to sell more copies, but there are some exceptions and I've also heard of more than one author who's experimented with $3.99 vs $2.99 and found that they made more money (despite fewer sales) at $3.99.
@moses - you are so terribly sweet. Thanks for all the nice things you said. When I told Michael I was taking book 2 down to $0.00 instead of book 1 he looked at me like I was crazy. I told him to let me worry about marketing he should go edit Percepliquis. It was a kinda a crazy idea - and I didn't even know if the my scheme would work - It took several weeks for the Bots to make it free but yes - they couldn't have timed it better. You are 100% right it was a nice kick in the pants momentum builder - whether it will "carry over" past these two months....we'll see.
BTW - you are not the first proposal I've gotten from writers - I KNOW how hard this business is and I wish I could clone myself for others. You made me feel very wanted though - thanks for the smile on my face.
One truth I've learned over the years...those who can, do; those who can't, criticize those who do.
Joe, you've earned your success. Congratulations. You've also helped to inspire me as I now pick up fiction writing again after a thirteen year hiatus. The timing couldn't have been better actually; with the eBook revolution in full swing I have opportunities available to me I never had before.
By the way; I liked "Afraid" so much that I bought "Origin" as well. Just doing my little part to help you pay your mortgage.
I liked the post and found it very informative, but I'm wondering if you think Young Adult fiction/fantasy writers would do better to self pub or to go through the traditional agent/publishing house route. While Kindle and other e-readers are becoming surprisingly cheap, I think that most children/young adults probably don't have them, and for YA writers, relying on e-books would cut out the majority of their targeted demographic. Your thoughts?
> Robin mentioned
> something interesting
> earlier today on KB.
> She said that when they
> lowered the price of
> one of Michael's books
> to $2.99 from $4.95,
> they actually got fewer sales.
> Not just less money, but
> fewer actual sales, too.
let's have the full details please.
> I've also heard of
> more than one author
> who's experimented with
> $3.99 vs $2.99 and found
> that they made more money
> (despite fewer sales) at $3.99.
bring full details here please...
any reports saying "i've heard"
are rubbish without details...
there's also lots of lag effects,
so you need to do the research
in both directions, with random
assignment to conditions, or else
it's little more than guesswork...
i also find it quite curious that
you're more than willing to grant
a "bump" by offering free copies.
meanwhile, joe says right here
in this post that his findings are
that a price of $6 versus $3 can
mean _10_times_fewer_sales..._
i think that's a bit extreme, but
joe does have much experience.
and really, i think you are all
obsessing about this too much.
price your book how you like,
and live with the consequences.
and go back and write more...
stop examining your numbers,
and how much money you are
making (or not making), and
concentrate on making _art_...
nobody wants an accountant
to be telling them stories...
we want someone who is
fluid with their creativity,
who lets their imagination
run wild in the sunshine...
you are now _free_ to be
anything you want to be.
so make it interesting...
@Anonymous said...
I find it interesting how your opinions have changed in the last 18 months, Mr. Konrath. I've followed your blog for 3 years. I've followed your arguments and respected your opinions. I was even aware of this conversation last year, where you spent a great deal of time arguing for the Gatekeepers you are now telling fairy tales about...
Also in response to the critics of that anonymous commentator, I think that comment is appropriate, along with the comments in response to it, because all of those comments identify Joe's point about self-publishing as a point to be argued, and not accepted without personal attention. Joe also initially indicates to us the point he he intends to argue, the worth of self-publishing, and alerts us to counter-arguments in a numbered series, all before he argues for his present position. What we're missing isn't the point or the argument, we're missing what is integral to each of those interests, our recognition of the value of argumentation. Granted, previous comments have involved this value implicity, but I hope the forum will find worth in an explicit statement. The worth of an argument (and the worth of an anonymous commentator) is to communicate the presence of compelling circumstances without inflicting harm (like with scissors). I think there are good points on all sides here. Maybe long-term and short-term integrity are mutually exclusive, the whole endeavor of integrity is a sham, and the true account lies in the words.
Someone had some difficulty finding material ("material") from Andrew Kent, which is understandable if "Andrew Kent" is in fact a pseudonym of Kent Anderson, but this appears to be some relevant work: . It's fascinating, and backed up with similarly immediate evidence.
Thank you for talking.
Someone had some difficulty finding material ("material") from Andrew Kent, which is understandable if "Andrew Kent" is in fact a pseudonym of Kent Anderson, but this appears to be some relevant work:
It's fascinating, and backed up with similarly immediate evidence.
It looks like there was some trouble with that link before.
Anyway, the article that isn't coming through in those links is at Self-Publishing Review dot com, with the title A Publishing Person Self-Publishes, by Kent Anderson.
It's easy to self-publish, but hard to get people to know about your book :/
They're hardly worth addressing. Joe was right to be against self-publishing then, and he's right to be for it now.
But hey, as you've said, authors who self publish are delusional, right?
Last year, they were. Now, they aren't.
Anyone in 2009 who thought they could make a living at this was misguided. But times change.
I stand by everything I've ever said, because everything I've ever said was relevant in context and history.
Seen a lot of my quotes here, but still haven't seen any shitting.
I'm all for having critics. But methinks there is some sour grapes, envy, and perhaps even a touch of the crazy here.
Did Konrath kill you dog?
Spit coffee reading that. :)
The point is that he insulted the entire self-publishing industry in the process. He consistently and continually put down everyone involved.
Wow. You are so wrong.
Every single point I made was valid.
More than that, most of those points still stand.
While it is now possible to make a living self-publishing, there is still no way to know if you're meeting the minimum quality standard of writing simply by uploading a book to Kindle.
If a writer manages to sell a good number of books, I'd say that's validation the work has merit. Just as getting an agent proves the work has merit.
In 2009, if you wanted to self-pub, it was a costly, uphill battle.
In 2011, if you want to self-pub, it's obvious common sense.
But as I've said many times, just because you CAN self publish, doesn't mean you SHOULD self publish.
What about e-publishers?
I haven't had any experience with them, so I can't say.
But if you can do for yourself what they do for you, and keep more of the royalties, you should think about it.
Dude, seriously, you haven't made any points.
congrats for your blog! i found it very useful and encouraging for someone starting to write fiction like i am. i think i will come back here a lot more once a finish my book and begin trying to sell it. thanks!
The true visionaries are those who started the movement, who saw the potential before they made thousands of dollars.
First of all, I never said I was a visionary, a hero, a guru, a pioneer, an outlier, a prophet, or a messiah. There were labels given to me.
Second of all, the ignorance of your statement is glaring.
If self-pubbed authors wanted to prove they were right, the only way to prove it WAS to make thousands of dollars. Otherwise it was just a load of hope and hot air.
Paying someone to print your book doesn't make you an author, and it doesn't mean your good enough.
In the past, the way to prove you were good enough was to have someone in the publishing industry vet you.
Now, you can prove you're good enough by selling a buttload of ebooks.
But you can't spout off about how you're right when you don't have any facts to back it up, and the only number you can show is the check you signed to PublishAmerica.
@Konrath But as I've said many times, just because you CAN self publish, doesn't mean you SHOULD self publish.
I know exactly what you mean but just but I laughed as the title of this post is.. "You should self publish"
As someone who was involved with self-publishing a year ago I agree with Joe that it was not a venue that was condusive to making money. What Michael made in 2009 made his work little more than a hobby. In 2010 things have changed dramatically (over 10,000 sales in december alone).
A year from now, Joe may have an entirely different opinion because he is willing to adjust to the opportunities the marketplace presents. It doesn't make him a hypocrit it means that unlikes some he can adjust to his environment. I think the term is evolution and those that don't grow will wither.
@bowerbird let's have the full details please.
Since inception the books were priced at $4.95. Hearing Joe's arguments for $2.99 made me think I might be missing something so I tracked sales and when they were steady at 310 a month, I dropped the first two books to $2.99. Sales went down to 240 a month. Then I put the price back they returned to about 330 a month. I wanted to see if it was a fluke, so I tried again, with similar results.
Now...I will say that my whole marketing strategy has been to position the books in the sphere of traditionally published fantasy books and I was leaving that echo-chamber for the self-pub chamber when I lowered the price. So this may not be a "fair test". It didn't work for me because I had not targeted that.
I do believe that many of the successes are due to the $0.99 and $2.99 getting people an audience. But once that audience loves their work I think these authors should raise the price of their books to $4.95 - it is not too much to ask for several hours of enjoyment.
But either way there are models for success and there should be no doubt that especially now there are opportunities that did not exist even six-months ago - for instance when Amazon Roylaties were 35% instead of 70%
If your work is good enough, yes you should. ;)
Now there is an easy way to see if your work is good enough. Run it up the flagpole and see who salutes.
This can be done for free, without risk, and I encourage it.
But I also encourage writers not to publish crap. :)
I've been rocking back and forth on this issue for awhile. Finding a print publisher and getting paid for my books will enable me to do what i love...write full time.
Now I'm thinking I can do that without a print publisher.
Thanks Joe! Can't argue with the facts.
I got my husband a kindle for his birthday in October thinking he might not even want one. He hasn't put it down and constantly trolls Amazon for new books. It was one of the best things I ever got him.
My one worry...I won't edit it enough and someone will see my mistakes. What can I do about that?
But I also encourage writers not to publish crap.
That's the thing. All babies are beautiful in their parents' eyes, even the shockingly ugly ones.
Chicago cleaning service said...
I don’t know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will keep visiting this blog very often.
LOL, Jude, here's how Cervantes said the same thing:
"No fathers or mothers think their own children ugly; and this self-deceit is yet stronger with respect to the offspring of the mind."
Re: "Paying someone to print your book doesn't make you an author, and it doesn't mean your good enough."
Oh really? And throwing your manuscript up on Amazon through DTP makes you an author? And likewise, it means you're good enough?
Give me a break Joe, that statement is just plain full of shit. IMO.
As is this:
"In the past, the way to prove you were good enough was to have someone in the publishing industry vet you.
Now, you can prove you're good enough by selling a buttload of ebooks."
So sales equals good? And conversely, no sales equals bad, or not good, or should I say not good enough?
Plenty of lousy movies and music and books sell all day long, hence the old saying "there's no accounting for taste".
And history's full of great authors who never sold shit when they were alive, or maybe not until late into their career, who are revered for the work they've done.
No Joe, sales do not necessarily equal good. They simply mean units sold, product moved, a barometer of commerce.
You put out lots of really good information here man, and your willingness to post specific facts and figures is very much appreciated. But sometimes the crap you post makes me shake my head. And the lengths you and some of your more sycophantic followers will go to debunk and smack down those "evil" anonymous posters is laughable. IMO.
The vetting system ain't perfect either. Agents and editors make mistakes all the time. Vetting and sales are both imperfect measures of quality. It's an imperfect world.
Good and bad are subjective - Some love Twilight some hate it. But there is no doubt that if enough people are willing to open their wallets there is "value" and therefore validity can be had by thosands of people willing to pay for something you created.
John D said...
They are also the raison d'etre of publishing companies, large and small.
Okay, I'll bite. What about my last comment makes you continue to delete it? Is there something in it that offends your delicate sensibilities?
Re: "But there is no doubt that if enough people are willing to open their wallets there is "value" and therefore validity can be had by thosands of people willing to pay for something you created."
Gonna have to disagree with that Robin. Unless the purchaser knows your work, they are taking a chance on you. And until they actually read your ebook, the notion of "value" is irrelevant.
If anything the value comes from the book being so cheap, cheap enough that a buyer will purchase an unknown author figuring what the hell, if it sucks, they're not out a whole lot of money anyway.
Now some here are selling well across several ebooks, and I would say in that case they've found their audience and are producing work that speaks to that particular group of buyers.
But does it make it good?
Well any reasonable person knows the answer to that. What's good for me may not be good for you. That's the fallacy of Joe's statement regarding sales and being "good enough".
In my mind, whether I pay a POD to produce my book or go through DTP, it's merely a reflection of the business approach I've adopted, and to knock my work as somehow "less than" is pure bullshit.
And besides all that, Joe has no definitive idea why he's being so crazy successful with ebooks, and Kindle in particular. He's admitted that repeatedly. His print sales never pointed to this kind of result. And likewise, this whole thing could have just as easily been a total bust for him, at which point his rhetoric would reflect that reality.
Well duh John, that's the reason any business is in business.
But in the creative world, numbers of units moved oftentimes has no reflection at all on what is "good", whatever the hell that may be.
Look man, it's simple, Joe said you can prove you're "good enough" by selling a buttload of ebooks. I say that's bullshit. YMMV of course.
I've downloaded sample of ebooks written by members here, books that are doing very well sales wise, and all I can say is more power to you, 'cause I wouldn't buy it for a penny, let alone take the time to read it all the way through.
But that's just me. Obviously many others feel differently. And that's the beauty of art, it speaks to each of us individually, and we are free to buy what we like.
Well, I'm amused. I posted a thoughtful response to Konrath replies to me. Several times. Each time it is removed. Apparently, Mr. Konrath's reply is "shut up you meanie!"
Sigh. Shouldn't people who claim to be writers have at least a modicum of reading comprehension? Okay, here are the main points again, broken down into easy numbered items for the remedial reading crowd:
1. Your readers should be aware of your prior attitude and treatment of self-published authors, which was insulting, degrading, and dismissive.
2. Positioning yourself as the voice of the self-publishing movement is repulsive because of your aforementioned attitude (see point 1).
3. You are appropriating the arguments of your predecessors and betters and claiming them as your own.
The point, Mr. Konrath, is that the game has not changed as much as you spout on your blog. There was no magic bullet that hit this year and made 2011 the sudden golden opportunity, whereas in 2009 self-publishing was vile and despicable. John Kremer has compiled a list of successful self-publishing stories going back years.
The fact of the matter is that one year has only made a difference in your knowledge of self-publishing, not in the reality of self-publishing itself. It was certainly not an uphill battle in 2009 that was solved for 2011. It's been easy for years. Ebooks are not new; simply because you didn't know about them or acknowledge their validity does not deny their existence or successes.
Want to garner the respect of the self-publishing community? The real self-publishing community, who paved the way for your successes, rather than the johnny-come-latelies who see a way to make a quick buck? Then give credit where credit is due. Pay it forward. Acknowledge those who came before you and made possible what you are cashing in on today. And perhaps apologize for your insults and derogatory remarks to self-publishers who were succeeding in their areas long before you learned to unhook yourself from the teat of traditional publishing and gatekeepers.
Some of you really need to lose your fixation with anonymous posters.
If a point is valid, it makes no difference how it's presented. IMO. Many members here use a screen name or block their profile. How is that any less anonymous?
I like coming here for the good and useful information Joe shares. The rah rah, "Joe is great and has redefined publishing" rhetoric is beyond tedious. As is the constant bashing of those expressing a differing viewpoint, anonymous or not.
When I first started posting here, after reading this blog for a very long time, I was anonymous. After numerous posts slamming the anons, I signed up and identified myself. It didn't change the nature of my posts in the least.
And let me add, I was rewarded for identifying myself by receiving a scathing, ranting email from one of your more esteemed members here. Complete unhinged, disturbing bullshit. Nice. And that person is one of the "successful" ones.
I gotta give some props to Zoe Winters (and who else? Karen McQuestion? Boyd Morrison? Selena Kitt? Michael J and Robin Sullivan?) for being a visionary on this issue. Girlfriend saw the potential early on and that's another reason she deserves congratulations, IMO. She's one of the people who saw the future before the other 99% did and started working toward an indie ebook future early on.
Anonymous, you claim that nothing significant changed between mid 2009 and now that makes self-publishing more viable.
You miss that during these two years more book stores have closed than most of the last decade?
Did you miss that publishers have tightened their belts (Starting in 2008, but exasperated in 2009 and 2010.)?
Did you miss that Amazon's 70% royalty is from this year?
How about that e-books were a drip in the bucket of book sales last year, but are almost 10% of the market this year?
I'd say there are a number of trends that make 2010 unique, and set 2011 up to be a year for trying the self publishing waters.
What is amazing to me is that you continue to hold that data that is two years old is still relevant when even my data, which is 12 months old at best, is already showing its age.
@pathunstrom
So you agree with Mr. Konrath that anything self-published before 2010 was invalid and a waste of time then? Really?
The reason it's a more viable alternative now and all those changes are happening is because of self-publishers who wouldn't take "no" for an answer. And one of the biggest naysayers was Joe himself. If we'd all listened to good old Joe, we'd all still be waiting on the Big 6 to notice us.
I've never insulted, degraded, or dismissed any author. I have, on occasion, pointed out why people are wrong.
Self-pubbing, up until recently, was a mistake. My points all remain valid.
LOL. I'm not positioning myself to be the voice of anything. I can't help that people think I'm a hero.
All I'm doing is making a living and sharing what I've learned, which some folks find valuable.
What predecessors? What arguments?
This has been my journey, and the conclusions I've drawn are based on my experience.
There was no magic bullet that hit this year and made 2011 the sudden golden opportunity, whereas in 2009 self-publishing was vile and despicable.
You're trolling now, right? You can't be serious.
The magic bullet is called KINDLE.
And I've never said self-pubbing was vile or dispicable, just like I've never insulted those who self publish.
But prior to this year, those who self pubbed were delusional. Some may still be. But at least now there's a chance to actually find an audience, and I don't see a downside to that.
In 2009, there were too many downsides to self-pubbing to count.
So sales equals good?
That's an old argument that has been ongoing on this blog for years.
In a nutshell: yes. Sales equals good.
Everything else is subjective.
Acknowledge those who came before you and made possible what you are cashing in on today.
My sincerest gratitude to everyone who had a hand in inventing e-readers.
Technology was the game changer, Anon. Not you.
"The reason it's a more viable alternative now and all those changes are happening is because of self-publishers who wouldn't take "no" for an answer."
I'm fairly new to self-publishing (although not e-publishing), so I admit my ignorance. But how did this work, exactly? Did self-publishers put pressure on Amazon to allow indies to publish on the Kindle, or what? Because as far as I can tell, the only thing really making self-publishing genuinely viable now is the new emergence of e-readers. Certainly as an e-pubbed author, I never sold many books till the Kindle came along.
Each time it is removed.
I haven't removed any comments. But we can all thank Blogger for their awful new spam filter which we can't turn off.
The reason it's a more viable alternative now and all those changes are happening is because of self-publishers who wouldn't take "no" for an answer.
Holy grandiose narcissism, Batman!
I get it now. You're pissed I'm doing well, when you think you had this idea years ago and should be getting all the credit.
That's just lame.
A Bedtime Story
Holiday Ebook Buying Guide
Kindle Nation
Resolutions for Writers 2011
Interview with Robert W. Walker
Guest Post by Selena Kitt
The Bestseller Shift
Konrath Self-Pubbed Sales
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Barry & Joe Discussing The Guardian Discussing AuthorEarnings
Joe sez: Yesterday, the Guardian reviewed aspects of the latest AuthorEarnings report in an article called, Self-publishing Surging to 31% of Ebook Market, Claims Report.
Barry sez: I’m a big Guardian fan and think it’s great that they’re covering the data AuthorEarnings has been crunching -- data that contradicts a lot of misinformation and legacy industry propaganda. I also think it was entirely sensible for them to reach out to Philip Jones of The Bookseller and Nicola Solomon of the Society of Authors for a contrary view.
Joe sez: Maybe they also could have reached out to you for a supporting viewpoint, since you have written for the Guardian. Maybe they didn't have time, or see the need. But I see this as a biased piece questioning AuthorEarnings data.
Barry sez: Well, we can always argue about “balance” or whatever in these matters. In general, I like to see a contrary view. My concern about Jones’s and Solomon’s views isn’t about whether they were pro or con; it’s more that they weren’t very coherent.
Joe sez: We'll get to those views in a moment. What interests me most about the piece is its bias.
We all have bias. And if the media has no bias, it's a classic View From Nowhere case (which is of course itself a form of bias, and an especially insidious one), such as Porter Anderson's recent piece where he refused to take a position. Read the comments and see how he deflects my criticisms. Or rather, refuses to address them. Without bias -- supportable and defensible bias -- reporting becomes stenography.
Barry sez: “Bias” is just the accusatory way of saying, “worldview,” and everyone has a worldview. I’ve written about this at some length elsewhere, including a piece called The Greatest Trick The Devil Ever Pulled.
Joe sez: The Guardian is taking a position on the AuthorEarnings report. The position is skeptical, and Jones and Solomon are quoted to support that skepticism.
Barry sez: I think that’s a fair characterization. Again, I don’t care so much about a writer’s worldview so much as I do with whether that worldview is logically coherent and supported by evidence.
Joe sez: I agree. And I agree it's progress that AuthorEarnings is getting some media attention. But I'm still rolling my eyes at the way the media -- and the industry -- is reacting to the data.
So… on to the Guardian piece itself:
Guardian: A new report claims that self-published authors have surged to 31% of ebook sales on Amazon.com, and are now earning more ebook royalties than writers published by the "Big five" traditional publishers. Despite research published earlier this month finding professional UK authors' incomes plunging below minimum standards...
Joe sez: The diction is fascinating. AuthorEarnings is a report that claims. The UK thing is research that finds.
Barry sez: Hah. It reminds me of that great George Carlin sketch… your things are “shit,” my things are “stuff.” So, “Hey, can you move your shit? I’ve got no room for my stuff.”
Joe sez: That same "research" also "finds" that only 25% of those authors surveyed were self-pubbing, and 86% would do it again.
Naturally, they would do so again because self-pubbing is a thankless, losing venture that doesn't make any money. You know, except for those "typically recouping their investment plus 40%"
Let's repeat that:
"typically recouping their investment plus 40%"
Once more, this time in unbiased English:
"self-published authors surveyed made money -- a 40% profit at the time of this study"
That last bit the Guardian didn't mention is important, because ebooks are forever. I made 40% profit too. And then the next day, I made more. And the day after. And the month after. And five years after.
When did the profit begin? How soon after publication? How long has it been tracked? (You know -- tracking data, like www.AuthorEarnings.com is doing). 40% is ludicrous. I've invested perhaps $30k in creating ebooks (cover art, proofing, editing, design) and I've made several million dollars. That's more than a 40% return.
Guardian: According to the Bookseller editor Philip Jones there are "large question marks" about Howey's data.
"This is a very narrow selection of a particular type of market at a particular time," he said. "Most people who've looked at this in any depth say you can't extrapolate from bestseller rankings on the Kindle store to a picture of the wider market. Howey sees an ice-cube, and shrieks 'iceberg'."
Barry sez: Wait a minute… “a very narrow selection of a particular type of market at a particular time”? They’re tracking over 100,000 titles! But hang on, let’s ask Data Guy himself...
Data Guy sez: The Author Earnings reports are cross-sectional studies of Amazon ebook sales.
The raw data for each is obtained by a custom-coded Java web Spider software program that crawls the thousands of Amazon category Best Seller lists page by page and then "reads" the Amazon product pages for each of the 100,000+ listed books, extracting each book's title, author, publisher, price, overall Amazon Sales Rank, review counts and scores, and DRM info. It works by parsing the raw html of ebook product pages, following links through all the main and then sub categories. Anything on a product page can be pulled into a spreadsheet cell.
The methodology involves an interplay of four factors: 1) The known overall rank of each title on the Kindle store. 2) The estimated daily sales for those ranks. 3) The sales price of the ebook. 4) And the royalty paid to the author.
1) Is known. 2) Has been compiled by dozens of indies, who note their daily sales at varying ranks, and these rates match up and are regularly re-checked. 3) Is known. 4) Is known for self-published titles and well-estimated for all others.
You can tweak (2) and (4) as much as you want and not break the conclusions found in our reports, which is that self-published authors have taken sizeable market share of ebook royalties on the largest bookseller in the world.
Joe sez: I believe the only way to deny the results of the AuthorEarnings data is to say that Amazon sales rank doesn't correlate to the number of books sold. Which is VERY presumptuous. When Amazon sneezes, a thousand indies check Jeff's pulse. If Amazon was tampering with rank, someone would be able to show it.
Almost all media sales follow a power curve. Looks like a hockey stick. You can adjust this curve all you like, but since the distribution of indies to traditionally published authors is even and consistent, it doesn't change the results. Move a legacy book up in sales by its rank, and the neighboring indies go up. Move an indie book down in sales per rank, and neighboring trad books go down.
What Data Guy discovered, in essence -- by looking deeper into the data than anyone had before -- was three things:
1) It isn't just indies in the top 100 taking up 25 - 30% of slots; it goes all the way into the top 100,000+ titles on Amazon.
2) It isn't just 99 cent works selling at high clips; it's a range of prices.
3) The difference in royalty rates (5.6x) more than makes up for the difference in price and ranking.
What is the opposing argument? I haven’t heard it from Jones or Solomon...
Barry sez: And who are the “most people” etc. Jones refers to? In the absence of any names or citations, I don’t know how to interpret the phrase other than as “my cronies who share my thoughts and want to believe the same things I do.”
Which, from a guy criticizing others for a lack of scientific rigor, is a bit disappointing.
Joe sez: I like Jones's iceberg analogy, but not in the way he'd want me to.
An iceberg is the visible part of something potentially much larger. The phrase "tip of the iceberg" has become cliche because we’re all aware of this. Equating ice-cubes to an iceberg is like equating the tip of the iceberg to the rest of the iceberg.
Perhaps if Captain Smith had been paying closer attention to ice-cubes, the Titanic wouldn't have sunk.
Howey sees what thousands of indie authors have known individually, and he and Data Guy are proving in the aggregate. We're making a ton of money. But because this is an untracked shadow industry, only individuals (and those we share data with) have known this.
Of course, Amazon also knows this. And they're so confident in the money indies are making that they began the Kindle Unlimited program, offering readers unlimited access to ebooks and audiobooks, many of them self-pubbed in KDP Select.
Being in KDP Select means being exclusively on Kindle. Amazon is so sure they, and their authors, will make money, they're using Kindle Unlimited as a perk to entice more self-published authors to go exclusive with them.
Ice-cube? It's a frickin' glacier the size of a continent.
Guardian: While Howey has sparked an important conversation about author earnings, Jones continued, the report's positioning and aggressive rhetoric obscures much of its value.
"The fact that we don't know who this 'Data Guy' is or where he's come from suggest that we should take the Author Earnings report with a large pinch of salt," Jones said.
Barry sez: So… someone compiles data from public sources and analyzes it. He provides full information about his sources and his methodology and publishes all of the raw data for the world to cross-check. And Jones prefers to ignore all of that in favor of, what? The absence of a long-form birth certificate?
The proper criticism of reports like the ones coming from AuthorEarnings is (1) your numbers aren’t accurate; and (2) your methodology is flawed. The fact that Jones is unwilling to engage AuthorEarnings on those two issues, and instead wants only to discuss who Data Guy is and where he (or she) comes from, is incredibly telling. Apparently Jones can’t dispute the numbers, he can’t dispute the methods, and he can’t dispute the findings. So he goes for the far less relevant “how can we trust this guy” dodge, instead.
On balance, Jones’s reaction is about as powerful an endorsement of the importance and accuracy of AuthorEarning’s conclusion as we could reasonably hope for at this point. So as an AuthorEarning’s fan, I just want to say… Thank you, Philip. :)
Joe sez: Apparently two plus two only equals four if the one saying it shows his credentials. And his driver's license, to prove where he lives.
"where he's come from"? Seriously?
Guardian: "I think of it more as part of Amazon's PR effort, rather than an objective overview of the digital marketplace,” [Jones said].
Joe sez: If Amazon wanted to issue a press release on how much money indies are actually making, the publishing industry would cry "No way!" and call Amazon a bunch of liars.
But Amazon doesn't feel the need to. And Jones doesn't want to see the threat, so he talks himself out of admitting there is one. Classic deer in headlights. Stand very still, and maybe the car speeding at you at 65mph won't notice you and subsequently run you over.
Barry sez: It’s pretty amazing that one sentence after acknowledging “we don't know who this 'Data Guy' is or where he's come from,” Jones accuses him of being part of an Amazon PR effort. “We don’t know who he is, but we know he’s from the Death Star!”
Joe sez: It's a trap!
Barry sez: It’s okay (indeed, unavoidable) to be biased. But you have to support your bias with logic, consistency, and evidence. Bias expressed like Jones’s makes your worldview untrustworthy and unpersuasive.
Guardian: The report's treatment of literary fiction is a case in point, he added. "In the real world, literary fiction is a vibrant market, albeit smaller in sales than commercial fiction, and so far not an attractive purchase for your average Kindle user.”
Joe sez: Of course lit fiction is a vibrant market, as evidenced by its constant appearance on the bestseller lists.
Er, I mean look how big the lit fic section is in bookstores.
Uh… look, lit fiction is important to culture. We all value culture, right?
Barry sez: I have to ask… what is Philip's “real world”? With zero data or citations behind his claim, what can a reader conclude except that Philip's “real world” is the evidence-hostile zone that exists only inside his own head?
Joe sez: Did you catch Jones's informal fallacy? Because Hugh's report didn't give lit fic enough credit in Jones's opinion, Hugh's report can be entirely dismissed.
Once you starting eating a bowl of fail, it's apparently difficult to stop...
Guardian: “I see this as less a problem with the canon, and more an issue for the platform,” [Jones said].
Barry sez: LOL… of course! Because after all, unlike those lazy benighted people who rely on data for their conclusions, Philip is able to see the Real World.
I’m not sure how to measure “vibrancy,” or even quite what Jones means by it. Maybe he’s confusing an objective report about size of the market -- that is, number of books sold -- with importance? The definition and importance of the canon Jones refers to is an interesting and worthy topic, much debated on university campuses. But when he responds to a report on data with a rejoinder on “vibrancy,” you get the feeling that he’s trying hard not to hear.
Which, I should I add, I understand. No one wants to hear unwelcome news. But it’s important to be aware of that innate reluctance, and to try to guard against rather than surrendering to it.
Joe sez: He is the editor of The Bookseller. He knows more than we do.
Barry sez: It is indeed important to evaluate opinions primarily on who the opining party is and where she comes from.
Guardian: “But I've yet to see Howey look at a piece of data, and not seek to pass it off as a problem big publishers have caused," [Jones said].
Joe sez: Which Jones ably defends by citing…
Wait, he didn't defend it. No links, no quotes by Hugh, no references taken from AuthorEarnings.com.
It's okay to have an opinion. I prefer my opinions to be informed, and defensible.
I suppose someone could look at AuthorEarnings and come to the conclusion that it’s somehow about the problems big publishers have caused. I happen to think its a collection of data that shows how much authors are earning. Hence the URL, www.AuthorEarnings.com.
Barry sez: Yes, “I’ve yet to see Howey” is particularly beautiful coming immediately after Jones’s evidence-free assertions about Data Guy being an Amazon shill and literary fiction being vibrant in the Real World.
Guardian: According to Jones, authors and publishers would welcome an "adult debate" about ebook sales and author earnings, but in the absence of sales figures from Amazon that's just not possible.
"Nobody has a good view of this market, because Amazon holds all the data and doesn't share it," he said. "Anyone who claims otherwise is just making it up."
Barry sez: As opposed to all the legacy industry’s well-known data-sharing generosity…?
And Jones claims the Data Guy is a shill?!
I’m sorry to keep coming back to it, but this is another really great example of the pernicious effects of unexamined, unchecked bias. Yes, Amazon is secretive. But what does it mean when someone criticizes only Amazon for the very same secrecy that characterizes the entire legacy industry?
And what’s particularly amazing about Jones’s misleading claim is that the only data available to AuthorEarnings -- the only information they could use to extrapolate their results -- comes from Amazon! The legacy industry is a like a black hole -- you can’t see it directly, so you have to examine it obliquely through data that can be gleaned from Amazon. You know, the data Amazon won’t share.
Joe sez: Hold on a second. Are you saying that legacy author royalty statements aren't transparent and easy to understand? Or that prior to Nielsen Bookscan (a third party), publishers' data wasn't accessible by everyone?
I gotta shake my head in wonder. Attacking your opponent for doing the same thing you're doing is ridiculous.
So... Data Guy is either:
1) making up the data he got from Amazon
2) the data he acquired somehow doesn't count because Amazon isn't the one who compiled it.
Why do I get the feeling that if Amazon did compile and release their own data, there would still be widespread disbelief?
Barry sez: What you’d likely hear then is that Amazon’s published data is false, while the legacy industry’s nonexistent data is reliable.
Joe sez: What's the term when a person refuses to acknowledge they are in danger, so they don't act at all?
Barry sez: You mean denial? I’m not sure if there’s a formal name. The phenomenon is, “I’m not acting, and even though my position is worsening, I’m not dead… and that thing out there is really scary. So I’m going to keep on not acting because so far I haven’t died." But I don’t know the name for it. A kind of denial, I guess.
Joe sez: I see a lot of that happening on all sides in this industry--authors, publishers, media, anyone connected to this biz. Lots of people refusing to give any credence to the very real threat of the two-headed monster in the room: self-publishing and Amazon.
Ignore it, discredit it, deny it, downplay it, pretend it isn't there.
Guardian: The general secretary of the Society of Authors, Nicola Solomon, welcomed Howey's attempt to shed light on a rapidly changing market, though suggested his conclusions should be treated with caution.
"First, these figures don't look at sales of print books, which will still be a major part of the earnings from a Big five publisher.”
Joe sez: Uh, didn't AuthorEarnings look at sales of print books on Amazon?
Barry sez: What’s that saying? “It’s not the things you don’t know that’ll get you. It’s the things you know that just ain’t so.”
And often, the things we know that just ain’t so are the product of a desire to believe something. If that desire is deep enough, it’ll cause people to overlook easily available evidence, as seems to be the case with Solomon here.
Guardian: “Even if you look at ebooks only, these figures don't take into account the risk and up-front costs which self-published authors take on themselves," [Solomon] said, "nor the impact of advances received by a traditionally-published author."
Barry sez: What “risk” are self-publishers undertaking? They control their rights. Self-publishing a book today doesn’t preclude legacy-publishing it tomorrow. You might coherently argue that self-publishing offers limited upside. But to argue that it involves material risk makes no sense. The real risk is in the legacy route, where you give up your rights forever pretty much no matter how things turn out.
As for the upfront costs of self-publishing, I would argue that these are relatively trivial. And there are plenty of costs involved in the legacy route, such as a dramatically lower per-unit royalties, vastly slower time-to-market, a permanent loss of rights, etc.
There’s a species of logical fallacy I see again and again in the publishing revolution, and it fascinates me. There’s probably formal nomenclature for it (and if you know it, please tell me in the comments!), but what I’m talking about is the tendency to attribute a negative trait only to the feared outgroup -- when it applies at least equally to the desired ingroup. A trivial example would be a Republican claiming, “Democrats lie!” Or a Democrat claiming the opposite. When in fact, obviously, all politicians lie.
So to try to dismiss AuthorEarning’s findings because the findings don’t discuss the (illusory) risks and (low) costs of self-publishing -- while failing to mention (and thereby implying the non-existence of) the real risks and high costs of legacy-publishing -- is deeply misleading.
Guardian: The report offers a snapshot of sales at only one retailer, she continued.
Barry sez: Over 100,000 bestselling titles is a “snapshot”? I’d call it a gigantic mural, at least. Has anyone ever crunched more numbers than AuthorEarnings? BookScan only examines a fraction of books sold, yet BookScan data is widely accepted as gospel. If I didn’t know better, I’d think that some people were -- consciously or unconsciously -- trying to deposition AuthorEarnings only because they don’t like its conclusions.
Guardian: "Do these figures really mean you should self-publish and ignore a traditional publishing deal?” [Solomon said]. “Well, no, not necessarily." But with self-publishing becoming increasingly attractive for many authors, traditional publishers need to offer more, she continued. "They should be offering better rates – 25% of net receipts is simply not fair – and they should be offering shorter timeframes on contracts before rights should either revert to the author or be up for renegotiation."
Joe sez: I don't think anyone is saying that legacy deals should be ignored. If I were offered a legacy deal, I'd consider it. Any reasonable person would consider any reasonable author.
But I doubt any legacy deal would tempt me. Their terms are too onerous. I agree with Solomon that legacy royalties are too low, and shorter timeframes are needed, but that's just (pardon me) the tip of the iceberg.
When authors can earn 70% and control their rights, and AuthorEarnings shows that how self-pubbing authors are earning more than legacy authors, any reasonable person should be paying attention.
And you do have to wonder… why is the general secretary of the Society of Authors using language that shows bias against self-pubbing, which is demonstrably beneficial to authors? Why the fear?
Barry sez: Well, this was a fun and interesting opportunity to examine some of the revealing human reactions to disruptive change in an industry. But I don’t want to lose sight of what we started with: it’s great that AuthorEarnings, despite their unwelcome conclusions, is getting increased attention in the mainstream media. So thank you, Guardian -- and Philp and Nicola, if we’ve misunderstood you or mischaracterized anything you’ve said, we’d love to hear from you in the comments (we’d love to hear from you generally). Most of all, we hope more authors will follow AuthorEarnings.com so they have better information to make better decisions for themselves. Because if there’s one thing probably everyone can agree on, it’s that writers have choices today that we never had before -- and that we should do what we can to ensure we’re making the best choices possible.
For authors who've been through the gristmill of NY publishing-- the Big 6/5, and weren't 'annointed' like 1% were, indie publishing has opened the distribution channels.
I finally get the fear coming off Scott Turow, Malcolm Gladwell, and others. They see 50% loss on their royalty statements. I thought since they made tons of money anyway, they didn't care. But their egos are tied up in it. Seeing their sales go down is kicking in a the 'imposter syndrome'. Maybe they're not as good as they thought they were?
There is a name for what they did to Data Guy. It is called an ad hominem argument which is a logical fallacy:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ad_hominem
As for attributing a negative quality to the out group, that may simply be a form of psychological projection.
Hey Joe,
I noticed you mentioned Kindle Unlimited from the perspective of Amazon's profits, but where do you think this leaves indies? Is it a good thing for us?
Thanks as always for your perspective.
Um, yeah, that's what research does. Pharmaceutical companies don't test out drugs on 8 billion people, they take representative samples. The larger the better, but rarely 100,000. Same goes for market research. If you're going to analyze, say, the clinical diagnostics market in the U.S. (which I've done several times), you don't get financial data from all 250,000-odd clinical diagnostic labs operating in the country, it's impossible. But you can work with the numbers you have and compare the records from the publicly traded companies and extrapolate to private companies based on test volumes they are (sort of) required to turn into the government, etc. This is a totally specious argument, as if Nielsen Bookscan somehow accessed 100% of available book selling data, or, for that matter, The New York Times Bestseller list isn't based on a selective (and more or less secret) selection of a very limited number of bookstores.
This is helping me to wrap my head around the arguments that are happening, as I tend to skip over the article and get back into my writing hole. THANK YOU.
According to Jones, authors and publishers would welcome an "adult debate" about ebook sales and author earnings, but in the absence of sales figures from Amazon that's just not possible.
Except that thousands of auhors, legacy published and indie, are having that adult debate right now, and looking at real data that informs it.
"In the real world, literary fiction is a vibrant market, albeit smaller in sales than commercial fiction, and so far not an attractive purchase for your average Kindle user.”
There's an impressive amount of snobbery and elitism packed into that statement. You guys already touched on the "real world" aspect. Besides which, the report doesn't denigrate literary fiction, it just says that the sales of it are minimal and what sales existed were largely attributed to one book.
But that last bit? "… so far not an attractive purchase for your average Kindle user." Translated from snob-speak, "You plebes with your silly electronic readers have no sense or appreciation of fine literature, because that can only come from reading a REAL book, not that uncultured swill YOU people read."
I was an English Lit major in college. Elitists like this guy are the reason I gave it up for a job in the "Real World."
None of this matters. Not everyone gets picked for pub by trads and not all indies' books sell. Only the lucky ones can make a living at writing. And the really lucky ones get rich. It also doesn't matter if publishers vanish in future because there's self pub now. Why bicker? Just write.
In a comment on the article, Philip Jones says, "it is worth remembering that Amazon created KDP, barely 4 years ago, as part of a deliberate strategy to undermine traditional publishing."
Wow, he thinks Amazon started KDP to undermine traditional publishing. It seems to me that they started KDP to make money. I am pretty sure that the folks at Amazon were not sitting around discussing how to undermine traditional publishing as their main goal when creating KDP.
From the Author Earnings report: "The market for literary fiction is anemic for indie authors simply because it is an anemic segment of publishing overall. In fact, Literary Fiction makes up only 2% of Amazon ebook unit sales and 3% of Amazon ebook dollar sales. More startling is the fact that 20% of that 3% belongs to a single aggressively-promoted title, The Goldfinch. Even including that title, literary fiction barely amounts to 2% of total author earnings. And indie authors earn 13% of that. That’s a not-insignificant portion of what turns out to be a pretty insignificant piece of the total publishing pie."
So I wouldn't worry too much about lit fic. 'Culture' has always been a rara avis.
The breakout I would like to see is non-genre, non-lit fiction - the solid mainstream novels that are readable by most people. Do we classify Nicholas Sparks there - or shove him into the romance genre? Bridges of Madison County. The Help. Etc. (note that 'romance' is a keyword used for Spark's books).
Why? Because some of us do write in that category and are feeling a little left out. Nothing against genre fiction, mind you - just not what I write.
And here I always thought it was designed to monetize the 95% of writers traditional publishing left in the inbox or tossed out with the pre order numbers. I wonder if the frustration is that writers deemed by them not ready are getting real play or that Amazon figured out how to grab a sizable market share using resources they took for granted? And even if it was what he said, what's the plan there, undermine traditional publishing by treating authors better? Can't say as I have a problem with that strategy.
I expect the traditionalists to claim the AE report has been completely discredited in the past, and it is not worth considering it again.
"Once you starting eating a bowl of fail, it's apparently difficult to stop..." What a great line!
It is an interesting point that Dan Meadows makes. Amazon carved out a market share by encouraging rejected authors to sell books without a publisher. The publishers said no. Amazon said yes, and has made a lot of money for itself and indie authors. And now the publishers are complaining.
Who cares what anyone thinks about indie publishing. My bank account doesn't.
Steve Johnson said...
It was just this morning while cleaning out used books from inventory, when I discovered the hardcover copy of "Megatrends" by John Naisbitt, published in 1982. Thumbing through the pages to see how much of the future Naisbitt got right, my eye stopped on Page 26, upon seeing this subtitle:
"In the future, editors won't tell us what to read: We will tell editors what we choose to read"
I quote Naisbitt:
"Anthony Smith in his 1980 book, Goodbye Gutenberg, has usefully pointed out that we are at the beginning of a period that will witness a shift from author to receiver in the 'sovereignty over text.' For hundreds of years, authors and editors have decided what to put in the packages they create for us" ... "and we pick among them, deciding what we want to read or watch. Now, with the new technologies, we will create our own packages, experiencing sovereignty over text. It will evolve over a long period of time, but the accumulated impact of people exercising sovereignty over text will undoubtedly have a strong effect on the new society we are shaping."
Seems to me Naisbitt gave legacy publishers fair warning to get ready for the coming changes 30 years ago.
Every time the legacy publishing community reacts to Author Earnings, this is what I think of:
http://youtu.be/D58LpHBnvsI
If the math said something different then what I knew to be true I'd be skeptical. As it is this report just confirms what we already knew.
Not sure what the controversy is here, but I'm not paid to put my head in the sand. So that's probably why I don't get it.
The article read to me like the Guardian is trying very hard not to come to the obvious conclusion. That's the sense I get from most of the media outlets writing articles on self-publishing these days. Their arguments usually amount to "yeah, so traditional publishing really doesn't offer much to writers anymore, but should you abandon it completely? No. End of argument." They don't even bother backing up their assertions so I don't bother taking them seriously. I really do think most authors are far smarter than the media outlets believe they are and more and more of them will naturally gravitate towards self-publishing regardless of the weak articles the media puts out to discourage it.
All I can think of is the guy on Myth Busters "I reject your reality and substitute my own!".
Who gives a shit what these guys think? They are a couple of dinosaurs watching a meteor come in and thinking "It doesn't look so big from here!"
So, should we expect the literary fiction sales to drop as more and more readers adopt eBooks?
Talin said...
Any major publisher, especially the biggest (Penguin Random House) could easily estimate indie earnings based on their own reports from Amazon. If you own a well distributed thousand of those ranking spots over the 100,000 range you can fairly easily estimate the dollars per day of everyone else in that range.
Joe;
Forgive me for being off-topic, but I have a quick self-pub question which has been bugging me...as both author AND publisher, which owns my copyright?
Should it say in my contents, © 2014 Author's Name,
or © 2014 XYZ Publishing Company?
Talin said:Any major publisher, especially the biggest (Penguin Random House) could easily estimate indie earnings based on their own reports from Amazon. If you own a well distributed thousand of those ranking spots over the 100,000 range you can fairly easily estimate the dollars per day of everyone else in that range.
Unless the Big Publishing Houses are run by drooling cretins, they are fully aware how large a chunk of the market they've lost to indies.
The trad-pub narrative has moved from "None Shall Pass" to "Tis But A Scratch..."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKhEw7nD9C4
I keep hearing "Author" for "Arthur" in the above clip
Big Publishing: None shall pass.
Author: What?
Author: I have no quarrel with you, good Publisher, but I must reach my Readers.
Big Publishing: Then you shall be rejected.
Author: I command you as Creator of the Stories to stand aside!
Big Publishing: I move for no author.
Author: So be it!
*Indie Authors take 20% of Big Publishing's market share*
Author: Now stand aside, worthy Gatekeeper.
Big Publishing: 'Tis but a scratch.
Author: A scratch? *looks at AuthorEarnings.com* Your arm's off!
Big Publishing: No, it isn't.
Author: Well, what's that then?
Big Publishing: I've had worse.
Author: You liar!
Big Publishing: Come on you pansy!
*Indie authors take another 20% of Big Publishing's market share.*
Author: Victory is mine! We thank thee Readers, that in thy mercy...
Big Publishing: Come on then.
Big Publishing: Have at you!
Author: You are indeed brave, Sir Publisher, but the fight is mine.
Big Publishing: Oh, had enough, eh?
Author: Look, you stupid bastard, you've got no market share left.
Big Publishing: Yes I have.
Author: Look! *shows authorearnings.com report*
Big Publishing: Just a flesh wound.
Author: Look, stop that.
Big Publishing: Chicken! Chicken!
Author: Look, I'll have your leg. Right!
*Indie authors take yet another 20% of Big Publishing's market share*
Big Publishing: Right, I'll do you for that!
Author: You'll what?
Big Publishing: Come 'ere! You need to be sifted.
Author: What are you going to do, bleed on me?
Big Publishing: I'm invincible! I protect literature!
Author: You're a loony.
Big Publishing: The Publisher always triumphs! Have at you! Come on then.
*Indie authors take all of Big Publishing's remaining market share*
Big Publishing: All right; we'll call it a draw.
Author: Come, Readers.
Big Publishing: Oh, oh, I see, running away then. You failed rejects! Come back here and take what's coming to you. I'll bite your legs off!
We've read The Fallacy Detective with our kids and then looked for examples, such as daily on CNN, Fox, and MSNBC. It's amazing how many of these logical fallacies I've seen in this author earnings and Hachette/Amazon debate. The side employing these fallacies it typically on a losing path.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Fallacy-Detective-Thirty-Eight-Recognize/dp/0974531537
First they ignore you.
Then they denigrate you.
Then they argue with you.
Then they slink away with their tails between their legs.
@Anonymous, about the Author vs Big Publisher skit: that would make a great Monty Python routine. :D
Pharmaceutical companies don't test out drugs on 8 billion people,
That made me spit coffee.
I don't know that this is a perfect analogy, but governing dynamics may come into play. Remember that scene from A Beautiful Mind? What if we all ignore the blond (Big 5). FYI: The clip has one crude reference.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CemLiSI5ox8&safe=active
Gramix Publishing said...
The absence of a long-form birth certificate?
Lots of good comments here for this excellent post. However, I note that neither Barry, Joe, nor any of the commentators are providing their long-form birth certificates. How then can I trust anything being said? :)
Ha! "When Amazon sneezes, a thousand indies check Jeff’s pulse." Great line and so, so true.
Douglas Bornemann said...
To be fair, I can see a potential risk. Debut authors without a platform and with no prior experience in marketing could find themselves worse off because they begin with less exposure than, say, an already trad-published author who switches to self-pubbing for the second book. Even if you're convinced self-pubbing is better in the long run, you worry whether you'd be better off getting trad-pub help establishing your readership with your first novel or two. On the other hand, we don't know how much money and effort are actually spent on the average book debut, do we? If it were substantial, you'd think the trad publishers would be crowing about it (and providing details) to discourage self-pubbers from falling into the self-pub trap instead of spending all that effort trying to keep e-book prices artificially inflated...
w.adam mandelbaum said...
Douglas Bornemann...Hey impressive credentials! Now,what makes you think legacy makes a whole lot of effort or spends $ on an unknown author? When I was legacy published, I was assigned a publicist who did a little...I got most of the media appearances. Advtg budget was zero. This in the days before ebooks or alternatives. Today they won't do shit unless they spent a lot of money on the advance to a newbie...which they don't.
w.adam mandelbaum. Thanks! That's why I say a "potential" risk. No doubt a huge selection bias is happening here--clearly some authors are getting help, but we are likely never to discover the ones who don't. Without data from trad publishers there's no reliable way to evaluate how great that risk truly is. I'd think if the actual data favored trad-publishing, publishers would shout it from the rooftops, but if their heads are still buried in the sand, they may not see the need. Once the bulk of books are sold as ebooks, the only way for publishers to stay relevant will be to actually provide services that improve an author's chances of success.
"Eviscerate" isn't a word that describes many conversations, but Barry did it here. The simple argument of "prove it" shows they didn't even attempt to do so.
"Howey's numbers are bad."
"Data Guy is untrustworthy."
Prove it. Lay out your argument in a logical fashion, so as to carry me from where I am to your conclusions. If you can.
Phillip Jones disputes the author earnings data by demonizing Author Guy rather than disputing the sales numbers. This does sound familiar. We all know what political party does that with pervasive media bias.
If he wants vibrant culture, tell him to dump food coloring in his yogurt. Why the fuck is he looking for art in an earnings report?
- axle blackwell
Jones...hmm. A pretty common last name. Do we really know who this guy is, or if he is who he says he is? Could be an alias...
Nirmala (free spiritual ebooks) said...
For a contrasting approach to how to report the news from authorearnings, here is a very straightforward story on The Telegraph:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/amazon/10980706/One-in-three-ebooks-sold-on-Amazon-are-self-published.html
Not a peep out of the mainstream US press yet about the latest authorearnings report as far as I can tell from searching Google news.
Philip Jones responded to one of my comments on the Guardian article with some clarifications, and also a link to a post claiming to debunk the initial authorearnings report:
http://dearauthor.com/ebooks/how-not-to-lie-with-statistics/
I looked the analysis in the post over and found that many of the objections were not relevant anymore due to the follow up studies by authorearnings.com. But there are still several points in that analysis that it would be great to see a fisking of. Maybe Hugh has done one already, or maybe that could be another post on here. For example, one point in the analysis on the linked to page is that books move up and down in their ranks, so how can you compute annual sales per author based on a particular day's rank? I would like to see the rationale for that explained more fully, although it seems clear that any inaccuracy in those figures would be equally true for self-published and trad-published authors.
Also Philip claims he was not saying that Data Guy is part of an Amazon PR effort, but that the report is. I do not quite understand the distinction, and it still seems like wild speculation.
@Darren Snap
Thanks for the link to the Fallacy detective.
There should be a website that does nothing but put articles to the fallacy test. With the US election season heating up, it would get plenty of clicks.
With the whole self vs/ trad publishing broohaha, I wish the story of John Kennedy Toole were better known. He wrote "A Confederacy of Dunces," put couldn't get it published in the days before self publishing was viable.
He suffered from paranoia and depression for years (in part because he couldn't get his book published) and ended his own life. His mother took up the mantle for his book. Once it was published, it went on to win the Pulitzer Prize and great acclaim.
If the KDP "publish" button was available, who knows what might have happened.
I do wonder how many John Kennedy Tooles are out there today, published and making money thanks to the platform Amazon gave writers.
I'm wondering what your thoughts are on Kindle Unlimited?
http://carderbase.su?carding-forum
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Iranian Journal of Medical Sciences
Small Molecule-BIO Accelerates and Enhances Marrow-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cell in Vitro Chondrogenesis
Document Type: Original Article(s)
Mohamadreza Baghaban Eslaminejad 1
Nasrin Fallah 2
1 Department of Stem Cell and Developmental Biology at Cell Science Research Center, Royan Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Technology, ACECR, Tehran, Iran
2 Department of Developmental Biology, University of Science and Culture, Tehran, Iran
Background: Hyaline cartilage defects exhibit a major challenge in the field of orthopedic surgery owing to its limited repair capacity. On the other hand, mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are regarded as potent cells with a property of cartilage regeneration. We aimed to optimize marrow-derived MSC chondrogenic culture using a small bioactive molecule referred to as BIO. Methods: MSCs from the marrow of NMRI mice were extracted, culture-expanded, and characterized. Micro-mass culture was then established for chondrogenic differentiation (control group). The cultures of MSC in chondrogenic medium supplemented with 0.01, 0.05, 0.1, and 1 µM BIO were taken as the experimental groups. Cartilage differentiation was examined by both histological sections and real-time PCR for Sox9, aggrecan, and collagen II at different time points. Moreover, the involvement of the Wnt pathway was investigated. Results: Based on histological sections, there was seemingly more intense metachromatic matrix produced in the cultures with 0.01 µM BIO. In this experimental group, cartilage-specific genes tended to be upregulated at day 14 compared to day 21 of the control group, indicating the accelerating effect of BIO on cartilage differentiation. Overall, there was statistically a significant increase (P=0.01) in the expression level of cartilage-specific genes in cultures with 0.01 µM BIO (enhancing effects). These upregulations appeared to be mediated through the Wnt pathway evident from the significant upregulation of T-cell factor and beta-catenin molecules (P=0.01). Conclusion: Taken together, BIO at 0.01 µM could accelerate and enhance in vitro chondrogenesis of mouse marrow-derived MSCs.
March and April 2014
Eslaminejad, M., Fallah, N. (2014). Small Molecule-BIO Accelerates and Enhances Marrow-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cell in Vitro Chondrogenesis. Iranian Journal of Medical Sciences, 39(2), 107-116.
Mohamadreza Baghaban Eslaminejad; Nasrin Fallah. "Small Molecule-BIO Accelerates and Enhances Marrow-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cell in Vitro Chondrogenesis". Iranian Journal of Medical Sciences, 39, 2, 2014, 107-116.
Eslaminejad, M., Fallah, N. (2014). 'Small Molecule-BIO Accelerates and Enhances Marrow-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cell in Vitro Chondrogenesis', Iranian Journal of Medical Sciences, 39(2), pp. 107-116.
Eslaminejad, M., Fallah, N. Small Molecule-BIO Accelerates and Enhances Marrow-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cell in Vitro Chondrogenesis. Iranian Journal of Medical Sciences, 2014; 39(2): 107-116.
pISSN: 0253-0716
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Chavit Singson eyes IBC network
Philippine Daily Inquirer / 12:32 AM December 26, 2016
Businessman-politician Luis “Chavit” Singson is planning to buy the International Broadcasting Corp. (IBC) TV network from the government, which has been considering privatizing the station.
Singson, president of the LCS Group of Companies, sent a letter to the Presidential Communications Operations Office dated Dec. 19 signifying his intent to purchase the network.
“The LCS Group submits herewith its formal intention to purchase International Broadcasting Corp. from the Philippine government, following the latter’s publicly stated plan to privatize the said company,” Singson said in his letter.
But he said his company would first conduct due diligence procedures, including a review of its financial statement, its asset register and its schedule of arrears.
He asked Malacañang to allow LCS Group to conduct the due diligence procedures for 45 days.
The LCS Group had appointed its consultant, Millawave Systems, to carry out the task.
After the due diligence procedures had been completed, the group would need 15 days to prepare a final offer to the government for the IBC purchase.
Singson confirmed his plan to purchase the network in a phone interview with the Inquirer on Friday.
He said that if he acquires IBC-13, he plans to buy new equipment to modernize it. It would also offer a variety of news and entertainment shows, he said.
Singson, with boxing champ and now Sen. Manny Pacquiao, earlier tried to buy into the GMA network, but the deal fell through.
Presidential Communications Secretary Martin Andanar earlier said the government wants to privatize IBC-13, which had been sequestered by the state after the ouster of the dictator, Ferdinand Marcos.
The network is facing labor problems and owes back wages to employees.
The Aquino administration had also tried to sell IBC-13, but no deal was finalized during its term.
The Governance Commission for Government Owned and Controlled Corporations earlier recommended the privatization of IBC-13 because its functions duplicate or overlap with that of government-owned PTV 4 network.
https://business.inquirer.net/222034/chavit-singson-eyes-ibc-network
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It's Not Like It's a Secret
The work It's Not Like It's a Secret represents a distinct intellectual or artistic creation found in Merrimack Valley Library Consortium. This resource is a combination of several types including: Work, Audio, Musical, Music.
The Resource It's Not Like It's a Secret
Sugiura, Misa
Woo Zeller, Emily
"Well-paced, brimming with drama, and utterly vital."—Kirkus (starred review)This charming and bittersweet coming-of-age story featuring two girls of color falling in love is part To All the Boys I've Loved Before and part Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda. Winner of the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature!Sixteen-year-old Sana Kiyohara has too many secrets. Some are small, like how it bothers her when her friends don't invite her to parties. Some are big, like the fact that her father may be having an affair. And then there's the one that she can barely even admit to herself—the one about how she might have a crush on her best friend.When Sana and her family move to California, she begins to wonder if it's finally time for some honesty, especially after she meets Jamie Ramirez. Jamie is beautiful and smart and unlike anyone Sana's ever known. There are just a few problems: Sana's new friends don't trust Jamie's crowd; Jamie's friends clearly don't want her around anyway; and a sweet guy named Caleb seems to have more-than-friendly feelings for her. Meanwhile, her dad's affair is becoming too obvious to ignore.Sana always figured that the hardest thing would be to tell people that she wants to date a girl, but as she quickly learns, telling the truth is easy...what comes after it, though, is a whole lot more complicated
Context of It's Not Like It's a Secret
<div class="citation" vocab="http://schema.org/"><i class="fa fa-external-link-square fa-fw"></i> Data from <span resource="http://link.mvlc.org/resource/rtDCkBQItxk/" typeof="CreativeWork http://bibfra.me/vocab/lite/Work"><span property="name http://bibfra.me/vocab/lite/label"><a href="http://link.mvlc.org/resource/rtDCkBQItxk/">It's Not Like It's a Secret</a></span> - <span property="potentialAction" typeOf="OrganizeAction"><span property="agent" typeof="LibrarySystem http://library.link/vocab/LibrarySystem" resource="http://link.mvlc.org/"><span property="name http://bibfra.me/vocab/lite/label"><a property="url" href="http://link.mvlc.org/">Merrimack Valley Library Consortium</a></span></span></span></span></div>
Data Citation of the Work It's Not Like It's a Secret
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Ka`u News Briefs April 3, 2013
Ka`u CDP draft materials outline strategies to manage Ka`u's natural and cultural resources. Photo from Ka`u CDP
CONSERVATION OF WATER is what the county Department of Water Supply wants Ocean View residents and businesses to do as it troubleshoots new problems with the community’s deep well potable water supply system. Commercial water spigots are turned off at Ocean View, but residents are allowed to use the public spigots for drinking water only. According to a statement from DWS, a contractor will be brought in to pull the pump and fix the problem. Problems with the system were discovered Monday afternoon. Commercial water truckers can use the standpipes in Na`alehu and Ho`okena to fill their tankers for delivery to homes and businesses. For more information, cll Daryl Ikeda at 961-8790.
Kyra Phoebe Michiko Gomes practices for performances of the National
Anthem and Hawai`i Ponoi at the Merrie Monarch Festival.
KA`U CONNECTIONS to this year’s Merrie Monarch Festival are growing. Kyra Phoebe Michiko Gomes, the nine-year-old granddaughter of Phoebe and Bobby Gomes, of Pahala, is the chosen singer of the National Anthem and Hawai`i Ponoi tonight at the opening of the Merrie Monarch Festival’s Ho`oike and the opening of each night’s competition, from Miss Aloha Hula Thursday to the traditional and modern men’s and women’s hula competitions Friday and Saturday.
She will also perform Saturday at 11 a.m. at Hilo Civic Auditorium. The event is open to the public.
Kyra is the daughter of Wendy and Jeffrey Gomes. The festival is televised and online through KFVE.
TRANSIENT ACCOMMODATIONS TAXES, which amount to 9.25 percent of the rate charged by the state for every hotel, bed-and-breakfast and vacation rental accommodation, is a major funder of the county. Mayor Billy Kenoi said yesterday that he doesn’t want the county’s portion whittled away by the state. Addressing the Kona-Kohala Chamber of Commerce, the mayor pointed out that the county receives approximately $17.5 million a year, and even though the visitor count is rising with more accommodations rented at higher rates, the state isn’t offering up more to the counties. Without the extra income from the visitor tax, which can pay for improving parks, roads and other public places used by visitors, the burden will fall on the local taxpayer. The mayor also objected to a proposed tax on utility franchises. “We’re asking the state to look elsewhere for revenue. You’re balancing the budget on the backs of county residents,” said Kenoi, according to a report in this morning’s West Hawai`i Today. See www.west-hawaiitoday.com.
A 3.1 earthquake occurred in Ka`u at 9:28 a.m.
SOLVING THE GARBAGE PROBLEM is a goal that Mayor Billy Kenoi expressed yesterday at his talk for the Kona-Kohala Chamber of Commerce. He said he sees waste reduction as a major way to handle the garbage problem and mentioned the H-Power project on O`ahu turning waste into energy.
A 3.1 EARTHQUAKE was felt in Ka`u this morning, the rumblings concentrated between Pahala and Volcano as the epicenter was near `Ainapo, mauka of Hwy 11, nine miles west of the summit of Kilauea volcano. No damage reported.
CIVIL DEFENSE SIRENS blared throughout Ka`u and across the island yesterday, but the warning sounded only an equipment error during testing and repairs. A message saying there was no real threat was soon texted to those signed up for Civil Defense alerts.
Mayor Billy Kenoi talked to "Uncle Abel" Simeona Lui last year about
the county planning to protect Kawa. Lui was evicted from Kawa last
October and has made camp in Hilo. Photo from Big Island Video News
ABEL SIMEONA LUI, who lived near the Ka`u Coast at Kawa for some 20 years, has set up camp and taro plantings in Hilo. According to a Tom Callis story in this morning’s Hawai`i Tribune Herald, “Time and the state’s patience may be running short for the small group of Hawaiian sovereignty activists who have symbolically reclaimed a corner of the Wailoa River Sate Recreation for the kingdom.” The story says the “grow-in” started Jan. 17 on the 120th anniversary of the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom. It reports “Uncle Abel” sleeping in a tarp tent to oversee 14 rows of kalo plantings, which the sovereignty group calls its Kanaka Garden, the story says.
Lui told the reporter, “The food is for the people. To me, if they want to take it back, who is going to feed all the people we have now?” The story reported the group Aloha Uprising and its leader Gene Tamashiro, who supports Lui’s efforts, saying they will give away the taro grown there and that they received word that the state Department of Land & Natural Resources may soon attempt to evict the group.
Aloha Uprising on its website says the group is “trying to do something meaningful about: pono self-reliance; energy independence; strong, diversified local economy; food security through national organic farming; government accountability; media freedom and home rule with aloha.”
FOUR BILLS CALLING FOR IMPROVEMENTS to Kahuku Park in Ocean View unanimously passed their first reading in County Council last Thursday. Council Member Brenda Ford introduced the bills that break improvements down into phases.
Phase 1 lists water system improvements to address public health and safety relating to water for drinking, irrigation and an auxiliary source of potable water in a disaster).
Phase 2 addresses improvements related to Americans with Disabilities Act and seeks $600,000 for installation of ramps to the pavilion and ball field.
Phase 3, budgeted at $250,000, would add, replace, improve and repair children’s playground equipment, regulation matting, a gazebo and BBQ apparatus.
Phase 4 calls for construction of a community center, gymnasium, restrooms, certified kitchen, storage for Civil Defense supplies and a second water reservoir to serve the community center. Funding for this $5,100,000-phase as well as the other phases would be provided from general obligation bonds, capital projects fund and/or other sources.
Another bill for Phase 5 passed the Finance Committee unanimously last Wednesday. It calls for $100,000 for grading to provide an additional area to the park for future use.
Ka`u CDP calls for policy maps to link land use policies and conservation
strategies to specific landscapes.
DRAFT MATERIALS FOR KA`U Community Development Plan, which were released yesterday, detail types of strategies for managing Ka`u’s natural and cultural resources. The CDP employs four complimentary and sometimes overlapping types of core strategies for managing natural and cultural resources:
One strategy is to establish policy with maps and statements related to land use, watersheds and natural features, public improvement priorities, government services, and public re/development. Policy maps link land use policies and conservation strategies to specific landscapes. For example, a map showing urban growth boundaries identifies areas to be protected for agriculture and areas where growth will be encouraged.
Another strategy is to recommend advocacy with federal and state policy makers and agencies for policies, regulations, incentives, programs, and action.
Another third strategy is to detail community-based, collaborative resource management, including research, place-based planning and program design and program implementation. The draft CDP recommends community-based management plans to assure that human activity doesn’t degrade the quality of Ka`u’s unique natural and cultural landscape; to protect, restore, and enhance ecosystems, including mauka forests and the shorelines, while assuring responsible access for residents and for visitors; and to protect, restore, and enhance Ka`u’s unique cultural assets, including archeological and historic sites and historic buildings.
The draft CDP also calls for identification of easement and acquisition priorities, either by fee simple ownership or through conservation easements. It lists criteria for such acquisitions: level of community support; identified management and maintenance partners; benefit to the general public; urgency; special opportunity for acquisition exists (e.g., special funding is available, landowner willing, etc.); resources can be leveraged through partnerships with other government, private, or nonprofit entities; land or property entitlements are available for acquisition.
Draft Ka`u CDP documents are available at hawaiicountycdp.info/kau-cdp.
Kenneth Makuakane performs tomorrow on Kilauea
Visitor Center's lanai. Photo from NPS
HAWAI`I VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK and Volcano Art Center continue their celebration of the 50th annual Merrie Monarch Festival with arts and crafts this week.
Tomorrow on Kilauea Visitor Center lanai from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Lehua Hauanio shares traditional lei making techniques. Ku`uleimomi Makuakane-Salave`a shares the art of kapa making. Helene Hayselden demonstrates making a feather kahili. Na Hoku Hanohano Award-winning singer, songwriter and producer Kenneth Makuakane plays original songs, and park ranger Adrian Boone and volunteer Ed Shiinoki teach participants to create and play nose flutes.
Tomorrow from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Volcano Art Center Gallery, Caren Loebel-Fried, illustrator of legends and myths of Hawai`i, signs books and prints including her hula-themed works. She also conducts a demonstration of her process and has pull prints and both original and giclee images available for purchase.
The events are free, and park entrance fees apply.
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Board Terms and Positions
AAPA
Events | CME
Past Symposium Materials
PANRE
AAPA Resources
NCCPA CME Requirements
PA of the Year Nomination Form
2020 Lobby Day
Lobbying Faqs & Tips
Legislative Timeline
Prescriptive Authority
Advocacy Fund Donations
KY Statutes & Regulations
Kentucky Resources
About Physician Assistants
Kentucky PA Programs
Student Representatives
PA Education Association
Student Corner Submission
Physicians | PAs
Physicians and PAs
PA Scope of Practice
Hiring a PA
What do physicians think about physician assistants?
Most physicians who have worked with physician assistants like having PAs on staff. The American Medical Association, the American College of Surgeons, the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American College of Physicians, and other national medical organizations support the physician assistant profession by actively supporting the PA certifying commission and the PA program accrediting agency.
Studies done by the Federal Government have shown that PAs, working with the supervision of physicians, provide care that is comparable to physician care. The Eighth Report to the President and Congress on the Status of Health Personnel in the United States (released in 1992) states, "Physician assistants have demonstrated their clinical effectiveness both in terms of quality of care and patient acceptance."
What is the working relationship between a physician and a physician assistant?
The relationship between a PA and the supervising physician is one of mutual trust and respect. The physician assistant is a representative of the physician, treating the patient in the style and manner developed and directed by the supervising physician. The physician and PA practice as members of a medical team. In 1995, the American Medical Association developed suggested guidelines for how physicians and PAs should work as a team in the delivery of medical care.
Download a presentation entitled "What You Need to Know" that provides additional background on the physician - physician assistant relationship.
What's the difference between a PA and a physician?
Physician assistants are educated in the "medical model"; in some schools they attend many of the same classes as medical students.
One of the main differences between PA education and physician education is not the core content of the curriculum, but the amount of time spent in formal education. In addition to time in school, physicians are required to do an internship, and the majority also complete a residency in a specialty following that. PAs do not have to undertake an internship or residency.
A physician has complete responsibility for the care of the patient. PAs share that responsibility with the supervising physicians.
Kentucky Academy of Physician Assistants
446 East High Street, Suite 10, Lexington, KY 40507
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The right to liberty and security
FSB abduct & threaten to bury Crimean Tatar alive to force false testimony
Jailed & refused urgently needed medical care for not collaborating with FSB
Russia turns to closed courts for political prisoners in occupied Crimea
From torture to solitary confinement for a letter in Crimean Tatar
Russia Invades Crimea, Then Charges Ukrainians with ‘Violent Seizure of Power’
Russia’s terror grip on Crimea tightens with new ruling on 4 Crimean Tatar political prisoners
A young Crimean Tatar was effectively abducted on Wednesday by Russian FSB officers who took him to a field and threatened to bury him if he refused to testify against 6 men, including a prominent human rights activist, facing gravely flawed charges. Emil Mukhteremov refused and was thankfully released after several hours, with the FSB head now denying any of this, despite a witness who was with him when the FSB arrived.
The news sped swiftly through social networks early on March 15 that Emil Mukhteremov had been taken away by four men in plain clothes who identified themselves as from the Russian FSB. Mukhteremov had just come out of a bank with another person and got into their car when the four men drove up. The men took him from the car and drove him away. He was first taken to the FSB department in Feodosia. His arrival there was not recorded, no protocols were drawn up, nor was he questioned.
He appears to have then been taken about 80 kilometres from Feodosia, into an open field where they told him to dig a hole, for them to bury him. They also tried to put something into his pocket.
The aim appears to have been to get him to appear as a ‘witness’ in the trial of 6 men who are in indefinite custody accused of involvement in Hizb ut-Tahrir. This totally peaceful organization is legal in Ukraine and most countries, and Russia has never provided adequate reasons for banning it.
Unsurprisingly, since there is no reason to believe that any of the men are in fact involved in it, Mukhteremov had nothing to say and courageously rejected the men’s demand. Possibly because there had been a witness to his ‘detention’, the FSB officers gave up and simply left him in the field.
KrymSOS later tried to get an explanation from the head of the Feodosia FSB. He denied the information and refused to comment on his staff’s actions.
Edem Semedlyaev, one of the lawyers representing the 6 imprisoned men, has confirmed the information about Mukhteremov’s treatment and says that this is how the FSB are trying to get ‘witnesses’ for the case.
19 Crimean Muslims, most of them Crimean Tatar, are in detention on spurious charges of involvement in an organization Ukraine has never banned.
Four men from Yalta: human rights activist Emir-Usein Kuku, Muslim Aliev; Vadim Siruk and Enver Bekirov were arrested on Feb 11, 2016, after armed and masked men burst into several homes in the early morning, terrifying children who had been fast asleep. Nothing ‘incriminating’ was found in any of the searches, yet the men were taken away in handcuffs and remain imprisoned, facing long sentences.
In all of Russia’s ‘Hizb ut-Tahrir prosecutions, men are charged either with Article 205 § 2 (involvement in a so-called terrorist group) or 205 § 2 for allegedly belonging to an organization which is totally legal in Ukraine. In Russia there appears to be no need even for proof of involvement since convictions are effectively guaranteed, with anonymous ‘witnesses’ who can, in secret, testify that a defendant tried to ‘recruit’ them, being quite sufficient. In occupied Crimea, the men have proper lawyers who are insisting on being shown evidence and there is none.
Two young men – Refat Alimov and Arsen Dzhepparov – were arrested in April 2016. It is widely believed that the FSB may have been hoping that two much younger men would prove more malleable and could be ‘persuaded’ to give false testimony against the others. They were mistaken and all six men are refusing to give testimony or in any way cooperate with the investigators.
Russia recently added a new charge of ‘attempting violent seizure of power in Russia’ with this carrying a near-guaranteed increase in sentence of from 12 to 20 years. There are no rational grounds for suddenly adding these new charges, and certainly no new ‘evidence’
A tradition of abduction
The treatment of Mukhteremov on Wednesday is ominously reminiscent of an apparent abduction attempt against Emir-Usein Kuku in April 2015, 10 months before his arrest.
Kuku became involved in human rights monitoring for the Crimean Contact Group on Human Rights in late 2014 after the first abductions and disappearances of young Crimean Tatars in the months after Russia’s invasion and annexation of Crimea.
On April 20, 2015 two men attacked him and were probably planning to abduct him. The plan was foiled when Kuku managed to shout and attract attention. After a crowd gathered, the assailants claimed that they were ‘police’. Soon afterwards a white van drove up. At least four masked men in full military gear with machine guns jumped out and demanded that the crowd disperse. They violently forced Kuku into the van, and drove off, followed by some of those who’d stopped to help Kuku and feared he was being abducted.
In the van, they proceeded to beat him, and he heard one of them on the phone tell somebody that they were being followed and needed to change cars. The masked men were angry that he had attracted a crowd, and kept consulting with somebody by telephone about what to do. It seems at that point that the plan changed, and they suddenly announced that they needed to carry out a search of his home.
It was only after they had driven into his courtyard that Alexander Kompaneitsev, a former Ukrainian SBU officer and turncoat, now working for the Russian FSB, appeared and stated that they were carrying out a search in accordance with a court warrant.
The ‘officers’ removed Kuku’s laptop, and his wife’s, a telephone and seven religious books which were not on Russia’s list of prohibited literature. Kuku made fully justified, though futile, attempts to get an investigation carried out into his treatment.
In December 2015, he was threatened with ‘extremism’ charges over material posted on his his Facebook page. There was no mention then of Hizb ut-Tahrir, yet just two months later, on Feb 11, 2016, he was arrested after an armed search which Kompaneitsev took part in.
This is the case that Mukhteremov was told he must appear as ‘witness’ in – or dig his own grave.
See Russia invades Crimea then jails Crimean Tatars, other Ukrainians for ‘terrorism’ and more information about particular prisoners imprisoned on so-called Hizb ut-Tahrir charges
2015 Nuri Primov; Ferat Saifullaev; Rustem Vaitov; and Ruslan Zeitullaev
Feb 2016 Emir-Usein Kuku (a human rights activist); Muslim Aliev; Envir Bekirov and Vadim Siruk
April 2016 Arsen Dzhepparov and Refat Alimov
May 2016 Enver Mamutov, Rustem Abiltarov, Remzi Memetov and Zevri Abseitov
Oct 2016 Teymur Abdullaev; Uzeir Abdullaev; Emil Dzhemadenov; Aider Saledinov Rustem Ismailov
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Music Incentive
Blade Studios, Shreveport
The Sound Recording Program, statutorily known as Sound Recording Investor Tax Credit, provides an 18% tax credit for sound recording projects made in the State of Louisiana. Louisiana also offers some of the world's finest talent and great recording studios to complement the attractive financial benefits of recording in state. Sound recording investor tax credits are issued as rebates. The Sound Recording Investor Program provides:
A project based production credit of 18% for eligible production expenditures.
Program is subject to a cap of $2.16 million per year. Projects are subject to a $100,000 cap, per year.
The program incentivizes sound recording, defined as a recording of music, poetry or spoken-word performance made in Louisiana and produced in Louisiana in whole or in part. A $25,000 minimum in expenditures is required, with a $10,000 minimum expenditure requirement for Louisiana residents.
Qualifying sound recordings include:
Recording, tracking and overdubbing of music and vocal performances
Recording of film scores
Recording of spoken word performance
Recording of live musical performances
Eligible expenditures:
Studio rental fees and associated fixed costs
Artist and musician salaries directly related to a certified recording project
Producer fees directly related to a certified recording project
Mixing and mastering of a recording made in whole or in part in the State of Louisiana
Instrument and equipment rental
Hotel, airfare (when booked through a Louisiana Travel Agent), and catering expenditures directly related to a certified recording project
Non-eligible expenditures:
Mixing, mastering or any post-production expenditures for projects not originally recorded in Louisiana are considered non qualifying
Producer fees in excess of 20% of the entire project budget are considered non-qualifying
Studio rental fees may be limited if they are found to be in excess of fair market value
Expenditures associated with related party transactions may be limited as detailed in cost report guidelines
All costs associated with duplication, packaging, marketing and distribution are non-qualifying
Program Rules:
All incentive program rules are in the Louisiana Administrative Code maintained by the Office of the State Register.
View the Sound Recording Investor Tax Credit Statutes
View the Sound Recording Investor Tax Credit Rules
Choose Title 61, Revenue and Taxation
Go to Part 1, Chapter 65
Download Application.
Initial Certification (60-90 business days)
Complete and submit the application and fee in its entirety to OEID. Projects under $50,000 are not subject to an application fee.
Once the application is complete, the project is evaluated for eligibility. Applicants to the sound recording production program must provide detailed accounting and verification of expenditures relating to All-In Producer Deals. Please refer to the producer fee policy notice.
Prior to the issuance of the initial certification letter, an expenditure verification report deposit shall be submitted accordingly to the following schedule.
Production Size Deposit Amount
$10,000 - $24,999.99 $750
$25,000 - $49,999.99 $1,500
$100,000 – Above $3,750
If OEID determines that the project meets eligibility requirements of the statute and program rules, OEID issues an Initial Certification for that project or QMC.
The applicant signs the Initial Certification letter and returns it to OEID.
Final Certification (60-90 business days)
Upon project completion, the applicant must submit to OEID a cost report prepared by an independent CPA assigned by OEID to perform the cost report.
Upon receiving the cost report/audit, OEID reviews the report and may request additional supporting documentation.
After all supporting documentation is received and approved, OEID issues a Final Certification letter, confirming the certified amount that was spent in state and the certified amount of the tax credit the applicant will receive as a rebate.
Issuance of Tax Credit (30-45 business days)
Upon Final Certification, OEID submits the Final Certification letter to the Louisiana Department of Revenue (LDR) on behalf of the investor who earned the tax credit.
LDR may require the investor to submit additional information.
LDR issues tax credit to investor as a rebate.
Eligibility Scenarios
Q: The Rolling Stones are recording a new album in London, New York and New Orleans. Does this project qualify?
A: Partially. The expenditures made in Louisiana would qualify, but the expenditures made in London and New York would not.
Q: The Rolling Stones recorded a new album in London and New York and are spending a month in New Orleans mixing and mastering the album. Does this project qualify?
A: NO. Mixing and mastering costs only qualify if the work is performed on a recording originally made in Louisiana.
Q: I am considering building a new recording studio in Louisiana. Does the sound recording investor tax credit apply to my project?
Q: How does this benefit my recording studio?
A: If you are a studio owner, you can market the tax credit as an incentive for talent to come to Louisiana or stay in Louisiana to record their album. They will get the tax credit, but you will get the business because the talent can get an up to 18% return on their investment.
Q: What is the monetary value of the tax credit?
A: The tax credit is up to 18% of the base investment and is issued as a rebate. A rebate is a direct payment to the applicant from the Louisiana Department of Revenue. It is not necessary to establish taxable liability with Louisiana Department of Revenue to receive the rebate, but an applicant must have a Louisiana Tax ID in order to receive the rebate.
Q: What is considered as base investment for the purposes of computing the tax credit?
A: Base investment is money spent in Louisiana that is directly related to the sound recording production project.
Q: What does and does not qualify for the sound recording investor tax credit?
A: The only expenses that will qualify for the tax credit are those that are directly related to the production of a sound recording. For a production, qualifying expenses include, but are not limited to: travel (if purchased through a Louisiana travel agent), studio rental and fees, producer fee, composer fee, musicians' fees, and any other costs directly related to production. Non-qualifying expenses include, but are not limited to: distribution, marketing, promotion, advertising, expenses incurred but not paid, expenses paid to a business that is not located in the State of Louisiana, and any costs not directly related to the production.
Q: What is a distribution plan?
A: A distribution plan will illustrate how an applicant plans to distribute a sound recording once it is finished. The distribution plan needs to be as detailed as possible. Will it go on sale at stores, over the Internet, through a distribution company, etc.?
Q: What is a preliminary budget?
A: The preliminary budget should outline the anticipated sound recording production expenditures for the project.
Q: What is a complete application?
A: A complete application is one that is filled out entirely with all supporting documentation and requested information and is submitted to OEID. Only complete applications will be able to proceed with the certification process.
Q: What is the maximum tax credit amount my project can receive?
A: $100,000
Q: Can this incentive be used in combination with other LED incentives?
A: LED has many business incentives, some of which may be combined with the sound recording investor tax credit. Claiming identical expenditures for more than one LED incentive program is prohibited.
Q: I started spending money in Louisiana before I received an Initial Certification. Can I still claim what I have spent?
A: YES. As long as a company can claim their first expenditure on a project 12 months prior to the date their project is approved (initially certified) for the program.
Q: Is there an application fee?
A: YES. Effective July 1, 2015, an application fee of 0.005 x proposed tax benefit will be assessed to an applicant. The minimum fee is $500 and the maximum fee is $15,000. Projects under $50,000 are not subject to the fee.
Q: When will I know if my project qualifies?
A: As soon as we have had a chance to review and clear up any outstanding issues in the application (which we strive to complete as quickly as possible), we issue an Initial Certification that acknowledges a project's applicable expenditures based on those proposed in the application.
Q: When do I receive my tax credit?
A: Tax credits are issued as rebates following a project's Final Certification.
Complete the application form online and submit expenditure verification report deposit.
If approved, Louisiana Entertainment issues Initial Certification.
Track production project's expenses.
An expenditure report is performed by an independent CPA selected by Louisiana Entertainment.
If approved, Louisiana Entertainment issues Final Certification for the amount of the tax credit.
Louisiana Department of Revenue issues a rebate check.
LACEY M. CHATAIGNIER
Division Director, Live Performance & Music Industry Development
Louisiana is known as the birthplace of American music. State-of-the-art recording studios, an 18% production rebate and highly-skilled musicians combined with a strong musical history create an unrivaled opportunity to produce your next award-winning album.
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Al-Si Alloy Raw Materials
Electronic Packages
Al-Si Alloy Auto Parts
Super High Strength Aluminum Alloys
Controlled Expansion(CE) Al-Si Alloys Raw Materials
Aerospace/Defense Industry
[Process Technology] Detailed Explanation Of Standards For Surface Treatment Of Industrial Aluminum Profiles
- Aug 09, 2019-
There are several methods for surface treatment of industrial aluminum profiles, such as anodizing, powder coating, electrophoresis, etc. No matter which method is used, a protective film is formed on the surface of the aluminum profile. To judge whether the surface treatment of the industrial aluminum profile is up to standard, That is, it is judged whether the thickness of the oxide film is up to standard. The following small series will explain to you the thickness standard of oxide film obtained by each white surface treatment method.
One is anodizing.
The surface of the aluminum profile has a thick oxide film and is mainly divided into four grades according to the use requirements: AA10, AA15, AA20, and AA25, that is, the average thickness of the surface film thickness of the aluminum alloy profile is 10 μm, 15 μm, 20 μm, and 25 μm, respectively. 8 μm, 12 μm, 16 μm, 20 μm.
The second is powder coating.
The film thickness of the powder coating surface coating is generally not graded, and the average film thickness is usually not less than 40 μm and the partial thickness is not less than 35 μm.
The third is electrophoretic surface treatment.
Electrophoretic surface film thickness is generally divided into three grades: A, B, and S.
Class A: 12μm oxide film + 9μm electrophoresis film, the composite film thickness is not less than 21μm.
Grade B: 9μm oxide film + 7μm electrophoresis film, the composite film thickness is not less than 16μm.
S grade: 6μm oxide film + 15μm electrophoresis film, the composite film thickness is not less than 21μm.
Previous: Effect Of Impurities In Aluminum On Properties
Next: Increase The Output Of Extruded Aluminum Profiles By Temperature Control
No.13, Baofu Road, Tianbao Industrial District, Baodi, Tianjin, China
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http://m.alsi-alloys.com/
Copyright © Tianjin Baienwei New Material Technology Co.,Ltd All rights reserved.
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Feds Expand Crackdown on Secret Real Estate Deals That Maybe Consider Money Laundering in Miami
Home Miami-Dade’s Biggest Developer Delays Construction of Downtown Condo Tower
“The market is slower,” said Carlos Rosso, president of Related’s condo division. “The dollar has appreciated a lot against Latin American currencies.”
Groundbreaking was originally set for 2017. Rosso said he wasn’t sure yet how long the project at 1440 Biscayne Blvd. would be delayed. “Do you have a crystal ball?” he asked.
A cascade of foreign buyers pushed Miami real estate into overdrive after the recession but has since dried up. Rosso says the slowdown doesn’t worry him and sales will continue at Auberge.
“We have to be a little more patient with this market,” he said. “I think it’s very good for all of us that the market takes a breather.”
Land prices have escalated, leading to fights over prime properties. And a glut of inventory means existing condo prices in downtown Miami fell for the first time in five years.
The Real Deal first reported the delay at Auberge, the first-phase of a three-tower development.
The project has pre-sold 15 percent of its units, according to a second quarter report from brokerage International Sales Group. Developers generally need to sell two-thirds of their units before they start building.
In July, Bloomberg reported that Related CEO and chairman Jorge Pérez was making plans for his sons to take over the company. His eldest, Jon Paul, was put in charge of marketing for Auberge.
Slumping sales across the market should come as no surprise given the lack of foreign buyers, said analyst Tony Graziano, who authors regular reports on the condo market for Miami’s Downtown Development Authority.
Other developers have put projects on hold, including Boulevard 57 in Miami’s Morningside neighborhood.
“Bank financing for development in Miami right now is dicey,” Graziano said. “It’s harder for banks to do their due diligence because there’s no way to accurately forecast how many foreign buyers will come.”
He added that smaller, boutique projects may have a better chance of hitting sales targets.
The federal government has also put pressure on buyers. Over the last year, it handed down new disclosure rules for certain kinds of cash home deals in Miami, along with other luxury markets around the country including New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Regulators suspect luxe properties are being used to launder money.
Community Manager, August 26, 2016
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Trace: • pathophysiology_of_lymphedema
pathophysiology_of_lymphedema
Pathophysiology of Lymphedema
Primary Lymphedema: A Review of Pathophysiology, Diagnosis & Management
An Overview of Lymphedema
Swollen lower limb2: Lymphoedema
Lymphedema People Online Support Groups
LYMPHEDEMA PEOPLE RELATED MEDICAL CONDITIONS BLOGS AND WEBSITES
MEDICAL GLOSSARIES
Understanding Lymphedema Pathophysiology and Treatment
By: Joachim E. Suther
Lymphedema, a protein rich swelling which usually affects the extremities, is a very common condition worldwide. Complete Decongestive Physiotherapy is done successfully in Europe for decades in the treatment of primary and secondary Lymphedema and is now becoming widely recognized in the U.S.
Joachim E. Zuther
Chronic peripheral lymphedema, an accumulation of protein rich fluid in the superficial tissues, is a very common and serious condition with significant consequences for the patient.
One of the main reasons for the development of lymphedema are surgical interventions in combination with lymph node dissections, such as mastectomy or lumpectomy due to breast cancer, which is the number one cause for this disease in the U.S.
Although reliable statistics on the overall incidence of lymphedema are not available, conservative numbers estimate the incidence of secondary upper extremity lymphedema to be around 2.5 million. In addition to that there is a large number of patients suffering from primary lymphedema, which usually affects the lower extremities and is caused by congenital malformations of the lymphatic system.
Anatomy and Physiology of the Lymphatic System
Unlike the blood system the lymphatic system works according to the one way principle, its main purpose is to transport “waste materials” from the interstitial tissues back into the blood system.
These materials, also called lymphatic loads, consist of protein, water, cells and fat, are drained by the various vascular structures of the lymphatic system and filtered by a large number of regional and central lymph nodes before they enter the venous system. Part of these waste materials are also cell products and cell residues including foreign materials.
Initial lymphatic system: Lymph vessels start in almost every tissue as lymph capillaries. These initial lymphatics are made up of endothelial cells which overlap each other. Capillaries do not have a continuous connection like blood capillary endothelial cells do. A surrounding fiber net, anchoring filaments, arranged around the lymph capillaries, enables these small vessels to stay open, even under high tissue pressure.
Lymph capillaries collect lymphatic loads from the interstitial areas and gradually join together into bigger lymph vessels, so-called precollectors which then drain into collectors.
Collectors: One segment of a lymph collector is called lymph angion. Contractions of smooth muscles situated in each lymph angion, generate the propulsive force of the lymph flow.
The pumping is aided by a large number of valves located inside the collectors which allow the lymph flow in only one direction. After passing a large number of lymph nodes, where foreign substances like bacteria are filtered out and necessary immune reactions are activated, the lymph fluid empties into the venous system, mainly via the thoracic duct.
The thoracic duct is the largest lymph vessel of the body. Under physiological conditions approximately 1-2 liters of lymph fluid drain in 24 hours via the thoracic duct into the left venous angle, formed by the left internal jugular and the left subclavian vein.
Starling's equilibrium: The amount of water and protein transported via the lymphatic system is depending on forces being active in the area of the blood capillaries.
Starling's equilibrium describes the balance of capillary filtration and capillary reabsorption. The transport of fluid through the membrane of blood capillaries depends on four variables:
1. blood capillary pressure (BCP) 2. colloidosmotic pressure (COP) of the plasma proteins 3. colloidosmotic pressure (COP) of the proteins located in the interstitial tissue 4. tissue pressure (TP)
Ultrafiltration:
blood [[glossary:capillaries|capillary]] pressure > COP of plasma proteins
Reabsorption:
blood capillary pressure < COP of [[glossary:plasma|plasma]] proteins
Under physiological conditions 10-15% of the ultrafiltrate remains in the interstitial tissues and is then drained by the lymphatic system.
Shifting of Starling's equilibrium towards an increase in ultrafiltration, e.g. increased blood capillary pressure (inflammation, venous hypertension) or decreased colloidosmotic pressure (hypoproteinemia), can cause an increased amount of water and proteins, thus creating a higher burden on the lymphatic system. A healthy lymphatic system is, for some time, able to prevent the onset of edema, under normal conditions the transport capacity (TC) of the lymphatic system is approximately 10 times higher than the physiological amount of the lymphatic loads (LL) of water and protein ⇒ functional reserve (FR) of the lymphatic system.
Pathophysiology of Lymphedema:
As long as the lymphatic loads remains lower than the transport capacity of the lymphatic system, the lymphatic compensation is successful.
If the amount of water and protein exceeds the transport capacity, edema will occur. This condition is called dynamic insufficiency of the lymphatic system, the lymph vessels are intact but overwhelmed. The result is an accumulation of fluid in the tissue which is usually treated successfully with elevation of the affected limbs, compression and decongestive exercises.
Lymphedema is caused by a mechanical insufficiency, or low-volume insufficiency of the lymphatic system.
In this case the transport capacity of the lymphatic system drops below the physiological level of the lymphatic loads of water and protein, that means the lymphatic system is not able to manage its main purpose which is to clear the interstitial spaces from excess water, protein and other chemical, organic and inorganic cell products.
The reasons for mechanical insufficiencies are various and mainly caused by surgery, radiation, trauma or inflammation.
Accumulation of high protein fluid is the result which is then recognized as lymphedema or lymphostatic edema.
Classification of Lymphedema:
Secondary Primary
1.Caused by lymph node dissections, 1.caused by malformations of the e.g. axilla, groin, pelvis or neck, lymphatic system (hyperplasia, radiation of lymph nodes, trauma or hypoplasia, aplasia or sclerosis infection ofthe lymphatic system. of lymph nodes)
2.Affects extremities, genitalia, 2.Can be present at birth (congenital abdomen or the face a lymph-edema), develop around the (lymphedema precox) or after age of puberty the age of 35 (lymphedema tardum)
Any lymphedema left untreated gradually worsens and will have significant consequences.The first stage of lymphedema (reversible stage) is characterized by a smooth texture of the tissue, the lymphedema is ”pitting” and may vanish more or less over night. If protein rich edema persists, the congested protein molecules are replaced by fibrotic tissue, i.e. the lymphedema becomes harder (stage II) and in addition to that patients are prone to developing frequent infections which additionally worsen the condition. Typical for the third stage of lymphedema, lymphostatic elephantiasis, is an extreme increase of the swelling combined with skin changes, loss of function and other complications.
Since lymphedema, primary or secondary, is a progressive condition, treatment should begin as early as possible. The goal of the treatment is to remove the excess lymphatic loads of water and protein and to restore the disturbed equilibrium in the interstitial tissues of the affected area.
Treatment of Lymphedema with Complete Decongestive Physiotherapy:
Complete Decongestive Physiotherapy (CDP), done successfully in Europe for decades, is a non-invasive therapy with long lasting results. CDP, which now becomes widely recognized in the U.S., is superior to all other approaches to treat lymphedema (pumps, medication, surgery) and designed to reduce and to maintain the reduction of the swollen extremity.
At the end of the last century Winiwarter, professor of surgery, already described the basic steps of this therapy. The technique was improved in the 1930s by Vodder, a physical therapist from Denmark, who successfully treated lymphedema.
In the 1980s Foeldi considerably improved this therapy by developing a technique called Complete Decongestive Physiotherapy, which even in advanced stages of lymphedema shows remarkable results.
CDP is done in two phases. The first phase, intensive phase, lasts between two and four weeks (in extreme cases longer), treatments are done twice a day, five days a week. The goal of this phase is to decongest the swollen extremity to a normal or near normal size. Simultaneously the patient is instructed in techniques designed to maintain and even improve the condition after the intensive phase of the therapy.
The first phase is immediately followed by phase two, the maintenance and improvement phase which the patients continues at home.
For the safety of the patients and to achieve good results it is absolutely mandatory that the therapist is thoroughly trained in all components of CDP. Only certified MLD/CDP therapists have a complete understanding of the pathophysiology of lymphedema and its treatment.
CDP consists of four basic steps :
1. Manual Lymph Drainage 2. Compression Therapy 3. Meticulous Skin and Nail Care 4. Remedial Exercises
Manual Lymph Drainage is a gentle manual treatment technique which improves the activity of intact lymph vessels by mild mechanical stimuli. The goal of this treatment is to move excess lymphatic loads of water and protein into areas with still sufficient lymphatics.
Since the elastic fibers of the skin are destroyed during the course of lymphedema it is mandatory to apply sufficient compression to the affected area in order to prevent reaccumulation of fluid. Compression therapy in phase one is achieved by short-stretch bandages applied after each treatment. After the extremity is decongested the patient is fitted with a sufficient compression garment that needs to be worn during the daytime. At night the patient applies mild compression using bandages.
Before treatment can be started the skin has to be free of infections or fungal infections.
During the treatment it is mandatory to apply a low-pH lotion to maintain the moisture of the skin.
Remedial exercises performed by the patient wearing the compression bandage or garment aid the lymphokinetic effects of the joint and muscle pumps.
1. Marvin Boris, et al. Lymphedema Reduction By Noninvasive Complex Lymphedema Therapy Cornell University School of Medicine and Lymphedema Therapy. Woodbury, NY
2. M.Foeldi, S.Kubik Lehrbuch der Lymphologie Gustav Fischer Verlag, Germany 1992
3. L.Clodius, M.Foeldi Therapy For Lymphedema Today Inter. Angio., 3 1984
4. S.Kubik The Lymphatic System Springer, NY 1985
5. M.Foeldi, E.Foeldi Das Lymphoedem Gustav Fischer Verlag, Germany 1991
6. G.Bringezu, O.Schreiner Die Therapieform Manuelle Lymphdrainage Otto Haase Verlag, Germany 1987
7. R.Lerner, J.Petrek Lymphedema Diseases Of The Breast, Lippincott - Raven, 1996
8. J.R. Casley-Smith Lymphedema, The Poor and Benzo-Pyrones: Proposed Amendments To The Consensus Document Lymphology 29, 1996 137-140
9. E.Foeldi Preventions of Dermatolymphangioadenitis By Combined Physiotherapy Of The Swollen Arm After Treatment For Breast CancerLymphology 29, 1996 48-49
10. E.Foeldi, M.Foeldi, L.Clodius The Lymphedema Chaos: A Lancet Ann Plast Surg 22:505-515
http://www.naturalhealthweb.com/articles/Zuther.html
Family Physicians are key to treating developmental disorders
By Clare A. Green, DO
Abstract Lymphedema is the accumulation of lymph in the interstitial spaces caused by a fault in the lymphatic system. Failure of any part of the lymphatic system results in the accumulation of plasma proteins in the interstitial fluid,an increase in interstitial fluid colloid osmotic pressure and subsequent edema.
Primary lymphedema is caused by pathology affecting the lymphatics directly, rather than the lymphatics failing secondary to pathology of another organ system. The diagnosis of primary lymphedema is a diagnosis of exclusion, and many differential diagnoses must first be considered.
Lymphedema is associated with other anomalies of development and is a feature of several developmental syndromes. Primary lymphedema has a significant genetic inheritance pattern. The frequency at birth of those who will develop primary lymphedema is estimated to be about 1 in 6,000 with a sex ratio of about one male to three females.4
Imaging studies used to evaluate the lymphatic system include venography, lymphangiography and radio-isotopic tracers (lymphangioscintigraphy). Disease management is multifactorial, primarily focused on prevention, or slowing the rate of progression.
Patients must take an active role in controlling their disease by wearing the compression hosiery, frequently elevating the affected extremity, and following through with therapies recommended by their primary care physician. Drug therapy has not shown much benefit, and surgery is saved for extreme cases.
The Clinical Picture Lymphedema is defined as a swelling in some part of the body owing to a fault in the lymphatic system. Primary lymphedema is due to pathology affecting the lymphatics directly. The vast majority of patients complain of swelling of the lower limbs.
The swelling may be present in one or both legs and be present at birth or develop at any age afterwards, with a peak onset between the ages of 10 and 25 years. Lymphedema has a variable clinical onset, progress, and picture - it has a high incidence in females with an increased onset in the ages associated with the menarche and child bearing.
Despite the advances in technology and our knowledge of anatomy and physiology, the lymphatic system is almost as mysterious now as it was in the 1800s, when Milroy first described a family with lymphedema passing through six generations.6 Much of the pathophysiology discussed later is speculative, based on animal studies and theory.
Although there are centers that specialize in the treatment of lymphedema, most often it is diagnosed and managed by the primary care physician, along with a team of health care professionals. Primary lymphedema is a lifetime condition with no known medical cure.
The key to management is aggressive maintenance to slow disease progression. The maintenance, or preventative medicine,” is monitored by the patient’s primary care physician.
To give a complete overview of primary lymphedema, this paper will review the pathophysiology of the disease, the association with several developmental disorders, the genetic inheritance, and the management and treatment in clinical practice today.
Pathophysiology of Lymphedema Anatomy of the Lymphatic System The lymphatic system begins developing at approximately 20 weeks gestation, and continues to undergo changes until puberty. The three components of the lymphatic system are:
Organized lymph tissues the spleen, thymus, tonsils, liver, and visceral lymphoid tissues in the gastrointestinal and pulmonary systems.
Lymph channels perfusing all the tissues of the body, the channels are connected by lymph nodes. The channels begin as blind thinly walled tubes, lymphatic capillaries, which join to form capillary plexus that in turn form larger trunks. The trunks eventually drain into two main trunks that empty into the venous system in the cervicothoracic area, either the right lymphatic duct, or the thoracic duct.
Lymph fluid the substance that leaks out of the arterial capillaries, into the interstitium, and into the single-cell lymphatic vessels. Lymph fluid contains proteins, salts, water soluble fats, and clotting factors. Bacteria and smaller viruses are found in the peripheral lymph before filtration through a lymph node or one of the organized lymphoid tissues. The primary cells of lymph are lymphocytes.
The primary function of the lymphatic system is to clear the interstitial spaces of excess water, large molecules and particles and to subsequently transport them from the tissues back to the intravascular circulation. Starling’s hypothesis states that the exchange of water and small molecules across the capillary membrane is largely governed by the transmural capillary hydrostatic and colloid osmotic pressures. The colloid osmotic pressure is dependent on the relative impermeability of the capillary membrane to plasma proteins.
It has been known since 1896 that a proportion of the plasma proteins pass through the capillary wall but not all of it returns directly to the circulation.2 The concept of the lymphatic system as absorbing vessels, whose main function is to return to the bloodstream those protein molecules that fail to return via the venular capillaries, was first elaborated by Drinker in 1931; a concept that has been confirmed repeatedly with experiments using radio-active labeled plasma proteins.2
Iodine labeled albumin studies in man indicate a daily exchange between the intra and extravascular pools of 140% of the total body albumin. Failure of any part of the lymphatic system will inevitably result in the accumulation of plasma proteins in the interstitial fluid and therefore lead to an increase in interstitial fluid colloid osmotic pressure and the movement of more water into the interstitial space, i.e., edema.
Lymphedema is the accumulation of lymph in the interstitial spaces, principally of the subcutaneous fat, caused by a fault in the lymphatic system. Although there are many descriptive classification of the causes of lymphedema there is no classification based on the disordered physiology because the etiology of primary lymphedema remains obscure.
Between 1950 and 1960 Kinmonth introduced x-ray lymphangiography and subsequently devised a radiological classification based on 100 lymphographs.2 He described three radiological appearances:
No vessels visualized—which he called aplasia. True aplasia—no lymphatics—does occur but is very rare and likely only to be associated with those lymphedemas that are present at birth.
A reduced number of vessels visible–hypoplasia.
An increased number of dilated vessels visible—hyperplasia.
The mechanisms controlling the collection and passage of lymph, from the interstitial spaces to the blood system, remain largely unknown, however from the available research the various stages of lymph collection and transport can be discussed under the following descriptive functions:2
System Overload The capillary wall becomes more permeable in severe pathological conditions. Injury by trauma, heat, irradiation, and infections all cause edema secondary to increased capillary permeability. Venous congestion causes edema by preventing reabsorption in the venular capillaries. Provided the lymphatic pathways are normal this type of edema is eventually cleared, although this may take longer to resolve than the initial injury.
Inadequate Collection Like the venous system, the lymphatic vessels rely on unidirectional valves and exterior compressive forces to propel the fluid. The lymphatic terminal buds are in the tissues, the entry point for the extravascular fluid to enter the lymphatic system. It is hypothesized that when tissues are lax, the pores of the terminal buds are open to allow free flow inwards, and during tissue compression (caused by movement and exercise) the pores in the terminal segment are closed.
Work done by Guyton and Casley-Smith suggests that in lymphedema the minor changes of tissue pressure that effect the opening and closing of the pores are absent because the interstitial pressure is both postitive and relatively constant.2 The pores may be kept permanently closed by the increased tension in the filaments attached to the endothelial cells caused by increased tissue pressure and tissue fibrosis, a situation which will prevent their alternate opening and closing and so make the collection system inadequate or incompetent.
Abnormal Lymphatic Contractility The walls of all lymphatics, except the terminal segments, contain smooth muscle cells and nerves. Studies by Olsewski and Engeset (1979), suggest that there are rhythmic contractions of the lymphatics at rest and that lymph flow occurs during the waves of lymphatic contraction. They also claim that skeletal muscle contractions per se do not increase lymph flow but that muscular activity is associated with an increased number of intrinsic contractions.2
Autonomic Control The sympathetic nervous system plays an important role in controlling the rest of the vascular tree. In 1968 Browse showed that limb lymphatics contract in response to sympathetic nerve stimulation, so raising the possibility that lymphatic contractility and lymph propulsion may be under nervous control.2
Insufficient Lymphatics As confirmed by lymphangiography, the majority of patients with lymphedema have a reduced number of lymphatics. Whether the patient is born with this reduced number which manifests itself as lymphedema later in life or whether it reflects an acquired occlusion following some form of damage to the lymph vessels is often unclear. The reduced number of lymphatics are eventually inadequate, particularly following incidents which cause edema such as trauma or inflammation.
LymphNode Obstruction The two most obvious and well known examples of lymphatic obstruction are lymphedema following block dissection of nodes (as in breast cancer patients), and lymphedema caused by filarial tropical elephantiasis. Other studies have correlated non-filarial primary lymphedema to the deposition of silica particles from the soil, as well as the presence of shrunken, fibrotic lymph nodes.
Central Vessel Defects Congenital or acquired abnormalities of the central abdominal or thoracic collecting ducts may cause lymphedema. Congenital abnormalities may be without symptoms, however, usually they cause bilateral lymphedema with moderate dilatation of the vessels and nodes. Acquired obstruction of the thoracic duct, in children or adults, through trauma, mediastinitis, tumors, venous thrombosis or surgery is often symptomless. It may occasionally cause chylothorax but hardly ever causes peripheral edema.
Classification—Primary vs. Secondary Lymphedema Primary lymphedema is lymphedema caused by a primary abnormality or disease of the lymph conducting elements of the lymph vessels or lymph nodes.
Secondary lymphedema is edema caused by disease in the nodes or vessels that began elsewhere (neoplastic or filarial) or began in the cellular-nonconducting elements of the nodes (lymphocytic proliferative disorders). Secondary lymphedema may also occur following surgical removal of lymph nodes or vessels; such as in mastectomy for breast cancer.
Developmental Disorders of the Lymphatic System There are several different developmental disorders which are associated with lymphedema.5 Many of them present with lymphedema at birth, and should be considered when diagnosing a newborn with peripheral edema. As many of the syndromes are associated with other congenital anomalies, the presence of lymphedema may stimulate a more careful scrutiny of the other organ systems
Turner Syndrome Turner syndrome is a collection of anomalies linked to the XO karyotype. Among multiple malformation syndromes, Turner sydrome is most often associated with congenital lymphatic disorders. The manifestations may include cystic hygroma, hydrops fetalis and peripheral edema. More well known features of Turner syndrome are the short stature, webbed neck, infertility, poor pubertal development and shield chest.
Klinefelter Syndrome Klinefelter Syndrome also occasionally is associated with lymphatic blockage or fetal hydrops. This syndrome is associated with a 47XXY karyotype and occurs in 1/500 newborns. Other features of Klinefelter are tall stature, long upper extremities, poor pubertal development, microorchidism and sterility.
Trisomy 21 Cystic hygroma and lymphedema have been occasionally noted in children with Down Syndrome. Other features of Down Sydrome are characteristic facies, short broad hands, heart defects and mental retardation.
Klippel-Trenaunay-Weber-Syndrome Klippel-Trenaunay and Parkes Weber syndromes are panangiopathis associated with localized overgrowth of bone and soft tissue of a limb or portion of the trunk. A variety of blood and lymph vascular malformations may be seen, including hemangiomas, arteriovenous malformations, port-wine stains, varicose veins, lymphangiomas, and lymphedema.
Noonan Syndrome Noonan Syndrome has been suggested to have a “Turner-like” phenotype with similar manifestations that include peripheral lymphedema, hypoplastic nails, and shield chest. They often exhibit right sided cardiac abnormalities. Despite similarities, Noonan syndrome is distinct from Turner’s in that males and females are equally affected. Most cases of Noonan syndrome are likely due to an altered autosomal gene.
Noone-Milroy-Type Hereditary Lymphedema Also known as Lymphedema I, this disorder presents as brawny edema usually of the lower extremity. The diagnosis is usually made at birth. Tissue swelling occurs distally or proximally in the involved limbs, and either hypoplasia or hyperplasia of the lymphatics has been found.
Meige-Type Lymphedema Also known as Lymphedema II, this syndrome is similar to Lymphedema I but the onset of peripheral edema occurs during the second to the fifth decades. The legs are the most commonly involved, and lymphangiography reveals hypoplasia of peripheral lymphatics with dilation of lymphatic trunks.
Lymphedema-Hypoparathyroidism Syndrome The major diagnostic criteria for this syndrome include congenital lymphedema—which develops soon after birth, hypoparathyroidism, nephropathy, mitral valve prolapse, and brachytelephalangy.
Please refer toTable 1 and Table 2 for a comparison of the developmental disorders described.
The Inheritance of Primary Lymphedema The frequency at birth of those who will develop primary lymphedema is estimated to be about 1 in 6000 with a sex ratio of about one male to three females.4
It is clear from the studies done by Dale, that lymphedema passes from generation to generation.4 True dominant inheritance, recessive and sex linked inheritance were excluded. In those patients with a genetic origin of their lymphedema, the form of inheritance is that of a modified dominant single autosomal gene.
On average, half the offspring of these subjects will carry the gene. The expression of this dominant gene approaches 50 percent and in those patients who develop lymphedema the majority will have done so by the age of 30 years. The expression of lymphedema is sex influenced and is much higher in females than males, 66 percent and 30 percent respectively.
In those patients who have no preceding family history probably only a small proportion have received a new mutation, thus creating a risk to children in this group which is higher than to siblings. In those patients with no preceding family history the risk to children in about 1 in 12.4
The Diagnosis of Primary Lymphedema Diagnosis of primary lymphedema, as in all diseases, relies primarily on history and physical exam. A patient presenting with lower extremity edema and a family history of hereditary lymphedema will be easier to diagnose than an infant with no family history. Primary lymphedema is usually differentiated from secondary lymphedema by history as well.
Most cases of lymphedema, both primary and secondary, affect limbs. Presumably this is because there are reduced options for collateral lymph drainage. Swelling results in discomfort, heaviness, reduced mobility, and impaired function. Moderate to severe pain is not a feature of lymphedema and, if present, should suggest alternative pathology. However the size and weight of some limbs soon produce secondary complications such as musculoskeletal problems.
Difficulty in the clinical diagnosis of lymphedema is likely to be encountered in the early stages before the characteristic skin and subcutaneous tissue changes ensue. It is not uncommon for lymphedema to present with swelling which comes and goes.
Differential Diagnosis If lymphedema presents in a newborn, developmental disorders of the lymphatic system, as described in the previous section, must be considered.
Cancer rarely presents in the first instance with lymphedema because lymph flow is maintained remarkably well through malignant nodes. Lymphoma does not produce lymphedema, and it is only in circumstances of advanced cancer (prostate carcinoma) where swelling can be a presenting feature.
Filiariasis, causing lymphedema by obstruction of the lymphatics, is a diagnosis which must be investigated in persons living in the tropics or with a history of traveling to the tropics.
A condition often confused with filarial elephantiasis is podoconiosis or non filarial elephantiasis. The clinical manifestations of swollen feet and legs are no different from that of any other cause, but the cause in this condition is uptake of microparticles of silica through the soles of the feet. It exists in non-filarial areas of tropical Africa, Central America, and India, and occurs only in barefoot walkers.
Heart failure may cause bilateral peripheral edema, and should be considered first in a patient with known hypertension or coronary artery disease. Associated symptoms are dyspnea on exertion, orthopnea, and paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnea. On physical examination there may be pulmonary rales, distended neck veins, tachycardia, cardiomegaly, or gallop. Diagnostic studies to rule out heart failure include a chest radiograph and echocardiogram.
Cirrhosis is also a cause of bilateral peripheral edema. Associated symptoms are alcoholism, ascites, jaundice, and abdominal swelling. On physical exam corresponding findings are hepatomegaly, jaundice, ascites, and gynecomastia. Diagnostic studies confirming cirrhosis include abnormal liver function tests, and liver biopsy.
Nephrotic syndrome is a cause of bilateral edema which is found primarily in children. Associated symptoms are polyuria and eyelid swelling. On physical exam there may also beedema of the eyelids and hypertension. Diagnostic studies in patients with nephrotic syndrome reveal albuminuria and hypercholesterolemia.
Hypoproteinemia will cause peripheraledema in malnourished individuals. Diagnostic studies for hypoproteinemia include serum protein and electrophoresis
Venous insufficiency can cause unilateral or bilateral peripheral edema, most often in female patients. The edema is usually alleviated with recumbency, and varicose veins are found on physical exam.
Thrombophlebitis is a cause of peripheral edema which usually presents with a sudden onset of swelling, redness and pain. Precipitating factors of thrombophlebitis are trauma, immobilization, childbirth, drugs, and birth control pills. On physical exam there is a tender cord, positive Homans’ sign, warmth, and low grade fever. Diagnostic studies are duplex/doppler ultrasonography, venogram, or computed tomography.
A ruptured gastrocnemius muscle will cause peripheral edema, usually with a sudden onset in runners. On physical exam the extremity will be painful, and have ecchymoses of the ankle. Computed tomography is used for diagnosis.
A Baker’s cyst may cause peripheral edema in the patient with rheumatoid arthritis, and is diagnosed by arthrogram.
Dependency of the lower extremity is a common cause of peripheral edema in post stroke patients. This type of edema is exacerbated by venous insufficiency, and improved by muscle activity of the legs.
Lipedema causes bilateral peripheral edema in the obese female. It is exacerbated by weight gain, and improved by weight loss. On physical exam it differs from the other types of lymphedema noted in that it spares the foot.
Salt retaining drugs are also a cause of bilateral peripheral edema. These include: estrogens, oral contraceptives, NSAIDs, lithium and vasodilators.
Making the Diagnosis Once the other etiologies in the differential for peripheral edema have been ruled out, primary lymphedema should be considered in any chronically swollen limb without pain or inflammation. Traditionally, lymphedema is described as a brawny edema that does not readily pit. This is not a reliable sign. Although most of the swelling occurs in the subcutaneous layer, it is the skin that exhibits the most changes. It becomes thicker as demonstrated by the Kaposi-Stemmer sign, a failure to pick up or pinch a fold of skin at the base of the second toe.
Skin creases become enhanced and hyperkeratosis develops. Skin changes occur most frequently in the lower limb, owing to the compounding effects of gravity. The term mossy foot is used when the skin changes are advanced, and secondary bacterial and fungal infections are common.7
Imaging studies used to evaluate the lymphatic system include venography, lymphangiography and radio-isotopic tracers (lymphangioscintigraphy). When evaluating someone with primary lymphedema, the risks of the imaging studies must also be considered.
Commonly, in uncomplicated cases, the invasive studies are not performed secondary to the risk of damaging the delicate lymphatic system. Usually, a venous doppler is performed to exclude venous obstruction. MRI is another nonanvasine imaging study which may be used to determine area of lymphatic blockage.
There is no laboratory study used to diagnose primary lymphedema. Genetic studies may be done if a physician suspects an associated developmental disorder.
Elastic Hosiery The cornerstone of limb lymphedema treatment is elastic hosiery. The hosiery is designed to limit capillary filtration by opposing capillary pressure and act as a counterforce to striated muscle contractions. Exercise, breathing and posture are important for clearance of central dilated and obstructed lymphatics in the thorax and abdomen, which will improve peripheral edema.
Massage Massage is controversial, despite being an accepted treatment for lymphedema in continental Europe. The problem is that most types of massage are used to increase blood flow to the tissue—therefore increasing the amount of fluid to be transported by the defective lymphatic system.
However, gentle tissue movement is a stimulus to lymph flow without increasing blood flow (and, therefore, capillary filtration). Manual lymphatic drainage (MLD) therapy is a specific form of manual massage that is directed primarily at normally draining lymph node regions via extremely gentle tissue manipulation. MLD is the only effective treatment for midline lymphedema where external compression is impractical.
Osteopathic Manipulative Therapy Osteopathic Manipulative Therapy is a therapy used by Osteopathic physicians to maximize the functions of all organ systems by working to improve the structure of the body through the musculoskeletal system. Improving lymphatic function is one of the cornerstone principles of Osteopathic Manipulative Therapy. There are several treatment modalities, all of which have shown to be extremely beneficial in improving lymphedema.9
Skin Care Prevention of infection is crucial to control of lymphedema, as cellulitis can lead to deteriorating, irreversible swelling. Patients with advanced lymphedema and recurrent cellulitis are recommended to be put on prophylactic penicillin. Care of the skin, good hygiene, control of tinea pedis, chronic dermatitis, and other inflammatory dermatoses, as well as good antisepsis following abrasions and minor wounds, are as important as in diabetes.
Compression Pumps Pneumatic compression therapy or intermittent/sequential pneumatic compression is another treatment of extremity lymphedema. It consists of an inflatable sleeve or boot connected to a motor driven pump. Immediately following the therapy a compressive stocking is fitted to prevent limb reswelling.
Bandaging Multilayer bandaging involves application of layers of strong nonelastic bandages to generate a high pressure during muscular contractions but low pressure at rest.
Drug therapy Diuretics alone have very little benefit in lymphedema because their main action is to limit capillary filtration by reducing circulating blood volume. Improvement from diuretics suggests that the predominant cause of the edema is not lymphatic.
The Rutoside group of drugs, Paroven, has been advocated for use in lymphedema and a recent controlled trial of benzopyrones showed benefit in a variety of forms of lymphedema. Currently these drugs have only been used in Europe, and present data shows that clinical effect is mimimal.7
There are several other alternative therapies that have not been reviewed by medical literature. Many herbal preparations, such as grape seed extract, have reported beneficial effect in lymphedema. Microwave heat therapy has been used in China, with mixed results. It is theorized that the heat helps to break down the chronic fibrosis.7
Surgery Surgery for lymphedema is usually used as a last resort, and used more commonly in countries in which the other therapies are not available. Unfortunately, since it cannot correct the problem, lymphedema will recur, and sometimes worsen following surgery. Surgery for lymphedema can be of two types: reconstructive and debulking. Associated risks of surgery include infection and inflammation, which greatly accelerate the progression of the disease and obliteration of the lymphatic vessels.
Extremity elevation Once started, treatment needs to be maintained; otherwise the edema will progress and become more and more difficult to reverse. Lymphedema of the lower limbs usually progresses even with treatment, however the rate and degree of progression is greatly reduced with treatment. Posture and limb positioning are important. Any dependent limb will swell as a result of increased intravascular hydrostatic pressure. Elevation of the affected limbs just above heart level is the most effective.
Weight Management There is some evidence that obesity exacerbates lymphedema, particularly in the lower leg, as it makes compression more difficult. A weight reduction diet may be indicated.
Coexsisting Depression Psychologically, many patients are affected by the disfigurement of lymphedema, and appropriate counseling may be a necessary part of management.
Physical Handicap
Physical handicap is another aspect. Even those patients with mild lymphedema cannot tolerate prolonged standing, long distance running, or areas of high heat and humidity, as these situations increase capillary permeability and lymphatic load. Patients should be counseled on supportive footwear, and the need to elevate the affected extremity as frequently as possible during the day.
Disease Progression Air travel can also exacerbate lymphedema, some patients may want to have the affected extremity bandaged before travel to prevent increased disability.
Lymphedema invariably requires the highest compression strength (>40mmHg) hosiery, and double hosiery may need to be worn on occasions to maintain control. Most garments last no more than 6 months, less in an active young patient.
Conclusion The patient presented in the case report is an example of the typical presentation of primary lymphedema. Her diagnosis had already been made, but it is evident that she could benefit from continued management and education.
During her subsequent visits, she was educated in the importance of preventing the progression of her disease, by frequent foot elevation, wearing the compression stockings and supportive footwear, and by avoiding prolonged standing. She was treated monthly with Osteopathic Manipulative Therapy to improve lymphatic drainage. Her tinea pedis was treated and she was counseled about skin care. She went to genetic counseling regarding the inheritance of the disease, and was told that the chance of her child developing the disease was 20 percent.
Her pregnancy was uncomplicated, with the edema being most significantly affected in the last four weeks of gestation. She delivered vaginally, and her son had no congenital abnormalities.
The exacerbation of the peripheral edema, which occurred during the last month of her pregnancy, slowly reversed to her pre-pregnancy state over the period of three months.
Summary The diagnosis of primary lymphedema, a disorder of the lymphatic system, is made primarily by family history and physical exam. The disease presentation is extremely variable, both in age of presentation, and severity of disease. Many times it is associated with other anomalies of development and is a feature of several developmental syndromes.
Primary lymphedema has a significant genetic inheritance pattern, although it can appear sporadically. Disease management is multifactorial, primarily focused on prevention, or slowing the rate of progression. Lymphedema is always progressive, but the discomfort and disability can be minimized by therapies which reduce the superfluous fluid as much as possible.
Patients must take an active role in controlling their disease by wearing the compression hosiery, frequently elevating the affected extremity, using supportive footwear, and having diligent skin care. Drug therapy has not shown much benefit, and surgery is saved for extreme cases.
The pathophysiology of lymphatic system disorders is not well understood. Hopefully further investigations will better elucidate the nature of the disease, so that treatment can be more directed at the cause of the disorder, rather than the symptom—peripheral edema.
Dr. Green recently completed a fellowship in OMM at Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine, following a family practice residency in Muskegon, Michigan. She will practice family medicine in Oregon
Introduction Lymphedema is the accumulation of lymph in the interstitial spaces, principally in the subcutaneous fatty tissues, caused by a defect in the lymphatic system. It is marked by an abnormal collection of excess tissue proteins, edema, chronic inflammation, and fibrosis. [1]Lymphedema is a frequent complication of cancer and its therapies, and can have long-term physical and psychosocial consequences for patients.
The human lymphatic system generally includes superficial or primary lymphatic vessels that form a complex dermal network of capillary-like channels that drain into larger, secondary lymphatic vessels located in the subdermal space. These primary and secondary lymphatic vessels parallel the superficial veins and drain into a third, deeper layer of lymphatic vessels located in the subcutaneous fat adjacent to the fascia. A muscular wall and numerous valves aid active, unidirectional lymphatic flow in secondary and subcutaneous lymphatic vessels. Primary lymphatic vessels lack a muscular wall and do not have valves. An intramuscular system of lymphatic vessels that parallels the deep arteries and drains the muscular compartment, joints, and synovium also exists. While there is evidence that the superficial and deep lymphatic systems communicate near lymph nodes, they probably function independently except in abnormal states. [2] Lymph drains from the lower limbs into the lumbar lymphatic trunk, which joins the intestinal lymphatic trunk and cisterna chyli to form the thoracic duct that empties into the left subclavian vein. The lymphatic vessels of the left arm drain into the left subclavian lymphatic trunk and then into the left subclavian vein. Right arm lymph channels drain into the right subclavian lymphatic trunk and then into the right subclavian vein.
One function of the lymphatic system is to return excess fluid and protein from interstitial spaces to the blood vascular system. Since lymphatic vessels often lack a basement membrane, they can resorb molecules too large for venous uptake. Mechanisms of clinicaledema include increased arteriovenous capillary filtration and reduced interstitial fluid absorption. Causes of increased capillary filtration include increased hydrostatic pressure in capillaries, decreased tissue pressure, and increased membrane permeability. Reduced interstitial fluid resorption can be caused by decreased plasma oncotic pressure, increased oncotic pressure of tissue fluid, and lymphatic obstruction.
Lymphedema is categorized as either primary or secondary. Primary lymphedema is caused by congenital absence or abnormalities of lymphatic tissue and is relatively rare. Secondary lymphedema is generally caused by obstruction or interruption of the lymphatic system, which usually occurs at proximal limb segments (i.e., lymph nodes) due to infection, malignancy, or scar tissue (see Table 1). [1] The pelvic and inguinal groups of nodes in the lower extremities and the axillary nodes of the upper extremities are the primary sites of obstruction.
Table 1. Lymph Drainage Failure* Mechanism Reduced lymph-conducting pathways Hypertrophy or hyperplasia of lymphatic vessels Functional failure Obstructed lymphatics Possible causes Aplasia or hypoplasia of whole vessel Lymphangiomatosis, lymphatic malformations Valvular failure Lymph node abnormalities (e.g., fibrosis) Acquired obliteration of lymphatic lumen (e.g., lymphangio-thrombosis, lymphangitis) Megalymphatics Disordered contractility Scarring from lymphadenectomy, radiation therapy, or infection *Adapted from Mortimer PS: The pathophysiology of lymphedema. Cancer 83(12 suppl 2): 2798-2802, 1998.
It has been assumed that lymphedematous limbs contain interstitial fluids with higher protein concentrations than plasma. However, a recent report found a negative correlation between protein concentration and arm edema. [3] Concomitant venous obstruction has also been observed in patients with lymphedematous limbs. An investigation of venous outflow using duplex Doppler ultrasound revealed venous abnormalities in more than 60% of cases. [4] Additional studies suggest that local vasodilatory control may be altered, although not on a sustained basis. [5] Further work in this area is needed to better discern the pathophysiology of lymphedema.
Acute-Onset versus Insidious-Onset Lymphedema Secondary lymphedema may be categorized by its chronicity. Four patterns of acute lymphedema have been identified. The first occurs within a few days after surgery as a result of the cutting of lymphatic channels or injury to or manipulation of the subclavian lymphatic trunks or the associated subclavian veins. It is usually transient and mild, responding to limb elevation and muscle pumping of the associated limbs (e.g., making a fist and releasing it) within 1 week of onset. The affected area may be warm and slightly erythematous, but it is generally not painful.
A second type of acute lymphedema may occur within 6 to 8 weeks postoperatively, possibly as a result of acute lymphangitis or phlebitis. There is no associated venous thrombosis in these cases. This pattern of lymphedema may also be seen during the course of radiation treatment of a limb or its associated lymphatic drainage route. The affected area is tender, warm or hot, and erythematous. This type of lymphedema can usually be successfully treated with limb elevation and anti-inflammatory medication, although more involved treatments may be necessary. The first 2 acute forms do not necessarily portend chronic swelling after their resolution.
A third type of acute lymphedema is an erysipeloid form, occurring after an insect bite, or minor injury or burn. It is often superimposed on a chronic edematous limb. The affected area is erythematous, very tender and hot. This form of edema often requires limb elevation and antibiotics. Compression pumping or wrapping is contraindicated during acute stages of infection. Many clinicians will permit treatment once severe erythema or blistering has resolved. Mild erythema can persist following an infection.
The fourth and most common type of lymphedema is usually insidious and is not always associated with erythema. Discomfort of the skin or aching in the proximal segments (neck/shoulders for upper extremity, lumbar spine/hips for lower extremity) may be noted due to stretch of the soft tissues or muscular overuse and postural changes caused by increased limb weight. This type has a variable onset and is frequently apparent 18 to 24 months after surgery. It may appear a few months or many years after cancer treatment.
Transient versus Chronic Lymphedema Transient lymphedema is a temporary condition that lasts less than 6 months and is associated with pitting edema with tactile pressure and lack of brawny skin changes. [1] The following factors may place the patient at risk for acute-onset, transient lymphedema:
Surgical drains with extravasation of protein into the surgical site. Inflammation following injury, radiation, or infection leading to increased capillary permeability. Immobility of the limb(s) that results in decreased external compression by the musculature. Temporary absence of collateral lymphatics. Proximal venous occlusion by thrombosis or phlebitis. Reversal of equilibrium at the capillary bed that results in accumulation of third-space fluid. Chronic lymphedema is the most difficult of all types of edema to reverse, due to the nature of its pathophysiology. A cycle is started, in which the deficient lymphatic system of the limb is incapable of compensating for the increased demand for fluid drainage. This condition may occur subsequent to any of the following:
Tumor recurrence or progression in the nodal area. Infection and/or injury of lymphatic vessels. Immobility. Radiation injury to lymphatic structures. Surgery. Unsuccessful management of early lymphedema. Venous obstruction due to thrombosis.
Early in the course of developing lymphedema, the patient experiences soft, pitting edema that may be easily improved by limb elevation, gentle exercise, and elastic support. Continual and progressive lymphostasis, however, causes dilation of the lymph vessels and backflow of fluid to the tissue beds. Collagen proteins accumulate, further increasing colloid osmotic tissue pressure, leading to enhanced fluid flow from the vascular capillaries into the interstitial space. The stasis of fluid and protein stimulates inflammation and macrophage activity as the body attempts to degrade the excess proteins. Fibrosis of the interstitial connective tissue by fibrinogen and fibroblasts causes the development of the brawny, stiff, nonpitting lymphedema that no longer responds to elevation, gentle exercise, or elastic compression garments. Chronic lymphedema gradually becomes nonpitting.
Lymphedematous tissues have lower oxygen content, a greater distance between lymph vessels due to fluid accumulation and swelling, impaired lymphatic clearance, and depressed macrophage function, rendering patients at increased risk of infection and cellulitis. Since there is no other route for tissue protein transport,treatment for patients with advanced lymphedema with chronic fibrosis is more difficult than when treated earlier. Additionally, once these tissues are stretched, edema recurs more readily.
Generalized lymphedema may also occur subsequent to hypoalbuminemia with low plasma oncotic pressure due to:
Inadequate oral nutrition (secondary to anorexia, nausea, vomiting, depression, chemotherapy). Decreased intestinal absorption of protein or abnormal protein synthesis/anabolism. Protein loss due to leakage of blood, ascites, effusions, or surgical drains.
Contributing medical conditions leading to hypoalbuminemia (e.g., diabetes, kidney malfunction, hypertension, congestive heart failure, liver disease).
The reported incidence of lymphedema varies, being subject to discrepancies in its definition and measurement, and differing time points since treatment in which subjects are assessed for this complication. The incidence also varies depending upon the treatment and limb involved. With these caveats understood, there appears to be an overall incidence of arm edema after breast cancer therapy of 26%. [6] A survey of 1151 women treated with radiation for breast cancer reported lymphedema in 23% of subjects at 0 to 2 years after treatment and 45% at 15 or more years after treatment. Among breast cancer patients treated with surgery alone, prevalence increased from 20% at 0 to 2 years to 30% at 15 or more years since surgery. [7] A study of 744 breast cancer patients found that patients with lymphedema had impaired quality of life (QOL) using the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) QOL Questionnaire C-30. [8]
Factors that contribute to the development of lymphedema are irradiation of the dissected nodal basin, postoperative wound complications and subsequent cellulitis of the limb, the extent of node dissection, and advanced age.
Patients at risk for lymphedema are those with:
Breast cancer, if they have received radiation therapy or had node dissection. Radiation therapy to the axilla following axillary node dissection increases the incidence of lymphedema. A review of several studies reports lymphedema in approximately 41% (range, 21%-51%) of patients who underwent axillary radiation and surgery, compared to 17% (range, 6%-39%) of those receiving axillary surgery without radiation. [6] The extent of axillary dissection also increases the risk of lymphedema.
Nodal dissection of axillary, inguinal, or pelvic regions. Radiation therapy of axillary, inguinal, or pelvic regions, or supraclavicular (mantle field) radiation. Scarring of the left or right subclavian lymphatic ducts and veins by either surgical or radiation procedures. Advanced cancer causing bulky lymphadenopathy of the anterior cervical, thoracic, axillary, pelvic, or abdominal nodes.
Intrapelvic or intra-abdominal tumors that involve or directly compress lymphatic vessels and/or the cisterna chyli and thoracic duct.
Other factors, such as poor nutritional status and obesity, that may lead to delayed wound healing, which in turn is an important risk factor for the development of lymphedema. [9] [10] [11]
There are disparate reports concerning the incidence of lymphedema, especially involving the upper extremities, due largely to a lack of uniform diagnostic criteria. Objective criteria are based on circumferential or volumetric measurements, but there is no agreement on the diagnostic criteria for lymphedema. Some studies utilize differences in the affected limb compared to the unaffected limb of 1 to 2 cm. Anatomical variation, handedness, and body habitus may make this a meaningless difference. Optimally, sequential measurements over time, including pretreatment measurements, should be made. Water displacement measurement 15 cm above the epicondyle has been suggested as the best objective criterion with which to judge lymphedema; a displacement value of 200 mL included 96.4% of patients with subjective lymphedema. [12] Some studies use 6 cm above the elbow; preferably, measurement of the upper extremities should be at consistent points along the arm, above and below the antecubital fossa, and across the hand or wrist. The lower extremities do not offer as precise a point, but may be measured at consistent points. [13] [14]
Approximately 50% of patients with minimal edema report a feeling of heaviness or fullness of the extremity. Assessment of the patient with edema includes a history and physical examination. The history should include information regarding past surgeries, postoperative complications, prior radiation treatments, the time interval from radiation or surgery to the onset of symptoms, and intervening variables in the presence or severity of symptoms. The quality and behavior of the edema (fluctuation with position, progression over time) should be assessed. History of trauma or infection should be determined. In addition, information concerning current medications may be important. [1] Edema is not detectable clinically until the interstitial volume reaches 30% above normal. The following scale may be clinically useful:
1+ = Edema that is barely detectable. 2+ = A slight indentation is visible when the skin is depressed. 3+ = A deeper fingerprint returns to normal in 5 to 30 seconds. 4+ = The extremity may be 1.5 to 2 times normal size. References: Brennan MJ: Lymphedema following the surgical treatment of breast cancer: a review of pathophysiology and treatment. J Pain Symptom Manage 7 (2): 110-6, 1992. Horsley JS, Styblo T: Lymphedema in the postmastectomy patient. In: Bland KI, Copeland EM, eds.: The Breast: Comprehensive Management of Benign and Malignant Diseases. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders, 1991, pp 701-706. Bates DO, Levick JR, Mortimer PS: Change in macromolecular composition of interstitial fluid from swollen arms after breast cancer treatment, and its implications. Clin Sci (Lond) 85 (6): 737-46, 1993. Svensson WE, Mortimer PS, Tohno E, et al.: Colour Doppler demonstrates venous flow abnormalities in breast cancer patients with chronic arm swelling. Eur J Cancer 30A (5): 657-60, 1994. Stanton AW, Levick JR, Mortimer PS: Cutaneous vascular control in the arms of women with postmastectomy oedema. Exp Physiol 81 (3): 447-64, 1996. Erickson VS, Pearson ML, Ganz PA, et al.: Arm edema in breast cancer patients. J Natl Cancer Inst 93 (2): 96-111, 2001. Mortimer PS, Bates DO, Brassington HD, et al.: The prevalence of arm oedema following treatment for breast cancer. Q J Med 89: 377-380, 1996. Kwan W, Jackson J, Weir LM, et al.: Chronic arm morbidity after curative breast cancer treatment: prevalence and impact on quality of life. J Clin Oncol 20 (20): 4242-8, 2002. Földi E, Földi M, Weissleder H: Conservative treatment of lymphoedema of the limbs. Angiology 36 (3): 171-80, 1985. Petrek JA, Senie RT, Peters M, et al.: Lymphedema in a cohort of breast carcinoma survivors 20 years after diagnosis. Cancer 92 (6): 1368-77, 2001. Deutsch M, Flickinger JC: Arm edema after lumpectomy and breast irradiation. Am J Clin Oncol 26 (3): 229-31, 2003. Kissin MW, Querci della Rovere G, Easton D, et al.: Risk of lymphoedema following the treatment of breast cancer. Br J Surg 73 (7): 580-4, 1986. Guyton AC: The lymphatic system, interstitial fluid dynamics, edema, and pulmonary fluid. In: Guyton AC: Textbook of Medical Physiology. 7th ed. Philadelphia, Pa : WB Saunders, 1986, pp 361-373. Getz DH: The primary, secondary, and tertiary nursing interventions of lymphedema. Cancer Nurs 8 (3): 177-84, 1985. Management Prevention It is important to identify patients at risk for lymphedema early and to begin preventive monitoring and instruction for self care. Inadequate nutritional status, obesity, immobility, and other medical conditions may increase the risk of developing lymphedema. The following parameters may help facilitate early detection of the condition:
The ratio of actual to ideal weight. Extremity measurements. Ability to perform activities of daily living (at each physician examination). History of contributing factors (e.g., edema). Prior radiation therapy or surgery. Concurrent medical illnesses (e.g., diabetes, hypertension, kidney or cardiac disease, or phlebitis). Patients should also be assessed for knowledge of their disease and the potential for developing lymphedema. Deficient lymphatic drainage due to node dissection and/or radiation therapy predisposes the affected limb to serious infection. Even minor infection of the limb may lead to significant lymphedema.
Patients should understand the potential of developing lymphedema and should be instructed on limb and skin care following surgery and/or radiation therapy. (See list of Considerations for Patient Teaching below.) It should be stressed that there is no empirical evidence for these or similar recommendations, although advice to avoid injury and infection in the affected limb seems intuitive. Lymphedema may occur as late as 30 or more years after surgery. Breast cancer patients who comply with instruction on skin care and exercises following mastectomy show a significantly lower incidence of lymphedema. [1]
Lymphatic drainage is improved by tissue compression from muscular contractions during exercise. In exercise, muscles squeeze the soft tissue causing lymph to travel proximally to the vascular system. [2] Therefore, exercise is important in the prevention of lymphedema. Breast cancer patients should be instructed on hand and arm exercises following mastectomy. Patients who undergo operative procedures affecting pelvic lymph node drainage should be instructed in how to perform appropriate leg and ankle exercises. The physician should determine how soon the exercise is initiated following surgery. Physiatrists or therapy professionals should be consulted for a tailored program of exercises for each patient.
Because the recovery rate is increased when lymphedema is detected early, [2] patients should be taught to recognize the early signs of edema and to report any of the following symptoms to their doctor: feelings of tightness in the extremity; shoes that don’t fit; decreased strength; pain, aching, or heaviness; redness, swelling, or signs of infection. Rings may become tight as well, but patients are discouraged from wearing them on the side of risk.
Considerations for Teaching Patients Prevention and Control of Lymphedema Keep arm or leg elevated above the level of the heart, when possible. Avoid rapid circular movements that cause centrifugal pooling of fluid in distal parts of the limb. Clean and lubricate the skin of the extremity daily. Avoid injury and infection of the affected limb: Upper extremities: Use an electric razor for shaving. Wear gardening and cooking gloves; thimbles for sewing. Maintain good nail care; do not cut cuticles. Lower extremities: Wear foot coverings outdoors. Keep feet clean and dry; wear cotton socks. Cut toenails straight across; see a podiatrist as needed to prevent ingrown nails and infections. Either upper or lower extremities: Suntan gradually; use sunscreen. Clean breaks in skin with soap and water, then use antibacterial ointment. Use gauze wrapping instead of tape, but avoid a tourniquet effect. Consult physician about rashes. Avoid invasive venipuncture, including finger sticks and intravenous fluid administration, in affected extremity. Avoid extreme hot or cold (i.e., heating pads or ice packs) . Avoid prolonged and strenuous work with the affected extremity. Avoid constrictive pressure on the arm or leg: Do not cross legs while sitting. Wear loose jewelry and clothes with no constricting bands. Carry handbag on opposite arm. Do not use blood pressure cuffs on the vulnerable limb. Do not use elastic bandages and stockings with constrictive bands. Do not sit in one position without change for longer than 30 minutes. Watch for signs of infection (e.g., redness, pain, heat, swelling, fever). Call your physician immediately if signs or symptoms occur. Practice prescribed exercises, as instructed. Keep regular follow-up appointments with your physician. Closely observe all areas of the limb daily for signs of problems: Measure the circumference of the arm or leg at intervals suggested by your physician/therapist at 2 consistent levels on the limb and report any sudden increase in size to your physician. Sensation may be diminished. Use the unaffected extremity to test temperatures (e.g., for bath water, cooking). Treatment There are 2 broad categories of conservative management or treatment of lymphedema: mechanical and pharmacologic. Mechanical modalities include elevation of the affected limb; manual lymphatic drainage (a form of massage that mobilizes edema fluid from distal to proximal areas and from areas of stasis to areas of healthy lymphatics); use of multilayered compression bandages and custom-fitted pressure-graded garments; and meticulous skin hygiene to prevent infection. A number of these modalities have been combined in a strategy known as complex physical therapy (or complex decongestive therapy), which consists of manual lymphedema treatment, compression wrapping, individualized exercises, and skin care, followed by a maintenance program. [3] [4] [5] Complex physical therapy has been recommended by consensus panels and is an effective approach for lymphedema that is unresponsive to standard elastic compression therapy. It must be performed by a properly trained therapist.
Surgical interventions are not recommended as they are not generally successful in curing lymphedema. Several techniques have been tried, such as staged excision of the skin and subcutaneous tissue with or without skin grafting and the Thompson dermal flap, which combines excision of edematous tissue with burying a shaved dermal flap to establish continuity between the superficial and deep lymphatic vessels. These methods have minimal success and high complication rates of skin necrosis, infection, and sensory difficulties. [6] The oncology patient is usually not a suitable candidate for these techniques.
Compression Garments Compression garments should always cover the entire area of edema. For example, a stocking that reaches only to the knee tends to become tight and occludes lymphatic and venous return if there is significant edema in the thigh. Extremity pumps that use intermittent sequential pneumatic compression may also be helpful in the management of the edematous limb, though many feel such pumps are ineffective and potentially counterproductive. The cuff is alternately inflated and deflated according to a controlled time cycle. This action increases fluid flow in the veins and lymphatic vessels and prevents the accumulation of residual fluid in the limb. Compression pumps should be used only under the supervision of a trained health care professional. High external pressure can damage superficial lymphatic vessels. Furthermore, when using compression pumps and other techniques, caution should be taken if there is a potential for residual tumor which some theorize may be mobilized into venous or lymphatic channels.
Pharmacologic Therapy Pharmacologic therapy uses antibiotics to treat and prevent bacterial cellulitis and lymphangitis. Other drugs that have been used include diuretics, anticoagulants, pantothenic acid, pyridoxine, and hyaluronidase. These drugs have no proven therapeutic value and may cause adverse reactions. [7]
It is important to determine the specific etiology of the swelling and to treat it appropriately. Infection is a frequent sequela of edema and causes increased capillary permeability, which increases protein deposition in the tissues. If an infection is diagnosed, appropriate antibiotics should be given that are effective against gram-positive cocci and, less frequently, fungal infections. Laboratory data (e.g., complete blood cell count (CBC)) should be evaluated. Because massage and techniques to encourage drainage would be contraindicated if venous thrombosis is present, diagnostic tests may be indicated to distinguish vascular blockage from deep vein thrombosis. If thrombosis is found, anticoagulation therapy should be given.
Coumarin (Chemical Abstracts Service registry number 91-64-5; NSC 8774; systematic name 2H-1-Benzopyran-2-one, also referred to as 5,6-benzo-[a]-pyrone), is a compound that has been studied for the management of high-protein lymphedemas such as those associated with local and regional treatments for neoplastic diseases. [8] [9]
In the United States, dietary supplements, such as coumarin, are regulated as food not drugs. Premarket approval by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are not required unless specific disease prevention or treatment claims are made. Because dietary supplements are not required to be reviewed for manufacturing consistency, and no specific standards for dose or purity exist, there may be considerable variation from lot to lot for all products marketed as dietary supplements.
Coumarin was formerly used in the United States as a fixative and flavoring agent in foods and as a pharmaceutical excipient. In response to investigations by coumarin manufacturers that demonstrated the compound caused liver toxicity in animals when used in amounts comparable to or greater than that appearing in human foods, it was reclassified by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1954 as a food adulterant. Since that time, its addition to human foods has been prohibited and importation of coumarin-containing foodstuffs from outside the United States is not permitted. Coumarin is marketed for medical use in several European countries, but its therapeutic use has not been approved in the United States or Canada.
Adverse effects commonly associated with coumarin include mild nausea and diarrhea. [8] Liver toxicity has been reported in up to 6% of treated patients. [10] [11] [12] [13] Patients typically present with increased serum concentrations of hepatic transaminases, with or without coincidentally increased serum bilirubin. [14] [15] Aberrant laboratory values generally resolve within a few weeks after coumarin treatment is discontinued; however, liver pathology may be progressive and fulminant despite withdrawal of the compound. [16] Long-term toxicity data are sparse for patients who have received continuous treatment for up to 2 years. The clinical toxicity of longer durations of coumarin treatment has not been investigated. Animal toxicology studies have shown that the incidence of coumarin-induced hepatotoxicity is highly variable between species. [17] Reports of hepatic toxicity in humans have led to coumarin’s removal from the market in some European countries as well as in Australia.
In one study, coumarin, administered as tablets for oral use at a daily dose of 400 mg, was shown to partially reverse edema fluid accumulation, to reduce the size of swollen extremities, and to decrease the discomfort associated with lymphedema. [8] A double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study in 140 women with lymphedema of the arm following treatment for breast cancer, however, demonstrated that coumarin was not more effective than placebo in the treatment of lymphedema. This study also found a higher (6%) incidence of coumarin-associated hepatic toxicity and concluded that coumarin was not a safe or effective treatment for lymphedema. [9] [13]
Diuretics encourage vascular fluid depletion, but they do nothing for excess protein deposits and could hasten connective tissue fibrosis. [18] Therefore, diuretics should be used with caution and only for the treatment of excess vascular fluid due to other causes.
Dietary Management The nutritional status of the patient should be evaluated and supportive measures instituted as required. Hypoalbuminemia encourages fluid to pass into interstitial tissues with excess protein and higher colloid osmotic pressure. The serum albumin level should be kept above 2.5 g/dL. The patient’s weight should be monitored, and patients should be encouraged to eat protein-rich foods and supplements.
Pain Management Patients with lymphedema may experience pain as a result of pressure on nerve endings or as a result of atrophy or muscle contractures during movement. [1] Following assessment, pain may be managed with nonopioid analgesics, relaxation techniques, mild-to-strong opioid analgesics, adjuvant drugs (e.g., amitriptyline), and/or transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS). The most successful treatment, however, is reduction of the lymphedema.
Complications Edematous tissues are less well nourished and more prone to necrosis during immobility. Therefore, patients with lymphedema should be monitored for areas of skin breakdown, especially over bony prominences.
Excess pressure on inguinal or pelvic lymphatics may indicate pelvic metastasis with subsequent interference of bladder emptying. Pressure, in conjunction with regular narcotics, may cause problems with bowel elimination. Patient bladder and bowel status should be monitored for signs of urinary retention or constipation.
Psychosocial Considerations There are multiple psychosocial and adjustment issues faced by cancer patients and survivors with lymphedema. Because lymphedema is disfiguring and sometimes painful and disabling, it can create problems in many aspects of functioning, e.g., psychologic, physical, and sexual. Until relatively recently, however, inadequate attention has been directed toward its psychosocial impact. Several articles have noted that women who develop lymphedema following treatment for breast cancer encounter more difficulties in each of these aspects than women who do not develop the condition after such treatment. [19] [20] [21] Additionally, because the treatments for upper extremity lymphedema can be uncomfortable, arduous, and timeconsuming, the presence of psychologic difficulties can significantly interfere with treatment efforts. Upper extremity pain in women following breast cancer can have a highly complex differential diagnosis. One study has highlighted the deleterious impact of pain on quality of life and coping in patients with upper extremity lymphedema. [22]
Another study highlighted the factors associated with psychologic distress within a group of patients who developed upper extremity lymphedema after breast cancer treatment. Risk factors for poor adjustment to the condition include poor social support, use of an avoidant and reclusive style of coping (some women seek to avoid social situations in which their lymphedema causes a constant reminder of their cancer experience), and the presence of pain of any intensity. [19] Group and individual counseling that provides specific information about preventive measures, the role of diet and exercise, advice for selecting comfortable and flattering clothing, and emotional support can be helpful to women coping with lymphedema.
References: Getz DH: The primary, secondary, and tertiary nursing interventions of lymphedema. Cancer Nurs 8 (3): 177-84, 1985. Markowski J, Wilcox JP, Helm PA: Lymphedema incidence after specific postmastectomy therapy. Arch Phys Med Rehabil 62 (9): 449-52, 1981. Casley-Smith JR, Casley-Smith JR: Modern treatment of lymphoedema. I. Complex physical therapy: the first 200 Australian limbs. Australas J Dermatol 33 (2): 61-8, 1992. Boris M, Weindorf S, Lasinkski S: Persistence of lymphedema reduction after noninvasive complex lymphedema therapy. Oncology (Huntingt) 11 (1): 99-109; discussion 110, 113-4, 1997. Daane S, Poltoratszy P, Rockwell WB: Postmastectomy lymphedema management: evolution of the complex decongestive therapy technique. Ann Plast Surg 40 (2): 128-34, 1998. Savage RC: The surgical management of lymphedema. Surg Gynecol Obstet 160 (3): 283-90, 1985. Brennan MJ: Lymphedema following the surgical treatment of breast cancer: a review of pathophysiology and treatment. J Pain Symptom Manage 7 (2): 110-6, 1992. Casley-Smith JR, Morgan RG, Piller NB: Treatment of lymphedema of the arms and legs with 5,6-benzo-[alpha]-pyrone. N Engl J Med 329 (16): 1158-63, 1993. Loprinzi CL, Kugler JW, Sloan JA, et al.: Lack of effect of coumarin in women with lymphedema after treatment for breast cancer. N Engl J Med 340 (5): 346-50, 1999. Casley-Smith JR, Casley-Smith JR: Frequency of coumarin hepatotoxicity. Med J Aust 162 (7): 391, 1995. Beinssen AP: Possible coumarin hepatotoxicity. Med J Aust 161 (11-12): 725, 1994 Dec 5-19. Cox D, O'Kennedy R, Thornes RD: The rarity of liver toxicity in patients treated with coumarin (1,2-benzopyrone). Hum Toxicol 8 (6): 501-6, 1989. Loprinzi CL, Sloan J, Kugler J: Coumarin-induced hepatotoxicity. J Clin Oncol 15 (9): 3167-8, 1997. Morrison L, Welsby PD: Side-effects of coumarin. Postgrad Med J 71 (841): 701, 1995. Faurschou P: Toxic hepatitis due to benzo-pyrone. Hum Toxicol 1 (2): 149-50, 1982. Bassett ML, Dahlstrom JE: Liver failure while taking coumarin. Med J Aust 163 (2): 106, 1995. Fentem JH, Fry JR: Species differences in the metabolism and hepatotoxicity of coumarin. Comp Biochem Physiol C 104 (1): 1-8, 1993. Földi E, Földi M, Weissleder H: Conservative treatment of lymphoedema of the limbs. Angiology 36 (3): 171-80, 1985. Passik SD, Newman ML, Brennan M, et al.: Predictors of psychological distress, sexual dysfunction and physical functioning among women with upper extremity lymphedema related to breast cancer. Psychooncology 4 (4): 255-63, 1995. Maunsell E, Brisson J, Deschênes L: Arm problems and psychological distress after surgery for breast cancer. Can J Surg 36 (4): 315-20, 1993. Tobin MB, Lacey HJ, Meyer L, et al.: The psychological morbidity of breast cancer-related arm swelling. Psychological morbidity of lymphoedema. Cancer 72 (11): 3248-52, 1993. Newman ML, Brennan M, Passik S: Lymphedema complicated by pain and psychological distress: a case with complex treatment needs. J Pain Symptom Manage 12 (6): 376-9, 1996. Complications In addition to the complications associated with chronic lymphedema noted in other sections of this summary, a rare but lethal complication is that of lymphangiosarcoma. The mean time between mastectomy and lymphangiosarcoma is 10.2 years, and the median survival is 1.3 years.
The cause of lymphangiosarcoma is unknown. Clinically, it presents as single or multiple, bluish-red hemorrhagic nodules on the edematous limb with proximal and distal progression. Initially, there is a solitary, purple-red focus in the skin of the limb, slightly raised, macular or nodular, and usually described by the patient as a bruise. Later, satellite tumors arise, and the nodules grow. Death usually results from metastatic (usually pulmonary) and residual growths. [1]
References: Stewart FW, Treves N: Lymphangiosarcoma in postmastectomy lymphedema: a report of six cases in elephantiasis chirurgica. Cancer 1: 64-81, 1948. Changes to This Summary (10/24/2003) The PDQ cancer information summaries are reviewed regularly and updated as new information becomes available. This section describes the latest changes made to this summary as of the date above.
Overview section
Added Deutsch et al. as reference 11.
Questions or Comments About This Summary If you have questions or comments about this summary, please send them to Cancer.gov through the Web site’s Contact Form. We can respond only to email messages written in English.
More Information About PDQ
PDQ® - NCI's Comprehensive Cancer Database. Full description of the NCI PDQ database. Additional PDQ Summaries
PDQ® Cancer Information Summaries: Adult Treatment Treatment options for adult cancers. PDQ® Cancer Information Summaries: Pediatric Treatment Treatment options for childhood cancers. PDQ® Cancer Information Summaries: Supportive Care Side effects of cancer treatment, management of cancer-related complications and pain, and psychosocial concerns. PDQ® Cancer Information Summaries: Screening/Detection (Testing for Cancer) Tests or procedures that detect specific types of cancer. PDQ® Cancer Information Summaries: Prevention Risk factors and methods to increase chances of preventing specific types of cancer. PDQ® Cancer Information Summaries: Genetics Genetics of specific cancers and inherited cancer syndromes, and ethical, legal, and social concerns. PDQ® Cancer Information Summaries: Complementary and Alternative Medicine Information about complementary and alternative forms of treatment for patients with cancer. Important:
This information is intended mainly for use by doctors and other health care professionals. If you have questions about this topic, you can ask your doctor, or call the Cancer Information Service at 1-800-4-CANCER (1-800-422-6237).
Date last modified: 2003-10-24 http://www.meb.uni-bonn.de/cancer.gov/CDR0000062735.html
Peter S Mortimer .
Lymph conducting pathways may become reduced in number, obliterated, obstructed, or dysfunctional (because of failure of contractility or valve incompetence). A lack of sensitive methods for investigation makes it difficult to distinguish between these mechanisms. A defect in the lymph conducting pathways leads to primary lymphoedema; in practice this means no identifiable outside cause can be found. Secondary lymphoedema is due to factors originating outside the lymphatic system
Primary lymphoedema
Congenital lymphoedema presenting at or soon after birth is rare. A family history suggests Milroy's disease. Swelling invariably affects both lower limbs, but the upper limbs and face may also swell.
Limb swelling may be the presenting and major manifestation of congenital lymphatic malformations either in a pure formfor example, diffuse lymphangiomaor in combination with a congenital vascular syndromefor example, Klippel-Trenaunay (varicose veins, excessive long bone growth, and vascular birthmark).
Most forms of primary lymphoedema present after puberty with foot and ankle swelling. Women are more often affected, and the condition may be familialfor example, Meige's disease. Lymph reflux due to lymphatic vessel hypertrophy or megalymphatics is clinically distinguishable.
Secondary lymphoedema
Filariasis is probably the most common cause of secondary lymphoedema worldwide and should be considered in any patient with lymphoedema who has travelled or lived in an endemic area.
Clinical diagnosis of lymphoedema
The clinical diagnosis of lymphoedema depends on the history and characteristic skin changes. Although most swelling occurs in the subcutaneous layer, the skin becomes thicker (as demonstrated by the inablity to pinch a fold of skin at the base of the second toe), skin creases become enhanced, and a warty texture (hyperkeratosis) and papillomatosis develop. Such skin changes are termed “elephantiasis.”
The differential diagnosis includes venous oedema, “armchair legs,” and lipodystrophy or lipoedema, which is often misdiagnosed as lymphoedema.
Investigation of lymphoedema
Lymphoscintigraphy (isotope lymphography) Lymphoscintigraphy is the best investigation for identifying oedema of lymphatic origin. Radiolabelled colloid or protein is injected into the first web space of each foot and monitored using a gamma camera as it moves to the draining lymph nodes. Measurement of tracer uptake within the lymph nodes after a defined interval will distinguish lymphoedema from oedema of non-lymphatic origin. The appearance of tracer outside the main lymph routes, particularly in the skin (dermal backflow), indicates lymph reflux and suggests proximal obstruction. Poor transit of isotope from the injection site suggests hypoplasia of the peripheral lymphatic system
Direct contrast x ray lymphography (lymphangiography) After the lymph vessels have been identified with a vital dye, a contrast medium such as Lipiodol is administered directly into a peripheral lymphatic vessel, usually in the dorsum of the foot. In a normal limb the lymphangiogram will show opacification of five to 15 main collecting vessels as they converge on the lowermost inguinal lymph nodes. In patients with lymphatic obstruction the contrast medium will often reflux into the dermal network, so called “dermal backflow.”
Computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging Both computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging detect a characteristic “honeycomb” pattern in the subcutaneous compartment that is not seen with other causes of oedema. In post-thrombotic syndrome the muscle compartment deep to the fascia is enlarged, whereas in lymphoedema it is unchanged. Thickening of the skin is also characteristic of lymphoedema, although it is not diagnostic. Magnetic resonance imaging is more informative than computed tomography because it can detect water.
Management of lymphoedema
Most patients with lymphoedema are just told to live with it, but this is neither necessary nor acceptable.
Physical treatment to reduce swelling Treatment is aimed at controlling lymph formation and improving lymph drainage through existing lymphatic vessels and collateral routes by applying normal physiological processes which stimulate lymph flow.
Physical treatment for lymphoedema Process
Exercise Dynamic muscle contractions encourage both passive (movement of lymph along tissue planes and non-contractile lymph vessels) and active (increased contractility of collecting lymph vessels) drainage Compression (hosiery) Opposes capillary filtration Acts as a counterforce to muscle contractions (so generating greater interstitial pressure changes) Manual lymphatic drainage Form of massage that stimulates lymph flow in more proximal, normally draining lymphatics to “siphon” lymph from congested areas (particularly trunk) Multilayer bandaging Used as an intensive treatment in combination with exercise to reduce large, misshapen lower limbs and permit subsequent maintenance treatment with hosiery Pneumatic compression Softens and reduces limb volume but can forcibly displace fluid into trunk and genitalia. Hosiery must always be worn afterwards Elevation Does not stimulate lymph drainage but lowers venous pressure and therefore filtration, allowing lymph drainage to catch up
Prevention of infection Prevention of acute inflammatory episodes (cellulitis or lymphangitis) is crucial because they can cause severe constitutional upset and deterioration in swelling. Care of the skin, good hygiene, control of skin diseases such as tinea pedis, and careful antiseptic dressings after minor wounds are all important. Antibiotics must be given promptly when an acute inflammatory episode occurs. In recurrent cellulitis the only effective treatment is prophylactic antibioticsfor example, phenoxymethylpenicillin 500 mg daily, for an indefinite period.
Drug treatment for lymphoedema Diuretics are of little benefit in lymphoedema because their main action is to limit capillary filtration. Improvement in patients who are taking diuretics suggests that the predominant cause of the oedema is not lymphatic. The benefit of benzopyrones, such as coumarin or flavonoids, remains unproved.
Surgery Surgery is of value in a few patients in whom the size and weight of a limb inhibit its use and interfere with mobility after physical treatment. Surgery is aimed at either removing excessive tissue (reducing or debulking operations) or bypassing local lymphatic defects
Ko DS, Lerner R, Klose G, Cosimi AB. Effective treatment of lymphedema of the extremities. Arch Surg 1998;133:452-8. Mortimer PS. The swollen limb and lymphatic problems. In: Tibbs DJ, Sabiston DC, Davies MG, Mortimer PS, Scurr JH. Varicose veins, venous disorders and lymphatic problems in the lower limb. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997. Levick JR. An introduction to cardiovascular physiology. 2nd ed. Oxford: Butterworth-Henemann, 1995.
Peter S Mortimer is consultant skin physician, St George's Hospital and Royal Marsden Hospital, London.
The ABC of arterial and venous disease is edited by Richard Donnelly, professor of vascular medicine, University of Nottingham and Southern Derbyshire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust (richard.donnelly@nottingham.ac.uk ) and Nick J M London, professor of surgery, University of Leicester, Leicester (sms16@leicester.ac.uk ). It will be published as a book later this year.
http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/320/7248/1527?maxtoshow=&HITS=10&hits=10&RESULTFORMAT=&fulltext=lymphoedema&andorexactfulltext=and&searchid=1101387593335_7589&stored_search=&FIRSTINDEX=0&sortspec=relevance&resourcetype=1
Lymphedema Pathophysiology
http://www.nci.nih.gov/cancerinfo/pdq/supportivecare/lymphedema/healthprofessional/#Section_4
Anatomy & Pathophysiology of Lymphedema
Definitions and Lymphedema Pathophysiology
Carolyn Wadsworth, P.T., O.C.S., C.H.T. Department of Rehabilitation Therapies University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics First Published: 2003 Last Revised: December 2003 Peer Review Status: Internally Reviewed
http://www.vh.org/adult/provider/internalmedicine/lymphedema/definitions.html
Pathogenesis & lymphedema pathophysiology
http://www.emedicine.com/med/topic2722.htm
http://www.livestrong.org/portal/laf_docs/lymphedema_detailedfinal.htm
Lower extremity lymphedema update: pathophysiology, diagnosis, and treatment guidelines.
http://www.eblue.org/article/S0190-9622(08)00484-2/abstract
Join us as we work for lymphedema patients everywehere:
Advocates for Lymphedema
Dedicated to be an advocacy group for lymphedema patients. Working towards education, legal reform, changing insurance practices, promoting research, reaching for a cure.
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/AdvocatesforLymphedema/
Subscribe: AdvocatesforLymphedema-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Lymphedema People / Advocates for Lymphedema
Children with Lymphedema
The time has come for families, parents, caregivers to have a support group of their own. Support group for parents, families and caregivers of chilren with lymphedema. Sharing information on coping, diagnosis, treatment and prognosis. Sponsored by Lymphedema People.
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/childrenwithlymphedema/
Subscribe: childrenwithlymphedema-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Lipedema Lipodema Lipoedema
No matter how you spell it, this is another very little understood and totally frustrating conditions out there. This will be a support group for those suffering with lipedema/lipodema. A place for information, sharing experiences, exploring treatment options and coping.
Come join, be a part of the family!
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/lipedema_lipodema_lipoedema/?yguid=209645515
Subscribe: lipedema_lipodema_lipoedema-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
MEN WITH LYMPHEDEMA
If you are a man with lymphedema; a man with a loved one with lymphedema who you are trying to help and understand come join us and discover what it is to be the master instead of the sufferer of lymphedema.
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/menwithlymphedema/
Subscribe: menwithlymphedema-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
All About Lymphangiectasia
Support group for parents, patients, children who suffer from all forms of lymphangiectasia. This condition is caused by dilation of the lymphatics. It can affect the intestinal tract, lungs and other critical body areas.
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/allaboutlymphangiectasia/
Subscribe: allaboutlymphangiectasia-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Lymphatic Disorders Support Group @ Yahoo Groups
While we have a number of support groups for lymphedema… there is nothing out there for other lymphatic disorders. Because we have one of the most comprehensive information sites on all lymphatic disorders, I thought perhaps, it is time that one be offered.
Information and support for rare and unusual disorders affecting the lymph system. Includes lymphangiomas, lymphatic malformations, telangiectasia, hennekam's syndrome, distichiasis, Figueroa syndrome, ptosis syndrome, plus many more. Extensive database of information available through sister site Lymphedema People.
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/lymphaticdisorders/
Subscribe: lymphaticdisorders-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Teens with Lymphedema
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/Teens_with_Lymphedema/
All About Lymphoedema - Australia
http://au.groups.yahoo.com/group/All_About_Lymphoedema/
My Life with Lymphedema
http://mylifewithlymphedema.blogspot.com/
Developmental Disorders of the Lymphatics
http://lymphsystemdisorders.blogspot.com
Edema and Related Medical Conditions
http://edemainformation.blogspot.com/
Lymphedemaville - AOL Blog
http://journals.aol.com/patoco2/Lymphedemaville
Disorders of the Lymph System
http://journals.aol.com/patoco2/DisordersoftheLymphSystem
http://bacteriainfections.blogspot.com
http://antibioticinformation.blogspot.com/
Fungus Infections
http://journals.aol.com/patoco2/FungusInfections
http://cellulitisinfections.blogspot.com/
Trisomy Disorders
http://journals.aol.com/patoco2/TrisomyDisorders/
http://www.xanga.com/lipedema
Lymphangiectasia/Xanga
http://www.xanga.com/lymphangiectasia
Lymphangiectasia
http://lymphangiectasia.blogspot.com/
http://www.xanga.com/lymphedema
http://lymphedemahome.livejournal.com/
Antibiotic Glossary
http://www.lymphedemapeople.com/phpBB3/viewforum.php?f=34
Blood Glossary
Cancer Glossary
Clinical Trials Glossary
Edema Glossary
Genetics Glossary
Immune System Glossary
Skin Glossary
Wound Glossary
Vitamin Glossary
lymphedemapeople@aol.com
lymphedemapeople@yahoo.com
Updated Jan. 20, 2012
pathophysiology_of_lymphedema.txt · Last modified: 2012/10/16 14:40 (external edit)
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Off-plan
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"Tilli's Story" News
Screenplay Written for Tilli's Story Film Project
(June 2013) - A husband-wife screenwriting duo in Los Angeles has written a screenplay for "Tilli's Story." Jared Drake is an accomplished film director who is currently working on a movie starring Lily Tomlin. His wife, Julia Drake, is a book publicist with a master's in screenwriting who grew up in Germany.
Film producer Kathryn Lekan, who has worked on "Deadwood," "The West Wing," and other series, holds the film rights to "Tilli's Story." Lekan's production company, Barn 38 Pictures, is based in Los Angeles.
The Rockford Register Star covered the movie deal in its Dec. 22, 2010 edition.
Polish Edition Now in Print
The Polish translation of "Tilli's Story" is now available in Europe through publisher Videograf. The Polish title is: "Marionetka historii" ("Marionette of History"). Purchase information is here.
YouTube Video Now Available
In spring 2009, Tilli spoke to a Rock Valley College book club in Rockford, IL. That talk was recorded on DVD (click here if you are interested in purchasing it). The question and answer period has been uploaded to YouTube. It is in three sections (since YouTube caps videos at 10 minutes):
Section Two
Section Three
• The authors signed a new film rights option contract earlier this year with Hollywood producer Kathryn Lekan (co-producer of HBO series "Hung" and owner of Barn 38 Productions, an independent film company) to turn Tilli's Story into a movie. A screenplay is being written and negotations to secure financing and talent are proceeding.
Press Coverage of "Tilli's Story"
• "Tilli's Story Reaches Milestone" - Oct. 13, 2009 column by Mike Doyle in the Rockford Register Star discusses Polish edition, movie progress, and DVD availability.
• Sue Stephens, news director for Northern Public Radio (WNIJ, 89.5 FM), interviewed Tilli and Lorna on Nov. 30, 2005. Listen to the interview here.
• Rockford Register Star columnist Mike Doyle wrote about the continuing success of "Tilli's Story" in his column on Nov. 10, 2005.
• Sun City Herald reporter Kurt Begalka covered Tilli and Lorna's appearance at Sun City in Huntley, IL, in a two-page article on Nov. 2, 2005.
• The Elgin Courier-News also covered the appearance at Sun City in Huntley, IL, on Nov. 2, 2005, with an article and column by reporter/editor Debbie Moore, which appeared on Nov. 9, 2005.
• The Fort Myers News-Press wrote about Tilli on October 18, 2005. Click here to read it. Tilli and Lorna also appeared on the Tampa WB station newscast on Oct 17 at 10 p.m. and on the Fort Myers NBC and ABC affiliate newscasts on Oct 19.
• Tilli and Lorna have been doing radio interviews at a variety of stations around the U.S., beginning Sept. 30, 2005. Stations in Boston, Philadelphia, Grand Rapids, Gainesville, St. Louis, Denver, upstate New York, and throughout Wisconsin aired interviews. Many of these interviews are posted on the Listen To Tilli page.
• An article called "Telling Tilli's Tale," about Lorna's work on the book, appears in the fall edition of the Northern Illinois University alumni magazine, Northern Now.
• The authors spoke to fifth graders in Wauconda, Illinois, last spring. The event was covered by the Wauconda Courier.
• WREX-TV interviewed Tilli at an appearance before a Rockford, Illinois, grade school last year. Click here to watch.
• Tilli's Story was excerpted in the Rockford (Ill.) Register Star from July 4, 2004, through Aug. 22, 2004.
• "Tilli's Story" received an Independent Publisher Award in the 2006 IPPY competition.
• "Tilli's Story" was recognized in the annual Independent Book Publishers Association IPPY awards program, receiving an honorable mention in the Autobiography/Memoir category.
Appearances | Reviews | Reader Comments | Book Club Guide | Study Guide | Excerpts | Listen To Tilli |
About the Authors | Contact Us | Buy The Book
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Home Home & Design Minneapolis Home + Remodeling Show 2020
Minneapolis Home + Remodeling Show 2020
From January 24-26, the Twin Cities’ premier home improvement marketplace returns to U.S. Bank Stadium with a stacked program featuring interactive demos, jaw-dropping displays, and presentations from local and international industry pros.
by Mpls.St.Paul
Photography provided By Brett Tutor
Home and Garden Cover
What’s New. What’s Now.
Try a Trade
The National Association of the Remodeling Industry (NARI), along with New Ulm nonprofit Big Ideas, will be giving visitors the tools to walk in a tradesperson’s steel-toed boots. NARI reps will talk all things trades while Big Ideas provides a virtual reality experience that will give attendees a hyper-real idea of what it really takes to make the grade.
The Green Life
From sealing leaks to growing leeks and plugging in to opting out, there are so many ways to join the eco-friendly era.
Drive Green
More than 10,000 Minnesotans have already switched to an electric car, and surveys reveal more than half of car consumers are considering an electric model.
Jukka Kukkonen, founder of PlugInConnect, an organization helping drive the electric car movement, says electric cars aren’t just the future: They’re now. “They are really fun to drive. They are very powerful—usually the fastest cars on the road. They are quiet. They provide a lot of gadgets. Anyone who starts driving electric never goes back. This is car 2.0: a better driving experience.”
Reuse Green
Jenny Kedward, president of ReUSE MN, is working to connect you with reuse, rental, and repair businesses to support the economy and environment.
“Buying used and repairing what we already have are huge steps in lowering our carbon emissions,” she says. “Although shopping used might take a little more planning, it is becoming easier and more fun all the time.” One of ReUSE’s partners, Better Futures, works to reduce the waste that comes from homes during remodel or renovation, which is why they love talking to homeowners at the show.
Photo by Groshed
Out Building
Jon Friesner was initially just looking for a way to feed his five kids, who got so used to their yummy garden harvest they turned their noses up at imported produce in the winter. “My background is as a contractor—building—so I took what I knew about gardening and what I knew about net-zero building to make this super-efficient envelope for a highly productive food production system using hydroponics.”
Looking like a charming tiny house, GroSheds fit into an urban or rural landscape and can be customized depending on a customer’s needs.
–Katie Dohman
Sanctuary in the City
Interior designer Kelli Kaufer of Smith + Trade Mercantile and Michelle Olson of Pottery Barn offer some tips to make the most of a smaller footprint.
Give New Life: “Reclaimed wood is big, and you can use it outdoors, obviously,” Kaufer says. Pottery Barn is also doing its part: 50 percent of its wood will be sustainably sourced by 2021, and it carries a variety of FSC-certified outdoor furniture pieces, according to Olson.
Floor It: Colorful outdoor rugs are a great way to start your foundation with color,” Olson says. Small outdoor spaces can really get a shot in the arm with bolder colors than you may try inside.
Flexible Furniture: Kaufer says you’ll get the most flexibility with two small chairs and a pint-sized sofa. Olson adds that Pottery Barn’s outdoor pillow collection can also be brought in.
Light It Up: String lights bring the ambiance and charm without taking up much space. HOA keeping you from making exterior changes? Kaufer’s rigged up 1x1 boards that are hung with I-hooks, securing lights to the boards with zip ties.
Catch the pros at Smith + Trade, Pottery Barn, and Macy’s at the City Studios feature located near the show entrance.
Photo provided By Brett Tutor
Brett Tutor
Building with Brett Tutor
He’s traveled the world and tried his hand at just about every job—and now he’s in your living room, too.
by Katie Dohman
What is it about homes that you wish people understood better? You can really change your health with a few little tweaks: air quality, energy efficiency, alternative energy. The progress on photovoltaic panels for solar, even in the last ten years, has come a long way. Check out dsireusa.org to see what kind of discounts, incentives, and credits you may get from the government or your local utility company.
When it comes to design, I see so many people do the same thing. I’m so refreshed when people try something original and new.
What particular trends are you excited about right now? I’m seeing a little more color, more of a Moroccan style—earthy, but bolder. I like that.
You can buy one good thing, rather than three crappy things. If you have something, love it. And if you don’t love it, you don’t need it.
What should people think about when they consider remodeling? Most people underestimate the amount of time and money a project takes. On TV it seems like two days, but we have 30 people working off-camera and it takes a month.
But I do love watching people DIY. You can learn to build a table on YouTube. Ripping up carpet and putting in hardwood floors is a great starter project you can usually bang out in a weekend. Go to the professionals for electrical and plumbing work. I’ve electrocuted myself twice, and I thought I knew what I was doing.
Brett Tutor on the Main Stage: Jan. 24 (5:00–6:00pm), Jan. 25 (12:30–1:30pm and 4:30–5:30pm), and Jan. 26 (12:30–1:30pm)
Photo by Slumberland Furniture
For the full main stage schedule, go to minneapolishomeandremodelingshow.com
“This year’s show is all about remodeling, reclaiming, and reusing–embracing ways to live with and refresh your existing space, versus just finding a new one.”
—Margaret Eggenberger, Slumberland Furniture
Photo by Valley Craft Industries
Not Your Father's Garage
Think of it as a room fit for a Ferrari (or Ford).
By Jamie Korf
Imagine your garage flanked with shiny new shelving, natural daylight, floor covering, and maybe even a sectional with some splashy throw pillows. A true multipurpose room where entertainment and utility can comfortably coexist.
Converting a garage into a living space offers homeowners a more affordable alternative to slapping on an addition or packing up and moving to a new property.
“The garage as an extension of upscale living space is a trend that has grown rapidly over the last several years,” says Dennis Campbell, president and CEO of Valley Craft Industries. “New high-end cabinet products and floor finishes—from epoxies to urethanes and molded plastic floor tiles—have accelerated the trend.”
Homeowners are morphing their once cold, dark garage into a habitable space with inviting features: a mini rec room, art corner for the kiddos, man/she cave, or lofted bedroom, for example.
“It’s possible to go from couch potato to happy handyperson, getting cool things done in a great environment,” he says.
Campbell wants the conversion-curious to know that chasing your dream garage is more attainable than most think. “The most common comment we hear at shows is, ‘I only wish I could afford something like this.’ The truth is, the price is a fraction of the cost of the car you’re putting in it,” he says. “For a new home construction, your dream garage would add a mere one to two percent of the cost of the home.”
Adults: $12 at the door/$10 online
Children ages 6–12: $4
Children ages 5 and younger: FREE
Group tickets (minimum of 20): $8 each
Visit the show website for ticketing promotions: minneapolishomeandremodelingshow.com
FREE RIDES: Get there by bus or light rail with a free ride pass. Download your free pass on the show website.
Remodeling Home Building Home Decor Home Home Improvement
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Featured Masterpieces
Krishna in the Bhagavata: An Exhibition of Rajasthani Miniature Paintings
Sadbhawana Diwas
Collections View all
The Allahabad Museum is centrally located in the Civil Lines area of city in the lush green Chandrashekhar Azad Park popularly known as Company Bagh. It is about 3 kms from Allahabad railway junction and almost equidistant from Prayag and Rambagh Railway Stations and about 12 km from Bamrauli Airport.
In 1863, the Board of Revenue requested the Government of North-Western Provinces for the establishment of a public library and a museum.
With donations from the provincial government, the famous Orientalist Sir William Muir and the Maharaja of Vijaynagaram, a superintendent of library and museum was appointed and an ornate building was inaugurated in 1878 to house the collection. For unforeseen reasons the museum closed down in 1881. The initiative to reopen the museum was taken by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the President of the Allahabad Municipal Board in 1923-24. Under the operational direction of Pandit Brij Mohan Vyas, the executive officer of the board, a museum was opened in the Municipal Building in 1931. Under the tutelage of Pandit Vyas, the museum acquired important collections, including ancient sculptures from Bharhut and Bhumra. In 1942, S.C. Kala the first curator gave the much needed impetus to enriching the collections of the museum, especially adding the Nehru Personalia Collection and the Bengal School Paintings. As space became a constraint, it was decided that the museum should be shifted from the Municipal Board building to new premises. The foundation stone of the present museum building was laid on 14th December 1947 by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and the museum was opened to the public in 1954.
Galleries of Allahabad Museum
Important objects of museum collection have been displayed in the Sixteen Galleries of the Museum including one gallery for temporary exhibitions. These galleries are:
Introductory Gallery: The central hall of the Allahabad Museum is called introductory gallery as it contains a representative collection of paintings of AK Haldar, sculptures, Pistol of Chandra Shekhar Azad and an Ivory chariot gifted to Pt. Nehru from Karnataka.
Archaeological Gallery/Rock Art Gallery: A representative collection of objects connected with Harappan culture and Copper hoard culture are on display. Seals and sealings collection containing names of individuals, trading guilds, kings, nobles, officials and educational institutions are also an important attraction.
Terracotta Gallery: The Museum has a rich collection of more than six thousand terracotta objects belonging to Kausambi, Jhusi, Ahichchhtra, Rajghat, Patna, Buxar, Chandraketugarh and various other places of U.P., Bihar and Bengal. Gajalakshmi, standing Lakshmi on lotus are some of the exquisite pieces in the terracotta collection.
Early Sculpture Gallery: The stone sculptures include exquisite panels, coping stones etc. from Bharhut, Kushana sculptures from Mathura, Gupta sculptures and 11th century carvings from Khajuraho. The masterpieces of stone sculpture includes the tasselled head of Shiva projecting from a stone linga which potrays the classical purity of Gupta art. A blue schist Bodhisattva resembling the image of Greek God Apollo depicting the syncretisation of Indo-Greek styles. The bejeweled yakshis from Jamsot are the finest sculptures in this gallery.
Medieval Sculpture Gallery: The sculptures dating back to medieval period are displayed in this gallery. Prominent among these are Uma Maheshwar, Chamunda, Varah, Adinath, Jamsot Nayika, Vishnu etc.
Miniature Painting Gallery: The painting of 18-19th century paintings from Rajasthani, Mughal, Kangra styles are displayed here.
Literary Gallery: This gallery mainly contains personalia collections of Pt. Sumitranandan Pant, ‘Nirala’ and Mahadevi Verma. Besides these, collection of Prem chand, Ram Kumar Verma and Naresh Mehta are displayed.
Natural History Gallery: This gallery houses the stuffed species of avies, reptiles and mammals including various species of migratory birds, leopard, cub, tiger, peacock, ostrich etc.
Gandhi Gallery: It contains photographs of Mahatma Gandhi from his days in South Africa to his involvement in the Freedom Struggle in India. It also has on display original salt made by Gandhi at Dandi. The pocket watch of Mahatma Gandhi and brass caskets in which Mahatma’s ashes were taken to Sangam, Allahabad and the Ford vehicle that carried the ashes of Gandhi to Sangam for immersion is parked in a separate enclosure outside the Museum.
Nehru Gallery: This gallery contains the personalia collection of Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru including welcome addresses, autobiography of Nehru, caskets and photographs from Pt. Nehru childhood to his last days. A golden stick and a model of Anand Bhawan add lustre to the gallery.
Decorative Art Gallery: Beautiful wooden furnitures glazed pottery including Deft ware from Holland and pottery from China and ivory carving are the most attractive items in the collection here.
Arms, Armours and Bronze Gallery: The Museum also possesses a variety of arms and armours including medieval swords, body armour, antique pistols and small daggers. The pride of place is occupied by a gold sword cover gifted to the museum by the Governor of Uttar Pradesh.
Textile Gallery: It contains several exquisite textiles including Baluchari Saree and Zari work.
Modern Indian Painting Gallery: Allahabad Museum has a large collection of Bengal School of Art and Modern Painting of Anagarika Govind, Nicholas and Svetoslav Roerich. Among the works of the Bengal School the museum has the largest collection of the paintings of Asit Kumar Haldar.
Freedom Struggle Gallery: It contains the photographs from Revolt of 1857 to India’s independence. It also contains valuable letters of Mahatma Gandhi. The gallery has on display valuable match box labels printed in Sweden, Japan and Australia and the sword and dress of Liaqat Ali of Allahabad. Publications: Museum has published number of Books, Catalogues, Seminar proceedings in order to encourage research and education and a variety of souvenir items like replicas of sculptures, picture post cards, prints of original paintings. Some important publications are:- Retrospect and Prospect (1955), Master Pieces in the Allahabad Museum (1984), Shunga Art (1991), Tolstoy and Gandhi (1993), Indian Art and Culture (1994), Kalidasa aur Unka Yug (1998), Srijan aur Parivesh (1998), Magh Inscription in the Allahabad Museum (1999), Allahabad Ke Chitrakar (2000), Flora and Fauna in Art (2000), Shriradha (2001), Dastavez (2004), Srijan aur Parivesh, Bhag-2 (2005) Rabindranath Tagore and his association with Uttar Pradesh (2012), Kala Purusharth (2013).
Museum has published number of Books, Catalogues, Seminar proceedings in order to encourage research and education and a variety of souvenir items like replicas of sculptures, picture post cards, prints of original paintings. Some important publications are:
Retrospect and Prospect (1955), Master Pieces in the Allahabad Museum (1984), Shunga Art (1991), Tolstoy and Gandhi (1993), Indian Art and Culture (1994), Kalidasa aur Unka Yug (1998), Srijan aur Parivesh (1998), Magh Inscription in the Allahabad Museum (1999), Allahabad Ke Chitrakar (2000), Flora and Fauna in Art (2000), Shriradha (2001), Dastavez (2004), Srijan aur Parivesh, Bhag-2 (2005) Rabindranath Tagore and his association with Uttar Pradesh (2012), Kala Purusharth (2013).
Facilities for Visitors
Guided gallery tours on prior intimation.
Free participation in Lectures, Seminars, other Educational Activities & events.
Publications, Plaster cast & Fiberglass replicas of stone and terracotta objects and other Souvenirs are sold at the sale counter.
Library for researchers and students.
Open on all days except Monday and Sunday following second Saturday & Government of India Gazetted Holidays.
Timings: 10 am to 5 pm.
Ticket Counter Closes at 4.30 pm.
Photography is allowed on payment.
Organisation of Seminars and conferences and research
In recent years National Seminars are being organised regularly such as i. Tagore and his association with Uttar Pradesh (2012) ii. Harappan-Gangetic Connection: Recent Archaeological Perspective (2012), iii. Kala evam Purusharth (2013). Exploration of Ganga valley and collection of artifacts have been done as part of the academic initiative of the Allahabad Museum.
Museum organises and hosts exhibitions based on its various collections and solo and group exhibitions of senior and budding artists in the museum and outreach exhibitions. Museum has also mounted the outreach exhibitions by sending its objects to various exhibitions organised by different organizations. Some of them are Paintings of Nocholas Roerich and Paintings of Asit Kumar Haldar. Allahabad Museum has hosted a major exhibitions with other museums and institutions. Outreach exhibitions are being organised in collaboration with other institutions.
Museum’s objects were sent for an exhibition ‘The Body in Indian Art’ organized under Europalia India Festival 2013 at Brussels, Belgium in October, 2013.
Monsoon Festival and Basant Utsav
The Allahabad Museum started monsoon festival or Ullas in order to bring more visitors as part of audience augmentation programme Ullas is being organised regularly in the month of July. The Monsoon festival ULLAS includes the programme on music, dance, literature and paintings. Basant Utsav is celebrated as part of the spring festivities in March.
Heritage Walk and Road Show
The Allahabad Museum celebrated its foundation day on 28th February. On this occasion Museum’s building is illuminated. A heritage walk is also taken out on the occasion. The heritage walk took place from the site of the old Museum building in the Nagar Mahapalika. In heritage walk The public of Allahabad, school children and eminent personalities took part in the heritage walk on occasion of the Foundation Day.
Gandhi Smriti Vahan
This 47 model V-8-Ford Truck has been maintained in its original form and is on display in a separate enclosure. The Gandhi Smriti Vahan (The Memorial Vehicle) carried the ashes of the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi from Allahabad Railway Station to the Sangam on February 12, 1948.
Auditorium & Committee Room
The Museum has a fully air-conditioned Auditorium, named after Pt. Brij Mohan Vyas with a seating capacity of 150 persons and a Conference room with a seating capacity of forty persons. Both are well equipped with public address system.
Allahabad Museum,
Chandrashekhar Azad Park,
Kamla Nehru Road,
Allahabad - 211 002, India
Phone No. (91) 532 2407409, 2408690
Fax No. (91) 532 2407834
Email ID allahabadmuseum [at] gmail [dot] com
Website URL http://www.theallahabadmuseum.com
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Al-Qaeda’s Turning Against Its Syrian Affiliate
Iran’s Islamic State Problem Isn’t Going Away
Iran-Backed Forces Link Up along Syrian-Iraqi Border near al-Tanf despite U.S. Warnings
Salafi-Jihadist Militancy
Shiraz Maher
The primacy of praxis: clerical authority in the Syrian conflict
Monday Briefing
Gerald M. Feierstein, Charles Lister, Gönül Tol and Ahmad Majidyar
Has dealing with MbS become too toxic?
Tobias Schneider
The Fatemiyoun Division: Afghan fighters in the Syrian civil war
Dalia Ghanem-Yazbeck
Specter of Jihadism continues to haunt Maghreb
The factors that have made it possible for jihadi groups to thrive in the first place—economic inequality, lack of professional opportunities, social alienation, political marginalization, oppression, and indiscriminate violence—persist today in all Maghreb countries and are likely to continue. Put together, the region’s security could become even more precarious, and the fight against jihadism might be a long one.
Iran and its Proxies
Mona Alami
Is Iran replicating Lebanon model in southern Syria?
Hezbollah allegedly training Nigerian Shiites to expand influence in West Africa
Trends and Drivers
Out of the desert: ISIS's strategy for a long war
Terrorism and human rights
This paper explores the relationship between terrorism and human rights from the international legal perspective, considering terrorism as both a cause and a product of human rights violations and what that means for counter-terrorism efforts.
Paul Salem
Violent transnational movements in the Middle East
The conditions that brought about the rise and spread of violent transnational movements in the Middle East are complex and have been long in the making.
Video Statement
Charles Lister
The NYC Terror Attack and U.S. Counterterrorism
Charles Lister, director of MEI's Extremism and Counterterrorism program, discusses what the recent terror attack in lower Manhattan, and the suspect's claimed connection to ISIS, mean for U.S. security and counterterrorism policy.
Foreign Policy - Sep 2
U.S., Russia Talk Syria, But Pentagon Ready to Walk
AFP - Sep 6
After Setbacks, IS Digs In with Focus on Deadly Attacks
Bloomberg - Dec 13
Rouhani Allies Embrace Censored Reformers Ahead of Iranian Polls
Alex Vatanka
Foreign Affairs - Nov 25
Pulling the Strings: How Khamenei Will Prevent Reform in Iran
Violent Extremism: Historical Patterns and Precedents
Countering the Weaponization of Information
Assessing the Trump Administration's Counterterrorism Policy
What the Next President Will Face in the Middle East
Launched in October 2016, MEI’s Countering Violent Transnational Movements project undertakes in-depth research and analysis into the region’s varied terrorist threats and their underlying drivers, including civil conflict; and seeks to propose effective policy responses. The project is led by MEI senior fellows Charles Lister and Alex Vatanka and is supported by a generous grant from the Carnegie Corporation of New York.
Wed, Oct 5th 2016, 9:31AM
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Home attack in Fulham
Police are appealing for witnesses following the murder on an elderly man in his home, in Fulham this morning.
Officers were called just after 6 am to Hazelbury Road, where the 73 year old was pronounced dead at the scene by London Ambulance Service.
There were other people in the house at the time, but none of them were injured.
The investigation is still on-going and no arrests have been made yet.
New signing for London Welsh
London Welsh have signed a hugely experienced back row forward, Adam Balding.
Balding has been on trial with the Richmond based club and impressed head coach Lyn Jones, after featuring for Welsh in the Aviva A League.
He has been named on the bench for tomorrows match with Exeter Chiefs at the Kassam Stadium.
Kick offs at 4pm.
More arrests in Croydon riots
11 people have been arrested in Croydon in connection with last year’s riots. Police visited 22 addresses across Croydon, south London and Ealing.
Four were charged with violent disorder and burglary offences and six released on bail pending further enquiries.
Another was taken to Court for failing to appear at Court previously on burglary charges.
All were aged between 16 and 28.
Charges in Kingston nightclub murder
A third man’s been charged in connection with a murder at a Kingston nightclub.
20 year old Benjamin Onwuma is to appear at Brent Magistrates Court today for the murder of Jamie Sanderson at Oceana on the 25th of October.
22 year old Ashley Milne and 19 year Brandon Francis, both from Peckham, have already been charged and are being held in custody.
SUSPECTS WANTED IN CROYDON PHONE ROBBERY
Croydon police have released CCTV images of people wanted in connection with a robbery at a phone shop in Purley Way.
It took place on the 19th October around 6 pm at the Carphone Warehouse.
Five suspects forced their way into the store and then assaulted and threatened two members of staff.
They stole more than 40 i-phones and are believed to have left the scene in a silver Jaguar x type car with blacked out windows.
A private reward of £10,000 has been made for information leading to the arrest and prosecution of those responsible.
'James Bond' to drop in at Sandown's Gents Day this weekend
Horseracing’s very own James Bond, aka AP McCoy, will be arriving at the Surrey track in true 007 style tomorrow by traveling to the racecourse in a helicopter.
The 17 times Champion jockey, is planning on riding in the first two races at Wincanton before making a quick dash via helicopter to Sandown Park in time to ride in the in The Get Straight to Bet @bluesq.com Handicap Hurdle at 3pm.
McCoy, who is Sandown Park's 2012/13 Jumps Season Ambassador, last week obtained 20 stitches and 2 broken teeth from being kicked by a horse at Weatherby.
However, after a short visit to A&E, the 2010 BBC Sports Personality of the Year was back in action the following day at Ascot.
McCoy rides in three races at Sandown Park tomorrow, including The Hampton Court Standard Open National Hunt Flat Race in which he rides a horse called Your Teepee or Mine, owned by The Happy Campers.
Amanda Holden admits she is a secret Jackie fan
An event auction with a difference has taken place in Battersea Park at the Evolution Centre, raising money for the famous Dogs' and Cats' Home.
Some of the dogs strode down the ‘dogwalk’ wearing specially designed outfits for the Coats and Collars Gala Ball last night.
They were created by designers including Stella McCartney, Zandra Rhodes and Vivienne Westwood.
The event was hosted by TV personality Amanda Holden.
As soon as she saw our reporter at the event, she took the opportunity to explain why she hasn’t got a Jackie car sticker.
Blaze being battled in Kingston's Fife Road
40 fire fighters are tackling a fire in an office block in Kingston.
It broke out in Fife Road just after 1 o'clock.
Fife Road is currently closed.
Thanks to listener @tom3Drecord for the photo
Sutton Police Awards
Police officers in Sutton are being commended for their professionalism and bravery.
In Carshalton, PC Donna Williams was praised for her work when she helped convince a man with several kitchens knives to put them down.
And PC Caroline Clymer helped to save a woman who was threatening to jump from Times Square car park.
Along with other officers they received their awards at a police ceremony in Bromley.
Queen visits Richmond's Poppy Factory
The poppy factory in Richmond received a visit from a very special guest yesterday.
The Queen toured the site in the Petersham Road as part of its 90th birthday celebrations.
The factory is where all of the poppies are produced and it provides jobs for wounded or sick ex military personnel of all ages.
Her Majesty is pictured above with former Coldstream Guard, Philip Hayton.
Morning Crashes In South West London
There have been two serious crashes in South West London this morning.
A motorbike and a car collided on the northbound side of the A3 at New Malden.
The biker was treated at the scene and has now been taken to hospital.
His injuries are not thought to be life threatening.
And on Merton Road near South Wimbledon Tube station a car turned on its side.
The fire brigade had to cut a woman free and she’d now in hospital.
Her injuries are not believed to be serious.
Richmond Car Thefts
More than 200 vehicles have been stolen in Richmond over the last 6 months.
With BMW cars and Hondo motorcycles being the choice of transport for thieves.
Police say nearly 300 thousand pounds worth of goods taken from vehicles since April.
Residents are being urged to make sure their cars and bikes are safe.
Fostering service looking for numbers to climb
Sutton's fostering service is reaching out to potential new foster carers this weekend as it looks to get more people signed up.
Youngsters will be given the opportunity to take on the challenge of the 10m climbing wall at the Life Centre while their parents find out about looking after vulnerable children and young people who can’t live with their own families.
The event aims to encourage people to find out more about fostering and ask questions of social workers in the team and foster carers to see how fostering could fit into their lifestyle and with their families. There is currently a need for more foster carers for older children and teenagers.
Last year, Fostering Network, the leading fostering charity in the country, stated that a child came into care every 22 minutes. In Sutton, 79 young people were placed in foster care during 2011/12. However, there is always a need for more people to sign up. If there aren’t enough foster carers in Sutton to meet the needs of the children coming into care they can be sent to carers as far away as Kent which means that contact with their families and friends is made much more difficult and they have to change school.
Wandsworth Pay Questions
New research has revealed people working for Wandsworth council are paid below the so called Living Wage.
Labour Councillors working for the Conservative run authority claim as many as 105 members of staff are affected.
The living wage is an hourly rate set independently and updated annually.
It currently stands at £8.33, but is being raised to £8.55.
The Queen Visits Richmond
The poppy factory in Richmond is getting a visit from a very special guest today (Wednesday).
The Queen will is touring the site on Petersham Road as part of its 90th birthday celebrations.
Wandsworth's top officer pays tribute to female colleague
Tributes have been paid to "much loved and wholly dedicated" police officer, Detective Constable Adele Cashman, who died on duty in Camden last night.
DC Cashman, a Crime Squad officer based at Kentish Town Police Station who also worked out of Wandsworth, is believed to have collapsed while pursuing a teenage phone thief in Belsize Park Gardens, in Camden, just before 10 o'clock last night.
The suspect was eventually caught by a colleague.
Chief Superintendent David Chinchen, Wandsworth Borough Commander, said DC Adele Cashman was an extremely able and dedicated officer, and her loss has had a significant impact upon a number of staff on the borough who have received the terrible news this morning.
A3 brought to standstill at Hook
Rush hour delays were made even worse this evening after a 15 year old boy is believed to have fallen on to the A3 at Hook.
Police were called to the Ace of Spades roundabout just after 6.15pm, along with the air ambulance, and traffic was held on both carriageways.
A spokesman for London Ambulance said they were investigating a fall from a height and were treating a patient with head injuries.
No more details have been released.
Meanwhile, a woman has died after falling onto the tracks at the North Sheen level crossing in Manor Road.
All trains through Richmond were held and diverted following the incident just before 4pm. There were also severe delays out of Waterloo.
The incident is being treated as non suspicious. The victim has not been identified.
Statement from Epsom and St Helier NHS Trust
Epsom and St Helier NHS Trust is reassuring residents tonight that it will not be placed into administration.
The news follows the announcement that Ashford and St Peter's had withdrawn its merger proposal with Epsom due to financial reasons. St Helier's merger with St George's in Tooting is also off.
The below is a statement from the hospital trust.
Since the announcement was made that the merger of Epsom Hospital with Ashford and St Peter’s was halted, we have been working closely with our local clinical commissioning groups, NHS partners and stakeholders to discuss and agree our next steps for the future of Epsom, Sutton and St Helier hospitals.
However, entering the unsustainable provider regime is not something that we, our strategic health authority NHS London, the NHS Trust Development Authority or the Department of Health are currently considering.
Crucially, whilst we are making decisions about the long-term future of our hospitals, our priority will – as ever – continue to be ensuring our patients and local people receive the very best services.
What is the unsuitable provider regime?
As the debts accumulated by the trust are thought to be around the £19m mark, it could be placed into the hands of a special administrator, following in the footsteps of South London Healthcare NHS Trust.
This means an administrator will try and put it on a ''viable footing''
He or she will take over the board and recommend measures to the Health Secretary to put the trust's finances on a sustainable basis.
Why does the trust have to be split and merged?
Under Government rules, by 2014 every NHS trust must attain so called foundation status
This is something Epsom and St Helier NHS Trust could not afford to do alone.
Its best chance was to split and find other hospitals to merge with.
1} NHS Foundation Trusts have more freedom to decide how to run their affairs and deliver services.
2} Foundation Trusts are membership organisations free from central government control.
3} There is an independent regulator called a Monitor to protect the public interest.
4} If Foundation Trusts make a surplus they can invest this in services.
5} Foundation Trusts also have more freedom to borrow for capital projects like new buildings.
6} Foundation Trusts have to deliver on national targets and standards like the rest of the NHS, but they are free to decide how they achieve this.
Only last month, Epsom's MP Chris Grayling told Jackie News that he felt a merger with Ashford and St Peter's was Epsom's best hope.
In the summer, a Save St Helier Services funday was held in the grounds of the hospital in Wrythe Lane. Jackie's reporter Lucy Mayer spoke to many supporters, including Unison's Geoff Martin, pictured above centre.
Olympic banners under the hammer
Nearly 100 banners used to line the streets for Sutton’s Olympic celebrations will be up for grabs as part of an auction to raise hundreds of pounds for charities.
The stunning banners, which donned lampposts and street signs for this once-in-a-lifetime event, will be put up for auction over the next four years, with each year’s money going to the Mayor’s selected charity.
In total 88 banners will be auctioned - 22 each year - between 2012/13 and 2015/16.
The first auction will see all proceeds going to current Mayor, Cllr Sean Brennan’s charity of choice; Sutton Mental Health Foundation. For each year following, proceeds will go to the newly nominated charities.
Hounslow Cuts Impact
Hounslow Council says it’s committed to protecting front line services from the impact of cuts in grants.
It’s preparing to discuss savings targets at a council cabinet meeting this week.
It plans to invest 1.5-million pounds in services including a proposed 150-thousand pound funding for additional officers to support child protection cases.
857-thousand pounds is to be earmarked to help deliver the next phase of Hounslow Town Centre redevelopment, and prepare plans to regenerate Feltham Arenas.
Body Of Missing Woking Man Found
Police looking for a missing man from Woking say they’ve found a body.
51-year-old Emmanuel Penza was last seen leaving the Spectrum Leisure Centre in Guildford on his motorbike at around midday on Sunday.
The body was found in the Normandy area of Guildford at around 4am Monday.
The body has yet to be formally identified but at this stage the death is not being treated as suspicious.
Meadow primary closed due to heating problems
Meadow Primary School in Stonleigh will be closed today – Monday November the 5th.
The school has no heating.
Deputy Head Mark Truman says he hopes the problem will be rectified today.
Parents are advised to monitor the school’s website or check Parent Mail.
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Subscribe "White sox" Newsletter
Robert De Niro Defends Right to Criticize Trump's 'Blatant Abuse of Power' in Screen Actors Guild Awards Speech
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Shane Lowry
RoscoeTrum
1 ●1 http://81.7.13.81/gnutest...
Shane Lowry Went From Tears to the Claret Jug. After missing the cut four years in a row, he changed his approach and won the British Open this year.
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ncwinters.com
3D WORKS
100 Drawings
NoodleKnobs
Freelance Freedom
MacTastik
Low Fidelity
Memo: Random
SDCC Wrap Up- and One Day Special Sale!
by ncwinters on July 29, 2014
I’m still recovering.
San Diego Comic Con (SDCC) 2014 was in one word: amazing. It was my first official SDCC in which I was in a booth, the whole day, every day. I’ve signed before and attended, but this was my first time as an exhibitor, officially a part of the convention. It was a blast. I met so many wonderful amazing people, I participated in an amazing live art battle (and won!), and got the chance to draw for and meet many fans as well as artists that I love. New levels of exhaustion were unlocked, as I don’t think I’ve ever been so tired in my life. Just as it was time to hit the pillow each day, it seemed like it was time to wake up and do it all over again. It was a truly wonderful experience, and I think I’m now officially hooked on the convention circuit and will be planning bookings for future conventions for sure.
I had a couple SDCC exclusives, and some special SDCC pricing for existing items. Many items sold out, including all the mini resined prints and most small originals. What is left is in pretty limited quantity. I have decided to offer a special one-day only special online sale for the remaining items at the SDCC reduced prices! After that day, any remaining art will still be available, but at the regular price. The special one-day-only sale will be tomorrow, Wednesday July 30, 2014. Here’s a breakdown of some of the discounted items that will be available in the webstore:
“Blossomd” limited edition prints
Print size: 9″ x 12″ Limited edition of 30
Archival giclée print on 100% cotton, each print is hand signed & numbered.
SDCC special price: $30 each, one day only!
LIMITED QUANTITIES REMAINING
Regularly $40 each.
First three in the edition mounted to wood and sealed with resin, $100 each. (only 2 remaining!)
Limited edition “Blossomd” iPhone 5S Hardcases from Nuvango (formerly GelaSkins)
Limited edition: only 30 hardcases made, each case is hand signed and numbered.
Exclusive to SDCC, not available for purchase from Nuvango.
LIMITED QUANTITIES REMAINING.
“No One Can Hear You Scream” Limited Edition Print
Archival giclée print on 100% cotton, print size: 12″ x 16″
Limited edition of 20, each print is hand signed & numbered.
“Aerial Clockwork” Limited Edition Print
Archival giclée print on 100% cotton, print size: 9″ x 10″
EXTREMELY LIMITED QUANTITIES REMAINING
“Cordyceps” Limited Edition Print
“One Ugly Muthaf*cka” Limited Edition Print
*NCW*
San Diego Comic Con! Full Info and Exclusives!
I am happy to announce that I will be at San Diego Comic Con (SDCC) this year, in booth #4531 with the Brothers Washburn of Color Ink Book. The convention runs from July 24-July 27, 2014 with a special limited preview night July 23, from 6-9PM for preview night badge holders only.
I will have several items available for purchase, most of which will be available EXCLUSIVELY at the convention, and not available for pre-order or purchase online. Any remaining unsold will be available after the show. I will also be constantly drawing, with small originals and sketchcards available for purchase.
In addition to the daily sessions in the booth, I will be participating in VERSUS II, the second annual live art battle (and seventh annual SDCC party) at Bar Basic in downtown San Diego. Hosted by Munkyking, the event pits two sets of three pairs of artists in a head to head to head art battle in front of a live crowd, fueled only by pizza, booze and a quest for glory. The winners of each set then face off for the crown, or in this case, belt. I’m honored to be paired with the legendary Johnny “KMNDZ” Rodriguez and be pitted against some amazing artists who happen to also be good friends. The night should be an unforgettable experience, if it’s anything like last year’s debut event.
these guys.
Let’s get to the exclusives (exclusives info can also be found on the SDCC website):
Mini resined prints
Nine different designs, 3″ x 4″ mounted to birch with resin coating.
$10 each, or all nine for $80.
About 50 made, available while quantities last.
The main exclusive for SDCC is a new drawing: “Blossomd.” It will be available exclusively as a limited edition print, as well as iPhone 5 hardcases. The original framed drawing will also be available for purchase.
Archival giclée print on 100% cotton, each print is hand signed & numbered. $30 each.
First three in the edition mounted to wood and sealed with resin, $100 each.
Framed, mounted original, $600.
Mounted/resined prints and original also available.
“Blossomd” original: Pen/ink, ink wash & acrylic on paper, mounted to wood panel, resined.
Float-framed in custom hand sculpted frame with hand painted, collaged background.
Original painting: 9″ x 12″, framed: 14″ x 17″ x 3″ (2014)
Exclusive to SDCC, not available for purchase from Nuvango. $30 each.
Mini Original Drawings & Paintings
Various sizes, in three price tiers: $30, $20 and small custom sketchcards for $10 each.
See you at the show!
“Last Breath of Summer,” New Show at Subtext Gallery.
A new show, featuring my fellow artists of the PRISMA Collective! I’m happy to once again show at one of my favorite galleries with my fellow artists of the PRISMA Collective for an upcoming show entitled “Last Breath of Summer.” The show is at Subtext Gallery in downtown San Diego, and opens Saturday, July 19th at 6PM. I made another custom hand-sculpted frame as I just can’t seem to stop myself. There’s something very satisfying working up a found frame to get it exactly how I want it. It’s an enjoyable way to combine working with sculpture with painting, and each piece ends up extremely rewarding. More about the show:
**** PRISMA is an international artist collective of thirty creatives, founded by Kaspian Shore in November 2011. In their second group show at Subtext, a selection of artists from the PRISMA Collective have come together to bring a touch of sentimentality to their latest exhibition, Last Breath of Summer. Think of the last few rays of sunshine before the arrival of autumn, a touch of gold and fading warmth, a memory of long nights by the sea, of playing hide and seek in yellow wheat fields. Last Breath of Summer is a melancholy goodbye to the high of the year, celebrated by artists Tom Bagshaw, J.A.W. Cooper, Nicole Gustafsson, Martine Johanna, Edith Lebeau, Kelly McKernan, Lilly Piri, Audrey Pongracz, Kaspian Shore, Kelly Vivanco, Casey Weldon, and N.C. Winters. ****
The full online preview is currently up at Subtext’s website. Enjoy “In Like a Lamb.” See you at the show!
In Like a Lamb
Pen/ink, ink wash & acrylic on paper, mounted to wood panel, resined.
Original painting: 6.5″ x 9″, framed: 12″ x 14″ x 3″ (2014)
original scan.
Artwork and prints available for purchase.
Get the newsletter.
Get print drop times and the latest news.
Buy a Print.
Urgent Need
Doctor Thackery
Ghost With The Most
PURGE 2019.
DesignerCon 2019 and New Primus Poster!
Umphrey’s McGee Gig Poster
Painting and Podcast.
New Dave Matthews Band Gig Poster!
Copyright © 2014-2017 N.C.Winters
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Mid Atlantic Division Team Takes 2018 World Geography Bowl Title
Staff May 1, 2018 Mid Atlantic Division Team Takes 2018 World Geography Bowl Title2019-07-16T13:55:32-05:00 Annual Meeting, Recent News
Mid Atlantic Division Team Takes 2018 World Geography Bowl Title. AAG President Derek Alderman (far left) presented the new championship award.
The Mid Atlantic Team won first place in the 2018 World Geography Bowl, an annual quiz competition for teams of college-level geography students representing the AAG’s regional divisions. The 2018 event was a milestone, marking the 25th year for hosting the event during the AAG Annual Meeting.
On April 11, while the International Reception was pumping away upstairs, the World Geography Bowl was underway on the third floor of the Sheraton Hotel in New Orleans. Ten teams representing eight of the regional divisions as well as two ad hoc spoiler teams competed in the 9 round preliminary match up. The eight divisions represented were: Mid Atlantic, East Lakes, West Lakes, Southwest, Southeast, Great Plains/Rocky Mountain, New England-St. Lawrence Valley, and Middle States Divisions. The two spoiler teams were aptly named Longitude and Latitude.
The championship round challenged the top two teams from the round-robin preliminaries: Southeast and Mid Atlantic. After a neck and neck round of toss-up questions, Mid Atlantic pulled out the victory in the team question portion of the final. AAG President Derek Alderman was on hand during the final round to serve as the guest judge and grantor of the prize atlases courtesy of National Geographic Society to the winning team.
Most of the students who participate on the regional teams are chosen during their respective regional division Geography Bowl competition held during their regional division annual meeting each fall. All students who participate receive funding from their regional division as well as the AAG in order to help offset the costs of attending the AAG Annual Meeting.
The winning Mid Atlantic Division team’s roster was:
Matthew Cooper, University of Maryland
Christine MacKrell, George Washington University
Brian Slobotsky, University of Maryland
Zachery Radziewicz, Salisbury University
Daniel Milbrath, Salisbury University
The first runner-up Southwest Division team’s roster was:
Jesse Andrews, Appalachian State University
William Canup, University of North Carolina, Greensboro
Jacob Cecil, University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Darby Libka, University of Mary Washington
Randi Robinson, Mississippi State University
Jared White, University of West Florida
The second runner-up Great Plains/Rocky Mountain team’s roster was:
Tristan Boyd, University of Colorado, Denver
Karl Bauer, Kansas State University
Sara Newman, University of Colorado, Denver
Peter Brandt, North Dakota State University
Lindy Westenhoff, University of Wyoming
Jonathon Preece, University of Wyoming
Sujan Parajuli, South Dakota State University
In addition to team prizes, the top individual scorers are also acknowledged. The Most Valuable Player of the 2018 World Geography Bowl was Jesse Andrews from Appalachian State University (SEDAAG) who was presented with an atlas courtesy of Gamma Theta Upsilon.
The remaining top five individual scorers listed in order of points received were:
Matthew Cooper, University of Maryland Graduate Student (MAD)
Kate Rigot, University of Colorado, Denver Graduate Student (Team Latitude)
Deondre Smiles, Ohio State University Graduate Student (East Lakes)
Tristan Boyd, University of Colorado, Denver Undergraduate Student (Great Plains/Rocky Mountain)
Thanks to the 2018 WGB prize donors and volunteers
Organizers of the World Geography Bowl would like to express thanks to the countless volunteer question writers, team sponsors/coaches, moderators, judges, and scorekeepers who make the competition possible, and to the many students who competed across the country. We would like to recognize the volunteers this year as: Paul McDaniel (Kennesaw State University), Wesley Reisser (US Department of State & George Washington University), Rob Edsall (Idaho State University), Dawn Drake (Missouri Western State University), Richard Deal (Edinboro University of Pennsylvania), Zia Salim (California State University at Fullerton), Ronnie Schumann (University of North Texas), Liz Lowe (GIS Technician, New Orleans City Park), Jim Baker (University of Nebraska-Omaha) Patrick May (Plymouth State University), Jase Bernhardt (Hofstra University), Mel Johnson (University of Wisconsin-Manitowoc), Olumide Olufowobi (University of Lagos), Megan Heckert (West Chester University), Tom Bell (University of Tennessee) Peggy Gripshover (Western Kentucky University), Amber Williams (West Virginia University), Lee Ann Nolan (Pennsylvania State University), Jeff Neff (Western Carolina University), Casey Allen (University of Colorado, Denver).
World Geography Bowl organizers thank its supporters, who generously donated atlases, books, gift certificates, software, plaques, and clothing – Texas State University, National Geographic Society, Pearson, Gamma Theta Upsilon, University of Georgia Press, Clark Labs, Esri, Guilford Press, Syracuse University Press, Penguin Random House, American Geosciences Institution, and Expedia – who recognize the important role the competition plays in building a sense of community and generating excitement around geographic learning. Your continued support is truly appreciated.
A special thank you goes out to the World Geography Bowl executive director, Jamison Conley (West Virginia University) for his volunteer efforts at organizing the bowl since 2015.
2019 World Geography Bowl – Washington, D.C.
The 2019 World Geography Bowl competition will be held in Washington, D.C. in April 2019. Regional competition typically occur during the fall at respective AAG regional meetings, where regional teams for the national competition are usually formed. For more information on organizing a team or volunteering at the national event, contact the World Geography Bowl executive director, Jamison Conley at West Virginia University at Jamison [dot] Conley [at] mail [dot] wvu [dot] edu or the AAG Geography Bowl coordinator, Emily Fekete at efekete [at] aag [dot] org. To learn more about the 2019 World Geography Bowl, follow updates posted here.
In addition, a photo album of the event will be shared soon.
World Geography Bowl
« The Difference That an Award Can Make (For All of Us)
AAG Newsletter: May 2018 »
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Crested Butte Mountain Resort – Winter Fast Facts
2019-20 Season: November 25, 2019 to April 12, 2020
Hours of Operation: 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Base Elevation: 9,375 ft.
Summit Elevation: 12,162 ft.
Vertical Rise, Lift-Served: 2,775 ft.
Vertical Rise, with Peak Hike: 3,062 ft.
Average Annual Snowfall: 234 inches
Total Skiable Acres: 1,547 acres
Acres of Snowmaking: 300 acres
Acres of Grooming: Approximately 300 acres nightly
Trail Classification
Conventional Trails: 121
26% beginner
57% intermediate
14% advanced
3% expert
Extreme Limits Terrain: 542 acres of in-bounds, double-black-diamond terrain
Longest Run: 2.6 miles (Peak to Treasury)
Number of Lifts: 14 Total
4 high-speed detachable quad chairs
2 fixed grip quad
2 triple chairs
1 double chair
2 surface lifts
3 Magic Carpets
Lift Capacity: 20,020 people/hour
Location & Getting Here
Crested Butte is located in southwest Colorado, within the Gunnison National Forest and the Elk Mountain Range of the Colorado Rocky Mountains. The resort lies in the town of Mt. Crested Butte three miles from the town of Crested Butte, one of Colorado's largest National Historic Districts originally settled in the 1880s as a mining supply camp.
Crested Butte sits approximately 4 hours southwest of Denver, and just under 4 hours to the west of Colorado Springs. The easiest way to get to Crested Butte is via the Gunnison/Crested Butte Airport (GUC), located just 30 minutes from Crested Butte. Convenient connections are available through American Airlines and United Airlines from more than 150 cities across the U.S.
2019-20 GUC Winter Airline Schedule
About Crested Butte
Nestled in the heart of Colorado’s Rocky Mountains, Crested Butte is committed to preserving the pristine landscape and mountain lifestyle. With vibrant Victorian store fronts and expressive local characters, the small historic town remains true to its heritage and radiates an unparalleled welcoming and inviting spirit that celebrates a simpler life and time. Thanks to a widely diverse landscape, outdoor enthusiasts of all levels will find a new challenge with each visit. From world-class mountain biking, to legendary skiing and snowboarding, to a secluded fly-fishing experience, Crested Butte is one of Colorado’s best-kept secrets.
Crested Butte Mountain Resort (CBMR) features some of the best inbounds terrain in North America. The resort’s Extreme Limits Terrain features 542 acres of inbounds expert terrain accessed by two T-bars. In addition to the Extreme Limits, CBMR is known for its “naturally divided terrain,” including the rolling beginner runs from the Red Lady Express Lift; the long, cruising intermediate runs in Paradise and East River; to the steep mogul and groomed runs accessed by the Silver Queen Express Lift.
Sr. Communications Specialist
Email: william.shoemaker@vailresorts.com
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Took the family to Whipsnade Zoo and stealth twitched the thrush- all done and photographed in less than a minute before back to the muppet line.
Bulgaria, January 2020, Done Deal
Currently at Varna airport, in time to get my flight back to London after a hectic day running around Bulgarian bureaucracy. I had to go to Dobrich, the district centre today to get a registration number, then back to the notary to pick up the notary deed before filing it at the Town Hall with a declaration before checking out of the hotel and back to the airport. All went as well as hoped thanks to emergency assistance from Dimiter and my translator after the registry office wouldn't release the number without the notary deeds (I thought it was going to be another incident like the autumn where we fell foul to Bulgarian bureaucracy HERE). However this time an electronic version was allowed to be sent and everything went through and I am now the very proud owner of a tiny bit of the Via Pontica Migration Flyway. Very excited about returning in the spring to launch the 'pop up' Black Sea Observatory.
Between Dobrich and the notary office I managed to sneak in a short session photographing the town centre Long-eared Owls.
Long-eared Owls
Dobrich above- something very evocative about these ex-communist town centres
You can just about see the owls in this photo
What the area lacks in jaw dropping urban design is more than made up for in the natural heritage of this area- the cliffs at the end of my road (above) and our local beach (below)
Bulgaria January 2020, Local Birding
I had the day off today while the notary draws up the final documents. It gave me a chance to visit the land I've bought in Kamen Bryag and explore the immediate area in winter (a time I probably won't be visiting much) and in the afternoon I visited Shabla Tuzla and then did the harrier roost at Durankulak.
Ebird list of all sites HERE
Tomorrow is going to be a work day with three meetings (with the listing office, notary and then the municipality) to finalise all the paperwork before getting the plane back. I'll be back here in April to start work on the land and set up the recording systems.
Had about 40 Marsh Harriers (above) and 10 Hen Harrier (below) come into the roost. Also had a Long-legged Buzzard go over.
I was glad to see these White-fronts pass over the land we bought- on the garden list! Also had Fieldfare and Reed Bunting- birds that might be difficult in the spring and autumn (which is the time of year I'll be mainly visiting). Within a short walking distance I had Black-throated Diver and Hen Harrier too which will presumably be more difficult in spring and autumn, I also had a good look in the nearby woodland for woodpeckers- not a single pecker but did have Woodcock and Red Squirrel. There was Syrian and Green woodpecker in the garden/land.
Corn Buntings in Kamen Bryag- I was quite surprised how few birds there were in the area (ebird list HERE ). It might be because it's been such a mild winter. The geese that we saw in Romania earlier in the week are usually here in mid-January but are a good 80 miles to the north. The geese staying north mirrors what's going on with White-fronts, wild swans and Smew in UK too- presumably due to global warming.
Amazingly I had the Great Bustard again which decided to do a fly by
and here's what the land looks like at the moment
Bulgaria January 2020, Day in the office
We spent most of today in the notary office doing all the paperwork which hopefully should all be finalised by Friday. I got up early and went down to the harbour at Kavarna, had a few Black Redstarts on the sea front, Black-necked Grebe and a few Yellow-legged Gulls. On the way to the notary office there were four Long-eared Owls in Birch by the cafe, more or less in full view- will go back when I can with the camera to get some pics.
After we finished work this afternoon I went to lake Darankulak to see the harriers coming into roost but the fog was so dense I couldn't see anything. There's a birding group in the same hotel as me and they went to the site Dimiter and I recced out yesterday but unfortunately today was think fog bank all day and they could only hear the birds.
Hopefully the fog clears tomorrow as I've got the day off so planning on birding all day.
Male (above) and female-type (below) Black Redstart
White-fronts in the fog
Bulgaria January 2020, Wild Goose Chase
I'm currently in Bulgaria finalising some paperwork to complete the sale of our private nature reserve. Today I joined Dimiter in doing a recce for wild geese. The weather has been mild this winter so the geese haven't arrived in Bulgaria so we set off across the border to Romania to find some geese- mission successful!
We started the morning at Lake Durankulak - about 50 Marsh Harriers and 10 Hen Harrier came out the reed bed roost. We also had an immature White-tailed Eagle. Also about 200+ Pygmy Cormorant, 2 Smew, 20 Red-breasted Mergansers and Black-necked Grebes.
These five Whooper Swans flew over calling at dawn- a magical evocative sight and sound. By the end of the day we had seen about 1500 on our journey.
It wasn't until we arrived at the Danube Delta biosphere reserve that we found some geese- over 300 Red-breasted Geese (above). The Branta jizz and flock shape and movements were very distinctive amongst the 20,000 White-fronted Geese, even at considerable distance.
Whooper and one Bewick's Swan
White-fronts and Red-breasted Geese
White-fronted Goose
More Bewicks Swans
Whoopers in the mist
This adult Snow Goose was amongst the White-fronts found by Dimiter. There had been a Snow Goose seen in Romania to the north so presumably the same bird. The provenance of this bird is in question but obviously if it is a genuine vagrant which has come over the top of the melting north pole it will be an absolute local mega.
Highlight of the day was this single vagrant Great Bustard
Slim Pickings
The evenings have been mild this week so I've had the MV on at the Beddington obs. Just a couple of micro moths.
Did a few hours on Wednesday along the permissive footpath at Beddington- very quiet.
Gulls and micro moths- this is real bottom of the barrel stuff, and I can't even put a name to most of them!
This gull had features of a first-winter Yellow-legged Gull but the upperparts looked more argenteus Herring Gull like.
Acleris sp (above and below) . According to Hants Moths flying tonight page the most common Acleris is schalleriana at the moment although sparsana, ferrugana and notana are all possible. The one below with the costal blotch looks okay for schalleriana but not sure about the above one.
Several of these acleris species require genital dissection to identify them. I remember Neil Stocks (A barrister from the Beddington Farm Bird Group) who made the remark that once a naturalist find them-self staring at the genitals of a micro moth (especially in light of global inequality and the sixth extinction etc) they probably need to question life choices that brought them to that point. For those who have arrived at that point, which could be a result of all the right choices, this website is the place to be: MOTHS TWIG AND BERRIES. I'm not quite there yet but heading that way.
Not sure what this is supposed to be? A worn mompha? A caddis? For God's sake we need Spring to arrive!
Day Trip to Arundel
Went to Arundel WWT yesterday with the family. Was thinking of doing a bit more video work on my 7D Mark 2 this year. The quality is pretty good and I should be able to use my noc mig sound recording equipment to get some decent sounds too. Here's a few seconds of a Robin showing the quality.
Birding highlight was the Harrier roost with at least 6 Marsh Harriers and 1 Hen Harrier coming into the reserve as it was getting dark and roosting in the small reed bed.
Here's one of Jacob enjoying feeding the birds (best with sound!)
LINK TO ARTICLE HERE
Star birds of Corvo 2019- Connecticut Warbler (Thijs Valkenburg) and Prothonotary Warbler (Paul French)
The last decade has taught me about committee nightmares, large slow wheels and the usefulness of using activism as something to lubricate and shake things up.
So going forward into the next decade the emphasis is going to be more on independence, less on mainstream society and more of being part of a community with shared values. Hoping that our small company/organisation can support regional and global objectives by helping to implement initiatives and opportunities on the front line. So even though there may not be an official global nature conservation corporation we will act as if we are part of one by supporting leads and implementing initiatives from where ever they might come and hopefully the community that we are part of will all evolve into something more coherent , structured and influential.
The key regional and global objectives that will benefit us most is incentives for environmental friendly businesses, penalties and high taxes for the bad guys, better nature conservation policies and enforcement and more representative government at all levels, particularly local government for us. So will we be supporting and campaigning for that higher level framework as we will need it to achieve things on the ground.
Here's a few key objectives on our projects LITTLE OAK GROUP over this year and the coming decade.
LITTLE OAK ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
After successfully navigating through the stormy brexit muddied waters of 2019, I'm predicting at least one or more years of difficult economic times as everyone still tries to get some orientation on where things are heading. It gives us time to tighten things up, push some of our wildlife friendly products/services and scope out any potential for growth, which we ideally hope to achieve through franchising. Keeping things ticking over and tidying things up is the 2020 plan.
Research Gate Log Here
Really hoping for a big push on this in 2020. We've got a new website due to be launched soon, hope to make progress by working with friends and partners with catching up on the Azores Rare Bird Report and the Azores Bird List, got one or two papers due to be published and with any luck will be marketing both our trips, the Azores Safari and the Birder's Pelagic and increasing our social media impact.
THE BALKAN ECOLOGY PROJECT
Blog here
I'm heading off to the Black Sea next week to finalise the purchase on a 2000 m2 piece of land within a Natura 2000 network area. The plan is to spend several weeks over the Spring and Autumn to build a small naturalists lodge, develop a wildlife garden/mini reserve with photography hides and set up wildlife recording systems. Eventually hoping to invite guests to stay on the mini lodge. Very excited about this!
GHANA PROJECT
Trip Report sample here
The plan this year is to revisit the target/study area and continue with the birds and lepidoptera inventory to look for any ecological unique selling points.
THEE BRYANS/ ACTIVISM/ EXTINCTION REBELLION
Thee Bryans Facebook Page here
The plan is to record some new songs and also perform at the Carshalton Environmental Fair. We are planning on supporting Extinction Rebellion and will campaign for a local focus on the issues at Beddington Farmlands. With the local councillor elections coming up in 2022, also want to support any initiatives to have local councillors that support local nature or to replace those councillors with those that do.
BEDDINGTON FARMLANDS/HACKBRIDGE PROJECT
Beddington farmlands Facebook Page
Having to deal with people who are legally obliged to create a major nature reserve in London but who are not interested in nature or nature conservation is absolute hell so stepping well back from all this from now on. Lessons have been learnt- do not waste your time trying to work with or help people who don't care about what you care about - its better to use activism and political gaming on them.
Planning on still visiting the farmlands at least once a week, hoping that I can hand over all the report writing to another group member (or scrap it all together as its only used as toilet paper), will try and automate and simplify systems as much as possible (we have been providing champagne services for beer drinking decision makers so we can de-civilise down to their levels and save a lot of work) and happy to review documents and plans and support committee members in challenging corruption and also supporting activist groups in maintaining pressure. After a small leap forward in 2019 ahead of the petition hearing (where they quickly carried out a few cosmetic works), the next four years are going to be Viridor dragging their feet along,attempting to reach a crisis point where they will try and persuade stakeholders to scale down ecological ambitions and we will then get to the end of 2023 (the legal completion date) with the reserve incomplete and a potential horrendous legal quagmire for all involved where they will push for a quick finish and open it in a shadow of the form it was planned. All we can do is maintain and apply sustained pressure on them at every level and using every means possible, expose them locally and nationally for their ecocide and corporate hypocrisy (they masquerade as an environmentally friendly business) while not loosing any sleep over it. We've already wiped out three local councillors and the local MP and we will wipe out the lot in 2022 local elections if there isn't more opposition to the Viridor agenda and more support for localism from our local councillors.
So here's to 2020 and beyond!
Otmoor Video
Visited Otmoor yesterday to try and get some video of the amazing flocks of Golden Plovers and Lapwings. Had a single Hen Harrier, two Marsh Harrier and a couple of Dunlins.
Here's the video. The calls of Golden Plovers were very mournful on a grey solemn day so I set the video to a rather cathartic sound track we did on THEE BRYANS called Planes.
I decided that 2020 can't just be another new slog. After basically bumming around the world last year, consuming nature like it was on a roll back in Asda, while waiting to get some direction on Brexit- it's now time to start this new decade with a bit of purpose and perhaps even a little bit of meaning.
I think my biggest lesson from the last decade was discovering the nature and weaknesses of community structures and the enormous inefficiency of a conservation model like a multi-stakeholder group at Beddington Farmlands, especially when the lead stakeholder is not particularly interested in nature or nature conservation. Another revelation was that most nature conservation charities are being funded by organisations that destroy nature as their day job and hand over bits of loose change to make them feel like they are saints instead of cunts.
This got me thinking about what the most efficient model for nature conservation is. Ideally it would be for an organisation or individual to have vast amounts of money and for them to buy up land, turn it into nature reserves or nature friendly environments (nature friendly farming, housing developments, business parks etc) and then engage as many people as possible into those environments. So basically exactly how a capitalist corporation works but instead of the global oligarchy being comprised of someone who destroys nature and turns it into mansions, super yachts, prostitutes and crack for that to be switched on its head and an enormously wealthy and powerful organisation or individual to use that power to buy up forests, wetlands and land and manage it for nature and people.
The national and global conservation community is fragmented and weak. The argument for fragmentation is specialisation e.g. Plantlife campaign for plants, Buglife for bugs, the RSPB for birds etc etc. However large corporations that control the planet have fucking departments- hasn't anyone heard of them?? There must be a strong argument for maintaining specialisation but merging effort into fewer more powerful organisations?
We are not going back in time so contrary to some of hard environmentalists fantasies, western societies are not about to collapse into dystopian paradises where trees and birds reclaim the streets and our pet dogs start forming wolf packs and start hunting fat bastards who have lost the skills to farm due to binge watching Love Island reducing the human population to pre-industrial age and we see out eternity in a return to Eden, agrarian vegan societies powered by composting toilets set in the ruins of western civilisation and everyone sharing farming techniques, vegan recipes and selfies through iphones powered by small energy recovery units plugged into your arsehole.
Time only moves forward, one tiny branch emanating from an existing branch, an enormous timeless organic structure, intrinsically and infinitely complexly dependent on the past from which there is no going back as the energy flows and time move unidirectionally which means we are heading to two fundamental possible futures for nature. One where nature is reduced to tiny pockets and humanity overcomes any problems of detachment and ecological imbalance by technology, bioengineering and just basically existing in depressed lack lustre states propped up with happy pills or one where nature is firmly embedded into the algorithms and value systems of the future and modern corporate and power structures. We need global nature conservation corporations.
Ok so that puts the problems of world conservation to rest. Now I need to work out how to either become a global oligarch or be part of an organisation that does the same job. Therein lies the rub.
Tomorrow I'll try and scribble down some thoughts on here of how we can help to achieve that at Little Oak Group. This decade has to be the turning point for nature- something colossal needs to happen.
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Items where Subject is "Specific Sciences > Mathematics"
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Aaronson, Scott (2011) Why Philosophers Should Care About Computational Complexity. [Preprint]
Abrams, Lowell and Elkind, Landon (2019) Word Choice in Mathematical Practice: A Case Study in Polyhedra. [Preprint]
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Afriat, Alexander (2012) Logic of gauge. [Preprint]
Afriat, Alexander (2007) A priori prejudice in Weyl's unintended unification of gravitation and electricity. [Preprint]
Andreas, Holger (2018) Explanatory Conditionals. In: UNSPECIFIED.
Andrei , Rodin (2012) Axiomatic Method and Category Theory. [Preprint]
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Avigad, Jeremy (2017) Modularity in Mathematics. [Preprint]
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Awodey, Steve (2000) Continuity and logical completeness: an application of sheaf theory and topoi. [Preprint]
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Awodey, Steve and Reck, Erich H. (2002) Completeness and Categoricty, Part II: 20th Century Metalogic to 21st Century Semantics. [Preprint]
Bangu, Sorin (2018) Indispensability, causation and explanation. THEORIA. An International Journal for Theory, History and Foundations of Science, 33 (2). pp. 219-232. ISSN 2171-679X
Barany, Michael (2009) Computer experiments in harmonic analysis. In: UNSPECIFIED.
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Barrett, Thomas William and Halvorson, Hans (2015) Glymour and Quine on Theoretical Equivalence. [Preprint]
Barrett, Thomas William and Halvorson, Hans (2016) From Geometry to Conceptual Relativity. [Preprint]
Bartlett, Steven James (2015) THE SPECIES PROBLEM AND ITS LOGIC: Inescapable Ambiguity and Framework-relativity. [Preprint]
Barton, Neil (2018) Absence Perception and the Philosophy of Zero. [Preprint]
Barton, Neil (2018) Forcing and the Universe of Sets: Must we lose insight? [Preprint]
Barton, Neil (2017) Independence and Ignorance: How agnotology informs set-theoretic pluralism. [Preprint]
Barton, Neil (2018) Large Cardinals and the Iterative Conception of Set. [Preprint]
Barton, Neil (2016) Multiversism and Concepts of Set: How much relativism is acceptable? [Preprint]
Barton, Neil (2016) Richness and Reflection. [Preprint]
Barton, Neil and Friedman, Sy-David (2017) Maximality and Ontology: How axiom content varies across philosophical frameworks. [Preprint]
Barton, Neil and Friedman, Sy-David (2019) Set Theory and Structures. [Preprint]
Barton, Neil and Ternullo, Claudio and Venturi, Giorgio (2019) On Forms of Justification in Set Theory. [Preprint]
Batterman, Robert (2008) On the Explanatory Role of Mathematics in Empirical Science. [Preprint]
Batterman, Robert (2006) On the Specialness of Special Functions (The Nonrandom Effusions of the Divine Mathematician). [Preprint]
Batterman, Robert W. (2011) The Tyranny of Scales. [Preprint]
Berkovitz, Joseph (2019) On the Mathematical Constitution and Explanation of Physical Facts. [Preprint]
Bernd, Binder (2002) Soliton Coupling Driven by Phase Fluctuations in Auto-Parametric Resonance. [Preprint]
Besnard, Fabien (2010) Time of Philosophers, Time of Physicists, Time of Mathematicians. [Preprint]
Binder, Bernd (2002) Charge as the Stereographic Projection of Geometric Precession on Pseudospheres. [Preprint]
Binder, Bernd (2001) Higher-Dimensional Solitons Stabilized by Opposite Charge. [Preprint]
Binder, Bernd (2002) Spacetime Memory: Phase-Locked Geometric Phases. [Preprint]
Binder, Bernd (2002) Topological Phase Fields, Baecklund Transformations, and Fine Structure. [Preprint]
Bueno, Otávio (2018) Putnam’s indispensability argument revisited, reassessed, revived. THEORIA. An International Journal for Theory, History and Foundations of Science, 33 (2). pp. 201-218. ISSN 2171-679X
Butterfield, Jeremy (2005) Against Pointillisme about Geometry. [Preprint]
Butterfield, Jeremy (2005) Against Pointillisme about Mechanics. [Preprint]
Butterfield, Jeremy (2014) Our Mathematical Universe? The Mathematics Millennium Project (U.K.), Cambridge, U.K..
Butterfield, Jeremy (2000) Topos Theory as a Framework for Partial Truth. [Preprint]
Carter, Jessica (2017) Exploring the fruitfulness of diagrams in mathematics. [Preprint]
Caspers, Martijn and Heunen, Chris and Landsman, Nicolaas P. and Spitters, Bas (2009) Intuitionistic quantum logic of an n-level system. [Preprint]
Catren, Gabriel and Page, Julien (2013) On the notion of indiscernibility in the light of Galois-Grothendieck Theory. [Preprint]
Chen, Lu (2019) Do Simple Infinitesimal Parts Solve Zeno's Paradox of Measure? [Preprint]
Chen, Lu (2019) Infinitesimal Gunk. [Preprint]
Chen, Lu (2019) Intrinsic local distances: a mixed solution to Weyl’s tile argument. [Preprint]
Cinà, Giovanni (2013) On the connection between the categorical and the modal logic approaches to Quantum Mechanics. ILLC.
Clarke, Christopher (2014) Multi-Level Selection and the Explanatory Value of Mathematical Decompositions. [Preprint]
Corfield, David (2005) Reflections on Michael Friedman's Dynamics of Reason. [Preprint]
Corfield, David Neil (2004) Categorification as a Heuristic Device. [Preprint]
Corfield, David Neil (2010) Lautman and the Reality of Mathematics. [Preprint]
Corfield, David Neil (2004) Mathematical Kinds, or Being Kind to Mathematics. [Preprint]
Corfield, David Neil (2015) Reviving the Philosophy of Geometry. [Preprint]
Corfield, David Neil (2016) The vertical unity of concepts in mathematics through the lens of homotopy type theory. [Preprint]
Corfield, David Neil (2017) Expressing ‘The Structure of’ in Homotopy Type Theory. [Preprint]
Costreie, Sorin (2018) The geometrical basis of arithmetical knowledge: Frege & Dehaene. THEORIA. An International Journal for Theory, History and Foundations of Science, 33 (2). pp. 361-370. ISSN 2171-679X
Crane, Harry (2018) Univalent Foundations as a Foundation for Mathematical Practice. [Preprint]
Csatári, Ferenc (2011) Some Remarks on the Physicalist Account of Mathematics. [Preprint]
Curiel, Erik (2014) Measure, Topology and Probabilistic Reasoning in Cosmology. [Preprint]
Curiel, Erik (2015) On the Existence of Spacetime Structure. [Preprint]
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D'Alessandro, William (2017) Mathematical Explanation Beyond Explanatory Proof. The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science.
Darnell, Eamon and Thomas-Bolduc, Aaron (2018) Is Hume's Principle Analytic? [Preprint]
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Davies, E Brian (2004) A Defence of Mathematical Pluralism. [Preprint]
Davies, E Brian (2006) Epistemological Pluralism. [Preprint]
Davies, E Brian (2006) Scientific Understanding. [Preprint]
Demeter, Tamás (2017) Hume on the Social Construction of Mathematical Knowledge. [Preprint]
Domenech, Graciela and Holik, Federico (2007) A discussion on particle number and quantum indistinguishability. [Preprint]
Donald, Matthew J. (2003) Finitary and Infinitary Mathematics, the Possibility of Possibilities and the Definition of Probabilities. [Preprint]
Dougherty, John (2017) What inductive explanations could not be. Synthese. ISSN 1573-0964
Durham, Ian (2005) Quantum Puzzles in the Metaworld of Heisenberg, Clauser, and Horne. [Preprint]
Dynneson, Andrew and Alvarez, Aaron (2016) Infinitesimal Calculus as an Epistemic Mediator: A commentary on the use of Squares in Elementary Statistical Theory. [Preprint]
da Costa, Newton C. A. and Krause, Décio (2007) Logical and Philosophical Remarks on Quasi-Set Theory. [Preprint]
de Paz, María and Ferreirós, José (2018) Guest editors’ introduction. THEORIA. An International Journal for Theory, History and Foundations of Science, 33 (2). pp. 267-269. ISSN 2171-679X
de Ronde, Christian and Freytes, Hector and Domenech, Graciela (2014) Quantum mechanics and the interpretation of the orthomodular square of opposition. [Preprint]
E. Szabó, László (2003) Formal Systems as Physical Objects: A Physicalist Account of Mathematical Truth. [Preprint]
E. Szabó, László (2007) Objective probability-like things with and without objective indeterminism. [Preprint]
Eastaugh, Benedict (2018) Computational reverse mathematics and foundational analysis. [Preprint]
Eastaugh, Benedict (2018) Set existence principles and closure conditions: unravelling the standard view of reverse mathematics. [Preprint]
Ellerman, David (2009) Counting Distinctions: On the Conceptual Foundations of Shannon's Information Theory. Synthese, 168 (1). pp. 119-149. ISSN 1573-0964
Ellerman, David (2013) An Introduction to Logical Entropy and its Relation to Shannon Entropy. [Preprint]
Ellerman, David (2013) An Introduction to Partition Logic. Logic Journal of the IGPL.
Ellerman, David (2010) The Logic of Partitions: Introduction to the Dual of the Logic of Subsets. Review of Symbolic Logic, 3 (2). pp. 287-350.
Ellerman, David (2015) On Adjoint and Brain Functors (preprint from Axiomathes). [Preprint]
Ellerman, David (2014) On Concrete Universals: A Modern Treatment using Category Theory. [Preprint]
Ellerman, David (2014) Partitions and Objective Indefiniteness in Quantum Mechanics. [Preprint]
Ellerman, David (2016) Brain functors: A mathematical model of intentional perception and action. [Preprint]
Ellerman, David P. (2016) Category theory and set theory as theories about complementary types of universals. Logic and Logical Philosophy (Online First), 2016 (1). pp. 1-18.
Ezenarro Arriola, Enetz (2017) What Bourbaki Has and Has Not Given Us. THEORIA. An International Journal for Theory, History and Foundations of Science, 32 (1). pp. 25-40. ISSN 2171-679X
Fahmi, Marco (2008) MATHEMATICAL MODELS IN SCIENCE: A DEBATE ABOUT ONTOLOGY. In: UNSPECIFIED.
Fahmi, Marco (2007) The Ontological Commitments of Mathematical Models. In: UNSPECIFIED.
Fazio, Rodolfo E. (2016) Leibniz’s Critique of Infinite Numbers and its Impact in his Metaphysics of Bodies. THEORIA. An International Journal for Theory, History and Foundations of Science, 31 (2). pp. 159-175. ISSN 2171-679X
Ferreirós, José (2011) On Dedekind's Logicism. [Preprint]
Ferreirós, José and García-Pérez, Manuel J. (2008) ¿“Natural” y “Euclidiana”? Reflexiones sobre la geometría práctica y sus raíces cognitivas. THEORIA. An International Journal for Theory, History and Foundations of Science, 33 (2). pp. 325-344. ISSN 2171-679X
Frans, Joachim and Kosolosky, Laszlo (2014) Revisiting the reliability of published mathematical proofs: where do we go next? THEORIA. An International Journal for Theory, History and Foundations of Science, 29 (3). pp. 345-360. ISSN 2171-679X
Frapolli, Maria J. (2015) Non-Representational Mathematical Realism. THEORIA. An International Journal for Theory, History and Foundations of Science, 30 (3). pp. 331-348. ISSN 2171-679X
Freytes, Hector and de Ronde, Christian and Domenech, Graciela (2012) The square of opposition in orthomodular logic. Around and beyond the square of opposition. pp. 193-201.
Friederich, S. (2011) Motivating Wittgenstein's perspective on mathematical sentences as norms. Philosophia Mathematica, 19 (1). pp. 1-19.
Friederich, S. (2010) Structuralism and meta-mathematics. Erkenntnis, 73 (1). pp. 67-81.
Friend, Michèle and Khaled, Mohamed and Lefever, Koen and Székely, Gergely (2018) Distances between formal theories. [Preprint]
Frigg, Roman and Werndl, Charlotte (2011) Entropy - A Guide for the Perplexed. [Preprint]
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Women’s Club
This Dog’s Best Friend Is Literally A Brick
Everyone who has ever had a dog knows how important is for a young pup to have friends. This way, young dogs learn a lot of things from other dogs, they learn how to behave and they also burn off that energy. And while this puppy had a few doggie friends to play with around the house and in the backyard, he really bonded with a particularly odd friend.
His name is Sunny, and he’s best friends with a BRICK. Yes, a real brick! Don’t believe us? Check out the following photos and you’ll surely have a blast! We know Sunny does!
20. You Understand Me, Brick
Sunny has made a best friend ever since he was a tiny pup. We get it, having a brisk as a BFF is low maintenance! You just sit side by side and sometimes fall asleep on it. It won’t mind!
19. Sunny Is Very Special
His owner is Ariana Smoak (19), who lives with her family and furry friends in South Carolina. Last week, on her Twitter account, she shared a few photos of her pup Sunny who lies down by a brick. This is what the caption said…
18. Sunny and His Brick
‘My dog’s best friend is a brick,’ wrote Ariana. The photos show a puppy who sits next to a brick and then Sunny, a full-grown dog, sleeping in the same spot, cuddling his ‘best friend.’ But what’s the story behind the… brick?
17. The Beginning
reshareworthy.com
We couldn’t start the story without a proper beginning! One day, Ariana Smoak was driving home, coming from work. She saw on the side of the street a dog. She pulled over to see if she could help her…
16. Puppies!
As soon as she went towards the dog, she saw a bunch of puppies coming out from their hiding. They needed help, and Smoak couldn’t just leave them there. She took them all to her place!
15. Stray Pups…
Among them, there was Sunny. Ariana said in an interview that she ‘rescued him and his siblings last year from the street.’ You won’t believe what the condition these dogs were in! This is what Ariana said…
14. Weeks of Care
‘They were all covered in fleas and the mom had missing teeth and a skin condition. We cared for them for weeks,’ she said. Finally, after treating them for flea infestation and other conditions, they found them homes.
13. We Fell In Love With Sunny
Ariana said that they found homes for all the dogs, but they couldn’t give up on Sunny: ‘we fell in love with him so we ended up keeping him. I wouldn’t change the experience for a thing.’
12. He Was Safe
Sunny was now safe, with a home and a loving family. So, like any other dog, he started exploring the house and the yard. He found the brick, and he soon fell in love with it!
11. What’s With the Brick?
We knew that bricks are not something you usually find in a house, but the family has one. Ariana explained that the ‘brick just holds the rug down from curling, nothing fancy.’ But Sunny thinks it’s the fanciest brick ever!
10. A Lovely Brick Needs a Friend!
Sunny is a good boy, so he probably saw it laying there, bored and lonely… He thought it might need some company! The first thing Sunny did as he found the brick, he slept next to it. Then, he grew up…
9. He Loves His Brick!
Although Sunny is a big boy, he still loves his brick. He uses it as a headrest, and he even likes to chew on it from time to time. People on Twitter went nuts about the photos of the pair!
8. Famous Odd Friends
Sunny became famous on the Internet, and Ariana said that ‘I would’ve never imagined 20 million people would ever see my dog. The love is amazing.’ You won’t believe what Sunny did with the brick when he was a pup.
7. He’s Such a Goof!
‘He would lay with it, kiss it and chew on it,’ said Ariana. She added that she’s ‘happy I got to show the world the goofy side of him I see everyday.’ How could you not share this funny side of your pet to the world?
6. We’re Keeping the Brick
Ariana said that as Sunny got bigger, he would continue to ‘lay with it and found comfort being around it, so we just keep that one on the rug for him.’ And since Sunny is now famous, Ariana wants to tell people to spay their pets.
5. A Fortunate Pup
Sunny was lucky to be found by a caring person. Ariana said that she wants ‘to shed light on why people should spay and neuter their pets because there’s a lot more animals not as fortunate as Sunny.’
4. People Reacted: The Rot Keeps a Pet Rock
Some of the best reactions came from other dog-lovers, sharing photos of the pups with their weird toys. This one Rottweiler really loves his pet rock, which he has had it for four years. The next dog also has a brick…
3. Pluto is Happy To Have a Toy…
Well, Pluto might not have access to his toys again, but he at least has a faithful brick that will play with him. It’s ok, Pluto, Sunny says that bricks are a great pal to hang out with!
2. Odd Friends
You might find it weird, but Sunny’s family is accustomed to seeing this quirky side of him, and they love him a lot. Thankfully, the other dogs of the family don’t want to be friends with the Brick!
1. A Loving Family
Sunny is lucky to have a family who loves him, and we know that they’re always cracking up when they see him sleeping on his brick. Has your dog developed a weird friendship with an odd object, like a sock or a rock?
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Thermometers, Mercury, Laboratory
Definition : Mercury thermometers used in clinical laboratories. Most laboratory mercury thermometers are used to verify that devices operate within the prescribed temperature limits (e.g., water baths, heated cells, refrigerators) or that materials (e.g., liquids, gases, semisolids) have reached a desired temperature.
Entry Terms : "Clinical Laboratory Thermometers" , "Laboratory Thermometers"
1-10 of 10 Match(es).
C & A Scientific Co Inc
C & A Scientific provides superior Medical/Educational products to the wholesale industry, serving both the domestic and international sectors. C & A Scientific brings a fresh and innovative approach to buying high quality but low cost product by acting as liaison between the wholesaler and the manufacturer. We buy direct from overseas and pass those savings on to our wholesalers.
Davis Instruments has been one of the world's leading sources of test, measurement, control, and calibration instruments since 1912. You depend on the equipment you order—and the technical expertise that backs it up. Since 1912, Davis Instruments has built a history of supplying customers with innovative test, measurement, control and calibration technologies. But what really gets customers talking is our "Customer First" responsiveness, which is woven into every transaction. From answering your most challenging technical questions to providing alternate configurations, you can count on Davis Instruments' application specialists to help you get the job done.
Nasco was started in 1941 by a vocational agriculture teacher. He developed several teaching aids to use in his vocational agriculture classes…teaching aids that were not readily available from any other source.
Protech International Inc
REOTEMP Instrument Corp
Spectrum Scientifics
Sper Scientific
Thomas Scientific
Thomas Scientific provides the latest in equipment and supplies to the science community. In accordance to the tradition of the original founders, Thomas Scientific itself offers individualized customer service, innovative scientific equipment, and a comprehensive catalog offering a wide selection of product listings at a great deal. We are a small business and a registered contractor for the U.S. Federal Government.
Universal Enterprises Inc (UEi)
VEE GEE Scientific Inc
Since the start of our company in 1981, our business model has always been to sell the products we design, develop, and import from our overseas factories only through our worldwide network of dealers. We greatly respect the dynamics of the distribution network; this is why we've never changed.
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Love Jones The Musical in CHICAGO | 09/30/16 - 10/02/16
LOVE JONES THE MUSICAL SET FOR NATIONAL TOUR THIS FALL
STAGE ADAPTATION CELEBRATES 20th ANNIVERSARY OF THE CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED 90’s FILM
Starring Chrisette Michelle, Musiq Soulchild, MC Lyte, Dave Hollister,
Marsha Ambrosius, Raheem Devaughn and More
Love Jones The Musical, a stage adaptation of the critically acclaimed 1997 Love Jones film, is scheduled to tour nationally this Fall/ Winter. The stage production will boast an all-star cast of R&B music’s biggest names including Chrisette Michelle, Musiq Soulchild, Marsha Ambrosius, MC Lyte, Raheem Devaughn and Dave Hollister who were all carefully selected to star in the must see musical event of the year. Love Jones The Musical will debut in Oklahoma City on September 9th .
LOCATION DATE(S) THEATER
Chicago, IL September 30 - October 2 Arie Crown Theater
Celebrating the 20th anniversary of the popular romantic comedy, the stage play takes the essence of the film and tells its story through music. Fusing chart-topping hits and fan favorite songs from the music artists, along with a few original songs, Love Jones The Musical, will be a transformative experience for the audience.
Produced by veteran theater producer Melvin Childs of Produced By Faith with stage play written by Timothy Allen Smith and directed by Zadia Ife, Love Jones The Musical, tells the universal and timeless story of love, heartbreak and starting over. The film’s original writer and director, Theodore Witcher, serves as consulting producer.
“We are really excited about this opportunity to break new ground with this musical, as it relates to African American offerings in theater around the country,” says producer Melvin Childs. “Our team has created something truly special and sincerely hope to live up to the expectations of the fans of the iconic film, Love Jones.”
Love Jones was originally released on March 14, 1997 and became a cult classic film that captured the hearts and imagination of an entire generation. The soundtrack was equally impressive with a blend of neo-soul and R&B hits that fueled the 90s. The film was written and directed by Theodore Witcher and tells the classic, yet gritty, love story of Darius Lovehall (an up & coming writer and self-proclaimed renaissance man) and Nina Mosley (an aspiring photographer). The film starred Larenz Tate, Nia Long, Isaiah Washington, Bill Bellamy and Lisa Nicole Carson.
Set in Chicago, Darius (Larenz Tate) and Nina (Nia Long) meet in a nightclub, where an unassuming open mic event quickly turns into an explosive spoken word give and take that leaves the audience speechless. From the moment they lay eyes on each other, Darius and Nina’s lives are turned upside down. Their mutual attraction is obvious, but they are both on the rebound from unfinished previous relationships and neither of them are ready for “the real thing.” As much and as hard as they try and fight it, neither of them can resist what is pulling them together. It’s a passion, an obsession…a ‘love jones’ that comes along once in a lifetime.
The film was considered one of the greatest cinematic love stories of the 90’s and portrayed a side of black culture that was not reflected onscreen at a time when heavy drug and violent gang films populated the theaters.
Join the conversation and stay informed about Love Jones The Musical on social media using the hashtag #LoveJonesTheMusical and by following the musical on Facebook and Instagram @LoveJonesTheMusical and on Twitter @LJTheMusical.
For more information about Love Jones The Musical, go to www.lovejonesthemusical.com.
Labels: Arie Crown, Illinois, Love Jones The Musical in CHICAGO 09/30/16 - 10/02/16
TRENT REZNOR, ATTICUS ROSS, GUSTAVO SANTAOLALLA AND MOGWAI CREATE MUSIC FOR BEFORE THE FLOOD
Before The Flood Has Its World Premiere Today At
Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross, Gustavo Santaolalla and Mogwai have created music for the feature documentary Before the Flood. The film, a call to action from longtime environmental advocate Leonardo DiCaprio and actor/filmmaker/Oscar-winning documentary producer Fisher Stevens (The Cove, Racing Extinction), will have its world premiere today at the Toronto International Film Festival.
Acting as music supervisors for the first time, Reznor and Ross worked in tandem with Santaolalla and Mogwai to compose a blend of music with a cohesive vision, resulting in the score for Before the Flood along with an album to be released in October. Details to follow.
"The incredible music composed for Before the Flood was one of the most unique collaborations I can think of in scoring a film," said Fisher Stevens. "Reznor, Ross, Santaolalla and Mogwai become one voice in capturing the emotion and feeling of Leonardo DiCaprio's journey to understanding where we stand in terms of climate change, how far gone we are, what can we do about solving this issue and why people are still resistant to understanding how important it is."
Before the Flood will be in theaters in New York City and Los Angeles beginning October 21. The film will air globally - in 171 countries and 45 languages - on the National Geographic Channel starting October 30.
Labels: ATTICUS ROSS, film, GUSTAVO SANTAOLALLA AND MOGWAI CREATE MUSIC FOR BEFORE THE FLOOD, movie, TRENT REZNOR
Deer Park Art Show (Deer Park, IL)
Deer Park Art Show Amy and Lindsey Q and A
WHAT: Deer Park Art Show
WHERE: Deer Park Town Center
20530 N Rand Rd
Deer Park, IL 60010
WHEN: This weekend. September 10 & 11, 2016
Saturday, 10am-5pm * Sunday, 11am-5pm
COST: FREE Admission, FREE Parking
HIGHLIGHTS: Amdur Productions is thrilled to announce the launch of the Deer Park Art Show, an outdoor fall art show at the elegant Deer Park Town Center in Deer Park, Illinois. This new show will feature fine art and fine craft for show and sale over a fall weekend in this show which is 37 miles north and west of Chicago. Deer Park is an elegant lifestyle center and home to many of the country's best stores and restaurants.
In addition to the artwork, festival-goers will enjoy live music on the music stage and art activities for kids, including an art scavenger hunt & spin art at the festival and much more!
Browse and Buy from amazing talented artists
Vladimir Palidoze
Stephanie Tantillo
Jeffrey Van Der Koon
Lee Burstein
Beata Krupa
Kevin Lahvic
Patricia Mayer
This year at the festivals Amdur Productions has started a new charity initiative called the Green Ribbon Project. The project connects the festival with an important cause and aims to stimulate art buying at the festival. Participating artists put a green ribbon on a piece of their choice in their booth and when the piece is sold the artist agrees to give 10% of the proceeds to the
PADS Lake County, which is the dedicated charity for the Deer Park Art Show.
Deer Park Town Center
Deer Park Art Show
Deer Park Art Show Facebook
Amdur Productions | PO Box 550, Highland Park, IL 60035 | info@amdurproductions.com | AmdurProductions.com
Labels: 2016, Deer Park Art Show, free, Illinois, things to do
HILTON | ASMUS CONTEMPORARY>>OPENING RECEPTION - FALL ART SEASON BEGINS FRIDAY * SEPTEMBER 9 * 5:30 TO 8 PM (Chicago,IL)
WELCOME ARTIST DIRECTORY EXHIBITION SCHEDULE BLOG HILTON|ASMUS FOTO
PHOTOGRAPHY * SCULPTURES * PAINTINGS
You are cordially invited to celebrate
the opening of the fall art season
Friday * September 9 * 5:30 to 8 pm
716 N. Wells St.
Labels: 2016, art, gallery, HILTON | ASMUS CONTEMPORARY, OPENING RECEPTION - FALL ART SEASON BEGINS FRIDAY * SEPTEMBER 9, paintings, photography, sculpture
Love Jones The Musical in CHICAGO | 09/30/16 - 10/...
TRENT REZNOR, ATTICUS ROSS, GUSTAVO SANTAOLALLA AN...
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Reimagining Women's Cancers: The Power Of Celebrit...
Andersonville City Made Fest announces 2016 headli...
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Meet actor John Marshall Jones,Critically Acclaime...
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Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special...
World Music Festival Chicago, Sept. 9-25,2016 (Chi...
Fall Titles at Elevate Publishing
Depressed about the election?
Chicago Artists Coalition>> Be a Part of the CAR C...
Giles Clarke at L.A. Center for Digital Art (Los A...
Two New Field Museum Exhibitions on Native America...
Chicago IANDS Next Mtg, Saturday, September 10, 20...
Tickets for Cochon555 Heritage BBQ on September 11...
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The Celebrity Dinner Party>> Grammy Award Winning Jazz Vocalist, Kurt Elling & Pooch Hall of Ray Donovan
In an intimate corner of Chicago's Third Coast Cafe, Grammy Award winning Jazz Vocalist Kurt Elling and I chat about the spirituality of Jazz on the most recent episode of The Celebrity Dinner Party. We dish on being present, the discipline of art and life on the road. So grab a snack and settle in to hear (and watch!) from the cool cat himself! Click on the images above or click here to listen and watch! And check out my interviews with musician, Nicholas Barron, and gallery owner, Aron Packer.
Please share this interview on Facebook , Twitter and Linkedin by clicking on the icons. Plus, subscribe (and review!) on iTunes here. And don't forget to subscribe to my Youtube channel here!
Join me every Wednesday at 11:45a PST/1:45p CST on my Facebook Live streaming show Food For Thought: Life Lessons From My Kitchen. Over a new favorite recipe every week, I dish on what life dishes out and the lessons I've learned along that way that can help you get over the hump and on to the next great meal. Check out Food For Thought: Life Lessons From My Kitchen every Wednesday by going to my Facebook page here. Plus, don't forget to subscribe to (and review!) my podcast on iTunes here and subscribe to my Youtube channel here. Enjoy!
Have been having a great time hosting on Afterbuzz TV and this week was no exception! Pooch Hall, AKA Ray Donovan's "Daryll Donovan", sat down to give my co-hosts and I the low-down on the behind the scenes of Showtime's hit show on the most recent Aftershow. Click the images below to listen, watch and feel the Afterbuzz excitement!
To read my blogs in The Huffington Post, click here. To subscribe to future podcasts, click here. To subscribe to future Dinner Party video clips, click here.
Don't forget to share this with friends and follow me on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIN, YouTube and The Dinner Party To Go Podcast with Elysabeth Alfano on iTunes! Just click on the icon below.
We are thrilled to thank and work with the following
Follow my blog on The Huffington Post and The Celebrity Dinner Party with Elysabeth Alfano on iTunes
For more information, please contact Elysabeth Alfano at elysabeth@TheDinnerParty.tv or visit THE DINNER PARTY with Elysabeth Alfano
Sign up on www.TheDinnerParty.tv and follow me on Facebook and Twitter. Subscribe to me on TiVo and Soundcloud
Labels: Elysabeth Alfano, Grammy Award Winning Jazz Vocalist, Kurt Elling & Pooch Hall of Ray Donovan, The Celebrity Dinner Party
Call for Entries: Fellowship 18 International Photography Competition
Silver Eye Center for Photography
Fellowship 18
International + Keystone Awards
Lucy Gallun
Assistant Curator
Department of Photography, The Museum of Modern Art (New York)
Publication Prize
Melissa Catanese
Spaces Corners (Pittsburgh)
Silver Eye Center for Photography announces a Call for Entries for Fellowship 18, our international photography competition. Now in its 18th year, this competition recognizes both rising talent and established photographers from all corners of the globe and from the state of Pennsylvania.
New this year, in addition to the International and Keystone Award winners, one Publication Prize winner will be awarded to an artist with an exceptional body of work. The Publication Prize awards a limited-edition print-run publication based on the winner’s submitted body of work co-published and distributed by Spaces Corners (Pittsburgh).
SUBMIT TODAY
Award Categories + Prizes
Solo exhibition at Silver Eye, opening in summer 2018
$3,000 cash prize
KEYSTONE AWARD
Reserved for an artist living or working in the state of Pennsylvania
Spotlight exhibition at Silver Eye, opening in summer 2018
Limited-edition print-run publication based on the winner's body of submitted work
Publication distribution by Spaces Corners in fall 2018
25 artist copies of the publication
Up to five (5) Juror's Commendations will also be selected. All winners will be featured in an online gallery on Silver Eye's website and will include media outreach and promotion.
About the Jurors
Department of Photography,
Lucy Gallun is Assistant Curator in the Department of Photography at The Museum of Modern Art in New York. She has curated or co-curated several recent exhibitions at MoMA including Being: New Photography 2018 (upcoming); Unfinished Conversations: New Work from the Collection (2017); Nan Goldin: The Ballad of Sexual Dependency (2016-17); Ocean of Images: New Photography 2015 (2015-16); Soldier, Spectre, Shaman: The Figure and the Second World War (2015-16); and Art on Camera: Photographs by Shunk-Kender, 1960–1971 (2015). Gallun is also co-editor of Photography at MoMA, a three-volume history of photography at the Museum. Prior to joining the Department of Photography at MoMA, Gallun was the Whitney Lauder Curatorial Fellow at the Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) in Philadelphia, and she was a Helena Rubinstein Curatorial Fellow at the Whitney Museum Independent Study Program (ISP). Gallun received her BA from the University of Pennsylvania and her M.Phil from the Graduate Center, CUNY.
Spaces Corners
Melissa Catanese is an artist and bookseller based in Pittsburgh, PA. She is the founder of Spaces Corners, an artist-run photography bookshop, project space, and publishing house. Catanese has been editing from a vast collection of over 20,000 photographs belonging to collector Peter J. Cohen for some years, and is the author of Dive Dark Dream Slow (2012), Dangerous Women (2013), and Hells Hollow Fallen Monarch (2015). Her work has been included in the Mulhouse Biennial of Photography, NoFound Photo Fair in Paris, and at institutions including Pier 24 Photography in San Francisco and Aperture Foundation in New York. Catanese has recently served as the Georgette and Richard Koopman Distinguished Chair at the University of Hartford in Connecticut, as visiting lecturer at the University of Texas in Austin, and is faculty at Image Text at Ithaca College in New York.
DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2017, 11:59:59 PM EST
Copyright © 2017 Silver Eye Center for Photography
4808 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15224
Labels: Call for Entries: Fellowship 18 International Photography Competition, PA, Pittsburgh
Sydney Paige: Helping Students Impacted By Hurricane Harvey
Helping Hurricane Harvey’s Young Victims
Sydney Paige Runs Backpack and School Supply Drive
The victims of Hurricane Harvey have lost so much: homes, cars, belongings. Right now, their immediate needs are food, water, and shelter, butin the coming days and weeks, they’ll need even more.
When schools are able to re-open, many children will be without pens, notebooks, backpacks and other school supplies. Sydney Paige has partnered with Roonga to change that by running a school supply and backpack drive. The goal is to provide 3,000 packs to Hurricane Harvey’s school age victims and their teachers.
The need is anticipated to be large. Low-income children make up more than 75% of the Houston Independent Public School District. Other districts in the area have similar economic conditions making it difficult for families to afford replacing basic school supplies lost in the hurricane.
A backpack and school supplies certainly won’t fill all the needs of child victims, but it’s a start. Letting children know people care can go a long way towards healing while going back to school can provide a small semblance of normalcy in a world that’s been turned upside down.
To help: https://www.roonga.com/hurricaneharveydrive/
About Sydney Paige: Sydney Paige manufactures high-quality backpacks from eco-friendly materials: 100% cotton canvas, natural leather, nickel free hardware and recycled polyester. Its mission has always been to provide a backpack filled with supplies to a child in need for every backpack purchased.
About Roonga: Roonga partners with non-profits to provide the right quantities of necessary supplies to those who need them.
For more information, please visit www.sydneypaigeinc.com or contact Susana at Susana@chicexecs.com.
Labels: Houston, Roonga, school supply and backpack drive, Sydney Paige: Helping Students Impacted By Hurricane Harvey, Texas
BERMUDA TRIANGLE: The Nashville-Based Trio, Comprising Brittany Howard, Becca Mancari And Jesse Lafser
BERMUDA TRIANGLE ANNOUNCES SERIES OF
SOUTHERN U.S. SHOWS
Run Kicks Off October 4 In Atlanta, GA
Tickets Go On Sale At Noon ET Today
NPR Music Premieres "Rosey," The First Track From The Nashville-Based Trio, Comprising Brittany Howard, Becca Mancari And Jesse Lafser
Bermuda Triangle Photo Credit: Harvey Hale
On the heels of their debut performance in Nashville, Bermuda Triangle has announced a series of Southern shows. The trio - comprising Brittany Howard, Becca Mancari and Jesse Lafser - will kick off the jaunt on October 4 at Terminal West in Atlanta. Special guests Thelma and the Sleaze will support on the first two dates and Music Band will open at the other three shows. See below for itinerary.Tickets go on sale today at noon ET. For ticket information, visit https://www.facebook.com/BermudaTriangleBand.
Today, NPR Music premiered "Rosey," Bermuda Triangle's debut song. "Rosey," which features Lafser on lead vocals, is now up for streaming HERE.
In this feature, NPR neatly summed up the individual accomplishments of the band mates: "Brittany A. Howard, the main rule-breaker in Americana music's most exciting band of this century, the Alabama Shakes...[joins forces] with two of the most interesting voices currently making Nashville home. Hailing from St. Louis, Lafser has released two albums of lonesome tunes redolent of Jimmie Rodgers and Patsy Cline. Mancari...is one of the subtlest songwriters and bandleaders to hit the scene in a while, building intense moods in her memorable live sets."
Covering Bermuda Triangle's debut performance, Rolling Stone said the trio's chemistry "was clear from the first-applause-silencing note" and went on to observe, "The band featured Howard switching between plucking out gorgeous, nimble-fingered nylon-string guitar solos and holding down the low end on upright bass...with Mancari and Lafser trading off on banjo and acoustic guitar, accompanied by subtle beats from a drum machine on a pitch-perfect harmony-heavy set of blithe and breezy heartfelt folk tunes that filled the sweltering room with chill vibes."
The artists have also been busy with their individual endeavors. Becca Mancari's debut album, Good Woman, is set for release on October 6. Jesse Lafser's follow-up to 2015's Raised On the Plains is due out in early 2018. Brittany Howard recently wrapped a series of headline and festival dates with Alabama Shakes.
Bermuda Triangle - Upcoming Tour Dates
10/4 - Atlanta, GA @ Terminal West *
10/5 - Birmingham, AL @ Iron City *
10/6 - Knoxville, TN @ Mill + Mine #
10/8 - Asheville, NC @ Orange Peel #
10/9 - Chapel Hill, NC @ Cat's Cradle #
* Thelma and the Sleaze supporting
# Music Band supporting
For more information on Bermuda Triangle, visit:
https://www.facebook.com/BermudaTriangleBand
Labels: band, Becca Mancari And Jesse Lafser, BERMUDA TRIANGLE: The Nashville-Based Trio, Comprising Brittany Howard, music
Johnny Depp Kentucky Farm & Katharine Hepburn Connecticut Mansion
Johnny Depp's Kentucky farm auction and Katharine Hepburn's Connecticut mansion sale are featured this week at TopTenRealEstateDeals.com.
Photos with listing agent permission available for your use at: http://bit.ly/toptenmedia
“Johnny Depp's Horse Farm Auction”
Johnny Depp has been trying to liquidate much of his extensive real estate holdings including a village in France and a series of Los Angeles penthouses. A Kentucky horse farm he has purchased twice is going to auction on September 15th.
Depp was born in Owensboro, Kentucky in 1963 and grew up surrounded by horse farms. Early in his movie career in 1995, Johnny bought the 41-acre farm for his mother Betty Sue Palmer. He sold the farm in 2001 but bought it back in 2005.
Depp’s farm near Lexington, Kentucky includes a 6,000-square-foot house, guest house/manager’s quarters, three barns, 15 stalls and ten paddocks. The main house consists of six bedrooms, seven baths, recently renovated kitchen and master bedroom, dining room and wet bar, family room and adjoining sun room. There is also a swimming pool and four-car garage.
The auction will be conducted by Halfhill Auction Group in Lexington, Kentucky. The original list price was $3.4 million, recently reduced to $2.9 million.
“Katharine Hepburn's Connecticut Home Sells”
Katharine Hepburn’s longtime home on Long Island Sound in Connecticut has recently sold for $11.5 million. The original shingle-style home was built for Hepburn’s parents in 1912 when Katharine was four years old, but was destroyed by a hurricane in 1938 when Hepburn was already an academy-award winning actress. Katharine had the home rebuilt in 1940, returning to the home for holidays and summers and full time the last seven years of her life until her death at age 96 in 2003. In 2004, New York developer Frank Sciame purchased the property and did a complete renovation and update.
The estate is located in the Old Saybrook borough of Fenwick, a neighborhood of 83 homes established in the 1600s where the Long Island Sound meets the Connecticut River. With views of the home’s dock, private beach, protective jetties and the Saybrook Breakwater Lighthouse, the home includes 15 nautically-inspired rooms in 8,368 square feet, six bedrooms, eight baths and seven fireplaces. A nine-hole, links-style golf course and tennis courts are available to residents of the community. The listing agent was Colette Harron of William Pitt Sotheby’s International Realty in Essex, Connecticut.
Visit TopTenRealEstateDeals.com for more historic, celebrity and spectacular homes and real estate news.
Labels: Johnny Depp Kentucky Farm & Katharine Hepburn Connecticut Mansion, TopTenRealEstateDeals.com, upscale real estate
Yvette Mayorga | EXPO CHICAGO 2017 | Booth #166 (Chicago,IL.)
CAC PRESENTS YVETTE MAYORGA AT EXPO CHICAGO 2017
CHICAGO, IL. September 1, 2017 – Chicago Artists Coalition is proud to be participating in EXPO CHICAGO 2017 and featuring the solo presentation, High Maintenance (Art After Nov. 8, 2016) by Yvette Mayorga, BOLT Artist-in-Residence 2016-17.
Yvette Mayorga's work is informed by the politics of the U.S./Mexico border, the events that happen on it, and the transnational narratives that arise after crossing it. Her work tackles issues of race, identity, gender, and Latin stereotypes by using visual tropes of celebration. In High Maintenance (Art After Nov. 8. 2016), she constructs a dystopian vision of the American Dream through an immersive and multimedia experience that re-contextualizes American gendered toys that clash with Rococo-inspired architecture.
CAC's exhibiting artist Yvette Mayorga was selected by Janine Mileaf, Director of The Arts Club of Chicago.
Yvette Mayorga in dialogue with Janine Mileaf
Friday, September 15, 3:00 - 3:30 pm
For more information about the artist and booth presentation, click here.
For EXPO CHICAGO 2017 GENERAL ADMISSION HOURS, click here.
Navy Pier, Festival Hall
600 E. Grand Ave
Contact: Teresa E. Silva, Director of Exhibitions & Residencies
312-491-8888 / teresa@chicagoartistscoalition.org
Yvette Mayorga, Amerikkkan Landscape, 2017, Digital painting and collage
Chicago Artists Coalition
217 N. Carpenter Street
Labels: art, event, exhibit, fine art, Illinois, Yvette Mayorga | EXPO CHICAGO 2017 | Booth #166
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Hovea cymbiformis I.Thomps.
Hovea cymbiformis I.Thomps. APNI*
Description: Shrub up to 0.5 m tall, rarely to 1.5 m tall, multi-stemmed from a stout rootstock. Indumentum of branchlets, petiole, stipules, pedicel, abaxial surfaces of bract and bracteoles and external surface of calyx dense, brown to grey, sometimes orange-brown at apices of branchlets, stipules, calyx, bract and bracteoles, hairs coiled to curled.
Leaves very narrow-elliptic, 1–4 cm long, 3–5 mm wide (juvenile leaves to 4.8 cm long, 6mm wide), strongly concave-folded (cymbiform), base obtuse to acute, margins flat, apex obtuse to acute, mucronate; upper surface green, subglossy to glossy, scattered, coiled hairs over much of the ± smooth surface, veins distinct, sometimes slightly recessed; lower surface mostly green with a sparse to moderately dense, pale indumentum, hairs coiled or occasionally fairly straight, densest along the veins, midrib indumentum moderately dense, orange-brown, glabrescent, venation raised. Stipules ovate, 0 .5–1.2 mm long, apex sometimes reflexed. petiole 1.5–3 mm long
Inflorescences mostly sessile, mostly 2-flowered, inflorescences on short lateral branchlets occasionally subtended by tiny leaves 2–4 mm long. Flowers with bracts inserted at or near base of pedicel, ovate to oblong-ovate, 1–1.2 mm long; bracteoles inserted at base of calyx, narrow-ovate to oblong-ovate, 1–1.2 mm long; calyx 3.5–4.5 mm long, indumentum of straight, appressed hairs as well as curled hairs; tube 2–2.5 mm long; upper lip 2.5–3 mm wide across base, apex of lobes rounded, intervening sinus c. 0.5 mm deep; lower lip 3 mm wide across base, lateral lobes 1.2–1.5 mm long, lower lobe 1.5–1.8 mm long; standard 7 mm long, 8–9 mm wide, claw c. 2 mm long, limb mauve, flare yellow-green, 1 mm wide, bordered by a zone of deep mauve; wing 6–7 mm long, 2.5–3 mm wide, claw c. 1.5 mm long.
Pod obliquely orbicular in profile, c. 10 mm long, 10 mm deep, subsessile, external surface hardly obscured by an indumentum of straightish to curly, weakly appressed hairs, internal surface with scattered hairs. Seeds ellipsoid, c. 4 mm long, 3 mm wide, dark brown or mottled yellow brown, aril oblong, 2.5 mm long, 1.0 mm wide, 30–40% of the curved length of seed.
Flowering: Flowers in August–September. Fruit matures in December.
Distribution and occurrence: Occurs in north-eastern NSW from Wood’s Reef near Barraba south-east to Chaffey Reservoir south-east of Tamworth.
Grows in soils derived from serpentinite in woodland.
NSW subdivisions: NWS
Hovea cymbiformis is characterised by low-stature, multi-stemmed habit, and concavefolded leaves. It has been recorded from three widely separated localities in the Tamworth area. At two of the three localities, populations are large and most plants are less than 0.5 m tall. Between Attunga and Hall’s Creek near Tamworth, among a large population of typical H. cymbiformis, are several plants that are taller, with larger leaves and flowers and with a denser indumentum on the lower surface of leaves. These plants are somewhat intermediate in form between H. cymbiformis and H. lanceolata and possibly are hybrids, although H. lanceolata has not been recorded at this site.
Taxon concept: I.R. Thompson (2001) Eastern Australian Hovea (Brongniartieae-Fabaceae). Australian Systematic Botany, Vol 14, pp 63-64.
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Activist Yemelyanov given 2-year suspended sentence in July 27 rally case
13:53 06/12/2019 Moscow’s Meshchansky District Court on Friday gave a 2-year suspended sentence to Vladimir Yemelyanov, charged with using force against law enforcement officers during an unauthorized rally held in Moscow on July 27.
Moscow rally activist Chirtsov gets 1 year in jail for pushing police officer
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Radhanath Swami glorifies Raghunath Das Goswami
October 20, 2014 | Filed under: Raghunath Das Goswami and tagged with: lord chaitanya, Radhanath Swami, Raghunath Das Goswami
“Even the great author Srila Krishnadas Kaviraj Goswami considers himself unable and practically speechless to explain the glories of Srila Raghunath Das Goswami.” – Radhanath Swami
Radhanath Swami describes the childhood and marriage of Raghunath Das Goswami
Srila Raghunath Das Goswami was born in a village of the name Sri Krishnapur. His father’s name was Govardhana Majumadara who was the younger brother of Hiranya Majumadara. They were land holders and tax collectors and had such fabulous wealth; it was comparable to that of Indra, the king of heaven. Srila Prabhupada describes the family of Raghunath Das: “Compared to today’s standards they would be multi-multimillionaires, practically billionaires.”
Of the two brothers Hiranya and Govardhana there was only one son to whom everything belonged, and that was Raghunath Das. His father and uncle were Vaishnavas. They were very sincere devotees of the Lord. They were disciples of the great Yadunandan Thakur. Yadunandan Thakur was initiated by Srila Advaitya Acharya, and was an intimate student of the great and most compassionate soul Srila Vasudev Dutt.
A dear friend of Yadunandan Acharya who also lived in that area was Balaram Acharya. These were two very, very pure and devoted servants of Lord Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Yadunandan Acharya and Balaram Acharya had great affection for Raghunath Das, who was an ocean of transcendental qualities. Anyone who met Raghunath Das, their hearts became completely satisfied. He had so much natural Bhakti.
When you love someone you naturally want to give the best possible thing that you can. So Balaram Acharya took Raghunath Das to meet Srila Haridas Thakur; he was at that time living not so far away. Along with Balaram and Yadunandan, Raghunath Das would regularly meet with Srila Haridas Thakur, who was so simple. Sometimes Haridas would live in a cave, sometimes under a tree, but he was always immersed in very strict observance of renunciation, constantly chanting the holy names of Krishna. In fact Haridas Thakur would not eat or sleep or take even water before he would complete chanting of three hundred thousand names of Krishna every day, over hundred and ninety rounds of the chanting of Hare Krishna Mahamantra: Hare Krishna Hare Krishna krishna Krishna Hare Hare/ Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare. He would preach by his words and by his living example how to perfects one’s life by constantly chanting the holy names in the spirit of Lord Chaitanya’s most important teaching:
tṛṇād api sunīcena
taror api sahiṣṇunā
amāninā mānadena
kīrtanīyaḥ sadā hariḥ
Because Haridas Thakur was genuinely more humble than a blade of grass, more tolerant than a tree, he offered all respects to others but never expected any respect for himself. Therefore he could chant Hare Krishna Mahamantra constantly day and night.
“Raghunath Das, although a small child, was so much influenced by the example of Haridas Thakur and so much affected by teachings of his gurus.” – Radhanath Swami
He had no attachment or affection for any of the materialistic things of this world, and this was turning out to be a big problem for his parents, because they wanted him to take over everything. So they married Raghunath Das to a beautiful, beautiful chaste young woman who was endowed with all good qualities. They were gradually arranging to train him to take over everything. They gave such beautiful home, so much wealth, so much prestige, but Raghunath Das was not concerned.
Radhanath Swami narrates the first meeting of Raghunath Das Goswami with Lord Chaitanya
When Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu took sannyaas in Khatwa, afterwards he decided go to Vrindavana. He was in ecstasy dancing and chanting through the forest and the towns and the villages in great expectation to reach Brajbhumi. Nityananda prabhu, knowing how much pain the separation was within the hearts of the devotees he had left behind in Navadwip and Shantipur, meditating on the condition of Saci Devi and others like Advaitya and Srivasa, Nityananda prabhu tricked Lord Chaitanya by giving him different information by which he came to Shantipur by the way of the Ganga. There in Shantipur, Lord Chaitanya met his mother who saw him for the first time with shaved head and robes of a sannyasi.
Raghunath Das came to meet Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu for the first time on that occasion.
“Of the six Goswamis, Raghunath Das Goswami was the first to meet with the Supreme personality of Godhead Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu personally. He stayed there for ten days with Lord Chaitanya.” – Radhanath Swami
Then Lord Chaitanya, on his mother’s instructions, decided to go to Puri instead of Vrindavana to worship Lord Jagannath. When Raghunath Das went home, he no longer had any interest in any of the things of the world; he simply wanted to go to Jagannath puri to meet with Lord Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. That was his constant meditation. So it became a daily affair that Raghunath Das would run away from home, and his parents would find him in a distance place through many guards and servants. They would forcibly bring him back home, and as soon as the opportunity came again, he would somehow escape. But again he was caught. Raghunath Das Goswami, he would not even enter into the interior compound of his house, but he would sleep and stay in the courtyard called Durgamandapa.
Radhanath Swami explains the wonderful instruction of Lord Chaitanya to Raghunath Das Goswami
One day Lord Chaitanya, on his next trip to Vrindavana, he came to Shantipur again. Raghunath Das, he was given permission by his father to see him, but surrounded by many guards. There Raghunath Das prostrated his body and offered his life at the lotus feet of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. He told Lord Chaitanya his very deep desire to be relieved of the entanglement and bondage of his household entanglements and serve him cent percent.
Lord Caitanya instructed Raghunath in a very wonderful way. He said, ‘You should not be a Markata-vairagi; you should not be a monkey renunciant.’ Monkeys appear to be much renounced. They live in trees, and they do not wear clothes; they only eat what grows in the trees. However, they always have so many thoughts about how to enjoy female monkeys whenever the opportunity comes. He said, ‘You should pretend, in an external way, to be completely attached to pounds, shillings and pens (Prabhupada translates). You should perform your duties as a first class business manager, but in your heart you should always be meditating on Krishna and very soon Krishna will show his mercy to you.’” – Radhanath Swami
So Raghunath Das went home and he appeared to his parents to be completely settled in his materialistic life.
Once his parents almost got in big, big trouble because they were collecting taxes from people and they were collecting two million gold coins per month. Now, they were supposed to give one million five hundred thousand to the government, and they were supposed to keep five hundred thousand for themselves. But what happened is that, there was a Turkish Chowdhari. He was an assistant tax collector, and he checked the records. He found that they were only giving one million two hundred thousand gold coins; that means there was three hundred thousand gold coins balance, which was unaccounted. He was very much envious of them anyway. So this tax collector, along with some soldiers, they came to arrest Hiranya and Govaradhan Majumadar. But by their good intelligence, they were not home. Only Raghunath Das was home. They arrested Raghunath Das and put him in prison. The Turkish Choudhari, every day he would try to torture Raghunath Das. He wanted to get information – ‘where is your father and uncle? Tell me where are they.’ But every time he would go to beat, just by seeing his beauty and his gentleness and his compassionate nature, his heart was melting. And he could not beat him.
So Raghunath Das decided to make a good trick. One day he told Chowdhari, “Actually my uncle and my father and you are just like brothers. You have such intimate relationship. Sometimes brothers will naturally argue and fight, but then tomorrow the brothers will sit together very peacefully with great love for each other. Because you are in that relationship, you are like my father. This is how I respect you, and have affection for you. You should not hurt your own son; you should be kind and compassionate to your own son. After all, you are a Muslim and you are a great saint. You know the scriptures, and you are compassionate merciful being.” He spoke with such sincerity and love that the Turkish Chowdhari started to cry and tears began to glide through his beard. He embraced Raghunath Das. He said, “Yes, yes. What you are saying is true. You are my own son.” How much love he developed for Raghunath Das! “How can I hurt you! You should go, you should be free. As far as your father and uncle, when you happen to see them, you can give them this message that whatever extra profits they are making, they should divide with me. Ultimately they can do whatever they want, but give this message and arrange for me to meet with them peacefully.”
Raghunath Das, he arranged for a meeting. Govardhan, Hiranya and the Turkish Chowdhari, they met together and they settled, and they were all very happy. In this way Raghunath Das, following Lord Chaitanya’s instruction, appeared to be completely attached to his worldly environment.
Radhanath Swami describes Lord Nityananda Prabhu’s mercy upon Raghunath Das Goswami
He heard that Lord Nityananda Prabhu, along with his most confidential associates, were at the house of Raghava Pandit in Panihati. So he begged permission of his father. And his father knew that he could not keep him away from Lord Nityananda Prabhu’s mercy; so he sent him with some servants and guards.
At that time, on the bank of the holy river Ganges, Lord Nityananda Prabhu was sitting under a sacred banyan tree. He was effulgent like thousands and thousands of suns. Raghunath Das offered his obeisance from a distant place, feeling himself too much contaminated and materialistic to go close to such a great personality. One of Lord Nityananda Prabhu’s servants said, “There is Raghunath Das.”
“Nityananda prabhu said, ‘Raghunath! Why are you offering obeisance from such a distant place? You are a thief; thieves keep their distances.’ Then Lord Nityananda prabhu personally came and got Raghunath Das, and placed his feet on Raghunath Das’s head. ‘Because you have been captured by me as a thief, you must be punished. You are a wealthy man’s son. The punishment is you should feed a big feast of Chira and Dahi to all my associates.’” – Radhanath Swami
Raghunath Das was very happy; he immediately went to the town and the village made nice arrangements. He got big clay pots and then bigger clay pots, and small clay pots – all varieties of clay pots. Five to seven pots were really very, very big and they put hot milk and soaked all the rice. Then they took half the rice that was soaked in the hot milk, and they soaked yogurt, sugar and bananas. The other half they soaked in big pots with condensed milk, camphor, ghee and special variety of bananas and sugar. Lord Nityananda prabhu was very happily sitting with so many of his very, very close associates such as Goridas Pandit, Gadhadar Das, Sundrananda, Murari, Caitanya, Udarana Thakur – many such great personalities, Paramananda. Each of the devotees got two clay pots with each preparation. Soon the word spread and so many of the people of various towns and village wanted to come to participate in this wonderful feast conducted by Lord Nityananda prabhu himself. And soon there were so many people. The whole raised platform was full, and then the bank of the Ganges was completely crowded and full with people. So much so that some people were standing in the Ganges and each one had two clay pots, one with yogurt with sugar and banana soaking the Chira and the other one was Chira soaked in condensed milk, camphor, ghee and special bananas and sugar.
Lord Nityananda prabhu was so happy with this feast that in this mind he called for Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu immediately appeared in his transcendental form, but no one could see him except Lord Nityananda prabhu and a few other very, very special confidential devotees. Lord Nityananda prabhu and Lord Chaitanya were so happy they went to each and every one of the clay pots. By this time so many people were sitting on the ground with their clay pots. Lord Nityananda prabhu would take one morsel from each and every pot of chipped rice, and put it directly in the mouth of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. In great happiness Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu took one morsel from each and every clay pot and placed in the mouth of Lord Nityananda prabhu. Such a loving reciprocation they had.
Then Lord Nityananda prabhu was sitting and Raghava Pandit arrived. Raghava Pandit had a beautiful house, just living close to this tree in Panihati. When he would cook, along with his sister Damayanti, every preparation was ecstatically sweet like nectar. It was a known fact that whenever anything was cooked in the house of Raghava Pandit, Srimati Radharani would personally appear to perform the cooking through the hands of her devotees; and she had received a benediction from Durvasa muni that anything she prepared, Srimati Radharani, would be more sweet than nectar. In the house of Raghava Pandit whenever they would cook Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu would personally appear to eat that food.
So Raghava Pandit came with all kinds of nice preparations cooked in ghee and said to Nityananda prabhu, “You are supposed to come to my house for Prasad today.” Nityananda prabhu replied, “I am a cowherd boy and I like taking Prasad with my cowherd boy associates on the bank of the sandy river. So I will come to your house tonight.”
Meanwhile, it was a wonderful, wonderful feast. And after everyone was served and everyone enjoyed to their full satisfaction Raghunath Das Goswami’s offering, then Lord Nityananda prabhu personally offered all of the devotees a garland, sandalwood with his loving hands. Then he went to take rest. Nityananda prabhu personally gave Raghunath Das Goswami the plates or the clay pots that was directly eaten by him and by Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, as remnants. That evening in the house of Raghava Pandit, Nityananda prabhu induced everyone to start dancing and chanting in Kirtan. Such a beautiful Kirtan! As Sri Nityananda prabhu would dance, Lord Chaitanya, wherever he was in the world, he would always appear to watch the dancing of Sri Nityananda prabhu. The two brothers danced in ecstatic love together, and everyone was dancing and chanting for many hours. After the kirtan, Raghava Pandit served delicious and ambrosial Prasad to Lord Chaitanya and Lord Nityananda and all the devotees. Then Raghava Pandit worshiped each devotee by offering garlands, sandalwood and other gifts. Then they took rest and Raghava Pandit gave Raghunath Das the plates directly and personally eaten by Gaur Nitai, Maha Maha Prasad.
“The next morning Sri Nityananda Prabhu was sitting under that same sacred banyan tree and Raghunath Das approached him. He clasped his feet and placed it on his head. He began to pray, ‘I am the most sinful; I am the lowest, most condemned of all living entity; who am I to approach you? I am not fit. However, you are all-merciful. Like a dwarf who desires to catch the moon, I am seeking your great mercy. I am entangled in the great bondage of materialistic life. Please, no one can approach Lord Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu without your mercy. Give me the benediction that I may renounce completely all the entanglements of the materialistic life and family encumbrances. Let me seek shelter – whole heartedly – in the service of Lord Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Let this one desire of my heart be fulfilled by your causeless mercy.’” – Radhanath Swami
Lord Nityananda prabhu was so pleased to see the determination and the humility of Sri Raghunath Das. He began to speak to the other devotees. “Raghunath Das is living in opulence equal to that of Indra, the king of heaven. He has so much wealth, so much aristocracy, but yet he is not the slightest bit attached to any of it. He simply wants to serve Gauranga Mahaprabhu in the renounced order of life. Please give your blessing to Raghunath Das.”
All the Vaishnavas began to shower their blessing on Raghunath Das. And then Lord Nityananda prabhu continued, “Very soon you will be released from all the bondage of your household life. You will go to Jagannath puri and you will be one of the most intimate, confidential personal associates of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. In fact, he will put you under the care of his own personal secretary Swaroop Damodar Goswami, and you will be famous as one of the greatest renunciates in the service of the Lord.”
When Raghunath Das heard this, he became filled with happiness. Raghunath Das went to each and every devotee and worshiped their lotus feet and he worshiped the lotus feet of Nityananda prabhu. Then he gave a large sum of wealth to Raghava Pandit and told, “Please give this to Nityananda prabhu after I leave.” Then he made whole account of giving particular sums of donation to each and every one of the devotees according to their requirements.
Radhanath Swami narrates the escape of Raghunath Das Goswami from home, and his stay at Jagannath Puri
His mother and father were so worried. So many times he was trying to escape that one time the mother said to the father, “This Raghunath has gone crazy. He won’t stay home. You should tie him with ropes.” Govardhan Majumadar replied, “He is already bound by wealth of Indra – so much opulence, so much fine clothes, such beautiful living condition, his wife is more beautiful than an angel. If these things cannot keep him home, how can we expect to keep him with ropes? Our son has received the mercy of Lord Gaurchandra, and who can keep such a mad man from the service of the Lord?” Raghunath Das Goswami was pretending very nicely, but still there were guards all around him day and night. Raghunath Das was immersed in meditation – ‘How to escape? How to achieve the lotus feet of Gauranga?’
One day… it was night, it was just towards the end of night. There were only four dandas left. At that time the guru of the family, Yadunandan Acharya, he was having some problem. One of his disciples, who was a brahman priest, who worshiped his deities, had left his service. Yadunandana Acharya knew that Raghunath Das was very, very expert in all dealings on all levels. So he came to the Durga Mandapa, and he approached Raghunath Das and said, “Can you go to the house of this pujari and convince him to continue his service to the deity? I will go with you.” Raghunath Das said, “Yes, of course. I will.” Because it was so late at night, all of the guards were fast asleep.
Raghunath Das left, and as he was walking down the road with Yadunandana Acharya, he said, “Actually I can do it myself. You can go home, and I will go to the home of your disciple pujari and convince him.” Yadunandana Acharya said, “Yes” and he went home. Raghunath Das understood that this was the time. Perhaps he preached to the Pujari first. He immediately fled into the forest. He understood that his parents would immediately send so many guards and investigators to find him.
So he did not go in the direction of Puri. First he went east and he just travelled due east all day long the whole next day. And when night came, there was the shade of the milk man, and he slept in that place where cows sleep. And in the morning, the milk man understood that he had not eaten, so he gave him a little bit of milk. Then Raghunath Das went in the southern direction, but not on the main road; rather he went in the road through the jungles which no one would take.
Meanwhile, Shivananda Sena, every year was taking a whole group of Bengali Vaishnavas to Jagannath puri to meet Lord Chaitanya. Govardhan sent some messengers and guards, “You go to Shivananda Sena, because Raghunath must be going to puri with them; we know he must be going. Tell them give me my son.” So the messengers went to Shivananda Sena, and he said, “Your son is not here. I do not know where he may be.”
“Meanwhile, Raghunath Das was travelling through the jungles and forests. It took him twelve days to arrive in Jagannath puri, and in those twelve days, only three times did he get anything to eat. Sometimes he got little milk; sometimes he cooked something; and sometimes he chewed on some fried grains. Although often it was cold, often it was hot, so many inconveniences, he was completely immersed in the thought that soon he would serve the lotus feet of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. He was full of joy. After twelve days, he arrived in Jagannath Puri.” – Radhanath Swami
In Kashi Mishra Bhavan, there is a room called Gambhira. That was the personal residence of Lord Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Raghunath Das went to that place. When Lord Chaitanya saw Raghunath Das, he became filled with happiness. He said to Raghunath Das, “You have received the mercy of Lord Krishna. To become disentangled from the attachments of this material world is very difficult. In fact, it is impossible. It is only by the mercy of Lord Krishna that one can achieve such liberation.”
Raghunath Das, in great humility, with such a grateful heart he replied, “I do not know who Krishna is; I only know that your causeless mercy has saved me.” In great humility Raghunath Das offered prayers to Lord Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.
Lord Caitanya replied, “Material life is like a deep ditch where people go to pass stool. Because your father and your uncle are friends of my grandfather and father, therefore we are related. I can say some joking words about them. Your father and uncle are like worms living in the stool of that ditch; although they are Vaishnavas, they are not pure Vaishnavas. They have many material attachments; they give so much charity and donations to other devotees, but still they have too much material attachment. But Krishna has rescued you and brought you here.”
“Then Lord Chaitanya, he turned to Swaroop Damodar Goswami, his most personal associate. He said, ‘I want you to take care of Raghunath das. I am personally placing him in your loving care.’ Then Lord Chaitanya took the hand of Raghunath Das and the hand of Swaroop Damodar Goswami, and put them together.” – Radhanath Swami
“Now,” he said, “There are three Raghus: Vaidya Raghunath, there is Bhatta Raghunath, and this is Raghunath, who will be known as the Raghunath of Swaroop Damodar Goswami.” Swaroop Damodar Goswami very happily accepted the charge of Raghunath Das as his personal service to the Lord.
Lord Caitanya’s instruction on renunciation to Raghunath Das
One day Raghunath Das spoke through Swaroop Damodar Goswami to Lord Chaitanya. Raghunath Das was so humble that generally he would not speak directly to Lord Chaitanya. If he had anything to say or any question to ask, he would make it through either Swaroop Damodar Goswami or Govinda, the servant of the Lord.
So on one day Swaroop Damodar Goswami and Raghunath Das came before Lord Chaitanya. And Swaroop Damodar Goswami said, “Raghunath Das has a question. He says that he has given up all wonderful luxuries of his family life and worldly existence, but he does not know why. He does not know what his duties are. What are the services of one in the renounced order of life?”
Lord Chaitanya turned to Raghunath Das Goswami. He said, “Actually you should ask this question to Swaroop Damodar Goswami. He can answer all of your questions, but since you are asking me, I will give you the reply. Do not speak mundane topics like the people in general of this world – gramya-katha. And do not hear what they say. Do not eat luxurious foods, and do not dress very nicely. You should always offer all respects to others, and you should expect no respect for yourself. In this way you should constantly chant the holy names of Krishna, and in your mind you should always meditate on serving Radha and Krishna in the forest of Vrindavana. These are the duties of one in the renounced order of life. Now for all further instructions, you can get them all from Swaroop Damodar Goswami. But one more instruction I must give:
tṛṇād api sunīcena taror api sahiṣṇunā
amāninā mānadena kīrtanīyaḥ sadā hariḥ
To be more humble than a blade of grass, more tolerant than a tree, ready to offer all respects to others and to expect none in return in this way one can chant the holy name of the Lord constantly.”
“For those who are pursuing the true path of renunciation, Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu has given these three verses – grämya-kathä nä çunibe, amanina manadena, and Trinad api sunicena. These are the very basis of real renunciation. Raghunath Das was so renounced, he was so simple in his life style, and he became so dear to all of his devotees.” – Radhanath Swami
Radhanath Swami glorifies Gopal Bhatta Goswami (Dissapearence day, 16/ 07/ 2014)
Radhanath Swami speaks on the occasion of Govardhan Puja
Radhanath Swami on Dassera
Radhanath Swami Glorifies Raghunath Bhatta Goswami
Radhanath Swami Glorifies Jiva Goswami
Written by Radhanath Swami Weekly
Find him on Google+
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catostomus, Phenacobius Jordan [D. S.] 1877:332 [Annals of the Lyceum of Natural History of New York v. 11 (nos 11-12) (art. 29); ref. 2373] Silver Creek, just above its mouth in Etowah River, Floyd County, Georgia, U.S.A. Lectotype: USNM 17889. Paralectotypes: ANSP 19847 (1), BMNH 1883.12.14.234 (1), MCZ 24385 (1), MNHN A-1307 (1), USNM 31087 (3). Type catalog: Böhlke 1984:72 [ref. 13621], Gilbert 1998:57 [ref. 23395], Gilbert 2009:159 [ref. 30728]. Lectotype selected by Gilbert 1998:57 [ref. 23395]. •Valid as Phenacobius catostomus Jordan 1877 -- (Lee et al. 1980:330 [ref. 22416], Page & Burr 1991:98 [ref. 18983], Boschung 1992:57 [ref. 23239], Etnier & Starnes 1993:240 [ref. 22809], Mettee et al. 1996:293 [ref. 25836], Simons & Mayden 1997:195 [ref. 24948], Gilbert 1998:57 [ref. 23395], Fuller et al. 1999:128 [ref. 25838], Nelson et al. 2004:76 [ref. 27807], Boschung & Mayden 2004:260 [ref. 27995], Scharpf 2005:34 [ref. 28940], Page & Burr 2011:202 [ref. 31215], Page et al. 2013:76 [ref. 32708]). Current status: Valid as Phenacobius catostomus Jordan 1877. Leuciscidae: Pogonichthyinae. Distribution: Eastern U.S.A.: Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama. Habitat: freshwater.
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Home > Administrative_Guidelines > 8000_Operations >
8320 Operations_Personnel Records
Maintaining accurate personnel records is critical to effective human resource management and to the District
satisfying its legal obligations. In addition, such records frequently contain confidential information that must be
managed appropriately. Accordingly, the District has developed the following administrative guideline relating to
personnel records.
Location and Maintenance – Personnel File, Payroll File, I-9 File, and Medical File
The District Records Officer (DRO) will maintain a personnel file, a payroll file, an I-9 file, and a medical file for each
employee. The files will be maintained in separate, secure locations. Supervisors and other administrators should
forward all personnel records, I-9 records, payroll records, and medical records to the DRO to ensure that they are
properly filed and maintained. Supervisors and other administrators should not maintain files containing an
employee’s personnel records, payroll records, I-9 records, or medical records. Further, neither the Board nor any
individual employed by the Board shall access an employee’s personnel records except for legitimate business
purposes. Any individual who reviews personnel records will sign and date a log, which shall be kept in a secure
Personnel File Records
An employee’s personnel file will contain the following records (if applicable):
A. Completed employment records
B. Offer letter
C. Acceptance letter
D. Emergency contact information
E. Written requests to review the personnel file
F. Letters of commendation
G. Academic or other achievement records
H. Training records
I. Records relating to final disciplinary actions (e.g., written warning for excessive absenteeism)
J. Leave request forms and supporting documentation; provided, however, that all such documents should have
all medical information removed
K. Written requests to review the personnel file
L. Grade transcript(s)
M. Completed right-to-know forms
N. Current name, address, and telephone number
O. An accurate record of work experience
P. Proof of fulfillment of requirements for change in salary classification
Q. Current information pertaining to certificates required by the State
R. Record of assignments
S. Proof of discharge from military service
T. Rate of compensation
U. Completed evaluations
V. Special awards or distinctions
Payroll File Records
An employee's payroll file will contain the following records (if applicable):
A. W-4 forms
B. Direct deposit authorization
C. Consent to payroll deductions
D. Beneficiary designation forms
E. Retirement registration
F. Life and disability insurance forms, without medical information
G. Completed annuity forms
Medical File Records
An employee’s medical file will contain the following records (if applicable):
A. Medical records, notes, or other documents containing medical information including, but not limited to,
records containing physical limitations.
B. Medical records relating to leaves of absence for medical reasons, including, but not limited to, Family and
Medical Leave Act leave and sick leave, (e.g., medical certification forms, requests for leave, and fitness for
duty statements).
C. Workers’ compensation records and supporting documentation including, without limitation, physician notes
relating to an employee’s ability to return-to-work and an employee’s physical limitations.
D. All occupational exposure and medical records that the District is required to maintain under the
Occupational Safety and Health Act.
E. Requests to review the medical file.
I-9 File Records
The I-9 file will contain records required by the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 including, but not
limited to, the form I-9 and supporting documentation.
Other Personnel Records
The District will maintain the following personnel records (if applicable) in separate, secure files:
A. Criminal conviction history requests and reports
B. Employee assistance program records
C. Employee relations complaints including, for example, discrimination complaints
D. Investigative and deliberative records relating to employee relations matters
E. Privileged and confidential communications including, but not limited to, attorney-client communications
Third-Party Access to Personnel Records – Confidentiality
It is the District’s policy to respect individual privacy and to maintain in confidence all information and records
pertaining to employees to the extent practicable in keeping with the District’s interest. Information in an
employee’s personnel file, medical file, I-9 file, and all other employment-related files will not be disclosed to any
third party without an employee’s written consent, except to meet the legitimate business needs of the District or
as required by law (e.g., subpoena or public record request).
Access to Personnel Documents, Employee and Designated Representative
A. Covered Documents
Upon the written request of an employee or former employee (the "employee"), the District shall permit the
employee to inspect any personnel documents which are used or which have been used in determining that
employee’s qualifications for employment, promotion, transfer, additional compensation, termination or other
disciplinary action, and medical records. Provided, however, that the employee has no right to inspect the
1. Records relating to the investigation of possible criminal offenses committed by that employee
2. Letters of reference for that employee
3. Any portion of a test document, except that the employee may see a cumulative total test score for either
a section of the test document or for the entire test document
4. Materials used by the District for staff management planning, including judgments or recommendations
concerning future salary increases and other wage treatments, management bonus plans, promotions and
job assignments, or other comments or ratings used for the District’s planning purposes
5. Information of a personal nature about a person other than the employee if disclosure of the information
would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of the other person’s privacy
6. Records relevant to any other pending claim between the District and the employee which may be
discovered in a judicial proceeding
7. Medical records that the District believes would have a detrimental effect on the employee
In this instance, the District may release the medical records to the employee’s physician or through a
physician designated by the employee, in which case the physician may release the medical records to the
employee or to the employee’s immediate family.
8. Request and Review Procedure
The District shall grant at least two (2) requests by an employee in a calendar year, unless otherwise
provided in a collective bargaining agreement, to inspect the employee’s records as provided in this guideline.
The District shall provide the employee with the opportunity to inspect the employee’s records within seven
(7) working days after the employee makes the request for inspection. The inspection shall take place at a
location reasonably near the employee’s place of employment and during normal working hours. If the
inspection during normal working hours would require an employee to take time off from work, the District
may provide some other reasonable time for the inspection. In any case, the District may allow the inspection
to take place at a time other than working hours or at a place other than where the records are maintained if
that time or place would be more convenient for the employee. The records will be reviewed in the presence of
the DRO or a designee.
The employee shall not make any alterations or additions to the record nor remove any material from the
record. A copy of the employee’s request to review personnel records shall be filed in the employee’s
personnel file.
9. Designated Representative
An employee who is involved in a current grievance against the District may designate a representative of the
employee’s union, collective bargaining unit, or other representative to inspect the employee’s personnel
records, which may have a bearing on the resolution of the grievance. The designation shall be in writing. The
District shall allow such a designated representative to inspect that employee’s personnel records in the
same manner as the employee is permitted to inspect them under this guideline.
10. Copy Charges
The District will not charge employees who wish to copy or receive a copy of records.
Personnel Record Correction
If an employee disagrees with any information contained in the personnel records, a removal or correction of that
information may be mutually agreed upon by the District and employee. If an agreement cannot be reached, the
employee may submit a written statement explaining the employee’s position. The District shall attach the
employee’s statement to the disputed portion of the personnel record. The employee’s statement shall be included
whenever that disputed portion of the personnel record is released to a third party as long as the disputed record is
a part of the file.
103.13, Wis. Stats.
The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
Approved/Adopted: July 13, 2009
8320Operations_PersonnelRecords.doc
Shari Weinstock,
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eo4society
polinsar 2019
28 January—1 February 2019 | ESA-ESRIN | Frascati (Rome), Italy
Day 1 - 28/01/2019
Magellan, Bld.1
Chairs: Yves-Louis Desnos, ESA-Esrin, Italy
POLINSAR Objectives
Chairs: Francesco Sarti, ESA-Esrin, Italy
SAR Missions
Chairs: Miranda, Nuno (ESA- ESRIN), Scipal, Klaus (European Space Agency)
10:30 - Sentinel-1 Mission Status
Miranda, Nuno - ESA- ESRIN, Italy
10:50 - COSMO-SkyMed Second Generation - Mission update
Dini, Luigi
Dini, Luigi - Italian Space Agency - ASI, Italy
11:10 - TanDEM-X and Tandem-L: Mission Status
Hajnsek, Irena - DLR/ETH, Germany
11:30 - The BIOMASS Mission
Scipal, Klaus - European Space Agency, Netherlands, The
11:50 - On the Polarimetric potential of the STEREOID mission
Lopez-Dekker, Paco; Iannini, Lorenzo; Li, Yuanhao - Delft University of Technology, Netherlands, The
STEREOID (Stereo Thermo-Optically Enhanced Radar for Earth, Ocean, Ice, and land Dynamics) is one of the three mission proposals selected as Earth Explorer 10 candidates. If implemented, STEREOID will dramatically augment the capabilities of the Sentinel-1 mission by flying two identical sub-500 kg- class spacecraft carrying a receive-only radar instrument as main payload that will flying in a re-configurable formation with Sentinel-1D, which will be used as illuminator. STEREOID is conceived as a multipurpose mission, that will exploit its geometric diversity to help precisely quantify small scale motion and deformation fields of the ocean surface, glaciers and ice sheets, and solid Earth, aiming at providing modellers with data required to better understand dynamic processes in these three domains. The radar measurements will be enhanced and supported by a medium resolution dual VNIR and TIR payload. The mission will be organized in several phases, associated to distinct formation configurations. In our preliminary concept, the mission will start and end with a cross-track interferometric configuration, with both STEREOIDs flying in close formation, aimed at quantifying volume changes of ice masses and unstable grounds. In between, the two STEREOIDs would fly an extended period of time in a so-called StereoSAR configuration, with one spacecraft about 300 km ahead and the second one the same distance behind Sentinel-1. This configuration will maximize the sensitivity to surface motion vectors. STEREOID blends elements from the StereoSAR, SESAME, and PICOSAR mission concepts. An intriguing aspect of the STEREOID acquisition geometry is its polarimetric behaviour. As shown in literature, the azimuth bistatic angle introduces what can be understood as a rotation of the polarization basis. For example, for a rough surface at 90 degree azimuth bistatic angle, for a V-polarized transmit signal, the receive-polarization that would maximize the received power would be H. At 45 degree azimuth bistatic angle, STEREOID-like bistatic acquisitions would be polarimetrically analogous to a monostatic compact-polarimetric system transmitting a 45 degree linear polarized signal, which would allow retrieving most polarimetric information under the assumption of some common symmetry properties. However, For STEREOID, the azimuth bistatic angle is still a design parameter, but it can be expected to be in the range of 35 to 40 degree, in near range, decreasing to 20 to 30 degree in far range. In the final submission we will assess the polarimetric performance of this in some extent degraded compact-pol configuration. Another point of interest is the suppression of some scattering mechanisms by the bistatic geometry (e.g. scattering off dihedrals or trihedrals). Since STEREOID data sets will always include regular Sentinel-1 data, the polarimetric observation space will be extended from the two monostatic polarizations offered by Sentinel-1, to four or six (depending on the formation configuration) combinations of polarization and bistatic angle. We aim at providing a first assessment of how this extended observation space could be exploited.
Round Table SAR Missions
Methods and Theoretical Modelling
Chairs: Marino, Armando (The University of Stirling), Subrahmanyeswara Rao, Yalamanchili (Indian Institute of Technology Bombay)
13:30 - Comparison of Hybrid Polarimetric Parameters from RISAT-1 and ALOS-2 Compact Mode SAR Data
Subrahmanyeswara Rao, Yalamanchili; Kumar, Vineet - Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, India
Many satellites, such as ENVISAT, RADARSAT-2, TerraSAR-X/TanDEM-X, Sentinel-1, with Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) system were operated or operating with dual-pol and fully-polarimetric modes for earth observation. After the launch of the RISAT-1 by ISRO and ALOS-2 by JAXA, compact polarimetric mode data are available to the users. RISAT-1 was the first Earth observation satellite to provide compact data operationally during 2012–2017. Japanese ALOS-2 is acquiring data in experimental mode over the Earth since 2014. Recently, Argentina launched SAOCOM-1A satellite with hybrid polarimetric mode. Future planned satellite missions such as SAOCOM-1B, Radar Constellation Mission (RCM) by Canada and NASA ISRO SAR (NISAR) will provide compact polarimetric data. Most of the work related to compact data is confined to simulated data from fully-polarimetric data. In this paper, we have compared the hybrid polarimetric parameters of RISAT-1, ALOS-2 real compact, ALOS-2 simulated compact from full-polarimetric SAR data and RADARSAT-2 simulated compact data. All the data sets were acquired over Vijayawada test site, India with a gap of one month in the year 2015. RISAT-1 compact and RADARSAT-2 full-pol mode data were acquired on May 24, and May 27 2015 respectively, whereas the ALOS-2 full-pol data and real compact data were acquired on April 1 and 15, 2015 respectively. Both RISAT-1 and ALOS-2 real compact data were acquired in right circular transmit and linear receive mode. In synchronous with the RISAT-1 pass, both trihedral and dihedral corner reflectors were mounted for the calibration of the data. With ALOS-2 passes, CRs were not mounted due to the lack information of the passes. All the data sets were acquired at an incidence angle of 36 to 39 degrees. RISAT-1 SAR data were processed for hybrid polarimetric parameters (ellipticity, relative phase, Pauli Phase, Axial ratio, CPR and degree of polarization) of CRs and distributed targets (bare fields, various crops and vegetation areas). Similarly, ALOS-2 real compact data and simulated compact data (converted full-pol data to compact) are also processed for the same hybrid parameters. The parameters are compared for the differences. We found some differences between RISAT-1 and RADARSAT-2 hybrid parameters as the RADARSAT-2 full-pol data is well calibrated. RISAT-1 data were calibrated for sigma-0, but the phase calibration is not done. There was also small offset between RH and RV channel data and channel imbalance between RH and RV. Due to this, a difference of 6 to 20 degrees from ideal value is observed in relative phase between RH and RV channel using CRs response, whereas for RADARSAT-2, these differences are 2 to 6 degrees. The difference in ellipticity angle is about 7 to 12 degrees for RISAT-1, whereas it is about 2 to 5 degrees for RADARSAT-2. Using distributed scatters, we observed differences in hybrid pol parameters between ALOS-2 simulated and real compact data. It may be noted that ALOS-2 full-pol data are well calibrated unlike to real-compact data, which is supplied without calibration. The results of comparison of RISAT-1 and ALOS-2 real compact data will be presented in this paper.
13:50 - Comparison of signal models for change detection with polarimetric SAR
Marino, Armando - The University of Stirling, United Kingdom
Please see attached file for a 3 page pdf. The summary is in the following: In this work, two frameworks for change detection are quantitatively compared using real data and Monte Carlo simulations. The two methodologies are based on the use of the of Lagrangian optimisations of two distinct operators: a power ratio and a power difference. The two are based on different signal models, a multiplicative and an additive model. To compare the signal models extensive Monte Carlo simulations are performed. These clearly reveal that the eigenvalues of the multiplicative model produces a detector with higher power (higher probability of detection) while the eigenvectors of the additive model allow a straightforward physical interpretation of the dominant scattering mechanisms that have been changed in the scene. The two detectors are therefore complementary and their selection should depend on the specific application. We then proceed comparing the model using real data. For this, we used a large variety of data: ALOS-2 quad-pol data over urban, coastal and forested areas, RADARSAT-2 quad-pol over agricultural and coastal areas, Sentinel-1 dual-pol over coastal areas. The latter also allow to appreciate the different result between dual-pol and quad-pol data.
14:10 - Biomass Estimation by means of Interferometric Ground Suppression in SAR Data
Mariotti d'Alessandro, Mauro (1); Tebaldini, Stefano (1); Quegan, Shaun (2); Soja, Maciej (3); Ulander, Lars M. H. (4) - 1: Politecnico di Milano; 2: University of Sheffield; 3: University of Tasmania; 4: Chalmers University of Technology
The continuous monitoring of the above ground vegetation has been greatly simplified since the introduction of dedicated remote sensing techniques. The analysis of both agricultural fields and unmanaged forests takes advantage of the very fast yet detailed coverage of huge areas provided by remote sensing. The problem of estimating the Above Ground Biomass (AGB) has been tackled by exploiting different kind of data: mainly optical, LiDAR and radar. This work focuses on the estimation of AGB in tropical forests by means of SAR measurements. This kind of forests are particularly interesting because they host most of the AGB on the Earth surface, but their irregular composition makes them very difficult to model. Recently an important result drove the attention on SAR tomography for the estimation of tropical AGB. It has been found that the backscattered power at P-band associated with 30m above the ground exhibits a very high correlation with tree biomass; most importantly, this correlation level does not saturate for AGB greater than 350T/Ha. A possible reason for this high correlation is that around 30m a small but constant percentage of the total biomass is found. According to this analysis 30m would be a perfect proxy for the total AGB; in addition, the P-band signal would be a good tradeoff between sensitivity to tree structure and penetration capability. Another possible explanation for this fact is that the backscattered power coming from the surroundings of 30m above the ground level is scarcely influenced by the ground echo. The echo coming from the ground carries information about the tree above, mainly because of the wave extinction and the double bounce scattering mechanism that concentrates the whole tree extension into one point placed at the feet of the trunk. Nonetheless it is also determined by many factors that are not related to tree biomass like ground roughness, moisture, ground topography that must accurately modeled if accurate AGB estimates are desired. TomoSAR 30m power is likely to overcome this modeling difficulties by simply rejecting the ground power. Should this last explanation hold then the problem that must be solved for estimating tropical AGB with P-band SAR data is how to effectively reject the backscattered power coming from the ground level. In this work a new technique that requires only two interferometric SAR images is presented: the interferometric ground notching. This technique is based on the subtraction between two SLC images whose phases have been accurately tuned: the information associated with the ground shared by the two images gets canceled whereas the contribution coming from the tree above gets emphasized. It is here shown how the effectiveness of the proposed approach is related to the normal baseline and to the knowledge of the ground topography; examples using real datasets are presented too. Results come from the processing of the data gathered by DLR and ONERA in the framework of the AfriSAR campaign, carried out by ESA as a support activity for the forthcoming BIOMASS mission. Reference biomass maps come from LiDAR measurements. For every dataset here analyzed a stronger correlation with biomass is observed after ground notching. Also, strategies for compensating the effects of the geometry of acquisition are described.
14:30 - Polarimetric Two-Scale Model (PTSM): extension to anisotropic slope distribution and comparison with the second-order Small-Slope Approximation (SSA2)
Iodice, Antonio; Di Martino, Gerardo; Riccio, Daniele - Università di Napoli Federico II, Italy
The Polarimetric Two-Scale Model (PTSM) was introduced a few years ago as an electromagnetic scattering model to be used within algorithms for soil moisture retrieval from polarimetric SAR data [1-2]. PTSM inherits the ability to account for depolarization effects from the original Two-Scale Model (TSM) [3-4], and, with respect to the latter, it has the advantage to provide closed-form expressions of the elements of the covariance (or coherency) matrix, that hold for moderate large-scale surface slopes [1-2]. The TSM, also called Composite Model (CM), has been extensively used to study scattering from the sea surface, so that it is natural to explore the use of PTSM for the same purpose. However, in its current formulation PTSM assumes that the surface slope distribution is isotropic, which is not realistic for the sea surface. In fact, the variance of sea surface slope along the upwind (or downwind) direction is higher than the one along the cross-wind direction. Therefore, slopes along range and azimuth directions turn out to have different variance and to be correlated, and their variances and correlation coefficient can be expressed in terms of upwind and crosswind variances and of the angle between wind and ground range directions. Accordingly, we here extend PTSM to account for surface slope anisotropy, and this is the first contribution of the present work. In addition, as a second contribution, we provide PTSM expressions also in the circular polarization basis, which may be useful for some SAR sensor polarimetric configurations. A limitation of TSM and PTSM is that they only account for depolarization due to surface tilting, whereas they ignore depolarization due to multiple scattering, so that it is expected that they underestimate the depolarization effect. A more accurate model, that also accounts for the multiple scattering effect, is the second-order Small-Slope Approximation (SSA2) [5]. However, this higher accuracy is paid by the fact that SSA2 requires a computationally demanding numerical evaluation of fourfold integrals. Comparisons of numerical evaluations of TSM and SSA2 [5] show that generally they are in good agreement, except for the cross-polarized normalized radar cross-section (NRCS), which, in the considered cases, is underestimated by TSM of two to four dB with respect to the SSA2 value. However, since these comparisons were made for specific surface parameters, incidence angles and frequencies, no general conclusion can be drawn. Fortunately, in [6] an analytical approximation of SSA2 (SSA2-A) was obtained (although for the cross-polarized NRCS only), and it was shown that it is in good agreement with exact SSA2 for moderate slopes and off-nadir incidence angles. This allows us to obtain, as a third contribution of this work, an analytical closed-form expression of the ratio of cross-polarized NRCSs obtained by SSA2-A and PTSM: this ratio turns out to be a function of only surface dielectric constant and incidence angle. The obtained expression shows that for any values of these parameters (except for very near grazing angles) the difference of results of the two methods is not larger than about two dB. We can than conclude that, for applications in which computational efficiency is important (for instance, surface parameter retrieval algorithms) and small errors on the cross-polarized NRCS are acceptable, PTSM is preferable. REFERENCES [1] A. Iodice, A. Natale, and D. Riccio, “Retrieval of Soil Surface Parameters via a Polarimetric Two-Scale Model”, IEEE Trans. Geosc. Remote Sens., vol. 49, no. 7, pp. 2531-2547, July 2011. [2] A. Iodice, A. Natale, and D. Riccio, “Polarimetric two-scale model for soil moisture retrieval via dual-pol HH-VV SAR data,” IEEE J. Sel. Topics Appl. Earth Observ. Remote Sens., vol. 6, no. 3, pp. 1163–1171, Jun. 2013. [3] J. W. Wright, “A New Model for Sea Clutter”, IEEE Trans. Antennas Propagat., vol. 16, pp. 217-223, 1968. [4] G. R. Valenzuela, “Scattering of Electromagnetic Waves from a Tilted Slightly Rough Surface”, Radio Sci., vol. 3, pp. 1057-1066, 1968. [5] A. G. Voronovich and V. U. Zavorotny, “Full-polarization modeling of monostatic and bistatic radar scattering from a rough sea surface,” IEEE Trans. Antennas Propagat., vol. 62, no. 3, pp. 1362–1371, March 2014. [6] C. A. Guérin and J. T. Johnson, “A simplified formulation for rough surface cross-polarized backscattering under the second-order small-slope approximation,” IEEE Trans. Geosc. Remote Sens., vol. 53, no. 11, pp. 6308–6314, Nov 2015.
14:50 - Incidence angle dependencies in narrow-swath Quad-polarimetric SAR images
Cristea, Anca; Doulgeris, Anthony Paul - University of Tromsø, Norway
SAR images are known to be affected by the incidence angle (IA) effect, which manifests itself as a decay of the average intensities with incidence angle. Therefore, the same material will appear brighter when viewed at near range than at far range. The decay constitutes a nuisance for both human observers and automatic image analysis algorithms such as segmentation (also known as clustering). In general, it is assumed that the effect is not a major concern for narrow swath quad-polarimetric scenes, due to the fact that they cover small incidence angle ranges. We have conducted an analysis on Fine Quad-Pol and Wide Fine Quad-Pol RADARSAT-2 scenes with the purpose of assessing the correctness of this claim. Numerous studies conducted on wide-swath dual-polarization SAR images have established that the log-intensities register an approximately linear decay as a function of the incidence angle, often expressed in dB/degree. The decay depends on polarization and also on surface roughness, therefore differs from one physical surface to another. In our studies, we focus on open water, sea ice and oil slicks. Based on these observations, we have previously developed a segmentation algorithm that deals with the incidence angle effect automatically and without requiring training. The distinguishing feature of the algorithm is the inclusion of the IA dependencies of the log-intensities into the basic Gaussian mixture model as a linear modulation of the cluster means. The algorithm is able to successfully eliminate typical wide-swath image segmentation artefacts such as banding and the general over-splitting of clusters, both of which appear in the range dimension. Additionally, as the dependency is considered to be linear, a slope (“decay rate”) /intercept value pair can be extracted for each cluster and channel and used as a feature for interpretation and classification. As the slopes depend on roughness, they are lowest over rough ice and highest over smooth areas such as water and oil films. RADARSAT-2 Fine Quad-Pol scenes cover an incidence angle range of up to 2 degrees, and Wide Fine Quad-Pol scenes cover a range of approximately 3 degrees. An analysis of both types of scenes containing water, oil and sea ice revealed that a noticeable incidence-angle dependency is present in the co-polarized channels. The slope feature can be extracted from the co-polarized channels of the narrow-swath images, with values similar to those estimated from wide-swath images. Because the decay is more pronounced for open water, the segmentation of scenes containing open water without considering the decay may lead to the appearance of bands in the range dimension, even for small IA ranges. After applying our algorithm, the banding effect is eliminated and the open water background is placed into a single cluster. The decay may however still be negligible in both Fine and Wide Fine Quad-Pol images of sea ice, where the brightness difference between clusters is more pronounced than the shift of the average cluster value due to IA variations. Different rates may still be measured for different ice types with highly variable roughness, but we have not yet encountered this case. It is important to also consider the variation of the slopes with the level of multi-looking. As the number of looks is increased, the individual clusters become better defined and their characteristic slopes are estimated with a higher precision and become more significant compared to their variance. Thus, low slopes may only become evident when the scene is heavily multilooked (e.g. 25x25 looks). In addition, segmentation can be performed at different levels of detail, with the slopes of some clusters becoming significant only at high levels of detail. Cross-polarized channels were not considered for the analysis, as they are affected by noise to an extent that prevents the extraction of valuable information concerning the intensity-incidence angle relation. For the moment, this proves to be a considerable drawback for automated segmentation, as many structures of interest such as ships or icebergs are more easily detectable in the cross-polarized channels. We conclude that an accurate segmentation requires accounting for incidence angle variations, however small, in particular for open water areas. The effect of the incidence angle may also be non-negligible in narrow-swath dual-pol, quad-pol or compact-pol images acquired from SAR sensors other than RADARSAT-2. We are currently only using intensity (backscatter) information, but we aim to also explore possible consequences for polarimetric matrices and extracted polarimetric features. In addition, we foresee the possibility of performing supervised or unsupervised cross-angle classification on datasets of narrow-swath images using the same modelling approach.
Methods and Theoretical Modelling (cont'd)
15:40 - Relating temporal decorrelation at P and L bands: results from tower-based and airborne campaigns supporting future synergies between repeat-passes spaceborne missions
VILLARD, Ludovic (1); HAMADI, Alia (1); BORDERIES, Pierre (2); KOLECK, Thierry (1); LE TOAN, Thuy (1) - 1: CESBIO, France; 2: ONERA, France
Temporal decorrelation is known as a critical parameter for the design of spaceborne missions, even for the longest wavelengths currently operable from space or in a close future with the upcoming Biomass mission at P-band. In this framework, tower-based campaigns have been funded by ESA and CNES in order to obtain valuable time series from which temporal decorrelation can be calculated, considering time interval from 15 min to several months. Among key results supported by both TropiScat (2011-2013) and AfriScat (2015-2017) campaigns in French Guiana and Ghana respectively, the statistical analysis support the choice made for Biomass of helio-synchronous orbits at 6h and repeat passes shorter than 3 days. In addition to the P-band results, both campaigns also enabled to acquire time series at L-band with the same acquisition scenarios, hence the possible comparisons between temporal decorrelation for the two frequencies. Beyond the expected stronger temporal decorrelation at L-band, the gap with P-band results is shown to be closely related to seasonal effects, and non-linearly dependent on the temporal baseline. Supported by the physical basis of the MIPERS-4D forward model which accounts for dielectric changes and convective motion, a semi-empirical relation between temporal decorrelation at P and L bands has been derived as function of temporal baseline. Cross-validation between both TropiScat and AfriScat sites shows 95% confidence interval lower than 0.1, which strongly support the prediction of P-band temporal decorrelation from current or upcoming zero baseline L-band missions, and paves the way for future synergies across spaceborne missions.
16:00 - Comparison of Nonlinear PCA and Model-Based Decompositions for Crop Classification using Multitemporal Fully Polarized SAR Data and Recurrent Neural Networks
Wagener, Nicolas Jakob (1); Vrinceanu, Cristina Andra (1); Del Frate, Fabio (2) - 1: European Space Agency; 2: University of Rome Tor Vergata
Crop type classification is an important application of remote sensing data, for example in the context of food security or agricultural policies. Neural networks have a potential for this purpose due to their ability of addressing nonlinear dependencies between measured backscatter and crop and soil characteristics. Recent studies have furthermore demonstrated the capabilities of long short-term memory (LSTM) recurrent neural networks (RNN) to properly handle dual-pol SAR crop time series and outperform more traditional machine learning approaches. However, an area that still needs to be further investigated is the extraction of pre-classification relevant features. In this study we use a fully polarimetric SAR time series for crop type mapping with an RNN-based classifier. The multilooked coherency matrices are decomposed using traditional model based approaches as well as an automatic decomposition approach based on nonlinear Principal Component Analysis (PCA). By comparing the different decomposition methods, this study shows innovative results on feature extraction for machine learning with polarimetric SAR data. Furthermore, it provides – to our knowledge for the first time - an investigation of fully polarimetric time series classification of crops using an RNN.
16:20 - Confusion between polarimetric signatures of forests and slanted buildings at C- and L-bands. An explanation.
Thirion-Lefevre, Laetitia (1); Guinvarc'h, Régis (1); Colin-Koeniguer, Elise (2) - 1: SONDRA/CentraleSupélec, France; 2: DEMR/ONERA, France
The misclassification of urban areas at C- and L-bands is a classical problem in radar remote sensing. It is well established that when these areas are observed with a radar whose trajectory is not aligned with the main orientation of their streets, their polarimetric response in the Pauli basis signs as vegetation. Several studies have been dedicated to the correction of this misclassification. To our knowledge, none of them investigates the reason why this misclassification occurs. The purpose of this study is to explain the reasons for possible confusion between the polarimetric behavior of forests and urban areas. To do this, we first present the theoretical criteria, supported by electromagnetic modeling, which allows us to understand the main polarimetric contributions of the SAR signal over the city on the one hand and over the forest on the other hand. These considerations concern both the ratio of intensities between polarimetric acquisition chains, relative phases between co-polarised channels, as well as second-order statistical parameters such as entropy. We show that in some cases (metric resolution and oriented neighborhoods) none of these parameters make it possible to differentiate a priori between a vegetation zone and an urban zone. In a second step, we consolidate these general explanations by analyzing several polarimetric images, for various frequency bands, and types of resolution. Finally, in the last section we will propose alternatives for acquisition scenarios in order to remove potential ambiguities of misclassification. One of them relies on the use of the absolute value of HV.
16:40 - Physical modelling of a multistatic coherence tensor in polarimetric SAR
ALVAREZ-PEREZ, JOSE LUIS - University of Alcala (UAH), Spain
Monostatic polarimetry in the theory of scattering of electromagnetic waves was initially reduced to the analysis of the vector Radiative Transfer equation of partially polarized radiation [TKS85]. Later on, several algebraic, matrix-based were developed [LP09]. On the other hand, and since interference phenomena are a specific phenomenon of waves, polarimetric interferometry is both governed by polarization and coherence effects. The former is related to similar issues as the ones relevant for monostatic polarimetry, where as new challenges arise in the definition and use of coherence. The use of sheer electromagnetic theory is sometimes complemented or even replaced by tools aimed at retrieving information from SAR polarimetric data with the use of paradigms that incorporate heuristics at some point [AP12, AP15]. Coherence is a descriptor of the electromagnetic fields as a vector field in the space domain containing the scattered fields and therefore must be analyzed in the sense described by Glauber. He introduced coherence as a mathematical separability condition for the correlation functions at all orders [Gla63], although the description led byWolf and Mandel [MW65] has had more use and consideration and has been the ingredient in polarimetric SAR interferometry. However, in the 70s Molyneux, McCoy and others (a review on the subject is provided in [Kra92]) investigated the mathematical equations arising from Maxwell and describing high-order correlation functions of the electric field at different points. In the work presented here, it is intended to continue motivating the interest in multistatic simultaneous data takes with SAR sensors at the light of the equations that extend the usual formulation for second-order coherence. To do that, we use the concept of coherence tensor as introduced in [AP15]. This extended concept of coherence makes it possible to incorporate multipoint measurements to form correlations of the electric field after scattering in composite random media, and it leads to the handling of tensors. It has been customary in SAR polarimetry to implement algebraic tools such as matrix eigenanalysis to facilitate the extraction of information about the scattering processes. In the extended version of coherence that captures the ideas of Glauber, the definition of a spectrum is more complex than for matrices, as explained in [AP15] and its introduction is justified by non-Gaussianity of the correlation among scattered fields recorded at multiple points. From another perspective, scattering can be analytically modelled with the hindrance of difficult inversion methods, without using polarimetric information to generate matrices with special symmetries. The combination of analytical modelling and matrix methods remains an open research subject. To relate both fields, and to incorporate smoothly the algebra of tensors, a dyadic Green’s function analysis is presented, in which two species of scatterers are considered, one representing volume scattering and the other rough surface scattering. The dyadic Green’s function in the k-space [AP06] is proven to be the most adequate candidate to model the scattering matrix in its target scattering vector representation, based on the Pauli basis. This Green’s function can be physically pictured with the help of Feynman diagrams as in [AP06] and this is the formalism chosen here to visualize the different contributions and orders of the scattering phenomena involved. It is in this formalism where the three tensorial spectral techniques described in [AP15] are now analyzed. In particular, the CANDECOMP/ PARAFAC decomposition’s rank is shown to describe the relative strength of the different scattering mechanisms better that a simple matrix analysis based on twopoint interferometric approaches. The Tucker decomposition reveals some internal structure and symmetries of the dyadic Green’s function describing the whole process of scattering in a composite random media of the type under study, namely rough surface and volume scattering together. Finally, the variational approach is the most adequate tool of the three to define a spectrum of the coherence tensor with some continuos and some discrete parts. The study is completed with the study of the connection of these methods with the spectrum of the dyadic as an operator in a Hilbert space and its decomposition into a point spectrum, a continuos spectrum and a residual spectrum. By showing the results of analytical modelling based on the small perturbation method together with volume-scattering renormalization methods as well as results from numerical simulations, we illustrate the interest and possibilities of multistatic simultaneous SAR measurements that allow the construction and analysis of the coherence tensor. In addition to this, some new light is shed on the well established techniques in polarimetric interferometry such as the random-volume-over-ground (RVOG), the interferometric water cloud model (IWCM) or the oriented-volume-over-ground (OVUG) model [Clo09]. [AP06] J. L. Alvarez-Perez. Renormalization of the Helmholtz equation for the problem of electromagnetic propagation in a layer of spherical scatterers. 17(2):103–119, April 2006. REFERENCES [AP12] J. L.Alvarez-Perez. The IEM2M rough-surface scattering model for complex-permittivity scattering media. 22(2):207–233, May 2012. [AP15] J. L. Alvarez-Perez. A Multidimensional Extension of the Concept of Coherence in Polarimetric SAR Interferometry. 53(3):1257–1270, March 2015. [Clo09] S. R. Cloude. Polarisation: Applications in Remote Sensing. OUP Oxford, Oxford, UK, 2009. [Gla63] R.J. Glauber. The quantum theory of optical coherence. Phys. Rev., 130(6):2529–39, 1963. [Kra92] Y. A. Kravtsov. Propagation of electromagnetic waves through a turbulent atmosphere. Rep. Prog. Phys, 55(1):39–112, 1992. [LP09] J.-S. Lee and E. Pottier. Polarimetric Radar Imaging: From Basics to Applications. CRC Press. Taylor & Francis Group., Boca Raton, FL, 2009. [MW65] L. Mandel and E. Wolf. Coherence properties of optical fields. Rev. Mod. Phys., 37(2):231–87, 1965. [TKS85] L. Tsang, J. A. Kong, and R. T. Shin. Theory of microwave remote sensing. Wiley Series in Remote Sensing. John Wiley and Sons, New York, 1985.
Round Table Methods and Theoretical Modelling
SAR Polarimetry and PolInSAR
Chairs: Papathanassiou, Kostas (DLR), POTTIER, Eric (University of Rennes 1 / IETR)
09:30 - Application of polarimetric information to the atmospheric phase screen compensation for GB-SAR in a mountainous area
Izumi, Yuta (1); Zou, Lilong (2); Kikuta, Kazutaka (1); Sato, Motoyuki (1) - 1: Tohoku university, Japan; 2: The National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Japan
A ground-based polarimetric synthetic aperture radar (GB-PolSAR) system was installed for monitoring of landslide affected area in Kumamoto, Japan since 2017. Because the observed area is in a mountainous region, atmospheric phase screen (APS) artifacts are intense and linear approximation along the range is not effective due to the steep topography. In this case, the multiple-regression model is the proper method for compensating APS, but it needs enough coherent scatterers (CS) for accurate estimation. In this study, we investigate the potential of the full polarimetric information to the APS compensation for the operating GB-PolSAR. Specifically, owing to the fully polarimetric acquisition capability of our GB-PolSAR system, we apply polarimetric optimization and PolInSAR covariance matrix similarity test (similarity test) approaches to improve the accuracy of APS compensation. The APS is the most relevant artifact on the interferometric phase, which is classically compensated by model-based technique, applying to higher coherence pixels. In the APS estimation step, less number of CS degrades the compensated results because the APS is estimated by the squares regression. However, our GB-PolSAR monitoring area at a mountainous region is not always applicable to yield high coherence, especially in a heterogeneous region where sparse vegetation and bare surface soil are mixed. In this case, the estimation of APS becomes inaccurate. In order to obtain higher coherence along whole observed area including homogeneous and heterogeneous regions, we herein propose to apply polarimetric optimization combined with similarity test approaches in this study. Among polarimetric optimization algorithms, two methods which include; BEST method and equal scattering mechanism (ESM), were selected and evaluated. The similarity test evaluates the similarity of both polarimetric and interferometric property at the spatial averaging step of complex coherence. As a result of this averaging, higher coherence magnitude can be achieved at heterogeneous region and point target. We employ considerable aspect of both approaches to increase the complex coherence magnitude. We compared the APS compensated results between the single polarization (HH) and the full polarization, and also between the boxcar filtered and the similarity test applied datasets acquired by the GB-PolSAR system at the mountainous area. The polarimetric optimization yielded a higher number of CS, resulting in more accurate APS compensation. Furthermore, the increase of the number of CS was also confirmed at the heterogeneous area by applying the similarity test. Finally, the comparison results indicated that polarimetric optimization combined with similarity test revealed the most accurate compensated result.
09:50 - PolInSAR Ground and Volume Response Separation
Alonso-Gonzalez, Alberto; Papathanassiou, Konstantinos P. - DLR, Germany
The radar response over vegetated areas is usually separated into the ground and volume contributions. Polarimetric SAR (PolSAR) has the ability to detect different scattering mechanisms within the same resolution cell. Therefore, several decomposition techniques have been proposed in the literature to separate the two responses from PolSAR data. However, this separation is an undetermined problem and several assumptions need to be performed. In this regard, Polarimetric SAR Interferometry (PolInSAR) has the additional advantage of having also sensitivity to the vertical structure and distribution of the scatterers. For this reason, some future SAR missions like BIOMASS or Tandem-L will have a strong focus on acquiring PolInSAR and tomographic time series over forested areas. Some PolInSAR models as the Random Volume over Ground (RVoG) have been used in the literature in order to estimate some vegetation properties as height or extinction [1]. This work describes a PolInSAR technique, based on the same two layer model and formulation, to separate the ground and volume responses. Accordingly, the fully polarimetric covariance matrices of the ground and volume components are extracted from single or multi-baseline data. The modelled vertical profile consists of a layer of volumetric scattering on top of an impenetrable ground. This assumption results in the coherence linearity, as already described in [1], where the observed coherence region follows a line segment between the ground and volume coherences, determined by the vertical structure of each layer. In [2] the mathematical constraints for the coherence linearity were derived. Accordingly, the coherence region should be the affine transform of a Hermitian matrix. Here, the same idea is extended in order to describe the full PolInSAR response in terms of the ground and volume coherences and covariance matrices. A multi-baseline approach has been proposed in [3] and it has been shown that over forest the estimated volume and ground covariance matrices fulfill a combination of a random volume and a surface plus dihedral. Moreover, most of the details over the forest areas corresponding to the underlying terrain appear in the ground component. In this work, single-baseline and multi-baseline approaches will be proposed and compared, in the direction of future missions like BIOMASS and Tandem-L. Special attention will be given to the model assumptions and limitations. A stability and baseline dependency analysis will be included, in order to give an idea of the technique performance. To perform this evaluation, real data at L-band and P-band over different types of forests acquired by the DLR E-SAR and F-SAR sensors will be employed. Ground truth information like ground and forest height extracted from LIDAR measurements is available over most of these datasets. This gives us a good opportunity to analyze the link between these physical parameters and the obtained ground and volume components. The extracted ground and volume components will be analyzed in detail, comparing their polarimetric information with traditional models employed to describe these scenarios. [1] Cloude, S. R., and Papathanassiou, K. P. (2003). Three-stage inversion process for polarimetric SAR interferometry. IEE Proceedings-Radar, Sonar and Navigation, 150(3), 125-134. [2] López-Martínez, C., and Alonso-González, A. (2014). Assessment and estimation of the RVoG model in polarimetric SAR interferometry. IEEE transactions on geoscience and remote sensing, 52(6), 3091-3106. [3] Alonso-Gonzalez, A., and Papathanassiou, K. P. (2018, June). Multibaseline Two Layer Model PolInSAR Ground and Volume Separation. In EUSAR 2018; 12th European Conference on Synthetic Aperture Radar (pp. 1-5). VDE.
10:10 - Towards The Estimation Of Soil Parameters Under Agricultural Vegetation By Means Of PolInSAR Meassurements
Hecht, Emanuel - German Aerospace Center (DLR), Germany
The potential of soil moisture inversion based on polarimetric SAR interferometry (PolInSAR) observables is widely acknowledged, even when the soil is covered by the canopy of various, agricultural crops. However, a robust, model-based algorithm for reliable soil moisture estimations hasn't been established yet. Over vegetated fields, soil moisture estimations rely upon the separation of the volume and ground scattering contributions. The lack of detailed knowledge of the plant’s dielectric and structural characteristics makes it difficult to use complex scattering models for the interpretation and inversions of the observations. Simple, single or multiple layer models, like the random-volume-over-ground model (RVoG), can be used to estimate the ground and volume powers in a maximum likelihood sense, leaving us with an ill-posed problem. In the single baseline case, this manifests in the ambiguous estimation of the volume coherence. The ill-posedness, however, holds regardless of the number of used polarimetric channels or baselines and thus regularization is implicitly needed. Usually, this is done by making assumptions on the vertical structure of the volume, i. e. the crop canopy, or, more generally, on the polarimetric properties of different layers. Much work went recently in the assessment of fitting the RVoG-model to the coherence region of the PolInSAR coherency matrix, but uncertainties remain concerning the question how regularization methods impact the performance of inversion attempts. In this work, we investigate the integrity of possible choices of the volume coherence in relation to underlying surface and vegetation characteristics. Starting from the PolInSAR coherence region, the impact of different regularizations on the estimated ground parameters is examined for various volume profiles. Based on that, options for an adaptive profile parametrisation toward improved soil parameter inversion are analysed and discussed. The different approaches are implemented and applied on on airborne F-SAR data at different frequencies from the CROPEX 2014 campaign over agricultural fields near Wallafing, Germany. The obtained results are compared against the available reference data.
SAR Polarimetry and PolInSAR (cont'd)
11:00 - PolSARpro-Bio Edition : The new ESA toolbox for ESA & third party fully PolSAR missions
POTTIER, Eric (1); SARTI, Francesco (2); FITRZYK, Magdalena (3); PATRUNO, Jolanda (4) - 1: University of Rennes 1 / IETR, France; 2: ESA-ESRIN; 3: RSAC c/o ESA-ESRIN; 4: RHEA System S.A. c/o ESA-ESRIN
The objective of this paper is to make a general presentation of the future version of the ESA PolSARpro software toolbox which is now named : PolSARpro-Bio Edition software. In order to prepare for the scientific exploitation of BIOMASS and SAOCOM missions, ESA wishes to develop a new toolbox version called PolSARpro-Bio Edition adding appropriate and state-of-the-art algorithms for advanced processing of polarimetric data (including polarimetry, Pol-InSAR and tomography) and new readers and functionality while improving the user support elements and performance. PolSARpro-Bio Edition will pursue the philosophy of ESA Toolboxes by offering an open source scientific toolbox readily available to exploit data from the first fully polarimetric ESA missions (BIOMASS) and new (like the SAOCOM or the GF-3 Chinese missions) or upcoming third party missions. In addition PolSARpro-Bio Edition will also provide the new generation students with basic and advanced training for the scientific exploitation of polarimetric SAR data and showcase some applications where fully polarimetric data brings unique benefits. For this, the PolSARpro project provides educational software that offers a tool for self-education in the field of Polarimetric SAR data analysis and a comprehensive suite of functions for the scientific exploitation of fully and partially polarimetric data sets. The PolSARpro software establishes a foundation for the exploitation of polarimetric techniques for scientific developments and stimulates research and applications developments using Pol-SAR (Polarimetric SAR), Pol-InSAR (Polarimetric – Interferometric SAR), Pol-TomoSAR (Polarimetric – Tomographic SAR) and Pol-TimeSAR (Polarimetric – Time Series SAR) data. The PolSARpro-Bio Edition activity falls under action line 2 and 1 of the SEOM program (Scientific Exploitation of Operational Missions) which is a new program element within the fourth period (2013-2017) of ESA Earth Ob-servation Envelope Programme (EOEP-4). The PolSARpro-Bio Edition Software will be released in January 2019 and will be avalaible for free download. A global overview of the objectives and functionalities of the PolSARpro-Bio Edition Software, the new scientific toolbox for ESA & third party fully polarimetric SAR missions, will be presented during the POLINSAR 2019 Workshop.
11:20 - Ambiguities in Poincare sphere orbit signatures of elementary scatterers under orthogonal transformations of the HV basis for dual-pol mode acquisition
Ratha, Debanshu (1); Rao, Y. S. (1); Pottier, Eric (2) - 1: Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, India; 2: University of Rennes 1, France
European Space Agency’s (ESA) Sentinel-1 mission provides a comprehensive coverage of earth in dual polarization mode (VV+VH) with a frequent revisit time of six days from a constellation of two satellites. The transmission occurs in vertical polarisation (V) only, hence the received backscatter can be analyzed as a Stokes vector on the Poincare sphere. Backscatter from targets is affected by azimuthal orientation and slope of the terrain. Hence, many-a-times an orthogonal transformation of HV basis is applied to identify targets. This orthogonal transformation of HV basis is brought about by three angle parameters i.e. phi, tau, and alpha. Of the three parameters, the phi and the tau are responsible for the shape of the polarization ellipse formed by the backscatter. In this work, we analyze the behavior of elementary scatterers in (VV+VH) mode under the orthogonal transformation of HV basis. The orbits of the response of the elementary scatterers are traced over the Poincare sphere: first by varying the phi and tau parameters independently and then simultaneously in a later case. We observe interesting orbit patterns for the elementary scatterers some of which overlap. Thus, the elementary scatterers cluster into natural groups based on these orbit patterns. This leads to ambiguity in identifying elementary scatterers in dual-pol mode. Thus through this study, we identify the ambiguous and non-ambiguous orbit signatures corresponding to elementary scatterers available in the literature. We also introspect on some of the strategies that may help us deal with these ambiguities when going for model-based applications using dual-pol data.
11:40 - Quantitative Evaluation of Ionospheric Distortions on Spaceborne L-band SAR under Faraday rotation
Kim, Jun Su; Papathanassiou, Kostas - DLR, Germany
For low-frequency spaceborne SAR configurations, the distortions induced by the by the ionosphere are of prime interest as they critically impact the estimation accuracy of bio- and geophysical parameters from the SAR data. The majority of the ionosphere-induced distortions can be compensated with a sufficiently accurate TEC or differential TEC knowledge that can be derived in many cases - directly or indirectly - from the SAR data itself. This is for example the case for ionospheric phase distortions in interferometric measurements that can be compensated by the use of split spectrum approaches. However, the Faraday Rotation distortion of the scattering matrix induced by the rotation of the polarisation plane of the transmitted and scattered pulses w.r.t. the propagation vector in the linear basis during the propagation through the ionosphere is only evaluated from quad-pol data. Even if the amount of FR is known, through the knowledge of TEC, the correction of FR is possible only when the quad-pol measurements are available. In this paper we assess the importance of polarimetric measurements for the compensation of Faraday rotation distortion by quantifying and evaluating the impact of Faraday rotation at L-band measurements for a wide range of applications. Using 20 years of global TEC measurements from the GNSS network we investigate Faraday rotation induced by the background ionosphere for a Sentinel-like orbit. We do this for different natural scatterers and landcover types at different latitudes. Cumulative probability functions of the distortions are constructed in order to evaluate the level of ionospheric effect on SAR polarimetry. In a second step, depending on the acquisition scenario, different “non-quad-polarimetric” corrections approaches are implemented and compared against the quad-polarimetric correction performance. This way a quantification of the Faraday rotation impact at L-band and at the same time the importance of quad-polarimetric measurements is assessed.
12:00 - Multidimensional distance geometry analysis for classification of PolSAR images in Arctic scenarios
Marinoni, Andrea; Johansson, Malin; Espeseth, Martine; Brekke, Camilla - UiT - the Arctic University of Norway, Norway
In this paper, we present a new method for the classification of complex Polarimetric synthetic aperture radar (PolSAR) datasets. We focus our attention on images acquired over the Arctic region, since atmospheric and water conditions can induce strong nonlinear effects on the scattering and polarimetric attributes. We first reformulate the classification problem of PolSAR images as an unmixing issue, i.e., we aim to produce maps of areal percentage (i.e., abundance) of the different classes. The investigation of PolSAR datasets is expressed in terms of distance geometry, where all properties are expressed in terms of pairwise distances. We derive distance-based equations for the calculation of multidimensional volumes and for solving the abundance estimation problem, while obeying some of the constraints on the abundances. Next, we introduce geodesic distances, defined as shortest-path distances along a nearest-neighbor graph in the data set. Under certain curvature conditions of the data manifold, we can use these geodesic distances in the distance-based exploration algorithm so that the classification is performed taking the structure of the data manifold into account. This yields an algorithm that is capable of nonlinear characterization, and has a much better performance than the computationally intensive solution where some linear classification algorithm would be simply preceded by a nonlinear dimensionality reduction. Experimental results on datasets acquired for sea ice and oil spill classification will strengthen our approach. Recent advances in imaging hardware for remote sensing have enabled images with high spectral, spatial and temporal resolution. Further, high-performance computing strategies and architectures have made it possible to develop brand new algorithms and methodologies for thorough analysis of large amounts of diverse remotely sensed data. These developments and achievements paved the way to the use of reliable Earth Observation (EO) data to gather relevant information in several research fields, such as sea ice classification and water pollution study. Specifically, thorough description of physical-chemical composition of solid and aerial composites, change detection among large EO temporal series, and segmentation of remotely sensed imagery for clustering and feature selection play a key-role in disciplines that aim at investigating and exploring human-environment interactions. PolSAR has been widely used as an important tool for remote sensing applications. The ability to operate without being affected by lack of day light, nor weather conditions, is essential for Earth science applications in an Arctic environment. PolSAR systems are also capable of providing high spatial image resolution, i.e., accurate description of the physical phenomena occurring on the surface of the Earth. Several techniques have been recently proposed to analyze polarimetric radar data for environmental and sustainability development applications. Several features have been derived from the received wave scattering to be used as indicators of the target properties, enabling discriminate surface types and classes. The resulting information can be used to generate images that optimize the return from different surfaces, to map land cover and also to gain a better understanding of the radar wave and scattering medium interaction. For such remote sensing tools, speckle interference pattern appears in the form of a positive definite Hermitian matrix, which requires specialized models and makes change detection, classification and segmentation challenging. In fact, several methods have been proposed in technical literature to properly address investigation of covariance and coherence features for classification, and thorough characterization of the targets. Hence, architectures based on statistical approach have been developed and studied in order to achieve a precise outline of biophysical properties from the proper combination of polarimetric features and texture analysis outcomes. However, statistical-based classification might not be adequate for describing images that are very complex from a geometrical and polarimetric point of view. Examples include secondary and higher order reflections, shallow and open water environments, intricate mineral mixtures, etc. Characterization and interpretation of such scenarios have often been handled by extensively modeling the source of the nonlinear effects (e.g., multiple scattering), or by employing more model-independent methods for dealing with nonlinearity (e.g., kernel-based processing and artificial neural networks) based on the multiple features extracted by polarimetric analysis. When the polarimetric features associated with the different classes are non-uniform and their statistical distributions are partially overlapping, these methods can suffer from strong performance degradation, leading to inaccuracy in estimates. An alternative strategy for dealing with nonlinearities in multidimensional data sets is performing a nonlinear dimensionality reduction, yielding a linear space of reduced dimensionality, followed by traditional algorithms based on the assumption of linear combination of polarimetric features from the different classes. Most nonlinear dimensionality reduction algorithms are data-driven and unsupervised, and use a geometrically oriented approach based on manifold learning. Typically they consist of a mapping that preserves some global or local relationship from a high-dimensional manifold (constituted by the source data) while projecting it to a lower dimensional linear space. The subsequent linear operations may relate to any of the conventional classification or compression techniques often performed on PolSAR data and attributes, yielding a two-step process for coping with nonlinear data sets. An important disadvantage of most nonlinear dimensionality reduction techniques is their high computational cost and memory requirements, making them rather impractical for use when dealing with sizable PolSAR scenes. The scalability might be achieved by aligning parallel executions of preprocessing steps (such as ISOMAP) on image tiles, while streamlining the computation of geodesic distances and definition of local neighborhoods on the manifold. Other methods resort to explicit use of supervision, i.e., by allowing the manifold structure to be used as input in offline learning of a classification model. Despite these improvements, it can be observed that nonlinear dimensionality reduction of large polarimetric data is usually only proposed for applications where sizable nonlinear effects can be expected beforehand. Arctic sea ice characterization and ocean modelling can be considered as such examples, highlighting the value of the method presented in this paper for these applications
13:20 - Detection of wind turbines using multi-polarization C- and X-band spaceborne SAR data
Ferrentino, Emanuele (1); Marino, Armando (2); Nunziata, Ferdinando (1); Migliaccio, Maurizio (1); Li, Xiaoming (3) - 1: Università di Napoli Parthenope, Italy; 2: The University of Stirling, Scotland (UK); 3: Chinese Academy of Sciences, China
Wind is a sustainable and alternative resource for producing energy and it has a good reputation of being a green form of electricity. Within this context, wind turbines are widely used at onshore and offshore sites to convert the energy of moving air into electrical power. For this reason, wind turbines are a critical infrastructure whose monitoring is an important issue for both economy and environment protection. Within this context, remote sensing can be an important tool to guarantee an effective and relatively cheaper monitoring. Optical images have the great advantage of being simple to interpret and they are easily obtainable. However, optical radiation is severely affected by cloud cover, solar illumination, and other adverse meteorological conditions. These problems can be solved using radar sensors, which guarantee all-day and almost all-weather acquisitions, together with a wide area coverage. In particular, the Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) can be very useful for intertidal zone monitoring purposes, because of its fine spatial resolution. The main goals of this study are to develop multi-polarimetric methods to detect wind turbines into a challenging scenario (i.e. mudflats) using full- and dual-polarimetric SAR data. For this purpose, the detection of wind turbines is undertaken according to the Polarimetric Notch Filter and the change detection approach proposed in [1] and [2], respectively. Experiments, undertaken on actual SAR data collected over the intertidal zone near Jiangsu, China, by the C-band RadarSAT-2 and X-band TerraSAR-X missions show that the proposed methodologies, well detect the wind turbines inside mud flat areas. Furthermore, a detailed analysis shows that polarimetric information always guarantees performance better than the single–polarization counterpart. [1] A. Marino, (2013), “A Notch Filter for Ship Detection With Polarimetric SAR Data", IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing, 6(3), 1219-1232. [2] A. Marino; S.R. Cloude, and J. M. Lopez-Sanchez, (2013), “A New Polarimetric Change Detector in Radar Imagery”, IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, 51(5), 2986 -3000.
13:40 - Towards a Physical Quantitative Assessment of Model-Based PolSAR Decompositions
Ballester-Berman, J. David (1); Ainsworth, Thomas L. (2); Lopez-Sanchez, Juan M. (1) - 1: University of Alicante, Spain; 2: Remote Sensing Division (NRL), USA
As we thoroughly motivated in [1] the performance of model-based decomposition approaches for parameter retrieval is still an open issue in PolSAR field. Very few studies have hitherto performed an in-depth analysis of the incoherent model-based decomposition concept (i.e. Freeman-Durden concept) for quantitative remote sensing applications. Some noteworthy examples are the works by Jagdhüber et al. [2], Huang et al. [3], Di Martino et al. [4], and He et al. [5] focused on soil moisture inversion. In [1] we emphasized the necessity of analysing the estimation accuracy of the whole set of parameters involved in the physical model. To do so, we took as starting point the progress made by several previous contributions based on the Freeman-Durden approach. More particularly, we focused on the general model proposed by Chen et al. [6] as we consider it includes all the previous improvements reported in the literature concerning the topic. Nevertheless, the purpose of that work could be also accomplished by using any of the other published models (see [7-10] to name a few). We showed that a reasonably overall accuracy can be achieved by including several improvements throughout the inversion procedure. However, only some particular cases were considered and the whole range of input values and the different combinations among them were not employed for such purpose. We claim that there still remain some open issues regarding the quantitative assessment of model-based PolSAR decomposition as also Ainsworth et al. recently discussed in [11]. The performance analysis for real data is hampered by the usual unavailability of the corresponding ground-truth data for comparison. In addition, due to modelling issues there appear some parameters whose validation and interpretation are subject to a high ambiguity, as it is the case of vegetation orientation and randomness. The questions that remain to be answered are: What is the actual role of them? Can we assign them a consistent physical interpretation or are they acting just as fitting parameters? The methodology employed in the present work consists on simulating the coherency matrix according to the general model proposed by Chen [6]. Three main scattering mechanisms are assumed (helix component is neglected here). Our hypothesis assumes that an increase of the entropy would lead to a decrease of the parameter estimation accuracy. This methodology is based on the following steps: 1) Generation of noisy samples by applying Lee's method [12]; 2) Inversion of the whole set of parameters according to the procedure shown in Xie et al. [1] (code available [13]); and 3) Computation of histograms of output parameters, standard deviation and bias. Simulations are carried out for different entropy scenarios. The analysis reveals that even the backscattering powers associated with all three basic scattering mechanisms are estimated with an error higher than 10% for usual scattering scenarios. Low entropy cases where surface dominates, and a double-bounce mechanism exists as a secondary return, lead to an accurate estimation of the whole set of parameters. However, an increasing orientation angle of the dominant surface scattering induces a high error in several output parameters and also in the recovered backscattering powers. This means that parameter retrieval algorithms, but also classification schemes, based on this decomposition values could be compromised for real applications. [1] Xie, Q.H.; Ballester-Berman, J.D.; Lopez-Sanchez, J.M.; Zhu, J. J.; Wang, C.C. Quantitative analysis of polarimetric model-based decomposition methods. Remote Sens. 2016, 8, doi:10.3390/rs8120977. [2] Jagdhuber, T.; Hajnsek, I.; Papathanassiou, K.P. An iterative generalized hybrid decomposition for soil moisture retrieval under vegetation cover using fully polarimetric SAR. IEEE J. Sel. Top. Appl. Earth Obs. Remote Sens. 2015, 8, 3911–3922. [3] Huang, X.D.; Wang, J.F.; Shang, J.L., An Integrated Surface Parameter Inversion Scheme Over Agricultural Fields at Early Growing Stages by Means of C-Band Polarimetric RADARSAT-2 Imagery. IEEE Trans. Geosci. Remote Sens., vol. 54, no. 5, pp. 2510–2528, May 2016. [4] Di Martino, G.; Iodice, A.; Natale, A.; Riccio, D. Polarimetric two-scale two-component model for the retrieval of soil moisture under moderate vegetation via L-band SAR data. IEEE Trans. Geosci. Remote Sens. 2016, 54, 2470–2491. [5] He, L.; Panciera, R.; Tanase, M.A.; Walker, J.P.; Qin, Q. Soil moisture retrieval in agricultural fields using adaptive model-based polarimetric decomposition of SAR data. IEEE Trans. Geosci. Remote Sens. 2016, 54, 4445–4460. [6] Chen, S. W.; Wang, X. W.; Xiao, S. P., and Sato, M., “General Polarimetric Model-Based Decomposition for Coherency Matrix,” IEEE Trans. Geosci. Remote Sens., vol. 52, no. 3, pp. 1843–1855, Mar. 2014. [7] Yamaguchi, Y.; Moriyama, T.; Ishido, M.; Yamada, H. Four-component scattering model for polarimetric SAR image decomposition. IEEE Trans. Geosci. Remote Sens. 2005, 43, 1699–1706. [8] Cui, Y.; Yamaguchi, Y.; Yang, J.; Park, S.E.; Kobayashi, H.; Singh, G. Three-component power decomposition for polarimetric SAR data based on adaptive volume scatter modeling. Remote Sens. 2012, 4, 1559–1572. [9] Singh, G.; Yamaguchi, Y.; Park, S.E. General four-component scattering power decomposition with unitary transformation of coherency matrix. IEEE Trans. Geosci. Remote Sens. 2013, 51, 3014–3022. [10] Lee, J.S.; Ainsworth, T.L.; Wang, Y. Generalized Polarimetric model-based decompositions using incoherent scattering models. IEEE Trans. Geosci. Remote Sens. 2014, 52, 2474–2491. [11] Ainsworth, T.L.; Lee, J.-S.; Wang, Y. Model-Based PolSAR Decompositions: Virtues and Vices. In Proceedings of 12th European Conference on Synthetic Aperture Radar (EUSAR2016), Aachen, Germany, 4–7 June 2018; 8676–8679. [12] Lee, J.S.; Pottier, E. Polarimetric Radar Imaging: From Basics to Applications; CRC Press: Boca Raton, FL, USA, 2009 [13] https://personal.ua.es/en/davidb/soil-moisture-variations-in-deforested-tropical-areas-preliminary-results.html
14:00 - A Novel Scattering Vector Parameterization Method
Yin, Junjun (1); Yang, Jian (2); Joerg, Hannah (3) - 1: University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing, China; 2: Tsinghua University, Beijing, China; 3: German Aerospace Center – Microwaves and Radar Institute, Wessing, Germany
In this study, we propose a new scattering vector parameterization method for interpreting coherent scattering. This new scattering model, which has the same formation as the alpha-beta model, consists of 5 polarimetric parameters including the normalization factor. Experimental results show the new scattering model is capable of distinguishing forest from the oriented urban areas when only polarimetric parameters are considered.
14:20 - Monte Carlo Simulation study of stochastic distances applied on k-means algorithm for Fully Polarimetric SAR images
Carvalho, Naiallen; Sant'Anna, Sidnei; Bins, Leonardo - National Institute for Space Research - INPE, Brazil
Monitoring the processes of Earth surface, like deforestation, urban growth, and natural phenomena are essential for maintenance of the ecosystems. Wherefore the different image formats availability, from optical to microwaves frequencies, is increasingly needed. Those images classification is an important tool to comprehend the process that changes the Earth terrain in the present allowing us to predict the future. Different classification strategies have been used to extract information from Fully Polarimetric Synthetic Aperture Radar (PolSAR) images, among of these, the unsupervised methods have the advantage of no needed of prior information, as labeled data. Along with that, the PolSAR images have the advantage of allowing the scattering matrix generation, from which moisture, surface roughness, shape, and geometry information could be extracted. But, as commonly occur with remote sensing data, the images are an earth terrain representation compilation and some regions have a heterogeneous and confusing spectral information and the non-negligible speckle noise, this scenario makes the use of statistical approach a powerful allied in the classes definition. Since PolSAR images could be represented as a n-look covariance matrix, obtained from the scattering matrix, it follows a multivariate Wishart Distribution. Based on this distribution, in this work, we study the unsupervised classification method K-means using a statistical approach. The idea is to represent the PolSAR images as covariance matrices in a feature space, and perform the data clustering based on the minimal stochastic distance between two Wishart Distribution, instead of using the traditional Euclidean distance. We considered five stochastic distance: Bhatacharyya, Kullback-Leibler, Rényi, Hellinger, and Chi-Square. And we considered two cases of study: the first one using simulated images, and as a validation step for this case, a Monte Carlo simulation to analyze the possible results of each distance was performed. The second case using a cut over part of the Tapajós National Forest and surrounding area. This area is considered an important conservation unit in the Brazilian Amazon. The PolSAR images were obtained by the satellite PALSAR 1. In order to compute the classification quality, samples over the image were collected and based on it the accuracy was computed by the kappa coefficient. For each set of PolSAR image six version of k-means was executed, five using the stochastic distances and the sixth using the traditional Euclidian distance, the results showed that the statistic approach achieves higher accuracy than the traditional one, and over the five stochastic distance Bhatacharyya had the best evaluation.
Round Table SAR Polarimetry and PolInSAR
Applications of SAR Polarimetry on Agriculture
Chairs: Hajnsek, Irena (DLR/ETH), Patruno, Jolanda (RHEA)
15:00 - MULTI-TEMPORAL QUAD-POLARIMETRIC CHANGE MATRIX FOR AGRICULTURAL FIELDS MONITORING
Silva, Cristian (1); Marino, Armando (1); Lopez-Sanchez, Juan Manuel (2); Cameron, Iain (3) - 1: University of Stirling, United Kingdom; 2: University of Alicante, IUII, Alicante, Spain; 3: Environment systems Ltd, Aberystwyth, United Kingdom
In this work, a new way to extract temporal polarimetric information from a stack of co-registered images is presented. This method considers not only polarimetric evolution of consecutive acquisitions but also includes polarimetric changes between every image with respect to the rest of images in the stack. The methodology is tested for different crop types exploiting C-band quad-polarimetric RADARSAT-2 data over rice fields in Seville, South-West of Spain and the Indian Head in Canada as part of the Agrisar 2009 campaign.
Applications of SAR Polarimetry on Agriculture (cont'd)
15:50 - EVALUATING THE CLOUDE-POTTIER DECOMPOSITION FOR CROP CLASSIFICATION USING MULTI-TEMPORAL RADARSAT-2 DATA
Ustuner, Mustafa
Ustuner, Mustafa (1); Balik Sanli, Fusun (1); Abdikan, Saygin (2); Erten, Esra (3,4); López-Martínez, Carlos (5) - 1: Department of Geomatic Engineering,Yildiz Technical University, Istanbul, Turkey; 2: Department of Geomatics Engineering, Bulent Ecevit University, Zonguldak, Turkey; 3: Faculty of Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics, The Open University, Milton Keynes, United Kingdom; 4: Department of Geomatics Engineering, Istanbul Technical University, Istanbul, Turkey; 5: Remote Sensing and Natural Resources Modelling Group, Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology, Luxembourg
Crops have very dynamic structure and various scattering characteristics over the phenological growth stages. Polarimetric SAR (PolSAR) images are the important data source for large-scale/time-critical agricultural practices and able to provide the details about the structural and geometrical properties of the crops. In this study, the potential of the Cloude-Pottier decomposition for the crop classification using multi-temporal Radarsat-2 SAR (single look complex full polarimetric data with fine quad-polarization acquisition mode) data is evaluated. Cloude-Pottier decomposition (also known H-A-α decomposition) which is based on the eigen-decomposition of the coherency matrix [T] compute three polarimetric parameters: entropy (H), anisotropy (A), mean alpha angle (α). This mean alpha angle (α) is the weighted average of alpha1 (α1), alpha2 (α2) and alpha3 (α3) angles. The alpha angle (αi) can sometimes be preferred over mean alpha angle since mean alpha angle can be very noisy especially for low Entropy scatterers. To investigate the impact of each alpha angle (αi) as well as other polarimetric parameters of Cloude-Pottier decomposition for the crop classification, five different dataset were generated: (I) H-A-α1, (II) H-A-α2, (III) H-A-α3, (IV) H-A-α, (V) Lambda1-Lambda2-Lambda3 (eigenvalues). For the classification of the crop types (maize, potato, summer wheat, sunflower, and alfalfa) in the test site, two different classification models (random forest and extremely randomized trees) were implemented. The classification of the PolSAR data was exploited in the radar geometry. The experimental results demonstrate that dataset-II obtained higher classification accuracy (79.59% for random forest and 79.85% for extremely randomized trees) than other datasets except dataset-V for both classification models. The highest classification accuracy was obtained from dataset-V as 88.23% for extremely randomized trees while the lowest accuracy was received by dataset-III as 74.35% for random forest. Dataset-I also outperformed dataset-IV in terms of classification accuracy. This experimental study suggests that alpha angles (i.e. alpha2 or alpha1) can be considered as an alternative parameter instead of mean alpha angle as the third component of Cloude-Pottier decomposition for the crop classification. In addition, the findings prove the multi-temporal PolSAR data, by itself, can be sufficient for crop classification with satisfactory results.
16:10 - Crop Growth Monitoring Using Compact-Polarimetry SAR Data
Hosseini, Mehdi (1); McNairn, Heather (2); Mitchell, Scott (1); Davidson, Andrew (2); Dingle Robertson, Laura (2) - 1: Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada; 2: Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
Total above ground biomass and Leaf Area Index (LAI) are two important crop biophysical parameters linked to crop yields (Lobell, 2013) and as such, can be useful surrogates for yield potential. Many studies have demonstrated that optical satellite data are able to estimate biomass and LAI of various crops (Günlü et al., 2014; Hosseini et al., 2015; Kross et al., 2015). However, cloud cover impedes visible-infrared wavelengths making it particularly challenging to rely exclusively on this class of satellites for monitoring rapidly developing crops. Conversely longer microwaves used by Synthetic Aperture Radars (SARs) permit collection of data even during cloudy conditions. Recent studies have demonstrated that SAR sensors are also able to estimate biomass and LAI (Betbeder et al., 2016; Hamdan et al., 2011; Hosseini and McNairn, 2017). SAR scattering changes as crop structure develops, with backscatter also impacted by soil moisture. In this study, simulated compact polarimetry Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellite data are assessed for estimating the biomass and LAI for four Canadian important crop types; corn, soybeans, wheat, and canola. The compact polarimetry mode provides broader swath width which is important for regional and global monitoring. The objective of this research is to make the users ready for the RADARSAT Constellation Mission (RCM) which was planned to be launched in February 2019. The RCM configuration is a transmit right circular polarization with horizontal and vertical linear polarizations received. In 2012, the Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) Validation Experiment (SMAPVEX12) field campaign was conducted in Carman, Manitoba, Canada (McNairn et al., 2015). Multiple crops and soil parameters including LAI, above ground biomass, crop height, soil moisture, and surface roughness were measured in 55 agricultural fields. This data along with their corresponding quad polarimetric RADARSAT-2 imagery is used for our modeling and the validations. Simulated compact polarimetric data are produced using the Sentinel Application Platform (SNAP) which is jointly developed by Canadian and European companies (http://step.esa.int/main/toolboxes/snap/). A total of 43 polarimetric parameters are generated. Time series of these parameters are correlated with crop biophysical parameters. Few of these parameters including the volume-to-surface scattering ratio are strongly correlated with the crop biomass and LAI and demonstrated the potential of compact polarimetry SAR data for crop growth monitoring.
16:30 - Modelbased Assessment of the Ground Polarimetry in Crops estimated using Polarimetric Interferometric SAR
Joerg, Hannah (1); Alonso-Gonzalez, Alberto (1); Papathanassiou, Konstantinos (1); Hajnsek, Irena (1,2) - 1: German Aerospace Center (DLR); 2: ETH Zurich
Electromagnetic scattering mechanisms in agricultural scenarios, i.e. in dependency of dielectric and geometric soil and plant parameters, are highly complex. Especially towards an inversion of soil moisture under crops from synthetic aperture radar (SAR) measurements, it is necessary to separate the scattering mechanisms occurring on the ground, i.e. surface (soil) and dihedral (soil-trunk interactions) scattering, from the volume scattering in the vegetation layer above. While the observation space provided by polarimetric SAR measurements is limited in this respect, polarimetric interferometric SAR techniques, in a single- or multi-baseline configuration, can be used to separate the scattering mechanisms along height. Utilizing a two-layer model consisting of an isotropic volume layer on top of an impenetrable polarization dependent ground layer can be employed to estimate the volume only interferometric coherence and thus the ground and volume polarimetric covariance matrices [1-3]. However, the estimation of the interferometric volume coherence is intrinsically ambiguous and subject to regularization constraints, independently of the number of available baselines. As a direct consequence, also the estimation of the polarimetric ground covariance matrix is ambiguous impacting its physical interpretation and any parameter inversion attempt [4]. The first part of this work aims to foster the understanding of the feasibility and the limitations for an inversion of soil moisture from such an isolated ground component. It is assumed that the isolated ground component can be modelled as the sum of surface and dihedral scattering and therefore depends on the soil and trunk dielectric constants and the surface-to-dihedral power ratio. Based on this, a comprehensive sensitivity analysis of the model in dependency of incidence angle and scattering scenario will be conducted and possible inversion strategies evaluated. In the second part, the feasibility of the ground model and inversion strategies discussed in the first part will be assessed using ground covariance matrices estimated from experimental SAR data at L-band acquired by DLR’s airborne sensor F-SAR in the frame of the CROPEX 2014 campaign. One important issue is to evaluate the impact of the regularization required to obtain a unique ground estimate in this respect. The availability of fully polarimetric multi-baseline L-band SAR data on different dates further allows assessing scattering scenarios with different vegetation characteristics (i.e. crop type, phenological stage, vegetation water content) and soil moisture levels. [1] S. Tebaldini, “Algebraic Synthesis of Forest Scenarios from Multibaseline PolInSAR Data”, IEEE Trans. Geosci. Remote Sens., vol. 47, no. 12, pp. 4132-4142, Dec. 2009 [2] M. Pardini, and K. Papathanassiou, “On the Estimation of Ground and Volume Polarimetric Covariances in Forest Scenarios with SAR Tomography,” IEEE Geosci. Remote Sens. Lett., vol. 14, no. 10, pp. 1860-1864, Oct. 2017. [3] A. Alonso-Gonzalez, and K. P. Papathanassiou, “Multibaseline Two Layer Model PolInSAR Ground and Volume Separation,” Proc. of EUSAR 2018, vol. 12, Aachen, Germany, 2018. [4] H. Joerg, M. Pardini, A. Alonso-Gonzalez, K. P. Papathanassiou and I. Hajnsek, “Investigating Soil Moisture Dependency of the Ground Polarimetry under Agricultural Vegetation Estimated by SAR Tomography,” Proc. of EUSAR 2018, vol. 12, Aachen, Germany, 2018.
Round Table Applications of SAR Polarimetry on Agriculture
Extending parameter space analysis of model based decomposition for coastal wetland classification
kwok, expo
In view of the fact that the results of scattering model-based decomposition is relatively simple and the deep scattering mechanism has less exploration, this paper defined two class parameters: model-entropy and model-anisotropy based on model-based decomposition, by borrowing ideas from the information theory based on the well-known Cloude decomposition. because this type of decomposition result is known to be the dominant scattering mechanism, it is not necessary to define the scattering angle parameters of the decomposition.according to the physical meaning of the two types of parameters, we can define multiple parameter combinations that highlight different scattering information, so as to expand the range of quantitative analysis of its scattering mechanism, and use a random forest algorithm that can select and contribute to a variety of features to perform classification experiments. In this paper, real polarimetric SAR and simulated polarimetric SAR data are used as research data. Real SAR data includes China's first multi-polarization SAR satellite GaoFen-3 whose highest resolution can be 1m and AIRSAR data. and China's largest reed wetland, the Liaohe Estuary National Nature Reserve, is used as research area. There are large areas of reeds in this area, special plant Suaeda salsa and single-season rice in northeast China, and numerous water systems (including seawater, reservoir ponds, and river waters). According to the interpretation of two class parameters, it shows that this method greatly enriches the scattering space range based on model decomposition, and can be applied to the decomposition algorithm analysis of different number of components. It can significantly distinguish the difference between different decomposition algorithms and improve the polarization target classification accuracy. In addition, it provides an effective idea that quantitative evaluation of this type of decomposition.
The distinction between thawed/frozen soils in Alaska by multi-temporal Sentinel 1 radar data
Rodionova, Natalia
This paper considers the question of determining frozen/thawed status of 5 cm upper soil layer for seven ground stations in Alaska with latitude from 650 to 700 N by using radar Sentinel 1 C-band data for the period 2016-2017. Determine the status of frozen/thawed soil was carried out in two ways: using only radar data with finding the backscatter coefficient threshold, when the temperature in the upper soil layer falls below 00C, or by using both radar data and ISMN ground-based measurements of soil temperature. In the latter case, the correlation between the backscattering coefficient and the soil temperature measured in upper 5 cm soil layer was calculated. Regression models were developed and radar backscatter thresholds for frozen soil were found. Local frozen/thawed soil maps were created. The comparison of the backscatter coefficient threshold values obtained in two ways showed their closeness, which tends to decrease with decreasing correlation between radar and ground ISMN data. Linear regression model between radar backscatter threshold and the area latitude was developed.
Anisotropic Scattering Detection for Characterizing Polarimetric Circular SAR Multi-Aspect Signatures
Li, Yang; Lin, Yun; Wang, Yanping; Hong, Wen
Azimuth anisotropic scattering signatures provide richer features for synthetic aperture radar (SAR) terrain classification and target recognition. Compared with traditional stripmap SAR mode, circular SAR (CSAR) utilizes the backscattering data of a target over a full 360 degrees azimuth angle. The isotropic scattering of media can be added coherently to achieve a high resolution image. However, CSAR subaperture images also contain anisotropic scattering information, allowing differentiation of targets of similar structure from other classes. CSAR subaperture combination is usually processed by coherently or incoherently adding. In these processes, the distinctive scattering signatures in each aspect are mixed together and become an average feature, which is difficult to separate, causing a loss of this information. In this paper, we propose a polarimetric CSAR anisotropic scattering detection framework to characterize multi-aspect and fully polarimetric SAR signatures of point-like and distributed targets. We applied this framework to quantify and rank media polarimetric scattering dissimilarity over all aspects and to determine whether the most different one shows anisotropy by use of constant false alarm rate (CFAR) detection. Furthermore, we demonstrated the monotonicity of CFAR detection function and incorporated this function to decrease the complexity of the anisotropic scattering test. To test this approach, we applied the multi-aspect series generated by this algorithm to analyze the anisotropic scattering effects using a set of airborne P-band fully polarimetric circular SAR data acquired by the Institute of Electronics, Chinese Academy of Science (IECAS). The results indicate the framework can retain anisotropic scattering and extract a series of new multi-aspect polarimetric SAR signatures for terrain classification.
A MACHINE LEARNING APPROACH FOR ACCURATE CROP TYPE MAPPING USING COMBINED POLARIMETRIC SAR AND OPTICAL TIME SERIES DATA
Tufail, Rahat; Javed, Muhammad Asif; Ahmad, Sajid Rashid - College of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of the Punjab, Pakistan
A country's food needs primarily rely on its own agriculture resources and requires reliable information related to crop health, their distribution and acreage estimation to manage and monitor resources for implementation of a sustainable agricultural system. Different methodologies have been used to collect this information but the availability of earth resource satellites data with increasing spatial, spectral and temporal resolutions such as the European Space Agency (ESA) Copernicus programme's satellites Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 creating more practicability to generate crop type maps. Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 both operating in a constellation of a twin satellites carries a C band Synthetic Aperture Radar and Multispectral Instrument (MSI) respectively. Vertical transmit and horizontal receive (VH) and vertical transmit and vertical receive (VV) channels used to exploit the temporal backscatter of crops present in the study area. In this research, a machine learning random forest classification algorithm run for accurate crop type mapping for the combination of SAR (Sentinel-1) and optical (Sentinel-2) time series data. Random Forest classifier produced a considerable increase in accuracy of crop type mapping as it uses ensemble decision trees trained on sample data which permit the vote in favor of the most popular class. Main objectives of this study were to investigate the classification accuracy for different data combinations. Three plots of data tested i) Sentinel-1 ii) Sentinel-2 iii) Sentinel-1 & Sentinel-2. Combination of SAR and optical data turns out with a best overall accuracy of 97 %, and a kappa coefficient of 0.97. Spaceborne SAR and optical data add a new aspect of crop type mapping which consequently increases the classification accuracy by including valuable parameters and beating the drawbacks of each other. The results also emphasized the classification of time series data in agricultural mapping than classifying a single date image. By Comparing the results, it can be concluded that by combining all-weather accessible SAR and spectrally rich data accomplished more accurate outcomes and it would be an imperative advance for the future endeavor to estimate crop biomass and biophysical parameters.
Forest biophysical parameters retrieval using L-band airborne multi-baseline UAVSAR datasets
Awasthi, Shubham; Jain, Kamal - Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, Uttarakhand, India
Forest are one of the important part of ecosystem. They play a crucial role in the carbon cycle. A significant amount of the carbon is stored in the form of the forest biomass. These forest cover areas and their stored carbon stock are affected by various natural and anthropogenic factors. In the recent years, due to the various factors such as forest fires, climate change, and forests encroachments there has been a continuous depletion in the forest cover. Hence, in this present scenario regular monitoring of the forest areas is an urgent need. This study focuses on the utilization of PolInSAR and SAR Tomography technique for the forest biophysical parameters retrieval. UAVSAR datasets of AfriSAR mission operating in L-band (1.5 GHz) frequency region with the azimuth resolution of 1.5m* 12m. The used datasets were acquired on the date 15 June 2015 for the Rabi forest area of Gabon in Africa. Using these datasets the coherence optimization was done and the effect of the spatial baseline and interferometric wave number (Kz) was analyzed on the forest estimation. The three-stage inversion technique was implemented for this PolInSAR based height inversion. The appropriate baseline estimation for the correct forest height estimation was done. In addition, implementation of SAR Tomography based forest height retrieval was also done. The aperture synthesis in the radar cross range direction was able to resolve the forest heights in the vertical direction. The Beamforming and Capon based spectral estimation technique was used for tomographic implementation. The comparative analysis of the PolInSAR band SAR Tomography retrieved forest heights was done. The mean forest height retrieved using these technique was 31m. The DSM of the forest area was generated using airborne Land, Vegetation, and Ice Sensor (LVIS) based airborne LIDAR point cloud datasets which was used for the forest height validation.
A New X-Bragg Scattering-Based Approach for Bare Surface Discrimination
Tahraoui, Sofiane; Ouarzeddine, Mounira
In the last two decades, the use of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) for remote sensing purposes has been significantly developed due to improvements in the quality and in the availability of the images, thanks to SAR polarimetry technique, which has increased further the range of applications of the sensed data. The use of PolSAR allowed the retrieval of geometrical properties and geophysical parameters such as shape, roughness, texture, and moisture content, considerable accuracy. The objective of this paper is to present a new technique to discriminate bare soil from other contribution within the pixel. The procedure is based on the conformity of the canonical form of the X-Bragg coherence matrix. The approach is valid within a limited range of surface roughness. Surface discrimination is performed according to a decision based on a fixed threshold. The methodology was evaluated using simulated and real data and result seem promising.
A PolSAR Scattering Power Factorization Framework using a Geodesic Distance
Ratha, Debanshu (1); Bhattacharya, Avik (1); Frery, Alejandro C. (2); Pottier, Eric (3) - 1: Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, India; 2: Universidade Federal de Alagoas, Brazil; 3: University of Rennes 1, France
This paper presents a novel scattering power factorization framework in radar polarimetry using a geodesic distance between the 4 x 4 real Kennaugh matrices of the observed and the elementary targets (viz. dihedral, trihedral, dipole etc.). The framework provides both qualitative and quantitative estimates of the dominance of elementary scattering mechanisms in a pixel. It is also flexible in terms of the number of elementary models against which an observed backscattering may be compared. Under this framework, the observed scattering is evaluated in terms of scattering similarities which provide the dominance of scattering mechanisms. This is then further utilized for a convex splitting of unity to obtain the intermediate weights. This leads to the weights being the product of similarity and dissimilarity of the observed pixel with the elementary scattering models. Finally, these weights are modulated with the total power (Span) to obtain the non-negative scattering powers. The results are shown for full polarimetric single-look ALOS-2 L-band dataset and a multi-look RADARSAT-2 C-band dataset.
Atmospheric Effects on Satellite Synthetic Aperture Radar at X-Band and above
Mori, Saverio; Biscarini, Marianna; Marzano, Frank S.; Pierdicca, Nazzareno
Spaceborne synthetic aperture radars (SARs) operating at L-band and above are nowadays a well-established tool for Earth remote sensing in many fields, such as DEM production, monitoring of earthquakes damages, volcanoes, landslides and flooded areas, urban changes detection and many others. Sentinel system follows the long heritage of C-Band SARs matched with near-continuous acquisition, an absolute novelty for SARs. Systems as X-Band, such as COSMO-SkyMed and TerraSAR-X/TanDEM-X are operative for many years, and their second generation is ongoing. New frontiers of research are both technological, exploiting higher frequency SAR and new acquisition modes, and in terms of applications, such as the recent studies on hurricanes monitoring and precipitations observation. In this respect, higher frequency such as Ka-Band are interesting also because the short wavelength allows the implementation on a single platform of single-pass interferometers, both cross-track and along-track, with adequate interferometric sensitivity, baseline independent from location and no temporal decorrelation. Moreover the low penetration in semi-transparent media such as ice, snow, and vegetation Since approximately 2010, a number of European Space Agency (ESA) studies have been done into Ka-band SAR system and mission concepts, and into some of the critical technologies. The CoRe-H2O, finalist for Earth Explorer mission selection, is a Ku and Ka bands SAR platform devoted to cryospheric applications. Another recently proposed mission concept is the KydroSAT one, whose core instrument is a dual Ku and Ka SAR, the first SAR mission specifically proposed for hydrological applications [Mori et al., 2017]. Atmosphere is not transparent at SAR used frequencies, including low ones such as L-Band (e.g. [Melsheimer et al., 1998]). Gases introduce attenuation and path delay in clear-sky conditions. Non-precipitating clouds and ice particles may transmit, scatter or absorb radiant energy that impinges upon them; at Ka-Band their attenuation and path-delay are proportional to water content. Raindrops, due to their oblate shape and dimension, in addition introduce also depolarization. Finally, atmospheric turbulences in the troposphere can induce fluctuations on the refractive-index causing scintillation effects, both in amplitude and phase. These effects, that causes attenuation (up to the complete masking of the scene) and loss of coherence, are usually increasing with frequency, due to the increasing comparability between SAR wavelength and atmospheric particle dimensions. While some of these phenomenons have been analysed and discussed in literature, yet very few studies exist for higher frequencies such as the Ka-Band, moreover expected as the most sensitive. While for most of “traditional” SAR applications atmospheric effects represent a problem to be account for, up to the discarding of affected pixels, this sensitivity to atmospheric particles, in particular to the water based ones represents also a possibility for have new insights on clouds and precipitations. Several studies have exploited these possibilities, demonstrating also the possibility of quantifying precipitations (e.g. [Marzano et al., 2011] and discussing the benefits of a multifrequency approach (e.g. [Marzano et al., 2012]). Within this general context, the ESA contract 4000122671/17/NL/FF/gp "KaSARApp - KA-Band SAR Application Consolidation and Requirement Definition Study" aims to consolidate a Ka-band SAR mission concept, linking user (product-level) observation requirements to mission requirements, and evaluating and highlighting the expected performances for a set of relevant applications. It is the continuation of the ESA contract 4000109477/13/nl/lvh “Ka-Band SAR Backscatter Analysis in Support of Future Applications”; the last was focused on investigating the wave interaction at Ka-band for a widely varying range of targets linked to potential applications in connection to Ka-band InSAR and polarimetry. KaSARapp project will pursue its objectives through the development and use of a sophisticated End-to-End (E2E) performance tool. Atmospheric effects will be taken into account through the forward model of SAR response described in [Marzano et al., 2012] and [Mori et al., 2017]. This model is able to simulate the fully polarimetric response of a SAR system, as function of the operating frequency, incident angle and observed scene. In this respect, ground target can be usually expressed through canonical targets or semi-empirical models (such as [Oh et al., 2002]). Distribution of atmospheric components, such as water-based particles, can be simulated through synthetic distribution, e.g. homogeneous layer of only raindrops or ice particle, with a rectangular shape, unrealistic but more ease to be interpreted. In this respect, the proposed model allows the use of 3-D simulations derived from sophisticated cloud resolving models, such as Weather Research and Forecast (WRF) or System for Atmospheric Modelling (SAM) datasets [Blossey et al., 2007]. These models allow the realistic simulation of volumetric distribution of several water-based particles (such as cloud droplets, raindrops, snowflakes and ice), together with other atmospheric parameter, such as pressure, humidity and temperature, required to model gases, refraction and scintillation effects; moreover resolution that can be very high and suitable for SAR applications (e.g. 250m). Within this project, the forward model of [Mori et al., 2017] has been revised and enhanced in order to include atmospheric gases effects and atmospheric refraction, while the inclusion of atmospheric scintillation effects is ongoing; to our knowledge, each of these effects represent a novelty in the field of SAR forward modelling. In this work, the developed model will be presented. Moreover, within the context of KaSARapp project, it will be presented a preliminary analysis of atmospheric effects on the produced realizations, in terms of attenuation, phase delay, depolarization and scintillation, discussing the actual relevance of the different contribute, and their impact on possible Ka-Band SAR applications.
Effect of Temporal Decorrelation on Polarimetric SAR Interferometric Measurement of Tropical Forest Structure: Results from AfriSAR L- and P- band InSAR Campaign
Ramachandran, Naveen; Saatchi, Sassan; Dikshit, Onkar
PolInSAR measurements for quantifying forest vertical structure and biomass have been designed and implemented in NASA and ESA airborne and satellite missions. From satellite platforms, PolInSAR techniques are performed from two orbital configurations with a non-zero baselines that are often separated in time depending on the repeat-pass designs. These measurements are often impacted by the temporal decorrelation of the interferometric SAR signals due changes of the target characteristics from wind and environmental changes. Here, we explore the effect of temporal decorrelation on retrieving forest vertical structure over Gabonese humid tropical rainforest at L- and P- bands from airborne data collected during the AfriSAR campaign. Our analysis focuses on forest height estimates from conventional and volumetric temporal decorrelation incorporated in Random Volume over Ground and Random Motion over Ground models with fixed and height dependent extinction coefficients. The long-term (few days) and short-term (few minutes) temporal decorrelation have been evaluated using DLR data acquired during AfriSAR 2016 campaign. The model parameters are estimated by minimizing the distance between the predicated and observed coherence in a least square sense. The estimated PolInSAR canopy height using the models mentioned above are compared with NASA’s the Land, Vegetation, and Ice Sensor (LVIS) LIDAR derived canopy heights for quantification of error estimates. The results of the study demonstrate how the effect of temporal decorrelation may introduce uncertainty in forest structure retrieval from the upcoming ESA’s BIOMASS mission and provide potential approaches to reduce the uncertainty.
Sentinel-1 Based Water Level Monitoring for Protected Salt Lake in Turkey
Bilgilioğlu, Burhan Baha (1,2); Erten, Esra (1); Musaoğlu, Nebiye (1) - 1: Faculty of Civil Engineering, Istanbul Technical University, Istanbul 34469, Turkey; 2: Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, Gumushane University, Gumushane, 29000, Turkey
Wetlands are made of up complex ecosystems that provide an ideal habitat for many living species and play an important role in waterway transport and streamflow maintaining. Wetlands are affected by human-induced and natural threats such as groundwater withdrawals, pollution and climate change (e.g. hydrological cycle in wet and dry seasons). All these activities have huge impact on wetlands functions and values, which are highly dependent on water level change. Determination of water level change is an important data source for the conservation and rehabilitation of wetlands. This paper presents evidence of how interferometric SAR (InSAR) techniques with freely available SAR data can be used to monitor wetlands at risk of degradation and loss, using Salt Lake, Turkey, as a case study. The Salt Lake, which has lost 60% of its water over the past 18 years, is the primary source of water in the driest region of Turkey. To monitor its water level fluctuations, a 1-years Sentinel-1 stack composed of 13 dual-pol (VV/VH) images acquired between December 2016 to December 2017 covering dry and wet seasons is employed and InSAR techniques are chosen to assess water level change over the Salt Lake region. In addition, levelling measurements with millimeter level accuracy were made in the time period when the lake was driest in order to compare with InSAR results. Moreover, different polarizations are also investigated to make benefit of maximum interferometric coherence and to determine optimal scattering mechanism in wetlands.
APPLICABILITY OF THE MULTITEMPORAL COHERENCE APPROACH TO SENTINEL-1 FOR THE DETECTION AND DELINEATION OF FOREST FIRES IN THE CONTEXT OF COPERNICUS EMS
Larrañaga, Arantzazu
Larrañaga, Arantzazu (1); de Blas, Teresa (1); Donezar Hoyos, Uxue (1); Ros, Fermín (1); Albizua, Lourdes (1); Steel, Alan (2); Broglia, Marco (2) - 1: Tracasa, Spain; 2: Joint Research Centre (JRC)
The Copernicus Emergency Management Service (EMS) Mapping provides Civil Protection users with accurate and timely geospatial information based on space data combined with other sources during the emergency response cycle. The Copernicus EMS Mapping Validation is the service within the Copernicus Emergency Management Service system in charge of the verification of the results and products created by the different map production services of the Copernicus EMS, Rapid Mapping y Risk and Recovery. The EMS Validation service contributes to the continuous improvement of the service through technical validation of the mapping products, their evaluation based on the user's feedback and the investigation of alternative and innovative technologies. In this framework, the applicability of the MultiTemporal Coherence (MTC) technique using Sentinel-1 data and the software made available by the European Space Agency (ESA), Sentinel Application Platform (SNAP), for the detection and delineation of forest fires was tested. The aim of the study was to follow a previous study in which Sentinel-1 images had been used to delineate fire. For this purpose, four Sentinel-1 images were acquired over an area mainly covered by Mediterranean vegetation that suffered from massive forest fires, together with Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) data, and processed using SNAP. The final fire delineation was carried by an Object-Based Image Analysis (OBIA) of the resulting MTC image followed by a visual inspection. The effect of the polarisation, Vertical-Vertical or Vertical-Horizontal as well as the acquisition mode, ascending or descending, were studied in order to assess the differences in the result depending on the input data. The fire delineation derived from Sentinel-1 was compared to the delineation of fire derived using three optical images, a pre-event Sentinel-2 image, and post-event Sentinel-2 and SPOT 6. The first two were used to calculate differences of Burnt Area Index (dBAI) and fire delineation was created by OBIA and photo interpretation with the help of the SPOT 6 image. Data from the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS) together with in-situ burnt area delineation provided by the Authorised User of the Copernicus EMS were also used as input data in the refinement of the fire delineation data calculated over optical imagery. Results of the comparison showed the feasibility of using this technique for fire delineation, as well as the recommendations regarding which polarisation gave the best results.
Multi-temporal and multi-frequency analysis to assess forest degradation
Pacheco-Pascagaza, Ana Maria (1); Garcia, Mariano (2); Rodriguez-Veiga, Pedro (1,3); Balzter, Heiko (1,3) - 1: University of Leicester, United Kingdom; 2: Universityof Alcala, Spain; 3: National Centre for Earth Observation (NCEO), United Kingdom
Forest disturbances (i.e. deforestation and degradation) are a serious problem significantly contributing to greenhouse emissions and biodiversity loss [1]. Quantifying the impact of forest degradation on the carbon budget is challenging because of the diversity of definitions, varying scale of the changes, and many drivers that are applying pressure on the forests. As a result, the measuring and mapping of forest degradation is still a technical challenge [1-3]. Radar (SAR) data is very promising for detecting and monitoring forest degradation considering its sensitivity to above ground biomass and forest structure [4]. There is also evidence that the integration of sensors in combination with field data can provide more precise results when monitoring changes in forest [5]. In this research we investigated the potential of integrating multi -frequency Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data: ALOS PalSAR-2, Sentinel-1B and TanDEM-X, in combination with field data to identify and classify variances in structure associated to forest disturbance. Hereafter, we assessed the capabilities full Polarimetric data from ALOS to identify multi-temporal changes in forest structure associated to forest degradation. The study area is located in Bajo Calima a secondary forest in the Pacific coast of Colombia. A wet tropical forest that has been under pressure from gold mining and selective logging at different intensities. Results showed a good approximation to categorize these forests by degrees of disturbance and also indicated that multi-temporal observations Polarimetric ALOS PalSAR 1 and 2 are promising to identify variations in forest structure. References [1] P. Smith, M. Bustamante, H. Ahammad, H. Clark, H. Dong, E. Elsiddig, et al., "Climate Change 2014: Mitigation of Climate Change. Contribution of Work-ing Group III to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ed O Edenhofer et al," Forestry and Other Land Use, 2014. [2] FAO. (2012b, 11 November 2012). Forestry and climate change: Roles of forests in climate change. Available: http://www.fao.org/forestry/ climatechange/53459/en/ [3] I. D. Thompson, M. R. Guariguata, K. Okabe, C. Bahamondez, R. Nasi, V. Heymell, et al., "An Operational Framework for Defining and Monitoring Forest Degradation," Ecology and Society, vol. 18, p. 20, 2013. [4] A. L. Mitchell, A. Rosenqvist, and B. Mora, "Current remote sensing ap-proaches to monitoring forest degradation in support of countries measure-ment, reporting and verification (MRV) systems for REDD+," Carbon Balance and Management, vol. 12, p. 9, April 17 2017. [5] V. De Sy, M. Herold, F. Achard, G. P. Asner, A. Held, J. Kellndorfer, et al., "Synergies of multiple remote sensing data sources for REDD+ monitoring," Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, 2012.
Crop yield estimation by Sentinel-1 radar polarimetric data
Friedl, Zoltán (1,2); Nádor, Gizella (1); Molnár, András (3); Surek, György (4) - 1: Government Office of the Capital City Budapest, Hungary; 2: Eötvös Loránd University, Department of Geophysics and Space Science; 3: Research Institute of Agricultural Economics; 4: MLog Instruments Ltd.
The Synthetic aperture radar is at least as important data for agriculture as optical data. Especially, the radar polarimetric data is connected well with phases of agricultural crop condition. In this presentation the relation of radar polarimetry data and crop yield was examined by using Sentinel-1 dual-pol (VV+VH) time series data including backscatterer coefficients and polarimetric descriptors. The polarimetric descriptors were generated based on H/A/Alpha polarimetric decomposition of covariance matrix. In our study we concentrated on the winter wheat and the sunflower, which are really different type of crops including the growing period, crop features and phenology phases. Sunflower shows a very characteristic temporal profile and it has a higher volume scattering, due to this it is suitable for this analysis. In contrast the winter wheat has a vertical dominance and due to this the volume scattering is lower than double bounce scattering. Thus, crop yield estimation of winter wheat by radar data is complicated more. There were investigated two county in Hungary, which were selected by reason of these are intensive agricultural areas. The reference data concern to 40-50 parcels for each county which were ensured by Research Institute of Agricultural Economics. Our first results are that the correlation between crop yield and the integrated polarimetric descriptors is around 80%. Furthermore, there were analyzed those fields which do not fit into the correlation, and we try to identify reasons of the difference. This is first step to develop a crop yield estimation based on radar data.
Enhanced TomoSAR Imaging through Statistical Regularization
Martín del Campo Becerra, Gustavo Daniel; Reigber, Andreas; Nannini, Matteo
Abstract Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) tomography (TomoSAR) is a powerful remote sensing tool that allows the retrieval of a 3D representation of the illuminated scene [1] - [4]. A set of images, acquired with a different line-of-sight (LOS), is combined coherently using SAR interferometric techniques. Later on, the power spectrum pattern (PSP), in the direction perpendicular to the LOS (PLOS), is recovered using spectral analysis (SA)-based methods. The TomoSAR problem at hand is treated as an ill-conditioned nonlinear inverse problem [5], [6], and is commonly tackled within the direction-of-arrival (DOA) estimation framework [2] - [6]. The DOA-inspired non-parametric techniques, as the conventional matched spatial filter (MSF) and minimum variance distortionless response (MVDR) beamformers [1] - [4], are well suited to cope with distributed targets, since these techniques recover an estimate of the continuous power spectrum pattern (PSP); nonetheless, the achievable resolution highly depends on the span of the tomographic aperture. Alternatively, super-resolved parametric approaches, as multiple signal classification (MUSIC) [3], [4], have the main drawback related to the white noise model assumption that guaranties the separation of the signal and noise sub-spaces. On the other hand, taking advantage of the sparse representations of the cross-range tomographic profiles in the wavelet domain, super-resolved compressed sensing (CS)-based approaches [7], [8], are also employed to solve the TomoSAR inverse problem. However, CS-based techniques often imply a considerable computational burden, due to their iterative nature and due to the non-availability of adapted efficient convex optimization algorithms. To overcome such drawbacks and as an alternative to the aforementioned commonly performed TomoSAR-adapted focusing techniques, statistical regularization approaches can be applied instead, in the context of the statistical decision-making theory. Assuming no a priori knowledge about the statistical distribution of the desired PSP, to be retrieved, and imposing no constrain on linearity, the Bayes minimum risk (BMR) methodology is extended to the maximum-likelihood (ML) approach [5], [6]. Then, to guarantee well-conditioned solutions (in the Hadamard sense) to the TomoSAR nonlinear inverse problem, the derived ML-based approach is implemented in a closed fixed-point iterative adaptive manner, yielding the so-called MARIA (ML-inspired Adaptive Robust Iterative Approach) technique [5]. The use of statistical regularization approaches, within the maximum likelihood (ML) estimation theory, to solve the involved TomoSAR nonlinear ill-conditioned inverse problem, has been successfully demonstrated in the previous related studies [5], [6]. Within the main advantages of such approaches there is the retrieval of resolution-enhanced tomograms using a reduced (limited) number of passes, performing also suppression of artifacts and reduction of the ambiguity levels. Once the theoretical background of statistical regularization was provided, and its use for enhanced TomoSAR imaging was demonstrated, the subject of the work to be presented is focused on its application on different test sites and on the cross-check analysis of the retrieved measurements. References [1] A. Reigber and A. Moreira, “First demonstration of airborne SAR tomography using multibaseline L-band data”, IEEE Trans. Geosc. Remote Sens., vol. 38, no. 5, pp. 2142–2152, Sep. 2000. [2] F. Gini, F. Lombardini and M. Montanari, “Layover solution in multibaseline SAR interferometry”, IEEE Trans. Aerosp. Electron. Syst., vol. 38, no.4, pp. 1344-1356, Oct. 2002. [3] M. Nannini, R. Scheiber, and A. Moreira, “Estimation of the minimum number of tracks for SAR tomography”, IEEE Trans. Geosc. Remote Sens., vol. 47, no. 2, pp. 531-543, Jan. 2009. [4] M. Nannini, R. Scheiber, R. Horn, and A. Moreira, “First 3-D reconstructions of targets hidden beneath foliage by means of polarimetric SAR tomography”, IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Letters, vol. 9, no.1, pp. 60-64, Jan. 2012. [5] G. D. Martín del Campo, M. Nannini, and A. Reigber, “Towards Feature Enhanced SAR Tomography: A Maximum-Likelihood Inspired Approach”, IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Letters, pp. 1–5, August 2018. [6] G. Martín del Campo, A. Reigber and M. Nannini, “Feature Enhanced SAR Tomography Reconstruction through Adaptive Nonparametric Array Processing”, IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium (IGARSS), 2018. [7] E. Aguilera, M. Nannini and A. Reigber, “A Data-Adaptive Compressed Sensing Approach to Polarimetric SAR Tomography of Forested Areas”, IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Letters, vol. 10, no.3, pp. 543–547, Sept. 2012. [8] E. Aguilera, M. Nannini and A. Reigber, “Wavelet-Based Compressed Sensing for SAR Tomography of Forested Areas”, IEEE Trans. Geosc. Remote Sens., vol. 51, no.12, pp. 5283–5295, Dec. 2013.
Backscatter analysis using multi-temporal Sentinel 1 SAR data for irrigated crops monitoring in Banat region, Romania
Poenaru, Violeta; Badea, Alexandru
This study assesses the sensitivity of Sentinel C-band dual polarized SAR images acquired from March to September 2017 to monitor irrigated fields of maize, sorghum, soybeans and sunflowers in Banat, Romania. Physical process of the scattering mechanism occurring in crops in different phonological stages was investigated by assessing the temporal dynamics of the volume, double and odd bounce, entropy, anisotropy and alpha parameters. Additional information related to sub-canopy soil moisture was obtained by using coherent location of effective scattering centers within a resolution cell. After topography correction, SAR data were classified based on the distance of Wishart and information from coherence optimization was used. Availability of a dense time series of Sentinel 1 data improve monitoring of the soil parameters by considering temporal stability of the spatial soil moisture pattern. In this approximation soil roughness and vegetation conditions are not change and surface soil moisture can be estimated by using PolSAR and PolInSAR techniques. Preliminary results showed that the cross-polarized VH signal was useful for monitoring crops and soil conditions and was the least sensitive to differences in beam incidence angle.The VV polarized signal has a greater sensitivity to surface parameters and can be used for mapping of soil and crop cover characteristics.
Detecting aquaculture structures using the iDPolRAD and PINGPONG COSMO SkyMED
Marino, Armando; Ballester, David; Spyrakos, Evangelos
Aquaculture are a very valuable asset for many coastal countries and in the future they will play an important role in food security. Satellite remote sensing can improve the temporal and geo-spatial analysis of such marine facilities. Detecting platforms used for fish and shellfish farming provides a way to monitor assets and check they do not get damaged by storms. It also allows to identify illegal placement of structures in areas which should not host farms. In this work, we want to evaluate the potential of a new methodology that uses PolSAR data. This is called intensity Dual-Pol Ratio Anomaly Detector (iDPolRAD) and it was initially proposed to detect icebergs embedded in sea ice. Extensive work has been carried out on detecting ships using space-borne Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) systems. However, the identification of smaller and non-metallic targets is still challenging especially when the sea conditions are rough. This work presents the very first test of the iDPolRAD with aquaculture structures. The algorithms: The algorithm is based on the observation that the most of the maritime targets exhibit a different polarimetric behaviour compared to the sea. Specifically, the cross polarization channel and the ratio between cross- and co-polarizations (here referred to as depolarization ratio) increases. One of the reason is that complex targets (e.g. shellfish platforms) will provide scattering which will resemble Volume scattering or reflections from planes (mostly wet surfaces) with random orientations. They are therefore expected to have a polarimetric backscattering that is different from the one of the sea which is surface scattering. Two boxcar filters are applied over the HV and HH intensity images, exploiting two different window sizes: a smaller window or test window Wtest and a larger window or training window Wtrain. The detector can be writes as the different of the “HV filtered with the test window” minus “HV filtered with the train window”, all divided by the “HH filtered with the train window”. The previous operator is built as a ratio between intensities and therefore it is scale invariant. This is a very valuable property for a polarimetric observable, however scale invariance may be disadvantageous for some detection task. For instance, if the signal is very low and close to the noise floor, the detector may become noisy. An easy way out is by multiplying the detector by an intensity or magnitude image. In this context, the cross polarization channel should be preferred because it shows a higher contrast between icebergs and clutter. Multiplying the intensity of HV by the previous operator forms the iDPolRAD. If a pixel of the HV intensity image presents an anomaly in volume or oriented reflections, then it is multiplied by a large number. If it presents a homogeneous area, then it is multiplied by zero and if it presents a decrease in volume or oriented reflections, then it becomes negative. This enhances the contrast between anomalies in volume/oriented reflections and clutter. The data: In this work we tested the iDPolRAD on a dual-polarization HH/HV PINGPONG Cosmo-SkyMed dataset composed by 5 images of the coastal area near Vigo, Spain. This is an area intensely exploited for the production of mussels and hundreds of platforms cover the coastal area. Preliminary results: The iDPolRAD seems able to increase the contrast between the sea background and the platforms allowing the identification of more platforms. An extensive comparison of the dual-pol and single-pol algorithms will be presented. Reference: A. Marino, W Dierking, and C. Wesche, “A depolarization ratio anomaly detector to identify icebergs in sea ice using dual-polarization SAR images,” vol. 54, no. 9, pp. 5602–5615, 20
Polarimetric analysis of ALOS-2 SAR quad-pol data to detect icebergs
Bailey, Johnson Albert; Marino, Armando; Lanz, Peter
The presence of icebergs in cold waters represents a danger to navigation. Tracking and detection of icebergs has seen a lot of work carried out in the past decades using synthetic aperture radar (SAR) altimeters and scatterometers. However, previous work was limited in that the detection was dependant on iceberg size. Smaller icebergs continue to pose a challenge for detection, particularly those embedded in sea ice. The scattering behaviour of icebergs is the main focus of our work. Using 30 L-band ALOS 2 quad-pol images acquired from Antarctica, and the coasts of East and West Greenland, we conducted a polarimetric analysis using the application of several decompositions, including Cloud Pottier and those that are model based and coherent. Following the extensive analysis, the development of two new detectors was proposed to identify the specific scattering mechanisms that caused high levels of backscattering in icebergs. These maritime target detectors are the intensity Dual Pol Ratio Anomaly Detector or iDPolRAD (1) and the Polarimetric Notch Filter (2). The parameters of these two detectors are modified producing different versions that can be focused on specific scattering mechanisms, derived by the polarimetric analysis. Specifically the two images used in the iDPolRAD are selected considering the projection of the scattering vector over a) the dominant scattering mechanism representing the iceberg and b) an orthogonal vector. In terms of the Cloude Pottier decompositions these are the maximum and minimum eigenvectors over the iceberg area. The findings, as per our expectations, establish that icebergs have different polarimetric behaviours depending on conditions. However, the different polarimetric signatures seem to be well characterised by either volume or multiple reflections. The results of the detection exercise show that the detection performance is enhanced if we use the Cloude Pottier decomposition on historical data to extract the two most common iceberg signatures. This signature is then used to train two iDPolRAD algorithms and the final detection mask is the fusion of the detection masks obtained by subsequent runs of the iDPolRAD. Clearly, this is only possible when quad-pol data are available. We therefore show that performances can be improved through availability of quad-pol data. References: [1] A. Marino, W Dierking, and C. Wesche, “A depolarization ratio anomaly detector to identify icebergs in sea ice using dual-polarization SAR images,” vol. 54, no. 9, pp. 5602–5615, 2016. [2] A. Marino (2013) A notch filter for ship detection with polarimetric SAR data, IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observation and Remote Sensing, 6(3) pp. 1219–1232.
PyRAT: A Flexible SAR Postprocessing Toolbox
Reigber, Andreas; Martin del Campo Becerra, Gustavo; Jäger, Marc
PyRat (Python Radar Tools) is a flexible open-source framework for post-processing synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data. PyRAT is implementedin Python and distributed under an open-source license. It is mostly intended for post-processing of both airborne and spaceborne SAR imagery. PyRAT features an easy to use plugin-based programming interface, which allows users to quickly extend it with their own routines. PyRAT runs on various operating systems and is available free of charge on the web. The purpose of this paper is to give an overview of the current development status of PyRAT, in particular about the upcoming intergration with QGIS.
THE CO-POLARIZED PHASE DIFFERENCE OVER SEA SURFACE: THE INFLUENCE OF SAR ACQUISITION PARAMETERS AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS
Buono, Andrea; de Macedo, Carina Regina; Nunziata, Ferdinando; Velotto, Domenico; Migliaccio, Maurizio
The exploitation of microwave remote sensing for marine and maritime applications is a hot topic in the scientific community. The almost all-weather capability of acquired large-scale information on the oceans independently of illumination conditions is a key benefit ensured by microwave remote sensing. Among the several microwave remote sensing tools, it was demonstrated that polarimetric synthetic aperture radar (SAR) can provide valuable information on the oceans once proper modeling is available. Actually, there is a wide set of marine and marine applications that takes full benefits of the polarimetric information, including ship detection, sea oil pollution monitoring, sea iceberg detection and coastline extraction [1-4]. Most of the polarimetric SAR-based algorithms that aim at detecting the target of interest needs to enhance the target-to-clutter ratio as much as possible in order to improve the detection accuracy. Nevertheless, the properties of sea surface polarimetric backscattering are strongly affected by both SAR imaging configuration (frequency, polarization, noise floor, incidence angle) and environmental conditions (sea state) [5-8]. In this study, one of the most widely and successfully used polarimetric features in the field of marine and maritime applications, namely the co-polarized phased difference, is considered [9-10]. A sensitivity analysis is undertaken on a large set of polarimetric SAR measurements collected, under different frequency, incidence angle and noise floor, over sea surface characterized by different sea state conditions, that aim at assessing the influence of SAR acquisition parameters and environmental conditions on the CPD distribution. The polarimetric SAR dataset includes high-quality wide swath full-polarimetric airborne UAVSAR scenes, full-polarimetric satellite Alos-PalSAR 1 scenes, full-polarimetric satellite Radarsat-2 scenes and dual-polarimetric coherent HH+VV satellite TerraSAR-X scenes. This analysis could be of potential support in the design and development of SAR architectures/algorithms whose goal is to identify sea targets of interest. [1] D. Velotto, F. Nunziata, M. Migliaccio and S. Lehner, “Dual-polarimetric TerraSAR-X SAR data for target at sea observation,” IEEE Geosci. Remote Sens. Lett., vol. 10, pp. 1114–1118, 2013. [2] D. Velotto, M. Migliaccio, F. Nunziata and S. Lehner, “Dual-polarized TerraSAR-X data for oil-spill observation,” IEEE Trans. Geosci. Remote Sens,, vol. 49, no. 12, pp. 4751–4762, 2011. [3] A. Marino, W. Dierking and C. Wesche, “A depolarization ratio anomaly detector to identify icebergs in sea ice using dual-polarization SAR images,” IEEE Trans. Geosci. Remote Sens., vol., 54, pp. 5602–5615, 2016. [4] F. Nunziata, A. Buono, M. Migliaccio and G. Benassai, “Dual-polarimetric C-and X-band SAR data for coastline extraction,” IEEE J. Sel. Topics Appl. Earth Observ. Remote Sens., vol. 9, pp. 4921–4928, 2016. [5] F. Nunziata, A. Buono and M. Migliaccio, “COSMO-SkyMed Synthetic Aperture Radar Data to Observe the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill,” Sustainability, vol. 10, pp. 3599–3613, 2018. [7] A. Buono, F. Nunziata, C. R. de Macedo, D. Velotto and M. Migliaccio, “A sensitivity analysis of the standard deviation of the co-polarized phase difference for sea oil slick observation,” IEEE Trans. Geosci. Remote Sens., early access, 2018. [8] A. Buono, F. Nunziata and M. Migliaccio, “Analysis of Full and Compact Polarimetric SAR Features Over the Sea Surface,” IEEE Geosci. Remote Sens. Lett., vol. 13, pp. 1527–1531, 2016. [9] F. Nunziata, C. R. de Macedo, A. Buono, D. Velotto and M. Migliaccio, “On the analysis of a time series of X-band TerraSAR-X SAR imagery over oil seepages,” Int. J. Remote Sens, in print., 2018. [10] M. Migliaccio, F. Nunziata and A. Gambardella, “On the co-polarized phase difference for oil spill observation,” Int. J. Remote Sens., vol. 30, pp. 1587–1602, 2009.
Variable Reduction in Random Forests for Multi-sensor, Multi-temporal SAR Data Streams: Wetland Classification Case study
Behnamian, Amir; Banks, Sarah; White, Lori; Pouliot, Darren; Millard, Koreen; Pasher, Jon; Duffe, Jason - Environment and Climate Change Canada, Canada
Wetlands are important ecosystems for wildlife, as they provide habitat and services to many species; however, they are vulnerable to the cumulative effects of anthropogenic disturbance, pollution, and climate change. In light of this, many attempts have been made, especially over the past decade, to monitor dynamic changes operationally, via post-classification comparison with remote sensing data and, in particular, SAR data, which can be acquired regardless of cloud or haze. For this, classification algorithms such as Random Forests have been widely used with multi-sensor, multi-temporal data streams. The flow of frequent SAR data from different sensors with different polarizations, wavelengths, and incident angles allow for the possibility to generate hundreds of relevant predictor variables (e.g. C-band: quad polarimetry RADARSAT-2, dual polarimetry Sentinel-1, and compact polarimetry RCM; X-band: TerraSAR-X; and L-band: ALOS-2). These can range from backscatter intensity channels, to decompositions of backscatter matrices, and/or derivatives of digital elevation products, all of which can provide useful and complementary information. With Random Forests, users also have the advantage of ranking predictor variables by their relative importance using measures such as Mean Decrease in Accuracy or Mean Decrease in Gini index. However, in the presence of multiple correlated variables, which is often the case for multi-sensor, multi-temporal data sets, rankings become unreliable. This is because of the so called spreading of importance among correlated variables, which results in a bias toward those provided without surrogates. A possible solution is to identify and remove correlated variables; however, this task is complex for SAR data streams since, in many cases, the association between variables cannot be explained with a simple linear correlation. As a result, the use of measures such as correlation coefficient is ineffective for identifying those variables providing redundant and therefore interchangeable information. In this study, we evaluate whether a simple statistical measure of association, which can be interpreted as a (statistically) low order measure of class separability, is more effective for reducing the number of predictor variables. The method, referred to as the point biserial correlation, shows the strength and direction of association between the training dataset (i.e. categorical data) and predictor variables (i.e. continuous data). The measure of association is evaluated for all possible combinations of class pairs, for all training points, for each predictor variable. The method was applied for classifying wetlands over a study site in the Bay of Quinte, Ontario, Canada, using two datasets. The first dataset consists of different combinations of multi-temporal and multi-angle quad pol RADARSAT-2, simulated compact pol RADARSAT Constellation Mission (RCM), and fine and coarse resolution DEM and DSM information used to classify shallow water, marsh, and swamp and as well as forest, and agriculture/non-forest. The second dataset consists of a combination of ALOS-2, RADARSAT-2, TerraSAR-X, and DEM over the same study area with similar classes. Landsat-8 optical data was also added to the latter dataset to investigate its effects in comparison to only multi-sensor SAR data. Results show that from 198 generated predictor variables from the latter, our method can shortlist four variables that offer approximately the same per class accuracies that can be achieved with at least 15 variables if users use a Mean Decrease Accuracy measure (of Random Forests) to reduce the number of variables. The effects of such a difference between the minimum numbers of required variables for maximizing per class accuracies are discussed in terms of computational expense for national scale wetland classification, and suggestions are made on how to use the algorithm in an operational setting.
Analysis and Interpretation of Polarimetric L-band Ground-Based SAR Echoes from a Partly-Vegetated Land Surface
Özdemir, Caner; Demirci, Sevket; Isıker, Hakan; Yilmaz, Betul; Gokkan, Serhat - Mersin University, Turkey
Microwave backscattering is highly sensitive to target as well as radar parameters which prevents, in many instances, the derivation of definite conclusions. Ground-based synthetic aperture radars (GB-SAR) are utilized as a useful and practical tool in gaining an improved understanding of this complex mechanism. They also provide complementary information on evaluating the validity of the polarimetric analysis results of air or satellite-based SAR applications. For this reason, various GB scatterometers, imaging radars and interferometers have been studied and evaluated. In this study, we present the results of our investigation of the polarimetric properties of L-band GB-SAR backscattering from a typical partly vegetated land surface as well as some man-made targets. A terrain surrounding a building was chosen as a test field and the radar system was located on its roof terrace. The target area of interest was comprised of a vegetated land, dirt roads, a parking lot, various man-made items and add-on trihedral corner reflector (TCR) targets. The TCRs were placed onto different ground sections and inclined with a zero angle w.r.t. the bottom surface. Among the man-made objects were a car, a lighting pole, a signboard, two tall vertical metal objects and various small sized materials located mostly within the parking lot. The zone covered by vegetation was a scattered compound of grasses, plants, trees and bare soil areas. The SAR system was mounted on a wheel-based moving platform and composed of a vector network analyzer, two linearly polarized Vivaldi horn antennas and a 1-watt RF amplifier. The antennas were arranged in a quasi-monostatic configuration with 30 cm spacing and located at a height of h=24 m with 9° inclination angle from the horizontal direction. The synthetic aperture length was set to 13.1 m and sampled with ∆x=10 cm steps. The backscattered data were acquired for full linear polarimetric modes (HH/HV/VHVV) and for a frequency span of 0.75 GHz to 2.25 GHz with 1601 sampling points. The collected data were then focused with a near-field back-projection imaging algorithm to account for the spherical wave-fronts. The polarimetric GB-SAR image signatures are analyzed and interpreted via examination of; (i) intensity images in terms of the backscattering mechanisms and their dependency on frequency, polarization and look-angle, (ii) total power image of the channels, (iii) Pauli RGB images, (iv) distribution of values in H/alpha space for specific target regions, (v) H/alpha classification and (vi) beta-orientation angle images. The intensity images show successful detection and imaging of the terrain features such as dirt roads, trees, vegetation as well as the man-made objects like lighting pole, cars, corner reflectors etc. While man-made objects can be seen in both polarizations, natural terrain features such as leaves, trees and bush are more pronounced in cross-polarized GB-SAR images. The polarimetric analysis results are also found to be in good agreement with the predicted scattering mechanisms from natural and manmade objects. Specifically, H/alpha classification results are shown to be capable of clearly identifying the distinct scattering mechanisms present in the scene.
3-D study of a Random Volume over Ground: underlying ground characterization using controlled PolTomSAR experiments
Abdo, Ray; Ferro-Famil, Laurent
I. INTRODUCTION This paper aims to evaluate the potential of Polarimetric SAR Tomography (PolTomSAR) [1] for analyzing a semi-opaque Random Volume lying over a rough Ground (RVoG), and to assess different characterization methods as well as ground and volume separation methods, such as the Sum of Kronecker Products (SKP) and Hybrid SKP (HySKP), or Full-Rank 3-D polarimetric imaging [2][3]. This study is based on the use of controlled 3-D experiments, during which a simplified and miniaturized RvoG-like scene is imaged with a laboratory 3-D SAR, operated along a 2-D aperture. Polarimetric and tomographic signals are acquired for various configurations, and different scattering mechanisms are naturally captured by removing, hiding or replacing different parts of the scene. This unique possibility to isolate specific scattering mechanisms, compared to acquisitions performed over natural environments, through PolTomSAR is used to evaluate the performance and relevance of existing decomposition techniques generally applied to forest characterization. The final objective of this series of measurements concerns the characterization of the underlying ground, in terms of roughness, humidity... II. EXPERIMENT DESCRIPTION The Ground-Based SAR system used in this study has been developed at the IETR, University of Rennes 1, France. It is based on the use of a Vector Network Analyzer, and is placed on a moving platform with an effective azimuthal aperture of 3m. In the frame of this study, it is operated at X-band (fc= 10GHz), over a bandwidth of 4GHz and around an incidence angle of 45◦, providing SAR images with an azimuth resolution of δaz = 1.73cm and a range resolution of δrg = 3.75cm. Using an irregular array of 4 antennas, together with bi-directional acquisition capabilities, the GB PolTomSAR generated a virtual regularly spaced array of 6 antennas operating in single pass mode [4]. Additional baselines may be created by shifting the system in the vertical direction over several passes. The first measured scene contains sand on smooth ground to simulate a low roughness and low humidity ground, with a dielectric constant of ε=4. The knowledge of the true ground response is a major advantage of a controlled scene. The second scene called volume over ground contains a volume with anisotropic particles shifted in elevation using a polyester pole. The altitude of the volume is large enough so that side-lobes of its tomographic response do not interfere with the ground scattering. In this scene, three main mechanisms are identified, single-bounce on ground, single-bounce on volume and double-bounce ground/volume which is focused at the ground height. As a consequence, by comparing the scene’s ground response, isolated with 3-D focusing, with the reference ground scene, and since the volume’s altitude is sufficiently high to avoid interferences with the ground, we are able to quantitatively characterize the double-bounce mechanism, and validate or infer scattering hypotheses, such as the ones discussed in [5] and [6]. In the third scene, wood stems and dipoles replace the polyester pedestal. This scene called volume over trunk over ground shows the difference between ground/volume and ground/trunk double-bounce scattering contributions. It follows that, in order to estimate the bare soil contribution gs, we need to subtract the double-bounce contributions gd from total ground response, i.e. gs = gt − gd. This is done using the SKP or HySKP methods introduced respectively in [7] and [8]. After that, a comparison between ground contributions found in these experiments with the ground only scene estimate the reliability of these methods, and an alternative technique is proposed. REFERENCES [1] A. Reigber and A. Moreira. First demonstration of airborne sar tomography using multibaseline l-band data. IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, 38(5):2142–2152, Sept 2000. [2] Laurent Ferro-Famil, Bassam El Hajj Chehade, Ray Abdo, Dinh Ho Tong Minh, Stefano Tebaldini, Thuy Le Toan ; IMPROVED CHARACTERIZATION OF A TROPICAL FOREST USING POLARIMETRIC TOMOGRAPHIC SAR DATA ACQUIRED AT P BAND ; [International Geoscience and Remote Sensing symposium- IGARSS] (2018) ; [3] L. Ferro-Famil, Y. Huang and S. Tebaldini, "Polarimetric characterization of 3-D scenes using high-resolution and Full-Rank Polarimetric tomographic SAR focusing," 2016 IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium (IGARSS), Beijing, 2016, pp. 5694-5697. doi: 10.1109/IGARSS.2016.7730487 [4] Temesgen Gebrie Yitayew, Laurent Ferro-Famil, Torbjørn Eltoft, and Stefano Tebaldini. Tomographic imaging of fjord ice using a very high resolution ground-based sar system. IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, 55(2):698–714, 2017. [5] N. Lahlou, L. Ferro-Famil and S. Allain-Bailhache, "Retrieving soil moisture below a vegetation layer using polarimetric tomographic SAR data," 2014 IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium, Quebec City, QC, 2014, pp. 3239-3242. doi: 10.1109/IGARSS.2014.6947169 [6] N. Lahlou, L. Ferro-Famil and S. Allain-Bailhache, "Study of soil respons under a vegetation layer using TomSAR data and ground-based TomSAR data," 2015 IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium (IGARSS), Milan, 2015, pp. 1324-1327. doi: 10.1109/IGARSS.2015.7326019 [7] S. Tebaldini, "Algebraic Synthesis of Forest Scenarios From Multibaseline PolInSAR Data," in IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, vol. 47, no. 12, pp. 4132-4142, Dec. 2009. doi: 10.1109/TGRS.2009.2023785 [8] M. Pardini and K. Papathanassiou, "On the Estimation of Ground and Volume Polarimetric Covariances in Forest Scenarios With SAR Tomography," in IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Letters, vol. 14, no. 10, pp. 1860-1864, Oct. 2017. doi: 10.1109/LGRS.2017.2738672
An investigation of the effect of polarimetry on forest structure estimation using TanDEM-X high resolution digital elevation models
Choi, Changhyun; Pardini, Matteo; Papathanassiou, Konstantinos
TanDEM-X forms a spaceborne X-band single-pass interferometer together with TerraSAR-X, allowing the acquisition and analysis of interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) data in forested area globally without temporal decorrelation. For this reason, the exploration of interferometric TanDEM-X data for forestry has been increasing in time especially concerning forest height estimation [1-3], biomass estimation and classification [3-5]. More recent experiments have demonstrated that TanDEM-X data can contribute to the quantification of forest structure [6-8], although this potential is today only partially characterized. Forest structure is linked to the three- dimensional (3-D) distribution of vegetation elements in a forest. It is commonly accepted that forest structure can be quantified by mean of two indices expressing heterogeneity in the horizontal and vertical dimensions. While the horizontal structure index reflects stand density of trees, the vertical one accounts for tree size variability. Recently, indices aiming at describing the same structural information have been developed using SAR reflectivity profiles estimated from sets of SAR images acquired under slightly different incidence angles by means of tomographic techniques [9]. However, such framework cannot be applied to TanDEM-X data, as suitable tomographic datasets are available only in a very limited number of test sites. Thus, in the most general case, forest structure information has to be extracted from one interferometric acquisition only. One possibility is to use the InSAR coherence phase to calculate a high resolution digital elevation model (DEM). Then, a height profile can be derived by computing the histogram of the DEM heights within a unit scale and such profile can in turn be used to extract structure information. Due to the limited X-band penetration capabilities, these profiles still reflect horizontal heterogeneity as, for instance, they allow extracting information about local variabilities of top canopy height [8]. The purpose of this work is to investigate the role of polarimetry on forest horizontal structure estimation from TanDEM-X DEM height profiles. Indeed, the reflectivity profiles underlying InSAR coherence may vary with the polarizations affecting the related DEM height. Height profiles calculated from different polarimetric channels and the related horizontal structure information are compared. In particular, it is investigated if the polarization diversity at X-band can be exploited for coherence optimization for the extraction of more accurate structure information. It is expected that the results of these comparisons will depend on X-band penetration capabilities and its characteristic related to the specific site [1]. In order to assess this, experiments will be carried out by processing dual-pol (HH/VV) TanDEM-X data acquired over different tropical and temperate forest sites. Comparisons with structure metrics calculated from Lidar and field inventory data will be presented as well. Reference (1) Kugler, Florian, et al. "TanDEM-X Pol-InSAR performance for forest height estimation." IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing 52.10 (2014): 6404-6422. (2) Qi, Wenlu, and Ralph O. Dubayah. "Combining Tandem-X InSAR and simulated GEDI lidar observations for forest structure mapping." Remote sensing of Environment 187 (2016): 253-266. (3) Persson, Henrik J., et al. "Experiences from large-scale forest mapping of Sweden using TanDEM-X data." Remote Sensing 9.12 (2017): 1253. (4) Solberg, Svein, et al. "Estimating spruce and pine biomass with interferometric X-band SAR." Remote Sensing of Environment 114.10 (2010): 2353-2360. (5) Caicoya, Astor Toraño, et al. "Large-scale biomass classification in boreal forests with TanDEM-X data." IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing 54.10 (2016): 5935-5951. (6) De Grandi, G. D., et al. "Analysis by Wavelet Frames of Spatial Statistics in PALSAR Data for Characterizing Structural Properties of Forests." (2009). (7) Pulella, Andrea, et al. "Tropical forest structure observation with TanDEM-X data." 2017 IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium (IGARSS). IEEE, 2017. (8) Choi, Changhyun, et al. "GEDI – TanDEM-X fusion for enhanced forest structure observation: A comparison of InSAR height profiles and lidar full waveforms." FORESTSAT 2018; 8th Association for Forest Spatial Analysis Technologies, 2018. (9) Tello, Marivi, et al. "Forest structure characterization from SAR tomography at L-Band." IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing 99 (2018): 1-13.
Decision Tree Classification Method based on Adaptive Dimensional Polarimetric Features of PolSAR Data
Cheng, Jianda (1); Yin, Qiang (1); Zhang, Fan (1); Hong, Wen (2) - 1: Beijing University of Chemical Technology, China, People's Republic of; 2: Institute of Electronics, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Decision tree method is applied to PolSAR data classification, due to its capability to interpret the scattering characteristics as well as good classification accuracy. At present, the decision tree based classifiers widely applied to PolSAR image classification often adopt one single polarization features at the nodes of the decision tree. Some studies employ the two-dimensional polarization features. As the dimension of features increase, the accuracy of classification is improved. In this study, the dimension of features used in the decision tree nodes reaches three, and fisher linear discriminant is used to reduce the dimension of decision tree nodes. Increasing the dimension of decision tree nodes inevitably leads to computational burden. In fact, not all nodes need three-dimensional features to achieve high-precision classification. Therefore, an adaptive dimension of the decision tree is introduced in this paper. The dimension of the nodes starts from one dimension and expands to two or even three dimensions if needed. On one hand, the three-dimensional features are used to improve the classification accuracy, and on the other hand, the computational complexity is reduced by the adaptive dimension. At the same time, the scattering mechanism of categories is described more specifically. The proposed classification scheme is verified by the classic PolSAR data in flevoland area, as well as GF-3 data. It is superior to the traditional one-dimensional and two-dimensional decision tree methods.
Hybrid-pol data analysis for land cover classification
Kumar, Ajeet
Kumar, Ajeet (1); Sharma, Rakesh (1); Das, Anup (2); Panigrahi, Rajib Kumar (1) - 1: IIT Roorkee, India; 2: Space Application Center (ISRO)
For many years, the full polarimetric (also known as full-pol or quad-pol) Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) systems have provided promising results for Earth observation purposes. However, the full-pol system suffers with poor revisit time. As a result of which, it is not preferable for the applications requiring frequent Earth observation. The revisit cycle can be made shorter by increasing the swath coverage area of the satellite. The dual-pol SAR systems have the advantage of half pulse repetition frequency (PRF) than the full-pol systems, that leads to increased swath coverage and decreased data rate. A coherent dual-pol SAR system, popularly known as compact-polarimetry (compact-pol) SAR system, retains the relative phase difference between the two received channels to fully characterize the backscattered field. In recent times, it has been shown that the results obtained using compact-pol SAR is almost comparable with full-pol for certain scenes and applications. There are various compact-pol systems based on different transmitted polarization and coherent dual linear receive polarization. Among all compact-pol modes, hybrid-polarimetry (hybrid-pol) has the optimum architecture as established in literature. Hybrid-pol SAR system transmits circular polarization and coherently receives the two linear orthogonal polarizations. Radar imaging satellite-1 (RISAT-1) was the first satellite that provided hybrid polarimetric (hybrid-pol) data for the Earth observation purposes. The C-band Radar Imaging Satellite-1 (RISAT-1) was launched by Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) in April 2012. The processing of RISAT-1 data can be carried out using two different types of approaches. First, by reconstructing 3$\times$3 pseudo quad-pol information from 2$\times$2 hybrid-pol measurement. After reconstruction, any well established full-pol decomposition techniques can be implemented. Second, by using decomposition techniques which directly take 2$\times$2 hybrid-pol measurement as an input. The first type of approaches facilitate us to utilize the rich literature of full-pol systems. However as established in literature, these approaches may not be suitable for land-cover classification in the area that has elevation variations. Contrarily, second type of approaches can work well in the areas with slopes or having elevation-variations which can lead to better land-cover classification results. The both types of approaches are frequently reported in literature for the analysis of hybrid-pol data synthesized from full-pol data. Using synthesis process, the hybrid-pol data of pure-circular transmission cannot be generated. This may affect the accuracy of final-classification results. Hence, to explore the actual potential of hybrid-pol system, it is needed to use original hybrid-pol data. In this paper, we investigate the potential of hybrid-pol system for land-cover classification using actual hybrid-pol data of RISAT-1 satellite acquired over Mumbai (India) city. The analysis of RISAT-1 data is carried out using different types of decomposition techniques where each land-cover scatterers are classified in any of the three basic scattering mechanisms viz. single-bounce indicating Bragg surface region, double-bounce indicating urban region and volume scattering indicating forest/mangrove region. By comparing the performance of decomposition techniques on the basis of land-cover classification accuracy, one can discover that which (First or Second) type of hybrid-pol analytical techniques are more suitable for the processing of RISAT-1 datasets.
InSAR coherence-based land cover classification of Okara, Pakistan
Khalil, Rao Zahid; Haque, Saad Ul - Institute of Space Technology, Pakistan
Reliable and current availability of land cover knowledge are essential for many studies regarding planning, management, monitoring and updating activities. The optical satellite sensor data has been utilized for the classification of land use/land cover. In this study, the capability of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) interferometric coherence is practiced for land cover classification in Okara, Pakistan using Sentinel-1A imagery. Two Single Look Complex (SLC) product of months April and May 2016 were used and processed to create backscatter and interferometric coherence layers. From backscatter layers of each month, the mean backscatter and backscatter difference layer were obtained. False color composite (FCC) were developed comprising mean backscatter, backscatter difference and coherence, and performed supervised classification using maximum likelihood method to generate land cover classes i.e. water, barren, vegetation and built-up. Kappa statistics were employed for accuracy assessment of the output map. Results showed the good potential of Sentinel-1C-band for land cover classification having 0.69 Kappa coefficient and 80% overall accuracy. This study investigated the potential of C-band backscatter coefficients and coherence map for land cover discrimination. Coherence proved to be efficient in the examination of vegetative and non-vegetative areas.
SAR images compressed sensing based on Orthogonal Matching Pursuit algorithm
Roubah, Slim; Ouarzeddine, Mounira; Souissi, Boularbah
Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) is an active remote sensing system capable of producing high-resolution images. The huge amount of generated samples implies high energy costs for processing, storage and transmission. Compressed Sensing (CS) theory suggest that a signal can be recovered from a few measurements below the Nyquist Rate. The basis where the processed signal can be sparse must be known in order to apply CS. The standard transformations like FFT, DCT and wavelets may give a bad reconstruction especially in the SAR domain. To avoid a basis heavy computing for every signal, an alternative way to find the sparsity is proposed in this paper. The recovery algorithm is used in the compression step to compute a signal sparse representation using the Fourier transform. It can take more processing time, but it ensures a sparse vector representation and a good reconstruction. This method is tested on Flevoland SAR image, sparse representations and recovered images are presented to show the proposed process performance and evaluated using the MSE, PSNR and correlation parameters. An exploitable image can be reconstructed from 50% of data.
Classification of Forest Areas with Multi-Frequency Fully Polarimetric and Multi-Baseline Interferometric SAR Data: the Haspelmoor Case Study
Persico, Federica; Soprano, Isabella; Joerg, Hannah; Pardini, Matteo; Hajnsek, Irena; Papathanassiou, Kostas; Iodice, Antonio
Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) Polarimetry and Interferometry can be used to characterize the electromagnetic scattering from natural targets and to compute important geophysical parameters. These techniques are exploited here to investigate scattering differences over a flooded area at different frequencies and with different baselines.The analysis was carried out using fully polarimetric and multi-baseline SAR data acquired by DLR’s airborne system F-SAR over the Haspelmoor testsite in the South-East of Germany in June 2016. The testsite is characterized by forest and fields either with flooded ground (“Moor”) or with dryer ground. The entropy-alpha plane [1] can be used for extraction of physical information about the scattering mechanisms and it allows to perform a very simple classification of the data. However, depening on the frequency, the physical meaningfulness of these initial classes might not be sufficient and targets with different vertical structure properties could be mixed in one class. The main objective of this paper is to understand the added value of using (1) multiple frequencies or (2) interferometric coherences in order to classify forest and wetland areas. In the first part of this work the iterative Wishart classification is applied at different frequencies using the classes from the entropy-alpha plane as an initialization [2]. Using two different initializations (the entropy-alpha and a random noise) it was found that the initialization does not influence the final classification results. To get a better idea of how the classes at different frequencies are related between each other, a confusion matrix is used. In particular, C- and S-band have almost the same number of pixels in the same class, while X- and L-band show much bigger differences. For instance, there are classes at L-band which can be divided in two or more classes at X-band, especially over the forest. In the second part, it is investigated if the classification benefits from additional information about vertical structure, i.e. from using interferometric coherences. The iterative Wishart Classifier is applied to interferometric coherences starting from a polarimetric initialization (entropy/alpha segmentation) [2] at L-band where the polarimetric classification was not very distinguished, particulary over forest. Analyzing the results as a function of the vertical wavenumber shows that classes containing mainly “Forest” and “Fields” preserve their meaning as the wavenumber varies, but for large values the classes’ separability reduces and classification errors increase. Further, forest classes seem to be more separable than field classes. In order to understand the number of classes which is physically sufficient, i.e. which classes could be merged, the possible objects in the scene have been divided in three macro-classes (Forest, Field, Else) and the statistical separability of the different classes has been evaluated [3]. The classes which have been judged not separable, yielded two classes within each macro-class. In the last step the classification on this reduced number of classes has been performed again. In each macro-class the separability with respect to the sub-class extension has been computed in order to understand if the classes make sense physically. Finally, comparing the polarimetric and interferometric approaches in the L-band case, the results show that the Forest classes are more separable and the interferometric information allows to obtain a better (more detailed) classification in the vegetated areas. Moreover, there is a correspondence between the classes which represent surface scattering. [1] S.R.Cloude and E.Pottier. An entropy based classification scheme for land applications of polarimetric SAR, IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, vol.35, n°1,pp. 68-78, January 1997. [2] J.S. Lee, M.R. Grunes, T.L. Ainsworth, L.J., Du, D.L. Schuler, and S.R. Cloude. Unsupervised classification using polarimetric decomposition and the complex Wishart classifier, IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, vol 37/1, n°5, p 2249-2259, September 1999. [3] J.S. Lee and E.Pottier. Polarimetric Radar Imaging: From Basics to Applications. Optical Science and Engineering. CRC Press, 2009.
The significance of transmitting a circular polarized component over a linear polarized component of RISAT-1 data for land cover classification
DASARI, KIRAN; LOKAM, ANJANEYULU - NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY WARANGAL, INDIA
In this paper, we have accessed the performance of circular transmitting polarization (hybrid polarimetry) SAR over linear transmitting SAR (dual polarimetry) for land cover classification. The uniqueness in transmitting a circular polarization helps us to achieve larger swath width with low power consumption, compared to quad polarimetry SAR systems. This paper provides a comparison of the information content of hybrid polarization over dual polarization of RISAT-1 data. Few studies have compared the simulated hybrid pol data with dual pol data. In this paper, the hybrid pol data and dual pol data are acquired from the same mission (RISAT-1) with same resolution. In this study, we have identified five land cover classes (Urban, water body, paddy, cotton, Mango plantation) based on the ground truth data. Visually, we can compare the difference between circular transmitted component and linearly transmitted component on raney decomposed RGB image. Hybrid pol data has discriminated various land cover very well compared to dual pol data. Supervised classification was performed using SVM classifier with (RBF) kernel. We have obtained an overall accuracy of 80.62% for hybrid pol dataset and 54.3% for dual pol dataset. The classified results were validated using ground truth data, optical sensors data (Resourcesat-2) and Google Earth.
Incoherent Polarimetric target scattering decomposition: A overview and their implementation in TerraLib system
Carvalho, Naiallen; Sant'Anna, Sidnei; Bins, Leonardo
The Target Decomposition of Fully Polarimetric Synthetic Aperture Radar (PolSAR) Images, which consists in identify and isolate different scattering mechanisms based on the scattering matrix decomposition, is an important field of study in the targets characterization and feature extraction. Generally speaking, the target decomposition could be split into two main groups: coherent decomposition and incoherent decomposition. The so-called coherent targets are those which doesn’t depolarize the wave when interacting with it, such as corner reflectors used for radar calibration. For this kind of situation, the target decomposition decomposes the scattering matrix into a sum of complex elements and each element represents a certain canonical scattering mechanism. Examples of coherent target decomposition are Cameron decomposition and Krogager decomposition. On the other hand, the incoherent targets are those with random backscatter, which produces partially polarized waves or completely depolarized waves, as natural targets in the scene (trees or buildings). These kinds of the target are analyzed by the statistical point of view, therefore they are derived by the covariance matrix, or by coherence matrix, or by the equivalent 4 x 4 Müller matrix. The incoherent target decomposition can be split into two groups: the first one are the decompositions based in models, such as the Freeman-Durden decomposition and Yamaguchi decomposition, and the second group is the ones based on eigenvalues and eigenvectors analyzes, such as Cloude-Pottier decomposition and Touzi decomposition. In this work we choose to compare the three-component scattering model decomposition by Freeman and Durden due to its effectiveness in providing scattering powers for each scattering component in natural distributed areas, and the three-component method based on an eigenvalue analysis proposed by Cloude and Pottier, which is a method for extracting the average parameters from data using a smoothing algorithm based on second-order statistics with the goal of to find the dominant scattering mechanism via extraction of the largest eigenvalue. These two algorithms were implemented using C++ language on the framework TerraRadar, which is based on TerraLib Library, a GIS (Geographic Information System) component library developed by the National Institute for Space Research (INPE) and contributors. The tested images were obtained by PALSAR satellite, being a cut over part of the Tapajós National Forest, an important conservation unit in the Brazilian Amazon. We present a short analysis of both theorems and its importance regarding the backscatter answer from terrain targets.
A wetland mapping method by temporal integrals derived from H/A/alpha decomposition of Sentinel-1 images
Pacskó, Vivien; Petrik, Ottó; Friedl, Zoltán; Nádor, Gizella; Kristóf, Dániel; Belényesi, Márta; Molnár, Gábor
Wetlands are dynamic and diverse ecosystems, and play important role for example in decreasing the likeliness of floods or in filtering, and cleaning of surface and waste water. The identification and monitoring of them is essential to preserve them as ecosystem service providers. For reaching good classification result with an ensemble learning method like Random Forest, the selection of input data is fundamental. When the land cover is as complex as wetlands, and the collected reference data is uncertain or not up-to-date, selecting the best remote sensing input layers becomes even more significant. So the intent of my study is to find proper temporal integrals of polarimetric descriptors that could support a supervised classification in finding wetlands. The studied time period is from October, 2014 to October, 2018, that means more than a hundred acquisition dates. Polarimetric descriptors were generated based on H/A/Alpha decomposition of covariance matrix of Sentinel-1A dual-pol (VV+VH) data. From the downloaded SLC images we extracted scattering coefficients (Sigma0), and derived the following ten descriptors: alpha and its two components, anisotropy, entropy, the two eigenvalues of covariance matrix, Shannon entropy and its two components. In this study, the examined area is one from the Kiskunság region, Hungary, having different types of wetlands, grasslands, scrubs, and agricultural habitats. The reference data is provided by Ministry of Agriculture, Department for Nature Conservation, and its categories correspond to the General National Habitat Classification System.
Improved wetland vegetation mapping by using bistatic coherence of the TanDEM-X mission.
Mleczko, Magdalena; Mróz, Marek; Fitrzyk, Magdalena
As a continuation of previously published research paper concerning the use of Sentinel-1 and TerraSAR-X/ TanDEM-X (TSX/TDX) data for wetland mapping (Remote Sens. 2018, 10, 78; doi:10.3390/rs10010078) the authors propose to investigate further the input of bistatic coherence data into the increase of classification accuracy and wetland mapping reliability. For the research led on the Biebrza wetlands in N-E Poland multiple TSX/TDX images have been acquired during the Science Phase (2014-2015) both in monostatic pursuit or bistatic formation of the TSX/TDX constellation. The vegetation types and its succession resulting from long- or short-term flooding on the wetland were the object of investigations and mapping. The open water surface was the object of mapping as well. The multitemporal approach based on exploiting: i) amplitude data captured at different polarizations and at different incidence angles, ii) decomposition of quad-pol datasets, iii) Shannon Entropy images for mapping purposes have been adopted. The published results proved that TSX/TDX time-series permitted to extract main vegetation types of this herbaceous wetland and partially submerged vegetation as well. Multitemporal coherence images turned out to be useful in surface water extent mapping but not in vegetation study. In the presented paper we focus on bistatic coherence data as an additional feature complementing amplitude(s) in “classification space”. We noticed that bistatic coherence has been highly preserved for some vegetation types (e.g. large sedge surfaces) despite of expected volume decorrelation effects. These effects were normally observed for the forest areas and surprisingly for built-up areas as well. Object-based and support vector machine (SVM) classifiers were used for classification purposes. The validation of the results was made based on optical images and UAV reconnaissance over the area of interest.
Monitoring agricultural fields in South America using Sentinel 1: The Asparagus case study in Peru
Silva, Cristian; Marino, Armando; Cameron, Iain
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization FAO of the United Nations, Peru is the world’s second biggest asparagus producer. It is the third most exported agricultural product of Peru after grapes and mango [1,2]. The present study evaluates the viability of monitoring extensive asparagus fields in Peru using the capabilities of the Sentinel 1 satellite. Ground data acquired during two campaigns a year for 2017 and 2018 has been used to analyse the radar response with respect to the different crop growth stages. The measurements on the field provide a tool to make an interpretation of the single look complex images acquired and processed over the study area. Several parameters of the radar satellite response have been analysed, including the VV and VH backscatter as well as its ratio. Similarly, the parameters obtained after performing the dual polarimetric decompositions such as the alpha/entropy decomposition are analysed against the ground truth provided by the farmers. Preliminary results confirm the potential of sentinel 1 for monitoring the fields. The temporal trends of the asparagus crop radar backscatter indices can be correlated to the phenological stages provided by the ground truth. The following statements have been tested and confirmed: • The HV channel shows remarkable sensitivity to the vegetation growth. • The backscatter ratio shows correlation with the presence of vegetation in the fields • The alpha angle obtained after dual polarization decomposition allows to clearly determine moments of harvest and the beginning of a new season. • Deviations from the normal behaviour of the time series can be visually identified, therefore, they can be automatically detected. This was proved, for instance, with abnormal peaks in the VV channel during a torrential rain period in the study area. • The temporal trends of the different variables present a repetitive behaviour during the four seasons considered, thus, enabling the possibility to create crop models that replicate the crop evolution based on historical satellite and ground truth data. • Simplified manual algorithms show the potential to retrieve the most important crop stages, such as the beginning of a new season, the vertical growth of asparagus spears, the establishment of a fern and the harvest dates. Using these preliminary findings, current research focuses on the design of an automatic classification tool to retrieve the crop growth stage, based on the ground and satellite data from previous campaigns. Additional polarimetric features are also being tested and will be included in the tool in order to increase the number of crop stages retrieved as well as the accuracy of its performance. Additionally, an adaptation of a quad polarimetric change detector has been done to the case of dual pol data, with the aim of evaluating the radar changes caused by the changes on the structure and dielectric constant of the crop during its evolution [3]. Multitemporal analysis based on change detection facilitates the understanding of the radar backscatter response [4]. Acknowledgement This research was supported by the Project EO4cultivar, led by Environment Systems Ltd and co-funded by the UK Space Agency. The EO4cultivar project is an international collaboration project with partners in the UK, Peru and Colombia through the International Partnership Programme (IPP) of the UK Space Agency.
Review of Classification Methods and Algorithms for Optical and Radar Remote Sensing Images
El kharki, Omar; Mechbouh, Jamila - Faculty of Sciences and Techniques of Tangier, Tangier, Morocco, Morocco
The classification of optical or radar remote sensing images is the process of grouping the pixels of this image into a limited number of classes. Classification of remotely sensed data has attracted the attention of the remote-sensing community because classification results are the basis for many environmental and socioeconomic applications. In recent years, in optical remote sensing, many advanced classification approaches, such as artificial neural networks, decision trees, fuzzy sets, have been widely applied for image classification. Each classification method has its own merits. Selecting an appropriate classification approach for a specific study is not easy. Different classification results can be obtained according to the selected classifier(s). in the first part of this paper, we review various methods of classification of optical remotely sensed data with an analysis and comparative study. In radar remote sensing, the wave is polarized and affected by an inherent noise called speckle, thus classical remote sensing algorithms can’t be directly used. In the second part of this paper, we present a panoramic view about polarimetric decompositions in order to extract the principal mechanisms of backscattering (Odd‐bounce, Even‐bounce, Oriented Even‐bounces, etc) from radar images. Finally, the main classification methods adopted for this type of imagery are presented.
Assessment of a Ku-Band polarimetric bistatic terrestrial radar: KAPRI
Stefko, Marcel; Baffelli, Simone; Hajnsek, Irena
Ground-based radar systems are a valuable tool for monitoring natural and built up environment, as they have high flexibility in terms of location, acquisition time, and revisit time. Some systems can provide both interferometric data, which can be used to extract information about scatterer displacement, and also polarimetric data, which gives information about different scattering mechanisms present within a single resolution cell. A new portable Ku-band polarimetric radar interferometer KAPRI – a terrestrial system based on the GPRI (Gamma portable radar interferometer) – has been recently calibrated for monostatic use [1]. KAPRI is also capable of performing acquisitions in the bistatic configuration, in which the transmitting and (one or more) receiving antennas are spatially separated. This configuration has several promising applications – for example, as opposed to the monostatic configuration in which only displacement along the range direction of the radar can be detected, bistatic systems can measure displacements along multiple directions, potentially permitting estimation of two- or threedimensional displacement fields [2]. Furthermore, bistatic measurements can also provide access to more polarimetric parameters of the target, since the Sinclair scattering matrix is no longer necessarily symmetrical (SHV≠SVH) [3], and provide the opportunity to distinguish several scattering mechanisms, which are not the same as in the monostatic case. Several technical challenges have to be overcome, e.g. synchronization of multiple received signals, processing of larger volumes of data, and ensuring that all receivers are correctly and uniformly calibrated. Furthermore, interpretation of data acquired using KAPRI is made more difficult by the fact that, while scattering behaviour of natural surfaces in bands commonly used by space- and airborne SAR systems (mainly in L-, C-, & X-bands) is relatively well known, shorter wavelengths (such as the Ku-band in which KAPRI is operating) are much less studied, since polarimetric devices operating in these bands are still rare. REFERENCES [1] S. Baffelli, O. Frey, C. Werner, and I. Hajnsek, “Polarimetric Calibration of the Ku-Band Advanced Polarimetric Radar Interferometer,” IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, vol. 56, no. 4, pp. 2295–2311, 2018. [2] M. Pieraccini, and L. Miccinesi, “Bistatic ArcSAR,” 2018 2nd URSI Atlantic Radio Science Meeting (AT-RASC), pp. 1-4, 2018. [3] J.-S. Lee, and E. Pottier. “Polarimetric radar imaging: from basics to applications,” CRC press, pp. 74-80, 2009.
Exploring polarimetric features of land surface in wetlands and agricultural ecosystems using quad-pol C-band and X-band SAR.
Fitrzyk, Magdalena; Mróz, Marek; Mleczko, Magdalena; Patruno, Jolanda; Delgado Blasco, Jose Manuel
In the context of a larger study on the applicability of multi-frequency and multi-polarimetric data in land cover and vegetation mapping the authors have performed an experiment using quasi-synchroneous observations in C-band and X-band SAR to observe land cover on wetlands and in the agricultural ecosystems. The main purpose of this experiment was: i) to explore polarimetric features extracted from various polarimetric decompositions for C-band routine quad-pol observations with Radarsat-2 and X-band quad-pol bistatic observations with TerraSAR-X obtained in the Science Phase and ii) to find their relationship with diverse land surface characteristics. Results from polarimetric decompositions were then correlated with Sentinel-1 C-band dual pol observations available for the same period and spatial extent. Polarimetric features extracted from both quad-pol C-band and X-band observations didn't reveal substantial differences in the identification of various vegetation associations within the herbaceous wetland. On the other hand some types of land cover and agricultural crops were better distinguishable through decompositions than using dual-pol dataset, particularly comparing to VV/VH bands pair. In the case of short, sparse vegetation covering flat, sandy and relatively smooth parcels forming the wastelands, non-usable for agricultural purposes, there was no significant advantage of the quad-pol configuration over dual-pol one in their separation from other land cover types like grasslands and meadows. Additionally to polarimetric decompositions of quad-pol data acquired by TanDEM-X bistatic formation, the interferometric coherence between channels was also explored. The results achieved in this “3-day – 3-sensor experiment” are discussed in details in the perspective of further wetland and agricultural landscape mapping with available SAR sensors over the specific AOI.
Use of polarimetric information for improving object detection for fully polarimetric SAR
Connetable, Paul; Skriver, Henning; Nielsen, Allan Aasbjerg
The use of fully polarimetric SAR is well known to improve both ground cover and object classification. It indeed provides very useful additional information about the scattering mechanism, such as the number of bounces. In particular, this polarimetric information can be used for man-made object detection, by highlighting specific and recurrent scattering behaviors shared by objects to be detected. An extensive amount of research in the target detection field has been published, and has in a first time focused primarily on using the received power, as in [2]. More recently, several publications have used fully polarimetric data aimed at target detection, as for example [4] and [5]. Their conclusions underline that they can, in particular, and unlike the previous kinds of algorithms, detect targets that do not have a radar cross section higher than their surroundings, as it can happen for example for a vehicle under tree cover. My objective is to use the polarimetric information in the best possible way to improve target detection using a polarimetric SAR. For this purpose, it is of special interest to try a maximum of polarimetric decompositions, as for example the very known [1] or [3], and compare how good the parameters they provide are for target detection. Their individual contribution can be compared by examining the contrast they offer between a target and the clutter, by both increasing the target to clutter ratio and decreasing the clutter variance. This approach has been further generalized to more types of clutter by evaluating for several man-made targets the distribution of their different normalized polarimetric parameters, and comparing it to the same distributions for different types of clutter. This first study has yielded interesting results for obtained contrasts which will improve detection capabilities. Furthermore, the next step of the study is to perform a feature selection, in order to use simultaneously information conveyed by several different polarimetric decompositions, in an optimized way. It is expected that this approach can improve even further the target detection capabilities, by making use of a maximum of known information. References [1] Cloude, S. R., and Pottier, E. An entropy based classification scheme for land applications of polarimetric SAR. IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing 35, 1 (1997), 68–78. [2] Di Bisceglie, M., and Galdi, C. CFAR detection of extended objects in high-resolution sar images. IEEE Transactions on geoscience and remote sensing 43, 4 (2005), 833–843. [3] Freeman, A., and Durden, S. L. A three-component scattering model for polarimetric SAR data. IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing 36 , 3 (1998), 963–973. [4] Marino, A., Cloude, S., and Woodhouse, I. A polarimetric target detector using the huynen fork. IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing 48 , 5 (2010), 2357–2366. [5] Marino, A., Cloude, S. R., and Woodhouse, I. H. Detecting depolarized targets using a new geometrical perturbation filter. IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing 50 , 10 (2012), 3787–3799.
Forest above ground biomass estimation approach based on multi-dimensional SAR data
Zhao, Lei; Chen, Erxue; Li, Zengyuan; Zhang, Wangfei
At present, most of the forest above biomass estimation (AGB) methods are using the traditional single-dimensional SAR system (1-D at frequency, polarization, or interference dimensional), which has the problems of low precision and poor applicability. In this paper, we studied the synergetic estimation approach of forest AGB based on the multi-dimensional SAR system (at least 2-D at frequency, polarization, or interference dimensional). Based on the air-borne CASMSAR system of China, we acquired the multi-dimensional SAR data (dual antenna X-band InSAR and P-band PolSAR data) covering the boreal forest. Firstly, the high-resolution DEM and CHM (forest height) data of the experimental area was obtained by a filtering method from the X-InSAR data. Then, the terrain correction of P-PolSAR data and X-InSAR coherence was completed using the filtered DEM. Finally, forest AGB was estimated based on the multi-dimensional SAR features (X-/P-band backscatter coefficient; X-InSAR coherence) that after the terrain correction and the filtered forest height information. The experimental results showed that the combined multi-dimensional SAR features can obtain higher estimation accuracy than the single-dimensional SAR features.
Investigating the Dual-pol Behavior for the Derivation of Sea-Ice Surface Topographic Height from TanDEM-X Interferometric SAR Data
Huang, Lanqing; Hajnsek, Irena
Antarctica owns the largest ice sheet in the world. The topography of ice is dominated by ice ridges, shear zones, rubble fields, and hummocks, leading to an intermittent change of the ice topography. Various instruments have been employed to measure the sea ice topography, including laser altimeter measurements, helicopter-borne stereo camera data with photogrammetric techniques, and ground-based laser systems. However, the major limitation of these measurements is their limited spatial coverage. Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) has become an invaluable asset for monitoring polar regions, since it is capable for providing continuous all-weather day/night imagery. The technique of interferometric SAR (InSAR) is employed to interpret topographic information of the earth’s surface. However, due to the dynamic nature of sea ice and the lacking of single-pass interferometric data, the study of the InSAR sea-ice surface topography retrieval is limited. TanDEM-X is a synchronized SAR satellite formation of two satellites and can be regarded as a single-pass SAR interferometer [1]. With its single pass nature combined with the flexibility with respect to both spatial and temporal baseline, the retrieval of sea-ice surface topography in a relatively short-time window can be possible [2]. Hence, for the first time, TanDEM-X offers the chance to study the feasibility of retrieving sea-ice surface topography from space-borne radar. Very recently, focusing on fast multiyear ice with no motion, the sea-ice topographic height derived from TanDEM-X data is validated with results from laser profiler and photogrammetry [2]. Dierking et al. [3] investigated the potential of InSAR measurements for sea-ice surface topography with several satellite configurations and radar frequencies. This paper also demonstrates two examples of the ice surface topography profiles derived from TanDEM data. The examples indicate the need to systematically study the influence of open water surface currents and ice drift on the retrieval of sea-ice surface topography [3]. Aiming at sea-ice surface topography retrieval, several factors which contaminate the sea-ice height retrieval need to be considered and carefully tuned. First, a coherence map can be used to mask the open water areas in the sea-ice surface, since wind-driven surface current on open water areas within the ice cover may generate a phase shift. Besides, the phase difference induced by the spatial variations of the ice drift and rotations of the pack ice need to be removed. Moreover, the phase noise caused by surface and volume scattering effects should be qualified. Since TanDEM-X is an X band radar, volume decorrelation only need to be taken into account for low-salinity mulit-year ice. In this case, the classification maps separating multi-year, first year, and thin ice obtained from SAR intensity images can be helpful for judging. The objective is to propose a well-tuned model which takes all above factors into account and achieve accurate sea-ice surface topography retrieval. REFERENCES [1] G. Krieger et al., “TanDEM-X: A satellite formation for high-resolution SAR interferometry,” IEEE Trans. Geosci. Remote Sens., vol. 45, no. 11, pp. 3317–3341, Nov. 2007. [2] T. G. Yitayew et al., "Validation of Sea-Ice Topographic Heights Derived From TanDEM-X Interferometric SAR Data With Results From Laser Profiler and Photogrammetry,” IEEE Trans. Geosci. Remote Sens., vol. 56, no. 11, pp. 6504–6520, Nov. 2018. [3] W. Dierking, O. Lang, and T. Busche, “Sea ice local surface topography from single-pass satellite InSAR measurements: A feasibility study,” Cryosphere, vol. 11, no. 4, p. 1967–1985, 2017, doi: 105194/tc-2017-40.
Vegetation Sesonal Monitoring with Sentinel-1 Dual Polarization Data
FRISON, Pierre-Louis; FRUNEAU, Bénédicte; KMIHA, Syrine; DUFRENE, Eric; SOUDANI, Kamel; KOLECK, Thierry; VILLARD, Ludovic; LE TOAN, Thuy; MOUGIN, Eric; RUDANT, Jean-Paul
The asset of high temporal frequency of acquisitions for the monitoring of surface parameters has already been pointed out with data acquired by spaceborne scatterometers on board ERS or Metop satellites, for example [1-4]. The acquisitions realized at 1- to 5-day period are particularly well suited for the monitoring of seasonnal variations of land surfaces. The associated coarse spatial resolution (10 to 50 km) dedicates their use to regional or global scales. The Sentinel-1 mission allows to acquire radar data every 12 days from the period extending from March 2015 to August 2016, when only Sentinel-1A operated alone. This period is reduced to 6 days since September 2016 by the combination of Sentinel-1B acquisitions. Consequently, it allows fo²r the first time to assess the potential of radar data acquired with this revisiting time associated to a spatial resolution of about 20 m. In addition to the radar intensity, data acquired by the CSAR (C-band Synthetic Aperture Radar) onboard Sentinel-1 allow to access to he phase information. Consequently, interferometric products between two consecutive aquisitions can be generated, such as the interferometric coherence ρ. In this study we analyze temporal profiles of radar backscattering coefficient σ0 as well as coherence |ρ| over a temperate forest and an agricultural area. Past studies have shown the potential of coherence for vegetation discrimination [5-7]. The two study sites are located in France: one is the Fontainebleau Forest, near Paris, and the agricultural area is located near Toulouse. It appears that the polarization ratio σ0_vv / σ0_vh shows a marked seasonality (with a yearly amplitue of about 3 dB) over stands composed of deciduous trees (oaks and beeches) and a close correspondance with the NDVI that is derived from LANDSAT 8 OLI data. By contrast, no seasonal variations is observed over stands composed of sempervirent species (pines and firns). This confirms the sensitivity of C band to leaves and stems. The interferometric coherence temporal behaviour appears low and constant, near the noise level (aout 0.2) at both polarizations. The most spectacular temporal signatures are observed over agricultural areas. Both σ0_vv / σ0_vh and coherence exhibit striking variations (up to 6 dB and 0.6 resp.). This variations are in close correspondence with field works and vegetation development. This open new capabilities for vegetation monitoring with SAR sensors for the future. Electromagnetic simulations are presently performed for a deeper analysis of these spectacular observations. REFERENCES [1] Frison P.L., Mougin E., «Use of ERS-1 Wind scatterometer data over land surfaces», IEEE Trans. Geosci. Remote Sensing, 34(2), p. 550-560, 1996. [2] Jarlan L., Mougin E., Frison P.L., Mazzega P., Hiernaux P., «Analysis of ERS Wind Scatterometer Time Series over Sahel ( Mali )», Remote Sensing of Environment, 81, p. 404–415, 2002. [3] Magagi R., Kerr Y., «Retrieval of Soil Moisture and Vegetation Characteristics by Use of ERS-1 Wind Scatterometer over Arid and Semi-Arid Areas», Journal of Hydrology, 189(1-4), p. 361–384, 1997. [4] Woodhouse I.H., Hoekman D.H., «Determining Land-Surface Parameters from the ERS Wind Scatterometer», IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, 38(1), p. 126–140, 2000. [5] Schmullius, C., J. Baker, H. Balzter, M. Davidson, D. Gaveau, M. Gluck, A. Holz, T. LeToan, A. Luckman, U. Marschalk, S. Nilsson, S. Quegan, 2001: SIBERIA – SAR Imagingfor Boreal Ecology and Radar Interferometry Applications, European Commission 4th Framework Project ENV4-CT98-0743 (DG12-EHKN), Final Report, September 2001. Disponible à l’adresse: http://www.siberia1.uni-jena.de/pdf_files/final_report.pdf [6] Santoro M., Askne J., Smith G., Fransson J., 2002, “Stem volume retrieval in boreal forests from ERS-1/2 interferometry”. Rem. Sens. Environ., vol. 81, 19-35. [7] Engdhal M., Pulliainen J., Hallikainen M., 2004, “Boreal forest coherence-based measures of interferometric pair suitability for operational stem volume retrieval”. Geosc. And Rem. Sens. Letters, vol. 1, n°3, 228-231.
Application of Dual-Pol Multi-temporal Sentinel -1 SAR data for Flash Floods Mapping
Mwaniki, Mercy Wanjiru
Flash Floods are increasingly becoming one of the most devastating natural hazards in many parts of the world after storms and earthquakes (Wilby and Keenan, 2012). Their frequency is depended on weather events which are increasingly impacted by climate variability and climate change. Recent weather patterns in Kenya are characterised by short intense heavy rainfall events resulting in floods which have adverse effects on both rural and urban livelihoods. The motivation for this study is the need to rapidly map areas affected by flash floods and hence facilitate rapid risk and impact assessment as well as guide planning for the city of Nairobi. Consequently, dual-pol Sentinel-1 data were explored as they have been shown to improve flood mapping owing to the double bounce enhancement which increases backscatter from flooded areas (Pulvirenti et al., 2018). The methodology involved processing multi-temporal dual-pol Sentinel-1 data taken prior and post the flood dates by thresholding the individual polarimetric backscatter images of processed dual-pol images to map out water bodies. The results were investigated for the influence of vegetation and urban areas after which a three time-series stack image of the individual time series images were co-registered to map out areas covered by water during the various epochs. The results revealed enhanced capability of the VV polarimetric band in mapping out flooded areas compared to the VH polarimetric band; a characteristic feature of the VV polarimetric band due to less influence of the vegetation. In addition, the results showed the footprints of areas affected by floods for the available image acquisitions prior and post flood date event.
Investigating the implementation issues of speckle filters for Single look Hybrid PolSAR data
Sharma, Rakesh (1); Kumar, Ajeet (2); Panigrahi, Rajib (2) - 1: NIT Hamirpur, India; 2: IIT Roorkee, India
Speckle is a stochastic and correlated noise (or interference pattern) in synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images. It arises due to coherent re-radiation from several scatterers in the radar resolution cell. Despeckling is the process of eliminating speckle noise from the SAR information signal. This is an essential and the foremost pre-processing step for SAR image processing in the field of remote sensing. Speckle noise is critical due the properties like its signal dependence and multiplicative nature. It degrades the image quality and information perception of high resolution images. The visual appearance and polarimetric properties of data are distorted and make information extraction and estimation difficult from the acquired data-set. In the recent past, the patch based non local means (NLM) filtering methods for speckle noise reduction for SAR and polarimetric SAR (PolSAR) have gained popularity because of their edge preserving capabilities along with efficient suppression of the speckle noise. The noise smoothening based on NLM was proposed by Buades et al. in 2005, which have become popular approach for despeckling of PolSAR data in the recent times. The patch based NLM filter for SAR and PolSAR data have best performance in terms of speckle reduction and preservation of sharp details. The hybrid-pol configuration presents essential advantages as compared to full PolSAR configurations. The full PolSAR systems suffer from limitations of double pulse repetition frequency, double average transmit power, half swath coverage and higher data volume. The advancements in processing of hybrid-pol data are carried out targeting classification performance close to that of full-pol configurations. The processing of hybrid-pol data is in the development phase and different decomposition \& classification methods are being developed. The decomposition methods for hybrid PolSAR systems is based on Stokes data format like $m-\delta$, $m-\alpha$ and $m-\chi$. The speckle filtering of hybrid-pol data in Stokes format is absent in the literature. In this paper, the patch based non local means speckle reduction algorithms with different similarity and dissimilarity measures based on Stokes format is implemented for hybrid PolSAR systems. The possibilities of using patch based NLM filter for hybrid-pol data is also explored by evaluating the performance of filter for speckle reduction, preservation of radiometric property and classification results. The proposed filter is applied to synthesized hybrid-pol single look data from Radarsat-2 (San Fransisco bay region) and real hybrid-pol data from ISRO's RISAT -1 (over Mumbai coastal area, India). The filter is compared based on visual results, ENL, mean and standard deviation for the ratio image (noisy by filtered image), and classification accuracy with and without using NLM filter to state of art speckle filters. Hence, apart from measuring the extent of speckle filtering which is measured by ENL, unbiased estimation is measured by mean and standard deviation of the ratio image. Finally, the effect of speckle filtering on landcover classification is also measured by classification accuracy.
POLARIMETRIC SAR INTERFEROMETRY SATELLITE SYSTEM AND PARAMETER OPTIMIZATION DESIGN
Xu, Liying; Wei, Li; Fang, Dong; Wang, Haitao; Tong, QingWei; Yu, Yingjun; Chen, JunLi - Shanghai Institute of Satellite Engineering, Shanghai, 200240, China
PolInSAR has important application value in many fields such as biomass estimation, terrain target classification, high-precision DEM extraction, and acquisition of micro-topography change detection. Now it has already achieved achievability with the key technology research’s completion of the low frequency SAR. Because the applications of PolInSAR are different, there are special requirements for system parameters. The current system parameter design of PolInSAR is simply the method using PolSAR or InSAR. In this paper, the parameter design method of PolInSAR system is proposed based on the application requirements. The key parameters, including baseline, polarization isolation and channel imbalance, of the PolInSAR system are given. The design method and examples will provide a theoretical basis for the development of PolInSAR satellite system.
SAR Tomography (Tomo-SAR)
Chairs: Ferro-Famil, Laurent (University of Rennes 1), Tebaldini, Stefano (Politecnico di Milano)
09:30 - TanDEM-X tomography: Perspectives from experiments over multi-species Indian tropical forest
Khati, Unmesh (1); Lavalle, Marco (2); Singh, Gulab (1) - 1: CSRE, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai, India; 2: Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
TerraSAR-X and TanDEM-X form the first space-borne single-pass satellite system capable of acquiring fully-polarimetric SAR data with zero- or near-zero temporal baseline. These satellite systems have been successfully utilized for accurate forest height and forest above-ground biomass (AGB) estimation. In our earlier work, we explored the potiential of TanDEM-X data for forest height estimation over Indian tropical forest and compared them with ALOS-2/PALSAR-2 and RadarSAT-2 PolInSAR inversion. SAR Tomography (SAR) takes advantage of multiple SAR acquisitions to provide 3-D vertical structure of the imaged target. Over the last decade, space-borne tomography has progressed with various researchers exploring the potential over urban- and forest-targets. Recently, potential of TanDEM-X for forest 3-D structure estimation has been explored over Boreal and Tropical forests using TomoSAR. However, an in-depth analysis of multi-polarization SAR tomography over tropical forests is lacking. Tropical forests form one of the most complex ecosystems with a high diversity of species, structure and phenology. This paper utilizes 18 TerraSAR-X/TanDEM-X acquisitions in multi-polarimetric configuration acquired over Haldwani forest range in sub-Himalayan North India. The data sets are processed using Capon beamforming to generate TanDEM tomograms over this tropical Indian forest. The study test site selected is a managed forest with uni-species distribution among its forest compartments. The TomoSAR data is processed over four major species – Teak (Tectona grandis), Eucalyptus sp., Poplar sp. and Gutel (Trema orientalis). These species have distinct forest structural characteristics - leaf- and canopy-density, leaf-size, canopy vertical structure and phenology. The TanDEM TomoSAR data is analyzed over these different species in multiple polarizations. Field survey provides in situ information at 100 different plot locations with the forest stand height and forest AGB (above-ground biomass) measured. The tomograms and vertical profiles are generated over multiple plots for each species and analysed in detail. The TanDEM tomograms show distinct 3-D structure across the species. It was observed that at X-band, the canopy gaps and leaf-density play a crucial role for microwaves penetration through ground. The TomoSAR vertical profiles for the four major species can be summarized as: 1) the high canopy- and leaf-density species of Gutel have distinct tomograms which depict a strong scattering from the canopy and negligible penetration through the ground. 2) Teak, with high leaf-density but with canopy-gaps lead to tomograms with a small contribution from the ground and the coherence backscatter spread through the canopy. Similarly for low canopy- and leaf-dense 3) Eucalyptus and 4) Poplar plantations, the dominant scatterers are the canopy and ground with a good agreement with field observations. Further, the TanDEM tomogram is utilized for estimation of forest AGB using simple linear regression models. It is assumed that the TomoSAR backscatter layers correspond with the biomass content at that particular layer of the forest. This provides a relation between the AGB measured and the TomoSAR vertical backscatter along different elevations and in different polarization. The best AGB estimation is observed in the HH-pol tomogram at 27 m height with a correlation coefficient r = 0.76 and RMSE of 50 t/ha or %RMSE of 30. In conclusion, this paper provides a detailed analysis of TanDEM-X tomograms over a multi-species Indian tropical forest. It is one of the first studies to analyse the potential of single-baseline shorter wavelength SAR data for tropical forest tomography. The results are highly encouraging with the potential to capture subtle variations in the structure across species. One major limitation is posed by the high extinction and inability to accurately estimate the ground. This can be addressed in the proposed TanDEM-L mission and the upcoming BIOMASS with a dedicated tomographic observation phase.
09:50 - Ground Topography Below Tropical Forests through Polarimetric SAR Tomography
Mariotti d'Alessandro, Mauro; Tebaldini, Stefano - Politecnico di Milano
Accurate topographic maps are requested for both commercial and scientific uses. In the past decades, SAR interferometry provided excellent elevation maps on bare soils. The high accuracy and good revisit time also allowed the observation of the temporal evolution of the Earth's topography. However, when complex media are considered, InSAR measurements are not sufficient to clearly locate the ground level; typically, it happens when vegetation or trees cover the ground surface. In this case the interferometric phase refers to an elevation placed somewhere between ground and tree top depending on forest density and wavelength; the shorter the wavelength the smaller the penetration capability. As an example, the excellent DEM returned by the TanDEM-X mission refers to the first centimeters of the forest top height over most of the forested areas. P-band signals offer a significantly better penetration even through the tropical forest considered in this work. Still, the phase center is not exactly at the ground level: the elevation bias changes with ground slope and incidence angle making it difficult to model it. These difficulties arise from the attempt of describing such a complicated scenario with only one observable: the interferometric coherence. In order to cope with these scenarios a larger number of observables is needed. Many coherent images of the same area provide a whole set of interferometric coherences to be jointly processed and allow a different set of processing tool to be exploited; SAR tomography can be carried out. The range of possibilities is further widened by multi polarimetric acquisitions; a multi-polarimetric image stack provides physical characterization of scattering mechanisms that can be separated in height. Also, by jointly considering the polarimetric and the interferometric features, sets of elementary scatterers can be recognized thus moving from scatterers to scattering mechanisms. In a forest scenario two scattering mechanisms are often enough to interpret the observations: the ground scattering mechanism and the volume (that is the vegetation layer). The interferometric analysis of the ground scattering mechanism provided very good estimates of the ground topography under many boreal forests. This work aims to extend the range of availability of this class of processing techniques to include tropical forests as well. An analysis of the elevation map provided by InSAR processing is presented with focus on the effects connected to geometry of acquisition and terrain topography. The DTM obtained by means of PolTomoSAR processing techniques are then shown. Their accuracy is assessed by comparing with LiDAR estimates. Results are based on the tomographic stacks acquired by DLR in the framework of the AfriSAR campaign. They are made of several (about ten) multi-polarimetric SLC images acquired on very dense tropical forest in Africa as a support activity for the forthcoming ESA BIOMASS mission. The three sites cover different kinds of forest composition with tree top height reaching 60m and biomass amount up to 600T/Ha. The data for comparison comes from two different acquisitions carried out in the framework of the 2016 NASA AfriSAR campaign. The Mabounie site has been imaged by the LVIS LiDAR system carried by the LaRC (Langley Flight Research Center) B-200 aircraft; the Mondah and Rabi sites by the Riegl VQ480U sensor carried by the EC 135 helicopter. The former acquisition is characterized by a large footprint (about 20m) whereas the latter by fine beam pulses (about 10cm). The results here presented show that PolTomoSAR at P-band provides topographic maps under tropical forest with an accuracy at least comparable to LiDAR systems. Furthermore, the difference between tomographic and laser estimates changes significantly in case of large footprint LiDAR or fine beam. This suggests that the difference between the two should not be considered as error associated with tomographic processing but rather as difference between two reliable estimates.
SAR Tomography (Tomo-SAR) (cont'd)
10:40 - SARSIM and SARSIM+: data-bases for the development of SAR Tomography in forestry applications
Tebaldini, Stefano (1); Mariotti d'Alessandro, Mauro (1); Pardini, Matteo (2); Ferro-Famil, Laurent (3); Huang, Yue (3); Papathanassiou, Kostas (2); Ulander, Lars (4); Blomberg, Erik (4); Wasik, Valentine (5); Dupuis, Xavier (5); Lavalle, Marco (6); Hensley, Scott (6); Scipal, Klaus (7); Albinet, Clement (7) - 1: Politecnico di Milano, Italy; 2: DLR - Department Radar Concepts; 3: Université de Rennes 1; 4: Chalmers University of Technology; 5: ONERA; 6: NASA JPL; 7: European Space Agency
The SARSIM and SARSIM+ data-bases have been created in the frame of the ESA study “L- and P-band SAR Tomography Synergies Consolidation Study” with the aim of constituting a complete reference data-set for current and future researches on the application of SAR Tomography for the remote sensing of boreal, temperate, and tropical forests at P- and L-Band. The intended users of SARSIM and SARSIM+ are: Signal processing researchers interested in developing new tomographic processing approaches without having to implement any pre-processing operation; Remote sensing and ecology researchers interested in using tomographic data for the retrieval of forest parameters; Researchers interested in developing 3D forest scattering models; Graduate and Ph.D. students willing to learn SAR tomographic processing and/or experiment with tomographic data. The SARSIM data-base includes SAR Single-Look-Complex (SLR) image stacks from previous campaigns, as well as simulated spaceborne data derived from campaign data. All data in SARSIM have been accurately phase calibrated to ensure accurate tomographic focusing. Accordingly, future users will be able to use these data without having to implement any pre-processing operation. SARSIM+ includes 3D tomographic voxels derived from the data-sets in SARSIM. These products are provided in ground coordinates with respect to a reference DTM, so as to facilitate comparison with Lidar or in-situ data. All data have been saved in TIFF format. DEMO Matlab codes are provided to show new users how to load the data, visualize them, and implement basic tomographic processing. The aim of this talk is to present the main features of SARSIM and SARSIM+, the included data-sets, and discuss example of applications for the retrieval of forest height and AGB.
11:00 - The role of polarimetry on the estimation of forest structure from SAR tomography
Cazcarra-Bes, Victor; Pardini, Matteo; Tello-Alonso, Marivi; Papathanassiou, Konstantinos - German Aerospace center (DLR), Germany
Forest structure can be understood as the description of the distribution of trees and tree elements on a three dimensional (3-D) space. It is a key parameter of forest ecosystems and allows to fully characterizing the forest [1]. Moreover, forest structure is essential to better assess biomass and forest productivity. Therefore, extracting 3-D information of forest is the first step in order to further obtain forest structural products. From the remote sensing point of view, one way to obtain 3-D information from the forest is using synthetic aperture radar (SAR) tomography techniques [2]. SAR tomography extends the concept of synthetic aperture of the classical two dimensional SAR imaging by combining several SAR images over the same area with slightly different position. This concept, together with the use of a low frequency band (L- / P-band) capable to penetrate trough the canopy until the ground under forest, makes possible to obtain a 3-D radar reflectivity of the different elements (trees, brunches) of the forests. Therefore, the use of SAR tomography allows extracting 3-D information of the forest. However, the physical interpretation of the radar reflectivity to forest structure information is not straightforward. The results from tomography depend not only on the physical distribution of the elements, but also on the dielectric properties of them as well as system parameters like the tomographic algorithm, the frequency or the polarizations used [6]. Despite these difficulties, a new approach has been recently presented [3] as an attempt to obtain 3-D forest structure with an ecological interpretation from SAR tomography. This concept has been also applied to monitor changes of forest structure on a temperate forest [4] and to get forest structure information on a tropical scenario [5]. As already mentioned, the use of different polarizations has an effect on the tomographic result and, as a consequence, on the resulting forest structure from it. In this context, the goal of this paper is to analyse the role of polarimetry on the estimation of forest structure as defined in [3]. More in detail, from one side we will show the limitations of using one single polarimetric channel instead of a fully polarimetric acquisition on the estimation of forest structure. On the other side, we will consider a case where only one polarization is available, to assess the differences between the co-pol and cross-pol channels. In order to do so, we will use a multi-baseline and fully polarimetric SAR dataset acquired in a repeat pass mode at L-band by the German Aerospace Center (DLR) F-SAR system. The test site under study is a temperate managed forest located in Traunstein in the south-east of Germany. Moreover, to validate and discuss the 3-D forest structure results obtained with tomographic SAR data, a data set of more than 16000 trees and a high resolution Lidar over the same area are available. References [1] T. A. Spies, “Forest structure: a key to the ecosystem”, Northwest Science, vol. 72, no. 2, pp. 34–36, 1998 [2] A. Reigber and A. Moreira. “First demonstration of airborne SAR tomography using multibaseline L-band data.” IEEE Trans. Geosci. Remote Sens., Vol. 38, No. 5, pp. 2142–4152, Sep. 2000. [3] M. Tello, V. Cazcarra-Bes, M. Pardini, and K. Papathanassiou, “Forest Structure Characterization From SAR Tomography at L-Band,” IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing, no. 99, pp. 1–13, 2018. [4] V. Cazcarra-Bes, M. Tello-Alonso, R. Fischer, M. Heym, and K. Papathanassiou, “Monitoring of forest structure dynamics by means of L-band SAR tomography,” Remote Sensing, vol. 9, no. 12, p. 1229, 2017. [5] M. Pardini, M. Tello, V. Cazcarra-Bes, K. P. Papathanassiou, and I. Hajnsek, “L-and P-Band 3-D SAR Reflectivity Profiles Versus Lidar Waveforms: The AfriSAR Case,” IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing, no. 99, pp. 1–16, 2018. [6] O. Frey and E. Meier, “Analyzing tomographic SAR data of a forest with respect to frequency, polarization, and focusing technique,” IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, vol. 49, no. 10, pp. 3648–3659, 2011.
11:20 - Analysis of Temporal Decorrelation Effects on Point Spread Function of 3-D Tomo Beamforming
Lombardini, Fabrizio (1); Aghababaee, Hossein (2); Schirinzi, Gilda (2) - 1: University of Pisa, Italy; 2: University of Napoli Parthenope, Italy
After about two decades of research activities and experiments, 3-D SAR Tomography [1], stemming from multibaseline SAR Interferometry [2] to get resolution capabilities in the height dimension for remote sensing of complex scenarios, has matured tending to the operational level [3-8]. Beyond applications to layover solution in height mapping of urban areas [8], the other most investigated remote sensing application is 3-D imaging of forest layers [1,3,5,7,9], especially for biomass monitoring, and dedicated spaceborne missions have been studied or are under development to this goal [3]. However, the main investigated, experimented, and adopted 3-D Tomography focusing algorithms, that are based on array processing of the multibaseline complex data obtained by multiple passes of a standard SAR system for height beam forming and steering [1,7,9], are often affected by temporal coherence loss of the (natural) scatterers [2,10]; this is well known to produce defocusing and blurring effects in the height imaging [1,9,10]. Beyond the possibility to consider resorting to special decorrelation-robust focusing 4D (3D+Time) algorithms [9] applicable for some baseline-time acquisition patterns, or to consider dedicated advanced SAR system configurations, the issue of temporal decorrelation still constitutes a particular criticality in the development of operational spaceborne missions for forest Tomography, such as the ESA Biomass mission [3]. Oddily enough, during the maturation of SAR Tomography, beyond some practice and indications got from experimental observations and simulated analyses, practically no effort has been dedicated to the development of an analytical theory to study and understand effects of temporal decorrelation on 3-D imaging, while a couple of papers have been dedicated to analyze effects of phase miscalibration [4,6], and recently seasonal and weather effects have been tackled. In this context, in this work an analytical theory is presented of the statistical behaviour of the height Point Spread Function (PSF) of 3-D SAR Tomography, with reference to the Fourier beamforming focusing algorithm [1,6,10], in presence of temporal decorrelation; the theory is based on first closed form derivations [10] obtained at the beginning of the 3-D SAR Tomography area, and is expanded also presenting general yet representative case studies, and more specific examples. It is expected that this analytical statistical characterization of the PSF of Fourier beamforming Tomography for a general partially temporal coherent scatterer can be useful, being the PSF the first main indicator of imaging quality for any image formation technique, and Fourier beamforming being one of the most diffused algorithms for array processing-based SAR Tomography. The presented analytical derivations in particular, given a typical expected or representative temporal decorrelation model [2,10], allow to easily quantify the average behaviour of the defocused and blurred PSF shape, and to get corresponding insights on different trends of PSF behaviour for different temporal decorrelation scales and baseline acquisition patterns versus time; in an operational context, this paves the way to a handy imaging quality prediction for 3-D Tomography oriented system feasibility studies, mission planning, and optimization, accounting in a detailed quantitative manner for temporal decorrelation and complementing the phase miscalibration oriented developments [4,6]. Specifically, the analytical statistical PSF characterization is particularized for both typical short- and long-term decorrelation models [2,10], and normalized general-purpose yet well representative case studies are reported for both regular baseline acquisitions in time and scattered baseline-time acquisition patterns, showing the corresponding average 3-D Tomography PSF shape for varying decorrelation degrees, that is different in terms of mainlobe and sidelobes behaviours, respectively; related insights are given. Analysis of the statistical dispersion of the PSF profile under decorrelation effects is also attacked. Comparison of the analytical derivations with simulations are reported confirming the predictions and illustrating the derived insights. Comparison with examples from real (airborne P-band) data will be possibly included at the conference. Moreover, case studies are shown with parameters mimicking the incoming P-band Biomass system [3], and the future planned NASA-ISRO NISAR system [11] with reference to its L-band channel (more critical for forest spaceborne Tomography that in fact is not currently, at the best of the Authors’ knowledge, a targeted application for this mission); effect of (hypothesized) mission parameter changes are possibly illustrated as well. Hints on the application of this analytical theory of statistical PSF behaviour to an operational oriented imaging quality prediction of 3-D Tomography are finally given. [1] Reigber, A., Moreira, A.: ‘First demonstration of airborne SAR tomography using multibaseline L-band data,’ IEEE Trans. Geosci. Remote Sens., 2000, 38, (5). [2] Rocca, F.: ‘Modeling interferogram stacks,’ IEEE Trans. Geosci. Remote Sens., 2007, 45, (10). [3] Scipal, K., ‘The Biomass mission - ESA'S P-band polarimetric, interferometric SAR mission,’ Proc. IEEE Int. Geosci. Remote Sens. Symp., Fort Worth, Texas, 2017. [4] Pardini M., Lombardini F., Gini F.: ‘The hybrid Cramér-Rao bound on broadside DOA estimation of extended sources in presence of array errors,’ IEEE Trans. Signal Processing, 2008, 56, (4). [5] Pardini, M., Torano Caicoya, A., Kugler, F., Lee, S.K., Hajnsek, I., Papathanassiou, K.: ‘On the estimation of forest vertical structure from multibaseline polarimetric SAR data,’ Proc. IEEE Int. Geosci. Remote Sens. Symp., Munich, 2012. [6] Tebaldini, S.: ‘On the role of phase stability in SAR multibaseline applications,’ IEEE Trans. Geosci. Remote Sens., 2010, 48, (7). [7] Huang, Y., Ferro-Famil, L., Reigber, A.: ‘Under-foliage object imaging using SAR tomography and polarimetric spectral estimators,’ IEEE Trans. Geosci. Remote Sens., 2012, 50, (6). [8] Reale, D., Fornaro, G., Pauciullo, A., Zhu, X., Bamler, R.: ‘Tomographic imaging and monitoring of buildings with very high resolution SAR data,’ IEEE Geosci. Remote Sens. Lett., 2011, 8, (4). [9] Lombardini, F., Cai, F.: ‘Temporal decorrelation-robust SAR tomography,’ IEEE Trans. Geosci. Remote Sens., 2014, 52, (9). [10] Lombardini F., Griffiths H.: ‘Effect of temporal decorrelation on 3D SAR imaging using multiple pass beamforming,’ Proc. IEE-EUREL Meeting on Radar and Sonar Signal Processing, Peebles, UK, 1998. [11] Rosen, P., Hensley, S., Shaffer, S., Edelstein, W., Kim, Y., Kumar, R., Misra, T., Bhan, R., Sagi, R.; ‘The NASA-ISRO SAR (NISAR) mission dual-band radar instrument preliminary design,’ Proc. IEEE Int. Geosci. Remote Sens. Symp., Fort Worth, Texas, 2017.
11:40 - Sparse Signal Analysis for Full Rank Polarimetric Reconstruction of Coherence Matrix T3
Aghababaee, Hossein (1); Ferro-Famil, Laurent (2); Ferraioli, Giampaolo (1); Schirinzi, Gilda (1) - 1: Università di Napoli Parthenope, Italy; 2: Université de Rennes 1
Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) tomography is a multidimensional signal processing technique based on the use of multi-baseline (MB) SAR data [1]. SAR tomography (TomoSAR) leads to improved imaging and characterization of observed objects by providing the height reflectivity of the imaged scene, allowing the extraction of valuable information for many different applications. In addition, the polarimetric reflectivity of observed scene can be established by means of polarimetric multi-baseline data [2, 3]. Differently from such a polarimetric reflectivity reconstruction techniques, where polarization is employed to improve the synthesizing performance and the discrimination between vertically aligned scatterers, in [4] a full rank reconstruction framework has been proposed that allows fully interpretation of electromagnetic behavior of illuminated objects by reconstruction of the typical coherence matrix T3. The main particularity of such a reconstruction is related to its ability, in which their output T3 can be characterized using classical polarimetric processing algorithms. However, in practice, due to the limitation on baseline designing, full rank reconstruction by typical spectral estimation techniques [4, 5] (like Beamformer, Capon) may bring some quality problems in the target interpretations. In this paper, we consider the approach based on signal sparsity for full rank reconstruction that characterized by the advantage, with respect to classical techniques, of recovering full information from a reduced set of measurements and resolution improvement. Recent works have been addressed the typical tomographic and polarimetric tomographic inversions with the concept of compressed sensing [6, 7], while this paper differs from previous studies in which the proposed method relies on the sparse representation in order to reconstruct full rank polarimetric information of the scatterers at different height levels. More precisely, the method works with second order statistics of polarimetric MB SAR data set, and exploits sparse representation of fully polarimetric information. Once the coherency matrices T3 at different height levels are estimated, all the classical polarimetric processing techniques including H/α/A and lexicographic decompositions [8] can be employed for scene investigation. Here, in order to evaluate the method a stack of 6 fully polarimetric SAR images acquired by ONERA over a tropical forest in French Guyana in the frame of the European Space Agency’s campaign TROPISAR [9] has been employed. In particular, the analysis of sparse signal for full rank polarimetric reconstruction has been investigated. In the following figures, the reconstruction of α angle, span and lexicographic images have been carried out along a specific range line from the selected data set. For the comparison and in order to highlight the efficiency of the proposed method, results from full rank reconstruction by typical Capon algorithm presented in [4] are also included. From the experimental results, resolution improvement archived by sparse reconstruction with respect to the Capon is evident specifically in span and lexicographic images. Along this line, it can be verified that for more pixels the superposition of scatterers from canopy and ground is well addressed using compressive sensing in comparison with Capon. Furthermore, from the lexicographic image by sparse signal assumption in the compressive sensing, the backscattering behavior can be more precisely and simply, interpreted, where the canopy top is dominated by volumetric scattering (green) and ground with double-bounce (red) scattering mechanisms. Additionally, the proposed method significantly diminished the ambiguity of α angle in the interpretation of polarimetric behaviors of scatterers. In the produced α angle by proposed method, double bounce interaction from under foliage and volumetric scattering mechanisms in canopy level are properly identified with α ≈ 90 and α ≈ 45 degrees, respectively, while high ambiguity level can be observed in the results of Capon based reconstruction of α angle. In fact, depart from the high efficiency of sparse full rank reconstruction, the proposed model is able to cope with some possible ambiguities by reconstruction of coherence matrix T3 simultaneously for all heights in the defined elevation space. Theoretical formulations and details of implementation together with more experimental results from other typical polarimetric tools will be reported at the conferences.
13:00 - On the role of ground/volume decomposition for AGB retrieval
Banda, Francesco (1); Mariotti d'Alessandro, Mauro (2); Tebaldini, Stefano (2); Giudici, Davide (1) - 1: aresys, Italy; 2: Polimi, Italy
In this work we investigate the role of volume scattering obtained from SAR tomography (TomoSAR) [3] and interferometry in retrieving AGB (Above Ground Biomass). Results here presented originate from the BIOMASS L2 study [5], aimed at defining and implementing the tomographic and interferometric processors of the BIOMASS mission. TomoSAR gives the full 3D of a forest scene by coherently combining multiple acquisitions collected at slightly different baselines. It will be one the main innovations characterizing the BIOMASS mission, allowing the retrieval of unprecedented information by virtue of its capability to single out returns from different layers of the forest canopy. In fact, the latest studies proved that TomoSAR intensity of tropical forests at 30 m canopy layer is strongly correlated to AGB [3]. This result is supported by ecological studies indicating that the fraction of biomass included in the 30 m layer accounts for about 35% to 40% of total AGB over a large range of AGB values [1]. Moreover, TomoSAR gives good rejection of ground scattering (terrain scattering and double bounce), determined by a complex set of factors other than forest biomass and unlikely to be directly related to AGB in an operational context [2]. The interferometric ground notching technique, also presented at this conference, was recently proposed to improve AGB retrieval during the interferometric phase of BIOMASS, when the availability of just three acquisitions per site will prevent using tomography. Ground-notching [4] is obtained by taking the difference between two coregistered, phase-calibrated and ground-steered SLC SAR images, which results in ground scattering being automatically cancelled out. The interferometric height of ambiguity of the image pair determines how scattering from different vegetation layers is weighted in the ground-notched image. From analysis on Paracou data it results that, with a favorable range of height of ambiguities, the resulting IRF emphasizes the main canopy layer, therefore approximating with two images what is done by Tomography with many. In this paper we consider another approach for the separation of ground and volume scattering, i..e: ground/volume decomposition based on single baseline polarimetric and interferometric data. The rationale of this technique is very well known in literature: the assumption of Random Volume over Ground (RVoG) model allows to link the variation of the interferometric coherence with polarization to the physical parameters associated with ground and volume scattering, which include forest height, extinction, as well as to the total backscattered power associated with ground-only and volume-only scattering. Interestingly, the performance of such a decomposition is in principle much less affected by the interferometric height of ambiguity and topographic slopes than ground-notching. In this paper we aim at discussing whether, and to what extent, ground/volume decomposition can provide a valid alternative to ground-notching. To do this, both are tested based on the P-Band collected at the forest site of Paracou, French Guiana, during the TropiSAR campaign, and validated against in-situ AGB measurements in terms of correlation and sensitivity of the retrievals. Quite surprisingly, results indicate that volume-backscattered power as obtained by ground/volume decomposition is almost unsensitive to AGB, notwithstanding different solutions for volume scattering are tested, and lead to conclusion that forest structure actually plays a non-negligible role in AGB retrieval in tropical areas. [1] J.Chave, "Study of structural, successional and spatial patterns in tropical rain forests using TROLL, a spatially explicit forest model", Ecological Modelling., Jun. 1999 [2] M. M. d'Alessandro, S. Tebaldini and F. Rocca, "Phenomenology of Ground Scattering in a Tropical Forest Through Polarimetric Synthetic Aperture Radar Tomography," IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, Aug. 2013 [3] D. Ho Tong Minh, T. L. Toan, F. Rocca, S. Tebaldini, M. M. d'Alessandro and L. Villard, "Relating P-Band Synthetic Aperture Radar Tomography to Tropical Forest Biomass," IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, Feb.2014. [4] M. M. D'Alessandro, S. Tebaldini, S. Quegan, M. Soja, L. M. H. Ulander, "Interferometric Ground Notching of SAR Images for estimating Forest Above Ground Biomass," IGARSS 2018 [5] F. Banda, D. Giudici, S. Quegan, K. Scipal, "The Retrieval Concept of the Forest BIOMASS Prototype Processor," IGARSS 2018
13:20 - Polarimetric coherence optimization for 3-D imaging applications
Ferro-Fami, Laurent (1); Huang, Yue (1); Tebaldini, Stefano (2) - 1: University of Rennes 1, France; 2: Politecnico di Milano, Milano, Italy
Various studies have shown that polarimetric coherence optimization, performed over coherent stacks of polarimetric SAR images, might be interpreted differently, depending on the application. It may be employed as an efficient signal extractor, as an optimal projection tool into a space that remains invariant under non-degenerate multivariate transformation ... This paper proposes to demonstrate how polarimetric coherence optimization may be used in the frame of 3-D imaging of volumetric media through polarimetric SAR tomography. In particular it is shown that the proposed optimization may reveal useful to: - significantly simplify the structure of 3-D SAR data acquired in a tomographic configuration - robustify existig estimation techniques - characterize the observed volume though a quasi-analytical model-based tomographic estimation process. The performance of these new techniques are illustrated over SAR data acquired by the DLR at L band over a Bpreal forest, in the frame of the BioSAR II campaign.
Round Table SAR Tomography (Tomo-SAR)
Forest and BIOMASS
Chairs: Albinet, Clément (ESA), Pardini, Matteo (German Aerospace Center (DLR))
14:00 - Biomass mission: Biophysical products retrieval
Quegan, Shaun (1); Giudici, Davide (2); Banda, Francesco (2); Scipal, Klaus (3); Papathanassiou, Kostas (4); Villard, Ludovic (5); Ulander, Lars (6); Soja, Maciej (6); Mariotti d'Alessandro, Mauro (7); Tebaldini, Stefano (7); Le Toan, Thuy (5) - 1: University of Sheffield, England; 2: aresys, Italy; 3: ESA; 4: DLR; 5: Cesbio; 6: Chalmers University; 7: Polimi
The ESA BIOMASS mission will be the 7th Earth Explorer and its primary objective is to measure the above-ground biomass (AGB) in the world’s forests. It is highly innovative, being the first spaceborne P-band SAR mission, fully-polarimetric on all acquisitions, and providing both polarimetric interferometry (Pol-InSAR) and tomographic data. These will be used in synergy to produce Level-2 maps of biomass at 200 m resolution, forest height at 200 m resolution, and severe forest disturbance at 50 m resolution. The mission will also produce tomographic voxels that provide forest backscatter in 3D for each polarization. The current ESA Level-2 (L2) implementation study focuses on defining and implementing the main algorithms for forest parameter retrieval from BIOMASS data. When the study started, the only demonstrated approaches for estimating AGB from P-band data were essentially empirical and needed substantial amounts of reference data, from in situ plots or calibrated airborne lidar. Another drawback of these approaches was that they were not fully representative of the range of conditions of forested environments, so that generality was of concern. The L2 study has made radical improvements in the approach to estimating biomass based on three key elements: establishment of strong evidence that in tropical forests the backscatter from the canopy region 25-35m above the ground is highly correlated with the total AGB (which can be exploited using the full power of tomography ); the development of interferometric ground cancellation to isolate volume scattering; and the development of an approach to invert the model that minimizes the need for reference data. The development of ground cancellation, in particular, has proved to be huge value, since it removes the effects of environmental variability and contributions unrelated to the forest carried in the ground scattering. Forest height methods are well-developed and are currently focused on optimising the algorithms for the BIOMASS case. The forest disturbance algorithm is based on a likelihood ratio test that estimates whether change has occurred in a time series of polarimetric data at a specified level of significance. This paper will discuss the status of the study and our findings from tests of the algorithms using airborne campaign data and simulated data. It will also describe the current activities of the L2 team, which are devoted to systematic validation of the implemented algorithms.
14:20 - RVoG Model Validity for Forest Height Estimation using SAR L Band over a Heterogeneous Tropical Forest
Pourshamsi, Maryam
Pourshamsi, Maryam (1); Pardini, Matteo (2); Papathanassiou, Kostas (2); Balzter, Heiko (1) - 1: University of Leicester, United Kingdom; 2: DLR (Germany)
In this paper, we investigate the validity of the Random Volume over Ground Model (RVoG) for the estimation of forest height from polarimetric interferometric synthetic aperture radar (PolInSAR) data. First, the RVoG model and PolInSAR processing chains are introduced. Through the review of the forest height estimation from PolInSAR data, the sources of errors on the inversion performance are evaluated. We discuss that a wrong estimation of ground phase might cause a large bias. We therefore, fix the true ground phase estimated from LiDAR for all the available baselines, and then investigate the validity of the RVoG model. The results indicate that the RVoG model is a valid technique for forest height estimation from PolInSAR data. However due to the effect of ambiguity, only small baselines with large height of ambiguity are suitable for the estimation of large heights. The role of the vertical wavenumber and its consideration in the inversion methodology is addressed. The RVoG model validity analysis is demonstrated by means of airborne repeat pass PolInSAR acquisitions with SAR L-band acquired over a heterogeneous forest ranging from short/sparse savannahs to high/dense tropical forest. The estimated forest height is validated against reference height derived from airborne LiDAR acquisitions.
14:40 - An evaluation of Pol-InSAR complementarities between L- and S-band in forest structure observation
Pardini, Matteo; Cazcarra-Bes, Victor; Papathanassiou, Konstantinos - German Aerospace Center (DLR), Germany
There is a common agreement on the relevance of L-band wavelengths (around 20 cm) for forest observation. For instance, the larger backscatter dynamic range increases the sensitivity to larger biomass gradients with respect to C- and X-band. Furthermore, L-band allows the penetration into and through dense forest canopies in all forest ecosystems, remaining sensitive to canopy structure elements, and possibly leading to more relevant structure estimates than P-band. Finally, the larger temporal stability of the scatterers may allow the implementation of polarimetric interferometric (Pol-InSAR) acquisitions in repeat pass modes. In contrast, S-band applications in the forest domain are rather unexplored. The interest in S-band is being raised by its implementation on a number of space borne platforms, e.g. HJ-1C (China) [1], NovaSAR-S (United Kingdom) [2] and NISAR (United States and India) [3]. Clear potentials of S-band polarimetry have been found for instance for land classification [4], while S-band interferometry has been shown to lead to accurate estimates of digital elevation models for instance in a dual-frequency framework with X-band [5]. Differently from L-band, the shorter wavelength allows the realization of flexible single-pass implementations with relevant interferometric sensitivity even on airborne platforms. Despite the first airborne experiments in [6] and [7], the S-band performance in terms of forest structure characterization from polarimetric interferometric (Pol-InSAR) data has not been systematically evaluated yet. After the first S-band Pol-InSAR data acquisition of [6], larger scale campaigns have been performed by the DLR’s F-SAR airborne platform on a number of test sites. In this context, the purpose of this work is to further investigate the complementarity of L- and S-band for forest structure observation as a consequence of the difference in penetration and sensitivity to sizes of vegetation elements, starting from multibaseline Pol-InSAR data. In particular, the role and importance of polarimetry is compared for the two frequencies. First of all, the spectrum of the ground-to-volume ratios is estimated under the Random-Volume-over-Ground assumptions, and its variability is evaluated as function of terrain slopes and incidence angle. Then, the distributions of the interferometric coherences within the Pol-InSAR coherence region are considered in different forest stands. Finally, the analysis is extended to vertical reflectivity profiles estimated by tomographic techniques. Experiments are carried out by using multibaseline Pol-InSAR data sets at L- and S-band acquired simultaneously by the F-SAR platform over the forest site of Traunstein (South of Germany) with a large number of (nominally) uniformly distributed baselines. In the S-band case, single-pass Pol-InSAR acquisitions are available as well, allowing to assess directly temporal decorrelation effects. Field inventory data collected continuously in space over 25 ha at single-tree level and fine-beam airborne lidar data are used as a reference. References [1] J. Du, J. Shi, R. Sun, “The Development of HJ SAR Soil Moisture Retrieval Algorithm,” Internationa Journal of Remote Sens., vol. 31, 2010, pp. 3691–3705. [2] R. Bird, P. Whittaker, B. Stern, N. Angli, M. Cohen, R. Guida, “NovaSAR-S: A Low Cost Approach to SAR Applications,” Proc. APSAR 2013, Tsukuba, Japan, Sept. 2013. [3] P. Rosen, Y. Kim, R Kumar, T. Misra, R. Bhan, V. Raju Sagi, “Global Persistent SAR Sampling With the NASA-ISRO SAR (NISAR) Mission,” Proc. of IEEE RadarConf 2017, Seattle, WA, USA, May 2017. [4] A. Natale, R. Bird, P. Whittaker, R. Guida, M. Cohen, D. Hall, “Demonstration and Analysis of the Application of S-Band SAR,” Proc. IGARSS 2011, Vancouver, Canada, Jul. 2011. [5] M. Pinheiro, A. Reigber, R. Scheiber, P. Prats-Iraola, A. Moreira, “Generation of Highly Accurate DEMs Over Flat Areas by Means of Dual-Frequency and Dual-Baseline Airborne SAR Interferometry,” IEEE Trans. Geosci. Remote Sens., 56(8), Aug. 2018, pp. 4361-4390. [6] R. K. Ningthoujam et al., “Airborne S-Band SAR for Forest Biophysical Retrieval in Temperate Mixed Forests of the UK,” Remote Sensing, 2016, 8(7), 609; doi:10.3390/rs8070609 [7] M. Pardini, K. Papathanassiou, “First Investigation on the Information Content of Multibaseline Pol-InSAR Data at S-Band for Forest Structure Observation,” Proc. IGARSS 2015, Milan, Italy, Jul. 2015.
15:00 - Combined use of PolSAR and PolInSAR based indicators dedicated to forest biomass estimation from P-Band multibaseline SAR data
GELAS, Colette (1); VILLARD, Ludovic (1); KOLECK, Thierry (1); LE TOAN, Thuy (1); DANIEL, Sandrine (2); POLIDORI, Laurent (1) - 1: CESBIO, France; 2: Capgemini, France
The BIOMASS mission has been designed to provide forest above ground biomass (AGB) and forest height maps at continental scales using PolSAR, PolInSAR and TomoSAR acquisitions. One of the challenging topic for the retrieval methods under development is to take the most of these data and its combined use, considering the TomoSAR stack and the triplets of PolInSAR data acquired respectively during the so-called TOM and INT phases of the mission. This study proposes the implementation of a method combining two indicators referred to as t0 and hC, respectively based on PolSAR and PolInSAR data. The t0 indicator has been developed in order to minimize the perturbing effects caused by terrain topography using a twofold correction based on the polarimetric information contained on the coherency matrix and the knowledge of local geometry derived from the digital elevation model (DEM). The indicator hC is the PolInSAR height resulting from the retrieval method based on the RVoG model, accounting for geometrical corrections and enhanced by the use of ground height and extinction coefficients from TomoSAR data. Relations between these indicators and forest AGB are constructed with likelihood models based on adaptive spreads around poly-logarithmic functions, in order to reproduce the join probability function between t0 and hC. While the latter poly-log functions are derived from training plots, the adaptive spread is generated from the MIPERS4D model, which is parametrized using ecological database and earth observation data such as DEM and precipitation data in order to infer the local ground topography and vegetation water content and soil moisture. Initiated by the BRIX initiative, the proposed method has been implemented on the so-called Test Bed, a remote virtual machine implemented by ESA that provides a homogeneous access to all BIOMASS campaign data and allows to implement and run algorithms in common open computing languages. Study cases derived from TropiSAR and AfriSAR airborne campaigns have been used in order to test the algorithm transferability, with a particular focus on the chosen training plots which are needed for the poly-log models. In addition to significant improvements related to the correction of perturbing effects caused by terrain topography, the combined use of t0 and hC provides more accurate results for the high values of AGB, and more stable results across the test sites including dense forests, with however similar or decreased performances in some cases of lower AGB based on a separate use of t0 or hC. Although achieved on tropical test sites and assuming minor temporal effects, this method is also applicable to other types of forest, and perturbing effects due to temporal changes are expected to be significantly decreased given previous work on the interdependency between the variations of backscattering coefficients and temporal decorrelation.
Forest and BIOMASS (cont'd)
Chairs: Albinet, Clément (ESA), simard, Marc (Jet Propulsion Laboratory)
15:40 - The concept of multi-Mission Algorithm and Analysis Platform (MAAP) for the BIOMASS mission
Albinet, Clément (1); Frommknecht, Björn (1); Laur, Henri (1); Costa, Gabriella (1); Whitehurst, Amanda (2); Murphy, Kevin (2); Scipal, Klaus (3) - 1: ESA-ESRIN, Frascati, Italy; 2: NASA-HQ, Washington, USA; 3: ESA-ESTEC, Noordwijk, The Netherlands
With the launch of new satellite missions and growing understanding of the complexity of ecological processes, the scientific community is faced with a unique and immediate need for improved data sharing and collaboration. This is especially evident in the Earth sciences and carbon monitoring community with the launch of the ESA BIOMASS mission [1], the NASA-ISRO SAR (NISAR) mission [2], and the NASA Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation (GEDI) mission [3]. While these missions and the corresponding research leading up to launch, which includes airborne, field, and calibration/validation data collection and analyses, provide a wealth of data and information relating to global biomass estimation, they also present data storing, processing and sharing challenges. The NISAR mission alone will produce around 40 petabytes of data per year. Due to the constraints of existing organizational infrastructures, these large data volumes will place accessibility limits on the scientific community and may ultimately impede scientific progress. In this context, the concept of ESA-NASA multi-Mission Algorithm and Analysis Platform (MAAP) dedicated to the BIOMASS, NISAR and GEDI missions is proposed. This analysis platform will be a virtual open and collaborative environment. The goal is to bring together data centre (Earth Observation and non- Earth Observation data), computing resources and hosted processing, collaborative tools (processing tools, data mining tools, user tools, …), concurrent design and test bench functions, application shops and market place functionalities, accounting tools to manage resource utilisation, communication tools (social network) and documentation. The goal for the MAAP is to establish a collaboration framework between ESA and NASA to share data, science algorithms and compute resources in order to foster and accelerate scientific research conducted by NASA and ESA EO data users. The objectives of the MAAP for BIOMASS, NISAR and GEDI missions are to: 1) Enable researchers to easily discover, process, visualize and analyze large volumes of data from both agencies; 2) Provide a wide variety of data in the same coordinate reference frame to enable comparison, analysis, data evaluation, and data generation; 3) Provide a version-controlled science algorithm development environment that supports tools, co-located data and processing resources; 4) Address intellectual property and sharing issues related to collaborative algorithm development and sharing of data and algorithms. REFERENCES [1] T. Le Toan, S. Quegan, M. Davidson, H. Balzter, P. Paillou, K. Papathanassiou, S. Plummer, F. Rocca, S. Saatchi, H. Shugart and L. Ulander, “The BIOMASS Mission: Mapping global forest biomass to better understand the terrestrial carbon cycle”, Remote Sensing of Environment, Vol. 115, No. 11, pp. 2850-2860, June 2011. [2] P.A. Rosen, S. Hensley, S. Shaffer, L. Veilleux, M. Chakraborty, T. Misra, R. Bhan, V. Raju Sagi and R. Satish, "The NASA-ISRO SAR mission - An international space partnership for science and societal benefit", IEEE Radar Conference (RadarCon), pp. 1610-1613, 10-15 May 2015. [3] https://science.nasa.gov/missions/gedi
16:00 - BRIX: The first Biomass Retrieval Inter-comparison eXercise
Albinet, Clément (1); Balzter, Heiko (2); da Conceição Bispo, Polyanna (2); García, Mariano (3); Gelas, Colette (4); Notarnicola, Claudia (5); Pacheco-Pascagaza, Ana María (2); Padovano, Antonio (5); Paloscia, Simonetta (6); Pettinato, Simone (6); Pourshamsi, Maryam (2); Rodríguez-Veiga, Pedro (2); Santi, Emanuele (6); Scipal, Klaus (7); Villard, Ludovic (4) - 1: ESA-ESRIN, Frascati, Italia; 2: University of Leicester, Leicester, United Kingdom; 3: University of Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, España; 4: CESBIO, Toulouse, France; 5: EURAC, Bolzano, Italia; 6: IFAC-CNR, Firenze, Italia; 7: ESA-ESTEC, Noordwijk, The Netherlands
Biomass Retrieval Inter-comparison eXercise (BRIX) is a biomass retrieval algorithm inter-comparison exercise. It was conducted by European Space Agency (ESA) and multiple participants to develop algorithms for biomass estimation. The exercise aimed at using Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) P-Band datasets acquired as part of the ESA’s SAR campaigns in support of the upcoming ESA’s BIOMASS mission [1]. ESA set up the BIOMASS Algorithm Test Bed which is a virtual machine that (I) provides access to all BIOMASS campaign data in a unified format; (II) includes software tools that allow to implement and run algorithms in common open programming languages (Python, C, Fortran) as well as a limited number of proprietary programming languages (IDL, Matlab); and (III) makes available processing resources. Participants were invited to upload or develop their code, and run it on the Test Bed using the predefined campaign datasets. BRIX consisted of two phases. In the first phase, four different retrieval algorithms were developed based on the data acquired during the AfriSAR campaign. One of the recent ESA’s SAR campaign that was conducted in Gabon in 2016. The SAR P band data acquired over four test sites: Lopé (super site), Mondah, Rabi and Mabounie. A complete set of data was made available to participants for Lopé including Tomographic SAR Stacks, Polarimetric SAR, Polarimetric Interferometric SAR, Digital Terrain Model (DTM), which were used as independent datasets in the models, and LiDAR derived Biomass, Canopy Height Model (CHM) and field measured data, used as reference data. In the second phase, the algorithms were assessed, on three other sites (Mondah, Rabi and Mabounie). There, only a limited set of data was available and no reference data was provided. ESA compared and evaluated the derived biomass maps over the three test sites with existing ground data and LiDAR derived biomass. The tested approaches include physically based models, empirical and machine learning techniques. During the BRIX exercise following challenges were raised: 1. How to optimally use the available Polarimetric, Polarimetric Interferometric and Tomographic SAR data in one consistent retrieval concept. 2. The transferability of the retrieval developed over one site (Lopé) to three sites that are separated by several 100 km, which requires to account for different ecological characteristics and different forest structure. 3. How to correct the topographic effects inside SAR images. REFERENCES [1] T. Le Toan, S. Quegan, M. Davidson, H. Balzter, P. Paillou, K. Papathanassiou, S. Plummer, F. Rocca, S. Saatchi, H. Shugart and L. Ulander, “The BIOMASS Mission: Mapping global forest biomass to better understand the terrestrial carbon cycle”, Remote Sensing of Environment, Vol. 115, No. 11, pp. 2850-2860, June 2011.
16:20 - MACHINE LEARNING APPLICATION FOR THE FOREST BIOMASS RETRIEVAL IN THE FRAMEWORK OF ESA BRIX
Santi, Emanuele (1); Paloscia, Simonetta (1); Pettinato, Simone (1); Cuozzo, Giovanni (2); Padovano, Antonio (2); Notarnicola, Claudia (2) - 1: IFAC - CNR, Italy; 2: EURAC, Italy
In this study, two different machine learning approaches aimed at estimating the forest biomass (t/ha) from the ESA airborne SAR missions, namely Artificial Neural Network (ANN) [1-2], and supported Vector Regressions (SVR) [3-4], have been implemented and validated. The outputs of these two approaches have been compared with random forests (RF), an ensemble learning method that is very popular for classification, and retrieval applications. This activity has been carried out in the framework of the BRIX exercise, with the aim of intercomparing biomass retrieval algorithms for P-band full-polarimetric SAR sensors in view of the upcoming ESA BIOMASS mission (a P-band synthetic aperture polarimetric radar). Several strategies have been exploited, by developing “general” algorithms trained with data derived from the whole dataset and “specific” algorithms, trained with data derived from a single campaign, among Afrisar, Biosar and Tropisar. In all cases, the algorithms have been trained on a subset of the available data and validated on the remaining, obtaining correlation coefficients between R=0.82 and R= 0.94, with a RMSE between 15 t/ha and 70 t/ha, depending on the algorithm and on the dataset. In the case of ANN, the validation of the “general” and “specific” algorithms resulted in a correlation coefficient between R=0.78 and R=0.94, depending on the dataset, with a RMSE between 15 and 60 t/ha and negligible BIAS. The validation of the SVR algorithms resulted in a correlation coefficient between R=0.27 and R=0.90, depending on the dataset, with a corresponding RMSE between 25 and 77 t/ha and BIAS negligible in this case too. After validation, both ANN and SVR algorithms have been applied to the entire SAR images for generating the corresponding biomass maps. The comparison of ANN, SVR and RF methods helped in pointing out the advantages and disadvantages of each technique in terms of retrieval accuracy, exportability to other datasets and computational cost. References [1]. Santi E., S. Paloscia, S. Pettinato and G. Fontanelli. “Application of artificial neural networks for the soil moisture retrieval from active and passive microwave spaceborne sensors,” Int. J. Appl. Earth Observ. Geoinf., vol 48, pp. 61–73, Jun. 2016. [2]. Santi E., S. Paloscia, S. Pettinato, G. Fontanelli, M. Mura, C. Zolli, F. Maselli, M. Chiesi, L. Bottai, G. Chirici, 2017, The potential of multifrequency SAR images for estimating forest biomass in Mediterranean areas, Remote Sensing of Environment 200 (2017), pp. 63–73. [3]. Pasolli, L., Notarnicola, C., Bruzzone, L., Bertoldi, G., Della Chiesa, S., Hell, V., Niedrist, G., Tappeiner, U., Zebisch, M., Del Frate, F., Vaglio Laurin, G. 2011. Estimation of Soil Moisture in an Alpine Catchment with RADARSAT2 Images. Hindawi Publishing Corporation, Applied and Environmental Soil Science, Article ID 175473, 12 pages, doi:10.1155/2011/175473 [4]. Pasolli, L., Notarnicola, C., Bertoldi, G., Bruzzone, L., Remelgado R., Greifeneder, F., Niedrist, G., Della Chiesa, Tappeiner, U., Zebisch, M. 2015. Estimation of Soil Moisture in Mountain Areas Using SVR Technique Applied to Multiscale Active Radar Images at C-Band. IEEE JOURNAL OF SELECTED TOPICS IN APPLIED EARTH OBSERVATIONS AND REMOTE SENSING, VOL. 8, NO. 1, JANUARY 2015, doi: 10.1109/JSTARS.2014.2378795.
16:40 - Multibaseline PolinSAR in Mangrove Forests of Gabon
simard, Marc (1); Denbina, Michael (1); Fatoyinbo, Lola (2); Pinto, Naiara (1) - 1: Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, United States of America; 2: Goddard Space Flight Center, USA
The AfriSAR campaign is a joint NASA and European Space Agency airborne campaign conducted in Gabon in support of the upcoming ESA BIOMASS, NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) and NASA Global Ecosystem Dynamics Initiative (GEDI) missions. In this paper, we present results based on data collected by the UAVSAR airborne L-band system acquired in repeat-pass interferometric mode and Laser Vegetation and Ice Sensor (LVIS) airborne Lidar. The UAVSAR data is available from https://uavsar.jpl.nasa.gov, while the LVIS data is available from https://lvis.gsfc.nasa.gov/. We introduce a new methodology based on optimizing the baseline selection through a machine learning algorithm trained on the Lidar estimates of canopy height. The proposed baseline selection methods use various data quality metrics calculated from the PolInSAR coherences and other parameters. We pose the problem, for simplicity, as a classification exercise solved with machine learning. The implementation uses a Support Vector Machine (SVM) library to classify polinSAR metrics for each pixel into the best interferometric baseline. The forest canopy height is then estimation with this best polinSAR baseline. Training of the SVM was performed with the Lidar dataset and validated with in situ data. We present results obtained over mangrove sites of the Pongara and Akanda National Parks. These forests are characterized by a wide range of heights and structure clearly impacting the relative contribution of scattering mechanisms. Overall, we found errors on the order of 4m or about 10%.
17:00 - Mangroves detection and classification using full-polarimetric SAR data
Nunziata, Ferdinando (1); Ferrentino, Emanuele (1); Migliaccio, Maurizio (1); Zhang, Hongsheng (2) - 1: Università di Napoli Parthenope, Italy; 2: The Chinese University of Hong Kong, China
Mangrove forests are coastal wetlands that contribute to biodiversity and act as major biogeochemical links between upland and coastal regions. For this reason, they play a major part in the costal ecosystem and sea coast conservation. Classification of mangrove species can be very important in formulating an inventory for use in the development of conservation management plans. However, the classification, typically involves intensive field surveys, and this can be very expensive and hard to undertaken. Within this context, microwave remote sensing, and in particular the Synthetic Aperture Radar, can be a very useful and cheap tool for mangroves observation, since its guarantees all-day and almost all-weather synoptic observations of the Earth’s surface. The main goals of this study are to develop polarimetric methods to classify scattering mechanisms that characterize mangroves using full- and dual-polarimetric SAR data. For this purpose, methods based on polarimetric model decompositions (i.e. Cloude Pottier and Freeman-Durden decomposition) are used in order to detect and classify different mangrove species together with the Pauli phase which, carrying on information on the electric properties of the observed scene, is expected to discriminate among the different mangrove types. Preliminary results are obtained processing a set of SAR data collected over the Mai Po Marshes Nature Reserve, located in Hong Kong, by the C-band Alos-2 mission show that the proposed methodologies, well detect and classify the different mangroves species.
Round Table Forest and BIOMASS
Applications of SAR Polarimetry on Land
Chairs: Biondi, Filippo (University of L'Aquila), KOENIGUER, Elise (Onera)
09:30 - Precise Detection of Oil Palm Trees Areas by a single Fully Polarimetric Synthetic Aperture Radar Image and Multi Chromatic Analysis
Biondi, Filippo - University of L'Aquila, Italy
The objective of this research is to perform precise detection of oil palm trees areas using a single fully polarimetric synthetic aperture radar (SAR) image. The expansion of palm oil plantations across the earth is causing deforestation of natural rain forest and conversion of peat land into plantation land. This research aims to give reliable contribute in contrasting the ongoing increase in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions over the earth atmosphere. This paper presents an improvement of the PolSAR decomposition scheme which permits the performing of more accurate classification. The method which use additive information existing by the interference generated between two Doppler sub-apertures SAR images processed by one SAR observation. This interferometric polarimetric SAR (PolInSAR) multi-chromatic analysis (MCA-PolInSAR) signal processing method permits the efficient separation of different types of trees. In this case the oil palms have lower height and density because of their different structure respect to the other trees populating the natural forest areas. Results also show a considerable improvement in robustness of classification, in terms of definition and precision.
09:50 - DOUBLE-BOUNCE CONTRIBUTION EFFECT IN THE ESTIMATION OF BIOPHYSICAL PARAMETERS OF VEGETATION BASED ON POLINSAR TANDEM-X BISTATIC DATA
Romero-Puig, Noelia; López-Sánchez, Juan M.; Ballester-Berman, J. David - Instituto Universitario de Investigación Informática, Universidad de Alicante, Spain
The inversion of the well-known Random Volume over Ground (RVoG) model [Treuhaft1996, Treuhaft2000, Papathanassiou2001] is employed for the estimation of physical parameters of scenes with vegetation by exploiting Polarimetric SAR Interferometry (PolInSAR) data [Cloude1998]. Data gathered by the TanDEM-X satellite formation [Krieger2007] are characterised by a single-pass bistatic configuration, where one satellite is transmitting and both of them are receiving, i.e. there is one monostatic image and one bistatic image. As a result from this bistatic configuration, the formulation of the interferometric coherence accounts for an extra decorrelation term: a double-bounce contribution at the ground which entails also volume effects from the interferometric point of view [Treuhaft1996]. This double-bounce decorrelation factor has been overlooked in previous works exploiting TanDEM-X data on vegetation height estimation in forests [Kugler2014, Kugler2015, Lee2015, Abdullahi2016], and only considered in the inversion of the RVoG model over rice fields [Lopez2017]. In this work we provide a detailed analysis of the effect of the double-bounce decorrelation factor on the inversion of scene parameters, with particular focus on the vegetation height. The study employs both simulated data as well as real data acquired over rice fields during the science phase of the TanDEM-X mission. The potential limitations of current inversion approaches are assessed, and the influence of both system parameters (i.e. incidence angle) and scene parameters (i.e. extinction coefficient and ground-to-volume ratios) is evaluated. Results show that the bias in the estimation of scene parameters is higher when the incidence angle is above 30 degrees, i.e for shallow incidences. The normalised vegetation height, i.e. expressed as $k_v$, is used in order to extrapolate the results to other scenarios, e.g. forests.
10:10 - POL-timeSAR: Benefits of polarimetry on change detection in time-series
KOENIGUER, Elise - Onera, France
With the development of open-source data, it is becoming increasingly easy to obtain a large number of images on a single site, especially thanks to the Sentinel 1 satellites of the Copernicus mission. This change of context makes it possible to envisage a better temporal monitoring, whether for environmental needs (monitoring of forests, glaciers), industrial (crop management, urban planning), or surveillance (maritime traffic, camp establishment). Recently, a method for visualizing changes occurring during a particular period of time (Reactiv, [1],[2]) has been developed at Onera. It is based on the use of SAR time series and has been created after the analysis and modeling of temporal statistical properties of speckle and permanent scatterers. This method has been already successfully tested on Sentinel 1 and TerraSAR-X images, both on locally downloaded data and applied to the Google Earth Engine platform. It can be also transformed into an automatic detection of areas subject to particular evolutions. However, up to now, only single polarimetric time-series have been considered. Therefore, the object of this article is to question the influence of polarimetry, on the visualization and on the detection of temporal changes in large SAR time-series. Legitimate questions about the use of polarimetry are numerous: - how does the polarization affect the result of the colored composition obtained? - which polarization is most effective to robustly detect changes or temporal activity? - do the different polarimetric channels provide complementary information, or are they largely correlated? - can polarimetry be used to help the interpretation of detected changes? - must it be applied before or after change detection? To answer these questions, two types of data have been used in this study: full polarimetric data on a stack of San Francisco restricted to 12 images; but also partially polarized Sentinel 1 data at various sites using GRD images on the Google Earth platform, and SLC data downloaded on Saclay (France) for which an extensive ground truth has been made. First, the visualization algorithm is outlined. Results obtained on the same site for the different polarizations are compared for long events such as construction sites. The results show that all polarimetric channels highlight the same changes. Then, we compare the influence of the polarization on the temporal profiles obtained for natural soils subjected to variations such as agricultural fields. They show the complementarity of the different polarimetric channels. A new algorithm that includes the different available polarimetric signals is proposed. Finally, polarimetry is also studied for "point-events" detection, that means some high signal occurring only once during the observed duration, for example, a vehicle. We show that most of the time, only one polarization is able to find such an event, and thus that full polarimetry is required to detect all these point-events. [1] Koeniguer, E. C., Nicolas, J. M., Pinel-Puyssegur, B., Lagrange, J. M., & Janez, F. Visualisation des changements sur séries temporelles radar: méthode REACTIV évaluée à l’échelle mondiale sous Google Earth Engine, Revue Française de Photogrammétrie et télédétection, 2018 (Best Paper Award for the RFIAP-CFPT conference (2018)) [2] Colin-Koeniguer, E., Boulch, A., Trouve-Peloux, P., & Janez, F. (2018, June). Colored visualization of multitemporal SAR data for change detection: issues and methods. In EUSAR 2018; 12th European Conference on Synthetic Aperture Radar (pp. 1-4). VDE.
Applications of SAR Polarimetry on Land (cont'd)
11:00 - Nonlocal filtering of polarimetric SAR images applied to change detection for volcano monitoring
D'Hondt, Olivier; Valade, Sébastien; Hellwich, Olaf - TU Berlin, Germany
This work presents the application of a new multi-channel SAR nonlocal filtering framework to incoherent change detection for volcano monitoring. Synthetic Aperture Radar is particularly useful for volcano monitoring, as it provides measurements when no visual observations are possible, i.e. at night and in poor weather conditions. Recent satellite constellations such as Sentinel-1 provide unprecedented temporal samplings, boosting the potential for operational monitoring with this type of data. In particular, change detection techniques applied to SAR imagery can be used to assess volcanic hazards and map eruptive features (i.e., detect dome growth, map flow extents, etc.). In regions where strong decorrelation are expected (due to dense vegetation in tropical regions, or ice/snow cap at high altitudes/latitudes), coherence-based change detection approaches will fail, and require using amplitude-based (incoherent) approaches. Nevertheless, delineating precise boundaries of changed regions remains challenging, in particular because of the intrinsic speckle noise and the complexity of SAR scattering responses. These difficulties are here tackled using a nonlocal filtering approach exploiting the dual-polarimetric information. Due to the presence of speckle, incoherent change detection of distributed targets has to be considered in a statistical framework. The computation of statistical change detectors requires an averaging over several samples. On real data this average is perform in a spatial neighborhood of the pixel to consider. Spatial averaging by boxcar filtering is only valid in areas where the statistical properties of neighbor pixels are spatially stationary. In practice, real data exhibits a nonstationary spatial structure due to the presence of edges between homogeneous regions. Therefore, spatially adaptive filtering is required to preserve the local structure of the scene. At volcanoes, lava and pyroclastic flows may concentrate in narrow valleys, thereby defining elongated structures which are blurred by traditional boxcar filtering. In this work we propose to apply a recently developed filter based on the nonlocal principle to circumvent this problem. This method allows a spatially adaptive estimation of the polarimetric covariance matrix thanks to the use of matrix-based similarities and exploits the texture information present in the image intensity. The filtering procedure is composed of two stages: A first stage allows a pre-estimation of the covariance matrix with a fixed number of looks thanks to a region growing procedure. This step preserves the spatial resolution as opposed to the common pre-summing step required on single-look complex data. Then, a second step applies the nonlocal principle to the pre-filtered covariance leading to the final covariance estimate. Both pre- and post-event images are filtered in a single step by considering the multi-temporal polarimetric covariance. It is then possible to apply polarimetric change detectors on the individual de-speckled images. We demonstrate the effects of the filtering method on change detection with dual-pol Sentinel-1 data for different image pairs acquired at different erupting volcanoes. We compare the output of change detection when our method has been applied with results obtained with boxcar filtering. Our approach allows a better contrast between change and no-change areas than boxcar filtering and succeeds in preserving the anisotropic structure of thin regions related to lava or pyroclastic flows emplaced in vegetated areas.
11:20 - Monitoring and detecting archaeological features with multi-frequency polarimetric analysis
Patruno, Jolanda (1); Delgado Blasco, Jose Manuel (2); Fitrzyk, Magdalena (3) - 1: Rhea Group c/o ESA/ESRIN, Via Galileo Galilei 00044 Frascati, Italy; 2: Universidad de Jaén, Campus Las Lagunillas s/n, 23071 Jaén, Spain; 3: RSAC c/o ESA/ESRIN, Via Galileo Galilei 00044 Frascati, Italy
Nowadays, SAR applications for archaeology focus on high spatial resolution SAR sensors, which allow the recognition of structures of small dimension and give information of the surface topography of sites. Given the potential of combined dual and fully polarised SAR data, the analysis focuses on a polarimetric multi-frequency and multi-incidence angle analysis of Sentinel-1 (C-band), ALOS PALSAR (L-band) and of RADARSAT-2 (C-band) sensors for the detection of surface and subsurface archaeological structures over the UNESCO site of Gebel Barkal (Sudan). While PALSAR offers a good historical reference, Sentinel-1 time series provide recent and systematic monitoring opportunities. RADARSAT-2 polarimetric data have been specifically acquired in 2012/2013, and have been scheduled to achieve a multi-temporal observation of the archaeological area. Sensors spatial resolution (Sentinel-1, ALOS PALSAR ca. 20 m and RADARSAT-2 ca. 10 m), archaeological structures’ dimensions, morphology and environment and the great potential L-band and C-band demonstrated in such context, make the research suitable for the monitoring of the archaeological area, as well of the possible threatening factors that can affect the integrity of a cultural site. In remote sensing for archaeology, an unequivocal method capable of an automatic detection of archaeological features is still not existing. Hence, objective of the work is to exploit the potential of such complex but meaningful technique as SAR polarimetry is, and to individuate investigation guidelines thanks to the combined use of dual and full pol dataset for a possible use in the archaeological domain.
11:40 - Cultural effects on the Urban detection based on SAR polarimetric characteristics
Blasco, Jose Manuel (1); Patruno, Jolanda (2); Fitrzyk, Magdalena (3) - 1: Grupo de Investigación Microgeodesia Jaén (PAIDI RNM-282), Universidad de Jaén, Campus Las Lagunillas s/n, 23071 Jaén, Spain; 2: Rhea Group c/o ESA/ESRIN; 3: RSAC c/o ESA/ESRIN
Urban planning and cultural behaviour varies depending on the part of the world you look at. In this work, we want to show how different are cities from the Polarimetric SAR point of view, and for that we have compared European with American and African cities using L and C frequency bands. Specific datasets are full and dual polarisation of ALOS PALSAR and the dual pol Sentinel-1 over San Francisco (USA), Milan (Italy) and Cairo (Egypt). Using the full-polarised ALOS PALSAR data we have observed that on the case of San Francisco, urban and non-urban can be easily differentiated, as the double-bounce polarimetric signal prevails on urban environment, being not the same case for cities as Cairo, where the signal characteristics from the city does not represent only the double-bounce, but also other kind of scattering. We have investigated these phenomena over Cairo using the cross-polarised channels VH of both Sentinel-1 and ALOS PALSAR data, to understand whether VH signal could be affected by oriented targets which could create also high cross-pol channels. Traditional classification methods based only on the different polarimetric signatures seems not to be enough to properly classify the different urban environments on which urban signatures does not respond to the expected as for European and American cities
Round Table Applications of SAR Polarimetry on Land
Applications of SAR Polarimetry on Ocean
Chairs: Eltoft, Torbjørn (UIT), Migliaccio, Maurizio (Università degli Studi di Napoli Parthenope)
13:40 - Investigating Detection Capabilities of Distressed Refugee Boats Using SAR
Lanz, Peter (1); Marino, Armando (2); Brinkhoff, Thomas (3); Köster, Frank (4); Möller, Matthias (5) - 1: Dept. of of Computing Science, Carl von Ossietzky Univ. of Oldenburg / Institute for Applied Photogrammetry and Geoinformatics, Jade Univ. Oldenburg; 2: Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Stirling; 3: Institute for Applied Photogrammetry and Geoinformatics, Jade University of Applied Seiences; 4: Institute of Transportation Systems, German Aerospace Center (DLR); 5: Faculty for Humanities and Cultural Sciences, Otto-Friedrich-University of Bamberg
PLEASE SEE ATTACHED FILE! Existing research in (semi-)automatic marine target detection using Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data mainly concentrates on the detection and classification of large, metallic targets - mainly ships. This work focuses on the detection of small, non-metallic targets, in particular inflatable rubber vessels. Such vessels are used by migrants attempting to cross from Africa to Europe. The physical attributes of such kind of targets, namely its small size and height and the absence of materials of high dielectric constant such as metals, decrease the detection capabilities of commonly known vessel detection systems. In this work we applied and tested a range of detectors and different methodology to gain a better understand of the target’s backscattering properties. The goal is to identify the best way to proceed in the effort of developing a new, specially tailored detection algorithm. We use multi-platform SAR data (mainly TerraSAR-X, accompanied by Senitel1 & Sentinel2) holding “sea truth” to a 12m long rubber inflatable vessel which was used in 2015 by migrant to cross the Mediterranean. The data were collected in the Müggelsee, a lake near Berlin, Germany, which functioned as a test bed. A lake scenario was selected because it allows clear identification of the scattering mechanisms of inflatable boats (since the background is generally lower than for open ocean). The collection comprises single and dual-polarimetric data and covers a variety of different sensor and geometry parameters. Different combinations of incidence angles, acquisition modes, targets orientation relative to the LoS, movement and cargo supports the effort of identifying the main scattering mechanism and chances and limitation of its detectability. In this preliminary work we applied, apart from the intensity-based CA-CFAR detector (Fig. 2), Polarimetry-based and sub-look-based detectors following a qualitative evaluation of their detection capabilities regarding the special target. Amongst the Polarimetry detectors are the intensity Depolarization Ratio Anomaly Detector (iDPolRAD) (Marino et al. 2016), the Geometrical Perturbation-Polarimetric Notch Filter (GP-PNF) (Marino, 2013), the Polarimetric Match Filter (PMF), the polarimetric symmetry and entropy detectors. The sub-look detectors include the sub-look coherency (Marino et. al. 2015), the sub-look entropy (Schneider et.al. 2006) and the sub-look product. As additional step, the iDPolRAD was modified in order to focus the detector on surface scattering anomalies instead than volume anomalies. This is useful when the water has a low backscattering and the target is mostly represented by surface scattering. We finally considered a combination of the two iDPolRAD to more efficiently detect the inflatables. The novelty of this work lies in two points: a) it is the first time that a broad variety of vessel detectors are used to detect and analyse this kind of special inflatables target; b) the iDPolRAD was modified to detect anomalies in surface scattering. The well-established CA-CFAR is capable of detecting the target (Figure 2) in several cases but can be biased by strong sea surface clutter and reduced target radar response. Main factors reducing the target’s signal can be (a combination of) a low incidence angle, the cross polarimetric channel and the vessel’s orientation. The adapted version of iDPolRAD, using the combination of the two scattering mechanisms volume and surface scattering, increases detection capabilities for very small targets. Fig. 3 shows first results. To reduce the rate of false positives of such a detector, a preliminary analysis of the sea surface scatter has to be done. In case of low clutter, the main signal is produced by thermal noise. This state of high Entropy allows for target identification when there are clearly identifiable surface scattering mechanisms. In case of high surface scattering levels, the detector only searches for volume scattering. The notch filter, employing a geometrical perturbation analysis, shows clear differences in the polarimetric signature between water and the target (Fig. 4). The entropy detector on the other hand left us with rather unsatisfyingly results because the water had low backscattering and the thermal noise produced very high entropy. The polarimetric symmetry detector reveilles the target’s asymmetric behaviour (Fig. 5). The PMF shows the best results in terms of contrast (Fig. 6). Very promising results can be seen from the sub-look product algorithm, both in terms of contrast and size (Fig 7). A quantitative analysis of the different detectors’ capabilities is still under progress (and it will be ready for the conference) and this abstract only includes first results. The primary motivation of this research is to mitigate the ongoing humanitarian crisis at Europe's southern Sea border. The applicability of the project’s results to the setting of the open sea, where stronger winds and seas could interfere with radar detection, will be discussed. This project builds a foundation to develop satellite based detection systems for inflatable rubber boats. Such systems could be integral to search and rescue infrastructure in reducing the number of lives lost at sea. References: Marino, A. (2013). A notch filter for ship detection with polarimetric SAR data. Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing, IEEE Journal Of, 6(3), 1219–1232. Marino, A., Sanjuan-Ferrer, M. J., Hajnsek, I., & Ouchi, K. (2015). Ship Detection with Spectral Analysis of Synthetic Aperture Radar: A Comparison of New and Well-Known Algorithms. Remote Sensing, 7(5), 5416–5439. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs70505416 Schneider, R. Z., Papathanassiou, K. P., Hajnsek, I., & Moreira, A. (2006). Polarimetric and interferometric characterization of coherent scatterers in urban areas. IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, 44(4), 971–984. https://doi.org/10.1109/TGRS.2005.860950 Marino, A., & Hajnsek, I. (2014). A Change Detector Based on an Optimization With Polarimetric SAR Imagery. IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, 52(8), 4781–4798. https://doi.org/10.1109/TGRS.2013.2284510 Marino, A., Dierking, W., & Wesche, C. (2016). A Depolarization Ratio Anomaly Detector to Identify Icebergs in Sea Ice Using Dual-Polarization SAR Images. IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, 54(9), 5602–5615. https://doi.org/10.1109/TGRS.2016.2569450
14:00 - Retrieval of the dielectric properties of oil slick using SAR via a Polarimetric Two-Scale Model
Quigley, Cornelius Patrick; Eltoft, Trobjørn - UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Norway
Marine oil spills represent an important environmental problem. Surveillance systems such as SAR that can accurately characterise key features of oil slicks, such as volumetric content, is of vital importance. This study focuses on investigating the capability of a Polarimetric Two-Scale Model (PTSM) to retrieve an estimate for the dielectric constant of oil slicks. In this model the ocean surface is considered to be composed of a collection of slightly rough, randomly titled facets. The scattering from each facet is assumed to be in accordance with the Small Perturbation Model (SPM). By averaging over the slopes of the facets in the range and azimuth direction, expressions for the Normalised Radar Cross Section (NRCS) are derived that are more easily able to describe the scattering from complex surfaces such as the ocean-atmosphere interface. From previous studies, it has been shown that this model provides more accurate results in the estimation of the dielectric constant for soil moisture retrieval than the simple SPM or the Extended Bragg model (XBragg). This model has also proven itself to be able to account for both cross-polarisation and depolarisation effects while also maintaining a simple formulation. While this model has previously been applied to the estimation of soil moisture content, it has not been applied to the estimation of the dielectric properties of oil slick. A collection of Radarsat-2 quad-polarimetric data sets are used that were acquired off the Norwegian coast by the Norwegian Clean Seas Association for Operating Companies (NOFO) when they conducted their annual oil-on-water exercise in the North Sea. Data sets were acquired during the summer months of 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015 and 2016. As part of the exercises, variable substances were included into the marine environment and imaged side-by-side. These include crude oil, emulsions and plant oil simulators. Given the difficulty in obtaining SAR imagery of verified mineral oil/plant oil slicks, these data sets represent a unique opportunity in investigating the behaviour of oil slick when imaged from SAR sensors. The data taken by the sensor were used in conjunction with the PTSM in order to invert for an estimate for the dielectric constant. Radar returns from slick are typically less than the surrounding ocean due to the reduction in surface roughness and can be highly influenced by sensor noise. Due to the heavy effect noise can have on the estimation, the model is adopted from its original form to make use of only the co-polarization channels. The cross-polarisation channels are used to estimate the thermal noise present and subtract it from the data before an inversion is performed. When applying the model the co-polarization ratio, i.e. VV/HH, is employed in order to remove the dependancy on the small-scale roughness. By applying the model in this way the only factors that are pertinent to the model are the epsilon value, the large-scale roughness parameter and the Hurst coefficient, a parameter related to the fractal dimension of the scattering surface. Both epsilon and the large-scale roughness descriptor are estimated by building up numerical charts that fit the data well which can then be read off. The Hurst coefficient has been shown to have a weak effect on the model and so is estimated heuristically. The results of the the inversion show that there is a high contrast between the slick and the surrounding ocean up until an epsilon value of about 20. Within the slick, estimations for the absolute value of epsilon range from 1 to 20 with the slick showing internal zoning, indicating that areas where there is higher volumetric portions oil can be determined. Those scenes that contain both plant oil simulators and crude oil show differences in the proportion of lower epsilon estimates. This is likely due to the difference in viscosity in the two materials and indicates that the two substances may be distinguishable via estimations of their dielectric properties. Interestingly, areas where there is low wind and areas where there is thin oil sheen are indistinguishable from the surrounding ocean after inversion. Both these phenomena show up in SAR images as dark patches similar to oil slicks but are of little concern to first responders of oil disasters. In summary, the PTSM has shown to provide reasonable estimates of the epsilon value of oil slicks in SAR imagery. Although portions of slick are slightly underestimated (unemulsified crude oil has an epsilon value of approximately 2.3) further avenues of research are currently ongoing in order to improve estimates.
14:20 - On the Co-Cross Polarization Coherence over Sea Surface from Sentinel-1 TOPS Data
Longépé, Nicolas (1); Husson, Romain (1); Mouche, Alexis (2); Pottier, Eric (3); Archer, Olivier (2) - 1: CLS, France; 2: IFREMER, France; 3: University of Rennes I, France
SAR ocean surface wind retrieval has been originally based on a single observed quantity; the co-polarized Normalized Radar Cross Section (NRCS). This approach is directly derived from scatterometry and relies on a transfer function between radar observables and surface wind speed and direction, so called CMOD (C-band MODel) for C-band. In 2009, the launch of Radarsat-2 enabled to get routine measurements in cross-polarization. The weak sensitivity of the cross-polarized NRCS to incidence angle, to wind direction relative to the antenna look angle and the higher sensitivity to wind speed than for co-polarization are three major results that fostered many wind applications. The most striking is certainly the direct use of the cross-polarized channel for hurricane wind measurements. The capacities of Radarsat-2 also enable to measure the correlation between VH and VV channels. In particular, [Zhang et al. 2014] showed that the correlation between co- and cross- polarization channels has odd symmetry with respect to wind direction that could be complementary to the even symmetry of the co-pol NRCS. This work has been focused on the new capabilities of Sentinel-1 SARs, i.e. large swath acquisitions with phase preserving dual-pol channels. In this presentation/paper, the following topics will be detailed: - A massive processing of SLC IW products (several TB) collocated with wind model information has been carried out - First analysis of this database enables to outline some issues in the estimates of the co-cross coherence over ocean sea surface from S-1. Both the real part and the imaginary parts of the coherence should be equal to zero in the condition of reflection symmetry (up- or down-wind situation), but measurements show some small biases - We investigate then the reasons of these measured biases. Especially, the polarimetric distortion of S-1 sensor is neither estimated nor compensated on the produced data. - A methodology is proposed to account for this phenomena, enabling to counterbalance this effect and retrieve consistent results with those published in [Zhang et al. 2014]. - The analysis of the Pol-Calibrated co-cross coherence is carried out for a wide range of incidence angle and wind condition (which was not performed by [Zhang et al. 2014] due to limited availability of quad-pol RS-2). It shows interesting features which may be helpful to further understand the complex interactions between electromagnetic waves and sea surface. - The applicability to use this new information in the wind retrieval scheme is discussed. It is shown that S-1 co-cross coherence has burst-to-burst residuals which are not explained yet.
14:40 - A MULTI-POLARIZATION ANALYSIS OF AZIMUTH CUT-OFF FOR SAR WIND SPEED RETRIEVAL UNDER MODERATE AND EXTREME WEATHER CONDITIONS
Corcione, Valeria (1); Nunziata, Ferdinando (1); Portabella, Marcos (2); Grieco, Giuseppe (3); Migliaccio, Maurizio (1) - 1: Università degli Studi di Napoli Parthenope, Italy; 2: The institute of Marine Sciences (ICM-CSIC), Spain; 3: Koninklijk Nederlands Meterologisch Instituut (KNMI), De Bilt, The Netherlands
Oceanic processes are driven by several key variables, e.g.; significant wave height (SWH), winds and sea state. Within this context, satellite microwave active remote sensing sensors are widely used to provide accurate sea surface information. The role of these sensors for ocean applications is worldwide recognized. In particular, the Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) can provide moderate-to-fine spatial resolution ocean surface products. At this aim, there exist Normalized Radar Cross Section (NRCS)-based approaches or spectral-based ones. In this work, the azimuth cut-off (λc) spectral method is investigated for both the co-polarized (VV) than cross-polarized (VH) channel. Originally, the azimuth cut-off technique was proposed in [1] to retrieve SWH, without the knowledge of any a priori information. The theory that is at the basis of the azimuth cut-off method is related to the influence of the orbital motion related to the surface waves in the SAR imaging of the ocean surface. This orbital motion results in additional Doppler shifts that distort the phase history of the backscattered signal that is used to synthetize the resolution in azimuth. The result is a low-pass filtered SAR image in the azimuth direction. The azimuth cut-off well correlates to the SWH because of its sensitivity to the long waves. Recently, in [2] the ACF-based λc approach has been improved to deal with high wind speed regimes, e.g.; extreme weather conditions. The key issues that allow to extend the method to high wind regimes concern the tuning of the method with respect to pixel spacing, box size and the homogeneity of the SAR imagery. In particular, the box size is set at about 1 km × 1 km and an adaptive window size is selected for the median filter to account for the pixel spacing and first results on wind speed estimation under tropical cyclone conditions are presented. In this study, Sentinel-1A dual- polarimetric (VV-VH) SAR data, collected in Interferometric Wide (IW) mode under moderate and extreme wind regimes (such as tropical cylcones), are used to investigate the sensitivity of azimuth cut-off to wind speed in both co- and cross-polarized channels. In particular, a comparison between the co-polarized and cross-polarized azimuth cut-off values is carried out, to further investigate the VH-cut-off map and to understand its information content. In addition, a coherent analysis based on the polarization entropy is carried out to understand the role of coherent information in estimating wind speed. Preliminary results, obtained processing a large data set of Sentinel-1 SAR measurements with co-located ECMWF ancillary wind speed information, show that the two azimuth cut-off maps (co- and cross- polarized) are well correlated when misfit and unreliable values are filtered out, while a slight negative correlation is found when comparing the entropy with the azimuth cut-off results. [1] [1] V. Kerbaol, B. Chapron, and P.W. Vachon, “Analysis of ERS-1/2 synthetic aperture radar wave mode imagettes”, Journal of Geophysical Reserarch, vol. 103, no. C4, pp. 7833-7846, 1998. [2] M. Portabella, V. Corcione, X. Yang, Z. Jelenak, P. Chang, G. Grieco, A. Mouche, F. Nunziata, W. Li, “Analysis of the SAR-derived wind signatures over extra-tropical storm conditions”, Dragon 4 Symposium, Copenhagen, Denmark, 26-30 June.
15:00 - C-band Right-Circular Polarization Ocean Wind Retrieval
Zhang, Guosheng (1,2); Zhang, Biao (1); Perrie, Will (2); He, Yijun (1); Khurshid, Shahid (3); Warner, Kerri (3) - 1: Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology; 2: Bedford Institute of Oceanography, Canada; 3: Environment Climate Change Canada
In this study, we investigate the potential capability of ocean wind retrieval from C-band four polarizations (RV, RH, RR and RL) of the RCM CP mode and find that the RR-polarization is almost not sensitive to the wind direction, which is different from the other three polarizations. Based on the simulated RCM images and buoy measured winds, we propose a C-band RR-polarized wind retrieval model as a function of wind speed and radar incidence angle. The right hand circular polarizations in transmit and in receive are in opposite directions, as the transmit direction and receive direction are opposite. If we see the circular polarizations from the satellite, the circular is in clockwise direction when it transmits whereas it is in counter-clockwise direction when receives. If we decompose the RR-polarization to the vertical and horizontal directions, the RR-polarization can be a function of HV and VH polarizations. Therefore, C-band RR-polarization has the similarly linear relationship with the wind speed as the C-band linear cross-polarizations (VH/HV) in RADARSAT-2. For wind directions, the simulated NRCSs in the other three polarizations (RL, RV, RV and RH) have obvious dependences on the relative wind directions for a given wind speed and incidence angle (Figure 2). Based on interactions between radar microwave and sea surface waves generated by wind, Zhang et al. (2018) proposed an ocean semi-empirical model for RADARSAT Constellation Mission (RCM) RV and RH polarizations and suggested that RV-polarization is a better choice for ocean wind monitoring than RH-polarization. By analysis of the texture relationship between RCM CP mode and RADARSAT-2 linear quad-polarizations (VV, HH, VH and HV), Geldsetzer et al. (2015) demonstrated that the RV-polarized (or RH-polarized) NRCS approximately equals half of VV-polarized (or HH-polarized) NRCS, which is (σ_0RV≈0.5∙σ_0VV) or (σ_0RH≈0.5∙σ_0HH). Therefore, the VV-polarized (or HH-polarized) wind retrieval method can be employed for the RV-polarized (or RH-polarized) wind inversion. However, the fact is that no well-developed models exist for the HH-polarized wind retrieval, and the widely used approach has been to convert HH-polarized NRCS to VV-polarization using a polarization ratio and then retrieve winds with the VV-polarized function (Lin et al., 2008; Zhang et al., 2012). The RV-polarized wind retrieval model is supposed to be related to the VV-polarized function (Geldsetzer et al., 2015), which is CMOD5.N a well-developed VV-polarized wind retrieval function. In the presentation, we also show the RCM RV-polarized ocean semi-empirical model (Zhang et al., 2018) results for the same wind speed and incidence angle, as well as RV-polarized datasets, and that RV-polarization has a potential capability for the wind direction retrieval in the future. After all, the RCM CP quad-polarization will provide wider swath than RADARSAT-2 linear quad-polarized SAR images. The linear relationship between ocean wind speeds and C-band RR-polarized radar signal has important implications for oceanographic and meteorological researches, especially for tropical cyclone monitoring and dynamical studies. Based on the linear relationship between C-band VH/HV polarized NRCSs and wind speeds, we have studied the hurricane structures (Zhang et al., 2014, 2017), internal dynamic processes of eyewall replacement cycles (Zhang and Perrie, 2018, Remote sensing) and hurricane asymmetries (Zhang and Perrie, 2018, GRL). Associated with the advantages of three satellites in constellation, we would get two times more images in C-band RR-pol from RCM for a same tropical cyclone, which would improve our understanding of tropical cyclones.
Applications of SAR Polarimetry on Ocean (cont'd)
15:50 - Wind speed retrieval from simulated RADARSAT Constellation Mission (RCM) Compact Polarimetry (CP) SAR data for marine wind application
Khurshid, Shahid Khawaja (1); Perrie, William (2); Warner, Kerri (1); Geldzetser, Torsten (3); Zhang, Guosheng (2); Flett, Dean (1) - 1: Environment & Climate Change Canada, Canada; 2: Fisheries & Oceans Canada, Bedford Institute of Oceanography; 3: Independent Contractor
The operational National SAR winds (NSW) system derives marine wind speed estimates from RADARSAT-2 and Sentinel-1 data using published C-band models (CMOD) and provides these data and other products in near-real-time (NRT) to operational marine forecasters and meteorologists within Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC). The NSW system is being updated to process data from the future RADARSAT Constellation Mission (RCM), the primary objective of which is to ensure SAR data continuity and to improve operational capability of existing applications. A database is developed of simulated RCM Normalized Cross Sections (NRCS) generated from a Compact Polarimetry (CP) simulator using RADARSAT-2 quad-pol SAR images and co-located ocean wind vector observations from in-situ buoys. Twenty CP parameters and six standard polarization parameters are evaluated for their wind retrieval potential for three simulated RCM beam modes. The main purpose of this database is to develop and validate new wind retrieval models for RCM CP SAR data expected to be available to the operational NSW system in 2019. The simulated CP and standard parameters are analyzed for dependencies for wind speed, incidence angle and wind direction. Based on these analyses we recommend optimized RCM beam modes and polarizations and capabilities and limitations for ocean surface wind speed estimation. These analyses provide a refined reference database for wind retrieval models development and validation for NSW operational applications.
Round Table Applications of SAR Polarimetry on Ocean
Applications of SAR Polarimetry on Cryosphere
Chairs: Papathanassiou, Kostas (DLR), Parrella, Giuseppe (German Aerospace Center (DLR))
09:30 - Exploring the Potential of TanDEM-X Dual-Polarization Time Series to Monitor Snow Accumulation on an Alpine Glacier
Schoenfeldt, Miriam; Parrella, Giuseppe; Hajnsek, Irena
Mass balance is a key indicator of the dynamics of a glacier. It is defined as the difference between the mass gained by accumulation and the mass lost due to ablation processes. Snow accumulation represents a major contribution to the accumulation term and its knowledge is therefore strictly required for the estimation of mass balance. So far, snow accumulation is being measured mainly by means of sparse weather stations which provide only point measurements. Snow maps for larger areas are obtained by spatially interpolating data from stations at different locations with the help of meteorological models. In the last decades, space-borne radar remote sensing has led to significant developments in the field of glaciology, due to the large spatial coverage with a relative short revisit time and a high spatial resolution. Thanks to the penetration capability of microwaves into dry snow and ice, conventional SAR systems are able to sense the surface as well as subsurface layers of glaciers and ice sheets, providing a tool to access information about the structure of the shallow snow-cover. This study investigates the potential of dual-polarimetric (HH/VV) TanDEM-X time series to monitor snow accumulation over the Aletsch glacier, in the Swiss Alps. In particular, co-polarization phase differences are employed to detect snowfall events, as shown already in [1] for the case of snow-covered soil. Furthermore, the propagation model described in [2] is adopted to link phase differences to fresh snow properties, like structural anisotropy, density and thickness, and to invert fresh snow depth from TanDEM-X data. Based on the inversion results, a simple algorithm has been developed to obtain an estimate of the temporal evolution of the snow height on the glacier surface. Preliminary results show that the proposed approach is able to provide a good estimate of the snow accumulation, as confirmed by snow depth measurements from a weather station nearby the glacier. However, a number of limitations remain, mainly related to the relatively low temporal sampling (11-day) offered by TanDEM-X and the need of some a priori knowledge about fresh snow density and structural anisotropy, which require further investigations. [1] Leinss S., Parrella G. and Hajnsek I.: Snow height determination by polarimetric phase differences in X-band SAR data, JSTARS, vol. 7, no. 9, pp. 3794-3810, 2014. [2] Leinss S., Loewe H., Proksch M., Lemmetyinen J., Wiesmann A. and Hajnsek I.: Anisotropy of seasonal snow measured by polarimetric phase difference in radar time series, The Cryosphere, vol. 10, pp. 1771-1797, 2016.
09:50 - L- and P- band tomographic imaging in dense forests: AfriSAR results
EL Moussawi, Ibrahim (1,2,3,4); Ho Tong Minh, Dinh (1); Baghdadi, Nicolas (1); Abdallah, Chadi (2); Jomaah, Jalal (3); Strauss, Olivier (4); Lavalle, Marco (5) - 1: Irstea UMR TETIS University of Montpellier (UM); 2: CNRS-L; 3: Lebanese University (UL); 4: Lirmm University of Montpellier (UM); 5: NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory JPL California Institute of Technology USA
This study presents tomographic analysis using L-band NASA/JPL UAVSAR and P-band ONERA/SETHI from AfriSAR data conducted over the Gabon Lope Park. The objective of this paper is to provide a better understanding of tomographic capabilities in characterization of dense forested areas at L-band. Prior to tomographic imaging, a phase residual correction methodology based on Sum Kronecker Product and Phase Double Localization PCDL have been implemented. The estimated vertical structure of the forest extracted from the correct tomographic data is validated with small footprint light detection collected during the AfriSAR campaign in July 2015. The results show that L-band, similar to P-band, allows to retrieve the whole forest structure and characterizes the ground and volume scattering. We demonstrate that L-band tomographic imaging can now be carried out even in dense tropical forest.
10:10 - POLARIZATION EFFECT ON GLACIER MOVEMENT ESTIMATION USING DIFFERENTIAL SAR INTERFEROMETRY (DInSAR)
Khati, Umesh
Nela, Bala Raju; Singh, Gulab; Khati, Umesh - Centre of Studies in Resources Engineering, IIT Bombay, India
Glaciers are the most important component in the cryosphere and it’s a reliable indicator of climate change. We can understand these climate changes by monitoring the glacier dynamics. Glacier velocity is one of the important parameters to know about glacier dynamics and it’s health. This glacier surface velocity is further useful to calculate the glacier thickness and mass balance. Remote sensing techniques especially radar remote sensing techniques are cooperating to study the glacier dynamics. Differential SAR Interferometry (DInSAR) is the radar interferometry technique to measure surface movement with an accuracy of millimeter range by differencing two Interferograms. The first time this DInSAR technique was used for cryosphere application in 1994 by Goldstein to monitor the Rutford Ice Stream motion, Antarctica. All the previous DInSAR glacier movement studies have been done with the HH polarization only. But the mountain glaciers are irregular in structure and shape and moreover, it covered with different kinds of materials like dry/wet snow, sediments, moraines and boulders. Therefore it's not always correct to use only HH channel SAR images to estimate glacier movement using the DInSAR technique. This DInSAR technique will give better and extra information with the help of polarimetry because it contains the backscattered information of target point geometrical structure, shape and orientation. The first time we used this DInSAR technique with 4 polarizations for ‘glacier movement’ to select an optimum pair. We selected Bara Shigri glacier, the largest glacier in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh of a length nearly 28 km and area 126.5 km2 and it contains glacier ice, debris as well as a medial & lateral moraine. About 14% of this Bara Shigri glacier surface is extensively covered with debris. The less temporal baseline and high wavelength of SAR images give better results for glacier movement and we clearly observed this in coherence and interferogram images. This coherence value varies in between 0 to 1 and it indirectly tells the quality of the DInSAR. If this coherence value is more, then the results will be more accurate and if it's less than 0.3, will not be useful for the DInSAR process. But it’s impossible to get the high coherence value for the continuous moving targets like a glacier. We compared the coherence images generated with the 4 different types of polarizations. Co-polarized ( HH and VV) giving the same and high coherence for the snow-covered area. Cross-polarized ( HV and VH) giving the same and high coherence for the debris-covered area. Therefore, selecting of polarization channel for DInSAR process is dependent on the type of glacier. If the glacier is completely covered with snow, better to use co-polarized and for the debris-covered glacier, it would be better to use cross-polarized. The maximum velocity of a Bara Shigri glacier we observed 15.3 cm/day in the accumulation region, near to the portion of the medial moraine in the month of accumulation season (March 2015). We can also observe time series changes in a glacier by comparing recent velocity maps (using Sentinel-1A/1B, ALOS-2 data) with old velocity maps (using ERS tandem pair images). For comparison purpose, better to use the same bands if it’s giving good coherence. Using Laminar flow equation we can also derive thickness from the velocity and then we can calculate glacier mass balance. If this two thickness and mass balance are giving accurate results, then this DInSAR technique will be the best method to know about glacier dynamics using the glacier movement.
Applications of SAR Polarimetry on Cryosphere (cont'd)
11:00 - Polarimetric Sensitivity of Multi-Frequency Airborne SAR Measurements to the Ice Zones of Greenland
Parrella, Giuseppe (1); Papathanassiou, Kostas (1); Hajnsek, Irena (1,2) - 1: German Aerospace Center (DLR), Germany; 2: ETh Zurich, Switzerland
Polarimetric SAR data are well known to provide a better characterization of a scattering scene compared to single-polarization measurements. In order to further extend the observation space, multi-frequency (polarimetric) measurements can be considered. The joint use of different wavelengths allows to gain sensitivity about scatterers at different size scale and at different depth (in case of volumes) due to the different penetration depths. For the study of ice masses, multi-frequency Pol-SAR data are expected to be sensitive to different subsurface layers. For instance, X-band is more suitable to investigate the shallow snow cover as well as surface features while L-band allows to sense the underlying firn and ice layers. Therefore, such a dataset can potentially provide a significant contribution to the identification and characterization of different ice zones which, in turn, is needed for more accurate mass balance estimation. Because of the large number of factors determining the subsurface structure of glaciers and ice sheets, the exploitation of PolSAR data still plays a secondary role in the study of snow and ice properties. Early studies addressed the identification of ice zones focusing on the analysis of backscattering coefficients in single [1] and multi-polarization configurations [2]. Recent studies have shown that also the coherent nature of the polarimetric signature is essential. For instance, it has been shown that polarimetric phase differences between the HH and VV channels can reveal details of the microstructure of snow and firn layers [3]. In this study, a multi-frequency analysis of polarimetric signatures over the different ice zones of the Greenland ice sheet is presented. A set of descriptors is employed to extract and interpret the polarimetric information from the data, which includes backscattering coefficients, the scattering entropy, the mean alpha angle, polarimetric ratios and phase differences. The study is based on a multi-frequency (L-, C- and X- band) airborne Pol-SAR dataset acquired in May 2015, during the ARCTIC15 campaign, over a 200 km long (and 5 km wide) transect in West Greenland. Preliminary results show that, X- and C-band signatures are dominated by the ice surface features (e.g. roughness), which can generate complex (volume-like) scattering at such short wavelengths even in the bare ice (ablation) zone. Over the firn (accumulation) zone, the polarimetric signatures are saturated due to strong volume scattering occurring within the firn layers. In contrast, L-band measurements show a pronounced change of polarimetric signatures over the area of transition between two zones, pointing out a clear variation of scattering mechanisms according to the different subsurface structure. [1] M. A. Fahnestock, R. Bindschadler, R. Kwok, and K. C. Jezek, “Greenland ice sheet surface properties and ice dynamics from ERS-1 SAR imagery,” Science, 262(5139), 1530-1534, Dec. 1993. [2] M. Koenig, J.-G. Winther, N. T. Knudsen and T. Guneriussen, Equilibrium- and firn-line detection with multi-polarization SAR – first results, Proc. EARSel-SIG Workshop Land Ice and Snow, Dresden, Germany, 16-17 June, 2000. [3] Parrella G., Hajnsek I. and Papathanassiou K.: On the interpretation of polarimetric phase differences in SAR data over land ice, GRSL, vol. 13, no. 2, pp. 192-196, 2016.
11:20 - Ice thickness change in Indian Himalayas using SRTM and TanDEM-X global DEM
Khati, Unmesh
Bandyopadhyay, Debmita; Singh, Gulab; Khati, Unmesh - Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, India
The Himalayas form one of the largest glacier systems in the world and have immense stored water potential. In fact, it is called the ‘third pole’ as well as the ‘water tower of Asia’. However, owing to the changing climatic conditions, the rate of retreat of majority of the glaciers in India have accelerated. Hence, there is a need for constant monitoring of these freshwater reservoirs. With the dearth of ground-based information in these rugged terrains, remote sensing technology is the most sensible way to gauge the changes taking place in the entire range of the Himalayas. Radar remote sensing has an edge over other techniques (like optical) in terms of all-weather and all-day capability. Using interferometric SAR (InSAR), Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) have been generated which are able to give an idea about the topography of the region in great detail. Moreover, with the recent release of TanDEM-X DEMs (90m) in 2018, observing decadal changes has become readily achievable. Further, with TanDEM-X being the only global DEM generated using X-band data after SRTM in the year 2000, which is disseminated freely, such dataset at our disposal has tremendously improved the scope of interferometry based studies in the glaciated terrain. Glaciers can be monitored using a variety of parameters like change in length, area, thickness in order to understand the change in glacier dynamics in response to the changing climate. This can be corroborated with parameters like temperature or precipitation patterns. Of all the glacial parameters, mass balance has been considered as one of the most responsive and representative of estimates. For mass balance, there are various methods that have been deployed like energy balance, geodetic and ELA/AAR method. Geodetic method utilizes the information of thickness and density change, which is heavily dependent on the accuracy of DEMs. With the recent release of TanDEM-X global DEM, in this study, we not only try to estimate the thickness change in the entire Indian Himalayan terrain but also try to highlight the potential of the TanDEM-X DEM, to monitor such dynamic geographical features. Hence, this study would facilitate assessing the water sustainability potential and the contribution of the Indian Himalayas towards the melt-water for the early twenty-first century, which will eventually help quantify the sea-level rise at a global scale.
W. Boerner Award Ceremony
13:20 - Investigating the Potential to Retrieve Vertical Subsurface Structures of Ice Sheets by Means of Pol-InSAR Data
Fischer, Georg (1,2); Papathanassiou, Konstantinos (1); Hajnsek, Irena (1,2) - 1: German Aerospace Center (DLR), Germany; 2: ETH Zurich, Institute of Environmental Engineering, Switzerland
Polarimetric SAR interferometry (Pol-InSAR) techniques allow investigating the vertical distribution of scattering processes, and have therefore the potential to provide geophysical information about the subsurface structure of glaciers and ice sheets. Studies have shown the retrieval of InSAR penetration depths [1] and extinction coefficients [2] at different frequencies and polarizations, which are linked to the geophysical subsurface characteristics. The associated retrieval schemes, e.g. by means of a Random Volume under Ground model [2], are based on the assumption of a lossy propagation through an isotropic, homogeneous volume in the subsurface of glaciers or ice sheets. This is described by a constant signal extinction coefficient, which results in an exponential decrease of backscatter intensity along depth. However, recent studies [3] have shown that the constant extinction assumption is insufficient to describe airborne Pol-InSAR data from Greenland, due to the presence of heterogeneously distributed scatterers within the firn volume. Refreezing of melt water leads to distinct horizontal ice layers in the subsurface, which have a clear effect on the backscattered signal. These layers can be modeled as Dirac deltas with a given backscattering power at a given depth. In addition, backscattering originates also from the firn body and ice inclusions distributed across depth, which can be described with vertical volume structure functions. While the assumption of a constant extinction for the volume is accurate enough to describe InSAR coherence magnitudes, it fails when simulating the interferometric phase in our data [3]. Non-constant extinction models are therefore necessary and preliminary results show that only one additional degree of freedom in the volume structure function significantly improves the agreement with the data. The higher modeling complexity, introduced by additional parameters for distinct subsurface layers and a volume structure with non-constant extinction, increases the challenge of a retrieval or inversion scheme. The inversion depends strongly on the observation scenario as well as on the subsurface characteristics of the area under investigation. A simple case, which roughly represents the subsurface of our test site in the percolation zone of Greenland, consists of two layers and a volume, where the volume is independent of the polarization (i.e. random volume). The resulting eleven model parameters could be theoretically inverted with a dual-baseline Pol-InSAR setup providing twelve independent observables. Any additional layer or a polarization dependent volume (i.e. oriented volume) add at least two parameters and will complicate the inversion. This study investigates the limitations and potential of polarimetric and (multi-baseline) interferometric data for the retrieval of ice sheet subsurface structures and performs a sensitivity study based on different modeling complexities. Polarimetry helps to separate the effects of distinct layers, assuming rough surface scattering, and the volume. With a limited amount of interferometric baselines, potential lies in the combination of data with small vertical wavenumber, which are more affected by the volume, and data with larger vertical wavenumber, which are more affected by the layers. [1] E. W. Hoen and H. Zebker, “Penetration depths inferred from interferometric volume decorrelation observed over the Greenland ice sheet,” IEEE Trans. Geosci. Remote Sens., vol. 38, no. 6, pp. 2572–2583, Nov. 2000. [2] J.J. Sharma, I. Hajnsek, and K.P. Papathanassiou, “Estimation of glacier ice extinction using long-wavelength airborne Pol-InSAR,” IEEE Trans. Geosci. Remote Sens., vol. 51, no. 6, pp. 3715-3732, Jun. 2013. [3] G. Fischer, G. Parrella, K. P. Papathanassiou, and I. Hajnsek, “Sensitivity of polarimetric SAR interferometry data to different vertical subsurface structures of the Greenland ice sheet,” in Proc. of IGARSS, Forth Worth, USA, 2017, pp. 3581–3584.
Round Table Applications of SAR Polarimetry on Cryosphere
Airborne and Campaigns
Chairs: Mariotti d'Alessandro, Mauro (Politecnico di Milano), Papathanassiou, Kostas (DLR)
14:00 - Analysis of PolSAR imagery from the DALOEX 2015 technology demonstration campaign in Greenland
Krogager, Ernst - Danish Defence Acquisition and Logistics Organisation, Denmark
As a technology demonstration related to future capabilities in the Arctic region, the Danish Defence Acquisition and Logistics Organization (DALO) conducted a test campaign, DALOEX 2015, in Greenland from late April to late May 2015, where an airborne multiband, high-resolution, fully polarimetric synthetic aperture radar (PolSAR) system was flown over several test areas. The F-SAR system of the German Aerospace Center (DLR) was chosen for the test campaign and provided the desired possibility of exploring five frequency bands in the range of 400 MHz to 10 GHz with fully polarimetric data acquisition. Polarimetric radar imaging requires more complex and more costly systems, but also more complex methods for visualization, interpretation and processing. For such reasons, fully polarimetric radar systems are still not commonly used for military applications, but nevertheless, the potential benefits of fully polarimetric systems must be taken into due consideration for future capabilities. Hence, a main objective of the test campaigns reported here was to demonstrate and illustrate how the utilization of information carried by the polarization of electromagnetic waves could improve the performance of imaging radar systems. The test scenarios included experiments with objects hidden under snow as well as moving targets and boats near icebergs. Detailed ground truth was collected in the form of precision GPS measurements with associated photos, and aerial photos were taken during helicopter flights. In this presentation, examples of results and findings are presented with a focus on methods for interpretation and visualization of multiband PolSAR imagery. Many such methods have been devised and developed since the early days of radar polarimetry in the 1950s. Notably, polarimetric decompositions have been developed for characterizing targets in terms of physical scattering mechanisms and mathematical formulations on a pixel by pixel basis. Polarimetric decompositions are usually categorized in two main groups: coherent and incoherent methods, the latter implying the use of averaged quantities and statistical concepts. Incoherent approaches seem to be preferred in many cases, but it should be kept in mind that SAR is coherent in nature, relying on a coherent integration of signal samples along the path of the radar platform. Coherent decompositions aim at extracting target characteristic features for each individual (complex-valued matrix) pixel of the raw SAR image before performing any averaging, while incoherent approaches are typically based on forming coherency or covariance matrices before the decomposition. A variety of interpretation schemes have been proposed and widely applied in modern SAR polarimetry. However, such interpretations are to a large extent based on assumptions and approximations in order to extract features associated with particular scattering phenomena and target structures. The target scattering matrix for each pixel effectively contains five independent parameters: three amplitudes and two relative phase terms. The three amplitudes can be used for generating color images by letting the three components modulate the RGB (red, green, blue) color pixel by pixel, but the use of polarimetric decompositions makes it possible to form alternative RGB images with colors more closely related to basic scattering mechanisms. A main challenge is to extract and separate as many target characteristic features as possible under the limitation of five independent parameters for each pixel. Generic scattering objects are commonly used for such characterizations, e.g., spheres, dihedrals, dipoles, wires, helices, quarter-wave plates, and in the case of incoherent decompositions, concepts like volume scattering and rough surface scattering are used to characterize targets and extended target areas on a statistical basis. The classical Pauli decomposition known from mathematical physics is a fundamental decomposition used in the outset for many decompositions in radar polarimetry. In relation to radar targets, the Pauli decomposition represents an odd-bounce reflector and two even-bounce reflectors oriented at 0 and 45 degrees, respectively. One disadvantage of this representation is due to the fact that an arbitrarily oriented dihedral produces contributions to two out of three components, which renders the interpretation of a three-component (RGB) color image difficult. An alternative approach, the socalled sphere, diplane, helix decomposition, was proposed by the author in 1990. According to this approach, a scattering matrix is decomposed into an odd-bounce reflector, an even-bounce reflector and a helix. A major advantage of this approach is that three fundamentally different object types contribute to one and only one component, unlike other approaches, which suffer the same ambiguity problem as the Pauli matrix representation. A disadvantage, which has been pointed out in other works, is that the diplane and helix components are not mutually orthogonal and hence not satisfying the criteria of many statistical approaches and mathematical transformations. In spite of the orthogonality issue, the quantities of the sphere, diplane, helix decomposition are closely related to how a radar sees the reflection from a complex scatterer. Thus, the components can be measured directly in the circular polarization basis, independent of the incidental overall orientation angle of the target around the line of sight. From this point of view, the reflection from any complex structure appears to the radar as if it were due to the combined response from one sphere, one diplane and one helix. A dipole appears as half sphere and half diplane, and it is not possible without additional information or a priori knowledge to determine, whether the target is actually a dipole. This is just one example of the fundamental limitations of polarimetric radar target characterization and at the same time an illustration of how attempts to extract more information than is actually contained in the data may lead to confusion and misrepresentations. With due regard to the objective of assessing the utility of fully polarimetric radar systems for applications in the Arctic (and elsewhere), the above aspects will be further addressed in the presentation and illustrated by examples from DALOEX 2015 as well as from a preparatory campaign (DALOEX 2014) with F-SAR in Denmark in October 2014.
14:20 - DLR Airborne SAR Campaign on Permafrost Soils and Boreal Forests in the Canadian Northwest Territories, Yukon and Saskatchewan: PermASAR
Hajnsek, Irena (1,2); Joerg, Hannah (1); Horn, Ralf (1); Keller, Martin (1); Gesswein, Daniel (1); Jaeger, Marc (1); Scheiber, Rolf (1); Bernhard, Philipp (2); Zwieback, Simon (2) - 1: Microwaves and Radar Institute DLR, Germany; 2: Institute of Environmental Enginnering ETH Zürich
Monitoring permafrost regions from space is one of the objectives of the Tandem-L mission foreseen to be launched in the near future. In times of climate change and global warming the permafrost boundary moves north more rapidly every year. Permafrost soils contain CO2 and even worse methane (CH4). When thawed (or activated) these critical gases are released to the atmosphere [1]. Ahead of the Tandem-L satellite mission the DLR Microwaves and Radar Institute (DLR-HR) conducted an experimental airborne SAR campaign involving its multi-frequency and polarimetric F-SAR instrument in the Canadian Northwest (Northwest Territories and Yukon) and Saskatchewan. The first campaign took place in July/August 2018 to cover the thawed regions and a second campaign will take place in March/April 2019 covering the frozen state of the soil surfaces. Ten test sites have been selected representing a south-north gradient and covering different permafrost types. The main motivation for this campaign is to gain knowledge about the interaction between longer EM wavelength and permafrost soils (vegetated and non-vegetated). This is important in order to develop algorithms for the observation of changes in such regions, which in turn is important for the quantification of changes due to global warming. For the airborne campaign specific science questions have been drafted depending on soil type and vegetation coverage. The focus of this study will be to develop and validate algorithms on soil moisture, characterize organic layers, regions with different active layer thicknesses and characterize the vegetation on top of the soil [2,3]. In this paper the test sites along the south-north gradient are presented and their responses at different frequencies assessed. In addition their polarimetric and interferometric behaviors are analyzed. In summary a first assessment of the data collected shall be presented. [1] Zwieback S, Kokelj SV, Gunther F, Boike J, Grosse G, Hajnsek I. Sub-seasonal thaw slump mass wasting is not consistently energy limited at the landscape scale. Cryosphere. 2018;12(2):549-64. [2] Pichierri M, Hajnsek I, Zwieback S, Rabus B. On the potential of Polarimetric SAR Interferometry to characterize the biomass, moisture and structure of agricultural crops at L-, C- and X-Bands. Remote Sensing of Environment. 2018; 204:596-616. [3] Brancato V, Hajnsek I. Analyzing the Influence of Wet Biomass Changes in Polarimetric Differential SAR Interferometry at L-Band. IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing. 2018;11(5):1494-508.
Round Table Airborne and Campaigns
Summary and reccomendations
Workshop Closing
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Classic SEGA Ads: Tiger Electronics puts the “L” in Virtua Fighter
January 31, 2015 by Barry
If you thought Virtua Fighter in arcades and on the SEGA Saturn was as real as it could get, Tiger Electronics asks you to think again! Released in 1995, Tiger’s R-Zone (not to be confused with Pizza Hut’s P’Zone) was a portable headset and attached controller that promised a virtual reality experience, but ended up just delivering a headache. Unlike other Tiger Electronic LCD games, R-Zone took cartridges.
Each cartridge contained a transparent LCD display, projecting the game onto a mirrored surface placed just inches from the players eye. As was the norm for VR at the time, red was the color of choice. Leeching off of popular franchises to survive, the R-Zone featured Men in Black, Jurassic Park, Batman, Star Wars, and SEGA’s own Virtua Fighter. Don’t let the ad above deceive you, despite being right in your face, R-Zone’s Virtua Fighter was as far from virtual Virtua Fighter as one could get. Wait… did that kid say “brain chop”?!?
For those who thought Virtua Fighter for the R-Zone was a little too real, or a little too nauseating, there was also the standard Tiger handheld experience. In the ad above, a kid in a Tiger branded karate outfit is fighting a video screen that resembles an iPad showing footage from the original Virtua Fighter. Meanwhile, the narrator introduces the ultimate “virtual fighters”, warning that “your first move could be your last”.
As the kid continues to void his iPad’s warranty, the screen is finally beat, crashing to the floor and morphing into a Tiger handheld game. The narrator ends the ad by fudging up the games title, referring to it as “Virtual Fighters the handheld game”. Yeah Tiger, you sure did put the “L” in “Virtua Fighter”.
SEGA Tunes: Get moving with Virtua Fighter’s pumping soundtrack Developer Retrospective: We celebrate the legacy of SEGA AM2 SEGA Retrospective: After Burner II – From SEGA arcade classic to SEGA 3D Classics SEGA Retrospective: Kicking off Virtua Fighter Week SEGA Retrospective: Virtua Fighter’s Spin-Offs and Crossovers
AM2 Month R-Zone SEGA AM2 Month SEGA Saturday Morning Ads SEGA-AM2 Tiger Virtua Fighter Virtua Fighter Week
2 responses to “Classic SEGA Ads: Tiger Electronics puts the “L” in Virtua Fighter”
CafeLeLEMONed says:
All I can think of when seeing that is AVGN implied the R zone is a torture device and how it looks like that kid is screaming in agony at the end of that commercial. lol
Gamma says:
Forgot how cheesy American adverts often are.
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A new look into Mausam Movie
A new look into Mausam
On the 16th of September we finally get to delve into the world of Mausam. Directed by Pankaj Kapoor, the film that spans a love story over the seasons of 10 years stars the exciting new jodi of Shahid Kapoor and Sonam Kapoor.
Mausam is a love story beyond romance and is the journey of two over the seasons of life. In its first season we start with a mere adolescent attraction between a Punjabi boy Harry, and a Kashmiri girl Aayat, in a small village of Punjab. It develops into young love between them in season two. Their love realizes its own depth in the hours of separation throught season three. In the fourth and final season their love culminates into togetherness. But not before sacrificing a lot personally and learning the truth behind universal love. It is a passionate love story which sees, as its background various shades of life.
In this newest promo we can see each of those seasons and the amazing film we have in store for us!
Also check out these new posters
Mausam dialogue promo
Meet the new love guru Shahid Kapur
What's common between Shahid's Mausam' & Ranbir's ...
India's Most Desirable Ft Shahid Kapoor 4th Septem...
India's Most Desirable Shahid Kapoor] 4th Septembe...
India's Most Desirable Shahid Kapoor 4th September...
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Issue Six - July 2003
By Heather June
From the moment Rebecca Blackwell entered the fourth grade classroom, Maggie felt it, just under her ribs. It stretched between them like a ribbon, tying them together. The class stared at Rebecca, small and thin, with the whitest hair imaginable. Long hair. With Mrs. Resnick’s arm around her fragile shoulders, Rebecca shivered, looking at her black leather shoes. Maggie knew what an albino was from National Geographic, but real ones had pink eyes. Rebecca’s were blue. Maggie felt sorry for her, because the fourth grade girls were mean, even if you looked normal.
“We have a new student today, class. Let’s welcome Rebecca Blackwell.”
No one said a word, they only stared at Rebecca. Watching, Maggie thought they looked sort of clueless, the way people do when nothing bad has happened to them yet. Rebecca was old on the inside, Maggie could tell. She raised her hand, “Can she sit next to me?”
Mrs. Resnick nodded. “That’s very nice of you, Maggie.”
At close range, Rebecca’s fingers were slender like twigs of birch, trembling. Maggie knew, the way she knew other things, that this tremor surfaced from deep under ground. Rebecca’s eyes were so round they protruded. The girl’s thin veins were visible beneath her pale skin, a miniature road map of her blood system. Maggie wanted badly to feel the texture of that translucent skin, different from her own. She touched the hair instead, so soft it slipped easily from her sturdy fingers.
“Your hair is white.”
“I’m a towhead,” Rebecca whispered.
“I like it,” Maggie said. “It’s beautiful.”
In the lunchroom, Maggie watched Rebecca’s lips quiver while she ate, her big front teeth sticking out, her fingers shaking as she ate her tuna sandwich. “Daddy is back from the war. They brought him in the ambulance.”
“Yeah?” Maggie brushed Rebecca’s hand with hers. The pale skin was cool and dry, like paper. Maggie saw the pale bruise spreading upward from her wrist. Rebecca pulled down her sleeve. She looked at Maggie. She nibbled at the white bread.
“Daddy got hurt in the desert. His helicopter crashed.”
That night Maggie could not sleep. To kill time she played she was the Queen of Hearts, the one in Alice in Wonderland, marching around her room formidably, fist in the air, directing in her bossy voice.
The door opened and her mother came in. Still the Queen, Maggie turned sharply. “Yes? What is it?”
“Maggie, it’s time to go to sleep now. It’s very late.”
“I know that,” Maggie said. Then, in her own voice, “I know, Mama.”
They lay down on Maggie’s bed, her mother still in her work clothes and nylons. There was the faint smell of stocking feet. She pulled the blouse from the waist of her skirt and let go a long sigh. “Maggie,” she said, looking at the ceiling, “we’re going to be just fine.” Maggie smoothed her mother’s red hair against the pillow, picking up long, coiling strands and winding them tightly around her fingers. It was a game they used to play, she and Mama, before Papa went away.
Maggie had gone to see him, in the strange apartment with no furniture and ugly gold carpeting. In his bedroom, on top of a cardboard box still full of clothes, Maggie found the photograph: a thin, tanned blonde lady in a black bathing suit, sitting beside a swimming pool. When she asked Papa, he had said, “That’s Nina.”
Since then, Maggie’s mother had not wanted her hair touched, but that night she let Maggie. She lay with her eyes closed and her pink lips smelling faintly sweet, like raspberry candy. “We’ll be all right,” Mama said. “Won’t we, Maggie?”
Maggie nodded, even though her mother’s eyes were closed. She unwound the red coils, smoothing the flaming hair against the pillow. Maggie felt it again in her stomach, like a string pulling.
The next morning when school began Rebecca was absent, but her mother brought her in during silent writing time. When Mrs. Resnick got up from her desk, Maggie stopped writing to watch Rebecca move down the aisle in a blue parka with fake fur lining around the hood. Rebecca sat down with the hood still up, hiding her face. Maggie leaned over and tried to catch her eye. No. She pulled at the flowered material of Rebecca’s dress that hung down below the parka. Nothing. Maggie fidgeted, twisting in her chair.
At the back of the room, Mrs. Resnick and Mrs. Blackwell stood with their heads together, whispering. Maggie saw Mrs. Resnick place her hand gently on Mrs. Blackwell’s narrow forearm. Mrs. Blackwell was pale like her daughter, only with shiny black hair. Like Snow White, but old. In the winter light filtering through the windows, she looked ghostly. Maggie stared at this tiny, frail mother in a dress just like Rebecca’s, the same little yellow flowers.
Maggie lifted the lid of her desk, where she kept a sand dollar that her Uncle Eddie from La Jolla had given her back when she was six. When held at just the right angle, a thin stream of sand poured out. Margie believed it would never run out.
“Look, Rebecca.” Maggie offered the sand dollar on her open palm “Take it. They’re good luck.”
Rebecca’s hand shook so much she nearly dropped the sand dollar. She put it carefully into the pocket of her parka.
Finally, in the lunchroom, away from the watchful eyes of Mrs. Resnick, Rebecca told Maggie what happened. At three in the morning, Rebecca’s father had drawn a gun on her mother. “He kept hearing scary noises. He thought he was still in the desert. That’s why he got his gun.”
“What gun?”
“He keeps it under the bed.”
“You saw it?”
“No,” Rebecca shook her head, shivering in the blue parka.
Maggie’s imagination went wild. She pictured Mrs. Blackwell getting out of bed to turn on the light, the hem of her long, filmy nightgown rippling from her rush to the switch. And when she flipped it on, Mr. Blackwell had leveled the gun at her chest. “It’s just me, honey,” she would have whispered. “It’s only me.”
Rebecca did not touch her food again. She hunched over the lunch table with her hands clenched in her lap.
“Don’t you like tuna fish?” asked Maggie.
“We can’t make noise,” whispered Rebecca. “He’s always trying to sleep.”
Maggie looked in Rebecca’s brown paper bag. “Can I have your banana?”
“We can’t say anything.” Rebecca put a finger to her lips. “It hurts his head. The crash hurt his head.”
Maggie imagined Mr. Blackwell then, head wrapped in white gauze, holding his gun to his chest.
Rebecca shook her head side to side. “We have to whisper,” she said. “All the time.”
When school was over, snow had just begun to fall. Big, slow flakes floated down. In the purity of the snow, Rebecca’s hair took on a yellow tint. She’s a snow princess, thought Maggie. That’s why her hair is almost white.
“Let’s walk through the trees,” Maggie said, pointing to the top of the hill behind the schoolyard.
“I’m not supposed to,” Rebecca said. “I can’t play outside.”
“It’s okay,” Maggie said. “I go there all the time. We’ll run right back.”
They started to run, Maggie laughing at the sound of snow crunching beneath their feet. At the bottom of the hill, Maggie slowed to let Rebecca go first up the dirt path, up to the trees at the top, where a canopy of pine protected them from the falling snow. They ran, laughing, Maggie knocking snow from the boughs. Just over the top of the hill, the path fell sharply to the right and Rebecca tripped on a rock and stumbled, gashing open her knee. She held the ripped dress around her, crouching down and curling her body over the knee, rocking back and forth.
“Oh, no,” she said. “I’m sorry, Maggie. Please.”
“What?” Maggie squatted down in the path and lifted Rebecca’s dress away. The cut was deep and blood welled up in it. A flap of skin hung down, quickly turning red against the yellow flowers of her dress. Maggie saw the blood coursing down in a thick stream and dripping red into the snow.
“I’m so sorry,” Rebecca whispered. “I should have told you.”
Maggie looked down at the small red circle blooming in the snow. It grew, slowly, until it was big as a stop sign.
“Don’t be sorry. You didn’t know it would happen.”
“Yes I did,” Rebecca looked up from the ground and their eyes met. Maggie watched the black center of Rebecca’s eyes grow bigger and bigger, expanding so fast it swallowed up the blue. Maggie thought of Nina’s black bathing suit. The string in her stomach tightened into a knot.
“It’s not so bad, Rebecca. Come on, let’s go back.”
“All my blood is coming out,” Rebecca stared at the blood in the snow. “Just like the doctors said it would.”
Maggie stood and pulled up on the sleeve of the girl’s parka, trying to lift her. “Come on,” she said to Rebecca. “We’ll get a band aid.”
“No,” Rebecca pressed her lips together. “You can’t stop it.”
“Yes,” Maggie said. “I’ll get Mrs. Resnick.”
“No,” Rebecca whispered. “Stay here with me.” Rebecca crossed her arms over her chest. “It’s too late.”
Maggie sat down behind Rebecca on the path, the snow wet and cold against her pants. She began to play with Rebecca’s hair, running her cold, stubby fingers through it like a comb, dividing it in three parts, braiding it. Maggie affected a lady hair dresser’s voice, “It’s the most elegant style.” When she was done, the braid reached half way down Rebecca’s back. She lifted and coiled the braid on top of Rebecca’s head and held it there, leaning away to check her work. “Beautiful,” Maggie said. “Elegant.”
Rebecca’s teeth chattered and the two girls stared down at the cut, watching the blood drip steadily, so dark against the snow. Maggie wanted to run for help, but her legs had grown numb. The cut kept bleeding.
“See,” Rebecca said. “You can’t stop it.”
Maggie just nodded, unwinding the coil, unbraiding the hair. A curtain of white fell about Rebecca’s face, soft as a rabbit’s fur, clean as snow.
Fear snaked up Maggie’s spine. The string snapped. She leapt to her feet. “I’m getting Mrs. Resnick,” she said.
“Don’t leave me.”
“I’ll be right back.” Maggie started to run, then stopped suddenly and turned around, saw the red snow. “Do you still have it?”
Rebecca’s eyes widened and she nodded, fishing in her parka for the sand dollar.
“Hold it until we get back.”
Maggie ran then, as fast she could down the hill, her breath coming hard and her mind chanting, Please, No. Oh Please, No.
©2003 Heather June
Heather June lives with her family in the woods. Before Lopez, she grew up in Colorado.
All work by Heather June
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The 13 Year Old Girl In Us Is Having a Moment #ZaynWeveMissedYou
blog / April 20, 2015
Photo Credit: AFP / Getty Images
Desi girls around the world rejoiced as Bollywood hero, Shah Rukh Khan, and ex-One Direction band mate, Zayn Malik, were honoured at the 5th Asian Awards. Many people also took note that there was something called the Asian Awards.
22-year old Malik, typically a man of few words, accepted his award with,  “I’m not really a guy of many words normally. I don’t normally do the speeches. I’m honoured to be sharing this stage with people who I have admired. I’d like to thank my mum and dad for making me Asian.” We thank them, too.
The singer also spoke of his former One Direction bandmates, giving a read between the lines worthy homage to his experience with the world famous boy band.
“I’d also like to take this moment to thank four of the best guys that I ever met whilst being in the band and doing all the amazing things that I did. Some of the things that we did will stay with me for the rest of my life and I’m thankful for that….Here’s to the future.”
Some of the things, Zayn? I guess we’d all like to erase the piece of history where you were high, drunk, and possibly cheating on your fiance, Perrie Edwards. Yet, we still love you, as South Asian girls never truly get over their bad boy complex.
Really the highlight of the event was this epic selfie, retweeted 90,000 times, where Shah to the Rukh drops an endorsement (and some dua) on young Zayn.
This might be our equivalent of Madonna making out with Britney Spears.
– NATASHA KHAN
Vogue India rocks sari-inspired Vuitton
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Tribute to the Victims of the Sikh Temple Shooting
Tory Burch Inspired By India
Another reason we love Tory Burch, she shared with Glamour recently, "I love the spirit of women in India, Morocco,...
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About the site | Read our blog
SciCombinator
Discover the most talked about and latest scientific content & concepts.
Concept: Basic Color Terms: Their Universality and Evolution
Color naming across languages reflects color use
Published over 2 years ago
What determines how languages categorize colors? We analyzed results of the World Color Survey (WCS) of 110 languages to show that despite gross differences across languages, communication of chromatic chips is always better for warm colors (yellows/reds) than cool colors (blues/greens). We present an analysis of color statistics in a large databank of natural images curated by human observers for salient objects and show that objects tend to have warm rather than cool colors. These results suggest that the cross-linguistic similarity in color-naming efficiency reflects colors of universal usefulness and provide an account of a principle (color use) that governs how color categories come about. We show that potential methodological issues with the WCS do not corrupt information-theoretic analyses, by collecting original data using two extreme versions of the color-naming task, in three groups: the Tsimane', a remote Amazonian hunter-gatherer isolate; Bolivian-Spanish speakers; and English speakers. These data also enabled us to test another prediction of the color-usefulness hypothesis: that differences in color categorization between languages are caused by differences in overall usefulness of color to a culture. In support, we found that color naming among Tsimane' had relatively low communicative efficiency, and the Tsimane' were less likely to use color terms when describing familiar objects. Color-naming among Tsimane' was boosted when naming artificially colored objects compared with natural objects, suggesting that industrialization promotes color usefulness.
Concepts: Scientific method, Color, Categorization, Communication, Color theory, Names, Basic Color Terms: Their Universality and Evolution, Linguistic relativity and the color naming debate
The modern Japanese color lexicon
Published almost 3 years ago
Despite numerous prior studies, important questions about the Japanese color lexicon persist, particularly about the number of Japanese basic color terms and their deployment across color space. Here, 57 native Japanese speakers provided monolexemic terms for 320 chromatic and 10 achromatic Munsell color samples. Through k-means cluster analysis we revealed 16 statistically distinct Japanese chromatic categories. These included eight chromatic basic color terms (aka/red, ki/yellow, midori/green, ao/blue, pink, orange, cha/brown, and murasaki/purple) plus eight additional terms: mizu (“water”)/light blue, hada (“skin tone”)/peach, kon (“indigo”)/dark blue, matcha (“green tea”)/yellow-green, enji/maroon, oudo (“sand or mud”)/mustard, yamabuki (“globeflower”)/gold, and cream. Of these additional terms, mizu was used by 98% of informants, and emerged as a strong candidate for a 12th Japanese basic color term. Japanese and American English color-naming systems were broadly similar, except for color categories in one language (mizu, kon, teal, lavender, magenta, lime) that had no equivalent in the other. Our analysis revealed two statistically distinct Japanese motifs (or color-naming systems), which differed mainly in the extension of mizu across our color palette. Comparison of the present data with an earlier study by Uchikawa & Boynton (1987) suggests that some changes in the Japanese color lexicon have occurred over the last 30 years.
Concepts: Color, Hue, RGB color model, Color space, Brown, Munsell color system, Basic Color Terms: Their Universality and Evolution, Color term
Why Some Colors Appear More Memorable Than Others: A Model Combining Categories and Particulars in Color Working Memory
Journal of experimental psychology. General
Categorization with basic color terms is an intuitive and universal aspect of color perception. Yet research on visual working memory capacity has largely assumed that only continuous estimates within color space are relevant to memory. As a result, the influence of color categories on working memory remains unknown. We propose a dual content model of color representation in which color matches to objects that are either present (perception) or absent (memory) integrate category representations along with estimates of specific values on a continuous scale (“particulars”). We develop and test the model through 4 experiments. In a first experiment pair, participants reproduce a color target, both with and without a delay, using a recently influential estimation paradigm. In a second experiment pair, we use standard methods in color perception to identify boundary and focal colors in the stimulus set. The main results are that responses drawn from working memory are significantly biased away from category boundaries and toward category centers. Importantly, the same pattern of results is present without a memory delay. The proposed dual content model parsimoniously explains these results, and it should replace prevailing single content models in studies of visual working memory. More broadly, the model and the results demonstrate how the main consequence of visual working memory maintenance is the amplification of category related biases and stimulus-specific variability that originate in perception. (PsycINFO Database Record
Concepts: Mathematics, Visual perception, Color, Metaphysics, Category theory, Working memory, Color theory, Basic Color Terms: Their Universality and Evolution
Color in Reference Production: The Role of Color Similarity and Color Codability
It has often been observed that color is a highly preferred attribute for use in distinguishing descriptions, that is, referring expressions produced with the purpose of identifying an object within a visual scene. However, most of these observations were based on visual displays containing only colors that were maximally different in hue and for which the language of experimentation possessed basic color terms. The experiments described in this paper investigate whether speakers' preference for color is reduced if the color of the target referent is similar to that of the distractors. Because colors that look similar are often also harder to distinguish linguistically, we also examine the impact of the codability of color values. As a third factor, we investigate the salience of available alternative attributes and its impact on the use of color. The results of our experiments show that, while speakers are indeed less likely to use color when the colors in a display are similar, this effect is mostly due to the difficulty in naming similar colors. Color use for color with a basic color term is affected only when the colors of target and distractors are very similar (yet still distinguishable). The salience of our alternative attribute size, manipulated by varying the difference in size between target and distractors, had no impact on the use of color.
Concepts: Color, Difference, Hypothesis, Names, Basic Color Terms: Their Universality and Evolution, Color term
A Linguistic Approach to Categorical Color Assignment for Data Visualization
IEEE transactions on visualization and computer graphics
When data categories have strong color associations, it is useful to use these semantically meaningful concept-color associations in data visualizations. In this paper, we explore how linguistic information about the terms defining the data can be used to generate semantically meaningful colors. To do this effectively, we need first to establish that a term has a strong semantic color association, then discover which color or colors express it. Using co-occurrence measures of color name frequencies from Google n-grams, we define a measure for colorability that describes how strongly associated a given term is to any of a set of basic color terms. We then show how this colorability score can be used with additional semantic analysis to rank and retrieve a representative color from Google Images. Alternatively, we use symbolic relationships defined by WordNet to select identity colors for categories such as countries or brands. To create visually distinct color palettes, we use k-means clustering to create visually distinct sets, iteratively reassigning terms with multiple basic color associations as needed. This can be additionally constrained to use colors only in a predefined palette.
Concepts: Definition, Extensional definition, Color, Linguistics, Semantics, Semiotics, Philosophical logic, Basic Color Terms: Their Universality and Evolution
The color lexicon of American English
This article describes color naming by 51 American English-speaking informants. A free-naming task produced 122 monolexemic color terms, with which informants named the 330 Munsell samples from the World Color Survey. Cluster analysis consolidated those terms into a glossary of 20 named color categories: the 11 Basic Color Term (BCT) categories of Berlin and Kay (1969, p. 2) plus nine nonbasic chromatic categories. The glossed data revealed two color-naming motifs: the green-blue motif of the World Color Survey and a novel green-teal-blue motif, which featured peach, teal, lavender, and maroon as high-consensus terms. Women used more terms than men, and more women expressed the novel motif. Under a constrained-naming protocol, informants supplied BCTs for the color samples previously given nonbasic terms. Most of the glossed nonbasic terms from the free-naming task named low-consensus colors located at the BCT boundaries revealed by the constrained-naming task. This study provides evidence for continuing evolution of the color lexicon of American English, and provides insight into the processes governing this evolution.
Concepts: Color, English language, Lexicography, Brown, Names, Basic Color Terms: Their Universality and Evolution, Linguistic relativity and the color naming debate, Color term
Categorical sensitivity to color differences
Categorical perception provides a potential link between color perception and the linguistic categories that correspond to the basic color terms. We examined whether the sensory information of the second-stage chromatic mechanisms is further processed so that sensitivity for color differences yields categorical perception. In this case, sensitivity for color differences should be higher across than within category boundaries. We measured discrimination thresholds (JNDs) and color categories around an isoluminant hue circle in Derrington-Krauskopf-Lennie (DKL) color space at three levels of lightness. At isoluminant lightness, the global pattern of JNDs coarsely followed an ellipse. Deviations from the ellipse coincided with the orange-pink and the blue-green category borders, but these minima were also aligned with the second-stage cone-opponent mechanisms. No evidence for categorical perception of color was found for any other category borders. At lower lightness, categories changed substantially, but JNDs did not change accordingly. Our results point to a loose relationship between color categorization and discrimination. However, the coincidence of some boundaries with JND minima is not a general property of color categorical boundaries. Hence, our basic ability to discriminate colors cannot fully explain why we use the particular set of categories to communicate about colors. Moreover, these findings seriously challenge the idea that color naming forms the basis for the categorical perception of colors. With respect to previous studies that concentrated on the green-blue boundary, our results highlight the importance of controlling perceptual distances and examining the full set of categories when investigating category effects on color perception.
Concepts: Perception, Color, Sense, Ontology, Category theory, Hue, Color theory, Basic Color Terms: Their Universality and Evolution
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These are Catholic high schools in the state of California which were once in operation, but were closed. Some are from the very early part of the 20th Century or even the late 19th Century. Click on the name of the school for details. As possible, we have listed the schools by Diocese.
Do you have any information, photos, articles, memorabilia regarding the Catholic schools? It would be great to add it to this collection. No need to send originals, photocopies or scans are fine. E-mail here.
Below are vintage directories of schools from 1965 presented for nostagia and historic purposes. Please note that some schools included in these vintage listings may still be open. You may refer to the listings under Current Schools for cross-reference.
Vintage News & Photos
Pater Noster
Sacred Heart of Mary
Bishop Murphy High School
Mt. Carmel Academy
Cathedral High School
Bishop Conaty High School
Our Lady Queen of Angels Seminary
Our Lady of Corvallis
St. Mary Academy
Serra High School
LaSalle Academy
Diocese of Sacramento
St. Peter, Sacramento*
*Closed 2005 to merge with All Hallows High School which has become Cristo Rey High School
St. Vincent Girls High School, Vallejo
Diocese of Fresno:
Diocese of Oakland
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Press Releases - Commercial vehicle registrations: +3.8% 11 months into 2018; +2.7% in November
Brussels, 21 December 2018 – In November 2018, EU demand for commercial vehicles continued to grow (+2.7%), although at a slower pace than in...
Press Releases - Truck CO2 targets: industry reacts to common position of EU member states
Brussels, 20 December 2018 – Europe’s major truck manufacturers take note of the common position on future CO2 standards for heavy-duty vehicles...
Press Releases - Auto industry reacts to deal on CO2 targets for cars and vans
Brussels, 17 December 2018 – The European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) takes note of the final deal on the CO2 regulation for...
News - Cutting CO2 from trucks: urgent need to invest in recharging and refuelling infrastructure across EU
Later this week, EU member states are expected to adopt their common position on the EU’s first-ever CO2 standards for heavy-duty vehicles. Ahead...
News - Season’s greetings from ACEA
Wishing you a happy holiday season and all the best for 2019 on behalf of the ACEA team!
News - RACE 2050: A Vision for the European Automotive Industry
The European automotive industry is one of our continent’s major success stories – but can it also master the major societal and environmental...
Press Releases - Passenger car registrations: +0.8% 11 months into 2018; -8.0% in November
Brussels, 14 December 2018 – In November 2018 passenger car demand fell by 8.0%, marking the third consecutive month of decline across the European...
News - 2019-2020 calendar for ACEA statistics press releases now available
The 2019-2020 calendar for ACEA's monthly statistics press releases has just been published, indicating the exact dates on which the latest data...
News - Road safety: ACEA event explores automated driving and revision of General Safety Regulation
On Monday 26 November, the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) welcomed some 150 guests to its ‘Towards zero: Safe vehicles,...
Press Releases - Affordable mobility threatened by car CO2 targets, major auto CEOs warn
Brussels, 10 December 2018 – Ahead of tonight’s EU ‘trilogue’ negotiations on new CO2 targets for cars and vans, Europe’s automobile...
Press Releases - Carlos Tavares re-elected ACEA President for 2019
Brussels, 7 December 2018 – Today, the Board of Directors of the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA) has re-elected Carlos...
Press Releases - EU’s first truck CO2 standards: industry urges national governments to adopt viable approach
Brussels, 7 December 2018 – In the run up to the Council meeting later this month where the 28 member states are expected to adopt their position...
News - Trucks and vision-related accidents: active safety 50% more effective than ‘direct vision’cabs
Since 2005, the number of traffic fatalities involving heavy trucks in the EU has declined by nearly 50%. Moreover, trucks are implicated in only...
News - Intelligent speed assistance: why ISA cannot become mandatory today
Speeding is still the main cause in 30% of all fatal accidents on Europe’s roads. Today’s passenger cars come increasingly equipped with active...
News - Animated video -Road safety: Safe vehicles, safe drivers, safe roads
Watch this animated video on road safety to learn more about the difference between active and passive safety systems for cars. These innovations in...
News - Further improving road safety requires the EU to focus on the most effective vehicle safety measures
According to the latest statistics published by the European Commission last week, EU road fatalities have been reduced by more than half since 2001,...
Press Releases - Commercial vehicle registrations: +3.9% 10 months into 2018; +6.9% in October
Brussels, 22 November 2018 – In October 2018, EU commercial vehicle registrations posted growth again after slowing down in September. Demand went...
Publications - Position Paper: Frequency bands for V2X
This position paper covers frequency bands for vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communication, collectively known as V2X...
Publications - General Safety Regulation: accident analysis assesses effectiveness of proposed safety measures
In order to identify appropriate future vehicle safety systems, in-depth accident research needs to be conducted to enable informed decision making.
Press Releases - Passenger car registrations: +1.6% 10 months into 2018; -7.3% in October
Brussels, 15 November 2018 – In October 2018, registrations of new passenger cars continued to decline across the European Union (-7.3%), although...
AIMOL Turbo X Plus 10W-40 208л
ЛУКОЙЛ СТАНДАРТ SAE 10W-30, API SF/CC, 4 л
ЛУКОЙЛ СЛАЙДО 68 216,5 л.
SHELL SPIRAX S4 ATF HDX 20L
ЛУКОЙЛ ТОРНАДО SNH 32 1000 л. куб
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Author, Instructor, and Independent Consultant.
New Book: C# Succinctly
What’s New in C# 6.0: Auto-Property Initializers
Free Webinar: What’s New in C# 6.0
Hosting LINQ to Twitter on GitHub
What’s New in VS 2015 Webinar
Visual Studio 2015 Custom Window Layouts
Uploading Multiple Images in Parallel with Async and LINQ to Twitter
Released LINQ to Twitter v3.0.5
Binding failure error – Cannot start the website because administrative privileges are required to bind to the hostname or port
Updated UserStreamsParser for LinqToTwitter
<< Catching Up with UWP in LINQ to Twitter | Home | Pig Latin Bot >>
Botiquette
Today, at Build 2016, Microsoft revealed a new AI tool for developers called the Bot Framework. The Bot Framework allows developers to write software bots that interact with people (and other bots). Essentially this makes it easy to create a Conversational User Interface (CUI), ushering in a new era that makes us think more about what a user interface should be.
Beyond a visual interface, User Experience (UX) will take on new meaning. The bot will need to lead the user through a series of steps that make sense, yet be able to adjust so as not to be too rigid and lead them down a path that might not make sense for the situation. Because Bots, written with the Bot Framework, can use Cognitive Services (another new AI product) and other intelligent services, the UX has potential to be even more appealing.
Intelligence is also a two-way sword where checks-and-balances must be maintained to avoid problems. The recent difficulties, as told by the Washington Post and other news media, concerning Microsoft’s @TayAndYou Twitter account highlight what can go wrong with an unconstrained bot. There has been plenty of discussion about how and why this happened, but it does indicate a need for more vigilance by developers. For this, we need something like botiquette:
The customary code of polite behavior among bots and humans - often in social media, but also in apps, the enterprise, or any device where bot to bot and bot to human communication occur.
Neither Bing nor Google revealed a definition of botiquette. I searched Wikipedia too and the closest I came were the Laws of Robotics. The Laws of Robotics, by Asimov et.al., are a valid discussion, but focus on preventing distopian futures. Botiquette, I believe, is a more subtle cultural need for pleasant bot to human experiences.
Do you know of or think there is a better definition for Botiquette?
Bot technology has been around, but is still in it’s early stages. It’s interesting to hear Microsoft and others start the CUI discussion and will be fun to see where it leads.
@JoeMayo
Posted on Wednesday, March 30, 2016 8:09 PM bots | Back to top
PC Bot bots
Pig Latin Bot bots
Copyright © Joe Mayo | Powered by: GeeksWithBlogs.net
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Library subject resources
There is just so much information out there!
If you haven't found what you are looking for yet, contact our library staff, try one of these free featured resources, or click the subject resource, to the right to learn more!
ACORN (Arboretum COllections & Resources Nexus) provides online access to the Special Collections of the Sterling Morton Library. New resources are added on a regular basis as a part of ongoing cataloguing and digitization efforts. Interested in reading an early Arboretum publication? Searching for a photograph of a sugar maple flower? Want to listen to an Arboretum podcast on plant-related careers? Seeking original artwork by May Theilgaard Watts? Explore ACORN and prepare to be dazzled!
The Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL) is the world’s largest open access digital library for biodiversity literature and archives. BHL provides free access to hundreds of thousands of volumes, comprising over 55 million pages, from the 15th-21st centuries. Search or browse their collections by title, author, date, or collection. Ever wanted to read Pliny's Natural History, originally published in 77 AD? Click here to visit the BHL and read a version that was translated in 1601, published in the mid 19th century!
CARLI Digital Collections
The CARLI (Consortium of Academic and Research Libraries in Illinois) Digital Collections make digitized items from rare and special library collections freely available. The collections include images, sound recordings, manuscripts, and print material. Click here to see all of the collections dedicated to Illinois regional history!
This digital library is also the product of a partnership of academic and research institutions working to make digital collections and books freely available world-wide. Browse or search through the collections to see manuscripts, rare books, images, and much more.
The Directory of Open Access Journals is all about what it sounds like - providing a way to find open access scientific and scholarly journals. DOAJ is searchable at the article and journal level, connecting researchers to freely available scholarship.
Plant Information Online
Wondering where to find a particular plant? This searchable database of plants and nurseries identifies sources for more than 81,000 plants and access information for some 2,700 nurseries in North America. Also find links to more information on some plants including photographs, regional information, and literature citations on external websites. Search by individual nursery, or by scientific or common plant name.
vPlants
A virtual herbarium of Chicago-region plants, vPlants™, was developed by three partner institutions: The Morton Arboretum, The Field Museum, and the Chicago Botanic Garden. This online resource offers data for more than 120,000 plant specimens from some 30 institutions, including:
Specimen data and images
Distribution by county
Learn about fungal diversity in the region, plant diversity in wetlands, plant taxonomy and naming, or just browse through the collections and photographs. The vascular plants and fungi databases are searchable by scientific or common name, location, habitat, or collector.
URL: http:// stage.mortonarb.org/visit-explore/sterling-morton-library/library-subject-resources Copyright 2020 The Morton Arboretum
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Tag: Science for sale
Jeff Amy at the Press Register tells the story of Slabbed’s Pro Se Plaintiff, Maralou Richards: “I wanted to find out if the law is really for the people, and it’s really not”
Here at Slabbed, Nowdy and I have split the workload, with me taking press relations and her doing most of our legal profession outreach. From the time of Nowdy’s first post on Maralou Richards last February I figured this unique case would certainly cross over into the traditional media. Time would prove my instincts rights…..just that none of the reporters I emailed with the details would be the one to bring this story to the realm of the mass media. Rather it was journalist that I was previously unfamiliar, Jeff Amy at the Mobile Press Register, that saw the implications and penned a story that well encapsulates the struggles of ordinary policyholders in a legal system that is completely stacked against them. Jeff’s story appears today in both the Mobile Press Register and it’s sister newspaper the Mississippi Press. On behalf of Nowdy and the Slabbed nation we welcome Jeff to the post Katrina party:
It was just another in the rush of federal suits against Mississippi insurers last August, just before the three-year statute of limitations after Hurricane Katrina expired.
Except it wasn’t. Without a lawyer, then-77-year-old Maralou Richards of Ocean Springs filed a handwritten complaint against a unit of AIG, at the time the world’s largest insurance company.
Richards made a confidential settlement in June with Lexington Insurance Co., the court record shows.
But she’s still unhappy. “I wanted to find out if the law is really for the people, and it’s really not,” she said. Continue reading “Jeff Amy at the Press Register tells the story of Slabbed’s Pro Se Plaintiff, Maralou Richards: “I wanted to find out if the law is really for the people, and it’s really not””
Author Posted on August 30, 2009 Categories AIG, Bad Faith, Claims Handling, SopTags Haag Engineering, Judge Sul Ozerden, Junk Science, Lexington Insurance Company (AIG), Richards v Lexington, Science for sale, Tim Marshall, Wall Street; AIG; Crooks in Gucci SuitsLeave a comment on Jeff Amy at the Press Register tells the story of Slabbed’s Pro Se Plaintiff, Maralou Richards: “I wanted to find out if the law is really for the people, and it’s really not”
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Greenwich Park, August
“… there was just, like, a word in my head. You know sometimes when you’re dreaming there’s a word that keeps coming up over and over? But it wasn’t a word, it was… it’s hard to describe. Words squashed together, I suppose. ‘Ustawaooystawa…’ I don’t know – something like that. I couldn’t make it out, it was gibberish.
“But I was awake now and I could still hear it. I thought it was kids trying to freak out the weirdo crashing on the bench, but I couldn’t see anyone. There was a little crowd of them on the grass playing cricket but they were way off and totally involved in that, it wasn’t them.
“And then I heard it again, louder: ‘Ustawaooystawa…’
“And then it all went mad. I was pushed, really hard, right over to the other side of the bench. And, as I got up, I saw my breath in front of me. It was like it was winter. It was bitter cold, I had goose bumps. The trees and the bushes were dripping and the sky was black and there were all these dead leaves everywhere.
“And there was something on the bench. Like lines of light – thin lines, like in a spider’s web, right next to where I’d been sitting. The lines got thicker, heavier. They were shoulders, arms. It was big, heavy, and the arms were like they were folded. It was… I don’t know… it was like even though this whatever-it-was couldn’t possibly exist, it was… immovable. Like a mountain. Then its head started to appear, just a line or two, this massive fucking dome, and what must have been an eye. And the gibberish I’d heard was still getting louder. And clearer. Like a voice hissing at me with real fucking hatred. It was like… like when water drains off pebbles back into the sea but a hundred times more intense. It was horrible, pushing down, right down, into my ears. ‘Stay away! Stay away!’ it was saying. ‘You! Boy! Stay! Away!’
“I was backing off but I couldn’t stop looking at this thing. And everything was getting darker and darker. This thing on the bench was glowing and all I could think of as I looked at it was a bear and then, then it just vanished. And the noise stopped, like a switch had been hit. Everything changed – back to normal, I mean – as if nothing had happened. It was summer again. I heard one of the kids smacking their cricket ball and they were all shouting.
“I hadn’t noticed it before but there was one of those plaques, those memorial things, on the bench. It was all lit up, glowing, like the words were branded into the metal. BOB BEADLE’S BENCH, it said, HIS FAVOURITE SPOT IN ALL THE WORLD. 1948-2009. RIP.
“My arms and legs were shaking and my heart was going mental and I felt so raw, so weird, so, like… like when you’re tripping – disconnected from everything. There were a couple of women looking at me with their mouths open. I don’t know if they’d seen it or if they were just looking at some nutter staring at a park bench. The next thing I knew I was outside the Greenwich Tavern. I must have looked like shit because someone asked me if I was all right. That’s when I called you…”
Tagged with: Greenwich, Jack Lawrence
London Transport Apologises No. 2 London’s Campest Statues No. 8
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Looking back through the clouds…
Lookin’ Out My Window
by Des Garrahan
There was a time I was scathingly scornful of suburbia. Growing up in Lewisham, I couldn’t really see the point of it. Since then, I’ve moved steadily through the zones, both north and south of the river, heading for the periphery. These days, I’m thoroughly and happily ensconced deep in zone 6. And here, in Kingston upon Thames, with apologies to the Pet Shop Boys, you’re more likely to walk with the foxes than run with the dogs at night. [read more...]
Threnody on the Suicide of a Parking Meter in Dagenham Brook, E10
by Matt Haynes
O dark devourer of the driver’s coin,
What broken dreams was this leap meant to fix?
What hope-denuded skyline did enjoin
You to cast off on this East London Styx?
Last Match of the Season
“Put the change in the jar, love,” he says, adding: “see you next season.” Then, leaving the Royal Cafe, he heads out into Leyton High Road, red replica shirt stretched tight across a stomach that’s now a heaving last-match mess of sausage, beans and fear. Come on you O’s…
… and these are some of the photos we took:
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Mascara in Sapphire
The Lucky Cat Watches
Lit by Fury
Let’s All Meet Up In The Year 2000
Poppers and Opal Fruits
Reservoir Geese
Battersea Baptism
Morning Tea with George
Please Do Not Point At The Sun
Please Do Not Practise Any Form Of Golf
Please Do Not Climb On The Horse
Please Do Not Hang About Aimlessly
Please Do Not Use This Oyster Reader
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Bavarians force referendum on smoking ban next year..
December 4, 2009 - January 1, 2008 eight German states including Bavaria marked the New Year by introducing smoking bans in public places including restaurants and bars. In July 2009 smokers in Bavaria rejoiced as the state’s parliament loosened the regulations on a smoking ban instituted 18 months before. Then on Thursday, October 1, 2009 Germany’s high court in Karlsruhe ruled that Bavaria’s looser implementation of its smoking ban is constitutional.
German State of Bavaria - dark green..
Bavaria is one step closer to a total smoking ban. Supporters of an anti-smoking petition are celebrating after successfully forcing the state to hold a referendum on the issue next year. A powerful anti-smoking lobby wants a total ban to be reinstated. The petition calling for a revision of the current law got more than the number of signatures required by a considerable margin.
At the latest count, nearly 1.3 million people signed the petition, well over the 940,000, or 10 percent of the Bavarian electorate, needed to force a referendum. The petition was instigated by the Ecological Democratic Party, supported by the Bavarian branch of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), the Green party as well as other ecological and sports organizations.
Unlike other European countries Germany delegated the ruling on its smoking ban to the individual states. Almost all German states have opted to allow exceptions to the ban on smoking in certain restaurants and bars, after originally imposing a total ban.
In Bavaria, a more liberal version of the law came into effect on August 1 this year, allowing smoking in pubs smaller than 75 square meters, as well as in designated separate side rooms. Organizers of the petition and authors of the proposed referendum proposal would like to roll back both of these concessions.
The Social Democratic Party (SDP) is casting the success of the petition as a defeat for the Bavarian center-right ruling coalition of the Christian Social Union (CSU) and the Free Democrat Party, but the head of the CSU group in parliament, Georg Schmid, welcomed the fact that the Bavarian people would have the final say.
All the same, Bavarian interior minister Joachim Herrmann said the state parliament would not, of its own accord, adopt the referendum's proposal in its current radical form.
The pro-smoking lobby remains stubborn on the issue despite the current defeat. The Association for the Preservation of Bavarian Tavern Culture (VEBWK) said it was disappointed in the petition results. VEBWK head Franz Bergmueller told local broadcaster Antenne Bayern, “A social division is looming,” reflecting the views of many die-hard smokers in Bavaria who see smoking as a right and a part of southern German culture.
Reference: Bavarians force referendum on smoking ban, Editor: Michael Lawton, DW-World.de, 12/3/2009.
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German sales rise in Germany amid moves to impose smoking ban..
Posted by tobaccowatch.org Friday, December 4, 2009 at 7:41 AM
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Lower arm tattoos ideas for guys room,cherry creek tattoos,edit photos windows 7 free download,horse tattoo designs uk castle - PDF Review
Getting sleeved, meaning to have your entire arm tattooed, are getting more interest from potential tattooers who want to demonstrate a personal and unified artistic theme for themselves.
The star is one of the oldest symbols and a significant image in many religions and belief systems.
Before modern times, humans looked up at the sky and tried to explain that magnificent view with the help of mythology and religion.
Everyone knows a shooting star is a meteor entering our atmosphere, but that's not what you think about when you get a shooting star tattoo. Shooting star tattoos are usually worn by girls on an arm, leg, foot, wrist, on the side or on the lower back. A little bit about the history of nautical star tattoos: In the early days of tattooing they used to be popular amongst sailors, who had them for guidance and protection (Sailor Jerry is a famous tattoo artist from those days).
Sailors used stars and the North Star (aka Polaris) for navigation, so it's not hard to see why so many of them have star tattoos.
The star of life is a six-pointed star, usually blue and has the Rod of Asclepius in the middle. Tribal tattoos were the most popular kind of tattoo in the 90s, but you see them (new ones) less often nowadays. The pentagram (aka pentangle), a five-pointed star, has been used as a symbol by many religions and cultures throughout history, it's one of the oldest symbols in the world. Ancient Egypt: on ancient Egyptian graves, the pentagram is a symbol for the celestial sky. Tokio Hotel: Bill Kaulitz, singer of the band Tokio Hotel, has a star design on his abdomen and his band's logo on his neck. Victoria Beckham: a Spice Girl with 5 stars on her lower back, depicting her family members. Kimberley went to a local tattoo artist because she wanted 3 colored dots tattooed on her face. Cher incorporated the bird, peace sign, and question mark tattoos into a partial sleeve in May 2011, when she surrounded them with butterflies. On the back side of her wrist is another red heart, one of four on her body, but this one is part of a set of symbols.
In January 2011, Cher tattooed a diamond on her right hand between her thumb and index finger. Later that month, Cher got a second red heart tattoo – this time on her ring finger on her left hand. This contributed to the popularity of Full sleeve tattoos in recent years and one of the main reasons are that they look really awesome on your arms, and not to mention a major boost to your pride and ego too. They are a good choice for a first tattoo because a star is usually small in design and doesn't have to be very complicated; a small and simple black star tattoo can be very striking. Stars have always been awe inspiring, even today, when we have the science to help us understand what they are.
It is a five-pointed star, the points are split in half and filled with an alternating color (usually black-red or black-white), creating a 3d illusion. Some gay and lesbian people have a nautical star tattooed on their wrist as a sign of their disposition. During it's path around the sun, the planet Venus follows a pattern that resembles a pentagram. The forever changing colors gives the butterfly a good choice for a nice small placement on the wrist and shoulder. The skull has a diamond on its forehead, glowing red hearts in its eyes, and a single gold tooth. The placement of this tattoo is similar to her X-Factor mentor Cheryl Cole‘s tribal hand tattoo. The premise is that the tattoo will be revealed when you hold your finger to your lips to shush someone, though in Cher’s case it is mostly seen when she holds a microphone. Hanging scrolls are a unique form of displaying art that can easily be transported and stored.
He bared his 11th body art (on his left forearm, draped around the Hindi dedication of wife Victoria’s name) while he had a good time kicking the ball on a Brazilian beach yesterday. Some of the common full sleeve tattoo designs include the Koi Fish Tattoos, Tribal Tattoos, Flower Design Tattoos, and Celtic Tattoo Arts. With the gradual decline of the hippy culture, tattooing simply lost its shine in the next few decades.
They are universal symbols, not tied to a specific religion or culture, and can mean a lot of different things to a lot of different people.
Each point has a Hebrew letter, forming the word LVYTN (Leviathan, a mythological sea monster from the Old Testament). She is now having the tattoo removed (laser removal), a process that will take about 2 years, but should bring her face in the original condition.
Cher told us that she didn’t want to get tattoos on the outsides of her arms because she thought that it was more feminine to do just the inside, but I guess she made an exception for the wrist!
The famous soccer player already dons ten tattoos on his back, arms and neck, with his son’s names, Brooklyn and Romeo, tattooed on his back. A tattoo does not change a person on the inside, but first impressions can be everything, and even up to today there may still be a social stigma attached to people with tattooing.
Anyway, in time to come everyone will have them and it will be all the trend, won’t it? She shared a picture of the ink of her twitter with the caption “Happy birthday uncle boo, missing you. If you are an open-minded person however, then you will not have a negative prejudice and would feel fine to the people who have extreme full sleeve tattoos. However, there is also a design that is less popular, but still can make a nice tattoo, and it features a combination of butterflies and star tattoos.
Recently, girl sleeve tattoos have grown its popularity too since most celebrities are tattooing sleeve tattoos to better express and represent themselves both on-screen and off-screen. One thing to keep in mind is that having a full sleeve tattoo may limit you from working in certain professions, such as the United States Marine Corps or white-collar jobs from the financial sectors, so do think twice before inking yourself with full sleeve tattoos. I think his idea to join up his tattoos will work quite nicely, but I don’t envy him having it done. That’s a lot of work and a lot of pain for a tattoo that size.Beckham surely is a great tattoo lover and his body art depicts all-wife devotion, child love and now fan worship!
Animal welfare tattoo designs
How to make a tattoo fade away at home
Category: Tribal Tattoo Pictures
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Home » Books » Hamlet
Yaniv Shimony
Hamlet is miserable after the death of his father, but when the ghost of his father appears and reveals that he was murdered, Hamlet decides to seek his revenge...Will he succeed? Step inside for a tragic tale of deceit and revenge. QED has chosen four plays to continue the successful Tales from Shakespeare series. These titles serve as the perfect introduction into the works of Shakespeare. The plays are retold as stories using clear and contemporary language, whilst each title keeps its originality by including key quotations from the original text. Lively illustrations bring these popular plays to life and will be sure to captivate the imagination and interest of young readers.
QED, June 2015
"very enjoyable and great"
The Guardian Children's
These versions are retold in modern English but - and I really like this - they include key quotations from the original, in highlighted boxes. The retellings, despite being in modern English, manage to capture the feel of Shakespeare's language and they read aloud excellently; the attractive drawings give readers a feel for the plays and their characters
Parents in Touch
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OSA Publishing > Optics Express > Volume 19 > Issue 25 > Page 25729
James Leger, Editor-in-Chief
Dielectric particle and void resonators for thin film solar cell textures
Sander A. Mann, Richard R. Grote, Richard M. Osgood, and Jon A. Schuller
Sander A. Mann,1 Richard R. Grote,2 Richard M. Osgood, Jr.,2 and Jon A. Schuller1,*
1Energy Frontier Research Center, Columbia University, New York, New York 10027, USA
2Microelectronics Sciences Laboratories, Columbia University, New York, New York 10027, USA
*Corresponding author: jonschuller@columbia.edu
S Mann
R Grote
R Osgood
J Schuller
pp. 25729-25740
•https://doi.org/10.1364/OE.19.025729
Sander A. Mann, Richard R. Grote, Richard M. Osgood, and Jon A. Schuller, "Dielectric particle and void resonators for thin film solar cell textures," Opt. Express 19, 25729-25740 (2011)
Enhanced solar cells
Forward scattering
Guided mode resonance
Resonant modes
Silicon solar cells
Thin film solar cells
Diffraction gratings (050.1950)
Subwavelength structures (050.6624)
Optical resonators (140.4780)
Solar energy (350.6050)
Mie theory (290.4020)
Original Manuscript: September 30, 2011
Revised Manuscript: November 17, 2011
Manuscript Accepted: November 17, 2011
Abstract: Using Mie theory and Rigorous Coupled Wave Analysis (RCWA) we compare the properties of dielectric particle and void resonators. We show that void resonators—low refractive index inclusions within a high index embedding medium—exhibit larger bandwidth resonances, reduced peak scattering intensity, different polarization anisotropies, and enhanced forward scattering when compared to their particle (high index inclusions in a low index medium) counterparts. We evaluate amorphous silicon solar cell textures comprising either arrays of voids or particles. Both designs support substantial absorption enhancements (up to 45%) relative to a flat cell with anti-reflection coating, over a large range of cell thicknesses. By leveraging void-based textures 90% of above-bandgap photons are absorbed in cells with maximal vertical dimension of 100 nm.
High rear reflectance and light trapping in textured graphene based silicon thin film solar cells with back dielectric-metal reflectors
Maria Jabeen and Shyqyri Haxha
OSA Continuum 2(5) 1807-1821 (2019)
Light-scattering effectiveness of two-dimensional disordered surface textures in thin-film silicon solar cells
Pinghui S. Yeh, Chien-Wei Chen, Bing-Ru Yang, and Lu-Sheng Hong
Comparison and optimization of randomly textured surfaces in thin-film solar cells
C. Rockstuhl, S. Fahr, K. Bittkau, T. Beckers, R. Carius, F.-J. Haug, T. Söderström, C. Ballif, and F. Lederer
Opt. Express 18(S3) A335-A342 (2010)
Decoupled front/back dielectric textures for flat ultra-thin c-Si solar cells
Olindo Isabella, Robin Vismara, Andrea Ingenito, Nasim Rezaei, and M. Zeman
Opt. Express 24(6) A708-A719 (2016)
The versatile designs and optimizations for cylindrical TiO2-based scatterers for solar cell anti-reflection coatings
Albert Lin, Yan-Kai Zhong, and Sze-Ming Fu
Opt. Express 21(S6) A1052-A1064 (2013)
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Baird, W. E.
Bandiera, S.
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Du, Q. G.
Elston, S.
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Fahr, S.
Falcone, F.
Fan, P.
Fan, S.
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García de Abajo, F. J.
García-Cámara, B.
García-Etxarri, A.
Gaylord, T. K.
Gombert, A.
Gómez-Medina, R.
González, F.
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Luk’yanchuk, B.S.
Mahajan, S.
Marqués, R.
Marquier, F.
Martín, F.
Moharam, M. G.
Moreno, F.
Motamedi, M. E.
Muller, T.
Müller, J.
Munday, J. N.
Nieto-Vesperinas, M.
Opsal, J.
Osgood, R. M.
Panoiu, N. C.
Pertsch, T.
Polman, A.
Pommet, D. A.
Raman, A.
Rech, B.
Reinhardt, C.
Ren, S.
Rockstuhl, C.
Rose, K.
Sáenz, J. J.
Scheffold, F.
Schropp, R. E. I.
Schuller, J. A.
Seidel, A.
Senko, M.
Shainline, J.
Sian, S. Y.
Sinha, J. K.
Soares, B. F.
Sorolla, M.
Southwell, W. H.
Springer, J.
Suárez-Lacalle, I.
Sugawara, Y.
Sun, X. W.
Teperik, T. V.
Vanecek, M.
Vasudev, A. P.
Verhagen, E.
Verschuuren, M. A.
Walters, R. J.
White, J. S.
Wittwer, V.
Yu, H. Y.
Yu, Z.
Zanke, C.
Zia, R.
Adv. Mater. (Deerfield Beach Fla.) (1)
Appl. Opt. (2)
Appl. Phys. Lett. (3)
J. Nanophotonics (1)
J. Opt. Soc. Am. A (1)
J. Opt. Soc. Am. B (1)
Nano Lett. (1)
Nat. Mater. (1)
Opt. Lett. (2)
Phys. Rev. Lett. B (1)
Phys. Status Solidi (1)
Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. (1)
Prog. Photovolt. Res. Appl. (1)
Sol. Energy (1)
Sol. Energy Mater. Sol. Cells (1)
Thin Solid Films (1)
Fig. 1 (a) A particle resonator geometry comprises a high index dielectric material (light blue) embedded in a low index medium (white, e.g. air). (b) A void resonator geometry comprises a low-index void within a high index embedding medium. The active material in high refractive index thin film solar cells can be textured into arrays of (c) particle or (d) void resonators to enhance light absorption. ARC stands for anti-reflection coating.
Fig. 2 Real part of the Mie coefficients for particle (red, nr = 4) and void (blue, nr = 0.25) cylindrical resonators composed of the same materials. The TE1 void resonance is red-shifted relative to the TE0 void. This is contrary to the general trend in particle resonators (or TM polarized voids) where successively higher order resonances occur at successively larger frequencies. Void resonators exhibit, with exception of the TM0 mode, broader bandwidth resonances.
Fig. 3 (a) TE and TM scattering cross sections for single resonators are derived from Mie theory, calculated by keeping r0 fixed and sweeping λ0. (b) The fraction of total power radiated into a high index (m = 4) substrate for dipoles oscillating parallel (red) and perpendicular (blue) to an interface as a function of distance to the interface (as depicted in the cartoon on the inset). The distance to the interface is expressed in terms of the radiating wavelength and dipoles may sit above (dashed) or below (solid) the interface. Calculations are based on a reciprocity formalism.
Fig. 4 (a) In analogy with single particle calculations, we use RCWA simulations on resonator arrays to calculate the sum of power scattered into all diffracted orders divided by the total incident power. The value d denotes the resonator width and height, which are equal (see Fig. 6(d)). Results are shown for fixed d and large periodicities where inter-resonator coupling is weak and the number of allowed diffracted orders is large. Particle (void) resonators are more efficient TM (TE) scatterers, especially at small frequencies. (b) RCWA simulations show that voids, which look more like embedded dipoles, radiate a larger fraction of power into the high index substrate than particles as expected from the classical dipole calculations. Much of the back scattering from particle resonators is suppressed by the addition of an anti-reflection coating.
Fig. 5 (a) and (b): Diffracted power for the particle and void resonator geometries at different fill fractions, d/a, where d is the resonator width (and height) and a is the periodicity (see Fig. 6(c)). At each fill fraction the diffracted power spectra are normalized by the peak value. The spectra are largely independent of fill factor, showing that the array properties are largely governed by the individual Mie resonances. (c) and (d): Unnormalized linecuts at fill fractions of 0.15 (blue) and 0.4 (red) show nearly identical spectra, but the total diffracted power is larger at high fill fractions. The ARC thickness is 56 nm.
Fig. 6 (a) Absorption as a function of the maximal cell thickness for unpatterned thin film cells with optimized ARC thickness compared to cells with optimized particle (red) and void (blue) textures. (b) The same data as in (a) plotted as an enhancement factor. (c) Absorption spectra for particle and void textures with t = 50, d = 40, a = 330 and tARC = 60 nm. (d) The parameters we used to define the particle and void geometries.
Fig. 7 Q factors for particle and void resonators as a function of the mode number m.
Fig. 8 The averaged energy density inside a spherical void with nint = 1 in a medium with nemb = 4, normalized to the energy density inside the void if there were no index contrast (nr = 1).
Table 1 Resonance Conditions for Cylindrical Resonators
View Table
(1) a m (x)= n r J ′ m (x) J m ( n r x)− J m (x) J ′ m ( n r x) n r J m ( n r x) H ′ m (x)− J ′ m ( n r x) H m (x)
(2) b m (x)= J ′ m (x) J m ( n r x)− n r J m (x) J ′ m ( n r x) J m ( n r x) H ′ m (x)− n r J ′ m ( n r x) H m (x)
(3) n r = k int k emb = n int n emb , x= k emb r 0 = 2π n emb λ r 0
(4) C sca,TE = 2λ π n emb { | a 0 | 2 +2 ∑ n=0 ∞ | a n | 2 }
(5) E r = ∑ j R j e −i( k xj x− k zjr z) , E t = ∑ j T j e −i( k xj x− k zjt z)
(6) k xj =j 2π a , k zjr 2 = k 0 2 − k xj 2 , k zjt 2 = n s k 0 2 − k xj 2
(7) ∫ 0nm 730nm A(λ) b AM1.5 (λ) dλ ∫ 0nm 730nm b AM1.5 (λ) dλ
(B1) lim n r →0 a m ( n r ,x)={ x J 0 ( x )−2 J 1 ( x ) x H 0 ( x )−2 H 1 ( x ) for m=0 J m ( x ) H m ( x ) for m>0
(B2) lim n r →0 b m ( n r ,x )={ J 1 ( x ) H 1 ( x ) for m=0 x J ′ m ( x )−2m J m ( x ) x H ′ m ( x )−2m H m ( x ) for m>0
(B3) J m ( n r x) J ′ m ( n r x) = Y m (x) Y ′ m (x) *( 1 n r for TE n r for TM )
(B4) J m ( n r x ) J ′ m ( n r x ) = n r [ γ−ln(2)+ln(x) ]for m=0 J m−1 ( n r x)=0 for m>0
(C1) 4 n L 2 9 n H 5 / n L 5 (2 n H 2 / n L 2 +1) 2
(C2) 4 n L n H V void ∫ void E ⇀ ⋅ E → ∗
Resonance Conditions for Cylindrical Resonators
m > 0
am
(TE) J m ( 2π r 0 n int λ )=0
Y 2 ( 2π r 0 n emb λ )=0
Y m ( 2π r 0 n emb λ )=0
bm
(TM) - J m−1 ( 2π r 0 n int λ )=0 Y 1 ( 2π r 0 n emb λ )=0 Y m+1 ( 2π r 0 n emb λ )=0
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Walk of Mercy
by Plank | Mar 29, 2016
Walk of Mercy On March 19th, 2016, St. Mary’s Historic Seminary Chapel and the grounds of St. Mary’s Spiritual Center & Historic Site hosted the Archdiocese of Baltimore’s “Walk of Mercy” in which more than 350 people followed in the footstep of...
Father Kemper Interviewed on CBS Radio
by Plank | Aug 28, 2015
Father Kemper Interviewed on CBS Radio Former director of the site at Paca Street Fr. John Kemper, P.S.S. (now Provincial), was interviewed by Kevin Battle on CBS Radio regarding the important significance of St. Mary’s Historic Site on Paca Street. The...
Visitor Center Dedication
Visitor Center Dedication (2009) These images are from the dedication of the Visitor Center in 2009. Clicking an image will open it in an overlay and display the...
Blessing the Statue
Blessing of Statue of Mother Teresa Maxis Duchemin, IHM (2010) Blessing of the new statue of Mother Teresa Maxis Duchemin, IHM, and the placement of the statue in the Lower Chapel (2010). Clicking an image will open it in an overlay and display the...
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St. Mary’s on Paca Street follows the Baltimore COUNTY school system procedures for inclement weather closings; if the COUNTY school system is closed, St. Mary’s on Paca Street will be closed on that day too. St. Mary’s on Paca Street, however, will be open normal times should the school system implement any delayed openings.
Copyright 2015-2019 by the Associated Sulpicians of the United States.
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The Skinwalkers Ball
By: Hammond Diehl
Art by: Helen Mask
Issue: 4 March 2019
The Skinwalkers Ball, by Helen Mask
CONTENT WARNING:
show warnings
This page contains:
Child death
Death/dying
Slurs
Violence/combat
The first contestant worth mentioning wore manticore fur. The fibers, a deep shade of gunmetal, tapered to points of polished basalt. Ruffs of black cockatrice feathers bounced at his collar and cuffs as he swaggered down an aisle lined with twisted candles. The candles, in man-high silver candelabras, smelled of coriander and marigold.
Ambrose sat up front, at the head of the host table. He was surrounded by bottles of plum brandy, and platters of tiny apples roasted on rosemary branches, and the remaining members of his family. The old alchemist didn’t say anything, but he didn’t have to, not yet. That was what his emcee was for.
Up in a viewing gallery sat a pod of baby walkers—I call them babies if they’re younger than a hundred or so, or if they’ve walked in these kinds of balls only once or twice. The baby walkers saw the first contestant worth mentioning, and they hooted and clapped loudly enough for everybody.
Tonight they were princelings. Tomorrow they’d return to hiding in sea caves and under the floorboards of rotting inns. They’d return to their true forms, too. I’ve always thought that skinwalkers look like peeled eels in their true forms. I suspect they think the same.
The contestant struck a pose. He undid the top button of his skin and spun around. Two panels made of what appeared to be dragon leather unfurled under his arms.
That got the back of the ballroom up on their feet—that is, those in the back of the ballroom bothering to play along. Craning one’s neck across a thousand feet of matte black ballroom to see a skinwalker serving up an interpretation of a flying ebony manticore can be taxing on the eyes. Even with a thousand candles blazing, seven hundred aether lamps shimmering, and four hundred Balthazars of luminescent lunar champagne bubbling in the central fountain.
The contestant smiled and did another half-turn, flashing two rows of polished onyx fangs.
Ambrose still said nothing. Ordinarily this would be a problem, but the emcee was Fleur Junior. Now there’s a walker who has leather lungs no matter what skin he’s in. Fleur Junior read Ambrose’s face, looked for an excuse to say something loud, and found it.
“Holy sweet mother of Saint Joan,” he said, pointing to the contestant. “Would you please. Would you please. Look. At the phoenix claws.”
I was curled up in the frame of an upper window at this point, ignoring the cold stare of the moon at my back, so I could see without any extra effort. Had the skinwalker bought those claws off a phoenix matron? Harvested them from old nests out in Heliopolis? Either way, they must’ve taken millennia to source. Curved nearly one hundred eighty degrees. Perfect rose-gold arcs with points so thin I could see through the ends. And not a scratch on them. These artists always sourced their materials without bloodshed. It works for some of us, I guess.
“A collection of heritage talons,” Fleur Junior announced, “handed down from Lady Anna Henrietta de Choissy-Argenteau to her devoted son.”
So. A family heirloom, bestowed with maternal affection, de mère en fis. I’d almost forgotten that could be a thing.
The Choissy-Argenteau in the manticore skin and cockatrice ruff and phoenix accessories bowed. I was impressed. Whatever glamour he’d used to hold it all in place was well-nigh invisible.
Shifting in his tarasque shell, Fleur Junior turned to Ambrose and gestured to him with a flourish. The emcee could keep mother-of-Joaning about heritage claws through the next three blood moons if need be, but for this show to sell, a judge should, eventually, step in and do some judging.
But Ambrose didn’t seem to notice. He was staring into a goblet discharging wisps of thin blue smoke.
Was Ambrose the only human in the place tonight? Most likely. Not that anybody could tell, what with that amazing disguise. If I hadn’t known better, I’d have thought a miserable skinwalker in a bishop-fish suit was sitting up there. That had to be Fleur Junior’s doing. Even the smartest human couldn’t skin out without some help from the real deal, and the way those pectoral fins curled straight up toward the good lord, that was classic Fleur Junior technique.
Same with Ambrose’s children. A practiced eye could see six ridiculously rare homunculi sitting at that host table, sporting borrowed fluff and limited-edition hooves. But to anyone else, Ambrose’s children were just a half-dozen unusually melancholy baby walkers serving up the basics: a pair of unicorns, a kappa, a wood nymph, a pond sprite and a gnome.
The ballroom waited. A baby walker in the skin of an Indus worm draped himself over the balcony railing and slithered down into the fountain, splashing and preening. His peers giggled from the shadows.
Fleur Junior leaned into Ambrose and spoke at a whisper. I could hear him from all the way up in my perch. I can hear anything I want.
“This contestant,” Fleur Junior said. “Is he the one?”
At last Ambrose looked up from the goblet and shook his head. “Wrong skin.”
Fleur Junior crimsoned. “Of course. So sorry.”
Ambrose turned to face the room.
“Well, then,” he said, clearing his throat. “Yes. Well played. You may proceed to the grand-prize round.”
The Choissy-Argenteau pumped a leonine paw. A puffy-eyed footman, De Villiers—the kind of skinwalker you see only when you’re meant to see him—emerged from behind a fat basalt pillar. He stuffed a tear-soaked handkerchief into a chest pocket and guided the contestant toward an empty table piled with cheese and ambrosia.
Fleur Junior squinted into the ballroom, borrowed cat pupils dilating. He set his voice back to boom.
“Do we have any additional competitors in the category of Illuminated Biblical Realness?” he said. “On to the Banshee Girl category then! Let me see all my banshee girls.” He glared at the walker cavorting in the fountain. “You know: those shrieking bitches who sit on river rocks, looking all sideways at your burial shroud, talking about your looming death.”
In the back of the ballroom, a contestant wrapped in white hair from head to ankles stood and began to walk. “That’s goat hair!” someone shouted.
Ambrose shifted in his bishop-fish skin, absently scratching the top of his head.
I followed his hand and frowned, noticing something I’d missed before. I didn’t really need to, but I elongated my neck, switched out my slitted pupils for round ones, and zeroed in on the host table.
Hovering over Ambrose’s scaly, mitre-shaped cowl was a familiar halo. It was black, about the size of a penny bun. His children each had one, too.
Years ago, Ambrose had received the custom halo formula as a gift from a fellow alchemist. The disc was as perpetually out of fashion as an accessory could be, but so are most artists in their own time. Ambrose had taken to it with such ardor that he’d even added it to his family crest.
I scowled. That halo was a sloppy choice, one that could give away our whole plan. And Ambrose had been so careful until now. Grief does strange things to people; I’ll never understand it.
I yawned, shinnied down from the window, lowered my head to the floor and closed my eyes for a nap. I didn’t need them to see anyway.
I smelled cinnamon. Cinnamon and something sweeter. I opened my eyes.
De Villiers was drifting by, arms laden with a tray of warm apples, face as frozen as the Danube in February. I sniffed the air. That footman had been ferreting about in Ambrose’s apothecary. Poppy syrup? Powdered siren milk, more likely. You don’t recover from well-nigh hysterical grief into—whatever that expression was or wasn’t—so quickly without alchemical help.
Or maybe De Villiers and the rest of the room was just used to tragedy by now. Thanks to my tardy plus-one, Ambrose had buried seven of his children in less than a century. Every walker in this place had adored them.
Yes, I’d had my hand in the bloody goodbyes—I have my hand in every goodbye. But that’s because it’s my calling, been my calling since before fish grew legs. If I also happen to have some flair at it, is that my fault?
Ambrose was smart. He knew the difference between me and people like my guest. Like it or not, I’m a part of the natural order. My plus-one, on the other hand, had poured out of some black crack in the West, sniffed out Ambrose’s family and picked them off, ripping skins off of bones like bedsheets and parading around in their sagging husks throughout half of the H.R.E. and Far East.
Even for a skinwalker, that’s a bit thirsty.
I looked around the ballroom floor, the borrowed venue so carefully staged, the guests so studiously merry, and mulled whether this beautiful trap, this elaborately disguised court of justice, would even work.
De Villiers turned and saw me.
I smiled. I showed him all my teeth, though which set, I can’t recall.
The footman swallowed. A thin strand of hair at his left temple turned from eggplant to pale silver. His tray wobbled. The scent of rosemary and cinnamon and fear pheromones fruited the air.
I imagined the apples toppling into a fragrant heap and rolling all over the ballroom. Might be kind of fun. It would certainly smell terrific. Maybe the crowd would appreciate it. Maybe one or two of them might think it was a type of performance art. Maybe they’d even applaud me.
Or not. Let’s be honest: No one ever applauds the work I do. I yawned again and lowered my head back to the floor. Why bother a man I had no business with for another twenty-one years?
Twenty-one years, three days, fourteen hours.
High above the ballroom roof, the moon grew bored and dipped. Venus sensed her hour was waning and slipped off, too. Mars came out to see if anything interesting was going on.
Inside the ballroom, three more walkers sat at the contenders table, feigning shock at their advancement, sipping slivovitz and posing for a quick-portrait artist. The artist was either skinned out as a redcap or really was one. I suspected the latter; the bright red paint he used smelled warm and rusty.
A rustling at the far back of the room. I sniffed the air again.
“You don’t have an invitation,” I heard someone say.
I opened my eyes, put my legs away and roiled, beautifully smoke-like, I imagine, to the top of the nearest pillar, fading into shadows. I peered toward the door.
A stranger spoke in a raised voice, clear and sure. “It’s all right, darling. I’m a plus-one.”
“What’s that then?” Ambrose said, squinting through the mist of the fountain.
Fleur Junior scoffed. “Somebody managed to walk into an invitational without an invitation. Says he’s a plus-one?”
“Farewell,” Ambrose said.
“You heard the gentleman,” Fleur Junior said. “And somebody smack a security person for me. Preferably somebody wearing claws.”
That was my cue. I convected down the pillar, shifted my shape into something more walker-esque and made my way to the ballroom entrance.
I glared at the newcomer and let out a disapproving hiss.“I didn’t pull strings so you could make a scene at the Pro-Am All-Bohemian Invitational,” I said. I pointed up to Ambrose. “Apologize to Sevastapol de la Beija at once.”
Up at the host table, I heard Fleur Junior mumbling to Ambrose. “Sevastapol de la Beija?”
Ambrose shrugged and nodded toward me. “I suppose even he has a creative side.”
The stranger bowed toward Ambrose. “Deepest apologies, my … viscount? Baron?”
“Marquess,” I said.
Oh, just let me have my fun.
“Ah, yes, Marquess Sevastapol de la Beija,” the guest said, as if he’d known a Marquess Sevastapol de la Beija since the dawn of time. He gestured to me. “When my new friend here first told me about your ball and its wondrous prizes, I couldn’t believe I’d never heard of it. Now all I do is dream at a chance of walking it. I’d be incredibly grateful for just a few moments.”
He stepped further into the ballroom, into the milky glow of the lunar champagne fountain.
His skin.
The light danced on hundreds of scales flowing from neck to ankles. And each scale had its own, not-quite-describable color—this one a blush like a pale crepe myrtle, another a black-plum darker than Juno’s jealousy.
This stranger didn’t walk. He swam through an air heavy with rosemary smoke.
A pair of winglike fins flew out from the sides of his torso, spanning the width of the walkway, their ends dissolving into a mist the color of opals. A crest, like that of an exotic fish, rose from the top of his head and swooped out from a tapering tailbone. Along the crest, a row of what looked like floating circles arced, each the size of a penny bun.
They shone a familiar black.
A pair of contestants, wine-sodden, leaning against each other’s long, basilisk necks, sat up and stared.
A gent in a high dragon skin wept quietly into a sleeve of carnelian scales.
I heard a thump from the vicinity of the host’s table. One of the footmen had fainted.
I may have felt something. I’m not sure.
My nostrils picked up a fresh wave of a heady but familiar scent, like rust, warm salt. This time, it wasn’t coming from the portrait artist.
Ambrose stood.
“Let’s see you then,” he said.
The stranger circled the fountain, stopped before the host’s table. Guests backed away, sighing, gasping.
“I can’t believe it,” someone said.
“Name?” Fleur Junior said.
“All Fours,” the plus-one said.
“Category?”
“Category,” Ambrose said this time. “If we were to accept your late entry, and I’m not saying we will, what category would you want to be in?”
“Categories are for those who cannot find inspiration elsewhere,” All Fours said.
A snort from up in the viewing gallery.
As if there was anything uninspired about what these walkers did. Anything uninspired about the meticulous stitch work along the edge of Fleur Junior’s tarasque shell. Anything uninspired about, say, the skinwalker to my left, clad in a chimera-fur bodysuit built hair by hair, each one harvested from dowry combs of queens born once every two hundred years.
“Then please,” Fleur Junior said. “Mesmerize us. Tell us what creatures contributed to your creation.”
“Not creatures,” All Fours said. “Creature. Just one.”
Ambrose stood up, a little too fast, if you pay attention to such things. Fleur Junior put a hand on Ambrose’s faux fin; the alchemist took the cue and paused, let his eyelids droop a little. He looked almost bored now, if fish ever get bored. Good for him.
Ambrose slid around the host table. He circled All Fours on his bishop-fish tail, halo burning darkly.
“A single creature,” Ambrose said, “willingly gave you her wings, her scales, her crest, her fins, all of it?”
“How do you figure it was a she?” All Fours said.
Hasty, Ambrose. Careful.
“I once heard a siren singing about a creature who looked like this,” Ambrose said. “I didn’t believe it then. What was the story again, Fleur Junior?”
Fleur Junior made a show of shrugging.
“Oh! Right,” Ambrose said. “The daughter of an … alchemist, the siren said? I’d thought it was just one of those pining-for-baby folktales they like to tell between drownings. Something about how the alchemist had no natural children, so he made them. And …”
He feigned forgetfulness.
“Every time he found a mandrake root,” Fleur Junior said.
“Right! Every time he found a mandrake root that was large enough, sang capably enough, he made a child from it. Each homunculus, the siren said, was prettier and smarter than the last. One of them, Antonia, was made from bee pollen and white gold.”
“Go on,” All Fours said.
“There was a son, too, Klement, I think? Something about a mandrake paired with dandelion petals and primordial ambers?”
“Do I look like any of that?” All Fours said.
“No,” Ambrose said. “But—Fleur?”
The emcee nodded.
“Didn’t the siren sing about another daughter?” Ambrose said. “A favorite? Made from mother of pearl and the powder of a luna moth’s wings.”
Fleur Junior nodded again. “The alchemist gestated it all in an eel egg,” he said, “or so the song goes. But what this walker is wearing couldn’t be hers.”
“And why not?” All Fours said.
One of Ambrose’s children stood up. A son, not much older than ten, showing excellent posture in his kappa skin. Fleur Junior should have taken more care with the disguise on this one; the decorative ruff on the boy’s neck was a telltale mass of lean, yellow petals. A pair of amber studs glinted in his scaly little earlobes.
“It would mean,” the boy said, “that you murdered her.”
All Fours smiled.
“It’s all right,” he said, though, now that I recall it, no one had apologized. “This is a common confusion among those unfamiliar with found art.
“What I do is, I curate a skin. I bring out the potential in it, rescue it and re-interpret it. I don’t necessarily expect you to understand the subtleties, son. That’s fine. But in short: This is one such interpretation.”
Someone hissed from the viewing gallery.
“And my interpretation,” the boy said, “is that’s murder. And stealing. But mostly murder.”
All Fours bristled.
“I’ll have you know that my art is appreciated. I’ve taken three grand prizes in Edo and Nara using similar found materials.”
“Found materials,” Fleur Junior said. “You mean, the skins of the alchemist’s children. You’re confirming the story.”
“Well, all right. Yes. I’ve been creating found art from them for a few decades. This is my, let me see, eighth, I think.”
The walker in the Indus worm said, “But that’s not art. It’s just you killing a beautiful creation and wearing it yourself.”
I’ve got to credit All Fours; he was patient when he wanted something. He smiled at the Indus worm.
“That embroidery, on your tail—that’s spun wind element, is it not? From Karachi, I’m assuming.”
The Indus worm flashed exactly two teeth. They were polestar white.
“Kashmiri,” he said. “I wouldn’t be caught dead in Karachi wind thread.”
All Fours waved a fin in forgiveness again.
“That’s all right. But how long did it take you to spin?”
“To spin. Did you use a low-whorl drop spindle? Top-whorl? A wheel? You carded the wind fibers first, I imagine. Do you prefer a hand carder or a drum carder?”
“None of the above,” the walker in the Indus worm suit said. “It was a purchase.”
“From Boreas himself! My.”
“Well, no. From a vendor. But his father—”
“My point is simple,” All Fours said. “You didn’t spin that thread. You didn’t weave all that silk. I suspect you didn’t even breed the silkworms. You found. Your. Materials. And you created something absolutely adorable. Make no mistake. It’s precious. But now you see my point, don’t you?
“Is it really killing a creation if I rescue it and give it the framing it deserves? Is something really murdered if the second life I give it changes the world forever? It takes a certain genius to recognize what a piece of art really wants to be. Take the accents over my crest, for example.”He made a full turn for the benefit of the room.“Have you ever seen anything like these? Floating circlets that glow black like that?”
“Halos,” I heard Ambrose say. But All Fours didn’t. Right now he had ears only for his own voice.
“If you like,” All Fours said, “I can even co-credit the creature who inspired me. She called herself Josette, I think?”
Somewhere beyond the walls of the ballroom, a heavy set of double doors, old wood shot through with blood-black veins of orichalcum, boomed shut.
Then then double doors of the ballroom itself closed. The guests suddenly seemed more alive, more focused, like a cat just after a sun sets, realizing that the night is cool enough to hunt by, and that it’s hungry.
“Josepha,” Ambrose said. “My daughter’s name was Josepha.”
This time, All Fours heard it.
The reflected lights dancing over his stolen skin grew still.
And finally, he figured it out—what the rest of the room had known all along.
“So am I to assume then,” All Fours said, “that there is no Pro-Am All-Bohemian Invitational.”
“There is not,” Fleur Junior said.
“No Saracen Sevastapol de la Beija.”
“Only me,” Ambrose said.
All Fours didn’t need to say Ambrose’s name. Only the alchemist had the motive, the patience and the fury to orchestrate a sting like this.
“Is there even a grand prize?” All Fours said.
“Several,” Ambrose said.
The baby walkers, who, honestly, had been remarkably patient, descended from the viewing gallery and came out of the fountain. The older walkers dropped their cups and half-eaten apples. De Villiers whisked away plates.
“An old tinkerer like me sees some amazing things in his lab,” Ambrose said. “And a lot of them are damnably beautiful. A man shouldn’t brag about his children. But my Josepha, she was my prize. I guess you should say she was my favorite. Sorry, Klement.”
“Not at all,” the homunculus in the kappa skin said.
“I begged her not to leave the estate,” Ambrose said. “I’d already lost so many of my children. To you. But she insisted. Said that hiding wasn’t working, that the assassins had failed, that we needed a new strategy, a bold one that his ego would never let him see coming. ‘Let it happen,‘ she said, ‘let him take one more skin.’
“‘And then you, father, you throw a ball that the murdering pretender can’t resist.‘ And that way, she said, her sacrifice would be worth it. For Klement here, she said, and the rest.”
Klement got up. He took one of the little cocktail picks from the buffet.
Something in me awoke.
Ambrose’s gaze found me. He spoke to me in a whisper.
“Hungry?” he said.
“Don’t ask stupid questions,” I whispered back.
“Remember your promise,” he said. “Wait. For my children to take their grand prize first. Then you get yours.”
More of the walkers stepped forward. One of them turned to Ambrose and said, “Are you sure?”
Ambrose nodded.
Together, the Indus worm and the basilisks held down All Fours, and Ambrose’s children began the reclamation.
They peeled off the crest first. Then the fins. Then the halos. They were gentle with the pieces, if not All Fours himself.
All Fours didn’t struggle much at first. His kind don’t fight; they debate, they weasel, they pose. But when somebody finally breached the fleshy, raw-boned stuff underneath Josepha’s skin, All Fours jerked. I caught a glimpse of black cartilage, of flesh the color of a cave fish.
The children didn’t stop. Antonia trotted around the host table in her unicorn skin. The tip of her horn disappeared beneath one of All Fours’ very real ribs. Klement bent down, slid a webbed hand into the slit in All Fours’ God-given trunk, grabbed a fistful of innards, pulled.
Then they moved on to the bones.
“Don’t crack the ribs right there,” someone said. “It’s a waste of material. Crack them at the base. Here.”
All Fours howled. His eyes cast about the room.
He saw me.
“You’re not even really wearing a skin,” he said. “Are you?”
I said nothing.
“But you told me you were a walker,” he said. “Said you knew all the best flesh couturiers west of the Vistula. Said … said …”
His voice drifted away as the realization hit him.
“Are you what I think you are?” he said.
I blinked slowly. It’s how some predators smile. I thought he’d appreciate it.
“Then take me away,” he said. “Why are you sitting there? Finish me! Please!”
I went back over to my pillar and settled in for another nap.
The ballroom lay empty. De Villiers had taken All Fours’ eyes, which could, he learned to his delight, see in the dark. He popped them into his sockets and went about snuffing the candles.
Behind the ballroom, up a spiral staircase, lay a temporary atelier. I walked into it on six feet, maybe eight, I don’t remember. Ambrose sat at a drafting desk piled with sketches, schema, formulae—mandrakes painted inside six-pointed stars, a sketch of an alembic under an astrological arc. Little piles of wax and ash dotted the desk, dropped by decades worth of pipes and candles.
He was looking into his goblet again. It was still smoking, and he still hadn’t touched it.
“Ready?” I said.
“You’re suddenly in a rush?” Ambrose said.
Fair enough. I ducked under the desk and sat on Ambrose’s feet. I may even have purred for him. It’s what I would do.
“That’s charming,” Ambrose said.
“Does it help?” I said.
Ambrose didn’t answer. Instead, he said, “I still don’t understand why you said yes.”
“To our trade?”
“Yes. You would have had me eventually. All you had to do was wait. For me to lose all my children. I would have probably given myself to you then. What’s a few more years to you?”
“I don’t like to go that far between meals.”
“I don’t think that’s it at all,” Ambrose said. “You threw a favor into the bargain. You brought him to me. You didn’t even ask any boon for that part.”
I ignored that. Instead I asked a question of my own.
“When I managed to trick All Fours, to get him to come here, into your trap, what would you call that?”
“I wasn’t there for that,” Ambrose said.
“But I did it. Imagine it. For me.”
“Would you call it art if I asked?” I said.
“Well, the way you lured him in, making it sound so exclusive, having Fleur Junior harangue him at the door as if a Habsburg dined within, that was artful. But art? That’s not up to me.”
“It’s not?”
“See here,” Ambrose said. I closed my eyes and saw the top of his drafting table.
Ambrose had a stylus in his hand. I followed it as it pirouetted across parchment. It made a sad, bent line in fern-flower ink.
“Snow-Hung Gate,” Ambrose said. “My latest work of art. Do you like it?”
“It’s a line,” I said.
“It’s art if I say it is,” Ambrose said. “No one else can say differently. The only power you have is to judge it as art, or, I suppose, destroy it.”
“And isn’t that an art too?”
He crossed his ankles. I rolled and swayed. It wasn’t unpleasant.
“So,” Ambrose said, “What happens to All Fours, now that you’ve, you know.”
“Denied him death?”
“If you like.”
“I told you,” I said.
“It would give me great pleasure to hear it again.”
“He’ll live on,” I said. “Only in a million little pieces.”
“Feeling all the pain? Forever?”
“I told you, yes.”
“And my children,” Ambrose said. “The ones who are left. Repeat it. I want to hear you say it again.”
“They’ll get the fullness of their time. No more, no less. In exchange for …” I nodded at Ambrose’s goblet.
Ambrose put down his stylus and picked up the goblet. I got a whiff of Borgia toadstool, the powdered glands of an asp reconstituted.
“You’re a fair dealer,” he said.
“I’m an artist,” I said.
He drank.
Somewhere in the back of the atelier, a water clock ticked. I hadn’t noticed it before. I imagined a song with no words, no notes.
I smelled the air. It was done.
I stepped out, dragged a claw across the desk, and signed my name in ash.
© Copyright 2019 By: Hammond Diehl
About Hammond Diehl
Hammond Diehl is a journalist and editor living in Los Angeles. This is Hamm’s first piece of published fantasy. You can follow Hamm, if you like, on Twitter at @saltyhamm1.
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Sobering effect of the love hormone
Oxytocin, sometimes referred to as the 'love' or 'cuddle' hormone, has a legendary status in popular culture due to its vital role in social and sexual behaviour and long-term bonding.
Now researchers from the University of Sydney and the University of Regensburg have discovered it also has a remarkable influence on the intoxicating effect of alcohol, which they report in the scientific journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences today.
When the researchers infused oxytocin into the brains of rats which were then given alcohol it prevented the drunken lack of coordination caused by the alcohol.
"In the rat equivalent of a sobriety test, the rats given alcohol and oxytocin passed with flying colours, while those given alcohol without oxytocin were seriously impaired," said Dr Michael Bowen, from the University of Sydney's School of Psychology and lead author on the study.
The researchers demonstrated that oxytocin prevents alcohol from accessing specific sites in the brain that cause alcohol's intoxicating effects, sites known as delta-subunit GABA-A receptors.
"Alcohol impairs your coordination by inhibiting the activity of brain regions that provide fine motor control. Oxytocin prevents this effect to the point where we can't tell from their behaviour that the rats are actually drunk. It's a truly remarkable effect," Dr Bowen said.
This 'sobering-up' effect of oxytocin has yet to be shown in humans but the researchers plan to conduct these studies in the near future.
"The first step will be to ensure we have a method of drug delivery for humans that allows sufficient amounts of oxytocin to reach the brain. If we can do that, we suspect that oxytocin could also leave speech and cognition much less impaired after relatively high levels of alcohol consumption," Dr Bowen said.
It's worth noting that oxytocin can't save you from being arrested while driving home from the pub.
"While oxytocin might reduce your level of intoxication, it won't actually change your blood alcohol level," Dr Bowen said. "This is because the oxytocin is preventing the alcohol from accessing the sites in the brain that make you intoxicated, it is not causing the alcohol to leave your system any faster".
Some people might worry a drug which decreases your level of intoxication could encourage you to drink more. As it turns out, separate experiments conducted by the researchers and other groups have shown that taking oxytocin actually reduces alcohol consumption and craving in both rats and humans.
"We believe that the effects of oxytocin on alcohol consumption and craving act through a similar mechanism in the brain to the one identified in our research," said Dr Bowen.
Their findings could see the development of new oxytocin-based treatments for alcohol-use disorders that target this mechanism.
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RP ranks high in terrorism, now 8th most dangerous By Michaela P. del Callar 01/26/2011
TERRORISTS STRIKE AS EDSA BOMB BLAST KILLS 4, INJURES DOZENS
RP ranks high in terrorism, now 8th most dangerous
Foreign countries all issued travel warnings to their citizens against imminent terrorist attacks in the country, which irked President Aquino, who claimed then that these foreign travel advisories were baseless, and demanded at least seven countries to withdraw their advisories.
But the foreign advisories proved to have a lot of substance, as just yesterday, a bomb planted under a seat in the bus travelling through Edsa-Makati went off, killing at least four passengers and injured dozens, all of whom were brought to the government hospital in Makati.
Yesterday’s bus blast succeeds in affirming that the Philippines, which has moved two notches up in this year’s global terrorism risk assessment, now ranks as the eighth most dangerous country in the world.
Joining the Philippines in the Terrorism Risk Index are: Somalia, Pakistan, Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestinian Territories in fifth place, Colombia 6, Thailand 7, Yemen 9 and Russia at 10th spot..... MORE
Merci ‘lectures’ Tupas; House gets even, slaps Ombudsman with subpoena 01/26/2011
Merci ‘lectures’ Tupas; House gets even, slaps Ombudsman with subpoena
Citing a Supreme Court (SC) ruling, Chief Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez yesterday snubbed the hearing set by the House committee on justice aimed at determining the validity of the plea bargain agreement entered into by the Office of the Ombudsman and retired Army Maj.Gen. Carlos Garcia in connection with the former military officer’s P303-million plunder case, lecturing panel chairman, Iloilo Rep. Niel Tupas on the principle of the separation of powers.
Getting even, the panel approved unanimously to subpoena Gutierrez and six others from the Office of the Ombudsman, an independent and constitutional body, for the next hearing scheduled on Feb. 1.
In a one-page letter addressed to committee secretary, lawyer Narcisa Guevarra, Gutierrez said that while she and subordinates would want to attend the committee hearing, certain legal issues restrict them from doing so.
For one, the Ombudsman said the Garcia case is still pending before the Second Division of the Sandiganbayan and any discussion on the issue might be construed as sub judice..... MORE
Garcia admits initiating plea bargain By Charlie V. Manalo 01/26/2011
Garcia admits initiating plea bargain
Amnestied Sen. Antonio Trillanes’ claims of a missing retired Maj. Gen. Carlos Garcia was a complete dud, as the “missing” former military comptroller showed up at the House of Representatives to face the panel’s interrogators yesterday.
Garcia showed up yesterday at the hearing of the House committee on justice and admitted he had initiated the plea bargain agreement he entered into with the Office of the Ombudsman after members of his family were incarcerated in the United States sometime in March, 2009 in connection with their P303-million plunder case.
Garcia, accompanied by lawyer Constantino de Jesus, however, would not disclose who in the Office of the Ombudsman was involved in the deal although he was quick to add the idea of a plea bargain “was already in the negotiation stage as early as May 2008.”
“Knowing that they (Office of the Ombudsman) have a weak case, I did not immediately succumb to the offer,” Garcia told Parañaque Rep. Roilo Golez.
“I knew, from the very starts that which was important (to pin me down) was for a whistleblower to come out.”.... MORE
Probers eye police, fiscals link to car theft syndicates By Benjamin B. Pulta 01/26/2011
Probers eye police, fiscals link to car theft syndicates
Government investigators plan to zero in on the involvement of law enforcers and even prosecutors in the recent wave of car theft incidents, the latest of which saw the brutal slaying of two vehicle dealers.
A joint panel of Department of Justice (DoJ) and the Depart-ment of Interior and Local Government (DILG) officials will look into reports of the supposed complicity of the police and members of the judiciary in allowing carjacking syndicates to ply their evil trade.
Justice Secretary Leila de Lima speaking with reporters said the DILG has a list of law enforcers but could not be made public yet pending review of their records particularly involving car theft.
She said a joint department circular will be issued this week for the creation of the join investigating team.
US rights group blasts Noynoy for failing to check abuses By Michaela P. del Callar 01/26/2011
US rights group blasts Noynoy for failing to check abuses
A prominent human rights watchdog yesterday blasted President Aquino for failing to live up to his commitment in providing justice for human rights abuses, eradicate private armies and address impunity by the Philippine police and military.
New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) said seven months into his presidency, Aquino’s government “has taken insufficient steps to hold perpetrators of killings and other abuses accountable.
“President Aquino came to office promising that human rights would be a top priority,” said Elaine Pearson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “But talk is cheap, so long as security forces remain unaccountable for violent abuses.”
In its 649-page World Report 2011, HRW described the Philippines as a multiparty democracy with a thriving civil society and vibrant media, but observed that law enforcement agencies and the military and police commit human rights violations with impunity.
The report is the group’s 21st annual review of human rights practices around the globe, which summarizes major human rights trends in more than 90 countries and territories worldwide..... MORE
House launches Cha-cha information drive By Gerry Baldo 01/26/2011
House launches Cha-cha information drive
Charter change advocates in the House of Representatives aren’t giving up the fight.
The House committee on constitutional amendments is set to launch an information drive on the issue of Charter change.
At a congressional hearing yesterday, the panel, headed by Loreto Leo Ocampos of Misamis Oriental, discussed the possibility of conducting yet another survey within their respective districts to get the pulse of their constituents regarding the proposed Cha-cha bills.
“There is a need to come up with an information drive to let the people know about Charter change,” Ocampos said during the hearing.
Ocampos maintained that there is now a growing sentiment for Charter change since President Aquino assumed office last year..... MORE
Slain botanist’s kin file murder raps vs Army men By Benjamin B. Pulta 01/26/2011
Slain botanist’s kin file murder raps vs Army men
Murder charges have been filed before the Department of Justice (DoJ) against 38 soldiers in connection with the killing of noted botanist Leonardo Co and his two companions in the mountains of Kananga, Leyte on Nov. 15, 2010.
The criminal charges were filed by Co’s wife Glenda and parents Lian Sing Co and Emelina Co through their lawyer Evalyn Ursua against members of the Army’s 19th Infantry Battalion.
Named respondents were 1st Lt. Ronald Odchimar, 2nd Lt. Cameron Perez, Corporal Marlon Mores, Private First Class (Pfc) Albert Belmonte, Pfc Michael Babon, Pfc Elemer Fortaleza, Pfc Roger Fabillar, Pfc Gil Guimerey, Pfc Alex Apostol, Pfc William Bulic and 28 John Does.
Ursua said Co’s relatives are also appealing to Justice Secretary Leila de Lima to set aside the findings of the fact-finding committee that she created which cleared the military of any responsibility over the death of Co and his companions Sofronio Cortez and Julio Borromeo..... MORE
3 to 5 years needed to clean up Makati oil leak, says FPIC By Angie Rosales 01/26/2011
3 to 5 years needed to clean up Makati oil leak, says FPIC
By Angie Rosales 01/26/2011
It will take three to five years to accomplish a total clean-up of the area in Makati City affected by the leak in the petroleum pipeline as there remains to be 1.8 million liters of oil that needs to be extracted from the ground.
Officials and consultants of First Philippine Industrial Corp. (FPIC) made the disclosure to Senate probers yesterday, on the last day of the upper chamber’s investigation into the petroleum seepage discovered last year.
Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri, chairman of the committee on environment and natural resources and overall lead in the proceedings in joint with the health and demography panel, said the so-called plumes due to the leak in the pipeline that is coming out of West Tower condominium is already “contained” and no longer pose a threat to the said building, residents and affected community in Barangay Bangkal, Makati City..... MORE
Flawed justice system EDITORIAL 01/25/2011
Flawed justice system
Retired Sandiganbayan Justice Manuel Pamaran pointed to the former Ombudsman, Simeon Marcelo, and his special prosecutor Dennis Villa-Ignacio for the “weakness” of the plunder case against military comptroller dishonorably discharged Maj. Gen. Carlos Garcia, laying the blame on the two former officials.
“It was the team of Ombudsman Gutierrez’s predecessor who spearheaded the filing of the incomplete and deficient information against Garcia without the allegation stated therein validated,” Pamaran was quoted in a report as saying.
He stressed that “the Information filed was so worded in generalities. Even the resolutions, which paved the way for the filing of the plunder charge, did not provide any discussion on the specific acts of the accused that would qualify as unjustly enriching himself at the expense and to the damage of the Filipino people.”
Pamaran said the prosecution team formed in 2004 failed to gather the needed documentary and testimonial evidence to sustain the plunder charge against Garcia..... MORE
Knee-jerk reactions FRONTLINE Ninez Cacho-Olivares 01/25/2011
Lawmakers always have the same knee-jerk reaction whenever a crime committed gets full publicity in media — especially in the broadsheets, and truly, it made the news only for want of news stories.
Right now, media’s flavor of the month is the carnap-murder of car dealers, which has the legislators all clamoring for the return of the death penalty for such crimes, or, in the case of Senators Chiz Escudero and Antonio Trillanes, proposing to make the crime of car jacks non-bailable.
The trouble is, this proposal, apart from being unconstitutional, since the Constitution expressly says in the Bill of Rights, that all persons, except those charged with offenses punishable by reclusion perpetua, or life sentences, when evidence is strong, shall, before conviction, be bailable by sufficient sureties, or be released on recognizance as may be provided by law. That right to bail shall not be impaired, even when the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus is suspended. Excessive bail shall not be required. (Article lll, Section 13).
What these provisions should mean is that even those accused of crimes that are punishable by life imprisonment can still avail themselves of bail — when the evidence against them is weak..... MORE
Memories take hold better during sleep — study FEATURE 01/25/2011
Memories take hold better during sleep — study
PARIS — The best way to not forget a newly learned poem, card trick or algebra equation may be to take a quick nap, scientists surprised by their own findings reported Sunday.
In experiments, researchers in Germany showed that the brain is better during sleep than during wakefulness at resisting attempts to scramble or corrupt a recent memory.
Their study, published in Nature Neuroscience, provides new insights into the hugely complex process by which we store and retrieve deliberately acquired information — learning, in short.
Earlier research showed that fresh memories, stored temporarily in a region of the brain called the hippocampus, do not gel immediately.
It was also known that reactivation of those memories soon after learning plays a crucial role in their transfer to more permanent storage in the brain’s “hard drive,” the neocortex..... MORE
The blame game NO HOLDS BARRED Armida Siguion-Reyna 01/25/2011
And this is how it’s played: A group of people get together, analyze what’s going on, realize there’s something wrong and that the fault could get traced to them, so before that happens they point an accusing finger at others, in order to free themselves of whatever responsibility.
For instance, the Department of Justice says the New People’s Army killed botanist Leonard Co, farmer Julius Borromeo and forest guard Sofronio Cortez, November last year in Leyte. The DoJ likewise accused the Lopez-owned Energy Development Corp. (EDC) with “reckless imprudence” for failing to inform its three employees that they were to work in a known communist work area. Sinisi ang lahat, puwera lang ang military.
That Co and his group were caught in crossfire his scientist friends’ investigation hotly contests. The trees, they point out even in Facebook, are mute witnesses, as the bullets that hit them were from the side of the military. But whatever story the trees have to tell seem to bear no impact on the side DoJ investigators assistant state prosecutor Diosdado Solidum Jr., Bryan Cacha and NBI lawyer Romulo Asis have taken in their report: “The military or state forces could not be charged with criminal acts because their activities in the area were due to a legitimate military action.”
Kung baga, kahit na sino pa ang bumaril, hindi na mahalaga. Basta, “The military or state forces could not be charged with criminal acts…”.... MORE
Profiting from fear AN OUTSIDERS VIEW Ken Fuller 01/25/2011
Profiting from fear
In cyberspace, there’s a document by one Porter Stansberry that in the course of over 12,000 words claims that, due to its crushing mountain of debt, the USA is about to implode, with soaring inflation, unemployment, riots and martial law. So what is this document? Essay? Scientific paper? No. It is, quite simply, an advertisement.
Although of US origin – where according to one source it was e-mailed to one million addresses last December – it is now doing the rounds in the Philippines. Recipients should be extremely wary of its arguments and claims.
Its author founded Stansberry & Associates Investment Research in 1999. This, he claims, “has become one of the largest and most recognized investment research companies in the world, serving hundreds of thousands of subscribers in more than 120 countries.” This is a claim that might bear careful examination, but this task is beyond me.
In making one of his claims (that even if Americans were taxed at the rate of 100 percent it would be insufficient to balance the federal budget) Stansberry cites the National Inflation Association. According to Mary Rice of Moneyblog, the NIA “is a group that encourages fears and worry about possible inflation in order to sell gold and silver.” Rice tells us that Fox’s Glenn Beck has also been known to cite NIA figures, and that he’s a promoter of a gold and silver dealer listed on the NIA Web site. Stansberry, as we will see, also promotes gold and silver.... MORE
Prada latest label to target booming China market focus 01/25/2011
Prada latest label to target booming China market
BEIJING — Miuccia Prada has already won plaudits for her spring/summer 2011 collection — simply-cut dresses and suits in a quirky mix of stripes and solids, with bold splashes of orange, violet and electric blue.
But by displaying the clothes on a runway in Beijing on Saturday evening, her first catwalk show outside Europe, and adding a few looks from her spring menswear line, the Italian designer signalled her focus on China’s huge market.
Actresses Gong Li and Maggie Cheung added a bit of high-wattage star power to the show at the Central Academy of Fine Arts museum — a surefire way to maximize local media coverage and get the Prada message to the masses.
China is the world’s fastest-growing market for luxury goods and is forecast to be the world’s top buyer of such products — cosmetics, handbags, watches, shoes and clothes — by 2015, according to consultancy PriceWaterhouseCoopers..... MORE
Death penalty Here we go again VIEWPOINTS Archbishop Oscar V. Cruz 01/25/2011
Death penalty Here we go again
There are more and more criminals in the country. There are more and more heinous crimes committed. There is more and more fear in the streets, in the community. Murders are ordinary events. Rapes are no longer big news. Hence, there is much anger among the people as there is a signal preoccupation among the legislators of the land.
Conclusion: After it was legislated, and after it was subsequently abolished, here we go again: There is loud clamor for the reinstitution of death penalty. Understandable but not acceptable.
This is not to say that the said reaction among the Filipinos and some members of the Legislative department is not pursuant to psychological and/or emotional factors. Yet, it remains unreasonable. There seems to be big cash and/or kind such as ransoms, cars, vendettas and other benefits. In this country, crime does pay particularly in no less than three counts.
First, there is the Legislative department itself that has been making more and more laws in the course of time, changing these in the course of time, if not actually abolishing them also in the course of time. It would not be an easy task to know or to keep track of what and how many laws the said department has enacted, derogated and/or abrogated in the past several decades and counting. By the way, the laws in the order of nature are but 10 which has been in fact even reduced into but Two – Love of God. Love of neighbor – in the order of grace. Yet, even these but Ten Commandments or simply Two Mandates are by and large ignored by humanity in general for centuries and counting..... MORE
RP ranks high in terrorism, now 8th most dangerous...
Merci ‘lectures’ Tupas; House gets even, slaps Omb...
Garcia admits initiating plea bargain By Charlie V...
Probers eye police, fiscals link to car theft synd...
US rights group blasts Noynoy for failing to check...
House launches Cha-cha information drive By Gerry ...
Slain botanist’s kin file murder raps vs Army men ...
3 to 5 years needed to clean up Makati oil leak, s...
Knee-jerk reactions FRONTLINE Ninez Cacho-Olivares...
Memories take hold better during sleep — study FEA...
The blame game NO HOLDS BARRED Armida Siguion-Reyn...
Profiting from fear AN OUTSIDERS VIEW Ken Fuller ...
Prada latest label to target booming China market ...
Death penalty Here we go again VIEWPOINTS Archbish...
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Back to monkey business EDITORIAL 09/10/2011
Back to monkey business
Energy Chief Rene Almendras informed a Senate hearing that Noynoy Aquino may do a Ramos in solving a looming power shortage crisis that is expected to occur in the last three years of the Aquino administration.
What is meant by “doing a Ramos” is for Noynoy to be granted emergency powers by Congress which he will likely get, given that his congressional lapdogs are in the majority and always toe the Malacañang line.
Fidel Ramos, shortly after assuming the presidency in 1992 quickly sought emergency powers from Congress to address a then crippling power shortage that resulted mainly from the decision of Ramos’ predecessor President Cory Aquino, the incumbent Aquino’s mother, to mothball the nuclear plant without, however, prepapring for its power replacement, and abolished the Ministry of Energy (MoE) during her term that created a vacuum in energy supply planning.
The Ramos “solution” in the long run, proved to be horribly expensive for every Filipino..... MORE
‘Incapable Noynoy’ FRONTLINE Ninez Cacho-Olivares 09/10/2011
‘Incapable Noynoy’
From conversations between US officials and leaders of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, as culled from the leaked WikiLeaks cables, the MILF apparently sees Noynoy as, well, short of being a simpleton who is incapable of grasping the problems of the peace process in Mindanao.
Michael Mastura, one of the MILF peace panelists, was quoted as saying to the US official that the Moro problem was “too complicated for Senator Aquino to understand.”
The MILF also appears to see Noy as a weakling around whom it can run circles.
There are signs that the Moro rebels see him as such, as it is fact that they succeeded in getting him, the president of a republic, to meet with the MILF leaders for a secret meeting in Tokyo, where the MILF discussed the establishment of a sub-state in Mindanao.
No head of government or state meets an armed rebel group, secret or no, as that would provide the rebels with a belligerency status. And in the case of Noynoy, it was even worse, since he brought along with him his Cabinet secretaries — including his Budget secretary, which would have something to do with funding the MILF. Already, an initial P5 million was released — and that’s just for sweetening starters..... MORE
Iraqi Kurds caught between rebels, Iran and Turkey focus 09/10/2011
Iraqi Kurds caught between rebels, Iran and Turkey
ARBIL — Iraq’s Kurds are caught between ethnic ties to Kurdish rebels based in the autonomous Kurdistan region, and heavy pressure by Iran and Turkey, which aim to eradicate the rebels’ bases.
Iran launched major attacks against rebels of the Party of Free Life of Kurdistan (PJAK) in July, targeting their rear-bases in Iraqi Kurdistan along the Iran-Iraq border, and shelling the area for weeks.
And in mid-August, Turkey began its own campaign of shelling and air raids against bases of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in Kurdistan, which has ties with the PJAK.
“We are in a difficult situation because there are two countries (Iran and Turkey) telling us to control our borders so there will be no problems,” Massud Barzani, president of the Kurdistan region in north Iraq, said on Tuesday during a meeting in Arbil with Kurdistan representatives based abroad..... MORE
7-year-old girl killed by a soldier; residents call for military pullout in ComVal
“Because of military deployment in civilian communities, the lives of the children are placed in great risk.” – Children’s Rehabilitation Center
MANILA – Almost midnight of September 3, seven-year old Sunshine Jabinez was peacefully sleeping inside the house she shared with her parents when a soldier went amok, fired his gun into the air and a bullet found its way into Sunshine. Her shocked parents immediately rushed Sunshine to the Pantukan District Hospital, but the child was pronounced dead on arrival.
The Children’s Rehabilitation Center (CRC) in the Southern Mindanao Region said a member of the the 71st Infantry Battalion of the Armed Forces identified as Private First Class (Pfc) Baltazar M. Ramos fired his armalite indiscriminately after figuring in a heated altercation with a fellow soldier. Ramos was reportedly with several others drinking that night in a videoke bar.
According to reports, the fight began when one of Ramos’ drinking companions attempted to hit him with a bottle. Ramos then allegedly took his rifle from his patrol base and went after his attacker. The other soldiers attempted to pacify him and succeeded in removing the ammunition magazine, but one bullet apparently remained in the chamber. In the struggle Ramos accidentally pulled the trigger of his rifle and his bullet flew straight into the Jabinez family’s house and hit Sunshine.
Sunshine was a second grade elementary school student at Biasong Elementary School.
“Her parents only learned that their daughter was shot when they heard her cry ‘agay’ (ouch),” said Edessa Sandra A. Campos, CRC-SMR’s advocacy officer.
Campos condemned what she said was the military’s attempts to convince the public that they are deployed in civilian communities to further peace and development programs.
Children participate in a women’s day rally. (Photo courtesy of Children’s Rehabilitation Center / bulatlat.com)
“In reality, these peace and development teams of the 10th Infantry Division are no different from the division’s Re-engineered Special Operations Teams (RSOT) which are also deployed in communities. Because of military deployment in civilian communities, the lives of the children are placed in great risk.
Sunshine was killed because soldiers were deployed near where she lived,” she said.
The children’s rights advocate also condemned how the AFP also employs children in counter-insurgency operations, including to serve as guides to track down the members of the New People’s Army (NPA).
In 2007, elements of the 67th Infantry Battalion killed Grecil Buya, a Grade 2 student of Simsimen Elementary School, in an encounter with the NPA. The military asserted that Grecil was a NPA child soldier and at the time she was killed was carrying an M-16 rifle and firing at the military. Investigations and documentation showed otherwise.
Unfortunately, the perpetrators remain unpunished,” Campos lamented..... MORE
URL: http://bulatlat.com/main/2011/09/10/7-year-old-girl-killed-by-a-soldier-residents-call-for-military-pullout-in-comval/
GPH-MILF peace talks heading for an impasse
The MILF leadership, particularly its negotiating panel headed by Mohagher Iqbal, views the “3 in 1” proposal of the Philippine government for a peace agreement as “detached,” has “no connections” and has in fact “derogated the past agreements and consensus reached by the two parties in the past 14 years of negotiations.”
MANILA — Recent developments in Mindanao do not augur well for the prospect of peace talks between the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). Yesterday the MILF condemned the Philippine Army for its “deliberate” violation of the MILF-GPH ceasefire after “a platoon-size troop of its 73rd Infantry Battalion (IB) under a certain Lt Col Espuelas entered and crossed over the perimeter defense post of the 107th Base Command of the Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces (BIAF) – MILF at upper Pananag, Maasim” in Saranggani.
The MILF ceasefire committee reported the violation to its counterpart with the Philippine government, as well as the International Monitoring Team (IMT), which responded by going to the government troops and informing the soldiers of their infringement of the ceasefire accord in having crossed over to the MILF defense line. But in a report at luwaran.com, the MILF said, the Army troops “totally disregarded” all these.
The MILF viewed this act as a “manifestation of direct command responsibility that does not augur well with the present situation of the peace talks between the government and MILF.”
Increased troop deployment in other provinces in Mindanao had also been reported in the media. Aside from violating the two parties’ ceasefire agreement, the Philippine Army’s act, said the MILF, also violates the agreement and mechanism of the government and MILF for the interdiction and isolation of criminal elements as mandated in the GPH-MILF Adhoc Joint Action Group (AHJAG).
Moro Islamic Liberation Front fighters man an outpost at the entrance of the office of the MILF Peace Panel in Camp Darapanan, Maguindanao. The group recently rejected the peace plan offered by the government. (Photo by Karlos Manlupig / bulatlat.com)
This violation is similar to the alleged GPH violations of the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG), noted lawyer Datu Michael Mastura, a senior peace panel member of the MILF, in a round-table discussion with Moro-Christian People’s Alliance last week.
GPH may soon talk only to itself
Al Haj Murad Ebrahim, Chairman of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), said in a media interview yesterday, the MILF “will not sit down in the GPH’s proposed talks early this month in Kuala Lumpur because the subject of the talks is not their proposed sub-state.”
The MILF leadership, particularly its negotiating panel headed by Mohagher Iqbal, views the “3 in 1” proposal of the Philippine government for a peace agreement as “detached,” has “no connections” and has in fact “derogated the past agreements and consensus reached by the two parties in the past 14 years of negotiations.”.... MORE
URL: http://bulatlat.com/main/2011/09/09/gph-milf-peace-talks-appears-headed-for-an-impasse/
The long, difficult road to justice for mothers of 2 missing UP students
“While we commend the courage of the mothers of Karen and Sherlyn, now human rights defenders themselves, in pursuing the criminal case, it is equally significant that the Aquino government must take concrete steps in making the roads to justice accessible for the victims and their families.” – Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law, and Development
MANILA – Mrs. Concepcion Empeño’s eyes looked tired but she was smiling at supporters.
As usual, she left Masinloc, Zambales at midnight to make it to the hearing at the Department of Justice (DOJ). By 6 p.m. of the same day, she has to travel back to their home. She gets there by 12 midnight and has to wake up early the next day to go to work. She is a principal of an elementary school.
This has been her weekly routine since the start of the hearings on the criminal complaint she and Mrs. Erlinda Cadapan filed against military officials linked to the abduction of their daughters Karen and Sherlyn.
“This is tiring but we cannot stop now. Physically, it is taxing, and financially too, but we could not give up until we find justice,” Mrs. Empeño, now 60 years old, told Bulatlat.com after a hearing on Sept. 7.
To get to Manila, Mrs. Empeño needs to shell out P1,000 for food and transportation. The family has meager income, with her husband Oscar tending poultry.
The same goes true for Mrs. Cadapan. “Honestly, I am very tired but this has to be done. We need to obtain justice. They have to surface my daughter and the perpetrators should be punished,” she said.
To be able to attend the hearings, Mrs. Cadapan stopped her backyard mushroom production, the family’s means of livelihood for years. She admitted that there were times she had no money for transportation and food but she constantly gets support from her children and her colleagues.
Karen, Sherlyn and farmer Manuel Merino were abducted by state security forces on June 26, 2006 in Hagonoy, Bulacan.
Five years of searching
Both mothers searched military camps, morgues and funeral parlors to look for their daughters.
They filed all kinds of petition before the courts. As early as July 17, 2006, the parents of the two students filed a petition for the writ of habeas corpus at the Court of Appeals but the said petition was dismissed on March 29, 2007 on the basis of the military’s denial of custody of Sherlyn and Karen. On October 24 of the same year, Mrs. Empeño and Mrs. Cadapan filed a petition for a writ of amparo. The Court of Appeals then granted the said writ but the UP students remain missing..... MORE
URL: http://bulatlat.com/main/2011/09/09/the-long-difficult-road-to-justice-for-mothers-of-2-missing-up-students/
Jalandoni: NDFP remains committed to peace talks
“This is not something we can give up on easily. We are talking about our country’s chances of securing a just and lasting peace and putting an end to the armed conflict. These are aspirations that all peace-loving Filipinos share, and we should persevere in the peace talks. If there are problems, we have to find solutions to them; if there are obstacles, then they should be overcome.”
Solve problems, overcome obstacles.
National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) chief negotiator Luis Jalandoni is determined to exhaust all diplomatic and principled means to ensure that the peace talks with the Government of the Philippines (GPH) pushes through. Even as others might find it understandable to throw in the towel given how the GPH panel — specifically negotiator Alex Padilla — has been rudely behaving and speaking, Jalandoni and the rest of the NDFP’s peace panel including Coni Ledesma and Fidel V. Agcaoili remain steadfast in pushing for the talks.
In a forum sponsored by Pilgrims for Peace, an ecumenical formation of religious groups and lay associations, Jalandoni and Ledesma gave the background story on the not-so-rosy developments in the negotiations with the Aquino administration’s so-called peace makers.
Jalandoni answered at length what exactly is going wrong in the talks — the GPH’s refusal to uphold the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantee (JASIG) and honor its word to release the NDFP consultants in the custody of its armed forces — but not once did he betray frustration.
“This is not something we can give up on easily. We are talking about our country’s chances of securing a just and lasting peace and putting an end to the armed conflict. These are aspirations that all peace-loving Filipinos share, and we should persevere in the peace talks. If there are problems, we have to find solutions to them; if there are obstacles, then they should be overcome,” he said.
In the last month, the NDFP and the GPH have been exchanging sharp words over the media. The fiery exchange was triggered by loose statements made by GPH’s Padilla and Presidential Peace Adviser Teresita Quintos Deles saying that (1) the Jasig is no longer operable; and (2) the GPH was under no obligation to release any political prisoner, much less captured NDFP consultants.
National Democratic Front of the Philippines’ (NDFP) peace panelists Luis Jalandoni and Coni Ledesma declares the NDFP’s continuing commitment to the peace talks. Jalandoni said the NDFP will never give up efforts to forge a principled peace agreement with the Government of the Philippines (GPH) because “the Filipino people desire an end to the conflict and want peace based on justice” in the country. (Photo by Ina Alleco R. Silverio / bulatlat.com)
“The NDFP always sits at the negotiating table with a readiness to talk peace and a preparedness to uphold previously signed agreements with the GPH. These are serious matters which we all take pains to handle correctly and with sincerity,” he said. He seemed unable to hold back a measure of disappointment when he explained how the GPH is deliberately failing to carry its end in implementing previously forged agreements on the release of consultants. Even then, however, he is careful with his words.
“It is expected that both panels prove sincerity by carrying out the agreements. Releasing the NDFP’s consultants is a good-will building measure, it is true; but at the same time, it’s also a promise previously made by the GPH when we began negotiations earlier this year in February. As for the Jasig, neither the GPH panel nor the GPH itself can simply declare it’s inoperable — it will only lose effect if and when the head of the NDFP and the GPH agree to declare it so by one party sending a letter to the other,” he said.
In any case, human rights groups assert that even now the Aquino government continues to refuse to address the issues of torture, enforced disappearances and extra-judicial killings of Jasig-protected individuals, among them Leo Velasco, Prudencio Calubid, Rogelio Calubad, Sotero Llamas ; as well as hundreds of others without Jasig protection..... MORE
URL: http://bulatlat.com/main/2011/09/08/ndfp-chief-negotiator-luis-jalandoni-ndfp-remains-committed-to-peace-talks/
Epira, the culprit behind high power rates
Failed promises of the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001
Time and again the government has been promising that the privatization of government-controlled corporations and agencies would result in better services, lower rates and fees for the Filipino people while bringing in much-needed funds to the government. These privatization efforts have taken many forms: outright sale of government assets, contracting out functions of government agencies such as the purchase and importation of rice, Build-Operate-Transfer schemes, and the much touted Public-Private-Partnerships of the current Aquino government.
But the Filipino people’s experience with the power industry proved otherwise.
Sidebar: Power firms, creditors assured of billions, while consumers burdened with Napocor debt
The big three in the power industry
MANILA – Power rates are expected to increase again this month. Meralco, the biggest power distributor in the country, said it will increase its generation charge by 0.085 centavos per kilowatt-hour to 5.3721 per kWh.
A household consuming 100 kWh can expect an increase of P8.50 per kWh in their electricity bills while those that use 200 kWh a month will have to pay P17 more for August. Households that use up 300 kWh monthly can also expect an increase by as much as P25.50 per kWh.
The never ending increases in power rates are blamed on privatization, according to a study POWER FAILURE: 10 years of EPIRA, A people’s review on the impact of the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001, which was conducted by Bagong Alayansang Makabayan (Bayan), People Opposed to Warrantless Electricity Rates (Power) and independent think tank group Ibon.
According to Bayan, the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (Epira) systematized and widened privatization and deregulation of the power industry in the country. Epira has paved the way for private corporations to control the transmission, generation and distribution of electricity. Corporations that control some of the distribution utilities also own generating plants.
Rates doubled under Epira
Despite strong opposition from various sectors, Epira was railroaded by Malacañang’s allies in the House of Representatives and signed by then president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on June 8, 2001,
Epira, according to the Department of Energy aims to “bring down electricity rates and to improve the delivery of power supply to end-users by encouraging greater competition and efficiency in the electricity industry.” In its website, the DOE claimed that the Epira will make sure that the country will have reliable and competitively priced electricity. “The strategy is to put an end to monopolies that breed inefficiency, encourage the entry of many more industry players, and generate competition that will benefit consumers in terms of better rates and services.”
Ten years after, however, Bayan, Power and Ibon said Epira’s implementation is ten years of burden to consumers.... MORE
URL: http://bulatlat.com/main/2011/09/08/epira-the-culprit-behind-high-power-rates/
MRT-LRT rate hikes unjustified—senators By Angie M. Rosales 09/10/2011
MRT-LRT rate hikes unjustified—senators
President Aquino’s legacy no doubt will be marked by high prices in goods and services in which he made no effort to stop them from rising too much.
He has announced that he will be removing the subsidy in the riding public’s fare of the Metro Rail and Light Rail Transit (MRT-LRT), which automatically translates to higher fares that the rail transits will be charging the commuters. Oil prices have been jumping weekly, and neither has Aquino made any move to talk to oil firms for them to slow down on the price hikes. Nor has he suspended the eVAT imposed on oil companies, for the prices of petrol to go down.
In the case of the the removal of the commuters’ subsidy in the rail transit, Aquino claimed that it is unfair for taxpayers who are non Metro Manilans to continue to pay taxes for the subsidy of Metro Manilan commuters.
But one of President Aquino’s allies in the Senate yesterday pointed out the lack of any justification in the government’s move to reduce subsidy in the commuters’ fare of the MRT-LRT, which will result in a rate increase soon..... MORE
Budget hearings marred quorum lack By Gerry Baldo 09/10/2011
Budget hearings marred quorum lack
The plenary debates on the proposed national budget for 2012 have been marred by the absence of so many lawmakers so much so that the House had to adjourn shortly after noontime.
But the House leaders, led by Speaker Feliciano Belmonte and Rep. Jospeh Emilio Abaya chairman of the appropriations committee, dismissed the lack of quorum, saying that this will hardly affect the timetable of the national budget’s passage.
This usually translates to the House passing the most important annual legislative measures without as much as debates or scrunity of the Malacañang-proposed measure.
It is usual too, for the House of Representatives, whose majority always is allied with Malacañang, to simply pass the measure without any cuts..... MORE
Pimentel proposes land title insurance against fraud 09/10/2011
Pimentel proposes land title insurance against fraud
BACOLOD CITY — Sen. Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III yesterday pushed the immediate enactment creating a system of land titling insurance in the statute books.
“If property can be insured against floods, fire, earthquakes and other calamities, then the same property can be insured against fraudulent land titling too,” Pimentel said.
Pimentel issued the statement in the wake of the resurgence of another huge land controversy in Quezon City where many ordinary land owners are threatened to be evicted from the homes that they purchased with their sweat and hard earned money.
Pimentel, however, emphasized that ultimately, in the Quezon City land row, the matter of determining ownership of the land is to be resolved by the courts..... MORE
EcoWaste asks retailers to remove products with chemicals 09/10/2011
EcoWaste asks retailers to remove products with chemicals
The EcoWaste Coalition, a toxic watchdog, yesterday asked top retailers to demonstrate their corporate social responsibility by removing children’s products that have been found to contain health damaging chemicals.
The EcoWaste Coalition and IPEN, in collaboration with project partners in Manila, Cebu and Davao, recently released the results of their investigation showing 121 samples, or over 27 percent, of the 435 children’s products tested were loaded with excessive amounts of toxic metals such as lead, a neurotoxin.
Some of the tainted products were procured by the EcoWaste Coalition from National Book Store (SM City North Edsa and Ayala Mall-Cebu), Toys R Us (Robinsons Galleria-Quezon City, Robinsons Place-Cebu and Robinsons in Abreeza Mall-Davao City), Toy Kingdom (SM City North Edsa, SM Cebu and SM Davao) and other formal retailers with official receipts issued.
The samples were screened for toxic ingredients such as antimony, arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead and mercury using a portable X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) analyzer, a device that is routinely used by US regulatory bodies such as the Environmental Protection Agency and the Consumer Product Safety Commission. The screening was conducted by Dr. Joe DiGangi , Senior Science and Policy Adviser of IPEN, who left the country last Wednesday..... MORE
CA stops execution of writ of possession of disputed QC lot 09/10/2011
CA stops execution of writ of possession of disputed QC lot
The Court of Appeals (CA) yesterday stopped the execution of a writ of possession issued by the Quezon City Regional Trial Court (RTC) covering a disputed land near Visayas Avenue in Quezon City.
CA 6th Division chairman Associate Justice Amelita Tolentino issued a 60-day temporary restraining order (TRO) stopping the writ of possession earlier issued by Quezon City RTC Branch 224 Judge Marilyn Villordon in favor of the alleged landowner, Wilfredo Torres.
The TRO stemmed from a petition filed by the Maria Montessori School, which is located in the disputed land in Barangay Culiat, Quezon City.
In its decision, CA said the petitioner is required to post a P500,000 bond before the TRO finally takes effect..... MORE
House ratifies foster care bill for abandoned, abused, neglected children By Charlie V. Manalo 09/10/2011
House ratifies foster care bill for abandoned, abused, neglected children
A bill granting tax incentives to families participating in a foster family program for children who are abandoned, exploited or have physical disabilities has been ratified by the House of Representatives for approval by President Aquino.
Bagong Henerasyon Rep. Bernadette Herrera-Dy said the Lower House voted unanimously to adopt the Senate version of House Bill 4481 after congressmen found no substantial conflicts between the two proposals.
Herrera-Dy, a principal author of HB 4481, said the Foster Care Act of 2011 seeks to strengthen and propagate foster care for abandoned and neglected children and minors with special needs.
“The rights of a child must be respected and defended, all efforts must be exerted to eliminate all conditions prejudicial to their full development,” said Herrera Dy who also authored the so-called anti-corporal punishment on children proposal..... MORE
‘Incapable Noynoy’ FRONTLINE Ninez Cacho-Olivares ...
Iraqi Kurds caught between rebels, Iran and Turkey...
7-year-old girl killed by a soldier; residents cal...
The long, difficult road to justice for mothers of...
MRT-LRT rate hikes unjustified—senators By Angie M...
Budget hearings marred quorum lack By Gerry Baldo ...
Pimentel proposes land title insurance against fra...
EcoWaste asks retailers to remove products with ch...
CA stops execution of writ of possession of disput...
House ratifies foster care bill for abandoned, abu...
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Floyd Mayweather to Be Stripped of His Champion Belt?
July 5, 2015 July 5, 2015 TattleTailzz Staff
SportsTailzz: Boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr will be stripped of his WBO 147 lbs title that he won against Manny Pacquiao on Monday, due to him not wanted to “vacate” his PREVIOUS TITLE the WBA and WBO 154 lbs. For his WBO 147 lbs. title.
Via ESPN
It is against sanctioning organization rules for boxers to hold world titles in multiple weight classes. The WBC and WBA have been breaking their own rules by allowing Mayweather to hold their titles, but the WBO has declined to break its rules for Mayweather and it has told him he must make a decision. Also, Mayweather, who originally did not plan to accept the WBO title involved in the May 2 bout with Pacquiao, had a change of heart. Yet, he has not yet paid the sanctioning fee, according to the WBO.
So with the deadline missed, the WBO on Friday referred Mayweather’s situation to its championship committee. The WBO told ESPN.com that it likely will vote to strip Mayweather, perhaps as early as Monday.
Francisco “Paco” Valcarcel, president of the WBO, told ESPN.com last week — emphatically — that if Mayweather (48-0, 26 KOs) did not comply with the rules he would be stripped if he missed the deadline.
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One thought on “Floyd Mayweather to Be Stripped of His Champion Belt? ”
gphi says:
This is kind of a funny situation to me, I guess that they said that one somebody cannot have all of the gold. LOL. PEACE!!!
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Kevin Hart Talks About Black Women Again!
August 21, 2013 August 21, 2013 TattleTailzz Staff
Kevin Hart is one pressed midget! I like him and I think he is funny “Sometimes”, but seriously I think some dark skinned men got some warped complex going on with themselves and tries to place their own insecurities on Black Women. Kevin sat down with Madam Noire to discuss the problems that black women have, because he got into an argument with one and she cussed him out now he is blaming the whole race of Black women clearly. His growth hormones are seriously backfiring. Looks like the lows are gonna come on strong for him, I will be waiting.
This is the tweet that started it all:
Kevin Hart says: “Black women assume they know your life, that’s the funniest thing about black women. Here’s where people mess up. They mess up caring about what people think. At the end of the day, your life is your life. You could be walking and fall in the grass and people would say he fell ‘cuz he was on that stuff. He was on them drugs. People make opinions. If you choose to feed into those opinions, your life will be miserable.
“I got into an argument the other day — and it doesn’t matter your race, whether its black or white but it was a black girl — and the girl was like ‘you’re a piece of s**t. It’s funny you just got divorced and you’ve been with this girl for four years.’ My divorce took me two-and-a-half years! I’ve been separated for damn near six-and-a-half years! But everybody assumes they know. These things, you laugh at. It’s people’s opinions. You just take ‘em and laugh and say ‘oh, you know, you’re right, you know. You’re me.’”
He also says: “Here’s the difference. I respect my ex-wife. She’s the mother of my kids, which is why I never bad talk her. Regardless of what she says or what she gives the media, she’s the mother of my kids. I respect her for that. She’s my ex-wife, I respect her for that. So, I’ll never talk bad about her.” See that. See these great answers you get? People will flip that and still say ‘he’s a piece of s**t’ tomorrow!”
What he doesn’t understand is, black women never had an issue with him until he made Dark Skin women a joke, I guess non black women never assume anything? Can black men like this tool collectively get over their issues and stop shading their own women? You have the BEST women on the planet, the original prototype of a woman yet you’re the only men who will talk slick and let outsiders talk slick about the women you come from. It’s self hate. Why are so many (even our own men) so threatened by us? Why are people always trying to put us in our place? Why is society so frustrated & insecure when it comes to black women? I mean date out of your race, love has no colors, but as soon as they have ONE negative experience with a black woman they gotta bash us in public and swear us off for life. Now just because his troll ass had a failed marriage (that he played a major role in btw due to his creeping ways instead of just walking away or trying to work it out) ALL BLACKWOMEN ARE NOW SUPER JUDGEMENTAL. Just keep our names out of your mouth period and continue to tell jokes. And I find it funny how he has a major issue with his wife going around talking to the media about him and their marriage when his most successful stand-up routines discussed his failed marriage in-depth. I hope he is cutting her a nice check, because if it wasn’t for her he wouldn’t have the success that he has today… Tis all!!
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7 thoughts on “Kevin Hart Talks About Black Women Again!”
Tea L says:
He never called a light skinned female a “Broke Ass Bright Hoe.” All of the jokes he tweeted were ALL derogatory towards all women and just bad jokes PERIOD. Yeah people gonna judge you especially when you give them something to talk about. And he didn’t answer shxt he side stepped the issue just like he did in his movie Let Me Explain.
Pingback: Kevin Hart Talks About Black Women Again! | CelebofTea
Coffy Brown says:
I think too much is being made over this – There are broke light skinned chicks the same as there are broke dark ones! Who gives a shit? The man tells jokes for a living – I mean so the fuck what – if he had had so broke white hoes, nobody would be saying shit! seems the media is making more of the color issue! On to the Next! Don’t forget to tune into the new season of Husbands of Hollywood!
Venessa Thomas says:
#TBT Dark women think the same thing about dark men, that’s why they go for a light skinned dude. I hate being light skinned because people assume I’m conceded, think am better, and all kinds of stupid shit. I can’t help the way I was born!!! Hell I even tan because dark is pretty azz hell to me…
I ALWAYS ignore Kevin, nothing personal against him, but I not a fan and never was. I like a few movies he was in, but other than that, I’ve never paid him any attention
What he said was tacky and out of line. Just because you’re a comedian doesn’t mean that people will give you a pass. A man will just stand behind his statements and suffer the consequences. At this point.. we don’t know where he stands morally, socially, or intellectually because everything is always a joke with him. Sorry Kevin but you meant what you said and you actually believe those statements.
he is a comedian!!!!! cut it out
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Traditional English Cocktails
Pimm’s Cup
Pimm’s has got to be the most popular British cocktail there is. It is a personal favorite for the locals and you can order this fresh and fruity cocktail in any pub really. Brits consider that the Pimm’s cup cocktail is meant to be drunk in summer, due to its fresh and citrus ingredients which include: cucumbers, oranges, lemons, and ginger ale. Some people substitute ginger ale for sprite, but the freshness remains the same.
Brits use loads of gin in their cocktails. It is very typical, and though. It was named after a very beautiful and captivating woman called Harry MacElhone. She was met while working at a club called Ciro’s Club in 1919. Therefore, this drink has been around for quite some time. And although this cocktail has a soft and delicate name, the taste is rather strong. It contains Plymouth gin, as well as Combier or Cointreau. Because of the lemon juice they add to it, it certainly gives a sour twist to the flavor. And, unlike any other ordinary cocktail, this one contains an egg white, in order to give it its special milky and creamy texture.
Dubbonet Cocktail
You can feel like royalty while drinking this cocktail, as it happens to be Queen Elizabeth’s favorite cocktail! Its simplicity is what makes it so special. It has a perfect blend of Dubonnet Rogue’s and dry gin, which you could add perfectly with some thin orange or lemon slices. It’s perfect for appetizers, as well as a small dinner party.
MacDonald Windsor SL4
You could already tell by the name that this cocktail is proper British. It is also to be considered a royal cocktail, as it was made in Queen Elizabeth’s II name for her 60th anniversary. Its name came from the address of the Windsor Castle and hotel. The color is a deep violet/blue sort of shade thanks to its Sapphire gin, as well as its Blue Curacao and cranberry juice, giving it a touch of fruitiness.
Regent’s Punch
This particular cocktail is more of a tea-infused drink and holds an elegance unlike any other beverage. It makes a fancy centerpiece for any special occasion, and the flavor is quite unique, as the different kinds of alcohol mixed in blend harmoniously. The ingredients include some Jamaican rum, cognac, champagne, arrack liquor, two tea bags, and some sliced oranges and lemons along with cube-cut pineapples.
Martin Miller’s Gin and Tonic
Like I said before, gin and tonic are typical in England and almost all cocktails contain it. Martin Miller’s is a classic one. Although this drink does not originate from England itself but rather, from Holland, it is definitely a cocktail that Brits know among themselves, as it is widely drunk throughout the U.K. This beverage has a smooth taste with a crisp finish.
Bramble is also known to be a classic British cocktail. You’ll literally find it under the “classics” section on the menu. This beverage blends perfectly both contrasts-sour and sweet. It has fresh lemon slices and blackberries with some sugar syrup but, it has the dry and sour taste of the gin and lemon juice.
The Story Behind Trappist Beers
Alcohol Free Wine Alternatives
Previous Beers You Should Drink When at an English Pub
Next A Cocktail Connoisseurs Guide to the UK
Leave Your Local
Getting Fruity
Escape from London
Historic Bars to Visit in Ireland
Cocktails You Must Try While in the UK
A Cocktail Connoisseurs Guide to the UK
Beers You Should Drink When at an English Pub
10 Best Pubs In Wales
Why Are Bar’s Called Pubs?
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Glasgwegian Higher Educational Institutions provide syllabi for MCAST – so is MCAST British now?
The (fake) American University of Malta will be run using courses purchased from Chicago’s DePaul University, hence the ‘American’ in the name. Would it surprise you to know that the Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology will be updating its syllabi, teaching and learning resources for its courses through Scottish Education Institutions, but will not have its name changed to British College of Arts, Science and Technology?
(Photo credit: investinyourfuture)
This piece of information is relatively important in light of how this (fake) American University of Malta is being set up. The contract for the updating of MCAST courses is a matter of public record, and it can be found on the European Union’s TED (tender electronic daily) website. All public procurement expenditure must be published and TED is the official website for publication of contract notices. Furthermore, all contract award notices are also published in the OJEU (Official Journal of the European Union) once it’s above certain thresholds.
The public tender for the updating of MCAST courses is between the College itself and a consortium called “Strathclyde and Glasgow Educational Services Consortium”, and can be found by clicking on this link. This project is an EU funded one, and it forms part of the much larger programme called ERDF 164 – Masterplan: development of Applied Science and Business and Commerce Institutes.
Scottish Higher Educational Institutions will be “engaging experts to design syllabi, teaching and learning resources of MCAST courses”. This is the same principle for the agreement between Sadeen (Hanini Has-Unpronounceable) and DePaul, or more specifically from the email DePaul had sent me “SEI contracted with DePaul to provide initial curriculum materials for programs at AUM”.
Yet MCAST will not become S (Scottish) CAST or B (British) CAST now will it? The reality is that while the material provided to this Maltese College is based on the British ‘style of education’ (to use the same excuse as the Prime Minister did), the delivery is anything but British. If AUM will be employing Maltese academic professionals, their delivery of the American style courses will be Maltese and not American.
You should also be able to notice the difference in transparency between these two agreements: One is an open process between multiple European educational institutions with the contracts readily available online, while the other is a behind closed doors agreement between a Jordanian guy and a Catholic American University.
Lastly, and most importantly, European (and also national funds) are being used to further the courses at a FREE and PUBLIC educational institution in Malta for the benefit of ALL of its students and employees. On the other hand, we have a secretive deal that will see hectares of natural public land transferred to a Jordanian businessman so that a PRICED and PRIVATE university will be set up for the benefit spoilt Middle Eastern children, Hanini Has-Unpronounceable and all those involved in this secretive deal.
This also applies to DePaul University, who has allowed itself to become embroiled in this scam, since no international call of expression was ever issued to select a university for the provision of courses for the (fake) AUM.
This so-called university is a farce and a scam. I rest my case.
American University of Malta·Britain·Chicago·DePaul University·Development in Malta·Education·Malta·MCAST·Scotland·UK·University
Some ‘Idejat’ on the environment for the PN to include in their list of proposals
Imagine if Deborah Schembri starts chairing the House Environment Committee?
Stop polluting the Maltese environment with your STUPID helium balloons
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Profiling chemokine signalling bias of CCR4, CCR7 and CCR10
Kelly, Christopher James (2019) Profiling chemokine signalling bias of CCR4, CCR7 and CCR10. PhD thesis, University of Glasgow.
Inflammatory chemokine signalling is implicated in a broad range of pathologies and has been intensely researched. However, chemokine receptors remain poorly druggable. This may be due to the complexity of chemokine signalling; multiple chemokines can bind a single receptor, and an individual chemokine can bind multiple receptors. Additionally, many receptors demonstrate signalling bias, where different ligands elicit diverse responses. Bias signalling is an area of emerging interest with relevance in drug development, and there is a call to better characterise chemokine signalling bias. CCR4, CCR7 and CCR10 share a similar molecular evolution; each interacts with a ligand pair resultant from gene duplication, with one ligand in each pair being “dominant” in receptor activation, i.e. able to fully activate the receptor triggering recruitment of G-proteins and-arrestin. It may be possible, with a greater understanding of the underlying biology of biased signalling, to generate future antagonists of these receptors that selectively inhibit individual signalling pathways, as has been demonstrated previously with other GPCRs.
Biased signalling is believed to result from slight variation in ligand/receptor binding that lock the receptor in specific conformations for coupling to signalling apparatus. In an effort to visualise these subtle differences, a novel unnatural amino acid (UAA) capture based methodology was attempted. An expression vector for a UAA compatible tRNA/Synthetase pair, as well as mutants of 16 residues of CCR7, were generated. UAA integration was observed with all 16 mutants, however protein level and ligand binding varied significantly between sites of integration. UV crosslinking of ligand and receptor was attempted, but no combination of chemokine and substitution site demonstrated successful chemokine capture.
In an effort to fully profile the bias of CCRs 4, 7 and 10, BRET based methods were employed to assess -arrestin and G-protein recruitment by the receptors in response to their cognate ligands. These data confirmed the reported bias, that CCL22, 19 and 21 trigger -arrestin recruitment to CCR4, 7 and 10 respectively, but CCL17 and CCL28 failed to trigger recruitment, and CCL21 did so at poorer efficiency than CCL19. Interestingly, this pattern remained at the level of G-protein recruitment also, in contrast to the previously reported signalling properties of these chemokines.
Recently, CCR7 was identified as a target of ST8sia4 mediated polysialylation, with significant effects on the biological activity of CCL21. As such, the role of ST8sia4 in chemokine biology was further examined. These data revealed that HEK293T cells, as well as other adherent cell lines, demonstrate little to no expression of ST8sia4. Reintroduction of polysialic acid modification of CCR7 restored the capacity of CCL21 to compete with labelled CCL19 on HEK293T cells, resulting in a partial phenocopy of primary cells in the same assay, and resulted in a shift in potency of CCL21 for arrestin recruitment. This was mirrored at the level of G-protein recruitment, indicating that the previously noted lack of G-protein in response to CCL21 was most likely due to the lack of polysialylation of CCR7. Conversely, inclusion of ST8sia4 expression in the assessment of CCR4 signalling demonstrated no change from previous experiments. CCR10 however was revealed to be a previously undescribed target of ST8sia4 mediated polysialylation, with implications for the signalling potential of both of its cognate ligands.
chemokines, chemokine signalling, biased agonism, unnatural amino acids, CCR4, CCR7, CCR10, ST8sia4, polysialylation, polysialic acid.
Q Science > QR Microbiology > QR180 Immunology
College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > Institute of Infection Immunity and Inflammation > Immunology
Funder's Name:
GLAZgo Discovery Centre, Wellcome Trust (WELLCOTR)
Graham, Professor Gerard and Milligan, Professor Graeme and Dainty, Doctor Ian
Mr Christopher J Kelly
glathesis:2019-41049
http://theses.gla.ac.uk/id/eprint/41049
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041: How To Use Live Streaming To Grow Your YouTube Channel 0
40: Stop Hiding Behind The Equipment Excuse As A Creator
In this week's episode, we talk about how you can utilize Live Streaming to grow your YouTube Channel.
40: Stop Hiding Behind The Equipment Excuse As A Creator 0
In this week's episode, we talk about how A LOT of creators try to hide behind the excuse of not having the "CORRECT" or "BEST" equipment.
039: How To Rank Your Videos In YouTube and Google Search 0
039: How To Rank Your Videos In YouTube and Google Search
In this week's episode, we talk about how to rank your videos on both YouTube and Google search!
038: How To Use Facebook Video To Grow Your YouTube Channel 0
038: How To Use Facebook Video To Grow Your YouTube Channel
In this week's episode, we talk about how to utilize Facebook Video to grow your YouTube channel.
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PSG.LGD Team Leader: "EPICENTER! We Made It!"
By Yuhui
After taking down Team Liquid 3-1, PSG.LGD became the first Chinese team to claim Major title. Shortly after this long-waited victory, Lu “king of king” Hao, the team leader of PSG.LGD, posted a lengthy article on his Weibo, talking about what the team has been through and his thoughts on players as well as the coach.
Tasting both the bitterness of our defeat at DAC grand finals and the sweet of glory after securing the championship at the EPICENTER XL Major, I have so much to say that I even don’t know where to start, about LGD, about our five players and about CN Dota.
Benchwarmer to teammates, big brother to Maybe and the “Boss” to Chalice, I am always honored to be there and grow with this team.
The closer I am to the players, the more I can sense their emotions. After we lost the fifth game at DAC grand finals, dismay and regret was in the air: Maybe flopped down onto the floor in the corner; Chalice shook his head, racked by guilt; the whole team lingered on. It certainly hurt when you were just about to win the championship and then lost it somehow. I came up and patted Chalice on the shoulder and comforted him, saying that we would make it next time. He barely nodded at me without a word. Maybe posted a Weibo the next day: I don’t think it was the time when we were closest to championship, because ONE DAY WE WILL WIN IT!
During the EPICENTER XL, players were all simmering with rage. It was hard enough to fight alone in a foreign country. The roar of “Virtus Pro! Virtus Pro” in the hall made us even more agitated. We thought that the victory over VP might earn us more respect, but we were wrong. In the next game, the audience still chanted“Liquid! Liquid! Liquid!” It was so long since the last time when a Chinese team won an international championship that many had forgotten how powerful CN Dota was. The audience roared and laughed at us. Some even brandished the signs which read “China Is Full of Fakes”, “China Gutter Oil” or other offensive words. I could clearly sense the fury inside every player. All of us were determined to show our best and make them shut up. As it turned out, we defeated our opponent 2:0, smooth and clean, waiting for the challenge at the grand finals.
May 6. Moscow, Russia. We beat Liquid with a score 3:1 at the grand final! Our and China’s first Major championship!
Looking at the five plays hugging and holding high the trophy excitedly on the stage, I had a lump in my throat. A flood of memories was brought back: Players who could not reconcile themselves after the DAC defeat; Fei and Wa who were depressed but still said with a smile that it was all right and we could do better next time. And this time we did not let down our fans online and on-the-spot. This time we made it! The trophy belongs to China!
This month our team members travelled from Shanghai, where the home crowd cheered us, to Moscow, where we were foreign players. We went through so much on the way to this championship, and we grew stronger.
Maybe is still the daring and optimistic man, who cheers the team before each game confidently. Before the our match against VP, Maybe and I were resting outside when we bumped into some VP players. They were aggressive and made taunting gestures at us. When he went back to training, Maybe vowed that he would crush VP this time. Also, before the third game against VP, he uplifted the team by saying that we were winning the deciding game and that the cheering of the Chinese fans, though only a few, made a whole difference. Most importantly, he played excellently in the games. On the flight back home, he boasted that he is a perfect commander. I smiled and told him that in Chalice’s words, he led the team to feed. At this, Maybe was still cheery, replying that no guts, no command. He thinks that right and wrong always go hand in hand. If he is wrong, he’ll accept criticism but he’s still the commander. (Maybe beard does make one more mature)
Ame lives a simple life. Except enjoying holidays and playing DNF once in a while, he spent all other time on Dota. During Epicenter he’s the one who played the most ranked matches among us and his dedication did pay off. There is an interesting story about him, too. At the after party, he became a little bit drunk after one glass of whisky. I baited him by asking who he thinks is the best carry in the world. Without the slightest hesitation he said that would be Burning and added “he rocks”.
As the youngest player in the team, Chalice may be a little nervous in LANs. But this time he came out of himself with the perfection initiations(and the RNG dark troll summoner) and proved that he could also be aggressive and not only a harmless mascot. He never responds to the all flames. Instead, he practices and practices and proves himself in the games. He’s the kind of people who express themselves with action. I believe Chalice has a bright future ahead.
Fy is the big brother in the team, but he never puts on airs. In game 1 of the grand finals, he died many time on Pugna. Right after he came off the stage, his smiled and said “Got carried” At that moment, I felt what Maybe posted in his Weibo: the atmosphere of the best team. (and of course, that single match didn’t obscure the his excellent performance through out the tournament. He deserved MVP.)
Like Ame, Xnova doesn’t speak much. But he treats Dota very seriously. No matter the event is big or small, he would study the opponents by watching their replays. After DAC, Seeing other players showing off their Radiance Trophy on Tweeter, he said earnestly that he would win it back.
QQQ has lost much hair for studying the draft. He discusses the draft and decides strategies before games and sums up for players after. He does his best everyday, if not every game, laying a solid foundation for our victory. He is truly a top tier coach.
This is our best team: Chalice and Xnova, young and vigorous; Ame and fy, handsome and skillful; and Maybe, more sophisticated and bearing more responsibilities. Victory will stir in us more fighting spirit. Championship will bring about greater ambitions. EPICENTER XL Major, we made it! We are going for victory at MDL, Super Major and TI8 with even more efforts!
Last but not least, I want to say that LGD deserves the championship. In the even year, CN DOTA rules!
Related Topicsepicenterlgd
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Romantic clockpunk fantasy gaming in a vaguely Central Asian setting. May feature killer robots.
Against the Wicked City: Collected Information
Collected WFRP posts
Random Encounter Tables: Walkways of the Cobweb
Probably the first in a series of random encounter tables, which I hope to use to help provide a bit more of a sense of the kind of random oddness that PCs might encounter while wandering the districts of the Wicked City. As I mentioned in its initial write-up, the Cobweb is a very different place depending on whether you wander its walkways by day or by night: by day it buzzes with activity, with servants and messengers hurrying back and forth from tower to tower, but by night it takes on a more sinister aspect. I'm thus writing a separate encounter table for each.
Random Encounters in the Cobweb: Day
A group of stressed-out servants rushing from one tower to another, clutching hampers of food for an impromptu banquet that their master has just ordered on a whim. PCs who look low-status enough to be ordered around may find themselves drafted in as emergency auxiliary kitchen staff, potentially opening up a brilliant opportunity for theft, poisoning, or infiltration.
A group of 2d4 aristocratic socialites, en route to a party in another tower, each attended by one bodyguard and 1-3 long-suffering manservants and/or maidservants. All fantastically dressed and gossiping about the latest scandals. PCs sneaky enough to get close while still staying hidden - pretty tricky on a walkway, but not quite impossible - could potentially learn something useful, here...
A mechanic, herding his menagerie of clockwork animals from one tower to another. There are singing clockwork birds, leaping clockwork cats, climbing clockwork monkeys... even a dancing clockwork bear, which is also able to fight to protect him upon command. His previous patron has just tired of him, and he's on his way to his next engagement. There is a 30% chance that one of his clockwork animals has actually been reprogrammed, without his knowledge, to start acting as a thief / saboteur / assassin / courier (equal chance of each) once it reaches its destination.
A serpent man doctor en route to pay an emergency visit to a very sick, very wealthy patient, carrying a black bag full of drugs, medicines, and poisons. For the right price, he could be persuaded to ensure that she doesn't recover.
Squad of secret police in full uniform, investigating the family who lives in one of the nearby towers after hearing reports of 'ideological irregularity'. Servants, guards, and family members are all being exhaustively questioned, and everyone's obviously terrified that someone is going to say the wrong thing and get them all dragged off to the Ministry of Information. Random passers-by (the PCs, for example) will be stopped and searched as possible 'subversive agents' or spies.
A Disciple of the Word, fallen on hard times, who now makes her living as a private tutor in languages and calligraphy to the spoiled and inattentive children of the Cobweb families. She's currently sitting on a high walkway, meditating on the sacred mantras and trying to work out where it all went wrong. She could potentially provide a lot of useful introductions for PCs who go to the trouble of befriending her.
A bored heiress, accompanied by a gaggle of 2d6 guards and servants, out looking for something novel to amuse her. Has a very short attention span. May 'adopt' particularly interesting-seeming PCs as pets.
A scream from above, initially faint but rapidly increasing in volume, which is abruptly terminated by a man in a servant's uniform crashing down onto the iron walkway in front of the PCs and splattering into bloody ruin. A few minutes later he's followed by a second victim, and then a third. Someone up there is having a very bad day.
A courier runs past at top speed, clutching a message for someone in another tower. About half-an-hour later, the same courier runs back in the opposite direction, clutching a new message; this continues for as long as the PCs bother to stay around, with the courier looking more and more exhausted each time. (After 2d6 hours another servant will take their place, but the messages keep coming.) If intercepted, roll 1d4 to see what these messages contain: 1 = completely frivolous gossip, 2 = quasi-pornographic love letters between two young aristocrats, both married (although not to each other), 3 = massively important negotiations about a secret alliance between two noble families who everyone else thinks are enemies, 4 = cute pictures of cats.
A group of civil servants, the emissaries of one of the city's Lesser Ministries, moving doggedly from tower to tower, trying to gather the support of influential families for their master's latest initiative. So far it's not going well, but their leader - a harassed, middle-aged bureaucrat with a world-weary air about her - is determined not to return empty-handed. Well-connected PCs who are able to assist them can win themselves a valuable ally in the King's Tower.
A walkway in the Cobweb. Don't look down.
Random Encounters in the Cobweb: Night
A distraught, aristocratic young man sitting on the edge of a very high walkway, clearly wondering whether or not to jump. He's currently suicidally miserable after being betrayed by the woman whom he had rather naively believed to be the love of their life, who will be marrying another (much richer) man tomorrow morning. If the PCs can talk him down and cheer him up he can potentially be quite a useful ally to them, albeit rather prone to histrionics. He will never stop plotting vengeance against his ex-lover and her new husband. None of his plots will ever be remotely practical.
A distinguished Murder Harlot (level 1d4+3) and her 2d4 apprentices (half male and half female, all level 1) are strolling along the walkway, dressed to kill, en route to an important engagement in the next tower. Roll 1d6 to see what they've been hired for: a party (1-3), an orgy (4-5) or a murder (6). The apprentices are cheerful nihilists who will pick fights with the PCs just for the hell of it, especially if it means they get to push people off very high catwalks; their mistress will indulge them to a certain extent, but will step in to enforce order at the point of a bladed fan if things seem to be getting out of hand (or if there's a danger that they might be late for their engagement). Particularly funny, sexy, or well-dressed PCs might earn an invitation to call on them another time at their HQ near the Grand Bazaar.
A hired spy has concealed himself amongst a mass of ropes and pulleys between two walkways, from which he is spying on his targets - the family of one of his employer's rivals - through the windows of their tower with a high-powered telescope, looking for blackmail material. Observant PCs might spot flashes of light reflected from the telescope lens as he redirects it from one window to the next.
The PCs glimpse a masked woman climbing out of the window of a nearby tower, trailing what looks like an awfully long fuse behind her. She's a saboteur, who has just planted a half-dozen bombs all through the beloved art collection of her target, as part of a complicated feud between his family and the family that employs her. (She works as maid most days, but her mistress is happy to make use of her other talents from time to time...) If nothing is done to stop her, she'll climb out onto a nearby catwalk and then light the fuse, destroying enormous quantities of priceless artworks and starting an interminable series of tit-for-tat revenge attacks between the two clans.
A messenger comes rushing out of a tower, clutching a sealed letter in one hand; a moment later a gunshot is heard and he drops, soundlessly, off the walkway, only for his body to be caught in a tangle of ropes below, the letter still caught in his grip. PCs who try to climb down and retrieve it will be shot at by the sniper who killed him, who has strapped himself to a diagonal beam fifty feet above and is firing downwards with a rifled jezail. The letter contains an urgent (coded) warning for the recipient to call off a theft mission planned for later that night: it's a trap, and the object that they're looking forward to acquiring is actually horribly cursed...
1d6 aristocratic young rakehells, out of their heads on drink and drugs, escorted by 3d6 exhausted-looking guards and servants whose job it is to keep them safe until they finally collapse and can be dragged home to bed. They will demand that the PCs amuse them, and may become violent if refused. Good performers will be rewarded with drink, gold, and/or drugs; especially amusing ones may be dragged along with them for the rest of their night out.
2d6 guards from a nearby tower, combing the walkways for a thief who has just stolen something very valuable from their master. The thief himself is lurking nearby, hiding in a large delivery basket hanging from an inter-tower zipwire. If the guards spot him, he'll launch himself down the wire to get a headstart, and the PCs may find themselves drafted into the pursuit.
A Child of the Pines, very lonely and very far from home, who is climbing through the Cobweb scavenging for food, Summoned to the Wicked City by dreams of his ancestress imprisoned atop the King's Tower, he has made his way into the Cobweb, but has yet to work out a way of reaching and ascending the King's Tower that wouldn't involve his certain death. For now he's living on the (otherwise inaccessible) roof of a nearby tower, using his incredible climbing abilities to get around and stay out of sight. He would be very, very happy to have some allies, but he cannot be persuaded to give up his quest.
2d6 cultists of the Wicked King, out looking for a sacrificial victim. (They're actually guards from a nearby tower, but the robes, hoods, and masks make this difficult to discern.) They're convinced that if they offer enough sacrifices to the Wicked King, he will grant them the power to destroy their employers and rule in their stead. There's a 50% chance that they're actually the unwitting stooges of another family, who are manipulating them for cruel purposes of their own.
3d6 masked revellers, on their way to a masquerade ball at a nearby tower. One of them (pick at random) has secretly been replaced by a hired assassin, who is using his / her costume and invitation as way to get close enough to their target to complete their mission. The assassin is a skilled mimic, but nonetheless they're staying as quiet as possible, in the hope that their 'friends' don't notice that anything is wrong before it's too late...
Posted by Joseph Manola at 05:06 No comments:
Labels: Random tables, The Wicked City
Shamanic Healing (AKA: 'So, where is this guy's soul, anyway?')
I have been reading a lot about Central Asian shamanism, recently. One of the key tasks of the shaman is to heal the gravely sick, and/or revive the recently dead (the line between the two is pretty blurry): different shamanic traditions have a whole range of different methods for doing this, but they all have in common the idea that sickness can cause (or be caused by) the separation of the soul from the body, meaning that if the shaman can get the soul back them the person should recover. In ATWC, if a character is on the verge of death (dying of injury or poisons, seriously ill, in a coma, etc), a shaman may be able to heal them by finding their soul. Roll 1d10 to see what the problem is:
The patient's soul is fed up with this life and has decided it would be better off in the underworld. (Who knows why a soul would decide this? Souls are weird.) The shaman must arrange for the patient to be surrounded with delicious food, beautiful objects, and strong drink, before going into a trance, intercepting the soul en route to the underworld, and trying to tempt it back into its body, pointing out how much good stuff it has waiting for it in this life and warning it that the food in the underworld is awful. Make a Charisma roll to persuade the soul to return, with a bonus or penalty based on how impressive a feast is laid out around the patient.
Dislodged from the body, the patient's soul has fallen in a river and sunk down to the bottom. The shaman needs to fish it out, using special nets or rods. For each day spent fishing, the shaman should make a Wisdom roll to catch it, applying their Dexterity modifier as a bonus or penalty to the roll. For each day that passes without the soul's return the patient will get worse.
A wicked spirit has stolen the soul and run off with it. The shaman must track the spirit down in the spirit world and bargain for the soul's release. (Rules as per normal spirit bargaining; how big a favour the spirit considers releasing the soul to be depends on the importance of the soul which has been stolen.)
The spirit world requires a death for enigmatic reasons of its own, and has picked the patient's soul as an appropriate victim. The shaman must offer up a sacrifice, and persuade the spirits to accept its life instead: this requires a Charisma roll. (-5 penalty if a small animal is sacrificed, such as a dog or a sheep; +5 bonus if a human is sacrificed; +5 bonus if the sacrifice is an unusually perfect specimen of its species.) If the roll fails, the spirit world is still not appeased and another sacrifice must be offered.
The patient's soul has become entangled with the soul of a wild animal which has been imprisoned somewhere nearby; the shaman must find this animal and free it, and the soul will return to its body. If the animal dies before the soul is returned, the patient will die, too.
The spirit of a recently-killed bear has grabbed the soul in revenge for its own death, and is slowly crushing the life out of it. The shaman must talk to the bear-spirit, placate it with offerings, and persuade it that the victim's clan wasn't responsible for killing it. (This may be tricky if they actually were responsible for killing it, though...)
A host of petty, spiteful spirits have seized the soul. The shaman must scare them off by threatening them and making loud noises, preferably with the help of as many other people as possible. Make a charisma roll, with a bonus or penalty based on just how much of a din you're able to produce; if you passes, the spirits will drop the soul and run.
The soul has passed into another animal. The shaman must track it in the spirit world to find the animal which the soul is currently inhabiting, and then return in the real world, track that animal down, kill it, and smear the patient with its blood, at which point they will recover. Forever afterwards, the patient will feel a special affinity with that type of animal.
The patient's soul has become lost and needs to find its way back to its body. The shaman must track down the wandering soul in the spirit world, and then arrange for the body to be brought to its location and a rope stretched out between the two, allowing the soul to climb back into its body,
The soul is already in the underworld, guarded by the Men of Iron and Bone. Only an epic vision-quest into the lands of the dead can recover it now.
(All of these come from historical shamanic traditions, by the way, although some have been adapted for gameplay purposes!)
Posted by Joseph Manola at 06:16 2 comments:
Labels: Central Asia, Misc. setting stuff, Random tables, Religion
'Try to find the graves of our fathers, the only things for which we are prepared to fight'
Sometimes you need to comb through historical sources to find gameable material. And sometimes it's just sitting there, staring you right in the face.
From Julian Baldick's Animal and Shaman: Ancient Religions of Central Asia:
'As for Darius' invasion itself, Herodotus relates that the Scythians responded to it with a strategic retreat and a mocking message to Darius to try and find the graves of their fathers, the only things for which they would be prepared to fight.' (p. 21)
All the peoples of ancient Central Asia buried their royal dead in secret. Some kings went to extraordinary lengths to ensure this secrecy: killing the workmen who built the tombs, for example, or having the burial party kill everyone they met along the way to the grave site in order to ensure that no-one was left alive who could describe the route they'd taken. (Both of these also had the useful side effect of providing a whole bunch of human sacrifices for the new ancestor spirit that the recently-deceased king was assumed to have become.) The grave has to be secret, because if it's not secret then your enemies can come and defile it, which means that you have to commit your forces to hanging around guarding a bloody tomb in order to avoid the permanent disgrace of allowing the bones of your ancestors to be desecrated. For a nomadic people which lived or died by their mobility in war, this was a serious liability.
And we're not just talking about holes in the ground, here. Some of these tombs were massive:
'A Khazar king would be buried near a river, which was diverted to flow over the mausoleum. This mausoleum was in the form of a house with 20 rooms, each containing a tomb. The men who had buried the king were beheaded afterwards so that no-one would know which room contained the body.' (pp. 29-30)
You can see where I'm going with this, I'm sure. This is a dungeon complex. Twenty rooms, containing twenty identical flooded tombs, one of which contains an ancient king and the other nineteen contain... what? Traps? Monsters? Undead guardians? The idea that people killed by (or killed for) a king or warrior had to serve him after death was a common one: in a fantasy setting, it might be very literally true, with a king's tomb crawling with the imprisoned ghosts and/or reanimated corpses of all the people killed by him in life and sacrificed to him in death. This kind of spirit-binding was actually attempted historically:
'[T]he inscriptions tell us of a specifically Altaic practise, that of dedicating an enemy (or one of his various souls) to a Türk in the hereafter, in order to serve him. In this connection a special word, balbal, is used to designate both the slain enemy (or a soul of his) and a stone monument which is set up to represent him. Thus the enemy is turned into a balbal: he becomes the stone monument.' (p. 41)
The souls of your dead enemies. Bound into stone statues. Placed all around your giant, secret tomb in order to serve you in the afterlife and defend you against intruders. Seldom has real-world history sounded quite so much like a D&D adventure module.
Balbals look like this, by the way.
The adventure writes itself. Step one: find the damn mausoleum. Step two: fight your way past the animated stone guardians. Step three: enter the haunted tomb-complex and try to figure out which of the twenty tombs inside actually contains the corpse you're looking for. Maybe you're hoping to loot his grave goods. Maybe you need to talk to his ghost. Whatever it is, it had better be really important - so important as to be worth all the trouble you'll need to go through to get it. Because when it came to supernatural tomb security, the peoples of ancient Central Asia did not fuck around.
And best of all, it'll all be completely historically accurate!
Labels: Central Asia, Misc. setting stuff
Armies of the Wicked City
The tyranny of the Wicked City is not maintained through overwhelming force of arms: like many real-world dictatorships, past and present, it endures not because it is invincible, but because it's just strong enough that none of its neighbours want to go to the trouble of toppling it. The inhabitants of the surrounding nations view it with superstitious dread, and want as little to do with the place as possible; and the aura of hopelessness that hangs over it like a cloud eats into the morale of any army that does get too close to it, encouraging commanders to rethink their plans and soldiers to start pondering the merits of desertion. Its walls are full of holes, and one real, modern army, with well-drilled musketmen and a decent amount of artillery support, could probably seize the whole place in a week if they really wanted to. But it would be ugly, dangerous work; and as the long, long shadow of the King's Tower falls across them, would-be liberators have a habit of deciding that they don't really have the guts for it after all.
The primary armed force of the Wicked City itself is the King's Men, who defend its walls, patrol its streets, and enforce its unjust laws upon anyone who hasn't paid them a big enough bribe. They are about ten thousand strong, and they're decently trained and equipped (most are first-level fighters), but their morale is terrible: the vast majority of them join up because they enjoy the bribes and the power-trips, not because they actually have any intention of dying for their city. Faced with any real opposition, they will usually retreat and call for backup - lots of backup. Most of them are cheerfully corrupt, and will happily accept bribes in exchange for neglecting their duties, but they are terrified of the Wicked King himself and would never do anything that might be construed as acting directly against his government.
One of the King's Men. He probably blew a whole month's worth of bribes on those trousers.
The King's Men (F1): AC 15 (breastplate), HD 1 (5 hp), +1 to-hit, musket (1d10 damage, 3 rounds to reload) or club (1d6 damage), FORT 14, REF 14, WILL 14, morale 6.
King's Men Officer (F2): AC 15 (breastplate), HD 2 (9 hp), +2 to-hit, two pistols (1d8 damage, 3 rounds to reload) or sword (1d8 damage), FORT 13, REF 13, WILL 13, morale 5.
Most of the King's Men are perfectly suitable for street-level legbreaking, but they're not much use against determined enemies. Those of them who exhibit a real flare for violence, however, are transferred to the First Brigade, whose members are the shock troops of the Wicked City. The five-hundred-strong Brigade is primarily made up of Blood Men, but its officers are mostly human; it's a bit of a blunt instrument, but when the city's government want to make sure that something ends up really, properly dead, it's usually the First Brigade that gets sent in. Their barracks are just outside the King's Tower.
An officer of the First Brigade.
First Brigade Trooper (level 1 Blood Man): AC 15 (breastplate), HD 1+1 (6 hp), +2 to-hit, blunderbuss (1d12 damage, 3 rounds to reload, point-blank only) or huge sword (1d12+1 damage), FORT 13, REF 14, WILL 14, morale 9. Gain +1 damage in melee once they smell blood.
First Brigade Officer (F3): AC 15 (breastplate), HD 3 (14 hp), +3 to-hit, two pistols (1d8 damage, 3 rounds to reload) or sword (1d8 damage), FORT 12, REF 12, WILL 12, morale 9.
The lords of the Wicked City have also been swift to take military advantage of the fact that it houses the single greatest concentration of clockworking expertise in the known world. The city's armies are supported by clockwork war machines to a far greater extent than those of most other nations, and it even boasts an innovation entirely unknown elsewhere: the world's first mechanised infantry regiment. The King's Own Armoured Brigade (better known as 'the clankers') consists of a three-hundred-strong fighting force, mostly Brass Men and Steel Aspirants, who deploy into battle in tanks, mecha, and Steam Knight armour, supported by another three hundred human mechanics whose job it is to keep all the machinery running. The Clankers are also in charge of maintaining the army of clockwork soldiers that the city's government holds in reserve, in enormous fortified warehouses near the Grand Bazaar, although these would only be deployed if the city itself was threatened. The biggest of them, an immense clockwork dragon known as The Earthshaker, requires such an enormous quantity of coal just to get it started that its use is reserved for the direst of emergencies.
A Brass Man in the service of the Clankers. Illustration by Yu Cheng Hong.
Clanker Steam Knight (Steel Aspirant 2): AC 20 (steam knight armour), HD 2+2 (11 hp), huge mace (+1 to-hit, 1d8+5 damage) or swivel gun (-4 to-hit, 2d8 damage, ignores 4 points of physical AC, 8 rounds to reload), FORT 12, REF 13, WILL 13, morale 7, tech rating 3.
Clanker Tank Gunner (Brass Man 1): AC 15 (Brass skin, though usually protected by the armour of the tank itself), HD 1+2 (7 hp), +0 to-hit, tank mounted swivel gun (2d8 damage, ignores 4 points of physical AC, 4 rounds to reload), FORT 13, REF 16, WILL 14, morale 7, tech rating 1.
Clanker Mech Pilot in One-Man Mech (Steel Aspirant 3): AC 20 (mech armour), HD 3+3 (17 hp), +2 to-hit, giant sword (1d12+6 damage), FORT 11, REF 12, WILL 12, morale 8, tech rating 4. (The mech itself has 40 HP and is immune to missile weapons smaller than a swivel gun.)
Another area in which the technological superiority of the Wicked City has permitted it to gain a military advantage is in the establishment of an air corps. The large colony of serpent folk within its walls manufacture enough lighter-than-air gas to keep a small fleet of airships afloat, supported by gyrocopters built by the Steel Aspirants; this rudimentary air force is based on the floating cloud castle that the Wicked King stole from the Blue Folk, which is usually to be found hovering high above the city. They are mostly used as scouts, spies, and messengers, although if war came to the city they could also be used to drop bombs from an enormous height.
An off-duty gyrocopter pilot with her vehicle.
Air Corps Airship Crewman (Traveller 2): AC 10, HD 2 (9 hp), +1 to-hit, musket (1d10 damage, 3 rounds to reload) or sword (1d8 damage), FORT 11, REF 13, WILL 13, tech rating 1.
Air Corps Artificer / Gyrocopter Pilot (Scholar 3): AC 10, HD 3-3 (11 hp), +1 to-hit, pistol (1d8 damage, 3 rounds to reload), FORT 12, REF 12, WILL 10, morale 7, tech rating 4.
Finally, the most feared warriors of the Wicked City are not part of its army at all. They are the the agents of its omnipresent Secret Police, whose organisation is completely opaque, and who answer to no-one except themselves (and maybe Head Office, whatever the hell that actually is). At any given time, many of its agents will be living in deep cover, posing as ordinary citizens, bureaucrats, or soldiers for months or years at a time while secretly reporting back to their masters in the Ministry of Information; their pervasive presence fills the Wicked City with fear and mistrust, as its inhabitants are painfully aware that even the people they believe to be their closest friends may in fact be reporting everything they say or do to the authorities. Those who are not undercover travel in squadrons of at least six, masked and silent and armed to the teeth, and people give them as wide a berth as possible. No-one's quite sure how they recruit new members; and when a once-trusted colleague suddenly pulls on a death-mask and executes three of his co-workers in the name of the Wicked King, it's not at all clear whether that's because he's been recently initiated into the Secret Police, or whether he's been one of them for years or decades and they've only now decided to pull the trigger on his operation.
Secret Police agent in full uniform. (Obviously, when they're undercover they look like everyone else.)
The King's Men are easily bribed or intimidated; but the Secret Police are another matter entirely. They are all initiates of the cult of the Wicked King, and revere him as a deity, regarding the destruction of his enemies as a sacred duty which he has entrusted to them, his mortal representatives. Their officers (whoever they are - they wear no distinguishing markings) are the priests of his cult, and command the absolute loyalty of their subordinates. Most dangerous of all are their notorious death squads, seven-man kill teams in full combat gear who occasionally come stalking out of the King's Tower to track down and execute some luckless enemy of the state. Even seeing a Secret Police death squad is regarded as an omen of extreme bad luck by the citizens of the Wicked City, who have long since learned that when such people are involved, the less you see and hear, the better.
A Secret Police death squad in action.
Secret Police Agent (Fighter 4): AC 14 (chain shirt), HD 4 (18 hp), +4 to-hit, sword (1d8 damage) or 2 pistols (1d8 damage, 3 rounds to reload), FORT 11, REF 11, WILL 10, morale 9.
Secret Police Death Squad Commando (Renunciate 5): AC 15 (breastplate), HD 5+10 (33 hp), +4 to-hit, musket (1d10 damage, 3 rounds to reload) or crazy ninja weapons (1d10 damage), FORT 8, REF 10, WILL 8, morale 10.
Secret police agents carry suicide pills, and will use them if they are in danger of being captured. If one is about to be taken prisoner, make a morale roll for them; if they pass, they will try to swallow a suicide tablet instead.
Posted by Joseph Manola at 05:28 1 comment:
Labels: Clockpunk, The Wicked City
Denizens of the Wicked City 8: The Mindblade Orders (psychic warrior character class)
Naturally enough, after the rise of the Diamond Mind order, there were plenty of kings and generals who speculated whether the astonishing abilities developed by its members might be turned to military purposes. The Diamond Mind Adepts themselves had their uses, of course, but their whole training was devoted to suppressing the kind of destructive psychic outbursts which made the Blighted so dangerous. But what if complete suppression and total lack of control were not the only options? What if a variation on the Diamond Mind method could be developed, one which, rather than shutting down all access to the chaotic and destructive psychic potential of the individual, instead permitted them to use it in a controlled and deliberate fashion?
'We'll round up a bunch of mentally unstable teenagers with uncontrollable psychic powers, put them all in the same place, and then give them all swords! What could possibly go wrong?'
This line of thinking led to many disastrous experiments, most of which ended with the deaths of everyone involved; but in one nation, the already highly militaristic Grand Duchy of Yun, they led to something more. Long after everyone else had given up on the idea of weaponising the Blighted, the Grand Duchy persevered in secret, until finally its work bore fruit in the form of the Mindblade Order: psychically gifted individuals who, rather than suppressing all their emotions like the Disciples of the Diamond Mind, instead cultivated the art of the tightly-controlled emotional outburst, blasting their victims with the kind of psychic whirlwinds which had previously been seen only in the uncontrolled mental flailings of the Blighted. When the graduates of this secret Mindblade Programme were unleashed upon the world, the results were staggering: one enemy after another was routed, and the Grand Duchy soon found itself ruling over an empire several times its previous size.
At first, the Grand Duke was jubilant at his success. But he soon found that his position was weaker than it seemed: Yun was not a large or populous land, and the threat of the Mindblades was the only thing which held his new empire together. Unfortunately for everyone involved, it rapidly became clear that Mindblade training did not make for stable long-term mental health: the strain of simultaneously cultivating their passions and holding them tightly in check took a heavy psychic toll, and the Mindblades proved quite astonishingly prone to a whole range of mental dysfunctions, including paranoid delusions, psychotic berserker rages, and sudden, overpowering suicidal urges. For thirty years, the Grand Duchy of Yun tottered on, giving the Mindblade elders everything they demanded despite their increasingly obvious insanity, aware that their power was the only thing which kept the empire afloat: and while, from the outside, the empire seemed as invincible as ever, internally it was coming apart at the seams, its whole administration disintegrating under the strain of being used as a battlefield for rival cliques of half-mad warrior-psychics. Finally, in desperation, the Grand Duke called a grand meeting of the Mindblade Order, insisting that they remain in session until they had settled their factional differences and agreed to work together for the good of the nation. Unfortunately, by this stage all the senior Mindblades were far too mad to compromise on anything: so what happened instead was a horror-show of psychic tornadoes, nightmare epidemics, large-scale poltergeist activity, and exploding heads. The Mindblade elders who survived the initial carnage called in their loyalists and private armies, and Yun collapsed into a civil war from which it has never really recovered.
You seeee me now, the veteran of a thousand psychic waaaaars... (Image by Jeff Simpson)
The Mindblade Order did not quite die out, although it did splinter: and today there are many different Mindblade Orders, each tracing themselves back to one of the adepts who managed to escape Yun's meltdown with mind and body more-or-less intact. These days, their training places much more emphasis on staying sane, and much less on large-scale psychic carnage; some Mindblades serve in armies, although they are never trusted with leadership positions, while others sell their skills to the highest bidder. The rate of mental instability amongst them remains extremely high.
The Wicked City is the one place where someone manifesting Blighted traits is much more likely to end up being trained as a Mindblade than a Diamond Mind Adept. The Mindblade schools recruit aggressively, there, feeding off the weirdly high rate at which the Blighted manifest amongst the city's population, and Mindblades make up a notable element of the city's armed forces. Of course, they still go crazy all the time; but really... this is the Wicked City. How many people are going to notice the difference?
I Shall Not Cease From Mental Fight: Playing a Mindblade requires Intelligence 12 and Wisdom 10; their discipline is just as mentally demanding as that of the Diamond Mind, but doesn't require quite as much self-control. Game information is as follows:
You can use simple weapons and light shields. You cannot use heavy shields, or any armour heavier than a chain shirt (AC +4).
You get 1d6 HP per level.
You gain a to-hit bonus to melee and ranged attack rolls equal to one-half of your level, rounded down. You gain a to-hit bonus to psychic attacks equal to your level.
You must keep your emotions ruthlessly restrained at all times. If you ever allow yourself to behave in an emotional or impassioned manner, you must immediately make a WILL save. If you fail, roll on the Psychic Outburst table as though you had a Psychic Instability of 3. (Exception: see the Controlled Outburst ability, below.)
At will, you can perform feats of telekinesis on nearby objects (maximum range 10' + 5' per level.) For as long as you stand still and devote your entire concentration to moving the object with your mind, it moves around as though it was being lifted by someone whose Strength and Dexterity were equal to your Wisdom and Intelligence, respectively. This movement is slow, and cannot usually be used to make attacks. You can move a number of objects equal to your level, but you must divide your total psychic ‘strength’ amongst them: so a third-level Mindblade with Wisdom 12 could move two objects as though each was being moved by someone with Strength 6, or three as though each was being moved by someone with Strength 4.
At will, you can launch a psychic attack on a nearby target by directly striking at their mind, inflicting 1d6 damage. Subtract their WILL save number from 25: this is their effective AC against this attack. You may apply your Wisdom modifier as a bonus to both the attack roll and damage roll.
In moments of extreme emotional stress, rather than keeping your emotions tightly under control as usual, you may attempt to make a controlled psychic outburst. Roll on the Psychic Outburst table as though you had a Psychic Instability of (8 + Mindblade level), and make a Wisdom roll. If you pass, you may control who, if anyone, is affected by the Psychic Outburst you have just caused: single-target effects hit a single target of your choice within range, while area-effect results only hit whichever sections of the specified area you actually choose to target. If you fail your Wisdom roll, however, the effect is uncontrolled as normal.
By looking directly at someone and concentrating, you may attempt to discern their current emotional state. (If they are thinking ONE BIG THOUGHT at the time, you might also be able to detect it, but otherwise you can only read emotions.) They will be subconsciously aware that you are doing this, and may resist it by making a WILL save; if they pass, you take 1 damage from psychic feedback and cannot attempt to read their mind again that day. Otherwise, you are aware of their emotional state for as long as you maintain concentration and they remain in your visual range.
Every time you go up a level, you run the risk of suffering mental deterioration as the strain of keeping your powers in check gnaws away at your psyche. Make a Wisdom roll; if you fail, roll 1d6 and gain the first trait listed. (If you already had that trait, you gain the second listed trait, and so on; so a Mindblade who rolls a 3 while she's already Melancholic becomes Depressive, instead.) It is possible to heal these afflictions, but this usually requires the aid of shamanic vision-questing, Diamond Mind mental surgery, and/or a positive, loving relationship with a really supportive partner who's prepared to keep talking you down from your craziness every night for years on end.
Mindblade Instability Table (roll 1d6)
Suspicious. Very wary of everything they're not already convinced is safe.
Paranoid. Thinks everything is a sign of people plotting against them.
Acutely paranoid. Convinced they're surrounded by conspiracies. Barely functional.
Bad tempered. Reacts badly when challenged.
Rages. Suffers uncontrollable rages when under stress.
Psychotic. A danger to everyone nearby.
Melancholic. Gets really miserable all the time.
Depressive. Setbacks can trigger spiralling feelings of hopelessness and worthlessness.
Suicidal. Needs constant emotional support to prevent self-harm or suicide.
Impulsive. Often acts recklessly, without really thinking things through.
Manic. When stressed or excited, behaves in a manic, hyperactive fashion, often making poor decisions in the process.
Uncontrollable. Usually does the first thing that comes into their head, regardless of the consequences.
Focussed. Tends to ignore everything except the thing they're currently working on.
Obsessive. Has mental tunnel vision. Won't eat or sleep properly while in pursuit of their goal.
Monomanaical. Has one thing which they pursue to the exception of everything else. Cannot be persuaded to devote any time or attention to anything else.
Fantasist. Lies a lot, and has trouble distinguishing fantasy from reality.
Delusional. Convinced that certain delusional beliefs are actually true. Cannot be persuaded otherwise.
Hallucinations. Suffers full-blown audio-visual hallucinations in support of their delusions, which for them are indistinguishable from reality.
Mindblade Summary Table
Hit Points
To Hit Bonus
Fortitude save (FORT)
Reflex save (REF)
Willpower save (WILL)
Psychic attacks
All other attacks
10d6
Starting equipment: Chain shirt (+4 AC), light shield (+1 AC), musket (1d10 damage, 3 rounds to reload), slightly feverish air of forced tranquillity, 2d6x10 sp.
Labels: Character classes, Literalised metaphors
Foes of the Wicked City 6: The Blue Folk
This is what the sky looks like over the Mongolian steppe.
Image by Skittledip.
It's enormous. There are no trees. There are no mountains. There's nothing to stand between you and this infinity of blue air and clouds above your head. Unsurprisingly, the greatest of god of the Turkic pantheon was the sky god, Tengri, and the steppe tribes peopled the regions of the sky with spirits of the wind and air. In ATWC, these are represented by the Blue Folk.
They look kinda like this.
The Blue Folk are the children of the sky. They live far above the world, in fantastical cities built on the backs of clouds; they are born out of the clouds by a process of spontaneous generation, and their own bodies are a kind of cloudstuff, only a little heavier than air. Sustained by air and moisture, they have no need of agriculture, and pass carefree existences in which they scarcely notice the passage of time; their days are spent in singing and dancing, weaving clouds into patterns, and peering dreamily down at the world below. Most of them, if asked, couldn't begin to guess whether they were ten, one hundred, or one thousand years old. Time is all one to them.
From time to time, one of the Blue Folk will fall to earth.
It's always an accident: a dance on the edge of a cloud that got just a bit too reckless, an acrobatic leap that turned out to be just slightly misjudged. But once it happens, it's irrevocable: the Blue Folk are great acrobats, but they can't fly, and they can only watch as their companion drops down and down and down until they are lost from sight, dropping helplessly into the world below. They weigh almost nothing, so they always survive the fall; but once they are stranded on the ground, their chances of returning to the cloud-cities are slim. Very occasionally, a cloud-city will tether itself to the top of a mountain, or open its gates to some high-flying airship. But such moments of contact between the air and the earth are few and far between.
It is not in the nature of the Blue Folk to be downcast by anything for very long. Once on earth, they are usually swift to adapt; their playful natures mean that they are swift to make friends, although their changeable personalities and short attention spans tend to put a limit on how deep or serious their relationships can become. They are fascinated by life on the surface, even if most of them never really understand it; and many find work as travelling acrobats or airship crewmen, allowing them to indulge their instinctive wanderlust. After a few years (or decades, or centuries) they might turn their minds to the question of finding their way back up to the clouds - but what's the rush? No matter how long it takes them, their friends will still be up there when they return...
When the Wicked King raised his tower, a group of the Blue Folk sailed their cloud-castle down to investigate this strange new object in the sky. They found the Wicked King waiting for them with a battalion of Blood Men, who promptly overran the cloud-castle, butchered everyone on board, and seized it for use as an aerial observation platform: to this day it hovers over the Wicked City, used by the High Ministers to block out the sunlight over whichever district is currently annoying them the most. A handful of its residents escaped the massacre on cloud skiffs, and spread word to the other cloud-cities of what had befallen them; and while it would never occur to the chronically disorganised Blue Folk to assemble any kind of war effort against the Wicked City, they do thoroughly disapprove of the place, and would be happy to see its towers toppled to the earth. (They'd also quite like their cloud-castle back.) Those of them who live on the surface might even be persuaded to take part in some kind of expedition against it...
Children of the Clouds: You can play one of the Blue Folk, if you like. You must have Dexterity 13 or higher; most also have low Constitution and Wisdom scores, although this is not a requirement. Game information is as follows:
You are proficient with simple weapons, and with armour no heavier than buff jackets (+2 AC). You are not proficient with shields.
You gain a bonus to all your to-hit rolls (melee and ranged) equal to your level.
You gain 1d6 HP per level.
You gain a +2 bonus to REF saves (included in the table below).
In battle, you move with such incredible agility that you are very, very hard to hit. As long as you are unencumbered and able to move freely, you gain a +4 AC bonus against all attacks. (When fighting in enclosed spaces, where you can't jump around all over the place, this bonus drops to +2 AC.)
Your body, while quite solid, is made of cloudstuff rather than flesh and blood. You weigh almost nothing, and bleed water vapour instead of blood. Being almost weightless, you can balance on surfaces which would never support a human, such as twigs or thin ice. Most forms of non-magical healing are ineffectual on you (although shamanic healing works just fine), and you can only carry half as much as a human with the same strength score.
You don't require food or drink; instead, you 'eat' fresh air and 'drink' water vapour, both of which you absorb through your skin. If you are trapped in arid or airless conditions for an extended period, you will become as weak as a human who has been deprived of food or drink for an equal length of time. Making your own water vapour (by boiling water and standing in the steam) is entirely possible.
You can jump incredible distances. As long as you are unencumbered, you can leap a number of feet equal to your Strength score from a standing start, or three times that distance with a decent run-up. You can also leap a number of feet equal to your Strength score straight up.
You are immune to falling damage, regardless of the distance fallen.
You can perform amazing feats of agility and acrobatics. Anything a human acrobat could achieve, you can do without needing a dice roll, and low-end superhuman feats of agility (the sort of thing that people do in martial arts movies) can be accomplished with a successful Dexterity roll.
If damaged, you can rebuild your body by immersing yourself in water vapour (by standing in mist or heavy rain, sitting in a hot spring or Turkish bath, etc). For each hour spent in this way, you regain 10% of your maximum HP, rounded up.
By tasting the air, you can predict the weather in the local area with perfect accuracy for a number of hours ahead equal to your Intelligence + Wisdom scores. (This gift alone means that one of the Blue Folk will be welcome on any airship.)
Blue Folk Summary Table
Starting equipment: Light travelling clothes (+1 AC), short spear (1d6 damage, throwable), pistol (1d8 damage, 3 rounds to reload), dancing outfit decorated with long ribbons, woodwind instrument, big tin kettle (for making your own water vapour when you get thirsty), amazing knee-length blue hair (worn loose for maximum effect), carefree disposition, 2d6x10 sp.
Labels: Character classes, Misc. setting stuff
OSR aesthetics of ruin
Conceptual density (or 'What are RPG books *for*, anyway?')
When all you have is a hammer: item-based problem-solving in OSR D&D
Cults, cultists and D&D
“You can’t ever let that see print”: Horror, Pathfinder and the limits of the publishable
Bringing Down the Hammer, part 12: my own private WFRP
On romantic fantasy and OSR D&D
Zak Smith and associated awfulness
How Walter Scott almost invented RPGs 200 years early
A brief word on some recent online controversies
I WROTE 22 NEW CLASSES FOR B/X D&D!
Play as a half-troll! Play as a clockwork octopus! Play as a whole bunch of nameless morons who die all the time! Download them in pdf format here and ruin your B/X campaign today!
Elfmaids & Octopi
Eldritch Decor
DIY & Dragons
Player Art - Two Chromatic Monsters
The Retired Adventurer
Planning a Campaign as a Series of Decisions
Ten Foot Polemic
Class: Barbarian - The Rage Spiral
40k: Building a Space Hulk, Part 1
False Machine
Letters from Ir - The Beginning
NAMES :Why did I click this edition
Dragons Gonna Drag
LotFP Armor - Combining Classic and Early Modern Types
Mazirian's Garden
Zines: Two New Series of Posts
ZENOPUS ARCHIVES
Dicebreaker Article About OD&D Players
Into the Odd
Less than 24 Hours left for Bastionland!
Ynas Midgard's RPG Blog
Kazamaták és Kompániák - Advanced Classes
Monsters with Triggered Abilities
Regimental Goats, Bounties, and Free Pasturage for All: News from the Hill Cantons Returns
BX MARS A map of Zerzura
Spriggan's Den
Exorcists For Hire
For Honor...and Intrigue
The Dungeon Dozen
How can We Destroy this Campaign World?
gloomtrain
Fairy Locations 21-30
games with others
Storing Information, Playing Information, Dungeons
Joseph Manola
Shamanic Healing (AKA: 'So, where is this guy's so...
'Try to find the graves of our fathers, the only t...
Denizens of the Wicked City 8: The Mindblade Order...
Spirit pacts for fun and profit!
Spirit-Bargaining for Beginners
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Character classes (46)
General-purpose musings (44)
Random tables (42)
The Wicked City (41)
Misc. setting stuff (38)
Almost a review (33)
Actual Play (29)
Clockpunk (27)
OSR (24)
Early Modern (15)
Playable adventure (15)
Possibly not entirely serious (15)
Literalised metaphors (14)
Victorian weirdness (14)
Yet more cannibal monsters (I blame Hannibal) (14)
Steppe (13)
Rules stuff (12)
Taiga (12)
Shut up about poetry already (11)
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The Great Road (9)
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Gaming with toddlers (5)
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MANLINESS (1)
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Warcraft 3: Reforged Edition Announced, Release Date Next Year
Warcraft 3: Reforged, the full remaster of the original Warcraft 3, was announced during the BlizzCon 2018 opening ceremony. The remaster will be available some time in 2019 and can be preordered at playwarcraft3.com and comes with in-game goodies for all other Blizzard games, including a functioning catapult mount for World of Warcraft.
Warcraft 3: Reforged also comes with a remastered cinematic, as seen below. Preorder Spoils of War edition for 4 unique hero skins in Reforged.
Warcraft 3: Reforged Features
Fully remodeled characters and animations
Remastered maps and campaigns
Upgraded UI and World Editor
New 4k resolution
High-fidelity music
Crossplay between Warcraft 3 and Warcraft 3: Reforged
Warcraft 3 and Warcraft 3: Reforged will receive continued support, balance patches, and gameplay updates
Reforged features a World Editor with “hundreds of new triggers, LUA support, new tools for importing models, and a slew of other enhancements are in the works.”
Reforged comes with all modern Battle.net social features, including voice, chat, patching, enhanced ladders, stat tracking, and more.
13 languages supported
Remastered Warcraft 3 Cinematic
Warcraft 3: Reforged Gameplay Footage
Originally Posted by Blizzard Entertainment (Blue Tracker / Official Post)
Blizzard Entertainment today proudly unveiled Warcraft® III: Reforged™, a stunning reimagining of the revolutionary real-time strategy game that laid the foundation for Azeroth’s most epic stories. A remake in the truest sense, Warcraft III: Reforged sees the original Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos and its award-winning expansion, The Frozen Throne®, rebuilt from the ground up, with a thorough visual overhaul, a suite of contemporary social and matchmaking features via Blizzard Battle.net®, and a pledge of support for its thriving community of creators—starting with an upgraded World Editor.
The founding of Orgrimmar. The fall of Lordaeron. The reign of the Burning Legion. The rise of the Lich King. Veterans and newcomers alike will experience these pivotal events in Azeroth’s history like never before in Warcraft III: Reforged, from the points of view of four distinct factions: the mighty Orcs, the noble Humans, the ancient Night Elves, and the insidious Undead Scourge.
For Warcraft III: Reforged, every character, structure, and environment has been recreated to emphasize the depth, dimension, and personality of this rough-hewn world. The Warcraft III saga, which spans more than 60 campaign missions, enjoys an epic retelling in Reforged, with over four hours of updated in-game cutscenes and rerecorded voice-overs that breathe new life into the earliest renditions of key characters like Sylvanas Windrunner and Arthas Menethil.
“Warcraft III is monumentally important to us here at Blizzard, and its influence is evident in everything we’ve done since,” said J. Allen Brack, President of Blizzard Entertainment. “A project like Warcraft III: Reforged isn’t something we undertake lightly, partly because of this legacy, but more importantly, because we know what it means to our players.”
Warcraft III’s dedicated community of mapmakers has kept the game thriving since it launched in 2002, and Reforged boasts an improved World Editor highly influenced by an ongoing dialogue with this talented group of creators. With countless new tools and features, the World Editor will set mapmakers free to craft new universes for players to enjoy. Existing custom maps will be playable in Reforged, and players will be able to use the new matchmaker to find partners or opponents for traditional melee and custom games.
Warcraft III: Reforged will be released in 2019. Those eager to relive the history of Azeroth can pre-purchase the game today for $29.99 for the standard edition, and $39.99 for the Spoils of War Edition, which includes unique skins for four of the game’s hero units, as well as a host of in-game bonuses for a number of other Blizzard games, such as a gruesome Meat Wagon mount for World of Warcraft®, the Third War cardback for Hearthstone®, and more.
For more information on Warcraft III: Reforged, visit the official website at http://www.playwarcraft3.com. For screenshots, video, and other media, go to https://blizzard.gamespress.com/classic.
Warcraft 3: Reforged Announcement Screenshots
More details will be revealed later in the convention.
posted in News Tags: Blizzcon 2018, warcraft 3
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50 Books for 2010
#30: The Ghosts of Martyrs Square
In my junior year of college, I spent a semester studying in the Middle East. My program was based in Cairo but we traveled throughout the region. By the end of the spring, we'd made it to Turkey, Syria, Jordan, and Israel. Even so, if I could change any one aspect of that semester, it would be to visit Lebanon.
As detailed in Michael Young's The Ghosts of Martyrs Square: An Eyewitness Account of Lebanon's Life Struggle, the nation has an irregular heartbeat and constantly appears under threat of cardiac arrest. And yet somehow, democracy, or some semblance of it, insists on habitual self-resurrection in the area of the world seemingly most hostile to the democratizing impulse. History and the present, the liberal and the traditional, even the nation's dual languages, Arabic and French, serve as constant reminders of democracy's promise in a culturally diverse populace. Young, in recounting Lebanon's recent history (2005-present), writes, "What makes Lebanon relatively free in an unfree Middle East is that the country's sectarian system, its faults notwithstanding, has ensured that the society's parts are stronger than the state; and where the state is weak, individuals are usually freer to function."
In this interpretation, the same national character that so infuriates international observers is actually responsible for Lebanon's fragile peace. As the Sunnis bedevil the Shiites, the Christians ally themselves with the power of the moment, and the Druze follow suit, the collective political incoherence renders centralized governing nearly impossible.
Not that Syria didn't give it the old college try. On February 14, 2005, former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq al-Hariri was assassinated via a truck-bomb in Beirut. The Syrians were widely viewed as the perpetrators, and thus was launched the Cedar Revolution, a series of protests against Syrian intervention that eventually led to its expulsion from Lebanon.
This is, roughly, where Michael Young's national history begins. He recounts how, merely one year after the impossible became reality as Syria left Lebanon, the war with Israel threatened to reverse the year of progress; Hezbollah, acting in compliance with its Syrian and Iranian patrons, destabilized a country still reeling in the aftermath of al-Hariri's untimely death. Interestingly, Young takes this opportunity to chide progressive Western journalists and observers for their embrace, however tentative, of the self-described Party of God: "Lebanon loved the resistance, the statistics proved it, and the good word was beamed out to an unquestioning world," he writes, sarcastically describing the West's perception of Hezbollah's domestic standing during the 2006 war against Israel.
Young can be forgiven his zeal; as a Lebanese citizen he is justifiably nonplussed by incomplete international characterizations of his country. And yet, like many journalists dipping their toes into full-length books, he proffers a smorgasbord of ideas and counterpoints without progressing between themes in a cohesive manner. At times, The Ghosts of Martyrs Square reads like a 254-page op-ed column; I suppose that's the point. But in regards to this country that defies all description, I was hoping for a little less theorizing and a little more substance.
Posted by Jay P at 9:35 PM No comments:
Labels: book review, book reviews, cairo, hezbollah, israel, jordan, lebanon, michael young, middle east, syria, the ghosts of martyrs square, turkey
#29: Tinkers
Tinkers gave me pause as to judging a book by its awards. My edition of Paul Harding's short novel, his first, sports a "Winner of the Pulitzer Prize" label on the front cover; I will think twice before purchasing a book based solely on such public acclaim.
This book is a classic example of the type of writing that one either embraces or shrugs at, likely with little gray area comprising the remainder. Harding has a way with words, and particularly with describing intricate details of pedestrian items. "The hair on my neck prickled from nape to crown, as if a current were passing through it, and as the current leapt off of the top of my head and if I had my back to the trees, I would feel the actual wind start up the back of my neck and ruffle my hair and the water and the grass and spin the swallows in its choral voice stirring all of the old unnamable sorrows in our throats, where our voices caught and failed on the scales of the old forgotten songs."
If you're thinking this sounds like another recent Pulitzer Prize winner, Cormac McCarthy, it's because it does. In All the Pretty Horses and The Road, McCarthy takes special delight in the bending of the grass, the hue of the twilight sky, and the trembling manes of all those pretty horses. Harding follows suit here, although to his credit he hasn't entirely neglected his punctuation or the rules of grammar in the process.
In this case, as in The Road, the central relationship is that between a father and son, although this, for the most part, is where the similarities end. Tinkers is less apocalyptic than introspective, and its setting is as mundane as The Road's is grandiose. Beginning with the simple sentence, "George Washington Crosby began to hallucinate eight days before he died," Harding paints a dreary image of creeping death, interspersed with winding memories of a childhood past. As George drifts in and out of consciousness, it is his father he recalls: Howard, a man tortured by sudden seizures, who, after years of indignity and humiliation, walks away from his family for Philadelphia, and a new start.
Paradoxically, while Harding takes special care to paint elaborate portrayals of material items, it is the conspicuous absence of explicitly denoted thoughts that affords the understated Tinkers its emotive impact. However, the plodding cadence of the writing gradually renders the novel viscerally unappealing. Perhaps this is to be expected of a book whose main character specializes in repairing clocks: the tick-tock of passing time is more celebrated here than dreaded. But as it pertains to reading a novel, award-winning or otherwise, I prefer my time to fly by unnoticed.
Labels: all the pretty horses, book review, book reviews, clock repair, cormac mccarthy, paul harding, philadelphia, pulitzer prize, the road, tinkers
#28: The Lotus Eaters
The Lotus Eaters is Tatjana Soli's first novel, but you wouldn't know that from reading it. Much like her protagonist, the American photojournalist Helen Adams, Soli possesses a rare survival instinct in perhaps the only area as treacherous as Vietnam in the 1970s: the world of publishing in the digital age. For the most part, she even manages to steer clear of the worst authorial minefields -- there's little in the way of deus ex machinas here -- a feat made all the more impressive by the pervasive cliches endemic to war novels.
It is not just Soli that deftly avoids danger. Her creations do much the same. Adams, her colleague and lover, Linh, and even, well, her other colleague and lover, Sam Darrow, specialize as much in danger as they do in photography, a fact that hardly goes unnoticed by any of them. "We're in the business of war," Darrow boasts at a dinner of photojournalists one night. "The cool thing for us is that when this one's done, there's always another one...The war doesn't ever have to end for us."
And, mostly, it does not. The country and the war, working in tandem, swallow up countless people; they are all Vietnam's involuntary subjects, even as they struggle to maintain the rapidly disintegrating notion of self-determination. At the end, as Saigon fell to the Viet Cong, the pungent odor of finality was more terrifying to Adams than the inexorable violence itself: "Ten years ago it had seemed the war would never end, and now all she could think was, More time, give us more time."
The conflict's pornographic hold on Adams was but a reflection of the same transformation, years before, in Darrow. "Welcome to our splendid little war," he had said upon meeting Adams, but by then he had long since forfeited the right to use the possessive to describe a force that so clearly controlled him. His obsession with the perfect shot -- shooting for hours in blazing heat, or wandering, seemingly oblivious, into the line of fire with camera in tow -- became an all-consuming object. With his biological family back home relegated to a bit role, Darrow found camaraderie and even intimacy in the words and passions of people who, if not inheriting his fate, at least shared his proximity to history.
Helen Adams was just such a person. As a female war correspondent, with each word and action eliciting a close scrutiny to which her male counterparts were never subjected, she found herself simultaneously navigating the darkest recesses of human destruction and repeatedly proving her mettle in a man's world. Eventually, with the North Vietnamese closing in, these two paths coalesce in increasingly desperate attempts to satisfy the addiction to violence, even as its manifestation spills over the nation's borders into Cambodia. For Helen, as for Darrow and Linh, war was an end unto itself. "'The good ol' days are gone,'" a soldier tells her, just two months after she arrives in Vietnam. But it was not until the war's waning moments an eternity later, with those "good ol' days" tucked well into the past, that the wreckage of this incomprehensible human tragedy reached its long-awaited hour of reflection.
Labels: 1970s, book review, book reviews, photojournalism, tatjana soli, the lotus eaters, vietnam war
#27: The Disenchantment of Secular Discourse
In The Disenchantment of Secular Discourse, author Steven D. Smith discusses a practice he dubs "smuggling." He explains the term thusly: "Our modern secular vocabulary purports to render inadmissible notions such as those that animated premodern moral discourse...But if our deepest convictions rely on such notions, and if these convictions lose their sense and substance when divorced from such notions, then perhaps we have little choice except to smuggle such notions in the conversation -- to introduce them incognito under some sort of secular disguise."
Smith then purports to debunk classic modern examples of jurisprudence or governing philosophy as embodying just this sort of intellectual hijacking, or smuggling. Stating that "conversations in the secular cage could not proceed very far without smuggling," Smith then attempts to display how these logical implications play out in real-life applications.
Shining an inquisitive light on some of our more revered (e.g. the harm principle) and controversial (e.g. end-of-life decisions) principles, Smith works to show the ways in which their public expression has been abbreviated by the conspicuous lack of transcendental foundations (be they religiously based or otherwise). Unfortunately, while these embodiments of his theory are convincing at times, Smith is noticeably reticent to provide any neat solutions. In the book's last paragraph, he alludes to their absence, writing, "And so, in the end, it seems that the only general prescription that can be offered is, once again, the seemingly bland recommendation of...openness."
Openness in the lexicon of Smith means to allow those "inadmissible notions" to join their logical conclusions in the realm of public dialogue. However, even as he argues for their inclusion, he appears reluctant to embrace this broader conversation wholeheartedly. "There is a risk that a more open conversation may be acrimonious," Smith acknowledges. "Even so, that sort of conversation is ultimately more respectful of the participants. More respectful and also, potentially, more productive and substantial: that is because we will be talking about what we really believe."
Whether Smith is right remains to be seen. The left and the right appear to be diverging more quickly now than ever before, and this political dichotomy is only one of many fault lines dotting the mottled landscape of public conversation. Openness as a societal antibiotic, or as an unnecessarily opened can of worms? Let the debate begin, Smith would say, but at the very least let us be honest about how we choose our sides.
Posted by Jay P at 12:02 AM 4 comments:
Labels: book review, book reviews, public discourse, religion, secularism, steven d. smith, the disenchantment of secular discourse
#26: If You Follow Me
There's plenty of internalizing taking place within the pages of Malena Watrous' If You Follow Me. Some of it is explicit, and at other times implied. But it's always there, lurking beneath the placid surface. If this is already starting to sound like a lifeless addition to the all-is-not-bliss-in-domestic-paradise genre, take a deeper look. In fact, all is not bliss here either -- the rare worthwhile novel is -- but the cast, a twenty-something lesbian couple, and the setting, rural Japan, help Watrous avoid fiction's most egregious cliches.
Marina is a twenty-something recent wanderer who, on something suspiciously like a lark, decided to follow her lover to East Asia for a year of teaching abroad. Her father's suicide, looming like an omnipresent monster in her recent past, was the catalyst that brought her and Carolyn together: they met in a bereavement group during senior year in college, where Marina mentally characterized her soon-to-be girlfriend as "tough and spiky, with a rod in her tongue and buzzed hair that moved through a Kool-Aid spectrum." Carolyn, for her part, was still grieving her loss, at age twelve, of her mother to cancer, and had been attending the bereavement group since freshman year.
The two were an unlikely pair to begin with; a year of living abroad together, then, was a monumental risk. And yet, Marina remembers, "when she asked if I'd consider moving to Japan with her, I didn't hesitate before saying yes...I couldn't go back to San Francisco," with all its childhood memories of her fading father and the stark reality of a mother trying desperately to move on.
Marina's sojourn in Japan is kicked off with a letter from her mentor, Hiroshi Miyoshi, a native son who has been handed the unfortunate task of keeping a close eye on the two Americans and facilitating their acclimation to Japanese social mores. Succumbing to bouts of self-consciousness, Miyoshi prefers to communicate disapproval of Marina's (frequent and unintentional) breaches of etiquette through handwritten letters written in rudimentary English; these missives provide the bulk of the laughs in what is often a deeply introspective story.
Miyoshi's inaugural letter scolds Marina on her ignorance of "gomi law," that maddeningly esoteric set of rules governing trash disposal. "Dear Miss Marina how are you? I'm fine thank you. A reason for this letter is: recently you attempt to throw away battery and jar and some kind of mushroom spaghetti and so forth, all together in one bin. Please don't try 'it wasn't me.' We Japanese seldom eat Gorgonzola cheese!"
Time passes. The clock ticks and tocks. First, there is Marina and Carolyn fighting. Then there is Joe, a cheeky British fellow and the only person in Japan who knows that his two female acquaintances are not just friends, but intimate as well. Throw in a minor television celebrity, a unique cast of small-town Japanese friends (notably Noriko and Keiko), and a shifting relationship with Miyoshi, and one can see that Marina is due for some noticeable life changes.
What those changes entail impacts different people in different ways. Some of these changes are gradual, and others more sudden. Frustratingly, many of them fail to grab the reader's attention (at least mine) and hold it for the time necessary to make these metamorphoses feel significant. It is not so much that If You Follow Me is not a tale worth reading, but one gets the sense that it could have been shortened without much loss. Malena Watrous hits high marks for complexity, but mostly forgets the value of brevity.
Labels: book review, book reviews, if you follow me, japan, malena watrous, relationships, suicide, teaching abroad
Subway culture and the panhandler
I lived for nine years in Boston, Massachusetts. It is a town of crooked one-way streets, Irish bars, and, perhaps most ubiquitously, innumerable homeless people. Living in and amongst those same streets and watering holes, Boston's displaced roam freely, their casual insouciance unperturbed by the occasional disapproving policeman or irritable bench neighbor. The city, while perhaps not embracing them, at least affords them a generous measure of nomadic self-determination, and for that reason Boston remains a favorite sanctuary for the housing-challenged.
This is not to say these hardy men and women are without want. When their cash flow devolves into a steady trickle downstream, our homeless friends take to the subway -- the T, as it is known -- and, in the spirit of of the First Amendment, brazenly wield their vocal chords to great effect in pursuit of, if not happiness itself, its closest approximation as embodied by a fast-food meal or a bottle of Jim Beam. This commonly takes the form of a bleating voice in which the plaintive tones of defeat can clearly be heard: "Can you spare some change?"
It is more a statement than a question, even as its last syllable hangs desperately in the air, an unresolved dissonance calling for resolution. The sincerity is as evident as the tact is lacking: money is needed. Whether for drugs or food, alcohol or medicine, we neither know nor care; they are here, among us, and the choice is ours. We toss a bill or two their way, or we do not. We look away, avert our eyes. We do not remember them, nor they us; strangers passing in the night, all.
New York's subway system is home to investment bankers, Mexican accordion players, and apathetic Upper West Siders. Broadway houses the nation's finest productions, but the real theater, unfolding in stuttered moments, performs for free somewhere between 96th Street and Park Place on the 2 line. Here the homeless traipse through subway cars, plying their craft as they wedge their way through the tired ranks of the gainfully employed.
The last time I shared a New York subway car with a panhandler, I felt as if I were listening to a sales pitch. I was. While a bit melodramatic for my taste, one cannot argue with the $2.25 price of admission. Words such as "interim" and "requisite" filled the air, as New Yorkers turned back to their New Yorker in silence. One is constantly under the impression of having seen this particular solicitor before, perhaps on the same train line. The pleas for money are theatrical (and thus memorable), recalling a failed actor blandly reciting lines that have long since lost all meaning. They inevitably begin with some variation of "I'm sorry, and I don't mean to disturb you," but of course they do. Trust has left the building, or at the very least the subway car, and empathy along with it. I do not drop money into the hat.
I'm not sure why Boston and New York diverge in this way, nor will I ever, most likely. It is merely one of the myriad aspects in which the compressed millions that comprise our modern cities coalesce into collective entities of their own. Somehow, these cities of random individuals gain distinctive, differentiated, holistic identities; somehow homeless culture becomes but one among countless mirrors reflecting these. Personally, I can respect the Bostonian directness, a challenge to the general public to lend a helping hand. I feel no such affinity for the New Yorker, who, borrowing the cadence of a stage voice and the persuasive technique of a politician, alienates me before completing a sentence. Like everything related to Boston and New York (especially as felt by a Bostonian), one of the two must be superior. Somewhere, a master panhandler is crafting the perfect pitch, and waiting for its debut in the city.
Posted by Jay P at 7:24 PM 2 comments:
Labels: book review, book reviews, boston, homelessness, new york, panhandling, subway culture
Author Site - Danielle Evans
Author Site - Tatjana Soli
Blog - Largehearted Boy
Paris Vs. New York
Thank you for visiting 50 Books for 2010. Just because 50 books have been reviewed doesn't mean the blog is over, though. Not quite yet. I'll write a few more entries before posting a link to my next project.
1940s 1970s 2008 attacks in mumbai 2008 elections 50 books for 2010 50booksfor2010.com 9/11 a foreigner carrying in the crook of his arm a tiny bomb a life in exile abortion abu ghraib adam langer adaptation all is forgotten nothing is lost all the pretty horses am i a redundant human being? amazon.com american decline american university americans in paris amitava kumar amnesty international animal spirits anne e. kornblut anne hathaway anti-semitism antonin scalia art associated press autism ayaan hirsi ali barack obama barney stinson baseball before you suffocate your own fool self benjamin netanyahu bill clinton bill of rights blink book suggestions boston both ways is the only way i want it bretton woods brocabulary broicide brown university cairo cambodia cbs charles bedaux charles glass charlie kaufman chekhov child narrator china christ christianity chutzpah clara de chambrun clarence thomas clock repair colombia colum mccann comic book communism concert conservatives constitution cormac mccarthy crash crowd wisdom crowdsourcing dan senor dan shaughnessy daniela hurezanu danielle evans danielle steel dave eggers david a. strauss david nicholls david petraeus david sedaris david shields democracy democratic party demosthenes development officer digital camera digital era donna kate rushin douglas g. brinkley dwight eisenhower dysfunctional families dystopia eat pray love economics elena kagan elizabeth gilbert emma donoghue evangelism f. scott fitzgerald facebook family album fareed zakaria feminism fenway park file-sharing financial crisis florida foreign policy france franklin roosevelt freakonomics freefall french fundamentalism gabriel santoro gary shteyngart gender in politics generation why george a. akerlof glasnost goldman sachs google google books google buzz gordon edes great recession Grégoire Bouillier guantánamo bay harry truman hezbollah hillary clinton hive mind holland homelessness hong kong how i met your mother human rights human rights watch humor ian buruma iceland if you follow me india intellectual property international herald tribune internet privacy investment bankers ipad ipod islam israel israel defense forces ivy league japan jaron lanier jay mcinerney jeff howe jesus john grisham john laroche john maynard keynes jon stewart Jon Thor Birgisson jonsí jordan Jorge Eliécer Gaitán joseph o'neill joseph stiglitz joshua ferris Juan Gabriel Vásquez justice karl marx karma kazuo ishiguro kevin roose kim echlin kiss kiss bang bang lan samantha chang lebanon let the great world spin liberty university liesl schillinger living constitutionalism lock-in lorin stein maile meloy making globalization work malcolm gladwell malena watrous marc chagall mark haddon math prodigy matt kuhn me talk pretty one day mela hartwig mental illness michael lewis michael young michiko kakutani microsoft windows middle east MIDI midpoint recap milo burke milton friedman mohsin hamid montreal moody's msnbc mumbai music myspace myths series napster national book award nazi germany neil patrick harris netherland new year new year's resolutions new york new york times new york times magazine new yorker newspapers nobel prize nomad nomar garciaparra notes from the cracked ceiling olga grushin one day orchids originalism pakistan panhandling paris paul berman paul haggis paul harding paul krugman paul-gordon chandler penelope lively perestroika philadelphia Philip Pullman phnom penh photojournalism pilgrims of christ on the muslim road poetry public discourse pulitzer prize purdy stuart radiohead randall munroe read 50 books reality hunger: a manifesto red sox relationships religion remains of the day rene de chambrun résistants reverend jeremiah wright rhetoric richard posner rise to globalism robert j. shiller roger d. hodge rome ronald reagan room russia salomon brothers Salvador Dalí salvation city sam lipsyte samuel moyn sara guterman sarah palin saul singer secularism seminoles sexism shimon peres short stories sigrid nunez Sigur Rós social media social networking somalia soviet union special drawing rights standard and poor's stanley fish start-up nation: the story of israel's economic miracle stephen dubner stephen e. ambrose steve eisman steven d. smith steven levitt sturgeon's law subway culture suicide sumner jackson super sad true love story superfreakonomics supreme court surrealism susan orlean syria tariq ramadan tatjana soli teaching abroad ten commandments tension terminal 5 terrorism the ask the big short the bridge poem the bro code the communist manifesto the curious incident of the dog in the night-time the daily show the disappeared the disenchantment of secular discourse the dream life of sukhanov the english patient the flight of the intellectuals the ghosts of martyrs square the good man jesus and the scoundrel christ the great gatsby the imperfectionists the informers the last utopia the living constitution the lotus eaters the lovers the mendacity of hope the mystery guest the netherlands the new york review of books the orchid thief the paris review the post-american world the reluctant fundamentalist the road the social network the thieves of manhattan the unlikely disciple the unnamed themillions.com then we came to the end this is where i leave you thomas jefferson tinkers tom rachman turkey twitter united nations united states universal declaration of human rights university of chicago vanilla sky vendela vida venezuela video vietnam war virginia woolf waiting wall street webcomic wikipedia wordswithoutborders.org world bank world series world trade center world war ii writing xkcd you are not a gadget yusuf al-qaradawi zadie smith
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A-Star Sports nominated in three categories at the What’s on 4 Junior Awards 2012
Sharon Bassett
on 23 March, 2012 at 15:51
The nominees for the prestigious What’s On 4 2012 Junior Awards in association with Konfidence have been announced – and new business A-Star Sports is amongst them!
This exciting national awards programme, once again supported by Prima Baby & Pregnancy magazine, is now in its sixth year and celebrates the best activities, classes, volunteers and venues from throughout the UK as nominated and voted for by parents and parents-to-be.
A-Star Sports is a nominee in the following categories:
Best New Activity for Children
Best Children’s Party Entertainment
Most outstanding Activity Leader for children aged 5-12 (Kevin Key)
This means they have received at least five customer nominations and will now go through to the national voting stage.
A-Star Sports is a fun-filled multi-sports experience for children aged 2-10 years. They offer inclusive, developmental multi-sports coaching in a positive environment that begins with an initial ABC-based programme (agility, balance and co-ordination) and develops into a core of ten sports – basketball, cricket, dodgeball, football, handball, hockey, rounders, rugby, tennis and volleyball. The programme also includes activities inspired by sport in the news for children to discover sports over and above this core ten. In addition to weekly classes, A-Star Sports also offers birthday parties, holiday clubs and events.
Kevin Key, director and nominee in the Most Outstanding Activity Leader for children aged 5-12 category, said: “I’ve been truly overwhelmed by the feedback and support we have had from local families. As soon as What’s On 4 contacted us with the news about the nominations, we spoke to all our customers to thank them for encouraging and believing in us – it was really quite emotional! It’s just fantastic that so many customers took the time to nominate and to say such brilliant things about what we do at A-Star Sports. This is a real confirmation that our passion for sport and coaching children to enjoy sport for life really shines through. Now we’ve got this far, we’d love to get the votes to go one step further and pick up an award (or three!)”
Fellow directors, Gary and Sharon Bassett won the Most Outstanding Activity Leader for children aged 5-12 category at the What’s On 4 Awards in 2010. Gary said, “The most amazing thing is to work in such a great team and our performance as a new team is one thing that the businesses and families we come into contact with comment on. We’re now in a position to franchise out A-Star Sports nationally and a recent headline in The Franchise Magazine described us as ‘an ace opportunity for A-Star entrepreneurs’. We’re very proud!”
From 8th March to 6th May 2012, parents can log onto any of the award winning on-line directories – www.whatson4littleones.co.uk, www.whatson4schoolkids.co.uk and www.whatson4kidsparties.co.uk to vote for their favourite from all of the qualifying nominees.
The winners will be announced by TV celebrity host Lucy Piper at the Avisford Park Hilton Hotel in West Sussex on 15th June. Everyone who votes or nominates will also be in with a chance to win 2 VIP tickets to the awards ceremony, meet the finalists, sponsors and VIP guests as well as enjoy a fabulous Spa treatment on the day.
What’s On 4 founder Sam Willoughby adds: “I’m so excited about our 2012 Awards especially as this year the UK awards are running alongside the 1st Australian What’s On 4 Junior Awards! Everyone through to this stage should be very proud that the nation’s parents are so keen to nominate and reward them. We can’t wait to see the results of the voting!”
1. For more information, logos / visuals or for a photoshoot opportunity, please contact Sharon Bassett at A-Star Sports on 07932 182148 or sharon.bassett@a-starsports.co.uk.
2. A-Star Sports Ltd launched in November 2011 – www.a-starsports.co.uk. Also on:
Facebook – facebook.com/AStarSports.UK
Twitter – @AstarSports_UK
The co-founders of the A-Star Sports® franchise business bring together 50+ years of coaching experience, best practice and creativity. From sports performances at school, county and national level through to coaching in clubs, schools and organisations in the UK and beyond. The A-Star Sports® expert advisory team includes those with experience in the national governing bodies of sports, as PE specialists and teachers, as child psychologists and authorities in child behaviour management, as well as business, partnership and sports management professionals.
3. Co-founders and directors profiles can be found at:
Sharon Bassett – uk.linkedin.com/in/SharonBassett
Gary Bassett – uk.linkedin.com/in/GaryBassett
4. Weekly A-Star Sports classes currently run in the following areas:
Chester & surrounding areas
Dundee & Angus
East & West Dunbartonshire and surrounding areas
Edinburgh North, West & surrounding areas
Edinburgh South & East, Midlothian and East Lothian
Perth & Kinross / East Fife
Renfrewshire & surrounding areas
Local holiday clubs and parties are also available.
A-Star Sports is a Gladstone BizNetwork 'Small Business Sunday' winner!
Welcome to new members of the A-Star Sports advisory panel
Outdoor summer fun
Tom and Jerry action-adventure Xperience for a new generation of spies
Let’s move – it’s free!
Archives Select Month August 2015 July 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 April 2014 March 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 December 2011 November 2011
Ali, Chester on 26 Sep
Jack has done A-Stars since he was a little toddler and refuses to consider stopping as he just loves it! Thank you
P Smith, Chester on 26 Sep
Great class! Orla really looks forward to the class and the interaction with other children and Gary
L Healey, Chester on 26 Sep
Fantastic club, Phoebe's confidence has soared!
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AMA Music Agency represents Emerging Irish band Keywest. Meteor Award Nominees Keywest, have received huge support from national and regional Radio stations and are now one of the most played Irish acts of 2013. Keywest are no stranger to such Festival stages as Oxegen, Love Luton Festival (UK), Rose of Tralee festival and many many more. Hot Press have said “undeniable universal appeal” as the band went on to sell out tours and a headline show in Vicar St in December 2013.
Keywest are one of the Hottest Emerging Acts in the country right now and are a must have for any Venue or Festival billing. After successful single releases, they followed up with their Debut Album “The Message” released in Feb 2012. This Album went straight in to the official Charts at number 15 and was widely acclaimed. Keywest have a huge loyal following already selling out their headline shows in the likes of Academy in Dublin and this following is very evident on their social media sites.
They have amassed one of the largest Social Media followings in country (Over 35,528 “Facebook Likes”, “42,128 Twitter followers” 766,022 “YouTube” views). Recently working in L.A with Grammy nominee, producer and mixer Mark Needham, (The Killers, Fleetwood Mac, My Chemical Romance etc) they signed with Global Publishing Giant Peer Music at the end of 2011.
Peer music are responsible for the stable of writers and producers that have written for the likes of Rihanna , Kathy Perry, Beyonce, Justin Timberlake to name but a few. Comments about Keywests professional, impressive epic performances are highlighted as far as the US, with Los Angles Magazine writing “Reminiscent of bands from their homeland like U2 and Snow Patrol” ….. Keywest is the Band to watch and is expected to break out of Ireland on an International scale and follow such bands as The Script, Snow Patrol and U2.
Logo (PDF) Press Photo (JPG) Technical Specs (DOCX)
Official Profiles
Official Website Facebook Twitter YouTube
Music Agency2019-05-17T18:32:50+01:00
September 30th, 2018|Comments Off on State Lights
July 14th, 2018|Comments Off on Square Pegs
Ryan O’Shaughnessy
June 14th, 2018|Comments Off on Ryan O’Shaughnessy
Moya Brennan “The Voice Of Clannad”
August 10th, 2016|Comments Off on Moya Brennan “The Voice Of Clannad”
Write PEACH in this box
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Sustainable Aviation
Advanced Green Materials for Aerospace
Jet Fuel Production from Microalgae
Innovative Manufacturing of Aerospace Composite Structures
Membership Model
AMIC Lead Members
Malaysia – French Industrial Collaboration on R&T development in Malaysia
AMIC, MARA Aerospace And University Of Nottingham Collaborate On Aerospace Industry
Kuala Lumpur, May 2016 – A signing ceremony of a Memorandum of Agreement was held during the ICT-BIO Asia 2016 Regional Workshop at University of Malaya, between Aerospace Malaysia Innovation Centre (AMIC), Airbus Group, University of Malaya, and the French Embassy in Malaysia on a strategic collaboration entitled “Online Robot and Machine Planning in Virtual Environment”.
This project, lasting 24 months, brings forth a cooperation in research and development of a seamless interface between human and machine. The collaboration gathers subject matter experts from across the globe, and tackles the costly nature of robot programming, configuration, and validation, by developing a platform in a virtual environment.
In addition, the project will enable real-time numerical control program modification, remote control of robotic equipment over distance using a virtual environment system, increase flexibility in reconfiguration, execution and safety. The development of this project is industrially driven, and is aimed at developing core capabilities useful for the future of manufacturing in Malaysia.
In a statement during the ceremony, the CEO of AMIC, Mr. Razman Shah Rajab said, “this initiative will greatly drive the spirit of global industry-led R&T level in Malaysia especially on Virtual Reality and Robot Control”. This project is supported by the National Aerospace Industry Coordinating Office (NAICO) of MITI, who is an advocate for advancing the manufacturing capabilities in Malaysia, and is represented today by the Head of NAICO, Mr. Shamsul Kamar Abu Samah.
The workshop was also attended by the Deputy Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Datuk Dr. Abu Bakar Mohamad Diah and the Ambassador of France to Malaysia, His Excellency Christophe Penot.
AMIC Delivers on Successful First Project
The main ingredients to sustain the aerospace industry will be the focus on industry-led R&T activities.
Aerospace Malaysia Innovation Centre
Asia Aerospace City
NO. 3-6-01, Level 6, Kompleks Teknologi 3,
German Malaysian Institute,
Jalan Ilmiah, Taman Universiti,
43000 Selangor, MALAYSIA
Contact us: +603 8736 6000 / +6010 200 2058
Write us: support@amic.my
© 2020 Aerospace Malaysia Innovation Centre. All Rights Reserved. Muffin group
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搜狗输入法官网
惠普笔记本键盘
首页 >阿黛尔someone like you > 在线字体转换器 » 正文
危情三日高清下载
云南原书What was your impression of him? It was a wonderful meeting省委审查BEIJING - US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will visit China on Sept记秦接受30 at the invitation of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang said Wednesday危情三日高清下载光荣The training course on the Chinese lion dance is part of the 2017 China Africa Cultures in Focus, an activity held by the Bureau for External Cultural Relations of Chinese Ministry of Culture to strengthen the cultural communication between China and African countries调查They kept practicing from morning until night, trying to master the basic skills of lion dance, routines and instrumental music within a short period云南原书The cultural center of the Jinpu New Area has undertaken the course for three consecutive years since 2015省委审查The cultural center of the Jinpu New Area also arranged some courses for them to know about other traditional Chinese culture such as Chinese calligraphy, seal cutting, folk dance, paper-cutting, and pottery危情三日高清下载记秦接受During the 35-day training course, they learned from Li Mingxu, the fifth generation successor of the Jinzhou Lion Dance, a provincial intangible cultural heritage that has been passed from generation to generation for more than a century
光荣Ten students from Nigeria and Zambia learned how to perform Chinese lion dance at the Jinpu New Area in Dalian, Northeast China's Liaoning province调查What has it to do with dissolving the lower house now?" said Seiji Maehara, leader of the largest opposition Democratic Party危情三日高清下载云南原书They kept practicing from morning until night, trying to master the basic skills of lion dance, routines and instrumental music within a short period
省委审查The training course on the Chinese lion dance is part of the 2017 China Africa Cultures in Focus, an activity held by the Bureau for External Cultural Relations of Chinese Ministry of Culture to strengthen the cultural communication between China and African countries记秦接受The cultural center of the Jinpu New Area has undertaken the course for three consecutive years since 2015贵阳市电子地图光荣Only a short walk from the National Mall, it looks like a good place to live, work and hang out调查Hyra described the massive transformation in the U Street/Shaw area, where the city's once most infamous open-air drug market has become a farmers' market now selling grass-fed beef and homemade duck egg ravioli
危情三日高清下载The area has seen a sharp increase in the white population and skyrocketing property prices, a sign of gentrification in the Washington DCLocated in southwest Washington along the waterfront next to the famed Maine Avenue Fish Market, its first phase will open on Oct 12
Hyra described how the "dark ghetto" has been turned into a "gilded ghetto"Chen Weihua/China DailyHaving lived in Washington DC for almost five years, I have seen the city growing, with new construction and renovation projects happening in many streets and neighborhoodsHis book this year, Race, Class, and Politics in the Cappuccino City, is the result of his many years of field research on the issuesThe Wharf residential and business project I visited recently is probably one of the biggest
The U Street/Shaw and 14th Street area has fast been turned into an upscale neighborhood in recent years, with many new restaurants and shops opening and new apartment constructionThe area, a 90 percent black neighborhood just a few decades ago, was only 30 percent African American by 2010To Hyra, it has caused not just residential displacement for African Americans but also political and cultural displacementHe saw major issues of gentrification and segregation in Washington beneath the surface of rapid urban renewal
These changes may look pleasant, but not quite so to Derek Hyra, an associate professor at the American University School of Public Affairs and an expert on neighborhood changeThe 14th Street near U Street, a traditional African American neighborhood, is now lined up with hip restaurants and bars in this photo taken on Sunday
危情三日高清下载Whites are the majority now, accounting for 55 percent of the communityThe same urban renewal is happening in other parts of Washington
China will also be contributing technical expertise and equipment in the futureFile photo shows Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte supporters gather during a vigil backing the anti-drugs crackdown at the Luneta park in metro Manila, Philippines February 25, 2017It was found out that the drugs have been delivered to the Philippines and the Chinese officials immediately informed their Philippine counterparts, alerting them about the drug shipmentWith regard to the May 25 bust of a drug trafficking ring and seizure of 604 kilograms of crystal meth, according to the meeting, the Chinese Customs officials discovered the attempt to smuggle the illegal drugs into the PhilippinesPhilippine law enforcers seized the drugs around midnight and it took less than four hours for the cross-border operation to be implementedThe two sides refuted distorted reports recently published by certain media, stressing that the fake news were neither in the interests of bilateral anti-drug cooperation, nor in the interests of the two peoples
According to the meeting, real-time intelligence sharing, coordination, drug rehabilitation are just some of the practices that both countries are looking at in their anti-drug cooperationThe Chinese officials were from China's National Narcotics Control Commission and Ministry of Public Security while Philippine officials were from Philippines' Dangerous Drugs Board and Bureau of Customs
The Chinese side reiterated that like the current Philippine government, the Chinese government maintains "zero tolerance" policy on illicit drugs, calling on the two sides to further enhance and strengthen collaborative efforts to bust drug smugglersNoting that the anti-drug cooperation between China and the Philippines has gone through a long history and achieved fruitful results, the two sides said the current cooperation has entered an increasingly good period
[Photo/Agencies]MANILA - China and the Philippines have fully affirmed the positive results achieved so far in their anti-drug cooperation, vowing to further strengthen their cooperation in this regard in the futureThe comments and pledge came as officials from the two countries met here recently on the sidelines of the 11th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Transnational Crimes
The Chinese and Pakistani air forces have cooperated in planning and implementing strategies, as well as learning operational concepts and tactics from each other through sitting in the same fighter during the ongoing joint drills named "Shaheen VI" from Sept 7 to 27Chinese and Pakistani air force personnel sit in a Pakistani fighter after a joint drill in China, Sept 14, 2017Letting them work here can make better use of their contribution, and also working in a country can give the foreigners more opportunities to develop a more profound understanding of the countryIn the urban area of Hefei, there is a hill called Dashu Hill
I think China should attract even more foreigners, because from my own experience, having a look at the real China, not just the view from overseas, makes a big difference"China is developing very fast and will play more important roles in the world
The two countries must promote cooperation in many areas, but how can cooperation go well if our next generation doesn't understand Chinese?" Cho asked"In the past 21 years, I have witnessed great development achievements in China, and I believe the five years to come after the pending 19th CPC National Congress will bring the country a more prosperous future
Also, Xi has been very good at choosing the right people to work with himI was one of the torchbearers for the Beijing Olympic Games torch relay in Hefei in 2008
Impressed by how the history teacher had influenced her son, Cho has encouraged Chinese students to go to South KoreaTravelers had to change flights in Shanghai or Nanjing, Jiangsu provinceThe university was the first in the province to have such a courseShe also serves as an economic counselor for the Hefei Economic and Technological Development Area, where Hefei University is based, and the Hefei High-Tech Industry Development Zone
"My husband and I came to China - to Hefei - to fulfill my elder son's dreamHow to make the other countries believe a rapidly developing China is not a threat is really a tough issue
Within a year, she moved to the city with her husband, Park Nam-gyu, and her sonsI hope it can play a more important role in world peace in the future
危情三日高清下载"In the early years, transportation between Hefei and South Korea was not convenientIn 2002, she became the first person from her country to receive China's Friendship Award, the highest honor given to foreigners by the central government
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Anacaona's Daughters
Our Contributers
The beauty of the Hispaniola, they called her. A dark Taino maiden, hailed as the cacica (chief) of Xaragua- amongst the five rulers of Ayiti . She was a warrior, while yet hospitable. She was without fear, confidently finding herself and empowering others in an ever shifting landscape, a transient landscape, once harvesting lush pure pastures, quickly shifting polluted by streams of greed and fear. Her areitos ( ballads) came in as a cool breeze whispering soothing words of direction:
“There are times to cultivate and create, when you nurture your world and give birth to new ideas and ventures. There are times of flourishing and abundance when life feels in full bloom, energized and expanding. And there are times of fruition and then as things come to an end. And finally of course, there are times that are cold and cutting & empty times when the spring of new beginnings seems like a distant dream. These rhythms in life are natural. They weave into one another as day follows night, bringing neither messages of hope or fear but instead messages of how things are.”
As I maneuver through the world my identity as her daughter remains constant, while all the while ruminating through all that I consume.
…Our connections foster hope, my experiences nurture understanding; my spirit radiates light.
The question of how I relate to Anacoana is a fascinating one because while I feel intrinsically connected to her. My perception of her has definitely been sculpted by what I have learnt through textbooks, ballads and experiences. She has become a hero, and as heroes most often do; she has become a mix of the facts and the imagined. …of that which she was and the hope of whom I wanted her to be.
She is almost a mirage.
An example of solidarity, beauty, and strength.
An example of a life well lived, in constant pursuit of that which can be, that which should be. A life consumed by un-lookers worldwide. When the conquistadors traveled to the new world, she was among the first they would gaze upon as they attempted to make sense of the creatures that originally inhabited the island,
“.. an enchanting damsel with sun-kissed skin.”
In other accounts as she attempted to make sense of these new crusaders, her admiration quickly turned to hatred as their cruelty became apparent in their action towards her beloved nation. Her spirit unified her endangered people and instilled hope in a hopeless situation. While she was inherently peaceful her courage and ferocity is remembered by all.
As I look to the hills which continuously paint the backings of my narrative her spirit lives on through me.
-Chrivi
Chrivi
Reetchel
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The EmbassyAccess & Contact
Embassy Officer
AngolaAbout Angola
Angola-Japan Relations
President of the Republic
Consular SectionVisas & Notarial Services
HomeEvents44th ANNIVERSARY OF THE INDEPENDENCE OF THE REPUBLIC OF ANGOLA 2019_11_11_3105
EMBASSY OF THE REPUBLIC OF ANGOLA IN JAPAN
Closed on weekends and national holidays of Japan and the Republic of Angola.
The national holidays of the Republic of Angola in 2020 are:
January 1 (New Year),
February 3 (Bridge, Beginning of the Armed Fight for National Liberation),
February 4 (Beginning of the Armed Fight for National Liberation),
February 25 (Carnival),
March 8 (International Woman’s Day),
March 23 (Southern Africa Liberation Day),
April 4 (Peace Day),
April 10 (Good Friday),
May 1 (May Day),
September 17 (Day of the Fouder of the Nation and the National Hero),
September 18 (Bridge, Day of the Fouder of the Nation and the National Hero),
November 2 (All Souls’ Day),
November 11 (Independence Day),
December 25 (Christmas).
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One Tweet World
Apr 23, 2009By Winstanley Partners
Twitter. When it comes to creating a snapshot of this online zeitgeist, Sprint perhaps put it best recently, in their new ad dubbed ‘What’s Happening.’
“233,000 people just Twittered on Twitter,” the announcer reports. “26-percent of you viewing this have no idea what that means.”
Indeed, Twitter is a still-evolving phenomenon that has some staunch followers — CNN, Ashton Kutcher, and Oprah Winfrey among them — as well as some naysayers. But, most people out of the Twitter loop are merely stymied by this new, micro-blogging craze. The basic idea is to relay, or Tweet, what you’re doing in 140 characters or less. From a business and marketing stand-point, it’s a robust outlet for asking questions (and getting answers), promoting new work, and creating an overall dialogue within the Twittersphere.
The underlying theory behind Twitter is that we’re all more interesting than we think, and Tweeting something as simple as the new recipe you tried for dinner last night could lead to someone clicking over to your company’s Web site. From there, the rest is gravy.
Essentially, It’s all about seeking out, forging, and building relationships. Twitter opens one’s world to thousands, if not millions, of people they would otherwise never know, and speeds up word-of-mouth, ‘tell two friends’ advertising. As such, social media sites like Twitter can be powerful business tools that are also personally enriching.
It’s best to research ‘Twittequette’ before diving in, though – for a great primer on Twitter for business, check out Michael Gasses’ Fuel Lines blog.
Jaclyn Stevensonis the director of public relations for Winstanley Partners. She was in a band in the nineties that once had a song appear on Mtv – for 10 whole seconds.
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Latest Information 2017-09-22
The Final Basic Assessment Report was released 2017-09-22.
The earliest anticipated commencement of any construction works will be 2nd quarter 2018. However, it is an estimated date and it also depends on the outcome of the Environmental Assessment and other necessary applications. Comments closed on 23rd October.
The major change from the earlier proposals of June 2017 is that the roundabout at 10th Ave / Roland Krynauw will be moved to the entrance of Pirates Creek. The proposed access road joining Roland Krynauw to Pirates Creek has been dropped so residents will have to turn left on joining the N2 and do a u-turn at the Southside/Zumdorf circle to travel east. On returning from the village/George direction it will be necessary to do a u-turn at the Pirates Creek circle.
Locality Map
Information Sheet (this details all the proposals)
Final Basic Assessment Report
Note the documents including the individual appendices referenced in the DBAR can be downloaded by clicking this link. They are listed at the bottom of the pages.
Summary of the revised proposals for the N2 upgrade as at 2017-09-29
The letters in parantheses refer to a map put together by WRRA which can be displayed in a new tab by clicking this line
Work on the upgrades will probably start during the 2nd quarter 2018
The project is expected to last between 3 1/2 and 4 years and stretches over 15 kms. Sections of about 3 kms will be worked on
It is planned that there will be no stop-goes as single lane traffic in both directions should be maintained.
The upgraded section will become a four lane dual carriageway throughout
Street lighting will be added so that it will be continuous from the village to Die Vleie (O)
From the new roundabout at Zundorf Lane / Southside Street (H) east to Die Vleie (O) , the road is proposed to be upgraded to a four-lane divided highway with two lanes in each direction, a raised median, and surfaced shoulders.
Some re-alignment from the previous proposals has been made to minimise environmental concerns.
Along the reconstructed road all but two right turns onto and off the N2 have been eliminated. For example, exiting from Sands Road to travel towards Sedgefield means turning left and doing a 180 at the circle into the village. Entering Sands Road from the George direction drivers will either do a 180 at the village circle and enter via Station Road or do a 180 at the Southside/Zundorf circle and enter via Sands Road.
Protected right turns will remain when travelling from George into the parking area at Kaaimans (D) and into the small housing development in George Street (to the west of the entrance into the village) (E) when travelling west.
In discussions with the consultants after the first proposals there was a commitment to no stop-goes. However, we are not certain whether this still holds as it was before the introduction of the circles.
The following is a summary of the proposals starting from Kraaibosch
A new service road will be constructed to the south (seaside) of the N2 in the vicinity of "Rademachers" to provide access to Victoria Heights (A)
A new roundabout at the entrance to Victoria Bay (B)
A new service road on the north of the N2 to provide access to Far Hills and other residents while a similar access road will be provided on the southside. The N2 will be widened to four lanes while retaining the compulsory truck stop. (C)
The Kaaimans Pass will be widened to four lanes. The parking area will be formalised and a boardwalk constructed to allow pedestrian access to the beach in a safe environment rather than having to walk alongside the N2. (D)
The residential area (Yes it is George Street) west of the village on the north side of the N2 will retain access when travelling west.(E)
Station Road will no longer be accessible when travelling east. It will remain open for left turns into and out of the road. Similarly for Sands Road (F)
A new circle at the entrance to the village. (G)
A new circle at Zundorf Lane / Southside Street (H)
A new circle at 10th Ave/Die Duin - this has been removed in this final proposal (I)
Anchorage Lane and Pirates Creek
A new roundabout is proposed at Die Duin (northern section) with an access road at Pirates Creek. The roundabout was initially located at Roland Krynauw Street but was subsequently removed and relocated to Pirates Creek due to reasons outlined in the Final BAR. (J):
A new circle at Buxton Close / Dumbleton Crescent (K)
A new circle at the Hoekwil Road (L)
The existing circle at the Waves will be retained. (M)
A road underpass will be constructed between North Street and 8th Avenue at Peters Road. Left-only accesses will be retained at North Street and Grants Place. This will provide for left-only access to North Street and the residential areas south of the highway. The underpass is specified at the N2 is elevated at that point and a circle would require extensive ground works and retaining walls to elevate the required area for a circle. See comments below :(N)
A new circle at Die Vleie, with a new road linking directly to Erica Street at Gousblom Crescent in Kleinkrantz. (O)
The pedestrian / cycling path on the south of the N2 - it is not clear that this will be retained as the road from the Touw River to Die Vleie will be four lane with 2,5m shoulders which it is stated will accomodate cyclists.
Comments about the nned for the upgrade and in particular the underpass at North & Grant
The N2 is a key national road. Improvements are being made on sections along its whole length. Most of the other key national roads are fortunate that they are able to eliminate urban problems by relocating the road to bypass the towns. The N2 is unfortunate in that topography and environmental concerns means it is not able to find alternative routes in many locations. Wilderness is particularly unfortunate in this regard as even minor re-routings are not possible.
The road currently caries an average in excess of 1100 trucks per day and this is expected to continue to grow. Similarly local private and tourist traffic is growing rapidly.
To improve safety the strategy is to try to eliminate right turns onto and off the N2. The area around the North and Grants Place/8th Ave junction has been a source of concern for some time due to the speed of traffic and reckless overtaking.
One option was to simply close the Grant Place and North Street junctions for right turns and only allow left turns. This would mean that someone normally right turning from Grant Place to travel towards Sedgefield would have had to drive through the suburb to access the existing roundabout at the Waves.
The alternative of putting a roundabout at the junction was initially proposed but further consideration led to this being rejected. The height difference between the N2 and surrounding land meant that massive earth works and/or large concrete retaining walls would have been required to create adequate width. The height differences actually work in favour of an underpass so that limited earth works will be required.
The North and Grant Place junctions will be retained to allow left turns for traffic entering the N2. Due to height differences it is not possible to have the underpass directly linked to the North Street junction.
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+ HB 96 PIONEERS' HOME AND VETERANS' HOME RATES TELECONFERENCED
-- Testimony <Invited/Public> --
+ SB 37 RENEWAL OF VACCINE ASSESSMENT PROGRAM TELECONFERENCED
OTHER LEGISLATORS PRESENT
Representative Andi Story
"An Act relating to Alaska Pioneers' Home and Alaska Veterans'
"An Act relating to the statewide immunization program; and
02/08/19 (S) DP: WILSON, BEGICH, COGHILL, STEVENS,
REPRESENTATIVE ZACK FIELDS
POSITION STATEMENT: As prime sponsor, presented HB 96.
TRISTAN WALSH, Staff
POSITION STATEMENT: On behalf of Representative Fields, prime
sponsor of HB 96, answered questions regarding the bill.
CLINTON LASLEY, Director
Division of Alaska Pioneer Homes
Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS)
POSITION STATEMENT: Answered questions regarding HB 96.
BRAD RIDER
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of HB 96.
FRED KOKEN
LUANN MCVEY
Douglas, Alaska
MARK BADGER
SHARON LONG
ROCKY PLOTNICK
JANET MACCLARENCE
JUSTIN PARISH
DEBBIE TILSWORTH
URBAN RAHOI
BARBARA PARKER
SUSAN CARTER
CAROL KLOPF
WILLIAM HARRINGTON
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified during hearing of HB 96.
POSITION STATEMENT: Introduced CSSB 37(FIN) as the sponsor of
the bill.
JANE CONWAY, Staff
POSITION STATEMENT: On behalf of Senator Giessel, sponsor,
presented a sectional analysis of CSSB 37(FIN).
LILY LOU, MD
Division of Public Health
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified and answered questions regarding
CSSB 37(FIN).
JILL LEWIS, Deputy Director (Juneau)
POSITION STATEMENT: Provided a PowerPoint presentation titled
"SB 37 Renewal of Alaska Vaccine Assessment Program."
DAVID TEAL, Legislative Fiscal Analyst
Director, Legislative Finance Division
Legislative Agencies and Offices
NANCY MERRIMAN, Executive Director
Alaska Primary Care Association (Alaska PCA)
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of CSSB 37(FIN).
PATTY OWEN, Director
Alaska Public Health Association
Representatives Drummond, Tarr, Spohnholz, and Zulkosky were
present at the call to order. Representative Pruitt arrived as
the meeting was in progress.
HB 96-PIONEERS' HOME AND VETERANS' HOME RATES
CO-CHAIR ZULKOSKY announced that the first order of business
would be HOUSE BILL NO. 96, "An Act relating to Alaska Pioneers'
Home and Alaska Veterans' Home rates and services." [Before the
committee was CSHB 96(STA).]
REPRESENTATIVE ZACK FIELDS, Alaska State Legislature, As prime
sponsor, presented HB 96. He said the bill's goal is to keep
Alaska's Pioneer Homes thriving. He explained that inflation
has reduced the real value of rates paid at the Pioneer Homes.
He said rates have been adjusted a few times since 2004, but
rates have not kept pace with inflation. He said CSHB 96(STA)
would rebase rates to keep pace with inflation since 2004. It
would give the Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS)
the ability to have care levels of Level IV and Level V.
Representative Fields stated that there is a need for higher
intensity of care, given that the average age of residents has
risen to about 87, and given a growing population of residents
with dementia. Consistent with the Agnew Beck Report [November
29, 2018], the proposed bill would allow a Level V care, which
is a totally separate billing structure for what the department
and Agnew Beck envision as behavioral health neighborhoods.
These neighborhoods would be physically separate but still
within the Pioneer Homes. He emphasized the importance of
behavioral health neighborhoods for broader cost control and
quality of care issues.
REPRESENTATIVE FIELDS stated the CSHB 96(STA) would effect a
change from a Consumer Price Index (CPI) to a Social Security
cost-of-living adjustment (COLA), which the department has
indicated is its preference. He remarked that he does not have
a strong preference on what the index rate is. He pointed out
that the CSHB 96(STA) represents a substantive compromise
between the original bill and where the department is trying to
REPRESENTATIVE FIELDS noted that the first Pioneer Home was
established in 1913 in Sitka. The Pioneer Homes expanded
steadily throughout the Twentieth Century, with the newest home
constructed in Juneau in 1988, and there are currently homes in
six communities. There was a major improvement in 2007 when
Representative Shaw helped establish the first certified
Veterans' Home in Palmer while he was the commissioner of the
Department of Military and Veterans Affairs.
REPRESENTATIVE FIELDS explained that the rates at the Pioneer
Homes are established by regulation. Because the rates have
failed to keep pace with inflation going back to 2004, the state
has lost about 15 percent of real value since then. He said
CSHB 96(STA) would make a significant rate update to keep pace
with inflation. Unique about the Pioneer Homes is the mix of
residents in terms of income levels and intensity of care. A
large percentage of residents are private pay, and while the
rates currently don't capture the full cost of care, they do
capture a substantial amount of the cost of care.
REPRESENTATIVE FIELDS discussed the topic of what would be a
sustainable financial model long into the future for the Pioneer
Homes. He said it is to the state's and department's advantage
to maintain a robust share of residents who are private pay,
whether they are paying full cost of care or 70-90 percent of
the cost of care. If 51 percent of the residents are paying at
least a substantial portion of the cost of care, that is a more
secure place to be financially than if 100 percent of the
residents are being completely subsidized, because that would
entail more general fund obligations to the Pioneer Homes.
REPRESENTATIVE FIELDS stated he is concerned about the
department's proposed new rates, because the rate jumps are so
high and the rate levels so high that many fewer self-paying
residents will enter and stay in the Pioneer Homes. He posited
that rather than simply capturing those much higher rates, there
would be adverse selection and the population at the Pioneer
Homes would quickly shift to a much larger percentage of
residents who are almost wholly being subsidized by the state.
REPRESENTATIVE FIELDS said he supports the State of Alaska
subsidizing residents to the extent necessary, including to
seniors with less means. However, he cautioned, the legislature
should be careful to not unintentionally push out self-paying
residents. Even a resident paying 80 percent of the cost of
care is a lot more than 0 percent. That is an important part of
the financial sustainability of the Pioneer Homes going forward
and, hence, the rates in the proposed bill are a compromise.
REPRESENTATIVE FIELDS said there are currently three levels of
care. He related that internally DHSS is preparing, including
through regulation, to go to five levels of care, which is
consistent with the Agnew Beck recommendations that are very
detailed and based on good research. The bill before the
committee would allow five levels of care and would not cap base
Level V because that is a separate category of reimbursement for
much more intensive behavioral health care where a much higher
reimbursement rate can be captured than the daily Medicaid rate
for assisted living. Pioneer Homes are assisted living, not
nursing homes, and because of that [the state] has a more
limited ability to capture a higher daily rate from Medicaid.
Pioneer Homes happen to be a relatively more acute intense form
of assisted living, but they are still assisted living, and that
does limit [the state's] federal revenue potential.
REPRESENTATIVE FIELDS stated that while the rates proposed under
CSHB 96(STA) are a significant [increase], they are a much more
modest increase for Levels I, II, and III. The proposed bill
would allow a new Level IV, plus a new Level V that is not
capped, based on the ability to capture potentially more
revenue.
REPRESENTATIVE FIELDS provided a comparison of rates: current
costs of care that go back to 2004 for Levels I, II, and III; a
comparison of the current monthly rate with the department's
proposed rates; and the rates proposed under CSHB 96(STA). The
bill represents a compromise and would cap rate increases in the
future to the Social Security cost-of-living adjustment (COLA),
which would provide certainty for residents following the
significant bump in rates to catch up with inflation. He said
this is important for residents and for older folks and families
who are saving for their final years.
REPRESENTATIVE TARR observed sponsor information stating that
the rate increases may be annual and then will be capped at the
most recent Social Security COLA. She asked whether
consideration was given between the words "may" and "shall". A
challenge she has seen over the years is that in some
circumstances, using "may" creates a need to allow for receipt
authority, so [DHSS] could collect more in fees. She inquired
whether "shall do an annual adjustment" should be used so that
it is built in.
TRISTAN WALSH, Staff, Representative Zack Fields, Alaska State
Legislature, replied that CSHB 96(STA) describes the rate
increase mechanism on page 4, lines 17-21, Section 4(g), and the
word "shall" is used. He explained he used "may" in the
PowerPoint because the Social Security cost-of-living adjustment
isn't necessarily always raised, sometimes it is held flat.
REPRESENTATIVE TARR expressed her hope that this would set up a
new way of doing things because the Pioneer Home is not the only
state service that has been limited in this way, where the user
of the service would be willing to pay more if the state were
asking more.
REPRESENTATIVE FIELDS resumed his presentation. He talked about
what the Social Security COLA has been historically. The rates
of inflation were much higher in the 1970s, and in recent years
they have been more modest. This provision in the bill would
allow for keeping pace with gradual increases in costs.
CO-CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ inquired about the relationship between the
Social Security COLA and the CPI and asked why the Social
Security COLA was picked versus the CPI.
MR. WALSH responded that in discussions with the department,
DHSS related that it has historically preferred the Social
Security COLA because that is more directly linked to most
residents' direct source of income. Broadly speaking the Social
Security COLA is still largely relative to the CPI, so they
generally track with each other.
REPRESENTATIVE FIELDS summarized that CSHB 96(STA) would provide
certainty for the residents and for the department. It would
provide more certainty for DHSS in terms of capturing some
additional revenue, but hopefully at prices that are affordable
for residents. The bill would ensure timely and orderly rate
increases, and these would be more regular than in the past.
Limiting the rate increases to the rate of inflation as per the
Social Security COLA would provide peace of mind to the
residents. The proposed update to the levels of care would more
accurately correspond to the population of residents who are
currently in the Pioneer Homes, which has many older residents
and a higher and growing percentage of residents with dementia.
REPRESENTATIVE TARR inquired about the bill's fiscal notes.
REPRESENTATIVE FIELDS replied the fiscal notes are complex. He
said historically the Pioneer Homes have been subsidized through
general fund. The administration's proposal is general fund and
payment assistance. The bill is written so it would maintain
the department's flexibility to use general fund funding for
general support of the Pioneer Homes and payment assistance.
The bill would give DHSS the ability to shift more to a need
based model while still allowing for the prices to be below the
cost of care for some levels of care. The bill would raise
revenue relative to the status quo. He deferred to Mr. Lasley
of DHSS to explain the fiscal notes.
CLINTON LASLEY, Director, Central Office, Division of Alaska
Pioneer Homes, Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS),
stated that the budget put forward by the governor, and then
amended by the governor at the end of March, would raise rates
reflective of what it truly costs to provide services. The
structure in which the fiscal notes were set up was that the
entire general fund (GF) portion of the Pioneer Homes component,
which is the component that operates the homes themselves, was
removed and general funds were put into a new component that was
specifically for assisting those individuals that need
assistance to pay, so it is a payment assistance component. In
the subcomponent for the Pioneer Homes payment assistance
component there is $20.9 million, but in the governor's proposal
there is no funding and currently the $33 million that has been
in the Pioneer Homes component is no longer there. The purpose
of that was because current statute protects all elders who live
in any of the Pioneer Homes such that if they cannot pay the
rates that are charged, they may apply for the payment
assistance program. Statute specifies how that program is
managed and there are specifications on income limits and what
portion a resident may keep for personal needs and for federal
taxes and a spouse in the community. The remaining portion
would be paid to the Pioneer Homes and whatever the difference
between the rates at the Pioneer Homes and the amount that the
resident needs for assistance would be paid by the state -
historically out of normal general funds, but under the
governor's proposal it would come out of a new component which
is specifically only to be used for payment assistance, so for
those that truly need assistance.
REPRESENTATIVE FIELDS interjected that a key question here is,
What is the elasticity of demand for people to enter and stay in
a Pioneer Home? He argued that by setting price points at the
cost of care the department's assumption is that demand for the
Pioneer Homes is highly inelastic - whatever price is set,
people are going to enter the Pioneer Homes at that level. He
said it is fair to assume that demand for the Pioneer Homes is
relatively inelastic, but that it definitely isn't completely
inelastic. This bill is important because right now 51 percent
of the residents are self-paid people and it is really important
to retain a payer mix that includes some self-pay along with
people who are very reliant on the state for subsidies. Losing
the self-pay population is not wanted. From a financial
perspective it is better to have someone who is paying 80-90
percent of the cost of a given level of care than it is to have
someone who is paying 0 percent of the cost.
REPRESENTATIVE FIELDS related that he compared prices for
assisted living throughout the region. He said he found that
the cost of assisted living in the Pacific Northwest frequently
ranges between $5,000 and $6,000 per month, which is why the
bill has an attractive rate structure to get people in the door.
It would remain competitive at Level II and would be
significantly more expensive at Levels III and IV, but he is
trying to get people in the door because that self-pay
population is really important for the financial health of the
Pioneer Homes. He has no objection to the ethical decision that
[the state] should go to a need-based model. As proposed by the
Pioneer Homes, his concern is an economic one. If prices are
set too high in a competitive marketplace, customers will be
lost. There aren't a lot of institutions out there like the
Pioneer Homes, but when families are looking around the country,
regardless of whether they have limited or significant means, if
the prices are that high, he is worried the Pioneer Homes will
lose a significant percentage of the self-pay population.
REPRESENTATIVE TARR acknowledged that there is a fast growing
senior population and so it seems that demand won't be a
problem. She said she appreciates the department wanting to
make sure there were funds available for people who didn't have
the ability to pay and she also appreciates the move toward
capturing the people who can. She noted the bill would raise
the rates and secondarily would try to maintain this new
[needs]-based pot of money that was going to be the general fund
portion. The fiscal note says the difference would be $13
million to fund the gap between charge rates and full cost of
services for the residents on private pay. There would be some
increase in revenue from the increased rates and hopefully a
healthy percentage of fully private-pay people would be
maintained. The increased rates would also help offset what is
trying to be accomplished by having the needs-based system. She
asked how to blend the two sets of numbers.
MR. LASLEY responded that the current structure of the Pioneer
Homes is a needs-based system, but [the department] has not been
charging the rates that reflect the needs. Therefore, everyone
who lives in the Pioneer Homes, regardless of whether they are
private pay today, is being subsidized by the state and this is
anywhere from 40 percent to a little over 100 percent. That is
where the $33 million the department has been spending in
general fund in the Pioneer Homes component comes in because the
department isn't charging rates equivalent. Under CSHB 96(STA),
if the current pair mix and the current level of care mix in the
home is looked at and what is anticipated for fiscal year (FY)
2020, the maximum amount that [the department] would be able to
charge is $13 million less than what it costs to provide the
service. There would need to be $13 million in general fund in
the Pioneer Homes component in order to make up, because under
the current proposal from the governor the payment assistance
component is only for payment assistance. For example, if the
rate was $13,000 and [the department] was only charging $10,000,
[the department] couldn't draw that extra $3,000 a month from
the payment assistance component because the resident is not
truly on payment assistance, [the department] is not charging
the resident for it. Same today - for those individuals who are
on Medicaid, for example, [the department] charges a rate for
Medicaid, [the department] only gets a certain reimbursement
rate; that cannot be drawn down from payment assistance. "And
so," Mr. Lasley continued, the intent of this from the
governor's bill is to truly charge what it costs to provide
services knowing that there is the protection in place that
those individuals that are on Medicaid - it would not affect
Medicaid Waiver because we have a set rate - those individuals
that are currently on payment assistance it would not affect in
any way because they're already paying the maximum amount that
they can under the formula of the payment assistance program.
And those individuals who are currently private pay, but still
being subsidized by the state, would pay what they could pay
under the payment assistance formula that's set in statute and
the remainder amount would be subsidized by the state and be
captured in that payment assistance component.
REPRESENTATIVE TARR surmised the difference is from the $33
million to the $13 million. The bill would get [the state] $20
million ahead in the financial problem because it would go from
the $33 million for the general fund subsidy down to $13 million
with implementation of the bill.
MR. LASLEY answered there still would be the $33 million; just
$20 million is in the payment assistance general fund component
and $13 million. When doing the original analysis for proposing
the rate increases, and looking at the budget and how to pay for
services if [the state] truly needs to not spend more than what
it is earning, [the state] can't earn the money if [the state]
is not at least charging for it. Proposing rate increases of
that amount was not an easy decision to make. The proposal put
forward is a true needs-based system, [the state] is not
subsidizing those individuals who may have the ability to pay
for the services. Everyone would use the program that is set
forward under statute, which is payment assistance, and pay what
they can pay, and the remainder would be subsidized by the
state. So, in any of these proposals the general fund amount
really doesn't change, it just is where the money is coming from
whether it is coming from true payment assistance or mandating
the $13 million under the bill because not enough is being
charged to provide the services. In the initial analysis of
raising the rates to what it truly costs to provide services it
was estimated that revenue would be increased by about $5.7
million, which is still nowhere near what it costs [the state]
to provide the service.
REPRESENTATIVE FIELDS said the aforementioned is a good
description. Put another way, he continued, is that either the
bill or the proposed rates and regulation would increase revenue
to the state next year. If the administration's regulations
went through, the question is how much of that would actually be
captured in revenue because very few people will be able to pay
that. The Medicaid daily rate for residential support living is
$162.70 per day, which comes out to a little less than $5,000
per month. So, once the department has captured people's assets
and they have qualified for Medicaid, the state is not going to
capture anywhere near the department's advertised rates. If the
department adopts these rates, the question is what will be the
gap between advertised rate and what the state actually
captures. An analogous question is what the complex interaction
will be in two to five years of some private-pay people
departing from the Pioneer Homes. Representative Fields posited
that there would be a larger mix of people who are effectively
paying nothing or are on the Medicaid daily rate. But under his
bill, he posited further, more of those private-pay people would
stay in the system with the relatively more affordable rates.
Either way the state is going to increase revenue in the short
term and his hope is that revenue is increased in a sustainable
manner that does not unintentionally push private-pay people out
CO-CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ requested clarification from Representative
Fields that he said only 54 percent are currently self-pay.
REPRESENTATIVE FIELDS clarified that 51 percent are self-pay.
He acknowledged Mr. Lasley correctly stated that self-pay is not
self-pay per se, because they are not paying the full rate.
However, he continued, they are paying a significant amount that
does make the homes more financially sustainable. He wants to
ensure that [the Pioneer Homes] still have a large self-pay
population even if it is only 80 percent of the full cost.
CO-CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ compared the current rates to those proposed
by the administration and those proposed by CSHB 96(STA). She
noted that for Level I the current rate is almost $2,600 a
month, the administration has proposed $3,800 a month, and the
bill proposes $3,100, which is still a substantial increase in
rates. For the highest [level] the current rate is about
$6,800, the administration is proposing $13,000, and the bill
proposes $10,000.
REPRESENTATIVE FIELDS responded that Level IV is a challenging
level because these are largely going to be folks with dementia
with a very high acuity level for assisted living. He said he
doesn't know that $10,000 is the perfect number, but $13,000 is
such a high rate compared to other assisted living care in this
region that it could cause people to flee and deter them from
ever entering the Pioneer Homes to begin with.
CO-CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ asked Mr. Lasley whether dementia patients
are typically Level IV, because her understanding was that these
patients are typically Level V. She requested Mr. Lasley
describe the difference between Level IV and Level V.
MR. LASLEY answered that a little over 50 percent of the elders
in the Pioneer Homes are at the current Level III, the highest
level of care, and those individuals primarily would move to the
new Level IV. He said the gap is primarily in [the current]
Level II. Individuals move into the home at Level I or Level
II, but there is a big gap at the Level II because the current
Level II requires that the individual only receive nursing care
during the day. As individuals age in place they maybe don't
need 24-hour a day nursing care seven days a week, so they don't
move to the current Level III. As their acuity level continues
to increase, they sort of get trapped at that high level of II
because they don't meet that definition of Level III. So, [the
Pioneer Homes would] try to move the current 50 percent of the
population up to a Level IV, and then Level II would be split
into two levels of care. The Level V that is proposed is
individuals with complex behaviors that [the Pioneer Homes] are
not currently serving.
CO-CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ stated that a current challenge in providing
for Alaska's elder community is ensuring adequate care for
people with dementia. She inquired about the difference between
Level IV and Level V as they relate to that and further inquired
what "complex care" means. She requested Mr. Lasley to be more
specific about the kinds of care at Level V and whether care is
being provided to people with dementias at Level IV.
MR. LASLEY replied that the proposed Level V, complex behaviors,
are individuals with dementia that may have excessive wandering,
elopement issues where they try to leave the building, self-
harm, aggressive to themselves or others. Under the current
model, the Pioneer Homes have not been caring for this
population, but oftentimes these individuals are inappropriately
placed in emergency rooms or maybe the Alaska Psychiatric
Institute (API). Last year capital funding was requested to
help take a neighborhood within the Anchorage Pioneer Home and
build out a complex behavior neighborhood to serve that need.
Current Level III individuals with dementia can progress in the
dementia through their life, so [the homes] may have individuals
at the lower level of dementia all the way up to starting some
wandering or a lot of memory loss, who cannot do activities of
daily living on their own, and then all the way to the point of
getting closer to end of life to where they are heavy dementia
but bedridden. So there is a large gap in there.
REPRESENTATIVE FIELDS added that Level V is an important thing
to mention because this is actually a significant cost savings
opportunity for the state at large. Right now there are folks
who could be in a prospective behavioral health neighborhood in
the Anchorage Pioneer Home. These folks currently cost the
state over $500,000 a year at API or similar levels at other
facilities that aren't well suited for these seniors; API is
really not an ideal place to house these seniors. So, while it
sounds expensive to have Level V in the Pioneer Homes, the Agnew
Beck Report details that this would actually save the state a
lot of money and would be safer for seniors.
CO-CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ agreed with the aforementioned, noting that
back-of-the-hand math indicates it costs the state about $40,000
a month to keep somebody at API. He said if it can be done at
half of that at the Pioneer Home, which is a more supportive and
home-like environment, that is probably better for everyone. As
well, it would be a very significant cost savings and would
ensure that API can be used for people that only API can care
for, which is a very significant population.
REPRESENTATIVE FIELDS related that Mr. Lasley did a good job
describing to the State Affairs Standing Committee how the
population at the Pioneer Homes has changed over time. Mr.
Lasley said the population used to be more of a cocktail hour
crowd self-supporting people who have a great assisted living
facility to live out their final years. Whereas now it is an
older population with a greater spectrum and higher acuity of
need and CSHB 96(STA) really reflects that. The Level V shows
how much that spectrum has broadened as the needs have changed.
CO-CHAIR ZULKOSKY asked whether it is correct that the Pioneer
Homes, through regulation, are able to adjust the rates with or
without this legislation.
REPRESENTATIVE FIELDS confirmed that is correct. He said the
bill would effectively cap the extent to which the Pioneer Homes
can raise the rates and it would allow the Pioneer Homes to
capture significantly more revenue. However, the bill would not
allow the Pioneer Homes to set as high of rates as proposed in
the current draft regulations.
CO-CHAIR ZULKOSKY offered her understanding that the bill does
increase rates as Co-Chair Spohnholz indicated, but with an
intention to find some rationale for basing those costs and also
finding some compromise in bringing in receipts where possible.
REPRESENTATIVE FIELDS confirmed that is correct. He related he
has heard from many people who are scared or angry about the
proposed rate increases. He sympathizes with the department and
how DHSS wants to capture new revenue, but he thinks it is
really important to share respect for the state's elders and
have rates that are affordable and that the Pioneer Homes
(indisc.).
REPRESENTATIVE PRUITT asked when the rates had last been
changed.
MR. LASLEY responded that there was an 8.5 percent rate increase
in 2016, a 1 percent [increase] in 2017, which was equivalent to
Social Security, and no rate increase in 2018.
REPRESENTATIVE PRUITT surmised the rates have been changed
fairly regularly as needed.
MR. LASLEY answered that they have not been raised at a rate
that has kept up with inflation. He said the department is
trying to make a correction now and then come up with a
methodology in policy that would set an expectation that rates
would be raised (indisc.) some form, whether it be CPI or Social
Security. There are many variations of CPI. A health care
economist recently advised him that [the department] should be
looking at the health care CPI, which is much higher than the
CPI shown in the slides from Representative Fields. Last year,
for instance, health care CPI in the state of Alaska was 7
percent. So, the challenge has been that even with rate
increases, this bill does not get to what it truly costs [the
department] to provide service. Secondly, [the department] is
not keeping up with the cost of health care in the state of
REPRESENTATIVE PRUITT inquired about the annual increase in
delivering care through the Pioneer Homes.
MR. LASLEY replied that after talking with the health care
economist he looked at the budgets from the past 15 years and
looked at the cost of health care CPI for urban Alaska, which is
the sector to look at, and the cost is right in line with the
health care CPI. On average in the state of Alaska it is about
4.5-5.0 percent a year for health care cost in the state, and
last year was 7 percent.
REPRESENTATIVE PRUITT surmised that those changes are made
through a regulation change with a public process and comment
time, so therefore it takes a bit of time to make those changes.
MR. LASLEY responded correct. He said that currently when [the
department] puts forward the proposed rate increases it's not
like [the department] is saying this is the rates that are going
to be; [the department] is not mandating that these are the
rates at the end of the regulatory process. The purpose of the
process being in regulation is to allow for public comment. It
is now currently published and is a 60-day process, and during
the 60 days individuals have the ability to either make comment
through public meetings or send them in writing. All of that
information is then gathered, and the commissioner looks at all
of that data and determines what is in the best interest of the
department and the division and the elders.
REPRESENTATIVE PRUITT asked whether the bill would provide the
ability to recover costs and [make] change, or whether the bill
would provide a cap and once that cap was hit there would be no
way to recover any costs or make those changes or go through the
60-day process of changing regulations to deal with the impact
of increased CPI for medical in Alaska.
MR. LASLEY answered that, if passed, the bill would take the
ability for the department to manage the finances of the
division and put it with the legislature since it would become
statute, so [the department] would not have the regulatory
REPRESENTATIVE PRUITT remarked that this would be a classic
scenario of "it takes an act of Congress to make a change
there. In this case it would take an act of the legislature to
be able to make these changes. He inquired about how easy it
would be to make changes in this particular case and whether Mr.
Lasley sees this as pretty much permanent. Representative
Pruitt posited that the fiscal note is probably wrong in regard
to the set amount of cost and therefore it should be expected
that there would be an increase to the State of Alaska in
general fund because the number will have been set at a specific
amount that cannot be raised.
MR. LASLEY replied it would be the anticipation under this bill
that the department would have to come before the legislature
every year and re-look at this because if anything changes and
there is additional cost to the division there is no way to
recapture those funds and they would be set in statute and [the
department] would be set to a formula that it has no way of
managing. As the subject matter experts the department would
have to come and ask for a change.
REPRESENTATIVE FIELDS noted that as a practical reality, CPI has
risen twice as fast as rates since 2004 and, as pointed out by
Mr. Lasley, health care costs have grown much faster than that.
So, he said, the regulatory process has not kept up with costs.
He pointed out that the bill would re-base rates to take into
account some of the growth in costs. There is a point beyond
which price increases are kind of theoretical because of
people's ability to pay. The charge could be $30,000 a month,
but if no one can actually pay that then more money isn't
actually being captured and helping the financial situation of
the Pioneer Homes. It is important to have rates that are
reality based that people can pay.
REPRESENTATIVE PRUITT stated that his point was just made by
Representative Fields. Rates haven't increased at the level
that it costs; rates have been increased through the regulatory
process at half the CPI. [The bill] would set in statute the
inability to raise them at all, so as the CPI increases [the
department] is going to have to come in front of [the
legislature] every single time [the department] has to make an
adjustment. Setting a rate from which to start this particular
year may make sense, but [the bill] doesn't give the ability to
recoup the cost going forward and that is a binding of the
hands. This legislation doesn't look to the future, it looks to
what the current situation is and isn't forward thinking.
CO-CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ offered her understanding that CSHB 96(STA)
would re-base the rates and would allow for rates to be adjusted
annually based on Social Security cost-of-living adjustment.
REPRESENTATIVE FIELDS confirmed Co-Chair Spohnholz is correct.
Addressing Representative Pruitt, he said the bill does look
forward. By giving the department the authority to raise rates
annually it's designed to keep [the state] from falling back
into this hole like [the stated] did last time.
CO-CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ said that in many respects CSHB 96(STA) is
designed to be forward thinking and to make sure that the cost-
of-living adjustment is taken into account and that a major
reform effort does not have to be launched in order to adjust
rates moving forward.
REPRESENTATIVE FIELDS concurred. He offered that if it would be
the committee's preference to have a medical CPI as the annual
cost inflator, he would be supportive. He noted he has had
discussion with the department about what is the best annual way
to keep pace with increasing cost.
CO-CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ recalled Mr. Lasley's statement that health
care inflation went up 7 percent last year. But, she noted, not
all the costs at the Pioneer Homes are health care related; many
are akin to traditional CPI because they are costs for people
who do laundry, deliver food, or other day-to-day living costs.
She therefore inquired how the department came up with using the
Social Security COLA to Representative Fields instead of health
care inflation or CPI.
MR. LASLEY answered that when he talked to Representative Fields
before they were talking about under the current payment
assistance program, for which the Social Security cost-of-living
increase has always been used because it was determined that
individuals on payment assistance have no additional resources
to pay for services and so the state is already subsidizing them
an amount determined under the formula of payment assistance.
The only additional increase in revenue that they would have
every year is primarily Social Security, and it is set in
statute that [the department] would have to review any
additional revenue that they have. When talking about the
health care CPI, 81 percent of the cost for operating the
Pioneer Homes is personnel and almost all of that is direct
care. Out of the 600 staff within the homes, 150 are not direct
care staff operating the 24-hour facility and 144 of those staff
are laundry, housekeeping, and food service currently. Usually
those individuals are at the lower end of the wage scale. Is
health care CPI the right number? That was a recommendation
made to him by a health care economist listening in on one of
the board meetings. It is known that the Social Security rate
of increase is not keeping up with the cost of inflation and the
cost of providing the services. That is why he did a comparison
of what was it costing to provide the services knowing that 81
percent of that is personnel. He compared it against health
care CPI after the health care economist's recommendation and it
was pretty close to the same.
CO-CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ asked whether Mr. Lasley just said that
health care inflation is pretty close to what the increase in
[Pioneer Home] expenses is from year to year.
MR. LASLEY replied yes. When doing the comparison he took
health care CPI and looked back 15 years at the Pioneer Homes'
true cost of providing services and it is almost in line with
REPRESENTATIVE DRUMMOND inquired whether the State of Alaska
owns all the Pioneer Homes and Veterans Homes and that they are
not leased.
MR. LASLEY responded correct.
REPRESENTATIVE DRUMMOND surmised that these rates cover
operating costs and services delivered to the residents. She
asked whether [the division] has money set aside for maintenance
or major maintenance or whether that is something the Pioneer
Home system has to come to the state for if a major capital
improvement or roof repair is needed. She further asked whether
money is set aside for that or whether it goes on the capital
budget as a separate request.
MR. LASLEY answered it is both. Minor repairs are set within
[the division's] budget and the capital budget pays for the
large projects, so those are a capital request.
CO-CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ asked how much of [the division's] costs are
related to health care delivery. She clarified she is trying to
understand the distinction between what sort of a standard CPI
adjustment and what is related to health care cost increases,
and what the ratio is.
MR. LASLEY replied he does not have the exact percentage and
will get back to the committee with an answer.
CO-CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ said understanding that ratio is important to
her because she appreciates that the bill would allow for annual
cost of living increases that will be faced that the current
rate structure hasn't taken into account and which has meant
that every once in a while [the department] has done a little
jump-up that hasn't kept up with cost of services. [The bill]
finds a compromise position because there is a lot of concern
amongst people who are at the Pioneer Homes and the people who
love them. Providing some certainty is important and to her
there is a value statement that caring for the state's elders is
an important thing when she thinks about the people who changed
their children's diapers, put their children through school, and
helped their children along their way. There is value in caring
for elders and it isn't necessarily important to her that 100
percent of the cost of doing services is recovered. There are
some things that are just a good thing to do and that she is
proud of as an Alaskan. She would like to come up with some
sort of a compromise that works that recognizes what true cost
growth is. It's probably not 100 percent health care inflation
and probably not just CPI. It would be helpful if some rational
compromise is identified that is based on what percentage of
monthly expenses are related to health care and what are not.
MR. LASLEY responded he agrees with Co-Chair Spohnholz. He said
the proposal put forward was not an easy decision to make and he
struggles with it every day because his job is to care for the
state's elders. The governor's proposal is to truly make this a
needs-based system and what is being proposed is that [the
department] charge what it costs to provide services. Yes, [the
Pioneer Homes] are classified as assisted living but they are
providing services through the end of life. Many of those
individuals who are primarily at [the current] Level III would
not be accepted at a traditional assisted living facility. [The
division's] mission is to provide elders a home in a community
celebrating life through its final breath and that is exactly
what [the division] does. The governor's proposal in this is to
provide the assurance that there is a payment assistance
program, which is set in statute, and to charge the rates that
truly reflect what it costs [the state] to provide services, but
knowing that there is that payment assistance program that has
been set in statute for many years to protect every individual
65 and older that needs to live in a Pioneer Home regardless of
their ability to pay.
CO-CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ offered her appreciation for Mr. Lasley's
comments. She said she thinks it is an honest difference of
opinion around the rate proposals being put forward by Governor
Dunleavy's administration is that it's always highest and best
that the Pioneer Homes charge the highest rates. There is a
certain amount of value and dignity in being able to pay for
yourself that a lot of people would like to continue to be self-
pay for as long as possible. Increasing rates so dramatically
will require a lot of people to spend down all of their assets,
sending them into public assistance, which is psychologically a
difficult burden for a lot of people. Historically the state
has said the Pioneer Homes didn't have to operate on full cost
recovery. She has heard from people in emails and phone calls
that this forces them to spend down every last bit of their
assets and go on to public assistance much earlier. There is a
perceived lack of dignity that comes with that and she is
included to go with her elders on this difference of opinion.
REPRESENTATIVE FIELDS added that a particularly challenging
circumstance is that of a married couple with one spouse in a
Pioneer Home and the other spouse living independently, perhaps
in the home they shared for 50 years. He has heard from his
constituents that the very, very high rates are particularly
threatening for those independent couples where one person has
dementia and the other is still working trying to self-pay at
the Pioneer Home, and these new proposed very high rates from
the administration just put them in an impossible situation. It
is different than just one person who is on his or her own and
maybe they pay or maybe they can't, and they are in the Pioneer
Home already. [The state] should be respectful of those couples
where one spouse is caring for another in the Pioneer Home.
CO-CHAIR ZULKOSKY noted there is no invited testimony on the
bill. She opened public testimony.
BRAD RIDER testified in support of HB 96. He said his parents
are in the Pioneer Home, and that the Pioneer Homes are amazing
and something that should be held up for everyone to see. The
state long ago offered to help its seniors and that should be
continued. Cultures from the beginning of time across the world
have taken care of their elders. For this administration to
have said "it's time to rip the Band-Aid off is disgusting.
FRED KOKEN testified in support of HB 96. He said he was a
financial consultant for 30 years and understands the need and
the wisdom for a balanced budget. However, the proposed level
of increase for the Pioneer Homes going forward is scary. His
wife is currently a Level III resident in the Juneau Pioneer
Home and the amount of increase they are looking at is scary.
While a balanced budget is important, it shouldn't be balanced
on the backs of the most vulnerable citizens Alaska's seniors.
LUANN MCVEY testified in support of HB 96. She stated she is
very worried about the proposed current draft regulations that
would make the Pioneer Homes unaffordable to people like her
parents who have lived in Juneau since 1957. In the mid-1980s
her 88-year-old father retired from the National Marine
Fisheries Service and her 87-year-old mother retired from the
U.S. Forest Service. They have continued to live in their
Juneau home assuming they could eventually move to the Pioneer
Home and afford to pay for it themselves. It was and is the
only affordable long-term care option available to them here in
Juneau. They applied to and remain on the Juneau Pioneer Home
inactive list. So far, they haven't needed to move there, but
eventually they will. The rate increases proposed in the
governor's regulations would make the Pioneer Home absolutely
unaffordable to them. Her parents are very worried, as is she,
about what is going to happen to them. She urged that the
Pioneer Home rates be kept reasonable so people like her parents
who have spent their lives in Alaska will not have to spend down
all their assets and go on public assistance.
MARK BADGER testified in support of HB 96. He said he is a
caregiver for his parents in Anchorage. He recalled visiting a
102-year-old man in the Fairbanks Pioneer Home in 1969 whose
pilot license was signed by Orville Wright. It was clear to him
back then that the Pioneer Homes are a shrine to a great deal of
wisdom. He has spent the last three years learning the details
of Medicaid, Alzheimer's resources, and assisted living homes.
It is a very difficult and people do not understand what they
are going to have to field at the end of life and that it isn't
what they expect. There is no golden net to catch people as
they reach the end of their lives. The rate increase is putting
to a parallel of private nursing homes, while the Pioneer Homes
do not have the same patient to nurse ratio and are not the same
as going into private nursing homes. The administration's
managers are in charge of executing this incredibly destructive
rate increase. They are saying no one will be discharged from
the Pioneer Homes but will be moved to Medicaid, while the
administration has made its disdain clear for the number of
people on Medicaid. He expressed his strong support for HB 96
because it would provide a reasoned approach to the adjustment
of rates and because he believes that regulatory or rate
increases should be in the hands of the legislature.
LAURA BONNER testified in support of HB 96. She said she is
retired and nearly 70 years old and the bill would keep Pioneer
and Veterans homes affordable. The notice recently sent to
residents is a slap in the face and another example of cost
shifting in the governor's plan for Alaska. Alaskans still
value their veterans and seniors and have since 1913. Residents
in the homes nearing the ends of their lives and their families
need predictability in what the rates will be. She may be a
[Pioneer Home] resident in the future and she would need that
predictability. The legislature needs to find ways to raise
revenues other than from veterans and elders who may be frail.
SUSAN MILLER testified in support of HB 96. She said the bill
attempts to restrain the effort of DHSS to raise the rates at
the Pioneer Homes well beyond what an average Alaskan could
possibly afford. Because the rates in the department's proposed
regulations are so extraordinarily high, she can only speculate
that the goal is not to pay the full cost of all services, but
rather to eliminate the Pioneer Homes entirely or privatize
them. By focusing on costs the department ignores the reason
for having and needing the Pioneer Homes. Based on her
experience, people do not choose to live in the Pioneer Homes
because they are looking for a comfortable place to stay. They
live there because they desperately need the services these
homes provide. They live there because they can no longer live
at home, they can no longer receive the care they need at home.
Her mother lived in the Anchorage Pioneer Home from 2000-2008
because she had Alzheimer's disease, a form of dementia that
gradually and inevitably destroys a person's ability to function
and eventually kills them. She visited her mother almost every
night for eight years, so she is quite familiar with and
appreciative of the Anchorage Pioneer Home. She hopes she never
needs the facility, but it would be a tragedy to take it away
from those Alaskans who do and will need those services. The
department may argue that it has a payment assistance program
that helps those who cannot afford the rates they set. But to
get that payment assistance a person must first pay every penny
of the person's savings and then pay all their monthly income if
they have any, making the person a pauper. The bill is needed
to protect Alaskans from the unreasonable fees that DHSS
proposes. The bill, however, is not without its flaws. The
fees in Section 5 are too high, especially the $10,000 monthly
rate. She is also concerned that there appears to be no
definition of the terms used to describe the services provided
at each level. The terms for those services in the statute
differ from those used in the department's proposed regulations.
She receives many services from the state for which she pays
nothing, and she is not sure why her government has chosen such
an important service as the Pioneer Homes as one for which its
users must pay full costs.
SHARON LONG testified in support of HB 96. She said her husband
came to Alaska with the U.S. Air Force in the 1960s and fell in
love with Alaska. After two tours he knew Alaska was home and
left the Air Force rather than be transferred. Now 84 years old
he has spent his entire professional career in the private
sector in Alaska. Due to advancing Parkinson's Disease he now
requires the assisted living services of the Anchorage Pioneer
Home. She is relating this so the committee will understand the
depth of importance and meaning to her family of the concept of
pioneer and home. The new supposedly comparable rates suggested
by the administration and, frankly, the compromise bill [CSHB
96(STA)] before the committee, reflect rates in institutions
that offer individual rooms with considerably greater square
footage with kitchenettes or full kitchens, private rather than
shared bathrooms, heating and cooling controls that work, bed
sheets changed weekly, ceilings that don't leak into the
residents' rooms, and dependable hot water for bathing, which is
not the case in the Anchorage Pioneer Home. The administration
has not done an apples-to-apples assessment. She thanked
members for attempting a legislative solution to the
unconscionable approach the administration is pursuing. She
encouraged the committee to craft a bill that: 1) repeals the
regulatory authority under which the administration is making
these unprecedented, ham fisted, and draconian changes to both
the mission and the operation of the Pioneer Homes; and 2)
confirms the current existing rates in statute and links future
increases to the Social Security cost-of-living adjustment,
which is a rational approach to increases and something that
families could plan for. Her husband of 40 years and his fellow
residents who write a check every month to the state are fearful
of these machinations which threaten to drive them from the only
place they call home and financially break their families. They
are scared and bewildered. She is at the Pioneer Home nearly
every day and has come to know and appreciate many of the
residents who are truly pioneers and dedicated Alaskans who in
many cases have served the state long and well. She urged the
committee to do right by them.
ROCKY PLOTNICK testified in support of HB 96. She stated she
lives in her own home while her husband is currently in the
Anchorage Pioneer Home. She agreed with Ms. Long that people in
the Pioneer Home are afraid. They fear the proposed regulations
will go forward and be implemented and these people feel
helpless. She encouraged the committee to move forward with
some version of HB 96. While the bill may not be perfect, it is
a limit, and somewhat of a compromise. Knowing the timeline
with the legislature and that the public comment [deadline] on
the regulations is 5/28/19, time is ticking. So she hopes HB 96
will be moved soon or that there will be a companion bill in the
Senate because a bill is hope to the seniors.
JANET MACCLARENCE testified in support of HB 96. She said she
is currently a resident of the Pioneer Home and will be until
4/25/19. She has given notice that she is moving into an
apartment with one bedroom and one bath for $1,300 a month, plus
$100 in utilities, plus whatever she adds to it for support.
The combination of expenses for herself and her husband will be
less than the $5,000 a month they are currently paying and
certainly much less than the $7,200 a month they would be paying
with the proposed increase. She has Crohn's Disease, which is
aggravated by stress, and she is the caretaker of her husband
who is the survivor of a massive stroke. She and her husband
were co-presidents of the Resident Council, but had to resign
because they needed to be in a less stressful and more
predictable environment. The bill would go a long way to make
the Pioneer Homes a more predictable environment. She concurred
that the atmosphere in the Pioneer Home is fearful, people are
very concerned about their ability to continue to retain any
kind of dignity in an environment that forces them to become
complete paupers in order to receive services. She urged the
committee to support and honor the people who have done so much
and who deserve an honorable exit.
JUSTIN PARISH testified in support of HB 96. He said it is only
right to provide some assurance to elders that the rates won't
be doubled at the whim of the state. It is a clear moral
imperative to take care of the state's elders, as is done for
the state's youth. Some degree of assurance must be provided,
and the bill would do a great job of that. The automatic price
adjustment with time is appreciated and he hopes it won't need
to be revisited in the future. He thanked the bill's sponsors.
DEBBIE TILSWORTH testified in support of HB 96. She stated the
bill is a thoughtful piece of legislation and an attempt to find
middle ground between Mr. Lasley's proposed rates and the
current rate structure. She said bravo to Representative
Spohnholz' statement about dignity and respect. When her
mother, who self-pays, moved into the Pioneer Home no one asked
her how much money she had. The new model worries her because
she can foresee a day when seniors are looked at as either
assets or liabilities. If the state starts treating people as
transactions rather than valued elders, then the state will be a
colder and poorer place to be. Increases of the magnitude in
the bill, which are 20-30 percent, need to be phased in over
time. Current residents should be grandfathered into the
current rate structure with annual cost of living or modest
increases. Fifteen years ago the University of Alaska changed
its benefits structure and it grandfathered the current
employees with benefits in effect at that time; future employees
would come in under different rules. The university ended up
with Tier 1, 2, and 3 benefits; the rules did not suddenly
change for existing employees. The state wisely used the
approach of phasing in the new structure and she asks for that
same wisdom now. She does not buy into the governor's premise
or Mr. Lasley's shock therapy that huge increases are necessary
in one year. It would create havoc with the residents' personal
budgets, and it would not gain the state much money after the
first year or two. While [the administration] estimated $5.7
million, she came up with $4.8 million; and while the state
might get that in year one, what about years two and three? The
state won't gain what [the administration] thinks it will and it
will drive self-paying residents like her mother out of the
Pioneer Home. One thing she does agree with in the governor's
approach, as well as the co-sponsors of the legislation, is that
the current services of the Pioneer Homes need to continue. The
staff is excellent, the care is superb, and she has nothing but
admiration for the way the Fairbanks Pioneer Home is run. She
applauded the committee for taking the concerns of the residents
and their families into account as the committee goes forward.
She urged the committee to take a reasoned approach to the
rising costs of care at Alaska's Pioneer Homes, which are a
treasure that need to be protected for future generations.
URBAN RAHOI testified in support of HB 96. He said he and his
wife married in 1940 and lived happily on $100 a month. He
added he agrees with the previous testimony because he is a 73-
year resident of Fairbanks and has done a lot for the country
and appreciates being in the Pioneer Home because it is a good
place for people who need help. He thanked the previous
witnesses for saying the things he would like to say.
BARBARA PARKER testified in support of HB 96. She stated she is
a current resident of the Fairbanks Pioneer Home. She has
noticed a great deal of concern and downright fear in the home
over the proposed changes, especially in the monthly rates.
Most of the residents don't have a lot and when legislators are
talking about tying it to the Social Security increase, she
thinks what increase? She has $18 a month extra, which is eaten
by her Part D payment. The care and staff at the Fairbanks
Pioneer Home are wonderful. She is single and 74 and moved in
voluntarily. She is healthy but came to the home because she
wanted to have a safe, clean, healthy environment as she ages.
She hopes she doesn't hurt herself, but knows that if she does,
she will get care. She asked the committee to consider the
residents who are on fixed incomes and alone and who have lived
in the state 40-50 years. Other countries respect and care for
their elders and Alaska should do the same.
SUSAN CARTER testified that she is a resident of the Fairbanks
Pioneer Home. She related that a friend of hers, as well as
many residents, have had to turn over their homes, properties,
savings, and investment income. She asked what happens to those
assets and to that money because it is never mentioned, but it
always has to be turned over to the state if a resident doesn't
have enough money to self-pay. Those assets are an important
consideration and should be put into the budget, given those
assets are thousands of dollars for each person and most of the
homes and properties have been paid off because the residents
lived in them for so long. She is in her eighties and she heard
that the average age in her home is 88. That means people are
coming into the home in their eighties, not sixties or
seventies, and that means they are staying in their homes
because they cannot yet afford the Pioneer Home charges until
they are forced to come in and turn over all their assets to the
state. She urged that these assets are considered and that
information about these assets and what has been done with that
money be provided somewhere.
CAROL KLOPF testified she lives in the Fairbanks Pioneer Home.
She apologized for not being informed of what HB 96 would do
except raise rates. She urged that any new rates be applied to
the future residents and that everyone now living in the homes
be grandfathered into the rates that they understood when they
applied and moved in. She saved and planned for what she
estimated her costs would be and then chose her time to enter
accordingly. She thinks she has enough to pay for her estimated
lifespan, she is 85, but if the rates are doubled, which is what
the threat seems to be, she is going to run out of money, which
is scary. Others are justifiably scared as well. Residents are
told "no worries, the state will pay for it if you run out of
money." However, it's not that easy. A person must apply for
state assistance and there are requirements. She had a friend
who didn't know some of the requirements and was unable to
control some of the others and got denied. What happens then?
It is scary and unfair, and residents should be grandfathered
into what they agreed to and understood when they moved in. The
new rules should be applied to people who are not yet in the
Pioneer Homes.
WILLIAM HARRINGTON testified he is 70 years old and is an
unaffiliated old person. He said he did not hear the words
"boomer tsunami" or discussions of its effect and that of the
vastly increasing longevity. Subsidizing elders for a dignified
sunset of life is a fine goal and with money available should be
a real bonus. He said [state] spending priorities as a whole
are under attack and some amendments are needed: 1) privatize
the system; 2) build 1,000-1,500 more units; and 3) the state
needs to govern and not involve itself in private businesses.
CO-CHAIR ZULKOSKY left public testimony open.
[HB 96 was held over.]
CO-CHAIR ZULKOSKY announced that the final order of business
would be CS FOR SENATE BILL NO. 37(FIN), "An Act relating to the
SENATOR CATHY GIESSEL, Alaska State Legislature, as prime
sponsor, introduced CSSB 37(FIN). She explained the bill would
renew the Alaska Vaccine Assessment Program (AVAP) that was
established in 2014. The bill would authorize a statewide
vaccine program in the Department of Health and Social Services
(DHSS). Because it is scheduled for repeal in 2021, the bill is
a proactive action to extend it. This was a bill in 2014 that
she sponsored. It monitors, purchases, and distributes all
childhood vaccines and some adult vaccines to health care
providers, allowing more access for Alaskans.
SENATOR GIESSEL stated the bill is an innovative solution to a
challenging problem. She related that before this program was
in play many health care providers had to buy two supplies of
vaccines. One supply was for those people who had private
insurance or cash pay. The other supply was for folks who were
Medicaid beneficiaries or beneficiaries of some government
program such as Vaccines for Children. The reason for these two
supplies is that the private pay vaccines had to be purchased by
the providers themselves at the full retail prices. The two
supplies could not be interchanged because the government supply
was obtained by the state using bulk pricing at a much lower
price. The two supplies had to be kept separate in separate
refrigerators and the nurses had to keep track of the insurance
and which supply of vaccine to use. If a provider had purchased
its own supply for private payers and if out of a box of 10
vaccines only 9 were used and then the last one then expired, it
had to be thrown away. Providers had to manage their supply and
the expiration dates so there was full utilization. This
program eliminates that confusion and duplication.
SENATOR GIESSEL noted the program is a private-public
partnership that is funded by the insurers and the government
programs. Everyone pools their money and uses the state's
ability to buy at bulk prices, which results in lower cost for
the vaccines. The program helps the insurance companies because
it allows them to maximize the bulk buying potential that the
state has, thereby keeping costs down for them, and they in turn
supply the vaccine for their subscribers with just the charge of
the injection fee or clinic visit fee. The state asks [the
insurers] how many vaccines for, say, measles are needed, they
estimate that, the state assesses them that amount of money, and
then the state makes a big purchase and stores the vaccines in a
central location in Anchorage. For more distant clinics in
places like Bethel, Nome, or Kotzebue the manufacturer may ship
directly to those locations versus the central location.
SENATOR GIESSEL reported the program has been wildly successful
and has reduced costs, but more importantly it has increased
vaccine rates. [The state] has gotten some awards for increased
vaccination rates over the years that this program has been in
place. The bill would simply renew that, as well as provide a
funding mechanism.
JANE CONWAY, Staff, Senator Cathy Giessel, Alaska State
Legislature, on behalf of Senator Giessel, sponsor, paraphrased
from the written sectional analysis of [CSSB 37(FIN)] included
in the committee packets, which read [original punctuation
provided]:
Amends AS 18.09.200(b)(1) by removing the "phase in"
language from statute as the Alaska Vaccine Assessment
Program is now fully implemented.
Amends AS 18.09.220(a) by removing the "phase in"
Amends 18.09.230 by creating the vaccine assessment
fund" in the general fund for the purpose of
providing funds for the program that will be
appropriated by the legislature, that can also include
program receipts, penalties, money from other sources
along with interest earned from the fund. These
appropriations to the fund will not lapse.
Repeals and reenacts AS.18.09.230 allowing the
commissioner to administer the fund in accordance to
the provisions of the statewide immunization program.
Amends 37.05.146(c)(75) changing the word "account" to
"fund"
Repeals AS 18.09.220(e) by removing the "opt out"
option for assessees since the program is no longer in
the "phase-in" stage.
Repeals the sunset provisions (to repeal the program
in 2021) that were in section 5 of the original bill,
[Senate Bill] 169 in 2014.
Sets effective date for July 1, 2019.
CO-CHAIR ZULKOSKY passed the gavel to Co-Chair Spohnholz.
CO-CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ invited Dr. Lou to continue the introduction
of CSSB 37(FIN).
LILY LOU, MD, Chief Medical Officer, Central Office, Division of
Public Health, Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS),
stated she served on the Alaska Vaccine Assessment Council for
the first three years. She is a pediatrician and is president
of the American Academy of Pediatrics, Alaska Chapter. She said
she is disclosing this because there is a letter in the
committee packet in support of the bill that was signed by her
as the chapter president a few days before she took her current
position with the State of Alaska.
DR. LOU explained the bill would reauthorize the Alaska Vaccine
Assessment Program (AVAP), a program that makes access to
vaccines universal for all Alaskans. It expands coverage from
the subset of children who are covered by Vaccines for Children
to all children and it also covers some adults. The program
more than pays for itself, it allows for Alaska to get a 20-30
percent discount in the cost of vaccines. She brought attention
to a graph in the committee packet, which shows that over the
three to four years that this program has been in effect Alaska
has saved $11 million in the cost of vaccines.
REPRESENTATIVE TARR surmised the savings is because the state
would otherwise be responsible for the cost of the vaccines for
the beneficiaries under state-run health programs. By doing
bulk purchasing the state is realizing those savings on those
individual vaccinations.
DR. LOU replied it is a volume discount because the state is
purchasing vaccines for all Alaskans rather than piecemeal,
including some retail pricing. The payers, the insurance
companies who pay into the program, have realized savings by
doing it this way.
CO-CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ asked which adult populations this would
apply to.
DR. LOU responded that the unique part of Alaska's program is
that the state offers payers and practitioners to opt in to
cover vaccines for uninsured adults. Also doing this are the
states of Vermont and Rhode Island.
DR. LOU continued her presentation on CSSB 37(FIN). She pointed
out that this bill and this program would [continue to]
streamline the process of giving immunizations into a single
system. Pediatricians would [continue with not needing] to have
two refrigerators, two log systems, and two completely separated
bookkeeping systems. The program was created in 2015 and is due
to sunset in 2021. In 2018 the program covered 366,000 people,
50 percent of Alaskans. [The state] has demonstrated a trend of
improving its vaccination rates through this system. She drew
attention to a document in the committee packet and said the
left half of the graph is pretty flat for these vaccines, but
after the start of AVAP there is an increase. She noted the
graph doesn't show all of the types of vaccines.
CO-CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ offered her understanding that it was stated
during a hearing before the House Finance Standing Committee,
Health & Social Services Finance Subcommittee, that some of the
vaccination rates had gone down and subsequently Alaska had
higher influenza rates. She asked whether the graph includes
influenza vaccine.
JILL LEWIS, Deputy Director (Juneau), Central Office, Division
of Public Health, Department of Health and Social Services,
replied that the graph includes some of the selected vaccines,
but does not include the flu [vaccine] for which the rate has
not gone up.
CO-CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ asked whether this program would allow the
state to increase flu vaccination.
MS. LEWIS responded yes it would, but noted it doesn't happen to
show on the chart.
DR. LOU added that flu vaccination tends to fluctuate depending
on the vaccine for the year and how people feel about it. She
confirmed it is one of the covered vaccinations in the Alaska
Vaccination Assessment Program.
DR. LOU pointed out that Alaska was recognized by the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for increases in both
teen vaccines and pneumococcal vaccine for the population over
65. She said both are important populations and they
demonstrate that when something new comes along this program is
nimble enough to do something like the human papilloma virus
(HPV) vaccine that prevents cancer. The department has seen the
benefits of this program and that it is proven to be effective.
DR. LOU recapped that CSSB 37(FIN) would reauthorize the Alaska
Vaccine Assessment Program to remove the phase-in language,
including the opt-in language, and to remove the sunset
language. It would not impact any regulations about exemptions,
so it is only the provision of vaccinations. Alaskans will gain
the following from reauthorization: 1) Improves access to
vaccines, one of the few absolutely proven effective health
interventions; 2) Removes the barriers, particularly for small
practices that would have to buy a box of ten to give eight
vaccinations; 3) Allows [the state] to take advantage of
discounted volume vaccine pricing; 4) Allows the use of a
unified inventory system, allowing [the state] to redistribute
according to need and not according to box number; and 5)
Decreases the cost as well as the pain and suffering of vaccine
DR. LOU closed by reiterating that this program has proven
itself since it began in January 2015. It has been a great
public-private partnership. The training wheels can be taken
off and [the program] continued into the future with greater
health for all Alaskans.
MS. LEWIS provided a PowerPoint presentation, entitled "SB 37
Renewal of Alaska Vaccine Assessment Program," to explain how
the program operates. She brought attention to slide 2,
entitled "SB 37," and stated the bill would reauthorize the
program, would take out from the new language the temporary
phase-in period that has already ended, would not use state
general funds, and would restructure the vaccine assessment
MS. LEWIS turned to slide 3, entitled "What is the Alaska
Vaccine Assessment Program?" She said the program provides all
childhood and certain adult vaccines for privately insured
children, which does not exclude the uninsured children as they
are covered under a different program that is a federal program.
The program also covers the majority of adults.
CO-CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ recalled that earlier it was described that
this covers uninsured adults. She asked which adult vaccines
are not included.
MS. LEWIS answered that the formulary of what vaccines are
covered is provided in the committee packet. She said [the
program] covers the vaccines that are recommended by the
national committee that makes vaccine recommendations.
DR. LOU added that the program follows the recommendations of
the [Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP)].
There are some vaccines [the program] likes, for example the
human papilloma virus vaccine that is provided to young adults.
Part of that is because the vaccines are felt to be most
effective when they are given as soon as they can be in young
adulthood. She referred members to the information in their
packet for the specific details. Things like SHINGRIX [shingles
vaccine] are covered, so the program is nimble enough to bring
new vaccines on board and the assessment is just adjusted
according to what is available and what is recommended by
scientific evidence as effective.
MS. LEWIS resumed her discussion of slide 3. She explained the
program collects money by assessing health plans, health
insurers, as well as other program participants. The state
pools that money together and buys vaccines at the wholesale
[price] at a greatly discounted rate off of a federal contract.
It is a price that the private sector cannot achieve on its own.
The state is in a unique position to provide this benefit. The
state purchases and then distributes the vaccine. So really the
bill is about vaccine purchasing and distribution.
MS. LEWIS moved to slide 4, entitled "What is the Alaska Vaccine
Assessment Program?" She said Alaska is the only state that
gives the providers the option to cover their uninsured adults.
Two other states cover adults, but only for the insured
population, the reason being that there is no assessment to be
paid if there is no insurance coverage to provide the funds. In
Alaska there is an option that if a provider has a large amount
of uninsured patients they can choose to opt in and pay the
assessment, which allows them to get that same price break.
Health plans are mandated to participate, but providers that
want to get this price point for their uninsured adults can
volunteer and then pay that. About 9 percent of what [the
program] covers is related to the uninsured adults. About
32,000 lives are covered under the program, so this is an
important option. Alaska is the only state able to offer that.
DR. LOU pointed out that the options for providers that don't
opt-in to the uninsured adult coverage are that they pay full
price for vaccine or they don't vaccinate those patients.
CO-CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ commented that given what is known about the
herd protection factor and how important it is to get the
maximum amount of people vaccinated; she thinks most people
would support getting the maximum number of people vaccinated.
MS. LEWIS addressed slide 5, entitled "AVAP." She explained the
Vaccine Assessment Council sets the assessment rate once a year.
The current rate is $8.61 per member per month for children and
88 cents for adults per member per month. That rate is going to
decrease for 2019 it will go down to $7.44 and 53 cents.
Those rates are adjusted each year and are prospective, so if
the vaccines didn't cost as much as was thought then that amount
is factored into the next year's rate. Every quarter the
assessed entities, the payers, pay their assessment based on the
amount of covered lives they have for that quarter. This allows
the payers to adjust their numbers during the year if they have
a change in the number of members participating. The Division
of Public Health pools that money and then uses it to buy off of
a federal contract at a discounted price. Either [the division]
ships the vaccine to the providers or it is shipped directly to
them. [The division] does not charge the providers for the
vaccine because the insurance plans have already paid for it
upfront. Providers then cover their patients and provide the
vaccines and the only thing they can bill for is the office
visit, the charge to administer the vaccine, because that is not
part of what this program is collecting assessments for. Every
quarter the providers are required to report their vaccine usage
to the department so it is known how much has been used and the
inventories can be monitored and then [the department] uses that
information to provide information back to the council for
setting the next year's rate.
MS. LEWIS displayed slide 6, entitled "Vaccine Cost," and
related that the state is able to achieve a vaccine cost that is
about 20-30 percent lower. She explained the slide shows how
much just for the cost to vaccinate a person through age 18 and
the difference in the cost between the Vaccine Assessment
Program and the private sector.
MS. LEWIS turned to slide 7, entitled "Vaccine Coverage," and
said that in regard to the state's increase in vaccination
rates, the program already covers about 50 percent of the
population, 44 percent of the children, and 52 percent of the
adults. Uninsured children are covered under a different
program and are not represented on the slide.
MS. LEWIS moved to slide 8, entitled "Successes," and stated
that overall it is a win for everyone. The Division of Public
Health benefits because it gets to reduce vaccine preventable
disease, which is one of the division's main objectives.
Providers get improved health outcomes for their vaccinated
individuals and they also have a lot easier stock management of
their vaccine. The health insurance industry pays less overall
for the cost to vaccinate. All Alaskans save money in the long
run due to fewer medical costs and secondary costs from vaccine
MS. LEWIS skipped slide 9 and went on to slide 10, entitled "For
every $1 spent on a vaccine in the US...." She stated that the
slide shows how much can be saved for every $1 spent on the
individual types of vaccines in the U.S. For example, for every
$1 spent on the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine, $26
is saved.
MS. LEWIS concluded with slide 11, entitled "In Closing...."
She said reauthorizing this program ensures a healthier future
for all Alaskans at a lower cost, plus no state general fund
involved.
REPRESENTATIVE TARR referred to the nationwide discussion that
is going on about vaccination and some people being anti-
vaccination with subsequent outbreaks. She inquired whether
this discussion is being seen in Alaska or is influencing
anything in Alaska. She further inquired whether the division
is doing anything to overcome that to ensure participation.
DR. LOU stressed that this is an important issue across the
country. However, she continued, vaccine hesitancy is quite
separate from this bill, which is only about vaccine purchase.
In regard to vaccine hesitancy, she said Alaska does have
vaccine rates that are close to the borderline and for each
vaccine there is a different percentage that confers herd
immunity. It is not just the overall immunization rate that
matters, but that collections of people who have a large number
of unvaccinated people are where outbreaks can start.
REPRESENTATIVE TARR concurred it isn't one of the technical
details of the bill. But, she noted, one of the overall goals
of having AVAP is to increase participation by Alaskans. For
example, when HPV first came out there was some hesitancy by
parents around that vaccine, so she is inquiring about whether
these kinds of things influence participation in the program.
DR. LOU replied that as a pediatrician, what she and her
colleagues do every day is try to answer people's questions so
they can make those decisions. This bill, in terms of
vaccination rates, would remove barriers to people who have
decided to get vaccinated and the bill would mean more offices,
even small ones, are able to provide that. Some doctors might
not vaccinate because they cannot afford to keep a stock and
patients might not go somewhere else that does provide vaccines.
The bill would impact that by making it less difficult and less
expensive for people to get immunized. She said she believes
the increase in vaccination rates is from removing barriers.
REPRESENTATIVE PRUITT requested clarification on provider opt-in
payments. He offered his understanding that the state assesses
a fee on [opt-in] providers to cover the cost of the program.
He asked whether there are people on the outside of this who
might seek to be a part of it, such as individual doctors.
MS. LEWIS explained the program mandates that the insurers, the
health plans, pay the assessment, but it is voluntary for a
provider or a clinic to join. So a provider's office is not
assessed, but the health insurance industry is. Providers can
opt in because that way they can also get 20-30 percent off of
their vaccine cost, which otherwise they wouldn't be able to do.
The most likely types of provider offices that are interested
are the ones that see a large proportion of the uninsured.
Quite a few that have opted in are in the tribal system or the
Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) because they have to
see everyone who comes to them whether or not they are insured.
The providers all have to look at that and see if it costs out
for them given the amount of the uninsured population that they
REPRESENTATIVE PRUITT offered his understanding that he cannot
look at the financials and determine that that is the amount of
actual usage. He asked how many providers have chosen to opt-in
to the program. He further asked whether the limitation is just
the cost aspect of it, or if in some cases smaller providers
don't have the personnel to look at this and determine whether
it makes sense. He also asked whether there could be a greater
participation in the program by providers who may not be
utilizing it.
MS. LEWIS responded she does not have the number of the actual
providers that are paying in at the moment, but it amounts to
about 32,000 lives that they cover. That will be looked at as
the program continues and more outreach will be done to the
provider community to let them know about the program and the
opportunity. Until now most of the outreach has been focused on
the payer community, the health plans and those mandated to pay
the assessments, because there was that phase-in period that
allowed it to be optional, so it was important that all the
mandated assessment payers were brought on board.
DR. LOU offered her belief that there is information about the
opt-in providers, but that it doesn't really reflect what she
believes Representative Pruitt's question is trying to get at.
There could be providers that don't take care of kids or that
only have two uninsured patients and so it may not be worth
joining the program. But if a provider has 100 patients then it
becomes worthwhile for them to engage with the program. So just
looking at the percentage of providers wouldn't represent the
distribution of uninsured adults.
CO-CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ inquired about the mechanism that requires
insurers to participate.
MS. LEWIS answered that the current statute requires the payers
to participate.
CO-CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ further asked what the authorizing mechanism
is that says insurers must do this. For example, whether the
statute says that anybody who provides insurance in the state of
Alaska must do this.
DR. LOU replied that in 2014 [the division] asked for everyone
to be required to participate, but the bill was initially
written to allow for payers to opt out for the first three
years. During that period she served on the council and a
growing number of participants was seen because they knew they
would be required to after three years anyway. That gave payers
the opportunity to see how the program worked and to join on.
Essentially all of the payers participate now, including TRICARE
participation.
CO-CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ offered her belief that there is an incentive
to the payers to participate but that she wanted to know about
the rule.
DR. LOU added that [in 2014] it was a new program and now that
the program has proven itself [CSSB 37(FIN)] would remove the
sunset. She offered her belief that the program has also proven
itself in the minds of the payers.
MS. LEWIS noted the mechanism is in AS 18.09.240. She said a
penalty could be assessed for non-compliance. She offered her
belief that some interest has been assessed, but not any
penalties for non-compliance because the phase-in period was
open for a duration.
CO-CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ asked what the penalty is.
MS. LEWIS responded she would get back to the committee with an
DAVID TEAL, Legislative Fiscal Analyst, Director, Legislative
Finance Division, Legislative Agencies and Offices, stated that
CSSB 37(FIN) is a short and simple bill that extends a program
that has been proven successful at both reducing cost and
increasing the availability of vaccines. Although the program
operates at no net cost to the state, there are three fiscal
notes. In February when reviewing the bill in the Senate, his
division suggested the program be re-established as a fund
capitalization rather than as a fund transfer. The existing
financing mechanism is a fund transfer method, which requires
money to be transferred, or appropriated, into the fund and then
appropriated out of the fund. That meant double counting the
money and a fixed appropriation available to the department.
That is because in the appropriation bill simply said the sum of
$10 million is appropriated to the department, the $10 million
being a surmised assessment.
MR. TEAL explained that a fund capitalization differs in that
money only needs to be appropriated into the fund but not out of
the fund. On the way out in Section 4 of the bill it says that
the commissioner can spend the money without further
appropriation. The constitution only requires that money be
appropriated once, not twice. A fund capitalization methodology
provides increased flexibility. If more providers sign on to
the program, or a new vaccine is added, or there is an outbreak
of flu or measles, or other illness, the department can
immediately increase its expenditures without legislative
action, so it is more flexible. If there is not enough money in
the fund, more assessments can come in without appropriation;
whatever amount is collected is appropriated to the fund and
there is no legislative action required to have the department
then respond to the outbreak. It also eliminates double
accounting. By permitting money in the fund to be spent with no
further appropriation, the fund isn't subject to the annual
sweep of sub-funds into the constitutional budget reserve (CBR)
fund. That may not be important, it hasn't been in the past
because there has always been a vote to reverse the sweep, but
if there isn't at some point, that constitutional sweep into the
CBR could end the program if health care insurers refuse to pay
an assessment that didn't get used for vaccine purposes. Any
money that is left in the fund carrying over from one year to
the next would be swept into the CBR.
MR TEAL added that he doesn't see any disadvantage to moving to
a fund capitalization because of the increased flexibility. He
doesn't think that there is a fiscal problem with it. There are
lots of fund capitalizations out there. It is a simpler, more
direct, less double counting method, which is why his division
recommended it.
CO-CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ commented that it is very practical.
REPRESENTATIVE PRUITT offered his understanding that revenues
generated in a particular year would have carry forward ability
to the next year if all of them were not needed and the
assessments would be adjusted based on that.
MR. TEAL replied the fund would be non-lapsing, so money in it
would carry forward from year to year.
REPRESENTATIVE PRUITT recognized that Mr. Teal is explaining it
would go from the vaccine assessment account to the vaccine
assessment fund. He offered his understanding that currently in
an account it doesn't lapse and because it is an account within
the sub-fund the legislature must appropriate the money into
that account and then subsequently the legislature must
appropriate that money to the actual program.
MR. TEAL responded correct.
REPRESENTATIVE PRUITT surmised it is just like forward funding
education, where the legislature funds the fund and it would
automatically pay for it the next year as the legislature then
put money into the public education fund.
MR. TEAL answered correct and said that the public education
fund is a good example of an appropriation that goes in and
doesn't lapse and then it flows to school districts without
further appropriation per a formula. In this case it would
simply flow without further appropriations as needed to purchase
vaccines.
CO-CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ stated that an important element of using
[the proposed] model is that it would allow for responding to
health challenges in the community. So, if there were a need to
dramatically increase the number of immunizations for a
particular health crisis [the state] would be able to respond by
utilizing the funds already on hand, eliminating the need for
having to come back for an emergency supplemental, which would
be important in an emergency situation.
CO-CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ opened public testimony on CSSB 37(FIN).
NANCY MERRIMAN, Executive Director, Alaska Primary Care
Association (Alaska PCA), testified in support of CSSB 37(FIN).
She spoke as follows:
The Alaska Primary Care Association supports the
operations and the development of Alaska's 27
community health center organizations. And together
with the leaders of the community health centers in
this state, we strongly support SB 37 to reauthorize
the Vaccine Assessment Program. Alaska's 27 community
health centers are committed to community health and
have as one of their primary and reportable measurable
objectives to promote immunization for infants,
children, and adults. In 2014, when the Alaska
[Vaccine] Assessment Program legislation was passed,
health centers were among the strongest of supporters.
And a quick review of participating providers today
shows that 26 of the 27 community health center
organizations actively rely on this program as a
reliable source for their immunizations. This program
allows these nonprofit practices a streamlined and
cost effective way to purchase, manage, and administer
vaccinations to their patients. The assembly of
private and public dollars to purchase vaccine through
the AVAP eliminates the need for health centers to
manage and maintain two separate stores of vaccine.
Very importantly for health centers who serve all
patients who walk through their doors regardless of
their ability to pay, it also affords them a way to
provide vaccination to lower income and uninsured
adults, preventing them from contracting debilitating
infectious diseases. The measles outbreak in the
Lower 48, now having affected 555 children and adults
reminds us of the toll of preventable infectious
disease on an economy and the public health
infrastructure. We should want to do everything we
can to make immunizations easily accessible and
affordable. This innovative program has succeeded in
making both procurement and distribution of vaccine
efficient and effective for the State of Alaska,
payers, and health care providers across Alaska.
Alaska community health centers work every day to
improve the immunization rates of all children and
adults regardless of their ability to pay and the AVAP
gives them the framework and cost savings to do this.
Alaska PCA strongly supports the reauthorization of
the Alaska [Vaccine] Assessment Program through
passage of SB 37.
PATTY OWEN, Director, Board of Directors, Alaska Public Health
Association, testified in support of CSSB 37(FIN). She said the
Alaska Public Health Association would be remiss if it weren't
here today because of the connection between public health and
immunizations. Immunizations are one of the main pillars of
public health. An affiliate of the American Public Health
Association, the Alaska association has about 150 members
statewide of public health professionals and other community
members dedicated to improving the health and wellbeing of
Alaskans. The association strongly supports the bill's passage.
This innovative public partnership will make vaccinations more
accessible to more Alaskans. Thanks to immunizations in
general, particularly childhood immunizations, [Alaskans] are
benefitting from increased life expectancy largely due to the
prevention of infectious diseases. Immunizations have become so
successful in preventing diseases that people have become
complacent and resurgence of outbreaks is being seen, so
vigilance is needed. Vaccines are among the most cost effective
clinical preventive service and core component of preventative
service that can be offered. A strong immunization program is
essential to public health infrastructure.
CO-CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ left public testimony open.
CO-CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ announced that CSSB 37(FIN) was held over.
There being no further business before the committee, the House
Health and Social Services Standing Committee meeting was
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Wagon Shed restoration
Wagon Shed before restoration
Interior Wagon Shed
This building was originally constructed as a granary in two parts.
The western portion of the building had access though the single door contains the storage bins the kept the grain produced on the farm safe and dry.
The eastern part had several doors that were reconfigured into three doors. Vehicles could be brought into the building for unloading and for storage, hence its sometime consideration as a carriage house or wagon shed. To make room for larger vehicles, a center support was removed which resulted in the wrinkle in the roof as the heavy slate tiles put pressure on the sides of the wagon shed.
In 2013, additional supports, exterior repairs including new doors and a roof gave the wagon she more stability. Through the generous time and back breaking work, Richard Grell, Hub Herendeen, Boys Scouts and parents of Troop #333 under the leadership of Phil Wiese as Troop Committee Chairman and Ed Kempton, Scoutmaster, along with a “Bob Cat”, they leveled out the old existing floor, carried in gravel and created a wonderful new floor.
Antique farm equipment and tools that have been donated to the farm throughout the years were brought out of the barn, milk houses and garage. The Boy Scouts had a wonderful time cleaning pieces while discovering what the equipment was used for and how it worked.
Cutting tools: Cross cut saws would have been used to build and maintain the buildings and fences on the farm. The largest saw is a pit saw, used to make planks from cut trees. Two to four men usually were needed to work a pit saw. If you were in the pit, sawdust fell on you, hence the expression, “in the pits”. Men with this profession were called Sawyers.
Gripping Tools: The large tongs were used to move ice cut from the pond or to move hay bales inside the barn. Large hooks also were used for this purpose. Tongs and hooks could be attached to a track high in the barn and easily moved.
Gary and Connie Price spent many hours arranging the pieces, hanging the saws, old feed bags, ladders and hand tools along the walls and rafters.
Wagon Shed Cistern
When the Boy Scout Eagle Dog House project was completed and the old doghouse removed, a second cistern was found. The gutters on the nearby wagon shed fed into the underground storage.
John Burnell, the historical mason, said that the cistern is built about the same age as the large one behind the barn, about 1890's. The bricks are a dark purple color indicating hard fired bricks. The sides and the bottom are covered with hydraulic cement (same as large cistern), which was the parent of the modern day cement. It is most likely double walled and of industrial scale. He believes that both cisterns were professionally built.
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Wenger 'I am happy in every department tonight'
Last updated : 22 February 2006 By Chris Parry
"We have shown character recently and I think there is something coming out. Tonight, we produced it. We were the sharper team, played well when we needed to and overall it was a very positive game.
"I am happy in every department tonight. The only regret is there was maybe room for one or two more goals - we had the chances, which we did not take and that keeps the game open in the second leg."
"We suffered in patches, but I felt one of the keys in the game was to start well. We did that and maybe that unsecured Real Madrid a bit - right from kick off we showed that we wanted to have a go."
"You have to expect Madrid will be giving everything at Highbury. I expect them to be at their best, but we have a fantastic opportunity at Highbury to qualify and I am convinced my players will give everything. We will play to win - that is the only approach we can have because to sit in against them would be a mistake, but they have to come out now and score goals, so it will be a very interesting game."
He picked out Thierry Henry for special comments following the press speculation regarding his (still unsettled as far as we can tell) future:
"I told you he would produce tonight. Overall we needed the experienced players to do well throughout the team - we needed big nights from them, and the young players have done extremely well also. I feel there is nobody who did not have an outstanding game."
"I hope the quality that our young team has shown will help persuade him to stay. It is important for this growing team [that] their leader is with them. I do not want to have to take one step back when the best player leaves.
"I hope this helps convince him he has future at the club because the young boys can produce on nights like this."
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Now Thierry is a liar as well as a cheat
19th November 2009 – by Myles Palmer
What a ghastly way to start my day.
I’m sitting there with my first cup of tea at 8.35 a.m. and he came on my TV screen.
The mediagenic Thierry Henry, a truly gifted superstar of the soundbite, stands in the Mixed Zone after the match and says, “I did handle the ball but I didn’t do it on purpose.”
LIAR !
WHAT A LIAR YOU ARE !
So Thierry Henry is a liar as well as a cheat. Last night I felt rage and disgust I haven’t felt since Maradona in 1986. I didn’t know football could still make me so angry.
Thierry, your cheating has touched something deep in me, so deep I thought it had died. I didn’t know I could still feel such rage and disgust.
Thierry, you are a sickening cheat and a shameless liar. You’re a disgrace to the sport that’s made you a multi-millionaire. You’re a bottler who has never scored in a final in your entire life and you make me sick. You moaned to French reporters, telling them Zidane had never given you a pass you had scored from. You’re so narcissistic that you’ll never understand why you are unloved by French football fans. You were the worst Arsenal captain in the club’s modern history. The day Wenger sold you, I jumped for joy. Literally, I jumped across the room, punching the air. You care about nothing but your owns stats and your own legacy and this is now your legacy. Last night is your legacy. You’ll be remembered as a cheat.
In those two games, in Dublin and Paris, you did nothing helpful, nothing valuable to your team, nothing memorable, except cheat to get the goal that allowed France to qualify for the World Cup.
You think you’re so clever, saying: “It was a handball, but I’m not the ref. The ball hit my arm, fell in front of me and I played it. The ref allowed it. That’s a question you should ask him.”
Well done, Thierry. You juggled the ball with your left arm, and then with your left hand, you deliberately handled the ball twice, in extra time of a World Cup play-off – but the Swedish ref cheated Ireland, so it’s OK ?
I don’t say that because I’m half-Irish.
Who does not agree with Trapattoni’s assistant Liam Brady, who said of the Irish team, “They really deserved to win, on the 120 minutes, they really deserved to win. It’s a shameful day for football, really, when something like that happens.”
Previous Post: Despicable Thierry Henry handball cheats Irish heroes in Paris
Next Post: Why isn’t Lloris playing for Arsenal?
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Balloon Museum Welcome to the Anderson Abruzzo Albuquerque International Balloon Museum, a Gateway to Exploration, Discovery, & Achievement. http://www.cabq.gov/culturalservices/balloonmuseum/albuquerque-balloon-museum http://www.cabq.gov/@@site-logo/seal-small.png
Welcome to the Anderson Abruzzo Albuquerque International Balloon Museum, a Gateway to Exploration, Discovery, & Achievement.
Explore the history, science, sport, and art of ballooning and other innovative forms of flight.
Discover how human aviation began with ballooning in 1783 and the many advancements that have followed.
Achieve new heights by gaining knowledge and inspiration from visiting our interactive exhibitions or participating in our many educational programs.
Named in honor of Albuquerque's pioneering aeronauts Maxie Anderson and Ben Abruzzo, the museum opened in 2005, and has since welcomed over one million visitors from across New Mexico, the United States, and around the world. Read our Strategic Plan.
Balloon Museum Mission
The mission of the museum is to inspire a spirit of exploration, discovery, and achievement through experiences that engage our visitors in the history, science, sport, and art of ballooning and other innovative forms of flight.
Create a vibrant, accredited museum, one that enriches people’s lives and brings people together - whether from across town or from around the world - to learn, grow, share, and celebrate.
Institutional Values and Principles
Demonstrate respect and the highest standards of professionalism in our work and interactions with colleagues and the public
Be authentic, accurate, and fair in the interpretation of our subject matter
Serve our audiences in unique, meaningful ways in order to sustain the relevance, popularity, and permanence of the museum
Ensure the public trust through proper stewardship of the collection and our resources
Recognize and fulfill the responsibilities that come from serving diverse audiences
Encourage learners to be critical thinkers in order to unlock knowledge and understanding now and in the future
Build institutional success through innovation, efficiency, collaboration, and accountability
Tim Anderson 4-D Theater
Entry to the theater is included with your admission to the museum.
Learn more about our current film offerings.
The Museum is open year round and hosts many community-oriented special events, features unique art and architecture, and offers distinctive rental spaces for meetings, weddings and receptions, and other celebrations.
View all Museum events.
Jan 07, 2020 05:00 PM to Feb 25, 2020 07:00 PM
Learn to code during our 16 week Coding Club program.
Stories & Music in the Sky - ANIMALS IN WINTER
Jan 22, 2020 from 09:30 AM to 02:15 PM
Two Sessions Offered: Stories in the Sky 9:30 and 11:00 a.m. - Music in the Sky 12:30 and 1:30 p.m.
Lighten Up Albuquerque
Jan 24, 2020 from 06:00 PM to 09:00 PM
Immerse yourself - Inaugural Projection Mapping Festival
Stories & Music in the Sky - ANIMAL HABITATS
First Friday's at the Balloon Museum
Enjoy free admission to the Balloon Museum!
Things To Do: Science and Nature
Things To Do: Kids and Families
Things to Do: Classes and Education
Field Trips & Group Tours
Our Permanent and Special Exhibitions
Our Public Art
Balloon Museum Pod Racing
Balloon Museum Upcoming Events
Balloon Museum During Balloon Fiesta
Rent the Balloon Museum
Support the Balloon Museum
Balloon Museum Board of Trustees
Zeppelin Letter
Woman in STEaM
Tweets by @balloonmuseum
Linda Hubley
Operations and Events Supervisor
Regular Hours: 9 a.m. - 5 p.m., Tuesday - Sunday,
Closed: Mondays, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, New Year's Day and City holidays that fall on Mondays.
Location & Telephone
9201 Balloon Museum NE
Albuquerque, N.M. 87113 - Map
View museum admission information.
Museum Membership
Become a Museum Member today.
Museum Foundation
The Museum is supported by the Anderson-Abruzzo International Balloon Museum Foundation.
Learn more about the Museum Foundation.
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